The Seven Penitential Psalms.

Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

English: Saint Augustine of Hippo.

Deutsch: Hl. Augustinus in betrachtendem Gebet.

Four of the Penitential Psalms were well known to Saint Augustine of Hippo.

Artist: Sandro Botticelli (1445–1510).

Date: Circa 1480.

Current location: Florence, Italy.

Notes: Deutsch: Auftraggeber: wahrscheinlich aus der Familie der Vespucci (Wappen).

Source/Photographer: The Yorck Project: 10.000 Meisterwerke der Malerei. DVD-ROM, 2002. ISBN 3936122202. Distributed by DIRECTMEDIA Publishing GmbH.

Permission: [1].

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Penitential Psalms, or Psalms of Confession, so named in Cassiodorus's commentary of the 6th-Century A.D., are Psalms 6, 32, 38, 50, 102, 130, and 143 (6, 31, 37, 50, 101, 129, and 142 in the Septuagint numbering).

Psalm 6.      Domine ne in furore tuo (Pro octava).
Psalm 32.    Beati quorum remissae sunt iniquitates.
Psalm 38.    Domine ne in furore tuo (In rememorationem de sabbato).
Psalm 50.    Miserere mei Deus.
Psalm 102.  Domine exaudi orationem meam et clamor meus ad te veniat.
Psalm 130.  De profundis clamavi.
Psalm 143.  Domine exaudi orationem meam auribus percipe obsecrationem meam.

A Setting by Lassus of Psalm 130, "De profundis clamavi ad te Domine", 

("Out of the depths have I cried unto Thee, O Lord").

Psalm 130 is one of the Seven Penitential Psalms.

Available on YouTube on http://youtu.be/luLLO3c3LlE

These Psalms are expressive of sorrow for sin. Four were known as 'Penitential Psalms' by Saint Augustine of Hippo in the early 5th-Century. Psalm 51 (Miserere) was recited at the close of daily Morning Service in the Primitive Church.

Translations of the Penitential Psalms were undertaken by some of the greatest poets in Renaissance England, including Sir Thomas Wyatt, Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, and Sir Philip Sidney. Before the Suppression of the Minor Orders and Tonsure in 1972 by Pope Paul VI, the Seven Penitential Psalms were assigned to new Clerics after having been Tonsured.

Musical settings.

Orlande de Lassus' "Psalmi Davidis poenitentiales" of 1584.

This is a Setting of Psalm 6, "Domine, ne in furore tuo arguas me", 

("O Lord, do not reprove me in Thy wrath, nor in Thy anger chastise me"). 

Psalm 6 is the first of the Seven Penitential Psalms.

Available on YouTube on http://youtu.be/-0cILFy2sW4

Perhaps the most famous musical setting of all Seven Penitential Psalms is by Orlande de Lassus, with his Psalmi Davidis poenitentiales of 1584. There are also fine settings by Andrea Gabrieli and by Giovanni Croce. The Croce pieces are unique in being settings of Italian sonnet-form translations of the Psalms by Francesco Bembo. These were widely distributed. They were translated into English and published in London as Musica Sacra and were even translated (back) into Latin and published in Nürnberg as Septem Psalmi poenitentiales.

William Byrd set all Seven Psalms in English versions for three voices in his Songs of Sundrie Natures (1589). Settings of individual Penitential Psalms have been written by many composers. Well-known settings of the Miserere (Psalm 51) include those by Gregorio Allegri and Josquin des Prez. Settings of the De profundis (Psalm 130) include two in the Renaissance era by Josquin.

Psalm 50 (Miserere). One Of The Penitential Psalms.

Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.


Psalm 50 (Greek numbering), traditionally referred to as the Miserere, its Latin incipit, is one of the Penitential Psalms. It begins: "Have mercy on me, O God".

The Psalm's opening words in Latin, Miserere mei, Deus, have led to it being called the "Miserere Mei" or, even, just "Miserere". It is often known by this name in musical settings.

Allegri's "Miserere". 

Performed by "Pro Cantione Antiqua" in 1985.

Listen on YouTube at http://youtu.be/pPdXtPP0iRM

Latin translation of Psalm 50 (Miserere mei, Deus).

Traditional Latin translation, translated from the Septuagint Greek:

Miserere mei, Deus: secundum magnam misericordiam tuam.

Et secundum multitudinem miserationum tuarum, dele iniquitatem meam.
Amplius lava me ab iniquitate mea: et a peccato meo munda me.
Quoniam iniquitatem meam ego cognosco: et peccatum meum contra me est semper.

Tibi soli peccavi, et malum coram te feci: ut justificeris in sermonibus tuis, et vincas cum judicaris.
Ecce enim in iniquitatibus conceptus sum: et in peccatis concepit me mater mea.
Ecce enim veritatem dilexisti: incerta et occulta sapientiae tuae manifestasti mihi.
Asperges me hysopo, et mundabor: lavabis me, et super nivem dealbabor.

Auditui meo dabis gaudium et laetitiam: et exsultabunt ossa humiliata.
Averte faciem tuam a peccatis meis: et omnes iniquitates meas dele.
Cor mundum crea in me, Deus: et spiritum rectum innova in visceribus meis.
Ne proiicias me a facie tua: et spiritum sanctum tuum ne auferas a me.

Redde mihi laetitiam salutaris tui: et spiritu principali confirma me.
Docebo iniquos vias tuas: et impii ad te convertentur.
Libera me de sanguinibus, Deus, Deus salutis meae: et exsultabit lingua mea justitiam tuam.
Domine, labia mea aperies: et os meum annuntiabit laudem tuam.

Quoniam si voluisses sacrificium, dedissem utique: holocaustis non delectaberis.
Sacrificium Deo spiritus contribulatus: cor contritum, et humiliatum, Deus, non despicies.
Benigne fac, Domine, in bona voluntate tua Sion: ut aedificentur muri Ierusalem.
Tunc acceptabis sacrificium justitiae, oblationes, et holocausta: tunc imponent super altare tuum vitulos.

Mozart, circa 1780. 

Detail from a portrait by Johann Nepomuk della Croce.

Mozart, allegedly, heard Allegri's Miserere, once, 

and went home and wrote down the entire Score from memory.

Artist: Johann Nepomuk della Croce (1736-1819).

Date: 1780 - 1781.

Current location: Mozart House, Salzburg, Austria.

Source/Photographer: [1].

This File: December 2005.

User: Kasta33.

(Wikimedia Commons)

English translation of Psalm 50.

This version is from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer translation of the masoretic Hebrew text.

Have mercy upon me, O God, after Thy great goodness
According to the multitude of Thy mercies do away mine offences.
Wash me throughly from my wickedness: and cleanse me from my sin.
For I acknowledge my faults: and my sin is ever before me.

Against Thee only have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that Thou mightest be justified in Thy saying, and clear when Thou art judged.
Behold, I was shapen in wickedness: and in sin hath my mother conceived me.
But lo, Thou requirest truth in the inward parts: and shalt make me to understand wisdom secretly.

Thou shalt purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: Thou shalt wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Thou shalt make me hear of joy and gladness: that the bones which Thou hast broken may rejoice.
Turn Thy face from my sins: and put out all my misdeeds.
Make me a clean heart, O God: and renew a right spirit within me.

Cast me not away from Thy presence: and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me.
O give me the comfort of Thy help again: and stablish me with Thy free Spirit.
Then shall I teach Thy ways unto the wicked: and sinners shall be converted unto Thee.
Deliver me from blood-guiltiness, O God, Thou that art the God of my health: and my tongue shall sing of Thy righteousness.

Thou shalt open my lips, O Lord: and my mouth shall shew Thy praise.
For Thou desirest no sacrifice, else would I give it Thee: but Thou delightest not in burnt-offerings.
The sacrifice of God is a troubled spirit: a broken and contrite heart, O God, shalt Thou not despise.
O be favourable and gracious unto Sion: build Thou the walls of Jerusalem.

Then shalt Thou be pleased with the sacrifice of righteousness,
with the burnt-offerings and oblations:
then shall they offer young calves upon Thine altar.

Liturgical use.

The Psalm is frequently used in various Liturgical traditions because of its spirit of humility and repentance.

Judaism.

In Judaism, several verses from this Psalm are given prominence:

The entire Psalm is recited in the Arizal's rite of the bedtime Shema on weekdays, and is also part of the regular tikkun chatzot prayers.

Verse 13 (11 in the KJV), "Cast me not away from thy presence...", forms a central part of the selichot services.

Verse 17 (15 in the KJV), "O Lord, open thou my lips...", is recited as a preface to the Amidah, the central prayer in Jewish services.

Verse 20 (18 in the KJV), "Do good in thy will unto Zion...", is recited in the Ashkenazic liturgy as the Torah is removed from the Ark before being read on Sabbath and festivals.

The Psalm is recited along with Parshat Parah, the Torah portion describing the ritual of the "red heifer" that is read in preparation for Passover.

Orlande de Lassus (1535-1594). Composer. 

Wrote an elaborate Setting of the Miserere, in the 16th-Century, 

as part of his "Penitential Psalms".

Artist: Da Massmil.

Date: After 1593.

Current location: Civico Museo Bibliografico Musicale, Bologna, Italy.

Source/Photographer: Museo internazionale e biblioteca della musica (Bologna).

Other Versions: scanned from Robbins-Landon, H.C. & Norwich, J.J. 

"Five Centuries of Music in Venice" New York: Schirmer Books, 1991. p. 45.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Christianity.

As a Penitential Psalm, Psalm 50 is one of the most frequently used Psalms in the Eastern Orthodox Church and those Eastern Catholic Churches which follow the Byzantine Rite. 

It is typically included during the Mystery of Repentance (corresponding to the Sacrament of Confession), in personal daily prayers, and many of the Liturgical Services. The various Services of the Daily Office may be combined into three aggregates (evening, morning and noonday), and are so arranged that Psalm 50 is read during each aggregate.

In the Agpeya, Coptic Church's Book of Hours, it is recited at every Office throughout the day as a Prayer of Confession and Repentance.

In Western Christianity, Psalm 50 is also used Liturgically.

Verse Seven of the Miserere is sung as the Priest sprinkles Holy Water 

over the Congregation before the main Mass on Sundays. 

The Rite is known as "The Asperges".

Listen to the "Asperges me Domine" 

on YouTube on http://youtu.be/53QT2gsuwBc

In the Roman Catholic Church, this Psalm may be assigned by a Priest to a Penitent as a Penance after Confession. Verse 7 of the Psalm is traditionally sung as the Priest sprinkles Holy Water over the Congregation before Mass, in a Rite known as "The Asperges me", the first two words of the verse in Latin. It also is prayed during Lauds (Morning Prayer) every Friday in the Liturgy of the Hours.

Psalm 50 was recited by Lady Jane Grey before her beheading at the Tower of London in 1554.

A section of Verse 17 is often used as the Invitatory Antiphon at the Liturgy of the Hours.

Psalm 50 is associated with Ash Wednesday as a Scripture Reading in both the Revised Common Lectionary and the Roman Catholic Lectionary.

In Orthodox Christianity, Psalm 50 (as numbered in the Septuagint) is used in the Holy Services. It starts, "Gr: (Ἐλεήμων) Ἐλέησόν με, ὁ Θεός", and is specifically recited by the Priest during the Divine Liturgy, when he Censes the Holy Altar and the Iconostasis before the Great Entrance.

Musical Settings.

The "Miserere" was a frequently-used text in Catholic Liturgical Music before Vatican II. Most of the settings, which are often used at Tenebrae, are in a simple falsobordone style. During the Renaissance, many composers wrote settings.

The earliest known polyphonic setting, probably dating from the 1480s, is by Johannes Martini, a composer working in the Este court in Ferrara. The extended polyphonic setting by Josquin des Prez, probably written in 1503/1504 in Ferrara, was likely inspired by the prison meditation, Infelix ego, by Girolamo Savonarola, who had been burned at the stake just five years before.

English: Portrait of Carlo Gesualdo.

Русский: Карло Джезуальдо (прижизненный портрет).

Gesualdo wrote a Setting of the Miserere (Psalm 50).

Date: 16th-Century.

Source: Public Domain.

Author: Anonymous.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Later, in the 16th-Century, Orlande de Lassus wrote an elaborate setting as part of his Penitential Psalms, and Palestrina, Andrea Gabrieli, Giovanni Gabrieli, and Carlo Gesualdo also wrote settings. Antonio Vivaldi may have written a setting or settings, but such composition(s) have been lost, with only two introductory motets remaining. Settings were also written by Johann Sebastian Bach, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi and Saverio Selecchy.

One of the best-known settings of the Miserere is the 17th-Century version by Roman School composer,  Gregorio Allegri. According to a famous story, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, aged only fourteen, heard the piece performed once, on 11 April, 1770, and, after going back to his lodging for the night, was able to write out the entire score from memory. He went back a day or two later with his draft to correct some errors.  That the final Chorus comprises a ten-part Harmony, underscores the prodigiousness of the young Mozart's musical genius. The piece is also noteworthy in having numerous High Cs in the Treble solos.

Modern composers, who have written notable settings of the Miserere, include Michael Nyman, Arvo Pärt, and James MacMillan. The album "Salvation" (2003), by the group Funeral Mist, included the song "In Manus Tuas", which used verses 3–16 in Latin from Psalm 51. Also, the Antestor song, "Mercy Lord", from the album Martyrium (1994), also cites Psalm 51. The song "White As Snow", by Jon Foreman, from his Winter EP, includes lines from Psalm 51. In the Philippines, the Bukas Palad Music Ministry include their own version of "Miserere" in their album "Christify" (2010).

Egyptian parallels.

Parallels between the Ancient Egyptian ritual text, Opening of the mouth ceremony, and Psalm 50, are pointed out in "Psalm 50 and the 'Opening of the Mouth' Ceremony," by Benjamin Urrutia, Scripta Hierosolymitana: Publications of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, volume 28, pages 222-223 (1982).

The parallels include:
Mention of ritual washing with special herbs (Psalm 51:2,7).
Restoration of broken bones (verse 8).
"O Lord, open Thou my lips" (verse 15).
Sacrifices (verses 16,17, 19).

Heroic Korean War Priest. Medal of Honor.

This Article can be found on the CNA Catholic News Agency at http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/heroic-korean-war-priest-remembered-by-prison-mate/

Fr. Emil J. Kapaun, R.I.P.

U.S. Army Chaplain.

Heroic Korean War priest remembered by prison-mate

WASHINGTON D.C., April 9 (CNA/EWTN News) .- A fellow prisoner of war has fondly recalled the heroism of Father Emil Kapaun, a U.S. Army chaplain who died in a North Korean camp and is posthumously receiving the Medal of Honor April 11.

Eighty-five year-old veteran Mike Dowe still remembers the day in 1950 when he marched nearly 90 miles to the prison camp in Pyoktong after being captured at the battle of Unsan.

“There was this one character who kept going around encouraging people to carry the wounded, and helped in every way he could,” Dowe told CNA.

“Finally they marched us into a valley, and as we started out I was on the front end of a stretcher...and I said 'I'm Mike Dowe, who's that on the back?'”

“He says 'Fr. Kapaun,' and I said 'Fr. Kapaun, I've heard about you,' and he said 'Well don't tell my bishop.' That's how I met him.”

Fr. Kapaun was born in Pilsen, Kansas, to a farming family, and was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Wichita in June, 1940. He became an Army chaplain in 1944, and served through 1946, and then re-joined in 1948. He was sent to Korea in July 1950, where was noted for his service to his compatriots.

The priest was captured by the Chinese in November at Unsan because he was in the habit of going back for the wounded.

“He would run across the fields rescuing the wounded...including sometimes 50-100 yards outside the American lines to drag some kid back,” Roy Wenzl, co-author of “The Miracle of Father Kapaun,” told CNA on April 8.

“At Unsan, he stayed back with the wounded and allowed himself to be captured so he could protect them.”

“He didn't go around witnessing verbally about Catholicism and Christianity much...instead, he'd be on a march with the unit and he'd see guys digging a latrine, and he'd go out and dig with them.”

“It's not like he avoided Christianity; I think he was the finest witness to Christianity I've ever heard of,” Wenzl said, “but what he did, is he first established a relationship with these guys, who were busy doing really dirty work, of helping them, finding ways to help them.”

Wenzl noted that Fr. Kapaun would stay up at nights writing letters to the families of deceased soldiers and writing home on behalf of wounded soldiers.

“He put on a virtual clinic about how to be a leader, and how to be an effective witness for Christianity...there's a shortage of Catholics who behaved like him,” Wenzl observed.

For Wenzl, Fr. Kapaun's witness is a “phenomenal” demonstrating that there are “real Christians” in the world. “If there were more of him, there'd probably be a lot more people in church on Sundays, because that's the way to do it.”

The author said that Fr. Kapaun “treated everybody just the same way he treated the Catholics, and he treated Catholics like loved ones.”

Fr. Kapaun's upbringing on a farm contributed to his ability to help his fellow prisoners at the prison camp at Pyoktong, on the Chinese border. In addition to his spirituality, Fr. Kapaun was the “most practical and resourceful problem-solver,” Wenzl said. These were skills he had learned growing up on a Kansas farm, where he was forced to find creative solutions to challenges presented to him.

Dowe said that the death rate of prisoners in nearby valleys was some ten times that in the valley where he and Fr. Kapaun were held, and so one “can see the kind of effect he had on people.”

“He taught them to maintain their will to live, by teaching them to hold to their beliefs, honor, integrity, and keeping with their conscience, their loyalty to their country and their God.”

A “good majority” of the men who survived Pyoktong “owe their life to Fr. Kapaun,” said Dowe.

The priest was known for celebrating the sacraments for his fellow prisoners – baptizing, hearing confessions, giving extreme unction, and saying Mass.

Fr. Kapaun was also always volunteering to do the most menial and laborious tasks at the camp, said Dowe. Each day he would help to take the frozen corpses of those who had died the preceding night to an island in the Yalu River for burial.

That winter was one of the most brutal in Korean history.

“He would always volunteer for this most heinous detail,” Dowe related. Fr. Kapaun would then bring back some of the dead's clothes, wash them, and distribute them to the people who needed them.

Fr. Kapaun already has been awarded several military honors, but Thursday's presentation of the Medal of Honor to his relatives is the highest military honor in the U.S., and is awarded for bravery.

His cause for canonization is open, and already several cures may have been due to his intercession. When asked if he believes if Fr. Kapaun is in heaven, Dowe responded, “I sure do.”

Fr. Kapaun died May 23, 1951, and was buried in a mass grave on the Yalu river.

“When he was being carried away, they took him to a place, a death house...and left him where they left people to die,” Dowe remembered.

“As he was leaving, I was in tears, and he said to me, 'Mike, don't be sad, I'm going where I always wanted to go, and when I get there I'll be saying a prayer for all of you guys.'”

Pilgrimage in Honour of Saint Margaret Clitherow (The Pearl of York). 1330 hrs, Saint Wilfrid's Church, York. Saturday, 4 May 2013.

Saint Margaret Clitherow.

"The Pearl of York".

One of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales.

Date: 18 May 2008 (original upload date).

Source: Transferred from en.wikipedia; 

transferred to Commons by User:Mircalla22 using CommonsHelper.

Author: Original uploader was Yorkshirian at en.wikipedia.

Permission: This image is in the public domain; PD-US; PD-ART.

(Wikimedia Commons)

There will be a National Pilgrimage in honour of Saint Margaret Clitherow on Saturday, 4 May 2013, in York, England, commencing at 1330 hrs in Saint Wilfrid's Church, York.

For more information, please contact: 

The Latin Mass Society, London (Tel: 020 7404 7284 ) www.lms.org.uk

or 

E-Mail info@lms.org.uk

The following Text is taken from the Blog "LET THE WELKIN RING" at http://letthewelkinring.blogspot.co.uk/2011/03/st-margaret-clitherow.html
which carried information on the March 2011 Pigrimage.

Pilgrims are expected to converge on York, on Saturday 4 May 2013, to pay their respects to Saint Margaret Clitherow, a former resident of York, who was crushed to death rather than deny her Catholic faith. The pilgrimage is being organised by the Latin Mass Society, an organisation dedicated to the promotion of the Mass in its more traditional Latin form.

There will be a Solemn High Mass at Saint Wilfrid's Church, York, at 1.30pm. This will be followed at 3pm by a procession which will pass through The Shambles, where Margaret Clitherow lived, over Ouse Bridge, where she was executed, and finish up at the Church of the English Martyrs in Dalton Terrace, York. Benediction will be given there at around 4pm, followed by Veneration of the Relic of Margaret Clitherow, which is normally kept at the Bar Convent.

Margaret Clitherow, who is often referred to as the "Pearl of York", converted to Catholicism at the age of 18. She would also have been familiar with the Latin Mass, in its traditional form, as she harboured Priests at her home in The Shambles, where Mass was regularly said in that form. Indeed, it was for harbouring Priests that she was arrested and put to death in 1586 by crushing under a great weight of stones.

The Mass, on 4 May 2013, will have Liturgical Music provided by the Rudgate Singers www.rudgatesingers.co.uk

The Mass will be open to all, regardless of religious denomination, and no tickets are required. Similarly, it is hoped that the public will join in the Procession and attend Benediction at English Martyrs’ Church at 4p.m.

NOTES FOR EDITORS.

Information about the Latin Mass Society can be found at www.lms.org.uk
It is a Catholic organisation dedicated to the promotion of the Latin Mass in the form used universally by the Church prior to 1970. It is active throughout England and Wales.

Information about Saint Margaret Clitherow can be found on the internet on a Wikipedia site.

Mulier Fortis Has Won An Award. Congratulations.

WELL DONE, MAC !!!

Zephyrinus is delighted to see that MAC has won an Award for her Blog "MULIER FORTIS".

Read all about it at http://mulier-fortis.blogspot.co.uk/

A Bit of Comfort in Passiontide. Hymn to Our Lady.

Our Lady of Carmel

Matthaeus has an excellent Post, reference Our Blessed Lady, 

on his Blog "SUB UMBRA ALARUM SUARUM"

at http://sub-umbra-alarum-suarum.blogspot.co.uk/

It's entitled

"A bit of comfort in Passiontide - Hymn to Our Lady"

May I suggest you pop over and pay a visit ?

Leo the Great.

This Article can be found on the Blog ENLARGING THE HEART
at http://enlargingtheheart.wordpress.com/

Leo the Great: O Wondrous Power of the Cross! O Ineffable Glory of the Passion !

Let our understandings, illumined by the Spirit of Truth, foster with pure and free heart the glory of the Cross which irradiates heaven and earth.

Let us see with the inner sight what the Lord meant when He spoke of His coming Passion: “The hour is come that the Son of man may be glorified.”

He says, “Now is My spirit troubled. And what shall I say? Father, save Me from this hour, but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify Your Son.”

And when the Father’s voice came from heaven, saying, “I have both glorified it and will glorify it again,” Jesus in reply said to those that stood by:

“This voice came not for Me but for you. Now is the world’s judgment, now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all things unto Me.”

O wondrous power of the Cross! O ineffable glory of the Passion, in which is contained the Lord’s tribunal, the world’s judgment, and the power of the Crucified!

For You draw all things unto Yourself, Lord. And, when You had stretched out Your hands all the day long to an unbelieving people that gainsaid You, the whole world at last was brought to confess Your majesty.

You drew all things unto Yourself, Lord…, when the lights of heaven were darkened, and the day turned into night, and the earth also was shaken with unwonted shocks….

You didst draw all things unto Yourself, Lord, for the veil of the temple was rent, and the Holy of Holies existed no more…, so that type was turned into Truth, prophecy into Revelation, law into Gospel.

You drew all things unto Yourself, Lord, so that what before was done in the one temple of the Jews in dark signs, was now to be celebrated everywhere by the piety of all the nations in full and open rite.

For now there is a nobler rank of Levites, there are elders of greater dignity and priests of holier anointing, because Your Cross is the fount of all blessings, the source of all graces, and through it the believers receive strength for weakness, glory for shame, life for death.

Now, too, the variety of fleshly sacrifices has ceased, and the one offering of Your Body and Blood fulfils all those different victims.

For You are the true “Lamb of God, that takes away the sins of the world,” and in Yourself You so accomplish all mysteries, that as there is but one sacrifice instead of many victims, so there is but one kingdom instead of many nations.

Leo the Great (circa 400 A.D. - 461 A.D.): Sermon 59, 6-7.

Argentina. Hand of God. Maradona. Now becomes, Argentina. Hand of God. Madonna.

One of the Readers of this Blog, John Simlett ("Gatepost Pictures)" at http://gatepostpicture.blogspot.co.uk/,

has quoted the Election of Pope Francis in the following, wonderful, terms:

"Argentina. Hand of God. Maradona. Now becomes, Argentina. Hand of God. Madonna."

Thank you, John.

God Bless Our Pope.

Viva il Papa.

Deutsch: Emblem des Pontifikats.

English: Emblem of the Papacy: Triple Tiara and Keys.

Français : emblème pontifical.

Italiano: emblema del Papato.

Português: Emblema papal.

Date: January 2007.

Source: various elements taken from

File:Holysee-arms.svg

Image:Emblem of the Papacy.svg

Image:Escudo Benatae.svg

Author: Cronholm144 created this image using a file by User:Hautala - File:Emblem of Vatican City State.svg, who had created his file using PD art from Open Clip Art Library and uploaded on 13 July 2006. User talk:F l a n k e r uploaded this version on 19 January 2007.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Cardinal Jorge M. Bergoglio SJ, (later to become Pope Francis) celebrating Mass at the XX Exposición del Libro Católico (20th Catholic Book Fair), in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Photo: 2008-09-14.

Source: Own work.

Author: Aibdescalzo.

(Wikimedia Commons)

God Bless Our Pope.
Viva il Papa.

HABEMUS PAPAM.

HABEMUS PAPAM.

HABEMUS PAPAM.

HABEMUS PAPAM.

Watch and Pray. Without Ceasing.

During this Conclave (now underway),

let us take heed of this exhortation and

PRAY WITHOUT CEASING

for our Cardinals to Elect 

a Good, Holy and Strong Pope.

Taken from the Blog, "HOLY CARD HEAVEN" at http://holycardheaven.blogspot.co.uk/

The Reefs Avoided.

My child, 

watch with me . . . 

One must Watch and Pray without ceasing.

Saint Frances of Rome. Widow. Feast Day 9 March.

Text is taken from The Liturgical Year by Abbot Gueranger. O.S.B.
Translated from the French by Dom Laurence Shepherd, O.S.B.

Originally published in 1949.
Republished by St. Bonaventure Publications, July 2000.
Internet site: www.libers.com

St Frances of Rome, wife, mother, mystic, foundress.  

She founded the Olivetan Oblates of Mary, based at Tor de Specchi in Rome.

Ilustration and Caption taken from the Blog, EX UMBRIS ET IMAGINIBUS,

at http://fatherdirector.blogspot.co.uk

The period intervening between The Purification of Our Blessed Lady and Ash Wednesday (when it occurs at its latest date), gives us thirty-six days, and these offer us Feasts of every Order of Saint:

The Apostles have given us Saint Mathias, and Saint Peter's Chair at Antioch;

The Martyrs have sent us, from their countless Choir, Simeon, Lucius, Blase, Valentine, Faustinus and Jovita, Perpetua and Felicitas, and the Forty Soldiers of Sebaste, whose feast is kept on 10 March;

The Holy Pontiffs have been represented by Titus, Andrew Corsini, and also by Cyril of Alexandria and Peter Damian, who, like Thomas of Aquin, are Doctors of the Church;

The Confessors have produced Romuald of Camaldoli, John of Matha, John of God, the Seven Founders of the Servites, and the angelic Prince Casimir;

Saint Frances of Rome with her Guardian Angel, 

whom she could see as she did her rounds of Charity for the poor of the city.

Photo: November 2006.

User: Skier Dude.

Artist: Unknown.

(Wikipedia)

The Virgins have gladdened us with the presence of Agatha, Dorothy, Apollonia, and Scholastica, three wreathed with the red roses of Martyrdom, and the fourth with the fair lilies of the enclosed garden [Cant. iv. 12.] of her Spouse;

And, lastly, we have had a penitent Saint, Margaret of Cortona.

The State of Christian Marriage is the only one that has not yet deputed a Saint during this Season, which is less rich in Feasts than most of the year. The deficiency is supplied on 9 March by the admirable Frances of Rome (born in 1384).

Having, for forty years, led a most Saintly life in the Married State, upon which she entered when but twelve years of age, Frances retired from the world, where she had endured every sort of tribulation. But she had given her heart to her God long before she withdrew to the Cloister.

Saint Frances of Rome, Obl.S.B.

Patroness of Benedictine Oblates.

Part of a series: The Life of St. Frances of Rome.

Tor de' Specchi Monastery, Rome, Italy.

by Antoniazzo Romano (1468).

Originally uploaded on sv: Wikipedia 26 december 2005 kl.07.13 by sv:User: Torvindus

Fresco by Antoniazzo Romano from 1468.

fresk från 1468.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Her whole life had been spent in the exercise of the highest Christian perfection, and she had ever received from Our Lord the sublimest spiritual favours. Her amiable disposition had won for her the love and admiration of her husband and children. The rich venerated her as their model. The poor respected her as their devoted benefactress and mother.

God recompensed her angelic virtues by these two special graces: The almost uninterrupted sight of her Guardian Angel, and the most sublime revelations.

But there is one trait of her life, which is particularly striking, and reminds us forcibly of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, and of Saint Jane Frances Chantal: Her austere practices of Penance. Such an innocent life, and yet such a mortified life, is full of instruction for us.

How can we think of murmuring against the obligation of mortification, when we find a Saint like this practising it during her whole life ? True, we are not bound to imitate her in the manner of her Penance; but Penance we must do, if we would confidently approach that God, Who readily pardons the sinner when he repents, but Whose justice requires atonement and satisfaction.

Didn't Hitler have a similar Agenda ?

TO SUPPORT AND HELP the Downs Syndrome Association, 

go to their Web-Site at 

http://www.downs-syndrome.org.uk/information/for-people-with-downs-syndrome.html

THIS ARTICLE can be found on the Blog, "In Caelo et in Terra"

at http://incaelo.wordpress.com/

Standing up for life

March 7, 2013 in reflections | Tags: abortion, pro-life, ziekenhuis gelderse vallei | Leave a comment

Kudos and admiration for 300 employees of the hospital Gelderse Vallei in Ede, the Netherlands. They are standing up for the right of life for unborn children with Down syndrome, after the hospital management decided to allow these children to be killed if the parents don’t want them.

The hospital claims to be based on Christian values, but decided in favour of aborting children with Down syndrome anyway. Because these children are obviously unfit to live, of course… I find it almost unimaginable how hospitals and other institutions call themselves Christian almost always fails to act in accordance with that moniker. Who are they fooling? In the first place themselves, of course.

I hope the employees, the ones who will be tasked with the actual killing, and who are now standing up against this will be an example for many, and that they will succeed.

The town of Ede is part of the Dutch “Bible belt“, characterised by orthodox Protestant communities. Local churches and civilians have joined the protest.

Booklet for Vespers and Benediction at Saint Peter's, Rome, today.

English: St. Peter's Basilica, believed to be the burial site of St. Peter, seen from the River Tiber. The iconic dome dominates the skyline of Rome. Christianity became the dominant religion of Western Civilization when the Roman Empire converted to Christianity. 

Magyar: Vatikánváros látképe.

Italiano: Veduta del Vaticano dal Tevere.

한국어: 테베레 강 방향의 성 베드로 대성전. 로마의 지평선을 압도하는 전통적인 돔 양식이다.

Kiswahili: Vatikani ikitazamwa kutoka mto Tiber.

中文: 从台伯河遥望梵蒂冈.

Photo: January 2005.

Source: Flickr

Author: Sébastien Bertrand from Paris, France.

Reviewer: Andre Engels

(Wikimedia Commons)

VESPERS and BENEDICTION from Saint Peter's, Rome

CLICK HERE to view the Booklet for VESPERS and BENEDICTION

at Saint Peter's, Rome, today.

It is also available from the VATICAN WEBSITE 

at http://www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/libretti/2013/20130306.pdf

Vatican Diary. The "Who's Who" of the new Pope's Electors.

The above Illustration is taken from the Blog, MULIER FORTIS,

at http://mulier-fortis.blogspot.co.uk/

The following Article is taken from 

WWW.CHIESA.ESPRESSONLINE.IT

at 

http://chiesa.espresso.repubblica.it/articolo/1350451?eng=y#.UTYXbgrw-2w.blogger

and is reproduced with permission.

Vatican Diary / The "who's who" of the new pope's electors

Name by name, nation by nation, role by role, all of the cardinals who will enter into conclave. An indispensable guide for the event

by ***

VATICAN CITY, March 5, 2013 – Subtracting the two who have declined to take part in the conclave, the Scottish Keith Michael Patrick O'Brian and the Indonesian Jesuit Julius Darmaatmadja, the cardinals who will enter the Sistine Chapel to elect the successor of Benedict XVI at the moment number 115.

Below they are listed by continent and by nation, with the place of activity of each one, the abbreviation of any religious order of membership, the date of birth and the indication of the pope who conferred the scarlet on them, John Paul II (JP-II) or Benedict XVI (B-XVI).

Followed by further documentation of their roles and backgrounds.

*

EUROPE - 60 cardinals (37 B-XVI and 23 JP-II)

Italy - 28 (20 B-XVI and 8 JP-II)

AMATO Angelo S.D.B, curia, 1938 (B-XVI)
ANTONELLI Ennio, ex curia, 1936 (JP-II)
BAGNASCO Angelo, abp. Genova, 1943 (B-XVI)
BERTELLO Giuseppe, curia, 1942 (B-XVI)
BERTONE Tarcisio S.D.B, curia, 1934 (JP-II)
BETORI Giuseppe, abp. Firenze, 1947 (B-XVI)
CAFFARRA Carlo, abp. Bologna, 1938 (B-XVI)
CALCAGNO Domenico, curia, 1943 (B-XVI)
COCCOPALMERIO Francesco, curia, 1938 (B-XVI)
COMASTRI Angelo, curia, 1943 (B-XVI)
DE PAOLIS Velasio C.S., ex curia, 1935 (B-XVI)
FARINA Raffaele S.D.B, ex curia, 1933 (B-XVI)
FILONI Fernando, curia, 1946 (B-XVI)
LAJOLO Giovanni, ex curia, 1935 (B-XVI)
MONTERISI Francesco, ex curia, 1934 (B-XVI)
NICORA Attilio, curia, 1937 (JP-II)
PIACENZA Mauro, curia, 1944 (B-XVI)
POLETTO Severino, abp. em. Torino, 1933 (JP-II)
RAVASI Gianfranco, curia, 1942 (B-XVI)
RE Giovanni Battista, ex curia, 1934 (JP-II)
ROMEO Paolo, abp. Palermo, 1938 (B-XVI)
SARDI Paolo, ex curia, 1934 (B-XVI)
SCOLA Angelo, abp. Milano, 1941 (JP-II)
SEPE Crescenzio, abp. Napoli, 1943 (JP-II)
TETTAMANZI Dionigi, abp. em. Milano, 1934 (JP-II)
VALLINI Agostino, Rome vicar general, 1940 (B-XVI)
VEGLIO’ Antonio M., curia, 1938 (B-XVI)
VERSALDI Giuseppe, curia, 1943 (B-XVI)

Germany – 6 (3 B-XVI and 3 JP-II)

CORDES Paul Josef, ex curia, 1934 (B-XVI)
KASPER Walter, ex curia, 1933 (JP-II)
LEHMANN Karl, bishop Mainz, 1936 (JP-II)
MARX Reinhard, abp. Munich, 1953 (B-XVI)
MEISNER Joachim, abp. Cologne, 1933 (JP-II)
WOELKI Rainer M., abp. Berlin, 1956 (B-XVI)

Spain – 5 (3 B-XVI and 2 JP-II)

ABRIL Y CASTELLÓ Santos, curia, 1935 (B-XVI)
AMIGO VALLEJO Carlos O.F.M., abp. em. Seville, 1934 (JP-II)
CAÑIZARES LLOVERA Antonio, curia, 1945 (B-XVI)
MARTÍNEZ SISTACH Lluís, abp. Barcelona,1937 (B-XVI)
ROUCO VARELA Antonio María, abp. Madrid, 1936 (JP-II)

France – 4 (2 B-XVI and 2 JP-II)

BARBARIN Philippe, abp. Lyon, 1950 (JP-II)
RICARD Jean-Pierre, abp. Bordeaux, 1944 (B-XVI)
TAURAN Jean-Louis, curia, 1943 (JP-II)
VINGT-TROIS André, abp. Paris, 1942 (B-XVI)

Poland – 4 (3 B-XVI and 1 JP-II)

DZIWISZ Stanislaw, abp. Krakow, 1939 (B-XVI)
GROCHOLEWSKI Zenon, curia, 1939 (JP-II)
NYCZ Kazimierz, abp. Warsaw, 1950 (B-XVI)
RYLKO Stanislaw, curia, 1945 (B-XVI)

Portugal – 2 (1 B-XVI and 1 JP-II)

MONTEIRO DE CASTRO Manuel, curia, 1938 (B-XVI)
POLICARPO José da Cruz, patriarch Lisbon, 1936 (JP-II)

Others – 11 (5 B-XVI and 6 JP-II)

BACKIS Audrys Juozas, abp. Vilnius, Lithuania, 1937 (JP-II)
BOZANIC Josip, abp. Zagabria, Croatia, 1949 (JP-II)
BRADY Sean Baptist, abp, Armagh, Ireland, 1939 (B-XVI)
DANNEELS Godfried, abp. em. Brussels, Belgium, 1933 (JP-II)
DUKA Dominik op, abp. Prague, Czech Republic, 1943 (B-XVI)
EIJK Willem Jacobus, abp. Utrecht, Holland, 1953 (B-XVI)
ERD? Peter, abp. Esztergom, Hungary, 1952 (JP-II)
KOCH Kurt, curia, Switzerland, 1950 (B-XVI)
PULJIC Vinko, abp. Vrhbosna-Sarajevo, Bosnia, 1945 (JP-II)
RODÉ Franc cm, ex curia, Slovenia, 1934 (B-XVI)
SCHÖNBORN Christoph O.P., abp. Vienna, Austria, 1945 (JP-II)


AMERICAS – 33 (17 B-XVI and 16 JP-II)

LATIN AMERICA – 19 (8 B-XVI and 11 JP-II)

Brazil – 5 (3B-XVI and 2 JP-II)

AGNELO Geraldo Majella, abp. em. São Salvador da Bahia, 1933 (JP-II)
BRAZ DE AVIZ Joao, curia, 1947 (B-XVI)
DAMASCENO ASSIS Raymundo, abp. Aparecida, 1937 (B-XVI)
HUMMES Cláudio O.F.M., ex curia, 1934 (JP-II)
SCHERER Odilo Pablo, abp. São Paulo, 1949 (B-XVI)

Mexico – 3 (1 B-XVI and 2 JP-II)

RIVERA CARRERA Norberto, abp. Mexico, 1942 (JP-II)
SANDOVAL IÑIGUEZ Juan, abp. em. Guadalajara, 1933 (JP-II)
ROBLES ORTEGA Francisco, abp Guadalajara, 1949 (B-XVI)

Argentina – 2 (1 B-XVI and 1 JP-II)

BERGOGLIO Jorge Mario S.J., abp. Buenos Aires, 1936 (JP-II)
SANDRI Leonardo, curia, 1943 (B-XVI)

Others – 9 (3 B-XVI and 6 JP-II)

CIPRIANI THORNE Juan Luis, Opus Dei, abp. Lima, Perù, 1943 (JP-II)
ERRAZURIZ OSSA Francisco J., Schönstatt, abp. em. Santiago, Chile, 1933 (JP-II)
LOPEZ-RODRIGUEZ Nicolas de Jesus, abp. Santo Domingo, 1936 (JP-II)
ORTEGA Y ALAMINO Jaime Lucas, abp. Havana, Cuba, 1936 (JP-II)
RODRIGUEZ MARADIAGA Oscar A. S.D.B, abp. Tegucigalpa, Honduras, 1942 (JP-II)
SALAZAR GOMEZ Ruben, abp. Bogotà, Colombia, 1942 (B-XVI)
TERRAZAS SANDOVAL Julio C.Ss.R., abp. Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, 1936 (JP-II)
UROSA SAVINO Jorge Liberato, abp. Caracas, Venezuela, 1942 (B-XVI)
VELA CHIRIBOGA Raul Eduardo, abp. em. Quito, Ecuador, 1934 (B-XVI)

NORTH AMERICA – 14 (9 B-XVI and 5 JP-II)

United States – 11 (8 B-XVI and 3 JP-II)

BURKE Raymond Leo, curia, 1948 (B-XVI)
DINARDO Daniel Nicholas, abp. Galveston-Houston, 1949 (B-XVI)
DOLAN Timothy Michael, abp. New York, 1950 (B-XVI)
GEORGE Eugene Francis O.M.I., abp. Chicago, 1937 (JP-II)
HARVEY James Michael, curia, 1949 (B-XVI)
LEVADA William Joseph, ex curia, 1936 (B-XVI)
MAHONY Roger Michael, abp. em. Los Angeles, 1936 (JP-II)
O’BRIEN Edwin Frederick, curia, 1939 (B-XVI)
O'MALLEY Sean Patrick O.F.M. Cap., abp. Boston, 1944 (B-XVI)
RIGALI Justin Francis, abp. em. Philadelphia, 1935 (JP-II)
WUERL Donald William, abp. Washington DC, 1940 (B-XVI)

Canada – 3 (1 B-XVI and 2 JP-II)

COLLINS Thomas Christopher, abp. Toronto, 1947 (B-XVI)
OUELLET Marc P.S.S., curia, 1944 (JP-II)
TURCOTTE Jean-Claude, abp. em. Montreal, 1936 (JP-II)


AFRICA – 11 (6 B-XVI and 5 JP-II)

Nigeria – 2 (1 B-XVI and 1 JP-II)

OKOGIE Anthony Olubunmi, abp. Lagos, 1936 (JP-II)
ONAIYEKAN John Olorunfemi, abp. Abuja, 1944 (B-XVI)

Others – 9 (5 B-XVI and 4 JP-II)

MONSENGWO PASINYA Laurent, abp. Kinshasa, RD Congo, 1939 (B-XVI)
NAGUIB Antonios, patriarch em. Alexandria of the Copts, Egypt, 1935 (B-XVI)
NAPIER Wilfrid Fox O.F.M., abp. Durban, South Africa, 1941 (JP-II)
NJUE John, abp. Nairobi, Kenya, 1944 (B-XVI)
PENGO Polycarp, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, 1944 (JP-II)
SARAH Robert, curia, Guinea, 1945 (B-XVI)
SARR Theodore-Adrien, abp. Dakar, Senegal, 1936 (B-XVI)
TURKSON Peter Kodwo Appiah, abp. Cape Coast, Ghana, 1948 (JP-II)
ZUBEIR WAKO Gabriel, abp. Khartoum, Sudan, 1941 (JP-II)


ASIA – 10 (7 B-XVI and 3 JP-II)

India – 5 (3 B-XVI and 2 (JP-II)

ALENCHERRY George, maj. abp. Ernakulam of the Malankars, 1945 (B-XVI)
DIAS Ivan, ex curia, 1936 (JP-II)
GRACIAS Oswald, abp. Bombay, 1944 (B-XVI)
THOTTUNKAL Baselios Cleemis, maj. abp. Trivandrum of the Malankars, 1959 (B-XVI)
TOPPO Telesphore Placidus, abp. Ranchi, 1939 (JP-II)

Others – 5 (4 B-XVI and 1 JP-II)

PATABENDIGE DON A. M. Ranjith, abp. Colombo, Sri Lanka, 1947 (B-XVI)
PHAM MINH MAN Jean-Baptiste, abp. Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, 1934 (JP-II)
RAI Bechara Boutros, patriarch Antioch of the Maronites, Lebanon, 1940 (B-XVI)
TAGLE Luis Antonio, abp. Manila, Philippines, 1957 (B-XVI)
TONG HON John, bishop Hong Kong, China, 1939 (B-XVI)


OCEANIA - 1 (JP-II)

PELL George, abp. Sydney, Australia, 1941 (JP-II)


*


Able to participate not at the conclave but at the general congregations that precede it are the cardinals over the age of eighty. At the beginning of the sede vacante there were 90 of them, 52 of them European (21 Italians), 11 Latin Americans (4 Brazilians), 8 North Americans (all from the United States), 9 Asians, 7 Africans, and 3 from Oceania.

A curiosity: also entering the conclave will be German cardinal Kasper, who turned eighty on March 4. Under the regulations previous to those issued by John Paul II in 1996, he would not have been admitted.

*

There are 19 cardinals belonging to religious orders who will participate in the conclave (15 are over the age of eighty).

The most numerous are the Salesians, with 4 cardinals: Amato, Bertone, Farina, Rodriguez Maradiaga. The Franciscan friars minor follow with 3: Amigo Vallejo, Hummes, Napier. The Dominicans have 2: Schonborn and Duka. With only one cardinal are the Jesuits (Bergoglio), the Vincentians (Rodé), the Redemptorists (Terrazas), the Capuchins (O'Malley), the Oblates (George), the Sulpicians (Ouellet), and the members of the Schönstatt Institute (Errazuriz Ossa).

The college of the pope's electors also includes a member of Opus Dei (Cipriani Thorne), an historic representative of Communion of Liberation (Scola), and at least a pair of friends of the Focolare movement (Antonelli and Braz de Aviz). Strongly sympathetic toward the Neocatecumenals are Filoni, Cordes, and Cañizares. Dias is close to the charismatic movement.

*

There are 40 cardinal electors who are working or have finished their ecclesiastical “cursus honorum” in the curia or in other Roman offices.

The Italians are 19, of whom 13 are active (Amato, Bertello, Bertone, Calcagno, Coccopalmerio, Comastri, Filoni, Nicora, Piacenza, Ravasi, Sardi, Vegliò, and Versaldi) and 6 in retirement (Antonelli, De Paolis, Farina, Lajolo, Monterisi, Re).

The cardinals from the United States are 4 (3 of them active - Burke, Harvey, and O’Brien - and the retired Levada). The Spanish are 2 (Cañizares, Abril y Castelló) and the same for the Polish (Grocholewski and Rylko), all of them active. There are also 2 Germans, but both of them in retirement: Cordes and Kasper.

From Latin America come the Argentine Sandri and the Brazilian Braz de Aviz (active) and the other Brazilian Hummus (retired).

From Europe come the French Tauran, the Portuguese Monteiro, and the Swiss Koch - all of them active - and the retired Rodé, Slovenian.

The African members of the curia, active, are the Ghanaian Turkson and the Guinean Sarah. Also an active member of the curia is the Canadian Ouellet, while the Indian Dias is retired.

Of these 40, half have pastoral experience as bishops: Antonelli, Bertone, Calcagno, Coccopalmerio, Comastri, Nicora, Versaldi, Kasper, Rodé, Canizares Llovera, Koch, Hummes, Braz de Aviz, Burke, Levada, O’Brien, Ouellet, Dias, Turkson, and Sarah.

While among the cardinals now at the head of a diocese who have previously had positions of responsibility in the Vatican are Sepe, Vallini, Dziwisz, Backis, Agnelo, Hummes, Errazuriz Ossa, Rigali, and Patabendige Don. Scherer, Wuerl and DiNardo have also long worked in the curia, but as officials.

*

Finally, here are the 16 cardinal electors who come from pontifical diplomacy. They are: Bertello, Filoni, Lajolo, Monterisi, Re, Romeo, Sepe, Vegliò, Tauran, Abril y Castelló, Monteiro de Castro, Backis, Sandri, Harvey, Rigali, Dias.

Cardinal Sardi moreover, although he did not attend the ecclesiastical pontifical academy, acquired the qualification of apostolic nuncio, with the connected benefits, when as the head of the office of pontifical “ghost writers” he was promoted to archbishop by John Paul II.

__________


English translation by Matthew Sherry, Ballwin, Missouri, U.S.A.

__________

Meetings between Cardinals begin. 103 of the 115 Cardinal Electors are already in Rome.

English: St. Peter's Basilica, believed to be the burial site of St. Peter, seen from the River Tiber. The iconic dome dominates the skyline of Rome. Christianity became the dominant religion of Western Civilization when the Roman Empire converted to Christianity. 

Magyar: Vatikánváros látképe.

Italiano: Veduta del Vaticano dal Tevere.

한국어: 테베레 강 방향의 성 베드로 대성전. 로마의 지평선을 압도하는 전통적인 돔 양식이다.

Kiswahili: Vatikani ikitazamwa kutoka mto Tiber.

中文: 从台伯河遥望梵蒂冈.

Photo: January 2005.

Source: Flickr

Author: Sébastien Bertrand from Paris, France.

Reviewer: Andre Engels

(Wikimedia Commons)

CLICK HERE to watch the Video from ROME REPORTS 

with news of the Cardinals meeting in Rome for the forthcoming Conclave.

Meetings between cardinals begin, 103 of the 115 electors already in Rome.

The Seven Pilgrim Churches Of Rome.

Italic Text, Illustrations and Captions, are taken from Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

Map of Giacomo Lauro and Antonio Tempesta showing the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome, which was used for the first time during the Jubilee in the year 1600. The plate was afterwards reissued as a guide for the pilgrims in 1609, 1621, 1630 and 1636.

Image: April 2011.

Source: [1]

Author: Giacomo Lauro (1561-1645/50).

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome are seven ancient and major Churches in Rome, central to a religious pilgrimage to the City. They are listed in the following order in the guide by Franzini (1595):

San Giovanni Laterano;

St Peter's;

San Paolo fuori le mura;

Santa Maria Maggiore;

San Lorenzo fuori le mura;

San Sebastiano;

Santa Croce in Gerusalemme.

Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome. 

One of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome.

Photo: 7 January 2006 (original upload date).

Source: Transferred from en.wikipedia

Author: Original uploader was JACurran at en.wikipedia

Permission: Released into the public domain (by the author).

(Wikimedia Commons)

Rome has, for centuries, been a beacon for travellers. As the home of the Pope and the Catholic Curia, as well as the locus of many sites and relics of worship related to Apostles, Saints, and Christian Martyrs, Rome had long been a destination for pilgrims. 

Periodically, some were propelled to travel to Rome for the spiritual benefits, including indulgences accrued through a Papally-sanctioned Jubilee. These indulgences required a visit to specific Churches..

The Churches include the four Patriarchal Basilicas:
Saint Peter's Basilica;
Basilica of Saint John Lateran;
Basilica of Saint Paul-outside-the-Walls;
Santa Maria Maggiore.

They also include three Minor Basilicas:
San Lorenzo fuori-le-mura;
Santa Croce in Gerusalemme;
Santuario della Madonna del Divino Amore.

The last of these was added by Pope John Paul II for the Great Jubilee of 2000, replacing San Sebastiano-fuori-le-mura. However, many pilgrims still prefer the pre-2000 Seven Basilicas and, so, also attend Saint Sebastian's, in addition to the ones required for the indulgence.

During Holy Years, indulgences are granted to those who visit certain Churches. In Rome, there are seven such Churches. This tradition is related to the work of Saint Philip Neri, who devoted much of his time to helping pilgrims and introduced a list of Seven Basilicas.

For The Election Of The Supreme Pontiff. Pro Eligendo Summo Pontifice.

This Illustration can be found on 

the Blog of The Transalpine Redemptorists

at http://papastronsay.blogspot.co.uk/

Our Lady of Ushaw. Pray for us.

Our Lady of Ushaw,

Durham, England.

Pray for us all during the forthcoming Conclave.

May the Church be given a strong Pope to guide us.

Photo: April 2011.

Source: Own work.

Author: Zephyrinus.

New Pope Is Here.

Many thanks to IN CAELO ET IN TERRA  for the above Illustration.

Spiritual Support. Adopt a Cardinal.

MULIER FORTIS has Posted an excellent Article on how we can support our Cardinals, 

currently in Rome preparing for the Conclave.

Why not pop over, click the LINK on ADOPT A CARDINAL, 

and help support the Cardinals with your Prayers ?

Oremus pro Pontifice nostro Benedicto decimo sexto.

This Illustration can be found on the Blog of The Transalpine Redemptorists 

at http://papastronsay.blogspot.co.uk

The Holy Season of Lent.

This Illustration can be found on the Blog of The Transalpine Redemptorists 

at http://papastronsay.blogspot.co.uk

The Coat-of-Arms of Pope Benedict XVI with Tiara. A Tribute.

This illustration can be found on http://www.turnbacktogod.com






The following Article can be found on the Blog, "Orbis Catholicus Secundus",

at http://orbiscatholicussecundus.blogspot.co.uk/

The Spirituality of Serving at the Altar.

Im Chor des Münsters zu Aachen. Signiert. 

Datiert 1890. Rückseite betitelt.

Date: 1890.

Source: Düsseldorfer Auktionshaus

Artist: Franz Stegmann (1831–1892).

(Wikimedia Commons)

This Article can be found on the Blog "In Caelo et in Terra", to be found at

http://incaelo.wordpress.com/

An interesting film which reveals the spirituality behind the duties of altar servers., which are not just some tasks which need doing. Like so many elements of our Catholic life, it is based in a well-developed spirituality, and in turn, feeds that spirituality on a very personal level.

This is one of the beautiful things about our faith: holiness is achievable by simply doing it. Physical actions, like the speaker in the film says, can help us achieve an inner disposition on the road to personal holiness.

We live in an age where people appreciate spirituality, the transcending elements that we can strive for. Often, this appreciation is manifested in the popularity of self-help books, paranormal events and elements of the eastern religions. Our own Catholic faith also has spirituality on offer, a spirituality which is mature, deep and continuously challenging, but which is attainable for all of us if we would just devote some time and effort to it.

HT to Fr. Dwight Longenecker.