He “appeared wan and spoke very softly.” His homily was interrupted repeatedly by applause and he received a standing ovation. A banner was strung at the back of the room reading “Grazie Santita” (Thank you Your Holiness.) Today, Pope Benedict XVI celebrated his last public mass as pope. “As you know, I have decided to renounce the ministry that the Lord gave to me on April 19, 2005,” he said. “I did this in full liberty for the good of... Read more
And the Lord God formed man from the dust of the earth … Ashes to ashes, dust to dust … I am going to die. You are going to die. Public Catholic has enough regular readers that it is a statistical certainty that at least one of us, perhaps more, will die this year. Our souls, as the Scriptures say, will be required of us. We have unbelievers who post on this board who tell us that nothing awaits us... Read more
President Obama gave his annual State of the Union Address tonight. There were no surprises in the speech. Most of what the President said has been in the news for a long time now. In fact, several of his major proposals, such as gun control, have been the subject of presidential speeches or press conferences in the past few weeks. I agree with some of his ideas and disagree with others. Quite a bit of the speech was filler of... Read more
I have always loved snow. Snow in Oklahoma means an automatic unscheduled holiday. Employers close down their businesses, churches and schools cancel services. We stay home from work, go to the grocery store and stock up on food, put the movies on tv and kick back. Like I said, it’s a holiday. This happens mostly because we are so totally unprepared to deal with snow and ice. We don’t have the clothes for it, don’t know how to drive on... Read more
Pope Benedict’s resignation, effective February 28, is not precedent setting. It has been done before. However, the question remains: What does it mean for the Church as an institution? Now that a pope has resigned, the possibility of a papal resignation is much more present than it was before. By doing it, the Holy Father has made it possible for all of us to consider that his heirs on the throne of Peter might do it also. It is no longer... Read more
I haven’t had time to watch the news today, but I gather that some venues moved to negativity about the Church and the Holy Father almost as soon as the news of his resignation was delivered. I also heard some crude things about both Pope Benedict and the Catholic Church at work today. My feeling about all this is, Consider the source. I mean that literally. Think about the source, the basis for this nastiness. It comes from anger because... Read more
Quick takes from news reports on the Holy Father’s resignation: Pope Benedict XVI will revert to his old title of Cardinal Josef Ratzinger after his resignation. Cardinal Josef Ratzinger will be able to participate in the conclave to elect the new pope, but Vatican sources says he will not do so. The resignation announcement was a surprise, even to Vatican officials: “The pope took us by surprise,” said Father Lombardi, who explained that many cardinals were in Rome on Monday... Read more
The Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, announced that he will resign, effective February 28. A conclave to elect a new pope will convene in March. According to the Associated Press, this is the first papal resignation in 600 years. My prayers go with His Holiness as he moves into retirement. My mother is two years older than he is. I have often thought about the Holy Father as I have cared for her. To be honest, I did not see... Read more
I voted against a bill to allow clergy to carry firearms while conducting church services about 9 months ago. My reason? The bill gave me the creeps. I know that sounds like a poor way to make a decision about legislation, and I have to admit it wasn’t one of the most deeply-considered votes I’ve cast, but the bill took me by surprise. I was unaware of it until the Floor Leader introduced the author so he could bring it... Read more
Lent begins this Wednesday. It’s difficult in our over-scheduled world to reflect. On anything. It is doubly difficult to reflect on something as unpleasant as our own sins. However, unless the statistics and the evening news are entirely bogus, we have a lot to repent of this Lent, a lot to change. Most of us, me included, tend to focus on the entirely personal nature of our sins that pertains only to us. We don’t often consider how our personal... Read more
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