I have just finished reading Pope Emeritus Benedict’s remarks which were released today. I’ve never pretended to be a theologian and I’m the furthest thing from a canon lawyer, so I don’t have too many interesting things to say. You can read the full text here. The Pope Emeritus compiled some “notes” that he hopes will be helpful to those addressing the sex abuse crisis. He then gives a series of remarks on a cultural falling away from God and from... Read more
Unus ex discipulis meis tradet me hodie: Vae illi per quem tradar ego: Melius illi erat si natus non fuisset. Qui intingit mecum manum in paropside, hic me traditurus est in manus peccatorum. Melius illi erat si natus non fuisset. One of my disciples will betray me today. Woe to him by whom I am betrayed. It were better for him had he never been born. He that dips his hand with me in the dish, Is he who will... Read more
I grew up being told that the Population Bomb was a Liberal lie. I grew up in a good Catholic homeschooling family, and I was told in no uncertain terms that there was a different kind of population problem in the United States. I was told that families weren’t having babies anymore because they were selfish. They were aborting and contracepting away the next generation. Pretty soon the populations of the United States and Europe would implode and be... Read more
Judas mercator pessimus osculo petiit Dominum ille ut agnus innocens non negavit Iudae osculum. Denariorum numero Christum Iudaeis tradidit. Melius illi erat si natus non fuisset. Judas, the vile merchant, required a kiss from the Lord who, like an innocent lamb, did not deny the kiss to Judas. For a large amount of dinarii, he betrayed Christ to the Jews. It would have been better for him, had he not been born. Judas required a kiss from the Lord who, like... Read more
Hey all, this is just your periodic reminder that Steel Magnificat, and my family, are run almost entirely on tips. I am so often home-bound from my chronic illness that my husband is a full-time homemaker and takes care of our daughter; I support the family here at Patheos, writing three to seven literary art projects per week. I get a very small monthly check from Patheos based on clicks, and the rest of my family’s income is based on... Read more
The other day I was furious about the abuse survivor who was told not to show up at a “Healing our Church” meeting in the Diocese of Allentown. When I reached out to the diocese about this, they said it was because there were other programs for abuse survivors but this was for “the lay faithful of our parishes,” as if a victim can’t be a faithful lay person. My friends and I were disgusted at the idea that there had... Read more
Amicus meus osculi me tradidit signo: Quem osculatus fuero, ipse est, tenete eum: Hoc malum fecit signum, qui per osculum ad implevit homicidium. Infelix praetermisit pretium sanguinis, et in fine laquaeo se suspendit. Bonum erat illi, si natus non fuisset homo ille. Infelix praetermisit pretium sanguinis, et in fine laquaeo se suspendit. The sign by which my friend betrayed me was a kiss: “He whom I kiss, that is he: hold him fast.” He who committed murder by a... Read more
I want to open by mentioning that I asked one of my friends who was raped by a priest if she wanted to write this article for me as a guest post, and she asked me to write it instead. That’s why I’m presuming to talk about it. I’ve taken my own medicine. I’ve just been shown a sample chapter from a book called “Healing Our Church.” The author of this book doesn’t seem to be listed in the... Read more
There is incense in the mist. Resin fragrance stings, a seraphs’ fire cleansing throat and tongue for canticles but you are dumbstruck still. Golden needles mute your tread. Stand upon the roots and look if you can bear the sight. The pillar goes up up The boughs, a staircase to the firmament a spiral like the chambers in a shell. Steady now. Before you fall, Lean on the trunk. Now you are anointed with holy chrism and never shall the... Read more
I really needed a new coat. I’d had the same black one for about four years. I don’t like black; I love color and I’m fascinated with combining colors that match well and flatter people, and black doesn’t flatter me at all. But it was a good, warm, serviceable coat my grandmother gave me for a Christmas present, and I wore it until it literally fell apart. In mid-January, in Wal Mart, when we were finishing up our grocery shopping,... Read more
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