The Anchoress
If you’re out of practice — not sure what to pray about during this Triduum — perhaps start with prayers for another. And let the Holy Spirit lead you from there. Read more
If you’re out of practice — not sure what to pray about during this Triduum — perhaps start with prayers for another. And let the Holy Spirit lead you from there. Read more
Patheos had the idea of asking its bloggers, from all channels, why they believe what they believe; why they are “Evangelical Christian” or “Mormon” or “Protestant” or so forth, in 200 words or less. The page is likely to be completed next week (so check back, because it will be fascinating) and I’m very happy that so many of us in the Catholic portal are posting on the question during Holy Week. You’ll find links to some of them at... Read more
Having just gone to confession after mass this morning, it was not my intention to get into a little tiff with a media outlet on Twitter, but being who I am, I couldn’t let it go when I saw one of those lazy, thoughtless sneers cross my timeline, to the effect that Pope Francis (good guy) was refusing to stay in (bad guy) “Pope Benedict’s luxurious apartments.” I needed to disabuse the writer of the notion that Pope Benedict owned... Read more
Earlier today I noted that we’d seen a remarkable lack of the usual media attempts to be provocative, and foment doubt, in Holy Week, and I’d credited that to the distraction Rome’s own drama these past two months: These are usually the weeks reserved for questions about whether or not Jesus existed at all; if he had a wife and so forth. This year, thanks to Benedict’s surprising resignation, the conclave and Pope Francis’ rock-star ascendancy, the press has had... Read more
“Each woman’s life, well lived, might be the best gospel anyone will ever read. But before the doing, before the carrying out of the mission, there is the being. The personhood of each woman, without her ever saying a word or doing a thing, is a sign of life. Womanhood. Life. Those terms are inseparable” — Pat Gohn Outside of my husband and sons and my heroic and saintly in-laws — and my dear Benedict, who still astounds me —... Read more
My piece over at First Things this week, recounts the unusual, and ultimately rather empty-feeling Palm Sunday liturgy I experienced last weekend: It struck me as odd that the same people who say they wish to “build up the community of the People of God,” and who often decry what they see as “limitations” to the role of the laity, completely omitted any interaction between themselves and the people in the pews. The Gospel reading for Palm Sunday is the... Read more
We are still getting to know Pope Francis, studying his actions and his words as we try to gauge the man and what sort of papacy we might expect of him, where his stylistic differences with his predecessors end and the substantial differences (or similarities) kick in. I expect a couple of heads will explode upon reading this in his remarks, today, to the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy See: After the example of Francis of Assisi, the Church... Read more
“Dear Lord, how come nobody ever gets offended by Anglican and Orthodox trappings?” Several days ago I read a Facebook post by a Deacon I respect (no, not Deacon Greg, although I of course, respect him!) and in his post this cleric rather disappointingly — and, to my thinking, unwisely — recounted a malicious little tale about our new pope, to the applause of others. He told the story approvingly, and was glad when it was greeted with applause among... Read more
Thank you for your prayers after yesterday’s pathetic post. I did go to see Saint Philip Neri and I believe he helped me; I am sure your prayers and good wishes also helped. I ended up having a lovely lunch with Kathryn Jean Lopez, followed with a bit of Sambucca, which I had never had before. I drank it thinking, “well, either I’m better or I’m not but I’m tired of not having fun.” Perhaps the Sambucca helped tame the... Read more
This has been an extremely difficult trip. The stomach bug I brought with me from NY keeps letting me know that it’s still around, and trying to bring me down. I thought I had beaten it and had spent Monday evening having a terrific supper with a few Rome-based friends and Hot Air’s Ed Morrissey (who is having a very happy, successful and productive trip, God Bless him!) but then yesterday, just moments after the splendid installation of Pope Francis... Read more
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