The Media and Benedict UPDATE AGAIN

An interesting take by Brisbane Archbishop Mark Coleridge

Benedict’s passing marks end of an era

At the end of a long life, Benedict XVI, like Elizabeth II, seemed almost the relic of a bygone age – a link with the Second World War, the embodiment of values and styles morphing or passing even in their lifetime, the end of an era, leaving us thinking that we shall never see their like again.

He was also a hugely authoritative figure in the Curia who could make even the grandest of the Curialists tremble, in part because they knew he was so trusted by the Pope. Yet at the same time, like Wojtyla himself, Ratzinger was a Curial outsider with no interest in the intrigues of the papal court. That too gave him a peculiar freedom.

Coincidence

Today is the feast day ( optional observance) of St. Thomas a' Beckett.  Many of us may have seen the 1964  movie "Beckett", starring Richard Burton as Thomas and Peter O'Toole as King Henry II. Long story short, Thomas ends up after a conversion of heart being a thorn in the side of the King. Henry famously said, "Will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest?" His barons took him at his word and proceeded to kill Thomas in Canterbury Cathedral.

The coincidence is that I read this article today on the America media site, ‘I saw Archbishop Romero on a stretcher’: Salvadoran cardinal looks back in new book | America Magazine. It describes a book by Father Ariel Beramendi, a Bolivian priest who works on Spanish-language communications at the Vatican, in which he interviews Salvadoran Cardinal Gregorio Rosa Chavez.

"In it, a broad, nonchronological landscape appears in the life of the Salvadoran cardinal, now 80 and recently retired after 40 years as the auxiliary bishop of San Salvador, and his brushes with the country’s martyrs: St. Oscar Romero, with whom he worked, as well as the recently beatified Jesuit Father Rutilio Grande."

Cardinal Rosa Chavez has this poignant, heartbreaking description of  being present on the evening of Archbishop Romero's assassination while he was celebrating Mass:  “I saw Archbishop Romero on a stretcher with his purple priestly vestments, lifeless, a serene face..."

Back out of the doghouse

A couple of months ago, I posted a longish, rather dull piece about the Chicago Archdiocese revising its criteria for publicly listing which clergy have been credibly accused of abuse.   I think we were all surprised  - at least, I was - when, a week or two later, Jack reported that the post had somehow run afoul of the blog gods' spam guidelines and had been unpublished.  We collectively scratched our heads for a day or two, and then, frankly, I forgot about it.

I was reminded of the incident this week when I read an interesting article about the so-called Twitter Files.  It seems the Elon Musk regime is now sharing with favored journalists some internal Twitter correspondence showing how the former Twitter powers-that-be decided which tweets should be labeled as misleading, and which tweeters, right up to the former president of the United States, should be banned from the platform.

The article I've linked to in the previous paragraph does some in-depth reporting on the limitations and flaws of Twitter's decision-making.  Besides being interesting in its own right, the piece reminded me of some of our speculation about how my sizzling (not!) post managed to be deemed unacceptable.  So  I revisited Jack's post and David's advice on the topic.  Yesterday, I tweaked the post's content a little bit: I corrected some grammatical errors that, frankly, I should have fixed earlier; I shortened a few sentences; and I removed part of a long quote I had pasted from the Chicago archdioecesan newspaper's news story on the abuser list .  Then I resubmitted the post.  

And behold (as the Gospel writers say): apparently the post passes muster this time, and it's back on the site again.  I was notified via email of the decision:  

Hello,

     We have re-evaluated the post titled "The Chicago Archdiocese now 

reporting sex abuse by multiple categories of clergy" against Community 

Guidelines https://blogger.com/go/contentpolicy. Upon review, the post has 

been reinstated. You may access the post at 

http://newgathering.blogspot.com/2022/10/the-chicago-archdiocese-now-reporting.html.

     Sincerely,

     The Blogger Team

So while the mystery of how it came to be suppressed hasn't been entirely solved, it appears the tale of its exile has come to an end.  I hope you're all able to sleep now.    

About the Border Issues....

There is a good column by Mona Charen on immigration issues in The Bulwark today:  

https://www.thebulwark.com/greg-abbott-scrooge/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

The subtitle is , "Our immigration problem calls for generosity, not cruelty".  Charen makes the point that generosity would be a win/win for everyone.  

From the article:

Many churches cancel services on Christmas day Updated!

Here is way our local orthodox church turns out people both for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. 

Christmas Vigil (Vespers and Matins) 75 minutes

During the last part of the service, they bless oil, and cake like bread soaked in wine and oil
They each approach the priest are anointed with oil as an expression of gladness, and
then receive one of the little cake breads. Lot of socializing as people work their way up to and back from being anointed.

Divine Liturgy on Christmas Day (1 hour, 40 minutes)

No, not because of the snow, ice and wind, but because Christmas Day falls on a Sunday. 

These are Protestant Church who like many of our Catholic Churches have highly attended services on Christmas Eve.

Many churches cancel services on Christmas day: Enjoy some 'time with your family'

Service of Nine Lessons and Carols

On this morning (10am EST) of the 24th of December, a Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols is broadcast live around the world on the BBC and here in America on PBS.

It has become extremely successful over the hundred years of its existence. There is a video of the 1992 performance followed by a BBC documentary.

King's College Choir, Cambridge, Nine Lessons and Carols 1992 

Advent O Antiphons Finale

VISUAL REPRESENTATIONS OF O ANTIPHONS

The following YouTube links are by Advent Atlanta which is an Orthodox community that uses Western (Anglican) liturgy.  Yes, just as we have permitted Anglicans to keep some of their liturgy, some Orthodox bishops have also accepted Anglican communities while allowing them to keep some of their liturgy.

These links are mainly about icons rather than music. Check out the Root of Jesse video. It has the most unusual collection of Jesse Tree icons.  

O Wisdom - The First O Antiphon - YouTube

O Adonai - The Second O Antiphon - YouTube

O Key of David - The Fourth O Antiphon - YouTube

O Dayspring - The Fifth O Antiphon - YouTube

O King of the Gentiles - The Sixth O Antiphon - YouTube

O Emmanuel - The Seventh O Antiphon - YouTube

What I'm reading

Earlier today, I finished reading The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy.  This is the first novel of his I have read.  I didn't know he was such a good writer.  I see some Hemingway in there and some Faulkner.  I would think McCarthy is in the first rank of American writers.  Took me a long time to get through The Crossing, in part because I don't have a lot of time to read each day, in part because a lot of the dialogue is in Spanish.  My Spanish is just about good enough to follow what he wrote, but it could be slow going to puzzle it out.  

For religious reading, I've been going back to the primary text recently: the Bible.  For some reason, it occurred to me that it had been a long time since I had read the "history books" in the Old Testament.  So I read the last few chapters of Deuteronomy (last days of Moses), then Joshua and Judges, then Ruth (which was quite a pleasure).  Now I'm about 10 chapters into 1st Samuel.  Even as literature, they're all pretty good reads (except for the second half of Joshua, which seems to be a register of the apportioning of the Promised Land among the tribes).  

As an early Christmas present, I received a biography of Blessed Solanus Casey.  That's up next, when I'm ready for a break from the old heroes of Israel and Judah.  

What are you reading these days?

Advent: Dec 20 [O Key of David] Update Dec 21 [O Oriens]

 

O ORIENS (December 21)

Smart Appointments by Rome

 

Two Washington archdiocesan priests appointed auxiliaries for archdiocese

Pope Francis has appointed two Washington archdiocesan priests, Msgr. Juan R. Esposito-Garcia and Fr. Evelio Menjivar-Ayala, as auxiliary bishops of their archdiocese.

Esposito-Garcia, who turns 49 Jan. 10, is currently serving as an official in the Dicastery for Bishops at the Vatican. Menjivar-Ayala, 52, is currently pastor of St. Mary Church in the Washington suburb of Landover Hills, Maryland.

Their appointments were announced Dec. 19 in Washington by Archbishop Christophe Pierre, the Vatican nuncio to the United States.

They both will be ordained bishops Feb. 21.

Advent O Adonai (Dec 18) and O Tree of Jesse (Dec 19)

These are links to my personal website: if you liked some of the previous recordings you will probably find it easy to pick them out

O ADONAI (December 18)

Incardination: NO Unattached clerics!

 Frank Pavone, president of Priests for life has been removed from the priesthood.  In a letter of the Apostolic Delegate the reasons stated are: 

This action was taken after Father Pavone was found guilty in canonical proceedings of blasphemous communications on social media, and of persistent disobedience of the lawful instructions of his diocesan bishop,"

What is behind the persistent disobedience is the notion in canon law that a cleric is incardinated into a particular diocese (or religious order) and therefore cannot continue to exercise ministry if he acts independently of his bishop or religious superior. 

Good St. Joseph

This is my homily for today, the 4th Sunday of Advent, Cycle A.  The readings are here.

Advent Music: O Sapientia

 Beginning with Vespers this evening are the O Antiphons for the Magnificat. Here are three examples of tonight's antiphon. 

1. Latin then English done by the monks of Saint Meinrad. (They are the abbey that Betty and I celebrate Vespers with each evening.

2. Latin done by Saint John's Abbey where I went to college as an undergraduate.

3. Latin done by Gloria Dei Cantores, an internationally renowned choral group with English translation and excellent video. They include the Magnificat 

However, I could not find a YouTube version of my favorite. European monks doing the Antiphon with Magnificat and ringing the church bells throughout. That is the old tradition, a kind of ringing in the transition from Advent to Christmas over this week. 

DECEMBER 17

O Wisdom
Saint Meinrad Archabbey

1,302 views / Dec 17, 2014

 O Sapientia, quae ex ore Altissimi prodisti, attingens a fine usque ad finem, fortiter suaviter disponensque omnia: veni ad docendum nos viam prudentiae.

O Wisdom, who came forth from the mouth of the Most High, reaching from end to end mightily, and gently governing all things: come to teach us the way of prudence. 

English translation by Fr. Vincent Tobin, OSB. English setting adapted by Fr. Columba Kelly, OSB. 

Women and the Catholic Church

 I read some interesting articles this week on women and the Catholic church.  I doubt that there will be any progress towards "developing" the doctrine of "complementarity"  that essentially declares that women are meant (by God) to be submissive, passive, and subservient to men - in the church and home, but perhaps the HS will get through at some point.

Smoking

Is smoking a sort of social marker?

Technology Prayer somewhat answered

 Some may remember a post of mine a while ago in which I mentioned my three technology prayers:  controlled fusion, room temperature superconductor and space elevator.  Well, there's been a big milestone at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore Laboratories in California.  A ten nanosecond (ten foot long) pulse from a Neodymium:YAG (Nd:YAG) laser was split and amplified until 192 pulses converged from different angles onto a sphere impregnated with deuterium the size of half a BB pellet.  2 megajoules of energy went in and three megajoules of energy came out, a 50% surplus.  That's enough energy to power a 1000 watt microwave for almost 17 minutes.  It was produced in nanoseconds. .

This is a very significant milestone.  A torus shaped tokomak in Scotland surpassed breakeven this year but the surplus was only a couple percent.  I am truly gratified to hear of this accomplishment but there is still along way to go.  News reports don't mention the "wall plug efficiency" of the lasers.  Knowing what I remember of Nd:YAG lasers, it probably took at least 20 megajoules of energy going into the lasers to generate the one megajoule of fusion energy.  So I will continue to pray that we will eventually reach this endless source of energy and benefit humanity.

To be complete, I'll put my Debbie Downer hat on and mention that a lot of funding probably comes from the military because it advances understanding of nuclear fusion in thermonuclear bombs without having to perform actual bomb tests forbidden by treaty.  Unfortunately, the bad stuff is a lot easier to do than the good stuff.  But I'm praying we achieve that "sun in a bottle".

Brittney Griner and State Department Chess

 By now we have all heard that Brittney Griner has safely landed in San Antonio. 

From the Washington Post :

"Griner had been in Russian custody since her arrest at an airport near Moscow in February, when she was accused of entering the country with illegal vape cartridges containing less than a gram of cannabis oil. Her lawyers said it was prescribed as part of treatment for chronic pain and other conditions. The United States designated her detention “wrongful.”

"Biden stressed that he has not forgotten about Paul Whelan, a former Marine imprisoned in Russia on espionage charges. Some lawmakers criticized the administration for not securing Whelan’s release as well. A senior administration official told The Washington Post that the choice was between bringing home Griner or no one."

From CNN:

Boozing it up at the funeral home

 See if you can reconcile these two approaches.

Happy Feast Day

 A beautiful image I came across on the internet.

As is common in the winter in northeast Nebraska, there is a sheet of glaze ice everywhere tonight.  We wouldn't be venturing forth to Mass, even if we weren't still concerned about being contagious. Best to pray at home when it is like this.

Thanks to Jean for identifying the painting as a  work by Jan Van Eyck from the much-stolen Ghent altarpiece, also for furnishing the link to this fascinating article:

Advent Music: Two Unfamiliar Hymns Updated!

On both Advent Sundays I heard homilies that bewailed Christmas music during Advent.  Unfortunately, our Sunday liturgy Advent music all too often features O Come Emanual and On Jordan's Bank. So we don't experience much Advent music.

The Divine Office has a rich repertoire of Advent Music. Just yesterday in the music from the two virtual breviaries that I feature on my blog, Betty and I encountered Advent hymns that neither of us had heard. Betty as a convert has a rich repertory of Protestant hymns. 

Advent Music: Choral Evening Prayer

The National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception will be presenting Vespers livestreamed each Sunday during Advent at 4pm. Below is last Sunday's service form their YouTube channel.  

Solemn Vespers on the First Sunday of Advent – November 27, 2022

2.1K views  / Streamed 19 hours ago; 3.4K views / Streamed 6 days ago

You can get this Sunday's service either, live from their website.

    Mass from America's Catholic Church - National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception

or anytime from their YouTube Channel'

National Shrine - YouTube

From the few camera shots of the pews, it seems that very few people attended this service, probably less than a hundred even though it was held right before the 4:30 Sunday Mass which probably had an attendance of several hundred. However as Virtual Liturgy it was rather successful, probably because it was partly modeled on Anglican Choral Evensong.. 

The Anglican Choral Evensong Model

A New Book with Some New Ideas

An interesting book review

Why Americans Are Leaving Their Churches 

For sociologist Stephen Bullivant, the question is why it took so long for the religious exodus to happen.