We Have a Winner!

 

It's Redemptoris Mater! According to this article (which doesn't tell you the final score) a controversial call late in the game was the deciding factor. One of the Lateran players taunted the ref with, "You couldn't even ref a game back in the parish". That had to hurt!

A final review of the game?

"One sports correspondent watching the action said the protests were down to the large number of Italian players on the field. "It was just like any Sunday in Serie A," he said, "although with no swearing."

The Search is OVER!

 

After much painful research, the winner of the "Ugliest Church in America Award" is...St. Francis De Sales in Muskegon, Michigan!

Do you recognize the person depicted in the statue? Why, it's Mary, of course. You can look through the hole in her stomach and see the altar. Get it? She's Jesus' mother?

To me, the whole thing looks like a set from "Star Trek".

Clericus Cup FINALS

Today is the day! The finals of the Clerus Cup finds the Mother of the Redeemer facing off against the Pontifical Lateran University. Who will win??? God knows...

The Holy Honey Bee

 

Father Krempa is a beekeeper, and when he eats some honey he says, "It's like dying and having lunch with the Lord."

Moving slowly and cautiously, Father Krempa continued to work as he spoke with a visitor. "These are holy bees," he said with a laugh, "I'm a priest working with them, and they respect the clergy."


Now class...who is the Patron Saint of Beekeepers? You should know this!

Feast of Saint Rita

 

Today is the feast of St. Rita, patroness of impossible cases. I would also like to nominate her for the "Be Careful What You Pray For" award:

"Sister Rita had a great devotion to the Passion of Christ. "Please let me suffer like you, Divine Saviour," she said one day, and suddenly one of the thorns from the crucifix struck her on the forehead. It left a deep wound which did not heal and which caused her much suffering for the rest of her life."

Feast of Godric of Finchale

I hereby nominate St. Godric as Patron Saint of Southern Illinois, since "Godric never wore shoes, regardless of the season."

Clericus Cup Update

 

It's down to the semi-finals scheduled for tomorrow. The match-ups:

C.I. MARIA MATER ECCLESIAE vs. POTIFICIA UNIVERSITA LATERANENSE

SEDES SAPIENTIAE vs. REDEMPTORIS MATER

Get all your Clericus Cup news here!

Feast of St.. Matthias

 

After the Ascension, the first order of business for the Apostles was to pick a replacement for Judas to bring the number back up to twelve. They narrowed the choice down to Matthias or Barsabbas (who you may remember from yesterday's first reading from the Acts of the Apostles). Matthias got the nod.

Relics of St. Matthias ended up split between the Basillica of Mary Major in Rome and in what became St. Matthias Abbey in Trier, Germany (above). The relics were held originally in Jerusalem after his martyrdom (stoned to death)in what is now Georgia (the country, not the state), but St. Helena supposedly changed that - although I'm not sure WHY she thought that was a good idea.

Motu Proprio

 

Huh?


Motu Proprio is Latin, meaning "of his own motion". It's a papal rescript - that is, a document issued by the Pope in response to a request or demand and decided by the Pope personally, not by the Cardinals or advisors. It's like a papal brief (which is a type of papal bull), but not sealed. Got it?

So what's the cartoon about? We talked in class about the Pope's desire to see an expanded use of the Tridentine Mass. To make it easier for priests to celebrate it, the Pope can issue a Motu Proprio. Some Cardinals and Bishops don't like it - particularly the French ones. But rumor has it Pope Benedict XVI is going ahead with it. Hence the cartoon.

Saint Antonio de Sant'Anna Galvao

 

Pope Benedict XVI is in Brazil (even though Fred isn't). While there, he canonized Friar Galvao, a Franciscan, who bacame the first Brazilian saint. According to Time magazine, Friar Galvao is credited by the Church with FIVE THOUSAND MIRACLE CURES. Busy guy, the Friar ... but wait! Doesn't it only take two miracles to become eligible for sainthood? The answer is yes.

So where does Time get such a number? It has to do with a tradition that began after Saint Galvao's death in 1822. Nuns at the Monastery of the Immaculate Conception of Light began handing out little rice paper pills - "Frei Galvao's Pills" - inscribed (in Latin) with a prayer. People took the pills to help them overcome illness, particularly women who were having trouble becoming pregnant. Thousands of people credit the pills with curing them, keeping them healthy, or becoming pregnant - I guess that's what Time meant.

The second recognized miracle was a woman who survived a difficult pregnancy and had a healthy baby in 1999 (she had several previous miscarrages and doctors had told her it was impossible for her to become pregnant again).

Need help with the test?

Contact this guy.

Deacon Payne - Seminary Formationator

Confirmation

Bishop Braxton refused to confirm a woman recently, saying she was not adequately prepared. Here's the text of his position.

Here's the money quote:


"It is never permissible to present to the Bishop adult candidates for Confirmation on the evening of a parish celebration of the sacrament who are unknown to Parish Staff, have no proof of Baptism, are not registered in any parish, are unknown to their home pastor, and have received no catechesis whatsoever for Confirmation, simply on the recommendation of a friend or relative. Regretfully, in such a case, the Bishop would have no choice but to ask the candidate to delay Confirmation until appropriate catechesis and documentation could be provided."

Father Damien of Molokai!

Call your office!

"A new case of leprosy, also known as Hansen’s disease, is diagnosed somewhere in the world every 60 seconds, but in the United States outbreaks remain rare. Only about 130 new cases are discovered each year, mostly among immigrants from areas such as Mexico, India or the Caribbean, where the disease is more widespread.

Over 100 cases were found in immigrants last year, more than double the number in 2000, and, while the number of cases is still comparatively small, some researchers believe the trend could lead to leprosy spreading to the U.S.-born population."

FINAL FINAL QUESTIONS

They're posted over there! On the right!

Don't forget to bring me your answers next Sunday!

FINAL EXAM, PART 2

Questions 6-10 are linked over there, on the right.

FINAL EXAM

Over on the right, you'll see a link for the FIRST FIVE FINALS QUESTIONS. Click on it and you'll find the first five questions.

Women Priests

Another reason why we shouldn't have women priests ... if we do, Muslims won't play soccer against us.

"STOCKHOLM, Sweden - A soccer game between Muslim imams and Christian priests at the end of a conference to promote interfaith dialogue was canceled Saturday because the teams could not agree on whether women priests should take part."

What It's Like to Teach PSR

Constantly trying to point you in the right direction, having to retreat, and finally tiring out.

The Sacrarium and Purificator

Remember when we talked about that special sink in the church? Well, a question to the"Daily Catholic Question" concerned the spilling of consecrated wine. Here's the answer:

"That "special sink" you mention is called a sacrarium. It is special because it drains directly into the soil underneath the church rather than into a common drain.

Number 239 of the General Instruction on the Roman Missal (in front of the Sacramentary) states, "If any of the precious blood spills, the area should be washed and the water poured into the sacrarium." So, too, should the purificators used to cleanse chalices, patens and ciboria be washed in the sacrarium and the water drained into the earth.

If there should be no sacrarium, water from these washings may be poured on clean earth in the garden where it will not be stepped on. After the first washing these cloths may be allowed to dry and then washed in a normal way."

Quiz for May 6

 

What am I talking about?

1) It's a word derived from the Latin "reliquiae".

2) It refers to an object, usually a part of the body or clothing, which remains as a memorial to a departed saint.

3) The largest collection of these is in the Vatican. The SECOND LARGEST COLLECTION IN THE WORLD is in St. Anthony's Chapel in ... Pittsburgh, PA.


By the way, that's one in the picture - it's a chunk of St. Anthony.

Feast of St. Monica

 

St. Monica was the mother of St. Augustine, who was converted and then baptized by St. Ambrose. If you recall, St. Augustine was a bit of a rake as a lad - that's why people pray to St. Monica for their wayward children.

Global Warming Update!

 

Al "The Goreacle" Gore has warned us that rising water levels caused by global warming will cause the Netherlands to flood. So he said to a Dutchman:

"Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.

And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits.

A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it."

Oh, wait! That was God speaking to Noah!

But a Dutch guy really has built an ark and is filling it with animals, just in case.

May 2, Feast of St. Athanasius

 

St. Anathasius (296? - 373), Doctor of the Church, spent most of his adult life fighting the heresy of Arius who denied the Divinity of Christ.

He wrote, "Brethren, how fine a thing it is to move from festival to festival, from prayer to prayer, from holy day to holy day."

Got that right...

May 1, Feast of St. Joseph the Worker

 

St. Joseph gets two feast days - March 19 and May 1.

This picture is by Italian Baroque era painter Guido Reni (1575-1642) and hangs in The Hermitage in St. Petersburg, Russia.

It's also the birthday of the murderous thug Vladimir Lenin. Protestors in Los Angeles marched today in Los Angeles carrying pictures of another murderous thug, Che Guevara. It's probably too late to pray for the souls of Lenin or Che; but we can pray for those who think those two are heroic figures.

April 30, Feast of St. Pius V, Pope

 

St. Pius became a bishop in 1556, cardinal in 1557, then Grand Inquisitor in 1558. By 1565, he was Pope!

He is best known for implementing changes in the Church outlined in the Council of Trent. He also published the Catholic Catechism, revised the Roman Breviary and Missal, and declared St. Thomas Aquinas a Doctor of the Church.

Besides all that, he organized an alliance between Venice and Spain which culminated in the defeat of the Turks at the Battle of Lepanto.


If you're ever near the Basillica di Santa Maria Maggiori, stop in and say "Hi"!