Archive for the 'religion' Category

The Pope at Westminster Abbey

Published on September 18, 2010 in religion.

Damien Thompson on Pope Benedict XVI’s historic visit to Westminster Abbey:

Even Catholics who would never be so crude as to say “the Abbey belongs to us, not to you” sensed that history was being re-balanced in some way. They realised that the Pope had as much right to sit in that sanctuary as the Archbishop of Canterbury who, to be fair, showed the Holy Father a degree of respect that implied that he, at least, recognises the spiritual primacy of the See of Peter even if he rejects some of its teachings.

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The Future of the Catholic Priesthood: Vampire Hunting?

Published on September 10, 2010 in movies and religion.

What do you do when vampires turn out to be demonic monsters and not overly-serious teens?  Call in a secret priestly order trained in destroying those pesky little blood suckers, of course.  That’s the central story the upcoming movie “Priest.”

You put all of this in a post-apocalyptic world controlled by the stereotypical fun-hating Church, add a rogue priest, and you have have all the makings for Hollywood gold!  Oh, and there is good news for those of you seeking women’s ordination, too.  Turns out that a massive demonic outbreak changes the Vatican’s mind on that matter.

(Via Creative Minority Report)

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Fr. John Corapi’s Easter Triduum

Published on April 2, 2010 in religion.
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The Washing of the Feet, a Holy Thursday tradition

Holy Thursday has arrived ushering in Easter’s Holy Triduum.  The Holy Triduum is  a three day remembrance of the last days of Jesus’s life that leads up to the Easter celebration of his resurrection.  For those who are seeking to learn more about the Holy Triduum, I recommend listening to Fr. John Corapi’s three part series covering Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday.  MP3 versions of these talks can be downloaded here.

For more about Fr. Corapi, you can listen to his conversion story on YouTube.

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“Blessed be the mobile phone users…”

Published on January 12, 2010 in religion and tech.

In a strange mix of religion and technology, the Times is reporting on the Anglican parish of St. Lawrence Jewry in London holding a public “blessing of the smartphones.”  Apparently picking up on the medieval “Plough Monday” tradition of blessing agricultural equipment,  the Rev. Canon David Parrott allowed iPhones, BlackBerrys and laptops to be place on the altar for a special blessing.

This was Church 2.0. Behind him, the altar resembled a counter at PC World. Upon it, laid out like holy relics, were four smart phones, one Apple laptop and one Dell…

…Then, after another hymn, came the blessing of the smart phones. The Lord Mayor of London offered his BlackBerry to Canon Parrott, which was received with due reverence and placed upon the altar.

Then the congregation held their phones in the air, and Canon Parrott addressed the Almighty. “By your blessing, may these phones and computers, symbols of all the technology and communication in our daily lives, be a reminder to us that you are a God who communicates with us and who speaks by your Word. Amen.”

Despite my affinity for both Church and tech, I find all of this a bit bizarre.

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A look at the new English translation of the Roman missal

Published on August 25, 2009 in religion.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has posted a side by side comparison of the new English translation of the Novus Ordo1 Mass.  The hope for this translation is that it will be truer to the original Latin.  This is a very good thing as it brings the English words closer to those being said in the many other local languages of the Church.  There will, however, be a great deal of kicking and screaming over this.  Some will scream that this doesn’t go far enough.  Some will see this as going backward, and some will simply oppose change from anything to which they have grown accustomed.  Like seemingly everything in the Church today, there will no doubt be a loud debate once these changes start getting implemented, but in the long run I hope people will cool down after they get used to it.  (h/t American Papist)

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1Fancy Latin phrase for “New Order” referring to the liturgical changes to the Mass introduced by Pope Paul VI in 1969 after the Second Vatican Council.

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