America Magazine: Readings: The Real Bergoglio

Orthodox Arts Journal: Seat of Wisdom by Jonathan Pageau

(see also Can Statuary Act as Icon? by Aidan Hart)

Rorate Caeli Review of John Senior's Posthumously Published Last Book

Rorate book review: The Remnants

Gotta get a copy.

CNN: Greenland Megacanyon

Andrew Louth's Introductory Book on Orthodoxy

Introducing Eastern Orthodox Theology

Eastern Christian Books: Andrew Louth on Orthodoxy

Related:
ACEOT: Eastern Orthodox Theology: a Personal Introduction
NOT ANOTHER INTRODUCING ORTHODOXY BOOK!
londinoupolis
A Vow of Conversation

Coffee with Sister Vassa (September 2)

(via Byzantine, Texas)

the YT channel

Seems like this will be a weekly feature.

Vatican Insider: That modernist "heretic" friend of Pope John XXIII’s

Beauty, Chant Bring Life to Monastery

Via the Monks of Norcia:

Vatican Radio: Pope Francis celebrates Saint Augustine

The Ignatius Press edition of Restless Heart should be available on DVD soon, in both "theatrical" and "extended" (or original uncut) versions.

Related:
Order of Preachers Vocations: In Praise of the Rule of St. Augustine

The Monastery: Mr. Vig and the Nun - Documentary Trailer

Pious Tale?

The Catholic Spirit: Retired pope’s secretary says ‘mystical experience’ story is untrue
CNA

Knights of Columbus - Address of His Beatitude Sviatoslav

Chiesa: Vatican Diary / Pope Benedict's Parting Shot
It concerns the rite of baptism. He wanted "Church of God" to be said instead of "Christian community." The order to change was issued a few days before his resignation. And it went into effect after the election of Francis

From the article:

In practice pope Joseph Ratzinger, as a sophisticated theologian, wanted that in the baptismal rite it should be clearly said that it is the Church of God - which subsists fully in the Catholic Church - that receives those who are being baptized, and not generically the “Christian community,” a term that also signifies the individual local communities or non-Catholic confessions, like the Protestants.

Praise the Lord from the Heavens

FPR: What You Need to Know About Hans Urs von Balthasar by Rodney Howsare

Pravmir: Metropolitan Hilarion: Through participation in church sacraments, we partake of the Divine light

Enough to Silence Traditionalists

And others who were critical of Benedict XVI's decision to resign? Ratzinger gives reason for resigning: “God told me to”
NCR

Grassroots Ecumenism?

Original Sin and Orthodoxy: Reflections on Carthage by Nathaniel McCallum

"Pacem in Terris: After 50 Years," Session One: Human Rights: Catholic and Secular

Paolo Carozza

Memorial of St. Bernard of Clairvaux

Memorial for St. Bernard of Clairvaux.




The same Bernard who gets blamed by Leon Podles.

Anselm Müller, "The Spiritual Nature of Man"

Monastery of Saint Mary of la Garde

Rorate Caeli: Grand Opening of the new buildings of the Monastery of La Garde, France

(See also Solemn Profession in Nursia)

Edit. Over at NLM: Q & A with Dom Mark Daniel Kirby on Silverstream Priory

"Aquinas and Orthodoxy"

The talk is not by Marcus Plested, but by Fr. Andrew Louth, given for the Oxford Orthodox Christian Student Society on October 20, 2011.


Fr. Andrew did write a review of Dr. Plested's book which was published in First Things (subscription required).

M. Burcht Pranger, "Bernard of Clairvaux, The Last of the Church Fathers"

Something in the Daily Cal: A glimpse into modern-day Orthodox Christianity


A minority Christian group that is of no significance in the US - the article would fit with the PC sensibility of the Daily Cal.

Cappella Papale in the Sistine Chapel - Apostolic Liturgy par excellence

The title of the pope seems to be an exaggeration, though the author probably did not intend it to be such.

Vatican Radio: Pope sends greeting to Rimini meeting

Still Too Early to Judge?

Ars Orandi: Pope Francis is Shaking up the Catholic Right... and the Conservatives are taking it out on the Traditionalists
The perspective of a NCR reporter: Pope Francis is unsettling -- and dividing -- the Catholic right by David Gibson
Pope Francis discovers charismatic movement a gift to the whole church


Maybe everyone should take a time out and focus on their own community first.

Holy Mass for the Assumption of Mary and Angelus

text of homily

Fr. John Welch, "The Interior Castle of St. Teresa of Avila"

The talk by Fr. Deacon Sabatino Carnazzo at the Eparchy of Parma's annual pilgrimage at the Shrine of Our Lady of Mariapoch:

A Workshop on Divinization

Coming up at the Liturgical Institute: September 12 & 13, 2013: Divinization: Becoming Partakers of the Divine Nature

It looks like this is being done wholly from a Latin perspective?

Fr. Thomas Loya: The Sacramental Worldview

Called to Communion: The Freedom of the Church: A Review of Hugo Rahner’s Church and State in Early Christianity

Another Week

Another Orthodox representation of Catholic teaching on original sin, this time at Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy: Original and Ancestral Sin: A Brief Comparison.

Rorate Caeli: Insignia of the Pope

How much of these really need to be brought back? There are undoubtedly some who are disappointed that Pope Benedict did not do enough to restore Catholic "tradition" in this regard. Meanwhile, a recovery of a proper understanding of the episcopal office (and the office of the pope) is neglected?

Two Dominican Heavyweights

Serge-Thomas Bonino and Romanus Cessario

"Pacem in Terris: After 50 Years," Session Three: Sovereignty and Subsidiarity, Jean Bethke Elshtain

Thomistica.net: NCBQ Issue Devoted to the Critique of the New Natural Law Theory Available for Download - link

I may pick up a hard copy regardless...

Jean Bethke Elshtain Videos

Related:

Talks from the Searching for the Sacred Symposium at Ancient Faith Radio

here

Jean Bethke Elshtain

Jean Bethke Elshtain, a Political Scientist Unafraid to Talk God, Has Died - her faculty page. Chicago Tribune. Christianity Today. National Review.

Mirror of Justice: Jean Bethke Elshtain and "Legal Moralism"

Other on Jean Elshtain: Elshtain on Catholic Social Thought in America
Elshtain's "Augustine and the Limits of Politics"

Eastern Christian Books: The Problem of Sovereignty

Related:
The problems of mandatory sentencing and federal overreach:
Seven Shot Guns Shells, No Weapons, But 15 Years in Prison

Leading from the Front

Are We Walking to Heaven Backward? A Pastoral Consideration of Liturgical “orientation.” by Msgr. Charles Pope

CNS: Lessons from the Christian east

"Bishop John M. Botean of the Romanian Catholic Eparchy of St George's in Canton, Ohio, recently gave CNS a quick explanation of the appeal of Eastern Christian spirituality. Originally produced May 17, 2012."

To be "Ignatian"

CWR: Superior General of the Jesuits encourages youth to be “Ignatian people”
Fr. Adolfo Nicolas, SJ, participates in the pre-WYD program, MAGIS Brasil

(via Insight Scoop)

Ignatian people? Not Christian people? Often when the term is used by modern-day Jesuit colleges, it is in reference to a transformed Catholic Christian humanism which has been divested of its Christian center, little better than what passes for "spirituality" in popular culture. There may be talk about human dignity and social justice, but very little focus on God and Christ.

But the superior general did not deviate so far:

Speaking in Spanish, Fr. Nicolas made some opening remarks, observing that the world is in the middle of an economic, political and cultural crisis. “What worries me is that there seems to be no alternative system, despite all the information and intelligence available in the world”. He went on to draw from the experience of St. Ignatius, suggesting that in order for young people to make a difference in transforming the world “you have to transform people first”. However, the challenge of transforming the world, according to Fr. Nicolas, is best met by allowing God to transform our hearts, after which we can be able to change what is outside. He encouraged the young people to use gatherings such as the World Youth Days, to widen their horizon to see more and open their hearts, while recognizing that Christ works in the heart of every person, irrespective of social class.

Although the last line reminds one of Rahner's "anonymous Christianity," if Fr. Nicolas is speaking of Christians and non-Christians alike. While he is right to urge "caution and discernment in determining when to receive international aid, especially when they have strings attached to them," are his suggestions about universities too tied to industrial development and unsustainable growth?

OP: Una liturgia internacional

RISU: Ukrainian Greek Catholic Head Announces Beginning of Synod of Bishops

Chiesa: Groundbreaking: The Last Warning to the Pope's Electors by Sandro Magister


The official bulletin of the Holy See has lifted the secrecy from the meditation dictated to the cardinals at the beginning of the last conclave, with the doors already closed. Here are the essential passages

Fr. Thomas Loya: Eastern Catholic Church - An Introduction

1993 Video of Ksenia Pokrovsky

Ksenia Pokrovsky works on the icon of St. Philip the Apostle

She passed away in July of this year: The Falling Asleep of Ksenia Pokrovsky - Orthodox Arts Journal

From 2010: My beautiful iconography mentor Ksenia Pokrovsky

The website for her studio.

OP: Main decisions of the General chapter of Trogir

International Version
French
Spanish

The Rule of the Theotokos

The Rule of the Mother of God of St Seraphim of Sarov (pdf)
The prayer rule of St. Seraphim of Sarov

Taylor Marshall: Does the Rosary Predate Saint Dominic

Related:
The Prayer Rule of the Theotokos
scribd
Prayer Rule of the Theotokos V: Rosary? Rule of the Theotokos? Jesus Prayer?

Let's check the price... Edward Feser: NOW AVAILABLE: Aristotle on Method and Metaphysics

Underground Wellness: The Lead Vaccine Developer Comes Clean So She Can Sleep at Night - Gardasil and Cervarix

The Times of India: Earth's 100,000-year Ice Age cycle decoded

First Things: Celibacy and Healing by Ron Belgau

Sebastian Brock on the Syriac tradition in Christianity

Related: Syria refugees swell Christian community in Turkey

Adoremus: "Jubilate Deo Latin Chants"

Background and samples.

Interview with Ksenia Pokrovsky

It includes photos of some of her works. I'll have to use one of the online translators, or a browser translator, for the text.

From the Hexaemeron FB page:

"Icon by Ksenia Pokrovsky commissioned for the Roman Catholic Cathedral of St. Peter in Trier, Germany. This beautiful masterpiece depicts the assembly of all saints, Eastern and Western, connected with the cathedral's history."

Rorate Caeli: Summorum Pontificum finally made available in major languages in Vatican website!

Musica Sacra Forum: cup vs chalice again

Is Morality Natural? J. Budziszewski at the University of Idaho

An Update on the FFI

Given the coverage provided by Vatican Insider, I thought I should link to the correction offered by the superior of the order: "They Knowingly Lie" -- Franciscans of the Immaculate Defend Themselvesin Official Statement

Also provided at Fr. Z's blog and Rorate Caeli.

Related:
Minority within Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate wanted to scrap the Old Mass
Roberto de Mattei: Flood of Protest Letters to the Vatican for Franciscans of the Immaculata

The Eastern Province Continues to Do Well

with respect to vocations...

Order of Preachers Vocations: 18 Novices Begin their Novitiate for the Dominican Province of St. Joseph

Trinity Cathedral: How To Tie Prayer Rope

Fr. Mark Drew, Pope Francis is a humble man, just like Benedict XVI

Antiphon: Louis Bouyer's Defense of Religion and the Sacred: Sacrifice and the Primacy of Divine Gift in Christian Liturgy by Keith Lemna (pdf)

Related:
From 2010: Rev. Louis Bouyer: A Theological Giant | An Interview with Dr. Keith Lemna

Risu: Bishop Milan Shashik: Celebrating the 1025th Anniversary of the Baptism of Kyivan Rus, We Cannot Forget Sts. Cyril and Methodius

Space.com: Sun Will Flip Its Magnetic Field Soon
realfarmacy

"Pope Paul the Sad"

As someone I know used to call him...

Views from the Choir Loft: Paul VI "Disturbed And Saddened" By Purge Of Latin

Mission: Impossible by Andriy Skumin
The celebration of 1025 years of the christening of Kyiv Rus sums up the failure of Russia’s religious expansion in Ukraine headed by Patriarch Kirill

Feast of the Holy Transfiguration

CWR: Blessed Grapes and Hymns of Glory: The Feast of the Transfiguration in the Eastern Churches by Christopher B. Warner
Contemplation of Christological events, like the Transfiguration, provides a wealth of liturgical poetry and hymnography in the Eastern Church

Capella Romana: Canon to St. Thomas Aquinas

English Translation

Nuns of the Sisters of Loretto and the Abbey of Gethsemani Resisting Gas Pipeline

Defiant nuns and monks refuse to give up Kentucky land for gas pipeline by David Ferguson

Padraig Purcell Remembers Fr. Serge Keleher

Serge Keleher, larger than life (this was also published at Risu)

Fr. Serge loved and knew the Divine liturgies of all the Churches, East and West, in great detail. He believed totally in the Divine Liturgy and he strongly defended it against those who sought to change or dilute it. Publicly, Fr. Serge offered the Divine Liturgies of St. John Chrysostom and Basil. In private, in his latter years, he preferred the Old Latin Rite. He was also involved in the restoration of the Old Latin Liturgy (at the highest levels) because he saw no reason or evidence that this Rite was ever, or could ever be, abrogated. He was vindicated and there was glee in the tone of his mail to me in 2006 that Jorge Cardinal Medina Estevez, former prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship, had publicly declared this. Recent statements by Pope Benedict XVI have also copper fastened this.

I don't have much to say about the recent news regarding the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate - you can find commentary over at Rorate Caeli, Fr. Z's blog, and the Mary Victrix. There has been some consternation among traditionalists, and I am posting this piece by Roberto de Mattei, published at The Eponymous Flower, as he may be the best spokesman for the traditionalist concerns and viewpoint: Roberto de Mattei: Franciscans of the Immaculata Models in Situation of Liturgical, Theological and Moral Anarchy.

The Vatican and the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate by Michael J. Miller
Francis Has Not Contradicted Benedict’s Reforms, Say Franciscans of the Immaculate

The Order of Preachers General Chapter Homily by Fr. Augustine Thompson

Text

A Warranted Ecumenical Gesture?

Been doing some cleaning, and was flipping through the Winter 1997/98 issue of Company. From the article "Gospel First," By Fr. Keith Pecklers, SJ:

During the archbishop of Canterbury's visit to the Vatican in 1996, the press chose to make women's ordination the hot issue between the pope and the archbishop. This was not the case. What was the case was a visible, tangible warmth between the two, evident in the pope's unexpected invitation to Dr. George Carey and his wife, Eileen, to join him for lunch in his apartment.

The press also missed the symbolic significance of the exchange of gifts between the two Church leaders. The archbishop presented the Holy Father with a communion box engraved with the cross of Canterbury, while the pope presented the archbishop with a gold bishop's cross--the same presented to Roman Catholic archbishops during their Ad Limina Apostolorum visits. He gave other Anglican bishops the same silver cross he gives to Roman Catholic bishops.

At the ecumenical Evening Prayer held at the Church of San Gregorio, the archbishop of Canterbury was prepared to wear tradition choir dress--cassock and surplice--as his predecessors had done, so as not to upstage the pope dressed in mitre and cope. (The former is the arched hat worn by bishops and abbots; the latter the cape worn over alb and stole.) Instead, the Vatican sent word that Dr. Carey was to vest in mitre and cope and that his wife was to walk in the processions. In a city where nothing is without symbolic significance, these acts on the part of the Vatican were extraordinary.

A complementary perspective offered by a Roman-rite priest to the article by Fr. Maximos: Do Homosexuals Exist? Or, Where Do We Go From Here? by Fr. Hugh Barbour

Related:
A REQUIEM FOR FRIENDSHIP by Anthony Esolen
Why Boys Will Not Be Boys & Other Consequences of the Sexual Revolution

First Things: Celibacy in Context by Maximos Davies

It seems that the one thing everyone knows about the Eastern Churches is that “they have married priests.” Unfortunately, this often seems to be the only thing many people know about Eastern Christianity. What does not seem to be widely understood is that the Eastern Churches have very distinct theological, liturgical, and spiritual cultures in which the practice of ordaining married men to the priesthood (but not to the episcopate) must be understood. If Western Catholics want to use the example of the Eastern Churches as a guide for their own situation it is imperative that they understand how a married clergy fits into this unique Church culture.