What a difference Don Guido makes

Ash Wednesday February 6, 2008

Ash Wednesday February 21, 2007

Ash Wednesday March 1, 2006

More ashes

The Christ Our Hope Papal Tour

Tuesday, April 15

Arrival at Andrews Air Force Base. Greeting by President Bush and Mrs. Bush. Also present will be local dignitaries of the church and the apostolic nuncio.

Wednesday, April 16, 10:30 a.m.

President Bush and the First Lady meet the Holy Father on the south lawn of the White House. This is only the second time in history that a pontiff has visited the White House. At the end of the welcoming ceremony, a private meeting is scheduled for the Holy Father and the President, while dignitaries of the two states also meet.

5:30 p.m.

Private prayer service and meeting with the 350 bishops of the United States at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. Before the prayer service, which will be held in the crypt of the Shrine, there will be outdoor photo opportunities of the public welcoming the pope to this national church.

Thursday, April 17, 10:00 a.m.

The pope will offer Mass at the new Nationals Park in Washington. This will be the first non-baseball event in the park, and Catholics from around the country are making plans to attend.

5 p.m.

The heads of the more than 200 Catholic colleges and universities in the United States and superintendents from the 195 Catholic dioceses have been invited to an address by Pope Benedict XVI on the importance of Catholic education. The address will be on the campus of The Catholic University of America, the only college in the United States operated by the bishops.

6:30 p.m.

Buddhists, Muslims, Sikhs, Hindi, Jews and representatives of other religions will gather with the Holy Father for a prayer service at the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center, next door to Catholic University.

Friday, April 18, 10:45 a.m.

Pope Benedict XVI will address the United Nations, after an early morning flight to New York.

6 p.m.

Prayer service with leaders from other Christian denominations at St. Joseph's Church, founded by German Catholics, in Manhattan

Saturday, April 19, 9:15 a.m.

Mass for priests, deacons and members of religious orders at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in the heart of New York City.

4:30 p.m.

The Holy Father will meet with young Catholics, including 50 youngsters with a range of disabilities, at St. Joseph Seminary in Yonkers. Thousands of young people, including hundreds of seminarians, are expected to participate in a rally/prayer service and to hear the pope speak.

Sunday, April 20, 9:30 a.m.

The Holy Father will visit Ground Zero, the site of the disaster at the World Trade Center.

2:30 p.m.

Mass at Yankee Stadium will bring this historic visit to a close. The 200th anniversary of the Baltimore Archdiocese’s designation as an archdiocese, as well as the birth of four dioceses – Boston, New York, Louisville and Philadelphia – will be highlighted during the Mass.

8 p.m.

Shepherd One lifts off from John F. Kennedy airport in the Brooklyn Diocese, heading east to the Eternal City.

The Official Papal Beverage

The Pope on EWTN

The celebration of the Solemn Mass for the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord with Pope Benedict XVI presiding, live from Rome. Sat, 2/2/08 11:30 AM Live Eastern

Holy Mass with the Blessing and Imposition of the Ashes 90 min Pope Benedict XVI celebrates Ash Wednesday Mass in St Peter's Basilica, marking the beginning of Lent. Wed, 2/06/2008 10:30 AM Live Wed, 2/06/2008 6:30 PM Encore Eastern

Conversi ad Dominum

Here is Father John Zuhlsdorf’s translation of an important portion of today's audience:

“Behold, the meaning of prayer: to open our hearts, to create in us a willingness which opens the path to Christ. In the liturgy of the ancient Church, after the sermon, the bishop or president of the celebration, the principal celebrant, would say: "Conversi ad Dominum…Turn (around) toward the Lord". Then he himself and all there rose up and turned themselves toward the East. The all wanted to gaze toward Christ. Only if we have been converted, only in this turning toward Christ, in this common gaze at Christ, can we find the gift of unity.”

True Wisdom

A large crowd attends the weekly Angelus prayer by Pope Benedict XVI in St Peter's square at the Vatican January 20, 2008. Tens of thousands of students, politicians and ordinary Romans thronged the Vatican on Sunday in a major show of sympathy for Pope Benedict after protests led him to cancel a speech at Rome's top university this week. REUTERS/Dario Pignatelli (VATICAN)

From the Holy Father today: "As a professor — shall we say, emeritus — who has met with so many students in my life, I encourage all of you, dear university students and professors, to always be respectful of other people's opinions and to search for truth and goodness with a free and responsible spirit." – AP Translation

Viva Papa Benedetto! Viva!

1000 WORDS

People Look East!

Ad Orientem at the Sistine Today

The Baptism of the Lord @ the Sistine Chapel

Pope Benedict XVI celebrates the Solemn Mass (according to the Missal of Paul VI facing the Altar of the Sistine Chapel) for the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord and the Sacrament of Baptism live from the Sistine Chapel in Rome. EWTN broadcast Eastern US Standard Time-- Sunday, January 13, 2008 4:00 AM LIVE , 12:00 PM, Monday, January 14, 2008 12:00 AM.

010108 @ The Vatican

Mass on the
Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God
at Saint Peter's Basilica.

(Nice miter!)

Magnificent!

Pope Benedict XVI celebrates First Vespers and Te Deum in Saint Peter's Basilica December 31, 2007.

Make Space for God

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict led the world's 1.1 billion Roman Catholics into Christmas with a midnight mass on Tuesday, urging people to find time and space for God, the needy and the suffering.

Benedict, marking the third Christmas season of his reign, said a solemn mass for about 10,000 people inside St. Peter's Basilica on a chilly night. The ceremony was broadcast live to 42 countries.

Wearing gold and white vestments, the 80-year-old pontiff wove his sermon around today's significance of the birth of Jesus.

He said the fact that Jesus was born in a manger because there was no room for Mary and Joseph at the inn in Bethlehem had modern parallels.

"In some way, mankind is awaiting God, waiting for him to draw near. But when the moment comes, there is no room for him," he said.

"Man is so preoccupied with himself, he has such urgent need of all the space and all the time for his own things, that nothing remains for others -- for his neighbor, for the poor, for God. And the richer men become, the more they fill up all the space by themselves. And the less room there is for others."

The spirit of Christmas, the Pope said, should make everyone recognize the darkness of a world where many people were closed into themselves because they did not want to receive God or his message.

"Do we have time for our neighbor who is in need of a word from us, from me, or in need of my affection? For the sufferer who is in need of help? For the fugitive or the refugee who is seeking asylum?

"Do we have time and space for God? Can he enter into our lives? Does he find room in us, or have we occupied all the available space in our thoughts, our actions, our lives for ourselves?" he said.

In the run-up to Christmas, the Pope several times urged Catholics to rediscover its religious significance, lamenting that the holiday had been dominated by materialism.

On Monday the Pope lit a peace candle and placed it at the window of his apartment overlooking St. Peter's Square as the Vatican's life-size nativity scene was unveiled to the public below.

Later on Tuesday, the Pope will deliver his traditional Christmas "Urbi et Orbi" ("to the city and the world") blessing from the basilica's central balcony. He was also due to deliver Christmas greetings in more than 60 languages.

Papal Schedule

The Holy Father will celebrate Midnight Mass on Monday, December 24, in St. Peter's Basilica.

The next day at 12:00 p.m. from the central balcony of St. Peter's, he will deliver his Christmas message to the world and will impart his blessing "urbi et orbi".

On New Year's Eve, in St. Peter's Basilica, he will preside at First Vespers of the Solemnity of Mary Mother of God, followed by the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, and the singing of the traditional "Te Deum" hymn of thanksgiving for the conclusion of the year.

New Year's Day, the Solemnity of Mary Mother of God, the Pontiff will celebrate 10:00 a.m. Mass in St. Peter's.

On Sunday, January 6, the solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord, Benedict XVI will preside at Mass in St. Peter's Basilica at 10:00 a.m.

On January 13, the Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord, the Pope will celebrate Mass in the Sistine Chapel at 10:00 a.m., during which he will baptize a number of children.

RIP

Funeral Mass at the Altar of The Chair in St. Peter's

In this photo released by the Vatican's L'Osservatore Romano newspaper, Pope Benedict XVI celebrates the funeral service for Austrian Cardinal Alfons Maria Stickler, at the Vatican, Friday Dec. 14, 2007. The former archivist and librarian at the Vatican, died Wednesday Dec. 12. He was 97 (AP Photo/L'Osservatore Romano, HO)

Official Portrait

VATICAN CITY, DEC. 12, 2007 (Zenit.org).- It happens only once during a pontificate. Benedict XVI received his official portrait today from renowned Russian painter Natalia Tsarkova. The unveiling took place during a private meeting in Paul VI Hall after the weekly general audience…

Today in Rome

Saluting the Sovereign of Vatican City

Rainy Day

Pope Benedict XVI waves from his “popemobile” as he drives through Rome's Via Condotti street on his way to the Spanish Steps to pray before a statue of Mary on the occasion of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, on a rainy Saturday, December 8, 2007. Benedict XVI said Saturday that boys and girls at ever younger ages are in danger of being deceived by adults hawking false models of happiness and leading them down 'the dead-end streets of consumerism.' Dec. 8, which the Catholic Church celebrates as the Immaculate Conception of Mary, is a national holiday in predominantly Roman Catholic Italy. (AP Photo/ Alessandra Tarantino)

Extraordinary!

Fr. Z at WDTPRS? Blog has some great news from three persons regarding the Traditional Latin Mass at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia, PA.

1. “I just wanted to send you a quick note to let you know that the rector of St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia made the announcement tonight at the rector’s dinner. Next semester St. Charles will have the Mass according to the 1962 Missal, an elective on the Mass and Sacraments from the 1962 form, and the Eucharist and Liturgy classes will be modified to cover the extraordinary form.

These are all the details for now. God Bless Pope Benedict! We never thought this could ever happen, even a year ago. There will be celebration tonight in Philadelphia!”

2. “Excellent news! St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia, PA, which trains seminarians from about 17 dioceses will be having the Traditional Latin Mass here starting next semester. Our rector just announced it to us tonight and many of us were very excited. He even said they will incorporate the theology of the Traditional Mass into our semester class on the Eucharist, as well as offer an elective class to the theology students on how to celebrate the Traditional Latin Mass.

This decree came straight from Cardinal Rigali, the Archbishop of Philadelphia. We have yet to receive details on how often the Mass will be celebrated, but either way, this news is overwhelmingly exciting!”

3.“Good news from the front!

The rector here at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary has just announced that the seminary will be saying the Traditional Latin Mass in accord with the Motu Proprio. He also said that the seminary will be offering a course on how to say the Extraordinary Form as well as how to perform all the pertinent sacraments in that form with a proper understanding of the theology of it. Additionally, this theology will be incorporated in the course on the Eucharist. This plan was drafted a while ago, sent to the Cardinal, and was recently approved. Further details concerning the nature and frequency of the Holy Sacrifice will be announced at the beginning of next semester (Spring 2008).

This announcement has been such an encouragement to the many traditional minded seminarians here. We rejoice greatly over this great gift that God has given us as we await His Greatest Gift, His Son, Jesus Christ.”