Day Three: Mass in crypt, Musei Vaticani, shopping

First thing in the morning on Day Three of our adventure, we met Father Carl Ebey, CSC, Treasurer General of the Congregation of Holy Cross, for Holy Mass at the Chapel of the European Patrons beneath the main floor of the basilica.  We were joined by Brother John Paige, CSC, who is a member of [...]

Notre Dame: ‘Catholic identity, Catholic life, Catholic service’

It’s a bit late, but the message is important, especially given recent events at Notre Dame.
Click here and skip ahead to Chapter 2 for the homily given by the Most Rev. Daniel R. Jenky CSC, Bishop of Peoria,  on the Feast of St. Patrick at Notre Dame.
Money quotes:
“An Irish identity without a Catholic identity [...]

‘The boat was being tossed about by the waves, for the wind was against it’

Lord, your Church often seems like a boat about to sink, a boat taking in water on every side. In your field we see more weeds than wheat. The soiled garments and face of your Church throw us into confusion. Yet it is we ourselves who have soiled them! It is we who betray you [...]

Day Two: St. Mary Major, St. John Lateran, Scavi tour

Bright and early on Day Two, the Company made its way over to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.  We prayed Lauds together in a back niche of the church (near the loud polisher making its way across the floor for the daily scrub down).  I recall that the basilica was a bit unkept, but [...]

Day One: Sunday Angelus, St. Peter’s

We arrived in Rome around 7.30am local time, and at noon, severely jet-lagged, we made our way over to Saint Peter’s square for the Holy Father’s weekly Angelus message.  Joined by thousands in the square, we received the Papal Blessing and listened to his Sunday well-wishes, including a very brief message in English.
It was the [...]

Roma, Roma, Romaaa

Forgive the lag, folks.  Thanks to a pretty heavy workload these past two weeks, I have yet to post much on my spring break in Rome.  However, it’s a snowy Sunday in South Bend right now and I’m all caught up on assignments, so here are a few posts on the trip.
Enjoy!

‘Charitable but vigorous critique’

“I find the invitation very disappointing. Though I can understand the desire by a university to have the prestige of a commencement address by the President of the United States, the fundamental moral issue of the inestimable worth of the human person from conception to natural death is a principle that soaks all our lives [...]

A lesson from Benedict

From the National Catholic Register:

Munich vs. South Bend
BY Tom Hoopes
Saturday, March 28, 2009 10:24 AM
Father John Jenkins, president of the University of Notre Dame, meet Joseph Ratzinger.
In his day, Nazis were the ones denying the right to life to a class of people. Ratzinger’s school had refused to honor them, and so the Nazis shut [...]

Nine months until Christmas…

Happy feast day to all.  I like to think that on this day, the Solemnity of the Annunciation, Hail Marys are twice as sweet and especially efficacious.  For, it is on this day that we celebrate those beautiful words first uttered by the messenger Gabriel and repeated faithfully in every age since: ‘Ave Maria, gratia [...]

Prof. Ralph McInerny on ‘The Catholic Thing’

Below is Monday’s post from The Catholic Thing, a blog on Catholic commentary.  It is on my daily list of ‘to-reads.’

Is Obama Worth a Mass?
By Ralph McInerny
Now that the abortion president will be honored and feted and listened to at Notre Dame’s commencement, the question becomes, who will say the commencement Mass?
The University of Notre [...]

The shepherd speaks to his flock

The ordinary of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, the Most Rev. John M. D’Arcy, issued the following statement today on the diocesan website.

Concerning President Barack Obama speaking at Notre Dame graduation, receiving honorary law degree
March 24, 2009
On Friday, March 21, Father John Jenkins, CSC, phoned to inform me that President Obama had accepted his [...]

New look in progress…

What do you think?

And it begins…

A friend of mine who attended this evening’s Vigil Mass at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart tells me that during the Prayers of the Faithful, a man in the congregation yelled out the following petition:
“May this university not have as its commencement speaker a protagonist of abortion.”
I can’t wait until tomorrow’s edition of The [...]