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Mel Gibson’s ‘Passion of the Christ: Resurrection’ Shooting in Mid-2023…
It’s been a long time coming, but I’m hearing Mel Gibson will finally be shooting “The Passion of the Christ: Resurrection” in a few months. A late Spring production is currently being eyed with Jim Caviezel set to return in the role of Jesus. The sequel to Gibson’s 2004 mega-hit “The Passion of the Christ” has been ruminating in development for around ten years now. The original made $612 Million on a scant $30 million budget making it one of the most succesful independent films of all-time. ‘Passion’ was a faithful account of the New Testament. We all know the Bible isn’t tame on violence and the film made us very well aware of Jesus’ final days of suffering before his ultimate crucifixion. Gibson has been hard at work on the screenplay with “Braveheart” screenwriter Rand...
Start 2023 with 9 First Fridays and 5 First Saturdays…
The arrival of a new year is traditionally associated with making resolutions. It’s a natural and salutary thing, because the change of the calendar is an occasion to take stock of ourselves, to see where we are and to make those course corrections we need to get us where we want to be. The cynical might say that we make resolutions to see how quickly we can break them. Will we fall? Maybe. Even likely. But we won’t fail unless, upon falling, we don’t get up again. That’s the difference between falling and failing: one letter, and a world of difference. Resolutions should not be whatever pops into one’s head. Take some time in these first days of 2023 and ask what you want to see different about yourself in the last days of 2023, provided God gives you them. What should I work on now to ac...
Sights and Sounds From Pope Benedict XVI’s Funeral…
A gentle fog, calls of “Santo Subito!” and a whole lot of lederhosen. VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI, whose entire theological project was singular focused on the person of Christ, once described Jesus as the one “in whom God’s love descends upon human beings.” The weather at the scholarly Pope’s funeral today provided a poetic illustration of this truth — a gentle fog enshrouded St. Peter’s Basilica as the Church universal commended Benedict to the love and mercy of God. “The holy cloud, the shekinah, is the sign of the presence of God himself. The cloud hovering over the Tent of Meeting indicated that God was present,” the late Pope had written in Volume One of his Jesus of Nazareth trilogy. The fog, which dissipated throughout the Mass as the Roman morning sun broke through, also brou...
Homily for the Funeral of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI…
“Father, into your hands I commend my spirit” ( Lk 23:46). These were the final words spoken by the Lord on the cross; his last breath, as it were, which summed up what had been his entire life: a ceaseless self-entrustment into the hands of his Father. His were hands of forgiveness and compassion, healing and mercy, anointing and blessing, which led him also to entrust himself into the hands of his brothers and sisters. The Lord, open to the individuals and their stories that he encountered along the way, allowed himself to be shaped by the Father’s will. He shouldered all the consequences and hardships entailed by the Gospel, even to seeing his hands pierced for love. “See my hands”, he says to Thomas ( Jn 20:27), and to each of us: “See my hands”. Pierced hands that constantly reach out...
Tens of Thousands Attend Simple, Solemn Funeral Mass for Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in St. Peter’s Square…
“Together, we want to say: ‘Father, into your hands we commend his spirit,’” Francis said in his homily. “Benedict, faithful friend of the Bridegroom, may your joy be complete as you hear his voice, now and forever.” The Vatican only invited two official state delegations — from Italy and Germany — to the funeral, but some heads of state and public figures decided to attend in an unofficial capacity. Poland’s President Andrzej Duda, Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala, and Slovenian President Nataša Pirc Musar came to the Vatican to attend the ceremony, along with European royals Queen Sofia of Spain and King Philip and Queen Mathilde of Belgium. In the Prayers of the Faithful, the second prayer was said in German: “For Pope Emeritus Benedict, who has fal...
Some people are mourning Benedict XVI not so much as a pope but as a member of their family…
It was one last family walk in the garden. Benedict XVI’s family accompanied him down the hill from the Mater Ecclesiae residence to St. Peter’s Basilica Jan.2, just as they had often walked with him in the same Vatican Gardens during his pontificate and in his retirement, often praying the Rosary in the afternoons. Viewers may have wondered who the five women were who gathered around Benedict’s mortal remains in the chapel and then followed him to the basilica. They are who Benedict called his “family”: his secretary, Birgit Wansin, notable for being one of the few people able to decipher Benedict’s tiny handwriting; and the four consecrated laywomen of Memores Domini, Cristina, Carmella, Loredana and Rosella. [embedded content] The Memores Domini, members of Communion ...
How to watch Pope Benedict XVI’s funeral Mass…
Pope Francis will celebrate the funeral Mass for Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI Jan. 5, and coverage of the Mass and related events will be broadcast by EWTN. You can watch live over at the EWTN Youtube channel. Due to the time difference, those of us in Colorado will have to tune-in beginning in the early hours of the morning. The schedule of events and special broadcasts is as follows: 12:30 a.m. MT – Funeral Mass for the Repose of the Soul of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI – Pope Francis celebrates the Solemn Funeral Mass for Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, live from St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. 6 a.m. MT – Mass for the Repose of the Soul of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI – Live from the Chapel of Our Lady of the Angels in Irondale, AL, celebrated by the Franciscan Missionaries of the Eternal Word. 7 ...
Hail Mary, Full of Grace, Punch the Devil in the Face…
Some years ago I wrote a blog post, Is the Church a Cruise Ship or a Battleship? I was surprised at the amount of negative commentary I got. For example, “How dare you compare the Church to an instrument of war!” Other comments lamented recourse to any violent imagery, ever. Still others called for bans on songs such as “Onward Christian Soldiers,” “I am On the Battlefield for My Lord,” and so forth. You might say that the response from the anti-military group was “militant.” I certainly wasn’t feelin’ the love! Most of those comments I didn’t publish because I didn’t want “war” to erupt in the combox. Of course the reference to a battleship was by way of analogy, not literal. No one is insisting that the Church should actually use sixteen inch guns against unbelievers or purveyors of sin....
The Joseph Ratzinger I knew for 35 years was a consummate gentleman, a gentle soul, a happy person, and arguably the most learned man in the world…
COMMENTARY: The last of the monumental figures of 20th-century Catholicism bears no resemblance to the caricature created by his theological and cultural foes. The Joseph Ratzinger I knew for 35 years — first as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), later as Pope Benedict XVI and then pope emeritus — was a brilliant, holy man who bore no resemblance to the caricature that was first created by his theological enemies and then set in media concrete. The cartoon Ratzinger was a grim, relentless ecclesiastical inquisitor/enforcer, “God’s Rottweiler.” The man I knew was a consummate gentleman with a gentle soul, a shy man who nonetheless had a robust sense of humor, and a Mozart lover who was fundamentally a happy person, not a sour crank. The cartoon R...
Outpouring of prayer offered up for Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin from Catholic high school, fellow players…
“He’s fighting. He is a fighter,” Rooney said, adding that fans had been visiting the hospital praying for Hamlin. Hamlin has raised money through his foundation Chasing M’s, which he has used in the past to run two annual toy drives on the crowdfunding platform GoFundMe. That GoFundMe page, which has a stated goal of $2,500, had raised more than $3.6 million by Tuesday afternoon. For the toy drive, Hamlin wrote: “As I embark on my journey to the NFL, I will never forget where I come from, and I am committed to using my platform to positively impact the community that raised me.” At around noon on Tuesday, the Hamlin family issued a statement through Rooney’s Twitter account. More in US “On behalf of our family, we want to express our sincere gratitude for the l...
President Joe Biden Will Not Attend Benedict XVI’s Funeral; White House Says Decision Made ‘in Line With the Wishes of the Late Pope and the Vatican … This Is What Their Requests Were’…
Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni told reporters that “following the wishes of the pope emeritus, the funeral will be held under the sign of simplicity,” stressing that it will be a “solemn but sober funeral.” “The express request on the part of the emeritus pope is that everything be simple, both with regard to the funeral as well as the other celebrations and gestures during this time of pain,” he added. While only two state delegations were officially invited to attend the funeral Mass for the pope emeritus, some heads of state and public figures have decided to attend the funeral in an unofficial capacity. Poland’s President Andrzej Duda, Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala, and Slovenian President Nataša Pirc Musar are among those who have already...
Archbishop Gänswein tells interviewer ‘it broke Pope Benedict’s heart to read the new motu proprio’ Traditionis Custodes…
[embedded content] Interviewer: So, Pope Benedict’s lifting of restrictions on celebrating the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite according to the 1962 Missal did not last as long as he intended. As Pope Emeritus, he was around to see the promulgation of Pope Francis’ MOTU PROPRIO Traditionis Custodes. Was he disappointed? Archbishop Gänswein: It hit him pretty hard. I believe it broke Pope Benedict’s heart to read the new MOTU PROPRIO, because his intention had been to help those who simply found a home in the Missale Vetustum—to find inner peace, to find liturgical peace—in order to draw them away from Marcel Lefebvre. And if you think about how many centuries the old Mass was the source of spiritual life and nourishment for many people including many saints, it’s impossible to imagine...
