Discover
In troubled times, Christ comes to men: Priest processes Blessed Sacrament through near-empty streets of his Italian parish…
nothing wrong with the music. I love Gregorian chant. This is another language. I think we have to stop being so critical of anything not associated with the Latin Mass. It will only isolate people and that is not what we need to bring people to the TLM. Delete
Here’s how fast the coronavirus could soon infect more than 1 million Americans…..
As the novel coronavirus saturates the news, forcing colleges and sports leagues to shut down and infiltrating Hollywood, many Americans are understandably wondering when it will arrive at their doorstep. While the number of known cases in the U.S. appears to be comparatively low as of now, the figures are almost certain to spike very soon, as both testing and exposure increase. While COVID-19 has unquestionably spread further than officially known, it is poised to round the curve and spread widely across the U.S. by the end of April. To better understand outbreaks like this, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) consults a network of academics and industry experts who specialize in modeling the spread of contagious diseases. One of those outside groups, the Laboratory for t...
Thoughts on the obligation to attend Mass during times of pestilence…
The obligation to attend Mass on Sundays and (locally observed) holy days of obligation set out in Canons 1246-1248 (see also CCC 2180-2183) is gravely binding in conscience. No reliable commentator disputes this. The Church does not, however, enforce this attendance obligation in the external forum (e.g., Church police do not take attendance at Mass and issue tickets to no-shows), but she has articulated guidance to assist observant Catholics in assessing their obligations under various circumstances. Preliminary point. Regular ILOTL readers know that, in discussing some questions regarding the Mass attendance obligation, I do not apply the “How much can I miss and Mass still counts?” analysis and instead prefer a “Why did I miss however much of Mass I missed?” assessment of one’s re...
Quarantines have a long history in Italy, as Mark Twain found out…
Finding out that he was a likely to be trapped by the Italian quarantine, one American tourist tried to evade it by circumventing the authorities. Although he succeeded in his initial plans, he eventually came down with the disease, although eventually recovering. This wasn’t this past month, when thousands of Americans hopped on the last flights out of Italy to escape the impending lockdown to stop the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus; it was 1867, and the American was Mark Twain, who visited Europe during a cholera epidemic. In The Innocents Abroad, published two years later, Twain described a package tour of France, Italy, The Papal States (reduced to the trunk of what is now Lazio, it would fall to the newly unified Italian state in 1870), and the Holy Land. CREDIT: Twain’s Holy Land...
ER doctor explains what to do if you start showing coronavirus symptoms…
[embedded content] What do you do if you are symptomatic? What should you do if you are feeling ill? Dr. Reed Caldwell answers those questions.
Vicar general of Rome reverses decision, says Churches in Rome can reopen for private prayer during coronavirus quarantine…
Rome, Italy, Mar 13, 2020 / 06:00 am (CNA).- Less than one day after the Diocese of Rome issued a decree to close all churches to the public, the vicar general revised the decree Friday saying he will leave this decision to the discretion of parish priests. “Every ecclesial precautionary measure must take into account not only the common good of civil society, but also of that unique and precious good which is faith, especially that of the least ones,” Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, vicar general of Rome, wrote in the revision issued March 13. The vicar general explained that banning access to all churches in the diocese for three weeks could create “a greater sense of insecurity” among Catholics during this time of crisis. The decree “is therefore modified, placing the ultimate responsibilit...
Australia’s high court defers Cardinal Pell ruling, raising hopes for possible acquittal next week…
Cardinal George Pell. (Alexey Gotovsky/CNA.) A seven-member panel of justices decided March 12 they would need more time to consider whether to acquit the Australian cardinal or uphold his conviction. Legal experts and supporters of Cardinal George Pell are quietly confident he could be acquitted soon and possibly as early as next week after Australia’s highest court deferred ruling on an appeal to overturn his conviction. After two days of hearings in the Australian capital city of Canberra, a seven-member panel of justices decided March 12 they would take more time to consider whether to allow the appeal which is the cardinal’s last chance to clear his name. If the High Court justices agree to consider the appeal, which legal experts say is a technicality, they will then immediately...
Coronavirus survivor reveals what it’s like to have COVID-19, and what he did to get through it…
[embedded content] Connor Reed, a British man who works at a school in Wuhan, explains how it felt to have the COVID-19 coronavirus, discusses what life is like after 40 days in lockdown and how he thinks people in the West would cope in similar circumstances.
Research finds huge impact of interventions on spread of COVID-19…
The rapid spread of coronavirus around the world could have been substantially curtailed if the broad swath of measures China brought in to control the outbreak were introduced just weeks earlier, researchers say. Sophisticated modelling of the outbreak suggests that China had 114,325 cases by the end of February 2020, a figure that would have been 67 times higher without interventions such as early detection, isolation of the infected, and travel restrictions. But if the interventions could have been brought in a week earlier, 66% fewer people would have been infected, the analysis found. The same measures brought in three weeks earlier could have reduced cases by 95%. “From a purely scientific standpoint, putting in place a combination of interventions as early as possible is the best wa...
7 fascinating facts most Catholics don’t know about Hell…
Given today’s Gospel on Dives and Lazarus, we do well to ponder some of the teachings we have on Hell. Our Teach is largely St. Thomas Aquinas, with other sources as well. The teachings of the Lord on Hell are difficult, especially in today’s climate. The most difficult questions that arise relate to its eternal nature and how to square its existence with a God who is loving and rich in mercy. As a closing reflection on Hell and on the Four Last Things, let us ponder a series of questions. 1. Does God love the souls in Hell? Yes. How could they continue to exist if He did not love them, sustain them, and continue to provide for them? God loves because He is love. Although we may fail to be able to experience or accept His love, God loves every being He has made, human or angelic. The souls...
I don’t know what’s going to happen with confession in the coming weeks, but maybe this is a good time to go…..
“No!” “The hand!” I literally had no idea what was going on as I went up for Communion at a Monday morning Mass (after the Daylight Savings Time hour loss, no less) at a prominent church in the northeast. Ever since coronavirus fears hit the United States in a more intense way, changes slowly began at churches. No Precious Blood. No handshakes. No holy water in the fonts. Fine. The hope is that if we all make some adjustments, this won’t get as bad as it could. But we read headlines about no Ash Wednesday Masses in Milan. Italy canceled Masses for Lent. Giving up Mass for Lent? I’ve heard priests are celebrating private Masses and giving out Communion after. I’m not entirely sure why they would have to be private. But I wonder if it’s just a matter of time when we do the same. A young coll...
Cardinal De Donatis announces closure of all churches in Rome through April 3…
Rome, Italy, Mar 12, 2020 / 01:15 pm (CNA).- The vicar general of Rome, Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, announced Thursday the closure of all churches in the diocese through April 3. Since March 9 public Masses have been canceled throughout the diocese, but churches had remained open for personal prayer, and some had held Eucharistic adoration or confession. Starting from the decree’s publication March 12, entrance to the parish and other churches of Rome is forbidden to the general public and to lay Catholics. Cardinal De Donatis said “we remember that this arrangement is for the common good. We welcome the Words of Jesus that tells us ‘where two or three are gathered in my name, I am in the midst of them.'” “In this time, even more so, our homes are Domestic Chu...
