Pentecost Sunday

This year was a beautiful and bright Sunday for the feast of Pentecost in Rome.  They usually need a lot of priests and deacons (and occasionally, seminarians) to help distribute communion.  Like every Vatican event, this requires a ticket.  So, I was able to obtain one, as I did for the Easter Sunday Mass.  There were far fewer dignitaries at this Mass than there were for Easter, so I was able to sit much closer to the Pope than I did for Easter Mass.  Here was my view for the Mass:

I thought at Easter they had far too few priests helping with the distribution of Holy Communion.  For the Mass at Pentecost, they had way, way too many.  There must have been 200 priests, deacons, and seminarians distributing Holy Communion.  For Mass, we sit together up near where the altar is.  During the offertory for Mass, we are taken into St. Peter's Basilica.  This time we went in a line to the Immaculate Conception chapel, where they had prepared hundreds of ciboria with hosts.  The are rather plain brass ciboria.  The innovation is that they have a clear plastic top that revolves.  This allows you to see how many hosts are there.  You can also slide a top piece to create an opening, and then slide it back to cover everything in the ciborium and keep them safe from the elements.

We then stand in the Basilica for the Mass, holding the ciboria with the hosts for the consecration.  Towards the end of the Eucharistic Prayer, we are brought outside to take our place among the 200,000 or so people gathered for Mass.  Some of the people distributing have guides with yellow and white umbrellas to show them where to go.  I just followed the line until one of the Italian staff pointed to a place by the barricades for me to distribute.  Then you give out as many hosts as possible.

To minimize the chances for desecration--accidental or intended--communion is given out only on the tongue, with the Latin verse Corpus Christi.  So, you have lots of people sticking their hands at you, and you have to tell them only on the tongue.  (And I also make the men remove their hats first).  This means they have to get close for me to be able to give them communion.  The problem is when you give communion at the barriers that mark the route of the Popemobile.  People want to be right at the barricade to get the best view of the Pope when he goes by--and they do not want to give up their spot.  So people behind them want to receive communion, but the people with their spots at the barricade will not move out of the way.  The most creative solution I saw was the family that simply ducked to get out of the way, and still keep their spot.

Here are the pictures from Mass at St. Peter's:

The Process of a Papal Election

I admit, I am a little late in getting to this, but it’s been a whirlwind of a week!

I had mentioned some time ago, that I would discuss what happens (at this point, ‘happened’) at the Conclave during the election of the Pope.  Now, I have no inside scoop on who got how many votes or how the voting progressed.  All I mean to do is to describe the procedure for voting, putting it in some context with the general law of the Church with regards to voting.

The Pope's Final Angelus

Here are some pictures from the final Angelus prayers of our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI.  The Pope celebrates the Angelus every Sunday at noon from the window of his Papal apartments overlooking the Piazza of St. Peter's Basilica.  The text of the Pope's reflections before the Angelus may be found at the Vatican website.  There, you can also watch a video of the Pope's reflection and prayers.

Early Conclave?

There has been much discussion in the media about the Conclave.   Two pieces of information have struck me as being incorrect.  The first regards the question of changing the date of the Conclave to make it earlier. The second is the earliest date on which the Conclave can begin. Click on the "Read More" button below to continue.

The Pope Resigns - A Q&A on what happens now (UPDATED)

UPDATED -- 12 Feb. 2013

By now, most people know the news that Pope Benedict XVI has offered his resignation as Bishop of Rome (and therefore as Supreme Pontiff) effective 28 February 2013 at 20:00 (Rome Time).  I thought I'd offer a bit of Q&A on what his means.

If people have specific questions, just ask in the ComBox, and I will try to answer them.  If anyone is interested and request (in the Com Box), I can do a Q&A for the Conclave itself once it begins.

Click on the "Read More" button below for the Q&A.

Immaculate Conception

On December 8--the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary--the Pope traditionally leads prayers at the statute of the Immaculate in the Piazza di Spagna.  The statue is in the Piazza of the Spanish Embassy to the Holy See, and so the embassy staff is usually always there.

It is usually a very well attended event, with people lines up and down the streets.  Despite the very cold Roman weather, this year was no different.  Before the Pope's arrival, one of the Bishops leads the people in the Rosary.  The Vatican choir is usually on hand and always sings the Tu es Petrus upon the Pope's arrival.  (It was a bit too cold for them to sing much else this year.)  The Pope then offers prayers, especially for the sick that are gathered, and offers a few words of meditation.  He ended his talk this year saying:

In this time of Advent, Mary Immaculate teaches us to listen to the voice of God who speaks in silence; to receive his grace, which frees us from sin and from all egoism; in order to enjoy the true joy.

Below are some pictures from the event:

First Vespers of Advent

The Holy Father celebrated the first Vespers of Advent with university students from throughout Rome.  As they did last year, the event begins before the Pope arrives with an icon of Sedes Sapientiae (Mary, Seat of Wisdom).  The icon travels around different schools.  This year, the icon was brought in procession by some Italian university students.  After Vespers, it was taken out by students from Brazil.  The reason it is Brazil is because Brazil is the site for the next World Youth Day.

The Holy See takes videos of most of the papal events.  You can see their video here. 

The Pope's homily was in Italian, and is not yet available in English.  Among other things, he reminded the students that their desire for God is best satisfied in that place where God makes himself closest to us, in the Liturgy:

The liturgy, seen in its true spirit, is always the fundamental school to live the life of Christian faith, a "theological" faith that involves your entire being--spirit, soul, and body--to make you become living stones in the construction of the Church and collaborators in the New Evangelization.  In a particular way, in the Eucharist, the living God makes himself so near, by making himself the food that sustains us on the way, the presence that transforms with the fire of his love.

Here are the pictures from Vespers: