Semper Fi Catholic

Pope Francis delivered an excellent homily for Divine Mercy Sunday as well as he was installed as Bishop of Rome at the ancient St. John Lateran Basilica.. the cathedra church of Rome.

if you do not believe My words, at least believe My wounds

right..

He'd find a lot of common ground, with those comments, with von Balthasar and Benedict XVI on the centrality and distinct mission of women in the Church.

As i understand he was a member of Communion and Liberation.. an organization set up as an alternative to the Marxist driven ideology of Liberation Theology.. which promoted a strong national identity and co-operation amongst all sectors of society for the common good.. and alleviation of poverty.

good for them!

All of the insignia looks really.. uh.. cool. I'm not sure if the Crozier he used in the Installation Mass will be the permanent one.. strikes me as more ornate than his other symbols of office... including the simple iron Pectoral Cross he will keep.

I watched the Mass at St. Anne's in the Vatican on Sunday, where he delivered the homily extemporaneously, referring only to the Scripture passage (of the woman about to be stoned for adultery).. and then the Angelus from the window of the Apostolic Palace.. and noted how completely confident and na...

But like Francis of Assisi, our Holy Father is calling us back to the great saint who “rebuilt Christ’s Church” by living a life of sheer simplicity and charity You'd hard pressed to find a greater example of simplicity, humility and charity than St. Francis. Certainly a model for our troubled world.

Second pew to the left. Last seat to the left. That's where he prays every single morning for the soul of his daughter and for the man who murdered her.

"If I am still alive, I'll go down to the prison and make a big scene,"

Good for you, Joe.. God bless!

Interestingly one of B16s lasting architectural legacies in the Vatican was to restore the Pauline Chapel which had been carpetted, 'de-railed' and its alter moved to accomodate 'versus populum' worship.. to its TLM format. Benedict removed the carpetting to expose the beautiful marble floors, and r...

It all sounds good on social issues. He did his undergraduate degree in Chemistry which might show a scientific frame of mind to complement all those theological dissertations.

If he moves decisively on liturgy and in promotion of the Extraordinary form.. he will address and continue B16s major initiative.. and answer a lot of questions about how 'original' this Pontificate will be.

That's a surprise. When i first saw him and heard his voice... i was thinking still waters run deep. I nearly fell off my chair when i heard he was a Jesuit. But.. he seems very humble, gentle, prayerful.. a little like JP1 maybe.. but you shouldn't read too much into first impressions. I do expect ...