Sunday, October 17, 2010

Some things that have made me very happy this week

1. The rescue of the Chilean miners.

2.. Archbishop Burke's address to Human LifeInternational Gathering.
Full text here

3. The Rosary Crusade of Reparation in London this weekend stopped the traffic! Judging from the YouTube video many more followed the procession than has been usual in my experience - all singing Credo III and Latin hymns without anyone upfront waving their arms about and making an unnecessary exhibition of themselves.

4. The history of the Tau (T shaped) Cross on the church at Mother Angelica's Monastery and Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament, Hanceville, Alabama. (Story courtesy of EWTN)
As the building of the Monastery and shrine was nearing completion, one night there was a terrible storm and the conventional cross which had already been erected on the roof of the monastery church was struck by lightning and the top part of it came crashing to earth. Mother was terribly upset when she was told. But after praying about it, she realised that what they now had was a Tau (Franciscan) Cross - 'Franciscan' because of St. Francis' attachment to it. He painted it on walls and doors where he stayed and once demonstrated that the Franciscan habit made that shape when spread out. His brothers would be walking crucifixes. The cross at Hanceville was left exactly as it was after the storm and remains so to this day.

5. During WW1 Pope Benedict XV had put the title of Our Lady Queen of Peace into the Litany of Loreto. On May 5th 1917 he asked the world to begin a Novena for peace. As we know that war ended within a year, but more importantly I think, Our Lady of the Rosary appeared at Fatima for the first time on the 8th day of that Novena. When one now reads about that Benedict's anti-war efforts one would imagine that he failed. I think not.

Until next weekend
In Christo pro Papa

No comments: