An Epiphany Treat

A treat for Epiphany: The Three Kings (Cornelius/Finley) King's College Cambridge, 1997:

Eucharistic Novena begins tomorrow, The Solemnity of the Epiphany

For background details and text of the Novena, please use link at top of sidebar here.

Thanks to Father Mark for alerting me to this. I will definitely be joining him in praying the Novena

+ Tempus Epiphaniae +

Introitus: "Ecce Advenit":

(image: Rembrandt, Adoration of the Magi, 1632;
video: Schola Gregoriana Mediolanensis, Milan, Italy)

The Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary: A new intercession?

Please see my Spiritual Mothers of Priests blog (sidebar link) for more details.

Hope to be back here tomorrow.

God bless all here.

+ Tempus Nativitatis +

(Tissot's Journey of the Magi)

"And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year...." M.L. Haskins

On New Year's Eve 2008 I posted this much loved quote on 'The Oasis". Having decided against repeating it this year, I was delighted to find it on the blog of the 'Transalpine Redemptorists at Home". Here it is again with some reflections and information about the poet.

"And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year: 'Give me a light that I may tread safetly into the unknown.' And he replied: 'Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God. That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.' "


Minnie Louise Haskins 1875-1957 (from "The Desert: Introduction" c.1908)


Even with the Internet it is difficult to find much biographical detail about Miss Haskins. She was a graduate of the London School of Economics and most of her subsequent academic career was spent lecturing there in the fields of Sociology and Philosophy. Writing poetry was her spare-time pursuit. She was English, and not American or Canadian as some have claimed. Born in the Gloucstershire village of Bitton, now on the eastern edge of Bristol, she later lived in Crowborough, Sussex. (Does anyone know whether she is buried there?)


Minnie was neither Catholic nor Anglican, but a Non-Conformist. She never married.


Those of us who were alive during WW2 or who were born during it, find double poignancy in these words because they were famously quoted by King George VI during his Christmas Day speech 1939, that is the first Christmas of a war whose length could not be predicted. They were a perfect choice, through which our sovereign encouraged his subjects to faith. Only that could save us, whatever lay ahead. That is one part of the poignancy. The other lies in our affectionate memories of King George himself, a man who never expected to accede to the throne and one who found the role nerve-wracking, not the least because of all the public speaking he had to do and the necessary personal battle he waged in order to conquer his stammer. Miss Haskins' words are engraved on the entrance to King George's Memorial Chapel at Windsor Castle.


I was eight years old when he died and we were allowed to sit cross-legged on the floor of the school hall as we listened to his funeral on a utility radio. No TV at that time but we'd seen pictures of the Abbey and so had images in our minds. We sat in awed and sad silence, paying absorbed attention throughout the long service. There was no fidgeting, and I believe that this was not because of an enforced external discipline from the teachers, but because of a genuine inner reaction to the solemnity of the occasion and at least some understanding of its national and historic significance. A sad memory yes, but a deeply etched and treasured one.


I don't recall the occasion of first hearing Miss Haskins' words but I've known them for most of my adult life. When we used to run Christmas and New Year house-parties here in France, we always had a New Year's eve celebration during which her words would be read out. Then, as now, it is difficult to read them without a lump in the throat and misted eyes. Of course this reaction is partly due to nostalgia, but there is more to it than that. The words are stirring as an affirmation of the faith of an English king, with which he knew he could inspire the Nation in the face of the physical and moral threat of the war ahead of us.

It occurred to me last night that the words are even more important now, when Faith itself is being systematically attacked and eroded by an ever growing number of Britons themselves, many of whom are in dangerous positions of power and influence.

With gratitude and admiration I pray that the souls of Minnie Louise Haskins and of King George VI may rest in peace.

I pray to all our British saints and martyrs for the British Isles and their inhabitants.

St. Michael defend us in these days of spiritual battle and help us to 'put on the whole armour of God't.

Our Lady, Help of Christians, pray for us.

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us and may Your Face journey with us.

Amen

"The Gates of Hell shall not prevail...."; and the Anthem of the Holy See: Two stirring videos for New Year's Day

Thanks to Fr. Anthony Ho who alerted me to these YouTube videos by posting them on his own blog. I dedicate them to Pope Benedict, the Swiss Guard and the Papal Gendarmes.

A holy, peaceful and happy New Year to you, our beloved Holy Father Benedict and may God bless all who protect and defend you. With the assurance of the prayers, love and filial loyalty of all at this Anglo-French Oasis and at the Spiritual Mothers of Priests blog. In Jesus Christ, Emmanuel and our Saviour. Amen

Sacrosancta Ecclesia Dei - the Gates of Hell shall not prevail

Pontifical March - Anthem of the Holy See

A commenter on this second video seems to indicate a rumour that the Papal Gendarmes are to be given a stronger role in protecting the Pope. If true, it is excellent news.



Happy New Year again everyone. Follow the example of our wise and holy Pope. Long may he lead, guide, teach and counsel us. Be strong and of good courage.

Pope Benedict at First Vespers of the Solemnity of Mary Mother of God in St. Peter's Basilica

In his Meditation, the Holy Father again made an appeal for more people to give their 'whole being' as priests or in living the consecrated life. (Translation of the relevant paragraph can be seen at Fr Z's blog 'What does the Prayer Really Say?') The Pope's exhortation was particularly fitting I thought. A New calendar year is about to begin but the Church is now at the heart of the Year for Priests.

More security men were in evidence, and in the processions the group immediately surrounding the Pope seemed more tightly formed that has been the case for some time.

I will keep an eye on the news and post if there is pressing need, but otherwise may give myself a couple of days break from blogging.

May Our Lord answer our Holy Father's prayer for more vocations and may He continue to bless, defend and strengthen His vicar on earth and grant him a peaceful and happy New Year . May Mary, the Holy Mother of God continue to spread her mamtle over our beloved Benedict XVI.

Consistory 2010? And an unexpected New Year's gift

Our Holy Father is set for another busy year. In an article outlining the events already in his diary, Catholic News Service considers the possibility, if not probability of a Consistory in 2010. See the article's last three paragraphs here You will note that CNS only considers the possible American candidates for 'the red hat'. Had they thought about the English situation, it may have encouraged them to speculate that Pope Benedict may choose a date before the summen holidays rather than waiting until November, when there would be 19, rather than 12 vacancies in the college of those eligible to vote in a conclave. Were it not for this difference in number, I would be praying for a 'red hat' for Archbishop Nichols at the earlier rather than the later date, and for reasons which I may post about later. However, the possibility of 7 more 'Benedictine' appointments to the voting body at the next conclave, must be regarded as having considerable significance as to its potential outcome, and therefore to the choice of date for the next Consistory. Pope Benedict's age and medical history will make the decision more difficult for him, unless he knows how much longer he is going to live! We can be confident that as with all his decisions, he will make this one only after long and profound prayer. That is why in all my Rosaries, I unite myself to his prayer intentions, published or not, rather than framing my own.

*********************************************

New Year's Eve in St. Romain
My husband went across the road to the village shop this morning to buy milk and the newspaper. He came back with two gifts from the Patron and his assistant. These were a set of 6 tall whiskey glasses bearing the J&B logo, and two miniature cups and saucers for the imbibing of cafe cognac!

What a lovely gesture as a way of saying thank you for our custom and conveying New Year's greetings. I went across straight away to express my thanks and wish them 'Bonne Annee'.
We already have cognac in the house but it strikes me now that I should have bought a bottle of J&B! Just off to get it now so that we can 'toast' you all just after midnight!

In the meantime, thank you for your readership and may God bless you and send you a Happy New Year.

The Vatican controls all the live film we see? Part 3

You will note the addition of a question mark to the title above. It is there because judging from comments on this blog and remarks made to me privately, by both French and British friends, it now seems that the title is inaccurate as a statement. For instance, the Vatican did not control the South African channel that was watched by our commenter Fiona, nor did it prevent France TV2 from showing even more detail of the attack on the Pope, despite the fact that the French programme was aired two hours after the event and which the channel claimed in its advance schedules to be a live' broadcast. What happened on EWTN? Can anyone tell me? Was kto, the only station to exercise obvious censorship? And in the bizarre way I have already described? Was it a policy decision of their own, or was it at someone else's behest?

The conduct of this French Catholic channel may seem unimportant in the USA or the UK. Quite to the contrary it is extremely important that a station which has been helping to re-catholicise France for the past ten years, should retain its integrity and the trust of its viewers. The standard of its programmes is consistently high, even though one may not always agree with some of the views expressed. Its series of separate interviews with French bishops is particularly telling and informative as to the present and varied complexion of the French. episcopate. And up until Christmas Eve, it has been second to none in its live broadcasting of Papal events. For instance tomorrow it will air live broadcasts of Papal Vespers and on New Years's day, the Pope's 10 am Mass in St. Peter's. Normally it has hit just the right balance in the amount of commentary during liturgical events. It doesn't talk-over and waffle through the most sacred moments, as I have seen and heard on EWTN. I've seen recent complaints on other blogs about the tendency on EWTN to over-talk. Generally kto could teach it a thing or two.

In the build up to Christmas I had been planning to post in praise of kto, and to ask why we could not have such a channel based in the UK. We need it in all conscience. Perhaps such a thing could be inaugurated to mark Pope Benedict's visit and the Beatification of Cardinal Newman. It seems a terrible omission for posterity, and with present technology, that these historic events will not be commented on by British Catholics on their own independent channel.

For some time I thought that kto was run by the French bishops Conference. Apparently this is not strictly true. kto itself declares on its site that the bishops 'recognise' it, not that they control it. One sincerely hopes that if any such enterprise is planned in the UK, that it will be organised on the same lines, independently of the Bishops Conference.

The kto site has a photograph of its team. Allowing for absences it probably has at least 50 major personnel. Just for fun the other night I make a list of Brits on the Blogosphere whom I would respect as qualified and competent to run the presentation of such a channel. After less than five minutes I had a list of over twenty names, male and female, clerical/religious and lay, even two good candidates for the Anglican Ordinariates. The list also represented a good spread over the age range. Apart from proven communication skills many of these people have their own specialist areas relevant to the case.

Oh well, I thought, perhaps I'll try to do something about it after Christmas. I don't think I'm mad, but I do wonder sometimes!!

In the meantime, I'm watching for more news from kto and/or the Vatican. Will post anything relevant.

In the Aftermath of the attack on the Pope: Vatican Preoccupations.

Well, at least I know more about what happens when a Pope is attacked on Vatican soil, than I did in the wake of the attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II. Surely there's no doubt that the Internet is to be thanked for this. I've no idea of the actual figures, but when the Vatican Press spokesman makes a statement these days, his words reach a vastly wider audience than they did in 1981.

The Holy See Press Officer and his deputy have an unenviably difficult task. In the aftermath of the Christmas Eve attack on the Pope, they are having to deal with two major matters of concern following that event. Firstly there is the question of what the Vatican can and possibly may do, once it has received medical reports on the state of mind of Susanna Maiolo when she lunged at the Pope; secondly Catholics must be assured that something will be done to improve the Pope's security in St. Peter's Basilica. The first matter has now been dealt with and we have been clearly informed of the necessary legal procedures. At first, the Press Office was not clear and we had to interpret a vague statement about being charitable and non-judgmental. Then, yesterday we were assured that there would be a full review of Vatican security. That is all we needed to hear. We did not need to hear stuff about a hundred per cent security being unattainable. We know it is always possible that security systems will be defeated. We live in the same world as Fr. Lombardi. We are not blind, deaf and daft. We are upset that this happened, but the more so because Susanna Maiolo was known to Vatican security forces. How and why could they possibly have allowed her to slip through their net a second time? That is what upsets us and makes us angry. We are not angry with Susanna, but with a system that could have allowed the same assailant such close access to the Holy Father a second time. And in any case it is disingenuous to claim that, 'Well , you know St. Peter's is a place of worship; the people must not be prevented from seeing the Holy Father; he would not want such restrictions'.

The fact remains, that the security forces responsible for the Pope's safety this last two years, did in fact achieve a hundred per cent security for him, and in at least six major basilicas and sites of Christian worship, in the US, France and the Czech Republic, not to mention those in Jerusalem, probably the most difficult of all places to protect him. Of course these forces were more rigorously preventative than the Vatican has so far been.

We will have to wait to see if they tighen up their act. Most of us, although frustrated by increased and time-consuming security at airports, accept these things because we know it is for our own safety. How much more patient would we Catholics be to have to wait another hour or so to get into St. Peter's, if we knew it was for the Pope's safety.

Feast of St. Thomas a Becket

"And specially from every shires ende*
Of Engelond to Caunterbury they wende,
The hooly blisful martir for to seke,
That them hath holpen whan that they were seeke.
(And specially from every shire's end
Of England they to Canterbury do wend,
The holy blessed martyr for to seek
Who helped them when they lay so ill and weak.)"

Geoffrey Chaucer (d. 1400) from the beginning of the Prologue to the Canterbury Tales

Students of Chaucer prefer the original version. For anyone unfamiliar with Middle English, the trick is to enunciate sounds omitted in modern English.

So:
And specially from every shirez enduh
Of Enguhlond to Caunterb(u)ry they wenduh
The hooly blisful martir for to sekuh
That them hath holpen whan that they were seekuh.

Better. Scans and with greater econony of words than the modern version.

I love that phrase 'hooly blisful martir'. Even more do I love St. Thomas himself. Would that Chaucer's words were still true and we all made the pilgrimage to Canterbury at lease once in our lives. I suggest we need the prayers of St. Thomas a Becket, just as much, if not more so, than did our medieval ancestors.

Almost time to go shopping. This afternoon must make a pork pie. When it's in the oven I'll return here and do the post on Vatican statements since Christmas Eve.

St. Thomas a Becket, Holy 'blisful martir' of Canterbury, pray for England and for us who are born of her.

~~*~~

Thomas Tallis - Miserere nostri. Clangat pastor in tuba - Responsory & Prose for the feast of St. Thomas à Becket. Gabrieli Consort & Players. Dir. Paul McCressh.

The Vatican controls all the live film we see Part 2

I admire Cardinal Bertone and I am fond of him. He's a good 'Benedictine' man, and a Salesian who loves football. His recent interview with kto was excellent. However the Zenit report on this did not include his answers to two questions. The second of these which ended the interview is the most important in the present context. He was asked by Philippine de St. Pierre how he thought a Catholic Television channel should properly conduct itself. He answered in Italian and there was a simultaneous French translation. Here is an English rendition of his reply: " A Catholic TV station should broadcast what the Holy Father does and says without any interruption, editing or manipulation of his words or of the events as they happen."

Up to this point kto could be proud that for the ten years of its existence it had fulfilled these terms in exemplary fashion. Of course the Cardinal was making indirect reference to secular channels who do the opposite things. and I applauded his response. The broadcast, or not broadcast, events on Christmas Eve prove that the Vatican itself breaks the Cardinal's rules, that is the ones that it hopes everyone else will obey. And the result this Christmas was to make kto look absolutely stupid and dishonest. (see previous post.) And it was made to look like that by the master it has obeyed so faithfully. I should be surprised if it is not a little miffed.

Of course the Holy Father must be protected at all costs but can anyone explain how a total blanking of live news protects him? Seriously I really would like to consider any such explanation, but at present it is totally beyond my understanding that the kto commentator, even though we were not allowed to see the close details of what was happening, was prevented from giving a calm explanation of what we actually saw. For instance could he not have said, "There seems to have been an incident which has disrupted the procession. We will keep you informed." (Bring back Richard Dimbleby. All is forgiven!) That at least would have been truthful and would have protected the station's reputation. In any case we didn't see this ludicrous piece of television until Christmas morning. No wonder kto didn't release their full video until then. But as I said yesterday, why do so at all except to draw attention to Vatican censorship, and to anyone with a reasonable IQ, to its effects, which would be risible were they not so serious. The result is that in future we will not be so convinced as to what we see. I'm sure that Pope Benedict would not want that doubt to exist in our minds.

Tomorrow, further considered comment on recent statements from Fr Lombardi Holy See Press spokesman, and a little bit of Chaucer in memory of St. Thomas a Becket.

God bless all here.

The Vatican controls all the live film we see Part 2

This will follow later this evening. Spare time today has been taken up with posting about the Holy Father's visit to the St. Egedio soup kitchen on Sunday. As you can see on the Spiritual Mothers of Priests blog, my morning's research into the visit led to some interesting discoveries. See post entitled: Pope Benedict: A Father and Friend in the Soup kitchen, or unwittingly in the "Ant Heap"?

The Vatican controls all the live film we see of Papal events. Part 1

All the live film we see is fed to stations like EWTN and ktotv by Vatican TV. If an incident occurs that involves the person of the Holy Father, they do their best to make sure that pictures on the monitor showing the actual events, are not broadcast. If there isn't time to do that, the camera personnel seem to have instructions to veer away from the Holy Father and focus on something else. An example of this was the footage of Pope Benedict's visit to earthquake stricken L'Aquila earlier this year. As usual I watched the event on kto. I don't think EWTN carried it. After his speech the Pope almost dashed away from his position on the podium and tripped, I think over a decorative plant pot, but could not be certain because the camera jerked away so quickly that the screen blurred. There was a collective gasp from the crowd as he began to fall and there was no concealing it. Fortunately he righted himself as he has done on several other occasions, including at one of the several celebrations of Vespers in St. Paul-outside-the-Walls this year. I watched the whole thing and it was not shown. I only came to know of it from a friend who was actually there. Obviously it is easier to conceal certain shots at a big liturgical event than it is at a small intense gathering like the L'Aquila one, where the camera is focused almost exclusively on the Holy Father.

To some extent, I agree with this policy of the Vatican when it comes to what is seen on TV. Nobody, except the sensationalist or malicious would wish to see our Holy Father in a position where he is stripped of his dignity. Of course, the mass secular media appear to want us to see such things, which explains why Sky TV apparently gave so much time to the incident on Friday night. Ironically this meant that they showed more of the Mass than they normally would have done but one is left with the unpleasant suspicion that on Christmas Eve especially, they would have loved to send images round the world of the Pope spreadeagled on the floor of St. Peter's nave. At least Vatican policy prevented that. The secular media fail to understand, that Catholics, however much or little they were allowed to see from Vatican TV, immediately thought of their Holy Father as vulnerable and accepting of whatever happened to him, and in his own way reflecting his Master, who fell on the road to Calvary and was stripped of all dignity on His arrival there. Images are one thing, but I do not think it acceptable that we be denied audio commentary, to the extent that most of us apparently knew nothing of what had happened until Christmas morning.

It's now time to descibe my own experience, one that I'm sure many readers share.

Christmas Eve. 9pm UK time:
The kto programme did not commence as scheduled at 10pm our time. It always brings my heart to my mouth when they are late like this, but on Chrismas Eve? The programme eventually started about ten minutes late. At this point the Holy Father had almost arrived at the altar end of the nave. He looked a little serious. Normally he is wreathed in smiles when arriving to celebrate one of the two most joyful Masses of the Christian year, but I was glad and relieved to see him, and so looking forward to the Mass that I did not think to question the ten minute delay, or to realise that the commentary must have already begun because there wasn't the usual welcome to viewers. At the altar the Holy Father looked serene. He smiled at the thurifer before the incensing. (Now I know that he was probably encouraging the poor chap and saying with his eyes, "Look, you can see I'm all right. That's all over. Let's get on with the most important thing.") The Mass began and I was able to put earlier anxieties out of mind. Everything appeared to be completely normal.

Christmas Day 7.45am UK time:
I found the special email that Catholic Culture had sent to its subscribers. It led me to that chilling little video. Even though I trust Catholic Culture as responsible purveyors of news, I admit that it flashed through my mind that this was some kind of mock-up, a sick joke. And yet once the video began I knew it was real. It was indeed raw and from a cell-phone. Father Lombardi says the Pope stumbled. From what I saw, he went down like a ninepin. I don't think any of us will ever forget the lurching of our hearts as the woman leapt the barrier, and seconds later, as he fell and his mitre disappeared from view.

You know it took me some time to recover sufficiently to post about it. I had to do that as my bounden duty. This Oasis is dedicated to Pope Benedict. I was angry that we had been deprived of this news the previous night; upset that we had been prevented during that 'Midnight Mass' from offering thanksgiving to God for his preservation; and distressed that we had been lied to by omission and prevented at the time from a full appreciation of our Holy Father's strength, courage, fortitude and focus. For this reason I decided to watch the kto repeat video and it was then that I made an even more exasperating discovery.

This video, which had still not been edited when I last checked, actually begins before the Procession starts. The organ strikes up and the Choir begins the 'Tu es Petrus'. They have time to sing only the first two phrases. The camera is looking down the nave. The papal group is not on vision. And then a collective reaction of horror goes up. Clearly something has happened. We see the procession halt. The servers ahead of the Pope freeze to the spot. Discipline and/or shock prevents any of them from looking back to see what has happened. Security men start running from all directions. The soundtrack tells you there is a kerfuffle going on which you cannot actually see. Eventually, as we now know courtesy of Orbis Catholicus, after 51 seconds a roar of applause goes up. We see things start moving again. The choir begins the Introit. We see the part of the procession that had been thrown into disarray regrouping and then there are shots of happy faces in the crowd applauding the Pope. And then at last we see him again. It is the same shot which began the broadcast the previous night.

But the most astonishing thing was, that whilst we were actually SEEING ALL THIS, the commentator ignored it totally and prattled on about how many cardinals were at the Mass etc. etc. It was as if he were at another event altogether, certainly not the one we were watching.
He did not commentate on what we were being shown. Have a look at the video yourself, unless of course they've edited it since I last checked. It flies in the face of any claim to journalistic integrity. But most of all why show this video after the event? Why not clip it first, unless to show the kind of thing the Vatican insists upon in such circumstances.

More questions arise from these of course and I intend to approach them in a post tomorrow. In the meantime I hope you have all had a holy and happy Feast of The Holy Family and are ready to enter into the mystery of the massacre of the Holy Innocents tomorrow.

Pope Benedict:: Security issues in St. Peter's Basilica

It wasn't as if this was the first time such a thing had happened. Last year, the security men managed to prevent a deranged woman from reaching the Pope as he processed down the nave of St. Peter's. There must be film and documentation of that first incident. Surely the security teams have studied these with the intention of learning from them and tightening things up so as to avoid future attacks. At least we have every right to expect that they did. And yet another and more serious incident was allowed to occur. It will be the worse for them if it does turn out to have been the same woman this year. The bald fact is that the events of Christmas Eve represent a gross failure on the part of those who operate a security system which is meant to protect the Pope in St. Peter's Basilica.

Everywhere Pope Benedict has been out of the Vatican and Italy, security has been impeccable. All the governments involved made absolutely sure of that, well as far as is possible. The French even had a satellite watching things during his visit to Paris and Lourdes last year. Loyal and loving Catholics throughout the world know this and most of them know how much it cost, and yet this latest incident was allowed to happen in the Vatican, in the Pope's own home. We should be ashamed.

No wonder such Catholics are united (for once) in demanding that something more be done to ensure the safety of their Holy Father. In general it seems that although some would like a return of the 'sedia gestatoria', most realise that carrying the Pope aloft would expose him to snipers, and a commenter who said that such a worry in the basilica was over-dramatic is not living in our present world. No, in my view, our Holy Father should remain firmly on the ground. The monarchical symbolism of the former ceremonies, whilst comprehensible and valued in tradition, would be totally against his personality and the spirit of his pontificate. However, he should be closely flanked, as in the past, by the Swiss Guard and the Noble Guard. Unless of course the men in black suits are in mufti, which I doubt. Anyone leaping a barrier is more likely to be deterred by a Swiss Guard doing the job he is vowed to do, that is to defend the Holy Father, first with his pike, and if necessary with his own life. I say the Swiss Guard should be given back their teeth and free exercise of their holy vow. They are not, and should not any longer be merely decorative symbols. (And did you know that the majority of Swiss vocations to the priesthood come from their ranks after they have served their year?

Tomorrow: the peculiar matter of media coverage of Christmas Eve in St. Peter's.

Pope Benedict: Christmas Eve assailant named.

The Holy Father was assailed by a 25 year old Swiss/Italian named Susanna Maiolo. She has a long history of psychiatric instability. This information is reported in our local newspaper, the 'Charente Libre'. According to the same paper she also collided with 87 year old Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, who broke his femur as a result. Some are saying that it was his hip, but since the Cardinal is French, I tend to trust the French press. I'm sure my readers are with me in prayer for the poor cardinal and for Susanna Maiolo. I read somewhere earlier today that he had tried to prevent her reaching the Pope and was knocked down as a result.

There appears to be no statement yet to confirm or deny the rumour going around that this woman is the same as the one who attempted an assault on the Pope last year. I should not be surprised to find that she is the same. The exaxt place, style of attack and colour of clothing were all the same, and yet again she went for the Holy Father's neck. Last year it was stated that she wanted to bite it. This year she pulled so violently at the part of his vestments near his throat, that she caused him to fall on the hard marble of St. Peter's nave. 20 years ago I fell on both knees on the tiled floor of our kitchen and I remember the pain to this day. There is no way I could have got to my feet in less than a minute and continued as if nothing had happened. The video that I saw early on Christmas morning caused a physical nausea that lasted at least two hours and for half an hour afterwards I was shaking too much to type the previous post. The Holy Father must have fallen differently. Perhaps his staff and the thickness of all the vestments helped to cushion the impact. Those reactions of mine were an expression of the shock, dread, and then relief that we all felt when it became apparent that our beloved Pope was unhurt and the procession recommenced. As you know I was worried that the Holy Father would suffer a delayed reaction once the Mass was over and he was back in the Apostolic Palace. He has appeared twice since then, once at the "Urbi et Orbi" and again at today's midday Angelus and on both occasions he showed no adverse effects from the incident on Christmas Eve.
This seems miraculous to many, including myself.

After he broke his wrist, the Holy Father said that his guardian angel had permitted it to happen in order to send him to the 'school of humility and patience'. Privately, he is probably now equally convinced that his angel and perhaps many others, if not even higher heavenly Authorities were most definitely looking after him . As for us, it is as if we have been told yet again that the world has desperate need of this most holy Shepherd of love, peace and hope. As many have said before me, he is a precious gift to the Church and the world. The night of December 24th was not the time for him to be taken from us.
Deo gratias! Deo gratias! Deo gratias!

I found Fr. Lombardi's remark that the assailant 'meant no harm' hard to accept. How did he know? Has he interviewed her? Even if she did mean no harm, the truth on all of our minds is that she could have done it, and one shudders to contemplate just how serious that harm may have been. She certainly did great harm to Cardinal Etchegeray.

The whole incident raises issues of the Pope's security, particularly in St. Peter's Basilica, but it also highlights and calls into question the media's policy and practice as regards so-called live coverage and commentary on papal events, particularly when something goes as wrong as it did on Christmas Eve. I hope to cover these issues in another post later today.

A Happy and Peaceful Feast of St. Stephen to everyone.

Holy Father knocked down entering Basilica for Christmas Eve Mass

Our beloved Papa was apparently unhurt and got to his feet within moments. kto did not show the incident and so I've only just found the news. He showed absolutely no sign on arrival at the altar that anything untoward had happened. Pray that he does not suffer from delayed shock.
I believe he is protected by God-given inner strength, and by the wall of our prayers which surrounds him.

Catholic Culture has reports here This will also lead you to a raw Youtube video of the incident but there's a better one at http://www.usatoday.com/ Better, because it shows Pope Benedict's amazing composure as he began the Mass, which of course he maintained throughout it.

"Christians awake, salute the happy morn!"

After the Holy Father's Mass was over last night, unable to sleep straight away, I turned my mind to a Christmas Day post for the Oasis, and the title above kept repeating itself in my mind, with its music of course.

My European readers will probably all be up by now but the first line of the Christmas song will still be appropriate for our friends in the US.

With my best wishes to all of you for a holy and happy Christmastide.

Our Holy Father recalls childhood Christmas in Tittmoning

I found this charming little video several months ago and have been saving it for Christmas. Does anyone know where and when it was made and who was in the audience? He seems very relaxed so perhaps he was addressing students, seminarians or a group of priests and religious. I don't understand it all but he appears to be making mild and affectionate fun of his child-like reactions to the Christmas tree and to the person dressed up as St. Nicholas, whom the young Joseph believed really was the saint.

(We will attempt an English transcript before Christmas.)

The Holy Father recollects his childhood in Tittmoning

I think the Holy Father mentions singing in the choir in this first video, so the one that follows seems an appropriate musical accompaniament, particularly since the little boy next to last on the left looks a bit like the child Joseph Ratzinger. (Thank you again Mark!)

Vienna Boys Choir sings Tannenbaum, 1977