Jordan cave may be oldest church

By Matt McGrath BBC science correspondent

The cave is beneath the ancient church of St Georgeous

Archaeologists in Rihab, Jordan, say they have discovered a cave that could be the world's oldest Christian church.

Dating to the period AD33-70, the underground chapel would have served as both a place of worship and a home.

It is claimed that it was originally used by a group of 70 persecuted Christians who fled from Jerusalem.

These early Christians lived and practised their faith in secrecy until the Romans embraced Christianity several hundred years later.

'Beautiful things'

Rihab is in Northern Jordan. The cave is beneath the ancient church of St Georgeous, itself one of the oldest known places of worship in the world.

According to Dr Abdul Qader Al-Hassan, the director of the Rihab Centre for Archaeological studies, the cave site shows clear evidence of early Christian rituals that predate the church.

Dr Al-Hassan says that steps lead down into the chapel which is approximately 12m long and seven metres wide.

There is a circular area of worship with stone seats separated from living quarters. This circular element, called an apse, is important says Dr Al-Hassan because there is only one other example of a cave with a similar feature, which was also used for Christian worship.

Dr Al-Hassan said: "We found beautiful things. I found the cemetery of this church; we found pottery shards and lamps with the inscription 'Georgeous'".

In the cave there is also a tunnel that leads to a cistern which supplied water to the dwellers. An inscription in the floor of the church above refers to the "70 beloved by God and the divine" whom the archaeologist believes were refugees from religious persecution in Jerusalem.

Dr Al-Hassan says that excavation of the tunnel and the cistern may yield yet more evidence about the lives of these early Christians.

"From the tunnel to the cistern is very important. We want to clean it and make an excavation inside it. We found a very old inscription beside it and coins also, and crosses made from iron."

Other experts say they are cautious about the claim. They want to examine the artefacts and see clear dating evidence. The earliest confirmed examples of churches date from the third century, they say.

Nuncio: US Catholics Have New Concept of Pope

Reports Faithful Returning to Mass After April Visit

VATICAN CITY, JUNE 11, 2008 (Zenit.org).- American Catholics have changed their image of Benedict XVI and the Catholic Church after the Pope's April visit to the United States, says the Vatican nuncio in that country.

Archbishop Pietro Sambi told L'Osservatore Romano that the American people "discovered" the Holy Father during his visit, which they viewed in an overwhelmingly positive way.

"Benedict XVI was little and badly known in the United States," Archbishop Sambi said. "Those who expected an 'inflexible policeman of the Holy Office' have been conquered by the pastor, the father, the persuasive teacher.

"The Pope has been 'discovered' as an attentive expert on what happens in the heart of the man of today, as a bearer of substantial and life-giving answers, offered with clarity, with humility, almost with timidity."

And in response to this, the prelate affirmed, "the affection, attention, respect and love of a whole population has exploded."

From among the many details of the visit, Archbishop Sambi emphasized the Pontiff's visit to ground zero, which was "a moment of intense identification of the American people, regardless of their faith, with Benedict XVI."

"Even the press, which normally makes no secret of its sharpness with the Catholic Church, has written of and transmitted the visit of the Pope with interest, respect and liking," explained the nuncio. The secular press "defined the visit as 'an event that exceeded every expectation.' And, given the power and resonance of the U.S. mass media, a success here implies a success in the whole world."

Hope

Archbishop Sambi suggested that the Pope was able to connect with the American people because he spoke of hope.

He explained: "In the homily in Nationals Stadium in Washington, the Pontiff said, 'Americans have always been a people of hope […] Hope, hope for the future, is very much a part of the American character.' On Sept. 11, 2001, when the Twin Towers in New York and the Pentagon in Washington were attacked, the American people, just like in all their difficult moments, headed to the churches and the temples, finding in God's presence trust, unity and courage.

"Speaking of hope, the Pope has touched on a theme that is profoundly rooted in the history and the culture of this people, and he has struck a particularly sensitive chord for these times.

"The success of the Pope can be explained by Benedict XVI's capacity to understand the motivations of the American people and to contribute, with humility, the answers they need."

Another important moment, according to the prelate, was the Pope's meeting with President George Bush -- as the Pontiff himself noted later at the general audience of April 30.

Also during that audience, Archbishop Sambi recalled, in which the Holy Father gave a review of the trip, he referred to the "healthy secularism" characteristic of American society, which "was built from the outset on the foundations of a felicitous combination of religious, ethical and political principles."

"The Pope spoke of the 'valid example of healthy secularism' in the United States, describing it as: '[W]here the religious dimension, with the diversity of its expressions, is not only tolerated but appreciated as the nation's "soul" and a fundamental guarantee of human rights and duties' -- a description of 'healthy secularism' that deserves to be attentively studied," Archbishop Sambi affirmed.

Instilling courage

The nuncio said another effect of the trip was instilling new courage in American Catholics.

"On the Catholic radio of the Archdiocese of New York, the Pope said he had come to confirm them in their faith, 'but in reality it is you who have confirmed me, with your response, with your enthusiasm, with your affection.' These spontaneous words have touched the heart of American Catholics, and they have been perceived as appreciation and encouragement," the prelate said.

According to Archbishop Sambi, after the visit, "the Catholic Church has been renewed in courage. We are getting reports from parishes that many of the faithful who had for some time abandoned their religious practices, have returned to confession and Sunday Mass."

CDF: Automatic excommunication for "ordination" of women

GENERAL DECREE OF THE
CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH:
Automatic excommunication for "ordination" of women

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith

General Decree

On the delict of attempted sacred ordination of a woman

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, in virtue of the special faculty granted to it by the Supreme Authority of the Church (cf. Can. 30, Code of Canon Law), in order to safeguard the nature and validity of the sacrament of Holy Orders, decreed, in the Ordinary Session of December 19, 2007:

In accordance with what is disposed by Can. 1378 of the Code of Canon Law, he who shall have attempted to confer holy orders on a woman, as well as the woman who may have attempted to receive Holy Orders, incurs in a latae sententiae excommunication, reserved to the Apostolic See.

If he who shall have attempted to confer Holy Orders on a woman or if the woman who shall have attempted to received Holy Orders is a faithful bound to the Code of Canons of the Oriental Churches, he is to be punished with the major excommunication, whose remission remains reserved to the Apostolic See, in accordance with can. 1443 of the same Code (cf. can. 1423, Code of Canons of the Oriental Churches).

The present decree enters in force immediately after its publication in L'Osservatore Romano.

William Cardinal Levada
Prefect
Angelo Amato, s.d.b.
Titular Archbishop of Sila
Secretary

(Published in L'Osservatore Romano of May 29, 2008)

___________________________________

Congregatio Pro Doctrina Fidei

Decretum generale

de delicto attentatae sacrae ordinationis mulieris

Congregatio pro Doctrina Fidei, ad naturam et validitatem sacramenti sacri ordinis tuendam, vigore specialis facultatis sibi a suprema Ecclesiae auctoritate in casu tributae (cfr can. 30 Codicis Iuris Canonici), in Congregatione Ordinaria diei 19 Decembris 2007, decrevit:

Firmo praescripto can. 1378 Codicis Iuris Canonici, tum quicumque sacrum ordinem mulieri conferre, tum mulier quae sacrum ordinem recipere attentaverit, in excommunicationem latae sententiae Sedi Apostolicae reservatam incurrit.

Si vero qui mulieri sacrum ordinem conferre vel mulier quae sacrum ordinem recipere attentaverit, christifidelis fuerit Codici Canonum Ecclesiarum Orientalium subiectus, firmo praescripto can. 1443 eiusdem Codicis, excommunicatione maiore puniatur, cuius remissio etiam reservatur Sedi Apostolicae (cfr can. 1423 Codicis Canonum Ecclesiarum Orientalium).

Hoc decretum cum in L'Osservatore Romano evulgabitur, statim vigere incipiet.

Gulielmus Cardinalis Levada
Praefectus
Angelus Amato, s.d.b.
Archiep. titularis Silensis
a Secretis

Reposted from Rorate Caeli.

To Our Lady

In honor of our past pilgrimage to the National Shrine of Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage in Antipolo City and the last Marian month of May, I am posting some of these picture I got online.

The Antipolo Cathedral


The Sanctuary


The Cathedra


The Nuestra Senora dela Paz y Buenviaje


Our Lord in the Tabernacle


My parents and I visit this Adoration Chapel after the Mass in the Cathedral.



Here are some more images of Our Lady image during a First Saturday procession from a Flicker site.




Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thine intercession was left unaided.

Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my mother; to thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me.

Amen.

Corpus Christi Sunday in the Archdiocese of Manila

The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass was celebrated by His Eminence Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales, Archbishop of Manila. Here are some of the photos I found of the Archdiocesan website and may be of interest to the readers of this blog.

The chair of the archbishop seems to be inspired by the traditional faldstool:


The arrangement of the archbishop-celebrant's chair with reference to the altar is 'liturgically correct' than the previous year's arrangement when it was directly in front of the altar (and the tabernacle) even during the Liturgy of the Eucharist.

(10 June 2007)

(25 May 2008)

The banner before the tabernacle and behind the altar should be placed somewhere else.

Here are some images from the procession of the Body and Blood of the Lord from the Sta. Cruz Church to the Manila Cathedral:





(Why not use the thurible in the preceding Mass?)

The procession ended this way last year:


With greater humility this year:



May the Lord continue to bless the Cardinal-Archbishop of Manila and the entire Catholic Philippines.

Zenit: Turin Shroud to be on Display in 2010

Turin Shroud to be on Display in 2010

Pope Hopes to Visit Relic

VATICAN CITY, JUNE 2, 2008 (Zenit.org).- The Shroud of Turin, a cloth widely believed to be the burial linen of Jesus, will be put on exposition in the spring of 2010, announced Benedict XVI.

The Pope divulged the news today upon receiving in audience some 7,000 faithful from the Archdiocese of Turin. Prior to the audience, Cardinal Severino Poletto, archbishop of Turin, had celebrated Mass for the pilgrims in St. Peter's Basilica.

In his address to the pilgrims, the Holy Father noted that in the Archdiocese of Turin, the next pastoral year will be dedicated to the Word of God, while 2010 "will see you oriented toward a more attentive contemplation of the Passion of Christ."

In this context, he announced that he had accepted the wishes of the archbishop of Turin and that "in the spring of 2010 there will be another 'solemn exposition of the Shroud.'"

The last time the shroud was put on display was in 2000. In the 20th century, the linen was displayed only four times.

"If the Lord gives me life and health, I too hope to come," he added off-the-cuff, reported the Vatican Information Service.

The exposition, he continued, "will provide an appropriate moment to contemplate that mysterious face which silently speaks to the hearts of men, inviting them to recognize therein the face of God."

The shroud, measuring 4.39 meters in length and 1.15 meters in width (14.5 feet by 3.5 feet), is kept in a climate-controlled urn in the chapel of the Turin cathedral.

Another Msgr. Guido Marini interview by Il Giornale (courtesy of WDTPRS)

Andrea Tornielli interview Msgr. Guido Marini, papal MC

Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Andrea Tornielli today reports that in Il Giornale there is an interview with none other than Msgr. Guido Marini, presently the papal MC. Here is my translation. I will try to dig up the piece in Il Giornale.

Msgr. Marini makes comments about Summorum Pontificum and ad orientem worship.

Today Il Giornale published an interview with [Archbp] Guido Marini, the new Mastor of Ceremonies for Papa Ratzinger, who explained the meaning of some of the Pontiff’s choices, starting with the Cross in the center of the altar. Not all of the conversation I had with Msgr. Marini could be published. I had to cut two important responses, dedicated to the orientation of the altar and the Motu Proprio. Here is the text, which I invite you to read.

For baptisms in the Sistine Chapel Benedict XVI celebrated with his back to the faithful, as before the Council. A fact that created some surprise…

"In circumstances in which the celebration is carried out in the way, we aren’t dealing as much with turning one’s back to the people as, rather, orienting oneself with the faithful toward the Lord. From this point of view "the door isn’t being closed on the faithful", but, "the door is being opened to the assembly, leading it to the Lord. There are certain circumstances in which, because of the artistic conditions of the sacred place and of its special beauty and harmony, it becomes advantageous to celebrate at the old altar, where among other things the exact orientation of the liturgical celebration is preserved. This shouldn’t surprise anyone: it is enough to go into St. Peter’s in the morning and see how many priests are celebrating according to the Ordinary Rite which came out of the post-Conciliar liturgical reform, but on traditional altars and, thus, oriented like that in the Sistine."

Benedict XVI will celebrate a Mass using the old Rite, which he derestricted with the Motu Proprio?

"I don’t know, and I am not in a position to respond. I believe nevertheless that a serene, ecclesial and non-ideological reading of these decisions by the Pontiff is important. The liturgy of the Church, just as with Her whole life, is comprised of continuity: I would speak of a development in continuity. This means that the Church procedes in her journey in history without losing sight of Her own roots and Her own living Tradition: this can require, in some cases, also the recovery of precious and important elements which were lost along the way, forgotten and which the passage of time has made less luminous in their authentic meaning. It seems to me that the Motu Proprio is aiming precisely in this direction: reaffirming with great clarity that in the liturgical life of the Church there is continuity, without rupture.