Is Pope Benedict the oldest person to ever have been pope?

Summary:

Pope Benedict is oldest person to have ever been pope at 95 years of age. He is the fourth oldest pope when papacy ended.

Full article:

Pope Benedict XVI is currently the oldest person to have ever served as pope. As of 2021, Pope Benedict XVI is 95 years old. He was born on April 16, 1927, and he served as pope from April 19, 2005, until his resignation on February 28, 2013. At the time of his resignation, he was 85 years old, which made him one of the oldest popes in history. However, he has continued to live and age since his papacy ended, and as a result, he is now the oldest person to have ever served as pope.

However, he was only the 4th oldest pope at the time his papacy ended. Most popes' papacy ends at their death, which was not the case with Benedict. Here are the top five oldest popes at the end of their papacy:

Here are the five oldest popes at the time their papacies ended, listed in order from oldest to youngest:

Pope Clement X: Clement X served as pope from 1670 to 1676 and was 89 years old when he died.

Pope Leo XIII: Leo XIII served as pope from 1878 to 1903 and was 93 years old when he died.

Pope Pius IX: Pius IX served as pope from 1846 to 1878 and was 85 years old when he died.

Pope Benedict XVI: Benedict XVI served as pope from 2005 to 2013 and was 85 years old when he resigned.

Pope John Paul II: John Paul II served as pope from 1978 to 2005 and was 84 years old when he died.

What's the difference between the Octave of Christmas and the 12 Days of Christmas?

We sometimes hear of both an octave of Christmas as well as the 12 days of Christmas. Here's a good explanation I found which distinguishes the two!

The octave of Christmas refers to the eight days from December 25th, the day of Christmas, to January 1st, the feast of Mary, Mother of God. The 12 days of Christmas, on the other hand, are the twelve days from December 25th to January 6th, which includes the octave of Christmas as well as the three days before it.

In the Catholic Church, the octave of Christmas is a time of great celebration and rejoicing, as it marks the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. During this time, there are often special Masses and other liturgical celebrations held in honor of the birth of Jesus.

The 12 days of Christmas, on the other hand, are a time of celebration and reflection on the meaning of the birth of Jesus, as well as a time to prepare for the coming of the Epiphany, which celebrates the manifestation of Jesus as the savior of the world. The 12 days of Christmas are traditionally a time of feasting, gift-giving, and merriment, and are often celebrated with special holiday traditions such as caroling and the singing of Christmas carols.

Overall, the octave of Christmas and the 12 days of Christmas are both important times of celebration and reflection in the Catholic Church, and both are marked by special liturgical and cultural traditions.

Basilica Cathedral of St. John the Baptist will remain with the Faithful

Over the past several months, the Archdiocese of St. John's has been under bankruptcy protection as a result of lawsuits from the sex abuse scandal which occurred in the diocese in the 30s, 40s, and 50s. The diocese was ordered by the court to put all of its assets up for sale. All churches were up for sale and the bidding was open to the general public.

In response to this, several groups of parishioners and others banded together to repurchase these structures, lands, and other facilities. We haven't heard back about all of them yet. Bids were closed around 10 days ago.

The Basilica Cathedral of St. John the Baptist is the mother church of the diocese of St. John's, Newfoundland & Labrador. It was built almost 170 years ago and at the time was the largest church building in North America. To this day, it has remained a historical and religious place central to the identity of the province.

In amazing news, a group known as the Basilica Heritage Foundation was the successful bidder for the Basilica, as well as several adjoining buildings, including a school, a large hall, and a skating rink. There had been news that a Toronto real estate developer had also put in a bid.

Over the past several months, parishioners have alternately gathered in 3 churches in the diocese for 12 hours of adoration each Thursday. This occurred along with various other forms of prayer throughout the area and in private.

These prayers have proven fruitful, thanks be to God. The landmark church will remain with parishioners to be used for worship. This is wonderful news.

We are anticipating news on all the other churches and properties which were open to bids as well. Let's hope and pray that this entire restructuring results in greater faith than ever and in a reconciliation of the Church to those affected negatively by people within the Church.

TV Commercials have become hotbeds of radical leftwing propaganda

I had the displeasure of watching ordinary TV today and it's really becoming very over-the-top, especially when it comes to commercials. There is such a huge push on sexual immorality. The crazy thing is that the commercials don't even reflect how our society is currently going which is bad enough. The commercials present an absolute dystopia, far worse than it already is.

Let me explain a little. Almost any commercial featuring "couples", be it married couples or other, features at least one if not several gay couples. You would think from watching these commercials that 50% of people are in a gay couple. It does not reflect reality at all.

But it goes further than this. Drag queens, transsexuals, and others now feature prominently in a large percentage of commercials. I was watching one where there was a man wearing makeup and feminine clothing eating a taco. The commercial was for Taco Bell. Can we not eat fast food without being overloaded with these bizarre and immoral characters? Mark Dice has produced several videos documenting these types of advertisements.

Another commercial I saw featured two gay men and went on about their feelings for one another. It was a commercial for eHarmony. Whether it's a commercial for Ritz, M&Ms, or almost anything else, there is a strange obsession with featuring couples in immoral relationships.

One thing you will rarely see is a white heterosexual married couple. Try it sometime. I have absolutely no issue with interracial relationships, but I just find it odd that they would go so much out of their way to avoid showing what is probably the most common form of couple in the country.

It just annoys me that you can't sit down and watch a TV show without being exposed to endless propaganda by Leftwing extremists who want nothing but to absolutely destroy families and our society. Why do Ritz and Oreos have to be political anyway? They're just junk food. Do they have to make some political statement when promoting junk food? How is transgenderism in any way related to sugar cookies?

I don't know where to turn anymore. For the most part, I record shows I want to watch and then just skip through the commercials. That's why after not seeing them for a while it has become obvious how extreme they have become.

At some point I might just stop watching TV altogether.

Consecration of Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary

I just returned from our cathedral where the archbishop, along with the Pope in Rome at 5pm Rome time consecrated Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. It was very well attended. Every second pew is off-limits and with this limitation the large cathedral-basilica was full of people.

It was a holy and blessed time and showed that all bishops from around the world are joining together along with the Holy Father to pray for peace in that troubled part of the world.

The archbishop spoke about how we must live out peace in our own daily lives and that this was our real way of contributing peace to the world as a whole. This is better than vaguely "hoping" for peace in the world. We must be instruments of peace.

To that end, we invoked the intercession primarily of the Blessed Virgin Mary, as well as sung the prayer attributed to St. Francis of Assisi asking that we be instruments of God's peace in the world.

Let us all pray that these prayers may deliver Russia and Ukraine from war and the world in general.

Can Catholics FAST on a Feast Day or Solemnity? e.g. Solemnity of the Annunciation

Please pay close attention to the question I am asking: 

Can Catholics fast on a feast day or solemnity?

I ask you to pay attention because it's a question for which an answer is very difficult to find! Whenever I search for it on Google, it inevitably brings up the minimum requirements for fasting in the Church. It seems very few people ask about the permissibility of fasting on a feast day.

Most of the questions revolve around whether one is permitted to forego fasting on a particular day.

So, again I ask: can Catholics fast on a feast day or solemnity? In other words, are Catholics even permitted to fast on a feast day? It is wrong, inadvisable, etc? Let's talk about it.

Although I could not find a direct answer in the Catechism or in the Code of Canon Law regarding this, I was able to find some other sources which address this question.

St. Francis of Assisi
On a particular blog, I found a quote by St. Francis of Assisi. The version found there states:

When the question arose about eating meat on Christmas Day, because it fell on a Friday.  St. Francis replied to Brother Morico, "You sin, Brother, calling the day on which the Child was born to us a day of fast. It is my wish," he said, "that even the walls should eat meat on such a day, and if they cannot, they should be smeared with meat on the outside."

Saint Francis of Assisi
Celano, Second Life
Chapter CLI

From this quote, it seems clear that one of the Church's greatest saints was greatly opposed to fasting on a solemnity.

Catechism and Code of Canon Law:

These two sources, rather than discuss whether one is permitted to fast on a feast or solemnity instead lays out fasting requirements and indicates that fasting is not required on these days:

Can. 1251 Abstinence from meat, or from some other food as determined by the Episcopal Conference, is to be observed on all Fridays, unless a solemnity should fall on a Friday.

So Canon 1251 addresses whether one is obligated to abstain from meat on a Friday which is also a feast or solemnity, but it doesn't address whether one is allowed to fast on such a day or if it would be wrong.

Is it advisable to fast on a feast day?

Unless I hear otherwise, I am a proponent of avoiding fasting on a solemnity or feast day even if it's on a Friday during Lent. By fasting on such a day, it seems we are missing the point. Jesus himself fasted for 40 days and nights but also tells people that fasting at certain times would be inappropriate.

Matthew 9 (14-15): The Question About Fasting.

14

g Then the disciples of John approached him and said, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast [much], but your disciples do not fast?”

15

Jesus answered them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.

Feasts and Solemnities are times of celebration and joy, very similar to Sundays during the year. Although Lent is a penitential time, there are glimmers of joy even in this season, and we should not neglect those.

I feel that this is also partially about obedience. Sometimes pride can sneak into our fasting efforts. Some people may continue to fast on these celebratory days just to show they are able to or to "challenge" themselves. But again, I feel this is the wrong approach. Fasting is about growing spiritually closer to Jesus Christ our Savior. It's not about some personal achievement or accomplishment.

Today is the feast of the Annunciation, a day on which Mary was proclaimed to be the Mother of God. It is truly a time of great celebration and joy. To fast and deny ourselves on this day would seem inappropriate.

I would love to hear your thoughts in the comment section!

I hope you continue to have a blessed Lenten season!

Supreme Court nominee doesn't know what a woman is

Sadly, this isn't satire. Ketanji Jackson-Brown is the nominee to become the next Supreme Court Justice of the United States. She's being interviewed as part of her nomination hearing. She was asked by a Ms. Blackburn yesterday what a woman is. She couldn't answer. She refused to answer. She said she can't answer because she is not a biologist.

Again, no, this is not some sort of joke. It wasn't more complicated than this. You can see the clip or read the transcript. A nominee to the highest court of the United States was asked to define "woman" and she was unable to. She isn't seeking a job at Wendy's. She will be responsible for interpreting the Constitution of the United States and she can't even say what a woman is. Does she know what a house is, or a cat? Maybe she can't tell you what a tree is because she's not a botanist. Perhaps the concept of a computer eludes her because she's not a computer scientist.

How can anyone expect a person like this to offer an objective analysis of a law? Court cases can involve hundreds of documents, and tens of thousands of words. Will she claim ignorance for the definition of every word that crosses her path? How would one even be able to do his or her job with this type of constraint? Court cases would be reduced to absurdity.

I checked a recent Supreme Court case that came up and looks like was resolved today. A man was convicted of murder in Texas at a convenience store and was sentenced to be executed. He wanted to have his pastor present who would offer prayers and be there during the execution which is currently not allowed. Okay, so this case goes to Jackson-Brown.

She might ask what is a pastor and what are prayers? I'm not a theologian.
This happened in Texas. What is Texas? I'm not a cartographer!
What's a convenience store? I'm not a city planner or architect!

Things would quickly get pretty untenable.

We all know why this is happening. Crazy leftwing ideology. She is trying to appease these people but she is putting the entire country at risk. If we cannot agree on the most basic terms such as man, woman, person, etc, what's the point of even having a Supreme Court?

You may be asking what this has to do with Catholicism. Well, I think we have to proclaim the truth in public. Truth is not a subjective thing that changes as time goes on. A woman is a woman, two X chromosomes, has female reproductive organs, etc. Everyone always knew what a woman was, it was the furthest thing from controversial. But now this basic truth of our humanity is being attacked and people, like a potential supreme court justice, are pleading ignorance on this issue.

More than ever we must stand up for the truth and proclaim it when it makes sense to do so.

"Instead of fasting from food, fast from..." and other nonsensical phrases

Something I've heard a lot in recent years is the expression that goes something like "This Lent, instead of fasting from food, fast from criticizing others (or judgment, meanness, anger, etc - the list goes on).

They may also say what to feast on, such as love, kindness, etc.

There is nothing wrong with this except the unnecessary contrasting of fasting from food with fasting from other actions and activities. They are hardly mutually exclusive concepts, as though you must choose one or the other.

In fact, fasting from food helps us in fasting from other vices which is why we are told to do so. If fasting itself had no beneficial effects or in fact makes us more judgmental, angry, jealous, etc, then why would Christ have implored us to do so? Remember, Jesus doesn't say if you fast, he says when you fast. Fasting is presupposed to the point where not only does he not have to tell people to do it or start doing it, he tells people how to do it correctly and points out those who do it wrong.

I find it highly misguided and inappropriate in our current time to set up this false dichotomy when speaking to people in our current era who have generally neglected fasting almost completely. When people do "fast", it is usually the mildest form of it. I once heard a woman say that she is fasting from one particular type of chocolate bar during Lent. Not chocolate in general, but one specific bar, such as Peanut Butter M&Ms or something. I'm sure St. Francis of Assisi is looking down from heaven in awe of this level of self-denial.

I don't say these things in order to toot my own horn or say that I'm superior. I won't even mention what I may or may not be doing during this or other Lents. One of my prompts in writing this comes from my own reflection that we should make Lent a little more strenuous than usual so that we can grow spiritually during this season of penance. My point is that in an era where the practice of fasting has almost completely vanished, it seems odd that priests and others would implore us to leave behind fasting from food and to choose other sacrifices instead.

In my readings, I've been looking at what some Christians undertook as fasting for many centuries. They would give up all meat and animal products, many would only eat one meal a day after 3pm (and sometimes later). During Holy Week itself, many would subsist on bread and water alone. These practices weren't considered extreme and unusual, they were the norm in many places and for many people. In that bygone era, perhaps it would have made sense to remind these people to fast from other vices as well, or to even warn people not to go too far so as to damage their health. But such warnings seem almost silly in our time. It would be like speaking at an obesity conference and telling participants to focus on eating enough.

On the level of communication itself, we live in a time of imprecision. People throw around terms interchangeably without attempting to be precise. In my opinion, this has had the effect of rendering people less able to express specific ideas and has damaged theological and philosophical discussions. My point in mentioning this is that we shouldn't be using the term "fasting" in reference to things other than food. It's unnecessary and confusing. The English language especially has a very wide vocabulary and resorting to a specific word for use in other purposes seems unnecessary. It also waters down the concept of fasting. If fasting can mean refraining from not only food, but anger or jealousy or rudeness, then it takes away the idea that fasting from food is necessary and helpful. People start to believe that fasting from anything is the equivalent. The truth is Jesus specifically mentions fasting many times. He doesn't lump it together with various other practices. This highlights its importance.

Instead of "fast from anger", just say practice patience. Instead of "fast from criticism" say show mercy or show compassion. Instead of "fast from rudeness", perhaps say "show meekness". Not only is it more accurate, it is phrased in the positive. We don't just fast from pride, we pray for an increase in humility, for example.

Leave fasting as its own separate category. There are many spiritual fruits to be gained from this practice and watering it down is not the right thing to do in this era. Fasting is not an end in itself but rather a means to an end. By denying our bodies, we can focus more on the spiritual and growing closer to God.

This Lent, let's "fast" from watering down concepts and finding the easy ways out. I hope you have a blessed and fruitful Lent in anticipation of Christ's death and glorious resurrection and ascension at Easter.

Happy Lent Everyone

Today is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. What are you all going to do? Try to challenge yourselves. When Easter rolls around, you want to be proud of what you've accomplished in terms of penance as well as growing in spirituality and holiness. Don't let this Lent go by without making a big effort. God bless!

RIP: Alice Von Hildebrand

Famed Catholic philosopher and wife of Dietrich Von Hildebrand died today, January 14, 2022 at the age of 99. She made many appearances on EWTN and toured the US, Canada, and the rest of the world giving lectures.

May she rest in peace.

Pope creates division in order to combat division

The pope has "doubled down" on quashing the old rite of the Church, as a Yahoo article puts it. Pope Francis had already attacked the traditional Latin Mass and tried to limit its observance. Just a few days ago, he dealt it another blow by making it impossible to set up new Latin Masses and making it ever harder to celebrate sacraments according to the old rite.

The pope's alleged logic for this decision is to reduce division, but what he is doing is nothing but creating division. The old rite is perfectly valid and in fact has a much longer history than the Novus Ordo. Celebrating it would do absolutely nothing to hinder the celebration of the Novus Ordo. The only thing it really ends up doing is creating animosity with traditional Catholics.

I really have no idea how the pope thinks this will reduce division. There is no logic to what he is saying. Celebrating Mass in a particular way has nothing to do with division. The only thing that divides Catholics is whether or not people adhere to the teachings of the Church. If one group is fine with contraception, gay marriage, and disobeying legitimate authority in spiritual matters, and another group follows the Church, that's where there is division.

From my experience traditional Catholics are far more likely to follow Church teaching than people in the Novus Ordo. That's not to say that most Novus Ordo Catholics don't follow Church teaching as well, but adherence is highest among the traditional.

I have no idea what Pope Francis is trying to do to be honest. He's completely all over the place. I rarely ever hear anything about his defending Catholic teaching or explaining it. He seems to be focused on loopholes and bashing traditional Catholics. Very strange behavior. I'm sure traditional Catholics could potentially suffer from certain vices more than the more modern counterparts. Maybe they have a sense of superiority or other issues. But continuously antagonizing them will not solve any of that. Quite frankly, I see the potential issues with traditional Catholics to be much easier to remedy than the issues of those who oppose tradition.

Here's the article from Yahoo. It has errors and seems to be from a mainly non-Catholic point of view, but has some info:

https://news.yahoo.com/pope-doubles-down-quashing-old-110637870.html

Evil media happy that Cardinal Burke is in the hospital

Poor Cardinal Burke who has done so much to uphold tradition is in the hospital with Covid-19. We must all pray for his recovery. I thought he was older but apparently he's only 73.

The worst part about this is how the evil media is so thrilled about him being in the hospital. All the headlines are mocking him. Stuff like "Cardinal Burke, who is a Covid vaccine skeptic, is in the hospital". They just love to rub that in everyone's face. Who cares what he thinks about the vaccine. We should care about him in this moment. Truth is, they probably wouldn't have even reported on him were it not for his opposition to the vaccine.

The idea is that you must accept their narrative no matter what. They aren't reporting the news, they are trying to force their opinions on everyone else. It's evil and vile. They act like he deserves it because he has questions about the vaccine. Any sane person would have questions!

Anyway, we must ignore this nonsense and just pray for the cardinal.

Things are getting crazy in Canada: We must defend the Catholic Church

Where is it all going for the Church in Canada? The Catholic Church is under attack like never before in our country, and I really don't know what to make of it. It's on all fronts - there is a full on offensive against our Church and our values. We cannot sit by idly and let this happen. Either you are fighting for the Church or you are opposed.

Our society has many institutions that have developed over the centuries. There are civil, judicial, and religious institutions. There are also core beliefs that make us who we are. Over the past several years, and especially recently, those institutions have come under attack by various groups.

If you are a faithful Catholic, now is not the time to sit idly by. It's really the time to fight for our Church which was given to us by Jesus Christ. If our enemies are plotting all days on ways of destroying the Church, we must at least not just sit on the sidelines and do nothing.

So, what am I talking about? There are so many lines of attack, it's hard to pick just one. I will try to explain some of them. You can see examples everywhere you look.

Free speech is being stripped away day by day. Social media, the modern-day public square, is openly hostile to Christian beliefs. People are being banned left, right and center on these platforms for expressing Christian beliefs that have been around for centuries. Some may respond to this by saying these are private companies. This is a dubious claim but even if we are to grant this, it goes further. Bill C10 which was recently passed, gives the Federal Government of Canada unprecedented power to regulate the content of social media website. The argument that private companies can allow or disallow anything they want on social media no longer holds any water. Our free speech is also being attacked by the government itself.

More and more opinions and beliefs are being deemed "hate speech" and considered a form of violence. Again, we are not allowed to express our viewpoints. As Christians, this ought to be shocking.

Another recent issue which has gained a lot of traction is residential schools in the country. They are condemned as completely evil institutions with no redeeming qualities. I have not yet researched this topic thoroughly, but from my understanding, claims of genocide are stemming from the discovery of unmarked graves. However, this claim is based on little evidence. There may be children buried there but so many questions have yet to be answered. Were these children murdered, as is implied, or did they simply die of widespread diseases such as TB? Were their graves actually unmarked or were they marked with wooden crosses which have since disintegrated? How did the children in residential schools fare compared to children who did not attend residential schools? Were any children better off for attending?

These questions are not allowed to be asked apparently. No "journalist" in Canada would ever dare even bring them up. I will be looking more into this and telling you what I find out. But even if there was murder or abuse, does that mean we can go so far as to condemn each and every person involved? What institution exists in our country or any other that has a perfect record? Do all public schools have a flawless record devoid of any abuse?

People are reacting violently against all Catholics. Churches are being burned to the ground - even churches used by aboriginals to worship which is rather ironic. Beloved Catholic statues are being desecrated. All for unproven crimes. All believers of our religion are being condemned for the actions of a few. It reminds me of a book published by a non-Catholic titled "Anticatholicism: The last acceptable prejudice". It really is true. All institutions, to varying degrees, have bad people in them. To me it doesn't make any sense to condemn the entire organization wholesale based on that.

We cannot shy away. So many Catholics I know just want to fit in with the rest of society. The rest of society wants to destroy our Church, so why are you trying so hard to fit in with them? Do you think any secular person hesitates for one nanosecond to bash the Church? Of course not. So why aren't we defending the Church all the more?

Maybe people think if they defend the Church, they are somehow defending people who have done wrong. This is absolute nonsense. If there were doctors or nurses who did things which were immoral, would it make sense to bash all healthcare workers and healthcare in general? Would it be sensible to say all people who care for the sick are evil? Anyone would recognize this as absolute absurdity.

I think we have an obligation to defend the Church at all turns. We don't need to help others in finding fault. When the entire world is out there bashing and attempting to destroy the Church in our country, we need faithful believers to act as defense attorneys. It's already one-sided, we don't need to help the prosecution!

I will attempt to publish more articles with information that can be valuable to debunk the evil myths that are being spread. Catholics must stick together because we have so many enemies. Even our own Prime Minister is throwing the Church under the bus, even though his government is just as much or more responsible for residential schools, especially his father Pierre Trudeau.

Stay tuned to this blog for updates.

Is anyone out there? Do you read this blog?

I've been falling down on the job. Although I used to type on this blog frequently, especially a few months ago, when I was posting something nearly everyday, that has somewhat fallen to the wayside.

Part of the problem is that I really don't know how the blog is doing. Are people reading it? Do I have followers? Or are people just accidentally clicking on my links and then exiting soon afterwards? Please comment below if you fall into any of those categories. I love to hear from people but I simply have not very often.

I looked at the stats and it indicates I continue to receive about 30-40 visitors daily, despite not adding new content. I do have well over 1000 blog posts so it seems some are somewhat "evergreen", meaning they continue to have relevance. I guess it's kind of like the Church herself.

So that's it on the blog front. Maybe I will start writing more articles. I would love to hear what kind of articles you want to see. More news? More opinion pieces? What are you looking for? Do you want things which are more personal? Perhaps you want me to just talk about things that are perhaps not directly related to the faith but just all kinds of topics informed by my faith? Let me know!

Otherwise in my life, I am trying to get things off the ground in terms of having a legitimate income, but it's proving to be quite difficult. Please pray for me to have some success. Thanks.

Ireland Banning Confessions!!

No, this is not some exaggerated or click-bait title. Ireland is literally banning the Sacrament of Confession in the country under the pretext of Covid regulations.

It's not that there are rules surrounding how it must be conducted. No. It is just outright banned. Obviously for Catholics, they must disregard this law completely. Going to jail or risking a fine pales in comparison to having an unforgiven mortal sin on ones soul.

This is astounding and shocking.

Details can be found in an article here.

For those arguing this is only about Covid, the article points out that it will remain legal for a priest to have a "chat" with a parishioner. Can anyone tell me how a "chat" can be conducted which would exclude the possibility of a confession? No one can.

Again, this is all irrelevant. Faithful Catholics will find a way to seek out confession. Priests must make themselves available in a covert way. There are various possibilities. I mean for one thing, they could just rename confession as "a chat" for any public official or police officer.

This is beyond ridiculous. The Church is under attack and singled out like never before.

Pray for this situation and remain strong.

Happy Birthday Pope Benedict!

Happy Birthday to Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI who today turns 94 years old. He is about one year younger than Queen Elizabeth who turns 95 next week on Wednesday.

Who'd have thought that Pope Benedict would still be around 8 years after his retirement? I'm sorry he left so soon. He is a deep and complex character with much to offer to the Church. I have written about the potential damage being done by the current pontiff. While Pope Benedict offered, in what some might see as stereotypically German, clarity, Pope Francis on the other hand tends to offer confusion.

Pope Francis has done some good things as well, but it mainly seems like virtue-signaling to appeal to enemies of the Church. I will leave it to readers to make that evaluation.

I think Pope Benedict got a bad rap. He was attacked in the media, but it was all based on some kind of emotional reaction to him. "He doesn't look all that friendly". Stuff like that. As if that has anything to do with anything. Most people only know what the media tell them. They hear he is strict or orthodox or conservative, etc. and that's about all they know.

In reality, Pope Benedict wrote 66 books, 3 encyclicals and 3 exhortations, on a wide range of topics. He was an esteemed professor at several universities and became a full professor at the age of 31.

Over his career, Pope Benedict became more and more conservative as he saw the problems afflicting a more liberal point of view in the Church. He staunchly defended traditional Catholic doctrines.

To be honest, I have not read a large number of Pope Benedict's books, but I think it is something worth doing.

So Happy Birthday Pope Benedict, we miss you!

Happy Easter 2021! God Loves You.

I would like to wish a very happy and blessed Easter to all my readers and everyone around the world.

A holy priest yesterday had a great homily which I can summarize as follows. God worked throughout the history of mankind towards our salvation. Starting all the way back to Adam, God made covenants with his people. The Jewish people awaited the coming of the Messiah for centuries and generations. Isaiah, Ezekiel, and others prophesized His coming. Everything led up to Jesus, his birth, and ultimate death and resurrection. The eternal sacrifice and covenant.

At times things seemed dark, full of despair and darkness, yet there was always a plan for those who trusted in the Lord. Think of the Passion. The Apostles may have thought "well, this is it. We thought Jesus was the savior, but now he's crucified." They may have given up in despair. But that wasn't the end. Jesus rose again, in the most joyous event in human history - the Resurrection, Easter.

The same God who brought about the salvation of the whole world is there to bring about our own salvation. Despite the darkness we sometimes encounter, we must trust in the Lord. He is ready and waiting to make us part of salvation history. If you are experiencing your own passion, remember that God has a great Easter planned for you. Happy Easter to all my readers and to people everywhere!

Catholic Church Mass Readings for Sunday, April 4, 2021: Easter Sunday - The Lord's Resurrection

Catholic Church Mass Readings for Sunday, April 4, 2021: Easter Sunday - The Lord's Resurrection

Lectionary: 42

Reading I

Acts 10:34a, 37-43

Peter proceeded to speak and said:

“You know what has happened all over Judea, 

beginning in Galilee after the baptism

that John preached, 

how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth

with the Holy Spirit and power.

He went about doing good

and healing all those oppressed by the devil, 

for God was with him.

We are witnesses of all that he did

both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem.

They put him to death by hanging him on a tree.

This man God raised on the third day and granted that he be visible,

not to all the people, but to us,

the witnesses chosen by God in advance,

who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.

He commissioned us to preach to the people

and testify that he is the one appointed by God

as judge of the living and the dead.

To him all the prophets bear witness,

that everyone who believes in him

will receive forgiveness of sins through his name.”

Responsorial Psalm

118:1-2, 16-17, 22-23

R.  (24) This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.

or:

R.  Alleluia.

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,

    for his mercy endures forever.

Let the house of Israel say,

    “His mercy endures forever.”

R.  This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.

or:

R.  Alleluia.

“The right hand of the LORD has struck with power;

    the right hand of the LORD is exalted.

I shall not die, but live,

    and declare the works of the LORD.”

R.  This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.

or:

R.  Alleluia.

The stone which the builders rejected

    has become the cornerstone.

By the LORD has this been done;

    it is wonderful in our eyes.

R.  This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.

or:

R.  Alleluia.

Reading II

Col 3:1-4

Brothers and sisters:

If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, 

where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.

Think of what is above, not of what is on earth.

For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

When Christ your life appears,

then you too will appear with him in glory.

OR:

I Cor 5:6b-8

Brothers and sisters:

Do you not know that a little yeast leavens all the dough?

Clear out the old yeast,

so that you may become a fresh batch of dough, 

inasmuch as you are unleavened.

For our paschal lamb, Christ, has been sacrificed.

Therefore, let us celebrate the feast, 

not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, 

but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

Sequence

Victimae paschali laudes

Christians, to the Paschal Victim

    Offer your thankful praises!

A Lamb the sheep redeems;

    Christ, who only is sinless,

    Reconciles sinners to the Father.

Death and life have contended in that combat stupendous:

    The Prince of life, who died, reigns immortal.

Speak, Mary, declaring

    What you saw, wayfaring.

“The tomb of Christ, who is living,

    The glory of Jesus’ resurrection;

Bright angels attesting,

    The shroud and napkin resting.

Yes, Christ my hope is arisen;

    to Galilee he goes before you.”

Christ indeed from death is risen, our new life obtaining.

    Have mercy, victor King, ever reigning!

    Amen. Alleluia.

Alleluia

Cf. 1 Cor 5:7b-8a

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Christ, our paschal lamb, has been sacrificed;

let us then feast with joy in the Lord.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

Jn 20:1-9

On the first day of the week,

Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning,

while it was still dark, 

and saw the stone removed from the tomb.

So she ran and went to Simon Peter 

and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, 

“They have taken the Lord from the tomb, 

and we don’t know where they put him.”

So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb.

They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter 

and arrived at the tomb first; 

he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in.

When Simon Peter arrived after him, 

he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there, 

and the cloth that had covered his head, 

not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place.

Then the other disciple also went in, 

the one who had arrived at the tomb first, 

and he saw and believed.

For they did not yet understand the Scripture 

that he had to rise from the dead.