Monk's Suicide Linked to DaVinci Code?

From The Telegraph:

A monk may have leapt to his death from a monastery after reading The Da Vinci Code, it emerged yesterday.

Abbot Alan Rees, 64, a revered figure in the Benedictine community, fell 30ft from a second-storey balcony at Belmont Abbey in Herefordshire last October.

The Swansea-born monk had suffered from depression for the past 12 years.

Pope' Wednesday Audience (Today)

Pope Benedict XVI:

In our catechesis on Christ and the Church, we have seen how the Church is built “on the foundation of the Apostles”. The Gospels show how Jesus, at the beginning of his public ministry, chose the Twelve to become “fishers of men”. Saint John in particular presents the calling of the Apostles as the fruit of a life-changing, personal encounter with the Lord. More than just the proclamation of a message, the preaching of the Gospel is seen as a witness to the person of Jesus Christ and an invitation to enter into communion with him. Jesus sent his Apostles first to the “lost sheep of the house of Israel”. This prophetic act should be understood in the light of Israel’s messianic expectation, according to which God, through his Chosen One, would gather his people like a shepherd his flock. This “gathering” is the sign of the coming of God’s Kingdom and the extension of his saving power to every nation and people. After the Resurrection, the universality of the mission entrusted to the Apostles would become explicit. The Risen Lord would send them forth to make disciples of every nation, even “to the ends of the earth”!

Daily Audio Lenten Post

From the book of Lenten meditations written by me:

The Power of the Cross: Applying the Passion of Christ to Your Life

From the Comments

A request:

Everyone who knows about St. Rita and her devotion to Christ, please ask her to pray for my daughter. Thank you. Mar

Daily Audio Lenten Post by Michael Dubruiel

From the book of Lenten meditations written by me, The Power of the Cross.

Update 2012:

The link to the mp3s is dead - I have no idea where to find them. But there is a complete series of discussions Michael Dubruiel had on The Power of the Cross with Bruce and Kris McGregor of KVSS in Omaha.

You may access the podcasts of that series here.

All of Michael Dubruiel's books on Amazon

The Stations of the Cross - version by Michael Dubruiel

Apologies on the Comments

I just figured out that I have to personally aprove comments now, so that's why they haven't been appearing.

Roma Locuta Est (March 6th)

It was raining hard enough that I ran back up the stairs of the apartment to get an umbrella the final morning in Rome. Then I made my way to St. Peter's that now seemed almost like an old habit. A few nuns, also with umbrellas were in line with me. We made our way into St. Peter's. First, I made my way to the tomb of St. Gregory Nazianzen and in doing so found one of the kneelers where the conditions for receiving a plenary indulgence were listed--confession was one of the conditions, so I found an confessor who could hear confessions in English and made mine, then went back to the kneeler and said prayers for the intention of the Holy Father. Then I attended a Mass in Italian at the tomb of Blessed John XXIII. Then a visit to the tomb of Pope John Paul II where I prayed the Joyful mysteries of the rosary. Then to the Blessed Sacrament chapel to pray Morning Prayer. Then a rush out of St. Peter's and back to the apartment. When I got back there, the cab driver was already there (although it was about fifteen minutes before we had told him)...more rush to finish taking trash to a dumpster two blocks away, and then to bring the baggage down and take a final look around. Then through the streets and out of Rome through fogged up windows. That was two weeks ago today, but seems like a distant dream already.
When I took Latin over twenty-five years ago we learned a saying, Roma locuta est, causa finita, "Rome has spoken, the case is finished," meaning that the Pope had given the final word on some case of speculation, after a novena of full days in Rome it means something else to me now--a witness of history, martyrs, relics, art and a even a baby. Indeed Rome has spoken.