Divine Mercy Novena-Day 1

First Day

"Today bring to Me All Mankind, especially all sinners and immerse them in the ocean of My mercy. In this way you will console Me in the bitter grief into which the loss of souls plunges Me."

Go here for instructions.

Kung--Expect Big Surprises from Pope

From Ansa Italy:

But, in an article which appeared in Italian daily La Stampa on Thursday, he seemed convinced that change would come, referring confidently to "the surprises of a conservative" .

"He is the supreme shepherd who proceeds with slow, small steps. He takes his time and prefers to promote small changes which trigger other bigger ones," he said. When Benedict was elected a year ago, Kung described the cardinals' choice as a "huge disappointment". But he also said he would suspend judgment and wait to see what the new pontiff did .

Holy Thursday

Christ in Gethsemane
by Michael O'Brien

Annual Footwashing Controversies

First a note from the Vatican, via Zenit:

No. 51 of the circular letter states: "The washing of the feet of chosen men which, according to tradition, is performed on this day, represents the service and charity of Christ, who came 'not to be served, but to serve.' This tradition should be maintained, and its proper significance explained."

About a year ago, however, the Holy See, while affirming that the men-only rule remains the norm, did permit a U.S. bishop to also wash women's feet if he considered it pastorally necessary in specific cases. This permission was for a particular case and from a strictly legal point of view has no value outside the diocese in question.

The Pope will wash the feet of 12 laymen (not priests)

Oratory Priest won't wash anyone's feet

Catholic's United for the Faith give their view

Charlotte priest apologizes to women for not washing their feet

While I'm like Peter, I don't want my feet washed and can't imagine who would--including most of the women I know who have very clean feet.

Talk about distractions in the liturgy, why does everything have to take the focus off of Christ? He's about to be crucified and the modern disciples (unlike the original ones) are all worried about who is going to be allowed to have their feet washed!

National Geographic and Gospel of Judas

Actually my favorite part of the presentation was how they mimiced Mel Gibson's Passion of the Christ when do the re-enactments of the Last Supper.

Emergence of the Gospel of Judas Offers a Tangled Tale of Its Own

William Sloane Coffin dead at 81

Former Yale Chaplain.

The Latest

A short note, one commentor on the Good Friday for Liberals wondered about my "headline" for it, saying they identified themselves as a "liberal"...like anything it is a little tongue in cheek as was my choice of a resurrected Christ for the image...there are those who'll pick up on it right away and those who've entered the game rather late who won't have a clue...obviously it'll be Good Friday for everyone this week, but for some the participation in Our Lord's crucifixion may be felt a little easier.

From Catholic World News:

The silence from Rome is getting downright noisy.

The rumor mills have provided dozens of reports that Pope Benedict will soon issue a document regarding the Latin Mass. But the stories are invariably laced with words like "could" and "perhaps." There has been no confirmation from the Vatican, nor any denial.

Vatican officials who might ordinarily provide useful insights are ducking questions. They are not saying that the reports are wrong. They are simply... not saying.

In his own blog Father John Zuhlsdorf has neatly summarized the circumstantial evidence pointing to the likelihood that the Holy Father will soon confirm the right of every priest to use the 1962 Missal. To his impressive collection of evidence, let me add this: the Congregation for Clergy is still leaving open the possibility that Pope Benedict will issue a statement on Holy Thursday-- which is now less than 36 hours away!

Taken all together, the evidence suggests that Church leaders know there is a statement ready for release, but the exact nature of that statement, and its timing, is known only to Pope Benedict and his closest associates, who (as we already know) don't leak stories to the media.