Glorious setting of Marian anthem for Advent

Christmas Mass Spectacular

Actually satire- although given what you can find elsewhere on the site, rather too close to the normal experience.

Pope Francis- saint or schismatic?

Austen Ivereigh in his new book exposes the lobbying of the Conclave by Team Bergoglio.

Cardinal-Orthodox and Catholic are two sides of the same coin.

Cardinal Koch- Politics contributed to the gap between East and West.

The gap between the Eastern and Western Christendom was considerably enhanced by politically motivated decisions of the Churches. Cardinal Kurt Koch, the Prefect of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity stated this during a visit to Lublin in Poland . The cardinal received this week the 'Golden Diploma of the Theological Faculty of the University of Lublin. He suggested that the Church as a result of the break is no longer the two lungs by which the same organism could breathe. In the theological dialogue between the two Churches currently a common basis is sought for the vision of office and primacy. Koch compared the two Churches with the two sides of the same coin.

Source

Pope has 300,000 followers in Latin

More people follow the Pope in Latin than in German. The Latin Profile of Pope Francis (77) has reached 300,000 followers, while the German has only 226,000, reported the Vatican newspaper" L'Osservatore Romano ".

Compared to other languages that is only a small slice of cake: In English the pontiff is followed by some 4.8 million people, in Spanish by more than 7.3 million.

The Twitter account pontifex_lt in the official language of the Catholic Church has existed for nearly two years.

Source

Tiny interest given the size of the world's population....and the 284 million twitter users.

The Immaculate Conception- devotion for December

Wherefore, in humility and fasting, we unceasingly offered our private prayers as well as the public prayers of the Church to God the Father through his Son, that he would deign to direct and strengthen our mind by the power of the Holy Spirit. In like manner did we implore the help of the entire heavenly host as we ardently invoked the Paraclete. Accordingly, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, for the honor of the Holy and undivided Trinity, for the glory and adornment of the Virgin Mother of God, for the exaltation of the Catholic Faith, and for the furtherance of the Catholic religion, by the authority of Jesus Christ our Lord, of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, and by our own: "We declare, pronounce, and define that the doctrine which holds that the most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instance of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin, is a doctrine revealed by God and therefore to be believed firmly and constantly by all the faithful."

Hence, if anyone shall dare -- which God forbid! -- to think otherwise than as has been defined by us, let him know and understand that he is condemned by his own judgment; that he has suffered shipwreck in the faith; that he has separated from the unity of the Church; and that, furthermore, by his own action he incurs the penalties established by law if he should are to express in words or writing or by any other outward means the errors he think in his heart.

Ineffabilis Deus