The Church was born of the paschal mystery. For this very reason the Eucharist, which is in an outstanding way the sacrament of the paschal mystery, stands at the centre of the Church’s life. This is already clear from the earliest images of the Church found in the Acts of the Apostles: “They devoted themselves to the Apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” (2:42). The “breaking of the bread” refers to the Eucharist. Two thousand years later, we continue to relive that primordial image of the Church. At every celebration of the Eucharist, we are spiritually brought back to the paschal Triduum: to the events of the evening of Holy Thursday, to the Last Supper and to what followed it. The institution of the Eucharist sacramentally anticipated the events which were about to take place, beginning with the agony in Gethsemane. Once again we see Jesus as he leaves the Upper Room, descends with his disciples to the Kidron valley and goes to the Garden of Olives. (John Paul II Ecclesia De Eucharistia)
In really superb Traditional Papal vestments (Fanon included):
Above 2 photos filched from Fr. Tucker’s picture archive.
19th Century Protestant American nightmare:
Being presented with a model of St. Mary’s in Cracow:
Saying Mass (notice thumb and index fingers joined):
St. John Lateran
I think a new Cardinal’s obedience:
For those who always focus on the negative aspects of various Papacy’s, dwell, and advertise them, the Spirit of this post: But Sem and Japheth put a cloak upon their shoulders, and going backward, covered the nakedness of their father: and their faces were turned away, and they saw not their father’s nakedness. (Gen 9:23)
Wow! Those pictures are superb…will link to them if that’s OK?
Jackie, Yes of course.
How very lovely! Truly worth a thousand words, yet none suffice…your blog is the “high spot” of my day. Thank you, thank you, thank you…
What great photos. What great visuals. What a great and Holy Pope. May Pope John Paul the Great pray for us. A Pope who understood symbols and beauty.
Mike: We should pray for him, he is not Canonized. He might be in Purgatory needing prayers (good to assume for all people not Canonized).
Who understood beauty? (these were the good pictures I found), I could post the 1000 other ones where he was wearing crap vestments, Indian Feathers, Hindu-dots, silly hats, watching break-dancing, Bob Dylan, Youth-day atrocities, dancing girls, The Assisi meetings etc. This is not a full fledged celebration of JP “the great” (as you call him), just a visual acknowledgment of his Papacy.
Cardinal Karol Wojtyla became “Pope John Paul II (the Great),” without a doubt. However, one would be foolish to think that he wanted to turn back the clock. In over 25 years as pope, he NEVER publicly celebrated Mass according to the Missal of 1962, not even after issuing his indults. Through those years, I watched scores of Masses that he celebrated, and in those Masses the pope NEVER intentionally held his thumbs and index fingers together after the consecration, because that would have been a violation of the rubrics of the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite. I have to believe that the photo that seems to show thumbs/fingers together represents either (1) a momentary, camera-fooling fluke or (2) an unintentional, “muscle-memory” reversion to a former behavior of the 1940s/50s.
Let us hope that Msgr. Lefebvre was either insane when he went into schism or that he repented of his schismatic acts on his deathbed, so that he will not roast in hell forever.
Class Act John! Very Charitable! I was going to delete your silliness, but left it just to show your “love”.
“Reversion to a former behavior of the 1940s/50s”.
Answer: Goes back alot longer than that John, it’s called a Tradition. Men used to respect such things. Especially things regarding Profanation of the Blessed Sacrament. I know you hip, with-it modern neo-Caths don’t like such things, but it matters.
Saddest statement you made (even worse than the one you made about the Archbishop):
“Through those years, I watched scores of Masses that he celebrated, and in those Masses the pope NEVER intentionally held his thumbs and index fingers together after the consecration”,
Sad but True.
Ken,
I am all for the joining of the fingers to prevent a loss of particles, but do you have any idea why JP2 did it on this occasion and not otherwise? Also, I wonder why he dropped the elevation towards the four cardinal points – I wish B16 would reintroduce it.
Where you write “I think a new Cardinal’s obedience”: I think it’s an episcopal consecration, with the candidate prostrate and the Holy Father and others kneeling for the litany of the Saints.
Berlinensis:
I have no idea why that is the only discernable time he joined his fingers, but it is obvious he meant to do so (you don’t accidently hold a chalice like that).
I have seen him show the Eucharist to all points before on TV (at least early in his Pontificate).
Maybe he stopped doing these things due to loss of mobility brought by the Parkinson’s disease?
Maybe he stopped doing these things due to loss of mobility brought by the Parkinson’s disease?
Then all the more reason for B16 to resume it!
Absolutely, I hope he brings back all of it!