More Indulgences

In commemoration of a year devoted to St. Paul, the Vatican is offering special indulgences.

“All Christian faithful - truly repentant, duly purified by the Sacrament of Penance and restored with Holy Communion - who undertake a pious visit in the form of a pilgrimage to the papal basilica of St. Paul on Rome’s Via Ostiense and pray in accordance with the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff, are granted and imparted Plenary Indulgence for the temporal punishment of their sins, once they have obtained sacramental remission and forgiveness for their shortcomings.

“Plenary Indulgence may be gained by the Christian faithful, either for themselves or for the deceased, as many times as the aforementioned acts are undertaken; it remains the case, however, that Plenary Indulgence may be obtained only once a day.

“In order that the prayers pronounced on these holy visits may lead and draw the souls of the faithful to a more intense veneration of the memory of St. Paul, the following conditions are laid down: the faithful, apart from pronouncing their own prayers before the altar of the Blessed Sacrament, … must go to the altar of the Confession and pray the ‘Our Father’ and the ‘Creed’, adding pious invocations in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Paul; and such acts of devotion must remain closely linked to the memory of the Prince of the Apostles St. Peter”.

“Christian faithful from the various local Churches, under the usual conditions (sacramental Confession, Eucharistic communion, prayer in keeping with the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff) and completely unattached to any form of sin, may still obtain the Plenary Indulgence if they participate devotedly in a religious function or in a pious exercise held publicly in honour of the Apostle of the Gentiles: on the days of the solemn opening and closing of the Pauline Year in any place of worship; on other days determined by the local ordinary, in holy places named for St. Paul and, for the good of the faithful, in other places designated by the ordinary”.

A Graduation Prayer

I was at a graduation at Rice University yesterday; I had the privilege of giving the invocation and benediction. It was the typically grand occasion, with pomp and circumstance, the dean and faculty in academic regalia, speeches and tributes, students cheering a friend, family members taking photos. But there was only one graduate. My friend Mithun, a Seventh-day Adventist, asked for accomodation, because the main graduation ceremony was held on the Sabbath. Rice graciously responded.

Here’s the prayer I offered for him:

Almighty and ever-living God, Creator and Father of all,

We come before you this day to thank, praise, and glorify you together with our friend, Mithun. We come to celebrate his graduation, and to bless him as he steps out upon a new leg of his journey.

You have been his rock and his fortress, his hope and his defense. You have been his guide, as he has walked the halls and pathways of this institution dedicated to fostering knowledge of letters, science, and art. Under your care he has increased in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man

He has been a faithful witness to your everlasting love and mercy, leading others from days of discouragement to nights of praise.

Bless him, now, as he goes forth. Uphold him in faith, hope, and love. Make him to be as salt and light. Use him to bless others there, as we have been blessed by his friendship here.

Pour out upon him your Spirit, as you did on the apostles on that first Pentecost—the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD.

And may the motto sealed on his heart and mind be that which in former times was claimed by the school to which he now goes: Veritas in Christi Gloriam.

In whose name we make our prayer. Amen.

The Emerging Church

Terry Mattingly is having a hard time defining “emerging church.” I wonder, is Brian McLaren really “the key figure”? He links to a Washington Post interview. It seems to me McLaren is just another liberal–and I find it interesting that in responding to the question of whether he is one, he speaks only in political terms, not theological.