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Whether they're called the Swiss Guard, Papal Swiss Guard, or Pontificia Cohors Helvetica, those 135 men wear what may be today's most colorful full dress uniforms. Although they look like something straight out of the Renaissance, the uniform's not much over a century old. Up until 1914, when Pope St. Pius X died, each pope had tweaked the design a bit. Maybe because our next Pope, Benedict XV, came on duty about the same time that World War I started, the Swiss Guard's then-commander, Jules Repond, did the uniform redesign. Or authorized it, at any rate. I gather that the blue, red, and yellow stripes are Medici family colors. The Basque hat reflects Swiss Guard uniforms painted by Raphael. 1 And none of that's what I was going to be talking about today. Background: Vatican by the Tiber — Popes, 16th Century Politics — And Unpaid Troops May 6, 1527: Death and Honor — Remembering the Rearguard: 147 Against 20,000 — Reputations — And Raphael

St Joseph and the Christ Child El Greco [ Web Gallery of Art ] Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland) Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Gospel   Luke 2:22-40 [or 22, 39-40] ( English Standard Version Anglicised: India) And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they [the parents of Jesus] brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord  [(as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”)   and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtle-doves, or two young pigeons”.   Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.   And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ.   And

  Oh Brother. Leading up to Christmas, I started spontaneously waking up too early. I would lie in bed and eventually get up, kind of frustrated that I couldn't sleep in. Sleeping in for me is 7:00 am, so 4:30 or 5:00 am was pushing it because it would cause me to be tired too early at night. As a lot of you can relate, I'm sure, it becomes quite a cycle. Well, I decided if I was going to wake up that early, maybe God was trying to get my attention, so I used that great quiet in the early morning hours to get in a holy hour. Instead of staying frustrated, I turned that time into quality time with God. Now that I am back to my normal routine, I try to do it whenever the house is quiet and my mind is clear. There's something refreshing when you rest in God, whatever time of the night or day you have available to you. If I get sleepy or nod off, I figure that's okay, because resting in God is quality time. When our oldest daughter came home at four months old, she wa

  Many, many years ago my husband and I "discovered" a Scriptorium in Grand Haven, Michigan, kind of tucked away in an unassuming spot. Yesterday, I pulled out a "bulletin" from our visit that I had put aside because of the wonderful articles in it. Here's a bit of trivia . . . among the Van Kampen Collection at the Scriptorium was the "first Bible printed in America." Interestingly, that first Bible was printed in Algonquin, not English. I would encourage you to look up the history of the Eliot Bible online; it's fascinating. The collection, which had a variety of many amazing artifacts, is no longer housed where we saw it, nor available to the public, as far as I can tell. The article offers a quote by Nathaniel Hawthorne in tribute to John Eliot, since it was Eliot who worked so hard to see that the Algonquins had a bible translated in their language. Even though, according to the article, Hawthorne was not a fan of the Puritans, he wrote of

  It occurred to me on Christmas morning that for this brief period of time, many of us throughout the world will center ourselves around Jesus. It should be a unifying day. That gives me such a sense of relief, of peace. But, more than just a day, we have a season! Christmas began on December 25th and concludes on January 8th, the Feast of the Epiphany, so keep your lights shining brightly, and if your tree is healthy enough, enjoy it longer. While this is a time for celebrations, it is important for us to remember people and places throughout the world who are continuing to experience the violence of war, hunger and poverty. Conflicts abound, and our prayers are needed. We are connected to one another. For 2024, Pope Francis has asked us to make it a Year of Prayer in preparation for the 2025 Jubilee. He has said in the past that our prayer should come from the heart, stressing that our prayers from the heart should be those that "gaze" on the Lord, "hear" the

"Urbi et orbi" is Latin for "to the city and to the world". Or, rather "To the city and to the world" is English for "urbi et orbi". Either way an "urbi et orbi" message is both for folks living in Rome and for everyone else. There's a plenary indulgence involved, too, and that's another topic.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (What Pope Francis said on Christmas Day: embedded video and a link to the text. And, VERY briefly, how I see what he said.)

  I went to confession on retreat and it was awful. Not because of the priest, but because my thoughts tangled my words so much I could barely make a coherent accounting of my sins. I mentioned my frustration to my husband as I was considering another trip to confession prior to Christmas, but as my husband pointed out, I was absolved from my sins, even though my delivery wasn't very pretty. We do our best to faithfully cooperate with God, and sometimes it's messy, but that doesn't mean that the power of God cannot break through our messiness. As you stand before Jesus during this holy season, give him your messiness and trust in his love and mercy. If you are, by default, into self-loathing over your imperfections and sins, remember, you don't decide your worthiness. God has shown your worthiness by his loving act. Let go of whatever you might be holding onto, because it's probably not of God. Enjoy this beautiful, sacred season, and thank God for all that is g

  Most everyone enjoys celebrating Christmas, even if they aren't what you might call "religious". Maybe they like to shop and give gifts or simply enjoy gatherings, and that's all nice, but, without making the connection between Christmas and Jesus, these celebrations come up short. You see, gatherings can take place and be fun, without a thought of Jesus, but Jesus is THE reason we celebrate. We celebrate God taking on human form in the person of Jesus. Our joy comes from knowing that our Creator loves us so much, that he did not leave us to ourselves, but sent us a Savior to show us the way. Celebrate Jesus today and remember, our Merry Christmas is because of him. If you struggle believing, ask questions and never give up. Let your doubt fuel your motivation so that next year, your MERRY CHRISTMAS will take on its full meaning. Merry Christmas!   Janet Cassidy janetcassidy.com Follow me on Facebook at:   https://www.facebook.com/reflectionsinfaith/

One, maybe two, articles by C. S. Lewis reappeared about a half-dozen years back. Not that they'd been invisible. Collectors had the articles in their copies of The Strand Magazine, but "A Christmas Sermon for Pagans" and "Cricketer's Progress" hadn't made it into lists of work by Lewis. Maybe it's just one new 'Lewis' article. "Cricketer's Progress: A Famous Reputation and What Became of It", was written by a "Clive Hamilton". Sure, Lewis published his first book under the Clive Hamilton pseudonym. But Lewis isn't known as a sports journalist. 1 And that's another topic. Anyway, I'll be talking about "A Christmas Sermon for Pagans" this week. Or, rather, I'm sharing a few excerpts; and talking about whatever comes to mind. "A Christmas Sermon for Pagans": No Longer Forgotten "... 'Objective' Right or Wrong...." "...Nature is ... A Kind of Machine fo

  Annunciation Alessandro Allori [ Web Gallery of Art ] And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.”   (Luke 1:38; Gospel) Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland) Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Gospel   Luke 1:26-38  ( English Standard Version Anglicised, India) In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,   to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary.   And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favoured one, the Lord is with you!”   But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.   And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God.   And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.   He will be great and wil

  I found a book on my bookshelf ("The Power of Pause, Becoming More by Doing Less") that I have no idea where it came from. Since I was looking for something to read I picked up this book by Terry Hershey and have found it thought-provoking. He talks about us having two spaces. One is our productivity space where we are doing everything and often getting rewarded for it. The second one is our quiet space for contemplation and renewal. He calls the second space our "Sabbath space." Both spaces are important, but some of us might be drawn to one more than the other. It is so easy to either skip the contemplation space, or allow distractions to enter into it. As well, the productivity space can become overwhelming and empty, if not fueled by the grace that comes from the second. Another danger we need to be careful about, is the idea that we are wasting our time, doing nothing, in the Sabbath space. Nothing could be further from the truth, but dep

  The conclusion of Mary's conversation with the angel announcing she will carry Jesus, was this, from the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 1: "Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." This is a declaration we should all make. As the Lord's "handmaid," we are agreeing to do God's will, even when it differs from our own, even if it is difficult to do. Mary's Yes! brought Jesus into the world. What will his grace do with your Yes!? Janet Cassidy janetcassidy.com Follow me on Facebook:   https://www.facebook.com/reflectionsinfaith/  

It's "breaking news" that (gasp) Pope Francis is allowing the blessing of gay couples. If you haven't read this Declaration you really should. (Scroll down in the document's link to read it in English.) The Declaration comes from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (with Francis' approval) which is "the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia . . . It was founded to defend the Catholic Church from heresy and is the body responsible for promulgating and defending Catholic doctrine." There is much to learn about the different types of blessings, the situations in which they are given, and what the Church continues to hold true about marriage. Here's what the breaking news headlines will NOT tell you about the Declaration and blessings: --No change is being made to marriage as a sacramental union between a man and a woman. (That's a good thing.) --There are blessings that "descend," or come down from God

  I'm keeping it super simple today. Here's what the priest told us in his homily on Sunday . . . Have you been wondering what God wants you to do? In his First Letter to the Thessalonians (Chapter 5, Verses 16-24), St. Paul spells it out for us: "Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus." In his homily, Father gave some suggestions for the praying without ceasing part, that I thought I'd share because they are helpful. Pass a cemetery? Pray for the dead. See an accident? Pray for the injured. Pray for people in the hospital. The poor, the lonely, the depressed. Basically, he reminded us that we are surrounded with opportunities to pray, so the "pray without ceasing" exhortation by St. Paul is not hard. It just requires awareness. Give it a try today and see how you do. And while you are at it, be sure to include rejoicing and gratitude. Together, all three

Headlines are supposed to get attention. That's what these did: "Vatican approves blessings for same-sex couples in landmark ruling" (Reuters) "Pope Francis Allows Priests to Bless Same-Sex Couples" (The New York Times) "Vatican Issues Guidelines for Same-Sex Blessings" (The Wall Street Journal) I'm not sure about "The 'spirit' of 'Fiducia supllicans'" in The Pillar. Maybe it's attention-grabbing for the publication's demographic. Anyway, what Pope Francis said — what he actually said, not what editors say he said — is not what I'm going to write about this week.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (Monday headlines about same-sex marriages and the pope. Excerpt from Vatican News. A link to Fiducia Supplicans. Why I am not writing about it this week.)