Rogation days are similar to Ember days in that they are seasonal days traditionally dedicated to prayer and, formerly, fasting. On these days, the Church seeks God's mercy, asking for protection from calamities and for a good and bountiful harvest. "Rogare" means "to beg."
Sep 16, 2018 • 11 tweets • 2 min read
You have asked, and so it shall be granted to you. Let's talk about Ember days.
Ember days are a thing. Bishop David Zubik of Pittsburgh recently proclaimed a Year of Repentance for his clergy, asking them to fast and abstain on Ember days. Most priests and deacons, let alone lay people, have probably forgotten what they are.
Sep 12, 2018 • 35 tweets • 4 min read
In Our Pontificate, We would...
1.) ...impose upon Ourselves the name Sixtus VI (Sisto Sesto).
Aug 15, 2018 • 10 tweets • 2 min read
Some thoughts on the grand jury report after reading a few major sections of it and giving myself some time to process. I focused on the portions relating to the Diocese of Pittsburgh.
1. The actual crimes described are far, far more repulsive than I could have ever imagined. But I am, I suppose, grateful to know what actually lies beneath the journalistic and diocesan euphemisms. If that's what the victims suffered, we should know.
Jul 22, 2018 • 22 tweets • 5 min read
I decided to be bold and preach on the Cardinal McCarrick situation this evening. I'm glad I did. After Mass, a parishioner told me, "It was hard to hear, but so much better than feeling like it was just another thing that got swept under the rug." #homilytweet#thread
"A month ago, an accusation of sex abuse was made against Theodore Cardinal McCarrick, the retired archbishop of Washington, D.C. I remember seeing this story in the news and thinking, 'Great. Here we go again.'"
May 2, 2018 • 14 tweets • 3 min read
#DidYouKnow that the modern exclamation mark (!) may be derived from the Latin interjection "io"? Medieval copyists wrote "io," which more or less means "hurray," at the end of a sentence to indicate joy. In time the i moved above the o and the o became smaller, becoming a point.
This is probably better known, but the ampersand (&) is also a character derived from scribal shorthand. It's just a ligature of Latin "et" ("and"). This is easier seen in some typefaces than others.
Apr 28, 2018 • 15 tweets • 3 min read
This post is for Pittsburghers specifically, I guess, but applies to every Catholic who is faced with a Church that seems to be in decline.
Get ready for a long thread.
Tonight, as part of the On Mission initiative, @BishopZubik will announce his decisions on how our parishes will be restructured. Every parish will be affected. Every priest will be reassigned. (That doesn't mean every priest moves, necessarily, but his assignment will change.)
