Talk about your plethora of great posts elsewhere! As I was going through my Google Reader yesterday I kept thinking, "I should link that on my blog. I should link that one too. Wow! That's good too." So…..
First up, this YouTube video about some new findings with regard to the Shroud of Turin.
How cool is it that the needlework on the shroud should provide such an important clue? Thank you kindly, Causa Nostrae Laetitae
Anyone up for a road trip? If you are in the Birmingham area, please consider supporting this in person. And if you aren't, I think we should all be supporting this effort in our prayers and while you are praying for that, let's give thanks for Seminarian Matthew's summer break and temporary return to blogging! He also provided this unconfirmed story. I know that many people have found great inspiration in Medjugorje, but speaking as someone who regularly speaks to non-Catholics these alleged apparitions and their content is something that comes up regularly and seldom in a positive way. I would very much like to see an official ruling from the Vatican one way or the other.
Another Shroud of Turin story…..and another road trip!!
Mike Aquilina has a fascinating link to a story about the Gospel of Judas. He also had a fascinating post on the reception of 3,000 Assyrians received into the Catholic Church.
An Orthodox Bishop shares communion with Catholics
AND last but not least…..don't forget to drop by this week's Catholic Carnival at Just Another Day of Catholic Pondering
5 responses so far ↓
1 Sal // Jun 4, 2008 at 6:15 pm
The bishop of a diocese in which an alleged apparition occurs is the final arbiter of its authenticity (or not). The M-word’s been disproved a long time- the supporters just love it so much they ignore the legitimate authority. Call it ’spiritual gluttony’, if you like. I’m not sure a declaration from the Vatican would help.
Here’s a link:
http://jimmyakin.typepad.com/defensor_fidei/2006/04/the_apparitions.html
Loved the long post the other day. Glad you’re back blogging.
2 Sister Spitfire // Jun 5, 2008 at 7:44 am
Spiritual gluttony is exactly the right phrase in my opinion. You nailed it Sal!
As for a statement from the Vatican, I don’t suppose it will have any effect on the supporters as you have rightly pointed out. I am looking at it purely from an I-am-the-center-of-the-universe standpoint…..in conversations with non-Catholic Christians it’s way easier to say “Look here’s what the Vatican says. They’re out to lunch.” than it is to say “Ok the bishop of that diocese has the final say-so and here’s why….and yes, I know you think that the Vatican should be saying something but its really not necessary….and here’s why…..and….well yes I know you think……” Sometimes it’s easier to speak to the stereotypical assumptions than to correct them. (Not that eventually you don’t want to correct the misconceptions but golly…if you do it all in one conversation! OY!)
3 Sal // Jun 5, 2008 at 8:59 am
I cannot take credit- St. John of the Cross said it first.
I hear you- the sheer bulk of the ‘whys’ is like Atlas and the world, or something. “I can explain Purgatory to you, but it won’t make any sense b/c you believe in Imputed Grace and Sola Scriptura. Which of those would you like to tackle first?”
Which is another reason why the unexpected freedom of ways of being Catholic within the perimeters is so surprising to NCCs. They don’t realize that you can be as devotional- laden as someone’s Italian grandma or as austere as a Cistercian or hit anywhere inbetween.
4 Sal // Jun 5, 2008 at 9:02 am
If you haven’t seen this, my favorite Shroud article:
http://www.shroud.com/piczek2.htm
Long, but outstanding
5 Sister Spitfire // Jun 5, 2008 at 4:32 pm
Fascinating article! Thanks Sal.
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