We're Getting Closer...

Here we go. After what has seemed to be an incredibly long wait, all the Cardinals have arrived in Rome and they have opted to start the Conclave a few days early, on Tuesday, 12 March. If the Pope had died,the Conclave wouldn't have started until March 15th. I suppose it just feels longer, as the Pope gave two weeks' notice of his abdication...

Last time around, Pope Benedict was elected after three ballots, on the second day of the Conclave. Everyone seems to expect that this one will be a longer affair.

Keep praying...

Ooops...

It seems that, after La Stampa violated the confidentiality of the General Congregation (by naming names and telling who said what about whom, according to the USCCB Blog), the Cardinals decided that it would be better to avoid those pesky media people. No more media interviews... other than the Vatican Press Office briefings, I suppose.

It's hardly surprising. Cardinals appear to be a garrulous lot. Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor let the cat out of the bag after the last conclave with his "They voted for him" gaffe. Just as well he isn't going to be there this time around: the penalty for violating the oath of secrecy has just been upped to excommunication latae sententiae.

Z-Swag In The Wild...

Just for a little light relief...

You can get your own bumper stickers by visiting the store on Fr. Z's blog...

A Little More Light-Hearted Fun...

This one's doing the rounds on Twitter and Facebook...

So that's why they're so keen on secrecy!

Someone's Not Happy...

Heheheh... Lightning struck St. Peter's just hours after the announcement that Benedict XVI was to resign. Then, just a day or two after he left Rome to go to Castel Gandolfo after his resignation, a minor earthquake hit the locality...

Signs that someone's not happy, perhaps...!!

More Latin Stuff...

One of the most irritating comments when a traditional hymn or antiphon is suggested is "Oh, you can't have that... no-one knows it!"

Well, no-one will ever know it unless they get to hear it - after all, that's how they got to know the hymns they do know.

Another irritating statement: "Catholics don't sing at Mass."

Maybe. Maybe not. Perhaps they just don't sing the cruddy touchy-feely rubbish which passes for "modern" hymns according to the music publishers. Eccles has a whole series on the meaningless twaddle we've been forced to sing over the past 40 years.

But crack out the traditional hymns and the congregation suddenly seems to find an enthusiasm for joining in. Chanting is particularly popular - as Fr. Finigan has so often told our Confirmation candidates, go to the football terraces, and then tell me that men don't do chant.

Blackfen's Maestra di Cappella has the choir and congregation sussed. Introduce a new (old) chant and repeat it for an entire liturgical season. Three weeks in, and it's an old favourite.

After a year or two, Marian antiphons at the end of Mass are easy money. Even the toddlers enjoy belting them out...

Feeling Out Of Sorts...

Am I the only one who feels that this interregnum feels all "wrong" somehow?

It's difficult to pin it down, but it wasn't like this eight years ago. I'm feeling rather unsettled, and not a little ruffled.

March 11 seems to be the most likely date for the Conclave to kick off. We have no way of knowing how long it will continue. It is even possible that we won't have a new Pope in time for Easter... imagine Easter Sunday without the Ubi et Orbi blessing...!

Let's hope and pray that the Cardinals get their collective act together...

Pray, people...