Homilies of Pope Saint Leo the Great

Meeting of Pope Saint Leo the Great and Attila the Hun
LM had asked about the Homilies of Pope Saint Leo the Great.

Finding "homilies" was a bit difficult, but searching for "sermons" worked much better:

Sermons of Pope Saint Gregory the Great at New Advent.org

And if you'd like to have them read to you in Latin by Father Reginald Foster you can go here (has Latin text, Latin audio, and English translation texts):

Sancti Leonis Magni Tractus

RS

Another typo in the 2002 Missale Romanum

I think I have found another typo in the 2002 Missale Romanum. Apparently I have read that there are quite a few typos in the Vatican's printing.

Anyway, in Preface I for the Dead (which is the same preface as the only Preface of the Dead in the Extraordinary Form), the word in the 2002 Missale "condicio" should be "conditio."

I swear, some of these typos are as if someone was reading the prayers out loud to someone who was typing them.

EDIT - Fr. Z. has corrected me in the comments. I looked through my hand missals, and of the three the two newer ones (1962) have "conditio" and an older one (1930) had "condicio."

RS

Mass of Fr Benedict in the US

I was just notified of a post about a Thanksgiving Mass of Father Benedict (who was just recently ordained) on his trip here in the US at Church of St. John the Evangelist in Stamford, CT with the Society of Saint Hugh of Cluny. The Mass was in the Extraordinary Form. Father Cassian, the prior of the monastery in Norcia, is in the 5th picture giving the homily. The photos are beautiful.

Thanksgiving Mass of Father Benedict Nivakoff, OSB

As a side note, on the first picture in the above link, a monk's hood replaces the biretta, so whenever a priest would wear his biretta, a monk would wear his hood up.

RS

Translation discussion

I was interested by John f h h's comments on this past Sunday's Prayer over the Gifts which got me to thinking.

Dear Christopher,
Further to my last, I have been considering the Prayer over the Gifts, particularly ". . .ut hæc sacrosancta mysteria, gratiæ tuæ operante virtute, et præsentis vitæ nos conversatione sanctificent, et ad guadia sempiterna perducant...."
I was struck by your translation of convesatione as 'conversion' [more usually conversio in Latin?].
The redoubtable Lewis & Shiort gives 'frequent use' as the primary meaning of conversatio.
Therefore, I am inclined to translate:
". . . that these most holy Mysteries, by the powerful working of your Grace, may both sanctify us in the present life by frequent use, and may lead to joys everlasting..."
Or perhaps more elegantly:
"... that these most holy Mysteries, by the powerful working of your Grace, may both sanctify us in this life by frequent use, and may lead us to joys everlasting...".
This brings out the link between this prayer and the Collect, the using of "good things of this passing life" being amplified and explained in the Prayer over the Gifts as the "most holy Mysteries" which need "frequent use", not merely limited to this particular offering of the Holy Sacrifice.
I must own up to not being a Latin scholar, my knowledge being rudimentary, so i may be barking up the wrong tree, and would be grateful for your comments.
Regards
John UK

John brings up a good point about a difficult word in Latin. This same word has had a great deal written about it in relation to what it means the monastic vows in which Benedictine's promise "de stabilitate sua et conversatione morum suorum et oboedientia."

The first and the last are pretty straightforward as "his [the monk's] stability" (to live in that monastery) and "obedience." The second one is difficult. I've seen it translated as "conversion of morals" and also as "fidelity to the monastic life."

The best understanding is that the "conversatione morum suorum" means the monk will live his life faithfully according to the monastic life, which includes virtues, obedience, chastity, poverty, etc.

(On a side note: One caveat about Lewis & Short is that it will sometimes have more of a classical Latin take and so some more ecclisastical Latin nuances may not be covered in it. That's not necessarily true in this case, but just a general note of warning when using Lewis & Short.)

As John noted, Lewis & Short shows the meanings for "conversatio" as "frequent use," "frequent abode in a place," and "conversation."

My "Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin" by Leo F. Stelten has "conversatio" meaning: conversation; conduct, manner of living."

Ultimately, I would say my preferred translation of "præséntis vitæ conversatióne" in the prayer over the gifts is the "way of living of the present life." I think I picked the word "conversion" in my translation because that implies a bit more virtuous living of our lives which will lead to our sanctification by God's grace through these Mysteries (which includes frequently participating in these Mysteries). However, I can see John's point too, in that frequenting these Mysteries in our lives will lead us to holiness. Although I have seen in other prayers the word "frequentatio" for the "frequenting" of things in this sense. "Et præséntis vitæ nos conversatióne sanctíficent," is just a difficult phrase to translate.

I think this is a good example where it is difficult to translate a word with so much meaning without doing tons of linguistic gymnastics.

RS

Pope Saint Leo IV

"A quite incredible story has reached our ears ... It is alleged that you have such an aversion from the sweet chant of St Gregory ... that you are at variance in this matter not only with this see, which is near to you, but with almost every other church in the West, in fact, with all those who use the Latin tounge to pay their tribute of praise to the King of Heaven..." - Pope Saint Leo IV writing to an abbot who lacked enthusiasm for Gregorian chant.

Pope Saint Leo IV (+ A.D. 855)
Wow, you learn something new everyday. Although I've been to Rome multiple times for pilgrimages, I am always frustrated to find out that I was right by Saints whom I didn't even know were there.

Take, for instance, one of the Saints we celebrate today, Pope Saint Leo IV. (Today is also the feast of Saint Alesseo (aka Saint Alexis) whom I mentioned 2 years ago.)

I only happend to find out about Pope Saint Leo IV because he is in my Monastic diurnal since he was a Benedictine.

In trying to find out where he was buried, I found that there's litereally a corner in Saint Peter's which is a cornucopia of holy Leos! I knew about Pope Saint Leo the Great's tomb in the far back left corner. But what I didn't know was that to the left of Pope Saint Leo the Great's altar is the altar of Our Lady of the Column.

Altar of Our Lady of the Column in Saint Peter's Basilica where Pope Saint Leo IV is buried
It not only contains the relics of Pope Saint Leo the IV, but also of Pope Saint Leo II and Pope Saint Leo III! And I've been to Mass at the altar of Pope Saint Leo the Great, and here were three other Saints named Leo to my right. Add some more to the list of Saints to visit on my next trip.

You can read about his life at Catholic Encyclopedia:

Pope Saint Leo IV

Papa Sancte Leo IV, ora pro nobis.

RS

Bishops' rejection of translations helps Latin more.

Don Quixote
As at least a third of the US bishops keep behaving like Don Quixote in their delusions of helping the Church through bad ideas, I got to thinking about the positive side of all this.

By delaying the translations again, I see several things happening. The biggest is that more and more people will gain interest in Latin. I know one reason many look to the Latin is because they are so tired of the embarrassing translations we are currently stuck with. Delaying approval for the translations will just lead that many more who are seeking the truth and are just growing up to turn to the Latin for more authenticity.


I think if we had had good translations back in the '60's, most people would have been satisfied with what they had and Latin would have probably been much less practiced as it is now.

Another thing is that most likely most of the bishops who rejected these translations are aging. Meaning, everyday they are a day closer to retiring ... and being replaced with better bishops under our current pope.

I think maybe, since the dragging out of the new translations is getting so ridiculous, I'm wondering if they are about to step over the line to where Rome will take some action. We're coming close to half a century of bad translations. There's enough of us on the web who have shown how poor these translations are.


But even with better translations, remember:


RS

Ecclesiastical Latin Pronunciation Guide for United States English Speakers

Inscription at the base of the oblisk in the Piazza of St. Peter's
I've debated putting this up, but I have had several people say they found this helpful, and encouraged me to post it.

I'm sure this would make any Ecclesial Latin scholar cringe, but if this helps, then it can't be that bad ... right? I'll note that I learned most of my Latin pronunciation in Rome, since there are actually different "accents" too. The French pronunciations (or accent?) of Latin are noticeably different IMHO. And as for classical Latin pronunciation, that is VERY different.

I also did not bother with long or short vowels, mainly because when singing or chanting, the vowels are usually made long anyway for rhythmic purposes (at least in the way I learned chant).

Realize though that this isn't the most scholarly listing, but I do hope it helps people understand pronunciations better. If this helps, please let me know in the comments. Or if you see any major problems, also let me know.

Ecclesiastical Latin pronunciations

letters
A - sounds like “ah” as in “balm”
B - same as English
C - sounds like “ch” as in “cello” when followed by letters “e” or “i” or the dipthong “æ”, sounds like a hard “k” as in “calendar” when followed by “a,” “o,” or “u”
D - same as English
E - sounds like “eh” as in “dell”
F - same as English
G - soft like “j” as in “gel” when followed by letters “e” or “i”, sounds like a hard “g” as in “gum” when followed by “a,” “o,” or “u”, except when followed by “n” in which case it is a dipthong (see below)
H - sounds like h as in “horse”
I - sounds like “ee” as in “bring” unless followed by “u” in which it is a dipthong (see below)
J - not used except in later Latin, often replaced the “i” in the dipthong “iu” (see below)
K - a rather rare Latin letter from the oldest time of the language and pretty much disappeared, sounds like a hard “c” as in “Kalends”
L - same as English (two “L”’s also sound like an “L” in English)
M - same as English
N - same as English except when with a “g” as in the dipthong “gn” (see below)
O - sounds like “oh” as in “open”
P - same as English
Q - always followed by a “u” as in the English dipthong “qu” and sounds same as English as in “quick”
R - lightly trilled as in Spanish or Italian
S - sounds like “s” in “snake”
T - always hard as in “town” unless in dipthong “ti” when when followed by a vowel (see below)
U - sounds like “oo” as in “soup”
V - sounds like “v” as in “volume” (although sometimes this also represents the letter “u” in some older scripts, but this rarely happens in Ecclesial Latin texts)
W - does not exist in Latin except in foreign words
X - sounds like “kz” as in “approximate” and “rex” and “exist”
Y - rarely used (comes from the Greek), usually sounds like “ee”
Z - sounds like “z” as in “zebra”

dipthongs
æ or ae - sounds like “ay” as in cælum (Chay’ - loom)
au - sounds like “ow” or the “ou” in “ouch”
œ or oe - sounds like “ay” is basically an older form of the dipthong “æ”
iu or ju - sounds like “yoo” as in the Latin word “justítia” (yoo - stee’ - tzee - aah)
gu - sounds like “gw” as in “sánguine” when followed by a vowel, or “goo” as in “gulag” when followed by a consonant
gn - sounds like a Spanish “ñ” as in “agnus” (ah’ - nyoos)
ti - sounds hard like “tee” when followed by either consonants or followed by nothing, sounds soft like the z’s in pizza when followed by a vowel
sc - sounds like a soft “sh” when followed by “e” or “i” or sounds like a hard “sk” when followed by “a,” “o,” or “u”

accent marks
accent marks are very important (especially in Gregorian Chant) and will usually be written if there are more than two syllables in a word. If the word is a two syllable word, the accent is always on the first syllable unless otherwise noted.

syllables
all syllables (vowels) are pronounced unless they are a dipthong, care should be used to avoid slurring vowels together.
For example:
“Fílii” is pronounced “Fee’ - lee - ee” not “feely”
“puer” is pronounced “poo’ - air” not “pwer”
“suáve” is pronounced “soo - ah’ - vay,” not “swav-ay”
“pius” is pronounced “pee’ - oohs“ not “pyus“
“refúgium” is pronounced “ray - foo’ - jee - oom” not “ray - foo - jum”
“tuum” is prounced “too’ - oom” not “toom”

RS

Dominican Chant - Christmas Vigil Gospel

The New Liturgical Movement pointed out an amazing audio of the Christmas Vigil Mass Gospel, The Geneology Our Lord Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew sung in Dominican chant by Br. Benedict Jonak, OP, a Deacon in Oxford. Certainly worth the eight and a half minutes to hear.



The tone is nothing I have heard before, but it is very beautiful and sung very well. Given the length of the chant and the complexity of the tone, I am very impressed with this. It certainly reminds me how much I have to learn about chant.

RS

Some fruits of Summorum Pontificum

O wow, this is great!

I just saw a post over at The New Liturgical Movement that had me elated.

Several years ago, while in Rome, I had met a few monks from the monastery at Le Barroux. These guys were great monks and priests. In one of our conversations, a friend and I had asked them if they had ever said Mass at the Basilica of Saint Peter. They lamented that because they say Mass according to the 1962 Missal, they were forbidden by the rector of the basilica at the time. I had mentioned this to another friend who was a priest in Rome and he confirmed that this was indeed the situation.

So, it was with great joy that I just saw some pictures of the CIEL in Rome, one of which was this picture of the Abbot of Le Barroux, Dom Louis Marie, saying Mass at the tomb of Bl. John XXIII!


This really made my day!

Check out the link below at The New Liturgical movement for more pictures of traditional Latin Masses in Rome.

First Images From CIEL in Rome

EDIT - Pics came from the the blog Orbis Catholicus. Go there for even more pictures. (Sorry, I can only link to the blog because there are too many individual posts to link to.)

RS

Fr. Z. on Pope Saint Gregory on Pastors

Picture above the altar of Pope Saint Gregory the Great in the Basilica of Saint Peter, Rome, Italy
I've never really gotten into podcasts, probably because I have rarely enjoyed talk radio. However, I have started listening to Fr. Z's "PODCAzTs" and have found them to be very informative. This particular "PODCAzT" was extremely good. He starts with Pope Saint Gregory the Great talking about what qualities a pastor should have, especially focusing on bishops. However, Fr. Z points out that this can also apply to any man in a role of pastor, be they bishops, priests, or even the father of a family.

Gregory the Great on when pastors should SPEAK UP; priests and getting your way; voicemail feedback.

I always highly recommend Fr. Z's blog, but this is one post that stands out IMHO.

RS

Church Will Survive

Arg! I can't believe some bishops!

Supposedly, the bishop of Gaylord, Michigan, has said:

Until other law is promulgated, all liturgies in the Diocese of Gaylord are to be celebrated entirely in English by the presiding celebrant.

I do think other law has been promulgated. Check out Vatican II's Sacrosanctum Concilium, the current G.I.R.M., Sacramentum Redemptionem, and Summorum Pontificum.

I'd like to point out to bishops that the laity are not idiots. Some of the faithful may be apathetic, but many others know the faith and know Church and liturgical law.

Hopefully Rome will respond to this ridiculous statement promptly (of course most of Italy is on vacation during August, so we'll see).

It's time like thse I have to remember a great anecdote about Napoleon. When he invaded Italy and was taking away property and rights from the Church, he told a cardinal, "I will destroy the Church." The cardinal quickly retorted, "If us cardinals and bishops haven't been able to do it, what makes you think you can?"

Deo Gratias that God is ultimately in charge of the Church.

LOL.

RS

Cure d'Ars and Latin

Incorrupt Body of Saint Jean Baptiste Marie Vianney
Today is the feast day of Saint John Vianney, the Cure d'Ars. As I was reading about him, something interesting jumped out at me, especially in light of the recent motu proprio "Summorum Pontificum" and all the hoopla from certain sectors about Latin.

I find it rather Providential that the Patron Saint of Diocesan Priests was horrible at Latin. Yet, not only did he become a Saint, but he is the Patron of Diocesan Priests. As the pope noted, many Saints, including Saint John Vianney, became Saints under the "Tridentine" form of the Mass. So, although Saint John Vianney's Latin wasn't stellar, he knew enough to offer the Mass and become a Saint.

And in this day, when priests (supposedly) have much more formation, and many are able to get through the academics easily with passing grades, and we, in general, in our modern society, need to know much more just to survive on a day to day basis, priests (and laity) should be able to learn enough Latin to go to Mass.

I keep saying again and again, the Latin is not that hard. So much of the English language's vocabulary is derived from Latin. As Father Reginald Foster once commented: "Latin is not only for intellectuals. Back in ancient Rome, even beggars and prostitutes could speak and understand it."

And I think we've all seen tons of statistics that say the belief in the Real Presence has been dropping over the last forty years ... which is odd if the vernacular really helps that much with people understanding their Faith.

Anyway, may Saint John Vianney pray for all our diocesan priests, that they might gain the knowledge of Latin which he never had.

The Roman Sacristan on his soapbox
/rant

LOL.

RS

1962 Missale Romanum

Ooooh, I was able to hold and look through a brand new 1962 Missale Romanum (sounds contradictory but is so great to say: "brand new 1962 Missale Romanum"), which is published by Roman Catholic Books.

I have to say, the quality of this is absolutely amazing. It is much better in quality than the Vatican edition of the 2002 Missale Romanum. It is pretty clear that the publishers really did care about publishing something with "altar worthy" standards.

And, yes, I checked, there is nothing in the Good Friday ritual about the "incredulous Jews," so anyone using that weak excuse can stop.

RS

Latin Ambassador

Whew! Just got back from being an amassador for the Latin Mass ("Novus Ordo"). I helped chant some of the Mass and serve as well. The Mass went well, there was a nice turnout for a weekday Mass and quite a cross section of the parish, young and old alike. And all the people I talked with would like to have more Masses in Latin. So, I'd say it was a success.

Now, I must get to bed, I am exhausted after spending about 5 hours on the road today ... er ... yesterday ... um ... I don't know what day it is anymore. Good night.


RS

Vatican Radio Show about Latin

As a side note, Father Gary Coulter has a page that has a summary of Father Reginald Foster, OCD's programs on Vatican Radio about the Latin Language called "The Latin Lover" (Better to give you the link than to have you google the name of the show. LOL.)

Archive of "The Latin Lover" with Fr. Reginald Foster

Now, some of the things Father Reginal Foster says you have to take with a grain of salt. He is a stereotypical genius. He can speak Latin, but he has some quirks, one of which is to say things to shock people. He is a good man, and he is very dedicated to the preservation of Latin, but he'll rarely hold back an opinion.

Anyway, the radio shows are very interesting, if not for the Latin anecdotes, then for a bit of insight into Vatican politics and workings.

RS

Quick thoughts on Summorum Pontificum

Well, I just finished reading "Summorum Pontificum" and the accompanying letter from Pope Benedict to the bishops explaining the motu proprio. I have to say, the document and letter were very well written and very clear. Let us pray that they are also well read and/or read well.

First, we need to get some language straight. The "Tridentine" and the "Novus Ordo" are not two different rites. They are both of the Roman rite, however they are two different "uses" within the Roman rite. This can also be understood by looking at the Anglican use, which is the form of Mass used by former Anglicans who have come into the Catholic Church. The Anglican use is also within the Roman rite. So, these are not different rites, but rather different uses. Thus I will try to now refer to them as the "Mass of Bl. John XXIII" (="Tridentine" since the 1962 Missal was promulgated under Bl. John XXIII) and the "Mass of Paul VI" (="Novus Ordo" which was promulgated under Pope Paul VI).

And so, my summary:

I would say the most important point is that the old use ("use" will be the new way to describe either form) was NEVER ABROGATED.

The Mass of Paul VI will be the ordinary form of the Roman rite, and the Mass of Bl. John XXIII will be the extraordinary form of the Roman rite. However, all priests of the Roman rite, whether ordained before or after the liturgical reform, who are qualified (i.e. properly trained) in the Mass of John XXIII and are juridically allowed (that means they are allowed to say Mass) may say the Mass of John XXIII.
Both uses are to be held with equal respect.

The motu proprio has been officially promulgated and will take effect September 14th, 2007 (the Feast of the Exultation of the Holy Cross).

Bishops are to be very cooperative in supporting the desire of those who wish to have this Mass and are to make every effort possible. [This could be one bottleneck in the legitimate carrying out of this motu proprio].

The pope's accomanying letter clarifies things well. He addresses the two greatest negative reations or "fears" about the motu proprio "Summorum Pontificum."

1st is the fear that the document detracts from the authority of the Second Vatican Council. "This fear is unfounded," according to the pope. The ordinary form is still the Mass of Paul VI. However, the Mass of Bl. John XXIII was never juridically abrogated. Vatican II never forbade the Mass of Bl. John XXIII. The pope shows that there are many within the Church who are attracted to the older Mass and have learned much of the Faith and are able to better worship God within the older Mass. Basically, Vatican II called for a renewal and more authentic worship of all the faithful, not just those who are attracted to the Mass of Paul VI.

2nd is the fear that the motu proprio will cause divisions within parishes. The pope says, "this fear also strikes me as quite unfounded." Again, the Mass of Paul VI is the ordinary Mass, and the motu proprio in no way says that the Mass of Bl. John XXIII can be forced upon the faithful. Although, it should also be noted that this goes both ways. Priests cannot as a matter of principle exclude celebrating according to the new books, especially in places where the Mass of Paul VI is regularly celebrated.

The biggest problem I see is not the motu proprio, or either use of the Rite, rather, the biggest problem will be with the priests who celebrate either use. This will be due to the "mindset" that many priests have in the post-conciliar era that you can make changes to the Mass. Often this is said to be done for "pastoral" reasons, but really that is often a cop out to change things to make it easier or to do things the way the priest wants to do them.

My liturgical attitude is this: I should not want to do things my way, I should not want to do things your way, but I should want to do them the Church's way. Who am I to impose my own way of doing things on the liturgy? Rather, I should respect the liturgy so much, that I would not add anything or take away anything from the liturgy. This would go with even pious things. Just because they are pious, does not mean they are appropriate. Canon law says that priests may not add to or take away anything from the Mass. They are to follow the liturgical books. As someone who serves at Mass, I also should respect the rite. I may not always like some of the things in the Mass of Paul VI, but who am I to change them? This is our rite, this is the ritual, I should stick to it OUT OF RESPECT FOR THE RITE, OUT OF RESPECT FOR THE RITUAL, AND OUT OF RESPECT FOR THE MASS.

Even the pope acknoledges this: "in many places celebrations were not faithful to the prescriptions of the new Missal, but the latter actually was understood as authorizing or even requiring creativity, which frequently led to deformations of the liturgy which were hard to bear ... And even I [Pope Benedict XVI] have seen how arbitrary deformations of the liturgy caused deep pain to individuals totally rooted in the faith of the Church."

Both uses have their proper rite and ritual and are to be followed. No matter which use, the Mass of Bl. John XXIII or the Mass of Paul VI, we should always carry out the Mass according to the way the Church tells us. The we can be obedient and offer proper sacrifice, prayer, and glory to God.

However, let us rejoice at this motu proprio, and the reasonable solution it gives to the seeming dichotomy of the last 40 years.
The "Te Deum" is traditionally sung in thanksgiving to God for prayers answered. I list here the simple version since it is the one with which I am most familiar.

you'll definitely need to click the music to make it bigger
Overall, the motu proprio and the pope's accompanying letter are addressing an erronious mindset, something which may be an uphill battle, but will certainly be worth it overall in the Chruch.

RS

New Gregorian Chant Font under development

Sample of Caeciliae font

I just saw an interesting post over at The New Liturgical Movement on a new font being developed that displays Gregorian Chant. The really nice thing about this one is that it is inteded to be free, in order to encourage more chant. It is still under development, but you can download it and test it out as it is right now.

Caeciliae Project

It's bascially a font that you can use in Microsoft Word or other word processors which assigns notes or chant notations to various keys or key combinations on the keyboard.

I have bought the Gregorian Chant font from Saint Meinrads, and I have found it to be very useful in my job making handouts for Mass at our parish.

For instance, here's a sample from the Roman Canon to help people sing the reponse of the Mysterium Fidei in the Roman Canon at the Latin Mass:

(Click picture to enlarge)

Or I have also made some of the propers into a simpler form from the Graduale Romanum. Here's the Gradual of the 24th Sunday Per Annum (Ordinary Time):

(Click picture to enlarge)

This tool is great as it helps parishes get out from under the grip of large publishing companies by being able to do simple desktop publishing.

To have a chant font that is free can really help those parishes who have a desire to add more dignity to the Mass.

RS

I support Pro Multis = For Many

Since there seems to be those in Germany and here in the U.S. that refuse to obey the Vatican (and authentic translation and just common sense for that matter), I would just like to say:

"Pro Multis" means "For many"

To quote one of my theology professors when someone asked about Hans Urs von Balthasar's "Dare We Hope That All Be Saved" he responded (in his thick Hungarian accent), "This ... this idea is just stupid." Then we went on to talk about the fact that man has free will and will be judged by his actions to accept or reject God's will.
THIS IS BASIC (AND COMPLETELY REASONABLE) THEOLOGY!


I certainly hope that God does have mercy, but He did create man in His own image, we do have free will.

RS

Repost on Sunday's Gospel

Here's a repost relevant for Sunday's Gospel

Peter, Do You Love Me?

RS

Happy Anniversary Pope Benedict XVI

Two years ago today was an amazingly happy day!

I was at the church working on some handouts and had just been emailed a website that was a webcam pointed at the smokestack of the Sistine Chapel. So, I turned it on and nothing was going on, but I left it open and continued working.

A few minutes later, I looked at the site and this time saw something going on.


I went over to the TV room (which had EWTN) and something was going on. However, nobody was quite sure if it was really white smoke or not. Apparently in the past there has been some confusion on the smoke colors, so people were a bit hesitant to say something was going. However, as they showed the piazza in front of Saint Peters, you could see more and more people were congregating in the piazza. Every channel was covering it. Something was going on.

At this point I notified Father that something was going on. By the time he got to the TV room, the bells of Saint Peters had begun to ring. According to a friend who was there, at this point people began pouring into the piazza and surrounding streets.

It seemed to take quite a while for any activity to be noticed. However, FINALLY, a cardinal came out onto the upper balcony. Looking at what he read, it isn't very long, but at that time, it was like an eternity. Talk about the excitement and tension. It was like the entire world was on the edge of its seat.

Here's the "transcript" of my thoughts through what seemed like an eternity of anticipation.

Cardinal announcing: "Fratelli e suorelli carissimi ..."
Me: OK, Italian greeting to the faithful

"Carissimos hermanos y hermanas ..."
Spanish? I think. Oh no, is he going to go through every language?!

"Ches frères et soeurs ..."
French! He is ...

"[something I didn't understand]"
NOOOO! languages I don't recognize! This could take forever!
EDIT - Turns out it was German ("Liebe Brüder und Schwestern")

"Dear brothers and sisters ..."
Hey! English!

"Annuncio vobis, gaudium magnum ..."
Hey, Latin! ... THEY'RE ANNOUNCING IT!

"Habemus papam ..."
Yes, we pretty much figured that, get on with it!

"Eminentissimum ac Reverendissimum Dominum,"
OK, it's a cardinal, figured that ...

"Dominum Josephum..."
Josephum, Josephum ... Joseph! ... JOSEPH! Ratzinger is named Joseph, but how many other cardinals are named Joseph?!

"Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae Cardinalem"
Aaargh! We know the title of a cardinal, get on with it!

"Ratzinger!"
Oh my gosh! I don't believe it! RATZINGER IS THE NEW POPE! YES!!!!!!
And look, the crowd is thrilled, the people are loving it!

[At this point I am jumping up and down cheering along with Father]

"qui sibi nomen imposuit ..."
Oooh, his name, what will his new name be?

"... Benedictum XVI"
Benedict! How cool! How classic!

Here's the clip of what seemed like an eternity.


EDIT - Notice how much Latin there is, but for some crazy reason, people understand it!

Then the the new pope came onto the balcony. It was great!


He looks like a natural.


Wow! This is amazing! Deo gratias!

We had a Mass of thanksgiving a bit later since we had the Mass scheduled in the afternoon anyway. It was great to hear "una cum famulo tuo Papa nostro BENEDICTO."

Wow, what a great day!

Happy Anniversary, Pope Benedict!

VIVA IL PAPA!

Two years ago tomorrow was one of the worst days, which I almost didn't make it through. I think the devil was in a rage over the new pope and I got hit with the splashdamage of his wrath. More later.

RS