Month: December 2013

The Yearly Benedict/Francis: The Audiences

benedict-francisThe pope’s weekly audiences offer a fascinating look at topics that often aren’t covered in the major papal documents.

Unfortunately, in recent years, the folks at the Vatican web site have not been giving titles to the audiences that indicate their content. All you get (normally) is a list of dates.

To help me navigate these in the future, here is an annotated version of Pope Francis’s 2013 audiences that indicates their content, as well as Pope Benedict’s final audiences.

Although these are found in reverse-chronological order on the Vatican web site (like a blog!), I’ve put them in chronological order here, since most of them form a walk though the Apostles’ Creed for the Year of Faith.

Incidentally, papal audiences like these seem to be pre-written, way in advance.

This means that Pope Francis was almost certainly delivering texts at his Wednesday audiences that were prepared for Pope Benedict.

He clearly took liberties with them. Many passages in Pope Francis’s audiences were expressed in his own voice, rather than Pope Benedict’s.

Now that the Year of Faith is concluded, we’re likely to get our first pure taste of Pope Francis’s style of audiences in 2014.

For now, here’s a review of 2013 . . .

 

Pope Benedict XVI

Pope Francis

When was Judas replaced?

JudasIscariotFaceI’ve been doing some work on biblical chronology–the study of precisely when in history various events recorded in the Bible took place–and I thought of something that I haven’t seen pointed out before.

In Acts 1, Peter prompts the Eleven to replace Judas Iscariot, and they do, with Matthias being selected to take his place.

When would this have occurred?

It’s bracketed in a very small window of time between Ascension Thursday and Pentecost.

The election of a new apostle would presuppose the presence of the Eleven, and the text indicates that those actually present included the full “hundred and twenty” (v. 15), indicating a major gathering of the full, embryonic Christian community.

This could only have occurred on the first Jewish Sabbath (Saturday) or on the first Lord’s Day (Sunday) following Ascension Thursday.

When would those days have been?

Based on previous chronological work I’ve done, I’ve determined that the most likely date for the Crucifixion is the traditional one: April 3, A.D. 33.

I don’t say that just because I’m a fan of tradition (though I am), but because when you sort through the mountain of data that pertains to the issue, that’s the date that emerges as the most probable.

Given that, Easter Sunday would be April 5th, and Ascension Thursday would be May 14.

Pentecost, on the Jewish way of reckoning it (seven weeks after Passover, not seven weeks after Easter Sunday), would have been Friday, May 22.

That gives us this schedule of days:

  • Thurs., May 14 (Ascension)
  • Fri., May 15
  • Sat., May 16
  • Sun., May 17
  • Mon., May 18
  • Tues., May 19
  • Wed., May 20
  • Thurs., May 21
  • Fri., May 22 (Pentecost)

So there you have it: Matthias was most likely chosen to be Judas’s successor on Saturday, May 16 or Sunday, May 17, A.D. 33.

A new kind of blog post for a new year?

champaigne-bottleOver the past year or so, I’ve being doing a particular type of blog post that tends to be longer, exclusively faith-based, and coordinated either with the liturgical year or the news.

It’s been a very successful effort!

Unfortunately, it’s been mostly done at my Register blog, with comparatively little totally fresh content here at JimmyAkin.com.

The fact is that I don’t have time to compose those longer, detailed posts both for the Register and for other outlets.

That means that JimmyAkin.com has largely been linking to content that I’ve been posting in its entirety elsewhere.

I’ve felt bad about that.

There are people who visit and subscribe to JimmyAkin.com despite that situation. In fact, there are over 1,000 people who have signed up to get email updates from the blog, but I’d like to serve them and others even better by having more exclusive content here that people can read without having to click through to another site.

But there’s still that lack of time problem.

So here’s what I’ve found myself thinking: I periodically have thoughts, make discoveries, etc., that are small enough I can write them down quickly, that wouldn’t take up one of the long-form blog posts.

Often, they are ideas or notes that I mean to incorporate into some later work (a blog post, a book, etc.) and I don’t want to lose track of them.

  • I’ve thought about writing them in a big Word document, but that would be messy, particularly with all these thoughts on different subjects in one file.
  • I thought about keeping a bunch of different files, but that’s awkward.
  • I thought about putting them on Facebook, but Facebook’s search features are terrible and it would be hard to find them later.

Finally, I thought, “I should just create a blog for these.” That way I’d have a searchable record of them, with the individual thoughts/discoveries as discreet items.

Then I thought: “You already have a blog, stupid. . . . And it needs more attention!”

So here’s what I’m going to do: Even though I don’t make New Year’s resolutions, I’m going to experiment with doing short posts that capture interesting things I don’t want to lose track of.

I hope you’ll find them interesting, too!

Many (most?) of them will be religious. Some may not be.

The links to my other work in the blogosphere will also continue, so these new posts will be in addition to, not a replacement of, the kind of postings I’ve been doing this year.

Here we go!

P.S. Happy New Year, everyone!

9 Things You Should Know About How the Church Celebrates January 1

On January 1, the Church celebrates several things connected with Mary and Jesus. What are they? And why do we celebrate them now?

January 1 is an important day in the Church’s liturgy.

There is a lot that we commemorate on this day!

What we are celebrating, and why we are celebrating it now, can be a little confusing.

Here are nine things you should know . . .

 

1. What exactly are we celebrating on January 1?

According to the Universal Norms for the Liturgical Year and the Calendar [.pdf]:

1 January, the octave day of the Nativity of the Lord, is the Solemnity of Mary, the holy Mother of God, and also the commemoration of the conferral of the Most Holy Name of Jesus [Norms, 35f].

 

2. Didn’t this day used to signify something else?

Yes. Pope Benedict explained:

It was Pope Paul VI who moved to 1 January the Feast of the Divine Motherhood of Mary, which was formerly celebrated on 11 October.

Indeed, even before the liturgical reform that followed the Second Vatican Council, the memorial of the circumcision of Jesus on the eighth day after his birth — as a sign of submission to the law, his official insertion in the Chosen People — used to be celebrated on the first day of the year and the Feast of the Name of Jesus was celebrated the following Sunday [Homily, Jan. 1, 2008].

 

3. Why would the commemoration of Jesus’ Most Holy Name be moved to January 1?

January 1 is eight days after Christmas, and it was on the eighth day after his birth that Jesus was officially named.

At the time, the official naming of a son was done at the time of his circumcision, when he was officially placed in the covenant and the Chosen People.

Thus St. John the Baptist is given his name at the time of his circumcision (Luke 1:59-63), and so is Jesus:

And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb [Luke 2:21].

 

4. Don’t we celebrate Mary’s motherhood on other days, like the Annunciation and Christmas?

KEEP READING.

The Weekly Francis – 22 December 2013

Pope Francis is having his "Inaugural Mass"? What's happens in this Mass, and why is it important?This version of The Weekly Francis covers material released in the last week from 30 November to 21 December 2013.

Angelus

General Audiences

Messages

Speeches

Daily Homilies (fervorinos)

Papal Tweets

How Is Mary’s Question Different?

annunciation-midIn Luke 1, the Angel Gabriel appears twice.

First, he appears to Zechariah the priest, to tell him that he will be the father of John the Baptist.

Then, a few verses later, he appears to the Virgin Mary to tell her that she will be the mother of Jesus Christ.

Both Zechariah and Mary ask questions of the angel–but with very different results.

Zechariah is rendered mute and unable to speak until John the Baptist is circumcised!

Mary . . . isn’t.

So, what’s the difference?

They both asked questions about the seemingly impossible pregnancies that Gabriel had come to announce?

Why is Zechariah treated so differently?

Is God just playing favorites with Mary?

Or is there a subtle difference between their questions and the attitudes which the questions reveal?

That’s what I take a look at in this podcast and video.

 

 

YOU CAN CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE VIDEO ON YOUTUBE.

By the way, don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel so that you’ll get a shiny new email whenever I post a video!
OR . . .

YOU CAN CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE EPISODE.

Or use the player below at JimmyAkin.com . . .

What Now?

If you like the information I’ve presented here, you should join my Secret Information Club.

If you’re not familiar with it, the Secret Information Club is a free service that I operate by email.

I send out information on a variety of fascinating topics connected with the Catholic faith.

In fact, the very first thing you’ll get if you sign up is information about what Pope Benedict said about the book of Revelation.

He had a lot of interesting things to say!

If you’d like to find out what they are, just sign up at www.SecretInfoClub.com or use this handy sign-up form:

Just email me at jimmy@secretinfoclub.com if you have any difficulty.

In the meantime, what do you think?

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

4th Sunday of Advent: 10 things to know and share

dream_of_joseph_champaigneThis Sunday the readings include the famous prophecy of Immanuel.

They proclaim God’s supremacy and our call to holiness.

They review the basics of the gospel message.

And they record the birth of Jesus and how it came about.

Here are 10 things to know and share . . .

 

1) What does the first reading say?

The first reading is Isaiah 7:10-14. (You can read it here.)

In this reading the prophet Isaiah confronts Ahaz, the king of Judea. He demands that Ahaz name a sign to show that the Lord will protect his kingdom. The sign can be as “high as heaven” or “as deep as sh’ol” (Hebrew, “the grave,” “the underworld”; pronounced “sh’OL”).

Ahaz, however, refuses to name a sign, saying, “I will not put the Lord to the test.”

Isaiah then declares:

Is it too little for you to weary mortals, that you weary my God also?

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign.

Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel.

 

2) What does this mean?

At the time the prophecy was given, the southern kingdom of Judah was demoralized by news that the northern kingdom of Israel was in league with Syria.

Under God’s inspiration, Isaiah wanted to strengthen the courage of the Judean king, Ahaz. He therefore offered him a sign from God to prove that he would defend the kingdom of Judea.

Ahaz, however, refused to name a sign—on the pretext that one should not “test the Lord” (Deut. 6:16).

While it is true, as a general rule, that one should not put the Lord to the test, this rule is suspended if the Lord himself invites you to do so.

As a result, Isaiah—an established prophet of the Lord—rebukes Ahaz and declares that he is not only wearing out the patience of men but is also wearing out the patience of God by refusing to name a sign.

He then declares that the Lord himself will name a sign, and gives the famous prophecy of “Immanuel.”

 

3) What does the prophecy of “Immanuel” mean?

KEEP READING.

Zechariah’s mysterious vision in the Temple: 10 things to know and share

zechariahvisionThe Gospel reading for December 19 contains the familiar story of Zechariah in the temple.

You can read it here.

It is the occasion when the Angel Gabriel appears to him to announce the birth of John the Baptist.

Although the story is familiar, there are some fascinating details in this account, and their significance is not obvious.

Let’s take a look.

Here are 10 things to know and share . . .

 

1. When did this event take place?

Luke begins his narrative “in the days of Herod, king of Judea,” by which he means Herod the Great.

When precisely Herod the Great ruled is disputed. According to a theory introduced a little more than a century ago, Herod reigned from 37 B.C. to 4 B.C.

This view is generally accepted today, but it has been vigorously challenged in favor of a more traditional dating, which would extend Herod’s reign to 1 B.C. (And also place the beginning of his reign in 39 B.C.).

More on that here.

Still, 39-1 B.C. is a long span, and we can narrow it down more precisely.

Once we clear away the error that Herod died in 4 B.C., it becomes clear that Jesus—in keeping with the traditional date given by the Church Fathers—was born in 3/2 B.C.

And since John the Baptist was around 6 months older than Jesus and was in the womb for 9 months, that would put this event around 15 months before the birth of Jesus–some time in 4 or 3 B.C. Most likely, it was in November of 4 B.C.

 

2. Why November of 4 B.C.?

Luke introduces the familiar figures of Zechariah and Elizabeth, who will become the parents of John the Baptist, and informs us that Zechariah is a priest belonging to “the division of Abijah.”

At the time, the Jewish priesthood was organized as twenty four divisions or “courses,” each of which went to serve at the temple twice a year for one week at a time.

The division of Abijah was the eighth of the twenty four courses.

Through a series of complex calculations and arguments that are too detailed to go into here, it is possible to estimate when the course of Abijah was on duty at the temple.

If you want to go into those arguments in all their geeky, chronological goodness, get a copy of Jack Finnegan’s outstanding Handbook of Biblical Chronology (see sections 467-473).

The upshot, though, is that Zechariah likely saw the vision when he was on duty with the rest of the course of Abijah between November 10 and 17 in 4 B.C.

That would put the birth of Jesus in the winter of 3/2 B.C., in keeping with the traditional date.

 

3. How did Zechariah’s vision come about?

Luke tells us:

Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, according to the custom of the priesthood, it fell to him by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense [Luke 1:8-10].

You might wonder: Why was Zechariah chosen by lot to offer incense?

The answer is that there were, at this time, as many as 8,000 priests in total, and they could not all offer incense, even when their division was on duty.

KEEP READING.

Did the Emperor Constantine found the Catholic Church

constantinevideoYou sometimes hear people claim that the Catholic Church was founded by the Emperor Constantine, who reigned in the early 300s.

If so, the Catholic Church could not be the original Church founded by Jesus.

That’s precisely why this claim is made.

But it’s a false claim.

As I reveal in this video, the Catholic Church existed long before Constantine came on the scene.

What about the related claim that Constantine made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire?

That’s not true either.

Watch the video for more!

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE VIDEO ON YOUTUBE.

By the way, don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel so that you’ll get a shiny new email whenever I post a video!

To learn more about this, you should get my best-selling book, The Fathers Know Best at https://www.jamesakin.com/reels_squares/fathers

Also . . .

 

What Now?

If you like the information I’ve presented here, you should join my Secret Information Club.

If you’re not familiar with it, the Secret Information Club is a free service that I operate by email.

I send out information on a variety of fascinating topics connected with the Catholic faith.

In fact, the very first thing you’ll get if you sign up is information about what Pope Benedict said about the book of Revelation.

He had a lot of interesting things to say!

If you’d like to find out what they are, just sign up at www.SecretInfoClub.com or use this handy sign-up form:

Just email me at jimmy@secretinfoclub.com if you have any difficulty.

In the meantime, what do you think?

Pope Francis takes on allegations and rumors about his papacy: 9 things to know and share

francis-windowPope Francis has given a new interview in which he makes several important clarifications.

These concern allegations that he is a Marxist, suggestions that he will soon appoint women cardinals, and proposals to give Holy Communion to those who have divorced and remarried without an annulment.

He also makes several other interesting comments, including plans for an upcoming trip to the Holy Land, breastfeeding in public, and what happened right after he was elected.

Here are 9 things to know and share . . .

 

1) Who did he give the interview to?

He gave it to the Italian newspaper La Stampa.

You can read the full interview here (and should; it’s worth it!).

This interview is different than the recent one which was yanked from the Vatican web site. That one was conducted by an atheist publisher (Eugenio Scalfari) who relied on his memory to give a partly fictitious account of what the pope said.

This one is with a well-known and respected Catholic expert on the Vatican, Andrea Tornielli.

Much greater care appears to have been taken with this interview, and at one point the Pope goes out of his way to deliberately correct what was written in the other one.
2) What does the Pope say regarding a proposed trip to the Holy Land?

In addition to expressing concern for the plight of Christians in Bethlehem, he indicates that he plans to go, stating:

Fifty years ago, Paul VI had the courage to go out and go there and this marked the beginning of the era of papal journeys.

I would also like to go there, to meet my brother Bartholomew, the Patriarch of Constantinople, and commemorate this 50th anniversary with him, renewing that embrace which took place between Pope Montini and Athenagoras in Jerusalem, in 1964.

We are preparing for this.”

We may thus expect a papal visit to the Holy Land very soon.

On a side note, observe that he refers to Paul VI as “Pope Montini.” This custom of referring to a pope by his family name is an established one in Italy and is not considered disrespectful.

 

3) What did the pope say about breastfeeding in public?

Pope Francis refers to breastfeeding in public as part of a set of larger remarks about the scourge of world hunger.

In the course of discussing this very weighty problem, he tells the following story:

At the Wednesday General Audience the other day there was a young mother behind one of the barriers with a baby that was just a few months old.

The child was crying its eyes out as I came past.

The mother was caressing it. I said to her: Madam, I think the child’s hungry.

“Yes, it’s probably time…” she replied.

“Please give it something to eat!” I said.

She was shy and didn’t want to breastfeed in public, while the Pope was passing.

Though the subject of breastfeeding in public is tiny compared to world hunger, this statement is noteworthy.

Pope Francis apparently has no problem with public breastfeeding, even at a papal event. As one might expect from Francis, his attitude is: If the child is hungry, feed it!

 

4) What did the pope say about allegations that he is a Marxist?

KEEP READING.