Spooky: This Halloween, Protestants celebrate "Reformation Day"

As we prepare for the Holloween season (which seems to become a bigger and bigger deal in the United States each year, and that probably isn't a healthy sign), let's see what our Protestant brothers and sisters are planning.

PCANews at the Christian Broadcasting Network website has come up with a way to overcome the satanic/occult aspects of Halloween - a Reformation Day party! They explain it:

October 31 celebrates the day that the Reformation in Europe began with Martin Luther posting his 95 theses on the Wittenburg church door, leading to a firestorm response in Germany. Why not use this occasion for a celebration of our Reformed heritage. And yes, this can be fun for the kids too!

[Here is what Reformation day involves:]

Why not have a celebration at church where all get dressed up as characters from the Reformation (I've dressed up as John Calvin, Martin Luther, a peasant, and even John Tetzel (the salesman of those infamous indulgences)? When I couldn't get a 16th century idea then I dressed as a Bible character. You can transform the fellowship hall into Wittenburg, Germany or Geneva. Here is an opportunity to go over the great "solas" of the Reformation: by Scripture alone, by grace alone, by Christ alone, by faith alone, and to God be the glory alone. Have people explain them. Show a video of one of the reformers. Draw murals of Reformation events.

Here are some other things our church has done over the years: Medieval line dancing (a lot like Scottish line dancing), Medieval relay races (put the indulgences in the bottle), bobbing for apples, German cover dish dinner, acting out your character (don't tell anyone who you are, but act it out -- the ideas are limited only by time and background).

It's ironic that protestants are choosing Holloween to celebrate the Reformation, considering that many Catholic families celebrate All Souls Day by dressing as Catholic saints. Of course - protestants probably won't be up for a good old-fashioned cult of the saints party like we are.

Then again, if protestants can play "put the indulgences in the bottle" to get in touch with their historical roots, and baptists can have bonfires burning Catholic bibles and books on spirituality by Catholic saints, maybe Catholics could celebrate Reformation Day by starting bonfires and burning figurines of heretics to get in touch with our historical roots? ;-)

(... I'm totally kidding of course. Well ... mostly.)

Photo: World's Largest Cappa Magna?

Pictured below has to be the largest "cappa magna" I've ever seen. A cappa magna (great cope) is "a ceremonial cloak having a long train and a silk or fur-lined hood, worn by cardinals, bishops, and certain other dignitaries" (source). How'd you like to be that altar server?

Who's wearing it? Cardinal Hoyos. Who also wears it? The new head of CDWDS (Catholic liturgy).

Dappled Photos has a huge compilation of Cappa Magna photos, NLM spotlights an awesome photo of the future Pius XII in his, while Deacon Greg posts an anonymous reader's defense of the tradition and, from the July archives, Gerald Warner describes "cappaphobia" as a "mental disorder afflicting progressive Catholics."

Plenty to see and read.

Picture: New Cardinals (Awesome)

A treasure taken from the recently made-public LIFE magazine photo archives:

Cardinals prostrating in the Sistine Chapel. From The Far Sight 2.0 via NLM.

Amy Welborn on why democrats are blue

Amy Welborn gives us a history lesson ending with the ironic observation: "Gee, I wonder why the pro-life activists starting doubting the Democratic party was open to their concerns?"

Find out how we got where we are, the first step towwards not repeating history.

Picture: Medieval Catalan Pantocrator Art

The Blog of the Courtier has an interesting post on the history of the Pantocrator theme in the art of the Catalan Pyrenees in the medieval ages. My favorite:

More here.

Of course, my personal favorite Pantocrator is in Florence, Italy. I took a photo of it when I had the opportunity of seeing it in person a few years ago, and subsequently turned it into a desktop wallpaper. If only the shot hadn't turned out slightly fuzzy. I am rather pleased it somehow is featured on the first page of Google Image search when you look for "Catholic wallpaper." I think it's a good entry.

Has anyone else discovered beautiful Catholic desktop wallpapers? Drop a link in the combox!

Biden claim: "I'm a John XXIII guy, I'm not a Pope John Paul guy."

I don't understand how someone can seriously say this about themselves:

"I was raised as a Catholic, I'm a practicing Catholic, and I'm totally at home with the Catholicism that I was raised in and this whole culture of social responsibility, reaction to abuse of power, the whole notion that there is collective civic responsibility. It's the Catholic consciousness that I'm totally comfortable with."

... only to spew this nonsense:

"It is not choice. It's always a very, very, very difficult, difficult decision. I know that, my church has wrestled with this for 2,000 years.

We've always believed from the outset that abortion is wrong. But throughout the years, debated the degree to which it is wrong. There are always cases where it is never a first choice. It is always viewed as a dire decision. But throughout the church's history, we've argued between whether or not it is wrong in every circumstance and the degree of wrong. Catholics have this notion, it's almost a gradation.

We have mortal sins, venial sins, well, up until Pius IX, there were times when we said, 'Look, there are circumstances in which it's wrong but it is not damnation. Along came Pius IX in the 1860s and declared in fine doctrine, this was the first time that it occurred that it was absolute human life and being at the moment of conception. It's always been a debate."

And then conclude by saying:

"I take my religion very seriously."

(... just obviously not enough to study it.)

Oh well, I guess I'm just no Joe Biden.

Another jem:

"I'm a John XXIII guy, I'm not a Pope John Paul guy."

At least that puts him ahead of John Kerry, who claimed he was a "Pope Pius XXIII" kind of guy.

Ph/t: Whispers.

Yes, Early Christians Believed Jesus was God

Shocking what modern archeology has discovered.

(hmm - "modern archeology" - sounds like a contradiction in terms, I realize.)

Favorite Catholic Quotations

Eric Pavlet at Inside Catholic found some great ones:

• Bd. Teresa of Calcutta: "God does not ask us to be successful; he asks us to be faithful."
• St. Catherine of Siena: "If you are what you should be, you will set the world on fire."
• St. Augustine: "If you believe what you like in the gospels, and reject what you don't like, it is not the gospel you believe, but yourself."
• Also St. Augustine: "Seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand.
• And yet again St. Augustine: "Our souls are restless, O Lord, until they rest in You."
  St. Thomas Aquinas: "Contemplate and give to others the fruit of your contemplation."

Others?

"In early centuries, being a 'gladiator' prohibited a person from becoming Christian"

What a fascinating historical theory:

An expert in the history of the Catholic Church, Domingo Ramos-Lissón, explained in an interview that the preparation of the early Christians for baptism could last up to three years, and that many professions prohibited a person from registering as a catechumen.

"If we follow the path taken by someone who wanted to become a Christian in the fourth century, initially we will see a thorough examination of his life, family conditions and aspiring profession," Ramos-Lissón said in an interview with the website PrimerosCristianos.com (First Christians).

In that regard, he explained, "some family situations, such as polygamy and concubinage, or professions, such as theatrical actor, magician, guardian of idols, gladiator and other offices, prevented that person from being considered a catechumen. However, once they changed their lifestyle, they were given the chance to be baptized. (CNA)

I remember in my undergraduate years attending a fascinating lecture on the early Christian sermons (particularly of Ambrose and Augustine) against the gladiatorial games.

The professor made the argument that these prohibitions against Christian participation in such events actually made it into the (old) rite of baptism with the question "do you reject Satan, and all his pomps, and all his empty promises?"

Well, the "pomps of Satan" included such things as the public, gruesome spectacle presented by the pagan gladiatorial games!

I personally think modern entertainment such as "ultimate fighting" or similarly brutal cage matches would fit the same bill. Think about that the next time you are TV surfing.

Video: Bp. Fulton Sheen on "What's My Line"

From the Papist Archives:

Ph/t: Dawn.

Authentic feminism started in ... 13th century Belgium

To counter yesterday's depressing revelation, a burst of light from Belgium:

Here’s another reason to travel to Belgium, if the world’s best beer and chocolate weren’t enough to draw you there already: its beautiful, well-preserved beguinages.

If feminism means a desire for independence from patriarchal authority, the beguines — a Roman Catholic laic order that began in the 13th century and branched across northwest Europe — represented, perhaps, the world’s oldest women’s movement.

I can only speculate that these women of simplicity likely experienced more fulfillment than participants in the more infamous woman’s movement centuries later. (Mary Rose Rybak)

And upon this occasion, please keep a friend of mine in your prayers. She's leaving several important professional positions in Washington DC to pursue a vocation with the Nashville Dominicans.

Photo: Pope Benedict XV & Woodrow Wilson?

This post has compiled a picture of almost each pope who has met with a U.S. president.

Evidently, pictures of the first meeting in the 20th century - between President Woodrow Wilson and Pope Benedict XV in 1919 - are hard to come by. Looks like this is the best we can do for now:
Hehe. Thanks AmP reader David!

Photopost: Popes meeting U.S. Presidents

Here they are...

"President Dwight D. Eisenhower walks with Pope John XXIII at the Vatican, in this Dec. 6, 1959, file photo. The leader of the world's 1 billion Roman Catholics has been to the White House only once in history. That changes this week, and President Bush is pulling out all the stops: driving out to a suburban military base to meet Pope Benedict XVI's plane, bringing a giant audience to the South Lawn and hosting a fancy East Room dinner."

"President John F. Kennedy and Pope Paul VI talk at the Vatican in this July 2, 1963 file photo. Kennedy's meeting with Pope Paul VI at the Vatican was historic: the first Roman Catholic president of the United States was seeing the Roman Catholic pontiff only days after his coronation. Kennedy — who struggled against anti-Catholic bias during his presidential campaign — only shook hands with the pope rather than kissing his ring, as is the usual practice for Catholics."

"President Kennedy talks with Pope Paul VI, at the Vatican in this July 3, 1963 file photo. Kennedy's 1963 meeting with Pope Paul VI at the Vatican was historic: the first Roman Catholic president of the United States was seeing the Roman Catholic pontiff only days after his coronation. Kennedy — who struggled against anti-Catholic bias during his presidential campaign — only shook hands with the pope rather than kissing his ring, as is the usual practice for Catholics."

"Pope Paul VI, left, and President Lyndon B. Johnson are seen during the Pontiff's visit to New York in this Oct. 4, 1965 file photo. The trip presented protocol problems. President Johnson wanted to see him, but the pontiff was a chief of a state not officially recognized by the U.S. The solution: Johnson flew to New York for dinner at the apartment of his friend Arthur Goldberg, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, and the pontiff was welcomed to Johnson's suite at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel the next day."

President Richard Nixon talks with Pope Paul VI as they meet in the Vatican, in this Sept. 28, 1970 file photo. (AP Photo/File) - [Thanks go to AmP reader Michael for this one.]

"President Jimmy Carter , right, talks with Pope John Paul II at the White House in Washington in this Oct. 6, 1979 file photo. Carter hosted the first White House by a pope. Pope John Paul II was greeted at Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington by Vice President Walter Mondale. His stay at the White House featured 10,000 guests — split between separate arrival and departure ceremonies on the North and South Lawns."

"President Ronald Reagan shakes hands with Pope John Paul II on the podium at Miami International Airport, Fla., in this Sept. 10, 1987 file photo."

"President George H.W. Bush, stands with Pope John Paul II in the papal library at the Vatican, in this May 27, 1989 file photo."

John Paul II meets President Bill Clinton and wife Hillary. This photo was not in the same photostream so I had to find it independantly.

"President Bush is greeted by Pope John Paul II upon their meeting in his private library at the Vatican, in this June 4, 2004, file photo. In the background is Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Angelo Sodano."

The next addition to this set will be made on April 16th, 2008.

update: The Associated Press has published a complete list of meetings: "A list of all 25 meetings between popes and U.S. presidents, spanning 89 years, five pontiffs and 11 American leaders."

• Woodrow Wilson and Pope Benedict XV, Vatican, January 4, 1919
• Dwight Eisenhower and Pope John XXIII, Vatican, December 6, 1959
• John F. Kennedy and Pope Paul VI, Vatican, July 2, 1963
• Lyndon Johnson and Pope Paul VI, New York, N.Y. October 4, 1965
• Lyndon Johnson and Pope Paul VI, Vatican, December 23, 1967
• Richard Nixon and Pope Paul VI, Vatican, March 2, 1969
• Richard Nixon and Pope Paul VI, Vatican, September 29, 1970
• Gerald Ford and Pope Paul VI, Vatican, June 3, 1975
• Jimmy Carter and Pope John Paul II, White House, October 6, 1979
• Jimmy Carter and Pope John Paul II, Vatican, June 21, 1980
• Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II, Vatican, June 7, 1982
• Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II, Fairbanks, Alaska, May 2, 1984
• Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II, Vatican, June 6, 1987
• Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II, Miami, September 10, 1987
• George H.W. Bush and Pope John Paul II, Vatican, May 27, 1989
• George H.W. Bush and Pope John Paul II, Vatican, November 8, 1991
• Bill Clinton and Pope John Paul II, Denver, August 12, 1993
• Bill Clinton and Pope John Paul II, Vatican, June 2, 1994
• Bill Clinton and Pope John Paul II, Newark, N.J., October 4, 1995
• Bill Clinton and Pope John Paul II, St. Louis, January 26, 1999
• George W. Bush and Pope John Paul II, Castel Gandolfo, Italy, July 23, 2001
• George W. Bush and Pope John Paul II, Vatican, May 28, 2002
• George W. Bush and Pope John Paul II, Vatican, June 4, 2004
• George W. Bush and Pope Benedict XVI, Vatican, June 9, 2007

George Bush also attended John Paul II's funeral on April 8, 2007.

He will meet with Pope Benedict XVI on April 16, 2008.

NOTE: ... a special AmP Shout-out goes to the first person who finds me a photo of Pope Benedict XV and President Woodrow Wilson meeting in 1919!

Update 2: it looks like this is the best we're going to do for a Wilson-Benedict XV photograph.

The UK Times: "Secret documents from Holy Inquisition revealed"

'Secret documents from the archives of the Holy Inquisition today went on public show for the first time in Rome - though not the instruments of torture used to extract confessions from heretics." - The UK Times

Unfortunately, the material is not nearly as sensationalist as some might hope.

On the contrary:

"... Vatican officials say opening the archives has "exposed some myths" about the Inquisition, showing for example that more women accused of witchcraft died in Protestant than in Catholic countries."

Imagine that.

Discovery: 2,500-yr-old Jewish seal which confirms claim in book of Nehemiah

Darn cool:

A stone seal bearing the name of one of the families who acted as servants in the First Temple and then returned to Jerusalem after being exiled to Babylonia has been uncovered in an archeological excavation in Jerusalem's City of David, a prominent Israeli archeologist said Wednesday.

The 2,500-year-old black stone seal, which has the name "Temech" engraved on it, was found earlier this week amid stratified debris in the excavation under way just outside the Old City walls near the Dung Gate, said archeologist Dr. Eilat Mazar, who is leading the dig.

According to the Book of Nehemiah, the Temech family were servants of the First Temple and were sent into exile to Babylon following its destruction by the Babylonians in 586 BCE.

The family was among those who later returned to Jerusalem, the Bible recounts.

...

"The seal of the Temech family gives us a direct connection between archeology and the biblical sources and serves as actual evidence of a family mentioned in the Bible," she said. "One cannot help being astonished by the credibility of the biblical source as seen by the archaeological find."

Why so astonished? I rather expect this sort of thing.

Now that's a Church.

Not to say that other churches aren't churches. But some certainly get closer to the ideal of "perfect church" than do others. Gerald would be pleased, I'm sure. And sure enough, this one is in Austria:

"Two priests pray in the church of the the monastery of Heiligenkreuz, south of Vienna during a media tour, on Thursday, Aug. 16, 2007,. Pope Benedict XVI will visit the monastery during his three-day visit to Austria from Sept. 7 to 9, 2007. (AP Photo/Hans Punz)"

I love the name as well, Heiligenkreuz (="holy cross"). Here's its wikipedia entry. The church does indeed contain a relic of the True Cross, originating from Baldwin IV of Jerusalem, King of Jerusalem and given to duke Leopold V in 1182, who donated it to the monastery six years later. It was put on public display in 1983.