St. Ignatius Loyola Church, here I come!
To celebrate the occasion of the Year of Faith, which begins tomorrow, Pope Benedict XVI has decreed that during the Year of Faith plenary indulgences may be obtained by the faithful in several novel ways, including "pious
meditation upon - the Acts of the [Second Vatican] Council and the articles of the Catechism of
the Catholic Church." My soul does not fill with joy at this prospect, as it sounds too much like purgatory to me. However, the Pope's decree offers us other ways for obtaining the indulgence, of which the following is my favorite:
"On any
day they choose, during the Year of Faith, if they make a pious visit to the
baptistery, or other place in which they received the Sacrament of Baptism, and
there renew their baptismal promises in any legitimate form."
My soul does fill with joy at this prospect. Maybe I can drag along my sisters, who were baptized there too.
Alas, I cannot undertake this pious task, as the font where I born again in 1962 was later demolished to make way for a fountain with a "stream of living water" (powered by an electric pump). And, come to think of it, the confessional where I received my first pardon has also vanished, as has the altar rail at which I first tasted the Bread of Heaven.
ReplyDeleteAll this, despite His Holiness' assurances regarding the "hermaneutic of continuity."
How sad! What can one say by way of comfort, except "how about a drink?"
ReplyDelete