At The Parish™ in Rome, the Jubilee one of the apostolates begun by St. Philip Neri continues through the Archconfraternity he founded, namely, washing the feet of pilgrims.
Lately there were large groups of young people from Milan. Some shots.
There is always, as in days of yore, catechesis along with explanations of the symbolism, etc.
Meanwhile, the zany and aging LCWR concludes their annual assembly today, to the sound of polyester and walkers. One of their keynote speakers says a lot about them.
I was so honored to speak this morning in Atlanta, Georgia, at the annual conference of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR), the umbrella organization for many Congregations of Catholic Sisters in the US. (Yesterday’s keynote was Sister Simone Brambilla, the… pic.twitter.com/cq1xcxZMaF
— James Martin, SJ (@JamesMartinSJ) August 14, 2025
Once again, your scribe was not invited. I’m baffled.
Ten years ago, they were into this. HERE It’s sadly funny, in a hilariously melancholy way.
In that post I have suggested workshops for the assembly. I don’t think they have taken them up … yet. Ever more relevant!
Age: The Final Frontier
LCWR Workshops:
- Dropping the R?
- Looking ahead: What about the W?
- Education: Reaching the young remaining in innocence.
- Recognizing the hormonal effects of contraception begun at 12 in public schools by sight.
- Cloning: Extending the frontier.
- Homogenizing gender: makeovers, fashion sense, and hair styling.
- Retreat planning.
- Retreats for kids .
- Latest developments in motorized rollaters, wheelchairs, and vans.
- Maintaining community life in condocare villages.
- Music: make your own.
- Water ballet and hula dancing.
- Planning and ordering buffets: Baking and storing sweets.
- Campaigning and coffee hours.
- Social networking and liberation. b-y-o-tech.
Please remember me when shopping online and use my affiliate links. US HERE – WHY? This helps to pay for health insurance (massively hiked for this new year of surprises), utilities, groceries, etc.. At no extra cost, you provide help for which I am grateful.
Pope Leo XIV holding back the tears at the Consecration at Mass this morning in Castel Gandolfo. pic.twitter.com/xJvbFxf01T
— Catholic Sat (@CatholicSat) August 15, 2025
Certain medieval images of the Assumption of Mary, in which Christ holds the mother’s soul in his arms, look like a direct inversion of the usual image of Mother and child.
Hamburg, Universitätsbibliothek, Cod. in scrin. 1, f. 3v; Lectionarium, ca. 1260 pic.twitter.com/8hmp2UFu59— Vir Desideriorum (@VirDesideriorum) August 15, 2025
White to move and mate in 4.
NB: I’ll hold comments with solutions ’till the next day so there won’t be “spoilers” for others.
In St. Louis, the Blitz portion of Rapid and Blitz is underway. HERE After Round 10, Levon is in 1st. My guy Wesley dropped a bit but there are still some games left.
Hey Fathers! How about a clerical Guayabera shirt?
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when meditating on the fourth joyous mystery, i often picture a reverse pieta: Christ the King cradling His sleeping (and fully clad!) mother on his lap right as she wakes
White to move and mate in 4
1) Qxf7+ Rxf7 *Note
2) Re8+ Rf8 forced
3) Bh7+ Kh8 forced
4) Rxf8 mate
*Note:
if 1)… Kh8 2) Qxf8 mate
Every time Pope Leo looks at the Body of Christ with emotion, it warms my heart and slowly heals the wounds from the previous papacy.
Some other workshops for the LCWR:
The use of robotic exoskeletons in liturgical dancing
A new rite for the blessing of essential oils
Make your own tambourine with handmade parts ethically-sourced from the our friends at Deaconesses without Borders
The mid-century miracle fabric: Burlap!
Native plant liturgical vestment dyes
Merlin and Merton: elevating prayer thru folklore
That None Shall Be Lost: Preservation techniques for polyester vestments.
Drum circle summons of the Spirit of Vatican II
Pall Are Welcome: Participation planning for an inclusive funeral
What Fr. Martin should have told the reverend sisters (but probably didn’t) was to return to Tradition, and through that, to Christ.
It is hard not to be moved by the footage of the Holy Father at the Elevation (not Consecration, they got that wrong in the caption) of the Host.
“Polyester and walkers”. I’m crying. Thanks for that.
EAW, based on the print-out on the website, he actually did encourage them to return to tradition, which is an incredible surprise.
Thus Fr. Martin: “So what are we invited to do now, based on the signs of the times? Let me suggest a few things. As we all know there is a shift in many young people’s desires for the church, and it is more towards the traditional. It’s not the case for everyone, but as you know, overall, many younger Catholics seek more traditional devotions, like Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, devotion to modern-day saints like Carlo Acutis and Piergiorgio Frassati, and more traditional liturgies. In this audience are hundreds of women who have spent their lives teaching and counseling and accompanying young people. All of you have taken seriously your own relationships with God. So with these young people can you meet them where they are, accompany them, and then help them in their relationship with God?”
An honest effort at that “meeting them where they are” would necessarily require an attempt at embracing tradition, which would hopefully have a knock-on effect for these sisters such that the attempted accompaniment thereafter would at least exclude tambourines and felt banners. Since he also mentioned at the beginning that the traditional orders are growing exponentially and the others are dying out, which they must be keenly aware of, I can only hope that they take his suggestion seriously and honestly.
At the very least, this seems to be quite the indicator of the changing of the winds.