I remember as a child that my father got us all together to kneel down for the Urbi et Orbi Blessing on Easter Sunday. Just thinking of this now chokes me up a bit (he died in 1997). As a young man, he had crossed the channel on 8 June 1944, fought in the tanks in the battle of the Falaise pocket, through the bocage, and, village by village, through Belgium; now he was kneeling with unabashed faith and devotion to receive the Pope's blessing via the television, reverently making the sign of the cross, and teaching us children by his good example. (The picture shows him and my mother when they were engaged.)
Sunday, 29 October 2006
Media mediated Blessing
Joee Blogs asked whether he could get the Apostolic Blessing via my YouTube clip. Unfortunately not. There is a special provision for the Urbi et Orbi blessing on Easter Sunday. You can receive that blessing and indeed the plenary indulgence by watching it on television or listening to it on the radio - live, not recorded. (If I'm wrong on any of this, canonists please feel free to correct me.)
I remember as a child that my father got us all together to kneel down for the Urbi et Orbi Blessing on Easter Sunday. Just thinking of this now chokes me up a bit (he died in 1997). As a young man, he had crossed the channel on 8 June 1944, fought in the tanks in the battle of the Falaise pocket, through the bocage, and, village by village, through Belgium; now he was kneeling with unabashed faith and devotion to receive the Pope's blessing via the television, reverently making the sign of the cross, and teaching us children by his good example. (The picture shows him and my mother when they were engaged.)
I remember as a child that my father got us all together to kneel down for the Urbi et Orbi Blessing on Easter Sunday. Just thinking of this now chokes me up a bit (he died in 1997). As a young man, he had crossed the channel on 8 June 1944, fought in the tanks in the battle of the Falaise pocket, through the bocage, and, village by village, through Belgium; now he was kneeling with unabashed faith and devotion to receive the Pope's blessing via the television, reverently making the sign of the cross, and teaching us children by his good example. (The picture shows him and my mother when they were engaged.)
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8 comments:
You really look a lot like him!
Lovely couple.
I never knew that about the blessing. I will not fail to do that from now on. Thank you - what a great memory.
God bless your parents.
You were clearly blessed in the parents you had, especially your Dad. My father went to Mass every day of his life, right up to his last in 1987. When my brother was a baby he'd take me to Sunday Mass while my mother went to a later Mass. On big feasts, maybe days like Easter Monday and Whit Monday, he'd take me - against my will! - to High Mass in 'Adam and Eve's,' the Franciscan church in Dublin, or to the Dominican church. He's still my model as I try to live my priesthood here in the Philippines.
Am I allowed to say that your mother is very pretty?
Many thanks all for those lovely comments. God bless.
I do believe that all blessings can be validly received via the media and that there is a Vatican approval somewhere. Maybe someone at EWTN could confirm this?
Many thanks for your marvellous blog and much needed info on what goes on.
regards, Ken Simpson
The Enchiridion Indulgentiarum specifies that in order to receive the plenary indulgence via radio or television for the Urbi et Orbi blessing, the faithful must follow the rites "while they are being carried out" (dum peraguntur)
Not wishing to be facetious but, since we don't have a TV in our household, can the indulgence be received by watching EWTN streaming over the internet? There can be up to a 30 sec time shift...
I'm not a moral theologian but I would guess that delay from streaming would not prevent it from being "morally live". Then again, you could always use a radio :-)
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