You are currently browsing the daily archive for July 4, 2012.

Yesterday, the summer for the Church truly began as Pope Benedict XVI left the Vatican for his summer residence at Castel Gandolfo. While we may see some news and appointments trickle out of the Holy See until the middle of the month, things will only really start picking up until late August, as the papal return to Rome comes closer. Last summer was an anomaly in that respect, as Benedict travelled to Spain for the World Youth Days in the middle of his summer vacation. The first major event this year will be his visit to Lebanon in September.

Let’s use this time, which will undoubtedly be reflected in a rather less frequent posting routine here, as a time of rest, reflection, prayer and recharging for the coming year. And as we do so, let’s add a prayer for our Holy Father, that his summer at Lake Albano may offer him enough rest, so that we may soon see the joyous pope which we have too often had to trade for a tired-looking pontiff in recent months.

Photo credit: VINCENZO PINTO/AFP/Getty Images

About this blog

I am a Dutch Catholic from the north of the Netherlands. Via this blog I hope to share news items and thoughts about the Catholic Church in the Netherlands and across the world, from the perspective of an interested layman without any pretense of knowledge or authority. Any thoughts and ideas published here are therefore strictly my own.

Other topics will also appear here, as my interests dictate.

Regarding comments: I welcome debate, but insist on good behaviour. That means that name-calling, personal attacks or clearly unfounded sloganeering will result on deletion of the comment. As Mark Shea says: Conduct yourself as you would in my living room and you'll generally be just fine.

For a personal account about my reasons for becoming and remaining Catholic, go read my story: Why am I Catholic?

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Sancta Maria, hortus conclusus, ora pro nobis!

Pope Francis

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In Caelo et in Terra van Mark de Vries is in licentie gegeven volgens een Creative Commons Naamsvermelding-Niet-commercieel 3.0 Nederland licentie.
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