[Gocamino] [saintjames] The pope plans to offer indulgences via Twitter.
Joanie Hess
jethess777 at aol.com
Thu Jul 18 08:33:40 PDT 2013
Rosina,
I am also in Rome at present, and relate to the heat you mentioned-- the top 8 inches of a pair of slacks I had on were wringing wet with perspiration by the time I got back to the hotel after walking about the city today.
Thought I would share the new featured way to do the Vatican museum w/o the crowds. Every Friday (except last 2 weeks of July, all of August and 1st week of Sep), the Vatican museum is open for viewing with a pre-booked ticket, at an appointed time starting at 7 p.m. till 9 p.m. You pick the date and time that you like. I took my cousin who lives here with me at 7 p.m. on Friday, July 12th & it was awesome! Imagine no one in the way of viewing your favorite art pieces. This is not a guided tour-- I had been here 3 other times and my cousin had also visited several times before, but we found this way very fulfilling. Imagine being able to.photograph the spiral staircase with no one walking on it! We took about an hour and a half to tour it, plus get in photos (photos in Sistine Chapel not allowed). I booked this back in April. Cost was reasonable. I found out about this through the " Weekend in Italy" e-mail newsletter.
www.vatican.va - help.musei at scv.va
So perhaps next time you could get on the nightime circuit and have a more pleasant experience.
There is also available the opportunity to tour the necropolis under the basilica where St. Peter is buried. Very popular and advanced reservations are necessary to do that. Vatican City website has info under Ufficio dei Scavi (office of ruins). I did that in 2007. Would suggest that also if you had not seen it. Tours are requested in any of several languages and there are certainly enough available in English.
Also, just for your information, VIATOR offers private tours through the Vatican Museum, including its "secret rooms" whatever they are. These are also done at night through special arrangement that VIATOR has with the museum. Very pricey, but an option. I've used VIATOR for other things in other countries in Europe, i.e. Meddoc wine chateaux tour out of Bordeaux. Never used them in Italy, so cannot comment.
Enjoy the rest of your stay in Europe.
-Joanie
-----Original Message-----
From: blaroli at aol.com
To: saintjames <saintjames at yahoogroups.com>; Gocamino <Gocamino at oakapple.net>
Sent: Thu, Jul 18, 2013 9:01 am
Subject: Re: [Gocamino] [saintjames] The pope plans to offer indulgences via Twitter.
As any Catholic knows, a priest cannot absolve one's sins.... not ever. It is
the act of confession itself and its consequential resolve not to repeat one's
shame-engendering actions that brings about absolution. Priests do assist in the
effort, since it is terribly difficult to face one's wrongdoings.
That the Pope should seek to reach, and make available spiritual comfort, to
those who cannot physically pursue them, by the new ways of communicating makes
perfect sense. to me.
I am presently in Rome and am absolutely astounded by the popularity of the new
Pope and very discomforted by the changes it has brought.
It is an hours-consuming chore to even get into Saint Peters. The line to go
through the metal detectors, etc. takes more than on hour which is pretty brutal
in this heat. The Square in front of the Basilica has been delineated and
partitioned, permanently, it seems, and one cannot move at will. The whole of
Vatican City is sidewalk to sidewalk people, and trying to get into the Vatican
museums is an exercise in futility. Even if one succeeds in getting in it is
impossible to see anything hemmed in all sides by crowds and crowds, and
throughout the city itself, wherever one goes, it is the Pope, the Pope, the
Pope.
I don't understand it. Perhaps I am a one Pope's woman and for me it was John
Paul II.
At any rate, I wouldn't advice anyone to visit Rome right now. Lovely and
endlessly fascinating as the eternal city is, the unbelievable crowds make it
impossible to enjoy anything.
I have noticed in several churches announcements regarding the Camino, and the
people at the Vatican have produced a DVD on the Camino, which I will tell you
about when I get home and watch it.
It is hot as Hades here. I never thought that I would miss New York City in the
Summer, but this time I wish I were home cool and somewhat quiet. Even although
for the past few years New York is full of tourists, they cannot compare to the
multitudes in Rome.
Oh well.
Hugs!
Rosina
blaroli at aol.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Grant Spangler <GASpangler at hotmail.com>
To: †Yahoo Saint James <saintjames at yahoogroups.com>; †GoCamino OakApple
<gocamino at oakapple.net>; †Yahoo Ultreya <ultreya at yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Wed, Jul 17, 2013 9:17 pm
Subject: [saintjames] The pope plans to offer indulgences via Twitter.
Anyone whose chief motivation on the Camino is plenary indulgence
... could just stay at home and get the Pope's Twitter feed. Ah, progress.
The pope plans to offer indulgences via Twitter.
Following Pope Francis's Twitter feed may be good for your soul – both in this
life and the next.
The spiritual leader of the Catholic Church plans to grant plenary indulgences
by Twitter during the World Youth Day 2013 event, to be held July 23-28 in
Brazil.
The indulgences – which can reduce the time a soul spends in purgatory – will be
available to Francis's nearly 2.7 million Twitter followers – if they tune in
the world to World Youth Day broadcasts or take other spiritual actions. To get
an indulgence, a Catholic must have already had their sins absolved by a priest.
Pope Francis issued a decree about indulgences and social media on July 9,
according to the Rome-based Zenit news organization, which covers the Vatican.
"The faithful who on account of a legitimate impediment cannot attend the
aforementioned celebrations may obtain Plenary Indulgence under the usual
spiritual, sacramental and prayer conditions, in a spirit of filial submission
to the Roman Pontiff, by participation in the sacred functions on the days
indicated, following the same rites and spiritual exercises as they occur via
television or radio or, with due devotion, via the new means of social
communication," the decree states.
Patricia Maldonado, director of digital media for the Archdiocese of Detroit,
approves of the idea. She said it will help the Catholic church better connect
with young people who are already on Twitter and other social media.
"By using Twitter in new ways to reach out to people spiritually, Pope Francis
is setting the example and laying the foundation for the rest of the Church to
follow in his footsteps," said Maldonado, who oversees the dioceses Twitter feed
@DetroitCatholic.
Giving indulgences by social media, means the faithful to get the spiritual
benefits of World Youth day even if they can't be there, said Bob O'Gorman, a
retired religion professor and author of "The Complete Idiot's Guide to
Understanding Catholicism."
O'Gorman said that major Catholic events like World Youth Day have been seen in
the past as opportunities for forgiveness and renewal.
Even people who can't travel to a major church event or pilgrimage can still
experience that forgiveness, said O'Gorman, if they take some kind of spiritual
action.
The idea comes from the Bible, O'Gorman says..
Jesus told his disciples in the Gospel of Matthew that where two or more of them
gathered in his name, he would be present in their midst. Being in Jesus's
presence is a way to be forgiven, said O'Gorman.
"This is a way to reconnect with God," he said. "A lot of this is about the
sense of separation we feel from God."
In medieval times, that spiritual action often involved making a donation, which
led to corruption, he said..
Today, that can mean tuning in to broadcasts from World Youth Day or following
it on Twitter.
"I think it's a great idea," said Eileen Daily, assistant professor of pastoral
studies at Loyola University in Chicago. Daily, who has studied how Catholics
use social media, said Twitter can help Catholics make faith part of their
everyday life.
It's a bit like keeping count of the time spent on a treadmills or other
exercise equipment as part of maintaining physical health.
"In order to pay attention to the Pope's Twitter feed—they have to be
integrating that into their daily life," she said. "It is about people making
the effort to bring faith into their daily life."
Following Twitter or interacting through other social media will make World
Youth Day interactive, said Daily.
Instead of just sitting and passively watching the telecasts from World Youth
Day, Catholics will actually be taking part.
"It gives people a chance to apply it to their lives," she said.
Daily said that as a Jesuit, Pope Francis is used to seeing God in every part of
life. So combining Twitter and with the ancient practice of indulgences, makes
sense.
But the Pope's new decree doesn't make it easy to get an indulgence, said Scot
Landry, cabinet secretary for Catholic Media in the Archdiocese of Boston. He
worries that some people may misunderstand how the church views indulgences.
"Receiving an indulgence by the church is a high bar," he said. "What you need
to be able to do is to go to confession, receive communion… A lot of the
headlines are making it seem like this is an easy step."
Still he sees the Pope's latest move as a good step. Landry said it means more
Catholics can feel included in Word Youth Day.
Grant Gallicho, the associate editor of Commonweal magazine and a prolific
blogger @gallicho, also believes the Pope's Twitter indulgences are a good idea.
"In 2001, Pope John Paul II granted indulgences to Catholics who walked through
the bronze door of St. Peter's Basilica," he said. "A door is just another kind
of technology. For most young people today, their doorway to the marketplace of
ideas is social media. Why shouldn't Twitter serve as a way into the church?"
Smietana also reports for the Tennessean, Nashville. Contributing: Kimberly
Railey.
Buen Camino,
Grant
http://www.ElCaminoSantiago.com
Resources for the Pilgrimage Road to Santiago
------------------------------------
This Group is based in the site: http://www.caminhodesantiago.com - Caminho de
Santiago de Compostela - O Portal Peregrino. All of information the pilgrims
need.Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/saintjames/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/saintjames/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
saintjames-digest at yahoogroups.com
saintjames-fullfeatured at yahoogroups.com
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
saintjames-unsubscribe at yahoogroups.com
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
_______________________________________________
Gocamino mailing list
Gocamino at oakapple.net
http://mailman.oakapple.net/mailman/listinfo/gocamino
More information about the Gocamino
mailing list