Last Post

After four months of not posting it seems time to admit that the blog has "passed away." Instead of blogging I've been working on a site of the same name. It doesn't have a whole lot on it, but feel free to browse what's there. I plan to add more stuff to it in the future.

The new site will have its own, self-contained blog that will record updates to the site and other relevant information. It will also have a general comment box on the "about" page. Thanks for reading!

Pope's Turkey Trip a Success

The Pope's visit to Turkey appears to have been a great success. The reasons for the virtual blackout in the secular media are unbeknownst to me, but many fine news sources did cover the events of the trip. You can find links to the homilies, speeches, and news articles here.

Pope and Patriarch Embrace

(Photo courtesy CNS/Reuters)

Pope Benedict XVI and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I exchanged the kiss of peace today at a Divine Liturgy in Istanbul (Constantinople). Deo gratias!

Etymology of the word "Christmas"

The word "Christmas" is a contraction of "Christ Mass," referring to the special Masses celebrated annually in honor of Christ's birth since the third century and known more formally as the Feast of the Nativity. The vernacular name goes back at least to the 11th century (Old English Cristes Maesse). It is sometimes written "Xmas" because in Greek, the letter X (chi) is an abbreviation for the title Christ (Χριστός). Today the official name is the Solemnity of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Christmastide is the full liturgical season stretching from Christmas Eve on Dec. 24th to Epiphany on Jan. 6th. (The celebration of Christ's birth was once contained in the latter, older feast.) Various feasts of the Blessed Virgin Mary have been called Marymas (or Marymass), including the Solemnity of the Annunciation and the Solemnity of the Assumption.