Pope Benedict XVI's Birthplace Goes on Sale

ORIGINAL POST Aug. 10, 2005

It looks like the birthplace of Pope Benedict XVI has become an attraction place for tourists. His birthplace house is getting a lot of attention from pilgrims. So, the current owner of house has decided to sell it. Bloomberg Media reported:

Aug. 8 (Bloomberg) -- The Bavarian village of Marktl am Inn, the birthplace of Pope Benedict XVI, has never witnessed so much bustle. Since Joseph Ratzinger was elected in April, more than 30,000 tourists have passed through.

Visitors can buy Pope Benedict candles, Pope incense, Pope key rings, Pope medallions, Pope cakes, Pope sausage and Pope beer. They can't -- at least not yet -- enter the house where Ratzinger was born, which is the private residence of Claudia Dandl, a 39- year-old single mother of two and a physiotherapist.

That may change soon. Dandl, fed up with the camera flashes and noise outside her front door, has put her home on the market. A condition of the sale is that it must be opened to the public, possibly as a museum to celebrate the life and work of Ratzinger, who was two years old when his family left Marktl.

``This cannot be a residence any more,'' Karin Friedlmaier, the real-estate agent managing the sale, said in an interview at her Munich office. ``You just feel that if you are living there, people want to come in.''

Read more...

I hope the city can buy it and convert it into a museum. We'll see.

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UPDATE Aug. 31, 2005
The place has been sold to three German dioceses:

Three Catholic dioceses in Germany were reported to have purchased the two-storey house where Pope Benedict XVI was born Apr 16, 1927.

The newspaper Die Welt, in a report Wednesday, said bids for the house, which has been rezoned for use as a museum, had ranged from 3 million to 5 million euros ($4 million to $6 million). The final price was undisclosed.

It named the purchasers as the Munich archdiocese and the Regensburg and Passau dioceses. Tenders for the sale closed Monday.

Read more...

I'm glad the place wasn't sold to some online casino or other investors. At least, the money made from the museum will go to the Catholic church itself.

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UPDATE Mar. 31, 2006
The house will be open to the public very soon as reported by The Associated Press:

MUNICH, Germany -- The Roman Catholic Church said Friday it has taken possession of the house where Pope Benedict XVI was born and will open it to the public.
[...]
The church beat out scores of bidders, including a Saudi sheik, who offered to buy the house from the former owner...

Read more...

Why would a Saudi sheik want to buy the house?

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UPDATE Apr. 01, 2006
It's a good week for the Catholic church. Here's why:

A Polish businessman has bought the former family home of Pope John Paul II and donated it to the Catholic Church.

The Church had wanted to buy the 19th Century property but had been unable to afford the hefty price tag.
[...]
Ryszard Krauze, the 49-year-old owner of one of Poland's biggest computer software firms and one of the country's richest businessmen, bought the house for an undisclosed price and handed it over to the Church.

Read more...

That's so cool.
 

Safely Home

A few days ago, I read the below prayer and thought NOT to post it as I didn't know anyone who died lately. I also didn't want to depress my readers.

Then, came my Iraqi friend's e-mail telling me of his brother's death. I'm horrible when it comes to condolences. So, I thought I should post the prayer instead of trying to find the words to comfort my friend.


Safely Home

I am home in heaven,dear ones:

Oh, so happy and so bright!
There is perfect joy and beauty
In this everlasting light.

All the pain and grief is over,
Every restless tossing passed
I am now at peace forever
Safely home in Heaven at last.

Did you wonder I so calmly
Trod the valley of the shade?
Oh! But Jesus' love illumined
Every dark and fearful glade.

And He came himself to meet me
In that way so hard to tread;
And with Jesus' arm to lean on
Could I have one doubt or dread?

Then you must grieve so sorely
For I love you dearly still;
Try to look beyond earth's shadows
Pray to trust our Father's Will.

There is work still waiting for you.
So you must not idly stand;
Do it now while life remaineth
You shall rest in Jesus' land.

When that work is all completed,
He will gently call you home;
Oh the rapture of that meeting,
Oh the joy to see you come!


May God help families who lost loved ones in Iraq.
 

Prayer For Forgiveness

Merciful God,

In frustration, anger, hurt or fear we sometimes turn on each other.

Help us see the ways we cause hurt, within our family and beyond it.

We are most humbly sorry for the harm we have caused one another, for the ways we have sinned against you.

Fill us with your grace and show us your mercy.

Let love, kindness and peace reign in our home.

We pray this in the name of Jesus who frees us from all sin.

Amen.


Source: my church bulletin
 

The Ursuline Chapel Bell In Galveston, TX

We were in Galveston two weeks ago. During a tour of the city, we came by this bell and decided to take a picture as a reminder of the good deeds of the Ursuline nuns during Galveston's storm of 1900.



© Mark M. Hancock


The left sign reads:
Erected by
Msgr. Kirwin Assembly, 4th degree,
Knights of Columbus,
in recognition of the 150th anniversary
of the Ursuline order in Galveston
1997.


The right sign reads:
The Ursuline Chapel bell
beckoned islanders to the Ursuline academy
for refuge during the 1900 storm
1500 persons were rescued that night
by the Ursuline nuns.

Omission of Papal Title "patriarch of the West"

As most Catholics know, The Pope holds many titles. "Patriarch of the West" was one of these titles until it was dropped by the Vatican lately. People are speculating the reason behind this decision. So, the Vatican issued a statement clarifying its decision. The Associated Press reports:

On Wednesday, the Vatican's office for relations with other Christians issued a statement to clarify the omission.

It said the title was first used in 642 by Pope Theodore I, but that its exact meaning had always been vague and, over time, had become "obsolete and practically speaking unusable."
[...]
"The renunciation of the title seeks to express a historic and theological reality, and at the same time seeks to be a renunciation of a claim _ a renunciation that could be of benefit to ecumenical dialogue," the statement said.

Benedict has said uniting all Christians and healing the schism with the Orthodox were "fundamental" priorities of his pontificate. Orthodox leaders have generally welcomed his outreach.

Read more...

I think it has a lot to do with uniting all Christians. It's a very difficult goal but shouldn't be impossible. It will definitely take many years until we can achieve some sort of unity.
 

Christian Peace Activist Killed In Iraq

ORIGINAL POST Mar. 10, 2006
It's has been confirmed that Christian Peace Activist Tom Fox has been killed in Iraq. The Associated Press reports:

WASHINGTON - An American who was among four Christian activists kidnapped last year in Iraq has been killed, a State Department spokesman said.

The FBI verified that a body found in Iraq Friday morning was that of Tom Fox, 54, spokesman Noel Clay said. He said he had no information on the other three hostages.

Clay said additional forensics will be done in the United States. The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad is investigating, he said.

Read more...

The other three activists were still alive until a few days ago. I hope they get released soon.

May Tom Fox's soul rest in peace. My condolences to his family and friends.


UPDATE Mar. 23, 2006
I woke up this morning to these good news:

A British-led raid in Iraq has freed three Western Christian peace activists who had been held nearly four months by a Muslim militant group.

U.S. and British officials are expressing delight, and friends and relatives of the captives say they are overjoyed that the three men have been safely rescued.

Coalition officials say not a shot was fired in the operation, and the hostage-takers were not present when the captives were found in a house in western Baghdad early Thursday. The officials say British and American forces discovered the captives still bound, but in reasonably good physical condition.

Read more...

At last, some good news from Iraq.
 

Prayer For a Generous Heart

Loving and Generous God,

We have been blessed with many good things.

Help us to assess honestly all that we have to give.

Draw us toward those who are most in need of love, compassion and kindness we can offer.

Increase our awareness of those who struggle to feed, clothe, and house their families.

Let our efforts expand our capacity for generosity and deepen our commitment to justice.

Through the alms we give, may we recognize and praise you for the depth of your love and care for us.

Amen.

-- Author Unknown
 

Goodbye to PA's Oldest Catholic Church

The thing that surprised me the most when I moved to SE TX was the big Catholic community in this part of Texas. This is the first time in my life where I lived in a Catholic town, which is very cool.

We have many beautiful churches here. But for financial and hurricane reasons, the oldest Catholic church in Port Arthur is closing its doors very soon. The Beaumont Enterprise reports:

PORT ARTHUR - St. Mary Catholic Church, home to Port Arthur's oldest Catholic congregation, was quiet Friday afternoon.
[...]
Bishop Curtis Guillory of the Diocese of Beaumont announced this week the 180 families at St. Mary will be merged with the congregation at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, the second-oldest Catholic congregation in the city.
[...]
"The population of Port Arthur is declining and so is the population of the parish," Guillory said by telephone Friday.

Before Hurricane Rita hit, the church needed expensive repairs, but after the hurricane the repairs escalated to "astronomical," Guillory said.

Read more...

This must be sad for the parishioners.
 

Happy St. Patrick's Day

© Mark M. Hancock


Happy St. Patrick's Day to my Irish readers. May you eat and drink until you drop. And, what's better than St. Patrick's prayer to share with you:


This day I call to me:
God's strength to direct me,
God's power to sustain me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's vision to light me,
God's ear to my hearing,
God's word to my speaking,
God's hand to uphold me,
God's pathway before me,
God's shield to protect me,
God's legions to save me.


Keep the Irish spirit high today.
 

A Different Type of Spring Break

Spring break is almost always associated with beach destinations and wild parties. Well, not always as in the following case:

WEST ORANGE - Since Rita and Katrina walloped the Gulf Coast, church members nationwide have spent free time, including vacation days and weekends, working in Southeast Texas.

This week, spring break, loads of students are bypassing beach parties to help clean hurricane damage and debris.

Megan Borne, 18, of Fort Worth said most of her friends are in Colorado, Cancun, Mexico, or Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Instead Borne, a blue paint-speckled high school senior, is spending her last spring break in West Orange painting a home.

"It's not as much a relaxing time, but it feels right," she said.

Read more...

It's simply beautiful and very much appreciated.
 

Dear God

Here's something cute to share with you. I received it from a friend who lives in California:

• Dear God, please put another holiday between Christmas and Easter. There is nothing good in there now.
  
  -- Amanda
  


• Dear God, Thank you for the baby brother but what I asked for was a puppy. I never asked for anything before. You can look it up.
  
  -- Joyce
  


• Dear Mr. God, I wish you would not make it so easy for people to come apart I had to have 3 stitches and a shot.
  
  -- Janet
  


• God, I read the bible. What does beget mean? Nobody will tell me.
  
  Love,
  
  -- Alison
  


• Dear God, How did you know you were God? Who told you?
  
  -- Charlene
  


• Dear God, Is it true my father won't get in Heaven if he uses his golf words in the house?
  
  -- Anita
  


• Dear God, I bet it's very hard for you to love all of everybody in the whole world. There are only 4 people in our family and I can never do it.
  
  -- Nancy
  


• Dear God, I like the story about Noah the best of all of them. You really made up some good ones. I like walking on water, too.
  
  -- Glenn
  


• Dear God, My Grandpa says you were around when he was a little boy. How far back do you go?
  
  Love,
  
  -- Dennis
  


• Dear God, Do you draw the lines around the countries? If you don't, who does?
  
  -- Nathan
  


• Dear God, Did you mean for giraffes to look like that or was it an accident?
  
  -- Norma
  


• Dear God, In bible times, did they really talk that fancy?
  
  -- Jennifer
  


• Dear God, How come you did all those miracles in the old days and don't do any now?
  
  -- Billy
  


• Dear God, Please send Dennis Clark to a different summer camp this year.
  
  -- Peter
  


• Dear God, Maybe Cain and Abel would not kill each other so much if they each had their own rooms. It works out OK with me and my brother.
  
  -- Larry
  


• Dear God, I keep waiting for spring, but it never did come yet.
  
  What's up? Don't forget.
  
  -- Mark
  


• Dear God, My brother told me about how you are born but it just doesn't sound right. What do you say?
  
  -- Marsha
  


• Dear God, If you watch in Church on Sunday I will show you my new shoes.
  
  -- Barbara
  


• Dear God, Is Reverend Coe a friend of yours, or do you just know him through the business?
  
  -- Donny
  


• Dear God, I do not think anybody could be a better God than you. Well, I just want you to know that.
  
  I am not just saying that because you are already God.
  
  -- Charles
  


• Dear God, It is great the way you always get the stars in the right place. Why can't you do that with the moon?
  
  -- Jeff
  


• Dear God, I am doing the best I can. Really !!!!
  
  -- Frank
  


• Dear God, I didn't think orange went with purple until I saw the sunset you made on Tuesday night. That was really cool.
  
  -- Thomas
  

The Pope Got an iPod

NOTE: I'm on a break from blogging until the weekend.

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Today, the Pope visited the Vatican Radio to mark its 75th anniversary. As expected, he was presented with gifts. But, one gift caught the attention of journalists AND the Pope:

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- A group of Vatican Radio employees gave Pope Benedict XVI a brand new iPod nano loaded with special Vatican Radio programming and classical music.

To honor the pope's first visit to the radio's broadcasting headquarters, the radio's technical staff decided the pencil-thin, state-of-the-art audio player would make the perfect gift.

Though the white iPod nano is tiny, it still made an impression on the pope. When the head of the radio's technical and computer support department, Mauro Milita, identified himself and handed the pope the boxed iPod, the pope was said to have replied, "Computer technology is the future."

Read more...

He now can listen to his favorite classics from Mozart, Chopin and others. Pretty cool.

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Apple 2 GB iPod Nano

The Soviets and Late Pope JP II Shooting

CNN reported this on their Web site:

An Italian parliamentary commission has concluded that the Soviet Union was behind the 1981 attempt to kill Pope John Paul II, a theory long alleged but never proved.

"This commission believes, beyond any reasonable doubt, that the leaders of the Soviet Union took the initiative to eliminate the pope Karol Wojtyla," said a draft of the commission's report, a copy of which was made available Thursday to The Associated Press. Wojtyla was John Paul's Polish name.

The commission held that the pope was a danger to the Soviet bloc because of his support for the Solidarity labor movement in his native country, the first free trade union in communist Eastern Europe.

Read more...

Did anyone actually believe Mehmet Ali Agca planned it himself without any outside help? I don't think so.