Here's some heavy reading
Matt Weaver, Chief Designer
Issue date: 4/29/05 Section: Opinion
The death of Pope John Paul II and the subsequent elevation of Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger of Germany as Pope Benedict XVI have fed a raging fire of public interest and inquiry into the mysterious inner-workings of Vatican City, Il Conclave and the Roman Catholic establishment.
Such is a boon to a slew of contemporary authors - such as Dan Brown, who wrote "The DaVinci Code" and "Angels and Demons" - and academics whose published works are experiencing a reanimation of lagging sales figures in light of this newly focused attention.
This trend is a common one when international headlines are dominated for weeks on end by a single occurrence, but the work of one little known saint who wrote in the 12th century is firmly planted upon the papal coattails along with the thankful group of modern authors. And it does not bode well for humanity.
Saint Malachy O'Morgair - also known as Maolmhaodhog ua Morgair and Maol Maedoc - was born at Armagh, Ireland, in 1094 and died at Clairvaux Abbey, France, in 1148. Friend and fellow Cistercian monk Saint Bernard - yes, the namesake of the dog - gave him his last rites, and Pope Clement III canonized him as the first Irish saint in 1190.
St. Malachy's primary claim to fame were his efforts to replace the heretic Celtic liturgy with the accepted Roman liturgy, thus bringing the splintered Irish church in line with the Roman establishment. He also performed the requisite quota of miracles and healings expected for canonization, but his most intriguing work is his church-acknowledged gift of clairvoyance.
My own blunted gift of foresight brings to me the sound of all your groans and other expressions of disbelief, but hear me out, kids. If you can believe in immaculate conception and, in some cases, transubstantiation, you can entertain the prophecies of a recognized man of God whose past predictions have been proven true.
St. Bernard of Clairvaux, who wrote St. Malachy's biography, reported that the Irish saint fell into a trance on the way to Rome where he was to assume the post of papal legate to Ireland. While in the trance, St. Malachy prophesized the last 112 popes from the successor of Pope Innocent II five years before Malachy's death to "the end of the world." Here is where it gets interesting; these are his profiles of the last three popes on his list.
Such is a boon to a slew of contemporary authors - such as Dan Brown, who wrote "The DaVinci Code" and "Angels and Demons" - and academics whose published works are experiencing a reanimation of lagging sales figures in light of this newly focused attention.
This trend is a common one when international headlines are dominated for weeks on end by a single occurrence, but the work of one little known saint who wrote in the 12th century is firmly planted upon the papal coattails along with the thankful group of modern authors. And it does not bode well for humanity.
Saint Malachy O'Morgair - also known as Maolmhaodhog ua Morgair and Maol Maedoc - was born at Armagh, Ireland, in 1094 and died at Clairvaux Abbey, France, in 1148. Friend and fellow Cistercian monk Saint Bernard - yes, the namesake of the dog - gave him his last rites, and Pope Clement III canonized him as the first Irish saint in 1190.
St. Malachy's primary claim to fame were his efforts to replace the heretic Celtic liturgy with the accepted Roman liturgy, thus bringing the splintered Irish church in line with the Roman establishment. He also performed the requisite quota of miracles and healings expected for canonization, but his most intriguing work is his church-acknowledged gift of clairvoyance.
My own blunted gift of foresight brings to me the sound of all your groans and other expressions of disbelief, but hear me out, kids. If you can believe in immaculate conception and, in some cases, transubstantiation, you can entertain the prophecies of a recognized man of God whose past predictions have been proven true.
St. Bernard of Clairvaux, who wrote St. Malachy's biography, reported that the Irish saint fell into a trance on the way to Rome where he was to assume the post of papal legate to Ireland. While in the trance, St. Malachy prophesized the last 112 popes from the successor of Pope Innocent II five years before Malachy's death to "the end of the world." Here is where it gets interesting; these are his profiles of the last three popes on his list.
