Apostolic Nuncio

Apostolic Nuncios
by Fr. Larry Rice  (source USCCB)

In order to ensure the smooth functioning of a worldwide
community of faith and to facilitate relations
with the civil governments of the world, the Catholic
Church maintains one of the largest diplomatic corps
in the world. Although its origins lie in the centuries
when the Church was itself a civil and political
power, today the Vatican’s diplomatic corps serves
other purposes.

The chief ambassador at a Vatican embassy is the
Apostolic Nuncio. Usually a bishop or archbishop, the
Nuncio has the same diplomatic duties as any other
ambassador, but also serves as a conduit between the
local Church and the Roman Curia. These duties may
include recommending the appointment of bishops,
monitoring human rights issues, and serving as an
impartial mediator.

In many countries, the Apostolic Nuncio is regarded as the “dean” of the local diplomatic
community and is given honorary precedence in many matters of protocol. The Vienna Convention
on Diplomatic Relations provides that, “Except as concerns precedence and etiquette, there shall be no differentiation between heads of mission by reason of their class” (article 14[2]), but the Convention also states, “This article is without prejudice to any practice accepted by the receiving State regarding the precedence of the representative of the Holy See” (article 16[3]).

His Excellency, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, is the current Apostolic Nuncio to the United States and has been serving in that capacity since October 2011.  His residence, called a nunciature, in Washington, DC, will also be home to Pope Francis during his September 22-24, 2015, visit to the city.

Fr. Rice is Vocations Director for the Paulist Fathers.

Not Smarter Than The Average Bear

When we were hiking in Yellowstone, we had to be escorted by park rangers, a few times.  There were quite a few bear sightings.  So we thought we would invest in a can of "bear spray."  It's a good thing that we were given instructions on how to use it, because I thought it was similar to insect spray--I spray it on myself, to repel bears.  It's the opposite.

It's a weapon, like mace.  It's to be  used on an attacking bear.  You spray it at the bear to keep him away.

This reminded me of the joke about the man who saw a bear coming at him, so he prayed to God.  Guess what.  The bear stopped charging.  He knelt down.  The man thought it was divine providence.  However, the bear blessed himself and said, "Bless me O God, and these thy gifts, which I am about to receive.  Amen."

Rules

Our Lady of the Grand Tetons

I think you will laugh at this.  While we were touring Grand Teton National Park, we came to a chapel--a log cabin chapel.  It really was impressive.  The chapel also had a breathtaking view of a lake.  The inside was none too shabby, either.

The chapel was originally named Our Lady of the Grand Tetons but the congregation found out that Tetons was Indian for "breasts."  They didn't think Grand Breasts was appropriate for their place of worship so they changed the name to Sacred Heart Chapel.

Everything was made out of wood, except the windows, of course.  They had one fabulous stained glass window above the altar.  The stations of the cross were little circles distributed on the walls.
And even the ambo was rustic.  See how it's made out of small cuts of logs.

I felt very comfortable praying here.

A Warning

Last night, I finished unpacking.  I found a little piece of paper I had saved.  On our flight to Yellowstone, on the plane, we found this warning on a tiny piece of paper stuck on the seat.  My son in law just laughed and was going to throw it out, but I saved it.  I knew it would make a good blog post.  The slip of paper said:

Something to think about.  Have you noticed how violence and lawlessness have drastically increased not only in our country but all over the World?  Every night on the News we hear about brother against brother, rioting and killing in the streets and schools, wars and rumors of wars, famines, plagues, earthquakes, tsunamis, and other natural disasters.  Moral decline has hit a new low and keeps getting worse.  (OVER) -- [It was a tiny slip of paper.  On the other side was written:]

Knowledge and travel are increasing.  We are lovers of ourselves, wanting to look better than we do.  The Bile, God's Word, states these are signs that the end of time is near.  Read Isaiah 13: 6-13, Isaiah 24, Ezekiel 7:5-27, Daniel 12:4, Matthew 24, Luke 21:25-26, II Timothy 3: 1-5; Rev. 11:13.  Read all of John and Romans for a way out of the dilemma.  Also see Luke 11:9.

So what do you think?  Will someone ignorant of the Word be converted?  I doubt it, but maybe it's worth a shot.  Although, if someone was ignorant of the Word they wouldn't know how to look up the references, so the message is lost.  But then again, what if......?

I know that when I was looking at the fumerals and mud pools and devasted landscape at Yellowstone, the Apocalypse came to mind.  But I'm in the choir, most people aren't.  So how do you reach those ignorant of God?

Blessed

This picture was taken only two hours after we arrived.

Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park should be on everybody's bucket list.  Within two hours of arriving, we saw a mama mouse and her baby.  The wildlife is unbelievable.  We saw elk!   That's unheard of around MA.

You'll laugh at this.  There're bears and all kinds of warnings about being careful around bears.  "A Fed Bear is a Dead Bear."  We had to be escorted by park rangers twice, due to bear sightings.  We had to purchase "bear spray."  I originally thought "bear spray" was something I put on to repel the bears--like insect repellent.  No, that's wrong.  "Bear Spray" is a weapon--like mace.  You spray it at the bear.  He will turn away.

Seeing buffalo became ordinary.  I got up real close to deer.  It was like paradise.  I was thinking that the early native Americans must have lived as if they were in the Garden of Eden.  There were plenty of game, nuts, berries, other plants, water, etc.  What more could anyone want?  

How I Spent My Summer Vacation

So sorry I didn't warn my readers that I was going on vacation and wouldn't be blogging.  I didn't want to tell burglars that my house would be empty.

Old Faithful at Old Faithful

We were in Wyoming touring Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park.  This is mountainous country, so I didn't even attempt to bring my computer.  I had hard enough time with my iPhone just texting when I could.

The very first day of hiking I got a blister on my heel.  I don't understand why because I've worn those hiking shoes many, many times.  I wasn't too upset because I could feel my asthma tightening in  my chest when we were climbing fast.  I had to stop a few times to catch my breath.

So the second day through the fourth day we rented a device called Gaperguide.  It's a Godsend.  It's a GPS self-guided auto tour.  Wherever we drove, the Gaperguide told us everything we needed to know about what we were viewing.  It gave directions.  It told us how far a hike was.  I was wearing flip flops because of my blister, so I couldn't walk too, too far, so the Gaperguide was perfect.  Gaperguide even mocked us for taking pictures at the Welcome to Yellowstone sign, when we were leaving.

The fifth and sixth day we visited Jackson City and Jackson Hole, buying souvenirs and enjoying the cowboys.  Everybody is friendly and the landscape is so different than what I'm used to here in New England.  The open prairies seem to go on forever, but I'll tell you more in subsequent posts.