Benefitiam authenticam

Oh, you know that photo always brings good things.... It's like the Blue Light Special of Whispers. For our purposes, let's just call it the "Flaming Mitre Special."

Anyways, Cardinal Arinze will be in Pittsburgh in July for the annual Benefit Dinner for the Apostolate for Family Consecration. They're looking for company, so given the love so many of you have for Cardinal Arinze (SSPX notwithstanding, but their liturgies are illicit from the get-go), a bunch of you might be interested.

For the record, the one time I ever saw Arinze -- who is quite consubstantial with the Ohio-based group founded by Jerry and the late Gwen Coniker -- was when one of the Apostolate's annual conferences came under our roof here in Philadelphia many, many moons ago.

The dinner is being co-chaired under the serene and kindly gaze of Archbishop-elect Donald Wuerl and the Benedictine Archabbot of Latrobe Douglas Nowicki, whose name has entered the buzzmill for the Pittsburgh post. The theme of this year's dinner is "The Transmission of Faith in the Family.

If you go, you know you're in for a good show -- one definitely worth the price of admission on its own. Arinze, who deigns to take a photo with each attendee who wishes one and answers written questions from the audience after the main course, always gets people of good will revved up; during last year's event, the Vatican's Worship Czar answered a question about the disquiet over abortion-and-communion by saying, "Are there no children from First Communion to whom you can pose the question and receive the answer? You do not need a cardinal to answer that. Because it is a straightforward matter."

And, if his (and with your) spirit is feeling particularly good, the cardinal might just spread the dew of a senior liturgical translation job or two.... Chances are the lucky winners would all know each other from the Anglican seminaries they once went to.

(And for those keeping score, the count of proposed Missale Romanum buzzwords incorporated into this post is eight.)

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