This just in -- Cardinal DiNardo blogging from Rome!

Cardinal Daniel DiNardo in Rome

Ave Maria!  Actually, this information was on the Houston Chronicle Web site last night, so it's really not "just in," but I've always had a liking for that phrase and decided to use it now.  Whatever, go here for the Chronicle article "Cardinal DiNardo blogs as conclave for new pope begins." 

Cardinal Daniel DiNardo is, of course, the Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston.  I'm looking forward to following his blog, "When in Rome," over these next couple of weeks and am most grateful to the Cardinal for taking the time to keep us, his flock, informed of the goings-on in Rome right now.  "When in Rome" is part of our Archdiocese's resource page on the Papal Conclave 2013. 

Cardinal DiNardo's reflections on the papacy of Pope Benedict XVI and its theological importance can be found here.  The Cardinal says that "If there were two concepts and realities that have been the focus of his teaching as Pope they would be: 'Caritas' (Love) and 'Logos' (Word). The two terms represent a consolidation of his thinking both as Pope and as a major Theologian."  The Cardinal refers to Pope Benedict's first encyclical, “Deus Caritas Est” (“God is Love”) and notes that this "was actually the first time that any pope had written specifically on this major reality. The writing is both accessible to a large audience but can also be read with attention to its great depth in terms of quotation of others and theological analysis."  This encyclical, the Cardinal adds, "is both a reminder of who we are and an invitation to discover the fundamental gifts that both human and divine love are in this world and beyond this world."  In closing, the Cardinal prays "May the Lord Jesus continue to bless Benedict, one of His most obedient servants in the line of Succession of St. Peter."  AMEN!!!  And may our dear Lord continue to bless Cardinal DiNardo, richly and abundantly.  Amen!