Thursday 17 May 2012

Exciting #twitterangelus developments


Marc has got a new site which he is lining up to be a dedicated home for twitterangelus, with an appropriate domain name.

I really want twitterangelus to be an oasis of prayer and calm.

To that end, I think we need to avoid controversy, and may need some agreed rules for the site.

So I would propose:

a) we acknowledge the value of Latin and vernacular languages (as does the Church); we do not allow discussion or debate of the merits or demerits or either.

b) we do not allow any contributions about or promoting or attacking unauthorised Marian apparitions.  There are plenty of sites out there for these: twitterangeuls will not become one, as that is clearly highly-contested territory.

c) we are loyal to the magisterium of the Church. We welcome any and all who wish to pray with us, and who wish to learn more about Marian devotion, but we will not be a site for debating, still less attacking, the teaching of the Church.  Again there are plenty of other sites available for such discussions.

I hope you agree with these broad principles as I think they are important for the apostolate of Twitterangelus.

There may be others we need to consider, so I would welcome feedback on these and any other issues that regular Twitterangelus crew would like to contribute.

Sancta Dei Genitrix:
Ora pro nobis.

12 comments:

Caral said...

Hi Ben,
Just my initial thoughts, I think Marc is more than capable of looking after his website,where the #twitterangelus Intentions,reside.

The site is fully moderated so we can trust and leave the discernment of what is published or not to Marc.

I think making people agree or sign up to certain things, are completely unnecessary. for example "we are loyal to the magisterium of the Church"

As you know I'm brand new to the Catholic Church, so don't now what the teachings of the Magisterium are, or what those words mean. Perhaps being "loyal to Jesus" is more appropriate.

Maybe we should just focus on praying, and be wary of trying to limit and apply rules to those that pray, therefore creating a holy huddle.

Regards

Caral

Chris (Longmont, CO) said...

I am at a point where I am very interested in this project. Unfortunately, I don't know any Latin, other than a couple of the prayers during Mass.

Do you have any suggestions on websites or books which can help get me prepared for this project?

Idle Rambler said...

I agree that it is a good idea to formulate some guidelines and have no problem with the three main suggestions that you have made.

For me #twitterangelus is about praying the Angelus/Regina Caeli at the appropriate times of day, whether in Latin or the vernacular is to some extent a matter of personal taste although I agree that it's a good idea to acknowledge the patrimony of the Church and to use Latin sometimes.

As you say, there are plenty of other sites for discussion.

Ben Trovato said...

Caral

Thanks for your comments. Perhaps I failed to make myself clear. We are not discussing Marc's blog, but a new dedicated site for Twitterangelus.

My only concern is that some people, seeing such a site, may start to post things that could provoke controversy. I see this as a site to support prayer.

I am not intending to exclude anyone from praying with us, merely to send a clear message that this is not one of (the many) sites that host controversial discussions.

I think many sites have posting guidelines, and genrally think that is a good idea. But I am keen to get others' views: hence this post.

Ben Trovato said...

Chris

Thanks for your comment.

Have you seen my introductory series on Liturgical Latin? That may help. I think this weekend I will do a post on the Regina Caeli, and follow it soon with one on the Angelus.

Also you will find that the prayers for the Angelus both in Latin and English are posted on this site (tagged twitter).

The new site about which this blog was written, will carry translations in many languages.

Ben Trovato said...

Idle Rambler

Thanks for your comment, too!

I absolutely agree;: the whole point is the prayer. That's what this post was meant to be about...

Idle Rambler said...

I've been mulling this over a bit since seeing the discussion on Twitter.

I see praying the Angelus (or Regina Caeli during Eastertide) as a way of sanctifying the day, in a similar way to praying the Office of the Church at certain times during the day and personally, I find it very helpful for this particular reason.

I don't see it as 'outreach' although of course because of the nature of Twitter, it is visible to many who might not otherwise be aware of this prayer and might be drawn into praying which naturally is a good 'side'effect'.

Just a few thoughts . . .

I don't know if they resound with any of the 'Twitter Crew' or if I'm completely alone in my approach.

Hugh of Avalon said...

The problem with simply being "loyal to Jesus" is that our knowledge of who He is comes from the tradition of the Church (guaranteed by the authority of the Magisterium). Otherwise your Jesus could be very different from mine!

Part-time Pilgrim said...

Ben
I understand Caral's reservations but unfortunately I think rules are needed. I presume they are intended in the spirit of "this site is not the place to discuss A or B" rather than "you have expressed view X on site Y and are therfore not welcome to join in". I would suggest removing the first part of c); whilst the Angelus is essentially at Catholic devotion it is also prayed by some Anglicans and I would not want to discourage them from joining in. Talking of the Magesterium may do that.

Part-time Pilgrim said...

And I should have said this is an exciting developement: my thanks to you (and of course Marc).

Caral said...

Thanks for explaining, Ben.

I totally agree with everything that Part-time Pilgrim has said.

Without naming people. We have also had a Lutheran join us and on on a couple of occasions, Anglicans as well.

Just to clarify my concern, especially about the stipulation in the first clause of c) This may exclude me from participating in the site. I'm converting,and it has been a tough journey so am just trusting Jesus, as He leads me. Yet I'm still in Full Communion with the English Church, and so perhaps by default do not adhere to Magisterium.

And to be quite frank, I have heard so many differing views on Twitter and blogs that I do suspect that is a certain amount of personal interpretation of the Magisterium teaching.

Anyway at the end of the day, together our prayers together unites us to one and another and sanctifies us. I cannot remember who I said it to, but our prayer Intentions are very big, and the enemy isn't going to be happy with us praying them.

May He bless us and keep us and lead us to eternal life.

Caral x

Ben Trovato said...

As you may have seen, the site is now live, and so far we have not posted any posting guidelines.

I am hoping that they will not prove necessary, and that the site will not attract controversy.

We will moderate comments, and only post guidelines should we start go get lots of posts which we think unsuitable.

And if we do so, will probably avoid the term Magisterium, if it is not helpful in that context.

Thanks for all your thoughts: I knew asking your views would be valuable!