Random Catholicisms.

1. Vatican forgives Lennon for Jesus quip? Yeah, I bet this was on the top of the Pope's to-do list. Don't get me wrong, I love the music of The Beatles, but this seems kind of silly.

The Vatican's newspaper has finally forgiven John Lennon for declaring the Beatles were more famous than Jesus Christ, calling the remark a "boast" by a young man grappling with sudden fame.

The comment by Lennon to a London newspaper in 1966 infuriated Christians, particularly in the United States, some of whom burned Beatles' albums in huge pyres.

But time apparently heals all wounds.

"The remark by John Lennon, which triggered deep indignation mainly in the United States, after many years sounds only like a 'boast' by a young working-class Englishman faced with unexpected success, after growing up in the legend of Elvis and rock and roll," Vatican daily Osservatore Romano said.

The article, marking the 40th anniversary of the Beatles' "The White Album", went on to praise the pop band.

"The fact remains that 38 years after breaking up, the songs of the Lennon-McCartney brand have shown an extraordinary resistance to the passage of time, becoming a source of inspiration for more than one generation of pop musicians," it said.

Carl Olson from Ignatius Insight has some worthwhile commentary on the assumptions this article makes and pop music in general.

2. More on moving the Sign of Peace to a different place in the Mass (from AmericanPapist).

3. Fr. Z's extremely informative post on Advent wreaths and why blue is not a liturgical color.

If people ask you, "Why are there three purple candles and one pink on an Advent wreath?" you can give them the straight and correct answer.

Despite the claim of some Lutherans that they developed the Advent wreath, the answer I give is, "those are the colors a Catholic priest wears when saying Mass on those Sundays."

But why pink or properly rose on the third Sunday of Advent?

Easy: rose is the color used on the fourth Sunday of Lent!

4. The Crucifix on Everest - I'm fascinated by all things Everest, so this story is pretty cool in that it involves: 1. Everest 2. A pope 3. A Benedictine priest and 4. a crucifix.

5. Television Ads Causing Drop in Abortions Heading to MTV and BET in December - Exactly what I always say: We need to go where the culture is talking and preach the Gospel.

6. A nice live version of "Vito's Ordination Song" by Sufjan - Ever since I first heard it, I've loved some of the priestly ideas in the lyrics.

7. It’s Not Just a Good Idea, It’s the Law.

God’s Laws are not like civil laws, wherein one day the speed limit is 55 and the next day it is 60 because some people decided that it would be so. No, God’s Laws are like the laws of physics; if you try to defy the law of gravity (as in letting go of that anvil you’re holding over your foot,) there will always be consequences.