Do You Want to Feel Old?

Humphrey Bogart was born in 1899.

Easter Sunday

Wishing you all a blessed Eastertide! Christ is risen!

Missing the Mass

I don’t want to post any invective about the Masses and Communions going away. My position on the subject is well known to readers.

I just want to say that we need to suffer for and with Christ, offer it up, and beg God, His Son, Our Lady– and considering the day, St. Joseph– to lift this heavy scourge, one we deserve for our sins.

Let us pray for each other, go to confession while we can, and stay out of Mortal sin.

Dear Readers, God bless you.

In Memoriam, Six Years On

Today is the sixth anniversary of my father’s death. He died, post-surgery, in the very early morning hours of March 2, 2014. May I ask you in your charity to offer a prayer for his soul? Any prayers are most gratefully accepted, and may God reward you.

Back then, during his surgery, I wrote some thoughts here. Today I offered my Mass intention for him, and am moved to write a little more.

Six years. It hardly seems possible. Life goes on, and all our battles continue

One of the little joys in our family life was that my youngest daughter, and my brother’s youngest son, were both born before my father died. His birthday was in February, and at our last family party he got to hold each of them. A very treasured memory. I often ponder the signal graces in my life, and here is one: Psalm 127 was read at our wedding Mass, and is one of our favorite psalms (Blessed are they who fear the Lord and walk in His ways…). Ever since Dad’s last birthday party, I reflect often on the last verse: And mayest thou see thy children’s children. Though Providence may have other designs of course, it appears that those were the last two grandchildren to be born in his line. So my Dad sure had the blessing to see his children’s children, and I am grateful for that.

My father’s surgery was planned, and he confessed and received anointing of the sick in the new rite a few days before surgery. After surgery, as he was in extremis, he received extreme unction. He was enrolled in the brown scapular, but I don’t think he wore one for a long time. My brother was vigilant enough to suggest he wear it then. I placed my own scapular on him, and he died wearing it. I still wear it today. During my recent medical scare, one of the thoughts racing through my mind was that I was wearing it, and that two people might be checking out wearing it. Weird?

I think about my mother. I can’t imagine being without my spouse for six days, let alone six years. I know she misses him, and there’s not much I can do to help; the presence of a grown child is not the same as one’s soulmate. If you can spare a prayer for her, I would appreciate that, too.

As Kermit the Frog famously said, “Life is a series of meetings and partings. That is the way of it.” True, and I’m sure I’ll never forget my Dad, or this first parting among us.

May Our Lord bless us all in these troubled times. May we all meet in the heavenly kingdom.

Lent— Overture

In prep for tomorrow’s scheduled post, I present this classic repost about sands in the holy water font, courtesy of my lovely wife.

Feast of the Purification of Our Lady

Happy Candlemas, everyone! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas season.

Unlike the Loop Trolley, Septuagesima is looming next Sunday.

Whispering in Your Ear

Don’t tell anybody, but I will share with you that if– if—-if the paradigm holds, and Mary hasn’t acted, and the antichrist hasn’t made his move, etc.,

Sharon and I, intentions in our hearts already, will walk the Camino Portugues in October or November.

Sssshhhhhhhh.

Cardinal Burke, I Willingly Accept Your Advice

From Lifesite News: Cdl Burke encourages Catholic faithful to renew their devotion through pilgrimages

“Pilgrimages bring us closer to our faith and thus bring us true peace. Not going on pilgrimages means losing contact with our salvation.” Cardinal Raymond L. Burke shared his thoughts and some personal reflections on the importance of pilgrimages which became a significant part of the Catholic tradition in the 4th century, when Christians traveled to different places that were part of Jesus’ life or the tombs of martyrs and saints.

Ten Years is a Blink in Realtime

Merry Christmas, dear Readers!  I was motivated by all of the end-of-decade (sic— the end of the teens will be next year at this time, don’t @me) recaps in the media these days to check out this little blog for posts from this day ten years ago.  You know, maybe to write about the very different scene we thought we had back then, compared to the reign of mercy terror we have now.  And the post below is what I found.  

After reading it, I thought I could have posted the exact post this year.  And you know what?  I will.  Happy New Year to you all:

_______________________________

As we end the calendar year, here within the Octave of Christmas and on the Feast of Pope St. Sylvester I (of whom I can never think without recalling Benson’s Lord of the World), ready to usher in the New Year tomorrow on the Feast of the Circumcision of Our Lord, I thought I would put out a few lines.

1. I pray that all my readers are having a blessed and holy Christmas; I thank you for the many well-wishes and words of encouragement you have sent during the year. I thank those whom I annoy for sending me the many amusing comments that usually lift my spirits–and only occasionally dampen them– as well.

2. The end of the year is a traditional time of thanksgiving for the blessings of a loving, almighty God. So for myself, I thank Him most of all for His Being, His Love, and all that He does for us. It is pretty nice of Him to keep the world and all of us in existence, and He sent His only Son to suffer, die and rise to save us from sin. I thank God for His Holy Catholic Church, which is the means of the salvation of man. I am grateful for His Mother, and I thank her as well for all she does to assist me as I try to work out my salvation in fear and trembling. I renew my consecration of myself, my family, my work and all that I do to her. Mother, do with me as you will.

I thank God for the embarrassing bounty of spiritual and material blessings He gives me. My sainted wife, my beautiful children, the means to earn a living to support them, good friends, family and everything else.

I thank Him for our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, who just might be Benedict the Great one day. Summorum Pontificum is not his only achievement, but it would be enough, I think, to merit the title. I thank God for the many faithful sons and daughters in the priesthood and religious life whom I have been privileged to meet and get to know, often because of this ridiculous blog, especially for my spiritual director.

And I thank Him for the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest. I credit the Institute with being the oasis of the faith in my life.

3. St. Francis de Sales Oratory will be singing a solemn Te Deum in thanksgiving for the past year today at 5 pm. The faithful who attend may receive a plenary indulgence, under the usual conditions of detachment from sin, sacramental confession, Holy Communion, and prayers for the intentions of the Holy Father.

Te Deum laudamus:
te Dominum confitemur.

Te aeternum Patrem
omnis terra veneratur.

Tibi omnes Angeli;
tibi caeli et universae Potestates;

Tibi Cherubim et Seraphim
incessabili voce proclamant:

Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus,
Dominus Deus Sabaoth.

Pleni sunt caeli et terra
maiestatis gloriae tuae.

Te gloriosus Apostolorum chorus,
Te Prophetarum laudabilis numerus,
Te Martyrum candidatus laudat exercitus.
Te per orbem terrarum
sancta confitetur Ecclesia,

Patrem immensae maiestatis:
Venerandum tuum verum et unicum Filium;
Sanctum quoque Paraclitum Spiritum.

Tu Rex gloriae, Christe.
Tu Patris sempiternus es Filius.
Tu ad liberandum suscepturus hominem,
non horruisti Virginis uterum.
Tu, devicto mortis aculeo,
aperuisti credentibus regna caelorum.

Tu ad dexteram Dei sedes, in gloria Patris.
Iudex crederis esse venturus.

(kneeling)Te ergo quaesumus, tuis famulis subveni:
quos pretioso sanguine redemisti.

Aeterna fac cum sanctis tuis in gloria numerari.
Salvum fac populum tuum,
Domine, et benedic hereditati tuae.
Et rege eos, et extolle illos usque in aeternum.

Per singulos dies benedicimus te;
Et laudamus Nomen tuum in saeculum, et in saeculum saeculi.

Dignare, Domine, die isto sine peccato nos custodire.
Miserere nostri domine, miserere nostri.

Fiat misericordia tua,
Domine, super nos, quemadmodum speravimus in te.
In te, Domine, speravi:
non confundar in aeternum.

(Translation, because it’s Christmas:)

We praise thee, O God :
we acknowledge thee to be the Lord.
All the earth doth worship thee :
the Father everlasting.

To thee all Angels cry aloud :
the Heavens, and all the Powers therein.
To thee Cherubin and Seraphin :
continually do cry,
Holy, Holy, Holy :
Lord God of Sabaoth;
Heaven and earth are full of the Majesty :
of thy glory.

The glorious company of the Apostles : praise thee.
The goodly fellowship of the Prophets : praise thee.
The noble army of Martyrs : praise thee.

The holy Church throughout all the world :
doth acknowledge thee;
The Father : of an infinite Majesty;
Thine honourable, true : and only Son;
Also the Holy Ghost : the Comforter.

Thou art the King of Glory : O Christ.
Thou art the everlasting Son : of the Father.
When thou tookest upon thee to deliver man :
thou didst not abhor the Virgin’s womb.
When thou hadst overcome the sharpness of death :
thou didst open the Kingdom of Heaven to all believers.

Thou sittest at the right hand of God : in the glory of the Father.
We believe that thou shalt come : to be our Judge.

(kneeling) We therefore pray thee, help thy servants :
whom thou hast redeemed with thy precious blood.

Make them to be numbered with thy Saints : in glory everlasting.

O Lord, save thy people :
and bless thine heritage.
Govern them : and lift them up for ever.

Day by day : we magnify thee;
And we worship thy Name : ever world without end.

Vouchsafe, O Lord : to keep us this day without sin.

O Lord, have mercy upon us : have mercy upon us.
O Lord, let thy mercy lighten upon us :
as our trust is in thee.

O Lord, in thee have I trusted :
let me never be confounded.

—————

Merry Christmas again, and a very happy and blessed New Year!

34 Days

Yes, it really has been 34 days since I’ve posted. That is probably a record, since I launched this little project in February 2007. And I am actually nearing in reality what I used to say jokingly: my “7 readers” might really be 7 readers.

But, dear 7, I might emerge for a bit and write what’s on my mind. I have left Twitter now, which in addition to being a guilty snarking pleasure for me, was both a near occasion of sin and a time-waster that kept me from writing here.

I haven’t quit thinking about the beepstorm that is the churchandworld ™; I just refrained from writing about it.

Not anymore. Not for a little while, at least. I hope those of you who have stuck it out until now enjoy it.

Blessed Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe to you all.