Democratic presidential politics
Hillary makes a boo-boo.
Barack tells a fib.
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
For the Solemnity of Mary the Mother of God
Virgin Mother, daughter of thy son;
humble beyond all creatures and more exalted;
predestined turning point of God's intention;
thy merit so ennobled human nature
that its divine Creator did not scorn
to make Himself the creature of His creature.
The Love that was rekindled in Thy womb
sends forth the warmth of the eternal peace
within whose ray this flower has come to bloom.
Here, to us, thou art the noon and scope
of love revealed; and among mortal men,
the living fountain of eternal hope.
Lady, thou art so near God's reckonings
that who seeks grace and does not first seek thee
would have his wish fly upward without wings.
Not only does thy sweet benignity
flow out to all who beg, but oftentimes
thy charity arrives before the plea.
In thee is pity, in thee munificence,
in thee the tenderest heart, in thee unites
all that creation knows of excellence!
Dante, Paradiso, Canto XXXIII, lines 1-21, trans. John Ciardi
And in the original:
Vergine Madre, figlia del tuo Figlio,
umile ed alta piú che creatura,
termine fisso d'eterno consiglio,
tu se' colei, che l'umana natura
nobilitasti sí che il suo Fattore
non disdegnó di farsi sua fattura.
Nel ventre tuo si raccese l'amore,
per lo cui caldo nell' eterna pace
cosi é germinato questo fiore.
Qui sei a noi meridiana face
di caritate, e giuso, intra i mortali,
sei di speranza fontana vivace.
Donna, sei tanto grande e tanto vali,
che qual vuol grazia ed a te non ricorre,
sua disianza vuol volar senz' ali.
La tua benignitá non pur soccorre
a chi domanda, ma molte fiate
liberamente al domandar precorre.
In te misericordia, in te pietate,
in te magnificenza, in te s'aduna
quantunque in creatura é di bontate.
Virgin Mother, daughter of thy son;
humble beyond all creatures and more exalted;
predestined turning point of God's intention;
thy merit so ennobled human nature
that its divine Creator did not scorn
to make Himself the creature of His creature.
The Love that was rekindled in Thy womb
sends forth the warmth of the eternal peace
within whose ray this flower has come to bloom.
Here, to us, thou art the noon and scope
of love revealed; and among mortal men,
the living fountain of eternal hope.
Lady, thou art so near God's reckonings
that who seeks grace and does not first seek thee
would have his wish fly upward without wings.
Not only does thy sweet benignity
flow out to all who beg, but oftentimes
thy charity arrives before the plea.
In thee is pity, in thee munificence,
in thee the tenderest heart, in thee unites
all that creation knows of excellence!
Dante, Paradiso, Canto XXXIII, lines 1-21, trans. John Ciardi
And in the original:
Vergine Madre, figlia del tuo Figlio,
umile ed alta piú che creatura,
termine fisso d'eterno consiglio,
tu se' colei, che l'umana natura
nobilitasti sí che il suo Fattore
non disdegnó di farsi sua fattura.
Nel ventre tuo si raccese l'amore,
per lo cui caldo nell' eterna pace
cosi é germinato questo fiore.
Qui sei a noi meridiana face
di caritate, e giuso, intra i mortali,
sei di speranza fontana vivace.
Donna, sei tanto grande e tanto vali,
che qual vuol grazia ed a te non ricorre,
sua disianza vuol volar senz' ali.
La tua benignitá non pur soccorre
a chi domanda, ma molte fiate
liberamente al domandar precorre.
In te misericordia, in te pietate,
in te magnificenza, in te s'aduna
quantunque in creatura é di bontate.
Monday, December 31, 2007
Saturday, December 29, 2007
St. Matthew, chapter 10
28: And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
29: Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.
30: But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
31: Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.
28: And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
29: Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.
30: But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
31: Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.
Friday, December 28, 2007
Anthony Bloom (Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh)
from Beginning to Pray, chapter 1
I would like to remind you of the parable of the Pharisee and the Publican. The Publican comes and stands at the rear of the church. He knows that he stands condemned; he knows that in terms of justice there is no hope for him because he is an outsider to the kingdom of God, the kingdom of righteousness or the kingdom of love, because he belongs neither to the realm of righteousness nor to the realm of love. But in the cruel, the violent, the ugly life he leads, he has learnt something of which the righteous Pharisee has no idea. He has learnt that in a world of competition, in a world of predatory animals, in a world of cruelty and heartlessness, the only hope one can have is an act of mercy, an act of compassion, a completely unexpected act which is rooted neither in duty nor in natural relationships, which will suspend the action of the cruel, violent, heartless world in which we live. All he knows, for instance, from being himself an extortioner, a moneylender, a thief, and so forth, is that there are moments when for no reason, because it is not part of the world's outlook, he will forgive a debt, because suddenly his heart has become mild and vulnerable; that on another occasion he may not get someone put into prison because a face will have reminded him of something or a voice has gone straight to his heart. There is no logic in this. It is not part of the world's outlook nor is it a way in which he normally behaves. It is something that breaks through, which is completely nonsensical, which he cannot resist; and he knows also, probably, how often he himself was saved from final catastrophe by this intrusion of the unexpected and the impossible, mercy, compassion, forgiveness. So he stands at the rear of the church, knowing that all the realm inside the church is a realm of righteousness and divine love to which he does not belong and into which he cannot enter. But he knows from experience also that the impossible does occur and that is why he says 'Have mercy, break the laws of righteousness, break the laws of religion, come down in mercy to us who have no right either to be forgiven or allowed in.' And I think this is where we should start continuously all over again.
from Beginning to Pray, chapter 1
I would like to remind you of the parable of the Pharisee and the Publican. The Publican comes and stands at the rear of the church. He knows that he stands condemned; he knows that in terms of justice there is no hope for him because he is an outsider to the kingdom of God, the kingdom of righteousness or the kingdom of love, because he belongs neither to the realm of righteousness nor to the realm of love. But in the cruel, the violent, the ugly life he leads, he has learnt something of which the righteous Pharisee has no idea. He has learnt that in a world of competition, in a world of predatory animals, in a world of cruelty and heartlessness, the only hope one can have is an act of mercy, an act of compassion, a completely unexpected act which is rooted neither in duty nor in natural relationships, which will suspend the action of the cruel, violent, heartless world in which we live. All he knows, for instance, from being himself an extortioner, a moneylender, a thief, and so forth, is that there are moments when for no reason, because it is not part of the world's outlook, he will forgive a debt, because suddenly his heart has become mild and vulnerable; that on another occasion he may not get someone put into prison because a face will have reminded him of something or a voice has gone straight to his heart. There is no logic in this. It is not part of the world's outlook nor is it a way in which he normally behaves. It is something that breaks through, which is completely nonsensical, which he cannot resist; and he knows also, probably, how often he himself was saved from final catastrophe by this intrusion of the unexpected and the impossible, mercy, compassion, forgiveness. So he stands at the rear of the church, knowing that all the realm inside the church is a realm of righteousness and divine love to which he does not belong and into which he cannot enter. But he knows from experience also that the impossible does occur and that is why he says 'Have mercy, break the laws of righteousness, break the laws of religion, come down in mercy to us who have no right either to be forgiven or allowed in.' And I think this is where we should start continuously all over again.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
To a Fish
by Leigh Hunt (1784-1859)
You strange, astonished-looking, angle-faced,
Dreary-mouthed, gaping wretches of the sea,
Gulping salt-water everlastingly,
Cold-blooded, though with red your blood be graced,
And mute, though dwellers in the roaring waste;
And you, all shapes beside, that fishy be, --
Some round, some flat, some long, all devilry,
Legless, unloving, infamously chaste : --
O scaly, slippery, wet, swift, staring wights,
What is't ye do? What life lead? eh, dull goggles?
How do ye vary your vile days and nights?
How pass your Sundays? Are ye still but joggles
In ceaseless wash? Still nought but gapes, and bites,
And drinks, and stares, diversified with boggles?
by Leigh Hunt (1784-1859)
You strange, astonished-looking, angle-faced,
Dreary-mouthed, gaping wretches of the sea,
Gulping salt-water everlastingly,
Cold-blooded, though with red your blood be graced,
And mute, though dwellers in the roaring waste;
And you, all shapes beside, that fishy be, --
Some round, some flat, some long, all devilry,
Legless, unloving, infamously chaste : --
O scaly, slippery, wet, swift, staring wights,
What is't ye do? What life lead? eh, dull goggles?
How do ye vary your vile days and nights?
How pass your Sundays? Are ye still but joggles
In ceaseless wash? Still nought but gapes, and bites,
And drinks, and stares, diversified with boggles?
Quotations
My form-master and English teacher I find to be an excellently civilised man called J. B. Stokes, housemaster of Meadhurst, given to a most peculiar use of what, if I have parsed this correctly, is an imperative interrogative form of a future conditional tense. In other words instead of saying "Shut up" he would say, "You'll be shutting up?," "You'll be sitting down?"
-- Stephen Fry
* * * * *
Dare any call Permissiveness
An educational success?
Saner the classrooms that I sat in,
Compelled to study Greek and Latin.
The Book of Common Prayer I knew
Was that of 1662:
Though "with-it" sermons may be well,
Liturgical reforms are hell.
-- W. H. Auden
My form-master and English teacher I find to be an excellently civilised man called J. B. Stokes, housemaster of Meadhurst, given to a most peculiar use of what, if I have parsed this correctly, is an imperative interrogative form of a future conditional tense. In other words instead of saying "Shut up" he would say, "You'll be shutting up?," "You'll be sitting down?"
-- Stephen Fry
* * * * *
Dare any call Permissiveness
An educational success?
Saner the classrooms that I sat in,
Compelled to study Greek and Latin.
The Book of Common Prayer I knew
Was that of 1662:
Though "with-it" sermons may be well,
Liturgical reforms are hell.
-- W. H. Auden
Common mistaken ideas
about how to read poetry include the Hidden Meaning assumption, which directs one to more or less ignore the surface of the poem in a quest for some elusive and momentous significance that the poet has buried amid the words and music. This idea probably comes from the fact that, being moved by a poem, one assumes an important religious, philosophical, or historical cause for being moved and tries to find it hidden someplace in the poem; whereas in fact a few words rightly placed can be moving if they catch a moment of life -- almost any moment; if, amidst all the blather and babble of imprecise, uncertain language in which we live, there is something better, some undeniable little beautiful bit of light. This is given to us, of course, by the music, and the words, not [by] something that they conceal.
Kenneth Koch, Making Your Own Days : The Pleasures of Reading and Writing Poetry (Touchstone, 1998), p. 111
about how to read poetry include the Hidden Meaning assumption, which directs one to more or less ignore the surface of the poem in a quest for some elusive and momentous significance that the poet has buried amid the words and music. This idea probably comes from the fact that, being moved by a poem, one assumes an important religious, philosophical, or historical cause for being moved and tries to find it hidden someplace in the poem; whereas in fact a few words rightly placed can be moving if they catch a moment of life -- almost any moment; if, amidst all the blather and babble of imprecise, uncertain language in which we live, there is something better, some undeniable little beautiful bit of light. This is given to us, of course, by the music, and the words, not [by] something that they conceal.
Kenneth Koch, Making Your Own Days : The Pleasures of Reading and Writing Poetry (Touchstone, 1998), p. 111
PSA on the MBTA
There was a public service advertisement I saw on the bus recently, one that made me think. "Parents, get involved with your children! Talk to them about not drinking." Words to that effect. "You are the center of your child's world." (?!?) "You can make a difference." The ad was put there by, I think, some agency of the City of Cambridge (known affectionately to locals as the People's Republic of Cambridge).
"Parents, get involved with your children." Laudable sentiment. But what if the parental involvement has to do with, oh, wanting to know if the child is getting contraceptives from the school nurse, or wanting to shield the child from some of the more indelicate matters of sexual education, or wanting to prevent gay-rights propaganda from entering the home in the guise of a textbook (a second-grade reading assignment)? Is parental involvement encouraged by the City of Cambridge under those circumstances? Is parental involvement even seen as permissible?
As long as they're not drinking before they're twenty-one.
There was a public service advertisement I saw on the bus recently, one that made me think. "Parents, get involved with your children! Talk to them about not drinking." Words to that effect. "You are the center of your child's world." (?!?) "You can make a difference." The ad was put there by, I think, some agency of the City of Cambridge (known affectionately to locals as the People's Republic of Cambridge).
"Parents, get involved with your children." Laudable sentiment. But what if the parental involvement has to do with, oh, wanting to know if the child is getting contraceptives from the school nurse, or wanting to shield the child from some of the more indelicate matters of sexual education, or wanting to prevent gay-rights propaganda from entering the home in the guise of a textbook (a second-grade reading assignment)? Is parental involvement encouraged by the City of Cambridge under those circumstances? Is parental involvement even seen as permissible?
As long as they're not drinking before they're twenty-one.
Monday, December 24, 2007
Christmas Eve
by Eric Milner-White (1884-1963)
Mary, in the days of her holy expectation,
magnified the Lord;
her spirit rejoiced in the child of her womb,
the Son of God.
For when all things lay in silence,
and night was in the midst of her course,
there leaped down, O God, from on high,
from thy royal throne,
the Word, thy Christ, thyself;
through woman to be born in human nature,
born in time, born in us,
and we in him.
Grant me, O God, thy divinest gift,
that Emmanuel may be formed and born in me,
and I may ever rejoice and magnify thee.
Say to my soul, Peace, be still,
as was that silent night.
And send thy Word, into my soul,
not for my merit, but by thy miracle;
by my desire, but of thy sole gift;
not in part, but in all
which mortal can receive.
Father, let me be born in thee as thy child:
Christ, be born in me as my Lord:
Holy Spirit, travail and shine within;
that I may live in thy life
and love with thy love
evermore and evermore.
E. Milner-White, My God, My Glory : Aspirations, acts, and prayers on the desire for God, intro. by Joyce Huggett (Triangle/SPCK, 1994), p. 56.
by Eric Milner-White (1884-1963)
Mary, in the days of her holy expectation,
magnified the Lord;
her spirit rejoiced in the child of her womb,
the Son of God.
For when all things lay in silence,
and night was in the midst of her course,
there leaped down, O God, from on high,
from thy royal throne,
the Word, thy Christ, thyself;
through woman to be born in human nature,
born in time, born in us,
and we in him.
Grant me, O God, thy divinest gift,
that Emmanuel may be formed and born in me,
and I may ever rejoice and magnify thee.
Say to my soul, Peace, be still,
as was that silent night.
And send thy Word, into my soul,
not for my merit, but by thy miracle;
by my desire, but of thy sole gift;
not in part, but in all
which mortal can receive.
Father, let me be born in thee as thy child:
Christ, be born in me as my Lord:
Holy Spirit, travail and shine within;
that I may live in thy life
and love with thy love
evermore and evermore.
E. Milner-White, My God, My Glory : Aspirations, acts, and prayers on the desire for God, intro. by Joyce Huggett (Triangle/SPCK, 1994), p. 56.
O little town of Bethlehem
O little town of Bethlehem,
How still we see thee lie!
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
The silent stars go by;
Yet in thy dark streets shineth
The everlasting Light;
The hopes and fears of all the years
Are met in thee to-night.
For Christ is born of Mary,
And gathered all above,
While mortals sleep, the angels keep
Their watch of wondering love.
O morning stars, together
Proclaim the holy birth!
And praises sing to God the King,
And peace to men on earth.
How silently, how silently,
The wondrous gift is given!
So God imparts to human hearts
The blessings of his heaven.
No ear may hear his coming,
But in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive him, still
The dear Christ enters in.
Where children pure and happy
Pray to the blessed Child,
Where misery cries out to thee,
Son of the mother mild;
Where charity stands watching
And faith holds wide the door,
The dark night wakes, the glory breaks,
And Christmas comes once more.
O holy Child of Bethlehem!
Descend to us, we pray;
Cast out our sin and enter in,
Be born in us to-day.
We hear the Christmas angels
The great glad tidings tell;
O come to us, abide with us,
Our Lord Emmanuel!
Phillips Brooks, 1868
O little town of Bethlehem,
How still we see thee lie!
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
The silent stars go by;
Yet in thy dark streets shineth
The everlasting Light;
The hopes and fears of all the years
Are met in thee to-night.
For Christ is born of Mary,
And gathered all above,
While mortals sleep, the angels keep
Their watch of wondering love.
O morning stars, together
Proclaim the holy birth!
And praises sing to God the King,
And peace to men on earth.
How silently, how silently,
The wondrous gift is given!
So God imparts to human hearts
The blessings of his heaven.
No ear may hear his coming,
But in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive him, still
The dear Christ enters in.
Where children pure and happy
Pray to the blessed Child,
Where misery cries out to thee,
Son of the mother mild;
Where charity stands watching
And faith holds wide the door,
The dark night wakes, the glory breaks,
And Christmas comes once more.
O holy Child of Bethlehem!
Descend to us, we pray;
Cast out our sin and enter in,
Be born in us to-day.
We hear the Christmas angels
The great glad tidings tell;
O come to us, abide with us,
Our Lord Emmanuel!
Phillips Brooks, 1868
All my heart this night rejoices
All my heart this night rejoices
As I hear
Far and near
Sweetest angel voices;
"Christ is born," their choirs are singing,
Till the air
Ev'rywhere
Now with joy is ringing.
Come, then, let us hasten yonder;
Here let all,
Great and small,
Kneel in awe and wonder,
Love him who with love is yearning;
Hail the Star,
That from far
Bright with hope is burning!
Ye who pine in weary sadness,
Weep no more,
For the door
Now is found of gladness.
Cling to him, for he will guide you
Where no cross,
Pain or loss
Can again betide you.
Paul Gerhardt, 1607-76, trans. Catherine Winkworth, 1827-78
All my heart this night rejoices
As I hear
Far and near
Sweetest angel voices;
"Christ is born," their choirs are singing,
Till the air
Ev'rywhere
Now with joy is ringing.
Come, then, let us hasten yonder;
Here let all,
Great and small,
Kneel in awe and wonder,
Love him who with love is yearning;
Hail the Star,
That from far
Bright with hope is burning!
Ye who pine in weary sadness,
Weep no more,
For the door
Now is found of gladness.
Cling to him, for he will guide you
Where no cross,
Pain or loss
Can again betide you.
Paul Gerhardt, 1607-76, trans. Catherine Winkworth, 1827-78
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Isaiah 45:8
Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together; I the LORD have created it.
Rorate caeli desuper, et nubes pluant justum; aperiatur terra, et germinet salvatorem ...
Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together; I the LORD have created it.
Rorate caeli desuper, et nubes pluant justum; aperiatur terra, et germinet salvatorem ...
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Dappled Things
(the periodical)
The current (Advent/Christmas) issue.
This poem strikes me as especially good.
Hat tip: Meredith.
(the periodical)
The current (Advent/Christmas) issue.
This poem strikes me as especially good.
Hat tip: Meredith.
Friday, December 21, 2007
Advent
A paragraph from a sermon by Msgr Ronald Knox.
The first post in several months at the Blog from the Core. A welcome return!
A paragraph from a sermon by Msgr Ronald Knox.
The first post in several months at the Blog from the Core. A welcome return!
Huckabee news
also spotted at Clairity Daily
The presidential candidate has accepted an invitation to speak at an anti-Catholic preacher's church.
The Catholic Church is to blame for Adolf Hitler's hatred of the Jews? Things like that emanate from the "reverend" Hagee. Never mind the fact that Nazis persecuted Catholics (George Weigel's biography of Pope John Paul II mentions in passing a Polish priest who was buried alive in excrement for his opposition to the National Socialist régime). And the late Pope aforementioned was one of the most philo-Semitic figures in recent history ...
The charge is too stupid to attempt to refute. Just goes to show you: anti-Catholicism is alive and well on the right (Hagee, et al.) as it is on the left (examples too numerous to cite).
also spotted at Clairity Daily
The presidential candidate has accepted an invitation to speak at an anti-Catholic preacher's church.
The Catholic Church is to blame for Adolf Hitler's hatred of the Jews? Things like that emanate from the "reverend" Hagee. Never mind the fact that Nazis persecuted Catholics (George Weigel's biography of Pope John Paul II mentions in passing a Polish priest who was buried alive in excrement for his opposition to the National Socialist régime). And the late Pope aforementioned was one of the most philo-Semitic figures in recent history ...
The charge is too stupid to attempt to refute. Just goes to show you: anti-Catholicism is alive and well on the right (Hagee, et al.) as it is on the left (examples too numerous to cite).
Thursday, December 20, 2007
An Orthodox reflection at On the Square
the First Things blog
Icons Will Save the World by Susan Cushman. With sections entitled, "Spiritual Beauty," "Veneration vs. Worship," "Sanctifying the Sense of Sight," "Incarnational Art," etc.
Spotted at Clairity Daily, if memory serves.
the First Things blog
Icons Will Save the World by Susan Cushman. With sections entitled, "Spiritual Beauty," "Veneration vs. Worship," "Sanctifying the Sense of Sight," "Incarnational Art," etc.
Spotted at Clairity Daily, if memory serves.
Monday, December 17, 2007
The O Antiphons
December 17
O Wisdom, which camest out of the mouth of the most High, and reachest from one end to another, mightily and sweetly ordering all things: Come and teach us the way of prudence.
O Sapientia, quae ex ore Altissimi prodisti, attingens a fine usque ad finem, fortiter suaviterque disponens omnia: veni ad docendum nos viam prudentiae.
December 18
O Adonai and Leader of the house of Israel, who appearedst in the Bush of Moses in a flame of fire, and gavest him the law in Sinai: Come and deliver us with an outstretched arm.
O Adonai, et Dux domus Israel, qui Moysi in igne flammae rubi apparuisti, et ei in Sina legem dedisti: veni ad redimendum nos in brachio extento.
December 19
O Root of Jesse, which standest for an ensign of the people, at whom kings shall shut their mouths, to whom the Gentiles shall seek: Come and deliver us, and tarry not.
O Radix Jesse, qui stas in signum populorum, super quem continebunt reges os suum, quem gentes deprecabuntur: veni ad liberandum nos, jam noli tardare.
December 20
O Key of David, and Sceptre of the house of Israel; that openest, and no man shutteth, and shuttest, and no man openeth: come and bring the prisoner out of the prison house, and him that sitteth in darkness, and the shadow of death.
O Clavis David, et sceptrum domus Israel: qui aperis, et nemo claudit; claudis, et nemo aperit: venit, et educ vinctum de domo carceris, sedentem in tenebris et umbra mortis.
December 21
O Day-Spring, Brightness of Light, everlasting and sun of Righteousness: Come and enlighten him that sitteth in darkness, and the shadow of death.
O Oriens, splendor lucis aeternae, et sol justitiae: veni, et illumina sedentes in tenebris et umbra mortis.
December 22
O King of the Nations, and their Desire; the Cornerstone, who makest both one: Come and save mankind, whom thou formedst of clay.
O Rex gentium, et desideratus earum, lapisque angularis, qui facis utraque unum: veni, et salva hominem, quem de limo formasti.
December 23
O Emmanuel, our King and Lawgiver, the Desire of all nations, and their Salvation: Come and save us, O Lord our God.
O Emmanuel, Rex et legifer noster, exspectatio gentium, et Salvator earum: veni ad salvandum nos Domine Deus noster.
December 17
O Wisdom, which camest out of the mouth of the most High, and reachest from one end to another, mightily and sweetly ordering all things: Come and teach us the way of prudence.
O Sapientia, quae ex ore Altissimi prodisti, attingens a fine usque ad finem, fortiter suaviterque disponens omnia: veni ad docendum nos viam prudentiae.
December 18
O Adonai and Leader of the house of Israel, who appearedst in the Bush of Moses in a flame of fire, and gavest him the law in Sinai: Come and deliver us with an outstretched arm.
O Adonai, et Dux domus Israel, qui Moysi in igne flammae rubi apparuisti, et ei in Sina legem dedisti: veni ad redimendum nos in brachio extento.
December 19
O Root of Jesse, which standest for an ensign of the people, at whom kings shall shut their mouths, to whom the Gentiles shall seek: Come and deliver us, and tarry not.
O Radix Jesse, qui stas in signum populorum, super quem continebunt reges os suum, quem gentes deprecabuntur: veni ad liberandum nos, jam noli tardare.
December 20
O Key of David, and Sceptre of the house of Israel; that openest, and no man shutteth, and shuttest, and no man openeth: come and bring the prisoner out of the prison house, and him that sitteth in darkness, and the shadow of death.
O Clavis David, et sceptrum domus Israel: qui aperis, et nemo claudit; claudis, et nemo aperit: venit, et educ vinctum de domo carceris, sedentem in tenebris et umbra mortis.
December 21
O Day-Spring, Brightness of Light, everlasting and sun of Righteousness: Come and enlighten him that sitteth in darkness, and the shadow of death.
O Oriens, splendor lucis aeternae, et sol justitiae: veni, et illumina sedentes in tenebris et umbra mortis.
December 22
O King of the Nations, and their Desire; the Cornerstone, who makest both one: Come and save mankind, whom thou formedst of clay.
O Rex gentium, et desideratus earum, lapisque angularis, qui facis utraque unum: veni, et salva hominem, quem de limo formasti.
December 23
O Emmanuel, our King and Lawgiver, the Desire of all nations, and their Salvation: Come and save us, O Lord our God.
O Emmanuel, Rex et legifer noster, exspectatio gentium, et Salvator earum: veni ad salvandum nos Domine Deus noster.
Timeless works of art
Cardinal Seán visits the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, where one can find Sandro Botticelli's Virgin and Child with an Angel (c. 1470), and other fine works of holy inspiration; slowly scroll down.
Cardinal Seán visits the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, where one can find Sandro Botticelli's Virgin and Child with an Angel (c. 1470), and other fine works of holy inspiration; slowly scroll down.
Saturday, December 15, 2007
A discovery
Sr. Genevieve Glen, OSB, editor of the daily offices in the monthly prayer book Magnificat, has her own blog : Take with You Words.
Sr. Genevieve Glen, OSB, editor of the daily offices in the monthly prayer book Magnificat, has her own blog : Take with You Words.
Hymn
O quickly come, great King of all;
Reign all around us, and within;
Let sin no more our souls enthrall,
Let pain and sorrow die with sin:
O quickly come; for you alone
Can make your scattered people one.
O quickly come, true Life of all,
For death is mighty all around;
On every home his shadows fall,
On every heart his mark is found:
O quickly come; for grief and pain
Can never cloud your glorious reign.
-- Lawrence Tuttiette (1825-97);
from Magnificat, December 2003, p. 82
O quickly come, great King of all;
Reign all around us, and within;
Let sin no more our souls enthrall,
Let pain and sorrow die with sin:
O quickly come; for you alone
Can make your scattered people one.
O quickly come, true Life of all,
For death is mighty all around;
On every home his shadows fall,
On every heart his mark is found:
O quickly come; for grief and pain
Can never cloud your glorious reign.
-- Lawrence Tuttiette (1825-97);
from Magnificat, December 2003, p. 82
Saint John Damascene
Mary opened to us the unspeakable abyss of God's love for us. Through her the old enmity against the Creator is destroyed. Through her our reconciliation with him is strengthened, peace and grace are given to us, men and women are the companions of angels, and we, who were in dishonor, are made the children of God. From her we have plucked the fruit of life. From her we have received the seed of immortality. She is the channel of all our goods. In her God was man and man was God. What more marvelous or blessed? I approach the subject in fear and trembling.
With Mary, the prophetess, O youthful souls, let us sound our musical instruments, mortifying our members on earth, for this spiritual music. Let our souls rejoice in the Ark of God; the walls of Jericho will yield, I mean the fortresses of the enemy. Let us dance in spirit with David; the Ark of God is at rest. With Gabriel, the great archangel, let us exclaim, "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you." Hail, inexhaustible ocean of grace. Hail, sole refuge in grief. Hail, cure of hearts. Hail, you through whom death is expelled and life is installed.
-- meditation in Magnificat for Thurs. 4th December 2003
Mary opened to us the unspeakable abyss of God's love for us. Through her the old enmity against the Creator is destroyed. Through her our reconciliation with him is strengthened, peace and grace are given to us, men and women are the companions of angels, and we, who were in dishonor, are made the children of God. From her we have plucked the fruit of life. From her we have received the seed of immortality. She is the channel of all our goods. In her God was man and man was God. What more marvelous or blessed? I approach the subject in fear and trembling.
With Mary, the prophetess, O youthful souls, let us sound our musical instruments, mortifying our members on earth, for this spiritual music. Let our souls rejoice in the Ark of God; the walls of Jericho will yield, I mean the fortresses of the enemy. Let us dance in spirit with David; the Ark of God is at rest. With Gabriel, the great archangel, let us exclaim, "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you." Hail, inexhaustible ocean of grace. Hail, sole refuge in grief. Hail, cure of hearts. Hail, you through whom death is expelled and life is installed.
-- meditation in Magnificat for Thurs. 4th December 2003
Friday, December 14, 2007
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Monday, December 10, 2007
At the Commonweal blog
(which I rarely explore)
... a fascinating thread about classics that you never intend to read.
I wouldn't rule out Lord of the Rings, but I haven't read it yet, and probably never will.
I'll never read Middlemarch, or anything else written by a woman named George.
I was supposed to have read at least one Jane Austen novel in high school, but somehow avoided it.
Proust I might tackle, if I have a free decade.
(which I rarely explore)
... a fascinating thread about classics that you never intend to read.
I wouldn't rule out Lord of the Rings, but I haven't read it yet, and probably never will.
I'll never read Middlemarch, or anything else written by a woman named George.
I was supposed to have read at least one Jane Austen novel in high school, but somehow avoided it.
Proust I might tackle, if I have a free decade.
On this date in 1968
The Trappist monk and author Thomas Merton died.
Some of his books were influential in bringing me back to the Church after a long absence.
He may need our prayers. Requiescat.
The Trappist monk and author Thomas Merton died.
Some of his books were influential in bringing me back to the Church after a long absence.
He may need our prayers. Requiescat.
Sunday, December 09, 2007
Saturday, December 08, 2007
Renew me, grown old from senseless sins, O most Immaculate One
Midnight Song to the Most Holy Mother of God. From the Eastern Church.
Midnight Song to the Most Holy Mother of God. From the Eastern Church.
Booooorrrrrrrinnnnngggggg .......
Now, I'm fairly open-minded when it comes to poetry, perhaps culpably "catholic," but this is horrid.
It's not only nonsense (and I can take a little bit of nonsense; I have a high surrealism-tolerance quotient), it's uninteresting nonsense.
"[A]nticipating site-specific specificity ..." Wow. How ... transgressive, how radical, how ...
Vide supra. Title of this post.
Now, I'm fairly open-minded when it comes to poetry, perhaps culpably "catholic," but this is horrid.
It's not only nonsense (and I can take a little bit of nonsense; I have a high surrealism-tolerance quotient), it's uninteresting nonsense.
"[A]nticipating site-specific specificity ..." Wow. How ... transgressive, how radical, how ...
Vide supra. Title of this post.
More on Romney
Peggy Noonan. Mostly praise for his performance. But there was this bit I liked:
Noonan also wonders why Romney doesn't include agnostics and atheists in his "moving portrait of the great American family." In fact, he does take appear to take a shot at them in his speech.
We should perhaps distinguish between someone who has a secular world-view and is virtuous, merciful, charitable, etc., etc., and the militant secularist, who has the intractable desire to expunge every trace of religion from the public square. When Romney spoke of those who would elevate secularism to a "religion," he clearly meant the latter sort of person.
Peggy Noonan. Mostly praise for his performance. But there was this bit I liked:
His text was warmly cool. It covered a lot of ground briskly, in less than 25 minutes. His approach was calm, logical, with an emphasis on clarity. It wasn't blowhardy, and it wasn't fancy. The only groaner was, "We do not insist on a single strain of religion--rather, we welcome our nation's symphony of faith." It is a great tragedy that there is no replacement for that signal phrase of the 1980s, "Gag me with a spoon."
Noonan also wonders why Romney doesn't include agnostics and atheists in his "moving portrait of the great American family." In fact, he does take appear to take a shot at them in his speech.
We should perhaps distinguish between someone who has a secular world-view and is virtuous, merciful, charitable, etc., etc., and the militant secularist, who has the intractable desire to expunge every trace of religion from the public square. When Romney spoke of those who would elevate secularism to a "religion," he clearly meant the latter sort of person.
Romney
At Erik's Rants and Recipes, we have an impassioned plea to Catholics: don't "swallow the kool-aid and vote for the Mormon"!
I should fess up. I voted for Romney in '02 for Massachusetts governor. His opponent, Shannon O'Brien, was a Roman Catholic who, in addition to having all the other baggage of your average Democrat, favored lowering the age of consent for prenatal infanticide from 18 to 16. So I voted for the Mormon, who maintained the status quo.
Now we have a Christian governor here in the Bay State, Deval Patrick, a Presbyterian who hasn't done what Ms. O'Brien promised to do, but who has expanded the buffer zone for protests around abortuaries to something like six and a half miles (actually, 35 feet). Mr. Patrick is also, predictably enough, an enthusiast for embryonic stem-cell research. But it's a good thing we don't have an infidel in the corner office!
Having said all that, I should say that I'm not in the Romney camp as far as the presidential primary goes. And the more I learn about Mormonism -- a late-night radio talk-show host around here recently devoted some time to enumerating some of their beliefs (e.g., Jesus and Satan are brothers) -- the more I detect some insalubrious eccentricities!
At Erik's Rants and Recipes, we have an impassioned plea to Catholics: don't "swallow the kool-aid and vote for the Mormon"!
I should fess up. I voted for Romney in '02 for Massachusetts governor. His opponent, Shannon O'Brien, was a Roman Catholic who, in addition to having all the other baggage of your average Democrat, favored lowering the age of consent for prenatal infanticide from 18 to 16. So I voted for the Mormon, who maintained the status quo.
Now we have a Christian governor here in the Bay State, Deval Patrick, a Presbyterian who hasn't done what Ms. O'Brien promised to do, but who has expanded the buffer zone for protests around abortuaries to something like six and a half miles (actually, 35 feet). Mr. Patrick is also, predictably enough, an enthusiast for embryonic stem-cell research. But it's a good thing we don't have an infidel in the corner office!
Having said all that, I should say that I'm not in the Romney camp as far as the presidential primary goes. And the more I learn about Mormonism -- a late-night radio talk-show host around here recently devoted some time to enumerating some of their beliefs (e.g., Jesus and Satan are brothers) -- the more I detect some insalubrious eccentricities!
Friday, December 07, 2007
Sonnet
Of an excellence belying its author's claim that it is merely an exercise : In California from Meredith of For Keats' Sake.
Of an excellence belying its author's claim that it is merely an exercise : In California from Meredith of For Keats' Sake.
Thursday, December 06, 2007
Dream
Last night I dreamt ...
that I was at a Trappist monastery with a priest-acquaintance of mine, on retreat. I turned to him and said something like, "It is good for us to be here" ... a sentiment which soon changed as the Mass began and the opening "hymn" was ... "Start Me Up" by the Rolling Stones.
Last night I dreamt ...
that I was at a Trappist monastery with a priest-acquaintance of mine, on retreat. I turned to him and said something like, "It is good for us to be here" ... a sentiment which soon changed as the Mass began and the opening "hymn" was ... "Start Me Up" by the Rolling Stones.
Monday, December 03, 2007
Hate crime in East Boston
A white firefighter was dining in a Latin-American restaurant in East Boston when he was approached by six Hispanic men who told him, "We don't want no gringos in here." He left, and drove to his fire station. The men followed him there, began punching him, and stabbed him twice in the chest. His injuries are described as non-life-threatening.
Heard this on the radio last night, WBZ (1030 AM). Can't find the link to the story on their website, nor can I find the story in either of Boston's two major daily newspapers.
Update : Here it is, from the Boston Herald.
But do I need to tell you, dear readers, that the incident was not described by the folks at WBZ as a hate crime?
Here we have a stabbing, where the victim is told he's being stabbed because he's a member of the "wrong" racial group. Not a hate crime.
Can someone please explain?
A white firefighter was dining in a Latin-American restaurant in East Boston when he was approached by six Hispanic men who told him, "We don't want no gringos in here." He left, and drove to his fire station. The men followed him there, began punching him, and stabbed him twice in the chest. His injuries are described as non-life-threatening.
Heard this on the radio last night, WBZ (1030 AM). Can't find the link to the story on their website, nor can I find the story in either of Boston's two major daily newspapers.
Update : Here it is, from the Boston Herald.
But do I need to tell you, dear readers, that the incident was not described by the folks at WBZ as a hate crime?
Here we have a stabbing, where the victim is told he's being stabbed because he's a member of the "wrong" racial group. Not a hate crime.
Can someone please explain?
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