Eucharist, Communion, and Solidarity: another sample

with a tip of the beret to a listserv buddy on Liturgy-l, here's another sample of what we may expect from our new pope, Benedict XVI. This is from a lecture he gave at a Campania bishops' conference meeting in June of 2002:


Transubstantiation

What is happening in these words?

In the first place we are confronted by the word "transubstantion". The bread becomes the body, his body. The bread of the earth becomes the bread of God, the "manna" of heaven, with which God nourishes men not only in their earthly life but also in the prospect of the resurrection --- which prepares for the resurrection, or rather, already makes it begin. The Lord, who would have been able to transform stones into bread, who was able to raise up from rocks the sons of Abraham, wishes to transform the bread into a body, his body. Is this possible? How can it happen?


Body given, Blood poured out

We cannot avoid the questions that the people posed in the synagogue of Capernaum. He is there before his disciples, with his body; how can he say over the bread: this is my body? It is important to pay close attention to what the Lord really said. He does not say only: "This is my body", but: "This is my body, which is given up for you". It can become gift, because it is given. By means of the act of giving it becomes "capable of communicating", has transformed itself into a gift. We may observe the same thing in the words over the cup. Christ does not say simply: "This is my blood", but, "This is my blood, which is shed for you". Because it is shed, inasmuch as it is shed, it can be given.


Real transformation of violence into an act of love

But now a new question emerges: what do "it is given" and "it is shed" mean? In truth, Jesus is killed; he is nailed to a cross and dies amid torment. His blood is poured out, first in the Garden of Olives due to his interior suffering for his mission, then in the flagellation, the crowning with thorns, the crucifixion, and after his death in the piercing of his Heart. What occurs is above all an act of violence, of hatred, torture and destruction.

At this point we run into a second, more profound level of transformation: he transforms, from within, the act of violent men against him into an act of giving on behalf of these men --- into an act of love. This is dramatically recognizable in the scene of the Garden of Olives. What he teaches in the Sermon on the Mount, he now does: he does not offer violence against violence, as he might have done, but puts an end to violence by transforming it into love. The act of killing, of death, is changed into an act of love; violence is defeated by love. This is the fundamental transformation upon which all the rest is based. It is the true transformation which the world needs and which alone can redeem the world. Since Christ in an act of love has transformed and defeated violence from within, death itself is transformed: love is stronger than death. It remains forever.


Transformation of death into life

And so in this transformation is contained the broader transformation of death into resurrection, of the dead body into the risen body. If the first man was a living being, as St Paul says, the new Adam, Christ, will become by this spiritual event the giver of life (I Cor 15:45). The risen one is gift, is spirit who gives his life, "communicates", indeed, is communication. This means that there is no farewell here to material existence; rather, in this way material existence achieves its goal: without the actual event of death (with its interior transcendence) all this complex transformation of material things would not be possible. And so in the transformation of the resurrection all the fullness of Christ continues to subsist, but now transformed in this way; now being a body and the gift of self are no longer mutually exclusive, but are implicit in each other.

Before going on, let us first seek to sum this up once more in order to understand this whole complex reality. At the moment of the Last Supper, Jesus has already anticipated the event of Calvary. He accepts the death on the cross and with his acceptance transforms the act of violence into an act of giving, of self-giving poured forth, "Even if I am to be poured out as a libation on the sacrificial offering of your faith", St Paul says on the basis of this and in regard to his own
imminent martyrdom in Philippians 2:17. At the Last Supper the cross is already present, accepted and transformed by Jesus.

This first and fundamental transformation draws to itself all the others --- the mortal body is transformed into the resurrected body: it is "the spirit which gives life".


Transformation of bread and wine

On the basis of this the third transformation becomes possible: the gifts of bread and wine, that are the gifts of creation and at the same time fruit of human labour and the "transformation" of the creation, are transformed so that in them the Lord himself who gives himself becomes present, in his gift of self-giving. His gift, himself --- since he is gift. The act of self giving is not something from him, but it is himself.

And on this basis the prospect opens onto two further transformations, that are essential to the Eucharist, from the instant of its institution: the transformed bread, the transformed wine.

Through them the Lord himself gives himself as spirit that gives life, to transform us men, so that we become one bread with him and then one body with him. The transformation of the gifts, which is only the continuation of the fundamental transformations of the cross and of the resurrection, is not the final point, but in its turn only a beginning.
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A Sample of what we can Expect

via HughHewitt.com, here's the text of Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger's last public teaching as cardinal --- the homily at the Mass of the Holy Spirit going into the conclave.

At this hour of great responsibility, we hear with special consideration what the Lord says to us in his own words. From the three readings I would like to examine just a few passages which concern us directly at this time.

The first reading gives us a prophetic depiction of the person of the Messiah - a depiction which takes all its meaning from the moment Jesus reads the text in the synagogue in Nazareth, when he says: "Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing" (Lk 4,21). At the core of the prophetic text we find a word which seems contradictory, at least at first sight. The Messiah, speaking of himself, says that he was sent "To announce a year of favor from the Lord and a day of vindication by our God" (Is 61,2). We hear with joy the news of a year of favor: divine mercy puts a limit on evil - the Holy Father told us. Jesus Christ is divine mercy in person: encountering Christ means encountering the mercy of God. Christ's mandate has become our mandate through priestly anointing. We are called to proclaim - not only with our words, but with our lives, and through the valuable signs of the sacraments, the "year of favor from the Lord." But what does the prophet Isaiah mean when he announces the "day of vindication by our God"? In Nazareth, Jesus did not pronounce these words in his reading of the prophet's text - Jesus concluded by announcing the year of favor. Was this, perhaps, the reason for the scandal which took place after his sermon? We do not know. In any case, the Lord gave a genuine commentary on these words by being put to death on the cross. Saint Peter says: "He himself bore our sins in his body upon the cross" (1 Pe 2,24). And Saint Paul writes in his letter to the Galatians: "Christ ransomed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written, 'Cursed be everyone who hangs on a tree,' that the blessing of Abraham might be extended to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith." (Gal 3, 13s).

The mercy of Christ is not a cheap grace; it does not presume a trivialization of evil. Christ carries in his body and on his soul all the weight of evil, and all its destructive force. He burns and transforms evil through suffering, in the fire of his suffering love. The day of vindication and the year of favor meet in the paschal mystery, in Christ died and risen. This is the vindication of God: he himself, in the person of the Son, suffers for us. The more we are touched by the mercy of the Lord, the more we draw closer in solidarity with his suffering - and become willing to bear in our flesh "what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ" (Col 1, 24).

In the second reading, the letter to the Ephesians, we see basically three aspects: first, the ministries and charisms in the Church, as gifts of the Lord risen and ascended into heaven. Then there is the maturing of faith and knowledge of the Son of God, as a condition and essence of unity in the body of Christ. Finally, there is the common participation in the growth of the body of Christ - of the transformation of the world into communion with the Lord.

Let us dwell on only two points. The first is the journey towards "the maturity of Christ" as it is said in the Italian text, simplifying it a bit. More precisely, according to the Greek text, we should speak of the "measure of the fullness of Christ," to which we are called to reach in order to be true adults in the faith. We should not remain infants in faith, in a state of minority. And what does it mean to be an infant in faith? Saint Paul answers: it means "tossed by waves and swept along by every wind of teaching arising from human trickery" (Eph 4, 14). This description is very relevant today!

How many winds of doctrine we have known in recent decades, how many ideological currents, how many ways of thinking... The small boat of thought of many Christians has often been tossed about by these waves - thrown from one extreme to the other: from Marxism to liberalism, even to libertinism; from collectivism to radical individualism; from atheism to a vague religious mysticism; from agnosticism to syncretism, and so forth. Every day new sects are created and what Saint Paul says about human trickery comes true, with cunning which tries to draw those into error (cf Eph 4, 14). Having a clear faith, based on the Creed of the Church, is often labeled today as a fundamentalism. Whereas, relativism, which is letting oneself be tossed and "swept along by every wind of teaching," looks like the only attitude (acceptable) to today's standards. We are moving towards a dictatorship of relativism which does not recognize anything as for certain and which has as its highest goal one's own ego and one's own desires.

However, we have a different goal: the Son of God, true man. He is the measure of true humanism. Being an "Adult" means having a faith which does not follow the waves of today's fashions or the latest novelties. A faith which is deeply rooted in friendship with Christ is adult and mature. It is this friendship which opens us up to all that is good and gives us the knowledge to judge true from false, and deceit from truth. We must become mature in this adult faith; we must guide the flock of Christ to this faith. And it is this faith - only faith - which creates unity and takes form in love. On this theme, Saint Paul offers us some beautiful words - in contrast to the continual ups and downs of those were are like infants, tossed about by the waves: (he says) make truth in love, as the basic formula of Christian existence. In Christ, truth and love coincide. To the extent that we draw near to Christ, in our own life, truth and love merge. Love without truth would be blind; truth without love would be like "a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal" (1 Cor 13,1).

Looking now at the richness of the Gospel reading, I would like to make only two small observations. The Lord addresses to us these wonderful words: "I no longer call you slaves...I have called you friends" (Jn 15,15). So many times we feel like, and it is true, that we are only useless servants. (cf Lk 17,10). And despite this, the Lord calls us friends, he makes us his friends, he gives us his friendship. The Lord defines friendship in a dual way. There are no secrets among friends: Christ tells us all everything he hears from the Father; he gives us his full trust, and with that, also knowledge. He reveals his face and his heart to us. He shows us his tenderness for us, his passionate love that goes to the madness of the cross. He entrusts us, he gives us power to speak in his name: "this is my body...," "I forgive you...." He entrusts us with his body, the Church. He entrusts our weak minds and our weak hands with his truth - the mystery of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit; the mystery of God who "so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son" (Jn 3, 16). He made us his friends - and how do we respond?

The second element with which Jesus defines friendship is the communion of wills. For the Romans "Idem velle - idem nolle," (same desires, same dislikes) was also the definition of friendship. "You are my friends if you do what I command you." (Jn 15, 14). Friendship with Christ coincides with what is said in the third request of the Our Father: "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven". At the hour in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus transformed our rebellious human will in a will shaped and united to the divine will. He suffered the whole experience of our autonomy - and precisely bringing our will into the hands of God, he have us true freedom: "Not my will, but your will be done." In this communion of wills our redemption takes place: being friends of Jesus to become friends of God. How much more we love Jesus, how much more we know him, how much more our true freedom grows as well as our joy in being redeemed. Thank you, Jesus, for your friendship!

The other element of the Gospel to which I would like to refer is the teaching of Jesus on bearing fruit: "I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain" (Jn 15, 16). It is here that is expressed the dynamic existence of the Christian, the apostle: I chose you to go and bear fruit...." We must be inspired by a holy restlessness: restlessness to bring to everyone the gift of faith, of friendship with Christ. In truth, the love and friendship of God was given to us so that it would also be shared with others. We have received the faith to give it to others - we are priests meant to serve others. And we must bring a fruit that will remain. All people want to leave a mark which lasts. But what remains? Money does not. Buildings do not, nor books. After a certain amount of time, whether long or short, all these things disappear. The only thing which remains forever is the human soul, the human person created by God for eternity. The fruit which remains then is that which we have sowed in human souls - love, knowledge, a gesture capable of touching the heart, words which open the soul to joy in the Lord. Let us then go to the Lord and pray to him, so that he may help us bear fruit which remains. Only in this way will the earth be changed from a valley of tears to a garden of God.

In conclusion, returning again to the letter to the Ephesians, which says with words from Psalm 68 that Christ, ascending into heaven, "gave gifts to men" (Eph 4,8). The victor offers gifts. And these gifts are apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. Our ministry is a gift of Christ to humankind, to build up his body - the new world. We live out our ministry in this way, as a gift of Christ to humanity! But at this time, above all, we pray with insistence to the Lord, so that after the great gift of Pope John Paul II, he again gives us a pastor according to his own heart, a pastor who guides us to knowledge in Christ, to his love and to true joy. Amen.

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Saint Benedict Joseph, pray for your namesake!

We have a pope, and really fast --- faster than I could post about the waiting and the hoping. He'll need all our prayers, and I think he will surprise us. For the last 23 years or so he's had the very important but pretty thankless job of the Pope's "bad cop", the "Grand Inquisitor". But before then he was a brilliant and in some ways innovative theologian and philosopher, and that won't have gone away. I think we're in for wonderful things. As we now pray "for our Holy Father, Benedict,...." let his namesake St. Benedict Joseph, the homeless pilgrim of Rome, and all the angels and saints, and all of us, pray for him. They don't call the room where they dress the new Pope "the Room of Tears" without cause!
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Some of the facts of life

of living in a real city, in the real world. This hotel with its 300 building code violations is only a block and a half from my little anchor hold. A friend of mine getting evicted from elsewhere (not enough hours of work to pay the rent....) asked there last week, so I know definitely that they charge $75 per night there. [minor discount by the week. At that rate the elusive owners can afford to keep it up, if'n they cared to, but they don't.] One of the unconscionable things that happen in real-life city neighborhoods.

Even day-laborers and disabled folk need to sleep indoors ..... with heat in the cold season and door locks that work, and without great numbers of four-legged and six-legged non-paying subtenants.
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If it's Wednesday, it must be Carnival Time

and the 65th Christian Carnival is now available for viewing at Another Think. Enjoy climbing on the great pile of great gifts!
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And we recognised Him

[sorry this is so tardy --- for some reason my computer and browser have not been playing well with others the past few days. For the same reason, the St. Justin quotation will be from a different translation than that used in the LofH books, since the LofH sites have already cleared Sunday....]

In this Sunday's gospel reading, two people were walking home from Jerusalem. Faces down, distraught, disillusioned, in mourning. (The easterners say that this was St. Cloepas and somebody. Maybe his wife? We know from the gospels that she was one of the disciples from early on, and was at the crucifixion.) Somebody else walking the same direction met them on the road. Somebody they knew very well indeed. They walked with this fellow-traveller and conversed all afternoon and did not recognise Him.

Did they even really see Him? Mourning and dejection don't do a whole lot for one's perceptiveness, I know this from experience. The text says their faces were lowered and their eyes downcast. But they did the right thing and the only societally proper thing, and offered their fellow-traveller hospitality in their home, since it was too late in the afternoon to make it to the next town before dark. And when they sat down to supper, the unknown one took the bread, said the blessing, broke the bread and gave it to them [you may want to check in Luke and Acts when Luke uses these terms instead of "they ate" or "they were fed"......] and they recognised them in the breaking of the bread. For the first time all afternoon, they actually saw Him. And He left them, disappeared from their sight. (and, only a few minutes later, walked through the locked door of a certain upper room not far from His mom's apartment in Jerusalem; oh, the wonders of a glorified resurrection body!)

We also, even to this very day and onward to the end of the age, have troubles seeing Him sometimes, though He is among us, yet we recognise Him in the breaking of the bread. Every time we celebrate the Eucharist and partake of the one Body of Christ, and of the one cup of blessing of the Blood of Christ, we become what we receive, and we recognise Him.

Back in the 100s, St. Justin wrote about how the Christians celebrated the Holy Eucharist, and he describes the same six movements in which we have celebrated the Holy Eucharistic Liturgy in every generation continuously until now, making the one death and the one resurrection of our Lord and Messiah continually now for us. Recall that it is the evil child who says "the Lord delivered our ancestors from Egypt" --- only them back then, not us --- and the good and wise children who proclaim "I have been brought out of the house of bondage".

Here are St. Justin's words, which were the appointed reading for this past Sunday's Office of Readings:

And this food is called among us the Eucharist, of which no one is allowed to partake but the man who believes that the things which we teach are true, and who has been washed with the washing that is for the remission of sins, and unto regeneration, and who is so living as Christ has enjoined. For not as common bread and common drink do we receive these; but in like manner as Jesus Christ our Saviour, having been made flesh by the Word of God, had both flesh and blood for our salvation, so likewise have we been taught that the food which is blessed by the prayer of His word, and from which our blood and flesh by transmutation are nourished, is the flesh and blood of that Jesus who was made flesh. For the apostles, in the memoirs composed by them, which are called Gospels, have thus delivered unto us what was enjoined upon them; that Jesus took bread, and when He had given thanks, said, "This do ye in remembrance of Me, this is My body;" and that, after the same manner, having taken the cup and given thanks, He said, "This is My blood;" and gave it to them alone. Which the wicked devils have imitated in the mysteries of Mithras, commanding the same thing to be done. For, that bread and a cup of water are placed with certain incantations in the mystic rites of one who is being initiated, you either know or can learn.

And we afterwards continually remind each other of these things. And the wealthy among us help the needy; and we always keep together; and for all things wherewith we are supplied, we bless the Maker of all through His Son Jesus Christ, and through the Holy Ghost. And on the day called Sunday, all who live in cities or in the country gather together to one place, and the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as time permits; then, when the reader has ceased, the president verbally instructs, and exhorts to the imitation of these good things. Then we all rise together and pray, and, as we before said, when our prayer is ended, bread and wine and water are brought, and the president in like manner offers prayers and thanksgivings, according to his ability, and the people assent, saying Amen; and there is a distribution to each, and a participation of that over which thanks have been given, and to those who are absent a portion is sent by the deacons. And they who are well to do, and willing, give what each thinks fit; and what is collected is deposited with the president, who succours the orphans and widows and those who, through sickness or any other cause, are in want, and those who are in bonds and the strangers sojourning among us, and in a word takes care of all who are in need. But Sunday is the day on which we all hold our common assembly, because it is the first day on which God, having wrought a change in the darkness and matter, made the world; and Jesus Christ our Saviour on the same day rose from the dead. For He was crucified on the day before that of Saturn (Saturday); and on the day after that of Saturn, which is the day of the Sun, having appeared to His apostles and disciples, He taught them these things, which we have submitted to you also for your consideration.

[First Apology, chapters 66-67]

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Archbishop Romero and all the American new martyrs, pray for us!

Here is an open letter from one bishop to his martyred brother bishop, via SojoNet. Triduum, then Bright Week, and Annunciation, and the mourning for the Holy Father, has delayed many remembrances. March 24th, Holy Thursday, was also the 25th anniversary of the martyrdom of Archbishop Romero of San Salvador.
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We are all sedevacantists now

and there's an emptiness.

When I was at Mass yesterday morning, and we came to the part of the Eucharistic Prayer when we commemorate those who serve us in the Church --- and there was no commemoration of the Pope, because there isn't one. [But there was prayer for our holy father, John Paul, who has passed from this life.....] When the parts come in the Liturgy of Hours when we pray for the Pope, and I have to remember to skip that line. Standing in line to sign the parish condolence book. Today is a solemnity, one that should be obligatory, but starting tomorrow there's the Office for the dead. And soon we pray for the Conclave, that they exercise wisdom and listen for the guidance of the Holy Spirit to give to us another servant to exercise Peter's ministry among us.

Pray. Remember. Do the deeds of mercy. John Paul II has passed from this life to life true and everlasting, do not dishonor his name.
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This is the Holy Father's final illness

and he knows it. Pray for his peaceable and holy death.

The giveaway in the news reports: the report by all sources that he was informed of the gravity of his condition --- heart attack and kidney shutdown because of septic shock --- and he chose to stay home and not go back to the hospital.

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Bigotry can be fatal

from the Harvard Crimson Online, an excellent commentary on fatal bigotry against the disabled.

Today, Michael Schaivo gets a judge to let him kill his inconvenient wife. Soon, it may be open season on all us inconvenient disabled people. Don't shrug it off because you are able-bodied and agile-minded, for disabled is the one minority group any one can join at any time.
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Christ is risen!

He is truly risen!

Yes He is
We have seen Him

I thought He was the gardener at first, but then He called me by name and I recognised Him

When I went to anoint the body God's messenger told me He'd meet us in Galilee

The two of us talked Scripture with Him on the road, and when we stopped for supper we recognised Him in the breaking of the bread

The bunch of us had locked ourselves in, we didn't want to get arrested, and He came right in to see us

It was definitely Him we recognised Him we know His voice the wounds are still there and He lives He really does

He met us at the lakeshore and cooked us breakfast after our long night fishing

We know His voice the wounds are there it's definitely Him and He lives!

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This is the night..... [Paschal Proclamation]

Rejoice, heavenly powers! Sing choirs of angels!
Exult, all creation around God's throne!
Jesus Christ, our King is risen!
Sound the trumpet of salvation!

Rejoice, O earth, in shining splendor,
radiant in the brightness of your King!
Christ has conquered! Glory fills you!
Darkness vanishes for ever!

Rejoice, O Mother Church! Exult in glory!
The risen Savior shines upon you!
Let this place resound with joy,
echoing the mighty song of all God's people!

My dearest friends,
standing with me in this holy light,
join me in asking God for mercy,
that he may give his unworthy minister
grace to sing his Easter praises.

V. The Lord be with you.
R. And also with you.
V. Lift up your hearts.
R. We lift them up to the Lord.
V. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
R. It is right to give him thanks and praise.

It is truly right that with full hearts and minds and voices
we should praise the unseen God, the all-powerful Father,
and his only Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
For Christ has ransomed us with his blood,
and paid for us the price of Adam's sin to our eternal Father!

This is our passover feast,
When Christ, the true Lamb, is slain,
whose blood consecrates the homes of all believers.

This is the night,
when first you saved our fathers:
you freed the people of Israel from their slav'ry,
and led them dry-shod through the sea.

This is the night,
when the pillar of fire destroyed the darkness of sin.

This is night,
when Christians everywhere,
washed clean of sin and freed from all defilement,
are restored to grace and grow together in holiness.

This is the night,
when Jesus broke the chains of death
and rose triumphant from the grave.

What good would life have been to us,
had Christ not come as our Redeemer?

Father, how wonderful your care for us!
How boundless your merciful love!
To ransom a slave you gave away your Son.

O happy fault, O necessary sin of Adam,
which gained for us so great a Redeemer!

Most blessed of all nights,
chosen by God to see Christ rising from the dead!

Of this night scripture says:
“The night will be as clear as day:
it will become my light, my joy.”

The power of this holy night dispels all evil,
washes guilt away, restores lost innocence,
brings mourners joy;
it casts out hatred, brings us peace,
and humbles earthly pride.

Night truly blessed,
when heaven is wedded to earth
and we are reconciled to God!

Therefore, heavenly Father, in the joy of this night,
receive our evening sacrifice of praise,
your Church's solemn offering.

Accept this Easter candle,
a flame divided but undimmed,
a pillar of fire that glows to the honor of God.

Let it mingle with the lights of heaven
and continue bravely burning
to dispel the darkness of this night!

May the Morning Star which never sets
find this flame still burning:
Christ, that Morning Star,
who came back from the dead,
and shed his peaceful light on all mankind,
your Son, who lives and reigns for ever and ever.

R. Amen.

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God .... is dead???

To all human appearances this day, hope has been crushed, the light extinguished, darkness is triumphant. But, this is only an appearance.

There is one who has guarded the light with her whole life, who knows that even this cannot be the end, and continues to guard and cherish the light in her heart as she always has. She waits, and gathers in the crushed and hopeless disciples and encourages them to wait with her and not despair; and so they wait.



Mother of God, Light in all darkness,
intercede for us.
Be a companion to us,
and bring to our confusion and darkness
the Light you bore,
the Light you guard and cherish.
Although we do not yet see light,
do not let us fall into the abyss,
and assure us that there is still light
until such time as the Light shall return.

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And He was buried

After Jesus died, two very well-placed followers, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, got permission to take Jesus' body away, nd hurried to the execution site with the minimal requirements for burial.



Sunset, and Sabbath, was approaching too quickly, so they hurriedly prepared the body and put it in a borrowed tomb (was it Joseph's own?) that happened to be nearby. The womenfolk resolved to return right after Sabbath to do a more complete and respectful anointing .....
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"If I be lifted up, I will draw all to Myself."

We did lift Him up --- not far, not nearly to the skies, let alone the heavens. Dispossessed of everything, we crucified Him.



"I raised you to the height of majesty, but you have raised me high on a cross. My people, what have I done to you? How have I offended you? Answer me!"
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"So, You are a king!"

We marched Him all over town --- to the High Priest's, to Pilate's palace, to Herod, back to Pilate. We beat Him, then we have our fun by giving Him a robe and a crown and a sceptre. When that wasn't diverting enough, we banged Him on His crown with His sceptre.



"My people, what have I done to you? How have I offended you? Answer me!"
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In the grove of olive trees

Could the disciples watch and pray even one hour? No, they were exhausted and fell asleep. Then Judas arrived, with company.



And he betrayed Jesus, pointing Him out to the guards by kissing Him.
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Images for Triduum --- the Lord's Last Supper

And they went to a certain upper room (that happened to be not very far from Jesus' mother's apartment), and there they shared the Passover meal together, and inconceivably more.



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It's all about anointings, and commitments

Last night I was at that grand annual family reunion called the Chrism Mass. [As usual, I'm kind of glad the fire marshall doesn't show up, he'd have a conniption!] A goodly representation of absolutely everybody was there --- bishops, priests, deacons, religious and secular layfolk of all ages and descriptions, renewing our commitments in the Church and witnessing the blessings and consecrations of the holy anointing oils our Church will use in the upcoming year. The Cathedral, when it is 935++ standing-room-only full of the faithful, is itself an icon of the Church, the Body of Christ united, from the first notes of the prelude (which was "O Sifuno Mungu") through the last chord of the recessional and beyond. A fabulous way to start the holy week.

I'm not quite completely well yet, but since the Lord delivered me from getting locked up in hospital for Triduum, I'm definitely not going to miss it. Transit Plus even got me a ride home after Vigil on Saturday night, which they couldn't do last year. I do hope we're finished by 11:30, since it's embarrassing to have the transit driver fetch me out before dismissal, which has happenned a time or three!
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Another open public manifestation of Real Presence

from the Wisconsin State Journal's coverage of the destruction of St. Raphael Cathedral:

....He [Bishop Robert Morlino] also was moved by Madison firefighters' rescue of the cathedral's ceboriums holding the Holy Sacrament, wafers already consecrated as Jesus Christ's body.

"The firefighters had to cut their way through," Morlino said. "They went in there and brought it out with great reverence. . . . In a symbolic way, that illustrates the caring of Madison."

And here's the photo of the firefighters returning the ciboria to the Cathedral rector:



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The doc has let me come home ---for now

Surprising even me --- I've learned to be a pessimist about such things --- the doctor let me come home this afternoon. Of course, after taking culture swabs, writing scripts for two antibiotics (that the pharmacy says will be ready at 5:30), issuing detailed cleansing and bandaging instructions(ever tried to keep a bandage around a thigh?), and having the lab take a half-dozen tubes of blood.

So I'm not going to be locked up for Holy Week ---- Hip, Hip, Hooray!
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Oh, No! More Baleful Symptoms

Here we go again! Over the weekend I started having baleful symptoms --- specifically, serous fluid leakage --- from the site of that recently healed MRSA infection. I called the doctor just as soon as his office opened this morning, and got an appointment in the outpatient clinic tomorrow morning. I'm hoping to have caught this early enough to be allowed to come home...... but I'm only putting my odds at 50-50. If I get kept, one of my sibs will post it in the comment box. If I'm allowed to come home, I'll post myself rejoicing!
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If this is Wednesday, there must be Carnival!

The sixtieth Christian Carnival is open during construction at Belief Seeking Understanding. I took advantage of the last clear day we're going to have for a while to get some outdoor aerobic exercise by pushing myself to the grocery store for somewhat-overdue shopping, so I'm only just now getting to start reading it --- but it's always really good. I have a contribution in it: How Tabernacles Are Wonderful.
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Part Two: How Tabernacles Are Wonderful

written about happenings on Trinity Sunday, 2003 at Cathedral Parish of Milwaukee, but it happens every Sunday morning still, and other times and places also, including where you are.

We gather in the holy Presence: the time before the 8 a.m. Eucharist

Transit Plus was very early. It's not even seven yet.
I sit outside the doors, tell the driver he doesn't have to stay.
The doors should be open already, they will be soon.
I pound a couple of times, then open my hands to pray.

Very soon, only minutes,
and Roger the Sacristan appears with the keys, unlocks, and lets me in.
Just inside the doors, I greet Mater Ecclesiae.
She steps forward faithfully, right off her pedestal,
following her Son, her Lord, her Redemption.
But now is not the time to linger. He calls, He draws.

I keep moving, pause to bow to His altar,
where His one offering is made always present for us.
But I don't linger there either, not right now.
There's time later for His altar. He calls, He draws.
Also time later for His ambo, where the Word's words are proclaimed.
I caress it as I pass it. He calls, He draws.

I keep moving, until I arrive.
I lock my wheels at the bottom of the steps.
Before me, in the space at the top of the few steps,
is His Tabernacle, where He deigns to dwell.
Not now as a pillar of cloud, not as a pillar of fire,
but as food for our journey;
the food is He Himself.
I am, finally, where I belong.

I bow before the Mystery, and stay bowed awhile.
When I rise up, I smile at Blessed John
who looks over my left shoulder.
I take off the padded pushing gloves,
unzip the Liturgy of Hours book,
and open my hands.
"O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will proclaim Your praise."

About halfway through the second psalm of Readings
there's a hand on my right shoulder.
I look up and grin. It's our burden-bearer,
the one who has to wear the purple beanie.
We exchange a few words and a blessing,
he goes up the steps and settles in the right-hand corner.
(His Liturgy of Hours book doesn't have a zipper.)
The Presence calls him, the Presence draws him.

Smile at the Presence, take a deep breath,
and return to the psalms.
Others come and go.
Some I notice, some I don't.
Some I recognize, some not.
He calls them and draws them also.

During the first Morning Prayer psalm
the lady who sells nutrition supplements arrives,
taps me on the shoulder.
I assure her "I'm recovering nicely, thank you,"
then she goes up the steps and settles in the left-hand corner.
(Her Bible has gold edges.)
My surgeon's here somewhere also;
I never see him, but he sees me.
He talks about this place when he examines the incision.
They are called, they are drawn.

So many come.
Some settle in, like Nutrition-Supplement-Seller and Burden-Bearer and me.
Some just stop for a few minutes, kneeling on the prie-dieus or even on the steps.
They all are called, they all are drawn.

Soon, it will be the time for the ambo and for the altar.
"May the Lord bless us, deliver us from all evil, and bring us to everlasting life.
Let us praise the Lord and give Him thanks."
Kiss the Hours book, close it and zip it back up.
Bow again a while, then unlock my wheels and proceed.
Soon, we find our places under the corona,
around the altar of the Lord.
One family in Him, all called, all drawn,
to this place which is home to Him and home to us.
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Tabernacles Are Wonderful

Does anyone else her remember the catechetical ditty that began, "Every thing I pass by Church I stop to make a visit....."?

Or the story of the peasant gent who taught St. Jean Vianney the depths of adoration --- "I look at Him and He looks at me"?

Ever since Bishop Lynch of St Petersberg [FL] published this defense of proper Eucharistic Adoration, Holy Hours with Benediction, and Forty Hours Devotion in the summer of 2000, the cry keeps going up that "Bishop Lynch banned Eucharistic Adoration" when he did and does no such thing. He only enforces the Holy Church's own rules and guidelines concerning Perpetual Exposition, a different thing altogether.

I'm coming more and more to see that Bishop Lynch has acted rightly and with wisdom in this case. The idea that one can only adore if there is exposition is a perverse idea that has to be stopped. Tabernacles and "visits" are wonderful. An hour or two's exposition with Holy Hour prayers or Liturgy of the Hours and Benediction is glorious. A respectful, devout, and unrushed Communion Procession is only the minimum we owe to the Lord and the other members of His Body. None of these must be lost to a fixation on monstrances!

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Ways to keep what's happenning to Terri Schaivo and her family from happenning to you

I'm going to get exceedingly practical today.

There are things that every person of legal age can do that can help you get the care you want and need, and keep you safe from the interventions you neither need nor want.

For starters, study and pray. Learn what it is, in your depths, that you do want. Listen to serious discussions of medical ethics, such as those taking place right now that have been instigated by Terri's situation. Read some of the fine teaching documents that our Pope and our bishops have issued about the end of life. A particularly good and easy to read one is Now and at the Hour of Our Death, which the bishops of my state wrote several years ago.

Then, talk about it. Have serious conversations with your family and your friends about medical care, about disability, and about end of life issues. Not just a "by the way" reaction to some passing news item or TV drama, but actual conversation, discussion, even argument, about what and where and when and how. Hash out just what it is that you want and that you believe, and make sure that those who care about you, and those who are legally connected to you, like spouses and parents and sibs, know what they are and, if possible, how you got to them. Even if they don't agree with you --- in fact, ESPECIALLY if they don't agree!

You are NOT too young or too healthy to consider or talk about these things. Elderly will inevitably arrive, and Disabled is the one minority group that anyone can join at any time, involuntarily and without warning. If you are old enough to read my blog, you are old enough to start studying and thinking about and discussing these things.

Next, write down in a legal kind of way instructions for when you cannot give instructions, in one of the ways recognised by your country or state. In my state, there are two ways to do this, the Declaration to Physicians [pdf file], also called a "living will", and the Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care [also pdf file].

Generally, Living Wills are a bad option. They by their nature define things too strictly and they do not establish anyone to make the judgment calls that pretty inevitably must be made. Then, by law, they must be followed even if the circumstances change. Also, most Living Will forms work from the presumption that one would rather not live. [Though some right-to-life groups have developed living will forms which support life support, such as this one from Wisconsin Right to Life.] However, if there are certain things that you know ABSOLUTELY that you want to keep from happening to you --- an example might be a Jehovah's Witness who absolutely doesn't want to be transfused. or someone who absolutely refuses any consent for surgery --- then the Living Will may be for you.

More generally useful, however, is the Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care. This document appoints one or two persons to make decisions for you when that time comes that you cannot do it for yourself, and gives some guidance and restrictions to them. Choose people that you trust, and who agree with you about end of life issues and the last things. If there are particular things you want or don't want, or particular instructions that your proxy needs to know, put them down. Mine states that if I need to be permanently institutionalized, that it be in a geographic region where I can be regularly visited by my relatives, and also states that continuation or discontinuation of life support should be only in accord with Catholic moral teaching. I chose two of my siblings who are most in agreement with me about both the Faith and the stage when it is time to let go. Choose people you trust. If that isn't your spouse or your parent and they think they ought to be, have that fight right now, while you can still stick up for yourself! And, at least once a year, read your Durable Power of Attorney and make sure it still reflects what you want and that you still trust the ones you chose --- and void it and make a new one if that is indicated. Don't let it moulder. [Your beloved fiance of 1998 could well be your abusive alienated ex in 2007 when you have that auto accident......] Keep it up to date, and make sure all your doctors have copies.

This is how you keep yourself from being the center of a legal tug-of-war when you become disabled or are approaching death

And, while you are thinking of end things, how about some basic funeral planning, making sure your kin knows where your plot is if you have one, maybe some basic instructions? And, a regular old will, so your children have a guardian you would want and your kinfolk don't fight over your stuff the morning after the burial .......
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Sure I caught MRSA and missed out on Call to Action

but my birthday is July 1st and I know exactly where I'd like to spend it. However, with registration and paratransit fares, it costs a small fortune, and I don't want to depend on there being charity passes distributed like the CTA did --- so I guess it's time to start pinching my pennies extra hard!
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To be a Comadre (or Compadre)

I was reading the new Christian Carnival today (it's Wednesday so it must be Carnival Day!) and followed the wandering links into a comment string where someone was trying to make a negative comment by claiming that a certain Benedictine writer was the blogger's comadre. And it got me to thinking.

First of all, a compadre or comadre is a relationship term --- the parent of the person you sponsored in baptism, or the baptismal sponsor of your child, is your compadre or comadre. The two of you, or group of you, share a common care for another person.

I don't have any compadres or comadres according to this definition, and I'm not likely to --- I have no children, and my goddaughter is older than I am and her parents were long deceased by the time of her middle-age baptism.

But, aren't we all in a way co-parents? We each share in a true care for each other, there are no rugged individuals lone rangering, we support each other and care for each other and nurture each other to holiness. So, in a way the aforementioned Benedictine writer is my comadre, the founder of intentional community also mentioned in the comment is my compadre, and so are the people I go to Sunday Mass with, the ones I serve beside at the Open Door, my pastors, my bishops +Timothy and +Richard and +Rembert, and so many others. We have a common care for another, actually many others.

And the Works of Mercy, all 14 of them, is how we do it.
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In Church-speak, blogs are "means of social communication"

and as of yesterday, there's a new teaching document about us (and, of course, the rest of the "means" also). A sample:

Many challenges face the new evangelization in a world rich with communicative potential like our own. Because of this, I wanted to underline in the Encyclical Redemptoris Missio that the first Areopagus of modern times is the world of communications, which is capable of unifying humanity and transforming it into as it is commonly referred to 'a global village'.

The communications media have acquired such importance as to be the principal means of guidance and inspiration for many people in their personal, familial, and social behaviour. We are dealing with a complex problem, because the culture itself, prescinding from its content, arises from the very existence of new ways to communicate with hitherto unknown techniques and vocabulary.

Ours is an age of global communication in which countless moments of human existence are either spent with, or at least confronted by, the different processes of the mass media. I limit myself to mentioning the formation of personality and conscience, the interpretation and structuring of affective relationships, the coming together of the educative and formative phases, the elaboration and diffusion of cultural phenomena, and the development of social, political and economic life.

The mass media can and must promote justice and solidarity according to an organic and correct vision of human development, by reporting events accurately and truthfully, analyzing situations and problems completely, and providing a forum for different opinions. An authentically ethical approach to using the powerful communication media must be situated within the context of a mature exercise of freedom and responsibility, founded upon the supreme criteria of truth and justice.
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One Very Important Very Long Sentence

from the documents of the latest Ecumenical Council:

The Church, therefore, is very concerned that the Christian faithful not be present at this mystery of faith as outsiders or mute spectators,
but that, understanding the mystery through the rites and prayers,
they take part in the sacred action consciously, devoutly and actively,
that they be instructed by the word of God,
that they be nourished at the table of the Lord's Body,
that they give thanks to God,
that, offering the immaculate host
not only through the priest but with him,
they may learn to offer themselves,
and that, through Christ the Mediator,
they may be drawn day after day into more perfect union with God and with one another,
so that in the end God may be all in all.

------- Sacrosanctum concilium 48
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Christian Carnival is ready for visitors!

The Christian Carnival, a weekly roundup of posts from the entire Christian blogosphere, is now ready for your enjoyment at the Wittenberg Gate. {Please proceed directly through the gate......no cans, bottles, ......}
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St. Ephrem's Great Prayer

via Eutychus Fell, a teaching on the Great Prayer of St. Ephrem and how it should shape our Lent. Here is the Prayer:

O Lord and Master of my life,
take from me the spirit of sloth,
faint-heartedness,
lust of power,
and idle talk.

But give rather the spirit of chastity,
humility,
patience,
and love to your servant.

Yes, O Lord and King,
grant me to see my own errors
and not to judge my brother;
for Thou art blessed unto the ages of ages.

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To Keep a True Lent

by Robert Herrick [dots at line beginnings are not ellipses, they're the only way I know to make blogger display Heerick's spacing and indentations!]

Is this a fast, to keep
. . . . . . The larder lean ?
. . . . . . . . . . And clean
From fat of veals and sheep ?

Is it to quit the dish
. . . . . . Of flesh, yet still
. . . . . . . . . . To fill
The platter high with fish ?

Is it to fast an hour,
. . . . . . Or ragg’d to go,
. . . . . . . . . . Or show
A downcast look and sour ?

No ; ‘tis a fast to dole
. . . . . . Thy sheaf of wheat,
. . . . . . . . . . And meat,
Unto the hungry soul.

It is to fast from strife,
. . . . . . From old debate
. . . . . . . . . . And hate ;
To circumcise thy life.

To show a heart grief-rent ;
. . . . . . To starve thy sin,
. . . . . . . . . . Not bin ;
And that’s to keep thy Lent.

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Litany in a Time of War

via Traditional Catholic Reflections & Reports, a prayer we really need, written by (or under the authority of) Benedict XV during the First World War:

[of course, for private use only, must observe the niceties.....]

V. The Lord give you peace;
R. Peace and good will.

v, O Lord Jesus Christ, Who didst say to Thy Apostles, "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you," look not upon my sins, but upon the faith of Thy Church, and vouchsafe to her that peace and unity which is agreeable to Thy will, Who livest and reignest, God forever and ever. R. Amen.

Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy. Jesus hear us.
Jesus, graciously hear us.

By the hymn of the Angels at Thy birth,
Grant us peace.
By Thy salutation to the Apostles,
Grant us peace.
By Thy voice to the waves of Galilee,
Grant us peace.
By Thy blessing to the sinner,
Grant us peace.
By Thy prayers for unity among Thy disciples,
Grant us peace.
By the love that was to mark Thy followers,
Grant us peace.
By the great peace offering of the Cross,
Grant us peace.
By Thy parting promise, "My peace I leave you,"
Grant us peace.

From the ambition of empire,
Deliver us, O Lord.
From the greed for territory,
Deliver us, O Lord.
From the blindness that is injustice,
Deliver us, O Lord.
From the selfishness that is theft,
Deliver us, O Lord.
From the liberty which is license,
Deliver us, O Lord.
From the love of money which is idolatry,
Deliver us, O Lord.
From the hate that is murder,
Deliver us, O Lord.
From the hardness that will not pardon,
Deliver us, O Lord.
From the pride that will not ask pardon,
Deliver us, O Lord.

By the helpless cry of orphans,
We beseech Thee, hear us.
By the anguished tears of widows,
We beseech Thee, hear us.
By the groans of the dying,
We beseech Thee, hear us.
By the dead in unblessed graves,
We beseech Thee, hear us.

That Thou wouldst make all nations to dwell as one,
We beseech Thee, hear us.
That the hearts of rulers may be as wax in Thy hands,
We beseech Thee, hear us.
That having learned in affliction, we may turn to Thee,
We beseech Thee, hear us.
That wars may cease from the earth,
We beseech Thee, hear us.
By Thy title, "Prince of Peace," Lord God of Armies,
We beseech Thee, hear us.

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Grant us peace.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Grant us peace.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, Grant us peace.

V. I am the Salvation of the people, saith the Lord;
R. In whatever tribulation they shall cry to Me, I will hear them.

Let Us Pray.

Jesus, meek and humble of heart, teach us, who have sinned against Heaven and before Thee, the saving grace of a true humility, that we and all the peoples of this world may acknowledge and bewail that spirit of materialism and self-seeking and lust for power and vengeance which has plunged the family of nations into war, until in Thy just wrath the world suffers that punishment which, by turning from Thee, it has brought upon itself. In humility and penance, may we lessen the guilt and hasten true peace, without victory, save the victory of union with Thee. R. Amen.

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Have mercy on us.
Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Have mercy on us.
Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Have mercy on us.

Give peace, O Lord, in our days,
For there is none other that fighteth for us, but only Thou, Our God.

V. Let there be peace in Thy strength, O Lord,
R. And plenty in Thy strong places.

Let Us Pray.

O God, from Whom proceed all holy desires, all right counsels and all just works, grant unto us Thy servants that peace which the world cannot give, that our hearts may be devoted to Thy service, and that being delivered from the fear of our enemies, we may pass our time in peace under Thy protection, through Christ Our Lord. R. Amen.

Immaculate Queen of Peace, Pray for us.
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Review of the virtual Anchor Hold's house rules

Once a couple of months ago and twice yesterday, I had to delete comments. I did promise all of you, my readers, that I would not delete any of my own archives --- even the embarrassing stuff or when I've changed my mind. No rewriting history. However, that does not mean that I have to put up with just anything!

There are some house policies. Just a short review.

Any email or other correspondence concerning the blog or its posts is bloggable. I don't do it often, and do normally withhold names, etc., unless I get clearance ..... but might slip up if someone gets vile, so be forewarned.

Comment spam is deleted asap. When I figure out how to ban commenters, spammers will be banned also.

Profane, obscene, lewd, vulgar comments are also deleted asap, same as spammers.

Comments will not be retained that violate Part Three, section two, chapter two, article eight, parts three and four of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. This means that detraction, calumny, slander is not allowed, and neither is any comment claiming to reveal somebody else's sins or to disclose somebody else's trade secrets......

Thank you, and blog on!
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Happy Lent!

My perrennial Lenten reading for the past two decades has been The Lenten Spring: Readings for Great Lent, by Father Thomas Hopko. If I'd looked this up earlier to see the long shipping time, I would have posted this a bit earlier ---- but maybe your local public library can fix you up with a copy this season. It's totally worth the effort to find, read, and pray with.

Here's a sample: "Let Us Begin with Joy" [pages 12-15] [I've taken the liberty of inserting minimum references from the footnotes in brackets.]


Joy is at the heart of everything in the Christian life, and Great Lent is no exception. The hymns and verses of the church services call Christians to begin with rejoicing.

Let us not be sad.
Let us cleanse our faces with the waters of dispassion,
blessing and exalting Chrst forever. [first Friday matins]

Let us begin the Fast with joy.
Let us give ourselves to spiritual efforts.
Let us cleanse our souls.
Let us cleanse our flesh.
Let us fast from passions as we fast from foods,
taking pleasure in the good works of the Spirit
and accomplishing them in love
that we may all be made worthy to see the passion of Christ our God
and His Holy Pascha,
rejoicing with spiritual joy. [Forgiveness Sunday vespers]

Jesus commands all those who fast to be joyful. He condemns sadness and grief, especially the outward appearance of fasting before men. He orders His people to hide their sorrow and to cover their sadness over sin. He directs them to hide their acts of penitence, to keep their mortifications secret, to appear shining and bright to the world.

And when you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by men. Truly, I say to you, they have their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by men but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. (Mt. 6:16-18)

Sadness for Christians is a sin to be repented of --- not a virtue to be cultivated. Blessed mourning over the tragedies of this fallen world is possible. Those who mourn for this cause are promised comfort by the Lord. And godly grief over sins for the sake of leading us to conversion and repentance is possible. The apostle Paul refers to this in his second letter to the Corinthians.

....I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting; for you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us. For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation and brings no regret, but worldly grief produces death. (2 Cor. 7-9-10)

In the lenten season the Christian struggles to put aside all "worldly grief" and to embrace the "godly grief" which St. John Climacus calls the "blessed joy-grief of holy compunction," which inspires "spiritual laughter in the soul," since "God does not ask or desire that a person should mourn from sorrow of heart, but rather that out of love for Him he should rejoice with spiritual joy."

As I ponder the true nature of compunction, I find myself amazed by the way in which inward joy and gladness mingle with what we call mourning and grief, like honey in a comb. There must be a lesson here and it surely is that compunction is properly a gift from God, so that there is real pleasure in the soul, since God secretly brings consolation to those who in their hearts are repenting. [The Ladder of Divine Ascent]

These words of one of the severest of saints recall the teachings of St. John Cassian, who lived about three hundred years earlier.

The only form of dejection we should cultivate is the sorrow which goes with repentance for sin and is accompanied by hope in God. It was of this form of dejection that the apostle said: "Godly sorrow produces a repentance that leads to salvation and brings no regret" (2 Cor. 7:10). This "godly sorrow" nourishes the soul through the hope engendered by repentance, and it is mingled with joy. That is why it makes us obedient and eager for every good work: accessible, humble, gentle, forbearing, and patient in enduring all the suffering or tribulation God may send us. Possession of these qualities shows that a person enjoys the fruits of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, long-suffering, goodness, faith, self-control (see Gal. 5:22). But from the other kind of dejection we come to know the fruits of the evil spirit: listlessness, impatience, anger, hatred, contentiousness, despair, sluggishness in prayer. So we should shun this second kind of dejection as we would unchastity, avarice, anger, and the rest of the passions. It can be healed by prayer, hope in God, meditation on holy scripture and by living with godly people. [On the Eight Vices]

These lessons from the saints are the teaching of the Church herself in her services for the lenten spring. Repentance and joy, compunction and consolation, godly grief and spiritual rejoicing are joined together in perfect union in the person who fights for the Lord.

Receive Lent with gladness, O people!
The beginning of spiritual warfare arrives.
Forsake the indulgences of your flesh
that the gifts of the Spirit may abound in you.
Embracr your share of suffering, O soldiers of Christ!
Prove yourselves to be children of God!
The Holy Spirit will take up His abode in you
and your souls will be filled with His light. [Cheesefare Tuesday matins]

"Only one day," He said,
"is the life of those on earth."
For those who make the effort in love
there are forty days of the Fast
for us to accomplish with joy. [first Monday matins]

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Update on Father Eleazar Perez

Father Eleazar is out of the hospital and recuperating out at Cousins Center. In a few months he'll be healed up enough for a prosthesis and walking lessons.

He and his doctors had a press conference a few days ago, and here's the article from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
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Nobody knew the name her parents called her

not even her!



Today's saint, who would come to be called Giuseppine Bakhita, was born in a totally average family in rural Sudan in approximately 1869, and was kidnapped by slavers at about eight years old. Her kidnappers gave her the name Bakhita --- which means "fortunate, lucky." At the time that was a sick joke. She was sold repeatedly to various owners in the markets of El Obeid and Khartoum, and suffered all the standard evils, physical (beatings, malnutrition, neglect, scarification....), mental (forbidden to learn and "kept in her place"....), and moral (rape, molestation, coercion to service owner's sexual whims....).

Eventually, in her early teens, she was bought by an Italian diplomat and his wife to be an housemaid and cook. As owners go, these weren't very bad at all. They did not use the whip when giving orders. They would show her how they wanted things to be done. Neither of them insisted on sexual services. About as good as one could expect an owner to be. When the diplomat was recalled to Italy, Bakhita begged not to be sold, but to go with them. (Who could tell how the next owner would be?) So she went to Italy with them.

The diplomat's wife's best friend had a baby, a little girl named Mimmina, and Bakhita was given to the friend to be a babysitter-companion for the newborn. That family wasn't bad either. When Mimmina got to be school aged, her parents placed her in a boarding school run by the Cannossian Daughters of Charity, and Bakhita, of course, went with her as a maidservant. Expected to stay with Mimmina at all times, she began to learn the lessons Mimmina was being taught, reading and writing and arithmetic --- and, the Christian Faith, the first that Bakhita had ever heard it. Bakhita came to believe almost immediately, and eagerly sought even more instruction in the faith, and she was enrolled in the catechumenate. She also began to sense the first glimmerings of a calling to the religious life.

After a time, Mimmina's parents received an overseas diplomatic posting, and went to the boarding school to withdraw their daughter and take her, and, they totally presumed, Bakhita also, to their new African posting. But, Bakhita refused to go. She wanted to stay, and get baptised, and keep learning. With the backing of the Sisters, some of the Sisters' benefactors, and the local Catholic authorities, Bakhita's case to disobey her owners went to court, and it was ruled that, since slavery was illegal in Italy, that as soon as Bakhita was brought to Italy she was made free. Soon after, in January of 1890, she was baptised with the new name Giuseppine, and she remained under instruction at the school for several more years.

After a period of prayer and discernment, Giuseppine Bakhita entered the community of the Cannossian Daughters, making her vows in 1896. She served in the community as a seamstress and cook, and as the doorkeeper, and became noted as an intercessor. After her memoirs of her slavery days were published, she spend years on tour speaking to raise money for her community's missions. Eventually, her health declined, and she died on this date in 1947.
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Great Lent begins on Wednesday

and, courtesy of the wonderful Catholic Herald, here are forty ways of improving it this year.

A few samples:

2. Pray for — by name — people you don’t like and for people that don’t like you.

4. Read a Catholic magazine every time you visit the library.

7. Find out why you should have fun on Laetare Sunday, and then do so.

9. Bring a “Baltimore Catechism” to a gathering of Catholic friends, and start asking each other questions.

14. Receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

18. Visit a church when you don’t have to.

30. Tell someone your story(ies) of faith, how God has made a difference in your life.

33. Fast from gossip.

And all the others are great, also. Welcome to the joyous season of Lent!
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I'm honoring Candlemas and preparing for Pascha today

by ordering my candle for Easter Vigil!

Last year and the year before at Vigil I had to fend off lots of helpful people trying to hand me some new light. I'm only allowed to look, not to touch, or even get too near, lest my wheelchair be transformed to a chariot of fire --- one of the little inconveniences of using oxygen. But others don't notice that; I must wear my cannulas very gracefully.

So I was tooling around the Autom religious supply catalog, looking for crucifixes I could get for my future rosary-making, and saw --- battery-operated candles! Back in the day I would have just hollered "Abomination!" but now they just might be my solution. If I'm holding something tall and glowing, even if it's electric, maybe folk won't sense such a need to hand me an open flame!

One week till the joyous season of Lent.
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Phyllis McGinley has a bit to say

about one of today's saints. Brigid of Kildare was wise and strong, a foundress and abbess given equal-to-the-bishops honor and authority in her own time, seriously scary-holy, a miracle-worker --- and a fool-for-Christ giveaway saint who couldn't be trusted not to give away anything she touched! Hence, Ms. McGinley's little meditation:

Saint Bridget was
A problem child.
Although a lass
Demure and mild,
And one who strove
To please her dad,
Saint Bridget drove
The family mad.
For here's the fault in Bridget lay:
She WOULD give everything away.

To any soul
Whose luck was out
She'd give her bowl
Of stirabout;
She'd give her shawl,
Divide her purse
With one or all.
And what was worse,
When she ran out of things to give
She'd borrow from a relative.

Her father's gold,
Her grandsire's dinner,
She'd hand to cold
and hungry sinner;
Give wine, give meat,
No matter whose;
Take from her feet
The very shoes,
And when her shoes had gone to others,
Fetch forth her sister's and her mother's.

She could not quit.
She had to share;
Gave bit by bit
The silverware,
The barnyard geese,
The parlor rug,
Her little
niece's christening mug,
Even her bed to those in want,
And then the mattress of her aunt.

An easy touch
For poor and lowly,
She gave so much
And grew so holy
That when she died
Of years and fame,
The countryside
Put on her name,
And still the Isles of Erin fidget
With generous girls named Bride or Bridget.

Well, one must love her.
Nonetheless,
In thinking of her
Givingness,
There's no denial
She must have been
A sort of trial
Unto her kin.
The moral, too, seems rather quaint.
WHO had the patience of a saint,
From evidence presented here?
Saint Bridget? Or her near and dear?

[from "The Love Letters of Phyllis McGinley," New York, Viking Press, 1957]
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The Stations.....

are now semi-permanently installed in the New Tracts fot the Times pages!

[at least as permanent as I can keep the ISP bill paid.....]
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Iraq could really use prayers

and here are some places to visit to remind why (some very different perspectives from CNN or FoxNews!)

Baghdad Burning, by River

Raed in the Middle, by Raed

Tell Me a Secret, by Khalid
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A new "New Tract for the Times"

just in time for Lent! This is the next-to-last draft; I'll take corrections, comments, and bright ideas (like alternative graphics, maybe?) here for a few days, then finalize it and put it in the other website. Please feel free to comment either in the comment box or by email --- be sure to put an appropriate subject line on so it doesn't get weeded with the spam! With no further ado, I present for your kind consideration ----

Stations of the Cross: a New Tract for the Times



I. Jesus, true and total Innocent, you were condemned and sentenced to death, though You had committed no crime, by a cynical politician who simultaneously denied all responsibility for the decision. Oh, how often do I do what is expedient instead of what is best or most just? How often do I go along to get along?

II. Your cross, Your instrument of execution, is brought to You. You are not bound to it struggling and unwilling, but You take it up of Your own will. Lord, I know that for every one of us, not having a cross is not one of the options, yet how consistently I set out to avoid bearing it. I could bear it with You and offer it as gift, but so often I fight and struggle and am bound and dragged, crushed and broken by it.

III. Yet, You are very weak. Up all night, marched all over town then scourged until nearly dead, the cross is heavier than Your body can carry, and You fall down. Yet You got back up, picked up the fallen cross, and went on. How often do I fall down and just give up and stay there?

IV. You meet Your mother along the road. She shares one of God the Father's attributes --- You are her only-begotten Son. She loves You, and witnesses Your suffering, and can hardly help but suffer with You; yet she consents to this, and continues to follow You, all the way to the end and beyond.

V. Even the guards can see Your bodily weakness, and they want to get You to the execution grounds still alive so You can be crucified. So they grab a guy off of the street and force him to carry Your cross, so You only have to carry Yourself. The evangelist identifies this guy, Simon the Cyrenean, as "Alexander's and Rufus' father," a sign that the people the evangelist were writing for knew Alex and Rufus as fellow believers. Was this where Alex and Rufus first encountered Christ, coming in from the fields with their dad?

VI. A lady in the street, bold in her mercy, performs an alms-deed for You. Seeing You nearly blinded by sweat and blood, she of her own volition wiped Your face with one of her veils. Am I ever bold in mercy, or am I chickenhearted, only being merciful to the respectable and deserving, when it's easy and without risk?

VII. Even with help from Alex's and Rufus' dad, this journey is more than Your bodily strength can endure, and You fall down again. You do not stay down though, and the guards do not force You up by Your bindings; You get up Yourself, and continue on. How often am I not persistent in going towards the good, and I give up and wallow in my woes?

VIII. A group of women were touched by Your suffering and Your sentence, and they mourn for You. And You, who so loved all humankind, pitied them, and gave them a prophetic warning of the days to come for them. Not good tidings. But a true warning.

IX. Nearly there, the grade changes --- execution sites are up on hills to better make an example of what happens to those who breach the Pax Romana --- and You fall yet again. And You still do not give up, but rise and continue. No matter how many times I fail and falter and fall, I must continue to get up and go on. Do I?

X. You have finally arrived at the execution grounds. Your last few possessions are now taken from You, including Your clothes. The guards are none too gentle, and the forming clots and scabs from Your scourging come off with Your undertunic, opening all those wounds again. You are totally dispossessed, without even the dignity of being allowed to cover Your nakedness, absolutely exposed. When the day comes when I am Called, I must go to God empty in order to be filled totally with Himself; yet do I cling tightly to physical or psychic "stuff": money, houses, toys, honor, respectability, dignity? You were entirely disdignified; why would I be more deserving of dignity than You?

XI. And then You were crucified. You stretched out Your arms and the guards nailed then securely to the crossbeam. They took Your feet and nailed them also, and they raised You up from the earth. Not far, not nearly to the skies, let alone the heavens. They posted your name and crime above Your head: King of the Jews. And they left You there to die. You are all-good and deserving of all my love, and yet I have given You this.



XII. After between three and six hours of humiliating and shameful exposure and slow suffocation on the cross, having fulfilled all Your Father's will and having seen to the future care of Your mother, You handed over Your spirit to Your Father and died. Because it was the afternoon before Sabbath, there were orders to break the legs of the condemned so they would suffocate fast and not be left hanging there on Sabbath. Because You had already died, though, they did not break Your legs, only assured themselves of Your death by driving a spear through Your heart. Water and blood flowed out, the spring of salvation that I so often take for granted and fail to appreciate and give thanks for.

XIII. A wealthy and well-placed follower, Joseph of Arimathea, asked for and received permission to take down Your body and give it burial. Your mother, and John, and the other Marys, were already there at the cross, had been there the whole while. Joseph and Nicodemus came, and took Your body down from the cross, and laid it, for the last time, in the arms of Your mother, and she clung to it; but it was very near to sundown and Sabbath, so Joseph and Nicodemus had to take the body from her. Am I always as loath to let go of You?



XIV. Joseph and Nicodemus hurriedly wrapped Your body in linens and put it in Joseph's own tomb, not yet used for any burials, since it was not far away and Sabbath was very near. After Sabbath they would return and finish the rites and practices of burial, for there was no more time now, Sabbath was upon them.

And so we entered the one day in all of history when it can be said with any truth at all that God is dead.......



To all human appearances this day, hope has been crushed, the light extinguished, darkness is triumphant. But, this is only an appearance.

There is one who has guarded the light with her whole life, who knows that even this cannot be the end, and continues to guard and cherish the light in her heart as she always has. She waits, and gathers in the crushed and hopeless disciples and encourages them to wait with her and not despair; and so they wait.

Mother of God, Light in all darkness,
intercede for us.
Be a companion to us,
and bring to our confusion and darkness
the Light you bore,
the Light you guard and cherish.
Although we do not yet see light,
do not let us fall into the abyss,
and assure us that there is still light
until such time as the Light shall return.
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Another Quiz

with pretty unlikely results, considering my medical alert bracelet is fully engraved _on_both_sides_!




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We become what we receive

and then we are sent. Here's a wondrous reflection on the assembly and its importance. We've always called our Eucharist the "Mass", the Sending --- from its last words, "Go, you are sent." In the Latin, "Ite, missa est." It's not to be underestimated.
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Totally expected results

Just a little quiz ---- what other results could there be?




Just click on the box to take the test yourself.
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Update on Father Eleazar Perez

Keep on praying! He seems to be "in pretty good shape for the shape that he's in." The doctors did amputate one leg last week, and he had a followup surgery yesterday, but he recorded a video for his parish and broadcast this morning --- sitting up in bed, in clergy shirt not hospital gown, good voice and colour. He didn't say anything about getting out, but that'll take a while in any case since he'd have to heal up, and then be fitted and learn to walk with a prosthesis, and so on. The folk at St. Adalbert's seem to be very eager to get him back!
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St. Nina, Equal to the Apostles

Today is the memorial of St. Nina, who brought the Faith to Georgia ---Europe's Geogia, not America's. Here's her story, as told in Rufinus's Ecclesiastical History [1.10]:

At that time (about 330 AD) also the Iberian nation (Georgia), who live in the clime of Pontus, accepted the laws of God's word and faith in the kingdom of heaven. This so excellent deed was brought about by a certain captive woman (Nina, age 14) who had fallen among them, and who led a life of faith and complete sobriety and virtue, and throughout the days and nights unceasingly offered up prayers to God. The very novelty of this thing began to amaze the barbarians, and they diligently inquired what it meant. She told them simply the truth of the matter, namely that she was wont thus to worship Christ her God. The strangeness of this name seemed to the barbarians the most astonishing feature of the whole business. As often happens, however, her very persistence aroused among the womenfolk a certain curiosity to see whether such devotion might not win some reward.

It is said to be a custom among them that if a child falls ill, it is carried round by its mother to each individual household, so that if anyone knows of some trustworthy remedy, he may administer it to the sufferer. Accordingly, when a certain woman had carried her ailing child to everyone, as the custom was, but without finding any cure inall the homes she had visited, she came at last to the captive woman so that she too might declare anything she knew of. The captive woman affirmed that she knew of no human remedy, but assured the mother that her God Christ, whom she worshipped, could grant the child that deliverance of which men had lost hope. Placing the infant on her hair cloak and furthermore offering up a prayer to the Lord, the captive woman then gave back the child cured to its mother.

The report of this spread to many, and the renown of the marvelous deed reached the ears of the queen (Nana) who, being afflicted by some very grave bodily complaint, was in the greatest desperation. She asked for the captive woman to be brought to her. The latter, however, declined to go, lest she should seem to diverge from the retiring way of life befitting to her sex. Then the queen commanded them to carry her to the captive's cell. After laying her likewise on her hair cloak and calling on Christ's name, the captive woman raised her up immediately after the prayer in good health and spirits. She taught the queen that Christ, the Son of God Almighty, was the Deity who had bestowed this cure on her, and that she should invoke Him, whom she ought to acknowledge as the source of her life and health. For it is He who distributes kingdoms to kings, and life to mortal men. And the queen, returning joyfully homewards, in answer to her husband's enquiry revealed the source of her sudden restoration to health. But when in his joy at his wife's recovery, he ordered presents to be sent to the woman, the queen said, "O King, the captive woman prizes none of these things. She rejects gold, despises silver and nourishes herself by fasting as if by food. The only way in which we can reward her is by worshipping that God, Christ, who cured me according to her prayer."

At that time, the king (Mirian) paid no attention to this and put the matter off, although his wife often recalled it to his mind. At length one day while he was hunting in the forest with his retainers, the light of day was clouded over with dense murk and disappeared in the horror of pitch-black night, making it impossible to proceed. His companions dispersed in various directions and lost their way, and he remained alone enveloped in impenetrable gloom, without knowing what to do or where to turn. Suddenly his spirit, tormented by despair of being rescued, was lit up by a thought: "If indeed that Christ whom the captive had preached to his wife was God, then let Him now deliver him from this darkness, that he too might forsake all other gods to worship Him." And forthwith, as soon as he had made this vow in thought alone, and before he had time to express it in words, the light of day was restored to the world, and led the king unharmed to the city.

Revealing immediately to the queen what had occurred, he summons the captive woman, bidding her instruct him in the ritual of worship, and affirming that he would from now on venerate no other god but Christ. The captive woman appears, and preaches Christ the Lord, expounding the rites of prayer and the form of worship, in so far as these could properly he known to a woman. In addition, she tells them to build a church, and describes its shape.

The king accordingly summoned together all the folk of his nation, and related the events which had happened to him and the queen from the very beginning. He instructed them in the faith and, albeit himself not yet initiated into the sacraments, became the apostle of his own nation. The men believed thanks to the king, the women thanks to the queen, and with a single mind they set to work to build a church. The surrounding walls were quickly erected, and the time came to set up the columns. When the first and second pillars had been raised, and they proceeded to lift the third, they employed all forms of machinery and the strength of oxen and men, but when it had been elevated to a slanting angle, it proved impossible by any manner of effort to raise it the rest of the way. The redoubled and often repeated efforts of all the men failed to move it from its position, and everyone was reduced to exhaustion. The whole people was seized with astonishment, and the king's resolution began to fail him. Nobody knew what was to be done.

But when at nightfall everyone went away, and both the toilers and their toil fell into repose, the captive woman remained alone on the spot and passed the whole night in prayer. And behold, when the king and all his people arrived full of anxiety in the morning, he saw the column, which so many machines and so many men could not shift, standing upright and freely suspended above its pedestal --- not set upon it but hanging in the air about a foot above. As soon as the whole people witnessed this, they glorified God and began to declare this to he a proof of the truth of the king's faith and the religion of the captive woman. And behold, while they were all paralyzed with amazement, thepillar slowly descended on to its base before their eyes without anyone touching it, and settled in perfect balance. After this, the rest of the columns were erected with such ease that the remainder were all set in
place that same day.

After the church had been built with due magnificence, the people were zealously yearning for God's faith. So an embassy is sent on behalf of the entire nation to the Emperor Constantine, in accordance with the captive woman's advice. The foregoing events are related to him, and a petition submitted, requesting that priests be sent to complete the work which God had begun. Sending them on their way amidst rejoicing and ceremony, the Emperor was far more glad at this news than if he had annexed to the Roman Empire peoples and realms unknown.

These happenings were related to us by Bacurius, a most trustworthy man, himself prince of that very nation, and commander of the Guards in our court --- who was most scrupulous about religion and truth --- at the time when he resided with us at Jerusalem on cordial terms, being then in command of the frontiers of Palestine.
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Preparing to go to Mass again.....

[or anywhere else, for that matter]

I'm out of hospital, the wound is closed so I don't have to wait at home for the nurse, my blood sugars are mostly under control, so it's time for the next step --- going out to Sunday Mass and etcetera again. The paratransit ride is scheduled, what else?

Are there two sets of $3.25 in exact change for the paratransit fare?
Enough oxygen E-tanks for the weekend? A brand-new one in the carrier?
Find the Legion of Mary book! Place in chair bag.
Ditto the rosaries for the receptionist; ditto rosaries for Open Door patrons.

Design a four-carb-unit portable breakfast (two granola bar packets and a can of sugarfree lemonade?) Pack and stash in icebox. Also pack an apple and a packet of Buddig meat, to hold the fort in case I can't eat what the Open Door is serving for lunch and have to wait till I get home.

Find out if insulin sryinge and vial will fit in the meter cover. If not, find another safe way to carry them. And, what obscure corner will be used for blood test/possible injection after Mass before Legion meeting?

Remember to grab meds, meter, insulin stuff and the food before leaving!

[And, don't forget normal preparation for Communion]

This new diabetic life style is making things a little complicated. (but I'm doing good; no blood sugar readings above 130 all week, and I'm geting the hang of the diet......
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Prayer warrior call!

Father Eleazar Perez, the administrator at St. Adalbert's parish, not far from the little anchor hold, was badly hurt in a hit-and-run accident last night. He was unlaoding groceries in front of his house when a car rammed into him, leaving him trapped between the vehicles. Police are looking for the driver and two passengers ---- two teenagers and a pre-teen --- who left their wreck behind and ran away.

The parish is gathering for prayer tonight at 6. Father's leg bones are smashed, and there is a possibility that amputation may be necessary.
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A bishop in doo-doo with the Curial Powers

St. John Neumann (pronounced "noy-man") was the fourth bishop of Philadelphia. He got in a bit of trouble in the Curial rumor mill --- over his willingness to have his overgrown diocese divided --- and today's Office of Readings gives us his response, as he wrote it to Cardinal Barnabo.......

Indeed, I have apparently delayed too long in writing to the Holy See the letter promised by the Archbishop of Baltimore in the name of the council. However, this delay was not without reason. For the council was scarcely finished and I was discussing the division of the Diocese of Philadelphia and my translation to a new see with one of the Fathers of the council, when the Father intimated to me [that he did not know] whether that could more probably be hoped for, since the Holy See thought that I would resign from the episcopate, or wished to resign. In the same way when the Archbishop of Baltimore informed me of the designation of a coadjutor, he added that in the event that I should persevere in the desire to resign, the Holy See would permit me to give the title of the ecclesiastical property to the same coadjutor.

I was no little disturbed by the fear that I had done something that so displeased the Holy Father that my resignation would appear desirable to him. If this be the case, I am prepared without any hesitation to leave the episcopacy. I have taken this burden out of obedience, and I have laboured with all my powers to fulfil the duties of my office, and with God’s help, as I hope, not without fruit.

When the care of temporal things weighed upon my mind and it seemed to me that my character was little suited for the very cultural world of Philadelphia, I made known to my fellow bishops during the Baltimore council of 1858 that it seemed opportune to me to request my translation to one or the other see that was to be erected (namely in the City of Pottsville or in Wilmington, North Carolina). But to give up the episcopal career never entered my mind, although I was conscious of my unworthiness and ineptitude; for things had not come to such a pass that I had one or the other reason out of the six for which a bishop could safely ask the Holy Father permission to resign. For a long time I have doubted what should be done....

Although my coadjutor has proposed to me that he would take the new see if it is erected, I have thought it much more opportune and I have asked the Fathers that he be appointed to the See of Philadelphia, since he is much more highly endowed with facility and alacrity concerning the administration of temporal things. Indeed, I am much more accustomed to the country, and will be able to care for the people and faithful living in the mountains, in the coal mines and on the farms, since I would be among them.

If, however, it should be displeasing to His Holiness to divide the diocese, I am, indeed, prepared either to remain in the same condition in which I am at present, or if God so inspires His Holiness to give the whole administration of the diocese to the Most Reverend James Wood, I am equally prepared to resign from the episcopate and to go where I may more securely prepare myself for death and for the account which must be rendered to the Divine Justice.

I desire nothing but to fulfil the wish of the Holy Father whatever it may be.
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St. Elizabeth Ann and the importance of perseverance

From today's Office of Readings, part of a conference that St. Elizabeth Ann gave to the sisters of her struggling new religious community:

I will tell you what is my own great help. I once read or heard that an interior life means but the continuation of our Saviour’s life in us; that the great object of all his mysteries is to merit for us the grace of his interior life and communicate it to us, it being the end of his mission to lead us into the sweet land of promise, a life of constant union with himself. And what was the first rule of our dear Saviour’s life? You know it was to do his Father’s will. Well, then, the first end I propose in our daily work is to do the will of God; secondly, to do it in the manner he wills; and thirdly, to do it because it is his will.

I know what his will is by those who direct me; whatever they bid me do, if it is ever so small in itself, is the will of God for me. Then do it in the manner he wills it, not sewing an old thing as if it were new, or a new thing as if it were old; not fretting because the oven is too hot, or in a fuss because it is too cold.

You understand --- not flying and driving because you are hurried, not creeping like a snail because no one pushes you. Our dear Saviour was never in extremes. The third object is to do his will because God wills it, that is, to be ready to quit at any moment and to do anything else to which you may be called....

You think it very hard to lead a life of such restraint unless you keep your eye of faith always open. Perseverance is a great grace. To go on gaining and advancing every day, we must be resolute, and bear and suffer as our blessed forerunners did. Which of them gained heaven without a struggle?....

What are our real trials? By what name shall we call them? One cuts herself out a cross of pride; another, one of causeless discontent; another, one of restless impatience or peevish fretfulness. But is the whole any better than children’s play if looked at with the common eye of faith? Yet we know certainly that our God calls us to a holy life, that he gives us every grace, every abundant grace; and though we are so weak of ourselves, this grace is able to carry us through every obstacle and difficulty.

But we lack courage to keep a continual watch over nature, and therefore, year after year, with our thousand graces, multiplied resolutions, and fair promises, we run around in a circle of misery and imperfections. After a long time in the service of God, we come nearly to the point from whence we set out, and perhaps with even less ardour for penance and mortification than when we began our consecration to him.

You are now in your first setout. Be above the vain fears of nature and efforts of your enemy. You are children of eternity. Your immortal crown awaits you, and the best of Fathers waits there to reward your duty and love. You may indeed sow here in tears, but you may be sure there to reap in joy.
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Resolutions

Nothing huge that I'll set myself up to fail with ---- no "my blood sugar will never rise above 180" or "I will be 50 lbs lighter by my birthday" ---- just a few little ones I'm pretty sure I can keep, and not be repenting their failure by Lent.

I will do my physical therapy exercises every day without fail.

Every caloric thing I eat will be written in the diabetes diary promptly. It is possible to fool the doctor and the dietitian, but not the blood sugar monitor! I will continue to learn the controlled carbohydrate meal plan and the rest of the arts and sciences of diabetic living, and to do them.

I will not tough it out when I get sick, but will call the doctor and present myself in the emergency room or outpatient clinic without delay.

I think these are plenty for this year!
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He said he'd rest when he got to heaven

Father Mac (Monsignor Ignatius McDermott), the pastor of Chicago's Skid Row, has died. Eternal rest grant to him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him.
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Visual proof of my large-family prejudice,

which I come by naturally.

The whole clan except me made it back to Akron for Christmas at Dad's new home.

Here are the sibs:



and here's Dad with all the grandchildren:



Afterwards Tom came to Milwaukee for a day and two nights to be with me (we did some serious shopping) and he took a picture of me for the assorted kidfolk, so they don't forget what I look like. Here it is:



Enjoy, all!
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