So they're closing my library.

It;s really all very sad. The Haddinton library is really beautiful. Tall bright windows, a skylight, and the original gas lights (albeit electrified.) The yellow-gold tiles around the carved wooden door on the main entrance are of the spines of books, which if you look closely, have the names of various authors and books on them. The whole thing is majestic, it should be a historic landmark. But it is'nt, so despite it's location mere blocks away from four schools, whose students frequent it, Mayor Nutter wants it closed. D<
It was the first place I ever used a library card, or read Ronald Dahl or Shel Silverstein.
We're losing the only pool left in the neighborhood as well.
This will not be a happy summer for West Philly kids. D;

This is the pope.

Advent.

It's coming. Soon and very soon, it will be here.
In the parish church, gone are the flowers. The altar vested in violet. The organ will play only to support singing, so gone are the peaceful preludes before mass, and the joyous voluntaries after it.
It is the beginning of the church year. Time throughout the year ends at none today.
Here I am, ribbons in hand resetting my breviary as countless other are doing, will do, and have done before me. The green ribbon gives way to violet, and the church's song is no longer Mane Nobiscum, as much as it is Veni, Domine, et nolite tardare. Soon , we will give up our Te Deum to sing Conditor alme siderum.
So as it is, advent is'nt a celebration. It is an observation of four weeks of penitential ferias. We all know that it is penitential, the smallest child knows, because mother church gives up her gloria, she dons her violet of penance. Yet, she still rejoices. It is not a sorrowful period, but as the priest says in the prayer Libera nos at holy mass; Expectantes beatam spem et adventum Salvatoris nostri Iesu Christi. We await the blessed hope, the coming of our Saviour, Jesus Christ. It is joy mixed with penitence, hope mixed with fear. For it is not his first coming alone that we prepare to celebrate, but his second coming.
For the ferias after the feast of Christ the king, the church gives us a hymn to sing which we usually only use in the Office of the Dead. Dies Irae. We know, or should be familiar with the text. While we should be joyful in awaiting his coming, a certain holy fear is not wrong. Truly, it will be a Day of wrath, a day of mourning. We will see fulfilled the prophets warning, heaven and earth in ashes burning. Christ will sit on is throne of judgment, every hidden deed to be arraigned, and noting unavenged remains. We may not like to think on it, but the trumpet shall sound, as St.Paul says, it rings through all earth's sepulchers , the dead shall be raised (incorruptible), and we shall be before his throne to give answer to our judge. Some call such mediation morbid, or say it is wrong to think of our judgment and salvation, or the state of our own souls.
I say, better to sing Lacrimosa Dies illa than to hear the sad sentence "Depart from me ye cursed....", because of a life lived without virtue.
So, tomorrow the missals are marked at their beginnings, and we hear the famous introit Ad te levavi.. ( well, maybe not me.)
So that's what I've been thinking about as I sit here, ribbons in hand, marking my breviary for a new liturgical year.

"Annunciate populis et dicite: Ecce Deus salvator noster veniet."
- 1st antiphon, vespers of the first Sunday of Advent.

I hate weddings.

Yes, I really do. Not as much as funerals, but I do hate them.
Why? Because when I've served either, it ends up with me running after some random people who take the sacred host, but not knowing what do with it end up:
a) putting it in the pocket
b) simply taking it back to the pew
c) putting it in the mouth halfway down the aisle.
d) Keeping it as a keepsake
e) Who knows what kid of diabolical purposes.
And generally scaring the crap out of me by making me think they're going to desecrate it.
I swear, if I see someone do it today AFTER the exhortation NOT to do that, I'm hitting someone upside the head with the communion plate. Seriously. I don't need that kind of stress.
On a lighter note, I have a whole mess of pictures I hope to upload on my (still largely unused) DeviantART account.

Yet again.

I have to change a link on the side.
The old URL for the editio typica tertia Missale Romanum no longer works, so here is the new one. I'm struck by the beauty of some of the votive offices.

Pets.

I've had em'. Still have one. Except for two dogs, Max and Dairy, we've only ever had cats.Te first was peaches. Peaches got sick, and I never found out what happened to him.
Next, Tom. Tom was gray with white paws, a white belly and a white spot on his forehead. He ran out one day, and I thought I found him dead on the sidewalk, but when I came back wit a box to get him, he was gone. In four years, we've only ever kept one.
All attempts at a second cat have not worked.
First, there was skittles. Skittles was small, gray and white, and a bit of a wimp. Our other cat chased her daily until we found her real owner.
Next, there was Oreo, a black and white cat who's grown huge in recent months. We found him as a young kitten wandering the streets on new years eve. We raised him until he was one, at which point he decided to live outside. He lives in the neighborhood and stops by a few times a week for food, water, and attention.
Next, Mark. Mark was an orange and white spotted cat with amber eyes. He's actually Oreo's son. We found him in the winter, only a few days after his birth. We brought his mother and siblings into the house for safety. Eventually, they grew up, his sister got a home,m ad his mother went out and got pregnant again. She was attacked and killed by a wild animal, along with her newborn kittens. Mark was alone, so he became ours. Our current cat hated Mark. Mark started to become an indoor-outdoor cat a result of his peeing on every object we owned. Then, one day during eastertide of this year, he went out and never returned.

Currently, we only ave the old guard. For five years we've had our current cat. We got Ginger at the PSPCA five years ago. She's very friendly, and like to sit on family member's laps, but only lets my brother and me pet her. She loves tuna, sitting near the radiator, on top of the computer monitor, and sleeping at the foot of my bed. She only eats one brand of cat food, ad does not like people to touch her belly.
Ginger is brown/grey/tan with black stripes, white whiskers and green eyes. Ginger's breed is huge, and she resembles a puma cub in some respects. She's a bit lazy, and only plays on occasion.
That's the current pet.

GO HERE NOW.

At that Gamin Expo, I met Ashley A.Woods, theh creator of Millenia War, an awesome-smawesome comic. Not only did she give me four FREE volumes of Millenia war, but she signed them all personally AND I have her blog address.
GO Here
Her art is amazing, better than anything I could do.
Support your local Comic/Manga artist. (That includes me!)
I'm going to blogroll her.

Don't Always Eat Bacon For Calorie Gain Darnit!

I use it to remember the eight modes. Don't know who come up with it but it's genius.

I'm really beginning to get tired of my brother's guitar. It seems that he only plays it whenever it's not convenient for me (i.e., during home work, when I'm trying to sightread music, at 6PM during vespers, etc.) Oh well, offer it up I guess.

I'm wondering why I keep making my weekly visits to Border's near city hall. They never seem to have what I'm looking for Toto Vol. 3? Nope. O-Parts Hunter Vol 1, or even vol. 12? Nope or Nope.
How about Eye Shield 21 Vol. 21? Nope to that either. Tokyo Tribes is completely Impossible to find. We found volume 2 a year ago, and that's all we can find of it. It is'nt online, and no bookstores we can can find have it.
But maybe I don't need more books. I already have three years of Shonen Jump just sitting around my room, besides other books.
Aside, I went to the game expo on Saturday and Sunday. Except for the arcade which was awesome, it was lame as lame could be. Almost as lame as a movie-based game.*



*Movie-based games are not, and cannot be good. That's just how it is.

Christmas High Mass at Lourdes.

Nope, it's not a typo.
I was reading the parish bulletin, and I read the Christmas mass/confession schedule.
It says that midnight mass at my parish is going to be a Solemn High Mass. No, not like last years Pontifical High Mass in the Ordinary Form, though that was itself extremely beautiful and uplifting.
This will be a Solemn High Mass in the Extraordinary Form/Tridentine, celebrated by the three Mercedarian three priests who serve the parish.
If you are interested in coming, the church is located at the corner of 63rd and Lancaster streets, In the Overbrook* section of Philadelphia, about three blocks away from St.Charles Seminary on City Line avenue. There is a stop for the regional Rail trains a block away from the parish, and the 65 and the 46 run directly past the church. You could catch any bus that stops at 63'rd an Malvern street.
The mass starts at exactly midnight, not 11:30 or 11:pm. (Or one of those other late night hours that is'nt actually midnight. Come early for a seat. There is a fairly large parking lot at the parish school nearby, so parking shouldn't be a problem. Please do inform any family of friends you have who you think might be interested.
I don't know what music will be sung, but last year's Christmas celebrations included Victoria's O Magnum Mysterium, with Bach's In Dulci Iubilo as the postlude. For the Latin mass last year, De Angelis was the mass setting, but maybe we'll get Palestrina's gloria from the Missa Brevis like on Easter.
*EDIT* I'm such a dunce. I got a hint about this last month and did'nt recognize it.
I was talking to one of the members of our parish choir and told her that I had served the tridentine mass . She got excited and asked if I was going to serve the big midnight mass on Christmas Eve. I said I didn't know, thinking that the mass was going to be an Ordinary Form mass.

*EDIT-EDIT* Even worse, on Holy-Cross day, I overheard Fr.James speaking with some of the brothers in the sacristy, saying that he would be the deacon of the mass, but that Fr.Joseph might not be able to celebrate a high mass.
*Or Wynnfield. Depends on how you see it.

O,my fellow Black Catholics, where have you gone?

Seriously, I get tired of modern theologians and liturgists who say we ave to create our own Catholicism specially suited to black people.Besides the fact that creating more tensions and divisions by arbitrarily deciding what is black, often, what is Catholic gets down played. Unfortunately, and though they will deny this, the tendency is to take whatever black protestants are doing and do that.If they have gospel music, so will we, because that's what black Christians do.* If they have dancing, we have to do it too. Churches are sometimes re-ordered to be plain, to have pulpits more prominent than the altar, stripped of images with the blessed sacrament off to the side. Terms are changed. It is'nt mass, it's "worship with communion', or simply 'church'. Not priest, but pastor, who can never be called 'father'. No parish missions, but revivals.
Worse off is parish life. Confessions are reduced to basically none. Extra liturgical and private devotions are usually discouraged. Liturgy follows the bare minimum of ceremonial, and liturgical abuses are universal. Sermons often fail to bring up the meat and bones of Catholicisms, so most black Catholics don't understand them.
Sadly, and it shouldn't be a surprise, catechesis is often terrible, consisting more of what we share with our protestant brothers than the distinctives of Catholic doctrine. What little is taut of the faith often is'nt properly explained. Most young Catholics don't stay Catholic from my experience. Hence, the dearth of vocations from black parishes.
True, many parishes have lots of groups and full churches, but a simple fact is that many of them are getting it, so many leave it. And for those who stay, they often never are taught the fullness of Catholicism. The result is Sunday Mass Catholicism.**

Now of course, it hasn't always been like this. Older black Catholics, even some traditional ones tell me of the old days. When there were yearly solemn novenas to Our Lady of Montserrat, St.Peter claver and Our Lady, Queen of Africa. Where one could find black composers writing choral music, and using their music in (the very few) solemn masses. They knew the faith, and they believed the faith. In an unexplainable way, they had their own spirituality, it was distinctively Catholic, and distinctively black without being influenced by charismatic protestantism to the detriment of the Catholic faith.
But, those days are over and gone.
It could be many, many years before anyone could begin to restore what was taken from my people by the spirit of the age. Disdain for traditional orthodoxy and orthopraxy are far to widespread to be good for the church. Unfortunately, churches like St. Sabina's, and pastors like theirs are the norm. Vatican II is rarely if ever taught or practiced as the letter of the law says, there, but it's spirit is rampant.
So basically, this is my rant about how your modern black Catholic parish needs to be reformed.
[/rant]

WATCH THE NEWS AT 11 O'CLOCK.

Watch channel ten if you live in Philadelphia. My oldest nephew was hit by a car last Friday and broke both legs badly. He had a major surgery, but is doing well. My sister and her husband are going to be on the news tonight appealing for help. I don't know if they caught the man who did it, but I do know that my sister needs a new apartment. Her current one is not accessible to wheel chairs, but she can't afford anything else. Watch it or you'll be savagely ripped apart and eaten by a school of hammer-head sharks! Or worse, River-Danced to death! (As per Mary Catherine Gallagher's parents.)
Yes, Joe knows way too many movie/t.v./star trek quotes.

Where have I been you ask? (Again)

Away from the house! Something happened, and we ad to stay away from te house for a week.Tat meant no computer for me. I don;t know what's going on,I have;nt seen our choir director all month,so there's been no one to chant the propers at mass.(Of course,if I had a Roman Gradual, I could do it, But I don't so there's that.) On a whim,I wrote some melismatic alleluia verses for the ordinary form. Wow. I've impressed myself. They sound great. For the actual alleluias, I used three modes that I membered from when I borrowed someone's roman gradual.
As for my four part choir and organ choral mass, the Gloria is nearly done.With nary an organ,piano,or keyboard to work with,work is slow. I should be starting the Sanctus by Wednesday. I'm a bit afraid to show it to anyone. I wanted it to be Widor/Dupre inspired, but parts of it sound a bit Richard Proulx-y.
Oh well, it beats the Massive Cremation by 20,000 longshots.
Next, a Gloria based on mass IV in the Kyriale (Cunctipotens Genitor Deus), and maybe try my hand at a polyphonic motet of some kind. Maybe a setting of Laudemus Virum.
Oh yes, your's truly is quite the young, inexperienced but eager composer.
Also, I may or may not be going to the video game expo tomorrow,after meeting with the youth group to decorate the church.I want to go badly. We'll see

Space bar is broked. No spacing properly. Joe is not happy.

*Throws up*

*Dies*


And I still can't afford a graduale romanum! D<

Ice cream!

I love it. I only eat three flavors though: Strawberry , Cookies n' cream, and Chocolate chip cookie dough. I just finished a pint of the latter that I bought o Saturday. Weird thing is, with this brand that I got, I never eat the actual cookie dough. I always pick the pieces out. Why? I unnoh.
From today's after school incident, I can see that my English teacher and I will not get along. It's just not gonna work. See, she has a listening problem (i.e., she never does it.) , and people who don't listen are one of my pet peeves. Only charity keeps me from avowing an eternal hatred of such people, along with people who open packages of food and put them back on the shelves at the supermarket, and you don't find out that it's been tasted till you get home. Oh yes, there are people like that. And also, people who take more than one free sample at Trader Joes.
So I've got this teacher, and she thinks I'm playing around with some kids who play around during class. Admittedly, earlier they did something funny, and I laughed.
Now, I was thinking random thoughts as always, and the part in that episode of Spongebob where Squidward is "doing errands" comes into my mind, and I chuckle a bit.
Only at the same time, those other kids are also laughing because they're joking around. Teacher thinks I'm playing and disrespecting her by laughing at them so she sends me out of the class. As always, she will hear no explanations about how she's mistaken. Reason as a might, try to keep my temper as I might, I realized it was'nt working, so I just forgot about it and left. This is a daily experience.

So wat does he say about servers? (I)

The most awesomest Cardinal alive says THIS.

Really, you know he totally pwns your average parish liturgist and/or liturgy comitee.*

Next week, bishop Cistone is going to be visiting my parish. Bishop Thomas is my favorite of the auxiliaries, but bishop Cistone is cool too.
Today, Br.David, the friar in charge of the servers wore a Guido Special. I haven't worn mine yet, as it needs laundering. I'm still kind of basking in the glow of the beautiful lesson that was read at mass.
Wow.
That, and the reading given at II vespers of the dedication of the basilica of Our Saviour. Vidi sanctam civitatem, Ierusalem novam descendentem de caelo a Deo. It really brings together the idea of the church building representing for us the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of God, where the angels and saints pledge their honor to God, and to the Lamb who was slain.
If you could, please pray for the daughter of a friend of mine . The little girl has been sick lately.

* Also known as the "Group of parishioners who won't let a few little rules get in the way of what's 'relevant' to the people."

** A surplice edged with lace, sometimes with lace cuffs. Guido Marini, current papal M.C. always wears one. Baldeschi says that the S.C.R. ruled that surplices may not have less than five inches of fabric. Surplices made entirely of lace would then be illegal. He also says that only bishops have the right to lace cuffs,on their rochet.

Brace Yourselves:

I'm agreeing with the infamous Fr. Cantalamessa. Yup, they guy who preached the infamous good Friday sermon that denied the unity of the Catholic Church. But what he says for te dedication of the basilica of or saviour is right on point. Some gems:

"So, by what right do we Christians give such importance to church buildings if each one of us can worship God in spirit and truth in our own heart, or in his own house? Why this obligation to go to church every Sunday? The answer is that Jesus Christ does not save us separately from each other; he has come to form a people, a community of persons, in communion with him and among themselves."

"it is forgotten that God revealed himself in Christ, that Christ preached a Gospel, that he founded an “ekklesia,” that is, an assembly of those called, he instituted sacraments as signs and conveyors of his presence and salvation. Ignoring this in order to cultivate your own image of God is to advocate total religious subjectivism. We take ourselves as the only standard: God is reduced -- as the German philosopher Ludwig Feuerbach said -- to a projection of our own needs and desires; it is no longer God who creates man in his image, but man who creates a god in his image. But it is not a god who saves!"

Read the rest.

Never thought about it that way, really.

Interesting.

I've written a small book on theism.

Not really, but I have effectively done this. I've been in a debate with someone. We, that is, the OP and subsequent posters were talking about a specific aspect of theism, when some one came and claimed that none of it is important because religion makes you dumb and god does'nt exist anyway.
Of course, we all, theists and nontheists alike asked him to prove his claims. He responded by saying, among other things, that there's no evidence for gods, so none of them exist. We pointed out that this was Ad Ignorantium. He then claimed that It was our responsibility to prove him wrong.
When pointed out that this was shifting the Burden of Proof, he claimed that the responsibility to prove a claim is on the person who makes the claim that is hard to beleive. When pointed out by us that credibility is non-contingent when establishing the burden of proof, he repeated that claim along with the claim that he does'nt have to prove his claim because we are the ones making a claim. How, when thus far we have'nt? He said by denying his claim, we were accepting the converse (ie, that gods do exist), and as we were making the positive claim, we had to prove it. He claims that no one ever has to prove negative claims.
When pointed out that the burden of proof rests on the person who makes the existential claim, regardless of positivity or negativity, he claimed that no one can ever prove a negative existential claim in any circumstance whatsoever, so he does'nt have to prove his claim. When we objected, he claimed that the existence of any god, specifically the Christian God is improbable.He concludes that if it is improbable for something to have happened or existed according to known evidence, then it follows that that thing or occurrence absolutely does not exist.

Now, I make no secret of my sick happiness in pnwing noobs and other illogical people. So you can imagine that I've been having a field day with this guy. Wait- apparently he now has an accomplice.
His accomplice and I have come to an agreement! Progress has been made!
Is this the end of an seven page debate on where the burden of proof lies?
Goodness, I've been taught that there can be confusion on where the burden of proof lies in debates, but this is ridiculous.
See, I'm so completely boring, that I've actually devoted my life to find out all of this unimportant stuff because I find a sick joy in proving people wrong. *Laughs maniacally*
Read the entire ongoing debate HERE. As always, yours truly is the Effervescent Wumbo Ragamuffin.

ED/M&R Is your real friend.

LOLZ.

LULZ. My vote is on "The Nundertaker". Any one wo has "Inigo Montoya" in their name wins my vote. Courtesy the other Papist Blog.

WATCH THIS OR DIE A HORRIBLY VIOLENT DEATH.

Okay, not really. But do watch this. Aare-Paul Lattick, Fugue in C, BWV 537.

The Burninator!!!! D<

Okay, so anyone who reads this blog has probably gotten tired of hearing about my constant accidents and injuries. Well too bad! I has moar!
This one is Extremely weird.
I was sitting in my oldest brother's room last night, watching him play GTA IV, when I started getting a kind of burning sensation on my collarbone. I did;nt think about it. About three seconds later it was excruciating, so I panicked and took off my grandfather's dog tag tat I usually wear, because it felt hot.
You won't beleive, it had burned me.
There are visible dots from the links of the chain on my collarbone, but it is'nt anything serious like the foot burn I got last month. The only idea I have for what may ave caused the chain to heat up is that I was laying on the bed next to my bro's laptop, which is near a radiator.
Oh My. I made a record four visits to the emergency room this year.O___o.
The cat is oin to the vet on Saturday to see what's wrong with her belly. I hope it isn't serious.

Like-minded Individuals.

They're hard to come by. Especially in Democrat territory. It seems that every class today was a repetition of the one before it:
1) Teacher collects projects
2) Teacher mentions the election
3) Teacher and class gush on and on about the greatness of The One(tm)
4) class resumes, while yours truly silently fumes and draws not-so happy pictures in the back of his sketchbook. Public Speech has been the worse. We learn barely anything about it. It's basically the school's daily allotted Obama rally. Music theory comes in at close second.
I do have one good friend who did'nt support Obama. Like me, someone in her family owns a small business that makes just enough to get hit by Obama's tax plans. Like the business I speak of , they couldn't afford that kind of a loss and would have to cut jobs, and maybe even services. I wonder how est Philly's Sunray Drugs will fare?
Anyway, If you're done with my long-winded ranty-post, here's some people that I think see things the way I do:
Diane at Te Deum

Creative Minority Report

LRC

Also, while randomly checking profiles yesterday, (Seriously, I have no life outside of school. That was the highlight of my day.) I came across an interesting person. Musings of a Adopted Artist. Besides the whole not supporting Obama and living in Philadelphia, she goes to the same school I thought about joining.

God help us.

I can't express the profound disappointment I'm feeling now. As it is, I did'nt want to vote for either candidate, I see neither as someone I could vote for. But I can find nothing whatever likable about Obama. Not his economy, but especially not his ardently anti-life stance, It troubles me, could I ave survived his proposed laws? I won't go into detail about it because it's too much for me to say, but in the minds of most abortion advocates, someone like me could have been as good as gone. What are Obama's thoughts on infants born prematurely? If the mother decides she does'nt want the child, could it receive the same treatment as a born alive infant from a botched abortion? I hope, I pray with the little fervor that I have that none of his policies regarding the economy and abortion go through. McCain's not consistently pro-life either. I know it, I've pondered it, which is why I chose not to vote. But I can't help but wonder if someone who's a little bit pro-life, even just a bit, is better than someone who's admittedly pro-death.
It's Like our nation was on the road to hell, and we've just refueled the tank and changed the oil to make sure we get there. My own people celebrate, and I wonder if we haven't made one of the biggest mistakes for our own race in the past 37 years.
Regina Ss.mi Rosarii, Ora Pro Nobis!

Monday-St.Chares Borromeo

Patron of the diocesan seminary, and also of a parish here. From the breviary:
Charles, of the noble family of Borromeo, was born at Milan. In foretoken of his holy life, God caused a bright light to shine by night over the chamber where his mother lay in travail. As soon as his age would allow him, he received the tonsure. When he was twelve years old, he was made Abbot but reminded his father that the revenues thereof were not be used as mere family property. His father, to whom the administration of these revenues fell during his son's non-age, still gave them forthwith over to him, and whatever was left over, he gave to the poor. While he was young he studied letters at Pavia. He kept his purity thoroughly, so that he scared away the unclean women, of whom many were set upon him, to overthrow his self-control. In the twenty-third year of his age, his uncle, Pius IV, made him a Cardinal, in which dignity he was a burning and shining light of godliness and all graces before the whole of the Sacred College. About forty days afterwards the same Pope created him Archbishop of Milan. As such it was his great desire to order the Church committed to his charge in accordance with the requirements of the most holy Council of Trent, which was in great part by his labours brought to a conclusion. To raise up the degraded lives of the people, he oftentimes held Synods, but himself set an example of deep godliness. He worked earnestly to purge the parts about the Alps and borders of Switzerland of heresy, and brought many of the heretics to the Christian faith.

Charity was the brightest mark of his life. His principality of Oria he sold for forty thousand crowns, and gave the whole sum to the poor in one day. Twenty thousand crowns being left him as a legacy he gave the whole to the poor. The incomes of the benefices wherewith he had been loaded by his uncle, he spent upon the needs of the poor, except what he used for himself. When the plague grievously raged in Milan, he gave up to the sick poor the furniture of his own house, even to his own bedding, and thenceforward slept upon the boards. He constantly visited the sick, cheered them by his fatherly kindness, and wonderfully comforted them, ministering to them with his own hands the Sacraments of the Church. At the same time he drew near to plead for them with God in lowly entreaty, and ordered a public Procession wherein he walked himself carrying a Cross, with a rope halter round his neck, and his bare feet bleeding from the stones, and fain to turn away the Divine anger by offering himself as a scapegoat for the sins of his people. He was a stout defender of the freedom of the Church. But in the Church he was an earnest reformer of discipline, and once, when he was engaged in prayer, some conspirators took a shot at him with a blunderbuss, but, though the ball struck him, the power of God kept him unharmed.

He was remarkable for his abstinence. He very often fasted upon nothing but bread and water, and sometimes nothing but lupines. He tamed his body by depriving himself of sleep, by very rough haircloth, and by constant scourging. He was an earnest practiser of lowliness and meekness. However much he was taken up with business, he never gave himself relaxation from prayer and from preaching the word of God. He built many churches, convents, and schools. He wrote much matter, useful more especially for the good of Bishops. The publication of the Parish Priests' Catechism was due to his care. In October 1584, he withdrew himself, for the purpose of making a retreat, to the Sacro Monte of Varallo, an hill whereon the incidents of the Lord's sufferings are represented in life-size groups of coloured figures. He was taken ill of an ague, and lived there for some days a life of torture by voluntary suffering, but of sweetness by thoughts of Christ's woes. After his return to Milan, his sickness became hopeless, and early in the night between the 3rd and 4th days of November, in the 47th year of his own age, and in that of our Lord 1584, covered with ashes and sackcloth, and with his eyes fixed upon the image of Christ crucified, he exchanged earth for heaven. He was famous for miracles, and Pope Paul V numbered him among the Saints.

(Seminarians at St.Chares borromeo Seminary in Phiadephia.)

This is also good!

In my own city. Maybe, God willing, the liturgical reform is starting to spread here in philly. Maybe.

Part VIII: The Canon of the Mass.( I I I)

(Supra Quae.)

We now come to the continuation of the sacrifice. This is the moment, so sublime, so mystical, the moment where Christ presents himself to us, his faithful as a sacrificed lamb for us. The white host, lying still on the paten as our Blessed Lord's body hung pale and bloodless on the cross.
So much did he love us that he gave himself without reserve in this manner! And so great is his love, that he should leave to the church a means of making memorial of his death!
The church, like as any faithful bride, as any devoted woman, longs to bask, if just for a moment in this expression, this representation of the love of her spouse.
So then, the celebrant continues this, the sacrifice of the new and eternal covenant by making the oblation, by offering Christ to the Father. Or Rather, Christ offers himself to the Father through the priest.
The celebrant prays:

" Unde et memores, Domine, nos servi tui, sed et plebs tua sancta, ejusdem Christi Filii tui Domini nostri tam beatae Passionis, nec non et ab inferis Resurrectionis, sed et in coelos gloriosae Ascensionis: offerimus praeclarae majertati tuae de tuis donis ac datis hostiam puram, hostiam sanctam, hostiam immaculatam, Panem sanctum vitae aeternae, et calicem salutis perpetuae.

Supra quae propitio ac sereno vultu respicere digneris; et accepta habere, sicut ita accepta habere dignatus es munera pueri tui justi Abel, et sacrificium patriarchae nostri Abrahae, et quod tibi obtulit summus sacerdos tuus Melchisedech, sanctum sacrificium, immaculatam hostiam."

"Wherefore, O Lord, we thy servants, and thy holy people also, remembering the blessed passion of the same Christ thy Son our Lord, as also his resurrection from the dead, and his glorious ascension into heaven: do offer unto thine excellent majesty of thine own gifts and bounty, the pure victim, the holy victim, the immaculate victim, the holy Bread of eternal life, and the Chalice of everlasting salvation.
We humbly beseech thee, almighty God: command these offerings to be brought by the hands of thy holy Angel to thine altar on high, in sight of thy divine majesty: that all we who at this partaking of the altar shall receive the most sacred Body and Blood of thy Son, He signs himself, saying: may be fulfilled with all heavenly benediction and grace. He joins his hands. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen."

See Now, Holy Church keeps Christ's command to commemorate his death and resurrection in the Unde et Memores.
See now, Hoe she proclaims her own compete dependence on God! e is the only source of life, of grace, of blessing, and of truth. It is out of his own goodness, and noting else that we are redeemed. Not of our merits, not our goodness, but of the merits of Christ Jesus our saviour, who has himself merited salvation for us through the sacrifice offered, which we now make present in a mystical fashion.
See now the priest, as he bows low, joining his hands and asking he Father to command that these offering be brought to his majesty in heaven by the ands of is holy angels, that we who receive from it the sacred body and blood of Christ may be filled with every grace and heavenly blessing. True it is, this we can receive in holy communion. Jesus is the fountainhead, the source of grace, in him resides the fullness of divinity. (S. John 1:14) We come to Jesus as we are, and if we follow him, as the Christian life commands of us, if we truly follow the law of Agape, of self-sacrificial love for God and neighbor, we shall grow to be like him. ( S.Matthew 22:37-40) We will be conformed to his image , which is what he bids us do. (S.Matthew 17: 24-28)
So then, the priest after rising commemorates the departed Christians:

" Memento etiam, Domine, famulorum famularumque tuarum N. et N. qui nos praecesserunt cum signo fidei, et dormiunt in somno pacis.
Ipsis, Domine, et omnibus in Christo quiescentibus, locum refrigerii, lucis et pacis, ut indulgeas , deprecamur. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen."

"Remember also, O Lord, thy servants N. and N., who have gone before us sealed with the seal of faith, and who sleep the sleep of peace.

To them, O Lord, and to all that rest in Christ, we beseech thee to grant the abode of refreshing, of light, and of peace. He joins his hands, and bows his head, saying: Through Christ our Lord. Amen."

The offering of the sacrifice of the Eucharist or the dead is one of the oldest, if not the oldest known private intentions for which it was offered. We see written of the early church:

"As often as the anniversary comes round, we make offerings for the dead as birthday honours." Tertullian, The Chaplut, 3 (A.D. 211).
And:
"[A] woman is more bound when her husband is dead...Indeed, she prays for his soul, and requests refreshment for him meanwhile, and fellowship (with him) in the first resurrection; and she offers (her sacrifice) on the anniversary of his falling asleep." Tertullian, On Monogamy, 10 (A.D. 216).

We know from other documents that the early church did beleive, as you and I should today, that prayer for the dead does work:

"And after the exhibition, Tryphaena again receives her. For her daughter Falconilla had died, and said to her in a dream: Mother, thou shalt have this stranger Thecla in my place, in order that she may pray concerning me, and that I may be transferred to the place of the just." Acts of Paul and Thecla (A.D. 160).
And:
"Let us pray for our brethren that are at rest in Christ, that God, the lover of mankind, who has received his soul, may forgive him every sin, voluntary and involuntary, and may be merciful and gracious to him, and give him his lot in the land of the pious that are sent into the bosom of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, with all those that have pleased Him and done His will from the beginning of the world, whence all sorrow, grief, and lamentation are banished." Apostolic Constitutions, 8:4,41 (3rd Century).

Under the old covenant, men offered the Jewish sacrifices for the dead, that they might rise again. So we who under the new covenant, te covenant of completion and fulfilled types offer the one and only sacrifice of Christ for our departed brethren, that they may be nimbered among those who rise again to the ressurection of the just. Here, you and I should add to our private prayers prayers for all the souls being purified in purgatory.

Tuesday.

I'm going to the Cathedral Cemetary to pray for the souls of those buried there.

Mc Roll'd

The Original

Speed it Up a bit.

Insane Speed! (From six Minutes to one.)

My love of random things as led to an obsession with Youtubepoop
(Videos about noting in particular involving speeding up, slowing down cutting, adding music, and otherwise manipulating cartoons, lines, and other videos for humour, as above.)

Also, I'd like to stand by what I said in a combox at TNLM:
"It's almost frustrating how little Catholics hear of praying for the dead, or any pious practices (Doing charitable works for them, etc.) Like everything, it does'nt make sense to express our belief in Purgatory on one hand by wearing black vestments, but on the other hand, not actually preaching devotion to the holy souls, or practicing as if we believed in it.
This is a large chunk of the Catholic 'ethos' if you will, a part of Catholic culture and devotion that desperately needs to be restored.
Oremus!"

What Color did I say to wear tomorrow Again?

Oh yeah.Mention the purgatory thing too, please.
Kthnxbai.

*EDIT*
It happened at my parish! Black vestments! I was at two masses today by accident, and at both, the homilies were about how we need to pray for the dead. Praying for the dead is an act of charity, and since it is a good work, it's beneficial to our salvation, The holy sous are helpless of themselves, so we need to pray for them, and they will pray for us. We should have masses said for them, pray rosaries for them, do penances for them, because purgatory really exists and most of us will end up there.
That's what I heard on all souls day.
Deo Gracias.

All Saints Day

From the breviary:

"Dearly beloved : Today we keep holy-day, with one great cry of joy, in memory of all the Saints ; whose presence is a gladness to heaven ; whose prayers are a blessing to earth ; whose victories are the crown of holy Church ; whose testimony is now to be honoured in proportion to the glory imparted to it by the agony which was endured in the giving of it. For the greater the torment, the richer the reward ; and the fiercer the battle, the brighter the glory of the fighters whose triumph in martyrdom was in this wise adorned with more sufferings. Our mother the Catholick Church, which is spread far and wide throughout all this planet, hath learnt, from Christ Jesus her Head, to fear neither shame nor cross nor death, but to increase in strength by enduring suffering rather than by resisting it. Therefore she was able to breathe into each one of that noble band, which persevered under condemnation to suffering, a spirit of courage like unto her own, even the hope of conquest and glory, whereby they were envigorated to persevere manfully in conflict unto the very end.

O truly blessed Mother Church, whom God's mercy doth so illúmine! Whom the glorious blood of victorious Martyrs doth adorn! Whom the ínviolate virginity of so many pure souls doth clothe with raiment white and glistening! Neither roses nor lilies are wanting in thy garlands. Therefore dearly beloved, let us each one of us strive to attain the goodly crown of one or the other of these dignities, either the glistening whiteness of chastity, or the red dye of suffering. In the heavenly army both peace and war have chaplets of their own, to crown Christ's soldiers withal.
Moreover, the unutterable and infinite goodness of God hath provided this, namely, that the time of working and wrestling is not over-long, much less everlasting, but as it were for a moment. That is, only in this short and scanty life is there wrestling and working, but the crown and the prize endureth for a life which is eternal. The work is soon over, but the wage is paid for ever. And when the night of this world is ended, the Saints see the clearness of the essential light, and receive a blessedness outweighing the pangs of any torment, as testifieth the Apostle Paul : The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."

Translated Propers for today's mass in the Ordinary Form can be found can be found Here.
For the Extraordinary Form, go Here.
*May later edit post*