And now,for your consideration..

..That hymn from a while ago. I got some guesses through e-mail, but no one could get it exactly right. The fact that I'm posting it today should make it blatantly obvious what the text is based on.
The author too, is still un-guessed.

Tonight.

At 7:30 PM: Sung vespers, benediction, and Te Deum in thanksgiving for benefits of the past year, at Our Lady of Lourdes.

x3

It's already the third snowfall of the season. At least this one isn't very deep at all.

From the Divine Office

"Glorificamus te,Dei Genitrix,quia ex te natus est Christus; salva* omnes qui te glorificent."
"We Glorify thee, O Mother of God, For of thee Christ was born:save* all who glorify thee"
Magnificat antiphon, Dec.30.


I know. Yikes."Salva omnes". I know this particular antiphon has variants and some exact matches in 14th-15th century breviaries (usually at matins though), so I'll just read it as one of the many pre-17th century texts that match S.Louis de Montfort's incarnational marian theology

Corde Natus ex Parentis..

Like I said, this is one of my favorite Christmas hymns, and the official Latin edition of the modern Roman breviary gives it as the hymn for first and second vespers of the feast of Mary, the Holy Mother of God. (Arguably the oldest Marian feast of the kalendar, and certainly one of the most profound and beautiful of the church's year.)
I'm still using my vesperal, only now, it's onto Christmastide. All of this office is taken from the older liturgical books, including the rather tricky and yet, quite beautiful (both musically and textually) antiphon "O admirabile Commercium", and the magnificat antiphon "Propter nimiam caritatem suam". The latter I've sung in my head so many times, that I have no problem with it.
I'm using it as a text for my meditations as I prepare for my total consecration on the feast day. It's been 33 days, and I hope I've done it right. If not, a short day of devotion tomorrow will hopefully make up for it!

No, you have'nt made a mistake.

I'm trying out three different templates for the next nine days or so. (I found the link for them here. Thanks sir!) (Oh yeah: Go there! When I get my links and stuff back up, he'll be there.)
Feedback is appreciated. I'm actually not too keen on going back to a light text on dark background, as I find it hard to read, but you take the bad with the good. Besides, there's two others.


And can I thank*whoever's responsible for making me think that this operating system does'nt open compressed files without WinZip, when It does? And can I thank the creator of one of the templates I was going to pick,but who did the HTML wrong and neither my brother or I** could fix it? (And he makes templates and Gaia profiles, so he knows quite a bit about coding.)

*Totall no0b at coding, so yeah, the Undertstatement of the Year and all that.


**Insert Kanye West/Taylor Swift interruption joke HERE.

And now,

A musical Interlude.

The world's most underrated composer..

...Is Sir Charles Villiers Stanford.I mean, not his church music (Like his well-played magnificats), but his symphonies, And his wonderful piano concerti. I heard one of his symphonies on Sirius about two months ago, having never heard anything but a few of his choral works, and I got hooked.
Too bad though.

More Goodness.

From the divine office:
"Sancta et intácta Virgo Deum nobis génuit, téneris indútum membris, quem lactáre méruit: omnes ipsum adorémus, qui venit salváre nos."

"The holy and intact Virgin hath borne for us God, endued with tender members,whom she hath merited to suckle:Therefore, adore we all him, who hath come to save us."

-Magnificat antiphon, Vespers of the Holy Innocents.

Ritual Notes.

This is midnight mass and Christmas day.

Midnight:
There were less poinsettias than last year, and I could see the relics among them on the high altar.There were carols before mass (Including my two favorites: "See Amid the Winter's snow", Away in A Manger" sung to 'cradle song', and "Of the Father's Love Begotten".) The vestments were the same set as last year. (The set identical to this one), the cope of which set was worn during the procession.The creche was blessed and a short few minutes of prayer said before it before the procession. The hymn was "Hark! the herald angels sing", with some glorious organ improvisations before and after the last verse. versicle and collect at the high altar, then the ministers put on their maniples, the celebrant his chasuble, and mass began.

I just want to say that I almost died every time the choir sang a portion of the mass. The gloria and the benedictus were the best. (And it was the first time I've ever heard the long version of the gloria, either in life or a recording. And one more comment: How exactly does Haydyn define "Brevis"? The sanctus and benedictus required the priest to wait before continuing the mass, I'll give him that the Kyrie was a good length, but he more than made up for it.)

Going on:

Fr.Joseph gave the homily, and sat in choir with someone else who I've seen around,but don't know.At the offertory, 'Adeste,Fideles" was sung after the offertory antiphon, and the offertory was taken up at the 'orate,fratres'.There were six red torchlights at the consecration. Fr.Joseph helped to give communion, so it went faster than last year.Mozart's "Laudate dominum" and "O magnum mysterium".The blessing was sung, and the recessional was "Joy to the world". The postlude was one of Bach's preludes on "In dulci Iubilo" (There are three, and I don't know which BWV number if was yet.)
I only have one very selfish and Wrong comment: The church was full, and with all the people inside,(Ergo,soft surfaces) the acoustics got deadened. So that lovely reverb we usually get to shape the choral and organ music and make it sound ethereal was gone.

That said, not only was it great, but it was shorter than last year by at least 15-20 minutes, even with a Haydyn mass setting.)

Christmas day:

Not as many people as at last night. In fact, most of the servers did'nt come. The mass was still nice though: The chasuble stole, and maniple from last night's set, and the M.C. wore a surplice matching the celebrant's alb.The processional was the same as from last night, all the propers were sung (No cutting of the introit this year) the mass setting was "de angelis" with credo III .The responsorial psalm was okay I guess, but the alleluia was great. At communion (Of the Father's Love Begotten" was sung after the proper antiphon and psalm. The recessional and postlude were the same as last night.

Christmas day.

A sermon of S.Leo the Great

"Dearly beloved : Unto us is born this day a Saviour. Therefore let us rejoice. Sadness should find no place amongst those who keep the Birthday of Life. For as of this day Life came unto us dying creatures, to take away the sting of death, and to bring the bright promise of joy eternal. And no one is excluded from sharing in this our gladness. For all mankind hath one and the same cause thereof, to wit, that our Lord, the Destroyer of sin and death, because he findeth no one free from condemnation, is come to set everyone free. Rejoice, O saint, for thou drawest nearer thy crown! Rejoice, O sinner, for thy Saviour offereth thee pardon! Rejoice, O Jew, for Messias is come. Rejoice, O Gentile, for God calleth thee to life! Now is come the fulness of time, fixed by the unsearchable counsel of God, when the Son of God took upon him the nature of man, that he might reconcile it to its Maker. Now is come the time when the devil, the inventor of death, is met and beaten in that very flesh which hath been the field of his victory.

When the Almighty Lord entered this field of battle against the devil, he did so in great and wondrous fairness. For against our cruel enemy he opposed not the armament of his uncreate Majesty, but the lowliness of our flesh. He brought against him the very shape and the very nature of our mortality, with this difference only, that he was without sin. For his birth is not like that of the ordinary run of men, of whom there is the saying : No one is clean from stain, not even the day-old babe. In this birth alone no desires of the flesh had place. In this birth alone no consequence of sin had part. A Virgin of the kingly lineage of David was chosen to be the Mother who grew heavy with the sacred Child. She was chosen to conceive this divine and human offspring in her body because already she had conceived him in her soul. And that the unwonted events ordained by the counsel of God might cause her no alarm, she was taught them beforehand when the Angel announced that what was to be wrought in her was of the Holy Ghost, and that to become the Mother of God was not to forego her virgin modesty.

Wherefore, dearly beloved, let us give thanks to God the Father, through his Son, in the Holy Ghost : who for his great love, wherewith he loved us, hath had mercy on us ; and even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, that in him we might be a new creature, and a new workmanship. Let us then put off the old man with his deeds. And, having obtained a share in the Sonship of Christ, let us renounce the deeds of the flesh. Acknowledge, O Christian, thine own dignity, who hast been made partaker of the divine nature, and change not back my misdoing into thy former baseness. Bethink thee whose Body it is whereof thou art made a member, and who is its Head. Be mindful that he hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and translated us into God's light and God's kingdom."

Merry Christmas!

Though, apparently not for the Holy Father. I wonder if it was the same lady as last year?
With the pope walking round down on the ground like that, among the crowds, this kind of stuff is an inevitable evil. Oh well, there's nothing that can be done about that. (except for the Solution that Must Not Be Mentioned.)I just sang first vespers (among much distraction. Thanks mom and brother.) I spent most of Monday and Tuesday making garlands for the house (Only real greenery will do! Besides, since the pine,boxwood,and holly come from Cobbs Creek, it's free.) and I spent last night and this morning cleaning and hanging decorations. I decorated my home altar after None, with a gold tablecloth, the usual four candlesticks, and two candelabras. Minus the votive lites, there's 12 candles there. And I have two vases with pine, holly, red and white roses, paperwhites, red poppies, and some little white berries. (I'm avoiding poinsettias this year at all cost.)
And I just heard the choir at King's College, Cambridge, singing Advent Lessons and Carrols on Sirius. Gawd, it's awesomeness X2. The
I'll say matins at home, and be at Lourdes for the procession and high mass at 12:00 midnight.
Also:
A guy from Verizon was suppossed to come today to install a new line, but never showed. So around three, my dad called Verizon to find out why. Turns out, the man came past at 8:30 A.M. (And I was up at 7) to see if he fing the electrial box. He saw that my neighbor's dogs were in the lot nextdoor, and so he left without talking to us or even letting us know that he came by. Wow. What happenned? Did he see dogs and say "Goody! Now I get the whole day off! Sure, I could knock on the door and see if the box is even back there in the first place, then go through the house to the backyard, but that would take, like, effort."

P.S. :

Here's your festal music:

In Dulci Iubilo, S.Karg-Elert

Solemn Vespers, Brompton Oratory.

O Magnum Mysterium, Tomas Luis de Victoria

And the piece de resistance, the great one, the long-waited for thing:

Kyrie, Missa 'O magnum Mysterium', T.L. de Victoria. Sung by Westminster Cathedral Choir, my favorite Catholic choir.

Vigil of Christmas.

"Crástina die delébitur iníquitas terræ: et regnábit super nos Salvátor mundi."
"Tomorrow the iniquity of the earth shall be done away, and the Saviour of the world shall reign over us."
Third antiphon, Lauds.

"And the Lord of hosts shall make unto all people in this mountain, a feast of fat things, a feast of wine, of fat things full of marrow, of wine purified from the lees. And he shall destroy in this mountain the face of the bond with which all people were tied, and the web that he began over all nations. He shall cast death down headlong for ever: and the Lord God shall wipe away tears from every face, and the reproach of his people he shall take away from off the whole earth: for the Lord hath spoken it. And they shall say in that day: Lo, this is our God, we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the Lord, we have patiently waited for him, we shall rejoice and be joyfull in his salvation. "

"Compléti sunt dies Maríæ ut páreret Fílium suum primogénitum."
"Complete are the days of Mary to give birth to her first-born son."
Benedictus antiphon, lauds.

"Festína, quæsumus, ne tardáveris, Dómine Iesu, ut advéntus tui consolatiónibus sublevéntur, qui in tua pietáte confídunt. Qui vivis."
"Make haste, we beseech thee, O Lord Jesu, that they may be lifted up by the consolations of thy coming, who confide in thy mercy."

Today's collect for the office.....

...Is probably the most beautiful of the advent season:

"Deus, qui hominem delapsum in mortem conspiciens, Unigeniti tui adventu redimere voluisti: praesta, quaesumus, ut qui humili eius incarnationem devotione fatentur,ipsius etiam Redemptoris consortia mereantur."

O God, who beholding man fallen into death, didst will to redeem him by the coming of thine only-Begotten: grant us, we pray thee, that as we profess his Incarnation with humility and devotion,we may likewise merit the fellowship the very same Redeemer."

Thank you, Consilium.

...........................

........Unfinished, and found in this condition in my house.
OH WELL.

YOU! HEY YOU!

YEAH! YOU OVER THERE!

I DEMAND that you inform me where I may view and download free,-royalty free stock images/photos to use as photo references! And it has to be the really free ones,not just royalty free ones. If could afford to pay for them, I'd just get an account at Dreamstimes or iStockphoto.

So do it.
DO IT NAOW!!111!!!elenty-one!!!11!!


Please?

I just want to thank...

...Peaceful Revolution on Gaia, a friend from the ED-M&R forum, whose request to me make an avi art of a couple, made me learn how to draw curly hair.
Now, I need to learn how to color it.

Advent IV.

Well, technically that was Advent III, but anyways....
I spent my weekend at The Monastery last weekend. I helped to set up a nativity scene on the roof of the porch (which, by the way disappeared under the two feet of snow we got over the weekend.) after vespers (which had the O antiphon and magnificat sung in it's original language to the gregorian tune. I wonder if they know that they're using the Clementine Vulgate version of the magnificat and not the Pauline Nova Vulgata?) and dinner, I went with Br.Dominic to see Fr.James, Fr.Matthew and brother David practice for the high mass (Which, if you don't mind me plugging again, is a solemn high mass, Hayden Mass in Bflat, with the long version of the gloria.) Seems like it'll be even better than last year, with a procession, station and collect (Again, like they do Here.) before the mass. The next morning, after the Saturday salve and mass at Lourdes, I had a short class on spiritual direction with Fr.Joseph. I spent most of the rest of the day working the office chants for Christmas day. Fr. Joseph, the cook, and I trudged through the snow to Lourdes for the anticipated mass, and not counting me (Because I was serving) there was a grand total of five people in the church when mass started. The numbers grew to twelve by communion. I went home after vespers and dinner. (And spent most of Sunday shoveling snow, spreading salt, and trudging to Walgreens to pick up prescriptions.)

Vespers.

(My vesperal for Advent)

I've been meaning to make a recording of myself singing Sunday vespers, for critique and observation. So far, there's been a problem every time. But I'll either try one of the O antiphons this week, or vespers next week.

I just started reading....

....The above manga, which despite some occasional strong language and the first panel of the first chapter*, is actually kind of funny. I do wonder exactly what Saruno expects Sawamatsu to do for him. Sawamatsu does'nt seem like the baseball type. I mean, so what if he has basic knowledge of what's going to be on the test.Is that really that helpful for a beginner?

*It's rather like Air Gear. You might not know it has some pg-13 pages at first,but you can't get past the first page or so without having enough warning to skip some pages because of the light E.

Hmm....

It's been a while since I read Katekyo Hitman Reborn! I don't even know what chapter I was on. It was just after they lost to Shouichi and he claimed the rings, but whats-her-name refused to allow him to have them. Because he was unable to use them without her, he tried to convince her to change her mind, but she refused, and he attacked, but the Vongolas protected her. That was the last chapter I read, whichever chapter it was.

I DO, however, remember which chapter I last read in Eyesheild 21. It 'Perfect player', where the Devilbats realise that Shin is so perfect that he's unstopable, and even Raimon can't catch a pass without Shin intercepting it. They failed an onside kick,and then whats-his-name who's been on the bench all season is pulled into the game as their secret weapon.

And in other news, my mother dragged me shopping with her last night and one of the stores gave me an allergy attack, Now I'm going to miss Br.Gerard's final vows.
Thanks, mom.

Oh yeah, I forgot.

Last Sunday I went to the pre-Christmas concert at S.Charles Borromeo Seminary with some of the brothers. I loved every minute of it! The schola cantorum has vastly improved since I last heard them two years ago. There was polyphony, choral music, a few medieval carols, and the typical British Romantic composers. The skit was Hi-larious, and the readings were great. The only thing is that the organ was bit underpowered and so there was a delay between it and the schola, and we were sitting very close to a speaker, so the choir sometimes got drowned out.
But other than those two quibbles, I loved it.

Now I feel guilty for not going the past two years.

HEY GUYS.

I'm back to working on art. This is a work-in-progress (I'm drawing it for a friend from school) , but you can guess who this is.

Guess what!

The President still does'nt know what he's doing.

Wow shock! Apparently after snubbing the Brits, giving horrible and vain gifts, greeting heads of nations with undue respect (Then denying it), and then there was thing with the Pope, he still hasn't learned basic diplomacy.
Isn't it common courtesy to have lunch with someone who's giving you a gift when they invite you, let alone a head of state who's giving you a prestigious award?He's snubbed the very people who are giving him the award in the first place by canceling dinner with the prize Committee. And it gets worse: He's even looked down on an exhibition in his own honour.
This really isn't a surprise. The American people voted in someone who they knew didn't have the experience to be president, something that was shown within the first months of his presidency when he began recapitulating the failed government and military expansions and overspending of the Bush era with extreme prejudice. One would hope that he might akcnowlege that he hasn't really earned a prize for peace (Something the nation will acknowledge for him.) Indeed,if anything, He's demerited it by his policies .
But I suppose he's got some super-secret really good reason for accepting it.

HEY GUYS.

Advent reading.

I've been reading through this, and it's some great stuff.

Crunch.

It's a busy night tonight. I'm supposed to be meeting some of the Mercedarians for dinner tonight for Br.Justin's final vows, then back to get dinner warm for the family, then vespers, then the mass at Lourdes, then back home to do some housework that needs to be done by tomorrow.* I might not have time to change for mass, so I might have to wear my church clothes there.

Which should have been done last Friday, but I'm a procrastinator.

Festal Music.

Sanctus, Missa 'Vidi speciosam', T.L. de Victoria.
Tota pulchra esMaria, Chant.

Happy Feast day!

"Truly,thou art blessed among women, for thou hast changed Eve's curse into a blessing; and Adam, who hitherto lay under a curse, has been blessed because of thee.
TRULY, thou are blessed among women, for through thee the Father's blessing has shone forth on mankind, setting them free of their ancient curse.
TRULY, thou are blessed among women, for through thee thy forebears have found salvation. For thou wert to give birth to the Savior who was to win them salvation.
TRULY, thou are blessed among women, for without seed thou hast borne, as thy fruit, Him who bestows blessings on the whole world and redeems it from that curse that made it sprout horns.
TRULY, thou are blessed among women, for, though just a woman by nature, thou wilt become, in reality, the Mother of God. If He whom thou art to bear is truly God made flesh, then rightly do we call thee, Mother of God, for thou hast truly given birth to God. Amen."

-Saint Sophronius of Jerusalem

Blest Guardian of all virgin souls,
Portal of bliss to man forgiven,
Pure Mother of Almighty God,
Thou hope of earth and joy of heaven!

Fair lily found among the thorns,
Most beauteous dove with wings of gold,
Rod from whose tender root upsprang
That healing Flower so long foretold.

Thou tower against the dragon-foe,
Thou star to storm-tossed voyagers dear;
Our course lies o'er a treacherous deep,
Thine be the light by which we steer.

Scatter the mists that round us hang;
Keep far the fatal shoals away;
And while through darkling waves we sweep,
Open a path to light and day.

O Jesu, born of Virgin bright,
Immortal glory be to Thee;
Praise to the Father infinite,
And Holy Ghost eternally. Amen.

-Hymn of vespers.

Br. Justin takes his vows tonight!

And now,

A musical interlude.

*Good analogy*

This.
I realise that I would never make a good parish organist. Not because of talent, but because of another reason.
You know that guy, Abe Takawa? Yeah, I'm kind of like him. In that, in order to make sure that things go well, I like to be in charge. It would be great If I picked what was done, and people just say okay. Kinda of the way he hates it when pitchers shake their heads at him, I don't like it when I work hard on something and it gets thrown out last minute for something "Better" (Quotation marks on purpouse.) Like him, I have a short temper, but unlike him, I know how to have a semblance of patience 99.9% of the time.

Now, I'm surprised that I've been asked to play again. Hopefully next time, They won't throw out all but two of the things I came to play and make me learn new stuff 20 minutes before the mass.

Ritual Notes. (I+II Sundays of Advent)

I forgot to do last Sunday's report.

Anyway, There were four servers,celebrant and M.C. No entrance hymn, instead, the antiphon 'Ad te levavi" from the graduale simplex was sung during the procession and incensation.(The altar was again incensed as if it were'nt free-standing.) The mass setting was the one on the Kyriale appointed for Advent and Lent, but the Kyrie was 'de angelis'. The alleluia was the familiar triple version from the Liber Cantualis. I was surprised that the credo (Credo III) was sung. I though we did'nt do that, but now with it sung,we're only one ceremony short of a full high mass. Francis Xzavier Witt's setting of the proper offertory, "Ad te levavi" was sung during the offertory, followed by the hymn "Sleepers, wake".
At communion, the antiphon and psalm from the graduale simplex were sung, followed by ''Cast thy burden upon the Lord," Felix Mendelssohn.
The recessional was "When the king shall come again."

Advent II.

Five servers were scheduled, and one came. So You can guess who ended up serving.
The prelude was "Wachet Auf'', BWV 645
. All the chants were taken from the simle gradual.The vestments were violet with violet, gold, and rose orphreys, and a maniple was worn. The credo was sung again, and after the intercessions, hay and straw for people's creches were blessed. At the offertory, after the proper chant, "Sleepers, wake " was sung again. at commuion, after the proper chant, 'Veni, veni Emmanuel" was sung. One of the brothers made an announcement about his final vows next Saturday evening at 4:00 pm, and after the blessing, "On Jordan's Bank, the Baptist's cry" was sung. The postlude was BWV 543.

This is most certainly true.

"There is occasional poetry in modern hymns, but the intrusion of any hymn as a substitute for the proper liturgy is like interposing Barnby's 'Sweet and Low' in the middle of a performance of the Meistersingers, or reciting a poem of Tennyson between the scenes of Othello. To omit the distinctive note of the propers is to dull the distinctive note of Mass and disintegrate the harmony which blends the epistle and gospel to the permanent office."

Kenneth Ingram, The Pilgrimage of Mass, pg.26

Replace "Barnby's 'Sweet and Low'" with a popular song (Say, Billy Talent's "Fallen leaves") and "Tennyson" with a popular book (Say, maybe a manga or something by Patricia Cornwell) and the point is made even better.

And now,

A musical interlude.

I was planning to go to evensong at St.Thomas while I was in New York, but my mother made that impossible. I'd really like to know if they got rid of their Skinner. Not only was it a Skinner, but it was voiced by G.Donald Harrison too. A real gem, and they're planning to get rid of it for a Casavant. Shame really.

OMGOMGOMGOMG *Dies*

(click for full size!)

Funimation has the first ten or so episodes of Oofuri in their website!
*Dies again* This'll tide me over while I save for the box set, which I'm happy to say, is still at the store! It's mine! as soon as I can pay for it.
And it's been a while since I drew some fanart. I'm thinking either Hanai or Tajima. Tajima is my favorite character (For obvious reasons. I' like to think we're very much alike, even If I don't have his hitting accuracy.) Hanai, well, he's Hanai. That's a good enough reason.

*Shiver*

I just realised that I've regularly been going about without remebering to keep at least three pictures on the page. Remedy above. And yes, it's the Nishiura crew from my favorite baseball manga. It's actually the very picture I saw in...some anime magazine ho's name escapes mem that got me interested in this series.
I wish I had it at a higher resolution so that it could be my desktop backgroud, but alas, I can't find one.

My Set List.

Because I'm playing the organ for the first Friday mass this week.

Entrance: Come, thou long expected Jesus (Stuttgart)
Mass setting: Mass I
Offertory: Veni, veni Emmanuel (Cello and organ)
Communion: Variations on Creator alme siderum,
O food of exiles lowly (Innsbruck)
Recessional: Lift up your heads, ye mighty gates. (Truro)
Postlude: Aria in C minor, J.S.Bach, OR Improvisations on Veni, veni emmanuel. (I have'nt decided which.)
And speaking of Truro:This is awesome.
Wow. That man is talented!
I really, really, really want to do the O salutaris to Winchester new and the Tantum ergo to All saints, but I'd need to ask permission for that.

Leading by example.

Benedict XVI Celebrating ad orientem at an altar that can be used facing either direction.
Take note, hopefully this will be common.

And now,

A musical interlude.

And for the record, Korn and that song= Awesome Sauce.

How to have a double standard.

In four easy steps.

1) See a really bad policy of a president you don't like.

2)Criticise it, and call for it to be rescinded.

3)See the same really bad policy from a president you like

4) Say nothing and pretend it'll go away.

This, of course, is'nt totally true though.
Some democrats and former supporters of the Obama administration have been totally honest and turned back on him (Even Michael Moore.....sort of.) We are'nt seeing the same outrage and disgust that people of all persuasions had under the Bush administration, not yet, but at least the left is learning that their boy is pretty good at back-peddling on campaign promises and repeating Bush-era policies (with extreme predjudice!) While keeping up the semblance of having, well, basic governing skills I guess.