That's a bit confusing.

That is, the news.

On the news this morning were some local people participating in Pillsbury's bake off contest, and they demonstrated some of their cooking on air, all of them quite desperate to win the cash prize.
But what confuses me is why they're so desperate to win the prize. I mean, they were from some pretty ritzy places: One guy was from Devon, another from Warwick, one lady was from Strafford, I think There was a lady from somewhere near Merion, but I don't remember exactly where. (Maybe it was Gladwyne?) That's some pretty good money*! I don't see what the desperation is about, unless they just like attention.** Or just love cooking. Or Pillsbury. Or attention. (Did I say attention?)

*Though, admittedly, my definition of 'good money' is pretty loose.

**Or attention.

Holy Week....

....Is always the most tiring and taxing part of the year. It means early rising and late sleep, and almost non-stop liturgies. If I'm not at one, I'm preparing for the next one. This week hasn't been to hectic though. Monday was a slow day, since I was still a little congested and sick. I was going over the chants for holy week when I noticed that I had done two very stupid things : a) I somehow forgot to include a page for Good Friday's vespers b) I used the wrong benedictus antiphon for lauds of Holy Saturday.That meant that the booklet had be to be un-bound, the new pages included and inserted, and the whole thing re-bound.

Tuesday, I spent on a fruitless quest to find the antiphons for Lauds of Easter Sunday. I found one, in a 13th century antiphonal, digital recreated Here. The other two, I can't find any online versions of the music, just the text. I really wish that Cantus included the text. I spent the rest of the time, after I had found music for the other two antiphons, writing out the long antiphon 'Haec dies' that replaces the responsory during the octave of Easter. Now I've just noticed that the staves are a little light, so I'll have to darken them with a pen.
Then I went to my Holy Week box (a large shoebox that I keep items for holy week in), and I was counting candles to make sure I had enough for all the candlesticks that will be used for Easter. I noticed a conspicuous lack of the unbleached candles I got for tenbrae. These I found on my windowsill, where the sun had been bleaching them till they turned a rather bright yellow color. So I had to go out to replace them.
Then server's practice at the church for Maundy Thursday. I've got my fingers crossed and I'm hoping that there isn't a disaster, what with so many servers being away, and three or four not showing up at practice.

Today, after lauds, I spent the morning cleaning.You know, spring cleaning. Can't enter Easter with a dirty house. I saw that one of the mirrors in the house looked a bit smudged, so I went over it with a soft cloth to polish it.Somehow, that made it worse, and now the whole thing is covered in large, white streaks.
After cleaning, I said terce, then got the flowers I had stored away for easter. I went for the general white and yellow stuff, with some blue mixed in. I had gotten reddish-colored poppies and some orange forsythia, but they looked wrong so I canned them.
Ginger was good today, and put up with me constantly moving her out of the way to clean things, which isn't usually like her. Usually, she growls and refuses to move until I give up.(Which I usually do.) Dahlia, my brother's new cat, however, wasn't cooperative. I'm pretty sure she tried to trip me on purpose at least three times while I was sweeping the stairs.

*Sigh*

There's one thing that I think I've missed for the past three or so years, that might seem pretty trivial, but I do miss it. I miss the sung passion. I miss Victoria's wonderful tones. I miss the soaring choir responses. I'll probably never take part in a service with them again, even though GIA does offer it using the modern Roman lectionary.But most Catholic parishes don't find it worth it to go through the trouble of preparing a choir and two or three cantors to sing it, and most priests can't sing anyway. They fear the people will revolt in having the passion 'stolen' from them , or that the people will get bored. Honestly, after hearing the first six or so verses of the passion, I've learned the tone by heart, and I'm sure that with a pointed text, the congregation could learn it quickly. And even if the didn't, I don't think that's so bad.
But I'm probably alone on this.
Until a future miracle, I'll just continue to listen to my recordings of the passion and pray for a better day.

Hmmmm....

Well, since I'm currently obsessed with TWEWY, I think I'm going to (when I get the time) draw something. I really want to do Beat and Rhyme, But I'm out of the right color marker for Rhyme (unless I want to make her magenta, Pepto-Bismol or Hot pink.) Beat seems easy, since he's similar to the way Seifer was dressed in Kindgom Hearts II. There are'nt any good references for him on dA, I already checkes. Most of the things people have draw are sort of low-quality fan pictures, copied directly from Googled images, either in pencil or crayon, or done on the computer. All a bit sloppy.*
Now I just have to go steal a pose.

*Not that I have a right to call other people's work sloppy.

Ritual Notes. (Palm Sunday)*Edited*

Well, things were much better than I expected. This was the 12:15 English mass, where the solemn procession always takes place. It was downcast and chilly, and there was a light drizzle earlier, but the procession went on. There were two acolytes, a crucifer, a thurifer and boat-bearer, and two servers in choro. Some of the servers, who are also members of the Archdiocesan Boychoir are away in spain, which shortens our numbers a bit.The others, I guess they have no excuse unless they thought the rainy weather meant that the procession would be canceled.

The blessing of the palms took place on the rectory porch. Five of the men of the choir sang an English adaptation of the chant 'Hosanna Filio David' (From the excellent book, By Flowing Waters)at the blessing of the palms. After the blessing of the palms and the reading of the gospel, the procession went from the rectory around the corner to the church, while the aforementioned mini-schola sang the chant 'Pueri Hebraeorum..portantes' in English with verses of psalm 24 to tone 2d. When the celebrant entered the church, 'All Glory Laud and Honour' was sung while he changed from a red cope to a red roman chasuble, and added the maniple.
This mass was celebrated ad orientem, so the incensing of the altar took place facing the reredos rather than the people. The main altar and side altars weren't decorated with palms alone, but also with olive branches.The collect was sung, and the readings read. The psalm was psalm 21. The passion was read, with the celebrant taking the part of Christ, and two readers taking the part of the evangelist and the other parts. The congregation took the part of the crowd. And it was wonderful to see that no one that I could see sat down during the passion.The sermon was mercifully short.

After the prayers of the faithful, the altar was preprared while the organist improvised on the tune Passion Chorale. Then the offertory hymn was My song is Love Unknown, sung to Love Unknown. The first verse was sung by the sopranos and altos, the second by all together, the third by the tenors and basses, the fourth in harmony,unaccompanied, the fifth all together, and the sixth in harmony with a descant and the contra bourdon 32' in the pedal of the organ. It seems now that at high mass, after the celebrant in incensed, the M.C. also in incensed, and then the people, which is nice.
The super oblata and preface were sung, with Sanctus I sung in Latin.The Roman canon was used, and three bell rings at the elevations. The Per ipsum and Our Father were sung, and the peace given. Agnus Dei I was sung.During communion, there was a psalm with the communion antiphon, but I don't remember what the psalm was.
After the ablutions, the choir sang the motet Christus factus est pro nobis, by Felice Anerio .The post-communion prayer was sung, and afterwards, the prayer over the people and the blessing. The Ite was also sung. The recessional was 'Lift High the Cross', and the postlude was the prelude from BWV 549

Photos from Patrick, the postulant with the Mercedarians: 1, 2, 3.
4,5, 7,

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

.........I have a new desktop background. Let's see who can guess what it's of.

Palm Sunday, Post II

At the blessing of the Palms:
Ant: Hosanna to the Son of David

Let us pray.
ALMIGHTY and everlasting God,we pray thee, sanctify and bless + these palms with thy blessing, that we, who exultantly follow Christ the King,may through him arrive at the eternal Jerusalem.
Who liveth and reigneth.
Second prayer:

Let us pray.
INCREASE, we pray thee, O God, the faith of thy devoted people, and mercifully give ear to their humble supplications; that, they who this day honour the triumph of Christ by the carrying of palms, may through him offer unto thee the the fruit of good works.Who liveth and reigneth.
The palms are sprinkled and incensed.

V.Let us, imitating the acclaiming crowds, proceed in peace.
R.In the name of Christ. Amen.

Ant.Pueri Hebraeorum..portantes.

Ant.Pueri Hebraeorum...vestimenta

Hymn: Gloria, laus, et honor.

Responsory: Ingrediente Domino
Collect of the mass:

ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, who hast given to mankind an example of humility to follow in Our Saviour's taking upon him flesh and suffering the death of the Cross: mercifully grant that by following the example of his patience, we may also merit to be made partakers of his resurrection. Through the same

I don't understand,

And what is this...?[/horriblyinappropriatememethatyouprobablydon'tget]

I....have over 200 posts for this year...?Last year I struggled to get 300 in a year, and I'm only 100 short of that number in three months...?

And also,

THIS.

More specifically, advice:

My advice is USE AS MANY CHEATS AS POSSIBLE.
No, serious.

For example, I no longer bother racking my brain to come up with poses for my characters of other people's characters, because I found three very useful resources: deviantArt , Stock photos, and Google Image search. If I'm really lazy, or can't get the pose right, I've even sometimes traced the photos on tracing paper used a lightbox to transfer it to manga paper.

And deviantArt also has a huge selection of well-done images of any character you could think of, if you'd like to draw one. EXAMPLE.*

My second piece of advice is SPEND LONG HOURS OF CLASS TIME DRAWING WHILE PRETENDING YOU'RE WORKING.
Okay, that's probably bad advice, but if you're good at double-tasking,what you do is use your sketchbook as your note book. So it is that on one page of one of my old sketchbooks, I have pictures of an OC and notes on the real probable causes of the Thirty Years' War. Finding the square root of fractions is mixed in with sketches of Hayner from KH II. The declensions of verbs are crammed at the bottom of a mini-comic about the lunchlady, who makes the worst pizza in the world-Wait-, I'm getting distracted.

Anyways, I have another tip:ALWAYS HAVE A SECOND COPY. That way, if you're working in something permanent like ink or marker like I do, when you screw up (like I do) you have another copy to do. And now that you know what not to do, thisone should come out better.
Uhh...that's basically it.

Oh! And don't forget to practice daily! It's taken me, what, four years just to get to this level, and I'm still not as proficient with markers as, oh let's say SOMEONE LIKE THIS. D;
or even THIS. D;

Palm Sunday, Post I

"Let us go together to meet Christ on the Mount of Olives. Today he returns from Bethany and proceeds of his own free will toward his holy and blessed passion, to consummate the mystery of our salvation. He who came down from heaven to raise us from the depths of sin, to raise us with himself, we are told in Scripture, above every sovereignty, authority and power, and every other name that can be named, now comes of his own free will to make his journey to Jerusalem. He comes without pomp or ostentation. As the psalmist says: He will not dispute or raise his voice to make it heard in the streets. He will be meek and humble, and he will make his entry in simplicity

Let us run to accompany him as he hastens toward his passion, and imitate those who met him then, not by covering his path with garments, olive branches or palms, but by doing all we can to prostrate ourselves before him by being humble and by trying to live as he would wish. Then we shall be able to receive the Word at his coming, and God, whom no limits can contain, will be within us

In his humility Christ entered the dark regions of our fallen world and he is glad that he became so humble for our sake, glad that he came and lived among us and shared in our nature in order to raise us up again to himself. And even though we are told that he has now ascended above the highest heavens - the proof, surely, of his power and godhead - his love for man will never rest until he has raised our earthbound nature from glory to glory, and made it one with his own in heaven.

So let us spread before his feet, not garments or soulless olive branches, which delight the eye for a few hours and then wither, but ourselves, clothed in his grace, or rather, clothed completely in him. We who have been baptized into Christ must ourselves be the garments that we spread before him. Now that the crimson stains of our sins have been washed away in the saving waters of baptism and we have become white as pure wool, let us present the conqueror of death, not with mere branches of palms but with the real rewards of his victory. Let our souls take the place of the welcoming branches as we join today in the childrens' holy song: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Blessed is the king of Israel."

-Sermon of S.Andrew of Crete.

"AVE Rex noster,Fili David, Redemptor mundi,quem prophetae praedixerunt Salvatorem esse venturum.Te enim ad salutarem victimam Pater misit in mundum,quem expectabant omnes sancti ab origine mundi: Et nunc:'Hosanna Filio David, benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini.Hosanna in excelsis.'"

"HAIL, thou, our king, thou Son of David and Redeemer of the world! Thou whom the prophets didst predict to be the Saviour to come; thee did the Father send into the world as a saving victim,thou who wast waited for by all the saints from the foundation of the world! And to thee now they say: "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord!Hosanna in the highest!"."

-Magnificat antiphon, first Vespers.

ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, who hast given to mankind an example of humility to follow in Our Saviour's taking upon him flesh and suffering the death of the Cross: mercifully grant that by following the example of his patience, we may also merit to be made partakers of his resurrection. Through the same

-Collect of the day.

Aside, as you guys can see, I've basically given up translating the Latin texts into modern English. Since this is the liturgical English I'm familiar with, I just do it this way from now on.Besides, it's Just Better. And also, I'm pretty sure that I got at least one phrase from the magnificat wrong. Oh well.

Sine Cantu.

It's time for my annual liturgical abuse, and I don't know how I'm going to do it this year. I'm speaking about vespers on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, which since 1955, are no longer said in the Roman Rite by those who attend the services of those days. I say them anyway, since I have the time and I might be tempted to spend the time doing something other than praying or spiritual reading anyway.

Anyway, that's not the principle reason of this post.

The reason for this post is the almost vague rubric that serves as the title. Namely, that after the mass of Maundy Thursday,  in choro dicuntur  Vesperae sine cantu. That's it there: Sine Cantu.

It seemed obvious two years ago, when I though it meant what it said: That you recite vespers without singing anything.But then, I realised that recto tono chanting, (i.e., singing everything on one note) is called reciting. Okay, so you do sing, you just recite everything recto tono. So we're good, right?

WRONG.

Because, the Liber Usualis* gives melodies for the psalm antiphons and magnificat antiphons for these days. Okay, so it seems that we sing the antiphons to melodies, but recite the psalms and canticle recto tono, (i.e., sung on one note) right? That makes sense. So we're good, right?

WRONG.

Because, the Liber Usualis* also gives psalm-tones with the antiphons. Why this? Why tones? Why give us melodic antiphons and psalm tones when the rubric says to sing everything on one note? Do you ignore the psalm tones and pretend they're not there? Are the noted antiphons and psalm tones for places where there already exists a (contra legem?) custom of singing vespers?Are they from an old, now rarely used custom of singing vespers? *Sigh* I thought the rubrics of the older missal and breviary were supposed to be clearer than the modern Roman liturgical books.

Of course, I'm talking about the Old Liber*, By the 1961 Liber, vespers on this day are said as on Holy Saturday, which has melodic antiphons and psalms pointed for singing with psalm-tones. But, I generally refer things to the way they were before any serious reforms were made to either the missal or breviary (i.e., the Pius X breviary and the pre-1955 Roman Missal) And it's the pre-'55 Holy Week ordo that I base my Holy Week offices on.

*Mine having been printed in 1934

The Compassion of the Blessed Virgin.

Last year's posts.

"Mary, then, is at the foot of the Cross, there to witness the death of her Son. He is soon to be separated from her. In three hours' time, all that will be left her of this beloved Jesus will be a lifeles* Body, wounded from head to foot. Our words are too cold for such a scene as this: let us listen to those of St. Bernard, which the Church has inserted in her Matins of this Feast. " O Blessed Mother ! "a sword of sorrow pierced thy soul, and we may "well call thee more than Martyr, for the intensity " of thy compassion surpassed all that a bodily passion "could produce. Could any sword have made thee " smart so much as that word which pierced thy heart, "reaching unto the division of the soul and the "spirit: 'Woman ! behold thy son !' What an ex" change!—John, for Jesus! th e servant, for the Lord! "the disciple, for the Master! the son of Zebedee, "for the Son of God! a mere man, for the very God! " How must not thy most loving heart have been "pierced with the sound of these words, when even " ours, that are hard as stone and steel, break down " as we think of them ! Ah ! my Brethren, be not "surprised when you are told that Mary was a " Martyr in her soul. Let him alone be surprised, " who has forgotten that St. Paul counts it as one of "the greatest sins of the Gentiles, that they were " without affection. Who could say that of Mary ? " God forbid it be said of us, the servants of Mary!"

Amidst the shouts and insults vociferated by the enemies of Jesus, Mary's quick ear has heard these words, which tell her, that the only son she is henceforth to have on earth is one of adoption. Her maternal joys of Bethlehem and Nazareth are all gone; they make her present sorrow the bitterer: she was the Mother of a God, and men have taken him from her! Her last and fondest look at her Jesus, her own dearest Jesus, tells her that he is suffering a burning thirst, and she cannot give him to drink! His eyes grow dim; his head droops;—all is consummated !"

-Dom Gueranguer, The Liturgical Year.

The rest.

(Aside, that's my favorite painting of Our Lady of Sorrows. Someday, I'm going to find a hard copy of it to frame and put in my room.)

Lady Day.

Receive the Word, O Virgin Mary, which is sent thee by the Angel from the Lord ; thou shalt conceive, and bring forth him who is God and Man,*And thou shalt be called blessed among all women.
Thou a Maiden undefiled shalt bear for us the Holy Child ; this grace is given alone to thee, a Virgin and Mother both to be.
*And thou shalt be called blessed among all women.

Ah, great.

Now I've got an allergy attack.Right before holy week. It seems that I get sick every time one of these big festivals come around. (e.g., I had one during the octave of Christmas.)
Why, mom? Of all the things I would've inherited from you, why did I have to get the allergies? I'm in an Alavert-induced daze, so it's almost controlled, but I can't leave the house or the warm temperatures outside will kill me.

WHAT?! WHAT?!

WHAT!?
I was watching the last ten minutes of Fox29, the local news station, and what do I see? Sue Serio is at a school.Not just any school, the school where my mother works. For real. And she did'nt tell us. I wish that I had watched the whole thing, because It would have been so awesome to see if they came to my mother's class. Somehow, she didn't tell us about this. There's no way that she didn't know about this. This kind of thing does'nt just spring up on you at school the way they decide to change the brand of copy paper at the front office.

There are these two books,

That I've decided that I have to force myself to read: The Time Machine, and The Difference Engine. Let's see if anyone can recognize where this is going....*Pretends that it isn't blatantly obvious.*

So do cough drops violate the communion fast?

I feel terrible. D: It feels like I've tried to swallow pepper-covered barbed wire that was covered with wood splinters and then set on fire. I can barely talk. I hope I feel better by tomorrow, or else I'll have to cancel my weekend at the monastery.

Salve, Sancta facies.

Salve sancta facies
Nostri redemptoris,
In qua nitet species
Divini splendoris.

Impressa panniculo
Nivea candoris,
Dataque Veronice
Signum ob amoris.

Salve, decus seculi,
Speculum sanctorum,
Quod videre cupiunt
Spiritus caelorum.

Nos ab omni macula
Purga vitiorum,
Atque nos consortio
Iunge beatorum.

Salve nostra gratia
In hac vita dura,
Labili ac fragili
Cito transitura.

Nos provehat superis
Felix haec figura,
Ad videndum faciem
Que est Christi pura.

Esto nobis quesumus
Verum adiuvandum,
Dulce refrigerium
Atque consolamen.
Sic fruamur requie,
Omnes dicant.

Amen.

V.Adoramus te christe et benedicamus tibi.
R. Quia per sanctam crucem tuam redemisti mundum.

Ora. Deus qui nobis famulis tuis lumine vultus tui signatis ad instanciam Veronice imaginem sudario impressam relinquere voluisti, per passionem et crucem tuam tribue, quesumus, ut ita nunc in terris per speculum in enigmate venerari et adorare te ipsum valeamus ut tunc facie ad faciem super nos iudicem securi videamus te christum dominum nostrum.
Amen.

-Medieval prayer to the Holy Face.

Away till Sunday.

Yet another weekend at the monastery, as usual, starting Thursday afternoon. Now I've got to rush and try to cram all my preparations for holy week into a day and a half.

Joe is a bad Catholic.

Because, unless he's saying them with other Catholics, when he says the 'common prayers', he uses he forms he first learned, and so the words are sometimes different. Hence, "Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost", and "Hail holy queen, mother of mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope, all hail!". And that's without getting into the creed. Things like "Was crucified, dead, and buried" or like things.Minor differences, yes, but I got a talking-to about how we're Modern Catholics and we don't use that name for the third person of the Blessed Trinity when I, without paying attention, didn't use the modern wording once.
But you know, you get into patterns, and almost nothing can change them. But if you think that's bad, you should see the egregious abuses that I commit during mass.

The City of Philadelphia.

Today, I went to Centre City to pay the electric bill. Said bills usually come in the mail a few days before it's due, but thanks to our Wonderful city, it never came. I knew the bill was due today however, so, account number in hand, I went to the PECO office, expecting the usual hell that is anything related to the government of the City of Philadelphia. I was a bit shocked though. There was no line, and very few people waiting. There was one lady at the front desk, and me being naive, I got in the non-existent line and stood waiting for her to get finished.The lady at the desk calls: "Sir! Did you take a number?" She points to a sign conveniently located above the revolving entrance doors, where no one can see it. I hadn't, so I leave the non-existent line to go get a number, which she immediately calls.
After which, I have her my account number. "Are you sure the bill is due today?", she says.
Yes, I know it's due today. It's always due on the 23rd.

Always.
Without exception.
Is today the 23rd? Why yes, yes it is! Then the bill is due.

She finds the account, prints me a bill and sends me to the window across the room to pay the bill. "Oh sorry, I can't take $10 bills.", says the teller.Now I have to fish around for a $20, when I was so set on paying in exact change like I pay for almost everything.
Finally, I get the bill paid and leave, but not without being told "Sir! You can't go around the ropes! You have to go through them, the way you came in."

Good thing there were no useless rules to deal with!

En acetum,fel, arundo.

"He endured the nails, the spitting,
Vinegar, and spear, and reed :
From that holy Body broken
Blood and Water forth proceed :
Earth, and stars, and sky, and ocean,
By that flood from stain are freed.

Faithful Cross! above all other,
One and only noble Tree;
None in foliage, none in blossom,
None in fruit thy peer may be :
Sweetest wood, and sweetest iron,
Sweetest weight is hung on thee.

Bend thy boughs, O Tree of glory,
Thy relaxing sinews bend :
For awhile the ancient rigour
That thy birth bestowed, suspend :
And the King of heavenly beauty
On thy bosom gently tend.

Thou alone wast counted worthy
This world's ransom to sustain,
That a shipwrecked race for ever
Might a port of refuge gain :
With the sacred Blood anointed
Of the Lamb for sinners slain.

To the Trinity be glory
Everlasting, as is meet :
Equal to the Father, equal
To the Son, and Paraclete :
Trinal Unity, whose praises
All created things repeat. Amen."

-Hymn of Lauds during Passiontide.

It's the people, for sure.(Maybe)

Now I'm perfectly sure. Kinda.
I decided to use my best headphones and measure the amount of reverberation in Lourdes. In an empty church, in 60 degree weather, I got 3.14 seconds of reverberation while playing the organ. Yeah I know, that's pretty stellar for such a small church. (But it's nothing compared to a place like the Washington National Cathedral, where they get 9 seconds (!) of reverberation.) Contrast that to Christmas eve at midnight, when there was no audible reverb.Everything was terribly flat, and it ruined Hayden's wonderful mass setting.

But maybe it's not the people.Because (without any special equipment) There seemed to be a little more than two and a half seconds of reverb at the last chord of Sunday's recessional hymn. Maybe it's the weather.I know for certain that the organ at the other church where I practice sounds amazing during the summer. The reeds are more powerful and the reverb (which you can kind of hear in my low-quality recording) is almost shocking. I've gotten over four seconds of reverb before, and that was with flutes and strings.
That church, however, was made for an organ.It's tall and has a high barrel-vaulted ceiling with zero soft surfaces to be found.
Nothing but hundreds of square feet of glorious floor-to-ceiling hard surfaces.
That only confuses things more though. Lourdes is also convered in hard surfaces (plaster covered stone walls, marble flooring, solid wood pews, tile,etc.) and the ceiling even consists of a high pointed arch, but things are usually not that great acoustic-wise, at least not as great as one might surmise based on the make and materials of the building. It causes me to wonder whether or not they had one of those horrible 'acoustic paint treatments' when the church was restored so many years ago.
I will make one note though: There is one acoustic sweet spot in the church. The right transept, the pew closest to the confessional, sitting in it closest to the aisle. Everything that comes from the choir loft somehow gets shaped with a sound that you don't hear sitting in the nave. I only discovered it five months ago, during a postlude after mass.

Cat-In-The-Box.

No, it's not a snazzy new restaurant that sells bento boxes made of the cats that don't get adopted from the SPCA.My brother got new sneakers, and it didn't take Ginger long to figure out what the proper use of the box should be.

Passiontide.

(Blurry,I know, but it is what it is.)

Last year's post.

Collect of Passion Sunday (2002 Roman Missal)

"We beseech thee,O Lord our God, that, with thine aid,we may be found swiftly advancing in that same charity with which thy Son hast loved the world,and therefore gave himself up to death.Who liveth."

Novena to Our Lady of Sorrows.

The feast of Our Lady of Sorrows (Or, the feast of the Compassion of the Blessed Virgin) in passiontide is next week.It's a day late, but here is the prayer in preparation for the feast:

To be said on the seven days preceding the Feast of the Seven Sorrows.

"I.—Queen of Martyrs, and most sorrowful mother, by the bitter anguish that pierced thy heart when holy Simeon prophesied the Passion and Death of thy beloved Son, I beseech thee grant me a real knowledge of my sins, and a firm determination never willfully to sin again.

Hail Mary.

II.—Queen of Martyrs, and most afflicted Mother, by the anguish of thy most sorrowful heart, when thou didst hear of Herod's cruel persecution, and by thy sudden flight into Egypt, I entreat of thee grant me thy powerful help to overcome temptations, and steadfastly to avoid all occasions of sin. Hail Mary.

III.—Queen of Martyrs, and most suffering Mother, by the anguish of thy maternal heart, when returning from Jerusalem, thou didst lose Jesus, and seek Him sorrowing for three days, I implore thee by thy never failing intercession, that I may never lose the grace of God, but steadfastly persevere in His love and service.

Hail Mary.

IV.—Queen of Martyrs and most disconsolate Mother, by the deep distress of thy sorrowful heart at the sufferings of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, and by the agony He there endured, obtain for me pardon for my past sins, and a ready compliance to God's holy calling.

Hail Mary.

V.—Queen of Martyrs and most desolate Mother, by the consternation which thine anxious heart experienced on meeting Jesus bearing His Cross, I beseech thee to obtain for me patience in adversity, and resignation to the will of God.

Hail Mary.

VI.—Queen of Martyrs! Mother most sorrowful! by that martyrdom which thy maternal heart experienced in witnessing the crucifixion of thy Divine Son, I implore thee obtain for me the grace that at the hour of my death I may worthily receive the last sacraments, and breathe out my spirit in peace.

Hail Mary.

VII.—Queen of Martyrs ! Mother of sorrows ! by the bitter anguish of thy most desolate heart when Jesus was laid in the holy sepulchre, obtain for me the grace of perfect detachment from the love of this world, and an earnest wish to be with thee for ever in Paradise.

Hail Mary.

Litany of the Sorrows, and Stabat Mater.

V. Pray for us, O ! most sorrowful Virgin. E. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us Pray. Grant, we beseech Thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, that the most blessed Virgin Mary, Thy Mother, whose most holy soul was transfixed with the sword of sorrow in the hour of Thy passion, may intercede for us before the throne of Thy mercy, now and at the hour of our death, through Thee Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."

Another prayer:

"Chaplet of Our Lady of Sorrows:

V.O God, make speed to save me

R.O Lord. make haste to help me.

Glory be.

As it was.

I. Immaculate Virgin,who, conceived without sin, didst direct every movement of thy most pure heart to that God Who was ever the object of thy love, and who wast ever most submissive to His will; obtain for me the grace to hate sin with my whole heart, and to learn of thee to live in perfect resignation to the will of God.

Our Father, once, Hail Mary, seven times.

 Heart transpierced with pain and woe! Set my heart with love aglow.

II. I Marvel, Mary, at thy deep humility, through which thy blessed heart was troubled at the gracious message brought thee by Gabriel, the archangel, that thou wast chosen mother of the Son of the Most High, and through which thou didst proclaim thyself His humble handmaid; wherefore, in great confusion at the sight of my pride, I ask thee for the grace of a contrite and humble heart, that, knowing my own misery, I may obtain that crown of glory promised to the truly humble of heart. 

Our Father, etc., Heart, etc.

III.Blessed Virgin,who, in thy sweetest heart didst keep as a precious treasure the words of Jesus, thy Son, and, pondering on the lofty mysteries they contained, didst learn to live for God alone; how doth my cold heart confound me! O dearest mother! get me grace so to meditate within my heart upon God's holy law that I may strive to follow thee in the fervent practice of every Christian virtue.

Our Father,etc.,Heart,etc.

IV. Glorious queen of martyrs, whose sacred heart was pierced in thy Son's bitter passion by the sword whereof the holy old Simeon had prophesied; gain for my heart true courage and a holy patience to bear the troubles and misfortunes of this miserable life, so that by crucifying my flesh with its desires, while following the mortification of the cross, I may, indeed, show myself to be a true son of thine. Our Father, etc., Heart, etc.

V. O Mary, mystical rose, with loving heart, burning with the living fire of charity, thou didst accept us for thy children at the foot of the cross, becoming thus our tender mother! make me feel the sweetness of thy maternal heart and thy power with Jesus that, when menaced by the perils of this mortal life, and most of all in the dread hour of death, my heart, united with thine, may love my Jesus then and through all ages. Amen.

Our Father,etc.,Heart,etc.

Let us now turn to the most sacred Heart of Jesus that He may inflame us with His holy love.

O divine Heart of Jesus! to Thee I consecrate myself, full of deep gratitude for the many blessings I have received and daily do receive from Thy boundless charity. With my whole heart I thank Thee for having, in addition to them all, vouchsafed to give me Thy own most holy mother, giving me to her as a son in the person of the beloved disciple. Let my heart ever burn with love for Thee, finding in Thy sweetest Heart its peace, its refuge, and its happiness."

From Here and Here.

Happy Feast day!

"Who and what manner of man this blessed Joseph was, we may conjecture from that title which the providential ordering of God bestowed upon him. He was chosen to the honour of being called, and of being supposed to be, the father of God. What he was we may also conjecture from the very name Joseph, which is to be interpreted as Increase. Wherefore let us liken him to that great man after whom he was named, the Patriarch Joseph. This latter sojourned in Egypt, even as he did. From this latter he not only inherited a name, but an example of chastity which he more than equalled, so that he was like unto the Patriarch Joseph in grace and innocence.

If the Patriarch Joseph (sold by his brethren through envy, and forced into servitude in Egypt) was a type of Christ sold by his brethren and handed over to the Gentiles, the other Joseph (forced through the envy of Herod to flee into Egypt) did in actual fact bring Christ amongst the Egyptian Gentiles. The first Joseph (keeping faith with his lord) would not carnally know his lord's lady. The second Joseph (spiritually knowing the Lady who was the Mother of his Lord to be virgin) kept faithfully virgin toward her. To the first Joseph was given to know dark things in the interpretation of dreams. To the second Joseph was given in sleep to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven.

The first Joseph laid by bread, not for himself only, but for all the people. The second Joseph received into his keeping the Living Bread which came down from heaven, and he kept the same, not for himself only, but for all the world. Without doubt, good and faithful was this Joseph who espoused the Mother of the Saviour. Yea, I say unto you, he is that faithful and wise servant whom the Lord hath made ruler over his Household. For the Lord appointed him to be the comfort of his Mother, the keeper of his own body, and, in a word, the chief and most trusty helper on earth in carrying out the eternal counsels."

-Sermon of S.Bernard.

To thee, O Blessed Joseph, we have recourse in our affliction; and having implored the help of thy thrice-holy Spouse, we now with hearts filled with confidence, earnestly beg thee also to take us under thy protection. By that charity wherewith thou wast united to the Immaculate Virgin, Mother of God, and by that fatherly love with which thou didst cherish the Child Jesus, we beseech thee and we humbly pray, thou thou wouldst look down with gracious eye upon that inheritance which Jesus Christ purchased by His Blood, and wilt assist in our need by thy power and strength. Defend, O most watchful Guardian of the Holy Family, the chosen offspring of Jesus Christ. Keep from us, O most loving Father, all blight of error and corruption. Aid us from on high, most valiant Defender, in this conflict with the powers of darkness. And even as of old, thou didst rescue the Child Jesus from the peril of His life, so now defend God's Holy Church from the snares of the enemy and from all adversity. Shield us ever under thy patronage, that following thine example and strengthened by thy help, we may live a holy life, die a happy death, and attain to everlasting bliss in Heaven. Amen.

-Indulgenced Prayer to S.Joseph.

*Sigh*

I guess that's what I get.

I tried re-recording 'All Saints' today at the organ in my own parish church, along with some other tunes (Crusader's Hymn (Schönster Herr Jesu), Dominus Pascit Me,Narenza,Hanover, and Grosser Gott) Each time, almost without exception, a firetruck with alarms blazing started up and drove past the church. On my last try with 'All Saints', a truck stopped for the last three verses.It's kind of a shame, because the organ there has a better pedal division (two 32' stops and two loud 16' reeds, along with numerous flutes and strings) and has a floating choir division playable from the swell, which gives you a nice quiet effect with the division closed using the Vox Angelica and the Traverse Flute. Though I did rush through Dominus Pascit me a but.(Considering I haven't played the tune in,say, at least six months, I did pretty good without any music for a reference.)

This is what happens when you have a fire station ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE CHURCH. I'd like to meet the idiot at city planning  that came up with that idea 90 years ago.

New Followers!

Hi to both of you!

One of you has a blog that I've been reading for who knows how long. I think you know who you are.

To the other, your name reminds me of a song from Fallout 3.  (The one about the jungle, and golf clubs, and spears, and refusing to go and whatnot.)

*Dies of Nervousness*

Um.....uh....yeah....Here it Is.

Mercy please, I'm just an amateur.I only get an hour of practice one day a week, so don't grill me like I think myself to be the new Scott Dettra or Joyce Jones, or America's version of Pierre Couchereau or something.

Registration:

Introduction: Organo Pleno.(Stops as in verse 7)

Verse 1: Great:8'diapason,8'stop'd diapason,harmonic flute 4', principal 4',quint.

Swell: 8'diapason,8'stop'd diapason,principal 4', 

Pedal: Bourdon 16', swell to pedal.

Verse 2:

Great:8'diapason,stop'd diapason 8',harmonic flute 4', principal 4',Quint, Nasard 2 2/3

Swell: 8'diapason,8'stop'd diapason,Stop'd diapason bassprincipal 4', Mixture III

Pedal: Bourdon 16', swell to pedal, great to pedal

Verse 3:

Great:8'diapason,stop'd diapason 8',harmonic flute 4', principal 4',Quint, Nasard 2 2/3, Viol d'amour 8', Swell to great.

Swell: 8'diapason,8'stop'd diapason,principal 4', Mixture III, Oboe 8'

Pedal: Bourdon 16',Viola da Gamba 8', swell to pedal, great to pedal

Pedal: Bourdon 16', swell to pedal, great to pedal

Verse 4:

Swell: 8'stop'd diapason, Stop'd Diapason bass,8'dulcian,

Verse 5:

Great: Stop'd Diapason 8', Stop'd Diapason bass,Harmonic flute 4', Quint, Viol d'amour 8'

Verse 6:

Same as verse 3

Verse 7:

Great:8'diapason,stop'd diapason 8', Viol d'Amour 8, 'Trompet 8',Harmonic flute 4', Principal 4',Quint, Nasard 2-2/3, Swell to great.

Swell: 8'diapason,8'stop'd diapason,principal 4', Mixture III, Oboe 8'

Pedal: Bourdon 16',Viola da Gamba 8',Trompet 8' swell to pedal, great to pedal.

And on the same note,

Pun not intended, here's (once again) the specifications for the organ. Though the organ says that it was built in 1894 by Mudler, in reality, Mudler came in and re-voiced the organ and removed a few stops (Some of which were replaced with stops from his company.) The organ was originally built built by an as yet unknown German manufacturer (We know it's German because the drawknobs were originally in German, and there are German writings and specifications inside the organ.)
Anyway, here are the specs.The stops in parentheses used to be in the organ before 1894.

Great:
Open Diapason 8'
Principal 4'
Viol d'Amour 8'
(Gambe 16')
Stop'd Diapason 8'
Stop'd Diapason bass
Harmonic flute 4'
Quint
Nasard 2 2/3
Trompet 8'

Swell:
Open Diapason 8'
Principal 4'
Dulcian 8'
Stop'd Diapason 8'
Stop'd Diapason bass
Mixture 3 rank
Oboe 8'
(Bourdon 15')
Tremulo

Pedal:
Bourdon 16'
Viola da Gamba 8'
Trompet 8'
(Bombarde 8')
(Gross gedakt 16')

Swell to great
Swell to pedal
Great to pedal
Four company-set toe pedals.

Let's see if this works.

Okay, so I video'd myself playing 'All Saints' at organ practice today.I'm trying to upload it, but this stupid ridiculous unnccessary dumb annoying update to Firefox that I downloaded today won't show images at all and it won't load the bar for uploading videos to Youtube.I'm just going to get Opera and try again.

Passiontide veils.

Passiontide begins this Saturday evening. Somehow, my veils from last year are gone so I've got to make more. It's not very hard to make them. I buy some purple du-rags from one of the many haircare shops on 60th street, cut them in half and hem them, and for the statues, I cut off the corners and make them round.That's it. I have to pay attention to the brand though, because most brands are pretty thin, and one can see through them a bit. In that case, I have to double them. Now I need to find something for a red veil for Palm Sunday and a white veil for Holy Thursday's vespers. I'm not sure what to do for Good Friday.Do I go old-school and get a black veil? Do I do what modern Catholics do and use a red veil? Do I use the old standby and stay with the violet veil?
Gah, there's too many options, and I don't have a local custom yet.

This is unforgiveable.

This.

Geno's?

Genos?!

Where's the neighborhood pride? Jim's is much better, besides being a little cheaper.I think that Geno's is greasy, and the roll gets soggy. Also, the three times that I went, the onions were burnt. This is all besides the owner's, um...less than savoury character. Yeah, I'll put it that way.

Blah, I'll make reparation for them though. Friday isn't a day of fast or abstinence this week because S.Joseph's feast (really it's a solemnity) so I'll be going to the Proper place™ to get a Proper Steak™.

Fine weather here lately.

This one isn't facetious. It's ten degrees above the average high, a nice little breeze and it's sunny outside. Now, if only I could find some more information about my Team Issue #2. The wheels need replacing, but it has Phantom 2 trucks now, which I don't plan to replace. I like them. People don't seem to like them because they claim they break, but mine didn't. I've had mine for two years, with no problems. The logo has'nt worn off, and they have a fantastic shock absorber.
Now I just need to find a place to practice where absolutely no one will see me. D:

So what's wrong with this picture?

Hmm?

Can anyone find out?

Anyone?

Okay, I'll give you a hint. It involves Clothing.

Still don't got it?

Okay, contrast that photo with this one from this religious order?

Ah, now you've got it.

This Week in the Nanny State,

Well, technically it was last week, but anyway,

More taxing of unhealthy foods. Coupled with Ortiz's attempt to ban salt in New York.

I can't help but be confused by the Statist's logic in this. I mean, if they really want to create an incentive for people to buy healthy food, wouldn't it be better to lower their price?

"Chess boxing"?

Sounds a bit silly. Actually, I think it's the stupidest sport that I've even had the misfortune to be forced to hear about. Why can't people just be satisfied with plain ol' normal MMA?

Is'nt that a bit silly?

McCormack and Schmick's no-carry law for happy hour.Is it really so bad if people come in and buy food, but don't stay the whole time and take the leftovers with them? I mean, they did Pay for it already, so it's theirs.

All Saints.

The hymn tune, not the feast. I like this tune, but it's not in our parish's hymnal. Luckily, it is in the Westminster Hymnal, which sometimes supplies hymns for services.The only thing is that the harmonisation is a little different from the one in the English Hymnal, which is the one I'm familiar with. You can hear it Here.
Meanwhile, after mass today, I worked on an alternate harmonisation for the last verse. It's amazing what you can do by just sharping some notes, making other notes flat, and taking a few notes out of the pedal.
I also went over Narenza. That's an easy tune, since it's very similar to the tune 'Swabia'. Nice tune, but our hymnal only uses it for a hymn with four verses.
And speaking of organ music still, I was completeshocked to find out that the organ at St.Mark's near Rittenhouse:
A) Is a Skinner
B) Has over 100 stops.
St.Mark's is such a tiny little church! I though their organ might have 45-50 stops, maybe 65 if they're smart and use lots of mitred pipes and capped stops, but 100? I'm almost more shocked that a church of that size would want an organ with that many stops. It seems like it'd be overpowering.I don't remeber, since it's been, what, at least a year since I've been to St.Marks.I'll have to stop by....eventually.

I'm getting impatient.

The perpetual adoration chapel at my parish has been under renovation for the past two months or so. At first, it was just going to be some new marble flooring in place of the carpet. Then, someone suggested a vestibule be added. Last I heard, it turned into making the chapel look the way it might have looked 100 years or so ago, when the parish was built. I don't know exactly what that means, but considering what they were able to do with the upper church (which used to look like this, but now looks like this) I hope it'll look nice.
I just wish they hadn't done it now. I was planning to make a visit to the Blessed Sacrament on evenings during Lent, but that's not happening now.
Anyway, it used to look like this.Who knows what it'll look like when it's done. Of course, the server's sacristy is right next to the chapel, and the door between them has the lock on our side, so I could always peek. But that might be evil or something.

Well, that's helpful.

And then it isn't.

The antiphon 'Vide, Domine" from Lauds of Holy Thursday was in the old breviary on another day during Holy Week.(Tuesday) So I don't have to set it myself!
Problem though:
I would need access to an antiphonale, not just a vesperale, so that I can find it. There are lots of Antiphonals on the internet, but because of the large volume such a document would inevitably have, many of them do not load correctly or load with missing pages or page errors. The last I tried (The antiphonal for the day hours according to the Dominican rite) had a file error and stopped after page 2. Luckily, I have one sure source: The hours from the Sarum Office that I get from This Site. I'll try it and see what happens.

Hmm, kids.

My twin nephews are having party next week for their fifth birthday, and my sister has asked me to help watch the mob of obnoxious little tyrants-I mean, the lovely group of children who will will be attending. Yeah, that.
Anyway, it's supposed to be a themed costume party and she really wants me to wear the proper costume for the theme and not just show up in regular clothes. And I really want to wear a costume, as long as it's a cow costume and I get to keep it for later use. You never know when a cow costume will come in handy.* Luckily for me, at least four of the kids (besides my niece and nephews) have been watched by me before, so they know that I'm a bloodthirsty tyrant and that they should just avoid acting up or I'll force them to do sit ups until I get tired or something like that- I mean,they know that I'll tell their parents every single thing they do, and I that I forget nothing. All will be told. You shall be punished. Resistance is futile All your base- wait--- nevermind.

*Such as never, for instance.

"Laetare Ierusalem..

Et omnes qui diligitis eam."
-Introit for Laetare Sunday/AKA Rose Sunday, i.e., Hooray for mid-lent!

And this reminded me that the candles are getting a little short and will need replacing soon.Hopefully, they'll last till the Saturday before Passion Sunday. I can't believe that Passion Sunday and Passiontide is only a week away.

The Liturgical Year, Dom. Prosper Gueranger.

"This Sunday, called, from the first word of the Introit, Laetare Sunday, is one of the most solemn of the year. The Church interrupts her Lenten mournfulness; the chants of the Mass speak of nothing but joy and consolation ; the Organ, which has been silent during the preceding three Sundays, now gives forth its melodious voice; the Deacon resumes his Dalmatic, and the Subdeacon his Tunic ; and instead of purple, Rose-coloured Vestments are allowed to be used. These same rites were practised in Advent, on the third Sunday, called Gaudete. The Church's motive for introducing this expression of joy in to-day's Liturgy, is to encourage her Children to persevere fervently to the end of this holy Season. The real Mid-Lent was last Thursday, as we have already observed ; but the Church, fearing lest the joy might lead to some infringement on the spirit of penance, has deferred her own notice of it to this Sunday, when she not only permits, but even bids, her children to rejoice !"

"O God, who through thy Word dost wondrously bring about the reconciliation of men; grant, we pray thee: That thy Christian people, prompted by willing devotion, may hasten to the coming solemnities with a lively faith. Through Our Lord."
-Collect of the day, 2002 Roman Missal,

This is probably a Bad thing.

Well, I'm using my friend's old hotmail account because I can't recover the info for mine. Anyway, after I deleted all his interest tags, I started putting in mine, and I got into a bit of a quandry.
Do you put Organ music or Organisation first, if you're doing it alphabetically? See, I thought first that it's obviously organisation, but then, I realised that technically organ music is a compound word. So you count the character after the 'organ-' part of the word. So it's still organisation, right? But what it you count the space as the character after the first word? Then organ music goes first, right? But a compound word is one word made of two words. It's still just one word, so you just go to the 'm', and organisation comes first, right? But then, since organisation etymologically comes from two words*, does'nt that sort of make it a compound word too? But which part do you count as the first part? But etymology =/= meaning, so I left out that last part.So let's just put 'organisation' first and call it a day. But what if it's wrong and someone notices! O, the Irony of saying that one loves organisation in a sentence that is incorrectly organised! I won't alow it! Not even the possibility!
In the end, I left both out.
I should probably go back and get this checked out too.


*I think.My dictionaries and my dictionary program say that it comes from Greek and Latin roots, but I think that it really only comes from the Latin root. That's just me, and I'm not an English student or anything like that.

Good news/Bad news.

The good news is that my neighbor threw out a rather ratty looking sofa earlier in the week, and I was able to cut some fabric from the back to use as a rose-colored frontal for my home altar.
The bad news is that it's pepto-bismol pink and it's made out of wool, so it's not a nice looking fabric. Oh well, you get what you didn't-technically-pay-for-nor-even-ask-for-but-took-after-they-left for work.

The Preparation for Communion.

It saddens me that so very few Catholics use the proper preparation for communion. It's bad enough that we have a non-fast of only one hour, but now, the traditional preparation for communion has fallen out of favor. Parts of it are still said today by many priests and laity (e.g., the prayers of St.Thomas Aquinas, the prayer to the Blessed Virgin and to S.Joseph, sometimes the prayer to the Holy Trinity) But the full version, with daily psalms, antiphons, versicles and the sequence of collects to the Holy Spirit is very rarely used, much less the versions of it used in other rites (e.g., the Sarum rite with the Veni Creator Spiritus and collect, or the Carcassonne version, which is the same as the Roman version, but with different psalms.) A version of it now exists in the 2002 Roman Missal, but I don't know many who use it. Which is a shame, because it's a beautiful composition, and so many spiritual doctors and saints of the church have used it and reccomended it as a vigil before receiving communion. Maybe if it was more availble, it'd be used more.

*Sigh*

*Sigh*

The bishops seem not to care at all, and they just let this stuff happen. And people wonder why my view of the U.S. episcopacy is so low and scathing that I can't air my opinions of it here, lest my readers be scandalised.
Once again, I'm reminded why going to school in California would have been absolutely the Worst thing that I could have done to myself.

Hooray!

Hooray!

Thoughm considering the distance, I doubt I'll be able to join it. I don't even have a way to get to S.Clements, except for the rare day when I can borrow someone's transpass.

Help a brother out?

Since, you know, you're such a kind and generous person, print my chant booklet and help a poor, Catholic boy do what Psalm 47:7 says? Because Holy Week isn't far away, and as you can see, it's still a work in progress.

So yeah, either give it to me in person (I'll let you know which mass I'm serving this Sunday) or just send it to me in the mail. I can provide a shipping address. And no, it's not My address. Stalkers. I'll give you the address of someone who I know will hold the pages for me.

It's only five-six pages long, and it's the text of the chants only. I'll do the lines and neumes myself. There are four medium-sized woodcuts in it, and each antiphon has a cardinal initial.It's all in black and white, so don't worry about using your color ink.
Send me an e-mail and I'll send it to you as an attachment.(Either PDF or word document, your choice.) I'd link the PDF here, but I don't know how to do that.

Damn printer.

These past two days, I have been going through the WORST computer hell that I've even experienced.

So, I bought some ink for my Kodak ESP-3 yesterday. This is NOT a printer I would have wanted, but my dad thought it was a good deal and bought it. Well, I got home with the ink yesterday at around 2:30 PM. I worked on the printer attempting to print things until well after 12:30 midnight. Straight.Without a break. And no dinner. The stupid thing only printed blank sheets, one after another.Then It finally printed, but it printed so lightly that I thought I was looking at the reverse side of my sheets where the ink might have soaked through.I of course turned them over expecting to see the real images, only to find that this light, almost invisible thing WAS the image. It didn't print any text either. I did test sheets from the control panel, same thing. The printer does nothing whatever when I clicked the 'maintenance' icon.After the first three hours, I got an acceptable print. The images were a bit lighter than I would have wanted, and the text was a bit small, but I can live with the first and I can change the second.
So we're good, right?
Wrong.
Immediately after that, I tried to print my document. Blank pages and almost invisible images yet again. I spent the next few hours changing the settings, checking to make sure the cartridges were in place properly, making sure the printer head was in right, etc. Same problems. Around 12:36, I quit and went to bed.
Then I overslept and missed mass and the office.
I decided again to see what I could do. I went back to Kodak's diagnostic site.The first test did nothing to help. Some Google searching made me think that the printer head might be dried out.I took it out and looked at it.
It is most definitely Not dried out.
I let the printer clean it automatically about three times.Tried to print again, but still not different. The tech sites I visited suggested that it might be clogged or dirty, not dried out. Too bad the 'maintenance' icon is unresponsive, else the printer could have cleaned the printer head itself.
So I fiddled around and worked with things till around 11:36 today.

Then, an epiphany.

I went back to Kodak's site and went through the step-by-step solutions and repair a second time.This time, however, the things it suggested were exactly what my problems were. They prompted me to print a demo sheet. It came out okay. So I tried to print my document, same problems. I went back and changed one answer, and continued. Once again, the suggested errors were exactly what was actually happening. They said that the printer head is defective, and once I supplied the correct information, a new one would be sent to me free of charge.

I hope to God that It works, because It'll take me forever to attempt to hand copy those chants. I doubt I'll get it done in time.
And yes, please, please, please answer the post above this.

KTHNXBAI.

Chant: Tenebrae for the Triduum.

I did'nt do it last week, and time is running out for me to get together the chants for Holy Week.
This was last year's stuff. Most of it is the same, but there are a few changes.

Maundy Thursday:
At Lauds:
Antiphon:Vide, Domine
Psalm: Miserere; Tonus 8.G
Antiphon:Exhortatus est:
Canticle: Deducant oculi mei lacrimam; Tonus 4 A*
Antiphon; Cibavit nos Dominus
Psalm: Iubilate Domino; Tonus 8 G.
Capitulum Videmus Iesum
Responsorium Redemisti nos Domine, in tono versiculo.
Antiphon Desiderio desideravi;
Canticum Benedictus ; Tonus 1.g;
Preces:Recto tono, in a low voice
Pater noster: Tonus simplex

Good Friday:
At Lauds:
Antiphon:Proprio Filio suo
Psalm:Miserere mei;Tonus 7.c
Antiphon Dum conturbata fuerit
Canticum: Domine audivi auditionem tuam; Tonus 1.f
Antiphon: Crucem tuam adoremus, Domine,
Psalm: Lauda Ierusalem Dominum; Tonus 8.G
Capitulum Ecce prospere aget
Antiphon: Christus factus est pro nobis;
Antiphon:Posuerunt super caput eius
Canticum Benedictus; Tonus 1.g
Preces: Recto tono, low voice
Pater noster: Tonus simplex


Holy Saturday :
At Lauds:
Antiphon: Plagent eum;
Psalm: Exaudi Deus ; Tonus 7.b
Antiphon: A porta inferi;
Canticum: Ego dixi in dimidio dierum meorum; Tonus 2.D
Antiphon:O vos omnes
Psalm: Laudate Dominum; Tonus 8.c
Capitulum : Dicit Dominus: in tribulatione sua
Antiphon: Christus factus est pro nobis;
Antiphon:Mulieres sedentes
Canticum Benedictus;Tonus 1.g
Preces: Recto tono
Pater noster: Tonus simplex.

My dad is supposed to get back his camera that he let someone borrow some many months ago. Hopefully, I can record parts of the office.
You can see that some of the psalms and/or antiphons are different than those from last year. That's because I discovered two resourced that I had never heard of until recently: namely, the Ordo Cantus Officii, and rubric 274 of the Liturgia Horarum*. The former giving the actual proscribed antiphons for the sung office, some of which differ from those in the breviary, and the latter giving permission for one to select any other appropriate antiphon when there is no chant available for the one given in the breviary. To these, I also decided to take advantage of the rubric in the brveiary which allows one to use the psalms of Friday week III on Holy Thursday. That way, the miserere which was traditionally recited daily at lauds during the triduum will be used as it traditionally was.

Ha! You thought I was going to say Rubric IX.

Happy Birthday!

Today is Ginger's 10th birthday. She does'nt seem to care that she's now entering the senior cat divisions. In fact, she's spent the morning running back and forth in the hallway in a rare burst of pent-up energy. I have a special treat to give her for dinner, and some new things. Pictures later.
I wonder if it's weird to wish your cat happy birthday online and give her presents and the like.....nah, that's normal.

Feast of the Five Holy Wounds.

That feast, an old medieval feast, whose mass and office survived in the Roman Missal until Pius XII's trimmings, is this Friday. I haven't been to a mass celebrating that feast in ages.Interestingly, parts of the mass of the feast (the missa Misericordias Domini) were incorporated into the missa Misericordias Domini of the new Roman Missal,which is the mass De Dei Misericordia-the mass of the Mercy of God. So if a priest celebrated this mass, they could (More or less at least) be celebrating the feast of the Five Wounds (Hint-hint.)

Anyway, here is the office of the feast (Minus matins) from a monastic breviary:

At I vespers:
Psalms of Good Friday, antiphons as at lauds.
Resp.Breve.
V.Ipse vulneratus est*propter iniquitates nostras
R.Ipse vulneratus est,etc.
V.Attritus est propter sclera nostra
R.Propter iniquitates nostras.
V.Gloria Patri.
R.Ipse vulneratus est, etc.

Hymn:Vexilla Regis prodeunt.

V. Videbunt in quem transfixerunt
R. Et dolebant super eum,ut in morte promogeniti.

Ad Magnif.Ant. Dum in cruce penderet unigenitus Dei filius,et ab omnibus subsannaretur,mater eius virgo Maria ipsum verum Deum at hominum condolens venerabatuur.
Collect as at lauds.

At Lauds:

Ant.1 Vere langores nostros* ipse tulit, et dolores nostros ipse portavit.
Ant.2 Ipse autem* vulneratus est propter iniquitates nostras, attritus est propter sclera nostra.
Ant.3 Alligavit Dominus* plagam populi suis, et percussam eius sanavit.
Ant.4 Omnis, qui transibit, stupebit super omnes plagas eius.
Ant.5 O vos omnes, qui transitis per viam, attendite et videte si est dolor sicut dolor meus.
Capit. Is. 53:5

V. Vere languores nostros*Ipse tulit.
R.Vere languores nostros,etc.
V.Et dolores nostros ipse portavit.
R.Ipse tulit.
V. Gloria Patri.
R. Vere languores, etc.

Hymn: Lustra sex, qui iam peracta.

Ad Ben. ant. Unus militum lancea latus eius aperuit, et continuo exivit sanguis et aqua.

Collect.
Deus,qui Unigeniti Filii tui passione, et per quinque Vulnera eius Sanguinis effusione humanam naturam peccato perditam reparasti; tribue nobis, quaesumus, ut qui ab eo suscepta Vulnera veneramur in terris, eiusdem pretiosissimi Sanguinis fructum consequi mereamur in caelis. Per eundem Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.

At terce:
Ant.Ipse autem, etc.
Cap. as at lauds.
V.O vos omnes, qui transitis per viam
R.Attendite et videte si est dolor sicut dolor meus.

At sext.
Ant. Alligavit Dominus, etc.
Cap. Is.50:6-7

V.Disciplina pacis nostra super eum
R.Et livore eius sanatis sum

At None.
Ant. Omnes quis transibit, etc.
Cap. Is.53:2
V. Oblatus est, quia ipse voluit
R. Et non aperuit os eius

At II vespers:
Ad Mag.ant.
Ego sum vestra redemptio:Manus meae;quae vos fecerunt, clavis confixae sunt:Propter vos flagellis caesus sum,spinis coronatus sum; aquam petii pendens, et acetum porrexerunt in escam meam fel dederunt, et in latus lanceam: mortuus, et sepultus resurrexit: vobiscum, et vivo in aeternum.

I'll add the actual texts for the chapters later. I also have the offices of the feasts of the crown of thorns and Holy Winding-sheet, which I'll type out later.

New Candlesticks.

For my home altar.

I found two sets of candlesticks thrown out, and I took them to use. One is black, rather plain with unadorned shields on them. Those I'll use for Good Friday.The other is brass, with the same size and general shape, but in a Martin Travers-esque neo-baroque style.These I'll keep up until Paschaltide, since they're too ornate for the sobriety and plainness of Lent. Maybe they'll get an outing on on Laetare Sunday. Gothic-style candles are something I'd like, but they're hard to find, so my home altar is in a baroque style.

New Art.

(Click for full size, as usual.)

(Another version.)
This was the reference picture I was given:

I guess it's okay. The colors are obviously WAY off, but I did the best with what I had.

I got halfway through, and then,

I thought to myself: "'Y'know, maybe you should do it in English first.It's easier to understand, and you've already memorized the prayers in English, but you need a reference for the Latin."
I'm talking about the order of mass I'm typing up

Looks like I'm going for my license again.

My driver's license.I got my permit two years ago, but I got cold feet the day of the test and didn't go.
My sister is supposed to give me lessons again, which is a good thing or bad thing, depending on your point of view. Good, because we know each other well, and the police will get the right suspect when I mysteriously disappear shortly after wrecking her car. Bad, because she, like everyone else in my family, drives like a typical Philadelphian. No one here follows the traffic laws.They're more like traffic options.Or traffic suggestions. If you want to, you can slow down at the yellow light.Or,you could gun the engine and sidewswipe some lady unloading groceries. If it's okay with you, could you please not turn on the red? Oh? You want to turn on the red? Okay then, but I suggest against it. We'd like if if you did'nt stop on the crosswalk, because, y'know, you make people walk into traffic, but if you've got a good reason, like, you can get all the green lights if you stop there and do 56 on a 45 MPH street, that's okay.

Now, the question is whether I'll be part of the problem while simultaneously complaining about people who do such things. But now I'll have to go through the absolute and utter Hell that is the Philly DMV. I think I've ranted on their incompetence before, right?
Well today, the line went outside and down to the corner. The friggin' corner. It went OUTSIDE. and down the other end of the block TO THE CORNER.

Novena to St.Joseph.

Starts today.

O Blessed St. Joseph, tenderhearted father, faithful guardian of Jesus, chaste spouse of the Mother of God, I pray you join with me in praising God the Father through His Divine Son Who died on the cross and rose again to give us sinners new life. Through the holy Name of Jesus, pray with me that we may obtain from the eternal Father the favor we ask for (state your intention).

We have been unfaithful to the unfailing love of God the Father; beg of Jesus mercy for us His brothers and sisters. Amid the splendors of God's loving Presence, do not forget the sorrows of those who weep. By your prayers and those of your most holy spouse, our blessed Lady, may the love of Jesus answer our call of confident hope. Amen.

Bless me, O dearly beloved Father, St. Joseph; bless my body and my soul; bless my resolutions, my words and deeds, all my actions and omissions, my every step; bless all that I possess, all my interior and exterior goods, that all may redound to the greater honor of God. Bless me for time and eternity, and preserve me from every sin. Obtain for me the grace to make atonement for all my sins by love and contrition here on earth, so that after my last breath I may, without delay, prostrate at thy feet return thee thanks in Heaven for all the love and goodness thou, O dearest Father, hast shown me here below. Amen.

Pray 3 Our Father's, 3 Hail Mary's, and 3 Glory Be's in thanksgiving to God for the graces and prerogatives bestowed on St. Joseph.

O blessed Joseph, foster father of my Savior and chaste spouse of the mother of God, this day I irrevocably adopt thee for my intercessor with the Almighty as well as my model, my protector and my father in this valley of exile. O St. Joseph, whom the Lord constituted guardian of His Family, I beseech thee to extender thy tender solicitude over all my interests. Kindle in my heart a vehement love for Jesus and enable me to serve Him with all thy devotedness and fidelity. Aid my inability to venerate Mary as my advocate, to honor her as my Queen and to love her as my Mother. Be my never-failing guide in the way of virtue and piety, and grant that, after having faithfully followed thee in the path of justice, I may receive thy powerful protection at the hour of my death. Amen.

C'mon St.Joseph! Get me a job! Minimum wage a plus, but not necessary!

Episema.

I really don't know how to interpret these correctly. I know that they are supposed to be held a bit longer than a regular note, but whenever I try, it ends up sounding like a punctum mora. I don't mean horizontal episemas, those are easy to sing, it's the vertical ones that I do wrong. But it's odd though, because I think I can get it right when the episema is part of a salicus, but out of that, I tend to accent it too much and it sounds more like a held note than an accented one.

Not that it matters much. I've been told that, like the Graduale Simplex, the Vatican endition of the new Antiphonale Romanum no longer uses the vertical episema.I don't know id they're using any of the other possible accents for the notes, because I have'nt yet seen it.

The Divine office.

One of my lenten exercises is something that isn't really of great importance , but something that I really needed to do. I'm trying my best to say the offices more reverently, with attention and devotion. I realised that I was doing wrong a while ago when I noticed that I could recite lauds and vespers in 15 minutes, when it used to take me 30. Part of it is simple familiarity: I did'nt know much latin at all, and even if I was familiar with the form of the office, I had to say things slowly to make sure that I was saying the right words.Even now, I'm constantly finding that I've been pronouncing a word wrong by stressing the wrong syllable. But eventually,within a few months after I got used to the psalter, I think I just started reciting the office without taking time not just to reflect on it, but even so far as to ignore the pauses and half-pauses in the psalms and preces.

I've tried to do things better now. I've given myself a set time for the lenght of the pauses in the office, to make sure that I don't just rush through things. I've also given myself a set beat for the recitation of the hymnsand I'm using the pauses and half-pauses printed with the psalms,preces, and responsories. More importantly, I'm trying to resist the temptation to recite the words of the psalm quickly as usual,but still use the pauses.

An exercise in futility.

*Sigh*
I think ED/M&R is getting boring nowadays. As you can see, the topics are mostly angstheist threads about how God does'nt exist and Christianity/ all religion is a lie. That's fun sometimes, because most of these people barely have a grasp of what any religion teaches, so it's not hard to slam them, but it get's boring when you spend most of the day pointing out the obvious and slamming the same logical fallacies. We used to have fun topics: We once had a 15 page thread on the difference between secular humanism and Christian humanism.Nowadays, a lot of the regulars are'nt on Gaia anymore, and the noobs who have taken their place most likely would not know what humanism in any of it's forms is. And some of the regulars have gotten bitter and annoying.

For example,our last really good thread was a thread on women's ordination. We've done those before, and most of the regulars are pretty open-minded (In the good sense of that term, in that, they understood what the church taught about it, and politely disagreed.) But, there is one person who's increasingly annoying in her crusade to save poor,defenceless women from the Big Bad Evil Catholic Churchtm. I made all my arguments, (some of which are my own)Because know her very well, and she's quite a radical feminist, I knew I had to step lightly or she'd start an off-topic rant with lots of fallacious, disconnected arguments and vulgar profanity. Despite the fact that I never appealed to any of the increasingly weak,badly-worded or sometimes actually misogynistic arguments usually touted, she refused to beleive that the church's inability to ordain women was based on anything other than support of gender roles and hatred of women. No amount of reasoning could dispell it. And then, people started to back her up. I was suprised, because she was'nt even offering any rebuttals to my or anyone else's arguments. She just said in so many words "Misogyny! Stereotypes! They want all the power! They hate women!"
I ended up just quitting the thread than argue with a brick wall.

Then, a week or so ago, we had the monthly "Christianity stole from paganism" thread. Usually, we all deal with this well because it's already been done to death. But this time, whenever I or my four good Gaia friends presented the usual arguments that: a) There are things in Christianity that are uniue in western thought b) It's unlikely that religions of the far east, such as Brahmanism or any of the historic Vedic religions could have had a great deal of influence on early Christian thought. c) People can't steal their own traditions d) We don't know a lot about many pagan sects of the time, and some of what we know is certain to be an appropriation of Christain doctrine to paganism.
Those on the other side chose to call everone who disagreed with them blind liars who know that we're wrong, but refuse to give up because we've invested too much effort and money in Christianity. Nevermind the fact that at least three of the people arguing against them were various kinds of pagan themselves (One Asatru, another Theistic Satanic, another Wiccan). They could not be budge. Most of us bowed out of it because it was turning into a big " YOR RONG! NO U!" fest.
There seems to be something in the water, because our usually civil, intelligent,organised clique of regulars is turning a biting,angry illogical group of ranters and ravers.

Saint Joseph.

I almost forgot that March is the month traditionally dedicated to St. Joseph. Yeah, I know, bad placement since it's in lent, but since the feast of his Patronage in April was suppressed, the only other option is the feast of St.Joseph The Worker in May, which is Mary's month.

St.Joseph is one of my patron saints, at least for the past two years. I usually try to keep Wednesdays in honor of St.Joseph by saying the litany of St.Joseph before mass, the chaplet of St.Joseph after mass, and some prayers at his shrine in the church.I'm very lucky that one of my confirmation presents was a booklet of prayers to St.Joseph, which I didn't use at first, but now do. I also received a Cord of St.Joseph, which I now wear daily. I try to encourage other people to wear one, but everyone's not into that sort of thing.

Now it's time for the annual novena. Read this, I'll hopefully be able to post the prayers daily.

Last year's Triddum in Honour of St.Joseph:
Day One
Day Two
Day Three.

Today,

I spent the day running errands.I was out of the house after terce (Around 10:15) I bought four markers from Blick, because they were on sale. I wasted some time at Border's reading Eyeshield 21,vol 24, Gin Tama vol.2 and some random stuff. Then off to buy bleach and supplies to clean the kitchen. Then the organ concert at Wanamaker's*. Then to buy new headphones.Only the guy at FYE would'nt let me in because he thought I was cutting school. No matter, I bought a better pair somewhere else. (Or at least relatively better...more on that later.) Then, with all the stuff in my backpack, a trip to buy pillowcases,tablecloths and dish detergent.(And where I found some unbleached candles.I bought them, and I'll save them for Holy Week. Then, having been distracted, a visit to another department store to buy a new skillet and make a return for something we bought a few weeks back. Then a visit to the Blessed Sacrament at St.John's on 13th street.Then home. Then to the market to buy cat food,litter, and fruit juice. Vespers, dinner and compline when I got home.** I had a terrible headache again, so I missed the First Friday at the parish.
And that was basically the whole day.

*Okay, yeah, it has'nt been Wanamaker's for a long time now, but my family alway's called it Wnamaker's.Even when it was Lord and Taylor, we still called it Wanamaker's. Force of habit, I guess.

**And I saw Adam testing out this really cool looking DJ maching that they claim can replace a turntable, but I forget it's name.Something to do with monkeys.***

***No, it has nothing to do with Monchichis.Please never mention those.