A New Name.

I really love the theology of picking a new name in religion. Even though I don't have to do it, I do want to pick a new name, for various reasons. Some are pragmatic: The man whose name I share wasn't a saint and doesn't have a feast day, so I have no patron as my name and no name day. No one can pronounce it, no one can spell it and hardly anyone knows who the guy was. Some are spiritual. The religious life is supposed to be a taste of heaven for us. Our lord said to St. John that to those who persevere, he would give a new name when they arrived in heaven. The religious life is our heaven on earth, difficult as it may be,since for those who are called, it fits us for heaven. So we ought to receive a new name.

It represents in a concrete way the giving up of family ties that Our Lord commands in the gospel, and it represents the subjection of oneself to Christ, and the will to lose oneself that Christ may be present. We become less of us so that he may be more and more present in us, which is the essence of sanctity. And sanctity and union with God is the goal of the religious life.

So those are some of the reasons. It is of course, far too early along for my to be seriously thinking of the name I would like and asking for permission to have it, but I do wounder what I could chose. None of the saints I like have names that I can actually choose. I like St.Pius V, since he did in essence what the king whose name I share did. But Pius as a name sounds too pretentious. For my other choices, there are priests and brothers with the name in the community already, so that's not going to happen. I could probably do Louis, Augustine, Bernard, Cyprian, Denis, Ambrose, Edward, or Nicholas. Boniface, Clement, Aelred, Paschal,Fidelis, Irenaeus, and Cuthbert are probably off limits.

But we'll see what I can come up with.

Coming to terms.

With life. It's not easy. It's really hard knowing that this past year is the last of almost everything. The last Christmas and Thanksgiving I'll ever spend with my family, the last of birthday parties, the last of personal possessions. Within a few months, novitiate will start, and I'll have nothing but God. Everything I own will be gone, and to some extent, family ties will have to loosen a bit.

And this isn't at all easy.

It's not helped by the fact that none of my family is Catholic. Monasteries and friars and seminaries, and habit and novitiate years and the Three Holy Vows, none of these things have any meaning to them. I think I could take it all a bit better if they understood, but they don't and I can't seem to help. I suppose in a sense, It's only harder for me because I know it's hard for them. But it's not in my hands, it's in God's. I'll just do my part and offer as many rosaries for this intention as I can, and hope that come Christmas, it'll all make more sense for them.

Mary, Our holy foundress.

I have nothing against carmelites, but I think the promises that come with our scapular are a lot more clearer, and thus in my opinion, better.

Ritual Notes.

(This was the 12:15 English Mass)
Music:
Procession: Our Lady of Mercy, sweet and pure
Mass setting (Minus gloria and agnus dei) A community mass, Richard Proulx
Gloria: mass in b flat 'Orgelmesse', F.J. Haydn.
Agnus dei: Holy Cross mass, David Isele
Sequence: Plaudat Agmen Captivorum, mode VII
Alleluia Ave Maria, mode I
Creed: Credo III
Offertory: Ave, verum corpus, W.A.Mozart
Hymn:Mother of Mercy, day by day
Communion:
Hymn:Maria, mater gratiae
Motet: Ave Maria, Jacques Arcadelt
Recessional: This is the feast of victory
Postlude: Dialogue sur les Grandes Joux, Clerambault (Yes, really!)


Minus the rain, today was an excellent day. Besides being Mercy Day, the external solemnity of the feast of Our Lady of Mercy,the mass celebrated at the parish was wonderful. In a way, and I mean this as an extreme compliment, it seemed almost like an anglo-catholic rather than Roman Catholic mass.

Yours truly ended up in the procession rather than in the choir today, because I'm one of the postulants, and all the postulants, priests, and brothers were in the procession. We got the 'Bar Song' during the procession. (I call that hymn the Bar Song because, despite having lovely lyrics, it was written in the 30's, and the music relfects that. It sounds rather like an old bar song than a hymn to Our Lady, but the parishioners love it and they refuse to sing the text to any other tune. (And yes, that means they've tried.) There were a crucifer and two acolytes, thurifer, and four torches at the elevation.
The vestments were the gold gothic set with the tudor rose pattern that gets taken out on feast days (It's the one used at 40 hours and the one that's always used at the Easter vigil) The M.C. wore a surplice made entirely of lace (As in, no actual fabric. And it was'nt the sort that's made out of embroidered nylon, the kind that was popular in the 1940's. This is completely made of knit lace, which if it was'nt/is'nt an abuse, it ought to be.*)

The mass was celebrated ad orientem as well. The opening versicles of the mass were sung. rather than simply being said, and all the responses and prayers (including the final blessing and dismissal) were sung.As noted above, the Mercedarians have special sequences for the feast of Our holy Father, S.Peter Nolasco, and Our holy Mother and foundress, Our Lady of Mercy.
After the sermon (A good rousing one on secularism, islamic extremism, and the power and intercession of Our Lady, as well as the importance of devotion to her (The rosary, scapular, chaplets and novenas, etc.) the brothers renewed their vows, and then the creed was sung.

At the offertory, the missal was removed from the altar during the incensation, which is is now the common practice. Then, the celebrant, concelebrants,M.C., and then the people were incensed. At the sanctus, the thurifer and torchbearers came into the sanctuary, genuflected, and knelt. The sacred host and the chalice were incensed at the elevation, and the torchbearers and thurifer left after the amen at the end of the canon. (The Roman Canon was used.)

Communion was given standing, but with the M.C. and one of the taller servers holding the communion patens for the people's communion.

At the end of mass, we all recessed to the narthex for the versicle, response and blessing. ('Prosit', etc.) The organist then played Clerambault's lovely dialogue, which is an od coincidence. (I was just talking about it not too long ago.) It was lovely to hear the 16' pedal reeds in use with the 32' contre Bourdonne. It's a lovely sound, and gets you the sound of the 32' reeds but without the shaking of the windows near the organ loft.

Pretzels and water ice were in the parish hall after mass.

First Vespers of Our Lady of Mercy

Ant.1 VIDI captivitatem*populi mei, filiorum meorum et filiarum mearum,quam superduxit illis aeternus
Ant.2 Conteram virgam eius* de dorso tuo, et vincula tua disrumpam.
Ant.3 In funiculis Adam* traham eos,in vinculis caritatis
Ant.4 Ecce hereditas Domini*filii, merces,fructus ventris.
Ant.5 Non fecit* taliter omni nationi: et iudicia sua non manifestavit eis.

Capit. Eccli.24,23-24
Ego quasi vitis fructificavi suavitatem odoris, et flores mei fructus honoris et honestatis. Ego mater pulchrae dilectionis et timoris, et agnitionis, et sancta spei.

Hymnus:

Dei Mater Virgo,
absque casu stella
Pulchra tamquam luna, Utque sol electa.

Nostras audi preces
Tu, quae capivorum,
miserata quaestus
Conteris catenas

O ter fausta dies,
qua afflatu tuolum pro votis
recreasti Petrum!

O nimis profundus
caritatis ardor!
sic a culpa solve
quos a iugo grates

Agit iste grates
ordo, quem benignua
voce demonstrasti
consecrandum tibi

Tuo, diva, Parens,
Gnatos reple zelo,
Ut corde sequamur,
Ore quod vovemus

Ei laus, qui simplex,
Personisque Trinus
Contulit Mariam
Nobis in parentem. Amen.

V.A Domino factus est istud.
R Et est mirabile in oculis nostris.

Ad Magnif.Ant. Laudate*Dominum Deum nostrum, quo non deseruit sprantes in se: et in me ancilla sua adimplevit misericordian, quam promisit domui Israel, alleluia.

Collect:

Deus, qui per gloriosissimam, etc.
sudu

Vigil of Our Lady of Mercy.

Tomorrow, the vigil of the feast of our holy Foundress, the the Blessed Virgin herself, is a day of penance for the whole order.

Office, including Ben.ant of the feria.
Collect:

Adiuva nosomnipotens et misericors Deus:
ut tibi thundis cordibus placeamus,
qui sollemnitatem apparitionis
sanctissimae Virginis et institutricis nostrae
Mariae corporalibus abstinentiis placeamus. Per Dom.

Wednesday.

I should be getting back to regular posting. Sorry guys.

Anyways, today was orientation day at the seminary. After the angelus, lauds, and holy mass at the friary, we all went to the seminary. Today, we started to wear the typical seminarian dress for the college division.(Black suit and tie, white shirt.) We filled out forms, and found our rooms. The seminary classes are large enough this year that the seminary has had to open up sections of the dorms that had been vacant for 10-25 years. I think that the room I was given was on of those vacant, unused rooms, Meh, I don't care. As long as it's usable. The seminarians had mass at 11:00, but as we has already had mass at the friary, we did'nt go. Time was spent wandering the grounds and discovering things until 2:00, including the amazing lounge that the lower side has. A pool table, Foosball, ping-pong,televisions, even an N64 with games. As I had games at home, I'll asl my brother to send them so that I can make a donation of them. (They somehow have managed to not have neither Super Smash Brothers nor Starfox64. Loosers.
A delicious lunch in the refectory was later, and then I goofed off for a bit time to waste time.Mostly I stayed in the library, browsing.

Anway, at 2:00, we went to the room where our three sessions with the rest of the new seminarians were held. They were held by the spiritual director, the academic dean*, and the rector. Since it ended at 4:15, and solemn vespers and benediction were at 5:00, it did'nt make sense to go home. So us, the postulants, and two of the seminarians from Raleigh,(who seem to be pretty cool) went to the student lounge to play ping pong (Which I suck at) and pool. (Which I also suck at.) They had a digital organ there too, so my surprise. I got in a little practice, but it's an old Rodgers, and the lower octave of the pedals cipher, and the lower octave of the pedals and manual don't work properly. Oh well, I don't care. More seminarians piled in, and soon the place was pretty full.

At around 4:40, we all left to go to the chapel for vespers. Confusion as to my seat in the choir ensued, as the chart failed to make proper sense. It had me sitting behind the cantor,across from one of our other postulants, in front of one of the priests who I knew, and next to three seminarians who I had gotten to know. Only, the cantor was a little away from where they told me to sit, our postulant was two rows ahead of me, the priest was behind me as on the chart, as was one of the seminarians, but the other two were two rows ahead as well. So I just moved and hoped I was in the right spot.
After vespers and benediction, we went home for dinner and compline. I had a colloquium with my vocations director, and now I'm off to community time.

*Posts*

Well, I've been here since Friday. My mom, oldest sister, and youngest nephew came over for dinner that night to say goodbye and to have a little tour. Neither is very happy about this all, but eh, there's nothing I can do about that. I had a short class on Saturday on the divine office, and on Sunday night, at solemn sung vespers, me and the two other guys welcomed into the postulancy and got our pins. Nothing much else has happened other than the refusal of my computer to connect to the wireless.

Classes begin this Friday, which is semi-exciting. I say semi-exciting because there's only one class I've ever done very well in in school, and that was English. Others, I only did fair in (Everything except math) Or was really, really, really bad at. (Maths. I don't do math. Math in every and all form is evil.)

Romanticised Dreams of the Religious Life.

I never had any.

Which is good.

You see, when I first started discerning, I followed advice and read the famous book Goodbye, Good Men. And I made up my mind that whether I entered the seminary directly or joined a community, that That was going to be my experience. I prepared to pretend to dislike private devotions, and to ignore traditional forms of prayer. I read up on a few liberal Catholic authors so I could know some of their ideas and let people think I read them for fun. I prepared to live with priests and religious that never ever under any circumstances wear clerical dress or habits. I prepared for masses and liturgies that would make the organisers of the LA religious education conference scream "Abuse! abuse!"
I expected to live among people who have all the love for the church and it's teaching and magisterial authority that you'll find in people like Sr.Joan Chittister, Fr.Bourgeoise, Fr. Richard McBrien, Fr.Joseph O'Leary, and other of their ilk. I expected to lay low and keep any inkling of orthodoxy secret. I expected, in fine, that whether I went to seminary directly or joined a community, unless I join some rad trad community, I'd be in Hell on Earth, and would probably knock off a lot of Purgatory in the process.

Good thing it doesn't look like that's Not what's going to happen.

I think I did the right thing. I expected the worst, and found the best. The best community, and the best seminary. There's no perfect community. I found that out while I was looking. Some of them were a bit too strict for me (Think those Carmelite monks you see linked at the side) Some were too lax (I won't mention them out of charity) but expecting the worst made sure that I did'nt choose a community and go in thinking it'd be all candy and rainbows and dancing sugarplums, so even if as of yet, I can't find anything at all that I don't like about my community or seminary, the possibility that I might later neither shocks nor scandalises me.

So now that that's out of the way, I can't seem to find where I put some of the books I got that I have to bring with me. D;

I like to look at this magazine cover,

To remind myself of the quality of American religious life. Though I, I can't see what's wrong with it. Didn't St.Clare wear miniskirts and play bongos during mass instead of participating in the the Sacrifice? And I'm pretty sure that St.Bridget of Sweden said that she was 'Beyond Christ on the Cross' once.Just a thought.

The Crown of Twleve Stars.

The Crown of Twelve Stars of the Blessed Virgin Mary
An ancient devotion of the Mercedarian Order.

Let us offer praise and thanksgiving to the Most Holy Trinity, Who hath shown us the Virgin Mary, clothed with the sun, the moon between her feet, and on her head a mystic crown of twelve stars.

R. For ever and ever. Amen.

On the first large bead:

Let us praise and thank the Divine Father, Who elected her for His daughter.

R. Amen. Say Our Father.

On the small bead:

Praised be the Divine Father, Who predestined her to be the Mother of His Divine Son.

R. Amen. Say Hail Mary.

On the small bead:

Praised be the Divine Father, Who preserved her from all stain in her conception.

R. Amen. Say Hail Mary.

On the small bead:

Praised be the Divine Father, Who adorned her at birth with His most excellent gifts.

R. Amen. Say Hail Mary.

On the small bead:

Praised be the Divine Father, Who gave her Saint Joseph to be her companion and most pure spouse.

R. Amen. Say Hail Mary, and Gloria.

On the next large bead:

Let us praise and thank the Divine Son, Who chose her for His mother.

R. Amen. Say Our Father.

On the small bead:

Praised be the Divine Son, Who became incarnate in her bosom and there abode for nine months.

R. Amen. Say Hail Mary.

On the small bead:

Praised be the Divine Son, Who was born of her and was nourished at her breast.

R. Amen. Say Hail Mary.

On the small bead:

Praised be the Divine Son, Who in His childhood willed to be taught by her.

R. Amen. Say Hail Mary.

On the small bead:

Praised be the Divine Son, Who revealed to her the mystery of the Redemption of the world.

R. Amen. Say Hail Mary, and Gloria.

On the next large bead:

Let us praise and thank the Holy Spirit, Who took her for His spouse.

R. Amen. Say Our Father.

On the small bead:

Praised be the Holy Spirit, Who, revealed first to her His Name of Holy Spirit.

R. Amen. Say Hail Mary.

On the small bead:

Praised be the Holy Spirit, by Whose operation she was at once Virgin and Mother.

R. Amen. Say Hail Mary.

On the small bead:

Praised be the Holy Spirit, by Whose power she was the living-temple of the ever-blessed Trinity.

R. Amen. Say Hail Mary.

On the small bead:

Praised be the Holy Spirit, by Whom she was exalted in Heaven above every living creature.

R. Amen. Say Hail Mary and Gloria.

Let us praise Mary, who hath done so much for our good,
and let us say to her:
God hail thee, Mary,
Mother of Clemency,
Comforter of the Afflicted,
Redemptress of Captives.
Thou art the glory of Jerusalem,
thou art the joy of Israel,
thou art the honor of our people.
V. Remember thy congregation * , O Mary.
R. Which belongs to thee from the beginning.

Let Us Pray
O God, Who by means of the Most Glorious Mother of Thy Divine Son,
didst enrich the Church with a new religious family
for the redemption of the faithful of Christ
from pagan oppression, grant, we beseech Thee,
that we may be freed from our sins
and from the bondage of the devil
by the merits and intercession of her
whom we devoutly venerate as the founder
of so great a work.
R. Amen

Pray Hail, Holy Queen
(to be said for the Holy Catholic Church, for the propagation of the Faith, for peace among Christian peoples and the extirpation of heresy).

The News in In.

Somehow, I forgot to tell you all that as of last week, I've been accepted as a postulant for the Mercedarian Friars. I could leave home somewhere around the 20th of August.

Keep me in your prayers, since I have to find a way to tell my extended family that I'm no longer Thinking about doing this. I'm Planning on doing this. Dates have been set. Appointments have been made.

And on that note,

Lauds and Vespers form the Mercedarian breviary, for the feast of  S.Peter Nolasco, founder and Patriarch of the order. I've transcribed it myself, but I think it's mostly free of major errors.

Ant 1.Redemptionem misit Dominus populo suo, quam mandavit Pe-

tro famulo suo.

Ant. 2 Ab infantia mea creavit mecum miseratio, et ex utero matris meae egressa est mecum.

Ant. 3. Pecunias .suas non dedit ad usuram, sed pro captivis ipse commutavit.

Ant 4.Magno caritatis exemplo animam suam pro fidelibus liberandis Domino consecravit.

Ant.5. Liberavit pauperem a potente et inopem , cui non erat adiutor.

Capitulum. i.Ioan.2

In hoc cognovimus cari- 
tatem Dei: quoniam ille 
animam suam pro nobis po- 
suit : et nos debemus pro 
fratribus animas ponere.

R/. Deo gratias.

Hymnus.

Petre , qui , iussu Genitrcicis almae  
Eripis dura domitos catena,
Liberans plebem propi servientem  
Meribus atris


Hoc apis quondam docuit futurum,  
Insidens quando manibus tenellis  
Melle foecundat, puerumque sacro
Nectare complet.


Te patrem nati veneramur omnes.  
Supplices , et te precibus vocamus;  
Ut tuus nostris geminus novetur  
Cordibus ardor.


Vincla vesanae Stygis, et latentes
Daemonis technas Animis repelle,
Ne tuos caeco maculis subactos
Claucere claudant.

Qui dedit vires iter inchoandi
Adsit ingressis Pater, atque Patre
Adsit aeternam Genitus, nec absit 
Spiritus almus. Amen

V/.Ora pro nobis P. N.S. Petre. 
R/.Ut digni efficiamur promissonibus Christi. 

Ad Mag. ant.Majorem caritatem 
nemo habet,ut inimam suam ponat quis pro amicis suis.  

Ant.Redemptionem cum reliquis ut in I vesperis
Hymnus Petre, qui iussu ut in I vespers. 

V/.Ora pro nobis P. N.S. Petre. 
R/.Ut digni efficiamur promissonibus Christi. 

Ad Ben.Ant. Visitavit nos Dominus per Petrum filium suum; ut sine timore, de manu inimicorum nostrorum liberati serviamus illi.  



Ad II Vesperis

Omnia ut in I vesperis, praeter:

Ad Mag.Ant. Laudemus virum gloriosum, et parentum nostrum; ardentissimam eius caritatem imitari conemur,qui exauvdivit pauperes vinctos in medicitate et ferro. Salvavit eos de manu odientium, et redemit eos de manibus inimicorum.

OH.EM.GEEE.

LOOK AT WHAT I FOUND.

I can't beleive this is actually here. I've been looking for a source for all the offices of the Order in the old breviary for years.Speaking of which, I'll have the propers for the feast of S.Peter Nolasco . Unfortunately, I won't have the proper hymns. See, my source is THIS. As you can see, it's been poorly digitized, and while I've been able to decipher most of it, the hymns are a jumble, and I can't understand them.

Hopefully, I'll be able to get down as many of the proper offices from my second source as I can. Lets just see how it goes.

[Insert triumphant return]

[Insert Fanfare]
*Sigh*
Verizon, why did you do this to me? I thought we had something special.I mean, I was so vulnerable after my relationship with Comcast, and you, you were just there for me. Things were good, until whoever it was that broke into my box and cut the phone lines got in between us. I kept calling you, but you were always busy with other customers.And you would'nt return my calls. You gave me the run around when I tried to schedule a technician to come and fix the wires. Finally, you promised to come over five times, and each time, you left me waiting and never came.

Then you come over. And you're Drunk. You didn't even used to drink,but when you come, you're drunk. And you've wet yourself. I put up with you because you do fix the box. But then, when I try to get my account back on and get things back on track between us, I see that you gave me the wrong phone number. To my own house. C'mon 'Zonnie, we can't let things go on like this.Either you're going to have better customer service or I'm going to get together with Clear. I see her all around the city, and she's always taunting me with her free MP3 players and constant chances to win a Sony Vaio. And you know that that's my favorite computer, but you've never once given me a chance to win one.
[Srsbiznizz]



Anyway, after five weeks of getting the run around from my now no longer favoured ISP, I'm back online. And I have lots to post about. Let's see how much I can write here before you guys go into a boredom induced coma that I'm going to have to pretend I care deeply about.

Dad: Was in the hospital for a week. He gets out.Two weeks later, he passes out at works and his hospitalised.A week after he first got there, they discovered he had Pneumonia. He recovered, albeit with much difficulty. Then they realise that the pneumonia was only a side effect of the return of his Lymphoma. *Sigh* Dad goes back to the all-too-familiar seventh floor of the Ravdin building in Penn. (The Cancer unit) Fast foreward a week. Dad is on this disgusting neutropenic diet, which in a nutshell means that he's not allowed to eat anything delicious. (Pepper, spices, fresh fruit and vegetables, salads, lunchmeats, non packaged cheeses, etc. etc.) Interestingly, Dad is allowed to have baby formula. Fast foreward about a week and a half from then. Yours truly has been attempting to cook around Dad's diet, because the hospital food has all the delectibility of a sawdust and wood glue casserole, seasoned with nothing and served with a side of raw 'This tastes like cat litter.'.

Home: Is driving me ever closer and closer to carry out one those plans for running away I wrote when I was six. I knew those G.I. Joes would come in handy some day.I've become the family maid and cook. I do all the cooking, the cleanTing,* as well as the shopping and generally keeping the house in order. Which by the way, being an obsessive compulsive neat freak wouldn't normally bother me, except that everyone else has taken my need to live in a clean and ordered house as an excuse to do no cleaning and ordering of their own.Which in a nutshell means that there are no longer any days that I have free of heavy cleaning. And y'know, you can only take the time to clean and disinfect a kitchen so many times before you're content to wipe off whatever visible crud comes off with a dry rag and call it "clean". Luckily, my own rooms a paradise where the carpet is clean enough to eat off of and the books stay in alphebetical and size order.

Vocation:
Is closer and closer everyday. I received my application and did basically all of it in one day. There is one question I'm unsure how to answer, and I'm waiting for my physical and my exams to determine whether or not I actually have hypoglycemia or if I just get all the symptoms of hypoglycemia everytime I eat, when the conditions are being met for a hypoglycemic attack, but without actually having hypoglycemia.
And THIS guy actually showed up while I was at my aspirant's weekend last week. Totally cool. We wend to a super-rad ordination at the Cathedral of Ss. Peter and Paul with enough chant, polyphony choral music (all performed by the excellent cathedral Collegiate choir) to satisfy any trad. Only, I wish they'd dispense with the Cantrix. I loathe the sound of cantors wailing into a mic over a choir and congregation. Especially when said choir/organ/ brass sextet is ding Vaugh-Williams wonderful descant to the hymn tune Old Hundreth.
And also, we went to the graduation at S.Charles Borromeo Seminary. It was great. The seminary faculty was there along with Cardinal Rigali, and...uh...what was that bishop's name again? I forget.**
However, the main reason I was away was to see a psychologist and psychiatrist, and to take two days worth of exams. The first day was pretty short, only FIVE HUNDRED AND SIXTY-FIVE QUESTIONS. The second day was another four hundred questions, along with a psycho-sexual exam. Said exam consists of a series of rather perverted questions which seem to have been created to make the Marquis de Sade feel all the embarrassment of a teenager whose mom wants to have an in-depth conversation about his sex life. I'd give you details, but luckily, my selective amnesia had blanked out most of the details of the test. Thank you, selective amnesia.

Art:
I'm drawing Adam and Eve. And it's a really, really deep picture, man.It's filled with all sorts of rich theological concepts. Every detail means something. Some of them are rather obvious. (E.g., Eve has a black halo symbolysing the death of the soul, and around it are the words Mutans Evae nomen.Those are words from the Hymn Ave Maris Stella, from the office of the blessed virgin, pointing to the fact that Mary, by obediently accepting the vocation to be the Mother of God undid, by her obedience, Eve's disobedience. Our first mother was called 'Eva', who led us to death. Our mother in the new covenant was saluted with 'Ave', whose trust and obedience led to our life in Christ.) There's stuff like that in the whole thing. Once it's done, I'll explain the whole piece to you, with quotes from scripture and the Fathers.
Preparatory note: FULL FRONTAL NUDITY.*** Actually, that's not true, I've just always wanted an excuse to reference that. (Monty Python Fan.) There are cleverly grown tree branches to cover the right parts, but they are naked. Please don't be scandalised.

Liturgy: Duh, we had a solemn high mass in the extraordinary form, and solemn pontifical vespers in the ordinary for the following Tuesday. Boy, was that complicated. Yours truly was the crucifer for the first and the second thurifer for the second. Said job meant the main thurifer and I did the traditional 'Walk backwards and incense the blesse sacrament and try not to walk into something' incensation during the procession. Yours truly was given the parish's nicest, most expensive Heaviest thurible to use. Did I mention that it was joint-crushingly heavy?
Said thurible burns very hot and fast, and the incense was gone by the time the procession ended.
The main thurifer and I were to have incensed the blessed sacrament simultaneously during the pontifical benediction, but mine was empty. Attempts to go to the M.C. and bishop and retrieve more incense were unsuccessful. So I incensed the blessed sacrament with an empty thurible, while the main thurifer got to have glorious clouds of thick, sweet-smelling, asthma-inducing incense.
Nothing special to report, other than the fact that the pastor has asked my to fill in for Br.David, the usual M.C. at the high mass on Sundays. I've payed attention enough that I know what to do, only it involves a lot of standing. And these people, with their 'libretto by Bugnini, ceremonial by Fortescue' rule have re-introduced the osculata, which as far as I'm concerned are definitely suppressed, therefore illegal, therefore Rong. And besides, I don't like them.That's a good enough reason not to do them. But it it's the custom, it's the custom, and I'll just go along with it like a Good Catholic Boy.

And now, I'll end this wall of text.




*And If you get that reference, You Win the day.

** Explanation: A student from the college division was to have given an address, and while thanking the faculty and the bishops, forgot the name of one of the bishops and we had a lovely awkward pause.Said seminarian became the butt of Every.Single. Speaker. And seminarian.Their Jokes, I mean. For the rest of the hour and a half graduation ceremony.Poor guy. But it was funny.

*** Lets see how many hits I'll get from Google from people looking for dirty stuff.Or how many people are'nt going to realise that that's the title of something from Monty Python and not a link to something dirty. Cue Google Analytics.

[ With much applause and thanks to THIS which inspired me.]

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.

Hmm..now I'm interested.

I read in one of the history books at the house's library while I was away that that Mercedarians had their own rite (A breviary and missal)until Trent, when they gave them up for the Roman Rite.(Because the differences were supposedly minor.)Now I'm on a desperate(Probably lifelong)quest to find out what I can about it.
Being of Spanish origin,and being from the same place,I expect that there were Mozarabic influences. S.Peter Paschasius was from heavily Mozarabic-influenced Valencia, and with S.Peter Nolasco and S.Raymund Nonnatus, we definitely have Gallican influence,even if S.Peter wasn't a priest.(Because we do have records of priests and minor clerics in the order even before the clerical reform that later happened.)
So even if it was similar to the Roman rite, this would probably be only because of the heavy Gallican influences on the Roman rite and the similarly heavy Roman influences on the Mozarabic rite. I just hope that there are extant missals and breviaries from the time.

And also,when Patrick and I were making copies of the missal and breviary on Saturday,I was happy to see that the Mercedarians retained the sequences for the feasts of S.Peter Nolasco and Our Lady of Mercy.
Epic Win. <3

Weekend.

Things went well. On Friday, Fr.Joseph and I went out to visit the sick and bring them communion, til about 2:00. I learned how to play two new hymn tunes (Narenza and All Saints)Saturday, after the Salve and breakfast, I spent the day copying the chants for lauds and vespers from the Ordo Cantus Officii.(For my personal use.)After we prayed Sext, Patrick(the postulant) and I went out to buy materials to make copies of the Mercedarian missal for the other houses in the U.S.After compline on Saturday, I went home.
And yes, we watched the Olympics almost every night.

I'm off,again.

Off to my weekend at the monastery,in about a half-hour.I may or may not bring something I'm supposed to be working on,it depends on if I get it done on time or not.

I wonder what they'll say to me though?

At my last weekend with the brothers, we were getting dinner at a mall after the Walk for Life, and some of the kids* asked them the question they (rather obviously) always get: "Hey, are you guys the Ku Klux Klan?" I guess it comes with the habit: an outward sign of your religious vocation, and being constantly mistaken for the KKK. And I was there when they said it. Me, an obviously not white person. Me, an obviously Black person. And they still asked. I was joking with the brothers that we should have said "This is the new, more inclusive organisation. We're more liberal and fair."

So when, God willing, I make my vows and receive a habit, what are they going to say to me? I'm obviously not in the KKK. I assume they'll think that I'm muslim, since there are no less than three mosques in the neighborhood, and many of the muslims guys where white as well as black. I'll have facial hair by then, so It'll just complete the look.

And won't that be awkward. Mistaking someone who belongs to this order to be a Muslim. Irony of Ironies!
*Those were some, uh, Interesting kids. Yeah, interesting is the word I'll use. I'm generally not afraid of people wearing goth/punk clothes, 'cause they're for the most part suburban posers who've not been immerssed in the actual culture. But these people, they were scary.