It it just me, or this seriously Ironic?

I'm talking about the soon to come translation for the Roman Missal.

The chief objection to the new missal is that it's too hard for people to understand. It uses big words, it doesn't use everyday common speech. They claim you need a Masters in English and a Latin degree to understand it, and that those who aren't educated will be left out.

But there's a blatantly obvious contradiction of facts here. The vast majority of churches made of working or lower-class people, many of whom don't have a great deal of education use what type of bible? The King James, of course. A translation containing such easy to understand passages as:

"For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse."
(Rom.1:20)
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth my word and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life,and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life."
(John 5:24)
"For the administration of this service not only supplieth the want of the saints, but is abundant by many thanksgivings unto God."
(II Cor.9;12)
" I speak as concerning repreach, as though we had been weak. Howbeit whereinsoever any is bold ( I speak follishly) I am bold also."
(II C or.11:21)
" Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines, for it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace, not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein."
"For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error."
Etc, etc.
A translation containing such common place words as "expediency","straitly", "quickeneth" "determinate", "beseech", "gainsaying", "wot", or "Behooveth".
Unless they think that Catholics are dumber than protestants, in which case I could provide numerous examples of "Hard words" from various childrens missals and childrens prayer-books, and even some things copied from a service sheet from Philly's own historically black parish, S.Peter Claver.
But either way, I think the point stands: The group of people they think will be lost with the new translation are using (and have been using) the very langage they object to!
And another anecdote: I was once looking through a hymnal published by GIA, and noticed that in almost all the gospel hymns they had included, the 'thees', 'thys' and other old words I remember from childhood had been removed. Apparently it's good enough for the people who came up with the music, (Who, Surprise! tended to be black people without a great deal of education.) but it's too hard for educated suburbanites.

Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal.

. Her feast day November 27th, her novena starts tomorrow, and her national shrine is right here in Philadelphia. So no surprise that her feast is now on the proper calendar for the Archdiocese of Philly. Here's the proper office for the feast, or at least parts of it, according to the 61' breviary.

At First Vespers:
From the common of the Bessed Virgin except the following:

1 Ant. Tota pulchra es, Maria, et macula originalis non est in te.
2 Ant. Vestimentum tuum candidum quasi nix, et facies tua sicut sol
3 Ant. Tu goria Ierusalem, tu laetitia Israel, tu honorificentia populi nostri.
4 Ant. Benedicta es tu, Virgo Maria, a Domino Deo excelso prae omnibus mulieribus super terram
5 Ant. Trahe nos, virgo immaculata, post te curremus in oderum unguentorum tuorum.

V.Sigum magnum apparuit in caelo
R.Mulier amicta sole et luna sub pedibus eius.

Magificat Ant.: Qui me invenerit,inveniet vitam, et hauriet salutem a Domino.

Collect:
Domine Iesu Christe,qui beatissimam Virginem Mariam matrem tuam ab origine immaculatam
innumeris miraculis clarascere voluisti:
Concede,ut eiusdem patrocinum semper implorantes,gaudium consequamur aeterna.
At Laudes:
Everything from first vespers, except:
Benedictus Ant: Ait Dominus ad serpentem: Inimicitias ponam inter te et mulierem, et semen tuum et semen illius: ipsa conteret caput tuum, alleluia.

At II vespers:
All from first vespers except:
Magnificat ant: Sancta Maria, succere miseris,iuva pusilanimes, refove flebiles: ora pro populo, interveni pro clero, intercede pro devoto femineo sexu: sentiant omnes tuum iuvamen, quicumque celebrant tuum sanctum Patrocinium.

More Goodness.

So It looks like we will be having another solemn high mass in the older form for midnight mass.
From what I hear from a good friend of mine who recently joined the choir, they won't be using Hassler's lovely polyphonic mass setting. This year's will be a Hayden mass, complete with orchestra. They don't know it, but they're becoming more like Clem's every year. ( They also use a mass setting by Hayden for midnight mass.)

Best.Week. Ever.(So far)

Yes, it has.
First, I found the will I was looking for. That's good. The house is a bit further away from Lourdes than I would have liked (I'm no longer within walking distance) But it's a better neighborhood, close to a mall, the R5 and 52, and Saint Joe's.

Then, I got a call from one of the places I applied to for a job. Out of the 15 or so different stores and chains I applied to, about 0.00% bothered to contact me and say I did'nt get the job. Actually, most never even told me they were'nt interested in an interview. Well, the lady called yesterday and told me to come Wednesday for my interview. I've basically got the job because the lady is my older sister's friend from Way back.

And then of course, I spent the weekend over at the monastery again. On Friday, I went over to S.Charles seminary with one of the brothers to sit in on some classes. It was actually great fun,and one of the professors turned out to be someone I usually see at Lourdes.
Oh, and I'm beginning to notice a strange pattern of disasters everytime I come. Last time, there was'nt any heat, and this time a pipe broke and the bathrooms could'nt be used.

And today, I was using my dad's old laptop that he gave to me to make a set of altar cards. I was playing around with the programs, and for fun, I clicked the Firefox icon. And it worked. My brother said the wireless card was broken, but it's not. It's working! I'm back online!

I quit playing Vierne's Callion de Longpont. I've been playing it by ear, because the music department at the Free Library downtown is closed because of asbestos. I got most of it done. but I don't know how to play the ending. I need sheet music for that, and I don't have it for now. So instead, I'm going to learn Bach's famous Passacaglia from the Passacaglia and fugue in C minor. I used to know it, but it's been at least two years since I played it, and even then, I never got the last six variations done.

I have good news...

....And I have bad news. And I have a question.

A co-worker of my mother was recently left a house, following the death of her mother. Now, the woman doesn't need the house, and she's willing to just Give the house to my mother. The house is in Wynfield, and apparently is quite nice, and could be ours for a measly $500. That's the good news.

The bad news is that the lady gave the will to my mother to look over. And mom lost it. She lost the will that would give us a new house in a nice neighborhood. We've looked about, tore up the house, taken everything out of it's place, and no sign of it.

So, I have a question: Is it possible for us to get a copy of the will? Note, however, that we don't remember the name of the lawyer who helped to draw up the will.

I'm hiring myself out..

I've been trying since the end of June to get a job, and so far, no luck at all. I've applied to some eleven different chains, and three small businesses without so much as a phone call saying I didn't get the job.
So I've decided to hire out my talents .
Now, I've only really got three talents that could pay: I can draw, I can sing,and I'm an amateur organist.
Now, I won't trust myself to be an organist. Most of what I practice are improvisations in the French style, and I can play one English mass ordinary,three Latin, and a few hymns. Besides, I can't be an organist in a Roman Catholic church. It's too much greif.

So, I've decided that I'll try to find some poor writer who wants to publish a comic or manga, but doesn't have an artist. I've spent all summer trying to think of a concept for a manga with no luck, unless I want to do one about MMA. * So I'll polish my style, put together my protfolio, and hopefully make some extra bucks to save up.


*I think I might do that one.

You know what I've noticed?

I think I get 99% of my political news and commentary from the internet. I realised that I have no clue what's going on, other than Chris Christy being governor of Jersey, and that's only because it's local.
Hopefully, with this intermittent internet, I can get some clue what's going on in congress with....everything.

Anime/Manga/Comic news.

*Drool drool drool*
OOfuri has FINALLY been licensed in the U.S.! The English title is "Big Swing!", which I assume roughly correlates to the series' full Japanese title. Volumes one and two are at the FYE at the Gallery, but at $60 each, it's out of the question. And don't you DARE go out and buy it from me! I'm saving up for it, and if it's gone, I'll find you and deal with the situation, um shall I say Expediently.

I really, really want to find out more about Dokaben. It's a little old, but I like the art. I don't know if it's been scanlated anywhere, but I hope so. I'm not totally sure what it's about.
And due to my computer crisis, I've missed up the release dates of basically every manga volume I want. I know Noora is at volume eight, and I think Fairy Tail volume seven got released somewheres in October.

Lastly,I've fallen in love with American comics again. I thought I was done with them, but I'm addicted to Teen Titans and Thor. I'm still too afraid to actually visit a comic shop, but perhaps someday, I'll work up the gumption to go buy one of the volumes I'm currently drooling over.

It's a Catafalque!

Photos here.

It was a very nice mass.The music was Cristobal Morales' setting of the requiem, except for the tract, dies irae, sanctus and agnus, and the libera me. Jacques Arcadelt's Ave Maria was sung at the offertory, and William Byrd's well-known setting of the Ave Verum was sung at the ablutions. Before mass, the organist played one of bach's chorales using the flute celeste and tromba with the tremulo one the antiphonal organ. The postlude was BWV 549. All the flowers and reliquaries had been removed, as had the carpets in the sanctuary.

Requiem aternam....

I'm using my brother's wireless today, and I have lots of news. 

Firstly, They are having a high mass of requiem on All Souls Day, November 2nd at 7:00 PM. Tell your friends and spread the news!This'll be the first non-novus ordo requiem I'll have attended in about two or three years. I'm wondering if there will be unbleached candles.

Also, we're having a parish mission on the 26th-27th. The last one was great, Hopefully this year's preacher will be as good as the last one.

Last week I started my aspirancy with These Guys. I spent the weekend at the monastery. It was great, cold weather and a rather unfriendly pet cat notwithstanding.I was given a tour of both the monastery and S.Charles' seminary on City Line ave.  Both have wonderful libraries.

These Guys now have weekly solemn vespers using the Liber Usualis. I went on the feast of the Maternity of the B.V.M., and it was good, if a bit shaky. Somehow, I forgot to bring my Liber with me, but I'll bring it next time.

And speaking of chant,I learned some of the requiem propers and the propers for Christ the King. Both have rather simple introits, but the gradual of the requiem mass threw me off halfway through.

And getting back to the main topic, I have questions for anyone who might know the answers:

1) Is it permissible to have reliquaries on the altar during a sung requiem, or do they have to be removed? What about flowers?

2)Is the catafalque obligatory for requiems on all souls day, or is it just optional?

3)If not, do you still have the absolution after mass, even without the catafalque?

This is a Post about the Rosary.

The Secret of the Rosary,S.Louis Marie de Montfort.

"To commend his own love towards us, and to bring to nought the wisdom of men, God was pleased to take flesh of a woman, albeit a virgin, that he might bring like against like, heal by opposites, pluck out the poisonous thorn, and blot out mightily the handwriting of our sin that was against us. Eve was a thorn, Mary is a rose. Eve is a thorn that pierceth, Mary is a rose that charmeth all the senses. Eve was a thorn that fixed death into all, Mary is a rose that bringeth health to all. Mary was a white rose through her virginity, and a red rose through her love. She was white in her flesh, red in her mind ; white in that she followed the path of grace, red in that she trod down sin ; white by the purity of her affection, red by the mortification of her body ; white by her love for God, red by her compassion for her neighbour.

The Word was made flesh, and dwelleth even now among us. He dwelleth in our memory. He dwelleth in our thought. He hath come down even unto our imagination ; and how sayest thou doth he so? By lying in the manger, by nestling in his Mother's breast, by preaching upon the mountain, by remaining all night in prayer to God, by hanging upon the Cross, by turning pale in death, by going down free among the dead and triumphing in hell, by rising again the third day, by shewing to the Apostles the places of the nails, the marks of his victory, by ascending up into heaven while they all beheld him―of which of these things think we not with truth, with godliness, with holiness? If I think of any of these, I think of God, and he is my God through them all. To think of these things I have decreed to be wisdom, and to set forth the memory of their sweetness I have judged to be prudence. The rod of Aaron the Priest brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds ; but these things are the almonds of that Rod which came forth out of the stem of Jesse, the Rod whereof sprang the flower, a Rod which was raised in Mary into places higher than the earthly tabernacle, higher indeed, even into places higher than angels, since she received the Word into herself out of the very heart of the Eternal Father."

Sermon of S.Bernard, abbot.
And for fun, a Sarum Office of the Rosary.

Well, is'nt that something?

"-1568 AD-ITALY- The Rosary prayers - Ave - are now approved and incorporated into the reformed Roman Breviary by Pope Pius V with the bull Consueverunt Romani Pontifices. This followed their usage by the Mercedarians (1514), the Camaldolese (1515) and the Franciscans in (1525)"

(Source)
So when you use the Hail Mary in the Liturgy of the Hours, you know who to thank. I wonder if they know this? (Well, they probably know Now.)

Pater noster, qui es en cieux...

(Photo Credits)

Some readers might know that have an interest with medieval life,especially devotional practices, and one thing I've always like are medieval Paternosters ,now known to us as rosaries. Their paternosters were quite different than our modern rosaries, because the rosary as a prayer hadn't yet been standardised. So you find three-decade rosaries of seven beads each, or six-decade rosaries of five-beads, etc. Most consisted of two decades of a certain number of beads, with a 'Gaud' bead used for the paters and glorias, and smaller beads of a different color used for the Aves.
The archetypical medieval rosary, the one you see so many pictures of seems to usually be of red coral or glass with bone or rock-crystal gauds, strung on a silk cord and either a tassel at one end and a medal or cross at the other, or a tassel on both ends.

Since don't know where to buy one of these, and I've always wanted one, I decided to make one myself. Since my mother has a large collection of old, broken and ruined jewelry, the materials were free, and I was able to make three paternosters.

The first one is the only one I really like and will probably use. It's made of large black agate Aves with alternating rock crystal and amber gauds, a silver tau cross, and a black tassel. It's heavy,but easy to use, and it's one of the rare rosaries that don't look like they're being marketed to suburban teen-age girls who still listen to Avril Lavine**

The other is the stereotypical rosary with red glass Aves, clear glass gauds, a plain silver cross on one end and a medal on the other. The beads are kinda small, so the whole thing is small, and the medal does'nt match.(It's gold-plated.) I would really rather have the medal and a tassel, but there isn't another tassel.

The third is'nt nice, but I had extra beads. It's made of rock crystal Aves and gauds with a brass greek cross on one end and nothing on the other end,while I look for my miraculous medal.


*She's a traitor. She claims she never sang punk, when we were all there when the albums came out. She never had any problem with being punk, but now she wants to be poppy and her music is unworthy of listening. A pox and all that.

Hey guess what! Hey guess what?

Hey, guess what?!
I broke my computer again!
I think this is my fifth time breaking it. Well, I somehow ruined the sound hardware on my laptop. The battery is shot too, and the space-bar has been sticking. My dad is trying to convince me to eventually just get another laptop, but this one is only two years old, and except for the screen, the keyboard,the sound, and occassional preventable crashes , it's fine! It's the fastest in the house and has the most memory So I refuse to give it up

How to destroy your religious order...

..in three easy steps:
1)Embrace secularism
2) Make your religious life no different than practical atheism
3 ) Proclaim that the ensuing decline and death of your order is a good thing.

Sic transit, sic transit...