Friday, December 19, 2003

Moses
by Venerable John Henry Newman, C.O.

"Moses, the patriot fierce, became
The meekest man on earth,
To show us how love's quick'ning flame
Can give our souls new birth.

Moses, the man of meekest heart,
Lost Canaan by self-will,
To show, where Grace has done its part,
How sin defiles us still.

Thou, who hast taught me in Thy fear,
Yet seest me frail at best,
O grant me loss with Moses here,
To gain his future rest! "

At Sea.
December 19, 1832.
Oh, wonderful!
Blogger is messing up the circumflex again! Any suggestions ?
The Feast of St. Secundus, Martyr
is today. What little information there is on him is here.
Unfortunately, it does not say whether or not he had an only brother named Primus, or , more importantly, a younger brother named Tertius.

Thursday, December 18, 2003

I suppose 'better late than never'
is pretty much the inevitable comment on this story.

Wednesday, December 17, 2003

Tuesday, December 16, 2003

Haven't done a quiz in a while...
and this one actually pegs me nicely...

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
You are 'Hark! The Herald Angels Sing'. You take
Christmas very seriously. For you, it is a
religious festival, celebrating the birth of
the Saviour, and its current secularisation
really irritates you. You enjoy the period of
Advent leading up to Christmas, and attend any
local carol services you can find, as well as
the more contemplative Advent church services
each Sunday. You may be involved in Christmas
food collections or similar charity work. The
midnight service at your church, with candles
and carols, is one you look forward to all
year, and you also look forward to the family
get together on Christmas Day.


What Christmas Carol are you?
brought to you by Quizilla


Link courtesy of Michelle.

Sunday, December 14, 2003

December 14, 1816
was an important day in the life of Venerable Newman. As he himself later wrote:
"From school he went straight to Oxford, being entered at Trinity College on December 14, 1816, when he was as yet two months short of sixteen. "
He would live in Oxford or its immediate vicinity for the next 29 years- and then be away from Oxford for 33 years.
If it were not Sunday...
today would be the feast of St. John of the Cross, O.C.D, Priest and Doctor of the Church. It would also be the feast of St. Venantius Fortunatus, Bishop. I hereby post a hymn by the latter.

" Vexilla regis prodeunt
Fulget crucis mysterium
Quo carne carnis conditor
Suspensus est patibulo.

Quo vulneratus insuper
Mucrone diro lanceae
Ut nos lavaret crimine
Manavit unda et sanguine.

Impleta sunt quae concinit
David fideli carmine
Dicens In nationibus
Regnavit a ligno Deus.

Arbor decora et fulgida
Ornata Regis purpura
Electa digno stipite
Tam sancta membra tangere.

Beata, cujus brachiis
Saecli pependit pretium
Statera facta corporis
Praedamque tulit tartari.

O Crux ave, spes unica
In hac triumphi gloria
Auge piis justitiam
Reisque dona veniam.

Te summa Deus Trinitas
Collaudet omnis spiritus:
Quos per crucis mysterium
Salvas, rege per saecula. Amen. "

and a translated version.....

"The royal banners forward go,
The cross shines forth in mystic glow;
Where He in flesh, our flesh Who made,
Our sentence bore, our ransom paid.

Where deep for us the spear was dyed,
Life’s torrent rushing from His side,
To wash us in that precious flood,
Where mingled water flowed, and blood.

Fulfilled is all that David told
In true prophetic song of old,
Amidst the nations, God, saith he,
Hath reigned and triumphed from the tree.

O tree of beauty, tree of light!
O tree with royal purple dight!
Elect on whose triumphal breast
Those holy limbs should find their rest.

Blest tree, whose chosen branches bore
The wealth that did the world restore,
The price of humankind to pay,
And spoil the spoiler of his prey.

Upon its arms, like balance true,
He weighed the price for sinners due,
The price which none but He could pay,
And spoiled the spoiler of his prey.

O cross, our one reliance, hail!
Still may thy power with us avail
To give new virtue to the saint,
And pardon to the penitent.

To Thee, eternal Three in One,
Let homage meet by all be done:
As by the cross Thou dost restore,
So rule and guide us evermore. "





Unlike last year...
I am not going to be able to make the midnight showing of the "Lord of the Rings" premiere, since I actually have a job to go to on Thursday morning . However, you know where I am going to be this Saturday.
A sign that my friend Rob is at least as big a Tolkien geek as I am...
He burst out laughing when he saw this , too.

Music at the 11:30 am Mass
Processional Hymn: "O Come, O Come Emmanuel"
Offertory : "The Truth From Above"- Traditional English Carol, arranged by Ralph Vaughn Williams (1872-1958)
Communion: "Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming"- Michael Praetorius (1571-1621)
Recessional Hymn: "On Jordan's Bank"

Considering the snow, it's amazing that there was music at all..... Today is Gaudete Sunday, a special day for Oratorians, whose motto is, of course, "Gaudete Semper".