St. Gregory the Great, 3 September

September 3 is the (new) feast day of St. Gregory the Great (540-604; pope from 590-604). It is the anniversary of his ordination. The original feast was March 12, the day of his death, and still is so in the Oriental Churches, the Episcopal Church and in the Tridentine Calendar. While my parents named me "Gregory," it was really because a 3-syllable first name goes well with a 2-syllable last name, giving the rhythm duh-duh-duh DUM DUM. This fortuitous circumstance allowed me to choose which Gregory I would have as my heavenly patron. Early on as a child I checked out other St. Gregorys but I liked this Gregory the best. The following is from the on-line Catholic Encyclopedia:


Pope St. Gregory I ("the Great")

Doctor of the Church; born at Rome about 540; died 12 March 604.

Gregory is certainly one of the most notable figures in Ecclesiastical History. He has exercised in many respects a momentous influence on the doctrine, the organization, and the discipline of the Catholic Church. To him we must look for an explanation of the religious situation of the Middle Ages; indeed, if no account were taken of his work, the evolution of the form of medieval Christianity would be almost inexplicable. And further, in so far as the modern Catholic system is a legitimate development of medieval Catholicism, of this too Gregory may not unreasonably be termed the Father. Almost all the leading principles of the later Catholicism are found, at any rate in germ, in Gregory the Great. (F.H. Dudden, "Gregory the Great", 1, p. v).

The rest of the article can be found here: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06780a.htm

The Order of St. Benedict claims him as a Benedictine, mainly because of the ink he gave to St. Benedict in his book the "Dialogs." As a matter of fact, a Greek translation of his Dialogs became so popular in the Eastern Empire that there he is known as St. Gregory the Dialogist.

Collect for St. Gregory the Great:

Almighty, eternal God, fasting and satisfied by Thy Gifts, even perfected by the leanness which is pleasing to Thee, we supplients appeal to Thy Majesty that the shadows of sins be expelled from our hearts in this time of fasting. Through our interceding, great and high Priest Gregory, create openness to the Divine Mysteries, and make us approach the True Light which is Christ. Through Christ our Lord, Who reigneth with the Father and the Holy Spirit, throughout all ages of ages. R. Amen.

And another collect:

Almighty and merciful God, who raised up in Gregory a servant of the servants of God, by whose labour the English people were brought into the knowledge of the Catholic and Apostolic faith: Preserve in your Church evermore a thankful remembrance of his zeal and devotion; that your people, being fruitful in every good work, may receive with him and your servants everywhere the crown of glory that does not fade away; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

If I cannot reach the level of his asceticism, may I at least reach the level of his efficiency!

Baptism in St. Louis

I'm in the summertime doldrums, and have left blogging aside for a good while. That's because there's been little to blog about in the course of affairs these past months.
I've been in St. Louis for a few days, primarily to baptize the newest daughter (Broghan Ann) of a former student of mine, T.J. Hunkins, and his wife, Michelle. The ceremony was held Sunday afternoon at the Church of the Seven Holy Founders of the Order of Servites of Mary (aka Seven Holy Founders or SHF). Oddly enough, this church is staffed by Friars of the Order of Servites, a friendly and helpful bunch as I've come to experience.
The weather here has been beautiful. After a front moved in, it's been clear and cool for the remainder.
Work to do continues in Arkansas that I'll have to address when I return tomorrow, but for now, I will continue to enjoy the peace of not working.

Catholic Cartoon Blog

Catholic Cartoon Blog

Friday in Chicago

Yesterday we celebrated the Eucharist in the extraordinary form (Tridentine). It was interesting and not without a compelling beauty. However, I figure that I was about only one of two priests who were present who actually remember and had lived the old liturgy, even if in my case it was only for a brief time.

I felt that the priest who was doing it really didn't have it down pat. He was rather stiff, as were all of the younger priests assisting. Time and repetition will, I hope, remedy this. In the meantime, I found it distracting.

Yesternight, Father Frank Phillips, CR, pastor of St. John Cantius (see picture above) presented us with an overview of his experience in maintaining and fostering the treasury of the Church's sacred music at his parish. Frank and I had an all-too-brief sharing before the talk. Today, Michael and I are going to play hooky and go to St. John's for a tour. I've been there several times, but I want Michael to enjoy it.

This afternoon there is a session on reforming the role of the cantor at 3:45. If anything needs reforming in the musical life of the Church it is the cantor. I believe that I have it well-regulated at Holy Redeemer, but I am interested to hear what they have to say. I am like that woman in the story by Flannery O'Connor (can't remember the name of it offhand) who was described as one 'who never had any ideas of her own, but was always able to use those of others so well that she never felt the lack.' Like a little bee, I have gone through life taking a little bit here and there. There is hardly anyone that I've encountered from whom I haven't learned something. Some good, some not so good.

Chicago, Loyola University

Michael Odom, our organist-choirmaster, and I are at the 18th annual Sacred Music Colloquium, held this year at Loyola U., Chicago. The campus is on the lake shore of Lake Michigan. The beautifully renovated Madonna de la Strada Chapel is the scene of our liturgies. This beautiful chapel opens right onto Lake Michigan. It is as if one is looking out to see as the lake falls below the eastern horizon.

This is the colloquium of the Church Music Association of America. They are the opposite of the spectrum of the National Association of Pastoral Musicians. Here, chant and polyphony, and the extraordinary and ordinary forms of the Roman Liturgy in Latin and Latin/English reign supreme. When I concelebrated Tuesday and Wednesday, I realized that I was the oldest priest in the sanctuary. This gave me pause, not because of my realization of my aging (I could still give most of those that were there a run for their money!) but that I was probably the only one in the sanctuary who actually remembered the old Latin Mass as a part of my life experience---when it was still the only form of liturgy in the Church! The others were celebrating it and promoting it, but it was that they did not grow up with. This led me to opine that there is a difference of approach between me and them. If push came to shove, I believe that these younger priests in their lace surplices and birettas are really play-acting, although they are doing so with great seriousness and piety.

All of this lead me to describe this event as a kind of liturgical "Jurassic Park." By that I mean that, just as in the movie, people have re-created things from a distant past THAT THEY HAVE NEVER EXPERIENCED! In the movie, ancient life forms were re-created, without regard for the fact that the world has moved on, and that a T-rex running around in the jungle is probably a bad thing for folks. Here, an ancient liturgy has been re-created, but without an appreciation that Catholic life, for better or worse, has radically changed since the '50's. You can tell that they are on a certain level play acting since their presentation of the liturgy is so rigid that you can see them mentally trying to remember what is to come next. There is a stiffness to their presentation and, occasionally, some gross fumbles.

The impression I'm getting is that the proponents of this are seeing the ancient liturgy as something to which every liturgy should aspire. The mutual influence of the ordinary and extraordinary forms then becomes rather one-sided. It is not what we can learn from BOTH liturgies, but how can we make the ordinary form more like the extraordinary form. This leads to the ultimate position that we might just otta jettison the new form and go back to the old.

Now they would deny this, and I believe sincerely, but I still have a sneaking suspicion that clericalism is lurking around here, and a kind of piety that is cut off from a vibrant Catholic life. These are just my impressions, and I am willing to be corrected.

At the same time, there is much beauty laid out for us, and as an artist I'm quite enjoying the musical banquet that we are having. There are some practical liturgical things that we're picking up, but they will all have to be critiqued and digested when we get back home. Is this conference worth it? By all means. Oh, and for those of you who thing that I'm on vacation, please understand that we have not left the university campus during our entire time here. There's been no sight-seeing (but much sight-singing), or restaurants or anything like that. Michael and I are planning to take a visit to a church, tomorrow, though. That still doesn't count for a vacation.

St. Columban, abbot

This is from the pope's General Audience of 11 June. It's subject is the Irish monk, Columban, and his contribution to the Christian life of Europe. The Holy Father has been using the saints of Europe as topics for his audiences. Is this an attempt on his part to continue drawing Europe's attention to its Christian roots? I don't know, but it may be part of the strategy.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,
In today’s catechesis we turn to Saint Columban, one of the many Irish monks who contributed to the re-evangelization of Europe in the early Middle Ages. Columban made his monastic profession in Bangor and was ordained a priest. At the age of fifty, he left the monastery to begin missionary work in Europe, where entire regions had lapsed into paganism. Beginning in Brittany, Columban and his companions established monasteries at Annegray and Luxeuil. These became centres for the spread of the monastic and missionary ideals brought by the monks from their native Ireland. Columban introduced to Europe the Irish penitential discipline, including private confession. His stern moral teachings led to conflict with the local Bishops and the Frankish court, resulting in the exile of the Irish monks, first to the Rhineland and then to Italy. At Bobbio, where he established a great monastic centre, Columban worked for the conversion of the Arian Lombards and the restoration of unity with the Bishop of Rome. It was there that he died, leaving behind not only the example of an austere monastic life, but also a corpus of writings which shaped the monastic culture of the Middle Ages and thus nourished the Christian roots of Europe.
* * *

© Copyright 2008 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

The Life of st. Columban, by the monk, Jonas, can be found here:

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/columban.html

Tim Russert, R.I.P.

The surprising death of Tim Russert, noted newsman and faithful Catholic layman came as a shock. The following is from the report in the Catholic News Service:

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- NBC News Washington bureau chief and "Meet the Press" moderator Tim Russert, who died June 13 at the age of 58, was remembered for his warm lifelong ties to the Catholic Church and his support for Catholic education as well as for his career covering politics.Russert collapsed of an apparent heart attack at work.An active Catholic who apparently kept a promise to God to never miss Sunday Mass if his son was born healthy, Russert spoke often and fondly of his Catholic school education and of the role of the church in his life."Americans valued his tremendous command of the political electoral process and his commitment to discovering each aspect of the story that contributed to people having a better awareness of the issues of public life and candidates for political office," said Archbishop George H. Niederauer of San Francisco, chairman of the U.S. bishops' communications committee, who was attending the U.S. bishops' spring meeting in Orlando, Fla."But those of us who shared his Catholic faith and his deep love for it appreciate his sharing of the story of his own faith and his loyalty to the life of the Catholic Church in this country and the many charities to which he contributed his time and talent," the archbishop told Catholic News Service.

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace.

Friday, St. Anthony of Padua

Today is the feast of St. Anthony of Padua, priest of the Order of Friars Minor and Doctor of the Church. He was born in Lisbon and ended his days in Padua. One of the relics preserved there are his vocal chords. It was through them that he did his preaching, so I guess that they are worthy of honor. I once read an article about them in the Journal of the National Association of Teachers of Singing. Singers should take care of their vocal equipment with the same veneration.

I had to leave the retreat early, and departed yesterday. I'm sorry to have missed the whole thing. I do have information on how to contact Abbot Marcel, and I hope to be able to sit at his feet sometime in the future.

Michael Odom, our organist-choirmaster, and I are going to Chicago for the Church Music Association of America's annual convention. It will be at Loyola, there. I hope that we will both glean much from it.

I had forgotten how the heat at Subiaco in the summer is worse than it is down here in El Dorado. The abbey is in the Arkansas River valley, and the humidity is really awful. I would like to move somewhere north of Quebec.

Retreat, Wednesday

Abbot Marcel did a brilliant presentation of the Word as 1) information, 2) inspiration, and 3) communication of self. In the Mass we receive the word in these three ways. The importance of the Liturgy of the Word in the Mass should be ever-more clear to us. I wonder, however, how many realize that the proclamation of the Word is really Christ's communication of his very self, and therefore, a Real Presence in the assembly?

Yesterday it was hot and muggy. I'd forgotten how miserable the heat in the river valley can be at this time of the year. Even when it's hot and humid in Eldo, it's not as awful. It's still too hot for me, though. I should work in New Zealand in the summer.

News flash: the monks that were old yesterday, are even older today. Scientists are trying to account for this phenomenon.

Retreat, Tuesday

Abbot Marcel Rooney, former abbot of Conception Abbey in Missouri, and also former Abbot Primate of the Benedictine Order is our retreat master. He taught liturgy in Rome for many years and is a great speaker and teacher. I am enjoying his presentations immensely.

He is concentrating on the liturgy of the Mass, and giving us the background for it. He has drawn careful distinctions between the Roman-North African liturgical tradition and the Gallican. Interesting note: even though Charlemagne demanded the conversion of his empire to the Roman Liturgy vis-a-vis the Gallican in the 9th century, the last Gallican Mass was celebrated in Cologne in 1929. Emperors, kings, popes, councils and bishops all tried, but it took 1,200 years. Then there are some who wondery why the Tridentine Mass has hung on for so long. It's hard to kill a tradition---although many have tried.

The community seems reasonably happy, although getting older all the time. Father Aaron lost his little dog yesterday, but "Thor" was found caught in the parish hall this morning---disaster averted. The cool and humid weather of yesterday is leaving and hot and humid is the forecast. I hope that my garden and plants are being taken care of in Eldo. I'm off to the first morning conferenc for Wednesday.

Retreat Monday

Monday: I left Eldo at 11:30 and arrived at Subiaco around 3:15 in the afternoon. Somewhere around Mt. Petit Jean it started raining. Lots and lots of rain. After getting to the rectory of St. Benedict's Parish in Subiaco, where I'm staying with my confrere, Father Aaron, I got changed and went to the abbey across the highway for the annual jubilee Mass for our monks who are celebrating the anniversaries of their professions or ordinations. Father Hugh Assenmacher celebrates 50 years as a priest this year, and Father Brendan Miller celebrates 25 years also. Abbot Jerome presided at the Mass and preached.

This past year, we've lost three monks by death: Abbot Raphael, Father Harold, and Brother Martin. This month, two solemnly professed monks have received or are applying for dispensations from their vows and are leaving the community. One monk in temporary vows is also on the way out. This means that our community will have been reduced by six this year, with no new ones coming in. Such a situation cannot long obtain. We have to get more young men to come and to stay or else we will all be gone, sooner rather than later.

Guess Who's Watching

David Berlinski says in his book The Devil's Delusion: Atheism and Its Scientific Pretensions:

What Hitler did not believe and what Stalin did not believe and what Mao did not believe and what the SS did not believe and what the Gestapo did not believe and what the NKVD did not believe and what the commissars, functionaries, swaggering executioners, Nazi doctors, Communist Party theoreticians, intellectuals, Brown Shirts, Black Shirts, gauleiters, and a thousand party hacks did not believe was that God was watching what they were doing.

Recent and Coming Events

Last weekend I was at Subiaco for the annual alumni reunion. It was my class' 40th anniversary of graduation. The abbot invited me to be the main celebrant and preach the Alumni Reunion Mass in the Abbey Church. It went off smoothly and everyone was edified.

This coming Monday I go back to Subiaco for the annual monastic retreat and chapter meetings. It is always good to go back and see the brethren and be released from the duties of pastoring. There are, however, several parishioners that are on death's door, and it is likely that one or another of them will die next week, so my plans are subject to change.

The third week of June will see me and our organist-choirmaster, Michael Odom, in Chicago for the Church Music Association of America's annual convention. This should be good for both of us.

There is a garage sale going on the old parish hall this morning. We are going to tear it down and build an education building in its place. This is something that we sorely need, as even with our new space that we've enjoyed for the past eight years, we have been out of room. While I don't believe that growth is automatically a sign of the Spirit at work, it is sometimes and indicator. I pray that this is so in this case.

Bishop of Rockville Centre forbids weekday Communion services

As we approach the feast of Corpus Xsti, it is interesting to see this development. I believe that this is the right approach. See the full article at Catholic News Service.

"Bishop William Murphy has issued a pastoral letter restricting the practice of Communion services at parishes and schools in his diocese. He said the ban on Communion services would bring the diocese into conformity with the liturgical norms of the Church.
Writing in an eight-page letter sent on Friday, Bishop Murphy reflected on the importance of the Eucharist. "The Eucharist is the greatest gift Jesus left us… The celebration of the Eucharist gives us our identity as well as our life,” he said.
The bishop said that Communion services, in practice, often sever what he called “the connection between receiving the Sacrament and celebrating the sacrifice. The two go hand-in-hand,” he continued. “Receiving the Sacrament is the culmination of participating in the sacrifice. There is an inherent interconnection between sacrifice, Real Presence, and Communion,” Bishop Murphy said.
“In the popular mind, all too often the purpose of Mass is still seen as an action simply to consecrate hosts; some people think their participation in the Eucharistic Prayer is all about watching the priest and then receiving Holy Communion,” he wrote.
Bishop Murphy said that the internal “offering” of ourselves both differentiates a Mass from a Communion Service and provides context for the laity’s “full, conscious, and active” participation in the Mass.
He ordered the Communion services in the diocese to end by July 1. Bishop Murphy explained in his letter that the Communion services were originally intended for use on Sundays only in remote, missionary parishes where priests could rarely visit."

Ad Orientem

I have done something that has been gnawing at me for months. I have read several books on church architecture that have concentrated on the concept of "relative space." The prevailing philosophy or our day is Relativism. Since all things are relative, then all things are equal.

In relative space, all spaces are equal, and no one place within a building is more important or sacred than another. Yet, despite all attempts to relativize liturgical space, Catholics still have an appreciation for the "sanctuary" or "chancel" as a particularly sacred and focus-worthy area. The "thrust-stage" arrangement of the altars of most churches, where the priest faces the people is conducive to gathering around and celebrating a sacred meal, but I wonder if that juxtaposition is conducive to reverence and, ultimately, faith. Given the great lack of faith that I've encountered in the course of my ministry I wonder if familiarity has not bred contempt rather than the theological virtues.

For a period of discernment that will be for I-do-not-know how long, we will celebrate the daily Mass ad Orientem. This is not for the purpose of making some statement against "the Spirit of Vatican II," nor is it an exercise in antiquarianism.

For most of the centuries of the Church, the Sacred Liturgy was celebrated facing East. Even where altars were set up so that they were free-standing, nevertheless the direction of the priest and people was toward the East (or to "liturgical" East where a church was not built on an eastern axis).

I found this so in Bethlehem, when I was on pilgrimage in 2006, and attended a baptism at the Syrian Orthodox church there. It was also the direction of the liturgy when I was a youth, before Vatican II.

The idea of the priest, standing at the head of the people and offering the sacrifice of Christ for himself, for them, and for the world, is an idea that we've lost by having the liturgy facing the people. I have found that so far I like this "new" way for these reasons:

1. I am addressing prayers to God and not looking at people while I'm doing so. (This has always been a problem with Mass versus populi.) I have always been very careful about this anyway, when I celebrate facing the people. I try, unless I have to read the prayers directly from the Sacramentary, to direct my eye "Godwards," i.e., upwards, except for the prayer for peace that comes after the Lord's Prayer and which is directed (unlike the Eucharistic prayer and the collects that are addressed to the Father) to Christ. I look at the sacramental elements on the altar during that prayer as I've always tried to practice custody of the "liturgical" eye.
2. The people don't have to be distracted by looking at me, and I don't have to be distracted by looking at them.
3. It makes the chapel bigger by cutting down on the "footprint." In a small room this can be a great advantage, and I was able to relegate the original processional cross that was made for the chapel to be the p-c for Lent, and now use the original altar cross from the church.
4. There is something ineffable about it that I experience as I offer the Mass in this way.

Of course, I turn toward the people and address them at the proper times. Not gonna just say "The Lord be with you." glancing back over my shoulder.

This will not in any way affect the arrangement in the church of the altar for Sunday and Holy Day Masses (the only days we use the church anyway).

Let us see . . .

The First Novena

The descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles and the Church after the Ascension of Jesus to the right hand of the Father, represented the culmination of nine days of prayer and expectation. It is the source of the devotion called a "novena." While other novenas have come to be, directed to the honor of some saint, or for some spiritual purpose, yet the original novena started at the Ascension and completed at Pentecost is till the Ur-novena from which all take their name.

The readings of the Liturgy of the Eucharist and the Hours in these days are replete with the most wonderful and expectant writings of the New Testament and the Holy Fathers. May the annual celebration of that original outpouring of the Spirit form our hearts more and more into the dwelling place of Christ.

O Magnum Mysterium by Martin Lauridsen

I just heard this on Kent State classical streaming radio. The performance by the UST alumni singers is marred by the poor recording and gratuitous camera flashes, but the piece and their singing are magnificent! It moves me to tears as I listen to it. How wonderful it would be if our choir could do it for Christmas eve.

O magnum mysterium,
et admirabile sacramentum,
ut animalia viderent Dominum natum,
jacentem in praesepio!
Beata Virgo, cujus viscera
meruerunt portare
Dominum Christum. Alleluia!

O great mystery,
and wonderful sacrament,
that animals should see the new-born Lord,
lying in a manger!
Blessed is the Virgin whose womb
was worthy to bear
Christ the Lord. Alleluia!

St. Pius V and my Baptism Day

Michele Ghisleri (Pope Pius V) was born 17 Jan., 1504 elected 7 Jan., 1566; died 1 May, 1572. His family was poor, and he was taken in by the Dominicans and trained in theology and ordained. He was made a bishop and then a cardinal. He was noted as the Inquisitor General for all Christendom, and was particularly active against the Prods and the Turks. His real claim to fame is his support of the Christian league against the Turks, and assisted in various ways to the defeat of the Turkish navy at the battle of Lepanto on 7 October 1571.

From the New Catholic Encyclopedia: The original title of the Feast of the Most Holy Rosary. On Sunday 7 Ocotber 1571 the combined Christian fleets under Don John of Austria achieved a significant naval victory over the Turks in the Straits of Lepanto. Thousands of Christians were liberated, the Turkish fleet was destroyed, and they suffered their first great defeat at sea. In gratitude to God and Our Lady, Pope St. Pius V ordered an annual commemoration to be made of Our Lady of Victory. Pope Gregory XIII transferred the feast to the first Sunday of October with the title Most Holy Rosary since it victory was won through invocation of Our Lady of the Rosary In the reform of the liturgy the feast was returned to its original day.

The reason why I commemorate him as a patron is because on this day in 1950 I was baptized by Fr. Joseph Quinn at Immaculate Conception Church in Fort Smith, Arkansas. My parents and godparents were of course present: Paul, and Mary Elizabeth Sherrey, Charles, my father (all gone to their eternal reward, and my mother, Darleen.

St. Louis of France once said that of all the cathedrals and churches of his realm, he prized above all the church of his baptism. As the church of our baptism is the place where we entered into eternal life, we should all hold that place and those persons who brought us to the font in great esteem.

The Epitome of Priestly Narcissism

Where have I been?

From the Fifth Sunday of Lent until now, I have been whelmed with the cares and liturgies of the Church. H0ly Week was a time of great grace and beauty. At the Easter Vigil I baptized an infant, a child, and an adult. I confirmed seven. On Easter Sunday I baptized an infant at the English Mass and three infants at the Spanish Mass. There were baptisms at the Spanish Mass last Sunday, too.

This Sunday (Emmaus Sunday) is our first communion Sunday. There will be a group at each of the Masses.

Last night I was in Little Rock for the section meeting of the members of the Diocese of Little Rock who are in the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem. We are planning for the Southwest Lieutenancy meeting that will be held in the see city in October. I was also drumming up participants in the pilgrimage that I am leading to the Holy Land and Rome in November.

On top of everything, I came down with a cold a few days ago, and am only now getting over it.

The insurance assessor was here last week and informed us of many stupid things that we have to do, like Plexiglas beneath the vigil light stands, and velcro-ing the statutes to their plinths. It was unbelievable.

Can you imagine? Some Mohammedans in the world got their feelings hurt by the baptism of a former member of their cult by B16. Poor things.

And my little dog, Butch is doing well, and is with me here in the office as I type. He says hell0 to all of you and prays that you had and will have a blessed Easter season.

Patron Saint of the (new) New Age

Here's John Hagee and a wonderful example of Christian Zionism and why we should hate it

Snow in El Dorado

It is very unusual to get snow of any quantity down here in the sunny south where the Gulf of Mexico is usually our big weather maker. A combination of a cold front from the north and moist air from the south have combined to create quite a snow for us. Everybody is quitting work and going home. The schools got out at noon after the snow started coming down. I have a wake tonight and a funeral tomorrow. I just hope the musicians will be there. Our organist-choirmaster is stuck in Louisville, KY where he was attending the ACDA convention (American Choral Directors Association). Anyway, we'll enjoy this snow while it lasts.

Now I'm a mandarin

I'm a Mandarin!

You're an intellectual, and you've worked hard to get where you are now. You're a strong believer in education, and you think many of the world's problems could be solved if people were more informed and more rational. You have no tolerance for sloppy or lazy thinking. It frustrates you when people who are ignorant or dishonest rise to positions of power. You believe that people can make a difference in the world, and you're determined to try.

Talent: 51%
Lifer: 28%
Mandarin: 59%

Take the Talent, Lifer, or Mandarin quiz.

What kind of sports car are you?

I'm a Lamborghini Murcielago!

You're not subtle, but you don't want to be. Fast, loud, and dramatic, you want people to notice you, and then get out of the way. In a world full of sheep, you're a raging bull.

Take the Which Sports Car Are You? quiz.

Amazing!

Finally, someone!

Bedlam in the Spirit

In 18th century London, an Sunday afternoon's recreation might consist in going to the Hospital of St. Mary of Bethlehem (shortened to "Bedlam" from where we get the word) to watch the poor, insane, inmates roll, scream, and jump around. Such gazing on the insane was later judged unseemly, and the hospital was eventually turned into the Imperial War Museum (trading one insanity for another). Watching this video of a group on Indian pentecostals is almost as sick. Of course the people who produced it thought it was something beautiful for God. That's sick, too.

Cindy Sheehan agitates in Egypt for the Muslim Brotherhood

If you don't believe it, click here: http://www.jihadwatch.org/dhimmiwatch/archives/019944.php

Tuesday nights in Lent

Our parish will be having a series of lectures called Tuesday Nights in Lent. It will consist of Vespers and Eucharist at 5:30, followed by a simple supper in the parish hall. At 6:30 I will give a talk on various topics. Tonight is on "Prayer." The subsequent Tuesdays will cover liturgical music, forgiveness, hospitality and the liturgies of Holy Week. Indications show that these will be well attended.

False rumor about the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem

A false rumor concerning His Beatitude Michel Sabbah, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, is circulating at the moment. According to it, His Beatitude visited Africa: Congo, Rwanda, etc. He was hospitalized following an accident, and is asking for urgent financial support to cover the costs of medical care. All of this information is false. His Beatitude is in Jerusalem and is doing very well, thanks be to God. Please ignore these rumors.

Fr. Humam Khzouz
Chancellor of the Latin Patriarchate
of Jerusalem

Brother Martin Gocke, OSB

I have received word that my confrere, Brother Martin, passed away at 9:45 a.m., Sunday. He professed his vows as monk of our monastery on May 1, 1947. He was an interesting man. For many years he worked in the Abbey kitchen. He was a simple monk who has gone to his reward. May God bless and receive him as a faithful servant.

Like being a pastor

Ave Maria

Bobby McFerrin takes on Bach.

Video from the funeral of Archduke Charles Ludwig in the Cathedral of St. Stephen in Vienna

Tantum ergo is sung to the magnificent Kaisarhymne of Haydn.

Death of His Imperial Highness Charles Ludwig, of Austria-Hungary

His Imperial and Royal Highness Archduke Carl Ludwig Maria Franz Joseph Michael Gabriel Antonius Robert Stephan Pius Gregor Ignatius Markus d'Aviano of Austria, also known as Carl Ludwig Habsburg-Lothringen, died on 11 December 2007. (Born, March 10, 1918) He was the fifth child of Blessed Charles I of Austria and Princess Zita of Bourbon-Parma. He was born in Baden, Austria, and died in Brussels.
He was married in Beloeil on 17 January 1950 to Princess Yolande of Ligne (born May 6, 1923). They had four children:
Archduke Rudolf (b. 1950) married Marie Hélène de Villenfagne de Vogelsanck. Eight children.
Archduchess Alexandra (b. 1952) married Héctor Riesle Contreras. Three children.
Archduke Carl Christian (b. 1954) married Princess Marie Astrid of Luxembourg. Five children.
Archduchess Maria Constanza (b. 1957) married Franz Josef, Prince (Fürst) von Auersperg-Trautson. Three biological daughters (one died shortly after her birth) and one adopted daughter.

The Archduke joined the US army in 1943, and participated in the D-Day invasion. He was honorably discharged in 1947. His Imperial and Royal Highness was buried in the Capuchin crypt in Vienna after a funeral service in the Cathedral of St. Stephen, presided over by the Papal Nuncio. Requescat in pace.

Zaporozhian Cossacks---interestingly anti-islam

I recommend the following for some historical stuff on the Cossacks:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zaporozhian_Host

http://turbanbomb.blogspot.com/2007/09/surrender-up-yours.html

Nothing like telling the Sultan where to go!

Oriana Fallaci

“A moderate Islam does not exist. It does not exist because there is no difference between Good Islam and Bad Islam. There is Islam and that it the end of it. Islam is the Koran, and nothing other than the Koran. And the Koran is the Mein Kampf of a religion that desires to eliminate others- non -Muslims-who are called infidel dogs, and inferior creatures. Read the Koran, that Mein Kampf, yet again. In whatever version and you will see that the evil which the sons of Allah against us and themselves has perpetrated comes from that book”. (Oriana Fallaci”The Force of Reason” AMEN!

Feast of St. Thomas Aquinas, OP, priest, friar, doctor of the Church

Thomas Aquinas' feast day is today.

Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) lived at a critical juncture of western culture when the arrival of the Aristotelian corpus in Latin translation reopened the question of the relation between faith and reason, calling into question the modus vivendi that had obtained for centuries. This crisis flared up just as universities were being founded. Thomas, after early studies at Montecassino, moved on to the University of Naples, where he met members of the new Dominican Order. It was at Naples too that Thomas had his first extended contact with the new learning. When he joined the Dominican Order he went north to study with Albertus Magnus, author of a paraphrase of the Aristotelian corpus. Thomas completed his studies at the University of Paris, which had been formed out of the monastic schools on the Left Bank and the cathedral school at Notre Dame. In two stints as a regent master Thomas defended the mendicant orders and, of greater historical importance, countered both the Averroistic interpretations of Aristotle and the Franciscan tendency to reject Greek philosophy. The result was a new modus vivendi between faith and philosophy which survived until the rise of the new physics. Thomas's theological writings became regulative of the Catholic Church and his close textual commentaries on Aristotle represent a cultural resource which is now receiving increased recognition. The following account concentrates on Thomas the philosopher and presents him as fundamentally an Aristotelian. (http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aquinas/)

One of my favorite saints, I used him greatly in teaching. I wish that I had had time to study him more when I was in the seminary.

Prayer of St. Thomas Aquinas: Grant me, O Lord my God, a mind to know you,a heart to seek you, wisdom to find you, conduct pleasing to you, faithful perseverance in waiting for you, and a hope of finally embracing you. Amen.

Another prayer of St. Thomas Aquinas: [Recited in Preparation for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass]
Almighty and ever-living God, I approach the sacrament of your only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. I come sick to the Doctor of Life, unclean to the Fountain of Mercy, blind to the Radiance of Eternal Light, and poor and needy to the Lord of Heaven and Earth. Lord, in your great generosity, heal my sickness, wash away my defilement, enlighten my blindness, enrich my poverty, and clothe my nakedness. May I receive the bread of angels, the King of kings and the Lord of lords with humble reverence and with the purity and faith, the repentance and love, and the determined purpose that will help to bring me salvation. May I receive the Lord’s body and blood, and its reality and power. Kind God, may I receive the Body of your only begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, born from the womb of the Virgin Mary, and so be received into His Mystical Body and numbered among his members. Loving Father, as on my earthly pilgrimage I now receive your beloved Son under the veil of a sacrament, may I one day see Him face to face in glory, who lives and reigns with you forever. AMEN.

B16 to the Slovenian Bishops

Zenit.org "Not all forms of humanism are the same," he added, "nor are they equivalent in moral terms. I am not referring here to religious aspects, but limit myself to ethical and social questions. The various visions of man that can be adopted have consequences for civil coexistence. If, for example, man is conceived -- following a widespread modern tendency -- in individualistic terms, how can we justify efforts for the construction of a more just and united community?"

"Each generation is called to renew the choice between life and goodness and death and evil. We as pastors have the duty to show Christians the path of life, that they in their turn may become the salt and light of society. I encourage the Church in Slovenia, then, to respond to materialist and selfish culture with a coherent evangelizing activity that begins in parishes."

The Huck and the Second Amendment

Diversity

There are many who believe that the politically correct concept of "diversity" is something that makes life better for everyone. Diversity is, of course, the bastard child of "multiculturalism," i.e., the idea that all cultures and their characteristic "values" are equal. This is an idea that should be resisted by everyone. It was brought home to me by someone mentioning the absurd idea that it is wonderful that there are so many different Christian denominations---as if that were something to rejoice in---and by the presentations at the National Pastoral Musicians convention in Indianapolis in July of last year. There we had contemporary Catholic liturgy served with a large helping of multiculturalism and two scoops of diversity. It was silly.

Look, the only reason why these other Christian bodies exist is because we Catholics didn't do our job right.

If we had fulfilled the mission that Christ gave us at his Ascension, then the world would've been evangelized, the Gospel preached, and those who came to Faith would've been baptized and joined to his body. It is a shame, and it is contrary to the desire of Christ himself (See the Last Supper discourse in the Gospel of John.) Of course, we can't go back and change history, but we should be able to learn from it, you'd think.

The work of Christian ecumenicism is not to rejoice in diversity in the essentials of the Faith. There is no room for diversity in the essentials, that's why they are essentials. The existence of different rites, and spiritualities are diversities of the non-essential variety, and to be gloried in. But the Faith itself is only one, as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one, and for which Christ prayed so earnestly on the night before his death. To pretend otherwise is simply to fall into religious indifferentism, and no Catholic can hold to that.

A new martyr for Christ

(AINA) -- According to the Assyrian website ankawa.com, a 14 year old Christian Assyrian boy, Ayad Tariq, from Baqouba, Iraq was decapitated at his work place on October 21.

Ayad Tariq was working his 12 hour shift, maintaining an electric generator, when a group of disguised Muslim insurgents walked in at the beginning of his shift shortly after 6 a.m. and asked him for his ID.

According to another employee who witnessed the events, and who hid when he saw the insurgents approach, the insurgents questioned Ayad after seeing that his ID stated "Christian", asking if he was truly a "Christian sinner." Ayad replied "yes, I am Christian but I am not a sinner." The insurgents quickly said this is a "dirty Christian sinner!" Then they proceeded to each hold one limb, shouting "Allahu akbar! Allahu akbar!" while beheading the boy.

Translated from Arabic by AINA

© 2008, Assyrian International News Agency. All Rights Reserved

Some Dutch are not taking Islamisation lying down.

Jewish Professor at Roman University defends the Pope

Defending the Pope comes with a cost, says a Jewish math professor from Rome's La Sapienza University. (See full article in Zenit: http://www.zenit.org/ ) Giorgio Israel spoke with L'Osservatore Romano last week after protesters at La Sapienza objected to a planned visit from Benedict XVI. The protesters wrote a letter in which they claimed the Pope is "hostile" to science. The event eventually escalated to the point of students taking over the rector's offices and the cancellation of the trip, planned for Jan. 17.
The Jewish math professor admits that there is an anti-papal climate in the universities that is difficult to address. Again, the university, supposedly a place of calm pursuit of truth, is revealed to be just the opposite. Liberal factions and politically-correct thought police rule the day. If the universities fail us in the pursuit of truth, then where will it happen for most folks?

The Games Muslims Play

For those interested in a quick overview of Muslim hypocrisy, take a look at this: http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/Pages/Games-Muslims-Play.htm#other

Knights of Columbus continue their work at the National Shrine

Click below to see the continuing work of the K of C for the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, DC:

http://www.kofc.org/news/releases/detail.cfm?id=506224

LA Diocese to sell Catholic Center.

(01-22) 19:42 PST Los Angeles (AP) --
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles has sold its 12-story administrative headquarters building to help pay last year's $660 million settlement with people alleging sex abuse by clergy, a spokesman said Tuesday.
The Archdiocesan Catholic Center was sold to Jamison Properties of Los Angeles for $31 million, archdiocese spokesman Tod Tamberg said.
Staffers who oversee the archdiocese's cemeteries will move to office space on the grounds of a cemetery, Tamberg said. Others will consolidate in four of the building's floors that church officials will lease from the new owner, Tamberg said.

It is sad that a problem that was brought on by the bishops has to be paid for by the faithful by the selling of Church property. I lay this completely at the feet of the bishops without apology. They told us that they had it fixed, and then didn't do it.

St. Vincent of Saragossa, Deacon and Martyr

Saint Vincent of Saragossa, also known as Vincent of Huesca, is the patron saint of Lisbon. His feast day is January 22 Catholic; November 11 Orthodox. He was born at Huesca and martyred under Diocletian in 304.

One of the things that the authorities sought in Dioceltian's persecution was the copies of the scriptures. The imperial authorities also went after the bishops, presbyters (priests), and deacons of the Church, figuring that by cutting of the head(s) the Church would quickly did. Of course, that was a mistake.

He was born at Huesca but lived in Zaragoza (Saragossa in English; also in the Aragon region of Spain) and is also known as Saint Vincent the Deacon. The title "deacon" (diakonos) means minister or servant. Vincent served as the deacon of Saint Valerius, bishop of Saragossa. Imprisoned in Valencia for his faith, and tortured on a gridiron — a story perhaps adapted from the martyrdom of another son of Huesca, Saint Lawrence— Vincent, like many early martyrs in the early hagiographic literature, succeeded in converting his jailer. Though he was finally offered release if he would consign Scripture to the fire, Vincent refused.

The earliest account of Vincent's martyrdom is in a carmen (lyric poem) written by the poet Prudentius, (348 – after 405), who wrote a series of lyric poems, Peristephanon ("Crowns of Martyrdom"), on Hispanic and Roman martyrs, including Lawrence. Prudentius describes how Vincent was brought to trial along with his bishop Valerius, and that since Valerius had a speech impediment, Vincent spoke for both, but that his outspoken fearless manner so angered the governor that Vincent was tortured and martyred, though his aged bishop was only exiled.

Eternal Father, you gave St. Vincent the courage to endure torture and death for the Gospel: fill us with your Spirit and strengthen us in your love. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Papal visit to Roman University cancelled

VATICAN CITY, 16 JAN 2008 (VIS) - The Pope will not make the visit he was scheduled to make tomorrow, 17 January, to Rome's "La Sapienza" University for the inauguration of the academic year, according to a communique released yesterday evening by the Holy See Press Office.
The communique reads: "In the wake of the widely-publicised events of the last few days relating to the Holy Father's visit to Rome's 'La Sapienza' University which, at the invitation of the rector, was to have taken place on Thursday, 17 January, it was considered opportune to postpone the event. The Holy Father will, nonetheless, send the text of the speech he had been due to pronounce".
The "events" to which the note refers include a petition to the rector signed by 67 professors asking for the invitation to Benedict XVI to be withdrawn, and protests by groups of students who yesterday occupied the rector's office to demand the right to demonstrate within the university campus on the day of the Pope's visit.
The signatories of the petition take exception to a talk given by the then Cardinal Ratzinger in 1990, and in particular to a phrase he used on that occasion to the effect that "in Galileo's time the Church remained much more faithful to reason than Galileo himself. The trial against Galileo was reasonable and just". The future Pope's remarks, a quote from a work by the philosopher of science Paul Feyerabend, were made in the context of a talk on the crisis of confidence in science, in which he used the example of changing attitudes towards the case of Galileo. OP/PAPAL VISIT/LA SAPIENZAVIS 080116 (290)

So much for freedom of speech and the honesty of the scientific method.

Ordinary Time

The earliest day that Easter can be is 22 March---an event that happens only once every 200 years. This year Easter is 23 March, something that comes once a century. This fluxuation is brought about by the ancient problems of determining Easter anyway. It combines a lunar calendar such as the Jews used, and a solar calendar such as the Romans used. The purpose is to keep Easter a) on a Sunday, and b) in the spring. In the history of the Church there have been other attempts to fix the date of Easter. Some wanted it to coincide with Passover, but that meant that "The Lord's Day" would not always be Sunday. The Church found this unacceptable since it had already been celebrating Sunday as the Lord's Day from the time of the Apostles. To celebrate the annual observance of his resurrection on a day other than Sunday would make no sense.

Thus, we have at the Council of Nicea (325) the formulation of the calculating of the date of Easter: The First Sunday after the Full Moon, after the Vernal Equinox. This has kept Easter in the spring, and on a Sunday, and more or less around the time of the Jewish Passover.

Between Ash Wednesday and now we are in ordinary time. This is so-called because the Sundays are ordered from one to thirty-four. This cycle is disrupted by Lent and Easter, but takes up again after Pentecost. The Sundays between Epiphany and Lent were formerly called Sunday's after Epiphany. They were followed by the pre-Lenten cycle of Septuagesima, Sexagesima, and Quinquagesima Sundays before Ash Wednesday. The reform of the liturgical calendar after Vatican II did away both with the Sundays after Epiphany and the pre-Lenten Sundays. This year we will have four Sundays of Ordinary Time before Lent.

Someone with too much time on his hands

It is possible to make a trumpet out of 12 feet of garden hose and a mouthpiece. Here's an organist/trumpeter who can collect both salaries:

Becket

We celebrated on the 29th of December the feast of the "Holy, blissful martyr" St. Thomas Becket, one of the great saints of the middle ages, and one of my favorites as well. He was slain by knights of Henry II who thought they were following orders. It was a martyrdom that shocked Europe and made the cathedral of Canterbury a place of pilgrimage as important as Rome or Compostella. The Archbishop was also the Abbot of the cathedral monastery and as is described by William the monk below:

"He suffered on this day, who was Primate and Legate, in the Church and on behalf of the Church, about the hour of the evening prayer, while the choir of monks sang psalms round about, and the clergy and the company of the people stood by, and while reigned our Lord Jesu Christ to Whom be honour for ever and ever. Amen."

I had the privilege of praying at the place of his murder and in the crown chapel in 2002 (so called because one of the knights sliced off the top of his skull with his sword). The knights wounded him terribly, and after slicing off the top of his skull used their swords to scrape out his brain onto the pavement. One of the monks almost had his arm cut off as he raised it to try to fend off the blows that the Archbishop-Abbot was receiving.

St. Thomas Becket's shrine in the cathedral became one of the most richly endowed. St. Louis of France sent a special stone for it called the "Regale of France" that became part of the shrine for several hundred years, until the heresiarch and fornicator, Henry VIII, destroyed the shrine, taking the votive offerings for himself and destroying the relics of this saint who dared defy his king.

Epiphany

This weekend, the Solemnity of the Epiphany falls on a Sunday. Since it is not a holy day of obligation in the US, it used to be celebrated only in monasteries, cathedrals and at daily Mass in parishes. After Vatican II, the American bishops moved it to the closest Sunday. The principle of double-effect is at work here. While moving it to Sunday allowed American Catholics to celebrate this wondrous feast when they would normally be going to church anyway, it also cut the Epiphany from its calendrical mooring of January 6. Thus Twelthnight (Epiphany night) often falls on less or more days than the traditional twelve days of Christmas. This is some cultural loss, except this year when Epiphany and Sunday are the same day. We will truly have the full twelve days of Christmas and Twelthnight on the proper day.

Three things are celebrated at the Epiphany: the visit of the Magi, the Lord's baptism, and the miracle at the wedding feast at Cana. All three are "epiphanies" of Christ: to the gentiles in the person of the Magi; to John the Baptist and the Apostles at the Jordan; and the first miracle of Christ's ministry,recorded by St. John the Divine.

In the Greek Orthodox Church, this feast centers on the Jordan, and usually, wherever possible, the bishop will throw a cross into the nearest river, and young men will dive for it. This can be quite exhilarating, especially in a Russian winter!

The Hurdy-gurdy

For those of you who know not the hurdy-gurdy, then I say "Gentlemen, behold!

Awake My Soul

When I was in college at St. John's to of my friends and I got hooked on the music from William Walker's Southern Harmony, and B.F. White's Sacred Harp, both published in the 1850's The rough-hewn angularity and back-country vitality of these hymns are refreshing. Many of the melodies are quite touching as well. I've loved this music ever since. Even though it is quintessentially Protestant in its scope, I still love it. For those who are interested in the Sacred Harp, this DVD will come in handy and is very interesting.

Childermas Day 28 December

Today we celebrate Childermas or the feast of the Holy Innocents. Matthew describes this incident as the murder of the boys of Bethlehem up to two years old by Herod seeking to destroy thereby the new-born King of the Jews as the Magi called him. Children are blessed today by their parents.

The following blessing of children is from the "fisheaters" blog: http://www.fisheaters.com/customschristmas5.html

The father of the home should formally bless the children. A common way of doing this is as follows:
Father: O Lord, hear my prayer.
All: And let my cry come unto Thee.
Father:
Let us pray. O Lord Jesus Christ, once Thou embraced and placed Thy hands upon the little children who came to Thee, and said: "Suffer the little children to come unto Me, and forbid them not, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven, and their angels always see the face of my Father!" Look now with fatherly eyes on the innocence of these children and their parents' devotion, and bless them this day through our prayers.
The father signs the forehead of each child with holy water.
Father: In Thy grace and goodness let them advance continually, longing for Thee, loving Thee, fearing Thee, keeping Thy commandments. Then they will surely come to their destined home, through Thee, Savior of the world. Who lives and reigns forever and ever.
All: Amen.
Father: May God bless you. And may He keep your hearts and minds -- the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.
All: Amen.

The Comites Xsti

The three days after Christmas celebrate three saints or group of saints. The first, celebrated on the 26th, is the feast of St. Stephen, the Protomartyr. Then, today, the Feast of St. John the Divine, and tomorrow, the Feast of the Holy Innocents of Bethlehem. I suppose that we could lump in St. Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, whose feast is the 29th.

Comites Xsti or Christi, if you don't want to use the ancient abbreviation, is the name for these saints: the Companions of Christ. They were given this name in the middle ages since their feasts came right after the Nativity. All of them, except Thomas (who only comes from the 12th century) were celebrated early on in the Roman Rite. This year, none of them will be knocked out by the Feast of the Holy Family, that is the Sunday between Christmas and Epiphany.

St. John the Divine is the patron saint of wine, because when someone offered him a goblet of poisoned wine, he blessed it and it broke and a snake came forth. Today wine is blessed in honor of St. John. A blessing for it follows:

O Lord God, deign to bless and consecrate with Thy right hand this cup of wine and of whatever drink: and grant that through the merits of Saint John, Apostle and Evangelist, all who believe in Thee and who drink from this cup may be blessed and protected. And as blessed John drank from the cup of poison and remained completely unharmed, may, through his merits, all who drink from the cup on this day in honor of blessed John be rescued from every sickness of poison and from every kind of harm; and, offering themselves up body and soul, may they delivered from all fault. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Bless, O Lord, this creature of drink: that it may be a remedy of salvation for all who consume it: and grant through the invocation of Thy holy name that whoever will have tasted of it may, through Thy giving, experience health of the soul as well as of the body. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
And the blessing of almighty God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, descend upon this creature of wine and of whatever drink, and remain forever. Amen.

As St. Stephen's day is the feast of Deacons, so is today, St. John the Divine, the feast of priests, and tomorrow, the Holy Innocents is the feast of novices, students, and choirboys.

St. Nicholas' Day

Today, the 6th of December is the feast of St. Nicholas, Bishop of Myra. He had been a monk and an abbot before being elected bishop of Myra. During the persecution of Diocletian he was tortured as were many of the bishops of the Church. He was one of the fathers of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicea. This council addressed the teachings of Arius on the nature of Christ: that Christ was only a good man whom God exalted. This was refuted by the bishops of the Church and Arius was condemned. Many of the bishops, as Nicholas, had suffered persecution during the reign of Diocletian, so the council must have looked like a gathering of war veterans.

The legends of St. Nicholas are many, and he is the patron saint against imprisonment, robberies, and robbers. He is patron of pharmacists, bakers, barrel makers (coopers) sailors, boys, brewers, brides, captives, children, dock workers, fishermen, grooms, judges; lawsuits lost unjustly, Ireland, maidens, merchants, murderers; newlyweds, old maids, parish clerks, paupers, pawnbrokers; perfumeries, perfumers, pilgrims, poor people, scholars, school children, shoe shiners, single women, thieves, travelers, and water men, among others.

I always told the boys in the dorm to put their shoes out before they went to bed and St. Nicholas would come and give them something in the night. Mostly I would put candy in them, but there were some who merited a trip to the old powerhouse at the abbey so that I could bring a few lumps of coal. The point was made.

The picture above shows the saint preventing the execution of innocents.