Recta Ratio

Turn your clock back and hour tonight, or you will be late for Mass in the morning!

Labels: Recta Ratio Housekeeping

The Danvers Butchery is back in business at a new location.

Actually, it has been back in business for a while now, but I've been in Boston, not the North Shore, and missed this. Gosh have I missed the steakhouse marinated sirloin tips, and the lemon pepper chicken breasts.

Labels: New England Things

Over at Against All Heresies.

Labels: Restorationists

For the octave of All Souls, I will be publishing the entirety of Father Paul O'Sullivan's Read Me Or Rue It!.

FOREWORD
"READ ME OR RUE IT"

This title is somewhat startling. Yet, Dear Reader, if you peruse this little book, you will see for yourself how well deserved it is. The book tells us how to save ourselves and how to save others from untold suffering. Some books are good and may be read with profit. Others are better and should be read without fail.

There are, however, books of such sterling worth by reason of the counsels they suggest, the conviction they carry with them, the urge to action they give us that it would be sheer folly not to read them.

Read Me or Rue It belongs to this class. It is for your best interest, Dear Friend, to read it and reread it, to ponder well and deeply on its contents. You will never regret it; rather, great and poignant will be your regret if you fail to study its few but pregnant pages.

HELP, HELP, THEY SUFFER SO MUCH!


I. We can never understand too clearly that every alms, small or great, which we give to the poor we give to God.

He accepts it and rewards it as given to Himself. Therefore, all we do for the Holy Souls, God accepts as done to Himself. It is as if we had relieved or released Him from Purgatory. What a thought! How He will repay us!

II. As there is no hunger, no thirst, no poverty, no need, no pain, no suffering to compare with what the Souls in Purgatory endure, so there is no alms more deserving, none more pleasing to God, none more meritorious for us than the alms, the prayers, the Masses we give to the Holy Souls.

III. It is very possible that some of our own nearest and dearest ones are still suffering the excruciating pains of Purgatory and calling on us piteously for help and relief.

Is it not dreadful that we are so hardened as not to think more about them, that we are so cruel as to deliberately forget them!

For the dear Christ's sake, let us do all, but all, we can for them.

Every Catholic ought to join the Association of the Holy Souls.

PURGATORY

"Have pity on me, have pity on me, at least you my friends, because the hand of the Lord hath touched me. " (Job 19:21).

This is the touching prayer that the Poor Souls in Purgatory address to their friends on Earth, begging, imploring their help, in accents of the deepest anguish. Alas, many are deaf to their prayers!

It is incomprehensible how some Catholics, even those who are otherwise devout, shamefully neglect the souls in Purgatory. It would almost seem that they do not believe in Purgatory. Certain it is that their ideas on the subject are very hazy.

Days and weeks and months pass without their having a Mass said for the Holy Souls! Seldom, too, do they hear Mass for them, seldom do they pray for them, seldom do they think of them! Whilst they are enjoying the fullness of health and happiness, busy with their work, engrossed with their amusements, the Poor Souls are suffering unutterable agonies on their beds of flame. What is the cause of this awful callousness? Ignorance: gross, inexplicable ignorance.

People do not realize what Purgatory is. They have no conception of its dreadful pains, and they have no idea of the long years that souls are detained in these awful fires. As a result, they take little or no care to avoid Purgatory themselves, and worse still, they cruelly neglect the Poor Souls who are already there and who depend entirely on them for help.

Dear Reader, peruse this little book with care and you will bless the day that it fell into your hands.

Labels: Restorationists

O Mother of Mercy, Help of Christians, most faithful minister of Divine Providence, treasurer of all graces, remember that never in the world has it been heard that thou hast left him without comfort who has come to thee with true devotion. Wherefore, I, trusting in thy tender pity and in thy most generous providence, bend low before thee, praying that thou wouldst hear my prayer.

Obtain for me a holy provision for the future, namely, graces for all my spiritual and temporal needs.
I fervently recommend to thy loving motherly Heart our Holy Church, the Sovereign Pontiff, the conversion of sinners, the spread of the Catholic faith and those Souls chosen by Our Lord, who are suffering the tormenting flames of Purgatory, that they may soon be comforted with eternal refreshment.
Amen.

Labels: Restorationists

To what Daniel Mitsui has up at The Lion and the Cardinal, a listing of his excellent posts relating to the dead, Purgatory, and Hallowmas.

And like Daniel, I plan, as I have in years past, to spend the octave of All Souls emphasizing the necessity of prayers for the poor souls, and illustrating the rich material culture previous ages with a better sense of obligation for the dead have left us.

Memento Mori!

Labels: Restorationists

O most sweet Jesus, through the bloody sweat which Thou didst suffer in the Garden of Gethsemani, have mercy on these Blessed Souls. Have mercy on them.
R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

O most sweet Jesus, through the pains which Thou didst suffer during Thy most cruel scourging, have mercy on them.
R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

O most sweet Jesus, through the pains which Thou didst suffer in Thy most painful crowning with thorns, have mercy on them.
R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

O most sweet Jesus, through the pains which Thou didst suffer in carrying Thy cross to Calvary, have mercy on them.
R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

O most sweet Jesus, through the pains which Thou didst suffer during Thy most cruel Crucifixion, have mercy on them.
R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

O most sweet Jesus, through the pains which Thou didst suffer in Thy most bitter agony on the Cross, have mercy on them.
R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

O most sweet Jesus, through the immense pain which Thou didst suffer in breathing forth Thy Blessed Soul, have mercy on them.
R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

(Recommend yourself to the Souls in Purgatory and mention your intentions here)

Blessed Souls, I have prayed for thee; I entreat thee, who are so dear to God, and who are secure of never losing Him, to pray for me a miserable sinner, who is in danger of being damned, and of losing God forever. Amen.

Labels: Restorationists

This link will take you to a post in the archives, from 2 years aso, with numerous images from Books of Hours from their Office of the Dead, which consisted of a combined office of Vespers and Matins, said the night before a requiem, and Lauds, said the morning of the funeral. The links in the post take you to the text of the office, in English and Latin. But the text is in the original Recta Ratio the Yahoo Group, and you have to be a member and be signed in to access it. But the images are just in the archives of the blog, and you can see them without any further ado.

Labels: Restorationists

(For Private Use Only)
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
God the Father of Heaven ,
Have mercy on the Souls of the Faithful departed.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world,
Have mercy on the Souls of the faithful departed.
God the Holy Spirit,
Have mercy on the Souls of the faithful departed.
Holy Trinity, One God,
Have mercy on the Souls of the faithful departed.
Holy Mary ,
Pray for the Souls of the faithful departed.
Holy Mother of God,
Pray for the Souls of the faithful departed.
Saint Michael, etc.
Saint Gabriel,
All ye holy Angels and Archangels,
Saint John the Baptist,
Saint Joseph,
All ye holy Patriarchs and Prophets,
Saint Peter,
Saint Paul,
Saint John,
All ye holy Apostles and Evangelists,
Saint Stephen,
Saint Lawrence,
All ye holy Martyrs,
Saint Gregory,
Saint Ambrose,
All ye holy bishops and confessors,
Saint Mary Magdalen,
Saint Catherine,
All ye holy Virgins and widows,
All ye Saints of God,
Make intercession for the Souls of the faithful departed.
Be merciful,
Spare them, O Lord.
Be merciful,
Hear them, O Lord.
From all evil,
O Lord, deliver them.
From Thy wrath,
O Lord, deliver them.
From the flame of fire, etc.
From the region of the shadow of death,
Through Thine Immaculate Conception,
Through Thy Nativity,
Through Thy Most Holy Name,
Through the multitude of Thy tender mercies, Through Thy most bitter Passion,
Through Thy most Sacred Wounds,
Through Thy most Precious Blood,
Through Thine ignominious death, by which
Thou hast destroyed our death,

We sinners,
We beseech Thee, hear us.
O Thou Who didst absolve the sinner woman and hear the prayer of the good thief,
We beseech Thee, hear us.
That thou wouldst release our deceased parents, relations and benefactors
from the bonds of their sins and the punishment for them, etc.
That Thou wouldst hasten the day of visiting Thy faithful detained in the receptacles
of sorrow, and wouldst transport them to the city of eternal peace,
That Thou wouldst shorten the time of expiation for their sins and graciously
admit them into the holy sanctuary, into which no unclean thing can enter,
That through the prayers and alms of Thy Church, and especially by the inestimable
Sacrifice of Thy Holy Altar, Thou wouldst receive them into the tabernacle of rest
and crown their longing hopes with everlasting fruition,
Son of God,

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
Grant them eternal rest.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
Grant them eternal rest.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
Grant them eternal rest.

Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.

Our Father, Who art in Heaven, etc.
V. And lead us not into temptation,
R. But deliver us from all evil. Amen.
V. From the gates of Hell,
R. Deliver their Souls, O Lord.
V. May they rest in peace.
R. Amen.
V. O Lord, hear my prayer ,
R. And let my cry come unto Thee.
Let Us Pray.
O God, Creator and Redeemer of all the faithful, grant to the Souls of Thy
departed servants the remission of all their sins, that through our pious
supplications they may obtain the pardon which they have always desired.
Through Jesus Christ Our Lord. R. Amen.

O God, the Giver of pardon and the Lover of the salvation of men, we beg Thy clemency on behalf of our brethren, kinsfolk and benefactors who have departed this life, that by the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary and of all the Saints, Thou wouldst receive them into the joys of Thine everlasting kingdom. Through Christ Our Lord. R. Amen.

O God, to Whom it belongs always to have mercy and to spare, be favorably propitious to the Souls of Thy servants and grant them the remission of all their sins, that being delivered from the bonds of this mortal life, they may be admitted to life everlasting. Through Jesus Christ Our Lord. R. Amen.

Labels: Restorationists

Rest Eternal Grant Them, Lord!
Take we up the touching burden of November plaints,
Pleading for the Holy Souls, God’s yet uncrowned Saints.
Still unpaid to our departed is the debt we owe;
Still unransomed, some are pining, sore oppressed with woe.
Friends we loved and vowed to cherish call us in their need:
Prove we now our love was real, true in word and deed.
“Rest eternal grant them, Lord!” full often let us pray—
“Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine!”

Requiem Aeternam
Requiem aeternam dona eis Domine: et lux perpetua luceat eis.
Requiescant in pace. Amen.

Labels: Restorationists

The day of wrath, that day
which will reduce the world to ashes,
as foretold by David and the Sybil.

What terror there will be,
when the Lord will come
to judge all rigorously!

The trumpet, scattering a wondrous sound
among the graves of all the lands,
will assemble all before the Throne.

Death and Nature will be astounded
when they see a creature rise again
to answer to the Judge.

The book will be brought forth
in which all deeds are noted,
for which humanity will answer.

When the judge will be seated,
all that is hidden will appear,
and nothing will go unpunished.

Alas, what will I then say?
To what advocate shall I appeal,
when even the just tremble?

O king of redoutable majesty,
who freely saves the elect,
save me, o fount of piety!

Remember, merciful Jesus,
that I am the cause of your journey,
do not lose me on that day.

You wearied yourself in finding me.
You have redeemed me through the cross.
Let not such great efforts be in vain.

O judge of vengeance, justly
make a gift of your forgiveness
before the day of reckoning.

I lament like a guilty one.
My faults cause me to blush,
I beg you, spare me.

You who have absolved Mary,
and have heard the thief's prayer,
have also given me hope.

My prayers are not worthy,
but you, o Good One, please grant freely
that I do not burn in the eternal fire.

Give me a place among the sheep,
separate me from the goats
by placing me at your right.

Having destroyed the accursed,
condemned them to the fierce flames,
Count me among the blessed.

I prostrate myself, supplicating,
my heart in ashes, repentant;
take good care of my last moment!

That tearful day,
when from the ashes shall rise again.

Sinful man to be judged.
Therefore pardon him, o God.

Merciful Lord Jesus,
give them rest.

Amen.

Dies irae, dies illa
solvet saeclum in favilla,
teste David cum Sybilla.

Quantus tremor est futurus,
quando judex est venturus,
cuncta stricte discussurus.

Tuba mirum spargens sonum
per sepulchra regionum,
coget omnes ante thronum.

Mors stupebit et natura,
cum resurget creatura,
judicanti responsura.

Liber scriptus proferetur,
in quo totum continetur,
unde mundus judicetur.

Judex ergo cum sedebit,
quidquid latet apparebit,
nil inultum remanebit.

Quid sum miser tunc dicturus?
Quem patronum rogaturus,
cum vix justus sit securus?

Rex tremendae majestatis,
qui salvandos salvas gratis,
salva me, fons pietatis.

Recordare Jesu pie,
quod sum causa tuae viae,
ne me perdas illa die.

Quaerens me sedisti lassus,
redemisti crucem passus,
tantus labor non sit cassus.

Juste judex ultionis,
donum fac remissionis
ante diem rationis.

Ingemisco tanquam reus,
culpa rubet vultus meus,
supplicanti parce, Deus.

Qui Mariam absolvisti,
et latronem exaudisti,
mihi quoque spem dedisti.

Preces meae non sunt dignae,
sed tu, bonus, fac benigne,
ne perenni cremer igne.

Inter oves locum praeta,
et ab hoedis me sequestra,
statuens in parte dextra.

Confutatis maledictis,
flammis acribus addictis,
voca me cum benedictis.

Oro supplex et acclinis,
cor contritum quasi cinis,
gere curam mei finis.

Lacrimosa dies illa,
qua resurget ex favilla

judicandus homo reus -
Huic ergo parce, Deus.

Pie Jesu Domine,
dona eis requiem.

Amen.

Labels: Restorationists

All Saints' Day by Bouguereau
V. Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine.
R. Et lux perpetua luceat in eis.
V. Requiescant in pace.
R. Amen.
Kathryn & George
Thomas
Nora & Thomas
Felicia & Louis
Patrick & Susan
Thelma & Herbert
Barbara
Austin
Mary & Charles
Ida & Edward
Rudolph
Emily & Anthony
Mary and John
Elmer
Grace & William
Winifred & Louis
Rose & Harold
Mildred & Frank
Minerva & Joseph
Bea & Roland
William
Samson
Patricia
Mary & James
Brother Daniel
Thomas
Joseph
June
Gene
Glenn
Henrietta
Nick
Kevin
Father Flaherty
Mary & John
Brother Chad, CFX
Father Mahoney, SJ
Father Cheney, SJ
Frank
Tommy
Memorial Prayer for the Suffering Souls in Purgatory
(For Private Use Only)
Almighty God, Father of Goodness and love,
have mercy on the Poor Suffering Souls,
and grant Thine aid:

To my dear parents and ancestors;
Jesus, Mary, Joseph! My Jesus Mercy.
To my brothers and sisters and other near relatives;
Jesus, Mary, Joseph! My Jesus Mercy.
To my benefactors, spiritual and temporal; etc.
To my former friends and subjects;
To all for whom love or duty bids me pray;
To those who have suffered disadvantage or harm through me;
To those who have offended me;
To all those who are especially beloved by Thee;
To those whose release is at hand;
To those who desire most to be united with Thee;
To those who endure the greatest suffering;
To those whose release is most remote;
To those who are least remembered;
To those who are most deserving on account of their services to the Church;
To the rich, who now are the most destitute;
To the mighty, who now are as lowly servants;
To the blind, who now see their folly;
To the frivolous, who spent their time in idleness;
To the poor, who did not seek the treasures of Heaven;
To the tepid, who devoted little time to prayer;
To the indolent, who were negligent in performing good works;
To those of little faith, who neglected the frequent reception of the Sacraments;
To the habitual sinners, who owe their salvation to a miracle of grace;
To parents who failed to watch over their children;
To superiors who were not solicitous for the salvation of those entrusted to them;
To the souls of those who strove for hardly anything but riches and pleasures;
To the worldly-minded, who failed to use their wealth and talents in the service of God;
To those who witnessed the death of others, but would not think of their own;
To those who did not provide for the great journey beyond, and the days of tribulation;
To those whose judgment is so severe because of the great things entrusted to them;
To the popes, rulers, kings and princes;
To the bishops and their counselors;
To my teachers and spiritual advisors;
To the deceased priests of this diocese;
To all the priests and religious of the whole Catholic Church;
To the defenders of the Holy Faith;
To those who died on the battlefield;
To those who are buried in the sea;
To those who died of stroke or heart attack;
To those who died without the last rites of the Church;
To those who shall die within the next twenty-four hours;
To my own poor soul when I shall have to appear before Thy judgment seat;

V. O Lord, grant eternal rest to all the souls of the faithful departed,
R. And let perpetual light shine upon them.
V. May they rest in peace.
R. Amen.

Labels: Restorationists

The Church is very free and liberal with plenary indulgences on behalf of the poor souls in Purgatory during the month of November. Here is a guide to gaining these poor souls indulgences.

Labels: Restorationists

For All the Saints
For all the saints, who from their labors rest,
Who Thee by faith before the world confessed,
Thy Name, O Jesus, be forever blessed.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

Thou wast their Rock, their Fortress and their Might;
Thou, Lord, their Captain in the well fought fight;
Thou, in the darkness drear, their one true Light.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

For the Apostles’ glorious company,
Who bearing forth the Cross o’er land and sea,
Shook all the mighty world, we sing to Thee:
Alleluia, Alleluia!

For the Evangelists, by whose blest word,
Like fourfold streams, the garden of the Lord,
Is fair and fruitful, be Thy Name adored.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

For Martyrs, who with rapture kindled eye,
Saw the bright crown descending from the sky,
And seeing, grasped it, Thee we glorify.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

O blest communion, fellowship divine!
We feebly struggle, they in glory shine;
All are one in Thee, for all are Thine.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

O may Thy soldiers, faithful, true and bold,
Fight as the saints who nobly fought of old,
And win with them the victor’s crown of gold.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

And when the strife is fierce, the warfare long,
Steals on the ear the distant triumph song,
And hearts are brave, again, and arms are strong.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

The golden evening brightens in the west;
Soon, soon to faithful warriors comes their rest;
Sweet is the calm of paradise the blessed.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

But lo! there breaks a yet more glorious day;
The saints triumphant rise in bright array;
The King of glory passes on His way.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

From earth’s wide bounds, from ocean’s farthest coast,
Through gates of pearl streams in the countless host,
And singing to Father, Son and Holy Ghost:
Alleluia, Alleluia!

The Litany of the Saints

Lord, have mercy on us. (Lord have mercy on us.)
Christ, have mercy on us. (Christ have mercy on us.)
Lord, have mercy on us. (Lord, have mercy on us.)

Christ, hear us. (Christ, hear us.)
Christ, graciously hear us. (Christ, graciously hear us.)

God the Father of heaven, (have mercy on us.)
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, (have mercy on us.)
God the Holy Ghost, (have mercy on us.)
Holy Trinity, one God, (have mercy on us.)

Holy Mary, (Pray for us.)
Holy Mother of God,
Holy Virgin of virgins,

St. Michael,
St. Gabriel,
St. Raphael,
All ye holy Angels and Archangels,
All ye holy orders of blessed Spirits,

St. John the Baptist,
St. Joseph,
All ye holy Patriarchs and Prophets,

St. Peter,
St. Paul,
St. Andrew,
St. James,
St. John,
St. Thomas,
St. James,
St. Philip,
St. Bartholomew,
St. Matthew,
St. Simon,
St. Thaddeus,
St. Matthias,
St. Barnabas,
St. Luke,
St. Mark,
All ye holy Apostles and Evangelists,
All ye holy Disciples of the Lord,

All ye holy Innocents,
St. Stephen,
St. Lawrence,
St. Vincent,
SS. Fabian and Sebastian,
SS. John and Paul,
SS. Cosmas and Damian,
SS. Gervase and Protase,
All ye holy Martyrs,

St. Sylvester,
St. Gregory,
St. Ambrose,
St. Augustine,
St. Jerome,
St. Martin,
St. Nicholas,
All ye holy Bishops and Confessors,
All ye holy Doctors,

St. Anthony,
St. Benedict,
St. Bernard,
St. Dominic,
St. Francis,
All ye holy Priests and Levites,
All ye holy Monks and Hermits,

St. Mary Magdalen,
St. Agatha,
St. Lucy,
St. Agnes,
St. Cecilia,
St. Catherine,
St. Anastasia,
All ye holy Virgins and Widows,

All ye holy Saints of God, (Make intercession for us.)
Be merciful, (Spare us, O Lord.)
Be merciful, (Graciously hear us, O Lord.)

From all evil, O Lord (Deliver us.)
From all sin,
From Thy wrath,
From sudden and unlooked for death,
From the snares of the devil,
From anger, and hatred, and every evil will,
From the spirit of fornication,
From lightning and tempest,
From the scourge of earthquakes,
From plague, famine and war,
From everlasting death,
Through the mystery of Thy holy Incarnation,
Through Thy Coming,
Through Thy Birth,
Through Thy Baptism and holy Fasting,
Through Thy Cross and Passion,
Through Thy Death and Burial,
Through Thy holy Resurrection,
Through Thine admirable Ascension,
Through the coming of the Holy Ghost, the Paraclete.
In the day of judgment.

We sinners, (We beseech Thee, hear us.)

That Thou wouldst spare us,

That Thou wouldst pardon us,

That Thou wouldst bring us to true penance,

That Thou wouldst vouchsafe to govern and preserve Thy holy Church,

That Thou wouldst vouchsafe to preserve our Apostolic Prelate, and all orders of the Church in holy religion,

That Thou wouldst vouchsafe to humble the enemies of holy Church,

That Thou wouldst vouchsafe to give peace and true concord to Christian kings and princes,

That Thou wouldst vouchsafe to grant peace and unity to the whole Christian world,

That Thou wouldst call back to the unity of the Church all who have strayed from her fold, and to guide all unbelievers into the light of the Gospel

That Thou wouldst vouchsafe to confirm and preserve us in Thy holy service,

That Thou wouldst lift up our minds to heavenly desires,

That Thou wouldst render eternal blessings to all our benefactors,

That Thou wouldst deliver our souls, and the souls of our brethren, relations, and benefactors, from eternal damnation,

That Thou wouldst vouchsafe to give and preserve the fruits of the earth,

That Thou wouldst vouchsafe to grant eternal rest to all the faithful departed,

That Thou wouldst vouchsafe graciously to hear us,

Son of God,

Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world, (spare us, O Lord.)
Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world, (graciously hear us, O Lord.)
Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world, (have mercy on us.)

Christ, (hear us.)
Christ, (graciously hear us.)
Lord, have mercy, (Lord, have mercy.)
Christ, have mercy, (Christ, have mercy.)
Lord, have mercy, (Lord, have mercy.)

[Our Father inaudibly] And lead us not into temptation (but deliver us from evil.)

Penitens has a wonderful listing of the saints from the litany, with illustrations.

Also, see Jay at Pro Ecclesia for an excellent summation, bringing together and uniting the history of Halloween and Hallowmas.

Terry at Abbey Roads 2 has another excellent post.

Hallowmas in the Philippines, at Ecce Ego, Quia Vocasti Me.

Labels: Restorationists

Woodcock Shooting, by Aiden Lassell Ripley, American sporting artist, born Boston, MA 1896, grew up in Wakefield, MA, died, Lexington, MA 1969.

Important feasts celebrated in November include:

1st All Hallows
2nd All Souls
3rd St. Malachy O'More
4th St. Charles Borromeo
5th St. Elizabeth
7th Bl. John Duns Scotus
10th St. Pope Leo the Great
11th Martinmas, St. Martin of Tours
15th St. Albertus Magnus
16th St. Gertrude the Great
17th St. Elizabeth of Hungary
18th St. Odo of Cluny
22nd St. Cecilia
23rd St. Columbanus
26th St. Leonard of Port Maurice
28th St. Catherine Laboure
30th St. Andrew

November is dedicated to the poor Holy Souls in Purgatory.

Our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI's prayer intentions for the month of November, 2007:

General:
That those dedicated to medical research and all those engaged in legislative activity may always have deep respect for human life, from. its beginning to its natural conclusion.

Mission:
That in the Korean Peninsula the spirit of reconciliation and peace may grow.

The First Friday of the month is November 2nd.
The First Saturday of the month is November 3rd.

This year, November is entirely in the Time After Pentecost.

Sunday the 25th is Christ the King in the ordinary mode. It is the Last Sunday After Pentecost in the traditional mode.

Thursday 22nd is Thanksgiving Day in the United States.

Important novenas associated with November include the Novena for the Holy Souls in Purgatory, began traditionally on All Souls, and The Advent(or Christmas) Novena, said from Saint Andrew's Day (Nov. 30th) until Chirstmas Eve.

Thomas Hood's 1844 ditty actually doesn't work this year, at least here in Boston, where the sun is shining and it is over 60 degrees this November 1st.

No sun - no moon!
No morn - no noon -
No dawn - no dusk - no proper time of day.
No warmth, no cheerfulness, no healthful ease,
No comfortable feel in any member -
No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees,
No fruits, no flowers, no leaves, no birds! -
November!

But often enough November 1st here is a cold, raw, damp, cloudy, blustery day, bringing an unwelcome curtain down on October's brilliance.

Labels: Restorationists

Enjoy a light-hearted day of the dead. Tomorrow ushers in November, and the month dedicated to the Poor Souls in Purgatory.

Don't let the goblins, ghosts, witches, monsters, or the banshee get you!

Labels: Restorationists

Via Mike at In Illo Tempore

Labels: Annual Cycles

M.R. James' Ghost Stories Of An Antiquary.

From Google Books

Labels: Annual Cycles

A truly neat Memento Mori baseball cap, but I lost the link. It is Cafe Press, but when I went back to look for it, I just came up blank.

This is pretty much the way I like to carve a jack. I usually prefer a rounder pumpkin, though.

Very Famous Ghost Picture
This picture depicts the Brown Lady of Raynham Hall, England. I was just reading this story the other day in John Canning's 50 Great Ghost Stories, which has been part of my Halloween reading these 30 years now.

One of the most interesting trees I have ever seen, in the Charter Street Burial Ground, in Salem. I used to smoke cigars under it when I lived a block around the corner from it.

Classic Trick-Or-Treater pic. I have no idea who this is, when or where it was taken, but I dressed in a costume like that one year in the late 1960s or early 1970s.

Death Calls For All Of Us.
Memento Mori

Gargoyles are cool

Nice effect

The October People Are Here
Dummies clothed in cast-offs and stuffed with leaves are a front yard staple. I used to put mine in a lawn chair, and rake a circle of leaves around it. Is the dummy a fall thing, or a Halloween thing? Mine tend to be fall things, though you can make them more eerie, and more suitable for Halloween.

Halloween in Salem, from today's Boston Globe online. I used to live in the building in the background. Take a tour of Salem via one of my photo-essays here.

Be careful tonight. There are lots of strange things abroad on Halloween night.

Labels: Annual Cycles

Try this little game, which I first found a few years ago. Loads of fun for the minimally eye-hand-coordinated.

Labels: Annual Cycles

Sedlac Ossuary, the Capuchin Catacombs in Palermo, Evora, Portugal, the Bone Chapel in Halstatt, Austria are all places where the bones of the dead are displayed as a sort of macabre Memento Mori.

This Capuchin Cemetery's bone chapel is another.

Labels: Annual Cycles

Some old Halloween fun from my archives.

Once you have some 8,800 blog entries under your belt, you can lean on the work of years past sometimes, too.

Labels: Annual Cycles

Another cherished Halloween custom is trick-or-treating. This is another one with some Christian origins.

In Celtic times, the inhabitants of the British Isles believed that on the night of October 31, which was their new year's eve, the spirits of those who had died during that year could come back to visit their families. Offerings of food were left by the living for these relatives.

Some donned the clothes of the dead, and begged for the treats from door to door in the village. Sometimes banquets were laid out, after which the people in the guise of the dead were escorted to the edge of town (we still send what we don't want to the edge of town-to the dump).

The Church looked somewhat askance at this custom. But, as the Church did with many pre-Christian customs that we still observe as Christmas rituals, it gave the celebration of the night of October 31st a Christian content.

First All Saints' Day was imposed on November 1st, and made a day of mandatory attendance at Mass. Later, a day to honor all the faithful departed, All Souls' Day was added on November 2nd.

The custom of dressing up in the clothes of the dead and going door-to-door was transformed into the "luck visit" ritual called "going a-souling." Young people would visit, and beg for soul cakes (square cakes of something like raisin bread), sometimes singing souling songs.

If given a soul cake, the visitor would promise to pray for the soul of the donor, or anyone he designated. This custom was, in the 19th century revived and transformed into trick-or-treating.

You will notice a strong resemblence between trick-or-treating and Christmas "luck visits" like carolling, John Canoe, wassailing, the Plough Monday ritual, and the wren boys in Ireland. In England, once Hallowmas was more-or-less replaced with Guy Fawkes Night, and souling fell out of fashion, children used to go door to door to beg "A penny for the Guy?". There was also here in the US, especially in New York, in the 19th century a Thanksgiving Day begging door-to-door ritual which is similar.

They are indeed related customs. Luck or good fortune, in this case in the form of prayers for the soul, are exchanged for gifts of food or drink. Both are new year rituals, with trick-or-treating a reminder that October 31st was new year's eve for the Celts.

Today many Catholic schools have children dress up as saints, and attend Mass on All Saints Day so attired. This is another adaptation of the "luck visit" ritual that is at the root of trick-or-treating. And many children now have two costumes, something spooky for All Hallows' Eve, and a saint's attire for All Hallows.

Why not?

Labels: Annual Cycles

Many of you will be familiar with this story, but it illustrates the Christian origins of one of the most cherished Halloween customs.

Back in the days after Saint Patrick had converted Ireland, there lived an Irishman named Jack. Now Jack was a notoriously mean, stingy, and hard-drinking reprobate. Jack wanted a drink, but could not afford one. He somehow summoned the Devil, and offered him his soul for a drink. The Devil agreed.

Jack asked for hard cider, and asked the Devil to climb a tree to get apples to make cider from. The Devil climbed up, and sent down some apples. Once Jack had the apples. he quickly carved a cross in the trunk of the tree, making it impossible for the Devil to come down out of the tree. Jack and the Devil agreed that Jack would efface the cross, so that the Devil could come down, and the Devil would never accept Jack's soul into Hell. Jack went off with the cider and laughing in his sleeve.

Jack continued his life of sin. When he finally died, he presented himself at the Gates of Heaven, only to be turned away for being in life too mean, too tight, and too thirsty.

"Well," Jack said, "off to Hell I go." But when he got there, the Devil reminded Jack of their bargain, and refused him. To speed him on his way, the Devil hurled a coal from the fires of Hell at Jack.

Jack had been eating a turnip, and had hollowed it out fairly well. Jack defended himself from the burning coal by putting up the turnip, and caught the coal in it. Since then, using his hollowed out turnip with its coal from the fires of Hell as a lantern, Jack has been wandering the earth in search of a drink and a refuge.

He is known as Jack of the Lantern, or jack-o-lantern.

In Ireland, it was the custom to carve grotesque faces into turnips, and use them as lanterns for going a'souling around Hallowmas.

When the Irish came to America, they found turnips not particularly popular. But the Yankees used pumpkins for everything, including soup tureens, ladles, and storage pots. The Irish found that pumpkins made excellent substitutes for Jack's turnip lantern. That is why we carve pumpkins into jack-o-lanterns to this day.

Labels: Annual Cycles

And for many years, this little ditty, that I think I picked up from some Scholastic Books Halloween-themed book of ghost stories back in the 1970s, has been my way of starting off the festivities.

The Ghost's Lament
Woe's me, woe's me
The acorn's not yet fallen from the tree,
That's to grow the wood,
That's to make the cradle,
That's to rock the baby,
That's to grow a man,
That's to release me!

Labels: Annual Cycles

I could scarcely credit that my eyes and ears had registered the fact that, after midnight this morning, the Red Sox had swept the Colorado Rockies 4 straight (the same Rockies team that seemed invincible a week ago) to win their second World Series Championship in 4 years.

This did not have the big, tear-inducing emotional impact that 2004 had. But it is still amazingly sweet.

Now we can get some sleep, since the Patriots and BC mostly play at reasonable hours.

And speaking of them, BC remains at No2 in the nation, with Thursday nights victory over Virginia Tech. They again on the first Saturday in November.

Be busy cheering on the team as they parade through the streets in DUKW amphibs on Tuesday.

Labels: Boston Red Sox

Labels: Restorationists