Recta Ratio

Since the month of September is dedicated by Holy Mother the Church to Our Blessed Lady's Sorrows, the September installments of Our Blessed Lady's Saturday will also be so devoted.

Mary, most holy Virgin and Queen of Martyrs, accept the sincere homage of my filial affection. Into thy Heart, pierced by so many swords, do thou welcome my poor soul. Receive it as the companion of thy sorrows at the foot of the Cross, on which Jesus died for the redemption of the world. With thee, O sorrowful Virgin, I will gladly suffer all the trials, contradictions, and infirmities which it shall please Our Lord to send me. I offer them all to thee in memory of thy sorrows, so that: every thought of my mind and every beat of my heart may be an act of compassion and of love for thee. And do thou, sweet Mother, have pity on me, reconcile me to thy Divine Son, Jesus; keep me in His grace and assist me in my last agony, so that I may be able to meet thee in Heaven and sing thy glories.

Most holy Virgin and Mother, whose soul was pierced by a sword of sorrow in the Passion of thy Divine Son, and who in His glorious Resurrection wast filled with never ending joy at His triumph, obtain for us who call upon thee, so to be partakers in the adversities of Holy Church and the Sorrows of the Sovereign Pontiff, as to be found worthy to rejoice with them in the consolations for which we pray, in the charity and peace of the same Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Labels: Restorationists

And with it, the desire to get into the kitchen and make something.

It has been too hot in the kitchen to get creative. But the long months of high heat and humidity are leaving us now. That comfortable coolness of fall is returning

I don't know what I want to make yet. It is too early for real fall things, and certainly too early for Halloween/Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Year/Twelfth Night specialties.

Maybe some cookies, or a pie, or a cake. Or maybe I'll just make a lot of spaghetti sauce and can it for later use.

So, while we in New England are dodging the remnants of a hurricane, I think I'll get creative in the kitchen.

Labels: Food

Blessed Mother Teresa, pray for us, and especially for the oppressed Catholics of India!

Labels: Restorationists

Prayer Before the Crucifix: From The Raccolta

My Divine Savior, what didst Thou become, when for love of souls Thou didst suffer Thyself to be bound to the pillar? Ah! how truly then was fulfilled the word of the Prophet, saying of Thee that from head to foot Thou shouldst be all one wound, so as to be no longer recognizable! What shame Thou didst endure when they stripped Thee of Thy garments! What torments Thou didst undergo in that tempest of countless blows! In what torrents did Thy Most Precious Blood gush forth from Thy bursting veins!

I know well it was not so much the injustice of the Roman governor and the cruelty of the soldiers that scourged Thee as my sins. O accursed sins, that have cost Thee so many pains! Alas, what hardness of heart, when notwithstanding Thy manifold sufferings for me I have continued to offend Thee! But from this day forth it shall be so no longer. United to Thee by bonds of loyalty for ever, as long as I shall live, I shall seek to satisfy Thine offended justice. By the pains Thou didst suffer when bound to the pillar, by the scourges which tore Thine innocent Flesh, by the Blood which Thou didst shed in such abundance, have mercy on this unhappy soul of mine; deliver me today and always from the snares of the tempter; and when I have come to the end of my exile, bring me safely home to Heaven with Thee.


Behold me at Thy feet, O Jesus of Nazareth, behold the most wretched of creatures, who comes into Thy presence humbled and penitent! Have mercy on me, O Lord, according to Thy great mercy! I have sinned and my sins are always before Thee. Yet my soul belongs to Thee, for Thou hast created it, and redeemed it with Thy Precious Blood. Ah, grant that Thy redeeming work be not in vain! Have pity on me; give me tears of true repentance; pardon me for I am Thy child; pardon me as Thou didst pardon the penitent thief; look upon me from Thy throne in Heaven and give me Thy blessing.

Say the Apostles Creed.

O Jesus, Who in Thy bitter Passion didst become "the most abject of men, a man of sorrows,"
I venerate Thy sacred Face whereon there once did shine the beauty and sweetness of the Godhead; but now It has become as it were the face of a leper! Nevertheless under those disfigured features, I recognize Thine infinite Love, and I am consumed with desire to love Thee and make Thee loved by all men. The tears which well up so abundantly in Thy sacred eyes appear to me as so many precious pearls that I love to gather up, in order to purchase the souls of poor sinners by means of their infinite value. O Jesus, whose adorable Face ravishes my heart, I implore Thee to fix deep within me Thy Divine image and to set me on fire with Thy love, that so I may be found worthy to come to the contemplation of Thy glorious Face in Heaven.
Amen.

Labels: Restorationists

Reredos of Leeds Cathedral, done by Pugin in 1842.
Photo by Fra Lawrence Lew, OP.

I haven't been posting as many images lately, and apologize for that.

Labels: Pugin

Labels: Any Serious Catholic Who Isn't A Very Conservative Republican...

The Sox seem to be positioned well for a stretch run. Here it is, the beginning of September, and they are 4 games behind red-hot Tampa Bay in the AL East, and 4 ahead of Minnestoa and Chicago for the AL Wild Card. That state of affairs isn't bad, considering what a rocky season this has been.

The recently injured seem to be set to return at the right time. Josh Beckett may pitch this weekend. Mike Lowell is due back. Bartolo Colon is finishing up rehab in the minors and may be ready to start next week. And J.D. Drew may also be close to a return in the next two weeks. Julio Lugo is the only dim spot, having been transferred to the 60-day disabled list.

New acquisitions Paul Byrd, Jason Bay, and Mark Kotsay are all fitting in nicely. The team has a loose feel to it, very different from the tense, tight-lipped clubhouse before the Manny trade. Pedroia is turning in an MVP-worthy second half.

Now none of that guarantees September magic. Beckett hasn't been the Beckett of 2007 very much at all this year. Colon is a huge question mark. And to be honest, it looks like no one is capable of catching Tampa Bay, or stopping them. And even if you get past Tampa Bay, there are the equally formidable Angels to deal with. It is going to take a lot of luck to get this Red Sox team to a second World Series title in 2 years. Last year's team was very lucky. This year's model seems to be slightly deficient in having random chance operate in its favor.

And I wonder if the team still has the "can-do" attitude that Manny exuded when the chips were down, the sort of devil-may-care confidence that could take being down 3-0 in a playoff series, and still be confident of triumph.

I love Jason Bay, Youkilis, Pedroia, Lowell, Big Papi, and Varitek. Wakefield, Lester, Papelbon, and Dice-K are lions. Lowrie, Ellsbury, Sean Casey, Okajima, and Timlin are great, too.

But are they as good as last year? Even if they are, will it be enough? And are the pieces truly coming together at the right time? We'll know more in 2 weeks.

Labels: Boston Red Sox

September 3rd is his feast in the Ordo in use before 1970.

In the 1970 Ordo, this is the feast of Saint Pope Gregory the Great. September 3rd is the date of the beginning of his pontificate. His feast is March 12th (the date of his death) in the traditional Ordo. The move was made because March 12th always falls in Lent, and there are no obligatory memorials during that season.

Labels: Restorationists

Father Z. got me thinking about reading, with his post on finishing Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin novels in audio.

For someone used to crashing through about 200 books a year, the last year or so has been dreadfully empty of books. I just completed the annual selected re-read of Brideshead Revisited. But beyond that, I haven't picked up anything recently. Time has really constricted my reading of late. I'm not happy about it, but the alternative is to not sleep. And I like sleep. It is sort of a necessity.

Here are a few titles I want to get into in the near future, the good Lord willin' and the crick don't rise:

The Faithful Departed, by Phil Lawler
Feasts and Seasons, by Joanna Bogle
Voices of Morebath, by Eamon Duffy
Cancel Your Own Goddam Subscription, by William F. Buckley, Jr.
Sharpe's Fury, by Bernard Cornwell
With Zeal And With Bayonets Only, by Matthew H. Spring
Our Mutual Friend, by Charles Dickens
In Search Of Ghosts, by James Wentworth Day
Dubliners, by James Joyce
The Crossing, by David Hackett Fisher

And don't I wish I even get to read 2 of the 10!

Labels: Bookish Considerations

That is what the "Bristol Palin Is Pregnant" crisis amounts to. It is a family matter, and the only thing we need to know about it is that, consistent with the values of the Palin family, she will give birth to a live baby, and raise it. God bless mother, child, and family.

Labels: Any Serious Catholic Who Isn't A Very Conservative Republican...

Apple-laden trees at Bolton Orchards, Bolton, MA

Important feasts celebrated during September include:

3. St. Gregory the Great
2. The Martyrs of September
5. Bl. Mother Theresa of Calcutta
8. Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
9. St. Peter Claver (USA)
12. Most Holy Name of Mary
13. St. John Chrysostom
14. Exaltation of the True Cross
15. Our Lady of Sorrows
16. SS. Cornelius and Cyprian
17. St. Robert Bellarmine and Bl. Hildegard von Bingen
21. St. Matthew
22. Martyrs of Valencia
23. St. Pio of Pietrelcina
24. Our Lady of Mercy and Our Lady of Walshingham
26. SS. Cosmas and Damian
27. St. Vincent de Paul
28. St. Wenceslaus
29. Michaelmas
30. St. Jerome

The month of September is dedicated to Our Lady of Sorrows, the feast being on September 15th.

September is entirely in in the Season After Pentecost (ordinary Time for those using the 1970 Ordo).

The First Friday of September is Friday, September 5th.
The First Saturday of September is Saturday, September 6th.

The Michaelmas Embertide takes place on Wednesday, September 17th, Friday, September 19th, and Saturday, September 20th.

Monday, September 1st is the secular US holiday of Labor Day (and the beginning of the Republican Party's election year convention).

Our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI's published prayer intentions for the month of September, 2008 are:

General:
That those who are forced to leave home and country because of war or oppressive regimes may be supported by Christians in the defense and protection of their rights.

Mission:
That faithful to the sacrament of matrimony every Christian family may cultivate the values of love and communion in order to be a small evangelizing community, sensitive and open to the material and spiritual needs of others

Labels: Restorationists