Making choices and staying young repost from 2012

A "brother in the Lord" as the Protestants say, sent me this quotation. 

That in which we have faith is a firm system directed to the salvation of men; and, since it has
been received by the Church, we guard it. Constantly it has its youth renewed by the Spirit of
God, as if it were some precious deposit in and excellent vessel; and it causes the vessel
containing it also to be rejuvenated. St. Irenaeus, d. 202 AD

It is part of a theme here of renewal, youth and choices.

He also reminded me of the Morning Offering we say, in many different versions, in which we ask God to make our lives knew.

Oh, Lord, I offer you this day, all that I do or think or pray, uniting it with what was done, on earth by Jesus Christ Thy Son.

We make choices daily. 

I was unfairly fired and chose not to sue the company as it was Catholic.

That was a choice.

I decided to give away most of my things to the poor and to families who could use things for home schooling and live in great simplicity.

That was a choice.

I chose to not take illegal positions offered to me.
.
That was a choice

I chose to leave a place rather than cause someone pain and unease, therefore, causing me pain and suffering on his account.

That was a choice.

I decided not to marry good men when asked as I did not love them. A Christian does not marry merely for comfort or money. Both are millionaires and nice, but that was not God's Will.

Those were choices.

I chose to try the monastery and realized that was not my call.

That was God's choice, but I had to decide and will His Will.

That was a choice.

I chose to follow a radical path to try to become a saint by conforming my mind to the mind of Christ and His Church.

That was a choice, and I remake it daily.

I found out that nothing was important but loving God every minute of the day and letting Him love me.

That realization ended in a choice. Nothing matters but God. Nothing. 

Many people cannot make choices. They only respond to stimuli and react. Animals without immortal souls do that. But, such responses have consequences as well. All my choices were made freely and with thought. I am an INTJ.  I am not impulsive. I think. I do nothing without much work of the mind and objectivity. I make mistakes, but I own up to those mistakes. I sin, but I admit and beg God to show me these daily, and never want to live in any type of deceit.

Would you not rather choose life than merely respond?

God takes us at our word when we say yes to follow Him.

That is our choice.

A seminarian friend of mine told me today that young people like me. I know this. They like me better than most adults I meet. Why? Because I believe in the ideal of the radical Gospel, I see things always new. Young people are idealists, mostly. They want to be challenged. If one conforms to the world too much. one cannot inspire or teach youth. They can see through the duplicity. To be a saint is to remain youthful in spirit. This does not mean immaturity, but a liveliness of heart and mind which responds to the Love Who is a Person. These are my aspirations. Does not the Pope seem young at heart? The heart of Christ is ever-young. I have a friend who is a catechetist. The youth love him as well. He is genuine and excited by God and in the love of God. They can recognize the real deal.

Young people want to love and be loved. They are searching for Love. What better thing can we do than to bring them to God Who is Love. That is evangelization. And, it is not new.

In the Catholic Church, which is the cohort of the message, there are still those headlong acts of holiness that speak of something rapid and recent; a self-sacrifice that startles the world like a suicide. But it is not a suicide; it is not pessimistic; it is still as optimistic as St. Francis of the flowers and birds. It is newer in spirit than the newest schools of thought; and it is almost certainly on the eve of new triumphs. For these men serve a mother who seems to grow more beautiful as new generations rise up and call her blessed. 

We might sometimes fancy that the Church grows younger as the world grows old.  G.K. Chesterton, The Everlasting Man

I also remember in a post earlier this year my phrase from Minneapolis in the 1970s."God make new dough-nuts everyday." We who love God are renewed daily. This is a thought so sublime, I can hardly think it. 

This is why heaven will be full of young ones-that is, the youth of eternity, in the glorified bodies that will be.

PP Boycott List Expanded

http://www.lifenews.com/2012/09/27/turbotax-makes-updated-list-of-companies-backing-planned-parenthood/

You might find this useful

http://www.ncregister.com/blog/jimmy-akin/how-you-can-push-back-against-mozilla-firefoxs-gay-marriage-thuggery/

A Big Thanks

52,052 readers last month-not a record, but good.

Thanks to all who keep me writing by reading.

Please help in this excellent cause to send rosaries to the military

and also support a factory in Haiti...

http://www.holylandmilitaryrosary.org/

I met Fr. Bill Kneemiller today and he told me about this excellent cause. Please order some of these rosaries and get your parishes involved. See the above website for more details, but here are a few snippets to read.

The Holy Land Rosary is made with an olive wood crucifix from the Holy Land, simple brown pony beads and military-grade parachute cord. It is a wonderful prayer aid, connecting us with Christ’s passion in the Garden and the Holy Land where Christ lived and taught. It also helps fulfill the prophesy in Isaiah 2:4: “ You will turn your swords into plowshares, …and your parachute cords into rosary cords.” (The last sentence is my ‘living translation’.) For more info on how to order materials and make these Rosaries, email Fr Bill Kneemiller at kneemillerw@diodav.org 

In the last couple of years our Iowa parishes have made over a thousand Holy Land Ranger Rosaries. The olive wood crucifix for these Rosaries is purchased from the Catholic families living in Bethlehem, this being their sole means of livelihood. These rosaries continue to be a great source of blessing as a prayer aid for parishioners of all ages, patients in hospitals and hospice wards, and military personnel. I believe that the Holy Land Crucifix is a connection to Christ in the Garden of Olive and a reminder to us of the land where Jesus walked. For anyone praying the Rosary, I encourage you to ask the grace to ‘pray with the heart’—which involves the special grace of praying the Rosary while contemplating the Scriptures, with devotion and divine love. Also I believe that the Scripture from Isaiah 2:2 applies, which states that ‘Swords will be turned into plowshares…”, so my loose translation of this is, “Parachute cords will be turned into Rosary cords…”.

With our parishes having a sister parish in Haiti, we are building a ‘Rosary Factory in Haiti. An opportunity to begin this project came recently when Liz McDermott, the rep from ServeHaiti, recently visited Haiti. Here is her report after I gave her rosary supplies to take with her on her Haiti trip: Liz said she worked with the local chapter of the Vincent DePaul Society in Haiti to train workers there to assemble the Holy Land Military Rosary. The workers are paid a living wage for each Rosary made, and the Haitian workers were delighted to have some work in a country where the unemployment rate is about 70%.  Then the ServeHaiti volunteers brought back hundreds of finished Rosaries. The Rosaries and cases are then donated to  Catholic Chaplains in Afghanistan and to Rosary groups in parishes to promote the praying of the family Rosary.

P.S. An accomplished seamstress has recently designed a cloth Rosary Case that goes with the Rosary. Any donations for the Rosary Factory should be addressed to “SS Philip & James, 606 Fulton St, PO Box 7, Grand Mound, IA 52751”, with a notation: ‘Special Haiti Project’

See the website listed above on instructions on how to make the rosaries and how to make the pouches. Also, consider how you can help support the factory in Haiti.

Denigration of Western Civilization I: Catholicism Nil

The undermining of the great value and heritage of Western civilization began decades ago. The American and British school systems purposefully changed the definitions of both civilization and culture, so that the two were presented as equal, which these two groupings of people are not.

The ideology behind the destruction of the idea that the West has had a superior civilization rests in two false "isms"-communism and atheism. However, other "isms" know attack Western inheritances as well.

The reasons the proponents of those two above mentioned systems undermined the history and heritage of the West are simply this-hatred of Christianity, specifically Catholicity, and hatred of the Church.

I saw the rot creeping in when I was teaching. More and more history books, as well as philosophy books, no longer criticized the pagan ideas behind pagan civilizations. In fact, one history book still used for the Cambridge international examinations includes a discussion question as to whether Hitler was right or wrong.

Relativism ruined objective thinking to the point that one of the most evil national parties based on neo-paganism and anti-Semitism, could be considered a "correct"  or viable possibility.

The Catholic Church created Western civilization, out of the ruins of the ancient world. The Jewish revelation of the Old Testament, which is ours, and the great civilizations of ancient Greece and Rome, blended to create the Judeo-Christian civilization of Europe.

Cultures are not civilizations. This blurring of distinctions purposefully introduced into all levels of education in the 1970s and later, grew out of political correctness. No one could "judge" any longer between a small cultural grouping and a real civilization with currency, trade, education, laws and legal systems, and religion, not merely cultural practices.

The rot won. Now, few of the Millennials can distinguish between a heritage based on the rule of law, religion and strict norms for society, in opposition to cultural identifications of a tribe.

No one is allowed to think from these older definitions, except, of course, Catholics.

Catholics know which institution began schools, universities, hospitals, legal systems, while raising the status of women and the poor. Art and music came out of patronage from Catholics. The most beautiful buildings in the world, the great Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque Cathedrals, came out of the architectural ideals of the classical and Catholic world. The Catholic Church created Western civilization and that is why those who are communists and atheists have striven to tear down that great inheritance.

One reason I home schooled was this denigration of Western civilization. One reason I got a Master's Teacher Certificate from NAPCIS was because of this denigration of Western civilization. One reason I teach is because of this battle, raging, but sadly, in most countries of the West, won by those who hate the Church.

We can all be proud of our cultural backgrounds, but we cannot pretend that all cultures have equal value or that cultures are civilizations. Such confusion and such pretensions have destroyed the best educational systems in the world. Such confusion and such pretensions have destroyed logic and the use of reason in many areas of life. Such confusion and such pretensions have made Catholicism just one more religion, instead of The Religion.

I suggest re-reading these two documents.

http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20000806_dominus-iesus_en.html

http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/interelg/documents/rc_pc_interelg_doc_20030203_new-age_en.html

Latest Memorare Count Update

We need 3.5 million for the Irish College!

Keep them coming--up to 84,310.

Woman Praying by Hans Memling

I love this painting. Especially, I like the inclusion of the little dog...is it a Maltese?

Prayer Schedule

I am working on a prayer schedule for active contemplative prayer. As I am tutoring only part-time, I can devote more time to prayer again, as I did in Ireland and London.

The only way one can devote time to prayer is through scheduling. The only way one can move to perfection is through scheduling.

If any readers are having trouble with daily prayer, I highly suggest setting aside the same time daily.

Do not leave prayer time, until you "have time".

"Make" time.

A Tiny Perfection Post

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jan_van_Eyck_-_Diptych_-_WGA07587_crop_of_the_crucified_Jesus.jpg

More and more, I am convinced that the prayers involving complete resignation to the Will of God prove to be the fastest way through purification to perfection.

Some examples:

O Lord my God, I now at this moment, readily and willingly accept at Thy hand whatever kind of death it may please Thee to send me, with all its pains, penalties and sorrows.

Lord, thou hast given me this help and now thou dost take it away. Blessed be thy holy will! I beg thee, teach me what I must do to serve thee.

And, the Our Father, of course....Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done...

On Envy Again

http://www.newadvent.org/summa/3036.htm

America is purposefully being led into class warfare by the Marxist vocabulary of both parties, but most especially, by the words of the Democrats. This is not a new phenomenon, but one which has increased in influence since I left America almost exactly three years ago.

Now that I am in the Midwest again, I find that it is not the poor who hate the rich, but the middle-classes. Years ago, I told an Irishman that he would not get into heaven with hatred for the English in his heart. The middle class members will not get into heaven with hatred for the rich in their hearts.

Hatred of the rich, as St. Thomas Aquinas points out in the above section of the Summa, reveals the sin of Envy. Envy can become an obsession, and many so-called "socialist" are obsessed with the wealth of the rich.

Some Catholics go so far as to say that all rich people are evil and have gained their wealth through sin. Of course, this is simply not true. Many hard-working and honest people have become wealthy without stealing or lying.

Envy ties up grace and causes a twisting of the intellect. It is a sin which can grip a people and turn hearts into ashes.

All hatred is evil, but the sin of envy must lash out and detract.

Pray for those who have fallen prey to the sin of hatred of the rich. The poor are not honored by such hatred and envy.

I remove myself from the company of those who are envious. They seem to be stuck. Pray for them.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Giotto_-_Scrovegni_-_-48-_-_Envy.jpg

From  Aquinas:

I answer that, Just as sloth is grief for a Divine spiritual good, so envy is grief for our neighbor's good. Now it has been stated above (Question 35, Article 4) that sloth is a capital vice for the reason that it incites man to do certain things, with the purpose either of avoiding sorrow or of satisfying its demands. Wherefore envy is accounted a capital vice for the same reason.
Reply to Objection 1. As Gregory says (Moral. xxxi, 45), "the capital vices are so closely akin to one another that one springs from the other. For the first offspring of pride is vainglory, which by corrupting the mind it occupies begets envy, since while it craves for the power of an empty name, it repines for fear lest another should acquire that power." Consequently the notion of a capital vice does not exclude its originating from another vice, but it demands that it should have some principal reason for being itself the origin of several kinds of sin. However it is perhaps because envy manifestly arises from vainglory, that it is not reckoned a capital sin, either by Isidore (De Summo Bono) or by Cassian (De Instit. Caenob. v, 1).
Reply to Objection 2. It does not follow from the passage quoted that envy is the greatest of sins, but that when the devil tempts us to envy, he is enticing us to that which has its chief place in his heart, for as quoted further on in the same passage, "by the envy of the devil, death came into the world" (Wisdom 2:24).
There is, however, a kind of envy which is accounted among the most grievous sins, viz. envy of another's spiritual good, which envy is a sorrow for the increase of God's grace, and not merely for our neighbor's good. Hence it is accounted a sin against the Holy Ghost, because thereby a man envies, as it were, the Holy Ghost Himself, Who is glorified in His works.
Reply to Objection 3. The number of envy's daughters may be understood for the reason that in the struggle aroused by envy there is something by way of beginning, something by way of middle, and something by way of term. The beginning is that a man strives to lower another's reputation, and this either secretly, and then we have "tale-bearing," or openly, and then we have "detraction." The middle consists in the fact that when a man aims at defaming another, he is either able to do so, and then we have "joy at another's misfortune," or he is unable, and then we have "grief at another's prosperity." The term is hatred itself, because just as good which delights causes love, so does sorrow cause hatred, as stated above (Question 34, Article 6). Grief at another's prosperity is in one way the very same as envy, when, to Wit, a man grieves over another's prosperity, in so far as it gives the latter a good name, but in another way it is a daughter of envy, in so far as the envious man sees his neighbor prosper notwithstanding his efforts to prevent it. On the other hand, "joy at another's misfortune" is not directly the same as envy, but is a result thereof, because grief over our neighbor's good which is envy, gives rise to joy in his evil.

More here....http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-sins-of-christmas-envy.html

Family Thoughts Today

My ancestors in America lived in Edwardian style. I suppose this was because that generation before the Great War had more money than later generations. The Great Depression affected one side of the family terribly, but not so much the other. The photo on the left is more elaborate than their houses and furnishings, but much the same.





I have photos in storage of ladies in large hats, men in whites at shooting and interiors of houses either in the Eastlake style, or Gustave Stickley,

or in other Mission styles, which was considered daring at the time.

Children dressed like Hayley Mills in Pollyanna, and toys consisted of wooden things or mechanical things.

The Edwardian Age in England was one of peace and prosperity, but war clouds gathered. This was the age of Chesterton and Knox, the age of men. But, women were becoming more and more active. Both of my grandmothers went to college and one finished her degree. That was in 1908 or so, marrying shortly afterwards.

My grandparents had a house almost exactly like this one, which, sadly, no longer exists. I remember it. It was larger, room enough for parents and seven children, a library, and billiard table downstairs, a huge kitchen, and brand new. This style is called American Craftsman. Almost 100 years later, I bought a Craftsman house for awhile. Things stick in the psyche. It was similar to this one below.

Happy days. But, the other side of the family was still going back and forth to Europe, not settled in the new land, but busy being Catholic laypersons, working for the Church, working directly with the Vatican and with governments.

We are partly our past, but not totally, as each one of us is made unique. We can have family traits and family talents, but God places each one of us here for His glory.

Things which are material come and go, but the interior life moves with us. Are you internalizing your life?

Here is a prayer of Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman.

“God has created me to do Him some definite service. He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another. I have my mission. I may never know it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next. I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons.

He has not created me for naught. I shall do good; I shall do His work.

I shall be an angel of peace, a preacher of truth in my own place,
while not intending it if I do but keep His commandments.

Therefore, I will trust Him, whatever I am, I can never be thrown away. If I am in sickness, my sickness may serve Him, in perplexity, my perplexity may serve Him. If I am in sorrow, my sorrow may serve Him. He does nothing in vain. He knows what He is about. He may take away my friends. He may throw me among strangers. He may make me feel desolate, make my spirits sink, hide my future from me. Still, He knows what He is about.”

Wow!

It is warmer on the whole this week in Folkstone, Kent, , than where I am in Iowa.

Sigh...

Re-post on the theme of today

Tuesday, 7 January 2014

The Attitude of One Persecuted

Posted by Supertradmum

For the past several years, I have written about the stages of persecution in the Church. I am very concerned 

because of many Catholics who are responding to the many crises in the Church in ways inappropriate for the 

Church Militant and a Church which should be producing saints.

Most importantly at this time, each one of us must be seeking perfection, which is why I started the series so long ago. What impedes the spiritual life is mostly sin and the tendencies to sin, but faulting thinking about the nature 

of the Church in the world and the proper response is the third obstacle.

The false thinking resembles these types of comments. Like a "True/False Quiz" ask yourself if you fall into these categories. Also, look at all the persecution tagged articles here.

"Oh, God will protect us and hide us and we shall not be hurt".  False.

"The Church will see a huge number of converts and become triumphant as in the past." False

"I am just going to be quiet and let God take care of these problems which are too big for me." False

"All the Christians will come together in the end and stand up against persecution." False

And so on...

The proper attitude of a Catholic, some of whom are being persecuted even now, paying fines for not taking part in ACA, losing jobs because they are teachers who refuse to teach the ssm is "ok", DREs who stand up against the 

lies concerning the possibility of women priests or inter-communion, should include the following mind-sets.


One, the Church will last until the Second Coming of Christ, but most likely as a small remnant.

Two, the Church will be purified and soon of all the 

errors, including the errors of some bishops supporting ssm, communion for the divorced-remarried and not annulled, support of abortion, support of contraception 

will be eradicated, leaving a remnant. Expect more 

than one schism across the world.

Three, Catholics have a duty to save souls and 

evangelize now, as the window of opportunity will shut soon.

Four, we shall not have regular access to the Mass 

and the sacraments. If anyone has a habit of mortal 

sin, this must be rooted out now, as one may not be 

able to get to confession in the near future.

Five, each Catholic must cooperate with grace now and work with God on personal holiness, purity of heart, 

and the life of the virtues. I see few people concerned about developing the virtues and gifts of the Spirit. 

Without the virtues being operative, one cannot stand up to evil and persevere in goodness.


Six, Catholics must learn to love the enemy, but be wise about whom to trust.

Seven, Catholics need to build local communities now-should have been done thirty years ago.

Eight, fasting, penances, prayers must be daily practices.

Nine, Catholics need to stop pretending that they "have all the time in the world" to sort things out.

Ten, Catholics need to work in the place God has placed them now, now, now.

The Pope Emeritus warned us and few paid attention. We have been warned.

Remember, to think like a Catholic is to think like one who is a sign of contradiction in the world.



May I add today's Gospel? We must do our little bit daily. That is our Catholic duty.

Mark 6:34-44

When Jesus saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them,
for they were like sheep without a shepherd;
and he began to teach them many things.
By now it was already late and his disciples approached him and said,
“This is a deserted place and it is already very late.
Dismiss them so that they can go
to the surrounding farms and villages
and buy themselves something to eat.”
He said to them in reply,
“Give them some food yourselves.”
But they said to him,
“Are we to buy two hundred days’ wages worth of food
and give it to them to eat?”
He asked them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.”
And when they had found out they said,
“Five loaves and two fish.”
So he gave orders to have them sit down in groups on the green grass.
The people took their places in rows by hundreds and by fifties.
Then, taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven,
he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to his disciples
to set before the people;
he also divided the two fish among them all.
They all ate and were satisfied.
And they picked up twelve wicker baskets full of fragments
and what was left of the fish.
Those who ate of the loaves were five thousand me

LAST, last community post and a nod to the time of justice

How many times have I written that? If Catholics do not move into communities soon, they will not be able to do so.

If Catholics are not repenting of anything occult, consumerist, prideful, etc., please repent now.

Darkness will fall upon the States and priests will disappear. Unless a family is strong in the Faith and unless people are connected, they may weaken and fall away.

This time of mercy will come to an end and the time of justice will begin. This has all happened before in the Church and this does not mean it is the End Times, but a time of purification.

I repeat what our beloved Pope Emeritus said by re-posting this:

Thursday, 2 January 2014

Pope Emeritus As Prophet

Posted by Supertradmum

Pope Emeritus as Cardinal Ratzinger

Few people realize what a great gift the the Church the Pope Emeritus has been for a half-century.

I quote this selection from one of his essays, a quotation found in Martin's book.

" As far as the future is concerned, it seems likely that, in the view of the proportion between the growth of the 

Church and the growth of the world's population, the Church's influence in the world will constantly decrease. The numerical triumph of Catholicism over other religions,  which today may still be granted, will in all probability not continue much longer."

The Pope Emeritus wrote that piece above in 1963.

I am more and more convinced that the rise of Liberation Theology and the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, 

which still has a false ideal of Catholic Triumphalism, especially in England, 

took people away from the real message which God was trying to tell us through his prophets.

We should have been getting ready, preparing our families for the remnant Church over fifty years ago.

We only have ourselves to blame for the loss of children to the world, the flesh, and the devil.

And those parents, who are not paying attention today, will have to answer for their own blindness.

And another re-post:

Saturday, 23 November 2013

Communities in the Vale of Tears

Posted by Supertradmum

One of the advantages of living in Europe is that the continent experienced wars and hard times, learning to 

either live in a community or perish individually. The need for community seems to elude Catholics in America, 

as they continue to pretend that nothing horrible will happen to them in the future and that individuality is an 

American ideal to be preserved.

Do we know how to network? Is it possible to do so in your area? Some of the trad readers share with me that 

they are members of strong communities.

Many young people want community, but do they want to sacrifice the time needed to build such?

Ironically, the Catholic Church has taught a healthy balance between the personal responsibilities of the individual 

and the need for community life. For awhile, in the 1970s, some of us experienced communities among the laity, 

but these have faded.

Our parish lives have become less homogeneous and more and more people live far away from their local churches. Masses in one parish with which I am familiar only occur twice a week. Communities which use to go to daily Mass are dwindling from the lack of priests.

However, in my humble opinion, the laity must be responsible for building community. Families form the basis for communities and can gather the elderly who are alone and the singles. Families can even adopt priests and invite 

them into the homes, creating the link between the base communities and the hierarchy.

I highly recommend that lay people consider base communities now. Remember the Pope Emeritus' famous vision 

of the Church in the future. Small isolated communities in a sea of unbelief.....but communities.

Pray, think, reflect, act.

LOVE THIS!

More hellos

to readers in Poland, and readers in the Netherlands....there are some countries I am not acknowledging, as I do not want to get the readers in trouble....because of lack of freedom of speech laws.

Good Idea for Voris

I cannot afford to do this, but Michael Voris has a great idea. Buy his subscription for a fallen away Catholic. If that person does not use it, or ignores your gift, that is his problem. But, you tried.

Go to the site and choose a gift subscription for the premium channel.  http://www.churchmilitant.tv/

Third Poem for April

Head held in hands, the man holds
a burden of history in his blood.
He thinks he is old, but he is young,
like his ancestors, full of life, waiting
to spring, as the Pascal Flower blooms
on the tumuli of  the Vikings, kinsman all.

No, he is not old, nor the nerves, the
muscles in his face which reveal pain
and a tendency towards melancholy.
Today, he thinks he may be moving
towards despair, but I sing to him,
"Know, this, too, will pass."

How can I reassure this man of God,
that his life is just beginning, as he
feels he is clinging to the edge of a
doom escaped by his forefathers?
Did he have to imagine redemptive
suffering? Could he not have been happy?

Happy for a few years, a moment,
knowing love, knowing a creativity
beyond words, in a smile, a small
touch, a look of understanding from
a far shore? Some choose to live
in the sadness they know, rather

than reaching out for the happiness
they doubt could be theirs-His angel
whispers, "Do not be one of those
fearful ones. Be brave. Choose life.
Look towards the light, look towards
the light."  The well-worn rosary beckons

and even The Mother calls, "Be brave,
as you have never been before, Dear
One." Long ago, on Gog Magog, one
of those fathers of old settled a deal
with the locals, and his progeny took
the Book from the monks and learned

the new way of the foreign God. So, now,
reach out for something foreign, a book new
with words which float off the page like
Oxlip in the wind, silent, full of peace and
history, colorful as the old magic of the
priest who hid in the small chamber,

when those later fathers hid him; he
rests still, blessing the children's children,
thankful forever for hidden vestments,
the way-bread brought by the lady of
the house who was never afraid. What
happened to those brave, brave genes?

A hedgehog scurries across the path,
not tame like the ones under the porch in
the land of the Sumortūnsǣte, the oldest
state, not set up by my people but, perhaps
the boy's, whose Saxon face reminds all
of the continent. No, my people wandered

through the gardens of the Břevnov a bit
later and with less glamour, painting the books
which, packed in leather, made the way to
the settler's by the sea. Not all were celibate.
And, one chose an aristocratic wife of
the tribe of Benjamin. Happy days lost in

the New World. So, as he prays, head in
hand, I wait, seeing beyond the seas to a
newer place of peace and contentment. Yes,
we suffer, but we do not take on what is not
ours to take. The Bridegroom chose that on
the Cross. We assent to His Sacrifice, and

to do more is just plain pride....the angel
whispers again, "Be simple, be humble,
be the man God called you to be, even in
the end of days." Like the plowman finding
the treasure in the field, leaving all, following
the Mother of the Holy King, one must leave

one's own ideas, one's plans, one's control
over one's history and let the angels inspire,
illuminate, lead to the vocation to which one
was called from the beginning of time. He
raises up his head and listens, perhaps, for
the first time, trusting both the natural and 

the supernatural, feeling for the first time,
human in order to be superhuman. He recalls
some words of his youth, vague, like the waves
in which he indulges, clear and bright waters
of life. His Latin stays, and then uncurls the mystery
he himself does not want to embrace.

Creavit ex ipso adjutorium simile sibi:
consilium, et linguam, et oculos, et aures,
et cor dedit illis excogitandi,
et disciplina intellectus replevit illos.  
Creavit illis scientiam spiritus,
sensu implevit cor illorum,

et mala et bona ostendit illis. 
Posuit oculum suum super corda illorum,
ostendere illis magnalia operum suorum:
"Decision time," states the angel. "Now or 
never, choose life, choose happiness. God's
Champion holds out the prince's crown to

you. Will you insult Him by refusing the call
to be human, to become the creature the Father
created you to be those not so long years ago,
on this hill of treasure, you mortals call Sutton Hoo,
past the mounds of Passifloraceae, past the
gates where the horses no longer run into battle?"

Hello TLMers in Ireland and Miscellany

http://www.latinmassireland.com/mass-listings/

http://www.frdavidjones.com/latinmass.html

Any other listings but these?

Let me know here on this blog, please.

And, have any readers been here? http://www.antimo.it/benvenuto/come-arrivare/