9/29/06

Not today.

Nor yet tomorrow...



But some other day.



NO REGRETS

Sixteen years ago today....

At Twenty-four months and 2 days.


At 2 1/2 years old. She already looks wise, yet innocent!

A beautiful little girl came into the world on this date. She shares her birthday with the Feast of the Archangels -- Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael. Is it any wonder that her name ends with -el, which means "of God"? Happy Birthday Celestine the Inimitable, a.k.a. Three-of-Seven, a.k.a. a girl whose real name ends with -el.

Ukraine's Got Talent - Sand Art

I just saw this on the CERC newsletter. Sounds boring, right? Just watch it.

Mary's Junior Recital Program

I suppose all this could change, but here's the program so far. This recital is supposed to be in April or May of 2010.

Processional (William Mathias)
Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern (Dieterich Buxtehude)
Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele (J.S. Bach)
Prelude and Fugue in C Major, BWV 547 (J. S. Bach)
Adagio from 3rd Symphony (Louis Vierne)
Variations on Victimae Paschali Laudes (Jiří Ropek)

26th Sunday in Ordinary Time - September 27, 2009

UPDATED

Hymns, hymns, hymns ad nauseum. A steady diet of hymns and Haugen mass parts. I'll be so glad when the new translation comes out; there will be a bonfire at my house, and we will ceremonially burn the Haugen stuff. I'll burn "Gather Us In", too. Maybe even multiple copies of it.

If we'd sing the Latin ordinaries, we wouldn't have to worry about the translation crapola. I'm just sayin'.

I should point out that I'm definitely in favor of a new translation that is more faithful to the Latin, which IS the official language of the Roman Rite.

Processional: At the Name of Jesus (BB 749)
Offertory: If I can get enough people at choir practice, we'll do something really cool.
Communion: O Jesus, How Our Spirits Sing (BB 368)
Recessional: Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise (BB 574)

Requiem Aeternam

PFC Zachary T. Myers
US Army
Age 21
Bahji, Salah Ad Din, Iraq
Hostile fire―hostile attack―IED attack
Delaware, Ohio
DOB: 9/23/87
DOD: 9/8/09
Obit: Zachary T. Myers, 21, of Delaware, was killed in action on September 8, 2009, while serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Zach was born to Jerry Myers and Tonya J. (Mooney) Latto on September 23, 1987, and was preceded in death by his grandfather Jack Myers. Survivors include his parents, Jerry (Penny) Myers and Tonya Latto; wife, Megan (Daugherty) Myers; daughter, Rowen Neyla Myers; brothers, Jeff (Bobbi) Price and Vaughn Ryan Myers; mother and father-in-law, Ernie and Nancy Daugherty; brothers-in-law, Eric and Alex Daugherty; grandparents, Beulah Myers, James and Lona Mooney, Eldon and Jan Powell; great-grandmother, Frieda Leonard; Godmother, Maggie Garrison; many aunts, uncles, cousins and countless friends including his beloved dog, Gixxxer. Zach honorably served his country as a member of the 545th Military Police Company based in Fort Richardson, Alaska. Zach's company was deployed on May 26, 2009, to Bahji, Iraq. Zach enjoyed working on cars, riding his motorcycle, offroading and was a member of Ohio Customs, Ohio Riders, North American Grand Cherokee Association, Denali Offroad Club and Alaska 4x4. He also enjoyed playing the guitar. Visitation will be held on Friday, September, 18, 2009, 1-4 and 6-8 p.m. at Vineyard Church of Columbus, 6000 Cooper Road, Westerville, Oh. 43081. Full Military Honors will be rendered at 10 a.m. on Saturday, September, 19, 2009, at Vineyard Church of Columbus. Interment will follow at Blendon Cemetery, Westerville, Oh. NEWCOMER FUNERAL HOME, NE CHAPEL, 3047 East Dublin-Granville, Road, Columbus, Oh. is honored to serve the Myers family.*

SSGT Shannon M. Smith
US Army
Age 31
Bahji, Salah Ad Din, Iraq
Hostile fire―hostile attack―IED attack
Marion, Ohio
DOB: 4/14/78
DOD: 9/8/09
He was born on Friday April 14, 1978 in Columbus to James R. and Debbie R (Coleman) Smith Jr. of Cardington. He was a student of the Big Walnut School system until his freshman year and was a member of the football, baseball and wrestling teams. Shannon graduated from Marion Harding High School in 1997. While at Harding he excelled in wrestling and also was a National Qualifier for the Greco Roman freestyle wrestling team. A member of the 545th MP Co, stationed at Fort Richardson, Alaska, he was deployed to Iraq in May. A trained sniper, he had been awarded numerous citations and decorations including: The Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Combat Action Badge, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, and the Iraq and Kosovo Campaign Medals. He entered the Army in 1997 and became a Team Leader of the 178th Military Police Company. He conducted several missions supporting the Secret Service Tac Team and Sniper Team with the President of the United States. He performed as a Team Leader and Counter Sniper in Iraq for the 89th MP, completing over 500 protection missions in a combat environment. SSG Smith also served as a Special Reactions Team, Protective Services, and High Risk Personnel Course Instructor training hundreds of Officers and other personnel annually. He was proudly selected as the Battle Field Hero for the 545th MP Co at the Nation Training Center at Ft Irwin, CA. As a squad leader he constantly challenged his team, serving as a coach and mentor. “Though he didn’t like war, he knew it was his job to protect his country and all it stood for. He did his best every day to see to it that the loved ones he left at home were safe…..Freedom isn’t Free.” Shannon enjoyed fishing and hunting deer with a compound bow. He was happiest guiding others and cheering for his beloved OSU Buckeyes. Always active he loved a challenge. He was one of devotion, a man of integrity, who always gave 110% at every endeavor. Kind hearted as well as fun loving he was the constant jokester, who was genuine to the core.

Survived By: In addition to his parents he is also survived by his wife: Cassie (McGuire) with whom he treasured spending time with. Together they enjoyed sightseeing, hiking, canoeing, and photographing Alaska. He will also be missed by one son: Steven Michael Abbott, one brother: Cory, one sister: Kristi Smith, grandparents: JR Smith, Betty Coleman, great-grandmother: Myrtle Smith, parents-in-law: Heidi Worcester, Dan McGuire, numerous friends including: Evan Taylor, Honor Guard Escort CPT Matt McCreary, and his beloved Aussie: Alyseka

Funeral Services: DeVore-Snyder Funeral Home in Sunbury is handling the arrangements. Funeral services will be Friday September 18th, 2009 at 1 p.m. at the Genoa Baptist Church 7562 Lewis Center Road at State Route 3 in Westerville with his grandfather: JR Smith and General David Phillips officiating. Burial will follow in Berkshire Cemetery with full military honors and escort provided by the Patriot Guard Riders. Friends may call Wednesday September 16th, 2009 from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. and Thursday September 17th, 2009 from 2 p.m. until 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. at the funeral home and one hour prior to the service at the church. Memorial contributions may be made to Cystic Fibrosis 740 Lakeview Plaza Blvd Suite 225 Worthington Ohio 43085 or www.cff.org. **

--

PFC Myers' funeral was several hours ago, SSGT Smith's a day. But that doesn't prevent anyone from praying for the repose of their souls and for the other members of the military, both overseas and here on the continent. Thank you, gentlemen, for protecting your country.

In paradisum deducant te Angeli;
in tuo adventu suscipiant te martyres,
et perducant te in civitatem sanctam Ierusalem.
Chorus angelorum te suscipiat,
et cum Lazaro quondam paupere æternam habeas requiem.

--

*Obituary citation here.

**Obituary citation here.

A Bittersweet Realization

My consumption of McDonald's Sweet Tea is making me gain weight. So it's back to water and coffee. So long, sweet tea. Our little fling was fun while it lasted....

The Source of All Strife

Excerpted from today's 1st reading (Timothy Chapter 6):

Whoever teaches something different and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the religious teaching is conceited, understanding nothing, and has a morbid disposition for arguments and verbal disputes. From these come envy, rivalry, insults, evil suspicions, and mutual friction among people with corrupted minds, who are deprived of the truth, supposing religion to be a means of gain.

The day I knew true freedom was the day I threw off the chains of rebellion and submitted myself to ALL the teachings of the Church. Not that I don't still need frequent confession, mind you! When I read this quote from Timothy, I am reminded not only of those outside the Church, but also those INSIDE her, including those vowed to the religious life. True happiness comes only from God, so I suppose that explains why these folks are not only unhappy (though they would deny it), but are angry, bitter, and sometimes downright venomous. I won't cite any specific examples, but they are legion (there's a double-meaning in there -- get it?? :-)), and I'm sure you can think of some right now.

So what's a girl to do? I try to be joyful whenever possible, especially when sporting my crucifix and Miraculous Medal, hoping that a needy person will be able to see the reason for my joy. And may God forgive me when my example has been not-so-exemplary.

St. Mary, Marietta, Ohio

This is the result of the recent renovation (except for the detestable choir loft) of St. Mary's. The church had been wreckovated years ago in the "Spirit of Vatican II", when the church was whitewashed by the monsignor. The current priests are shuffling through all the paperwork required to have the church declared a basilica.

Qui Vult Recording

The choir ladies chanted the Communion Antiphon Qui Vult last Saturday. I recorded it for posterity.

25th Sunday in Ordinary Time - September 20, 2009

Processional: Crown Him With Many Crowns (BB 747)
Offertory: What Wondrous Love Is This (BB 431)
Communion: Tu Mandasti, Panis Angelicus (BB 364)
Recessional: Praise to the Lord (BB 203)

Random Things Part Quattuor - How Catholic Kids Play

Notice that the tabernacle is to the right of the altar. When that's what the kids are used to seeing, that's what they imitate. And shouldn't that chalice be made of a nobler material? ;-)

In Defense of the Myth: Why Not All Stories Must Be False

“Fairy tales are more than true — not because they tell us dragons exist, but because they tell us dragons can be beaten.”--G.K Chesterton

It is a common presumption that if a thing is mythical, then it must not be true (or, depending on the case, real). This is perpetuated perhaps in part by the belief, held genuinely if a bit stubbornly by rows upon rows of academic scholars who keep their heads up in the sky, surrounded by miles of thick, impenetrable cloud, that everything from the pagan days of old must, by definition, be false.

It is unknown whether that is because of an earnest genuine belief or a desire to be seen as highly intellectual on all of these sorts of matters, but either way it is an assurance for a deprivation of wonderful stories.

The reason I find it fitting to start off on the matter of what the modern world calls a 'myth', namely those things which were often perpetuated by the Romans or the Greeks, or, more recently, the Norse and Saxons, is because they are, though in a pagan settings and characters, not without virtue of their own. This virtue is nevertheless often overlooked, perhaps because the alien idea of polytheistic gods more similar to man than to a god is off-putting to those poor souls who, although earnest, are quite convinced that things only began to have meaning since the 1960s.

A lack of appreciation for history, I often find, is usually connected to a lack of appreciation for myth and fairy-story. This world-view is a very sad one, because what does one have without history or myth? Just the present, I'm afraid; and the present is so awfully gloomy that there's not much to look forward to, and (in this view) nothing to look back to, and just a puddle of grey milky liquid in the middle.

To understand why there are remnants of truth even in the most obscure and random of tales, we must look at the tale not so much as an idea, but as a product of Creation, and therefore at its creator.

In this case, the creator is a man, and man, being mortal and utterly fallible, is inclined to make mistakes of epic and unbelievably stupid proportions. This is, of course, why the myths themselves are flawed—because their creator is.

It is within man's nature to create, much like man's own Creator. The innovations of today, such as Internet, telephone, computers and various other things are all creations of man.

Technological advancement is nothing more than another way of saying that man has not only created, but done something seemingly useful with it. Similarly, any poem, song or book is a creation, regardless of whether it is fiction (a detestable word) or non-fiction.

But man, though maintaining the capacity for heroism, is so easily corrupted, and so often does he use his powers of creation for ill. These, although abundant in our current age, will likely not live very long except in the minds of those who harbor such thoughts anyway, and so it doesn't make a difference one way or another. It is only the works of genuine good, teaching as full a truth as possible, that will survive the years.

Then, it is plain, a myth cannot be a bad thing in itself. Still there are trolls in the world, inasmuch as there are fairies and kings and queens, and many of these trolls maintain that in the backward age of that smelly Greece-place with their superstitious pagan rituals nothing good can possibly be drawn from it.

Even the most blatantly lying of novels must still contain a grain of truth, else it couldn't exist. Even a particular novel which I loath for its moral ambiguity must still admit, due to the nature of the thing, that good and evil exist, and therein lies a single grain of truth. Yet another novel may deny good and evil, but it must still contain people, and because the battle between good and evil are so inherent in our very nature, then it must contain that small speck of truth.

One perhaps wouldn't look for advice in the Greek myths on how to run a family, for instance (Zeus and Hera are likely not the most wonderful examples). But again, because a myth is created by a mere man, it must have the fallibilities of man. We may still learn many things from the myths, and the inherent truth therein—one may gather that there is good and evil, and there is a war to be fought, and there is heroism even in the seemingly darkest of times.

Man is not daft enough to see Hermes steal his brother's sheep to suppose that he, too, should go steal his brother's sheep—but man is intelligent enough to recognize that when Hermes gives his brother his lyre in exchange for the sheep, it is made fair.

The Greeks, being an intelligent sort, were able to recognize that although they did not know everything (one thing that modern society certainly does not yet realize!) there is worth in what they would care to take down. Although their myths are certainly not perfect, they are of intrinsic value to the hearts and minds of men throughout all ages, for from them we may take countless moral and social lessons.

Myths are God speaking through Poets; the Bible is God speaking through Prophets.
Man has, throughout all years, been able to grasp hints and shards of the Eternal Truths, but being perceived through Man's senses they cannot be set down quite as they ought. But even in the most corrupt and grotesquely formed of societies (such as the Aztecs), there are hints among their mythology of a greater Truth, as we may see from Quetzalcoatl, who opposed human sacrifice. He was forced, by their other gods as the legend goes, to leave, and went across the Sea, promising to return in their darkest hour to save them from destruction.

Before the Dawn of Christianity, the pagan societies often enough had brilliant minds who saw clearly that there was something beyond this world, but unable to perceive it in anything other than human terms, they set down their gods in the form of men, instead of in the form of God.
It was in this way that the mind of Men coupled two instincts; the instinctive knowledge that there is a world beyond this one, and the instinct to create for himself. It was in this way that pagan mythologies were born, but until the birth of Christ, all mythologies had one deep flaw.
This flaw lay in the fact that until the birth of Jesus Christ, all myths had previously been false. The Birth, Life, Death and Resurrection of Christ had two incredible advantages; one, because it satisfies man's inclination for something fantastic by being a story, and two, it satisfies man's desire for truth because it happens to be a True story.

Prophecies were fulfilled in the birth of Christ our Lord, but myths, too, were fulfilled, or more specifically they were perfected. At last the story had reached its utmost perfection; with a hero flawless and lovable and tragic and wonderful, the kind that you want to run up to and embrace and never let go, even as you dread the impending death of the hero, for you know that before long the tragedy will overcome the story and take the hero from those who love Him. But that, too, is but a fleeting, passing thing, a shadow that is dissipated by a single candle, for the Resurrection breaks through the chains that Death inflicts, and light continues on. The hero is given back to the world, and at last returns to His throne, recognized at last by some of His people as the King that He is.

The story goes on, though; it lives yet in every action that goes on. The Bible shall not have any new chapters, but we live in another book entirely. The age of Poets has passed, the age of Prophets has long ended, but we live in another Age entirely, under the reign of our most beloved King. But all fairy-stories have dragons, and our Kingdom is under siege.

But among the things we may learn from fairy-stories is that evil never conquers, not forever; they may win a battle, but they have already lost the war. Darkness cannot conquer forever, and though it seems so terrifying, it can be broken by a single candle.

These themes throughout our fairy-stories, written both long ago and recently, give us hope in the midst of all the strife and the battles that overtake our world daily. For some it seems a difficult and painful thing to believe the fantastic nature of the Truth, because specifically that—it seems too much like a story! One must wonder if perhaps these men and women had been given more fairy-stories as children and taught to appreciate the Great and Mystical, perhaps they would not have as much trouble with the Truth now.

There is no preparation for the Ultimate Truth of Things, which most of us are taught (or should be taught) in full around the Age of Reason, like a fairy-story. A love of a story, no matter how small the child, ingrains a love of the fantastic and mystical within the fiber of their being. Then, when they are taught of the Full Truth, they have already heard of the sort before, and find themselves in love with it all the more, for it is not only a story, but a true story, and a true story is always the best of all.

Some often speak of fairy-stories in a condescending tone, usually with their noses tipped upward and their eyes looking down upon all around them, and one must wonder if they would like to sit on a pedestal and accept burnt offerings, and refer to fairy-stories as escapist. This I find odd, for we regard escape as a good thing. A prisoner, for instance, is heartily encouraged to escape from his captors, and we would think him quite daft if he didn't try. Our world, as it is, or rather what we (wrongly) call reality, is drenched in the blood of innocents, coated in lies and filled with dubious beings who care nothing for anyone and wish to exterminate any they dislike. The truth is that no one tries to escape something which is not bad, and so escaping the filth of this world is admirable (which we may point out in “Be in the world, not of the world”).

If a man is in prison, and wishes to go home, then we do not blame him. But if he cannot go home, and must be in prison, who are we to suppose he should think of only prisons and jail-cells and wardens? It is the height of absurdity to suppose that we should keep him from thinking of his friends and family and what his daughter did in school today. Similarly, within this world, though we cannot leave it at a whim, we certainly can allow our minds to go to a better sort. If, indeed, escape is always freedom, and so if we value freedom of the mind, then we ought to encourage fairy-stories by all means, for indeed it does free, and we should get together the rest of our prison-mates and talk about the outside world all together!

What we acknowledge often as 'reality' is little more than a confined section in which we are supposed to be brought into at all times. In this confinement we are not allowed to suppose anything supernatural may go on, and we can only accredit the wonders of the universe to a random convergence of cells or whatnot, and we will surely be shot dead if we say that we believe in a God that is loving. If we let our minds dwell in this 'reality' too long we will surely be confined for life.

Hallowed Grounds

"These grounds are haunted. Yet they are not deemed so by ghosts of malicious souls with ill intent or demons who reach from the gates of hell--no, this ground is haunted with the souls of generations of heroes past, whose memory is too strong to fade. Even in death their heroism lives, leaving an everlasting mark on the ground where they lie, and their memory will never be forgotten. Some have died in peace, after years of fighting for those they love, and some were killed in the midst of strife and war. But it does not make a difference. These are the unnoticed ghosts who still do their duty after death; they inspire and encourage us to press forward no matter how hard it seems. Regardless of where they were or how they died, these are the heroes whose legacy will last until the end of time--eternal as the values which drove them."

Jesu, Rex Admirabilis - Palestrina

This is the piece we practiced last night. Enjoy!

Remembering

Requiem Aeternam.

Random Things Part Tres - View of the Ohio River

Atop a hill above Bridgeport, Ohio looking north at Wheeling and Wheeling Island, West Virginia, and Martins Ferry, Ohio.

Our Lady of Lebanon - Wheeling, West Virginia - my favoritest church in the tri-state area.

How did that Latin error slip by? I assume it's correct in Arabic/Syriac.

I love the Maronite liturgy. Even though the English used isn't complex, the prayers are lovely. And who couldn't love all the pleas for God to have mercy on us? The consecration is chanted in Aramaic. I know all priests act in persona Christi, but when Fr. Bakhos (an outstanding priest) is chanting the anaphora, I SEE CHRIST. Amazing and wonderful. If you have a chance to experience the Maronite liturgy, GO. PLEASE.

Vacations Pictures, pt 1

This picture is a Fail, brought to you from Alabama.

Is this not one of the most wonderful street-names ever?

Statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Anne.

Icon of the Holy Family.

Icon of the Holy Family with Angels.

Icon of the Holy Family. You can't tell from this picture, but in the pseudo-cartouche to the Blessed Virgin's left are the Greek letters MP OY, an abbreviation for Mother of God. To Joseph's right is another group, but the picture is not clear enough to tell what it says. It is most likely Christ's initials. A nearly identical set of initials are visible in the picture above this one.

Random Things Part Duo - Car Talk

I took Three of Seven (a few of you will recognize this as a Borg designation) out to the deserted airport today so that she could practice driving. She had fun, the car is intact, and we celebrated her first efforts with some sweet tea.

Before we left the house, I was discussing our plans with a certain choir member (maybe she'll chime in with a comment!) who said that her first driving attempt was in a cemetery because the people there were already dead, and all the memorial stones were flat!

Speaking of vehicles, I have found myself totally obsessed with the thought of owning a Ford Mustang Shelby Cobra, although I could live with this one. I have a plan; by the time Four of Seven graduates high school, the 2010's will be affordable used cars. Yessss!!!

Random things Part Unus - Used Church Goods Store

Last weekend, we visited a used-church-goods store outside Pittsburgh. I took these low-res pictures with my phone, but they're good enough for you to get an idea of what we saw there. Celestine also got some great pictures; she'll have to load those herself, as they're on the other computer.

We were initially shocked at the prices, but after comparing these items to brand-new, I see that the prices for these items were actually quite reasonable. The crucifix in the bottom picture (recently re-gilded) was $385.00 It's about 18-20 inches tall, including the stand.

24th Sunday in Ordinary Time - September 13, 2009

Processional: Take Up Your Cross (BB 729)
Offertory: O God Beyond All Praising (BB 546)
Communion: Humbly Lord, We Worship You (BB 210)
Recessional: God, We Praise You (BB 215)

Since we're supposed to do a Communion Antiphon, I'll continue to chant the Graduale Romanum antiphon (Qui Vult this week), without verses, before we sing the Communion hymn.

Beauty of Antiquity pt 2

All images from the tombs of one Ramesses or another (there were lots of those) except for image one, which is of unknown source.

Beauty of Antiquity, pt 1

Images: Nefertari's tomb, QV66, Valley of the Queens. Favorite queen of Ramesses the Great, 18 dynasty. NOT the same as Nefertiti--both names share the common root of nefer, meaning 'beautiful'.

The Best 20 Minutes You Can Spend Sitting at the Computer

At the height of the Great Depression, the showman of a renowned circus leads his troupe through the devastated American landscape, lifting the spirits of audiences along the way. During their travels they discover a man without limbs at a carnival sideshow, but after an intriguing encounter with the showman he becomes driven to hope against everything he has ever believed. Starring Eduardo Verástegui (Bella), Doug Jones (Pan's Labyrinth, Fantastic Four) and featuring the debut performance of Nick Vujicic.

23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

This is the last Sunday (until next Summer) for our Graduale Romanum antiphon. :-(

Processional: Now Thank We All Our God (BB 204)
Offertory: I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say (BB 479)
Communion: Vovete. Listen to the monks chant it here
Recessional: O God, Our Help in Ages Past (BB 448)