On April 3, 1870
Venerable John Henry Newman, C.O., preached a sermon, of which the following notes survive.
Gospel for Passion Sunday

"1. INTROD.—We veil our crosses. On the various gospels descriptive of our Lord's hiding Himself.

2. He hid Himself from the Jews because they had refused the light.

3. He is the light of the world and the light of the soul.

4. Abraham had first 'seen' Him-on Moriah-and the other prophets, as if mounted on high. And all the Jews, though they had not seen Him, had heard of Him and expected Him. He was the 'expectation of the nations.'

5. At length 'He came unto His own,' etc. 'The light shineth in the darkness.'

6. A warning to all of us lest we receive the grace of God in vain. A yearly warning.

7. We cannot be as others. We have had great opportunities. We mix with Protestants. They have their own views. They argue and conclude on their own basis. They are sharp and clever men of business; good politicians; on their own principles right. No wonder they think so differently, for the great bulk of them have not seen what we have seen. But Luke x. 23-24 .

8. O let us beware lest we ever get blinded. Isa. vi. 9-10 .

9. 'Strive to enter the strait gate: for many, I say to you, shall seek to enter, and shall not be able,' Luke xiii. 24. "

There's a new blog
by a man who will be received into the Church at the Easter Vigil. . And he recently heard a talk by a priest that I know, Fr. Mark Gruber, O.S.B. .

The Feast of Pope St. Sixtus I, Martyr
is today. There is information on him here. It is also the feast of St. Mary of Egypt, Penitent, St. Joseph the Hymnographer, and St. Richard of Chichester, Bishop.
According to the site I usually use for my saint information, this is the feast of St. Luigi Scrosoppi, C.O.. However, this was actually his feast as a beatus. When he was canonized in 2001, his feast was moved to October 5th. I have sent the site an e-mail requesting a correction.

Short Meditations on the Stations of the Cross
by Venerable John Henry Newman, C.O.

The Eleventh Station
Jesus is nailed to the Cross

"V. Adoramus te, Christe, et benedicimus tibi.
R. Quia per sanctam Crucem tuam redemisti mundum.

Jesus is pierced through each hand and each foot with a sharp nail. His eyes are dimmed with blood, and are closed by the swollen lids and livid brows which the blows of His executioners have caused. His mouth is filled with vinegar and gall. His head is encircled by the sharp thorns. His heart is pierced with the spear. Thus, all His senses are mortified and crucified, that He may make atonement for every kind of human sin. O Jesus, mortify and crucify us with Thee. Let us never sin by hand or foot, by eyes or mouth, or by head or heart. Let all our senses be a sacrifice to Thee; let every member sing Thy praise. Let the sacred blood which flowed from Thy five wounds anoint us with such sanctifying grace that we may die to the world, and live only to Thee.

Pater, Ave, &c.

The Twelfth Station
Jesus dies upon the Cross

V. Adoramus te, Christe, et benedicimus tibi.
R. Quia per sanctam Crucem tuam redemisti mundum.

"Consummatum est." It is completed-it has come to a full end. The mystery of God's love towards us is accomplished. The price is paid, and we are redeemed. The Eternal Father determined not to pardon us without a price, in order to show us especial favour. He condescended to make us valuable to Him. What we buy we put a value on. He might have saved us without a price-by the mere fiat of His will. But to show His love for us He took a price, which, if there was to be a price set upon us at all, if there was any ransom at all to be taken for the guilt of our sins, could be nothing short of the death of His Son in our nature. O my God and Father, Thou hast valued us so much as to pay the highest of all possible prices for our sinful souls-and shall we not love and choose Thee above all things as the one necessary and one only good?

Pater, Ave, &c.

The Thirteenth Station
Jesus is laid in the arms of His Blessed Mother

V. Adoramus te, Christe, et benedicimus tibi.
R. Quia per sanctam Crucem tuam redemisti mundum.

He is Thy property now, O Virgin Mother, once again, for He and the world have met and parted. He went out from Thee to do His Father's work-and He has done and suffered it. Satan and bad men have now no longer any claim upon Him-too long has He been in their arms. Satan took Him up aloft to the high mountain; evil men lifted Him up upon the Cross. He has not been in Thy arms, O Mother of God, since He was a child-but now thou hast a claim upon Him, when the world has done its worst. For thou art the all-favoured, all-blessed, all-gracious Mother of the Highest. We rejoice in this great mystery. He has been hidden in thy womb, He has lain in thy bosom, He has been suckled at thy breasts, He has been carried in thy arms-and now that He is dead, He is placed upon thy lap. Virgin Mother of God, pray for us.

Pater, Ave, &c.

The Fourteenth Station
Jesus is laid in the Sepulchre

V. Adoramus te, Christe, et benedicimus tibi.
R. Quia per sanctam Crucem tuam redemisti mundum.

Jesus, when He was nearest to His everlasting triumph, seemed to be farthest from triumphing. When He was nearest upon entering upon His kingdom, and exercising all power in heaven and earth, He was lying dead in a cave of the rock. He was wrapped round in burying-clothes, and confined within a sepulchre of stone, where He was soon to have a glorified spiritual body, which could penetrate all substances, go to and fro quicker than thought, and was about to ascend on high. Make us to trust in thee, O Jesus, that Thou wilt display in us a similar providence. Make us sure, O Lord, that the greater is our distress, the nearer we are to Thee. The more men scorn us, the more Thou dost honour us. The more men insult over us, the higher Thou wilt exalt us. The more they forget us, the more Thou dost keep us in mind. The more they abandon us, the closer Thou wilt bring us to Thyself.

Pater, Ave, &c.

LET US PRAY

God, who by the Precious Blood of Thy only-begotten Son didst sanctify the standard of the Cross, grant, we beseech Thee, that we who rejoice in the glory of the same Holy Cross may at all times and places rejoice in Thy protection, through the same Christ, our Lord.

End with one Pater, Ave, and Gloria, for the intention of the Sovereign Pontiff. "

Please pray...
for all those who are persecuted for the sake of Christ.

Link courtesy of Dappled Things.

Pooh-bah.....
Call your office. You've got competition.

Link courtesy of HMS Blog.

The Feast of St. Francis of Paola, Founder
is today. There is information on him here.

For Thursday
"O my God, though I am not fit to see or touch Thee yet, still I will ever come within Thy reach, and desire that which is not yet given me in its fulness. O my Saviour, Thou shalt be my sole God!-I will have no Lord but Thee. I will break to pieces all idols in my heart which rival Thee. I will have nothing but Jesus and Him crucified. It shall be my life to pray to Thee, to offer myself to Thee, to keep Thee before me, to worship Thee in Thy holy Sacrifice, and to surrender myself to Thee in Holy Communion. "- Venerable John Henry Newman, C.O., Meditations and Devotions

A bit of Oratorian news...
It seems that Antonio Ortega Franco, C.O. was consecrated as an auxillary bishop of Mexico City on March 26. Prayers for the new bishop would be most welcome.

Congratulations
to Amy and her husband on their great news !

A step in the right direction...
Deo gratias !

Oh, I wish that this was an April Fool's joke...
but I don't think so...
Mad at Dad
This director is being nasty over a married couple doing the most natural thing on earth- having a child. Unbelievable.

Link courtesy of Extreme Catholic.

In honor of the day...
Here is a link to one of last year's posts, in which I linked to some humorous Tolkien-based fanfic.
And in addition, a link to a fic by my favorite fanfic author. It's incomplete as of yet, but very appropriately themed.
Finally, here are links to one of my favorite guilty pleasures and my own small contribution to the genre.

The Feast of St. Melito of Sardis, Bishop
is today. There is information on him here.
Also, on this date in 1997, a certain young man began his novitiate with the Congregation of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri in Pittsburgh. Happy anniversary, Fr. Michael ! Ad multos annos !
( BTW, Fr. Michael's ordination anniversary date is December 28th- the Feast of the Holy Innocents, which, in some Hispanic countries, is equivalent to our April Fool's Day. You just know St. Philip would approve ! )

A quote...
from Venerable John Henry Newman, C.O., dealing with today's First Reading:
"The Three Holy Children are said to have stood up in the midst of the fire, and to have called on all the works of God to rejoice with them; on sun and moon, stars of heaven, nights and days, showers and dew, frost and cold, lightnings and clouds, mountains and hills, green things upon the earth, seas and floods, fowls of the air, beasts and cattle, and children of men,-to praise and bless the Lord, and magnify Him for ever. We have no such trial as theirs; we have no such awful suspense as theirs, when they entered the burning fiery furnace; we attempt for the most part what we know; we begin what we think we can go through. We can neither instance their faith nor equal their rejoicing; yet we can imitate them so far, as to look abroad into this fair world, which God made 'very good,' while we mourn over the evil which Adam brought into it; to hold communion with what we see there, while we seek Him who is invisible; to admire it, while we abstain from it; to acknowledge God's love, while we deprecate His wrath; to confess that, many as are our sins, His grace is greater. Our sins are more in number than the hairs of our head; yet even the hairs of our head are all numbered by Him. He counts our sins, and, as He counts, so can He forgive; for that reckoning, great though it be, comes to an end; but His mercies fail not, and His Son's merits are infinite. "- Parochial and Plain Sermons

A good decision
in the the Antipodes. Unfortunately, it seems that some people are now making a 'martyr' of this woman who killed her own mother. Prayers for the continued protection of all those innocents who are threatened with death because of misguided 'compassion' would be most welcome.
Link courtesy of The Antipodean, of course.

From the homily
Fr. David was the main celebrant at noon Mass today. (Fr. Joseph concelebrated.) What I remember best from the homily was the final line. Sin makes us its slaves, when we indulge ourselves in it, but Christ died on the Cross to free us. "The question is- do we truly want to be free ? "

An old friend of mine whom I haven't seen in a while...
wrote a book review in the March edition of Touchstone.

Please pray....
Fr. Johansen has a report on Terri Schiavo, and the news isn't good.

Michelle at And Then ?
posts one of the better 'political' cartoons I've seen lately.

The Feast of Blessed Jane of Toulouse
is today. There is information on her here. To all the Carmelites out there, including certain bloggers, happy feast day!

On March 30, 1845
Venerable John Henry Newman wrote a letter which included the following:
"Now I will tell you more than any one knows except two friends. My own convictions are as strong, as I suppose they can become: only it is so difficult to know whether it is a call of reason or of conscience. I cannot make out, if I am impelled by what seems clear, or by a sense of duty. You can understand how painful this doubt is; so I have waited, hoping for light, and using the words of the Psalmist, 'Show some token upon me.' But I suppose I have no right to wait for ever for this. Then I am waiting, because friends are most considerately bearing me in mind, and asking guidance for me; and, I trust, I should attend to any new feelings which came upon me, should that be the effect of their kindness. And then this waiting subserves the purpose of preparing men's minds. I dread shocking, unsettling people. Any how, I can't avoid giving incalculable pain. So, if I had my will, I should like to wait till the summer of 1846, which would be a full seven years from the time that my convictions first began to fall on me. But I don't think I shall last so long."
He did not "last so long", of course.

Two important anniversaries...
On this date, Jeanetta was born, and Lane Core was baptized. Congratulations to both !

The current Rat of the Week...
is cute, and he also has a great name.

The Feast of St. John Climacus, Abbot
is today. There is information on him here.
I need to read The Ladder of Divine Ascent again....

A few words...
on a title of Our Lord taken from today's Gospel reading:
"Jesus is the Light of the world, illuminating every man who cometh into it, opening our eyes with the gift of faith, making souls luminous by His Almighty grace." - Venerable John Henry Newman, C.O., Meditations and Devotions

Lest we forget...
As this article reminds us, our brothers and sisters in Christ are being tortured, raped, and murdered...now.

Link courtesy of Mark Shea.

A big thank-you....
to Jeff Miller who designed the banner ad about the execrable Mr. Kerry which I now have on this blog.

Over at And Then ?
Michelle posts a link to some interesting articles and sites on the Professor, most of them focusing on his Catholicity.

The Feast of Sts. Gwynllyw and Gladys
is today. There is information on them here and here. I have often thought that their son, St. Cadoc of Llancarvan, would make a fine patron for those praying for their parents to return to the Faith, as St. Monica is a patron of those who are praying for their child to return to it.

On March 28, 1879
Venerable John Henry Newman, C.O., wrote to a friend about the difficulty he was having answering all the letters of congratulations he was getting from various well-wishers who had heard that he was to be made a Cardinal.
"I am overwhelmed and wearied out with answering letters so joyful and affectionate that I should be as hard as a stone, and as cruel as an hyena, and as ungrateful as a wild cat, if I did not welcome them; but they try me much ... P.S.-Sometimes I have been at my desk from 9 A.M. to 10 P.M. with hardly any stop."

I've added two links to the sidebar...
Under "Tolkien Sites" I've added a link to the Professor's "On Fairy Stories". Under "Rat Sites", I've added a link to Pet Rats Photos.

If it were not Sunday...
it would be the feast of Pope St. Sixtus III and St. Tutilo, O.S.B..

This is great....
Over at Disputations, two candidates I can back fully are now listed, and a link to some neat pictures is given as well....

Music at the 11:30 am Mass
Processional Hymn: "I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say"
Offertory: "Tantum Ergo" - Theodore Dubois (1837-1924)
Communion: "Adoramus Te, Christe" - Theodore Dubois (1837-1924)
Recessional Hymn: "Ah, Holy Jesus"