For Saturday
"Who can estimate the holiness and perfection of her, who was chosen to be the Mother of Christ? If to him that hath, more is given, and holiness and Divine favour go together (and this we are expressly told), what must have been the transcendent purity of her, whom the Creator Spirit condescended to overshadow with His miraculous presence? What must have been her gifts, who was chosen to be the only near earthly relative of the Son of God, the only one whom He was bound by nature to revere and look up to; the one appointed to train and educate Him, to instruct Him day by day, as He grew in wisdom and in stature?"- Venerable John Henry Newman, C.O., Parochial and Plain Sermons

And I thought ringing cell phones during the homily were bad....
Communion most foul: How not to use a cellphone in a holy place

Oh, and the reverse discrimination is starting already.....
Straight Couples Say Fla. Hotel Unfriendly

Both links courtesy of Catholic Light.

The Feast of St. Wando of Fontenelle, O.S.B., Abbot
is today. There is information on him here.

A thank-you to Mr. Warnock...
for adding this blog to the Blogdom of God list. From what I can see, the list is mostly of Evangelical Christian bloggers, but there are some notable Catholic bloggers on it, including Don Jim, whose post on the Blogdom intrigued me enough to submit my URL....

On April 16, 1888...
The retired Bishop of Birmingham, England, received a visit from an old friend .....
"Today I have been honoured with a visit from Cardinal Newman, and never did he look more venerable, and show more feeling. He had fixed his mind all Lent to come and see me on Easter Monday. When that day came he was forbidden to leave the house. Today was bright, and he came; he was brought to my room leaning on the arms of two priests, and we talked for an hour, after which he left. He can no longer read, and even if he tries to sign his name he cannot see what strokes he makes. But I was much touched by his conversation."

I'll admit... I was a bit distracted at Mass today....
Oakland (the section of Pittsburgh where I attend daily Mass) had a big John Kerry rally today...(shudder). Part of it apparently included massively amplified rock music. The chapel doors (which are very solid, weighing 800 pounds each) were firmly shut, and I could still hear (and feel ) that darn bass line during the Consecration....sigh...

The Feast of St. Bernadette Soubirous, Virgin
is today. There is information on her here. To all those who have her as a special patron, particularly Sr. Bernadette Young, happy feast day !
It is also the feast of St. Benedict Joseph Labre., and of a group of people martyred under the emperor Diocletian. .
Finally, fellow Tolkien nuts may be interested in knowing that it is also the feast of St. Drogo.

From Parochial and Plain Sermons
by Venerable John Henry Newman, C.O.
"Glorious, indeed, will be the spring time of the Resurrection, when all that seemed dry and withered will bud forth and blossom. The glory of Lebanon will be given it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon; the fir tree for the thorn, the myrtle tree for the briar; and the mountains and the hills shall break forth before us in singing. Who would miss being of that company? Wretched men they will then appear, who now for a season enjoy the pleasures of sin. Wretched, who follow their own selfish will, instead of walking by faith, who are now idle, instead of trying to serve God, who are set upon the world's vanities, or who scoff at religion, or who allow themselves in known sin, who live in anger, or malice, or pride, or covetousness, who do not continually strive to become better and holier, who are afraid to profess themselves Christians and take up their cross and follow Christ. May the good Lord make us all willing to follow Him! may He rouse the slumberers, and raise them to a new life here, that they may inherit His eternal kingdom hereafter! "

Great quote from the Venerable...
posted by the Old Oligarch.

From the homily
Fr. Michael was the celebrant at noon Mass today. Since the Gospel today dealt with an appearance of the Risen Christ to the Apostles,in his homily he went over the four properties of the risen Body of Christ- that it is now impassible (not able to suffer), agile (able to move with extreme rapidity and grace), subtle (able to pass all barriers- i.e. to go through walls) and clear (shining with the radiance of His perfect human Soul). He commented that while the skeptical, cynical world would dismiss this as a 'fairytale', it tries to give its own pale and false images of glory in the celebrities and such that it hold up for imitation. However, true glory comes through obedience. The Risen Christ bears the marks of the nails.

The Feast of St. Hunna
is today. There is information on her here.
It is also the feast of Blessed Cesar de Bus, Priest and Founder..

More proof...
that this world is becoming sicker by the minute.
God have mercy on the people who are letting this confused and troubled kid destroy her perfectly normal female body in order to make it into a false, sterile, 'male' one.

Link courtesy of Mark Windsor.

From Meditations and Devotions
by Venerable John Henry Newman, C.O.
"My Lord Jesus, how wonderful were those conversations which Thou didst hold from time to time with Thy disciples after Thy resurrection. When Thou wentest with two of them to Emmaus, Thou didst explain all the prophecies which related to Thyself. And Thou didst commit to the Apostles the Sacraments in fulness, and the truths which it was Thy will to reveal, and the principles and maxims by which Thy Church was to be maintained and governed. And thus Thou didst prepare them against the day of Pentecost (as the risen bodies were put into shape for the Spirit in the Prophet's Vision), when life and illumination was to be infused into them. I will think over all Thou didst say to them with a true and simple faith. The 'kingdom of God' was Thy sacred subject. Let me never for an instant forget that Thou hast established on earth a kingdom of Thy own, that the Church is Thy work, Thy establishment, Thy instrument; that we are under Thy rule, Thy laws and Thy eye-that when the Church speaks Thou dost speak. Let not familiarity with this wonderful truth lead me to be insensible to it-let not the weakness of Thy human representatives lead me to forget that it is Thou who dost speak and act through them. It was just when Thou wast going away, that then Thou didst leave this kingdom of Thine to take Thy place on to the end of the world, to speak for Thee, as Thy visible form, when Thy Personal Presence, sensible to man, was departing. I will in true loving faith bring Thee before me, teaching all the truths and laws of this kingdom to Thy Apostles, and I will adore Thee, while in my thoughts I gaze upon Thee and listen to Thy words. "

Well, he's already got the heresy and disobedience down pat...
And now this particular follower of the White Hand is going into schism as well.
This is in my own diocese. I admit that while I was aware that this particular priest was having difficulties, I did not think that he would go this far. It is sad that anyone would be so misguided as to leave Christ's own Church for this man's delusion. Pray that he and his followers will come to their senses.

Link courtesy of Jeff Miller.

Mixed feelings over this...
On the one hand, at least this man isn't calling himself Catholic anymore. On the other, I feel sorry for our Episcopalian brothers and sisters upon whom his nuttiness is now being inflicted.

Link courtesy of Midwest Conservative Journal.

I'm now a proud member....
of the SMMMHDH, and have added a link to its website to my sidebar.

The Feast of St. Peter Gonzalez, O.P., Priest
is today. There is information on him here,

On April 13, 1869
Venerable John Henry Newman, C.O., wrote the following letter to the Rev. John Hayes, who had inquired about his writing style.

"My dear Sir,—I saw the article you speak of in the 'Times,' and felt flattered by the passage which referred to myself.

The writer must have alluded in the sentence which leads to your question to my 'Lectures and Essays on University Subjects,' which is at present out of print. In that volume there are several papers on English and Latin composition.

It is simply the fact that I have been obliged to take great pains with every thing I have written, and I often write chapters over and over again, besides innumerable corrections and interlinear additions. I am not stating this as a merit, only that some persons write their best first, and I very seldom do. Those who are good speakers may be supposed to be able to write off what they want to say. I, who am not a good speaker, have to correct laboriously what I put on paper. I have heard that Archbishop Howley, who was an elegant writer, betrayed the labour by which he became so by his mode of speaking, which was most painful to hear from his hesitations and alterations-that is, he was correcting his composition as he went along.

However, I may truly say that I never have been in the practice since I was a boy of attempting to write well, or to form an elegant style. I think I never have written for writing sake: but my one and single desire and aim has been to do what is so difficult-viz. to express clearly and exactly my meaning; this has been the motive principle of all my corrections and re-writings. When I have read over a passage which I had written a few days before, I have found it so obscure to myself that I have either put it altogether aside or fiercely corrected it; but I don’t get any better for practice. I am as much obliged to correct and re-write as I was thirty years ago.

As to patterns for imitation, the only master of style I have ever had (which is strange considering the differences of the languages) is Cicero. I think I owe a great deal to him, and as far as I know to no one else. His great mastery of Latin is shown especially in his clearness.
Very faithfully yours,
JOHN H. NEWMAN. "

Join today !
The Society for a Moratorium on the Music of Marty Haugen and David Haas.
We don't sing their stuff here, but I've gone to Mass at enough other places to realize what drivel it is.

Link courtesy of Fr. Bryce Sibley.

Also courtesy of Fr. Sibley, this sad article. Children giving away their bodies for trinkets. Kyrie eleison !

The Feast of Pope St. Martin I, Martyr
is today. There is information on him here.
It is also the feast of St. Hermengild, Martyr, Blessed Margaret of Castello, Virgin, and Blessed John Lockwood,Priest and Martyr.

"On Easter and His Reluctance"
by St. Gregory Nazianzen.

As I blogged last year...
April 12, 1822 was an important day in the life of Venerable Newman.
"As to Mr. Newman, he ever felt this twelfth of April, 1822, to be the turning-point of his life, and of all days most memorable. It raised him from obscurity and need, to competency and reputation."
Autobiographical Memoir

Very cool site...
dedicated to one of my favorite composers.

Link courtesy of Mr. Esguerra.

Lane Core
posted a link to lots of Easter-related (and Ascension-related, Pentecost-related, and Trinity Sunday-related) sermons by the Venerable.

From the Professor's pen....
"I would venture to say that approaching the Christian Story from this direction, it has long been my feeling (a joyous feeling) that God redeemed the corrupt making-creatures, men, in a way fitting to this aspect, as to others, of their strange nature. The Gospels contain a fairy-story, or a story of a larger kind which embraces all the essence of fairy-stories. They contain many marvels—peculiarly artistic, beautiful, and moving: 'mythical' in their perfect, self-contained significance; and among the marvels is the greatest and most complete conceivable eucatastrophe. But this story has entered History and the primary world; the desire and aspiration of sub-creation has been raised to the fulfillment of Creation. The Birth of Christ is the eucatastrophe of Man's history. The Resurrection is the eucatastrophe of the story of the Incarnation. This story begins and ends in joy. It has pre-eminently the 'inner consistency of reality.' There is no tale ever told that men would rather find was true, and none which so many sceptical men have accepted as true on its own merits. For the Art of it has the supremely convincing tone of Primary Art, that is, of Creation. To reject it leads either to sadness or to wrath.

It is not difficult to imagine the peculiar excitement and joy that one would feel, if any specially beautiful fairy-story were found to be 'primarily' true, its narrative to be history, without thereby necessarily losing the mythical or allegorical significance that it had possessed. It is not difficult, for one is not called upon to try and conceive anything of a quality unknown. The joy would have exactly the same quality, if not the same degree, as the joy which the 'turn' in a fairy-story gives: such joy has the very taste of primary truth. (Otherwise its name would not be joy.) It looks forward (or backward: the direction in this regard is unimportant) to the Great Eucatastrophe. The Christian joy, the Gloria, is of the same kind; but it is preeminently (infinitely, if our capacity were not finite) high and joyous. But this story is supreme; and it is true. Art has been verified. God is the Lord, of angels, and of men—and of elves. Legend and History have met and fused.

But in God's kingdom the presence of the greatest does not depress the small. Redeemed Man is still man. Story, fantasy, still go on, and should go on. The Evangelium has not abrogated legends; it has hallowed them, especially the 'happy ending.' The Christian has still to work, with mind as well as body, to suffer, hope, and die; but he may now perceive that all his bents and faculties have a purpose, which can be redeemed. So great is the bounty with which he has been treated that he may now, perhaps, fairly dare to guess that in Fantasy he may actually assist in the effoliation and multiple enrichment of creation. All tales may come true; and yet, at the last, redeemed, they may be as like and as unlike the forms that we give them as Man, finally redeemed, will be like and unlike the fallen that we know. "- On Fairy-Stories

Music at the 11:30 am Mass on Easter Sunday
Processional Hymn: "Ye Sons and Daughters"
Sequence: "Victimae Paschali Laudes" - Chant
Renewal of Baptismal Promises: "Vidi Aquam" - Chant
Offertory: "Cantate Domino"- Hans Leo Hassler (1564-1612)
Communion: "Sicut Cervus"- Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1524-1594)
"Ave Verum"- Edward Elgar (1857-1934)
Recessional: "At the Lamb's High Feast"

Music at the Easter Vigil
Renewal of Baptismal Promises: "Vidi Aquam" - Chant
Offertory: "Cantate Domino"- Hans Leo Hassler (1564-1612)
Communion: "Ave Verum" - Edward Elgar ( 1857-1934)
Recessional Hymn: "At the Lamb's High Feast"

The Feast of Pope St. Julius I
is today. There is information on him here.
It is also the feast of Blessed William Ward, Priest and Martyr.