Zeal and Patience
by Venerable John Henry Newman, C.O.

"I, Paul, the prisoner of the Lord."

"O Comrade bold of toil and pain!
Thy trial how severe,
When sever'd first by prisoner's chain
From thy loved labour-sphere!

Say, did impatience first impel
The heaven-sent bond to break?
Or, couldst thou bear its hindrance well,
Loitering for Jesu's sake?

Oh, might we know! for sore we feel
The languor of delay,
When sickness lets our fainter zeal,
Or foes block up our way.

Lord! who Thy thousand years dost wait
To work the thousandth part
Of Thy vast plan, for us create
With zeal a patient heart."

Off Sardinia.
June 19, 1833.

The Feast of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary
is today. There is information on it here.

Litany of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
by Venerable John Henry Newman, C.O.

Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.

God the Father of Heaven, Have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, "
God the Holy Ghost,
Holy Trinity, one God,

Heart of Mary, Pray for us.
Heart, after God’s own Heart, "
Heart, in union with the Heart of Jesus,
Heart, the vessel of the Holy Ghost,
Heart of Mary, shrine of the Trinity,
Heart of Mary, home of the Word,
Heart of Mary, immaculate in thy creation,
Heart of Mary, flooded with grace,
Heart of Mary, blessed of all hearts,
Heart of Mary, Throne of glory,
Heart of Mary, Abyss of humbleness,
Heart of Mary, Victim of love,
Heart of Mary, nailed to the Cross,
Heart of Mary, comfort of the sad,
Heart of Mary, refuge of the sinner,
Heart of Mary, hope of the dying,
Heart of Mary, seat of mercy,

Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world,
Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world,
Graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world,
Have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

V. Immaculate Mary, meek and humble of heart.
R. Conform our hearts to the heart of Jesus.
Let us Pray

O most merciful God, who for the salvation of sinners and the refuge of the wretched, hast made the Immaculate Heart of Mary most like in tenderness and pity to the Heart of Jesus, grant that we, who now commemorate her most sweet and loving heart, may by her merits and intercession, ever live in the fellowship of the Hearts of both Mother and Son, through the same Christ our Lord.-Amen.

It is also the feast of St. Romuald,O. Camald., Founder , St. Julia Falconieri,O.S.M, Virgin, Blessed Humphrey Middlemore, O.Cart., Martyr, Blessed Sebastian Newdigate, O.Cart., Priest and Martyr , and Blessed Thomas Woodhouse, S.J., Priest and Martyr..

I haven't done a silly quiz in a while...

My #1 result for the SelectSmart.com selector, Which Son of Feanor are you?, is Maglor

Good ! got one of the saner Fëanorians !

The Old Oligarch
has two especially fine posts on modernist eisegesis of Scripture.
My favorite line has to be this one:
"If this sub-Biblical 'plague' of cicadas can manage to get them just about anywhere, I think frogs can manage to get inside kneading bowls without any problem...."

The Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
is today. There is information on it here.
"May Thy Heart dwell always in our hearts!
May Thy Blood ever flow in the veins of our souls!
O Sun of our hearts, Thou givest life to all things by the rays of Thy goodness!
I will not go until Thy Heart has strengthened me, O Lord Jesus!
May the Heart of Jesus be the King of my heart!
Blessed be God. Amen."
- St. Francis deSales, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

"Relatively modern under the form that it actually bears, the devotion to the Sacred Heart has its dogmatic roots in the deposit of faith. It was contained in germ in the words of St. John: 'The Word was made Flesh, and dwelt among us ... having loved His own ... He loved them unto the end' (Jn 1:14; 13:1). What, in fact, is the Incarnation? It is the manifestation of God, it is God revealing Himself to us through the Humanity of Jesus: Nova mentis nostrae oculis lux tuae claritatis infulsit (Preface of the Nativity); it is the manifestation of Divine love to the world: 'God so loved the world, as to give His Only-begotten Son'; and this Son Himself so loved men as to deliver Himself up for them: 'Greater love than this no man hath, that a man lay down his life for his friends': Majorem hac dilectionem nemo habet (Jn 15:13). All the devotion to the Sacred Heart is in germ in these words of Jesus. And in order to show that His love had attained the supreme degree, Christ Jesus willed that immediately after He had drawn His last breath on the Cross, His Heart should be pierced by the soldier's lance." - Blessed Columba Marmion, O.S.B.

"O Sacred Heart of Jesus, I adore Thee in the oneness of the Personality of the Second Person of the Holy Trinity. Whatever belongs to the Person of Jesus, belongs therefore to God, and is to be worshipped with that one and the same worship which we pay to Jesus. He did not take on Him His human nature, as something distinct and separate from Himself, but as simply, absolutely, eternally His, so as to be included by us in the very thought of Him. I worship Thee, O Heart of Jesus, as being Jesus Himself, as being that Eternal Word in human nature which He took wholly and lives in wholly, and therefore in Thee. Thou art the Heart of the Most High made man. In worshipping Thee, I worship my Incarnate God, Emmanuel. I worship Thee, as bearing a part in that Passion which is my life, for Thou didst burst and break, through agony, in the garden of Gethsemani, and Thy precious contents trickled out, through the veins and pores of the skin, upon the earth. And again, Thou hadst been drained all but dry upon the Cross; and then, after death, Thou wast pierced by the lance, and gavest out the small remains of that inestimable treasure, which is our redemption.

2. My God, my Saviour, I adore Thy Sacred Heart, for that heart is the seat and source of all Thy tenderest human affections for us sinners. It is the instrument and organ of Thy love. It did beat for us. It yearned over us. It ached for us, and for our salvation. It was on fire through zeal, that the glory of God might be manifested in and by us. It is the channel through which has come to us all Thy overflowing human affection, all Thy Divine Charity towards us. All Thy incomprehensible compassion for us, as God and Man, as our Creator and our Redeemer and Judge, has come to us, and comes, in one inseparably mingled stream, through that Sacred Heart. O most Sacred symbol and Sacrament of Love, divine and human, in its fulness, Thou didst save me by Thy divine strength, and Thy human affection, and then at length by that wonder-working blood, wherewith Thou didst overflow.

3. O most Sacred, most loving Heart of Jesus, Thou art concealed in the Holy Eucharist, and Thou beatest for us still. Now as then Thou savest, Desiderio desideravi-'With desire I have desired.' I worship Thee then with all my best love and awe, with my fervent affection, with my most subdued, most resolved will. O my God, when Thou dost condescend to suffer me to receive Thee, to eat and drink Thee, and Thou for a while takest up Thy abode within me, O make my heart beat with Thy Heart. Purify it of all that is earthly, all that is proud and sensual, all that is hard and cruel, of all perversity, of all disorder, of all deadness. So fill it with Thee, that neither the events of the day nor the circumstances of the time may have power to ruffle it, but that in Thy love and Thy fear it may have peace."- Venerable John Henry Newman, C.O.

There was also a sermon of the Venerable, of which the following notes survive:
The Sacred Heart
"1. INTROD.—Many devotions in Holy Church. This is one which has spread of late years, more, I may say, than any other. Today is the special feast of it; and [this] leads me to explain in what it consists.

2. Our Lord is One. He is the one God. He took on Him a manhood, a body and soul; that body from Mary. Still, He was one, not two—one, as each of us is one.

3. We too, in our way, are each of us one, though we are two—soul and body—and the body has parts; [nevertheless] each of us is one. This is what is meant by speaking of our Lord's [oneness] as we speak of our own.

4. And though each of us is thus composite, we can love each other as one, though of so many parts. And in like manner, though our Lord is God and man, with a soul [and body], we can contemplate Him as one, and worship, love Him as one.

5. Further, if I said I loved the face, or the smile, or liked to take the hand of my father or mother, it would be because I loved them. And so, when I speak of the separate portions of our Lord's human frame, I really am worshipping Him. So in the Blessed Sacrament we do not conceive of His Body and Blood as separate from Him.

6. Devotions at various times [and ages]—the Wounds, the Blood, the Face—and in like manner the Heart. We worship [each] as Him, as that One Person who is God and man; we worship [Him] by the memento, the pledge of His Heart.

7. Why? The Heart a symbol—so the Wounds and the Blood. [In contrast with these] a symbol is sometimes that which [only] expresses and reminds—thus water, oil, wine, bread.

8. What is the Heart the symbol of?—of His love, His affection for us, so that He suffered for us—the agony in the garden.

9. Moreover, of His love in the Holy Eucharist.

10. The Heart was the seat, first, of His love for us; secondly, of His many griefs and sorrows.

[The following were appended, apparently as alternatives:]

7. Of two things especially to remind us now, when the world is so strong—His power and His love. He will overcome by love.

8. The Heart is the emblem of His love—in worshipping It we worship Him."

Some wise words...
"As Christ hides Himself from us in the Holy Eucharist, so does He hide from us ourselves, in mercy. We are weak,—we are not able to bear great burdens yet; light burdens are heavy to us. Moreover, if penitents are bent on lading themselves heavily, let them know that the greatest of burdens, as well as the most appropriate, is what is lasting, what is continual. A slight penance, if long, is far more trying than a severe one, if short. This stands to reason; for it outlasts their present agitated state of mind. For the same reason, it is more beneficial, for it reminds them of what they afterwards will be likely to forget. A stone in time is hollowed by a continual dropping; and be sure that a very easy rule, if it endures, is a very severe trial. It is not much of a penance to take upon one what is a mere relief to the feelings, and to end it when the feelings cease to require it. True penitence is that which never comes to an end; and true penance is that which lasts as long as penitence. "- Venerable John Henry Newman, C.O., Sermons on Subjects of the Day

Michael Novak
has written a fine article on the current 'issue' of politicians scandalizing the faithful by receiving the Lord while continuing to support the murder of babies.

Link courtesy of Southern Appeal.

Interesting article....
but human beings are not rodents. (I'd glad to see that the researchers seem more aware of this than the reporter, and dismiss the idea of gene therapy for cheating hearts.)


Link courtesy of Crosswalk.com.

Please pray...
for the continued protection of Terri Schiavo's life.

The Feast of St. Albert Chmielowski, Founder
is today. There is information on him here. It is notable that Karol Wojtyla wrote a successful play about him in 1949, and that in 1997, after Karol Wojtyla had become Pope John Paul II, the play was made into a movie.
It is also the feast of St. Herve, Abbot, who gave us the great quote, "He who obeys not the rudder will obey the reef"- a saying too often proved these days-,St. Gregory Barbarigo, Cardinal, who worked for the reunion of Catholics and Orthodox, and St. Botulph, O.S.B., Abbot.

Current reading...
Bookmarked: Dissent from the Creed: Heresies Past and Present by Rev. Richard M. Hogan
Next-in-line: Salve Mater by Frederick Joseph Kinsman
Waiting in the bookbag: The Usual Suspects: Answering Anti-Catholic Fundamentalists and Nothing But the Truth: Essays in Apologetics, both by Karl Keating
Apologia Pro Vita Sua by Venerable John Henry Newman, C.O.
Always in the bookbag: Sacred Scripture, Prayers, Meditations and Devotions by Venerable Newman

On June 16, 1872
Venerable John Henry Newman, C.O., preached a sermon, of which the following notes survive:

The World, the Flesh, and the Devil

"1. INTROD.—The whole creation travaileth.

2. All creatures must be imperfect and tend to corruption if left to themselves. All creation which we see—the visible world.

3. The visible world requires a support to its laws; they cannot support themselves.

4. And still clearer as regards separate beings. All things in fluxu et transitu.
5. Brute animal passion—but without sin—but no brute passion but exists in man.

6. Such excesses the gift of reason is to hinder and subdue; and therefore sin in not doing so.

7. But the conflict so strong that it requires the grace of God.

8. Now we see the state to which original sin, the sin of Adam, has reduced us. It has rendered us like the brutes, because it has deprived us of grace, yet left us in sin.

9. This stripped human nature is called in Scripture the flesh —(Cain's fratricide, the flood, destruction of Sodom, state of things when our Lord came)—

10. And is our second giant enemy. Our first enemy is the devil.

11. Now trace the effects of the flesh—the growth of evil in individuals, in bodies; the power of example—encouraging each other, appealing to each other; false maxims—affecting to teach.

12. This the world, a creation of the flesh—our third great enemy.

13. Thus fallen man has to fight against three great enemies.

14. Let us never forget we are servants and soldiers of Christ, Eph. vi. 11-17."

Deacon Christensen
has posted pictures of his ordination and his first homily.

Oh, please! Not again...
The follower of "Pope Pius XIII" drove himself deeper into sin in a parish in my diocese.

Instead of going to Mass in the very ritzy surburb where his wife has a house, he received Communion in an inner-city slum parish...making his sacrilege into grandstanding as well.

Link courtesy of Catholic World Report.

As Lane Core notes...
today is the anniversary of the publication of the final part of Apologia Pro Vita Sua.


In addition, Gerard Serafin posts that on this date in 1833, the Venerable wrote one of his most famous verses.

The Feast of St. Lutgardis, O.Cist., Virgin
is today. There is information on her here.
It is also the feast of Blessed William Greenwood, O.Cart., Martyr.

Just because...
"From the age of fifteen, dogma has been the fundamental principle of my religion:I know no other religion; I cannot enter into the idea of any other sort of religion; religion, as a mere sentiment, is to me a dream and a mockery."- Venerable John Henry Newman, C.O., Apologia Pro Vita Sua

I'd like to be...
an extraordinary minister of litmus testing !

Prayers requested
for Kathryn's father-in-law, who had a heart attack last night.
Prayers for my friend and brother in the Secular Oratory Ed would be welcome, as he recovers from a broken ankle. Also, Fr. David had to have surgery on his nose this morning, and prayers for him would be a blessing as well.(It was something about 'basal cells', which I don't really understand, but it sounds scary- and distressing, particularly as he was only under local anesthesia while they did it. I would not want somebody cutting into my face without them first putting me completely out.)

The Feast of St. Germaine Cousin, Virgin
is today. There is information on her here. Prayers for all abused and abandoned children would be most appropriate today.
It is also the feast of St. Aleydis,O. Cist., Virgin, and of St. Vitus,Martyr, one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers.

Prayers requested...
for my friend and fellow Secular Oratorian Ed, who suffered a broken ankle over the weekend.

Gerard Serafin reminds us...
that a great man went to his reward on this date. Check out lots of links relating to him.

Reverence
by Venerable John Henry Newman, C.O.

"I bow at Jesu's name, for 'tis the Sign
Of awful mercy towards a guilty line.
Of shameful ancestry, in birth defiled,
And upwards from a child
Full of unlovely thoughts and rebel aims
And scorn of judgment-flames,
How without fear can I behold my Life,
The Just assailing sin, and death-stain'd in the strife?

And so, albeit His woe is our release,
Thought of that woe aye dims our earthly peace;
The Life is hidden in a Fount of Blood!
And this is tidings good
For souls, who, pierced that they have caused that woe,
Are fain to share it too:
But for the many, clinging to their lot
Of worldly ease and sloth, 'tis written 'Touch Me not.' "

Off Monte Pelegrino.
June 14, 1833

Now this...
is one of the more perceptive articles on the Professor's works that I've found.
Here's a little sample:
"In reading LOTR one must keep in mind several things relating to character. One important one is that the folk we encounter are, with only a few exceptions, quite extraordinary personages even by the standards of Middle-earth. There is nothing unreasonable or exceptionable about extraordinary characters having, well--extraordinary characters. The noted literary critic (yeah, one of them) Edmund Wilson, in his now-notorious rant against LOTR, complained that Aragorn (who? be patient) had the personality of a well-trained horse, had no "taste for sin." Hmmmm . . . .
Aragorn threw back his cloak. The elven-sheath glittered as he grasped it, and the bright blade of Andúril shone like a sudden flame as he swept it out. "Elendil!" he cried. "I am Aragorn son of Arathorn, and am called Elessar, the Elfstone, Dúnadan, the heir of Isildur Elendil's son of Gondor. Here is the Sword that was Broken and is forged again! Will you aid me or thwart me? Choose swiftly!"
Our credibility is supposedly strained by finding that this is not a guy given to putting slugs in parking meters? Such ineffable tomfoolery says a great deal more about critics and the society that supports them than it does about their nominal subjects. In essence, we are being told by Wilson and his sort that nobility of character is a childish fiction--that characters supposedly possessed of it are perforce ill-drawn nonsenses. Even in our mingey everyday reality, we know that that is not so. Why need it be a requirement of fiction?"



This is from a website found courtesy of Mixolydian Mode.

Please pray...
for Jeanetta's friend, the friend's little sister, their mother, and everyone else involved in this situation.

The Feast of St. Joseph the Hymnographer
is today. There is information on him here. Prayers invoking his intercession to request that the state of liturgical music would improve would be quite appropriate.
It is also the feast of St. Methodius of Constantinople, Patriarch. Asking for his intercession to help effect the reunion of East and West would be a good thing.

If it were not Sunday...
today would be the feast of St. Anthony of Padua, O.F.M., Doctor of the Church.

Speaking of saints,one of the local papers has an interesting article on a woman from the area whose great-great-uncle was recently canonized.

It is the ninth day..
of the the Novena of the Litany of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Priest and Victim.

Deo gratias !
St. Blog's has a brand-new deacon !

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ
is today. There is information on it here.

Fr. Michael has posted the text of his homily for today here. ( I will add that in the spoken homily he added that he certainly does not recommend watching the movie he refers to- he only saw the edited-for-TV version years ago and found it mostly repulsive, but that one line struck him as perceptive.)

"O my dear Saviour, would that I had any right to ask to be allowed to make reparation to Thee for all the unbelief of the world, and all the insults offered to Thy Name, Thy Word, Thy Church, and the Sacrament of Thy Love! But, alas, I have a long score of unbelief and ingratitude of my own to atone for. Thou art in the Sacrifice of the Mass, Thou art in the Tabernacle, verily and indeed, in flesh and blood; and the world not only disbelieves, but mocks at this gracious truth. Thou didst warn us long ago by Thyself and by Thy Apostles that Thou wouldest hide Thyself from the world. The prophecy is fulfilled more than ever now; but I know what the world knows not. O accept my homage, my praise, my adoration!—let me at least not be found wanting. I cannot help the sins of others—but one at least of those whom Thou hast redeemed shall turn round and with a loud voice glorify God. The more men scoff, the more will I believe in Thee, the good God, the good Jesus, the hidden Lord of life, who hast done me nothing else but good from the very first moment that I began to live."- Venerable John Henry Newman, C.O.
Here is one classic prayer honoring Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament:

"Anima Christi, sanctifica me.
Corpus Christi, salva me.
Sanguis Christi, inebria me.
Aqua lateris Christi, lava me.
Passio Christi, conforta me.
O bone Iesu, exaudi me.
Intra tua vulnera absconde me.
Ne permittas me separari a te.
Ab hoste maligno defende me.
In hora mortis meae voca me.
Et iube me venire ad te,
Ut cum Sanctis tuis laudem te
in saecula saeculorum.

Amen."

Here is the Venerable's rather free translation:

"Soul of Christ, be my sanctification;
Body of Christ, be my salvation;
Blood of Christ, fill all my veins;
Water of Christ’s side, wash out my stains;
Passion of Christ, my comfort be;
O good Jesu, listen to me;
In thy wounds I fain would hide,
Ne’er to be parted from Thy side;
Guard me, should the foe assail me;
Call me when my life shall fail me;
Bid me come to Thee above,
With Thy saints to sing Thy love,
World without end. Amen."

Here is my favorite prayer for use before the Blessed Sacrament:

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

I place myself in the presence of Him, in whose Incarnate Presence I am before I place myself there.

I adore Thee, O my Saviour, present here as God and man, in soul and body, in true flesh and blood.

I acknowledge and confess that I kneel before that Sacred Humanity, which was conceived in Mary's womb, and lay in Mary's bosom; which grew up to man's estate, and by the Sea of Galilee called the Twelve, wrought miracles, and spoke words of wisdom and peace; which in due season hung on the cross, lay in the tomb, rose from the dead, and now reigns in heaven.

I praise, and bless, and give myself wholly to Him, who is the true Bread of my soul, and my everlasting joy.

- Venerable John Henry Newman, C.O.

All of the quotes from the Venerable are from Meditations and Devotions.

Finally, a quote from the Professor:
"I put before you the one great thing to love on earth:the Blessed Sacrament.... There you will find romance, glory, honour, fidelity, and the true way of all your loves upon earth, and more than that: Death, by the divine paradox, that which ends life and demands the surrender of all, and yet, by the taste (or foretaste) of which alone can what you seek in your earthly relationships (love, faithfulness, joy) be maintained, or take on that complexion of reality, of eternal endurance, which every man's heart desires."
J.R.R. Tolkien, to Michael Tolkien, March 8, 1941, The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien