The Feast of St. Narcissus, Bishop
is today. There is information on him here.

Narcissus, Bishop of Jerusalem, when oil failed for the lamps on the vigil of Easter, sent the persons who had the care of them to the neighbouring well for water. When they brought it, he prayed over it, and it was changed into oil. Narcissus was made Bishop about A.D. 180, at the age of eighty-four; he was at a Council on the question of Easter 195, and lived through some years of the third century, dying at the extraordinary age of a hundred and sixteen, or more.

It is favourable to the truth of this account, that the instrument of the miracle was an aged, and, as also was the case, a very holy man. It may be added that he was born in the first century, before St. John's death, and was in some sense an Apostolical Father....

Venerable John Henry Newman, Two Essays on Biblical and Ecclesiastical Miracles

Please pray...
for the repose of the soul of my father, Alexander Lewis, who died on this date in 1982.

O God, Who has commanded us
to honour our father and mother,
have compassion in Thy mercy,
on the soul of my father;
forgive him his sins,
and grant that I may see him
in the joy of eternal brightness.
Through Christ our Lord.

Amen.



For the Dead
(A Hymn.)
by Venerable John Henry Newman, C.O.

Help , Lord, the souls which Thou hast made,
The souls to Thee so dear,
In prison for the debt unpaid
Of sins committed here.

Those holy souls, they suffer on,
Resign'd in heart and will,
Until Thy high behest is done,
And justice has its fill.
For daily falls, for pardon'd crime,
They joy to undergo
The shadow of Thy cross sublime,
The remnant of Thy woe.

Help, Lord, the souls which Thou hast made,
The souls to Thee so dear,
In prison for the debt unpaid
Of sins committed here.

Oh, by their patience of delay,
Their hope amid their pain,
Their sacred zeal to burn away
Disfigurement and stain;
Oh, by their fire of love, not less
In keenness than the flame,
Oh, by their very helplessness,
Oh, by Thy own great Name,

Good Jesu, help! sweet Jesu, aid
The souls to Thee most dear,
In prison for the debt unpaid
Of sins committed here.

The Oratory.
1857.

I could have told you that !
My friend at Ales Rarus sent me a link:

Cunning rat outsmarts scientists:
Rodent eludes capture for 4 months

I was particularly amused by this...

" eliminating a single invading rat is disproportionately difficult..."
Well, duh. I've had problems getting a baby domestic rat out of a recliner. Getting a wild adult rat off a whole island ? No wonder it took four months !

Fortunately, domestic rats usually want to come to you !

The Catholic Carnival
is up.

Flos Carmeli...
has a link to an online version of the poem "Christ" by Cynewulf. It is written in English prose, and its rendering of the two most famous lines in the poem leaves something to be desired. It has

"Lo ! Thou Splendor of the dayspring, fairest of angels sent to men upon earth..."

This is a translation of

Éala Éarendel Engla Beorhtast
Ofer Middangeard Monnum Sended

A closer rendering would be

"Hail, Earendel, brightest of angels
Over Middle-earth sent to men..."

These lines intrigued the young Tolkien, who developed the character and story of Eärendil from this slender hint. This was one of the earliest seeds of the entire Legendarium.

If it were not Sunday...
today would be the feast of St. John of Capistrano, O.F.M., Priest.