Saint Andrew

Today is celebrated the first-called apostle, St. Andrew, brother of St. Peter. In the year 832, Pictish King Óengus II, before leading his armies into battle against the larger force of the Angles, prayed that victory may be his, and vowed that should he prevail, St. Andrew would become the patron saint of Scotland. In the midst of the battle, Óengus looked up to see the clouds forming the saltire upon which St. Andrew was crucified against the blue sky. Victorious, he remembered his promise and adopted St. Andrew as patron saint of Scotland. Moreover, the white cross against the blue sky eventually became Scotland's flag.

The air to which "Scots Wha Hae" is set, incidentally, was reportedly played when Jehanne arrived in Orléans to break the English siege.

St. Andrew also founded the See of Constantinople, and is the patron saint of Greece, Russia, and several other Orthodox countries. Let us ask our gracious Lord through the intercession of St. Andrew to watch over and guide his successor, His All-Holiness Bartholomew I, Ecumenical Patriarch, and to move those ancient and venerable churches of the East into ever closer union with the Church of Rome.
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Deus vult!

On November 27, 1095, Blessed Pope Urban II called at the Council of Clermont for a Crusade against the heathen and for the relief of the distressed Greeks:

Oh, race of Franks, race from across the mountains, race chosen and beloved by God as shines forth in very many of your works set apart from all nations by the situation of your country, as well as by your catholic faith and the honor of the holy church! To you our discourse is addressed and for you our exhortation is intended. We wish you to know what a grievous cause has led us to Your country, what peril threatening you and all the faithful has brought us.

From the confines of Jerusalem and the city of Constantinople a horrible tale has gone forth and very frequently has been brought to our ears, namely, that a race from the kingdom of the Persians, an accursed race, a race utterly alienated from God, a generation forsooth which has not directed its heart and has not entrusted its spirit to God, has invaded the lands of those Christians and has depopulated them by the sword, pillage and fire; it has led away a part of the captives into its own country, and a part it has destroyed by cruel tortures; it has either entirely destroyed the churches of God or appropriated them for the rites of its own religion. They destroy the altars, after having defiled them with their uncleanness. They circumcise the Christians, and the blood of the circumcision they either spread upon the altars or pour into the vases of the baptismal font. When they wish to torture people by a base death, they perforate their navels, and dragging forth the extremity of the intestines, bind it to a stake; then with flogging they lead the victim around until the viscera having gushed forth the victim falls prostrate upon the ground. Others they bind to a post and pierce with arrows. Others they compel to extend their necks and then, attacking them with naked swords, attempt to cut through the neck with a single blow. What shall I say of the abominable rape of the women? To speak of it is worse than to be silent. The kingdom of the Greeks is now dismembered by them and deprived of territory so vast in extent that it can not be traversed in a march of two months. On whom therefore is the labor of avenging these wrongs and of recovering this territory incumbent, if not upon you? You, upon whom above other nations God has conferred remarkable glory in arms, great courage, bodily activity, and strength to humble the hairy scalp of those who resist you.

Let the deeds of your ancestors move you and incite your minds to manly achievements; the glory and greatness of king Charles the Great, and of his son Louis, and of your other kings, who have destroyed the kingdoms of the pagans, and have extended in these lands the territory of the holy church. Let the holy sepulchre of the Lord our Saviour, which is possessed by unclean nations, especially incite you, and the holy places which are now treated with ignominy and irreverently polluted with their filthiness. Oh, most valiant soldiers and descendants of invincible ancestors, be not degenerate, but recall the valor of your progenitors.

But if you are hindered by love of children, parents and wives, remember what the Lord says in the Gospel, "He that loveth father or mother more than me, is not worthy of me." "Every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands for my name's sake shall receive an hundredfold and shall inherit everlasting life." Let none of your possessions detain you, no solicitude for your family affairs, since this land which you inhabit, shut in on all sides by the seas and surrounded by the mountain peaks, is too narrow for your large population; nor does it abound in wealth; and it furnishes scarcely food enough for its cultivators. Hence it is that you murder one another, that you wage war, and that frequently you perish by mutual wounds. Let therefore hatred depart from among you, let your quarrels end, let wars cease, and let all dissensions and controversies slumber. Enter upon the road to the Holy Sepulchre; wrest that land from the wicked race, and subject it to yourselves. That land which as the Scripture says "floweth with milk and honey," was given by God into the possession of the children of Israel Jerusalem is the navel of the world; the land is fruitful above others, like another paradise of delights. This the Redeemer of the human race has made illustrious by His advent, has beautified by residence, has consecrated by suffering, has redeemed by death, has glorified by burial. This royal city, therefore, situated at the centre of the world, is now held captive by His enemies, and is in subjection to those who do not know God, to the worship of the heathens. She seeks therefore and desires to be liberated, and does not cease to implore you to come to her aid. From you especially she asks succor, because, as we have already said, God has conferred upon you above all nations great glory in arms. Accordingly undertake this journey for the remission of your sins, with the assurance of the imperishable glory of the kingdom of heaven.

When Pope Urban had said these and very many similar things in his urbane discourse, he so influenced to one purpose the desires of all who were present, that they cried out, "It is the will of God! It is the will of God!" When the venerable Roman pontiff heard that, with eyes uplifted to heaven he gave thanks to God and, with his hand commanding silence, said:

Most beloved brethren, today is manifest in you what the Lord says in the Gospel, "Where two or three are gathered together in my name there am I in the midst of them." Unless the Lord God had been present in your spirits, all of you would not have uttered the same cry. For, although the cry issued from numerous mouths, yet the origin of the cry was one. Therefore I say to you that God, who implanted this in your breasts, has drawn it forth from you. Let this then be your war-cry in combats, because this word is given to you by God. When an armed attack is made upon the enemy, let this one cry be raised by all the soldiers of God: It is the will of God! It is the will of God!

And we do not command or advise that the old or feeble, or those unfit for bearing arms, undertake this journey; nor ought women to set out at all, without their husbands or brothers or legal guardians. For such are more of a hindrance than aid, more of a burden than advantage. Let the rich aid the needy; and according to their wealth, let them take with them experienced soldiers. The priests and clerks of any order are not to go without the consent of their bishop; for this journey would profit them nothing if they went without permission of these. Also, it is not fitting that laymen should enter upon the pilgrimage without the blessing of their priests.

Whoever, therefore, shall determine upon this holy pilgrimage and shall make his vow to God to that effect and shall offer himself to Him as a, living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, shall wear the sign of the cross of the Lord on his forehead or on his breast. When,' truly',' having fulfilled his vow be wishes to return, let him place the cross on his back between his shoulders. Such, indeed, by the twofold action will fulfill the precept of the Lord, as He commands in the Gospel, "He that taketh not his cross and followeth after me, is not worthy of me."

--Robert the Monk

Advent

Rorate coeli desuper, et nubes pluant iustum.

Ne irascaris, Domine, ne ultra memineris iniquitatis:
Ecce civitas sancti facta est deserta:
Sion deserta facta est: Ierusalem desolata est:
Domus sanctificationis tuae et gloriae tuae,
Ubi laudaverunt patres nostri.

Rorate coeli desuper, et nubes pluant iustum.

Peccavimus, et facti sumus tamquam immundus nos,
Et cicidimus quasi folium universi:
Et iniquitatis nostrae quasi ventus abstulerunt nos:
Abscondisti faciem tuam a nobis,
Et allisisti nos in manu iniquitatis nostrae.

Rorate coeli desuper, et nubes pluant iustum.

Vide, Domine, afflictionem populi tui,
Et mitte quam missurus es:
Emitte Agnum dominatorem terrae,
De petra deserti ad montem filiae Sion
Ut auferat ipse iugum captivitatis nostrae.

Rorate coeli desuper, et nubes pluant iustum.

Consolamini, consolamini, popule meus:
Cito veniet salus tua:
Quare moerore consumeris, quia innovavit dolor?
Salvabo te, noli timere, ego enim sum Dominus Deus tuus,
Sanctus Israel, Redemptor tuus.

Rorate coeli desuper, et nubes pluant iustum.


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Come home, America

An antidote to the conspicuous consumption we will surely see on this day. Already at the local shopping centres, people are lining up so they can be the first into the stores. This attitude is not what made our country great, and has caused not only ourselves, but the world over, to sink into the grips of recession.

For the sake of future generations, stop this silliness at once. We have our families and our friends, our mountains and our oceans, our faith and our customs. What we scorn as hokey and corny our ancestors once took as the royal purple. So ironic it is that after giving thanks for what we have, we should callously trample on security guards that we might have more.

America, that day is done. If you seek to be a leader in the world, come home now, and show the virtues that have made us a great nation, and (not just Americans, but all of us Westerners) a great culture in the past.

This blog post is dedicated to a darling little girl whom I sadly won't be able to visit today.

Thanksgiving for Catholics

The Americans have established a Thanksgiving Day to celebrate the fact that the Pilgrim Fathers reached America. The English might very well establish another Thanksgiving Day; to celebrate the happy fact that the Pilgrim Fathers left England. I know that this is still regarded as a historical heresy, by those who have long ceased to worry about a religious heresy. For while these persons still insist that the Pilgrim Fathers were champions of religious liberty, nothing is more certain than the fact that an ordinary modern liberal, sailing with them, would have found no liberty, and would have intensely disliked all that he found of religion. Even Thanksgiving Day itself, though it is now kept in a most kindly and charming fashion by numbers of quite liberal and large-minded Americans, was originally intended, I believe, as a sort of iconoclastic expedient for destroying the celebration of Christmas. The Puritans everywhere had a curious and rabid dislike of Christmas; which does not encourage me, for one, to develop a special and spiritual fervour for Puritanism. Oddly enough, however, the Puritan tradition in America has often celebrated Thanksgiving Day by often eliminating the Christmas Pudding, but preserving the Christmas Turkey. I do not know why, unless the name of Turkey reminded them of the Prophet of Islam, who was also the first Prophet of Prohibition.

G.K. Chesterton
What I Saw in America

Thanksgiving Day is far from my favourite holiday. For one, as the great Chesterton intimates above, it seems a parody of the secular celebration of a religious feast--not just Christmas, as Chesterton mentioned (though since his writing, they've sure done quite a number on that), but also Martinmas, Twelfth Night, and all the winter festivals on the Church's calendar celebrated so merrily by our ancestors. Certainly the feast has quasi-religious overtones, but the religion celebrated therein is not mine, but rather the civil religion of Americanism, to which it seems the almost all of my co-citizens, not just even but especially Catholics, adhere. I reside in Massachusetts, indeed the historic nest of Puritanism, which has nonetheless one of the proportionally largest Catholic populations in the United States. So does that make Massachusetts a Catholic state? Hardly, for Americanization has turned the vast majority of my co-religionists here into cultural Puritans, even though actual descendants of Mayflower passengers are hard to find here today.

As my line in Canada was often at war with the Puritans' line, I find it almost a betrayal of my ancestors to submit to these most radical of rebels against the Church, then in the American Revolution rebels against their King (an Anglican Church and Hanover King, moreover; even the original political and religious rebellions of England were not radical enough for them). Long questioning the propriety of celebrating Thanksgiving Day, with these origins, I come to the conclusion that a national day of thanksgiving be acceptable, so long as it does not obtrude on the religious calendar, but that any celebration of the Pilgrim Fathers is not for a Catholic, especially one of French-Canadian descent as myself.

So where does that leave me? Shall the Thanksgiving feast be moved to what is here known as Columbus Day, as it is in Canada currently, in celebration of the New World being opened to our ancestors (not just English, and not just French, moreover), and in thanksgiving for the extensive Christianization of the Americas? As it is a civil holiday already, such would make sense, with the November holiday treated just as the October holiday is now, another day off. Or shall it be moved to the feast of St. Martin, the favourite of saints among the poilus in the trenches of the Great War, again a public holiday as Veterans' or Armistice or Remembrance Day, in thanksgiving for the peace in which we live and the peace that came about on his feast after certainly numerous petitions to him from the front? These are both excellent ideas indeed, and can be treated additionally to the late November holiday, but let me add another possibility.

Thanksgiving Day always falls shortly before the First Sunday of Advent, and Advent should have a somewhat penitential character. (No, it is not the "holiday season"; perhaps the greatest penance so many of us could observe is refraining from the materialism so inherent therein.) And so we have a civil holiday right before this season of preparation; in other words, a sort of early-winter Mardi Gras, and a celebration of thanksgiving for all that has come to pass within the ending liturgical year. So does it become us to make merry and celebrate the great bounty our gracious God has laid before us before the four weeks of preparing our souls to run with the shepherds of Bethlehem to the Infant-King in His manger? I very well think that it does. Is there precedent for this?

Certainly, a celebration of the feast given by Don Juan de Oñote, the conquistador who took New Mexico for the Church and for Spain is well in order, a reminder of the thanks to be given to the Lord in all things. Oñote's feast preceded that of the Puritans, occurred on American soil, and involved a Mass and the many priests who travelled with his expedition. Our feast can indeed be a memorial of Oñote's feast.

Bur more directly related to the season to come, it so appears that we can even celebrate the Puritans' feast to some extent. Any schoolchild can probably tell you that what enabled to Pilgrims to survive was agricultural assistance given them by the Indian Squanto. Apparently, Squanto was Catholic. He was redeemed from slavery by Spanish Franciscans and thereafter baptized and instructed in the faith. One must wonder how different history would be had he shared the same faith as his Puritan neighbours.

Likely he would then have seen their poor harvests as a sign that they were not elect, as God did not grace their work that they might prosper, and the Pilgrims would then have starved or frozen to death. But no, Squanto, the real hero of the feast, likely remembered what the Little Brothers of Christ had taught him about the criterion of our judgement: "as long as you did it to one of these my least brethren..." The English had once enslaved him, but coming on these poor Englishmen in a dire situation, Squanto surely did not look on them as reprobates who got what they deserved, but remembered how Our Lord had commanded that we love our enemies. As we consider at the turning of the liturgical year that Christ will come again to judge us, we would do well to use this little reflection to examine our conscience as we prepare to celebrate his first coming, give alms as generously as we can, and become those "men of good will" to whom the holy angels granted peace when first heralding God among us.

And so, contrary to Puritan mores, I pour a glass of America's great native drink, bourbon whiskey, and invite you, readers, to join me in a toast--to Don Oñote and to Squanto. May these true American heroes never be forgotten. Now go forth and revel!

Notes from around

There are a few overdue notes to which some links are in order:

To begin, recently was commemorated the bicentennial of the Mexican Republic. Readers will know that I'm not a great supporter of republics, and I'm certainly not blind to the sins of the Mexican Republic, particularly during its most anticlerical periods, such as the Cristero War, the execution of the Emperor Maximilian, and so forth. Nonetheless, throughout all the tumult, though Mexico may often have forgotten Our Lady of Guadalupe, I highly doubt Our Lady of Guadalupe has forgotten Mexico. Andrew Cusack has recently posted much about Mexico, which can be found here.

Next, 125 years ago this past week was executed the Father of Manitoba Louis Riel for treason. Whether Riel should be considered a hero to his Catholic, traditional Métis people or a traitor to the Crown and the Canadian provinces he helped create, a noble and faithful chief or a crazed, self-anointed prophet, is one of the open questions of the history of the North American continent to my mind. Depending on whom one asks in Canada to this day, Riel is either Charlemagne or Che Guevara. I thus leave the reader to draw whichever conclusion he may about Riel's revolts. Having the great Canadian voyageur well-represented in my bloodline, though, I send my warm and affectionate regards to my cousins on the prairie on this occasion. Vive les Métis!



Furthermore, recently several anniversaries of Charles De Gaulle, the liberator of France and almost universally acclaimed the greatest president of the French Republic, have passed: the 120th anniversary of his birth and the 40th anniversary of his death. I've often cited the example of De Gaulle as evidence that France is by nature a monarchy. In the midst of national crisis, Monsieur le Président was made president by acclamation (like a monarch) and the constitution of the Fifth French Republic was written explicitly to accord with his style of government (like a monarch), his strong rule saving France as a prime player upon the international stage, under the sway of no other land.

Lastly, His Imperial and Royal Highness Dr. Otto von Habsburg celebrates his 98th birthday. Though he has never taken a throne, his long life is exemplary for a royal in this age, whether crowned or uncrowned. Thanks to J.K. Baltzerson at Wilson Revolution Unplugged for this image and link.

At long last

It was announced today that HRH Prince William of Wales and Miss Kate Middleton will marry--an announcement that we have been anticipating for years now. We at Et Lux in Tenebris Lucet are overjoyed to offer our congratulations to the future King and Queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and the many other Commonwealth realms.

Sadly, I heard a radio commentator earlier today souring the joy of this event for all of us by talking about what would happen were this couple ever to divorce--this before they are even married. I actually shouted (as though this commentator could actually hear me) that he should mind his impudent tongue and not attempt to sour the joy of the happy couple, of their families (particularly of Her Majesty), and of the world at large with his cynicism. It gravely disappoints me that the pundits should turn so immediately to naysaying but a few hours after Clarence House made the official announcement.

God save the Queen.

Henryk Górecki, RIP

We receive the sad report today that Henryk Górecki, one of the finest composers of our age, died earlier today. I recall discovering his Third Symphony, the second movement of which is performed above, when I was but an adolescent, and locking myself in my room to listen to it over and over again. Górecki here talks about the libretto of this movement:

In prison, the whole wall was covered with inscriptions screaming out loud: "I'm innocent," "Murderers," "Executioners," "Free me," "You have to save me"—it was all so loud, so banal. Adults were writing this, while here it is an eighteen-year-old girl, almost a child. And she is so different. She does not despair, does not cry, does not scream for revenge. She does not think about herself; whether she deserves her fate or not. Instead, she only thinks about her mother: because it is her mother who will experience true despair. This inscription was something extraordinary. And it really fascinated me: "Mother, do not cry, no. The purest Queen of Heaven, you always support me. Hail Mary." Here the inscription ended and I added: "You are full of grace." Not "Full of grace" as it is in the prayer, but "You are full of. . ."

Requiem æternam dona ei, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat ei. Requiescat in pace. Amen.

St. Martin of Tours

So far as I can tell, the ancestral village of the house of Palardy is St-Martin-Hermine-en-Lars in the Vendée. I have no doubt that St. Martin evangelized many of my ancestors in his great missions throughout western Gaul.

His cloak was a sacred relic of the Royal House of France, and Clovis credited his victories to St. Martin's intercession, leading to the baptism of France in 496. Indeed, one would not be incorrect to consider St. Martin's cloak the first flag of France. His abbey in Tours was among the most prominent in France, a place a pilgrimage, and even granted by Charlemagne to his trusted advisor Alcuin. After the rediscovery of St. Martin's tomb in 1860, devotion to him became resurgent in the French Army amidst all the tumult of the Franco-Prussian War and the anti-clericalism of the Third Republic. Despite the attempts of the government to wipe this devotion out, it came back powerfully in the trenches of the Great War, leading to that tragic war ending on Martinmas, 1918.

St. Martin, priez pour nous.

Accordingly, at a certain period, when he had nothing except his arms and his simple military dress, in the middle of winter, a winter which had shown itself more severe than ordinary, so that the extreme cold was proving fatal to many, he happened to meet at the gate of the city of Amiens a poor man destitute of clothing. He was entreating those that passed by to have compassion upon him, but all passed the wretched man without notice, when Martin, that man full of God, recognized that a being to whom others showed no pity, was, in that respect, left to him. Yet, what should he do? He had nothing except the cloak in which he was clad, for he had already parted with the rest of his garments for similar purposes. Taking, therefore, his sword with which he was girt, he divided his cloak into two equal parts, and gave one part to the poor man, while he again clothed himself with the remainder. Upon this, some of the by-standers laughed, because he was now an unsightly object, and stood out as but partly dressed. Many, however, who were of sounder understanding, groaned deeply because they themselves had done nothing similar. They especially felt this, because, being possessed of more than Martin, they could have clothed the poor man without reducing themselves to nakedness. In the following night, when Martin had resigned himself to sleep, he had a vision of Christ arrayed in that part of his cloak with which he had clothed the poor man.

He contemplated the Lord with the greatest attention, and was told to own as his the robe which he had given. Ere long, he heard Jesus saying with a clear voice to the multitude of angels standing round -- "Martin, who is still but a catechumen, clothed me with this robe." The Lord, truly mindful of his own words (who had said when on earth -- "Inasmuch as ye have done these things to one of the least of these, ye have done them unto me), declared that he himself had been clothed in that poor man; and to confirm the testimony he bore to so good a deed, he condescended to show him himself in that very dress which the poor man had received. After this vision the sainted man was not puffed up with human glory, but, acknowledging the goodness of God in what had been done, and being now of the age of twenty years, he hastened to receive baptism. He did not, however, all at once, retire from military service, yielding to the entreaties of his tribune, whom he admitted to be his familiar tent-companion. For the tribune promised that, after the period of his office had expired, he too would retire from the world. Martin, kept back by the expectation of this event, continued, although but in name, to act the part of a soldier, for nearly two years after he had received baptism.

--Sulpicius Severus, Life of St. Martin

Santiago

As the Pope has recently visited the great shrine of Santiago de Compostela, I am pleased to repost a brief essay I wrote last year:

Son of Zebedee and brother to St. John, St. James was called with his brother from his father's fishing boat by Jesus with the promise that He would make them "fishers of men." The brothers, together with St. Peter, became like an inner group among the Apostles, witnessing the Transfiguration and going with Our Lord to Gethsamane. He was the first of the Twelve to receive the martyr's crown, a request presaged by Jesus' words upon James and John requesting that they may sit one on His right and one on His left in the kingdom of heaven, and this after He had just prophesied His passion: "You shall indeed drink of the chalice that I drink of: and with the baptism wherewith I am baptized, you shall be baptized." He was beheaded by Herod Agrippa. That is when his story begins to become quite interesting.

The primary place of St. James' cult is Spain, specifically Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, a place that has come to be almost synonymous with pilgrimage. To this day, hundreds of thousands come each year to the Cathedral of Santiago, festooned with the scallop shell as the mark of the pilgrim, and always walking the last 100 km (or bicycling the last 200 km), to venerate the relics of Saint James. Pious tradition relates that St. James had preached to the Celtiberians before returing to Jerusalem for his martyrdom, and that his relics were miraculously translated to Galicia by angels. Pilgrims have come to this site since the time of Charlemagne, making this one of the great and ancient traditions of Christendom. Indeed, readers, the Camino de Santiago is one of the pilgrimages I hope to undertake in my lifetime.

However, the tale of St. James scarcely ends with the establishment of the pilgrimage, for when the pilgrimage began, most of Iberia was under the rule of the Muslim Moors. It is reported that the vastly outnumbered Christian army of Ramiro I of Asturias made battle against the Moorish Emir of Córdoba in 844 near Clavijo in La Rioja, and that St. James miraculously appeared to lead the Spaniards to victory, earning him the soubriquet "Santiago Matamoros," St. James the Moor-Slayer. Thence arrived the Spanish war-cry, "¡Santiago y cierra España!" (Saint James and strike for Spain!) This war-cry was shouted as the Iberian peninsula was reconquered from the Muslims; it was uttered at sea in the Gulf of Patras where the ships of Spain and the Holy League through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary defended Rome and Western Europe from Turkish invasion; it resounded as Cortés and the Amerind tribes allied to him ended Montezuma's empire and the barbaric human sacrifices therein, that Our Lady may place her image on a simple Aztec peasant's cloak, and make Spanish the native language of more Catholics today than any other language; it was heard as a Galician general routed Soviet-supported anti-clerical republicans in an attempt to preserve a Catholic Spain and a Spanish monarchy; it begat a great Catholic empire, the first on which the sun never set, giving us such great and holy saints as Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross, and Ignatius of Loyola. Therefore, we pray Santiago to lead us to victory again today, to intercede with Our Lord that the enemies of His holy Church yet again be routed, and that we may once more be that Christendom that flocked to his holy shrine in Galicia.

I include here a brief video of the Botafumeiro, the cathedral's famed giant censer:

Remembrance

In Flanders fields the poppies grow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place, and in the sky,
The larks, still bravely singing, fly,
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead; short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe!
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high!
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae
Canadian Army Medical Corps

In tribute to the fallen of the war that destroyed our beloved Western civilization, and by extension to all those fallen on the battlefield, yesterday as well as today. May they always be remembered.

To those of Germany and Austria:


To those of the United States:


To those of Great Britain and her Commonwealth:


To those of France:

soldat 1914-1918
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And to those of Russia, Italy, Belgium, and all other nations who lost a generation to the gas, the shells, and the machine guns. Let us pray earnestly that such an ordeal may never again fall upon our civilization, and that Our Good Lord may, in His mercy, "enlighten them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death... [and] direct our feet into the path of peace."

Miserere nobis, Domine.

I see no reason why the gunpowder treason should ever be forgot

The first active step (24 May, 1604) was to hire as a lodging Mr. Whynniard's tenement, which lay close to the House of Parliament, and had a garden that stretched down towards the Thames. But no sooner was this taken than a government committee claimed the right of sitting there, so the preparations for mining had to be postponed for six months. Before Christmas, however, they had opened a mine from the ground floor of their house, and advanced as far as the wall of the House of Lords; then they made slow progress in working their way through its medieval masonry. In March, however, they discovered that the cellar of the House of Lords might be hired, and on Lady Day, 1605, a bargain was struck for that purpose. They had now only to carry in their powder, and cover it with faggots of firewood, and the first part of their task had been accomplished with surprising facility. They then separated, to make preparations for what should follow when the blow was struck. For this it was necessary to procure more money, and by consequence to admit more members. Five were mentioned before, and five more, Christopher Wright, Robert Keyes, Thomas Bates, Robert Winter, and John Grant had been added since. Three richer men were now sworn in, Ambrose Rookwood, Sir Everard Digby, and lastly, Francis Tresham. It was this thirteenth man who has been generally believed to have caused the detection of the plot, by a letter sent to his cousin Lord Monteagle on 26 October. This mysterious document, which is still extant, is written in a feigned hand, with an affectation if illiterateness and in the obscurest of styles. The recipient was warned against attending Parliament on the day appointed, and hints were added as to the specific character of a "terrible blow" that would befall it. "There [will] be no appearance of any stir"; "they shall not see who hurt them"; "the danger will be past as soon as you have burnt this letter." Monteagle, having received this letter, first caused it to be read aloud at his table before some mutual friends of the conspirators, then he took it to the government. more here and here

For the Faithful Departed

The legend connected with its foundation is given by Peter Damiani in his Life of St Odilo: a pilgrim returning from the Holy Land was cast by a storm on a desolate island. A hermit living there told him that amid the rocks was a chasm communicating with purgatory, from which perpetually rose the groans of tortured souls. The hermit also claimed he had heard the demons complaining of the efficacy of the prayers of the faithful, and especially the monks of Cluny, in rescuing their victims. Upon returning home, the pilgrim hastened to inform the abbot of Cluny, who then set 2 November as a day of intercession on the part of his community for all the souls in purgatory. more

Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis. Requiescant in pace. Amen.

In your kindness, please remember H.S. and A.H. today. My many thanks.

All of our friends, known and unknown, in the triumph of God's glory, pray for us

V. Kyrie, eléison.
R. Christe, eléison.
V. Kyrie, eléison.
V. Christe, audi nos.
R. Christe, exáudi nos.

V. Pater de cælis, Deus.
R. Miserére nobis.
V. Fili, Redémptor mundi, Deus.
R. Miserére nobis.

V. Spíritus Sancte, Deus.
R. Miserére nobis.

V. Sancta Trínitas, unus Deus.
R. Miserére nobis.
V. Sancta María.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancta Dei Génitrix.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancta Virgo vírginum.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancte Míchaël.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancte Gábriel.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancte Ráphaël.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Omnes sancti Angeli et Archángeli.
R. Oráte pro nobis.
V. Omnes sancti beatórum Spirítuum órdines.
R. Oráte pro nobis.
V. Sancte Joánnes Baptísta.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancte Joseph.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Omnes sancti Patriárchæ et Prophétæ.
R. Oráte pro nobis.
V. Sancte Petre.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancte Paule.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancte Andréa.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancte Jacóbe.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancte Joánnes.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancte Thoma.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancte Jacóbe.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancte Philíppe.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancte Bartholomæe.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancte Matthæe.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancte Simon.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancte Thaddæe.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancte Matthía.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancte Bárnaba.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancte Luca.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancte Marce.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Omnes sancti Apóstoli et Evangelístæ.
R. Oráte pro nobis.
V. Omnes sancti Discípuli Dómini.
R. Oráte pro nobis.
V. Omnes sancti Innocéntes.
R. Oráte pro nobis.
V. Sancte Stéphane.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancte Laurénti.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancte Vincénti.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancti Fabiáne et Sebastiáne.
R. Oráte pro nobis.
V. Sancti Joánnes et Paule.
R. Oráte pro nobis.
V. Sancti Cosma et Damiáne.
R. Oráte pro nobis.
V. Sancti Gervási et Protási.
R. Oráte pro nobis.
V. Omnes sancti Mártyres.
R. Oráte pro nobis.
V. Sancte Silvéster.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancte Gregóri.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancte Ambrósi.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancte Augustíne.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancte Hierónyme.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancte Martíne.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancte Nicoláë.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Omnes sancti Pontífices et Confessóres.
R. Oráte pro nobis.
V. Omnes sancti Doctóres.
R. Oráte pro nobis.
V. Sancte Antóni.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancte Benedícte.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancte Bernárde.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancte Domínice.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancte Francísce.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Omnes sancti Sacerdótes et Levítæ.
R. Oráte pro nobis.
V. Omnes sancti Mónachi et Eremítæ.
R. Oráte pro nobis.
V. Sancta María Magdaléna.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancta Agatha.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancta Lúcia.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancta Agnes.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancta Cæcília.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancta Catharína.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancta Anastásia.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Omnes sanctæ Vírgines et Víduæ.
R. Oráte pro nobis.
V. Omnes Sancti et Sanctæ Dei.
R. Intercédite pro nobis.
V. Propítius esto.
R. Parce nobis, Dómine.
V. Propítius esto.
R. Exáudi nos, Dómine.
V. Ab omni malo.
R. Líbera nos, Dómine.
V. Ab omni peccáto.
R. Líbera nos, Dómine.
V. Ab ira tua.
R. Líbera nos, Dómine.
V. A subitánea et improvísa morte.
R. Líbera nos, Dómine.
V. Ab insídiis diáboli.
R. Líbera nos, Dómine.
V. Ab ira, et ódio, et omni mala voluntáte.
R. Líbera nos, Dómine.
V. A spíritu fornicatiónis.
R. Líbera nos, Dómine.
V. A fúlgure et tempestáte.
R. Líbera nos, Dómine.
V. A flagéllo terræmótus.
R. Líbera nos, Dómine.
V. A peste, fame et bello.
R. Líbera nos, Dómine.
V. A morte perpétua.
R. Líbera nos, Dómine.
V. Per mystérium sanctæ Incarnatiónis tuæ.
R. Líbera nos, Dómine.
V. Per advéntum tuum.
R. Líbera nos, Dómine.
V. Per nativitátem tuam.
R. Líbera nos, Dómine.
V. Per baptísmum et sanctum jejúnium tuum.
R. Líbera nos, Dómine.
V. Per crucem et passiónem tuam.
R. Líbera nos, Dómine.
V. Per mortem et sepultúram tuam.
R. Líbera nos, Dómine.
V. Per sanctam resurrectiónem tuam.
R. Líbera nos, Dómine.
V. Per admirábilem ascensiónem tuam.
R. Líbera nos, Dómine.
V. Per advéntum Spíritus Sancti Parácliti.
R. Líbera nos, Dómine.
V. In die judícii.
R. Líbera nos, Dómine.
V. Peccatóres.
R. Te rogámus, audi nos. V. Ut nobis parcas.
R. Te rogámus, audi nos. V. Ut nobis indúlgeas.
R. Te rogámus, audi nos.
V. Ut ad veram pœniténtiam nos perdúcere dignéris.
R. Te rogámus, audi nos.
V. Ut Ecclésiam tuam sanctam régere et conserváre dignéris.
R. Te rogámus, audi nos.
V. Ut domnum Apostólicum et omnes ecclesiásticos órdines in sancta religióne conserváre dignéris.
R. Te rogámus, audi nos.
V. Ut inimícos sanctæ Ecclésiæ humiliáre dignéris.
R. Te rogámus, audi nos.
V. Ut régibus et princípibus christiánis pacem et veram concórdiam donáre dignéris.
R. Te rogámus, audi nos.
V. Ut cuncto pópulo christiáno pacem et unitátem largíri dignéris.
R. Te rogámus, audi nos.
V. Ut omnes errántes ad unitátem Ecclésiæ revocáre, et infidéles univérsos ad Evangélii lumen perdúcere dignéris.
R. Te rogámus, audi nos.
V. Ut nosmetípsos in tuo sancto servítio confortáre et conserváre dignéris.
R. Te rogámus, audi nos.
V. Ut mentes nostras ad cæléstia desidéria érigas.
R. Te rogámus, audi nos.
V. Ut ómnibus benefactóribus nostris sempitérna bona retríbuas.
R. Te rogámus, audi nos.
V. Ut ánimas nostras, fratrum, propinquórum et benefactórum nostrórum ab ætérna damnatióne erípias.
R. Te rogámus, audi nos.
V. Ut fructus terræ dare et conserváre dignéris.
R. Te rogámus, audi nos.
V. Ut ómnibus fidélibus defúnctis réquiem ætérnam donáre dignéris.
R. Te rogámus, audi nos.
V. Ut nos exaudíre dignéris.
R. Te rogámus, audi nos.
V. Fili Dei.
R. Te rogámus, audi nos.
V. Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccáta mundi.
R. Parce nobis, Dómine.

V. Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccáta mundi.
R. Exáudi nos, Dómine.
V. Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccáta mundi.
R. Miserére nobis.
V. Christe, audi nos.
R. Christe, exáudi nos.
V. Kyrie, eléison.
R. Christe, eléison. Kyrie, eléison.
Pater noster.
secréto usque ad
V. Et ne nos indúcas in tentatiónem.
R. Sed líbera nos a malo.
Psalmus 69. Deus, in adjutorium
Deus, in adjutórium meum inténde : * Dómine ad adjuvándum me festína.
2 Confundántur et revereántur, * qui quærunt ánimam meam.
3 Avertántur retrórsum, et erubéscant, * qui volunt mihi mala.
4 Avertántur statim erubescéntes, * qui dicunt mihi : Euge, euge.
5 Exsúltent et læténtur in te omnes qui quærunt te, * et dicant semper : Magnificétur Dóminus : qui díligunt salutáre tuum.
6 Ego vero egénus, et pauper sum : * Deus, ádjuva me.
7 Adjútor meus, et liberátor meus es tu : * Dómine, ne moréris.
8 Glória Patri, et Fílio, et Spirítui Sancto.
9 Sicut erat in princípio, et nunc, et semper, * et in sæcula sæculórum. Amen.
V. Salvos fac servos tuos.
R. Deus meus, sperántes in te.
V. Esto nobis, Dómine, turris fortitúdinis.
R. A fácie inimíci.
V. Nihil profíciat inimícus in nobis.
R. Et fílius iniquitátis non appónat nocére nobis.
V. Dómine, non secúndum peccáta nostra fácias nobis.
R. Neque secúndum iniquitátes nostras retríbuas nobis.
V. Orémus pro Pontífice nostro Benedicto
R. Dóminus consérvet eum, et vivíficet eum, et beátum fáciat eum in terra, et non tradat eum in ánimam inimicórum ejus.
V. Orémus pro benefactóribus nostris.
R. Retribúere dignáre, Dómine, ómnibus, nobis bona faciéntibus propter nomen tuum, vitam ætérnam. Amen.
V. Orémus pro fidélibus defúnctis.
R. Réquiem ætérnam dona eis, Dómine, et lux perpétua lúceat eis.
V. Requiéscant in pace.
R. Amen.
V. Pro frátribus nostris abséntibus.
R. Salvos fac servos tuos, Deus meus, sperántes in te.
V. Mitte eis, Dómine, auxílium de sancto.
R. Et de Sion tuére eos.
V. Dómine, exáudi oratiónem meam.
R. Et clamor meus ad te véniat.
V. Dóminus vobíscum.
R. Et cum spíritu tuo.
Orémus. Oratio
Deus, cui próprium est miseréri semper et párcere : súscipe deprecatiónem nostram ; ut nos, et omnes fámulos tuos, quos delictórum caténa constríngit, miserátio tuæ pietátis cleménter absólvat.
Exáudi, quæsumus, Dómine, supplícium preces, et confiténtium tibi parce peccátis : ut páriter nobis indulgéntiam tríbuas benígnus et pacem.
Ineffábilem nobis, Dómine, misericórdiam tuam cleménter osténde : ut simul nos et a peccátis ómnibus éxuas, et a pœnis, quas pro his merémur, erípias.
Deus, qui culpa offénderis, pœniténtia placáris : preces pópuli tui supplicántis propítius réspice ; et flagélla tuæ iracúndiæ, quæ pro peccátis nostris merémur, avérte.
Omnípotens sempitérne Deus, miserére fámulo tuo Pontífici nostro Benedicto et dírige eum secúndum tuam cleméntiam in viam salútis ætérnæ : ut, te donánte, tibi plácita cúpiat, et tota virtúte perfíciat.
Deus, a quo sancta desidéria, recta consília et justa sunt ópera : da servis tuis illam, quam mundus dare non potest, pacem ; ut et corda nostra mandátis tuis dédita, et, hóstium subláta formídine, témpora sint, tua protectióne, tranquílla.
Ure igne Sancti Spíritus renes nostros et cor nostrum, Dómine : ut tibi casto córpore serviámus, et mundo corde placeámus.
Fidélium, Deus, ómnium cónditor et redémptor, animábus famulórum famularúmque tuárum remissiónem cunctórum tríbue peccatórum : ut indulgéntiam, quam semper optavérunt, piis supplicatiónibus consequántur.
Actiónes nostras, quæsumus, Dómine, aspirándo prævéni et adjuvándo proséquere : ut cuncta nostra orátio et operátio a te semper incípiat et per te cœpta finiátur.
Omnípotens sempiterne Deus, qui vivórum domináris simul et mortuórum, omniúmque miseréris quos tuos fide et ópere futúros esse prænóscis : te súpplices exorámus ; ut, pro quibus effúndere preces decrévimus, quosque vel præsens sæculum adhuc in carne rétinet vel futúrum jam exútos córpore suscépit, intercedéntibus ómnibus Sanctis tuis, pietátis tuæ cleméntia, ómnium delictórum suórum véniam consequántur. Per Dóminum nostrum Jesum Christum, Fílium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitáte Spíritus Sancti, Deus, per ómnia sæcula sæculórum.
R. Amen.
V. Dóminus vobíscum.
R. Et cum spíritu tuo.
V. Exáudiat nos omnípotens et miséricors Dóminus.
R. Amen.
V. Et fidélium ánimæ † per misericórdiam Dei requiéscant in pace.
R. Amen.

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