Now that you are not in Rome and you are not going to cappuccino and a cornetto, what’s for breakfast?
I could have a cappuccino. I have a great machine. However, usually I have very strong black coffee. I’m back to mostly protein. Today, kielbasa and spicy kimchi. I’ve missed the kimchi.
HEY! vb*****@cox.net! My thank you note to you got kicked back. New email?
A a Rome Shot. It is still like a dream to see this.
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Nice people! Great service!
Meanwhile, white will soon find mate I hope. It’s there and the pattern has a name with. Go for it! White to move.
1. Qxg7+ Bxg7 2. Rxg7+ Rxg7 3. Nxf6+ Kh8 4. Rxf8+ Rg8 5. Rxg8# NB: I’ll hold comments with solutions ’till the next day so there won’t be “spoilers” for others.
I wonder if there is a place to get good kimchi in Rome. You would think that there would be, right?
In chessy news, lest you be in the dark, I read that Hikaru Nakamura has by now won in one year over $10K in the chess.com “Bullet Brawl”. In this format each play has only ONE MINUTE. Whew. I dunno.
Also, related to chess (of course) but also no, at Chess Base today there is an interesting piece about aphantasia. HERE Aphantasia is the inability to picture things in their “mind’s eye”. This would related to chess because, at the higher levels, it requires a strong visual memory. Some players can visualize positions, even many boards. Think about this… if you have aphantasia, how do you calculate? Analyze a position? How can you play chess at all? How about all the other aspects of life… like… driving?
Anyway, I struggle to visualize past a certain number of moves. This is going to hold me back a little when I start getting serious.
It is worth your time.
This is also worth your time. I am presently visualizing you clicking the link and buying some beer, even if you don’t like beer, because a) you can give it to a worthy priest and b) you want to help these great Benedictines at Norcia.
Here’s Magnus playing 5 boards simultaneously while BLINDFOLDED and facing away from the boards. Note that he plays a different opening on each board.
First, posts are still arriving on Fr. Hunwicke’s blog, may he rest in peace. He scheduled them (probably). right now there are interesting notes about Rogation days. HERE
New Oxford Review… for me is behind a paywall. I would appreciate an assist, if you get my drift. There is a piece entitled musing about Benedict XVI as the katechon: Was Pope Benedict XVI Holding Back the Destroying Flood? HERE
Last night I watched Catholic Unscripted (I pay attention to them) on YouTube. They brought up the fact that a Chicago priest did a full blown wedding for lesbians. The question is, will Rome or Cupich do anything about it? My guess is NO. But the people who want the TLM must be crushed into the gravel and kicked to the side of the road. It stands to reason. On the sham wedding HERE. BTW… the video to which I refer has a funny moment. Recommended with oak leaf cluster. HERE
I would like to collaborate with Catholic Unscripted. They have their heads screwed on in the right direction.
As I prepared mentally to leave the land of the platonic form of Chinese food for climes in which Chinese is hardly even a flicker on the wall of the back of the cave, we determined to go that way instead of Greek.
Spicy cucumbers.
Sichuan noodles.
Scallion pancakes.
Xiao long bao. Very good. However, the spoon was too small.
Eggplant with minced pork and ginger.
Crispy spicy beef. We asked them to ratchet the heat down a little for one of our august company. Truly crispy!
Chicken braised in Chinese “wine” and basil.
A good meal was had by all.
Now… packing for the last couple of flights to close the circle.
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Even though I am quite busy, I will not deny you your daily challenge.
White to move and mate in 3.
NB: I’ll hold comments with solutions ’till the next day so there won’t be “spoilers” for others.
Here is your Roman JASMINE REPORT! (No, not the Jesuit.)
Thanks to The World’s Best Sacristan™.
*sigh* I should’ve stayed a few more days.
Welcome registrants:
IzaJanina Spartan76 yorkvilleguy
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White to move and win.
1.a6 Rh4 2.Rd8 Kxd8 a7 and wins. Not 2.Ra3?bxa3 3.a7 axb2 (Alekhine 1933) NB: I’ll hold comments with solutions ’till the next day so there won’t be “spoilers” for others.
In chessy news… the 2024 Grand Chess Tour will begin with the Superbet Rapid & Blitz, May 8-12 in Warsaw: 9 rounds of rapid and 18 rounds of blitz. Who will be there? World number one Magnus Carlsen and the next challenger for the world title, Dommaraju Gukesh. Last year Carlsen won by holding a draw in a 124-move slug fest against Polish GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda.
Too many people today are without good, strong preaching, to the detriment of all. Share the good stuff.
Was there a GOOD point made in the sermon you heard at your Mass of obligation for the 5th Sunday Sunday after Easter? Novus Ordo – 6th Sunday of Easter.
Tell about attendance especially for the Traditional Latin Mass.
When we are given this image of the eye and of light, we should be immediately reminded of what the Church, and ancient philosophers before her, advised about custodia occulorum, custody of the eyes.
I will be blunt.
Purgamentum init, exit purgamentum. Garbage in, garbage out.
We should not look at things that are evil or which arouse passions. Our vision is perhaps the most powerful of all the senses for shaping our inward selves. It is a common trait of us fallen human beings that we tend to desire what we see. Remember the temptation of Eve by the serpent in the Garden at the Tree of Knowledge in Genesis 3: …
The adventure continued yesterday with a visit to the now defunct Huntington Seminary of the Immaculate Conception. This was the once mighty seminary of the once mighty Diocese of Brooklyn. It had hundreds of seminarians. Then it had tens. Then it had none and was closed. Back in the 50’s, the Diocese of Rockville Centre (pretty much the entirety of Long Island) was sliced off from Brooklyn. The result was that Brooklyn was all urban and poorer by the year. The money was in Long Island. Rockville Centre got the seminary (and the landed gentry), Brooklyn’s dead bishops in crypt were translated, and eventually things petered out.
I took lots of photos (new phone… difference?) but here are a few just to provide a taste of what seminaries were, back in the day.
Look at this deeply deeply silly altar. The main altar was as wide as you can easily envisage. But, no. They had to follow the chimera, the non-existent lie-based propo after the Council, and put something barely wide enough to hold the corporal and bookstand in the nave. If there were any environment in which it is would be important to stress the concept of a sanctuary, it would be a seminary. So, that’s where they did the stupid stuff.
A small bright spot in the sacristy.
The other day I mentioned prayers to be said commanded by the local bishop. Here is an example at the bottom of the chart with vesting prayers framed on a cabinet over the vestment case.
Who would like to offer a precise and yet smooth translation of the Latin at the bottom?
This oratio imperata reveals the deep culture of prayer for benefactors. This is way, dear readers, I always mention that I pray for and say Mass for the intention of those who send donations, either monthly or ad hoc and who send wishlist items and also notes about their prayers for me. I, too, at the Mementos of the living and of the dead in the Roman Canon remember my benefactors. It is a duty and pleasure.
The bishop’s chapel in the level below the main chapel, below which there is the crypt. The chapel is decidedly eschatological and very well done. The mosaic of the reigning Christ is raised above the broken symbols of episcopal office, such as the crozier, and the human bones are a memento mori. Moreover, this is directly above the crypt the the bishop’s dead predecessors are entombed!
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The one wing from the back of the sprawling place.
We headed over the the house where President Theodore Roosevelt died. Alas, it was closed.
Nice people! Great service!
Supper: We stopped at a local butcher in what seemed like a shabby bodega in a not so appealing area. Great butcher! Friendly and helpful. Happy to talk about the cut, fat content, etc. High quality meats. Always chat with the butcher. My experience is that even in grocery stores they are often the most helpful, in fact eager to. It makes their day a lot more pleasant and they are, in general, happy to cut something special for you. These guys had various steaks cut, but we asked for something thicker. Here is a shot with a dry rub I often use. It’s about 1 3/4″.
In the pan with clarified butter.
Simple greens and tomato and garlic vinaigrette. A good, sturdy Zin.
Speaking of altars, this is fun. Note the image over this altar. It is a riff on a theme.
If you were building a home chapel, and could pick any image to put above your altar, what image would you choose? pic.twitter.com/xLYO0teoZw
In chessy news, it looks like another chess movie may be coming out, this time based on the huge cheating controversy from the Sinquefield Cup a couple years ago. Magnus Carlson abruptly left the tournament levelling an accusation of cheating against the rather unlikeable Hans Neimann.
Frankly, I am amazed that more chess related movies and shows haven’t been produced lately, given the huge and growing popularity of chess around the world.
Also, The International Chess Federation (FIDE) has invited private bids for the 2024 World Championship. Get this: Minimum total budget $8,500,000, minimum total prize fund $2,500,000, FIDE fee $1,100,000. I dunno. Chess is growing. One of these days large sponsors will get involved, as they have in other sports.
Black to move and mate in 4.
NB: I’ll hold comments with solutions ’till the next day so there won’t be “spoilers” for others.
Chrissue Lulu Helengrace3712
Sjsprunger
Reddog
Nancy F.
Liz1952
Nipper
I was out with priest friends in deepest Queens last night for Chinese food, which is plentifully lacking in Rome. Good Chinese that is. We had a little group that would meet at a place where, after they got to know us and with a little encouragement and forewarning, would give us the real thing rather than what is usually served in Italy. Anyway, no problem with that in Queens.
First things first. Xiao long bao aka Shanghai soup dumplings.
I used to go to a place, often, not too far from LGA, called Kung Fu Xiao Long Bao. The logo was great. They had about the best XLB I’ve ever had. Then COVID Theatre struck and they turned over, redecorated in the most appalling taste, added deeply stupid items like chocolate XLB and ruined the menu while providing mediocre food with a hint of undeserved pretention. I mourn the loss of the old place.
Really spicy hot cumin lamb. Not as good as China Cafe on 37th, but satisfying. I did feel a bit for my dining companions. Until the capsicum did its thing, they endured with a measure of surprise.
Eggplant with garlic sauce was a hit. It had some sweetness. I suspect the addition of a little honey.
Singapore noodles. I was underwhelmed. This needed more “goodies” in it.
Twice cooked pork. On the salty side, but a true and pleasing contrast to the sweetness of the eggplant.
You can see an edge of the chicken with vegetables.
Nice people! Great service!
A nice supper with great conversation. It was nice to have a change of palate.
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I have to brag a little. I had an online game against one of the chess.com 2000 rated bots. This is what happened.
Pippo the Florist. If you visit Rome, and you go the Campo de’ Fiori during the day, stop at Pippo’s get some flowers for your hotel room, and say “Hi!” from “don John”.
Hey! s*****41@nc.rr.com My thank you note got kicked back as undeliverable. New email?
Meanwhile, white to move and mate in 2. Honestly, how long did it take for you to solve this (if you did)? It took me a couple minutes get it down to 2. I got three pretty fast, but that’s not the puzzle!
#2 1. Bb6 axb6 2. Qa8#
Nice people! Great service!
NB: I’ll hold comments with solutions ’till the next day so there won’t be “spoilers” for others.
Interested in learning? Try THIS. In fact, I had an email that one of you readers did, in fact, try something from Remote Chess Academy. Thanks for using my link. This fellow is a good teacher. He has helped my game in several ways.
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In chessy news… in Malmo, in a tournament I am not following, there are several players and some of them are winning and some of them are drawing and some of them are losing. That’s about it. However, there is an article at chess.com today about openings with black for beginners that some of you might want to check out. HERE
I am now also a chess.com affiliate. Sign up! Maybe we can get something going. I’m especially interested in priestly chess players.
Now that I am back in these USA – where the next summer of stupid seems to be warming up, I can at least share something of the non-Italian fare I’ve happily engaged since disembarking.
Firstly, whereas there was practically nobody in lines at FCO in Rome, there were vast throngs in the lines at JFK for passports, etc. Since indicated waits of over an hour. Happily I was able to into a different line and go through rapidly. Whew.
Then, an old return- Stateside custom was observed. Cheeseburger. Yup.
Meanwhile, in Rome, the sun rose at 06:02 and set at 20:13.
The Ave Maria Bell would have run, if it were rung, at 20:30.
It was the Feast of St. Athanasius, Bishop and Doctor (+373).
There is an interesting piece – interesting because it was in the first place written and published – from the AP about the shift among younger Catholics to “conservative” and even – gasp – traditional ways. HERE
‘A step back in time’: America’s Catholic Church sees an immense shift toward the old ways
The title doesn’t capture the reality. The shift toward “the old ways” is really a step forward into the future.
Much of the article seeks to fill in the background for readers not so well informed. The meat of it, however, is going to irritate quite a few of those who hold the positions of power in the US Church and perhaps also in Rome.
The fact is, and this article points to this reality, that there is a vast demographic sink hole opening up under the Church. I’ve written and warned about this for many years now. In the end, there was be a few strong identity groups left active in the Church. They will, of necessity and survival for institutions, find each other and integrate. While there will be some frictions to work out, I believe the result could be amazing.
It will be amazing, in fact. This is precisely why some who hold power in the Church are desperately trying to stomp the life out of one of these strong identity groups: those who adhere to the Church’s Tradition. In fact, it is this group that will provide the solid foundation for everything that will survive the inexorable slide into the sink hole and the collapse of many Church entities. What I have, in the past, called “The Biological Solution”, that is, the ever-ticking clock, is changing the landscape around the and within the sinkhole. The article points this out with a couple of quotes, including one from a priest of my native place who used to address us in seminary: “They say they’re trying to restore what us old guys ruined.”
And they sure did. The ruin they brought about was devastating. But emergence from the ruin is not only possible, it is happening. Think of the redecoration (at quite an expense) of wrekovated churches (which our forebears paid for with sweat and money) just to implement a modernist agenda woven from systematic lying and brutal clericalist oppression.
There are signs of life, indeed. But there is still oppression. It’ll take awhile longer, but “Change is gonna come”, as Sam Cooke once sang.
I invite you to read the article and comment on it.
In my opinion, his wonderful blog should be left intact. Also, if there are such capabilities through Blogger, it should be downloaded and preserved.
In your charity, please pray for his soul and for his family members and friends.
Requiescat.
He will not be forgotten. Requiem aeternam dona eum, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eum.Very sad news: Fr John Hunwicke of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, died on Tuesday. A man of wit and scholarship, 'fortes in fide', and a great support to the work of@latinmassuk… pic.twitter.com/prodBm3L6c
At 06:04 the sun rose over Rome. At 20:02 the sun will sink past the horizon.
The Ave Maria Bell…. poor thing… 20:30.
Thank you, Lord, for this 122nd day of this year of Salvation.
It is the Feast of St Jeremiah the Old Testament Prophet. St Joseph the worker displaced Sts. Philip and James, Apostles. The Month of May is dedicated to Mary.
The Mary altar in church was beautiful today.
Also, it had the only image of St. Joseph in the church. From now on there will always be fresh flowers from Pippo in the Campo de’ Fiori.
On the way to the airport this morning, I spotted this jasmine in Trastevere near Santa Dorotea.
There was virtually nobody in lines at check in or security. I strolled through, practically.
From curb to lounge in maybe 20 minutes. And they have some decent offerings. The French oven is even Le Creuset.
We will board another half hour or so. Very little traffic today since it is “labor day”. No lines. Decent lounge. So far so good.
My mention of a “minor exorcism” the other day prompted a minor flood of email questions. Some of them deal with how people today seem to see or imagine exorcisms.
I answered a question a while back along these lines, which I repost now for your opportune knowledge.
From a reader….
QUAERITUR:
I saw the really good posts that Father Tim Finigan and Father John Hunwicke put on their blogs and the comments. Why, Father Z, do you think people today freak out so much over the idea of exorcisms? It’s like their brains shut down.
You ask a good question.
I’ll open with this.
It is obvious to me that performing exorcisms should be one of the most normal and natural things that priests do. We are constantly at war with the world, the flesh and the Devil. Demons are relentless. Priests aren’t ordained to be “nice guys” or to be “facilitators” or “administrators”. Priests are ordained, first and foremost, to offer the Sacrifice of Calvary and administer the sacraments. Priests are ordained to forgive sins. Priests are ordained to intercede in prayer. Priests are ordained to bless and to reconcile, to purify and to protect from spiritual harm. Yes, priests are also ordained to teach and to govern or administer the goods of the Church. Fine. BUT… others can do that too, whereas only priests can consecrate and bless and exorcise as priests, as alter Christus.
So, I say again, it seems to me the most normal of activities for priests to exorcise and to bless people, places and things. It is the common and ordinary work of the common, ordinary priest and it shouldn’t raise an eyebrow.
Except for today, a time infected with the eroding virus of modernist immanentism, the tendency to reduce the supernatural to the natural.
This modernist, immanentist prevailing tendency, accounts for part of the negative reactions of some to the concept of exorcism.
The post-Conciliar Church pretty much abandoned the use of our rites and blessings which require exorcisms before blessings, consecrations or sacraments are administered. Slowly but surely – because we are our rites – the loss of familiarity with the two-stage process of sanctifying has lead to fear. And this fear is rooted in the fact that such rites bring us into contact with, remind us of the reality of, mystery, the mystery with power to transform. That’s, ultimately, what the traditional rites were designed and polished to accomplish: bring people into transformative contact with God, who is mystery. And the purpose of that, ultimately, is to prepare us for death, to help us deal with fear of death.
That little ramble is a preamble to more.
The part about exorcism before blessings, etc. needs more electrons. Here are a few examples of the pattern of purification before sanctification that was so much a part of the Roman way of offering sacred worship to God.
Nota bene: To get this at all, you must first believe that the Enemy, the Devil, exists, is a personal being, legion, malicious and relentless in trying to keep souls from God and the bliss of heaven. The diabolical enemy, demons, fallen angels, can attach themselves to places, things and people because they are summoned explicitly or because certain sins summoned them and then “permitted”, in a kind of legalistic sense, them to attach. The Lord Himself talks about the “Prince of this world” (John 12:12; 14:30; 16:11), who is the Devil and the Enemy of the soul. Since the fall of our First Parents, the Enemy dominates the created cosmos. Exorcism breaks the hold of the enemy. Blessings and consecrations then rededicate the freed, place, person, or thing to the King.
This isn’t pretend. This is real.
In the traditional rite of baptism, the one to be baptized is, before anything else, exorcized. The Enemy is commanded to depart from the person. Salt which has been exorcised and then blessed is placed in the person’s mouth. There is an explicit exorcism that must be in Latin. There is another exorcism upon entrance to the baptistry. After the renunciation of Satan, then and only then is the one to be baptized anointed with Oil of Catechumens. Actually baptism follows after another interrogation. The whole rite shows the Church’s understanding of how the Enemy exercises a domination over the material cosmos and has a kind of claim on it because of the Fall.
I mentioned the exorcism and blessing of salt. Many things, before they are blessed, are first to be exorcized. Holy Water is a good example. In the traditional rite, salt is exorcized and then blessed, then water is exorcized and then blessed. They are combined with a Trinitarian form and the solution blessed again. In the exorcism the priest addresses the salt and the water as if they are sentient creatures: I exorcize you, O creature of salt… creature of water…. This was standard practice in all sacristies on Sundays before the principle Mass when there was to be an Asperges or Vidi Aquam. Take away these rites, and priests themselves slowly but surely start to forget about the Enemy and the constant spiritual warfare being waged for our souls, the reason why we have sacramentals. St. Benedict medals, by the way, are also exorcized and addressed as “you”.
In the rite of consecration of a church, again there are exorcisms before blessings. Outside the church the bishop exorcizes on three levels, each with a procession around the building, twice counter-clockwise and once clockwise, then entering the church the process is repeated. After the exorcisms come the blessings of the floor and walls and eventually the altar. The exorcisms are performed before the people are admitted to the church. An echo of this could be found in the Offertory rite at Holy Mass in the traditional form. The incense is blessed with a special blessing that invokes the one who bound Satan with the chain, St. Michael the Archangel and all of his elect. Then the thurible is swung over the host and chalice, twice counter-clockwise and once clockwise, before the altar is incensed on three levels, above to the back, to sides and the front and beneath. That blessing and that process, that echoes the tearing of things away from the Enemy and their consecration, was eliminated from the Novus Ordo.
Speaking of the traditional Holy Mass, before the Gospel, the priest or deacon says two prayers. The first prayer begs for the cleansing of the lips and heart invoking the image of the angel who brought the burning coal to Isaiah’s mouth before he was given the prophetic office. After that first prayer, then the second prayer, which was kept in the Novus Ordo, is said. It includes the request for the blessing. First, purification. Then, blessing. If these things are eliminated from the Mass, over time priests simply are unaware not just of the details of the rites, but the concepts behind them. Their identity is eroded or never enriched with them in the first place. That, in itself, is reason enough for every single seminarian to be taught how to say the Traditional Latin Mass.
One of the reasons why, in the confessional, you ask the priest for his blessing before making your confession is to bind the Enemy so that he or they won’t attack and distract from your making a good and complete confession. This is something confessors should know and do: quietly say a minor exorcism of some kind as penitents enter and bless them as they begin.
Moving into our contemporary context, imagine a clergy and the vast majority of lay people who still think about their Catholic Faith at all, who have been systematically and purposely deprived of catechesis about and exposure through ritual to concepts like exorcisms.
Then, all of a sudden, they hear about such things.
There could be a little bit of embarrassed titillation or perhaps unaccountable fear, either of the unfamiliar (maybe with some guilt because they know they ought to know about it) or else because oppressing demons are prompting their worst impulses to shun the holy. The more violent reactions are probably due to the latter: demonic influence.
A couple more things about exorcisms. Here is an interesting fact.
Have you ever been to Rome? If you have been, surely you visited St. Peter’s Basilica and have walked in the Square. In the center of the piazza is a mighty obelisk. It had once been the spina or center point of the Circus of Gaius Caligula, where Peter was martyred. In the time of Sixtus V it was moved to the center of the piazza as part of a project both to rearrange the medieval and ancient pathways for the sake of traffic, city planning, but also to reclaim ancient pagan civic objects away from the demons attached to them and turn them over to God. Thus at important points in his city plan he erected ancient columns with statues of saints, etc. The St. Peter’s obelisk got special treatment. Sixtus himself exorcised it, carved a cross into it, went around it and threw holy water on it to bless it and put a bronze cap with a Cross on the top that contains a fragment of the Cross, the bronze reminiscent of the brazen serpent in the wilderness. On the base supporting the obelisk, on the sides, left and right as you face it and the basilica, are inscriptions about who put it there, etc. On the front and back, however, there are Latin inscriptions taken from the … wait for it… rite of exorcism. Any priest who has ever recited Chapter 3 of Title XI of the Rituale Romanum, known sometimes as the “longer St. Michael prayer”, instantly recognizes the lines.
ECCE CRUX DOMINI – FUGITE PARTES ADVERSAE – VICIT LEO DE TRIBU IUDA
Behold the Cross of the Lord – Let the Enemy flee – The Lion of the Tribe of Judah is victorious.
The obelisk, once a pagan thing and an object of demons, stands now like a exorcising sentinel before the basilica where the tomb of the Apostle is, where countless pilgrims come. And if you have spent time in Rome, especially around St. Peter’s, you see a lot of strange things happen as some people approach that obelisk.
Frankly, the exorcism of the obelisk should be renewed now that a ritual object of a demonic idol cult was placed on the altar over the bones of Peter. But I digress.
Speaking of Title XI Chapter 3 of the Roman Ritual, a couple things. First, it is possible for priests to recite this privately. It is more efficacious with the permission of the bishop, when it can also be recited publicly. If priests want recordings of the Latin, see HERE.
It is often explained that while Chapter 2 is the full, big, exorcism rite for people, Chapter 3 is more about places and things. While that is true, Chapter 3 also concerns people. There are references to people within the rite. They are right there in black and white. Moreover, those references are surely in there because there were sects doing the Devil’s work against the Church in the political sphere.
In any event, it seems to me that people “freak out” at the idea that priests might be doing exorcisms because they fear what they – victims of the prevailing immanentism – don’t understand, they feel guilt because they know they should understand it and believe it (and don’t), and because they are being prompted by demons who have got their claws into them.
Some people do not realize that many figures of the Old Testament are considered saints by the Catholic Church. They are not celebrated on our main liturgical calendar but they are in the Roman Martyrology, which is one of our official liturgical books.
Today is not only the feast of St. Joseph the worker, but also the feast of the prophet Jeremiah.
Here is the text of the 2005 MartRom, which I will leave to you readers to work through animi caussa (just for fun)!
Commemoratio sancti Ieremiae, prophetae, qui, tempore Ioachim et Sedeciae, regum Iudae, Civitatis Sanctae eversionem populique deportationem monens, multas persecutiones passus est, quam ob rem Ecclesia eum habuit ut Christi patientis figuram. Novum aeternumque insuper Testamentum in ipso Christo Iesu consummandum praenuntiavit, quo Pater omnipotens legem suam in imo filiorum Israel corde scriberet, ut esset ipse iis in Deum et essent illi ei in populum.
My final full day in Rome is also the final day of April. The sun rose at 6:05. It will set at 20:10, to chase the cycle of the Ave Maria Bell, which, like a tease, is to be rung – but won’t be – at 20:30.
In the Vetus Ordo today we celebrate S. Catherine of Siena, virgin and doctrix. In the Novus, we celebrate Pope St. Pius V (+1 May 1572) whose body is in the Sistine Chapel of S. Maria Maggiore. It is also the Feast of St. Quirinus, Martyr (s. III) and St. Peter the Levite (+605).
From one of the little churches I stepped into yesterday. S. Nicola di Bari. It had been a Dominican place, as the art at the side altars suggested (St Thomas Aquinas, etc.). This was way up above the little organ in the loft.
I am packing, going systematically from one end of the place to the other, tidying, readying things for storage, sorting for disposal. Tonight, my “carrellino” will go back to its waiting place. I’ll finalize my dishes and leftovers, probably have a walk, and try to get to bed a little early.
Welcome registrant:
Helengrace3712
HEY! a*****.w****@erickson.com My thank you note to you got kicked back with an “undeliverable” message. Did you update your email? Let me know!
Yesterday I ran a couple of errands in the afternoon, including a stop at a couple of clerical shops and a phone place.
Can you identity these?
I determined that I was going to have filetti di baccalà yesterday, deep fried reconstituted cod. I hadn’t been for quite a while. This is a classic place. They have a small menu and they do quite a bit of take away.
To order take away, go to the very back, to the kitchen.
They needed hotter oil, I think. Deep frying is tricky. They could do better.
I also got some puntarelle.
Summary: Come here if you want a taste of Roman Friday of Lent. Otherwise, run, don’t walk… to a better place. This ain’t what it used to be. The puntarelle were fresh but the dressing was not inspiring. I was able to dress it up a bit at home. The filetti… waaaaay to salty. It may have been an off evening. However, my desire for filetti – from that place – has been slaked for the next 10 years or so. Too bad. I used to enjoy them.
Someone should open up a place and give them competition. Seriously.
In happier news: The Jasmine Report (Not about the Jesuit).
I was walking along a usual route in the evening and suddenly… that distinct smell. Looking on the far side of the bush…
Just in time. It’s like Rome is saying, “AÒ!”
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In chessy news, Magnus Carlsen opined about official world champ Ding Liren, who hasn’t been playing much and who hasn’t done very well.
“The question is whether he is sort of permanently broken from the last world championship that he played. I’m not sure, but I think there is a possibility that he could be,” said Carlsen.
Meanwhile, white to move and mate in 5. 1. Rg7+ Kf7 2. Qe7+ Rf7 3. Rg1+ Kh8 4. Qe5+ Rg7 5. Qxg7# NB: I’ll hold comments with solutions ’till the next day so there won’t be “spoilers” for others.
Benedictine beer makes things better. They have three kinds, not two! Click to learn more.
UPDATE:
Just a little something to make you laugh. They’re serious, but… really?
You couldn't make this up: for "Deaconess Day +plus" in Speyer, Germany—which demands that "all offices in the Church be opened to women"—the Liturgy of the Word was accompanied by clown dancing. Yes: clown dancing! „Clowntheologie“, brought to you by literal clowns…! ? https://t.co/emMS2twhYapic.twitter.com/EGP4MHoM6i
I saw this at the twitter/X of the brilliant Eccles. It made me chuckle. Thanks Eccles. If you are still on Twitter/X definitely follow him. HERE Very funny.
??? ????? ??? ?? ????? ???????? ???????. #????? Round 1, group 5/12. Top 2 go into Round 2. ?????? ???? ?????????, ??? ??????????. Dziwisz / Schmidt / Zuhlsdorf / Brandmüller
Sunrise today was at 0606 and the Tramonta will be at 20:09.
Today the Ave Maria bell changed to the 20:30 cycle yesterday, 28 April. Circumstances didn’t allow me to post.
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I had an interesting experience yesterday, that was a common experience, but an interesting common experience because of the circumstances.
I made a determination to make a renunciation of any and all evil effects of intergenerational masonic influence, which is demonic. Involvement with masonry can “stick” to a family. Demons are legalistic. They claim rights after oaths are taken in the various grades of these masonic organizations. These claims must be broken with formal renunciations. There are texts which express this. It can be done along with the recitation of a minor exorcism by a priest (such as the Minor Exorcism of St Cyprian, which can be done without additional permissions from superiors).
In any event, in the lead up to doing this, I obviously wanted to make a good confession and then say Mass (a layperson would want to go to Mass and receive Communion in the state of grace). These I did yesterday. Later, I was out on an errand. I passed near a church where a seriously disheveled street person was parked, an older man, not unknown in the neighborhood and generally harmless. On seeing me he exploded in screaming all manner of insults with filthy gestures, directed at my being a priest. I kept walking. As I rounded the corner out of sight, I heard a howl like that of some sort of animal. Someone didn’t like my project, I think.
Any priest who has been in Rome for any length of time will have had experiences like this, people saying horrible things, spiting, etc. It’s part of the landscape. In some cases this could be due to mental illness or other factors. In other instances the behavior and what is said is probably due to something else. I add this because this is the first time in the 40 days I have been here that this has happened and it was particularly vile and explosive. Coincidence?
In any event, the renunciation has been effected. I had no special sensation during it. It was aimed at any intergenerational influences from my forebears who may have been involved in one of these demonically driven religions that are “secret” organizations. Of interest was, in the text of the renunciation, the “disconnection” the renunciation was intended to make with physical ailments which are result of curses that are supposed to fall on people in that demonic influence because of the oaths that were made. Principle among the ailments mentioned is something that has been a mortal malady for family members on one side.
The spiritual realm is real. Acts have consequences. Consequences can be generational. Consequences can be physical. If what I did can help both myself and members of my family, close and extended, it’ll have been a good day’s work.
We have SACRAMENTS and the power of Christ acting through his priests.
The Enemy is very good at being an enemy, but in the end he doesn’t stand a chance.
And now the ACTION ITEM! If you have anything in your possession (pun intended) that is a masonic object, symbol, instrument, etc. This includes “Shriners” stuff. You should destroy it by burning or at least breaking and the remains should be put into “living water”, such as a creek or river that is flowing. Any and all of this stuff, no matter from whom you inherited it or found it… gone. Get rid of it. NOW. Furthermore, if you know of masonry in your family tree, or you have been involved, you should do something about it.
NB: I’m NOT saying by that there is surely IS some malevolent attachment. There could be. I was not 100% sure in my case. I decided not to twiddle my thumbs and just did it. Why not?
And …
GO TO CONFESSION!
To think that in S. M sopra Minerva a “versus populo” altar was set up. Looks out of place, no? Am I right?
Today in the Novus Ordo it is the Feast of St. Catherine of Siena. Today, 29 April was her “birthday” in 1380 at the age of 33. In the older calendar, her feast is 30 April.
During her life she carried out a vigorous “apostolate” of letter writing to important people and was a major force in persuading the Pope to return to Rome from Avignon. Speaking of Avignon, please buy wine from the traditional Benedictines of Le Barroux. They have revived the ancient vineyards of the Avignon Popes. There’s a little history in each glass, as it were.
Catherine was dedicated to works of mercy toward the poor. She had a mystical experience, called the “mystical marriage”, which is the frequent subject of medieval and renaissance art.
Catherine had dictated much of her “writings” because for a long while she didn’t know how to write. She eventually did. Her writings are exemplary Tuscan literature of the era.
Her major work is the Dialogue between her soul and God, written mostly in a state of ecstasy.
It is in the Dialogue (ch 124) that we find a passage that I’ve posted several times on this blog, and which should be widely circulated, about how truly disgusting same-sex acts against nature are, how the demons who prompt them and then claim attachment because of them (on the theme of demons attaching), find the acts so contemptible, so offensive to their angelic nature (they are still angels!), will not remain present while they are being committed. One of those posts is HERE.
Catherine is, by the way, a declared Doctor of the Church. When she writes in the Dialogue about something, it is a good idea to pay attention, at the very least.
Catherine’s head is in Siena. Her body is in Rome, in the Dominican church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva.
You can go behind the altar in the church where the back of the altar’s chamber is op. The faithful pray there, touch the tomb, leave messages of petition
Around the block facing the church is the little chapel which was where St Catherine died.
There are also the relics of martyrs here, which I am guessing come from the time when relics from Santa Prassede were distributed among Roman churches in the 1800’s. Just a guess.
“Cheeeeese!”, sister.
This stone is next to the door going into the little chapel. It is talking directly to you, the reader.
Let’s have your perfect and yet smooth version (If you spot a typo or oddo, let me know):
HUMILEM HANC ET PRIMA SUA FRONTE NEGLECTAM DOMUM INGREDI ET INVISERE NE DEDIGNERIS VIATOR UT EIUS MAGNIFICENTIAM AGNOSCAS EO MAGIS ADMIRANDAM QUO MINUS VISITATAM NEC TAM ARTIS MINISTERIO QUAM MAGISTERIO SANCTITATIS ILLUSTREM EA SCILICET DOMUS EST QUAM VIRGO SANCTISSIMA CATHARINA SENENSIS POST REDITUM QUO IPSA EXCITANTE ET SUADENTE IN URBE AVENIONENSI ROMAM SE RETULIT IN SEDEM GREGORIUS VENDECIMUS P. M. ANNO DNI MCCCLXXVI AB OMNIBUS SAECULI CURIS ABSTRACTA SOLIQUE SUO SPONSO IESU DEDITA TRIENNALI REDDIDIT COMMORATIONE PIISSIMAM PLURESQUE HIC ALIA SUE REGULA SANTI DOMINICI DICATAS DEO VIRGINES INTER PRECES ET LACRIMAS BEATORUM DELICIIS DELIBUTAS AD CAELESTEM VITAM SANCTISSIMIS MORUM EXEMPLIS ERUDIENS PRIMA FUNDAMENTA LOCAVIT INCLITI MONASTERII QUOD NUNC NUNC TEMPORIS SUB TITULO SANCTAE CATHERINAE SENENSIS AMPLIOREM IN FORMAM MAIESTATEMQUE EXCITATUM ROMANAE NOBILITATIS LILIA IN MONTI BALNEOPOLITANI CLIVO VERNANTIA INTER RELIGIOSAE VITAE SPINAS ILLIBATA CUM FAMA CUSTODIT HIC DEMUM TRIENNIO ELAPSO REGNANTE URBANO SEXTO ANNO DNI MCCCLXXX URBI ORBI CAELOQUE CHARISSIMA SANCTISSIMAMA ANIMAM INTER SPONSI IESU OSCULA EXHALAVIT IN PAUPERE DOMO SACRIS OMNIBUS VIRGINIBUS OPULENTISSIMAM RELINQUENS PRAECEPTIS ET MORIBUS SANCTIFICATIS HAEREDITATEM TANTA HAEC PIETATIS VESTIGIA MORTIS VIM IMMORTALITATE VICTURA PRONO ANIMI CULTU VENERARE VIATOR ET ABI.
It’s quite lovely.
Yesterday, I was out with The Great Roman™ for some lunch, which featured a couple of starters to share.
Fried anchovies.
Caponata. It has been some time since I’ve made my own caponata. I’ll have to do so when I get “home”. This batch was quite good.
In chessy news, not much to say. There is a tournament going on in Sweden. I see that Peter Svidler defeated Ju Wenjun, the women’s world champ.
Meanwhile, here’s a good one. White to move and mate in 3. Can you find it? If so, how long did it take?
Nice people! Great service!
NB: I’ll hold comments with solutions ’till the next day so there won’t be “spoilers” for others.
As we journey from the passion and Easter toward Ascension and Pentecost, the Church in Holy Mass leads us through meditations on the fruits of the Resurrection and our baptism. Our mysterious procession was made possible by the Cross. Our Collect today, for the 5th Sunday of Easter in the Ordinary Form calendar, is a delightful little piece of polished oratory.
It also has the Cross at its core.
Deus, per quem nobis et redemptio venit et praestatur adoptio, filios dilectionis tuae benignus intende, ut in Christo credentibus et vera tribuatur libertas, et hereditas aeterna.
This prayer, not in pre-Conciliar editions of the Roman Missal, was in the ancient Gelasian Sacramentary in a section for evening prayers during Paschaltide. Its vocabulary suggests Patristic sources (e.g., Hilary of Poitiers, de trin 6, 44; Ambrose of Milan, ep 9, 65, 5).
Note the lovely chiasms (from the Greek letter chi, which looks like a “X”): redemptio venit…praestatur adoptio (subject verb – verb subject … and note that the endings of the subjects match) and vera libertas…hereditas aeterna (adjective noun – noun adjective). These rhetorical flourishes are intended to delight the ear and help us link concepts within the text. A chiasm is mapped out as
A B X
B A
The Cross is embedded in the prayer’s very structure.
LITERAL VERSION:
O God, from whom both redemption comes to us and adoption is fulfilled for us, kindly give attention to your beloved children, so that both true freedom and an everlasting inheritance may be bestowed on those believing in Christ.
We pray for the freedom that is true, not the false and deceptive freedom of those enslaved to the world, the flesh and the devil… or false mercy, which fogs over the truth deceiving people smoothly. We want an inheritance which is lasting, eternal, not passing.
CURRENT ICEL (2011):
O God, by whom we are redeemed and receive adoption, look graciously upon your beloved sons and daughters, that those who believe in Christ may receive true freedom and an everlasting inheritance.
Christ is the Father’s Son by His nature (He is consubstantial with the Father). We are sons and daughters by grace (conferred through baptism).
Our adoption through grace is “perfect” (perfecta). It is complete (perficio, “bring to an end or conclusion, finish, complete”). God the Holy Trinity puts the imperishable mark upon us in baptism and confirmation. Nevertheless, our redemption and adoption, our freedom and inheritance, will only be completed and ratified as such if we persevere throughout our lives and, having died in a state of grace, having died in the supernatural love which is charity, we see God face to face.
Today’s Collect has its foundation certainly in the New Testament’s imagery of adoption (Ephesians 1:5, Romans 8:15, Galatians 4:5), but I think it also flows out of ancient Roman legal concepts of manumission and adoption, the freeing of slaves and the adoption of heirs.
In ancient Rome even a father’s natural children required his recognition before they were legally legitimate and heirs with any rights. Adoption could grant those same rights and privileges. Roman adoptio removed a person from one familia and put him into another, placing him under the authority of the paterfamilias, the head of the family and whole household.
By baptism and the life of grace, we are not only freed from the slavery of sin and death, but we undergo an adoption.
We are not merely former slaves, we are free members of the Church and sons and daughters of God.
No longer subject to Satan and destined for hell, we are now under new mastership and fatherhood of God.
Our prayer today also underscores the concepts of redemption and adoption, together with freedom and inheritance. This too is reflected within the Collect, in another pattern of words called synchesis (A-B-A-B) useful for showing how one set of concepts reveals the relationship of another set.
The subjects of the Collect are found in this order:
Freedom is the result of redemption, inheritance the result of adoption.
This week we have connections and interconnections of words. The phrases and patterns they make weave in and out of each other. It seems to me that this whole collect provides a good reflection on how deeply intertwined are the effects of the resurrection. And – the Cross – makes this all possible.
redemptio ↔ adoptio (A – A)
⤡ ⤢
⇵ dilectio ⇵
⤢ ⤡ libertas ↔ hereditas (B – B)
And even as the Cross over-weaves the prayer, in the very heart we find dilectio, “love”.
Too many people today are without good, strong preaching, to the detriment of all. Share the good stuff.
Was there a GOOD point made in the sermon you heard at your Mass of obligation for the 4th Sunday Sunday after Easter? Novus Ordo – 5th Sunday of Easter.
Tell about attendance especially for the Traditional Latin Mass.
[H]ow would the “good of the Church” genuinely and certainly be advanced by the removal of the confirmation slap, certainly one of the more famous elements and most memorable of the rite? Next, did that removable represent an organic development? The confirmation slap had been around since at least the 13th century when the liturgical writer William Durandus (+1296) wrote about it. ….
Has the witness to the Faith in the public square by Catholics been easily recognizable in those who would have been confirmed after, say, 1971? There is no question that a web of social and ecclesial issues over the last 50 years has shaped, or misshapen, Catholics. But have we been acting like a body of confirmed believers in the face of challenges from the world, the flesh and the Devil?
Let’s remember all who are ill, who will die soon, who have died recently, who have lost their jobs, who are afraid.
I get many requests by email asking for prayers. Some are heart-achingly grave and urgent.
As long as my blog reaches so many readers in so many places, let’s give each other a hand. We should support each other in works of mercy.
If you have some prayer requests, feel free to post them below.
You have to be registered here to be able to post.
In your kindness continue prayers for my mother, who has been diagnosed with something grave and incurable. Please pray for me. Lot’s of decisions coming.
Also, I heard that Fr. John Hunwicke of the marvelous blog Mutual Enrichment (sophisticated and amusing) is not doing well. In your kindness, please stop and say a prayer for him as well.
As my days here dwindle in number, they lengthen by about 2 and a half minutes daily. On this 118th day of the year the sun rose upon Rome at 06:09, according to the curial calendar. It will set at 20:07.
The Ave Maria Bell remains in its 20:15 cycle.
In the traditional calendar we celebrate St. Peter Canisius, Doctor of the Church.
I have a line on an apartment…. in my same building. Pray.
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Delphine C.
I left you, yesterday, with views of the preparation of the spaghetti alle vongole. Now, the finishing touches for the sake of being complete.
Having ignored their pleas for mercy, into the boiling bath they went wherein their pitiful cries were inexorably overwhelmed and silenced. I had for a while simmered down some white wine and veg broth with several smashed cloves of garlic and the stalks of parsley I would chop for the final plating. You want enough liquid, hot, so that it remains hot upon the addition of all those shells.
Having extracted the clams I finished the half cooked pasta in the same juice.
Ecco. Reassembled.
I’m working through my little list of final errands. I found something for Mother’s Day, which is coming up. I am also investigating getting a new phone for the sake of even better Rome photos next time (October/November… if not before). I learned that the version of the iPhone 15 here in Italy still has a slot for a physical sim. You can use both physical and esims. The US versions have only esims. Also, here all the phones are “unlocked”, unlike in the US where they are all locked to a company except by paying an “eye out of your head” as the phrase goes in Rome. I don’t make snap decisions, however. It is still a pretty hefty expense, but a “working” expense. At some point I have to upgrade… and maybe change US carriers.
I went this morning on the hunt for reliquaries. I have reason to obtain a nice pair of good sized units, for the sake of what I hope will be coming soon. Here are some small ones. Usually you can’t just walk into a store and find lines of reliquaries… except in Rome.
Meanwhile, this guy is delivering firewood to the local pizza places near the Campo de’ Fiori.
Alas, the wood won’t be used in a certain traditional way at the center of the Campo. 🎶 I have a little list. 🎶
I have an apron, too, which I keep here in Rome, given to me by a distinguished canonist.
You can get one of those t-shirts, btw, from my swag store. It has the Memorare in many languages on the back, to be recited daily for the overturning of a certain cruel act.
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For lunch, caprese. So simple. So good. Thank you, Lord, for this day.
A good ball of mozzarella will ooze when you press or cut into it.
Meanwhile, in cheesy news…. In Malmö, Sweden The TePe Sigeman & Co tournament underway. It is an 8-player single round-robin featuring. Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Arjun Erigaisi, Vincent Keymer and women’s world champion Ju Wenjun along with defending champion Peter Svidler. I like that Ju Wenjun is in the mix with the men.
Black to move and mate in 3.
Nice people! Great service!
NB: I’ll hold comments with solutions ’till the next day so there won’t be “spoilers” for others.
Remember the Summit Dominican’s. Visit their shop. And you can perhaps find courses to begin or to improve your chess game, which all of you should be doing.
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“This blog is like a fusion of the Baroque ‘salon’ with its well-tuned harpsichord around which polite society gathered for entertainment and edification and, on the other hand, a Wild West “saloon” with its out-of-tune piano and swinging doors, where everyone has a gun and something to say. Nevertheless, we try to point our discussions back to what it is to be Catholic in this increasingly difficult age, to love God, and how to get to heaven.” – Fr. Z
Woody on Omnium gatherum: “Father Anderson’s discussion of the royal passion bearers is here: https://instituteofcatholicculture.org/events/st-nicholas-the-passion-bearers”
linux_geek on Fr John Hunwicke – R.I.P.: “Building on what @iamlucky13 mentioned, it looks like Archive.org does have most of the site indexed – over 10k urls…”
chantgirl on Fr John Hunwicke – R.I.P.: “Prayers for his soul, and tears for the loss of such a priest.. He was a bright light.”
anthtan on Daily Rome Shot 1011 – Brooklyn 24/4– Day 2: ““Singapore noodles”. Interesting. You won’t them on sale *anywhere* in Singapore though. Read somewhere that they were invented in Hong…”
Everyone, work to get this into your parish bulletins and diocesan papers.
The most evident mark of God’s anger and the most terrible castigation He can inflict upon the world are manifested when He permits His people to fall into the hands of clerics who are priests more in name than in deed, priests who practice the cruelty of ravening wolves rather than the charity and affection of devoted shepherds.
St. John Eudes
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“Until the Lord be pleased to settle, through the instrumentality of the princes of the Church and the lawful ministers of His justice, the trouble aroused by the pride of a few and the ignorance of some others, let us with the help of God endeavor with calm and humble patience to render love for hatred, to avoid disputes with the silly, to keep to the truth and not fight with the weapons of falsehood, and to beg of God at all times that in all our thoughts and desires, in all our words and actions, He may hold the first place who calls Himself the origin of all things.”
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“He [Satan] will set up a counter-Church which will be the ape of the Church because, he the devil, is the ape of God. It will have all the notes and characteristics of the Church, but in reverse and emptied of its divine content. It will be a mystical body of the anti-Christ that will in all externals resemble the mystical body of Christ. In desperate need for God, whom he nevertheless refuses to adore, modern man in his loneliness and frustration will hunger more and more for membership in a community that will give him enlargement of purpose, but at the cost of losing himself in some vague collectivity.”
“Who is going to save our Church? Not our bishops, not our priests and religious. It is up to you, the people. You have the minds, the eyes, and the ears to save the Church. Your mission is to see that your priests act like priests, your bishops act like bishops.”
“The modern habit of doing ceremonial things unceremoniously is no proof of humility; rather it proves the offender's inability to forget himself in the rite, and his readiness to spoil for every one else the proper pleasure of ritual.”
- C.S. Lewis
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As for Latin…
"But if, in any layman who is indeed imbued with literature, ignorance of the Latin language, which we can truly call the 'catholic' language, indicates a certain sluggishness in his love toward the Church, how much more fitting it is that each and every cleric should be adequately practiced and skilled in that language!" - Pius XI
"Let us realize that this remark of Cicero (Brutus 37, 140) can be in a certain way referred to [young lay people]: 'It is not so much a matter of distinction to know Latin as it is disgraceful not to know it.'" - St. John Paul II
Grant unto thy Church, we beseech Thee, O merciful God, that She, being gathered together by the Holy Ghost, may be in no wise troubled by attack from her foes. O God, who by sin art offended and by penance pacified, mercifully regard the prayers of Thy people making supplication unto Thee,and turn away the scourges of Thine anger which we deserve for our sins. Almighty and Everlasting God, in whose Hand are the power and the government of every realm: look down upon and help the Christian people that the heathen nations who trust in the fierceness of their own might may be crushed by the power of thine Arm. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. R. Amen.
This is really useful when travelling… and also when you aren’t and you need backup internet NOW! I use this for my DMR “Zednet” hotspot when I’m mobile. It’s a ham radio thing.
If you travel internationally, this is a super useful gizmo for your mobile internet data. I use one. If you get one through my link, I get data rewards.
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