Traditions

I discovered from Brigitta yesterday that NUS has an anthem! Really?! Six years here and I wasn't aware of this... We have no traditions at all! The closest thing to a tradition is Rag and Flag...

Notre Dame University on the other hand:


In one of the most spectacular displays of school tradition, the trumpets of the Band of the Fighting Irish gather under the Golden Dome (the Main Building) one hour before kick-off on home game days and play "Notre Dame Our Mother," and "The Notre Dame Victory March" to a standing-room only crowd.







Here come the Irish of Notre Dame!

Marvellous!

Chivalry

A nice poster featured by J.P. Sonnen

Admired by the popes

Quote via J.P. Sonnen:

"The most unusual summons to an audience came one night while dining with some priest friends in the Hotel Bernini of Rome. A telephone call about nine-thirty in the evening brought the message that 'Pope John XXIII wants to see you.' I thought at first it was a joke, but I decided that once I went to the Vatican at that hour, I would soon find out the truth. On arrival, the Swiss Guard said: 'Hurry up! His Holiness wants to see you.' As I was ushered into his presence, he said: 'I hope that I did not disturb you at this hour! But I just wanted to give you a gift.' He presented me with a topaz episcopal ring and a pectoral cross: 'Now put them in your pocket and hide them for the moment. I do not want to make other bishops envious.'"

-Treasure in Clay by Archbishop Sheen.

Happy birthday Sister

What a cute, sweet old nun.



H/T Mattthew Archbold.

Who's being passive-aggressive now?

A particularly hilarious intro.

Please Say This at My Funeral

Brigitta reminded me of a gem of a blog-post by CMR and I had to hunt it down just now and store it here for future reference:

I attended a funeral recently of a man I used to work with. Something happened there that got me thinking. I can't tell you how many Catholic funerals I've been to where I was assured that the deceased was with God in Heaven. And I wonder, why do we say this.

Here's the thing. Those in Purgatory need prayers. Lots of them. So we need people to pray, not be assured that their loved one is in Heaven.

Why do we take the players off the field just when they're needed? Here's what I want you guys to say at my funeral:

Matt Archbold was fairly despicable at times. He was meaner than he was kind, proud of his humility, and not all that nice to his family or friends. Vain. Sarcastic. Selfish. While these may be qualites of a good blogger, they do not bode well for sainthood.

We have no reason to suspect that Matt Archbold is in Heaven. In fact, I'd just about guarantee he's not. If God in his infinite mercy somehow allowed Matthew to enter Purgatory it would be a reflection of His mercy rather than any attributes Matt evidenced throughout his life.

Read the rest here.

Murder!

I got this photo from Farah on FB.

The number of crows is mind blowing - quite apocalyptic!



Photograph by Jamie Zarza, My Shot

And - I just discovered that the collective noun refering to a group of crows is murder, as in 'a murder of crows.'

And I also learned that it's 'a sleuth of bears'. What a funny language we have!

The Church's One Foundation

I love this hymn.

Elect from every nation,
yet one o'er all the earth,
her charter of salvation,
one Lord, one faith, one birth;
one holy Name she blesses,
partakes one holy food,
and to one hope she presses,
with every grace endued.

The Church's one foundation
is Jesus Christ her Lord;
she is his new creation,
by water and the word:
from heaven he came and sought her
to be his holy bride;
with his own blood he bought her,
and for her life he died.

Elect from every nation,
yet one o'er all the earth,
her charter of salvation,
one Lord, one faith, one birth;
one holy Name she blesses,
partakes one holy food,
and to one hope she presses,
with every grace endued.

Though with a scornful wonder
men see her sore oppressed,
by schisms rent asunder,
by heresies distressed;
yet saints their watch are keeping,
their cry goes up, "How long?"
and soon the night of weeping
shall be the morn of song.

Mid toil and tribulation,
and tumult of her war
she waits the consummation
of peace for evermore;
till with the vision glorious
her longing eyes are blessed,
and the great Church victorious
shall be the Church at rest.

Yet she on earth hath union
with God, the Three in one,
and mystic sweet communion
with those whose rest is won.
O happy ones and holy!
Lord, give us grace that we
like them, the meek and lowly,
on high may dwell with thee.

---

Words: Samuel John Stone, 1868 Music: Aurelia, Somerstown, Llanfyllin 

The rise and fall of Borders

I read today that Borders has filed for bankruptcy. I did read, an year or so ago, that Borders was struggling, but the news is still quite startling. And so sad. I wonder what the impact will be in Singapore. I love the Borders HQ and Wheelock Place.

Here's a history of Borders from

1971: Brothers Tom and Louis Borders open an 800-square-foot used bookstore called Borders Book Shop at 211 S. South State St. in Ann Arbor.

1970s: Louis Borders develops a software system that allows the store to manage inventory and accurately project sales, giving Borders a competitive advantage that lasted at least two decades.

to

Feb. 16, 2011: Borders files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection with plans to close 30 percent of its stores.

A Prayer to the Blessed Virgin – never known to fail

O most beautiful flower of Mount Carmel, faithful Mother of the Son of God, Immaculate Virgin, assist me in this necessity. O Star of the Sea, help me and show me herein thou art my Mother. O Holy Mary, Mother of God, Queen of Heaven and Earth, I humbly beseech Thee from the bottom of my heart to succour me in this necessity. (Make your request).

There are none that can withstand Thy power.

O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us (repeat three times)

I thank Thee for Thy mercy towards me and mine.

Our Lady of Mt Carmel statue from the 

Carmelite Church of Buen Suceso, Seville, Spain. (Source)

The simple and beautiful joys of a child

Home, home on the Range

Excellent :)

Book report...thesis...

Calling Mom

:)

You have other choices

Choices that preserve the precious life within you.

A mother who refused to abort her unborn baby after discovering she had leukaemia, has stunned doctors by giving birth to a healthy baby girl.

Victoria Webster, 33, was diagnosed with cancer during a routine blood test when she was 21 weeks pregnant.

Medics pleaded with her to have a late termination so she could start on a course of life-saving chemotherapy - but warned the medication would kill her unborn daughter.

No regrets: Victoria Webster with her husband Martyn, son Lewis aged 4 and Jessica aged 9 months. She is responding well to cancer treatment

No regrets: Victoria Webster with her husband Martyn, son Lewis aged 4 and Jessica aged 9 months. She is responding well to cancer treatment

The mother-of-two decided to keep her baby, and delay her treatment - and incredibly, she is now on the road to recovery after giving birth to a healthy baby girl.

Mrs Webster from Birmingham, said: 'My doctor told me I needed to make a choice and decide whether I should keep my baby.

'To me, there was no decision to make. I had already bonded with my baby while she was growing inside me and as her mum, I had to protect her.

'Doctors kept telling me I should have a termination - but I had made up my mind, and my husband Martyn supported me.

'It's the best decision I have ever made. I can't imagine my life without my daughter.
Since having Jessica last April, I've had a course of chemo and I'm beating leukaemia.'

Read more.

The Blind Quilter

Very beautiful! She's so joyful! Matthew Archbold is right - if you don't smile at this, something's wrong.



This kind of reminds me of my auntie who doesn't let polio get in the way of maintaining a beautiful house.

Cardinal Ranjith takes possession of the church of San Lorenzo in Lucina

And some photos from J.P. Sonnen:

An excellent reminder

from Crescat:

Now imagine you are a priest trying to perform your priestly duties and you look out into a sea of bored faces. Imagine you did this every week, multiple times a day even. Certainly, over the course of a year[s], this would have an adverse effect on the priest and the way he celebrates mass. Naturally.

...Whenever I read a blog about some pathetically served mass, in their opinion ... because you now they have apostolic authority to make these critiques... I always wonder how that person responded in that mass. *Did they tune out the minute they heard some clappy hymn with back up vocals and tambourines? Does anything but fiddlebacks and brocade vestments make their eyes glaze over and charity shut down?

I can understand the zeal and desire to have the most holy sacrifice of the mass celebrated with all the smells and bells. I appreciate that thirst for reverence and tradition. God deserves the best, yes. I agree. What He also deserves is for us to be fully present, mentally and spiritually, during this celebration.

You don't go to some one's house for dinner and insult the hostess's dress or the decor of her home. If you wouldn't behave boorishly at a dinner party than why do you think it acceptable to behave in that manner during mass? 

Valerio, during a circle some weeks ago, also commented on how we can ask our guardian angels, and of course the Holy Spirit, for us to receive some wisdom in from a very poor homily.


And of course, even a poorly celebrated Mass contains infinite grace. Let us not waste such treasures because our hearts are hardened and angry.

Also, the Mass is not a spectacle, a performance by the priest, such that we can afford to watch in annoyance. When we are at Mass with the wrong attitude we are failing in our duty, failing to fulfil our task during Mass.

We demand much from the celebrant. He must celebrate Mass with reverence, dignity and elegance, while we, at the same time, within our souls, and sometimes through external signs too, are playing a part in reducing the very reverence, dignity and elegance which we expect him to provide.

The Knights who say 'Ni'

Gosh this is so clever in its pointlessness :D

Beautifully mundane

Fish on Bowl (oil, 11½x12), Jeffrey T. Larson

More of his work here.

Duck Amok

Really good!

Deterence

Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal. Good stuff!

Powers of Ten

From APOD:





Credit & Copyright: Charles & Ray Eames (Eames Office)

Explanation: How different does the universe look on small, medium, and large scales? The most famous short science film of its generation gives breathtaking comparisons. That film, Powers of Ten, originally created in the 1960s, has now been officially posted to YouTube and embedded above.

So cute!

He ran up to talk to the Pope!

"Empires"

This is rather old news, but still very relevant.

Candlemas

It's the feast of the Presentation of Our Lord. At the Church of Sts Peter and Paul there was the blessing of candles today.

NLM looks at two examples of Sacred Art contected with this feast day. Here's one - and it's so beautiful!

Above is a detail from the splendid Chapel of the Purification in Burgos Cathedral. The reredos, of which this scene of the Presentation of the Lord is the central part, was made by Felipe Vigarny and Diego de Siloe, and painted and gilded by León Picardo, between 1523-26.The chapel itself, was begun in 1482 by Simón de Colonia, and it is a chantry chapel built for the Constable of Castile and his wife, who are buried in marble tombs under the octagonal vault

The second example is a setting of the canticle of Simeon written by Sir Gustav Holst in 1915 for the choir of Westminster Cathedral. Very beautiful!



Read more over at NLM.

Christian jokes

This is really really good. :D



I love the Christian codes part!
'I love it there. No one judges me. And I can be who I want to be..' You're at a bar. That's where you are!

'God gave me the song. He gave it to me.' Then she sings the song.
And you're thinking: 'Maybe you should give it back.Maybe God didn't want you sharing that one Buttercup. Hide it under a bushel.'

And 'hedge of protection'. And 'Lord I just...'. And repeating the word 'Father' (I've noticed this quite a few times). And praying over bad food.

Snarky!!