"The snow is coming down
On our New England town
And it's been falling all day long.
What else is new?
What can I do
But sing this valley winter song
I wrote for you?…"
"Vatican Offering Cyber Monday 50% Off Sale on All Indulgences" (Tiber-link '16)
"Report: Some 2nd Century Roman Christians Hated the Latin Mass Because It Was Said in the Vernacular" (Tiber-link '14)
"Giving up because—
"I know everything sucks, yeah!
I know everything sucks, whoa!
I know everything sucks, yeah!…"
"Here's to the college whose colors we wear,Go Blue!
Here's to the hearts that are true!
Here's to the maid of the golden hair,
And eyes that are brimming with blue!
Garlands of bluebells and maize intertwine,
And hearts that are true and voice combine;
Hail!
Hail to the college whose colors we wear;
Hurrah for the Yellow and Blue!"
She was both a princess & a noted scholar, who became a Christian around the age of fourteen. She converted hundreds of [persons] to Christianity. She was martyred around the age of eighteen. Over eleven hundred years following her martyrdom, St. Joan of Arc (30 May) identified Catherine as one of the saints who appeared to her & counseled her.'Tis also the feast of Saint Peter of Alexandria, Bishop & Martyr (died 311, A.K.A. Pope Peter I of Alexandria), martyred in the reign of the emperor Galerius: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link.
"Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving it's like we didn't even try to come up with a tradition. The tradition is we overeat! 'Hey, how about at Thanksgiving we just eat a lot?' We do that every day! 'Oh. What if we eat a lot with people who annoy the hell out of us?'
'Oh, he's anti-family'…"
Born 1795 in Vietnam, Andrew Dũng-Lạc was one of one hundred seventeen [persons] martyred for Christ in Vietnam between 1820-1862. All one hundred seventeen were part of the group beatified on four different occasions between 1900-1951 & canonized in 1988 by Pope St. John Paul II (22 October).Quoth the Holy Family bulletin:
Dũng-Lạc was one of one hundred seventeen [persons] martyred in Vietnam between 1820-1862. Members of this group were beatified on four different occasions between 1900-1951. All were canonized by Pope (St.) John Paul II. Christianity came to Vietnam through the Portuguese. Jesuits opened the first permanent mission at Da Nang in 1615. They ministered to Japanese Catholics who had been driven from Japan.'Tis also the feast of Saint Chrysogonus, Martyr (died circa 304), martyred in the reign of the emperor Diocletian: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link.
"I'd like to open up by making a suggestion,
One that I suggest you're open to,
And then I'll open up the floor and take a question,
After that it's time to tilt a few (you and you and you).
"A reason to toast,
A reason to cheer,
A reason to celebrate:
It's nice being here!
"You might be wondering just why I called this meeting
And let another moment pass,
Before we move on, please, let's rearrange the seating,
After that it's time to raise a glass.
"I'll raise my glass up high to all the friendly faces,
Here and wherever they may be,
I don't know why I never thought 'til now to say this,
But you mean the world to me.
"A reason to toast,
A reason to cheer,
A reason to celebrate:
It's nice being here!
"Let's raise a glass up high because we're here together,
What better reason could exist?
Hey, lads, let's raise a glass, what could be better than this?
If you're without a glass, then let's see your fist!
(Get 'em up there, boys!)
"A reason to toast,
A reason to cheer,
A reason to celebrate:
It's nice being here!…"
Clement asserted the authority of the presbyters as rulers of the Church on the ground that the Apostles had appointed such. His letter was read in church, along with other epistles, some of which later became part of the Christian canon.Quoth the Holy Family bulletin:
Clement of Rome was the third successor of Saint Peter, reigning as pope during the last decade of the first century. He's known as one of the Church's five "Apostolic Fathers," those who provided a direct link between the Apostles & later generations of Church Fathers.'Tis also the Optional Memorial of Saint Columban, Abbot (543-615): Saint-link ūnus, Saint-link duo, & Wikipedia-link.
Columban was an Irish missionary notable for founding a number of monasteries with Celtic monastic rule & Celtic penitential practices for those repenting of sins, which emphasized private confession to a priest, followed by penances levied by the priest in reparation for the sins.Quoth the Holy Family bulletin:
Columban was the greatest of the Irish missionaries who worked on the European continent. As a young man who was greatly tormented by temptations of the flesh, he sought the advice of a religious woman who had lived a hermit's life for years. He saw in her answer a call to leave the world. He went first to a monastery on an island in Lough Erne, then to the great monastic seat of learning at Bangor.'Tis also the Optional Memorial of Blessed Miguel Agustín Pro, Priest & Martyr, S.J. (1891-1927), martyred in the reign of the president Plutarco Elías Calles: Martyr-link ūnus, Martyr-link duo, & Wikipedia-link.
"Calling all mothers and fathers:
Come get your sons and daughters.
Right now they're on corners
Finding ways to cure their boredom,
I'm sitting right there with them,
Waiting on those prescriptions,
Like it's our only mission.
"Silver flasks and Ziploc bags,
Vacant eyes and sweaty hands,
Cut in thirds then cut in half,
Money to monsters, exchanging hands…
"Calling all mothers and fathers:
Come get your sons and daughters.
Right now they're feeling awkward,
Pills and powders in their lockers,
I'm standing right there with them,
Waiting on the voice of reason,
Glass pipes, and tunnel vision…
"Silver flasks and Ziploc bags,
Vacant eyes and sweaty hands,
Cut in thirds then cut in half,
Giving money to monsters, money to monsters,
Giving money to monsters, money to monsters,
Giving money to monsters, summoning monsters."
"Both his eyes would twitch,
The left one it was always black,
His lips they never moved,
They stayed still with each attack,
His ears were always ringing,
In his head he'd hear a hum,
And all the kids on the corner
Knew what it was from.
"And then one day it happened:
He took his daily crack,
His eyes rolled up like yesterday,
He started falling back,
The kids that watched this everyday
Now watched him hit the ground.
No one spoke, no one moved,
No one made a sound…
"A sad, silent situation,
Now he's not around…"
The beard signifies the courageous; the beard distinguishes the grown men, the earnest, the active, the vigorous. So that when we describe such, we say, he is a bearded man.
She is the patroness of musicians. It is written that as the musicians played at her wedding she "sang in her heart to the Lord." She is said to have been beheaded with a sword. She is one of seven women, excluding the Blessed Virgin, commemorated by name in the Canon of the Mass.Quoth the Holy Family bulletin:
Although Cecilia is one of the most famous of the Roman martyrs, the familiar stories about her are apparently not founded on authentic material. There is no trace of honor being paid her in early times. A fragmentary inscription of the late fourth century refers to a church named after her, & her feast was celebrated at least in 545. According to legend, Cecilia was a young Christian of high rank betrothed to a Roman named Valerian. Through her influence, Valerian was converted, & was martyred along with his brother. The legend about Cecilia's death says that after being struck three times on the neck with a sword, she lived for three days, & asked the pope to convert her home into a church. Since the time of the Renaissance, she has usually been portrayed with a viola or a small organ.'Tis also the feast of Blessed Tommaso Reggio, Bishop (1818-1901), founder of the Sisters of Saint Martha: Blessed-link & Wikipedia-link.
Jesus says you are infinitely valuable
Jesus believes that you are infinitely valuable. Anytime you don't believe that, you are living in a state of deception, disconnected from the deepest, truest reality.
I often wonder how we would live our lives differently if we really understood our true value. Over & over, through the Scriptures, Jesus tries to affirm our value: "You are the light of the world" (Matthew 5:14). "You are the salt of the earth" (Matthew 5:13). You are my brothers & sisters (Matthew 12:50). You are so valuable that God has counted & keeps track of every hair on your head (Luke 12:7).
So often the world wants to belittle us & put us down. The world can be so impersonal, reducing us to numbers or defining us by our functions. But Jesus offers a radically different view. He says you are infinitely valuable. In great contrast to the depersonalization of the world, Jesus affirms God's personal interest in you, even to the numbering of the hairs on your head. Jesus wants to raise you up. And more than anything else, he affirms that your value is not derived from what you do, but from who you are—a child of God.
Mary's parents, (Ss.) Joachim & Anne (26 July), who had been childless, received a heavenly message that they would have a child. In thanksgiving for the gift of their daughter, they brought her, when still a child, to the Temple in Jerusalem to consecrate her to God.Quoth the Holy Family bulletin:
Mary's presentation was celebrated in Jerusalem in the sixth century. A church was built there in honor of this mystery. The Eastern Church was more interested in the feast, but it does appear in the West in the eleventh century. Although the feast at times disappeared from the calendar, in the sixteenth century it became a feast of the universal Church. As with Mary's birth, we read of Mary's presentation in the Temple only in apocryphal literature. What is recognized as an unhistorical account, theProtoevangelium of James, tells us that (Ss.) Anna & Joachim offered Mary to God in the Temple when she was three years old. This was the carry out a promise made to God when Anna was still childless.'Tis also the feast of Saint Gelasius I, Pope (died 496), forty-ninth Bishop of Rome, the first to be called the "Vicar of Christ:" Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.
"He didn't hit me for a home,
Or hit me up 'cause he was cold,
He was addicted to drugs
And I could see that in his eyes.
What about me?
Well, I was only rolled.
"He didn't rob me for food,
It wasn't hunger, but a jones.
He needed a fix;
Someone will fix my broken bones…
"He seemed to hate what he was doing;
He sure knew how to get it done.
Possessed by an addiction
I don't have to comprehend.
What about me?
Well, he whipped me with a gun…"
The Feast of Christ the King was established by Pope Pius XI in 1925 as an antidote to secularism, a way of life which leaves God out of man's thinking & living & organizes his life as if God did not exist. The feast is intended to proclaim in a striking & effective manner Christ's royalty over individuals, families, society, governments, & nations.Otherwise, 20 November would be the feast of Saints Edmund the Martyr & Humbert of Elmham, Bishop, Martyrs (died 869, A.K.A. King Edmund of East Anglia), martyred by the Great Heathen Army: Martyr-link Echo & Wikipedia-link Echo; Martyr-link Hotel & Wikipedia-link Hotel.
"I'm a man of the land, I'm into discipline,
Got a Bible in my hand and a beard on my chin…
"We've been spending most our lives
Living in an Amish paradise,
'We're just plain and simple guys
Living in an Amish paradise,
There's no time for sin and vice
Living in an Amish paradise,
We don't fight, we all play nice
Living in an Amish paradise…
"Think you're really righteous?
Think you're pure of heart?
Well, I know I'm a million times as humble as thou art!
I'm the pious guy the little Amlettes want to be like,
On my knees days and night, scorin' points for the afterlife…"
This feast combines the standard celebration of the dedication of a church for Saint Peter's Basilica & the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, which were both built by the emperor Constantine the Great during the fourth century.'Twas also the Optional Memorial of Saint Rose Philippine Duchesne, Virgin, R.S.C.J. (1769-1852): Saint-link ūna, Saint-link duae & Wikipedia-link.
"She swears the cat is stealing our money,
(I know it's him!) You gotta love her,
When she sees a cop she'll burst out laughing,
(Ha ha ha ha!) She's going crazy,
When I put her to bed she says 'Thank you, Superman,'
(Thank you, Superman) And I think I like it,
She showed up at my work on something,
She screamed, 'I'm a daisy!'
"Whoa, yeah!
Whoa, whoa, yeah!
"She takes pot to come down,
Yeah, coke for the confidence,
All kinds of pills, if she had the money she would get 'em,
Huffing for a challenge,
Acid for the love of it,
And, and, and, and, and drinking just for fun!
"My girlfriend's on drugs!
My girlfriend's on drugs!
My girlfriend's on drugs!
Her brain is going, going, going, going, gone!…"
"Let a person come forward, a living person capable of speaking to the heart; let truth flow from this person's life & let the person's power be matched by an equal gift of love. Then people will listen to the Good News, & the dawn of better days will brighten our skies."Consider that God might be calling you to be that living person to the persons in your own life.
Her husband was himself much inclined to religion & highly esteemed her virtue, encouraging her in her exemplary life. They had three children when tragedy struck—Louis was killed while fighting with the Crusaders. After his death, Elizabeth left the court, made arrangements for the care of her children, & in 1228 renounced the world, becoming a tertiary of St. Francis (4 October). She built the Franciscan hospital at Marburg & devoted herself to the care of the sick until her death at the age of twenty-four in 1231.Quoth the Holy Family bulletin:
While still a young girl she was married to Louis the Landgrave of Thuringia & gave birth to three children. She devoted herself to prayer & meditation. After her husband's death, she embraced a life of poverty, erecting a hospital in which she herself served the sick. She died at Marburg in 1231.'Tis also the feast of Saint Gregory of Tours, Bishop (circa 538-594): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.
The Lord GOD has given meHe is overly generous in his praise.
a well-trained tongue,
That I might know how to speak to the weary
a word that will rouse them.
"I know, I know, I said that I would quit,The heroin junkie lifestyle as portrayed in "Chinese Rock":
Alright, I promise no more after this,
You don't know how I tried
To forget what it was like,
I remember now,
I remember now,
Why they called it Thunderbird…"
"The plaster fallin' off the wall,We here at The Secret Base are of course in no way endorsing drug abuse. We grew up in the Nineteen Eighties & took to heart First Lady Nancy Reagan's tireless "Just Say No" campaign.
My girlfriend's cryin' in the shower stall,
It's hot as a bitch,
I should've been rich,
But I'm just diggin' a Chinese ditch.
"I'm living on a Chinese rock,
All my best things are in hock,
I'm living on a Chinese rock,
Everything is in the pawn shop…"
Margaret was a blessing for all the people of Scotland. Before she came, there was great ignorance & many bad habits among them. Margaret worked hard to obtain good teachers, to correct the evil practices, & to have new churches built.Quoth the Holy Family bulletin:
Saint Margaret was born around the year 1046 in Hungary where her father was exiled. She was married to King Malcolm III of Scotland & gave birth to eight children. The ideal mother & queen, St. Margaret died at Edinburgh in 1093.'Tis also the Optional Memorial of Saint Gertrude, Virgin, O.S.B. (1256-1302, A.K.A. the Great, of Helfta): Saint-link ūna, Saint-link duae, & Wikipedia-link.
St. Gertrude the Great eventually chose to follow the Lord by pursuing a vocation as a Benedictine nun. Her deep relationship with the Lord in prayer led to her being hailed as a mystic. She was also regarded as a great theologian.The Prayer of St. Gertrude the Great:
Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with all the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal Church, those in my own home, & within my family.'Tis also the feast of Saint Othmar, Priest & Abbot, O.S.B. (circa 689-759, A.K.A. of Saint Gall): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.
He was among the first & greatest of the natural scientists, gaining a reputation for expertise in biology, chemistry, physics, astronomy, geography, metaphysics, & mathematics. He was also very learned in biblical studies & theology.Quoth the Holy Family bulletin:
Saint Albert was born at Lauingen along the Danube about the year 1206. Having studied at Padua & Paris, he entered the Order of Preachers (the Dominicans) & excelled as a teacher. One of his most famous students was St. Thomas Aquinas (28 January). Ordained bishop of Ratisbon (Regensburg), he strove earnestly to establish peace among people & between cities. He wrote brilliantly on a variety of subjects from the secular to the sacred. He died at Cologne in 1280.'Tis also the feast of Saint Raphael of Saint Joseph Kalinowski, Priest, O.C.D. (1835-1907): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.
"So we'll sit around and wait
For the lightning to strike the same place twice,
But it just doesn't equate,
I think the electricity's gone,
And it's too little much too late…
"So we'll sit around and wait
For the lightning to cook me inside out,
And I don't think I'm O.K."
"You make life worth living,
You make me want to start giving
More and more away to You,
It's not mine anyway…"
In 1054, a formal split called a schism took place between the Eastern Church centered in Constantinople & the Western Church centered in Rome. Josaphat, an Eastern Rite bishop, is held up as a martyr to church unity because he died trying to bring part of the Orthodox church into union with Rome.'Tis also the feast of Saint Machar of Aberdeen, Bishop (died circa 540): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.
St. Martin of Tours is considered a spiritual bridge across Europe. When Sulpicius Severus first met Martin of Tours he was stunned. Not only did the bishop offer him hospitality at his residence—a monk's cell in the wilderness instead of a palace—but Martin washed Sulpicius's hands before dinner & his feet in the evening. But Sulpicius was just the kind of person Martin showed the greatest honor to—a humble man without any rank or privilege.'Tis also the feast of Blessed Alicja Maria Jadwiga Kotowska, Nun & Martyr, C.R. (1899-1939), martyred in the reign of the Führer Adolf Hitler: Martyr-link & Wikipedia-link.
"Anthem for Doomed Youth"
by Wilfred Owen (1893-1918)
What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?
Only the monstrous anger of the guns.
Only the stuttering rifles' rapid rattle
Can patter out their hasty orisons.
No mockeries for them; no prayers nor bells,
Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs,—
The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells;
And bugles calling for them from sad shires.
What candles may be held to speed them all?
Not in the hands of boys, but in their eyes
Shall shine the holy glimmers of goodbyes.
The pallor of girls' brows shall be their pall;
Their flowers the tenderness of patient minds,
And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds.
"Counter-Attack"
by Siegfriend Sassoon (1886-1967)
We'd gained our first objective hours before
While dawn broke like a face with blinking eyes,
Pallid, unshaved and thirsty, blind with smoke.
Things seemed all right at first. We held their line,
With bombers posted, Lewis guns well placed,
And clink of shovels deepening the shallow trench.
The place was rotten with dead; green clumsy legs
High-booted, sprawled and grovelled along the saps
And trunks, face downward, in the sucking mud,
Wallowed like trodden sand-bags loosely filled;
And naked sodden buttocks, mats of hair,
Bulged, clotted heads slept in the plastering slime.
And then the rain began,— the jolly old rain!
A yawning soldier knelt against the bank,
Staring across the morning blear with fog;
He wondered when the Allemands would get busy;
And then, of course, they started with five-nines
Traversing, sure as fate, and never a dud.
Mute in the clamour of shells he watched them burst
Spouting dark earth and wire with gusts from hell,
While posturing giants dissolved in drifts of smoke.
He crouched and flinched, dizzy with galloping fear,
Sick for escape,— loathing the strangled horror
And butchered, frantic gestures of the dead.
An officer came blundering down the trench:
"Stand-to and man the fire-step!" On he went…
Gasping and bawling, "Fire- step… counter-attack!"
Then the haze lifted. Bombing on the right
Down the old sap: machine- guns on the left;
And stumbling figures looming out in front.
"O Christ, they're coming at us!" Bullets spat,
And he remembered his rifle… rapid fire…
And started blazing wildly… then a bang
Crumpled and spun him sideways, knocked him out
To grunt and wriggle: none heeded him; he choked
And fought the flapping veils of smothering gloom,
Lost in a blurred confusion of yells and groans…
Down, and down, and down, he sank and drowned,
Bleeding to death. The counter-attack had failed.
"And the old men marching slowly,
Old bones stiff and sore,
They're tired old heroes from a forgotten war,
And the young people ask, 'What are they marching for?'…"