The Pope's Not Coming to Idaho...

...but a little part of Idaho is going to the Pope. Next week, Fr. Jorge Ramirez, Lucky Stiff and priest of the Diocese of Boise (and, incidentally, my parish) is going to be capping off his annual retreat by concelebrating a Mass with the Holy Father in New York.

Fr. Jorge, a native of Colombia, is a man of modest bearing, quiet demeanor, and complete adorableness. Although in his early forties, he has only been ordained for about a year and a half ("I'm just a baby priest," he says). He is very interested in the Tridentine Mass and is in the process of studying the rubrics. Fr. Jorge has a keen appreciation for what really matters. "I am not conservative," he once insisted; "I am Roman Catholic!" He, like his boss, Fr. Francisco Flores, is proud to be a priest and proud to have people know it: he is literally the first one I have seen in more than a dozen years who wears a cassock. One morning, he approached me at a Knights of Columbus breakfast wearing street clothes and his K of C cap and jacket; when I told him I didn't recognize him at first, he immediately disappeared, then reappeared in clerical attire. His humility by no means rules out an awareness of the high dignity of his office, or the need for visibility.

Fr. Jorge asks for prayers for his journey. And from this quarter, he gets them. He's definitely a keeper!

Our German Shepherd

And Saul said to David: Thou art not able to withstand this Philistine, nor to fight against him: for thou art but a boy, but he is a warrior from his youth. And David said to Saul: Thy servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion, or a bear, and took a ram out of the midst of the flock: And I pursued after them, and struck them, and delivered it out of their mouth: and they rose up against me, and I caught them by the throat, and I strangled and killed them. For I thy servant have killed both a lion and a bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be also as one of them.

1 Kings 17:33-36

Could this be the problem the liberals have with Pope Benedict -- and have in fact had with him since he was just plain Cardinal Ratzinger: that he is a slayer of lions and bears and uncircumcised Philistines? Are the liberals' leading lights in fact the lambs and sheep they hold themselves out to be?

Father Down Under, by the way, at Homilies and Reflections from Australia, has some very good thoughts about warriors for peace; this is a contradiction only to those whose idea of "peace" is the absence of opposition to evil.

Charlton Heston, R.I.P.

Charlton Heston passed away last night at the age of 84. He is survived by Lydia, his wife of 64 years, his daughter Holly, and his son Fraser (who played the infant Moses in The Ten Commandments).

V. Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord.
R. And may perpetual light shine upon him.
V. May his soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed, rest in peace.
R. Amen.

Prayer to St. Genesius, Patron of Actors

Dear Genesius, according to a very ancient story, when you were still a pagan, you once ridiculed Christ while acting on the stage. But, like Saul on the road to Damascus, you were floored by Christ's powerful grace. You rose bearing witness to Jesus and died a great martyr's death. Intercede for your fellow actors before God that they may faithfully and honestly perform their roles and so help others to understand their role in life and thus enabling them to attain their end in heaven. Amen.

The Birthday Bunch

I can't really think of anything much to blog about right now, so I think I'll shine a tiny spotlight on some of the interesting crowd of people who (at least according to Wikipedia) are celebrating birthdays today (or would be if they were still living):

Joseph Lister, the guy who made the connection between dirt and infections, and brought us the wonderful world of antiseptics.

Booker T. Washington, a freed slave who became a prominent teacher.

Spencer Tracy, one of the great actors and portrayer of Fr. Flanagan in the Boys Town movies.

Melvyn Douglas, another great leading man, my favorite of whose movies is Ninotchka, opposite Greta Garbo.

Bette Davis, a great movie villainess (though she also played some great good guys too).

Gregory Peck, Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird (which was one of my favorite books as a kid).

Michael Moriarty, Ben Stone on Law and Order, who is outspokenly pro-life.

Max Gail, who played Stan "Wojo" Wojeciehowicz on Barney Miller (I know that's before some of your times).

And it also happens to be the feast (i.e., birthday in heaven) of Vincent Ferrer, a Dominican saint of extraordinary coolness.

Marie Moore, R.I.P.

Please pray for the repose of the soul of Marie Moore, who passed away this morning. Marie was the mother of Katie Moore, OPL (of my chapter, but no relation).

Prayer to the Sorrowful Mother
by St. Alphonsus Ligouri

O my afflicted Mother! Queen of martyrs and of sorrows, thou didst so bitterly weep over thy Son, who died for my salvation; but what will thy tears avail me if I am lost? By the merit, then, of thy sorrows, obtain me true contrition for my sins, and a real amendment of life, together with constant and tender compassion for the sufferings of Jesus and thy dolours. And if Jesus and thou, being so innocent, have suffered so much for love of me, obtain that at least I, who am deserving of hell, may suffer something for your love. "O Lady," will I say with St. Bonaventure, "if I have offended thee, in justice wound my heart; if I have served thee, I now ask wounds for my reward. It is shameful to me to see my Lord Jesus wounded, and thee wounded with Him, and myself without a wound." In fine, O my Mother, by the grief thou didst experience in seeing thy Son bow down His head and expire on the cross in the midst of so many torments, I beseech thee to obtain me a good death. Ah, cease not, O advocate of sinners, to assist my afflicted soul in the midst of the combats in which it will have to engage on its great passage from time to eternity. And as it is probable that I may then have lost my speech, and strength to invoke thy name and that of Jesus, who are all my hope, I do so now; I invoke thy Son and thee to succour me in that last moment; and I say, Jesus and Mary, to you I commend my soul. Amen.

Been to Confession Yet?

On September 24, 1936, St. Faustina Kowalska recorded in her diary these words of Jesus regarding the Feast of Divine Mercy, which He desired should be celebrated on the Sunday after Easter:

I desire that the Feast of Mercy [which is tomorrow] be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. On that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My mercy. The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. On that day are open all the divine floodgates through which graces flow. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet. My mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or of angel, will be able to fathom it throughout all eternity. Everything that exists has come forth from the very depths of My most tender mercy. Every soul in its relation to Me will contemplate my love and mercy throughout eternity. The Feast of Mercy emerged from My very depths of tenderness. It is My desire that it be solemnly celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter. Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the Fount of My Mercy.

Paul Scofield, R.I.P.

Actor Paul Scofield passed away on the 19th of this month at the age of 86, after a battle with leukemia. He is seen here as St. Thomas More in A Man for All Seasons, a role that won him both an Oscar and a British Academy of Film and Television Arts award. Like the great saint he portrayed, Scofield was known as a man of brilliant intellect. He is survived by Joy Parker, his wife of 65 years, and two children. The St. Thomas More website features links to tributes to this great actor.

St. Thomas More, intercede on behalf of his soul and those he leaves behind.

Anniversaries and Feast Days

It occurred to me earlier that it was twenty-four years ago today that I received the Sacrament of Confirmation (almost immediately after which, I am sorry to say, I quit going to church for about six years).

Today is also (usually) the feast of the Annunciation, as well as the feast of St. Dismas, the Good Thief who repented and was promised Paradise that very day.

When I was in law school in Moscow, I boarded at the local Ursuline convent. The superior of that convent, Sr. Bernadette, had a devotion to St. Dismas, and swore that he had helped her out of many difficulties. One day, I was out on the road during a fog after a heavy snowfall. After turning onto one of Moscow's rather ill-plowed side streets, which turned out to be worse than it looked, my little Chevy LUV pickup got stuck in a snow drift. I couldn't move, I couldn't see, and this was before the ubiquity of cell phones, so I had no ready means of calling for help. I wondered how I was going to get out of this. Then I remembered what Sr. Bernadette always said about St. Dismas.

So I prayed to St. Dismas to help me out of the snow. Before the fog from my breath had dissolved away, a great big truck with tow equipment suddenly loomed up out of the snow just ahead of me. Without any ado, three people jumped out, hitched up my pickup, and towed it out of the snow drift. It was as though they had come on orders. Within a minute, they were gone and I was safely back on my way.

How's THAT for service? And chivalry?

Prayer to St. Dismas

Glorious Saint Dismas, you alone of all the great Penitent Saints were directly canonized by Christ Himself; you were assured of a place in Heaven with Him "this day" because of the sincere confession of your sins to Him in the tribunal of Calvary and your true sorrow for them as you hung beside Him in that open confessional; you who by the direct sword thrust of your love and repentance did open the Heart of Jesus in mercy and forgiveness even before the centurion's spear tore it asunder; you whose face was closer to that of Jesus in His last agony, to offer Him a word of comfort, closer even than that of His Beloved Mother, Mary; you who knew so well how to pray, teach me the words to say to Him to gain pardon and the grace of perseverance; and you who are so close to Him now in Heaven, as you were during His last moments on earth, pray to Him for me that I shall never again desert Him, but that at the close of my life I may hear from Him the words He addressed to you: "This day thou shalt be with Me in Paradise."

Worthy Is the Lamb

If I remember right (and I haven't got a copy handy to check), Dante's Inferno describes the edifices of Hell as being in ruins -- on account of today's Event.

So the Battle is won. The rest is mop-up operations, no matter how hairy things get, or how close it looks like Hell is to winning. It's already lost. Period.

The Harrowing of Hell

Something strange is happening - there is a great silence on earth today, a great silence and stillness. The whole earth keeps silence because the King is asleep. The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and he has raised up all who have slept ever since the world began. God has died in the flesh and hell trembles with fear.

He has gone to search for our first parent, as for a lost sheep. Greatly desiring to visit those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, he has gone to free from sorrow the captives Adam and Eve, he who is both God and the son of Eve. The Lord approached them bearing the cross, the weapon that had won him the victory. At the sight of him Adam, the first man he had created, struck his breast in terror and cried out to everyone: “My Lord be with you all.” Christ answered him: “And with your spirit.” He took him by the hand and raised him up, saying: “Awake, O sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.”

I am your God, who for your sake have become your son. Out of love for you and for your descendants I now by my own authority command all who are held in bondage to come forth, all who are in darkness to be enlightened, all who are sleeping to arise. I order you, O sleeper, to awake. I did not create you to be held a prisoner in hell. Rise from the dead, for I am the life of the dead. Rise up, work of my hands, you who were created in my image. Rise, let us leave this place, for you are in me and I am in you; together we form only one person and we cannot be separated.

For your sake I, your God, became your son; I, the Lord, took the form of a slave; I, whose home is above the heavens, descended to the earth and beneath the earth. For your sake, for the sake of man, I became like a man without help, free among the dead. For the sake of you, who left a garden, I was betrayed to the Jews in a garden, and I was crucified in a garden. See on my face the spittle I received in order to restore to you the life I once breathed into you. See there the marks of the blows I received in order to refashion your warped nature in my image. On my back see the marks of the scourging I endured to remove the burden of sin that weighs upon your back. See my hands, nailed firmly to a tree, for you who once wickedly stretched out your hand to a tree. I slept on the cross and a sword pierced my side for you who slept in paradise and brought forth Eve from your side. My side has healed the pain in yours. My sleep will rouse you from your sleep in hell. The sword that pierced me has sheathed the sword that was turned against you.

Rise, let us leave this place. The enemy led you out of the earthly paradise. I will not restore you to that paradise, but I will enthrone you in heaven. I forbade you the tree that was only a symbol of life, but see, I who am life itself am now one with you. I appointed cherubim to guard you as slaves are guarded, but now I make them worship you as God. The throne formed by cherubim awaits you, its bearers swift and eager. The bridal chamber is adorned, the banquet is ready, the eternal dwelling places are prepared, the treasure houses of all good things lie open. The kingdom of heaven has been prepared for you from all eternity.

Ancient homily for Holy Saturday; from today's Office of Readings