Spy Wednesday and Maundy Thursday

Wednesday of Holy Week is also known as Spy Wednesday, the day when Judas Iscariot decided to betray Jesus and approached the Sanhedrin to ask for money to do this. In the Catholic Church (TLM – pre 1955) the Mass contains two Lessons from Isaiah, 62:11, 63:1-7 and 53:1-12. The latter I want to sing along to because so many of the lines are used directly in Messiah. The Gospel is the Passion according to Luke.

The TLM Catholic Church observes Tenebrae (darkness) service on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of Holy Week. This service of matins and lauds includes the gradual extinguishing of candles until at the end of the service the Church is dark. A loud noise (strepitus) is heard near the end. This symbolizes the earthquake and the noise of the crowd at the crucifixion.

On Maundy Thursday or Holy Thursday the Mass is a bit different and includes the Gospel of John describing Jesus washing the feet of the Apostles. The word maundy comes from the Latin “mandatum” meaning commandment. (Jesus tells the disciples, “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.”) After the Mass is over, the Blessed Sacrament is taken to a place of repose, away from the altar. The Tabernacle remains open and empty until the Easter Vigil.

The long journey is over, but the worst is yet to come – the crucifixion on Good Friday. But then comes our joy on Easter when we know that Christ has risen.

Jude - Patron Saint of the Hopeless

Jude: A Pilgrimage to the Saint of Last Resort by Liz Trotta is a book we’ve had since it was first published in 1998. That’s why you get books when you see them, knowing that some time in the future you’ll get around to them.

St. Jude is called the patron saint of the hopeless. Often confused with the traitor Judas Iscariot, Jude Thaddeus has been pushed aside in favor of more famous apostles, such as St. Peter, St. John, and St. Matthew. He still has a feast day – October 28 – but shares it with St. Simon.

Because Jude is so obscure, Liz Trotta decided to make that pilgrimage to find out more about him. No stranger to running around the world in search of a story, Trotta was for many years an NBC correspondent and was the first woman to report from Vietnam during the war. Turkey, Italy, Armenia, and the United States should be child’s play. But trying to find facts about a man who lived in the first century A.D. is not so easy. There are plenty of legends and traditions, but not many certainties. The certainties come from the people who have story after story of how St. Jude has helped them or a loved one. Everywhere she went she found people who are devoted to him.

People who have dealt with hopelessness, desolation, and despair pray to St. Jude and have been answered. Even if the situation doesn’t change, people feel more able to cope with their burden, they have hope. St. Jude leads people to acceptance of God’s will, no matter what it is. And that’s what a saint’s job is whether they are famous or seem to hide in the shadows like Jude.

Palm Sunday

This Sunday is Palm Sunday, the day when we get the new palms for the year (we put ours behind two of our crucifixes), the mark of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, and the start of the most holy week of the liturgical year. Seemingly, it ends in tragedy, but with God all things are possible and the tragedy turns into the most extraordinarily joyful event man has ever encountered – Jesus rises from the dead, overcoming death and putting the end to Satan’s power. Oh, he’s still around and fighting harder than ever, but he knows he’s beaten. He just wants to take as many of us with him when he is thrust into hell for the last time.

The Mass for the day is a long, solemn one, including the blessing of the palms, a procession around the Church, either outside or inside depending on the weather, and a reading of the Passion according to St. Matthew. The celebration of Jesus coming into Jerusalem has a foreboding to it. While the crowds cheer, Jesus knows what is before Him: the betrayal, the scourging, the crucifixion. Yes, He’s divine, but He’s also a man and feels keenly every stripe on His back and every thorn on His head, as well as the pain of the nails being pounded into his flesh. And then there’s the psychic pain of the weight of all our sins that he must bear. How could any man stand it?

Any man couldn’t, but the Son of the living God, obeying the Father, could and did. Simon of Cyrene was conscripted to carry the cross for Jesus during the journey to Calvary. What can we do during this last week of Lent to lessen His load and ease His pain?

Shakespeare's Sonnets: V

We describe our lives like the seasons – spring and summer we grow and flourish and then begin to fade with autumn and breathe our last in the winter of our life. What do we have to show for our lives? Have we distilled summer’s beauty in such a way that we have something to be remembered by?

Sonnet V

Those hours that with gentle work did frame

The lovely gaze where every eye doth dwell,

Will play the tyrants to the very same

And that unfair which fairly doth excel:

For never-resting time leads summer on

To hideous winter and confounds him there;

Sap check’d with frost and lusty leaves quite gone,

Beauty o’ersnow’d and bareness everywhere:

Then, were not summer’s distillation left,

A liquid prisoner pent in walls of glass,

Beauty’s effect with beauty were bereft,

Nor it, nor no remembrance what it was:

But flowers distill’d, though they with winter meet,

Leese but their show; their substance still lives sweet.

Fun with History

I like history. I especially like those small or odd moments that might turn things upside down. I like reading about eras that are in between large occurrences. 

The Reckless Decade: America in the 1890s by H.W. Brands. Brands looked at a decade that was between the Old West and the 20th Century. It’s amazing how America was struggling then with many of the same issues we are currently facing, showing us that some things don’t change that much no matter what era you live in. Only the faces of the players differ.

Drawing the Line: How Mason and Dixon Surveyed the Most Famous Border in America by Edwin Danson. Before the Revolution, America was steadily exploring and pushing westward. To determine borders between states required a tough and talented group of surveyors who sometimes had only primitive instruments. This was a time when mariners and surveyors alike had difficulty determining longitude. British surveyors Mason and Dixon finally succeeded in placing the border between Pennsylvania and Maryland. Within a century this border becomes the dividing line between North and South in the Civil War.

1812: The War That Forged a Nation by Walter R. Borneman. Often forgotten between the Revolution and the Civil War, the War of 1812 truly cemented the country as a country. We found ourselves fighting the same foe that we thought we shook off by winning the Revolutionary War. But the British wouldn’t give up so easily, continuing to conscript our sailors into their navy, contending that they were still British citizens. Back when I was a kid I loved Johnny Horton’s song “Battle of New Orleans,” about how we routed the British at this battle. I guess that’s where my interest started.

The Catalogue of Shipwrecked Books: Christopher Columbus, His Son, and the Quest to Build the World’s Greatest Library by Edward Wilson-Lee. Hernando Columbus, Christopher’s illegitimate son, accompanied his father on his 4th voyage to the new world. Although Hernando did not become a great explorer like his father, he explored and travelled at least as much as his father in other ways. His quest to acquire the largest library in the world took him all over Europe, collecting thousands of books and other printed material. His intention was to build an edifice that would house this collection and be a treasure to the world forever. He died before he completed his mission but did begin his library building in Seville. His nephew and heir did not have the interest and the 15 – 20 thousand publications slowly disappeared. About 4,000 are left and are housed at the Cathedral of Seville.

Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time by Dava Sobel. This was an entertaining book about a man who did not go to school, yet discovered how to read and write, who did not know anything about clock building, yet taught himself the trade and made the finest timepieces of his era, and who, through persistence and a thirst for perfection built the clock that made determining longitude at sea possible. The title is almost longer than the book – 184 pages – but it’s a well-written story, including all the important points without getting into too much mathematical detail.

The Renaissance: A Short History by Paul Johnson. Short indeed, at 186 pages. Johnson has a way of getting right to the heart of the matter and is able to cover how the Renaissance began and ended, the economic history, and the fruits of the period: literature and the beginning of printing, sculpture, architecture, and painting. All the major players in each category are there including da Vinci and Michelangelo. A gifted writer, Johnson is a historian that is at home in many eras, from ancient Rome to modern personalities.

These are just some of the books in our history section in our library. We have many other fun and informative volumes. If you don’t know about the past, how can you see how it has shaped our present? And how can you hope to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past? You can’t change history, but you can learn from it.

Carl Sandburg

Carl Sandburg (January 6, 1878 – July 22, 1967) was an American poet, biographer, and collector and performer of folk songs. Not many poets are as appreciated in their lifetimes as Sandburg, receiving three Pulitzer prizes (two for poetry and one for a biography of Lincoln), a Grammy, and having his collection of folk songs go through many editions. His performances of these songs, as well as recitations of his poems, were also well received.

His first major poetry collection was Chicago Poems, published in 1916. (Professor Philip Green Wright paid to have a pamphlet of Sandburg’s poetry, Reckless Ecstasy, published in 1904.) As the name suggests, most of the poems have to do with Chicago, where he moved in 1913. He was an editorial writer for the Chicago Daily News. This is when Harriet Monroe, the founder and publisher of Poetry magazine, a well-respected and influential publication, read his poems and started to publish them. In 1918 the book Cornhuskers came out, followed in 1920 by Smoke and Steel.

Sandburg wrote in free verse, giving his poems a freedom and vitality that adherence to standard forms might not have. His were poems of working men and women, the strength of common people, and the rough, tough, realism of life in the industrial age. And yet he found beauty in this realistic side of life. Although there is no rhythm of a rhyming scheme, his poems have a movement and a rhythm of big city life.

Usually, I like to pick something less well-known when I share a poem, but today we’ll look at Chicago, the first poem in Chicago Poems, and probably one of the most quoted. Enjoy!

Chicago

                Hog Butcher for the World,

                Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat,

                Player with Railroads and the Nation’s Freight Handler;

                Stormy, husky, brawling,

                City of the Big Shoulders:

 

They tell me you are wicked and I believe them, for I have seen your painted women under the gas lamps luring the farm boys.

And they tell me you are crooked and I answer: Yes, it is true I have seen the gunman kill and go free to kill again.

And they tell me you are brutal and my reply is: On the faces of women and children I have seen the marks of wanton hunger.

And having answered so I turn once more to those who sneer at this my city, and I give them back the sneer and say to them:

Come and show me another city with lifted head singing so proud to be alive and coarse and strong and cunning.

Flinging magnetic curses amid the toil of piling job on job, here is a tall bold slugger set vivid against the soft cities;

Fierce as a dog with tongue lapping for action, cunning as a savage pitted against the wilderness,

                Bareheaded,

                Shoveling,

                Wrecking,

                Planning,

                Building, breaking, rebuilding,

Under the smoke, dust all over his mouth, laughing with white teeth,

Under the terrible burden of destiny laughing as a young man laughs,

Laughing even as an ignorant fighter laughs who has never lost a battle,

Bragging and laughing that under his wrist is the pulse, and under his ribs the heart of the people,

Laughing!

Laughing the stormy, husky, brawling laughter of Youth, half-naked, sweating, proud to be Hog Butcher, Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat, Player with Railroads and Freight Handler to the Nation.

St. Patrick

Happy St. Patrick’s Day.

I found this interesting article on History.com and share it below.

 

St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, is one of Christianity’s most widely known figures. But for all of his prevalence in culture—namely the holiday held on the day of his death that bears his name—his life remains somewhat of a mystery. 

Many of the stories traditionally associated with St. Patrick, including the famous account of his banishing all the snakes from Ireland, are false, the products of hundreds of years of exaggerated storytelling.

St. Patrick was born in Britain—not Ireland—to wealthy parents near the end of the fourth century. He is believed to have died on March 17, around 460 A.D.

Although his father was a Christian deacon, it has been suggested that he probably took on the role because of tax incentives and there is no evidence that Patrick came from a particularly religious family. 

At the age of 16, Patrick was taken prisoner by a group of Irish raiders who were attacking his family’s estate. They transported him to Ireland where he spent six years in captivity. (There is some dispute over where this captivity took place. Although many believe he was taken to live in Mount Slemish in County Antrim, it is more likely that he was held in County Mayo near Killala.) 

During this time, he worked as a shepherd, outdoors and away from people. Lonely and afraid, he turned to his religion for solace, becoming a devout Christian. (It is also believed that Patrick first began to dream of converting the Irish people to Christianity during his captivity.)

After more than six years as a prisoner, Patrick escaped. According to his writing, a voice—which he believed to be God’s—spoke to him in a dream, telling him it was time to leave Ireland.

To do so, Patrick walked nearly 200 miles from County Mayo, where it is believed he was held, to the Irish coast. After escaping to Britain, Patrick reported that he experienced a second revelation—an angel in a dream tells him to return to Ireland as a missionary. Soon after, Patrick began religious training, a course of study that lasted more than 15 years. 

After his ordination as a priest, he was sent to Ireland with a dual mission: to minister to Christians already living in Ireland and to begin to convert the Irish. (Interestingly, this mission contradicts the widely held notion that Patrick introduced Christianity to Ireland.)

Familiar with the Irish language and culture, Patrick chose to incorporate traditional ritual into his lessons of Christianity instead of attempting to eradicate native Irish beliefs. For instance, he used bonfires to celebrate Easter since the Irish were used to honoring their gods with fire. He also superimposed a sun, a powerful Irish symbol, onto the Christian cross to create what is now called a Celtic cross, so that veneration of the symbol would seem more natural to the Irish. 

Although there were a small number of Christians on the island when Patrick arrived, most Irish practiced a nature-based pagan religion. The Irish culture centered around a rich tradition of oral legend and myth. When this is considered, it is no surprise that the story of Patrick’s life became exaggerated over the centuries—spinning exciting tales to remember history has always been a part of the Irish way of life.

He may be known as the patron saint of Ireland, but Patrick was never actually canonized by the Catholic Church. This is simply due to the era he lived in. During the first millennium, there was no formal canonization process in the Catholic Church. After becoming a priest and helping to spread Christianity throughout Ireland, Patrick was likely proclaimed a saint by popular acclaim.

Laetare Sunday

Yesterday was the fourth Sunday of Lent, or Laetare Sunday. Laetare is Latin for rejoice and the Introit (beginning) of the Mass says, “Rejoice O Jerusalem; and gather round, all you who love her.” Since we are deep into Lent, a time of repentance and sorrow, this Sunday is where the faithful catch their breath and ponder the good in this life before continuing their journey on towards the Passion before reaching the beauty and joy of Easter.

The Gospel for this fourth Sunday is taken from John 6:1-15, the telling of the miracle of the five loaves and two fish. I repeat, miracle, because this is not just about sharing and being kind to our neighbor. It is a supernatural occurrence prefiguring Jesus instituting the Eucharist at the Last Supper.

Jesus, knowing exactly what he will do, asks the disciples, “Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?” (There were about 5,000 of just men, not to mention women and children.) Verse 7 says, “Phillip answered him: Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one may take a little.” Andrew adds in Verse 9, “There is a boy here that hath five barley loaves and two fishes. But what are these among so many?”

Some would say that the Apostles were doubtful and worried that nothing could be done, that they were only seeing things from a material point of view. I have a feeling that they were merely pointing out to Jesus the situation and were only waiting instructions from Him, knowing that He would come up with something. After all, they had enough faith to give up everything and follow Him. We then see Jesus give thanks for the bread and fish and distribute them, as He does with the bread and wine at the Last Supper, and as the priest does at each Mass. 

This Gospel reading therefore gives us hope and nourishment to make it the rest of the way. We too will be fed by the words and actions of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Shakespeare's Sonnets: IV

Much like Sonnet III, Sonnet IV exhorts the young man to marry and have children, and not waste his time in frivolous pleasures. He has been given a gift, whether of beauty or talent or intelligence, (Shakespeare speaks mostly of beauty, but it could stand for any gift) and owes it to future generations to pass it on. If he doesn’t use this gift wisely, it will die with him. He uses the comparison to a money lender who is miserly (“beauteous niggard”).

Sonnet IV

Unthrifty loveliness, why dost thou spend

Upon thyself thy beauty’s legacy?

Nature’s bequest gives nothing, but doth lend,

And being frank, she lends to those are free.

Then, beauteous niggard, why dost thou abuse

The bounteous largess given thee to give?

Profitless usurer, why dost thou use

So great a sum of sums, yet canst not live?

For having traffic with thyself alone,

Thou of thyself thy sweet self dost deceive.

Then how, when nature calls thee to be gone,

What acceptable audit canst thou leave?

                Thy unused beauty must be tomb’d with thee,

                Which, used, lives th’ executor to be.

Wisdom and Truth

These are troubled times. But then, we have had troubled times since Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden. One of their sons murdered the other. God caused the earth to be covered with water because of the wickedness of His people. Sodom and Gomorrah were completely destroyed because of their depravity. The chosen people were enslaved in Egypt and it took plagues of locusts, frogs, and other afflictions before they escaped. A quick perusal of the Old Testament tells of numerous wars, of peoples being conquered, and many bad leaders who did not follow God’s commandments and led others into sin. People suffered and they died. Now we have instantaneous communication, but that doesn’t lessen the suffering that our predecessors endured nor increase what we are going through. History isn’t an appreciated subject today, but we must learn it to keep our own experience in perspective.

However, we are convinced that no one has had it as hard as we have. We’re stressed and we’re afraid. We see no way out. The Wisdom of Solomon (17:11-13) says, “For wickedness is a cowardly thing, condemned by its own testimony; distressed by conscience, it has always exaggerated the difficulties. For fear is nothing but surrender of the helps that come from reason; and the inner expectation of help, being weak, prefers ignorance of what causes the torment.” Whew! Harsh words, but true. And wisdom and truth go hand in hand. The more we turn from God and rely on our own devices, the further away wisdom and truth become.

The book of Sirach tells us that “Wisdom exalts her sons and gives help to those who seek her.” (4:11) It goes on to say (4:20-28): “Observe the right time, and beware of evil; and do not bring shame on yourself. For there is a shame which brings sin, and there is a shame which is glory and favor. Do not show partiality, to your own harm, or deference to your downfall. Do not refrain from speaking at the crucial time, and do not hide your wisdom. For wisdom is known through speech, and education through the words of the tongue. Never speak against the truth, but be mindful of your ignorance. Do not be ashamed to confess your sins, and do not try to stop the current of a river. Do not subject yourself to a foolish fellow, nor show partiality to a ruler. Strive even to death for the truth and the Lord God will fight for you.”

Strive even to death for the truth and the Lord God will fight for you.

God is truth, and if we have God, we have everything we need. Jesus tells us over and over, “Be not afraid.” Let us tell Him, “Jesus, I trust in you.”

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Tucked away from the hustle and bustle of Congress Street, the main drag in downtown Portland, Maine, is the boyhood home of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882). Despite what Wikipedia says, the house was not demolished in 1955, and in fact, we spent many lunchtimes sitting in the garden in the back of the house enjoying the quiet and peace. A statue of the beloved poet sits in the middle of Congress Square, several blocks away from his birthplace.

Portland is deservedly proud of this poet of such works as “Paul Revere’s Ride,” “The Courtship of Miles Standish,” “The Song of Hiawatha,” “Evangeline,” and “The Village Blacksmith.” Minneapolis also recognizes Longfellow because of the popularity of “The Song of Hiawatha” and Minnehaha Falls, and named a neighborhood after him.

You may have heard many famous lines and never knew you were hearing Longfellow’s poetry. Perhaps the most famous is the song “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.” Others are:

I shot an arrow in the air, It fell to earth, I know not where.

Though the mills of God grind slowly, they grind exceeding small.

Listen, my children, and you shall hear of the midnight ride of Paul Revere.

Under a spreading chestnut tree, the village smithy stands.

Oh ye dead Poets, who are living still.

Into each life some rain must fall.

This last quote is from “The Rainy Day” which will be our selection for today. Enjoy!

The day is cold, and dark, and dreary;

It rains, and the wind is never weary;

The vine still clings to the mouldering wall,

But at every gust the dead leaves fall,

                And the day is dark and dreary.

 

My life is cold, and dark, and dreary;

It rains, and the wind is never weary;

My thoughts still cling to the mouldering Past,

But the hopes of youth fall thick in the blast,

                And the days are dark and dreary.

 

Be still, sad heart! and cease repining;

Behind the clouds is the sun still shining;

Thy fate is the common fate of all,

Into each life some rain must fall,

                Some days must be dark and dreary.

Happy Birthday Handel

Georg Friederich Handel, the composer of my favorite piece of classical music Messiah, was born on March 5, 1685 in Prussia. Having moved to Britain in 1712, he became a British citizen in 1727 and is considered a British composer. Most of his great works such as Messiah, Music for the Royal Fireworks, and Water Music were composed while he lived in England.

He also wrote scores of operas, oratorios, and concerti grossi. In 1727 he was commissioned to write four anthems for the coronation of George II. One of these anthems has been played at each coronation since. The words to Zadok the Priest come from the King James Bible, 1st Kings where David instructs Zadok the Priest and Nathan the Prophet to anoint Solomon King over Israel. Here are the words as used in the anthem:

Zadok the Priest, and Nathan the Prophet anointed Solomon King. And all the people rejoiced, and said: God save the King! Long live the King! May the King live for ever, Amen, Alleluia.

This being baroque music, there are of course, many repeated phrases. 

Here is a video of the Westminster Abbey Choir and Choristers of the Chapel Royal performing the piece with organ accompaniment. The striking thing is that this is how this sounded in Handel’s time. And if it isn’t, he’d probably come up through the floor, for this is where Handel is buried, having died in April 1759.

Oh, by the way, soccer fans know this better as the Champions League Anthem. (Different words, of course.)

Works of Mercy

During Lent it’s important to take the time to find ways to make our actions follow our thoughts and words of love for our Lord. Luke 10:27 tells us “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind: and thy neighbor as thyself.” So how do we do this?

 

The Church teaches us the Corporal Works of Mercy and the Spiritual Works of Mercy. These are:

 

The Corporal (Material) Works of Mercy

1. To feed the hungry.

2. To give drink to the thirsty.

3. To clothe the naked.

4. To visit the imprisoned.

5. To shelter the homeless.

6. To visit the sick.

7. To bury the dead.

The Spiritual Works of Mercy

1. To admonish the sinner. 

2. To instruct the ignorant.

3. To counsel the doubtful.

4. To comfort the sorrowful.

5. To bear wrongs patiently.

6. To forgive all injuries.

7. To pray for the living and the dead.

So, if you can’t go down to the homeless shelter and ladle soup, can you support them financially? Or the pro-life groups if you can’t pray in front of the abortion mills? Can you be a sympathetic listener to someone who is going through a tough time? Can you smile and say hello to a stranger (even if you’re wearing a mask) who might need a kind word? Can you donate clothing you don't wear to a thrift shop?

 

How about bearing wrongs patiently or forgiving someone who has done something against you? Yes, those take a lot of practice, but if we expect God to do this for us, we need to make the effort to do this for others. (Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.)

 

Lent is a good place to start on practicing these things, but remember, they don’t end on Easter. If we want to show God how much we love Him, it’s a year-round thing.

 

Pray, pray, pray.

Happy Birthday Rossini

Happy Birthday to Gioachino Rossini (February 29, 1792 – November 13, 1868)

Rossini wrote 39 operas as well as songs, chamber music, and sacred music, borrowing from himself quite often (not an unusual occurrence among composers). He retired from opera composing at the age of 37 due to poor health and moved back and forth between cities in Italy and Paris, dying in Paris at age 76. 

Rossini was a master of the overture, even if they were formulaic in nature. His last opera, Guillaume Tell (William Tell), produced an overture that is immediately recognizable today, even if you’ve never heard an opera in your life – the theme to the Lone Ranger.

Although you might be even more familiar with the overture to Il barbiere di Siviglia (the Barber of Seville). Remember Bugs Bunny as the barber and Elmer Fudd as the customer? (“Yes, you’re next. You’re so next.”) Click on this link to Daily Motion and view the cartoon. For those who’d like to hear the real thing, click on the video below. When we first saw the Barber at the Minnesota Opera, I looked around at the crowd during the overture and more than one person displayed a huge grin, leading me to believe that once you’ve seen the cartoon, it’s impossible not to think of it when you hear the piece.

The burning question I still have about Rossini is, did he celebrate his birthday on February 28 or March 1? Happy birthday either way.