Steady Boys Steady

 

Well, no sooner than an SPQR video with a brave war dog is posted than all hell breaks out in the Middle East, not that there wasn't enough of that already. Worrying, eh? Here at the Compound we're cooking ribs in the oven, lo and slow, and thanking God for His goodness. And, it being the Feast of Ignatius of Antioch, here's a prayer:

Almighty ever-living God, who adorn the sacred body of your Church with the confessions of holy Martyrs, grant, we pray, that, just as the glorious passion of Saint Ignatius of Antioch, which we celebrate today, brought him eternal splendor, so it may be for us unending protection. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.

 

Ignatius, pray for us, and all of you, stand steady.

God bless,

LSP

Yet More Goodness

 

You heathen may have missed it but today's the Feast of St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist. That in mind, think on Our Lord's parable of the laborers and "the last will be first, and the first last." Who are the first? In this instance, surely, the Scribes and Pharisees who "murmur" against Christ. And the last? Tax collectors, harlots and, curiously, higher ranking Roman NCOs. We'd call 'em Warrants, I think. 

These, the latter, come in first in the kingdom because they're repentant sinners as opposed to hypocritical, whitewashed sepulchers. Christ loves them and they turn to him, they repent, whereas the self-righteous, hateful fools do not. 

Woe to them. Such is the unfathomable mercy of God and the implacable judgement of the unjust. Terrifying, when you think on it, yet shot through with hope. St. Matthew, on reflection, lived the parable first hand, in real life, he was a wicked tax collector, some things do not change, who was invited to see the Light and did.

Oremus:

Grant us, O Lord, not to mind earthly things, but to love things heavenly; and even now, while we are placed among things that are passing away, to cleave to those that shall abide; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Point of the homily? There's hope for us all. Do not lose sight of that, ever.

Your Old Buddy,

LSP

Lest We Forget

 

Yes, Harambe. Never forget.

We're in favor of traditional liturgy, here at the Compound, and if you have to ask, "Where's the dam money?" we reply, "Up the monkey."

Bestiae,

LSP

The Feast of St. Bartholomew

 

Today's the Feast of St. Batholomew, Apostle and Martyr. In John's Gospel he's known as Nathaniel, "Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no guile." (Jn 1:47) Tradition has it that he preached the Faith to heathen Armenian, where he was flayed. But his work wasn't in vain, St. Gregory the Illuminator baptized Armenia's king, Dertad, in 302 AD, and the country claims to be the first Christian state.

Here's a prayer:

O ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, who didst give to thine Apostle Bartholomew grace truly to believe and preach thy Word; Grant, we beseech thee, unto thy Church, to love that Word which he believed, and both to preach and receive the same; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

St. Bartholomew, pray for us and for the conversion of our wicked and Godless state. Be sure as you do that the gates of Hell shall not prevail.

Faithfully,

LSP

The Feast of The Assumption

 

It's the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary today and we offered the Mass outdoors on the front porch of Mission #1, St. Mary's. Check out the ever helpful New Liturgical Movement for some background to the Feast and, in the meanwhile, here's a prayer:

Omnípotens sempiterne Deus, qui Immaculátam Vírginem Maríam, Fílii tui Genitrícem, córpore et ánima ad caelestem gloriam assumpsisti: concéde, quáesumus; ut ad superna semper intenti, ipsíus gloriae mereámur esse consortes. Per eundem Dóminum nostrum.

 

And in English: 

Almighty and everlasting God, who hast assumed the Immaculate Virgin Mary, Mother of Thy Son, body and soul into heavenly glory: grant, we beseech, that ever intent on the things above, we may deserve to be partakers of her glory. Through the same our Lord.

 

Amen and bless you all,

LSP

All Saints

From the great, lucid, holy Benedict XVI (2008):

The Solemnity of All Saints came to be affirmed in the course of the first Christian millennium as a collective celebration of martyrs. Already in 609, in Rome, Pope Boniface iv had consecrated the Pantheon, dedicating it to the Virgin Mary and to all the martyrs. Moreover, we can understand this martyrdom in a broad sense, in other words, as love for Christ without reserve, love that expresses itself in the total gift of self to God and to the brethren. 

This spiritual destination, toward which all the baptized strive, is reached by following the way of the Gospel "beatitudes", as the liturgy of today's Solemnity indicates (cf. Mt 5: 1-12a). It is the same path Jesus indicated that men and women Saints have striven to follow, while at the same time being aware of their human limitations. In their earthly lives, in fact, they were poor in spirit, suffering for sins, meek, hungering and thirsting for justice, merciful, pure of heart, peacemakers, persecuted for the sake of justice. 

And God let them partake in his very own happiness: they tasted it already in this world and in the next, they enjoy it in its fullness. They are now consoled, inheritors of the earth, satisfied, forgiven, seeing God whose children they are. In a word: "the reign of God is theirs" (Mt 5: 3,10).

On this day we feel revive within us our attraction to Heaven, which impels us to quicken the steps of our earthly pilgrimage. We feel enkindled in our hearts the desire to unite ourselves forever to the family of Saints, in which already now we have the grace to partake. As a famous spiritual song says: "Oh when the Saints, come marching in, oh how I want to be in that number!" 

May this beautiful aspiration burn within all Christians, and help them to overcome every difficulty, every fear, every tribulation! 

Let us place, dear friends, our hand in Mary's maternal hand, may the Queen of All Saints lead us towards our heavenly homeland, in the company of the blessed spirits "from every nation, people and language" (cf. Rv 7: 9). And already now we unite in prayer in remembering our dear deceased, who we will commemorate tomorrow.

 

And here's an ecumenical prayer via FR5:

Omnípotens sempitérne Deus, qui nos ómnium Sanctórum tuórum mérita sub una tribuísti celebritáte venerári: quæsumus; ut desiderátam nobis tuæ propitiatiónis abundántiam, multiplicátis intercessóribus, largiáris. 

Almighty and everlasting God, who has enabled us to honor in one solemn feast the merits of all Thy Saints: we beseech Thee, that, with so many praying for us, Thou wouldst pour forth on us the abundance of Thy mercy for which we long. 

 

May the powerful intercession of Our Lady and the Saints be with us all. And be assured, the iron gates of Hell shall not prevail against the onslaught of the hosts of heaven.

Here endeth the Lesson,

LSP

Feast of St. James of Jerusalem

St. James became the first bishop of the Church in Jerusalem, only to be thrown from the pinnacle of the Temple and clubbed to death by a baker. Here's his Collect:

GRANT, O merciful God, that, as thine holy Apostle Saint James, leaving his father and all that he had, without delay was obedient unto the calling of thy Son Jesus Christ, and followed him; so we, forsaking all worldly and carnal affections, may be evermore ready to follow thy holy commandments; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

God bless,

LSP

The Feast of St. Thomas - A Helpful Meditation

It's the Feast of St. Thomas today. He doubted, like the Church of England itself but unlike the Episcopal Church, came to great faith.

Thomas scorned liturgical dance

And hated bad vestments

He was against wimmyn bishops, note Gloucester's teeth. And...

He stood for the Faith.

Here's the collect.

ALMIGHTY and everliving God, who, for the greater confirmation of the faith, didst suffer thy holy Apostle Thomas to be doubtful in thy Son's resurrection; Grant us so perfectly, and without all doubt, to believe in thy Son Jesus Christ, that our faith in thy sight may never be reproved. Hear us, O Lord, through the same Jesus Christ, to whom, with thee and the Holy Ghost, be all honour and glory, now and for evermore. 

Amen.

LSP 

Civilisational Fail and St. Francis

A Typical View From The Compound

Via ZeroHedge: "Civilizations fail when their elites change from an admired dynamic creative class to a despised Establishment of corrupt rentiers, an entrenched governing class unfit to govern."

Are we there yet? As you ponder that, here's the Collect for the Feast of St. Francis:

St. Francis of Assisi

MOST high, almighty, and good Lord: Grant thy people grace to renounce gladly the vanities of this world, that, after the example of blessed Francis, we may for love of thee delight in all thy creatures, with perfectness of joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Of course Francis turned his back on the elite status he'd inherited and chose a different path. Not for him the life of rentier 1% luxury. As I understand it, the first Franciscan friars to arrive in England were arrested for vagrancy.

Carry on,

LSP

Maundy Thursday

It's Maundy Thursday and time to concentrate on higher things than the Archbishop of Canterbury's latest mall brawl antics. So here's a couple of prayers, or Collects, for the day:

ALMIGHTY Father, whose dear Son, on the night before he suffered, did institute the Sacrament of his Body and Blood; Mercifully grant that we may thankfully receive the same in remembrance of him, who in these holy mysteries giveth us a pledge of life eternal; the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who now liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit ever, one God, world without end. Amen.

And for all you Roman Catholic trads out there, here's the Extraordinary Form Collect (1962 Missal):

DEUS, a quo et Judas reátus sui pœnam, et confessiónis suæ latro prǽmium sumpsit, concéde nobis tuæ propitiatiónis efféctum: ut, sicut in passióne sua Jesus Christus Dóminus noster divérsa utrísque íntulit stipéndia meritórum; ita nobis, abláto vetustátis erróre, resurrectiónis suæ grátiam largiátur. Qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitáte Spíritus Sancti Deus, per ómnia sǽcula sæculórum.

(O GOD, from whom Judas received the punishment of his guilt, and the thief the reward of his confession: grant unto us the full fruit of Thy Clemency; that even as in His Passion our Lord Jesus Christ gave to each retribution according to his merits, so having cleared away our former guilt, He may bestow on us the grace of His Resurrection: Who with Thee liveth and reigneth in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.)

Have a blessed Triduum,

LSP

The Feast of St. Matthias

If Donald Trump is the reincarnation of Pompey Magnus, what does that make Hillary. Some kind of pantsuited, overweight Livia? As you ponder that, don't forget it's the Feast of St. Matthias the Apostle. Here's his Collect:

O ALMIGHTY God, who into the place of the traitor Judas didst choose thy faithful servant Matthias to be of the number of the twelve Apostles; Grant that thy Church, being alway preserved from false Apostles, may be ordered and guided by faithful and true pastors; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

God bless,

LSP