Ash Wednesday

 

Remember O man that thou art dust and to dust thou shall return. Remember too that this same dust has been redeemed and elevated to resurrection through the hard wood of the Cross.

Almighty and everlasting God, who hatest nothing that thou hast made and dost forgive the sins of all them that are penitent: Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins, and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of thee, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

 

Have a blessed and holy Lent,

LSP

Ash Wednesday 2020

Memento, homo, quia pulvis es et in pulverem reverteris — Remember, O Man, that thou art dust and unto dust thou shalt return.

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust all brought into stark relief as we kneel to receive an ashen cross on our foreheads. No, fool, you're not a God, you're mortal and destined to return to the earth from which you came. 

Remember, the memento mori is cruciform, in the shape of the same Cross which defeated death by death. Here we find life, our mortality shot through and transformed by eternity.

So Good Friday lives within Ash Wednesday and with it the green pastures and flowing waters of paradise, of the empty tomb and Easter. O death, where is thy sting? Still, before we dare claim the victory we must ally ourselves with it, or rather the Victor himself. And so to Lent.

ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, who hatest nothing that thou hast made, and dost forgive the sins of all those who are penitent; Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of thee, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Wishing you all a holy and blessed penitential season,

LSP

Man Down

When a priest dies you hold a Requiem Mass, Pontifical if possible, but there's a "pre-funeral" rite before that. A group of clergy meets at the funeral home where the body is laid out. They recite various prayers, including the Litany of the Dead and the Absolution of the Dead. The body is then washed, after which a priest recites psalms, beginning at the 1st, while his colleagues clothe the body in Mass vestments. When this is done, all recite Psalms 147-150 and conclude the ritual. Preferably this should end with the coffin being sealed and brought to the church for a Vigil service. The Requiem follows on the next day.

I did that on Friday, along with two others and in case any of you are planning on doing this any time soon, I'd recommend four persons; three to vest the body and one to act as Officiant.

Intense. 

Please pray for the repose of the soul of Fr. J.R. Baker SSC and, of course, the victims of the shooting in Connecticut.

Requiescant.

LSP