Slavishly accurate liturgical translations & frank commentary on Catholic issues - by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf o{]:¬)
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Today is not 29 February. Therefore it is not the feast day of:
1. St. Hilary, pope (+468).
2. St. Oswald, bishop in Anglia.
3. Blessed Anthonia of Florence, widow.
4. St. Auguste Chapdelaine, priest and missionary in China, martyr.
On the other hand, on the years not leap years, they are observed on 28 February.
We continue our Lenten journey through the prayers of Holy Mass with today’s
SUPER OBLATA:
Supplicum votis, Domine, esto propitius,
et, populi tui oblationibus precibusque susceptis,
omnium nostrum ad te corda converte.
This elegant prayer was in the 1962 Missale Romanum but it was already in the ancient books, such as the Veronese Sacramentary.
Propitius means "favorable" or, obviously, propitious and the object of favor is usually in the dative. Esto is a fun imperative, which some call the "Comic/Legal" imperative because it tends to show up in juridical and theatrical texts. The phrase "propitius esto" sounds like the petition in a litany. A votum can be a "prayer" or a "petition" as well as a expression of "praise".
LITERAL VERSION:
Be favorable, O Lord, toward the petitions of (us) suppliants,
and, once the prayers and offerings of Your people have been accepted,
turn the hearts of us all toward You.
One of the things I am noticing is that these prayers so far in Lent are concerning changes in direction. First, we have the upward and downward dynamic of our offering rising and God’s grace descending. We have also our own interior change of course, or "conversion".
Priests get rowdy in Vatican soccer game
Two teams of priests ended all hopes for a peaceful soccer match when their Vatican City league match included penalties and one hospital visit.Despite a pre-game plea for fair play from Cardinal Pio Laghi, Saturday’s soccer match between the Brazilian students from Pontifical Gregorian University and a Mexican team of trainee priests from Mater Ecclesiae seminary quickly turned violent, the Daily Telegraph said.
"You are in sight of St Peter’s, so behave!" Laghi said before the game.
The referee had been asked to use blue penalty cards primarily to assess violations, but he wound up issuing two yellow cards for major penalties.
The low-point may have come when one player had to be assisted off the field by an ambulance crew.
The Mexicans of Mater Ecclesiae and their appropriately named goalie, Jesus, won the match, 6-0.
