What Does The Prayer Really Say?
W D T P R S

Here is a very interesting e-mail from a frustrated reader (edited) and with my emphases and comments.

Dear Reverend Father,

[T]he Archdioces of Miami Radio Station, Radio Peace, is running a poll regarding what music people like at Mass.

This, after they decided to discuss Sacred Music a couple of days ago. The topic was "What kind of music do you prefer at Mass?" There were callers for whom Gregorian Chant and Polyphony is just not "with it." Someone actually called and said that it was Euro-Centric! (I thought the Catholic Church invented European culture?) The response from the host was "Well, isn’t it great that we have something for everybody in the Archdiocese of Miami!"

Well I called in and reminded the host that Gregorian Chant and Polyphany, according to at least one or two authoritative Catholic sources, have "pride of place" in the liturgy.  I then followed up with an email and a post to the official website of the show "Faith Factor"  http://www.faithfactor.org/ but since it is moderated my post never made it to the blog. Hmmmm? [So, the very sort of music the Church as advocated and given pride of place was not even included in the poll.]

Instead, the next day, the blog had a poll asking listeners to decide what music they like. The choices and the results are below. Also, there were several entries on "praise and worship" music.  And a post which announced that "Traditional hyms can be a bit outdated…"

__________________________________________________________

What kind of music do you prefer when you go to Mass?

Very contemporary praise & worship.

  19 (67%)

More conservative, traditional Catholic hymns.

  9 (32%)

I’d rather not have any music at Mass.

  0 (0%)

It’s been so long since I went to mass that I don’t really care.

  0 (0%)

Vote on this poll

Votes so far: 28 [<----- So many?]

Days left to vote: 24

__________ 

Could you ask some of your readers to help out in the cause of the traditional music vote? My hope is to get the host of the radio show to take a closer look at tradional music. He is apparently a "worship leader" for a charismatic band. If it isn’t possible to ask your readers to vote I would like to take the opprotunity to thank you for your blog. Words cannot describe my gratitude at the fruit of your time and effort. May the Lord continue to bless you according to the perfect intercession of the Immaculate Conception.

In your kindness, please say a prayer, right now, that "Alex" get this highly desired job he applied for!  He is excited!

Our friend Amy over at Charlotte was both has pointed out some interesting news about a new volume of Pope Benedict XVI called Questions and Answers. 

This is a book of, you guessed it, Q and A sessions Pope Benedict had with various groups, young people, priests, etc. 

It was published by Our Sunday Visitor.

Apparently this little book has received some recognition. 

It is good that people will be able to get a feeling for how Pope Benedict, unlike any of his predecessors breaks the mould in such encounters.  You get a real sense of the fellow when he speaks like this.

On a personal note, I did a lot of the footnotes for the book, mostly explaining Latin terms or phrases used by the Pope and left in Latin in the English translation. 

It is great to be able to participate in a good project like this. I hope for a long Pontificate and, therefore, more of these volumes in the future!

It would be a good book for young people.

Some time ago I wrote about the implementation of Summorum Pontificum in the Diocese of Portland, Maine.  His Excellency Most Reverend Richard J. Malone, Bishop of Portland, set up a chaplaincy structure and assigned a priest.  The group of people whom this chaplaincy would serve would need to follow a budget and support the chaplaincy financially.

I wrote in favor of this development.

Now the details of the budget have been released and some people are angry.

For example, there is a website that is taking a very harsh line toward the Diocese and this structure, particularly the budget.

Here is the item with emphases and comments by WDTPRS.

AQ Report

Latin Mass Community to be charged $72,000 for Mass

By John Grasmeier
Angelqueen.org
April, 2008

Since the release of Summorum Pontificum – Pope Benedict’s Motu Proprio removing restrictions on celebrating the Traditional Latin Mass – many local prelates and their diocesan hirelings have gone to great lengths to make life as difficult as possible for Catholics seeking to take advantage of it. From requiring priests to sit for formal Latin language examinations before offering the TLM, to suffering difficult (and even unlawful) permission schemes, traditionalist priests and lay persons have had to suffer all types of dubiously devised obstacles laid out for them by hostile ecclesiastical chains of command.  [So far, I agree.  I think we have shown how this is playing out fairly well.]

Some who follow such matters may tend to think they’ve heard everything regarding these shenanigans. Others, who know better, realize that when it comes to suppressing of the immemorial rite, never think you’ve heard everything.  [Never underestimate the ability of the other side creatively to think up obstacles.]

[This is where this post starts to go off the rails….] In a first (a first not only in anti-TLM hubris, but quite possibly a first in the history of Holy Church) the TLM community in the diocese of Portland Maine billed for their Mass. They are to be charged $72,000 per year, with an initial $18,000 down payment being due on or before July 1st, only a little over 2 1/2 months from the time this is being written.

The 72-grand will go toward the [1] priest’s salary and benefits, [2] office supplies and, astoundingly, [3] rental of the church. Should anyone think this a joke or simply too outrageous to be believed, the following is presented:  [It looks like the objection is based mostly on the rental of the church.  However, the budget is for more than rental.  I wonder what the amount for rental really is.]

[Here is the letter explaining that there will be a budget….]

3 April 2008

Dear Members of the Latin Mass Community:

Christ is Risen & Lives Forever!

As Msgr. Marc Caron, the chancellor of the Diocese, announced to you some weeks past, Bishop Richard Malone has honored me with the newly created position of Chaplain to the Latin Mass Community in south-central Maine effective 1 July 2008. I look forward to serving and working with the faithful who are attached to the extraordinary form of the Roman liturgy. Initially, I will be celebrating Holy Mass in the extraordinary form every Sunday at 8:00 AM at the Basilica of Ss Peter & Paul in Lewiston and at noon at the Cathedral Chapel in Portland.  [NB: NOT St. Ipsipisy in Black Duck, or a run down chapel in Tall Tree Circle, but the Cathedral and a Minor Basilica.] Once the Chaplaincy is underway, additional Masses will be scheduled at other locations as the need increases and other priests are available. I also will be available to you for the celebration of the sacraments and sacramentals, including funerals, as needed. [So far, this sounds pretty good.]

I am happy to announce that the Bishop has accepted a request for a patron for the Latin Mass Chaplaincy. We will now be known as the :

St. Gregory the Great Latin Mass Chaplaincy

As Bishop Malone announced, the Chaplaincy will be funded by those benefiting from this ministry, [That is not unfair… on the contrary!  It is just.] and the Chaplaincy will continue only if there is sufficient funding to meet its expenses. [Someone has to pay for this.  It should be paid for by those who benefit from it.] The initial annual budget has been prepared, which I have approved and accepted. [So, their priest/father figure is acting in their best interest.] The budget for the first year is $72,000.00 and includes salary, room & board, health insurance and pension, travel expenses, church rental, office expenses, and other ministy (sic) expenses.  [These are the basics and they are all necessary.]

Prior to 1 July, and before the Chaplaincy will begin, we are required to raise from contributions one-quarter of our annual budget, or $18,000.00. This initial funding is necessary to ensure that we will be financially independent and able to meet our weekly ongoing expenses as the Chaplaincy begins and grows. We must begin our fundraising efforts immediately to raise this initial amount. We have established an account at TD Banknorth in Lewiston that will be used exclusively for the Chaplaincy. Contributions to the Chaplaincy should be made by check payable to "St Gregory (the Great) Latin Mass Chaplaincy" and sent to the following address: Latin Mass Chaplaincy, Department of Ministerial Services, P.O. Box 11559, Portland, Maine 04104. Please be as generous as your means allow.

After 1 July collections taken up at all the Masses of the Chaplaincy will go totally to the support of the Chaplaincy. [That is very good!  It could have been arranged that those contributions would be given to the hosting parish!] Also the faithful will be able to register with the Chaplaincy and will have their own envelopes come the New Year. I will also be making regular financial reports to the community.  [This is just.]

I will be able to join you and address you after Mass on Sunday 20 April 2008 at the Cathedral to enlist your support for the many important tasks we must undertake in order to build the Chaplaincy so that it will be a vital, growing, and long-lasting ministry in the Diocese. I also hope to answer any questions you may have. Unfortunately I may arrive during the Mass as I must complete my duties in Sabattus first. I hope you will be able to stay for a short reception after Mass so that we may become personally acquainted.

I thank all the priests who have served and who will continue to serve you. They have been a blessing from God. I look forward to meeting and serving you. May God prosper the work of our hands.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Rev. Robert A. Parent

A few things occur to me upon reading Father’s letter and the angry and, in my opinion, acrimonious reaction to it.  I understand that they may not be sniping at Fr. Parent, but perhaps at others in the chancery or parishes who may have imposed these conditions.

Any number of parish priests could jump in with stories about how many people come to the parish desiring services for one reason or another and have the idea that everything ought to be free for them, without any personal obligation or expense. 

This also happens with payment of tuition in Catholic schools and also Sunday giving.  Very many Catholics have it in their heads that the pratice of their faith shouldn’t have to cost them anything.

Having a parish costs something.  Somebody has to pay for what you receive.  When you go to Mass and there is heat or A/C, someone pays the bill.  There are bills for lights and salaries for maintenance and cleaning.  The priest has the right to a just salary, room and board.  If you expect him to travel,  his expenses must be paid.

It strikes me that if a community cannot handle $72,000 per year, how could they dream to handle a whole parish, with all of its expenses.

If a parish priest has a group come into his place and turn on his lights and enjoy the heat or A/C and then know that they will come to a clean church when they return, that parish priest would want to know how it is going to be paid for.

Were it possible simply to do everything and not need to worry about money, that would be a different matter.

I am struck also by the example set by some Protestant groups who practice rather disciplined tithing: 10% of their wages going to their churches.  I wonder how many people in the TLM groups around the country are giving 10% of the income to their parishes.  If Protestants, with their lack of sacraments, can do this, how much more should Catholics, who receiving infinitely more from their shepherds and the Church be willing to ante-up?

The bishop established this chaplaincy in such a way that it could have a very clear identity and in such a way that, if successful, it could be given and church and made a personal parish.  (Remember: if they pay "rent" at a parish, they will also have certain rights, which they would otherwise not have.)

But much will depend on them.  I don’t mean just in how they cough up money for their venture, but also in their attitude.  They could really spoil this for everyone.

Finally, however, I would have to ask serious questions:

Are there other groups in the diocese that don’t have their own parishes paying expenses in this manner?  For example some ethnic group with their own priest chaplain?  If there are, are they paying to use some parish facility?

Is the treatment shown to the TLM group the same as that shown to other groups or is there a demonstrable, provable double-standard?

Even if there is, I would have to advise the folks in Portland to leave aside the acrimony and prove they can do it anyway!  Noblesse oblige.  At least for the time being keep your spirits up and think about that tithing thing.

Here is the text of the Holy Father’s video message to the USA in advance of his visit:

VIDEO-MESSAGE OF THE HOLY FATHER BENEDICT XVI
TO CATHOLICS AND PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
ON THE OCCASION OF THE UPCOMING APOSTOLIC JOURNEY

Dear Brothers and Sisters in the United States of America,

The grace and peace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you! In just a few days from now, I shall begin my apostolic visit to your beloved country. Before setting off, I would like to offer you a heartfelt greeting and an invitation to prayer. As you know, I shall only be able to visit two cities: Washington and New York. The intention behind my visit, though, is to reach out spiritually to all Catholics in the United States. At the same time, I earnestly hope that my presence among you will be seen as a fraternal gesture towards every ecclesial community, and a sign of friendship for members of other religious traditions and all men and women of good will. The risen Lord entrusted the Apostles and the Church with his Gospel of love and peace, and his intention in doing so was that the message should be passed on to all peoples.

At this point I should like to add some words of thanks, because I am conscious that many people have been working hard for a long time, both in Church circles and in the public services, to prepare for my journey. I am especially grateful to all who have been praying for the success of the visit, since prayer is the most important element of all. Dear friends, I say this because I am convinced that without the power of prayer, without that intimate union with the Lord, our human endeavours would achieve very little. Indeed this is what our faith teaches us. It is God who saves us, he saves the world, and all of history. He is the Shepherd of his people. I am coming, sent by Jesus Christ, to bring you his word of life.

Together with your Bishops, I have chosen as the theme of my journey three simple but essential words: "Christ our hope". Following in the footsteps of my venerable predecessors, Paul VI and John Paul II, I shall come to United States of America as Pope for the first time, to proclaim this great truth: Jesus Christ is hope for men and women of every language, race, culture and social condition. Yes, Christ is the face of God present among us. Through him, our lives reach fullness, and together, both as individuals and peoples, we can become a family united by fraternal love, according to the eternal plan of God the Father. I know how deeply rooted this Gospel message is in your country. I am coming to share it with you, in a series of celebrations and gatherings. I shall also bring the message of Christian hope to the great Assembly of the United Nations, to the representatives of all the peoples of the world. Indeed, the world has greater need of hope than ever: hope for peace, for justice, and for freedom, but this hope can never be fulfilled without obedience to the law of God, which Christ brought to fulfilment in the commandment to love one another. Do to others as you would have them do to you, and avoid doing what you would not want them to do. This "golden rule" is given in the Bible, but it is valid for all people, including non-believers. It is the law written on the human heart; on this we can all agree, so that when we come to address other matters we can do so in a positive and constructive manner for the entire human community.

Dirijo un cordial saludo a los católicos de lengua española y les manifiesto mi cercanía espiritual, en particular a los jóvenes, a los enfermos, a los ancianos y a los que pasan por dificultades o se sienten más necesitados. Les expreso mi vivo deseo de poder estar pronto con Ustedes en esa querida Nación. Mientras tanto, les aliento a orar intensamente por los frutos pastorales de mi inminente Viaje Apostólico y a mantener en alto la llama de la esperanza en Cristo Resucitado.

Dear brothers and sisters, dear friends in the United States, I am very much looking forward to being with you. I want you to know that, even if my itinerary is short, with just a few engagements, my heart is close to all of you, especially to the sick, the weak, and the lonely. I thank you once again for your prayerful support of my mission. I reach out to every one of you with affection, and I invoke upon you the maternal protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Que la Virgen María les acompañe y proteja. Que Dios les bendiga.

May God bless you all.

I got this by e-mail.  Perhaps you readers can help.

Hello Father Z,

I am a Confirmation teacher at my parish, and I have a dilemma.  Our current curriculum is very, very bad.  We just got a new Director of Religious Ed this year, and I am hoping to be able to convince her to change the program for next year.

I don’t know if you have ever heard of it, but our program is called Confirmed in a Faithful Community (sic).  In case you haven’t heard of it, I will give one example: in the chapter on (I think) liturgy ("Celebrating with Symbols and Rituals") we (the catechists) are instructed to "create an opening ritual for this session…that reflects the unique characteristics and history of their group." (emphasis mine).  In the following section, misleading entitled, "The Meaning of Ritual," we find such exercises as "ask them to cup their hands in front of them, bow their heads, and look at their cupped hands.  (Mention to them that there is something inherently prayerful about this posture.)...Then have the participants kneel.  While they are kneeling, ask them to place their foreheads against the floor.  Note that Muslims use this position in their daily prayer to signify submission to God."

Note that, of all of the positions the candidates are "invited" to "experience" the only one that is actually Christian is (as you could probably guess) the orans posture.  Of all of the postures and rituals in "The Meaning of Ritual" the only posture whose meaning is actually given is the Muslim one.

I’m going to stop now, in the interests of length and not giving myself a stroke.

What I am asking of you, Father, is two things:

One: could you kindly remember CCD teachers at the altar next time you offer the Mass?
Two: could you let me know what Confirmation program you would use/recommend?  If I’m going to go in to my meeting with the DRE, I’d like to go with more than "these books are wretched, please burn them."  As much as possible, I would like to be helpful, and not just critical.

Thank you so much for your time, Father.  God love you.

A reader alerted me to this item in the L.A. Times.  Here it is with my emphases and comments.

Papal dress code

When Pope Benedict XVI visits the U.S., what he wears could send a message to Catholics.
By Michael McGough
April 6, 2008

Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to the United States later this month has inspired speculation about what the pontiff will say [both in words and subtler signs…] to his sometimes restive American flock. Will he use a lecture at Catholic University in Washington to chastise Catholic colleges and universities for succumbing to secularism? [probably] Will he make more than an oblique reference to the pedophilia scandal that led to the resignation of Cardinal Bernard Law as the archbishop of Boston (a city not on the pope’s itinerary)? [I guess, no.]

And there’s another interesting question for American Catholics on both the left and the right: What will the pope wear?

When Benedict celebrates Mass in Yankee Stadium on April 20, he will be clothed in the raiment of his office—a poncho-like vestment called a chasuble and the double-peaked bishop’s cap known as a miter. Asking if the pope will be dressed up is like asking whether the pope’s Catholic.

But the Catholic Church is a house with many rooms, and those rooms have different clothes hanging in the closets. To the delight of conservative Catholic bloggers, [! – Clearly a few of the usual suspect blogs are shaping the discussion.] Benedict—the pope who has ordered wider use of the Latin Mass of the Council of Trent—has lately been donning elaborately embroidered vestments and miters in what is called the "Roman" style, in contrast with the neo-medieval "Gothic" style that made a comeback after the Second Vatican Council.

The Gothic style features short, squat miters and full, flowing chasubles. The Roman style, a product of the Baroque era, produced the super-tall miters beloved of anti-Catholic polemicists (the cartoonist Thomas Nast portrayed bishops as crocodiles, with the two points of their miters forming jaws) and chasubles reduced to the point that they resemble an embroidered sandwich board. This style of chasuble is known as the "fiddleback" because the front portion is shaped like a violin.

Fiddleback chasubles and skyscraper miters were the norm in the Roman Catholic Church through the early part of the 20th century. The Gothic style, which hearkened back to the 12th century, was viewed with suspicion in Rome partly because it was favored by priests of the Church of England who wanted to reestablish their church’s Catholic heritage. (Ironically, some of those "Anglo-Catholic" clergymen were imprisoned in the 19th century for wearing what Protestant-minded Anglicans regarded as the "rags of popery.")

But the Gothic revival was also supported by some Roman Catholic scholars, the same scholars whose studies laid the groundwork for the liturgical reforms [the Liturgical Movement] —including Mass with the priest facing the congregation [Which was mostly an ideological drive, and the vestment issue got wrapped up in that controversy, before the Council.] —that followed the Second Vatican Council. In a 1931 book celebrating Gothic vestments, the influential Benedictine monk E.A. Roulin fulminated against the "horribly heavy" and "vulgar" fiddleback chasuble.

When I served Mass as an alter boy at in Pittsburgh in the early 1960s, the vestments were all Gothic, the fiddlebacks of the 1940s and 1950s having long been mothballed. I didn’t realize, until I read Garry Wills’ "Bare Ruined Choirs," that Gothic vestments were associated with liberal Catholicism.  [Not that anyone should ever read Wills about Catholicism… but, there was a time when this was so.]

After Vatican II, the pope caught up with Pittsburgh. When Pope Paul VI celebrated Mass in Yankee Stadium in 1965, he wore a flowing but not particularly elaborate Gothic chasuble and a mid-sized miter. His successors—John Paul I and John Paul II —also favored Gothic chasubles, though they occasionally donned skyscraper miters. 

Then the papacy passed to Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, a critic of post-Vatican II liturgical practices who traced his own vocation to the priesthood to a youthful infatuation with the old Mass as it was celebrated in Baroque-loving Bavaria. [I think this may betray something of the position of the writer.  Some critics of Pope Benedict’s choices chalk his motives up to mere personal preference.]  In a 1997 memoir, Ratzinger recalled how "it was a riveting adventure to move by degrees into the mysterious world of the liturgy which was being enacted before us and for us at the altar."

Assisted by Archbishop Piero Marini, the papal master of ceremonies he inherited from John Paul II, Benedict sported Gothic vestments and modest [?] miters for a while. But last year, the pope replaced Marini with a prelate with the same last name, Msgr. Guido Marini. With the assistance of Marini No. 2, Benedict has returned to his liturgical roots, sporting [Note the deprecatory word choice.] massive miters, celebrating Mass in the Sistine Chapel with his back to the congregation [This is typical… it is also a canard.  But readers of WDTPRS know well enough why this is an inaccurate description of what is really going on in ad orientem worship.] and leading Good Friday services vested in a fiddleback chasuble. The pope’s aides say that his choice of vestments is designed to demonstrate continuity with the church’s past. Liberals are more inclined to see it as a slap at the spirit of Vatican II.  [Gee… I wonder who is right?]

Even some Catholics might wonder why so much attention is paid to the pope’s preferences in vestments. If hemlines can rise and fall, why not miters? Besides, special robes for priests and bishops are a tradition, not a matter of faith, and whether Gothic or Roman, ecclesiastical vestments originated in the everyday civilian dress of the Roman Empire. "The first Christians were waiting for the second coming of Christ, which they expected in their own lifetime and so made no attempt to formalize their religion," writes Janet Mayo in "A History of Ecclesiastical Dress." "They certainly had no desire to adapt or create specifically Christian clothing."  [Yes… but we should not fall into the trap of a false archeologizing, either adopting things simply because they are old or even eschewing things because in ancient times people had certain expectations.  Over the centuries our needs and knowledge have deepened with time for reflection.]

But that was to change. The introduction of vestments [ummm… has the writer read the Old Testament description of how GOD designed the vestments for those set apart among the People of God, the clergy?] coincided with a greater distinction between clergy and laypeople and the belief that only ordained priests and bishops could "validly" celebrate Mass [No… that was of divine origin, not merely a human development.] and bring about the transformation of bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ. To a greater or lesser extent, the churches of the Reformation rejected this view. They emphasized the "priesthood of all believers" and defined the Mass (or Eucharist) as a memorial meal rather than as a sacrifice offered by the priest for the forgiveness of sins. Not so coincidentally, many Protestant churches also did away with or simplified clerical vestments even as the robes worn by Catholic prelates were becoming more elaborate and over the top.  [I think the writer has stumbled into a rabbit hole, unless he is carrying on a subtle polemic.]

But in the late 20th century, there was a remarkable convergence in the way the Eucharist was celebrated and in the way it was interpreted. Vestments, lighted candles, even incense became common in Episcopal, Lutheran and even Methodist churches, even as Catholic Masses began to be celebrated in the vernacular to the accompaniment of treacly folk hymns.  [Good word choice.]

Meanwhile, Catholic theologians reached surprising common ground with scholars from other churches on issues that long had divided the two forms of Christianity. Most notable was a 1971 document in which theologians and bishops from the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches reached what they called "substantial agreement" on the meaning of the Eucharist—an agreement that was too much of a compromise for Ratzinger and other Catholic conservatives. [So… who was right?]

The typical American Catholic wouldn’t be aware of this theological fence-mending, but he would notice, on visiting a Lutheran or Episcopal Church, that the service didn’t seem very different from what went on at his parish: It would be in English, the minister would be wearing a (Gothic) chasuble, and at some point the congregants would offer one another the handshake of peace.  [A sad statement, in a way.  The services really should give different impressions, right?  Lex orandi lex credendi after all.]

That is precisely the problem for Catholics known as "rad trads"—radical traditionalists. [grrr] They prefer their Mass in Latin, their priest in a fiddleback and their pope sporting a miter tall enough to touch the heavens. It’s not about fashion, they would say, it’s about faith. We’ll see if they get their wish when Benedict suits up at Yankee Stadium.  [This is annoying and unfair.  Not only "rad trads" want those things.  However, the writer probably wanted to work in that catchy phrase and also, probably, show them some subtle disdain.]

Michael McGough is senior editorial writer for The Times.

 

With the return of warmer weather, the birds are returning, trees are betraying signs that they are interested in budding, and the snow is melting at the Sabine Farm.

There is so much snow to melt this year, that the basement is getting a bit damp so the pumps have been activated to carry water away from the foundation.  There is some pretty serious water to deal with!

And the chickadees, et al., are seriously draining the feeders.  You can practically see the level of seed drop as they fend of death by starvation.  The trees right now are full of song birds.

I too am managing to fend of starvation, this time through the emergency application of brasato.

Yes, I know this is really more of an autumn or winter choice, but I am always thinking ahead.  I sometimes practice recipes out of season in view of times to come.  Also, I had some beef I had to use.

A recent guest at the Sabine Farm brought along a large beef roast, which we didn’t get the chance to prepare.  So, I took the bull by the horns and turned the carnis bovilla into a Northern Italian staple.  It wasn’t the optimal cut of meat for this recipe, but… heck… I had it and it was free!  It was a good opportunity to give this preparation a shot and get my head around its theory.

It began with a long marinade, 24 hours, in some chopped veg, fresh herbs (which we have been able to maintain here during the winter) and a bottle of red wine, this time an inexpensive barolo.   The marinade was pretty aggressive.  It had clove and cinnamon, fresh rosemary and sage and lots of bay. 



After, the marinade was drained, the beef and vegetables were browned separately, and everything was reunited for slow cooking, in the marinade, for about 3 hours at very low heat.

The meat is taken out, put aside to settle down and let the juices distribute, and the veg and herbs separated and put through a mill. The milled veg are rejoined with the cooking juices in the pan and reduced for the sauce to be served. 

Basically, nothing is wasted in the entire cooking process.

Given the very dark shade of the meat, I wasn’t sure what I was going to find when cutting into it.



I found the impact of the flavors slightly disturbing, at first. 



Then, as I ate, the it began to occur to me how good this was… then how really good this was.  Then, after a break to catch up with my impressions, I cut some more.

I am still thinking about it today.

This was pretty tasty stuff, I must say, though I think I will only marinade for about 12 hours nest time.

I am not quite sure what I would pair this with.  Perhaps a mashed root vegetable like parsnips.  A barolo would be the best bet to go with it.  You would really need to have a break after this, I think, with a sorbetto, in order to change gears.

I am very grateful to a particular person who gave me the recipe in a copy of La Cucina Italiana.

I get lots of questions via e-mail.  Among them, I am asked to translate things, either into English from Latin or into Latin.

I don’t really do that.

"But Father!  But Father!", you surely are saying, "You’re Latin is so strong, it wouldn’t take you long to translate things!"  

Oh yah?  It’s taken my over a quarter century to translate things.

When I was in Rome and constantly struggling to make ends meet, I actually sold my translation services to doctoral students who couldn’t read Latin.  Some of these folks were witting on topics pertaining to authors whose works have never been translated from Latin.  How does that work when you don’t know any Latin?

Imagine someone going to university to study, say, French literature without ever having learned French or medicine without biology.  But I digress.

I won’t be doing translations for people for a couple reasons.  First, I actually do have other things to do.  Also, ... well, there are other reasons as well.

Here is another reason:

Hi!
 
My name is _ and I´m a _ girl in need of some translation help. I´ve searched on the Internet, but I´m not sure if I found the right translation. It´s the frase "Pursuit of happiness" I want to have it translated into Latin. I´m going to make a tatoo with the latin text and want to be sure it´s translated correctly.
 
I´ve found the word consectatio for the word pursuit and the word felicitas for happiness, but is it right and how would it be in a text?
 
I´ve also got the text Labor pro felicitate and studium felicitate. I asked another person who told me to ask you. he said that these to translations were wrong. [He’s right!] What´s right? And how would you translate it? I want it to mean pursuit of happiness…that everyone is searching for happiness in one way or another.
 
I would be glad if I could ask you for your time and help to translate it for me.
 
Thank you very much!

Total disaster.

Tattoo, huh? 

I believe I will decline your invitation to work up the Latin for that. 

Good luck!  But I suspect you are really going to regret this.

On the other hand, Miss, you could take some advice, be smart, and not get any tattoo at all!