Omnium Gatherum

There is a cool photo from NASA of the launch of the LADEE spacecraft. A frog
photo bombed” the rocket.

On this day in 1814, Francis Scott Key penned The Star Spangled Banner.  More about that at This Day in History.  If you have never read the whole poem, “The Defense of Fort Henry”, you may do so now. I like last strophe:

O say can you see by the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;
O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave,
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o’er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning’s first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
‘Tis the star-spangled banner, O! long may it wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion,
A home and a country, should leave us no more?
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps’ pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave,
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

O thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war’s desolation.
Blest with vict’ry and peace, may the Heav’n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: “In God is our trust.”
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

How the times, and comfort, have changed us.

Here is a great piece of news:

His Excellency Most Rev. Edward Slattery will celebrate a Pontifical Mass in the Extraordinary Form on 13 October (anniversary of the Miracle of the Sun at Fatima) at Holy Family Cathedral in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The Mass will begin at 2 pm, followed by a reception with sandwiches and appetizers at 4:30 pm. A Marian devotions concert, with recitation of the rosary, Marian hymns, and then Benediction, will begin at 6:30 pm.

This is the first time this Mass has been offered in the Diocese of Tulsa since the liturgical changes. This has also been done very few times in the United States since the Second Vatican Council–maybe five or six, which includes the occasion when Bp. Slattery offered the same in Washington D.C. in 2010.

We welcome all Catholics, no matter what form of the liturgy they attend, to witness this awesome event in honor of Our Lady and the Year of Faith.

From a reader:

Dear Fr Z thank you so much for always allowing Stephen, Jack and Preserved to surface in your writings. [In the great books by Patrick O’Brien.] I am on the last novel , sad and unsure were to go next! We are in a mission parish in Arkansas. I manage to go to a TLM 50 miles away twice a month, thanks to the the FSSP. Our pastor is a wonderful priest from India but thinks the TLM would divide our parish. It is sometimes easy to get discouraged.So thank you for all your prayers, advice and ministry! God bless

Thanks for the mention of the Patrick O’Brien books!  Which they are a joy to read, ain’t they?

Get a group of people together at the parish and put in a formal request.  Then, get involved in the parish and also reach out to the Hispanic community.  Try to get something going together!  Persevere!  Bear a hand there!

The intrepid Bishop of Madison, His Excellency Most Reverend Robert C. Morlino, has forbidden that Catholic school children be take on tours of institutions which engage embryonic stem cell research.  The usual liberal spittle-flecked nutty erupted right on schedule.  Syte Reitz has a great review of the reactions to Bp. Morlino’s decision HERE.  I especially liked this part:

Yet the online discussion forums following this article are completely dominated by Madison’s intolerant progressive dogmatists, who have shifted the meaning of tolerance away from accepting the right of others to hold dissenting views, to demanding that all agree with progressive dogmatists, under pain of uncivilized attack and ridicule.

Discussion Diverted

The 36 comments so far include no intellectual discussion whatsoever of the morality of stem cell research, but instead try to divert true discussion with the standard barrage of unrelated and bigoted false accusations routinely used by progressive opponents of the Catholic Church in Madison – accusations of ignoring war and poverty, ignoring the teachings of Jesus, supporting Republicans, rejecting evolution, supporting child abuse, supporting the School of the Americas, and misrepresentations of the Catholic position on contraception, of tax exemption of religious institutions, and of the old Galileo question.

How Undignified

This diversion of discussion to unrelated topics also includes the usual unintellectual name-calling aimed at Catholics- including bastions of ignorance, thugs, religious nuts, antichoicers, misogynists, anitgays, bubyull (?) thumping idiots, narrow beliefs, hypocrites, “choice” to be ignorant, “imaginary people they claim to be concerned about,” fevered minds, Imam Morlino, Catholic idiots, Vatican has done more to damage the human race, incapable of free thought, anti-intelligence, and book of fiction (the Bible).
This, coming from tolerant, intellectual Madison, and published without question by one of Wisconsin’s leading newspapers, the Wisconsin State Journal.

Ahhh, Madison! “77 square miles surrounded by reality.”

But WAIT!  The National Schismatic Reporter‘s Michael Sean Winters launched a rather feeble attack on Bp. Morlino over this.  HERE  Silly, really.  Go take a look and have a laugh.

For 14 September – Anniversary of Summorum Pontificum and Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross:

I am not sure if you do this, but if you are willing, could you make a post advertising this celebration of the TLM?

On Sept. 14 at 9 am, there will be a Sung Mass in the Extraordinary Form at St. Barnabas Church in Indianapolis, Indiana. The celebrant is a newly ordained priest for the archdiocese. This will be the first Sung Mass in the EF ever celebrated at this parish. The Mass will also be filmed by a college student who is making a promo video for the Latin Mass.

Will I advertise this?  More free advertising?  HA!  Not a chance.  No way.   I’ll never link to St. Barnabas’s page!

I like this little rant from Pat Archbold: Woody Allen Catholicism

I desire John Wayne Catholicism in a Woody Allen world.

I’ll say.

And now – pay ATTENTION! – This is about BEER! – another shameless plea for free advertising, this is from Quartermaster of the Barque:

Dear Father Z:

There isn’t much time left! My current position is #10. The ten videos that receive the most votes automatically win an invitation to attend Sierra Nevada’s Beer Camp this December. You can vote daily through September 30 for my Beer Camp entry, “Dispensing Catholic Joy” by going to the official website for Sierra Nevada Beer Camp. If you could please ask your readers to vote for me in these final days leading to the conclusion of the contest, I would be most grateful to you (and them). Check my blog (Quartermaster of the Barque) for updates on the contest, and where we dispense pints, provisions and orthodox Catholic Joy! God bless you!

Click to buy!

I have a soft spot for nautical imagery.  Which you’ve all seen me use references to the aforementioned books by Patrick O’Brien.  As a matter of fact I am now reading the books by Julian Stockwin.  They are pretty good.  They start “before the mast”, which is a new perspective.

Michael Voris has an interesting video interview with Mat Archbold about … well… hard-identity Catholicism.  I am mentioned at about 13:55.  They talk about a lot of things that many (soft-identity types) are not going to want to hear.  Take some time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1c07GWn-Tg&feature=player_embedded

Finally, pick this up if you have a blog and repost it. This is about Fr. Blake who is – rightly – hurt and angry at the vile trashing of his reputation. I STAND WITH FR. BLAKE!

I saw this at Mulier Fortis and That The Bones You Have Crushed May Thrill: