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

It is sometimes possible to remember precisely where you were and what you were doing when historic events took place. People often cite examples like where they were when they heard that JFK was shot, or when Neil Armstrong stepped off the LEM and onto the surface of the Moon.

Where were you and what were you doing when you heard that Joseph Card. Ratzinger had been elected Pope?

Here is a shot of what I was doing. (Many thanks to the person who sent me the video tape I took this photo from.)

Ummm… not yet, Your Holiness. 

I am presently parked in Florida, where I am visiting my mother for a few days.  Coming from Virginia, I picked up some bug and feel simply dreaful.  I have propped myself up in front of TV for a bit to see some of their programs on the Holy Father and his visit to the USA.

Thus, as I tuned into the show The Papacy of Reason: Inside the Mind of Benedict XVI, I was thunderstruck to see myself.

This is a documentary produced in Rome by my good friend Raphaela Schmid, who has been producing some stupendous documentaries.  I was profoundly impressed with a program she did on Catholics in China.  I was interviewed for this documentary during my last trip to Rome.

At any rate, since I had my little camera next to me in my laptop bag, I shot a some photos of the screen.

There were some very prestigious people in this show, as it turns out.  Several Cardinals, including H.E. Marc Card. Oullet (who could wind up being Pope one day) and the great Joseph Card. Zen.  Cardinals Levada of the CDF were interviewed as well as Cardinal Cordes.

Among the liturgical commentators we had Archbp. Malcolm Ranjith

And my friend Fr. Michael Lang, who has done so much to help people understand the importance of ad orientem worship.

We also got to see a shot of another friend, the Pastor of the new FSSP parish in Rome, Fr. Kramer, as he celebrated Mass at San Gregorio dei Muratori.

 

There were many other people of note in this documentary.  I highly recommend you see it if possible.  It hits a homerun in its view of Papa Ratzinger’s view of the Church and what he is trying to accomplish.

He has landed.

I think the two toward the bottom of the stairs are, my friends Greg Burke of FoxNews and John Allen,of the NCRep.

After the very nice Missa cantata with the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite this morning at St. Benedict’s Chapel, wherein yours truly was celebrant, (sorry, no photos… I was busy) I was priviledged to have a visit to the great battleship WISCONSIN, moored in downtown Norfolk. 

The ship in on inactive reserve in case it is needed.   WI last saw service in the Gulf war. 

WISCONSIN is an Iowa-class Battleship, second of that name, launched in 1943.  She has gorgeous lines.  They just don’t make ships that look this graceful anymore.



She served in WWII and Korea and was then mothballed.  She was revived for the Gulf War, and her huge turrets educated Iraqi targets.

 

Numerically, BB-64 is the highest numbered ship of her class, even though she was completed before the USS MISSOURI.

BB-64’s main battery had nine 16 inch (406 mm) guns, which could hurl 2,700 lb (1,200 kg) around 24 miles (39 km). As a backup she had twenty 5 inch (127 mm) guns in ten turrets which could hit targets 9 miles (14 km) away.

In case of a national emergency, BB-64 could be rapidly refitted and returned to active service for her incredible firepower. 

I am in Norfolk, VA right now.  I came to give a talk to the local chapter of Una Voce.   One of the wonderful things about coming to a place like this is the chance to have a tour of an aicraft carrier, this time, the USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT.



It is hard to get a grip on the size of these amazing ships until you are standing near one.



With my host here, a Navy Commander, we went with the priest in charge of the St. Benedict chapel here, Fr. Willis, and met the chaplain of the TR, Fr. Johnson, and another chaplain Fr. Cusick who is also a columnist with The Wanderer.  We had a great tour of the ship and had lunch in the ward room.  I was very pleased to see that Fr. Johnson’s sacristy had everything necessary for celebrations of the TLM.  And he chapel is oriented very properly.



Out on the breezy flight deck there is on the tower an item I wanted especially post for a friend of mine in Italy.



The flight deck is over 4 acres.



However, for my readers in the UK, I want you to know I was thinking of you too.

Right next to the TR is HMS ARK ROYAL, an aircraft carrier.



You can see the "ski jump" sticking on their flight deck for the Harriers.





Here are the four priests on the flight deck of #71, USS TR:

Fr. Willis, Fr. Z, Fr. Cusick, Fr. Johnson.

I always enjoy the sight of the FedEx truck coming up the driveway.  Who knows what it’ll be this time?

This time I received a mysterious box.



"What on earth could this be?", quoth I.

On further inspection I noticed the print on the side:



LIVE PLANT

Hmmm…

As long time readers know I have a little pen jing back in Roma.  It provided a wonderful contrast in the bright and lofty chamber.  I enjoyed it very much.

Here at the Sabine Farm, I had no pen jing, so, quite a long time ago, probably shortly after my return Stateside one time, I put a bonsai tree on my Amazon wish list.

Ta Da!

This is a Carmona microphylla or Indoor Fukien Tea Tree.

I believe it may blossom.

I am not quite sure who sent this little tree, but I suspect blog reader LB, who wrote not long ago and mentioned bonsai.

Here is the pen jing back in Rome.

The other day I posted about the return of spring to the Sabine Farm.  It seems winter is not done with us yet.

This is what I saw upon rising this morning.

The chickadees are still getting their fill, however.  There are more than ever now.  I think they must be SMSing their pals.


 

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.

If you send me good and useable photos of your churches and chapels with the images and statues veiled (as they may be as of 1st Passion Sunday (1962MR) or 5th Sunday of Lent (2002MR), I will try to post them.

I don’t promise to post eveything sent to me, but I will do my best!

I’ll start things off.

This is the chapel of the Sabine Farm.

One of these days I will have to find one of these in a Roman print shop or second hand boosk seller. 

This one is in a restaurant I often go to in Rome.

And its from 1962! 

Tonight I am in election coverage bliss. 



I was watching the Fox News Channel coverage (whom I worked for during "Papal April") on the computer via my SlingBox (from the other room) and the live internet Fox News feed from their Strategy Room, which Carl Rove called the "Strategery Room".

Does it get better than this?



You could toggle back and forth between Brit Hume and Carl Rove.

Political commentary genius.

And lest you think I had my computer all tied up, I did have an alternative.

Earlier, I enjoyed Brit Hume’s comment that the graphic behind them looked like something from Battlestar Galactica!  And it did!  Obviously he is a fan.

Once upon a time, I used to be good at making sauces from scratch.  You know the stuff… Hollandaise… Poivre vert… etc.  ( I worked as a cook to pay for grad school.)

Since my last two trips to the UK, I have become aware of Bearnaise again.  As a matter of fact, the last two times I had lunch with His Hermeneuticalness, Timothy Cont. Fingan, and Mulier Fortis they had, I believe on both occasions, steak with … yes… Bearnaise sauce!

I determined I would reconquer my saucier side.

So, last Sunday I made a little steak (NY strip) with some asparagus and bearnaise for myself.

Then this last Sunday, Laetare, I wound up in the Twin Cities at the home of a friend and had, low and behold, steak with bearnaise!

Here are the steaks in a "before" shot…

The wine had to breathe…

What was it?

The steak in an "after" shot.

Laetare indeed.

There is a lot of snow here at the Sabine Farm right now.

It is getting pretty deep in places, especially for the hungry birds.

 

Sabine Snow Removal requires more than a shovel. 

The chickadees don’t seem overly put off by all the noise and activity, however.

 

Outside the window of my office area, I have a bird feeder.  On return to the Sabine Farm from the UK, I immediately refilled the feeder, much to the delight – and I daresay great need – of the rather greedy little chickadees and the occasional nuthatch which frequent it. 

Here is a nuthatch coming in for a landing.  I think these birds are so hungry they just don’t care if I am standing right there.

I cannot speculate about the considerations of the aforementioned nuthatch.  But I do have a pretty good rapport with the less than elusive chickadee.  Here is one hammering away at a seed, which it is clutching against the metal bar.

Chickadees present no special mysteries to me, since I am able to imitate their call well enough that, during the warmer times, they fly up to me to check me out.

There was some light hoarfroast which improves the already nice view.

Something nice to look at over breakfast.


 

"But Father! But Father!" you might be saying, "What did you have for breakfast?  You show the view, but I can’t tell from that what you made!  What ever it was, you don’t exactly eat like a bird."

Ehem…

Inspired by my recent trip, I had a very proper breakfast, with thick bacon, fried tomatoes, an eggs and muffin with some orange marmalade and very strong black coffee.

I was lacking a "Say the Black – Do the Red" coffee mug this morning, however, though you don’t have to.

Though I couldn’t possibly eat this way every morning, it was a nice way to start a day, I can tell you.

Then comes the trudge though the snowy banks to the Sabine Chapel:

Here are a few photos of St. Peter’s taken last year on this feast of the Cathedra of St. Peter.

It is pretty dark in the Basilica, so steady is the name of the game. Here is a shot through the columns over the main altar toward the apse, where you can see the candles arrayed.

A closer view.

The bronze Cathedra is decorated with lighted candles only once a year, today.

The black bronse statue of St. Peter attributed to the marvelous Arnulfo di Cambio was always dressed up in his cope and tiara, with a ring on his finger and pectoral Cross on two days, 29 June and today. Then the moderists in the Fabrica started fooling around. Too triumphalistic. They started cutting out elements. But all of them were back today except for the griccia alb, which I can live without I guess.

And ….

Yesterday I had the distinct pleasure of being shown some of the sights in this part of England.

Although we could not visit Old Sarum, which was closed to visitors yesterday, we did satisfy a deeply primitive urge for ad orientem worship by visiting Stonehenge.  

I pondered the many affliction liturgists I would like to have sacrificed there with a bronze knife… while facing liturgical East, of course, before we moved along to the incredibly Salisbury Cathedral.

Here is one of the most stunning medieval naves I have ever seen.  What a wonderful about Salisbury is that the archtecture is all of a style, unlike many catehdrals from this period.

I shot many photos, be assured, but can only give you a couple.

I was delighted to find what might be the oldest functioning clock in the world.



Althought photos were not permitted in the chapter house, there I found to my surprise one of the four existing copies of Magna Carta.  I had no idea that this page was there and, as I was brought over to the display, my host gave me no clue of what I was about to see. 

I can’t quite convey with words the physical sense that came over me as I realized what I was looking at in that relatively small parchment page, closely written in highly abbreviated Latin.  It was like a wave of static electricity raised every hair on my body. 

After a wonderful lunch, for which we met a priest friend of my host, Fr. Bede Rowe, fortified against the cold and wind with his Roman saturno we were off to Winchester Cathedral.

Again, the nave was simply breathtaking.

I was delighted to find here the tomb of one of my favorite 19th English authors, the great Jane Austen.

This was a great day that spanned the history of England from prehistoric times, to the perfection of medieval architecture in the era of the market towns, to the assertion of the rule of law, to the repression of Catholicism, to the flowering of 19th century literature.

I am presently visiting a priest friend at Sacred Heart in Fareham, near Portsmouth.  Yesterday went to the historical harbor, where we were able to visit Lord Nelson’s famous flagship the HMS Victory.  I am a great fan of books about the Royal Navy of that era (e.g., Patrick O’Obrian’s great series), so this was a real treat. 



Here is a view of one of the gun decks.



Also, we saw the Mary Rose, a warship of the era of Henry VIII which sank 30 years after being built and raised back up in the 1980’s.  Amazing.  It is being treated with wax to penetrate its wood so that it can be dried and put in a new museum.  Amazing things were recovered with the ship.

Today I am heading off to see Salisbury, Winchester, and perhaps Portchester, the ancient Roman castra.  It would be wonderful to see the D-Day Museum while I am here, but I am not sure I will be able to fit it in.