At 07:20 the sun rose over Rome and it will set 17:28.
Ave Maria Bell? Should be 17:45.
It is the Feast of St. Ludovica Albertoni, a Roman widow (+1533). Her tomb is in the church San Francesco a Ripa, over in Trastevere. The monument is from the genius of Bernini and reminiscent of his stupendous Transverberation of St. Teresa in Santa Maria della Vittoria.
I may head over the river this afternoon. I haven’t been across the bridge yet this trip.
Just a few days left.
Yesterday I posted this in an early morning mood. This is a busy afternoon view.
For a friend.
Speaking of that…
I wish we had this in the States. Kinda fractal!
Spaghetti with clams, vongole, last night. I’m getting used to my kitchen. The basis for the clams.
I’ll spare you the rest.
Kitchen: really hard to work in. I don’t have adequate work surfaces. It seems to me that I should get a cart with a wood cutting board top. I could put a toaster over on the center rack. As it is now, however, I have underutilized room but no useful space.
Please remember me when shopping online and use my affiliate links. US HERE – UK HERE WHY? This helps to pay for health insurance (massively hiked for this new year of surprises), utilities, groceries, etc.. At no extra cost, you provide help for which I am grateful.
Bp. Strickland isn’t happy with his brother bishops…
JUST IN: Bishop Strickland calls US bishops (USCCB) “present-day Judases who stand with outstretched hands for the thirty pieces of silver,” over taking money for aiding “illegal foreign nationals” break American immigration laws.
Full text – https://t.co/tB7DJyJVJh pic.twitter.com/Ku5ZO59Qyk
— Michael Haynes ?? (@MLJHaynes) January 31, 2025
Which I just have to post this because of its amazing coolness… for Aubrey Maturin fans everywhere.
“The Heavyweight Punch”: HMS Victory, HMS Temeraire and HMS Neptune lead the Weather column towards the combined fleet, off Cape Trafalgar, 21st October 1805.
Painting by Geoff Hunt. pic.twitter.com/H0SyY9aRFN— Heart of Oak ?? (@HMWarships) January 31, 2025
The Resurrection of the Christ” begins filming in 2025!
This journey has been years in the making, and we’re diving deep into the most profound story ever told. pic.twitter.com/qyU3iTuAXr
— Mel Gibson News (@MelGibsonNew) January 31, 2025
I have GREAT RESPECT for Dr. Brant Pitre, a fine Scripture scholar. At Catholic Productions he wandered into liturgical commentary and put his foot wrong about the concept of “active participation”. Gregory DiPippo of NLM has tackled the problem and Peter Kwasniewski has presented his work in a video. HERE
You may not be surprised to learn that huge problems come from ENGLISH mistranslations of the LATIN of the Council documents. Much depends on what the documents really say, really mean, about what in English is “active” or “full” and even “participation”.
In chessy news, here were four decisive games in round 11 of the 2025 Tata Steel Chess Masters, three of them won by Indian grandmasters with the black pieces. World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju has the sole lead. Nodirbek could’ve climbed in the standings but he couldn’t put down Vincent Keymer in a long end rook and opposite bishop end game, which I watched while I was also following the launch of SpaceX Moon lander mission.
White to move and mate in 3.
[NB: I’ll hold comments with solutions ’till the next day so there won’t be “spoilers” for others.]
Father, could you explain the purpose and significance of the “Ave Maria bell”? I assume it is different from the bell announcing the Angelus.
… or philosophy.
Something is in act by that which it is in act.
If you want to be “in act” at the liturgy, that means being put in act (from a state of potentiality) by the liturgy, not the liturgy being put in act by you. The liturgy “in-forms” us, not vice-versa.
Qxg7+, Rxg7
Rxd8+, Rg8
Bxf6#
Fractal geometric designs abound in nature, from broccoli to galaxies. And they abound in Gothic art and architecture, from calligraphy to vaulted ceilings.
Something about it satisfies and engages the mind with both its complexity and its orderliness. Something like the Mass.
So many good topics, Fr. Z.
I always enjoy what you cook and enjoy the photos.
Bishop Strickland is a gift to us, as we wander around in the wasteland without leadership and few true shepherds. The bishops and USCCB have detached themselves from us. Half the time I have no idea what Catholics they are talking to. I try not to hear them now, for years they have failed to speak the language I would understand. Give us Jesus Christ and His proper worship, and we’ll hear you. The orientation of the entire church and faith has been abducted. Taking money from the government was a mistake. Personally I approve defunding Catholic Charities and every NGO that helps bring in foreign nationals to our sovereign homeland. Now the money will be removed from you and perhaps Christ will be rediscovered by our bishops? They’ve put themselves into a pickle by chasing the filthy money. Our bishop provided written strategies to illegal aliens on how to resist ICE. That was going on for years. Jesus said something about authority, and our bishops taught people how to circumvent lawful authority, and then turned Catholic Charities into a trafficking enterprise despite what Americans wanted. How can we forget that. Americans have paid a steep price and are paying for the millions of people the bishops trafficked in. They scorned the faith, ignored the pain inflicted and took money for favors that went against the people. Trust has been broken. I think it’s safe to say there is no easy fix for that.
We can’t wait for the Resurrection of the Christ film. Seriously God bless Mel Gibson and Jim Caveizel for bringing us another film about Our Lord. Please God it will have a similar impact as the first one did.
Sorry, I also have long wondered about what does participation mean. It seems to me that participation means you are there, you made the effort, you showed up at Mass and hopefully, you are attentive to the altar where only the most important thing in the world is going on, the sacrifice of Christ re-presented to the Father to atone for our sins and for our redemption. If a Mass goer sits in the last pew and just has his heart and mind fairly fixed on the Mass, that’s seems to me participation. Following a missal seems a step more involved, all good, attentively joining yourself with the action at the altar. Just being there is something, you cared enough to go. Even if your mind drifts away you are there, you’re participating. God sees you, Our Lady, the saints and the angels that fill the altar see us and bless our poor efforts to be at Calvary with Jesus.
Mass is vertical, not horizontal, but if you believe it’s horizontal then you dictate lots of songs, shaking of hands, stand up sit down, and occasional laughter and clapping. It’s a whole different orientation, and our church leaders largely believe that. No wonder we’re at odds. We’re looking up and they are looking to the side and demand we do as well. Sorry for my long comments today.
We do actually have Romanesco broccoli in the U.S. It’s just not that common. I’ve bought n it at a couple of farmers’ markets, and I recall that Trader Joe’s sold it like frozen broccoli with a butter sauce a few years ago, though I haven’t seen it for a while. I love the fractals.