ROME 23/10 – Day 28: Dies natalis, some observations, some prayer

Sunrise today seems a loooong time ago at 07:35 and it set quite a while ago at 18:12.  The Ave Maria bell didn’t ring at 18:30.

It is the Feast of Sts. Simon and Jude.  It is my 64th birthday.

Almighty God, thank you for knowing me before the creation of the cosmos.  Thank you for calling me into existence here and now because you wanted me to be active here and now as part of your chosen “corps”.  Through the intercession of your Apostles, take me in Your hands even more tightly, for the days are hard there is so much to do.

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It is late and I am frustrated trying to upload videos that I haven’t processed.  My laptop, which is making odd noises which I don’t like, can’t process them fast enough to allow me to post today, it already after 9pm and I am just now preparing my first meal of the day.  I’ll get to them.

I want to give you at least, my dear dear readers, a taste of the day.  Last night too.

Last night Vespers were celebrated in Pantheon as part of the Summorum Pontificum Pilgrimage.   So many good people and such good will.  The musicians were good, but the planning was bad because the acoustics in there are IMPOSSBILE.  You would think that, by now, the organizers would know that.

As I said, I have videos but… sheesh… they won’t upload until I do things to them.

Today was the procession to St. Peter’s.  It was surely an act of hopeful resistance.  I have in mind the march to the sea to make salt in Ghandi’s time.  Soldiers beat them and they still went forward.

This year, they permitted NO MASS.  Instead, the hour of Sext.  Wow.  Sext.

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The procession arrived at St. Peters and they sequestered the clergy to stand in the sun and send the participants through ONE dedicated security post… ONE though there were more personnel for others.  They did this, I suspect, I don’t know for sure, on purpose.  We stood in the sun, a few clouds and breezes to help, well over 45 minutes.  People were still being cattle processed when they let us go in with what we had.   My heart went to the people STILL WAITING who had travelled so far to be there.

At the confession of St. Peters there was a cobbled up rite for veneration of the tomb of Peter.  Not bad.  I asked the organizers, however, a serious question.  If you weren’t going to have the reading from the Gospel about Peter and the keys in Latin (which all would have recognized) why on earth did you choose to pick a reader for the English version who was not a native speaker?  Look to the left and the right… there’s a WELL-KNOWN BRIT… there’s a WELL-KNOWN American!  What’s with the Eurocentric BS we have seen for so long?   If it weren’t for the traditional Catholics in the Anglophone world…. heh… let’s just see what would happen, Europe.   I digress.

Sext was at the Altar of the Chair.   There was zero coordination between the musicians, who were good, and the ceremony crew.   The MC seemed completely bumfuzzled.  The choir skipped the hymn and then changed tempi every few minutes for the singing of the psalms and then completely forget the prayers after the Marian antiphon.   The clergy were bemused and resigned.  I was irritated.  WE HAVE TO DO BETTER.

For example… for the conference on Saturday, for which they advertised that people would be fed, they ran out of food.  That meant that many people scattered to not too close places to eat and they didn’t return for the second half.   Really?

I digress.

I think these people are wonderful, these organizers, but I feel like they mailed it in.  That’s what “they” want.

I spent time venerating the tomb of the Apostles.

It was uncanny.   I went waaaay up to the altar (where I used to say Mass often back in the day) and knelt to pray.  On cue, one of the nasties of the basilica showed up to change candles blah blah.

After Mass in the evening some of the guys practiced for the Pontifical Mass at the Faldstool tomorrow.   THEY are not going to mail it in.  No, I am not on the crew.   Eurocentrism reigns here.

I, weary, slid out the side door and went…

I have some salad and some chicken and some egg

Meanwhile,… white to move.  This is a GREAT puzzle!  Do your best.

NB: I’ll hold comments with solutions ’till the next day so there won’t be “spoilers” for others.

Interested in learning?  Try THIS. He helped my game.

I simply must post this again.

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