What a rocket launch looks like from space. This is from APOD. The launch of a Soyez resupply mission for the ISS.
One of these days, I’ll make a radio contact with the ISS as it passes over.
Meanwhile, on Mars, the little helicopter that hitched a ride with the rover Ingenuity is being readied for its first sortie. HERE
#ASonnetADay – SONNET 133. “Beshrew that heart that makes my heart to groan…” pic.twitter.com/W3j3sVzhTC
— Fr. John Zuhlsdorf (@fatherz) April 1, 2021
I’ve just finished a disturbing book, 2034: A Novel of the Next World War, by Elliot Ackerman (decorated Marine, try not to hold it against him that he has written for The Daily Beast), Admiral James Stavridis (try not to hold it against him that he was vetted as a possible VP running mate with Hillary. Trump vetted him, too, for the cabinet.).
The book is intended as a cautionary tale. The driving impulse is an avoidable naval conflict in the S. China Sea between these USA and China. It unfolds into a global war with horrible consequences.
There are, perhaps, traces of other works (Top Gun?) threaded in the plot. When in a massive cyber-attack the Chinese completely hack US comms, one solution was to use more primitive means. I was reminded of Battlestar Galactica with no networked computers which the Cylons could take over. There are moments in the narrative when I had to set my face like stone and keep pushing forward over unlikely details.
The overarching messages are pretty clear and needed. Reflecting on the actual consequences of a peer-level war should be sobering to the point that people in charge (may God help us!) would want to avoid them. This nation (and military) isn’t what it could be and others are getting strong, fast.
These USA are becoming more and more open to attack, more and more like a target. That became far more apparent in January (may God help us!). In the books there is a passage which compares these USA, and lingering military dominance, to Athens with the Delian League. As Athens became powerful and yet decadent eventually Spartan made its move.
The threat surface of cyberattacks upon these USA is growing exponentially. An internet controlled aquarium thermometer was used as a gateway to attack a Las Vegas casino. True.
This is a pretty fast read, all in all. It isn’t very subtle. The writing… just keep reading. It does tackle big issues without getting too deep into the weeds of technical jargon.
The term “Spy” Wednesday is probably an allusion to Christ’s betrayal by Judas.
This prayer was the Collect for this same day in the 1962 Missale Romanum. It was also in the ancient Gregorian Sacramentary in both the Hadrianum and Paduense manuscripts.
COLLECT
Deus, qui pro nobis Filium tuum crucis patibulum subire voluisti, ut inimici a nobis expelleres potestatem, concede nobis famulis tuis, ut resurrectionis gratiam consequamur.
This is an austere prayer, a razor, cutting to the heart of the matter.
The impressive and informative Lewis & Short Dictionary informs us that patibulum (deriving from pateo, “to open, stretch out, extend”) is “a fork-shaped yoke, placed on the necks of criminals, and to which their hands were tied; also, a fork-shaped gibbet”. In turn, English “gibbet” means “an upright post with a projecting arm for hanging the bodies of executed criminals as a warning”. The patibulum is “the stretcher”, and not in the carrying sense.
The verb subeo in its basic meaning is “to come or go under any thing” and by logical extension “to subject one’s self to, take upon one’s self an evil; to undergo, submit to, sustain, endure, suffer”. The L&S explains that “The figure taken from stooping under a load, under blows, etc.)” There are other shades of meaning, including “to come on secretly, to advance or approach stealthily, to steal upon, steal into”. Keep this one in mind.
Consequor is interesting. It signifies “to follow, follow up, press upon, go after, attend, accompany, pursue any person or thing” and then it extends to concepts like “to follow a model, copy, an authority, example, opinion, etc.; to imitate, adopt, obey, etc.” and “to reach, overtake, obtain”. Going beyond even these definitions, there is this: “to become like or equal to a person or thing in any property or quality, to attain, come up to, to equal (cf. adsequor).” I know, I know – mentio non fit expositio. Still it is helpful to make connections in the words, which often have subtle overlaps. Remember that meaning of subeo, above? There are shades of “pursuit” and “imitation” in the prayer’s vocabulary.
Finally, a gratia is a “favor” or “reward”, but we Christians hear in it God’s freely given gift to us which we don’t on our own merits deserve.
WDTPRS LITERAL TRANSLATION:
O God, who desired Your Son to undergo on our behalf the yoke of the Cross so that You might drive away from us the power of the enemy, grant to us Your servants, that we may attain the grace of the resurrection.
OBSOLETE ICEL:
Father,
in your plan of salvation
your Son Jesus Christ accepted the cross
and freed us from the power of the enemy.
May we come to share in the glory of his resurrection.
CURRENT ICEL:
O God, who willed your Son to submit for our sake
to the yoke of the Cross,
so that you might drive from us the power of the enemy,
grant us, your servants, to attain the grace of the resurrection.
By our sins we are in the clutches of the enemy, who mercilessly attacks us.
Christ freed us from dire consequences of slavery to sin by His Passion.
The ancient Romans forced their conquered foes pass under a yoke (iugum), to show that they were now subjugated. Their juridical status changed by that “going under”.
Christ went under the Cross in its carrying and then underwent the Cross in its hideous torments.
In his liberating act of salvation, we passed from the servitude of the enemy to the service of the Lord, not as slaves, but as members of a family.
We are not merely household servants (famuli), we are according the status of children of the master of the house, able to inherit what He already has.
The wonderful Benedictine nuns of Gower Abbey in Missouri have lately been victims of extremely dangerous… I am not making this up… drive by shootings.
Drive by shootings.
At NUNS.
Let that sink in.
The police are investigating.
Shots were fired at the abbey church and even, among other, went into the Abbess’ sleeping cell.
The sisters now are faced with putting up some sort of wall or fence.
There’s a way YOU can make a difference. Make a donation. HERE
The sisters sent out a note via email. It included:
Dear Family, Friends and Benefactors,
Click for great music
It seems that the news of a recent incident at our Abbey is quickly spreading, as we have received a great many emails in these past few days, assuring us of prayers and support. We send this message to disseminate the correct information and to assure you all of our safety!On March 24th, just after 11:00 pm, loud gunshots were heard by many Sisters in the Abbey. Some of the Sisters arose, but soon returned to sleep, as we have sadly become desensitized on account of the many incidents of inappropriate activity around our monastery. In the morning, Mother Abbess discovered two bullet holes in her bedroom. A bullet had entered through the exterior wall, punched a hole beneath the Sacred Heart picture, and continued to penetrate through the wall directly opposite, being stopped by shower wall on its other side. Mother Abbess was sleeping several feet from the bullet’s trajectory.
Law enforcement officers were here making the report and looking for evidence for many hours the next day, the Feast of the Annunciation. It was determined that the shots were fired from 316th Street, just to the west of our front gate. The event in Mother Abbess’ cell was the third this Lent, however, with other bullet holes observed by the police in the door jamb of the dining room next to the Abbey church, and in the stone of the church itself. As of now, there are no leads, though the local sheriffs are working diligently to find the perpetrator. They are also maintaining extra surveillance around our area.
Though this has been rather unsettling, we are all very much at peace. These types of situations, while very disturbing, are exceedingly good reminders to heed St. Benedict’s words to “keep death daily before ones eyes.” That does not mean we won’t take necessary precautions for better security. Indeed, we have long desired more privacy and protection, as our monastery sits at the intersection of two country roads. We are in the process of selecting tall fencing or sturdy wall panels to protect our buildings on this northeast section of our property, including our gardens where the Sisters work every day.
Unfortunately, this involves about 3000 feet of fencing, and you can imagine the cost is not negligible. If you are able to support this endeavor with a monetary gift, we would be deeply grateful. The total cost will most likely be over $200,000.
Thank you so much for your ongoing prayers and support. We wish you all a most blessed Holy Week, and a glorious Easter to follow. You are in our hearts and prayers during these holiest of days.
Sincerely in Christ,
The Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles
#ASonnetADay – SONNET 132. “Thine eyes I love, and they, as pitying me…” pic.twitter.com/x6C0wRYiXX
— Fr. John Zuhlsdorf (@fatherz) March 30, 2021
UPDATE:
It seems that the “Pandemic prayer” was approved for this year as well. HERE
A friend contacted me saying that their local diocese had mandated the use of the Good Friday Prayer issued last year for “Pandemic Time”. That prayer had been issued for 2020 only. The diocese mandated it anyway. My friend wanted the LATIN version.
Last year, the Congregation for Divine Worship issued an addition Good Friday Prayer for Pandemic time. For the year 2020 only.
In case there are other places where such a prayer has been mandated.
And, technically, this would apply to the Novus Ordo.
Adnexus decreto diei 30 martii 2020
(Prot. N. 155/20)
FERIÆ VI IN PASSIONEDOMINI
Oratio universalis IX b. Pro tribulatis in tempore contagii
Orémus et pro ómnibus qui præsénti morbo in pressúra pósiti inveniúntur, ut Deus et Dóminus noster infírmis sanitátem reddat, vires concédat eis qui ægrótos curant, famílias doléntes consolétur, vita functis plenitúdinem redemptiónis præstet.
Oratio in silentio. Deinde sacerdos:
Omnípotens sempitérne Deus,humánæ infirmitátis singuláre præsídium,réspice benígnus languóres ómnium filiórum tuórum, qui hodiérnis tempestátibus dolóre premúntur, et grátia tua: álleva ægrotórum passiónes,vires concéde eis qui infírmos curant,ætérnam réquiem dona mórtuis, et per totum huius tribulatiónis spátium præsta, quæsumus, ut omnes consolatiónemin misericórdia tua inveníre váleant.
Per Christum Dóminum nostrum.
R. Amen.
From a reader…
QUAERITUR:
At the end of His teaching on the the Day of the Son of Man in St. Luke’s Gospel, Jesus says something that has always left me puzzled. What does Jesus mean by “where the body is, there also the vultures will gather” (Luke 17:37)?
Okay, let’s have a stab at this.
First, Fathers of the Church, such as Jerome and Augustine have their allegorical discussions. I won’t go into them just now.
The Lord uses this image twice, Luke 17:35 and Matthew 24:28. The contexts are slightly different. The parallel of Matthew 24 is Luke 21. So, it seems that this is a phrase that the Lord used more than once, in different contexts. There are slight differences in the grammar, but the meaning is pretty much the same.
This comes around in the Church’s traditional liturgical calendar on the Last Sunday after Pentecost, the end of the liturgical year. I do not think that it every is read in the Novus Ordo, from either Luke or Matthew.
In Matthew, the Lord is talking about the Abomination of Desolation and the Great Tribulation. His prophetic language and images are about the proximate destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans. It is clear he is talking about Jerusalem, because in the end times, it isn’t going to make any difference if you take what is in your house or you stop to get your mantle. It won’t make a difference if people flee to the mountains of Judea. That would only make a difference if it was the coming of the Romans, not the end of the world. The Abomination of Desolation (described in Daniel 9) is the desecration of the Temple that would occur after the death of the Messiah when the Romans came. Look to Josephus’ account of the destruction of Jerusalem to learn of the tribulation.
Christ talks about the sign of the coming of the Son of Man. When you see certain signs you know that something is coming. When the fig tree puts out its leave, you know what time of year it is, summer is near. But Christ is still talking also about Jerusalem not the end of the world. Even the talk about “stars will fall from heaven” in the Old Testament is used by the prophets to describe the destruction of cities. The image of “coming on the clouds” is also an image of divine judgment against a wicked city. And he says that this generation will not pass away but these things will come to pass. Moreover, the Jews saw the Temple as a microcosm of the whole universe, with an ocean (a big basin for purification), a court decorated with plant life for the land, and the inner part decorated with stars and planets, etc., for the heavens. The Temple is the entire created universe. The destruction of the Temple was like the destruction of the entire cosmos for the Jews in that time. So, the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple by the Romans is aptly put in terms of the end of the world.
That image of the fig tree putting out leaves means you know that summer is coming. In fact, it is inevitable that summer is going to come. The sequence is determined.
The image of the carcass or body and the eagles or vultures is another determined sequence. Is there a carcass? The vultures are going to show up. It is inevitable.
Luke 17 is a little different. The Apostles ask “Where, Lord?”… is this going to happen. Two will be in a field, one will be taken, etc. V. 37: And they said to him, “Where, Lord?” He said to them, “Where the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together.” The enigmatic answer seems to have the same impact about inevitability. It doesn’t make any difference. Christ had just been talking about the people of Sodom and the people in the time of Noah who were paying no attention to God, but were mired in the world. The “carcass” is wherever the negligent or wicked soul is and it is inevitable, as the night follows day, as summer follows spring, that when the moment of the parousia arrives, those who have faith will be removed to the place and those who were worldly will be put in their place. Another aspect of this may come out if the eagles/vultures, birds of prey, are punishing demons. Where the dead ones are, the demons will have their way. On the other hand, those who keep their eyes fixed on God, asking for mercy, etc., will be saved just as assuredly as those who don’t are punished. It’s as sure as vultures showing up when there is a carcass to be had.
This business about one being taken and the other left, is NOT about a “Rapture”, which is a pernicious cobbled-up notion straight from Hell.
Coat of Arms by D Burkart
JonPatrick on ROME 26/10– Day 17-18: How very sad: “I’ll bet that 1% of sisters under the age of 40 are predominantly those in traditional orders.”
on ROME 26/10– Day 17-18: How very sad: “I wonder if the gentle prelate of Knoxville will try to stop people from seeing Ghost Soldier. It’s got that,…”
on A matter of grave concern: People who pray together before or after Mass.: “Published on Aleteia :: 01/30/17 In his Regina Caeli message of Sunday, April 24, 1994, St. John Paul spoke of…”
on ROME 26/10– Day 17-18: How very sad: “The next page is Bedyngham’s “O rosa bella”, with a more dragonish pink-masked beast in several colors. Shrug. Anyway, the…” on ROME 26/10– Day 17-18: How very sad: “That is from a heart-shaped (“cordiforme”) music book (“chansonnier”) of secular love songs, laid out for three or four male…”
on A matter of grave concern: People who pray together before or after Mass.: “Within the first couple of years of his papacy, I recall (but I have not been able to find the…”
on A matter of grave concern: People who pray together before or after Mass.: “I have noticed this new strategy, of prelates asking for the NO to be celebrated reverently and according to the…”
on A matter of grave concern: People who pray together before or after Mass.: “I wonder how the majority of priests, deacons, and bishops feel about several Catholics leaving Mass immediately after communion. No,…”
A Daily Prayer for Priests
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