Thurifer the Censer

Vive le Roi!

Wed, 19 Jul 2006 12:20:08 GMT

Is God a Monarchist? The following article examines the question with particular emphasis on English coronations.

The character of Kings is sacred; their persons are inviolable; they are the anointed of the Lord, if not with sacred oil, at least by virtue of their office. Their power is broad -- based upon the Will of God, and not on the shifting sands of the people's will... They will be spoken of with becoming reverence, instead of being in public estimation fitting butts for all foul tongues. It becomes a sacrilege to violate their persons, and every indignity offered to them in word or act, becomes an indignity offered to God Himself It is this view of Kingly rule that alone can keep alive in a scoffing and licentious age the spirit of ancient loyalty that spirit begotten of faith, combining in itself obedience, reverence, and love for the majesty of kings which was at once a bond of social union, an incentive to noble daring, and a salt to purify the heart from its grosser tendencies, preserving it from all that is mean, selfish and contemptible. -- John Healy, early 20th Century Roman Catholic Archbishop of Tuam, Ireland. (P.J. Joyce, John Healy, pp. 68-69).
Read the rest of the article HERE

Ave Maria

Tue, 18 Jul 2006 03:16:12 GMT

Earlier I posted the Hail Mary in Gothic. Here is a neat icon of it in elvish. Click for a larger view:

And now for the News...

Tue, 18 Jul 2006 02:57:13 GMT

Just because the news is supposed to be informative doesn't mean it is:

"U.S. Pins Weiner-Eating Hopes on Chestnut"--headline, Associated Press, July 2
"Study Shows Doctors Miss Flu in Children"--headline, Associated Press, July 5
"Virgin Woman Sentenced for Unlawful Sex"--headline, Associated Press, July 13

And now for the News.....

Wed, 08 Feb 2006 14:18:16 GMT

"The House gave final approval to a measure intended to trim $39 from the budget deficit over the next five years."--GovernmentGuide.com, Feb. 1 --- I guess they are really getting serious about budget cutting now.
"Brains of Young Adults Not Fully Mature"--headline, LiveScience.com, Feb. 6 ---Duh...
Paper Shredders May Hurt Kids' Hands"--headline, WebMD.com, Feb. 6 --- Duh(Part II)
"Judge to Decide Whether to Halt Ark. Project to Protect Bird"--headline, Log Cabin Democrat (Conway, Ark.), Feb. 7 --- Noah runs "afowl" of the Greenies.
"Deaths of 5 Skiers Stun Mammoth"--headline, Los Angeles Times, Feb. 6 --- Maybe he thought they were extinct...

Dragonslayer.....

Tue, 31 Jan 2006 14:42:48 GMT

N.T. Wright, who is probably my favorite contemporary theologian, was recently enthroned as the Anglican Bishop of Durham, England. As part of the ceremony he was presented with the Conyers Falchion. Here is the story behind the sword.

"Sir John Conyers of Storkburn, Knight, who slew ye monstrous venoms and poysons wiverms Ask or worme which overthrew and Devourd many people in fight, for the scent of poyson was soo strong, that no person was able to abide it, yet he by the providence of god overthrew it and lyes buried at Storkburn before the Conquest, but before he did enterprise it (having but one sonne) he went to the Church in compleat armour and offered up his sonne to the holy ghost, which monument is yet to see, and the place where the serpent lay is called Graystone."
(From British Museum MS Harleian No. 2118, fo. 39, circa 1625-49)

There's a legend surrounding the Conyers falchion, where the sword is said to have been wielded by Sir John Conyers when he slew the Sockburn Worm (Dragon) in 1063. The Conyers family probably came from France to England around the time of the Norman Conquest (1066 and all that). They were granted the manor Sockburn-on-Tees (formerly known as Storkburn) in County Durham in the 12th century, according to the legend because of Sir John's slaying of the dragon. The sword was later presented to the Cathedral of Durham and from that day on each new Prince-Bishop of Durham was presented with the sword upon entering their new Bishopric for the first time in the middle of the River Tees. The senior Conyers offered the falchion to the Prince-Bishop as a sign that he recognized the Bishop as his overlord, and then the falchion was returned to him and he was quit of all services. It lapsed after 1771, and wasn't performed in over 200 years. The falchion was kept at Sockburn Hall, but in 1947, it was presented to the Dean and Chapter of Durham Cathedral by Mr. Arthur Edward Blackett. The ceremony was revived in 1994, when the new bishop took office. It includes the following presentation speech, traditionally made by the Lord of Sockburn;
"My Lord Bishop. I hereby present you with the falchion wherewith the champion Conyers slew the worm, dragon or fiery flying serpent which destroyed man, woman and child; in memory of which the king then reigning gave him the manor of Sockburn, to hold by this tenure, that upon the first entrance of every bishop into the county the falchion should be presented."

That is so cool... to think that there are still swords around that were said to have slain a Dragon

Another Scrappleface scoop

Sun, 29 Jan 2006 17:55:53 GMT

FDA Panel Approves OTC 'Morning-Before' Pill
by Scott Ott

(2003-12-16) -- A Food and Drug Administration (FDA) panel has approved over-the-counter sales of the so-called 'morning-before' pill. Although experts disagree over how the pill works, it seems to prevent unwanted pregnancy by attacking the problem at its source in the human brain.

The drug is an emergency pre-emptive contraceptive known as "Plan A", which, when taken 48-72 hours before potential unprotected sex, is 100 percent effective in preventing pregnancy.

Rather than causing a quick abortion, like the so-called 'morning after' pills, Plan A works on the cerebrum in the brain to actually keep women from getting into sexual situations in the first place.

"It seems to knock some sense into them, clinically speaking," said one unnamed FDA researcher. "After taking Plan A, our test subjects intuitively understood what men were really thinking. They no longer believed the words 'I love you' when it was just an inducement to sexual activity. In fact, they avoided situations where they might be alone together with any man to whom they were not married."

Scientists continue to work on a male version of the drug, also known as the 'personal responsibility' pill.

Myths and Legends

Wed, 18 Jan 2006 03:38:20 GMT

I have always loved myths and legends. (my two daughters are named Rhiannon and Lorelei, only my son has a "Christian" name - Nicholas, my favorite saint) To me they are ways to connect in a real and meaningful way to our past and look at the world through our ancestors eyes, a way to bring magic into a mundane world.

Legends of Britain is a great site from Britannia that gives one paragraph synopses of dozens of English legends...check it out.

Secularism sucks...

Tue, 17 Jan 2006 14:52:19 GMT

More and more evidence emerges that Secularism is not the "viewpoint-neutral" default position of an "enlightened society" but an oppressive ideology which aims to crush all opposition. For example:

The European Union continues to challenge the sovereignty of its "independent" members by attempting to impose a secularist agenda. The latest incident is the EU's demand that Spain eliminate its sales tax exemption for the Catholic Church within 60 days. Other interference with national sovereignty has included pressure to liberalize abortion laws in Ireland, meddling with a male monastic preserve on a Greek island, and efforts to force all European doctors to participate in abortion. More can be found HERE.

There is a whole world out there which screams: "There is nothing sacred" It is time to fling open the Church doors and tell them face to face: "You are wrong, There is no such thing as the secular, the whole Universe is a Cathedral!"

Every part of this earth is sacred.
Every shining pine needle,
every sandy shore,
every mist in the dark woods,
every meadow,
every humming insect,
all are holy.
-Chief Seattle

Ave Maria

Tue, 17 Jan 2006 05:10:33 GMT

For all you High-Church Goths out there"

Hail Mary, full of grace.
The Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou amongst women,
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.

This is My Body

Wed, 11 Jan 2006 06:28:21 GMT

This is a surprise?!?

Wed, 11 Jan 2006 06:20:02 GMT

"Man Found Dead in Wahoo Cemetery"--headline, Omaha World-Herald, Jan. 10

The Pilgrimage begins...

Wed, 11 Jan 2006 06:12:12 GMT

After much prayer and anguish I have decided to leave the Episcopal Church and become a Roman Catholic. I would like to stress that this has little to do with the current troubles within the ECUSA. Though I would not personally have voted to elevate Gene Robinson (the openly gay Bishop) to the Episcopate neither would I now refuse to accept Communion from him. Nor do I regard Anglican Orders as invalid. Instead I have come to realize that my differences with Roman Catholic doctrine are no longer significant enough to justify schism. In short, for me...the Reformation is over. I would like to (briefly) explain my reasons for accepting Roman Catholic doctrine in three major areas. I will put them behind an lj-cut for the benefit of any non-Christians who might read this as I realize that inter-family debates can seem rather esoteric (if not downright boring) to outsiders.

First is the Eucharist. As a Protestant I had been raised to think of the Lord's Supper as a memorial, a solemn and sacred memorial to be sure, but nothing more. My study of Scripture and of the writings of the early Church Fathers has made me realize that the Church from the very first has taught the Real Presence of our Lord under the appearance of bread and wine. For me the clinching verse was 1 Corinthians 11: 28-29:

But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.

I asked myself: Why would Paul ask us to discern something if it was not there?

Next came the Pope. When Jesus said to Peter:

"And I say to thee, thou art Peter, and upon this 'Rock' I will build My Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give thee the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven; and whatever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven, and whatever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in Heaven." Matt 16:18-19

He was paraprasing a passage from Isaiah:

And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah: And I will clothe him with thy robe, and strengthen him with thy girdle, and I will commit thy government into his hand: and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah. And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open. And I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place; and he shall be for a glorious throne to his father's house. Isaiah 22: 20-23

Jesus was appointing Peter to the role of Prime Minister of the Kingdom of God just as Eliakim was appointed Prime Minister of the Davidic Kingdom and like any Prime Ministership it is an office that is handed down.

Finally we come to Our Blessed Mother. First ask yourself WWJD? Jesus loved His mother. Do you suppose you should do any less? Do you really think that the benign neglect that with which Protestants treat Mary would really meet with His approval? Though Mary's actual appearances in the Bible are few (though important) She casts a shadow of light on both the Old and New Testaments. She appears as the Queen Mother of the Old Testament. With Kings having many wives it was not the office of Queen which wielded power (as in the West) but the Queen Mother who held the position of special influence over the King In 1 Kings 2:19, Bathsheba, the queen mother of Solomon, is honored by her son, who stands to greet her and pays her homage when she comes to him on a matter of state. The Bible declares, "Then he sat down upon his throne, and a throne was provided for the king's mother, who sat at his right." Also it is Bathsheba to whom Adonijah come when he wishes for someone to intecede on his behalf to the King.

Then there is her appearance in the Revelation:

And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail. And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. Revelation 11: 19 - 12: 2

The Ark of the Covenant was the sign of God's real presence among His people. In Jesus Christ, born of Mary, God was really present among his people in an even more direct way.

The Ark held the Word of God written in stone. Mary bore the Word of God in flesh

The Ark held the bread from heaven, a foreshadowing of the Eucharist (see 1 Corinthians 10:1-4). Mary bore the Bread of Life, Jesus Christ (see John 6:48-50).

The Ark contained the rod of Aaron, symbol of his priesthood. Mary bore Jesus Christ, our High Priest (see Hebrews 3:1).

If the Ark of the Covenant was holy, then by the same standards Mary is even holier. As Mother of God, she is the Ark of the New Covenant, bearing Jesus Christ, the Word of God, the Bread of Life, our great High Priest. That is not a re-interpretation of the Gospel: it is a truth made clear by the New Testament writers themselves.

I have begun to visit various Catholic parishes in search of a new Church home and I would ask for all your prayers.