All Saints, Great and Small

You will notice that I've added some images and links for St. Augustine of Hippo, St. Thomas More, St. Therese of Lisieux, St. Thomas Aquinas, and St. Dominic in the right hand frame of my blog. While I have a great friendship with many saints, these are the ones with which I feel I have a special connection. I look to them for inspiriation and for prayer. I study their lives and their virtues. And I struggle to emulate their integrity, their humility, and their desire to serve God through their own talents. I added their images to my blog to serve as a constant reminder of their witness. Yes I know that two are Dominicans. :) That must mean something...

In Festo Omnium Sanctorum

Antiphona ad Introitum
Gaudeamus omnes in Domino, diem festum celebrantes
sub honore Sanctorum omnium: de quorum solemnitate
gaudent Angeli, et collaudant Filium Dei.

Ps. 32, 1
Exsultate, iusti, in Domino: rectos decet collaudatio.

Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui Sancto.
Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in saecula saeculorum.

Amen.

From the Office of Readings:

Christ, most kindly dweller
in the heavens above,
life of your saints, way to the Father,
hope that is ours, salvation of all:
in your great mercy,
accept the offering of praise
which we humbly bring in full sacrifice to you.

The choir of all the angels
blesses you endlessly
in high heaven above;
in harmony with them,
all of your saints together
heap high praise upon you.

Through the merits of Mary, Virgin blest
and of all the holy ones as well,
revoke the punishment,
O Faithful One,
which we have earned;
grant us your gracious healing instead.

Grant that we may proclaim
your praise here below,
so that, in full faithfulness to you,
we may continue it in the heavens,
endlessly singing songs of glory
to the Trinity on high.
Amen.

On the darker side of things... Happy All Hallow's Even


Ventrue--
Old-fashioned and tradition-bound, the Ventrue are
sophisticated and genteel. They believe in good
taste above all else and work hard to make
their lives comfortable.


Vampires want you... which ones hunt you?
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Harrius Potter

Did you know that the Latin edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Harrius Potter et Philosophi Lapis, is available at amazon.com? It doesn't look like the latin is horribly complicated either, but don't quote me on that.

Caput Primum: Puer Qui Vixit Dominus et Domina Dursley, qui vivebant in aedibus Gestationis Ligustrorum numero quattuor signatis, non sine superbia dicebant se ratione ordinaria vivendi uti neque se paenitere illius rationis. In toto orbe terrarum vix credas quemquam esse minus deditum rebus novis et arcanis, quod ineptias tale omnino spernebant.

Optimum est! This edition is most certainly for young students of Latin. Well, if your child can read Harrius Potter et Philosophi Lapis for fun, then concerns about your child's fascinations with wizardry should probably be the last thing on your mind. Give that child the Summa. Harry Potter controversialists aside, this is probably a fun read if you have reasonably good Latin proficiency!

Where there's smoke, there's fire

I'm sure you readers have been reading about all of the wildfires out here in California. Because of the high winds, Santa Barbara has been filled with smoke from the fires in northern Ventura County for the last couple of days. It's a little difficult to breathe, and the air is very dry and hot. The smoke, being blown offshore toward the West, has made for some pretty amazing sunsets, though. This is nothing, however, like it is down in Los Angeles where the air is saturated with smoke from the San Bernadino region. Having lived in California for 15 years, I have seen some extraordinary fires - but these recent fires have affected me more closely. And they say the cause is most likely arson.