For St. Michael

I know this is a month late, Michaelmas being the 29th of September; but he'll forgive me, I'm sure. Angels, laus Deo, don't hold grudges... :)

To St. Michael the Archangel

Saint Michael, Angel strong,
Leader of Heaven's host,
General of the choirs
And every Angel's boast,
Guard us against the foe
That ever hard besets;
Place us beneath your shield,
Safe from his deadly threats.

Saint Michael, Angel great,
Let the flame-sword you wield
Be every soul's defence
On the world's battlefield;
Let all embattled souls
Rally round at thy word,
Quis ut Deus their cry,
The holy Cross, their sword!

Archangel Michael dear,
Lord of the Angels bright,
Grant your protection sweet
And aid us in the fight.
Angel of Strength, we pray,
Defend us from the might
Of Satan, that someday
We may gain Heaven's light!

In honor of Christ the King

Since yesterday was the Feast of Christ the King, I took up my poetic pen and came up with these. Enjoy.

Sonnet.
Rule us, O Lord, and let us nothing lack;
Lead us upon the narrow path and straight;
Teach us in weary times to patient wait,
And guide us forward, never looking back.
Reign in our hearts, dear King and Master sweet
Whose yoke is easy and whose burden, light;
Be Thou our guiding flame in blackest night
When foes would trample us beneath their feet.
Make us, O Sacramental Sovereign,
True bread, pure bread and holy, that we may
Be unto Thee a worthy offering
And pleasing to Thy Deity - that when
The battle ends, and comes the Judgment Day,
With saints we may acclaim Thee, Christ the King!

Laudes Regis.

Let all the angels lift their song
In praise of Him whose death and life
Have broken chains that held us long
And fettered fast the lord of strife.

His noble love has burst the bounds
Of death and demon's tyranny,
And now all Christendom resounds
With joy at Jesu's monarchy,

Our Lord, our King, our Life and Light,
Our strength, our glory and our love,
That rules all things within our sight
And all that man will ne'er know of.

Our mighty Master, great and strong,
More terrible than words can say,
Whose merciful embrace is long
As worlds have been, or worlds will stay.

In mercy infinitely kind,
For which we sing most gratefully,
There is no monarch man can find
As loving or as great as He.

Rise up on high, eternal Gate
Ye princes, lift your portals high
So that the King of Glory great
May enter as He passes by!

Who is this King of Glory, say?
The Lord most mighty in the fight!
Who is this King, O tell me, pray?
The Lord of Hosts, the Lord of Light!

Lift up your voices, Angels all,
Mankind arise and gladly sing
Til vales arise and mountains fall
To honor Christ, our Lord and King!

Hair and the Fall of Man

Rocio (looking at Lucia's little braids in her sum, like Legolas sort of): I like your hair.
Lucia: I bet the elves knew-how some way to make their hair not static when they make it into thin braids.
Rocio: Maybe.
Lucia: No, maybe their hair grease spread down through all their hair and made it stay smooth.
Rocio: Like hairspray, yeah.
Lucia: Yeah, like gel. That's what hair grease is supposed to do, not stay up and make your top hair look all greasy. Like Like Adam and Eve before they sinned, that's probably what theirs did.
Rocio: We have to be the craziest people in the world.
Lucia: ....
Rocio: We're talking about Original Sin and its effects on HAIR!

This is Awesome!!!!!

The Napoleon of Notting Hill, coming soon to a college near you. This is a game designed by some college students, which allows you and all your residential college to fight for Campus domination. A map of your campus is divided into zones, you have a certain amount of time to recruit fellow students (because the number of your armies depends on the number of real people playing) and everybody takes about two minutes a day to move their armies in accordance with a strategy determined by the team as a whole or by elected generals. The best thing about it is the philosophy of the creators: http://gocrosscampus.com/faqs/#caqs
Sadly, I will no longer be here when it is available to non-rescollege students of Wash-U!

Wow, have we been lazy

Not really, just busy. Gloria is running her own business, and Stephanie, Ines and I are juggling school (teaching) and college (studying), though for Stephanie the former is full-time and the latter part time, whereas Ines and I have the inverse. Anyway, I just remembered this morning what an awesome morning prayer St. Patrick wrote, and I thought I'd post it and maybe start using it. You can't have a really bad day after praying the "Deer's cry".

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through the belief in the threeness,
Through confession of the oneness
Of the Creator of Creation.
I arise today
Through the strength of Christ's birth with his baptism,
Through the strength of his crucifixion with his burial,Through the strength of his resurrection with his ascension,
Through the strength of his descent for the judgment of Doom.
I arise today
Through the strength of the love Cherubim,
In obedience of angels,
In the service of archangels,
In hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In prayers of patriarchs,
In predictions of prophets,
In preaching of apostles,
In faith of confessors,
In innocence of holy virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.
I arise today
Through the strength of heaven:
Light of sun,
Radiance of moon,
Splendor of fire,
Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of wind,
Depth of sea,
Stability of earth,
Firmness of rock.
I arise today
Through God's strength to pilot me:
God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,
God's hand to guard me,
God's way to lie before me,
God's shield to protect me,
God's host to save me
From snares of devils,
From temptations of vices,
From everyone who shall wish me ill,
Afar and anear,
Alone and in multitude.
I summon today all these powers between me and those evils,
Against every cruel merciless power that may oppose my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against black laws of pagandom
Against false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of witches and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts man's body and soul.
Christ to shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that there may come to me abundance of reward.
Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me,Christ in me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,
Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the threeness,
Through confession of the oneness,
Of the Creator of Creation.