about half a day early... merry Christmas!

A CHRISTMAS CAROL

Let us sing and dance and play
For the King that's born today
To save us all from death and woe;
Benedicamus Domino.

In Bethlem's stable cold and drear
He was born, that Babe so dear;
Of Mary Maid He came to us,
Iesus Christus Dominus.

Son of God in human form,
Born amid the winter storm,
For to save from Satan's power
At the weary midnight hour.

And a star that filled the sky
Told His coming from on high,
Lighting all with silver glow;
Benedicamus Domino!

Late Immaculate Conception post

Happy feast of the Immaculate Conception, a week or so late! Since we didn't post anything in honor of the feast on the day itself, here's a link to my thesis, "The Immaculate Conception from Rome to Salamanca." http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dcw36r5g_128g2q8gw55

My Goddaughter Enchanted?

Enchanted?! That's one way of putting it! Who? What? In her entire story there is not one case of enchantment...not one! I suppose the gossip mill has been working as usual, and people say that it was Gezelle's singing that caused the man to fall helplessly in love with her...but anyone who knows that land will tell you that if anything, her singing must have pulled him out of an enchantment.

The people there...I don't know exactly...

The first thing that struck Gezelle, of course, was the utter lack of any music in their faces and bearing. She couldn't express it even to herself; her mind doesn't work that way, but she realized of course that something was wrong, even before that man took her crown without leaving so much as a quip in return, let alone an adventure. And when she met a man who was about to be married and had never even whistled to think of his love, she realized that of course, that was it. Some few people there--they were from another, much more normal land, as she guessed by their accents and garments--were able to help, and for a brief, glorious minute she pulled a few hundreds out of the cords that hold the people of New York in bondage--not to anyone, but away from music, from dance, from free speech, from each other... But she did not, and could not, reach any who were not already there in the park, looking at the green, moving through fresh air; listening to what they could hear without those stones in their ears...the ones that connect by strings to little tiles, and are now the chief instruments of the enchantment, or whatever it is.

For the matter with them is this, that their ears are continually filled with sound--mostly music of some sort, though often as well a voice breaks in to offer irrelevant commentary on some merchandise or service; it is there, constantly in their ears if they use the stones, certainly in their carriages and in all buildings--or else they sit before the magic mirror that is in nearly every room and listen to the sound that accompanies the vision. But it is never sung or played by any visible person, and they need not seek it or strain their ears for it, or give sign of appreciation to the musician, much less make any music themselves, and so they don't. Even many of those who dance, I have heard, do so as moved by the simplest rhythms of the music, and not as adding something of their own to its beauty. And this causes, in many of them, a curious deadness of spirit, whereas others (among them fortunately Gezelle's new husband) become simply unaware of music--they think they know it, for it dins constantly in their ears, and it is nothing to them, but they have never had the joy of a single note sung by themselves; never given of their own joy and exuberance in dancing, as a return for the joy of music and life.

It is from this enchantment, if you can call it that, that Gezelle has freed her husband, and while I hope that is what the title means, I am inclined to doubt that the people of his country would be aware enough of their own bonds to understand what has happened among them! It is indeed tragically ironic, that their story should be made an instrument to perpetuate the enchantment...just two more hours of the magic mirror's time. But when I heard him sing--chant--his vows to her at their wedding, and saw the magic in the motion of their dance together, I knew that their children, at least, will be no thralls to that enchantment, and through one such family, how many more might be released from bondage?


Perle (Gezelle's godmother)

A Lover's Prayer

O Lord, Thou who hast made all things,
And by the mighty majesty
Which all creation sweetly sings
Hast cleansed all mankind's infamy,
And given joy for woe;
O Thou that lovest me so,
Teach me to love Thee as Thou lovest me.

O Thou who by Thy word alone
Didst calm the storm in Galilee,
Thou Who art Trinity and One,
Who ever is and so shall be,
Thy wonder none can tell!
O Thou that lovest me well,
Teach me to love Thee as Thou lovest me.

O Master, at whose word divine
All things that are have come to be,
And by Whose mercy all-benign
We were redeemed from misery,
Thou knowest I am frail;
O Thou who canst not fail,
Teach me to love Thee as Thou lovest me.

O jewel far above all price,
Above the worth of all the world,
Set up as Priest and Sacrifice,
Thy conquering Cross our flag unfurled,
To set all hearts afire;
O Thou, the World's Desire,
Teach me to love Thee as Thou lovest me.

O Thou Who once, unspotted Lamb,
Didst deign to shed Thy Blood for me,
Help me, all worthless as I am,
To do Thy Will, and worthily
Offer Thee all I do.
O Thou, my Lover true,
Teach me to love Thee as Thou lovest me.

O Thou that in the darkest night
Dost give Thy light that I may see,
Who on the Altar, in the white
Round Host disguised dost safeguard me
From all the fiends of Hell;
O Thou that lovest me well,
Teach me to love Thee as Thou lovest me.

For Our Lady...

this one is in Latin! The accenting in a couple of places is not perfect but I tried to keep it even.

STELLA MARIS, O MARIA

Stella maris, O Maria,
Virgo clemens, virgo pia,
Tua filia vocat te;
Virgo dulcis, audi me.

Sum indigna peccatrix;
Bona Dei genitrix,
Da misericordiam,
Salva tuam servulam.

Ne cadam subrige me,
Caelicis militiae
Domina pulcherrima,
Dei plena gratia!

O Maria, stella maris,
Magna, mitis, singularis,
Virinescia materque,
Miserere - Salva me!

For the Holy Souls

I know this is a day late, but we have a whole week to get indulgences for them, so why not poems? 

  FOR THE HOLY SOULS 

Let light eternal on them shine

With all the holy Saints benign; 

Hear Thou our prayer, O Lord divine: 

Dona eis requiem. 

Let Thy dear souls, who burn in fire 

Of sorrow and of great desire 

 Be freed from pain and grief so dire! 

Dona eis requiem. 

O Lord, their love and longing see 

And from their suffering set them free, 

In heaven's joy to join with Thee. 

Dona eis requiem.

They suffer for their debt of sin 

The purgatorial flames within, 

And strive Thy light at last to win. 

Dona eis requiem. 

 They love Thee, Lord - Thou knowest this!

O bring them home from sin's abyss, 

And grant to them Thy peace and bliss!

Dona eis requiem. 

           —Inés de Erausquin

The Omnivore's Hundred

I found this over at our friend the Suburban Banshee's, and found it amusing. You bold what you have eaten and cross out what you'd never even consider eating. Since with this formatting I can't cross out, I'll italicize. Wow, some people have wild imaginations when it comes to food...

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare (raw hamburger? ugh!)
5. Crocodile... um, perhaps...
6. Black pudding (I've eaten the Spanish version, fried. It's actually kinda good.)
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes - Does limoncello count?
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or headcheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche YES! GOTTA LOVE THE STUFF!!!!
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar... I am no smoker...
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala... sounds good.
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin... um, no...
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads...don't do it...
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake I Looooooove churros with chocolate...
68. Haggis... yuck
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu... I'm not suicidal...
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini... no, but why not, sometime...
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant... no, but sometime I might
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

Letter to Laodicea

(From the epistle to the last of the seven churches, in the Apocalypse)

Come buy, I beg, of my burning gold
To complete your coffers with prudent care
And lengths of linen of flowing white
That your nakedness may not appear;
Lave with aloes your lightless eyes
To behold the blessed sight of bliss.
I chastize the children of my choice,
Harry and hunt them, so haste to this:
Turn ye in truth your Lord unto
For close I stand and call at the door.
He who hears my call
And opens his hall
I will enter in
To dine with him;
For his swift feet
He will share my seat
Enthroned with me,
Even as I
My father's high,
In victory.
He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

A Translation

This semester I have been taking a class called "Creative Writing: Translation." It's a lot of fun, and I thought some of my readers (all two or three of them, huh?) might enjoy one or two of my translations. So here goes my version of the Vexilla Regis.

The royal banners forth proceed,
The Cross shines out its mystery
By which life bore death's heavy load
And life by death gained victory.

And when the lance's dreadful blade
Did wound our Savior's holy side,
That we be cleansed from sin, his blood
And water flowed, a blessed tide.

Fulfilled is that which David sang
In faithful song of prophecy,
When to the nations he proclaimed,
"Lo, God hath reignèd from the Tree."

O Tree, most fair, aglow with light,
With royal purple beautified,
Thou, chosen as a worthy wood,
To bear that body sanctified!

O blest art thou, upon whose arms
There hung the price of all mankind,
On which Our Lord, a standard set,
Rescued the souls in hell confined.

O Cross, our only hope, all hail!
In this the blessed Passion-time,
Give to the pious greater grace,
And wash away the sinner's crime.

O Trinity, Salvation's spring,
Let every soul give praise to thee,
And grant the prize to those to whom
Thou gavest the Cross' victory.

Type and Antitype: a Riddle

Or (perhaps a better heading for the Ballad that is the Greatest Song in the World) :
"Come riddle me this, dear mother, come riddle me two in one..."*

What King is it that left his kingdom,
was despised and rejected by his people
(who chose a murderer over him),
for the sake of a promise made to a vassal;
who took on the form of a servant**
was humbled before a throne set up by his own power
was cast down with guilt not his own,
and laid down his life for his friend,
but lives now in great joy and bliss?

Hint: You have to have read the Silmarillion.

Inspired by the Philosopher at Large's short story Terrible Gifts and its sequel. I had not noticed this myself, in all my (eight, maybe?) years of rereading the bits of the Silmarillion which mention my favorite character!

*Cf. Chesterton (The Surprise), Anonymous ("Lord Thomas and Fair Ellender"), and Anonymous ("My Dancing Day").
**OK, I'm cheating here, in one case the servant was his, in the other NOT. But it's a TYPE, not an allegory!!!