Scaling the Cliffs

Today, as Mom and I drove down the highway to the charming Gast Haus where Dad was about to give his last (before leaving for Boston) conference to our young adult group. The topic was "Words, Fists and Guns: When and How to use them", and it was a marvelous conference, based solidly on St. Thomas Aquinas with some excellent real and hypothetical examples from today's world, and a good deal of interesting talk on the virtue of vengeance.

But to return to my introduction... as we drove, I was watching the heavy grey cloud formations against the beautiful blue sky, with shafts of light falling through the gaps. And to my mind came the germ that, in the post-conference discussion, mushroomed into

Scaling the Cliffs

The thunderheads were grey above the town
Against the April blue,
Piled in a mass of shapes as soft as down,
Yet dreadful too -
Tall cliffs of silver-grey and marble-white,
With floods of fading, falling sunset light
Down-pouring through.

I stood and gazed up at the high plateau
Of cloud-stone, and the stair
Of light up which the little souls would go,
Treading the air,
Passing from prison to the holy height
Of merriment and all divine delight,
And praise and prayer.

I watched them fly and longed to follow them,
Scaling the sky;
To join them, jewels in the diadem
Of God most high.
And as I looked - though 'twas too high to see
For sure - I thought one turned and looked at me
And waved goodbye,

As if to say, "Fear not, I'll pray for thee,
So dry that tear;
As I did sigh in flames, and thou for me
Didst pray, my dear,
I'll pray that thou wilt do as God's decree
Commands, and come at last eternally
To praise him here."

--April 20, 2009

Happy Easter!

Lent is over at last, and once again, the Alleluia reigns. This translation of one of my favorite Easter hymns, the beautiful Finita Jam Sunt Proelia, is my contribution for Easter week.

FINITA JAM SUNT PROELIA

Now is the battle o'er and done,
Now is the final triumph won,
All rejoice; lift every voice,
Alleluia, alleluia!

After his death's most cruel fate,
Jesu destroyed the hellish gate,
Lutes, O laud and hands applaud,
Alleluia, alleluia!

Up he arose on the third day,
Blazing with heavenly grace's ray,
Let us play and sing alway,
Alleluia, alleluia!

Hell's gate is closed forevermore,
Thrown open is the heavenly door,
All, rejoice; lift every voice,
Alleluia, alleluia!

Christ, by thy wounds, O may we be
From sin and death forever free;
Living we will sing to thee,
Alleluia, alleluia!


I edit to add that this is actually post number 101, not the last one; who knows how the machine read this before, but apparently there were still one hundred as of April 1! Ah well. Happy Easter, again!

The 101'st post!

Wow! The St. Joseph post was a milestone (#100) and I didn't even know it till I signed in and saw it on my dashboard. What fun. So, to add to the coincidence, the second "century" of posts begins with the second decade of my life -- today I am twenty!

And if you have to know, no, I don't feel any different... :)

So what have I done in two decades? I've grown up in an awesome family, watching it grow (biennially) from two to eleven kids; I've learned a good deal (though not nearly enough) about music and know that it'll be a lifelong study that will never cease to amaze me at every turn; I've never had a boyfriend or been on a date, and I don't care; I've made many friends and (as far as I know) no enemies; I've wept a good deal and laughed a good deal more. And of course, I've grown in the Faith the whole time and learned to love God... not enough, of course, but I try.

In short, it's been an awesome twenty years and I can't wait for the next twenty. Thank God for the former and may He grant the latter!

Happy Feast of St. Joseph!

In today's world, which is attempting to tear apart the family, let us pray to Joseph, Patron of the Catholic family.

Litany of St. Joseph

Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.

God, the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
God the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, One God, have mercy on us.

Holy Mary, pray for us.

St. Joseph, pray for us.
Renowned offspring of David, pray for us.
Light of Patriarchs, pray for us.
Spouse of the Mother of God, pray for us.
Chaste guardian of the Virgin, pray for us.
Foster father of the Son of God, pray for us.
Diligent protector of Christ, pray for us.
Head of the Holy Family, pray for us.
Joseph most just, pray for us.
Joseph most chaste, pray for us.
Joseph most prudent, pray for us.
Joseph most strong, pray for us.
Joseph most obedient, pray for us.
Joseph most faithful, pray for us.
Mirror of patience, pray for us.
Lover of poverty, pray for us.
Model of artisans, pray for us.
Glory of home life, pray for us.
Guardian of virgins, pray for us.
Pillar of families, pray for us.
Solace of the wretched, pray for us.
Hope of the sick, pray for us.
Patron of the dying, pray for us.
Terror of demons, pray for us.
Protector of Holy Church, pray for us.

Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord!
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord!
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy on us!

V. He made him the lord of his household.
R. And prince over all his possessions.

Let us pray.
O God, in Thy ineffable providence Thou wast pleased to choose Blessed Joseph to be the spouse of Thy most holy Mother; grant, we beseech Thee, that we may be worthy to have him for our intercessor in heaven whom on earth we venerate as our Protector: who livest and reignest forever and ever. R. Amen.

7 Quick Takes Friday - vol. 5

Another Friday, another seven quick takes... :)

1.
I am getting highly excited... tomorrow is the Belleville Phil's concerto competition! I know my piece very solidly, so I am not really worried. I'm sure I'll get more nervous on the 45-minute drive over.

2.
I read an article about the Pope's visit to the tomb and monastery of St. Frances of Rome -- she really was an awesome lady! Here is a great quote:

“Also in our own time, Rome has need of women” like Santa Francesca Romana, he said. Women “entirely dedicated to God and entirely dedicated to others; women capable of prayer and of generous and discreet service; women who know how to obey pastors but also to support and stimulate them with suggestions that arise from their intimacy with Christ and from direct experience in the field of charity, assistance to the sick, the marginalised and young people in difficulties. This is the gift of maternity which is an inseparable part of religious oblation, following the model of Mary Most Holy”.

3.
I also had a great time today rehearsing a Vivaldi mandolin-concerto with our former pastor, who came from Texas for the basketball tournament and wanted to keep practicing - he's going to perform it on St. Joseph's day, when one of his parishioners will give a talk on Italian music. Sounds like way too much fun... We practiced yesterday as well, and he took us out to dinner at Lombardo's Trattoria, by Union Station. It was so good -- and the conversation was as delightful as the meal!

4.
Practice for the Laetare Play is going so well! I can't believe we only have a week left!

5.
I have that mandolin concerto so stuck in my head, I have to post it for all of you to do it too! Here you are.

6.
Two weeks of Lent nearly gone! Tempus fugit!

7.
Tomorrow will be a long day and it's late... I'd better go to sleep! I wish I could function on less than eight hours of sleep...

Verbis Defectis, Musica Incipit.

The Latin phrase inspired this sonnet today.

Dear Lord, sometimes I find it hard to pray;
Gazing on Thee, or thinking on Thy deeds,
My heart cannot express its thought, and bleeds
From straining for the speech that's fled away.

But when words fail, or so some wise men say,
Music begins; let that, then, be my speech.
Let music go where language cannot reach,
To offer Thee my love and pain each day.

Let every note plead for thy grace -- each chord
And cadence cry for Thy sweet mercy, Lord;
Let every scale send praise to soar above;

Let every trill a Pater Noster be,
Each sweet arpeggio sing a Hail Marie,
Weaving together one great act of love.

--March 7, 2009

7 Quick Takes Friday

After trying for a while to figure out how to paste the little "seven quick takes" sign in, I gave up; but here they are, anyway.

1.
The first half of the spring term is over -- farewell midterms! So next week I am FREE!!!!!! Free, that is, to help get the house ready to show. This weekend will be dedicated to intensive clean-up... well, it is spring, so spring cleaning may as well come too!

2.
I got to play Mozart's A Major Concerto in recital yesterday; it went very smoothly indeed! I was complimented until I felt as if I ought to go floating up in the air... from swellheadedness if nothing else... :P

3.
Our concert last Monday was an absolute blast. I didn't know we had a saxophone ensemble... much less one that plays Handel and Debussy! And the percussion ensemble rocked! The choir's part, which was mine, went very well; I loved singing Schumann's awesome Zigeunerleben (life doesn't get much better than Gypsy Life!), Mulholland's gorgeous A Red, Red Rose, and our finale, the simple Zoo-Illogical, was funny, and fun to sing with the wind ensemble.

4.
This afternoon I had a wonderful lesson with our director of piano studies, in preparation for the concerto competition next weekend. He knows so much, I could sit for hours listening to him! I love studying with him and am looking forward to next year when he'll be my own teacher, instead of just giving me the occasional lesson (which is awfully nice of him; he helps such a lot!)

5.
I have an awful cold... so annoying! Hopefully it will be over soon!

6.
Our parish basketball tournament is next Saturday. It'll be fun! It's always cool to catch up with friends from the other parishes. I'll probably not make half of it, since I have the concerto competition that morning, but hopefully I'll at least see the championship. Time will tell.

7.
Now, having finished my seventh take, I have to go finish organizing music! (yay...)

Audi, Benigne Conditor

I think it's fitting to begin my Lenten posts with my translation of the beautiful Lent hymn, Audi Benigne Conditor. The original Latin (as well as tons of other awesome hymns with verse-translations of varying literality) can be found here: http://www.preces-latinae.org/index.htm.

O merciful Creator, hear
The prayers we offer tearfully,
Poured out as we, these forty days,
Fast and abstain repentantly.

O thou who readest every heart,
Thou knowest all our strength is vain;
Grant then the grace of pardon to
The souls who turn to thee again.

Much we have sinned, indeed, but still,
Have mercy on our sins confessed
And for the glory of thy name
Give fainting souls thy healing blest.

Grant us to wear away our flesh
Beneath the burden of our fast
That thus our guilty, sinning hearts
Their load of crime away may cast.

Grant us, O blessed Trinity,
And simple Unity, concede,
From this thy fast of forty days,
May many fruits for us proceed.

AMEN.

In memory of the three seminarians...

Requiescant in pace.

They were so young, those Frenchmen three,
When Thou didst call them home to Thee!
O Lord, they longed Thy priests to be...
Deny them not Thy rest,
But, as they died in glacial cold,
May Thy kind arms their souls enfold,
And warmly, safely, closely hold
Close to Thy sacred breast.

Jesu, Thy call, so sudden, came;
No time for fear, regret, or shame;
They only heard you call each name,
And answered instantly.
Michael, Raymond, Jean-Baptiste,
Surely, of thy dear sons, not least,
Yearning, each one, to be Thy priest
And win more souls for Thee.

They longed to preach, to baptize too,
And teach to all Thy teaching true,
But Thou, before the Host as YOU
Their loving hands caressed,
Didst call them to Thy home, and through
The ice their souls before Thee flew.
Lord, till Thou makest all things new,
Grant them eternal rest.

-- February 22, 2009

Requiescant in Pace...

On the eleventh of February, seven third-year seminarians from the SSPX seminary in Ecône, Switzerland went out into the mountains for a picnic and hike. Four of them were caught in a sudden avalanche. Only one of them survived. This letter was written by one of those who escaped the avalanche altogether... Let us pray for the repose of these young men's souls! Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis...


Ecône, 12 February 2009, 10am.

Dear family and friends,

Some of you might already have heard about this, but if only to correct partial accounts, I want to tell you about a difficult trial that hit the seminary of Econe yesterday. Three third year seminarians died in the mountains because of an avalanche (for those who know them, Jean-Baptiste Després (22), Raymond Guérin (22) et Michaël Sabak (20 ans)).

After the end-of-semester exams, we had a break of four days when we could make whatever outings we wanted. This Wednesday 11 February, seven of us seminarians (all 3rd years and French) decided to go out for a day in the mountains. We planned to treck on snow shoes towards a mountain refuge, cook our picnic and return in the evening so as to be back at the seminary for 6.30pm. We left the seminary by car about 9am, and parked up about 10.30am. From there we went off onto the fresh snow in snowshoes, along a path that leads to a hydroelectric dam way up in the mountains.

When we reached the summit about 12.45pm, a sign indicated that from that point it would ordinarily take one hour twenty minutes to reach the mountain refuge. But the path was covered with a metre and a half of snow on which nobody had walked, so much so that we had to cut the path again with our snow shoes. This path passed 50 metres above the lake (Cleuson). Two of us, being tired and hungry, didn't want to go on. So we were walking behind the others at a distance of 50 metres. Then, as the path went around an outcrop of rock above the lake, they disappeared from view.

One of them, however, wanted to see what had become of us, and came again into view around the outcrop. We exchanged a few words and then caught up with him. But then, looking for the group up ahead, we could see only their footprints, which petered out about 40 metres ahead of us, and the trail of an avalanche. The ice on the lake was broken where the avalanche had come to a halt, but we could make nothing else out because of the brightness of the snow and the visibility (100 metres).

We understood straightaway what had just happened. Seeing that in any case we could not help them, we went back to the dam. It was 1pm. After a few minutes of difficult walking, we reached the 'dam keepers' lodge'. The door was open, the lodge was empty, and near to the door was a phone. I then called 112 and the mountain rescue centre answered straightaway. Four people were in the avalanche and perhaps in the lake itself. In record time (15 mins), 2 'allouettes III' (helicopters) arrived at the spot and after half an hour, they brought back one of my best friends Eric Peron. He had not lost consciousness, and, though completely submerged in the snow, had managed to keep a pocket of air in front of his mouth with his arms, which saved him. Soon, he realised that the snow was whiter above him. Guessing that he was near the surface (his feet were in the lake and he was stuck from the waist up), he opened up a gap with his free arm, and actually reached the surface of the snow and he had the presence of mind to pull off his scarf and shove it through the opening. The rescuers saw it and with their dogs they got him out. He pointed out to them his fellow seminarian Raymond whose feet he could see, but Raymond was already dead. Eric was able to walk and seemed okay but Raymond was on the ground and we were not told until later that he was dead.

About 3pm they took us by helicopter (my first time in one ...) to the rescuers' base at Sion where the police took charge of us. Eric was already at hospital and he was well and had no broken bones. They held us a long time at the police station to make their inquiries into what had happened. As the eldest of the witnesses they made me make a long statement which the two others confirmed. Meanwhile we learnt that Raymond had died and that Jean-Baptiste and Michaël had not been found. There was no hope of getting them out alive. That evening at 7pm, they took us to the funeral home where we found Eric who was with Raymond's body. At 8.30pm, we were all taken back to the seminary. The searches stopped for the night and began again this morning.

That is the story of what happened. Everyone here is in shock. Three young, beautiful souls have gone to meet the Eternal Father. Four miracles - for if we had not lagged behind, we would have all been caught in the avalanche and, with nobody to raise the alarm, the searches would not have started until 7pm, which would have been too late for the seven of us, the ways of God are impenetrable - give thanks to the Lord for the life which he has given them, and mourn the death of their friends. I ask you now to pray for the dead, and for their families who are enduring a terrible trial, and to join us in thanking the mercy of heaven for sparing our lives.

With my love,

Benoît.

Requiescant in Pace