26 May 2009

The Apostle of Rome

Last night, to the Oratory for First Vespers of S Philip Neri. Latin, Extraordinary Form, and followed by Latin Benediction and then Veneration of the Relic of S Philip. The propers for the Saint are elegant compositions, making use of biblical texts about the Heart, weaving them into an exposition of that experience of Divine Love which S P had early in life and which left him with a permanent deformity in his chest. And a fine vernacular hymn at the end by Mr Newman, Sapphics, with this stanza:
Love is his bond, he knows no other fetter,/Asks not our all, but takes whate'er we spare him,/ Willing to draw us on from good to better,/ As we can bear him.
There must be a sermon, or a lecture in a seminary Pastoralia course, in that.
Altogether, a faultless and well-judged succession of edifying liturgical episodes (well, not quite; the choir did make a little booboos at start of Vespers. S Philip would have laughed at that).

But then, a pretty well-judged Mass this morning at S Thomas's too, even though we were only three; EF Latin Mass of S Philip ... the rite the Saint knew and used daily (well, not quite; being Anglicans with a weakened sense of Sin, we do omit the Third Confiteor). I can't think of a better thing to do at 7.45 any morning of the year.

A WORRY

Father Zed ... is he OK? Is he still Sound? Less and less Liturgy in his blog and more and more on the double tailed Texan hoopoe finch, followed by treatises on how to cook mussels the way they do it across the bacino in Venice. I calculate that, at this rate, by 2016 his blog will be 100% about Ornithology and St Epicurus the Unmartyr.

4 comments:

discipula said...

Unfair! You know I can't get to the Oratory or St Thomas's. But you are right re Fr Z. Where indeed are the core liturgical topics? (Tho' I personally like the birdy bits, being a veggie most of the cookery turns me off.)

Ttony said...

Fr Z (whom God Preserve!) is in his exile and gathering strength, allowing the tiny conscious part of his mind to flit between trivial (though wholesome) subjects, while the deep subconscious gradually prepares for eruption. Is the Sabine Farm a Tardis, out of which Fr Z will regenerate as a Cardinal deacon? Is it an American desert in which he will spend 40 (metaphorical) days before his return to Rome? We shall see ...

Me said...

Seems he is in good health as ever. Probably busy supervising the spring plowing and planting at the family farm.

PG said...

Does Fr Z ever do pastoral work? Does he ever do academic work? How long can a doctorate take? If he is a priest of the Diocese of Velletri does he ever plan to return there?

Sorry for lots of questions, but things need to be asked about him. I want to find a diocese that lets me live any life I want and, ex nihilo?, provides me with all the money I need to do so.