Wednesday of Holy Week

The New Liturgical Movement has a photo of our good friend John Boyden in the FSSP Palm Sunday procession in Rome.

Blog by-the-Sea explores how striving for holiness requires faithfulness rather than perfection.

Terry Nelson writes about Judas.

Meanwhile, let us keep in mind the long martyrdom of the Iraqi Christians. (Via the NOR)

From Vultus Christi:

We confess the self-emptying obedience of Christ, obedience even to the death of the cross, calling him LORD. We summon the entire cosmos — things in heaven, on earth, and under the earth — to adoration of his Name! Already, we lift our eyes to the see the glory of the risen and ascended Christ. The very melody of the introit scales an entire octave to soar into the heights, obliging us to “seek the things that are above” (Col 3:1). Dame Aemiliana speaks of “the irresistible, shining tone of triumph with which today’s Mass straightaway puts the approaching shadows of evening to flight.” Like Saint Stephen at the hour of his death, we see Christ in the glory of God the Father. “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God” (Acts 7:56). The Crucified is our Kyrios, the triumphant king, raised up into the glory of the Father.

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Sidney Reilly, "Ace of Spies"

On the phone one evening last spring my sister was telling me about the latest James Bond movie, and how good Daniel Craig was as the "new" 007.

"There was a real 'James Bond,' you know, " I mentioned.

"There was?"

"Yes, just google 'Reilly, Ace of Spies.'" She did and so the research began. Sidney Reilly, of Slavic Jewish descent, fluent in several languages and accents, transformed the British secret service from a gentleman's club for amateur sleuths into a cunning organization capable of infiltrating the highest echelons of Soviet power. Reilly intially married a wealthy Irish lady and henceforth passed himself off as an Irishman. Reilly was involved with many women, including the Catholic writer Caryll Houselander, before her conversion. The fact and fiction of his life has been the subject of some recent books, including one by Andrew Cook. In a review of Cook's book, it says:

Sidney Reilly, fluent in Russian, French, German, and English, was the British secret service agent who plotted to overthrow the Bolshevik government, but in 1925 was caught, interrogated, and executed. He is buried in the inner yard of the Lubyanka secret police headquarters in Moscow. A gambler and a womanizer, Reilly enjoyed the lifestyle of the monied class, but he was no James Bond. He was an opportunist, a flim-flam man, a likeable scoundrel and, most likely, a murderer. Many of his deeds were of his own invention, but his future biographers recorded them as truth.

Reilly was a master spy, con artist, serial bigamist, and also a man of mystery. Several books and magazine and newspaper articles have been written about him. Reilly was also the inspiration for Ian Fleming's James Bond series and the subject of a 1983 BBC miniseries, Reilly: Ace of Spies.

Another article has more about his colorful, often sordid, career:

Born in Russia and educated in Britain, Reilly's exploits ranged from saving diplomats in the jungles of South America to infiltrating the German High Command during World War I. In New York City in 1914, he bought munitions and helped counter German sabotage of American factories supplying the Allies. He also obtained German naval secrets for Britain, reputedly made and lost several fortunes during his life, and had many love affairs and several wives. Born the illegitimate son of a Jewish doctor in Odessa in 1874, Reilly changed his name from Sigmund Rosenblum to Sidney George Reilly. Toward the end of his life, one of Reilly's main goals as a British spy was to topple the Bolshevik regime in his homeland. In May 1918, he had to flee Moscow when his plans were foiled. He is believed to have secretly entered the Soviet Union several other times until he was arrested and reportedly executed in November 1925, shortly before Joseph Stalin came to power.

And here is more about the "real James Bond."

Once again, truth is stranger than fiction. I find the prototype of the Bond character to be immensely more interesting than anything in that genre of films.

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Mother Magdalen Taylor and Tyborne

A year or so ago, Father Nicholas at Roman Miscellany had a wonderful post about Mother Magdalen Taylor, the foundress of the Poor Servants of the Mother of God, and the author of the historical novel, Tyborne. Tyborne is the story of a group of young Catholics during the reign Queen Elizabeth I and how they are compelled to make difficult choices. Mother Taylor displays a deep insight into the human heart, showing how easy it is to fall, and how steep the price of virtue can be. Ultimately, the book is about the struggle of passion and human respect with doing what is right for the love of God. It may not be among the great masterpieces of English literature but it is well-written, meticulously researched, and a classic portrayal of the English martyrs. Against the backdrop of estates of the landed gentry, the royal court, the prison of Mary Queen of Scots, dungeons, torture chambers, and the infamous scaffold at Tyburn, the novel gives the reader a rare glimpse of what it was like to live under the penal laws. Many bitter betrayals are countered by heroism and stoic sacrifice. Tyborne should be part of every homeschooling library and will be relished by all who enjoy good historical fiction. Share

St. John Adams

HBO offers some hagiography for the Americanist religion in an acclaimed mini-series about John Adams. It does look very entertaining. John Adams certainly shone among the Founding Fathers with his prudence, wit and brilliant legal mind. He is greatly admired, and should be. (Mrs. Adams, too.) We Americans like to view our Founders as models of all the virtues. While many did display a great deal of natural virtue, as well as the instincts and acumen of successful businessmen and gifted politicians, they do not necessarily meet the standards required by the Catholic Church for canonization. Patriotism is a virtue; nationalism, especially blind nationalism, is not. According to an article I came across this morning:

HBO’s new miniseries, John Adams, premiered this weekend; it is based on the bestselling biography by David McCullough. Producer Tom Hanks manages to retell familiar events in a captivating way that reminds the viewer history was not inevitable. Behind the debates, battles, and trials stood imperfect, nuanced men who made mistakes. The founders were not a monolithic group and each deserves careful consideration.

[....]

Unfortunately, this hagiographic portrayal of our second president needs to be questioned. McCullough's sympathetic view of Adams's actions reveals a failure to apply the classical liberal implications of the Revolution. In debunking Adams's case, the American Revolution itself can be better understood.

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Daughters of Jerusalem

"Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not over me; but weep for yourselves and for your children." (Luke 23:28)

It has occurred to me more and more how many walking wounded there are in our society and in our Church. I am only beginning to comprehend the level of despair and infinite pain that lives in the hearts of an unimaginable number of women whose children were victims of abortion. Many were coerced into making such a "choice." Furthermore, abortion is not just something that happens to a mother and her child; it happens to the entire extended family, whether they are aware of the abortion or not. For Holy Week, as we explore the abyss of suffering, remorse, and redemptive love, here are some sites that offer healing and reconciliation not only to mothers of dead babies but to the fathers and grandparents as well.

Psychiatrists are finally admitting that abortion can have adverse effects on women's mental health. (Via NOR) Share

Tuesday of Holy Week

From Vultus Christi:

The Eucharist is the awful reality of the Christus passus. The mystery of the suffering Christ is made present to us and for us. For our healing, his wounds are pressed against ours. For our cleansing, his Blood flows impetuous like a torrent. For our life, his breath is given over in death. The Eucharist is the Crucified “lifted up and drawing all men to himself”(cf. Jn 12:32). It is the Eucharist that causes us to cry out, “O great Passion! O deep wounds! O outpouring of Blood! O death suffered in every bitterness, give us life.”

Holy Week is a good time to go to Confession, especially if you have not been in a while.

Scott Richert discusses the spirit of sacrifice and Holy Week.
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Portrait of Madame Royale

Thérèse slowly lifted her veil, revealing her penetrating gaze, which flickered from sapphire to agate according to the light, deep set in classic features like a stern Athena. It was a face in which energy strove with sorrow, like fire with rain. With the weather-beaten complexion of one who spends hours a day in the open air, her countenance was more noble than beautiful. The bitter droop of the mouth, set in the stubborn Hapsburg jaw, seemed to have put every hint of beauty to flight, yet one felt compelled to search for it in fascinated futility when gazing upon her.

~from Madame Royale by Elena Maria Vidal

Marie-Thérèse-Charlotte of France, the Duchesse d'Angoulême, around 1815. Share

Vexilla Regis

Roman Christendom offers the history of the ancient Vespers hymn for Passiontide. It is sad that most Catholics in the U.S. will not have the benefit of hearing such a jewel of a hymn during Holy Week in their parishes. It is always possible to find a good CD so that the classic hymns can be played and learned at home.

The Western Confucian links to an article on the meaning of Celtic spirituality.

Paula sent me a link to the trailer of a new Romanian film about the Communist prisons of the mid-twentieth century, with the following description:

It's a movie about communism, a movie about struggle, a movie about faith in God. Arrested for being a member of a democratic party, Nicoleta Valeria Bruteanu enters the Communist Romanian prisons in 1949, and remains detained until 1953. There she finds the time she needs to think about her mistakes in life and tries to regain her faith in God. Soon faith united all cell mates and helped them endure and in the end survive the horrors of the Communist prison system. The title of the movie is at the same time the conclusion of the story - the suffering in the prison brought Nicoleta closer to God, closer to people around her, made her a better person. The movie its a little graphic, but the director was somewhat forced to include such scenes to be able to reveal the brutality of the tortures methods. The English dubbing works well and most actors did an excellent job. I highly recommend this movie to understand better the suffering which the people in Eastern Europe and Russia were forced to endure.

Fr. Blake asks for prayers during Holy Week for all those who are being tortured. The accounts of such horrors are disturbing indeed, especially since it is happening now.


Fr. Mark reflects upon the liturgy of Holy Week:

Our own experience of struggle and of wrestling with evil allows us to enter into the prayer of Christ given us in the Propers of today’s Mass, not as spectators looking on from the sidelines, but as participants. Today’s Introit is taken from Psalm 34, a passionate appeal for vindication. “Judge, O Lord, those that wrong me, fight against those that fight against me: take hold of arms and shield, and arise to help me, O Lord, the strength of my salvation” (Ps 34:1-2). This is the prayer of the suffering Christ to the Father; because it is His prayer, it is ours. “In the days of His flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to Him Who was able to save Him from death, and He was heard for His godly fear” (Heb 5:7). It is precisely this prayer of Christ, His costly, agonizing prayer “out of the depths” (Ps 129:1), that is given us in the psalms....

The sacrament of the Word gives us the prayer of Christ. We, by ingesting the words of the psalms, allow Christ’s prayer to indwell us as it indwells the whole Church who breathes it forth again and again in the power of the Holy Spirit. The sacrament of Christ’s Body and Blood gives us the whole mystery of Christ’s blessed Passion and glorious Resurrection; it gives us Christ himself. He comes to live out His once-and-for-all Mystery again and again in us, uniting us in one Spirit to himself. Let us receive both Word and Sacrament today confident of the glorious outcome of every bitter struggle with sin and death. We shall see Him again in Galilee, even as He promised.

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The Other Half

Under the Gables continues the informative series on the history of housework in America. Life in the tenements around the turn of the century was not pleasant.

For these working women, it was almost impossible to keep their homes clean and orderly. Quarters were cramped, an entire family or more living in a single room or at most four rooms. Beds were shared; privacy was nonexistent in such homes. There was little if any storage space and therefore "everything that was needed for living and for working was out in the open nearly all the time: the pots and pans jostled with the sewing machine, the clothing jostled with the broom, the table was rarely cleared (where else would the utensils be put?) the toys (such as they were) mingled with the shoes (such as they were),... Beds became chairs, and sometimes doors became beds; one table might be used for preparing food, for eating it, for stitching garments, or gluing artificial flowers, or butchering a chicken. The towel with which people wiped their hands might wipe a baby's bottom or the floor or the table or the pots."

For middle class women, however, it was the Golden Age:

The years of 1890 to 1920 or the end of World War I marked the golden age for women who had achieved married middle-class status. In their case, the combination of technology's bringing amenities AND the help of hired servants--either permanently in the home or for jobs such as laundry, ironing, heavy cleaning, serving, or cooking--gave women the most leisure they have ever had--before or since. In this period the middle-class standard for the home was set: "Her home was capacious, orderly, and clean. All the members of the family wore clothing that fitted properly, and they changed it with some frequency. Meals were served at set times, on clean plates; and the diet was varied enough to keep everyone reasonably healthy. Children of this class had acquired the rudiments of education even before they entered school, and their progress in school was carefully monitored."

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