Earlier-- I will say I stayed in bed past the normal hour because it was (and perhaps is) in the upper 40s F. and I was simply too snug under the comforter to drag myself out of its embrace. The Ember Day Mass-- seven lessons altogether, all beautifully chanted in their proper tones-- began at 0030 here, and so I was saying the invitatory at Matins at about 2320. Afterward, I went back to bed, as I ordinarily do after these, in Pacific time and for me, very early Masses: but instead of rising at about 0500 it was closer to 0600.
Cáritas Dei diffúsa est in córdibus nostris, allelúja: per inhabitántem Spíritum ejus in nobis, allelúja, allelúja.
Ps 102:1
Benedic, anima mea, Dómino: et ómnia, quæ intra me sunt, nómini sancto ejus.
V. Glória Patri, et Fílio, et Spirítui Sancto.
R. Sicut erat in princípio, et nunc, et semper, et in sǽcula sæculórum. Amen.
Cáritas Dei diffúsa est in córdibus nostris, allelúja: per inhabitántem Spíritum ejus in nobis, allelúja, allelúja.
The only item of interest that I've seen so far in the email (am on my way out for the morning spatiamentum and the day's shopping) is from the local tea merchant. There was a time when I imagined that I was becoming rather knowledgeable about tea and its drinking and the varieties and their provenances and so forth . But I had to end that burgeoning fascination because it was too expensive to support, even with the income that I enjoyed at that time: it's certainly not possible on a monthly Social Security check (I content myself with... I cannot recall the name just now; it is packaged in a green box and available at supermarkets). And there was also the consideration that-- it is the case with any area of specialization, probably-- from the outside, as it were, the expert practitioners of the art seem not a little precious, overly-refined and self-referential, like connoisseurs of wine or tobacco or whiskies who can detect the odor of a particular species of bird that flew over the fermenting vat or the taste of the noonday sun in August of 1989.
"The texture of this tea is like a baked
gingersnap, especially as it cools."
I thought about buying what is needed for the baking of gingersnaps in order to experiment with the different aspects of their taste during the after-oven process but decided that that would be carrying the mockery rather too far.
The fact that I can be as avid as I am about cheeses without indulging in what I characterised supra as 'preciousness' raises an interesting question or two (e.g. if I can manage 'cheese', why not 'tea'?) but, as I wrote, am on my way out the door.
Pater James Martin SJ is an advocate for the entire cohort of 'LBGxyz' people, famous for his writing and presumably his media events (I've never seen video of the man). If he were a tireless advocate also for the Catholic Faith and not just those aspects of it that are congenial to his pastoral preoccupations, then I should say, macte virtute! and not pay him much attention at all (in spite of 'the news' there are thousands of faithful people out in the real world doing the works of justice and mercy while not at the same time preaching error: they don't typically appear on the pages of the Times or in episodes of the nightly news).
On Twitter yesterday or this morning, Pater Martin wrote that of course we should consider that George Lloyd is in Heaven and we ought to be imploring his intercession in hac lacryrmarum valle. Tsk. Troublesome priests are a particularly obnoxious sort of irritant in the body politic who to their idiosyncratic policy goals add a heaping measure of righteousness and self-righteousness both.
We have no idea of the state of Mr Lloyd's soul at his tragic and evidently criminal death. I personally have no idea of the important, significant, meaningful events of his earthly life (although I've seen this or that adverted to) or of the elements of his faith, if he owned any. I just shake my head; is Pater Martin suggesting that Mr L. is in Heaven because he has some miraculous insight into the state of his soul in articulo mortis? Or worse: that he is in Heaven because he was Black? because he was killed unjustly? It is all simply incomprehensible to me but of course I don't pay him any attention and perhaps what he meant is not well articulable on Twitter. Who knows. That is all context for @BruvverEccles's post on his blog, here.
St James Martin (James the least of all), a very well known disciple with many followers, today offended Christians by maintaining that the late Emperor Nero was in Heaven, and should be asked to pray for everyone.
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