At the behest of the Ineffiable Father Z:

I, Baron von Korf, hereby call on all my readers (yes, both of you) to help the Poor Souls of Priests in Purgatory. During the Octave of All Saints it is possible to receive a plenary indulgence, only for a Poor Soul in Purgatory, by visiting a graveyard and praying for the Poor Souls in Purgatory. This is with the usual conditions of course. Also on All Soul's (this Monday) by going to a church or public oratory and praying the Credo and a Pater Noster, you can likewise receive a plenary indulgence, again only for a poor soul.

This is the Year of the Priest and so it would only be fitting to offer these indulgences for the Poor Souls of Priests who have no one to pray for them. Priests are easily forgotten, and since they have no worldly children of their own they need us, their spiritual children, to honor their memory and pray for them. The old saying is 'No man is deader than a Priest', precisely for this reason.

The Devil hates Priests more than the rest of us because of the great graces they bring to the world. They are beset by all sorts of temptations as they live and then he strives to make them forgotten, or worse, when they die. So go forth into this spiritual battle!

--The Baron
Ceterum autem censeo, Tabulam esse delendam!

One of these days I'll get better a blogging than just once a month. I'm sure there is a joke there, but I'm not going to touch it. That seems to be my problem though, I'm always planning and rarely doing. Well I'm finally beginning to act on one of my plans. I'm going to get back into Fencing.

I took fencing my last semester in college and absolutely loved it. I always said that when stuff settled down a bit for me, I'd look up a new place. Well I think I found one, and I dropped my old coach a line to see where he would recommend. So hopefully within the next few weeks I'll have a new activity to eat up more of my spare time. In the meanwhile enjoy this bit of fencing goodness. The bit at 1:12 is my favorite but 1:52 is a close follow up.



--The Baron
Ceterum autem censeo, Tabulam esse delendam!

A Beautiful and Timeless Performance

I must admit, when I first heard about three Irish priests putting out a CD of Catholic Classics, I was less than impressed. Don't get me wrong, I love beautiful choral pieces as much as the next guy but I didn't think it would be anything special. I was in for a large, and largely unintended, shock. I was laid up on my couch sick and had EWTN on, and there I see Raymond Arroyo standing at the front of St Malachy's Catholic Church in New York City. He was introducing the Priest's St Patrick's Day concert. In short order, Father Delargy and the Fathers O'Hagen (both of them) took their places in the sanctuary (the Blessed Sacrament being properly reserved elsewhere for the evening). "Alright," I thought "let's see what all the fuss is about." I saw. I saw immediately.

It would probably be more accurate to say "I heard". I later went and bought the CD and it was a true joy. From sublime pieces like Ave Maria, Panis Angelicus, and (my favorite) Pie Iesu, to stately pieces like Die Schopfung and Gloria/Domine Fili Unigente, I was hooked. I would be remiss in my duty if I neglected to mention the beautiful and bittersweet rendition of the Irish Blessing.

Quality Choral music is hard to find, especially in today's modern market; however, this CD would be a gem in any collection. The fervent love and conviction for the Faith can be heard reverberating in their tenor and baritone voices. It is this same fervor that drives this Sacerdotal Trio of Gaels outside of their music. Before they signed their contract with Sony Music, the Priests made sure that it was clearly stated that their primary obligation was to their home parishes. In this, the Year of the Priest, their self sacrificing love stands as a reminder to us of why we call priests Father. It is a credit to the priesthood that these men, when offered a chance at fame and fortune, would not only remember their obligation to their parish family but put it before their own worldly gain. Father David Delargy, Father Marten O'Hagen, and Father Eugene O'Hagen are the pastors of Hannahstown, Chushendun, and Ballyclare & Ballygowan respectively.

Its choral merits aside, I would recommend this CD for its variety. 5 languages (English, Spanish, Latin, German, and Irish Gaelic by my count) spanning 14 songs. I knew most of them, but there were a few I had to look up to find out what they were about and I'm grateful for the learning experience. So buy it for the beauty, for the traditions, and for the enrichment of your faith.

"This music is for all people, regardless of their background of faith, or no faith, or maybe a little faith that needs rekindling... we hope that is will bring a lot of joy, lift hearts and give praise to God." --Fr Marten O'Hagen

This review of The Priests is part of the Tiber River Blogger Review program, created by Aquinas and More Catholic Goods. For more information and to purchase, please visit Aquinas and More Catholic Goods.

--The Baron
Ceterum autem censeo, Tabulam esse delendam!

I have found another place to voice my unsolicited opinions on the web for all to see! Tiber River Reviews is a media reviewing website maintained by the good people at Aquinas and More Catholic Goods, and the have a little program for bloggers to give books, CDs and DVDs a once over in terms of Orthodoxy, Readability, and Overall Quality. In fact, Friend of the Court The Crescat... Carolina Cannonball is a fellow Tiber River Reviewer. So pop on over and check out what other people have to say, and maybe buy a book or two. You could do far worse than Aquinas and More, they run a top notch shop.

3.) The Baptist Church has many different conventions or groups and each has its own president, but I do not see clearly a great leader of the Baptist Church. Like the President of the United States is an office, so is the Pope of the Catholic Church. What is the Pope's position in governing or guiding the Catholic Church and what is the criterion for becoming Pope?

Blogger extraordinare, Friend of the Court, and all around good guy Thomas Peters, better known as the American Papist, brought to light the peril of the Swiss villages of Fieshertal and Fiesch. Appearntly the Aletsch glacier is shrinking. Well they are asking for the Pope's aid in this matter. (See AmP for details) The Papist closed with "A prayer to stop glaciers melting, eh? Ha! Find me that in the book of blessings." This sparked a memory from when I was reading over a translation of the Rituale Romanum, the predecessor of the Book of Blessings. Blessing #28 under Blessings of Places Not Designated for Sacred Purposes is "Blessing to War Off Floods":

28. BLESSING TO WARD OFF FLOODS
(Approved by the Congregation of Sacred Rites, Dec. 1, 1886)

The priest, vested in surplice and stole, accompanied by the people, carries a relic of the True Cross to the river or stream, and there devoutly reads at each of four different spots one of the introductions to the four Gospels. After each Gospel he adds the following verses and prayers:

P: Help us, O God, our Savior.
All: And deliver us for your name's sake.
P: Save your servants.
All: Who trust in you, my God.
P: Deal not with us, Lord, as our sins deserve.
All: Nor take vengeance on us for our transgressions.
P: Lord, send us aid from your holy place.
All: And watch over us from Sion.
P: Lord, heed my prayer.
All: And let my cry be heard by you.
P: The Lord be with you.
All: May He also be with you.

Let us pray.
God, who give saving grace even to the wicked land who do not will the death of the sinner, we humbly appeal to you in glory, asking that you protect with your heavenly aid your trusting servants from all perils of flood. Let them find in you a constant safeguard, so that they may always serve you and never be separated from you through any temptation; through Christ our Lord.

All: Amen.

And may the blessing of almighty God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
come upon these waters and keep them always under control.

All: Amen.