A disordered life.

 I'm trying to post every day, but I'm not good enough or disciplined enough to do it. I can see tomorrow, Ash Wednesday shaping up to be a busy day, with hours of travel time added in. May or not see a post tomorrow. On the bright side, I was able to check off everything from my to-do list by lunch time. Not a lot of things to finish, but one important job was making a new list for the ushers at our Chapel. We're called ushers, but all we do is pass the baskets every week for the collections. There are only five of us but we're all old school, so an actual paper list works best for us. This list goes out until the last Sunday in June, so I won't have to worry about this for a while. 

Lent is now right on top of us, and tomorrow we'll make the trip to Nashua for the Fraternity Mass at 12:10. We've been there before, it's a very nice church, but not good in the way of parking. I have a handicap placard, but when there's a lot of people, even that might not be of any help. Not a problem, if I can park close, good, if not these small sufferings are good for me. I try to accept them well, but I'm not good at it. And we much teach ourselves to suffer well, even joyfully, but let me be the first to tell you, to suffer joyfully, I really don't understand how that is done. I consider myself a happy man, sort of, normally, well, you know what I mean. But joyful, that's something different, that is a more spiritual thing, and it's something I ponder when that subject comes up. A disordered life prevents us from seeing clearly, and that's probably my problem. Now that I'm older and somewhat handicapped, the physical attractions of this world are less, but sometimes the mental and spiritual distractions are much more. Satan never gives up his claws in you; it's a war that will last until our last dying breath. And suffering is all a part of it, perhaps for some of us, the biggest part of a life well (trying to) lived. 

• Our passions, our innate tendency to enjoy, often cry out in us and try by a thousand pretexts to hinder us from following Jesus crucified. Let us remain firm in our faith. - Fr. Gabriel  

Getting things done.

 This is the beginning of a fairly busy week here at the ranch. This morning was bloodwork and tinkle in a cup for this Thursday's once a year physical. Not really looking forward to it, even though at my age and physical health it's usually just a question-and-answer thing. How do you feel, anything you need to have done, etc... I think I'll bring up the issue of my really bad left knee, which I'm sure need replacing. I guess I'll have to move forward with that. One funny anecdote from a couple of visits back; the nurse was taking some pre-doctor notes and she sprang me with the question "Do you know what day it is?", then "What is the date?" I knew what day it was, but I wasn't 100% sure on the date! I'm retired, who cares what the date is! I was a little teed-off but I let it go. Anyway, I'll have him look me over and we'll see where the chips fall. 

On the spiritual front, Ash Wednesday is this week and being a SSPX Mission Chapel, unfortunately no Mass on Wednesday. We do have a FSSP Church downstate in Nashua, St. Stanislaus, and we decided to head down that way. They have a Low Mass at 12:10 with distribution of Ashes before Mass. The plan is to leave early and go to Whole Foods and Trader Joe's before Mass instead of after. We usually go to these two stores once a month and do our big shopping there. Organic and non-GMO is what we really try to stick to, and it seems to be helping us. Between those three destinations, that should take up most of our Wednesday. Friday I'm Motor Vehicle bound, re-new my license and handicap placard. Iay have to take an eye test, but no problem with that. 'Must remember what day it is...'

Today is the Feast of Blessed Veridiana, Virgin, Franciscan Third Order Secular. She died in 1242, and her story always stirs up in my mind the incredible lengths that the Blesseds and Saints would go to leave this world while still in it. I'll leave you with this, after she returned from pilgrimages to Compostella and Rome: 

Upon her return home, Veridiana had an anchorage built hard by the chapel of St Anthony in Florence. The cell is preserved to this day. It is ten feet long and three and a half feet wide. For furniture there is only a ledge, a foot wide, projecting from the stone wall and serving as a seat. A small window in the cell opens upon the chapel. Through it she could attend Holy Mass and receive Holy Communion as well as the necessary bodily nourishment. Blessed Veridiana was only twenty-six years old when, with a crucifix in her arms and escorted by her spiritual director and a great number of people, she entered the narrow cell and permitted the door to be immediately walled up. In this voluntary retirement she spent the remaining thirty-four years of her life as an anchoress in prayer and severe penance. In summer her bed was the bare earth; in winter she lay on a board with a block of wood serving as a pillow. Her food consisted of bread and water and herbs. Her only living associates were two large snakes which crept in and out of her cell, with whom she shared her food and her dwelling, in the spirit of penance, for many years. About the year 1222, when St Francis was preaching penance in the vicinity of Florence, he also went to visit the poor anchoress, gave her the habit of the Third Order and many beautiful lessons on the proper way to live a contemplative life.

Quinquagesima Sunday.

 Our Lord takes the time to proclaim to His apostles exactly what is going to happen to Him; delivered, scourged and put to death. They apparently understand none of it. Their ears are still closed. They heard this told to them by Our Lord Himself, we, on the other hand, have not heard it by Him, but we've heard this Gospel reading many, many times, contemplated it and prayed about it, but are our ears closed most of the time, our hearts cold when it comes to these revelations?  We cannot tarry, we cannot linger over these worldly goods that can take up our time and thinking. The Church provides us with this, the Season of Lent, to help bring us back into the fold, so to speak. Let us not waste another moment.

Opinion

Yesterday was an off day to hanging around the homestead and doing chores. We took a ride to Marden's in Sanborn, Maine, just because. Between the cold and the snow and the ice here in NH we decided we needed a break. No, not down south type of a winter break, just getting out of the house a pickup a few things. I brought my stand-up walker which enable's me to get around pretty easy, although by the time we arrived home my legs were pretty cooked. Still, it was a great day, capped off by late lunch at Lord's Clam Box, one of favorite places for eating out. The food agrees with Helen, so that's where we go. 

If you've never been to Marden's ("I should have bought it when I saw it!"), I can only describe it as a Ocean State Job Lot kind of place, only with tons more clothes, a giant section of fabric, etc, tools food, you name it. And cheaper in price than Ocean State. I ended up with a hat, a shoehorn, a shirt, tiebacks, a new blade for the chop saw and I can't remember what else. A good day of shopping.

And so not to miss the elephant in the room, I'll keep this brief. The SSPX should consecrate the bishops, according to plan, come what may. As far as I'm concerned, The Society won't be and never has been, in formal schism. How can these heretics in Rome, proclaim that anyone could be in schism, when they themselves are in schism? Nevertheless, if the 'Pope' does declare them to be in schism unfortunately I believe the Society will lose some priests and seminarians, although I don't really know where they will go. It's a sad situation, but this has been coming to a head for many years and as far as I'm concerned, the Papacy is in the wrong and always has been. 

St. John Vianney and St. Pope Pius X, pray for all involved!

Listening...

 Some things I think I know, but getting caught up in the excitement of a New Hampshire winter, (shoveling, snow blowing, feeding the wood stove), I tend to forget things. In light of this, let me explain. Helen and I enjoy most of the Winter Olympics sports. The opening and closing ceremonies, forget about them, generally. So, we've had the tv on during the day, something we rarely ever do, just to watch the Olympics. And you tend to get into the mindset of the time, Olympic Time, so to speak. Where am I going with this? I'm thinking that I'd sort of forgotten how easily the media can manipulate us, get us to watch and think about just what it deems important. Kidnappings, sports, etc. Today, I remembered that there is still a war going on in Ukraine. The Russians are still bad (hardly any Russians competing) and the Israelis are still doing shady things in Palestine, but nobody hears about them lately, not unless one looks hard. That's why today I took to heart the Wednesday's reading, on how God has slowly revealed Himself to us, first to Adam and Eve, then to Noah, Abraham and Moses, then to all the prophets. Only little by little does He reveal himself to men, and only by His Son. I'm paraphrasing this a bit, Fr. Troadaec does a much better job explaining this. What was brought back to my light, through the fog of tv/media hustle, is that Our Lord is the only one we really must listen to, in reading, prayer and through the sacraments. 

I'll continue to watch the Olympics, but with some sacred reading and my Rosary close by. Oh, Our Lady of Lourdes, intercede and pray for us!

Precautionary snow removal.

 Last fall Helen and I (mostly Helen, if truth be told), built a small, roofed area back behind the garage. Helen kept it pretty simple so consequently the pitch of the roof was just slanted enough for the rain to run off but flat enough for Helen to get up there to shingle it. This roofed area has come in handy, housing all sorts of stuff that last year may have spent the winter 'outdoors'. Well, I looked at it the other day now after a few snowstorms, and there was at least a foot of snow on it. Ugh. I thought about breaking out the roof rake, but I knew I'd never get away with slipping over there and pulling at least some of the snow down without getting a stern and perhaps vocal "What the heck are you doing??" from those involved. Well today, I found my chance. Helen was off to Ten-Hut, The Dollar General, the air temp was a balmy 27° and I felt pretty strong. I had to shovel my way just to get in front of the roofed area, but then I was able to get about 3/4 of the deep snow off the roof. This is because we have an Alberta Clipper sailing through tonight (4-6'') and I just wanted the roof to make it through this winter. Done and back in here in front of the keyboard, without getting caught, giving you my exploits. All good. 

St. Scholastica, pray for us!

(Pics below of last Fall's action). 

More Lenten reading.

 Helen is reading this for Lent. She started it now and it is very powerful, in the lines of The Liturgical Year. Father holds nothing back in his instruction. Well worth the read. 

For us, we had Monday morning Mass, something we haven't had in a while, on the feast of St. Cyril of Alexandria. Eight o' clock morning Mass is not easy for me to do, even getting up at 4:30. I complain because we don't have daily mass, then when we do, I sometimes grumble.

Go figure.