In ancient Greece, men know each other and recognize each other in the eyes of their family, their loved ones, their community. Women reserve the mirror for themselves, which is about beauty, femininity and seduction. Reflection is everywhere. "There is no place that does not see you" summarizes Rilke. Can we exist without worrying about our reflection? Can we be aware of ourselves without knowing ourselves? Can one be aware of oneself without being recognized? One can have a self-image, but it can be very far from oneself. Thus man should not see himself in the mirror for fear of being absorbed by his image. This image that manages to make us forget that we are there. If we think what we see, if it resonates with us, we dream it too. Our image escapes us as soon as we see it. Thus the woman adjusts herself in the mirror when the man could get lost there, drown there. The dream, binomial of memory, conceals time and numbs it. What did we see and when? The gaze and the imagination interpenetrate and cannot be dissociated. To see and to know oneself merges among the Greeks. To see, to know oneself... but not too much, because if man is a marvel, in the sense of an incident, of a fascinating fracture within the living as the chorus of Antigone says, he also conceals his own terror, he exterminates and tortures himself, and he is indeed the only "animal" in this case.
Travelogue
Learn Gregorian Chant
It was in June 1985, in Pont-à-Mousson, at the end of the symposium “Music in the Church today”. Maurice Fleuret — in peace be his soul — Minister Jack Lang's magnificent director of music and dance, took the floor. Word of fire. Of supplication; one can say so, since he himself begged. I will quote him ad sensum, but this word I have never forgotten: it is his. Evoking what Western music, from its origins to the present day, owed to the Church, to the liturgy of the Church, what owed to the music of the Church the music of Monteverdi, Bach, Mozart , Beethoven, Stravinsky, Messiaen: everything . To the liturgical music of the Church, Western music owed everything, he said. And himself, Maurice Fleuret, in his own life as a musician, to the music of the Church, what did he owe? Everything . He owed her everything, he said. And this Western music which owed everything to the Church, to the liturgy of the Church, what did it owe to Gregorian chant? Everything , he said. To Gregorian chant, all Western music, he said, owed everything . But the Spirit of Gregorian chant, he said, this spirit which he could not imagine ceasing to breathe, where was it breathed? In the liturgy, he says. And that's when he begged the Church…: I beg you, he exclaimed, for the benefit of the ecclesiastics present, don't leave the monopoly of Gregorian chant to the State. It is made for the liturgy. And it is in the liturgy that it must be practiced.”
Even if the Gregorian is sung less (when Vatican II recommended it as the major chant of the liturgy, go figure), it remains the treasure of Europe. Maurice Fleuret, pupil of Olivier Messiaen and minister of Jack Lang, recalled it precisely above. The Gregorian was omitted by those who promulgated it, so it is difficult to see clearly. Those who take the time to go on retreat in monasteries or who, out of taste, listen to Gregorian chant know that it wins over believers and non-believers alike. The Gregorian turns out to be unclassifiable. Rooted and distant, powerful and delicate, humble and solemn, fragile and vigorous. Brother Toussaint, former monk of the Sainte Madeleine du Barroux abbey, now a hermit, offers Gregorian courses à la carte and whatever your level. He is an excellent teacher, and I can attest to that!
Brother Toussaint offers you very flexible formulas. You can follow the courses remotely or come on site (the Saint-Bède hermitage is located between Lyon and Grenoble). For the moment, he cannot yet accommodate anyone, even if in the long term he would like to build a small hostelry to receive guests... There are accommodations not very far from the hermitage. Anyone who knew Barroux in its early days knows the secret but avowed desire of Brother Toussaint to recreate this unique atmosphere and to receive a few guests to immerse them in almost perpetual prayer. In the immediate future, it is a good idea to start by learning to sing, which gives Brother Toussaint time to find the funds to increase his structure (patrons are welcome here!). The prices are decreasing if you come with several people. One hour, three days, all formulas are possible. Brother Toussaint will gladly come out of his eremitism to teach you the art of Gregorian chant.
Information: Learn Gregorian chant with a Benedictine monk
Reservations: https://frere-toussaint.reservio.com/
And the complete site where you can discover Brother Toussaint's articles on eremitism: https://www.ermites-saint-benoit.com/
The Pump by Clive Staples Lewis
"In the first place, you must get rid of that nauseating idea, the fruit of an inferiority complex manifesto and a worldly mind, that pomp, in the right circumstances, has anything in common with vanity or sufficiency. A celebrant who solemnly approaches the altar to celebrate, a princess led by her king in a noble and delicate minuet, a senior officer reviewing the honored troops during a parade, a butler in livery bringing food lavish at a Christmas banquet — all wear unusual attire and move with calculated and impeccable dignity. This does not mean that their gestures are in vain, rather docile; their gestures obey an imperative that presides over every solemnity. The modern habit of practicing ceremonies without any etiquette is no proof of humility; rather, it proves the powerless celebrant's inability to forget himself in the service, and his readiness to rush and spoil the pleasure proper to the ritual of placing beauty at the center of the world and making it accessible to him. »
Free translation by the blog author.
The Chief's Sacrifice
“Who is like God? »(1), the book of the army corps general Pierre Gillet, lists in an exhaustive way the qualities of a chief and draws up the Christian virtues necessary to the command. What could pass for an insider's book, a new TTA(1), becomes under the delicate and virile pen of Pierre Gillet, former corps commander of the 2nd Foreign Infantry Regiment, general commanding the rapid reaction corps - France , a poetry of being, imbued with spirituality, passion, perseverance and dignity.
I chose you to see you fight under the flag of Christ!
Blessed Alain de la Roche (1) lamented the lukewarmness with which he recited his rosary, in a Dominican church in Paris, during the octave of All Saints 1465. Suddenly, Our Lady appeared to him, accompanied by several virgins:
“Don't run away, my son! she told him. If you have any doubts, either about me or about my companions, make the sign of the cross over us.
If we are visions of hell, we will suddenly disappear; if, on the contrary, we are visions of Heaven, we will remain, and the brighter still will be the radiance that springs from each of us. »
Alain makes his sign of the cross. The light of the apparition becomes more intense.
“O my son, have no more doubts! I am your virgin bride, the apparition told her; I still love you, and I still care about you.
But know that no one is without pain in this world; neither I, nor my Son, nor any of the saints here below have been without suffering. There is more: covered with the weapons of faith and patience, prepare yourself for trials even more difficult than those you have had to go through so far.
Because I didn't choose you to make you a soldier on parade, but to see you fight bravely and as a hero under the flag of Jesus Christ and under my own banner.
As for the dryness and the aridity which you experienced during the space of a few days, do not worry about it; it was I who wanted you to go through this ordeal; bear it as a pain and as a chastisement for your old faults; and also, receive it as a means of making progress in patience and in view of the Salvation of the living and the dead. »
(1) Alain de la Roche, born around 1428 near Plouër-sur-Rance in Brittany (France) and died in 1475 in Zwolle in the Netherlands, was a 15th century Dominican Breton monk. He is celebrated on September 9.
From Father René Laurentin
Lauda Zion
Magnificent sequence in the Mass of Corpus Christi, written by Saint Thomas Aquinas, this dogmatic poetry praises the new and true Sion, the Church. Benoit XVI said of this Mass: “These are texts that make the waves of the heart vibrate, while the intelligence, penetrating with wonder into the mystery, recognizes in the Eucharist the living and true presence of Jesus, of his Sacrifice of love that reconciles us to the Father and gives us salvation.”
Praise, Sion, your saviour, praise your leader and your pastor, with hymns and canticles.
As much as you can, dare to sing it, because it exceeds all praise, and you are not enough to praise it.
A special subject of praise is proposed to us today: it is the living and life-giving bread.
The bread that at the meal of the Holy Communion, Jesus really gave to the troop of the twelve brothers.
Let the praise be full and sonorous;
may it be joyful and beautiful, the jubilation of the soul. For today is the solemnity that recalls the first institution of this Supper.
At this table of the new King, the new Passover of the new law ends the ancient Passover.
The old rite is chased away by the new, the shadow by the truth;
the light dissipates the night. What Christ did at the Last Supper, he ordered to be done in memory of him.
Instructed by his holy orders, we consecrate the bread and the wine in the host of salvation.
It is a dogma given to Christians that bread becomes flesh and wine becomes meaning.
What you do not understand or see, living faith attests against the course of events.
Beneath various appearances, simple signs and non-realities, hide sublime realities.
The flesh is food, the blood drink;
however Christ remains whole on one and the other species. By whoever receives it, it is not broken or broken or divided, but received whole.
Only one receives it, a thousand receive it: each as much as the others;
taken as food, it is not destroyed. The good guys take it, the bad guys take it, but for a different fate: Life or death!
Death for the wicked, life for the good: see how different the outcome is from the same take.
If finally the sacrament is broken, do not be troubled, but remember that there is under each particle as much as the whole covers.
No scission of reality occurs: of the sign alone there is a rupture, and it diminishes neither the state nor the magnitude of the reality signified.
Here is the bread of the angels which has become food for travellers: it is truly the bread of children, which must not be thrown to the dog.
It is signified in advance by figures: the immolation of Isaac, the lamb set apart for the passover, the manna given to our fathers.
Good Shepherd, true bread, Jesus, have mercy on us: feed us, keep us, show us the real good in the land of the living.
You who know and can do everything, who feed here below the mortals that we are: make us up there your commensals, the co-heirs and the companions of the holy citizens of heaven.
Pentecost happiness
One of the joys of the octave of Pentecost lies in the recitation of the Veni, Sancte Spiritus , after the recitation of the Victimae Paschali during Easter week, the liturgy never ceases to amaze us.
Come, Holy Spirit,
And send from the sky
A ray of your light.
Come, father of the poor,
Come, giver of gifts,
Come, light of hearts.
Very good comforter,
Sweet host of the soul,
Sweet refreshment.
Rest in work,
Relief in the heat,
Consolation in tears.
O blessed light,
Fill to the most intimate
The hearts of your faithful.
Without your divine help,
There is nothing in man,
It is nothing innocent.
Wash away what is soiled,
Water what is arid,
Heal what is hurt.
Soften what is stiff,
Warm what is cold,
Straighten out what is wrong.
Give to your followers
who trust in you,
The Seven Sacred Gifts.
Give the merit of virtue,
Give the final salute,
Give eternal joy.
So be it. Alleluia.
Prayer to the Souls in Purgatory of Father André Haussaire
O Jesus, to Your Heart I entrust (whom I desire: for example “victims of the virus”)
Look at (the/them) then do what Your Heart tells You.
Let Your Heart Work!
I rely on Him.
I trust Him.
I surrender myself to Him!
O Jesus, by Your most loving Heart, I beg You to inflame with the zeal of Your Love and Your Glory all the priests of the world, all the missionaries, all those who are responsible for announcing Your divine Word, so that with holy zeal they snatch souls from Satan and lead them to the asylum of Your Heart where they can glorify You unceasingly!
Eternal Father, who, out of love for souls, delivered Your only Son to death, – by His Blood, by His merits and by His Heart, have mercy on the whole world and forgive all the sins that are committed.
Receive the humble reparation offered to You by Your chosen souls.
Unite them to the merits of Your divine Son, so that all their acts may be of great efficacy.
O, Eternal Father, have mercy on souls and do not forget that the time of Justice has not yet arrived, but that of Mercy!
Receive, O Most Holy Father, the sufferings and merits of all the souls who, united to the merits and sufferings of Jesus Christ, offer themselves to You, with Him and through Him, so that You may forgive the world.
O God of mercy and love, be the strength of the weak, the light of the blind and the object of the love of souls!
O my Savior who art also my God, let my heart be a flame of pure love for You!
(1952)
Prayer in times of epidemic
(from the Roman Ritual, Titulus IX, Caput X)
V. Lord, do not treat us according to our sins.
A. And do not punish us according to our iniquities.
V. Help us, O God our Saviour.
A. And for the glory of your name, Lord, deliver us.
V. Lord, remember not our ancient iniquities.
A. May your mercies warn us without delay, because we are reduced to the last misery.
V. Pray for us, Saint Sebastian.
A. So that we can obtain the promises of Jesus Christ.
V. Lord, hear my prayer.
A. And let my cry rise to you.
V. The Lord be with you.
A. And with your mind.
Hear us, O God our Saviour, and through the intercession of the blessed and glorious Mary Mother of God ever virgin and of the blessed Sebastian your martyr and of all the saints, deliver your people from the terrors of your indignation and reassure them by the gifts of your mercy….
Be propitious Lord to our supplications and remedy the languor of our bodies and our souls, so that delivered from these evils, we may always be in joy by an effect of your blessing...
We beg you, Lord, to grant us the effect of our humble prayer and to ward off pestilence and mortality with kindness, so that the hearts of men will understand and feel that such scourges proceed from your indignation and cease by your mercy. By Christ Our Lord.
Spiritual Communion (continued)
In the Middle Ages, when the faithful used to take communion only at Easter time, devout people, usually women, expressed their desire to do so more frequently.
This is how the custom of spiritual communion appeared. “Towards the end of the twelfth century, the most popular form of spiritual communion was to express a prayer and requests during the elevation which follows the consecration. […] It is considered that the eulogy or holy bread was a quite acceptable replacement for sacramental communion […].
According to some authors, the blessing of people and the kiss of peace could also replace communion. […] Spiritual communion was recommended to those who were too ill to receive the consecrated species. […] Theologians reinforced this practice by teaching that, through spiritual communion, we received as many graces necessary for our salvation as through sacramental communion” (G. Macy in Eucharistia. Encyclopédie de l’Echaristie , under the direction of M. Brouard, Paris, 2002, p. 182).
Even if, today, the practice of daily confession is common, the Church nevertheless invites the faithful to recite spiritual communions often throughout the day to ignite themselves in love of God, "so as to unite to the Redeemer with lively faith, a spirit respectfully humble and confident in his will, with the most ardent love” (Pius XII, encyclical Mediator Dei , November 20, 1947). Archbishop Le Tourneau
Here are two forms of spiritual communion:
“I would like, Lord, to receive you with purity, humility and devotion
with which your Most Holy Mother received you;
with the spirit and fervor of the saints. »
“My Jesus, I believe that you are present here in the Blessed Sacrament. I love you above all things and I ardently desire to receive you.
But since, at this moment, I cannot do it sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart.
As if you were already present there, I adore you and I unite myself entirely to you; do not allow me ever to separate from you.
Jesus, my good, my sweet love, inflame my heart with love, so that it always burns with love for you.
Cherubim, Seraphim who adore Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, night and day, pray for us and give us the holy blessing of Jesus and Mary.