Pentecost Sunday

Copied below is the SEQUENCE section for Pentecost Sunday [1]:

1.  Come, Thou Holy Ghost, come,

And from Thy celestial home.  Shed

a ray of light divine.

2.  Come, Thou Father of the poor,

Come, Thou source of all our store,

Come, within our bosoms shine.

3.  Thou of Comforters the best,

Thou the soul's delightful guest,

Sweet refreshment here below.

4.  In our labor rest most sweet,

Pleasant coolness in the heat,  Solace

in the midst of woe.

5.  O most blessed Light divine,  Shine

within these hearts of Thine,  And

our inmost being fill.

6.  Where Thou art not, man hath

nought,  Nothing good in deed or

thought,  Nothing free from taint of 

ill.

7.  Heal our wounds, our strength re-

new,  On our dryness pour Thy dew,

Wash the stains of guilt away.

8.  Bend the stubborn heart and will,

Melt the frozen, warm the chill,

Guide the steps that go astray.

9.  On Thy faithful who adore,  And

confess Thee evermore,  In thy 

sevenfold gifts descend. [2]

10.  Give them virtue's sure reward,

Give them They salvation, Lord,  Give

them joys that never end.

Amen. Alleluia.

[1] The Roman Catholic Daily Missal 1962 (p.669). Angelus Press.
[2] The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit (see https://www.learnreligions.com/gifts-of-the-holy-spirit-542143):
1.  Wisdom
2.  Understanding
3.  Counsel
4.  Fortitude
5.  Knowledge
6.  Piety
7.  Fear of the Lord

Psalms And A Hymn For Ascension Thursday

The Psalms for Ascension Thursday per the Roman Catholic Missal 1992  are as follows:

1. Ps. 109 [1]

The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit Thou at my right hand:

Until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool.

The Lord shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule Thou in the midst of Thine enemies.

With Thee is the principality in the day of Thy strength, in the brightness of the saints: from the womb before the day star I begot Thee.

The Lord hath sworn, and He will not repent: Thou art a priest for ever according to the order of Melchisedech.

The Lord at Thy right hand hath broken kings in the day of His wrath.

He shall judge among nations, He shall fill ruins: He shall crush the heads in the land of many.

He shall drink of the torrent in the way: therefore shall He lift up the head.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.

As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.

Amen.

2. Ps. 110 [2]

I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart; in the council of the just, and in the congregation.
Great are the works of the Lord: sought out according to all [H]is wills.

His work is praise and magnificence: and [H]is justice continueth for ever and ever.

He hath made a remembrance of [H]is wonderful works, being a merciful and gracious Lord[;] He hath given food to them that fear [H]im.

He will be mindful for ever of [H]is covenant: He will shew forth to [H]is people the power of [H]is works.

That [H]e may give them the inheritance of the Gentiles: the works of [H]is hands are truth and judgment.

All [H]is commandments are faithful: confirmed for ever and ever, made in truth and equity.

He hath sent redemption to [H]is people: [H]e hath commanded [H]is covenant for ever.

Holy and terrible is [H]is name: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

A good understanding to all that do it: [H]is praise continueth for ever and ever.

3. Ps. 111 [3]

Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord: he shall delight exceedingly in [H]is commandments.

His seed shall be mighty upon earth: the generation of the righteous shall be blessed.

Glory and wealth shall be in his house: and his justice remaineth for ever and ever.

To the righteous a light is risen up in darkness: [H]e is merciful, and compassionate and just.

Acceptable is the man that sheweth mercy and lendeth: he shall order his words with judgment[, because he shall not be moved for ever].

The just shall be in everlasting remembrance: he shall not fear the evil hearing.

His heart is ready to hope in the Lord[, h]is heart is strengthened, he shall not be moved until he look over his enemies.

He hath distributed, he hath given to the poor: his justice remaineth for ever and ever: his horn shall be exalted in glory.

The wicked shall see, and shall be angry, he shall gnash with his teeth and pine away: the desire of the wicked shall perish. 

[Glory be to the Father.]

[Blessed be the name of the Lord for evermore.]

4. Ps. 112 [4]

Praise the Lord, ye children: praise ye the name of the Lord.

Blessed be the name of the Lord, from henceforth now and for ever.

From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same, the name of the Lord is worthy of praise. 

The Lord is high above all nations; and [H]is glory above the heavens.

Who is as the Lord our God, [W]ho dwelleth on high[, a]nd looketh down on the low things in heaven and in earth?

Raising up the needy from the earth, and lifting up the poor out of the dunghill[,]

That [H]e may place him with princes, with the princes of [H]is people.

Who maketh a barren woman to dwell in a house, the joyful mother of children.

[Glory be to the Father.]

[Blessed be the name of the Lord for evermore.] 

5. Ps. 116 [5]

Laudate Dominum[,] omnes gentes[:] laudate eum[,] omnes populi.

Quoniam confirmata est super nos misericordia [ejus:] et veritas Domini manet in [aeternum]. 

[Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto.]

[Sicut erat in principio et nunc et semper et in saecula saeculorum.  Amen.]

O praise the Lord, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people 

For [H]is mercy is confirmed upon us: and the truth of the Lord remaineth for ever. 

[Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.]

[As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.  Amen.]

The last Psalm, Ps. 116, having numerous recordings on YouTube [6], was scored by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart whose musical genius was one of many of God's gifts to humankind.

The Hymn for Ascension Thursday per the Roman Catholic Missal 1992  is as follows [7]:


O Thou pure light of souls that love[!]
True joy of every human breast[!]
Sower of life’s immortal seed[!]
Our Maker, and Redeemer blest!

What wondrous pity Thee o[v]ercame,
To make our guilty load [T]hine own,
And, sinless, suffer death and shame,
For our transgressions to atone!

Thou, bursting Hades open wide,
Didst all the captive souls unchain;
And thence to [T]hy dread Father’s side
With glorious pomp ascend again.

[O still] may pity Thee compel
To heal the wounds of which we die;
And take us in [T]hy Light to dwell,
Who for [T]hy blissful Presence sigh.

Be Thou our guide, be Thou our goal;
Be Thou our [P]athway to the skies;
Our [J]oy, when sorrow fills the soul;
In death our everlasting [P]rize.
[Amen.]


Note: Everything that is in brackets was put there to match The Roman Catholic Daily Missal 1962.
[1] The Roman Catholic Daily Missal 1962 (p. 99). Angelus Press.
[2] https://www.biblestudytools.com/rhe/passage/?q=psalm+110;+psalm+111;+psalm+112, quoted without regard to references and spacing.  It was labeled Psalm 111 but it was numbered Psalm 110 in the Roman Catholic Daily Missal 1962, page 100.
[3] https://www.biblestudytools.com/rhe/passage/?q=psalm+110;+psalm+111;+psalm+112, quoted without regard to references and spacing.  It was labeled Psalm 112 but it was numbered Psalm 111 in the Roman Catholic Daily Missal 1962, page 101.
[4] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+112&version=DRA, quoted without regard to references and spacing.
[5] https://www.medievalist.net/psalmstxt/ps116.htm,
quoted without regard to references and spacing.
[6] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzwbOTBAvyo (with score);
for those who prefer to have a faster version of Mozart's Laudate Dominum  can listen to Kathleen Battle's exceptional rendition: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vY_zGwyH54s
[7] https://tosingistopraytwice.wordpress.com/2017/04/09/o-thou-pure-light-of-souls-that-love/, quoted without regard to references and spacing.

A Song For Ascension Thursday

"Forty days after the Resurrection, our Lord Jesus Christ, attended by Angels, ascended into heaven, in the sight of His most holy Mother, His Apostles, and disciples, to the great wonder of them all." [1]

Ascension Thursday is both a day of joy when the Lord Jesus Christ after a life full of disappointments and sufferings finally goes home and a day of sadness when a people exiled from the Garden of Eden can no longer be in the company of Jesus who loves them and who teaches and shows them in Person the path to Heaven.

The song Aloha 'Oe  from Hawai'i [2] seems appropriate for Ascension Thursday.  It has these two phrases in its lyrics [3] (quoted in part below) - "One firm embrace" and "Until we meet again".  The song has a number of uploads on YouTube [4]:

Haʻaheo ka ua i nā pali

Ke nihi aʻela i ka nahele

E hahai (uhai) ana paha i ka liko

Pua ʻāhihi lehua o uka

Hui: 

Aloha ʻoe, aloha ʻoe

E ke onaona noho i ka lipo

One fond embrace,

A hoʻi aʻe au

Until we meet again

 English Translation:

Proudly swept the rain by the cliffs
As it glided through the trees
Still following ever the bud
The ʻahihi lehua of the vale

Chorus: 

Farewell to you, farewell to you
The charming one who dwells in the shaded bowers
One fond embrace,
'Ere I depart
Until we meet again

[1] The Roman Catholic Daily Missal 1962 (p. 653). Angelus Press.
[2] "[T]o pronounce Hawai’i like a native Hawaiian, say: ha-VAI-ee—and don’t forget that glottal stop before the last i."  See
https://www.royalhawaiianmovers.com/understanding-the-hawaiian-okina/
[3] https://www.huapala.org/Aloha/Aloha_Oe.html
[4] Here are two of the uploads:
Tia Carrere - Aloha 'Oe Full Version [Lilo & Stitch Soundtrack]--
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6cYHXcWAN0
for those who want to play along with their ukuleles--
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONFMei_PpNQ

The Last Post Has An Answer: Candida Auris, A Drug Resistant Yeast - More Pestilences Likely To Surface

Seeker  has a video on Candida Auris entitled Meet Candida Auris, the Superbug That's Taking Over the World. [1]  The video, dated May 12, 2020, can be assessed via msn.com: https://www.msn.com/en-us/video/watch/meet-candida-auris-the-superbug-thats-taking-over-the-world/vp-BB13ZcGa.

Jesus said this in Luke 21:10-11, quoted without references [2]:

Then said he unto them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: 

And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven. [Emphasis  added.]

[1] https://www.seeker.com/videos/health/meet-candida-auris-the-superbug-thats-taking-over-the-world
[2] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+21%3A10-11&version=KJV

Locusts, COVID-19, Murder Hornets, Rabbit Virus -- What's Next?

COVID-19 is still the headline news these days.

Articles on locusts are published more often now than months ago when the swarms started.  A recent one was published May 13, 2020, entitled Scientists create tool to forecast where East Africa’s devastating locusts will land next. [2]

Giant hornets have arrived in the US.  Here is an article that reported on it: ‘Murder Hornets’ in the U.S.: The Rush to Stop the Asian Giant Hornet. [3]  Here is another: "Murder hornets" have now entered the U.S. — and they could decimate the honeybee population. [4]

Rabbits In The U.S. Are Facing A Deadly New Virus Outbreak Of Their Own  is the title of the article on the Type 2 (RHDV2) rabbit virus [2] .  Quoted below are from the article cited [5]:

The virus could significantly affect wild rabbit populations, especially species already imperiled, such as the endangered riparian brush rabbit or the pygmy rabbit, according to CDFW Senior Wildlife Veterinarian Dr. Deana Clifford.

“Unfortunately, we may also see impacts to species that depend on rabbits for food, as rabbits are a common prey species for many predators,” Clifford noted.

As Dr. Clifford had noted, when one of nature's food chain is broken, it is a concern, impacting other species especially when robots cannot be used as a substitute, as in solar-powered robotic bees, see NewBees  on YouTube [6].

As smart as man can be, man cannot be God but like Eve thinks he can be like God.  Man can only make a robotic bee that can pollinate but it cannot make honey nor can it make natural wax.  When bees die, they decompose over time.  When robotic bees malfunction, they become trash.  The world needs millions and millions of robotic bees to pollinate and when they need to be replaced, there will be tons and tons more trash as if there is not enough of it already.

Man needs to reflect on his existence on earth and on his relationship with Mother Nature.  This reflection is secondary.  What comes first is his desire to marry, to raise his family without ever giving much thought of what kind of world he will leave behind for his descendants born generations after his death, and the kind of sufferings they could encounter.  He sees the present, and maybe a generation or two thereafter, but not much farther beyond that.  It is not that he cannot see the future of this world clearly, it is because his greed and selfish ambitions have blinded him.

Man made in God's image knows how to do God's will on earth as it is in Heaven, borrowing words from the Our Father  (Pater Noster) prayer [7], yet he stubbornly refuses to and continues to welcome and embrace all of Satan's temptations.


[1] https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2020/05/13/east-africa-locust-forecast-tool/
[2] https://www.huffpost.com/entry/rabbit-hemorrhagic-disease-virus_n_5ec304b0c5b6e7a7cb8f9148
[3] Ibid.
[4] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGTNjPow3LM
[5] https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/02/us/asian-giant-hornet-washington.html
[6] https://www.cbsnews.com/news/murder-hornets-us-honeybees-washington/
[7] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+6%3A9-13&version=NIV

St. Peter's Basilica To Open After Lockdown On 18 May 2020 Without The Pope Being Physically Present

According to wantedinrome.com, "St Peter's Basilica is to reopen to the public on Monday 18 May, following a two-month closure, after undergoing an intensive sanification programme." [1]

Selected paragraphs quoted below are from afp.com [2]:

"I share the joy of those communities who can finally reunite as liturgical assemblies, a sign of hope for all society," Francis said on Sunday during his live-streamed prayer.

Bergoglio may be sharing the joy but he would not be sharing it in person.  Apparently he is still scared of getting infected by the the coronavirus, COVID-19, but it appears to be fine by him if other people are physically present [3]:

Francis has been livestreaming mass from a chapel at his residence inside the Vatican City.

The Argentine pontiff is not yet expected  to lead any public religious ceremonies either in the basilica, which can accommodate 60,000 people, or in Saint Peter's Square, as the Vatican seeks to avoid crowds. [Emphasis  added.]

Francis will, however, celebrate a private mass on Monday, broadcast by video, in front of the tomb of John Paul II, on the 100th anniversary of the birth of the Polish-born pontiff.

Disinfecting St. Peter's and limiting attendees are not providing Bergoglio with any assurance that he would be safe from contracting the virus, assuming that he would be far away from the audience [4]:

In preparation for the reopening of Saint Peter's, the largest Catholic church in the world was disinfected on Friday, with workers in full protective suits and masks spraying down the surface of the 23,000-square metre (250,000-square foot) site.

...

The basilica, as well as three other papal basilicas, is expected to follow a recommendation from Italy's interior ministry limiting attendance at religious celebrations in enclosed places of worship to 200 people.

Imagine if Bergoglio were to be given a choice to step down as Pope or to walk the steps taken by Simon of Cyrene carrying the cross of Christ while being stoned, reviled and spat on, what would he choose?  Probably neither and would instead refuse to leave his papal residence where he is safe, pampered and being served by others, as opposed to being like Christ who came to serve, not to be served.  In the word of Christ Himself: "'the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve.'" [5]


[1] https://www.wantedinrome.com/news/vatican-to-reopen-st-peters-basilica-on-18-may.html, quoted without hyperlink.
[2] https://www.afp.com/en/news/15/reopening-saint-peters-marks-first-step-italys-catholics-doc-1rr6j02
[3] Ibid.
[4] Ibid.
[5] http://www.usccb.org/bible/matthew/20, 28.

Is COVID-19 A Message Of Change From God?

Religion News Service  published an article entitled  Poll: US believers see message of change from God in virus.  The following paragraph is quoted from the article [1]:

The poll found that 31% of Americans who believe in God feel strongly that the virus is a sign of God telling humanity to change, with the same number feeling that somewhat. Evangelical Protestants are more likely than others to believe that strongly, at 43%, compared with 28% of Catholics and mainline Protestants.

Stated another way, the poll showed that 72% of American Catholics apparently believed that the status quo before the pandemic was satisfactory and that it was acceptable and did not feel strongly that humanity needed changing.  Hopefully, there was a sampling error resulting in an understatement of the percentage of American Catholics (28%) who "feel strongly that the virus is a sign of God telling humanity to change." [2]

People ought to change to return this world to its beginning when the air was unpolluted and the oceans were free of non-biodegradable trash, and where all living things coexisted in peace to benefit each other.

Yet, there are proud and egoistical maniacs in power who want to outdo their predecessors in order to show how powerful they are in every conceivable way, who are satisfied with the established trajectory going forward, likely leading to Mutual Assured Destruction ("MAD"), a term borrowed from the past.

God through Christ wants people to live in peace and later through San Francesco d'Assisi who preached to the birds that in turn "stretch[ed] their necks, extend[ed] their wings, open[ed] their beaks and gaze[d] at him attentively [3], wants people to live in harmony with nature.

Perhaps the virus is  God's way of telling people that they are not more powerful than God, even though some people think that they are and can overcome all calamities until they are proven wrong by the arrival of the end times.

The article cited above stated this in its first paragraph [4]:

The coronavirus has prompted almost two-thirds of American believers of all faiths to feel that God is telling humanity to change how it lives, a new poll finds.

Unfortunately, there are a lot more people who have no faith in this secular world that form a vast majority which means that no meaningful change for the better will soon take place and humanity will likely continue on its path to destruction environmentally and militarily.


[1] https://religionnews.com/2020/05/15/poll-us-believers-see-message-of-change-from-god-in-virus/
[2] Ibid.
[3] https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-francis-and-the-birds/
[4] https://religionnews.com/2020/05/15/poll-us-believers-see-message-of-change-from-god-in-virus/

The Vatican Sees Deficits But Not Treasure In Heaven

Reuters  published an article dated May 13, 2020, entitled  Coronavirus drains Vatican coffers as income falls, deficits loom [1].  "[T]op administrators held an emergency meeting in late March.  They ordered a freeze on promotions and hirings and a ban on overtime, travel and large events." [2]

This does not look good from a secular perspective but it is just the opposite from Christ's standpoint: "'Go and sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.  Then come, and follow me.'" [3]

Can anyone imagine the pope, the bishops, archbishops and cardinals abandoning their comfortable surroundings and lifestyle to follow Christ by preaching from door to door and begging for alms like Saint Francis of Assisi?


[1] https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-vatican-finances-idUSKBN22P1OR
[2] Ibid.
[3] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark+10%3A21&version=NIV

Humans Are Being Given Lessons In Humility

Man has always been in charge of the world as he towers over other species that share it.  For months and months man has faced an enemy he truly fears.  It has devastated the world economy but the environment has benefitted.

COVID-19 has a small contingent of friends and relatives.  They are mentioned in an articled entitled  As if Covid-19 was not enough, other virus outbreaks are erupting around the world: https://dnyuz.com/2020/05/10/as-if-covid-19-was-not-enough-other-virus-outbreaks-are-erupting-around-the-world/

COVID-19 is still the king of viruses, being able to attack the body in ways its friends and relatives are incapable of doing.  This article explains how: Doctors keep discovering new ways the coronavirus attacks the body: https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/doctors-keep-discovering-new-ways-the-coronavirus-attacks-the-body/ar-BB13SoPn?ocid=spartan-ntp-feeds

It is natural to be concerned, and it is prudent to take precautions but it is not necessary to fear what different kinds of viruses may bring.

Those who trust in God ought not to fear.  God never promised man that he will live without fear, pain and suffering.  God's promise of death was made in the Garden of Eden [1] but "it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel." [2]

It is also said that "[t]reasures gained by wickedness do not profit, but righteousness delivers from death." [3]  Similarly, "[w]ealth won't help in the time of judgment, but righteousness will deliver from death." [4]  Now is time for the wicked egoistical hoarders of power and wealth as well as every citizen of the world to heed these words of wisdom and learn to be meek and humble in the ways Christ had lived, taught, suffered and died.


[1] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+3%3A3&version=ESV
[2] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Timothy+1:10
[3] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs+10%3A2&version=ESV
[4] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs+11%3A4&version=ISV

A Passage From The 1962 Catholic Daily Missal

This passage quoted below under COLLECT ([t]he collect (/ˈkɒlɛkt/ KOL-ekt) is a short general prayer of a particular structure used in Christian liturgy [1]) on the Fourth Sunday After Easter has relevance to this pandemic period [2]:

O GOD, Who makest the faithful to

be of one mind and will: grant to Thy

people the grace to love what Thou

dost command and to desire what

Thou dost promise, that amid the

changes of the world, our hearts may

there be fixed where true joys are to

be found.  Through our Lord. [Emphasis  added.]

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collect, quoted without hyperlinks.
[2] The Roman Catholic Daily Missal 1962 (p. 640). Angelus Press.

Mother's Day 2020 - Animal Moms Video From Geobeats

This video on YouTube  is from Geobeats  entitled Mother's Day: Just 11 Animal Moms Being Amazing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPMMgGaJhYY

Animals are God's creation as is man.  Below is quoted in part from the Book of Genesis without references [1]:

Evening came, and morning followed—the fourth day.

Then God said: Let the water teem with an abundance of living creatures, and on the earth let birds fly beneath the dome of the sky.

God created the great sea monsters and all kinds of crawling living creatures with which the water teems, and all kinds of winged birds. God saw that it was good,

and God blessed them, saying: Be fertile, multiply, and fill the water of the seas; and let the birds multiply on the earth.

Evening came, and morning followed—the fifth day.

Then God said: Let the earth bring forth every kind of living creature: tame animals, crawling things, and every kind of wild animal. And so it happened:

God made every kind of wild animal, every kind of tame animal, and every kind of thing that crawls on the ground. God saw that it was good.

 Animals are at the mercy of man--the most greedy and sinful of  all creatures.

There are many animal rescue channels on YouTube  that show them being mistreated, ignored and abandoned, especially dogs and cats.  Some channels show videos that appear to be staged for monetization; others are real rescues that are not for profit that features caring people with compassionate souls. [2]


[1] http://usccb.org/bible/genesis/1, 19-25
[2] With much hesitation, included is a link to one of the most graphic wounds (difficult to look at) suffered by a dog and his dramatic (miraculous might be more accurate) recovery: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcfUdNfb808