Whatever tomorrow brings, the Easter Vigil I attended tonight – full pre-1955 grandeur for Our Lord – almost did not take place. I thank the Risen Lord that the wicked plans of men were thwarted for now.
Pray for the Church.
The Lord is Risen, Alleluia!
Resurrection Window, Chapel of Christ the King, Christendom College, Front Royal, VA
Also, a happiest birthday to my dear Mom who turned 86 today! Love you, Mom!
“De parentis protoplasti fraude Factor condolens, quando pomi noxialis in necem morsu ruit; ipse lignum tunc notavit, damn ligni ut solveret.”
“Eating of the tree forbidden, Man had sunk in Satan’s snare. When his pitying Creator did this second tree prepare; destined many ages later, that first evil to repair.”
I promised I wouldn’t do anymore posts on fasting. And then I came across some things in my YouTube feed. It seems there’s a trend recently promoting the “72 hour water fast” Yes I know, the wording is off. You’re not fasting from water, rather only consuming water during the fast. My point is that even the mentally retarded folks over on Tik Tok can go for three days without a morsel and they appear no worse for the wear. Then again, it’s hard to tell if they’ve suffered any brain damage since the baseline was already so low.
***Writing a postage at night is great… except when you make a very obvious mistake. The Station below is clearly the SECOND Station and not the First. Not only should I have caught my own mistake but the Roman numeral “II” in the picture should have guided me. Lord Jesus, meek and humble of heart, have mercy on me!”***
I have used the following picture before. It is the first Station of the Cross in mosaic as found in my home parish growing up.
The First Station, mosaic, Our Lady of Good Counsel, Newark, NJ
As we enter into the Sacred Triduum, consider the joy with which Our Lord embraced the cross. Emerich tells us that at several moments in the Passion He was overjoyed at what lay before Him for through the cross He would save His people.
I have harped about fasting these past six weeks. I am sure it is tiresome to some. But please indulge me one more time. It is Holy Week, after all. Sidenote: this is the week where our fasting should take on extra urgency and our desire to be as generous to God as possible should cause our hearts to burn. Step it up, brethren.
I remember in the days when I foolishly believed I was helping to form young men and women for God by teaching the Catholic faith in “Catholic” schools. Please God, at least some of those I taught actually learned something. Owing to my own theological training which itself sprang from an imbued love of the faith, I would voraciously devour what we now refer to so blandly as “content”. Whereas today I scan through favorited websites and watch hours of YouTube videos (I also read books too), back then I would get a hold of every new encyclical and exhortation. That was when we had a pope to write them.
I remember reading one such document of Benedict XVI (the name of which I cannot recall at the moment) and being struck by two things. The first was a line that said something to the effect of “Our first prayer should always be a plea for a god’s mercy.” I never forgot that. The second was the notion that the faith should be taught from the Mass. In other words, in order to teach the Catholic faith, we need only immerse ourselves in the sacred rites of the Church. You will find all you need to know therein. This seems to me nothing more than a play on “lex orandi, lex credendi “.
Stained glass transom, St. Lucy’s Church, Newark, NJ FYI please pray for Mr. and Mrs. Russo.
So this brings us to the great Lenten fast. As I have mentioned, I have made the effort this year to truly embrace the fast for all that it is worth. Over the past 4-5 years (corresponding to my time “in tradition”) I have come to learn much from the ancient Mass – much that was hidden from me during the previous 40 years in the Novus Ordo. Ask yourself, if the Mass teaches us the faith and I was going every day and didn’t know things I should have known, why is that? We know the answer. The Bugnini rite stripped away the beauty of the fundamentals. Apostolic teaching like fasting got reduced to something akin to a suggestion on a couple of days a year. I am angry when I think about it. Things necessary to the salvation of my soul were kept from me. I’m sure some will argue that one doesn’t, strictly speaking, need to fast to attain heaven like one doesn’t need to pray the rosary. The same people would accuse me of legalism for wanting to adhere to rubrics.
But now I see it. It is clear to me. Fasting is fundamental. Fasting is salutary. Fasting is an imitation of Christ! It takes our wills and curbs our vices to surrender the desires of the appetites to God. It keeps demons at bay (much as the rosary does). It allows us full, conscious, and active participation in our salvation by uniting ourselves with the Crucified Savior!
Today, for the first time in a long time, I was unable to attend the Holy Mass. My daughter had a doctor’s appointment that I had forgotten about and it overlapped with the Mass time. So this evening, in the quiet setting of my front porch, I took out my missal and prayed the prayers of the Mass to myself. I read Mark’s account of the Passion. I read the Offertory prayers. I prayed the Leonine prayers. But I also found another hidden gem.
And here, with just two days until the most austere fast of all (Holy Thursday until the Vigil), the ancient teaching words of our loving Mother the Church hit me like a hammer.
“May our vices be cured, O Almighty God, by Thy holy mysteries, and may we receive everlasting healing. Per Dominum Nostrum Jesum Christum…”
Postcommunion, Tuesday of Holy Week
Fasting is a gift from God as is the free and undeserved grace to fast and He gives it to us to purify us by curbing our vices and heal us forever.
That oration, in the noble simplicity of ancient Roman oratory, is your crib sheet. That is why we fast.
I so love the rites of Holy Week and I desire the more to lay myself at the foot of His Cross and mourn for my sins and for the wasted time. The fasting this year has increased that love. It has indeed strengthened me. It has shielded me. It has, dare I say it, made me more of a man. But thanks be to God for giving me this grace now and May He bless each of you to fast generously during the Triduum!
Recently I had a conversation with a young man in the parish. We had just met moments earlier through a mutual friend. Off the bat I must forgive this lad. In the customary exchange of pleasantries that takes place when guys gather, he had incorrectly pegged my age as “50’s, I guess?” “No worries, smartass,” I said. “You too will one day have premature white hair in your beard… But first you have to have a beard.” The guy’s 23. Poor fella’.
It seems my new friend is unsure of his future but “kind of wants to get married and have a family.” Hey, I understand that. I was young(er) once. And from my perspective there’s nothing better than the holy sacrament of matrimony. Being a husband and father has been the greatest joy of my life. And I told him so.
As we continued talking, he sought out my advice. I began by advising him to check his food labels for soy content and also to start lifting weights. “Those whiskers will come in one day, son.” The question of what to look for in a wife came up. I indulged him with sentiments from my own charmed life.
“Looks are important but they will fade.” I said that and realized that my wife has only grown more radiant in the years we’ve been together. Being a mother has that effect on a woman. It certainly isn’t from being around me this whole time.
“A sense of adventure and openness to whatever God sends your way is also important.” I said that and remembered that, for all of our adventures – and they have been plenty and fun – my favorite times are when we’re gathered as a family in the living room at night watching a movie.
“Savoring the joy in life is key.” I said that and thought about some of the challenges we’ve faced – family deaths, health concerns, etc. – that were less than joyful but also strengthened us together and drew us closer to each other and to God.
“Anything else, o wise one?” he asked. Falsely sensing he was trying to be sarcastic, I replied, “Knock it off Gen Z. I may be old but I can snap you like a twig.”
There was an awkward silence for a moment. But then it hit me.
“Sorry,” I said. I’m from up north and that’s just how we talk.”
“The most important thing, really the only thing is this. Faith.” I said this and it was clear why I love my wife so much. I have never been at odds with her when it comes to our Catholic faith. She has taught our son the beauty and dignity of womanhood by her warmth. She has taught our daughter the virtue of modesty by her bearing. She has allowed me to experience the strength and humility of fatherhood. She is a woman of virtue. She is a woman of devotion. And she is a woman of deep faith. Our children see it when she drops everything to make the priests a meal. They see it when she joins me in a strict Lenten fast. They see a beautiful Catholic mother and I see a beautiful Catholic wife in every true sense of those words.
Today we all wish Mrs. Harvey a happy birthday. And Mr. Harvey thanks her for being who she is and sharing her life with me.
Folks, I got off all that social media nonsense a while ago. Sorry but I'm not on Twitbook, Facepalm, YouHu, WingWang or any of the others. Maybe an event will happen to make me change my mind like Peter and Paul coming down with flaming swords and commanding it be so. Until then, read the blog and if you feel a comment is in order or you feel like sharing a tip or suggestion for a topic, email me at harvey@harveymillican.com.
Harvey Millican's Blog: Musings of a Trad Dad 