𝕮𝖚𝖗𝖙 𝕵𝖊𝖘𝖙𝖊𝖗

A beautiful #AshWednesday story from Msgr. James Shea: "A couple of years ago, I was on a flight on Ash Wednesday, and the stewardess came back to me and knelt down in the aisle where I was sitting, and she began to cry. She said, 'I wasn't able to go to mass today on Ash Wednesday because I'm working morning till night, Father. Would you happen to have any ashes?' I couldn't believe it. I had a little vial of ashes in the overhead compartment up on top, and I'm not like Father Boy Scout, I'm not usually prepared in that way, but I had some ashes, and so I said yes, I do, and I took them down, and I imposed ashes upon her while she knelt there. By the end of the flight, the two other stewardesses, one of the pilots, and more than half of the plane had followed her and had knelt down in the aisle to receive ashes. This is the hope with which we live, and it's latent in people, it only needs to be activated by our witness." #ashwednesday #catholic

Be my Sts Cyril and Methodius

Reading Tobit where Tobit had left a large sum of money to someone in the town of Rages in Media. I thought "Rages in Media" is a fine pundit site name. It would take some ability to pull off and there might not be ten talents who could do so. It would at least take some gall.

Unlike the Apostles, those who cause schism become fissures of men.

@curtjester/note/c-181641940?utm_source=notes-share-action&r=e7ssd" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">substack.com/@curtjester/no…

From my short but fun @cworldreport interview with the wonderful Dale Ahlquist about his new @IgnatiusPress book: CWR: Why did you feel another autobiography of Chesterton was necessary? Ahlquist: Maybe “worthwhile” is a better word than “necessary.” Nobody complains that Rembrandt painted more than one self-portrait. CWR: But you point out that some people are “disappointed,” as it were, by Chesterton’s original autobiography. Ahlquist: Well, there is the repeated criticism that he showed notable neglect of the main character in that book. It seems it was easy for him to write about anything other than himself. CWR: So you, in effect, found a way to get him to talk about himself. Ahlquist: Rather, I snuck up on him and caught him talking about himself while he was talking about everything else. CWR: Will readers find anything new in this book? Ahlquist: They will find new stuff from Chesterton that they’ve never read before. I make it a point to draw primarily from his uncollected writings. Most of the material that comprises this volume has not been seen for over a century. CWR: What are some of the surprises? Ahlquist: I’ll give you a doubly disappointing answer. First, the most surprising, even astonishing thing about Chesterton is how utterly consistent he is. He simply does not contradict himself; he only confirms himself. So in that sense, he says nothing new, even if he says the same thing in a new way. But that is one reason people enjoy reading him and keep reading him. They want more of the same. However, there are some surprises in this book–but I’m not going to give away any of them! CWR: Not even one little one? Ahlquist: Okay, Chesterton once met Bram Stoker, the author of Dracula. I’ll bet no one knew that.

I went to Mass at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart at the University of Notre Dame this evening. I only observed (at times, because you know, I'm supposed to be praying and I WAS) one Communion line, but I cannot tell you how many young people knelt to receive Communion. It was A LOT. And even if they didn't kneel, most received on the tongue, not on the hand. The mindset that determines that this devotion merits an immediate re-education camp...is beyond me.

.@PillarCatholic is pledging to “to pay 75% of all employee family adoption costs and of the costs for all fertility treatment undertaken in accord with the doctrine of the Church.” And is asking dioceses/Catholic businesses to do the same for their employees.

The Spiritual Life, by @CurtJester open.substack.com/pub/curtjester…

Rock meets Roll

Being today is a Memorial for Saint Hildegard, I think she should be the patron saint of worthwhile streaming series. The patron saint of Bingen.

"And there was again war at Gath, where there was a man of great stature, who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in number, and he also was descended from the giants." 1 Chron 20:6 Suspect the extra digits, scribal error in the city of Ai (הָעַי)

Today would be a good day to pray for St. Frassati to intercede for the conversion of young adults. That they may give in to Pier pressure.

Sometimes, when I think about the movie "Groundhog Day," I wonder what skills I would pursue if I had that much time to do so. Then I wonder if perhaps I would have a lot of time to develop them if I stopped doomscrolling. I guess I will never know. Oh, did you hear about ....

What is your distance from Jesus on the Cross?, by @CurtJester open.substack.com/pub/curtjester…

Feast of Saint Thomas, Apostle, by @CurtJester open.substack.com/pub/curtjester…

Gratitude and Generosity, by @CurtJester open.substack.com/pub/curtjester…

A lesser known aspect of the modern Papal Inauguration is the issuing of the Papal Ringtone. Although usually the Papal Ringtone doesn't get smashed after the pope dies, but the first time it goes off during Mass.

Tomorrow May 17th is the 100th anniversary of the canonization of St. Therese of Lisieux. She is a remarkable gift to the entire Church, and I thank her for her powerful intercession and loving presence in my life.

"Let's Sing with the Pope" part 2 dropped, on the Pater Noster: To reiterate what I wrote last week: the use of Latin in liturgy is an expression of unity in a diverse, universal Church. Love this initiative. youtube.com/watch?v=7nNbnU…