I Just Had to Share This....

Here's a little diversion from my usual entries, but I *just had to share these*

Guess what I just bought?


Here's the mug.......

Here's the bumper sticker.............

I got them here:         Better In Latin > Mantilla

How cute are they?!?!? So cute, so cute!!!

Claudia

Here's a new veil from Rosa Mystica Mantilla, Claudia. This is a tea stained version of the Joan veil. It's the same Venice lace trim, and the same Chantilly lace in the body of the wrap veil as the Joan veil, only in a different color.

There are two Claudias of note. St. Claudia was the mother of Linus, who was the second Pope. She was one of the woman in Rome whom Paul mentions in second Timothy.

The other was Pontius Pilot's wife. In the Gospel of Matthew, Claudia warns her husband not to condemn Our Lord Jesus to death.

Matthew 27 [19] And as he was sitting in the place of judgment, his wife sent to him, saying: Have thou nothing to do with that just man; for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him.

Here above is a beautifully done etching, The Dream of Pilot's Wife, by Alphonse Francois. We see Claudia descending the stairs. She's escorted by her guardian angel who is whispering to her. And she's very obviously troubled. At the top of the stairs, a lamp reveals that she's just now left her bed. The bed sheets are disheveled, indicating that she's had a fitful night's sleep. The rest of the piece reveals the passion, the heavens and a multitude of souls, many of whom are saints. Most are looking on towards Claudia, not Our Lord. They're like a Greek Chorus asking Claudia, "What will you do with this Jesus of Nazareth?"

Our Lord is in fact looking on towards Claudia as well.  He's opened her spiritual eyes in order for her to see, just as He'd previously opened the eyes of the blind men. "What will ye that I do to you?", Our Lord seems to call out to Claudia. He calls to Claudia as He calls to you and I. Do we will Him to be our saviour? 

Joan

Here's a new veil, I'm calling this one Joan.

 Seeing as her feast day came and went recently, and I hadn't yet created a veil in her honor, I thought I'd name this one for her.

Don't you love this painting? I do, anyway. It's titled, appropriately enough, St Joan de Arc. The artist's name is  Jules Bastien-Lepage and it was painted in 1879.

I love the internal stare she has going on... It's really the first thing one notices when looking at the painting, isn't it? Then the outstretched arm. It's understood that she hears the interior voices. Then a backwards glance by the viewer confirms so much. We see the subtle impression of Arch Angel Gabriel and another angel behind him through the trees.

Pasqualina

Here's my Easter veil.... Pasqualina.

The Paschal mystery is the death and resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ. On Holy Thursday, Christ instituted the Eucharist, the bread and wine which becomes His Body and Blood. On the Cross, he died for our sins. From the tomb He arose from the dead on Easter Sunday morning. This Paschal mystery continues at each and every holy Mass. Every Mass is the Gospel. It's also Good Friday and Easter all rolled into one.


Here below are some works painted by the Gothic master, Giotto. He introduced something entirely new and different. Giotto broke away from the more stylized Byzantine art that had been on the scene for the previous 200 years. Giotto was really looking at the world around him and painting what he saw. Gotta love him for that.

The Crucifixion.

  The Lamantation:

The Resurrection:

This is all the holy Mass.

"Enter, High Priest, into Thy heavenly Sacristy, and as Thy
earthly ambassadors hold aloft the Bread and Wine do Thou show
Thyself to the Father in loving intercession for us even unto the
consummation of the world. Earth has been cruel to Thee; but Thou
wilt be kind to earth. Earth lifted Thee on the Cross, but now
Thou shalt lift earth unto the Cross. Open the door of the
heavenly Sacristy, O High Priest! Behold it is now we who stand at
the door and knock!"
--Fulton J Sheen,  From his prologue to Calvary And The Mass.

Dolores

 Here's one for Holy Week: Dolores.

Dolores comes from Latin, from dolēre which means, "to grieve". The Spanish title of Our Lady of Sorrows is María de los Dolores, meaning "Mary of Sorrows".


Here's one for holy week.... It's so important to remember how Our Lord grieved for us in this week. And how He gave us His Body and Blood on Holy Thursday, then suffered and bled for us on Good Friday. To think of how He accepted the humiliation of hanging naked on a cross beaten and bloody before His holy mother. He's so good to us. There's no price He hasn't paid to save our poor souls. What a price to pay. How ungrateful I've been! But when we look at the cross, and we look at the sorrowful mother, we love Him and our holy mother all the more.

Litany of the Most
Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ

Lord, have mercy. (Lord, have mercy.)
Christ, have mercy. (Christ, have mercy.)
Lord, have mercy. (Lord, have mercy.)

Christ, hear us. (Christ, hear us.)
Christ, graciously hear us. (Christ, graciously hear us.)

God the Father of Heaven, (have mercy on us.)
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, (have mercy on us.)
God, the Holy Spirit, (have mercy on us.)
Holy Trinity, One God, (have mercy on us.)
Blood of Christ, only-begotten Son of the eternal Father, (save us)
Blood of Christ, Incarnate Word of God, (save us)
Blood of Christ, of the New and Eternal Testament, (save us)
Blood of Christ, falling upon the earth in Agony, (save us)
Blood of Christ, shed profusely in the Scourging, (save us)
Blood of Christ, flowing forth in the Crowning with Thorns, (save us)
Blood of Christ, poured out on the Cross, (save us)
Blood of Christ, price of our salvation, (save us)
Blood of Christ, without which there is no forgiveness, (save us)
Blood of Christ, Eucharistic drink and refreshment of souls, (save us)
Blood of Christ, stream of mercy, (save us)
Blood of Christ, victor over demons, (save us)
Blood of Christ, courage of Martyrs, (save us)
Blood of Christ, strength of Confessors, (save us)
Blood of Christ, bringing forth Virgins, (save us)
Blood of Christ, help of those in peril, (save us)
Blood of Christ, relief of the burdened, (save us)
Blood of Christ, solace in sorrow, (save us)
Blood of Christ, hope of the penitent, (save us)
Blood of Christ, consolation of the dying, (save us)
Blood of Christ, peace and tenderness of hearts, (save us)
Blood of Christ, pledge of eternal life, (save us)
Blood of Christ, freeing souls from purgatory, (save us)
Blood of Christ, most worthy of all glory and honor, (save us)

Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world, (spare us, O Lord.)
Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world, (graciously hear us, O Lord.)
Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world, (have mercy on us, O Lord.)
Thou hast redeemed us, O Lord, in Thy Blood. (And made us, for our God, a kingdom.)

Let us pray. Almighty and eternal God, Thou hast appointed Thine only-begotten Son the Redeemer of the world and willed to be appeased by his blood. Grant, we beg of Thee, that we may worthily adore this price of our salvation and through its power be safeguarded from the evils of the present life so that we may rejoice in its fruits forever in heaven. Through the same Christ our Lord. (Amen.)



The Seven Sorrows of Mary

1. The Prophecy of Simeon over the Infant Jesus (Luke 2:34)
2. The Flight into Egypt of the Holy Family (Matthew 2:13)
3. The Loss of the Child Jesus for Three Days (Luke 2:43)
4. The Meeting of Jesus and Mary along the Way of the Cross (Luke 23:26)
5. The Crucifixion, where Mary stands at the foot of the cross (John 19:25)
6. The Descent from the Cross, where Mary receives the dead body of Jesus in her arms (Matthew 27:57)
7. The Burial of Jesus (John 19:40)

 

      Adriaen Isenbrandt, Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows c.1525

Isenbrandt was a Flemish Renaissance painter.

Prayer Of St. Bonaventure

Lady, who by thy sweetness dost ravish the hearts of men, hast thou not ravished mine? O ravisher of hearts, when wilt thou restore me mine? Rule and govern it like thine own; preserve it in the Blood of the Lamb, and place it in thy Son's side. Then shall I obtain what I desire, and possess what I hope for; for thou art our hope.

Patricia

 Here's Patricia in honor of St. Patrick, my Confirmation saint.

It's a great feast day for the Irish, and the Irish Americans here in my home. 

We're of the New York variety here.

  For my family it's a day to be thankful to Our Lord for the great saint who brought Christ to our Pagan ancestors. 

Above is a lovely example of stain glass, from St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan.

It's also a time to remember our own heritage as Irish Americans. On this day we remember our ancestors who came here to build a life for themselves and their families. We remember their hard work, and the beautiful churches they built here in New York. Above is Sacred Heart, in Brooklyn.

This is a day to remember the contributions our grandparents and great grandparents made to the New York community as firemen, policemen, lawyers. My family is originally from Brooklyn, isn't everyone in New Jersey originally from Brooklyn? Growing up I really thought so. Mine weren't the only parents who moved out to the suburbs to raise their brood.

Soon the kitchen will smell like corned beef, that great New York Irish-Jewish American delicacy. I'm told (by my mother), that the Irish women learned of corned beef from their Jewish neighbors in the New York city ghettos.

The steam from the pots will be dripping from the kitchen windows and my family and extended family, Irish American and not so Irish American spouses will gather to enjoy a meal, some Celtic music and good some company.

A blessed St. Patty's day to you all, and perhaps I'll try to document a little of the cooking that'll go on here today--to post later. 

*PLUS* 

I'll let you in on my little trick: my grandmother's secret ingredient for corned beef.

God Bless!

Gianna

 Here's the new mantilla of the week. (Gianna II)

Gianna

I'm naming this veil for St. Gianna Beretta Molla (October 4, 1922 – April 28, 1962)

She was an Italian wife and mother, and a pediatrician. When it was discovered that she had cancer, Gianna refused to have an abortion. All this came about while she was pregnant with her fourth child. Gianna was fully aware that continuing the pregnancy could result in her death. 

She was canonized as a saint of the Catholic Church in 2004.

Gianna--and really all the saints remind us that our life is not our own. It was given to us by God and is to be lived for God first and for others, too.

Mathew 16: [24] Then Jesus said to his disciples: If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. [25] For he that will save his life, shall lose it: and he that shall lose his life for my sake, shall find it.

This is how Our Lady, who is always the perfect example lived each moment; for God first and then also for others. This is how we take true joy.

Luke:  [38] And Mary said: Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her. [39] And Mary rising up in those days, went into the hill country with haste into a city of Juda. [40] And she entered into the house of Zachary, and saluted Elizabeth.

The Annunciation, by Raphael Soyer.

Soyer was a Russian born artist who moved to the United States in 1912. 

 

The other "Mary" stands in the foreground contemplating the news. Her demeanor, an inward stare, is like that of countless beautiful paintings and sculptures of the Madonna. Judith Dupre has mentioned in her commentary on the painting that Mary's hands are in the orans position. 

Mary is in prayer.

But about the hands--I'd only add that I think there's significance to be found in their being covered. The hands are used to accomplish things; they're used for work. But I think this Mary's looking to do God's will; to do the work of God and not her own work.

The stark room with that big sink; it looks like a sink that's perhaps rinsed many paintbrushes. Do you think it looks like the old studio flat of an urban artist? I have to wonder if maybe she's the painter's wife. 

Dupre concluded that she's a washer woman, but I don't think so. I'm not sure if that's ever been verified so you'll have to decide for yourself. In any event, I would suppose that the subject is a woman of modest means.

And her slip is, of course Marian blue. 

A painter named Fairfield Porter once said in an interview that blue is the one color that isolates itself from it's surroundings. It's really true and I can see that happening here in this painting. 

Mary is set apart from all creation. 

You know what else sets this "Mary" apart and pulls her almost into another panel of the picture? It's the division of the walls. The one wall directly behind Mary sort of pushes her forward, doesn't it?

This Mary's surroundings are lit in cool tones. Being as she's in her slip do you think that makes her seem a little vulnerable? The sensation of being somewhat chilly and exposed is conveyed here. But the cool tones are also bright tones. Maybe that conveys hopefulness. 

She seems a little isolated, prayerful, hopeful, vulnerable...

And her friend,

 the other "Gabriel" pensively awaits Mary's Fiat. What will be Mary's response?

Assumpta

Here's my latest veil, I'm calling it "Assumpta."

• Long triangular veil.
• Made of gold Casa lace.
• Finished with gold Venice lace trim in the front and gold fringe trim on sides and in back.
• Measures 19" x 42".

On November 1, 1950, before thousands of people in St. Peter's Square, Pope Pius XII declared that  "the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory." This is a dogma of the faith. 

Here it is in his encyclical,  "Munificentissimus Deus" . 

The feast day is August 15th, and it's a Holy day of obligation. 

Assumption of the Virgin (1516-1518) is an altar painting by Titian. All of Heaven rejoices at the gaining of their treasure, and as the heavenly Father draws Our Lady to Himself, a little cherub holds her crown. The Apostles are left here on earth to suffer and carry out their great commission. They are at once with their mother, and without their mother. The Apostles will imitate Mary's perfect example in doing the will of God. Although no longer present, the good mother will remain attentive to their needs.  

There are three levels to this painting: the the dense, entangled and compact earth, glorious light of the heavens above and the mother who is in between. I think the painting shows that Titian understood the way Mary is always between heaven and earth. She continually pleads our cause before the throne of God; she intercedes for us.

Nothing like this had ever been done before Titian; the movement, the large figures, the angles and gestures. The vivid Venetian colors that were characteristic of the painters from this region...  The way these elements all come together to create drama had great influence on the world of art in it's day.

It's located on the high altar in the Basilica of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, Venice. Here it is below, a High Renaissance painting fitting in so beautifully and harmoniously in it's Gothic setting.

Alexandrina.

Here's Alexanrina.

Well, it looks as though everyone here is going to have the opportunity to enjoy another snow day!!! No school. 

I'm hearing choruses of "Yessss!" from the children.

Lol, they love it; so do I.

Here's a more recent veil I've created; a little different. A little funky? 

I used "mystic purple" lace. Do you like?  

This one is named for Blessed Alexandrina de Balazar.

 I discovered Alexandrina a few years back after reading a TAN publication about 

the life of this "victim soul". 

Then later I discovered this big huge website here. 

If you haven't already, do check out the site. 

She is an amazing holy one.

 From Alexandrina Maria de Costa "For Love Alone" Almost an Autobiography.

 On the morning of 21st June 1832, the feast of Corpus Christi, the worshipers at the church in that part of Balasar called Calvary [where Alexandrina was to be born] were astonished and awed to find a great cross formed of two mounds of soil on the ground. The earth of this cross was of quite a different colour from that of the surrounding earth. They swept and threw water on it but this only served to darken the colour, which it still presents to pilgrims today.

The appearance of the cross is said to have been a foreshadowing of her birth. Alexandrina was born on 30th March 1904 in an area of Balasar called Gresufes, about 50 km from Oporto. Here is a picture of the interior of the church in which she was Baptized. 

On Holy Saturday 1918, Alexandrina was 14 years old. She was at home, sewing with her sister and her friend. Three men who intended to harm the girls violently forced their way into the home. In an effort to escape them, Alexandrina jumped from a window and into a kitchen-garden below (about 3,30 m) in an effort to save her purity.

 Alexandrina’s spine was irreversibly damaged, and her condition only worsened over time.
So was was bedridden by the age of twenty.  

Living in Portugal during the time of Fatima, Alexandrina's message was very similar to
the Fatima message: 

“Do penance, sin no more, pray the Rosary, receive the Eucharist”.  

Here in the photo above you can see a picture of little Jacinta of Fatima 

on the wall by Alexandrina's bed.

The late Holy Father Pope John Paul II spoke these words about Alexandrina at her beatification ceremony in 2004:-

 “ ‘Do you love me?’, Jesus asks Simon Peter, who replies: ‘Yes Lord, you know that I love you’. The life of Blessed Alexandrina Maria da Costa can be summarized in this dialogue of love. Permeated and burning with this anxiety of love, she wished to deny nothing to her Saviour. With a strong will, she accepted everything to demonstrate her love for him. A ‘spouse of blood’, she mystically relived Christ's passion and offered herself as a victim for sinners,

receiving strength from the Eucharist: this became her only source of nourishment for the final 13 years of her life.  

With the example of Blessed Alexandrina, expressed in the trilogy ‘suffer, love, make reparation’, Christians are able to discover the stimulus and motivation to make ‘noble’ all that is painful and sad in life through the greatest evidence of love: sacrificing one's life for the beloved.
Secret of holiness: love for Christ.”

Above, she relives the Stations of the Cross as she did every Friday.

William Bouguereau, The Flagellation of Our Lord, 1890

She received visits not only from heaven (Jesus and Mary, but also from Hell (Satan).

 Fr Pasquale, who stayed close to Alexandrina throughout these years, ordered Alexandrina's sister to keep a diary of her words and her mystical experiences.

Below, from a book by Kevin Rowles, Blessed Alexandrina, living Miracle of the Eucharist.

Although Alexandrina pleaded with Jesus to end these diabolic assaults, He explained that they were necessary in order to help save more souls.  Jesus said to her:-

“My daughter, suffering is the key to Heaven. I have endured so much to open Heaven to all mankind, but for many it was in vain. They say "I want to enjoy life, I have come into the world only for enjoyment." They say "Hell does not exist." I have died for them, and they say they did not ask me to do so. They have formed heresies against me. In order to save them, I select certain souls and lay the cross on their shoulders. Happy the soul who understands the value of suffering! My cross is sweet if carried for love of me ... I chose you from your mother's womb. I watch over you in your great difficulties. It was I who chose them for you, that I might have a victim to offer me much reparation. Lean on my Sacred Heart and find therein strength to suffer everything.”

  As in all things, Alexandrina humbly accepted this particular trial, even though it distressed her greatly.  On one occasion Fr Pinho asked her if she would rather undergo some other sort of suffering than have to face the diabolical attacks, to which she replied “No Father.  Pray rather that I do the Will of God in everything”.

Alexandrina died on 13 October 1955. 

Her last words: "I am happy, because I am going to Heaven".

                 

'Do not offend Jesus anymore!'

As a "testimony" to the mission to which God had called her, Alexandrina desired the following words written on her tombstone: "Sinners, if the dust of my body can be of help to save you, come close, walk over it, kick it around until it disappears. But never sin again: do not offend Jesus anymore! Sinners, how much I want to tell you.... Do not risk losing Jesus for all eternity, for he is so good. Enough with sin. Love Jesus, love him!".

Peter Paul Rubens,  Descent from the Cross.

The Stations of the Cross.

1.  Jesus is condemned to death.

2.  Jesus is given his cross.

3.  Jesus falls the first time.

4.  Jesus meets His Mother.

5.  Simon of Cyrene carries the cross.

6.  Veronica wipes the face of Jesus.

7.  Jesus falls the second time.

8.  Jesus meets the daughters of Jerusalem.

9.  Jesus falls the third time.

10. Jesus is stripped of His garments.

11. Crucifixion: Jesus is nailed to the cross.

12. Jesus dies on the cross.

13. Jesus' body is removed from the cross.

14. Jesus is laid in the tomb and covered in incense.

Below is a link to a website where you can purchase a booklet on Bl. Alexandria.

Blessed Alexandrina:
A Living Miracle of the Eucharist

By Kevin Rowles

http://www.newhope-ky.org/inspiringlives.html

Cecilia

We've had snow again this week. Not as much snow as the blizzard the day after Christmas, still I'd say it was a good 9 or 10 inches here yesterday.  Enough to keep everyone home from work and school. So we all found ourselves with a little bit of stolen time. I used mine to add a few new veils to my ever growing collection.

Here's one. It's named Cecilia. [These pictures are the updated Cecilia--Cecilia II] Do you like it?

 It seemed appropriate to use gold--to my mind anyway--because my husband and I  happen to have a gold relief of the saint in the living room here. 

Much of St. Cecelia's story is said to have been embellished over the years with pious legends. What is most important and true is that she gave her live for Christ.
Her story has been written in some of the classics,
including Geoffrey Chaucer. He tells her story in the "Second Nun's Tale" from  
The Canterbury Tales.


St. Cecilia was a consecrated virgin from a 2nd century noble Roman family. Never-the-less, her father gave in marriage to a pagan nobleman named Valerius. On her wedding day, Cecilia sang the Psalms in her heart, asking God to protect her virginity, even while living in the married state.

In the Raphael painting above, St. Cecilia is listening to the Heavenly Hymns. She's the patron saint of musicians and is almost always depicted with a musical instrument in her hands. Angels often tend to be a part of the theme in the paintings, too. St. Cecilia is the subject of countless masterpieces. 

On her wedding night Cecilia told Valerianus that she was "betrothed to an angel" and that he must not ask to violate her virginity. Valerianus, skeptical, requested to see this angel. Cecilia replied that he must first be Baptized by Pope Urbanus, who was hiding in the Catacombs. Upon returning to Cecilia after his Baptism, the angel appeared and crowned the couple with roses and lilies. The lilies were symbolic of their purity; the roses, of the martyrdom that was to come.

This piece here below is attributed possibly to Pietro da Cortuna.

 

Valerianus and subsequently his brother Tiburtius were moved to conversion and ultimately martyred for Christ. They refused to bend their knee to the Roman idols.  At the command of the wicked prefect, Turcius Almachius, a henchman named Maximus was appointed to swap off their heads. But when Maximus saw the souls of these brothers being received into Heaven, he too was converted and martyred. Then the three men were all buried by St. Cecelia in one tomb. 

 Cecilia was also condemned for refusing to offer sacrifices to Jupiter. She was to be suffocated to death in her own home, by the steam of her own bath. But her guardian angel protected her from the steam.

Astonished to hear the soldiers report that she'd survived the ordeal, the evil prefect ordered her decapitated. Three times the executioner attempted in vain to sever her head from her body. A forth stroke would have been illegal under Roman law. Her tormentor flew in terror, leaving the holy victim in a pool of blood. Cecilia had prayed that she might live for three more days in order to convert souls for Christ, and it is said that she had many visitors, and converted many souls during those last three days. Upon her death bed she asked that her house would become a church. And so it was, and Pope Urbanus buried her among bishops and the confessors in the Catacomb of Callistus. 

  Stefano Maderno's Statue of St. Cecilia (1610) is said to have been sculpted exactly as the saints incorruptible body was found in her tomb in the Catacombs long after her death, which is the position in which she had died. On one hand she had three fingers outstretched and on the other hand just one finger, denoting the doctrine of the one true God in three persons, the Blessed Trinity. Below, the tomb of St. Cecilia under the high altar in Rome. Her body is now in the crypt beneath the sanctuary, in the church built over her house which bears her name.

Cecilia is among the saints remembered by name in the Canon of the Mass.

P:  Nobis quoque peccatoribus     P:  To us sinners,  also,  Thy

famulis tuis,  de multitudine     servants,  who put our trust

miserationum tuarum               in the multitude of Thy

sperantibus,  partem aliquam      mercies, vouchsafe to grant

et societatem donare digneris,    some part and fellowship with

cum tuis sanctis Apostolis et     Thy holy apostles and martyrs;

Martyribus:  cum Joanne,          with John,  Stephen,

Stephano,  Matthia,  Barnaba,     Matthias, Barnabas,  Ignatius,

Ignatio,  Alexandro,              Alexander,  Marcellinus,

Marcellino,  Petro,               Peter,  Felicitas,  Perpetua,

Felicitate,  Perpetua,            Agatha,  Lucy,  Agnes,

Agatha,  Lucia,  Agnete,          Cecilia,  Anastasia,  and with

Caecilia,  Anastasia,  et         all Thy saints.  Into their

omnibus sanctis tuis:  intra      company do Thou,  we beseech

quorum nos consortium,  non       Thee,  admit us,  not weighing

aestimator meriti,  sed           our merits,  but freely

veniae,  quaesumus,  largitor     pardoning our offenses:

admitte.  Per Christum Dominum    through Christ our Lord.

nostrum.    

                    

Above, nineteenth century painter William Bouguereau's St. Cecilia.

Psalm 32
A psalm for David. 

Rejoice in the Lord, O ye just: praise becometh the upright. Give praise to the Lord on the harp; sing to him with the psaltery, the instrument of ten strings.Sing to him a new canticle, sing well unto him with a loud noise. For the word of the Lord is right, and all his works are done with faithfulness. He loveth mercy and judgment; the earth is full of the mercy of the Lord.