Good news from Father Z

PHILIPPINES: Saint Michael Prayer approved by Bishops Conference after all Masses

St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle, be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the devil; may God rebuke him we humbly pray. And do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly hosts, by the power of God, cast into hell Satan and all the other evil spirits who prowl upon the earth for the ruin of souls. Amen.

He Loves.....Wagner????

Pope Francis wrote, or said, 

"Among musicians I love Mozart, of course. The ‘Et incarnatus est’ from his Mass in C minor is matchless; it lifts you to God! I love Mozart performed by Clara Haskil. Mozart fulfills me. But I cannot think about his music; I have to listen to it. I like listening to Beethoven, but in a Promethean way, and the most Promethean interpreter for me is Furtwängler. And then Bach’s Passions. The piece by Bach that I love so much is the ‘Erbarme Dich,’ the tears of Peter in the ‘St. Matthew Passion.’ Sublime. 

Then, at a different level, not intimate in the same way, I love Wagner. I like to listen to him, but not all the time. The performance of Wagner’s ‘Ring’ by Furtwängler at La Scala in Milan in 1950 is for me the best. But also the ‘Parsifal’ by Knappertsbusch in 1962."

Oh dear!

Well, That's a Relief!

Sister Margaret Farley, whose work on sexual ethics drew a caution from the Vatican, told an audience in Michigan that she is encouraged by the leadership of Pope Francis.

“He seems teachable,” said Sister Farley, a retired Yale Divinity School professor. She said that she continues to espouse the positions that prompted the Vatican’s critical scrutiny—including support for ordination of women and for legal recognition of same-sex unions—because to do otherwise would “contradict one’s integrity.”

From report by Catholic Culture Org.

METRONOMES UNITED

TOGETHER VE VILL CONQUER ZE WORLD

74 Years Ago Today

Germany invaded Poland 74 years ago today, shelling the Polish garrison at Westerplatte, and later murdering many of the Polish prisoners.

Remember!

Pieśń o żołnierzach z Westerplatte


A Song about the Soldiers of Westerplatte by Konstanty Ildefons Gałczyński


Kiedy się wypełniły dni
i przyszło zginąć latem,
prosto do nieba czwórkami szli
żołnierze z Westerplatte.

( A lato było piękne tego roku ).

I tak śpiewali: Ach, to nic,
że tak bolały rany,
bo jakże słodko teraz iść
na te niebiańskie polany.

( A na ziemi tego roku było tyle wrzosu na bukiety ).

W Gdańsku staliśmy tak jak mur,
gwiżdżąc na szwabską armatę,
teraz wznosimy się wśród chmur,
żołnierze z Westerplatte.

I ci, co dobry mają wzrok
i słuch, słyszeli pono,
jak dudni w chmurach równy krok
Morskiego Batalionu.

I śpiew słyszano taki: - By
słoneczny czas wyzyskać,
będziemy grzać się w ciepłe dni
na rajskich wrzosowiskach.

Lecz gdy wiatr zimny będzie dął,
i smutek krążył światem,
w środek Warszawy spłyniemy w dół,
żołnierze z Westerplatte.

The first battle of the Second World War took place at Westerplatte, near Gdańsk, September the first, 1939.

My translation, inadequate as always:


A Song About the Soldiers at Westerplatte

When their days had been fulfilled
And it was time to die with the summer
Straight to heaven, four by four,
Went the soldiers of Westerplatte

And the summer was beautiful that year.

And so they sang – Ah it’s nothing
That the wounds hurt so
For how sweet now to walk
In heavenly glades.

And on the ground that year, there was so much heather for bouquets.

At Gdańsk we stood just like a wall
Whistled at the Swabian cannon
Now we rise amongst the clouds
Soldiers of Westerplatte

And those who have good eyesight
And hearing are said to hear
How in Heaven, rumbles the steady tread
Of the coastal battalion.

But when the cold wind blows
And sorrow wraps the world
In the centre of Warsaw we will pour down,
The soldiers of Westerplatte.

It Started 74 Years Ago

The air raid-sirens are sounding all over Poland now, at noon, to remind everyone of the invasion by Germany on 1st September 1939.