Capuce

In Prayer

A capuce is the hood on a Dominican friar's habit. It is worn over the scapular, which is that long apron worn over the tunic.  The cappa also has a capuce.  It's the hood attached to the cappa.  The cappa is the cape.  When to put on the capuce has rules much like a gentleman donning a hat.

But I'll tell you one thing.  Don't ask a friar a dumb ass question when he's kneeling and his capuce is on.  It means he's in prayer.

See white capuce inside black capuce

                     

With Your Spirit

Remember when we once said, prior to 2011, "and also with you," when the Mass celebrant said, "The Lord be with you."  Now we respond with "and with your spirit."  With your spirit is not only closer to the original Latin, but it also makes more sense.

And also with you was merely a polite response, much like:
           How are you?
            Fine, how are you?

That what I thought.

But now, and with your spirit, we are respecting the priest's position as alter Christi.  The people are praying that the Holy Spirit guide this priest as the celebrant of the Holy Mass.  This is what the priest was ordained for, to be a priest for us now.

Think about this.  It's a big difference.

Stroke

Modern medicine can be miraculous.  Two weeks ago, one of my "cloistered brothers", had a stroke.  That news stopped me in my tracks.  My mother had a stroke and she was paralyzed on her left side for the rest of her life.  My friend, Sue had a stroke and she also is paralyzed.  And so when I heard that my "cloistered brother" was paralyzed on his left side, I expected similar results.

Yet, today when I walked into the chapter meeting, there he was. 

He was fine.  His left side was weak and he may be mentally confused occasionally, but still.  He was given some kind of medicine to reverse the effects of the stroke. 

He is blessed.

Explaining Jesus

Once, I think, I came across a Lord Whimsey mystery on PBS.  I was not impressed. However, today I attended a "Day with Mary," presented by Father Brian Mullady, O.P. and he happened to refer to her.  His exact reference was lost on me because he said she wrote The Dogma is the Drama.  I can't find this on Amazon.  But I've googled around and am fascinated by Dorothy Sayers.  She died in 1957, so I consider her contemporary.  In her literary way, she was a lay theologian.  

One book she wrote, The Man Born to be King was about Jesus and so memorable that C. S. Lewis said he read it every Holy Week. She was brilliant.  Many describe her as bigger than life.  She dramatized the gospels.

I definitely will have to read more of this remarkable author.  I am humbled by my ignorance of her work.  My education has been neglected.  



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Seven

My "cloistered brothers" and I were reading Joseph's interpretation of Pharoah's dream, Gen. 41.  In this dream, there's seven fat cows and seven skinny cows and seven ears of healthy grain and seven of poor grain.

One of the "cloistered brothers" asked, "what's with the number seven?"

My explanation was just that numbers were important to the Hebrews and they had special ones to denote fortune.

But another "cloistered brother" added that when you're playing dice, you have more chances of rolling a seven, than any other sum:

6 + 1 = 7

5 + 2 = 7

4 + 3 = 7

3 + 4 = 7

2 + 5 = 7

1 + 6 = 7

Well, what do you know?  He's right.

Halloween Treats

My grandkids enjoy Halloween night.
They like to go trick o' treat door to door
Not dressing to give anyone a fright.
"Trick o' Treat", the characters roar.

Harry Potter seems to be the theme.
For girls, it's Hermione Granger for sure.
For boys, it's Snape or Draco, it seems.
The magic is perfect for this night's lore.

My little one's a black-winged bat
Swooping quietly around the night.
I knew her by her smile, hair, and hat
Her sister's voice shrieked in fright.

Both looked like strange creatures to me,
A bat and Hermione, a wizard and her pet.
I opened the door and what did I see?
Funny and cute, my Lucy and Violet.

Credits to Catechism in a Year

468. What is the purpose of punishment? A punishment imposed by legitimate public authority has the aim of redressing the disorder introduced by the offense, of defending public order and people's safety, and contributing to the correction of the guilty party. Further reading: CCC 2266 469. What kind of punishment may be imposed? The punishment imposed must be proportionate to the gravity of the offense. Given the possibilities which the State now has for effectively preventing crime by rendering one who has committed an offense incapable of doing harm, the cases in which the execution of the offender is an absolute necessity "are very rare, if not practically non-existent." (Evangelium Vitae). When non-lethal means are sufficient, authority should limit itself to such means because they better correspond to the concrete conditions of the common good, are more in conformity with the dignity of the human person, and do not remove definitively from the guilty party the possibility of reforming himself. Further reading: CCC 2267