Jan Tyranowski

Jan Tyranowski

"St. John of the Cross and St. Therese of Lisieux were

not only his masters, they led him to discover himself, 

they explained and justified his own life." -Wojtyla

Heather King wrote about him in this month's Magnificat.

I mentioned him in a comment to a friend last week regarding 'lay-spiritual directors' - Tyranowski sort of played that role for Pope John Paul in his young life.

Heather describes him from JPII's writings in a way which impressed me that he was something of an eccentric, perhaps a misfit - a saintly misfit, no doubt.  St. John Paul said he was saintly, and it appears Tyranowski's cause for canonization is underway.  It makes me wonder about how many saints I may have met - people I thought were eccentric misfits, with little quirks - or big quirks - but who were holy and good.  And then there is me - weirder than the average bear, but not very saintly.

Anyway.

I like this from JPII on his friend everyone thought was so strange:

"Tyranowski was truly one of those unknown saints, hidden among others like a marvelous light at the bottom of life at a depth where night usually reigns." 

"The bottom of life ... where night usually reigns."

John Paul understood. 

The Syrian War: 'Worse than ever.'

Courageous priests.

Fr. Ibrahim Alsabagh, O.F.M.

“Never, since the beginning of this terrible war, were things as bad as they are now. I have no words to describe all the suffering I see on a daily basis.”

He described seeing rockets and bombs falling on churches, mosques, schools and hospitals.

“So many houses have been partially or entirely destroyed, and so many people killed or severely injured.

“And when the bombs do stop falling, there is an eerie silence, like in a cemetery. The streets are as though everyone has died.” - Catholic Herald

“When will the world community finally wake up 

and put an end to this new Sarajevo?” - Fr. Ibrahim

I think this is why I can get so impatient with locutionist predictions and Catholic infighting over everything - not to mention the time and money wasted on politicians vying for power and control.

Nations are being annihilated - right now, before our eyes - and we still do nothing. 

The Angel of Fatima

In 1916 the Angel of Fatima appeared to the children 3 times, as if in preparation for the apparition of the Blessed Virgin on May 13, 1917.

Tradition holds that Our Lady experienced a sort of pre-Annunciation before the actual Incarnation ...

According to the apocryphal Protoevangelion of James, the Blessed Virgin first heard the greeting of the Angel while she was fetching water from the well, frightened, she returned home. The scene is often depicted in iconography depicting scenes from the life of the Virgin.

In the Protoevangelion of James, there is first a “pre-annunciation” scene, in which Mary goes to the well to fetch water. There she hears a voice saying: “Greetings, favoured one. The Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women.” Mary looks around but does not see anyone. Frightened, she goes back inside and, “taking up the purple, she sat down in her house and began to spin.”

The angel then appears visually to her, telling her initially not to be afraid: “You have found favour in the sight of the Lord of all.”

The Annunciation story then continues along the same narrative outline found in the Gospels according to Saint Matthew and Saint Luke until the author returns to the story of Mary’s role in weaving the temple veil: “And she finished the purple and the scarlet and took them up to the high priest.” - continue reading here.

It seems to me the pre-apparitions of the Angel at Fatima elevate the apparitions of Fatima to a unique status as it were.  That in addition to the fact the Holy See has recognized and approved the apparitions and messages.

This First Saturday in May is a good time to begin preparation for the First Centenary  of the Fatima Apparitions.

First Apparition of the Angel, Spring 1916

In the spring of 1916, Francisco and Jacinta were allowed to go out with their cousin Lucia as she looked after the sheep. They were in an area known as the Loca do Cabeço one morning when they were surprised by a strong wind shaking the trees. Then they saw “a light whiter than snow, in the form of a young man, transparent, and brighter than crystal pierced by the rays of the sun,” coming nearer, until they could see his features and he spoke to them: 

“Do not be afraid, I am the Angel of Peace. Pray with me.”

He then knelt and touched the ground with his forehead, the children following his example, before continuing: 

“My God, I believe, I adore, I hope and I love You! I ask pardon of You for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope and do not love You!”

He repeated this prayer three times before rising and saying: “Pray thus. The Hearts of Jesus and Mary are attentive to your supplications.” Then he gradually faded away in the sunlight, to leave the children repeating the prayer for hours, until towards evening they returned home, keeping silent about this encounter. - Source

Phone rings: "Honey - could you get that?"

Well, maybe he's more of a cultural attaché than an ambassador ... Or as Dominican Republic, Bishop Victor Messalles said ...

The U.S. Ambassador Isn’t ‘An Ambassador, He’s a Gay Activist’ ...

The Bishop said the U.S. ambassador there, James “Wally” Brewster, was “not an ambassador” but “a gay activist” who is hurting the nation and trying to take away its “right to national self-determination.”

Ambassador Brewster is an open homosexual who lives at the U.S. embassy in the Dominican Republic with his gay “husband” Bob Satawake. Brewster has a long history of LGBT activism with the Human Rights Campaign and the LGBT Leadership Council for the Democratic National Committee. He was sworn in as ambassador to the Dominican Republic in November 2013. 

Victor Messalles, the auxiliary bishop of Santo Domingo, made his remarks in a recent interview with the online Catholic news site Crux.

The Catholic prelate further said, “The problem is not with Brewster [personally], nor with the fact that he’s gay, but with the fact that he’s going beyond his responsibilities to promote a personal agenda. He’s abusing power.”

According to Crux, the embassy headed by Ambassador Brewster has been distributing money to gay rights groups in the Dominican Republic “as part of the State Department’s initiative to advance gay and transgender rights abroad.”

This, along with other liberal initiatives, is a form of “cultural imperialism,” or what Pope Francis calls “ideological colonization,” said Bishop Messalles. - Source

Cultural imperialism and ideological colonization is absolutely right on.

I blame Hillary.

Just a question about the Black Lives Matter Movement in Minneapolis ...

Where are you when there are blacks killing blacks?

Just last night a toddler was shot in the foot by a stray bullet which penetrated the walls of his family home.

Did BLM leaders read this weeks headlines from the Star-Tribune?

Police say gangs are behind North Side mass shooting that killed 1, wounded 7

Minneapolis police continue to investigate the latest outbreak of violence on the city’s North Side — an allegedly gang-related barrage of gunfire Wednesday evening that left a 20-year-old man dead and seven others injured, two of them fighting for their lives.

Detectives on Thursday were working several leads to solve the shooting near Newton and 16th avenues N., which was captured on camera and widely shared online.

“We will not tolerate this violence, not as a police department and not as a community,” Police Chief Janeé Harteau said in a statement. “We have good intelligence in this case, and we are aggressively going after those involved.” Star-Tribune

Maybe Black Lives Matter activists could actually help law enforcement stop the drug and gang traffic in North Minneapolis instead of stopping commuter traffic and commercial venue traffic.  And while they are at it - work on the abortion issue - a lot of black lives are lost there as well.

The smell of smoke in Minneapolis ...

From the Canadian fires...

People have lost everything - it's all gone.  Imagine.  If there were 'preppers' among them - even their emergency supplies were consumed in the inferno.  

I love this ...

I want to know Christ and Him crucified and be conformed to Him ...

The Vigil to Dry Tears ...

The Madonna of Tears in Syracuse, Sicily. 

The relic of tears of the Madonna was displayed 

in St Peter’s basilica in Rome today 

during a special vigil celebrated by Pope Francis.

Thinking, praying ...

For Syria.

The refugees.

The children's hospital.

The fires in Canada.

For every one weeping and mourning ...

+

I wonder if we may understand Our Lady's tears in this way:

Let my eyes stream with tears

day and night, without rest,

Over the great destruction which overwhelms

the virgin daughter of my people,

over her incurable wound.

+

O Sacred Heart of Jesus, "clean the stains of my soul and give me tears of penance, loving tears out of love, tears of salvation, tears that cleanse the darkness of my mind, making me light so that I may see you, Light of the world, enlightenment to my repentant eyes." - St. Simeon the New Theologian

I removed the Nienstedt post ...

Because I don't care.

Going through some photographs ...

The way I looked circa 1980.

Yom Hashoah

The internationally recognized date for Holocaust Remembrance Day corresponds to the 27th day of Nisan on the Hebrew calendar. It marks the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. In Hebrew, Holocaust Remembrance Day is called Yom Hashoah. When the actual date of Yom Hashoah falls on a Friday, the state of Israel observes Yom Hashoah on the preceding Thursday. When it falls on a Sunday, Yom Hashoah is observed on the following Monday. - Source

I don't know ...

I don't know Charlie Johnston.

I don't know if Our Lady appears at Medjugorje.

I don't know why icons weep.

I don't know what is going to happen tomorrow.

I don't know who will be president.

I don't know.

I'm sorry if I gave the impression I did.

I hope.

The Vigil to Dry Tears and Our Lady of Tears of Syracuse

Reliquary of Our Lady of Tears of Syracuse.

On the evening of May 5th the Holy Father will preside over the Vigil to Dry Tears.

On May 5th, in Saint Peter’s Basilica, the Holy Father will preside at a Vigil dedicated to those who suffer in soul and body. The reliquary of Our Lady of Tears of Syracuse will be displayed for the veneration of the faithful.To dry faces streaked with the tears of physical or spiritual suffering and to bring them consolation: this is the purpose of the Prayer Vigil “To Dry the Tears”, at which Pope Francis will preside on 5 May at 18:00 in Saint Peter’s Basilica. All those suffering interiorly are invited to come to receive spiritual comfort. - Vatican Press Release

Providentially the Vigil takes place as Holocaust Remembrance Day concludes, although I didn't see any reference to that observance.

Antonina and Angelo Iannuso with weeping Madonna.

An extraordinary feature of the Vigil will be the exposition and veneration of the reliquary containing the Tears of Our Lady of Syracuse.

During the Vigil the reliquary of Our Lady of Tears of Syracuse will be displayed for the veneration of the faithful in Saint Peter’s Basilica. This reliquary is linked to the extraordinary phenomenon that occurred between 29 August and 1 September, 1953, when a small plaster picture depicting the Immaculate Heart of Mary, hung above the bed of a young married couple, Angelo Iannuso and Antonina Giusto, shed human tears. The reliquary contains part of the tears that flowed miraculously from the image of Our Lady.

The tears of Mary are a sign of her maternal love and her participation in the lives of her children: this is why they will be in the Basilica during the Vigil, as if to encourage, console, sustain and guide those in times of trial to entrust themselves to the Virgin Mary without reserve, with the confidence of children, particularly in this month dedicated to her. - Vatican

I included that last part because it seems to explain the meaning of weeping statues and icons - that rather than a warning of doom, the tears represent the maternal refuge one finds in the Blessed Virgin, our Mother.  "The tears of Mary are a sign of her maternal love and her participation in the lives of her children."  The tears of Mary are intended  "to encourage, console, sustain and guide those in times of trial to entrust themselves to the Virgin Mary without reserve, with the confidence of children."

Antonina Iannuso in room where Our Lady first shed tears.

Pius XII confirmed the miraculous tears and healings

on a Vatican radio broadcast in 1954.

Story here.

Hail to the Chief ...

Psycho Cruz ensured he'd win ...

Hillary can't beat Trump. She's just like Cruz - no one wants her, no one likes her - she can't win.



Song for this post here.

More serious stuff now ...

Father Alfred Delp, S.J.

Tomorrow evening Yom Ha'Shoah begins.

Yom Ha'Shoah means Holocaust Remembrance Day.  I often think of the Holocaust - aspect of it has more or less formed my spirituality throughout the years.  Like the message of Fatima in many ways.  I used to fast 'concentration camp' style on fast days ... I won't explain what that meant now.  In fact I just mentioned the Holocaust in a comment on one of my posts yesterday.

That said, I just want to share something I came across by Fr. Alfred Delp, S.J. from yesterday's meditation in Magnificat.  Delp's witness, along with so many other victims of the Nazis can help us today when we face the difficulties of life in our 'post-Christian' culture - without whining or running away from reality.  Historically, the Jesuits went into the peripheries, as the Holy Father would say, and Alfred Delp was no exception.  I love Jesuit spirituality.

Anyway - people online love memes - but they don't seem to remember them after they post them.  In monastic spirituality there is the term rumination - it is part of traditional Lectio Divina.  The monk ruminates the Word during prayer and throughout the day, he eats it, chews it, and it enters the heart.  Try that with your memes - don't post and walk away and forget what you read or what you posted.

That's a long introduction for the following quote from Alfred Delp, which I found helpful and would like to repeat here - it could be a meme maybe ...

"We all proceed from one failure to another, and after every collapse we come out with less substance and more wounds - all of us.  When we are tired and tempted to give up, instead of blaming fate or circumstances, we should ask ourselves whether we are living sufficiently close to God, whether we have called on him earnestly enough." - Father Alfred Delp, S.J.

Target rape-rooms ....

Sorry - I read raperoom used instead of restroom on a Catholic blog and laughed out loud.

I understand the concern.  I get the boycott.  I just doubt Target intended the restrooms to become raperooms.  Can you imagine how exciting that term is to sex maniacs?

Maybe the Muslims who work there can do something about it?  They have strict rules regarding men and women.

Either way - heads will roll.  (Just an expression.)  Target is a corporation - stocks are down because of the boycott - it will be fixed.

Target Stock Prices Plummet After 1 Million Boycott Over Transgender Bathroom Policy

New feature: The parts of Amoris Laetitia 'good' Catholics will probably ignore ...

“Modesty” From Amoris Laetitia by Pope Francis

282 A sexual education that fosters a healthy sense of modesty has immense value, however much some people nowadays consider modesty a relic of a bygone era. Modesty is a natural means whereby we defend our personal privacy and prevent ourselves from being turned into objects to be used. Without a sense of modesty, affection and sexuality can be reduced to an obsession with genitality and unhealthy behaviors that distort our capacity for love, and with forms of sexual violence that lead to inhuman treatment or cause hurt to others.

Yeah.  Just concentrate on the footnotes instead.

Ask yourself,

What would Our Lady wear?

Now, a modesty tip for Catholic men and boys:

Notice how low-rise this scrawny young man’s jeans are. Yet he maintains his sense of modesty by pulling up his underwear to cover:

a) the pubic region

b) butt cleavage in back.

Now if this clean cut young man were to work outside on a hot day and needed to remove his shirt, he would be perfectly modest.

Him Updated Etsy Shop

Our Lady Undoer of Knots

T. Nelson

Acrylic on 8"x10" Rococo Wood Panel

NLA

[My apologies the photo isn't as crisp as it

should be, but at the base of the painting

I added a scene of refugees in shadow 

fleeing war and terror.]

Detail

I added 4 retablos today and marked down a couple of other pieces.  Visit my shop here if you are interested.  Tell 'em Lloyd Braun sent you.

St. Peter Martyr

-source-

St. Peter of Verona exorcising a possessed statue

of the Madonna and Child.

St. Catherine is now venerated on April 29, which used to be his feast day.

St. Peter is my special patron - my second middle name is Peter, and I have had a special devotion to him since I was very young.  I was always intrigued that he was martyred with an ax to the head, and finally stabbed to death as he began to write the Creed in his blood.  The fresco shown above is actually a new detail of his life I had not known before.

St. Peter was an inquisitor and exorcist and a great preacher, fighting against the Albigensian heresy.  Therefore it stands to reason the scene depicted here would have occurred.  I just never thought of religious objects, or devotional statues as being possessed.

One more reason to be guarded concerning reports of bleeding statues and weeping icons.

St. Peter elevates the Blessed Sacrament in the rite of exorcism - a good reminder to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, who inspires and perfects our faith.

Remain united to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and close to Our Lady in the prayers of the rosary.

St. Peter of Verona, pray for us.

The Saint is credited with starting the Fascinator hat

trend British women so enjoy wearing - as well as fashionable

broaches and stick pin accessories 

in memory of the dagger he was stabbed with.

Patron saint of milliners and costume jewelry makers

- he ought to be.

I just made up the part about 

the hats and accessories.

What?