09 September 2007

Edi be thu, hevenqueene,
folkes froovre and engles blis,
maid unwemmed, moder cleene,
swich in world non other nis.
On thee hit is wel ethseene
of alle wimmen thu hast the pris.
Mi sweete levdi, heer mi beene
and rew of me yif thi will is.

Thu astiye so dairewe
deleth from the derke night.
Of thee sprong a leeme newe;
al this world hit hath ilight.
Nis no maid of thine hewe,
so fair, so scheene,
so rudi, so bright;
mi levdi sweet, of me thu rewe
and have merci of thi knight.

Erth art tu to goode seede,
on thee lighte th'evendew;
of thee sprong thet edi bleede,
th'oli gost hit on thee sew.
Bring us ut of kar, of dreede
that Eve bitterlich us brew;
thu schalt us into hevne leede;
wel sweet is us thet ilke dew.

Moder ful of thewes heende,
maide dreigh and wel itaught,
ich am in thi luvebeende
and to thee is al mi draught.
Thu me schild, ye from the feende,
as thu art free and wilt and maught, ,
and help me to mi lives eende
and make with thi sune saught.



Blessed be thou, queen of heaven,
people's comfort and angel's bliss,
maid unblemished, mother pure,
such as no other is in the world.
In thee it is very evident that, of all
the women, thou hast the highest place.
My sweet lady, hear my prayer
and show pity on me if it is thy will.

Thou didst rise up as dawn
divides from the dark of night.
From thee sprang a new sun-beam;
it has lit all this world.
There is no maid of thy complexion -
fair, so beautiful,
so ruddy, so bright;
my lady sweet, on me show pity,
and have mercy on thy knight.

Thou art soil for good seed,
on thee the heavenly dew alighted;
from thee sprang that blessed fruit -
the Holy Ghost sowed it in thee.
Bring us out of the misery and fear
that Eve bitterly brewed for us;
thou shalt lead us into heaven -
very sweet to us is that same dew.

Mother full of gracious virtues,
maiden patient and well-instructed,
I am in the bonds of thy love
and all my attraction is towards thee.
Shield thou me from the fiend,
as thou art generous, willing and able,
and help me to my life's end
and reconcile me with thy son.
Gaude Virgo Mater Christi

Gaude, virgo mater Christi,
Quae per aurem concepisti,
Gabriele nuntio.
Gaude, quia Deo plena
Peperisti sine poena,
Cum pudoris lilio.
Gaude, quia tui nati
Quem dolebas mortem pati,
Fulget resurrectio.
Gaude Christo ascendente,
Et in coelum te vidente,
Motu fertur proprio.
Gaude que post ipsum scandis,
Et est honor tibi grandis,
In caeli palatio.
Ubi fructus ventris tui,
Nobis detur per te frui,
In perenni gaudio.
Alleluia.



Rejoice, virgin mother of Christ
who through thine ear didst conceive,
upon Gabriel’s message.
Rejoice, for full of God
thou gavest birth without pain,
with the lily of purity.
Rejoice, for the resurrection
of thy Son now shines,
whose death thou mourned,
Rejoice, as Christ ascends,
and, in thy sight, is carried
into heaven by his own strength.
Rejoice, thou who riseth after him
and to whom great honor is due
in the palace of heaven,
Where the fruit of thy womb
is granted us, through thee, to enjoy
in eternal rejoicing.
Alleluia.

08 September 2007

Political Stuttering:
Please Educate Me


Last night, over a pint of nice, dark German beer, one of my classmates and I somehow got started on the subject of politics. She mentioned that she has been reading Marx. My first thought was an expletive I will not repeat here. We moved quickly on to European Union and national health care, both of which she, of course favors. I am against all three of these things, but I found I was almost totally unable to articulate my position, beginning with my inability to articulate the Church's position on Marxism--I could only stammer something about "enforced charity," to which my school mate responded "Oh, I've been reading a book by __ and he used that very phrase, saying that people who are against Marx often criticize him for that, even though that isn't what Marx meant at all..." and "So many people only see the evil that's been done by Communist countries, but they did those awful things because they got Communism all wrong...." I couldn't reply to that, and I am very embarrassed about it.

It's been four or five years since I last read The Communist Manifesto followed closely by Leo XIII's classic Rerum Novarum. Can anyone suggest further reading for me, concerning the Church's anti-Communist/Socialist position? Also, I know in my gut that European Union is a bad thing, but other than a vague idea about it possibly erasing individual cultures, I couldn't say why--any suggestions on reading about this?

My knowledge of world politics is really sad because it's not a subject I am interested in, but clearly I do need to learn enough to defend my own position when someone asks me about it.

06 September 2007

I missed yesterday, so today we present two hymns for the price of one!

Tota pulchra es, Maria
et macula originalis non est in te.
Vestimentum tuum candidum quasi nix, et facies tua sicut sol.
Tota pulchra es, Maria,
et macula originalis non est in te.
Tu gloria Jerusalem, tu laetitia Israel, tu honorificentia populi nostri.
Tota pulchra es, Maria.

You are completely pure, Mary,
and the stain of original sin is not within you.
Your clothing is white like snow, and your face is like the sun.
You are completely pure, Mary,
and the stain of original sin is not within you.
You are the glory of Jerusalem, you are the joy of Israel, you are the honoured of our people.
You are completely pure, Mary.



Alma Redemptoris Mater, quae pervia caeli
porta manes, et stella maris, succurre cadenti,
surgere qui curat, populo: tu quae genuisti,
natura mirante, tuum sanctum Genitorem,
Virgo prius ac posterius, Gabrielis ab ore,
sumens illud Ave, peccatorum miserere.

Loving mother of the Redeemer,
gate of heaven, star of the sea,
assist your people who have fallen yet strive to rise again.
To the wonderment of nature you bore your Creator,
Yet remained a virgin after as before.
You who received Gabriel's joyful greeting,
have pity on us poor sinners.
Requiescat in Pace

Luciano Pavarotti died today. I do not know if he was a practicing Catholic (given that he divorced his first wife in 1996, and married his former secretary in 2003 after they had child together, I would venture to guess not), but he entertained many people the world over and was a hero of sorts for some. I will pray for the repose of his soul, and I hope you will too.

04 September 2007

Ave Regina Caelorum



Ave Regina Caelorum is one of the four Marian antiphons said after compline. It is said from Candlemas through Wednesday of Holy Week.

Ave, Regina caelorum,
Ave, Domina Angelorum:
Salve, radix, salve, porta
Ex qua mundo lux est orta:
Gaude, Virgo gloriosa,
Super omnes speciosa,
Vale, o valde decora,
Et pro nobis Christum exora.



Hail, O Queen of Heaven.
Hail, O Lady of Angels
Hail! thou root, hail! thou gate
From whom unto the world, a light has arisen:
Rejoice, O glorious Virgin,
Lovely beyond all others,
Farewell, most beautiful maiden,
And pray for us to Christ.
We interrupt your regularly scheduled serious posts to point out the latest addition to the cast of PhD Comics (that's PhD for "Piled Higher and Deeper"): Gerard, the Medieval Scandinavian Philosophy major. In the second comic featuring Gerard, he and long-time character Tajel explain how Humanities differs from Social Sciences.
Sub Tuum Praesidium is a hymn that dates to the third century Coptic Church. It is known as the oldest hymn to the Virgin Mary. The present Latin translation appears to be from the 11th century and has been a popular text for composers, such as Mozart, Obrecht, and Charpentier.

Sub tuum praesidium confugimus,
Sancta Dei Genetrix.
Nostras deprecationes ne despicias
in necessitatibus nostris,
sed a periculis cunctis
libera nos semper,
Virgo gloriosa et benedicta. Amen.


We fly to your patronage,
O holy Mother of God;
despise not our petitions
in our necessities,
but from all dangers
deliver us always,
O glorious and blessed Virgin. Amen.

02 September 2007

A Week of Mary

September 8 is the Feast of the Nativity of Mary, and to celebrate we will share one hymn a day up to the feast. The Bogurodzica is a Polish hymn dating from the beginning of the 15th century. It appears to be a long hymn, but I could only find an English translation of the first few stanzas.

Bogurodzica Dziewica,
Bogiem slawiena Maryja, u twego Syna Gospodzina,
Matko zwolena, Maryja.
Zisci nam, spusci nam,
Kyrie eleison.
Twego dziela Chrzciciela, Bozycze,
Uslysz glosy, napeln mysli czlowiecze,
Slysz modlitwe, jaz nosimy.
A dac raczy, jegoz prosimy:
A na swiecie zborzny pobyt,
Po zywocie rajski pzebyt.
Kyrie eleison.

Virgin Mother of God
Blessed by God, Mary, by your Son
The Lord, chosen Mother, Mary.
Ask for us prosperity, send it down,
Lord have mercy.
Because of Your Son,
The Divine Child, hear our voices,
Fulfill our desires, hear the prayers we
Send through You, and deign to give us
What we ask: here on earth, a happy
Stay, and after death a sojourn in Heaven.
Lord have mercy.