To elect a new leader.....

Bl Titus, guide us in our search for a new Chairman

...members and followers may know that our Chairman, Dylan Parry has resigned from blogging and, as a result, feels that he can no longer act as Chairman to the Guild.

This is a cause of great regret to the Guild as, of course, the ‘guild’ concept originated with Dylan and established itself well, under his guidance, in the three years since its inaugural meeting.

I know that Guild members will want to join in with a general vote of grateful thanks to Dylan for his dedication towards the Guild and for his considerable efforts in establishing it.

So now, we need a new leader and the plan is that we issue a call to nominate a fellow member (or, indeed, oneself) to pick up the baton and lead the Guild forward.

Fr Tim has asked me to initiate proceedings to this effect but that, dear friends, is as far as it goes. I have no ambitions to occupy the post, hence, I will not be standing (just in case any member felt rash enough to propose me).

The process will be as simple as possible; nominations should be sent to me by email r.collinsassoc@btinternet.com .

Only members may nominate (an excellent chance to become a member, you do not need to be a blogger, just Catholic, or aspiring to be, and a user of the new technologies).

 Facebook, Twitter  and other social media members are very welcome, full instructions on the blog.

The closing date for nominations will be Saturday 22^nd June 2013 after which, the names of those put forward will be emailed privately to all members who should then cast their vote, again to my email address by June 29^th, Feast of Ss Peter & Paul.

An announcement (assuming that we have a clear vote) will be made within a few days.

Copies of all nominations and votes will be forwarded to Fr Tim for the sake of the integrity of the process.

So please respond with a nomination and also remember to offer a prayer that we find someone of Dylan’s calibre to lead us on.

Thank you

Richard Collins

Musica Sacra Scotland Conference Saturday 9th November, Glasgow.

All the details and registration details here.

Top people. Top stuff.

Renovating the Right Way

I've been in many parishes while renovations were taking place, and it can be hard to make a space that feels reverent.  Folding chairs, basketball hoops, and bad sound systems can make it hard to focus on why we are at Mass in the first place.
I was reprimanded last weekend for speaking too loudly as I was leaving our parish hall, which is substituting for our church during renovations.  The irony was that I was taking about how wonderful it was to have so much of the sacred in our temporary chapel.

Look at this:

I want you to notice a few details here.  The altar was crafted for this purpose, and holds the Tabernacle.  There is a table between the chairs for Father's biretta.  In the dark opening in the distance, you can see the door of the temporary plywood confessionals.  The statue of Saint Anthony is one of several that we moved from the church to increase the sense of the sacred in this temporary home.  The icons of the Madonna were transferred as well.

You can pick out other features, but special note must be given to the communion rail.  It was lovingly crafted last week by a parishioner who knew it was important.  I'm thinking of making some small foam pads to assist those who cannot kneel on the floor during the Eucharistic prayers.

So, Father Cook, I'm sorry I was being loud after Mass.  I was just so happy that such care has been given to create a holy temporary space.

For more on the renovation please visit: http://www.stpeterchurch.net/

A Visit to Tyburn

If anyone who reads this blog has not visited the Adoration Chapel at Tyburn Convent in London near Marble Arch, or the museum of the relics of the martyrs, I highly suggest doing this.

The relics remind us all of the great sacrifices Catholics who went before us suffered. We can also gain strength from meditating on their lives.

The stained glass windows in the crypt museum not only are unique, but truly lovely. These depict the beatitudes in conjunction with the lives of the martyrs of Tyburn. This one is from the Shrewsbury Diocese site, but there are more on Flickr.

Why we venerate and meditate on the lives of the martyrs may seem strange to many people who do not want to face suffering.

However, in these times, which so obviously are witnessing a re-paganization of Europe, one must reflect on the graces of perseverance and hope.

Hebrews 12:1

Douay-Rheims 

And therefore we also having so great a cloud of witnesses over our head, laying aside every weight and sin which surrounds us, let us run by patience to the fight proposed to us:

Please help this good priest (and blogger)

St Jean Vianney - also tormented by the devil

 Some of us know Fr Mildew (as he blogged) as a great and doughty fighter for the Faith.

You will recall, also, that he came up against a certain Mgr Basil Loftus and was treated to a series of threats that Fr M found most upsetting.

I have been informed that there are forces at work, out there, who would still like to plague Fr Mildew with taunts and jibes, how devilish.

Now, I am not, definitely not, stating that this is coming from Mgr L, but there are others who love to indulge in priest baiting.

It would be helpful, therefore, if any links or connections to Fr Mildew are removed from any blogs that may still be carrying them.

And, please remember this good priest in your prayers...the persecution of Catholic priests did not end in the 18th century...it carries on apace.


Richard Collins - Linen on the Hedgerow

Pope Leo XIII's Prayer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

In 1899, Pope Leo XIII, (who should be canonized), dedicated the entire world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The wonderful nuns at Tyburn say this prayer daily at the end of Vespers. If you would like to join them, the prayer is below. The order drops the Islamic bit, but I share the original prayer of the Pope here as it is still published.  Many families in America, when I grew up, had the priest come to the house and enthrone the picture of the Sacred Heart with special prayers. I hope this is still done somewhere today.

Thanks to Wiki for the photo: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacred_Heart

Consecration of the Human Race to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Most sweet Jesus, Redeemer of the human race, look down upon us humbly prostrate before Your altar. We are Yours, and Yours we wish to be; but, to be more surely united with You, behold each one of us freely consecrates himself today to Your Most Sacred Heart. Many indeed have never known You; many too, despising Your precepts, have rejected You. Have mercy on them all, most merciful Jesus, and draw them to Your Sacred Heart.

You are King, O Lord, not only of the faithful who have never forsaken You, but also of the prodigal children who have abandoned You; grant that they may quickly return to their Father's house lest they die of wretchedness and hunger.

You are King of those who are deceived by erroneous opinions, or whom discord keeps aloof; call them back to the harbor of truth and unity of faith, so that soon there may be but one flock and one Shepherd.

You are King of all those who are still involved in the darkness of idolatry or of Islamism; refuse not to draw them all into the light and kingdom of God. Turn Your eyes of mercy toward the children of that race, once Your chosen people. Of old they called down upon themselves the Blood of the Savior; may it now descend upon them a laver of redemption and of life.

Grant, O Lord, to Your Church assurance of freedom and immunity from harm; give peace and order to all nations, and make the earth resound from pole to pole with one cry: Praise to the Divine Heart that wrought our salvation; to It be glory and Honor forever. Amen.

Prayers today for England, Mary's Dowry, please..

Prayer for the conversion of England by Cardinal Wisemann 

 O BLESSED Virgin Mary, Mother of God and our most gentle Queen and Mother, look down in mercy upon England thy “Dowry” and upon us all who greatly hope and trust in thee. By thee it was that Jesus our Saviour and our hope was given unto the world; and He has given thee to us that we might hope still more. Plead for us thy children, whom thou didst receive and accept at the foot of the Cross, O sorrowful Mother. Intercede for our separated brethren, that with us in the one true fold they may be united to the supreme Shepherd, the Vicar of thy Son. Pray for us all, dear Mother, that by faith fruitful in good works we may all deserve to see and praise God, together with thee, in our heavenly home. Amen.

LITANY OF INTERCESSION FOR THE CONVERSION OF ENGLAND

Remember not, O Lord, our Offences, nor those of our Parents; neither take thou Vengeance of our Sins.
Lord, have Mercy on us.
Christ, have Mercy on us.
Lord, have Mercy on us.
Jesus, receive our Prayers.
Lord Jesus, grant our Petitions,
O God the Father, Creator of the World,
Have Mercy on England.
O God the Son, Redeemer of the World,
Have Mercy on England.
O God the Holy Ghost, Protector of the World,
Have Mercy on England.
O Sacred Trinity, three Persons and one God,
Have Mercy on England.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
Pray for England. (repeat)
Holy Mary, Queen of Angels, whose powerful Intercession destroys Heresies,
Holy Mary, Virgin of Virgins, whose eminent Sanctity our Lord hath honoured with so many Miracles,
St. Michael, Prince of the Church,
St. Gabriel, glorious messenger of our Saviour’s Incarnation,
St. Raphael, faithful guide of those that have lost their Way,
Holy Angel, to whose pious custody this Province is committed,
All Holy Angels, and blessed Spirits, of Heaven, who celebrate with Joy the Conversion of Sinners,
St. John Baptist, Precursor of the Messiah, and great Example of Penance,
All ye holy Patriarchs and Prophets, Friends of God, and Advancers of his Truth,
St. Peter, Prince of the Apostles, and Supreme Pastor of Christ’s Sheep,
St. Paul, Doctor of the Gentiles, who of a Persecutor became a Preacher,
St. Andrew, first Disciple of Christ, and constant Lover of the Cross,
All holy Apostles and Evangelists, chief Planters of the Christian Faith, and zealous Maintainers of Catholic Unity,
St. George, our principal Patron, whose Courage remained invincible in the midst of so many Torments,
St. Alban, our first Martyr, who, for the generous charity of harbouring a Priest, was put to Death,
St. Thomas of Canterbury, who, as a faithful Shepherd, laidst down thy Life in Defence of thy Flock,
All holy Martyrs of this Nation, who voluntarily lost your Lives here, to find them again in a joyful Eternity,
St. Gregory, most vigilant Bishop of the universal Church, whose pious Zeal sent Missionaries from Rome for the conversion of our Ancestors,
St. Augustine, peculiar Apostle of this Nation, by whom our Forefathers were reclaimed from Paganism and Infidelity,
St. Bede, most venerable Confessor, by whose religious Life, and learned Writings, the Catholic Faith was eminently propagated amongst us,
All holy Bishops and Confessors, by whose Wisdom and Sanctity this Island was once a flourishing Seminary of Religion,
St. Helen, most holy Queen, and happy Mother of the first Christian Emperor,
St. Ursula, most blessed Martyr, who died in the glorious Defence of Faith and Chastity,
St. Winefred, most admirable Virgin, even in this unbelieving Generation still miraculous,
All holy Saints of this Nation, who, amidst the innumerable Joys of Heaven, still retain a particular Charity for the Conversion of your country,
All holy Saints of all Places, who, tho’ divided here in several Regions, were united in the same Faith, and now enjoy one common Felicity,

Be merciful, O Lord, and spare us.
Be merciful, O Lord, and hear us.
From the Dangers most justly threatening our Sins,
Deliver England, O Lord.
From the Spirit of Pride, Rebellion, and Apostacy,
Deliver England, O Lord.
From the Spirit of Hypocrisy, Prophaneness, and Sacrilege,
Deliver England, O Lord.
From Schism, Heresy, and all Blindness of Heart,
Deliver England, O Lord.
From Gluttony, Drunkenness, and the false Liberty of an undisciplin’d Life,
Deliver England, O Lord.
We Sinners beseech thee hear us.
That it will please thee to hasten the Conversion of this, our miserable country, and re-unite them to the ancient Faith and Communion of thy Church,
We Sinners beseech thee hear us. (repeat)
That it would please thee particularly to have Mercy on our Kinsfolks, Friends, and Benefactors, and open their Eyes to see the Beauty of thy Truth, and embrace it,
That it would please thee to incline the Hearts of all the Magistrates rightly to understand our Religion, and impartially consider our Sufferings; and how hardly soever they may deal with us, make us till with exact Fidelity to perform our Duties toward them,
That it would please thee to comfort and strengthen thy Servants who suffer for the Catholic Faith, and not permit the weakest of us, by any Temptation whatsoever, to fall away from thee and thy Truth,
That it would please thee to assist with thy special Grace those good Pastors who venture their Lives for their Flock, and daily augment in them the Fire of thy Love, and the Zeal of gaining Souls,
That it would please thee to preserve the Catholics of this Land from all Sin and Scandal, and to adorn our Lives with solid Piety, that our Enemy, seeing our good Works, may glorify thee our heavenly Father,
That it would please thee to grant us the grace of improving the Restraints and temporal Disadvantages we fall under, into an Occasion of Retiredness and Christian Severity; supplying our Want of public Assemblies by a greater diligence in private Devotions,
That it may please thee to govern us by thy good Spirit, that we may accept such Ease and Liberty, as thou vouchsafest to bestow on us, with Gratitude, use it with Modesty, and give others to understand by our Behaviour, that nothing is pleasing to us, but so far as it tends to thy Honour and our Neighbour’s Good,
That it would please thee to illuminate the Hearts of all Schismatics, who live out of the Church, seriously to apprehend the danger of their State, and the great Importance of eternal Salvation,
That it would please thee to look mercifully down from Heaven on the Tears of the Afflicted, and the Blood of so many Martyrs, who have spent their Lives and suffered Death to convert us to thee,
Son of God, we beseech thee to hear us.

O Lamb of God, that takest away the Sins of the World, Spare us, O Lord.
O Lamb of God, that takest away the Sins of the World, Hear us, O Lord.
O Lamb of God that takest away the Sins of the World, Have Mercy on us.
Lord have Mercy on us.
Christ, have Mercy on us.
Lord have Mercy on us.

Our Father, etc.
V.: And lead us not into Temptation.
R.: But deliver us from Evil. Amen.

V.: O Lord, hear our Prayers.
R.: And let our Supplications come unto thee.

Let us Pray.Almighty and everlasting God, whose Judgements are righteous, and Counsels unsearchable, who visitest the Iniquities of the Parents upon the Children, to the third and fourth generation, and yet at length rememberest Mercy: Forgive, we beseech thee, the Sins of our Forefathers, and turn away thy Wrath from their Posterity; deliver the Ignorant from being seduced by false Teachers, and the Learned from being abused by their Passions, and the whole Nation from the Spirit of Contradiction, Licentiousness, and Discord; that instead of many Divisions and Changes in Religion, under which they labour, they may again be restored to that Unity of Mind, Steadiness of Faith, and Tranquillity of Conscience, which is no where to be sought but in the Communion of thy Church, nor possible to be found but by the Conduct of thy Grace.O eternal God, who in this great Deluge of Heresy, which wholly overflows, and almost covers the Face of this Land, hast vouchsafed to select a small Number for thyself, and save them in thy Holy Ark from the common Inundation; we praise and glorify thy infinite Goodness, by which alone we enjoy the Comfort of a firm and settled Belief, free from the Inconstancy of those, who, having no Support but their own Fancies, float up and down awhile, and sink at last into the Gulf of Infidelity; make us sensible, O Lord, of these thy unspeakable blessings, that as we know thee by a sure Faith, we may love thee with a perfect Charity; and fixing all our hopes on the joys of a future Life, patiently suffer what thou permittest here, and still press on to what thou promisest hereafter, thro’ Jesus Christ our Lord, and only Saviour. Amen.

Do any readers know who wrote the Litany?

The Rational Catholic....needed

by Vivian Forbes (1927) for Parliament’s History of the “Building of Britain”
© Palace of Westminster

Well, try seeing with someone else's glasses...I lost mine four days ago and cannot find them. As I cannot afford replacement glasses today, I am using a friend's which are far from my prescription, but I can read and type.

Which brings me to the point of debate with atheists and even fallen-away Catholics. As a former teacher of argumentation and debate, I taught my students to look at both sides and argue point by point.

This is the classical way of debating. One must understand the opponents' points of views before engaging in debate.

Most modern people do not know how to argue from reason. They have knee-jerk reactions, and very low levels of rational discourse. Logic has not been required in secondary education for two generations in the States.

Many of the huge cultural problems which will be and are facing Catholics today are owing to the lack of the ability to argue one's point from reason. We have been let down both by Catholic politicians and Catholic clergy on the moral issues of the day in this fair land of common law.

Argumentation was part of the training of and used by some of the great martyrs of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. I think especially of SS. Thomas More, Edmund Campion and Oliver Plunkett. You can read the transcripts. One may call their methods "apologetics", such as Campion's Brag.

The knew how to put forth the Catholic position and engaged those of opposing beliefs.

Doncha' think we need to teach our children and grandchildren how to engage the enemy with the question and answer method of Thomas Aquinas, for one example?

I always start by asking questions, such as "Well, what do you think of this?"

Learn how to debate before you will not be able to do so, before freedom of speech disappears in Great Britain and in America.

For Today's Feasts

Here are some appropriate prayers for today, a day of great saints. First, one for St. Gregory VII's Mass.

                                                    Lord, give your Church the spirit of courage

                                                                 and love for justice which

                                                              distinguished Pope Gregory. 

                                                      Make us courageous in condemning evil 

                                                       and free us to pursue justice with love. 

                                             We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, 

                                                who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

                                                               one God, for ever and ever.

Another one to St. Bede is here.

Lord,

You have enlightened Your Church

with the learning of Saint Bede.

In Your love

may Your people learn from his wisdom

and benefit from his prayers.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,

who lives and reigns with You

in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever.

Amen.

And one for St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi's feast.

Father,

you love those who give themselves completely to your service,

and you filled St. Mary Magdalen de'Pazzi

with heavenly gifts and the fire of your love.

As we honour her today

may we follow her example of purity and charity.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

A Selection of the Apostolic Letter of Leo XIII to the English People...a reminder

To the Catholics of England

In such a cause we, first of all, call to our assistance as our allies the Catholics of England, whose faith and piety we know by experience. There can be no doubt that, weighing earnestly the value and effects of holy prayer, the virtue of which we have truly declared, they will strive by every means to suc­cour their fellow-countrymen and brethren by invoking in their behalf the Divine clemency. To pray for one’s self is a need, to pray for others is a counsel of brotherly love; and it is plain that it is not prayer dictated by necessity so much as that inspired by fraternal charity which will find most favour in the sight of God. The first Christians undoubtedly adopted this practice. Especially in all that pertains to the Rift of faith the early ages set us a striking example. Thus it was the custom to pray to God with ardour that relations, friends, rulers, and fellow-citizens might be blessed by a mind obedient to the Christian faith (S. Aug. de dona per­sev. xxiii. 63).

And in regard to this there is another matter which gives us anxiety. We have heard that in England there are some who, being Catholics in name, do not show themselves so in practice; and that in your great towns there are vast numbers of people who know not the elements of the Christian faith, who never pray to God, and live in ignorance of His justice and of His mercy. We must pray to God, and pray yet more earnestly in this sad condition of things, since He alone can effect a remedy. May He show the measures proper to be taken; may He sustain the courage and strength of those who labour at this arduous task: may He deign to send labourers into His harvest.

Whilst we so earnestly press upon our children the duty of prayer, we desire at the same time to warn them that they should not suffer themselves to be wanting in anything that pertains to the grace and the fruit of prayer, and that they should have ever before th.eir minds the precept of the Apostle Paul to the Corinthians: “Be without offence to the Jews and the Gentiles, and to the Church of God” (I Cor. x. 3²). For besides those interior dispositions of soul neces­sary for rightly offering prayer to God, it is also needful that they should be accompanied by actions and words befitting the Christian profession – first of all, and chiefly, the exemplary observance of uprightness and justice, of pitifulness for the poor, of penance, of peace and concord in your own houses, of respect for the law – these are what will give force and efficacy to your prayers. Mercy favours the petition of those who in all justice study and carry out the precepts of Christ, according to His promise: “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you shall ask whatever you will and it shall be done unto you” (St. John xi. 7). And therefore do we exhort you that, uniting your prayer with ours, your great desire may be that God will grant you to welcome your fellow citizens and brethren in the bond of perfect charity. Moreover, it is profitable to implore the help of the Saints of God, the efficacy of whose prayers, especially in such a cause as this, is shown in that pregnant remark of St. Augustine as to St. Stephen: “If holy Stephen had not prayed, the Church to-day would have had no Paul.”

Invocation of England’s Saints for Mary’s Dowry

We therefore humbly call on St. Gregory, whom the English have ever rejoiced to greet as the Apostle of their race, on Augustine his disciple and his messenger, and on those other Saints of God, through whose wonderful virtues and no less wonderful deeds England has merited the title of “Island of the Saints;” on St. Peter and St. George, those special patrons, and above all on Mary, the Holy Mother of God, whom Christ Himself from the Cross left to be the mother of man­kind, to whom your kingdom was dedicated by your forefathers under that glorious title ., "The Dowry of Mary.” All these with full confidence we call upon these our pleaders before the Throne of God that, renewing the glory of ancient days, He May “fill you with all joy and peace in believing: that you may abound in hope and in the power of the Holy Ghost” (Rom. xv. 13). Care should be taken that the prayers for unity already establish amongst you Catholics on certain fixed days should be made more popular and recited with greater devotion. Especially that the pious practice of the Holy Rosary, which we ourselves have so strong­ly recommended, should flourish, for it contains as it were a summary of the Gospel teaching, and has always been a most salutary institution for the people at large. Moreover, we are pleased of our own will and authority to add still another to the sacred Indulgences which have been granted from time to time by our prede­cessors. We grant, that is, to all those who piously recite the prayer appended to this Letter, to whatever nation they may belong, an Indulgence of 300 days; moreover, a Plenary Indulgence once a month on the observance of the usual conditions to those who have recited it daily.

Finally, may the Divine prayer of Christ Himself for unity fill up the full measure of our desires, a prayer which on this day, through the Mystery of His most Holy Resurrection, we repeat with the utmost confi­dence: “Holy Father, keep them in Thy name whom Thou hast given Me; that they might be one as We also are one. . . . Sanctify them in truth. Thy word is truth ..”. And not for them only do I pray, but for them also who through their word shall believe in Me, that all may be one, as Thou, Father. in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in Us. . . . I in them and Thou in Me; that they might be made per­fect in one; and the world may know that Thou hast sent Me and hast loved them as Thou hast also loved Me” (St. John xvii.)

Finally, we desire all manner of blessings from God for the whole of the British people, and with all our heart we pray that those who seek the kingdom of Christ and salvation in the unity of faith may enter on the full realization of their desires.

Given at St. Peter’s in Rome on the 14th of April, 1895, in the 18th year of our Pontificate.

 http://barberi.wordpress.com/prayers-for-england/pope-leo-xiii-to-the-english-people/

Understanding the Ascension Through Art

Ascension Thursday is the close of the forty day celebration of Easter.  Some dioceses have moved marking this Solemnity of this feast to Sunday.   To better celebrate the wonder and mystery of this event of salvific history, we can turn to art.

The Seventeenth Century poet John Donne tended to take an intellectual approach to spirituality in La Coruna. (1618).  The section dedicated to the Ascension offers conceits which prepares the person for acting in faith:

Salute the last, and everlasting day,
Joy at the uprising of this Sun, and Son,
Ye whose true tears, or tribulation
Have purely wash’d, or burnt your drossy clay.
Behold, the Highest, parting hence away,
Lightens the dark clouds, which He treads upon;
Nor doth he by ascending show alone,
But first He, and He first enters the way.
O strong Ram, which hast batter’d heaven for me!
Mild lamb, which with Thy Blood hast mark’d the path!
Bright Torch, which shinest, that I the way may see!
O, with Thy own Blood quench Thy own just wrath;
And if Thy Holy Spirit my Muse did raise,
Deign at my hands this crown of prayer and praise.

While Donne was raised as a Catholic, he converted to Anglicanism in his adulthood.  The verses reflect this sentiment as it uses quitessential Catholic symbols,such as light and dark, as well as the sacrifice of the innocent lamb.  But the final verse emphasizes the personal rather than communal aspect of faith.

Another distinctive feature of Donne's literary style are his metaphysical conceits. which uses imagery in an extended metaphor to combine vastly different ideas into a single notion.  Hence, the ascension is likened to both a strong Ram to break down the door of faith to heaven and as a mild lamb in a blood sacrifice to show the path.

Three hundred and fifty years later, Salvador Dali painted "The Ascension of Christ" (1958) as Jesus is rising toward an energized and electrified heaven.

Dali's surreal style of juxtaposing images one would not ordinarily associate in order to create a deeper meaning requires going beyond a rational exposition of faith.  But Dali's depiction is not devoid of reality, as the prominent feet would have been the last thing that the Apostles who witness the Ascension would have seen.

Dali attributes the inspiration for "The Ascension of Christ" to a cosmic dream that he had in 1950 full of vivid color where he saw the nucleus of an atom.  Dali was an ardent atheist but he later re-embraced his Catholic faith (perhaps after an exorcism) but Dali often fused his conceptions of Christianity  with science. Dali realized that the nucleus was the true representation of the unifying spirit of Christ.  This nuclear mysticism is meant to connect everyone.

Dali's "Ascension of Christ" does have some incongruities.  Dali was inspired by the atom but it looks like a sunflower or perhaps a stylized depictions of the sun.  Dali was often intrigued with continuous circular patterns like a sunflower floret as it followed the law of logarithmic spiral, which Dali explained to  Mike Wallace in 1958 was associated with the force of spirit in chastity.

While the dove ready to descend from the clouds seems like an allusion to the Pentecost liturgically celebrated in 10 days.  But why is Gala (Dali's wife and artistic muse) peering out from the clouds?  In other Dalian religiously inspired paintings, Gala represented the Virgin Mary. Historically, the dormition of the Theotokis happened long after Christ's ascension into heaven.  However,  Mary is often considered the Queen Mother of Heaven and as the resurrection transcended time and space, it could show the Mother of God weeping at her son's departure from the Earth from her prospective place in heaven.

Other  aspects to appreciate in Dali's depiction of Christ's glorified body ascending to heaven is his hands and feet.  Aside from the positioning of the foot, notice how the soles of his foot were soiled, as reminders that our Messiah walked among us.  Also the Jesus' fingers are curled, which lends some visual drama to the painting but combined with with electrified heavens hints at power.

Whether we are spoken to by Donne's metaphysical conceits or dazzled by Dali's depictions of nuclear mysticism, the Ascension of Christ into heaven is a foretaste of what the faithful may expect in our eventual heavenly home.

h/t:  Salvador Dali Society

If you do nothing else this month.....

....ask your Parish Priest for a May Procession to Our Blessed Lady....before Holy Mass or afternoon Benediction.

It is a great way in which to express love and devotion to the Mother of Christ and a marvellous opportunity to proclaim the Faith, by example, as the procession wends its way around the streets surrounding the church.

Here is last year's May Procession from Sacramento....

Bring Flowers of the Rarest 

Refrain:

O Mary we crown thee with blossoms today!

Queen of the Angels and Queen of the May.

O Mary we crown thee with blossoms today,

Queen of the Angels and Queen of the May.

Bring flowers of the rarest

bring blossoms the fairest,

from garden and woodland and hillside and dale;

our full hearts are swelling,

our glad voices telling

the praise of the loveliest flower of the vale!

Refrain

Their lady they name thee,

Their mistress proclaim thee,

Ah, grant that thy children on earth be as true

as long as the bowers

are radiant with flowers,

as long as the azure shall keep its bright hue

Refrain

Sing gaily in chorus;

the bright angels o'er us

re-echo the strains we begin upon earth;

their harps are repeating

the notes of our greeting,

for Mary herself is the cause of our mirth

Refrain.

Posted by Richard Collins - Linen on the Hedgerow