Octave of Easter and Divine Mercy

What a wonderful Easter! I only just learned about the Via Lucis--the Way of Light--and it is so wonderful meditating on the Resurrection and all that He promises. From Mary Magdalene mistaking the Risen Christ for the gardener to recognizing Him (Noli me tangere by Fra Bartolomeo) to telling the disciples, "I have seen the Lord!" Peter and John running to the empty tomb (Disciples Running by Eugene Burnard) and discovering the folded napkin (it means He's coming back) to the Apostles receiving the power to forgive sins and Thomas believing because he can see and touch our Lord (Incredulity of Thomas by Caravaggio). I am so grateful for Confession, where our Lord's Divine Mercy is poured out on us, making us as new as the day of our baptism. 

Some pictures from our Easter Octave: a visit with my friend from CA, practice with my quartet, Adoration, singing at a wedding, enjoying a meal out, meeting the kids at a brewery (very important for Michael's research), and with my barbershop sisters, dancing on the pier! Every day I am grateful to God for bringing us to beautiful Charleston, where we've grown so much in our faith, thanks to our good and holy priests and our friends.

Sede Vacante

INTROIT • “Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine…” keeps running through my head for the repose of the soul of Pope Francis. The Divine Mercy chaplet too.  

I've also been praying to St. Catherine of Siena for the church. Please join me. 

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

Heavenly Father, Thy glory is in Thy saints. We praise Thy glory in the life of the admirable St. Catherine of Siena, virgin and doctor of the Church. Her whole life was a noble sacrifice inspired by an ardent love of Jesus, Thy unblemished Lamb.

In troubled times she strenuously upheld the rights of His beloved spouse, The Church. Father, honor her merits and hear her prayers for each of us, and for Thy Holy Catholic Church.

Help us to pass unscathed through the corruption of this world, and to remain unshakably faithful to Thy Holy Catholic Church in word, deed, and example.

Help us always to see in the Petrine See and true Vicar of Christ an anchor in the storms of life, and a beacon of light to the harbor of Thy Love, in this dark night of Thy times and men’s souls.

Grant also to each of us our special petition:

For the conclave to elect a deeply Catholic Pope; that we receive the gift of Counsel so that we may quickly and accurately discern the truth of current events and react rightly, and above all, that God’s will be done.

We ask this through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, in the unity of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

St. Catherine of Siena, pray for us.

St. Peter, pray for us.

St. Joseph, pray for us.

Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on us.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

Happy Easter!!!

He is Risen!!! Alleluia!!! Happy Easter!!! I'm so grateful for the many graces showered upon us this Lent and especially during the Sacred Triduum. I love the Exultet that's chanted during Easter Vigil. It's an encapsulation of our salvation history. Some of my favorite verses are:

O truly necessary sin of Adam,
destroyed completely by the Death of Christ!

O happy fault
that earned for us so great, so glorious a Redeemer!

The sanctifying power of this night
dispels wickedness, washes faults away,
restores innocence to the fallen, and joy to mourners,
drives out hatred, fosters concord, and brings down the mighty.

On this, your night of grace, O holy Father,
accept this candle, a solemn offering,
the work of bees and of your servants' hands,
an evening sacrifice of praise,
this gift from your most holy Church.

It always reminds me that where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more. How paradoxical, yet I see it operating in my own life. Grateful to be His beloved. We've had a lovely time in prayer, in choir, with our family and friends.

I just learned this morning that Pope Francis died. Let us pray for his soul and a good and holy new Pope. 

Books

The newest issue of The Star arrived in the mail and with it my reviews of good Catholic books for kids and grown-ups. Happy reading! I have my trusty companions for reading, writing, and meditating. 

Passiontide

There's been so much excitement with the barbershop competition, it's been hard to maintain some of my Lenten devotions. It is already a busy time preparing for the liturgies so I am grateful that next year the competition will be in May. It was a shock to my system going for Adoration one day, where I could feast my eyes on the Blessed Sacrament and the Altar and then the next, with the statues covered up. Not only is the Gloria gone, but the Gloria Patri as well, and now some of the visual beauty. 

I've been praying the Stations of the Cross privately using Tina Jost's One Hour for My Priest. It might be my most favorite section along with Help Him! Our parish has been praying the Stations every Wed, followed by a soup supper. What I love about the corporate prayers is that the priest recites this beautiful prayer after Benediction:

O Jesus Christ, remember,

when Thou shalt come again,

upon the clouds of heaven,

with all Thy shining train;

when every eye shall see

Thee in deity revealed,

who now upon this altar

in silence are concealed.

Remember then, O Savior,

we supplicate of Thee,

that here we bowed before Thee

upon our bended knee;

that here we owned Thy Presence,

and did not Thee deny,

and glorified Thy greatness

though hid from human eye.

Accept, Divine Redeemer,

the homage of our praise;

be Thou the light and honor

and glory of our days.

Be Thou our consolation

when death is drawing nigh:

be Thou our only treasure

through all eternity. Amen.  

We're in the middle of Holy Week and preparing beautiful music for all the liturgies for the Sacred Triduum. Spring is here and I'm loving the warm weather and the promise of renewal. We had such a lovely weekend, riding our bikes to Waterfront park and providing some background music for the 379th birthday of Capt. Robert Daniell (our island town is named in his honor).  

Brought Home Three Medals!!!

Thank you all so much for all your good wishes and prayers. We had a fantastic time in Orlando. What a joy to see our quartets compete and sound so very good [Coastal Harmony Region 9 2025 - Quartet Contest - YouTube: Encore at 58 min and Put a Ring on It at 2:54:00] One of our coaches said that the best way to improve a chorus is to sing in quartets and it's so true. We came home with three medals--most improved (our goal), 1st place in small chorus (another goal), and 5th overall. Here's the link: [Coastal Harmony Region 9 2025 - Chorus Contest we're on at 2:22:40]

Below, my tenor section that's doubled in size! Janet, the blonde, is an amazing section leader, paying so much attention to detail, and all around talented and hard-working musician. She plays the piano beautifully too. Next is a picture that my friend Alysse would say: Team Catholic. I want us to have a quartet called Catlicks, where we sing religious and cat songs, but nobody's on board. Le sigh. We need to start with Rossini's Cat Duet. I also met a couple of ladies who were out for some quiet morning prayer time with the gators and geckos and I had such a lovely time listening to their stories and sharing my own. 

The least favorite part for me is doing all the makeup--it is getting easier but still I don't feel like myself, though once it's on, I can forget about it. I was happy to room with Erin and Dagny, who helped me with mine, as well as ride with them. I had ample time in the backseat of the car to read the latest issue of Hearth and Field (and make memes). We stopped at Buc-ee's (I love the art displayed in their rest rooms) and now I have some shorts to go with my flip-flops :) We made it in time to give thanks to God at Mass. Now it's time to get ready for Spoleto!!!