St. Januarius, Bishop, Martyr, and His Companions, Martyrs

St. Januarius, Bishop of Beneventum, was beheaded with his companions Acutius, Eutychius, Desiderius, Festus, Proclus, and Socius at Puteoli in the persecution of Diocletian in 305. St. Januarius is the patron of Naples, where year by year the liquefaction of his blood, preserved in a phial, takes place.

After a long day of taking Maria here and there to be cared for by friends while I attended classes, we just got back from a visit to the hospital. Lisa is doing well although she is getting rather tired of laying in bed all day. The new estimate for her return home is Sunday or Monday, but she is trying to convince them to let her go at least by Saturday. Thank you all for your prayers. We all appreciate them.

St. Joseph of Cupertino, Confessor

St. Joseph, a humble Franciscan Friar of Cupertino in Italy, who could acquire but little of book knowledge and needed divine help to qualify for the priesthood, was favored by his crucified God with a marvelous grace of contemplation, and with a remarkable power of miracles. He died at Orsino in 1663.

Please keep us all, especially Lisa, in your prayers. She had her appendix removed this morning after waking up in a lot of pain. She is recovering at a near-by hospital and hopefully will be out tomorrow or the day after. We'll keep you all updated.

Commemoration of the Imprinting of the Holy Stigmata on the Body of St. Francis, Confessor

Two years before his death, while at prayer on Mount Alvernia, the Seraphic Patriarch St. Francis of Assisi, was rapt in contemplation, and received in his own body the impression of the sacred Wounds of Christ. Pope Benedict XI ordered the Feast of the Stigmata of St. Francis to be observed on September 17. Pope Paul V extended it to the whole Catholic world.

Today Maria played one of her favorite games with her daddy while mommy took a nap. Peek-a-boo!

There she is!

Sixteenth Sunday After Pentecost

All the faithful in the Catholic Church, assisted by the grace of God, which they humbly implore, should always seek the perfection of their souls.

This morning at Divine Liturgy we witnessed the baptism, chrismation, and first reception of Holy Communion of a baby boy. It was beautiful; the rites were far more involved than what we have been accustomed to. The Easterners really have a sense for symbolism.

Tonight Miriel Thomas (sister of two of John's classmates from Ave) came over for dinner. Dinner was interesting... I thought I had bought cans of tomato sauce, but it was just whole tomatoes. So the sauce was pretty watery, but it turned out alright. It might take awhile, but I suppose I'll get used to shopping when all the labels are in German! For dessert we had some delicious swiss and austrian chocolate, which Maria particularly enjoyed.

Evening Constitutional

Maria is not always as sad as in the previous post. Tonight she was quite pleased with herself, and with dinner. Her favorite part was the ketchup, which she got all over her face!


After dinner, we decided to explore the town of Gaming. Maria and I had not seen much of it, besides the main street, which is where our flat is located. Running through Gaming is a small river, which is much lower now than it has been for the past few weeks, because finally it has stopped raining!

We were told that behind the church in Gaming there was a path up the side of a mountain, with a great view of the town. Here you can see most of the town, as well as the surrounding mountains. It really is a beautiful place. Unfortunately, there was a small tree right in the middle of the best view.

Feast of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary

What words can ever describe the unspeakable anguish that rent the sacred heart of Mary as she looked upon her Divine Son hanging on the cross! Every wound in Jesus’ body was also a wound in the heart of Mary: every fiber, every nerve throbbing in agony, every pang He suffered re-echoed in her heart. She endured by her compassion a share in all the anguish of His Passion. Why did Mary suffer all this? That she might be our Mother, the Mother of mankind. She who brought forth her Divine Son without a pang suffered many a piercing pang when from the cross her dying Son commended to her the sinful sons of men. It was indeed a motherhood of sorrow that she suffered for our sins: for mine.

Here are a couple pictures of Maria that were actually taken yesterday. We woke her up early to catch a ride into Scheibbs, the nearest town of moderate size, in order to do some more extensive grocery shopping at the Hofer, which believe it or not is the exact same store as Aldi. Maria was, as you can see, none to pleased to be awakened before she was good and ready.

Then, for some reason, she suddenly developed an intense fear of heights; even heights of one or two inches. Here she is cautiously scooting over a little ledge between the kitchen and living room with a rather fearful expression on her face. This only after she stood there and cried for quite some time begging to be carried over the ledge. Our strategy must have worked because today she walks over it without seeming to notice at all.

A Presentation on Ecumenism

The 3rd European Ecumenical Assembly, which met in Subiu, Romania from 4-9 September 2007, adopted as their theme The Light of Christ Shines Upon All. Hope for Renewal and Unity in Europe. One of the participants in this gathering, a Catholic priest, offered a presentation this evening at the Kartause. He spoke both of his experience at Subiu, and also of his vision of the ecumenical movement in general. The whole student body of the ITI was in attendance with Dr. Waldstein present as German-English interpreter.

The presentation focused primarily, indeed almost exclusively, on the relationship of the Catholic Church with the schismatic Orthodox Churches of the East. I'll offer just two observations on the presentation. First, I was delighted that he urged the Eastern Catholic Churches united with Rome to cling tenaciously their own unique traditions, to resist the easy path of adopting Roman habits. Second, and more negatively, I am rather uncomfortable with the notion put forward that the Orthodox ought only to be bound to believe, in regards to the primacy of the Bishop of Rome, those aspects of the doctrine that developed in the first millennium of the Church. N.B. the de Fide dogma of papal infallibility was solemnly defined only in 1870 by the First Vatican Council's decree Dei Filius.

When the students were offered the opportunity of putting questions to our guest, I asked the following: "What, if any, do you think the significance of Pope Benedict's initiative, which takes effect today, of de-restricting the traditional liturgy of the Latin Church, will be in regards to the Orthodox, who obviously value so highly their own traditional liturgies?"

I was rather disappointed with his answer, although I appreciated the honesty of his initial response. He admitted that it is not something he has much familiarity with, although he would suppose a favorable reaction amongst the Orthodox in general. However, he then went on with the usual characterizations of the Traditional Latin Mass: mumbled prayers in a dead language, old ladies praying the rosary, etc. Ah well, today is still a day for rejoicing in the Exaltation of the Holy Cross and in the liberalization of our beloved rite of Mass.

But it behooves us to glory in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ: in Whom is our salvation, life, and resurrection: by Whom we are saved, and delivered. May God have mercy on us and bless us: may he cause the light of His countenance to shine upon us, and may He have mercy on us. Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui Sancto sicut erat in principio et nunc et semper et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.

O God, Who this day dost gladden us by the yearly feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross: grant, we beseech Thee, that we who on earth acknowledge the mystery of Redemption wrought upon it, may be worthy to enjoy the rewards of that same Redemption in heaven. Through the same our Lord Jesus Christ Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.

Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

Chosroes, king of Persia, carried away the True Cross to Persia; but Heraclius, Emperor of the East, defeated Chosreos and himself carried the holy Cross to the Basilica on Calvary in 629.

Today the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum, derestricting the offering of the Traditional Latin Mass, obtains the force of law in the Roman Catholic Church!

Today is a day of great celebration for traditional Catholics all across the world. TE DEUM LAUDAMUS!

Finally, Stambrau!

At long last we obtained the much acclaimed Stambrau bier and drank it tonight with dinner in honor of Will and Anna's wedding and the birth of Chuck and Julia's new baby Elizabeth Rose. It didn't disappoint.

This morning we obtained a coffee maker! Lisa tested it out immediately. I think she'll survive here now.

And, last but not least, little Maria. She is enjoying all her new friends here; there are over sixty children at the campus, many of them her same age. Here she is with a bandana on her head (at her own insistence) carrying a paintbrush with which to tickle her parents. She gets quite a kick out of seeing us jump.

Maria Likes it Here!

Here, Maria is winking for the camera, a skill she aquired from her father, because her mother is unable to wink. She is especially winking for her grandparents, whom she misses very much. See mom, I told you I wouldn't let her forget you.

Maria is very satisfied after her dinner of mashed bananas in vanilla yogurt. Her father and mother had spicy chicken and fresh bread and butter. And of course, beer. She didn't know what she was missing. Hopefully we can keep it that way for awhile.

Feast of the Most Holy Name of Mary

The great victory, which John Sobieski, king of Poland, gained against the Turks under the walls of Vienna, caused the Pope Innocent XI to make this feast obligatory throughout the whole Western Church as a yearly act of thanksgiving for the deliverance of Christian Europe.

From the Catholic Encyclopedia Articles on Vienna and John Sobieski, detailing his glorious victory there over the muslim Turks:

"Vienna had to suffer another siege by the mortal foe of Christendom during the reign of Emperor Leopold I. Influenced by Louis XIV of France, the sultan sent directly against Vienna an army of 200,000 men under the command of the Grand Vizier Kara Mustapha; this army appeared before the city before the gathering of the imperial army had been completed... The Turks began the attack 13 July, 1683, and made violent assaults almost daily; the number of defenders sank from day to day, hunger and misery appeared, and the hospitals were full of sick and wounded. It was not until early in September that the relieving army, which had collected at Tulln, set out for Vienna; the commander-in-chief was the King of Poland, John Sobieski... The memorable battle began on 12 September; the Christian army descended form the Kahlenberg in three charges and won a brilliant victory over the Turks. Thenceforth Austria and Germany were permanently relieved of the danger of invasion by the Turks..."

"The Turks were routed, Vienna and Christendom saved, and the news sent to the pope and along with the Standard of the Prophet, taken by Sobieski, who himself had heard Mass in the morning. Prostrate with outstretched arms, he declared that it was God's cause he was fighting for, and ascribed the victory... to Him alone."

A conquerer like Caesar, yet unlike him a Christian, John Sobieski's words ring through the ages ascribing to God the ultimate victory of Christianity over Islam - Veni, vidi, Deus vicit (I came, I saw, God conquered).

Ss. Protus and Hyacinth, Martyrs

These two brothers were scourged and beheaded at Rome in the persecution of Valerian and Gallian in 262.

Deo gratias! We are all here now. Despite a long dely in Atlanta due to a broken air valve, Lisa and Maria finally landed in Vienna at 11:48 local time. I had to rush off to a class on the prophets, but afterwards we bundled up Maria and walked to the Kartause restaurant and had a delicious dinner complete with the Kartause's own brew.