Praying the Rosary

Praying the Rosary

Familiarize yourself and/or your group with the prayers of the rosary.

1.   Make the Sign of the Cross.

2.   Holding the Crucifix, say the Apostles' Creed.

3.   On the first bead, say an Our Father.

4.   Say one Hail Mary on each of the next three beads.

5.   Say the Glory Be

6.   For each of the five decades, announce the Mystery (perhaps followed by a brief reading from Scripture) then say the Our Father.

7.   While fingering each of the ten beads of the decade, next say ten Hail Marys while meditating on the Mystery. Then say a Glory Be.
(After finishing each decade, some say the following prayer requested by the Blessed Virgin Mary at Fatima: O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell; lead all souls to Heaven, especially those who have most need of your mercy.)

8.   After saying the five decades, say the Hail, Holy Queen, followed by this dialogue and prayer:

V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray: O God, whose Only Begotten Son,
by his life, Death, and Resurrection,
has purchased for us the rewards of eternal life,
grant, we beseech thee,
that while meditating on these mysteries
of the most holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
we may imitate what they contain
and obtain what they promise,
through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

(A prayer to St. Joseph may also follow.) Conclude the Rosary with the Sign of the Cross.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son,

and to the Holy Spirit, 

As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, 

world without end. 

The history of The Book of Common Prayer is a Protestant book, not one containing Catholic prayers recited in a Catholic mass.  "Book of Common Prayer, liturgical book used by churches of the Anglican Communion."  For Catholics, our prayerbook is the Roman Catholic Missal.

Types of Catholic prayers: 

Adoration: Praising God.

Contrition: Asking for God's forgiveness.

Petition: Asking God for a favor.

Thanksgiving: Showing God gratitude.

Heartland: An Appalachian Anthology. Happy Thanksgiving!

In keeping with the "going home for the Thanksgiving holiday," the local public radio station has been playing music with "Going home" themes. I love the viola and violins in his piece.

 

The song above comes from the album Heartland: An Appalachian Anthology.  

Claude DeBussy's "Clair De Lune"

There's a reason this song has 63 million views or plays.  It's played often on the local public radio station here.

Flower Duet

"The Flower Duet" is sung in Leo Delibes' opera, Lakme.  Heard it this morning at 8:09am while driving in the snow.  The high pitches mimic the reach for beauty and love, and each time I hear this piece I cry over the loss of a friend I'd known for 18 years.

Rembrandt & Klimt

One of the great pleasures I had while attending UCI was that Catherine used to work at a Chato's Framing Gallery on Walnut Avenue in Pasadena, one block north of Pasadena City College where we both had attended school.  Catherine learned a lot about framing and a lot about different artists.  I learned by extension.  Catherine brought a framed Rembrandt, the one you see above, titled "The Young Woman at Open Half Door," 1645.  But I'd always loved this print.  In fact, I bought one to put up in the classrooms at the different schools that I taught at.  Another artist that I liked was, of course, Gustav Klimt.  His "Kiss" is famous but there were others of his work that I loved titled "Sonja Knips 1898."

Catherine framed it up in her shop in Santa Cruz.  She drove from Santa Cruz to San Luis Obispo, and I drove from LA to San Luis Obispo where I got the beautifully framed print from her.  My mom absolutely loved the print but more so the spectacular frame that Catherine selected and bought.  

Happy Birthday, Daddy-O, October 7, 1914

These are the kinds of cartoons Dad drew. He was quite prolific during  [more here] and after the war. For Christmas, he would draw the head and bust of Santa Claus on the envelope.  For our birthdays, he'd draw something related to birth or something concerning us personally. He was quite the entertaining communicator.  

Thanks to Sally Martinez for this pic.
This is the kind of cartoon Dad would draw on a birthday card for his kids or anybody he was celebrating.  

Mom, Dad, & Family, 1940s to 1953

Thanks to Sally Martinez for posting this pic.

I can't tell where this shot is taken either.  The year looks like 1939 or earlier.  The brick siding makes me think it could be somewhere in Denver, but her smile and the sunshine make me think this is in San Gabriel, California.  Jim wrote, "She was a beauty!  Sure miss her."

Thanks to Sally Martinez for posting this pic.  

This is probably 1940, but I have no idea where this picture is taken.  It could be at Josephine's in San Gabriel.  That's Jack Pullman that my mom is holding.   

Thanks to Sally Martinez for posting this pic.

[from left to right: Dan, Chuck, Mom, Sally, Mary in arms, Dad, and Charlen.  The year is 1953 since that is Mary there as a baby.]

Though I do not recognize the neighborhood, it is the front yard of Mom and Dad's old house at 5609 N. Gladys in San Gabriel.  The house has since been razed, but that Chinese Elm tree behind them survived.  My mom, however, was not a big fan of its thousands of tiny leaves.  

Requiem Pie Jesu by Gabriel Faure

The beauty in this piece comes as close to holiness as is humanly possible.  Just stunning.  The title "Requiem Pie Jesu" translates "Give them rest Holy Jesus."  It's a short Catholic Latin mass for the dead.  It's beautiful.  And the piece is often contrasted to the famous "Dies Irae" or "God's Wrath."  I guess that is what happens in death, right, either the soul is treated to eternal rest without condemnation from the living, as in Requiescat in Pace, or the soul is treated to cursing, anger, and wrath, as in "Dies Irae."  It makes sense that peace should prevail after the passing of a loved one regardless of how angry we are.  I heard the piece tonight on the Colorado Public Radio station in Denver, 88.1.  It played at 5:48pm.  You can find it on their playlist.  The vocal for the piece I heard tonight was Sylvia McNair, and her performance of it was stunning.  But when I searched the piece on YouTube, I found this one first without searching for Sylvia McNair.  And I am glad I did, for I much prefer this version presented here:   

 

No wonder that it is God, the saints, and every holy act and word that retrieves civilization, as well as the individual, from the brink. 

"What good is love that no one shares?"

Though I'd listen to this song at least a dozen times, I only just now learned that Dinah Washington, the woman whose beautiful voice carries this song, died at age 39. That is sad.  The show notes to the video tell that Dinah was born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama in 1924 and died on December 14, 1963. A commenter writes in the comments section that "When I die, I want this song to play at my funeral."  Maybe.  But it is so sad that it would have everybody in the chapel or church crying.  For funerals, I tend to think that religious songs are better suited.  

 

Wikipedia explains that "In 1959, she had her first top ten pop hit, with a version of "What a Diff'rence a Day Made."  Here is that tune.  

Her last big hit was "September in the Rain" in 1961 (No. 23 Pop, No. 5 R&B).

And how many of us remember "Unforgettable," 1961?

Most folks like the Nat King Cole version.  Cole released his version of "Unforgettable" in 1952, a full 9 years prior to Dinah Washington made it a best seller of her own.  Cole's voice is terrific.  So is Dinah Washington's.  The song was written in 1951 by Irving Gordon and then in 1952, Nat King Cole released it on his album.  His version of the song is by far the most popular. 

San Gabriel River Bike Trail, Sunday May 20, 2018

 I took these shots on Sunday, May 20, 2018.  Anyone familiar with the San Gabriel Canyon Road will recognize this location.  It is the San Gabriel River Bike Trail.  This was the last time that I was on this trail.  My world was a lot different back then.  I was living in Monterey Park.  I hadn’t heard from my sweet friend, Joanne, for almost 3 months back then.  And though I was doing freelance work, I was barely making ends meet.  I sent these pics at 1:28pm on Sunday, May 20, 2018 to a friend, saying “Walked San Gabriel River Bike Trail from Duarte to Azusa this morning.  The homeless who now encamp in the riverbed are growing, turning what was once my childhood playground into a social problem.  Sad.  A lot of bike riders on the trail too.  I need to be careful.”  I've always loved this trail as you can see here, here, here, and here.  

Dad, 1943 and Mom, Dad, & Charlen 1944

To the photo above, Dan penned, "1943, Dad as U.S. Marine at 179 Chestnut Avenue [in San Gabriel, CA]."  Find its location here: 

Dan posted this on his Facebook page on November 11, 2019, in celebration of Veteran's Day.  And though I get the nationalist love of country and the different epochs that define a country, I cringe when I hear the phrase "Thank you for your service."  I can't imagine any veteran expecting to be thanked.  That kind of takes away from the self-sacrifice of service.  And certainly, I don't know of any specific benefit to the person doing the thanking that WWII provided.  Freedom?  From whom?  After WWII, Nazis, and Communists both infiltrated the U.S. government bureaus.  People like to cite the fact that we're speaking English instead of German or Japanese or Russian.  I guess it would offend too much to tell soldiers and veterans that they were lied to.  Though you certainly hear veterans protest against future wars and protest the services they get as veterans from the Veteran's Administration.  So I don't know.  Mixed signals, I guess.  Anyway, Dad looks proud and ready to join the Marines and excited about the transformation the uniform has on him even though it requires him to be away from his wife, Sally, and daughter, Charlen whom you can see below.  Charlen looks almost a year old here, so the year could be 1944 with Dad on leave.