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Month: May 2009

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Christian Witness, PNCC, ,

In Rememberance

Memorial Day

The photo is from a photo essay by Danel J. Wood.

Heavenly Father, Whose care and guidance brought our forefathers to this great land, and led them through faith, courage and self-sacrifice to build the foundations of a great democratic nation, dedicated to Thy service and the rights of man, lead us, O God, in our day, as Thou didst lead our forefathers, and help us to be faithful stewards of the heritage which Thou hast entrusted to us.

Reverently, on this Memorial Day, in Thy holy presence, we pay our tribute of respect to the memory of those who gave their lives in the service of our country. We pray, that the souls of these, our heroic dead may have found perfect rest in Thee, and received the crown of an unfading life. O Thou, Eternal Lover of souls, cherish and bless them, we entreat Thee, and give unto us, the living, peace and hope as we think of them in this solemn hour.

Before Thee, O Lord God, we humbly acknowledge our debt to them, and beseech Thee to give us the strength, to go on towards the ideals for which they fought and died. Take, O Lord, the veil from their hearts, and join us in one communion with all Thy saints on earth, and in the life beyond.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. — From Memorial Day Prayers according to the Ritual of the Polish National Catholic Church

Poetry, , , ,

May 25 – Sir Sinclair by Edvard Storm

Sir Sinclair sail’d from the Scottish ground,
To Norroway o’er he hasted;
On Guldbrand’s rocks his grave he found,
Where his corse in its gore is wasted.

Sir Sinclair sail’d o’er the blue, blue wave,
For Swedish pay he hath sold him,
God help the Scot, for the Norsemen brave
Shall biting the grass behold him.

The moon at night shed pale its light,
The billows are gently swelling;
See a mermaid merge from the briny surge,
To Sir Sinclair evil telling.

“Turn back, turn back, thou bonny Scot:
Thy purpose straight abandon:
To return will not be Sir Sinclair’s lot,
Should Sir Sinclair Norroway land on.”

“A curse on thy strain, thou imp of the main,
Who boding ill art ever!
For what thou dost preach, wert thou in my reach,
Thy limbs I would dissever.”

He sail’d for a day, he sail’d for three,
With all his hired legions;
On the fourth day’s morn Sir Sinclair he
Saw Norroway’s rocky regions.

On Romsdale’s sands he quickly lands,
Himself for a foe declaring;
Him follow’d then twelve hundred men
Such evil intentions bearing.

They vex’d the people, where’er they rov’d,
With pillage and conflagration;
Nor them old age’s feebleness mov’d,
Nor the widow’s lamentation.

The child was slain at the mother’s breast,
Though it smil’d on the murderous savage:
But soon went tidings, east and west,
Of all this wo and ravage.

From neighbour to neighbour the message runs,
On the mountain blaz’d the beacon;
Into lurking-holes crept not the valley’s sons,
As the Scots perchance might reckon.

“The soldiers have follow’d the King to the war,
Ourselves must arm us, brothers!
And he who here his life will spare
Shall be damn’d as a cur by the others.”

The peasants of Vaage, of Laxoe and Lom,
With axes sharp and heavy,
To the gathering at Bredaboig, one and all, come,
On the Scots fierce war to levy.

A pass, which all men Kringe call,
By the foot of the mountain goeth;
The Lauge, wherein the Scots shall fall,
Close, close beside it floweth.

The aged shooters are taking aim,
Each gun has been call’d into duty;
The Naik his wet beard uplifts from the stream,
And with longing expects his booty.

Sir Sinclair fell the first, with a yell
His soul escap’d him for ever,
Each Scot loud cried when his leader died;
“May the Lord-God us deliver!”

“Now fierce on the dogs, ye jolly Norse-men,
To the chine strike down and cleave them!”
Then the Scots would fain be at home again,
Their vaunty spirits leave them.

Filling their craws to their hearts content
‘Midst carnage the ravens wander’d;
The Scottish maids shall long lament
The young blood on the Kringe squander’d.

Not a single man escap’d, not one,
To his landsmen to tell the story;
‘Tis a perilous thing to invade who wone
On Norroway’s mountains hoary.

A pillar still towers on that self-same spot,
Which Norraway’s foes defyeth;
To the Norman wo, whose heart glows not
When he that pillar eyeth.

Translation from Targum – Or Metrical Translations From Thirty Languages And Dialects by George Borrow. Provided under a Project Gutenberg license.

Herr Zinklar drog over salten Hav,
Til Norrig hans Cours monne stande;
Blant Gudbrands Klipper han fant sin Grav,
der vanked sí¥ blodig en Pande.
– Vel op fí¸r Dag,
de kommer vel over den Hede.

Herr Zinklar drog over Bí¸lgen blaa
For Svenske Penge at stride;
Hielpe dig Gud du visselig maa
I Gresset for Nordmanden bide.

Maanen skinner om Natten bleg,
De Vover saa sagtelig trille:
En Havfrue op av Vandet steeg
Hun spaaede Herr Zinklar ilde.

Vend om, vend om, du Skotske Mand!
Det gielder dit Liv saa fage,
Kommer du til Norrig, jeg siger for sand,
Ret aldrig du kommer tilbage.

Leed er din Sang, du giftige Trold!
Altidens du spaaer om Ulykker,
Fanger jeg dig en gang i Vold
Jeg lader dig hugge i Stykker.

Han seiled i Dage, han seiled i tre
Med alt sit hyrede Fí¸lge,
Den fierde Morgen han Norrig mon see,
Jeg vil det ikke fordí¸lge.

Ved Romsdals Kyster han styred til Land
Erklærede sig for en Fiende;
Ham fulgte fiorten hundrede Mand
Som alle havde ondt i Sinde.

De skiendte og brændte hvor de drog frem,
Al Folket monne de krænke,
Oldingens Afmakt rí¸rte ei dem,
De spottet den grædende Enke.

Barnet blev dræbt i Moderens Skií¸d,
Saa mildelig det end smiled;
Men Rygtet om denne Jammer og Ní¸d
Til Kiernen af Landet iled.

Baunen lyste og Budstikken lí¸b
Fra Grande til nærmeste Grande,
Dalens sí¸nner i skjiul ei krí¸b
Det mí¥tte Hr. Zinklar sande.

Soldaten er ude paa Kongens Tog,
Vi maae selv Landet forsvare;
Forbandet være det Niddings Drog,
Som nu sit Blod vil spare!

De Bí¸nder av Vaage, Lessí¸e og Lom,
Med skarpe í˜xer paa Nakke
I Bredebí¸igd til sammen kom,
Med Skotten vilde de snakke.

Tæt under Lide der lí¸ber en Stie,
Som man monne Kringen kalde,
Laugen skynder sig der forbi,
I den skal Fienderne falde.

Riflen hænger ei meer paa Væg,
Hist sigter graahærdede Skytte,
Ní¸kken oplí¸fter sit vaade Skiæg,
Og venter med Længsel sit Bytte.

Det fí¸rste Skud Hr. Zinklar gialdt,
Han brí¸led og opgav sin Aande;
Hver Skotte raabte, da Obersten faldt:
Gud frie os af denne Vaande!

Frem Bí¸nder! Frem I Norske Mænd!
Slaa ned, slaa ned for Fode!
Da í¸nsked sig Skotten hjem igien,
Han var ei ret lystig til Mode.

Med dí¸de Kroppe blev Kringen strí¸ed,
De Ravne fik nok at æde;
Det Ungdoms Blod, som her udflí¸d,
De Skotske Piger begræde.

Ei nogen levende Siel kom hjem,
Som kunde sin Landsmand fortælle,
Hvor farligt det er at besí¸ge dem
Der boe blandt Norriges Fielde.

End kneiser en Stí¸tte pí¥ samme Sted,
Som Norges Uvennner mon true.
Vee hver en Nordmand, som ei bliver heed,
Saa tit hans í˜ine den skue!

Homilies

Seventh Sunday of Easter – B

“For it is written in the Book of Psalms:
‘May another take his office.’—

History:

I always find a particular comedy skit funny, You know the type. There’s either a group of military inductees or a group of new citizens gathered together, and they’re going to take an oath. Everyone raises their right hand and the master of ceremonies begins the oath… —I [state your name]— Everyone replies: —I state your name.—

This is what today’s lesson is all about.

The band of Apostles had a vacancy, and they needed to fill it. It came down to Judas called Barsabbas, who was also known as Justus, or Matthias. The Apostles prayed and then lots were drawn.

It is interesting to note that in Jewish culture lots were cast using stones, but the casting of lots was limited to priests. William Silverman and Iain Chalmers in Casting and drawing lots: a time-honoured way of dealing with uncertainty and for ensuring fairness wrote:

Although the masses were forbidden by Jewish law to cast lots for divination —“ which was the prerogative of the priests – God’s authorities on earth were allowed to use lottery devices to guide judgements. Thus the chief priest carried sacred stones inside his breastplate, through which he sensed divine intentions. The stones gave God’s answer, determined when the ‘Yes’ or the ‘No’ stone was drawn out.

Matthias chose the yes stone and was counted among the Apostles. Matthias won the lottery.

The lottery:

How did we come to win the lottery, to be Christians, to be part of the Holy Polish National Catholic Church?

Now certainly some of us are Polish or have a Polish heritage, but many do not. Background doesn’t matter. Some were born into the Church, others came to the Church later in life. Birthright doesn’t matter. Regardless of background or history, each of us won the lot, the yes stone. We have been chosen to be on the inside, to be part of the Holy Church.

Doesn’t it feel great to know that we won the lottery?

Getting stoned:

We are lucky and blessed to be Christian, to have won the lottery, and are part of the true Church, but we must remember that winning comes with sacrifice.

Think about the method of casting lots by which Matthias won. According to Jewish priestly practice the Apostles, the new priesthood of the Holy Church, used stones.

Think about that. They used stones, which can remind us of stoning. Choosing the stone, winning the lottery, being Christian requires that sort of sacrifice. Several chapters later in Acts we will read of the stoning of Stephen. Chapters later the Jews and their Gentile sympathizers attempt to stone Paul at Ico’nium and again at Lystra.

What does it mean?

Would could reduce Christianity to winning, to being right and leave it at that. We could reduce Christianity to sacrifice, to getting stoned, to being a martyr, and leave it at that. Those two things are only the beginning and ending points to our Christian life. We begin by winning and we end winning. We begin with knowledge of sacrifice and we end in sacrifice. Our Christianity is everything that comes between those two points. The practice of Christianity is all the things that add to our winning and add to our sacrifice.

What adds:

What adds to our sacrifice and to our winning is the love that comes in-between, the love that is the marker of the Christian life. Our Lord and Savior prayed, saying:

They do not belong to the world
any more than I belong to the world.

We do not belong to the world because by winning we have been freed from the constraints of the world. The world wants to tell us how we should —love.— The world wants to dictate who we may and may not love.

Thankfully we’re not part of the cheap love, the merely romantic or sexual love the world dictates. Our how of loving is a love that acknowledges the core value and dignity or each and every human being, every human, from the beginning of life and into eternal life.

Thankfully we do not have to choose sides in our loving. The world would have us love some and hate others. We love the lovable, who can be too annoying to love, and we love the broken, who can be too damaged to love. We love because as St. John says:

Beloved, if God so loved us,
we also must love one another.

Our loving is all that occurs between the bookends of winning and sacrifice.

Not complex:

Our loving is not complex and we don’t have to break out the journals and ledgers to count the complexities of loving. We are not part of an accounting/bookkeeping exercise where we enumerate our good deeds. Rather, our Christian life is one where loving, a lifestyle defined by loving, never counts the costs or keeps balances. As the ads say, we JUST DO IT.

Taking our place:

We have won. Our Holy Church and each and every one of us has the assurance St. John spoke of:

—¨This is how we know that we remain in him and he in us,
that he has given us of his Spirit.

We have won and the Spirit of God in us, in our work, in our loving. We have taken our place in the Holy Church. The place that was prepared for us has been filled. Let us never forget the value that our winning adds. When we won the vacancy that could only be filling by our winning was filled. Jesus prayed:—¨—¨

As you sent me into the world,
so I sent them into the world.—¨

We have won and have taken our place, the place we need to be so that Jesus could lead us in filling the vacancies that still exist. There is a vacancy in this pew and that, there is a place for everyone in our Holy Polish National Catholic Church. By the love we carry, by the witness we bear, many more will come to win, to sacrifice, and to love.

We have taken our place. Our winning, our sacrifice, our living lives defined by love wins the victory we all long for, the coming of the Kingdom of God, where we will stand together with all who have sacrificed and have loved. Amen.

Poetry,

May 24 – A Prayer by Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov

Faithful before thee, Mother of God, now kneeling,
Image miraculous and merciful — of thee
Not for my soul’s health nor battles waged, beseeching,
Nor yet with thanks or penitence o’erwhelming me!

Not for myself,– my heart with guilt o’erflowing —
Who in my home land e’er a stranger has remained,
No, a sinless child upon thy mercy throwing,
That thou protect her innocence unstained!

Worthy the highest bliss, with happiness O bless her!
Grant her a friend to stand unchanging at her side,
A youth of sunshine and an old age tranquil,
A spirit where together peace and hope abide.

Then, when strikes the hour her way from earth for wending,
Let her heart break at dawning or at dead of night —
From out thy highest heaven thy fairest angel sending
The fairest of all souls sustain in heavenward flight!

Russian Lyrics: Songs of Cossack, Lover, Patriot, and Peasant by Martha Dickinson Bianchi

Я, матерь божия, ныне с молитвою
Пред твоим образом, ярким сиянием,
Не о спасении, не перед битвою,
Не с благодарностью иль покаянием,

Не за свою молю душу пустынную,
За душу странника в мире безродного;
Но я вручить хочу деву невинную
Теплой заступнице мира холодного.

Окружи счастием душу достойную;
Дай ей сопутников, полных внимания,
Молодость светлую, старость покойную,
Сердцу незлобному мир упования.

Срок ли приблизится часу прощальному
Ð’ утро ли шумное, в ночь ли безгласную –
Ты восприять пошли к ложу печальному
Лучшего ангела душу прекрасную.

LifeStream

Daily Digest for May 23rd

lastfm (feed #3)
Listened to Pierscien ‘The Ring’, Op. 74, No. 14 – Charles Spencer & Urszula Kryger
— 6:39pm via Last.fm
lastfm (feed #3)
Listened to Nie Ma Czego Trzeba ‘Faded and Vanished’, Op. 74, No. 13 – Charles Spencer & Urszula Kryger
— 6:41pm via Last.fm
lastfm (feed #3)
Listened to Narzeczony ‘The Bridegroom’, Op. 74, No. 15 – Charles Spencer & Urszula Kryger
— 6:45pm via Last.fm
lastfm (feed #3)
Listened to Melodia, Op. 74, No. 9 – Charles Spencer & Urszula Kryger
— 6:47pm via Last.fm
lastfm (feed #3)
Listened to La Fíªte ‘Mazurka in E Flat Minor, Op. 6, No. 4’ – Charles Spencer & Urszula Kryger
— 6:50pm via Last.fm
lastfm (feed #3)
Listened to La Danse ‘Mazurka in G Major, Op. 50, No. 1’ – Charles Spencer & Urszula Kryger
— 6:55pm via Last.fm
lastfm (feed #3)
Listened to Faible Cœur ‘Mazurka in F Minor, Op. 7, No. 3’ – Charles Spencer & Urszula Kryger
— 6:58pm via Last.fm
lastfm (feed #3)
Listened to Dwojaki Koniec ‘The Two Corpses’, Op. 74, No. 11 – Charles Spencer & Urszula Kryger
— 7:03pm via Last.fm
lastfm (feed #3)
Listened to Dumka ‘Reverie’ – Charles Spencer & Urszula Kryger
— 7:05pm via Last.fm
lastfm (feed #3)
Listened to Berceuse ‘Mazurka in C Major, Op. 33, No. 3’ – Charles Spencer & Urszula Kryger
— 7:07pm via Last.fm
twitter (feed #4)
New blog post: May 22 – To write poetry inspired by the poetry of Jan Rybowicz http://bit.ly/IcG4H [#]
— 7:40pm via Twitter
twitter (feed #4)
New blog post: Actions Speak Louder Than Words!  http://bit.ly/3NUEu7 [#]
— 7:58pm via Twitter
twitter (feed #4)
New blog post: Dr. Laurence Vance – Christianity and War, Other Aspects of the Warfare State http://bit.ly/kHolu [#]
— 8:52pm via Twitter
twitter (feed #4)
New blog post: May 23 – untitled by Juozas Macevičius http://bit.ly/12q8fL [#]
— 10:45pm via Twitter
Poetry

May 23 – untitled by Juozas Macevičius

Airports. Hotels.
Stations. Motels.
I’m sick of searching;
Like spinning tyres,
Repetition tires.
The night’s like a huge closed cage.
Insomnia saps my nerves.
     Crazy age!
Mad rhythms!
A desperate cry tears the world,
A desperate cry:
“Enough of this whirl!” –
Somewhere between the sky
And the earth by somebody hurled.
On my lips is the bitter, stale taste of steel.
Someone still begs for love
As if for bread – still!
That begging burns mind and soul –
What you used to have – you’ve given it all,
Though maybe not quite in time.
Maybe sometimes it was out of place.
You gave it away like small change,
Scattered through space.
You look at the night;
It doesn’t get light.
Something like bell-chimes around you sounds;
In the night something pounds and pounds and pounds.
Alas! The bell doesn’t yet chime for you.
Tortured, you’ll have to search,
To repeat it all anew.
Again hotels,
Airports, motels.

Translated by Dorian Rottenberg

St Louis Airport

VieŁ¡bučiai. Aerouostai.
Ir stotys.
Nusibodo ieŁ¡koti.
Nusibodo kartotis.
Naktis kaip didŁ¾iulis uŁ¾daras narvas.
Nualino nemiga Ł¡irdį ir nervus.
BeprotiŁ¡kas amŁ¾ius. BeprotiŁ¡kas ritmas.
PlÄ—Ł¡o pasaulį beviltiŁ¡kas riksmas:
– Tylos ir ramybÄ—s! –
KaŁ¾kur tarp dangaus
Ir tarp Ł¾emÄ—s pakibęs.
Ant lŁ«pŁ³ sustingęs aitrus plieno skonis.
KaŁ¾kas dar maldauja
MeilÄ—s kaip duonos.
Maldavimai degina Ł¡irdį ir protą, –
Tai, ką turÄ—jai – seniai atiduota.
GalbŁ«t ne laiku,
Gal kartais ne vietoj
Atidavei viską
Kaip smulkią monetą.
Spoksai į naktį.
Aplinkui neŁ¡vinta.
KaŁ¾kur tarsi varpo skambÄ—jimas sklinda.
Nakty aidi dŁ«Ł¾iai skardŁ«s ir skvarbŁ«s.
Deja,
Tai ne tau dar skambina varpas.
ReikÄ—s vÄ—l ieŁ¡koti,
Kankintis, kartotis.
VÄ—l vieŁ¡bučiai.
Aerouostai. Ir stotys.

Christian Witness, Perspective, Political, , , ,

Dr. Laurence Vance – Christianity and War, Other Aspects of the Warfare State

Dr. Laurence Vance will address the Institute On The Constitution as part of its First Friday program. The program will take place on Friday, June 5, 2009, at 7pm. As with past “First Friday” lectures, this one will be held at 8028 Ritchie Highway, Suite 315, Pasadena, Maryland 21122. Doors open at 6:30pm and the lecture will begin promptly at 7pm. The event is free but because of limited space please RSVP to 1-866-730-9796. Refreshments will be provided.

Dr. Vance’s address will be streamed live, at no cost, on the Internet, June 5 at 7pm (EST).

Dr. Laurence M. Vance is a Bible-believing Christian author, freelance writer, and book reviewer. He holds degrees in history, theology, accounting, and economics. He has written and published sixteen books on the diverse subjects of theology, biblical languages, Bible history, economics, politics, and war. Dr. Vance regularly contributes articles and book reviews to both secular and religious periodicals. He is a regular columnist for LewRockwell a member of the Society of Biblical Literature, the editor of the Classic Reprints series, the director of the Francis Wayland Institute, and an adjunct scholar of the Ludwig von Mises Institute.

The “Institute on the Constitution (IOTC)” is an educational effort sponsored by the Law Office of Peroutka and Peroutka of Pasadena, Maryland. It is neither an instrument of, nor an advocate for, any particular political party. Rather, it advocates the restoration of our Constitutional Republic by offering classes, lectures, and products designed to re- acquaint the American people with our history, our heritage, and our Constitution, which is the very foundation of our Republic. You will not find smoke, mirrors, or political correctness filters at our presentations — just real American history, the way it was, the way it ought to be taught.

The following is a presentation by Dr. Vance on Christianity and War at the 2008 Austrian Scholars Conference:

Christian Witness, PNCC, , ,

Actions Speak Louder Than Words! 

From the Rt. Rev. Thaddeus Peplowski from the May – June – July 2009 Issue of ACTS, a publication of the Buffalo-Pittsburgh Diocese of the Polish National Catholic Church:

We are all familiar with the saying: “Actions speak louder than words!” It reminds us that when positive things are being done, then the words that introduced the actions need not be repeated, since they are being manifested.

When Jesus spoke of His death and resurrection, they were mere words to the Apostles who did not even want to hear them; but when Christ died on the cross, that action stung the hearts of these men, who seemed to be completely lost in their sorrow. The resurrection from the dead of our Savior and His multiple appearances to His disciples, made them reassess everything that Jesus said during His three-year ministry in a new light of faith and truth. Before the resurrection, they were just ordinary men with ordinary fears, but after He rose from the dead and breathed upon them the gift of the Holy Spirit, they were transformed into superheroes, men who feared nothing, even death itself. The kind of faith that they professed as missionaries caused the fledging Church to grow by leaps and bounds – nothing could restrain the power of the Word that caused the spontaneous growth of the Church.

That is the kind of faith and spirit that needs to be revived in the Church today. The Holy Spirit is guiding us to a variety of groups of people, not only here in our country, but even in far-off Italy, who are seeking to create parishes modeled after the example of the Polish National Catholic Church. The so-called “hidden treasure” of our ecclesial structure is being sought after as the ideal form of establishing National Catholic Parishes that resemble early Christian communities. Yes, just speaking about our faith is not enough, we need to share it in outward form of helping others to establish congregations regardless of their ethnic, national or racial background, so that our words may produce actions.

Recently, we have been responding to the pleading of Catholic people who are desperately seeking to establish parishes within the PNCC. We are accepting their challenge and going forth to help them. Just like St. Paul accepted the call of the Macedonians, so we too must reach out and assist those who are seeking to become one with us in faith and service. If we fail to answer their call, we are also failing our Lord Jesus Christ who in the Great Commission delegated His Apostles to “Go, therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:19-20)

We too, like the Apostles, are commissioned to continue the same missionary call of bringing those who are abandoned and lost back into the fold of the Church. It is wrong to proselytize members of other churches, but it is good to respond to the call of people who are seeking to become members of our Church, and come to us on their own. On Pentecost, when Peter converted over 3,000 Jewish men, he did so because they came to him, seeking the Word of Life and seeking conversion and baptism on their own. We need to do more than speak about the blessings that God has bestowed upon the National Catholic Movement; we need to open our hearts and minds to welcoming into our fold those who wish to be brothers and sisters with us in the One, Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church that the Polish National Catholic Church professes to be in doctrine and practice.

…Opportunities are always being presented to us, all we need to do is respond to the plea of people who are seeking to become National Catholics. We need to embrace them with the same welcoming love that each one of our parishes received when they were accepted into the Polish National Catholic Church.

Pray for the continued success of our Mission and Evangelism Program … that it may bring new members to our existing parishes, as well as inspiring groups of believers who are seeking to establish new PNCC congregations. It is only through the Words of encouragement that our Prayers and Words of faith precipitate the Actions of organizing new Parishes, proving that Actions do speak louder than Words.

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