Happy Birthday, Blessed Mother

I always try to go to mass on Sept. 8th to honor the Blessed Mother. I don't always get to go, but this year I did. I especially liked all the red roses in the Sanctuary.

Today also has a touch of poignancy for me too. It marks the 9th anniversary of my dad's death.

RIP, I'm glad he died on a day where we celebrate our heavenly mother's birthday. I feel reassured that she was close to him and had him under her special protection when he died.

I think my dad would have liked the young priest who said the mass today a lot. Fr. Gordon is particularly a little gung ho when he invokes the prayer to St. Michael, the Archangel. Fr. Gordon was ex-military, and so was my dad.

One nice thing to mention about my dad today was how much I appreciated how generous he was to all my friends, without fail. Dad always said things like "X is welcome to come along." He always took time to chat a bit with them.

The Blessed Mother was especially good to me too, today. Let's just say I had to go down to a government office and the outcome couldn't have been better. She gave me an early birthday present on her birthday.

Around the Mulberry Bush with Mary

Sorta. I am beginning to appreciate that my own generation was not the only "jacked around one." I went down today to St. Anne's. Nice Holy Hour, Benediction, Mass, and Rosary and prayers for the 1st Saturday. Bits from 1920, bits from 1942, bits from '62, and a bit for the Feria of the day (St. Athanasius.)

The ordo on line wouldn't have helped, particularly. I think whomever jacked around with this stuff must have had shares in the printing companies that had the rights to publish at the time. Cynical? Moi? :-D

I didn't know the Immaculate Heart of Mary Mass was only made a universal in '42. Whatever. :-D It wasn't *quite* what it was (I think!) in 1920. I had it all marked out to follow the "Missae de sancta Maria in Sabbato" in "Tempore Paschali" Which wasn't quite right. (The Latin book I have is from the 20s. Close, but no cigar.]

I quickly grabbed the 1948 Mass which did have a Mass for the Immaculate Heart of Mary -- which irritatingly doesn't have the Epistle or Gospel in Latin. But I knew the Gospel was same in '62 as in the 20s. I'm not so sure about the Epistle though!

But I don't feel too bad. I'm pretty sure Father started to say the Gradual instead of the Greater Alleluia. He caught it and corrected. Unless going to the EF is giving me auditory hallucinations. Whatever. I didn't ask afterwards. Father had bigtime box office business in the confessional after Mass. Must be a good confessor. [No, I don't know. I usually go to complete strangers for confession! Easier for me to dump that way.]

[Uh, Fr. Gismondi, if you run across this, could you, like, maybe, when you put the bulletin together, just note the Epistle and Gospel readings to be done in the bulletin, as an extra clue? I knew it was going to be for the BVM today, but not the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The Commems. didn't throw me. TLM pulls that often enough for even me to get that.]