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thesmellypocket

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  1. THE SOLDIER’S PRAYER BOOK By Fr. Pius of Sutica, FSSCT, Assistant Priest at Dobrov. St. Edmond, Model of Soldiers, Pray for us. INTRODUCTION. WHAT IS PRAYER, AND WHY PRAY? SOLDIER, why do you need prayer? Perhaps you have been taught to memorise and parrot prayers from your childhood. Maybe it is a habit that has been worked into you; or a habit you have lost. But what are you praying for? What about? And why? If you believe that God, the one Being alone Sovereign and Supreme, derives any benefit from you saying a few words in His honour, you are deluded. It is evidently not God who stands in need of prayer: it is you. He is all-blessed within Himself and existed before all time, before all prayer. No. It is rather God who wants us to pray for our benefit, for your benefit. One spiritual writer compares it to little children who bring daffodils to show their affection for their mother. Does the mother need the daffodils? She doesn’t need them. Do the children need to give them? Certainly! What’s the point of a war if you don’t have virtue? It’s a waste of courage and of lives. How can men expect to win peace on the outside through force of arms if they have not peace on the inside? They cannot. A true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him. If you do not have love, all your battles are vain miseries. It is clear that to fight the battle without but not the battle within is but an empty victory. How are we to receive these virtues? The answer is very simple. We have enough moral codes, but we ourselves are powerless to enforce them. The history books burst open with examples of men who started with good intentions and sank into evil. They thought they could pull themselves up to supreme virtue by the lobes of their own ears. But you can’t. You need help. And who better to help you than the Source of the Virtue Himself? That is why we pray, so that, by communion with God, we may be filled with His mercy, goodness and truth. Prayer is simply this, the raising of the will and the intellect - or the heart and the mind, if you prefer, to God. That is what prayer is. And we do it, to receive His impressions on our souls, so that, by being open to His sovereign will, we may be filled abundantly with virtues. Only then will you be a true soldier in the cause of right. Therefore, do not only pray vocal prayers, but meditate, and raise your heart and mind to God, and allow Him to lift you up. The one way to prevent a war is to make a war. And not a war against our enemies, but a war against ourselves; to unsheathe the sword, and to unsheathe it not against the enemy we hate, but to unsheathe it against ourselves and all that is base and vile! And when that war is won within each and every one of us, we will have won not just the war, but the peace too, the only thing that makes the war worth fighting. I.EXHORTATION TO VIRTUE. Soldier, I would like you to realise just how utterly privileged and important and loved you are. At your Baptism, God through his Holy Angel poured at the Waters of Gamesh abundantly into your soul. This not only cleansed you, but made you a Prophet. Yes, I will repeat, your Baptism makes you a Prophet. You receive the selfsame Baptism which Horen received at his calling to the Prophethood. You, like him, become part of God’s spiritual family, the Church. You are part of His household: you are His beloved son. Of course, you do not receive revelations, as that work is now complete. But the immense dignity of the Prophethood is there, because you have received exactly the same as Horen received - you are yourself a spiritual Horen. And if you keep the same virtue as he received, then you too can be destined for that eternal glory which was promised him. II.THOUGHTS FOR SOLDIERS. When I begin to be infinitely wicked and God ceases to be infinitely merciful, then I have a right to despair. If I’m wounded, it’s back to my country. If I’m killed, it’s the Skies. I won’t fear the enemy who can kill my body and not my soul. He can kill me, but he can’t do me any real harm. I am not fighting to preserve the old world that existed before the war. If I were, I would be fighting to preserve the world that produced this very war. The new world must be a better world than that, or it is not worth fighting for. And the new reign of peace must start in my soul. If God be with us, there is no one else left to fear. How can I make sure God is with me? Go to Confession, pray, and give alms. There is something called the Prayer of Action. If I do everything for the sake of the love of God, whether it be listening to a dull conversation, cleaning armour, writing a letter, sharpening a sword, practicing archery and so forth, these actions become prayers. It is in giving that I receive, because only the empty glass can be filled, not the full one. There are two ways to have enough. One is to accumulate more and more. The other is to desire less. I pray not to change God’s will, but my own. I pray not that God will be on our side, but that we will be on God’s side. Prayer of Edgar de Saltpans: God is the author of victories, and in Heaven, there is no difference between but a few and a great many. For our courage is not in the multitude of the army, but strength cometh from Heaven. They come against us with an insolent multitude, and with pride, to destroy us, and our wives and children, and take our lands. But we will fight for our lives and our laws, and as for the enemy, we shall fear them not. We will trust Him. Death is nothing to fear for the man of God. If I live, I win the crown of courage. If I die, I win the crown of eternal life. The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him. Soldiering is an holy profession if done with virtue. In the Canticle of Fidelity, God bids us maintain order, protecting both the little and the great, for the Lord made both. As a defender of that order, I have a vital place in God’s vision for my country. Purity is represented by a sword in Scripture; Virtue is a sword. A sword to be turned in on myself, on everything evil within me. I must, then, think of life like a battle. Every good deed will be a spear-thrust to my Enemy; every chance to practice Virtue or vice like a skirmish with Iblees. But I’m a fool if I go into that battle armed with a twig. I need to report to Headquarters and get kitted up. That is what prayer is. And maybe I’ll need the reinforcements of Saints and Blesseds to come to my aid. This day, can I give up one licit pleasure to practise the Virtue of temperance? III.MORNING PRAYER. (Crossing yourself.) O God, come to my aid. O Lord, make haste to help me. OFFERING: My God, I offer to Thy infinite majesty every ounce of my affections, every beat of my heart, every pain and suffering, every good deed, every labour and most of all, I offer Thee my own heart, my body and my soul. Heavenly Father, I trust in Thee. MORNING PRAYER: In rising, I wish my first thought to be of Thee. I thank Thee for guarding me during the night. During this day, please keep my body from accident, and my soul from sin. I am far from my family, surrounded by new temptations; please lead and protect me. Bless, please, my commander and my comrades, and above all, bless our king and country. May I serve today as a good soldier. Amen. PSALM OF VEN. HUMBERT: The Lord ruleth me, I shall want for nothing. He makes me down to lie, in pastures green, He leadeth me, the quiet waters by. For yea, though I should walk through the valley of the shadow of death I shall fear no evil. For thou art with me: thy rod and thy staff, they have been a comfort to me. Thou preparest a table before them that afflicteth me: thou anointest my head with oil, O, how goodly it is! Thy loving kindness shall pursue me all the days of my life: that I might dwell in the house of the Lord forever. PSALM FOR INCREASE IN VIRTUE: Bow down Thy ear, O Lord, and hear me: for I am poor, and in misery. Preserve Thou the soul of thy servant, for I am holy: my God, save thy servant that putteth his trust in Thee. Be merciful unto me, O Lord: for I will call daily upon Thee. For Thou, O Lord, art good and gracious: and of great mercy unto all them that call upon Thee. COLLECT: O Almighty and everlasting God, who hast, by Thy mercy, safely brought us to the beginning of this day: defend us in the same by Thy mighty power, that we, surely trusting in Thy defence, may not fear the power of any of Thy adversaries. Grant, O Lord, an increase in our Faith in Thy promises, our Hope in Thy mercies and our Love of Thy infinite goodness, that we may be docile to receive an increase in all the Virtues. Amen. THERE OUGHT TO FOLLOW THE LITANY TO A SAINT HERE. (SEE SECTION V.) RESOLUTION OF VEN. HUMBERT: God has created me to do Him some definite service. He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another. I have my mission. I may never know it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next. I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons. He has not created me for naught. I shall do good; I shall do His work. I shall be an angel of peace, a preacher of truth in my own place, while not intending it if I do but keep His commandments. Therefore, I will trust Him, whatever I am, I can never be thrown away. If I am in sickness, my sickness may serve Him, in perplexity, my perplexity may serve Him. If I am in sorrow, my sorrow may serve Him. He does nothing in vain. He knows what He is about. He may take away my friends. He may throw me among strangers. He may make me feel desolate, make my spirits sink, hide my future from me. Still, He knows what He is about.” Exalted Horen, pray for us. Saint Julia, pray for us. Saint Edmond, pray for us. (Crossing yourself:) May the Divine assistance remain always with us. Amen. IV.EVENING PRAYER. (Crossing yourself:) O God, come to my aid. O Lord, make haste to help me. EXAMINATION OF CONSCIENCE: Spend a couple of minutes examining your day and ask God help you to reveal if you have committed any sin, however small. Examine your actions, thoughts and words against the Virtues. (Faith, Charity, Temperance, Diligence, Patience, Fidelity; Humility.) The Church requires Canonists to go to Confession and receive Absolution every year. (II.III.II.1) GENERAL CONFESSION: Almighty and most merciful Father; I have erred, and strayed from Thy ways like a lost sheep. I have followed too much the devices and desires of my own heart. I have offended against Thy holy laws. I have left undone those things which I ought to have done, and I have done those things which I ought not to have done; and there is no health in me. But Thou, O Lord, have mercy upon me, a miserable offender. Spare Thou me who am penitent; according to the promises vouchsafed unto mankind by the Holy Prophets. And grant, O most merciful Father, that I might hereafter live a godly, righteous and sober life, to the glory of Thy holy Name. Amen. (Crossing yourself:) May Almighty God, in having mercy upon us, forgive us our sins, and lead us to everlasting life. Amen. EVENING PSALM: Whoso dwelleth under the defence of the Most High, shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say unto the Lord: Thou art my hope, and my stronghold; my God, in Him will I trust. For He shall deliver thee from the snare of the hunter, and from the noisome pestilence. He shall defend thee under His wings, and Thou shalt be safe under his feathers; His faithfulness and truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid of any terror by night, nor for the arrow that flieth by day. For the pestilence that walketh in darkness, nor for the sickness that destroyeth in the noon-day. A thousand shall fall beside thee, and ten thousand at thy right hand: but it shall come not nigh thee. Yea, with thine eyes thou shalt behold: and see the reward of the ungodly. For Thou, Lord, art my hope: Thou hast set Thine house of defence very high. There shall no evil happen unto thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For He shall give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee in their hands, that thou hurt not thy foot against a stone. Thou shalt go upon the lion and the adder: the young lion and the dragon thou shalt trample under thy feet. Because he hath set his love upon Me, therefore will I deliver him; I will set him up, because he hath known My Name. He shall call upon Me, and I shall hear him; yea, I am with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and bring him to honour. With long life will I satisfy him: and show him My salvation. COLLECT: O God, merciful Father, that despisest not the sighing of a contrite heart, nor the desire of such as be sorrowful; Mercifully assist our prayers that we make before Thee in all our troubles and adversities, whensoever they oppress us; and graciously hear us, that those evils, which the craft and subtilty of the Evil One or man worketh against us, be brought to nought, and also that by the providence of Thy goodness they may be dispersed; that we Thy servants, being hurt by no persecutions, may evermore give thanks unto thee in thy Holy Church, Amen. THERE OUGHT TO FOLLOW THE LITANY OF A SAINT HERE. PRAYER FOR PROTECTION DURING THE NIGHT: Lighten our darkness, we beseech Thee, O Lord; and by Thy great mercy defend us from all the perils and dangers of this night; for love of us, Amen. Exalted Horen, pray for us. Saint Julia, pray for us. Saint Edmond, pray for us. (Crossing yourself:) May the Divine assistance remain always with us. Amen. V.DEVOTIONS TO THE SAINTS. Litany of Saint Edmond. (Ven. Humbert.) C : God, Creator of the Earth. R: Have mercy on us! C : God, who judgeth the dead. R: Have mercy on us! C : God, Almighty King. R: Have mercy on us! C : Model of Knights. R: Pray for us. C : Father of Chivalry. R: Pray for us. C : Hero of Mankind. R: Pray for us. C : Soldier Most Honourable. R: Pray for us. C : Father of Orphans. R: Pray for us. C : Protector of Widows. R: Pray for us. C : Champion of the poor. R: Pray for us. C : Who didst grant mercy to the prisoner… R: Pray for us. C : Who didst observe discipline… R: Pray for us. C : Who wast ever loyal to thy emperor… R: Pray for us. God, Almighty King. R: Have mercy on us. Litany of Saint Harald Vullier. C : God, Creator of the Earth. R: Have mercy on us! C : God, who judgeth the dead. R: Have mercy on us! C : God, Almighty King. R: Have mercy on us! C : Bishop of the battlefield, R: Pray for us. C : Refuge of the dead, R: Pray for us. C : Mighty commander, R: Pray for us. C : Brave leader, R: Pray for us. C : Noble brother, R: Pray for us. C : Student of the Scrolls, R: Pray for us. C : Flower of the Priesthood, R: Pray for us. C : Who didst mourn the battle-dead tenderly… R: Pray for us. C : Who didst laugh in the face of danger… R: Pray for us. C : Who didst lead thy fellow-soldiers in prayer… R: Pray for us. C : Who didst rigorously prepare for Ordination… R: Pray for us. C : Who didst defend thy falsely-accused sister… R: Pray for us. C : Who didst die a martyr for the love of souls. R: Pray for us. C : Whom demons fear. R: Pray for us. God, Almighty King. R: Have mercy on us. Litany of Saint Emma. C : God, Creator of the Earth. R: Have mercy on us! C : God, who judgeth the dead. R: Have mercy on us! C : God, Almighty King. R: Have mercy on us! Crusher of heresy R: Pray for us. Avenger of the weak R: Pray for us. Model of Faith R: Pray for us. Beacon of Hope R: Pray for us. Warrior of Charity R: Pray for us. Strength of the Little R: Pray for us. Enemy of Schism R: Pray for us. Boast of the Adrians R: Pray for us. Who didst follow the call of God without fail… R: Pray for us. Who, while but a young girl, didst overcome multitudes by Faith… R: Pray for us. Who didst yield in humility the battleplan… R: Pray for us. Who didst bring victory to Holy Church… R: Pray for us. Who didst shed thy blood in martyrdom… R: Pray for us. God, Almighty King. R: Have mercy on us. Litany of Saint Catherine. (Ven. Humbert) C : Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice onto him with trembling. R: Embrace discipline, lest at any time the Lord be angry, and you perish from the just way. C : When his wrath shall be kindled in a short time, blessed are they that trust in him. C : God, Creator of the Earth. R: Have mercy on us! C : God, who judgeth the dead. R: Have mercy on us! C : God, Almighty King. R: Have mercy on us! C : Seat of Wisdom. R: Pray for us. C : Comforter of the Afflicted. R: Pray for us. C : Refuge of Sinners. R: Pray for us. C : Lady most pure. R: Pray for us. C : Lady of peace. R: Pray for us. C : Flower of charity. R: Pray for us. C : Pattern of humility. R: Pray for us. C : Who didst observe celibacy in thy marriage... R: Pray for us. C : Who didst embrace learning, but not vanity... R: Pray for us. C : Who didst give so generously, counting the needs of others but never the cost to thyself... R: Pray for us. C : Who didst embrace the rejected... R: Pray for us. C : God, Almighty King. R: Have mercy on us. Litany of Saint Godwin. (Cardinal Goren.) C : God, Creator of the Earth. R: Have mercy on us! C : God, who judgeth the dead. R: Have mercy on us! C : God, Almighty King. R: Have mercy on us! C : Son of Horen. R: Pray for us! C : King of Aaun. R: Pray for us! C : Father of Owyn. R: Pray for us! C : Leader of souls. R: Pray for us! C : Thou, who didst banish demons. R: Pray for us! C : Enemy of ghosts. R: Pray for us! C : Friend of Exorcists. R: Pray for us! C : Saint Godwin. R: Pray for us! C : God, Almighty King. R: Have mercy on us! VI.PRAYERS USED AT SEA. DAILY PRAYER. O Eternal Lord God, who alone spreadest out the heavens, and rulest the raging of the sea; who hast compassed the waters with bounds until day and night come to an end; Be pleased to receive into Thy Almighty and most gracious protection the persons of us Thy servants, and the Fleet in which we serve. Preserve us from the dangers of the sea, and from the violence of the enemy; that we may safeguard our most gracious Sovereign King, and his Dominions, and a security for such as pass on the seas upon their lawful occasions, and so all of our country dwell in peace and quietness with a thankful remembrance of thy Holy Name; Amen. COLLECT. Prevent us, O Lord, in all our doings, with Thy most gracious favour, and further us with Thy continual help; that in all our works begun, continued and ended in Thee, we may glorify Thy Holy Name, and receive everlasting life. Amen. BEFORE A SEA-BATTLE. O most powerful and glorious Lord God, the Lord of hosts, that rulest and commandest all things; Thou sittest in the throne judging right, and therefore we make our address to Thy Divine Majesty in this, our necessity, that thou wouldst take the cause into Thine own hand, and judge between us and our enemies. Stir up Thy strength, O Lord, and come and help us, for Thou givest not alway the battle to the strong, but canst save by many or by few. O let not our sins now cry against us for vengeance; but hear us Thy poor servants begging mercy, and imploring Thy help, and that Thou wouldst be a defence unto us against the face of the enemy. Amen. SHORT PRAYER IN RESPECT OF A STORM. Thou, O Lord, that stillest the raging of the sea, hear, hear us, and save us, that we perish not. LONGER PRAYER IN THE SAME. O most powerful and glorious Lord God, at whose command the winds blow, and lift up the waves of the sea, and who stillest the rage thereof; We Thy creatures, but miserable sinners, do in this, our great distress, cry unto Thee for help, or else we perish. VII.PRAYERS FOR VARIOUS USES. THANKSGIVING AFTER A BATTLE. Almighty God, the Sovereign Commander of all the world, in whose hand is power and might which none is able to withstand; We bless and magnify Thy great and glorious Name for this happy Victory, the whole glory whereof we do ascribe to Thee, who art the only Giver of victory. And, we beseech Thee, give us grace to improve this great mercy to Thy glory, the advancement of the Canon, the honour of our Sovereign, and, as much as in us lieth, to the good of all men. Grant us, Lord, such a sense of this great mercy, as may engage us to a true thankfulness, such as may appear in our lives by an humble, holy and obedient walking before Thee, to Whom be all honour and glory, Amen. FOR THE WOUNDED. (Cardinal Goren.) Dear GOD, most singular, most merciful, who presides over the fates of all men. Thou hast chosen this man to be stricken. Grant him peace, knowing that he has done all he can, and that this be Thy will. Soothe his soul, O Lord, as the time for fear is over, the time for regret has passed. Keep this brave soul close, for he has fought well, and by his presence this world has been made better. Rest his fiery spirit, and grant him strength to live that our world might continue to be bettered by his presence. Let his thoughts turn to Thee, and may he know Thy Love and Mercy. In Your name we pray, Amen. DURING A HARD CAMPAIGN. (Ven. Humbert.) God, do not let us freeze to death, grant unto us bountiful rations, and permit us to see home once more. If not, for Thou knowest best, cast merciful eyes upon us, granting repose to our dead, and lift up all the dead of this bloody war into their Heavenly Home. Amen. CONTRITION BEFORE BATTLE. (Cardinal Goren.) Holy God, I have sinned in thought and in flesh. Thou art mercy, Thou art goodness, Thou art charity. With my own weeping spirit do I acknowledge that I have offended Thee. I know my sin, and do in Thy Name enact righteous penance as did Exalted Owyn. Forgive Thou me, O Fount of mercy, and accept my penance, that my spirit might return to a place of purity, and that I may strive to love Thee and do Thy will in all things. Amen. FOR COURAGE. Saint Edmond, model of all knights, possess me not with fear; grant me peace and strength in the hour of battle. Let God think not on my faults but on my potential. I swear that if I come through this day with courage, I will strive to embody the honour that thou didst: I shall show clemency to the prisoner, give succour to the widow and spare the peasant. Amen. SHORT PRAYERS. It is good to have many short prayers on your lips at all times. An excellent and most laudable practice is to invoke a Saint, by saying, for example “Saint Kristoff, pray for us!” Another good short prayer is “May the Name of the Lord be praised”, good especially when His name is blasphemed; “My God; I love Thee, make me love Thee more”; “Saint Catherine, succour me”, “Holy Angel, protect me”, “My Lord and my God”; “Blessed be God”; “Blessed be His Holy Name”; “Blessed be God in His Angels and in His Saints”; “My God, have mercy”; “Lord have mercy on us”; “Have mercy on me, a sinner”; “Lord, prosper Thou my work;” “Lord, increase my [Virtue]”; “Lord, deliver us from evil.” You may also make what is called an “Act” of some Virtue. For example, an Act of Humility “Thou, my God, must increase and I must decrease.” FOR PEACE. Saint Amyas, the ravages of war, plague and famine hath assailed us all too much. Pray for God’s mercy, that we may be spared of these evils, and that we may, with perfect Charity, strive to avoid them. Amen. FOR OUR KING. We beseech Thee, O almighty God, that Thy servant, [name], who has by Thy mercy taken the government of these realms, may advance in all virtues; that being adorned therewith, he may be able to avoid the enormity of sins and to come to Thee, who art the way, the truth and the life. Amen. MISERERE. (VEN. HUMBERT) Have mercy on me, O God, according to Thy great mercy. And according to the multitude of Thy tender mercies, blot out my iniquity. Wash me yet more from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my iniquity, and my sin is always before me. To Thee alone have I sinned, and have done evil before Thee: that Thou mayst be justified in Thy lessons and may overcome when Thou art judged. For behold I was conceived in iniquities; and in sins did my mother conceived me. Behold, Thou hast treasured truth: the uncertain and hidden things of Thy wisdom, Thou hast made manifest to me. Thou shalt sprinkle me with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed: Thou shalt wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow. To my hearing Thou shalt give joy and happiness: and the bones which have been humbled shall rejoice. Turn away Thy face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. Create a clean heart in me, O God: renew a right spirit in my bowels. Cast me not away from Thy face, and take not Thy holy ghost away from me. Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation, and strengthen me with a perfect spirit. I will teach the unjust Thy ways, and the wicked shall be converted to Thee. Deliver me from blood, O God, Thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall extol Thy justice! O Lord, Thou wilt open my lips, and my mouth shall spew forth Thy praise! For if Thou hadst desired sacrifice, I would indeed have given it: with burnt offerings Thou wilt not be delighted. A sacrifice to God is an afflicted spirit: a contrite and humbled heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise. Deal favourably, O Lord, in Thy good will with Oren; that the walls of Helena might be built up. Then shalt Thou accept the sacrifice of justice, oblations, and incense: then they shall lay the bells at the altar. JUDICA ME. (VEN. HUMBERT) Judge me, O God, and discern my cause from the nation that is not holy; deliver me from the unjust and disobedient man. For Thou art God, my strength, why hast Thou cast me off? And why do I go sorrowful whilst the foe afflicteth me? Send forth Thy light and Thy truth: they hath conducted me, and brought me unto Thy holy hill, and into thy tabernacles. And I will go unto the altar of God, to God who giveth joy to my youth! To Thee, O God, I will give praise upon the harp: why art thou sad, o my soul? Why does thou distress me? Hope in God, for I will still give praise to Him: the salvation of my will, and my God. VIII.THE ENDURING POWER OF SILENCE. You are mistaken, soldier, if you believe that prayer is simply parotting vocal prayers like the ones listed here. If prayer, as I have defined it, is the raising of the will and intellect toward God, then it requires the engagement of those faculties. It does not, by the way, need emotional engagement. If you feel dry or have no great feelings of devotion, do not be distressed, even if you feel great feelings of discouragement in prayer. In fact, a prayer offered in these circumstances may be more meritorious than one done with positive emotions, because the man who still prays in that circumstance does it out of a purer love rooted in the will, and not passing feelings. Raise your needs to God. Open your heart to Him. Now to do this, we must have silence. How are we supposed to know ourselves, let alone God, if we are constantly busied by noise? How much silence is there in your life? Not enough, if you’re not setting aside time in the day for silent prayer. What do I pray about? You can pray about your needs, you can pray to know God’s will, and so on, anything really. The amazing thing about prayer is that, despite knowing our needs already, God delights in letting us nag Him about them. This ought to be done with resignation and humility. Another means of mental prayer is to meditate. This can be done on the texts of the Scrolls, as Ven. Olivier was known to do, or on the Dogmas of the Faith. IX.DEVOTIONS FOR CONFESSION. We talked before about life as battle in the pursuit of goodness. Virtue is our sword which we turn inwards, unsheathing it against what is base and vile. And as I say, every moment of the day is a battleground. Be sober and watchful. But sometimes we get full of ourselves. You’ve no doubt seen inexperienced soldiers rush into battle against orders. In the same way, we think we can conquer sin without God’s help, and we fall. The peculiar thing about Iblees is this: before we sin, he convinces us that the sin is no big deal and can be easily repented of anyway. After the sin, he tries to drive us to despair, and convince us that it is unforgivable. Fortunately, there is Something more powerful and wise than Iblees, so you don’t have a right to despair. Losing a skirmish doesn’t mean the war is lost, especially with an ally like God on your side. You’ve taken a few bruises, sure. But report back to headquarters and you’ll find the finest Physician it’s possible to know. And, as Ven. Humbert said, your accumulated injuries cannot surpass the skill of that Physician. That Headquarters is what the Church has traditionally called Confession, but really has two parts, your Confession, and the Priest, acting as a mediator for God, absolving you from your sins. After that, comes penance. But even the resolution to do penance is sufficient for you, through the Holy Church, to be totally cleansed of all your sins. God is truly marvelous beyond compare! I: Examination. Go thoroughly over the time since your last Confession. Reckon up all transgressions, however minor or major you believe them to be, since that time, against the Seven Virtues, against God and neighbour. II: Contrition. Contrition is sorrow for sin; it means we, with our wills, turn away from sin and resolve never to sin again. There are two types of contrition: imperfect and perfect. Imperfect contrition is contrition because we fear punishment. Perfect contrition is contrition because we love God, and are sorry for having offended Him. Both are valid, but perfect contrition is higher. The difference may be summarised as a boy and a girl who wrong their mother. The boy says: “I’m sorry mummy, I suppose I wouldn’t be able to have sweets tonight.” The girl says: “Mummy, I’m sorry I hurt you”, and just throws herself on the mother. Make an act of Perfect Contrition: O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, and I detest all my sins because I dread the loss of Heaven and the pains of hell, But most of all because they have offended Thee, my God, Who art all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace, to confess my sins, to do penance, and to amend my life. Amen. III: Confession. Tell your sins, plainly to the Priest. Do not be afraid or embarrassed. He is bound very strictly to keep the information secret, and he has probably heard much worse. He’ll probably have forgotten about your sins within the hour. IV: Advice and penance. Listen carefully as the Priest gives you advice and proscribes a penance. V: The Priest should then absolve you. The most common Act of Absolution is this: “God, the Father of mercy, hath, through the authority of the Prophets, instituted a sacred priesthood for the administration of the Sacraments and for the remission of sins. In union with the Exalted, Saints and Angels in the Skies, and all the faithful departed, and on the authority of said priesthood, I do absolve thee from thy sins in the name of the God, the Almighty Father. Thy sins are all forgiven: go in peace!” X.APPENDIX: THE CODE OF CHIVALRY. Revised by Ser Maric II Varodyr, 1470. A Knight shall live by honour, for glory, and guard the honour of fellow Knights. Honour The Creator and maintain His Temple. Keep faithful and act in righteousness. He shall serve his liege Lord with valour and conviction. Persevere to the end in any quest begun and never turn his back upon a foe. -=- A Knight shall not give wanton offense and shall despise monetary reward. Give succour to widows and orphans and regard the honor of women. He shall offer that which is not needed, to those who are needy. And safeguard the helpless and uphold the weak. -=- A Knight shall respect those in authority but fight for the welfare of all. Abstain from injustice, cruelty and deceit. He shall be vigilant and show courage, even in the face of evil. Resolve not with swords what can be with words. And at all times speak the truth, even if faced with death.
  2. "That is not true, for you merely lack a distinction between what is rigid and what is firm. The age of admission to the Priesthood, except that, I suppose he be old enough to have the use of reason (For Owyn instituted men as Priests and not toddlers as the Gospel tells us), is, I grant you, fluid. But the very form and nature of this Sacrament is vested in the Sacred Priesthood. For the Prophet has said: "No man can call himself above them." Them being the Sacraments; Proverbs chapter three; verse six. For it has always been held that this renewal of Baptism given by the remission of sins, is explicitly rooted, and, as part of the very form of the Sacrament, indelibly linked to the Sacred Priesthood. This is clearly the authoritative teaching of the Church as regards this Sacrament and has always been so, that this not be merely a changeable discipline, but a matter of the form of the Sacrament itself, thereby being a matter of faith, and there can be no innovation there. I should consult the wonderful Encyclical of Blessed Jude the First, which, I repeat, every Priest and Acolyte should read at once, and for that reason I have brought it with me here. Sacerdoti in Nostra Ecclesiae makes it explicitly clear. Moreover, so does the Act of Absolution itself: wherefore Ven. Humbert added: By that same authority or something to that effect, I mean to say the authority of the Sacred Priesthood, I absolve thee. It is therefore clear that it has always been understood that it is on the Priestly authority from whence the Absolution comes. If there were no Priesthood, there would be no Sacrament. Dispensation is given, again, as I said, to in exetremis Ablution, but that proceeds from desire and not from substance, for they receive the benefits of the Sacrament because God is pleased to grant their intent, not because the form of the Sacrament itself is apart from the Priesthood. To therefore extend the Sacrament apart from the explicit Sacerdotal dignity is a perversion of the very Sacrament, not merely a disciplinary change, for the remission of sins has always proceeded, as part of the Sacrament itself, from the Priest, and on his authority alone, a layman's authority being insufficient to absolve."
  3. "A man may sit down, tell his sins to a holy woman and get advice on them, there is no trouble there. Most nuns far outdo me in holiness, and I am happy to consult them. When they consult me, I pray God speak through me, and in His mercy He usually answers. And these very devout women say: "Father, I wonder how you do seem to know the secrets of my heart!" I do not, but He does. But when they come to me for Confession, they are coming for something quite different. The advice is well and good. But Confession has always been understood as the floodgate of God's mercy. They don't want my advice primarily - frankly, I don't blame them" He laughs at himself happily "They want God's mercy. When a penitent comes to me in Confession, I try to minimise my personal point of view, so flawed and prone to rashly judge, and instead try to see that soul as God sees him, speak to him in the words God would say, and absolve him as God would free him from sin. When I go for advice, I want the advice of that person, man or woman, cleric or lay. When I go for Confession, I want the mercy of God. The two are quite different, but not entirely separate." "How can this Absolution - sorry, I am old - Ablution be performed apart from the Priesthood? We didn't create the Sacraments, we received them, because it was not we who established the Priesthood, but God. God never demands of us the impossible, of necessity He cannot condemn us for what we cannot do, being infinitely just. And so Confession and Ablution in exetremis, in this circumstance, the rite itself, without priestly absolution, will do, for God accepts the contrition without the medium of the Priest. This does not mean, however, we should not make it the rule, for that is not God's will. The Sacraments serve God; He is not junior to them, but being their Author, He desires to ordinarily work through them, but He is not confined by them. And hence here, the desire of ablution signified by the Confession of sins and the act of a layman is sufficient to give the remission of sins. But in the ordinary, the Priest is the visible representative of God, and absolves in His Name, and therefore Absolution and Confession are joined in what was traditionally called the Sacrament of Confession."
  4. Father Pius of Sutica (F.S.S.C.T.) finally turns up at the Council in the middle of the proceedings, during Bishop Benedict's recess. He looks frail. He has survived the illness, but it has deeply affected the health of the Elf. Nevertheless, it is as if he has dragged half of the Angelic choir in with him: or rather, that he himself is an Angel, for the stoic, stony, unfeeling Elf is replaced by an utterly gleeful figure, who taps about as if he had wings. Previously known for his lively health and his dour personality, he is now notable for his dour health and his lively personality. He bows humbly to the Bishops and goes on his knees to kiss the ring of the Pontiff. "God and his Holy Angels guard your sacred Throne, and make you long become It. I greet your guardian angels, all of you!" "I am glad I can finally speak to you on the topic of Confession. I think His Eminence Cardinal Goren's superior understanding of Canon Law is evident from this debate. He wrote a most excellent letter in response to my Tract, which was very revealing. I wrote to you before, and I hope I impressed upon you the importance of this topic. This is central to who we are as Priests. Every one of our Faith's great teachers is very clear on that. If we don't understand this topic, we don't understand even our own purpose and mission as Priests. It is utterly critical. I would go this far: if I felt Canon Law embraced a tradition contrary to that which I know has been handed down to us, I would be forced in conscience to step down from my positions. The good Cardinal's letter revealed much. I can see that traditional Confession had three parts: the confession of sins, the assignment of penance, and the absolution. When you speak of Confession, you are not speaking of what I am speaking of. I am speaking of Confession back in my day - old fuddy-duddy that I am - I am speaking of all three, but you are speaking of but one. Of course, a man could theoretically go around and tell - confess - every Tom, **** and Harry about every sin he has committed. That would certainly be an exercise of humility and not a Sacramental rite. I understand now. I think all of your many prayers for me have done more for my health in helping me to understand that than in healing my Consumption. Indeed, what is written is truly excellent: "Unless there is grave need, confession should always be taken by a cleric who then celebrates a sacrament of ablution over the penitent." This makes sense. For in the times of the Holy Doctors a Priest would have heard sins and then pronounced absolution immediately thereafter. And by making true penitence a necessary part of the Sacrament, we prevent priests from simply absolving men without true contrition, and this creates the prior need for Confession. I would suggest two things. Firstly, if we are to have this revised understanding, I do not precisely see the absolute necessity of holy water in governing the validity of the Sacrament. I mean that, in the past, the absolution part needed no holy water. Of course, the water is very good and underlines what we have said about the renewal of Baptism, but an absolute necessity for absolution, this cannot be the case, not unless we are to rule all the Confessions of ages past invalid. It was always considered that when the Priest pronounced an act of Absolution - or Ablution, to use the modern term - this was the part of the "traditional" Sacrament of Confession that actually and sacramentally absolved a man from his sins. This is a more minor point, it must be admitted. Therefore I would have it modified: "The form of the Sacrament is holy water, or an Act of Absolution (Some variant of "I absolve thee from thy sins") if taken with Confession, which ordinarily it ought to be." I would also have it impressed heavily that, whilst Confession ought to be followed by Ablution by the same Priest, Ablution (unless Baptism) ought to be ordinarily proceeded by Confession (I mean by the same Priest.) For then, the term "penance" takes an objective, sacramental form. This is very important. Confession was so attractive in the past because it was so reassuring. A man, upon hearing the words of absolution, knew he had been forgiven. Now, a man will be left questioning whether he has done penance sufficient, whether his "spirit" is suitably penitential, et cetera. But in the old, facts don't care about your feelings: so long as you, with an act of the will, confessed your sins and then renounced them, and then swore never to sin again, and agreed to a proscribed penance, you would be absolved! What wonderful clarity! And how much less dependent on that niggling and changing thing we call the emotions of men - let alone those of women! Hence, if a man goes to Confession and then receives Ablution immediately thereafter, he knows he is forgiven - and if we do not impress this, we risk opening the floodgates to the spiritual problem of scrupulosity, which may be the spiritual ruin of thousands. It is clear therefore that a good Confession ought to be the objective way this penitence is defined. Yes, I am a doctor of souls, and no canon lawyer, but there I can speak with experience! Certainly, laymen and even women may hear others tell them about their sins to them. There is no trouble. But I don't see the point. There's nothing there. The layman can't absolve you from them, only a Priest can. And the Priest ought not to give you absolution unless he can know to a reasonable level of satisfaction that you are a "sincere and penitent seeker of God." The only way for him to establish this is to have heard his Confession first. Most Canonists - including me - find it hard to confess to an anonymous Priest - let alone, I mean - I don't think we would like to confess for the fun of it! Nor do I see the point in giving these lay "confessions" - accepting the modern definition which separates it from the absolution - any kind of official status."
  5. "Your Eminence, I appreciate your concern and am most thankful for your prayers and those of all the clerics. My health is improving. Are you saying that the Act of Absolution pronounced by Priests by the Church for centuries and prescribed by the Judites is the act of Ablution, this being the part which has a sacramental effect? And that the Confession is merely the part where the man confesses his sins? So that when past generations wrote of the "Sacrament of Confession", they meant both of these together, whereas in today's Canon Law, there is a separation? I think I understand now. And reading his Holiness' latest proposal, I find it acceptable and good. For he writes: "Unless there is grave need, confession should always be taken by a cleric who then celebrates a sacrament of ablution over the penitent." This makes sense. For in the times of the Holy Doctors a Priest would have heard sins and then pronounced absolution immediately thereafter. And by making true penitence a necessary part of the Sacrament, we prevent priests from simply absolving men without true contrition, and this creates the prior need for Confession. I suppose the only explanation for my confusion is that I am old, trained in the old ways and confused by the new ones. I am also not a Canon Lawyer: I am merely a priest who has voiced concerns. My only quibbles, if you like then, with the proposed law are this. Firstly, I do not precisely see the necessity of holy water in the act of ablution. Yes, it is very important, and indeed, advances the theology I have defended whereby the absolution is considered a renewal of Baptism, but I do not think it governs the form and validity of the Sacrament. For indeed, in past times, a simple act of absolution by the Priest was considered sufficient. Therefore I do not see how the water governs the Sacrament as such. This is only a minor point. Secondly, I think it ought to be impressed upon the Church that just as Confession ought to be administered by Priests who then absolve, so penitents ought to be absolved by those Priests who have heard their Confessions. For then, penance takes a concrete and objective form. If a penitent spirit consists in confessing one's sins with the resolution of the will never to commit them again, then a man will know he has such a spirit, and therefore there can be no doubt that he is absolved. (Whereas a vague term such as "he ought to have a penitent spirit" will produce no little scrupulosity among us which may ruin the spiritual lives of many.) I do wonder now at the implications of the Judite Rite of mass, which is centered on the Asperges, viz., the ritual sprinkling of holy water. I wonder if a man had his Confession heard and then went to the Judite mass - would he not be then, absolved and have received both Confession and Abolution? I think he would have already received it at Confession - viz., the pronouncement of the Priest ("I absolve thee from thy sins by my priestly authority") would have already had the sacramental effect of cleansing in itself. Do you see what I mean? I thank you for your considered response, in which you have deigned to enlighten my ignorance. My prayers are continually with you. I remain your humble servant, Pius of Sutica."
  6. A young boy dashes into the room, takes off his little hat, and, becoming mindful of the august company, bows to the High Pontiff shyly and hands him a sealed letter. "Beggin' your pardon, your Hono- I mean, your 'Oliness. Father Pius promised me 'arf a Crown if I would gis you this." The boy hesitates for a moment, before pleading shyly. "He's in a bad way, milords. Pray for him, please." Inside, is a letter. The handwriting is far from Pius' beautiful and immaculate script to which the Pontiff would by now have become accustomed to. It is shaky, very shaky, full of blots and blemishes, and on the bottom of the page there are, clearly visible, blood-stains. It reads: "Your HolinesS, I oFfer my apologies for my failure to attend the latest ECumenical Council of Holie Church. I have come into an ailment which preventS my attendance. The GoOd God as ever has kept me as the apple of His eye. I have come to reaLiSe novv just how prodigous - is that how you spell it? my mind is much befuddled - just how all-encompassing His mercy truly is and has been in my life. I have been surrounded by Holy Angels and Saints from the first moment of my existence - I do not have a devotion to Saint Jude and Saint Kristoff, but they, thOse blesSed brethers - brothers - have a devotion to ME. Almighty God truly conspires for the good of each and every soul that He has made, and so I leave my condition in His hands, and am resigned to my fate, happy to ssuffer exile here for centuries more if it be His wish for me - He knows best, does He not? He has given, after so le Nghty a combat, an inexpressible sense of inner peace to my soul. Now my lord, what you have written is truly excellent, but I expected no less from you. Only, you yourself know how anxious I have been to defend the most holy Rite of Confession. It is very pressing to me. St. Jude, that glorious and venerable Patriarch, wrote hearing divers Confessions in sundry times and places among his chief achievements and that in a life so rich! And Bl. Wigbrecht, Bl. Jude I, and Ven. Humbert, as you know, had a similar devotion to that holy Rite, indeed Humbert on at least several occasions used to say his entire Breviary in a single block, and theN he wOULd heaR Confessions till he dropped asleep with exhaustion. That is the dedicatione a TractarIan is expected to have to Confession. But you have already read my thoughts. I am no Canon Lawyer like you, I am only an assitant - assitant - assistant - priest at a parish. I only propose that the nature of Confession be more neatl-y defIned sO as to give [the writing becomes increasingly vague] clarity. For any vagueness is unacceptable when dealing with such a weighty matter, as I have at length and sundry times proven it to Be. Therefore, I propose to yOu that two things be made clear: that the ordinary minister of Confession is the priest. Non-priests may hear Confessions only when absolutely necessary. ANd that it is not merely guidance or fraternity, but the pronouncement of absolution - which I have since discovered does not originate with Ven. Humbert but is, in fact, much older and which he merely modified, which is ordinarily made with the full priestly authority, but may, in emergency, be done from the Prophetic authority endowed at BapTiSM, HAS a sacramental effect, namely that if the penitent accepts a valid penance and has true contrition then, objectively, his soul is cleansed, and the remission pronounced takes a real and substantial EFFECT. I would like to write to you, and venerable Bishops of Holy Church at greater length, but rest assured I am offering every pain and suffering to Almighty God for your sakes. That is my prayer for you. PiUs."
  7. Pius of Sutica asks for the Saint's intercession in composing a prayer to him for soldiers.
  8. THE SCROLL OF SPIRIT. CRITICAL EDITION of the FLEXIO TEXT By the Venerable Father Humbert, O.S.J. With the “Canonist Commentary on Sacred Scripture” by Pius of Sutica, F.S.S.C.T. A.D. 1798. Venerable Humbert of St. Jude. ((OOC note: It is recommended to read this on the computer and NOT on the phone. It is very footnote heavy, and the footnotes don’t appear on the phone, so you would miss the greater part of the document! Also, if any of you happen to be Latinists and see errors, please correct. THE SCROLL OF SPIRIT.
  9. Pius of Sutica writes to his Eminence the Prelate of the Priesthood asking whether he could be appointed as assistant priest at Dobrov.
  10. DEDICATION. BISHOP BENEDICT: Your Excellency, I know that you regard this subject with special interest. Therefore, please accept this little apple tree in thanks for the veritable orchard you have given me over the years. It was you who received me into the splendid bosom of Holy Mother Church, you who catechised me, and you who used to make the arduous journey to the wastes in order to hear my Confession. I have tried to imitate your zeal for the salvation of souls, that all men might love God. But I am entirely helpless and feeble. Please continue to pray for me, and add the Saints and Holy Angels to your choir for good measure. I remain totally yours in God, Father Pius, Priestly Fraternity of Saints Kristoff and Jude. "To sing well is to have prayed twice!"-Ven. Humbert, O.S.J. Judite Chant, also known as Plainsong, may perhaps be the oldest form of music in terms of its origins. The simple and clear but beautiful melodies are uniquely perfect for the liturgy precisely because they are conducive for meditation. I might also call Chant the sound of silence, that is, if the soft and beautiful moan of the silent winds had a voice with which to praise God, they would choose Plainsong. Knowing, however, that in recent times the importance of so splendid a garden, lovingly cultivated by Holy Mother Church, has been somewhat neglected, I thought it would be a profitable and godly work were I to categorise and record the history of such music for the benefit of both present and future generations. I.EARLY DEVELOPMENT (Until c.1400.) By most people, Scroll of Virtue was heard before it was read, and the same holds true for the Scroll of Spirit. Ven. Humbert, who spent years trying to produce a final and critical edition of the Flexio manuscripts of the Scrolls, noticed something very interested in reference to these two texts. "I could perceive" writes he to one Judite brother "Or, God allowed me to perceive something entirely unnoticed by previous generations. Something fascinating and tantalising. I saw little marks above certain words, like an apostrophe. Naturally I thought that these marks were some early form of punctuation lost to us now, for example, how there is no longer any indication in modern Flexio writing of the differentiation between long and short vowels, where once there was. But a closer examination forced me to considered this quite natural conclusion. The marks ALWAYS correlate with some kind of meter, as in, when we would normally go up or down in say, singing the Epistle to the Orcs, so these marks appear there. They appear in the same repetitions which correlate exactly with how we sing. This has entirely convinced me that these represent some very early form of musical notation." It is fascinating that the tones with which the earliest Flexio manuscripts express the Scrolls are still sung in a very similar way by modern Judites. It testifies to the very ancient origins of Chant, it perhaps being, the earliest form of human music. These primitive melodies were faithfully recorded and passed down to successors, a process which has endured down the centuries to this very day. This gives Plainsong a special and moving symbolism. It is a living and breathing beacon bearing witness to the Church's faithful adherence to tradition. Whilst the world moves back and forth going from musical craze to musical craze, the Church has faithfully built upon the foundation given her. The priesthood passed on to Everistus and Clement is still with us, therefore let the melodies softly breathe this truth into your hearts. When we hear Chant, we hear a faithful echo of the prophetic voice of Owyn. When we hear Chant, we, albeit in an indirect way, hear the voice of God as He has spoken to the Church. Another thing ought to be noticed about the Scrolls. And that is their use of repetition. Owyn repeats in every Epistle "admoneo", etc., and it is well to ask why. I think that, if the Scrolls were sung so early, they may have been written to have been sung as much as read, perhaps more. There is nothing rhetorically to be gained from such repetition. Owyn is writing them to separate persons and peoples, and therefore, in no way would the one benefit from, say, the repititon of the word admoneo. That benefit God has rather reserved for us, the faithful. Such repetitions enrich the first two Scrolls by turning them not into rusty old books, but into living melodies. And hence it is that Plainsong was preserved chiefly in the High Priesthood. Around the 13th century, it seems to have grown heavily in influence and popularity. There are even references to Gaius Marius and the Teutonic Order singing Chants before battle. This shows that the knowledge of Chant had passed from the priestly class to the soldiery, to the point where even knights and footmen could be known to sing them. An account of Marius' death tells us that the mourning Teutons united in Chant, "thundering hymns of solemn peace from each citizen knowledgeable of their different chants that day." Through such singing, men could turn their work into prayer by singing the Virtue and so forth in their daily lives. And it was in the 14th century that the notation evolved beyond the very primitive ones contained in the early Virtue and Spirit manuscripts. From the time of the Prophet Godfrey it became popular to sing "Deus Magnus!" or "God is great!" in various tones of Chant. That Prophet, as we know, spoke in Proverbs and lessons, and it is interesting to note that we have manuscripts of square notation from this period of the Proverbs. It is even possible, dare I say probable, that the first recordings of Godfrey's Proverbs are in Plainsong. This means that Godfrey's words were orally transmitted into music by his followers, and this is how his Proverbs would originally have been known. Below can be seen one such - the Magnificat of St. Julia, as we know it in Proverbs. Translation of the below Chant: "My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God, my saviour. For He hath looked kindly on the lowliness of His handmaid, for behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For He that is mighty hath done great things to me, and holy is His Name. And His mercy is on them that fear Him, throughout all generations. He hath shewed might in His arm, He hath scattered the proud in the conceit of their hearts. He hath cast down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted the humble. He hath filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He hath sent empty away. He, remembering His mercy hath holpen His servant Oren, as He spoke to my husband, to Horen and his seed forever." II.SAINT KRISTOFF OF HANSETI (c.1440-1497.) We have cause to bless the Lord in that we have exited the early development and have entered the stage at which specific changes can be attributed to specific persons. For all of Saint Kristoff's many shining virtues, he was not a man of spectacular learning. He was wise enough to lean on the brilliance of his disciple, Saint Jude. He wrote very little, but the fact that, besides a treatise on the treatment of wounds, his only written word is A Collection of Hymns and Litanies speaks highly of the importance they occupied in the 15th century and to this Saint in particular. Kristoff's role was to be one of the first collectors of these popular Chants. It is to him we owe the most popular tone of the Sanctus, and the Hosanna Filio Horeni. And it is in him that the notation reaches its peak period of development from which it has never evolved, for then it would lose its charming simplicity. Now I will enumerate the musical notes which can be identified in Kristoff's Chants. A system of music had developed, based on four lines instead of the more modern five, and are written down in Neumes, that is, a note sung on a SINGLE SYLABULL. ((Special thanks to: https://www.lphrc.org/Chant/ The simple Punctum is the first neume and represents a simple note. From whence this system owes its name "square notation." The Virga is the same as the Punctum. The Podatus indicates that the bottom note ought to be sung first, and then the top note. The Salicus shows three or more notes going upward. The Climacus shows three or more notes going downward. The Torculus represents three notes that go up and then go down. The Porrectus: A high note, a low note and then a high note. The Scandicus Flexus: Four notes, going up and then going down. The Porrectus Flexus: A porrectus with a low note at the end. The Climacus Resupinus: The opposite of a scandicus flexus. The Torculus Resupinus: Low-up-down-up. The Pes Subbipunctus: One note up and two notes down. Virga Subbipunctus: Four notes in a row, going downwards. Virga Praetripunctus: Four notes in a row, going up. We owe a great deal to our Venerable Father, Saint Kristoff. Below I have attached a couple of hymns which he preserved. The first is translated: "Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord God of Hosts! Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory! Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord! Hosanna in the Highest!" The second is similar: "Hosanna son of Horen! Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord! The King of Oren! Hosanna in the highest!" III.SAINT JUDE OF PETRUS. (c.1460-1541.) Our most glorious and wonderful Patriarch, Angelic among the Holy Doctors, outstanding in splendour and charity among the Saints, and our guiding star, Saint Jude, who was of great learning, saw he ought to continue with his own learning the work began by Saint Kristoff. He writes about this work in his Thesis on the Monastic Life. "In order to become a monk, one must learn both hymns and prayers. He will memorize these prayers and will possibly be tasked with writing a hymn or prayer. These two forms of worship are a big role in the life of a monk." Saint Jude, the Father of Monasticism, tells us that the Judites would rather together at least thrice a day to pray. No doubt, given the high importance to which he attaches liturgical music, this included the chanting of psalms and so forth in common. By instituting the simple rule whereby a monk would be expected to learn, explain, and decipher hymns in great detail and often to compose their own, St. Jude sowed a great seed which was to be reaped in the following centuries by Blessed Wigbrecht and Venerable Humbert. The previous work, such as that of Saint Kristoff and those that recorded the Proverbs, had been in preserving Chants handed down to them. Now, at last, we see the composing of new Chants and antiphons, many of them of splendid beauty, by the Judite monks. Tradition attributes the splendid Lucis Creator Optime to him. The reason it is called Judite Chant is, because, although far from originating with him, it is he and his successors who have contributed greatly to its development. Moreover, Jude's insistence that monks musically analyse hymns led to a revolution in the musical world. It is at this time that we see modern musical notation and polyphonic hymns emerge. It was perhaps Jude himself who set the Sanctus to polyphony. Therefore it is certainly to Judite Chant that modern notation owes its origins. Below I attach the notation for The Lucis Creator and the polyphonic Sanctus attributed to Jude. The lyrics of the former I translate as: "O blest Creator of the light, Who mak'st the day with radiance bright, Thou didst o’er the forming earth Give the golden light its birth. Shade of eve with morning ray Took from thee the name of day; Darkness now is drawing nigh; Listen to our humble cry. May we ne’er by guilt depressed Lose the way to endless rest; Nor with idle thoughts and vain Bind our souls to earth again. Rather may we heavenward rise Where eternal treasure lies; Purified by grace within, Hating e'ry deed of sin. Amen!" IV.BLESSED WIGBRECHT, O.S.J. (d. C.1690) An history of Chant would be unjust if it did not mention that excellent monastic, Blessed Wigbrecht the Martyr. It is he who laid the foundations for the work completed by Ven. Humbert, by codifying the teachings of St. Jude into a set rule, and establishing hours of prayer such as Compline. These were able times at which to sing in choir. Whilst no set numbers of Psalms were to be said, this was an early form of the Pontifical Office and it is to him we owe many antiphons and the setting of many Psalms. For example, what would become Tone or Mode 1 we owe to him, to which he set a Psalm translated into Common. However I think he was afar of in this, as Chant sung in Common does not sound very good. This is attached below. V.VEN. HUMBERT, O.S.J. (1696-1731.) The compiler of all of this 1700 years or so of development was to be the Ven. Humbert. In a gargantuan exercise of Horenian effort, he gathered together all the Psalms, antiphons and tones together into a Liber Usalis, which he used to officially codify, with the approval of Daniel VI, the Pontifical Office. He gathered together every single tone of every single Psalm and hymn. He categorised the Psalms into 8 modes of Chant, which he used to set any canticle to music, and composed antiphons for each and every one. Below I attach printed manuscripts from Father Humbert. The Peregrinus tone is especially beautiful. This categorisation enabled Humbert to set the entire liturgy to Chant. He was not only a categoriser, but a composer. An Epistle of Clare of Reza confirms that he regularly composed antiphons, and Cardinal Coppinger tells us he also loved sacred polyphony. He also, as can be seen in the Comprehensive Book of Prayers, set Litanies to Chant. He also set the Asperges to music by refining the Asperges Me, Vidi Aquam and Rorate Caeli. Below is attached his tone for the Litanies, the Asperges Me, and his polyphonic rendering of the Miserere. Translation: "Thou wilt sprinkle me with hyssop, Lord, and I shall be cleansed; Thou shalt wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow. Have mercy on me, O God, according to Thy great mercy! Thou wilt..." CONCLUSION. In the modern world, there is a temptation to neglect Chant in favour of changing and evolving forms of music. But as Cardinal Coppinger argued in his Thesis on Sacred Music, Chant must always occupy a special place. It is the organic result of centuries of development, starting with the first Prophets. It is a direct and tangible link to the entire history of salvation. It is a sacred treasure, whose simplicity and beauty lends itself perfectly to the worship of Almighty God. Men, if they are to live, cannot be slaves to the spirit of the age. As Ven. Humbert himself said as one of his Maxims, the man who marries the spirit of the age finds himself a widower in the next. The Church cannot be a slave to passing fashions, but rather, what was sacred for previous generations remains sacred for us, now. Chant represents a connection to something ancient and primordial, but yet sophisticated and beautiful. It is both ever old and ever new. And there is one Being who is ever old and new, and this is Almighty God, the source of all Being, Who, being outside of time, is ever old and ever new. It is clear therefore that these developments reflect and worship best our Almighty God. May we in the Church guard this treasure jealously. Saints Jude and Kristoff, all ye Holy Prophets and Judites, pray for us. Amen.
  11. "I am flattered that such a wonderful exhortation has been dedicated to me." Pius of Sutica, FSSCT, remarks, offering his mass and office for the bright Acolyte.
  12. Father Pius of Sutica writes: "Good Father, what you have written here is truly excellent and edifying. It is, however, singularly unfortunate that there is only one word for love in the Common tongue to express all of these different things. That is where I think the confusion chiefly lies. Love describes so many different things in so many different contexts so as to become almost meaningless to most people. For indeed, God is love is a translation of Deus Caritas Est. The word Caritas is whence we get our word charity. The origin of this maxim I believe lies with Exalted Godfrey, who quoted it in his Proverbs (5:1), and used the word Caritas rather than Amor. The Akritian language is yet more refined, differentiating Agape, selfless charity, Eros, romantic love, et. cetera. Caritas, then is similar to this Agape, this selfless giving of the self. You see, you used the word "feeling" in relation to love. But in the sense of God being love, it cannot be so, for God does not have human emotions. In addition, some persons are more emotional than others and have more nice feelings, but it does not mean they love more. Additionally, a man's feelings - and especially a woman's - are very prone to change. Does a man having an argument with his wife cease to love her when he is angry with her? He may even be angry with her because he loves her! The feelings of the honeymoon soon fade, but the selfless love of the other ought only to grow. To feel nice feelings for your wife, is excellent and a thing given to us by God, but it belongs to the realm of men, but to love her truly, this belongs to the nature of God. Love, then, or, more accurately, CHARITY, is not located in the emotions. Nor is it in the intellect. Our intellect may take delight in the theories of astronomy, but we cannot display this kind of selfless love toward them, because they are made for us, and not we for them, and they have no good of their own except in relation to us, since they are not persons. It is in the will. The way I define this type of selfless love is this: it is to will the good of the other person. God wills the good of every creature He has made, and therefore, He loves us. The man is angry with his wife because she does some damaging to herself and the children, and he wills what is right and good and virtuous for her. I have had to wrestle with this topic myself because I am not a man prone to great emotion. But you can be assured, Father, that I still love you even if I do not feel nice things about you. My inspiration for this letter which I write to you is from the writings of a Judite nun called Clare of Reza, who wrote in Auvergene and Flexio. I plan to translate her Epistles soon and have them published for the benefit of Holy Church. I remain your humble servant, Father Pius, Priestly Fraternity of Saints Jude and Kristoff."
  13. BLESSED JUDE THE FIRST, DEFENDER OF THE SACRED PRIESTHOOD, PRAY FOR US. "At Owyn's command, the brothers set shepherds over the flock of men, and so created a priesthood for their instruction, in anticipation of the second son of spirit."-Gospel 5:5. TRACT V: A DEFENCE OF THE SACRAMENTAL NATURE OF CONFESSION. ADRESSED TO HIS HOLINESS JAMES II, AND TO ALL OF HOLY CHURCH. Written by Father Pius of Sutica, FSSCT. I.The Point at Issue. I.Your Holiness, Your Excellencies and Your Eminences, most Reverend Fathers of the Church, this Tract is for you. I fear that there is a fundamental trend in Church practice and Canon Law that fundamentally alters the nature of this most sacred rite. You are, and remain, our most excellent teachers and guides, but there is something here that is clearly contrary to my duties as a Priest, and therefore I am compelled to speak. As Bishops, you are my Fathers, but as Priests, you are my brothers. And I speak to you with the deference of a son to a father but also the concern of a brother to a brother. I should like to seek clarity in the truth, in order that the true nature of this most critical rite of Holy Church be defended and upheld. II.Jude the First, that Saintly and Venerable Pontiff, lays out our priestly duties very clearly in the Encyclical Sacerdotii in Nostra Ecclesiae, which ought to be read by each and every Priest. He taught very authoritatively that a Priest's fundamental duty is the defence and advancement of the Sacraments. He labelled us, brother Priests, Sacramentum Defensores, that is, the Priest is first and foremost The Defender of the Sacraments. I, reading this, laid out my view of the Priesthood in my Epistle entitled Floodgate of Mercy. This refuted, on the one hand, the secularising tendencies that made any kind of political involvement from a Priest anathema, but, on the other hand, also warned against worldliness and reminded us that we are first and foremost ministers of the word and the Sacraments. In this, I wrote of Confession as a Sacrament essentially renewing one's Baptism, perhaps to be considered a rite of penance linked to baptism, which has the clear Sacramental effect of cleansing the person of guilt. I had no hesitation in committing these words to paper. I was only repeating the constant teaching of Holy Church, including her finest Doctors, Blessed Jude and Venerable Humbert among them, the two holy men who perhaps have exerted the greatest spiritual influence on the charism of our Fraternity. III.This Epistle was received well, including, if Elven memory serves, by His Holiness, James II. I had known about the changes in Canon Law from what it was in the time of Daniel the Sixth. However, not being cognizant with Canon Law as our present Pontiff is, I assumed I was simply misinterpreting: although non a Sacrament as such, Confession is a rite of the Church with a sacramental element linked to that of baptism; therefore, I continued to do the old and traditional absolution which makes it clear that that person is absolved of sin. (NB: Whether Confession is or is not its own Sacrament, is, I grant you, an open question. Whether it has a sacramental nature is not.) But a letter published by His Holiness to the good historian Mrs. Yuliya Styrne, makes it clear that, in the view of the present Pontiff, Confession is considered a mere private devotional with no objective element. IV.He writes: "Mass and confession are ceremonies for the purpose of spiritual fraternity, but they are not sacraments in the traditional sense: manifestations of the Exalted's authority in the priesthood, of which there are only four (Ablution, Ordination, Consecration, and Matrimony). At the moment it is forbidden for laymen and monastics to take confession or give mass, but these are disciplinary rules--each of these ceremonies has no sacramental effect, whether performed by priest or layman." V.In this Tract I will counter this claim that Confession "has no sacramental effect," owing to my vow to defend the rites and Sacraments that have been handed on to me by Holy Church. II.Just Because Confession can be Administered by Laymen, does not Mean it has no Objective, Sacramental Effect. I.The ordinary minister of Confession is a Priest. Church teaching makes it clear that he is the distributor of that Rite. However, when circumstances permit, laymen and even women may be dispensed to hear them. This supposedly renders it a private devotion without sacramental effect. However, are they prepared to say the same of Baptism? Baptism can be administered by laymen in the same circumstances, and yet, we read from the Code of Canon Law: "Baptism is the gateway to the seven skies and necessary for all those who deem themselves following the Canon. Through baptism, men are freed from sin and evoke the prophethood gained by the exalted in the holy waters of Gamesh." (Daniel VI, CCC III.II.1) That Baptism has sacramental power is even more evident from the Gospel: "Behold, thou art cleansed, and thou art God's domestic." (Gospel 2:36.) Baptism, the gate of heaven, absolves a soul entirely from the stain of sin, and by it they enter into that Prophetic office which was given unto Horen - viz., they become part of God's household, his assembly: his Church. If Baptism did not have an objective sacramental effect, it would not be necessary for the Sacrament of Matrimony. (Daniel VI, CCC III.VIII.II.) II.If Baptism is not a manifestation of priestly authority, in what sense can it called sacramental, let alone A Sacrament? The answer is clear: all Canonist men, to some extent, share in the Prophetic office. If Baptism was the anointing of Horen as Prophet, so by Baptism we enter into Horen's Prophetic role. Wherefore Blessed Daniel VI continues: "[The Physical Act of Baptism] acts as a simulacra of the prophethood gained by the exalted in the holy waters of Gamesh." (CCC III.II.1.) In a similar way, so by the rite of Confession, a laymen can absolve by that same Prophetic, although I would not say Priestly, authority that has been given unto him, sacramentally, by Baptism. But this properly and ought to be done by a Priest unless a man is cut off from a Priest and therefore a)cannot fulfil his obligation of yearly Confession, or b)is in mortal danger without a Priest, or c)is stranded in some foreign land in which no ordained person can be found. Why is this? The Priestly authority is simply stronger: a Priest who hears a valid Confession can absolve by his Priestly authority, a laymen by his Prophetic. The authority of the Priesthood is the authority of Owyn, and the authority of Owyn is the authority of God. (Gospel 5:5.) And hence the Priest, hearing a Confession, can absolve with this same authority, and thereby essentially renew a man's Baptism by the words of absolution. (We will speak more of this in the next section.) Moreover, God does not expect the impossible. He is infinitely just and therefore cannot condemn a man for circumstances beyond his control. Therefore a layman's Confession will do when a Priest cannot be found, because it shows a resolution to confess but the presence of an ordained minister being inaccessible, God, in His mercy, receives it like unto a Priest's Confession. But this must again be stressed: this is not the ordinary way of things. III.Hence, on no account is the argument that because it is not necessarily priestly, it is not necessarily sacramental, to be accepted. III.The Historical Teaching of the Church. I.THE MODERN DOCTORS: Now is the time to lay out the Church's clear and obvious teaching that Confession has sacramental value. First of all, the four modern Doctors who express it most plainly are Jude I, Blessed Seraphim of Leora, my dear brother, Daniel VI and Ven. Humbert. Daniel VI included Confession as a penitential Sacrament in the CCC. (III.III.II.) III.Jude I wrote clearly of Confession as a Sacrament, adding: "At the core of the duties of the parish priest is the celebration of the sacraments. His mandate is to faithfully adhere to the life of the Church that in these sacraments, he may impart the salvatory obligations to his faithful flock...Upon hearing confession, the duty of the priest must be to act in the mercy and benevolence of GOD, calling into mind the Scroll of Virtue. He must be the witness for the faithful’s contrite heart and impart the absolution of sin so as to save and renew the baptismal vows conferred upon the people." (Sacerdotii) III.Blessed Seraphim wrote: "How unfathomable and great is the Lord’s mercy that he has given the power of forgiving the sins of men to Evaristus and Clement and to all their successors after them, the bishops and the priests of our Holy Church? Why would he do this? To open his hands to mankind and make certain the forgiveness of this sickness in us. But how does this occur? It is simple; through the Sacrament of Penance (Ablution/Confession), which is a pillar of our faith, for it when initial powers from Baptism cannot overcome the passions, comes to set them aside and make room for that grace." (GO TO CONFESSION, PRAY, GIVE ALMS.) IV.Venerable Humbert is so full of references that it is hard to choose and remain concise. He made it clear that the "Church has the power to forgive sins" (Maxims 4.24) and such was his devotion to the Sacrament, Cardinal Coppinger tells us, that he sometimes spent up to 18 hours a day in the Confessional, even falling asleep in that blessed place. (Life of Father Humbert, O.S.J.) He wrote: "Wouldst thou mock at God? He hath instituted this Sacrament as the means of forgiveness, and if thou hast any sense, thou wilt drink this bottomless cup of mercy. For I have observed that we have only a limited time on this earth, but an eternity in the Skies. Prepare accordingly;" and in another place he proscribes tells us that the prayer he and other Priests ought to use by way of absolution: "God, the Father of mercy, hath, through the authority of the Prophets, instituted a sacred priesthood for the administration of the Sacraments and for the remission of sins. In union with the Exalted, Saints and Angels in the Skies, and all the faithful departed, and on the authority of said priesthood, I do absolve thee from thy sins in the name of the Father, and of Horen, and of all the Exalted. Thy sins are all forgiven: go in peace!" (How to Take and Make Confessions.) And this formula of absolution became popular among the Judites. V.Such have written the more modern Doctors of Holy Church. Several themes are common. Firstly, that Confession is of God's institution and not man's. Secondly, that it is a Sacrament, or at least has a sacramental effect, namely the forgiveness of sins. And the renewal of Baptism seems to come up in all of them. God recognises our weaknesses and provides a means of renewing the covenant of our Baptism too often broken by substantial sin, for as the Angelic Doctor writes: "why would our lord give us life, promise salvation, and not give it to us? He wants us to live with him and love him forever." (On the Afterlife.) God wants us to access His abundant mercies and dwell with Him in bliss. He provides us the means, so that if we fail after our Baptism (for, unlike me, most of you are baptised as babies and have no reason wherewith to repudiate sin), these mercies can be renewed. That Confession is His instrument of doing this, by which "All thy sins are forgiven", is evident by the authoritative teaching of these Doctors. VI.Now in case any man say that this is simply the modern teaching that has been changed, I propose to show that this has always been the case. Now I will quote a number of sources from before the reign of Jude I, that you may know he was no innovator, for "there is no innovation in Faith." (Spirit 2:17) An early edition of the Rite of Confession reads as such: "O, Creator the Father of mercies, has reconciled the world to himself and sent the Holy Light among us for the forgiveness of sins; through the ministry of the Church may God give you pardon and peace,and I absolve you from your sins. Amen." One of the very earliest monastic documents emphatically asserts that Confession "destroys Iblees' records." A story is related which implies that a man confessing to his Bishop obtains complete remission of sins. The Saintly Reader lists Confession as a rite with an implied equality to Matrimony. (First Pontifical Address to the Orenian Peoples.) It is clear that Confession has always been considered more than a private devotion with no sacramental effect. It has always been held to have a sacramental effect and to even possess in itself the renewal of baptismal vows. IV.Conclusion. I.It is clear that Confession has a sacramental effect. It is clear that it has a very great sacramental effect. It is clear that it is - as I wrote before - a Floodgate of Mercy, by which the waters of Gamesh pour freshly into our souls. On no account can be neglect or denigrate this most vital duty of ours. The current confusion caused by this denigration causes the faithful to recoil and despise what they ough to flock to. Therefore I beseech the Holy Pontiff and all the Synod that the importance of Confession as an objective act with a sacramental effect be restored, renewed and clarified, and that its effects be defined and known in perpetuity. Certainly we would only be following our ancient teachings which have been passed down to us from the Most High were it be declared that Confession is the renewal of Baptism. II.And now, my lords, I beg that I might have your blessing, that I might persevere in holiness in this long exile which men called life, and return at last to the Source of my existence. All ye Saints, pray for us. Amen.
  14. THE PATRIARCHATE OF CHICAGO "I forgive Allesandro Serenelli, and I want him to be in heaven with me forever."-St. Maria Goretti. (1890-1902) THE CHICAGO-ILLINOIS CHRONICLE IN THE TWO THOUSANDTH TWO HUNDRED AND SEVENTIE-EIGTH YEARE OF OUR LORD'S INCARNACION. The Synod "COME FROM LIBANVS, MY SPOVSE, COME." (Canticles 4:8) IN THIS YEARE HENCE, the First Synod of Chicago gathered to deliberate the most pressing matter of the discoverie of non-human life possessed of reason. Now the question was their capabilitie to receive grace. Two Benedictines, Father Moore and Brother Edward laid out the respective cases. This I tooke from the transcriptes of the matter. MOORE: Your Holiness; Venerable Brothers. It was for good reason that God raised man alone above all the beasts. We read in the Creed: Et Incarnatus est, de Spiritu Sancto, ex Maria Virgine, et HOMO FACTUS EST. That is, God became MAN. He did not become Deathe-clawwe or mutante. Since that the Son of God emptied Himselfe and became the Son of Man, so men could "receive power to become the sons of God." (John 1:12) To say that these creatures may receive grace fundmanetallie alters the pattern of salvacion. Moreover, they are made by menne, some of them, and therefore, are not in the image of God, but of man. EDWARD: It is written: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that WHOSOEVER believeth in Him may not perish, but may have life eternalle", and, in another place "For this I was born, for this I came into the world, that I should give testimonie to the truth. Every one that is of the truth, heareth My voice." Now these capacities "Believing" and "knowing truth" belong to any to whom is gifted, by God, the use of reason. For to believe implies choice, and therefore will and intellect. It is cleare that those of whom we speake are possessed of this capacitie. If they have a capacitie for truth therefore, they have a capacitie for grace, for God came for any man who can believe and know the truth. MOORE: Any man? Thou dost admit of the point. MAN, not deatheclawwe, brother. EDWARD: I saide by manner of slipping. PATRIARCH (To Edward): What is man? EDWARD: Man is a creature possessed of bodie and soul, that is, of a bodie, and the capacities of wille and intellect. PATRIARCH: Thou sayest it. Now it is true that God came to save the sons of Adam. But that as they are possessed with a capacitie for Faith, Hope and Charitie, since that they can know the truth, and since they can assent of Faith by intellect and affirme Hope and Charitie by the wille, for as Saint Pius X saith, Faith is an assente of the intellect to divinely revealed truth, so therefore, they can receive that power to become sons of God of which we spoke. And since they self evidently suffer under the same Falle as natural men, and, having the same capacitie of receiving, therefore have they the power also of the remedie. Now I asked thee, "what is man?" "A little lower than the angels" (Psalm 8:5) - possessed of a spiritual and corporeal part. As saith the Angelic Doctor, quoting Augustine: "Man's excellence consists in the fact that God made him to His own image by giving him an intellectual soul, which raises him above the beasts of the fielde." Therefore things without intellect are not made to God's image." (Summa Theologica, 93.2) If it is this in which man's excellence consiseth, namelie that he hath bodie and soul, by which he is raised, so too are not these raised above the beastes of the field? I think thy manner of slipping was inspired by the Holy Ghost. EDWARD: Reverend Patriarch, if it define and raise men that they be possessed of wille and intellect, and these creatures too are so possessed, but also being possessed of a bodie, are not angels, can these not be saide to be, in spiritual terms, men? For in will and intellect the image of God consisteth. Not in the biological sense, men, but in the spiritual, wherefore, Our Lord died for them, and God is the primary cause of their existence, man being the secondary. And since they proceedeth from man, man can say of them: "bone of my bone, and flesh of my flesh." (Genesis 2:23) PATRIARCH: Thou sayest it. Let us vote upon this Canon. The Synod came out with these Canons. "IF any man saith, that it be utterly impossible for a deathclawwe or some other creature possessed of both bodie and soul to receive grace, including the Sacraments, LET HIM BE ANATHEMA." "If any man saith that these be not creatures with dignity and with the image of God, LET HIM BE ANATHEMA." "If any man saith that it is needfulle to make more of these, and striveth to make more of these creatures, instead of birth in the natural way, LET HIM BE ANATHEMA." The Maxims of Vegetius "WE WILL FIGHT FOR OUR LIVES AND OUR LAWS, AND THE LORD HIMSELF WILL OTHERTHROW THEM BEFORE OVR FACE: BVT AS FOR YOV, FEAR THEM NOT." (1 Maccabees 3:21-22) IN THIS YEARE HENCE, we monkes produce a "Edicion Definitive of Militarie Knowledge" containing in it our translacion of Flavius Vegetius, the greate Roman author, who cautioned: "It is better to subdue an enemie by famine, raids and terror, than in battell where fortune tendes to have more influence than braverie." And Guderian's "Achtung Panzer" Manstein translated into the tongue of the Angles and many other textes, maximes as speeches as the monkes can finde. And this is put into a volume and collected. The great laboure of this problem, especially the longe transcripcion of Classical workes in which we have beene engaged, became hence cleare. And so attempts are made to finde either a printing press, or the parts thereof, or the instrucions of how to build or operate. Meanwhile, the workes of greate writers are preserved and put into practice on how whereof we are to live. (Developlment points invested.) Actions "WHO IS SHE THAT COMETH FORTH AS THE MORNING RISING, FAIR AS THE MOON, BRIGHT AS THE SUN, TERRIBLE AS AN ARMY IN BATTLE ARRAY?" (Canticles 6:9.) -Construction of the cathedral continues. [-5 B, -5 M, -25,000 C.] -150 men armed with T1 guns and T2 melee weapons expand into a northward district. [Circled and coloured in.] -6 Development points invested. 2 into Feudalistic society (750 C per block controlled), 4 into streamlined economy (25%+ C income.) -4 R put into T2 small arms. [17/25.] -Missionary efforts continue in the city and with the chaplains of NCR and Douglas, in the same manner as before. -Leaders in the Fyrd are taught from a military textbook which draws from historical military texts from Sun Tzu to Guderian. -Attempts are made to find anything use for a printing press, or even a press itself! Especially in this new district. Also, the ongoing search for radio parts and stations carries on. -3 B was traded for 5 M with the Marines. Stats Buildings: 1 Market (2000 C), 1 Scrap Yard (1 M, 500 upkeep), 2 Agri-Houses (4 S, 2000 upkeep), 1 Salvage Yard (750 Upkeep, 1 E), 5 Construction Yards (2 B, 3250 upkeep), 1 Fortification (250 upkeep). 8,548 Caps, 8 metal, 26 supplies, 3 building materials. 4 Energy. Population: 969.
  15. THE PATRIARCHATE OF CHICAGO "WHAT WOVLDST THOV ASK, OR LEARN OF US? WE ARE READY TO DIE RATHER THAN TO TRANGRESS THE LAW OF GOD, RECEIVED FROM OUR FATHERS."-2 Maccabees 7:2. THE CHICAGO-ILLINOIS CHRONICLE IN THE TWO THOVSANDTH TWO HUNDREDTH AND SEVENTIE SIXTHE YEARE OF OUR BLESSED LORD'S INCARNACION. "GOING THEREFORE, TEACH YE ALL NATIONS; BAPTISING THEM IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, AND OF THE SON, AND OF THE HOLY GHOST. AND BEHOLD I AM ALWAYS WITH YOU, EVEN TO THE CONSUMMATION OF THE WORLD."-St. Matthew 28:19-20. GO THEREFORE BAPTISING IN THIS YEARE HENCE, there rang on out cries as "Gaudete! Gaudete! Christus est natus, ex Maria Virgine! Gaudete!" That is "Rejoice, rejoice ye, Christ is born from Mary the Virgin! Rejoice!" We indeed had a more abundant Christmas than there ever was seen. Patriarchal Mass was celebrated in the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima, the only part of the cathedral usable during the construcion. There was much rejoicing from all manner of men and women. The Patriarch Claudio, though a withdrawn man, preached a much needfulle sermon. He ended: "Prepare. Pray, pray, pray. Look after your families. Soon, Christ will give you an important worke. But if you pray, worry not, for God will outfit you with the arms necessary for the coming challenge. So for now, just enjoy your Christmas, of which I wish you all a very merry one, in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." Now them that hearde this were much confused in minde, and caste aboute in their heades what they were to make of such a thinge. But soone the wordes were forgotten once the good poore people enjoyed such abundance as never seen in the Wastaland, for the Patriarch supplied all that was needfulle to the people that they might feaste with their own families at Christmas-time. After the merriest Christmas and Christmastide since the Incarnacion, came Lent, and a great 40 days of penance and preperation just as the Patriarch had saide. All were not fixed on his wordes: "Prepare. Pray, pray, pray." He saide this again on the Firste Sunday of Lent, with an astonishingly short sermon in which he merelie saide: "Prepare." And so they did. All the families in the countrie were saying the holy Rosarie together, and the priests doubled their prayers before the Blessed Sacrament. The ongoing construcion of the cathedral had alreadie filled the common people, who are wontful of noveltie, with excitement. We prayed as we had never once prayed at any time. We were preparing for something greate. A great commission as the Patriarch had warned us. Then came the happie time of Easter. The rumour was spreade that this great taske of which the Patriarch had warned would be given at the Feast of Our Lord's Ascension. It all became cleare. "GO THEREFORE, TEACH YE ALL NATIONS IN MY NAME, BAPTISING THEM IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, AND OF THE SON, AND OF THE HOLY GHOST." Was the Gospel reading. And upon reading it, there was a stirre among the people, for they knew this to be the great missione for which they had been preparing. The charismatic Father Gilbert was preaching. "Now is the time," Saide he "That we bringe the Name of Christ to this suffering citie. If this be a city of "mud", as insulting men are wantfulle to call it, let them knowe that it was Christ who deigned to be borne in the muddied wastaland of a poore cave, rejected by the innkeepers. God has broughte each one of us to this citie. It is our citie, our love, our pride. City of mud she may be, but our mud it is; I see only poor suffering souls chained cruelly in their sins and by those of others. And now we win her in the Name of Christ. Let us go forthe therefore, with one voice and minde, teaching all nacions in the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, and know that He is always with us, each to the consumacion of the worlde!" The "youthe", who are desirous of all manner of novelities and "memes" as I have hearde them so called, called this sermon "epic" and "based" although what manner of thinge it be based on is yet to be revealed by them. The Patriarch had planned this all. All this period, from the Exaltacione of Christmass to the penance and preparacion by which he helde the people in tencion, to the Great Commission of Ascension. The people with one minde felte they were ready and the clergy were fell of fervour. Their mission was to be the mission. He therefore begins to sende the first missionaries into the worlde. On the feaste of Pentecost, new priests were ordained. On the feaste of Our Lady of Fatima, new Monician sisters were enrolled, took their vows or were donned full Sisters. Families and children crowned all the missionaries with flowers as they prepared for the way. May God help them all. (Details given in actions.) UNDER THE MANTLE "I AM THE MOTHER OF FAIR LOVE, AND OF KNOWLEDGE, AND OF HOLY HOPE."-Ecclesiasticus 24:24. IN THIS YEARE HENCE, a number of pious women (X) approached Father Gilberte. They saide that, whilst the Monician vocation was noble, they wanted an Order that was purelie contemplative. The leader of these women, Edith Taylor (stranglie enough, a ghoule in the same manner as Mother Angelica), expressed her noble desire to have a convent of Carmelites in the Archdiocese. She was donned, clothed with the habit, and crown'd with the title of Mother Abbess, taking the religioux name "Fawstina of the Divine Mercie." Strengthened by the prayers of these women, the Church will surely be under Our Lady of Mount Carmel's Mantle. THE SYNOD "BEHOLD HOW GOODLY and PLEASANT, FOR BRETHREN TO DWELL IN VNITY!" (Psalm 133) IN THIS YEARE HENCE, notified of the existence of non-humans possessed of wille and intellecte, a greate Sy-nod was gathered by the Patriarch in order to settle the questione. The proceedings were expected to be finished by nexte yeare. ACTIONS -Three construction yards built in the other sector to help build the cathedral. (22,500 C.) -The people are treated to a very merry and abundant Christmas. [3 S] -A big period of penance and prayer in the Archdiocese and one of high religious fervour, there are many edifying sermons and families and religious pray the Rosary together. -Missionary efforts: 11 Fathers of the Oratory are to have the honour of being the first missionaries of the Patriarchate. These are the boldest and most fearless men to be found in the Patriarchate, and they have the prayers of all the faithful behind them. They are very young and zealous. They spend around 5 months preparing, not only with prayer and penance, but also learning to move swiftly and unnoticed across the city. They take melee weapons with them in order to protect themselves against ghouls and wild beasts, but are not to use force against men unless strictly necessary to save another from distress (e.g. they see a man being tortured or what have you.) 11 Monician Sisters are sent also with them. These are given alms and medical supplies to help any they find in need. These all are sent into the world in all directions as each Father's iniatives strike him. They are told to be ready to suffer hardship, death or even slavery for Christ's sake. They help men and preach Christ to whomever they find without compromise, focusing on the Patron Saints of the Wasteland, Monica and Ehren. If they find friendly communities, they are to ask for hospitality and be helpful to them whilst showing them a Christian way of life by Faith, Hope and Charity: teaching by example first. Father Gilbert, burning with missionary zeal and frustration, must remain at home for now. [3 S for alms and medical supplies.] -As part of the missionary efforts and with a treaty agreed at New Eden, a Benedictine Father and 6 Monician nuns are escorted from New Eden to NCR territory, blindfolded for the last part of the journey. 4 pallets of building material and 7500 caps are given to NCR to build a church there. The Father celebrates daily Mass with the nuns and anyone else willing to attend, whilst preaching the truth of the Faith and preaching supernatural hope in a realm of despair. The nuns say their office and help soldier and civilian in any way they can with their problems, particularly former slaves. The newly received Sister Marie Therese, naive but appearing to be from another world due to her brightness and altruism, leads the nuns. Another Priest is sent to be chaplain of the Republic of Douglas and does in like manner. -Ten women enroll in the Carmelite Order, who establish themselves in the heart of the Archdiocese in a cloistered house. -The clergy still-present gather together to deliberate on a theological issue. -Construction of the cathedral is paused for the year. -Research continues into small arms. [13/25.] Stats. Buildings: 1 Market (2000 C), 1 Scrap Yard (1 M, 500 upkeep), 2 Agri-Houses (4 S, 2000 upkeep), 1 Salvage Yard (750 Upkeep, 1 E), 2 Construction Yards (2 B, 1500 upkeep), 1 Fortification. In construction: 3 construction yards (The northward section). 10,950 Caps, 17 metal, 21 supplies , 4 building materials. 4 Energy. Population: 845.
  16. SAPIENTIA IN CARNE WISDOM INCARNATE OR; ON THE ABOLITION OF SLAVERY. TO OUR PRIESTS, MONKS AND ALL THE PEOPLES OF THIS CITY. I.WISDOM INCARNATE, in today's Office, cannot help but provoke Our conscience to action, lest We receive those dreadful words from from His just sentence: "Depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels." (St. Matthew 25:41) And what sentence is this? Suppose that We did great evil and iniquity? Suppose that we are constantly torturing and enslaving men and giving ourselves to lusts and fornications and rapine? Rather not, but Our Person should have received this sentence, not for action, but inaction. Not for bad speech, but for silence. In seeking to appease the world we failed to appease conscience, which Cardinal Newman calls "the primordial Vicar of Christ." II.For in this passage, Christ casts the cursed into the everlasting fire not for what they did alone, but for what they failed to do. "For I was hungry, and ye gave Me not to eat." (St. Matthew 25:42) And We shall reply: "Lord, when was it that we gave Thee not to it?" And He shall say: "Amen, Amen I say to thee, that what thou hast failed to do to the least of these My brothers, thou wilt have done unto Me." (St. Matthew 25:45) The Apostle was forced to realise that in persecuting the Church, His Body, He was persecuting the Head. For Our Lord said to him: "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me?" (Acts 9:4) Be received ye therefore, all ye nations, into the Body of Christ through Holy Baptism, and hence be "given power to become sons of Gods" (St. John 1:12) and be part of that glorious Body. III.Therefore, Wisdom, in taking on flesh, becomes the poor and the oppressed. For He that took the "face of a leper" (Isaias 53:4), the troubles of "the man of sorrows" (53:3), and "the form of a slave" (Phillipians 2:7) for Our sake lives and suffers in the lepers and the slaves. For He says Himself: "I am a worm, and no man, the reproach of men, and the outcast of the people." (Psalm 21:7) We therefore, who speak with the voice of the Spouse of Christ, and guided by the Holy Ghost, must speak with the full force of Our Conscience, in saying that Christ in suffering here and now under the evils of chattel slavery, in which, as happened in previous times and was condemned by Our Venerable Predecessor, wicked men, "with fictitious reasoning and seizing and opportunity, have approached said islands by ship, and with armed forces taken captive and even carried off to lands overseas very many persons of both sexes, taking advantage of their simplicity." (Pope Eugene IV, Sicut Dudum, I.) IV.The men that do this will no doubt, if they continue unrepented of their actions, go to the outer darkness with their father the devil, where they will have weeping and gnashing of teeth for all eternity. The blathering and iniquitous men who perpetrate these acts will die in their sins. But We too must act against this terrible evil which afflicts so many in these lands. As it was Holy Church which restored law and courtesy and civilisation in the West after the fall of the Empire of the Romans, so after the fall of the American capitalist system, the Church speaks as a voice of prophecy and the Moral Law. We must not fear: As St. Philip says: "if God be with us, there is no one else left to fear." (Faber, Maxims.) We are in exile in this vale of tears. We are all exiled princes, "the light of the world" (St. Matthew 5:14) and "sons of the light" (1 Thessalonians 5:5) in this falling darkness. We must not therefore fail in Our duty; we must fear God alone, and do everything in view of winning our exiled Crown, which is to be found not in this world, but in the next. V.Princes of this world ought to know also that Wisdom also warns us "to him that is little mercy is shown: but the mighty shall be mightily tormented." (Wisdom 6:7) We therefore entreat all the nations who called this 'Mud City' their home to refrain from all tradings and relations to powers that continue to practise slavery. We ban all Christians, on pain of excommunication, from trading with such men as do these things also, by which We mean, slavery. You who are mighty must show mercy to those that are little, lest Him whose nature it is to show mercy but also uphold justice shows the same severity you showed to them who were little. The Church in America, our true and venerable Mother and endowed with all riches by Christ, "Whose heart trusteth in her" (Proverbs 31:11), therefore calls on all nations who prize benevolence, courtesy and justice as among their avowed principles to form a coalition against slavery, to promise freedom to the captives and embargo those wicked tribes who practise slavery. Nor will We, in whose Seat we speak launched the Holy Crusade against the monstrous Seljuks and their ravages against the Body of Christ in that country which is called Asia Minor, scruple to use the force of holy arms in alliance with the men, that, although they know not God by Holy Baptism, know Him remotely in some way, for as the Holy Apostle said to the Greeks: "This God of whom you know not, I preach to you." (Acts 20:25) The God we preach to you is the God who "hast led captivity captive." (Psalm 67:19) The God whom you know not, is the One who frees the captives, and it is Him We preach to you. VI.Slaves are called to remember that venerable maxim of the Great Doctor, St. Augustine: "The just man, though a slave, is free, but the evil man, though he reigns, is a slave." The slaver is enslaved by the lusts and power of death, and is a son of satan. He who "loves his enemies" and "prays for those that persecute him" (St. Matthew 5:44), who shows that kind of disinterested Love (Caritas) which can only be found in God alone, for God is Love (Deus Caritas Est), is truly free, though he be in chains. He ought to know that the Son of God, rather than enjoying the infinite splendour and bosom of His Father, took the form of a slave in order to rescue him from the power of death. He who is Wisdom itself became a dumb Babe and at the Cross "as a dumb as a Lamb before His shearer" (Isaias 53:7), He who is innocence itself allowed Himself to be baptised; He who is Life itself was "obedient unto death, even unto the death of the Cross." (Phillipians 2:8) He did this out of an ineffable Love which We did not, in any sense, merit, but which was freely and liberally given unto us, who crucified Him by Our sins. Slaves are therefore entreated to show that same Love and mercy which Christ showed unto us to their slavers, taking Saint Monica for their example. VII.To Our Priests and Monicians, we send them on missions across the city, to preach the freedom of Christ to the captives that are in bonds, together with the slavers, and the civilised, fearing neither death, nor slavery, nor injury, knowing that they themselves have Life in Christ, Freedom in the Holy Ghost, and the healing of the Father. There, We will spread the Light of Christ: "for the light shineth in the darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not." (St. John 1:5) Christ comes to conquer the wasteland, but the true wasteland is in our hearts. If there was a place there for divine love, Our city would not have become one of mud and death. O, senseless men of Chicago! Cease your pathetic stupor. Now it is Our Venerable wish that, in freeing the slaves of temporal Order, we be freed of slavery in the spiritual order, so that, by showing mercy in this life, we may be shown it in the next. VIII.A final entreaty to all the devout sons of the Catholic Church to pray the Most Holy Rosary without ceasing, to be constantly saluting the most Holy Mother of God with the splendid title "Hail, full of grace!" (St. Luke 1:28) For it is to be believed, as a matter of pious faith, that, when, on the first Sunday of October, 1571, the monstrous Mohemmadan army was intent on Jihad to conquer Christendom, it was the public processions of the Holy Rosary that secured the miraculous victory of the Crusader army. Fear not the snow, "for all her domestics are clothed with double garments" (Proverbs 31:21), and we, who are her domestics, fear nothing. So that as Our Lady, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, was able to intercede for us and secure the victory from her Divine Son, she will so secure us victories in our own time. Only pray the Holy Rosary every day, in your families, in private and in public, and a wonderful moral order will shine forth from Our Patriacharate. Christ, as He was pleased to come through Our Lady and become Man, will in like manner overcome sin in your lives by that same most splendid means. And therefore say the Rosary every day so that we can merit the eternal prize of heaven. A blessing We wish you all in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, and with which we give the Apostolic Benediction. Issued in the name of the Holy See by Patriarch Claudio I, Papal Legate in America and Patriarch of Chicago.
  17. (See video for visual depiction.) "Per omnia saecula saeculorum..." The former Archbishop, now Patriarch of America, bleated in half-sung Gregorian Chant. "AMEN!" Came the thundering, deeply masculine reply from the choir. "Oremus." "Praeceptis salutataribus moniti, set Divina instutione formati, audemus dicere: PATER NOSTER, QUI ES IN CAELIS, SANCTICETUR NOMEN TUUM, ADVENIAT REGNAM TUUM FIAT VOLUNTAS TUA SICUT IN CAELO ET IN TERRA PANEM NOSTRUM QUOTIDIANUM DA NOBIS HODIE ET DIMITTE NOBIS DEBITA NOSTRA SICUT ET NOS DIMITTIMUS DEBITORIBUS NOSTRIS ET NE NOS INDUCAS IN TENTATIONEM... ...SED LIBERA NOS A MALO!" Chicago had just had her first Patriarchal High Mass. For the first time, His Holiness Claudio, Patriarch of Chicago, sung the Lord's Prayer as Patriarch of America, endowed with the exercise of all Papal privileges in the United States. The Benedictines had found this privilege in an hardcoded archive of 2077, which was sent by Pope John Paul IV to mitigate the forthcoming nuclear disaster. The Archbishop of New York was to be granted, as a special Papal Legate, the de facto exercise of the Papal prerogatives in North America if regular contact with the Holy See should be impossible, under the title Patriarch of New York. If he was indisposed, then this privilege was to be granted to San Francisco. And then Washington. And then Dallas. 18th-down-the-line was the Mud City. But the only Archdiocese standing. A local Synod had ratified the decision. The cry rang out after High Mass: HABEMUS LEGATUS! HABEMUS PATRIARCHA! CHRISTUS VINCIT, CHRISTUS REGNANT, CHRISTUS IMPERAT! WE HAVE A LEGATE! WE HAVE A PATRIARCH! CHRIST CONQUERS, CHRIST REIGNS, CHRIST COMMANDS! ALL HAIL HIS HOLINESS, PATRIARCH CLAUDIO YACOB. THE CHICAGO-ILLINOIS CHRONICLE THE TWO THOUSANDETH, TWO HUNDREDE AND SEVENTIE FIFTHE YEARE OF OUR BLESSED LORD'S INCARNATION. BE STILL, AND SEE THAT I AM GOD...THE LORD OF HOSTS IS WITH US, THE GOD OF JACOB OUR PROTECTOR. (Psalm 45) THE SEAT OF A PATRIARCH IN THIS YEARE HENCE, mindfulle of his new prestige, the Archbishop did not scruple any expense in ordering the construcion of a mightie basilica which would be dedicated to SS. Monica and Ehren. These wonder-full Saints are beacones of hope in the wastelande, that there be no power whatsoever, neither death, nor radiacion nor raiders that can overcome the mightie workings of Incarnate Love. For indeed, it will be well here to relate the storie of Saint Monica, as has been related to my satisfacion by the reliable witnesses at Rivet Citie. Monica was borne miraculously to Ghoul parents. She converted to Christianitie after finding Pope John Paul IV's 2074 appeal against the Greate Warre, and was received into Holie Church by our Archdio--asd Patriarchate. Now she had a son, who was much astray, for he had been taken by raiders. Now this son had become an evil man, and one of the enslaving workers of iniquity. After sixteene yeares of searching, Monica found her son, whose name was Ehren. Now she was taken as a slave by her own son. But she remained steadfaste in the faith, and even preached to the other slaves, converting some of them. Now a slaver was hatefull of this. For the women now he had forced himself on now resisted him and the slaves suffered merrily (which made him angrie full of envie.) For it is written in St. Augustine, that the just man, though a slave, is free, but the evil man, though he reigneth, is a slave. So that one slaver threatened: "Daughter of curres, thou art called by them Monica, but by me DOGGE, DEBASED, WITHCERIE, DUNG, RATTE, *****, SLUTTE, AND ALL MANNER OF BAD THINGES. Now since thou wilt continue to speake fables, I am a mind to padlocke thy mouthe!" And Monica replied: "Sir, thou art truly a godsend. I praise the good God for strengthening me thus, for trulie, if thou didst do that, it woulde preache a sounder and truer message than any wordes of mine. Let my willingness to have this done be seen by all! FIAT MIHI!" (Quoting Our Ladie, St. Luke 1:38, and these wordes, through the which man's redemption was affected, have become the motto of the Monician Order.)" And he relented. Now after all manner of these thinges, mother and son were finallie mindfulle of one another, that is, the talke which Monica gathered aboute herself by her brave actione caused the realisacion that Ehren was her son. Now, on finding this, Ehren was much angered, blaming all the sufferings of past yeares on her. Now everie time, to a superhuman level, she would practise charitie. Namelie, even when she had been beaten to neare deathe, said she: "I forgive thee in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ." After several dayyes, Ehren broke down at these wordes. He felle at her feete and begged for forgiveness. Ehren helped many slaves escape, and went to Rivet Citie, where they founde a Prieste. Mother and son lived very holie lives and Ehren was ordained a Priest. He, in turne, ordained the parish priest of that citie, Father Clifforde, who told me this storie himself. Now Ehren used to preach at Mass to his small congregacione, to this effect (the which I have transcribed from Father Clifforde's notes: "The true miracle is love. Saint Chrysostom says: "When Christ said what was to be the sign that would mark out Christians, he passed over all the great miracles and so forth, and said rather this: this will be the sign, that you are my disciples, that you love one another. That my mother was born of ghoulish parents and yet incorrupt is not the miracle. The miracle, the truly supernatural thing, is that she said: I forgive you, in the Name of Christ Jesus. To love our friends, that belongs to the nature of men. But to love our enemies, that belongs to the nature of a God. And trust me, it is the only remedy to the problems of the Wasteland: But that many that did receive Him, He gave power to become the sons of God! (St. John 1:12) Therefore, friends, brethren, comrades, receive His love into your hearts, embrace His mercy, and sin, death and hatred will be crushed before you like the snake under the Lady's foot." (Referring to a statue of our Blessed Lady, the Second Eve, in which she crushes the snake.) Now Father Gilbert Keith poured manie materials into this cathedral. And it was complained that these should go into weapons. But Gilbert said: "Fill this basilica with families praying the Rosary, and I will conquer the world." So building began. Some were oughtfulle to ask what caused the usually pragmatic Patriarch to take an actione of no natural advantage but rather of a spiritual qualitie, and many said he was graced by the Holy Ghost. FIAT MIHI SECVNDVM VERBVM TVVM. (St. Luke, 1:38) ACTIONS -The Archbishop, finding an archive confirming his legitimacy, claims the title Patriarch of Chicago, essentially the Papal representative in America. -The newly conquered region is integrated into the Patriarchate. [5 B, 10,000 C.] -Construction begins on a cathedral of SS. Monica and Ehren, to serve as a bastion of hope in the wasteland...The cathedral will be staffed by The Oratory and Diocesan Priests and the Monician nuns. It is built, as far as permitted by wasteland resources, in a weird mix of gothic and baroque - but no expense is spared. [5 B, 5 M, 28,000 C.] -In order to keep the frontier secure, Sir Charles leads an expedition northwards to take control of the northward region, with 150 men armed with T1 firearms and T2 melee. [To be shown.] -Research continues into T2 small arms. [9/25] STATS Buildings: 1 Market, 1 Scrap Yard, 2 Agri-Houses, 1 Salvage Yard, 2 Construction Yards, 1 Fortification. 12,450 Caps, 14 metal, 24 supplies , 0 building materials. Population: 828.
  18. “Keep our life all spotless, make our way secure till we find in Jesus, joy for evermore.” AVE MARIS STELLA, in F. B.V.M. THE CHICAGO-ILLINOIS CHRONICLE IN THE TWO THOVSANDETH, TWO HVNDREDE AND SEVENTIE-THIRDE YEARE OF OVR LORD’S INCARNACION. ”GOD SAID TO MOSES: I AM WHO AM. HE SAID: THVS SHALT THOV SAY TO THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL: HE WHO IS, HATH SENT ME TO YOV.” (Exodus 3:14) THE EXPANCION In this YEARE HENCE, the Archbishop was oughtful to avoid that which is written in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, namlie in the entrie for eleven-thirtie-seven: They were all forsworne, and forgetful, each one, of their trothe; for everie rich man builte his castles, which they helde againste him: and they filled the lande full of castles. They cruellie oppressed the wretched men of the land with castle-workes; and when the castles were made, they filled them with devils and evil men. Then tooke they those that they supposed to have any goodes, bothe by nighte and by daye, labouring men and women, and threw them into gaol for their golde and silver, and inflicted on them tortures unutterable; for never were any martyrs so tortured as they were. And seeing that the state of the lande was most pitiful, and like unto what we have just read, he was oughtful to expande the reign of Our Lord, Jesu Christe, into more partes of the countrie. He was of a very different minde to Father Gilbert Keith of the Congregacion of the Oratorie, who, caring not for politics temporal, at once wanted to dispatche all the priestes and missionarie nuns all about the countrie and the citie, and preach the Name of Christ to all the poore savages. But the Archbishop, being more watchful, and a “big-brained centurist” as I have somewhere hearde, was eager rather to expande our territorie, and to preach Christ to those within, and proclaim Him to them that are without. Now it is well known that Father Gilbert is a man without fear save that of God, and when this was putte to him, he replied, Quem Timebo? That is, as it is written in the Twentie-Sixth Psalm of David, The Lord is my Light and my Salvation, Whom shall I fear? And furthermore, said he, Panem nostram quotidianum da nobis hodie, namelie, give us this daye our daily bread, implying that as God has alreadie given His Church his Only-Begotten, the flower of the field, and the lily of the vallies, there is nothing more needful or precious than this which He will fail to supply, and hence we pray with trust those wordes. But, as a man of concorde, he urged them all to pray for the inspiration of the Holy Ghost in this matter. It was the day after the Sundaye of the Christmas Ocatve. Now the Archbishop was unmoved, and spoke against Gilbert harshlie, and then saide by way of remedie, Merry Christmas. And all rejoiced, but Gilbert, eager to crowne himself with the restful laurel of holie obedience, about whiche is given the maxim, namlie that a singel act of holie obedience is more meritorious than a thousand voluntarie mortificacions, agreed to the Archbishop’s plan, he having the seat of authoritie, whereunto our Lord said unto His Apostles: He who hears you, hears Me. After this, von Manstein and Charles the Younge Knight, led a force to occupy that territorie most adjacent on our northe, and, being so moved, occupied the region with a force of 75 armed men. And following them, they went aboute, decreeing saftie and law for all men, and if any men were found in that region not aggressing against our hoste, there came our priests to preach to them, led by Father Gilbert, and Mother Angelica with some nuns to succour them with alms, for it is written in the Book of Proverbs, he that hateth the poore, despiseth his Maker. And the Archbishop instructed our men to this effect, namelie that the whole countrie occupied should be inspected for radio equipment of any kinde. And there being a water-workes, anything that might be needful there. “JESVS SAID TO THEM: BEFORE ABRAHAM WAS MADE, I AM. THEY THEREFORE TOOK UP STONES TO STONE HIM.” (St. John, 8:58) “BLESSED BE THE LORD MY STRENGTH” IN this YEARE HENCE, the labour of researching the manufacture of firearms was finished. And we were so needful of them, that even the monkes were called upon to help direct their manufacture. When they were made, the Archbishop did a mass blessing of all the rifles and pistols which had been made, which we call, lances and swords. And these are the words of the Archbishop, quoting the Psalmist, Blessed be the Lord my strength, who teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight. But we monkes, most eager to return to the study of the natural sciences, of philosophie, and historie, and oratorie, and all the other oughtful subjects profitable to the natural life of man, were compelled by obedience once more to looke into the weapons of war, and we tried to improve on them that were already made. Meanwhile after Lent and Passiontide, Manstein spends the yeare manfulie training our milicia. ”WHATSOEVER THINGS ARE TRVE, WHATSOEVER MODEST, WHATSOEVER JVST, WHATSOEVER HOLY, WHATSOEVER LOVELY, WHATSOEVER OF GOOD FAME, IF THERE BE ANY VIRTUE, IF ANY PRAISE OF DISCIPLINE, THINK ON THESE THINGS.” (Philippians 4:8) ACTIONS -75 men armed with T2 melee go into the neighbouring district, namely the waterworks, and occupy and subdue it. If there is any creature not immediately hostile, he is offered the Gospel, safety and bread. They are led by Marshal von Manstein and his lieutenant, the now-beloved Sir Charles. (Will be marked on discord.) [MOD] -A search is made especially in that district for radio equipment. [MOD] -T1 gunpowder firearms research complete. [10/10.] 100 are made. [4 M.] -Leftover R put into T2 gunpowder firearms. [1/25] -150 men are upgraded to trained. [15,000 C] -1 S is spent on alms, if there be any poor in that district. [1 S] STATS STATS Buildings: 1 Market, 1 Scrap Yard, 2 Agri-Houses, 1 Salvage Yard, 2 Construction Yards, 1 Fortification. 10,450 Caps, 11 metal, 18/9 supplies , 8 building materials. Population: 796.
  19. “IT IS CONSVMMATED.” (St. John 19:30.) “ABROAD the regal banners fly, now shines the Cross's mystery: upon it Life did death endure, and yet by death did life procure.” VEXILLA REGIS PRODUENT, CHANT FOR HOLY CROSS. THE CHICAGO-ILLINOIS CHRONICLE. THE TWO THOVSANDETH, TWO HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-SECOND YEAR OF OUR LORD’S INCARNATION. THE HAPPIE RETURNE. “BEHOLD THOV ART FAIR, O MY LOVE, BEHOLD THOV ART FAIR; THY EYES ARE AS THOSE OF DOVES.” (Canticles 1:14.) In this yeare hence, the aforementioned symp-turned-knighte returned, but it was founde that the crope could not growe in the citie of Chicago, even in the greener parts, except in the agri-house, which defeates the pointe of the fruite in the firste place. Nowe I will relate the wonder-full tale of his returne and shew forth how it ledde to a new policie. This aforementioned young knighte, of the name Charles, was much be-sorrowed and full-distressed, thinking this disappointment woulde be the ende of him. Now the knighte resigned the matter to Our Lord, and begged Our Lady’s intercession, it being her monthe of May. Now as Our Lord Jesu Christe, being wonte to admonish the Church (A worde, “admonish”, which was well prov’d by the present author in a previous treatise, to be evenly derived from the Latin “admoneo, admonere”, and men are entreated to reade this if they wish to heare of the derivaction of this worde plainlie shewn) saide to this effecte, that a man who intends adulterie hath alreadie committed adulterie of the hearte. Wherefore, the intention is said to have primacie, in the eyes of God, who is outside of space and time, for He, who can do anything by mere Fiat, respecteth not the deedes of men, but the love of them, “not greate deeds, but greate love,” as St. Therese of the Infant Jesus said. So that a man who journies to the Holie Mass, but dies on the waye, receiveth the same graces, for having given the intention, even if he coulde affecteth not the action. And the Archbishop and all the plebes shewed a Christ-like attitude in this instance. So, coming into our parte of the citie, he and his partie, he was expecting disgrace. But upon seeing his returne, the Archbishop was gladfulle to see them safe, and thanked God, and they said a Te Deum in thanks. And all the little children, who had been crowning the statue of Our Lady with whatever flowers they could muster from the darknesse of the Vastaland, threwe them about Sir Charles, and the seeds of the fruite were placed before Our Lady’s statue. And Sir Charles married this ladie Matilda, to whom he saide, “Behold thou art fair, thy eyes are doves’ eyes” (quoting the Holie Canticles) and they consecrated their marriage to Christ Jesu, and on whose Feaste of King-shippe they were joined in holie matrimonie. And Charles had made a pair of ringes, merelie from scrappe metall, but surelie appreciated, in which the wordes were inscribed: “Sum tuum praesedium confugimus, sancta Dei Genitrix.” Namelie, we fly to thy protection, O Holie Mother of God. And all the towne hailed him as a greate knighte; he was crowned with wreaths and entered in triumph, and Fr. Gilbert Keith of the Congregacion of the Oratorie gave him sacred relics, namelie parte of the habit of Saint Monica, our glorious patron, whiche was still stained with blood and mortified from all the whippings she suffered at the handes of her sonne, the other being a relic of this same sonne who was converted by her example, namelie his combat knife. And Charles tying the habit-piece to a standard, made it his banner. And the Archbishop gave to von Manstein a large Crosse used at the miraculous Battel of Lepanto against the Turkes in the one-thousandth and seventie-firste yeare of Our Lord’s Incarnacione. and this he placed on a pole and these two became the banners of the armie. And before a battel, after Holie Mass, the soldiers are wonte to venerate these three relics to steadie their courage. But I fearre that this storie diverts from the central purpose, only I thoughte it oughte to be mentioned for the benefit of future generations. Now after the news came that the fruite planne had failed, the Archbishop knew two thinges: namely we needed to built more agricultural houses, and also that we were need-full of territorial expancion, and that both the sustenance of the communitie, and the teaching of the nations in the Father, Son and Holy Ghost would be much-adifficultied by the lack of arable lande. So he gathered all the men of the Archdiocese together, and the Abbesse of the Nuns, this devout ghoule of whom we spoke, and saide to that effect. And all men were of one minde and agreed to these courses of action, namlie to builde what oughte to be built, and to expand into foreign territorie. THE EXPANCION. “THOV ART PETER, AND VPON THIS ROCK I WILL BVILD MY CHVRCH, AND THE GATES OF HELL SHALL NOT PREVAIL AGAINST IT. AND I WILL GIVE THEE THE KEYS TO THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, AND WHATSOEVER THOV SHALT BIND ON EARTH, SHALL BE BOVND ALSO IN HEAVEN.” (St. Matthew 16:18-19.) Now in this yeare hence, things moved more quicklie than the Archbishop reckoned. It happeneth that as the Firste Sunday of May is a time of happie jubilacions for goode Christians who seeke to imitate the virtues of the Blessed Virgin, such as humilitie, chastitie, and charitie. Now as man hath occasion for silliness, naughtiness and haughtiness if jovialitie be misplaced, the former of that three possesseth younge girls with even greater lack of sense. Now a Novice of the Order of St. Monica, in her fourteenth yeare, who had lived with nuns her whole life and who knew little of the evils outside of her spiritual familie, wandered out of our territorie in saying the Rosarie, with little view of the danger. Now she sang the Regina Caeli with some splendidness, but some of our men hearde of it, and went with all speed in realising the danger, and before it coulde be saide, a good manie armed men were in the districte. Now the young Sister was founde, as it seems that Merciful Providence kept her safe, but now the Archbishop ordered the immediate manufacture of arms to prepare an expedition to take control for next year. SERMON FOR OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, CHRIST THE KINGE. “MY KINGDOM IS NOT OF THIS WORLD. IF MY KINGDOM WERE OF THIS WORLD, MY SERVANTS SHOVLD CERTAINLY STRIVE THAT I BE NOT DELIVERED TO THE JEWS: BUT MY KINGDOM IS NOT FROM HENCE.” (St. John 18:36) These wordes were said on the Sunday before the Feaste of all Saints, that being, by order of His Holiness Pius IX in 1925, the Feaste of our Lord Jesus Christ, Kinge of the Universe, by Fr. Gilbert Keith who preached at Vespers to the Benedictine Monks, called in vulgar tongue Evensong, the whiche I have recorded for the betterment of mankind. Because he is but an illiterate man and slave of the age, he wrote this sermon in “””modern English.””” ”Most new ideologies are old errors re-dressed. When Pope Pius XI instituted the Feast of Christ the King in 1925, all that was permanent and had stood forever seemed to be gone. The splendid throne of the Ottomans, the sprawling Empire of the Hapsburgs; the ancient autocracy of the Romanovs disappeared like dust in the wind. The totalitarian ideologies of Fascism and Communism were rising. Meanwhile, in the morally bankrupt Weimar Republic and the anti-clerical regime of Spain there were the stirrings of a second war even more destructive than the first. In this time of total war, was there any throne that would remain firm? Any hope that remained untrampled? Any King who remained unexiled? Pope Pius XI gives us the answer: Jesus Christ is King. Where did the ideologies of Pius XI’s time lead to? What happened to the gleaming promise of a better future under democracy, a worker’s paradise under Communism, or the racial utopia of the Nazis? Look out the window, and you will see, sure enough, where man’s unaided efforts lead. Man’s own efforts at salvation have fettered themselves and failed, one-by-one. They consumed the world in atomic fire. And now? They will fail again, with the same result. Whether the laughable attempt to resurrect the barbarism of pagan Rome that will die with its dictator, the futile hope of New World democracy that will drown in the own weight of its unfettered greed just as the Old World democracy did, or the thought-deprived, chem-filled savagery of the various raider groups that ends in misery for the slave and the slaver alike, the world labels old errors by new names, and proclaims that these very ideologies that destroyed the world in the first place are the sole salvation of the world today. The Foot of the Cross is the only place where sin and death make any sense. Christ proclaims Himself King, not in the Bosom of his Eternal Father, nor in the glory of His miracles, neither in the love of the crowds, which He avoids, but battered, bruised, bound in rope and chain, and before the man who is about to sentence Him to His death, while all the while the Jews cry out: “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” His Kingdom is everlasting: no scandal can shake it, no deprivation can move it; no atom bomb can extinguish it: because He is the King of hearts and souls. The Kingdom of God does not start with a governmental system, an economic policy or a novel technology. It starts in the heart. Let us therefore submit first to Jesus Christ, and beg His kingdom shew itself forth in our hearts through the mighty workings of the Holy Ghost, so that we may receive “power to become the Sons of God,” transformed into His likeness and image; beacons of hope and joy in a world fallen and tortured by sin and degeneracy. The old errors will die and fail as they always have. Christ alone is Saviour, and the gates of hell cannot prevail against the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. Many men have proclaimed to be the death of the Church: where are they today? Be not afraid.” ACTIONS. “BLESSED BE THE LORD WHO MADE HEAVEN AND EARTH, WHO HATH DIRECTED THEE TO THE CVTTING OFF THE HEAD OF THE PRINCE OF OVR ENEMIES.” (Judith 13:24) -1 Agri-House Built (5000 C, 2 B.) -2 Construction Yard Built (7,500 C.) -1 Fortification Built. [500 C, 1 B.] -4 Research placed into small arms. [7/10.] -450 T2 melee weapons made. (3 M) -Researched: Armour T2, Melee T2. STATS Buildings: 1 Market, 1 Scrap Yard, 1 Agri-House, 1 Salvage Yard. In construction: 1 Agri, 2 Construction Yard, 1 fort. 8,800 Caps, 12 metal, 14 supplies , 6 building materials. Population: 780.
  20. THE CHICAGO-ILLINOIS CHRONICLE ”AND MARY SAID: MY SOVL DOTH MAGNIFY THE LORD, AND MY SPIRITH HATH REJOICED IN GOD, MY SAVIOVR. FOR HE HATH LOOKED KINDLY UPON THE NOTHINGNESS OF HIS HANDMAIDEN; BEHOLD, FROM HENCEFORTH, ALL GENERATIONS SHALL CALL ME BLESSED.” (St. Luke, 1:46-47.) THE TWO THOUSANDE TWO HUNDREDE AND SEVENTIE-FIRSTE YEARE OF OUR LORD’S INCARNACION. - IN THIS YEARE HENCE, BY THE INEFFABLE MERCIE OF ALMIGHTIE GOD, AROVNDE THE FEASTE OF THE EPIPHANIE OF OUR LORDE, JESV CHRISTE, THERE BEGAN A MIGHTIE QVEST WORTHIE OF THE CHIVALRIC NAME. It was Seconde Vespers of that glorious feaste, and the glorious Magnificat of Our Blessed Lady was sung with mightie power by the Monkes and Nunnes, according to the composicion of that most excellente composer of Sacred Musique, who is called, in Italian tongue, Palestrina. Nowe this all came aboute due to a practice I have hearde in manie partes called “symping”, and it must be saide that we monkes find it most detestable on hearing of it; indeede if such a thinge existed in pre-scourging times, we ought to have beene bombed more, says I. But this talle may be proofe that God Almightie can bring goode even out of the greatest evil. For a soldier of valiant name, and the militarie commander von Manstein’s chief manne, is a man of Frankish stock called Charles de Mudiville, who, filled with romantic talles of chivalrie and knightlie courage, was wont to please a beautiful ladie called Matilda. After Seconde Vespers, called in the English tongue, Evensong, His Grace the Magnus Episcopus, or in the tongue of the Angles, the Archbishop Claudio of Chicago, gathered all the Priestes and the Abbesse of the Nunnes, Mother Angelica of the Immaculate Concepcion, an old ghoule of the greatest renone for wisdome, whereof she obtained by the pious and laudibil practice of saying the Holie Rosarie of our Blessed Ladie, which is called the Angelic Psalter of Marie. Nowe upon gathering together, the author of the presente volume was given leave to speake of a manuscripte founde in correspondance with Father Clifforde of Rivet Citie, wherein he found speaking of a strange fruite knowne to grow in the land called properly ‘Johnpaule the Secondsforde’, after the heroic Pontiffe of that name, but vulgarly called ‘Point Lookout.’ Now this countrie has in it a most excellente fruite rumoured to be able to grow in infertile and even irradiated places, and is saide to even have a minor healing effect on what is called “raddes,” or radiacion. Now we were needfulle of foode, and so after many manful objections from von Manstein (who saide he coulde find no justificacion for such an actione in Vegetius or Caesar, nor the First Booke of Maccabees, being obviouslie wronge, having no scholarlie know-ledge, but militarie alone), he agreed finallie with great tencion to allow men on an expedicion to that distante countrie, but onlie if a manne would volunteer to lead it. Nowe it seemed as if all the men had growne effeminatte and unmanful, but this “symp” of which we spoke, agreede to volunteer, after Matilda required it of him, and the chivalric minde of that man, was therefore led from the depths of the black sin of “symphoode” into the mightie realme of chivalrie, and was given a mightie quest. And so, in this yeare hence, Charles was called by the Archbishop Sir Charles the Younge Knight, and ledde six armed men and one Monke to go on an adventure to that countrie to try and retrieve this same fruite, in hopes that seeds might be brought back, and, in being ported home, that we might see a revival in agriculture, as was seene in the time called the Mediaeval Time, after the falle of the Roman Empire to the Paganes had disrupted matters for manie centuries. [MOD: Sir Charles de Muddivile, a young and bold commander, with six men and a monk are sent on an expedition to “that distante countrie” to bring back this fruit, Punga Fruit.] This is the transcripte of what this ladie, Matilda, said to the man: “Sir, if thou wouldst plead thy suit to me with empty wordes, I am found needfulle of the divine assistance of the Holy Ghoste, if I should divest myself of His borrowed glorie for the sake of such a manne. Now since thou art so convinced of thy greate manfullness, go mightilie on that queste set thee by His Grace, the Bishop, and, upon triumphante return, I shalle accepte thy wed, even at the coste of taking the name, Muddiville. And as the Psalmist hath said to thee: The Lorde ruleth me, I shall want for nothing. He maketh me downe to lie, in pastures greene. He leadeth me, the quiet waters by. For though I shoulde walk through the midst of the shadow of deathe I shall feare no evil, for Thou art with me, Thy rod and Thy staffe, they have been a comforte to me. And St. Alphonsus intepreting, saith that the rod be the Rod of Jesse, namelie our Blessed Lady, as it is related in the Prophet Isaias, And there shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a flower show rise up out of his root, and the staffe, the Crosse, wherefore it is written by the Same Psalmist: the Lord hath reigned from the Wood. And armed with these thinges, feare not, sir, but let thy hearte take courage. And as the Arch-Angel Michael’s name speaks, Quis ut Deus? That is, Who is like unto God? And armed with that buckler, fear not a thing.” And so he wente on the adventure in a queste to win her hearte, and so went from “symp” to “man”, and to returne a knighte as true as St. George, God willing. Praise be to God, so Almightie and Merci-ful that He can make Saintes even of Sympes. To Him be glory and honour, forever and ever. Amen. “EXPECT THE LORD, DO MANFVLLY, AND LET THY HEART TAKE COVRAGE, AND WAIT THOV FOR THE LORD.” (Psalm 26:14.) - IN THIS YEARE HENCE, several thinges transpired: -IN THIS YEARE HENCE, ancious to secure what coulde be a new source of foode, the Archbishope sent a small bande with one of our monkes, an ordained man, with some picked men to study what was supposed to be a fruit most wonderfulle, capable of growing in places considered infertile or even irradiated. [Mod, 1 R Spent on this expedition and 7 MP.] -In this yeare hence, a searche for radio equipmente is made in the Catholic-controlled territorie. [Mod] -In this year hence, we discovered a pile of bookes on “ekonomics” and implemented the ideals contained therein, wherefore the Psalmist saith: ‘Glorie and wealthe shalle be in his house, and his justice remaineth for ever.’ [Development Point Invested in Streamlined Economy, 5% higher Cap Income] -In this year hence, the monkes were compelled to cease their customarie studies of the humanities and take up researching smalle armes in conjuncion with the greate knighte, von Manstein. [3 R Invested ] -In this yeare hence, covetous for the goodwille of us plebes, a market was builte by the Archbishop. (-1 B, -5000 C.) “THOV ART BEAVTIFVL, O MY LOVE, SWEET AND COMELY AS JERUSALEM; TERRIBLE AS AN ARMY SET IN BATTLE ARRAY.” (Canticle of Canticles, 6:63.) STATS 10,000 Caps, 12 metal, 11 supplies, 0 research, 9 building materials. Population: 765. Research: Armour T2, Melee T2.
  21. FACTION NAME: The Archdiocese of Chicago Civilisation Type: Civilised. Starting Points: 1 Population (5), 2 Basic Resources, 2 Tiers of Research, 1 Development Point. Faction Backstory: In 2070, Pope John Paul IV’s warnings of an upcoming nuclear war and urgent call for nuclear disarmament, in his encyclical PACEM IN TERRA were ignored. In 2077 the bombs fell, and most assume the Church finally disappeared. But perhaps the most survivable institution in all of history, did not die. Pre-War Illinois was one of the greatest bastions of North American Catholicism, and Post-War Illinois, along with a presence in the Capital Wasteland, is now her last ember. For years, that ember sat dormant. The Archbishop of Chicago was able to survive the Great War through recourse to one of the great Underground Vaults, and since the war, the Church has survived as an underground society, having an undeniable Apostolic succession. In the 2100’s there came an heroine that re-ignited the fervour of the people. A girl called Monica in the Capital Wasteland was miraculously born of Ghoul parents, and yet showed few evident impurities of radiation. She was a pious Catholic girl, who prayed her Rosary every day. She had a husband, and a son. Slavers came. The Slavers killed the husband, for he was armed. They took Monica; they left the son, Ehran, for dead. Monica for years suffered grievously, rape, torture and forced labour under the Slavers, but kept the faith and through her example, was able to convert one of them. She escaped. After four years of searching, she found her son, only to find he himself had become a slaver. Ehran blamed Monica for all the years of hurt. Ehran himself made her his slave, but upon his beatings and hateful words, Monica only smiled and said “As the Lord is a living God, I forgive thee.” These words caused Ehran to break down, converting him to the faith. He went to and was ordained by the Bishop, going and preaching to slaves and slavers, the latter beheading him in 2182. Monica died in 2180. Having lost contact with Rome, the Archbishop authorised her veneration as Saint Monica in 2222. Saint Monica’s Catholic Church in Rivet City was consecrated in her honour in 2223, and she is declared the Patron Saint of the Wasteland, of Rivet City, and of the Archdiocese of Chicago. Saint Ehran was “canonised” in 2253. They have a joint feast day on the 12th of October. Meanwhile the Archdiocese during that time consisted of a single Bishop, four Priests and a small congregation. They lived a monastic life in the deep underground, closely guarding the secret of their location and, like their forebears in the Dark Ages, preserving the light of knowledge by copying books and information. Unlike the Brotherhood, they are not so interested in modern technology as the great books of Western Civilisation, humanities, art and literature, as well as medical and agricultural knowledge. However, as the cult of Saint Monica spread, the Church has experienced a revival, still existing as an underground but growing society in the city. There are now three religious orders: the Oratory of Saint Philip Neri, which serves the pastoral needs of the faithful and is a house of about a dozen priests and novices and is the arm of the Archdiocese that goes to the surface, the Monician Sisters of Our Lady of Ransom, who provide refuge to Ghouls and ex-slaves and who help make medical equipment, of whom there are 33, and the Benedictine Monks, who spend their time in manual labour, prayer and intellectual work, of whom there are 20. The laity consist mostly of ghouls, ex-slaves, and even raiders seeking to amend their lives. The first post-apocalypse Archbishop recognised the impossibility of surviving in the city, so they are somewhere in the surrounding countryside or suburbs, in some kind of underground shelter, although some speculate that it is the “Tinley Park” underground train station in the suburbs, or any of the other Suburb stations. The Monks every day blast out the sound of feral ghouls from two loud-speakers, which deters unwelcome visitors. Undeterred by the cautious Archbishop, the Priests and Sisters now want to expand operations into the city proper. The first Archbishop, who, like one Edward Sallow found “a lot of good information in old books”, studied how the early Church survived the Roman persecutions, and then later the fall of the Roman Empire, preserving and then restoring the civilisation that would be called Christendom. This stained-glass image of SS. Monica and Augustine is used for SS. Monica and Ehran. CHARACTERS: Archbishop Claudio Yacob: A pragmatic and political man, prone to long silences and in-action, but decisive once the course is set. He was elected Archbishop by the Oratory and Benedictine Friars. He does not always see eye-to-eye with the much less pragmatic Father G.K. Saunders and Mother Angelica, who accept ex-raiders and slavers with the fullness of their hearts, also accepting back ex-apostate Christians with little-to-no penance, and whom he considers naïve: likely to expose their presence to hostile forces, and destroy it. He rules at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Fatima, which is the home of all the Religious Orders. Father G.K. Saunders, Cong. Orat.: Provost of the Oratorians and a fearless young preacher, benevolent and gentle, and 99.9% likely to be canonised as it stands, and probably to be martyred too, given his fierce denouncements of sin and error. Named after English writer Gilbert Keith Chesterton. As far as is known, he is the last worldwide expert in liturgical music, preserving all the Gregorian Chant and Polyphonic Sacred Music he can find! Unfortunately, he is not endowed with what you may call an angelic singing voice... Mother Angelica: A very old Ghoul, Abbess of the Monician Sisters of Our Lady of Ransom. That she has survived so long in a merciless wasteland with such a merciful heart, is considered a miracle. She was personally converted by Saint Monica, on whose intercession she relies for unfailing help. Her daughters also help make vestments, chalices and the like for the celebration of High Mass. Father Benedict, O.B.: Abbott of the Benedictines. A nerd and a rambling intellectual. Obsessed with historical facts and formal logic, he and the monks also write an annual Chronicle called “The Chicago-Illinois Chronicle” based off of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. He owns a massive Douay-Rheims/Latin Vulgate Bible full of St. Thomas Aquinas’ Catena Aurea. Dietrich von Manstein: Actually, a descendant of the German general. In 2053, one of the von Mansteins converted to Catholicism and moved to the USA. Von Manstein is aware of his Prussian martial ancestry and after Father Benedict read Urban II’s speech from Fulcher of Chatres, von Manstein felt the need to start a militia to defend the Christian people. There were always armed members of the laity. But now he is beginning to band them together in a militia that trains together every Saturday, of which every adult male Catholic is expected to at least train in. This militia is called the Fyrd, named after the English levy which was called at the Battle of Edington in 878 for the defence of England from the Viking leader, Guthrum by Saint Alfred the Great. Von Manstein can be seen as aruthless leader, willing to put his men at the greatest risk for the protection of the Church, and he drills men hard. He has no official rank; his resources are quite meagre and varied.
  22. THE SCROLL OF VIRTUE. CRITICAL EDITION of the FLEXIO TEXT By the Venerable Father Humbert, O.S.J. With the “Canonist Commentary on Sacred Scripture” by Pius of Sutica, F.S.S.C.T. A.D. 1787. Venerable Humbert of St. Jude. ((OOC note: It is recommended to read this on the computer and NOT on the phone. It is very footnote heavy, and the footnotes don’t appear on the phone, so you would miss the greater part of the document! Also, if any of you happen to be Latinists and see errors, please correct. THE SCROLL OF VIRTUE.
  23. Pius of Sutica, FSSCT, encounters the story of the apostatising nun through reading her thesis on the Church and community. He writes in his notes: “She renounced her solemn vows to God and His Prophets on the basis of bad clergy. She was unquestionably wrong to do so, for the Church is not justified because her clergy never commit evil, but rather because her doctrine and sacraments are wholly truthful. Nevertheless, her tale shows what influence we clergy can have on the faithful. St. Jude edified her into renouncing the world and embracing God; the regicide threw her into the suicidal clutches of sin. Therefore I say that a clergyman who dies in grave sin, will be judged more harshly by the tenfold, compared to the ordinary man. I suppose this is why Ven. Humbert says, “The road to the Void is paved with the skulls of priests.”’ “May God have mercy on her soul.” He says, even his stony heart moved with compassion, and he offers a requiem mass for Lorina Carrion. He then offers a prayer for himself, that he may never be held accountable for the loss of a single soul. He becomes very mindful and certain of the fact that he, too, will be judged one day, and will have to give an account of his priesthood. The burden weights heavily on him, until he hears the quotation in his head: “For I bring with them their remedies...”
  24. Father Pius, the stoic Elf who rarely displayed outward emotion, was, for the first time since his baptism, in tears. The news of his dear Confessor’s departure was not an easy blow to take, and so Pius went to the foot of the Altar, prostrated himself, and poured out his heart to God. At length, he manfully steadied himself, resigned himself to God’s will, and did several things. “Not my will, but Thy will, be done,” said he, “It is God’s will; he is in better hands than mine.” To his new work, The Life of Ven. Olivier, he adds a dedication to his spiritual Father, urging men to pray for him. “For this is the only service God gives me liberty to render him, separated as we are by the wild and wasteful ocean.” He then writes a note to Father Griffith: ”Very dear, very respected and very loved -Fathe- [the word is crossed out], Friend. Do not reproach yourself with anything for my sake. But rather, gird up your loins like a man, for you have a much better friend than I could ever hope to be, namely, Almighty God. And as I am sure you are doing the right thing and have total and utter trust in your decisions, I must accept it as coming from God. And I will simply reproduce for you the spiritual maxim of Ven. Humbert: “God has created me to do Him some definite service. He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another. I have my mission. I may never know it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next. I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons. He has not created me for naught. I shall do good; I shall do His work. I shall be an angel of peace, a preacher of truth in my own place, while not intending it if I do but keep His commandments. Therefore, I will trust Him, whatever I am, I can never be thrown away. If I am in sickness, my sickness may serve Him, in perplexity, my perplexity may serve Him. If I am in sorrow, my sorrow may serve Him. He does nothing in vain. He knows what He is about. He may take away my friends. He may throw me among strangers. He may make me feel desolate, make my spirits sink, hide my future from me. Still, He knows what He is about.” If you pray for me, I shall know more from reality than from your assurance that you are. Your loving friend, Pius of Sutica.”
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