sunday smile

El Greco - Pentecost, 1596

"all i want is the best for our lives my dear,
and you know my wishes are sincere.
what's to say for the days i cannot bear
a Sunday smile we wore it for a while ... " (Beirut - Sunday Smile, 2007)

what is it about indie music that makes me feels holier indier-than-thou?  abide in God's love (Jn 15:9), and listen to indie music.  you will feel at peace with Him, and with your neighbour.

come Holy Spirit!  today is Pentecost, and i love singing the Sequence - it always brings a smile to my beardless face. :)  happy birthday to You, Holy Mother Church, "c'est a ton tour, de te laisser parler d'amour"!  (2011, 2012)  come Holy Spirit, during this Year of Faith, help me know God better.  come Holy Spirit, help me love You more.  come Holy Spirit, help me follow You as a disciple of Christ, and witness to the Resurrection.

party hard, pray harder.  peace.

ps.  go Pittsburgh go!

not exactly

Rembrandt - The Return of the Prodigal Son, 1669

thanks to deadmau5 (Not Exactly, 2008) i have the title of my next post on the priesthood.  today is my four year anniversary.  it is not exactly what i signed up for.  indeed, it is much better.  of course, every vocation has its ups and downs.  but,

"... no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him." (1 Corinthians 2:9)

thank you for all your prayers, for helping me continue my journey towards Him.  union de prière.  peace.

ps.  apparently it is time to change my profile description, eh?

party in the USA

Bramantino Suardi - The Risen Christ, 1490

"so i put my hands up, they're playin' my song [Alléluia]
the butterflies fly away
i'm noddin' my head like 'Yeah!'
movin' my hips like 'Yeah!'

got my hands up, they're playin' my song [Alléluia]
and now i'm gonna be okay
yeah!  it's a party in the USA Universal Church!
yeah!  it's a party in the USA Universal Church!" (Miley Cyrus - Party in the USA, 2009)

it is indeed a party in the Universal Church, and we have reason to nod our heads and move our hips!  Yeah!  Christ is Risen!  Alléluia!  He is truly Risen!!!  Alléluia!  as St. Augustine said, "we are Easter people and alleluia is our song!"

happy Easter, joyeuses Pâques!!!  party hard.  pray harder.  peace.

ps.  time for chocolate(s). :)

swagga like us

"no one on the corner knows how to swagga like us" (T.I. with Jay-Z ft. Kanye West and Lil Wayne - Swagga Like Us, 2008)

i hope to see you tonight at the Easter Vigil, 19h30 à Saint-Pierre-Apôtre, Hawkesbury!  if not here, then check local listings (EN, FR)!  check it:  (map of the Archdiocese of Ottawa)

come home, to renew your baptismal promises!

"Telle est notre foi. Telle est la foi de l’Eglise que nous sommes fiers de proclamer dans le Christ Jésus Notre Seigneur."

party hard.  pray harder.

peace.

anyone else but You

Hans Baldung Grien - Crucifixion, 1512

"You are always trying to keep it real
i'm in love with how you feel
i don't see what anyone can see
in anyone else but you" (The Moldy Peaches - Anyone Else but You - 2001)

this song made famous by the movie Juno, is now applied to Good Friday, and to God in Our Lord Jesus Christ.  enjoy.  aujourd'hui, un silence qui parle!

peace.

ps.  The Moldy Peaches live:

head, shoulders, knees and toes

Dirck van Baburen - Christ washing the apostles' feet, 1616

"head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes
head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes
and eyes and ears and mouth and nose,
head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes!" (children's song - Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes, 33 A.D.?)

tonight, i picture St. Peter singing this little ditty.  we do not understand that God wants to wash our feet (Gospel of John 13:1-15).

"He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, 'Lord, are you going to wash my feet?'  Jesus answered, 'You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.'  Peter said to him, 'You will never wash my feet.'  Jesus answered, 'Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.'  Simon Peter said to him, 'Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!'"

to quote (@pontifex) Pope Francis, true power is the service of our brothers and sisters.  you do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.  let's enter now into the mystery of our faith - the passion, death and resurrection of God in Our Lord Jesus Christ.

"Jesus said to him, 'One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you.'  For he knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, 'Not all of you are clean.'  After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, 'Do you know what I have done to you?  You call me Teacher and Lord—and you are right, for that is what I am.  So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.  For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you.'"

peace.

ps.  Pope Francis:

ball of confusion

Pope Francis + technology loop

"well, the only person talkin'
'bout love thy brother is the preacher
and it seems, nobody is interested in learnin' but the teacher
segregation, determination, demonstration, integration, aggravation,
humiliation, obligation to our nation
ball of confusion, that's what the world is today
... and the band played on."  (Love and Rockets - Ball of Confusion, 1986)

ball of confusion.  that's how i felt in the past few days, especially yesterday.  it seems that i was experiencing a Portlandia episode, stuck in a technology loop! (a programmer's worst nightmare).  every now and then the secretary popped into my office making sure i was ok.  i was stuck in the internet following the news of our Holy Father:  twitter, facebook, instragram, texting, and finally later to coverage via tv.  it all came to a sudden halt, though!

when we saw Pope Francis, and he called us to prayer.  he called everyone in St. Peter's Square, and the world that was watching, to silence.  wow!  un silence qui parle!  he asked us to pray for him, and he would pray for us.  a good start to the Petrine ministry.

now what?  what does this all mean?  and what about the name?  does the name come from St. Francis of Assisi, St. Francis Xavier, abbé François Kibwenge (my pastor) or possibly Fr. Francis Portelli of the Archdiocese of Toronto, a classmate of mine (i taught him everything* he knows)?  anywho.  as Fr. Scott McCaig, General Superior Companions of the Cross, mentioned shortly after the news broke:

"Habames Papem! We have a Pope who regularly visited the slums, fought for human rights vigorously, rode the bus to work, lived in a humble apartment and cooked for himself, was a great admirer of John Paul II, dedicated to the new evangelization, and had no problem chastising and calling out the corrupt leadership of the Argentine Government. Rumour has it he was in the running in 2005 and made an emotional appeal not to be elected. Described by all as exceedingly humble, brave, and holy. Not sure if he's named after Francis of Assisi or after Francis Xavier, but appears to be a man who imitates both. Wonderful! My heart is filled with gratitude to Jesus and Mary for yet another saintly couragous pope."

among all the confusion, don't forget to take a moment each and everyday, in silence.  a silence that speaks to our hearts.  we listen to the voice and will of the Father, growing in our relationship with His Son, always trying to be attentive to the Holy Spirit.  peace.

ps.  i just realized Love and Rockets version is a cover of  The Temptations original song, from 1970.  i'm not sure they succeeded.  but it was cool in 1986.

pss.  do while until loop, if, then, etc., anywho, i forgot how to speak code.  but this is awesome (episode from Portlandia, "Technology Loop and 'Mind-Fi'"):