One thing I hope to do occasionally at this site is to things on the web that seem to me particularly beautiful or important. Not just any old thing that might have a little importance, I repeat, but things that have impacted me significantly.
With that in mind, I will just say that I have been particularly moved by reading Vultus Christi by Father Mark Daniel Kirby, Benedictine monk. Not only is there much here on matters important to me such as Catholic Ireland and the Devotion to the Sacred Heart, but the sincerity and beauty of the Father´s words speak for themselves.
I was particularly moved by his reflections on a very special friendship:
I have a most extraordinary friend. We became attached one to the other more than 57 years ago. This friend of mine has every quality. He is loyal. Never has he left me alone …
He is my advocate, forever taking up my cause and pleading my defense. He speaks so in my favour, and when he does so, his eloquence is angelic.
While I sleep, he keeps watch. While I keep vigil, he keeps vigil with me. If I have to travel, he always goes along for the journey. (He has no fear of flying.)
His greatest joy — perhaps you have already guessed it — is when he accompanies me to the altar to offer the Holy Sacrifice. There he becomes absolutely radiant. He stands, like a deacon, at my side …
At the moment of the Consecration, he becomes all luminous: beautiful with an indescribable beauty. I feel him trembling with joy next to me. And then he becomes utterly silent; he becomes like a flame of adoration. At this moment he is never alone.
All his confrères arrive and sometimes, just sometimes, one feels, but ever so slightly, the hushed movement of wings of light. They arrive, all of them together, to surround the altar and then, they adore, they adore, they adore. …
So there you have it: a little portrait of my friend. Each of you has one rather like him. Love these celestial friends of ours, honour them, and consult them; and, today, give thanks to the Father for having given them to us.
There is significantly more here – but I didn´t want to pirate too much from this beautiful blog. Go see for yourself. I think you´ll be glad you did.
As for my part, I find breathtaking, the explicit reverence here for the Mystery of the Mass and the gratitude for the Supernatural Bounty of God that so much of the Church is now tragically all too coy about (as I recently said here).
2013 Update: When this weblog was first written, I was in Madrid in Spain. I have since returned to my beloved Ireland.
In the meantime, it appears as though Dom Mark Daniel Kirby has made the same journey, opening the Silverstream Priory and offering the Latin Mass to Catholic Ireland. Deo Gratias!
Foreword for Monarchy by Roger Buck
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