1 Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine...

... et lux perpetua luceat eis.
Requiescant in pace. Amen.

I was very shocked and saddened to hear of the death of Professor Thomas A. F. Kelly. Please pray for the happy repose of his soul and also for his wife, mother, friends and family, for comfort in this time of grief.

4 Miserere Mei, Deus...

I spotted this posted on a couple of other blogs this morning, and, as our Lenten journey begins this year, I thought it only fitting that I should post it here also.





Here is Wikipedia's entry on the background of Allegri's Miserere (Psalm 51), along with the text and translation.

I absolutely love this. I first heard it on an album I had on my iPod that I took to listening to at 3 in the morning when our neighbours were having parties and playing really rubbish music and, just in general, keeping me awake when I had to go to work the next morning... I found that by the end of the first track or two, I was able to go back to sleep... It was like falling asleep surrounded by angels. :-) I've loved it even more since hearing the Lassus Scholars when in Dublin last year for the Solemn Liturgy of Good Friday -- something I hope to repeat this year, of course.

Anyway. I hope you all have a very blessed Lent. In the words of the Psalm... "Cor mundum crea in me, Deus: et spiritum rectum innova in visceribus meis."

"Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me."

2 I posted this last year...

But hey! It's good!!! ;-)

An Englishman an Irishman and a Scotsman were in a pub, talking about their sons.

"My son was born on St George's Day," commented the Englishman. "So we obviously decided to call him George."

"That's a real coincidence," remarked the Scot. "My son was born on St Andrew's Day, so obviously we decided to call him Andrew."

"That's incredible, what a coincidence," said the Irishman.
"Exactly the same thing happened with my son, Pancake."