de pauperibus: "...as the incense..."

Glorious St. Joseph, model of all who are devoted to labor, obtain for me the grace to work in the spirit of penance in expiation of my many sins; to work conscientiously by placing love of duty above my inclinations; to gratefully and joyously deem it an honor to employ and to develop by labor the gifts I have received from God, to work methodically, peacefully, and in moderation and patience, without ever shrinking from it through weariness or difficulty to work; above all, with purity of intention and unselfishness, having unceasingly before my eyes death and the account I have to render of time lost, talents unused, good not done, and vain complacency in success, so baneful to the work of God. All for Jesus, all for Mary, all to imitate thee, O patriarch St. Joseph! This shall be my motto for life and eternity. - Prayer of Pius X

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

"...as the incense..."

Yesterday on the Feast of St Francis of Assisi we sang a Solemn Evensong at my instigation since, other than simply being the greatest and most beloved Saint of the church after Our Lady, he also has the unenviable honor of praying for me as I contemplate entering his Third Order.

Before the service I told our old and much-written-of friend C that that I needed to go into the church and start the incense for the service. Curious, and known to be incense-loving, he asked, and I showed him the big bag of spiced incense that we use and the coal he instantly recognized as identical to those used to smoke hookah. So I ended up giving him a few coals and a little bag of sweet smelling crystals. Having thought nothing of it at the time, and today having completely forgotten about it, I walked into the hospitality house this afternoon only to find that it now smelled just like the church.