+ bleu clair rhapsody et la symphonie de (relocated) [crickets] +

By Ernestine Cobern Beyer

A certain king of great renown
Saw everybody upside down.
It much disturbed him day and night,
So topsy-turvy was his sight.

To try to cure the good king’s eyes
There came a doctor old and wise
Who dosed the king with horrid brews,
And poured red pepper in his shoes.

These things the patient king endured,
But when the doctor cried, “You’re cured!”
His Highness blinked and glumly said:
“Sir! Must you stand upon your head?”

Came other clever doctors, then,
Distinguished and important men.
“The Cold Cure is the very thing!”
Said they, “Let’s try it on the king!”

They promptly wrapped him in a sheet
With lumps of ice at head and feet.
Although it was a famous one,
This cure was very little fun.

“You’re healed!” they cried. “Without a doubt,
Your sickness has been frozen out!”
But they were wrong- for all that froze
Was just the royal nose and toes.

Well, being men of great resource,
They tried the Hot Cure next, of course.
But though they baked him toe to brow,
His sole response to this was “OW!”

Then came a wizard, tall of hat,
Who cured the king as quick as that!
He simply turned him upside down
And stood His Highness on his crown.

“Hooray!” The king’s relief was vast.
“You all look right side up, at last!”

* Quote from the St. Austin Review,
May/June 2008.

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From St. John Vianney

rhapsody August 6th, 2008

“Look at this other one, who seems to

want to give his whole life for God, whose

ardor all the torments there are cannot

damp. A tiny bit of scandalmongering …

a word of calumny … even a slightly cold

reception or a small injustice done to him …

a kindness returned by ingratitude …

immediately gives birth in him to feelings

of hatred, of revenge, of dislike, to the point,

often, of his never wishing to see his neighbor

again or at least of treating him coldly with

an air which shows very plainly what is

going on in his heart. And how many times

is this his waking thought, just as it was the

thought that almost prevented him from

sleeping? Alas, my dear brethren, we are

poor stuff, and we should count very little

upon our good resolutions!” - Source

Thanks to Terry from Abbey-Roads2.
Eric, over at The Daily Eudemon, wrote a
very interesting article on St. John Vianney
as well.

Coming in October

rhapsody August 2nd, 2008

from Ignatius Press…

Dear and Glorious Physician,
by Taylor Caldwell -

H/T: Mom:-)

Growing up, this book, (one
of my mother’s favorites) - about
St. Luke, was practically required
reading.

It has been out-of-print for a while
now, so it’s great to see Ignatius Press
making it available again.