Ave Maris Stella

As I prepare to depart for some time at sea, I wanted to leave you with a beautiful hymn to our Blessed Mother, "Ave Maris Stella" or "Hail, Star of the Sea." Please pray for me, and check for updates if I am able to post from sea!

Ave Maris Stella	Hail, Star of the Sea
Dei Mater alma,	Portal of the sky
Atque semper virgo,	Ever virgin Mother
Felix coeli porta.	Of the Lord Most High.

Sumens illud ave	O! by Gabriel's Ave,
Gabrielis ore,	Uttered long ago,
Funda nos in pace,	Eva's name reversing,
Mutans Evae nomen	Established peace below

Solve vincia reis	Break the captives' fetters,
Profer lumen caecis	Light on blindness pour,
Mala nostra pelle,	All our ills expelling,
Bona cuncta posce.	Every bliss implore

Monstra te esse Matrem	Show thyself a Mother,
Sumat per te preces	Offer Him our sighs,
Qui pro nobis natus	Who for us incarnate
Tulit esse tuus	Did not thee despise

Virgo singularis	Virgin of all virgins
Inter omnes mitis	To thy shelter take us,
Nos culpis solutos	Gentlest of the gentle
Mites fac et castos	Chaste and gentle make us

Vitam presta puram	Still, as on we journey,
Iter para tutum,	Help our weak endeavor,
Ut, videntes Jesum	Till with thee and Jesus
Semper collaetemur	We rejoice forever

Sit laus Deo Patri,	through the highest heaven,
Summo Cristo decus	To the almighty Three
Spiritui sancto:	Father, Son, and Spirit,
Tribus honor unus.	One same glory be.
Amen.	Amen.

Saint Brendan the Navigator, pray for us!


"If I fly with the wings of dawn, and alight beyond the sea,
even there your hand will guide me, your right hand hold me fast."
~Psalm 139:9-10

Heaven's Before Me

Soul of Christ, sanctify me
Body of Christ, save me please
Blood of Christ, inebriate me
And with the water of Your side, Lord, wash me clean
Passion of Christ, strengthen me
And O dear Jesus, hear my plea

Cause Heaven's before me
Heaven's before me

Within Thy wounds will You hide me
And suffer me not separation from Thee
From the enemy, O Father, please defend me
And at the hour of my death, God, call me home
And bid me come unto Thee
So with Your saints I may praise Thee
With Your saints I may praise Thee

Cause Heaven's before me
Heaven's before me

Incline my heart to do You will
My heart is Thine


This is a stunning version of the "Anima Christi" prayer, written by the brilliant musician Colleen McCarron. If you'd like to hear it, my friend Jimmy has a streaming link on his blog, Mirth in the Merciful. If you go to Colleen's page, check out another one of her songs called "I Can't Wait." It is a beautiful prayer/song to her future husband.


"If I love you, I will show you; I will show you with the rest of my life!"
~Colleen McCarron, I Can't Wait

Love and Bear Fruit

Remain in my love.

These words of Christ as recorded in today's Gospel from St. John serve as the single most important words of advice to us that trancend generations. This seemingly simple command proves to be the most challenging aspect of living a Christian life -- to love one another, keeping in mind all the things St. Paul teaches us about what love is. Not only do these words guide us as how to treat one another, but also to remain with God. After all, God is love itself; to remain in love is to remain in Him. And so, with this simple phrase, Jesus summarizes the two greatest commandments: to love God and to love one another for love of God.

I have told this so that my joy might be in you and your joy might be complete.

Only in following Christ's command to remain in His love will we ever find the happiness we are all searching for. No joy or satisfaction of this world will make our hearts complete; only Him.

No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends.

And here, I am drawn to think of this phrase from a vocation viewpoint. What greater love is there than to lay down your life for your vocation? To give yourself totally to your spouse and your children in marriage? To give your entire life to God in service of His people in the priesthood or consecrated life? Ultimately, no matter what our vocation, we are called to live up to this kind of love, to lay our lives down so that others might have life; to live our lives in total service to Christ through our vocation so that others might also come to know Truth itself--Jesus Christ.

It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you, and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain.

To think--Christ calls US! He calls us, poor and sinful, to be consumed in His Mercy and to live out our lives to tell the world of His Truth. And Jesus tells us not just to live the gospel, but also to bear fruit! What a challenge in the society we live in today. But doesn't it make life worth living?

This I command you: love one another.

Just live it!


"We are born to love, we live to love, and we will die to love still more."
~Saint Joseph Cafasso

Message for the Youth

Last night, the Holy Father met with over 40,000 youth in Brazil in during his Apostolic Visit. He has some incredible words for the youth not only of Brazil, but for youth all over the world. I'd like to include some of my favorite words from his speech:

"In 1991, during his visit to Mato Grosso, the Servant of God Pope John Paul II, of venerable memory, said that 'youth are the first protagonists of the third millennium … they are the ones who will be charged with the destiny of this new phase in human history' (16 October 1991). Today, I feel moved to make the same observation regarding all of you."

"We can never say 'enough', because the love of God is infinite, and the Lord asks us—or better—requires us to open our hearts wider so that there will be room for even more love, goodness, and understanding for our brothers and sisters, and for the problems which concern not only the human community, but also the effective preservation and protection of the natural environment of which we are all a part."

"If we came to see all the good that exists in the world—and moreover, experience the good that comes from God himself—we would never cease to approach him, praise him, and thank him. He continually fills us with joy and good things. His joy is our strength."

"These years of your life are the years which will prepare you for your future. Your 'tomorrow' depends much on how you are living the 'today' of your youth. Stretching out in front of you, my dear young friends, is a life that all of us hope will be long; yet it is only one life, it is unique: do not let it pass it vain; do not squander it. Live it with enthusiasm and with joy, but most of all, with a sense of responsibility."

"But as I gaze at you young people here present—you who radiate so much joy and enthusiasm—I see you as Christ sees you: with a gaze of love and trust, in the certainty that you have found the true way. You are the youth of the Church."


I was able to watch the entire telecast of the youth event on EWTN, and it was so incredible to observe the sheer joy of the Holy Father to be with the young people. He never stopped smiling. I am very excited for World Youth Day 2008!


"My dear young people, Christ is calling you to be saints."
~Pope Benedict XVI

Truth from an Unlikely Source

Found this video via Lifeteen about a postulant of the Sisters of Life in Bronx, NY. She talks about the reasons behind her choice to enter the convent and the video points out the recent surge of young women entering religious life. This video, however, comes from an unlikely source -- MTV. Praise God for some truth in the mass of crud they produce.


"We drive around in our beat-up old jalopys, I mean, it's upside down, it's crazy, nobody would say that they wanted that. But there's a tremendous freedom, in not pursuing things."
~Mother Agnes Mary, S.V., on the vow of poverty

Fr. Baker on TV!

Sorry I have been out of commission lately. We just finished up exams and I head back home tomorrow morning for a few relaxing weeks. I have a lot of posts I'd like to make, so stay tuned!

In the mean time, I found this video of our very own Father John Sims Baker being interviewed by one of the local TV news stations in Nashville concerning priestly celibacy. What a treat!


"It is a sacrifice, it means giving up some fundamental things of what it means to be a human being. On the other hand, you never make a sacrifice except for something you believe is a greater calling and a higher gift.”
~Fr. John Sims Baker, on the vow of celibacy