In a Bla(i)se of Glory

1. It wasn't all that long ago that I first heard of the "Fourteen Holy Helpers," saints whose intercession was sought amid the ravages of the Black Plague. For reasons understandable, Saint Blase was listed among them. Many people know the story of him saving a boy from choking on a fish bone. All it took was a prayer and a blessing. And that's why he's a saint.

2. The Catholic Heimlich Maneuver is administered on the third of February with crossed candles aimed at the recipient's throat, with these words:

Through the intercession of Saint Blase, Bishop and Martyr, may God deliver you from ailments of the throat and every other illness; in the Name &c.

Per intercessionem Sancti Blasii, episcopi et martyris, liberet te Deus a malo gutturis, et a quolibet alio malo. In nomine &c.

Alio malo: "other evil." In the first use of malum, "ailment" or "disease" seems appropriate. The second malum typically is rendered "illness" as well; but I prefer "evil," as sickness and traumas are examples of "physical evil," lasting effects of the original sin.

3. The elder Fr. Z. wrote a few years ago about his experiences with requesting blessings and receiving inauspicious results: the old "post hoc, ergo propter hoc" fallacy. He's not alone in that regard, concerning both of the examples he offered. Rather than considering a blessing as a "jinx," he prefers, rightly, to persist in seeking divine protection and care through the devout use of sacramentals. They are neither good luck charms nor bad luck guarantors.

4. In my youth I never saw this saint's name spelled with an internal "i"--never, I swear! Now my chances of seeing either version are almost even. I prefer it without the "i." And I prefer the period inside a close quote that ends a sentence.

5. The pastor of my parish told me that, when he was a kid, he was initially afraid because he thought the saint's name was spelled "Blaze" and that the candles were supposed to be lit! In flagrante delicto!

6. This feast falls on the day after the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord (which occurs this year on the Lord's Day, and therefore trumps the Sunday per annum). I found this piece illuminating the connection between "Candlemas Day" and the next day's blaze. Why the candles? Jesus is the Light of revelation to the Gentiles, as Simeon declared to Jesus' parents (as we read on 2 Feb). Why the candles on the martyr's feast? St. Blase read the Scriptures in his jail cell by candlelight. True or not, it makes for a good story.

Notice they're lit! And "friggin' 'uge!"*
*best said with a Scottish accent

7. So this has turned into a "7 Quick Takes" (hosted at Conversiondiary.com), though not on the prescribed Friday! Since we're off the mark already, I will give no technical seventh point regarding this topic. You will have to live with my hamartia. I have a hard enough time with it ma-self.

"Take" That--HiiiiiiiYAH!

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In my efforts to get hip and with it in matters technological, hampered as they are by my primal aversion to learning new mechanisms, I have cut-and-pasted the HTML template for "7 Quick Takes Friday," which may become a regular feature of this corner as much as anything about it is regular.

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For the longest time I thought that HTML was the abbreviation for Hotmail, my first and most relied-upon email provider.

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I don't want to tell you what I thought "SHTML" stood for. I still don't know.

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You mean I have to do seven of these? How many are left?

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At the very least I am delighted to give props to Conversion Diary, which is one of numerous faithfully and thoughtfully Catholic blogs out there today. Thanks to hosts such as New Advent and BigPulpit, I have come to enjoy several of these blogs. If I would take the time, perhaps I could make something of this current blog.

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I really have to hand it to the Franciscan University of Steubenville, for its High School Youth Conferences. I never knew about them when I was in high school, if they even existed in the early '90s. At that time, gatherings like Steubenville's weren't my bag. Since then, I have attended several of them as a priest. I heard perhaps eight or nine hours of quality Confessions each time. I witnessed kids enjoying the Holy Mass and Eucharistic Adoration, eager to share their spiritual experiences with their peers. Now I recognize that these experiences need follow-up and continued effort to be preserved, and the worship style at most parishes does not resemble the externals of a youth conference. But the same Jesus is here at Holy Guardian Angels, just itchin' to see those young souls. And I'm always happy to see them, too. One of those souls, currently united to a body (for many years to come, we hope), attended Benediction yesterday, stayed afterward to talk to one of his former high school teachers and to help me put away the Eucharistic paraphernalia. Priesthood: Totally Worth It.

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Somebody will have to explain to me the value of HTML, when I get around to caring.

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