A Delay for the Holidays

by B.L. Wainscott


I had intended to finish the series on entertainment by the end of November and the beginning of Advent, but as I posted the Thanksgiving piece last week, and as the holiday this week will forbid me from posting, among another things, I shall not finish the series this month. And because Advent is now upon us I feel it improper to post on entertainment during that penitential season, and shall thus delay the series until Christmastide. My posts will turn a bit more sober for Advent as I think is proper. I will not be posting an article today at all as I am observing the Thanksgiving holiday with my family.

I wish a happy holiday and feast to all of those who are observing it, and may we all be thankful for all we have today, but always as well. I also hope your Advent goes well and remind you to do penance like in Lent. Perhaps give alcohol up, a thing many Catholic give up in Advent and Lent, as well as a few other things, and even fast, at least a few days a week. We shall have the chance to celebrate come Christmas, which is very soon. 'Tis the season, for present, not to be jolly, but to do penance and hope for Our Lord who comes in the spirit of poverty, in a lowly manger though He is King of the Universe. Observe then a spirit of poverty in your own penances, denying yourself your luxorious pleasures, for the spirt of poverty does not have to do with riches, but with giving up the luxuries that riches afford. A man, even if he is very rich, can observe the spirit of poverty by simply denying himself pleasure. That is the real spirit of poverty, and may your observe it this Advent. Blessed Advent to you and Happy Thanksgiviving. May God bless you and your families. Christ was God and King of kings, and yet how lowly He made Himself in that manger like a beggar and on that Cross like a common criminal! Then be ye poor, wretched subjects of Christ the King!


Dominus Vobiscum et Deo Gratias,

Brandon Wainscott

Thanksgiving: The Proper Spirit for an American Monarchist and Catholic

by B.L. Wainscott

EDITOR'S NOTE: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent an official position taken by the Durendal staff as a whole. As you will see in the comments box, I strongly disagree with the position taken but do not censure it as I think this is a point over which Catholic gentlemen may disagree. - N.W.

AUTHORS NOTE: I had meant to continue the series on wholsome entertainment, but since next Thursday is Thanksgiving, I will post this today to reflect on in the next week as that holiday approaches. Also, just a friendly reminder for those who observe the traditional Friday abstinence; the Friday after Thanksgiving, before Vatican II, was always a dispensation from abstinence for American Catholics. I believe Pius XII gave this dispensation, but it was indeed a Friday in which meat was allowed for American Catholics. So you can enjoy your turkey sandwich on Friday without any scruple and still go along with pre-Vatican II rubrics.


Next Thursday is the the American holiday of Thanksgiving, and I shall post something briefly on the matter because I think it important. Some might say we traditionalists and monarchists should not celebrate this holiday at all, given the Puritan roots and secular nature, but I think that unlike other secular holidays like Hallowe'en, some good can be drawn from Thanksgiving, and it can be celebrated thus.

Many American Catholics shall be thankful for their "freedom" and living in a "free country" and for America itself. It is one thing to be thankful that we have the liberty to practise our true religion and are not restrained by communist oppression or by Mohammedan government, but what is usually meant by this is gratitude for the America principles in general--i.e. religious liberty, and that everyone has it in this great "free country". They are not grateful that they live free in America rather than under oppression in some Moslem country, or in America where they have more material goods than they might in some poor third world country, but are grateful for the American principle itself. This is a sort of thanksgiving we must avoid, for it is the very secular and Protestant spirit of Thanksgiving. Religious freedom is not a good thing, for heretics do not have the liberty or right to practise their religion, but at the very most can only be tolerated to avoid a greater evil. And this is not out of some human right, but out of the good of the political society. We cannot be thankful that heretics have liberty to practise their heresy.

But thanksgiving itself is a wonderful virtue most of us could increase in, and to be thankful for what true goods we have should be something done next Thursday. We might be thankful for all the gifts of intellect God has given us, for His preserving us from harm and death, or for our friends and family. It is only by the grace of God that we have these things, and since there is nothing that is but that it came through God, and there is nothing we possess of ourselves, we should certainly be thankful to the Creator who gave us all these goods. Without God's willing our intelligence, we should be stupid, and we should consider the many who may have lesser minds than we, not in a spirit of superiority of course, but in a spirit of humility; for despite our nothingness and unworthiness, God in His goodness chose to bless us with a better mind than others, especially the mentally retarded whom we would be among if not for God's goodness. This is not to demean the mentally retarded or puff ourselves up, but should humble us, for we often consider our intellectual gifts of our own merit, and while indeed we did get them by our studying, it is only by the power of God that we were not born or made retarded by birth or accident. It is only by His grace that we were able to study; for His Providence might have easily put us in a place where we would not have gained our intellectual gifts, but be more common in our intellect. And this may be considered with other gifts, such as family and friends, for consider how many people have bad families or few or no friends; we should be grateful if we are not lonely, and even if we do feel very lonely at times, be thankful we are not as lonely as others are, for remember there is always someone worse off than we are ill. If we have good health, we should thank God for it, considering the many wretched suffering very much at this very moment in their sickness; we might thank Him that we are not poor like others, who are not even sure where their next meal is coming from, but that we are well provided for. And if we lack health or riches to whatever degree, consider that whatever we lack, we always have more than someone else, and this by God's good grace.

Certainly there are many things we can be thankful to God for, who not of our own merit but out of the condescension of his own mercy has given it to us. Unlike the Protestant mentality, with the work ethic and prosperity gospel, we do not believe that our prosperity is a sign of our virtue and God's blessing us for it; rather it is God's blessing in itself, and not because of our own merit, but from His own. Protestants call these things their blessings in the sense that they are being blessed for their righteousness, but the Catholic spirit is more humble and spiritual than the Protestant mentality; it believes God blesses us with so much despite our wretchedness. The Catholic spirit of humility is to see our great possession both in grace, virtue, and temporal goods and know how unworthy we are of it, and how it is all by God's grace.

It is from this humility that the true spirit of thanksgiving arises, thankful that God, despite our worthlessness, has given us so much because He is so good an generous. I cannot help but think that the Mohammedans are at least right in this regard: God indeed is the merciful, the compassionate, and the beneficent! God is great! I shall not say Allah Akbar, but indeed, God is great, very great! he is merciful to us poor sinners, compassionate to our weak human natures, and beneficent in his gifts! One cannot deny it! St. Augustine begins the Confessions by considering the utter greatness of God and pouring out his praising in thanksgiving for the many gifts that greatness has bestowed upon us. We must be like St. Augustine in that regards, and consider just how great God is. His immensity, and yet how though God, he condescended to become a man that he might save us.

The virtue of thanksgiving itself is what we should dwell on next Thursday instead of the spirit of the holiday itself--thanksgiving for freedom of religion, democracy, etc. Besides, it is a time for families to get together and we should not shun this great feast out of our spite for its origins, when we might drawl from the good of families just getting together one of the few times they all do in the year and all feasting. Feasting is certainly a thing we Catholics should love, especially if there is plenty of wine and good cheer to go around the table when we pass the turkey! We are not the Puritans who first celebrated the holiday and thus do not shun a good feast, good cheer, and good wine, for to borrow a phrase from the Poet "drinking it sobers us again" [1]. We should feast in gratitude for all those goods that God has given us, including the very feast before us, for there are some that as we shall eat, alas, shall be starving, and should indeed enjoy them, for we must realise how wonderful our social nature is, for blessed a good conversation; how wonderful our corpreal nature is, including the food and drink that sustain it; and just how good all we have is despite our utter worthlessness. I hope next Thursday to post a reflection on the virtue thanksgiving for our benefits, and though I have done this in this article, I will do it as a reflection in the next one. If the business of the holiday forbids that as I have a busy one, I am sorry, but I hope you might reflect one what I have said in this article as you enjoy the wonderful holiday with your families and the wonderful food, and thank the good Lord for it all. Truly, He is a good God to us poor sinners, and let us hope to obtain everlasting happiness with Him, his Angels and his Saints, and sing the unending Sanctus and the Te Deum with all of heaven, forever and ever. Amen. Deo gratias! I shall include here the Te Deum of one of my favourite composers of one of my favourite era, Jean Baptise Lully:

Posted on the Feast of St. Elisabeth, Widow, a.D. MMIX

A False God of the Moderns: "Health"

Here, we see an example of the ubiquitous modern health propaganda that is so commonly encountered today. Truth is mixed with falsehoods and exaggerations, and if we are unwary, it is easy to fall into a humanistic mentality.

By E. J. G. Jones

One of the most prevalent and commonly-encountered ideas in the modern world today is, it seems to me, that 'good health' enjoys an almost sacrosanct reverence. Gyms and health clubs dot our cities and towns, 'working out' is now touted as an enjoyable lifestyle embraced by those who would be responsible citizens and responsible caretakers of their bodies, and anything deemed detrimental to 'health' (this very nebulous concept) is discouraged, forbidden, looked down upon, or otherwise made to seem quite evil.

We have a situation today where health is glorified, for want of anything else to glorify, far above its natural station. Everything must be 'safe,' lest health be damaged. (I emphasize, of course, that prudence is a Catholic virtue, but my concern here is with the excesses of it, stemming from a naturalistic mentality.) Safety and concerns about it dominate everything. Would Medieval jousts, tournaments, and hunting be acceptable pastimes today? Millions of dollars are spent by government agencies throughout the Western world to insure that motorists wear their safety belts, and many activities which have been practiced for millennia, such as horseback riding, are now frowned upon unless a safety helmet be worn. A Model T Ford is seldom cranked over by hand anymore, out of concern that it could kick back and break a bone (notwithstanding the fact that proper technique can practically eliminate this risk.) Smoking, a venerable pastime worldwide for the last 500 years, is increasingly regulated and banned in many places, due to a dubious and unproven assertion that it can cause cancer in exposed nonsmokers. (And even were this to be disproven thoroughly, it would still be considered acceptable to ban it, to prevent the poor smokers from taking such a risk themselves.) Today, a small scuffle between youths is considered gravely dangerous, atrocious behavior, and is punished with, as often as not, the heavy hand of the law. I have said nothing of the massive and pervasive presence of vaccines and other such offerings of modern medicine, or the numerous nutrient pills and other supplements which are offered (and purchased readily) in the hopes that they will lead to better health.

Indeed, danger is, as far as possible, completely eliminated from the lives of men today. We are insulated from the realities of life -danger, which causes us to think warily of death and the last things, by a massive network of safety and comfort, in the form of glass, cement, asphalt, and technology. We no longer face physical hardships, or face many physical risks in the course of everyday life. We lose something, from this, as we aren't so connected to reality. We are able to live more fully and undisturbed in our own comfortable materialistic reality, where nothing is dangerous and the day-to-day, practical meaning of life now revolves around comfort, material possessions, and the worldly power they represent.

On the one hand, of course, health is a natural good. Sickness is an evil, and we have a duty to be responsible and not to abuse the temples of the Holy Ghost, our bodies. We know these things from natural philosophy and the teaching of the Church.

On the other hand, however, the innate puritanism which remains quite a force in today's world tends to overemphasize the good of health, to the point where it seemingly dominates most other considerations. Why might this be?

I submit that it is because the modern world has abandoned the Catholic faith, and religion of any kind. Man needs morals, and he sees that the Catholic morals of his forebearers were good and admirable, and a benefit to society. Yet, he does not wish to embrace their system, for that would entail intolerable assaults on his 'freedom' and 'dignity' and would require him to make sacrifices. Therefore, he instinctively attempts to find another good to replace the Sovereign Good, one which will be common and unobjectionable to all. That good is health, since it can be affected by man's actions. A health-centric morality has a superficial resemblance, too, to a God-centric morality, because both require a certain attention be paid to the human body, and engender such commandments as "thou shalt not kill" and the like -after all, nature and supernature are not in conflict, necessarily, though man in this case has rejected the supernatural and unduly glorified the natural.

Thus, man, having rejected God, replaces him with man, and elevates man's well-being to the status of a religion, with its temples (the gym) and its priesthood (the neo-scientific modern medical establishment.) The zeal the followers of this ideology display equals that of any saint, in their quest for temporal well-being, which manifests itself as an absolutely essential quest for 'good health.' This is quite subtle, seeing as there is much truth to the assertion that health is good and that we ought to value and seek after good health, if we can -yet today, this is exaggerated so that it becomes an error, and these errors are the most dangerous kind. We must be wary of slipping into the mentality of the world, and esteeming health, and the comfort it represents, above more important things. This life is (and is meant to be for us so that we may more readily elevate our minds to the supernatural and save our souls) a valley of tears, which is a truth that the Devil and his agents today would love for us to forget.

Posted on the Feast of the Dedication of the Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul, A.D. MMIX

Ees Good Pistoletka, You Buy!

In a world marked by evil ... the right of legitimate defence by means of arms exists. This right can become a serious duty for those who are responsible for the lives of others, for the common good of the family or of the civil community. This right alone can justify the possession or transfer of arms". (Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, "The International Arms Trade: an Ethical Reflection" in Origins 8 (24), 7 July 1994, p. 144)

By N.D.C. Wansbutter, Esq.

Readers will no doubt notice that we have a new "label" on our blog today, namely, the "Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives". It seemed that these things did not fall nicely under "leisure" or "culture", so I deemed it appropriate to give them their own section.

Why a section devoted to these things? Let it suffice to say regarding the first two items that we oppose puritanism. As to firearms and explosives, some might say we are imprudent to discuss such things and that we will contribute to a false impression of traditionalists as crazed militia types.

It is far from our purpose to promote anything seditious or survivalist. Yet all the same, we insist that the safe and effective use of firearms is invaluable to the Catholic gentleman, keeping in mind one of our overarching premises that the most Catholic way is a return to the land. A man's home is his castle and it falls to him to defend it -- and as our society descends ever further into immorality and anarchy it is frighteningly real that we may have to defend it. Yet, moreover, hunting is an excellent source of both leisure and (non-G.M.O., steroid and antibiotic free, non-cannibalistic) food.

Hence the title of this editorial. You will see from time-to-time here on Durendal, reviews of various firearms (as well as liquors and tobaccos) under the badge of this new label with explanations that are hopefully a bit more helpful and informative than "Ees good pistoletka, you buy!".

Posted on the Feast of St. Gertrude, Virgin and Abbess, a.D. MMIX

Bring Back the Bards: Wholesome Entertainment of Yore, Part II

by B.L. Wainscott

In our second video of this series, we turn to the Christian West, which will please those of you who may find annoying or odd my love affair with my mistress in the Middle East, and here we shall remain for the remainder of these videos. In this video we find ourselves in France, and have in this video two pieces, a charming instrumental piece first, called E Dame Jolie, which though I think may actually have words, is only played here. The second piece however, called Douce Dame Jolie, translated Sweet Lovely Lady, is a love ballad, with beautiful lyrics reminding us of a nobler form of romance and human love.

Despite Mr. Wansbutter's recent post on the dangers of the "Romeo and Juliet love"[1], it is worth reflecting on the nobility of the romance displayed by the medieval and Renaissance poets for their ladies. Dante is perhaps the greatest example of this in a Catholic context. Indeed, Dante's sonnets, ballads, and poems to his love, Beatrice, have a very Catholic theme to them, showing how this human love, this romance, can reflect the higher love of man for God. For Dante, in seeing Beatrice, whose name denotes beatitude[2], this sight represents the Beatific Vision, and so Dante sees in her the face of God. In her sight and greeting is where his happiness resodes, he tells us in La Vita Nuova. This is obviously extremely beautiful and shows the tremendous power of allegory and of even romantic human love. This sort of romance is vastly superior to the type displayed by today's poets and singers, that is by the rock musicians and sappy love song singers. The love they sing about is usually nowhere near the same level as the medieval love poems were, for the medieval verse at least directed the soul to something noble and higher, but today's music remains very earthly.

Listening to a modern song sing about love it is either very sexual, which turns the heart to lust, or just a very typical juvenile and sappy type love. If nothing else it just aims at the earth, while medieval love songs and poems aimed at heaven, even if the poets themselves were caught up too much in their romances. Like with all great art, however, despite the wrongful passion of some of the artists, the result of the art at least inspires one to the True, the Good, and the Beautiful. This is because the medieval mind at least in some form cherished what was noble, even if the artist was very sensual and worldly in one sense. Even their worldliness was much more heaven-aimed you might say, a testimony to how base our modern vices are! Romeo and Juliet, for example (actually Renaissance, but close enough), despite what we might condemn in it, certainly contains something much more noble than what can expressed in a modern romance movie. The way in which the lovers express their love for one another is filled with allegorical language, and it is this that makes the whole of that medieval and Renaissance standard vastly superior to today's. Why not say a goddess walks where your lady walks? That's certainly better than saying "she has a sexy walk!" Why not say that in your lady's face an angel is seen? That's certainly better than, "She's really hot!" Even the more natural descriptions of the medieval poets, such as comparing their ladies eyes to the stars or her beauty to a rose, are much better than those of the moderns. In a sense God, and all virtue, were seen in a lady of a medieval poem, while no such thing is seen in modern music and poetry in regards to love.

I hope, therefore, that this second song especially shall be a welcome relieve to the base love music of today. Such affections as Mr. Wansbutter rightly said in his recent post might need to be tempered, but certainly it is a welcome relieve to the rubbish these scibblers pen and sing today. At least in medieval love songs and poems our mind is turned to something beautiful and noble, while in modern love music, we generally remain very much on earth. The lyrics and tune to the second piece are very beautiful, and I can certainly see my own suffering as a poet and lover in them. In fact they school me very much the art of a poet and lover, and are sort of my scripture, if you will, as a poet and as a lover.

But I digress. Again, may it entertain you and please your tastes, while directing you to higher things. It is important to remember that in regards to marriage and love between a man and a woman "romance" is not everything, and above all else there must be selfless devotion to the duties of the married state, the man as head of the wife, and the woman as his support and counsel. Both must submit their affections to their reason. Nonetheless, this medieval romance cannot but stir up our nobler romantic sentiments in opposition to those baser ones of the modern poets and singers:

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ENDNOTES

[1] see Too Much Romeo and Juliet: http://rencesvals.blogspot.com/2009/11/too-much-romeo-and-juliet.html
[2] Beatrice, meaning she who blesses; ; blessedness means happiness strictly speaking, though our English connotation makes this less clear. Nonetheless, in Latin, the word for happiness is of course beatus ; and thus we can see the relation to the whole "Beatific Vision", which is perfect happiness of course. The souls in heaven, who have this perfect happiness, are often called the blessed, and their happiness is more properly expressed by some translators of Aquinas and such as beatitude.

So Beatrice, as her name implies, represents the beatific vision of happiness with God, and thus is a wonderful and beautiful allegory of the purpose of our whole religion.

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Posted on the Feast of St. Martin I, Pope and Martyr, a.D. MMIX

Too Much Romeo and Juliet

By N.D.C. Wansbutter, Esq.

It modern society as a whole, but even among traditionalists, it seems that there is far too much emphasis in marriage on "a love match" or on the "Romeo and Juliet" aspect. What everyone forgets is how Romeo and Juliet ended up.

It is precisely this overemphasis on "love" and the romantic aspect of courting that leads to the spiritual death or wounding of so many, and to unhappy marriages. Many might think this ironic, but from another angle it makes perfect sense, since romantic passion can easily cloud judgement and cause one to overlook grave faults in the other (even such faults as grave as heresy). It also leads to unrealistic expectations, since as most married people know, the rose comes off the bloom rather quickly once cohabitation begins.

It also prevents a great number of good matches, I am convinced, as people wander about looking for "love" rather than a good man who is strong and knowledgeable in the faith, responsible, has a job sufficient to support a family, or a good woman who is pious, pure, and skilled at homemaking. But because there isn't that "connexion" marriage does not occur.

The Faith, of course, is of paramount importance and in many a marriage will be the only thing that keeps the couple together in the bad times. Yet how many overlook this because they're "in love"?

To this end, there is much to be said for arranged marriages, which used to be common in days past. The consent of the involved parties was needed, but people, having a more realistic idea of marriage, were not adverse to a good match.

Finally, we must recognize that true love is not mushy emotions and sentiments. It is action. So in reality, there is no such thing as a "love match" or, conversely, even marriage to a complete stranger could be a love match if those entering the marriage decide to be true to one another and do their respective duties as husband and wife. I therefore urge our unmarried readers to not put so much stock on romantic sentiments, but rather look for another person strong in the traditional, integral Catholic faith, with good qualities.

Posted on the Feast of the Dedication of the Basilica of Our Savior, a.D. MMIX

Bring Back the Bards: Wholesome Entertainment of Yore, Part I

by B.L. Wainscott

A poet and romantic like myself, fond medieval culture especially, but also fond of the classical age, calls to mind how in those days entertainment was so much more wholesome. Humans are social creatures, and need companionship, good humour, entertainment and fun, and these things are very good. But the entertainment must be good, and edify the soul, not bad, turning it to vice; what makes entertainment of today bad is not that it is fun, but that it turns the soul to what is bad. In the past, even in pagan Greece and Rome, despite its numerous vices, and in the Middle Ages, despite its vices also, wholesome entertainment was more to be found. Among these wholesome entertainments was singing and poetry. The poems of Homer and the other Greek poets were sung by bards on the lyre, not just read aloud like we do today, and it was a source of entertainment that the Greeks sought, coming to listen to the bards sing of Achilles haughty passion or Odysseus' long adventure home from war. This tradition we also find in the Christian Middle Ages as well, such as with courtly love, when lovers would sing ballads, sonnets, and other poems to their beloved.

In the next three posts of mine, I will be including three videos to demonstrate this point. This will be my theme for November, and I will post the three videos over the next two Thursdays (though this is posted on a Saturday), and then complete it with a general article on entertaiment and its value to Catholics, censuring bad entertainment and advocating good entertainment. This will be a series of four posts, and then we shall see what the Holy Ghost calls me to as Advent begins.

The first video we have is Turkish, and many of you may know my romantic affection for Islamic and Middle Eastern culture, especially the women. But the affection extends not only to those raven tressed beauties, but to the beautiful music as well. The following Turkish gentlemen strike me as very Sicilian, and it is not just the dark hair, but the pastoral setting and their dress as well. Both countries are Mediterranean countries, so the similarity is understandable, and if I recall correctly both the Turks and the Sicilians share similar backgrounds, coming from the steppes of Asia. In any case, despite being infidels, the Turks have the benefit of being a bridge between the Mohammedan East and Christian West culturally, being on the peninsula once held by our glorious Greek ancestors. Though the fall of Constantinople to their bloody hands is sad for us, the natural beauty of their culture cannot be denied, and the Greek influence is obvious. After all, where Turkey is now is where ancient Greece once was, and the Mediterranean has a way of blending cultures in an amazing way, which also explains the Sicilian similarity I mentioned earlier.

I hope the following video will stir up your romantic sides as well. You may not share my interest in Middle Eastern culture, but this is very much along the lines of what they did in Homer's time as well. I hope also that the dress of these men will call to mind the importance of how a Catholic gentleman should dress. Even many of these infidel rustics are dressed better than many Christians of a better social class in the West, and it is their dress, combined with the pastoral setting, that struck me as Sicilian. The poem itself is a medieval Turkish epic, and the instrument is a lute if I judge correctly. I hope the well dressed men, the charm of the music, and the charm of the pastoral setting of the Aegean will turn you to the better things, both natural and supernatural. This is what these sort of entertainments seek to do after all. Though on the one hand just good fun, as we see with the pleasure these gentleman are deriving from the bard, we also see the contemplation upon the Good that is inspired by both the beauty of the music itself and the subject of the poem. May it satisfy both our natural appetite for entertainment and our need to be trained in virtue all at once:

POSTED ON the Saturday Within the Octave of All Saints, a.D. MMIX