Yes, I am still among the living, at least so far. 

Time and physical strength do not permit a recitation of all that has happened in the past few days. Suffice it to say that a colonoscopy scheduled on Monday did not take place because my blood potassium level was too low. Well, I learned that after waiting four hours in a bed while everyone else in a mass assembly line holding area got wheeled into the procedure room. Penance is a great gift! Deo gratias. However, I did have an ultrasound yesterday to take a closer look at supposedly "suspicious" lesions on the liver (and I do not drink alcoholic beverages). Saint Philomena is on the job!

One article is nearing completion and another is in preparation. Thank you for your patience. Thank you also for your prayers.

Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us.

Saint Andrew the Apostle, pray for us.

This article is more or less a follow-up to the commentary that was posted on Saturday, November 25, 2017, the Feast of Saint Catherine of Alexandria. A republished reflection on today’s Feast of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal was published a few moments ago.

Today is being given over to the endoscopy/colonoscopy that was rescheduled from Friday, November 17, 2017, the Feast of Saint Gregory Thaumaturgus, to today because of the heart catheterization that I underwent on Thursday, November 16, 2017, the Feast of Saint Gertrude the Great. The CT-Scan of the abdomen and pelvis taken on Wednesday, November 15, 2017, the Feast of Saint Albert the Great, showed a few irregularities, some of which were called “suspicious” by the radiologist, and it confirmed that I did break a lumbar vertebra when I fell on July 18, 2017, the Feast of Saint Camillus de Lellis.  Penance is the only path to Heaven.

Thus, my good readers, I may not have another article for you until Wednesday, November 29, 2017, the Vigil of Saint Andrew. I ask for your prayers today. Saint Philomena is on the job, I am sure.

Finally, we now have a rather expensive ornament in our driveway as our minivan’s broken transmission is unlikely to be repaired for some time. I would appreciate your prayers so that money can be raised to repair it as we still have over three years of payments left on the vehicle. Thank you.

Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, pray for us.

Saint Catherine Laboure, pray for us.

Although not on the General Roman Calendar, today, Monday, November 27, 2017, is the Feast of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal. Although not observed universally on a mandatory basis, this feast is is nevertheless an important one to commemorate as this powerful sacramental is yet another sign of the love that pours out from the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus through the hands of Our Lady, she who is the Mediatrix of All Graces, despite our own ingratitude and infidelities.

This reflection was written in 2010 and published in two parts. It was two years ago now that it was combined into one part and revised slightly in a few places.

An original article will be published shortly after this republished reflection.

Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, pray for us.

Saint Catherine Laboure, pray for us.

The "time stamp" for today's new article bears the date of November 23, 2017, but the commentary is being posted early on the morning of the Feast of Saint Catherine of Alexandria. Work on the article began two days ago. However, a few nagging health probems--and the unexpected failure of our minivan's transmission to do anything other than grinding souls (which is requiring me to raise funds privately)--did not permit me to complete the article until shorty after Midnight this morning, November 25, 2017.

The title of this new article is pretty self-explanatory.

As the hour has gotten much later than I would like and am need of sleep, I want to inform two correspondents who extended greetings on my sixty-sixth birthday yesterday that I will reply to them later today. A follow-up article of sorts to this present commentary should appear tomorrow, the Twenty-fifth and Final Sunday after Pentecost and the Commemoration of Saint Peter of Alexandria and, in some places, Saint Leonard of Port Maurice.

Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us.

Saint Catherine of Alexandria, pray for us.

Although I am writing a new article, a little delay was caused when our dilipidating 2008 Chrysler Town and Country minivan's transmission died after 200,000 miles of use. This what the ancients would call a problem. I call it penance. All to thee, Blessed Mother. All to thy Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart. Jesus, Mary and Joseph, we love you. ave souls.

Today is the great feast of Saint Cecilia. I am sure that more than a few readers have been the Church of Saint Cecilia in the Trastevere district of Rome and have seen where she was put to rest in the Catacombs of Saint Pope Saint Callistus along the Appian Way.

Today is the Feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This is a short reflection on the feast day, which is followed by an appendix including the description of the Presentation of Our Lady as found in The New English Edition of The Mystical City of God.

An original article should appear tomorrow, the Feast of Saint Cecilia, as I work on two different book projects and prepare for more medical tests on the Feast of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal.

Finally, please pray for a former student of mine who turns fifty years of age today and for a friend of ours on Long Island who turns sixty-eight years of age today. Thank you.

Our Lady, Ark of the New Covenant, pray for us.

Saints Joachim and Anne, pray for us.

This is the sequel to "Take Chest Pain Seriously." 

A republished reflection on Saint Elizabeth of Hungary can be found by scrolling below.

Thank you for your prayers, which I ask you to continue so that the results of gastrointestinal tests may be as good as those of the heart catheterization on Thursday, November 16, 2017, the Feast of Saint Gertrude the Great.

Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us.

Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, pray for us.

Pope Saint Pontianus, pray for us,

Saint Philomena, pray for us.

This is a republished reflection on the suffering endured by the very first member of the Third Order of Saint Francis of Assisi, Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, who suffered much at the hands of her family members and even at the hands of the poor whose welfare she provided so generously when her husband, Louis, was the Landgrieve of Thuringia.

Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us.

Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, pray for us.

Pope Saint Pontianus, pray for us.

The title of this brief commentary is self-explanatory.

At the insistence of my cardiologist, the heart catheterization has been moved up to tomorrow, the Feast of Saint Gertrude the Great, and the colonoscopy postponed until I recover the heart catheterization. I know that the catheterization is a very serious procedure that will involve a good deal of pain and some time for recovery. It is with this in mind that I ask readers to understand that work on this site, which has been more or less in abeyance for the lsat few weeks, may come to a halt for a while.

All to thee, Blessed Mother. All to thy Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart, Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, I love you. Save souls!

Thank you for your prayers.

Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us.

Saint Albert the Great, pray for us.