viewThought for today from Archbishop Lefebvre :
“What should our principal meditation be when we think of our Lord Jesus Christ and we try to live with Him? It's His Passion, it's His cross, because it is by His blood that He redeemed us, that we have received divine life and that we even now receive His benefits. All graces come to us by His cross, come to us by His Passion: the Eucharist and the priesthood.
May our crucifix be our book of meditations because everything is contained in the cross of our Lord: His divinity, therefore the mystery of the Incarnation, the mystery of the Redemption; the mystery of the Trinity as well, because our Lord had within Him the Father and the Holy Spirit.”
posted Monday 11/Dec/2023 ~16:35 #QNDEC2023
viewThought for today from Archbishop Lefebvre :
“Sometimes you may have difficulty finding topics of meditation. Well then, meditate on the life of our Lord. Reconstruct His life. Take the mysteries of the rosary one by one. For the Annunciation, for example, reconstruct in your mind the scene of the Annunciation. There you are next to the Blessed Virgin, facing the archangel Gabriel and near our Lord in the womb of the Virgin Mary. Then for the Visitation, reconstruct the scene: the Virgin Mary leaving across the mountain, her meeting with her cousin Elizabeth, the sanctification of St. John the Baptist and the Magnificat. Or else, look at the most Blessed Virgin Mary staying a few months with Elizabeth to help her cousin, who was already old, and remaining there probably until the birth of John the Baptist.
You can reconstruct all of the scenes of the life of our Lord that way and stay in that atmosphere, in that company of our Lord, of the holy angels, of the Blessed Virgin, of the Apostles. That can only enliven your devotion, your gratitude toward God, your love of our Lord Jesus Christ. That's what holiness is: to love our Lord Jesus Christ above all things, to follow Him and to imitate Him. “
posted Sunday 10/Dec/2023 ~14:25 #QNDEC2023
viewThe next few hours are supposed to bring heavy winds to San Antonio. I hope the big trees on this property hold onto all their branches.
posted Saturday 09/Dec/2023 ~20:30 #QNDEC2023
viewThought for today from Archbishop Lefebvre :
“It is not only at the moment of her birth into the world that God thought of exempting the most Blessed Virgin Mary from all sin and making of her the Immaculate Conception. From all eternity, before the creation of the world, the Blessed Virgin was conceived in the mind of God. The Church applies this passage of Scripture to the Blessed Virgin: “From eternity... I was already conceived” (Prov. 8:23-24). God was already thinking of her, and He willed to shower her with all His graces and to give her that extraordinary privilege of the Immaculate Conception, exempting her from all fault: “You are all beautiful, O Mary, and there is no stain in you.” So already, from all eternity, God was thinking of this admirable creature, the first after our Lord Jesus Christ.”
posted Friday 08/Dec/2023 ~14:45 #QNDEC2023
viewI won this Correspondence Chess game today by catching the Black King in a Queen-pawn Combination checkmate.
posted Thursday 07/Dec/2023 ~14:00 #QNDEC2023 #chess
viewMy eyes were tired following this morning's cataract assessment appointment. But I could still see my way to winning this correspondence chess game with a Rook-Bishop Combination Mate.
posted Wednesday 06/Dec/2023 ~18:00 #QNDEC2023 #chess
viewSpent 2 ½ hours at the eye center this morning dealing with different technicians, different secretaries, and a surgeon. Scheduled my 1st cataract surgery for early Jan. and an apt. with a Retina doc for later this month. Surgeon said he sees signs of retinal tearing in my eyes and he wants to have a retinal doc take a look now and be on hand during the Jan. surgery. Then, after I've recovered, we'll do the whole thing all over again with the other eye.
Now, early in the afternoon, I'm waiting for the dilation of my eyes to wear off so I can get to my ordinary chores of the day.
posted Wednesday 06/Dec/2023 ~12:45 #QNDEC2023 #health
viewSpent a fair amount of time this afternoon filling out medical forms for my cataract assessment appointment with an eye surgeon tomorrow morning. Hopefully he'll be able to schedule my cataract surgery soon.
posted Tuesday 05/Dec/2023 ~17:10 #QNDEC2023 #health
viewEnough about my darned hips. They do seem to be getting better, though very slowly.
My correspondence chess work has been occupying more of my time these past several months. Through the late Summer and Autumn months my game load has averaged from 1 to 2 dozen active games most days. New tournaments I've entered have increased my game load quite a bit, and when play starts in one of those new tourneys later this month, and the other in January... well, it's a good thing I'm fully retired.
Jan. and Feb. could see me working on 3 or 4 doz. active games per day. Making 1 move per game per day, and allowing proper reflection and study time between moves won't leave many extra hours.
Here is the final board position of a game I won today. White and I fought for over 60 full moves before I checkmated his King using all four of my remaining pieces and the edge of the board. It was my Bishop that delivered the mating move.
posted Monday 04/Dec/2923 ~16:00 #QNDEC2023 #chess
viewSpent an hour and a half doing yard work earlier this afternoon: mowed the back yard grass, picked up fallen branches and leaves. And I'm tired and sore, but in a good way. This is more physical work than I've done in months. The hips are feeling better than they have in many months. Good news, this!
posted Sunday 03/Dec/2023 ~17:00 #QNDEC2023