Introibo- with Flowers

My first time using these Dutch blue hydrangeas was a dismal  failure .  They were too dark, the vase was too brassy, the backdrop provided little contrast.  This time I was determined to succeed.   After reading Fleur de Marie-Jacqueline's  blog posts on Assumption flowers, I was disappointed to find no white roses, no white lilies, only the usual poms, alstroemeria and carnations.  It was time to liven things up a bit with the Dutch blue hydrangeas from the garden- blue like Our Lady's veil! They look purple in this picture! This is the first time I attempted preserving hydrangeas by submerging fresh-cut stems in boiling water for 30 seconds.  We'll see what they look like by Sunday!  I also put alum powder in the water and let them soak overnight.    Some of the blooms were very heavy and the stems a bit saggy so I used stem wire and floral tape to make them cooperate.  This was a first as well! Here t...

Our new home!  After a month of praying, fasting and negotiating, the Traditional Latin Mass has found and new and gracious home.  And what better place in our rural community than this small parish in an historic town known for its architectual quaintness? They welcomed us with open arms and hearts.  Deo gratias.   Restoration has been underway for some time:  the altar rail perhaps stowed away in a forgotten closet, the ambo hovering in the back corner of the nave with yellow caution tape.  A diamond in the rough.  Here is a glimpse of the past... Dedicated in 1896 In preparation for the first Traditional Latin Mass held in the church in half a century, I placed four arrangements of gold and white on the altar shelf.   They seemed completely insignificant compared with the vibrant colors surrounding the reredos.  In this church, bold colors and lines will be appropriate to draw focus toward the tabernacle.  I...

If you are not familiar with Evelyn Waugh's  correspondence  with Cardinal Heenan, I recommend it during this social and ecclesiastical crisis.  It provides insight into what those of traditional Catholic persuasion were thinking when the Latin Mass was wrenched away from them.  Waugh also expresses what life is like for him without the Mass which he loved so dearly- a bitter, bitter trial.  I have always felt that Waugh might have been a kindred spirit.  After reading his personal correspondence, I am certain.  Our good curé, got the word from the chancery that he would be transferred July 1.  This was a shock, especially after months of quarantine.  Sixty to a hundred congregants,  a schola cantorum, an army of servers vying to be thurifer.  We had been cancelled.  The closest reliable Traditional Latin Mass is a four-hour drive of windy coastal roads.  "What now?" we asked. Arrangements for the final...

White and gold arrangements for the Traditional Latin Mass feast of Corpus Christi. Alstroemeria, carnations, centranthus, boxwood, variegated privet (?), maple leaves, and  rosemary  sprigs.

Usquequo, Domine. A prayer in tribulation. Unto the end, a psalm for David. How long, O Lord, wilt thou forget me unto the end?  How long dost thou turn away thy face from me?  How long shall I take counsels in my soul, sorrow in my heart all the day?  How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?  Consider, and hear me, O Lord my God.  Enlighten my eyes that I never sleep in death:  Lest at any time my enemy say:  I have prevailed against him.  They that trouble me will rejoice when I am moved:  But I have trusted in thy mercy.  My heart shall rejoice in thy salvation:  I will sing to the Lord, who giveth me good things:  yea I will sing to the name of the Lord the most high. Psalm 12, Douay- Rheims Bible Arrangements: "Bach" lilies from the local bulb farm and white centranthus and boxwood greens from my garden.  

Arrangements made with the help of my daughter for our home prayer mantel.  The candles were blessed at Candlemas.   For our family paschal candle we used cloves in lieu of incense and decorated it according to the instructions in the 1962 missal. 

He is risen, Alleluia! "Bach" lilies and freesia,  with plum branches and crocosmia greens.