O Key of David (MMXII)

Fourth O Antiphon 

O clavis David, et sceptrum domus Israel: qui aperis, et nemo claudit; claudis, et nemo aperit: veni, et educ vinctum de domo carceris, sedentem in tenebris.

O Key of David, and scepter of the house of Israel, who opens and no man shuts, who shuts and no man opens: come, and lead forth the captive who sits in the shadows from his prison

O Root Of Jesse (MMXII)

3rd O Antiphon

O Radix Jesse, qui stas in signum populorum, super quem continebunt reges os suum, quem gentes deprecabuntur: veni ad liberandum nos, iam noli tardare.

O Root of Jesse, that stands for an ensign of the people, before whom the kings keep silence and unto whom the Gentiles shall make supplication: come, to deliver us, and tarry not.

O Lord (MMXII)

2nd O Antiphon

O Adonai, et Dux domus Israel, qui Moysi in igne flammae rubi apparuisti, et ei in Sina legem dedisti: veni ad redimendum nos in brachio extento..

O Lord and Ruler the house of Israel, who appeared to Moses in the flame of the burning bush and gave him the law on Sinai: come, and redeem us with outstretched arms.

O Wisdom (MMXII)

The O Antiphons are here, the seven antiphons preceding Christmas chanted before the Magnificat at vespers. They are called the "O Antiphons" because they all begin with 'O'

O Sapientia, quae ex ore Altissimi prodidisti, attingens a fine usque ad finem, fortiter suaviter disponensque omnia: veni ad docendum nos viam prudentiae.

O Wisdom, who came from the mouth of the Most High, reaching from end to end and ordering all things mightily and sweetly: come, and teach us the way of prudence.

Gaudete Sunday

I've lost track of this Advent. I missed last Sunday and the O Antiphons are here. The nativity of the Christ Child is at hand, o come, o come, Emmanuel.

Qui gemit in exilio,

Our Lady of Coatlaxopeuh

Chances are Our Lady spoke to St. Juan Diego in his native tongue, Nahuatl, a language in the Aztec family. Some believe she called herself Coatlaxpeuh, which roughly translates to "who crushes the serpent".

Where did Guadalupe come from?

In Extremadura, Spain is a monastery that holds a statue of the Blessed Virgin, one of the Black Madonnas of Europe, known as Our Lady of Guadalupe. This shrine was known, and since Guadalupe sounds similar to Coatlaxpeuh, it makes sense that when San Juan Diego told them her name, they would go with Guadalupe. Puerto Rico comes to mind as an example of the Spanish altering indigenous words. The Taino people called the island Boriken, for various reasons it morphed into Borinquen. Another example is the central Puerto Rican town of Orocovis, which derives it's name from the Taino chief Orocobix.

Another name used for this apparition of Our Lady is Our Lady of Tepeyac, for it was on Tepeyac hill that she spoke to St. Juan Diego.


Santa Maria, Domina Nostra Guadalupensis,  ora pro nobis paccatoribus

St. Nicholas

He came, he saw, he kicked Arius's butt... at the council of Nicea... so they say.

Zouaves Pontificaux

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Facing the threat of Italian nationalism, an international force of light infantry was formed to protect the Papal States. They were known as the Papal Zouaves. Zouaves refers to the Franco-North African Infantry regiments that wore funny looking uniforms inspired by a tribe of Berbers called Zouaoua. Well,  they were relatively funny looking compared to the other troops at the time, with their baggy pants and  fezzes. Zouaves were used on both sides of the U.S. Civil War,  so you can easily contrast their uniforms with the conventional troops' attire. 

They were a French based force, but were made up of Catholics from all over the world. It's pretty cool that Catholics men from different countries and cultures came together in the service of the the Holy Father. I'm kind of bummed that they don't exist anymore. I would have seriously considered joining this group had they still existed, since the Vatican Guard was not an option for me. They have this thing about being Swiss and taller than 5' 8". 

Post on the Pontificio Rifle used by the Papal Zouaves here.

Francisco Javier

St. Francis Xavier was of noble birth and planned on a career as a professor. Well, he was friends with fellow Spaniard St. Ignatius of Loyola. It wouldn't be a surprise to know that he didn't take that career path, instead St. Francis wound up being a hard core Jesuit missionary, preaching and converting people in the far East, from India to Japan.

He is a patron of missionaries, navigators, China, India, China, and Japan.

Sanctus Franciscus Xaverius, ora pro nobis

Veni, veni, Emmanuel

Happy New Year

Deja Vu? This was originally posted last year

"You'll shoot your eye out kid"

The Battle of Loigny -  1879, Charles Castellani

The following link takes you to the M1868 Papal States Remington Infantry Rifle. They were manufactured under license by two armories in England and Belgium and used  by Papal Zouaves(I'll be covering them in a later post) and the Corps of Gendarmerie. The Papal Zouaves were an international light infantry force established to fight for the Holy Father during the unification conflicts on the 19th century Italian peninsula.

Here are pics of the Gendarmerie version.

Now, this model of rifle is just one of many used by the many forces that have and still protect the Church. What makes this rifle distinctive and gives it a higher interest factor is that they are stamped with the Papal Arms on the receiver and stock.

El Rey Del Universo

Viva Cristo Rey