Ok... one more post :)

Thought I'd get in one last blogging "fix," so here we go! Today was a good day. Exhausting, but a good day. I'm finally getting Exhibit A caught up with his religion assignments. Last night we had it out. I finally got through to him and he did a good amount of work today. His assignment? To read over Sion Lift Thy Voice and Sing and write a composition explaining the meaning of each stanza. He did fairly well, though I had to prod him quite a bit. The best part? Exhibit B asked to see the book when he was finished and thoroughly enjoyed reading it. (Maybe because he knows he'll be doing this in 2 years too.) Anyway.....it's progress (finally.)

Sion Lift Thy Voice and Sing

Sion, lift thy voice and sing:
Praise thy Savior and thy King;
Praise with hymns thy Shepherd true:
Dare thy most to praise Him well;
For He doth all praise excel;
None can ever reach His due.
Special theme of praise is thine,
That true living Bread divine,
That life-giving flesh adored,
Which the brethren twelve received,
As most faithfully believed,
At the Supper of the Lord.

Let the chant be loud and high;
Sweet and tranquil be the joy
Felt to-day in every breast;
On this festival divine
Which recounts the origin
Of the glorious Eucharist.

At this table of the King,
Our new Paschal offering
Brings to end the olden rite;
Here, for empty shadows fled,
Is reality instead;
Here, instead of darkness, light.

His own act, at supper seated,
Christ ordained to be repeated,
In His memory divine;
Wherefore now, with adoration,
We the Host of our salvation
Consecrate from bread and wine.

Hear what holy Church maintaineth,
That the bread its substance changeth
Into Flesh, the wine to Blood.
Doth it pass thy comprehending?
Faith, the law of sight transcending,
Leaps to things not understood.

Here in outward signs are hidden
Priceless things, to sense forbidden;
Signs, not things, are all we see:-
Flesh from bread, and Blood from wine;
Yet is Christ, in either sign,
All entire confessed to be.

They too who of Him partake
Sever not, nor rend, nor break,
But entire their Lord receive.
Whether one or thousands eat,
All receive the selfsame meat,
Nor the less for others leave.

Both the wicked and the good
Eat of this celestial Food;
But with ends how opposite!
Here 'tis life; and there 'tis death;
The same, yet issuing to each
In a difference infinite.

Nor a single doubt retain,
When they break the Host in twain,
But that in each part remains
What was in the whole before;
Since the simple sign alone
Suffers change in state or form,
The Signified remaining One
And the Same forevermore

Lo! upon the Altar lies,
Hidden deep from human eyes,
Angels' Bread from Paradise
Made the food of mortal man:
Children's meat to dogs denied;
In old types foresignified;
In the manna from the skies,
In Isaac, and the Paschal Lamb.

Jesu! Shepherd of the sheep!
Thy true flock in safety keep.
Living Bread! Thy life supply;
Strengthen us, or else we die;
Fill us with celestial grace:
Thou, who feedest us below!
Source of all we have or know!
Grant that with Thy Saints above,
Sitting at the Feast of Love,
We may see Thee face to face. Amen

Saint Thomas Aquinas

---

So from Aquinas, I went to watching CMT today and came across this song. The video is very moving, so here are the lyrics:

I Love You This Much (Jimmy Wayne)

He can't remember the times that he thought
Does my daddy love me?
Probably not
But that didn't stop him from wishing that he did
Didn't keep from wanting or worshiping him

He guesses he saw him about once a year
He could still feel the way he felt
Standing in tears
Stretching his arms out as far as they'd go
Whispering daddy, I want you to know

Chorus
I love you this much and I'm waiting on you
To make up your mind, do you love me too?
However long it takes
I'm never giving up
No matter what, I love you this much

He grew to hate him for what he had done
'Cause what kind of a father, could do that to his son
He said 'damn you daddy', the day that he died
The man didn't blink, but the little boy cried

Chorus

Half way through the service
While the choir sang a hymn
He looked up above the preacher
And he sadly stared at Him

He said "Forgive me father"
When he realized
That he hadn't been unloved or alone all his life
His arms were stretched out as far as they'd go
Nailed to the cross, for the whole world to know

Chorus
I love you this much and I'm waiting on you
To make up your mind, do you love me too?
However long it takes
I'm never giving up
No matter what, I love you this much

---

I missed President Bush's speech today, so I am off to look up the transcripts. Good for him for doing this!

On another note, I came across this article. I had heard of a few local protests about the Girl Scouts and this seminar they were supporting. I'm so glad I have Boy Scouts.

---

As I said before, I'm going to be scarce around here (blogging anyway), but I'll still be reachable via email. See you Sunday!