Holy Thursday

This very special HOLY THURSDAY thread
honors the tradition of the church to reflect on the day
when Jesus gave a new commandment to love one another,
washed the feet of his disciples, gave us the Eucharist,
laid down his will in prayer in the garden of Gethsemane,
was betrayed by a kiss, arrested and put on trial.


Holy Thursday

Deplorable Patriot,
And so we arrive at Holy Thursday. The music that says “we have arrived” to me is actually the Pange Lingua Gloriosi chant. It’s six verses of text written by St. Thomas Aquinas, OP, and we sing it as the Ciborium is carried from the high altar to the altar of repose for the night. Unfortunately, the current pastor thinks it should be in English. The choir and congregation disagree, but 70s priests don’t care about that.
The other text that is used at the Mass of the Lord’s Supper specifically, is for the washing of the feet. It’s been years since I’ve heard anything other than Ubi Caritas. Translation:

Where charity and love are, God is there.
Christ’s love has gathered us into one.
Let us rejoice and be pleased in Him.
Let us fear, and let us love the living God.
And may we love each other with a sincere heart.
Where charity and love are, God is there.
As we are gathered into one body,
Beware, lest we be divided in mind.
Let evil impulses stop, let controversy cease,
And may Christ our God be in our midst.
Where charity and love are, God is there.
And may we with the saints also,
See Thy face in glory, O Christ our God:
The joy that is immense and good,
Unto the ages through infinite ages. Amen.

This setting is an adaptation of the chant. It is from the 1960s.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1BTWCpEFRQ?version=3&rel=1&fs=1&autohide=2&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&wmode=transparent]

This is another modern setting we use that conveys the meaning of the text quite well.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xp3IHBSyZKY?version=3&rel=1&fs=1&autohide=2&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&wmode=transparent]

Deplorable Patriot,

This setting of In Monti Oliveti I learned earlier this year. It’s MUCH nicer than the hymn setting a certain BIG NAME music director had us sing.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1V1ItRPLBwY?version=3&rel=1&fs=1&autohide=2&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&wmode=transparent]

And I forgot the Gradual for the day.
Christ became obedient for us unto death,
even to the death, death on the cross.
Therefore God exalted Him and gave Him a name
which is above all names.
This is the Bruckner (1884) setting which is not for the faint of heart.


And Then … A Very Long Night Leading Into Good Friday (T*3)

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Some may say a certain person or a certain people group tried, condemned, tortured and killed the Son of God. The greater reality to embrace is that he willingly entered this battle space to obtain the prize, the redemption of his beloved. His love for us held him to the cross. Nothing less could hold him there.

Jesus-Christ-determined-to-redeem-our-race

Mueller Report Release, Barr Presser, President's Response, Media Meltdown

blind justice
We all want justice. Let’s see what happens. We will edit and add as things pop up tomorrow, but I can’t see us getting a whole lot done, besides the report, tomorrow morning. 
The Report will be released to the public at NOON, April 18, 2019, at this link. Link to Mueller Report
https://www.justice.gov/sco
Here is the Barr Presser at Justice: 

From BflyJsusGirl

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/attorney-general-william-barr-to-hold-news-conference-on-mueller-report
The disclosure of a version of the report without “certain redactions” came in a filing late Wednesday in the Roger Stone prosecution. The DOJ said it would publicly redact sections related to Stone’s case which is ongoing. Stone, a longtime confidant of the president, is awaiting trial on charges including false statements and obstruction.
From Flep, here is the transcript from the Barr Presser:
https://www.justice.gov/opa/speech/attorney-general-william-p-barr-delivers-remarks-release-report-investigation-russian
Good Morning. Thank you all for being here today.
On March 22, 2019, Special Counsel Robert Mueller concluded his investigation of matters related to Russian attempts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election and submitted his confidential report to me pursuant to Department of Justice regulations.
As I said during my Senate confirmation hearing and since, I am committed to ensuring the greatest possible degree of transparency concerning the Special Counsel’s investigation, consistent with the law.
At 11:00 this morning, I will transmit copies of a public version of the Special Counsel’s report to the Chairmen and Ranking Members of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees. The Department of Justice will also make the report available to the American public by posting it on the Department’s website after it has been delivered to Congress.
I would like to offer a few comments today on the report.
But before I do that, I want to thank Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein for joining me here today and for his assistance and counsel throughout this process. Rod has served the Department of Justice for many years with dedication and distinction, and it has been a great privilege and pleasure to work with him since my confirmation. He had well-deserved plans to step back from public service that I interrupted by asking him to help in my transition. Rod has been an invaluable partner, and I am grateful that he was willing to help me and has been able to see the Special Counsel’s investigation to its conclusion. Thank you, Rod.
I would also like to thank Special Counsel Mueller for his service and the thoroughness of his investigation, particularly his work exposing the nature of Russia’s attempts to interfere in our electoral process.
As you know, one of the primary purposes of the Special Counsel’s investigation was to determine whether members of the presidential campaign of Donald J. Trump, or any individuals associated with that campaign, conspired or coordinated with the Russian government to interfere in the 2016 election.
Volume I of the Special Counsel’s report describes the results of that investigation. As you will see, the Special Counsel’s report states that his “investigation did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities.”
I am sure that all Americans share my concerns about the efforts of the Russian government to interfere in our presidential election. As the Special Counsel’s report makes clear, the Russian government sought to interfere in our election. But thanks to the Special Counsel’s thorough investigation, we now know that the Russian operatives who perpetrated these schemes did not have the cooperation of President Trump or the Trump campaign – or the knowing assistance of any other Americans for that matter. That is something that all Americans can and should be grateful to have confirmed.
The Special Counsel’s report outlines two main efforts by the Russian government to influence the 2016 election:
First, the report details efforts by the Internet Research Agency, a Russian company with close ties to the Russian government, to sow social discord among American voters through disinformation and social media operations.
Following a thorough investigation of this disinformation campaign, the Special Counsel brought charges in federal court against several Russian nationals and entities for their respective roles in this scheme. Those charges remain pending, and the individual defendants remain at large.
But the Special Counsel found no evidence that any Americans – including anyone associated with the Trump campaign – conspired or coordinated with the Russian government or the IRA in carrying out this illegal scheme.
Indeed, as the report states, “[t]he investigation did not identify evidence that any U.S. persons knowingly or intentionally coordinated with the IRA’s interference operation.” Put another way, the Special Counsel found no “collusion” by any Americans in the IRA’s illegal activity.
Second, the report details efforts by Russian military officials associated with the GRU to hack into computers and steal documents and emails from individuals affiliated with the Democratic Party and the presidential campaign of Hillary Rodham Clinton for the purpose of eventually publicizing those emails. Obtaining such unauthorized access into computers is a federal crime.
Following a thorough investigation of these hacking operations, the Special Counsel brought charges in federal court against several Russian military officers for their respective roles in these illegal hacking activities. Those charges are still pending and the defendants remain at large.
But again, the Special Counsel’s report did not find any evidence that members of the Trump campaign or anyone associated with the campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its hacking operations. In other words, there was no evidence of Trump campaign “collusion” with the Russian government’s hacking.
The Special Counsel’s investigation also examined Russian efforts to publish stolen emails and documents on the internet. The Special Counsel found that, after the GRU disseminated some of the stolen materials through its own controlled entities, DCLeaks and Guccifer 2.0, the GRU transferred some of the stolen materials to Wikileaks for publication. Wikileaks then made a series of document dumps.
The Special Counsel also investigated whether any member or affiliate of the Trump campaign encouraged or otherwise played a role in these dissemination efforts. Under applicable law, publication of these types of materials would not be criminal unless the publisher also participated in the underlying hacking conspiracy. Here too, the Special Counsel’s report did not find that any person associated with the Trump campaign illegally participated in the dissemination of the materials.
Finally, the Special Counsel investigated a number of “links” or “contacts” between Trump Campaign officials and individuals connected with the Russian government during the 2016 presidential campaign. After reviewing those contacts, the Special Counsel did not find any conspiracy to violate U.S. law involving Russia-linked persons and any persons associated with the Trump campaign.
So that is the bottom line. After nearly two years of investigation, thousands of subpoenas, and hundreds of warrants and witness interviews, the Special Counsel confirmed that the Russian government sponsored efforts to illegally interfere with the 2016 presidential election but did not find that the Trump campaign or other Americans colluded in those schemes.
After finding no underlying collusion with Russia, the Special Counsel’s report goes on to consider whether certain actions of the President could amount to obstruction of the Special Counsel’s investigation. As I addressed in my March 24th letter, the Special Counsel did not make a traditional prosecutorial judgment regarding this allegation. Instead, the report recounts ten episodes involving the President and discusses potential legal theories for connecting these actions to elements of an obstruction offense.
After carefully reviewing the facts and legal theories outlined in the report, and in consultation with the Office of Legal Counsel and other Department lawyers, the Deputy Attorney General and I concluded that the evidence developed by the Special Counsel is not sufficient to establish that the President committed an obstruction-of-justice offense.
Although the Deputy Attorney General and I disagreed with some of the Special Counsel’s legal theories and felt that some of the episodes examined did not amount to obstruction as a matter of law, we did not rely solely on that in making our decision. Instead, we accepted the Special Counsel’s legal framework for purposes of our analysis and evaluated the evidence as presented by the Special Counsel in reaching our conclusion.
In assessing the President’s actions discussed in the report, it is important to bear in mind the context. President Trump faced an unprecedented situation. As he entered into office, and sought to perform his responsibilities as President, federal agents and prosecutors were scrutinizing his conduct before and after taking office, and the conduct of some of his associates. At the same time, there was relentless speculation in the news media about the President’s personal culpability.
Yet, as he said from the beginning, there was in fact no collusion. And as the Special Counsel’s report acknowledges, there is substantial evidence to show that the President was frustrated and angered by a sincere belief that the investigation was undermining his presidency, propelled by his political opponents, and fueled by illegal leaks.
Nonetheless, the White House fully cooperated with the Special Counsel’s investigation, providing unfettered access to campaign and White House documents, directing senior aides to testify freely, and asserting no privilege claims. And at the same time, the President took no act that in fact deprived the Special Counsel of the documents and witnesses necessary to complete his investigation. Apart from whether the acts were obstructive, this evidence of non-corrupt motives weighs heavily against any allegation that the President had a corrupt intent to obstruct the investigation.
Now, before I take questions, I want to address a few aspects of the process for producing the public report that I am releasing today. As I said several times, the report contains limited redactions relating to four categories of information. To ensure as much transparency as possible, these redactions have been clearly labelled and color-coded so that readers can tell which redactions correspond to which categories.
As you will see, most of the redactions were compelled by the need to prevent harm to ongoing matters and to comply with court orders prohibiting the public disclosure of information bearing upon ongoing investigations and criminal cases, such as the IRA case and the Roger Stone case.
These redactions were applied by Department of Justice attorneys working closely together with attorneys from the Special Counsel’s Office, as well as with the intelligence community, and prosecutors who are handling ongoing cases. The redactions are their work product.
Consistent with long-standing Executive Branch practice, the decision whether to assert Executive privilege over any portion of the report rested with the President of the United States. Because the White House voluntarily cooperated with the Special Counsel’s investigation, significant portions of the report contain material over which the President could have asserted privilege. And he would have been well within his rights to do so.
Following my March 29th letter, the Office of the White House Counsel requested the opportunity to review the redacted version of the report in order to advise the President on the potential invocation of privilege, which is consistent with long-standing practice. Following that review, the President confirmed that, in the interests of transparency and full disclosure to the American people, he would not assert privilege over the Special Counsel’s report. Accordingly, the public report I am releasing today contains redactions only for the four categories that I previously outlined, and no material has been redacted based on executive privilege.
In addition, earlier this week, the President’s personal counsel requested and were given the opportunity to read a final version of the redacted report before it was publicly released. That request was consistent with the practice followed under the Ethics in Government Act, which permitted individuals named in a report prepared by an Independent Counsel the opportunity to read the report before publication. The President’s personal lawyers were not permitted to make, and did not request, any redactions.
In addition to making the redacted report public, we are also committed to working with Congress to accommodate their legitimate oversight interests with respect to the Special Counsel’s investigation. We have been consulting with Chairman Graham and Chairman Nadler throughout this process, and we will continue to do so.
Given the limited nature of the redactions, I believe that the publicly released report will allow every American to understand the results of the Special Counsel’s investigation. Nevertheless, in an effort to accommodate congressional requests, we will make available to a bipartisan group of leaders from several Congressional committees a version of the report with all redactions removed except those relating to grand-jury information. Thus, these members of Congress will be able to see all of the redacted material for themselves – with the limited exception of that which, by law, cannot be shared.
I believe that this accommodation, together with my upcoming testimony before the Senate and House Judiciary Committees, will satisfy any need Congress has for information regarding the Special Counsel’s investigation.
Once again, I would like to thank you all for being here today. I now have a few minutes for questions.
Giuliani Response to the Barr Presser and Mueller Report:

Tradesmen Are Worth Their Weight in Gold. Story #1- Bricklayers

All this talk about Fisher Sand and Gravel has me thinking about the wonderful tradesmen in our community. I have to tell you about one group of them. First up to bat are the Goss Brothers, the bricklayers. This is a short one, but here we go.
Understand, most of my life, I dated the banker, lawyer, stockbroker types. I didn’t learn about tradesmen until I moved back home. Boy, oh boy, did I learn quickly. Being able to have both frames of reference, metropolitan and rural, helped me to better understand people’s preconceived notions…. and dispel the myths.
Susan called and asked me to pick her up for Garden Club. Okay, fine, I swung by her house on the way. I went to the door and rang the bell. She blew past me like a dust devil and ran to the car. “What the heck?”, I thought. We weren’t late…. Good thing I left the car running with the air conditioning on. I started to walk back to the car and noticed a house going up on the lot next to hers. The Goss brothers were working and I yelled at them. Our mason’s sand had been delivered and hoped they could get to my repair on the brick garden when they had a chance. “You making cookies?”, the eldest asked. I gave the thumbs up sign. “No problem, Miss D, early next week, but late afternoon.”, was the response.
I got back in the car.
Susan: Why did you speak them!?!
Me: They’re the Goss Brothers, the brick layers.
In sharp and condescending tones, Susan confessed she was afraid of them, because they were “workmen”, and her flowers in outdoor pots were dying from lack of water….. cuz Susan was afraid to go outside and water flowers with “workmen” in the vicinity. She didn’t know “what they might do to her”. Susan taught Baptist pre-school (to Gunner), was very sheltered, and her husband was a professional. I liked her but thought she was crazy and overly judgemental in this instance.
Of course, I couldn’t let her opinion stand. It wouldn’t be right.
I hit the button to roll down the window on her side. Susan lashed out at me, “Don’t you dare embarrass me in front of them.” With a glint in my eye, and a low monotone voice, I said, “Susan, I’m going to save you from yourself.”
Yelling loudly at the boys, I asked Bobby to come over. When I say boys, I mean they were all in their mid-30’s to early 40’s, but since everyone in town (except Susan) knew them since they were boys…….. they were still referred to as “boys”. The MEN didn’t hear me but knew I was calling them, so all of sauntered over to Susan’s window. She was mortified by the confrontation.
“Gentlemen, I would like for you to meet Miss Susan”, I started. They nodded, kindly, taking their hats off, “Mam.” I continued, “Miss Susan has been a little fearful with all the comings and goings next door. Lots of nefarious men hanging around (more nodding), and she’s a little worried about the state of her virtue around such men.” The men had a concerned look on their face but, clearly, had no idea what I was talking about. Susan was scowling and shrinking into the passenger seat. I kept going, “I told Miss Susan, that if anyone tried to harm her, you all would defend her. First because you are honorable men and would always defend a fine woman, and second, because Susan is a good friend of mine. Is that okay with you boys?”
As is typical with tradesmen, they always sell out the OTHER trade. Bobby looked at Susan, “Yeah, those framers are a nasty bunch. Did they bother you?” I giggled under my breath. Of course, I never implied Susan was afraid of THEM. And to me, he said, “That’s okay Miss D, if anyone tries to harm Miss Susan, we’ll kill ’em for ya’.“…… and he meant every word.
“Is that okay with you?”, I looked back to Susan. Her eyes were wide. She was almost frozen but managed to nodd. Back to Bobby, I was emphatic and sounded distressed, “Bobby, she’s almost afraid to come out and water her flowers…. and her flowers are dying….. Just look!”, I was pointing at the porch…… Abbott, another brother, wandered off to go and appraise the condition of her flowers. Abbott grew the biggest “Better Boy” tomatoes I’ve ever seen – he could certainly fix a potted flower. “I would appreciate it you would look after her. Thank you, gents.”, was my final salvo. “No problem, Miss D”, and as an afterthought, Bobby said, “Miss Susan, you want us to check on you before we leave in the evenings?” Susan stammered. Bobby didn’t give her a chance to respond. To me, he said, “That’s okay, we’ll check on her.”, and they went back to work.
I rolled up the window and we started off for Garden Club. “You okay now?”, I said to Susan. Her bottom lip was sticking out; she was pouting. She said, “I just……. hate it when you do that.” We had a lovely program and luncheon. Life went on.
The boys checked on Susan every afternoon for the next two weeks while they were there. They watered her flowers SO MUCH, they almost drowned her flowers. Apparently they struck up a friendship. When the Goss boys came to tuck-point my garden wall, I asked them about her. Abbott said, “Her cookies are good, but not as good as yours, Miss D.” Hmmmm, I thought, “His mother raised him well……”
The next month, I saw Susan at Garden Club and asked her if she had anymore trouble with “workmen”. She said, “Oh, no.” I pressed her about the bricklayers. She said, “Oh, you mean the Goss Boys? (like she’s known them for years) They’re helping me with brick planters for the back patio….. I think I’m going to put in a few tomato plants.”
Those Goss Boys were always good salesmen.
 

Dear MAGA: 20190418 Open Topic


This very special WYSIWYG THURSDAY
open thread is VERY OPEN – a place for everybody
to post whatever they feel they would like
to tell the White Hats, and the rest of the MAGA world.


Say what you want, comment on what other people said,
comment on people’s comments.
Keep it civil.  Treehouse rules, but expect lots of QAnon.


See the January 1st daily thread for the rules of the road,
which are few but important.


Remember – your greatest gift to President Trump is FIVE WORDS:
I AM PRAYING FOR YOU

melania_and_trump_walking-down-sidewalk-smiling


WYSIWYG

(What You See Is What You Get)

Ok, I’m a mystic at heart and I love the liturgy of the church, but this story is just begging to be told. If you want to think more about Maundy Thursday, please try here and here.
A long time ago, a musician named Larry Norman had his world rocked so much that he spent his music royalties starting a halfway house and buying clothes and food for people that he shared the gospel with on and around Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles. He longed to see other musicians of his day find a better life too. (see video)

He was a WYSIWYG kind of a guy.
During the 60’s a whole lot of young people explored what they thought was freedom only to discover heartbreak, disease and disillusionment. The Sex, Drugs, Rock N’ Roll lifestyle was NOT a WYSIWYG kind of life.
Some believe that it was as mothers and grandmothers raised up a cry to God for their wayward children, that He sent an answer in the form of something called The Jesus Movement. God did not cause these wild flower children to suddenly long for suits, ties, and church pews. Instead they filled streets and beaches with their own expressions of faith.
They hated hypocrisy with a passion. They wanted to be WYSIWYG people. And these are the kind of people most of us are drawn to. If you ask anyone why they love President Donald J Trump, they are likely to say something about his WYSIWYG style of living.
The salt of the earth people can recognize and want to be around other salt of the earth people. Like attracts like. Or something like that.
The Jesus Movement wasn’t the first innovative move of God birthed out of Los Angeles. The Azuza Street Revival exploded out of prayer meetings in 1906 and had an impact world-wide. We would be wise to keep our eye on California. It may birth some things that appear to be diabolically inspired, but God was there first and He will have the last word.
Just short of two decades ago I happened upon this old gravelly voice guy from New York and instantly knew he was of the WYSIWYG breed. I didn’t care if he seemed over-the-top intense or that when he got going he started to rock like those guys with top-hats and long black beards at the wailing wall in Jerusalem. Back then he was just beginning to get a vision for a movement of young people fasting and praying for a new Jesus Movement to come and fill the earth. Just recently he’s shifted gears, but he’s still got his passion to see this come to pass.
Some of you will have the time and inclination to watch the following video, please do. It’s rare to see a man at his age still burning with real passion. For the rest of us, I’ve queued the video to 37:43 where he is telling about dreaming of the impossibility of turning America back to God, and then he was given encouragement to believe it was possible.
If you are able to watch just those few minutes, you may get the jist of his WYSIWYG reality. (The dwarves reference is to Lord of the Rings when Bilbo’s comfortable life is interrupted and an adventure begins.)

Here is a guy that “saw” something bigger than himself and he chose to believe it was possible. And he may just live to see it come to pass. And so we have the second meaning for WYSISYG. Will our vision dictate to some degree what we will get?
Our VSG Lion of a President does this all the time.He gives us vision for a #MAGA future and is using his vision to lead us into it! What are you seeing? Where will it take you?
Think*3

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