Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart

Today I finally had the privilege of visiting the newly-dedicated shrine to the Sacred Heart of Jesus at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis (New Cathedral), and after praying the Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart (copied below), I snapped a few pictures (one is above) of the shrine. It is a beautiful mosaic image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and I hope you get a chance to see it if you are in or around St. Louis.

Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart
by St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

O Sacred Heart of Jesus, to Thee I consecrate and offer up my person and my life, my actions, trials, and sufferings, that my entire being may henceforth only be employed in loving, honoring and glorifying Thee. This is my irrevocable will, to belong entirely to Thee, and to do all for Thy love, renouncing with my whole heart all that can displease Thee.

I take Thee, O Sacred Heart, for the sole object of my love, the protection of my life, the pledge of my salvation, the remedy of my frailty and inconstancy, the reparation for all the defects of my life, and my secure refuge at the hour of my death. Be Thou, O Most Merciful Heart, my justification before God Thy Father, and screen me from His anger which I have so justly merited. I fear all from my own weakness and malice, but placing my entire confidence in Thee, O Heart of Love, I hope all from Thine infinite Goodness. Annihilate in me all that can displease or resist Thee. Imprint Thy pure love so deeply in my heart that I may never forget Thee or be separated from Thee. I beseech Thee, through Thine infinite Goodness, grant that my name be engraved upon Thy Heart, for in this I place all my happiness and all my glory, to live and to die as one of Thy devoted servants.

Amen.

Sacred Heart of Jesus. Have mercy on us!

Steubenville Mid-America 2007

As all great Catholic events begin, this year's Steubenville St. Louis Mid-America conference began with the Eucharist. Jesus was carried amongst all the teenagers (about 2,000!) in a Eucharistic procession at Missouri State University in Springfield, MO. I posted pictures from this night's events here, and I'll be posting the rest of the pictures as time allows this weekend.

The above picture is from the Eucharistic procession, with Fr. Stan Fortuna carrying the monstrance and leading adoration and benediction.

Vatican Issues Motu Proprio "Summorum Pontificum"

Here's an unofficial English translation from the Vatican. And here's a translation of Pope Benedict's letter explaining it. And here's a little explanation from Whispers in the Loggia. I think this will be a positive (if not earth-shattering) change in the Church, and I hope to someday be fluent enough in Latin to celebrate a private Mass or two according to the 1962 form of the Latin rite.

Update: I read through the Pope's letter explaining the motu proprio, and it contains a lot of thoughtful insights, one of which I'll paste below for those of you not able or willing to read through the whole letter:

"There is no contradiction between the two editions of the Roman Missal. In the history of the liturgy there is growth and progress, but no rupture. What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too, and it cannot be all of a sudden entirely forbidden or even considered harmful. It behooves all of us to preserve the riches which have developed in the Church's faith and prayer, and to give them their proper place. Needless to say, in order to experience full communion, the priests of the communities adhering to the former usage cannot, as a matter of principle, exclude celebrating according to the new books. The total exclusion of the new rite would not in fact be consistent with the recognition of its value and holiness." [Emphases mine].

More Pictures - Shrine of the Miraculous Medal

I am often amazed at the many beautiful sites there are in St. Louis that I've never even known existed. I was amazed yesterday when my class and I went to Perryville, MO and visited the Shrine of the Miraculous Medal. I took some pictures and posted them here. It's a nice place to visit, and it would probably be worth your going and seeing, if you have some time.

Taking Some Fireworks Pictures [UPDATED]

[UPDATE: I added all the fireworks pictures I took here.]

Tonight I went to the Fair St. Louis fireworks show for Independence Day, and it was my first year with a DSLR and some proper lighting knowledge, so I had some fun taking pictures and trying to get some nice shots of the displays behind the St. Louis Arch.

Following techniques I've read about on various websites and forums, I set my camera on my sturdy Bogen/Manfrotto tripod, set the exposure to f/18, the shutter to 10 seconds, and the ISO to 200, then used my hand to let the camera know when to let in light. I would have my hand over the lens, press the shutter release button, then when I noticed a firework start, I would quickly remove my hand. Once one or two fireworks exploded and the trails were fading, I would quickly return my hand to cover the lens. This makes sure there aren't tons of fireworks over one area (which would create a washed-out frame).

I used the tripod because I needed a long shutter speed, and I used the small (f/18) aperture to make sure the flaming light trails from the fireworks would still show color. A lot of people leave their cameras in auto mode, with flash on, and their pictures turn out very disappointingly black (or they have little dots of fireworks on them). Switching into manual mode should solve this problem, if you follow the method I outlined above.