Grazie Easter Bunny!

After Mass, I came home to find a basket full of goodies

As usual, the Easter bunny left me another terrific basket brimming with fruit, nuts and other treats, including Ernst Jünger’s Interwar Articles and a few stamps for my ever-growing philatelic collection. Buona Pasqua!

(L) 1920 stamp from Fiume with portrait of Gabriele D'Annunzio
and (R) 1956 Hungarian stamp with John Hunyadi on horseback

(L) 1913 Albanian stamp with likeness of George Kastrioti (Skanderbeg)
and (R) 1918 stamp from Bosnia & Herzegovina with portrait of Empress Zita

1932 Kingdom of Italy stamp with portrait of Torquato Tasso

Photo of the Week: The Risen Christ in the Basilica Madonna dei Martiri Museum in Molfetta

Photo by Andrew Giordano

Pasquetta – Little Easter 2021

Frittata di maccheroni

In remembrance of the risen Christ's meeting and subsequent dinner with his disciples on the road to Emmaus, a small town outside Jerusalem, Duosiciliani (Southern Italians) celebrate Pasquetta, or Little Easter. Traditionally family and friends would pack a lunch and take a short trip to the shore or countryside in commemoration of Christ’s journey, but because Easter Monday is not a national holiday here in the States, and people have to work, it’s not always easy to organize a group outing. As expected, COVID made it more difficult and once again deterred my usual fellow day trippers. Nonetheless, I still try to keep the tradition whenever possible, even if it is by myself. So I packed my picnic basket with Easter leftovers, some frittata di maccheroni and a good book, and found a peaceful location to reflect on my many, many blessings. Buona Pasquetta!

Happy Birthday Princess Camilla di Borbone!

HRH was born in Rome, Italy on April 5, 1971
Photo courtesy of Real Casa di Borbone

Happy Birthday Princess Camilla di Borbone — Two Sicilies, Duchess of Castro and Dame Grand Cross of Justice of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George! May God almighty bless you with a life full of joy and happiness. May you always find favor in His eyes. Peace be upon you. Auguri!

Feast of San Benedetto il Moro

San Benedetto il Moro, ora pro nobis

April 4th is the feast of St. Benedict the Moor (San Fratello c.1524–Palermo, April 4, 1589), hermit and miracle worker. Invoked against pestilence, famine and other natural disasters, he is the protector of San Fratello, Sicily, as well as one of the co-patrons of Palermo. 

Descended from African slaves that converted to Christianity, the meek and pious youth entered a Franciscan hermitage on Monte Pellegrino under Girolamo Lanza. Following the passing of their founder, Benedetto was elected their superior. 

In 1562, Pope Pius IV disbanded the hermit community and encouraged the confreres to join another order. Benedetto joined the Order of Friars Minor in Palermo and, despite being illiterate, eventually rose from cook to superior of the Friary of Santa Maria di Gesù. 

Revered for his sanctity, he was often consulted by priests, prelates and even the illustrious Viceroy of Sicily, Marcantonio II Colonna. He is renowned for healing the sick and feeding the poor by miraculously multiplying bread and fish through prayer.

After his death, San Benedetto’s cult spread from Sicily to Spain and the new world with the Spanish. He was beatified by Pope Benedict XIV in 1743 and canonized by Pope Pius VII in 1807. His patronal Feast Day in San Fratello is commemorated on September 17th. 

In celebration, we’re posting a prayer to St. Benedict the Moor in Italian. The prayer card pictured was a gift from a friend who is a fervent devotee of “il santo Moro.” Evviva San Benedetto il Moro!

Preghiera

O celeste patrono S. Benedetto che per seguire fedelmente Gesù abbracciasti volontariamente la poverta', insegnaci a distaccare il nostro cuore dai beni terreni per non divenire schiavi. TU che vivesti nell' ardente amore di Dio e del prossimo, ottienici di praticare la vera carita' e di avere il cuore aperto a tutte le necessita' dei nostri fratelli. TU che conosci le ansie e le speranze di questa tua terra , proteggici sempre e donaci di poter conseguire con te la gloria eterna. Amen

Paulaner Bier for San Francesco di Paola

For the second year in a row, we did not celebrate the Feast of San Francesco di Paola with our usual pizza and Paulaner party. Last year, due to COVID, we did it virtually, but unsurprisingly it just wasn’t the same. This year, for an infinitely better reason, we did not celebrate because the great Calabrian saint’s feast day fell on Good Friday.

Be that as it may, returning from the Three Hours Agony Devotions and the afternoon liturgical service at my parish, I did allow myself to have a “liquid lunch” in his honor. Fasting and abstaining from all meat, eggs and dairy I did not eat any pizza, or anything else for that matter, but I did break in my new stoneware stein with a nice cold Paulaner bier.

For the sake of new readers unfamiliar with our custom, we drink Paulaner because it was originally brewed in Bavaria in 1634 to help support the charitable works of the Minims, a mendicant order of monks founded by St. Francis in the fifteenth-century. The name Paulaner itself is a corruption of Paola, the town in Provincia di Cosenza where St. Francis was born. It also helps that the golden Bavarian elixir taste great. Evviva San Francesco di Paola!

Feast of San Francesco di Paola

San Francesco di Paola, ora pro nobis

April 2nd is the Feast Day of St. Francis of Paola, patron saint of sailors, the Region of Calabria and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. In celebration, I'm posting a Prayer to Saint Francis of Paola. The accompanying photo of the Saint was taken at the Shrine Church of St. Bernadette in Dyker Heights, Brooklyn. The pictures of the Santuario di San Francesco in Paola, Cosenza, comes courtesy of our good friend John Cordi. The pictures below of the Basilica di San Francesco di Napoli were taken during my 2007 visit to Naples. Completed in 1846, this monumental neoclassical church (inspired by the Pantheon in Rome) was built by HM King Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies in homage to St. Francis of Paola for the recovery of Naples from Joachim Murat and the French. Evviva San Francesco di Paola!

Prayer to Saint Francis of Paola

Lord God, by whom the holy are exalted and Saint Francis was raised to share in the glory of the saints, let his prayer and example bring us the reward you have promised to the humble. Amen.

Santuario di San Francesco di Paola in Paola, Cosenza

Basilica di San Francesco di Paola in Napoli

Another look at the Basilica di San Francesco di Paola in Napoli

Photos by New York Scugnizzo

Novena to San Leone Magno

San Leone Magno, ora pro nobis

Pray Novena to San Leone Magno (St. Leo the Great) for nine consecutive days, April 2nd to April 10th, in preparation for the Feast on April 11th. Evviva San Leone Magno!

Eternal Shepherd, look favorably upon Thy flock, which we beseech Thee to guard and keep for evermore through the blessed Leo, Supreme Pontiff, who Thou didst choose to be chief shepherd of the whole Church. And by his mighty merits, glorious intercession, and solicitude care for the flock we beg of Thee to: (Mention your intentions) And govern Thy Church in Thy clemency, we beseech Thee, O Lord, so that under the guidance of Thy mighty rule, she may enjoy greater freedom and abiding integrity of religion. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

O God, who never allow the gates of hell to prevail against your Church, firmly founded on the apostolic rock, grant her, we pray, that through the intercession of Pope Saint Leo, she may stand firm in your truth and know the protection of lasting peace. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you together, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

* The accompanying photo of the first class relic of San Leone Magno was taken in 2015 by Anthony Scillia at the Treasures of the Church Exposition at St. Leo’s Church in Elmwood Park, New Jersey.

Ponderable Quote from "The Ruling Class" by Gaetano Mosca: Causes of Socialism

Gaetano Mosca
April 1, 1858—Nov. 8, 1941
Sicilian jurist and philosopher

An important factor in the progress of socialist propaganda, and one of its most direct and immediate causes, has been the broadening of suffrage, or, more exactly, universal suffrage, which has come to be more and more widely adopted in Europe in deference to the principles of the radical school and to democratic logic. Now the danger in broad based suffrage is not so much that if proletarians get the right to drop their ballots into a box their genuine representatives may come to be in the majority in our political assemblies, as many fear or hope. After all, whatever the election system, control will always remain with the more influential classes, rather than with the more numerous classes. The danger lies rather in the fact that in order to gain an advantage over their rivals most candidates do all they can to pamper popular sentiments and prejudices. That attitude leads to promises and professions of faith that are based on the postulates of socialism. The natural result of the system is that the more honest and energetic people are alienated from public life, compromises and moral reservations become more and more the rule, while the ranks of the so-called conservatives become more and more stultified, both intellectually and morally.

Reprinted from The Ruling Class by Gaetano Mosca, p.310-311, McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., 1939

New Book: Stories from Pentamerone

New title that may be of interest to our readers. Available at Amazon.com 

• Stories from Pentamerone by Giambattista Basile

Publisher: Independently published

Publication Date: February 26, 2021

Paperback: $26.99

Language: English

Pages: 376

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Photo of the Week: The Madonna Addolorata at the Chiesa dei Santi Filippo e Giacomo in Naples

Photo by Andrew Giordano

Photo of the Week: Dead Christ at the Chiesa dei Santi Filippo e Giacomo in Naples

Photo by Andrew Giordano

Celebrating the Feast of San Giuseppe in Brooklyn, New York

We erected a small St. Joseph's
Table by the front window

Members and friends of the Fratelli della Santa Fede (Brothers of the Holy Faith) returned to Amunì Ristorante (7217 3rd Avenue) in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn Friday evening to celebrate the Feast of San Giuseppe. Chef Vincent Dardanello outdid himself again and treated us to a veritable abbondanza of delicious Sicilian fare, including the perfectly cooked pesce spada alla griglia and alici fritte.

Having given up meat, eggs and dairy for Lent, revelers made the most of the solemnity and partook of some cheese, eggs (in the rice balls) and of course the pastries. However, despite the dispensation, we still insisted no meat be on the menu.

Special thanks to our friends at the Italian American St. Joseph Society of New Orleans, the San Rocco Society of Potenza in New York City, and the Madonna della Neve Society of Williamsburg, Brooklyn for joining us. It is always a great joy to celebrate our faith and culture together. Evviva San Giuseppe!

La Tavola di San Giuseppe

Tony made his world famous pane di San Giuseppe

Guests were given blessed prayer cards, medals and packets of lucky fava beans

A good time was had by all

Caponata

Carciofi fritti

Mixed seafood salad

Arancini

Fried anchovies

Insalata di finocchio

Eggplant parmigiana

Sautéed greens with pine nuts

Pasta con sarde with toasted breadcrumbs

Pasta alla Norma

Stuffed calamari

Grilled swordfish

Sfingi

Zeppole and sfingi di San Giuseppe

Salvatore, Stephen and Lucia

Tony and Loreto

Pamela and Raffaele

Vinny and Elena

Isaac, Andrea "BTB", Francesco "il gatto nero" and Frank

Happy Twelfth Anniversary

Twelve years and a million and a half visitors is a modest milestone in terms of the internet, but for us it is truly a joyous occasion. Hopefully we have another twelve in us, though the way things are going lately this may not be totally up to us. While I don’t want to overstate our influence or importance, I certainly don’t want to underestimate the vindictive pettiness of our adversaries. The fragile Jacobin mindset is hateful and malicious, and unable to cope with any dissent from their twisted worldview. Hell bent on world domination, any and all opposition to their malevolent designs, no matter how seemingly insignificant or small, must be rooted out and extirpated in the name of progress.  

Preparing for the worst, we’ve been backing up our material in case we fall victim to the online purge currently baby-proofing the web for the ridiculously sensitive and intolerant masses. Who knows, we just may have to start up an old-school samizdat style journal similar to the underground fanzines we use to publish back in high school with nothing but a typewriter, photocopier and a desire to be heard. 

Online censorship aside, we also have to contend with a growingly hostile environment. The steady decline of New York City into an unlivable hellscape makes it harder and harder to gather in public with family and friends. Fear of crime, overcrowding, skyrocketing costs, and crumbling infrastructure were issues before the COVID meltdown, now the draconian lockdown, partisan politics, and government incompetence has made it virtually impossible for us to do more than have a few small scale celebratory dinners and (excluding the unjustified period of church closures) attend the Traditional Latin Mass together.

Naturally, all plans to reboot our book and chess clubs or start new stamp and fencing clubs are on hold for the foreseeable future. To the best of our ability we are trying to maintain our religious and charitable endeavors, including spiritual warfare, the corporal works of mercy and heroic acts of charity. As for the blog, we can’t make any promises. We will continue to write and publish for as long as we like or until our technocratic overlords jettison us down the proverbial memory hole.

A big heartfelt thank you to all our loyal readers and contributors, even the lovable nitpickers who help keep us on our toes. Your support and prayers are greatly appreciated and inspire us to do better. God bless you all.

 ~ Giovanni di Napoli, March 21st, The Feasts of Bl. Maria Candida of the Eucharist and San Benedetto da Nursia

New Book — Elionor of Sicily, 1325—1375: A Mediterranean Queen of Two Worlds

New title that may be of interest to our readers. Available at Amazon.com 

• Elionor of Sicily, 1325—1375: A Mediterranean Queen of Two Worlds by Donald J. Kagay

Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Publication Date: June 9, 2021
Hardcover: $139.99
Language: English
Pages: n/a

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Feast of San Corrado di Baviera

San Corrado di Baviera, ora pro nobis

March 17th is the Feast Day of San Corrado di Baviera, Cistercian Monk, Hermit and patron saint of Molfetta, Puglia. It commemorates his dies natalis, or birth into heaven. His liturgical Feast day, recalling the translation of his holy relics, falls on February 9th. 

In celebration, I'm posting the Supplica a San Corrado, Patrono di Molfetta. The accompanying photo was taken at Holy Face Monastery in Clifton, New Jersey. Unveiled on July 14, 2013, the statue was sculpted by Lyndhurst, New Jersey native Nicolò Scardigno in honor of his parents, Salvatore and Anna, who hail from Molfetta. Evviva San Corrado di Baviera!

Supplica a San Corrado, Patrono di Molfetta

Miracolo dei Principi, modello dei Religiosi, immagine limpida dei Pellegrini e degli Eremiti, glorioso San Corrado, noi ti onoriamo e ti scegliamo come nostro Patrono e Protettore. 

Benediciamo la Santissima Trinità che con tre esperienze da eremita volle perfezionare la tua santità. 

Benediciamo l’Eterno Padre, che con la sua onnipotenza ti chiamò nel monastero di Chiaravalle per renderti umile e povero sulla terra ma grande e ricco in Cielo. 

Benediciamo il Figlio Gesù, che con la sua sapienza ti spinse in Palestina per farti partecipe della sua vita onorando la memoria della sua passione, morte e risurrezione. 

Benediciamo lo Spirito Santo, che con la sua carità ti indicò la grotta di Modugno per renderti sconosciuto e nascosto negli ultimi anni della tua vita terrena ma rinomato, glorioso e santo agli occhi della Chiesa e del mondo. 

Ricordati, nostro Protettore San Corrado, che Dio Altissimo ti ha destinato a noi, e per noi ti ha guidato in questa nostra terra. 

A te affidiamo noi stessi, i nostri parenti, i nostri amici, la vita della nostra Chiesa diocesana e della nostra città.  

Intercedi per noi presso Dio Padre, affinché possiamo rendere ferma la nostra fede, salda la speranza e ardente la carità. 

Chiedi al Signore, per noi, la salute del corpo e la consolazione dello spirito, difesa nei pericoli, sicurezza nel lavoro, sollievo nel dolore, serenità nella famiglia, pace e concordia nella comunità cristiana e nel mondo intero. 

Proteggici nel pellegrinaggio di questa vita, in modo che, liberi da ogni attaccamento alle cose di questo mondo, possiamo ringraziarti per la tua protezione e, insieme con te, lodare, esaltare e glorificare il nome di Gesù Cristo che vive e regna per tutti i secoli dei secoli. Amen

Photo of the Week: The Sepulcher of Jesus Christ Inside the Basilica della Madonna dei Martiri in Molfetta

Photo by Andrew Giordano

Feast of Beato Giacomo Cusmano, Apostle of the Poor

Beato Giacomo Cusmano, ora pro nobis

March 14th is the feast of Beato Giacomo Cusmano (Palermo, March 15, 1834—March 14, 1888), Apostle of the Poor. Priest, physician and surgeon, he was the founder of the Missionary Servants of the Poor and Sisters Servants of the Poor. In celebration, I’m posting a prayer to Beato Giacomo Cusmano in Italian. Pictured is my makeshift shrine with reliquary prayer card (ex indumentis). Evviva Beato Giacomo Cusmano!

Prayer to Beato Giacomo Cusmano

O Dio, Padre onnipotente e misericordioso, ti ringrazio e ti benedico che hai adornato il cuore del beato Giacomo Cusmano in una caritá senza limiti nel soccorrere i poveri ed i miseri. Fá che anch’io, sul suo esempio, acceso dello stesso ardore di caritá, si sempre lieto di donare la vita a gloria del tuo nome e a servizio dei fratelli per essere da te benedetto nel Regno dei Cieli e concedimi, per sua intercessione, le grazie delle quali ho tanto bisogno. Gloria al Padre ecc.

Live Dangerously

Overnight Eucharistic Adoration at the
Shrine Church of the Holy Innocents in NYC

When nothing in society deserves respect, we should fashion for ourselves in solitude new silent loyalties. ~ Nicólas Gómez Dávila

I was recently asked by a concerned reader if everything was okay with me because I haven’t written about Mass in awhile. Assuring him all is well and that I still attend the Traditional Latin Mass regularly, I’ve been devoting my time to Lenten prayer and works of mercy, so I haven’t (until now) really had the chance to write all that much about anything. Considering how scandalous things have been with the Church these days I honestly can’t blame him for thinking something was wrong, but the reality is I belong to a really good parish and, if anything, Church, prayer and my myriad devotions are the main reasons why I’m getting through these downright awful times. 

On the other hand, I’m not sure how my secular friends and family (at least the normal ones) are coping with the current state of affairs, especially after the appalling events of the so-called “summer of rage” and contentious election. Everything they were taught to believe and hold dear has been utterly debased and adulterated. What a shock it must be to suddenly come to the disquieting realization that one’s precious state religion (i.e. democracy), with all its chimeric tenets (freedom of speech, equality, etc.), is a golden calf worthy of derision and scorn. 

As world-weary as I am, even I’m amazed at the level of open corruption and decadence, and how feeble the resistance is. In fact, things are so bad that even with my faith if I didn’t already have a healthy distrust of the government, an animus towards politicians, and a fundamental antipathy towards democracy dating back to my youth, I’m not so sure I would be able to temper my passions.

Our progressive lords and masters aren’t even trying to hide it anymore; like pigs in slop, they are reveling in their iniquity. All the institutions (legacy media, Hollywood, big tech, education, and the financial oligarchs, not to mention the corrupt political class and a complicit and feckless church hierarchy) are waging relentless psychological warfare on the populace with an incessant barrage of politically correct claptrap and woke agitprop. One cannot turn on a computer or television without being inundated with fake news and virtue-signaling gobbledygook. The dystopian future we feared has arrived in all its discordant glory. I know it’s a cliche, but we really are witnessing the actualization of George Orwell’s 1984. Big Brother is watching you.

I belong to the opposition party, which is called life. ~ Honoré de Balzac

Before someone accuses me of taking sides let me be clear, I don’t trust or like either political party. As far as I’m concerned, both the Dems and the GOP are shameless crooks and reprobates. Neither represent or speak for me. This is not open to debate.

Believe me, I get no pleasure or morbid satisfaction watching the country implode in real time; but really, who didn’t see all this coming? About thirty years ago I predicted these United States would break up in fifty years. I was thoroughly mocked for it at the time, but I still stand by that prediction. Reality is on my side. Our moribund civilization is in the process of rapid and steady decline, and I believe without a return to the Faith this is irrevocable. It is plain to see that the system is broken and we do not live in a sane society or a free country. How long before the soft totalitarianism of cancel culture, censorship and social engineering turns into the hard variety with gulags, guillotines and firing squads? 

With all pretenses of a legitimate government gone, we practicing Catholics will soon have to worry about a lot more than toppled statues and desecrated churches. Don’t kid yourself, tough times lie ahead of us and unless we discipline and harden ourselves in preparation there will be hell to pay. The future belongs to the ascetic and heroic; a servile and gelded existence awaits the cowards and eunuchs.

Take solace, we are not without realistic and tenable options. First and foremost we should concentrate on the things that are in our control and we can change. Strive to live a noble life, ovoid sin and practice virtue. Prayer, fasting and penance must take precedence. Support like-minded groups and individuals that support our values. Exercise, study, keep our traditions and folkways, and most importantly raise a God-fearing family. What can be more rebellious today? 

We don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Faith, family and community need to be our priorities if we are to someday overcome the disordered demoniac consciousness currently infecting all aspects of society. In a more civilized time this was all considered sane and healthy behavior, now it’s deemed extreme and dangerous by the unhinged miscreants in charge. Bound by duty and love of God, I choose to live dangerously! Viva Cristo Re!

~ Giovanni di Napoli, March 10th, Feast of the Forty Holy Martyrs of Sebaste