COLLECT:
O God, who in this day, dost
gladden us by the yearly festival of the uplifting of the holy Cross, grant, we
pray, that we who, while on earth, acknowledge the mystery of the Cross of
Christ may merit the heavenly reward He has purchased. Through the same Lord, etc.
Keep, we pray, O Lord, Thy Church
with Thy perpetual favor; and, since the frailty of man without Thee cannot but
fall, keep it ever by Thy help from all things hurtful, and lead it to all
things profitable to salvation. Through
our Lord, etc.
EPISTLE:
Philipp. 2, 5-11
Brethren:
let this mind be in you which was also in Jesus Christ: Who being in the form
of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God; but emptied Himself,
taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men, and in habit
found as a man. He humbled Himself, becoming obedient unto death, even to the
death of the cross. For which cause God also hath exalted Him, and hath given
Him a Name which is above all names: (here
genuflect) that in the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those
that are in heaven, on earth, and under the earth; and every tongue should
confess that the Lord Jesus Christ is in the glory of God the Father.
INSTRUCTION In this
epistle, the apostle urges us in a special manner to humility by which we are
made like to Christ, our Lord, who putting off the majesty of His divinity,
became man, and humbled Himself in obedience to the ignominious death of the
cross. "Would that all might hear," exclaims St. Gregory, "that
God resists the proud, and gives His grace to the humble! Would that all might
hear: Thou dust and ashes, why dost thou exalt thyself? Would that all might
hear the words of the Lord: Learn of me, because I am humble of heart. The
only-begotten Son of God assumed the form of our weakness, suffered mockery,
insult and torments for the purpose that the humble God might teach man not to
be proud."
ASPIRATION Ah,
that my sentiments were as Thine, O my Lord, Jesus! Who so humbled Thyself and
wast obedient to the most ignominious death of the cross. Grant me, I beseech
Thee, O my Redeemer, the grace diligently to follow Thee in humility.
GRADUAL:
Philippp. 2 Christ became obedient for us
unto death: even the death of the cross.
Wherefore God also hath exalted him, and hath given him a name which is
above every name.
Alleluia, Alleluia. Sweet the wood, sweet the nails, sweet the
burden which thou bearest: for thou alone wast worthy to bear the King and Lord
of heaven. Alleluia.
GOSPEL: John 12, 31-36.
At
that time: Jesus said to the multitudes of the Jews: Now is the judgment of the
world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up
from the earth, will draw all things to myself. (Now this he said, signifying
what death he should die.) The multitude answered him: We have heard out of the
law, that Christ abideth forever; and how sayest thou: The Son of man must be
lifted up? Who is this Son of man? Jesus therefore said to them: Yet a little
while, the light is among you. Walk whilst you have the light, that the
darkness overtake you not. And he that walketh in darkness, knoweth not whither
he goeth. Whilst you have the light, believe in the light, that you may be the
children of light
OFFERTORY:
Protect Thy people, O Lord, by the sign of the holy
Cross from the wiles of all enemies; that we may render a service pleasing unto
Thee and that our sacrifice may be acceptable in Thy sight, alleluia.
SECRET:
We are about to feed
on the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ our Lord by whom the banner of the holy
Cross was hallowed; we pray, O Lord our God, that as we have been deemed worthy
to venerate that same holy ensign, so, for evermore, may we enjoy the salvation
won by its triumph. Through the same
Lord, etc.
Grant,
we pray, O Lord, that this saving victim may cleanse our offenses and appease
Thy power. Through our Lord, etc.
PREFACE OF THE HOLY CROSS:
It is
truly meet and just, right and profitable unto salvation, that we should at all
times and in all places give thanks unto Thee, O holy Lord, Father almighty,
everlasting God. Who didst set the
salvation of mankind upon the tree of the Cross, so that whence came death,
thence also life might rise again, and he that overcame by the tree, on the
tree also might be overcome through Christ our Lord. Through Whom the angels praise Thy majesty,
the dominions adore it, and the powers are in awe. Which the heavens and the hosts of heaven
together with the blessed seraphim joyfully do magnify. With these, we pray Thee, join our voices
also while we say with lowly praise:
Holy, holy, holy, etc.
COMMUNION:
By the sign of the Cross
deliver us from our enemies, O Thou who art our God.
POSTCOMMUNION:
Be near us, O Lord our God; and
do Thou, who dost make us rejoice in honor of the holy Cross, defend us by its
help for evermore. Through our Lord,
etc.
May Thy sacraments, O God, ever purify
and fortify us, and lead us to the fruit of everlasting salvation. Through our Lord, etc.
LAST GOSPEL: Matt. 6, 24-33.
At that time, Jesus said to his
disciples: No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and
love the other, or he will sustain the one and despise the other. You cannot
serve God and Mammon. Therefore I say to you, be not solicitous for your life,
what you shall eat, nor for your body, what you shall put on. Is not the life
more than the meat, and the body more than the raiment? Behold the birds of the
air; for they neither sow, nor do they reap, nor gather into barns, and your
heavenly Father feedeth them. Are not you of much more value than they? And
which of you, by taking thought, can add to his stature one cubit? And for
raiment, why are you solicitous? Consider the lilies of the field, how they
grow; they labor not, neither do they spin; but I say to you, that not even
Solomon in all his glory was arrayed as one of these. Now, if God so clothe the
grass of the field, which is to-day, and to morrow is cast into the oven, how
much more you, O ye of little faith? Be not solicitous, therefore, saying: What
shall we eat, or what shall we drink, or wherewith shall we be clothed? For
after all these things do the heathens seek. For your Father knoweth that you
have need of all these things. Seek ye therefore first the kingdom of God and
his justice; and all these things shall be added unto you.
What is meant by serving God?
Doing the will of God, or performing
faithfully and zealously all that God asks of us according to our age and
condition, and for love of Him.
Who are the two masters whom
we cannot serve alike?
God and Mammon or riches, whereby
also, the other goods and pleasures of the world are understood. These we
cannot serve at the same time, because they command things diametrically
opposed to each other; for instance, God prohibits usury, theft, deceit, etc.;
to which the desire for wealth impels us. God commands that we keep holy
Sundays and holy days, and devote them to His service; the desire for riches
tempts man to omit religious worship and to seek temporal gain; it disturbs him
even in church, so that he is only present with his body, but absent in mind
with his temporal goods and business.
To whom can riches be useful?
To those who, like the saints,
perform works of mercy with them, and thus lay up treasures for themselves in
heaven.
Why does Christ call our
attention to the birds of the air and the lilies of the field?
To excite in us confidence in the
providence of God, which preserves even the birds and the flowers. Surely, if
God feeds the young ravens which cry to Him (Ps. 146, 9); if He nourishes the
birds which neither sow, nor reap, nor gather into barns; if He vests the
flowers of the field so beautifully, how much more will He care for man whom He
has made to His own image and likeness, and adopted as His child, if he only
acts as such, keeps His commandments, and always entertains a filial confidence
in Him.
Should we, therefore, lay aside
all care and never work?
This does not follow from what has
been said. Christ condemns only the superfluous cares, which cause man to
forget God and to neglect the salvation of his soul. Besides, God has Himself
ordered (Gen. 3, 17-19) that man should obtain the fruits of the earth with
much labor, that he should earn his bread by the sweat of his brow. St. Paul
says: If any man will not work, neither let him eat (II Thess. 3, 9).
What should preserve us from
superfluous cares?
A firm and lively faith, that God
can and will help us. That He can is evident, because He is almighty; that His
will is certain, because He promises it in so many passages of Holy Writ, and
because He is infinitely faithful to all His promises. Christ encourages us to
this lively confidence with these, words: All things whatsoever you ask when ye
pray, believe that you shall receive and they shall come unto you (Mark 11,
24). Therefore the apostle also commands us to throw all cares upon the Lord,
who provides for us (I Pet. 5, 7). And why should God not care for us, since He
sent us His Son and with Him all; for which reason St. Augustine says:
"How can you doubt that God will give you good things, since He vouchsafed
to assume evil for you!"
PRAYER O Lord
Jesus! give me a firm confidence in Thy Divine Providence, and daily increase
it in me, that when in necessity I may confidently believe if I seek first the
kingdom of God and His justice, the rest shall be added unto me.
And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw
all things to myself..... Walk whilst you have the light, that the darkness
overtake you not.
PROPER OF THE SAINTS FOR
THE WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 14th:
Date Day Feast Rank Color
F/A Mass & Confession Times
|
14
|
Sun
|
Exaltation of
the Holy Cross
14th
Sunday after Pentecost
|
dm
|
R
|
|
Mass
9:00 AM & Noon; Confessions 8:00AM; Rosary of Reparation 8:30 AM
|
|
15
|
Mon
|
Seven
Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary
|
d2cl
|
W
|
|
Mass
8:30 AM; Rosary of Reparation 8:00 AM
|
|
16
|
Tue
|
Ss.
Cornelius, P & Cyprian, Bp, Mm
|
sd
|
R
|
|
Mass
8:30 AM; Rosary of Reparation 8:00 AM
|
|
17
|
Wed
|
Impression
of the Stigmata of St. Francis
Ember Wednesday
|
d
|
W
|
F
|
Mass
7:00 AM; Rosary of Reparation after Mass
|
|
18
|
Thu
|
St.
Joseph of Cupertino, C
|
d
|
W
|
|
Mass
8:30 AM; Rosary of Reparation 8:00 AM
|
|
19
|
Fri
|
Ss.
Januarius, Bp & Companions, Mm
Ember Friday
|
d
|
R
|
F/A
|
Mass
8:30 AM; Rosary of Reparation 8:00 AM
|
|
20
|
Sat
|
Ss.
Eustace & Companions, Mm
Vigil of St. Matthew,
Apostle
Ember Saturday
|
d
|
R
|
F
|
Mass
9:00 AM; Confessions 8:00AM; Rosary of Reparation 8:30 AM
|
|
21
|
Sun
|
St. Matthew,
Apostle
15th
Sunday after Pentecost
|
d2cl
|
R
|
|
Mass
9:00 AM & Noon; Confessions 8:00AM; Rosary of Reparation 8:30 AM
|
JESUS hath now many lovers of His heavenly
kingdom, but few bearers of His Cross. He hath many that are desirous of consolation,
but few of tribulation. He finds many companions of His table, but few of His
abstinence. All desire to rejoice with Him, but few are willing to endure
anything for His sake. Many follow Jesus to the breaking of bread, but few to
the drinking of the chalice of His Passion. Many reverence His miracles, but
few follow the ignominy of His Cross. Many love Jesus as long as they meet with
no adversity; many praise Him and bless Him as long as they receive some
consolations from Him. But if Jesus hide Himself, and leave them for a little
while, they either murmur or fall into excessive dejection. But they that love Jesus for Jesus' sake, and
not for the sake of some consolation of their own, bless Him no less in
tribulation and anguish of heart than in the greatest consolation.
Thomas a Kempis, Following of Christ
“It is better to do the will
of God rather than to seek the honor of God.”
Rev. A Hellbach, C.SS.R.
“The Church is intolerant in principle because
she believes; she is tolerant in practice because she loves. The enemies of the
Church are tolerant in principle because they do not beleive; they are
intolerant in practice because they do not love.”
Rev. Garrigou Lagrange
Above the legions of Constantine,
in a cloudless sky, the cross, proscribed for three long centuries, suddenly
shone forth; all eyes beheld it, making the western sun, as it were, its
footstool, and surrounded with these words in characters of fire: IN HOC VINCE:
by this be thou conqueror! A few
months later, October 27, 312, all the idols of Rome stood aghast to behold,
approaching along the Flaminian Way, beyond the bridge Milvius, the Labarum
with its sacred monogram, now become the standard of the imperial armies. On the morrow was fought the decisive battle,
which opened the gates of the eternal city to Christ, the only God, the
everlasting King.
Dom Gueranger, The
Liturgical Year
About the end of the
reign of the emperor Phocas, Chosroes King of the Persians invaded Egypt and
Africa. He then took possession of
Jerusalem; and after massacring there many thousand Christians, he carried away
into Persia the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, which Helen had placed upon
Mount Calvary. Phocas was succeeded in
the empire by Heraclius; who after many failures and unable to obtain peace,
applied himself to prayer and fasting, and earnestly implored God’s
assistance. Then, admonished from
heaven, he raised an army, marched against the enemy, and defeated three of
Chosroes’s generals with their armies….Thus fourteen years after it had fallen
into the hands of the Persians, the cross was recovered and returned to
Jerusalem on the feast day of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.
Dom Gueranger, The
Liturgical Year
The prophecy of the
aged Simeon, the flight into Egypt, the loss of the divine Child in Jerusalem,
the carrying of the cross, the Crucifixion, the taking down from the cross, and
the burial of Jesus: these are the seven mysteries into which are grouped the
well-nigh infinite suffering which made our Lady the Queen of martyrs, the
first and loveliest rose in the garden of the Spouse. Let us take to heart the recommendation from
the Book of Tobias which the Church reads during this week in the Office of the
time: Thou shalt honour thy mother: for thou must be mindful what and how great
perils she suffered in giving thee birth.
Dom Gueranger, The
Liturgical Year
St. Januarius is ever
preaching the Gospel to every creature; for his miraculous blood perpetuates
the testimony he bore to Christ. Let
those who say they cannot believe unless they see, go to Naples; there they
will behold the martyr’s blood, when placed near his head which was cut off
seventeen hundred years ago, to liquefy and boil as at the moment it escaped
from his sacred veins. No; miracles are
not lacking in the Church at the present day.
Dom Gueranger, The
Liturgical Year
Man, therefore, who was once a slave to concupiscence, has regained on
the cross of Christ that equilibrium of his existence. (Rom. 8:8) which is true
liberty. The supremacy, which the soul
had forfeited in punishment for her revolt against God (Rom1:28), has been
restored to her by the laver of the water of Baptism, and now that she is once
more queen, it is but just that she chastise the slave who so long lorded it
over her, his rightful sovereign. Man
owes nothing to the flesh (Rom. 8:12), especially after the miseries it has
brought upon him; but further than this, God, too, has been insulted by the
sensual abominations committed in His
sacred presence; and He, too, demands atonement. For this purpose He mercifully
takes man, now that he is enfranchised, and confides to him the task of sharing
with His divine Majesty in taking revenge on their common enemy and usurper. Then again, this mortifying the flesh and
keeping it in subjection is a necessary means for retaining the good position
already obtained. It is true that the
rebel has been made incapable of damaging those who are in Christ Jesus, and
who walk not according to the flesh and its vile suggestions (Rom. 1); but it
is equally true that the rebel is rebel still, and is ever watching for
opportunities to assail the spirit.... The rule of the flesh is, to attack the
spirit all through life, and try to make it yield.... "I chastise my body,
and bring it into subjection, lest, perhaps.... I should become reprobate! (2
Cor. 12:7).... Penance is a debt of justice, incumbent on the sinner;
mortification is a duty commanded by prudence; which duty becomes that of every
Christian who is not foolish enough to pretend to be out of the reach of
concupiscence..... All spiritual masters, without exception, teach that no man
who is desirous wither of perfection or of salvation should limit himself to
the rules of simple temperance, that cardinal virtue which forbids excess in
pleasures of any kind.
Dom Gueranger, The Liturgical
Year, 14th Sunday after Pentecost
Oh, Jesus, Divine Redeemer of souls, behold how great is the multitude of
those who still sleep in the darkness of error! Reckon up the number of those
who stray to the edge of the precipice. Consider the throngs of the poor, the
hungry, the ignorant, and the feeble who groan in their abandoned condition. Oh
Lord, our sins darken our understanding, and hide from us the blessing of
loving Thee as Thou dost merit. Enlighten our minds with a ray of Thy divine
light. Thou art the Friend, the Redeemer, and the Father of the one who turns
penitent to Thy Sacred Heart. Amen
Pope St. Pius X
Grace, which is never
wanting to the just in the hour of tribulation, is the first source of the
fortitude which they display. Though He seems to have withdrawn from them, God
is never nearer to His children than at such a time. Search the Scriptures and
you will see that there is no truth more frequently repeated than this.
"Call upon me in the day of trouble," says the Lord; "I will
deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me" (Ps. 49:15). "When I called
upon the Lord," David sings, "the God of my justice heard me; when I
was in distress, thou hast enlarged me" (Ps. 4:2).
Ven. Louis of Granada, The
Sinner’s Guide
All things pass, God never
changes. He who has God, finds he lacks
nothing : God alone suffices.
St. Teresa of Avila
St. Francis de
Sales on Mortification
If you can bear fasting you would do well to fast on certain days,
beyond those fasts which the Church commands us to observe...; even when one
does not fast much, yet does the enemy fear us all the more when he sees that
we know how to impose a fast on ourselves.
Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays were the days whereon the Christians
of former times most practiced abstinence.
Therefore, do you choose out of these for your fasts, as far as your
devotion and the discretion of your director will counsel you to do..... The
discipline, when taken with moderation, possesses a marvelous power for
awakening the desire for devotion. The
hair-shirt is efficacious in reducing the body to subjection...; on days which
are especially devoted to penance, one may wear it, the advice of a discreet
confessor having been previously taken.
St. Francis de Sales, Introduction
to a Devout Life, Part3, Chapter 23
Ingratitude is the enemy
of the soul, the destroyer of merit and virtue, causing the loss of
favors. It is a burning wind which dries
up the fountain of piety, the dew of mercy, the torrents of grace…. Every gift
of God, whether great or small, should be gratefully acknowledged; not even the
least grace should be forgotten.
St Bernard of Clairvaux
“Justice and peace have kissed” (Psalm 84, 11), says Holy Scripture,
because peace can reign only where there is justice, whereas all attempts at
peace and harmony will be useless where justice is not respected. Our God is the God of peace; who, more than a
soul who wishes to live in intimacy with Him, should be the bearer of peace to
all? But only if we observe justice will
we radiate peace. In fact, it is futile
to exhort others to peace if we refuse to give to everyone what is his
due. As the observance of justice is a
fount of peace and joy for our own conscience, so it also brings peace and joy
to our family, to our community, to each person with whom we come in contact in
our daily life, and to society in general.
Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, O.C.D., Divine Intimacy
But that humility of
heart practiced by Jesus Christ in every hour of His life on earth is given to
all of us as an example which we are compelled to follow, and to this imitation
God has united our eternal salvation: "Unless you be converted and become
as a little child" (Matt. 18, 3).
Fr. Cajetan Mary
daBergamo, Humility of Heart
Two years before his death, St. Francis
retired to mount Alverno where he began a fast of 40 days in honor of St.
Michael the Archangel. And lo! In the
midst of his meditation he saw a figure like a seraphim with six wings dazzling
and burning, whose feet and hands were nailed to a cross. Aware that suffering is incompatible with the
immortality of a seraphic spirit, he understood this to mean that he would
become more like Jesus and bear his cross after Him (Gospel), not by physical
martyrdom, but by a mystical kindling of divine love.
And in order that this crucified love might
become an example to us all, five wounds resembling those of Jesus on the cross
appeared on his feet, hands and side.
From the latter blood flowed abundantly.
The facts were so fully authenticated later, that Benedict XI ordered
them to be commemorated every year, and Paul V to kindle in the faithful the
love of Jesus crucified, extended the feast to the whole Church.
Feast of the Impression
of the Stigmata on St. Francis
INSTRUCTION OF THE FEAST OF THE EXALTATION OF THE
HOLY CROSS
SHORT INSTRUCTION ON THE WAY OF THE CROSS
What is meant by the Way of the
Cross?
THE Way of the Cross is a devotion,
approved by the Pope, by which we meditate upon the passion and death of
Christ, and especially upon His last way of sorrow to Mount Calvary.
How did this devotion originate?
The pathway which our Lord Jesus
Christ had to follow from Jerusalem to Mount Calvary, was the real Way of the
Cross. His holy Mother, and other pious women, as also the beloved disciple St.
John, followed Him on this painful journey (Matt. 27, 56; John 19, 25-26);
and the apostles and early Christians animated by veneration for these places,
made sacred by the sufferings and death of Jesus, often traversed the same
pathway. In the same spirit, in later times, many came from the most distant
countries to Jerusalem to visit these sacred places to increase their
devotion. In time, pictures, representing different scenes of the sufferings of
our Lord, were erected along this route, and were called Stations; when the Saracens
conquered the Holy Land, in consequence of which visits to it became dangerous,
almost impossible, the Roman pontiffs permitted the erection of stations of the
cross in other countries. The first to erect stations in their churches were
members of the Franciscan Order, and by degrees this devotion, supported by
the Roman pontiffs and favored by indulgences, spread throughout the entire
Church. A pathway was sought which led to elevated ground; this elevation was
called the Mount of the Cross or Mount Calvary, and along the route pictures
representing our Lord's sufferings, as related by the evangelists, or made
known by tradition, were erected, or else the pictures were hung in churches,
and the place where they stood, or the pictures themselves, were called
stations; of these there are fourteen.
Is the practice of this devotion
of the Way of the Cross of great value?
Next to the holy Sacrifice of the
Mass, and holy Communion, there is certainly no devotion which represents better
to us the sufferings and death of Christ than the Way of the Cross. St.
Albertus Magnus says: "A simple remembrance of Christ's sufferings is
worth more than fasting on bread and water every Friday for a year, and scourging
one's self unto blood." St. Bernard gives us the reason of this, when he
says: "Who can consider the sufferings of Christ and be so void of
religion as to remain untouched; so proud that he will not humble himself; so
vindictive that he will not forgive; so fond of pleasure that he will not
abstain from it; so hard-hearted that he will not repent of his sins?" And
St. Augustine says: "What pride, what avarice, what anger can be cured
otherwise than by the humility, the poverty, the patience of the Son of God?
All these virtues are found in carefully meditating on that way of pain which
our Saviour went, and along which we should follow Him." On this account
several of the Popes, among others Clement XII and Benedict XIV, have granted
many indulgences to the performance of this devotion; indulgences which may be
applied to the suffering souls in purgatory.
Protestantism: Essentially a
Rejection of the Cross of Christ
As Luther foresaw the scandal that would arise
from his own and such like sacrilegious marriages, he prepared the world for
it, by writing against the celibacy of the clergy and all religious vows; and
all the way up, since his time, he has had imitators. He proclaimed that all
such vows " were contrary to faith, to the commandments of God, and to
evangelical liberty." (De Votis Monast.) He said again: " God
disapproves of such a vow of living in continency, equally as if I should vow
to become the mother of God, or to create a new world." (Epist. ad
Wolfgang Reisemb.) And again: " To attempt to live unmarried, is plainly
to fight against God."
Now, when men give a loose rein to the
depravity of nature, what wonder if the most scandalous practices ensue.
Accordingly, a striking instance of this kind appeared in the license granted,
in 1539, to Philip, Landgrave of Hesse, to have two wives at once, which
license was signed by Luther, Melanchthon, Bucer, and five other Protestant
preachers.
On the other hand, a wide door was laid
open to another species of scandal: the doctrine of the Reformation admitted
divorces in the marriage state in certain cases, contrary to the doctrine of
the Gospel, and even allowed the parties thus separated to marry other wives
and other husbands.
To enumerate the errors of all the
Reformers would exceed the limits of this treatise. I shall therefore only add
the principal heads of the doctrine of Calvin and the Calvinists: 1. that
baptism is not necessary for salvation; 2. good works are not necessary; 3. man
has no free-will; 4. Adam could not avoid his fall; 5. a great part of mankind
are created to be damned, independently of their demerits; 6. man is justified
by faith alone, and that justification, once obtained, cannot be lost; even by
the most atrocious crimes; 7. the true faithful are also infallibly certain of
their salvation; 8.the Eucharist is no more than a figure of the body and blood
of Christ. Thus was the whole system of faith and morality overturned.
Tradition they totally abolished; and though they could not reject the whole of
the Scripture, as being universally acknowledged to be the word of God, they
had, however, the presumption to expunge some books of it that did not coincide
with their own opinions, and the rest they assumed a right to explain as they
saw fit.
Rev. Michael Muller,
C.S.S.R., The Great Revolt Against Christ
My daughter, the reason is
simple. There are five types of offenses and blasphemies committed against the
Immaculate Heart of Mary:
1.
Blasphemies against the Immaculate Conception.
2.
Blasphemies against Her perpetual Virginity.
3.
Blasphemies against Her Divine Maternity, in refusing at the same time to
recognize Her as the Mother of men.
4.
The blasphemies of those who publicly seek to sow in the hearts of children
indifference or scorn, or even hatred of this Immaculate Mother.
5. The
offenses of those who outrage Her directly in Her holy images.
Our Lord to Sr. Lucy on the motives for First Saturday reparation to His
Mother’s Immaculate Heart
THE TWO KINGDOMS FOURTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
PRESENCE of GOD ‑ Give strength to my weakness,
O Lord, so that I may come to possess Your kingdom.
MEDITATION:
1. We
find the central thought of today's Mass synthesized in the Collect : " O
Lord. . .because the frailty of man without Thee cannot but fall, keep us ever
by Thy help from all things hurtful, and lead us to all things profitable to
our salvation. " Behold the position of man in respect to the spiritual
life : he is like a child who finds himself at a crossroad : he cannot go on
alone, and he does not know which road leads to his home. Two roads open up
before the Christian : one leads to the kingdom of the spirit, the kingdom of
God; the other to the kingdom of the flesh, the kingdom of Mammon; which of the
two will he choose? Evidently, he wishes to give the preference to the one
leading to the kingdom of God, the calm, peaceful kingdom described by Jesus in
today's Gospel (Mt 6, 24‑33). Unfortunately, however, the kingdom of
Mammon also has attractions and tries to seduce his heart. The Epistle (Gal 5,
I6‑24) tells us that we must struggle against these allurements. " For
the flesh lusteth against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh; for
these are contrary one to another, so that you do not the things that you
would. "
The
struggle is hard sometimes, even in souls that are decidedly advanced in the
things of God. Why? Because the path that leads to the kingdom of God is rough
and tiring; it is often shrouded in dense darkness, rendering it impossible for
the soul to discern the progress already made. Then the soul must proceed in
the night, believing and hoping. Meanwhile, its gaze falls on the other road,
which is broader and more comfortable, strewn with sensible goods which can be
seen and touched, gathered and enjoyed immediately, by merely stretching out
one's hand. The soul feels the temptation and realizes that alone it could not
resist, but if it takes refuge in God, if it yields to the guidance of the
Spirit, it will be saved, although not without sacrifice. " I say then,
walk in the spirit, " continues St. Paul, " and you shall not fulfill
the lusts of the flesh .... Now the works of the flesh are manifest..." and
the Apostle gives a very unattractive list of them. It is always true :
material goods present themselves like flowers, attractive, yes, but doomed to
quickly vanish and decay; it is not worthwhile to stop to enjoy them. That is
why " they that are Christ's have crucified their flesh, with the vices
and concupiscences. "
2. The
Gospel again puts us on our guard against the attractiveness of earthly goods.
First it affirms that no man can simultaneously serve two masters, God and
Mammon, any more than one can follow the two roads at the same time the one
leading to the kingdom of God and the other to worldly pleasure. Anyone giving
himself to God must have the courage to give himself entirely, with no regrets,
no backward glance‑however fleeting‑at the things of the world. The
soul who, after choosing the path of perfection, does not go forth generously,
with its whole heart, will never be contented. It will neither experience the
joy of knowing that it belongs entirely to God, nor will it have the
satisfaction of being able to follow all the attractions of the world; the
first will be impeded by the soul's unfaithfulness, the second by the fear of
God which it still possesses. Such a soul is unhappy, torn between the two and
in continual struggle with itself. But what keeps it from seeking the kingdom
of God with its whole heart? Jesus gives us the answer in today's Gospel : too
much solicitude about material things, about ease and security in this present
life. Even though we have the will to live according to the spirit, as long as
we are pilgrims here below and in a mortal body, we shall always have to face
the possibility of becoming engrossed in worldly cares : " What shall we
eat? What shall we drink? Wherewith shall we be clothed? " Precisely to
relieve us of such anxieties, Jesus presents to us the marvelous picture of
divine Providence. " Behold the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor
do they reap, nor gather into barns; and your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are
not you of more value than they? " These are words that give us wings and
fill us with a desire to cast aside all vain preoccupations about earthly
things and concentrate on seeking the kingdom of God. “Seek ye therefore first the kingdom of God,
and His justice, and all these things shall be added unto you." Oh, if we only had greater faith in divine
Providence, how much freer we would be to attend to the things of our soul! Although obliged to occupy ourselves with
earthly affairs, we would not remain entrapped by them, but would know how to
attend to them with complete liberty of spirit.
COLLOQUY:
"
O Lord, as the desires of the flesh are opposed to those of the spirit, and the
desires of the spirit are opposed to those of the flesh, the struggle is a mortal
one; I do not do the things I would like to do, for I would like to free myself
from concupiscence, but this is impossible. Whether I will it or not, I cling
to it; it flatters, tempts, importunes, always trying to raise up its head. It
can be restrained but not suppressed. O
Lord, my God, Your commandments are weapons. By the Holy Spirit, You have given
me the possibility of keeping my members under control; therefore, all my hope
is in You. Grant that I may do what You command, and then command what You will.
" I do not want to be a friend of this world,
O Lord, for if I were, I should be Your enemy. I want to make a ladder of all
created things, by which I may mount to You, for if I love creatures more than
You, I shall not possess You. Of what benefit would an abundance of created
things be to me, if I did not have You, the Creator of all things?
"
Why do I work so much for the love of riches? The desire for gain imposes fatigue,
dangers, and tribulations; and I, unhappy that I am, submit to them. I accept
them in order to fill my coffers, and so I lose my tranquility.
"
But You, what do You command me to do, O my God? To love You. If I love gold, I
try to seek it but am not able to find it; but You are always with those who seek
for You. I desire honor, and I may not receive it; but can anyone love You and
not reach You? All I have to do is love You, and love itself will bring You near
me. Is there anything sweeter than such love? You, 0 Lord, are my love! I love
You with all the ardor of my heart, and I trample underfoot all earthly attractions,
resolving to pass them by” (St. Augustine).
Hermeneutics of
Continuity/Discontinuity:
Catholic Tradition - Charity, the love of God
first, & then, love of man for the love of God.
Vatican II - "New and solemn teaching to love man in order to love God."
What then was the council? What
has it accomplished?........And that thought is this: what is the religious
value of this council?........But we cannot pass over one important
consideration in our analysis of the religious meaning of the council: it has
been deeply committed to the study of the modern world. Never before perhaps,
so much as on this occasion, has the Church felt the need to know, to draw near
to, to understand, to penetrate, serve and evangelize the society in which she
lives; and to get to grips with it, almost to run after it, in its rapid and
continuous change. This attitude has been strongly and unceasingly at work in
the council; so much so that some have been inclined to suspect that an
easy-going and excessive responsiveness to the outside world, to passing
events, cultural fashions, temporary needs, an alien way of thinking.......may
have swayed persons and acts of the ecumenical synod, at the expense of the
fidelity which is due to tradition, and this to the detriment of the religious
orientation of the council itself. We do not believe that this shortcoming
should be imputed to it, to its real and deep intentions, to its authentic
manifestations. We prefer to point out how charity has been the principal
religious feature of this council........Yes, the Church of the council has
been concerned,........with man—man as he really is today: living man, man all
wrapped up in himself, man who makes himself not only the center of his every
interest but dares to claim that he is the principle and explanation of all
reality. Every perceptible element in man, every one of the countless guises in
which he appears, has, in a sense, been displayed in full view of the council
Fathers, who, in their turn, are mere men, and yet all of them are pastors and
brothers whose position accordingly fills them with solicitude and
love........Secular humanism, revealing itself in its horrible anti-clerical
reality has, in a certain sense, defied the council. The religion of the God
who became man has met the religion (for such it is) of man who makes himself
God. And what happened? Was there a clash, a battle, a condemnation? There
could have been, but there was none........But we call upon those who term themselves
modern humanists, and who have renounced the transcendent value of the highest
realities, to give the council credit at least for one quality and to recognize
our own new type of humanism: we, too, in fact, we more than any others, honor
mankind........The modern mind, accustomed to assess everything in terms of
usefulness, will readily admit that the council's value is great if only
because everything has been referred to human usefulness. Hence no one should
ever say that a religion like the Catholic religion is without use, seeing that
when it has its greatest self-awareness and effectiveness, as it has in
council, it declares itself entirely on the side of man and in his
service........Would not this council, then, which has concentrated principally
on man, be destined to propose again to the world of today the ladder leading
to freedom and consolation? Would it not be, in short, a simple, new and solemn
teaching to love man in order to love God? To love man, we say, not as a means
but as the first step toward the final and transcendent goal which is the basis
and cause of every love.
Pope Paul VI, address during
the last general meeting of Vatican II, December 7, 1965
Why St. Anthony could not be
invited to the Prayer Meeting at Assisi
There is a heavy yoke on Adam’s children, from the day original sin
came forth, the tinder of sin, concupiscence, which (as St Augustine says) is not permitted to reign. There are also its desires,
actual concupiscences, which are the devil’s weapons arising from the weakness
of our nature. This weakness is a tyrant which causes evil desires. Do you want
to hear how heavy is the yoke on Adam’s children? Hear what is written in the
Church Dogmatics : "Hold most
firmly, and in no wise doubt, that every man conceived through the union of a
man and a woman is born with original sin, subject to impiety, liable to death
and because of this by nature a child of wrath [Eph 2.3], from
which no-one can be freed except by faith in the Mediator between God and
man" (Peter Lombard, Four Books of Sentences).
St. Anthony of Padua, Sermon 14th Sunday after Pentecost
“Did you not know that
I must be about My Father’s business? (Lk 2: 49). This was the fundamental attitude of His
spirit. Jesus, who in the secret of His
heart incessantly adored the Trinity, who so often expressed His prayer even
externally, raising His eyes to Heaven and calling upon His Father, who passed
a good part of the night in solitary conversation with Him, who went punctually
to the temple at Jerusalem for all the acts of external worship prescribed by
the law, who died on the Cross to offer to the Triune God a sacrifice worthy of
Him – yes, Jesus has shown us in what the true virtue of religion
consists. It is interior worship,
because “God is a spirit, and they that adore Him must adore Him in spirit and
in truth” (Jn 4: 24); but it is also exterior, because our whole being,
including our bodies, must take part in the homage we render to God. [….] Thus
the virtue of religion is not confined to the hours of prayer; it embraces our
whole life, transforming it into one continual act of homage to God, in
imitation of the life of Jesus and in union with it.
Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary
Magdalen, Divine Imtimacy
Abortion
is the most Vicious Form of Domestic Violence
The truth is that pro-lifers are, by and large, the very opposite of
self-righteous. On the contrary, they know they are sinners, like everyone
else. They expect to be judged by God's law, against which they fall short.
That's why they pray for mercy.
True self-righteousness consists in denying your tendency to sin. The person
who rejects a higher law than his own appetite or desire, and who condemns
those who uphold a higher law, is self-righteous in the deepest sense.
The real zealots and fanatics these days are those who insist that abortion and
sexual indulgence are "rights." They make their own lusts and
self-interests the only measure of right and wrong; they recognize no standard above
themselves. They call even the violent killing of an unwanted child a
"right."
This is perversely called the "liberal" position, and those who reject
it are condemned as "intolerant." Yet what could be more intolerant
than denying the most basic right of your own flesh and blood - the very right
to live?
Joe Sobran, Who’s Self-Righteous?
Cardinal Henry Edward
Manning, Archbishop of Westminster, Primate of England and Wales
THE GLORIES OF THE SACRED
HEART, Signs of the Sacred Heart
Take
nothing lower than the Heart of our Divine Lord as the measure and the rule of
your own. Do not take any lower standard. Do not take the examples of men. Do
not take maxims or motives of your own imagining. Set before you the Sacred
Heart in its full and divine perfection. The Word of God took that Sacred Heart
in order that we might know God; that He might come within the sphere of our
intelligence, within the reach of our hearts, and unite our will to His will.
Therefore let us first of all see whether our intelligence, our reason, our
intellect be conformed to the intelligence of Jesus Christ. His intelligence
was, like our own, a human and finite intelligence. He had also an infinite
intelligence ; therefore He said, 'I am the Truth.' And how are we to know this
truth? He has revealed it. And where is that revelation? In the holy faith. Any
man who knows only a part of that revelation, that is, only a fragment, or any
number of fragments of that revelation, has not his reason nor his intelligence
conformed to the reason and intelligence of Jesus Christ. He is narrowed in
some part. But when his whole understanding and reason are illuminated by the
knowledge of faith, then he is conformed to the intelligence of Jesus Christ;
the whole outline, and I will say the whole circle, of his reason is full of
light. We must, then, be perfect in the light of Catholic faith. Next as to our
affections. The Sacred Heart is the most perfect Kingdom of God the Father. It
is the sanctuary in which God the Son perpetually dwells, and it is also the
most perfect work of the Holy Ghost. All the affections and all those
pro-passions, as they are called — because the Church never speaks of passions
when it speaks of the Sacred Heart — all the emotions, all those sensitive
movements of our nature which were in Him, were all in perfect tranquility, in
perfect order, and in perfect unity. Therefore until our sensitive will, with
all its affections and emotions, is subject to our superior will, which is our
reason and our conscience, and until both the sensitive and the superior will
in us are subject to the will of God, we shall not be conformed to the Sacred
Heart of our Lord. And, once more, His will is the law of ours; and unless our
will be conformed to our lot in life; unless we accept it as coming from the
will of God; unless our will accepts our state in life, and does not chafe
against it, because God in His providence has ordained it for us — I will even
go further, and say, unless we accept our state in grace as God has given it to
us — we shall not be conformed to Him. Many people are all day long complaining
and chafing that they fall into faults. True, indeed, they do; and why? They
are impatient to be Saints for their own glory, or to be masters of themselves
for their own consolation, or to be perfectly sanctified with all speed, that
they may be delivered from the trouble of mortifying themselves; and God in His
wisdom measures out to them the grace which He sees to be sufficient for them
if they are faithful; and by leaving them long in that warfare He humbles them,
by teaching them to know themselves; and He makes the very sins which they once
loved to be their chastisement, and to scourge them for those very faults. He
turns their faults into a purgatory upon earth, and by suffering from them they
are purified, and make their expiation. Until we have come to say even in this
what our Lord said in the garden, 'Not my will but Thine be done,' we are not
conformed to the Sacred Heart. When we can say it, then we may hope that our
affections and our intelligence and our will are growing towards His likeness.
And
the other counsel is this : Do not be cast down if, when you look into
yourselves, you find your heart to be so deformed, so unlike to the Sacred
Heart of Jesus. Anybody who really knows himself will find in his own heart
what we read in the beginning, 'a great deep,' and 'darkness on the face of the
deep' — that is, a disorder and a confusion — but over all the Spirit of God moves
'upon the face of the waters.' There is much in ourselves that we have never
fathomed. The darkness hides much from ourselves. And the more we know
ourselves the more at first we must be cast down and troubled, so as even to be
altogether out of heart if we did not know that the more we are humbled before
God the more safe we are, and the more surely His Presence is in us. If we find
in ourselves all manner of windings and doubles, and that the heart is
deceitful above all things, who shows all this to us? who teaches us these
truths? It is the Spirit of God moving over our inward life, and by His light
revealing us to our own selves. Therefore, when we come to see these things, we
have no reason to be cast down; it is the evidence and the certain proof that
God is working in us of His own good will. And the way in which He works is
this. When the Holy Spirit of God comes into the heart of a man, He enlightens
him to know himself, but the Spirit of God is invisible; while He is showing
ourselves to our own conscience He hides Himself. And when He casts His light
upon us, He shows to us, not the things that are pleasing to us, but the things
that are displeasing to Him; not those things which will please our love of
self, but those things which will displease and humble us. He does not show the
conformity, if we have any, to the Sacred Heart, but the manifold deformities
which are displeasing in God's sight.
But
perhaps you will say, 'How can I ever be conformed to the Sacred Heart of
Jesus?' You can never transform yourselves into His likeness; but there is One
who can; there is One who will transform you by His creating power. If you go
to Him that made you, He can make all things new. Old things will pass away. If
you say, 'Create in me a clean heart' — that is, 'Put forth Thine almighty
power to make me once more as Thou didst make me in the beginning' — He will
renew His own work.' If any man be in Christ Jesus, he is a new creature.' His
work is not by halves, nor upon the surface, nor left imperfect, like something
which is just refitted for the time, or made up again like new cloth on an old
garment. It is a new creation, made over again — 'a new creation, in which old
things are passed away and all things are become new.' 'He that sitteth upon
the Throne said, Behold, I make all things new.' The Precious Blood will
cleanse away all sin; though it be red as scarlet, it shall be as white as
snow; though it be like crimson, it shall be as wool; the almighty power of the
Holy Ghost will purify all things as 'by the spirit of burning.' He will
re-create all things and make them over again. As the springing of the harvest
or the putting out of the leaf in the forest is a new creation upon the stock
of the old by the almighty power of God, so. in body and soul and spirit you
will be made new once more.
Therefore,
to make what I have said very practical, and to bring it nearer home, I will
say this: Follow out and pursue your little faults. If you will correct your
little faults, I was going to say your great ones will correct themselves; for
'he that is faithful in that which is least is faithful in that which is
greater.' Be watchful against spiritual sins, faults of omission, sins of the
tongue, and thoughts against charity. And secondly, fulfil your little duties,
and your greater ones will take heed for themselves. A man that fulfils the
lesser duties of charity, of humility, of piety, of fidelity, will have a
conscience that grows more and more delicate; and a delicate conscience will
take care of the great commandments of God. Then your 'heart will not reprehend
you,' 'and God, who is greater than your heart,' will keep you in the multitude
of peace. Your many infirmities will be absolved in the Precious Blood of His
Son, and if your 'heart reprehend' you 'not, then have you confidence towards
God ;' and as S. John goes on in this place to say, 'Whatsoever we ask of Him
we shall receive, because we keep His commandments, and do those things which
are pleasing in His sight.'
Pope Leo is
now the CEO of the same HomoLobby his predecessor chaired! It is impossible to
be a defender of homosexuality and a Catholic at the same time.
Bishop Schneider: Vatican
‘LGBTQ pilgrimage’ an ‘abomination,’ Pope Leo must make ‘public reparation’
Pope Leo must ‘urgently’
make reparation after the Vatican endorsed an LGBT Jubilee ‘pilgrimage’ and
allowed unrepentant homosexuals to pass the Holy Doors at St. Peter’s, Bishop
Schneider said.
LifeSiteNews
| Sept 10, 2025— Bishop Athanasius Schneider expressed “horror” at the
Vatican’s endorsement of the “LGBTQ Jubilee pilgrimage,” rebuking priests who
support homosexuality as “spiritual criminals” and “murderers of souls.”
“My
reaction was a silent cry of horror, indignation, and sorrow,” the auxiliary of
Astana, Kazakhstan, said regarding the Vatican’s approval of an LGBT-themed
“pilgrimage” on its Jubilee website, in an interview with Diane Montagna, a
journalist in Rome.
Montagna
had highlighted the fact that photos captured an array of rainbow paraphernalia
in St. Peter’s Basilica, as well homosexual male couple “brazenly holding hands
there, one with a backpack saying F*** the Rules,” at the conclusion of their
“pilgrimage.”
What
took place there could be described as an “abomination of desolation standing
in the holy place,” in the words of Christ (cf. Mt. 24:15), said Bishop
Schneider.
He
pointed out that the embrace of homosexuality by these “pilgrims” contradicted
one of the very key meanings of the Jubilee Year and the Holy Door: “Leading man
to conversion and penance,” as Pope John Paul II explained in the Bull of
Indiction of the Holy Year 2000.
“There
were no signs of repentance and renunciation of objectively grave homosexual
sins … on the part of the organizers and participants in this pilgrimage,”
noted Schneider. “To pass through the Holy Door and participate in the Jubilee
without repentance, while promoting an ideology that openly rejects God’s Sixth
Commandment, constitutes a kind of desecration of the Holy Door and a mockery
of God and the gift of an indulgence.”
The
bishop had strong words for the Vatican authorities who “collaborated de facto”
in this open rejection of God’s commandment, expressed aptly in the “f*** the
rules” message.
“They
stood by and allowed God to be mocked and His commandments to be scornfully
cast aside,” said Schneider.
When
asked to compare it to the Pachamama scandal, he noted that while direct
transgression of the First Commandment is even more grave, the endorsement of
sodomy – a sin that cries to Heaven for vengeance – “amounts to a form of
indirect idolatry.”
“Both
events must be publicly repaired by the Pope himself. This is urgently needed,
before it is too late, for God will not be mocked,” said the bishop.
Bishop
Francesco Savino, vice president of the Italian Bishops Conference, welcomed
“everyone” to receive Holy Communion at a Mass for the “pilgrims,” Montagna
then pointed out. Schneider affirmed that assent to “all of the Church’s
teaching” is a precondition for receiving Christ in the Eucharist, as was
expressed by St. Paul: “Anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body
eats and drinks judgment on himself. (1 Cor. 11:29).
He
added that this has been clearly stated by the Catechism of the Catholic Church: “Anyone aware of having
sinned mortally must not receive Communion without having received absolution
in the sacrament of penance” (n.1415).
Furthermore,
it notes, “Sacred Scripture ‘presents homosexual acts as acts of grave
depravity, [and] tradition has always declared that homosexual acts are
intrinsically disordered.… Under no circumstances can they be approved’ (n.
2357).”
Thus,
by granting these LGBT groups passage through the Holy Door and approving their
“pilgrimage,” Vatican authorities in effect rejected “the very doctrine they
are bound to uphold.”
Schneider
said his message for participants in the LGBT “pilgrimage” is one of
compassion, and he called for all Christians to show compassion towards not
just those living homosexual lifestyles, but those who support its legitimization
and “persist in it unrepentant and even proudly.”
“For
when a person consciously rejects God’s explicit commandment prohibiting any
sexual activity outside a valid marriage, he places himself in the gravest
danger – that of losing eternal life and being eternally condemned to Hell,”
said the prelate.
“True
love for such persons consists in calling them, gently yet persistently, to
genuine conversion to God’s revealed will,” he continued, adding that such
people are “ultimately unhappy” even when they have suppressed their
conscience.
“We
must be filled with great zeal to save these souls, to free them from poisonous
deceits. Those priests who confirm them in their homosexual activity or in a
homosexual lifestyle are spiritual criminals, murderers of souls, and God will
demand a strict account from them,” Schneider declared.
To
those who defend Pope Leo XIV amid the Vatican’s approval of the LGBT
scandalous “pilgrimage” because he did not receive a delegation from them or
send them a message, Schneider said that “one cannot reasonably presume naivety
on his part,” because it was “entirely foreseeable” that an LGBT activist group
would take advantage of the Holy Door to promote their sinful lifestyle.
Furthermore,
by meeting with Father James Martin, S.J., a heretical pro-LGBT priest, as well
as pro-homosexual “marriage” Sister Lucia Caram, Pope Leo XIV has expressed
that he is not opposed to their “heterodox and scandalous teaching and behavior
– particularly since the Holy See offered no clarification afterward and did
not correct Fr. James Martin’s triumphant messages circulated on social media,”
noted Schneider.
He pointed out that in doing so, Pope Leo
XIV broke with the precedent of all popes before Francis, who “neither received
officially nor posed for photographs with those who, by word or deed, openly
rejected the doctrinal and moral teaching of the Church.”
“There
is a common saying that goes: ‘Qui tacet consentire videtur’ – ’He who is
silent is taken to agree,’” Schneider added.
The
prelate called upon all Catholics to “make a collective act of reparation for
the outrage committed against the sanctity of God’s house and the holiness of
His commandments,” and implored Pope Leo XIV to follow in the footsteps of Pope
John Paul II, who Montagna noted had denounced the first “World Pride” event in
Rome during the Great Jubilee of 2000.
“Should
Pope Leo XIV make public acts of regret and even reparation, he will lose
nothing; should he fail to do so, he will forfeit something before the eyes of
God – and God alone matters,” said Schneider.
“May
Our Holy Father Pope Leo XIV take to heart the following words of Our Lord
which He once spoke through St. Bridget of Sweden to one of his predecessors
(Pope Gregory XI)”:
Uproot, pluck out and destroy
all the vices of your court! Separate yourself from the counsel of
carnal-minded and worldly friends and follow humbly the spiritual counsel of My
friends. Get up like a man and clothe yourself confidently in strength! Start
to reform the Church that I purchased with My Own Blood in order that it may be
reformed and led back spiritually to its pristine state of holiness, for
nowadays more veneration is shown to a brothel than to My Holy Church. My son,
heed My counsel. If you obey Me in what I told you, I will welcome you
mercifully like a loving father. Bravely approach the way of justice and you
shall prosper. Do not despise the One Who loves you. If you obey, I will show
you mercy and bless and dress you and adorn you with the precious pontifical
regalia of a holy pope. I shall clothe you with Myself in such a way that you
will be in Me and I in you, and you shall be glorified in eternity (The Book of
Revelations, Book IV, chap. 149).
Remember in your charity:
Remember the welfare of our expectant mother: Cecilia Zepeda, Victoria Dimmel, and
Vanessa LoStrocco,
Philip Thees requests our prayers for the heath of Mary Glatz and Lenny and Agnus Messineo,
For the welfare of Aaron, a York resident in need of conversion,
For the spiritual welfare of Margaret Connelly is the petition of Camilla Meiser,
Linda Boyd, for her health,
Pete Schiffbauer, a cousin of Monic Bandlow who
is gravely ill,
Joan R.
Barr,
the widow of F. Donald Barr who died March 7, they were married 70 years
Cole
Schneider, prayers for his welfare are requested by Camilla Meiser,
JoAnn
Niekrewicz,
for her recovery from a recent fall and shoulder injury,
The Drews ask prayers for the spiritual and physical
welfare of Robert Carballo,
Conversion of Jack
Gentry, the nephew of Camilla Meiser,
For Sr.
Maria Junipera, who took her final vows as a nun with the Slaves of the
Immaculate Heart of Mary in Richmond, New Hampshire April 8,
Stephen
Bryan,
the brother of a devout Catholic religious, for his spiritual welfare,
Marie
Kolinsky,
for her health and spiritual welfare is the petition of her family,
Gene Peters requests our prayers for the conversion
of Shirley Young and Carl Loy who are dying, and the
conversion of Dawn Keithley,
Rev. Leo Carley, an eighty-nine year old
priest faithful to Catholic tradition, who is seriously ill,
For the recovery of Hayden Yanchek, the grandson of Francis Yanchek, injured in
a farming accident,
Maureen
Nies, for
the recovery of her health is the petition of Camilla Meiser,
Daniel
Vargs, for
his health is the petition of his parents,
Art Noel, for the restoration of his
health,
For the welfare of Peg Berry and her husband, Bill,
Marianne Connelly asks prayers for Chris Foley, who is gravely ill,
and the welfare of his wife, Mary
Beth,
The spiritual welfare of the Sal & Maria Messineo family is the petition of the
Drew’s,
Liz Agosta, who is seriously ill, for her
spiritual and temporal welfare,
Warren
Hoffman, a
long time member of our Mission who is in failing health,
Patrick
Boyle, for
the recovery of his health and his spiritual welfare,
For the spiritual welfare of the Drew children,
Monica Bandlow request our prayers for the welfare of
Ray who is recovering from a
MVA, and his daughter, Sonya,
and Tera Jean Kopczynski, who
is in failing health, and for a good death for Mr. Howald, Kathy
Simons, Regina Quinn, James Mulgrew, Ruth Beaucheane, John Kopczynski, Roger
& Mandy Owen
The health and spiritual welfare of Nate Schaeffer is the petition
of Gene Peters,
Peg Berry requests our prayers for her brother, William Habekost,
For the recently widowed, Maike Hickson, and her children,
For the spiritual welfare of the Carmelite nuns in Fairfield, PA,
Geralyn
Zagorski, recovery of her health and spiritual welfare and
the conversion of Randal Pace is the petition of Philip Thees,
For the grandson of
Joe & Liz Agusta,
Fr. Waters requests our
prayers for the health and spiritual welfare of Elvira Donaghy,
For the health and
conversion of Stephen Henderson,
Fr. Paul DaDamio requests
our prayers for the welfare of Rob Ward, and his sister, Debra
Wagaman,
For the health and
spiritual welfare of Peggy Cummings, the neice of Camila Meiser,
who is gravely ill,
Kaitlyn McDonald, for the recovery of her health and spiritual
welfare,
Roco
Sbardella,
for his health and spiritual welfare,
The Vargas’ request our prayers for the spiritual
welfare of their son, Nicholas,
Family, for the welfare of Lazarus Handley, his mother, Julia, and his brother, Raphael, with Down’s Syndrome,
Fr. Waters requests prayers for the spiritual and
physical welfare of Frank McKee,
Nancy
Bennett, for the recovery of her
health,
For the spiritual welfare of Mark Roberts, a Catholic faithful to tradition,
Joe Sentmanet request prayers for Scott Nettles (who is in need of
conversion), who is gravely ill,
Michael Brigg requests our prayers for the health of John Romeo,
The health and welfare of Gene Peters and his sons,
Conversion of Anton
Schwartzmueller, is the paryer request of his children,
Christine
Kozin, for
her health and spiritual welfare,
Teresa
Gonyea,
for her conversion and health, is the petition of her grandmother, Patricia
McLaughlin,
For the health of Sonya Kolinsky,
Jackie Dougherty asks our prayers for her brother, John Lee, who is gravely ill,
For the health and spiritual welfare, Meg Bradley, the granddaughter
of Rose Bradley,
Timothy
& Crisara, a couple from Maryland have requested our prayers for their spiritual
welfare,
Celine
Pilegaard, the seven year old daughter of Cynthia Pilegaard, for her recovery from
burn injuries,
Rafaela de
Saravia, for
her health and welfare,
Mary Mufide,
requests our prayers for her family,
Abbe Damien
Dutertre,
traditional Catholic priest arrested by Montreal police while offering Mass,
Francis
(Frank) X. McLaughlin, for the recovery of his
health,
Nicholas
Pell,
for his health and spiritual welfare is the petition of Camilla Meizer,
Mary Kaye
Petr,
her health and welfare is petitioned by Camilla Meizer,
The welfare of Excellency Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò,
The welfare of Rev.
Fr. Martin Skierka, who produces the traditional Ordo in the U.S.,
For the health and welfare of Katie Wess, John Gentry, Vincent Bands, Todd Chairs, Susan Healy and
James O’Gentry is the petition of Camilia,
Marieann
Reuter, recovery of her health, Kathy Kepner, for her health, Shane Cox, for his health,
requests of Philip Thees,
The Joseph
Cox Family, their spiritual welfare,
Luis Rafael
Zelaya,
the brother of Claudia Drew, spiritual welfare,
For the health of Kim Cochran, the daughter-in-law of Joseph and Brenda
Cochran, the wife of their son Joshua,
Louie
Verrecchio,
Catholic apologist, who has a health problem,
John
Minidis, Jr. family, for help in their spiritual
trial,
Joann
DeMarco, for her health and spiritual
welfare,
Regina
(Manidis) Miller, her spiritual welfare and health,
Melissa
Elena Levitt, her conversion, and welfare of her children,
For the grace of a holy death, Nancy Marie Claycomb,
Conversion of Annette
Murowski, and her son Jimmy,
Brent Keith from Indiana has petitioned our prayers
for the Keith Family,
The welfare of the Schmedes Family, and the Mike and Mariana Donohue Family,
The spiritual welfare Robert Holmes Family,
For the spiritual and temporal welfare of Irwin Kwiat,
Fr. Waters asks our prayers for Elvira Donaghy,
Kimberly Ann, the daughter of John and
Joann DeMarco, for her health and spiritual welfare,
Mufide Rende, a traditional Catholic from
India has asked our prayers for her welfare and he family members, living and
deceased,
Mary Glatz, her health and the welfare
of her family,
Barbara
Harmon,
who is ill, and still cares for her
ailing parents,
Jason Green, a father of ten children,
recovery of his health,
For the health and welfare of Sorace family,
Fr. Waters asks our prayers for the health and
spiritual welfare of Brian Abramowitz,
Thomas
Schiltz family, in grateful appreciation for their contribution to the beauty of our
chapel,
Welfare of Bishop
Richard Williamson, for strength and courage in the greater battles to
come,
John Rhoad, for his health and
spiritual welfare,
Kathy Boyle, requests our prayers for
her welfare,
Joyce
Laughman and Robert Twist, for their conversions,
Michael J.
Brigg & his family, who have helped with the needs of the Mission,
Nancy Deegan, her welfare and conversion
to the Catholic Church,
Francis Paul
Diaz,
who was baptized at Ss. Peter & Paul, asks our prayers for his spiritual
welfare,
The conversion of Rene McFarland, Lori Kerr, Cary Shipman
and family, David Bash, Crystal and family, Larry Reinhart, Costanzo Family,
Kathy Scullen, Marilyn Bryant, Vicki Trahern and Time Roe are
the petitions of Gene Peters,
For the conversion of Ben & Tina Boettcher family, Karin Fraessdorf, Eckhard Ebert,
and Fahnauer family,
Fr. Waters requests our prayers for Br. Rene, SSPX who has been ill,
and for Fr. Thomas Blute,
For the health and conversion of Kathryn Lederhos, the aunt of David Drew,
For the welfare of Fr. Paul DaDamio and Fr. William T. Welsh,
The Drew’s ask our prayers for the welfare of Joe & Tracey Sentmanat family, Keith
& Robert Drew, Christy Koziol & her children, Fred Nesbit and Michael
Nesbit families, and Gene Peters Family,
the John Manidis Family, the Sal Messinio Family, Michael Proctor Family,
Ryan Boyle grandmother, Jane Boyle, who is failing health,
Mel Gibson
and his family, please remember in our prayers,
Rev. Timothy A. Hopkins requested our prayers for the
welfare of his Fr Jean-Luc Lafitte,
Ebert’s request our prayers for the Andreas & Jenna Ortner Family,
Joyce Paglia has asked prayers for George Richard Moore Sr. & his
children, and her brother, George
Panell,
Philip Thees asks our prayers for his family, for McLaughlin Family, the welfare
of Dan & Polly Weand, the
conversion of Sophia Herman,
Tony Rosky, the welfare Nancy Erdeck, the wife of
the late Deacon Erdeck, John Calasanctis, Tony Rosky, James Parvenski, Kathleen Gorry, health of mind and body of Cathy Farrar.
Pray for the
Repose of the Souls:
Elizabeth
Gorska,
who died September 9, a relative of Lidia Gjec,
Camilia Meiser request our prayers for the souls of Peggy Cummings and Elizabeth Genter,
Thomas A.
Nelson, founder of TAN Books and
Publishers, died August 16,
Sal Messineo, a faithful traditional
Catholic, died Augsut 14,
Patricia Askew, a friend of Camilla Meiser,
died July 3,
Joseph Kerney, a young man whose family
provided the statues of the Sacred Heart, Mary and Joseph in our sanctuary,
died May 30,
Louis Richard Ajlouny, the father of Randa Sharpe,
died May 15,
Rene Guidicessi, died April 25, an old
friend of the Drews,
F. Donald
Barr, died
March 7 at 94 years of age, co-founder of Robert Francis Religious Goods, in
Philadelphia,
Dr. David
Allen White, a well known defender of the Catholic faith, died February 11,
Bishop
Richard Williamson, a renowned defender of the Catholic faith and most charitable gentleman,
died January 29,
Rodolfo
Alberto Lacayo, a cousin of Claudia Drew, died January 4,
Genieve
Wallace, died
Christmas day,
Ruth Marion
Beaucheane, died December 8, is the
petition of Monica Bandlow,
Ana Maria Salcedo, the sister of Mario Fiol, died November 26,
Fr. Johin Cardaro, a
traditional Catholic priest who was found dead in his home November 2,
Robert Carballo asks that we
remember his parents, Roberto & Aida Carballo, and his friend, David
Duclos, who died April 15,
Bishop Bernard Tissier de
Mallerais who may have been responsible for preventing the SSPX's public
reconciliation with Rome in 2012, died October 8,
Lorna
Edwards, our
dear friend and loyal supporter of this Mission, died August 10,
Lois Petti, died July 28 two hours after
receiving the Last Sacraments from Fr. Waters,
Wolfgang
Smith, a
renowned Catholic scholar, mathematician, scientist, philosopher, who helped
the Kolbe Center for the Study of Creation, died July 19,
Willaim
Glatz, a
good and faithful Catholic, died July 17,
Alicio
Gonzalez, a
Catholic who asked for the sacrament of Extreme Unction, unfortunately did not
receive, died July 9,
John
Zavodny, a faithful Catholic who died wearing the
scapular of Mt Carmel on the first Saturday of May, requested by Phyllis Virgil,
Catherine
Martel, a lapsed Catholic, received
the last sacraments in a good disposition from Fr. Waters on March 25 and died
on April 4,
Father
Basilio Méramo, a faithful priest, died March 5, removed from the SSPX for opposing
their accommodation with Rome,
Julia
McDonald,
the mother of Kyle McDonald, died March 1,
Agnus
Melnick,
died February 28, a long time faithful Catholic and mother of eight children,
including a traditional priest,
Kathryn
(Drew) Lederhos, of Wellesley, MA, died
February 3, 2024,
Chris Foley, the
brother of Mary Lou Loftus, died February 1,
Louis Zelaya, the brother of Claudia
Drew, died January 30,
Fr. James
Louis Albert Campbell, a faithful priest who died December 18 at 91 years of age, and her
mother and father, Teresa and Thomas
Maher,
Charles
Harmon,
the father of Tracey Sentmanet, died October 1, after receiving the rites of
the Church,
Fr. Waters requests prayers for Elvira Donaghy, his friend and former secretary a for Bishop
Gerado Zendejas, died September 9,
Robert
Hickson,
a faithful Catholic apologist who died Septembber 2,
Monica Bandlow requests prayers for her parents, Thomas & Teresa Maher, her
husband, William Bandlow, her
brother-in-law, Richard Bandlow,
her sister, Mary Maher, Fr. Christopher Darby, SSPX, who died March 17, Robert Byrne, Michelle Donofrio McDowell, her cousin, Patricia Fabyanic, the Prefect
of Our Lady’s Sodality, March 8, for
John Pfeiffer who died August 20, Theresa
Hanley, died July 23, Fr.
Juan-Carlos Iscara, SSPX, who died December 20, John Kinney, died December 21, Willaim Price, Jr., and Robert Arch Ward, died January 10,
and Myra, killed in a MVA
June 6,
John Sharpe,
Sr.,
died July 20,
Maria Paulette
Salazar,
died June 6,
Dale Kinsey requests prayers for his wife, Katherine Kinsey, died May 17,
Richard
Giles,
who died April 29, the father of Traci Sentmanat who converted to the Catholic
faith last All Saints' Day,
Joseph
Sparks,
a devout and faithful Catholic to tradition died February 25,
Joyce Paglia, died
January 21, and Anthony Paglia,
died January 28, who were responsible for the beautiful statuary in our chapel,
Joe Sentmanet request prayers for Richard Giles and Claude Harmon who converted to
the Catholic faith shortly before their deaths,
Rodolfo
Zelaya, the brother of Claudia Drew,
died January 9,
Elizabeth Agosta petitions our prayers for Joseph Napolitano, her brother,
who died January 2,
Michael
Dulisse,
died on December 26,
Michael
Proctor, a close friend of the Drews,
died November 9,
Richard
Anthony Giles, the father-in-law of Joe Sentmanat converted to the Catholic faith on
All Saints Day, died November 5,
Robert
Kolinsky,
the husband of Sonja, died September 18,
Gabriel
Schiltz,
the daughter of Thomas & Gay Schiltz, died August 21,
Mary Dimmel, the
mother –in-law of Victoria Drew Dimmel, died July 18,
Michael
Nesbit,
the brother-in-law and dear friend of the Drew's, died July 14,
Thomas
Thees, the brother of Philip, died
June 19,
Carmen Ragonese,
died June 22,
Juanita
Mohler, a friend of Camella Meiser,
died June 14,
Kathleen
Elias, died February 14,
Hernan Ortiz, the
brother of Fr. Juan Carlos Ortiz, died February 3,
Mary Ann
Boyle, the
mother of a second order Dominican nun, a first order Dominican priest, and a
SSPX priest, died January 24,
John DeMarco, who
attended this Mission in the past, died January23,
Charles
O’Brien, the father of Marlene Cox,
died December 30,
Mufide Rende requests our prayers for the repose of
the souls of her parents, Mehmet
& Nedime,
Kathleen
Donelly,
died December 29 at 91 years of age, ran the CorMariae website,
Matthew
O'Hare,
most faithful Catholic, died at age 40 on November 30,
Rev. Patrick
J. Perez, a Catholic priest faithful to
tradition, pastor Our Lady Help of Christians, Garden Grove, CA, November 19,
Elizabeth
Benedek,
died December 14, requested by her niece, Agnes Vollkommer,
Dolores
Smith and Richard Costello, faithful Catholics, died November,
Frank
D’Agustino,
a friend of Philp Thees, died November 8,
Fr.
Dominique Bourmaud, of the SSPX, Prior of St.
Vincent in Kansas City, died September 4,
Pablo Daniel
Silva, the brother of Elizabeth
Vargas, died August 18,
Rose Bradley, a
member of Ss. Peter & Paul, died July 14,
Patricia
Ellias, died June 1, recently
returned to the Church died with the sacraments and wearing the brown scapular,
Joan Devlin, the sister-in-law of Rose
Bradley, died May 18,
William
Muligan, died April 29, two days after
receiving the last sacraments,
Robert Petti, died
March 19, the day after receiving the last sacraments,
Mark
McDonald, the father of Kyle, who died
December 26,
Perla Otero, died December 2020, Leyla Otero, January 2021, cousins
of Claudia Drew,
Mehmet Rende, died
December 12, who was the father of Mary Mufide,
Joseph
Gravish, died November 26, 100 year
old WWII veteran and daily communicant,
Jerome
McAdams,
the father of, died November 30,
Rev. James
O’Hara, died November 8, requested by
Alex Estrada,
Elizabeth
Batko, the sacristan at St. John the
Baptist in Pottstown for over 40 years, died on First Saturday November 7
wearing the brown scapular,
William Cox, the
father of Joseph Cox, who died September 3,
James Larson, Catholic
apologists, author of War Against Being
publication, died July 6, 2020,
Hutton
Gibson, died May 12,
Sr. Regina
Cordis,
Immaculate Heart of Mary religious for sixty-five years, died May 12,
Leslie Joan
Matatics, devoted Catholic wife and
mother of nine children, died March 24,
Victoria
Zelaya, the sister-in-law of Claudia
Drew, died March 20,
Ricardo
DeSilva,
died November 16, our prayers requested by his brother, Henry DeSilva,
Rev. Fr.
Joseph F. Collins, died April 27, 2019 to whom we are indebted for establishing our
traditional pre-Bugnini Holy Week in all
its beauty,
Roland H.
Allard,
a friend of the Drew’s, died September 28,
Stephen
Cagorski
and John Bogda, who
both died wearing the brown
scapular,
Cecilia
LeBow, a most faithful Catholic,
Rose Cuono, died Oct 23,
Patrick
Rowen,
died March 25, and his brother, Daniel
Rowen, died May 15,
Sandra
Peters, the
wife of Gene Peters, who died June 10 receiving the sacraments and wearing our
Lady’s scapular,
Rev. Francis
Slupski, a
priest who kept the Catholic faith and its immemorial traditions, died May 14,
Martha
Mochan, the
sister of Philip Thees, died April 8,
George
Kirsch,
our good friend and supporter of this Mission, died February 15,
For Fr.
Paul J. Theisz, died October 17, is the petition of Fr. Waters,
Fr. Mecurio
Fregapane,
died Jan 12, was not a traditional priest but always charitable,
Fr. Casimir
Peterson,
a priest who often offered the Mass in our chapel and provided us with sound
advice, died December 4,
Fr.
Constantine Bellasarius, a faithful and always
charitable Eastern Rite Catholic Melkite priest, who left the Roman rite, died
November 27,
Christian
Villegas,
a motor vehicle accident, his brother, Michael, requests our prayers,
John Vennari, the former editor of
Catholic Family News, and for his family’s welfare, April 4,
Mary Butler, the aunt of Fr. Samuel
Waters, died October 17,
Joseph
DeMarco,
the nephew of John DeMarco, died October 3,
John Fergale, died September 25 after
receiving the traditional sacramental rites of the Church wearing the brown
scapular,
John Gabor, the brother of Donna
Marbach, died September 9,
Fr. Eugene
Dougherty,
a faithful priest, fittingly died on the Nativity of the BVM after receiving
the traditional Catholic sacraments,
Phyllis
Schlafly,
died September 5,
Helen
Mackewicz,
died August 14,
Mark A.
Wonderlin,
who died August 2,
Fr. Carl
Cebollero,
a faithful priest to tradition who was a friend of Fr. Waters and Fr. DeMaio,
Jessica
Cortes, a
young mother of ten who died June 12,
Frances
Toriello, a
life-long Catholic faithful to tradition, died June3, the feast of the Sacred
Heart, and her husband Dan,
died in 1985,
John
McLaughlin, a friend of the Drew’s, died May 22,
Angela
Montesano,
who died April 30, and her husband, Salvatore,
who died in July 3, 2013,
Charles Schultz, died
April 5, left behind nine children and many grandchildren, all traditional
Catholics,
Esperanza Lopez de Callejas,
the aunt of Claudia Drew, died March 15,
Fr. Edgardo Suelo, a
faithful priest defending our traditions who was working with Fr. Francois
Chazal in the Philippines, died February 19,
Conde McGinley, a long time
laborer for the traditional faith, died February 12, at 96 years,
The Drew family requests your
prayers for Ida Fernandez and Rita Kelley,
parishioners at St. Jude,
Fr. Stephen
Somerville,
a traditional priest who repented from his work with the Novus Ordo English
translation, died December 12,
Fr. Arturo
DeMaio,
a priest that helped this Mission with the sacraments and his invaluable
advice, died December 2,
J. Paul
Carswell,
died October 15, 2015,
Solange
Hertz, a
great defender of our Catholic faith, died October 3, the First Saturday of the
month,
Paula P.
Haigh,
died October 22, a great defender of our Catholic faith in philosophy and
natural science,
Gabriella
Whalin,
the mother of Gabriella Schiltz, who died August 25,
Mary
Catherine Sick, 14 year old from a large traditional Catholic family, died August 25,
Fr. Paul
Trinchard,
a traditional Catholic priest, died August 25,
Stephen J.
Melnick, Jr., died on August 21, a long-time faithful traditional Catholic husband
and father, from Philadelphia,
Patricia
Estrada,
died July 29, her son Alex petitions our prayers for her soul,
Fr. Nicholas
Gruner,
a devoted priest & faithful defender of Blessed Virgin Mary and her Fatima
message, died April 29,
Sarah E.
Shindle,
the grandmother of Richard Shindle, died April 26,
Madeline
Vennari,
the mother of John Vennari, died December 19,
Salvador Baca
Callejas,
the uncle of Claudia Drew, died December 13,
Robert Gomez, who died in a motor vehicle
accident November 29,
Catherine
Dunn,
died September 15,
Anthony
Fraser,
the son of Hamish Fraser, died August 28,
Jeannette
Rhoad,
the grandmother of Devin Rhoad, who died August 24,
John Thees, the uncle of Philip Thees,
died August 9,
Sarah
Harkins, 32 year-old mother of four
children, died July 28,
Msgr. Donald
Adams, who
offered the Indult Mass, died April 1996,
Anita Lopez, the aunt of Claudia Drew,
Fr. Kenneth
Walker,
a young traditional priest of the FSSP who was murdered in Phoenix June 11,
Fr. Waters petitions our prayers for Gilberte Violette, the mother of
Fr. Violette, who died May 6,
Pete Hays petitions our prayers for his brothers, Michael, died May 9, and James, died October 20, his
sister, Rebecca, died March17, and his mother, Lorraine Hayes who died May 4,
Philip
Marbach,
the father of Paul Marbach who was the coordinator at St. Jude in Philadelphia,
died April 21,
Richard
Slaughtery,
the elderly sacristan for the SSPX chapel in Kansas City, died April 13,
Bernedette
Marie Evans nee Toriello, the daughter of Daniel Toriello , died March 31, a
faithful Catholic who suffered many years with MS,
Natalie
Cagorski,
died march 23,
Anita Lopez
de Lacayo,
the aunt of Claudia Drew, who died March 21,
Mario
Palmaro,
Catholic lawyer, bioethicist and professor, apologist, died March 9, welfare of
his widow and children,
Daniel Boyle, the
uncle of Ryan Boyle, died March 4,
Jeanne
DeRuyscher,
who died on January 25,
Arthur
Harmon,
died January 18,
Fr. Waters petitions our prayers for the soul of Jeanne DeRuyscher, who died
January 17,
Joseph
Proctor,
died January 10,
Susan Scott, a devote traditional
Catholic who made the vestments for our Infant of Prague statue, died January
8,
Brother
Leonard Mary, M.I.C.M., (Fred Farrell), an early supporter and friend of Fr. Leonard
Feeney, died November 23,
John Fergale, requests our prayers for
his sister Connie, who died December 19,
Jim Capaldi, died December 15,
Brinton
Creager,
the son of Elizabeth Carpenter, died December 10,
Christopher
Lussos,
age 27, the father of one child with an expecting wife, died November 15,
Jarett
Ebeyer,
16 year old who died in his sleep, November 17, at the request of the
Kolinsky’s,
Catherine
Nienaber,
the mother of nine children, the youngest three years of age, killed in MVA
after Mass, 10-29,
Nancy Aldera, the sister of Frances
Toriello, died October 11, 2013 at 105 years of age,
Mary Rita
Schiltz,
the mother of Thomas Schiltz, who died August 27,
William H.
(Teddy) Kennedy, Catholic author of Lucifer’s Lodge, died August 14, age 49, cause of
death unknown,
Alfred
Mercier,
the father of David Mercier, who died August 12,
The Robert Kolinsky asks our prayers for his friend, George Curilla, who died August
23,
John Cuono, who had attended Mass at
our Mission in the past, died August 11,
Raymond
Peterson,
died July 28, and Paul Peterson,
died February 19, the brothers of Fr. Casimir Peterson,
Margaret
Brillhart,
who died July 20,
Msgr. Joseph
J. McDonnell, a priest from the diocese of Des Moines, who died June 8,
Patrick
Henry Omlor, who wrote Questioning The Validity of the Masses using
the New, All English Canon, and for a series of newsletters which were
published as The Robber Church, died May 2, the feast of St Athanasius,
Bishop
Joseph McFadden, died unexpectedly May 2,
Timothy
Foley,
the brother-in-law of Michelle Marbach Folley, who died in April,
William
Sanders,
the uncle of Don Rhoad, who died April 2,
Gene Peters ask our prayers for the repose of the
soul of Mark Polaschek, who
died March 22,
Eduardo
Gomez Lopez, the uncle of Claudia Drew, February 28,
Cecelia
Thees,
died February 24,
Elizabeth
Marie
Gerads, a
nineteen year old, the oldest of twelve children, who died February 6,
Michael
Schwartz,
the co-author with Fr. Enrique Rueda of “Gays, Aids, and You,” died February 3,
Stanley W.
Moore,
passed away in December 16, and Gerard (Jerry) R. Pitman, who died January 19,
who attended this Mission in the past,
Louis
Fragale,
who died December 25,
Fr. Luigi
Villa, Th.D. author of Vatican II About
Face! detailing the heresies of Vatican II, died November 18 at the age of 95,
Rev. Michael
Jarecki,
a faithful traditional Catholic priest who died October 22,
Jennie Salaneck, died September 19 at 95
years of age, a devout and faithful Catholic all her life,
Dorothy Sabo, who died September 26,
Cynthia
(Cindy) Montesano Reinhert, the mother of nine children, four who are still at
home, died August 19,
Stanley
Spahalski, who died October 20, and his wife, Regina
Spahalski, who died June 24, and for the soul of Francis Lester, her son,
Julia
Atkinson,
who died April 30,
Antonio P.
Garcia, who
died January 6, 2012 and the welfare of his teenage children, Andriana and
Quentin,
Helen Crane, the aunt of David Drew who
died February 27,
Fr. Timothy
A. Hopkins,
of the National Shrine of St. Philomena, in Miami, November 2,
Frank Smith, who died February 7, and
the welfare of his wife, Delores,
Eduardo
Cepeda,
who died January 26,
Larry Young, the 47 year old father of
twelve who died December 10 and the welfare of his wife Katherine and their
family,
Sister Mary
Bernadette, M.I.C.M., a founding member of the Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, died
December 16,
Joeseph
Elias,
who died on September 28,
William, the brother of Fr. Waters,
who died September 7,
Donald
Tonelli,
died August 1,
Rev. Fr.
Gregory Hesse, of Austria, a great defender of Catholic Truth, died January 25, 2006,
Emma
Colasanti, who died May 29,
Mary
Dullesse,
who died April 12, a Catholic convert who died wearing our Lady’s scapular,
Ruth Jantsch, the grandmother of Andre
Ebert, who died April 7, Derrick and Denise Palengat, his godparents,
Philip D.
Barr,
died March 5, and the welfare of his family,
Judith Irene
Kenealy,
the mother of Joyce Paglia, who died February 23, and her son, George Richard
Moore, who died May 14,
For Joe
Sobran who died September 30,
Fr. Hector
Bolduc,
a great and faithful priest, died, September 10, 2012,
James &
Jean Rowan
and their sons, Patrick & Daniel,
John Vennari asks our prayers for Dr. Raphael Waters who died
August 26,
Stanley
Bodalsky,
the father of Mary Ann Boyle who died June 25,
Mary Isabel
Kilfoyle Humphreys, a former York resident and friend of the Drew’s, who died June 6,
Rev. John
Campion,
who offered the traditional Mass for us every first Friday until forbidden to
do so by Bishop Dattilo, died May 1,
Joseph
Montagne, who
died May 5,
For Margaret
Vagedes, the aunt of Charles Zepeda, who died January 6,
Fr. Michael
Shear, a
Byzantine rite Catholic priest, died August 17, 2006,
Fr. James
Francis Wathen, died November 7, 2006, author of The
Great Sacrilege and Who Shall
Ascend?, a great defender of dogma and liturgical purity,
Fr. Enrique
Rueda,
who died December 14, 2009, to whom our Mission is indebted,
Fr. Peterson asks to remember, Leonard Edward Peterson, his cousin, Wanda, Angelica Franquelli, and the six
priests ordained with him.
Philip Thees petitions our prayers for Beverly Romanick, Deacon Michael Erdeck,
Henry J. Phillips, Grace Prestano, Connie DiMaggio, Elizabeth Thorhas,
Elizabeth Thees, Theresa Feraker, Hellen Pestrock, and James & Rose Gomata,
and Kathleen Heinbach,
Fr. Didier
Bonneterre,
the author of The Liturgical Movement, and Fr. John Peek, both were traditional
priests,
Brother
Francis, MICM, the superior of the Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in
Richmond, NH, who died September 5,
Rodolfo
Zelaya Montealegre, the father of Claudia Drew, who died May 24,
Rev. Francis
Clifford,
a devout and humble traditional priest, who died on March 7,
Benjamin Sorace, the uncle of Sonja Kolinsky.
Argumentum ex
concessis
Notes in the Margin of an Article by Abbé Claude Barthe
For
if you live according to the flesh, you will die;
but if by the Spirit
you put to death the deeds of the flesh, you will live.
Rom
8: 13
The
essay by Abbé Claude Barthe’s, recently published in an Italian translation at Aldo
Maria Valli’s blog Duc in altum [1], deserves some attention. What is
most interesting in it is not so much his assessment of the newly elected Leo
XIV, nor the pragmatic realism with which he recognizes Prevost’s continuity
with his predecessor or calls for a loosening of restrictions on the
traditional liturgy.
Abbé
Barthe writes:
There
is a paradox, even a risk, for those who invoke freedom for the traditional
liturgy and catechism: that of being granted a sort of “authorization” for liturgical
and doctrinal Catholicism. We have already cited as an example the paradoxical
situation that arose in the 19th-century French political system, when the most
staunch supporters of the monarchical Restoration, enemies in principle of the
modern freedoms introduced by the Revolution, continually fought to be granted
a space for life and expression, freedom of the press, and freedom of teaching.
All things being equal, in the ecclesiastical system of the 21st century, at
least in the immediate future, a relaxation of the ideological despotism of the
Reformation could be beneficial. But while it may be advantageous in the short
and medium term, it could ultimately prove radically unsatisfactory.
What
I believe should be highlighted is the not-so-veiled warning that Abbé Barthe
addresses to those who resort to the adversary’s arguments to gain legitimacy
in the ecclesial world, applying the argumentum ex concessis [2]. In this
case, “those who invoke freedom for the traditional liturgy and catechism” –
and who condemn Bergoglian synodality – appeal to that same synodality so that
the “Summorum Pontificum communities” may be recognized as one among the
many expressions of the composite ecclesial polyhedron.
Abbé
Barthe’s denunciation reveals not a paradox,
but the paradox, the contradiction that fundamentally undermines any
claim to orthodoxy on the part of self-styled conservatives: the acceptance of
the revolutionary principles of the so-called “synodal church” as the
(incomplete, moreover) counterpart to being tolerated by it. In reality, this
exchange is far from equal. The “synodal church” merely applies to
conservatives the same legitimacy of existence it grants to any other
“movement” or “charisma” present in the multifaceted ecclesial fabric, but it
carefully avoids acknowledging that their demands might go beyond a mere
aesthetic and ceremonial concession. The unwritten contract between
conservatives and the post-Bergoglian Hierarchy stipulates that the “liturgical
preferences” of a group of clerics and faithful can be tolerated if and
only if they refrain from highlighting the heterogeneity, incompatibility,
and alienation between the ecclesiology and the entire doctrinal framework
underlying the Vetus Ordo and those expressed in the reformed Montinian
rite.
Abbé
Barthe does not ignore the critical issues: referring to Leo XIV’s Electors, he
calls them “all of the conciliar menagerie,” demonstrating a certain courage,
especially considering his public role and his dependence
on those Prelates. Nor does he ignore the deception embraced by those
who exploit religious liberty to invoke for themselves a tolerance
that is not denied even to the worshippers of Amazonian idols.
The
deception is twofold: not only because of the paradox that Abbé Barthe has rightly
highlighted; but also and above all because of a much worse trap, consisting of
accepting at least implicitly the forced, unnatural, and impossible separation
between the ceremonial form of the rite and its doctrinal substance.
This
is an operation of de-signification of the Liturgy, which consists in
being recognized with the right to celebrate in the Tridentine Rite on the
condition that the celebrant does not also accept the doctrinal and moral
implications of that rite. But if that “Summorum priest” accepts this
principle, he must also accept its inverse application. Indeed, the moment one
admits that the Liturgy can be celebrated without regard for the traditional
doctrine it expresses – a doctrine the “synodal church” does not recognize and
considers to be other than itself – one ends up accepting that even
the reformed liturgy can ignore the errors and heresies it insinuates, errors
which no Catholic worthy of the name can absolutely ratify. In doing so,
however, one plays into the hands of the adversary, under the illusion of being
more cunning than the devil. It all comes down to a question of dress and
choreography, of aesthetics and sentiment that satisfies or does not satisfy
personal taste, as Cardinal Burke’s recent words confirmed: “You don’t
take something so rich in beauty and begin to strip away the beautiful elements
without having a negative effect.” [3] Nothing could be more alien to the
mindset of the Roman Liturgy, according to which the beauty of ceremonies is
such because it is a necessary expression of the Truth it teaches and the Good
it practices.
The
“synodal church” includes conservatives in its coveted pantheon not
only because it gives them what they want – solemn pontifical liturgies
celebrated by influential prelates, without doctrinal implications – but also
because none of the Holy See’s interlocutors has the slightest intention of
demanding more; and even if someone were to dare ask for more,
the gatekeeper on duty – literally, the ostiarius –would
promptly intervene, calling for “prudence” and “moderation,” more concerned
with preserving his own prestige than with the fate of the Catholic resistance.
This is accompanied by the “Zip it” [4] policy advocated by Trad Inc. [5],
according to which the possible concessions the moderates hope to obtain from
Leo suggest they should not criticize him openly so as not to alienate him.
The
path of being persecuted, ostracized, and excommunicated do not seem to be
among the options for my brothers: it seems they are already resigned to a fate
of tolerance, in which they can neither be truly Catholic nor fully synodal;
neither friends of those who fight the enemy infiltrated into the Church, nor
of those who seek to replace her with a human surrogate of Masonic inspiration.
The Lord will hold these lukewarm priests accountable with greater severity
than He will many poor parish priests who have other, more pressing pastoral
priorities. Let us hope that Abbé Barthe’s warning does not fall on deaf ears,
for the hour of battle approaches, and to be found defenseless and unprepared,
in these circumstances, would be irresponsible.
And
it is precisely in times of persecution that we must rediscover the relevance
and validity of the words of Saint Vincent of Lérins:
In
ipsa item catholica ecclesia magnopere curandum est ut id teneamus quod semper,
quod ubique, quod ab omnibus creditum est; hoc est etenim vere proprieque
catholicum. [6]
If
anything does not meet these three criteria – semper, ubique, et ab
omnibus – it must be rejected as heretical. This norm protects us from the
errors spread by false pastors, in the serene certainty of acting in accordance
with Tradition and thus being able to compensate, due to the present state of
emergency, for the absence of ecclesiastical authority.
+
Carlo Maria Viganò, Archbishop
3
September MMXXV
S.cti
Pii X Papæ, Conf.
FOOTNOTES
1
– Abbé Claude
Barthe, Leone, il pompiere nella Chiesa divorata dal fuoco della
divisione. Ma quale unità ricerca?, published at Duc in Altum on
August 9, 2025 – https://www.aldomariavalli.it/2025/08/09/analisi-leone-il-pompiere-nella-chiesa-divorata-dal-fuoco-della-divisione-ma-quale-unita-ricerca/ – English translation: https://www.resnovae.fr/the-pontificate-of-leo-xiv-a-transitional-stage/
2
– Argumentum ex
concessis is a rhetorical and logical technique in which an interlocutor
uses the premises, arguments, or claims accepted by an opponent to construct
their own argument, often to refute them or demonstrate the inconsistency of
their position. This strategy is based on the idea of temporarily accepting the
opponent’s claims (the “concessions”) and using them to draw conclusions that
either challenge them or support their own thesis.
3
– Cfr. https://x.com/mljhaynes/status/1954919906492747838
4
– Cfr. https://www.radiospada.org/2025/09/leone-xiv-lipotesi-zip-e-la-contropartita-per-i-conservatori-una-strategia-gia-tentata-e-che-lascia-perplessi-in-7-punti/
5
– “Trad Inc.” is the
American expression which refers to conservative believers and blogs organized
like companies, which operate according to market logic and are dependent on
their shareholders.
6
– Commonitorium, 2. “In
this same Catholic Church, we must take the greatest care to maintain what has
always been believed, everywhere and by all; this is in fact truly and properly
Catholic.”
COMMENT: It is encouraging for us who have refused the compromises of
faith that conservative Catholics have made in return for their privileged
Indult to have a man of Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò's stature agree and defend what we have been
doing at Ss. Peter & Paul Roman Catholic Mission for the last 25 years. We
hope and pray that he may have a greater influence on other resistance bishops
and priests.
"One must overcome
history by Dogma."
Cardinal Henry Edward Manning
The Secret of
Devotion to the Sacred Heart:
Cardinal Henry Edward Manning,
Archbishop of Westminster, Primate of England and Wales
THE
GLORIES OF THE SACRED HEART, Signs of the Sacred Heart
Take
nothing lower than the Heart of our Divine Lord as the measure and the rule of
your own. Do not take any lower standard. Do not take the examples of men. Do
not take maxims or motives of your own imagining. Set before you the Sacred
Heart in its full and divine perfection. The Word of God took that Sacred Heart
in order that we might know God; that He might come within the sphere of our
intelligence, within the reach of our hearts, and unite our will to His will.
Therefore let us first of all see whether our intelligence, our reason, our
intellect be conformed to the intelligence of Jesus Christ. His intelligence
was, like our own, a human and finite intelligence. He had also an infinite
intelligence ; therefore He said, 'I am the Truth.' And how are we to know this
truth? He has revealed it. And where is that revelation? In the holy faith. Any
man who knows only a part of that revelation, that is, only a fragment, or any
number of fragments of that revelation, has not his reason nor his intelligence
conformed to the reason and intelligence of Jesus Christ. He is narrowed in
some part. But when his whole understanding and reason are illuminated by the
knowledge of faith, then he is conformed to the intelligence of Jesus Christ;
the whole outline, and I will say the whole circle, of his reason is full of
light. We must, then, be perfect in the light of Catholic faith. Next as to our
affections. The Sacred Heart is the most perfect Kingdom of God the Father. It
is the sanctuary in which God the Son perpetually dwells, and it is also the
most perfect work of the Holy Ghost. All the affections and all those
pro-passions, as they are called — because the Church never speaks of passions
when it speaks of the Sacred Heart — all the emotions, all those sensitive
movements of our nature which were in Him, were all in perfect tranquility, in
perfect order, and in perfect unity. Therefore until our sensitive will, with
all its affections and emotions, is subject to our superior will, which is our
reason and our conscience, and until both the sensitive and the superior will
in us are subject to the will of God, we shall not be conformed to the Sacred
Heart of our Lord. And, once more, His will is the law of ours; and unless our
will be conformed to our lot in life; unless we accept it as coming from the
will of God; unless our will accepts our state in life, and does not chafe
against it, because God in His providence has ordained it for us — I will even
go further, and say, unless we accept our state in grace as God has given it to
us — we shall not be conformed to Him. Many people are all day long complaining
and chafing that they fall into faults. True, indeed, they do; and why? They
are impatient to be Saints for their own glory, or to be masters of themselves
for their own consolation, or to be perfectly sanctified with all speed, that
they may be delivered from the trouble of mortifying themselves; and God in His
wisdom measures out to them the grace which He sees to be sufficient for them
if they are faithful; and by leaving them long in that warfare He humbles them,
by teaching them to know themselves; and He makes the very sins which they once
loved to be their chastisement, and to scourge them for those very faults. He
turns their faults into a purgatory upon earth, and by suffering from them they
are purified, and make their expiation. Until we have come to say even in this
what our Lord said in the garden, 'Not my will but Thine be done,' we are not
conformed to the Sacred Heart. When we can say it, then we may hope that our
affections and our intelligence and our will are growing towards His likeness.
And the other counsel is this : Do not be
cast down if, when you look into yourselves, you find your heart to be so
deformed, so unlike to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Anybody who really knows
himself will find in his own heart what we read in the beginning, 'a great
deep,' and 'darkness on the face of the deep' — that is, a disorder and a
confusion — but over all the Spirit of God moves 'upon the face of the waters.'
There is much in ourselves that we have never fathomed. The darkness hides much
from ourselves. And the more we know ourselves the more at first we must be
cast down and troubled, so as even to be altogether out of heart if we did not
know that the more we are humbled before God the more safe we are, and the more
surely His Presence is in us. If we find in ourselves all manner of windings
and doubles, and that the heart is deceitful above all things, who shows all
this to us? who teaches us these truths? It is the Spirit of God moving over
our inward life, and by His light revealing us to our own selves. Therefore,
when we come to see these things, we have no reason to be cast down; it is the
evidence and the certain proof that God is working in us of His own good will.
And the way in which He works is this. When the Holy Spirit of God comes into
the heart of a man, He enlightens him to know himself, but the Spirit of God is
invisible; while He is showing ourselves to our own conscience He hides
Himself. And when He casts His light upon us, He shows to us, not the things
that are pleasing to us, but the things that are displeasing to Him; not those
things which will please our love of self, but those things which will
displease and humble us. He does not show the conformity, if we have any, to
the Sacred Heart, but the manifold deformities which are displeasing in God's
sight.
But
perhaps you will say, 'How can I ever be conformed to the Sacred Heart of
Jesus?' You can never transform yourselves into His likeness; but there is One
who can; there is One who will transform you by His creating power. If you go
to Him that made you, He can make all things new. Old things will pass away. If
you say, 'Create in me a clean heart' — that is, 'Put forth Thine almighty
power to make me once more as Thou didst make me in the beginning' — He will
renew His own work.' If any man be in Christ Jesus, he is a new creature.' His
work is not by halves, nor upon the surface, nor left imperfect, like something
which is just refitted for the time, or made up again like new cloth on an old
garment. It is a new creation, made over again — 'a new creation, in which old
things are passed away and all things are become new.' 'He that sitteth upon
the Throne said, Behold, I make all things new.' The Precious Blood will
cleanse away all sin; though it be red as scarlet, it shall be as white as
snow; though it be like crimson, it shall be as wool; the almighty power of the
Holy Ghost will purify all things as 'by the spirit of burning.' He will
re-create all things and make them over again. As the springing of the harvest
or the putting out of the leaf in the forest is a new creation upon the stock
of the old by the almighty power of God, so. in body and soul and spirit you
will be made new once more.
Therefore,
to make what I have said very practical, and to bring it nearer home, I will
say this: Follow out and pursue your little faults. If you will correct your
little faults, I was going to say your great ones will correct themselves; for
'he that is faithful in that which is least is faithful in that which is
greater.' Be watchful against spiritual sins, faults of omission, sins of the
tongue, and thoughts against charity. And secondly, fulfil your little duties,
and your greater ones will take heed for themselves. A man that fulfils the
lesser duties of charity, of humility, of piety, of fidelity, will have a
conscience that grows more and more delicate; and a delicate conscience will
take care of the great commandments of God. Then your 'heart will not reprehend
you,' 'and God, who is greater than your heart,' will keep you in the multitude
of peace. Your many infirmities will be absolved in the Precious Blood of His
Son, and if your 'heart reprehend' you 'not, then have you confidence towards
God ;' and as S. John goes on in this place to say, 'Whatsoever we ask of Him
we shall receive, because we keep His commandments, and do those things which
are pleasing in His sight.'
NOVENA TO THE SEVEN
SORROWS OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
Ant. There stood by the cross of Jesus His Mother
and His Mother’s sister, Mary Cleophas, and Salome and Mary Magdalen.
V.
Woman, behold thy son.
R.
Son, behold thy mother
Let
us Pray
O
God, at Whose Passion, according to the prophecy of holy Simeon, a sword of
grief pierced the most sweet soul of glorious Mary, virgin and mother, grant in
Thy mercy that we who honor the memory of her sorrows may obtain the happy
fruit of Thy sufferings. Who livest and
reignest, world without end. AMEN
V. Incline unto my aid, O God.
R. O Lord, make haste to help me. Glory be to the Father, etc.
1.
O most
sorrowful Mary, I compassionate thee, in the grief thy tender heart underwent
when the holy old man Simeon prophesied to thee. Dear Mother, through that afflicted heart
obtain for me the virtue of humility and the gift of the holy fear of God. Hail Mary, etc.
2.
O most sorrowful
Mary, I compassionate those afflictions which thy most sensitive heart endured
during the flight into Egypt and the dwelling there. O beloved Mother, by that afflicted heart
obtain for me the virtue of liberality, specially toward the poor, and the gift
of piety. Hail Mary, etc.
3.
O most
sorrowful Mary, I compassionate that intense distress which thine anxious heart
experienced in the loss of thy dearest Jesus.
O beloved Mother, by that deeply troubled heart obtain for me the virtue
of chastity and the gift of knowledge. Hail
Mary, etc.
4.
O most
sorrowful Mary, I compassionate the consternation which thy maternal heart
experienced when thou didst meet Jesus bearing His cross. O beloved Mother, by that deep distress of
thy tender heart, obtain for me the virtue of patience and the gift of
fortitude. Hail Mary, etc.
5.
O most
sorrowful Mary, I compassionate that martyrdom which thy generous heart endured
in witnessing the last agony of Jesus. O
beloved Mother, by that martyred heart obtain for me the virtue of temperance
and the gift of counsel. Hail Mary,
etc.
6.
O most
sorrowful Mary, I compassionate that wound which thy mournful heart endured
from the lance which tore the side of Jesus and wounded His most lovely
Heart. O beloved Mother, by thy heart
then pierced through, obtain for me the virtue of fraternal charity and the
gift of understanding. Hail Mary,
etc.
7.
O most
sorrowful Mary, I compassionate thee, for the anguish felt by thy loving heart
when Jesus’ body was laid in the sepulcher.
Dear Mother, by all the bitterness of desolation thou didst then know,
obtain for me the virtue of diligence and the gift of wisdom. Hail Mary, etc.
V.
Pray for us, most sorrowful Mother.
R.
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let us Pray
Grant,
we beseech Thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, that the most Blessed Virgin Mary, Thy
Mother, may intercede for us before the throne of Thy mercy, now, and at the
hour of our death; through whose most holy soul in the hour of Thine own
Passion the Sword of sorrow passed.
Through Thee, Jesus Christ, Savior of the world, Who livest and reignest
with the Father and the Holy Ghost forever and ever.
Amen
Prayer to Our
Lady of Sorrows
Most
holy and afflicted Virgin, Queen of Martyrs, thou stood beneath the cross,
witnessing the agony of thy dying Son.
Look with a mother’s tenderness and pity on me, who kneel before thee. I venerate thy sorrows and I place my
requests with filial confidence in the sanctuary of thy wounded heart.
Present
them, I beseech thee, on my behalf to Jesus Christ, through the merits of His
own most sacred passion and death, together with thy sufferings at the foot of
the cross. Through the united efficacy
of both, obtain the granting of my petition.
To whom shall I have recourse in my wants and miseries if not to thee,
Mother of Mercy? Thou who have drunk so
deeply of the chalice of thy Son, thou can compassionate our sorrows.
Holy
Mary, thy soul was pierced by a sword of sorrow at the sight of the passion of
thy divine Son. Intercede for me and
obtain from Jesus Christ this grace, if it be for His honor and glory and for
the good of my soul.
Amen
SPECIAL FAVORS FOR THOSE DEVOTED TO THE
SORROWS OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN
The graces which Our Lord promises to those who are devoted to the
sorrows of His Blessed Mother are very great. St. Alphonsus, in his discourse
on the dolors of Mary, states: It was revealed to St. Elizabeth that some years
after the Blessed Virgin was assumed into heaven, St. John, the beloved
disciple, was seized with an ardent desire to see her again. This favor was
granted him. His dear Mother appeared to him in company with our Divine Lord.
Then St. John heard Mary asking of her Son some special graces for those who
were devoted to her dolors. Our Lord promised the four following graces:
1) Those who invoke the Heavenly Mother
through her sorrows will obtain true sorrow for their sins before death.
2) Our Savior will protect them in their
tribulations, especially at the hour of death.
3) He will impress upon them the memory of His
Passion, and will reward them for it in Heaven.
4) He will commit such devout servants to the
hands of Mary, that she may dispose of them according to her pleasure, and
obtain for them all the graces she desires.
St. Alphonsus Ligouri, Devotion to the Sorrowful Mother
Besides these great graces, Father Faber enumerates others which are
obtained through devotion to Mary's sorrows:
1) This devotion has a remarkable connection
with great interior holiness.
2) It reveals the emptiness of worldly joys.
Worldliness finds no soul harder to attack than one entrenched in the sorrows
of our Blessed Lady. The world can graft itself upon nothing in this devotion.
3) It gives us a permanent share in the sorrow
for sin which Jesus and Mary felt.
4) It keeps our thoughts close to Jesus
Christ, and to Him Crucified.
5) It communicates to our souls the spirit of
the Cross, and gives us strength to endure our own sufferings with resignation
to the holy will of God.
6) This devotion is wholly covered with the
Precious Blood of Jesus and leads us directly into the depths of the Heart of
our Savior.
7) Anyone who during his lifetime has
cherished compassion for this afflicted Mother may consider this as a most
assured sign of predestination.
The
proper understanding of this dogma from the Council of Trent:
Canon 4 on the sacraments in general: If anyone says that the
sacraments of the New Law are not necessary for salvation but are superfluous,
and that without them or without the desire of them men obtain from God
through faith alone the grace of justification, though all are not necessary
for each one, let him be anathema.
The Dogma
defines two revealed doctrinal truths:
1.
If anyone says: that the sacraments of the
New Law are not necessary for salvation but are superfluous, let him be
anathema.
2.
If anyone says: that without the
sacraments or (if anyone says) without the desire of the sacraments
men obtain from God through faith alone the grace of justification, let him be
anathema.
Both
the Sacrament of Baptism and the will to receive the Sacrament are
necessary for salvation!
“But God desired that his
confession should avail for his salvation, since he preserved him in this life until the time of his holy
regeneration.” St. Fulgentius
“If anyone is not baptized, not only in
ignorance, but even knowingly, he can in no way be saved. For his path to salvation was through the confession,
and salvation itself was in baptism.
At his age, not only was confession
without baptism of no avail: Baptism
itself would be of no avail for salvation if he neither believed nor
confessed.” St. Fulgentius
Notice, both the CONFESSION AND
THE BAPTISM are necessary for salvation, harkening back to Trent's teaching
that both the laver AND the “votum” are required for justification, and
harkening back to Our Lord's teaching that we must be born again of water AND
the Holy Spirit.
In fact, you see the language of St. Fulgentius reflected in the Council of
Trent. Trent describes the votum (so-called “desire”) as the PATH
TO SALVATION, the disposition to Baptism, and then says that “JUSTIFICATION
ITSELF” (St. Fulgentius says “SALVATION ITSELF”) follows the dispositions in
the Sacrament of Baptism.
Yet another solid argument for why Trent is teaching that BOTH the votum
AND the Sacrament are required for justification.
“Hold most firmly and never
doubt in the least that not only all pagans but also all Jews and all heretics
and schismatics who end this present life outside the Catholic Church are about
to go into the eternal fire that was prepared for the Devil and his angels.”
St. Fulgentius
“The most Holy Roman Church firmly believes,
professes and preaches that none of those existing outside the Catholic Church,
not only pagans, but also Jews and heretics and schismatics, can have a share
in life eternal; but that they will go into the ‘eternal fire which was
prepared for the devil and his angels.’”
St. Eugene IV, Cantate Domino
Ladislaus,
CathInfo
John Cardinal Newman,
another Novus Ordo "saint" soon to be declared a "Doctor"
of the Novus Ordo Church, comments following the dogmatic declaration of papal
infallibility.
“But we must hope, for one is
obliged to hope it, that the Pope (Pius IX) will be driven from Rome, and will
not continue the Council (Vatican I), or that there will be another Pope. It is
sad he should force us to such wishes.”
John H. Newman, Letter to his companion, Fr.
Ambrose St. John, 22 August, 1870
“We have come to a climax of tyranny. It is
not good for a Pope to live 20 years. It is anomaly and bears no good fruit; he
becomes a god, has no one to contradict him, does not know facts, and does
cruel things without meaning it.”
John H. Newman, The Letters and Diaries of
John Henry Newman, v. XXVI by Charles Stephen Dessain
"This
(Divine) law, as apprehended in the minds of individual men, is called
"conscience;" and though it may suffer refraction in passing into the
intellectual medium of each, it is not therefore so affected as to lose its
character of being the Divine Law, but still has, as such, the prerogative of
commanding obedience."
John
Henry Cardinal Newman
"It seems, then, that there are extreme cases in which Conscience
may come into collision with the word of a Pope, and is to be followed in spite
of that word."
John Henry Cardinal Newman
COMMENT: Pope Gregory XVI said, "This shameful font of
indifferentism gives rise to that absurd and erroneous proposition which claims
that liberty of conscience must be maintained for everyone." Conscience is
not the Divine Law. St. Thomas says that, "Conscience is nothing else than
the application of knowledge to some action." He is referring to the
knowledge of the Law of God. The Law of God, whether the eternal law or the
positive revealed law of God, is the objective criteria by which the conscience
is obligated to use as the standard by which any judgment regarding the moral
goodness or evil of any particular act is made.
All men are obligated to obey their conscience because they are
obligated to apprehend the objective Divine Law as the proper criteria. They
are not free to invent their personal subjective criteria in determining what
is the right or the wrong thing to do.
Liberalism claims the exact opposite. It is a fundamental axiom of
liberalism that the conscience is free to establish its own moral criteria. This
has been condemned by popes Gregory XVI, PiusIX and Pius X. John Henry Cardinal
Newman can be identified as the "Spirit of Vatican II."
“Only take heed to yourself and guard your soul diligently.” Deut 4:9
"It is a sin to believe there is salvation outside the Catholic
Church!"
Blessed Pope Pius IX
Hermeneutics of Continuity/Discontinuity
The woman saith to him: Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. Our fathers
adored on this mountain, and you say, that at Jerusalem is the place where men
must adore. Jesus saith to her: Woman, believe me, that the hour cometh, when
you shall neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, adore the Father. You
adore that which you know not: we adore that which we know; for salvation is of
the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true adorers shall adore
the Father in spirit and in truth. For the Father also seeketh such to adore
him. God is a spirit; and they that adore him, must adore him in spirit and in
truth.
John 4:19-24
Novus Ordo Doctrine: Moslems and Novus Ordo Catholics
Worship the same God!
CCC 841, quoting the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church,
Lumen Gentium 16, from Vatican II, declared:
"The plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the
Creator, in the first place amongst whom are the Muslims; these profess to hold
the faith of Abraham, and together with us they adore the one, merciful God,
mankind’s judge on the last day."
CCC 841 also references Vatican II’s Declaration on the Relation of the Church
to Non-Christian Religions, Nostra Aetate,
3, that makes the teaching of the Council perhaps even clearer:
"The Church regards with esteem also the Moslems. They adore the
one God, living and subsisting in Himself; merciful and all-powerful, the
Creator of heaven and earth, who has spoken to men; they take pains to submit
wholeheartedly to even his inscrutable decrees, just as Abraham, with whom the
faith of Islam takes pleasure in linking itself, submitted to
God."
Catholic Church Doctrine: Catholics and Moslems DO
NOT worship the same God.
“Now
the Samaritans had a false idea of God in two ways. First of all, because they thought
He was corporeal, so that they believed that He should be adored in only one
definite corporeal place. Further, because they did not believe that He
transcended all things, but was equal to certain creatures, they adored along
with Him certain idols, as if they were equal to Him. Consequently, they did
not know Him, because they did not attain to a true knowledge of Him. So the
Lord says, you adore that which you do not know [John 4:22], that is, you do not adore God
because you do not know Him, but rather your imagination, by which you
apprehend something as God, just as the Gentiles also walk in the foolishness
of their mind (Eph 4:17).” St.
Thomas Aquinas, Commentary On John 4:22
“How
then did the Samaritans know not what they worshipped? Because they thought
that God was local and partial; so at least they served Him, and so they sent
to the Persians, and reported that the God of this place is angry with us [2
Kings 26], in this respect
forming no higher opinion of Him than of their idols. Wherefore they continued
to serve both Him and devils, joining things which ought not to be joined.” St. John Chrysostom, Homily 33 On The Gospel
of John
COMMENT: When
Jesus said to the Samaritan Woman, " You adore that which you know
not," He is not saying that they adore the One True God that they are
ignorant of. He is saying, that in their ignorance they do not know who they
are adoring meaning that they are adoring in ignorance a devil, for "all
the gods of the gentiles are devils" (Psalm 95:5). Jesus then says, that
"true adorers shall adore the Father in spirit and in truth..... they that
adore him, must adore him in spirit and in truth." To adore in
"spirit" means that to adore God you must be baptized and made sons
of God for as Jesus said: "Amen, amen I say to thee, unless a man be born
again of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God That
which is born of the flesh, is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit, is
spirit" (John 3:5-7). And to adore in "truth" means who must
believe what has been revealed by God. Without the true faith it is
"impossible to please God" (Hebrews 11:6). As such, right knowledge
of God is essential to true worship. This is the great sin of Modernism and
Neo-modernism: They make a right knowledge of God impossible!
Hermeneutics
of Continuity/Discontinuity
Catholic
Faith:
Physical substances come into being through the union of substantial
form and primary matter. The Soul is the Substantial Form of the Human Body; it
is immortal and will be judged after the death of the person and directed to
Heaven or Hell for all eternity awaiting to be joined again to its Body at the
Resurrection of the Dead for the Last Judgment.
“In order that all may know the truth of the faith in its purity and
all error may be excluded, we define that anyone who presumes henceforth to
assert defend or hold stubbornly that the rational or intellectual soul is not
the form of the human body of itself and essentially, is to be considered a
heretic.”
Council of Vienne
Neo-Modernists
Ideology: [Ratzinger quotes provided by James Larson, War Against Being]
“The medieval concept of substance has long since become inaccessible
to us.”
Rev. Joseph Ratzinger, Faith and the Future
“The proper Christian thing, therefore, is to speak, not of the soul’s
immortality, but of the resurrection of the complete human being [at the Final
Judgment] and of that alone… The idea that to speak of the soul is unbiblical
was accepted to such an extent that even the new Roman Missal (i.e.: the Novus
Ordo) suppressed the term anima in its liturgy for the dead. It also
disappeared from the ritual for burial.”
Rev. Joseph Ratzinger, Eschatology:
Death and Eternal Life
“‘The soul’ is our term for that
in us which offers a foothold for this relation [with the eternal]. Soul is
nothing other than man’s capacity for relatedness with truth, with love
eternal.”
Rev. Joseph Ratzinger, Eschatology:
Death and Eternal Life
“The challenge to traditional theology today lies in the negation of an
autonomous, ‘substantial’ soul with a built-in immortality in favor of that
positive view which regards God’s decision and activity as the real foundation
of a continuing human existence.”
Rev. Joseph Ratzinger, Eschatology:
Death and Eternal Life
And
those who have denied the reality of substantial
being are those who are responsible for the “dictatorship of relativism.”
“Every day new sects are created and what Saint
Paul says about human trickery comes true, with cunning which tries to draw
those into error (Eph 4, 14). Having a clear faith, based on the Creed
of the Church, is often labelled today as a fundamentalism. Whereas,
relativism, which is letting oneself be tossed and ‘swept along by every wind
of teaching,’ looks like the only attitude (acceptable) to today’s standards.
We are moving towards a dictatorship of relativism which does not recognise
anything as for certain and which has as its highest goal one’s own ego and
one’s own desires.”
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Homily of the
Dean of the College of Cardinals, 2005
Sacrament of
Baptism: Significance of the Baptismal Character and why it is absolutely
necessary for salvation. Explains why St. Ambrose said regarding catechumens
who die before receiving the sacrament of Baptism, they are “forgiven but not
crowned”.
To be baptized is to become one with the Church, and one with Christ. Thus the ritual can say: “enter
into the temple of God, that you may have part with Christ, unto life
everlasting.” The two ideas are correlative: to be baptized into the
Church and to be baptized into Christ; they are the visible and invisible
aspects of the same real effect. [….]
The effecting this incorporation into Christ, Baptism marks the soul as
permanently His; it stamps upon the soul a spiritual “character”, or, as
antiquity more commonly called it, a “seal”.
For this reason, and putting the cause for the effect, the rite of
Baptism was itself called “the seal”, or “the seal of faith”, or “the seal of
water”, or “the seal of the Trinity” (which last appellation endures still in
the liturgical prayers for the dying, wherein God is asked to remember His
promises to the soul that in its lifetime was “stamped with the seal of the
Most Holy Trinity”).
The word “seal” derives from a group of texts in St. Paul, which
suggest this stamping of the soul at Baptism: “And in Him (Christ), you too,
when you had heard the word of truth, the good news of your salvation, and
believed in it, were sealed with the Holy Spirit of the promise” (Eph. 1:13);
“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in Whom you were sealed for the day
of redemption” (Eph. 4:30). However, nowadays we are accustomed to speak rather
of the baptismal “character”, a term that suggests the text wherein Christ is
called “the brightness of His (the Father’s) glory and the image (in Greek,
character) of His substance” (Hebr. 1:3).
Basically, two words give the same meaning: a seal imprints an image,
and a “character”, in the original sense of the word, means image. Baptism, therefore,
stamps the soul with the image of Christ, Who is Himself the image of the
Father. And in the Scripture, this stamping is attributed to the Holy Spirit,
Who is the Spirit of Christ. The fact that we are stamped with such a character
is clearly defined by the Council of Trent:
“If anyone says
that by the three Sacraments, to wit, Baptism, Confirmation and Orders, there
is not imprinted in the soul a Character, that is a certain spiritual and
indelible sign on account of which they cannot be repeated; let him be
anathem.” (Denz. 852).
The Council of Trent teaches that this seal, once stamped on the soul,
is indelible. Just as Baptism irrevocable makes one a member of the Church, so
also it irrevocably makes one a member of Christ. Not the gravest sin, nor even
final impenitence and self-condemnation to eternal separation from Christ in
Hell, can avail to erase this baptismal seal. And the indelibility of the seal
is the immediate reason why Baptism can never be repeated, once it has been
validly received. [….]
The sense in which Baptism stamps us with the image of Christ is
suggested in the rite itself, by the anointing which follows the ablution. It
is done with Sacred Chrism, a mixed unguent of oil and balm, specially
consecrated by the bishop on Holy Thursday. Kings and priests in antiquity (and
even today) were anointed with chrism in token of their royal and priestly
dignity. And the baptism anointing signifies, therefore, that the new Christian
has entered into the “royal priesthood” of the Christian people, and shares in
the royal Priesthood of Christ Himself. He bears the image of Christ, inasmuch
as Christ was the Priest of all humanity, Who offered Himself in sacrifice on
the Cross.
The baptismal seal or character, therefore, endows the Christian with a
priestly function, and a priestly power. It is not that special power and
function given by the Sacrament of Holy Orders to certain selected members of
the Church, who are made her official ministers, and authorized to offer her
sacrifice and dispense her Sacraments. But it is the priestly function and
power which is common to all the members of the Body of Christ. As He was born
as Priest, His whole life orientated toward the Passion and Death which was His
priestly Sacrifice, so too, they are priests from their birth into the
Christian life at Baptism; and their lives are essentially orientated toward
sacrifice, in a double sense.
First of all, they receive a function and a power with respect to the
ritual Sacrifice of the Church, which is the Mass. [….] They are empowered to
assist actively in the offering of the Mass, as members of the Church, in whose
name her specially qualified members, priests and bishops, offer the Mass,
which is the sacrifice of the whole Church through her official ministers. In
union with the Priest, the Christian offers up Christ as a Victim Who belongs
to him and to Whom he belongs. An unbaptized person cannot do this….
Secondly, the baptismal character consecrates the Christian to
sacrifice in a wider sense: it gives him the function, the duty, the power to
lead a life of sacrifice, since He is in the image of Christ whose life was one
long sacrifice – a life of complete obedience to the will of His Father: “I
seek not My own will, but the will of Him Who sent Me” (Jn. 3:50).The will of
the Father is the supreme law of the Christian’s life; it is all embracing and
all pervasive; and constant and total obedience to it necessarily gives a
sacrificial quality to the whole of life, since it demands the renunciation of
many ideas, and a steady refusal to be led by one’s own emotions or to seek
one’s own pleasure and profit – in a word, it demands the sacrifice of
selfishness in all its forms. St. Peter, therefore, was thinking of Baptism
when he wrote:
“Lay aside therefore
all malice and all deceit, and pretense, and envy, and all slander…. Be you
yourselves as living stones, built thereon (i.e., on Christ) into a spiritual
house, a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices to God through Jesus
Christ” (1 Peter 2:1,5).
Rev. John J. Fernan, S.J., Theology, Christ Our High Priest, Baptismal
Seal
Pius XII - the man responsible for planting the seed of liturgical
destruction!
Fr. Annibale Bugnini had been making clandestine visits to the Centre
de Pastorale Liturgique (CPL), a progressivist conference centre for liturgical
reform which organized national weeks for priests.
Inaugurated in Paris in 1943 on the private initiative of two Dominican priests
under the presidency of Fr. Lambert Beauduin, it was a magnet for all who
considered themselves in the vanguard of the Liturgical Movement. It would play
host to some of the most famous names who influenced the direction of Vatican
II: Frs. Beauduin, Guardini, Congar, Chenu, Daniélou, Gy, von Balthasar, de
Lubac, Boyer, Gelineau etc.
It could, therefore, be considered as the confluence of all the forces
of Progressivism, which saved and re-established Modernism condemned by Pope
Pius X in Pascendi.
According to its
co-founder and director, Fr. Pie Duployé, OP, Bugnini had requested a
“discreet” invitation to attend a CPL study week held near Chartres in
September 1946.
Much more was
involved here than the issue of secrecy. The person whose heart beat as one
with the interests of the reformers would return to Rome to be placed by an
unsuspecting (?) Pope (Pius XII) in charge of his Commission for the General
Reform of the Liturgy.
But someone in the Roman Curia did
know about the CPL – Msgr.
Giovanni Battista Montini, the acting Secretary of State and future Paul VI –
who sent a telegram to the CPL dated January 3, 1947. It purported to come from
the Pope with an apostolic blessing. If, in Bugnini’s estimation, the
Roman authorities were to be kept in the dark about the CPL so as not to
compromise its activities, a mystery remains. Was the telegram issued under
false pretences, or did Pius XII really know and approve of the CPL? [.....]
This agenda (for liturgical reform) was set out as early as 1949 in the
Ephemerides Liturgicae, a leading
Roman review on liturgical studies of which Fr. Annabale Bugnini was Editor
from 1944 to 1965.
First, Bugnini denigrated
the traditional liturgy as a dilapidated building (“un vecchio edificio”),
which should be condemned because it was in danger of falling to pieces
(“sgretolarsi”) and, therefore, beyond repair. Then, he criticized it for its
alleged “deficiencies, incongruities and difficulties,” which rendered it
spiritually “sterile” and would prevent it appealing to modern sensibilities.
It is difficult to understand how, in the same year that he published this
anti-Catholic diatribe, he was made a Professor of Liturgy in Rome’s Propaganda
Fide (Propagation of the Faith) University. His solution was to return to the
simplicity of early Christian liturgies and jettison all subsequent
developments, especially traditional devotions.
These ideas expressed in 1949 would form the foundational principles of Vatican
II’s Sacrosanctum Concilium. For all practical purposes, the Roman Rite was
dead in the water many years before it was officially buried by Paul VI.
Dr.
Carol Byrne, How Bugnini Grew Up under
Pius XII
Wisdom
is only possible for those who hold DOGMA as the Rule of Faith!
Besides, every dogma of faith
is to the Catholic cultivated mind not only a new increase of knowledge, but
also an incontrovertible principle from which it is able to draw conclusions and
derive other truths. They present an endless field for investigation so that
the beloved Apostle St. John could write at the end of his Gospel, without fear
of exaggeration: “But there are also many other things which Jesus did: which
if they were written every one, the world itself, I think, would not be able to
contain the books that should be written.”
The Catholic Church, by
enforcing firm belief in her dogmas—which are not her inventions, but were
given by Jesus Christ—places them as a bar before the human mind to prevent it
from going astray and to attach it to the truth; but it does not prevent the
mind from exercising its functions when it has secured the treasure of divine
truth, and a “scribe thus instructed in the kingdom of heaven is truly like a
man that is a householder, who bringeth forth out of his treasure new things
and old.” He may bring forth new illustrations, new arguments and proofs; he
may show now applications of the same truths, according to times and
circumstances; he may show new links which connect the mysteries of religion
with each other or with the natural sciences as there can be no discord between
the true faith and true science; God, being the author of both, cannot
contradict Himself and teach something by revelation as true which He teaches
by the true light of reason as false. In all these cases the householder
“brings forth from his treasure new things and old.” They are new inasmuch as
they are the result of new investigations; and old because they are contained
in the old articles of faith and doctrine as legitimate deductions from their
old principles.
Fr. Joseph Prachensky, S.J.,
The Church of Parables and True Spouse of the Suffering Saviour, on the Parable
of the Scribe
Baptism imprints
in your soul a spiritual character, which no sin can efface. This character is
a proof that from this time you do not belong to yourself, but that you are the
property of Jesus Christ, who has purchased you by the infinite price of his
blood and of his death. You are not of yourself, but you are of Christ;
wherefore, St. Paul concludes, “that the Christian should no longer live for
himself, but for Him who died and rose again for him;” that is to say, that the
Christian should live a life of grace, and that he should consecrate to his
Redeemer his spirit, his heart, and all his actions. […..]
First, is true penance; for, as the holy Council of Trent teaches,
penance is no less necessary for those who have sinned after Baptism, than
Baptism is necessary for those who have not received it. The Holy Scripture
informs us, that there are two gates by which we are to enter into
heaven—baptismal innocence, and penance. When a Christian has shut against
himself the gate of innocence, in violating the holy promises of Baptism, it is
necessary that he should strive to enter by that of penance; otherwise there is
no salvation for him. On this account, Jesus Christ, speaking of persons who
have lost innocence, says to them: “Unless you do penance, you shall all
perish.”
But in order that penance may prevent us from perishing—it must be true
Penance. Confessors may be deceived by the false appearance of conversion, and
it is too often the case; but God is never deceived. If, therefore, those who
receive absolution are not truly penitent and worthy of pardon, their sins are
not forgiven before God. In order to do true penance, it is not sufficient to
confess all our sins and to fulfill what is enjoined on us by the priest. There
are two other things which are necessary: First; to renounce sin with all your
heart, and for all your life… and second; to fly the occasions of sin, and to
use the means to avoid it.
St. John Eudes, Man’s Contract
with God in Baptism
Again, in the Office
for the feasts of our Lady, the Church applies the words of Sirach to
the Blessed Virgin and thus gives us to understand that in her we find all
hope: In me is all hope of life and of virtue. In Mary is every
grace: In me is all grace of the way and of the truth. In Mary we
shall find life and eternal salvation: Those who serve me shall never
fail. Those who explain me shall have life everlasting (Sir. 24:25,
30, 31--- Vulgate). And in the Book of Proverbs: Those who find me find life
and win favor from the Lord (8:35). Surely such expressions are enough to
prove that we require the intercession of Mary.
St. Alphonsus de
Liguori, The Glories of Mary
THE NOVUS ORDO CHURCH OF SLOTH
AND ENVY
The first effect of
charity is joy in the goodness of God. But this joy can only live through the
union of man’s will with God in charity. And charity demands that man keep all
the commandments. Charity demands a fellowship in good between God and man.
When the effort to live in this fellowship in good begins to appear too
difficult to man he begins to be sorrowful about the infinite goodness of God.
This sorrow weighs down the spirit of man and leads him to neglect good. This
sorrow is the sin of sloth, sorrow about the goodness of God. Sloth is a
capital sin. It leads men into other sins. To avoid the sorrow or weariness of
spirit which is sloth men will turn from God to the sinful pleasures of the
world.
When a man falls victim
to sloth and is sorrowful because of the goodness of God it is only natural
that he will begin to be grieved also at the manifestation of the goodness of
God in other men. He will resent good men simply because they are good. This
resentment is envy, hatred of someone else’s good. Since the love of our
neighbor flows from our love of God, it is natural that when we cease to love
God’s goodness, we will also begin to hate the goodness of men. Envy, like
sloth, is a capital sin. It will lead men to commit other sins to destroy the
goodness of their neighbors.
When a man’s heart is
filled with sloth and envy the interior peace of his soul which was the effect of
charity is destroyed. The loss of the interior peace leads to the destruction
of the peace of society. When a man’s heart is no longer centered in God, then
his life loses all proper direction. When the love of God is gone he has
nothing left but the love of himself. When a man loves himself without loving
God then he can brook no opposition to his own judgment or arbitrary will. He
can tolerate goodness in no one else. He will even, by the sin of scandal, by
his own words and example, lead other men into sin. He must disagree with all
men. He must dispute with them, separate himself from them, quarrel with them,
go to war with them, set the whole of the community at war with itself.
Wherever the goodness
of God is most manifest, there will the heart of the man who no longer loves
God be most energetic in sowing the seeds of discord, contentiousness, strife
and war. That is why religion and the true Church of God are so viciously
attacked in the world today. Those who do not love God are driven by sloth and
envy to attack God’s tabernacle on earth.
Fr. Walter Farrell and
Fr. Martin Healy, My Way of Life, Pocket
Edition of St. Thomas
Amoris Laetitia was published in 2016. No answer or corrective action to
this "appeal" was ever made. That is because no clarification was
ever needed. Why? That is because the "numerous propositions in Amoris
Laetitia (that) can be construed as heretical upon the natural reading of the
text" is exactly what the author intended! So in 2016 these
"academics and pastors" did "not accusing the pope of heresy",
but what about now?
“Amoris
Laetitia.... scandalous, erroneous in faith, and ambiguous...”
Catholic academics and
pastors appeal to the College of Cardinals over Amoris Laetitia
A
group of Catholic academics and pastors has submitted an appeal to Cardinal
Angelo Sodano, Dean of the College of Cardinals in Rome, requesting that the
Cardinals and Eastern Catholic Patriarchs petition His Holiness, Pope Francis,
to repudiate a list of erroneous propositions that can be drawn from a natural
reading of the post-synodal Apostolic Exhortation Amoris laetitia. During the coming weeks this submission will be
sent in various languages to every one of the Cardinals and Patriarchs, of whom
there are 218 living at present.
Describing the exhortation as containing
“a number of statements that can be understood in a sense that is contrary to
Catholic faith and morals,” the signatories submitted, along with their appeal,
a documented list of applicable theological censures specifying “the nature and
degree of the errors that could be attributed to Amoris laetitia.”
Among
the 45 signatories are Catholic prelates, scholars, professors, authors, and
clergy from various pontifical universities, seminaries, colleges, theological
institutes, religious orders, and dioceses around the world. They have asked
the College of Cardinals, in their capacity as the Pope’s official advisers, to
approach the Holy Father with a request that he repudiate “the errors listed in
the document in a definitive and final manner, and to authoritatively state
that Amoris laetitia does not require
any of them to be believed or considered as possibly true.”
“We
are not accusing the pope of heresy,” said a spokesman for the authors, “but we
consider that numerous propositions in Amoris
laetitia can be construed as heretical upon a natural reading of the text.
Additional statements would fall under other established theological censures,
such as scandalous, erroneous in faith, and ambiguous, among others.” [......]
Atheists are really
anti-theists. They oppose the God who is God with an idol of their own making.
No atheist chooses merely
to deny God. For the atheist’s spiritual posture against God is at the same
time his posture in preference for some other Being above God. As he dismisses
the true God he is welcoming his New God. Why must this be so? Because every
personal commitment of man presupposes, deep in the metaphysical core of his
being, a hunger for being as truth and goodness. Man is intrinsically burdened
with an incurable hunger for transcendence. If being abhors a vacuum, the
vacuum it most violently shrinks from is the total absence of Infinite Being.
And history demonstrates that man is inconsolable without the True God.
Fr. Vincent Miceli,
S.J., The Gods of Atheism
‘When
men choose not to believe in God, they do not thereafter believe in nothing,
they believe in anything.’
There are men who will
ruin themselves and ruin their civilization if they may ruin also this old
fantastic tale (of the Catholic faith). This is the last and most astounding
fact about this faith; that its enemies will use any weapon against it, the
sword that cuts their own fingers, and the firebrands that burn their own
homes. … (The atheist fanatic) sacrifices the very existence of humanity to the
non-existence of God. He offers his victims not to the altar, but merely to
assert the idleness of the altar and the emptiness of the throne. He is ready
to ruin even that primary ethic by which all things live, for his strange and
eternal vengeance upon some one who (he affirms) never lived at all.
G. K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy
“Cultivate a great
desire to be firmly rooted in the sublime virtue of confidence. Do not fear, but be courageous in
serving and loving our Most Adorable and Amiable Jesus, with great perfection
and holiness. Undertake courageously great tasks for His glory, in proportion
to the power and grace He will give you for this end. Even though you can do
nothing of yourself, you can do all things in Him and His help will never fail
you, if you have confidence
in His goodness. Place your entire physical and spiritual welfare in His
hands. Abandon to the paternal solicitude of His Divine Providence every care
for your health, reputation, property and business, for those near to you, for
your past sins, for your soul’s progress in virtue and love of Him, for your
life, death, and especially for your salvation and eternity, in a word, all
your cares. Rest in the
assurance that, in His pure goodness, He will watch with particular
tenderness over all your responsibilities and cares and dispose all things for
the greatest good.”
St. John Eudes, The Life and Kingdom of Jesus in Christian
Souls
Cardinal Burke
offers the correction for two mistranslations in the English publication of the
Motu proprio of Pope Francis, “TRADITIONIS CUSTODES”
Art. 1. The liturgical books promulgated by Saint Paul VI (sic) and
Saint John Paul II (sic), in conformity with the decrees of Vatican Council II,
are the unique only expression of
the lex orandi of the Roman Rite.
Art. 4. Priests ordained after the publication of the present Motu
Proprio, who wish to celebrate using the Missale Romanum of 1962, should must submit a formal
request to the diocesan Bishop who shall consult the Apostolic See before
granting this authorization.
"Not a
stone upon a stone" - 9th Sunday after Pentecost
The 'Western Wall' (Wailing Wall) in Jerusalem
is held by Jews as a remnant of Herod's Temple destroyed by the Romans in 72
A.D. Yet, Jesus prophesized not only that the Temple would be destroyed but
also that there would not remain a "stone upon a stone." So how is it
that there remains a large wall on the western side at the south end of the
'Temple Mount'? Some Catholics claim the prophecy of Jesus was referring only
to the edifice itself and not the entire foundation for the Temple. Jesus words
must be taken in literally unless there it is clearly manifest that the
metaphorical sense is intended exclusively. Therefore, the 'Wailing Wall' where
the Jews worship is not a remnant of the ancient Temple, and the 'Temple
Mount', on which is currently situated the Al-Aqsa mosque and the "Dome of
the Rock", is not the location of the Temple destroyed in 72 A.D. The 36
acre 'Temple Mount' is actually the location of the Roman fortress Antonia
built by Herod.
What
is the evidence for this? The current popular claim is the fortress Antonia was
located on a five-acre section on the north-west side of the 'Temple Mount'
while the Temple occupied the remaining 30 acres. Five acres is far too small
to accommodate a Roman legion (6,000 soldiers plus auxiliary staff) which we
know from the writings of Flavius Josephus that the fortress Antonia did in
fact hold. Many Roman fortresses have been examined by archeologists and they
typically are between 45 and 55 acres but some are as small as 36 acres. As far
as the area needed for the Temple of Herod itself, consider this, the ancient
pagan temple complex at Baalek in Lebanon built by the Romans is less than six
acres in total area and encloses the largest temple to Jupiter in the Roman
Empire as well as a smaller temple dedicated to Bacchus and another to Venus.
The Temple built by Herod was a single temple and much smaller in overall
dimensions.
Furthermore,
when Solomon was designated by King David to succeed him (3 Kings 1), King
David directed the prophet Nathan and the high priest Sadoc to take Solomon on
the king's mule to be anointed king at the "Gihon spring" with oil
taken from the tabernacle. The Gihon spring is located in the City of David
directly south and adjacent to the present-day 'Temple Mount'. There Solomon
was anointed with oil taken from the Tabernacle, proclaimed king and celebrated
by the populace with great jubilation and the sounding of trumpets that could
be heard outside the city. The Temple built by Solomon was in the same location
as the Tabernacle established by King David on the threshing floor of the land
he purchased Areuna the Jebusite as God had commanded by the mouth of Gad (2
Kings 24 and 2 Paralipomenon 3:1).
The
water from the Gihon spring was essential for the sacrificial offerings of the
Temple. There is no living water source on the 'Temple Mount' which was
required in the washing of the priests and the sacrifices offered. The water
source for the Antonia fortress was provided by large cisterns located just
north of the Antonia fortress and under the 'Temple Mount' that are still
present today.
There
is a Catholic tradition the there was a church called the Church of the
Judgment that was built over and enclosed the Rock that is now enclosed under
the Dome of the Rock built by the Moslems in 692 A.D. The Dome of the Rock is located
directly north of the Al-Aqsa mosque on the 'Temple Mount'. The Church of the
Judgment was destroyed either by the Persians who conquered Jerusalem in 614
A.D. with the help of 26,000 Jewish allies during the Byzantine-Sasanian War
602-628 A.D. (during which many churches were destroyed including the Church of
the Ascension on Mount Olivet), or the church was destroyed by the Moslems who
conquered Jerusalem in 637 A.D. No living Jew at the time would have knowledge
of the exact location of Herod's Temple because the Jews were forbidden to
enter Jerusalem by the Romans since the Bar Kokhba revolt in 135 A.D. on the
pain of death. Two hundred years later, the Catholic emperor Constantine
permitted the Jews to enter Jerusalem once a year on the feast of Tisha B'Av
(the ninth of Av) which is regarded as the saddest day in the Jewish calendar
because it is the anniversary of the destruction of both the Temple of Solomon
and the Temple of Herod! Be that as it may, many of the pillars used in the
construction of the interior of the Dome of the Rock have Christian markings
indicating that they were salvaged from a destroyed Catholic church.
The
Rock itself is regarded (WIKI) as The Foundation Stone (Hebrew אֶבֶן
הַשְּׁתִיָּה, romanized: ʾEḇen
haŠeṯīyyā, lit. 'Foundation Stone'), or the Noble
Rock (Arabic:الصخرة
المشرفة, romanized: al-Saḵrah al-Mušarrafah, lit. 'The
Noble Stone') is the rock enclosed by the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. It is
also known as the Pierced Stone, because it has a small hole on the
southeastern corner that enters a cavern beneath the rock, known as the Well of
Souls. Traditional Jewish sources mention the stone as the place from
which the creation of the world began. Jewish sources also identify its
location with that of the Holy of Holies. Yet, it is not possible for a
threshing floor to be around a large rock or stone.
Before
the Muslim conquest, the Rock was enclosed in the Catholic church known as the
Church of the Judgment (destroyed by the Persians) because it is believed to have
been the place where the condemned stood to hear the judgment against them by
the Roman authorities. The Rock is held to be where Jesus stood when His
official condemnation was decreed by Pontius Pilate and thus, if it is the
stone where the "creation of the world began," it is the stone from
which the creation of the world began anew. John 19:13 says: "Now when
Pilate had heard these words, he brought Jesus forth, and sat down in the
judgment seat, in the place that is called Lithostrotos, and in Hebrew
Gabbatha." Lithostrotos in Greek refers to a stone and Gabbatha in Hebrew
an elevated place. According to St. Mary Agreda after Jesus was condemned by
Pilate the decree of condemnation, which she quotes in its entirety, was then
formally read to the Jewish mob assembled outside the north entrance to
Fortress Antonia where Jesus was taken to bear His cross.
Of
the Temple of Herod destroyed in 72 A.D. there does not remain a "stone
upon a stone".
Leo XIV Reinstates Convicted
Child-Porn Priest who was protected by Francis
Carlo Alberto Capella was
Vatican diplomat who was convicted by a Vatican tribunal of possessing and
sharing child pornography. Capella admitted guilt to the charges. He is the
only one who has served a prison sentence in the Vatican jail for this crime or
for any sexually related crime against minors.
Monsignor
Capella was ordained a priest in 1993 for the Archdiocese of Milan. After
studies of canon law he entered the Vatican diplomatic corps. He was
assigned to the papal nunciature in India in 2003 and to the nunciature in Hong
Kong in 2007. In 2008 he was created Chaplain of His Holiness, which entitled him to the title
of Monsignor. In 2011 he was transferred to the Vatican to serve in
the Secretariat of State. In 2016 he was assigned to the papal nunciature to
the United States.
In
2017, Capella was recalled to the Vatican by Pope Francis after United
States officials informed the Vatican that he was under investigation for
possession and sharing of child pornography. The government of Canada has
issued a warrant for his arrest, alleging that during his time in Canada in
December, 2016 he had possessed and shared child pornography. He was returned
to the Vatican which claimed diplomatic immunity for Capella protecting him
from prosecution in the United State or Canada.
In
2018, he was convicted and sentenced to five years in prison, which he served
in the Vatican jail. As of 2021, he was allowed out during the day to work in
an office that sells papal blessings. In 2023, following the end of his prison
sentence, Capella was permitted to return to work in the Vatican Secretariat of
State. Now Pope Leo XIV has reinstated
Msgr. Capella to a senior diplomatic position in the Vatican Secretariat of
State.
COMMENT: Pope Leo is protégé of Francis to whom he owns his promotions
to bishop and cardinal. It was Francis who protected this pervert from criminal
charges in the United States and in Canada and now it is Francis' protégé who
has restored him the a high level position in the Vatican. This does not
portend well for any serious reform of the Novus Ordo Church which has become a
sinecure for homosexuals and others perverts.
From Tradition
In Action:
You don't have
to be a liturgical EXPERT to see that there is no essential difference in the act!
The question
is: Is there any essential difference
in the actors?
Top: St. Patrick Catholic Church, Chatham, New Jersey, August 22, 2021
Bottom:
First Lutheran Church, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, July 6, 2025
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