The Inspired Traditionalist

Mom & Dad's 50th Wedding Anniversary

2010-09-26T17:22:00.000-04:00

It's been a Long Long Time

2010-09-18T17:02:00.002-04:00

Hmm Where do I begin?

I have not posted anything in over a year
I would like to get back into "Blogger World" again, but I am not promisng miracles
I haven't surfed blogger world either and I have to see what everyone has been up to and if any of you still remember me, lol

What have I been up to??
Well since the birth of my beautiful grandaughter Kaylie, I have been virtually living in her world, lol. Mind you it is very hard to resist.

She is the most wonderful little blessing.
Never have I had so much fun with such a cutie pie as she
Grandparenthood is much more relaxing than parenthood and I can attest to that even now, lol

I think when you become a grandparent you are more mature and you are more relaxed.

Well I could go on and on about her and I don't want to bore you all
I will put some pictures up of her because that's a grandma's right, lol
We love to show off pics

Oh yeah and I have just recently lost my fourth job in the past 7 plus years and I have a little more time on my hands so maybe I can constructively utilize my time in more ways than one

So maybe this is a return....we will see how this goes
Keep me in your prayers, please!

Birthday Wishes

2009-07-16T09:36:00.003-04:00

A Very Happy Birthday To Tom Fitzpatrick of Recta Ratio.
Have a great Day and treat yourself to something good
You deserve it and work so hard, so enjoy a treat or two or more...... today

Welcome Kaylie Jade!!!

2009-06-01T09:43:00.001-04:00

My granddaughter, Kaylie Jade, was born on May 21, at 12:02 pm, measuring 19.5 inches and weighing 6 pounds and 11 ounces. She is steadily gaining and growing in alertness (and not sleeping much). She and her mom are doing fine (though more sleep would help). She is a joy and a blessing (even though she doesn't sleep as much as anyone would like!).
God bless her.

Please pray for us all!

In Just A Six Month Span....

2009-03-04T14:21:00.003-05:00

We have been very busy this past 6 months or so

My daughter has had a very difficult pregnancy
She has been in and out of the hospital and been dehydrated. she has had to have IV's to replace fluids and medication for severe migranes due to vomitting

She has actually lost weight during her pregnancy and has been very sick
Now the vomitting is settling down but she still sick a few times a week, but trust me this is much better than what she was going through, with hours of constant illness
Food is going in very slowly now, but she is still able to eat now where we are not concerned for her or the baby's health

She has been sent to Yale (a big specialty hospital in Connecticut)and she has had several ultrasounds and all is well so far
The baby hasn't been cooperating enough to turn so the doctors can see her heart completely so this is why they keep trying with the 5 ultrasounds and now # 6 scheduled for next week
She is so very active the doctors have a hard time getting pictures of her
I think she is going to be a handful for momma, lol

My son had some surgery as well. He had a very bad infection in his mouth, due to a bad wisdom tooth. They had to actually scrape and remove part of the jaw bone. He lost 35 pounds from not being able to eat. He ended up with TMJ as well.

This Mom has been a very worried mom, but, been praying like crazy
I think I have invoked every saint imaginable lately from St Gerard, to Saint Monica, to Saint Pellegrine and of course our Blessed Mother's ears have probably had heard enough by now, lol

My dad also had surgery in this span of the past six months
I was a bit scary for a while but he is doing well

I have had two surgeries as well and I am likely to have a third one soon

I would really appreciate the prayers
I am so grateful for all the prayers so far from everyone and all the kindness
Blogger world has some pretty terrific people

Also, both of my children have moved, thank goodness in the area, and I can still see them frequently. This has been a great thing for both of my kids. They are very happy in their new homes and I am extremely happy for them.

We are getting ready for a baby shower at the end of the month
BTW, we are having a baby girl...Kaylie
I am so excited
I can hardly wait for her to get here
She is due to make her presence know on May 15th
Oh... I am sure she won't be spoiled,lol

So as you can see I kind of have an excuse for being a slacker blogger
I really have some things I would like to get out there to post and hope to do so soon

Please continue to pray for my family
We don't have any big serious issues, Thank God and to The Blessed Mother, St Gerard and all the saints we have been praying for their intercession

2008-09-29T16:06:00.002-04:00

I have just found out that I am going to be a grandma, actually I am a grandma.

My daughter,Ashley, is expecting her first child at the end of May, early June.

Please keep her in your prayers for a healthy pregnancy.

She is having a good bout of "morning sickness" right now.
She looks a little green
We know this is a good sign that everything is progressing normally.

Now, I have been a "Slacker Blogger", can you just imagine when the baby comes?

Wow! How life gets busy.

We are so excited as first time grandparents can be.

RIP Fr. Fitzpatrick

2008-07-22T14:14:00.010-04:00

This past Sunday Fr. Kevin Fitzpatrick passed away from complications due to recent surgery. This is a huge loss.

Thank You for all your prayers and please continue to pray for his soul

See the Web site for directions

http://www.stjohnsstamford.com/directions.htm

For the Funeral Services
http://www.funeralquestions.com/obits/cognetta/memorial.asp?listing_id=112039

Also you can see the St. Gregory Society Web Site for info
http://www.saint-gregory.org/

Requiescat in Pace

Happy Birthday

2008-07-16T08:00:00.000-04:00

July 16 2008

Happy Birthday wishes and prayers to Tom Fitzpatrick of Recta Ratio

Whom happens NOT to be an OLD Man, lol

Happy Birthday Partner!

Prayer Request

2008-07-07T10:57:00.002-04:00

I know I have become a slacker blogger

I need to ask you to please keep in your prayers a very Tradtional Priest who says Mass at Sacred Heart Church where I attend Mass

His name is Fr. Kevin Fitzpatrick

Father has been a wonderful supporter of The St. Gregory Society in New Haven, Connecticut

He was taken to the hospital and had surgery and we were told it was serious

Please keep him in your prayers

Have I been Slacker Blogger or What???

2008-02-23T14:11:00.002-05:00

Well I haven't been doing too much out here in "Blogger World"
I have been reading and doing my usual Lenten prayers.
Not too much else!

I ask for you to keep my Mom in your prayers who has been practically bed ridden for the past seven weeks. She has just been able to get out for Sunday Mass in the past two weeks and she pays the price for it for several days at least.

This has all be due to a problem with her back. She is seeing a new doctor this week coming up and will hopefully be getting some injections to help illeviate her pain and make her more mobile

She has had a rough beginning to the year. Last year she had two heart attacks.
She doesn't complain a bit. A real trooper

I will try to become a better blogger after Lent, lol

Hope all of you are doing well???

Pass the word along!!!!

2008-01-29T09:59:00.000-05:00

Holy Trinity in Boston, Now has the Traditional Mass again!!
February 10th at 9:00am

They have been without this Mass for a long time.
It is now earlier in the day as well, allowing for folks to start there day out with Mass early instead of waiting all day to go to Mass.

See how the triumphant hand of Our Blessed Mother prevails!!!

Respect and Traditionalism

2008-01-25T10:52:00.000-05:00

I have been involved in some discussions lately on respect, especially in the instances of women.

It seems that murders involving women have been a huge topic of discussion, that seems to have people questioning the safety and respect of human life

Maria Lauterbach was a young pregnant marine who lost her life violently, as well as the life of her unborn baby.

There was an incident in a town close to where I live, where two men raped and murdered a doctor's wife and his two daughters

In the discussions I have been involved in, opened the oppportunity for me to bring up our faith and the respect which Our Lord has for His Mother and how men should model His example.

Also in reference to respectability, how the Catholic faith has the only two examples of respect for both species of the sexes.

Mary is our model for woman and Jesus for our men

If we follow that love and respect that they had for each other then there wouldn't be any senseless murders or disrespect for human beings at all.

It is seen especially in the Traditional Mass. Altar servers assisting women from the altar rails after receiving communion is a prime example of treating a woman like a "lady". Now that is respect.
Do you see this occur anywhere else?
Of course also, we see in our churches how the mother of a bride and bridegroom is walked down the aisle.

Woman who wear veils or head coverings show the respect for Jesus, and in turn we also get respect, respect that we deserve. We are not distractions when we cover one of our most precious and beautiful aspects of our womanhood. Instead we focus on what we are in that church for, and that is praise and worship of God.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

2007-12-20T15:16:00.000-05:00

We all tend to be very busy at least I know I have been.

I would like to take the time to wish all a Very Merry Christmas

We have been very blessed with the Motu Proprio this year and I have enjoyed watching the expansion of The Mass.

Connecticut has been very blessed with wonderful priests here that are willing to say the Traditional Mass for us

We have been given a wonderful "early" Christmas present, Thanks to our Holy Father.
Please keep him in your daily prayers along with our priests, who are extremely busy at this time of the year.

So as all of us are busy with preparations for Christmas please don't forget to remember those less fortunate, those suffering from illness or depression or financial difficulties and may be unemployed
We may not be able to give monetarily, but our prayers are so much more the beneficial for them.

God Bless and Merry Christmas and A Very Happy New year!

Preparing For Christmas

2007-12-01T11:09:00.000-05:00

Everywhere we go we see signs at this time of the year, letting us know how many shopping days are left until Christmas.

Every Year that goes by we are reminded of how to be "politically correct" in regard to the "Holidays".

Now we wouldn't want to offend anyone now would we
Can't put a creche up at work, now certain places can't have a "Christmas Tree".

Well I am offended and that doesn't matter though, does it?
Most Christians would agree with me that "Christmas" is not celebrated correctly

Heck, most Catholics don't prepare properly either and get caught up in the materialism of the Season

Prepare for the coming of the Lord.
What happened to "good old prayer"

Do we have Advent Wreaths in our homes and a Jesse Tree possibly?

Those are much more important than those despicable blow up lawn decorations that I despise
I tell people that I wish I had one of those dart shooters and every lawn displaying those despicable sights I could pop them as I drive by, putting a whole new meaning to "drive by shootings", lol

Oh and if I see "Merry X-Mas" I just want to scream!!!!!

I suggest that we establish family prayer and maybe on Christmas day having a cake and singing "Happy Birthday to Jesus". Let's give our children the right message.

Here below just gives some things that you and your family can do to prepare for the birth of Our Savior
Fish Eaters has some great stuff. alos there are feast days to be observed and don't forforget that Christmas doesn't end after we open our gifts on Christmas Day
Don't take those trees down yet!

http://www.fisheaters.com/customsadvent1.html
http://www.fisheaters.com/customsadvent2.html
http://www.fisheaters.com/adventcribs.html
http://www.fisheaters.com/adventcribs.html
http://www.fisheaters.com/customsadvent9.html
http://www.fisheaters.com/customsadvent12.html
http://www.fisheaters.com/customsadvent12.html
http://www.fisheaters.com/customsadvent10.html

Very Exciting News

2007-11-13T11:39:00.000-05:00

The Traditional Latin Mass coming to a location near ME!!!!!

And will be said by Fr. Cipolla.

Fr. Cipolla says Mass now at Sacred Heart in New Haven, where I attend mass
This trip is about 40 minutes every Sunday

I hope that we get a large outcome. Fr. gives the most wonderful homilies and the Mass is so very beautiful
I am looking forward to this

The Mass will be celebrated here very close to my home
on November 18th at 6pm in Waterbury, Connecticut
The Immaculate Conception
This is only ten minutes from my home

I wish only that this could be a morning Mass, but I sure won't complain for now, lol

Please come and join us and support the Mass

Where Have I Been??

2007-10-16T16:10:00.000-04:00

Ok I have not been a very good girl when it comes to taking care of my site here!!

I have been having a great time with making crafts and going to craft fairs and apple picking, and doing all kinds of preserving and canning. I also crochet and have been busy making presents for Christmas

I owe my daughter a blanket that I have been putting off....so I need to make sure that it is done for Christmas. Bad Ginny...this should have been her birthday gift

And speaking of that beautiful young woman!!!
Happy Birthday to you, today at the wonderful age of 19.....and as you make your Mom older and older...Thanks!! LOL

I also don't have internet service at the moment so this makes it difficult to post as well

I am not gone just lighter blogging in the next few months

Hope everyone is well in Blogosphere!!!

Been Busy, Very Busy

2007-09-08T15:00:00.000-04:00

Since I no longer have internet access at home I have been getting a lot accomplished. I have read three books on Padre Pio and all I can say is WOW!

Well that is not true. I have learned so many things about this wonderful saint. He was truly a priest that many priests would have longed to be like. I think he is a great role model for all priests. He endured so much, and did so without any second thought to himself. He truly took on the role of "shephard". The spiritual children he accepted were truly his concern. Their well being and their souls were truly what he lived for. Now how many priests can say that they put their faithful in front of themselves? Or for that matter, how many of us can say we put others before ourselves as well.

He even went as far as to write to his spiritual children and tell them that he cared and needed to know how they were doing! Amazing! a true loving soul!

I have to say if you have never read books on St. Pio, then don't deny yourself the opportunity.

I have been also getting crafts ready for a fair at the end of the month.
I am looking forward to a good showing and unlike the fair I attended in August.........
Well let's just say that it was unprofitable
Well I hope everyone is having a wonderful end of the summer
I am looking forward to the Fall. My favorite time of year
Can't wait to go apple picking and can apples, and applesauces and apple butter
Yummy!!!!!!

Computer Issues Again!! UGHHH

2007-08-07T18:10:00.000-04:00

I haven't been posting lately due to computer issues, let's just say!

I have found a comfortable seat (cough, cough) at the Libray and have been jonesing to post for a while.

Well it has been a month now and since th news of the Motu Proprio there have been some interesting articles. Some good and some, not so good.

A priest about 10 minutes from where I live, Bethlehem Ct. is possibly going to say the Tridentine Mass.

I lived in Bethlehem for about 6-7 years after moving from Staten Island, NY.

As of now Fr. Looney, whom I am also familiar with, is offerring a Novus Ordo "Latin Mass"
There is a very good possiblility that he may start saying the Tridentine Rite using the 1962 Missal. Please keep this one in your prayers. This will make for a much closer commute for me. I now travel about 40 minutes to hear Mass, and ten minutes would be wonderful

I have also read an article, about a local priest who is not in as much favor, of the Mass being revitalized and encouraged. His statement was that he was certain that there wasn't a real need for the Mass of 1962 and that the people want to feel like they belong and it isn't possible with the Tridentine Mass. He thinks it will prove to be futile.

Now most of you that have gotten to know me, know that I am working on my sarcasim. I really try, but sometimes I slip.......
I will try and give it a whirl, here goes...
It is obvious through my observations of this priest that he is very liberal
Hence, the dyed hair and the the trying.... to fit into the "groove" with the teenagers
He actually thinks it is ok to promote rock videos as a way of relating to our faith with the teens
Hey Padre, how about some great Patron Saints as Heroes??
OPPPPs there goes that sarcasm, darn
Needless to say, you can imagine how I feel about that?

I am disturbed at the priests who don't have the same respect as they should toward the Mass of pre-Vatican II. In fact I think that they should encourage the Pope .....and well, some are just not doing so.
Wasn't there supposed to be a vow of obedience somewhere in here?
Oh dear, did that sound sarcastic...oooppps!
You see by not encouraging and making it sound that this is not so meaningful is very degrading and offensive to the Traditonal Catholic and also not very Christian as well
Actually, it puts me in the occasion of sin. I don't want to criticize a priest, but I also want to get my point across on my feelings.
They neglect to think, oh how that is so common among us all.
We forget to think of what our action, reponses and lack of responses does to affect the other person
So now as we continue this struggle to keep our Tradional Faith growing and encouraged, continue praying to the Blessed Mother and the Holy Ghost for help in changing our ways

In The Words of St Ambrose.....

2007-07-09T07:00:00.000-04:00

Summorum Pontificum
In discussions, this brings me to some thoughts that we should consider:

People have been saying that they can't even get their family members to support them in this celebration. They act like "big deal", who cares!

They have responded to "Ask someone to come to a Mass" with you, "Well, If I can't even get a family member to come to show support for me, or what this stands for in the church, then what, "get someone who doesn't give a hoot about you to go with you"? HAH!

Yes this can be very discouraging. It is a real let down to want to share this with your loved ones and they act like you were discussing the weather with them. This is HUGE to you, but they don't understand that. Yes, you are overjoyed and you feel stifled and can't express this with them It is a major shame. This is "BIG" to Traditionalists, folks! It is if you had a baby, or some other important landmark in your life, and can't share it with them! Imagine the Heartache!

So we have to continue to take this into consideration. To know that they are, and I hate to use this word, but they are ignorant to our blessings and graces.

We have to try. We have to continue to pray! Prayer is what got us to this point July 7th, 2007 We can't move mountains in one day!

So Now, onto something else that is not a case of ignorance

In the words of St Ambrose:

"Ignorance is no excuse when we have neglected to learn what we are obliged to know"

Then there were discussions and thoughts about how once the priest start acting on this, and trying to expand the Mass and Sacraments , they can find themselves meeting up with an "unworthy opponent".

This will happen, of course

I know that I don't want to think about this but........The reality of this is factual.

There are going to be Bishops that don't want any part of this Summorum Pontificum.

Before they go ahead and send these beautiful priests off to "for the better of his vocation", or "It is the needs of......." is why he was sent to the Hospital as a chaplain", or "Prison Chaplain", or......I think you see where I am coming from...

Remember those words........You will have to answer to........WHO??????

Remember who the Judge is? It is not yourself

You won't be fooling anyone here either!

Even if you think in your own mind that you are justifying it you can't. HE KNOWS!

REJOICE! Sing Te Deum

2007-07-08T09:30:00.000-04:00

Today we should sing Te Deum

We should be celebrating and Rejoicing in this good news!

Let's continue our prayers and especially those of Thanksgivings for the blessing that has been bestowed upon us

Thank God, our Blessed Mother and All the Angels and Saints

Thank The Holy Father for his fiat. He indeed said Yes!!

I would love to here about what your celebration plans are.

Share the news with people and maybe ask someone

to come along with you to a Mass

This is the time to encourage other Catholics

to come see what the celebrating is all about

Also, see an interview conducted by Gerald

At Closed Cafeteria by Bishop Cordileone who

came to Connecticut to celebrate Mass in

Stamford's St Mary's Parish

Thank You Holy Father

2007-07-07T08:00:00.000-04:00

Well, Here it is What we have all been so patiently waiting for
Summorum Pontificum

There are so many sites that will be giving us their interpretations and so many news sites to link to to get the latest information.

See Letter Below from Catholic World News

RORATE CAELI

Thank You Holy Father for this wonderful gift!

We have been waiting two years for this blessing!

This is what Traditional Catholics have been praying for!

Our Prayers have been answered! Praise Be God!

Thank You God Our Father!

Thank You Blessed Mother! For Your intervention, we know this would not have been possible without you

Thank You to All the Priests, Bishops and Cardinals for your support and Encouragement of This Motu Proprio

This is indeed and very special Occasion and Celebration and Thanksgivings are in full swing today and in the upcoming weeks

Prayers will continue!

This is one of the happiest days of My Life!

Because we have been given New spiritual Life today!

What more can Traditionalists, or Catholics ask for on this Special Day!

I am choked up aand at a loss for words. There is nothing that could have made my day more happy than this at this time.

Your Holiness, You are a man of integrity, of true living faith, a shepherd we can count on, a man who deserves complete respect, a true servant of Christ....and so much more

I will increase my prayers for you with such fervor.

Thank You! Bless You! Holy Father! I Love You! I Truly do! Tears of Joy, roll down our faces!

We are so VERY proud of your courage and strength!

APOSTOLIC LETTER SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM

OF THE SUPREME PONTIFF BENEDICT XVI

GIVEN MOTU PROPRIO

INTRODUCTION:

Unofficial Vatican Information Service Translation, amended where needed]It has been the constant concern of the Supreme Pontiffs, and up to the present time, to ensure that the Church of Christ offers a worthy ritual to the Divine Majesty, 'to the praise and glory of His name,' and 'to the benefit of all His Holy Church.'Since time immemorial it has been necessary - as it is also for the future - to maintain the principle according to which 'each particular Church must concur with the universal Church, not only as regards the doctrine of the faith and the sacramental signs, but also as regards the usages universally accepted by uninterrupted apostolic tradition, which must be observed not only to avoid errors but also to transmit the integrity of the faith, because the Church's law of prayer corresponds to her law of faith.'

(1)Among the pontiffs who showed that requisite concern, particularly outstanding is the name of St. Gregory the Great, who made every effort to ensure that the new peoples of Europe received both the Catholic faith and the treasures of worship and culture that had been accumulated by the Romans in preceding centuries. He commanded that the form of the sacred liturgy as celebrated in Rome (concerning both the Sacrifice of Mass and the Divine Office) be conserved. He took great concern to ensure the dissemination of monks and nuns who, following the Rule of St. Benedict, together with the announcement of the Gospel illustrated with their lives the wise provision of their Rule that 'nothing should be placed before the work of God.' In this way the sacred liturgy, celebrated according to the Roman use, enriched not only the faith and piety but also the culture of many peoples. It is known, in fact, that the Latin liturgy of the Church in its various forms, in each century of the Christian era, has been a spur to the spiritual life of many saints, has reinforced many peoples in the virtue of religion and fecundated their piety.Many other Roman pontiffs, in the course of the centuries, showed particular solicitude in ensuring that the sacred liturgy accomplished this task more effectively. Outstanding among them is St. Pius V who, sustained by great pastoral zeal and following the exhortations of the Council of Trent, renewed the entire liturgy of the Church, oversaw the publication of liturgical books amended and 'renewed in accordance with the norms of the Fathers,' and provided them for the use of the Latin Church.One of the liturgical books of the Roman rite is the Roman Missal, which developed in the city of Rome and, with the passing of the centuries, little by little took forms very similar to that it has had in recent times.'It was towards this same goal that succeeding Roman Pontiffs directed their energies during the subsequent centuries in order to ensure that the rites and liturgical books were brought up to date and when necessary clarified. From the beginning of this century they undertook a more general reform.'

(2) Thus our predecessors Clement VIII, Urban VIII, St. Pius X

(3), Benedict XV, Pius XII and Blessed John XXIII all played a part.In more recent times, Vatican Council II expressed a desire that the respectful reverence due to divine worship should be renewed and adapted to the needs of our time. Moved by this desire our predecessor, the Supreme Pontiff Paul VI, approved, in 1970, reformed and partly renewed liturgical books for the Latin Church. These, translated into the various languages of the world, were willingly accepted by bishops, priests and faithful. John Paul II amended the third typical edition of the Roman Missal. Thus Roman pontiffs have operated to ensure that 'this kind of liturgical edifice ... should again appear resplendent for its dignity and harmony.'

(4)But in some regions, no small numbers of faithful adhered and continue to adhere with great love and affection to the earlier liturgical forms. These had so deeply marked their culture and their spirit that in 1984 the Supreme Pontiff John Paul II, moved by a concern for the pastoral care of these faithful, with the special indult 'Quattuor abhinc anno," issued by the Congregation for Divine Worship, granted permission to use the Roman Missal published by Blessed John XXIII in the year 1962. Later, in the year 1988, John Paul II with the Apostolic Letter given as Motu Proprio, 'Ecclesia Dei,' exhorted bishops to make generous use of this power in favor of all the faithful who so desired. [ONLY LEGAL ARTICLES OFFICIALLY PROVIDED BY THE HOLY SEE]Our predecessor John Paul II having already considered the insistent petitions of these faithful, having listened to the views of the Cardinal Fathers of the Consistory of 22 March 2006, having reflected deeply upon all aspects of the question, invoked the Holy Spirit and trusting in the help of God, with these Apostolic Letters We establish the following:

Art. 1 The Roman Missal promulgated by Paul VI is the ordinary expression of the Lex orandi (Law of prayer) of the Catholic Church of the Latin rite. Nonetheless, the Roman Missal promulgated by St. Pius V and reissued by Bl. John XXIII is to be considered as an extraordinary expression of that same Lex orandi, and must be given due honour for its venerable and ancient usage. These two expressions of the Church’s Lex orandi will in no any way lead to a division in the Church’s Lex credendi (Law of belief). They are, in fact two usages of the one Roman rite.It is, therefore, permissible to celebrate the Sacrifice of the Mass following the typical edition of the Roman Missal promulgated by Bl. John XXIII in 1962 and never abrogated, as an extraordinary form of the Liturgy of the Church. The conditions for the use of this Missal as laid down by earlier documents Quattuor abhinc annis and Ecclesia Dei, are substituted as follows:

Art. 2 In Masses celebrated without the people, each Catholic priest of the Latin rite, whether secular or regular, may use the Roman Missal published by Bl. Pope John XXIII in 1962, or the Roman Missal promulgated by Pope Paul VI in 1970, and may do so on any day with the exception of the Easter Triduum. For such celebrations, with either one Missal or the other, the priest has no need for permission from the Apostolic See or from his Ordinary.

Art. 3 Communities of Institutes of consecrated life and of Societies of apostolic life, of either pontifical or diocesan right, wishing to celebrate Mass in accordance with the edition of the Roman Missal promulgated in 1962, for conventual or “community” celebration in their oratories, may do so. If an individual community or an entire Institute or Society wishes to undertake such celebrations often, habitually or permanently, the decision must be taken by the Superiors Major, in accordance with the law and following their own specific decrees and statutes.

Art. 4 Celebrations of Mass as mentioned above in art. 2 may – observing all the norms of law – also be attended by faithful who, of their own free will, ask to be admitted.

Art. 5 § 1 In parishes, where there is a stable group of faithful who adhere to the earlier liturgical tradition, the pastor should willingly accept their requests to celebrate the Mass according to the rite of the Roman Missal published in 1962, and ensure that the welfare of these faithful harmonises with the ordinary pastoral care of the parish, under the guidance of the bishop in accordance with canon 392, avoiding discord and favouring the unity of the whole Church.§ 2 Celebration in accordance with the Missal of Bl. John XXIII may take place on working days; while on Sundays and feast days one such celebration may also be held.§ 3 For faithful and priests who request it, the pastor should also allow celebrations in this extraordinary form for special circumstances such as marriages, funerals or occasional celebrations, e.g. pilgrimages.§ 4 Priests who use the Missal of Bl. John XXIII must be qualified to do so [in good standing] and not juridically impeded.§ 5 In churches that are not parish or conventual churches, it is the duty of the Rector of the church to grant the above permission.

Art. 6 In Masses celebrated in the presence of the people in accordance with the Missal of Bl. John XXIII, the readings may be given in the vernacular, using editions recognised by the Apostolic See.

Art. 7 If a group of lay faithful, as mentioned in art. 5 § 1, has not obtained satisfaction to their requests from the pastor, they should inform the diocesan bishop. The bishop is strongly requested to satisfy their wishes. If he cannot arrange for such celebration to take place, the matter should be referred to the Pontifical Commission “Ecclesia Dei”.

Art. 8 A bishop who, desirous of satisfying such requests, but who for various reasons is unable to do so, may refer the problem to the Commission “Ecclesia Dei” to obtain counsel and assistance.

Art. 9 § 1 The pastor, having attentively examined all aspects, may also grant permission to use the earlier ritual for the administration of the Sacraments of Baptism, Marriage, Penance, and the Anointing of the Sick, if the good of souls would seem to require it.§ 2 Ordinaries are given the right to celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation using the earlier Roman Pontifical, if the good of souls would seem to require it.§ 2 Clerics ordained “in sacris constitutis” may use the Roman Breviary promulgated by Bl. John XXIII in 1962.

Art. 10 The ordinary of a particular place, if he feels it appropriate, may erect a personal parish in accordance with can. 518 for celebrations following the ancient form of the Roman rite, or appoint a chaplain, while observing all the norms of law.

Art. 11 The Pontifical Commission “Ecclesia Dei” (5) , erected by John Paul II in 1988, continues to exercise its function. Said Commission will have the form, duties and norms that the Roman Pontiff wishes to assign it.

Art. 12 This Commission, apart from the powers it enjoys, will exercise the authority of the Holy See, supervising the observance and application of these dispositions.We order that everything We have established with these Apostolic Letters issued as Motu Proprio be considered as “established and decreed”, and to be observed from 14 September of this year, Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, whatever there may be to the contrary.From Rome, at St. Peter’s, 7 July 2007, third year of Our Pontificate.

General Instruction of the Roman Missal, 3rd ed., 2002, no. 397.
John Paul II, Apostolic Letter "Vicesimus quintus annus," 4 December 1988, 3: AAS 81 (1989), 899.
Ibid.
St. Pius X, Apostolic Letter Motu propio data, "Abhinc duos annos," 23 October 1913: AAS 5 (1913), 449-450; cf John Paul II, Apostolic Letter "Vicesimus quintus annus," no. 3: AAS 81 (1989), 899.
Cf John Paul II, Apostolic Letter Motu proprio data "Ecclesia Dei," 2 July 1988, 6: AAS 80 (1988), 1498

LETTER FROM POPE TO BISHOPS ON "SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM"
VATICAN CITY, JUL 7, 2007 (VIS)

From Catholic World News

- Given below is the text of the English- language version of Benedict XVI's Letter to all the bishops of the world concerning his Motu Proprio "Summorum Pontificum," which was published today:
"With great trust and hope, I am consigning to you as pastors the text of a new Apostolic Letter 'Motu Proprio data' on the use of the Roman liturgy prior to the reform of 1970. The document is the fruit of much reflection, numerous consultations and prayer.
"News reports and judgments made without sufficient information have created no little confusion. There have been very divergent reactions ranging from joyful acceptance to harsh opposition, about a plan whose contents were in reality unknown.
"This document was most directly opposed on account of two fears, which I would like to address somewhat more closely in this letter.
"In the first place, there is the fear that the document detracts from the authority of the Second Vatican Council, one of whose essential decisions - the liturgical reform - is being called into question.
"This fear is unfounded. In this regard, it must first be said that the Missal published by Paul VI and then republished in two subsequent editions by John Paul II, obviously is and continues to be the normal form - the 'Forma ordinaria' - of the Eucharistic liturgy. The last version of the 'Missale Romanum' prior to the Council, which was published with the authority of Pope John XXIII in 1962 and used during the Council, will now be able to be used as a 'Forma extraordinaria' of the liturgical celebration. It is not appropriate to speak of these two versions of the Roman Missal as if they were 'two rites.' Rather, it is a matter of a twofold use of one and the same rite.
"As for the use of the 1962 Missal as a 'Forma extraordinaria' of the liturgy of the Mass, I would like to draw attention to the fact that this Missal was never juridically abrogated and, consequently, in principle, was always permitted. At the time of the introduction of the new Missal, it did not seem necessary to issue specific norms for the possible use of the earlier Missal. Probably it was thought that it would be a matter of a few individual cases which would be resolved, case by case, on the local level. Afterwards, however, it soon became apparent that a good number of people remained strongly attached to this usage of the Roman Rite, which had been familiar to them from childhood. This was especially the case in countries where the liturgical movement had provided many people with a notable liturgical formation and a deep, personal familiarity with the earlier Form of the liturgical celebration. We all know that, in the movement led by Archbishop Lefebvre, fidelity to the old Missal became an external mark of identity; the reasons for the break which arose over this, however, were at a deeper level. Many people who clearly accepted the binding character of the Second Vatican Council, and were faithful to the Pope and the bishops, nonetheless also desired to recover the form of the sacred liturgy that was dear to them. This occurred above all because in many places celebrations were not faithful to the prescriptions of the new Missal, but the latter actually was understood as authorizing or even requiring creativity, which frequently led to deformations of the liturgy which were hard to bear. I am speaking from experience, since I too lived through that period with all its hopes and its confusion. And I have seen how arbitrary deformations of the liturgy caused deep pain to individuals totally rooted in the faith of the Church.
"Pope John Paul II thus felt obliged to provide, in his Motu Proprio 'Ecclesia Dei' (July 2, 1988), guidelines for the use of the 1962 Missal; that document, however, did not contain detailed prescriptions but appealed in a general way to the generous response of bishops towards the 'legitimate aspirations' of those members of the faithful who requested this usage of the Roman Rite. At the time, the Pope primarily wanted to assist the Society of St. Pius X to recover full unity with the Successor of Peter, and sought to heal a wound experienced ever more painfully. Unfortunately this reconciliation has not yet come about. Nonetheless, a number of communities have gratefully made use of the possibilities provided by the Motu Proprio. On the other hand, difficulties remain concerning the use of the 1962 Missal outside of these groups, because of the lack of precise juridical norms, particularly because bishops, in such cases, frequently feared that the authority of the Council would be called into question. Immediately after the Second Vatican Council it was presumed that requests for the use of the 1962 Missal would be limited to the older generation which had grown up with it, but in the meantime it has clearly been demonstrated that young persons too have discovered this liturgical form, felt its attraction and found in it a form of encounter with the Mystery of the Most Holy Eucharist, particularly suited to them. Thus the need has arisen for a clearer juridical regulation which had not been foreseen at the time of the 1988 Motu Proprio. The present norms are also meant to free bishops from constantly having to evaluate anew how they are to respond to various situations.
"In the second place, the fear was expressed in discussions about the awaited Motu Proprio, that the possibility of a wider use of the 1962 Missal would lead to disarray or even divisions within parish communities. This fear also strikes me as quite unfounded. The use of the old Missal presupposes a certain degree of liturgical formation and some knowledge of the Latin language; neither of these is found very often. Already from these concrete presuppositions, it is clearly seen that the new Missal will certainly remain the ordinary form of the Roman Rite, not only on account of the juridical norms, but also because of the actual situation of the communities of the faithful.
"It is true that there have been exaggerations and at times social aspects unduly linked to the attitude of the faithful attached to the ancient Latin liturgical tradition. Your charity and pastoral prudence will be an incentive and guide for improving these. For that matter, the two Forms of the usage of the Roman Rite can be mutually enriching: new Saints and some of the new Prefaces can and should be inserted in the old Missal. The 'Ecclesia Dei' Commission, in contact with various bodies devoted to the 'usus antiquior,' will study the practical possibilities in this regard. The celebration of the Mass according to the Missal of Paul VI will be able to demonstrate, more powerfully than has been the case hitherto, the sacrality which attracts many people to the former usage. The most sure guarantee that the Missal of Paul VI can unite parish communities and be loved by them consists in its being celebrated with great reverence in harmony with the liturgical directives. This will bring out the spiritual richness and the theological depth of this Missal.
"I now come to the positive reason which motivated my decision to issue this Motu Proprio updating that of 1988. It is a matter of coming to an interior reconciliation in the heart of the Church. Looking back over the past, to the divisions which in the course of the centuries have rent the Body of Christ, one continually has the impression that, at critical moments when divisions were coming about, not enough was done by the Church's leaders to maintain or regain reconciliation and unity. One has the impression that omissions on the part of the Church have had their share of blame for the fact that these divisions were able to harden. This glance at the past imposes an obligation on us today: to make every effort to unable for all those who truly desire unity to remain in that unity or to attain it anew. I think of a sentence in the Second Letter to the Corinthians, where Paul writes: "Our mouth is open to you, Corinthians; our heart is wide. You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted in your own affections. In return . widen your hearts also!" (2 Cor 6:11-13). Paul was certainly speaking in another context, but his exhortation can and must touch us too, precisely on this subject. Let us generously open our hearts and make room for everything that the faith itself allows.
"There is no contradiction between the two editions of the Roman Missal. In the history of the liturgy there is growth and progress, but no rupture. What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too, and it cannot be all of a sudden entirely forbidden or even considered harmful. It behooves all of us to preserve the riches which have developed in the Church's faith and prayer, and to give them their proper place. Needless to say, in order to experience full communion, the priests of the communities adhering to the former usage cannot, as a matter of principle, exclude celebrating according to the new books. The total exclusion of the new rite would not in fact be consistent with the recognition of its value and holiness.
"In conclusion, dear brothers, I very much wish to stress that these new norms do not in any way lessen your own authority and responsibility, either for the liturgy or for the pastoral care of your faithful. Each bishop, in fact, is the moderator of the liturgy in his own diocese.
"Nothing is taken away, then, from the authority of the bishop, whose role remains that of being watchful that all is done in peace and serenity. Should some problem arise which the parish priest cannot resolve, the local ordinary will always be able to intervene, in full harmony, however, with all that has been laid down by the new norms of the Motu Proprio.
"Furthermore, I invite you, dear brothers, to send to the Holy See an account of your experiences, three years after this Motu Proprio has taken effect. If truly serious difficulties come to light, ways to remedy them can be sought.
"Dear brothers, with gratitude and trust, I entrust to your hearts as pastors these pages and the norms of the Motu Proprio. Let us always be mindful of the words of the Apostle Paul addressed to the presbyters of Ephesus: 'Take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the Church of God which he obtained with the blood of his own Son.'
"I entrust these norms to the powerful intercession of Mary, Mother of the Church, and I cordially impart my apostolic blessing to you, dear Brothers, to the parish priests of your dioceses, and to all the priests, your co-workers, as well as to all your faithful." BXVI-LETTER/MOTU PROPRIO/SUMMORUMVIS 070707 (1860)

New Liturgical Movement Guest Post

2007-07-06T17:00:00.000-04:00

Fr. Cipolla is one of the priests who celebrate the Mass at the Church where I attend, Sacred Heart in New Haven, Ct

Fr. Cipolla on the MP and a Recent Pontifical Mass
posted by Shawn Tribe

NLM Guest Piece by Fr. Richard G. Cipolla

As we approach the new situation of the post-Motu Proprio Catholic world, I would like to share a recent event in which I participated that will perhaps be a paradigm for what needs to be done in the future by those of us who are convinced that the Traditional Roman rite of 1962 must gain its proper place in the liturgical life of the Church for the good of the Church. I was contacted by Dean Applegate, the choirmaster at the Dominican parish of Holy Rosary in Portland, Oregon. He told me that Bishop Steiner, the auxiliary bishop of Portland, had agreed to celebrate a Pontifical High Mass in the 1962 rite on the feast of SS. Peter and Paul. This was a gracious act on the part of the bishop, who is not known as a traditionalist, to support the fine liturgical tradition of this parish that is an oasis for so many Catholics seeking beauty and truth within the celebration of Holy Mass. They did not have anyone who would be able to co-ordinate the Mass and help the bishop with his own role as celebrant. Bill Riccio from the St Gregory Society in New Haven, MC extraordinaire, and I accepted this invitiation and flew out to Portland. We had three lengthy rehearsals including one with the bishop alone to "re-teach" him the 62 rite. The altar servers, all young men, were beautifully trained and were enthusiastic. The Dominicans were gracious and went out of their way to help us in any way they could.The Mass went beautifully, given that this was the first time this Mass was celebrated there. The Propers were sung to a setting by William Byrd. The Ordinary was Mass IX. The church was filled, and the congregation sang the Ordinary with force and heart. This was a truly spiritual event for all who participated. The bishop, a humble and charming man, told me that he was so very pleased to have done this and was certainly open to doing it again.Perhaps this is what the future will look like after the Motu Proprio is published. Those of us who know and love the Traditional Mass must become like missionaries to those who are open to learning this Mass. We cannot take the attitude: "We have what we want now, so there is nothing else to be done." The Pope has given us freedom. May we use that freedom fruitfully and wisely

Which Twentieth Century Pope Are You?

2007-07-06T07:00:00.000-04:00

I got this from

Tom Fitzpatrick

He also has a great post on "Extraordinary Ministers".
What a shame there are so many people so misdirected

Which Twentieth Century Pope Are You?

You are Pope St. Pius X. You'd rather be right than newfangled.
Take this quiz!

Quizilla
Join

Make A Quiz More Quizzes Grab Code

What Is In A Name?

2007-07-05T07:00:00.000-04:00

SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM

That is Music to My ears! Summorum Pontificum!

Is the beginning of the text in Latin for the new document slated for release July 7th, 2007.
This is according to I MEDIA

Just a few more days, and like I said before......... who's counting ;)

Happy Fourth Of July

2007-07-04T13:00:00.000-04:00

I hope you all have a safe and fun Day
Don't eat Too Many hot dogs

At last, some good news for the United States, from Reuters:

An American competitive eater devoured a record 66 hotdogs in 12 minutes Wednesday to win the July 4 annual Coney Island hotdog eating competition, defeating a six-time champion from Japan in a photo finish.

Defending champion Takeru Kobayashi, a 28-year-old from Japan who weighed in at 170 pounds, went into the competition with a jaw injury but still managed to down 63 hotdogs.

But the winner of the “Mustard Belt” prize for the most hotdogs eaten was 23-year-old Joey Chestnut from San Jose, California, who weighed in at 225 pounds.

Chestnut fulfilled his vow to beat the world record he set in qualifying earlier this year of 59 1/2 dogs, and to bring back the prize to America on Independence Day.

“For the past six years Kobayashi has dominated. In year seven he just couldn’t cut it,” Chestnut told Reuters. “It just feels awesome. For a long time the belt has been going away to Japan but this year it’s staying here.”

And now, the whining from the defeated champion:

Kobayashi, who was competing despite a jaw injury, said all the eaters were getting better every year. “I lost but this was the most fun I had,” he said.
“I didn’t feel pain but my jaw wasn’t moving part way through,” he said of his injury.

And then some inexplicable moralizing about weight from Reuters:

The United States has the highest prevalence of obesity among developed countries, at about one-third of the adult population, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 60 million adults are obese.

Four More Days....

2007-07-03T07:00:00.000-04:00

Four More Days..... But who is counting?
Come On Motu Proprio!

Keep the prayers coming!
I can't wait until we can celebrate!
Let's hope it is all we Hope for it to be!

Happy Anniversay

2007-07-02T07:00:00.000-04:00

Well this month I am working on my third year in "Blogger World"
I am happy to say that

Two Hearts Ablaze

just had an Anniversay as well, in June, marking it's One Year Anniversary

I have really enjoyed the people I have met and have had some wonderful experiences due to Blogging.

I hope that you continue to visit my site and joint site with Tom Fitzpatrick

Thanks for your support

Cardinal O'Malley Doesn't Get MY Vote!

2007-07-01T07:00:00.000-04:00

I just can't believe, sorry let me rephrase that. I can believe the words coming from a man in his position. This is Satan working full steam ahead and the man is obviously not seeing this. This is what is happening to The Hierachy. These are the men that are supposed to be leaders in our Church. Doesn't surprise me why people are losing their faith and respect for them.

Certainly this man, Cardinal O'Malley does not rank high on my respect list.
I know he couldn't care less what I have to say and isn't that a shame?
He is supposed to be leading the flock. Shepherding us! Encouraging and taking care of God's children.

Most importantly as a "priest" he is supposed to be united with Christ and what glorification does he give him when he makes a stupid crack about the Faithful not needing the Latin Mass urgently.

Cardinal O'Malley has said something incredibly stupid and he believes it on top of it. This is his response to the Motu Proprio:
"This issue of the Latin Mass is not urgent for our country".

For crying out loud we need it more than ever.
Just look on a daily basis what is happening in this world! And especially to Our Church, with Liturgical Dancing and hand holding and all the other nonsense that takes place during Sacred Liturgy
Come on Cardinal O'Malley "wake up and smell the coffee".
Don't you understand how important it is for us to return to Tradition. This word is a very powerful nine letter word. From this, we get all the beautiful aspects of Our Faith. The Saints, The Prayers , and there is so much beauty in that one single word.

What is our Tradition? It is our very core of the Catholic Faith. It is Our Catholic Faith

So urgency!!! You better believe it is urgent!!

If you couldn't care less about saving our souls well maybe you had better think about saving your own soul.
You will have to answer for this and what you have neglected to do.
And speaking of neglect...
Ok, come on now! You can't tell me that he is in favor of the Traditional aspect of Our Faith. I won't buy it.
He says he is allowing the Mass in The Latin Rite in Newton, Mass. Sure and does he let anyone know that the people who attended Holy Trinity Parish, cannot get to Newton without difficulty. They had a wonderful thriving community that was shot out of the water because of the scandal of the Archdiocese.

And Maybe, Cardinal's penance should be to restore the Latin Mass in Boston and then maybe he can gain back a few of God's precious graces. After all, aren't we supposed to try to reconcile with what we wrongfully have done?

Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa

I will be praying for Your Soul Your Eminence!

Cast Your Vote and Make a Difference!

2007-06-30T07:00:00.000-04:00

The Minneapolis Star Tribune is conducting a poll on the Latin Mass and the percentage of voters in favor of the Mass is High! A whopping 81% when I cast my vote. Please click on and cast your votes

Here

Any Day Now

2007-06-29T07:00:00.001-04:00

It is only a matter of time now and we shall see what the Motu Prorio is going to entail. This is going to be positive, it just has to be. I won't settle for anything less. Jesus Christ and His Blessed Mother will shine through and give us Trads something to hope for. It has been a long time coming that the move in Tradition will be the way Christ had intended for His Church. Even if this is a slow move it is a good move. Finally the respect may be shown more frequently for Our Saviour and reverence that is due to The Body of Christ.

This Pope has truly earned my respect. God Bless You Pope Benedict! He seems to not only care about the importance of Tradtion, but also has a true love for it as well. This must be very difficult for him, because I am sure he cannot voice what is really in his heart and I firmly believe if he had his way, there would be an end put to the Modern Church and Liberalism.
Surely, he is being plummeted by the Liberals and he is almost forced to have no choice, but to accept the Church in the way it stands. I think this move although will be small is just a stepping stone to what will be one day the True Church Of Christ again. We may never see this in our time, but it will prevail.

Truth always does!

We can only pray that hearts will be turned around and that many will come and see the beautiful Mass and reclaim the Sacred Liturgy.

Let's not forget to Thank God and continue in our prayers to The Holy Father.
I am sure that the Blessed Mother is smiling with joy on this servant for his bravery and compassion towards the Traditional Faith

Padre Pio Prayer

2007-06-27T07:00:00.000-04:00

Stay with me, Lord
Prayer of St. Pio of Pietrelcina after Holy Communion

Stay with me, Lord, for it is necessary to have You present so that I do not forget You.

You know how easily I abandon You.

Stay with me, Lord, because I am weak and I need Your strength, that I may not fall so often.

Stay with me, Lord, for You are my life, and without You, I am without fervor.

Stay with me, Lord, for You are my light, and without You, I am in darkness.

Stay with me, Lord, to show me Your will.

Stay with me, Lord, so that I hear Your voice and follow You.

Stay with me, Lord, for I desire to love You very much, and always be in Your company.

Stay with me, Lord, if You wish me to be faithful to You.

Stay with me, Lord, for as poor as my soul is, I want it to be a place of consolation for You, a nest of love.

Stay with me, Jesus, for it is getting late and the day is coming to a close, and life passes; death, judgment, eternity approaches. It is necessary to renew my strength, so that I will not stop along the way and for that, I need You. It is getting late and death approaches, I fear the darkness, the temptations, the dryness, the cross, the sorrows. O how I need You, my Jesus, in this night of exile!

Stay with me tonight, Jesus, in life with all it’s dangers. I need You.

Let me recognize You as Your disciples did at the breaking of the bread, so that the Eucharistic Communion be the Light which disperses the darkness, the force which sustains me, the unique joy of my heart.

Stay with me, Lord, because at the hour of my death, I want to remain united to You, if not by communion, at least by grace and love.

Stay with me, Jesus, I do not ask for divine consolation, because I do not merit it, but the gift of Your Presence, oh yes, I ask this of You!

Stay with me, Lord, for it is You alone I look for, Your Love, Your Grace, Your Will, Your Heart, Your Spirit because I love You and ask no other reward but to love You more and more.

With a firm love, I will love You with all my heart while on earth and continue to love You perfectly during all eternity. Amen

A Must Visit Sacred Heart Basilica in NJ

2007-06-26T07:00:00.000-04:00

This is a place that I have been wanting to visit to for some time. New Jersey is not all that far from me. Maybe 3 1/2 hours from where I live.

I have checked out the virtual tour on many occasions. Have a look, it is well worth your time. The Basilica is magnificent.
I intend to make this trip someday and I will let you know all about it

Cathedral Basilica Of The Sacred Heart

Better Get Your Facts Correct, Buddy!

2007-06-24T18:09:00.000-04:00

Maybe the writer for "The Patriot Ledger", in Boston, should really have researched a little bit better before he, "Calls the Kettle Black". Boy, does this guy look stupid and Fr. Zuhlsdorf shows him why!

What Does The Prayer Really Say

The article written by Lane Lambert just goes to show you the sad mistakes made by Vatican II. Clearly, so many have been brainwashed. Just wait and see what happens when some of these folks wake up and "Smell the Coffee".

I remember and still struggle, although not as bad, about how much I felt duped when I was given the grace to see the wrongs of Vatican II and the New Mass.
You go through so many different emotions. Anger and Frustration, Joy and Happiness, Confusion and so many many questions that need to be answered
Wow are our priests going to be busy!

Well, IGNORANCE is something we are all going to have to deal with if and when this Motu Proprio is up and coming.

I think that this will be a jumble of emotions all the way around. We have to be prepared properly, to be able to act when we are called on our faith.
There will be alot of questions people will be asking Traditionalists, and looking to us for guidance. We need to gently persuade them to the truth.

I will be praying that we all have the right words and that The Holy Ghost guides each one of us

Keeping Families in Prayer

2007-06-23T19:30:00.000-04:00

Please keep the Skojec Family in yours prayers during this troubled times

Uncovering Orthodoxy

Caveman's Theory on The Latin Mass

2007-06-23T19:21:00.000-04:00

Once again, The Caveman, has given some great pointers on how the Latin Mass may Just Go.....HMMMMM

Lair of the Catholic Caveman

Baseball Update

2007-06-23T19:06:00.000-04:00

As we venture close to the TRADITIONAL time in baseball, The All Star Break,
Fr.LW Gonzales has a hilarious update on baseball
Check Out his post!

Overheard In The Sacristy

The Feast Of The Immaculate Heart

2007-06-16T07:00:00.000-04:00

IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY

- Saturday after the Feast of the Sacred Heart of JesusThe feast springs from contemporary piety but has its roots in the Marian apostolate of St. John Eudes (1680), and outstanding apostle of devotion to the the Hearts of Jesus and Mary. After repeated requests and repeated refusals between 1669 and 1729, on December 8, 1942, the twenty-fifth anniversary of the apparitions at Fatima, Pope Pius XII dedicated the Church and the human race to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. He placed the feast on August 22 and extended it to the entire Latin Church. It has now been moved closer to the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus always falling on the Saturday after the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

The Feast Of The Sacred Heart Of Jesus

2007-06-15T07:00:00.000-04:00

Devotion To The Heart Of Jesus

The treatment of this subject is divided into two parts:

(I) Doctrinal Explanations

(II) Historical Ideas

I. DOCTRINAL EXPLANATIONS. — Devotion to the Sacred Heart is but a special form of devotion to Jesus. We shall know just what it is and what distinguishes it when we ascertain its object, its foundations, and its proper act.

Special object of the devotion to the Sacred Heart. — The nature of this question is complex and frequently becomes more complicated because of the difficulties arising from terminology. Omitting terms that are over-technical, we shall study the ideas in themselves, and, that we may the sooner find our bearings, it will be well to remember the meaning and use of the word heart in current language.

The word heart awakens, first of all, the idea of a material heart, of the vital organ that throbs within our bosom, and which we vaguely realize as intimately connected not only with our own physical, but with our emotional and moral, life. Now this heart of flesh is currently accepted as the emblem of the emotion and moral life with which we associate it, and hence the place assigned to the word heart in symbolic language, as also the use of the same word to designate those things symbolized by the heart. Note, for instance, the expressions "to open one's heart", "to give one's heart", etc. It may happen that the symbol becomes divested of its material meaning that the sign is overlooked in beholding only the thing signified. Thus, in current language, the word soul no longer suggests the thought of breath, and the word heart brings to mind only the idea of courage and love. But this is perhaps a figure of speech or a metaphor, rather than a symbol. A symbol is a real sign, whereas a metaphor is only a verbal sign; a symbol is a thing that signifies another thing, but a metaphor is a word used to indicate something different from its proper meaning. Finally, in current language, we are constantly passing from the part to the whole, and, by a perfectly natural figure of speech, we use the word heart to designate a person. These ideas will aid us in determining the object of the devotion to the Sacred Heart.

The question lies between the material, the metaphorical, and the symbolic sense of the word heart; whether the object of the devotion is the Heart of flesh, as such, or the love of Jesus Christ metaphorically signified by the word heart; or the Heart of flesh, but as symbol of the emotional and moral life of Jesus, and especially His love for us. We reply that worship is rightly paid to the Heart of flesh, inasmuch as the latter symbolizes and recalls the love of Jesus, and His emotional and moral life. Thus, although directed to the material Heart, it does not stop there: it also includes love, that love which is its principal object, but which it reaches only in and through the Heart of flesh, the sign and symbol of this love. Devotion to the Heart of Jesus alone, as to a noble part of His Divine Body, would not be devotion to the Sacred Heart as understood and approved by the Church, and the same must also be said of devotion to the love of Jesus as detached from His Heart of flesh, or else connected therewith by no other tie than that of a word taken in the metaphorical sense. Hence, in the devotion, there are two elements: a sensible element, the Heart of flesh, and a spiritual element, that which this Heart of flesh recalls spiritual element, that which this Heart of flesh recalls and represents. But these two elements do not form two distinct objects, merely co-ordinated they constitute but one, just as do the body and soul, and the sign and the thing signified. Hence it is also understood that these two elements are as essential to the devotion as body and soul are essential to man. Of the two elements constituting the whole, the principal one is love, which is as much the cause of the devotion and its reason for existence as the soul is the principal element in man. Consequently, devotion to the Sacred Heart may be defined as devotion to the adorable Heart of Jesus Christ in so far as this Heart represents and recalls His love; or, what amounts to the same thing, devotion to the love of Jesus Christ in so far as this love is recalled and symbolically represented to us by His Heart of flesh.

Hence the devotion is based entirely upon the symbolism of the heart. It is this symbolism that imparts to its meaning and its unity, and this symbolism is admirably completed by the representation of the Heart as wounded. Since the Heart of Jesus appears to us as the sensible sign of His love, the visible wound in the Heart will naturally recall the invisible wound of this love. This symbolism also explains that the devotion, although giving the Heart an essential place, is but little concerned with the anatomy of the heart or with physiology. Since, in images of the Sacred Heart, the symbolic expression must dominate all else, anatomical accuracy is not looked for; it would injure the devotion by rendering the symbolism less evident. It is eminently proper that the heart as an emblem be distinguished from the anatomical heart: the suitableness of the image is favourable to the expression of the idea. A visible heart is necessary for an image of the Sacred Heart, but this visible heart must be a symbolic heart. Similar observations are in order for physiology, in which the devotion cannot be totally disinterested, because the Heart of Flesh toward which the worship is directed in order to read therein the love of Jesus, is the Heart of Jesus, the real, living Heart that, in all truth, may be said to have loved and suffered; the Heart that, as we feel ourselves, had such a share in His emotional and moral life; the Heart that, as we know from a knowledge, however rudimentary, of the operations of our human life, had such a part in the operations of the Master's life. But the relation of the Heart to the love of Christ is not that of a purely conventional sign, as in the relation of the word to the thing, or of the flag to the idea of one's country; this Heart has been and is still inseparably connected with that life of benefactions and love. However, it is sufficient for our devotion that we know and feel this intimate connection. We have nothing to do with the physiology of the Sacred Heart nor with determining the exact functions of the heart in daily life. We know that the symbolism of the heart is a symbolism founded upon reality and that it constitutes the special object of the devotion to the Sacred Heart, which devotion is in no danger of falling into error.

The heart is, above all, the emblem of love, and by this characteristic, the devotion to the Sacred Heart is naturally defined. However, being directed to the loving Heart of Jesus, it naturally encounters whatever in Jesus is connected with this love. Now, was not this love the motive of all that Christ did and suffered? Was not all His inner, even more than His outward, life dominated by this love? On the other hand, the devotion to the Sacred Heart, being directed to the living Heart of Jesus, thus becomes familiar with the whole inner life of the Master, with all His virtues and sentiments, finally, with Jesus infinitely loving and lovable. Hence, a first extension of the devotion is from the loving Heart to the intimate knowledge of Jesus, to His sentiments and virtues, to His whole emotional and moral life; from the loving Heart to all the manifestations of Its love. There is still another extension which, although having the same meaning, is made in another way, that is by passing from the Heart to the Person, a transition which, as we have seen, is very naturally made. When speaking of a large heart our allusion is to the person, just as when we mention the Sacred Heart we mean Jesus. This is not, however, because the two are synonymous but when the word heart is used to designate the person, it is because such a person is considered in whatsoever related to his emotional and moral life. Thus, when we designate Jesus as the Sacred Heart, we mean Jesus manifesting His Heart, we mean Jesus manifesting His Heart, Jesus all loving and amiable. Jesus entire is thus recapitulated in the Sacred Heart as all is recapitulated in Jesus.

In thus devoting oneself to Jesus all loving and lovable, one cannot fail to observe that His love is rejected. God is constantly lamenting that in Holy Writ, and the saints have always heard within their hearts the plaint of unrequited love. Indeed one of the essential phases of the devotion is that it considers the love of Jesus for us as a despised, ignored love. He Himself revealed this when He complained so bitterly to St. Margaret Mary.

This love is everywhere manifest in Jesus and in His life, and it alone can explain Him together with His words and His acts. Nevertheless, it shines forth more resplendently in certain mysteries from which great good accrues to us, and in which Jesus is more lavish of His loving benefactions and more complete in His gift of self, namely, in the Incarnation, in the Passion, and in the Eucharist. Moreover, these mysteries have a place apart in the devotion which, everywhere seeking Jesus and the signs of His love and favours, finds them here to an even greater extent than in particular acts.

We have already seen that devotion to the Sacred Heart, being directed to the Heart of Jesus as the emblem of love, has mainly in view His love for men. This is obviously not that it excludes His love for God, for this included in His love for men, but it is above all the devotion to "the Heart that has so loved men", according to the words quoted by St. Margaret Mary.
Finally, the question arises as to whether the love which we honour in this devotion is that with which Jesus loves us as Man or that with which He loves us as God; whether it is created or uncreated, His human or His Divine Love. Undoubtedly it is the love of God made Man, the love of the Incarnate Word. However, it does not seem that devout persons think of separating these two loves any more than they separate the two natures in Jesus. Besides, even though we might wish to settle this part of the question at any cost, we would find that the opinions of authors are at variance. Some, considering that the Heart of Flesh is connected with human love only, conclude that it does not symbolize Divine love which, moreover, is not proper to the Person of Jesus, and that, therefore, Divine love is not the direct object of the devotion. Others, while admitting that Divine love apart from the Incarnate Word is not the object of the devotion, believe it to be such when considered as the love of the Incarnate Word, and they do not see why this love also could not be symbolized by the Heart of flesh nor why, in this event, the devotion should be limited to created love only.

Foundations of the devotion. — The question may be considered under three aspects: the historical, the theological, and the scientific.

Historical foundations. — In approving the devotion to the Sacred Heart, the Church did not trust to the visions of St. Margaret Mary; she made abstraction of these and examined the worship in itself. Margaret Mary's visions could be false, but the devotion would not, on that account, be any less worthy or solid. However, the fact is that the devotion was propagated chiefly under the influence of the movement started at Paray-le-Monial; and prior to her beatification, Margaret Mary's visions were most critically examined by the Church, whose judgment in such cases does not involve her infallibility but implies only a human certainty sufficient to warrant consequent speech and action.

Theological foundations. — The Heart of Jesus, like all else that belongs to His Person, is worthy of adoration, but this would not be so if It were considered as isolated from this Person and as having no connection with It. But it not thus that the Heart is considered, and, in his Bull "Auctorem fidei", 1794, Pius VI authoritatively vindicated the devotion in this respect against the calumnies of the Jansenists. The worship, although paid to the Heart of Jesus, extends further than the Heart of flesh, being directed to the love of which this Heart is the living and expressive symbol. On this point the devotion requires no justification, as it is to the Person of Jesus that it is directed; but to the Person as inseparable from His Divinity. Jesus, the living apparition of the goodness of God and of His paternal love, Jesus infinitely loving and amiable, studied in the principal manifestations of His love, is the object of the devotion to the Sacred Heart, as indeed He is the object of the Christian religion. The difficulty lies in the union of the heart and love, in the relation which the devotion supposes between the one and the other. Is not this an error long since discarded? If so, it remains to examine whether the devotion, considered in this respect, is well founded.

Philosophical and scientific foundations. — In this respect there has been some uncertainty amongst theologians, not as regards the basis of things, but in the matter of explanations. Sometimes they have spoken as if the heart were the organ of love, but this point has no bearing on the devotion, for which it suffices that the heart be the symbol of love, and that, for the basis of the symbolism, a real connection exist between the heart and the emotions. Now, the symbolism of the heart is a fact and every one feels that in the heart there is a sort of an echo of our sentiments. The physiological study of this resonance may be very interesting, but it is in no wise necessary to the devotion, as its foundation is a fact attested by daily experience, a fact which physiological study confirms and of which it determines the conditions, but which neither supposes this study nor any special acquaintance with its subject.

The proper act of the devotion. — This act is required by the very object of the devotion, since devotion to the love of Jesus for us should be pre-eminently a devotion of love for Jesus. It is characterized by a reciprocation of love; its aim is to love Jesus who has so loved us, to return love for love. Since, moreover, the love of Jesus manifests itself to the devout soul as a love despised and outraged, especially in the Eucharist, the love expressed in the devotion naturally assumes a character of reparation, and hence the importance of acts of atonement, the Communion of reparation, and compassion for Jesus suffering. But no special act, no practice whatever, can exhaust the riches of the devotion to the Sacred Heart. The love which is its soul embraces all and, the better one understands it, the more firmly is he convinced that nothing can vie with it for making Jesus live in us and for bringing him who lives by it to love God, in union with Jesus, with all his heart, all his soul, all his strength.

II. HISTORICAL IDEAS ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE DEVOTION. —

From the time of St. John and St. Paul there has always been in the Church something like devotion to the love of God, Who so loved the world as to give it His only-begotten Son, and to the love of Jesus, Who has so loved us as to deliver Himself up for us. But, accurately speaking, this is not the devotion to the Sacred Heart, as it pays no homage to the Heart of Jesus as the symbol of His love for us. From the earliest centuries, in accordance with the example of the Evangelist, Christ's open side and the mystery of blood and water were meditated upon, and the Church was beheld issuing from the side of Jesus, as Eve came forth from the side of Adam. But there is nothing to indicate that, during the first ten centuries, any worship was rendered the wounded Heart.

It is in the eleventh and twelfth centuries that we find the first unmistakable indications of devotion to the Sacred Heart. Through the wound in the side of the wound Heart was gradually reached, and the wound in the Heart symbolized the wound of love. It was in the fervent atmosphere of the Benedictine or Cistercian monasteries, in the world of Anselmian or Bernardine thought, that the devotion arose, although it is impossible to say positively what were its first texts or were its first votaries. To St. Gertrude, St. Mechtilde, and the author of the "Vitis mystica" it was already well known. We cannot state with certainty to whom we are indebted for the "Vitis mystica". Until recent times its authorship had generally been ascribed to St. Bernard and yet, by the late publishers of the beautiful and scholarly Quaracchi edition, it has been attributed, and not without plausible reasons, to St. Bonaventure ("S. Bonaventurx opera omnia", 1898, VIII, LIII sq.). But, be this as it may, it contains one of the most beautiful passages that ever inspired the devotion to the Sacred Heart, one appropriated by the Church for the lessons of the second nocturn of the feast. To St. Mechtilde (d. 1298) and St. Gertrude (d. 1302) it was a familiar devotion which was translated into many beautiful prayers and exercises. What deserves special mention is the vision of St. Gertrude on the feast of St. John the Evangelist, as it forms an epoch in the history of the devotion. Allowed to rest her head near the wound in the Saviour's she heard the beating of the Divine Heart and asked John if, on the night of the Last Supper, he too had felt these delightful pulsations, why he had never spoken of the fact. John replied that this revelation had been reserved for subsequent ages when the world, having grown cold, would have need of it to rekindle its love ("Legatus divinae pietatis", IV, 305; "Revelationes Gertrudianae", ed. Poitiers and Paris, 1877).

From the thirteenth to the sixteenth century, the devotion was propagated but it did not seem to have developed in itself. It was everywhere practised by privileged souls, and the lives of the saints and annals of different religious congregations, of the Franciscans, Dominicans, Carthusians, etc., furnish many examples of it. It was nevertheless a private, individual devotion of the mystical order. Nothing of a general movement had been inaugurated, unless one would so regard the propagation of the devotion to the Five Wounds, in which the Wound in the Heart figured most prominently, and for the furtherance of which the Franciscans seem to have laboured.

It appears that in the sixteenth century, the devotion took an onward step and passed from the domain of mysticism into that of Christian asceticism. It was constituted an objective devotion with prayers already formulated and special exercises of which the value was extolled and the practice commended. This we learn from the writings of those two masters of the spiritual life, the pious Lanspergius (d. 1539) of the Carthusians of Cologne, and the devout Louis of Blois (Blosius; 1566), a Benedictine and Abbot of Liessies in Hainaut. To these may be added Blessed John of Avila (d. 1569) and St. Francis de Sales, the latter belonging to the seventeenth century.

From that time everything betokened an early bringing to light of the devotion. Ascetic writers spoke of it, especially those of the Society of Jesus, Alvarez de Paz, Luis de la Puente, Saint-Jure, and Nouet, and there still exist special treatises upon it such as Father Druzbicki's (d. 1662) small work, "Meta Cordium, Cor Jesu". Amongst the mystics and pious souls who practised the devotion were St. Francis Borgia, Blessed Peter Canisius, St. Aloysius Gonzaga, and St. Alphonsus Rodriguez, of the Society of Jesus; also Venerable Marina de Escobar (d. 1633), in Spain; the Venerable Madeleine St. Joseph and the Venerable Marguerite of the Blessed Sacrament, Carmelites, in France; Jeanne de S. Mathieu Deleloe (d. 1660), a Benedictine, in Belgium; the worthy Armelle of Vannes (d. 1671); and even in Jansenistic or worldly centres, Marie de Valernod (d. 1654) and Angélique Arnauld; M. Boudon, the great archdeacon of Evreux, Father Huby, the apostle of retreats in Brittany, and, above all, the Venerable Marie de l'Incarnation who died at Quebec in 1672. The Visitation seemed to be awaiting St. Margaret Mary; its spirituality, certain intuitions of St. Francis de Sales, the meditations of Mère l'Huillier (d. 1655), the visions of Mother Anne-Marguerite Clément (d. 1661), and of Sister Jeanne-Bénigne Gojos (d. 1692), all paved the way. The image of the Heart of Jesus was everywhere in evidence, which fact was largely due to the Franciscan devotion to the Five Wounds and to the habit formed by the Jesuits of placing the image on their title-page of their books and the walls of their churches.

Nevertheless, the devotion remained an individual or at least a private devotion. It was reserved to Blessed Jean Eudes (1602-1680) to make it public, to honour it with an Office, and to establish a feast for it. Père Eudes was above all the apostle of the Heart of Mary; but in his devotion to the Immaculate Heart there was a share for the Heart of Jesus. Little by little the devotion to the Sacred Heart became a separate one, and on 31 August, 1670, the first feast of the Sacred Heart was celebrated with great solemnity in the Grand Seminary of Rennes. Coutances followed suit on 20 October, a day with which the Eudist feast was thenceforth to be connected. The feast soon spread to other dioceses, and the devotion was likewise adopted in various religious communities. Here and there it came into contact with the devotion begun at Paray, and a fusion of the two naturally resulted.

It was to Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690), a humble Visitandine of the monastery at Paray-le Monial, that Christ chose to reveal the desires of His Heart and to confide the task of imparting new life to the devotion. There is nothing to indicated that this pious religious had known the devotion prior to the revelations, or at least that she had paid any attention to it. These revelations were numerous, and the following apparitions are especially remarkable: that which occurred on the feast of St. John, when Jesus permitted Margaret Mary, as He had formerly allowed St. Gertrude, to rest her head upon His Heart, and then disclosed to her the wonders of His love, telling her that He desired to make them known to all mankind and to diffuse the treasures of His goodness, and that He had chosen her for this work (27 Dec., probably 1673); that, probably distinct from the preceding, in which He requested to be honoured under the figure of His Heart of flesh; that, when He appeared radiant with love and asked for a devotion of expiatory love -- frequent Communion, Communion on the First Friday of the month, and the observance of the Holy Hour (probably June or July, 1674); that known as the "great apparition" which took place during the octave of Corpus Christi, 1675, probably on 16 June, when He said, "Behold the Heart that has so loved men . . . instead of gratitude I receive from the greater part (of mankind) only ingratitude . . .", and asked her for a feast of reparation of the Friday after the octave of Corpus Christi, bidding her consult Father de la Colombière, then superior of the small Jesuit house at Paray; and finally, those in which solemn homage was asked on the part of the king, and the mission of propagating the new devotion was especially confided to the religious of the Visitation and the priests of the Society of Jesus. A few days after the "great apparition", of June, 1675, Margaret Mary made all known to Father de la Colombière, and the latter, recognizing the action of the spirit of God, consecrated himself to the Sacred Heart, directed the holy Visitandine to write an account of the apparition, and made use of every available opportunity discreetly to circulate this account through France and England. At his death, 15 February 1682, there was found in his journal of spiritual retreats a copy in his own handwriting of the account that he had requested of Margaret Mary, together with a few reflections on the usefulness of the devotion. This journal, including the account and a beautiful "offering" to the Sacred Heart, in which the devotion was well explained, was published at Lyons in 1684. The little book was widely read, even at Paray, although not without being the cause of "dreadful confusion" to Margaret Mary, who, nevertheless, resolved to make the best of it and profited by the book for the spreading of her cherished devotion. Moulins, with Mother de Soudeilles, Dijon, with Mother de Saumaise and Sister Joly, Semur, with Mother Greyfié, and even Paray, which had at first resisted, joined the movement. Outside of the Visitandines, priests, religious, and laymen espoused the cause, particularly a Capuchin, Margaret Mary's two brothers, and some Jesuits, among the latter being Fathers Croiset and Gallifet, who were destined to do so much for the devotion.

The death of Margaret Mary, 17 October 1690, did not dampen the ardour of those interested; on the contrary, a short account of her life published by Father Croiset in 1691, as an appendix to his book "De la Dévotion au Sacré Cœur", served only to increase it. In spite of all sorts of obstacles, and of the slowness of the Holy See, which in 1693 imparted indulgences to the Confraternities of the Sacred Heart and, in 1697, granted the feast to the Visitandines with the Mass of the Five Wounds, but refused a feast common to all, with special Mass and Office, the devotion spread, particularly in religious communities. The Marseilles plague, 1720, furnished perhaps the first occasion for a solemn consecration and public worship outside of religious communities. Other cities of the South followed the example of Marseilles, and thus the devotion became a popular one. In 1726 it was deemed advisable once more to importune Rome for a feast with a Mass and Office of its own, but, in 1729, Rome again refused. However, in 1765, it finally yielded and that same year, at the request of the queen, the feast was received quasi officially by the episcopate of France. On all sides it was asked for and obtained, and finally, in 1856, at the urgent entreaties of the French bishops, Pope Pius IX extended the feast to the universal Church under the rite of double major. In 1889 it was raised by the Church to the double rite of first class. The acts of consecration and of reparation were everywhere introduced together with the devotion. Oftentimes, especially since about 1850, groups, congregations, and States have consecrated themselves to the Sacred Heart, and, in 1875, this consecration was made throughout the Catholic world. Still the pope did not wish to take the initiative or to intervene. Finally, on 11 June, 1899, by order of Leo XIII, and with the formula prescribed by him, all mankind was solemnly consecrated to the Sacred Heart. The idea of this act, which Leo XIII called "the great act" of his pontificate, had been proposed to him by a religious of the Good Shepherd from Oporto (Portugal) who said that she had received it from Christ Himself. She was a member of the Drost-zu-Vischering family, and known in religion as Sister Mary of the Divine Heart. She died on the feast of the Sacred Heart, two days before the consecration, which had been deferred to the following Sunday. Whilst alluding to these great public manifestations we must not omit referring to the intimate life of the devotion in souls, to the practices connected with it, and to the works and associations of which it was the very life. Moreover, we must not overlook the social character which it has assumed particularly of late years. The Catholics of France, especially, cling firmly to it as one of their strongest hopes of ennoblement and salvation

Could This Really Be It

2007-06-14T19:00:00.000-04:00

Could This Really Be It!!!

Has The Holy Father actually signed The Motu Proprio ?

What great news to receive on The Vigil of The Sacred Heart Of Jesus!

Please say this is not just another rumor and that we will see this in the next few weeks

Keep Praying Folks!

Check out the whole scoop here:
Rorate Caeli

Corpus Christi

2007-06-10T07:00:00.000-04:00

Customs for the Feast of Corpus Christi

Different customs surrounded this feast dating back to the time of the Middle Ages.

These included pageants, processions and wreaths. In America towns and bodies of water were named in honor of the Blessed Sacrament.

PAGEANTS — In most European countries mystery plays used to be performed after the procession in public squares or in churches. The Corpus Christi pageants were highly popular, especially in England, Germany, and Spain. Perhaps the most famous of them are the Autos Sacramentales (Plays of the Sacrament) by the Spanish priest and poet Pedro Calderón de la Barca (1681). They are still performed today on special occasions, such as centenary celebrations, Eucharistic congresses, and ecclesiastical jubilees.

By the seventeenth century, the Corpus Christi processions had developed unusual features which appealed to the mood of baroque piety and were highly favored in all European countries where processions could be held. Saint George and his dragon (in many places Saint Margaret, too), the main characters of the famous mystery pageant of medieval days, now appeared in the procession itself. In Bavaria, impersonations of demons ran along, expressing in vivid pantomime their fright and fear of the Blessed Sacrament. In Belgium and France boys and girls dressed as ancient gods and goddesses, sitting on figures of wild animals, rode in the procession to symbolize the fact that even the pagan past had to rise again and pay tribute to the Eucharistic Lord.

All kinds of symbolic pictures and representations were carried (or walked) in the Corpus Christi processions of western and southern Germany: Moses with the brazen serpent; David and Goliath; the synagogue, symbolized by a withered tree from which hung a broken scepter; the Easter lamb, blood running from its open wound; the figure of Christ wrapped in burial linen and carried by angels dressed in black; the Sorrowful Virgin, followed by thirty mourning women and forty men who walked with outstretched arms, and others.

Especially favored was the attendance of children dressed as angels. Already in 1496, at the great children''s procession in Florence, Savonarola had all of them appear in white or garbed as angels. This custom quickly spread all over Europe in the following centuries. At the Corpus Christi procession in Mainz in 1613 hundreds of children, impersonating the nine choirs of angels, marched before the Blessed Sacrament while many other "angels" strewed flowers in front of the Eucharistic Lord.

These manifestations of baroque piety were gradually restricted and most of them suppressed during the second half of the eighteenth century, not without some resistance and much complaining on the part of the population. In some cities even Lutherans protested against the suppression because, not having processions of their own, they had enjoyed watching these features of the Catholic pageant.

In Spain many figures of gigantic size and other figures with immense masks (Gigantes y Cabezudos), representing famous persons of the Old Testament, took part, and still do, in the procession. They perform traditional dances in the street, accompanied by the quaint strains of an ancient melody. In the churches of Spain groups of choirboys danced before the altar in honor of the Blessed Sacrament. The most famous of these Eucharistic dances, still practiced today, is performed on Corpus Christi and some other feast days in the Cathedral of Seville.

DAY OF WREATHS — In central Europe, and also in France, Corpus Christi Day is the "Day of Wreaths" (Kranzeltag) and of huge bouquets of flowers borne on the top of wooden poles (Prangtag). Wreaths and bouquets of exquisite flowers in various colors are attached to flags and banners, to houses, and to the arches of green boughs that span the streets. The clergy and altar boys wear little wreaths on their left arms in the procession; girls carry wreaths on their heads. Even the monstrance containing the Blessed Sacrament is adorned with a wreath of choice flowers on Corpus Christi Day. In Poland these wreaths are blessed by the priest on the eve of the feast day. After the solemnities people decorate their homes with them. Some are suspended on the walls of the houses or affixed to doors and windows. Others are put up in gardens, fields, and pastures, with a prayer for protection and blessing upon the growing harvest.

AMERICAN PLACE NAMES — In the New World the Feast of Corpus Christi was celebrated during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, with the usual solemn observance, by the missionaries and their native converts in Florida, California, Texas, New Mexico, and in the missions of New France (Canada and the Great Lakes region). In honor of the festival the Franciscans named a bay of the Gulf of Mexico "Corpus Christi Bay." Later a town, founded on the shore of that bay, was given the same title — Corpus Christi, Texas. In a similar way the capital of California was named Sacramento after the river on which it is situated, which had been named by the missionaries in honor of the Holy Eucharist.

Enthronement of Your Home

2007-06-09T07:00:00.000-04:00

Enthronement Of Your Home To The Sacred Heart of Jesus

by The Very Father Roger J. ScheckelSpiritual Advisor for the Marian Catechists

March 1, 2003
In one of the classes that I am attending during my study sabbatical in Rome, Italy, we were asked to read an article written by a priest from the Archdiocese of Cleveland, that concerns the spirituality of diocesan priests. One of the topics discussed in the article is the need priests have for an experiences of intimacy. The author states that without healthy experiences of intimacy, the priest will fail miserably in his vocation as a priest. Throughout the article some very valid points are made. But I was disappointed with his discussion concerning intimacy in the life of the priest, in that his understanding of intimacy focused exclusively on horizontal relationships (people to people) while never once mentioning the necessity to develop an intimate relationship between the priest and Jesus Christ.
It is not only priests, but also every Christian believer who is in need of deep and satisfying personal relationships with other people, so long as the proper moral boundaries of these relationships are maintained. This is especially true of the need for intimacy between the believer and Jesus Christ. Each believer is invited and encouraged by Christ to come to know, love and serve him as an intimate friend and companion, (John: 15:15). This intimacy between Christ and the believer is built into each sacramental encounter, particularly at the Holy Mass during the reception of Holy Communion. In each of the sacraments there are words, gestures, and touch that communicate to the believer the intimacy that Christ seeks with each recipient. I can, to this day, vividly recall what passed through my mind and heart when Bishop John Paul laid his hands on my head to pray over me when ordaining me to the priesthood. When I felt the touch of the hands on my head I said interiorly, “Lord, it is you.”
I believe that most believers have had moments such as my own during the celebration of the sacraments. The sacraments are purposely designed to communicate a personal and intimate presence of our Lord. However, the sacraments are not the only experience where Christ’s personal and intimate presence is made available to us. The devotional life also provides an important opportunity for an intimate experience with Christ. The sacramental and the devotional life should never be viewed as contrary to, or in competition with, one another. It is important that a balance and harmony between the two be established in the life of the believer. However there is a difference between the two of them that affects the experience of intimacy that the believer is able to encounter with our Lord, that being that the sacramental encounter is communal while the devotional is primarily but not exclusively, private.
When considering the experience of intimacy in personal relationships, such as with a spouse or good friend, most of us are aware that an intimate encounter seeks situations where privacy, leisure and silence can easily be found and maintained. In this regard, the devotional life by its very nature lends itself to greater possibility for intimacy with Christ. This should not be misconstrued to mean that sacramental/communal experiences are devoid of leisure and silence. Almost every priest will admit that one of the continual challenges of sacramental ministry is to develop and maintain within the Sacred Liturgy a time and space for silence and leisure so that the worshiper can have some time to be with Christ “alone” in their mind and heart. I describe this aspect of sacramental ministry to be a challenge because so often the Sacred Liturgy has to “move along” in order to accommodate another schedule that serves the life of the parish. Also, I believe it more difficult (but not impossible) to experience intimacy with someone when surrounded by a large crowd than in the privacy of one’s home. It is on this particular point, namely, that our homes can become places where deep devotional intimacy is achieved, that I dedicate the remainder of this article. More specifically, I wish to commend to all readers the enthronement of their home and the consecration of their family to the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ.
The enthronement of one’s home to the Sacred Heart of Jesus as well as the consecration of one’s family to that same heart underscores a basic teaching of our Catholic Faith, namely, that the family and home constitute the domestic Church. Jesus Christ desires to enter into our homes and our family life and be an active part of all that goes on there each day. The enthronement, preceded by proper preparation, is an explicit invitation on the part of the family to have Jesus as King and Friend of the family. In the act of consecration, the family seeks for Christ to rule in their hearts and home knowing that Christ’s Kingship is defined by service and love. The love founded in the service that Christ has for each family member is the love that each family member is to have for one another. Christ is asked to enter into the family’s everyday life, to be a true brother and friend. He is asked to provide protection to the home, preserving it from the evil that seeks to destroy the family. The consecration prayer speaks to Christ from the heart about one’s own heart. “Lord Jesus, to Your loving, glorified Heart, Your wounded Heart, we dedicate, we consecrate our weak, our selfish hearts” (Ceremonial for the Family, page 7). Throughout the consecration prayer the words chosen are thoroughly personal and intimate. When a family consecrates themselves and their home to the Sacred Heart it indicates that Jesus Christ is to be an intimate member of that family. That he will be included in the family conversations, that he will be consulted in prayer when there are important decisions to be made and that his image will have a prominent place in the family home indicating his role and place in the family.
The image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus provides a special opportunity to foster devotional intimacy. We are well aware that our personal relationship with Jesus Christ is founded on the reality that He is present to us spiritually (also substantially in the Holy Eucharist). It is a unique kind of relationship in that we don’t have a bodily person in front of us the way we do when we have a personal encounter with a spouse or friend. It can be daunting to enter into intimate conversation with Jesus Christ who is “hidden” from us by the glory that He shares with his Heavenly Father. Jesus knows well about this uniqueness. He entered into and continues to share our finite human nature. He knows the challenge that our finitude presents when seeking a personal relationship to the One who is infinite. By choosing to reveal the image of himself as the Sacred Heart to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, we are able to observe the love and understanding that Christ has for us. He knows that over time the human person needs to be able to look into the eyes and speak to the heart of the person we desire to love. And so he provided a privileged revelation to be given to Saint Margaret Mary that would help us in this regard. When a family member enters the room where the image of the Sacred Heart has been prominently displayed, it can offer the opportunity for that person to privately, in silence and leisure, speak heart to heart with Jesus Christ. This kind of intimate conversation is essential to the life of the believer.
The devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus through the enthronement of the home and the consecration of the family provides an important opportunity to enrich and deepen the saving grace that comes to our lives through the sacraments. The devotional life deepens and nourishes our Christian Faith allowing God’s saving grace to have an ever deeper and profound effect in our lives. Marian Catechists of the Diocese of La Crosee should have an appreciation of the devotional life in general, due to the formation program of Father John Hardon, S.J., and also an appreciation for the Sacred Heart Devotion, in particular, due to the initiatives within our Diocese that have been promoted by the leadership and service of our Diocesan Bishop, The Archbishop Raymond L. Burke. If you have not enthroned your home to the Sacred Heart of Jesus consider doing so and if you have, consider encouraging others to do the same.

Happy Birthday

2007-06-08T07:00:00.000-04:00

A quarter of a Century ago, a little boy came into my life. He weighed 7 lbs 14 oz and his name is Charles Edward.

He was born at 6:48 am

He has made me a very proud Mom. I pray for you this day, and I Thank God for this so very special gift, that makes me smile over and over again

I hope you have a wonderful day

Happy Birthday My Wonderful Son

The Sacred Heart Diet Vs. THE SACRED HEART DIET !!!

2007-06-06T00:48:00.000-04:00

I AM SORRY I COULDN'T RESIST HAVING FUN WITH THIS ONE

Please do read on past this diet to see the REAL Sacred Heart Diet

Have fun comparing the two: As I did

The Sacred Heart Diet

Review Summary
The idea for the Sacred Heart Diet supposedly originated in the cardiology department at Sacred Heart Memorial Hospital in Wisconsin. However, the hospital maintains that this is not the case. Perhaps for this reason, identical plans have also sprung up under different names, such as the Spokane Heart Diet, the Cleveland Clinic Diet and the Miami Heart Institute Diet. Some have also observed that it bears a strong resemblance to the cabbage soup diet. Because of its indeterminate origins and lack of sound medical backing, many consider this plan to be nothing more than a fad diet. And while it may help some dieters cut back on their calories, it is unlikely that this plan is a viable long-term solution.
What it Is
The Sacred Heart Diet is designed to last for ten days. Dieters may choose to try it in order to lose weight for a special event, or to help kick off a new weight loss program. In order to begin the plan, dieters prepare a soup of fat-free broth and vegetables. This will be their primary source of nutrients for the week. On day one, dieters may eat the soup and any fruit besides bananas. Cantaloupe and watermelon are recommended. On day two, dieters eliminate fruit, and eat only soup and vegetables, avoiding peas, corn and beans. Dinner consists of a baked potato with butter. No baked potato on day three, but dieters may eat all the soup, fruits and veggies they like. On day four, dieters should eat at least three bananas and drink as much skim milk as they can, along with soup. On day five, dieters may eat 10 to 20 ounces of beef and one can of stewed tomatoes. They should also be sure to eat soup for one meal. On day six, dieters should eat the soup at least once, but other than that they may consume as much beef and vegetables as they wish. And finally, on day seven, at least one serving of soup, as well as brown rice, vegetables, and unsweetened fruit juice.
Concept
Some call the soup associated with the Sacred Heart Diet a “fat burning soup” or “calorie burning soup.” Some proponents also claim that it contains no calories at all, which is why dieters may eat as much of it as they like. It is also believed to “cleanse the body of impurities”, causing dieters to feel lighter and more energetic. Unfortunately, there is no truth to the claims that this soup, or any other food, for that matter, is calorie free. However, the broth and vegetables contain very few calories and can be quite filling, allowing dieters to restrict their total calorie intake.
Diet Lifestyle
Most dieters are aware that the most reliable method for losing weight is to simply burn more calories than you consume. Therefore, consuming fewer calories makes it easier to achieve the negative balance necessary to drop pounds. The “Sacred Heart” plan is quite low in calories, which may help some dieters to drop pounds. However, because the plan lasts only for one week, individuals are likely to gain the weight back as soon as they return to eating normally. Those who are looking for a way to control their calorie intake may want to consider a supplements containing hoodia gordonii. This herb has been shown to curb cravings, helping dieters to eat less without feeling deprived. Because the herb does not cause side effects, it is safe for long-term use.
Positives
• Does not require any specialty foods • Lasts only 7 days
Negatives
• Dieters may grow bored of the menu • Not helpful for weight maintenance

Final Thoughts:
Most nutritional experts dismiss this diet as little more than a fad, arguing that many of its claims are simply false. Although the “special soup” contains plenty of healthy vegetables, no food is calorie free. It may be fairly low in calories, but many dieters may find themselves bored after several straight days of nothing but soup. More likely than not, any weight lost on this diet will quickly be gained back. In order to maintain weight loss, dieters may want to consider a supplement containing bitter orange in addition to hoodia gordonii. This herb has been shown to boost the metabolism increasing the body’s fat and calorie burning abilities.

Ok Now Here Is My Theory

Review My Summary:

This idea was originally formed in Watertown, Ct (inside my silly mind ), on a late night in June, when I couldn't go to sleep.This is how the idea inspired me to formulate this post (LOL)

Some may say that it resembles a strong comparison to the Blessed Virgin Mary and the devotion in which we honor her Most Immaculate Heart

Althought this may not have a strong spiritual backing. I do believe that this Sacred Heart Diet is NO "Fad Diet".

And although many may at times cut back on their diet of prayer, it is not recommended for any long term solution to salvation.

The idea of The Sacred Heart Diet is to develop our own unique and special relationship with Christ

What It Is:

It is designed to last for an Eternity

The closest relationship we can have with Our Lord and Savior is becoming united with His Most Sacred Heart

Followers may choose to follow the path of Christ in order to obtain salvation for their sins

Some proponent of prayers may be cleansing to the soul

On day one, one may pray The Act Of Consecration to The sacred Heart

Day two, may consist of Imitating The Sacred Heart of Jesus

Day three, We may learn to Love and Adore the Sacred Heart

Day four, we may now move into asking mercy from The Divine Heart of Jesus

And by Day five, we may receive the Most Sacred Heart as Our Savior into Our hearts in the form of The Eucharist

What ever you do be sure to have a healthy diet of prayer and that you maintain as much prayer and contemplation as possible for your daily servings

Concept:

Some call this diet a "Soul Saving Grace", or a "Indulegence Of A Hundred Days" for the betterment of Eternal Health. Some claim that they are sinners and Have no faith at all, but this is why you must act on the devotion to The Sacred Heart for the complete "cleansing of your impurities" and after you do this and go to confession, the Holy Ghost will fill your soul and you will feel more spiritually energetic. There is no guarantee to the salvation of souls and only God knows of our fate. However, this is not to give up the hope of Mercy in the Heart of Jesus and asking for intercession from the Blessed Mary Ever-Virgin.

Diet Life-Style:

Most Cathlolics are aware of the methods of reaching salvation through the various forms of prayer. Therefore it is importatnt in comsuming as many indulgences as possible even if we are to only achieve partial ones. This "Sacred Heart" plan can last an eternity opposed to a lifetime benefits from that other "Sacred Heart" plan. Those of you who are looking to control Tempation will need to make sure that they continue on the right path. Never mind adding special herbs to this diet. A good dose of Holy Water in your home and some beeswax candles and some incense and meditation on the Sacred Heart is all you really need. This will be sure to cause no side effects and will be safe for long-term use.

Positives:

Well, what would beat Eternal Salvation!

Living the rest of our time adoring the Most Adorable Heart of Jesus!

Seeing the smiling face of Our Blessed Mother!

Basking in the Glow of all the Angels and Saints!

Having eternal Joy and being free from the torments of Hell!

Final Thoughts:

Most Spiritual Experts would have to agree that the only way to salvation is through prayer and the Divine Mercy of Our Savior

Although no"soup" is salvation free, it is high in hope and contains many possiblities for entering into the Kingdom Of Heaven. In order to maintain a life of prayer one must continue to do Penance and mortifications. Oh and never mind those herbs again, the best solution to any form of keeping you mind body and soul healthy is receiving the Eucharist on a frequent basis

I had a lot of fun with this and now if I don't get to sleep I may find myself late for work in the morning!

June is The Month Of The Sacred Heart Of Jesus

2007-06-01T20:00:00.000-04:00

June is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

It is also the One Year Anniversary of Two Hearts Ablaze the web site that Tom Fitzpatrick and I started in Honor of The Sacred Heart Of Jesus and The Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Please visit our site and have a look

I finished reading The Glories of Mary by St. Alphonsus Liguori and I highly reccommend it. I also finished The Secret of The Rosary by St. Louis deMonfort. Both books well worth your time.

In my readings for this month ,I have the hopes of finishing The Imitation of The Sacred Heart of Jesus by Fr. Peter J. Arnoudt, S.J.

I would like to share a homily given by a wonderful priest that celebrates Mass at Sacred Heart Church in New Haven, Ct where I attend. I am so ever grateful to God for these wonderful men who give the most awe-inspiring homilies and who truly love God with all their hearts.

I hope that you take the time to read this:

This homily was said during the Mass for Whitsunday (Pentecost)

This touched so many of us in attendance and it was so very much in need of sharing with everyone

I think Fr. Cipolla was truly touched by The Holy Ghost with this one, way to go Father!!!

Pentecost 2007 Sermon

Sermon for Pentecost 2007

May 27, 2007

Rev. Richard G. Cipolla

This feast is for all practical purposes the only chance to preach on the Holy Spirit per se. Perhaps the proper thing to do, after hearing the famous and familiar and dramatic reading from the Acts of the Apostles about the pouring forth of the Spirit onto Mary and the apostles, and therefore onto the Church, one should sit down and maintain a respectful and contemplative silence in the face of such an awesome event. For Pentecost is the last in a series of the mighty acts of God: creation hovered over by the Spirit, the creation of man breathed into life by the breath of God, the incarnation of God by the power of the Spirit in the body and soul of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the resurrection of Jesus by the Spirit of life, and today, the outpouring of the very life and substance and power of God onto the Church, making the sacramental life of the Church possible, making salvation itself a reality, making the presence of the immortal, unfathomable God real in this world. The coming of the Holy Spirit is an end to pie in the sky religion. God has tented among his people and blows where he will and dwells in power wherever there is the Catholic Church.
One of the highlights of the liturgical movement of the late nineteenth and first half of the twentieth century was the publication of a small book by Romano Guardini called The Spirit of the Liturgy. It is not a book of scholarship nor a history of the liturgy. It deals with the fundamental understanding of the liturgy in terms that have never been surpassed. Its importance was noted by the then Cardinal Ratzinger when he published in 1999 his collection of essays on the liturgy and named the book The Spirit of the Liturgy. In the introduction Cardinal Ratzinger marks the importance of Guardini’s book and honors Guardini with choosing the same title: The Spirit of the Liturgy.
It is interesting that in neither book is there a specific chapter or section dedicated to the role of the Holy Spirit in the liturgy. But this is so because both men understood that Christian worship is nothing other than worship in spirit and truth, that the Christian cannot worship God except in the Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of truth. Now this phrase: worship in spirit, or more specifically, worship in the Holy Spirit, has been associated in recent times, but there are also similar movements in the past, with a specific type of experience that involves such phenomena as speaking in tongues, great emotional experiences, in which the individual is caught up into an ecstatic state. These signs are then offered as proof that whatever is going on is the work of the Holy Spirit and is therefore worship in spirit and truth.
However we judge this phenomenon, one can say that it has nothing to do with worship of God as the Catholic understands it in the liturgy. For the role of the Holy Spirit in the liturgy is not at all to seize individuals with special fervor; it is not to stir up emotions; it is not to instruct or teach at least in the didactic sense. The Spirit provides the unifying presence of God without which worship degenerates into idolatry, either the worship of the community or the worship of the self. It is only that Spirit bestowed in baptism and confirmation that can forge that unity between people that enables them to offer the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving that is the essence of worship. This unity can never be achieved by anything we do. It certainly is not the product of speaking the same language. It is certainly is not the product of common tastes, style, upbringing, nationality etc. If this were the basis for this unity we could hardly call ourselves Catholics. The Church at prayer is bound by the Holy Spirit into that body that is the body of Christ, and it is this Spirit that makes possible the overcoming of that individualism that makes worship impossible. That is, the Spirit makes it possible for me as an individual to enter into that place that is the body of Christ, in which I give myself over to this sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving. Catholic worship demands the sacrifice of the individual, demands the giving over of my likes and dislikes, my mood, my wants and needs; worship demands that I renounce whatever excludes the others in the community at the liturgy, that I give myself over to the other, to the others, as we all do the same thing, participate with our mind, body and soul in the sacrifice of the Mass in the power of the Holy Spirit.
How difficult this is for contemporary Western, affluent man, who assumes that all things are for his own personal benefit. How difficult this is for Catholics brought up to believe that the liturgy must be tailored to their wants and needs and taste and sensibilities. How difficult it is for Catholics who have never heard that humility is the prerequisite of active participation in the Mass, humility by renunciation, humility by the abdication of self-rule and self-sufficiency. And humility, in the words of Romano Guardini, by positive action: “by the acceptance of the spiritual principles which the liturgy offers and which far transcend the little world of individual spiritual existence.”
David Brooks, the author of the now classic Bobos in Paradise which described so well a whole generation of affluent Americans unmoored from tradition and yet longing for something else, had an editorial in the New York Times on Friday about the rise of quasi-Catholics in this country and their contribution to the economic boom: the title is “Bad for Church, good for country. What is a quasi-Catholic? He is someone who remains a Catholic in the sense that he attends Mass often, not always, but often, appreciates family values, is not afraid of hard work, but in the end lives his life as he sees fit, that is, with a healthy American skepticism towards dogma and the official teaching of the Church. He is someone who has followed the quasi-Protestant into a world of lite religion, a world in which religious faith exists in some sort of twilight zone where American enterprise and pride and financial success becomes undistinguishable from religion, a world in which worship as sacrifice is unintelligible. That this has happened comes as no surprise to many of us who understand the ancient dictum: lex orandi, lex credendi, how people worship determines what people believe. The collapse of liturgy in Protestantism almost at its very inception, the denial of liturgical worship and sacraments, the reduction of worship to didactism or pietism, the emphasis on emotion and feeling: all guaranteed the triumph of quasi-Protestantism as the steamroller of secularism flattened most Christian traces of Luther, Calvin and Wesley into a vague ethical program with no foundation in Scripture and Tradition and with no weapons to fight against relativism and individualism.
So too is the situation of quasi-Catholics, and their existence is known to all of us here, their existence is known to priests and bishops even if they wish to deny it. We see them in countless photographs, smiling, as they attend posh dinners for worthy causes, as they smile as they hand over large checks to church leaders for Catholic charities, smiling as their children receive confirmation, smiling not only with pride for their children, but also smiling as they ponder what all of this really means in the end and what it has to do with their lives. The appearance of quasi-Catholics was inevitable in this country as Catholics assimilated to the Protestant way of looking at life and faith as something merely personal. But the past forty years have indeed seen the real rise of this phenomenon, and this has come about because of the fertilizing action of a quasi-liturgy that has set us adrift from the Tradition in which liturgical worship alone can exist: the Tradition whose roots are in the blood of the Cross, whose roots are in the sacrifice of the Cross, whose roots are fed by the Truth himself, our Lord Jesus Christ, and whose power and presence in the world is made manifest by the working of the Holy Spirit.
Alexander Schmemann, the Russian Orthodox theologian, said that at the very time that the world was growing tired of modernism the Catholic Church in the 1960’s decided to embrace it. Indeed, when one looks back, it is remarkable that at that very time in American Catholic history in which Catholics began to really enjoy the fruit of American capitalism, when they began to become educated, when they were let in to the best clubs, that they were given a liturgy that was fabricated, and that is the Pope’s word, not mine, fabricated especially for them, in which creativity and novelty were encouraged, personal liturgies for different groups, in which the priest faced the people as if he were talking to them instead of God, in which active participation became synonymous with getting as many laypeople in the sanctuary to do something that everyone could see like at a high school assembly, a liturgy fabricated for the people of a specific time, whose purpose was to make things clear and people happy. Quasi-liturgy for quasi-Catholics. That is the situation.
Now there are those Catholics, and you may know some of them, who are not satisfied with the present situation and believe that what is at stake here is the Catholic faith itself. There are those who believe that if we continue down this path we will all be sucked up by the quasi-religion of most Americans, which has little to do with what happened at Pentecost. If this is true, what is to be done? Is it possible to go back to the real thing once you have become addicted to aspartame? Is it possible to return to worship that has at its very heart sacrifice, both in the objective sense as the sacrifice of Christ re-presented, and in the subjective sense as the self-sacrifice of the worshipper to enter into the holy of holies with the community formed by the Holy Spirit? That is the question to ask on this Pentecost. And that is what to pray about on this Pentecost in our prayer to the Holy Spirit. O Holy Spirit, who brooded over creation, who gave breath and life to man, whose power shot through the life, death and resurrection of Christ, whose presence in the Church is real and constant, give us the courage and the humility and the willingness to sacrifice ourselves to bring about the renewal of the liturgy of your Church. Deliver us from cynicism and from despondency. Fill us with hope and let us see that with God all things are possible. Amen.

The Sign Of The Cross

2007-05-17T07:00:00.000-04:00

Sign of Grace, Sign of Glory

Sign of Grace, Sign of Glory

Six reasons why we make the Sign of the Cross
By Bert Ghezz

Catholics often make the Sign of the Cross casually, just as a nice gesture for beginning and ending their prayers. But when we learn to take this act seriously, signing ourselves frequently with faith and reverence, remarkable results can take place. We find ourselves doing measurably better in our Christian life: praying with more passion, resisting our bad inclinations more effectively, and relating to others more kindly.
The Sign of the Cross, after all, is not merely a pious gesture. It is a powerful prayer, a sacramental of the Church.
Scripture, the Church Fathers and saints, and Catholic teaching offer six perspectives on the Sign of the Cross that reveal why making it opens us to life-transforming graces. Once we grasp them, we can make the gesture with more faith and experience its great blessings.

Six Reasons to Make the Sign

1. A mini-creed. The Sign of the Cross is a profession of faith in God as He has revealed himself. It serves as an abbreviated form of the Apostles' Creed.
Touching our forehead, breast and shoulders (and in some cultures, our lips as well), we declare our belief in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We are announcing our faith in what God has done -- the creation of all things, the redemption of humanity from sin and death, and the establishment of the Church, which offers new life to all. When we sign ourselves we are making ourselves aware of God's presence and opening ourselves to His action in our lives.
That much alone would be enough to transform us spiritually, wouldn't it? But there is much, much more.

2. A renewal of baptism. First-century Christians began making the Sign of the Cross as a reminder and renewal of what happened to them when they were baptized. It still works the same way for us.
When we sign ourselves we are declaring that in baptism we died sacramentally with Christ on the cross and rose to a new life with Him (see Rom 6:3-4 and Gal 2:20). We are asking the Lord to renew in us those baptismal graces.
We are also acknowledging that baptism joined us to the Body of Christ and equipped us for our role of collaborating with the Lord in His work of rescuing all people from sin and death.

3. A mark of discipleship.At baptism the Lord claimed us as His own by marking us with the Sign of the Cross. Now, when we sign ourselves, we are affirming our loyalty to Him. By tracing the cross on our bodies, we are denying that we belong to ourselves and declaring that we belong to Him alone (see Lk 9:23).
The Church Fathers used the same word for the Sign of the Cross that the ancient world employed to indicate ownership. The same word named a shepherd's brand on his sheep, a general's tattoo on his soldiers, a householder's mark on his servants, and the Lord's mark on His disciples.
Signing ourselves recognizes that we are Christ's sheep and can count on His care; His soldiers, commissioned to work with Him in advancing His kingdom on earth; and His servants, dedicated to doing whatever He tells us.

4. An acceptance of suffering. Jesus promised us that suffering would be a normal part of a disciple's life (see Lk 9:23-24). So when we mark our bodies with the sign, we are embracing whatever pain comes as a consequence of our faith in Christ. Making the sign is our taking up the cross and following Him (Lk 9:23).
At the same time, however, it comforts us with the realization that Jesus, who endured the Crucifixion for us, now joins us in our suffering and supports us.
Signing ourselves also announces another significant truth: with St. Paul, we are celebrating that our afflictions as members of the body of Christ contribute to the Lord's saving work of perfecting the Church in holiness (see Col 1:24).

5. A two-edged move against the devil. When the devil watched Jesus die on the cross, he mistakenly believed he had won a great victory. Instead, the Lord surprised him with an ignominious defeat (see 1 Cor 2:8). From the first Easter morning through the present, the Sign of the Cross makes the devil cower and flee.
On one level, then, making the sign is a defensive move, declaring our inviolability to the devil's influence. But, more importantly, the sign is also an offensive weapon, helping us reclaim with Christ all that Satan lost at the cross. It announces our cooperation with Jesus in the indomitable advance of the kingdom of God against the kingdom of darkness.

6. A victory over the flesh. In the New Testament, the word fleshsums up all the evil inclinations of our old nature that persist in us even after we die with Christ in baptism (see Gal 5:16-22). Making the Sign of the Cross expresses our decision to crucify these desires of the flesh and to live by the Spirit.
Like tossing off a dirty shirt or blouse, making the sign indicates our stripping ourselves of our evil inclinations and clothing ourselves with the behaviors of Christ (see Col 3:5-15).
The Church Fathers taught that the Sign of the Cross diffused the force of powerful temptations such as anger and lust. So, no matter how strongly we are tempted, we can use the Sign of the Cross to activate our freedom in Christ and conquer even our besetting sins.
Apply These Truths Now
Right now, you can imprint in your heart these six truths about the Sign of the Cross by making it six times, each time applying one of the perspectives.
First, sign yourself professing your faith in God.
Second, mark yourself remembering that you died with Christ in baptism.
Third, make the sign to declare that you belong to Christ as His disciple and will obey Him.
Fourth, sign yourself to embrace whatever suffering comes and to celebrate your suffering with Christ for the Church.
Fifth, make the Sign of the Cross as a defense against the devil and as an offensive advance of God's kingdom against him.
Finally, make the sign to crucify your flesh and to put on Christ and His behaviors.
Go through these six signings often in your morning prayer -- and watch the grace flow through this ancient sacramental in the days to come. TCA

Bert Ghezzi is the author of numerous books, most recently "The Sign of the Cross: Recovering the Power of the Ancient Prayer" (Loyola, 2006).

Very Worthwhile Reading

2007-05-14T07:00:00.000-04:00

I was looking to read something to bring myself closer to The Blessed Virgin Mary this Month, and to keep my focus on her. I have been getting great pleasure from the book, "The Glories of Mary".

This is a large book with over 700 pages. I actually started reading it before May to get a head start. I am very much enjoying it, and wish that I didn' t have to put it down. I am well into it now around 3/4 of the way through, and I recommend it to anyone at any time. There are great examples and prayers at the end of each chapter. The book is written by a great Saint, St. Alphonsus Liguori. He does a fantastic job of finding the most appropriate ways of honoring our Blessed Virgin Mary.

Reading books by the saints are a way for us to keep the focus on Tradition.

St Francis de Sales wrote a great book which I know a few people are reading this month and which I have read in the past, "The True Devotion to Mary". This one happens to be one of my favorites and I think that "The Glories of Mary" is going to be added to the favorite list as well.

I know my blogging partner, Tom Fitzpatrick of Recta Ratio, has been posting excerpts from "The Glories of Mary" (actually it was his suggestion that I read this book)

Thanks Tom!

Happy Mothers Day

2007-05-13T07:00:00.000-04:00

Happy Mother's Day to All the Mom's out there!

Happy Mother's Day Blessed Virgin Mary!

Let's Not forgot those Mom's who are not here with us today as well!

Today, also Marks the 90th Anniversary of Our Lady Of Fatima

Pray the Rosary! Pray the Rosary! Pray the Rosary!

Fatima Eucharistic Prayer

2007-05-12T07:00:00.000-04:00

EUCHARISTIC PRAYER

Most Holy Trinity, I adore you!
My God, My God,
I love You in the Most Blessed Sacrament.
(3 times)

Fatima Decade Prayer

2007-05-11T07:00:00.000-04:00

DECADE PRAYER

To be said after the Glory Be at the end of each decade of the Rosary

O MY JESUS, forgive us our sins, save us from the fire of Hell, lead all souls to Heaven, especially those who are most in need of Thy mercy.

Fatima Pardon Prayer

2007-05-10T07:00:00.000-04:00

PARDON PRAYER

My God, I believe, I adore, I trust, and I love Thee!

I ask pardon for for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not trust and do not love Thee.
(3 times)

Fatima Sacrifice Prayer

2007-05-09T07:00:00.000-04:00

SACRIFICE PRAYER
Sacrifices
A great "secret" of converting sinners is to make sacrifices for them, as well as to pray for them. Our Lady Of Fatima said: "Many souls go to Hell because there are none to sacrifice themselves and to pray for them," And the holy Cure of Ars said that the conversion of sinners "begins with prayer and ends with penance."
At Fatima both the Angel and Our Lady asked for sacrifices for sinners. They said, "Sacrifice yourself."

This is done largely by generously making individual sacrifices.

The Angel of Fatima, too, told the three children to "Offer prayers and sacrifices constantly to the Most High . . . Make of everything you can a sacrifice, and offer it to God as an act of reparation for the sins by which He is offended, and in supplication for the conversion of sinners . . . Above all, accept and bear with submission the sufferings which the Lord will send you."

OUR LADY OF FATIMA SAID: SACRIFICE YOURSELVES FOR SINNERS AND SAY MANY TIMES, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU MAKE SOME SACRIFICE:

O JESUS, it is for love of Thee, for the conversion of sinners, and in reparation for the sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Fatima Angels Prayer

2007-05-08T07:00:00.000-04:00

ANGEL'S PRAYER
Given to the three children by the Angel who preceded Our Lady's first appearance to them.

Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, I adore Thee profoundly.

I offer Thee the Most Precious Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges, and indifference by which He is offended.

And through the infinite merit of His Most Sacred Heart, and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of Thee the conversion of poor sinners.

Repeat 3 times

The 90th Anniversary of Fatima

2007-05-07T07:00:00.000-04:00

May 13, 2007 marks the 90th Anniversary of the Apparition of Our Blessed Mother in Fatima, Portugal to the Three Shepherd Children, Lucia, Jacinta and Francisco, in 1917.

The Blessed Mother came to the children to make requests and for them to be relayed to the world.

There is some much information to share and a great link is found here:
http://www.catholictradition.org/Mary/fatima.htm

More to come in the next couple of days

Let us not forget Our Blessed Mothers requests and warnings!

Pray the Rosary and remeber Our Lady this Month!

The Month Of Mary

2007-05-01T19:35:00.000-04:00

This Month is dedicated to Our Most Blessed Virgin Mary

A good way to honor her is to say the rosary daily

There are also numerous books to read:

Such as True Devotion to Mary by St Louis de Monfort

The Glories Of Mary by St. Alphonsus de Liguori (which I am reading now)

and so many others to choose from

Just remember her daily and pray to her for our intercession with her Son

Just Blowing Off Some Much Needed Steam

2007-04-28T07:00:00.000-04:00

Someone just recently asked me where I attended Mass. I explained that I drive down to New Haven or to New Britian to attend the Latin Mass. Both of these Churches are around 40 minutes from my home

They had commented in these words, "Oh, You are one of Those!"

Ok now, I thought to myself, we could do several different things? First, I assess the situation and the individual.
Ignorant?? Oh yes of course! What was my first clue?

The fact that I would have loved to have been sarcastic, (very bad habit I am trying to break)
and made a comment to stand equal with hers, would have put me on the same level (but boy would have that felt good).

I opted to stand quiet because as I have said, assessing the situation (the workplace) is not the place to make comments regarding our faith, because it is just not accepted. Ok I accept that, and only because I have to, and believe me not by choice.

But, there are ways of getting around that that the clever "politically correct" society in which we live.

They don't even know what is hitting them if we act accordingly. I mean, according to what Christ has taught us Traditionaly. Meekness and Humility are not the easiest virtues to act upon, but they sure make quite the impact, relatively unnoticeable to those bashers of Traditionalists or of those non Christians as well.

If you don't say anything, then they can't say "He said this" and "she said that", (you know the two year old approach to things). Oh dear there I go with my sarcasim again, sorry. I really have to work on that!

Sometimes by keeping silent you choose to love instead of hate, because the harsh words thrown out can cause irreconcilable damage. Yet you choose to love by becoming silent so as to respect and love the individual judging you. Many do not see this, but God certainly does. He would prefer your silence over a painful remark. Although you are pained and angered, you choose the best for that individual with your silence.

They think they are putting the "Trads" in there place by there sneed comments.
It is only that they are inadequate themselves that they have to strike out and become defensive.

It just goes to prove again that Tradition and Christ teachings and not those of "Man's Choice"
are the winners hands down.

This Catholic Faith is not about change and reform, it is about holding ground to the first beginnings and teachings of Jesus Christ. It is not about changing things in Holy Mother Church to satisfy the tastes of the Modern Liberal Church and making sure that other denominations can feel welcome.

It is about what we know is truth and accepting the teachings and living with the consequences if we choose not to follow. And Yes, there is a Hell, and oh Yes a Purgatory, and by all means a Limbo.

Forget your hand holding and Liturgical dance and the gutars and drums at Mass. All nonsense and all created by Man

Forget the biggest crime in the Catholic Faith receiving Jesus in your hands. And Extraordinary Ministers and Altar girls follow in suit.

Are we of Catholic faith here folks?, or are you happy trying to be a "wanna be" Protestant?
There I go again! I am truly a sinner folks!

Sorry, but these are the cold hard facts of what is going on in the Liberal Catholic Church and you did it to yourselves. Oh yes, I sound like I am contradicting myself by "keeping silent" (as I was stating above) and not allowing words of harshness to flow, but in truth, I am showing facts that are to help "wake up" the sleeping and open their eyes to the Love of Christ. This is not meant as a "dig" or a "jab" at anyone, just a "wake up" call to the truth. Unlike the comment from the individual I work with that said, "Oh, You are one of those."

You have guidleines, you were given commandments to follow and yet you choose your own faith and not that of Your "Tradition" which you are so quick to knock down.
It is no wonder we are in a "crisis"

God Bless The Holy Father who is trying his hardest to bring back the faith. As I like to say and I quote from Neil Armstrong, "That's one small step for Man and one great leap for mankind".

This is exactly what is happenening here and now. The walls are caving in on liberalism and the Holy Father is trying desperately to land on the moon, so to speak, and I hope he does soon.

Come on Motu Proprio!

We need that giant leap, but we will take a small step at first.
We do this with HOPE that someday the faithful will wake up and realize what has happened to them and will turn around and go back to the Shepherd who loves them.

And of other issues that trouble me:

People like respect don't they? Well of course that is silly! But do they show this to Our Lord? Of course not. When you dress inappropriately, and Oh Yes ladies you are in need of a veil or head covering. Gentlemen the jeans have to go!! Oh yeah the sneakers and "flip flops" too!

There are so many issues and so little time to share them all, but please make a start and go back to the roots of Your Faith. read some of the teachings of the saints. Stay away from the modern and liberal books out there, because the devil finds his way into those too.

Read up on the tradition of the faith and then allow the Holy Ghost to work through you.
And most importantly, pray to the Blessed Mother because She alone can bring you closer to Her Son

We are all in need of serious conversion.

Divine Mercy Sunday

2007-04-15T11:51:00.000-04:00

DIVINE MERCYTHE WONDERFUL MERCY OF GOD IS INEXHAUSTIBLE

In heaven Jesus still carries the scar of that wound in His Sacred Heart, pierced by the spear of Longinus, which speaks eloquently of the greatest love the world will ever know.Between 1930 and 1938 Christ appeared to Sister Faustina, a Sister of Mercy in Poland, to re-teach us the story of His love even unto death, and His disappointment in us because of distrust in His Mercy and goodness. Sister Faustina's life was a routine of every-day chores - tending the door, cooking, sweeping, gardening.

Even the closest of her nun-companions never guessed God's predilections for her, or knew the wonderful secrets He whispered to her at prayer.Sister Faustina received the first apparition of the Merciful Christ on the 22nd of February, 1931 in Plotzk.

She describes it thus: "It happened in the evening. I was in my cell, when I saw Jesus dressed in a white garment. He held one hand raised in blessing and with the other He was touching the garment at the breast. From under the garment came two rays of light, one red the other pale. In silence I contemplated the Lord. My soul was filled with fear and, at the same time, with great joy. After a moment Jesus said to me: 'Paint a picture according to the vision you see and with the inscription: - Jesus, I Trust in Thee - I desire that the picture be venerated first in your chapel and then throughout the whole world.

"These rays (red and pale, symbolizing the Blood and Water that gushed forth from the Sacred Heart) shield the soul before the wrath of My Father. . Fortunate is he who lives in Their shelter for the just hand of God will never reach him.

"Along with these instructions of Our Lord Sister Faustina notes two promises given by the Savior "I promise, that the soul that will venerate this picture will not perish. I further promise to that soul victory over its enemies already here on earth and especially in the hour of death. I, Myself, shall defend that soul as my own glory."

Our Lord also promised: "When punishments for sins shall come upon the earth, and your native land shall be in extreme abasement, the only salvation will be hope in Divine Mercy. I shall preserve the cities and homes which this picture shall be found; I shall protect likewise those persons who shall venerate and have confidence in My Mercy. Of special interest and inspiration is the fact that Wilno and Cracow, the only two cities in Poland, where the picture of Our Merciful Lord was publicly exposed before World War II, were both spared destruction, even though other cities were greatly damaged. Confidence in God! Trust in God! - is the great appeal of Jesus in this devotion. Through the devotion to His Most Sacred Heart, the Savior desired to enkindle in the heart of man a flame of love and expiation.

Through this devotion, He wishes to instill in our hearts a feeling of unbounded trust and confidence in His Mercy. "The flames of Mercy consume Me", cries Jesus, "and I desire to pour them out upon human souls." Lack of confidence pains Him immeasurably. "Distrust of souls tears at my bosom. The lack of confidence in chosen souls hurts Me most. Despite my inexhaustible love, they do not trust Me...!

"In order to console the worst of sinners He told Sister Faustina to write: "The greatest sinner has the greatest right to have hope in My Mercy. The soul which invokes My Mercy brings Me untold delight. I grant it graces beyond its expectations. I cannot punish a soul which has recourse to My pity and compassion even though it be the greatest sinner . . . In My unfathomable and inscrutable mercy, I seek to justify it.

"Our Dear Savior warmly exhorts people to hasten to His Mercy before His Justice prevails: "Write that before I come as the just one, I first open wide the gates of My Mercy. He who does not want to pass through the gates of mercy, will have to pass through the gates of justice."

Our Lord permitted Sister Faustina to see the enormity of man's sins. Frightened at their hideousness, she asked Him how He could suffer such gross insults. "I have eternity for the punishment of these. Now, I prolong the time of My Mercy. But, woe to him who does not recognize the time of My visitation.. Secretary of My Mercy, you are obliged not only to write and proclaim My Mercy, but also to implore graces for sinners, that they too may praise My Mercy."

At another time Jesus said to her: "Write, the greater the misery, the stronger the right to mercy. Summon all souls to confidence in the incomprehensible abyss of My Mercy, for I desire to save all. The well of Mercy was opened wide with a lance on the cross for all souls. I do not exclude anyone."Through this humble nun Our Savior also voices a warning to the world that its efforts to rise from its present material and moral degradation will be fruitless, unless it turns to His Mercy:

"Mankind will not find peace, until it turns with confidence to My Mercy." But at the same time He adds a kind invitation and a hopeful promise:

"Tell ailing mankind to draw close to My Merciful heart and I will fill it with Peace.

CHAPLET OF MERCY

On September 13, 1935, Sister Faustina saw an angel, depicted to her as the executor of God's Wrath. In his hands were lightning bolts and thunder. She understood the angel was about to visit a certain place on earth and mete out punishment to its inhabitants. Our Divine Savior had made Sister Faustina's heart after His own merciful one, and she was sorrowful and begged the angel for mercy. But somehow she realized that her poor prayers were without power to appease the wrath of God. Then suddenly the Holy Trinity was manifested, and at the same time the sister heard these words:

"Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Thy Most Beloved Son and Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and the sins of the whole world."

Wonder of wonders, as she repeated the words over and over, the angel was powerless to mete out the punishment.

The next day while going into chapel she heard once again:

"As many times as you enter the chapel, immediately recite the prayer I taught you yesterday." She recited it at once and the voice spoke again:

"This prayer is given to appease the Wrath of God. You will recite it for nine days on the usual part of the Rosary (five decades) in the following manner: First you will say the Our Father, the Hail Mary and the Creed. Then on the larger beads you will recite the prayer,

'Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Thy Most Beloved Son and Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and the sins of the whole world

and the smaller beads,

'Through His most sorrowful passion have mercy on us and on the whole world.

In conclusion you will say three times:

"Holy God, Holy Might One , Holy Immortal One , have mercy on us and on the world.

"Sister received on September 14, 1935, the following beautiful promises for all who would pray this powerful chaplet."

Unceasingly recite this chaplet that I have taught you. Whoever will recite it will receive great mercy at the hour of death...Priests will recommend it to sinners as a last hope of salvation. Even the most hardened sinner, if he recites this chaplet even once, will receive grace from My infinite mercy . . . Oh, what great graces I will grant to souls who will recite this chaplet . . . By means of it you can ask and obtain anything, if what you ask for will be compatible with My will . . . I want the whole world to know My infinite mercy. I want to give unimaginable graces to those who trust in My mercy.During His Passion Our Savior shed His Precious Blood for us. There were but a few drops left in His Dying Heart. He permits the Sacred Heart to be opened with a lance; and the blood trapped therein gushed forth and water with it. The Savior wishes that this touching manifestation of His love be venerated in a special manner in the devotion to the Mercy of God.

It is for that reason that He instructed Sister Faustina to write down this short ejaculation and to use it often:

"O Blood and Water, which hath gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a font of Mercy for us, I Trust in Thee."

Let us imagine that Jesus is addressing us, when He said to Sister Faustina:

"Secretary of My Mercy, I obligate you not only to write and proclaim My Mercy, but also to implore graces for them (sinners), that they may also praise My Mercy.

"PROCLAIM HIS MERCY

Our Blessed Mother appeared to Sister Faustina, too. On the Feast of the Annunciation in 1936 Mary said to her: "I gave the world a Savior. You must proclaim His Mercy to it and prepare the world for His Second Coming. He will then come not as a Merciful Savior, but as a Just Judge. It will be a day of horror; resolved to be the day of Justice-the day of the Wrath of God. Angels tremble before it. . . Speak to souls of this great Mercy, while there is still time. If you remain silent now, you will have to account for a great number of souls on that final day. Fear nothing. Be faithful to the end.

"Three O'clock In The Afternoon - The Hour of Great Mercy

This was designated by Our Lord as the Hour of great grace for the whole world. After Sister had said this short prayer:

You expired, Jesus, but the source of life gushed forth for souls and the ocean of mercy opened up for the whole world. O fount of life, unfathomable Divine Mercy, envelop the whole world and empty yourself out upon us."

She recorded the following request by Our Lord:

"At three o'clock implore My Mercy especially for sinners; and if only for a brief moment, steep yourself in My Passion, particularly in My abandonment at the moment of agony. This is the hour of great Mercy for the whole world. . .In this hour I will refuse nothing to the soul that makes a request of Me in virtue of My Passion."It was about four months later when Sister wrote:"I remind you, My daughter, that as often as you hear the clock strike the third hour, immerse yourself completely in My mercy, adoring and glorifying it; invoke its omnipotence for the whole world, and particularly for poor sinners; for at that moment (mercy) was opened wide for every soul. In this hour you can obtain everything for yourself and for others for the asking; it was the hour of grace for the whole world - mercy triumphed over justice."You are urged to set the alarm on your clock or wristwatch for 3:00 P.M. as a reminder to follow Our Dear Savior's instructions above. Also, be sure to obtain a picture of Our Lord's Divine Mercy with the words, "Jesus, I Trust In Thee" inscribed on it.

Sister Faustina died on October 5, 1938. Her time to work for God's Mercy on earth came to an end. On April 30, 2000, Pope John Paul II canonized Sister Faustina as a saint in Heaven due to her holiness of life. So we now need to refer to her as Saint Faustina and ask her prayers that Our Dear Savior will grant us the grace to have that hope and trust in His wonderful Mercy that conforms to His Will. Now it is up to us to tell sinners about the love and mercy of the Sacred Heart.

Jesus promised that:

"Souls who spread the honor of My Mercy I shield through their entire life as a tender mother her infant, and at the hour of death I will not be a Judge for them, but the Merciful Savior." "Tell MY priest that hardened sinners will crumble beneath their words when they will speak about My unfathomable Mercy, about the compassion I have for them in My heart. To priests who will proclaim and extol My Mercy I will give wonderful power, and I will anoint their words and I will touch the hearts to which they will speak." Proclaim Jesus' wonderful mercy by distributing copies of this paper far and wide so that many others may benefit from Our Savior's magnificent promise of protection.

The Saint Gregory Society

2007-04-04T21:51:00.001-04:00

A new web site was designed for The Saint Gregory Society.

I encourage my readers to visit this site. There are pictures of the Sacred Heart Church where I attend.

The Schola Cantorum has CD's for you to purchase. These folks have the most beautiful voices and they are so well worth the purchase.

Also available is a Video of The 20th Anniversary Mass

Saint Gregory Society

2007-03-31T18:50:00.000-04:00

With spring here and the weather starting to warm up, we can't help but want to go outdoors and get going on our gardens.

Catholic Home and Garden has some great suggestions for your Spring Planting

http://www.catholichomeandgarden.com/the_catholic_garden.htm

Let us create our yards and remind others in the process of God's beauty in Nature.

Statues of The Blessed Mother and of saints are very beautiful. When we think of all the things that are out there now to purchase to beautify our yards.

Statues of St. Francis or "The Little Flower" are very appropriate.

We can send this message and as people pass by.

They are reminded even if just for a moment, as they see these statues

Instead of buying one of those hideous blow up lawn ornaments, why not add the Blessed Mother to your lawn.

Blogger Has Still Not Cleared Up My Posting Issues

2007-03-28T20:28:00.000-04:00

Help! Blogger is Eating My posts!

2007-03-12T20:36:00.000-04:00

Inside The Vatican

2007-03-12T20:24:00.000-04:00

Good article written by Anthony Valle from Inside The Vatican

An interview with Archbishop Malcolm Ranjith

http://www.insidethevatican.com/newsflash/2007/newsflash-feb21-07.htm

So You Think You Have Seen It all

2007-03-10T22:36:00.001-05:00

A friend of mine emailed me these pictures of an actual wake

Different Strokes For Different Folks You May Say

Now If This Isn't Absurd

How Incredibly Vain As Well

More Photos of The Pontifical Mass

2007-03-01T07:30:00.000-05:00

Also Courtesy of Stuart and Jill Chessman

Photos of The Pontifical Mass

2007-02-28T22:30:00.000-05:00

These Photos are courtesy of Jill and Stuart Chessman.
Thank You so very much for sharing these with us!
This Mass was celebrated Sunday Feb 25, 2007 by Bishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Diego California

More Photos to follow tomorrow

Mass with Auxiliary Bishop Cordileone

2007-02-26T07:00:00.000-05:00

I attended Mass this Sunday at St Mary's Church in Stamford, Ct. This was quite the memorable experience. The Church was Gothic and quite beautiful. Bishop Cordileone from San Diego Ca. celebrated the Latin Mass according to the 1962 Missal.

A group of us Who attend Sacred Heart in New Haven for the Latin Rite, went to support the parish and Fr. Cipolla who celebrates for us regularly in New Haven as well as his parish here.

There was a full church which included priests, brothers and seminarians, as well as a group of Poor Clare nuns.

A parishoner of St. Mary's came up to us and shook each one of our hands after Mass, and thanked us all for the support. He said that he never saw the Church so well attended.

It is amazing how The Holy Ghost works, isn't it ?

I got to meet the Bishop after Mass and had him bless some objects. I also met a group of wonderful people, and also got to chat with some folks I usually don't get the chance to.

It was wonderful watching the two parishes from Sacred Heart and St. Marys celebrate Mass together . It was done very well by the both communities, who usually don't work together on a regular basis. The altar servers and participants of the Mass did a fantastic job. The choir was superb.

I managed to chat with the woman taking pictures, and asked her to email them to me . So, if and when I receive them I will post them here.

I was certainly well worth the over 1 hour drive for this occasion and special blessing.

Ash Wednesday

2007-02-21T07:00:00.000-05:00

Meménto, homo, quia pulvis es, et in púlverem revertéris

In Genesis 3:19 we hear God tell us "for dust thou art, and into dust thou shalt return,"

May all of us have a fruitful Lenten Season

Remember if we fail in our goals, just to start back and pick ourselves up and continue to carry the cross.

It can be very difficult and discouraging at times as we try so hard to give up things we enjoy.

It is also difficult to follow a tough regimen of prayer and takes up a lot of free time we have.

Just don't give up and plow along, your soul will surely reap the benefits.

Please Pray for me and I will pray for You

Bishop Salvatore Cordileone Coming to Connecticut

2007-02-19T19:00:00.000-05:00

Fr. Richard Cipolla from St. Parish Mary's Parish in Stamford, Ct. says Mass at Sacred Heart Church in New Haven where I attend. This Sunday Fr. Cipolla asked if we would attend St. Mary's for a Solemn Pontifical Mass, celebrated by Auxiliary Bishop Salvatore Cordileone, according to The Latin rite of the 1962 Missal.

Bishop Salvatore Cordileone is the Bishop of San Diego Ca. and will offer Mass Feb 25, 2007 at 11:30 am

Bishop Cordileone fully supports the Mass of the Latin Rite and he is here to help and support Traditionalists.

The new pastor at St. Mary's Parish is really not in full support of The Latin Mass
This is very upsetting to Fr. Cipolla and we want to encourage and support our wonderful priests who give us so much by offering this Mass for the benefit of our souls. These Traditional Priests are truly very special men.

Please if you live in the area and are able to come and support us, please do
If you cannot attend I ask that you please pray for us. Your support and prayers mean everything.

As we know we are a "Remnant Few" and we must pray for those who do not know the real and true meaning of this Mass that Christ founded, or are too stubborn to acknowledge it, or have been simply brainwashed into the belief that the Novus Ordo is a good thing. I refuse to support this.

It is not a touchy feely kind of faith that we share. It is not the place for hand holding and clapping.
This is not what happened on Calvary, and that is what the Mass represents folks!!!

Sorry for the sarcasm, (well not really) but, I find it ridiculous in watching people come to Mass inappropriately dressed, and conduct themselves improperly, by thinking they are off to the "Social Occasion of the Year", and are so worried about what everyone thinks.
Oh How I can't stand when I see people worrying about what others think. Wake up people. Their is only ONE that you need to worry about!
Oh, and He sees all !
So give Him the respect He deserves and give him His Church back!
Put the statues back and get those hideous tapestrys out of our site!

I really don't care if people don't want to hear this, but it is the truth.
In Fact, I am sick and tired of it . I am tired of them trampling all over Our Lord while He is being taking by the hands of individuals who are not worthy, and to know that He is being dropped on the ground. Every particle is His presence, and He is being walked on daily. We need to kneel in His presence. Sorry but this infuriates me!

Yes, maybe this isn't the Christian approach but you know what? I am human too, and I have feelings. They are hurt from the effects of Vatican II , and I am tired of pretending the scars haven't left damage sometimes!

I get tired of being inconvienced and have to attend Mass in the middle of the day. Oh yes, we must be sympathetic to the Traditionalists, and we need to allow them to have their Mass. We are not two years old here!! We can't stand being pacified, but well we have been forced into a corner. You know what they say about being forced into a corner. You come out fighting, and fighting strong and hard. That's what I attend to do. I will not cave in to the beliefs of Vatican II and their Protestant Behaviors.

Well it would be nice to be able to start my day with this Mass like everyone else is allowed to in the Novus Ordo Rite. Sure I am bitter. I would be lying if I said I wasn't.

Ok I have vented now, but I could surely go on. I think I will leave it for another time

To get to the Church from I-95 North it is Exit 8 Atlantic Ave and take the third right

From I 95 South exit 8 Elm St. Take a left at the exit

Bishop Cordileone

The Remnant Asks......

2007-02-15T07:00:00.000-05:00

Michael J. Matt:

When the Far-left launches a major campaign against traditional Catholics, calling us the country's largest "hate group", it becomes clear that the Novus Ordo revolution has failed and that the only answer to the chaos all around today is a return to Tradition.

(Note: We're asking readers to join in the fight against this slanderous campaign by encouraging as many websites as possible to link to this article. Please send this link to everyone in your address book, as well.) [Full Article]

Steve O'Brien:

A tragic look at "Catholic" Boston--yet another casualty of Vatican II. Plus, were the pilgrims of Plymouth Rock anti-Catholic? [Full Article]

Valentines Day

2007-02-14T07:00:00.000-05:00

“Love is patient, love is kind…”
“Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, (love) is not pompous, it is not inflated,
it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury,
it does not rejoice over wrong doing but rejoices with the truth.
It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never fails. If there are prophecies, they will be brought to nothing; if tongues, they will cease; if knowledge, it will be brought to nothing.
For we know partially and we prophesy partially,
but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.
When I was a child, I used to talk as a child, think as a child, reason as a child; when I became a man, I put aside childish things.
At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to face. At present I know partially; then I shall knowfully, as I am fully known.
So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love. ”

From The Irish Province Of The Order Of Carmelites

Shrine of St Valentine, Whitefriar Street Church

Throughout the centuries since Valentine received martyrdom there have been various basilicas, churches and monasteries built over the site of his grave. Many restorations and reconstructions took place at the site, therefore over the years. In the early 1800s such work was taking place and the remains of Valentine were discovered along with a small vessel tinged with his blood and some other artefacts.

In 1835 an Irish Carmelite by the name of John Spratt was visiting Rome. He was well known in Ireland for his skills as a preacher and also for his work among the poor and destitute in Dublin’s Liberties area. He was also responsible for the building of the new church to Our Lady of Mount Carmel at Whitefriar Street. While he was in Rome he was asked to preach at the famous Jesuit Church in the city, the Gesu. Apparently his fame as a preacher had gone before him, no doubt brought by some Jesuits who had been in Dublin. The elite of Rome flocked to hear him and he received many tokens of esteem from the doyens of the Church. One such token came from Pope Gregory XVI (1831-1846) and were the remains of Saint Valentine.

On November 10, 1836, the Reliquary containing the remains arrived in Dublin and were brought in solemn procession to Whitefriar Street Church where they were received by Archbishop Murray of Dublin. With the death of Fr Spratt interest in the relics died away and they went into storage. During a major renovation in the church in the 1950s/60s they were returned to prominence with an altar and shrine being constructed to house them and enable them to be venerated. The statue was carved by Irene Broe and depicts the saint in the red vestments of a martyr and holding a crocus in his hand.

Today, the Shrine is visited throughout the year by couples who come to pray to Valentine and to ask him to watch over them in their lives together. The feastday of the saint on February 14 is a very popular one and many couples come to the Eucharistic celebrations that day which also includes a Blessing of Rings for those about to be married. On the feastday, the Reliquary is removed from beneath the side-altar and is placed before the high altar in the church and there venerated at the Masses. At the 11.00am and 3.15pm Masses there are special sermons and also a short ceremony for the Blessing of Rings for those about to be married.

The Shrine

The Shrine to St Valentine is found on the right hand side of the church as one enters the main body of the church. The casket sits beneath the marble altar in a niche which is protected by an ornate iron and glass gate. Above the altar stands the life-sized statue of the saint set into a marble mosaic alcove. The saint is also barefoot. The casket is wooden and on top bears the papal coat of arms of Gregory XVI along with two large gold plates which have the letter of Cardinal Odescalchi inscribed in English upon them. Between these to plates and beneath the papal crest is a smaller plate with the inscription: This shrine contains the sacred body of Saint Valentinus the Martyr, together with a small vessel tinged with his blood.

The Reliquary contains some of the remains of St Valentine – it is not claimed that all of his remains are found in this casket. There is also included a small vessel tinged with the blood of the martyr. These are contained within a small wooden box, covered in painted paper and is tied with a red silk ribbon and sealed with wax seals (which is the usual way in which relics are contained within reliquaries). This container is inside the casket which is seen beneath the altar. The outer casket has only been opened on a couple of occasions and then only to verify that the contents are intact. The inner box has not been opened or the seals broken.

When the Reliquary arrived in Dublin it was accompanied by a letter, in Latin, which reads:

St Valentine

We, Charles, by the divine mercy, Bishop of Sabina of the Holy Roman Church, cardinal Odescalchi arch priest of the sacred Liberian Basilica, Vicar General of our most Holy Father the Pope and Judge in ordinary of the Roman Curia and of its districts, etc., etc.

To all and everyone who shall inspect these our present letters, we certify and attest, that for the greater glory of the omnipotent God and veneration of his saints, we have freely given to the Very Reverend Father Spratt, Master of Sacred Theology of the Order of Calced Carmelites of the convent of that Order at Dublin, in Ireland, the blessed body of St Valentine, martyr, which we ourselves by the command of the most Holy Father Pope Gregory XVI on the 27th day of December 1835, have taken out of the cemetery of St Hippolytus in the Tiburtine Way, together with a small vessel tinged with his blood and have deposited them in a wooden case covered with painted paper, well closed, tied with a red silk ribbon and sealed with our seals and we have so delivered and consigned to him, and we have granted unto him power in the Lord, to the end that he may retain to himself, give to others, transmit beyond the city (Rome) and in any church, oratory or chapel, to expose and place the said blessed holy body for the public veneration of the faithful without, however, an Office and Mass, conformably to the decree of the Sacred Congregation of Rites, promulgated on the 11th day of August 1691.

In testimony whereof, these letters, testimonial subscribed with our hand, and sealed with our seal, we have directed to be expedited by the undersigned keeper of sacred relics.

Rome, from our Palace, the 29th day of the month of January 1836.

The Legend of Saint Valentine

The Roman Martyrology commemorates two martyrs named Valentine (or Valentinus) on February 14 which seems to indicate that both were beheaded on the Flaminian Way, one at Rome the other at Terni which is some 60 miles from Rome. Valentine of Rome was a priest who is said to have died about 269 during the persecution of Claudius the Goth (or Claudius II Gothicus). The other Valentine was allegedly Bishop of Terni, and his death is attested to in the Martyrology of St Jerome. Whether there were actually one or two Valentines is disputed. One possibility is that is two cults – one based in Rome, the other in Terni – may have sprung up to the same martyr but that in the mists of time his true identity became confused.

In ancient Rome, February 14th was a holiday to honour Juno - the Queen of the Roman Gods and Goddesses. The Romans also knew her as the Goddess of women and marriage. The following day, February 15th, began the Feast of Lupercalia. At the time the lives of young boys and girls were strictly separate. However, one of the customs of the young people was name drawing. On the eve of the festival of Lupercalia the names of Roman girls were written on slips of paper and placed into jars. Each young man would draw a girl’s name from the jar and they would then be partners for the duration of the festival. Sometimes the pairing of the children lasted an entire year, and often, they would fall in love and would later marry. Under the rule of Emperor Claudius II, Rome was involved in many bloody and unpopular campaigns. Claudius the Cruel was having a difficult time getting soldiers to join his military leagues. He believed that the reason was that roman men did not want to leave their loves or families. As a result, Claudius cancelled all marriages and engagements in Rome. Claudius had also ordered all Romans to worship the state religion’s idols, and he had made it a crime punishable by death to associate with Christians. But Valentinus was dedicated to the ideals of Christ, and not even the threat of death could keep him from practicing his beliefs. Valentine and Saint Marius aided the Christian martyrs and secretly married couples, and for this kind deed Valentine was apprehended and dragged before the Prefect of Rome, who condemned him to be beaten to death with clubs and to have his head cut off. He suffered martyrdom on the 14th day of February, in either 269 or 270.

This is one legend surrounding Valentine’s martyrdom. The second is that during the last weeks of his life a remarkable thing happened. One day a jailer for the Emperor of Rome knocked at Valentine’s door clutching his blind daughter in his arms. He had learned of Valentine’s medical and spiritual healing abilities, and appealed to Valentine to treat his daughter’s blindness. She had been blind since birth. Valentine knew that her condition would be difficult to treat but he gave the man his word he would do his best. The little girl was examined, given an ointment for her eyes and a series of re-visits were scheduled.

Seeing that he was a man of learning, the jailer asked whether his daughter, Julia, might also be brought to Valentine for lessons. Julia was a pretty young girl with a quick mind. Valentine read stories of Rome’s history to her. He described the world of nature to her. He taught her arithmetic and told her about God. She saw the world through his eyes, trusted in his wisdom, and found comfort in his quiet strength.

One day she asked if God really existed and Valentine assured her that He did. She went on to tell him how she prayed morning and night that she might be able to see and Valentine told her that whatever happened would be God’s will and would be for the best. They sat and prayed together for a while.

Several weeks passed and the girl’s sight was not restored. Yet the man and his daughter never wavered in their faith and returned each week. Then one day, Valentine received a visit from the Roman soldiers who arrested him and who now destroyed his medicines and admonished him for his religious beliefs. When the little girl’s father learned of his arrest and imprisonment, he wanted to intervene but there was nothing he could do.

On the eve of his death, Valentine wrote a last note to Julia - knowing his execution was imminent. Valentine asked the jailer for a paper, pen and ink. He quickly jotted a farewell note and handed it to the jailer to give to his blind daughter. He urged her to stay close to God, and he signed it “From Your Valentine.” His sentence was carried out the next day, February 14, 269 A.D., near a gate that was later named Porta Valentini (now Porta del Popolo) in his memory.

When the jailer went home, he was greeted by his little girl. The little girl opened the note and discovered a yellow crocus inside. The message said, “From your Valentine.” As the little girl looked down upon the crocus that spilled into her palm she saw brilliant colours for the first time in her life! The girl’s eyesight had been restored.

He was buried at what is now the Church of Praxedes in Rome, near the cemetery of St Hippolytus. It is said that Julia herself planted a pink-blossomed almond tree near his grave. Today, the almond tree remains a symbol of abiding love and friendship.

In 496 Pope Gelasius I named February 14 as Saint Valentine’s Day. On each Valentine’s Day, messages of affection, love and devotion are still exchanged around the world. This could be because of Valentine’s work in marrying couples against the law, or because of the miracle worked for Julia and the message he left other. Others believe that people in medieval times sent love notes during February because it was seen as the mating season of birds and that Valentine’s feast falling in the middle of the month became the principle day for this.

Compiled from various sources including The New Catholic Encyclopaedia (New York: McGraw Hill. 1967), Butler’s Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs and other principal Saints, and from the Encyclopaedia Britannica (London. 1962).

Relics claimed by other places

It is quite possible that the Church of Praxedes, in Rome, does have some of the remains of the saint. A relic can be as small as a scraping of bone or a hair from the head of a saint up to the entire, intact body, as with Blessed Pope John XXIII. In early Christian times it was the custom to build churches over the tombs of the martyrs (as with St Peter’s Basilica and St Paul’s Basilica in Rome) but as time went on this became both impossible and impractical. Instead, the faithful placed parts of the body of a saint in the new altar in the church which meant that the whole body was not used. Therefore, the remains of a saint could be found in many places which does not detract from what is found in any one place or the veneration of the saint by the faithful.

Prayer to St Valentine

O glorious advocate and protector,
St Valentine,
look with pity upon our wants,
hear our requests,
attend to our prayers,
relieve by your intercession the miseries
under which we labour,
and obtain for us the divine blessing,
that we may be found worthy to join you
in praising the Almighty for all
eternity: through the merits of
Our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Liturgy for the Feast of St Valentine

Lenten Preparation

2007-02-07T07:00:00.000-05:00

It is that time again when we start to ponder the Lenten obligations we must pursue.
It is imperative that we join in the sufferings of Christ during this time.
So is it significant to our well being.

There are so many ways that we can share in the carrying of the cross. There are those wonderful sweets we love so much and try to give up.
There are the snacks we like in between meals that we give up.
There are so many of the good things we enjoy that are fun and entertaining to us as well.
We can give up television. although for me this is no problem because I haven't watched tv in years now and I don't miss it at all.

But more importantly, I believe it is not so much what we give up, but what we add to our lives that make sharing in Christ's life much more beneficial to our souls

We can be kinder to that co-worker that you would much rather wring his or her neck instead.

We can do without something we enjoy and put that spending towards someone anonymously.
Maybe someone you know is out of work and a few dollars coming their way couldn't hurt and they wouldn't have to know where it came from.

Just a smile to a stranger is a small and easy step but goes a long way

Indulgence detaches us from Christ, we need to become close to Him in order to truly follow His Path

This means giving up of oneself in several ways.

We need to increase prayer life, no matter how tired we are and no matter how many times we fall. He picked Himself up and so must we

So preparation is very important and takes some time to do. May we all have the graces available from Our Lord to find the courage to climb our way to Calvary

God Bless you all in Your Lenten Preparations and ask God to help us carry those plans out

An Excellent Homily

2007-01-22T07:00:00.000-05:00

Pro Life ? Roe Vs. Wade

As usual, the priests that say the Mass at Sacred Heart in New Haven, Ct. always seem to give an excellent homily.

Today Fr.. Markey spoke about the State of Union Address to be given by President Bush on Tuesday night.

What Father Markey said really makes sense and it is so logical. But as we know "logic ", doesn't always mean that it should make sense, especially to some very intellegent minds such as our President ( no disrespect intended) but face it, not all minds think alike.

Certainly morality doesn't take precedence over other important topics.

Let me explain

Father states that more than likely the State of Union Address will go as follows:
"The topic will be Iraq and the War.
The number of Casualties, which is about 3,000 men and women since the war started.
Yes, we know that we should be very concerned for those who have fought and died for our country. But there is a more important issue that has been overlooked and needs to be brought to the attention of all U.S. citizens and that is the number of babies aborted in this country daily." But, what is more important, and will be more than likely overlooked is the fact that 4,000 lives are lost on a daily basis".

This country is surely not protecting the innocent. And as Father Markey points out it will more than likely not even be a thought in the President's mind on Tuesday night. He will most likely not even mention the Anniversary of Roe vs. Wade on Jan 22nd. What a shame!

The unborn children and human beings that are lost to us are astonishing, and that is on a daily basis not just the few years that we have been fighting another country. Wake up here people!!!

Why, "logically", does this have to be an issue. For crying out loud doesn't anyone with half a brain understand what is happening here?

This is what Fr. Markey and so many other "intelligent" minded individuals have been trying to say for years.

Pray, and let us not forget those unborn who loose their lives daily.
Do what you can and let your voice be heard.

Who knows Mr. Bush? You could have easily have been one of the innocent!

Very Funny

2007-01-21T21:29:00.000-05:00

A Hat Tip Of The Biretta Goes To Fr. Gonzales
At Overheard In The Sacristy
For This Little Pun

HILLARY SPECIAL

Clinton: 'I'm in to win' White House
In recognition of this historic announcement, the local KFC has prepared a “Hillary Special” consisting of a bucketful of left wings.

What Will They Think Of Next

2007-01-15T19:15:00.000-05:00

I got this from Tom Fitzpatrick of Recta Ratio
Who is worth a heck of a lot more than Me!
Actually, both Our site together, and mine don't come close to his worth.
I am so not worthy, LOL

My blog is worth $28,227.00.
How much is your blog worth?
Now this is what TWO HEARTS ABLAZE is worth

My blog is worth $24,839.76.
How much is your blog worth?

Finally Finished

2007-01-14T15:00:00.000-05:00

I could have really used this dog in the picture to help me!

Well I finally got the last of the Christmas Decorations put away and for the first time in years, done correctly. Next year when I go to retrieve everything it is labeled nicely and I even went as far as to wrap the lights around cardboard so they won't tangle. What a process, as you all know well. It took the whole weekend to do.

Now after some much needed rest, I will resume some serious blogging. Before you know it we will be starting Lent.
The months just seem to be flying by!

It Figures!

2007-01-12T19:07:00.000-05:00

I got this from Tom Fitzpatrick of Recta Ratio

Now I KNOW he is laughing and hasn't picked himself off the floor quite yet!
Thanks Tom!!

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is:
Grand Duchess Ginny the Weird of Hopton Goosnargh
Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

HAPPY NEW YEAR

2006-12-30T15:39:00.000-05:00

Wishing All a Blessed New Year

May God be with you and Your family and friends
Be safe and careful in your celebrations

I am having issues with my home computer, so blogging will be light until I have restored the problem. Please pray for a speedy recovery!

Merry Christmas

2006-12-25T07:30:00.000-05:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESUS

I would like to wish all a Very Merry Christmas! Enjoy your family and friends and be safe!

Even More Christmas Traditions

2006-12-23T10:49:00.000-05:00

Christmas wreaths
A circle symbolizes continuance - it never ends. It also reminds us of the never ending love of God. Christmas wreaths are traditionally circles made with evergreens, which symbolize life. They are often decorated with other natural plant parts, such as pine cones and holly berries.
As the Christmas wreath tradition has become more commercialized, all kinds of decorated wreaths can be found, some with no evergreens in them at all.

Chrismons
Chrismon,
(Medieval Latin, from Latin Christus + Late Latin monogramma.) Christ Monogram. A type of Christmas Tree decoration used in many churches and often in the homes of Christians.

The symbols used in the decorations represent Christ, Christianity, or a variety of biblical and theological concepts. Crowns, crosses, doves, butterflies and stars are a few examples of a Chrismon design. If the ornaments on a Christmas tree are comprised mostly of such Christian symbols, the tree is known as a "Chrismon Tree." Most Chrismons are white with gold decorations of beads, ribbon, glitter, etc. White is the liturgical color for Christmas and suggests purity and joy. Gold is a color for kings and represents the glory and majesty of God.
The symbols themselves date back to the early Christian church. Early Christians were not very good artists. In fact, they were afraid to allow any kind of art that could possibly encourage anyone to worship "graven images" of any kind. But as the church grew, leaders found that art was needed to help give it a sense of identity. Also, art helped people who couldn't read or write to understand certain Christian ideas and principles.
Throughout all the controversy surrounding the use of art in the church, symbols seemed to be somehow different from "art", so they were accepted.

Mrs. Frances Spencer, a member of the Ascension Lutheran Church in Danville, Virginia, began making her own Christmas tree decorations and eventually became a professional tree decorator. In 1957 she was asked to decorate the tree at her church. Wanting to make the tree decorations special in order to reflect the tradition of her faith, she began to use these early Christian symbols. Thus the "Chrismon Tree" was born.
Since 1957, her ideas have been published in several books (she assigned the copyrights to the name "Chrismon" to her church). One stipulation is that Chrismons may never be sold for profit, which explains why you don't find Chrismons in stores. Patterns for making Chrismons are for sale, though.

Christmas Traditions Continued

2006-12-22T10:44:00.000-05:00

Christmas Eve
Christians may derive the Christmas Eve tradition from Jewish holidays, which extend from sundown to sundown. Christmas Eve services are often a Candlelight Service, when at some time the only lighting is provided by candles placed around the sanctuary and ones held by worshippers. The service often includes a retelling of the Christmas Story and singing of several favorite Christmas hymns. Some churches hold a midnight service -- one that ends at midnight as the day celebrating Christ's birth is ushered in.
Many families have Christmas Eve traditions too. Some have a complete ritual that is followed lights turned off except for Christmas tree lights, eating certain foods, opening of one gift, and so on.

Christmas Rose
The Rose of Sharon is the common name for one of two unrelated plants. One plant is Aaron's beard, or goldflower (Saint-John's-Wort). The other is the althaea. But the biblical rose of Sharon, made famous in the Song of Solomon, has actually not been identified. Some botanists think it's a species of narcissus; others think it's the autumn crocus.

Christmas stockings
According to an old tradition, three poor girls who needed the money for their wedding dowries had hung their stockings by the fire to dry. The original Saint Nicholas found out their need and left his very first gifts of gold coins in their stockings.
For a long time, it was traditional to receive small items like fruit, nuts and candy in your stocking. But since the 1950s, many homes have seen more expensive gifts replacing the simple ones.
The tradition of a lump of coal in the stockings of naughty children comes from Italy.

Christmas trees
At a time of the year when the leaves of other types of trees have browned and fallen off, evergreens keep their fresh, green look. They are a symbol for life.
Dr. Martin Luther was one of the first to use the Christmas tree as a home decoration. Tradition holds that while on a walk one Christmas Eve, Dr. Luther noticed an evergreen tree shining in the moonlight. He couldn't forget this beautiful picture. He returned home with an evergreen tree and decorated it with candles. Luther told his children that the tree should remind them of the brightness of Christmas and its message of the Savior's birth.
By the beginning of the 19th century, all of Germany had adopted the use of the green "Christmas" tree. They added stars, sweetmeats, tiny toys, and gilded nuts together with candles on the trees.
The custom spread to England in the 19th century during the reign of Queen Victoria, who was married to the German Prince Albert. He wanted to have his children enjoy one of his childhood memories. The custom of a Christmas Tree soon spread throughout Europe and was brought to the United States by Pennsylvania Germans in the 1820's. Queen Victoria had a Christmas Tree placed in Windsor Castle in 1841.
Dr. Henry Schwan introduced the custom of a lighted Christmas tree in church, in Zion Lutheran Church in Cleveland Ohio, Christmas Eve 1851.
In Germany and in ancient northern cultures, after the December festivities, the branches were removed and the trunk was decorated on May 1st as a May Pole, celebrating a rebirth of spring. The tree was then cut up and the largest log was used the next December as the Yule Log..

Christmas tree ornaments
The Star. Christ is the star that all wise people follow, as did wise men of old.
For ancient people, a five-pointed star at the top of a tree symbolized the pentagram -- the so-called "star of mankind". But for Christians, a five pointed star represents the star followed by the Magi.
An eight pointed star is a symbol of the world Christ came to save.
The six pointed star, called the Creator's star, represents the six days of creation. Often recognized as the Jewish "Star of David", it also reminds us of Jesus' ancestor, King David.

Ornaments.
The common Christmas season colors of red and green originated with the red apples that once hung on the green Paradeisbaum, or Paradise Tree, which was part of 14th century religious pageantry. Most decorations we hang on trees today have a long history and once had very specific religious associations.
Gilded nuts and gingerbread cookies were hidden in the tree. Marzipan candies, shaped like fruits and vegetables, were hung from the boughs. Brightly decorated eggshells, cut in half and filled with tiny candies, were set in the tree like bird nests. So many sweets were hung from the tree that some people called it "the sugar tree". On the Twelfth Night of Christmas, January 5th, when it was believed that the Magi arrived in Bethlehem bearing gifts, the tree was shaken and the children finally were allowed to eat the sweets that fell from the tree.
The wafers once hung on the Paradise tree were replaced with cookies in the form of hearts, bells, angels and stars. With time, maybe because many decorations were eaten before the tree was taken down, decorations made out of thin, painted metal replaced the cookies.
The type of Christmas tree decorations we use today started when families in colder climates combined the decorations of the Paradise Tree with the candles that were used on conifer trees. Even today some people decorate the Christmas tree with strings of popcorn or hang cookies on some branches.
In 1880, Woolworth's department store was first to put manufactured Christmas tree ornaments on sale. They were immediately popular.
Lights. Martin Luther, in the 16th century, is credited as being the first person to put candles on a tree. The first electrically lighted Christmas tree appeared in 1882.
Albert Sadacca was only fifteen, when in 1917 a tragic fire in New York City involving Christmas tree candles inspired him to invent electric Christmas lights. The Sadacca family sold ornamental novelty items including novelty lights. Albert adapted some of the products into safe electric lights for Christmas trees. The first year only one hundred strings of white lights sold. The second year Sadacca used brightly colored bulbs and a booming multi-million-dollar business was born.
In 1923 Calvin Coolidge held the first lighting of an outdoor Christmas tree at the White House, thereby starting a long tradition.

More Christmas Traditions

2006-12-21T10:43:00.000-05:00

Candy Canes
The candy cane is a symbol of the humble roots of Christianity, the shepherd's crook. Legend has it that in 1670, the choirmaster at the Cologne Cathedral in Massachusetts handed out plain white sugar sticks among his young singers to keep them quiet during the long Living Crèche ceremony. In honor of the occasion, he had the candies bent into shepherds' crooks. Since then, more Christian symbolism has been attributed to these Christmas candies.
The hardness of the candy cane reminds Christians that the church was founded on solid rock.
The traditional peppermint flavor of the cane is tastes like hyssop, a plant in the mint family. It was used in the Old Testament for purification and sacrifice.
Records show that some people gave candy canes to children who learned their prayers. The shape of the candy cane, like a 'J', signifies Jesus.
In 1847, a German-Swedish immigrant named August Imgard of Wooster, Ohio, decorated a small blue spruce with paper ornaments and candy canes.
It was not until the 1920's that the candy cane's more recognizable striping was added. It is in this regard that Georgian Bob McCormick, from Albany, even has a place in candy cane history. Bob McCormick ran a small confectioners in Albany, GA, and started by hand-twisting the colors into the candy canes. In the 1950s, Bob’s brother-in-law Gregory Keller, a Catholic priest, invented a machine to automate candy cane production. "Bob's Candies" is now a very common commercial brand of candy cane.
In the now traditional candy cane, Christians have found ways to remind themselves of the true focus of Christmas -- Christ. We are reminded of Christ's blood and His purity by red and white stripes. You may have noticed the different size of the red stripes. The wider red stripe reminds us of the blood that Jesus shed on the cross. The stripes and wounds that he received are symbolized by the smaller red stripes. The white stripes represent Christ's sinless purity. The three stripes together represent the Holy Trinity

Christmas Traditions

2006-12-20T07:00:00.000-05:00

Christmas carols

The word "caroling" dates back to ancient Greece and the word choraulien, meaning "to dance to a flute." During the Middle Ages, carols were English and French dances accompanied by singing. In the French Midi, for example, the "carol" was a kind of round dance. Over time, the word "carol" has changed its meaning, and now refers only to certain kinds of songs.

The Anglo-Saxon tradition was to assemble small choirs on the village lawn to sing carols and Christmas songs for the pleasure of passers-by. A number of popular American Christmas carols came from France and England.

Christmas cards

Christmas cards are a Victorian creation that began in London, England, in 1843 and was helped along by the development of the public "Penny Post" and the speed with which the new railroads could deliver mail. They started out as a kind of stationery.

Sir Henry Cole, a British Postal Service worker, together with an artist he hired named John Horsley, created the first card. This early card showed a Christmas scene framed in three panels. The center panel was a home table scene -- children, parents and grandparents seated, with some raising their glasses for a toast. The side panels depicted acts of Christmas charity -- to the left, feeding the hungry; to the right, clothing the naked. Underneath was the now familiar phrase "A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to You."

At first the cards were almost exclusively religious, but they slowly branched out to include humor and non-religious sentiments.

In Germany, manufactured Christmas cards flourished in the 1860s. The earliest known Christmas card posted in Finland dates from 1871.

Christmas cards started in America just three years after being introduced in Britain -- 1846. But they made their real breakthrough in the 1920s. Advances in printing techniques added to the popularity of Christmas cards. This was also the time when red became the color most associated with Christmas.

Christmas Trivia Fun

2006-12-19T10:05:00.000-05:00

I came across this link that may be fun. I know I enjoyed checking it out and learning a few new things

Such as:
Who produced the first Christmas Card?
Who sent the first Christmas Card?
Who started the custom of kissing under the mistletoe?

And many more

here.

Sacred Heart and The St. Gregory Society

2006-12-18T07:30:00.000-05:00

Sacred Heart Church in New Haven, Connecticut just recently celebrated their 20th Anniversary Mass. This is where I attend Mass regularly. I wanted to share some of the photos taken by Douglas Turecek

View photos

There is also a sampling of the sound recording

Missa In Te Domine Speravi Gloria

The St. Gregory Society

Gaudette Sunday

2006-12-17T09:30:00.000-05:00

Old Calendar: Third Sunday of Advent

"Rejoice: the Lord is nigh." As Christmas draws near, the Church emphasizes the joy which should be in our hearts over all that the birth of our Savior means for us. The great joy of Christians is to see the day drawing nigh when the Lord will come again in His glory to lead them into His kingdom. The oft-repeated Veni ("Come") of Advent is an echo not only of the prophets but also of the conclusion of the Apocalypse of St. John: "Come, Lord Jesus," the last words of the New Testament.

Today is known as Gaudete Sunday. The term Gaudete refers to the first word of the Entrance Antiphon, "Rejoice". Rose vestments are worn to emphasize our joy that Christmas is near, and we also light the rose candle on our Advent wreath.

December 17 marks the beginning of the O Antiphons, the seven jewels of our liturgy, dating back to the fourth century, one for each day until Christmas Eve. These antiphons address Christ with seven magnificent Messianic titles, based on the Old Testament prophecies and types of Christ. The Church recalls the variety of the ills of man before the coming of the Redeemer.

The Feast of The Immaculate Conception

2006-12-08T07:30:00.000-05:00

What would our World be like without Mary's Fiat?

Thank You Blessed Virgin Mary for saying "Yes"

Readings for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception

AntiphonI
Exult for joy in the Lord, my soul rejoices in my God; for he has clothed me in the garment of salvation and robed me in the cloak of justice, like a bride adorned with her jewels. (Isaiah 1:10)
Collect
Father You prepared the Virgin Maryto be the worthy Mother of Your Son.You let her share beforehandin the salvation Christ would bring by His death,and kept her sinless from the first moment of her conception.Help us by her prayers to live in Your presence without sin. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. +Amen.
Scripture
First Reading - Genesis 3: 9-15, 20
After Adam had eaten of the tree the Lord God called to him, "Where are you?" He asked. "I heard the sound of You in the garden," he replied. "I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid." "Who told you that you were naked?" He asked. "Have you been eating of the tree I forbade you to eat?" The man replied, "It was the woman You put with me; she gave me the fruit, and I ate it." Then the Lord God asked the woman, "What is this you have done?" The woman replied, "The serpent tempted me and I ate."Then the Lord God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, Be accursed beyond all cattle, and wild beasts. You shall crawl on your belly and eat dust every day of your life. I will make you enemies of each other: you and the woman, your offspring and her offspring. It will crush your head and you will strike its heel."The man named his wife 'Eve' because she was the mother of all those who live.
Second Reading - Ephesians 1: 3-6,11-12
Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all the spiritual blessings of heaven in Christ. Before the world was made, He chose us, chose us in Christ, to be holy and spotless, and to live through love in His presence, determining that we should become His adopted sons, through Jesus Christ for His own kind purposes, to make us praise the glory of His grace, His free gift to us in the Beloved. And it is in Him that we were claimed as God's own, chosen from the beginning, under the predetermined plan of the One who guides all things as He decides by His own will; chosen to be, for His greater glory, the people who would put their hopes in Christ before He came.
Gospel: Luke 1:26-38
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!" But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of His kingdom there will be no end.
And Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I have no husband?"
And the angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the Child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, your kinswoman Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren, for with God nothing will be impossible." And Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.

Traditional Irish Advent Calendar

2006-12-07T07:30:00.000-05:00

Being of Irish descent, I can really appreciate this VERY COOL calendar courtesy of

Ironic Catholic

St Nicholas

2006-12-06T07:30:00.000-05:00

The true story of Santa Claus begins with Nicholas, who was born during the third century in the village of Patara. At the time the area was Greek and is now on the southern coast of Turkey. His wealthy parents, who raised him to be a devout Christian, died in an epidemic while Nicholas was still young. Obeying Jesus' words to "sell what you own and give the money to the poor," Nicholas used his whole inheritance to assist the needy, the sick, and the suffering. He dedicated his life to serving God and was made Bisop of Myra while still a young man. Bishop Nicholas became known throughout the land for his generosity to the those in need, his love for children, and his concern for sailors and ships.

Under the Roman Emperor Diocletian, who ruthlessly persecuted Christians, Bishop Nicholas suffered for his faith, was exiled and imprisoned. The prisons were so full of bishops, priests, and deacons, there was no room for the real criminals—murderers, thieves and robbers. After his release, Nicholas attended the Council of Nicaea in AD 325. He died December 6, AD 343 in Myra and was buried in his cathedral church, where a unique relic, called manna, formed in his grave. This liquid substance, said to have healing powers, fostered the growth of devotion to Nicholas. The anniversary of his death became a day of celebration, St. Nicholas Day.
Through the centuries many stories and legends have been told of St. Nicholas' life and deeds. These accounts help us understand his extraordinary character and why he is so beloved and revered as protector and helper of those in need.

One story tells of a poor man with three daughters. In those days a young woman's father had to offer prospective husbands something of value—a dowry. The larger the dowry, the better the chance that a young woman would find a good husband. Without a dowry, a woman was unlikely to marry. This poor man's daughters, without dowries, were therefore destined to be sold into slavery. Mysteriously, on three different occasions, a bag of gold appeared in their home-providing the needed dowries. The bags of gold, tossed through an open window, are said to have landed in stockings or shoes left before the fire to dry. This led to the custom of children hanging stockings or putting out shoes, eagerly awaiting gifts from Saint Nicholas. Sometimes the story is told with gold balls instead of bags of gold. That is why three gold balls, sometimes represented as oranges, are one of the symbols for St. Nicholas. And so St. Nicholas is a gift-giver.

First Sunday in Advent

2006-12-03T18:18:00.000-05:00

This is the first Sunday in Advent.

As we prepare, most of us do things spiritually, according to how the Holy Ghost moves us, there are some good prayers and traditions that we can incorporate into a our daily lives during this time of the year. I have inquired in the past, this site where they have some great prayers and reflections as well as suggestions for you and your family

Courtesy of Fish Eaters on the Traditons of Advent and Christmas

http://fisheaters.com/customs.html#advent

Christmas Meme

2006-12-02T14:51:00.000-05:00

WELCOME TO THE CHRISTMAS EDITION OF GETTING TO KNOW YOUR FRIENDS.

CHANGE ALL THE ANSWERS SO THAT THEY APPLY TO YOU.

1. Eggnog or Hot Chocolate? Hot Chocolate

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just set them under the tree? Wrap them of course!!

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? Colored for sure. White is pretty as well, but I prefer colored

4. Do you hang mistletoe? I love mistle toe but I can't seem to find any this year, if anyone can please let me know?

5. When do you put your decorations up? It really all depends

6. What is your favorite holiday dish? Roast Beef with yorkshire pudding....mmmmm

7. Favorite holiday memory as a child? Christmas Eve and all the anticipation of opening presents and the family all together

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I remember some kid in school telling me and I didn't want to believe it

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Yes .

10. What kind of cookies does Santa get set out for him? Whatever kind we make that year. I love to make peppermint cany cane cookies

11. Snow! Love it or hate it? Love it as long as the roads are clear for traveling

12. Can you ice skate? At one point I was good...but now??????

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? My children, and then after this the first puppy I got at 7 yrs old

14. What's the most important thing about the holidays to you? That a Savior came into this world to free us from sin.
Being with my Family and Friends

15. What is your favorite holiday dessert? Christmas Cookies

16. Favorite Holiday tradition? Baking and decorating

17. What tops your tree? An angel

18. Which do you prefer--GIVING OR RECEIVING? Giving , but receiving is always very cool!

19. What is your favorite Christmas Carol? O Holy Night and The Nutcracker, Do You Hear What I hear? and so many other great classics, too many to mention

20. Candy Canes? Love them!

Consider Yourself tagged!!

Happy Thanksgiving

2006-11-23T09:44:00.000-05:00

I would like to wish everyone a very

Happy Thanksgiving!

Don't forget to Thank God for all the Blessings He has bestowed on us in this past year.

I know that I have a lot to be thankful for.

For the safety and well being of my family and friends.

Through illness and accidents, my family has been protected and cared for, watched over by God, and The Angels and Saints to Whom I pray. Through the careful nuturing from our Blessed Mother.

I am grateful for the intercession by The Sacred and Immaculate Hearts which I place all my trust

For bringing very special people into my life this year

For a new job that I obtained about 7 months ago after being out of work for about 5 months.

For all the other things that I may neglect or have forgotten I thank God for

For everything I take for granted

Remember to:

Thank God for all the saved lives this year

Thank God for all the strength to overcome
tragedies, hardships and illness

Thank God for The gift of Faith

Thank God for the grace to endure All

All Souls Day

2006-11-02T19:00:00.000-05:00

History Of The Day of the Dead

All Souls Day, is an official holiday of the Catholic Calendar.

All Souls Day is on November 2nd , following All Saints Day.

The choice of November 2nd is traditionally attributed to St. Odilo, the fifth abbot of Cluny (city of France famous for the Abby), because he wanted to follow the example of Cluny in offering special prayers and singing the Office of the Dead on the day following the feast of All Saints.

The day was founded to honor all the faithful departed and along with the offerings and the Office of the Dead, there are three Requiem Masses that are said by the clergy to assist the souls from Purgatory to Heaven.

The modern view of death derives in part from Pre-Hispanic times. The Aztecs played a very important role in the development of this tradition. Through their history this festival emerged as one of complexity and varied interpretations
.
The Aztecs had various perceptions of their world. Perceptions as simplistic as a "flat disc" surrounded by water, to a toad floating in a water-lily filled sea. In this world were contained different directions with various associated colors and symbols to each direction and level. One of the most important of these interpretations is that of the terms of a person's death.

The Aztecs believed that after a person died, his/her soul would pass through nine levels prior to their final destination, Mictlan - the place of the dead. They also believed that a person's destiny was founded at birth and that the soul of that person was dependent on the type of death rather than the type of life lead by that person. How a person died would also determine what region they would go to. Once they arrived to their specific region a person's soul would either await transformation or linger, awaiting the next destiny.

Two months of the Aztec calendar were devoted to the dead. The ninth month was dedicated to infants, and the tenth month included a great feast for dead adults.

The Spanish Conquest of 1521 brought about the fusion of Catholic attitudes and indigenous beliefs. The Day of the Dead was revealed as a result of amalgamation of Pre-Spanish Indian ritual beliefs and the imposed ritual and dogma of the Catholic Church.

Spiritual SignificanceThe "Day of the Dead " is celebrated by many catholic countries, worldwide. This celebration originated with the Roman Catholic's, and was established in the Catholic calendar as an official holy day. The Catholic religion is based on works, and the theological idea of Purgatory has been accepted as a means of paying for sins, and buying your way into Heaven.

Those believers who died in a "state of grace" were promised "heavenly rewards", after paying for their sins in purgatorial flames, while those who did not die in a "state of grace", were to spend eternity suffering in Hell. Catholics did, however, believe that they could pray their loved ones out of Purgatory. This practice gives us an idea of the spiritual significance of honoring the deceased.

November 1st , is the official All Saints Day, which honors all saints who attained Beatific Vision, followed on November 2nd , All Soul's Day honoring the faithful departed.

Generally, people celebrating this holiday will attend mass, sometimes exhibiting the relics of saints on a catafalque, and assist the souls of their loved ones from Purgatory to Heaven. They will then proceed to the cemetery to visit, bless and decorate the graves. This tradition is universal among Catholic countries and accepted by the church.

TraditionsMany customs are associated with The Day of the Dead celebration. In the home an altar is made with an offering of food upon it. It is believed that the dead partake of the food in spirit and the living eat it later.

The offerings, are beautifully arranged with flowers, marigolds which are the traditional flower of the dead.
There is a candle placed for each dead soul, and they are adorned in some manner. Incense is also used. Mementos, photos, and other remembrances of the dead are also adorned.

All Saints Day

2006-11-01T07:00:00.000-05:00

Origin of All Saint's Day as a feast of the Church

The Church has always honored those early witnesses to the Christian faith who have died in the Lord. During the first three hundred years Christians were serverly persecuted, often suffering torture and bloody death -- because they were faithful . They refused to deny Christ, even when this denial might have saved their own lives, or the lives of their children and families.

The early history of the Church is filled with stories of the heroic faith of these of witnesses to Christ's truth. The stories of these saints -- these baptized Christians of all ages and all states in life, whose fidelity and courage led to their sanctity or holiness -- have provided models for every other Christian throughout history.

Many of those especially holy people whose names and stories were known, the Church later canonized (that is, the Church formally recognized that the life of that person was without any doubt holy, or sanctified -- a "saint" who is an example for us.) The Church's calendar contains many saint's days, which Catholics observe at Mass -- some with special festivities.

But there were thousands and thousands of early Christian martyrs, the majority of whose names are known only to God -- and throughout the history of the Church there have been countless others who really are saints, who are with God in heaven, even if their names are not on the list of canonized saints.

In order to honor the memory -- and our own debt -- to these unnamed saints, and to recall their example, the Church dedicated a special feast day -- a sort of "memorial day" -- so that all living Christians would celebrate at a special Mass the lives and witness of those "who have died and gone before us into the presence of the Lord".

This feast that we know as All Saint's Day originated as a feast of All Martyrs, sometime in the 4th century. At first it was celebrated on the first Sunday after Pentecost. It came to be observed on May 13 when Pope St. Boniface IV (608-615) restored and rebuilt for use as a Christian church an ancient Roman temple which pagan Rome had dedicated to "all gods", the Pantheon. The pope re-buried the bones of many martyrs there, and dedicated this Church to the Mother of God and all the Holy Martyrs on May 13, 610.

About a hundred years later, Pope Gregory III (731-741) consecrated a new chapel in the basilica of St. Peter to all saints (not just to the martyrs) on November 1st , and he fixed the anniversary of this dedication as the date of the feast.

A century after that, Pope Gregory IV (827-844) extended the celebration of All Saints to November 1 for the entire Church.

The vigil of this important feast,
All Saint's Eve, Halloween, was apparently observed as early as the feast itself.

Ever since then the entire Church has celebrated the feast of All Saints on November 1st, and, of course, Halloween on October 31.

It is a principal feast of the Catholic Church. It is a holy day of obligation, which means that all Catholics are to attend Mass on that day.

Halloween

2006-10-31T19:00:00.000-05:00

These are some of the origins of this Irish tradition of Halloween which I have quickly been enjoying more and more

The most notable Irish Halloween Traditions:

Colcannon for Dinner: Boiled Potato, Curly Kale (a cabbage) and raw Onions are provided as the traditional Irish Halloween dinner. Clean coins are wrapped in baking paper and placed in the potato for children to find and keep.

The Barnbrack Cake: The traditional Halloween cake in Ireland is the barnbrack which is a fruit bread. Each member of the family gets a slice. Great interest is taken in the outcome as there is a piece of rag, a coin and a ring in each cake. If you get the rag then your financial future is doubtful. If you get the coin then you can look forward to a prosperous year. Getting the ring is a sure sign of impending romance or continued happiness.

The Ivy Leaf: Each member of the family places a perfect ivy leaf into a cup of water and it is then left undisturbed overnight. If, in the morning, a leaf is still perfect and has not developed any spots then the person who placed the leaf in the cup can be sure of 12 months health until the following Halloween.

The Pumpkin: Carving Pumpkins dates back to the eighteenth century and to an Irish blacksmith named Jack who colluded with the Devil and was denied entry to Heaven. He was condemned to wander the earth but asked the Devil for some light. He was given a burning coal ember which he placed inside a turnip that he had gouged out. The tradition of Jack O'Lanterns was born - the bearer being the wandering blacksmith - a damned soul. Villagers in Ireland hoped that the lantern in their window would keep the wanderer away. When the Irish emigrated in millions to America there was not a great supply of turnips so pumpkins were used instead.

Halloween Costumes: On Halloween night children would dress up in scary costumes and go house to house. 'Help the Halloween Party' and 'Trick or Treat' were the cries to be heard at each door. This tradition of wearing costumes also dates back to Celtic times. On the special night when the living and the dead were at their closest the Celtic Druids would dress up in elaborate costumes to disguise themselves as spirits and devils in case they encountered other devils and spirits during the night. By disguising they hoped that they would be able to avoid being carried away at the end of the night. This explains why witches, goblins and ghosts remain the most popular choices for the costumes.

Snap Apple: After the visits to the neighbours the Halloween games begin, the most popular of which is Snap Apple. An apple is suspended from a string and children are blindfolded. The first child to get a decent bite of the apple gets to keep their prize. The same game can be played by placing apples in a basin of water and trying to get a grip on the apple without too much mess!

The Bonfire: The Halloween bonfire is a tradition to encourage dreams of who your future husband or wife is going to be. The idea was to drop a cutting of your hair into the burning embers and then dream of you future loved one. Halloween was one of the Celt 'fire' celebrations.

Blind Date: Blindfolded local girls would go out into the fields and pull up the first cabbage they could find. If their cabbage had a substantial amount of earth attached to the roots then there future loved one would have money. Eating the cabbage would reveal the nature of their future husband - bitter or sweet! Another way of finding your future spouse is to peel an apple in one go. If done successfully the single apple peel could be dropped on the floor to reveal the initials of the future-intended.

Anti-Fairy Measures: Fairies and goblins try to collect as many souls as they can at Halloween but if they met a person who threw the dust from under their feet at the Fairy then they would be obliged to release any souls that they held captive. Holy water was sometimes anointed on farm animals to keep them safe during the night. If the animals were showing signs of ill health on All Hallows Eve then they would be spat on to try to ward off any evil spirits.

St. Margaret Mary Aloque

2006-10-17T07:00:00.000-04:00

Today is a very special Feast Day. I have always had a devotion to The Sacred Heart.

Tom and I honor The Sacred Heart Of Jesus Christ, on our blog Two Hearts Ablaze
, where we continue to bring you information on The Sacred Heart that St. Margaret Mary Aloque told us to follow and we will receive enormous graces

My Mother was named after this saint and my daughter holds the name Margaret as her middle name

The Twelve Promises of Jesus to Saint Margaret Mary for those devoted to His Sacred Heart:

1. I will give them all the graces necessary for their state of life.
2. I will establish peace in their families.
3. I will console them in all their troubles.
4. They shall find in My Heart an assured refuge during life and especially at the hour of their death.
5. I will pour abundant blessings on all their undertakings.
6. Sinners shall find in My Heart the source of an infinite ocean of mercy.
7. Tepid souls shall become fervent.
8. Fervent souls shall speedily rise to great perfection.
9. I will bless the homes where an image of My Heart shall be exposed and honored.
10. I will give to priests the power of touching the most hardened hearts.
11. Those who propagate this devotion shall have their names written in My Heart, never to be effaced.
12. The all-powerful love of My Heart will grant to all those who shall receive Communion on the First Friday of nine consecutive months the grace of final repentance; they shall not die under my displeasure, nor without receiving their Sacraments; My heart shall be their assured refuge at that last hour.
from Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque's vision of Jesus

Look at this Heart which has loved men so much, and yet men do not want to love Me in return. Through you My divine Heart wishes to spread its love everywhere on earth." from Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque's vision of Jesus

A Very Special Day

2006-10-16T07:00:00.001-04:00

Today is My daughter Ashley's 18th Birthday. I can't believe I now have two Adult Children!
Where did the time go?

Born at 11:28 am on this day Ashley Margaret

Happy Birthday to a Lovey Young Woman who has given me so much joy. God Bless you with abundant graces today and all the days of your life. I love You and I am proud you are my "little girl".

Love Mom

The Latin Mass

2006-10-12T21:42:00.000-04:00

Please continue to pray for the complete allowance for priests to say the Latin Tridentine Mass at any time or given location without permission by any of the Bishops. This will be such a wonderful blessing bestowed on us when the Holy Father puts his signature to a document, hopefully being released soon.

There is nothing more reverent and beautiful than this Mass. I can't even attend a Novus Ordo Mass anymore without extreme difficulty.

Please try to attend a Mass if you have never been before. Find one in your area and you will see how beautiful an experience it truly is.

This is the Mass that Our Lord had intended for us. It is the "True Calvary".

Pray for The Holy Father and ask for The Holy Ghost to inspire him to do this soon

The Feast Of St. Francis Of Assisi

2006-10-04T19:00:00.000-04:00

Francis was born in Assisi in Umbria, in the year 1181 or 1182

As a youth he was ardent in his amusements and seemed carried away by the mere joy of living, taking no interest at all in his father's business or in formal learning. Bernadone, proud to have his son finely dressed and associating with young noblemen, gave him plenty of money, which Francis spent carelessly. Though Francis was high-spirited, he was too fastidious to lead a dissolute life. It was the age of chivalry, and he was thrilled by the songs of the troubadours and the deeds of knights. At the age of twenty or thereabouts, during a petty war between the towns of Assisi and Perugia, he was taken prisoner. During a year of captivity he remained cheerful and kept up the spirits of his companions. Soon after his release he suffered a long illness. This he bore with patience.

On the feast of St. Matthias, in 1209, the way of life he was to follow was revealed to him. The Gospel of the Mass for this day was Matthew X, 7-19: "And going, preach, saying The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.... Freely have you received, freely give. Take neither gold nor silver nor brass in your purses . . . nor two coats nor shoes nor a staff.... Behold I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves...." These words suddenly became Christ's direct charge to him. His doubts over, he cast off shoes, staff, and leathern girdle, but kept his rough woolen coat, which he tied about him with a rope. This was the habit he gave his friars the following year. In this garb he went to Assisi the next morning and, with a moving warmth and sincerity, began to speak to the people he met on the shortness of life, the need of repentence, and the love of God. His salutation to those he passed on the road was, "Our Lord give you peace."

In June, 1224, Francis attended his last chapter meeting, at which the new rule was formally delivered to the provincial ministers. In August, with a few of the brothers closest to him, he made his way through the Apennine forest to the peak of Alvernia, a place of retreat put at his disposal years earlier by the lord of Chiusi. A hut of branches was built for him, a little way from his companions. Brother Leo daily brought him food. His fears for the future of the order now increased and reached a climax. And here it was, on or about Holy Cross Day, September 14, that at sunrise, after a night of prayer, he had a vision of a winged seraph, nailed to a cross, flying towards him; he also felt keen stabs of pain in hands, feet, and sides. The vision vanished, and he discovered on his body the stigmata of the crucified Christ. During his lifetime, few persons saw the stigmata, called by Dante, "the ultimate seal." Thenceforth he kept his hands covered with the sleeves of his habit, and wore shoes and stockings. To those who were there with him, he disclosed what had happened, and within a few days composed the poem, "Praise of the Most High God."

Because the body was meant to carry burdens, to eat scantily and coarsely, and to be beaten when sluggish or refractory, Francis called it Brother Ass. When, early in his new life, he was violently tempted, he threw himself naked into a ditch full of snow. Again when tempted like Benedict he plunged into a briar patch and rolled about until he was torn and bleeding. Yet before he died he asked pardon of his body for having treated it so cruelly; by that time he considered excessive austerities wrong, especially if they decreased the power to labor. He had no use for eccentricity for its own sake. Once when he was told that a friar so loved silence that he would confess only by signs, his comment was, "That is not the spirit of God but of the Devil, a temptation, not a virtue."

The order which Francis founded divided early into three branches, the Brothers Minor of the Observance, who follow the rule of 1223, preach, perform works of charity, and go as missionaries abroad, the Brothers Minor Conventual, who live by the later, less stringent rule, which permits the corporate holding of property, and the Brothers Minor Capuchin, for whom Francis' rule is not ascetic enough, and who live strictly cloistered, under a regimen of silence.

"Little Flowers of St. Francis", first printed in 1476, contains stories of Francis' love of the poor, of animals, of all nature.

St Therese Lisieux

2006-10-03T07:00:00.000-04:00

Saint Therese, Doctor of the Church.

One day a priest said to Pope Pius X who had signed the decree for the introduction of St. Therese's cause, that there was nothing extraordinary in the life of Therese. The Pontiff replied: "What is most extraordinary about this soul is precisely her extreme simplicity. Consult your theology." This theological truth, that sanctity lies in simplicity is the teaching most needed in our time. It was the littleness of St. Therese, that is to say, her utter dependence on God, her complete dependence as a little child, and with it the confidence which only a little child can possess, it was upon these foundations that God fashioned His Saint. It is upon these foundations alone that God can build true greatness.

Pope Pius X signed the decree for her cause on June 10, 1914; the rapidity with which her cause went forward was literally unparalleled in the Church. Pope Benedict the XV, in order to hasten the process dispensed with the usual fifty year process under canon law between death and beatification. On the 14th of August, 1921 he declared that Therese had lived a life of heroic virtue. Pope Pius XI continued the cause from beatification through canonization. The two miracles necessary for the first was easy and on April 29th, 1923, she was Beatified in St. Peter's Basilica. the outpouring from all over the world and the Pontiff's on guidance from the Holy Spirit again spurred a Pope to dispense with canon law time frames and Therese was canonized while her four sister nuns were still living, just two years after her beatification, on May 17, 1925. The scene in St. Peter's is almost impossible to describe in words; the gathering was the largest and most distinguished for centuries. Thirty-four cardinals were present, over two hundred bishops and innumerable representatives from religious orders and missionary societies.

St. Therese is still sending miracles, her Shower of Roses, to earth to this day. Come in and learn about and be inspired by this great great Saint.

From the Story of A Soul

Jesus set the book of nature before me and I saw that all the flowers he has created are lovely. The splendor of the rose and the whiteness of the lily do not rob the little violet of its scent nor the daisy of its simple charm. I realized that if every tiny flower wanted to be a rose, spring would lose its loveliness and there would be no wildflowers to make the meadows gay. It is just the same in the world of souls - which is the garden of Jesus. He has created the great saints who are like the lilies and the roses, but he has also created much lesser saints and they must be content to be the daisies or the violets which rejoice his eyes whenever he glances down. Perfection consists in doing his will, in being that which he wants us to be. Jesus, help me to simplify my life by learning what you want me to be - and becoming that person.

From Story of A Soul

The practice of charity, as I have said, dear Mother [Mother Agnes, i.e., her sister Pauline, prioress at the time], was not always so sweet for me, and to prove it to you I am going to recount certain little struggles which will certainly make you smile. For a long time at evening meditation, I was placed in front of a Sister who had a strange habit and I think many lights because she rarely used a book during meditation. This is what I noticed: as soon as this Sister arrived, she began making a strange little noise which resembled the noise one would make when rubbing two shells, one against the other. I was the only one to notice it because I had extremely sensitive hearing (too much so at times). Mother, it would be impossible for me to tell you how much this little noise wearied me. I had a great desire to turn my head and stare at the culprit who was very certainly unaware of her "click." This would be the only way of enlightening her. However, in the bottom of my heart I felt it was much better to suffer this out of love for God and not to cause the Sister any pain. I remained calm, therefore, and tried to unite myself to God and to forget the little noise. Everything was useless. I felt the perspiration inundate me, and I was obliged simply to make a prayer of doing it without annoyance and with peace and joy, at least in the interior of my soul. I tried to love the little noise which was so displeasing; instead of trying not to hear it (impossible), I paid close attention so as to hear it well, as though it were a delightful concert, and my prayer (which was not the Prayer of Quiet) was spent in offering this concert to Jesus.

From The Story of A Soul

Our Lord needs from us neither great deeds nor profound thoughts. Neither intelligence nor talents. He cherishes simplicity. Saint Therese of Lisieux

O Jesus, Your little bird is happy to be weak and little. What would become of it if it were big? Never would it have the boldness to appear in Your presence, to fall asleep in front of You. Yes, this is still one of the weaknesses of the little bird: when it wants to fix its gaze upon the Divine Sun, and when the clouds prevent it from seeing a single ray of that Sun, in spite of itself, its little eyes close, its little head is hidden beneath its wing, and the poor little thing falls asleep, believing all the time that it is fixing its gaze upon its Dear Star. When it awakens, it doesn’t feel desolate; its little heart is at peace and it begins once again its work of love. It calls upon the angels and saints who rise like eagles before the consuming Fire, and since this is the object of the little bird’s desire the eagles take pity on it, protecting and defending it, and putting to flight at the same time the vultures who want to devour it. These vultures are the demons whom the little bird doesn’t fear, for it is not destined to be their prey but the prey of the Eagle whom it contemplates in the center of the Sun of Love.

This is what happens when you try to keep Peace???

2006-09-17T20:00:00.000-04:00

I beleive it was a big mistake for the Pope to apologize to the Islamics, what peace did it bring??? None of course. Their way of reasoning is so bizarre that no matter what you say or do they are going to find some reason to murder. It is not a religion that they follow. It is plain sickness of the mind. A brain-washing and done at a very early age.

The only way we are going to stand faithful and true to Our Catholic Faith is to do just that, and not "cave" in to these sick individuals and their madness

I am sure the Holy Father is paying the price for his words and the repercussions that follow this, for he is human also. But I sure wish that He would stand up for Mother Church. He is right in what he believes and should not apologize for offending the minds of madmen.

He needs our prayers and forgiveness and most of all God's forgiveness, if He feels it is justifiable.

Vatican Denounces Nun's Murder in Somalia
"A Terrible Incident," Says Spokesman
VATICAN CITY, SEPT. 17, 2006 (Zenit.org).- The Vatican's spokesman denounced the killing of 66-year-old Sister Leonella Sgorbati in Somalia's capital, which her order refrains from linking to Benedict XVI's recent commentary on Islam. Two armed men shot and killed the Consolata Missionary and a Somali bodyguard today in the SOS Kindergarten Hospital in Mogadishu, reported Reuters. "It is a terrible incident ... we hope it will be isolated," said Father Federico Lombardi to the Italian news service ANSA. "I think it is the fruit of violence and irrationality, arising from the current situation, which is without motive or reason," added the Jesuit priest. A sister of the Consolata Missionaries in Italy said in statements to Reuters that the congregation has "no reason" to believe that the Italian nun's murder took place in protest against Benedict XVI's discourse on Tuesday at the University of Regensburg. Speculation has arisen in the media, however, in light of an appeal launched on Saturday by a religious leader of Mogadishu to all Muslims to revenge the interpretation given to the Pope's words. Sheikh Muktar Robow, deputy security chief of Supreme Islamic Council of Somalia (SICS), said in a statement to Missionary International Service News Agency: "We condemn the killing of the nun." "It was barbaric and contrary to the teachings of Islam," he added. Leonella Sgorbati is a native of Piacenza in northern Italy. She had been working in Somalia since 2002, where she trained nurses at the children's hospital. Today's killing was the latest in a series of slayings of foreign aid workers in Somalia, including Italian Annalena Tonelli in 2003, a Catholic who had spent 30 years fighting tuberculosis among the Somalis, and a Swedish journalist, Martin Adler, who was shot dead in June during a demonstration in Mogadishu.

Tagged Again

2006-09-16T16:11:00.000-04:00

This time it is a Music Meme
Compliments of Vir Speluncae Catholicus
The Liar Of the Catholic Caveman

Best Title Ever for a piece of Music

Tchaikovsky's Waltz of The Flowers

Most Underrated Guitarist

"The Edge" U2

Music that moves me to Tears

"DannyBoy" and The "Ave Maria"

Most Unusual Lead Instrument in a Piece of Music

"Moby Dick" by Led Zeppelin

Coolest Name for a Rock and Roll Band

"The Who"

Worst Genre of Music Ever

"Rap" or as I like to call it "crap"

Best Guitar Jam

Eric Clapton's "Forever Man"

Music that has ever scared your kid

I asked my daughter ( just shy of 18) and she said anything by Black Sabbath or Ozzie Osbourne

National Anthem that gets the Blood Pumping

Star Spangled Banner

I tag anyone who feels like playing!