2nd Sunday of Lent

His top three Apostles have been privileged to many things, and tomorrow's reading shows it. They have seen Him transfigured before their eyes, but in a few days will totally deny Him. Our beloved Abbot Gueranger expounds on this:

After the Resurrection our three Apostles made ample atonement for this cowardly and sinful conduct, and acknowledged the mercy wherewith Jesus had sought to fortify them against temptation, by showing them His glory on Mt. Tabor a few days before His Passion. Let us not wait til we have betrayed Him; let us at once acknowledge that He is our Lord and our God. We are soon to be keeping the anniversary of His Sacrifice; like the Apostles, we are to see Him humbled by His enemies and bearing, in our stead, the chastisements of Divine justice. We must not allow our faith to be weakened, when we behold the fulfilment of those prophecies of David and Isias, that the Messias is to be treated as a worm of the earth, and be covered with wounds, so as to become like a leper, the most abject of men, and the Man of sorrows. We must remember the grand things of Mt. Tabor, and the adorations paid Him by Moses and Elias, and the bright cloud, and the Voice of the eternal Father. The more we see His glory and divinity; we must join our acclamations with those of the angels and the twenty four elders, whom St. John, one of the witnesses of the Transfiguration, heard crying out with a loud voice: 'The Lamb that was slain, is worthy to receive power and divinity, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and benediction!'

I will end with the Collect of tomorrow's Mass:

O God, who seest how destitute we are of all strength, preserve us both within and without, that our bodies may be free from all adversity, and our souls purified from all evil thoughts.

Saint Alphonsus Ligouri Concerning the Election of a New Pope | None | Catholic Family News

Saint Alphonsus Ligouri Concerning the Election of a New Pope | None | Catholic Family News

1st Sunday of Lent 2013

Tomorrow is the 1st Sunday of Lent. In the Gospel of St. Matthew, we hear about Christ in the desert for 40 days, and then Satan tempting Him with all of the world's goods, if He were to bow down to him. Christ dispels him quickly.
Our beloved Abbot Gueranger states:


'We have three enemies to fight against; our soul has three dangers; for, as the beloved disciple says, all that is in the world, is the concupiscence of the flesh, and the concupiscence of the eyes, and the pride of life! By the concupiscence of the flesh, is meant the love of sensual things, which covets whatever is agreeable to the flesh, and, when not curbed, draws the soul into unlawful pleasures. Concupiscence of the eyes expresses the love of the goods of this world, such as riches, and possessions; these dazzle the eye, and then seduce the heart. Pride of life is that confidence in ourselves, which leads us to be vain and presumptuous, and makes us forget that all we have, our life and every good gift, we have from God.'


Let those who must go, on these days, and mingle in the company of worldlings, be guided by St. Francis of Sales, who advises them to think, from time to time, on such considerations as these:--that while all these frivolous, and often dangerous, amusements are going on, there are countless souls being tormented in the fire of hell, on account of the sins they committed on similar occasions; --that, at that very hour of the night, there are many holy religious depriving themselves of sleep in order to sing the divine praises and implore God's mercy upon the world, and upon them that are wasting their time in its vanities;--that there are thousands in the agonies of death, while all that gaiety is going on;--that God and His angels are attentively looking upon this thoughtless group; and finally, that life is passing away, and death so much nearer each moment.


As St. Francis says: 'If we are led by the Spirit of God to the place of temptation, we should not fear, but should be assured that He will render us victorious. But we must not seek temptation not go out to allure it, however holy and generous we may think ourselves to be, for we are not more valiant than David, not than our Divine Master Himself, who did not choose to seek it. Our enemy is like a chained dog; if we do not approach, it will do us no harm, even though it tries to frighten us by barking at us.


St. Bernard, referring to words in Psalm 90, which is telling us to have faith in God and He will deliver us. Deliver us from what? There are three kinds of terrors which we might be afraid of. The first fear is that of cowards and slothful souls; the second, that of children; and the third, that of the weak. Fear is the first temptation which the enemy presents to those who have resolved to serve God, for as soon as they are shown what perfection require of them they think, "Alas, I shall never be able to do it." ...But Our Lord does not want this kind of warrior in His army; He wants combatants and conquerors, not sluggards and cowards. He chose to be tempted, and Himself attacked in order to give us an example.


Let us, during this Lenten season, try to make good on our promises, which we made to God, and fight these temptations to the best of our God-given ability.

ASH WEDNESDAY

Don't forget!

Let's make this Lent a fruitful one. And be cheerful about it!

NEW POPE?

Yesterday, our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI announced that he will be resigning his post as Pope, effective at the end of this month. What will we do now? I suggest that we all start a Novena to the Holy Spirit for the Cardinals to get the choice right. St. Malachy, hundreds of years, predicted the names and the symbols of each Pope, supposedly til the end of this age. According to him, we would have one more. I think that his would be Peter II. Could be wrong, I don't know.

On another note, 11 hours after His Holiness's announcement, this happened:

Could it be the Holy Spirit telling His Church that they better get it right this time? Is He telling them that He is still in charge? It will keep getting curiouser and curiouser.

Lord, have mercy. Please?

Quinquagesima Sunday

Tomorrow is Quinquagesima Sunday, or approx. 50 days til Easter. St. Paul tells us about Charity, and how nothing will be good unless we have it and use it. In the new church, we hear this as love. I personally think they are connected, but are NOT the same at all. In the Gospel, we hear about the blind man who hears Jesus coming, and begs earnestly to healed from his blindness. We are all desirous to be healed from our blindness, and pray for those who are still blind to the Eternal Truth. This is our job.

In regards to this, St. Francis of Sales tells us how "we must go on these days, and mingle in the company of worldlings, to think, from time to time, on such considerations as these:--that while all these frivolous, and often dangerous, amusements are going on, there are countless souls being tormented in the fire of hell, on account of the sins they committed on similar occasions; that, at that very hour of the night, there are many holy religious depriving themselves of sleep in order to sing the divine praises and implore God's mercy upon the world, and upon them ahat are wasting their time in its vanities; that there are thousands in the agonies of death, while all that gaiety is going on; that God and His angels are attentively looking upon this thoughtless group; and finally, that life is passing away, and death so much nearer each moment."

As we enter into the Lenten season on Ash Wednesday this coming week, I would like to end with a hymn from the Greek Church, which proclaims the annual fast of Lent:


The week, the harbinger of spring, is come; the week that cleanses away sin by the sacred and ever venerable fast, which enlightens the body and soul of every man.

Lo! the gate of penance is thrown open, O ye tht love God! Come, then, let us joyously go in, before Christ shut it against us as being unworthy to enter.

Brethren, let us prepare, and bring with us purity, abstinence, and modesty, and fortitude, and prudence, and prayers, and tears; for it is by these we enter on the path of justice.

Be not solicitous, O mortals! about the body, how you may pamper it, not seek delicacies in what you give it to eat; give it, rather, fullness of vigour by abstinence; tht so it may aid the soul to conquer in the battle with the enemy.

This day, O ye that love God! begins the fast, which is to prepare our souls and bodies by expiation, and infuse into our hearts the generous light of the sacred and venerable Passion of Christ.

Let us, O ye people! enter on our fast with a glad heart; for lo! the spiritual combat begins. Let us throw off the effeminacy of the flesh, redouble the gifts of the spirit, and suffer with Christ, as it behooves them that are his servants; that thus, we may rejoice together with him, and our souls be enlightened by the indwelling of the Holy Ghost within us.

Let us, O faithful! cheerfully receive the divinity inspired messenger of our fast,as did the Ninivites; and as the harlots and the publicans did, of old, receive John, when he preached penance unto them. Let us prepare, by abstinence, for a participation in the Sacrifice of our Lord on Sion. Let his divine laver be preceded by that of our tears. Let us beseech Him to show unto us, when the time is come, the consummation of both Paschs, the figurative, and the True. Let us put ourselves in readiness to adore the cross and Resurrection of Christ; saying unto Him: Let me not be confounded in my expectation, O thou Lover of mankind.


Lord Jesus, have mercy on me, that I may see

Sexagesima Sunday

Today is the second Sunday into our penitential season, Sexagesima, meaning 60 days approx. til Easter. St. Paul tells us that we should be ready, willing, and able to suffer for Christ and His Church, as he did. Jesus, in the Gospel from St. Luke, gives us the meaning of the seeds of faith spread onto different types of soil. We need to be firmly grounded in the Faith that comes to us from the Apostles and hold on for dear life for it.

I, once again, am going to copy from our beloved Abbot Gueranger. This is a hymn taken from the ancient breviaries of the Churches of France:

The days of ease are about to close; the days of holy observance are returning; the time of temperance is at hand; let us seek our Lord in purity of heart.

Our sovereign Judge will be appeased by our hymns and praise. He who would have us sue for grace, will not refuse us pardon.

The slavish yoke of Pharaoh, and the fetters of cruel Babylon, have been borne too long: let man now claim his freedom, and seek his heavenly country, Jerusalem.

Let us quit this place of exile: let us dwell with the Son of God. Is it not the servant's glory, to be made co-heir with his Lord?

O Jesus! be thou our guide through life. Remember that we are thy sheep, for whom thou, the Shepherd, didst lay down thine own life.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son; honour too be to the Holy Paraclete: as it was in the beginning, now is, and shall ever be. Amen.

The Purification of Mary, Our Blessed Mother

Although she didn't need purification of her soul (since she is the Spouse of the Holy Spirit), she goes to the temple for it anyway, so as to not cause scandal. She is carrying the Redeemer of the world in her arms through the crowds, and no one but Simeon and Anna are aware of it. They are the last of the Old Testament to recognize Him as The One.

The Law of this testament commanded that a woman who had given birth to a son should not approach the Tabernacle for the term of forty days; after which time she was to offer up a lamb as a holocaust, and a turtle dove or a partridge as a sin-offering. But if she were poor, and could not provide a lamb, she was to offer in its stead a second turtle dove or another partridge. The poor offer these meager gifts. Mary is the richest person in the world! She has the Faith of God within her, and she wishes to share it with us.

She is the Tabernacle, the Ark, the Vessel, etc., of God Himself, and she is offering the Lamb of God Himself to the Father as a testament to the world. As our beloved Abbot says: '...these laws had been made were espoused to men; Mary was the chaste Spouse of the Holy Ghost, a Virgin in conceiving and a Virgin in giving birth to her Son; her purity had ever been spotless as that of the Angels; but it received an incalculable increase by her carrying the God of all sanctity in her womb, and bringing Him into this world. Moreover, when she reflected upon her Child being the Creator and Sovereign Lord of all things, how could she suppose that he was to be submitted to the humiliation of being ransomed as a slave, whose life and person are not his own? And yet, the Holy Spirit revealed to Mary that she must comply with both these laws...'

I guess we are told by this to obey the laws, but know that we belong to God, and that our offerings are to Him, since being with Him is our ultimate goal. I'd like to end with something from the past, which we don't hear anymore. It is a sequence written by Adam of Saint-Victor in the Middle Ages.


Let us adorn the temple of our souls, and with new hearts bring back again that old man's joy, whose long-cherished wish is granted, as his arms press Jesus to his breast.

This Child is the Standard of the people, filling the Temple with light, our choirs with praise, and our hearts with jubilee. This day is He presented in the Temple, and will another day, when grown to manhood, be offered on the Cross, the offering for sin.

On one side Jesus, on the other Mary; here the sweet Infant, and there the sweet Mother; oh! what a glad sight! But let us devoutly carry within us the work of Light which our lighted tapers symbolize.

The Father's Word is the light; His virginal flesh is the wax; our lighted taper is Christ Himself, who enlightens our hearts with that wisdom which rescues the sinner from the error of his way, and sets him on virtue's path.

He that holds Jesus by love, carries, as our Feast would have him do, the Candle blest with light. So did Simeon love the Father's Word, and fondly carry in his arms the Mother's Babe.

Be glad, O Mother of thy God! simple, pure, unwrinkled, spotless Mother! O Maiden! chosen by the God of thy love, and loved by the God of thy choice.

All beauty is clouded, deformed, and displeasing to him that has seen thine. All sweetness seems bitter, sour or insipid, to the soul that has tasted of thine.

All fragrance, put near thine, grows faint or foul; all other love must cease, or be put but an afterthought, in hearts that feed on thine.

Beautiful Star of the sea! Thou beautiful honour of all mothers! O true Mother of Truth! O path of holy living! O remedy of the world's ills! Source of the fount of that Wine of Life, for which all men should thirst, and whose strength-giving chalice is sweet to the healthy and the sick, and restores the drooping heart!

O Fount sealed up in holiness! pour out on us thy streams! O Fount of inner gardens! water with rivulet's wave our parched and stony hearts!

Overflowing Fount! flow out on us, and wash our hearts' defilements. O Fount sublime, limpid above our thoughts, cleanse thy servants' hearts from an unclean world. Amen.