6th Sunday after Pentecost

With the talk about the scandal in the Vatican of late, it just goes to show us that we are ALL sinners and susceptible to the wiles of the devil. These who should have known better, especially to be a better witness for us have succumbed to the pleasures and instincts of animals, lowering themselves to the lowest possible denominator of filth. At least it is now out in the open, so maybe we can finally start a healing. This brings me to mention tomorrow's readings and lessons.

We always think of David in the Old Testament. When he was clean, he was the model of Christ to the people in front of God. However, when he became an adulterer and murderer, he needed to repent as we all need to do. He made it, and we can too.

We will hear from the Gospel of St. Mark, and hear about feeding thousands of people with a few loaves(7 to be exact). After following Jesus into the desert for 3 days, they are famished. Voila! 7 loaves of bread are on hand. Jesus will deliver to them another miracle, but they probably won't know it as such. They will have their fill. The number seven is significant for us. This represents the Sacraments. By utilizing them, we will be spiritually filled. By faith these Jews followed Him into the desert, and are repaid for their time. We follow by Faith, and we are filled with Him Himself in the Holy Eucharist, which sustains us.

St. Ambrose comments on this Sunday's Gospel. He takes notice of the number 7. The seventh day god rested, and therefore we should also. The seven Sacraments restore us to life. The seventh beatitude in the sermon on the mount 'refers to the peace-makers, or peaceable, as deserving to be called, most truly, the sons of God. It is in them alone that is fully developed the germ of divine sonship, which is put into the soul at Baptism. Thanks to the silence to which the passions have been reduced, their spirit, now master of the flesh, and itself subject to God, is a stranger to those inward storms, those sudden changes, and even those inequalities of temperature, which are all unfavorable to the growth of the precious seed; warmed by the Sun of justice in an atmosphere which is ever serene and unclouded, there is no obstacle to its coming up, there is no ill-shapen growth; absorbing all the human moisture of this earth wherein it is set, assimilating the very earth itself, it soon leaves nothing else to be seen in these men but the divine, for they have become, in the eyes of the Father Who is in heaven, a most faithful image of His first-born Son.'

St. Ambrose continues: '...take notice of the condition specified in our Gospel, as necessary for those who aspire to such nourishment as that. It is not to lazy people, nor to them that live in cities, nor to them that are great in worldly honours, but to them that seek Christ in the desert, that is given the heavenly nourishment: they alone who hunger after it are received by Christ in to a participation of the Word and of God's kingdom.'

Our beloved Abbot Gueranger adds: All the truth, all the goodness, all the beauty of created things, are incapable of satisfying any single soul; it must have God. So long as man does not understand this, everything good or true that his senses and his reason can provide him with, so far from being able to satiate him, is ordinarily nothing more than a distraction from the one object that can make him the happy being he was created to be, and a hindrance to his living the true life which God willed him to attain.

We are also ending the month of June, the month dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Maybe we can open our hearts to be like His, which was opened on the Cross, and therefore do the things that please Him, instead of our own pleasures.

Like He said: 'Ask, and ye shall receive.' So, we ask.

The Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul



Saint Augustine of Hippo

Early Church Father & Doctor of the Church


Peter and Paul - June 29This piece on Sts. Peter and Paul is an excerpt from a sermon (Sermo 295, 1-2, 4, 7-8; PL 38, 1348-1352) by St. Augustine, bishop of Hippo, who died in the year 430AD. It is used in the Roman Office of Readings for the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul on June 29 and shows that as early as the fourth century, Christians celebrated this day in honor of these two apostles and martyrs who laid down their lives for Christ in the Eternal City.


'This day has been consecrated for us by the martyrdom of the blessed apostles Peter and Paul. It is not some obscure martyrs we are talking about. "Their sound has gone out into all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world" (Psalm 19). These martyrs had seen what they proclaimed, they pursued justice by confessing the truth, by dying for the truth.


The blessed Peter, the first of the Apostles, the ardent lover of Christ, who was found worthy to hear, "And I say to you, that you are Peter" (Matthew 16:13-20). He himself, you see, had just said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Christ said to him, "And I say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church." Upon this rock I will build the faith you have just confessed. Upon your words, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God," I will build my Church; because you are Peter. Peter comes from petra, meaning a rock. Peter, Peter comes from the word for a rock in exactly the same way as the name Christian comes from Christ.


Before his passion the Lord Jesus, as you know, chose those disciples of his whom he called apostles. Among these it was only Peter who almost everywhere was given the privilege of representing the whole Church. It was in the person of the whole Church, which he alone represented, that he was privileged to hear, "To you will I give the keys of the kingdom of heaven." After all, it is not just one man that received these keys, but the Church in its unity. So this is the reason for Peter’s acknowledged pre-eminence, that he stood for the Church’s universality and unity, when he was told, "To you I am entrusting," what has in fact been entrusted to all. To show you that it is the Church which has received the keys of the kingdom of heaven, listen to what the Lord says in another place to all his apostles: "Receive the Holy Spirit; and immediately afterwards, Whose sins you forgive, they will be forgiven them; whose sins you retain, they will be retained" (John 20:22-23).


Quite rightly, too, did the Lord after his resurrection entrust his sheep to Peter to be fed (Jn. 21: 15-19). It is not, you see, that he alone among the disciples was fit to feed the Lord’s sheep; but when Christ speaks to one man, unity is being commended to us. And he first speaks to Peter, because Peter is the first among the apostles. Do not be sad, Apostle. Answer once, answer again, answer a third time. Let confession conquer three times with love, because self-assurance was conquered three times by fear. What you had bound three times must be loosed three times. Loose through love what you had bound through fear. And for all that, the Lord once, and again, and a third time, entrusted his sheep to Peter.


There is one day for the passion of two apostles. But these two also were as one; although they suffered on different days, they were as one. Peter went first, Paul followed. We are celebrating a feast day, consecrated for us by the blood of the apostles. Let us love their faith, their lives, their labors, their sufferings, their confession of faith, their preaching.'


My notes:

When the time in Rome was all for killing these Christians, Peter's followers urged him to flee the city, at least for a while. According to St. Ambrose, Peter set out along the Appian Way. Just as he reached the Capuan gate, Christ suddenly appeared to him as if about to enter the city. 'Lord, whither goest thou?' cried out the apostle. Christ replied: "to Rome, to be there crucified again.' Peter understood his Master; he at once retracted his steps, having now no thought but to await his hour of martyrdom.

According to Abbot Gueranger, Peter started to set everything in order, because he now knew his time was short. He laid his hands on Clement, whose nobility of birth recommended him to the consideration of the Romans, while at the same time his zeal and learning merited the esteem of the faithful, was the one on whom the prince of the Apostles fixed his choice. Clement, then, is the first successor of Peter. His name is mentioned in Paul's letters.

After the Church had been established for years, then Paul was converted, went around and reaffirmed the Faith who had already been converted. Protestants seem to think Paul should be the first leader of the early Church. However, they don't know any history. They don't realize that the Church had been around way before he came along. He had been a prosecutor of these same, so it must have already been established. DUH! Like all the saints say, if anyone were to read history and realize it, they would be streaming to Rome, where Christ's Church was and is today.
But, they sill not bow to the Holy, Roman, Catholic, and Apostolic Church, because they think it is the whore of Babylon! IDIOTS! May they will find out and convert before they croak.

FOR SHAME!

For shame! on our 'elected' officials in Washington, D.C. The Supreme (what a joke) Court has pretty much said yes to the millions of homosexuals, granting them access to fulfill their wishes of being 'married' to those of the same sex. The only Supreme Judge will straighten them out one day.

And again, the problem of illegal aliens will probably be approved by our beloved Congress people very soon. These people are here illegally! Period! If they would have chosen the legal way to come here, I am all for it. The first they have done is to break our laws, and now want free reign with our whole country.

Another again. Now the Vatican will become another black eye for the Church. A convicted sex offender (priest) has blown the whistle on many others within the Vatican. He has named names and given them to the police. This just adds another scandal within the walls.

Lord, help us!

ABOMINATION?

Today's news is extremely disgusting. With our beloved Supreme Court, and our own state of Michigan, homo marriage is the top topic. This is an abomination to our Lord. It is a disoriented way of 'life'. God said NO to men laying with men and women laying with women. This topic, along with abortion and euthanasia, rank on top of bad things which are going on today. And, St. Paul warned us that when the time comes that good is bad and bad is good, look out, the end time is near! Well, that time is now. Voting will be this week determining what marriage should be. The appointees of B.O. to the Supreme Court are for this type of travesty, so it will probably pass. FOR SHAME!

No person, state, or country has the right to legislate anything which opposes the will of God. However, this is happening everywhere. Well, what do you expect when God has been taken out of our schools, and even out of our countries. Our money has God on it, but what god are the baddies praying to? This is what we deserve! Prayers are needed desperately. For our country, and for those appointed to run it. Nuff said.

Matthew’s account reveals more about what to look for concerning the end times: “When you therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whosoever reads let him understand:)…” (24:15).
Are we there yet? Time is running out.

Lord, have mercy. Please?


On a slightly lighter note, our beloved priest said something at Sunday's Mass which was kind of humorous. He said: "...there are those who believe the eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth sort of thing. If this were to happen, we would live in a toothless/ blind society."

This priest is especially dear to us. He grew up in Sicily. After he became a priest, he came to know Mother Teresa (worked with her sisters in India) and Bishop Sheen. He was told by St. Padre Pio to go to the United States, because if he stayed in Italy, the Mafia would have him killed. He was speaking out against it. He even served Holy Mass for Pope Pius XII; errantly got into his apartment from wandering through the Vatican halls with a fellow server looking for a Mass to serve at; where the good Pope invited them to come in and have breakfast with him. Very good priest. Pray for him.

5th Sunday after Pentecost

Before I start about tomorrow's readings, I'd like to mention two saints of the Catholic Church from England, John Fisher and Thomas More.

These two saints were up against the infamous king, Henry VIII. Because they would NOT give him consent to divorce his current wife to marry another, and since they would NOT bow to him as 'sovereign of the church in England', he had them beheaded days apart, proudly mounting their heads in plain sight to show others what would happen if they fought against him. Sts. John and Thomas, please pray for our clergy, that they might not abandon the Faith during these trying times. John Fisher did have these words to say, knowing full well that many under him had abandoned him in his trials, had this to say: "The fort is betrayed even by them that should defended it."

And now, on to thoughts for tomorrow. The Jews have killed Jesus, but He has risen from the tomb. After weeks, He has now sent the Holy Ghost to teach the world of their sin, and hopefully to bring them to within the fold of Christ. However, they, for the most part, will reject His teachings, Him, and whosoever He has sent. While Jesus was still walking the earth, according to our beloved Abbot Gueranger, 'He never lost an opportunity of denouncing, and castigating those hypocritical scribes and pharisees who took such pains to be ever cleaning the outside of the dish, but within were full of impurities, murder, and the like. the Divine Word, Who had come down from heaven to sanctify men in Truth, that is, in Himself, had to make this His first care: to restore what time had tarnished, to restore all the original brightness to the changeless principles of justice and right, which rest in Him as in their center. No sooner had He called disciples around Him, and chosen twelve out of their number as Apostles, than He began, with all possible solemnity, His Divine work of moral restoration. (Remember St. Pope Pius X, whose motto was to 'Restore all things in Christ? He tried. ) The passage from the Sermon on the Mount, which the Church has selected for the Gospel of this 5th Sunday, follows immediately after His declaring that He had come, not to find fault with, or to destroy, the Law, but to restore it to its true meaning, of which the scribes had deprived it. He had come that He might give it all the fullness, which the very contemporaries of Moses were too hard to take in.'

Remember what I said the other day, of course copying Christ in a way, that by their fruits you shall know them. We hope and pray that one day, maybe in our lifetimes, will see beautiful fruit from the Tree of Life, Christ. This, of course, is after much pain and suffering. She had said that there would be peace some day, but only after more people prayed the Rosary. I don't think it is so much about how many rosaries we pray each day, but rather how many people pray it. Last week, we heard about Peter and the disciples fishing, and when Jesus had them put out their nets again, they broke. Another time, these same caught in their full nets catch 153 fish. Think about it, that number is the same number of Aves we say in an entire Rosary. Just saying I don't think it's just a coincidence.

We also hope and pray that our current Holy Father, Francis, along with all the of the world, finally get around to teaching us the whole Truth which comes to us from the Apostles, with Peter as its earthy head. AND, maybe they could even get around to consecrating Russia to our Our blessed Mother and to her Immaculate Heart, in the way she requested at Fatima 95 years ago. Or, actually, from Tuy, Spain in 1929, when she appeared to Sister Lucy. We need all the help we can get.

Kyrie, Eleison

THANK YOU!

I just want to thank all of you who have commented on my posts. It makes me feel that something is going right. FYI: I use the Douay/Rheims version of the Bible, since later versions seem to lack the meat with translation. I also use the "Liturgical Year' by Abbot Gueranger for most of my posts, and it was written almost a hundred years ago, but seems like it was yesterday. Very valuable to me as it should be to you. I also use many sayings from real Saints of the Holy Roman Catholic Church, and none from the newer 'saints' proposed lately, since their actions showed their true colors. But, remember, even a blind squirrel can find a nut, so some of what these later people say might have some truth in them. However, also remember that the devil will give us 999 truths with one lie thrown in, and this makes the whole thing wrong. Be watchful!

Any one wishing to copy/paste articles or whatever from these posts, feel free. Just remember, these are just my thoughts most of the time. Thank you again for your support.

4th Sunday after Pentecost

This Sunday we hear the Gospel from St. Luke, when those fishermen who are chosen to be Apostles, and thus, become fishers of men. We are the fish. Some of us are easy catches, while others take much time to reel in. Some of us almost make it into the boat just to bite off the line which was bringing us in. I was one of these. I said no once to the Catholic Church, because I thought there was too much to learn. HA! I think Our Blessed Mother just kept reeling the rod, wearing me down, and then successfully getting me into the ark of Salvation, the Holy Roman Catholic Church. Now, I don't seem to have enough time to learn. I hope there's still time for me, though. Go figure. I guess I was just stubborn enough that she thought I might be of use in her Son's Church. The Church isn't for wimps, you know.

Anyway, enough about me; let's move on to our lesson of the fishers. I like what St. Augustine says about this topic: '...the fishers of men have cast forth their nets; they have taken the multitude of Christians which we see in wonderment; they have filled the two ships with them, the two peoples, Jew and Gentile. But what is this we are told? the multitude weighs down the ships, even to the risk of sinking them; it is what we witness now: the pressing and mingled crowd of the baptized is a burden to the Church. Many Christians there are who live badly; they are a trouble to, and keep back, the good. Worse than these, there are those who tear the nets by their schisms or their heresies; they are impatient of the yoke of unity, and will not come to the banquet of Christ; they are pleased with themselves. Under pretext that they cannot live with the bad, they break the net which kept them in the Apostolic track, and they die far off the shore. In how many countries have they not thus broken the great net of salvation?...and since their times, how many others have excelled in the work of rupture! Let us not imitate their folly. If grace have made us holy, let us be patient with the bad while living in this world's waters. Let the sight of them drive us neither to live as they do, not to leave the Church. The shore is not far off, where those on the right, or the good, will alone be permitted to land, and from which the wicked will be repulsed, and cast into the abyss.'

How many do we know who fall into these categories; not caring about the Eternal Truth, but rather quite contented to do what please themselves. They decide what's right; they decide the meaning of Scripture; they decide who goes to heaven, which is most everybody since hell isn't around anymore. Much prayer is needed, my friends, even for those who are supposed to be herding us into the right Boat.

I found this little prayer on the Canadian Catholic Perspective, and I hope they don't mind if I copy the following:

Fisherman’s Prayer:

I pray that I may live to fish
Until my dying day,
And when it comes to my last cast,
Then I most humbly pray;
When in the Lord’s great landing net
And peacefully asleep,
That in His mercy I be judged
Big enough to keep.

3rd Sunday after Pentecost 2013

With the world's bishops doing their best to stifle the old Rite, we will be hearing about the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which should have been last Friday. They just DON'T get it. Or, probably, don't care, except to push their agenda, which will entail at the least getting all the Masses on the same calendar. This will be the start of them trying to end the Mass of all ages! They don't mess with all of the other Rites within the fold, just the Traditional one. Shame on them! They will answer some day, however. Just sayin'.

This Sunday should be about when our first Holy Father, Peter, warns us in his Epistle to be on our toes. He tells us how the devil is to be going around the world seeking souls he can destroy. Up til now, we have learned about Christ, His Heart; His being in the Holy Eucharist; how He is the Bread that has come down from heaven to nourish us. The Holy Ghost has now come to teach us what we need to know. But first, we need to be clean of heart and seek the Eternal Truth, which we need to reach our end goal, heaven. Now, with this knowledge, we are to become soldiers for Christ. From this moment, NOTHING will come easy!



GOOD SOLDIERS OF CHRIST

"A good soldier of Jesus Christ." 2 Timothy 2:3

This is quite additional to the preceding titles. A servant, a disciple, a friend, may become a soldier. But it is a new relationship. It requires peculiar qualities. It imposes peculiar duties. To be a soldier, implies exposure, contest, difficulty. To be a good soldier, implies also courage, fidelity, and success. Let me consider some of the attributes of a good soldier of Jesus Christ. He is one of the great army of the living God. He is engaged in a most important warfare. He has set up his standard toward Zion. He must press on through all opposers, to his glorious end. He will be made a conqueror through the Lord Jesus Christ, who gives him the victory. Am I such a soldier of Christ?

1. A good soldier has made a final CHOICE of the service in which he is engaged. He has enlisted for a warfare. It is his own choice. He is not ashamed of his uniform, of his duty, of his officers, or of his cause. He glories in the stand which he has taken. He participates in every triumph. He rejoices over all its success. Thus have I enlisted for Christ. He is the great Captain of my salvation. He has a warfare on the earth, which he is carrying on to final victory. I have united with him in it. I bear his name. I am enrolled among his followers. I would not be ashamed of his cause, or of my service and duty for him. My enlistment is for actual duty. It is cheerfully made by the action of my own heart, under the guidance of his Spirit. It is recorded in his own book of remembrance. I am engaged to build up his kingdom, to gather his chosen, to bring in the vessels dedicated to his service, to maintain his authority, and to exalt the glory of his name. This is my final, faithful choice. Let me never shrink from it, or turn back in weariness from the duties which it imposes.

2. A good soldier must have true COURAGE. Ah, how important is this for me! I have many enemies to meet. My enemies are the enemies of Christ. I must continually contend if I would conquer at last. These enemies are temptations around, that would lead me away, or drive me back from my Savior. Evil propensities and habits of thought within, that would entangle and harass me. Evil men who surround me, and oppress me with their hostility to my Lord. The more faithful I am, the more my enemies will multiply, and the more earnestly they will oppose. If I am indolent and careless in my life, they will not trouble me. If they can make me a traitor, or induce me to desert my Master's cause, they will have accomplished their end. But if I strive to do my Master's will, and to follow him truly and fully, then my enemies seem more hostile, and more bitter, and more multiplied. When I would do good, evil is present with me. But what then? Why, I ought to be the more bold and the more decided as a soldier. I must fight on. There is no other path. I see my great Leader before me, and I must follow after him. Soon the contest will be over, and then the victory will be mine. I am resolved rather to displease and to forsake all others, than to forsake or deny my glorious Lord.

3. A good soldier must ENDURE HARDNESS. It is a hard life. The soldier has much to bear--sometimes very much. He must endure suffering without murmuring. His power of endurance is often the very means of his victory. The warfare in which I am engaged, may require me to bear much. It may be long and very trying. But my mind must be fixed and strengthened to bear even to the end. My great Leader, the Captain of my salvation, goes before me. He has endured the cross and despised the shame. Let me follow him to the end. I would make no terms with him for my obedience. I would go with him through all. Patiently abide his will. Resist even unto blood, striving against sin. And allow nothing to separate me from the service or love of my glorious Master and Lord. Other soldiers have freely laid down their lives upon the field. I desire to be willing to do so, if my Lord requires and appoints. Come what will come, by his strength, I am resolved to abide by him.

4. A good soldier has a confident HOPE OF TRIUMPH. He never desponds. He fights not as uncertainly. He is saved and strengthened by hope. In all human contests there is great uncertainty. But in our warfare there is none. Our Captain has already triumphed. We follow him to the fruits of his own victory. We are sure of success by his power. This hope is an anchor to the soul. The warfare may now be very dark and discouraging. Circumstances and probabilities may be all against me. But God gives me the victory. The crown is certain. The kingdom is sure. And he appoints the darkest as well as the brightest periods of the battle. We cannot be overcome, if we stand our ground. Oh let me never flee, nor be discouraged. I would be found faithful, earnest, engaged, devoted. I have one voice to hear, and one Master to follow. I may lose all beside. It is of little consequence. Whatever can live with Christ, I shall get again in that great day. Oh let me never lose my interest in Christ himself.

5. I am a soldier of Christ. And thus I have enlisted myself for life. And with courage, endurance, and hope, I will press forward. I may not have to fight long. But I will fight faithfully. Let me rest upon his power. Let me give myself up to his care. Let me prize him even as chief among ten thousand. In his favor is life, and his loving-kindness is better than life. He will be my strength and my salvation.

We're soldiers fighting for our God,
Let trembling cowards fly–
We'll stand unshaken, firm, and fixed,
With Christ to live and die.

Let devils rage, and hell assail,
We'll fight our passage through;
Let foes unite, and friends desert,
We'll seize the crown in view.

As our beloved Abbot states:

The miseries of this present life are the test to which God puts His soldiers; He passes judgment upon them, and classifies them, according to the degree of courage they have shown. Therefore is it, that we all have our share of suffering. The combat has commenced. God is looking on, watching how each of us comports himself. The day is not far off, when the Judge will pass sentence on the merits of each combatant, and award to each one the recompense he has won. Combat now; peace and rest and a crown, then. Happy they who, during these days of probation, have recognized the mighty hand of God in all the trials they have had, and have humbled themselves under its pressure, lovingly and confidingly! Against such Christians, who have been strong in faith, the roaring lion has not been able to prevail. They were sober, they were watchful, during this their pilgrimage. They were fully convinced of this, that every one has to suffer in the present life; they therefore never sighed and moaned, as though they were the only sufferers; they did not assume the attitude of victims, and call it resignation; but they took each trial as it came, and, without talking to every one about it, they quietly and joyously united it with the sufferings of Christ. O true Christians! you will be joyous for all eternity, when there will be made the manifestation of that eternal glory in Christ Jesus, which He will pass on to you, that you may share it with Him forever!

May God, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit have mercy on us and strengthen us til our appointed hour. Amen

Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Today we honor the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, our Redeemer. This is the Heart that has loved much, and, at the same time, is being misused all over the globe by ungrateful souls who don't know what they are giving up. This is why we pray for those who do not know what they are doing. In recent weeks, we have experienced the Death and Resurrection of Jesus; worshiped the Divine Trinity; the feast of Corpus Christi; and now, we acknowledge the Heart where all of our forgiveness comes from. His side was opened up after He died on the Cross, so that we may now start loving the Heart, and thus, maybe start to understand more about Jesus and His Church with its teachings. First we believe, then things will be made clear to us if we ask. As our beloved Abbot Gueranger says concerning this day:

'There is a mysterious connection between these three feasts, of the blessed Trinity, Corpus Christi, and the Sacred Heart. The aim of the Holy Ghost, in all three, is to initiate us more and more into that knowledge of God by faith, which is to fit us for the face-to-face vision in heaven. We have already seen how God, being made known to us, by the first, in Himself, manifests Himself to us, by the second, in His outward works; for the Holy Eucharist is the memorial, here below, in which He has brought together, and with all possible perfection, all those His wondrous works. But by what law can we pass so rapidly, so almost abruptly, from one feast, which is all directly regarding God, to another, which celebrates the works done by Him to and for us? Then again: how came the divine thought, the eternal Wisdom, from the infinite repose of the eternally blessed Trinity, to the external activity of a love for us poor creatures, which has produced what we call the mysteries of our redemption? The Heart of the God-Man is the solution of these difficulties; it answers all such questions, and explains to us the whole divine plan.'

St. Gertrude, who got the whole thing started concerning the Sacred Heart in the 13th century, states that 'It is the one only organum; the one only instrument which finds acceptance with the Most High. Through It must pass all the inflamed praises of the burning Seraphim, just as must the humble homage paid to its God by inanimate creation. By It alone are to come upon this world the favours of heaven. It is the mystic ladder between man and God, the channel of all graces, the way whereby man ascends to God, and God descends to man.'

St. Augustine says that the Evangelist(St. John) made use of a word which has a special import, when he said: 'the soldier opened Jesus' side with a spear. He did not say struck the Side, or wounded the Side, or anything else like that; but he said he opened Jesus' Side. He opened it; for that Side was like the door of life; and when it was opened, the Sacraments(the Mysteries) of the Church came through it...This was predicted by that door which Noe was commanded to make in the side of the Ark, through which were to go those living creatures which were not to be destroyed by the deluge; and all these things were a figure of the Church.'

Blessed Margaret-Mary continued to carry the torch of having this Heart richly honored a couple of centuries later, and, after approx. 15 years, finally getting this Feast instituted by the Church, died shortly after. I guess her work was done here on earth.

Let us honor this Sacred Heart of Jesus, both today the Feast, and forever. Maybe some day we can get called to eternal peace. Amen.




-A partial indulgence is granted to those who recite the following prayer
-- A plenary indulgence is granted if it is publicly recited on the feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.
--This prayer was prescribed to be recited on this feast by Pope Pius XI.



Act of Reparation to the Sacred Heart / Actus reparationis

Most sweet Jesus, whose overflowing charity for men is requited by so much forgetfulness, negligence and contempt, behold us prostrate before Thee, eager to repair by a special act of homage the cruel indifference and injuries to which Thy loving Heart is everywhere subject.

Mindful, alas! that we ourselves have had a share in such great indignities, which we now deplore from the depths of our hearts, we humbly ask Thy pardon and declare our readiness to atone by voluntary expiation, not only for our own personal offenses, but also for the sins of those, who, straying far from the path of salvation, refuse in their obstinate infidelity to follow Thee, their Shepherd and Leader, or, renouncing the promises of their baptism, have cast off the sweet yoke of Thy law.

We are now resolved to expiate each and every deplorable outrage committed against Thee; we are now determined to make amends for the manifold offenses against Christian modesty in unbecoming dress and behavior, for all the foul seductions laid to ensnare the feet of the innocent, for the frequent violations of Sundays and holy days, and the shocking blasphemies uttered against Thee and Thy Saints. We wish also to make amends for the insults to which Thy Vicar on earth and Thy priests are subjected, for the profanation, by conscious neglect or terrible acts of sacrilege, of the very Sacrament of Thy Divine Love; and lastly for the public crimes of nations who resist the rights and teaching authority of the Church which Thou hast founded.

Would that we were able to wash away such abominations with our blood. We now offer, in reparation for these violations of Thy divine honor, the satisfaction Thou once made to Thy Eternal Father on the Cross and which Thou continuest to renew daily on our Altars; we offer it in union with the acts of atonement of Thy Virgin Mother and all the Saints and of the pious faithful on earth; and we sincerely promise to make recompense, as far as we can with the help of Thy grace, for all neglect of Thy great love and for the sins we and others have committed in the past. Henceforth, we will live a life of unswerving faith, of purity of conduct, of perfect observance of the precepts of the Gospel and especially that of charity. We promise to the best of our power to prevent others from offending Thee and to bring as many as possible to follow Thee.

O loving Jesus, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mother, our model in reparation, deign to receive the voluntary offering we make of this act of expiation; and by the crowning gift of perseverance keep us faithful unto death in our duty and the allegiance we owe to Thee, so that we may all one day come to that happy home, where with the Father and the Holy Spirit Thou livest and reignest, God, forever and ever. Amen.

Remember D-Day, June 6,1944

Today let us remember all those brave men who died this day, invading the beaches of France, to help save our country. They were extremely brave, and, those who weren't, became so. We pray for those souls, as well as those still living, because a couple thousand die each day. We pray for the souls, because most do NOT!





May God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost have mercy on them.

See St. Gertude's prayer at the right. It's easy enough that anyone can say it. ---->

Just a note

The Second Amendment of the Constitution was NOT meant to suppress religious liberty(separation of Church and state), but was written to protect us from tyranny of the government, which we seem to have these days. Just thinkin'.

Remember to smile!


Oop, gotta go, there's someone at the door.

Sunday within the octave of Corpus Christi

Tomorrow is the Sunday within the octave of Corpus Christi. We will probably get that Mass then. I personally think our leaders have once again missed the boat, since Thursday is the day Christ established the Holy Eucharist.

There the fishermen go off into the sunset, leaving behind their catch, the believers.

Anyway, I am going to insert the hymn for Compline from yesterday because it says soooo much about the Holy Eucharist. If you want to read my thoughts on Corpus Christi, see Thursday's post. Here's the Compline:

Christ is truly our meat, Christ is truly our drink; the Flesh of Christ is truly our meat, the Blood of Christ is truly our drink.

The true Flesh which he took from the Virgin, is what we eat; the true Blood, which He shed for man, is what we drink.

In this banquet, the Word made Flesh is truly eaten; it is on Him that our worship rests, and by Him that we enter heaven.

This Bread, which is all full of sweetness and grace, is the King of eternal glory, that was carried in the Virgin's womb.

Let us feed on the richness of Angel's Bread; that we may find delight in the sweetness of a viaticum so full of mercy.

O thou heavenly banquet! O glory of the redeemed! O repose of the humble! grant us eternal joys.

Grant, O Father, through thy Son, grant, through the Spirit of love, that we, to whom thou givest such nourishment as this, may be brought by thee to a prosperous end. Amen.