St. Jerome

SAINT JEROME
Doctor of the Church
(329-420)

Saint Jerome, born in Dalmatia in 329, was sent to school in Rome. His boyhood was not free from faults; his thirst for knowledge was excessive, and his love of books, a passion. He had studied under the best masters, visited foreign cities, and devoted himself to the pursuit of learning. But Christ had need of his strong will and active intellect for the service of His Church. He told him in a supernatural experience he never forgot that he was not a Christian, but a Ciceronian: "Your heart is where your treasure is," said the Lord to him - that is, in the eloquent writings of antique times. Saint Jerome obeyed the divine call, making a vow never again to read profane works, and another of celibacy. In Rome he had already assisted a number of holy women to organize houses of retirement where they consecrated themselves to God by vow. Calumnies, arising from jealousy, made a certain headway against the scholar whose competence was beginning to attract honors.

He fled from Rome to the wild Syrian desert, and there for four years learned in solitude, intense sufferings and persecution from the demons, new lessons in humility, penance and prayer, and divine wisdom. "I was very foolish to want to sing the hymns of the Lord on foreign soil, and to abandon the mountain of Sinai to beg help from Egypt," he declared.

Pope Damasus summoned him back to Rome, and there assigned to the famous scholar, already expert in Hebrew and other ancient languages, the task of revising the Latin Bible. Saint Jerome obeyed his earthly Head as he had obeyed his Lord. Retiring once more in 386 to Bethlehem, the eloquent hermit sent forth from his solitary cell not only a solidly accurate version of the Scriptures, but during thirty years' time, a veritable stream of luminous writings for the Christian world. He combated with unfailing efficacy several heresies being subtly introduced by various personages in his own region and elsewhere.

For fourteen years the hand of the great scholar could no longer write; but Saint Jerome could still dictate to six secretaries at a time, to each on a different subject, in those final years. He died in his beloved Bethlehem in 420, when over 80 years old. His tomb is still in a subterranean chapel of its ancient basilica, but his relics were transported to Saint Mary Major Basilica of Rome, where the crib of Bethlehem is conserved.

Now, for an in-depth review from the 'Lives of the Saints', by Alban Butler:

Jerome (Eusebius Hieronymus Sophronius), the father of the Church most learned in the Sacred Scriptures, was born about the year 342 at Stridon, a small town upon the confines of Pannonia, Dalmatia
and Italy, near Aquileia. His father took great care to have his son instructed in religion and in the first
principles of letters at home and afterwards sent him to Rome. Jerome had there for tutor the famous
pagan grammarian Donatus. He became master of the Latin and Greek tongues (his native language
was the Illyrian), read the best writers in both languages with great application, and made progress in
oratory; but being left without a guide under the discipline of a heathen master he forgot some of the
true piety which had been instilled Into him in his childhood. Jerome went out of this school free indeed from gross vices, but unhappily a stranger to a Christian spirit and enslaved to vanity and other
weaknesses, as he afterward confessed and bitterly lamented. On the other hand he was baptized at
Rome (he was a catechumen till he was at least eighteen) and he himself tells us that “it was my custom
on Sundays to visit, with friends of my own age and tastes, the tombs of the martyrs and apostles, going
down into those subterranean galleries whose walls on either side preserve the relics of the dead.” After
some three years in Rome he determined to travel in order to improve his studies and, with his friend
Bonosus, he went to Trier. Here it was that the religious spirit with which he was so deeply imbued was
awakened, and his heart was entirely converted to God.

In 370 Jerome settled down for a time at Aquileia, where the bishop, St. Valerian, had attracted so
many good men that its clergy were famous all over the Western church. With many of these St. Jerome
became friendly, and their names appear in his writings. Among them were St. Chromatius, then a
priest, who succeeded Valerian; his two brothers, the deacons Jovinian and Eusebiu; St. Heliodorus and
his nephew Nepotian; and, above all, Rufinus, first the bosom friend and then the bitter opponent of
Jerome. Already he was beginning to make enemies and provoke strong opposition, and after two or three years an unspecified conflict broke up the group, and Jerome decided to withdraw into some distant country. Bonosus, who had been the companion of his studies and his travels from childhood, went to live on a desert island in the Adriatic. Jerome himself happened to meet a well-known priest of Antioch, Evagrius, at Aquileia, which turned his mind towards the East. With his friends Innocent, Heliodorus and Hylas (a freed slave of St. Melania) he determined to go thither.

St. Jerome arrived in Antioch in 374 and made some stay there. Innocent and Hylas were struck down by illness and died, and Jerome too sickened. In a letter to St. Eustochium he relates that in the heat of fever he fell into a delirium in which he seemed to himself to be arraigned before the judgement seat of Christ. Being asked who he was, he answered that he was a Christian. “Thou liest,” was the reply, “Thou art a Ciceronian: for where thy treasure is, there is thy heart also.” This experience had a deep effect on him which was deepened by his meeting with St. Malchus, whose strange story is related herein under October 21. As a result, St. Jerome withdrew into the wilderness of Chalcis, a barren land to the south-east of Antioch, where he spent four years alone. He suffered much from ill health, and even more from strong temptations of the flesh. “In the remotest part of a wild and stony desert,” he wrote years afterwards to St. Eustochium, “burnt up with the heat of the scorching sun so that it frightens even the monks that inhabit it, I seemed to myself to be in the midst of the delights and crowds of Rome... In this exile and prison to which for the fear of Hell I had voluntarily condemned myself, with no other company but scorpions and wild beasts, I many times imagined myself witnessing the dancing of the Roman maidens as if I had been in the midst of them. My face was pallid with fasting, yet my will felt the assaults of desire: in my cold body and in my parched-up flesh, which seemed dead before its death, passion was able to live. Alone
with this enemy, I threw myself in spirit at the feet of Jesus, watering them with my tears, and I tamed
my flesh by fasting whole weeks. I am not ashamed to disclose my temptations, but I grieve that I am not now what I then was. I often joined night to day crying and beating my breast till calm returned.” Thus does God allow His servants to be from time to time severely tried; but the ordinary life of St. Jerome was doubtless quiet, regular and undisturbed. To forestall and ward off the insurgence of the flesh he added to his corporal austerities a new study, which he hoped would fix his rambling imagination and give him the victory over himself. This was to learn Hebrew. “When my soul was on fire with bad thoughts,” says he writing to the monk Rusticus in 411, “as a last resource I became a scholar to a monk who had been a Jew, to learn of him the Hebrew alphabet; and, from the judicious rules of Qumtilian, the copious flowing eloquence of Cicero, the grave style of Pronto, and the smoothness of Pliny, I turned to this language of hissing and broken-winded words. What labour it cost me, what difficulties I went through, how often I despaired and left off, and how I began again to learn, both I myself who
felt the burden can witness, and they also who lived with me. And I thank our Lord, that I now gather
such sweet fruit from the bitter sowing of those studies.” However, he still continued to read the pagan
classics from time to time, The church of Antioch was at this time disturbed by doctrinal and disciplinary disputes.

The monks of the desert of Chalcis vehemently took sides in these disputes and wanted St. Jerome to do the
same and to pronounce on the matters at issue. He preferred to stand aloof and be left to himself, but he
wrote two letters to consult St. Damasus, who had been raised to the papal chair in 366, what course he
ought to steer. In the first he says: “I am joined in communion with your holiness, that is, with the chair
of Peter; upon that rock I know the Church is built. Whoever eats the Lamb outside of that house is a
profane person. Whoever is not in the ark shall perish in the flood. I do not know Vitalis; I disown Meletius; Paulinus is a stranger to me. Whoever gathers not with you, scatters; he who is not Christ’s belongs to Antichrist... Order me, if you please, what I should do.” Not receiving a speedy answer he soon after sent another letter on the same subject. The answer of Damasus is not extant: but it is certain that he and the West acknowledged Paulinus as bishop of Antioch, and St. Jerome received from his hands the order of priesthood when he finally left the desert of Chalcis. Jerome had no wish to be ordained (he never celebrated the holy Sacrifice), and he only consented on the condition that he should not be obliged to serve that or any other church by his ministry: his vocation was to be a monk or recluse.

Soon after he went to Constantinople, there to study the Holy Scriptures under St. Gregory Nazianzen.
In several parts of his works Jerome mentions with satisfaction and gratitude the honour and happiness
of having had so great a master in expounding the divine writings. Upon St. Gregory’s leaving Constantinople in 382, St. Jerome went to Rome with Paulinus of Antioch and St. Epiphanius to attend a council which St. Damasus held about the schism at Antioch. When the council was over, Pope Damasus detained him and employed him as his secretary; Jerome, indeed, claimed that he spoke through the mouth of Damasus. At the pope’s request he made a revision, in accordance with the Greek text, of the Latin version of the gospels, which had been disfigured by “false transcription, by clumsy correction, and by careless interpolations,” and a first revision of the Latin psalter. Side by side with this official activity he was engaged in fostering and directing the marvellous
flowering of asceticism which was taking place among some of the noble ladies of Rome. Among them are several of the most famous names of Christian antiquity; such were St. Marcella, who is referred to herein under January 31, with her sister St. Asella and their mother, St. Albiaa; St. Lea; St. Melania the Rival claimants to the see of Antioch Elder, the first one of them to go to the Holy Land; St. Fabiola (December 27); and St. Paula (January
26) with her daughters St. Blesilhi and St. Eustochium (September 28). But when St. Damasus died in
384, and his protection was consequently withdrawn from his secretary, St. Jerome found himself in a
very difficult position. In the preceding two years, while impressing all Rome by his personal holiness,
learning and honesty, he had also contrived to get himself widely disliked; on the one hand by pagans
and men of evil life whom he had fiercely condemned and on the other by people of good will who
were offended by the saint’s harsh outspokenness and sarcastic wit. When he wrote in defense of the
fashionable young widow, Blesilla, who had suddenly renounced the world, he was witheringly satirical of pagan society and worldly life, and opposed to her lowliness the conduct of those who “paint their cheeks with rouge and their eyelids with antimony; whose plastered faces, too white for those of human beings, look like idols, and if in a moment of forgetfulness they shed a tear it makes a furrow where it rolls down the painted cheek; they to whom years do not bring the gravity of age, who load their heads with other people’s hair, enamel a lost youth upon the wrinkles of age, and affect a maidenly timidity in the midst of i troop of grandchildren.” In the letter on virginity which he wrote to St. Kuatochium he was no less scathing at the expense of Christian society, and made a particular attack on certain of the clergy. “All their anxiety is about their clothes... You would take them for bridegrooms rather than for clerics; all they think about is to know the names and houses and doings of rich ladies;” and he proceeds to describe a particular individual, who hates fasting, looks forward to the smell of his
meals, and has a barbarous and froward tongue. Jerome wrote to St. Marcella of a certain man who
wrongly supposed that he was an object of attack: “I amuse myself by laughing at the grubs, the owls
and the crocodiles, and he takes all that I say to himself... Let me give him some advice. If he will only
conceal his nose and keep his tongue still he may be taken to be both handsome and learned.” It cannot be matter of surprise that, however justified his indignation was, his manner of expressing it aroused resentment. His own reputation was attacked with similar vigour; even his simplicity, his walk and smile, the expression of his countenance were found fault with. Neither did the severe virtue of the ladies that were under his direction nor the reservedness of his own behaviour protect him from calumny: scandalous gossip was circulated about his relations with St. Paula. He was properly indignant and decided to return to the East, there to seek a quiet retreat. He embarked at Porto in August 385. Before he left he wrote a fine apologia, in the form of a letter to St. Asella. “Salute Paula and Eustochium,” it concluded, “mine in Christ whether the world wills it or no... say to them, we shall all stand before the judgement seat of Christ, and there it shall be seen in what spirit each has lived.” At Antioch nine months later he was joined by Paula, Eustochium and the other Roman religious women
who had resolved to exile themselves with him in the Holy Land. Soon after arriving at Jerusalem they
went to Egypt, to consult with the monks of Nitria, as well as with Didymus, a famous blind teacher in
the school of Alexandria. With the help of Paula’s generosity a monastery for men was built pear the basilica of the Nativity at Bethlehem, together with buildings for three communities of women. St. Jerome himself lived
and worked in a large rock-hewn cell near to our Saviour’s birthplace, and opened a free school, as well
as a hospice, “so that,” as St. Paula said, “should Mary and Joseph again visit Bethlehem there would
be a place for them to lodge in,” Here at last were some years of peace. “The illustrious Gauls congregate here, and no sooner has the Briton, so remote from our world, made some progress in religion than he leaves his early-setting sun to seek a land which he knows only by reputation and from the Scriptures. And what of the Armenians, the Persians, the peoples of India and Ethiopia, of Egypt, of Pontus, Cappadocia, Syria and Mesopotamia? ... They throng here and set us the example of every virtue. The languages differ but the religion is the same; there are as many different choirs singing the psalms as there.are nations... Here bread, and vegetables grown with our own hands, and milk, country fare, afford us plain and healthy food. In summer the trees give us shade. In autumn the air is cool and the fallen leaves restful. In spring our psalmody is sweeter for the singing of the birds. We do not lack wood when winter snow and cold are upon us. Let Rome keep its crowds, let its arenas run with blood,
its circuses go mad, its theatres wallow in sensuality and, not to forget our friends, let the senate of ladies receive their daily visits.”

But Jerome could not stand aside and be mute when Christian truth was threatened. He had at Rome composed his book against Hclvidius on the perpetual virginity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Helvidius having maintained that Mary had other children, by St. Joseph, after the birth of Christ. This and certain associated errors were again put forward by one Jovinian. St. Paula’s son-in-law, St. Pammachius, and other laymen were scandalised at his new doctrines, and sent his writings to St. Jerome who in 393 wrote two books against Jovinian. In the first he shows the excellence of virginity embraced for the sake of virtue, which had been denied by Jovinian, and in the second confutes his other errors. This treatise was written in Jerome’s characteristically strong style and certain expressions in it seemed to some persons in Rome harsh and derogatory from the honour due to matrimony; St. Pammachius informed St. Jerome of the offence which he and many others took at them. Thereupon Jerome wrote his
Apology to Pammachius, sometimes called his third book against Jovinian, in a tone that can hardly
have given his critics satisfaction. A few years later he had to turn his attention to Vigilantius Dormantius, sleepy, he calls him a Gallo-Roman priest who both decried celibacy and condemned the veneration of relics, calling those who paid it idolaters and worshippers of ashes. St. Jerome in his answer said: “We do not worship the relics of the martyrs; but we honour them that we may worship Him whose martyrs they are. We honour the servants that the respect which is paid to them may be reflected back on the Lord.” He vindicates the honour paid to martyrs from idolatry because no Christian ever worshipped them as gods, and in order to show that the saints pray for us he says: “If the apostles and martyrs while still living upon earth can pray for other men, how much more may they do it after their victories? Have they less power now they are with Jesus Christ?” He defends the monastic state, and
says that a monk seeks security by flying occasions and dangers because he mistrusts his own weakness
and knows that there is no safety if a man sleeps near a serpent. St. Jerome often speaks of the saints in
Heaven praying for us. Thus he entreated Heliodorus to pray for him when he should be in glory, and
told St. Paula, upon the death of her daughter Blesilla, “She now prays to the Lord for you, and obtains
for me the pardon of my sins.” But the general tone of his reply to Vigilantius is even more vehement
than that to Jovinian.

From 395 to 400 St. Jerome was engaged in a war against Origcnism, which unhappily involved
a breach of his twenty-five years friendship with Rufinus. Years before he had written to him the doubtful statement that “friendship which can perish has never been a true one,” as Shakespeare would write twelve hundred years later:

... Love is not love
Which alters when its alteration finds
Or bends with the remover to remove.

Now his affection for Rufinus was to succumb to his zeal for truth. Few writers made more use of
Origen’s works and no one seemed a greater admirer of his erudition than St. Jerome; but finding in the
East that some had been seduced into grievous errors by the authority of his name and some of his writings he joined St. Epiphanius in warmly opposing the spreading evil. Rufinus, who them lived in a monastery at Jerusalem, had translated many of Origen’s works into Latin and was an enthusiastic upholder of his authority; though it does not appear that he had any intention of upholding those heresies which are undoubtedly contained, at least materially, in Origen’s writings. St. Augustine was not the of the good men who were distressed by the resulting quarrel, which, however, he the more easily understood because he himself became involved in a long controversy with St. Jerome arising out of the exegesis of the second chapter of St. Paul’s epistle to the Galatians. By his first letters he had unintentionally provoked Jerome, and had to use considerable charitable tact to soothe his easily wounded susceptibilities. St. Jerome wrote in 416: “I never spared heretics and have always done my utmost that the enemies of the Church should be also my enemies;” but it seems that sometimes he unwarrantably assumed that those who differed from himself were necessarily the Church’s enemies. He was no admirer
of moderation whether in virtue or against evil. He was swift to anger, but also swift to remorse, even
more severe on his own shortcomings than on those of others. There is a story told that Pope Sixtus V,
looking at a picture of the saint which represented him in the act of striking his breast with a stone,
said: “You do well to carry that stone, for without it the Church would never have canonized you.”
But his denunciations and controversies, necessary as most of them were, are the less important
part of his activities: nothing has rendered the name of St. Jerome so famous as his critical labours on
the Holy Scriptures. For this the Church acknowledges him to have been raised by God through a special providence, and she styles him the greatest of all her doctors in expounding the divine word. Pope Clement VIII did not scruple to call him a man divinely assisted in translating the Bible. He was furnished with the greatest helps for such an undertaking, living many years upon the spot where the remains of ancient places, names, customs which were still recent, and other circumstances set before his eyes a clearer representation of many things recorded in holy writ than it is possible to have at a greater distance of place and time. Greek and Aramaic were then living languages, and Hebrew, though it had ceased to be such from the time of the captivity, was not less understood and spoken among the doctors of the law. It was thought that he could not be further instructed in the knowledge of Hebrew, but this was not his own judgement of the matter and he applied again to a famous Jewish master, called Bar
Ananias, who came to teach him in the night-time, lest the Jews should know it. Above other conditions
it is necessary that an interpreter of the Bible be a man of prayer and sincere piety. This alone can obtain light and help from Heaven, give to the mind a turn and temper which are necessary for being admitted into the sanctuary of the divine wisdom, and furnish the key. Jerome was prepared by a great purity of heart and a life spent in penance and contemplation before he was called by God to this undertaking. We have seen that while in Rome under Pope St. Damasus he had revised the gospels and the psalms in the Old Latin version, followed by the rest of the New Testament. His new translation from the Hebrew of most of the books of the Old Testament was the work of his years of retreat at Bethlehem, which he undertook at the earnest entreaties of many devout and illustrious friends, and in view of the preference of the original to any version however venerable. He did not translate the books in order, but began by the books of Kings, and took the rest in hand at different times. The only parts of the
Latin Bible called the Vulgate which were not either translated or worked over by St. Jerome are the books of Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus, Baruch and the two books of Machabees. The psalms he revised again, with the aid of Origen’s
Hexapla and the Hebrew text, and this is the version included in the Vulgate and used in the Divine Office.

The first revision, called the Roman Psalter, is still used for the invitatory psalm at Matins and throughout the Missal, and for the Divine Office in St. Peter’s at Rome, St. Mark’s at Venice, and in the Milanese rite. St. Jerome’s Vulgate was declared by the Council of Trent to be the authentic or authoritative Latin biblical text of the Catholic Church, without thereby implying any preference of this version above the original text or above versions in other languages. In 1907 Pope Pius X entrusted to the monks of St. Benedict the duty of restoring so far as possible St. Jerome’s text of the Vulgate, which during fifteen centuries of use has become considerably modified and corrupted. The version of the Bible ordinarily used by English-speaking Catholics is the translation of
the Vulgate made at Rheims and Douay towards the end of the sixteenth century, as revised by Bishop Challoner in the eighteenth; and the English version officially made by Monsignor Ronald Knox was also from the Vulgate.
In the year 404 a great blow fell on St. Jerome in the death of St. Paula and a few years later in
the sacking of Rome by Alaric; many refugees fled into the East, and he wrote of them: “Who would
have believed that the daughters of that mighty city would one day be wandering as servants and slaves
on the shores of Egypt and Africa? That Bethlehem would daily receive noble Romans, distinguished
ladies brought up in wealth and now reduced to beggary? I cannot help them all, but I grieve and weep
with them, and, completely given up to the duties which charity imposes on me, I have put aside my
commentary on Ezekiel and almost all study. For today we must translate the words of the Scriptures
into deeds, and instead of speaking saintly words we must act them.” Again towards the end of his life
he was obliged to interrupt his studies by an incursion of barbarians, and some time after by the violence and persecution of the Pelagians who sent a troop of ruffians to Bethlehem to assault the monks and nuns who lived there under the direction of St. Jerome, who had opposed them. Some were beaten, and a deacon was killed, and they set fire to the monasteries. In the following year St. Eustochium died and Jerome himself soon followed her; worn out with penance and work, his sight and voice failing, his body like a shadow, he died peacefully on September 30, 420. He was buried under the church of the Nativity close to Paula and Eustochium, but his body was removed long after and now lies somewhere in St. Mary Major’s at Rome. He is often represented in art habited as a cardinal, because of the services he discharged for Pope St. Damasus, and also with a lion from whose paw he was said to have
drawn a thorn. This story has been transferred to him from the legend of St. Gemsimus, but a lion is a
far from inapt emblem of this fearless and fierce defender of the faith.


He was one of the greatest saints of the Church. He translated the Holy Scripture into one language, Latin. Protestants don't know this, or at least act like they don't. They couldn't possibly believe that a Catholic could actually do something good. Losers. They don't know any history before the Protestant 'reformation'. It was more like a deformation, if you ask me. What ever happened to the 'one Lord, one faith, and one baptism'? And how about the fact that Jesus said it, and that should settle it!

Feast of St. Michael

Today is the feast of St. Michael, the Archangel. Saints Gabriel and Raphael are also to be honored. These are among those spirits who stand before the throne of God Himself. I know there are seven of them, but don't know the names of the others. These faithful spirits protect us from the dangers of the 'arch' enemy and his minions, who attack us every moment we let our guard down. These are the spirits who instantaneously apprehend the whole compass of primary truths, therefore, it is impossible for them to be surprised, as we are, into error. these faithful angels prostrate themselves in joyous adoration at the feet of the Infant-God foreshown to them enthroned on Mary's knee, and then rose up to sing: 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good will.' (Notice that they DID NOT say 'peace on earth to all men', but to those of good will.)

According to our beloved Abbot Gueranger: 'Angels, Archangels, and Principalities; heaven's messengers, ambassadors, and overseers here below: are ye not also, as the apostle says, ministers of the salvation wrought on earth by Jesus, the heavenly High Priest?

We also, through this same Jesus, O most holy Trinity, glorify Thee, together with the three princely hierachies, which surround Thy Majesty with their nine immaterial rings as with a many-circled rampart. To tend to Thee, and to draw all things to Thee, is their common law. Purification, illumination, union: by these three ways in succession, or simultaneously, are these noble beings attracted to God, and by the same they attract those who strive to emulate them. Sublime spirits, it is with your gaze ever fixed on high that you influence those below and around you. Draw plentifully, both for yourselves and for us, from the central fires of the Divinity; purify us from more than the involuntary infirmities of nature; enlighten us; kindle us with your heavenly flames. For the same reason that satan hates us, you love us: protect the race of the Word made Flesh against the common enemy. So guard us, that we may hereafter be worthy to occupy among you the places left vacant by the victims of pride.'


SAINT MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL
Protector of the People of God

"MI-CA-EL," or "Who is like unto God?" was the cry of the great Archangel when he smote the rebel Lucifer in the conflict of the heavenly hosts. From that hour he has been known as Michael, Captain of the armies of God, the archetype of divine fortitude, the champion of every faithful soul in strife with the powers of evil. What is more, we see him in Holy Scripture as the special guardian of the children of Israel, their comfort and protector in times of sorrow or conflict. It is he who prepares their return from the Persian captivity, when the prophet Daniel prays for that favor (Daniel 10:12-13); who leads the valiant Maccabees to victory in battle, after the prayer of Judas Maccabeus (I Mac. 7:41-44).

Ever since its foundation by Jesus Christ, the Church has venerated Saint Michael as her special patron and protector. She invokes him by name in her Confiteor, when accusing her faults; she summons him to the side of her children in the agony of death, and chooses him as their escort from the chastening flames of purgatory to the realms of holy light. Lastly, when Antichrist shall have set up his kingdom on earth, it is Michael who will unfurl once more the standard of the Cross. This we know from a prophecy of Scripture which states clearly that in those days the great prince Michael will rise up to protect the children of God. (Daniel 12:1-4)

During the plague in Rome in the 6th century, Pope Gregory the Great saw Saint Michael in a vision sheathing his flaming sword to show that he would put an end to the scourge which was ravaging the city. In 608 a church was erected in thanksgiving to Saint Michael for the help he gave.

Reflection: Saint Bernard wrote: "Whenever any grievous temptation or vehement sorrow oppresses you, invoke your Guardian, your Leader. Cry out to him and say, Lord, save us, lest we perish!"


This is also the birthday of my sweetie. She got her birthday present this week when we took a trip to the state of Kentucky. Actually, we both got a present. She got horses, and I got bourbon. She's got St. Michael for her heavenly protector, and me for her earthy one. Long may she live.

This is her trying to drive away in an antique vehicle that we saw at the Auburn, Dusenburg, and Cord museum in Auburn, Indiana. Thank God it didn't run!

19th Sunday after Pentecost

Tomorrow is the 19th Sunday after Pentecost. First, I'm going to speak my mind about some things going on in the Church. Our Holy Father, Francis, is going to canonize two previous popes, John XXIII and John Paul II. These popes started a movement within the Church which has led to many people leaving the Church, and also for a great number denying the Truth, and thus, excommunicating themselves from its fold. The first one, called a council in the 60's, maybe to see some of his cronies, and to discuss events of the world. But he was overrun by modernists, who took over the council, and brought forth ideas which would ruin the truth as we know it. The Truth is still there, but those who hold those beliefs which should be held, are called 'radicals'. That pope was pretty spineless, if you ask me. He let them run him and the council and refused to correct them....fast forward through the years. The second pope on this list, though he was very popular, has led many people astray by his actions(ie. Assisi). He was instrumental at the council, and that was probably why he was chosen to be the successor of Peter. He, as well as his predecessors, were to push all of the bad ideas of the council. John Paul I apparently was going to make the 'Mass of all time' again the normal. This is probably why he was, I believe, killed. Can't have that notion anymore. To push the ideas of that unfortunate council has led millions leave the Faith or push heresy. The council DID NOT define anything, but left a lot of gray area, which led to many interpretations and novelties, which are, for the most part, sacrilege! Our Lord said: "By their fruits you shall know them (the enemy)". Well, the fruits for the last 50+ years are rotten. These two men will be canonized, but, thank God, this is NOT a doctrine of the Faith we have to believe to be saved! As the current Pope says, we are supposed to love all no matter what. Unconditionally. However, there ARE rules to follow. ALL need to conform to these to be saved. This is called DOCTRINE! Nuf said. Now, on to tomorrow's readings.

We will hear once again, about the wedding feast, in which many were called to join in, but they did not. This represents the Church calling all to come in. Those who refuse will be burned. Man, why do people have to be so obtuse? St. Gregory explains these passages:

'The kingdom of heaven is the assembly of the just; for, the Lord says by Isaiah: "Heaven is My throne." Solomon says: "The soul of the just man is the throne of wisdom"; and St. Paul calls Christ the Wisdom of God. If therefore, heaven be the throne of God, and the soul of the just man is the throne of Wisdom, this soul is a heaven...The kingdom of heaven, then, is the assembly of the just...If this kingdom is said to be like to a King, Who made a marriage for His Son, your charity at once understands who is this King, who is the Father of a Son, King like Himself. It is He, of whom the psalmist says: "Give to the King Thy judgment, O God, and to the King's Son Thy justice!" God the Father made the marriage of God His Son, when He wished that He, who had been God before all ages, should become Man towards the end of ages. But we must not, on that account, suppose that there are two persons in Jesus Christ, our God and our Saviour...It is, perhaps, clearer and safer to say, that the King made a marriage for His Son, in that, by the mystery of the Incarnation, He united the Church to Him. The womb of the Virgin-Mother was the nuptial chamber of that Bridegroom, of whom the psalmist says: "He hath set His tabernacle in the sun; and He, as a Bridegroom, cometh out of His bride chamber!


In this parable the king is our Heavenly Father who has espoused His only-begotten Son to the Church, and on this occasion prepares the most sumptuous marriage-feast by giving the evangelical doctrine, the holy Sacraments, and the heavenly joys. The servants sent to invite the guests are the prophets, apostles and disciples of Christ. Those invited are the Jews who despised the honor and grace of the divine King, destined for them, abused and killed His servants, and were, therefore, cast aside and with their city Jerusalem, destroyed by the armies of their enemies, as a just punishment; in their stead the heathens and all those nations were called, who were on the broad road to destruction, and who now occupy the places of the unfortunate Jews at the marriage feast of the Church, and shall also occupy them in heaven. In the Jews to whom Christ addressed this parable, is verified that many of them, nay, all are called, but few chosen, because they would not heed the invitation.

Let us end with the prayer after the Antiphon of the Magnificat:

O almighty and merciful God, graciously keep away from us all things that are adverse: that being free in mind and body, we may, with unimpeded minds, attend to the things that are thine.

18th Sunday after Pentecost

Tomorrow we hear from the 'God with us' Gospel, Matthew. It tells us about the man in sin(the paralytic), whose friends prayed for him and brought him to Jesus to be freed from the chains of sin. Jesus obliges. The Church continues to this day to forgive us our many sins, and will until the end of time, no matter what non-Catholics say, this is how it is. Jesus said it, I believe it, that settles it!

We will hear about the Jewish leaders, and about their habits. We can compare these words to our leaders, the hierarchy of the Church. To them I say: 'Listen up!' And for us also.

I'm going to let our beloved Abbot Gueranger tell it like he does so beautifully, concerning this Sunday:

'...Our Lord, speaking of the Jewish doctors, said: "All whatsoever they shall say to you, observe and do; but according to their works, do ye not: for they say, and do not." Contrariwise to these unworthy guardians of the Law, they that are seated on the chair of doctrine 'should teach, and act conformably to their teaching.' The Abbot Rupert adds, 'let them first do what it is their duty to do, that they may afterwards teach with authority; let them not seek after honors and titles, but make this their one object, to bear on themselves the sins of the people, and to merit to avert the wrath of God from those who are confided to their care.'

'...our Gospel at present this Sunday equally directs our thoughts to the consideration of the superhuman powers of the priesthood, which are the common boon of regenerated humanity. The faithful, whose attention is to be fixed on the right of teaching which is confided to the pastors of the Church, are now invited to meditate upon the prerogative which these same men have of forgiving sins and healing souls. Even if their conduct be in opposition to their teaching, it in no way interferes with the authority of the sacred chair, from which, for the Church and in her name, they dispense the bread of doctrine to her children. Moreover, whatever unworthiness may happen to be in the soul of a priest, it does not lessen the power of the keys which have been put into his hands to open heaven and to shut hell. For it is the Son of Man, Jesus, who,by the priest, be he a saint, or be he a sinner, rids of their sins His brethren and His creatures, whose miseries He has taken upon Himself, and whose crimes He has atoned for by His Blood.

The miracle of the cure of the paralytic, which gave an occasion to Jesus of declaring His power of forgiving sins inasmuch as He was Son of Man, has always been especially dear to the Church...From the very beginning of Christianity, heretics had risen up denying that the Church had the power, which her divine Head gave her, of remitting sin. Such false teaching would irretrievably condemn to spiritual death an immense number of Christians, who, unhappily, had fallen after their Baptism, but who, according to Catholic dogma, might be restored to grace by the sacrament of Penance. With what energy, then, would our mother the Church defend the remedy which gives life to her children! She uttered her anathemas upon, and drove from her communion, those pharisees of the new law, who, like their Jewish predecessors, refused to acknowledge the infinite mercy and universality of the great mystery of the Redemption.

Like ot her divine Master, who had worked under the eyes of the scribes, His contradictors, the Church, too, in proof of her consoling doctrine, had worked an undeniable and visible miracle in the presence of the false teachers; and yet she had failed to convince them of the reality of the miracle of sanctification and grace invisibly wrought by her words of remission and pardon. The outward cure of the paralytic was both the image and the proof of the cure of his soul, which previously had been in a state of moral paralysis; but he himself represented another sufferer; the human race, which for ages had been a victim to the palsy of sin. Our Lord had already left the earth, when the faith of the Apostles achieved this, their first prodigy, of bringing to the Church the world grown old in its infirmity. Finding that the human race was docile to the teaching of the divine messengers, and was already an imitator of their faith, the Church spoke as a mother, and said: 'Be of good heart, son! thy sins are forgiven thee!' At once, to the astonishment of the philosophers and skeptics, and to the confusion of hell, the world rose up from its long and deep humiliation; and, to prove how thoroughly his strength had been restored to him, he was seen carrying on his shoulders, by the labor of penance and the mastery over his passions, the bed of his old exhaustion and feebleness, on which pride, lust, and covetousness had so long held him. From that time forward, complying with the word of Jesus, which was also said to him by the Church, he has been going on towards his house, which is heaven, where eternal joy awaits him! And the angels, beholding such a spectacle of conversion and holiness, are in amazement, and sing glory to God, who gave such power to men.

Let us also give thanks to Jesus, whose marvelous dower, which is the Blood He shed for His bride, suffices to satisfy, through all ages, the claims of eternal justice. It was at Easter time that we saw our Lord instituting the great Sacrament, which thus in one instant restores the sinner to life and strength. But how doubly wonderful does its power seem, when we see it working in these times of effeminacy and of well-nigh universal ruin! Iniquity abounds; crimes are multiplied; and yet, the life-restoring pool, kept full by the sacred stream which flows from the open side of our crucified Lord, is ever absorbing and removing, as often as we permit it, and without leaving one single vestige of them, those mountains of sins, those hideous treasures of iniquity which had been amassed, during long years, by the united agency of the devil, the world, and man himself.'

Let us give thanks to Almighty God with these words of the Postcommunion of this Sunday:

'Being fed, O Lord, with the sacred gift, we give Thee thanks, humbly beseeching thy mercy, that Thou wouldst make us worthy of its reception.'

Hope!

If you would go to a site which is good and will help you with your faith, this one is it. It is called 'ChurchMiltant', is hosted by Michael Voris. The last couple of days, he has presented quotes from Cardinal Raymond Burke, who is the highest ranking American in the Vatican. It is AWESOME!. It gives hope for the Church, which has been taken over by 'lukewarm', 'limpwristed' leaders who are bent on bending the eternal Truth to suit their agendas. Here is the site:

churchmilitant.tv

Go Cardinal Burke!

17th Sunday after Pentecost

This Sunday is the 17th after Pentecost. We hear about humbling oneself again, which is the way it is supposed to be. Last Sunday, Jesus tells us: "When thou art invited to a wedding, sit down in the lowest place!" This week, St. Paul tells us to 'walk worthy of the vocation in which you are called, yes, walk in that vocation with all humility!' He is saying that we must practice these virtues--humility, mildness, and patience. These are the means for gaining the end that is so generously proposed to us. God asks one condition of us--that we maintain harmony among ourselves, that will make one body and one spirit of all, in the bond of peace. Our beloved Abbot Gueranger continues:

'The strength of this bond is the strength of the Holy Spirit Himself, Who is all holiness and love; for it is that Holy Spirit Who forms these spiritual and divine ties; He it is who, with the countless multitude of the baptized, does the work which the soul does in the human body--that is, gives it life, and unites all the members into oneness of person. It is by the Holy Ghost that young and old, poor and rich, men and women, distinct as all these are in other respects, are made one, fused, so to say, in the fire which eternally burns in the blessed Trinity. But, in order that the flame of infinite love may thus draw into its embrace our regenerated humanity, we must get rid of selfish rivalries, and grudges, and dissensions, which, so long as they exist among us, prove us to be carnal, and therefore unfit for the divine flame to touch, or for the union which that flame produces. The most hateful of all the obstacles which divine love has to encounter upon earth is the jealousy of satan, who endeavors, by an impious usurpation, to rob God of the possession of our souls--souls, that is, which were created by and for Him alone.'

Our 'Collect' for this Sunday says it all:

'Grant, we beseech Thee, O Lord, that thy people may avoid all the contagions of the devil; and, with a pure mind, follow Thee, Who alone art God.'

In the Gospel from St. Matthew, we hear about the Commandments. The Two Great Commandments, as they are called, are to love God, then love our neighbor. These two actually encompass the entire Ten Commandments. The first takes care of the first three Commandments, while the second one takes in all the others. Jesus was taking questions from the Pharisees, who are only doing it to try to trip Him up. He confounds them. He pretty much tells them that this second Commandment, like the first, this one concerning charity of loving our neighbor, which is the one these Jews were convicted of. They were convicted of neither loving their neighbor, nor God Himself, for the first Commandment cannot be observed if the second, which flows from and completes it, be broken. These hypocrites couldn't see that the God who created them was standing right in front of them. They claimed to obey God, but as Jesus told them, they knew Him not! Ouch! That must have hurt. But, it only made them more obstinate in their thoughts.

The Abbot continues: The Jews, by rejecting Christ Jesus, sinned against both of the commandments which constitute charity, and embody the whole law; and we, on the contrary, by loving that same Jesus, fulfill the whole law. As St. Augustine says, 'God loves men only inasmuch as they either are, or may one day become, members of His Son; it is His Son that He loves in them; thus He loves, with one same love though not equally, His Word, and the Flesh of His Word, and the members of His Incarnate Word. Now, charity is love--love such as it is in God, communicated to us creatures by the Holy Ghost.' Therefore, what we should is the divine Word, either as being, or, according to another expression, 'that He may be', in others and in ourselves.

Anyway, on these two Great Commandments depends the whole law and the prophets. The fulness of the law, which is the rule of mens conduct, is in charity, of which Christ is the end; just as the object of the revealed Scriptures is not other than the God-Man, Who embodies in His own adorable unity, for us His followers, all moral teaching, and all dogma. He is our Faith and our Love. St. Augustine again: "He is the end of all our resolutions; for all our efforts tend but to this--to perfect ourselves in Him; having reached Him, seek NO farther, for He is your End. He says that when we have reached this point: "Let us cling to One, let us enjoy One, let us all be one in Him. 'haereamus Uni, fruamur Uno, permaneamus Unum.'"

Let us ask from our Lord forgiveness of our past sins, and preservation from future ones.

Let us also pray for the holy souls of the city of Maaloula, Syria. It seems to have been one of the last, if not the last, cities in which Christians live without harassment in an arab country. They are Melkite and Orthodox Christians, speak the Aramaic language that Our Lord used, and have recently been attacked, and taken over, by, of course, radical muslims. These brothers and sisters of ours are being martyred while we speak, and yet, NOT one single word from our 'beloved' media. Let us pray for these souls as Our Lord wishes, as well for those doing the crime.

Keep in mind that NO prophet in the history of the world claimed to be equal to God or to be God except Jesus Christ! He proved it by miracles and by His words. He is the One told of by the prophets of old, right up to John the Baptist. The Baptist even pointed Him to the crowd! It's just that many refused to believe Him or His words. They claim to know God and His teachings, by their pride allowed them to NOT believe as they should. And, this continues today. Pray a lot for these to believe before their death, when they will meet the God Who will judge them and is responsible for their existence, and they will find out it was Jesus all along.

EXALTATION OF THE HOLY CROSS

'Through thee the precious Cross is honoured and worshipped throughout the world.' Thus spoke St. Cyril of Alexandria addressing Our Lady. The Council of Ephesus vindicated her as Mother of God. Eternal Wisdom has willed that the octave of Mary's birth should be honoured by the celebration of this feast of the triumph of the Holy Cross. The Cross indeed is the standard of God's armies, where Mary is the Queen; it is by the Cross that she crushes the serpent's head, and wins so many victories over error, and over the enemies of the Christian name. 'By this sign thou shalt conquer.'

Roodmas-- more commonly known simply as "Holy Cross Day" (rood means cross) -- was first begun to commemorate the Dedication of the Basilica of the Resurrection, built by St. Helena (Constantine the Great's mother), in Jerusalem in A.D. 355 -- but the true Cross was found shortly thereafter, also by St. Helena, so the two events were joined.

The story of the finding of the True Cross, from the Catholic Encyclopedia:

In the year 326 the mother of Constantine, Helena, then about 80 years old, having journeyed to Jerusalem, undertook to rid the Holy Sepulchre of the mound of earth heaped upon and around it, and to destroy the pagan buildings that profaned its site. Some revelations which she had received gave her confidence that she would discover the Saviour's Tomb and His Cross. The work was carried on diligently, with the co-operation of St. Macarius, bishop of the city.

The Jews had hidden the Cross in a ditch or well, and covered it over with stones, so that the faithful might not come and venerate it. Only a chosen few among the Jews knew the exact spot where it had been hidden, and one of them, named Judas, touched by Divine inspiration, pointed it out to the excavators, for which act he was highly praised by St. Helena. Judas afterwards became a Christian saint, and is honoured under the name of Cyriacus.

During the excavation three crosses were found, but because the titulus was detached from the Cross of Christ, there was no means of identifying it. Following an inspiration from on high, Macarius caused the three crosses to be carried, one after the other, to the bedside of a worthy woman who was at the point of death. The touch of the other two was of no avail; but on touching that upon which Christ had died the woman got suddenly well again.

From a letter of St. Paulinus to Severus inserted in the Breviary of Paris it would appear that St. Helena herself had sought by means of a miracle to discover which was the True Cross and that she caused a man already dead and buried to be carried to the spot, whereupon, by contact with the third cross, he came to life. From yet another tradition, related by St. Ambrose, it would seem that the titulus, or inscription, had remained fastened to the Cross.

After the happy discovery, St. Helena and Constantine erected a magnificent basilica over the Holy Sepulchre, and that is the reason why the church bore the name of St. Constantinus. The precise spot of the finding was covered by the atrium of the basilica, and there the Cross was set up in an oratory, as appears in the restoration executed by de Vogüé. When this noble basilica had been destroyed by the infidels, Arculfus, in the seventh century, enumerated four buildings upon the Holy Places around Golgotha, and one of them was the "Church of the Invention" or "of the Finding". This church was attributed by him and by topographers of later times to Constantine. The Frankish monks of Mount Olivet, writing to Leo III, style it St. Constantinus. Perhaps the oratory built by Constantine suffered less at the hands of the Persians than the other buildings, and so could still retain the name and style of Martyrium Constantinianum. (See De Rossi, Bull. d' arch. crist., 1865, 88.)

A portion of the True Cross remained at Jerusalem enclosed in a silver reliquary; the remainder, with the nails, must have been sent to Constantine, and it must have been this second portion that he caused to be enclosed in the statue of himself which was set on a porphyry (stone) column in the Forum at Constantinople; Socrates, the historian, relates that this statue was to make the city impregnable. One of the nails was fastened to the emperor's helmet, and one to his horse's bridle, bringing to pass, according to many of the Fathers, what had been written by Zacharias the Prophet: "In that day that which is upon the bridle of the horse shall be holy to the Lord" (Zechariah 14:20). Another of the nails was used later in the Iron Crown of Lombardy preserved in the treasury of the cathedral of Monza.

Scientific study of the relics of the True Cross show it to be made of some species of pine. The titulus crucis -- the wood on which the inscription "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews" was written in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew (Matthew 27:37, Mark 15:26, Luke 23:38 and John 19:19) -- is made of an olive wood. The titulus has been scientifically dated to the 1st c. and the script is still legible (interestingly, the Latin and Greek are in reverse script), though the Hebrew is missing due to the entire thing being halved, the second half having been lost in the 6th century. It is from the Latin inscription -- "Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudeorum" that we get the abbreviation "I.N.R.I." that is found on many Crucifixes.

The titulus crucis and relics of the True Cross can be seen in Rome's Basilica di Santa Croce in Gerusalemme.

St. Sophronius, the one-time holy patriarch of Jerusalem, states: "It is the feast of the Cross; who would not exult? It is the triumph of the Resurrection; who would not be full of joy? Formerly, the Cross led to the Resurrection; now it is the Resurrection that introduces us to the Cross. Resurrection and Cross: trophies of our salvation! The Cross is brought before our minds; who will not crucify himself? The true worshipper of the sacred Wood is he who carries out his worship in his deeds."

O adorable Cross, our glory and our love here on earth, save us on the day when thou shalt appear in the heavens, when the Son of Man, seated in His majesty, is to judge the world! Have mercy on us!

The Golden Arrow

Check out another prayer to be said to Our Lord, hopefully to alleviate the sufferings He receives throughout the world, and even in His Church. It was revealed by Our Lord to a Carmelite nun Sr. Mary of St. Peter. It is over on the side >>>>>

In Tours, France during the 1840's a young Carmelite nun received a series of revelations from Our Lord about a powerful devotion He wished to be established worldwide-----he devotion to His Holy Face. The express purpose of this devotion was to make reparation for the blasphemies and outrages of "Revolutionary men" [the Communists]----- through whom God is allowing the world to be chastised for its unbelief-----as well as for the blasphemies of atheists and freethinkers and others; plus, for blasphemy and the profanation of Sundays by Christians. Specifically, this devotion is the Divine tool given by God to defeat Communism, but it is also an instrument given to the individual devotee as a seemingly unfailing method of appealing to God in prayer-----through adoration of His Holy Face and Name.

Our Lord gave Sister Mary a short but powerful prayer called' 'The Golden Arrow," by which a person can "shoot directly into the Heart of God" to heal the wounds inflicted on it by the malice of sinners. Of the nine promises connected with this devotion, the first three are: 1) "By My Holy Face you will work miracles;" 2) "By My Face you will obtain the conversion of many sinners;" and 3) "Nothing you ask in making this offering will be refused to you." This devotion brought St. Therese to her great sanctity. Anyone who is searching for a spiritual method for fighting atheism, socialism, materialism and paganism and its programs and/or who is searching for a virtually infallible method of prayer will be delighted with The Golden Arrow devotions.

"Just as in an earthly kingdom money which is stamped with the picture of the sovereign or ruling executive of the country procures whatever one desires to purchase, so likewise in the Kingdom of Heaven, you shall obtain all that you desire by offering the coin of My precious Humanity which is My adorable Face."

------ Our Lord To Sr. Mary of St. Peter

THE "GOLDEN ARROW" PRAYER

May the Most Holy, Most Sacred, Most Adorable, Most Incomprehensible and Unutterable Name of God be always praised, blessed, loved, adored and glorified, in Heaven, on earth, and under the earth, by all the creatures of God, and by the Sacred Heart of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar. Amen.

After receiving this prayer, Sister Mary of St. Peter was given a vision in which she saw the Sacred Heart of Jesus delightfully wounded by this "Golden Arrow" as torrents of graces streamed from It for the conversion of sinners.

The aim of this little presentation is to revive devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus as a means of Reparation to God for the crimes committed against His Divine Majesty. The question may be asked, was not this Devotion of Reparation universally practiced in the Church some years ago? The answer is yes; it was widespread for many years after the Brief of Pope Leo XIII canonically established the Archconfraternity of the Holy Face in 1885. Unfortunately, however, it was neglected and forgotten in the years immediately prior to the First World War in 1914. Was it not perhaps due to our failure to continue this Reparation, as demanded by Our Divine Lord in His revelations to the holy Carmelite of Tours, that God allowed the "malice of wicked men" to precipitate us into two world conflicts, with all their indescribable horrors?

And now, when we live daily on the verge of a Third World War, which threatens total destruction because of atomic weapons presently in the hands of our enemies, shall we at last embrace this reparation demanded by Our Lord? The "revolutionary men," designated by Our Lord Himself as Communists [a state of political mind and intent apart from a specific organization: "Communism is not dead" as has been stated by the pundits among us, but is being revived in the new anti-God one world, one religion (pagan movement)], have so engulfed the world in turmoil that humanity faces destruction. This was the consensus of opinion from unimpeachable sources, including Pope Pius XII, who that there persists a general world condition which can explode at any moment."

Addressing Himself mystically to the pious Carmelite nun, Our Lord told her that especially to His priests He promises He will defend them before His Father in Heaven and give them His kingdom if they, through words, prayers or writings, defend His cause in this work of "reparation." Pastors, therefore, and priests who desire to answer this call should endeavor, through regular procedure, to establish the Confraternity of the Holy Face in their parishes.


PROMISES OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST IN FAVOR OF
THOSE WHO HONOR HIS HOLY FACE

1. All those who honor My Face in a spirit of reparation will by so doing perform the office of the pious Veronica. According to the care they take in making reparation to My Face, disfigured by blasphemers, so will I take care of their souls which have been disfigured by sin. My Face is the seal of the Divinity, which has the virtue of reproducing in souls the image of God.

2. Those who by words, prayers or writing defend My cause in this Work of Reparation I will defend before My Father, and will give them My Kingdom.

3. By offering My Face to My Eternal Father, nothing will be refused, and the conversion of many sinners will be obtained.

4. By My Holy Face, they will work wonders, appease the anger of God and draw down mercy on sinners.

5. As in a kingdom they can procure all that is desired with a coin stamped with the King's effigy, so in the Kingdom of Heaven they will obtain all they desire with the precious coin of My Holy Face.

6. Those who on earth contemplate the wounds of My Face shall in Heaven behold it radiant with glory.

7. They will receive in their souls a bright and constant irradiation of My Divinity, that by their likeness to My Face they shall shine with particular splendor in Heaven.

8. I will defend them, I will preserve them and I assure them of Final Perseverance.


This prayer was dictated by our Lord Himself to Sister Mary of St. Peter. Opening His Heart to her, our Savior complained of blasphemy, saying that this frightful sin wounds His Divine Heart more grievously than all other sins, for it was like "a poisoned arrow."

After that, our Savior dictated the prayer, which He called "The Golden Arrow," saying that those who would recite this prayer would pierce Him delightfully, and also heal those other wounds inflicted on Him by the malice of sinners.

We will never forget!

Today we remember the atrocities committed on September 11, 2001, when Muslim jihadist terrorists attacked our beloved homeland, murdering in cold blood 2,977 innocents from more than ninety countries. Thousands more were injured. Thousands of families will never fully recover from their losses. America will never fully recover. Nor will Americans ever forget.

We will also remember all the unanswered questions we have concerning that fateful day. Like: How come the planes were NOT intercepted by our Air Force?; how is it that the twin towers fell just like a demolition would?; who was really in charge of the attacks?; was it muslims?; did somebody in the powers that be need another war, accompanied by so many useless deaths in an unwinnable war? We would like some answers!!!!!!!!!

We will be praying for these souls that were lost, as well as for the conversion of those who don't have the eternal Truth in them. That last part goes also for those within the Church who still call themselves 'catholic'.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, OUR DEAR MOTHER MARY!

Besides being the 16th Sunday after Pentecost, this year also has another great Feast day! The birth of our Blessed Mother Mary. She had been immaculately conceived in her mother Anne's womb, thus making her the purest of the pure. She is the one who is to crush the old serpent's head with her heel, and will lead us to her Son. She, who is our only hope, will bring us to eternal happiness. She, who has, and will continue, to crush all heresies, will come to our aid; if we ask. She, who was made the mother of us all, (through John, who stood in our place), while Jesus was on the Cross, will guide us to all Truth as she did the Apostles and disciples after Pentecost.

I put it to protestants this way; in a way maybe they can understand. A simple math solution: If A=B, and B=C; then A=C. Jesus is God; Mary is the mother of Jesus; hence, she is the Mother of God. See how easy this is? I also would ask them if they would take offense if I were to call their mother names or told lies about her, even though I had never met her? When they would reply that they definitely get mad, I would tell them: 'So is Jesus. He will remember all the times you were hateful towards His mother. If you can't say anything decent about her, SHUT UP!' Now, let's find out about Mary.






The NATIVITY
of the BLESSED VIRGIN
(ca. 15 B.C.)

The birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary announced joy and the approaching salvation of a lost world. Mary was brought into the world not like other children of Adam, infected with the contagion of sin, but pure, holy, beautiful, and glorious, adorned with all the most precious graces fitting for the One predestined to be the Mother of the Saviour. Never did She have the slightest inclination towards anything other than the absolute and immediate Will of God. She appeared indeed in the weak condition of all mortals, but in the eyes of Heaven She already transcended the highest Seraphim in purity, humility, charity, and the richest ornaments of grace. God had created Her in the original grace, as in the beginning Adam and Eve had enjoyed that ineffable privilege; after original sin, it was lost for all Adam's posterity, until the time of the Redemption dawned in Mary. (Cf. I Cor. 15:21-23)

The nations celebrate, often too noisily, the birthdays of the great ones of this earth... How then ought we, Christians, to rejoice in that of the Virgin Mary, Mother of our Salvation, and to present publicly to God the homage of our best praises and thanksgiving for the great mercies He has shown in Her, imploring Her mediation with Her Divine Son! Jesus of Nazareth will not reject the supplications of His most holy Mother, through whom He chose to descend from Heaven; She, the Spouse of the Canticle, is all beautiful and is the One He was pleased to obey while on earth. Her love, care, and tenderness for Him, the title and qualities which She bears, the charity and graces with which She is adorned, and the crown of glory with which She is honored, incline Him readily to receive Her recommendations and petitions.

Reflection: The Angelical Salutation is the prayer which most pleases Mary; but when time is short we can invoke Her constantly by short ejaculatory prayers, such as the one She entrusted to Catherine Labouré in 1830 with the Miraculous Medal: O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee! or, shorter yet: My Mother, my confidence!

16th Sunday after Pentecost

Tomorrow is the 16th Sunday after Pentecost. We will hear, once again, how NOT to take the top places at someone's else house. We are to take the lowest spot, and, if the owner decides you are worthy enough, he will incite you up closer to his place. DON'T be a legend in your mind! In other words, humble yourself. I will get to the readings in a minute, but first, a word about what's going on in the world.

Our 'beloved' POTUS wants to invade Syria. He thinks the government has used chemicals on its own people. I don't believe this for a minute! I read what some Syrian journalists wrote last week. They said that the rebels are the ones who used chemicals. So, B.O. wants to help these rebels, who are mostly attached to the Muslim Brotherhood. This is NOT good! He will be helping those who want world domination, and kill whoever opposes them in their quest. And, on a related note, another thing. Apparently, Syria is the only place in the arab world who aren't exterminating Christians just because of what they are. Something to think about, huh? Also, pray for these people a lot. They are suffering much more than we know.

Now, to tomorrow's thoughts. St. Ambrose, a Doctor of the Church, offers some thoughts. Speaking to the newly made Christians who are now veterans in the spiritual combat, he tells them: "...concupiscence has snares without end, even for him!...he may trip, any day; he has gone far, perhaps very far, on the road to the kingdom of God, but, even so, he may go wrong, and be forever shut out from the marriage feast, together with heretics, pagans, and Jews. Let him be on the watch, then, or he may become tainted with those sins, from which, up to this point, thanks to God's grace, he has kept clear. Let him take heed, or he may become like the man mentioned in the Gospel, who had the dropsy; and dropsy,...is a morbid exuberance of humours, which stupefy the soul, and induce a total extinction of spiritual ardour. And yet, even if he were to have such a fall as that, let him not forget that the heavenly Physician is ever ready to cure him." St. Ambrose goes on, condensing Luke's 14th chapter, stating: '...attachment to the goods of this life is opposed to the ardour which should carry us on the wins of the Spirit, towards the heaven where lives and reigns our loved One!'

Our beloved Abbot Gueranger chimes in:

Above all, it is to the constant attitude and exercise of humility that he must especially direct his attention who would secure a prominent place in the divine feast of the nuptials. All saints are ambitious for future glory of this best kind; but they are well aware that, in order to win it, they must go down low, during the present life, into their own nothingness; the higher in the world to come, the lower in this . Until the great day dawn, when each one is to receive according to his works, we shall lose nothing by putting ourselves, meanwhile, below everybody. The position reserved for us in the kingdom of heaven depends not, in the least, either upon our own thoughts about ourselves, or upon the judgment passed on us by other people; it depends solely on the will of God, Who exalteth the humble and bringeth down the mighty from their seat. Let us hearken to Ecclesiasticus. 'The greater thou art, the more humble thyself in all things, and thou shalt find grace before God; for great is the power of God alone, and He is honoured by the humble.' Were it only, then, from a motive of self-interest, let us follow the advice of the Gospel, and, in all things, claim, as our own, the last place. Humility is not sterling, and cannot please God, unless, to the lowly estimation we have of ourselves, we join an esteem for others, preventing everyone with honour, gladly yielding to all in matters which do not affect our conscience; and all this, from a deep-rooted conviction of our own misery and worthlessness in the sight of Him Who searches the reins and heart. The surest test of our humility before God, is that practical charity for our neighbor, which, in the several circumstances of everyday life, induces us, and without affectation, to give him the precedence over ourselves.

On the contrary, one of the most unequivocal proofs of the falseness of certain so-called spiritual ways, into which the enemy sometimes leads incautious souls, is the lurking contempt wherewith he inspires them for one or more of their acquaintance; it is dormant, perhaps, habitually, but when occasion offers--and it frequently offers--they allow it to influence their thoughts, and words, and actions. To a greater or less extent, and, it may be, with more or less unconsciousness, self-esteem is the basis of the structure of their virtues; but, as for the illuminations, and mystical sweetnesses, which these people sometimes tell their intimate friends they enjoy, they may be quite sure that such favours do not come to them from the Holy Spirit. When the substantial light of the Sun of justice shall appear in the valley of the judgment, all counterfeits of this kind will be made evident, and they that trusted to them, and spent their lives in petting such phantoms, will find them all vanishing in smoke. Having then to take a much lower place than the one they dreamt of, they may reckon it a solace, that some place is still given them at the divine banquet. They will have to thank God that their chastisement goes no farther than the shame of seeing those very people passing high up in honour above them, for whom, during life, they had such utter contempt.

Because, as Jesus tells us in the Gospel: "...every one that exalteth himself shall be humbled; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted."