ST. JEROME

This is rather long, but worth the read (I think), especially if you want to know any history of the Church, and why his version was the only accepted one for 1200+ years.

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 there.

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. (NOTE: I hi-lited these names in case you look for a Bible which will be truer to the original) 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 in the habit of 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?!

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 (the Church), 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. Join me in wishing her the best in the years to come.

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. Only you can make it possible.

St. Ambrose, a Doctor of the Church, offers some thoughts in regards to this Sunday's Gospel. 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."

So, I guess the lesson is: "Don't be a legend in your mind."

JUST A NOTE

Hello all. I've noticed that I have picked up a few new readers of this blog. I just wanted to clue you in to the 'whys' that I do what I do. I use the Douay-Rheims version of the Bible. This is because of the fact that when I converted in 1982, I didn't know any Latin, can't read Hebrew or Greek. I wanted the oldest version in English that I could get. Hence, the Douay version. The New Testament came out in 1583, while the Old in 1609. Here's a fact for you when dealing with 'protestants'. The King James version came out in 1611. Since the words are different, hence changing the meanings, which one was changed? NOT the original, to be certain. And, all of the Catholic bibles printed since the last council more adhere to the King James version, with the exception of the seven extra books. This fact is especially evident in ALL of the verses pertaining to Our Blessed Mother, Mary. Here's a few noticeable changes, and I will start at the beginning of scripture, because I figure that if you hate Jesus' Mother, you're not really a true follower of Him. Anyway:

Genesis 3:15--After Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit, they brought upon us 'original sin', which is why we need baptism. The serpent is also spanked. He is told that there will be enmities between him and the 'woman'. This Woman is Mary. Satan is told that war will be "between his seed and her seed, she shall crush, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel." These words have been 'gender' modified to be 'him' and 'his'. This satisfies the protestants to no end. They pretty much hate Mary, who is the only one to say "yes" and agreed to carry our Saviour, thus becoming a 'living Ark' of the covenant.

Luke 1:28, 'and the angel being come in, said unto her: "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women."' This verse denies her as being 'full of grace' in the King James and the newer 'catholic' bibles. They say: "Hail, O highly favored daughter." Totally different meanings. We're all favored sons and daughters of God, but she is the only one 'full of grace', something we are striving to be before we croak.

Luke 1:34, 'and Mary said to the angel: "How shall this be done, because I know not man?" This has been changed to: 'How can this be, since I know not man?' In the second version, she is denying that it is possible, while in the original she is questioning how it will take place. Another big difference!

Luke 1:46, This is Our Blessed Mother's Magnificat, which in the original is worth reading. 'And Mary said: "My soul doth magnify the Lord". In the newer versions it is something like this: "My being proclaims the goodness of the Lord." NOT the same meaning at all. In the original, it is telling us that if we look through Mary, we can see the Lord more clearly. In the second version, she is just stating what we all could say if we wanted to.

These are just a few changes that were made in scripture, and they are not worth reading if you want to save your soul. Now, onto more about this site. I go by the 'old' calendar of the Mass, mostly because of the fact that it contains more 'Holy' days, as well as more of the saints, which we do NOT find in the later 'Mass'. I'm not saying the new Mass is invalid, because it isn't. What I'm saying is that it is not very good if you want to save your soul, or if you're trying to find the Truth. It is more like a protestant service. I know this, because I was one. I even knew all of the songs, which were mostly the same ones I sang where I was going. A few years ago, I attended a funeral for one of my friends' dad. It was in an Episcopal church. Everything was exactly the as the 'new mass' except at their 'consecration' they said: "For many", instead of our 'for all'. Also, in my posts I mostly use 'The Liturgical Year' by Abbot Gueranger. It is 15 volumes and has every Sunday's readings and explanations of the same. It was written in the 1920's, and came out in English in 1946. I also have what I consider a vast library to help me help you.

And, one site I go to often is the following:

calefactory.org

This site has it all if you truly are searching for the Truth. Sorry if this site didn't come up hi-lighted. It might be me. Again.

Anyway, my blog site is hopefully to help those searching for the Truth, and I usually show them as I see them, with my own opinion sometimes. Okay, most of the time. Welcome to all new readers. I sincerely hope you can find something worthwhile here to help you on your journey.


If you want, you can view my earliest posts and see why I converted. I think it's kinda humorous. At one time I said 'NO' to the Church, mainly because there was sooooo much to know and learn. I joined mainly to save money on my kid's tuition, and, to make a long story shorter, found out the Catholics had it right all the while. Since 1982, I don't seem to have enough time for reading and learning. Go figure, huh? I figure that Our Lady saw someone who was just stubborn enough, as well as being a stickler for details, to hold onto the Truth once he found it, no matter what, and she just kept reeling me in until I was safely in the boat, the Ark of Salvation. Hopefully, I can someday be considered a 'keeper'!

OUR LADY'S SEVEN DOLORS

We have prayed the novena for nine days now, ending with this feast day, which is forgotten in the Church these days. However, we remember. May Our Blessed Mother, Our Lady of Ransom, free us from the barbarous yoke of the 'religion of peace'. She's done it before.


OUR LADY of RANSOM
(Her Order's establishment 1218)

The story of Our Lady of Ransom is, at its outset, that of Saint Peter Nolasco, born in Languedoc about 1189. At the age of twenty-five he took a vow of chastity and made over his vast estates to the Church. After making a pilgrimage to Our Lady of Montserrat, he went to Barcelona where he began to practice various works of charity. He conceived the idea of establishing an Order for the redemption of captives seized by the Moors on the seas and in Spain itself; they were being cruelly tormented in their African prisons to make them deny their faith. He spoke of it to the king of Aragon, James I, who knew him well and already respected him as a Saint; for the king had already asked for his prayers when he sent out his armies to combat the Moors, and he attributed his victories to those prayers.

In effect all the Christians of Europe, and above all of Spain, were praying a great deal to obtain from God the remedy for the great evil that had befallen them. The divine Will was soon manifested. On the same night, August 1, 1218, the Blessed Virgin appeared to Saint Peter, to his confessor, Raymund of Pennafort, and to the king, and through these three servants of God established a work of the most perfect charity, the redemption of captives.

On that night, while the Church was celebrating the feast of Saint Peter in Chains, the Virgin Mary came from heaven and appeared first to Saint Peter, saying that She indeed desired the establishment of a religious Order bearing the name of Her mercy. Its members would undertake to deliver Christian captives and offer themselves, if necessary, as a gage. Word of the miracle soon spread over the entire kingdom; and on August 10th the king went to the cathedral for a Mass celebrated by the bishop of Barcelona. Saint Raymund went up into the pulpit and narrated his vision, with admirable eloquence and fervor. The king besought the blessing of the bishop for the heaven-sent plan, and the bishop bestowed the habit on Saint Peter, who emitted the solemn vow to give himself as a hostage if necessary.

The Order, thus solemnly established in Spain, was approved by Gregory IX under the name of Our Lady of Mercy. By the grace of God and under the protection of His Virgin Mother, the Order spread rapidly. Its growth was increased as the charity and piety of its members was observed; they very often followed Her directive to give themselves up to voluntary slavery when necessary, to aid the good work. It was to return thanks to God and the Blessed Virgin that a feast day was instituted and observed on September 24th, first in this Order of Our Lady, then everywhere in Spain and France. It was finally extended to the entire Church by Innocent XII.

Reflection: Saint Peter Nolasco and his knights were not priests, and yet they considered that the salvation of their neighbor was entrusted to them. We, too, can by good counsel and by prayer, but above all by holy example, assist the salvation of our brethren, and thereby secure our own.

GUARDIAN ANGEL

Novena to Our Guardian Angel
Sept 23th – October 1st

[Say the novena for nine consecutive days.]

O holy angel, whom God, by the effect of His goodness and His tender regard for my welfare, has charged with the care of my conduct, and who assists me in all my wants and comforts me in all my afflictions, who supports me when I am discouraged and continually obtains for me new favors, I return thee profound thanks, and I earnestly beseech thee, O most amiable protector, to continue thy charitable care and defense of me against the malignant attacks of all my enemies. Keep me away from all occasions of sin. Obtain for me the grace of listening attentively to thy holy inspirations and of faithfully putting them into practice. In particular, I implore thee to obtain for me the favor which I ask for by this novena.

[Here mention your need(s)]

Protect me in all the temptations and trials of this life, but more especially at the hour of my death, and do not leave me until thou hast conducted me into the presence of my Creator in the mansions of everlasting happiness. Amen.

O most faithful companion, appointed by God to be my Guardian, and who never leaves my side, how shall I thank thee for thy faithfulness and love and for the benefits which thou hast obtained for me?
Thou watch over me when I sleep; thou comfort me when I am sad;
thou averts the dangers that threaten me and warns me of those to come;
thou withdraws me from sin and inspires me to good;
thou exhorts me to penance when I fall and reconciles me to God.
I beg thee not to leave me.
Comfort me in adversity, restrain me in prosperity, defend me in danger, and assist me in temptations, lest at any time I fall beneath them.
Offer up in the sight of the Divine Majesty my prayers and petitions,
and all my works of piety, and help me to persevere in grace until I come to everlasting life. Amen.

SSPX Oklahoma City: Black Mass Response VIDEO

Sunday was the 'black mass', held in a public place in the center of Oklahoma City, OK. This is a MOCKERY of the Holy Sacrifice of The Mass which we go to every Sunday. I don't know if any conversions were or not, but we must defend Christ when He is mocked. There were dozens of those attending this 'mass', and over 1500 marching outside opposing it, for a reparation to God for these offenses. Good job to all involved!



The Battle of the Civic Center

Catholics of Tradition responded with extraordinary generosity to the calling of a crusade of reparation against the Satanic Black Mass in Oklahoma City. With only 9 days for notice and planning, 6 priests, 7 seminarians, a group of Franciscan sisters and almost 1,000 lay faithful from across the country converged on Oklahoma City on September 21.

A Solemn Mass was offered by Fr. Daniel Themann in a ballroom filled past capacity and with hundreds of faithful pouring out into the hotel foyer watching the Mass on live video feed. In his sermon, Fr. Themann reminded the faithful that a good soldier is motivated not by the hatred of that which is in front of him but by the love of that which is behind him. Condemning the Satanic blasphemy permitted by civil authorities to occur in the Civic Center, he also reminded the faithful of how each of us has also offended God. He echoed Fr. Wegner’s call for reparation.

Following Mass, the crowds moved through the hotel in profound silence to march to the gates of the Civic Center. Despite a predicted 80% chance of torrential rain, a blazing sun beat down on the procession as it wended its way through the city with the fifteen decades of the rosary and the Christus Vincit reverberating across town. The Knights and Honor Guard from St. Mary’s, Kansas led the column and a choir from La Salette Boys Academy from Olivet, Illinois sang the Mass and acted as gracious ushers.

Humanly-speaking such a result from Fr. Wegner’s call to arms would have been impossible in so short a time. Faithful came in a spirit of reparation from Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Illinois, Kentucky, New York, and Pennsylvania with some chapels organizing chartered buses to make the trip.

Following the Mass and Rosary procession of reparation, the U.S. District provided lunch to the participants in the Sheraton Hotel where the Mass had been sung and in a local restaurant as the crowd exceeded the capacity of the hotel. The response of Tradition demonstrates how God can use even the most base and repulsive evil act to manifest His greatness. The clergy and faithful of the U.S. District joyfully served as His instrument in manifesting His omnipotence over the tiny forces of evil pathetically attempting to mock His power.

May our Blessed Mother Mary please stomp out every kind of travesty such as this was.

15th Sunday after Pentecost

This Sunday we celebrate the 15th Sunday after Pentecost. We will hear about the mother of the town Naim who had a dead son, and was on the way to bury him. Jesus feels compassion on the woman and heals the child.

GOSPEL (Luke VII. 11-16.) At that time, Jesus went into a city called Naim: and there went with him his disciples, and a great multitude. And when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold a dead man was carried out, the only, son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a great, multitude of the city was with her. Whom when the Lord had seen, being moved with mercy towards her, said to her: Weep not. And he came near, and touched the bier. And they that carried it stood still. And he said: Young man, I say to thee, Arise. And he that was dead sat up,. and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother. And there came a fear on them all; and they glorified God, saying: A great prophet is risen up amongst us, and God hath visited his people.

Now, for the lesson to be learned. The mother signifies the Church, and the child is us. Remember, Jesus is the Bridegroom and the Church is the Spouse. Jesus came to live and die in order to save us, and those who have strayed. In 'The Liturgical Year' by our beloved Abbot Gueranger, an explanation of these passages was written by St. Laurence Justinian concerning these passages from the Gospel of St. Luke in regard to the Church:

'Then, all resplendent with the mystic jewels wherewith the Bridegroom had beautified her on the wedding day, she thrilled with joy at the increase of her children, both in merit and in number; she urged them to ascend to ever greater heights; she offered them to God; she raised them in her arms up towards heaven. Obeyed by them, she was, in all truth, beautiful as the moon, bright as the sun, terrible as an army set in array. She stretched out her branches as the turpentine tree, and beneath their shadow she sheltered those whom she had begotten against the heat, and the tempest, and the rain. So long, then, as she could she was able to assemble. But her zeal, great as it was, has redoubled from the time she perceived that many, yea very many, had lost their first fervor. Now for many years she is mourning at the sight of how, each day, her Creator is offended, how great are the losses she sustains, and how many of her children suffer death. She that was once robed in scarlet has put on mourning garments; her fragrance is no longer perceived by the world; instead of the rich ornament of her breast, she is vested in haircloth. Her lamentations and tears are ceaseless. Ceaseless is her prayer, striving if, by by some way, she may make the present as beautiful as times past; and yet, as though it were impossible for her to call back that lovely past, she seems wearied with such supplication. The word of the prophet has come true: "They are all gone aside, they are become unprofitable together; there is none that doth good, no, not one!" (Psalms 13:3) The manifold sins committed by the Church's children against the divine precepts show that they who so sin are rotten members, members alien to the body of Christ. Nevertheless the Church forgets not that she gave them birth in the laver of salvation; she forgets not the promises they made to renounce the devil, and the pomp of the world, and all sin. Therefore does she weep over their fall, being their true mother, and never losing the hope of winning their resurrection by her tears. Oh what a flood of tears is thus every day shed before God! What fervent prayers does this spotless virgin send, by the ministry of the holy angels, up to Christ, Who is the salvation of sinners! In the secret of hearts, in lonely retreats, as well as in her public temples, she cries out to the divine mercy, that they, who are now buried in the filth of vice, may be restored to life. Who shall tell the joy of her heart, when she receives back living, the children she mourned over as dead? If the conversion of sinners is such joy to heaven, what must it be to such a mother? According to the multitude of the sorrows of her heart, so will be the consolations, giving joy to her soul.'

It is the duty of us Christians, who by God's mercy have been preserved from the general decay, to share in the anguish of our mother, the Church; we should humbly but fervently co-operate with her in all her zealous endeavors to reclaim our fallen brethren. We surely can never be satisfied with not being of the number of those senseless sons who are a sorrow to their, and despise the labour of her that bore them. Had we not the Holy Spirit to tell us how he that honoureth his mother is as one that layeth up to himself a treasure, the thought of what our birth cost her would force us to do everything that leis in our power to comfort her. She is the dear bride of the Incarnate Word; and our souls, too, aspire to union with Him. Let us prove that such union is really ours by doing as the Church does; that is, by showing in our acts the one thought, the one love which the divine Spouse always imparts to souls that enjoy intimacy with Him, because there is nothing He Himself has so much at heart; the thought of bringing the whole world to give glory to His eternal Father, and the love of procuring salvation for sinners.


Of course, this is NOT the path the Church has taken in the past 50+ years since Vatican II. That council, which was valid, but NOT doctrinal, only pastoral, has told us to accept others as they are because everyone goes to heaven, since God loves all and would not punish them, even though Jesus Himself stated differently. We are told that others don't need to convert to the Catholic Church anymore. This is a giant PANTLOAD! They DO need to convert and come to the Church that Christ Himself started. It only makes sense, people! We also need to bring back into the fold of the Church those who have left, as well as those who have drank the koolaid of that council, which has let the prince of lies into the building. God is a fair and merciful God, but He is also the Just God we all have to face when we die. That no one, however young and healthy, will escape death, wherefore we should always be prepared to die.

The Stigmata of St. Francis

Today is the day that is held for remembering when St. Francis of Assisi received the Stigmata of our Lord. He was the first to receive it, according to history. I think that St. Paul might have had it too, since he said that he bore the marks of the Lord. And, I'm wondering if others had it too. My screen saver, the 'Madonna and Child Enthroned' with Saints Dionysius the Areopagite, St. Clement, St. Dominic, and St. Thomas Aquinas has Dionysius and Clement with marks on their hands. Dionysius (upper left), Thomas Aquinas (upper right), St. Dominic (lower left), St. Clement (lower right). I don't know; they look like a stigmatas to me. Or, probably, these marks designate that they were martyrs, which they were.

Anyway, Abbot Dom Gueranger, as usual, describes it best:


From the Commentaries of St. Bonaventure

'Francis being indeed a faithful servant and minister of Christ, about the space of two years before he gave back his spirit to heaven, withdrew himself into an high mountain apart, even that mountain which is called Mount Alverno, and began to fast for forty days to the honour of the Archangel Michael. To think of the things above gave him sweeter comfort than beforetime he was wont, and the hot longing for heaven was kindled in him, so that he began to feel that the gifts from above were poured forth upon him in such fulness as he had never felt before. The burning of his desire made his heart rise towards God like the heart of a seraph, and his tender answering love yearned to be changed into the likeness of him who hath so loved us that he was content to bear the Cross. And it was so that one morning early, about the time of the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, he was praying upon the side of the mountain, and there appeared to him as it had been one of the Seraphim, having six wings, glorious and fiery, flying to him from heaven. It came therefore very swiftly, and stood in the air, hard by the man of God. He beheld then the appearance thereof that it was not winged only, but crucified also. His hands and feet were stretched forth and nailed to a Cross. Twain of his wings were lifted up and joined one to the other over his head, and twain were stretched forth to fly withal, and with twain he wrapped around his body. When Francis saw it, he was sore amazed, and his soul was filled with sorrow and gladness, for the eyes of him that appeared were full of strange love and tenderness, so that he conceived great rejoicing thereat, but the nailing to the Cross was so exceedingly dreadful, that as he saw it, a sword of sorrow pierced his soul.

Then he whom he beheld with his bodily eyes, began to speak silently unto him in his heart, and he understood that albeit the deathless Séraphim cannot suffer or faint, this vision was nevertheless therefore set before him, that he might know that as a friend of Christ he was to be all changed into the likeness of Christ Jesus crucified, not by the martyrdom of the body, but by the fervor of the soul. Then they held together some sweet converse, as of a man with his friend, and the vision passed from him, but his heart was kindled inwardly with the fire of the Seraphim, and his body was outwardly changed into the likeness of him who was crucified, even as wax is softened by the fire and taketh the impression of the seal. From thenceforth there were in his hands and feet the marks of the nails. The heads of the nails were seen in the palms of his hands and on the insteps of his feet, and the points came out on the backs of his hands and the soles of his feet. In his right side also was a long raw wound, as though he had been pierced with a spear, from which wound his holy blood oftentimes ran and stained his shirt and breeches.

Thereafter Francis was a new creature, famous for a new and awful sign. The holy marks of the Lord Jesus, whereon living man for twelve centuries had not been allowed to look, were his adornment. He came down from the mount bearing in himself the form of Jesus Crucified, not portrayed upon tables of stone or wood by the hand of any earthly craftsman, but drawn upon his flesh by the finger of the living God. The dying Seraph knew well that it is good to keep close the secret of a king, and knowing the secret of his King, he strove as far as in him lay to keep the sacred marks hidden from men. Nevertheless, for as much as it is the will of the Lord God for his own glory to make manifest the greatness of his own works, he openly shewed forth divers wonders through these wounds which he had himself made in secret, so that the hidden and wondrous power of the marks might become known by the fame of the miracles. - The foregoing marvellous, but thoroughly witnessed facts, which were already spoken of in Papal documents with especial praise and joy, were made, by the pleasure of Pope Benedict XI, the subject of a yearly memorial, which was afterwards extended by Paul V to the whole Church, in the hope of fanning in the hearts of the faithful the love of Christ Crucified.'


St. Francis of Assisi, pray for us that we may accept whatever is sent our way.

SEVEN DOLORS OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN

Chaplet of Our Blessed Lady's Seven Dolors

Today, in honor of our Blessed Mother, I am going to be promoting the Chaplet of Her Seven dolors. It was started 800+ years ago, and I just recently learned of it. It consists of an 'Our Father', followed by seven 'Hail Marys' for each of her dolors, or sorrows, which she experienced during her life concerning her Divine Son, Jesus.


Her seven dolors are as follows:

1. The prophecy of Simeon.
2. The flight into Egypt.
3. The loss of the Child Jesus in Jerusalem.
4. She meets Jesus carrying His cross.
5. The Crucifixion.
6. She receives the Body of Jesus from the Cross.
7. The Body of Jesus is placed in the tomb.

St. Bridget of Sweden received these seven promises from our Blessed Mother for those who recite this chaplet:

1. "I will grant peace to their families."
2. "They will be enlightened about the Divine Mysteries."
3. "I will console them in their pains and I will accompany them in their work."
4. "I will give them as much as they ask for as long as it does not oppose the adorable will of my Divine Son or the sanctification of their souls."
5. "I will defend them in their spiritual battles with the infernal enemy and I will protect them at every instant of their lives."
6. "I will visibly help them at the moment of their death--they will see the face of their Mother."
7. "I have obtained this grace from my Divine Son, that those who propagate this devotion to my tears and dolors will be taken directly from this earthy life to eternal happiness, since all their sins will be forgiven and my
Son will be their eternal consolation and joy."

Pretty cool, huh? You can't beat these promises.

Anyway, I learned to make rosaries a couple of years ago, both traditional and cord ones for the military, and I will be making these chaplets also. I think this would be something good to do, and could be done anytime, especially: On Fridays; any day of Lent; on the Feast Day of her Seven Dolors; or within the octave thereof; and one hundred days on any other day of the year.

Also, Pope Benedict XIII, in 1724, granted an indulgence of two hundred days for every 'Our Father' and every 'Hail Mary' to those who, with sincere contrition, and having confessed, or firmly purposing to confess their sins, shall recite this Chaplet to the above conditions.

Pope Clement XII in 1734 confirmed these indulgences, and added:

1. A Plenary indulgence to those who shall have recited this Chaplet for a month every day-Confession, Communion and prayers for the Church, required as usual.
2. An indulgence of one hundred years to all who should recite it on any day, having confessed their sins, with sincere sorrow, or at least firmly proposing to do so.
3. One hundred and fifty(150) years to those who should recite it on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and Holy days of obligation, with Confession, Communion.
4. A Plenary indulgence once a year, on any day, to those who are accustomed to recite it four times a week, on condition of Confession, Communion, and the recital of the Chaplet on the day of Communion.
5. Two hundred year's indulgence to all who recite it devoutly after Confession; and to all who carry it about them, and frequently recite it, ten years' indulgence every time they shall hear Mass, hear a sermon, or reciting 'Our Father', and seven 'Hail Marys', shall perform any spiritual or corporal work of mercy, in honor of our Blessed Saviour, the Blessed Virgin Mary, or any Saint, their advocate.

Not bad compensation for something so easy, is it?

EXALTATION OF THE HOLY CROSS!

Sept. 14

St. Helena


'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 (Title of the Cross) 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!

Of course, if we happen to get the 14th Sunday after Pentecost, we will hear about not being able to serve two masters. We must choose which one we will serve, the enemy or God. It's pretty simple, actually!

OUR LADY OF RANSOM NOVENA

I would like to pass on this novena, directed to Our Lady of Ransom. It was started in the 1200's, and saved many from the Saracens and the Moors, both are which of that 'peaceful religion'. Considering what this 'peaceful religion' is doing around the world, this novena couldn't be more timely. I hope all who read this blog will consider doing this novena along with me and my wife. Those being persecuted could sure use the help. I have included a couple of different sets of prayers, and I hope they are the correct ones for this novena. May our Blessed Mother help those being persecuted throughout the world. She is also called the Mother of Grace. I think it should start on the day set aside to honor the Seven Dolors of the Blessed Mother, September 15. I'm giving you a heads up so that you can prepare.


This is my prayer to you, my prayer for your favor. In your great love, answer me, O God, with your help that never fails: rescue me from sinking in the mud; save me from my foes.

The Blessed Virgin appeared in 1218 in separate visions to St. Peter Nolasco, St. Raymond of Penafort and James, king of Aragon, asking them to found a religious order dedicated to freeing Christian captives from the barbarous Saracens or Moors, who at the time held a great part of Spain. On August 10, 1218, King James established the royal, military and religious Order of our Lady of Ransom (first known as the Order of St. Eulalia, now known as the Mercedarian Order), with the members granted the privilege of wearing his own arms on their breast.

Therefore let us faithfully pray Novena to our Lady of Ransom ( may all our prayers be mercifully received ):

START HERE:

Blessed be Thou, O Mary, the honor and the joy of Thy people!
On the day of Thy glorious Assumption, Thou didst take possession of Thy queenly dignity for our sake; and the human race record all of Thy merciful interventions. The captives whose chains Thou hast broken, and whom Thou hast set free from the degrading yoke of the Saracens, may be reckoned in the millions.
We are still rejoicing in the recollection of Thy dear Birthday; and Thy smile is sufficient to dry our tears and chase away the clouds of grief.
And yet, what sorrows there are still upon the earth, where Thou Thyself didst drink such long draughts from the cup of suffering!
Thou alone, O Mary, canst break the inextricable chains, in which the cunning prince of darkness entangles the dupes he has deceived by the high-sounding names of equality and liberty. Show thyself a Queen, by coming to the rescue. The whole earth, the entire human race, cries out to Thee, in the words of Mordochai: “Speak to the King for us, and deliver us from death!” (Esther 15: 3)
(here we state our prayer request )
Let us Pray. O God, Who through the most glorious Mother of Thy Son wast pleased to give new children to Thy Church for the deliverance of Christ's faithful from the power of the heathen, grant, we pray Thee, that we who affectionately honor her as the Foundress of so great a work, may, by her merits and intercession, be delivered from the slavery of sin and the eternal flames of Hell. Through Our Lord Jesus Christ Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the Unity of the Holy Ghost, One God, forever, unto ages of ages. Amen.



Our Lady Of Mercy (Our Lady of Ransom)

Feast, September 24
(Triduum, September 21-23)

1. Mary, Mother of God, you are so filled with compassion that you deserve to be called not only merciful but even mercy itself. We praise your virginity and admire your humility; but because we are poor sinners, your mercy attracts us more and we embrace it more lovingly. You are the throne of divine mercy in whom we find solace of mercy. The more holy you are, the greater is your sweetness and compassion toward sinners who have recourse to you with the desire to amend their lives. Your prayers are those of a Mother and, therefore, have a certain maternal authority with Jesus Christ so that you obtain the grace of pardon even for those who, though guilty of grievous crimes, commend themselves to you. Your protection never ceases, your intercession brings hope and life.

Mary, My Mother, you stand in the presence of your Son, interceding for sinners. You are truly the pledge of Divine mercy. Be merciful to us. Help us that our souls may be cleansed from the stains of sin.

2. Mary, Mother of God, you are called Mother of Mercy because of the fullness with which mercy is given to those who seek it at your hands. Mercy proceeds from you as from an abundant, never-failing source. Mercy is your special work in this drama of human life.

You are called the Mother of Mercy because God has given you power to deal with every sort of misery to which mankind is subjected. God reserves to Himself the dispensing of justice to all creatures. It was His will that you dispense mercy by helping sinners, healing the sick, relieving the distressed and comforting the sorrowful everywhere. You are far more than an instrument of God's mercy towards us. You yourself are full of grace, and from the Holy Spirit, your Divine Spouse, you have received in overflowing measure His boundless love for all mankind. You are ever active in procuring for each and every one of us, by fervent and ceaseless intercession all the heavenly gifts we need. Such gifts assure us the everlasting indwelling of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, together with the Father and the Son, and that endless life which is its blessed fruit.

Mary, My Mother, your intercession is all-powerful. No other saint exerts such universal influence in the affair of our salvation as you do. No other has a like understanding of our miseries, or is in a position to render us on all occasions timely and powerful help. I may address myself to the saints for favors of various kinds, but my prayer must always pass through your hands if it is to reach the throne of grace and draw down the divine blessing.

3. Mary, Mother of God, I turn to you in all my pressing needs and difficulties as to a most sure refuge. I implore the help of your protection and choose you as my advocate. I entrust my cause to you who are the Mother of Mercy, and I wish to offer you day by day my most reverent love. But that my devotion may be pleasing to you, help me to maintain my soul and body in the spotlessness of your purity, help me to try as best I can to walk in your footsteps, humbly seeking to be like you.

Even if I have committed all possible sins, let me never lose confidence in you, for I know I shall always find your Heart filled with mercy The Son of God has His justice, but you, the Mother, have only your mercy. You desire more to do good to me than I can desire to receive favors from you, for your Heart is all love and mercy.

Mary, My Mother, how shall I stand before my Judge at the day of judgment? How shall I answer for the wasted days and years which God has given me to serve Him alone? I look to you, Mother of Mercy. You are all-merciful that you may obtain for me pardon and mercy. You are kind and loving for you have a mother's heart, full of pity for the erring. You are a Mother of Mercy to the sinner and the fallen; have pity on me!

THE HOLY NAME OF MARY

Apparently, in times past, the Feast of the Most Holy Name of Mary was on the Sunday within the octave of her nativity. That would be this Sunday. The Holy Name of Mary is what I would like to concentrate on today. We won't hear about it otherwise.

This feast was established by Pope Innocent XI in 1683, that the faithful may in a particular manner recommend to God on this day, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin, the necessities of His Church, and return Him thanks for His gracious protection and numberless mercies.

What gave occasion to the institution of this feast was the desire of all Christendom for a solemn thanksgiving which would commemorate the deliverance of Vienna, obtained through the intercession of Our Lady, when the city was besieged by the Turks in 1683. An army of 550,000 invaders had reached the city walls and was threatening all of Europe. John Sobieski, King of Poland, came with a much smaller army to assist the besieged city during the octave of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin, and made ready for a great battle. This religious prince began by having a Mass celebrated, which he himself desired to serve, his arms in a cross. After receiving Communion with fervor, he rose at the close of the sacrifice and cried out: "Let us march with confidence under the protection of Heaven and with the aid of the Most Holy Virgin!" His hope was not disappointed; the Turks were struck with a sudden panic and fled in disorder. From that time the feast day has been celebrated during the octave of the Nativity of Our Lady.


St. Bernard says the following, concerning Our Blessed Mother:

"And the Virgin's name was Mary. Let us speak a little about this name, which signifies star of the sea, and which so well befits the Virgin Mother. (Her name also signifies 'Mistress of the world'.) Rightly is she likened to a star: for as a star emits its ray without being dimmed so the Virgin brought forth her Son without receiving any injury; the ray takes nought from the brightness of the star, nor the Son from His Mother's integrity. This is the noble star risen out of Jacob, whose ray illumines the whole world, whose splendor shines in the heavens, penetrates the abyss, and, traversing the whole earth, gives warmth rather to souls than to bodies, cherishing virtues, withering vices. Mary, I say, is that bright and incomparable star, whom we need to see raised above this vast sea, shining by her merits, and giving us light by her example.

Oh! whosoever thou art that seest thyself, amid the tides of this world, tossed about by storms and tempests rather than walking on the land, turn not thine eyes away from the shining of this star if thou wouldst not be overwhelmed by the hurricane. If squalls of temptations arise, or thou fall upon the rocks of tribulation, look to the star, call upon Mary. If thou art tossed by the waves of pride or ambition, detraction or envy, look to the star, call upon Mary. If anger or avarice or the desires of the flesh dash against the ship of thy soul, turn thine eyes towards Mary. If, troubled by the enormity of thy crimes, ashamed of thy guilty conscience, terrified by dread of the judgment, thou beginnest to sink into the gulf of sadness or the abyss of despair, think of Mary. In dangers, in anguish, in doubt, think of Mary, call upon Mary. Let her be ever on thy lips, ever in thy heart;and the better to obtain the help of her prayers, imitate the example of her life. Following her, thou strayest not; invoking her, thou despairest not; thinking of her, thou wanderest not; upheld by her, thou fallest not; shielded by her, thou fearest not; guided by her, thou growest not weary; favoured by her, thou reachest the goal. And thus dost thou experience in thyself how good is that saying: And the Virgin's name was Mary.'

St. Peter Chrysologus adds in this same vein:

"Mary in Hebrew signifies lady or sovereign: and truly the authority of her Son, Who is the Lord of the world, constituted her Queen, both in fact and in name, from her very birth."

The Collect for today pretty much says it all:

Grant, we beseech Thee, almighty God, that thy faithful, who rejoice under the name and protection of the most holy Virgin Mary, may, by her pious intercession, be delivered from all evils on earth, and deserve to arrive at eternal joys in heaven. Through our Lord...

Holy Mary, Mother of God and our mother, pray for us.

SLEEPY TIME PRAYER

I have added a prayer, which was given to St. Edmund, who was a Martyr in 869 A.D. (Shot full of arrows and then beheaded) It was given by Our Lord Himself, with a promise.

Before you lie down to sleep, trace on your forehead the letters, I.N.R.I., saying the following:

May Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews, preserve me from a sudden and unprepared death. Amen.

Our Lord revealed this prayer to St. Edmund that those who use this prayer shall be preserved from sudden death during the night. (St. Gertrude used this prayer)


A short synopsis of this King:

Edmund was named King of the East-Angles when he was only 15 years old. However, he was true to the Faith.
The holy king had reigned fifteen years when the Danes infested his dominions. Hinguar and Hubba, two brothers, the most barbarous of all the Danish plunderers landing in England, wintered among the East-Angles; then, having made a truce with that nation, they in summer sailed to the north, and landing at the mouth of the Tweed, plundered with fire and sword Northumberland, and afterwards Mercia, directing their march through Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, and Cambridgeshire. Out of a lust of rage and cruelty, and the most implacable aversion to the Christian name, they everywhere destroyed the churches and monasteries; and, as it were in barbarous sport, massacred all priests and religious persons whom they met with. In the great monastery of Coldingham, beyond Berwick, the nuns, fearing not death but insults which might be offered to their chastity, at the instigation of St. Ebba, the holy abbess, cut off their noses and upper lips, that appearing to the barbarians frightful spectacles of horror, they might preserve their virtue from danger; the infidels accordingly were disconcerted at such a sight, and spared their virtue, but put them all to the sword. In their march, amongst other monasteries, those of Bardney, Crowland, Peterborough, Ely, and Huntingdon were levelled with the ground, and the religious inhabitants murdered. In the Cathedral of Peterborough is shown a monument (removed thither from a place without the building) called Monks'-Stone, on which are the effigies of an abbot and several monks. It stood over the pit in which fourscore monks of this house were interred, whom Hinguar and Hubba massacred in 870. The barbarians, reeking with blood, poured down upon St. Edmund's dominions, burning Thetford, the first town they met with, and laying waste all before them. The people, relying upon the faith of treaties, thought themselves secure, and were unprepared.

That last part is why this prayer is so important. If we consider ourselves secure, maybe we're unprepared for whatever is in front of us. Don't want to be hit blindsided!

See prayer again>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>