Our Blessed Mother during Lent

Our Lady, Help of Christians
This is right before the season of Lent begins; let us have recourse to Mary, the refuge of sinners, especially during the season of Lent. Let us get under her protective mantle, and offer this 'Sequence' for today. It is taken from the Cluny Missal, and is, once again, something we don't hear anymore.


Hail Mary, full of grace! dear Mother of Jesus, and hope of the world!

O gate of heaven! O temple of God! O haven of the sea, where sinners confidently seek shelter and repose.

Thou art the worthy bride of the great King, and, by thy powerful prayers, thou art kind and loving to all.

Thou art light to the blind, and a pure path to such as are lame. Thou art, by thy loving affection, both Martha and Mary to the needy.

Thou wast the flower among the thorns; the flower that, by its rich graces, bloomed to the divine Flower, thy Jesus.

Thou didst speak thy word, and then conceived the Word; thou didst give birth to the King of kings, thou that wast a pure Virgin.

Thou wast ever faithful to this King, thy Child; and, using a mother's privilege, thou didst feed Him at thy breast.

Now, thou art united with Him, and in reward for thy merits, thou art made the Queen of heaven and earth.

Then, pray for us, O Queen, to Him that is our King, beseeching Him to pardon us poor fallen sinners.

Show us thy wonted clemency, and, having obtained us the new life of remission of our sins, bring us to the kingdom, there to reign for ever. Amen.

Patristic origins

There are two inscriptions of the first centuries of Christianity in Greek related to the Virgin Mary: : θεοτοκος (Teotokos, Theotokos, Mother of God) and βοηθεια (Boetheia, the Helper). The Fathers of the Church referred to Mary as "βοηθεια". John Chrysostom used the title in a homily of 345, Proclus in 476 and Sebas of Caesarea in 532. After the Patristic period (5th century), other persons used it like Romanos the Melodist in 518, the Patriarch of Jerusalem, Sophronius in 560, John of Damascus in 749 and German of Constantinople in 733.

In the view of Fr. Johann G. Roten, SM, the invocation of Mary as Help of Christians is part of the oldest prayer addressed directly to Mary, the Sub tuum praesidium, which was found on a papyrus dating, at the latest, from the end of the 3rd century. Praesidium is translated as "an assistance given in time of war by fresh troops in a strong manner."

(So you see, she has helped for a long time, and recognized for it)
 

Quinquagesima Sunday

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

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

Another take:
Our Lord's words to the blind man, Thy faith hath saved thee, are a obvious correlation to our ability to correspond to grace.

Faith in Christ, dead and risen again, is the subject of the Gospel. We read how Christ foretold His Passion and His victory and how He restored the sight of a blind man, and told him: "Thy faith hath saved thee." On this St. Gregory comments: "This blind man recovered his sight under the very eyes of the apostles so that to have seen deeds wrought by the divine power might strengthen the faith of those who could not yet grasp the message that a heavenly mystery was revealed to the world. Indeed it was necessary, that when later they should see our Lord die in the very way foretold by Him, they should have no doubt at all that He must also rise from the dead."
In the epistle, in its turn, St. Paul sets forth charity in all its merit, indicating to us how our own faith should bring forth fruits of virtue. St. James, touching on the same theme, writes, "So faith also, if it hath not works, is dead in itself. Wilt thou know that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, offering up Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou that faith did cooperate with his works; and by works faith was made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled, saying: Abraham believed God, and it was reputed to him to justice, and he was called the friend of God. Do you see that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only?"
If the custom of allowing ourselves a little relaxation of spirit before undertaking the Lenten penance is of liturgical origin, let us not forget that the Church condemns all excess. To atone, therefore, for those sins that are committed, let us this week make an act of adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
Source: Dom Gaspar Lefebvre, OSB, 1945, adapted and abridged.

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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



Lord Jesus, have mercy on us, that we may see

Quinquagesima sermon for parents

 Sermon for Children's Mass:
Quinquagesima Sunday
by Fr. Raphael Frassinetti, 1900
Gospel. Luke xviii. 31-43. At that time: Jesus took unto Him the twelve, and said to them: Behold we go up to Jerusalem, and all things shall be accomplished which were written by the prophets concerning the Son of man; for He shall be delivered to the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and scourged, and spit upon; and after they have scourged Him they will put Him to death, and the third day He shall rise again. And they understood none of these things, and this word was hid from them, and they understood not the things that were said.

Now it came to pass when He drew nigh to Jericho, that a certain blind man sat by the wayside, begging. And when he heard the multitude passing by, he asked what this meant. And they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. And he cried out, saying: 'Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me'. And they that went before, rebuked him, that he should hold his peace. But he cried out much more: 'Son of David have mercy on me'. And Jesus standing commanded him to be brought unto Him. And when he was come near, He asked him, saying: "What wilt thou that I do to thee?" But he said: 'Lord, that I may see'. And Jesus said to him: "Receive thy sight: thy faith hath made thee whole." And immediately he saw, and followed Him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.



PREDICTION OF OUE LORD'S PASSION --THE CURE OF THE BLIND MAN
In this Gospel the Church teaches us something of the Passion of Our Lord. About this time of the year a certain part of the world is going crazy with carnival (Mardi Gras); people imagine it great fun when they put on masks, dance, and walk about in processions. But the Church wishes her children to think of the Passion of Our Lord, and on these days she asks them to be more zealous and fervent.

Sin is the cause of the Passion of Our Lord; we crucify Our Lord again and make Him an object of mockery. We have not the same customs here that exist in Europe at carnival time, but by degrees they are creeping in here, too; let us consider the great damage it does to the young people of those countries, and draw from it a lesson which will be very useful to us. We can also judge from it what would be the consequence of following similar indulgences at any time of the year. These applications can be made to our picnics, moonlight excursions, and dances (movies, TV, Internet, plays, rock concerts, and immoral books, comics in today’s world).

On the approach of the carnival the Church redoubles her prayers, and puts on the garb of penance, because so many sins are committed; for this reason, too, the saints of the Church, the friends of God, do more penance that God may be kind to the people who are indulging in these excesses. St. Francis de Sales used to call the carnival days hours of pain and grief to the Church. What disorders, dissoluteness, unlawful relaxations are committed in those days! St. Vincent Ferrer used to think of the approach of those days with horror, for, with unbounded license, people would commit sin after sin without giving themselves time to think. St. Catharine of Sienna was accustomed to cry out with groans, "Oh, what an unhappy time! what a diabolical time!" Day and night she would invoke Our Lord. When the carnival is open you may well say that heaven is closed. The reprehensible things about the carnival are things that are considered dangerous at all times, such as masquerade balls and theatres. St. John Chrysostom considered the theatre the worst place, where the vilest spiritual diseases may be contracted. St. Augustine called the theatre of his day the pomp of satan. St. Cyprian speaking of it says it is the innovation of the devil; apply all this to picnics and balls too. (I'm not sure if family picnics should be included, unless, of course, they take the place of going to Church)

Now, my good young people, whom would you rather believe; would you rather believe your own passions that drag you into considering these things small matters; would you rather believe our modern, loose Christians, who consider the theatre the school of virtue? Or would you not rather believe those great doctors whom I have quoted, who studied much, and who were enlightened by almighty God? You will say that you always criticize the title of a play (or movie or TV program etc.) before you see it. That is nonsense; you know that the name of these do not give a clue as to whether it is moral or not. What about masquerade balls, rock concerts or prom night? The dance is one of the greatest occasions of evil, especially for young people. A youth that loves the ballroom (dancing) will sooner or later fall into grave sin.

"He who jokes with the devil," says St. Peter Chrysologus, "cannot reign with Christ." St. John Chrysostom declared vehemently against dancing; he says it is the innovation of the devil, and those who engage in it cannot escape the snares of the devil. All the saints have said the same thing. During these days of the carnival, especially, let us not form part of the world that has gone crazy, we may say. There is no objection to modest recreation nor to simple enjoyments. Endeavor to compensate Our Lord Jesus for so many sins committed during this time. With great love, visit a church where the Blessed Sacrament is exposed, pray, and receive from Him spiritual joy of which the world knows nothing. In this way you will not put your salvation in jeopardy nor will you, as often happens, ruin the health of the body, as is frequently the case. I myself have seen on the last days of the carnival a funeral procession, and on asking for whom such display was made, was told that it was the funeral of a youth of sixteen years. A few days previously he had taken part in the carnival procession; he had gone to the theatre and to a masked ball. Here he had become overheated, caught cold, contracted pneumonia, and in a few days died. Had he obeyed his parents, had he been reasonable in his enjoyments, he might have saved his life.

But let us return to the Gospel; while Jesus was in the vicinity of Jericho, a poor blind man who sat by the wayside begging, hearing the approach of a great crowd, asked what this might be. They told him that the Great Prophet, the Son of David, was passing by. Then he raised his voice as high as he could, and cried out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me." Can you not easily see in this poor blind man the figure of a poor sinner? How terrible is the blindness of sinners! They know that by sinning they lose God, that God who created them and redeemed them; they know that they have lost the right to heaven; they sin frequently and without any remorse. What blindness thus to insult almighty God, in whose presence they commit these sins; that God who could annihilate them or could at any moment precipitate them into the flames of hell! Sometimes, by the grace of God, the blind sinners open their eyes to the real state of their souls; they see their misery and their danger, and return to God while it is yet time, and break the chains that hold them bound to the servitude of the devil.

Then they ask themselves: Who is this Jesus who is passing by? The truth will suddenly shine on their souls. This is the Savior of souls, the healer of the blind and of all diseases, especially of the soul. Then in earnest they will raise their voices to Our Lord and cry out in humility and compunction of heart, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me." But you know that the world does not like these exhibitions of piety, the fashionable world does not want to be disturbed by these cries. The passions so natural to our frailty and increased by indulgence, are urged on by the devil, who gives us occasions of sin. Our old companions who continue in their evil course would like us to do the same; these lay their hands on the mouth of the sinner that he may not cry out, and tell him that he should be ashamed to make such an outcry. This is the inner voice that we feel; the voice of conscience that admonishes us and the voice of the body that speaks of enjoyments that are the death of the soul. How the sinner hates to be disturbed by these contending claims! The good voice (Truth) is hated by the sinner, and he tries to silence it.

Again he shuts his eyes and listens to the wicked voice, so that joyously and carelessly he goes on sinning. He has abused once more the grace of the voice of God speaking to his soul. Sinners become ashamed of having ever been modest and pure in word and action, ashamed of ever having loved God, and ridicule the holy maxims of the Gospel. What blindness and perversity this is! Should any of my hearers be of the number of those who have been blind, let them arouse themselves by prayer, and then the grace of light will also come to them. How tearfully and sadly St. Augustine describes these dreadful days of his own blindness, "I went from one disorder to another, from one precipice to another, like one that was blind."

When Jesus heard His name called in that strong way, He stopped, and gave orders that they should bring the poor man to Him. "What wilt thou that I should do for thee?" asked Our Lord with the most loving condescension. "Ah, Lord, you see what I need. I am a miserable blind man, give me the light of my eyes." What a beautiful prayer, how short, how affectionate it was, what great good it accomplished. This same petition we too should continually make. "Lord, that I may see." This spiritual blindness, ignorance, and darkness must be removed; we must be able to see clearly. Give me intelligence, that I may know things rightly, that I may from my earliest days know the wickedness of sin, for now in my blindness it looks so attractive and so beautiful. Lord, make me see the great danger there is in the world, that I may be on my guard and not fall a willing prey to the wiles of Satan. Lord, let me know what company I must avoid, let me see the foolishness of thinking much of riches, excepting in so far as I may be able to use them for the good of others. It is vanity to indulge the appetites of the flesh and to desire that which, if consented to, will bring upon me great punishment. Let me, O Lord, see the vanity of wishing for a long life; give me the grace to be contented with a short one and so to labor during it that I may enjoy the heavenly sight of paradise.

The good Lord answered the prayer of the blind man, saying, "Thy faith has cured thee," and immediately the eyes of the blind man received their sight. Filled with joy he followed Our Lord, giving Him praise, and all the people who saw the great miracle also gave praise to God. See, my young people, what grateful recognition you owe to almighty God for the corporal and spiritual light of your body and soul. How often has God given the power of vision to your soul! You certainly remember the darkness in which your soul was cast when you fell into mortal sin.

Bodily blindness may bring some good to the soul, for then we cannot see the dangerous occasions which might lead us into sin; the alluring aspect of the objects of our passions cannot be seen by us, and hence cannot excite our imagination; but the blindness of the soul gives the devil power over us. As soon as God enlightened your soul you saw the dangerous situation in which you were. He stretched out His hands to raise you up, and what appeared to you so beautiful and attractive now looked so hideous that you were terrified, and willingly fled from it. What a great grace this was to you! He made you know what was good, and gave you grace to love it. Thank almighty God for these spiritual gifts, praise Him for being so good to you. We cannot sufficiently appreciate what God has done for us in giving understanding and light to our soul; but we will know it when, after witnessing the damnation of many souls, we will at last find ourselves in heaven.

The non-gift that keeps on giving

Pope  Francis: the gift that keeps on giving.

"There are those who say 'I am very Catholic, I always go to Mass, I belong to this and that association'," the head of the 1.2 billion-member Roman Catholic Church said, according to a Vatican Radio transcript.

 He said that some of these people should also say "'My life is not Christian, I don't pay my employees proper salaries, I exploit people, I do dirty business, I launder money, (I lead) a double life'."

 "There are many Catholics who are like this and they cause scandal," he said. "How many times have we all heard people say 'if that person is a Catholic, it is better to be an atheist'." [Homily at Santa Marta, translated by Reuters]

 No, no: it's always better to be a baptized person, cleansed by the Holy Ghost in baptism -- it always objectively allows the baptized soul to open itself up more easily than the non-baptized to the calls of the Holy Trinity to penance and conversion. That is the whole point of the yearly exercise of Lent to start next week: it is to recognize our many failures, and join the darkness of our souls to be washed away by the Supreme redeeming Action of God-Incarnate who died on the Cross. Parce nobis, Domine! - You know why you inflicted Francis upon your Church: parce nobis!

Gotcha, again!

 

                                                     

St. Matthias, Apostle/Martyr

After our Blessed Lord's Ascension His disciples came together, with Mary His mother and the eleven Apostles, in an upper room at Jerusalem. The little company numbered no more than one hundred and twenty souls. They were waiting for the promised coming of the Holy Ghost, and they persevered in prayer. Meanwhile there was a solemn act to be performed on the part of the Church, which could not be postponed. The place of the fallen Judas had to be filled, that the number of the Apostles might be complete. Saint Peter, therefore, as Vicar of Christ, arose to announce the divine decree. What the Holy Ghost had spoken by the mouth of David concerning Judas, he said, must be fulfilled. Of him it had been written, "His bishopric let another take." A choice, therefore, was needed of one among those who had been their companions from the beginning, who could bear witness to the Resurrection of Jesus.



Two were named of equal merit, Joseph called Barnabas, and Matthias. After praying to God, who knows the hearts of all men, to show which of these He had chosen, they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Matthias, who was thereby numbered with the Apostles. It is recorded of the Saint, wonderfully elected to so high a vocation, that he was remarkable for his mortification of the flesh. It was thus that he made his election sure.

Apostle Matthias was born at Bethlehem of the Tribe of Judah. From his early childhood he studied the Law of God under the guidance of St Simeon the God-receiver. His name in Hebrew means 'gift of God'. He preached in Judea where he was persecuted by both Jews and Gentiles, and died by stoning, a victim of their pursuits, in the year 63. When St Matthias was already dead, the Jews, to hide their malefaction, cut off his head as an enemy of Caesar. His body was taken to Rome by Saint Helena, mother of Constantine, some 250 years later. A church there bears his name.

St. Pope Clement of Alexandria passes on one of this saint's writings: "It behooves us to combat the flesh, and make use of it, without pampering it by unlawful gratifications. As to the soul, we must develop her power by Faith and knowledge."
How profound is the teaching contained in these few words?! Sin has deranged the order which the Creator has established. It gave the outward man such a tendency to grovel in things which degrade him, that the only means left us for the restoration of the Image and likeness of God unto which we were created, is the forcible subjection of the body to the spirit. But the spirit itself, that is, the soul, was also impaired by original sin, and her inclinations were made prone to evil; what is to be her protection? Faith and knowledge. Faith humbles her, and then exalts and rewards her; and the reward is knowledge. Here we have a summary of what the Church teaches us during the two seasons of Septuagesima and Lent. Let us thank the holy Apostle, on this his feast, for leaving us such a lesson of spiritual wisdom and fortitude.


Hymns Troparion (Tone 3) [1]

O holy Apostle Matthias,
Pray to the merciful God,
That He may grant to our souls
Remission of our transgressions!

Kontakion (Tone 4) [2]

O wonder-worker and Apostle Matthias,
Your words have gone out into all the world,
Enlightening men as the sun,
And giving grace to the Church
Bringing faith to heathen lands!


Following is a sermon from the Russian Orthodox Church:

"The Church of Christ Shall Not Be Impoverished"
Sermon on the feast day of Apostle Matthias Holy Apostle Matthias, during the earthly life of Christ, was among the seventy disciples, not among the twelve.

This even occurred after the Ascension of the Lord into heaven: During a prayerful gathering, at which some one hundred people were in attendance, Holy Apostle Peter said to all that Judas Iscariot had fallen away from the ranks of the apostles, having become a betrayer, and recalled the words of the 109th psalm, in which the Holy Spirit, through the words of the psalm-singer David, speaks of the unrighteous one: "his bishopric let another take," meaning that another should assume his office. In fulfillment of the words of the psalm, Apostle Peter offered to elect two candidates before the Lord, whom the Lord would then select, and include him among the twelve. Elected were Matthias and Joseph, who was also called Barsabas, and when the Lord, through the drawing of lots, indicated Matthias, he was included among the twelve.

So the number of twelve Apostles of Christ was restored, and Matthias, after the Ascension of the Lord to heaven, took his place on par with the other Apostles in grace and authority, and also, as did they, he preached, healed the sick, performed miracles and suffered for Christ.

It is a profoundly instructive event for us. It teaches us that the Church of Christ shall never be impoverished and shall not remain without the servants it requires. "I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Matt. 16:18), said Christ.

The Church is a spiritual union of all those who keep the true faith, headed by Christ Himself, and its goal is the spiritual perfection of its members. The earthly part of the Church, in preparing its children for passing into the heavenly part, needs pastors and other servants for the achievement of its goal. It will not be prevailed upon by the gates of hell, its grace is inexhaustible and shall never want for that which it needs.

Great is the mercy of God to be called to be among them, but not all who achieve it are worthy, and many who are called are not chosen. It was not only Judas who fell from the ranks of the apostles. From among the first seven deacons appointed by the Apostles, one—Nicholas of Antioch—fell from the Church and became a pagan priest who established his own sect. From the ranks of the seventy disciples, four lapsed from Christianity, but the Church did not suffer this loss and remained whole. The vacated places were taken by those more worthy.

Despite the falling away of Nicholas, the deaconate established itself in the Church and it multiplied, existing to this day.

Despite the falling away of bishops, priests and other servants of the Church in later times, it did not suffer harm, and their places were taken by others.

Nestor, the Patriarch of Constantinople, fell into heresy, and he was replaced by one more worthy, St. Anatolius. Dioscurus of Alexandria fell into monophysitism, other hierarchs fell into other heresies, but the Church remained undamaged, and the places of those who fell away were filled by those more worthy, and often by holy men.

Many clergymen renounced Christ during persecutions, and many even in peaceful times left the priesthood for earthly reasons or for personal weaknesses, departing the life of the cloth to a lay existence.

But whatever the motivations or reasons for this: whether the servants of the Church betrayed the Christian faith or simply left their rank, the Church was never left in need. Those who fell away were always replaced by others, whom no one had even considered before, and upon whom those who departed looked with derision.

God's Church will never lack the number of bishops, priests, deacons, readers, singers and altar boys it needs. For this reason, those who were called to serve at the altar or on the kliros must bear in mind that they must not become unworthy and must not be cast out. The history of the Church shows that the Church does not have indispensable people, and the Holy Spirit will always find another who will take the place of one who becomes unworthy. It is a great mercy of God to be allowed to serve or to help serve in Church, to enter into the earthly heaven—the altar—to approach the holy Mysteries, to sing or intone church prayers.

That is why those who earned that mercy must fulfill their work with reverence, remembering the words of the psalm-singer: "Worship the Lord with reverence and rejoice with trembling" (Ps. 2:11), as well as those other terrible words: "Cursed be the one who does the Lord's work negligently" (Jer. 48:10). "See that ye refuse not him that speaketh," that is, do not turn away from him that speaks to you (Heb. 12:25). "Hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown "(Rev. 3:11).

It is a fearsome thing to become unworthy of the sacred place, or, faltering, to leave it. After departing, many sense what they have lost and desire to return to their previous worthiness, but these doors are closed, as they were for the five unwise virgins.

May the memory of Apostle Matthias and his prayers strengthen us in serving without blemish, so that we do not lose our priestly place on earth, and in heaven that we may be worthy of the Kingdom of God, where even now stands at the Throne of God he who filled the ranks of the twelve, Apostle Matthias.


Reflection. Our ignorance of many points in Saint Matthias's life serves to fix the attention all the more firmly upon these two - the occasion of his call to the apostolate, and the fact of his perseverance. We then naturally turn in thought to our own vocation and our own end: may it be like his, a holy death in reward for our fidelity.

St. Peter Damian

SAINT PETER DAMIAN
Cardinal Bishop
(988-1072)

St. Peter Damian, born in 988, lost both his parents at an early age. His eldest brother, to whose hands he was left, treated him so cruelly that another brother, a priest, moved by his piteous state, sent him to the University of Parma, where he acquired great distinction. His studies were sanctified by vigils, fasts, and prayers, until at last, thinking that all this was only serving God halfway, he resolved to leave the world. He joined the monks of Fonte Avellano, then in the greatest repute, and by his wisdom and sanctity rose to be Superior.

St. Peter was called upon for the most delicate and difficult missions, among others the reform of ecclesiastical communities, which his zeal accomplished. Seven Popes in succession made him their constant adviser, and he was finally created Cardinal Bishop of Ostia. He withstood Henry IV of Germany, and labored in defense of Pope Alexander II against an antipope, whom he forced to yield and seek pardon. He was charged, as papal legate, with the repression of simony and correction of scandals; again, was commissioned to settle discords amongst various bishops; and finally, in 1072, to adjust the affairs of the Church at Ravenna. He had never paid attention to his health, which was at best fragile, and after enduring violent onslaughts of fever during the night, would rise to hear confessions, preach, or sing solemn Masses, always ready to sacrifice his well-being and life for the salvation of the souls entrusted to him.

Peter was instrumental in propagating many devout practices; among these may be mentioned, fasting on Fridays in honor of the Holy Cross; the reciting of the Little Office of our Lady; and the keeping the Saturday as a day especially devoted to Mary.

After succeeding in this final mission as he ordinarily did, on his journey back to Ostia he was laid low by fever; he died at Faenza, on February 23, in a monastery of his Order, on the eighth day of his sickness, while the monks chanted Matins around him. His relics are kept in the Cisterian Church in Faenza, and is the Patron Saint of it too.

Not only is he called a 'Confessor' and Bishop, but Pope Leo XII added to his name the title of Doctor of the Church. A quote from this Saint: "It is not sinners, but the wicked who should despair; it is not the magnitude of one's crime, but contempt of God that dashes ones hopes."

St. Peter's Chair at Anitoch

St. Peter's Chair at Antioch (ca. 36-43)

We are called upon, a second time, to honor St. Peter's chair: first, it was his pontificate in Rome; today, it is his episcopate at Antioch. This picture is called 'The Great Chalice of Antioch'. It is said that this is the one used by Peter himself while there. Antioch was the first city in Asia to receive the Faith, and therefore, where Peter himself took up residence and ruled from. Jerusalem was doomed to destruction for having not only refused to acknowledge, but even crucify the Messiah. It was time for Peter to deprive that faithless city of the honor she had enjoyed, of possessing with her walls the chair of the Apostolate. Accordingly, it is in Antioch, the third capital of the Roman Empire (after Rome and Alexandria), that Peter first places the throne, where he was to preside over the universal Church. NOTE: This is not a physical chair, but the office, because, as St. Ambrose says: "Where Peter is, there is the Church." And again from Evodius, the successor of Peter in Antioch, says: "...but that see is not to inherit the headship of the Church, which goes wherever Peter goes."

That Saint Peter, before he went to Rome, founded the see of Antioch is attested by many Saints of the earliest times, including Saint Ignatius of Antioch and Saint Clement, Pope. It was just that the Prince of the Apostles should take under his particular care and surveillance this city, which was then the capital of the East, and where the Faith so early took such deep roots as to give birth there to the name of 'Christian'. There his voice could be heard by representatives of the three largest nations of antiquity - the Hebrews, the Greeks and the Latins. St. John Chrysostom says that Saint Peter was there for a long period; St. Gregory the Great states that he was seven years Bishop of Antioch. He did not reside there at all times, but governed its apostolic activity with the wisdom his mandate assured.

If as tradition affirms, he was twenty-five years in Rome, the date of his establishment at Antioch must be within three years after Our Savior's Ascension, for he would have gone to Rome in the second year of Claudius. He no doubt left Jerusalem when the persecution which followed Saint Steven's martyrdom broke out (Acts 8:1), and remained in Antioch until he escaped miraculously from prison and from the hands of Herod Agrippa, while in Jerusalem in 43 at the time of the Passover. (Acts 12) Knowing he would be pursued to Antioch, his well-known center of activity, he went to Rome.

In the first ages it was customary, especially in the East, for every Christian to observe the anniversary of his Baptism. On that day each one renewed his baptismal vows and gave thanks to God for his heavenly adoption. That memorable day they regarded as their spiritual birthday. The bishops similarly kept the anniversary of their consecration, as appears from four sermons of Saint Leo the Great on the anniversary of his accession to the pontifical dignity. These commemorations were frequently continued by the people after their bishops' decease, out of respect for their memory. The feast of the Chair of Saint Peter was instituted from very early times. St. Leo the Great says we should celebrate the Chair of Saint Peter with no less joy than the day of his martyrdom, for as in the latter he was exalted to a throne of glory in heaven, by the former he was installed 'Head of the Church on earth.'

Our beloved Abbot Gueranger chimes in with his prayer:

Glory be to thee, O Prince of the Apostles, on thy chair at Antioch, where thou didst for seven years preside over the Universal Church! How magnificent are the stations of thy apostolate! Jerusalem, Antioch, Alexandria (by the disciple Mark), and Rome, these are the cities which have been honored by thy august chair. After Rome, Antioch was the longest graced by its presence: justly, therefore, do we honor this Church, which was thus made, by thee, the mother and mistress of all the other Churches.

Quote of the day

"When institutions are failing, false informality serves as a desperate distraction from the fact and when someone is insecure, levity becomes a substitute for virtue".

St. Benedict



(These days, we have to beware of 'fake news', and its sources who are dissimilating it.  They make jokes about and mock anything that we consider holy, and try to make us out to be fools.  In other words, if it is silly on the outside, it is sly on the inside.  BEWARE! )

 

Blesseds Francisco and Jacinta

Today we honor two of the three children who saw Our Lady in Fatima in the year 1917.  The officials of the Church have tried to squelch the message Our Lady gave during the months from May to October in that year.  Of course, the message have a lot to do with higher ups in the Church going wrong, which has happened.  We need to remember Fatima and do our rosaries daily for all that is going on these days.  (Francisco is on the right, while Jacinta is on the left)

Francisco Marto (June 11, 1908 - April 4, 1919) and his sister Jacinta Marto (March 11, 1910 - February 20, 1920), together with their cousin, Lucia dos Santos were the children from Aljustrel near Fatima, Portugal, who said they witnessed three apparitions of an angel in 1916 and several apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary in 1917. Their reported visions of Our Lady of Fatima proved politically controversial, and gave rise to a major centre of world Christian pilgrimage.

The youngest children of Manuel and Olimpia Marto, Francisco and Jacinta were typical of Portuguese village children of that time. They were illiterate but had a rich oral tradition on which to rely, and they worked with their cousin Lucia, taking care of the family's sheep. According to Lucia's memoirs, Francisco had a placid disposition, was somewhat musically inclined, and liked to be by himself to think. Jacinta was affectionate if a bit spoiled, and emotionally labile. She had a sweet singing voice and a gift for dancing. All three children gave up music and dancing after the visions began, believing that these and other recreational activities led to occasions of sin.

Following their experiences, their fundamental personalities remained the same. Francisco preferred to pray alone, as he said "to console Jesus for the sins of the world". Jacinta was deeply affected by a terrifying vision of Hell reportedly shown to the children at the third apparition. She became deeply convinced of the need to save sinners through penance and sacrifice as the Virgin had reportedly instructed the children to do. All three children, but particularly Francisco and Jacinta, practiced stringent self-mortifications to this end.

(They died very young, and yet, they had the Faith)

Sexagesima Sunday

This Sunday is the second Sunday into our penitential season, Sexagesima, meaning approx. 60 days til Easter. St. Paul tells us that we should be ready, willing, and able to suffer for Christ and His Church, as he did. After his conversion, he was taken up into heaven just as John was. He saw things we can only read about. Jesus, in the Gospel from St. Luke, gives us the meaning of the seeds of faith spread onto different types of soil. We need to be firmly grounded in the Faith that comes to us from the Apostles and hold on for dear life for it. As Jesus Himself will tell us tomorrow, "Let him who has ears hear."











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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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Because of the importance and necessity of the doctrine which was contained in the parable. For to hear the word of God is absolutely necessary for salvation, as the Apostle indicates: How shall they believe him (Jesus) of whom they have not heard? (Rom. X. 14.) Jesus calls those happy who hear the word of God and keep it. (Luke XI. 28.) And on this subject St. Augustine says: "Be assured, my brethren, that as the body becomes weakened by want and hunger, and wastes to a mere shadow, so the soul that is not nourished by the word of God, becomes shrunken, worthless and unfit for any good work."

We should endeavor to purify our conscience, for, as St. John Chrysostom demands; "Who would pour precious juice into a vessel that is not clean, without first washing it?" We should, therefore, at least cleanse the vessels of our hearts by an ardent sorrow for our sins, because the spirit of truth enters not into the sinful soul (Wisdom I. 4.). We should ask the Holy Ghost for the necessary enlightenment, for little or no fruit can be obtained from a sermon if it is not united with prayer; we should listen to the sermon with a good motive; that is, with a view of hearing something edifying and instructive; if we attend only through curiosity, the desire to hear something new, to criticize the preacher, or to see and to be seen, we are like the Pharisees who for such and similar motives went to hear Christ and derived no benefit therefrom. “As a straight sword goes not into a crooked sheath, so the word of God enters not into a heart that is filled with improper motives." We should strive to direct, our minds rightly, that is, to dispel all temporal thoughts, all needless distraction, otherwise the wholesome words would fall but upon the ears, would not penetrate the heart, and the words of Christ be fulfilled: They have ears, and hear not.


Grant me, O God, thy grace that in these evil days of false doctrines I may remain steadfast to Thy holy Gospel which in the Holy Catholic Church remains pure and unchanged; never let me be deterred from obeying its precepts, neither by the charms of the world nor by the mockery and reproaches of the wicked.

Mary of Saturdays

This is Saturday; let us have recourse to Mary, the refuge of sinners. Let us put under her maternal protection the humble penances we are now going through; for this end we may make use of the following sequence, taken from the Cluny missal;

SEQUENCE Hail Mary, full of grace! dear Mother of Jesus and hope of the world!
O gate of heaven! O temple of God! O heaven of the sea, where sinners confidently seek shelter and repose.

Thou art worthy bride of the great King, and by thy powerful prayers, thou art kind and loving to all.

Thou art light to the blind and a sure path to such as are lame. Thou art, by thy loving affection, both Martha and Mary to the needy.

Thou wast the flower among the thorns; the flower that, by its rich graces. bloomed to the divine Flower, thy Jesus,

Thou didst speak thy word, and then conceivest the Word'; thou didst give birth to the King of kings, thou that wast a pure Virgin.

Thou wast ever faithful to this King, thy Child; and, using a mother's privilege, thou didst feed him at thy breast.

Now, thou art united with him, and in reward for thy merits, thou art made the Queen of heaven and earth.

Then pray for us, 0 Queen, to Him that is our King, beseeching Him to pardon us poor fallen sinners.

Show us thy wonted clemency, and, having obtained us the new life of remission of our sins, bring us to the kingdom, there to reign for ever. Amen.

St. Simeon, Bishop/Martyr

St. Simeon, Bishop and Martyr
by Fr. Francis Xavier Weninger, 1876
St. Simeon, whom the Catholic Church commemorates today in Holy Mass and the prayers of the day, was a son of Cleophas. His mother was named Mary, like the Blessed Virgin, and she was, according to the Gospel, also present at the Saviour's death.


There is no doubt that St. Simeon was one of Christ's followers; that he heard His teachings, and saw the many miracles which He wrought. (He was one of the Disciples of Jesus, so he actually saw and heard Him) When the apostles dispersed themselves over the whole world, Simeon remained in Jerusalem, zealously endeavoring, with the Apostle James, the first Bishop of the city, to convert the people. After St. James had suffered martyrdom at the hands of the Jews on account of his confessing Christ, St. Simeon was appointed his successor. He administered this sacred office with truly apostolic fervor, strengthening the Christians in their faith, and leading them in the path of virtue, while he unweariedly preached the crucified Christ to the heathen. On the arrival of the Romans, who besieged, conquered and devastated the city, he, obeying Christ, fled with all the Christians to a small town called Pella, on the other side of the river Jordan. As soon as the Roman legions, after demolishing the city, retired, Simeon returned with his flock. Under these circumstances, the holy Bishop's labor and anxiety for the temporal as well as spiritual welfare of those under his care, was very great. He, however, worked unceasingly, and had the satisfaction to see that the number of the faithful daily increased; and with it their devotion and virtue. To disturb all this, Satan sent several heretics, who, like wolves, forced their way into the fold of Christ, and attempted to seduce the faithful with their false, godless teachings. But St. Simeon, who watched over his flock day and night, refuted so energetically their false doctrines, and exposed the promulgaters of them to so much ignominy, that they were forced to flee away.

In the reign of the Emperor Trajan arose a terrible persecution of the Christians. Those who were of the race of King David were especially sought after, as it was feared that from among them a new Messiah might arise and cause another insurrection. Hence Jews, as well as Christians, who descended from Judah, and whose ancestor was David, were taken captive and beheaded. Amongst those first seized was St. Simeon. It was well known that he was not only a Christian, but even a Bishop, and that he was descended from the suspected race. Consequently, the Jews accused him before the Roman Governor, Atticus. At that period Simeon had already reached his 120th year. Atticus asked him if it was true that he was of the race of Judah, and a follower of Christ of Nazareth. Both questions the Saint answered fearlessly in the affirmative. The Governor assured him that in consideration of his advanced age, no harm should be done him, but that he should be loaded with presents if he would only renounce Christ and sacrifice to the gods of the Empire. The venerable man manifested the greatest horror that any one should dare to make such a request and said: "No, never, in all eternity, will I renounce Christ, nor sacrifice to idols. Your gods have been wicked people, who now burn in hell! Jesus Christ alone is the true God."

This, and much more, Simeon said with so much true dignity that most of those present seemed to be deeply, touched. To keep down this emotion, Atticus ordered that the holy man should be most severely scourged. The order was immediately executed, and the blood of the Saint soon streamed upon the ground. But he stood immovable, giving no sign of despondency but of deep inward joy. The following day they tortured him again in various most barbarous ways, but he evinced the same fortitude, and even joy. Atticus, as well as all others who witnessed it, could not comprehend how a man of his years had strength to endure torments, under which the most powerful hero would have succumbed. But God, who had already given the heathen many examples of Christian heroism, in tender boys and maidens, now showed what, with His grace, an feeble old man could endure, for the glory of the Christian faith. The Governor, desirous to make an end of the scene, sentenced Simeon to be crucified, saying, that as he ceased not to preach Christ, he should die the same ignominious death as Christ. But no kind of death could have been more welcome to this valiant confessor of Christ. Having prayed, he put off his garment, laid himself upon the cross which was in readiness for him, and offered his hands and feet to be nailed. They fastened him upon the cross, and then raised it. No possible suffering could have been greater, yet was it excelled by his patience. He proclaimed, once more, from the cross, with a loud voice, that Christ is the true God and the Saviour of the world. Imitating Him, he prayed for his executioners, commended his soul into the hands of the Almighty, and ended his holy life by a death so glorious, and so much resembling that of Christ, that the contemplation of it strengthened the Christians in their faith, and was the means of converting many of the heathens to the knowledge of the true God.



St. Simeon reached the age of 120 years, and then ends his long, holy life by a glorious and holy death. Will you become as old? Will you end your life with a happy death? This second question St. Augustine answers, with the assurance that your death will not be unhappy if your life is spent piously. He says: "He who has lived piously cannot die miserably or unhappily." These same words the holy teacher repeats more than once in the same sermon. "It is quite sure," says he, "that he who has lived in piety cannot die in misery." Returning to the first question, I hardly believe that you promise yourself to become as old as St. Simeon: and yet you hope to live long. Upon what do you build this hope? Upon your youth, your strength, or your health? Oh! how weak a foundation! Hundreds and hundreds have existed who were as young, as strong and as healthy as you, and yet they died early. The rich man in the Gospel hoped yet to live many years, but the same night his soul was required of him. Hope deceived him. Take heed that you do not thus deceive yourself. The surest way is this: never defer, in the hope of a long life, that which you need to enable you to die happily and to attain everlasting happiness, as otherwise, you are in danger of everlasting destruction. Meditate often upon the words of the pious Thomas a Kempis: "O fool! How can you believe that you will live long, when you are not sure of one single day? How many who thought that they would live long, have been deceived, and have died suddenly! Do now what is needful to be done, for you know not how soon the hour of your death may come."

Lenten Resolutions

Lenten resolution: return to the basics, courtesy of St. Francis de Sales.  The following excerpt comes from 'The Introduction to the Devout Life':

____________

Call often to mind that our Saviour redeemed us by bearing and suffering, and in like manner we must seek our own salvation amid sufferings and afflictions; bearing insults, contradictions and troubles with all the gentleness we can possibly command. Do not limit your patience to this or that kind of trial, but extend it universally to whatever God may send, or allow to befall you. Some people will only bear patiently with trials which carry their own salve of dignity,--such as being wounded in battle, becoming a prisoner of war, being ill-used for the sake of their religion, being impoverished by some strife out of which they came triumphant.

Now these persons do not love tribulation, but only the honour which attends it. A really patient servant of God is as ready to bear inglorious troubles as those which are honourable. A brave man can easily bear with contempt, slander and false accusation from an evil world; but to bear such injustice at the hands of good men, of friends and relations, is a great test of patience.

[…]

Be patient, not only with respect to the main trials which beset you, but also under the accidental and accessory annoyances which arise out of them. We often find people who imagine themselves ready to accept a trial in itself who are impatient of its consequences. We hear one man say, "I should not mind poverty, were it not that I am unable to bring up my children and receive my friends as handsomely as I desire." And another says, "I should not mind, were it not that the world will suppose it is my own fault;" while another would patiently bear to be the subject of slander provided nobody believed it.

[…]

If any trouble comes upon you, use the remedies with which God supplies you. Not to do this is to tempt Him; but having done so, wait whatever result He wills with perfect resignation. If He pleases to let the evil be remedied, thank Him humbly; but if it be His will that the evil grow greater than the remedies, patiently bless His Holy Name.

Follow Saint Gregory's advice: When you are justly blamed for some fault you have committed, humble yourself deeply, and confess that you deserve the blame.

If the accusation be false, defend yourself quietly, denying the fact; this is but due respect for truth and your neighbour's edification. But if after you have made your true and legitimate defence you are still accused, do not be troubled, and do not try to press your defence--you have had due respect for truth, have the same now for humility. By acting thus you will not infringe either a due care for your good name, or the affection you are bound to entertain for peace, humility and gentleness of heart.

Complain as little as possible of your wrongs, for as a general rule you may be sure that complaining is sin; (3) the rather that self-love always magnifies our injuries: above all, do not complain to people who are easily angered and excited. If it is needful to complain to some one, either as seeking a remedy for your injury, or in order to soothe your mind, let it be to some calm, gentle spirit, greatly filled with the Love of God; for otherwise, instead of relieving your heart, your confidants will only provoke it to still greater disturbance; instead of taking out the thorn which pricks you, they will drive it further into your foot.

[…]

As to the trials which you will encounter in devotion (and they are certain to arise), bear in mind our dear Lord's words: "A woman, when she is in travail, hath sorrow, because her hour is come; but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a child is born into the world." (5) You, too, have conceived in your soul the most gracious of children, even Jesus Christ, and before He can be brought forth you must inevitably travail with pain; but be of good cheer, for when these pangs are over, you will possess an abiding joy, having brought such a man into the world. And He will be really born for you, when He is perfected in your heart by love, and in your actions by imitating His life.

[…]

Gaze often inwardly upon Jesus Christ crucified, naked, blasphemed, falsely accused, forsaken, overwhelmed with every possible grief and sorrow, and remember that none of your sufferings can ever be compared to His, either in kind or degree, and that you can never suffer anything for Him worthy to be weighed against what He has borne for you.

Consider the pains which martyrs have endured, and think how even now many people are bearing afflictions beyond all measure greater than yours, and say, "Of a truth my trouble is comfort, my torments are but roses as compared to those whose life is a continual death, without solace, or aid or consolation, borne down with a weight of grief tenfold greater than mine."


I thank the 'Saint Louis Catholic' for posting this.  Kind of makes you think.

Sts. Faustinus/Jovita

SAINTS FAUSTINUS and JOVITA
Martyrs
(†122)
Faustinus and Jovita were brothers, nobly born, and were zealous professors of the Christian religion, which they preached without fear in their city of Brescia in Lombardy, during the persecution of Adrian. Their remarkable zeal excited the fury of the heathens against them, and procured them a glorious death for their faith.

Faustinus, a priest, and Jovita, a deacon, were preaching the Gospel fearlessly in the region when Julian, a pagan officer, apprehended them. They were commanded to adore the sun, but replied that they adored the living God who created the sun to give light to the world. The statue before which they were standing was brilliant and surrounded with golden rays. Saint Jovita, looking at it, cried out: "Yes, we adore the God reigning in heaven, who created the sun. And you, vain statue, turn black, to the shame of those who adore you!" At his word, it turned black. The Emperor commanded that it be cleaned, but the pagan priests had hardly begun to touch it when it fell into ashes.

The two brothers were sent to the amphitheater to be devoured by lions, but four of those came out and lay down at their feet. They were left without food in a dark jail cell, but Angels brought them strength and joy for new combats. The flames of a huge fire respected them, and a large number of spectators were converted at the sight. Finally sentenced to decapitation, they knelt down and received the death blow. The city of Brescia honors them as its chief patrons and possesses their relics, and a very ancient church in that city bears their names.

Reflection. The spirit of Christ is ever a spirit of martyrdom. It is always the spirit of the cross. The more we share in the suffering life of Christ, the greater share we inherit of His Spirit, and of the fruits of His death. To souls mortified in their senses and disengaged from earthly things, God gives frequent foretastes of the sweetness of eternal life, and ardent desires of possessing Him in His glory. This is the spirit of martyrdom, which entitles a Christian to a happy resurrection and to the bliss of the life to come.

Prayer:
When we compare our trials with yours, noble Martyrs of Christ, and our combats with those that you had to fight,--how grateful ought we not to be to our Lord for his having so mercifully taken our weakness into account! Should we have been able to endure the tortures, wherewith you had to purchase heaven, we that are so easily led to break the law of God, so tardy in our conversion, so weak in faith and charity? And yet, we are made for that same heaven, which you now possess. God holds out a crown to us also, and we are not at liberty to refuse it. Rouse up our courage, brave Martyrs! Get us a spirit of resistance against the world and our evil inclinations; that thus, we may confess our Lord Jesus Christ, not only with our lips, but with our works too, and testify, by our conduct, that we are Christians.



 

St. Valentine

Today we honor and bring to mind St. Valentine. He was a priest and martyr for the Faith, and we are called upon to honor him for this, instead of with sicky-sweet cards and candy. Apparently, from one site I found; St. Valentine, on the eve before his beheading, sent a note to the daughter of his executioner; a note(probably defending his belief in Christ), and signed the note: "From your Valentine." Whether or not not this is true, it would make more sense than the nonsense of today's thinking. Below is the story of St. Valentine, who was a martyr(witness) for the Faith.


St. Valentine, pray for our Faith, that it be as strong as yours was.



Golden Legend – Saint Valentine Life of Saint Valentine, and first the interpretation of his name.

Valentine is as much to say as containing valour that is persevering in great holiness. Valentine is said also as a valiant knight, for he was a right noble knight of God, and the knight is said valiant that flees not, and smites and defends valiantly and overcomes much powerfully. And so Saint Valentine withdrew him not from his martyrdom in fleeing, he smote in destroying the idols, he defended the faith, he overcame in suffering.


On Saint Valentine the martyr. Saint Valentine, friend of our Lord and priest of great authority, was at Rome. It happened that Claudius the emperor made him to come before him and said to him in demanding: What thing is that which I have heard of thee, Valentine? Why wilt thou not abide in our amity, and worship the idols and renounce the vain opinion of thy faith? Saint Valentine answered him: "If thou hadst very knowledge of the grace of Jesu Christ thou should not say this that thou says, but should deny the idols and worship God." Then said to Saint Valentine a prince which was of the council of the emperor: What wilt thou say of our gods and of their holy life? And Saint Valentine answered: "I say none other thing of them but that they were men mortal and full of all human waste and evil." Then said Claudius the emperor: If Jesu Christ be God verily, wherefore say thou not the truth? And Saint Valentine said: "Certainly Jesu Christ is only the very God, and if thou believe in him, verily thy soul shall be saved, thy realm shall multiply, and he shall give to thee always victory of thine enemies." Then Claudius turned him unto all them that were there, and said to them: Lords, Romans, hear ye how wisely and reasonably this man speaks? Anon the provost of the city said: The emperor is deceived and betrayed, how may we leave that which we have been beholden to and been accustomed to hold since our infancy? With these words the emperor turned and changed his courage, and Saint Valentine was delivered in the keeping of the provost.

When Saint Valentine was brought in an house in prison, then he prayed to God, saying: "Lord Jesu Christ very God, which art very light, illumine this house in such wise that they that dwell therein may know thee to be very God." And the provost said: "I marvel me that thou says that thy God is very light, and nevertheless, if he may make my daughter to hear and see, which long time hath been blind, I shall do all that thou commands me, and shall believe in thy God." Saint Valentine anon put him in prayers, and by his prayers the daughter of the provost received again her sight, and anon all they of the the house were converted. After, the emperor did smite off the head of Saint Valentine, the year of our Lord two hundred and eighty. Then let us pray to Saint Valentine that he get us pardon of our sins. Amen.



So, today: love, teach, and protect the family. They're all we really have, thanks be to God.

Septuagesima Sunday

 

This Sunday is Septuagesima Sunday, or 70 days before Easter, and we begin to get ready for the penitential season of Lent. During this period from this Sunday to Ash Wednesday, the Liturgy speaks no more of our greatness, but contemplates the misery of fallen man, the fatal consequences of original sin and actual sin, and the sacrifice that God asked of the faithful Melchisedech (priest of Salem, which will be called Jerusalem later), the symbol of the sacrifice that Jesus brings for the whole human race. We no longer will say or sing the Alleluia or the Gloria, until the great Feast of Easter Sunday. During this time, we prepare for the fasting and penance of the Season of Lent. The preface for Lent states: 'Who by this bodily fast dost curb our vices, lift our minds and bestow strength and rewards.' Our souls are slaves of the devil, the flesh, and the world. Jesus came into the world, not to be crowned king of the Jews, but to deliver us from this threefold bondage and to restore to us the divine life which we had lost.

The upcoming season is one of most serious thought. The words from Ivo of Chartres in the 11th century pretty much sum it up: "We know that every creature groans, and travails in pain even til now; and not only it, but ourselves also, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption of the sons of God, the redemption of our body."
Today we hear a multiple of things to keep in mind as we begin the Lenten season of 2017.

 First, we hear about Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden; their fall; then their expulsion from the garden to work the earth forever. Also, we hear about what God Himself will do about it. He will eventually send His only-begotten Son to earth in the form of a baby, Who will grow up as we all do, then offer His divine Body to His Eternal Father as the 'sacrificial Lamb' on the Cross at Calvary. All this because of our first parents, Adam and Eve. We have ALL inherited this sin onto our souls, which needs to be cleansed by Baptism and self sacrifices which we can offer to the Eternal Father for our sins.

Then, in the Gospel of Matthew, we hear about the vineyard, where many are chosen to work at various times of the day, with the same pay at the end. According to St. Augustine and St. Gregory the Great, they offer the following, which I am taking from our beloved Abbot Gueranger:

 '...The vineyard is the Church in its several periods, from the beginning of the world to the time when God Himself dwelt among men, and formed all true believers into one visible and permanent society. The morning is the time from Adam to Noah; the third hour begins with Noah and ends with Abraham; the sixth hour includes the period which elapsed between Abraham and Moses; and lastly, the ninth hour opens with the age of the prophets, and closes with the birth of the Saviour. The Messias came at the eleventh hour, when the world seemed to be at the decline of its day. Mercies unprecedented were reserved for this last period, during which salvation was to be given to the Gentiles by the preaching of the Apostles. It is by this mystery of mercy that our Saviour rebukes the Jewish pride. By the selfish murmuring made against the master of the house by the early labourers, our Lord signifies the indignation which the scribes and pharisees would show at the Gentiles being adopted as God's children. Then He shows them how their jealousy would be chastised: Israel, that had laboured before us, shall be rejected for their obduracy of heart, and we Gentiles, the last comers, shall be made first, for we shall be made members of that Catholic Church, which is the bride of the Son of God.'

These two holy doctors of the Church offer a second meaning of these passages:

The Gospel reading from Matthew 'signifies the calling given by God to each of us individually, pressing us to labor, during this life, for the kingdom prepared for us. The morning is our childhood. the third hour, accord to the division used by the ancients in counting their day, is sunrise; it is our youth. The sixth hour, by which name they called our midday, is manhood. The eleventh hour, which immediately preceded sunset, is old age. The Master of the house calls His laborers at all these various hours. They must go that very hour. They that are called in the morning may not put their starting for the vineyard, under pretext of going afterwards, when the Master shall call them later on. Who has told them that they shall live to the eleventh hour? They that are called at the third hour may be dead at the sixth. God will call to the laborers of the last hour such as shall be living when that hour comes; but, if we should die at midday, that last call will not avail us. Besides, God has not promised us a second call, if we excuse ourselves from the first.'

Purple during the 'Penitential' season: The purple hue is a royal robe, purple being the traditional colour of kings and emperors; but it's also the colour of blood and of mourning, and so a reminder that Christ is born to die.

I'd like to end with the following Anthem to Our Blessed Lady, the Virgin. This is the same one the Church uses on the feast of the Purification.

Hail Queen of heaven! Hail Lady of the angels! Hail blessed root and gate, from which came light upon the world! Rejoice, O glorious Virgin, that surpasses all in beauty! Hail, most lovely Queen! and pray to Christ for us. Vouchsafe, O holy Virgin, that I may praise thee. Give me power against thine enemies.

Let us pray.

Grant, O merciful God, thy protection to us in our weakness; that we who celebrate the memory of the holy Mother of God, may, through the aid of her intercession, rise again from our sins. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

Let's pray for a holy and fruitful 'penitential' season. We need all the help we can get.


I like the Sundays preceding the season of Lent. It gets you prepared to try to get closer to Christ and His teachings. I can't read Latin, but I can follow along at the Traditional Mass. I prefer to call it Traditional instead of Tridentine, because Tridentine means from Trent (the Council in the 16th century), and this Mass has been around for almost 2000 years! Kind of a misnomer in a way. Especially when it is referred to as the "Extraordinary" Mass! It should be the only Mass!!!!!

Anyway, we have been going to the Traditional Mass since 1988. I like it because it takes us into the area that all of the saints, Doctors, martyrs, etc. have enjoyed and died for throughout the life of the Church. I even started serving this Mass about 27 years ago, and going on to teach young men, and some older ones, how to serve it in a correct way. Not bad for a dumb little convert boy to have come so far in such a short period of time. And, if you are going to get a GOOD Mass, sometimes you have to travel to get to one. The wife and have been traveling all of this time, since spirituality in our city is pretty much dead.

OUR LADY OF LOURDES-PART II

Celebrating Our Lady of Lourdes's feast on Saturday, we publish a thoughtful sermon given by the 1934 chaplain at Oxford University.

Moses and St. Bernadette Soubirous are two figures from Church History which seem to have little in common other than both having the privilege of a visit from heaven.  In this interesting reflection, Msgr. Ronald A. Knox draws parallels between the two saints. In the first part, a point-by-point comparison - in the second, Msgr. Knox focuses on the message of Lourdes in the form of its "10 words" - again, a parallel to the 10 Commandments.
Msgr. Knox was born in 1888, the son of the Anglican Bishop of Manchester. He became a convert to the Catholic Church in 1917 and subsequently served as chaplain to the Catholic students at Oxford University. He died in 1957.
We have kept the text intact from his original sermon of February, 1934. For further study, we recommend the excellent, classic book, The Song of Bernadette.

"Saint Bernadette of Lourdes"

About three thousand years ago, a man stood, thrilled with religious awe, on the slopes of Mount Sinai' in Arabia. He was a shepherd, feeding on those barren pastures the flocks of his father-in-law; his attention had been aroused, at a distance, by the unwanted sight of a fire in the desert scrub. And now that he had drawn nearer, he saw that this was not merely something beyond the ordinary, but something beyond nature itself; the bush before which he stood burned continually, but was not consumed. At the same time a divine warning came to him that he must take off the shoes from his feet in sign of reverence. He did so, and when he had done so the divine voice came to him again; he was to bear a message to his brethren, the children of Israel, subject at that time to a barbarous captivity in Egypt. The God of their fathers, the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, would deliver them out of their bondage; and when they had come out of Egypt, they were to do sacrifice to him on this mountain of Sinai. And, in token of the new covenant he was to make with his people, the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob revealed himself by a new name: I AM WHO AM.

Rather less than eighty years ago [ed: this sermon was given in 1934], a little girl stood before the rock of Massabielle, in the township of Lourdes, on the slopes of the Pyrenees. No premonition of any divine event disturbed her thoughts; she was at play with her companions, and if she took off the shoes from her feet it was only to cross the stream that lay in their path. She heard a noise, like that of a strong wind; she turned, and saw that the trees in the valley were not bowed as a strong wind must bow them. She turned back towards the rock, and a rose-bush that grew in front of it. And now she saw the rosebush flaming with something more bright, more pure, more beautiful than fire. She saw above it the figure of a Lady; what need to describe it in detail? Wherever Christendom reaches, the helpless aspirations of Christian artists have made that figure familiar to every human eye. The Lady said no word, but she made one sign, the sign of the cross; and the little girl, taking courage, said her rosary as if to defend her from harm. Then the Vision beckoned to her to come nearer; she drew back in alarm, and it vanished. She took off her other stocking, crossed the stream, and rejoined her companions, who had seen nothing. That was all; it was only in later visits that she realized what a grace had been bestowed upon her; that she, too, was to lead a world out of its captivity; draw it after her to worship God and celebrate the glories of His Mother on that mountain. It was only many days later that the gracious Lady revealed herself by name; lifted up her eyes to heaven and said: "I am the Immaculate Conception."

Shepherds - A Divine Preference?
 

Moses was a shepherd, not by choice. A man of courts and palaces, he had been driven into exile, and served, in that exile, his apprenticeship among the flocks. It is curious how often God has chosen a shepherd when he has wanted to impart an inspiration that has revolutionized men's lives. Jacob was a shepherd, the founder of the Jewish race; David was a shepherd, the ancestor of its royal dynasty; Amos was a shepherd, the first of its sons to prophesy and to commit his prophecies to writing. And under the new dispensation it is not otherwise; the shepherds at Bethlehem were the first to hear from their cronies, the angels, of the divine-human birth, and you will find shepherd saints in every age of Christian piety—St. Genevieve, St. Paschal Baylon, St. Vincent de Paul and St. John Vianney.

Curious, did we say? There is nothing curious about it when you come to think of it. For God Himself was content to be described by his ancient people as a Shepherd; "Hear, thou shepherd of Israel," "The Lord is my shepherd," "He shall feed his flock like a shepherd"; and when the Divine Word came to dwell among us, He chose for himself the title of the Good Shepherd, and handed it on to St. Peter, His favorite Apostle, when He committed to him the care of all the churches. He who would lead God's people must imitate the divine forethought, the divine patience, the divine gentleness which tends and pursues so lovingly the straying hearts of men. Shepherd to shepherd, God delegates to Moses his pastoral office.

St. Bernadette, too, was a shepherd girl. Not that this was her business in her father's home; but when she went on a visit to friends of the family at Bartres, the year before her apparitions, she was given charge of a flock of sheep among which, characteristically, she made the tiniest lamb her favorite. So she, too, was apprenticed to the shepherd's trade; for she, too, was to be a leader of God's people. And the gracious Lady who appeared to her over the rose-bush, was not she the daughter of a shepherd, St. Joachim? And will not she, like Rachel before her, have fed her father's flocks? Shepherdess to shepherdess, our Lady delegates to St. Bernadette her pastoral office.

Solitary Visions that Draw Followers Closer
 

Moses led his people, and they followed him, where? To the same mountain in which he had first been privileged with the intimacy of almighty God. We were picturing just now, a solitary figure in the desert, alone with God, no other human creature in sight. Carry your mind forward a little space of time and you will see the same man closeted once more with the same Divine Audience; but, at the foot of the mountain, what is this? A vast army of Bedouin tents, the migration of a people. More than six hundred thousand souls worshipping God in the mountain He had chosen. With all that, the vision is still for Moses, and for Moses only. The people stand at the foot of the mountain, with limits appointed to them they must not transgress; Moses goes up into the mountain, and is hidden by a dark cloud from mortal view. The people see the play of lightning round the summit, but the Divine Voice is not for them; it is only through Moses that the Word comes to them. Yet that Word is sovereign; centuries go by, and the nation of Israel increases as the sand by the seashore, but still the memory of Sinai haunts them, and their dearest traditions are all prefaced with the same rubric, "Moses said."
Bernadette stood before the grotto on the eleventh of February with no other human creature near her, except two little girls, her companions, on the other side of the stream. When she knelt there on the fourth of March, just three weeks later, she was being watched by a crowd of twenty thousand pilgrims. Yet still the vision was only for her; for those others there was nothing but the grotto and the rose-bush, and the mountains beyond. They could see the smile that lit up the face of the visionary, but that was all. But the memory of her smile still haunts the grotto, and all Christendom flocks there in its hundreds of thousands, to worship in the place where her feet stood. And still she haunts the place like a visible presence; when you offer your lighted candle, you half expect to hear her cry out: "You're burning me!" as she did when she woke from her ecstasy nearly eighty years ago.

A Veiled Face for the Visionary
 

When Moses came down from the mountain, his face shone, so that the children of Israel could not bear to look upon it. They saw there, as if reflected in a frail human mirror, the glory of Him Who had spoken with him on the mount. And Moses covered his face with a veil, lest even that reflected radiance should be profaned by human sight.
In May, 1866, the chapel which Bernadette's ecstasies had demanded was inaugurated at Lourdes. That July she took the veil with the Sisters of Charity of Nevers, and Lourdes was not to see her again. Did we think that she would wait there to tell us all her story, to touch our rosaries and sign our autograph books? No, the face which had looked into the face of the Immaculate must be veiled thenceforward; thenceforward we should not even see her smile.

Deliverance from Bondage
 

Moses was sent to deliver his people from bondage, and from a bondage to which they had grown accustomed, so that they loved their fetters, and were constantly turning on him and asking why he could not leave them alone. That was his chief difficulty—they did not want to be set free. And even when they had been set free, and let out into the wilderness, they were always hankering after the luxuries they had enjoyed in Egypt, always murmuring against the rough fare of the desert. While Moses was up in the mountain, the people he had left behind him in the valley made a golden calf and fell to worshipping it, as they had worshipped in Egypt. All his life he preached to an incredulous race, condemned, for their hardness of heart, to forty years' wandering in the wilderness before they achieved their promised resting-place.

Bernadette was sent to a world in bondage, and to a world which rejoiced in its bondage. Those apparitions of hers took place in the very middle of the Victorian age, when mankind, or at any rate, the richer part of mankind, was enjoying material plenty to a degree, I suppose, unexampled before or since. And the presence of material plenty had given rise to a general spirit of materialism; a spirit which loves the good things of this life and is content with the good things of this life, does not know how to enlarge its horizons and think about eternity. She was sent to deliver us from that captivity of thought; to make us forget the idols of our prosperity, and learn afresh the meaning of suffering and the thirst for God. That is what Lourdes is for; that is what Lourdes is about—the miracles are only a by-product. You might have thought that in our day, when prosperity has waned and all of us, or nearly all of us, have to be content with less, we should have needed no longer these divine warnings from the rock of Massabielle. We know that it is not so; we know that in this wilderness of drifting uncertainties, our modern world, we still cling to the old standard of values, still celebrate, with what conviction we may the worship of the Golden Calf. The year of Bernadette's canonization finds us no less in need of public reparation for our common sinfulness than the year in which Bernadette took the veil.

The incorrupt body of St. Bernadette, exhumed in 1909

Lourdes: A Modern Sinai

Do not think me fanciful then if I suggest that we ought to see in Lourdes a sort of modern Sinai; and that we ought to treasure the words our Lady spoke in the grotto as we treasure the words God gave to Moses on the mount. Ten words of God to Moses which are enshrined now in the general conscience of humanity; ten words of our Lady to Bernadette, ruling principles (surely) for the Church to whose altars the little prophetess has been raised. Let us meditate them, very briefly, as they come.

10 words Delivered to Bernadette
 

At the third apparition, St. Bernadette took with her pen and ink and a sheet of paper, to write down the commands which she felt the strange Lady would want to express. And the first recorded utterance of the Immaculate bears on that point; "What I have to tell you I do not need to set down in writing. Will you have the kindness to come here for a whole fortnight?" When Moses came down from Mt. Sinai, he brought with him two tables of stone, on which the Ten Commandments had been written, we know not how, by almighty God Himself. But the Christian law, St. Paul tells us, is not written on tables of stone, but on fleshly tables of the heart. It is not a code of directions exterior to ourselves, but a spirit with which we are to be imbued, an attitude which we are to assimilate. And Bernadette, accordingly, must not expect her decalogue to be registered in pen and ink. She must come to the grotto for a fortnight, as continuously as she may, and the message will write itself on her heart. And from us, too, our Lady of Lourdes asks no laborious exercise of the intellect, no feats of memory, if we are to learn her lesson. We are to watch Bernadette, and see our Lady's own image in her.

That was the first word, and the second word followed immediately, with an almost cruel abruptness: "I do not promise you that you will be happy in this world, but in the next." Moses, the servant of God, brought his people out into a land flowing with milk and honey—but he was not allowed to enter that promised land himself. And St. Bernadette was to open for us that miraculous spring from which healing has flowed into thousands of homes; the grotto in which she worshipped is hung about with a forest of crutches, the trophies of our Lady's clients; but St. Bernadette herself, what reward was given to her for all her faith and endurance? Thirteen short years of life in the cloister; years haunted with premonition, and crowned with the experience of long and continued bodily suffering. We had so often been told, yet nothing really succeeded in making us believe, that it is eternity which matters, and times does not count. Bernadette should be a living proof of that doctrine; our Lady's favorite confidante, rewarded, not with health like us others, but with a short life and a long cross!

The Prayer Known Only to Bernadette
 

At the fifth apparition, during forty minutes of ecstasy our Lady taught St. Bernadette, word by word, a special prayer she was to use. That prayer she learned by heart, and used it every day for the rest of her life. What was it? we ask breathlessly. The answer is that we do not know, and shall never know till, by God's grace, we are allowed to use it in heaven. The message, I say it again, was for Bernadette, and for us only through her; we are not to go to Lourdes for this or that ceremony, this or that form of prayer; it is to be the shrine not of a ritual but of a life.

A Familiar Plea: "Pray for Sinners"
 

And the fourth word presses on to the heart of the mystery; it was during the sixth apparition that our Lady said suddenly, "Pray for sinners." That is not what we think of, is it, when people ask us what are the most characteristic impressions we carried away from the Lourdes pilgrimage. We think of those wasted forms in their invalid chairs grouped round the square in the afternoon, and the heartrending petitions that echo round them: Lord, grant that I may see, Lord, grant that I may hear, Lord, grant that I may walk. Or we think of the torchlight procession in the evening, and the singing of the Credo which concludes it; we remember Lourdes as the embodiment of a great act of faith. But when our Lady stood at the grotto, the first command she gave was not, Heal the sick; was not, Convert the unbeliever. Her command was, Pray for sinners. Man's sin, that is our real malady; man's impenitence, that is the crying problem.

A Common Marian Message: Penance
 

The fifth word was unique, in that it was heard by the bystanders, not indeed from our Lady's lips, but from Bernadette's. As she knelt there in ecstasy, she repeated several times, sobbing, the one word, "Penance." They learned afterwards that she was repeating it after our Lady. This, then is our Lady's one public utterance; and, as I say, it is the message of Lourdes. We are to make there, in common, what reparation we can for our common faults. The true music of Lourdes is not the "Lord, he whom thou lovest is sick" that thunders across the square; not the Ave, Ave, that sweeps down the terraces. It is the Parce, Domine, parce populo tuo—the confession of our sins, and a desperate cry for pardon.

 Then, not till then, at the ninth apparition, our Lady pointed to the sacred spring, and bade her prophetess drink and wash there. This sixth word is a kind of interlude; and, remember, our Lady never said that those who drank, those who washed, would be healed of their bodily infirmities. The faithful themselves were left to find out that gracious corollary; the ceremony performed at the time by St. Bernadette was rather a pantomime of humiliation—to eat grass like the cattle, to drink and wash in a muddy spring. She dedicated herself and her mission to human scorn.

A Cruel Request from Our Lady?
 

The seventh word emphasizes the lesson of humiliation, and connects it with the lesson of penance. "You will kiss the ground, for sinners." Because all our worst sins take their origin in pride, the penance we are to offer—we moderns at least—must be prefaced by the mortification of reminding ourselves, what and whence we are. So, next Wednesday, we open our Lenten fast by having our foreheads smeared with ashes, while the priest says to us, as God said to Adam when he had sinned: "Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." We must learn to grovel before we can learn to weep.

Practical Instructions
 

With the eighth and ninth words we come at last to practical, rubrical directions, which will serve to organize Bernadette's revelations as a cult. "Go and tell the priests to build me a chapel"; "I want people to come here in procession." Man is made of body and soul; body as well as soul must take part in his self-dedication to God. Material edifices, of wood and stone, outward gestures, pilgrimage and march and song, must be the complement and the expression of his inward attitude. So, when God issued to Moses His moral law, in all the grandeur of its austerity, He directed at the same time the building of a tabernacle, and the rites which were to be performed in and at the tabernacle; He would enlist material things in the service of a spiritual ideal. So, when our Lady preached to Bernadette her gospel of penance she externalized it and eternalized it by prescribing the outward ceremonies that should be its expression.

The Last Word of Our Lady

The tenth word is the best known of all: "I am the Immaculate Conception." Why (people have asked) did she say that, rather than "I am the immaculately conceived"? It is, perhaps, rash to venture on explanations. But when God appeared to Moses, He revealed Himself under the title I AM WHO AM; and theologians have read in those simple words the most profound truth about the divine Being—that there is no distinction of essence and existence, of attributes and personality, in Him; His goodness, His wisdom, His power. His justice, are nothing other than Himself. That cannot be said, obviously, of any creature. But, may we not suppose that the plenitude of grace which flowed into the soul of our blessed Lady so overshadowed and transformed her human personality as to make her little suppliant forgetful of it; make her see, there in the grotto, no longer a human figure but the embodiment of a spiritual truth? That the thought of what she was and is was obscured, in that moment of revelation, by the thought of what God wrought and works in her?
"Today, if you hear His voice, harden not your hearts," was the message of Sinai. Moses struck the hard rock, and the waters gushed out; he could not wring tears, even so, from the hearts of a stubborn people. Surely, when she pointed to the miraculous spring at Lourdes our Lady was telling a whole world to weep for its sins. So many years have passed, and do we still come away from Lourdes dry-eyed?
This sermon was originally published in the February, 1980 issue of The Angelus.