Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Let us rejoice and be glad. The Ark of the New Covenant has been born. The Gate of Heaven, our refuge in times of trouble and sorrow, Mother of God, the Mother of the Savior, and Mother of the Church has been born. Now we can have a sigh of relief, for we are about to receive our Savior.

Hail, star of the Sea! Blessed Mother of God, yet ever a Virgin! O happy gate of heaven!

Thou that didst receive the Ave from Gabriel's lips, confirm us in peace, and so let Eva be changed into an Ave of blessing for us.

Loose the sinner's chains, bring light to the blind, drive from us our evils, and ask all good things for us.

Show thyself a Mother, and offer our prayers to Him, Who would be born of thee, when born for us.

O incomparable Virgin, and meekest of the meek, obtain for us the forgiveness of our sins, and make us meek and chaste.

Obtain us purity of life, and a safe pilgrimage; that we may be united with thee in the blissful vision of Jesus.

According to our blessed Abbot Gueranger, he writes:

'The temple of Janus is closed; in the eternal city a mysterious fountain of oil has sprung up from the spot where the first sanctuary of the Mother of God is one day to be built; signs and portents are multiplied; the whole world is in expectation; the poet has sung: 'Behold the last age, foretold by the Sybil, is at hand; behold the great series of new worlds is beginning; behold the Virgin!' In Jud æa, the sceptre has been taken away from Juda; but the usurper of his power, Herod the Idumæan, is hastening to complete the splendid restoration, which will enable the second temple worthily to receive within its walls the Ark of the new Covenant.

It is the sabbatical month, the first of the civil year, the seventh of the sacred cycle; the month of Tisri which begins the repose of each seventh year, and in which is announced the holy year of Jubilee; the most joyous of months, with its solemn Neomenia celebrated with trumpets and singing, its feast of tabernacles, and the commemoration of the completion of Solomon's temple. . . . On earth, two obscure descendants of David, Joachim and Anne, are thanking God for having blessed their long-barren union.'

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us. Please?

14th Sunday after Pentecost

'Behold, O God, our protector, and look on the face of thy Christ.' These are the first words of the Introit for tomorrow, the 14th Sunday after Pentecost.

We hear about the two masters of the world, the spiritual and the sensual. I'd like to think that it is 2 worlds, the spiritual one and the sensual. It seems to me, at least, that we have those who have the True Faith and are really trying; and those who think they have a safe afterlife, pretty much by saying that Jesus is their Lord and that is all that is needed; and those who don't care for anything but themselves, thus not thinking one iota about an afterlife or afterdeath. As our beloved Abbot Gueranger says: "Two cities now divide the world between them; and the holy city, made up of vanquishers over the devil, the world, and the flesh, is full of admiration and joy at seeing that the noblest of the nations flock to her. The law which reigns supreme within her walls is love, for the Holy Spirit, who rules her happy citizens, takes them far beyond the injunctions or prohibitions of any law. Together with charity, there spring up joy, peace, and those other fruits, here enumerated by the apostle (Paul); they grow spontaneously from a soil which is saturated with the glad waters of a stream, which is no other than the sanctifying Spirit, who inundates the city of God..."

This is to be compared with those who have all the sensual luxuries of the world, but, being without God, what good will it do them?

St. Alphonsus Liguori, when speaking about people before they die, and what to do with their goods which they obtained in their journey of life. He says: "I say: If you dissipate the goods which you possess, and leave your children in poverty, you do wrong, and are guilty of sin. But will you lose your soul in order to leave your children comfortable? If you fall into Hell, perhaps they will come and release you from it? O folly! Listen to what David said: "I have not seen the just man forsaken, nor his seed seeking bread" Jesus Himself said: "What does it profit man to gain the whole world, and lose his soul?" St. Alphonsus goes on to say that we don't take these riches with us in our death, but if we gain the Faith, it will serve us well when we get judged and in eternity.

Lord, that we may learn the Faith and serve you faithfully.

Musings of a Pertinacious Papist: The miracle of Obama as president

The world just keeps getting curiouser and curiouser!?  I suppose we deserve it, since we've thrown God out of just about everywhere.

Musings of a Pertinacious Papist: The miracle of Obama as president

13th Sunday after Pentecost

Tomorrow is the 13th Sunday after Pentecost. We hear about the ten lepers being cured, with only one returning to give thanks. Is this Us? Do we receive a blessing of any kind and just say, "Thank God?" And, if we do, are we thanking the Triune God, or just a generic one?Our beloved Abbot Gueranger quotes Abbot Rupert of Deutz (1075-1129). About this Sunday, Blessed Rupert says:

'Every portion of the Office of the thirteenth Sunday bears on the history of that Samaritan, whose name signifies keeper; it is our Lord Jesus Christ who, by His Incarnation, comes to the rescue of man, whom the old Law was not able to keep from harm; and when Jesus leaves the world, He consigns the poor sufferer to the care of the Apostles and Apostolic men, in the house of the Church. The intentional selection of this Gospel(Luke 17) for today throws a great light on our Epistle, as also on the whole letter to the Galatians, from which it is taken. Thus, the priest and the Levite of the parable are a figure of the Law; and their passing by the half-dead man, seeing him, indeed, but without making an attempt to heal him, is expressive of what that Law did. True, it did not go counter to God's promises; but, of itself, it could justify no man. A physician who dies not himself intend to visit a patient will sometimes send a servant who is expert in the knowledge of the causes of the malady, yet who has not the skill needed for mixing the remedy required, but can merely tell the sick man what diet and what drinks he must avoid, if he would prevent his ailment from causing death. Such was the law, set, as the Epistle tells us, because of transgressions, as a simple safeguard, until such time as there should come the good Samaritan, the heavenly Physician. Having, from his very first coming into this world, fallen among robbers, man is stripped of his supernatural goods, and is covered with the wounds inflicted on him by original sin; if he did not abstain from actual sins, from those transgressions against which the law was set as a monitor, he runs the risk of dying altogether.'

In this parable Jesus gives, this leprosy is sin. One Person can cure it in us. Hopefully, we can be the one that gives thanks for what we have been given.

Our beloved Abbot again gives us something to think about: 'In the Church, as in God, truth is life and light, not a mere collection of formulas. If our Credo rings out so triumphantly through the aisles of our churches, and seems to force the very gates of heaven, it is because each of its articles is presented before God steeped in the blood of martyrs; from age to age it has gathered ever fresh lustre from the labours and struggles of so many holy confessors, chosen out of the human race to complete the body of Christ on earth.'

St. Alphonsus Liguouri finishes today's post with these words: '...It is not ingratitude to abandon a friend who leads you to Hell; but it is ingratitude to forsake God, Who has rescued you, Who has died for you on the Cross, and Who desires your salvation.'

12th Sunday after Pentecost

'Come to mine assistance, O God! O Lord, make haste to help me!'
These words are at the beginning of Mass tomorrow, and come at the Introit. We hear about helping others in the Gospel, and we need to copy this example. We are all in need of God's mercy, and fall short of the glory of God. But God will have mercy on us if we are sincere in our repentance. A book I am currently reading is by St. Bede, who was born in A.D. 673. He wrote down the history of the Church and what was going on in the world at that time. He had a Letter from Pope Gregory to St. Augustine when the saint was converting new Christians, who had questions for him. He, in turn, wrote to the Pope. I thought it was pertinent for the readings, so am inserting it into these thoughts. Pope Gregory wrote: "For all sin is consummated in three ways, that is, by suggestion, pleasure, and consent. Suggestion comes through the devil, pleasure through the flesh, and consent through the will. The Serpent suggested the first sin, and Eve, as flesh, took physical pleasure in it, while Adam, as spirit, consented; and great discernment is needed if the mind, in judging itself, is to distinguish between suggestion and pleasure, and between pleasure and consent. For when the Evil Spirit suggests a sin, no sin is committed unless the flesh takes pleasure in it; but when the flesh begins to take pleasure, then sin is born; and if deliberate consent is given, sin is complete. The seed of sin, therefore, is in suggestion, its growth in pleasure, and its completion in consent. It often happens, however, that what the Evil Spirit sows in the mind and the flesh anticipates with pleasure, the soul rejects. And although the body cannot experience pleasure without the mind, yet the mind, in contending against the desires of the body, is to some extent unwillingly chained to them, having to oppose them for conscience sake, and strongly regretting its bondage to bodily desires."

Paul tells us tomorrow that anything we have is from God, and nothing is ours. This includes our conscience. If we think that we can sin because we can just go to Confession and have it erased, this thinking is WRONG! We don't sin because we love God, and know it's wrong to do what we ought not.

Our beloved Abbot Gueranger tells us about God's mercy, and this is just a short blurb.

'Oh! if we did but know the gift of God! if we did but understand the super-eminent dignity reserved, under the law of love, to every man of good will! Then, perhaps, our cowardice and sluggishness would, at last, go; then, perhaps, our souls would get fired with the noble ambition which turns men into saints. At all events, we should then come to realize that Christian humility, of which we were speaking on the last two Sundays, is not the vulgar grovelling of a low-minded man, but the glorious entrance upon the way which leads, by divine union, to the only true greatness. Are not those men inconsistent and senseless who, longing by the very law of their nature for glory, go seeking it in the phantoms of pride, and allow themselves to be diverted, by the baubles of vanity, from the pursuit of those real honours which eternal Wisdom had destined for them! And those grand honours were to have been heaped upon them, not only in their future heaven, but even here in their earthly habitation; and God and His saints were to have been admiring and applauding spectators!...'

We need to beg for God's forgiveness, and not incur His anger anymore. He will be our Judge soon enough!

Assumption of Our Blessed Mother

Tomorrow is the Eve of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, body and soul, into heaven. I'm posting this today because tomorrow is very busy. Pray for us. Anyway, it only makes sense that Mary should have her virginal, immaculate body, taken back into heaven where she belongs. She is our model, our help, and our hope in these times. She even helps us when we fail and fall short in doing what we are supposed to do. So, not only is she blessed, but we are too for having her as our mother!

I'm going to, as I do a lot, let the Abbot Gueranger, explain it as no one does. He was instrumental in writing the thesis beforehand in 1854, when Pope Pius IX proclaimed this great thing we have been given. The Abbot was also present during the First Vatican Council, when the proclamation of the primacy of Peter and his infallibility was in question. He is truly a saint, if you ask me. Anyway, here is the writing for the Assumption:

The Traditional Catholic Liturgy
Adapted from The Liturgical Year by Abbot Gueranger
The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary—August 15

Ancient Coptic Rite Icon of the Assumption"Today the Virgin Mary ascended to Heaven; rejoice, for She reigns with Christ forever." The Church will close Her chants on this glorious day with this sweet antiphon, which resumes the object of the Feast and the spirit in which it should be celebrated.

No other solemnity breathes, like this one, at once triumph and peace; none better answers to the enthusiasm of the many and the serenity of souls consummated in love. Assuredly that was as great a triumph when Our Lord, rising by His own power from the tomb, cast Hell into dismay; but to our souls, so abruptly drawn from the abyss of sorrows on Golgotha, the suddenness of the victory caused a sort of stupor to mingle with the joy of that greatest of days. In presence of the prostrate angels, the hesitating apostles, the women seized with fear and trembling, one felt that the divine isolation of the Conqueror of death was perceptible even to His most intimate friends, and kept them, like Magdalene, at a distance.

Mary's death, however, leaves no impression but peace; that death had no other cause than love. Being a mere creature, She could not deliver Herself from that claim of the old enemy; but leaving Her tomb filled with flowers; She mounts up to Heaven, flowing with delights, leaning upon Her Beloved (Cant. 8: 5). Amid the acclamations of the daughters of Sion, who will henceforth never cease to call Her Blessed, She ascends surrounded by choirs of heavenly spirits joyfully praising the Son of God. Never more will shadows veil, as they did on earth, the glory of the most beautiful daughter of Eve. Beyond the immovable Thrones, beyond the dazzling Cherubim, beyond the flaming Seraphim, onward She passes, delighting the heavenly city with Her sweet perfumes. She stays not till She reaches the very confines of the Divinity; close to the throne of honor where Her Son, the King of ages, reigns in justice and in power; there She is proclaimed Queen, there She will reign for evermore in mercy and in goodness.

Among the feasts of saints, this is the solemnity of solemnities. "Let the mind of man," says St. Peter Damian, "be occupied in declaring Her magnificence; let his speech reflect Her majesty. May the Sovereign of the world deign to accept the goodwill of our lips, to aid our insufficiency, to illumine with her own light the sublimity of this day."

It is no new thing, then, that Mary's triumph fills the hearts of Christians with enthusiasm. If certain ancient calendars give to this Feast the title of Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we cannot thence conclude that in those times the Feast had no other object than Mary's holy death; the Greeks, from whom we have the expression, have always included in the solemnity the glorious triumph that followed Her death.

At Rome the Assumption or Dormition of the Holy Mother of God appears in the 7th century to have already been celebrated for an indefinite length of time; nor does it seem to have had any other day than August 15. According to Nicephorus Callistus, the same date was assigned to it for Constantinople by the Emperor Mauritius at the end of the 6th century. The historian notes, at the same time, the origin of several other solemnities, while of the Dormition alone, he does not say that it was established by Mauritius on such a day; hence learned authors have concluded that the Feast itself already existed before the imperial decree was issued, which was thus only intended to put an end to its being celebrated on various days.

At that very time, far away from Byzantium, the Merovingian Franks celebrated the glorification of Our Lady on January 18. However the choice of this day may be accounted for, it is remarkable that the Copts on the borders of the Nile announce on January 28, the repose of the Virgin Mary, Mother of God, and the Assumption of Her body into Heaven; they, however, repeat the announcement on August 21, and two weeks earlier they, like the Greeks, begin their Lent in honor of the Mother of God.

Some authors think that the Assumption has been kept from apostolic times; but the primitive liturgical documents are silent about it. The hesitation as to the date of its celebration, and the liberty so long allowed with regard to it, seem to point to the spontaneous initiative of divers Churches, owing to some fact attracting attention to the mystery or throwing some light upon it. Of this nature we may reckon the account everywhere spread abroad about the year 451, in which Juvenal of Jerusalem related to the Empress St. Pulcheria and her husband Marcian the history of the tomb which the Apostles had prepared for Our Lady at the foot of Mount Olivet, and which was found empty of its precious deposit. The following words of St. Andrew of Crete in the 7th century show how the solemnity of the Assumption gained ground in consequence of such circumstances. The Saint was born at Damascus, became a monk at Jerusalem, was afterwards Deacon at Constantinople, and lastly Bishop of the celebrated island from which he takes his name; no one then could speak for the East with better authority. "The present solemnity," he says, "is full of mystery, having for its object to celebrate the day whereon the Mother of God fell asleep; this solemnity is too elevated for any discourse to reach; by some this mystery has not always been celebrated, but now all love and honor it. Silence long preceded speech, but now love divulges the secret. The gift of God must be manifested, not buried; we must show it forth, not as recently discovered, but as having recovered its splendor. Some of those who lived before us knew it but imperfectly; that is no reason for always keeping silence about it; it has not become altogether obscured; let us proclaim it and keep a feast. Today let the inhabitants of Heaven and earth be united, let the joy of Angels and men be one, let every tongue exult and sing Hail to the Mother of God."

In 1870 an earnest desire was expressed to have the doctrine of Mary's Assumption defined as a dogma of faith; however, due to the Italian civil war, the Vatican Council was suspended too soon to complete our Lady's crown. This was accomplished in 1950, by His Holiness, Pope Pius XII.

Also, I would like to add something which was read in the 'City of God' by Ven. Mary of Agreda,that when Mary died, it was on a Friday at 3pm, like her Son. Her Assumption, again like her son, was on the following Sunday. She copied Him even unto death. Also, the Apostles, who were dispersed throughout the world, were transported by angels to be at her side. The Apostles loved her, so what's wrong with protestants?

Holy Mary, Help of Christians, pray for us.

Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Today we celebrate the day when Mary went to visit her cousin Elizabeth, who was pregnant with John the Baptist. And, just like when the ancient cities rejoiced when the Ark of the Covenant entered their city, the baby leaps with joy when Mary, the new Ark of the True Covenant, enters into his mother's presence. John, at the words of Mary, is cleansed from Original Sin in his mother's womb. Thus proclaiming the beginning of the new age of man.

Notice the Magnificat of Mary below. The word 'magnificat' in Latin, the Church's official language, means 'magnify'. A magnifying glass makes things clearer, and Mary makes her son Jesus clearer. I only say this, because the new versions say: 'My being proclaims the goodness of the Lord'. These words do NOT mean the same thing!!!!! It is another slam against Our Blessed Mother, just to please the protestants who helped set up the new mass and bibles. Every verse which is about Mary has been changed. They might be approved by the weak clergy, but they are WRONG!! My opinion is this: "If you can't say anything nice about Jesus's Mother, shut up!" We wouldn't like it if someone talked bad about our moms, and Jesus is no different. He will remember. Have no doubt!

My soul magnifies the Lord
And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior;
Because he has regarded the lowliness of his handmaid;
For behold, henceforth all generations shall call me blessed;
Because he who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his name;
And his mercy is from generation to generation
on those who fear him.
He has shown might with his arm,
He has scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart.
He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
and has exalted the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has given help to Israel, his servant, mindful of his mercy
Even as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his posterity forever.
_____________________________________________________________________________

Now, let us contemplate the canticle below, which is in today's Mass, and refers to Mary:

Hail, star of the sea! Blessed Mother of God, yet ever a Virgin! O happy gate of heaven!

Thou that didst receive the 'Ave' from Gabriel's lips, confirm us in peace, and so let 'Eva' be changed into an 'Ave' of blessing for us.

Loose the sinner's chains, bring light to the blind, drive from us our evils, and ask all good things for us.

Sho9w thyself a Mother, and offer our prayers to him, who would be born of thee, when born for us.

O incomparable Virgin, and meekest of the meek, obtain us the forgiveness of our sins, and make us meek and chaste.

Obtain us purity of life, and a safe pilgrimage; that we may be united with thee in the blissful vision of Jesus.

Praise be too God the Father, and to the Lord Jesus, and to the Holy Ghost: to the Three one self-same praise. Amen.

V. Blessed art thou among women.
R. And blessed is the fruit of thy womb.

And now, to end this post, something from 'The Liturgical Year' by the Abbot Gueranger, about today's readings:

The church introduces us into the depth of the mystery. What she has just been reading to us is the explanation of that word of Elizabeth's which sums up the whole of today's feast: "When thy voice sounded in mine ear, the infant in my womb leaped for joy." O voice of Mary, voice of the turtledove, putting winter to flight, and announcing springtide flowers and fragrance! At this sweet sound John's soul, a captive in the darkness of sin, casts off the badge of slavery, and suddenly developing germs of highest virtues, appears as beautiful as a bride decked in nuptial array: and, therefore, how Jesus hastes unto this well-beloved soul! Between John and the Bridegroom, oh! what ineffable outpourings! what sublime dialogues pass between them, from womb to womb of Mary and Elizabeth! Admirable mothers! Sons yet more admirable! In this happy meeting, the sight, the hearing, the voice of the mothers belong less to themselves than to the blessed fruit each bears within her; thus their senses are the lattices through which the Bridegroom and the friend of the Bridegroom see one another, understand one another, speak one to the other!

How awesome is that?! Isn't God great?