23rd Sunday after Pentecost

This Sunday is the 23rd Sunday after Pentecost. We're getting close to the end of the Liturgical year, and our Gospel gives us a hint to what is to come. In the Gospel of St. Matthew, we hear of the ruler whose daughter has died, and of the woman with the blood issue and hoping to even touch His garment.

GOSPEL (Matt. IX. 18-26.) At that time, As Jesus was speaking to the multitudes, behold, a certain ruler came up, and adored him, saying: "Lord , my daughter is even now dead: but come, lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live". And Jesus, rising up, followed him, with his disciples. And behold, a woman, who was troubled with an 'issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment. For she said within herself: "If I shall touch only his garment, I shall be healed." But Jesus turning and seeing her, said: "Be of good heart, daughter: thy faith hath made thee whole." And the woman was made whole from that hour. And when Jesus was come into the house of the ruler, and saw the minstrels and the multitude making a tumult, He said: "Give place: for the girl is not dead, but sleepeth." And they laughed him to scorn. And when the multitude was put forth, he went in, and took her by the hand. And the maid arose. And the fame hereof went abroad into all that country.

Notice that this woman was cured by just touching the garment. In 'The City of God', by the Venerable Mary of Agreda, our Blessed Mother tells this Mary that she made the garment for Jesus without seams, and that it grew with Him His entire life. So, when this woman drained some power from it, of course Jesus felt it. It was part of Him.


INSTRUCTIONS for US:

I. Filial was the faith, unbounded the confidence, profound the humility of this woman, and therefore, she received health also. Learn from this, how pleasing to the Lord is Faith, confidence and humility; let your prayer always be penetrated by these three virtues, and you will receive whatever you ask.

II. The devout Louis de Ponte compares the conduct of this woman to our conduct at Holy Communion, and says: 'Christ wished to remain with us in the most holy Eucharist, clothed with the garment of the sacramental species of bread, that he who receives His sacred Flesh and Blood, may be freed from evil concupiscence. If you wish to obtain the health of your soul, as did this woman the health of the body, imitate her. Receive the Flesh and Blood of Jesus with the most profound humility, with the firmest confidence in His power and goodness, and like this woman you too will be made whole.'

III. Jesus called three dead persons to life, the twelve year old daughter of Jairus, ruler of the synagogue, of whom there is mention made in this gospel, the young man at Naim, (Luke VII. 14.) and Lazarus. (John. XI- 43.) By these three dead persons three classes of sinners may be understood: the maiden signifies those who sin in their youth through weakness and frailty, but touched by the grace of God, perceive their fall and easily rise again through penance; by the young man at Naim those are to be understood who sin repeatedly and in public, these require greater grace, more labor and severer penance; by Lazarus, the public and obdurate habitual sinners are to be understood who can be raised to spiritual life only by extraordinary graces and severe public penance.

IV. Christ did not raise the maiden, until the minstrels and noisy multitude were removed, by which He wished to teach us that the conversion of a soul cannot be accomplished in the midst of the noise and turmoil of temporal cares, idle pleasures and associations.

St. Jerome tells us, in the homily selected for the day, that the hemorrhoissa, healed by our Lord, 'is a type of the Gentile world; whilst the Jewish people is represented by the daughter of the ruler of the Synagogue. This latter is not to be restored to life until the former has been cured; and this is precisely the mystery we are so continually commemorating during these closing weeks of the liturgical year, viz., the fullness of the Gentiles recognizing and welcoming the divine Physician, and the blindness of Israel at last giving way to the light.'

Let us ask our Lord to enlighten us to recognize the Truth and act accordingly. Learn the Faith that comes to us from the Apostles, study it, because any deviance from it is WRONG!, no matter who tells us otherwise.

Lord, have mercy.

Our Lady of Saturdays

Since this is Saturday and dedicated to our blessed Mother, I have a gem for contemplation. It is from a book, Mary: Our Most Blessed Lady, written by Otto Hophan in 1958. This is from a section concerning her as a mediatrix in helping us on our journey to eternal happiness. This is only a small portion, but I like it, so here goes:


...She is God's Mother. And she is also our Mother! In heaven she continues to work for our salvation. Her glorious intercession is directed above all to the great, essential things which she views in God's plans. She will not pray away every cross; she was not even allowed to lift the cross from the shoulders of her Son. Her pleading is for her children who are away from home: that they might not succumb to dangers; that they might reach maturity in Christ; that they might attain eternal salvation. A mother never ceases to pray for her children. A friend may plead for us once, ten times, perhaps a hundred times. A mother prays always; her loving concern never ceases. She believes all, she hopes all, she suffers all, she conquers all. With gracious tenacity Mary prays for us, even when our depravity or obstinacy makes everything look useless and hopeless. She is the refuge of sinners. What wonders of grace has not Mary been able to obtain by her pleading! Our Saviour's words to the Canaanite woman are far more true of Mary: "O woman, great is thy faith--and thy love!--Let it be done to thee as thou wilt." (Mt. 1 5:28)

Mary's intercession is therefore mightier than that of any other. She stands beside the throne of the King as the great intercessor, the 'advocate' of mankind, according to the beautiful prayer, the Salve Regina, pointing out our needs to His eye and His heart. There, at the throne, Peter and Paul, Anthony, Therese, the great little saint, also pray for us. The mystery of this intercession of the blessed in heaven is their love: love of God and love of us. The more intimately they were united with God in love on earth, the more radiantly can their love for us stream forth from heaven in our behalf. Mary's intercession surpasses that of all others, is more powerful than that of all others, however holy. It is the pleading of the Mother of God, not only of the friends of God. A well founded opinion holds that the prayers of all others must be supported by Mary's if they are to find a hearing: "Whatever the others pray for, they pray for in some way through the blessed Virgin." Mary is, St. Pius X declares, "the principal mediatrix of all graces and the dispenser of all graces."

We now come to the prerogative of Mary as Universal Mediatrix of Grace.

The work of all other saints was limited on earth by a certain period of time, by a country, a station in life. The power of their intercession in heaven is therefore also limited, for heavenly existence corresponds to the earthly. Mary is the Mother of all the redeemed. Her concern and her prayers are for the welfare of all, for their growth and perfection in grace. She spoke her Yes (Fiat) at the Incarnation for all of us. She wept and suffered on Calvary for all of us. She prayed that the Holy Spirit come down for all of us. Pope Leo XIII therefore makes the conclusion: "Just as she was once associated in effecting the mystery of redemption, so she is also now associated in the dispensing of graces from this mystery for all times." In 1921 Pope Benedict XV, at the request of Cardinal Mercier, granted permission to the bishops of Belgium to observe a feast of Mary as 'Mediatrix of All Graces.' Pope Pius XI, in 1931, then extended this permission to all dioceses.

This title leaves several questions unanswered. In this matter we should like to be rather cautious than hasty, for the teaching authority of the Church has not determined the content of this title exactly or definitely. (Following is the footnote for this statement)

'The important question here is this: did God Himself build Mary's motherly solicitude so firmly into the order of the distribution of grace that He simply dispenses no grace whatever without her intercessory mediation, or is it merely a case of Mary's motherly love embracing all human beings with such loving solicitude that God grants every prayer of hers in our behalf?

The number of theologians is not small who regard Mary's universal mediation as necessary, so that all graces not only go actually through Mary's hands, but must do so. This opinion rests on theological-scientific speculation. "A real proof for the existence of this order (fixed by God Himself by which every grace is granted only as conjointly obtained by her) can be built up as follows: we must show that it forms an integral part of a special and actual order capable of proof, which, without it, would be incomplete, or interrupted in its natural development. Thus the non-existence of this order would be objectred to as a real anomaly." (M. Scheeben) Theologians who rely on Scripture rather than on speculation find little basis for this opinion. The necessity of a universal mediation of grace on the part of Mary cannot be proved from holy Scripture. Neither from Genesis (3:15) nor from John (19:26) can the doctrine of the necessity of a universal mediation of grace be deduced. Tradition, likewise, furnishes no proof, for Mary's mediatorship came into full light only in the Middle Ages. Furthermore, the teaching authority of the Church has made no authoritative decision.

The popes of our century (the past 100+ years or so), especially Leo XIII, St. Pius X, Benedict XV, and Pius XII favor Mary's universal mediation of graces in several allocutions and writings. Leo XIII: By her oneness of will and suffering with Christ Mary merited the honor to be the restorer of the world which was lost and hence also the dispenser of all the graces which Christ merited for us by His death and His blood." Again: One may say that from superabundant treasure of graces nothing is imparted to us, according to God's will, except through Mary, so that, just as no one can come to the Father except the the Son, so in a similar way no one can come to Christ except through Mary. St. Pius X: Mary is the dispenser of all graces which Christ has merited for us by His death." Pius XII: Mary it was who through her powerful prayers obtained the grace that the Spirit of our Divine Redeemer, already given to the Church on the cross, should be bestowed through miraculous gifts on the newly founded hierarchy on Pentecost.

These pronouncements of the popes are 'still far from a definition of an article of faith, yet a step in that direction.' One should note in the statement of Pope Leo XIII the restricting words: "One may say." Not: "One must say." Nor is it definitely established whether these statements mean only an actual or a necessary mediatorship of Mary.

In many circles there is great activity, spurred on by the dogmatization of Mary's Assumption, to have Mary's universal mediation of graces be declared a dogma. The dogma, however, shows that a particular doctrine must pass through a long process of clarification, limitation, and also reverses, before the final is made.'

The Marian Congress held in Rome in 1954 has been cautious in making the declaration: that the opinions of theologians regarding Mary as dispenser of graces--and still more regarding her title as Co-redeemer, have not yet been so firmly established that a uniform evaluation could be expressed; and that the problem should be approached in different ways and from different aspects.

It is certainly not the meaning of this title that we obtain grace only by imploring Mary's intercession. Such an interpretation is contrary to the practice of the Latin Church itself. Without mentioning Mary, the Church asks the intercession of other saints as well. A still more potent proof is this: in the official books of prayer, the Breviary and the Missal, the Church addresses her prayers, even on Marian feasts, directly to God, not even to Christ (with a few exceptions); she prays to the Father "through Jesus Christ our Lord." Mary as Mediatrix of all graces should not mean that her intercession is altogether and in general necessary to move Christ to make intercession for us, as if, of Himself, He were not willing to do so.

The meaning of this title is rather this: Mary receives all our poor prayers into her holy hands and imparts to them a fragrance, splendor, and power which they would never possess of themselves. With us, and for us, she kneels pleadingly at the throne of her Son and raises up to Him, as in a chalice, all our human misery, our sufferings, and needs. Could any ordinary son see his mother kneeling before him without answering her pleas? The Lord takes our prayers, which now have become also those of His Mother, from her hands and fills these motherly hands with the golden gifts of His grace, so that she might distribute them. "Whatever therefore is found in us of hope, of grace, of salvation, flows to us through Mary. This is the will of Him Who has decided that we should possess all things through Mary." (Pope Pius IX) "For because Mary was drawn by God Himself into the accomplishment of the work of salvation with the intention that she be congruously the Mediatrix on our behalf of those things which Christ merited condignly, she therefore is and remains the principal cooperator in the distribution of grace." (St. Pius X)

O Lord Jesus Christ, our Mediator with the Father, who hast appointed the most blessed Virgin, Thy Mother, our Mother also, and our Mediatrix before Thee: grant that whosoever draws nigh to Thee to beseech any good things, may rejoice to receive them all through her. Amen. (Oration for the feast of Mary, Mediatrix of All Graces, Roman Missal)


And, remember that she said at Fatima, Portugal, in 1917, "Only I can help you."

HILL NO!

For all of you 'severely backward' Catholics, listen up! Now that the so-called 'debates' for the presidency are done, I have some things for you to think about. I said the other day what 'Hill' said concerning Catholics. Now, a short synopsis of this evil 'B***h' is really about. John Vennari of 'The Catholic Family News' newspaper has done an expose for all to see concerning "Hill'. I hope he doesn't mind me writing what he says so to get the word out.


First of all; We can believe nothing H. C. says. This is because Hillary is a devoted disciple of the left-wing radical Saul Alinsky (just like B.O.) who taught as a foundational principle that the end justifies the means.

Hill'ary' was enamored with Alinsky while in high school and college, communicated with him, considered working with him, brought him in to speak at Wellesley, and wrote her undergraduate thesis on him. "Hill'ary' was magnetically drawn to Alinsky, and he, apparently to her. Alinsky seems to have seen in Hill'ary' a younger version of himself."
Dinesh D'Sousa, 'Hillary's America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party'

Alinsky even offered Hill'ary' a job but she declined in order to attend Yale Law school.

In 1971, Alinsky published what is to this day his most popular and influential book: Rules for Radicals, A Pragmatic Primary for Realistic Radicals.

The book opens with Alinsky's infamous epigraph to the devil. Here Alinsky writes:

Lest we forget at least an over-the-shoulder acknowledgement to the very first radical; from all our legends, mythology, and history...the first radical known to man who rebelled against the establishment and did it so effectively that he at least won his own kingdom---LUCIFER.

Alinsky lays out his foundational principles in the first chapter of the book. Alinsky claims:

1) There is no such thing as dogma, all truth is relative;

2) There is no such thing as a fixed rule of ethics, the end justifies the means;

3) Corruption in the leader is a kind of virtue.

...This alone indicates that we can believe nothing Hill'ary' C. says. As a disciple of Alinsky, she will hold there is no objective truth, the ends justify the means, and there is no fixed standard of ethics. She will be as ruthless and dishonest as the situation warrants. If she believe is necessary to lie, she will lie. If it is in her advantage to cheat, she will cheat. If she must crush someone who gets in the way, she will crush.



This is just a smattering of what Mr. Vennari says. If this doesn't slap you back to reality, I feel sorry for your soul when you croak. You will probably see 'Hill' throughout your eternity (unless somehow she wakes up and repents). This pathetic excuse for a person seems to be the best that the 'AMORAL' Democratic party has to offer. That is so sad. She definitely is NOT qualified to be the leader of the 'free' world. And, remember, for a Catholic to vote for someone who supports abortion, you have in fact excommunicated yourself from the fold of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolc Church, no matter what our fine spineless leaders want to have you believe. Think very carefully this year when casting your vote.

Get the Hill out of here!

St. John Cantius

ST. JOHN CANTIUS, Priest/Confessor
(1403-1473)

Saint John was born at Kenty in Poland in 1403. He studied philosophy and theology at the University of Cracow with great intelligence, industry, and success, while his modesty and virtue drew all hearts to him. After earning his degrees, he was appointed to the Chair of Theology at the university. He inflamed his hearers with the desire of every kind of piety, no less by his deeds than by his words. He was ordained a priest and was for a short time in charge of a parish, where he manifested great concern for the poor, at his own expense. At the University's request, he resumed the professor's Chair and taught there until his holy death.

He found a poor man on the snow one day, dying of hunger and cold; he clothed him in his own frock and took him to the rectory, to eat at his table. Afterwards, for many years, every professor of the College of Varsovie was obliged, once every year, to invite a poor man to dine with him.

He made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, preaching along the way to the Turks, and hoping for the grace of martyrdom. He went four times to Rome to visit the tombs of the Apostles and pay honor to the Holy See, desiring thereby to be spared the pains of purgatory by means of the indulgences there daily to be gained. He always traveled on foot, carrying his own effects. Robbed one day by bandits, he forgot he had a few gold pieces sewn into his cloak; he soon remembered and called them back to give them to his benefactors. They were so astonished they refused to accept the offering, and even returned to him what they had taken.

Saint John Cantius wrote on the walls of his residence some verses which showed the horror he had for the vice of backbiting or detraction, talking without cause of our neighbor's faults. He slept very little and often spent entire nights praying before a crucifix. After his classes he went to pray before the Blessed Sacrament in a church. Before his death, he gave absolutely everything he still had to the poor. He died in 1473, at the age of seventy-six years. The purple robe which he had worn as a Doctor was religiously conserved and always given to the venerable Head of the School of Philosophy on the day of his reception; and a promise was required of the teachers there, to imitate the virtues of this beloved Saint. He is a patron of both Poland and Lithuania; Pope Clement XIII canonized him in 1767.

Michael Miechowita, the medieval Polish historian and the saint's first biographer, described the saint's extreme humility and charity; he took as his motto:

Conturbare cave: non est placare suave,
Infamare cave; nam revocare grave.

(Beware disturbing: it's not sweetly pleasing,
Beware speaking ill: for taking back words is burdensome.)


The Importance of Religious Instruction

"What kind of work can be more noble than to cultivate the minds of young people, guarding it carefully, so that the knowledge and love of God and His holy precepts go hand-in-hand with learning? To form young Christians and citizens, isn't this the most beautiful and noble minded way to make use of life, of all one's talents and energy?"--<b>St. John Cantius


(I add St. John to these posts, simply because I have a story to tell. One very holy priest, Fr. James Downey, since deceased, was at this Church in Chicago by this name of St. John Cantius. He and all the priests there had asked the Bishops of Chicago, if they could start saying the Tridentine Rite of the Mass. All the Bishops said "NO!"So, because of this response, they started a month-long novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. At the end of the novena, once again asking for the right to do the Traditional Mass, all of the Bishops amazingly said "Yes". I do know that they have a rigorous schedule there, with the Traditional Mass said at least three times daily. Also, they have dozens of altar servers (I think they are ALL male). The Church is beautiful, and, they are trying to live up to the motto of St. John Cantius, as well as teaching the young the True Faith. Fr. Downey, and all the priests at that parish, because of their Faith and perseverence, are responsible for the Latin Masses in the United States. This, of course, is beside Marecel Levebre and the Society of St. Pius X. The 'red' Ecclesia Dei books in Church that we follow during Mass, are because of these priests. We should thank them for their work.)

Reflection:

He who orders all his doings according to the Will of God may often be spoken of by the world as simple, even stupid; but in the end he wins the esteem and confidence even of the world itself.

St. Peter of Alcantara

St. Peter of Alcantara, Confessor
(by Father Francis Xavier Weninger, 1876)


St. Peter was born in the year 1499, at Alcantara, in Spain. He became celebrated for his great piety, and the austerity of his life, and in order to distinguish him from other Saints of the same name, received the surname, "of Alcantara." Besides other signs of future holiness, Peter, when only seven years of age, evinced so great a love for prayer, that he sometimes forgot to eat and drink. During the time of his studies he kept his innocence unspotted in the midst of many dangers, by making prayer, the holy Sacraments, and penances, its guardians. When hardly sixteen years old, he secretly left his father's house and entered the Franciscan Order, in which he soon became a model of all virtues. After having finished his novitiate, he was charged with different functions, all of which he discharged most successfully. The office of preacher was the most agreeable to him. An incredible number of hardened sinners were converted by his sermons, in which he treated of penance and a reform of life. The fame of his virtues and holiness gave additional weight to every word he uttered. Especially admirable were the untiring zeal with which he practised all manner of bodily austerities, and his continual communion with God in prayer. His whole life was one of extraordinary and almost unexampled mortification. He guarded his eyes so closely, that he not only never looked on a woman's face, but knew his brethren only by their voices; and after a long sojourn in the monastery, could not tell whether the choir and the dormitory were vaulted or covered with boards.

The cell he chose for his dwelling was so narrow, that it was more like a tomb than the abode of a living human being, and so low, that he could not stand upright in it. He kept an almost continual fast, and hardly partook, every third day, of some undressed herbs, bread and water. It even happened that during eight days he took no food whatever. He scourged himself twice daily with iron chains. He wore, day and night, a penitential instrument made of tin, pierced like a grater. During forty years, he allowed himself only one hour and a half of sleep at night, and this, not lying down, but kneeling, or standing with his head leaning against a board. The remainder of the night he occupied in prayer and meditation. As long as he lived in the order, he went barefoot and bareheaded, even in the coldest season. His clothing consisted of his habit and a short cloak, made of rough sack-cloth. He seemed to have made a compact with his body never in this world to allow it any peace or comfort. His union with God in prayer had reached so high a degree, that he was often seen in ecstasy, or raised high in the air, and surrounded by a heavenly brightness. The power of his holy prayers was experienced not only by many hardened sinners, but also by many sick for whom he obtained health and strength. The inhabitants of the city of Albuquerque, ascribed to him their deliverance from the pestilence; for, as soon as St. Peter had called upon the divine mercy, the pestilence, which had most fearfully ravaged the city, disappeared.

The love of God, which filled the heart of the Saint, manifested itself in his intercourse and conversation with men, whom he endeavored to inflame with the same love. This appeared in all his actions, but especially at the time of Holy Mass, when he stood like a Seraph before the altar, his face burning, and tears streaming from his eyes. When meditating on the passion and death of our Saviour, he was frequently so deeply torched in his inmost heart, that for hours he was like one dead. His devotion to God would sometimes burn his heart so intensely, that to moderate his emotion, he would go into the fields to breathe more freely. Having reached his fortieth year, he was chosen provincial, but endeavored to refuse the dignity, and when compelled by obedience to accept it, he regarded it as an opportunity to do good to those under his charge. God admonished him to restore the primitive observance in the Order, according to the rule and spirit of St. Francis. Although he could not but foresee the many and great difficulties which he would encounter in this undertaking, still, trusting in God, he went courageously to work after having obtained the sanction of the Pope.

The Almighty visibly aided His faithful servant; for, in six years, the Saint had founded nine monasteries, in which the mortification and the perfect poverty which St. Francis especially cherished were observed in all the rigor of the first Rule. In the course of time, this renewed Order was disseminated through all Spain, to the great joy of the Saint. This and other labors which he performed to the honor and glory of God made him greatly esteemed by every one. St. Teresa, who lived at that period, asked his advice in her cares and doubts whenever she had occasion, and called him a Saint while he was yet upon earth. St. Francis Borgia entertained great friendship for him, and the praise of his great virtues resounded throughout all Spain. The Emperor Charles V. desired to make him his confessor, but the humble servant of the Almighty knew how to say so much of his incapacity for this office, that the emperor abandoned the idea, to the Saint's great joy. This became a new incentive for him to devote himself entirely to the service of God and the welfare of those under him.

He had reached his 63rd year, more by a miracle than in a natural way, when he was visited by Providence with a severe illness, which soon left no hope of his recovery, as his body was entirely wasted away by the severity of his life, his painful journeys and his uninterrupted labors. He himself was informed from on high of his approaching end and he received the last Sacraments with so deep a devotion, that the eyes of all present were filled with tears. After this he fell into a rapture, in which the Divine Mother and St. John, the Evangelist, appeared to him and assured him of his salvation. Hence, regaining consciousness, he cheerfully recited the words of the Psalmist: "I have rejoiced in those things which have been said to me; We shall go into the house of the Lord." Having said this, he calmly gave his soul into the keeping of his Creator, in the year of Our Lord 1562. St. Teresa, who has written much in his praise, says among other things: "He died as he had lived, a Saint; and I have, after his death, received many graces from God, through his intercession. I have often seen him in great glory, and when I saw him the first time, he said to me: 'O happy penance, which has obtained so great a glory for me!'" The Roman Breviary testifies that St. Teresa, though, at the time of his death, far from him, saw his soul gloriously ascend into heaven. The biographers of St. Peter, relate many and great miracles which he wrought while he was still living. In the Breviary, we read, among other things, the following. "He crossed rapid rivers with dry feet. In times of great poverty, he fed his brethren with food which he received from heaven. The staff which he placed in the ground, immediately became a budding fig-tree. Once, in the night-time, when he sought shelter from a snow-storm in a roofless house, the snow remained hanging in the air, above it, and thus formed a roof to protect him from being buried in the snow."




PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS


I. St. Peter fasted most austerely; once in three days he took some herbs, bread and water, and frequently tasted no food for eight days. How is your conduct in regard to this point? Are you, perhaps, one of those who consider fasting as something which is not conducive to our salvation, or which is suitable only to priests, religious in convents, or hermits in the desert? Do you consider the transgression of the law which commands you to fast as a mere trifle? If you are one of these, I assure you that you deceive yourself to your own great detriment. The Saints had quite another idea of fasting. St. Augustine writes: "While investigating this matter, I see that in the writings of the Evangelists and Apostles, and indeed in the whole work called the New Testament, fasting is ordained." Therefore, if fasting is commanded by God, it must be necessary to our salvation. Where do we read that it is commanded only to priests and hermits? St. Bernard teaches that fasting is necessary "to appease the angry God, to obtain pardon for our sins, to escape the pains of hell, to guard ourselves against vice, and to gain salvation." St. Chrysostom says: "If fasting was necessary in Paradise, how much more necessary must it be out of Paradise?" What have you to say against this? Were the Saints mistaken, or are you and a great number of people in our time mistaken? What path will you take in the future? I advise you to follow that which the Saints have walked; it is the most certain to lead you the right way. I do not ask you to fast as rigorously as St. Peter did; but it is your duty to fast on the days and in the manner prescribed by the Church of Christ.

II. "O happy penance, which has obtained so great a glory for me!" exclaimed St. Peter, after his death. Have you ever read of a man of the world, who, on his death-bed, or after his death, exclaimed rejoicingly: "O happy pleasures of the world! happy dances and dissipations, happy comforts, sensualities and vanities of the world, which I sought and enjoyed! How great a consolation, how much benefit and glory they are to me now! "Have you, I ask, ever read or heard of such a thing? I have not. But more than once have I read, heard or seen with my own eyes, the dying regret with bitter tears, their immoderate seeking after worldly pleasures, and wish that they had led an austere penitential life. What do you intend to do? St. Peter had made a compact with his body, never to allow it any peace or comfort in this world. May you at least make with your body the following compact:

1.Never to allow it to indulge in any unchaste amusements.

2. Not to be kept from serving God by any discomfort arising from heat, cold, &c.

3. Not to give more time to sleep than you need.

4. To keep, if possible, the prescribed fasts, although it may be a hard task to the flesh.

5. Lastly, to deprive yourself sometimes even of some innocent enjoyment, to punish yourself for having offended the Almighty by sinful pleasure. Make and keep this compact; and you will be able some day to say with St. Peter: "O happy penance! happy mortification which has obtained such glory for me!"




The Responsory of St. Peter de Alcantara


O Lord! Who Peter's holy life so paid,
That him our glorious advocate you made,
From him we beg, our humble prayers receive,
And to us health of soul and body give.

Lord, Who to blessed Teresa didst appear.
And promised in St. Peter's name to hear
Our Prayers: now we beseech thee for his sake.
Us into your divine protection take.

From him we beg, our humble prayers receive,
And to us health of soul and body give.
Praise to the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
From him we beg, our humble prayers receive,


V. Pray for us, blessed St. Peter.
R. That we may become worthy of the promises of Christ.


Let us pray:


O God, Who enrichedst thy holy confessor St. Peter, with the gifts of most wonderful penance, and most high contemplation, grant, we beseech thee, that by the suffrage of his holy merits, we being mortified in our carnal appetites, may become partakers of celestial joys, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

St. Luke, Evangelist

The writer of the third Gospel comes from yet another prospective. Matthew tells the Jews that God has become Man. Mark, who was like a scribe to St. Peter the first Pope, writes from Peter's authority and actions. Luke, meanwhile, writes from the viewpoint of the Blessed Virgin, whom I'm sure he eventually had met, since he did the first painting of her. Then along came John, whose writing clearly shows that he was on a different plane because of the things he had seen and experienced. So now we know that Jesus was God, His first Pope follows with his thoughts, followed by the Virgins' thoughts, followed by what we need to do spiritually in our lives. Just in the order it should be.






SAINT LUKE
Evangelist († First Century)

Saint Luke, a physician at Antioch and a painter, was also an excellent rhetorician in Greek, his native language. He became a disciple of Saint Paul, the Apostle's fellow-worker and his faithful friend during his two imprisonments, and is best known to us as the historian of the New Testament acts of both Christ and the Apostles. Though not an eye-witness of Our Lord's life, the meticulous Evangelist diligently gathered information from those who had followed or listened to Jesus of Nazareth, and wrote, as he tells us, all things in order. His command of Greek is much admired. St. Clement of Alexandria, St. Jerome and St. Thomas Aquinas state that it is he who translated Saint Paul's famous Epistle to the Hebrews, written in the language of the Jerusalem Christians, into the admirable Greek which we presently possess as the only ancient version. No matter what protestants tell you, the majority of the New Testament was originally written in Greek. Just look where the cities that St. Paul wrote to. They are in Greece! Why would he write to them in Hebrew?!

The Acts of the Apostles were written by the Evangelist as a sequel to his Gospel, bringing the history of the Church down to the first imprisonment of Saint Paul in Rome, in the year 64. The humble historian never names himself, but by his occasional use of "we" instead of "he" or "they", we are able to detect his presence in the scenes of Saint Paul's life which he describes. We thus find that he sailed with Paul and Silas from Troas to Macedonia, where he remained behind, apparently, for seven years at Philippi. Finally, after remaining near Saint Paul during the time he was imprisoned in Palestine, he accompanied him, still a prisoner, when he was transported to Rome. Thus he shared the shipwreck and perils of that memorable voyage, narrated in Chapter 27 of Acts - which book no Christian should fail to read, along with the four Gospels. He then narrates the two years of Saint Paul's first imprisonment, ending in his liberation.

There his narrative ends, but from Saint Paul's Epistles we learn that Saint Luke was his faithful companion to the last. His paintings of Our Lady are still conserved with care in a number of places in Europe. Saint Luke certainly learned from the Mother of Christ Herself, the story of the Annunciation, the Visitation, and the Angelic mission to the shepherds of Bethlehem. After the martyrdom of the Apostle to the Gentiles, St. Epiphanus says that Saint Luke preached in Italy, Gaul, Dalmatia and Macedonia. Others say he went to Egypt and preached in the Thebaid, the region of the Fathers of the desert. St. Hippolyte says he was crucified in Greece. His mortal remains were transferred to the Church of the Apostles, built by Constantine the Great at Constantinople, with those of Saint Andrew and Saint Timothy. Some of his relics remain in the Greek monastery of Mount Athos.

Luke, the writer of the Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles, has been identified with St. Paul's "Luke, the beloved physician" (Colossians 4:14). We know few other facts about Luke's life from Scripture and from early Church historians. (There are even some who think that, since Luke was so close to Paul, and learned so much from him, that his Gospel could kind of be the Gospel of Paul. Kind of makes sense, but I will leave the Gospel to St. Luke, like a good boy.)

It is believed that Luke was born a Greek and a Gentile. In Colossians 10-14 speaks of those friends who are with him. He first mentions all those "of the circumcision" -- in other words, Jews -- and he does not include Luke in this group. Luke's gospel shows special sensitivity to evangelizing Gentiles. It is only in his gospel that we hear the parable of the Good Samaritan, that we hear Jesus praising the faith of Gentiles such as the widow of Zarephath and Naaman the Syrian (Lk.4:25-27), and that we hear the story of the one grateful leper who is a Samaritan (Lk.17:11-19). According to the early Church historian Eusebius Luke was born at Antioch in Syria.

In our day, it would be easy to assume that someone who was a doctor was rich, but scholars have argued that Luke might have been born a slave. It was not uncommon for families to educate slaves in medicine so that they would have a resident family physician. Not only do we have Paul's word, but St. Eusebius, St. Jerome, Sts. Irenaeus and Caius, a second-century writer, all refer to Luke as a physician.

We have to go to Acts to follow the trail of Luke's Christian ministry. We know nothing about his conversion but looking at the language of Acts we can see where he joined Saint Paul. The story of the Acts is written in the third person, as an historian recording facts, up until the sixteenth chapter. In Acts 16:8-9 we hear of Paul's company "So, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas. During the night Paul had a vision: there stood a man of Macedonia pleading with him and saying, 'Come over to Macedonia and help us.' " Then suddenly in 16:10 "they" becomes "we": "When he had seen the vision, we immediately tried to cross over to Macedonia, being convinced that God had called us to proclaim the good news to them."

So Luke first joined Paul's company at Troas at about the year 51 and accompanied him into Macedonia where they traveled first to Samothrace, Neapolis, and finally Philippi. Luke then switches back to the third person which seems to indicate he was not thrown into prison with Paul and that when Paul left Philippi Luke stayed behind to encourage the Church there. Seven years passed before Paul returned to the area on his third missionary journey. In Acts 20:5, the switch to "we" tells us that Luke has left Philippi to rejoin Paul in Troas in 58 where they first met up. They traveled together through Miletus, Tyre, Caesarea, to Jerusalem.

Luke is the loyal comrade who stays with Paul when he is imprisoned in Rome about the year 61: "Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends greetings to you, and so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers" (Philemon 24). And after everyone else deserts Paul in his final imprisonment and sufferings, it is Luke who remains with Paul to the end: "Only Luke is with me" (2 Timothy 4:11).

Luke's inspiration and information for his Gospel and Acts came from his close association with Paul and his companions as he explains in his introduction to the Gospel: "Since many have undertaken to set down an orderly account of the events that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed on to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, I too decided, after investigating everything carefully from the very first, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus" (Luke 1:1-3).

Luke's unique perspective on Jesus can be seen in the six miracles and eighteen parables not found in the other gospels. Luke's is the gospel of the poor and of social justice. He is the one who tells the story of Lazarus and the Rich Man who ignored him. Luke is the one who uses "Blessed are the poor" instead of "Blessed are the poor in spirit" in the beatitudes. Only in Luke's gospel do we hear Mary 's Magnificat where she proclaims that God "has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty" (Luke 1:52-53).

Luke also has a special connection with the women in Jesus' life, especially Mary. I personally think that Luke met the Blessed Virgin, and she told him of all that happened. It is only in Luke's gospel that we hear the story of the Annunciation, Mary's visit to Elizabeth including the Magnificat, the Presentation, and the story of Jesus' disappearance in Jerusalem. It is Luke that we have to thank for the Scriptural parts of the Hail Mary: "Hail, full of grace" spoken at the Annunciation and "Blessed are you and blessed is the fruit of your womb Jesus" spoken by her cousin Elizabeth.

Forgiveness and God's mercy to sinners is also of first importance to Luke. Only in Luke do we hear the story of the Prodigal Son welcomed back by the overjoyed father. Only in Luke do we hear the story of the forgiven woman disrupting the feast by washing Jesus' feet with her tears. Throughout Luke's gospel, Jesus takes the side of the sinner who wants to return to God's mercy.

Reading Luke's gospel gives a good idea of his character as one who loved the poor, who wanted the door to God's kingdom opened to all, who respected women, and who saw hope in God's mercy for everyone.

The reports of Luke's life after Paul's death are conflicting. Some early writers claim he was martyred, others say he lived a long life. Some say he preached in Greece, others in Gaul. The earliest tradition we have says that he died at 84 Boeotia after settling in Greece to write his Gospel.

A tradition that Luke was a painter seems to have no basis in fact. Several images of Mary appeared in later centuries claiming him as a painter but these claims were proved false. Because of this tradition, however, he is considered a patron of painters of pictures and is often portrayed as painting pictures of Mary.

The most famous painting attributed to Luke is the 'Black Madonna'.

Another famed painting by Luke is the Madonna Nikopeia (left) in Venice’s Basilica di San Marco. With Venice gradually sinking below sea level, the piazza is frequently flooded with sea water; and pilgrims stay dry as they approach the basilica by walking along an elevated wooden platform.

Anyway, according to legend, Luke painted this portrait of Mary from life, with her actually posing—perhaps telling stories about Jesus as she sat quietly. One version of the legend says that Luke created this particular painting on a wooden tabletop which had been constructed by Joseph and Jesus. Mary infused the painting with her blessings and grace, turning it into a miracle-working icon that would transmit her power and love through the centuries.

LISTEN UP CATHOLIC VOTERS!

Anyone who doesn't keep up with what is being said and done during this campaign season doesn't deserve the privilege to be able to vote, if you ask me. Hillary Clinton and her idiot minions believe that Catholics are 'backwards' in their thinking. She believes we should ALL be under one religion, as long as it NOT Catholic. What do you expect from someone who doesn't have any morals whatsoever. Of course, she will say that she personally picked a catholic to be her running mate, so we won't think she is anti-Catholic. Of course, Mr. Kaine, a nominal catholic at best, is in store for his own problems, which will, most likely, not happen until he croaks. People of his diocese have begged the Bishop to ban Mr. Kaine from receiving Holy Communion because of his position on abortion, to, if it is possible, save his immortal soul. No response yet from the Bishop. However, Mr. Kaine has stated that he knows Catholic doctrine concerning abortion, and has said that he rejects it. Probable rejects other tenets also. Pass this on to those who call themselves Catholic. Hopefully, they are NOT lukewarm, because, if they are, God will spit them out of His kingdom, without the possibility of attaining it.