Our Heavenly Father knows how hard it is for
us to love somebody we cannot get our arms around. We are supremely
happy because our God did become a little bundle of 7 or 8 pounds, so we
could get our arms around His Divine Son, to hold Him tight and love
Him right.
God is Love! Jesus is Love wrapped in flesh for keeps,
forever, for all eternity...to teach us how to love. He came with the
irresistible charm of a snuggling infant. His argument still challenges:
I loved you first, love me back! He would do anything to get our love,
to steal our hearts, even to sneak out of heaven to do so. The only
thing this Baby-God would have done more to show His love happened 33
years later: those limbs now fully grown, pinned back to the wood of the
cross. You see: He came into this world not to live (He already had
life from all eternity) but to die -- for each one of us. He is Jesus,
our Saviour.
For us who really believe this Christmas message,
every other story about Him is almost easy to believe. Just think what
Christmas means: God to become man, Heaven to come down to earth,
eternity to invade time, God to take on the human condition (a human
soul and a human body) and to keep it even after returning to heaven at
His Ascension, in a glorified yet human state. (Read more.)
...There have questions about whether Mary’s delivery of Christ was: A) painless, and B) left her physical virginity intact. Some have felt that it somehow undermines the humanity of Christ to
assert these Catholic beliefs. We must recall that Christ walked on
water, was transfigured on Mount Tabor, exited the sepulcher before it
was opened, and walked through locked doors. None of these facts
undermine the humanity of Christ. Consequently, to believe that Christ
exited the womb of the Blessed Mother in a mysterious way is neither
credulous or impious. Rather, it is the conviction of the holiest and
brightest saints of the Catholic Church. For anyone who would deny the
painless and intact nativity of Christ, let us challenge you to produce a
citation from any saint or pope who teaches otherwise – that is a text
that affirms that the nativity of the Christ Child caused pain to Mary
and broke her physical virginity.
After a little research I discovered that of the 33 Doctors of the
Church, none deny the painless and intact nativity of Christ. Moreover,
at least 20 of the Doctors of the Church explicitly affirm that the
birth of Christ was painless and miraculously left Mary’s physical
virginity intact. Again, it all goes back to Isaiah 66:7: “before her
pain came, she was delivered of a man child.” This prophecy refers to
Christ plain and simple.
I have assembled the most important texts from the Sacred Scriptures, Fathers, Doctors, Councils, and Popes below. (Read more.)
Here is the Agnus Dei of the English Jesuit and martyr St. Edmund Campion, whose feast is today. To quote:
....The Agnus Dei [was] carried by St. Edmund Campion on his clandestine missions, and a gift of Pope Gregory VIII. Campion was found hiding in Lynford Grange, Berkshire on July 17, 1581, and was hanged, drawn, and quartered five months later. The Agnus Dei was found wrapped in a list of indulgences stuffed in the rafters of Lynford Grange when the roof underwent renovation in 1959.
Fr. Nicholas Schofield has blogged of Stonyhurst's collection here.
It is no surprise that in [St. John Damascene's] other masterpiece, On the Orthodox Faith
, this eighth-century apologist gives us a beautiful defense of saints’
relics based on the fact that “through their minds God has also dwelt
in their bodies.”
What’s the common thread uniting icons and relics? It is that God has sanctified stuff
— matter, as we call it — and has chosen to give us divine assistance
through its use. In his defense of relics, St. John goes on to cite the
same passage from First Corinthians that the fathers of the Council of
Trent did, in this excerpt from the Council’s 25th session:
“the holy bodies of holy martyrs and of others now living with Christ —
which bodies were the living members of Christ and ‘the temple of the
Holy Ghost’ (I Cor., vi, 19), and which are by Him to be raised to
eternal life and to be glorified, are to be venerated by the faithful85”
Like St. John, who points out miracles worked through the relics of
the saints, the Council goes on to state a reason why the relics are to
be honored: “for through these [bodies] many benefits are bestowed by
God on men85” The fact that relics were used by God to bestow benefits
on men is clearly to be seen in the inspired history of the Bible.
In the Fourth Book of Kings (or Second Kings, in Protestant Bibles),
the story is told of Elias (Elijah) the Prophet being taken up to heaven
in a fiery chariot. Eliseus (Elisha) the Prophet, who inherited his
spiritual father’s “double spirit” — the legal prerogatives of firstborn
son — took up the mantle of Elias which had fallen in the violence of
the whirlwind. “And he took up the mantle of Elias, that fell from him:
and going back, he stood on the bank of the Jordan; and he struck the
waters with the mantle of Elias, that had fallen from him, and they were
not divided. And he said: Where is now the God of Elias? And he struck
the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, and Eliseus passed
over” (4 Kings 2:13-14 / KJV: 2 Kings 2:13-14 ).
Elias had, previous to his being taken up, worked the same miracle
using his mantle (2:8). This is how the two prophets ended up on the
side of the Jordan they were on when the fiery chariot came. After
Elias’ prodigious departure, the relic of his mantle became Eliseus’
“passport” to get back to the other side. Here is a concrete instance of
God bestowing a benefit on men through a relic.
The next Old Testament relic apologetic also involves Eliseus. Here,
the relic is not a garment, but the prophet’s dead body: “And Eliseus
died, and they buried him. And the rovers from Moab came into the land
the same year. And some that were burying a man, saw the rovers, and
cast the body into the sepulchre of Eliseus. And when it had touched the
bones of Eliseus, the man came to life and stood upon his feet” (4 [KJV:2] Kings 13:20-21).
There is no denying that the inspired history relates a
cause-and-effect relationship between the dead man’s body touching the
corpse of Eliseus, and that man’s resurrection.
Before proceeding to the New Testament, we cite one more B.C. proof:
God chose to work many and great miracles through the Ark of the
Covenant. What did the Ark contain? Relics. In it were found the tablets
of the Law, the Rod of Aaron, and a jar of manna from the Israelites’
wandering in the desert. (Read more.)
The ceiling frescoes show the
creation of the heavens and the earth, the creation of Adam and Eve,
their expulsion from the Garden of Eden, the great flood, and the
rebirth of humankind through Noah. Lev cited St. John Paul II’s
description of Michelangelo’s work in his poem “Meditations on the Book
of Genesis at the Threshold of the Sistine Chapel.”
“It is the book of the origins —
Genesis,” the pope said. “Here, in this chapel, Michelangelo penned it,
not with words, but with the richness of piled-up colors. We enter in
order to read it again, going from wonder to wonder.”
Lev reflected on the first three
panels depicting the creation of the world. These show “the mighty
dynamic figure of God the Father at work.”
“It’s not what God creates, it’s
that God creates,” she said. Michelangelo broke ground in portraying God
as “physically engaged in creation.” For Lev, this offers “a preview of
the Incarnation.”
Turning to Michelangelo’s famous
depiction of the Creation of Adam, Lev noted that the artist depicts
“just God and the creature formed in his likeness.” Adam is shown as
“somewhat listless” in contrast with God’s energy. Adam is “sentient and
awake but he has no will or strength or purpose to rise,” she said. “He
looks completely passive and dependent despite that incredibly
beautiful form.”
“It’s God who reaches towards
man,” she continued. For Lev, the outstretched finger of God makes the
viewer “almost lean forward in his seat waiting for that final Act of
Creation, the divine spark, the Breath of Life that will release that
latent energy and allow Adam to take his place as the greatest of
creations.”
“This is the joy in humanity that permeates the Renaissance,” Lev said. (Read more.)
St. Raphael of St. Joseph was a Polish Carmelite saint greatly venerated by St. John Paul. His feast is November 19. From Aleteia:
Born Joseph Kalinowski to a noble
Polish family in 1835, the future saint lost his mother when he was just
a baby, then his stepmother when he was 10. His father’s third wife
became a great influence in his life, encouraging him spiritually as
well as in his remarkable academic career. He graduated from the
boarding school his father taught at, then headed to the
improbably-named Hory Horki for university. Equally good, it seems, at a
variety of sciences, he chose to study zoology, chemistry, agriculture,
and apiculture (beekeeping).
But Kalinowski’s love of creation
didn’t extend to a love of the Creator; gradually he drifted further and
further from the faith of his youth. For him, knowledge and worldly
success were enough. He had no particular need, he felt, of the things
of God. Despite his aptitude, Kalinowski’s
options were limited because of his ethnicity; Poles at the time were
only permitted to pursue graduate studies if they were members of the
Russian army. So Kalinowski enlisted in the Imperial Russian Army and
began to study engineering. He spent some time as a math professor
before beginning his work designing the railroad that would connect
Kursk to Odessa.
It was during this time that the call
of the Lord began to penetrate Kalinowski’s heart. As he worked on the
railroad, he had many hours to spend in solitude. There, in the silence,
God began to draw the young engineer back. He began to realize the need
for an interior life, but still he remained far from the sacraments,
seeing God more as an idea than as a lover.
Meanwhile Kalinowski was rising
through the ranks, but his heart wasn’t with the Russian cause. He
sympathized with the plight of his oppressed Polish brethren and when he
was 27 he made the difficult decision to become a traitor—or, rather, a
patriot.
After
he defected to the Polish rebels during the 1863 January Uprising,
Kalinowski’s brilliant mind was put to good use as minister of war. But
while he had left behind the Russians, he still hadn’t left behind his
sin. For 10 years, Kalinowski had been away from the sacraments;
finally, his younger sister and his stepmother told him they would only
get a particular gift for a friend of his if he would go to confession.
Though not at all eager, Kalinowski went; in that moment, he experienced
profound grace, mercy, and fullness of conversion. “After 10 years of
apostasy,” he said, “I have returned to the bosom of the Church.” (Read more.)
Lord God, You made Your Priest St. Raphael strong in adversity and
filled Him with a great love in promoting Church unity. Through his
prayers make us strong in faith and in love for one another, that we too
may generously work together for the unity of all believers in Christ.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who lives and
reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Of course, we know that St. John Paul was a Carmelite tertiary. From Dominicana:
Metaphysical realism elevated by faith enables the Christian to attain a wisdom that pierces through our complicated experience of sin and suffering in order to behold the saving power of God at work in all things. It was this realist Christian wisdom—even more than his great personal charisma and apostolic zeal—that so equipped John Paul both to warmly proclaim from the pulpit, “Do not be afraid! Open wide the doors to Christ,” and then to charitably specify in his magisterium what this opening-wide to Christ entails on the most contested moral questions of our age.
Pope Saint John Paul II was not a Dominican. But his enduring conviction that metaphysical realism is essential to the preaching of the Gospel places him squarely within the intellectual and spiritual tradition of the Dominican Order. Once asked about the most important word in the New Testament, John Paul immediately replied: “Truth.”
Only truth, in the end, is pastoral. Only truth saves. (Read more.)
Art must make perceptible, and as far as possible attractive, the world of the spirit, of the invisible, of God. It must therefore translate into meaningful terms that which is in itself ineffable. Art has a unique capacity to take one or other facet of the message and translate it into colours, shapes and sounds which nourish the intuition of those who look or listen. It does so without emptying the message itself of its transcendent value and its aura of mystery.
The Church has need especially of those who can do this on the literary and figurative level, using the endless possibilities of images and their symbolic force. Christ himself made extensive use of images in his preaching, fully in keeping with his willingness to become, in the Incarnation, the icon of the unseen God.
The Church also needs musicians. How many sacred works have been composed through the centuries by people deeply imbued with the sense of the mystery! The faith of countless believers has been nourished by melodies flowing from the hearts of other believers, either introduced into the liturgy or used as an aid to dignified worship. In song, faith is experienced as vibrant joy, love, and confident expectation of the saving intervention of God.
The Church needs architects, because she needs spaces to bring the Christian people together and celebrate the mysteries of salvation. After the terrible destruction of the last World War and the growth of great cities, a new generation of architects showed themselves adept at responding to the exigencies of Christian worship, confirming that the religious theme can still inspire architectural design in our own day. Not infrequently these architects have constructed churches which are both places of prayer and true works of art. (Read more.)
Unfortunately, the present time is marked, not only by negative elements in the social and economic sphere, but also by a weakening of hope, by a certain lack of confidence in human relationships, which gives rise to increasing signs of resignation, aggression and despair. The world in which we live runs the risk of being altered beyond recognition because of unwise human actions which, instead of cultivating its beauty, unscrupulously exploit its resources for the advantage of a few and not infrequently disfigure the marvels of nature. What is capable of restoring enthusiasm and confidence, what can encourage the human spirit to rediscover its path, to raise its eyes to the horizon, to dream of a life worthy of its vocation -- if not beauty? Dear friends, as artists you know well that the experience of beauty, beauty that is authentic, not merely transient or artificial, is by no means a supplementary or secondary factor in our search for meaning and happiness; the experience of beauty does not remove us from reality, on the contrary, it leads to a direct encounter with the daily reality of our lives, liberating it from darkness, transfiguring it, making it radiant and beautiful.
Indeed, an essential function of genuine beauty, as emphasized by Plato, is that it gives man a healthy "shock", it draws him out of himself, wrenches him away from resignation and from being content with the humdrum -- it even makes him suffer, piercing him like a dart, but in so doing it "reawakens" him, opening afresh the eyes of his heart and mind, giving him wings, carrying him aloft. Dostoevsky's words that I am about to quote are bold and paradoxical, but they invite reflection. He says this: "Man can live without science, he can live without bread, but without beauty he could no longer live, because there would no longer be anything to do to the world. The whole secret is here, the whole of history is here." The painter Georges Braque echoes this sentiment: "Art is meant to disturb, science reassures." Beauty pulls us up short, but in so doing it reminds us of our final destiny, it sets us back on our path, fills us with new hope, gives us the courage to live to the full the unique gift of life. The quest for beauty that I am describing here is clearly not about escaping into the irrational or into mere aestheticism.
Too often, though, the beauty that is thrust upon us is illusory and deceitful, superficial and blinding, leaving the onlooker dazed; instead of bringing him out of himself and opening him up to horizons of true freedom as it draws him aloft, it imprisons him within himself and further enslaves him, depriving him of hope and joy. It is a seductive but hypocritical beauty that rekindles desire, the will to power, to possess, and to dominate others, it is a beauty which soon turns into its opposite, taking on the guise of indecency, transgression or gratuitous provocation. Authentic beauty, however, unlocks the yearning of the human heart, the profound desire to know, to love, to go towards the Other, to reach for the Beyond. If we acknowledge that beauty touches us intimately, that it wounds us, that it opens our eyes, then we rediscover the joy of seeing, of being able to grasp the profound meaning of our existence, the Mystery of which we are part; from this Mystery we can draw fullness, happiness, the passion to engage with it every day. In this regard, Pope John Paul II, in his Letter to Artists, quotes the following verse from a Polish poet, Cyprian Norwid: "Beauty is to enthuse us for work, and work is to raise us up" (no. 3). And later he adds: "In so far as it seeks the beautiful, fruit of an imagination which rises above the everyday, art is by its nature a kind of appeal to the mystery. Even when they explore the darkest depths of the soul or the most unsettling aspects of evil, the artist gives voice in a way to the universal desire for redemption" (no. 10). And in conclusion he states: "Beauty is a key to the mystery and a call to transcendence" (no. 16).
These ideas impel us to take a further step in our reflection. Beauty, whether that of the natural universe or that expressed in art, precisely because it opens up and broadens the horizons of human awareness, pointing us beyond ourselves, bringing us face to face with the abyss of Infinity, can become a path towards the transcendent, towards the ultimate Mystery, towards God. Art, in all its forms, at the point where it encounters the great questions of our existence, the fundamental themes that give life its meaning, can take on a religious quality, thereby turning into a path of profound inner reflection and spirituality. This close proximity, this harmony between the journey of faith and the artist's path is attested by countless artworks that are based upon the personalities, the stories, the symbols of that immense deposit of "figures" -- in the broad sense -- namely the Bible, the Sacred Scriptures. The great biblical narratives, themes, images and parables have inspired innumerable masterpieces in every sector of the arts, just as they have spoken to the hearts of believers in every generation through the works of craftsmanship and folk art, that are no less eloquent and evocative.
In this regard, one may speak of a via pulchritudinis, a path of beauty which is at the same time an artistic and aesthetic journey, a journey of faith, of theological enquiry. The theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar begins his great work entitled The Glory of the Lord -- a Theological Aesthetics with these telling observations: "Beauty is the word with which we shall begin. Beauty is the last word that the thinking intellect dares to speak, because it simply forms a halo, an untouchable crown around the double constellation of the true and the good and their inseparable relation to one another." He then adds: "Beauty is the disinterested one, without which the ancient world refused to understand itself, a word which both imperceptibly and yet unmistakably has bid farewell to our new world, a world of interests, leaving it to its own avarice and sadness. It is no longer loved or fostered even by religion." And he concludes: "We can be sure that whoever sneers at her name as if she were the ornament of a bourgeois past -- whether he admits it or not -- can no longer pray and soon will no longer be able to love." The way of beauty leads us, then, to grasp the Whole in the fragment, the Infinite in the finite, God in the history of humanity. Simone Weil wrote in this regard: "In all that awakens within us the pure and authentic sentiment of beauty, there, truly, is the presence of God. There is a kind of incarnation of God in the world, of which beauty is the sign. Beauty is the experimental proof that incarnation is possible. For this reason all art of the first order is, by its nature, religious." Hermann Hesse makes the point even more graphically: "Art means: revealing God in everything that exists." Echoing the words of Pope Paul VI, the Servant of God Pope John Paul II restated the Church's desire to renew dialogue and cooperation with artists: "In order to communicate the message entrusted to her by Christ, the Church needs art" (no. 12); but he immediately went on to ask: "Does art need the Church?" -- thereby inviting artists to rediscover a source of fresh and well-founded inspiration in religious experience, in Christian revelation and in the "great codex" that is the Bible. (Read more.)
"Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole
world seems upset.” St. Francis de Sales’ words encompass the core of
the spiritual life because they urge us to always remain not only in a
state of grace, but also to constantly keep our hearts patiently
awaiting God’s word. We must maintain inner peace if we want to advance
in the love of God.
This peace does not arise from participating
in the so-called “meditation,” which is quite popular in today’s
society. These and other practices search for peace from the self or
from the world. But that true inner peace which the world cannot give
comes from God alone (cf. Jn 14:27). With this peace we do not permit
evil thoughts to assail us. We are like soldiers ready to hear the
Lord’s command and do it.
We lose this inner peace if we commit
mortal sin; we must go contritely to confession before regaining it.
However, we can lose this peace while remaining in a state of grace when
we ruminate on our sins, particularly when attempting to discern
whether or not we consented mortally to some sin. But if we try to
examine our conscience when its waters are muddied, we will never gain
clarity. Rather, in these moments, we ought to simply stop thinking
about sin, divert our attention away from ourselves, and turn to God.
Our Lord commanded us to do exactly this through Servant of God Dolindo
Ruotolo, when He revealed the Surrender Novena to him. If we confidently
turn our attention away from sin and ourselves and toward God, the
devil has no way of infiltrating our reasoning and emotions. By
maintaining an inner docility to the Holy Spirit, we allow Him to guide
us to do His will.
In the case of those battling with
scrupulosity, or those who otherwise lack sincere trust in God,
acquiring and maintaining this inner peace can be far more difficult. If
we examine our consciences when we think we have at least some clarity
and we think we have committed no mortal sin, then we can trust that we
have not committed any. These temptations, though, as well as
temptations to despair, can keep afflicting us day after day. But this
should not trouble us in the least. In fact, the Lord enables those whom
He wants to bring to deeper communion with Him to experience these
trials, so that they will attach themselves to Him alone. “The Lord
scourges those who draw near to him, in order to admonish them” (Jdt
8:27).
For all of us, then, but especially for the scrupulous, we
lose our inner peace when we are attached to something other than God.
In some cases, these attachments are easily identifiable: food, sexual
pleasure, money, praise. But in other instances, they can be subtler.
For example, the scrupulous person may be obsessed with having clarity
about his soul’s state so that he can feel spiritually confident.
However, even this desire is an attachment to something other than God,
and therefore can cause us to lose inner peace. Maintaining true peace,
then, goes hand in hand with detaching ourselves from everyone and
everything earthly, to the point that we do not rely on anyone but the
Lord.
In moments of severe temptation, no matter how frequent or
for how long they occur, we often try to give ourselves peace of mind
and heart – something we cannot do. For this inner peace which we seek
“surpasses all understanding,” and thus is solely God-given (Phil 4:6).
Hence we should not strive to attain it by ourselves, especially in
moments of temptation, when our emotions and even our reason may be
compromised. Rather, we should resist these temptations the best we can,
surrender our struggles to the Lord and Our Lady, Queen of Peace, and
then move on. If the devil cannot induce us to sin directly, he will try
to get us to fall by anxiety over having some temptation, then by
having anxiety over having had anxiety about the temptation, and so on.
We cannot break this vicious cycle on our own. That requires a genuine
surrender of our will to God’s, and a wholehearted trust in His mercy. (Read more.)
O Mary, my Mother and my Lady, I offer you my soul, my body, my life and my death and all that will come after it. I place everything in your hands, O my Mother, cover my soul with your virginal mantle and grant me the grace of purity of heart, soul and body. Defend me with your power against all enemies and especially against those who hide their malice behind the mask of virtue. Fortify my soul that pain may not break it. Mother of grace, teach me to live by God’s power. O Mary, a terrible sword has pierced your holy soul. Except for God, no one knows of your suffering. Your soul does not break, it is brave, because it is with Jesus. Sweet Mother, unite my soul to Jesus, because it is only then that I will be able to endure all trials and tribulations and only in union with Jesus will my little sacrifices be pleasing to God. Sweetest Mother, continue to teach me about the interior life. May the sword of suffering never break me. O pure Virgin, pour courage into my heart and guard it. Amen.
St. Bonaventure's contention that the "time of great peace" which takes
place at the start of the seventh age would be marked with the shout of
the seven thunders is noteworthy in the fact that the sound produced by
the angel here is described as being like a "roaring lion". In the
earlier post The Third Secret of Fatima and the Angel with the Flaming Sword,
we have already discussed how the prophecy of the angel of the seven
thunders can be connected to the terrible events of 9/11. We shall
discuss this in some more detail shortly below. The link between the
shout of the angel of the seven thunders and the attacks on the World
Trade Centre recalls some remarkable private revelations given to
Venezuelan mystic Maria Esperanza (1928-2004), who was proclaimed a
Servant of God by Bishop Paul Bootkoski in 2010. (Read more.)
In her painting of Our Lady of Walsingham (detail pictured above), the Virgin Mary is depicted dressed in Anglo-Saxon attire and holding up the Child Jesus. The image includes the coat of arms of St Edward the Confessor, a patron saint of England, and it depicts Lady Richeldis, who built a replica of the “holy house” of Nazareth following an apparition. The image also shows a frog in the place of the serpent, following a traditional Old English telling of Genesis in art.
The icon measures 75cm by 40.5cm (30in by 16in) and is made in a traditional way. It is painted with egg tempera on gesso mounted on a birch panel, before varnish was added for protection. The value of iconography over other art forms, according to Mrs de Pulford, is the clarity of the message the painter seeks to convey.
“Symbolism occurs in many art forms, and iconography is no exception,” she says. “But you don’t have to be able to unpick the symbolism to understand the painting because the imagery is so clear. It’s clear what is going on, it’s clear who the people are, and if you contemplate for long enough the meaning will become clear.”
She adds: “What I hope is that for those who see it the icon will inspire a renewed sense of the overwhelming generous love which inspired God to give Himself to the world, and Our Lady to reciprocate that love with her willing cooperation.”
Richard II’s dedication of England was carried out amid great political turmoil, with the intention that the country and her people would be set aside for the guidance and protection of Our Lady. The dedication coincided with the growth of the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham into one of the four great pilgrimage destinations of medieval Europe.
The shrine was destroyed during the Reformation and the original statute is believed to have been burned at Chelsea by Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII’s henchman. But it was re-established in the 19th century and the English bishops decided in 2017 that a re-dedication was desirable.
The National Day of Dedication involves Catholics making a personal “Angelus promise” to God in union with the “yes” of Mary at the Annunciation. Communal acts of entrustment will be made in cathedrals at noon, renewing the vows of dedication made by Richard II. Schools are invited to join the re-dedication on Monday, March 30. (Read more.)
Here is the novena to our Angel Guardians in preparation for their feast on October 2:
O holy angels, whom God, by the effect of His goodness and His tender regard for my welfare, has charged with the care of my conduct, and who assists me in all my wants and comforts me in all my afflictions, who supports me when I am discouraged and continually obtains for me new favors, I return thee profound thanks, and I earnestly beseech thee, O most amiable protector, to continue thy charitable care and defense of me against the malignant attacks of all my enemies. Keep me away from all occasions of sin. Obtain for me the grace of listening attentively to thy holy inspirations and of faithfully putting them into practice. In particular, I implore thee to obtain for me the favor which I ask for by this novena. [Here mention your need(s).] Protect me in all the temptations and trials of this life, but more especially at the hour of my death, and do not leave me until thou hast conducted me into the presence of my Creator in the mansions of everlasting happiness.Amen.
In the passage just quoted, Pius XII explains that to pray the Mass well, the faithful should have the same intentions and dispositions as Christ Himself, namely, “praise, impetration, expiation and thanksgiving.” These indicate what are commonly called the four ends of prayer: adoration (“praise”), thanksgiving, contrition (“expiation”), and petition (“impetration”). The acronym of ACTS is used as a way to remember these ends (Adoration, Contrition, Thanksgiving, and Supplication [petition]). While this is helpful, it should be noted that the four ends are not listed in this acronym according to their order of importance.
The first reason one should go to prayer is to give God the honor which is due to Him as the Supreme and Perfect Being for everything outside of God was created for this end. The giving of this honor belongs to adoration. Next, one should express thanksgiving for all things which God has granted. God has created and maintains in existence, from moment to moment, each individual and all of the goods which each possesses. This gives rise to a seemingly infinite debt which each creature owes to God – a debt which is repaid by acts of thanksgiving. Sin is an offense against God, which the sinner appeases by acts of penance (expiation) which flow from internal sorrow (contrition). In the last place, one can petition God for necessities and desires, both spiritual and material. When one goes to prayer, this hierarchy of the ends of prayer should be kept in mind and the time given to each should be proportional to where that type of prayer falls in the hierarchy. It would be improper, therefore, for one to spend the majority of one’s time asking God for things (petition) while only spending a small amount of time, if any, adoring God for His perfections.
As the Mass is a prayer – indeed the greatest of prayers – these four ends can be applied to the Mass as well, as Pius XII indicated. It is recommended, then, that before the start of Mass, one prepare by going over the four ends of prayer and indicating the various reasons one is praying and participating in this particular Mass. (Read more.)
Killed by the Cathars. From Catholicism: "Saint Angelus was born at Jerusalem and was the son of Jewish parents who had been converted to Christianity. He became a Carmelite priest and worked many miracles. He was martyred by heretics at Palermo in Sicily for defending the Catholic Faith."
He was born in Jerusalem in 1185 to the Jewish parents Jesse and Maria.[1] His mother later converted to Roman Catholicism, and both he and his twin brother John were baptised when she converted. His parents died while he was in his childhood and the Patriarch Nicodemus oversaw their education until the twins turned eighteen. He and his brother John entered the Carmelites aged eighteen at the Saint Anne convent near the Golden Gate to commence their novitiate. The two could speak Greek as well as both Latin and Hebrew.[3][1]
In 1210, he was ordained to the priesthood in Jerusalem and he travelled in Palestine.[3] Miraculous cures were attributed to him around this time and his "acta" stated that he sought to avoid fame and withdrew to a hermitage in the desert (in imitation of Jesus Christ) when he was becoming popular for his miracles. He remained as a hermit on Mount Carmel when he was instructed in 1218[4] to leave for the Italian peninsula in order to preach against the patarini as well as the Albigensians and the Bulgars. He had likewise been instructed to go to Rome to obtain from Pope Honorius III confirmation of the new and definitive rule for the order (later granted in 1226).[3]
He set off on a Genoese ship on 1 April 1219 and stopped first in Messina before heading off to Civitavecchia before he ended up in Rome to meet with the pope. The friar preached in the Basilica of Saint John Lateran while in Rome where he met both Francis of Assisi and Dominic of Osma. It is said that he foretold that Francis would receive the stigmata while Francis foretold his premature death.[1] From there, he was a guest of the Basilians in Palermo where he was for over a month before preaching in Agrigento for over a month before settling in Licata. He had healed seven lepers and the ailing Archbishop of Palermo Bernardo de Castanea while in Palermo.[2] He settled on the Sicilian island though his fame as a wonderworker caused crowds to flock to him. He also had success in converting some Jews though most Jews in Palermo came to despise him for this since he himself was once Jewish.[2]
He wanted to convert a Catharknight named Berenger (known also in sources as Berengarius).[2] Tradition states that Berenger was living in incest and that the friar convinced the knight's companion to leave Berenger. Berenger became enraged and had him attacked in front of the church of Santi Filippo e Giacomo in Licata on 1 May 1220, and was struck with Berenger's sword five times.[1] He died of his wounds within the week of 5 May and according to tradition asked for his assassin to be pardoned while urging the faithful not to avenge his death. He was buried at Santi Filippo e Giacomo. (Read more.)
In honor of the anniversary of the holy Emperor's death on April 1, octave day of the Annunciation.
O Blessed Emperor Karl, you accepted the difficult tasks and burdensome challenges that God gave you during your life. In every thought, decision and action you trusted always in the Holy Trinity. We pray to you to intercede for us with the Lord our God to give us faith and courage, so that even in the most difficult situations of our earthly lives we may not lose heart, but continue faithfully in the footsteps of Christ. Ask for us the grace that our hearts may be moulded into the likeness of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Help us to work with compassion and strength for the poor and needy, to fight with courage for peace in our homes and in the world, and in every situation to trustingly place our lives in the hands of God, until we reach Him, as you did, through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
On Blessed Karl's surprising connection to Fatima, HERE.
The Heart of Mary is the heart of God. We must think that Mary is the
one who shared her only Son with the Father. That Son was loved
immensely by the Father and the Mother, as John Paul II and Paul VI and
the whole tradition have reminded us. Mary opened up for us the way to
love, who corresponded, more than any other creature, to God's immense
love. So we are all called to conform ourselves to this Heart in order
to be able to love Jesus in others. We are convinced that true peace
does not come from the United Nations, from weapons, or from the
politics of States, but only from God. Therefore, if we want to create
peace, we must conform our hearts to the one who loved God and who loves
the Church and our brothers and sisters, that is, to Mary. Therefore,
this is the Immaculate Heart of Mary: a heart that loves immensely,
giving itself to all of us. Therefore, if we really want to create
peace, we must start from our hearts conformed to the Immaculate Heart
of Mary. (Read more.)
"Terra del Cielo" in the Italian version or "Earth of Heaven" is NOT a pagan reference but from the Byzantine tradition. In the English version it is "Queen of Heaven" since that is a title with which we are familiar. From the National Catholic Register:
An official at the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication
has offered an explanation of the “Earth of Heaven” reference in some
non-English translations of Pope Francis’ consecration of Ukraine and
Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
In an editorial
published by Vatican News on March 25, Andrea Tornielli, the
dicastery’s editorial director, described the Byzantine-Slavic origins
of the title “Earth of Heaven.”
“The
expression ‘Earth of Heaven’ is taken from a Byzantine-Slavic monastic
hymn, and it poetically signifies the union of heaven and earth that we
can contemplate in Mary assumed bodily into Heaven,” Tornielli said.
The Vatican official’s explanation came after some Catholics raised concerns about the inclusion of the phrase in the Italian and Spanish translations.
Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler, Texas, alluded to the concerns on translation in a social media post.
“There
are questions about some translations in other languages. We must
ensure that all translations are accurate & honor Mary, Queen of
Heaven,” he wrote on Twitter on March 24.
Tornielli also offered details about some of the other Marian titles and devotions from different parts of the world.
One line in the consecration
refers to Mary as the “living fountain of hope” and asks her to “water
the dryness of our hearts.” According to Tornielli, this is taken from a
quotation from St. Bernard of Clairvaux’s prayer, “Virgin Mother,
Daughter of your Son,” found in the last canticle (XXXIII) of Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy.
The consecration prayer references Mary, Undoer of Knots, a Marian devotion close to Pope Francis’ heart.
It also directly quotes Our Lady of Guadalupe’s words to St. Juan Diego: “Am I not here, I who am your Mother?” (Read more.)
Entire Act of Consecration, in every language, HERE.
In the Act of Consecration of Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate
Heart of Mary, the expression “terra del Cielo” [from the Italian
original] has been translated into the Romance languages (Portuguese,
Spanish, French) in the same way. In German, it has been translated: “Du
Irdische im Himmel” (i.e., You are the earthly one in Heaven). In many
Slavonic languages, and in Russian, it has been translated: “heavenly
earth”; in Slovak: “earth from heaven”; and in Polish: “earth of
heaven.” And as you note, in English it has been translated “Queen of
Heaven,” when a more accurate rendering would be “Heaven’s earth” or,
more literally, “earth of Heaven.”
While there is an evident discrepancy in the translations, the expression “heaven’s earth” [terra del Cielo]
is not it itself heretical or Pagan. One should not immediately see in
this expression a parallel to Pachamama but interpret it in an
objective, benevolent, and Catholic way, which is possible. There are
traditional Catholic Marian poems and songs with quite similar
expressions like “Mary is the heavenly garden” or the “garden of
Heaven.” Let us consider how the expression accords with Sacred
Scripture, the Fathers, and the Liturgy:
Sacred Scripture
The expression “earth of heaven” or “heaven’s earth” can be
interpreted in a manner consistent with Sacred Scripture. It can have
the meaning of “new earth” used in 2 Peter 3:13 and Revelation 21:1-2
and is consistent with the Old Testament prophecy that we see fulfilled
in Mary: “Let the earth open, that salvation may sprout forth” (Isaiah
45:8).
Church Fathers and Doctors
We also find similar expressions in the Church Fathers. St. Ephrem
the Syrian wrote: “The virgin earth of old gave birth to the Adam who is
lord of the earth, but today another virgin has given birth to the Adam
who is Lord of heaven” (Hymns on Nativity, 1:16). Here,
virginity is compared to earth; the “virgin soil” chosen by God to bring
forth the first Adam is a type of Mary, the virgin earth who gave birth
to Jesus Christ, the second Adam. Later, St. John Chrysostom would say:
The word Eden signifies virgin land. Now such was that
region in which God planted paradise. … Now this virgin (earth) is a
type of the Virgin. For as that land, without having received any seed,
blossomed forth for us paradise; so too Mary, without having conceived
of man, blossomed forth for us Christ (De mutatione nominum, 2, 3-4).
Likewise, St. John Damascene said: “The gates of paradise open and
receive the God-bearing earth, on which Christ, the tree of eternal life
originated” (Homily 3 on the Dormition of St. Mary). And in an
eleventh century hymn composed by St. Peter Damian in honor of the
Blessed Virgin Mary, the saint exclaims “Es et terra cœlestis,” i.e.,
“and you are the heavenly earth” (Rhythmus de S. Maria virgine).
Byzantine Liturgy
According to an article published on March 23, 2022, in the Vatican newspaper, The Osservatore Romano,
the expression “terra del Cielo” is “taken from a Byzantine-Slavic
monastic hymn, and poetically signifies the union of heaven and earth
that we can contemplate in Mary, who is also assumed into Heaven with
her body.” The Byzantine liturgy does, in fact, contain expressions
similar to “Heaven’s earth.” Of Mary it is said: “I am the untilled
earth” (Byzantine Liturgy, Octoechos [Book of Hymns], voice 8, Sunday,
hymn 6), meaning, “I am the heavenly earth”, “the virginal earth,” the
“paradisiac earth.” And elsewhere she is praised as “Blessed earth,
blessed Bride of God, earth untilled and saving the world” (Canon for
Holy Communion, Ode 1, Theotokos). (Read more.)
UPDATE: Okay,
people can stop sending me links to Dr. Marshall's "Terra del cielo"
lecture. I am content with Bishop Schneider's explanation, not that I
doubted the Holy Father's choice of words. For that matter, I could
mention any number of titles which we use for Jesus and Mary that were
also designations of pagan deities, including "Queen of Heaven,"
"Morning Star" and " King of kings." Some people choose despair and
darkness, and there seems to be no way to help them.
The entire Consecration ceremony on March 25, 2022, Solemnity of the Annunciation, at St. Peter's Basilica can be seen here:
Saint Joseph—prince of the House of David, prince of a royal family that, although dethroned and decadent, was at its apogee because from it was born the Hope of the Nations—knocks at the door and is rejected! But in this rejection is his first glory....He took the first step of his martyrdom: he led Our Lady to a cave suitable only for animals, where the Child Jesus was born.
To this glory—which was certainly a negative one—were added many others: the glory of being considered a person of no consequence although all public honors were due him; the glory of taking upon himself all the humiliation, all the ignominy and all the weight of the opprobrium that was to fall upon Our Lord. From the very beginning, he had the special bliss of being refused for his love of justice and his grandeur of soul. (Read more.)
The following is an excerpt from Divine Intimacy by Father Gabriel of Saint Mary Magdalen, O.C.D:
St. Joseph's whole life may be summed up as a continual adherence to the Divine plan, even in situations which were very obscure and mysterious to him.In our life, too, there is always some mystery, either because God is pleased to work in a hidden, secret manner or because His action is always incomprehensible to our poor human intelligence. Therefore, we need that glance of faith, that complete confidence which, relying on the infinite goodness of God, convinces us that He always and in all circumstances wills our good and disposes everything to that end. Only this loving trust will permit us, like Joseph, always to say yes to every manifestation of the divine will, a humble, prompt, trustful yes, in spite of the obscurities, the difficulties, the mystery.... (p. 1131)
Let us remember that when Our Lady appeared in 1917, "the Ukraine" was part of Russia as one of the Tsar's dominions. It is being singled out among the former provinces of Russia by the Holy Father because it is the only one being bombed. As Our Lady said on July 13, 1917:
If My requests are heeded, Russia will be converted, and there will be
peace; if not, she will spread her errors throughout the world, causing
wars and persecutions of the Church. The good will be martyred, the Holy
Father will have much to suffer, various nations will be annihilated.
In the end, My Immaculate Heart will triumph. The Holy Father will
consecrate Russia to Me, and she will be converted, and a period of
peace will be granted to the world. (Read more.)
In response to questions from journalists, the director of the Holy
See Press Office, Matteo Bruni, has confirmed, “Pope Francis has invited
the bishops of the whole world, along with their priests, to join him
in the prayer for peace and in the consecration and entrustment of
Russia and of Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.”
The Pope will make the prayer in the afternoon of Friday, 25 March –
the Solemnity of the Annunciation – in St Peter’s Basilica, on the
occasion of the Celebration of Penance, scheduled to begin at 5 pm. The
same act, on the same day, will be undertaken by all the bishops of the
world. Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, the papal almoner, will perform the
act of consecration at Fatima as the envoy of the Pope.
In the apparition of 13 July 1917 in Fatima, Our Lady had asked for
the consecration of Russia to her Immaculate Heart and the communion of
reparation on the First Saturdays, stating that if this request was not
granted, Russia would “spread her errors throughout the world, causing
wars and persecutions of the Church,” and “the good will be martyred,
the Holy Father will have much to suffer, various nations will be
annihilated.”
After the apparitions of Fatima there were various acts of
consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary: on 31 October 1942, Pope
Pius XII consecrated the whole world, and on 7 July 1952 he specifically
consecrated Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary with the Apostolic
Letter Sacro vergente anno, in view of the difficult situation of Christians forced to live in an atheistic communist regime.
Later, Pope St Paul VI in 1964, and Pope St John Paul II in 1981,
1982, and 1984 renewed this consecration of the whole human race. The
consecration in 1984 took place March 25, in St Peter’s Square;
on that occasion, St John Paul II, referring specifically to Our Lady's
request at Fatima, and in spiritual union with all the bishops of the
world, entrusted all peoples, and “in a special way... those men and
nations who are in special need of this entrustment and consecration,”
to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
In June 2000, when the Holy See revealed the third part of the
so-called secret of Fatima, the then-secretary of the Congregation for
the Doctrine of the Faith, Archbishop Tarcisio Bertone, pointed out that
Sister Lucia had personally confirmed that the act of consecration
performed by John Paul II in 1984 corresponded to what Our Lady had
asked.
And now this year, on March 25, Pope Francis will consecrate Russia
together with Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary in communion with
bishops from all over the world. (Read more.)
Meanwhile, the pilgrim Virgin of Fatima is now in Ukraine at the request of the Archbishop. From CNA:
A special statue of Our Lady of Fatima has arrived in Ukraine, ahead
of Pope Francis’ consecration of the country and Russia to the
Immaculate Heart of Mary.
“The Center of the Shrine of Fatima (Portugal) provides us with an
official copy of the Statue of the Mother of God of Fatima, to ask God
for protection and peace in Ukraine and the world in her presence,” the
Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin in Lviv announced on Facebook Wednesday.
The church will house the statue from March 17 to April 15, the post
read. After departing from Portugal, the statue visited Krakow, Poland,
before continuing to Lviv.
The statue comes at the request of Archbishop Ihor Vozniak of the
Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. It is one of 13 official copies of the
statue of Our Lady of Fatima that travel worldwide. Carved in 1920,
sculptor José Ferreira Tedin created the original statue with the help
of Sister Lucia, one of the three children at the Marian apparitions in
Fatima in 1917. (Read more.)
It begins today. On March 25, 2022, the solemnity of the Annunciation, Pope Francis will consecrate Russia and the Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Let us remember that when Our Lady appeared in 1917, "the Ukraine" was part of Russia as one of the Tsar's dominions. Tsar Nicholas II abdicated on March 15, 1917. He returned to Tsarskoe Seloe where his children were recovering from measles. The family began to pray the Akathist hymn to Our Lady every day. In less than two months, on May 13, Our Lady appeared at Fatima. On July 13, 1917, Our Lady revealed the three secrets, including the request for the Pope to consecrate Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. A year and three days later, the Russian Imperial family were murdered in Ekaterinburg.
I greet you, Ever-blessed Virgin, Mother of God, Throne
of Grace, miracle of Almighty Power! I greet you, Sanctuary of the Most
Holy Trinity and Queen of the Universe, Mother of Mercy and refuge of
sinners! Most loving Mother, attracted by your beauty and
sweetness, and by your tender compassion, I confidently turn to you,
miserable as I am, and beg of you to obtain for me from your dear Son
the favor I request in this novena:
(mention your request).
Obtain
for me also, Queen of heaven, the most lively contrition for my many
sins and the grace to imitate closely those virtues which you practiced
so faithfully, especially humility, purity and obedience. Above all, I
beg you to be my Mother and Protectress, to receive me into the number
of your devoted children, and to guide me from your high throne of
glory. Do not reject my petitions, Mother of Mercy! Have pity on
me, and do not abandon me during life or at the moment of my death.
Amen.
The gifts of the Holy Ghost resemble the infused virtues in a number of ways. Both are operative habits which have God as their efficient cause and the perfection of man as their final cause. Both reside in the human faculties and have right behavior as their material object.
Where they differ is in their motor cause, their mode of action, and their exercise. The virtues are put in motion by natural reason aided by faith and grace, thus making the resulting act “my act.” The gifts, on the other hand, are put in motion directly by the Holy Ghost and will only operate if He so deigns. They are more “His act,” although, by our cooperation with Him, they are truly free and meritorious acts. The mode of the virtues is a human mode of action, whereas the gifts operate in a divine mode. Finally, the virtues are actively exercised by the soul, whereas, the soul is passive under the influence of the gifts, albeit with the necessary conscious assent of the intellect and free cooperation of the will. “Such are the principal differences between the infused virtues and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The first one establishes the radical and specific differences between the virtues and the gifts; the others are logical consequences of the first one.”[1]
The virtues and the gifts are both necessary elements of the supernatural life (necessary, in fact, for salvation), the former perfecting the faculties of man so that we may live rightly as sons of God, the latter perfecting the virtues themselves so that we may perform their corresponding acts with ease and facility. Each gift perfects one (or more) infused virtue, either because they reside in the same faculty (as faith and knowledge in the intellect) or because, while residing in different faculties, they regulate the acts of those virtues (as temperance and fear).
Father Aumann organizes his subject matter as St. Thomas does, by treating the gifts in connection with the virtues to which they are allied. I shall approach it from the opposite direction, summarizing the gifts in the traditional order and connecting the virtues with them. And since the divine Artist made icons of these virtues and gifts in the saints, I will assign to each gift a saint who exemplifies it. (Read more.)
Only a very foolish person would change or “modernize” the words of
Saint Robert Southwell, whose lengthy hymn is a brilliant treatise on
Transubstantiation. We must remember that the Anglicans were vehemently
opposed to Catholic doctrines, especially the invocation of the Blessed
Virgin Mary and (in particular) the doctrine of Transubstantiation.
After the time of King Henry VIII—in both England and its American
Colonies—religious oaths were required to hold a rank in the military or
government. (Read more.)
Fatima Novena for the Consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and Peace in the World.
O Most Holy Virgin Mary, you came to Fatima to reveal the graces that come from praying the Holy Rosary to three little shepherd children. Inspire us with a sincere love of this devotion so that, like the shepherd children, it is not a burdensome task but a life-giving prayer. May our prayers and meditations on the mysteries of our redemption bring us closer to your Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Our Lady of Fatima, may we offer everything we do today to our Lord. As we make this offering, we think of people who are affected by our actions each day. We ask God to help us be motivated by love and compassion.
Lord Jesus, the miracles, prophecies and prayers that Your Mother brought to us at Fatima amazed the whole world. We are certain of her closeness to You. We ask through the intercession of Our Lady of Fatima, Saint Francisco and Saint Jacinta that you graciously hear and answer our prayers,
especially the Consecration of Russia to Your Immaculate Heart. 
Our Father, Hail Holy Queen, Glory Be, Oh My Jesus.
Our Lady of Fatima, Pray for us!
Our Lady of the Rosary, Pray for us!
Immaculate Heart of Mary, Pray for us!
Saint Francisco and Saint Jacinta, Pray for us!
“From every kind of injustice in the life of society, both national and international, deliver us.”
Amen.
NOTE: St. John Paul's consecration of the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary no doubt led to the fall of the Iron Curtain. Sr. Lucia said as much. Nevertheless, it is still the hope of many that some day a Sovereign Pontiff will make the Fatima Consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart specifically as requested by Our Lady.
"...Bud forth as the rose planted by the brooks of waters. Give ye a sweet odor as frankincense. Send forth flowers, as the lily...and bring forth leaves in grace, and praise with canticles, and bless the Lord in his works."
—Ecclesiasticus 39:17-19
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From the late Father Angelus Shaughnessy:
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