Pope St. Urban I

Pope St. Urban I. Photograph on Wikipedia by User: Pleple2000.  Taken July 12, 2006.

Next in the continuing series of posts on the History of the Sovereign Pontiffs, after the death of Pope St.  Callistus I on October 14, 222, St. Urban I was elected as the Supreme Pontiff.

Pope St. Urban I was a Roman who served as the Successor of St. Peter for nearly nine years.  According to legend, St. Urban baptized Valerian, the husband of St. Cecilia.  But little is known with certainty of his life.  He died in 230 and is buried in the Cemetary of Callixtus.

Concerning St. Urban, Butler's Lives of the Saints offers the following:

The notice in the Roman Martyrology reads : "At Rome on the Via Nomentana, the birthday of Blessed Urban, Pope and Martyr, by whose exhortation and teaching many persons, including Tiburtius and Valerian, received the faith of Christ, and underwent martyrdom therefor ; he himself also suffered much for God's Church in the persecution of Alexander Severus and at length was crowned with martyrdom, being beheaded." 

It is to be feared that even this short notice is mainly apocryphal. The reference to Tiburtius and Valerian is derived from the very unsatisfactory Acts of St Cecilia, from which also the account of Urban in the Liber Pontificalis has borrowed. It is quite certain in any case that Pope Urban was not buried on the Via Nomentana, but in the cemetery of St Callistus, on the Via Appia, where a portion of his sepulchral slab, bearing his name, has been found in modern times. 

Not far from the cemetery of Callistus on the same main road was the cemetery of Praetextatus, and there another Urban, a martyr, had been buried. Confusion arose between the two, and an old building close beside the Praetextatus catacomb was converted into a small church, afterwards known as St Urbano alia Caffarella. The confusion of the two Urbans and the muddle hence resulting in the notices of the Hieronymianum are points full of interest, but too complicated to be discussed here. 

Collect (from his feastday on May 25th):

O Eternal Shepherd, who appointed blessed Urban shepherd of the whole Church, let the prayers of this martyr and supreme pontiff move You to look with favor upon Your flock and keep it under Your continual protection. Through our Lord . . .

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Feast of The Prayer of Christ (Masses in Some Places)

Each year on the Tuesday after Septuagesima there was celebrated a "Mass in Some Places," according to the 1955 Missal. This special Mass is for The Prayer of Christ and has been around for several hundred years.  The Catholic Encyclopedia summarizes this special feastday that is worthy of our meditation:

This feast occurs on the Tuesday after Septuagesima (double major). Its object is to commemorate the prolonged prayer which Christ offered in Gethsemane in our behalf in preparation for His Sacred Passion. 

The Office insists on the great importance of prayer. The feast is placed at the beginning of Lent to remind us that the penitential season is above all a time of prayer. The Office probably was composed by Bishop Struzzieri of Todi, at the suggestion of St. Paul of the Cross (d. 1775), and, together with the other six offices by which the mysteries of Christ's Passion are celebrated (see Moveable Feasts in Some Places), was approved by Pius VI. 

The hymns were composed by Fatati (Schulte, "Hymnen des röm. Brev."). Outside the Congregation of St. Paul this feast was adopted later than any of the other feasts of the Passion. It is not found in the proprium of Salerno (1793) nor in that of Livorno (1809). Other dioceses took it up only after the city of Rome had adopted it (1831). It has not yet been inserted in the Baltimore Ordo.

Collect:

O Lord Jesus Christ, who in the garden, with words and example, taught us to pray to overcome the dangers of temptations, grant us, that, always intent on prayer, we deserve to obtain copious fruit: You who are God and live and reign with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit for ever and ever. Amen.

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Francis Apparently not Happy with Roman Posters

Image Source: CNN

Guest Post by David Martin

Pope Francis seems to have taken offense over an anonymous poster campaign which called into question his mercy. On February 4, Romans woke up to more than 200 posters of a stern-faced pope plastered all over the city, with a caption that asks, "But where is your mercy?"

The unidentified posters accused Francis of having "ignored cardinals" and "decapitated the Order of Malta" — references to a bitter dispute between the order and the Vatican that benched a conservative cardinal.

The day after the incident, the pope called on pilgrims during the Angelus prayer to stay far away from "the polluting germs of ego, envy, and slander."

The following Sunday he criticized the everyday use of "insults," an apparent reference to the anonymous posters, though it seems he was also alluding to a barrage of criticism he has received in recent months over his progressive Vatican reforms and his dissent from Church teaching and practice. In his weekly Angelus address, Francis highlighted Jesus' commandment, "Thou shalt not kill," saying the edict applied not only to actual homicide, "but also to those behaviors which offend the dignity of the human person, including insulting words." He added that he "who insults his brother kills that brother in his heart."

Insults indeed are grave sins against charity, especially insults against the Faith. However, the anonymous posters were not intended as insults to the pope, but were earnest inquiries as to where his mercy is at. After all, he has shown mercy for liberal U.N. anti-life agents who use his Vatican to promote a more "sustained" planet through population control (abortion), and he has exonerated people like Albrecht von Boseselager of the Knights of the Order of Malta after he was rightfully dismissed by his superior Fra' Matthew Festing for distributing $millions worth of contraceptives and abortifacient drugs, while Festing was asked by the pope to resign. Where is the pope's mercy?

He has shown his mercy to offenders like abortionist Emma Bonino whom he called "one of Italy's greats," and to Fidel Castro who lived by the firing squad, while demoting and showing disdain for outstanding Vatican prelates like Cardinals Burke and Sarah for their humble witness of the Catholic Faith.

Worse yet, he has made fun of young Catholics who prefer to attend the Traditional Latin Mass, and went so far as to say that the reason young people attend this more "rigid" form of the Mass is to "hide their evils." In an interview given by Pope Francis to his close confidant Fr. Antonio Spadaro SJ, who is Editor-in-Chief of Civiltà Cattolica, he expressed wonder over why young people, who were not raised with the Latin Mass, nonetheless prefer it.

"And I ask myself: Why so much rigidity? Dig, dig, this rigidity always hides something, insecurity or even something else. Rigidity is defensive. True love is not rigid."

Words like these are "the polluting germs of ego, envy, and slander" that need to be cleansed from the Church. When Christ said "Thou shalt not kill," it also meant not to kill the spirit of young people, who after much prayer, deliberation, and struggle, have decided to do something right in life to the delight of their Maker. A crime it is that they should be insulted this way for their fidelity.

If Francis were true of heart, he would cry tears of gratitude that these young people, who could be using their time to engage in pop culture and sin, have chosen rather to grow up and to attach themselves to God in the old Mass. And he would be instant to understand that it is Christ himself who gently draws these precious souls to himself in the Traditional Mass. Why should Francis Wonder!?

He seems to have a phobia about the goodness of God. This goodness was manifest through the ages by the glories of tradition wherewith God enriched his Church. In his mercy He extended to us the jewels of sacred tradition and the Latin Mass, that it might be a joy and cleansing to his people, so why does Francis scorn these treasures while adulterating the Church with change? Women deacons? Lay Eucharistic ministers? Communion to adulterers? Respect for "gay orientation?" Youth Mass on the beach with guitars, beachwear, and gay dancers? What kind of scandal is he pushing on the youth? He discards rules and regulations and then teases the flock with this socialist merry-making that he calls mercy! "Woe to the world because of scandals!" (Matthew 18:7)

Nay, the posters in Rome were not an insult to the pope, but were providentially arranged for his instruction. Let us pray that Francis will revisit this matter and learn by it. And let him "dig, dig," that he might discover his own "rigidity" which makes him "defensive" against tradition.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/pope-francis-speaks-against-insults-175811979.html?soc_src=mail&soc_trk=ma

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Pope St. Pius X on the Importance of Religious Instruction

Guest Post by CatechismClass.com

"How many and how grave are the consequences of ignorance in matters of religion! And on the other hand, how necessary and how beneficial is religious instruction! It is indeed vain to expect a fulfillment of the duties of a Christian by one who does not even know them." Pope St. Pius X - Acerbo Nimis

Let us all do our part to support traditional Catholic teachings in a world that increasingly hates the True Faith of Christ.

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Pope is Disturbed over Contraceptive Scandal?

Order of Malta leader Fra' Matthew Festing talks to Pope Francis (AP)

Guest Post by David Martin

Cardinal Raymond Burke who serves as patron to the Knights of the Order of Malta met with Pope Francis at the Vatican on November 10, 2016, and told him how the organization has been distributing contraceptives in Burma and other countries. The pope was "deeply disturbed" by what the cardinal told him and he ordered Burke to clean out the Freemasons from the Knights of the Order of Malta.

To recap, the Order of Malta through the years has been distributing contraceptives and abortifacient drugs through Malteser International (MI), the humanitarian arm of the order. Included in this distribution has been over a half million condoms. Edward Pentin has provided details of MI’s programs in his comprehensive article on the subject. An investigation by the Lepanto Institute provides further information about MI’s work promoting condoms and abortifacient drugs worldwide.

Throughout this period Malteser International was headed by Albrecht Freiherr von Boeselager. An investigation by the Order of Malta found that von Boeselager was responsible for the programs involving the distribution of condoms and abortifacient drugs. This led to his dismissal by the Grand Master, Fra Matthew Festing, on December 6, 2016, who was acting on the advice of his spiritual advisor Cardinal Burke.

Von Boeselager then appealed to the Vatican. A commission was appointed to investigate his dismissal, though Edward Pentin provides extensive and disturbing information about the make-up of this commission, which seems to have consisted largely of von Boeselager’s friends and associates. The Military Order of Malta refused to accept the Vatican's interference into their internal affairs.

On January 24, Fra Matthew Festing was then asked by Pope Francis to resign, which he did. The next day it was announced by the Vatican Secretary of State that Pope Francis was declaring null and void all of Fra Festing’s acts since December 6, thus nullifying the dismissal of von Boeselager. Fra Festing’s resignation was accepted by the Sovereign Council of the Order of Malta on January 28 and it was announced that von Boeselager was restored to his position as Grand Chancellor of the Order.

In short, Pope Francis restored to office a man ultimately responsible for the distribution of condoms and abortifacient drugs, while removing from office the man who tried to ensure that Malteser International remained faithful to Catholic teaching.

The report says that the pope was "deeply disturbed" by MI's distribution of contraceptives. If this is truly the case, why did the pope fire Fra Matthew Festing for dismissing Albrecht von Boeselager for his distributing abortaficient drugs and contraceptives? The pope told Cardinal Burke that he wanted the Freemasons cleansed out of Malta, so why is he upset that Fra Festing removed an agent who works for the Freemasons?

And too, why is the pope allowing Freemasons and U.N. anti-life agents to use his Vatican to advance population control? It is no secret that pro-abortion advocate Paul Ehrlich, father of the modern population control movement and author of the 1968 best-seller "The Population Bomb," has been invited to speak at the Vatican during a February 27-March 1 conference that will discuss "how to save the natural world."

This is deplorable when we consider the possible millions of deaths globally that he and his ideas may have indirectly been responsible for over the past five decades and how he has repeatedly slammed the Catholic Church for its anti-abortion policy. Is the Vatican deliberately seeking to put the unborn to death?

The Stanford biologist, who advocates forced abortion for population control along with every kind of contraception, will be given a platform to lecture the Church on how it should conform to the United Nations "Sustainable Development Goals" of making the planet a safer place through population control.

Hence the pope's "disturbance" over the contraceptive scandal in the Knights of the Order of Malta raises some serious eyebrows. Why isn't he disturbed about Ehrlich's upcoming speaking engagement at the Vatican or about the Vatican's collusion with pro-abortion advocate Jeffrey Sachs who has spoken now at 19 Vatican conferences?

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38 Receive Cassock on February 2nd from the SSPX

On the Feast of the Purification each year, men who are discerning their vocation receive the cassock: this year 38 men in 3 seminaries.

On February 2, 2017, the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, at St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary, Bishop Bernard Tissier de Mallerais gave the cassock to 17 seminarians: 14 Americans, one Dominican, one Mexican and one Canadian. 

See the photo gallery from this ceremony

Those seminarians enrolled in the Year of Spirituality (first year) received the cassock, and those seminarians in the Year of First Philosophy (second year of studies) received the clerical tonsure. In the Society of St. Pius X, the present custom is to receive the cassock one year before becoming a cleric. 

The same day, at the Séminaire Saint-Vianney Flavigny in France, Bishop Bernard Fellay, Superior General of the Society of St. Pius X, gave the cassock To 14 seminarians: 12 French, 1 Swiss, 1 British. In his sermon he recalled what the ecclesiastical habit represented: renunciation of the world and its individualism, destructive of authority, and obedience.

Finally, in Germany, at the Seminary of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Bishop Alfonso de Galarreta gave the clerical habit to 7 seminarians, giving a grand total worldwide in the SSPX on this date to 38 men.

(Sources: FSSPX / Flavigny / Dillwyn / Zaitzkofen - DICI of 03/02/17)

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Candlemas

This Thursday, February 2nd, is Candlemas day.  This feast celebrates the Presentation of Jesus in the temple and the Purification of our Lady, forty days after the birth of our Savior; it belongs to the Christmas season. The Purification is a festival of light. The procession, in which the blessed candles are carried by clergy and faithful, recalls by its symbolism the manifestation of Christ, the Light of the world, received in the temple by Simeon as God's messenger: "A light to the revelation of the Gentiles, and the glory of Thy people Israel." This feast was kept in Jerusalem in the fourth century and is one of the oldest of Marian feasts. (St. Andrew's Missal)




For my previous posts on Candlemas including the various Liturgical Traditions for today, please click here.

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Octave of Christian Unity Prayers

We are currently in the midst of the Octave of Christian Unity.  Even if you have not been praying for these intentions since the Octave started on January 18th, I encourage you to check out my post from the prior years on this important and special Octave by clicking here.

Daily Chair of Unity Octave Prayer:

Ant. That they all may be one, as Thou, Father, in me and I in Thee, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that Thou has sent me.

℣. I say to thee, that thou art Peter,
℟. And upon this rock I will build my Church.

Let us pray

Lord Jesus Christ, Who didst say to Thine Apostles: peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you, look not upon my sins, but upon the faith of Thy Church; and vouchsafe unto Her that peace and unity which is agreeable to Thy will: Who livest and reignest God forever and ever. Amen.

Daily Octave Intentions:

• 18 January, The Feast of Saint Peter's Chair at Rome: The union of all Christians in the one true faith and in the Church
• 19 January: The return of separated Eastern Christians to communion with the Holy See
• 20 January: The reconciliation of Anglicans with the Holy See
• 21 January: The reconciliation of European Protestants with the Holy See
• 22 January: That American Christians become one in union with the Chair of Peter
• 23 January: The restoration of lapsed Catholics to the sacramental life of the Church
• 24 January: That the Jewish people come into their inheritance in Jesus Christ
• 25 January, The Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul: The missionary extension of Christ's kingdom throughout the world

It is never too late to pray these prayers:

• Prayer for Pagans
• Prayer for Jews
• Prayer for Muslims
• Prayer for Schismatic Orthodox Christians
• Prayer for Protestant Sects
• Prayer for Freemasons
• Prayer for Lapsed Catholics
• Prayer for Anglicans
• Prayer for the True Faith

A plenary indulgence on the usual conditions at the end of the octave of prayers for the unity of the Church from the Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter in Rome (Jan. 18) to the Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul (Jan. 25). (Apostolic Brief, Feb. 25, 1916; S. P. Ap., Nov. 15, 1927 and Dec. 10, 1946).

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Bishop of Rockford Attempts to Return Church to the Chaos of the 70s

 

The following is taken from EWTN.  I would encourage our readers to not only pray for the Bishop in his misguided efforts but to contact the Ecclesia Dei Commission in Rome. Simply put, what the Bishop is attempting to "forbid" and "require" is illegal and contrary to the law of the Church.  As such, it is no law at all.

Bishop David J. Malloy has doubled down against our Catholic liturgical tradition under the false banner of unity. As noted today by Fr. Z at his site:

In this letter, a follow up to their diocesan “Presbytery Day” (where he spoke to them about “challenges”), the bishop writes:

“Following that talk, I write now to ask for your cooperation on several matters that have since been referred to me in connection with my comments last September:

First, as I noted at that time, we are all aware of the on-going discussion surrounding the celebration of the Mass “ad orientem”. However, for the reasons I discussed at that time, and in order to underscore our unity in prayer and to avoid differences between and even within parishes on this point, I ask that no Masses be celebrated “ad orientem” without my permission.”

Of course this move, which runs contrary to the liturgical tradition of the Roman Rite, contrary to the recent recommendations of Cardinal Sarah (prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship), and contrary to the GIRM itself, is the heavy handed modernist tactics of the Seventies and Eighties revisited.

Additionally, the bishop has forbidden…yes FORBIDDEN…his priests from offering Mass in the Extraordinary Form without his permission, specifically citing Articles 5 & 2 of Summorum Pontificum. As Fr. Z correctly notes:

The Bishop of Rockford wrote “with due regard to Art. 2” and then he completely ignored it and wrote something that precisely contradicted it. According to Art. 2, priests of that diocese – or any other diocese in the world for that matter – do not need his permission.

So now, for the faithful of Rockford, they are being returned to a time in the Church when self-loathing Catholicism ruled the day. Back to the days when one need look no further than the chancery to find anti-Catholicism; for that’s what any attack against our liturgical heritage is. Against our past. Against tradition. It’s anti-Catholicism.

But wait; there’s more.

In his letter Bishop Malloy has also advised his priests that “any modifications being carried out in the sacred space of parish churches” requires diocesan approval. Specifically cited are the moving of altars, tabernacles, or “questions involving altar rails.”

In the Diocese of Rockford, Illinois it would seem that the groovy Seventies have indeed returned; at least liturgically.

Those who oppose our Catholic tradition, who oppose the Latin Mass, and who (apparently) believe that mercy and accompaniment do not apply to traditionalists, are feeling quite emboldened these days.

It’s going to get worse before it gets better. Trust me.

And pray for Rockford.

Published with permission of Brian Williams, Liturgy Guy

Source: EWTN

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The Inauguration of President Trump

On this historic day, the Holy Father issued the following statement to our newest President:

Upon your inauguration as the forty-fifth President of the United States of America, I offer you my cordial good wishes and the assurance of my prayers that Almighty God will grant you wisdom and strength in the exercise of your high office. 

At a time when our human family is beset by grave humanitarian crises demanding farsighted and united political responses, I pray that your decisions will be guided by the rich spiritual and ethical values that have shaped the history of the American people and your nation's commitment to the advancement of human dignity and freedom worldwide.  

Under your leadership, may America's stature continue to be measured above all by its concern for the poor, the outcast and those in need who, like Lazarus, stand before our door. With these sentiments, I ask the Lord to grant you and your family, and all the beloved American people, his blessings of peace, concord and every material and spiritual prosperity.

Let us join in praying for President Trump to exercise the Office of the President of the United States to be a true instrument of God's will - ending an era of abortion on demand, oppression of workers, proliferation of injustice and debauchery.  Lord have mercy on our nation.


Image Source: Reuters

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