The Liturgy is the public worship of God using approved rituals. The Catholic Encyclopedia offers the following definition of Liturgy: "Liturgy (leitourgia) is a Greek composite word meaning originally a public duty, a service to the state undertaken by a citizen… So in Christian use liturgy meant the public official service of the Church, that corresponded to the official service of the Temple in the Old Law." As the Baltimore Catechism #925 states: "God commanded ceremonies to be used in the old law, and 2. Our Blessed Lord Himself made use of ceremonies in performing some of His miracles."
But the Liturgy is itself also a highly effective means of transmitting the Catholic Faith to everyone - children, catechumens, and lifelong Catholics. Everyone can learn the Faith from true and pious liturgical acts since at their core they express the timeless, unchangeable Catholic Faith. Two of the primary means we have to learn the Faith through the Liturgy are the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the Divine Office.
The Mass in Liturgical Catechesis
The Mass is the center of our Catholic lives, including our prayer life. The Mass not only contains prayers but is the foundation of prayer. One can never attend Mass too often.
Quoting from John Senior's fantastic work The Restoration of Christian Culture, "Work is a physical necessity; if you don't work you don't eat. Prayer is a necessity of obligation; if you don't pray you will not enter the Kingdom. Prayer is a duty, an office; it is free, voluntary payment of the debt we owe to God for existence and grace. The Latin word for duty is officium, and the perfect prayer of the Church is its Divine Office; St. Benedict calls it the opus Dei, the work of God" (60).
John Senior continues, "I have cited the Latin for the meaning of many words not for the pretense of learning, but because their meaning is Latin. Latin is the language of the Roman Catholic Church; you can repudiate the tradition and overthrow the Church; but you cannot have the tradition and the Church without its language. And though the Second Vatican Council permitted the substitution of vernacular liturgies where pastoral reasons suggested their usefulness, it commanded that the Latin be preserved. The Catholic Faith is so intimately bound to the two thousand years of Latin prayers any attempt to live the Catholic life without them will result in its attrition and ultimate apostasy - which we have witnessed even in the few years of the vernacular experiment. We must return to the Faith of our fathers by way of prayer of our fathers" (60 - 61).
John Senior's works are beautifully said and express an absolute reality - the Church is timeless; she is outside of time. Only by restoring true Christian culture, as Senior explains throughout his book, will Christ again reign in our hearts, our homes, and our families. Christ must reign. And how can we bring about the reign of Christ without frequent prayer? Prayer is necessary. It is essential for the spiritual life. A life spent in good works of charity that has no prayer is a life built on bad soil. And no soul whose life is built in bad soil can inherit everlasting life.
Living a Catholic life means living for the Mass as the center of your life — your prayer life — your entire life.
The Mass is the Sacrifice of Christ on the Cross and for that reason, it is by definition efficacious. We are present at Calvary. Rather than merely remembering the life and death of Christ, we are present at it and partake of its eternal fruits which flow to us from the altar and during the Canon when the priest stands in the place of Christ and offers the Eternal Victim on the Altar to God. We can further receive grace by partaking of the Holy Eucharist if we are Catholics in the state of grace.
It was Pope St. Pius X who famously remarked:
The Holy Mass is a prayer itself, even the highest prayer that exists. It is the Sacrifice, dedicated by our Redeemer at the Cross, and repeated every day on the altar. If you wish to hear Mass as it should be heard, you must follow with eye, heart and mouth all that happens at the altar. Further, you must pray with the priest the holy words said by him in the Name of Christ and which Christ says by him. You have to associate your heart with the holy feelings which are contained in these words and in this manner you ought to follow all that happens at the altar. When acting in this way, you have prayed Holy Mass.
Above all, to participate in the Holy Mass is not to be the loudest person, to say the responses out loud, to move around a lot, etc. To truly participate in the Mass is to be the most contemplative and aware of the presence of God and the offering of our Lord on the Cross. For that reason sometimes those who participate the most fully in the Mass are those who say the very least.
The Divine Office in Liturgical Catechesis
This prayer is actually Liturgy, which means it forms part of the official, public prayers of the Church. Because it is liturgy, we must approach it with respect and reverence, and follow the proper postures and guidelines, just as if we were attending the Liturgy of the Holy Mass.
This prayer is called the Divine Office which is contained in a series of books called the Breviary. At certain points throughout the day, all of the Church prays the same liturgy to God, and we are all united in this wonderful prayer. The purpose of the Divine Office is to sanctify time and our day, making us constantly in prayer before the Father.
Priests, deacons, monks, and nuns are required to pray these hours throughout the day. However, everyone is invited to pray these. Holy Mother Church encourages all of her faithful to regularly pray the Hours, especially in common (Code of Canon Law, Canon 1174.2).
The Divine Office is immensely helpful to a life of grace, and it is a great grace to be able to enter into the prayer of the Church before God. The main hours to pray are Lauds, Vespers, and Compline are the major hours. Prime, Terce, Sext, and None are the little hours. Matins, the first hour, is often prayed very early in the morning or night and usually immediately precedes Lauds. As a layman, you don't need to pray the Office perfectly. But it would be very worthwhile for you to unite your prayers to the Church's official Liturgy.
An article from America Press Volume 27 written 1922 remarks, that the Divine Office, especially Vespers and Compline, along with the Solemn High Mass are powerful not only for the Faithful but for missionary work among Protestants. And similarly, they are highly effective for liturgical catechesis:
"But the most amazing thing of all is to see the way the most valuable instruments that the clergy have are left unused. The evening service, which could be made so attractive, is now usually a hit-or-miss compilation of private devotions made to serve a public need. The rosary, so strange to Protestants in any case, is recited in so rapid a manner that hardly a word is understood by the Protestant who is present. Even Benediction is often given in a slap-dash manner. From all this the Protestant forms the opinion that the great thing about Catholic prayer is to have it over as soon as possible. Can we blame him so much?
"In the average parish High Mass is very seldom sung except at a funeral. Yet many a soul has been converted by a High Mass. Even where High Mass or the Missa Cantata is the Sunday custom, the Proper of the Mass is left unsung and so the real teaching part of the service is not known by the poeple, and never is put before the truth-seeker at all. Yet the Missal is a storehouse of missionary material. What a splendid thing it would be if in every parish church it were possible to take one's Protestant friends to Solemn Mass or Vespers! What could be better adapted to attract Protestants than Compline properly changed? Why is it that with all the wealth of the liturgy at her disposal the Church in this country makes no effort to use it? Even in our cathedrals the Divine Office is not performed, nor a daily High Mass sung. Is it any wonder if the Protestant comes to think that the Catholic is weary of the worship of God? Music, art, the dramatic instinct, all these things could be used to advantage in this country."
You might be concerned and ask "how many hours of prayer must I perform daily?" Quoting again from Senior on the topic, "The strictly cloistered monk and nun lead that life in the highest degree, but each of us in his station must pay his due. There are three degrees of prayer: The first, of the consecrated religious, is total. They pray always, according to the counsel of Our Lord. Their whole life is the Divine Office, Mass, spiritual reading, mental prayer... They pray eight hours, sleep eight hours and divide the other eight between physical work and recreation... The third degree is for those in the married state (or single life) who offer a tithe of their time for prayer — about two and a half hours per day — with eight hours for work, eight for sleep, and the remaining five and a half for recreation with the family" (62-63).
Make an effort — an obligation — pray the Divine Office and other pious devotions for 2 and a half hours each day. And no prayer is greater than the Mass. If possible, attend Holy Mass daily. We quote one final time from Senior who said, "Whatever we do in the political and social order, the indispensable foundation is prayer, the heart of which is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the perfect prayer of Christ Himself, Priest and Victim, recreating in an unbloodly manner the bloody, selfsame Sacrifice of Calvary. What is Christian Culture? It is essentially the Mass" (16-17).
Conclusion
The Law of Prayer is the Law of Belief. If we pray a certain way, it shows in a powerful way what we believe. And conversely, irreverent Masses, hurried prayers, and parishes that never encourage the Divine Office or at least the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary, fail in effective liturgical catechesis.
For parishes or individuals looking at better catechesis, please consider the wonderful programs of CatechismClass.com. The lessons are unwaveringly faithful to the Catholic Faith and highlight often the importance of liturgical catechesis and the Sacramental life. All adult-level lessons for instance incorporate the Divine Office. Pairing a truly exceptional program like those by CatechismClass.com with a Sacramental and liturgically-based prayer life can help establish a truly solid foundation of liturgical catechesis.
Reverend Fathers, esteemed guests, and friends, I’m grateful for the opportunity to address you today and present this talk on Apologetics: Learning the True Faith in an Age of Apostasy. As I first accepted the opportunity to speak here, I was reflecting on the title for my talk and came across the wise words of Fr. Gommar Depauw who wrote, “Today’s condition of the Catholic Church is beyond the point of doctrinal heresy, factual schism and even apostacy. It is in a state of chaos and utter collapse resulting from the systematic destruction of first our liturgical and other traditions, and now our very beliefs and morals.” Our beliefs as Catholics are under a full assault.
Truly, if someone asks me what worries me, what keeps me up at night, it’s precisely what we are talking about here today at this conference. The Faith today is assaulted by more false ideologies from both within and without the Church than arguably ever before in Her history. These are truly times that the world has never seen.
You and I are all being individually called upon to live radically Catholic lives. And unlike ages past, the Faith today is fading so quickly it will be left to a small remnant to keep it alive. And you, my friends, are part of that remnant. We are the last vestiges of the Catholic Faith left in the world and it is our duty to know it, live it, and defend it. The words of St. Paul as recorded in Romans 10:14 are a driving force in my life. For those who haven’t memorized that passage, in it St. Paul wrote, “How then shall they call on him, in whom they have not believed? Or how shall they believe him, of whom they have not heard?”
This is no small task that the Lord has charged us with. These are times unlike She has seen in Her history but therein lies the ability to do these actions well to make reparation for our sins and those of others, and by living as true Catholic missionaries in our daily lives, we will render homage to God and help keep the remnant of the Catholic Faith from extinction. What we need is for you, especially our young Catholics, to be Catholic apologists who are grounded in the teachings of the Faith and who can boldly and bravely spread and defend Her teachings.
My talk here today will focus on three primary issues.
First, I’d like to discuss what is apologetics and why it is so badly and desperately needed today.
Secondly, I’d like to turn to what is the Catholic Faith, what tools do we have to defend the Faith, and what are some of the modern assaults in this age of apostacy against Her eternally true and unchanging teachings. In particular, I’d like to address some of the modern errors in this age of apostacy that are so prominent yet are countered by so few of the clergy.
And finally, and most importantly, what are we going to do about it. I’m going to present a list of real, concrete actions that I’m going to encourage all of you to take. More than ever before, the crisis in doctrine and in the Faith has led to worldwide apostacy even in the very Church founded by our Divine Redeemer. And as result, more than ever before, the average layman is being called on to be a missionary and to publicly defend, serve, and spread the True Faith of Jesus Christ.
Part 1: What is Apologetics and Why Do We Need Young Catholic Apologists Today
First, I’d like to share that it is my great joy to be able to be with so many young people today who understand the importance of the True Faith. First, if I may, a little information about me for context. I have been involved in Catholic action and catechesis now for about 15 years. My youthful years in high school, college, and my 20’s were really defined by my Catholic identity. In fact, tomorrow is my 30th birthday so I can say for one more day I’m a member of your group of young Catholics.
I raised in a non-religious household but, by the grace of God found the Catholic Faith and was baptized into the faith at the age of 16 back in 2004. In 2005 I started the online blog “A Catholic Life” which I still run to this day. My work with A Catholic Life is to help foster an appreciation for the Faith, to share valuable resources and traditional devotions and prayers, and to be an advocate for change to help the Church in our world that is opposed to Her sovereign, Her majesty, and Her beauty. I credit the website FishEaters.com, which you may know, for introducing me very early on after my Baptism to the Traditional Catholic Faith and information on the Latin Mass.
Over the years since 2004 I’ve had my share of successes and shortcomings as I have endeavored to defend the Faith and convert souls to our holy religion. For most of my high school years, I spent the evenings after school on the computer where I defended Catholic doctrines on Yahoo Answers, the Catholic Community Faith Forums, and a few other online forums.
Fast forward to 2010 now. I was entering my senior year in college and at that time, I was elected the President of CatechismClass.com, an online-based religious education course provider. Since taking over CatechismClass.com, which was founded by Fr. James Zatalava, a priest in Pennsylvania, our apostolate began to offer a number of programs ranging from traditional online RCIA classes for catechumens, children’s faith formation courses for parishes and individual homeschoolers, a best-selling godparent/parent baptism preparation class, and elective courses for adults who simply want to better learn the Faith in order to love and pass on true doctrine to others. We have taken a defiantly traditional stance since I took over the reigns and have grown our reach by double digits every single year now for all 8 years in a row. I also have happily been invited to a number of parishes over the years to speak on a variety of topics for the Catholic world.
As a result, I can speak from personal experience about the satisfaction of engaging in apologetics as a young Catholic.
So, what is apologetics? If you have ever been a member of a jury in a criminal case, or if you have ever watched a real or fictional trial in movies or on TV you have witnessed apologetics in action. Attorneys make use of apologetics to convince the jury that the person accused of a crime (the defendant) is either guilty or not guilty. If the jury believes the proofs and the arguments proposed by the prosecutor, the defendant is found guilty, and the Judge will impose a sentence commensurate to the crime for which the person is found guilty. If, on the other hand, the jury believes the evidence and the arguments given by the defense attorney, the defendant is found not guilty, and is free to walk out of the courtroom a free man. The closing remarks by the prosecutor and by the defense counsel in fact are called “closing arguments.”
These arguments and evidences prominent in the courtroom are actually present in all disciplines.
•The politician sets forth arguments and reasons to convince voters to vote for him or her.
•The scientist makes a scientific statement he posits as true only after he has evidence – proofs – to back the statement.
•A construction contractor, making a bid to build a bridge, includes in that bid the reasons why his bid is better than others. He might cite better building materials or a better, safer design. Those seeking the bid will certainly consider the cost of using one particular contractor over all others, but the lowest bid is certainly not the only consideration those seeking the bids will consider – or at least it shouldn’t be if we are talking about bridge construction!
These proofs and evidences – forms of argument – are, to use a fancy word, apologies. Not the “I’m sorry” type of apology; but rather a defense for a statement or position in a matter. In Christianity, the term apologetics refers to the discipline of putting forth arguments as to why our religion is the only true faith. These arguments set forth by the apologist ideally lead the listener to become Catholic.
Some people feel ashamed of admitting to that last part today. They think that religious discussion should only be to bring each side to an understanding of the other. But our work here and in life is not to engage in never-ending world religious studies. Our mission is to go out and convert souls and spread the teachings of the Lord as our Lord Himself asked in His final words before His Ascension when the Master Himself said: “Going therefore, teach ye all nations; baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world” (Matthew 28:19-20).
Apologetics is not arguing. It is not vain. It is not presumptuous. Rather, apologetics is concerned with charity. Firstly, it is concerned that God is to be worshipped, adored, and loved to the highest possible degree. This is in accordance with the 1st Commandment. And secondly, it is concerned with the salvation of our neighbor. Truly one of the most charitable actions we can do is to help others along their path to salvation.
As traditional Catholics – we know that it is necessary for salvation to be Catholic. Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus is a defined dogma of the faith. As Pope Innocent III declared at the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215: "There is but one universal Church of the faithful, outside which no one at all is saved." There was a wonder book published by Mediatrix Press a few years ago that contains the Small Catechism of St. Peter Canisius, who was instrumental in fighting Protestantism when it first came about. Indeed, it was the first Catechism ever produced. And the first question in this catechism is “Who is to be called a Christian.”
The answer in the words of St. Peter Canisius is “Whoever has been initiated by the Sacrament of Baptism of Jesus Christ, true God and man, and confesses the salutary doctrine in His Church, and not those who adhere to any sects or beliefs foreign to the Catholic Church.” So, when we say that apologetics is about defending Christianity, we have to understand that Catholicism and Christianity are one and the same. The notion that protestants are Christians is a false teaching condemned by the Church and clearly condemned in the words of St. Peter Canisius. Catholics are Christians, Orthodox are schismatics, and Protestants are heretics. This is simply the truth. We mean no malice by these words but wish to merely point out these other groups are not members of the Christian Church and must repent and submit to the Lord’s Church.
As a result, apologetics is a spiritual work of mercy if it has as its aim instructing the ignorant and admonishing the sinner rather than merely trying to win arguments or engage in so called religious dialogue. Heaven is not the prize of the philosopher or the intellectualist – it is the prize of a soul who is grounded in charity.
Part 2: What is the True Faith
In my work at CatechismClass.com, we produce several programs of study that help our readers learn the Catholic Faith. The Catholic Faith that I teach and defend daily is founded on two tenets – the two sources of Divine Revelation: Holy Scripture and Sacred Tradition. That’s it. As the book “My Catholic Faith” succinctly summarizes: “Divine Revelation comes down to us by two means: through Holy Scripture, written down under divine inspiration, and through Tradition, handed down orally from Apostolic times.”
Those are the two means of divine revelation we have to know the Faith, but we have tools to help us further understand the Faith that has been revealed by God. One of those tools is our ability as human beings to reason. Some things can be known by reason alone. For example, it can be known by reason alone that God exists. This is affirmed explicitly at the Council of Trent. As we examine the created world, as we consider the perfection of creation, as we understand that there had to be a First Cause who started all things, we can use our reason to understand that there must be a divine being. Reason doesn’t inform us who that being is. It just helps us understand that something doesn’t come from nothing. That is our reason working. Reasoning should also be informed by strong, scholastic philosophy.
Another tool at our disposal to bring us to know these truths is the immense generosity and magnanimity of God in His miracles. The Miracles of God further prove the divine origin of the Catholic Faith. So, by two such tools, namely the use of reason and of external proofs of miracles, we can come to believe what the Church teaches. And again, Her teachings come from God Himself in Divine Revelation which have as their origin either Sacred Scripture in the Bible or Sacred Tradition that has been passed down to us from apostolic times.
Another way to describe our tools is in the terms of St. Thomas Aquinas who appealed to his contemporaries using both philosophy (which directly relates to our ability to reason) and Theology (which concerns divinely revealed truths). Philosophy is as useful as Theology for an apologist. And it’s interesting to note that some of the most basic human questions like "Does God Exist" are philosophical questions - not theological questions. Being well grounded in Scholasticism and in Catholic doctrine are both foundational to being an apologist.
Let’s look at another example: The Oneness of the Church. The Bible clearly records how Jesus established one visible Church on earth, not a collection of separate “churches” with competing doctrines. Matthew 16:18-19, John 10:16, and Ephesians 4:3-6 all support the oneness of the Church. Ephesians 4:5 states, “One Lord, one faith, one baptism.”
And reason would teach us this fact too. Since each protestant denomination and other non-Catholic religion teaches a set of doctrine that contradicts the Catholic Church and all other denominations and religions, there can be only one religion on this earth that is right, at most. It is either none or one. It is not two or three since two conflicting bodies of doctrine can not be both true at the same time. That is contrary to what being true means. If the Church was not one, She would have different bodies of doctrine that would have to contradict at least one point of the other Church. But, Our Lord promised in Sacred Scripture that He would preserve the Church from error and be with Her for all times. Therefore, it follows that the Church must be one.
And moreover, miracles further confirm this. The Catholic Church is the great bastion of miracles. Do we have reported Eucharistic miracles in Lutheran churches or Anglican ones? No. Yet in the Catholic Church we do, and we have over 500 people have had the visible (or invisible) wounds of Christ known as the Stigmata on their body including St. Catherine of Siena, St. John of God, St. Francis, Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich, St. Marie of the Incarnation, and St. Pio of Pietrelcina. We also have over 150 incorruptible saints whose incorruptibly defies all of science. We have the frequent liquefaction of the blood of St. Januaris which still occurs to this day. And we have dozens of confirmed and verified apparitions in history not only of our Blessed Mother but also of St. Michael the Archangel and other saints.
And all of this has been examined by modern science which continues to find these miracles as unexplainable. God, in His goodness and generosity, showers us with proofs of the accuracy of the Catholic Church’s doctrines. And this too is why satan is not attacking Lutherans, or Baptists, or Muslims. He is attacking the Catholic priesthood, he is infiltrating our seminaries and leading men ordained to the priesthood of Jesus Christ to betray their office and sexual assault children – an absolutely diabolical and unspeakable blasphemy. And satan does this because in the Catholic Church is the truth. Why would he waste his time on attacking those souls who are already under his rule?
To summarize, the dogma of the Church’s oneness, which is divinely revealed through Scripture and Tradition, is well established and understood by virtue of both reason and miracles. And this is merely one element of the True Faith. Yet the use of reason and miracles to support them holds true for many, many others. Further reading of St. Thomas Aquinas in the Summa Theologiae or his Summa Contra Gentiles all explain with great examples the basis and the arguments in support of the Church as being one. If you are not familiar with these books, look them up and read them.
Let’s consider an additional example and apply this formula of Sacred Tradition and Scripture coupled with the tools of reason and miracles.
For instance, it is a doctrine of our Faith that the Lord chose the apostles and the power He gave them is transmitted down through apostolic succession to our bishops today. You must believe this. And yet we all surely know souls that deny this infallible truth.
Jesus gave the Church one important mission: to proclaim His good news to the whole world as affirmed in Matthew 28:18-20 and Mark 16:15-16. Our Blessed Lord chose special men (the apostles) and not just anyone who believed in Him, to accomplish this mission. The verses supporting this are numerous and include John 15:16, Luke 22:29-30, John 10:16, Luke 22:32, and more.
The Holy Scriptures even describe how Jesus gave the Apostles the power to forgive sins in John 20:23, offer sacrifice in the form of the Holy Eucharist in 1 Corinthians 11:23-24, speak with His voice in Luke 10:16, legislate in Matthew 18:18, and discipline in Matthew 18:17.
And without going into too much detail on Catholic Tradition, there are lengthy documents supporting apostolic succession from Pope St. Clement I from 80 AD, St. Irenaeus in 189 AD, Tertullian in 200 AD, St. Jerome in 396 AD, and St. Augustine in 397 AD. In fact, the principles of apostolic succession are the most upheld teaching in all the Church Fathers and many protestant seminaries forbid the Church Fathers and I’ve heard some protestant lectors even doubt the existence of them in order to keep their students’ minds away from these sources of truth.
Let’s now turn to our ability to reason. We could show our friends and acquaintances that Apostolic Succession is one of the four marks of the Church and it is well established in both Sacred Scripture and in the Traditions of the Church, though, of course, something need not be explicitly mentioned in Scripture since not every last doctrine was written down, but nevertheless apostolic succession is addressed in both Scripture and Tradition. And we could then tell our friends that reason proves this must be true.
If the Lord promised His Church would be without error and if the Lord established the Sacrament of Holy Orders and if the Lord promised His Church would be one and united in the truth, it follows that there must be a group with a connection directly back to these apostles. And if apostolic succession wasn’t important, why would the apostles have gone to such lengths to elect St. Matthias to replace Judas, and why would the Scriptures contain so many sentences on this event if it wasn’t important for the Early Church?
Dave Armstrong wrote an article on this topic for the National Catholic Register and in it he writes, “Most Christians [He is including protestants here] agree that St. Peter was the leader of the early Church and the disciples: whether they believe he was a “pope” or not. It stands to reason, then, that there would continue to be a leader, just as there was a first President when the laws of the United States were established at the Constitutional Convention in 1787.
“Why have one President and then cease to have one thereafter and let the executive branch of government exist without a leader? Everyone understands that there is then a succession of Presidents and that it doesn't end with the first one and the prototype.
“So why do people think so differently when it comes to Christianity, which is in need of a governing body and person at the top of the chain of authority, just as any effective organization whatever has? Catholics are, therefore, applying common sense: if this is how Jesus set up the government of His Church in the beginning, then it ought to continue in like fashion, in perpetuity.
“The Church supposedly had a supervisor for ten, twenty years, but then never did again? That makes no sense. What would be the point? We don’t apply such reasoning to virtually any other collective.”
And such an analysis is the use of reason supporting apostolic succession.
And this is also affirmed by our other tool – miracles. On August 6, 1945, the first nuclear bomb ever used was detonated over Hiroshima, Japan, killing 140,000 people. Everything within a mile of the blast was annihilated with nothing left standing, no survivors. That is, almost everyone…
Yet, just eight blocks from ground zero (to be exact 1 kilometer or 6/10 of a mile) there was a two story house left standing intact with no damage to it, not even the windows were broken. When inquiry was made as to what was different about the building it was discovered that there was a community of eight Jesuit priests living there who said the Rosary each day.
Fr. Hubert Schiffer who headed the community was virtually untouched by the nuclear blast with no radiation found in his body, and he publicly testified to this miracle at the Eucharistic Congress in Philadelphia in 1976. In an interview with Fr. Paul Ruge he describes the horrific nightmare of August 6, 1945:
"Suddenly, a terrific explosion filled the air with one bursting thunder stroke. An invisible force lifted me from the chair, hurled me through the air, shook me, battered me, whirled me 'round and round' like a leaf in a gust of autumn wind."
Fr. Ruge relates that the next thing he remembered was that he opened his eyes and found himself laying on the ground. He looked around and there was NOTHING in any direction: the railroad station and buildings in all directions were leveled to the ground. The only physical harm to himself was that he could feel a few pieces of glass in the back of his neck. As far as he could tell, there was nothing else physically wrong with himself.
Shortly thereafter Fr. Hubert was told by medical authorities that he would eventually die of cancer because of all the radiation exposure, yet he lived another 30 years in full health with no cancer or effects from the radiation. The same is said of the other seven survivors of the priestly community. Aside from some slight surface abrasions or scratches they all lived out their days in full health with no cancer or side effects from radiation.
According to Dr. Stephen Rinehart, a nuclear physicist with the U.S. Department of Defense who had studied this phenomenon intently, they should have been dead in a flash.
It was a group of Catholic priests saved. Priests with a connection back to apostolic times. It was not a protestant church. It was not a Buddhist temple. It was a group of Catholic priests. How many of you here have heard of the Rosary Miracle of Hiroshima before?
Yet, so many miracles underscore the divine foundations of the Faith. And this is just one of the many external proofs I cite to people when defending the Faith in our present apostacy. Spend time learning about miracles. Be informed to defend the Faith.
I encourage all of you to be apologists and make use of both reason and miracles to support any element of the Catholic Faith, which will have its basis in either Sacred Tradition or Scripture or both.
Now that we’ve examined two particular dogmas of the Faith, I’d like to step back and examine the Faith on a broader level.
Let’s ask, “what is the Faith”? I’m sure you naturally all want to better learn the Faith – or at least I hope you do – but what is the faith exactly? The Faith is the summation of all that the Holy Church teachings infallibly. That includes the 10 Commandments and what follows from them, Christian morality, the Creed, the doctrine of the Sacraments, the truths of the Holy Mass, etc.
As part of my adult faith formation course that I administer on CatechismClass.com, I conclude the program with a lesson that summarizes the 255 Infallible Dogmas of the Faith. Make a note to go online and search for the 255 infallible dogmas of the Faith to get a good, concise summary of what we as Catholics must believe. There is a great summary of this online that lists all of these 255 dogmas and then 102 certain truths that have not yet been formally defined but which nevertheless are a part of the body of Faith. And I encourage you to pick a few off of this list, study them, and practice how you would use reason, miracles, and an explanation of Scripture and Church Tradition to explain them to someone who didn’t understand them or who even denied them.
I’m sure that if you are here then you love the Church and you love our Lord. But I ask each of you to ask yourselves if you are doing enough to show your love of Him to others and to spread His teachings (which He commanded to be taught and preserved and passed down). Alas, it is impossible to defend and serve the Faith if you are ignorant of it.
In fact, one of our foremost duties as young Catholics is to study the Catholic Faith. And this studying doesn’t end at your Confirmation. I personally spend at least 30 minutes a day still studying the Faith. And that consists of reading the Church Fathers, or a good book on the Faith by Angelus Press, or some of the lives of the Saints, or a passage from the Imitation of Christ, and so on. It doesn’t have to be the same thing everyday. You can have a few books and rotate through them over the course of the week to keep it dynamic. But studying has to be taken seriously if you want to save souls. I ask that you spend a little time each Sunday reflecting on your week and what you have done well and where you can improve upon when it comes to sharing and living out the Faith.
When it comes to studying, the issues we should be examining include the many errors that are widely taught today and which our clergy and our fellow Catholics are not countering strongly enough. These modern errors are particular issues we have to study so we can combat them in this age of apostasy. Some of these errors include religious indifferentism, the separation of Church and state; Communism, Socialism, and Freemasonry; subjectivism; attacks on the rights of God and a misunderstanding of human rights; and the pervasive error that dogmas may evolve over time. I’d like to address just a few today.
A fundamental error with modernism and those who adhere to it, is that they refuse to embrace extra ecclesiam nulla salus ("outside of the Church there is no salvation"). Pope Innocent III declared at the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215: "There is but one universal Church of the faithful, outside which no one at all is saved." His Holiness Innocent III unequivocally declared that all men must belong to the Church founded by our Lord Jesus Christ in order to be saved. Period.
Subsequently, Pope Boniface VIII made the matter even more clear when in 1302 he declared, "We declare, say, define, and pronounce that it is absolutely necessary for the salvation of every human creature to be subject to the Roman Pontiff" (Unam Sanctam, 1302). Listen to those words carefully: absolutely necessary.
And these remarks are not the only ones pronounced by the Holy Catholic Church. The Church continues to teach that outside of the Church there is no salvation. Period. The Church is unchanging in matters of Faith and Doctrine. If it is true that in the past salvation was possible only for Catholics and if this is not true now, then the Faith has changed. But the Faith cannot change because God doesn’t change. As the Scripture affirm: "Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever."
Back when Catholic Bishops better proclaimed the Catholic Faith, Archbishop John Hughes of New York who was Archbishop from 1842 until 1864 said, “The goal of the Catholic Church is to convert all pagan nations and protestant nations. There is no secrecy in this; it is the commission of God to his one true Church. Everyone should know that we have for our mission to convert the world, including the inhabitants of the United States; the people of the cities, the peoples of the country, the officers of the Navy and the Marines, the commanders of the Army, the Legislature, the Senate, the Cabinet, the President and all.”
And we do this because our Lord commanded us to convert all peoples and nations. Why? Because He is the only means to be saved. Acts 4:12 – “For there is no other name under heaven given to men, whereby we must be saved.”
To support religious indifferentism violates the First Commandment since, by such support, we deny that there is One God, through whom salvation alone comes.
True enculturation is the answer. We do not force our Lord and the Faith to conform to our cultures. Rather, we all conform to our Lord Jesus Christ. We live our own unique traditions in a way that conforms to the saving truths of the Faith. And in such a way, we preserve the beauty of diverse human experiences and cultures but do so only if they conform to the religion established by God Himself. There is a reason we have different Rites of Mass in the Church or why we have different feastdays in certain countries. Even the exact vestments for Mass can differ region to region. But we are nevertheless united in the same body of doctrine: One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism.
And another one of the modern errors that we see attacking the faith today is the pernicious idea that dogmas may evolve. This is a core element of the heresy of modernism as condemned by St. Pius X.
The idea that Catholic dogma can change and that what was once true is no longer true is entirely and unequivocally false. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. If we believed in the unity of the Trinity, the sinlessness of Mary, the necessity of Baptism, the evil of divorce, etc. in times past, those truths remain today. While certain external practices can change like the exact date of feast days or the color of vestments, the essential truths on religion and morality cannot change by the very definition of what a dogma is.
Pope St. Pius X promulgated his papal encyclical letter Pascendi dominici gregis directed against the heresy of Modernism on September 8, 1907. He wrote strongly against this heresy as well in a Syllabus on the Errors of the Modernist and one of those elements stated, “It is an error to believe that Christ did not teach a determined body of doctrine applicable to all times and to all men, but rather that He inaugurated a religious movement adapted, or to be adapted, to different times and different places.”
Pope St. Pius X then on September 1, 1910, required that every bishop, priest, religious superior, seminarian and professors of Theology and Philosophy swear the oath against modernism. One element of that Oath stated, “I entirely reject the heretical misrepresentation that dogmas evolve and change from one meaning to another different from the one which the Church held previously.”
One definition of Catholic Modernism is the attempt to re-interpret the teachings of the Catholic Church by taking into account new philosophical and scientific thought and concepts. But the truths of the Faith as affirmed by the Church and as contained in the Creed and in all of Her teachings cannot and will not change. And reason would teach us such too since something that is as universally true as the authority of Scripture, the nature of Christ, or the necessity of Baptism is a truth that will never change.
So to conclude this second part, the Catholic Faith is the True Faith. It is the only Faith based in an actual adherence to the truths contained in Sacred Scripture and in accordance with the actual history of the Church. Catholics are the only Christians. And, the modern attempts to attack Christian morality, to propose non-Catholics may receive Holy Communion without converting, to attack the long-held practice of priestly celibacy, and the like need to be eradicated. The Church needs soldiers. The Church – Eternal Rome – needs you.
Part 3: Our Response to Learning the Faith
In our world today, as the Faith is under unprecedented assault, it is our responsibility to defend it. It is our duty as Catholics – confirmed soldiers of Christ the King – to do battle on behalf of the True Faith.
To those who think we should not do actions, I wish to share with you the words of St. Anthony of Padua who said, “Actions speak louder than words; let your words teach and your actions speak. We are full of words but empty of actions, and therefore are cursed by the Lord, since He Himself cursed the fig tree when He found no fruit but only leaves. It is useless for a man to flaunt his knowledge of the law if he undermines its teaching by his actions.” And it was St. Pius X, the great Pope against the errors of the Modernists, who asserted, “The greatest obstacle in the apostolate of the Church is the timidity or rather the cowardice of the faithful.”
I appeal to you – I beg you – to engage in profound and daily Catholic action in catechesis. The great St. Pius X also wrote in his encyclical Acerbo Nimis in 1905: “This we solemnly affirm: the majority of those who are condemned to eternal punishment fall into this everlasting misfortune through ignorance of the mysteries of the Faith which must necessarily be known and believed by all who belong to the Elect.” Souls depend on us. Again the words of St. Paul, “How can they believe in One whom they have not heard?”
Therefore, we are bound to act.
First and foremost, study. Study for 30 minutes a day and study good Catholic books. I have often been asked for good book recommendations for Bibles, Catechisms, Catholic History books, Mariology resources, and the like over the years. I’ve put together a list of my recommendations and you can view that. If you go to CatechismClass.com and in the information links at the bottom of the page above the footer will be a Recommended Books Links.
Some of the items on that list that I strongly recommend adding to your library include "My Catholic Faith" by Angelus Press, "This is the Faith" by Canon Francis Ripley, and "The Catechism of the Crisis in the Church" by Fr. Matthias Gaudron. And there are many others in various categories but those are solid books that will help you lay a strong foundation to learn the Faith in this age of apostacy.
Secondly, and even more importantly, pray. We should have frequent recourse to the Holy Ghost and pray that we learn what we should learn for the glory of God so that we might better know Him, love Him, and serve. As the very first question and answer in the Baltimore Catechism affirms, our purpose in life is to “know, love, and serve God in this life and to be with Him for all eternity.” And if we are not studying, we are not knowing Him. And if we do not frequently have recourse to prayer, to the Sacraments, and to a life that adheres to the Ten Commandments, we can not love Him. Prayer is absolutely essentially for everyone in this room.
Thirdly, I ask that you carry prayer cards, booklets, and Sacramentals in your bags on a daily basis. Post them on bulletin boards around town, in coffee shops, or leave them in movie theaters or laundromats. Be creative to spread the teachings of Christ. Carry as well in your bags extra blessed Rosaries and Miraculous Medals so you can give them out to souls that you may engage in apologetic discussions while going about your day. I keep a handful of pamphlets in my glove compartment on “Reasons to Return to Catholic Faith” and a handful more on “Why Be Catholic.” I ordered them from online from the website by St. Paul’s Street Evangelization so that I can pass them out.
Fourthly, keep a handful of blessed green scapulars as well so you can leave them in places. The green scapular is often hidden under pillows or mattresses of those we are praying to convert. I’ve placed green scapulars under chair cushions in interfaith prayer rooms at universities and in the homes of friends that are not Catholic. And just pray each day the Green Scapular Prayer which is simply: "Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us now and at our hour of death."
Fifth, be bold. One such thing I do is destroy bad books. Picture yourself in your local Goodwill store, thrift shop, or garage sale. Venture over to the book section and scan through the religious books in the stacks. You’ll undoubtedly find little in Catholic thought. Instead you’ll find protestant books on the Rapture, protestant books containing all sorts of heresies and false teachings, Protestant Bibles, Jewish prayer books, New Age or Occult manuscripts, and much more. My heart goes out to the people who search in such places for God. These souls – like everyone – are searching for God. And they will likely not find Him in the midst of protestant heresy and paganism.
I was at a Goodwill store back in 2013 and browsing their book section when I decided to take action. I repositioned the Catholic books, which included a book by St. Alphonsus and a few prayer books in a way that they were eye level for those browsing the section.
I then placed into my basket a handful of the heretical books which included works by protestants on the Rapture as well as protestant Scripture commentaries. I purchased them for $0.86 each and took them home and included them as kindling for a bonfire I had that night. These books were unfit to be produced. They would have led souls into heresy.
How many Catholic souls have been lost because of bad books? How many searching souls have been led into false churches and false religions because of these errors? I encourage you to likewise remove profane and irreligious posters from public places and purchase and destroy evil books. Once again, let’s recall to mind the words of St. Pius X who said, “The greatest obstacle in the apostolate of the Church is the cowardice of the faithful.” Let us not be cowards but courageous soldiers of Christ the King. The cost of our cowardice is the damnation of souls.
Sixth, learn the true meaning of Holy Scripture. We have surely heard protestants twisting Scripture verses to fit their views and know that protestants largely support the error of sola scriptura, by Scripture alone. Of course, Scripture itself condemns this since it blatantly states at the end of the Gospel of John that not all things are written in Scripture. Yet, nevertheless, we can do great work for souls by learning the true meaning of Scripture verses. Get a copy of the Douay Rheims Bible, the most accurate translation of St. Jerome’s Latin Vulgate, and pair that with Haydock’s Catholic Bible Commentary. You can pick up a copy or view the text online as the book is viewable online in its entirety. Again, it’s called the Haydock’s Catholic Bible Commentary.
And finally, in all of this, live a holy life. We must be uncompromising in doctrine but unblemished in our conduct and in our acts of charity to God and to neighbor. Let us never grow despondent and may we never despair or become jaded by what happens in the world and in our Church. God does not require us to be successful but only faithful. We must strive to save our own souls first as the Scriptures state in referring to removing the plank from our own eyes before we can do so with others. And we can do so by being firmly grounded in Catholic doctrine, availing ourselves of the Sacraments, staying close to Tradition, and having a deeply engrained prayer life. Yet, through this all, we must never be a cause for scandal. Souls will only after great labor be converted by our work with apologetics. But souls will in only a few moments be lost if they see us living out a life that is not unblemished and in perfect conformity to the Faith we profess. Keep this in mind in all of your actions – no matter how small in public – souls can be lost by scandal. And let us never have this sin on our souls.
May the words of St. Padre Pio help guide us and remind us that we must strive for holiness if we are to be successful in our work with others. The Saint said, “Holiness means loving our neighbor as our self for love of God. In this connection holiness means loving those who curse us, who hate and persecute us and even doing good to them. Holiness means living humbly, being disinterested, prudent, just, patient, kind, chaste, meek, diligent, carrying out one’s duties for no other reason than that of pleasing God and receiving from Him alone the reward one deserves.”
Therefore, I implore you to never fall into bursts of anger, exhibit envy, be caught in immodesty, or any other action that would cause scandal to our Holy Religion. I’m sure many of you are familiar with the five proofs of God’s existence by St. Thomas Aquinas. The five ways do not prove the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, but they do demonstrate that what is commonly called “God” is necessary if we are to account for motion, causality, possibility, being, and design. And those proofs are quite philosophically sound so why then do atheists reject them? Are atheists just all poor at reasoning? No. Rather, the atheist denies the existence of God for moral reasons, not for philosophical ones. Usually, heretics and atheists are what they are because of scandal. That is why we must live our lives with great personal sanctity. All of our actions at Mass, in prayer, or in a church we must be unblemished. St. Maximilian Kolbe’s words on this may serve as our guide when he said, “When you kneel before an altar, do it in such a way that others may be able to recognize that you know before whom you kneel.”
As a Third Order Dominican Tertiary, I wear the Dominican Scapular under my clothing. When I received that scapular a few years ago from the hands of Fr. Albert, I heard the prayer that goes as follows: “May the Lord also sprinkle you with hyssop, who are about to be clothed with our garments, and may you be so cleansed that, clean and whiter than snow in mind, you may so avail in the outward bearing of our garb as to be, by the example of your good works, the dour of life unto life to all with whom you will hold converse, lest perhaps, by your evil works, our ministry be blamed.” I think of those words often as I reflect on my own external actions.
And those words can apply to all of us. May we be so clean in mind and soul so those with whom we converse will see in us the glory of the Catholic Faith lest by our evil words, bad works, or bad doctrine, our Divine Lord and His Redeemer be blamed.
I conclude with the words of Fulton J Sheen, the great Catholic apologist of the last century who famously remarked, ““Who is going to save our Church? Not our Bishops, not our priests and religious. It is up to the laity. You have the minds, the eyes, the ears to save the Church. Your mission is to see that your priests act like priests, your bishops like bishops and your religious act like religious.” So you see, there is not a better time to learn, teach, and live the Faith than in our present age of apostasy.
The Feast of Our Lady of the Pillar appears in the Missal as a Mass in some places and congregations for October 12th. The celebration of the Office and Mass for the feast of Our Lady of the Pillar, observed on October 12, was granted to all of Spain by Pope Clement XII in 1730. As the date coincides with the discovery of the Americas by Christopher Columbus, the Blessed Virgin Mary was later named the Patroness of the Hispanic World.
As summarized in the Angelus Press 1962 Daily Missal: "The Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar in Saragossa is one of the most celebrated places of pilgrimage in Spain. Whilst praying there at the feet of the miraculous statue, the good Father Chaminade was apprised by divine revelation that he was destined to found the Society of Mary."
Among the Twelve Apostles, three were chosen as the familiar companions of Our Blessed Lord, and of these St. James the Greater was one. He alone, together with St. Peter and his brother St. John, was admitted to the house of Jairus when the dead girl was raised to life. They alone were taken up to the high mountain apart, and saw the face of Jesus shining as the sun, and His garments white as snow; and these three alone witnessed His fearful agony in Gethsemane. What was it that won St. James a place among these three? Faith—burning, impetuous and outspoken, but which needed purifying before the "Son of Thunder" could proclaim the Gospel of Peace. It was St. James who demanded fire from Heaven to consume the inhospitable Samaritans, and who sought the place of honor next to Christ in His Kingdom. Yet Our Lord, in rebuking his presumption, prophesied his faithfulness to death. Indeed when St. James was brought before King Herod Agrippa, his fearless confession of Jesus Crucified so moved the public prosecutor that he declared himself a Christian on the spot. Accused and accuser were hurried off together to execution, and on the road the latter begged pardon of the Saint. The Apostle had long since forgiven him, but hesitated for a moment whether to publicly accept as a brother one still unbaptized. God quickly recalled to him the Church's Faith, that the blood of martyrdom supplies for every Sacrament, and embraced his companion with the words, "Peace be with thee." Together then they knelt for the sword, and together received the crown.
But before all this, in the years after the Ascension of Our Lord, all the solicitude of our great Mother and Lady was centered upon the increase and spread of the Holy Catholic Church, the consolation of the Apostles, disciples and the other faithful, and in defending them from the persecution and assaults prepared by the infernal dragon and his hosts. Before Our Blessed Lady departed from Jerusalem to take up her abode in Ephesus, She ordered and arranged many things, both by herself and her holy Angels, to provide for the needs of the Church in Her absence. The most effectual service She could render was Her continual prayer. She offered special prayers for St. James the Greater, as She knew this Apostle would be the first to shed his blood for Christ.
On the fourth day before leaving for Ephesus, Our Blessed Lady asked Our Lord: "Lord, what dost Thou command me to do? What dost Thou desire of me?" Repeating these words, She saw her Divine Son descending in Person, with all His court to visit Her. The humble and devout Virgin worshiped Him in deepest reverence from the inmost of Her purest soul. Our Lord replied to Her petition: "My most beloved Mother... I am attentive to Thy petitions and holy desires and they are pleasing to Me. I shall defend My Apostles and My Church, and I shall be their Father and Protector, so that It shall not be overcome, nor the gates of Hell prevail against It (Matt. 18:18). It is necessary for My glory that the Apostles labor and follow Me to the Cross and to the death I have suffered for the whole human race. The first one to imitate Me is My faithful servant, James, and I desire that he suffer martyrdom in this city of Jerusalem. I desire that thou go to Zaragoza, where he is now, and command him to return to Jerusalem. But before he leaves that city, he is to build a church in Thy name." After expressing her sincerest gratitude to her Divine Son, She asked that She be permitted to promise the special protection of Her Divine Son and that this sacred place shall be part of Her inheritance for the use of all who call with devotion upon Her Son's Holy Name, asking Her to intercede for them. Our Divine Lord promised His holy Mother that all She asked would be fulfilled according to Her will and power at this sacred Shrine.
Apparition of Our Lady of El Pilar
At the command of Our Lord, a great number of Angels placed Her on a throne formed by a resplendent cloud, and proclaimed Her Queen and Mistress of all creation. The purest Mother, borne by Seraphim and Angels, departed body and soul for Zaragoza in Spain. St. James was lost in exalted prayer when the Angels placed the throne of their Queen and Lady within sight of the Apostle and his disciples. The Angels bore with them a small column hewn of marble or jasper, and a small image of their Queen. Seated on Her throne on the cloud, She manifested herself to St. James. The Apostle prostrated himself and in deepest reverence venerated the Mother of his Creator and Redeemer. At the same time he was shown the image and the pillar in the hands of some of the Angels. The loving Queen gave him Her blessing and said, "My son James, this place, the Most High and Omnipotent God of Heaven has destined to be consecrated by thee upon earth for the erection of a church and house of prayer, where, under My patronage and name, He wishes to be glorified and magnified, where the treasures of His right hand shall be opened up for all the faithful through My intercession, if they ask for them in true faith and sincere piety. This column, with My image placed upon it, shall be a pledge of this truth and of My promise. In the church which thou shall build for Me, it shall remain and be preserved until the end of the world. Thou shalt immediately begin to build this church, and after thou hast completed it, thou shalt depart for Jerusalem."
At the Queen's command, the holy Angels set up the column, and upon it the sacred image, in the same place where they now stand. St. James, together with the holy Angels celebrated the first dedication of a Church instituted in this world under the name and title of the great Mistress of Heaven and earth. Our Apostle gave most humble thanks to his Blessed Mother Mary and asked for special protection of this Spanish kingdom, and particularly of this place consecrated to Her devotion and name. Our heavenly Mother granted him all his requests, gave him Her blessing, and was carried back to Jerusalem.
A multitude of miracles have been wrought at the Shrine of Our Lady of El Pilar, but the following stands pre-eminent both for splendor and authenticity. Let those who impugn the devotion to Our Blessed Lady know that it stands on record that by means of it a man recovered, at this Church in Zaragoza, one of his legs which had been amputated. His name was Miguel Juan Pellicer, aged at that time 19 years, and born at Calanda, a town of Aragon and the home of his parents. One day the young man, being in the service of his uncle, Diego (James) Blasco, at Castellon de la Plena, in Valencia, fell out of a wagon and broke his leg. He was taken to the hospital at Valencia, and after many remedies had been tried in vain, he was taken to the great hospital at Zaragoza, where he was placed under the care of Juan d'Estanga, a celebrated surgeon.
The young man had a great devotion to Our Lady of El Pilar, and when he was taken to Zaragoza, he first received the Sacraments at Her Church. When the surgeon was obliged to amputate his leg—a finger's breadth below the knee—Miguel invoked the Blessed Virgin with great fervor. When the wound had begun to heal, he dragged himself to Her image to offer up thanks and place his whole life in Her hands; and when, afterwards, he suffered intense pain in the sore limb, he used to go to the Church of El Pilar and anoint the stump with the oil from one of the lamps which burned before Her. He did this consistently, and for two years was known by everybody to frequent the Church of Our Blessed Lady, sometimes imploring Her aid, sometimes begging the charity of the passers-by.
Miracle of Calanda
In 1640 he returned to Calanda, and used to beg for his support. On March 29, 1641, after having exhausted himself cutting grass, he hung up his wooden leg, and went to bed. Later that night his mother entered his room, and was amazed to see two feet in her son's bed. At first she thought one of the soldiers quartered in the town had got into the house, and ran to tell her husband. But when Miguel's father arrived, he saw it was his son, and awoke him. The son cried out on awakening, "I dreamt that I was in the chapel of Our Lady of El Pilar, where I was anointing my stump with the oil of the lamp!" The father instantly answered, "Give thanks to God, my son. His Holy Mother has restored you your leg." Miguel did not know it till then.
News of the event immediately spread all over the town, and the same night all the inhabitants came to witness the miracle. The next day a large crowd accompanied him to the church to render thanks, and all beheld him with two legs, who, the day before, was known to have but one. The young man was conducted to Zaragoza, and judicially examined. An advocate was named, witnesses were examined, the question was debated, and at length, on April 27, 1641, the most illustrious Lord Pedro Apaolara, Archbishop of Zaragoza, pronounced that the fact was true, and that it surpassed all natural powers. The verdict was also signed by the Prior of St. Cristina, the Vicar-General, the Archdeacon, the senior professor of canon law, and several other professors and provincials of Religious Orders.
To these testimonies may be added that of Jerónimo Brizius (quoted by the Bollandists in Acta Sanctorum, vi, p. 118), who made the following declaration: "By order of Sr. Gabriel de Aldamas, Vicar-General of Madrid, I have read the publication regarding the astounding miracle wrought by Our Lady of El Pilar. I know that it is true. In the first place, I knew the young man at Zaragoza, where, deprived of one leg, he used to ask alms at the door of the Church of the Virgin; and I afterwards saw him at Madrid, whence His Majesty had sent for him, walking on his two feet. I saw the mark which the Blessed Virgin left to attest to the incision; and the other Fathers of this royal College of the Society of Jesus saw it, like myself. I knew the parents of the young man, who were assisted by the Canons of Our Lady of El Pilar. I also knew the surgeon who made the amputation. Dated, Madrid, at the College of the Society of Jesus, March 12, 1642."
Collect:
Almighty and eternal God, who in the most glorious Mother of Thy Son hast wondrously given us a heavenly protectress, mercifully grant us perpetual protection through her aid whom we devoutly honor under the special title of Our Lady of the Pillar. Through the same . . .
"Catholic parents and teachers must read and re-read Cardinal Newman's long, balanced, incomparable essay on the whole subject, 'Catholic Literature in the English Tongue,' in his book, 'Idea of a University'" (27).
"The seminal ideas of Plato, Aristotle, St. Augustine, [and] St. Thomas, only properly grow in an imaginative ground saturated with fables, fairy tales, stories, rhymes, romances, adventures - the thousand good books of Grimm, Andersen, Stevenson, Dickens, Scott, Dumas, and the rest. Western tradition, taking all that was the best of the Greco-Roman world into itself, has given us a culture in which the Faith properly grows; and since the conversion of Constantine that culture has become Christian. It is the seedbed of intelligence and will, the ground for all studies in the arts and sciences, including theology, without which they are inhumane and destructive" (25).
"Our Lord explains in the Parable of the Sower that the seed of His love will only grow in a certain soil - and that is the soil of Christian Culture, which is the work of music in the wide sense, including as well as tunes that are sung, art, literature, games, architecture - all so many instruments in the orchestra which plays day and night the music of lovers; and if it is disordered, then the love of Christ will not grow. It is an obvious fact that here in the United States now, the Devil has seized these instruments to play a danse macabre, a dance of death, especially through what we call the "media," the film, television, radio, record, book, magazine and newspaper industries. The restoration of culture, spiritually, morally, physically, demands the cultivation of the soil in which the love of Christ can grow, and that means we must, as they say, rethink priorities" (21).
"We must inscribe this first law of Christian economics on our hearts: the purpose of work is not profit but prayer, and the first law of Christian ethics: that we live for Him and not for ourselves" (17).
"The immediate purpose is simply to do the job to be done - for the butcher to cut the meat, for the baker to bake the bread, for the teacher to teach the multiplication tables. The proximate purpose is from Latin proximus, meaning "neighbour," exactly as in the phrase, love thy neighbour - diliges proximum tuum. The proximate end, perhaps surprisingly, is chiefly accomplished in prayer. And the final, or ultimate, purpose, the reason why we work and pray, is to know and love God as He is in Himself, so far as that is possible, in imitating His earthly life in Christ, the chief act of which was sacrifice. The immediate promixate, and final purposes of all our operations can be summed up in three words: work, prayer, sacrifice. These are the items on the Catholic Agenda." (54).
"Charity is not a human but a divine work accomplished through human work, with us as its voluntary instruments" (55).
I spent this weekend reading the majority of John Senior's fantastic work The Restoration of Christian Culture. I can not recommend it highly enough to my readers. I'd like to share some of the passages from the book as well as some brief thoughts.
Quoting from John Senior's fantastic work The Restoration of Christian Culture, "Work is a physical necessity; if you don't work you don't eat. Prayer is a necessity of obligation; if you don't pray you will not enter the Kingdom. Prayer is a duty, an office; it is free, voluntary payment of the debt we owe to God for existence and grace. The Latin word for duty is officium, and the perfect prayer of the Church is its Divine Office; St. Benedict call it the opus Dei, the work of God" (60).
John Senior continues, "I have cited the Latin for the meaning of many words not for the pretense of learning, but because their meaning is Latin. Latin is the language of the Roman Catholic Church; you can repudiate the tradition and overthrow the Church; but you cannot have the tradition and the Church without its language. And though the Second Vatican Council permitted the substitution of vernacular liturgies where pastoral reasons suggested their usefulness, it commanded that the Latin be preserved. The Catholic Faith is so intimately bound to the two thousand years of Latin prayers any attempt to live the Catholic life without them will result in its attrition and ultimate apostasy - which we have witnessed even in the few years of the vernacular experiment. We must return to the Faith of our fathers by way of prayer of our fathers" (60 - 61).
John Senior's works are beautifully said and express an absolute reality - the Church is timeless; she is outside of time. Only by restoring true Christian culture, as Senior explains throughout his book, will Christ again reign in our hearts, our homes, and our families. Christ must reign. And how can we bring about the reign of Christ without frequent prayer? Prayer is necessary. It is essential for the spiritual life. A life spent in good works of charity that has no prayer is a life built on bad soil. And no soul whose life is built in bad soil can inherit everlasting life.
You might be concerned and ask "how many hours of prayer must I perform daily?" Quoting again from Senior on the topic, "The strictly cloistered monk and nun lead that life in the highest degree, but each of us in his station must pay his due. There are three degrees of prayer: The first, of the consecrated religious, is total. They pray always, according to the counsel of Our Lord. Their whole life is the Divine Office, Mass, spiritual reading, mental prayer... They pray eight hours, sleep eight hours and divine the other eight between physical work and recreation... The third degree is for those in the married state (or single life) who offer a tithe of their time for prayer - about two and a half hours per day - with eight hours for work, eight for sleep, and the remaining five and a half for recreation with the family" (62-63).
Make an effort - an obligation - pray the Divine Office and other pious devotions for 2 and a half hours each day. And no prayer is greater than the Mass. If possible, attend Holy Mass daily. We quote one final time from Senior who said, "Whatever we do in the political and social order, the indispensable foundation is prayer, the heart of which is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the perfect prayer of Christ Himself, Priest and Victim, recreating in an unbloodly manner the bloody, selfsame Sacrifice of Calvary. What is Christian Culture? It is essentially the Mass" (16-17).
To conclude with his words on our culture: "Our Lord explains in the Parable of the Sower that the seed of His love will only grow in a certain soil - and that is the soil of Christian Culture, which is the work of music in the wide sense, including as well as tunes that are sung, art, literature, games, architecture - all so many instruments in the orchestra which plays day and night the music of lovers; and if it is disordered, then the love of Christ will not grow. It is an obvious fact that here in the United States now, the Devil has seized these instruments to play a danse macabre, a dance of death, especially through what we call the "media," the film, television, radio, record, book, magazine and newspaper industries. The restoration of culture, spiritually, morally, physically, demands the cultivation of the soil in which the love of Christ can grow, and that means we must, as they say, rethink priorities" (21).
The following is an excerpt. My comments are in brackets. Emphasis is in bold.
Image Source: A/P
In a dramatic move, after long hesitation, Pope Benedict XVI has signed a decree declaring Pope Pius XII -- the Pope who led the Church during the Second World War and has been repeatedly accused by many Jewish and progressive Catholic groups of not doing enough to help the Jews during the Nazi persecution -- as "venerable," the first major step on the road toward canonization as a Catholic saint.
In the same decree, Benedict has declared Pope John Paul II, known for his friendship with the Jewish people and his dramatic visits to the synagogue of Rome in 1986 and to the Western Wall in Jerusalem in 2000, as also worthy to be called "venerable" in the Church.
Benedict's decree, published today in connection with the 40th anniversary of the founding of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, recognizes the "heroic virtues" of the two Popes, paving the way for their beatification and canonization, which can come with the approval of first one, then a second miracle attributed to their intercession.
Also approved were the martyrdom of the Polish priest Fr Popielusko and a miracle attributed to Mary McKillop (Australia).
Pius XII, the Pope who led the Church during the Second World War (he was Pope from 1939 to 1958), and John Paul II (Pope from 1978 to 2005) are now officially to be called "Venerable" (meaning able to be venerated), because Benedict XVI has confirmed that their lives displayed "heroic virtues," that they were heroes because of their remarkable virtue.
This is particularly dramatic with regard to Pius, because he has been accused, not only of not being a hero, but even of being evil, of being "Hitler's Pope." (A book under that title was published several years ago by British author John Cornwell, who later retracted much of what he had written.) The attacks on Pius seem to have given Benedict pause. Not because he believed their truth, but because he knew that many did believe they were true, and would be scandalized if Pius was declared "Venerable" without clarifying that the charges against him were false. This explains why the documentation to sign the Pius XII decree was given to Pope almost two years ago, and not signed until now.
Many Vatican observers had noted that Benedict was taking his time before signing the decree. Senior Vatican officials told me that he was waiting until Jewish and progressive Catholic groups themselves recognized that the charges of anti-Semitism raised against Pius XII were without foundation. And this is what has occurred.
Over the past several years, due in large measure to the work of committed Catholic and Jewish scholars and activists ranging from Sr. Margherita Marchione, an American Catholic nun, to Gary Krupp, an American Jewish businessman, clear evidence that Pius XII worked heroically "behind the scenes" to save nearly 1 million Jews from deportation to Nazi concentration camps has now been discovered and published. (We have printed much of this in the pages on Inside the Vatican magazine.) In fact, this evidence even suggests that Pius XII did more to help victims of the persecution than virtually any other single person in Europe during the war years, making his denigration all the more unjust. And because an increasing number of scholars have come to conclude that the charges raised against Pius XII were a calmny, the opinion about Pius in the world's Jewish community has slowly been transformed from an absolutely negative one to a far more positive one.
"I received a call from Rome just now to inform me that the Holy Father proclaimed Pius XII as venerable," Krupp emailed to me this morning. "Congratulations to all of you for the hard work over the years to right a terrible wrong perpetrated by the historical revisionists."
Purpose: The purpose of this article is to examine the progression in the Liturgy in the Funeral Rite for the Supreme Pontiffs throughout the 20th century up until the Second Vatican Council. For a list of the sources used in this post please scroll down to the links at the bottom of the post
Pope Leo XIII:
Pope Leo XIII 2 March 1810 - 20 July 1903 Assumed the Papacy: 20 February 1878
His Holiness Pope Leo XIII died on July 20, 1903 at the Apostolic Palace in Rome, Italy at the age of 93, making his pontificate the longest in history after that of St. Peter, Pius IX, and John Paul II.
Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis. Te decet hymnus Deus, in Sion, et tibi reddetur votum in Ierusalem. Exaudi orationem meam; ad te omnis caro veniet. Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis
Grant them eternal rest, O Lord, and may everlasting light shine upon them. A hymn becometh thee, O God, in Zion, and unto thee a vow shall be repaid in Jerusalem. Hear my prayer; unto thee all flesh shall come."
Prayer for a Deceased PopeSource: Baltimore Book of Prayers, 1889.
O God, by whose inscrutable appointment Thy servant N. was numbered among the Chief Bishops: grant, we beseech Thee, that he, who was Vicar of thine Only-begotten Son on earth, may receive a place among Thy holy Pontiffs who have entered into everlasting blessedness. Through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.
The liturgical colour used during these older papal Funerals up until the Second Vatican Council would have been black. The use of red is an introduction of Paul VI who produced an order for papal funerals. However, a dead pope is always vested in red vestments but the pontifical Requiem Masses are, as normal, celebrated in black vestments.
The missal gives a collect for a deceased pope. The Office of the Dead would certainly have been sung as well as Vespers the night prior with Matins and Lauds on the day of the funeral.
Source: Angelqueen
Pope St. Pius X:
Pope St. Pius X June 2, 1835 – August 20, 1914 Assumed the Papacy: August 5, 1903 Canonized: May 29, 1954
Libera me, Domine, de morte aeterna, in die illa tremenda: Quando caeli movendi sunt et terra. Dum veneris judicare saeculum per ignem. Tremens factus sum ego, et timeo, dum discussio venerit, atque ventura ira. Quando caeli movendi sunt et terra. Dies illa, dies irae, calamitatis et miseriae, dies magna et amara valde. Dum veneris judicare saeculum per ignem. Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine: et lux perpetua luceat eis.
Deliver me, O Lord, from death eternal on that fearful day, when the heavens and the earth shall be moved, when thou shalt come to judge the world by fire. I am made to tremble, and I fear, till the judgment be upon us, and the coming wrath, when the heavens and the earth shall be moved. That day, day of wrath, calamity, and misery, day of great and exceeding bitterness, when thou shalt come to judge the world by fire. Rest eternal grant unto them, O Lord: and let light perpetual shine upon them.
The transferring of the body to St. Peters Basilica
Absolve Domine animas omnium fidelium defunctorum ab omno vinculo delictorum et gratia tua illis succurente mereantur evadere iudicium ultionis, et lucis æterne beatitudine perfrui.
Forgive, O Lord, the souls of all the faithful departed from all the chains of their sins and may they deserve to avoid the judgment of revenge by your fostering grace, and enjoy the everlasting blessedness of light. Following his death on August 20, 1914 - brought upon him by the horror of World War I and a heart attack - Pope St. Pius X was buried in an unadorned tomb in the crypt below St. Peter's Basilica, another expression of his radical humility.
Of note, papal physicians had been in the habit of removing organs to aid the embalming process; however, St. Pius X expressly prohibited this and none of his successors have allowed the practice to be re-instituted. Today the body of Pope St. Pius X is incorruptible.
Pope Benedict XV:
Pope Benedict XV 21 November 1854 – 22 January 1922 Assumed the Papacy: September 3, 1914
The body of His Holiness lies in State
As stated on Wikipedia, "Benedict XV was unique in his humane approach in the world of 1914–1918, which starkly contrasts with that of the other great monarchs and leaders of the time. His worth is reflected in the tribute engraved at the foot of the statue that the Turks, a non-Catholic, non-Christian people, erected of him in Istanbul: "The great Pope of the world tragedy...the benefactor of all people, irrespective of nationality or religion." This monument stands in the courtyard of the St. Esprit Cathedral."
The transferring of the body to St. Peters Basilica
As stated from a poster on Fish Eaters:
Since at most the Liturgical rites would be Solemn Pontifical rites said by the Cardinal Dean (the most senior Cardinal Bishop in the College). When the Cardinal Dean would celebrate the Solemn Requiem Mass it would be done no differently than any bishop celebrating a Solemn Requiem. There would very likely be the Solemn Pontifical Absolution given after the Mass as well. The Office including Vespers of the dead on the night before the funeral and Matins and Lauds of the dead on the morning of the Funeral would almost certainly have been celebrated.
Textually and rubrically, aside from the color oddity the Mass would seem to have traditionally been identical to a typical Pontifical Requiem. The prayers used throughout the rite depend on the person for whom the rites are offered. Without looking, I think there is a particular prayer for deceased Popes which would be used.
There is also the Novemdiales, the nine day period following the death of the Pope during which Masses are celebrated for the repose of the soul of the Pope by various cardinals.
Pope Pius XI:
Image: Pope Pius XI enthronement
Pope Pius XI 31 May 1857 - 10 February 1939 Assumed the Papacy: February 6, 1922
On 25 November 1938, the Holy Father suffered two serious heart attacks and he began to deteriorate from that point. His last words to those near him were spoken with clarity and firmness: My soul parts from you all in peace. Pope Pius XI died at 5:31 a.m. (Rome Time) of a third heart attack on 10 February 1939, aged 81. He was buried in the crypt at St. Peter's Basilica, in the main chapel, close to the Tomb of St. Peter.
Pope Pius XII:
Venerable Pope Pius XII 2 March 1876 – 9 October 1958 Assumed the Papacy: March 2, 1939
Domine, Iesu Christe, Rex gloriæ, libera animas omnium fidelium defunctorum de poenis inferni et de profundo lacu. Libera eas de ore leonis, ne absorbeat eas tartarus, ne cadant in obscurum; sed signifer sanctus Michael repræsentet eas in lucem sanctam, quam olim Abrahæ promisisti et semini eius.
Lord Jesus Christ, King of glory, free the souls of all the faithful departed from infernal punishment and the deep pit. Free them from the mouth of the lion; do not let Tartarus swallow them, nor let them fall into darkness; but may the sign-bearer, St Michael, lead them into the holy light which you promised to Abraham and his seed.
As seen in other images already in this post, this is the catafalque, which is used to support the casket of the deceased. Catafalques are certainly not exclusive to papal funerals as they should even be used in a regular parish on All Soul's Day. Following the Requiem Mass, the a catafalque may be used to stand in place of the body at the Absolution of the dead.
The absolution of the dead is only performed in context of the Tridentine Mass. Following the Second Vatican Council, the absolution of the dead was removed from the funeral liturgy of the Mass of Paul VI. The following information is on the Absolution of the Dead in general and is not the exact format used at a Solemn High Liturgy.
After the Requiem Mass has concluded, the celebrant removes the chasuble and puts on the black cope. The subdeacon, bearing the processional cross and accompanied by the acolytes, goes to the head of the coffin (i.e. facing the altar in the case of a layman, but between the coffin and the altar in the case of a priest), while the celebrant stands opposite at the foot. The assisting clergy are grouped around and the celebrant, who at once to begins the prayer Non intres in judicium cum servo tuo, praying that the deceased "may deserve to escape the avenging judgment, who, whilst he lived, was marked with the seal of the holy Trinity". This is followed by the responsory Libera me Domine, which is sung by the choir.
Then the celebrant says the Kyrie eleison aloud followed by the Our Father. While the Our Father is repeated in silence by all, the celebrant walks around the coffin, sprinkling it with holy water and bowing profoundly before the processional cross when he passes it. He then takes the thurible and incenses the coffin. Finally after finishing the Our Father and repeating one or two short versicles to which answer is made by the clergy, the celebrant pronounces the prayer of absolution, most commonly in the following form:
"O God, Whose attribute it is always to have mercy and to spare, we humbly present our prayers to Thee for the soul of Thy servant N. which Thou has this day called out of this world, beseeching Thee not to deliver it into the hands of the enemy, nor to forget it for ever, but to command Thy holy angels to receive it, and to bear it into paradise; that as it has believed and hoped in Thee it may be delivered from the pains of hell and inherit eternal life through Christ our Lord. Amen."[2]
Following the absolution, the body is taken out of the church while the choir sings the In paradisum.
If the body is not present, or on other occasions such as All Souls' Day or Requiem Masses on the anniversary of death, a catafalque or bier covered by a black pall may stand in the place of the body for the absolution. If a catafalque is not available, a black pall may be laid on the floor to stand in place the body. Wikipedia: Absolution of the Dead
Prayer for the Church during times of vacancy of the Holy See.Source: Fr Lasance's New Roman Missal, 1945.
We most humbly entreat Thee, O Lord, that Thy boundless goodness may grant as bishop to the most holy Roman Church one who shall ever be both pleasing to Thee by his loving zeal in our regard, and, by his beneficient rule, deeply revered by Thy people to the glory of Thy name. Through Our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.
A deceased pope is always vested in red vestments but the pontifical Requiem Masses are, as normal, celebrated in black vestments (see the following photos of Cardinal Tisserant, the Dean of the College of Cardinals at the time, who said the Funeral Mass of Pope Pius XII). Source: Angelqueen
Propers for a Deceased Pope.Source: Fr Lasance's New Roman Missal, 1945
Prayer
Deus, qui inter summos Sacerdotes famulum tuum N. ineffabili tua dispositione connumerari voluisti: praesta quaesumus; ut qui unigeniti Filii tui vices in terris gerebat, sanctorum tuorum Pontificum consortio perpetuo aggregetur. Per eumdem Dominum.
God, Who, in Thine ineffable providence, didst will that Thy servant N. should be numbered among the high priests, grant, we beseech Thee, that he, who on earth held the place of Thine only-begotten Son, may be joined forevermore to the fellowship of Thy holy pontiffs. Through the same.
Secret
Suscipe, Domine, quaesumus, pro anima famuli tui N. dummi Pontificis, quas offerimus hostias: ut cui in hoc saeculo pontificale donasti meritum, in coelesti regno Sanctorum tuorum jubeas jungi consortio. Per Dominum.
Receive, we beseech Thee, O Lord, the sacrifice which we offer for the soul of Thy servant N., supreme pontiff, that Thou mayest command him, whom on earth Thou didst invest with the pontifical dignity, to be joined to the fellowship of Thy saints in the kingdom of heaven. Through our Lord.
Postcommunion
Prosit, quaesumus, Domine, animae famuli tui N. summi Pontificis misericordiae tuae implorata clementia: ut ejus, in quo speravit et credidit, aeternum capiat, te miserante, consortium. Per Dominum.
May Thy clemency, which we implore, O Lord, benefit the soul of Thy servant, N., supreme pontiff, that he may by Thy mercy attain to everlasting fellowship with Him in Whom he hoped and believed. Through our Lord.
Also from Angelqueen, "a pope celebrating a requiem would have worn red as Benedict XIII revived the custom of the pope only wearing white and red, not the other liturgical colours. Hence on Good Friday for the Mass of the Pre-Sanctified in the Sistine Chapel whilst the Cardinal Penitentiary wore black vestments the pope presided at the throne wearing a red cope and a 'peony' coloured stole (according to the Italian authors)."
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, dona eis requiem, Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, dona eis requiem, Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, dona eis requiem sempiternam.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, grant them rest
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, grant them rest
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, grant them rest eternal
Pius XII died on 9 October 1958 of acute heart failure brought on by a sudden myocardial infarction. According to his doctor, Venerable Pope Pius XII died because he had overworked himself.
Pope John XXIII:
In paradisum deducant te Angeli; in tuo adventu suscipiant te martyres, et perducant te in civitatem sanctam Ierusalem. Chorus angelorum te suscipiat, et cum Lazaro quondam paupere æternam habeas requiem.
May angels lead you into Paradise; may the martyrs receive you at your coming and lead you to the holy city of Jerusalem. May the ranks of angels receive you, and. with Lazarus, the poor man, may you have eternal rest. Pie Jesu Domine, dona eis requiem. Dona eis requiem sempiternam.
O sweet Lord Jesus, grant them rest; grant them everlasting rest.
Conclusion:
Throughout the 20th century up until the Second Vatican Council, the Funeral Rite for a Deceased Pope was virtually identical. As succinctly stated, the Funeral Rite of Pope Leo XIII would have looked nearly identical to the Funeral Rite of Pope John XXIII. According to a Fish eaters poster, "Rubrical changes in 1955 had no affect on the text or rubrics of the Requiem itself. The rubrical changes of 1960 had no affect on the actual Mass itself, only when certain Masses could be said and which and how many collects would be said at these." The poster from Angelqueen - The Saint Lawrence Press - goes further by stating that each Funeral Mass would have slight alternations (e.g. prelatial mourning dress, simplification of pontifical ceremonies, and changes to the Ordo Missae such as tones of voice). However, these minimal changes are nothing in comparison to the shattering changes caused by the Funeral Liturgy created by Pope Paul VI.
Pope Benedict XVI prays before the tomb of Pope Pius XII Image Source: REUTERS/Osservatore Romano
Let us take a moment and pray through the intercession of St. Pius X, for the blessed repose and canonization of Pope Leo XIII, Pope Benedict XV, Pope Pius XI, Pope Pius XII, and Pope John XXIII. Let us pray in a more earnest way for the process of canonization of Pope Pius XII to proceed ever more quickly.
Note:
To the best of my knowledge, these photographs are all correctly labeled and do not infringe upon the copyright of any individual, institution, or entity as they are either in the public domain or are under fair use. If you notice a problem with any of the used photographs, please contact me.
Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links on this blog are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. As an Amazon Associate, for instance, I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases made by those who click on the Amazon affiliate links included on this website. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
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Matthew is a Third Order Dominican from Chicago and an expert on Catholicism, with an emphasis on Traditional Fasting. He has written for "A Catholic Life" since 2005. Matthew is a Certified Catechist and is a speaker available to address your next parish or Catholic conference gathering. Matthew spends his leisure time traveling, teaching, writing, and enjoying Catholic culture. He is also a writer for "Catholic Family News" and "The Fatima Center." Please contact Matthew directly regarding advertising requests for A Catholic Life or in regard to speaking engagements.
