Creation, Evolution, and Catholicism: A Discussion For Those Who Believe

A few months ago I was contacted by the Institute for Science and Catholicism and asked to review the work by Mr. McFadden: Creation, Evolution, and Catholicism: A Discussion For Those Who Believe.  The book itself is printed in an easy to use spiral-bound style. 

• What must a Catholic believe concerning evolution?
• Is Evolution a proven fact?
• Did Pope Pius XII actually permit belief in evolution?
• Does modern science - especially the developments in human genetics and DNA - reconcile with the conjectures of Charles Darwin?

Our children are leaving the Faith in droves and many of them are falling away because they believe that the Church is a composition of fairy tales without any basis in reality.  They are taught one thing by their priests and a vastly different opinion by so called "experts", scientists, and mass media programs.

Do you know how to answer your children's questions on evolution?  Do you know how to respond to evolution from a truly scientific and a truly theological perspective?

Probably not. 

That's why this book, Creation, Evolution, and Catholicism: A Discussion For Those Who Believe, is all the most necessary and timely. 

The book itself is a true labor of love and full of true, scientific research.  The author quotes extensively from scientific research journals, publications, and a vast amount of materials to present the overt discrepancies and inconsistencies from a scientific perspective with the theory of evolution.  After establishing this, only then does the author begin examining the documents of Pope Pius XII and relevant documents on our Holy Faith in the context of evolution.

This resource should be widely made available to all Catholic schools.   I pray this work be more fully available to all who are in a position of teaching authority in any respect - from Sunday school teachers, to pastors, to Directors of Religious Education, to science professors, and the like.  This is truly a composition of much research and it deserves to be widely made available so that more souls will be saved from falling away from the Church and into the atheistic materialism of the world.

The website Unam Sanctam Catholicam has posted a review online that is available for viewing by clicking here.

For those seeking to order a copy, please contact: SCIENCEandCATHOLICISM@gmail.com

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45 Seminarians of the SSPX Receive the Cassock

Throughout the world in the SSPX's seminaries, a total of 45 seminarians have taken the cassock, or clerical habit, during the 2015-2016 academic year. We offer some news and images of this important event, a formative step towards the ultimate goal of the sacred priesthood.
St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary, Winona, MN, USA

On February 2, Bishop Bernard Fellay (the SSPX's Superior General), blessed the cassocks for 10 seminarians and gave the clercical tonsure to 8 other young men during the Pontifical Mass of Candlemas. He was assisted by Fr. Yves le Roux (seminary rector), Fr. Jurgen Wegner (U.S. District Superior), and Fr. Patrick Abbet (seminary vice rector).

Despite the the snowfall of 10 inches—which made travelling difficult for various families—the sacred ministers and servers did make a short procession outside with the lighted candles, celebrating Our Lord as the Light of revelation for the Gentiles.

On February 2, Bishop Bernard Tissier de Mallerais blessed the cassock for 9 seminarians and gave the clerical tonsure to 7 as announced by Fr. Franz Schmidberger (seminary rector). The day after the bishop gave the minor orders to 7 others, with 3 becoming porters and lectors, and the other 4 being ordained exorcists and acolytes.

In the absence of Bishop Alfonso de Galarreta—whose attendance was prevented by a last minute difficulty—Fr. Niklaus Pfluger, the SSPX's 1st Assistant, blessed the clerical habit for 12 seminarians of the first-year: 4 Swiss, 3 Frenchmen, 2 Italians, 1 Gabonese and 2 Nigerians. He was assisted by Fr. Patrick Troadec (seminary rector) and Fr. Prudent Balou Yalu (prior of the St. Pius X Mission in Libreville, Gabon).

Interesting statistics have been published by Fr. Troadec. Since 1996, 347 candidates have entered the seminary to become priests or brothers; i.e., an average of 20 per year. The average age is 21-years old. Candidates consistently come from large families (with an average of 5.8 children ) where 80% of the mothers are mothers at home. 73% of the French candidates come from SSPX schools.

More than 50% of the candidates have received a first calling to the priesthood or religious life before the age of 12 either when serving Mass, helping in the sacristy, or on the day of their First Communion. Many of these seminarians have said that the education received in the family prepared them to make this choice, or they remember being impacted by the good example of a priest or a brother in their surroundings.

After a period where the idea of being fully consecrated to God has faded during their teenage years, a second call comes around the age of 19, which eventually leads them to the seminary or brothers novitiate.

Source (Continue Reading...)

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Rome to Dignify Luther's Revolt through Joint Commemoration

Guest post by David Martin

Vatican Radio announced on January 25 that Francis and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) will hold a joint ecumenical commemoration of the "Reformation" on October 31, 2016, in Lund, Sweden. The event will attempt to showcase "the gifts of the Reformation" while lamenting centuries of division over it. The inter-religious conference will also include a "Common Prayer" service which is based on a Catholic-Lutheran liturgical guide published recently by the Vatican and the Lutheran World Federation.

The October 2016 meeting comes in anticipation of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation that Catholics and Lutherans will jointly celebrate in 2017, under the title, "Lutheran-Catholic Common Commemoration of the Reformation." That Catholics and Protestants will jointly commemorate a rebellion that was deliberately begun to destroy the Catholic Faith is certainly no small news. Conniving with Luther's revolt is something that was started by the German Alliance at Vatican II, and now we see it coming to a head.

The worst of it is that this is being advanced under the illusion of divine guidance. The Church's mission is being cast aside in the name of God and replaced with "dialogue," which is nothing more than a denial of the Faith and a willingness to be subverted with error. Christ never once "dialogued" with the people, but rather instructed them on the path of salvation, and this in turn is what He commissioned His priestly representatives to do. (Matthew 28:19,20) The Church's mission from the beginning is to instruct the world on salvation and to extend the riches of Christ to all peoples, that they might leave their particular miseries, idols, and creeds, and be converted to the Catholic Faith.

But now Rome is denying its mission and consorting with the enemies of the Faith in order to gain their gifts and their thirty pieces of silver. This is what the new dialogue of "mercy" boils down to—a stab in the back. The Son of Man is again betrayed with a kiss. What Jesus told Saul at Damascus He now says to our Jesuit pope: "Francis, Francis, why do you persecute Me?"

Catholics the world over were bewildered by a sermon delivered by Francis on January 18, in which he all but excommunicated Christians "who obstinately cling to what has always been done and who do not allow others to change." He condemned Catholics who are of "closed heart" and who resist "change," calling them "obstinate rebels" and "idolaters." To think that we're "idolaters" for adoring the True God and for not allowing ourselves to be led by false spirits and deities that our forefathers knew not!

This is precisely the change that Francis advocates, namely, the spirit of Vatican II, the Charismatics, ecumenism, environmentalism, and now this latest move to be one with Lutherans in a joint-commemoration which will attempt to showcase the so-called "gifts of the Reformation."

Has our dear Holy Father forgotten that Martin Luther was a blasphemer and heretic who taught that Jesus was an adulterer and who dubbed the Sacrifice of the Mass "sacrilegious and abominable?" Thanks to Luther and his rampage, a better part of Europe was led into apostasy. The man was a theological crackpot who rejected six books of the Bible and who preached that Jesus died on the cross so that man can sin freely without the fear of eternal punishment. Consider Luther’s own words:

“Be a sinner and sin boldly, but believe and rejoice in Christ even more boldly... No sin will separate us from the Christ, even though we commit fornication and murder a thousand times a day.” (From Luther’s letter to Philip Melanchthon, August 1, 1521, LW Vol. 48, pp. 281-282)

Should the Vatican hierarchy be commemorating the work of such a man? Did they forget that Martin Luther was rightfully excommunicated by Leo X in January 1521? How is it that Rome is now finding common ground with apostates who look to Luther as their mentor?

Under the direct guidance of the Holy Spirit the Council of Trent condemned Luther and his Reformation and decreed that those who hold to its errors are now an anathema, which means it's no longer a consideration. The Reformation is now a dead issue, forever placed in the tomb, which means Catholics may no longer consider or reevaluate its precepts.

How is it that Rome will now dignify the work of one whom the Church officially holds to be an enemy of the Christian Faith?

See our Prayer for Heretics and say that prayer today.  And for more reading consider: The Errors of Martin Luther.

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Prayers for Each Hour of the Day and Night by St. John Chrysostom

These prayers were written by St. John Chrysostom, whose feastday we celebrate today.

1. O Lord, deprive me not of Thy heavenly blessings;

2. O Lord, deliver me from eternal torment;

3. O Lord, if I have sinned in my mind or thought, in word deed, forgive me.

4. O Lord, deliver me from every ignorance and heedlessness, from pettiness of the soul and stony hardness of heart;

5. O Lord, deliver me from every temptation;

6. O Lord, enlighten my heart darkened by evil desires;

7. O Lord, I, being a human being, have sinned; do Thou, being God, forgive me in Thy lovingkindness, for Thou knowest the weakness of my soul.

8. O Lord, send down Thy grace to help me, that I may glorify Thy holy Name;

9. O Lord Jesus Christ, inscribe me, Thy servant, in the Book of Life, and grant me a blessed end;

10. O Lord my God, even if I have done nothing good in Thy sight, yet grant me, according to Thy grace, that I may make a start in doing good.

11. O Lord, sprinkle on my heart the dew of Thy grace;

12. O Lord of heaven and earth, remember me, Thy sinful servant, cold of heart and impure, in Thy Kingdom.

13. O Lord, receive me in repentance;

14. O Lord, leave me not;

15. O Lord, save me from temptation;

16. O Lord, grant me pure thoughts;

17. O Lord, grant me tears of repentance, remembrance of death, and the sense of peace;

18. O Lord, grant me mindfulness to confess my sins;

19. O Lord, grant me humility, charity, and obedience;

20. O Lord, grant me tolerance, magnanimity, and gentleness;

21. O Lord, implant in me the root of all blessings: the fear of Thee in my heart;

22. O Lord, vouchsafe that I may love Thee with all my heart and soul, and that I may obey in all things Thy will;

23. O Lord, shield me from evil persons and devils and passions and all other lawless matters;

24. O Lord, Who knowest Thy creation and that which Thou hast willed for it; may Thy will also be fulfilled in me, a sinner, for Thou art blessed forevermore. Amen.

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Octave of Christian Unity: Prayers for the True Faith

Prayer for the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul 

O glorious St. Paul, who, from being a persecutor of the Christian name, didst become its most zealous Apostle, and who, to carry the knowledge of Jesus, our Divine Savior, to the uttermost parts of the earth, didst joyfully suffer prison, scourgings, stonings, shipwreck and all manner of persecutions, who didst finish thy course by shedding the last drop of thy blood: obtain for us the grace to accept, as favors bestowed by the mercy of God, the infirmities, sufferings and misfortunes of this life, that we may not grow slack in our service of God by reason of these vicissitudes of our exile, but that we may rather show ourselves all the more devoted, through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

V. Pray for us, St. Paul the Apostle.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray. 

O God, Who has taught the multitudes of the Gentiles by the preaching of blessed Paul the Apostle: grant unto us, we beseech Thee, that we who keep his memory sacred, may feel the might of his intercession before Thee. Through Christ Our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, One God, forever and ever. Amen. (500 days - plenary if recited daily for one month.)

Prayer for Concord and Unity among the Faithful 

Our Lord and our God, to Thee, united by the most strong and sincere fraternal love, we offer our hearts; we pray that Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament may be our daily food for body and soul, that Jesus may be the central object of our love, as was that of Mary and Joseph; and lastly, we pray that sin may never disturb our union in Thy Mystical Body on earth, that union which will endure with Thee, Mary, and Joseph, and all the Saints, forever in Heaven. Amen. (300 days, once a day)

Prayer for Perseverance in our Holy Faith 

Our Lord and Redeemer Jesus Christ O my Redeemer, will that terrible moment ever come, when but few Christians shall be left who are inspired by the spirit of faith, that moment when Thine indignation shall be provoked and Thy protection shall be taken from us? Have our vices and our evil lives irrevocably moved Thy justice to take vengeance, perhaps this very day, upon Thy children? O Thou Author and Finisher of our Faith, we conjure Thee, in the bitterness of our contrite and humbled hearts, not to suffer the fair light of Faith to be extinguished in us. Remember Thy mercies of old; turn Thine eyes in compassion upon the vineyard planted by Thine own right hand, and watered by the sweat of the Apostles, by the precious blood of countless Martyrs and by the tears of so many sincere penitents, and made fruitful by the prayers of so many Confessors and innocent Virgins.

O Divine Mediator, look upon those zealous souls who raise their hearts to Thee and pray without ceasing for the maintenance of that most precious gift of Thine, the true Catholic Faith. We beseech Thee, O God of justice, to hold back the decree of our rejection, and to turn away Thine eyes from our vices and regard instead the adorable Blood shed upon the Cross, which purchased our salvation and daily intercedes for us upon the altars. Ah, keep us safe in the One, True, Holy Catholic Faith. Let sickness afflict us, vexations waste us, misfortune overwhelm us! But preserve in us Thy holy Faith; for if we are rich with this precious gift, we shall gladly endure every sorrow, and nothing shall ever be able to change our happiness. On the other hand, without this great treasure of Faith, our unhappiness would be unspeakable and without limit!

O good Jesus, Author of our Faith, preserve it pure within us; keep us safe in the Barque of Peter, though presently in eclipse. Yet keep us faithful and obedient to the Petrine Primacy and raise up a holy man to unite the flocks for the freedom and exaltation of holy Mother Church. O Jesus, Author of our Faith, humble and convert the enemies of Thy Church; grant true peace and concord to all of the remnant Catholic faithful; strengthen and preserve us in Thy holy service to the end, that we may live in Thee, and die in Thee. O Jesus, Author of our Faith, let us live for Thee, and die for Thee. Amen. (St. Clement Mary Hofbauer) (500 days, once a day)

For more information and the Official Prayer for each day of the Octave, see the post on the Octave of Christian Unity

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Octave of Christian Unity: Prayers for Lapsed Catholics

Let us Pray.

Almighty Father, You desire not the death of the sinner, but that he may be converted and live. Pour out upon us Your mercy and hear the prayers of Your servants. Soften the hearts of Your children who have strayed from the true path which You established for their salvation. They are now forgetful of their duties as Catholics, and pursue the pleasures of the world. Grant that they may quickly return to the practice of every Christian virtue, so that their lives may shine with the integrity of faith, the fervor of piety, and the ardor of charity. Restore them all to Your sacraments and the life of Your grace, through the merits of the most precious blood of Your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen

Let us Pray.

O Good Shepherd, you never cease to seek out the lost, to call home the stray, to comfort the frightened, and to bind up the wounded. I ask you to bring (mention names) back to the practice of Faith, and to remove all obstacles that prevent them from receiving your abundant mercy, which flows sacramentally through the heart of your holy Church. Through the intercession of Mary, the Mother of God, their Guardian Angel(s), their Patron Saint(s) and the ever-prayerful St. Monica, may you pardon their sins and unshackle them from whatever hinders their freedom to come Home. For you, O Good Shepherd, loved us to the end and offered yourself to the Father for the salvation of all. Amen.

For more information and the Official Prayer for each day of the Octave, see the post on the Octave of Christian Unity

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Novena to our Lady of Good Success

Today, January 24th, is the beginning of the Novena to our Lady of Good Success.  The feastday of our Lady of Good Success is on February 2nd and commemorates the apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Quito, Ecuador in 1610 to Mother Mariana along with the archangels and St. Francis of Assisi (thus coinciding with the Feast of the Purification).

For more information on these apparitions, I highly recommend the two part series by Fr. Manuel Sousa Pereira: The Admirable Life of Mother Mariana Vol. I & The Admirable Life of Mother Mariana Vol. II.  Both may be viewed freely online at those links.   Or if you prefer, the books are available for easy purchase online here.

Please print and distribute the following Novena courtesy of the St. Vincent Ferrer Foundation.

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Octave of Christian Unity: Prayer for Freemasons, Occult and New Age Sects

Let us Pray.

O Lord Jesus Christ, we implore the clemency of Thy Sacred Heart on behalf of those souls, made in the image and likeness of God, but most miserably deceived by the treacherous snares of Freemasonry and other satanic sects, and going more and more astray in the way of perdition. Let not the Church, Thy Spouse, any longer be oppressed by the domination of this Luciferian cult; but, appeased by the intercession of the Blessed Virgin, Thy Mother, and the prayers of the just, be mindful of Thy infinite mercy; and, in spite of their perversity, cause these very men to return to Thee, that they may bring consolation to the Church by a profound humility, a most abundant penance, making reparation for their wicked persecution against the Kingdom of God on earth, the Holy Catholic Church, and thus secure for themselves a glorious eternity; Who livest and reignest, forever, unto ages of ages. Amen.(100 days, once a day.)

Let us Pray.

Omnipotent and Eternal God, Who desirest that none should perish, look upon the souls deceived by the snares of the devil that the hearts of these who have gone astray may again be restored to health. Hear the prayers which we offer for the willful blindness of these unbelievers, that recognizing the light of Thy truth, which is Christ, they may be delivered from darkness. Stretch forth Thy hand over this nation, which has embraced the wicked errors of Freemasonry, that our countrymen may finally acknowledge Thy power over them; that they may know Thee as we know Thee, for there is no God but Thee, O Lord, and no other true Religion but the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Faith, to which we submit ourselves with our entire being, imploring the conversion of our nation. Hear the prayers of Thy faithful servants, that all who inhabit our country may know that Thou only art God, Who beholdest from age to age. Amen.

V. May the peoples confess Thee, O God.
R. May all nations acknowledge Thee.

Let us Pray.

Almighty and everlasting God, Whose will it is that all men should be saved and that none should perish, look upon the souls that have wickedly elevated themselves to the divinity, through the foul abomination of Freemasonic thinking and philosophy, and humble their prideful hearts, in order that they may put aside all the perverseness of heresy, and, being truly repentant, may return to the unity of Thy truth. Through Christ Our Lord, Who livest and reignest with Thee and the Holy Ghost, One God, forever, unto ages of ages. Amen. (Three Hail Mary's)

(Three Hail Mary's)

For more information and the Official Prayer for each day of the Octave, see the post on the Octave of Christian Unity

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Betrothal of the Virgin Mary with St. Joseph (Mass in Some Places)

Today in the pre-1955 Traditional Catholic Missal is the Mass in Some Places (pro aliquibus locis) of The Betrothal of the Virgin Mary with St. Joseph.  Today is also referred to as the Espousals of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Worthy of reading and meditation today is the sermon given by His Eminence Cardinal Burke in January 2015 on the Marriage of the Virgin Mary with St Joseph.  It is available by clicking here.

The Catholic Encyclopedia entry on Devotion to St. Joseph is also worthy of consideration on this day and in particular, the passage that is bolded for today's feast:

Joseph was "a just man". This praise bestowed by the Holy Ghost, and the privilege of having been chosen by God to be the foster-father of Jesus and the Spouse of the Virgin Mother, are the foundations of the honor paid to St. Joseph by the Church. So well-grounded are these foundations that it is not a little surprising that the cult of St. Joseph was so slow in winning recognition. Foremost among the causes of this is the fact that "during the first centuries of the Church's existence, it was only the martyrs who enjoyed veneration" (Kellner). Far from being ignored or passed over in silence during the early Christian ages, St. Joseph's prerogatives were occasionally descanted upon by the Fathers; even such eulogies as cannot be attributed to the writers among whose works they found admittance bear witness that the ideas and devotion therein expressed were familiar, not only to the theologians and preachers, and must have been readily welcomed by the people. The earliest traces of public recognition of the sanctity of St. Joseph are to be found in the East. His feast, if we may trust the assertions of Papebroch, was kept by the Copts as early as the beginning of the fourth century. Nicephorus Callistus tells likewise -- on what authority we do not know -- that in the great basilica erected at Bethlehem by St. Helena, there was a gorgeous oratory dedicated to the honor of our saint. Certain it is, at all events, that the feast of "Joseph the Carpenter" is entered, on July 20, in one of the old Coptic Calendars in our possession, as also in a Synazarium of the eighth and nineth century published by Cardinal Mai (Script. Vet. Nova Coll., IV, 15 sqq.). Greek menologies of a later date at least mention St. Joseph on 25 or 26 of December, and a twofold commemoration of him along with other saints was made on the two Sundays next before and after Christmas.

In the West the name of the foster-father of Our Lord (Nutritor Domini) appears in local martyrologies of the ninth and tenth centuries, and we find in 1129, for the first time, a church dedicated to his honor at Bologna. The devotion, then merely private, as it seems, gained a great impetus owing to the influence and zeal of such saintly persons as St. Bernard, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Gertrude (d. 1310), and St. Bridget of Sweden (d. 1373). According to Benedict XIV (De Serv. Dei beatif., I, iv, n. 11; xx, n. 17), "the general opinion of the learned is that the Fathers of Carmel were the first to import from the East into the West the laudable practice of giving the fullest cultus to St. Joseph". His feast, introduced towards the end shortly afterwards, into the Dominican Calendar, gradually gained a foothold in various dioceses of Western Europe. Among the most zealous promoters of the devotion at epoch, St. Vincent Ferrer (d. 1419), Peter d'Ailly (d. 1420), St. Bernadine of Siena (d. 1444), and Jehan Charlier Gerson (d. 1429) deserve an especial mention. Gerson, who had, in 1400, composed an Office of the Espousals of Joseph particularly at the Council of Constance (1414), in promoting the public recognition of the cult of St. Joseph. Only under the pontificate of Sixtus IV (1471-84), were the efforts of these holy men rewarded by Roman Calendar (19 March). From that time the devotion acquired greater and greater popularity, the dignity of the feast keeping pace with this steady growth. At first only a festum simplex, it was soon elevated to a double rite by Innocent VIII (1484-92), declared by Gregory XV, in 1621, a festival of obligation, at the instance of the Emperors Ferdinand III and Leopold I and of King Charles II of Spain, and raised to the rank of a double of the second class by Clement XI (1700-21). Further, Benedict XIII, in 1726, inserted the name into the Litany of the Saints.

One festival in the year, however, was not deemed enough to satisfy the piety of the people. The feast of the Espousals of the Blessed Virgin and St. Joseph, so strenuously advocated by Gerson, and permitted first by Paul III to the Franciscans, then to other religious orders and individual dioceses, was, in 1725, granted to all countries that solicited it, a proper Office, compiled by the Dominican Pierto Aurato, being assigned, and the day appointed being 23 January. Nor was this all, for the reformed Order of Carmelites, into which St. Teresa had infused her great devotion to the foster-father of Jesus, chose him, in 1621, for their patron, and in 1689, were allowed to celebrate the feast of his Patronage on the third Sunday after Easter. This feast, soon, adopted throughout the Spanish Kingdom, was later on extended to all states and dioceses which asked for the privilege. No devotion, perhaps, has grown so universal, none seems to have appealed so forcibly to the heart of the Christian people, and particularly of the laboring classes, during the nineteenth century, as that of St. Joseph.

This wonderful and unprecedented increase of popularity called for a new lustre to be added to the cult of the saint. Accordingly, one of the first acts of the pontificate of Pius IX, himself singularly devoted to St. Joseph, was to extend to the whole Church the feast of the Patronage (1847), and in December, 1870, according to the wishes of the bishops and of all the faithful, he solemnly declared the Holy Patriarch Joseph, patron of the Catholic Church, and enjoined that his feast (19 March) should henceforth be celebrated as a double of the first class (but without octave, on account of Lent). Following the footsteps of their predecessor, Leo XIII and Pius X have shown an equal desire to add their own jewel to the crown of St. Joseph: the former, by permitting on certain days the reading of the votive Office of the saint; and the latter by approving, on 18 March, 1909, a litany in honor of him whose name he had received in baptism

The Catholic Encyclopedia further provides an entry specifically for this Feast:

A feast of the Latin Church. It is certain that a real matrimony was contracted by Joseph and Mary. Still Mary is called "espoused" to Joseph ("his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph", Matthew 1:18) because the matrimony was never consummated. The term spouse is applied to married people until their marriage is consummated (Colvenerius, Cal. Marian., 23 Jan.). Peter d'Ailly, chancellor of the University of Paris. (died 1420), and his famous disciple, Jean Charlier, called Gerson, were the first energetic propagators of the devotion in honour of St. Joseph. Gerson worked many years to effect the institution of a special votive feast (Thursday of ember week in Advent), the object of which should be the virginal espousal of Mary and Joseph. Gerson's friend, Henry Chicoti, canon of the cathedral chapter of Chartres, had bequeathed a certain sum for the celebration in the cathedral of this votive feast, for which Gerson had composed a proper Office. It seems that Gerson carried out the will of his friend, but tradition does not tell us on what day the feast was celebrated.

The first definite knowledge of a feast in honour of the espousals of Mary dates from 29 Aug., 1517, when with nine other Masses in honour of Mary, it was granted by Leo X to the Nuns of the Annunciation, founded by Sainte Jeanne de Valois. This feast was celebrated on 22 October as a double of the second class. Its Mass, however, honoured the Blessed Virgin exclusively; it hardly mentioned St. Joseph and therefore did not correspond to the idea of Gerson. Also purely as a feast of Mary it appears in the Missal of the Franciscans, to whom it was granted 21 Aug., 1537, for 7 March (double major). About the same time the Servites obtained the feast for 8 March. The Office of the Nativity of Mary was recited, changing the word Nativilas to Desponsatio. 

After the religious orders, among the dioceses which adopted the feast of the Espousals of Mary, Arras takes the lead. It has been kept there since 23 Jan., 1556. The first proper Office was composed by Pierre Doré, O. P. (died 1569), confessor of Duke Claude of Lorraine. This Office followed the outlines given by Gerson and commemorated both Joseph and Mary. Pierre Doré in 1546 unsuccessfully petitioned Paul III to extend the feast of the Desponsatio B. M. V. to the Universal Church. But even without the recommendation of the Apostolic See, the feast was adopted by many Churches. In Moravia it was in the sixteenth century kept on 18. July. In subsequent times Rome did not favour any further extension of the feast, but after it had been refused (1655) to the King of Spain, it was granted to the German Emperor for Austria, 27 Jan., 1678 (23. Jan.); in 1680 it was conceded to Spain, but transferred (13 July, 1682) to 26 Nov., because in Spain the feast of St. Ildephonsus or St. Raymond is kept 23. Jan. In 1680 it was extended to the entire German Empire, 1689 to the Holy Land (double, second class), 1702 to the Cistercians (20 Feb.), 1720 to Tuscany, and 1725 to the Pontifical States. In our days it is kept in nearly the entire Latin Church on 23 Jan., in the Spanish-speaking countries on 26 Nov., but it has never been extended to the Universal Church. Since Pius V abolished the Office of Pierre Doré and introduced the modern Office, it is again a feast of Mary. The commemoration of St. Joseph in Mass, Vespers, Lauds (decree 5 May, 1736) can only be made by a special privilege. 

Holweck, Frederick. "Espousals of the Blessed Virgin Mary." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 5. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. 19 Jan. 2016 .

Collect:

Bestow upon Thy servants, we beseech Thee, O Lord, the gift of Thy heavenly grace: that as the childbearing of the Blessed Virgin was the beginning of our salvation, so the solemn feast of her Espousals may bring us an increase of peace. Through our Lord.

Prayer Source: 1962 Roman Catholic Daily Missal

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Octave of Christian Unity: Prayer for Protestant Sects

Let us Pray.

O Lord, Who wast torn by the rebellion of Thy children whom, at one time within the Ark of Salvation, ventured out into the deep having itching ears, succumbed to the false teachers of Protestant ministers who listened more to the prideful urgings of the devil to break away from the bosom of holy Mother Church and multiply worse than the first thousands of times over. We pray Thee for our formerly Catholic brethren to give them the grace to realize the error of their ways and return to the Barque of Peter. May Thy holy Mother intercede and soften the hearts of those who may not realize the tenets they have been taught are not the full truths Thou charged Thy Apostles to spread throughout the world that all may be one. Show them through Thy wondrous ways that only in the Barque Thou founded can they truly see the marks of the true Faith: one, holy, catholic and truly apostolic. Guide them to accept and cherish Thy blessed Mother and to realize her role which Thou hast chosen for her, the second Eve, as Co-redemptrix of souls. Grant thy true priests the courage to feed Thy lambs with the manna of Thy Spirit so that every people and every tongue may acknowledge and glorify Thee as Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in unity with the Triune Divinity, forever and ever. Amen.

Let us Pray.

Prayer to St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen

O Glorious St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen, who courageously withstood the vicious opposition of the enraged Protestants whom thou didst so forcefully refute, while winning thousands of former Catholics back to the one, true Fold of Christ; obtain for us an abundance of thy ardent love of the holy Catholic Faith, and thy burning zeal for souls, which led thee to embrace joyfully thy cruel martyrdom by vicious Protestant soldiers, at the command of a Calvinist minister. By the holy indignation whereby thou didst repulse their threats and demand for thy apostasy, obtain for the remnant Catholic faithful a spirit of earnest zeal in our fervent prayer for the conversion of all who have embraced the errors of the demonic sects of Protestantism. Implore the Hearts of Jesus and Mary to dispel the vicious errors which keep them from the Immaculate Heart of the great Mediatrix of All Graces, that they may quickly experience therein the abundant graces of conversion to the one true Catholic Church of Her Divine Son, and final perseverance in grace, through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.

(Three Hail Mary's)

For more information and the Official Prayer for each day of the Octave, see the post on the Octave of Christian Unity

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