Feast Day of St. Joachim

The Expulsion of Joachim from the Temple by Ghirlandaio

Today the Holy Church recalls the memory of St. Joachim, the father of the Blessed Virgin Mary, whose glorious assumption into Heaven we recalled yesterday.  For a more thorough post, see my prior post dedicated to Sts Anne and Joachim.

O God, Who of all Thy Saints didst choose the blessed Joachim to be father to the Mother of Thy Son: grant, we beseech Thee that we who honor his festival, may evermore experience his patronage. Through the same our Lord.

Prayer Source: 1962 Roman Catholic Daily Missal

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Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

On this day we celebrate the glorious Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, bodily and soul into Heaven!  For more information on this Feast, please see my past post by clicking here!

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Beautiful Catholic Paintings

Over the course of the past five weeks I have been in the process of uploading religious artwork to the lessons of CatechismClass.com.  I have worked countless hours on that project over the course of the past three months which is the reason for the lack of posts on this blog. 

In this work I've been very happy to find Wikigallery.  I have used this site extensively for the religious images in the CatechismClass.com programs.  As an example, look at the beautiful painting above at the top of this post.  I was in awe by the beauty of this painting, and through my work, I found already found at hundreds beautiful images of artwork that I have never seen beforehand.

When you have a moment, search the site using Catholic keywords (e.g. Mass, Eucharist, Sacrament, Christ, our Lord, etc) and you will find a plethora of holy artwork that should be more widely spread throughout the Catholic Blogosphere.

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St. Mary's in Cashton, Wisconsin - Traditional Latin Mass

These images were taken by Mario Antonetti of a weekly Sunday Mass offered by Canon Glenn Gardner of the Institute of Christ the King on the 7th Sunday after Pentecost at St. Mary's in Cashton, Wisconsin.

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Introibo ad altare Dei (Psalm 42)

P: In the name of the Father, + and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. I will go in to the altar of God. R: To God, Who giveth joy to my youth. P: Judge me, O God, and distinguish my cause from the nation that is not holy; deliver me from the unjust and deceitful man. R: For Thou art, God, my strength; why hast Thou cast me off? and why do I go sorrowful whilst the enemy afflicteth me? P: Send forth Thy light and Thy truth: they have conducted me and brought me unto Thy holy hill, and into Thy tabernacles. R: And I will go in to the altar of God: to God Who giveth joy to my youth. P: To Thee, O God, my God, I will give praise upon the harp: why art thou sad, O my soul, and why dost thou disquiet me? R: Hope in God, for I will still give praise to Him, the salvation of my countenance and my God. P: Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. R: As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. P: I will go in to the altar of God. R: To God, Who giveth joy to my youth. P: Our help + is in the name of the Lord. R: Who made heaven and earth.

P: In nomine Patris, + et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti. Amen. Introibo ad altare Dei. R: Ad deum qui laetificat juventutem meam.   P: Judica me Deus, et discerne causam meam de gente non sancta: ab homine iniquo et doloso erue me. R: Quia tu es Deus fortitudo mea: quare me repulisti, et quare tristis incedo, dum affligit me inimicus? P: Emitte lucem tuam, et veritatem tuam: ipsa me deduxerunt, et adduxerunt in montem sanctum tuum, et in tabernacula tua. R: Et introibo ad altare Dei: ad Deum qui laetificat juventutem meam. P: Confitebor tibi in cithara Deus, Deus meus: quare tristis es anima mea, et quare conturbas me?R: Spera in Deo, quoniam adhuc confitebor illi: salutare vultus mei, et Deus meus. P: Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritu Sancto.R: Sicut erat in principio et nunc, et semper, et in saecula saeculorum. Amen. P: Introibo ad altare Dei. R: Ad Deum qui laetificat juventutem meam. P: Adjutorium nostrum + in nomine Domini. R: Qui fecit coelum et terram.

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YouTube Video on the Beauty of Tradition

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Monsignor Angelo Amodeo says the Latin Mass

Monsignor Angelo Amodeo, a canon of the Metropolitan Chapter of Milan, celebrated Holy Mass in Rome according to the Usus Antiquior in the private house chapel of Prince Massimo in Rome's historic center. Monsignor Amodeo was ordained priest in 1957 by Archbishop Montini, future Pope Paul VI.

I found the video to be very beautiful.

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Benedict XVI Now 7th Oldest Pope in History

An interesting article from Zenit:

On Monday, Benedict XVI became the seventh oldest pope in history, considering only those popes who reigned since the year 1400 when records became more reliable.

Blogger and author Anura Guruge reported this milestone at his site Popes and the Papacy.

There, he includes a chart showing the 83-year-old Benedict in the No. 7 slot, having overtaken Gregory XIII, Paul IV and Benedict XIV, who all died at age 83, but closer to their 83rd birthdays then Benedict XVI now is. On Monday, the Holy Father was 30,410 days old.

Pope John Paul II, who died just over a month before his 85th birthday, is in the No. 6 spot, having lived 31,000 days.

The record for the oldest pope in history, Guruge reports, is held by Pope Leo XIII, who died at age 93, reigning from 1878 to 1903.

The chart also includes the records for the longest papal reign, and an interesting datum: the percentage of their lives they spent as pope.

Pope Pius IX, who reigned from 1846 to 1878, that is, 31 years, spent 36.5% of his life as pope. He died at age 85, putting him in the No. 4 slot for history's oldest pope.

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Upcoming ICKSP Mass

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Reflection on the Precious Blood by Fr. Fidelis Rice

July is designated especially as the Month of the Precious Blood of Jesus, a special time to honor the Blood of Jesus. Please see my post entitled Devotions to the Precious Blood of Jesus for more information.

The following is taken from Thinking of God by Father Fidelis Rice, C.P.:

"The executioners take their stand beside the whipping post...They raise their muscular arms...there is a ripple of sinews...then, like ugly snakes about to strike...the whips hiss through the air...there is a dull, sickening thud...ugly welts rise on the quivering flesh of the God-Man...Again and again they strike, and furrow adjoins furrow in His flesh until His body is criss-crossed with ghastly ridges and bleeding wounds...But still there is the almost rhythmic rise and fall of the lashes.

"Hardly had they commenced before the Precious Blood began to flow...down upon the stone pavement it trickled, forming crimson rivulets and pools. The Angels must have prostrated in adoration before that redeeming Blood...They were watching a world being paid for...and every drop of that Blood was the price of a thousand worlds. But still the agony went on!

"How long this torture lasted, we do not know, but it must have been almost beyond description, since the Evangelists do not trust themselves to write it...They simply say: 'Pilate scourged Him.'

"But finally it was over...The ropes were cut, and slowly Christ slumped to the ground...That stone pavement which was wet with His own Blood"

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