Advent Season Begins

What a busy day! Today is that day where everyone gets up at incredibly early hours and goes shopping. The stores are so packed, but this is the main shopping day for so many people because of the sales. Today has been the day to put up our Christmas tree for years. It's a tradition in our family. Also, I need to buy an advent wreath today and bless it Sunday for the first day of Advent. I got a new book called, "On the way to Bethlehem" by Hilary McDowell with a small reading and prayer for each day of Advent.

Here's some useful links in this Christmas Season:

1. St. Margaret Mary's Advent Calendar

2. Blessing of a Christmas Tree (a few versions):

Version 1
Version 2

3. Nativity Scene Blessing

Blessings to everyone in this Christmas season. Remember the poor and suffering; I always give to charities at this time. Give to those in poverty during Christmas especially since Christ Himself chose poverty that day in Bethlehem. Pray for unbelievers, heretics, and schismatics. Pray for the salvation of all souls.

Image Source: Believed to be in the Public Domain, Title Unknown

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The "Our Father" for the Souls in Purgatory

November is the month for the holy souls in purgatory, and this month is almost over. I would like to share a prayer attributed to St. Mechtilde. This is the "Our Father" for the souls in purgatory. When St. Mechtilde one day offered her Holy Eucharist for the souls, Jesus came to her (he has come to many saints) and told her to pray one "Our Father" for them. After she recited it, she saw many souls rise up to Heaven.

OUR FATHER, WHO ART IN HEAVEN, I beseech You, O Heavenly Father, pardon the Souls in Purgatory, for they did not love You sufficiently, nor render to You all the honor which is Your due, due to You their Lord and Father, Who, by pure grace, have adopted them as Your children. By their sins, rather, have they driven You from their souls, where You none the less wished always to live. In reparation for these faults, I offer You the love and veneration which Your Incarnate Son showed You all during His earthly life, and I offer all the acts of penance and satisfaction which He performed and by which He effaced and atoned for the sins of men.

HALLOWED BE THY NAME, I beg You, O Father Most Good, pardon the Souls in Purgatory, for they did not honor, always and fittingly, Your Holy Name, but often they took It in vain and proved unworthy of the name "Christian", by their lives of sin. In reparation for their faults, I offer to You all the honor which Your Well-Beloved Son rendered to Your Name by His words and deeds.

THY KINGDOM COME; I pray You, Father Most Good, pardon the Souls in Purgatory, for they did not always seek or adore Your Kingdom with enough fervor and diligence;This Kingdom, the only place where true rest and peace reign. In reparation for their omissions, through indifference to do what is good, I offer You the Most Holy Desire of Your Son, by which He wished that they also might become heirs of His Kingdom.

THY WILL BE DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN; I pray You, Father Most Good, pardon the Souls in Purgatory, for they did not always submit their will to Your Will. In reparation for their disobedience, I offer You the perfect conformity of the Heart, full of love, of Your Divine Son with Your Holy Will and the most profound submission which He showed in obeying You unto death on the Cross.

GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD; I pray You, Father Most Good, pardon the Souls in Purgatory, for they did not always receive the Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist with enough desire, but often without contemplation, or love, or even unworthily, or they neglected to receive It. In reparation for these faults, I offer You the outstanding Holiness and the great contemplation of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Divine Son, addressed to You in favor of His enemies when He was on the Cross.

FORGIVE US OUR TRESPASSES AS WE FORGIVE THOSE WHO TRESPASS AGAINST US; I pray You, Father Most Good, pardon the Souls in Purgatory, all the faults of which they have been guilty through succumbing to the Seven Capital Sins and also in not having wished either to love or pardon their enemies. In reparation for these faults, I offer You the outstanding Holiness and the great contemplation of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Divine Son, addressed to You in favor of His enemies when He was on the Cross.

AND LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION; I pray You, Father Most Good, pardon the Souls in Purgatory, because too often they did not resist temptations and the passions, but they followed the Enemy of all goodness. In reparation for all these sins, in thought, word, and deed. I offer You the glorius victory which Our Lord won against the world, as well as His Most Holy Life, His Work and Sorrows, His Suffering and His Most Cruel Death.

BUT DELIVER US FROM EVIL; and from all punishments through the Infinite Merits of Your Well-Beloved Son and lead us, as well as the Souls in Purgatory, into Your Kingdom of eternal glory. Amen.

Image Source: Photo believed to be in the Public Domain

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Blessed Miguel Agustín Pro

Optional Memorial (1969 Calendar): November 23

Today on the United States Calendar of Saints, the Church celebrates the life of Blessed Miguel Agustín Pro. On the Universal Calendar for November 23, the Church remembers St. Clement I

Blessed Miguel Agustín Pro (1891-1927) died from religious persecution by President Plutarco Elías Calles in Mexico in 1927 by firing squad. He refused a blindfold and forgave his killers. And as he died, in an expression of love, he opened his arms and screamed, "¡Viva Cristo Rey!" (Long live Christ the King). Those were his dying words to his executioners.

He is a great example of what to be thankful for. Thank God today for the gift of the Church and its sacraments to lead us to Heaven. Thank Him for the Eucharist, the Bread of angels and delight of all souls. Thank Him for the gift of His Mother He made on the Cross. She stands by us on our journeys to Heaven. Thank the Lord for His merciful Heart pierced on the Cross. Thank the Lord for His wonder and beautfy. After all, the Lord our God is the delight of our hearts.

Image Source: Photo believed to be in the Public Domain

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Lost Rosary: Final update

This is part three of a story about my Rosary. After Mass on October 16, my Rosary was actually taken from my pew while I was away in the sacristy, and I have never found it. This is the third post on this subject.

Read Part 1
Read Part 2

Well, recently the organist brought in several rosaries for me to look at. He was very kind and told me to take any of the rosaries. Several are from Fatima. One has the medal of Blessed Mother Teresa. All of them are beautiful. I chose, though, a wonderful, leather-bound prayer book to make up for my prayer book also taken. In addition, there was a beautiful picture of the Virgin Mary in the bag and I chose that. My parish's pastor already gave me a beautiful St. Patrick Rosary as a replacement.

I wanted to thank everyone for their prayers. I only hope my Rosary and prayer book were taken by someone that could use them.

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Upcoming Christmas Season

With Advent officially beginning this Sunday a new liturgical year has approached. I will be posting a lot but mark your calendar. The St. Andrew Novena Prayer is a great devotion beginning on Nov. 30th and visit St. Margaret Mary's Parish for their great Advent Calendar. Each day opens as a countdown to Christmas, the birth of Our King.

St. Andrew Novena Prayer to Obtain Favors:

Hail and blessed be the hour and moment in which the Son of God was born of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in piercing cold. In that hour, vouchsafe, O my God! to hear my prayer and grant my desires, through the merits of Our Saviour Jesus Christ, and of His Blessed Mother. Amen.

(It is piously believed that whoever recites the above prayer fifteen times a day from the feast of St. Andrew (30th November) until Christmas will obtain what is asked.)

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Home Enthronement to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

Hector recently asked about my home enthronement, so I wanted to explain. This is a devotion that recently developed in my area; I had my home enthroned on the Feast of the Transfiguration this past summer. We even remodeled part of our home and turned the room into a prayer room.

The devotion is based on the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Each family receives the two images and places them in a prominent place on the wall a few days before the main ceremony. The priest will recite a series of prayers and bless the images. Then there is the actual Act of Consecration that is read.

Afterward, each member of the family signs a piece of paper pledging to say certain prayers each day. The evening prayers include three Hail Marys, three Glorias, three times: "Sacred Heart of Jesus Have mercy on us" and a few others.

Visit Catholic Tradition for the prayers and ceremonial details. And get your homes enthroned!

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Feast of Christ the King!

Today is the end of the Church's liturgical year and the Feast of Christ the King remembering that Jesus Christ is to be, above all, our King and God. All of our laws and decrees must come under His Most Holy Will. May the Lord reign in our homes and hearts forever!

I recently had a home enthronement where a picture of the Immaculate and Sacred Heart are placed in my home, and I pray everyday to Christ, our King. For more information on the Feast of Christ the King, see my post entitled Solemnity of Christ the King.

Prayer:

Excita, quæsumus, Dominine,tuorum fidelium voluntates: ut divini operis fructum propensius exsequentes, pietatis tuæ remedia maiora percipiant. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti, Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen

Prayer Source: 1962 Roman Catholic Daily Missal

Image Source: Believed to be in the Public Domain, Title Unknown

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Prayers Please for a Relative

Just a few days ago my great aunt, Lorraine, died. She was a devout Catholic her whole life and was legally blind. Please say a prayer for her soul.

Requiem aeternam dona ei, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat ei. Requiescat in pace. Amen.

Image Source: Photo of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen believed to be in the Public Domain

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End-of-Life issues

All of us will one day have to encounter end-of-life issues either for our loves ones or ourselves. And for those questioning cremation or wanting to know why euthanasia is wrong, I offer a great post on In Veritate Ambulare.

PS: Remember the value of a Mass for the deceased as well, though the Mass, said before death, is worth far more. "The Holy Mass would be of greater profit if people had it offered in their lifetime, rather than having it celebrated for the relief of their souls after death." (Pope Benedict XV)

Update: Please visit Serious Health Care and End of Life Decisions too for information

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Why Organized Religion is Necessary

Many people live in the misguided opinion that organized religion is not necessary. They believe in the here and the now while rejecting the calling of God to live as a community of faith, in communion together. Those who think they can be "spiritual but not religious" are living in an illusion.

Christ Established a Visible Church on Earth

Drawing on sound reasoning, Father Stephen Keenan in the often-forgotten work “A Doctrinal Catechism” also logically demonstrates:

To what does Christ compare the Church? To a city on the top of a mountain, visible to all the eyes in the world. What do you conclude from these words (Matthew 28:17:) "If he will not hear them, tell the Church?" That the Church must have been always visible, otherwise there must have been a time during which this command of Christ was impossible on account of the invisibility of the Church; for no one could lay his complaint before an invisible Church. Hence the Catholic is the true Church, since she is the only Church that has been always visible.

Sacred Scripture Affirms Why A Visible Church On Earth Is Necessary

Dr. Ludwig Ott in "Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma" states the following by drawing from Sacred Scripture:

Pius XII, in the Encyclical “Mystici Corporis,’’ confirmed the teaching of Leo XIII, and expressly rejected the view that the Church is “a mere spiritual entity, joining together by an invisible link a number of communities of Christians, in spite of their difference in Faith.” The visibility of the Church was denied by the Spiritualistic Sects of the Middle Ages, by Huss and the Reformers. According to Huss, the Church consists of the communion of the predestinated. Calvin held the same view. Luther taught that the Church is “the assembly of the saints (the faithful), in which the Gospel is properly taught and the Sacraments are properly administered.

 

But without an authoritative teaching office there is no certain norm for the purity of doctrine or for the administration of the Sacraments. The rejection of the hierarchy inevitably led to the doctrine of the invisible Church. The biblical proof of the visibility of the Church springs from the Divine institution or the hierarchy. The teaching office demands from its incumbents the duty of obedience to the faith (Romans 1:5) and the confession of faith (Matthew 10:32; Romans 10:10). To the sacerdotal office corresponds, on the part of the faithful, the duty of using the means of grace dispensed by it (John 3:5; 6:54). To the pastoral office corresponds, on the part of those shepherded, the duty of being subject to the Church Authority (Matthew 18:17; Luke 10:16).

The Church Fathers Hold That the Church Must be Visible on Earth

Dr. Ott further cites, in support of this reality, the witness of the Early Church Fathers:

St. Irenaeus holds against the Gnostics that the adherents of the Church throughout the whole world confess the same faith, observe the [same commandments and preserve the same form of Church constitution. He compares the Church, which preaches the same truth everywhere, to a seven-branched candlestick, which, visible to all, bears the light of Christ (Adv. haer. V 20, i). St. Augustine compares the Church to a city on a mountain (Matthew 5:14): “The Church stands clear and visible before all men; for she is the city on the mountain which cannot be hidden.

Dr. Ott further cites, in support of this reality, the witness of the Early Church Fathers:

St. Irenaeus holds against the Gnostics that the adherents of the Church throughout the whole world confess the same faith, observe the [same commandments and preserve the same form of Church constitution. He compares the Church, which preaches the same truth everywhere, to a seven-branched candlestick, which, visible to all, bears the light of Christ (Adv. haer. V 20, i). St. Augustine compares the Church to a city on a mountain (Matthew 5:14): “The Church stands clear and visible before all men; for she is the city on the mountain which cannot be hidden. 

Fr. John Laux, in "Catholic Apologetics Book IV," explains:

The work of Redemption consisted in the discharge of this threefold office (of Priest, Prophet, and King). On the eve of His departure from this world Christ delegated His powers to His Apostles: "All power is given to Me in heaven and on earth: 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 28:18-20). 

From this commission of Christ, it is evident that His followers form an organized society under the leadership and guidance of the Apostles and their successors, with the right to teach and to command on one side, and the duty to be taught and to obey on the others..

Everything is visible about His great institution: Baptism, which is necessary for membership, the other Sacraments which He commanded His followers to receive, the rulers and lawgivers whom the faithful must obey, the tribunael before which the faithful are judged and to which they have a right to appeal. 

Conclusion

The entire purpose of the Catholic Church is to be the means of salvation for the entire world. The Church was created by Jesus Christ Himself (cf. Matthew 16:18) and founded on St. Peter, the first Pope. In Elements of Religion, Henry Liddon states that: “Morality severed from religious motives is like a branch cut from a tree; it may, from here and there, from accidental causes, retain its greeness for a while, but it’s chance of a vigorous life is a very slender one.” God alone is the source of all morality as all were created by Him and deserving of respect; lack of religion destroys true morality.

While Jesus Christ is the invisible head of the Church, He chose to build His Church on St. Peter. The Church preserves the Faith as taught by the Lord and handed down over the centuries in Her teachings. And She also passes down the ability to confer the Sacraments through Holy Orders. Catholic priests today who are ordained are ordained in the same line of apostolic succession that can be traced back bishop by bishop ultimately to the hand of Christ who ordained the Apostles on Holy Thursday at the Last Supper. Thus who reject this revealed dogma of the Faith are not Christians.

More Information

For those looking to learn about the Catholic faith or the answers to questions such as “Why Organized Religion,” I encourage the book “This Is the Faith” by Canon Francis Ripley as well as the CatechismClass.com Program.

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