Today is the feastday of St. John Vianney, one of the greatest parish priests in the history of the Church. Read about his life and many of his spiritually-edifying writings in my post from last year.St. John Vianney, ora pro nobis!!
Saturday, August 4, 2007
Today is the feastday of St. John Vianney, one of the greatest parish priests in the history of the Church. Read about his life and many of his spiritually-edifying writings in my post from last year.St. John Vianney, ora pro nobis!!
Friday, August 3, 2007
Over the course of the entire summer - and perhaps a few weeks of the Spring - I have worked to completely revise and update my list of Roman Catholic Feastdays. At last, today I was able to finish.
In the course of my editing, I added the entire Calendar of Saints according to the 1955 Calendar, used by many Traditional Catholics. The 1955 Calendar is very similar to the 1962 Calendar, which is also used by Traditionalists. Following this, I individually edited the post on each saint and added the information on the feastday according to both calendars. Since I was only able to work a few hours each day, this project has taken considerable time.
I hope that it is of value to my readers!
Read more >>
In the course of my editing, I added the entire Calendar of Saints according to the 1955 Calendar, used by many Traditional Catholics. The 1955 Calendar is very similar to the 1962 Calendar, which is also used by Traditionalists. Following this, I individually edited the post on each saint and added the information on the feastday according to both calendars. Since I was only able to work a few hours each day, this project has taken considerable time.
I hope that it is of value to my readers!
Because today is the first Friday of the Month, many Catholic parishes will have special Masses today for the First Friday Devotion. The priest may choose to offer a Votive Mass of the Sacred Heart or may choose to say the Mass of the day. However, regardless of which propers are used for the Mass texts, we can still - and should - attend Mass today. We can fulfill the First Friday devotion by going to Mass and receiving Holy Communion for nine consecutive Fridays.
Beginning on December 27, 1673, through 1675, Our Lord appeared to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque asking her to receive Him in Holy Communion on the first Friday of every month and to meditate on His passion from 11:00 PM to 12:00 midnight each Thursday. He also revealed to her twelve promises for all who are devoted to His Sacred Heart; he asked for a Feast of the Sacred Heart to be instituted in the liturgical calendar of the Church. Our Lord appeared to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque with twelve promises for those devoted to His Most Sacred Heart.
Pray the Act of Reparation to the Sacred Heart today
Promises for those devoted to the Sacred Heart:
1. "I will give them all the graces necessary in their state of life."
2. "I will establish peace in their homes."
3. "I will comfort them in their afflictions."
4. "I will be their secure refuge during life, and above all in death."
5. "I will bestow a large blessing upon all their undertakings."
6. "Sinners shall find in My Heart the source and the infinite ocean of mercy."
7. "Tepid souls shall grow fervent."
8. "Fervent souls shall quickly mount to high perfection."
9. "I will bless every place where a picture of My Heart shall be set up and honored."
10. "I will give to priests the gift of touching the most hardened hearts."
11. "Those who shall promote this devotion shall have their names written in My Heart, never to be blotted out."
12. "I promise thee in the excessive mercy of My Heart that My all-powerful love will grant to all those who communicate on the First Friday in nine consecutive months, the grace of final penitence; they shall not die in My disgrace nor without receiving the Sacraments; My Divine heart shall be their safe refuge in this last moment."
Please remember to pray for the unborn today and make an act of reparation to Our Lord. Remember, it was on Friday that Our Lord died and all Fridays in the year are days of penance.
Thursday, August 2, 2007
What is Portiuncula? The following is an excerpt from Major Life of St. Francis by St. Bonaventure
.Today the chapel of Portiuncula is situated inside the Basilica of Saint Mary of the Angels roughly 5 km from Assisi, Italy.
" The Portiuncula was an old church dedicated to the Virgin Mother of God which was abandoned . Francis had great devotion to the Queen of the world and when he saw that the church was deserted, he began to live there constantly in order to repair it. He heard that the Angels often visited it, so that it was called Saint Mary of the Angels, and he decided to stay there permanently out of reverence for the angels and love for the Mother of Christ.
He loved this spot more than any other in the world. It was here he began his religious life in a very small way; it is here he came to a happy end. When he was dying, he commended this spot above all others to the friars, because it was most dear to the Blessed Virgin.
This was the place where Saint Francis founded his Order by divine inspiration and it was divine providence which led him to repair three churches before he founded the Order and began to preach the Gospel.
This meant that he progressed from material things to more spiritual achievements, from lesser to greater, in due order, and it gave a prophetic indication of what he would accomplish later.
As he was living there by the church of Our Lady, Francis prayed to her who had conceived the Word, full of grace and truth, begging her insistently and with tears to become his advocate. Then he was granted the true spirit of the Gospel by the intercession of the Mother of mercy and he brought it to fruition.
He embraced the Mother of Our Lord Jesus with indescribable love because, as he said, it was she who made the Lord of majesty our brother, and through her we found mercy. After Christ, he put all his trust in her and took her as his patroness for himself and his friars."
The Indulgence:
"The Portiuncula indulgence is the first plenary indulgence that was ever granted in the Church. There were indeed indulgences at all times, but they were only partial, and only a partial remission of the temporal punishments could be obtained by them. But, as already remarked, he who gains the Portiuncula indulgence is freed from all temporal punishments and becomes as pure as after holy baptism. This was also the reason why Pope Honorius was astonished when St. Francis petitioned for the confirmation of this indulgence, for such an indulgence, up to that time, bad been entirely unknown. It was only after he had come to the conviction that Jesus Christ himself wished it, that he granted the petition of the saint and confirmed the indulgence" (Source)
August 2nd is the feast of Portiuncula. A plenary indulgence is available to anyone who will
1. Receive sacramental confession (8 days before of after)
2. Receive the Holy Eucharist at Holy Mass on August 2nd
3. Enter a parish church and, with a contrite heart, pray the Our Father, Apostles Creed, and a pray of his/her own choosing for the intentions of the Pope.
Please tell every Catholic person you know that remission of the punishment for all sins committed from the day of baptism to the reception of the indulgence is available.
May the Merciful Jesus fill your heart with His gentle peace!
Note: An indulgence is the remission of the temporal punishment due to sin. More information can be found at Indulgences.
Monday, July 30, 2007
The motu proprio has been released! The next step is to start putting the Catholic faithful who want to assist at the Traditional Mass in touch with Catholic priests who want to say the Traditional Mass. Please fill out the form below with your contact information so we can help you make a connection.
Please make sure to include your geographical information (it will be difficult to link you up with others in your area if you don't), as well as an email address so that you can be contacted when a match is found. Your information is private and will not be shared with anyone without your consent. Also, including your parish of registry will be very important for helping to connect people in the same parish who may be unaware of each other.
Image Source: Hallowedground
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Vestments: Green
INTROIT
Psalms 53: 6, 7
Behold God is my helper, and the Lord is the protector of my soul: turn back the evils upon my enemies, and cut them off in Thy truth, O Lord my protector. -- (Ps. 53. 3). Save me, O God, by Thy Name, and deliver me in Thy strength. V.: Glory be to the Father -- Behold God is my helper . . .
COLLECT - Let Thy merciful ears, O Lord, be open to the prayers of Thy suppliant people: and that Thou mayest grant their desire to those that seek, make them to ask such things as shall please Thee. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth . . .
EPISTLE
I Corinthians 10: 6-13
Brethren, Let us not covet evil things, as they also coveted. Neither become ye idolaters, as some of them: as it is written "The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play." Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed fornication, and there fell in one day three and twenty thousand. Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them tempted, and perished by the serpents. Neither do you murmur, as some of them murmured, and were destroyed by the destroyer. Now all these things happened to them in figure, and they are written for our correction, upon whom the ends of the world are come. Wherefore he that thinketh himself to stand, let him take heed lest he fall. Let no temptation take hold on you, but such as is human: and God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that which you are able; but will make also with temptation issue, that you may be able to bear it.
GRADUAL
Psalms 8: 2
O Lord, our Lord, how admirable is Thy Name in the whole earth! V.: For Thy magnificence is elevated above the heavens.
Alleluia, alleluia. V.(Ps. 58. 3). Deliver me from my enemies, O my God: and defend me from them that rise up against me. Alleluia
GOSPEL
Luke 19: 41-47
At that time, when Jesus drew near to Jerusalem, seeing the city, He wept over it, saying: If thou also hadst known, and that in this thy day, the things that are to thy peace: but now they are hidden from thy eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, and thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and straiten thee on every side; and beat thee flat to the ground, and thy children who are in thee; and they shall not leave in thee a stone upon a stone, because thou hast not known the time of thy visitation. And entering into the temple, He began to cast out them that sold therein, and them that bought, saying to them: It is written, "My house is a house of prayer." but you have made it a den of theives. And He was teaching daily in the temple.
OFFERTORY
Pslams 18: 9, 10, 11, 12
The justices of the Lord are right, rejoicing hearts, and His judgments sweeter than honey and the honey comb: for Thy servant keepeth them.
SECRET - Grant to us, we beseech Thee, O Lord, that we may worthily frequent these Mysteries: for as often as the memorial of this Victim is celebrated, the work of our redemption is wrought. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost . .
PREFACE (Preface of the Most Holy Trinity) - It it truly meet and just, right and for our salvation, that we should at all times, and in all places, give thanks unto Thee, O holy Lord, Father almighty, everlasting God; Who, together with Thine only-begotten Son, and the Holy Ghost, art one God, one Lord: not in the oneness of a single Person, but in the Trinity of one substance. For what we believe by Thy revelation of Thy glory, the same do we believe of Thy Son, the same of the Holy Ghost, without difference or separation. So that in confessing the true and everlasting Godhead, distinction in persons, unity in essence, and equality in majesty may be adored. Which the Angels and Archangels, the Cherubim also and Seraphim do praise: who cease not daily to cry out, with one voice saying:
COMMUNION
John 6: 57
He that eateth My Flesh, and drinketh My Blood, abideth in Me, and I in him, saith the Lord.
POST COMMUNION - May the communion of Thy Sacrament, we beseech Thee, O Lord, bring to us cleansing and grant us unity. Through our Lord Jesus Christ . . .
Read more >>
INTROIT
Psalms 53: 6, 7
Behold God is my helper, and the Lord is the protector of my soul: turn back the evils upon my enemies, and cut them off in Thy truth, O Lord my protector. -- (Ps. 53. 3). Save me, O God, by Thy Name, and deliver me in Thy strength. V.: Glory be to the Father -- Behold God is my helper . . .
COLLECT - Let Thy merciful ears, O Lord, be open to the prayers of Thy suppliant people: and that Thou mayest grant their desire to those that seek, make them to ask such things as shall please Thee. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth . . .
EPISTLE
I Corinthians 10: 6-13
Brethren, Let us not covet evil things, as they also coveted. Neither become ye idolaters, as some of them: as it is written "The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play." Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed fornication, and there fell in one day three and twenty thousand. Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them tempted, and perished by the serpents. Neither do you murmur, as some of them murmured, and were destroyed by the destroyer. Now all these things happened to them in figure, and they are written for our correction, upon whom the ends of the world are come. Wherefore he that thinketh himself to stand, let him take heed lest he fall. Let no temptation take hold on you, but such as is human: and God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that which you are able; but will make also with temptation issue, that you may be able to bear it.
GRADUAL
Psalms 8: 2
O Lord, our Lord, how admirable is Thy Name in the whole earth! V.: For Thy magnificence is elevated above the heavens.
Alleluia, alleluia. V.(Ps. 58. 3). Deliver me from my enemies, O my God: and defend me from them that rise up against me. Alleluia
GOSPELLuke 19: 41-47
At that time, when Jesus drew near to Jerusalem, seeing the city, He wept over it, saying: If thou also hadst known, and that in this thy day, the things that are to thy peace: but now they are hidden from thy eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, and thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and straiten thee on every side; and beat thee flat to the ground, and thy children who are in thee; and they shall not leave in thee a stone upon a stone, because thou hast not known the time of thy visitation. And entering into the temple, He began to cast out them that sold therein, and them that bought, saying to them: It is written, "My house is a house of prayer." but you have made it a den of theives. And He was teaching daily in the temple.
OFFERTORY
Pslams 18: 9, 10, 11, 12
The justices of the Lord are right, rejoicing hearts, and His judgments sweeter than honey and the honey comb: for Thy servant keepeth them.
SECRET - Grant to us, we beseech Thee, O Lord, that we may worthily frequent these Mysteries: for as often as the memorial of this Victim is celebrated, the work of our redemption is wrought. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost . .
PREFACE (Preface of the Most Holy Trinity) - It it truly meet and just, right and for our salvation, that we should at all times, and in all places, give thanks unto Thee, O holy Lord, Father almighty, everlasting God; Who, together with Thine only-begotten Son, and the Holy Ghost, art one God, one Lord: not in the oneness of a single Person, but in the Trinity of one substance. For what we believe by Thy revelation of Thy glory, the same do we believe of Thy Son, the same of the Holy Ghost, without difference or separation. So that in confessing the true and everlasting Godhead, distinction in persons, unity in essence, and equality in majesty may be adored. Which the Angels and Archangels, the Cherubim also and Seraphim do praise: who cease not daily to cry out, with one voice saying:
COMMUNION
John 6: 57
He that eateth My Flesh, and drinketh My Blood, abideth in Me, and I in him, saith the Lord.
POST COMMUNION - May the communion of Thy Sacrament, we beseech Thee, O Lord, bring to us cleansing and grant us unity. Through our Lord Jesus Christ . . .
"Unless we are ready through His power to die in the likeness of His passion, His life is not in us" (St. Ignatius of Antioch).
Canonization of St. Joan Antida Thouret
Note: The date listed below is the date of the canonization
1925: Saint John Mary Vianney
1925: Saint John Eudes
1925: Saint Madeline Sophie Barat
1925: Saint Marie Madeline Postel
1925: Saint Peter Canisius
1925: Saint Therese of Lisieux
1930: Jesuit North American Martyrs
1930: Saint Catherine Tomas
1930: Saint Lucy Filippini
1930: Saint Robert Bellarmine
1930: Saint Theophilus of Corte
1931: Saint Albert the Great
1933: Saint Andrew Fournet
1933: Saint Bernadette Soubirous
1934: Saint Conrad of Parzham
1934: Saint John Bosco
1934: Saint Joan Antide Thouret
1934: Saint Joseph Benedict Cottolengo
1934: Saint Louise de Marillac
1934: Saint Teresa Margaret Redi
1934: Saint Mary Michaeli
1934: Saint Pompilius M. Pirotti
1935: Saint John Fisher
1935: Saint Thomas More
1938: Saint Andrew Bobola
1938: Saint John Leonardi
1938: Saint Salvatore of Horta
1940: Saint Gemma Galgani
1940: Saint Mary Euphrasia Pelletier
1943: Saint Margaret of Hungary
1946: Saint Francis Xavier Cabrini
1947: Saint Bernard Realini
1947: Saint Catherine Labouré
1947: Saint Jeanne Elizabeth des Ages
1947: Saint John of Britto
1947: Saint Joseph Cafasso
1947: Saint Louis Marie de Montfort
1947: Saint Nicholas of Flüe
1947: Saint Michael Garicoits
1949: Saint Jeanne de Lestonnac
1949: Saint Maria Josepha Rossello
1950: Saint Anthony Mary Claret
1959: Saint Charles of Sezze
1959: Saint Joaquina de Vedruna de Mas
1960: Saint Gregory Barbarigo
1960: Saint John de Ribera
1961: Saint Bertilla Boscardin
1962: Saint Anthony Pucci
1962: Saint Francis Mary of Camporosso
1962: Saint Martin de Porres
1962: Saint Peter Julian Eymard
1963: Saint Vincent Pallotti
1950: Saint Bartolomea Capitanio
1950: Saint Emily de Rodat
1950: Saint Jane of Valois
1950: Saint Maria Goretti
1950: Saint Mariana Paredes of Jesus
1950: Saint Vincenza Gerosa
1950: Saint Vincenzo M Strambi
1951: Saint Anthony M Gianelli
1951: Saint Emilie de Vialar
1951: Saint Francis Xavier Bianchi
1951: Saint Ignatius of Laconi
1951: Saint Maria Domenica Mazzarello
1954: Saint Dominic Savio
1954: Saint Gaspar del Bufalo
1954: Saint Joseph M. Pignatelli
1954: Saint Maria Crocifissa di Rosa
1954: Saint Pius X
1954: Saint Peter Chanel
1958: Saint Herman Joseph
1964: Martyrs of Uganda
1964: Saint Achileo Kiwanuka
1964: Saint Adolofu Mukasa Ludigo
1964: Saint Ambrosio Kibuuka
1964: Saint Anatoli Kiriggwajjo
1964: Saint Anderea Kaggwa
1964: Saint Antanansio Bazzekuketta
1964: Saint Bruno Sserunkuuma
1964: Saint Charles Lwanga
1964: Saint Denis Ssebuggwawo
1964: Saint Gonzaga Gonza
1964: Saint Gyavire
1964: Saint James Buzabaliao
1964: Saint John Maria Muzeyi
1964: Saint Joseph Mukasa
1964: Saint Kizito
1964: Saint Lukka Baanabakintu
1964: Saint Matiya Mulumba
1964: Saint Mbaga Tuzinde
1964: Saint Mugagga
1964: Saint Mukasa Kiriwawanvu
1964: Saint Nowa Mawaggali
1964: Saint Ponsiano Ngondwe
1967: Saint Benilde Romacon
1969: Saint Julia Billiart
1970: Forty Martyrs of England and Wales
1970: Saint Anne Line
1970: Saint Augustine Webster
1970: Saint Edmund Arrowsmith
1970: Saint Edmund Campion
1970: Saint John of Avila
1970: Saint John Payne
1970: Saint John Rigby
1970: Saint John Southworth
1970: Saint John Lloyd
1970: Saint John Boste
1970: Saint John Kemble
1970: Saint John Wall
1970: Saint John Almond
1970: Saint John Roberts
1970: Saint Leonard Murialdo
1970: Saint Maria Soledad Torres Acosta
1970: Saint Margaret Clitherow
1970: Saint Therese Couderc
1970: Saint Richard Reynolds
1970: Saint Thomas Garnet
1970: Saint Deodatus of Aquitaine
1970: Saint Nicholas Tavelic
1970: Saint Peter of Narbonne
1970: Saint Stephen of Cuneo
1974: Saint Teresa of Jesus Jornet Ibars
1975: Saint Elizabeth Ann Seaton,
1975: Saint Justin de Jacobis,
1975: Saint John de Massias
1975: Saint Oliver Plunket
1975: Saint Vicenta Maria Lopez y Vicuna
1975: Saint John Baptist of the Conception
1976: Saint Beatrice da Silva Meneses
1976: Saint John Ogilvie
1977: Saint Charbel Makhlouf
1977: Saint John Neumann
1977: Saint Rafaela Maria Porras y Ayllon
Saturday, July 28, 2007
The Demonic Abortion Industry
The following is an excerpt from my upcoming book on exorcism. One chapter of the book is entitled, “Pro-Life and Exorcism” and is devoted to reflecting on the evil of abortion from a spiritual perspective. As a caution for those who may not be accustomed to the language of spiritual warfare, I would mention that the view of abortion contained in the passage below is derived primarily from Jesus’ presentation of the devil as “a murderer from the beginning” (Jn 8:44) and from scriptural passages that identify other demons who collaborate with Satan in his attempt to destroy the very life of God’s children. Make sure to pray as you read this passage.
In what sense is abortion demonic?
The spiritual dimension of this grisly “business” is its systematizing of ritual blood sacrifice to the god of child murder, Moloch, who we know of from the severe condemnations of him in the Old Testament (Lev 18:21, 20:2-5, 1 Kings 11:5.33, 2 Kings 23:13 and Zephaniah 1:5). This demon of murder appears in many forms and cultures through history (Phoenician, Carthaginian, Canaanite, Celt, Indian, Aztec and others) but is always the same bloodthirsty beast that demands the killing of children as his form of worship. This demon is not content with a single act of murder here and there. His insatiable appetite for the death of innocents seeks public endorsement to justify his gruesome deeds, and he needs a systematic expression of it to increase his worship.
The modern abortion industry offers ritual blood sacrifice to the ancient abortion demon. It is in every way a demonic religion. It has its sacred dogma (“choice”), its ruling hierarchy (Planned Parenthood), its theologians (feminist ideologues), its sacrificing priesthood (abortionists), its temples (abortion mills), altars (surgical tables), ritual victims (primarily babies and secondarily women), acolytes and sacristans (clinic workers and death-scorts), congregations (all supporters of abortion) and its own unifying principle of sacramental “grace” (money). In short, the abortion industry is a perfect demonic system which offers a perverse form of worship to the devil.
The sacrificial victim in this demonic religion is not a brute animal as was offered to the Old Testament God of Israel in a legitimate system of religious sacrifices. In abortion, the victim is an innocent human being who is made in the “image and likeness of God” and who can never defend herself. This combination of innocence, parental participation and ritualized obliteration of the visage of God in human form is the devil’s way of blaspheming the Father with the misguided participation of God’s own children. The systematic destruction of the human body which St. Paul calls “the temple of the Holy Spirit” is a blasphemous insult to God. If the abortion business is not truly demonic, nothing is. (End of excerpt.)
From this perspective, the need for a deeply spiritual approach to ending the abortion holocaust is fundamental. It does not absolve us from working in every way humanly possible to end abortion, but it puts all our human activity into the right perspective. In this month of the Precious Blood we must cover every abortionist, abortion mill and client of the abortion industry with Christ’s Blood in order to conquer the blood sacrifice of the devil with the greatest force of good known to man. If His Blood is properly applied over time with great love, we will see conversions from even the most devoted advocates of abortion. The Blood of Christ is a strong shield for all who pray and work for life and reminds us that our pro-life work brings us to Calvary to stand in solidarity with the unborn child who is unjustly deprived of life.
Sincerely Yours in Christ,
Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer,
President, Human Life International
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