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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Reflection on the Precious Blood by Fr. Frederick Faber

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 Precious Blood by Fr. Frederick Faber:

"The Precious Blood was assumed directly to our Blessed Lord's Divine Person from His Immaculate Mother...Mary's blood was the material out of which the Holy Ghost, the Third Person of the Most Holy Trinity, the artificer of Sacred Humanity, fashioned the Blood of Jesus. Here we see how needful to the joy and gladness of our devotion is the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception.  Who could bear to think that the matter of the Precious Blood had ever been itself corrupted with the taint of sin, that it had once been part of the devil's kingdom, that what was to supply the free price of our redemption was once enslaved to God's darkest, foulest enemy?  Is it not indeed an endless daily jubilee to us, that the church has laid upon us as an article of our faith that sweet truth which the instincts of our devotion had so long made a real part of our belief?

"Moreover, there is some portion of the Precious Blood which once was Mary's own blood, and which remains still in our Blessed Lord, incredibly exalted by its union with His Divine Person, yet still the same.  This portion of Himself, it is piously believed, has not been allowed to undergo the usual changes of human substance.  At this moment in heaven He retains something which once was His Mother's..."

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Institute of Christ the King 2010 Ordinations

Please visit the following link and use the navigation links at the top of the screen to see many beautiful images of the recent Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest Traditional Ordinations said by His Emminence Raymond Cardinal Burke.  Below are two examples of these beautiful images.  And, now is a fitting time to one again extol you to pray for vocations to the Church; especially, pray for holy and traditional vocations. 

http://www.icrsp.org/IMAGES-APOSTOLATS/IMAGES-2010/Gricigliano/Ordinations-2010/Sacerdoce/sacerdoce.htm

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2010 Econe Ordination Photos

Above, I share some of the images from the recent June 29, 2010, Priestly Ordination that took place in Econe, Switzerland for the Priestly Society of St. Pius X.  Nine new priests were ordained by His Excellency Bishop Tissier de Mallerais.  Visit the website of La Porte Latine for more photos.

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5th Anniversary of A Catholic Life

The month of June joyfully marks the 5th year anniversary of this blog.  Today I opened the archives in the sidebar of this blog and opened what was my very first post entitled First Post.  Since that time much has changed in my life and I realize that my life is ever changing.  On July 1, 2010, in just a few days, I buy a well-recognized Catholic company and intend to take it to another level of success.  I formed this blog on June 19, 2005, for the purposes of winning souls for our Lord Jesus Christ. And to this day - 5 years later - my purpose remains unchanged.

I have at this time resumed a project that I began last year; namely, to write a short pdf book on "How to Successfully Create a Catholic Blog."  Reflecting on my blog, I realize that it has in five years received over 1.2 million page views with approximately 700,000 unique visitors.  I wish to pass along the knowledge that I have gained to help the Catholic Blogosphere.

In the scope of this project, I realize that I would like to share testimonials with my readers about the effectiveness of blogging.  And, surely there is no better time to share such thoughts than now - my 5 year blog anniversary!  So, if I have - in any way - helped your spiritual life please do share your comments below.  They can be completely anonymous if you so choose.  I will be choosing some of these comments to include in my book as examples of the effectiveness of blogs in serving as a witness to Our Lord and the One True Church.

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