Lest We Ever Forget - 9/11/2001

Let us never forget September 11th, 2001, and the great people who died on that day. May God Bless America and may America praise and glorify God.

Where were you on September 11, 2001?

I was at home sick that day. I woke up around 8 AM, sat on the end of my bed and turned on the television. Then I saw the Twin Towers burning on channel after channel. I ran into my famiy room and everyone else in my family was watching it on television in there already.

I went to the doctor that day and on the way I heard that the first tower fell. I remember going down the road and seeing one man place a large sign painted on wood in his yard asking for God's mercy. At the doctor's office, I clearly remember everyone huddled around the television. The nurses were watching it through the blinds of their office while talking on the phone. I was watching television when the second tower fell. I'll never forget it. I'll never forget thinking about all of those lives snuffed out. It's hard for me to think that it's already been five years. It's hard to think about that day. I remember the pain and confusion and fear the rest of the week.

I recently re-watched a documentary on that day filmed by two French brothers and narrated by Robert DeNiro. They actually have footage from inside the burning towers. The part where people actual were jumping out of the windows was the worst part.

Kyrie eleison!

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Blessed Charles Spinola

Born in Genoa in 1564, he was the son of the Count of Tassarolo and the nephew of Cardinal Philip Spinola.

He was educated in Spain and in the Jesuit school in Nola, Italy. He entered the novitiate in 1584 and was ordained in 1594.

In 1596, he received a letter appointing him to the missions in Japan. His journey was marked by shipwrecks and delays, which included captivity in England, and he reached his destination only in 1602, six years later. For twelve years, he worked at ministering to the growing Christian community in Japan. In 1614, all foreign missionaries were banished so Charles went into hiding, eluding capture for four years. After enduring four more years of captivity, he was burnt at the stake on September 10, 1622.

Charles was declared Blessed in 1867, along with 30 other Jesuits, over half of whom were Japanese.

Source: Nobility.org

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Apostacy: Masons Honored in a Catholic Church

As shockingly reported by the SSPX. How long can this silent apostacy go on? Kyrie eleison!

First reported on August 28 by the Brazilian web-forum, FRATRESINUNUM, a “Day of the Mason” was observed on August 20 at the church of Nossa Senhora da Conceicao (Our Lady of Conception) in the Brazilian town of Belo Jardim in the diocese of Pesqueira-Pernambuco.

The event consisted of Mass (per the Novus Ordo Missae) with Masons processing into the church in full Freemasonic regalia of ribbons, collars and aprons, and bearing tools of their “craft”, the compass, hammer and square.

In addition to being granted an official place of honor in the church during Mass, they were also allowed to speak from the altar and present their tools as memorial gifts to the celebrant, Fr. Geraldo Magela de Silva. Even worse though, these Freemasons – were also given Communion.

All of this is a direct violation of the Church’s law concerning Freemasons, as expounded first by Pope Clement XII In Eminenti Apostolatus in 1738 and most famously by Pope Leo XIII in Humanum Genus in 1884, which Cardinal Ratzinger (now the Holy Father) reiterated with Pope John Paul II’s approval in 1983:

Therefore the Church's negative judgment in regard to Masonic association remains unchanged since their principles have always been considered irreconcilable with the doctrine of the Church and therefore membership in them remains forbidden. The faithful who enroll in Masonic associations are in a state of grave sin and may not receive Holy Communion

The first condemnation against Freemasonry given by Pope Clement XII per In Eminenti (1738) was repeated and even extended by Benedict XIV (1751), Pius VII (1821), Leo XII in Quo Graviora (1826), Pius VIII (1829), Gregory XVI (1832), Pius IX (Qui Pluribus in 1846, 1849, 1864, 1865, 1869, 1873), and of course, Pope Leo XIII in Humanum Genus (1884) and Custodi di Quella Fede (1890). Later, the 1917 Code of Canon Law explicitly declared that Catholics who joined a Masonic organization incurred a penalty of ipso facto excommunication. It is also noteworthy that in a response dated February 17, 1981, the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith also reiterated the 1917 Code’s penalty.  

When will more people realize the prophetic character of (St.) Archbishop Lefebvre?

They talk to us of obedience. We wish to and we try to obey more and more every day the Church of all time founded by Jesus Christ, Son of God and Second Person of the Most Holy Trinity but we refuse to obey Masonry with its promotion of liturgical reform resulting in the “naturalization of the Incarnation.” The effects of the liturgical reforms are every day more clear and obvious to all. The ecumenical Mass leads logically to apostasy. One cannot serve two masters. One cannot nourish oneself indifferently with truth and error because error with its evil tendencies will triumph over the more austere and demanding truth...  Source

Recommended Reading - Why Catholics Cannot Be Masons

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Upcoming Surgery - Updated

Update (8/31): The surgery went well aside from some bleeding that has lasted longer than expected.  The recovery time will be longer than I had originally thought due to the bleeding complications.  I appreciate all of your prayers.  Thank you.

Original (8/8): I typically do not write to ask for prayer requests for myself, but lately I feel that not doing so would be an act of pride.  And today I am asking for your prayers.  In short, I have a surgery on my jaw on August 30th to fix a painful jaw condition that has troubled me for several years.  I simply can not delay the surgery any longer.  I will have to travel nearly 500 miles to have surgery up in Minnesota and the cost for the procedure will come in over $6,000.  Last week I returned from a pre-surgery consultation with the surgeon.

I ask for your prayers at this time and, if possible, your donations to help defray the costs associated with the procedure.  Any donations submitted through the sidebar this month and likely for several months afterwards will go to cover these costs.  Since I have been out of full time work since November, your support (financial and spiritual) is quite important to me at this time.  Thank you and God bless

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Moral Implications in the Life of a Catholic

If you want to call yourself a Catholic, you have to live what you profess. The faith has two aspects.  The Church refers to these as “fides qua” and “fides quae.” Fides qua is “believing” and fides quae is “that which is believed.”  Especially during your school years, when you’re immersed in an atmosphere of learning, it’s easy to focus so much on the fides quae that we forget about the fides qua.  Part of maturing in our faith is having it affect every part of our life.

Let us look at some of the reasons why our lives need to change by what we learn.  Christ DIED for us, in order to bring us to eternal life with God in heaven.  We have become God’s adopted sons and daughters, and as a result, our lives need to be affected.  God offers us redemption, but we need to show our acceptance by living the virtues of faith, hope and love.  We need to work daily towards the coming of the Kingdom of God.

Just as a reminder, let us spend a moment thinking about the Last Things.  We will die.  When we die, we will be brought face to face with God, and He will show us, in our personal (or particular) judgment, all of the ways in which we have chosen ourselves rather than Him.  He will show us that by His justice, we cannot possibly deserve Heaven.  If we have not deliberately chosen ourselves over Him (unconfessed mortal sin), we will be offered His mercy, which will triumph over His justice. 
“At the evening of life, we shall be judged on our love” (St. John of the Cross).

If we are deemed worthy of someday entering Heaven, we will be offered Purgatory as a great gift of grace.  Some of us will be brought directly to Heaven – and we have to remember that Heaven is our goal, not Purgatory.  Just think, if you were aiming for Purgatory but missed, there’s no chance for you.  At least if you’re aiming for Heaven and only miss by a bit, the mercy of God will give you Purgatory.

The entire point of our lives is holiness.  Every person, regardless of gender, role in the church, age, nationality, ability, etc., is called to holiness.  We are made in the image of God because He gave us intellect and free will.  He asks us to use those to freely choose Him, and to profess that to the world by our way of life.  Our personal response to His call is enabled through the graces given to us by the Holy Spirit.

The Church is clear that there is one main thing that MUST be in a life if it is to be growing in holiness:  self-examination.  If we honestly examine our lives to see how closely we are following and accepting Jesus’ teachings, we can only grow closer to Him.  We will love Him, worship Him and lead a life of prayer as a result.  Our hearts and minds will turn towards Him (conversion) and we will put Jesus’ moral and spiritual teachings into practice.

To live as an adult in the church, we will live as He wants us to.  We will live chastely, according to our station in life.  We will serve those less fortunate than ourselves.  We will bring His gospel to all those we meet.  We will serve the Church and others by being stewards of all that He has given us.  We will use our talents for the benefit of all.

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Summary of Confessions by St. Augustine

Today the Church celebrates the holy feast of St. Augustine, bishop and Confessor!

At Hippo in Africa, the birthday of St. Augustine, bishop and famous doctor of the Church. Converted and baptized by the blessed bishop Ambrose, he defended the Catholic faith with the greatest zeal against the Manicheans and other heretics, and after having sustained many other labours for the Church of God, he went to his reward in heaven. His relics, owing to the invasion of barbarians, were first brought from his own city into Sardinia, and afterwards taken by Luitprand, king of the Lombards, to Pavia, where they were deposited with due honours.

Source: Pre-1960 Martyrology

CatechismClass.com is pleased to offer St. Augustine's classic Confessions summarized in an easy-to-read and shortened format. 

In approximately 8 pages we summarize this spiritual classic because we realize that you have many responsibilities and do not have time to read all of the great classics.  But with the book summarizes of CatechismClass.com you can still learn about the Catholic Faith and study the ancient texts of our Faith with ease any time of the day!

Click here to read more and see a preview of this product!

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Institute of Christ the King Purchases Limerick Church

From the Press Release:

With the help of numerous friends from Ireland, the United States and Continental Europe, the Church of the Sacred Heart at the Crescent in Limerick, also known as the Jesuit Church after its first builders and long-term occupants, was recently purchased by a young priestly community called the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest. The church and adjacent building, sold to a developer some years ago, had stood vacant for six years and was in danger of falling into ruin. Therefore many people from Limerick and other parts of Ireland were happy to help this Institute bring the Church of the Sacred Heart and its residence back to life.

....

In Limerick, the Institute of Christ the King, supported by many local residents and a large group of friends in Ireland and abroad, intends to restore the Church of the Sacred Heart to its original purpose as a vibrant spiritual and cultural centre and a beautiful place of worship through a dynamic and open community life as a spiritual family. However, this will require a careful historical restoration before the Church may be opened once again to the greater public.

The Institute of Christ the King celebrates the classical Roman Liturgy, the Latin Mass, in its Extraordinary Form according to the liturgical books promulgated by Blessed Pope John XXIII in 1962. This liturgy, promoted by Blessed John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI in various documents, attracts today an ever greater number of people, especially young adults, students and families. The Institute is accustomed to see a lively family of faithful in its churches and wishes to bring the uplifting beauty of sacrality and genuine culture to all.

This beautiful church at the Crescent is still today a special architectural jewel, and many deplored its closing and long-term vacancy.  The Institute of Christ the King, which has a special devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, truly desires to reopen this church for the benefit of all, in close collaboration with the local civil and ecclesiastical authorities. In this way, yet another sign of a brighter future will again come alive in Limerick.

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More About Fatima and the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Taken from the book "More About Fatima and the Immaculate Heart of Mary" - Rev. Fr. V. Montes De Oca, C.S.Sp.

Chapter IX
THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY
The Children's Comments

Lucy relates that on June 13th, 1917, after speaking at length about her Immaculate Heart, Our Lady of Fatima again stretched forth her hands, throwing on the children the rays of that immense light in which they saw themselves as if immersed in God . . . The Blessed Virgin held in her right hand a Heart surrounded by thorns, which pierced it from all sides. The seers understood that it was the Immaculate Heart of Mary, afflicted by all the sins of the world, which demanded penance and reparation. "It seems to me," said Lucy, "that on that day, the purpose of the light was to pour into us a special knowledge and love of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, as on other occasions it infused into us the knowledge and love of God, and the mystery of the Blessed Trinity. From that day, indeed, we experienced a more ardent love for the Immaculate Heart of Mary."

Francis  had observed that this supernatural light, that the Blessed Virgin threw on them and on the world, seemed to come from her Heart. He afterwards asked Lucy: "Why did the Blessed Virgin hold a Heart in her hand throwing on the earth this great light which is God? You were with the Blessed Virgin in the light that went down to the earth, while Jacinta and I were in that which went up to heaven!"

"It is because you and Jacinta will soon go to heaven", said Lucy, "while I shall remain some time longer on earth with the Immaculate Heart of Mary."

"Is it the Blessed Virgin who explained to you the meaning of the two beams of light?"

"No, I saw it in the light that she put into our breasts." "That is right," interposed Jacinta, who followed the conversation, "I saw it also."

Jacinta seems to have received "a special light to understand intimately and in detail the meanings of these heavenly revelations." Before leaving for the hospital in 1919, she said to Lucy: "I am going soon to heaven. You will remain still on earth to make known to men that the Lord wishes to spread in the world devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. When you have to speak about it, you will no longer have to hide yourself! Proclaim openly to the whole world that:

"It is through the Immaculate Heart of Mary that God wishes to grant us His graces!"

"It is from this Immaculate Heart that we must ask for them!"

"The Heart of Jesus wishes the Immaculate Heart of Mary to be venerated with His own!"

"It is through the Immaculate Heart of Mary that peace must be asked, because it is to that Heart that the Lord has confided it."

"How I love the Immaculate Heart of Mary! It is the Heart of Our Heavenly Mother!"

"Oh! if only I could put into all hearts the fire I feel in my own, which makes me love the Hearts of Jesus and Mary so much!" Besides, the best commentary on the devotion to the Immaculate Heart of
Mary is that left us by the children in the admirable example of their lives. After the revelations, indeed they were true models of devotion and reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. They loved this Immaculate Heart ardently, they invoked it constantly, they spoke about it enthusiastically, and they multiplied sacrifices to console it and to make reparation for all the blasphemies and offences that cause it to suffer.

PRACTICES OF DEVOTION TO THE IMMACULATE HEART

We have already spoken of penance and the daily Rosary so much recommended by Our Lady of Fatima. We give now the three principal practices of devotion for which she has asked in honour of her Immaculate Heart; the First Saturday of the month, the Five First Saturdays and the Consecration.
They bear a marked similarity to the practices now so widespread in honour of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

1. The practice of the First Saturdays consists of the following exercises, performed with the intention of consoling the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and making reparation to it for all the outrages and blasphemies of which it is the object on the part of ungrateful Christians: 1, the Rosary; 2, Communion of Reparation.

2. For the practice of the Five First Saturdays. In addition to the two exercises already mentioned, the following two are added on the first Saturday of five consecutive months: 3.  go to confession; 4. keep the company of the Immaculate Heart of Mary by meditating for a quarter of an hour on the mysteries of the Rosary. These two must be offered in reparation to the Immaculate Heart. .The meditation may be on one or several mysteries.

3. Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. As is known, Our Lady asked that Russia be consecrated to her Immaculate Heart and Lucia, the surviving seer has explained that She wants the Pope and all the bishops of the world to do this on one special day. If this is done She will convert
Russia and there will be peace. . .

AN ACT OF CONSECRATION TO THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY

O Immaculate Heart of Mary, Queen of Heaven and Earth, and tender Mother of men, in accordance with thy ardent wish made known at Fatima, I consecrate to thee myself, my brethren, my country, and the whole human race.

Reign over us and teach us how to make the Heart of Jesus reign and triumph in us, and around us, as It has reigned and triumphed in thee. Reign over us, dearest Mother, that we may be thine in prosperity and in adversity, in joy and in sorrow, in health and in sickness, in life and in death.

O most compassionate Heart of Mary, Queen of Virgins, watch over our minds and hearts and preserve them from the deluge of impurity which thou didst lament so sorrowfully at Fatima. We want to be pure like thee. We want to atone for the many crimes committed against Jesus and thee. We want to call down upon our country and the whole world the peace of God in justice and charity.

Therefore, we now promise to imitate thy virtues by the practice of a Christian life without regard to human respect.

We resolve to receive Holy Communion on the First Saturday of every month (or often if not possible every First Saturday) and to offer thee five decades of the Rosary each day, together with our sacrifices, in the spirit of reparation and penance. Amen.

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Book Review: Running with God Across America

I was recently given the opportunity to review Running with God Across America by Jeff Grabosky.  Before I share my thoughts, here is an excerpt:

What makes a person undertake a solo and unsupported 3,700 mile run across the United States? For Jeff Grabosky, it begins four years prior to his crossing with a series of tragic events. Jeff prays his way through his darkest days, and the prayers are answered – in a remarkable way. Jeff responds to the call on his heart to run across America to encourage people to pray. Jeff prays for thousands of prayer intentions sent to him from all over the world as he averages well over a marathon per day. The story of the transcontinental journey takes you through a wide variety of challenges on the road, in his mind, and in his heart. 

I initial chose to review this book because of the connection of exercise in my life.  Those who know me, know that I have been working to improve my health and fitness this year.  As part of that goal, I have been running nearly a 5K every day, in addition to other physical activities.  So, I chose this book because of my connection with running.

But what I found in this book was far more than the text of one man's amazing and awe-inspiring 3,700 mile across the United States.  I saw one man's dedication to prayer that surpasses that of most people.  Indeed, innocence of heart is a goal for all of us and Mr. Grabosky shows his dedication to a  mission of prayer more so than to simply running the equivalent of a marathon everyday for over 5 months.  The book does more than simply describe the physical dangers and perils of his journey - it shows the driving force behind his pilgrimage.

How many people would be willing (or physically able) to run the distance he ran without God's good grace?  And indeed, we know that no one can do anything aside from the grace of God (cf. John 15:5).  In the same respects, we read in 1 Corinthians 9:24, "Know you not that they that run in the race, all run indeed, but one receiveth the prize? So run that you may obtain."  And so if so many run and practice with such dedication for an earthly prize (e.g. the Olympics), than why can we not all run with the same rigor and innocence of Mr. Grabosky to further spread the Gospel, bring about conversions, make reparation for sins, and bring out the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ?

I do recommend this book as an inspiring story of motivation and endurance.  It numbers 235 pages and it is not a challenging read.  I read the book over the course of two weeks while on my stationary bicycle, adding an extra challenge to help me better relate to his physical demands as I was reading the text.

Copies are available on Amazon.com.

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Archbishop Fulton Sheen on the Assumption of our Lady

"Mary becomes the first human person to realize the historical destiny of the faithful as members of Christ's mystical Body, beyond time, beyond death, and beyond judgement. Mary always seems to be the Advent of what is in store for man. She anticipates Christ for nine months, as she bears Heaven with her; She anticipates His passion at Cana and His Church at Pentecost. Now in the last great Doctrine of the Assumption, she anticipates heavenly glory, and the definition comes at a time when men think of it least." Archbishop Fulton Sheen (World's First Love, 1952)

A Blessed Feast of the Assumption to all of you.  Today is a Holy Day of Obligation for all Catholics.  Also keep in mind that prior to 1955, the Assumption was a Double of the I Class with a Common Octave.  Let us celebrate the Assumption of our Lady for the next week up through August 22nd -  the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

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