Evangelii Gaudium Observances from the SSPX

Note: The following is taken from the website of the SSPX.

On November 26, 2013, Pope Francis published the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii gaudium (the joy of the Gospel), which was to be a synthesis of the Synod on the new evangelization that Benedict XVI had called together in October 2012. In fact, the new pope hardly takes this synod into account, and leaves to the local episcopates the care of drawing for themselves the conclusions that they find useful. He prefers, in this document, to develop the themes that seem important to him and that he has already exposed here and there in the first eight months of his pontificate.

Thus do we find in the 288 points of this long exhortation his favorite expressions: the Church must “go out to others to reach the fringes of humanity”; “a poor Church for the poor”; rather a Church that is “bruised and hurting” because she went out to meet others, than a Church that is unhealthy because she is closed to others…

Throughout this document, that has no very strictly logical plan, the pope speaks of “the Church’s missionary transformation” (Ch. 1); “the crisis of communal commitment” (Ch. 2), in which he treats the “temptations faced by pastoral workers”; preaching (Ch. 3); “the social dimension of evangelization” (Ch. 4), in which he mentions, among other things, attention to the poor and social peace.

In the beginning, Francis recognizes the “programmatic” nature of this exhortation for his pontificate: “I want to emphasize that what I am trying to express here has a programmatic significance and important consequences.” (#25) Which brings some Vatican specialists to say that this is in reality an encyclical.

Speaking of the reform announced in the Church, as Jean-Marie Guenois wrote in Le Figaro on November 27, the Sovereign Pontiff:

calls for one of the applications of Vatican II that Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, under the pontificate of John Paul II, had always fought, by burying the project of “a status for the Bishops’ conferences” that would give them “a certain authentic doctrinal authority.” This does indeed imply weakening the center, the papacy, the Vatican, to leave more room for the local bishops. (…) This will to reform the profound culture of the Church — to go from a centralizing and dogmatic vision to the vision of a Church “with her doors thrown open” the better to welcome — implies a series of small reforms, that are not just friendly suggestions, but whose application Francis is very clearly demanding.

And observers did not fail to notice that this apostolic exhortation contains as many references to texts from bishoprics in different regions of the world as to texts from the Roman magisterium.
While waiting upon a more thorough analysis, three remarks can already be made:
1. Behind the pope’s desire to inspire a new missionary impulse, we cannot help seeing an implicit denunciation of the present evils in the Church, a denunciation that does not dare to trace back to the cause of these evils. When he invites Catholics to be more involved in social life, he shows — without saying as much – how great a disaster was caused by the “burial” encouraged by the Council, on the pretext of being more open to the world — a “burial” that was none other than a secularization, an adopting of the spirit of the world, made visible to all the faithful by the adopting of the secular habit by most clerics. And this secular habit gave birth to secular habits…

2. When Pope Francis rightly denounces the myth of the “invisiDIUCble hand” that harmoniously but mysteriously rules the movements of the “divinized market”, he is denouncing liberalism, but he fails to quote the great anti-liberal encyclicals of his pre-conciliar predecessors, such as Leo XIII. Perhaps because these criticisms of economic liberalism come with a criticism of doctrinal liberalism, to whose values the Council wished to open the Church, as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger admitted?

3. The apostolic exhortation denounces the privatization of religion in post-modern society, which rejects the political and social dimension of Catholicism, but at the same time wishes to maintain the conciliar requirements of religious liberty and inter-religious dialogue, claiming that evangelization is contradicted by neither one. The exhortation merely states this non-contradiction, but the facts take care of proving it wrong. Thus does the pope “humbly pray and implore the countries (of Islamic tradition) to grant the Christians the freedom to celebrate their cult and to live their faith, taking into account the liberty that the believers of Islam enjoy in the Western countries!”(#253) There we see the Council put to the test of reality.

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Day of Fasting: Vigil of the Immaculate Conception (December 7)

 The Immaculate Conception by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo
Besides being the feastday of St. Ambrose, today is the Vigil of the Immaculate Conception.  And, consequently, today is traditionally a day of fasting and partial abstinence from meat.

Day of Fast and Abstinence

For today, we as traditional Catholics are called upon to fast and to refrain from eating any flesh meat, except with the one principal meal allowed on a day of fasting.  Meat is considered to be the flesh and organs of mammals and fowl. Also forbidden are soups or gravies made from them. Salt and freshwater species of fish, amphibians, reptiles and shellfish are permitted.  On this day one, normal-sized meal and two smaller meals that do not equal the normal meal are allowed. Eating between meals, however, is prohibited although fruit juices and milk are allowed. The two smaller meals can not contain flesh meat.

History of the Vigil of the Immaculate Conception:

On November 30, 1879, Pope Leo XIII added the Vigil of the Immaculate Conception to the Universal Church's calendar, increasing the number of liturgical vigils from 16 to 17, which not including Holy Saturday, consisted of "the eves of Christmas, the Epiphany, the Ascension, Pentecost, the Immaculate Conception, the Assumption, the eight feasts of the Apostles, St. John the Baptist, St. Laurence, and All Saints." At this time, the Vigil of the Immaculate Conception was not yet a fast day. These 17 vigils mentioned were still in place at the time of the writing of the Catholic Encyclopedia in 1909.

On July 25, 1957, Pope Pius XII transferred the fast in the Universal Church from the Vigil of the Assumption to the Vigil of the Immaculate Conception on December 7, even though he had previously abrogated the Mass for the Vigil of the Immaculate Conception. Thus, this day starting in 1957 was a day of mandatory fasting and abstinence. This is preserved in the laws in force in 1962 for instance.

By 1962, the laws of fasting and abstinence were as follows as described in "Moral Theology" by Rev. Heribert Jone and adapted by Rev. Urban Adelman for the "laws and customs of the United States of America" copyright 1961: "Complete abstinence is to be observed on all Fridays of the year, Ash Wednesday, the Vigils of Immaculate Conception and Christmas. Partial abstinence is to be observed on Ember Wednesdays and Saturdays and on the Vigil of Pentecost. Days of fast are all the weekdays of Lent, Ember Days, and the Vigil of Pentecost." If a vigil falls on a Sunday, the law of abstinence and fasting is dispensed that year and is not transferred to the preceding day. Father Jone adds additional guidance for the Vigil of the Nativity fast: "General custom allows one who is fasting to take a double portion of food at the collation on Christmas Eve (jejunium gaudiosum)."

The Importance of the Immaculate Conception:

The Immaculate Conception is a dogma of the faith stating that Mary was conceived sinless in the womb of her mother, St. Anne. The Blessed Virgin Mary remained without sin throughout her entire life. Remember, Mary is not just an average woman but the Mother of God; she is extraordinary (Luke 1:42). She is, by no means, divine in anyway, but she certainly is the greatest of all saints. She is the perfect model of charity. Let us try and imitate Mary by wearing her Brown Scapular and praying the Rosary. To imitate Mary, is to grow closer to Jesus Christ, Our Savior.

Ad Diem Illum Laetissimum:

An interval of a few months will again bring round that most happy day on which, fifty years ago, Our Predecessor Pius IX., Pontiff of holy memory, surrounded by a noble crown of Cardinals and Bishops, pronounced and promulgated with the authority of the infallible magisterium as a truth revealed by God that the Most Blessed Virgin Mary in the first instant of her conception was free from all stain of original sin. All the world knows the feelings with which the faithful of all the nations of the earth received this proclamation and the manifestations of public satisfaction and joy which greeted it, for truly there has not been in the memory of man any more universal or more harmonious expression of sentiment shown towards the august Mother of God or the Vicar of Jesus Christ. 

ENCYCLICAL OF POPE ST. PIUS X ON THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, FEBRUARY 2, 1904

Mary, Immaculate Virgin Mother of God, pray for us who have recourse to thee!

Collect:

O God, who didst wondrously preserve the mother of Thine only-begotten Son from original sin in her own conception, grant, we beseech Thee, that Thou mayest make us, strengthened by her intercession, to keep her festival with clean hearts. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

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Book Review: St. Edmund Campion Missal

I use Grammarly - the best plagiarism checker out there - because a true work of art is truly one-of-a-kind.

Each and everyday countless books are sold in the world and new books are being published for the first time.  With the advent of Lulu.com and other self-publishing platforms, there are thousands of books introduced into the world each year.  For a Catholic trying to navigate the narrow road, he will find many books that are neither beautiful nor spiritually enriching.  And once in a while he will find a book that is either very beautifully designed or one that is truly spiritually enriching and enduring.  It is a gem to find a book that has both characteristics.  I’m glad that I have found such a one in the St. Edmund Campion Missal.

The St. Edmund Campion Missal is more than a standard Missal.  There are plenty of great Missals for the Traditional Latin Mass in the marketplace.  What separates this Missal from other is its sheer beauty. 

The proponents of the Traditional Latin Mass often call it "The Most Beautiful Thing This Side of Heaven."  It's fitting that there is now a Missal that seeks to showcase the beauty of the Mass in the Missal.

Contained in the Missal is over 75 traditional line art illustrations collected from a special Benedictine archive and carefully digitally-enhanced. The pictures were carefully placed according to the liturgical year and feast within the Missal.  [Sample]

Yet most is most striking is the stunningly beautiful step-by-step photos of the Mass.  Where most missals fall short is clearly showing the steps of the Mass.  And if they are shown, they are usually tailored either to the Low Mass or to the Solemn  High Mass.  The St. Edmund Campion Missal does most. Some of these photos are included in the CatechismClass.com Course on the Mass.

As the publisher states: "A distinguishing feature of our book is the inclusion of the complete Ordo Missae for both Solemn and Low Mass, along with 100+ color photographs, made possible by the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter, to help the congregation follow the prayers and ceremonies. All vestments used were 200+ years old."

For those concerned with the music included in the Missal, this is a gem indeed.  Again from the publisher: "For the first time since the 1950s, all eighteen Gregorian chant Masses from the Kyriale (Vatican Edition with Solesmes rythmic signs) and all six versions of the Credo have been carefully typeset and printed in a book for the congregation. The scores are presented in a large size, to facilitate congregational singing, and they are printed with amazing precision and clarity."  In addition, the Missal contains 150 elegant, enduring, traditional, Catholic hymns in English for the congregation.

For those who know me, I do not assist at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass at the same location each week.  I am known to alternate between a few locations: two served by the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, one by the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest, one by the Society of St. Pius X, and a Byzantine Divine Liturgy Parish. 

The Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter recently moved into St. Joseph's Church in the area and it was there that I came in contact with the St. Edmund Campion Missal.  In this case, the parish was given by the Diocese to the Fraternity and the congregation was undergoing a great change.  The Missal undoubtedly has helped the remaining members of the parish to familiarize themselves with the Traditional Mass, understand it, and love it. 

Simply put, this Missal is a must-have.  It is a work of art and deserving to be used for decades by its owner. This is a book that will proudly sit on my shelf next to the Sacred Scriptures.

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On the Care of the Dead

The Society of St. Pius X has put together the following article well worth reading and meditating upon:

"The care with which we bury the dead expresses our faith in the victory over everlasting death which Our Lord Jesus Christ has won in our human nature by His own Death and Resurrection.  We bury the dead in the sure hope of the resurrection of the body, when their mortal bodies will share fully in the glory of the Risen Christ" (St Augustine, On the Care of the Dead circa 422 AD).

In the middle of the 11th century, St. Odilo, the abbot of Cluny (France), said that all Cluniac monasteries were to offer special prayers and sing the Office for the Dead on November 2, the day after the feast of All Saints. The custom spread from Cluny and was was adopted throughout the entire Roman Catholic Church. Now the entire Church celebrates November 2nd as All Soul's Day.
Yet it this does not mean that the bodies of the departed are to be despised and flung aside, and above all those of just and faithful men, whose bodies have been used by their spirits as instruments and tools for doing all their good works. For just as the greater the affection one has for his parents, the more treasured are the father’s clothing and ring and all such things to those who survive him, in the same way the bodies themselves should not be neglected, since we wear them and are joined to them more closely than anything which we ourselves put on. For our bodies are not some ornament or aid which is added from outside, but belongs to the very nature of man.

Funerals with dutiful piety

So also in ancient times the funerals of just men were arranged with dutiful piety, and their funerals were celebrated, and burials provided for, and while they were still alive they gave instructions to their sons about their burial or even about moving their bodies to another place.
Tobias also was commended by the testimony of an angel for burying the dead, thus obtaining favor with God (Tobit 2:9). The Lord Himself also, when He was about to rise on the third day, both proclaimed, and commended for preaching the good work of the pious woman who poured a precious perfume over His limbs and did it for his burial.  And the Gospel commemorated with praise those who took Christ’s body from the cross and carefully and with reverent honor saw it wrapped and laid in the tomb.
 
However these authorities in no way suggest that dead bodies can experience any feeling; but rather, they signify that the providence of God (Who is pleased with such acts of piety) is concerned also with the bodies of the dead, in order that our faith in the resurrection might be strengthened. From these we can also profitably learn that the reward for giving alms to those who are alive and have their senses must be great, if God does not overlook even those things which with duty and diligence we do for the lifeless bodies of men...

Mark of good and human disposition

If this be true, then also providing a burial place for bodies at the memorials of saints is a mark of a good and human disposition towards the remains of one’s friends. For if there is a sanctity in providing burial, there must also be sanctity in paying attention to where the burial occurs. But while it is desirable that there be such solace for the survivors, by which means they can show their pious attitudes towards their beloved, I do not see what assistance this can be to the dead except in this way: that when remembering the place in which the bodies of those whom they love have been laid, they might with their prayers commend the departed to those same saints as if they were patrons undertaking to aid them before the Lord. Indeed they would still be able to do so, even if they were not able to be interred in such places...

Supplications for all the departed

But even if, due to the lack of opportunity, some necessity does not permit bodies to be interred, or to be interred in such places, one should still not neglect prayers for the souls of the dead. For in its general prayer the Church undertakes to make such supplications for all the departed in our Christian and catholic fellowship, even without mentioning their names. Thus those who do not have parents or sons or any relatives or friends still have the one pious mother common to all Christians to perform these acts for them. But no matter how holy the places where lifeless bodies are laid, I think their souls will not profit in the least without such prayers for the dead and if they are not made with the right faith and piety.

SEE ALSO:

• Catholic Devotions for the Dead
• All Souls Day 
• Funeral Rites for the Supreme Pontiffs

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Advent: The Beginning of the Liturgical Year & Source of Rich Meditations

 St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church

With today’s solemn celebration for the First Sunday of Advent, the Church now begins anew the liturgical year.  In the words of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, it is in one liturgical year that the Church re-lives the 33 years of Christ’s life – thirty years obeying, three years teaching, and three hours redeeming.  As we journey through this week of Advent, let us continue to read and pray through the Scriptures.  One particular Scripture verse to focus on today is Matthew 24:37-44.  Specifically, let us meditate on the immortal words of Our Lord at the end of that section: “So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”

Advent is a time of penance in anticipation for the Nativity of Our Lord.  But it is also a time to help us remember that we must always be prepared for the Final Judgment and the Second Coming of Christ. Throughout the four weeks of Advent, our focus shall slightly shift, but our focus will always remain in the Child Jesus.  During the first week of Advent we should meditate on hope, peace for the second week, joy for the third week, and love during the fourth week.

Concerning the topic of Advent, Fr. Lawrence Smith has said, “Advent is the time to make ready for Christ to live with us. Lent is the time to make us ready to die with Christ. Advent makes Lent possible. Lent makes salvation possible. Advent is the time when eternity approaches earth. Lent is the time when time reaches consummation in Christ's eternal Sacrifice to the Father. Advent leads to Christ's life in time on earth. Lent leads to Christ's eternal Life in Heaven. The Cross -- through the Mass, penance, and mortification -- is the bridge connecting Advent and Lent, Christ and His Church, man and God. Each of the Church's penitential seasons is a dying to the world with the goal of attaining new life in Christ.”

In the words of Pope John XXIII, "Holy Christmas is approaching. Everything in the grotto of Bethlehem is a living lesson for all who wish to live by our faith, and be faithful to it.”  Perhaps no image visible in the Christmas season is more poignant than that of the Child Jesus in the manger of Bethlehem.  However, it was not until the 1200's that the first Nativity Scene was created by St. Francis of Assisi.  St. Bonaventure (d. 1274), writes of the event in his Life of St. Francis of Assisi:

"It happened in the third year before his death, that in order to excite the inhabitants of Grecio to commemorate the nativity of the Infant Jesus with great devotion, [St. Francis] determined to keep it with all possible solemnity; and lest he should be accused of lightness or novelty, he asked and obtained the permission of the sovereign Pontiff. Then he prepared a manger, and brought hay, and an ox and an ass to the place appointed. The brethren were summoned, the people ran together, the forest resounded with their voices, and that venerable night was made glorious by many and brilliant lights and sonorous psalms of praise. The man of God [St. Francis] stood before the manger, full of devotion and piety, bathed in tears and radiant with joy; the Holy Gospel was chanted by Francis, the Levite of Christ. Then he preached to the people around the nativity of the poor King; and being unable to utter His Name for the tenderness of His love, He called Him the Babe of Bethlehem. A certain valiant and veracious soldier, Master John of Grecio, who, for the love of Christ, had left the warfare of this world, and become a dear friend of this holy man, affirmed that he beheld an Infant marvelously beautiful, sleeping in the manger, Whom the blessed Father Francis embraced with both his arms, as if he would awake Him from sleep. This vision of the devout soldier is credible, not only by reason of the sanctity of him that saw it, but by reason of the miracles which afterwards confirmed its truth. For the example of Francis, if it be considered by the world, is doubtless sufficient to excite all hearts which are negligent in the faith of Christ; and the hay of that manger, being preserved by the people, miraculously cured all diseases of cattle, and many other pestilences; God thus in all things glorifying his servant, and witnessing to the great efficacy of his holy prayers by manifest prodigies and miracles."

Even from the first moment of Our Lord’s existence, Holy Scripture consistently alludes to the priestly office of Christ, which manifested itself primarily in the ultimate Sacrifice of the Cross.  Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem – He took a human nature as declared at the Council of Chalcedon – for the purpose of one day dying for the redemption of the human race.  And Scripture, even at the time of Christmas, alludes to the Sacrifice of the Cross.  Meditate on Philippians 2:6-7, especially on the word "slave".  Since Jesus is God, His very Incarnation was a Sacrifice. The cold, pain, and hunger He endured were all part of His Sacrificial mission, which culminated on the Cross. The baby in the manger, as He stretched out his little arms, knew that those same arms would one day be drawn out and pierced by the same men redeemed by His blood.

Advent as a season is quite ancient. The season itself went through slow development, taking form in the 4th century, and reaching a definite form in Rome by 6th century. Advent starts on the Sunday nearest Nov 30 (Saint Andrew), and forms the beginning of the liturgical year by the 10th century. It started earlier at one time (as early as Nov 11) because it was fashioned after Lent, so it had forty days originally in some areas, and even earlier in other areas (September) which forms the basis of the monastic fast. By the 6th-7th centuries the number is set as a span of four Sundays. The 1962 Missal texts preserve most of the ancient Masses of this season.

The First Sunday of Advent is the start of a new liturgical year in the Church.  At Mass you might have noted the purple vestments of the priest.  You might have seen less decoration than usual, no colorful flowers for example.  Probably the most prominent thing you noticed at your parish was the Advent wreath.  These are all signs of the new liturgical season of the Church.  The Gospel reading presented by the Church also reminds of the season.  Jesus told his followers and all people to “Watch!”  The word “Advent” comes from the Latin word for “arrival” or “coming.”  It is during this season that we “watch” for the coming or arrival of Jesus: both in the remembrance of His arrival as a baby 2,000 years ago and for His coming or arrival in the Second Coming.

And don't forget about the Advent Embertide Fasting! For more posts on Advent and Christmas, please see the Advent & Christmas Compilation.

Advent Catechism Lessons:

Please visit CatechismClass.com's Advent Program and enter code ADVENT45 to save 45%! 

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Why Should a Catholic Have a Devotion to Christ under the Title "Infant King"?

Since 2007, the Shrine of Christ the King in Chicago has embraced a devotion to the Infant King, including a monthly novena. The devotion is gaining more and more adherents, both locally and nationally. In response to some queries about this devotion, Canons of the Shrine answer questions posed to them by the faithful in an interview format.

The questions generally fall into three separate categories: 1) about the Infant King Statue, 2) about the Infant King devotion in general, and 3) about the practice of the novena at the Shrine, including the Children’s Blessing

Part I - About this particular statue of the Infant King

How did this image come to be chosen as the symbol of, and the object of, devotion at the Shrine of Christ the King? A. The mission of the Institute is to draw people closer to our Lord and to spread the splendors of His Kingdom. The Divine Infant, being adorable and approachable, is an ideal representation of Christ's perfections that everyone can relate to; He is attractive and imitable.

Is there a special history behind this 18^th century statue? A. Devotion to the Divine Infant is old. The devotion’s true origin appears already in Sacred Scripture with the example of the Blessed Virgin, St. Joseph, the Shepherds, and, who could forget the Adoration of the Magi. The popular devotion as we know it has been particularly strong in Spain since the 15^th Century. This statue at the Shrine was crafted in Spain, as part of that wave of devotion. It was gifted to the Shrine by a benefactor. Its craftsmanship, construction, and artistic merits suggest its age to be the 18^th Century, if not earlier.

When the statute came into the Shrine’s possession, did it need a lot of restoration work? A. It was well-preserved and in very good condition; all it needed was some touching up and a new set of liturgical garments. You’ll notice that He wears a stole as well. This is to remind us that the Infant King is also Sovereign Priest.

Was it important that it be crowned and formally installed at the Shrine of Christ the King in Chicago, IL by Cardinal George? A. "The more you honor Me the more I will bless you" is the promise of the Infant King. The coronation ceremony is a beautiful public display of honor. Having the Ecclesiastical authority do the crowning shows that the Cardinal grants full approval of this devotion and designates the Shrine to be a particular place of honor for the Infant King. This statue is a very special sacramental. Sacramentals are one of the means through which grace is conferred. The blessing and installation of relics and statues in a church, for example, are important because they can inflame our hearts to devotion and open our hearts to grace.

Continue Reading....

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President Lincoln's 1863 Thanksgiving Proclamation

In St. Augustine, Florida in 1565 the First Mass in the New World was celebrated and thus the first true Thanksgiving in North America was celebrated

The year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of almighty God.

In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign states to invite and provoke their aggressions, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere, except in the theater of military conflict; while that theater has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union.

Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defense have not arrested the plow, the shuttle, or the ship; the ax has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege, and the battlefield, and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.

No human counsel hath devised, nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the most high God, who while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.

It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American people. I do, therefore, invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens. And I recommend to them that, while offering up the ascriptions justly due to him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to his tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners, or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the almighty hand to heal the wounds of the nation, and to restore it, as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes, to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility, and union.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United Stated States to be affixed.

— President Abraham Lincoln, Thanksgiving Day Proclamation, Oct. 3, 1863

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How the Miraculous Medal Changed My Life by Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J.

Below is from a talk Fr. Hardon has given various times.

One of the most memorable experiences that I ever had was with the Miraculous Medal! It changed my life.

In the fall of 1948, the year after my ordination, I was in what we call the Tertianship. This is a third year of Novitiate before taking final vows.

In October of that year, a Vincentian priest came to speak to us young Jesuit priests. He encouraged us to obtain faculties, as they are called, to enroll people in the Confraternity of the Miraculous Medal. Among other things, he said, "Fathers, the Miraculous Medal works. Miracles have been performed by Our Lady through the Miraculous Medal."

I was not impressed by what the Vincentian priest was telling. I was not the medal-wearing kind of person and I certainly did not have a Miraculous Medal. But I thought to myself, "It does not cost anything." So I put my name down to get a four page leaflet from the Vincentians, with the then-Latin formula for blessing Miraculous Medals and enrolling people in the Confraternity of the Miraculous Medal. About two weeks later, I got the leaflet for blessing and enrolment, put it into my office book and forgot about it.

In February of the next year, I was sent to assist the chaplain of St. Alexis Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio. I was to be there helping the regular chaplain for two weeks.

Each morning I received a list of all the patients admitted into the hospital that day. There were so many Catholics admitted that I could not visit them all as soon as they came.

Among the patients admitted was a boy about nine years old. He had been sled-riding down hill, lost control of the sled and ran into a tree head-on. He fractured his skull and X-rays showed he had suffered severe brain damage.

When I finally got to visit his room at the hospital, he had been in a coma for ten days, no speech, no voluntary movements of the body. His condition was such that the only question was whether he would live. There was no question of recovering from what was diagnosed as permanent and inoperable brain damage.

After blessing the boy and consoling his parents, I was about to leave his hospital room. But then a thought came to me. "That Vincentian priest. He said, 'The Miraculous Medal works.' Now this will be a test of its alleged miraculous powers!"

I didn't have a Miraculous Medal of my own. And everyone I asked at the hospital also did not have one. But I persisted, and finally one of the nursing sisters on night duty found a Miraculous Medal.

What I found out was that you don't just bless the medal, you have to put it around a person's neck on a chain or ribbon. So the sister-nurse found a blue ribbon for the medal, which made me feel silly. What was I doing with medals and blue ribbons.

However, I blessed the medal and had the father hold the leaflet for investing a person in the Confraternity of the Miraculous Medal. I proceeded to recite the words of investiture. No sooner did I finish the prayer of enrolling the boy in the Confraternity than he opened his eyes for the first time in two weeks. He saw his mother and said, "Ma, I want some ice cream." He had been given only intravenous feeding.

This Experience Changed My Life

Then he proceeded to talk to his father and mother. After a few minutes of stunned silence, a doctor was called. The doctor examined the boy and told the parents they could give him something to eat.

The next day began a series of tests on the boy's condition. X-rays showed the brain damage was gone.

Then still more tests. After three days, when all examinations showed there was complete restoration to health, the boy was released from the hospital.

This experience so changed my life that I have not been the same since. My faith in God, faith in His power to work miracles, was strengthened beyond description.

Since then, of course, I have been promoting devotion to Our Lady and the use of the Miraculous Medal. The wonders she performs, provided we believe, are extraordinary.

In teaching theology over the years, I have many semesters taught the theology of miracles. And I have an unpublished book manuscript on "The History and Theology of Miracles." My hope is to publish the manuscript in the near future.

Note: More stories about the miracles of the Miraculous Medal including the conversion of Alphonse Ratisbonne and the miraculous transformation of Claude Newman, an uneducated African American in prison in the 1940s, may be read here.

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Feast of St. Sylvester, Abbot

The Statue of Sylvester Gozzolini at St. Sylvester's College Kandy Sri Lanka (Source)

Double (1954 Calendar): November 26

November 26th is the Feast of St. Sylvester, the saint who founded the Sylvestrine Order, a reform congregation of the Order of St. Benedict, in 1231.  He is not to be confused with Pope St. Sylvester.

Sylvester, of the noble Gozzolini family, was born in Italy in 1177. After making a distinguished record at the universities of Bologna and Padua, he was made a canon at Osimo, his native city. His inclination toward the contemplative life was strengthened by the sight of the dead body of a once handsome relative. "I am what he was," said Sylvester to himself, "and I will also be what he is."

After the funeral services, the words of our Lord kept ringing in his ears, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me" (Matt. 16:24). At the age of 50 he resigned his post and became a hermit. Many disciples came to him, and these he organized under the rule of St. Benedict. After his death the order became known as the Sylvestrines, especially noted for their spirit of poverty. Their founder died at the age of 90.

The members of his Order wear a Benedictine habit, Turkish blue in color. Today there remain seven Sylvestrine monasteries in Italy and several mission houses in Ceylon and in the United States. Dom Gueranger writes on the significance of St. Sylvester: "God often brings the world to those who flee from it, as Sylvester Gozzolini among others experienced. In the thirteenth century, the world, all in admiration at the sanctity and the eloquence of the new Orders, seemed to have forgotten the monks and the desert. God, who never forgets, led his elect silently into solitude, and the wilderness began again to rejoice and flourish like the lily; strength was restored to the weak hands and feeble knees of the sons of the cloister. The austerities of olden days and the fervor of prolonged prayer were revived at Monte Fano, and extended into sixty other monasteries; the new religious family of the Sylvestrians was approved by Innocent IV in 1247. Though originated seven centuries after St. Benedict, and distinguished from the elder families by its blue habit, it claims the Patriarch of Cassino for its legislator and father."

Adapted from The Church's Year of Grace by Fr. Pius Parsch.

Traditional Matins Reading:

Sylvester was born of a noble family at Osimo in the Marches of Ancona, and in his boyhood was remarkable for his love of study and his good conduct. As a youth he was sent by his father to Bologna to study jurisprudence, but was admonished by God to devote himself to sacred learning. This incited his father to anger, which Sylvester patiently endured for ten years. On account of his remarkable virtue, the Canons of Osimo elected him an honorary mem­ber of their chapter, in which position he benefited the people by his prayers, his example, and his sermons.

While assisting at the funeral of a nobleman, his relative, who had been remarkably handsome, he looked into the open coffin, and seeing the corpse all deformed, said to himself: What this man was, I am now; what he is now, I shall be hereafter. As soon as the funeral was over, reading these words of our Lord: If any one will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me, he retired into solitude in order to attain greater perfection; there he gave himself up to watching, prayer and fasting, often eating nothing but raw herbs. The better to conceal himself from men he frequently changed his place of abode ; and at length settled at Monte Fano, which, though near to Fabriano, was at that time a desert. There he built a church in honour of the most holy father Benedict, and founded the Congregation of Sylvestrians, under the rule and habit shown him by St. Benedict in vision.

Satan, roused to envy, strove in many ways to terrify his monks, making assaults by night at the monastery gates. But the man of God repressed the enemy's attack with such vigour, that the monks, recognizing their father's sanctity, were more and more confirmed in their holy purpose. Sylvester was remarkable for the spirit of prophecy and other gifts, which he guarded by deep humility. This so stirred up the devil's envy that he cast the saint headlong down the oratory stairs and well nigh killed him, but the blessed Virgin at once graciously restored him to health. In gratitude for this benefit, Sylvester showed her the tenderest unfailing piety to the end of his life. He died at the age of about ninety years, renowned for sanctity and miracles, on the sixth of the Kalends of December, in the year of salvation 1267. The Sovereign Pontiff Leo XIII. extended his Office and Mass to the universal Church.

Collect:

O Most merciful God, You gave the holy abbot Sylvester his vocation to be a hermit as he stood before an open grave, contemplating the vanity of this world; and then later made his hidden life brilliant with merit. May we imitate him in despising the pleasures of this life, so that we may enjoy Your presence for all eternity. Through our Lord . . .

Source: 1962 Roman Catholic Daily Missal

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Save Souls One Book at a Time - Take the Pledge

I’ve recently started an initiative that I would like to share with all of you, my readers. My hope is that you will join me in your own way and together we will serve our Lord Jesus Christ and help to bring about sound doctrine in this world.

There is no doubt that you’ve seen it. Picture yourself in your local Goodwill store, thrift shop, or garage sale. Venture over to the book section and scan through the religious books in the stacks. You’ll undoubtedly find little in Catholic thought. Instead, you’ll find protestant books on the Rapture, protestant books containing all sorts of heresies and false teachings, Protestant Bibles, Jewish prayer books, New Age or Occult manuscripts, and much more.

 Spanish painting from the 1400s by Pedro Berruguete showing the miracle of Fanjeaux. The books of the heretical Albigensian and those of the Catholics were thrown together into the fire before Saint Dominic. The Catholic books were miraculously preserved, being rejected three times by the flames, while the heretical ones burned. 

My heart goes out to the people who search in such places for doctrine. These souls – like everyone – is searching for God. And they will likely not find Him in the midst of protestant heresy and paganism.

I was recently at a Goodwill store and browsing their book section when I decided to take action. I repositioned the Catholic books, which included a book by Scott Hahn, one by St. Alphonsus, and a few prayer books in a way that they were eye level for those browsing the section.

I then placed into my basket a handful of the heretical books which included works by protestant “ministers” on the Rapture as well as protestant Scripture commentaries. I purchased them for $0.86 each and took them home and tossed them into the trash bin. These books are unfit to be produced. They would have led souls into heresy. How many Catholic souls have been lost because of bad books? How many searching souls have been led into false churches and false religions because of these errors?

What are the "bad books"?  To start, I'd encourage you to familiarize yourself with the Index of Forbidden Books that was published by the Holy Church up until Vatican II.  But, I'm sure you'll never be in short supply of these heretical books.  If it's written by a protestant minister, atheist, "New Age" guru, etc then it's not true spirituality. 

I have made it my personal mission – and I ask all of you to do so as well – to purchase second-hand heretical books when I see them in order to destroy them. Rip out the pages and toss them into the recycling bin or toss the book into a bonfire. In so doing, we help win souls for Christ by saving them from the devil one evil book at a time.

So next time you see heretical works, buy them (as long as they are second-hand copies and the proceeds do not go to the publisher), and destroy them.

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