Feast of St. Lucy

Double (1955 Calendar): December 13

As we continue our Advent observance, we arrive at the Feast of St. Lucy which marks a milestone during the Advent season. St. Lucy, virgin and martyr, is an ancient martyr for the Faith.  FishEaters provides a nice explanation of the significance of this feastday:

St. Lucy (Santa Lucia) was a young Sicilian girl who vowed to live as a virgin in devotion to Christ. Her mother, however, arranged a marriage for her to a pagan suitor. To dissuade her mom by proof of a miracle, Lucy prayed at the tomb of St. Agatha that her mother's hemmhorage would stop. When the miracle happened, her mother agreed to leave aside the topic of marriage.

Lucy's suitor, however, had other plans, and revealed Lucy as a Christian. Authorities went to collect her, planning on forcing her into prostitution -- but they were unable to budge her, even after tying her to a team of oxen. She was then tortured by having her eyes torn out. They'd planned on torturing her by fire, too, but the fires kept going out. She was then killed by being stabbed in the throat with a dagger.

Because of the above, St. Lucy is the patron of those with eye problems, and is often depicted carrying her eyes (often on a plate), being tied to a team of oxen, with St. Agatha, or before her judges. Her relics lay in Syracuse for hundreds of years, were translated to Constantinople, and then to Venice where they may be venerated at the Church of San Geremia. Her head was sent to Louis XII of France, and reposes in the cathedral of Bourges.

Her name, "Lucia," means "Light," and light plays a role in the customs of her Feast Day. In Italy, torchlight processions and bonfires mark her day, and bowls of a cooked wheat porridge known as cuccia is eaten because, during a famine, the people of Syracuse invoked St. Lucy, who interceded by sending a ship laden with grain (much as St. Joseph also did for the people of Sicily).

Collect:

Hear our prayer, O God our Savior, and let us learn the spirit of true devotion from Your blessed virgin and martyr Lucy, as we joyfully celebrate her feast.

Prayer Source: 1962 Roman Catholic Daily Missal

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John is the Voice - Jesus is the Word by St. Augustine

John is the voice, but the Lord is the Word who was in the beginning. John is the voice that lasts for a time; from the beginning Christ is the Word who lives for ever.

Take away the word, the meaning, and what is the voice? Where there is no understanding, there is only a meaningless sound. The voice without the word strikes the ear but does not build up the heart.

However, let us observe what happens when we first seek to build up our hearts. When I think about what I am going to say, the word or message is already in my heart. When I want to speak to you, I look for a way to share with your heart what is already in mine.
In my search for a way to let this message reach you, so that the word already in my heart may find place also in yours, I use my voice to speak to you. The sound of my voice brings the meaning of the word to you and then passes away. The word which the sound has brought to you is now in your heart, and yet it is still also in mine.

When the word has been conveyed to you, does not the sound seem to say: The word ought to grow, and I should diminish? The sound of the voice has made itself heard in the service of the word, and has gone away, as though it were saying: My joy is complete. Let us hold on to the word; we must not lose the word conceived inwardly in our hearts.

Do you need proof that the voice passes away but the divine Word remains? Where is John’s baptism today? It served its purpose, and it went away. Now it is Christ’s baptism that we celebrate. It is in Christ that we all believe; we hope for salvation in him. This is the message the voice cried out.

Because it is hard to distinguish word from voice, even John himself was thought to be the Christ. The voice was thought to be the word. But the voice acknowledged what it was, anxious not to give offence to the word. I am not the Christ, he said, nor Elijah, nor the prophet. And the question came: Who are you, then? He replied: I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way for the Lord. The voice of one crying in the wilderness is the voice of one breaking the silence. Prepare the way for the Lord, he says, as though he were saying: “I speak out in order to lead him into your hearts, but he does not choose to come where I lead him unless you prepare the way for him”.

What does prepare the way mean, if not “pray well”? What does prepare the way mean, if not “be humble in your thoughts”? We should take our lesson from John the Baptist. He is thought to be the Christ; he declares he is not what they think. He does not take advantage of their mistake to further his own glory.

If he had said, “I am the Christ”, you can imagine how readily he would have been believed, since they believed he was the Christ even before he spoke. But he did not say it; he acknowledged what he was. He pointed out clearly who he was; he humbled himself.

He saw where his salvation lay. He understood that he was a lamp, and his fear was that it might be blown out by the wind of pride.

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Should Catholics Try to Convert Jews?

Guest Article By David Martin

Catholics should "not try to convert Jews," the Vatican has said in a recent document that attempts to nullify the Church's 2000 year policy on Jews. The December 10 statement from the Vatican’s Commission for Religious Relations with Jews says that Jews are exempt from any need to believe in Christ as the Messiah, on the grounds that God never annulled the old covenant with the Jewish people.

Entitled The Gifts and Calling of God are Irrevocable, the document says that Jews have their own covenant with God without Christ. "The church is therefore obliged to view evangelization to Jews, who believe in the one God, in a different manner from that to people of other religions and world views," it says. "In concrete terms this means that the Catholic Church neither conducts nor supports any specific institutional mission work directed towards Jews."

What the Vatican is really saying is that Rome has no sense of love or duty toward the Jews, nor any sense of obedience to Christ's command that we extend the riches of Christ to them for their salvation. The Church's mission from the beginning is to convert infidels and Jews, but now Rome has denied Christ's commission to "teach ye all nations; baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost" and to "teach them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you." (Matthew 28:19) This commission applies to all peoples without respect to race, color, creed, which is why the Church is called Universal or Catholic.

What we're really looking at is anti-semitism, since the document works against the peace and welfare of the Semitic peoples by teaching them to ignore their Maker on the cross. What does Rome have against the Jews? The Church's mission from the beginning is to extend mercy to the Jews, not to withhold it from them. Has Rome gone Nazi? Traditionally the Church had always sought to convert the Jews and all peoples, that they might come partake in the Lord's Banquet as His special guests, but now they're being told to stay in their own prison camp and starve! So much for the mercy of "inclusion."

What we are looking at too is heresy, since this document breaches the Church's infallible teaching that there exists no salvation outside the Catholic Church. "Urged by faith, we are obliged to believe and to maintain that the Church is one, holy, catholic, and also apostolic. We believe in her firmly and we confess with simplicity that outside of her there is neither salvation nor the remission of sins." – Unam Sanctam, Papal Bull of His Holiness Pope Boniface VIII; November 18, 1302.

Again the Church teaches: "Those not living within the Catholic Church, not only pagans, but also Jews and heretics and schismatics cannot become participants in eternal life, but will depart "into everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels" [Matt. 25:41], unless before the end of life the same have been added to the flock." – Cantate Domino, Papal Bull of The Council of Florence; His Holiness Pope Eugene IV 1438-1445.

The Vatican statement offers no justification for its heterodox position on Jews, other than to say that the question of how Jews can be saved while not believing in Christ "remains an unfathomable mystery in the salvific plan of God." Nay, there is no mystery. The sin of heresy has been committed in Rome. Jews or any grouping cannot be saved if, having been presented with the truth of the Catholic Faith, they refuse to believe in Christ as the Savior of the world.

The Vatican bases its statement on the idea that the Jews are God's chosen people, which is an error. It is true that the Jews were the chosen people of the Old Testament, but this was merely a figure of the chosen people to come in the New Testament—the Christians who adore Jesus Crucified in the Sacrifice of the Mass. God's covenant today is with the members of His Church who honor the Messiah, and not with those who "wag the head."

The document argues that modern Judaism is intertwined with Christianity, which is also an error. The synagogue is intertwined rather with the Masonic temple, for which reason it is sometimes called the Judaeo-Masonic synagogue. If Jews and rabbis today are defensive about being called "Jew," it is because of a deep-seated guilt that permeates the Jewish culture on account of the centuries-old consent to the perfidy of their forefathers who murdered the Christ.

Let's get it straight: the Pharisees and Jews who opposed Christ in His day were not Jews by conviction, but were renegades who had completely left the Jewish religion and who had broken the covenant. The true Jews of Christ's time were those who walked with Him into the New Testament, at which time Judaism was made forever null and void, symbolized by the fig tree that suddenly withered away on Christ's way up to Jerusalem. (Matthew 21:19)

Hence Judaism has not existed since the time of Christ, nor can it possibly exist from thence, no more than a seed can exist once it becomes a tree. The seed of Judaism grew into Christianity so that what remains today is not Judaism, but the legacy of the Pharisees who murdered the Christ.

The written form of the Pharisaic tradition is the Talmud, penned by the descendants of the Pharisees, which forms the backbone of modern Judaism and which hurls the most hateful and pornographic insults against Jesus Christ, even condemning Him to hell to boil in His own excrement. Obviously God has no covenant with this sort of thing, nor is this connected in any way with the Judaism of the Old testament.

That is to say that Judaism A.D. has no connection with Judaism B.C., since the very point of the Old Testament Judaism was to earnestly look forward to the coming of the Messiah, not to kill Him. There was nothing in the Psalms or prophets, or in any of the unwritten Jewish tradition that said "let us oppose the Christ when he cometh."

The argument that the Jews still await the coming of the Messiah holds no water. If they don't recognize the Messiah that their fathers hung on the cross 2000 years ago, they certainly won't recognize Him when he comes again. And besides it will be too late then.

They now have the chance to recognize the One True Messiah depicted bleeding on the cross above the altars of the Catholic Churches of the world. There exists no other Messiah, so it behooves the Jews to embrace this fact and to come to grips with it. We pray for their conversion, that they may be delivered from their curse and live in the friendship of their Creator from whom they've been estranged for 2000 years, save the converts.

As for the renegade bishops in Rome that are doing this terrible disservice to the Jews, let them cease from consorting with the synagogue just for gifts and its thirty pieces of silver. What we are seeing today in Rome is infidelity in all its various facets, whether it's dignifying divorce through "annulments," or granting sacraments to adulterers, and now this latest perfidy of betraying the Son of Man with a kiss.

The Vatican hierarchy needs to understand that the Jews are not special, which must be said of any grouping on earth. There is no respect to persons with God. Only the Catholic Church purchased by the Blood of Christ is special in God's eyes, being the Creator's gift to man, so let the clergy resume their missionary spirit and bring the truth of the One True Faith to all peoples without the fear of human opinion, remembering that "fear is not charity: but perfect charity casts out fear." (1 John 4:18) 

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Feast of St. Damasus I

Saint Damasus I, (304-384). Roman pope (366-384). Engraving by Capuz. Colored. (Photo by: Prisma/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Semidouble (1954 Calendar): December 11

Today is the Feast of St. Damasus I, and the Church also commemorates today the Octave of the Immaculate Conception.

Pope St. Damasus I was born c. 306 to a pious family - the son of a priest in Rome.  He served as a deacon in his father's church for some time before becoming a priest and the assistant to Pope Liberius.  He was thereafter chosen as the 37th Pope of the Catholic Church.

During his reign, he governed amid the violence from those who adhered to anti-pope Ursinus.  And at this time the Arian heresy grew in strength leading to schisms in Antioch, Constantinople, Sardinia, and Rome.  Yet it was - with great jubilation - that Christianity was declared the state religion of the Roman Empire during his reign.

St. Damasus restored catacombs, shrines, and the tombs of martyrs, and wrote poetry and metrical inscriptions about and dedicated to martyrs.  He considered himself too unworthy to be buried near the martyrs who suffered so much for the Faith. Ten of his letters, personal and pontifical, have survived.

Pope St. Damascus is famous for having commissioned Saint Jerome to translate the Scriptures into Latin.  The letters from Jerome to Damasus are examples of the primacy of the See of Peter:

Yet, though your greatness terrifies me, your kindness attracts me. From the priest I demand the safe-keeping of the victim, from the shepherd the protection due to the sheep. Away with all that is overweening; let the state of Roman majesty withdraw. My words are spoken to the successor of the fisherman, to the disciple of the cross. As I follow no leader save Christ, so I communicate with none but your blessedness, that is with the chair of Peter. For this, I know, is the rock on which the church is built! This is the house where alone the paschal lamb can be rightly eaten. This is the ark of Noah, and he who is not found in it shall perish when the flood prevails. But since by reason of my sins I have betaken myself to this desert which lies between Syria and the uncivilized waste, I cannot, owing to the great distance between us, always ask of your sanctity the holy thing of the Lord. Consequently I here follow the Egyptian confessors who share your faith, and anchor my frail craft under the shadow of their great argosies. I know nothing of Vitalis; I reject Meletius; I have nothing to do with Paulinus. He that gathers not with you scatters; he that is not of Christ is of Antichrist.

Traditional Matins Reading:

Damasus was a Spaniard, a man of highest worth, and learned in the Scriptures. He called the first Council of Constantinople, in which he condemned the impious heresy of Eunomius and Macedonius. He also condemned the Council of Rimini, which had already been rejected by Liberius, inasmuch as it was in this assembly of Rimini, as St. Jerome tells us, that mainly by the craft of Valens and Ursacius, was published a condemnation of the faith which had been taught by the Nicene Council, and thus the whole world grieved to find itself made Arian.

He built two basilicas; one dedicated to St. Laurence, near Pompey’s theatre, and this he endowed with magnificent presents, with houses and with lands: the other, on the Ardeatine Way, at the Catacombs. The bodies of SS. Peter and Paul lay for some time in a place richly adorned with marbles; this place he dedicated, and composed for it several inscriptions in beautiful verses. He also wrote on virginity, both in prose and verse, and several other poems.

He established the law of retaliation for cases of false accusation. He decreed that, as was the custom in many places, the psalms should be sung in all churches in alternate choirs, day and night; and that at the end of each psalm, there should be added: ‘Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.’ It was by his order that St. Jerome translated the new Testament from the Greek text. He governed the Church seventeen years, two months, and twenty-six days; and five times during this period, he gave ordinations, in the month of December, to thirty-one priests, eleven deacons, and sixty two bishops, for divers places. Conspicuous for his virtue, learning, and prudence, and having lived little short of eighty years, he slept in the Lord, during the reign of Theodosius the Great. He was buried in the basilica which he had built on the Ardeatine Way, where also lay his mother and sister. His relics were afterwards translated to the church of Saint Laurence, called after him St. Laurence’s in Damaso. 

Collect:

O Eternal Shepherd, who appointed blessed Damasus shepherd of the whole Church, let the prayers of this confessor and supreme pontiff move You to look with favor upon Your flock and to keep it under Your continual protection. Through Our Lord . . .

Prayer Source: 1962 Roman Catholic Daily Missal

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Feast of St. Ambrose

Double (1955 Calendar): December 7

Today is the feast of the great St. Ambrose, the famous bishop who baptized St. Augustine.  Known by some as St. Ambrose of Milan, to distinguish him from other saints by the name of Ambrose, the famous bishop of Milan was born to a Roman noble family.  As is the case with many other saints, he was the friend and relative of other saints - he is the brother of St. Marcellina and St. Satyrus.

St. Ambrose was a learned man having been educated in the classics, philosophy, poetry, and Greek.  St. Ambrose for a time served as the Governor of Milan.   Famously, when the bishop of Milan died, a great dispute arose over who should take his place.  St. Ambrose intervened in such a calm way that both sides were awed by his demeanor; so much so that he was chosen to be the new bishop - despite that he was at that time merely an unbaptized catechumen!  St. Ambrose resisted - citing his own unworthiness - but to finally calm the crowds, he agreed.

On December 7, 374 AD, St. Ambrose was baptized and on that same day ordained in the various orders of the Church including episcopal consecration.

As the newly consecrated bishop, he immediately gave all of his wealth to the poor.  St. Ambrose is regarded as a renowned preacher and teacher and writer of liturgical hymns.  He remained steadfast against the heresy of the Arians and against the rampant paganism of the time. His preaching directly led to the conversion of St. Augustine of Hippo and it lead Emperor Theodosius to do public penance for his sins. 

St. Ambrose was declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Boniface VIII in 1298.  He is also known as the Honey Tongued Doctor because of his preaching ability.

St. Ambrose, pray for us!

Today is also the Vigil of the Immaculate Conception (a day of fasting and abstinence).

Prayer:

O God, may blessed Ambrose intercede for us in heaven as he once instructed Your faithful on earth and directed them in the way of eternal salvation. Through Our Lord . . .

Prayer Source: 1962 Roman Catholic Daily Missal

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St. Bernard: On the Three Comings of the Lord: An Advent Reflection

 

We know that there are three comings of the Lord. The third lies between the other two. It is invisible, while the other two are visible. In the first coming he was seen on earth, dwelling among men; he himself testifies that they saw him and hated him. In the final coming all flesh will see the salvation of our God, and they will look on him whom they pierced. The intermediate coming is a hidden one; in it only the elect see the Lord within their own selves, and they are saved. In his first coming our Lord came in our flesh and in our weakness; in this middle coming he comes in spirit and in power; in the final coming he will be seen in glory and majesty.    

In case someone should think that what we say about this middle coming is sheer invention, listen to what our Lord himself ways: If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him. There is another passage of Scripture which reads: He who fears God will do good, but something further has been said about the one who loves, that is, that he will keep God’s word. Where is God’s word to be kept? Obviously in the heart, as the prophet says: I have hidden your words in my heart, so that I may not sin against you.    

Keep God’s word in this way. Let it enter into your very being, let it take possession of your desires and your whole way of life. Feed on goodness, and your soul will delight in its richness. Remember to eat your bread, or your heart will wither away. Fill your soul with richness and strength.    

Because this coming lies between the other two, it is like a road on which we travel from the first coming to the last. In the first, Christ was our redemption; in the last, he will appear as our life; in this middle coming, he is our rest and consolation.    

If you keep the word of God in this way, it will also keep you. The Son with the Father will come to you. The great Prophet who will build the new Jerusalem will come, the one who makes all things new. This coming will fulfill what is written: As we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, we shall also bear the likeness of the heavenly man. Just as Adam’s sin spread through all mankind and took hold of all, so Christ, who created and redeemed all, will glorify all, once he takes possession of all.

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St. Cyprian: On Immortality - An Advent Meditiation

 

Our obligation is to do God’s will, and not our own. We must remember this if the prayer that our Lord commanded us to say daily is to have any meaning on our lips. How unreasonable it is to pray that God’s will be done, and then not promptly obey it when he calls us from this world! Instead we struggle and resist like self-willed slaves and are brought into the Lord’s presence with sorrow and lamentation, not freely consenting to our departure, but constrained by necessity. And yet we expect to be rewarded with heavenly honours by him to whom we come against our will! Why then do we pray for the kingdom of heaven to come if this earthly bondage pleases us? What is the point of praying so often for its early arrival if we would rather serve the devil here than reign with Christ.

The world hates Christians, so why give your love to it instead of following Christ, who loves you and has redeemed you? John is most urgent in his epistle when he tells us not to love the world by yielding to sensual desires. Never give your love to the world, he warns, or to anything in it. A man cannot love the Father and love the world at the same time. All that the world offers is the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and earthly ambition. The world and its allurements will pass away, but the man who has done the will of God shall live for ever. Our part, my dear brothers, is to be single-minded, firm in faith, and steadfast in courage, ready for God’s will, whatever it may be. Banish the fear of death and think of the eternal life that follows it. That will show people that we really live our faith.

We ought never to forget, beloved, that we have renounced the world. We are living here now as aliens and only for a time. When the day of our homecoming puts an end to our exile, frees us from the bonds of the world, and restores us to paradise and to a kingdom, we should welcome it. What man, stationed in a foreign land, would not want to return to his own country as soon as possible? Well, we look upon paradise as our country, and a great crowd of our loved ones awaits us there, a countless throng of parents, brothers and children longs for us to join them. Assured though they are of their own salvation, they are still concerned about ours. What joy both for them and for us to see one another and embrace! O the delight of that heavenly kingdom where there is no fear of death! O the supreme and endless bliss of everlasting life!

There, is the glorious band of apostles, there the exultant assembly of prophets, there the innumerable host of martyrs, crowned for their glorious victory in combat and in death. There in triumph are the virgins who subdued their passions by the strength of continence. There the merciful are rewarded, those who fulfilled the demands of justice by providing for the poor. In obedience to the Lord’s command, they turned their earthly patrimony into heavenly treasure.

My dear brothers, let all our longing be to join them as soon as we may. May God see our desire, may Christ see this resolve that springs from faith, for he will give the rewards of his love more abundantly to those who have longed for him more fervently.

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Proper Reverence for a Dropped Eucharistic Host

You may have seen it.  I at least have once in my life.  The Eucharistic Host - the Body of our Lord Jesus Christ - was dropped at Mass.  In my own experience, I saw the entire ciborium fall and with it our Lord's Body fell all over the ground.  You could hear gasps - shock - even a cry.  And those present remained kneeling in prayers of reparation to Almighty God in the sight of such a tragedy - despite its accidental cause.

A quick reminder for those unfamiliar with Catholic Theology who happen to read this post.  The Consecrated Host is Truly the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ.  It is not a symbol - it is really and truly Him.  It is Him.  It IS Jesus.

The Eucharist - Holy Communion - simply is Christ's body, blood, soul, and divinity under the appearance of bread and wine. It is not a symbol of Christ, but rather, it is truly and really Jesus Christ! At the point in the Mass known as the consecration the priest, acting in persona Christi, will say "This is My Body, which will be given up for you" and "This is My Blood...". These were the words of Our Savior when He turned the bread and wine at the Last Supper into His Body and Blood, and, by the divine power of God in the priesthood, the bread and wine become Jesus Christ.

At the Consecration during the Mass everyone present except the celebrant should kneel in adoration because by God's divine power the bread and wine become His eternal Son, Jesus Christ. The bread and wine become Jesus Christ's Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity as Our Lord Himself taught in Sacred Scripture specifically at the Last Supper. The only thing remaining of bread and wine is the appearance of bread and wine (called the "accidents"). Jesus Christ gave this awesome power to His disciples, the first bishops who have passed this down through the Sacrament of Holy Orders.

Continuing reading the de-brief on The Eucharist

Absolute great care is taken to ensure that our Lord's True Presence in the Consecrated Host is protected.  A recent article by John Vennari of Catholic Family News summarized some of these:

This reverence for the Blessed Sacrament, and even for the smallest particles, was incorporated into the traditional Mass — the Old Latin Mass — which contained strict rubrics on this point:

1) From the moment the priest pronounces the words of the Consecration over the Sacred Host, the priest keeps his forefinger and thumb together on each hand. Whether he elevates the chalice, or turns the pages of the missal, or opens the tabernacle, his thumb and his forefinger on each hand are closed. The thumb and forefinger touch nothing but the Sacred Host;

2) During Holy Communion, the altar boy holds the paten under the chin of those receiving Communion, so that the slightest particle does not fall to the ground. This paten is cleaned into the chalice afterwards;

3) After Holy Communion is distributed, the priest scrapes the corporal (the small linen cloth on the altar) with the paten, and cleans it into the chalice so that if the slightest particle is left, it is collected and consumed by the priest;

4) Then, the priest washes his thumb and forefinger over the chalice with water and wine, and this water and wine is reverently consumed to insure that the smallest particle of the Sacred Host is not susceptible to desecration.

Communion in the hand and so-called Eucharist lay-ministers make a mockery of the Divine Truth that Our Lord is truly present in every particle of the Eucharist, and make a mockery of the holy rubrics used by the Church for centuries as a safeguard against desecration.

Great care should always be given to prevent the Body of our Lord from ever falling on the ground.  Yet, due to human error and despite precautions, it may happen.  What we do to respond to it shows our piety (or lack thereof).

Mr. Vennari continues with a wonderful explanation of what should be done and the results it brings to those who witness such reverence:

The pre-Vatican II rubrics for when a Host is dropped, like the rubrics of the Latin liturgy, safeguarded the reverence due to the Blessed Sacrament. The May 1949 American Ecclesiastical Review explained:

“This procedure requires that the spot on which the Sacred Host has fallen be purified, usually with a dampened purificator, and then scraped and the scrapings thrown into the sacrarium [small sink in sacristy that drains into ground under the church]. Authors, generally, in order to avoid delay in going on with the distribution of Holy Communion, interpret the fulfillment of the rubric to allow marking the spot on which the Sacred Host has fallen, either with a linen cloth or with the plate used with the cruets, the priest returning after Mass to purify the place in the manner prescribed in De defectibus.”

This strict procedure not only gives God the reverence that is His due, but profoundly impresses the spectator, as it impressed me at a young age.

The year was around 1965, I was a boy of about 7 years old. My father took me for Sunday Mass to the “Italian Parish”, Our Lady of Consolation in Philadelphia. The Mass was still in Latin, the sacred atmosphere still pervaded the church and the liturgy, though the first updrafts of change were in the wind.

During Communion time on this particular Sunday, the priest accidentally dropped a consecrated Host. We were sitting up front, and my father drew my attention to it.

The priest briefly interrupted the distribution of Communion to fetch a small white cloth which he placed over the Host on the floor. The distribution of Holy Communion resumed, with the priest and altar boy carefully stepping around the Veiled Guest.

My father purposely kept me after Mass so that I could see the purification rubric from the front pew.

All was done simply, quietly, for there was no talking in church whatsoever back then, in reverence to the Blessed Sacrament.

The priest and the altar boy approached the spot near the altar rail inside the sanctuary, the spot covered with a white cloth. The priest then dropped to his knees, lifted the veil, retrieved the Sacred Species and consumed it with dignity and decorum. Slowly, reverently, still on his knees, he then cleaned and purified the section of the floor where the Host had dropped.

He took his time. There was no rush. An air of solemnity, holiness and adoration pervaded his every move.

I was fascinated and edified by the procedure. I remember thinking to myself, “truly, the Sacred Host is the Body of Our Lord Jesus Christ,” because the priest tended to It with awe-inspiring care and reverence.

It was the best catechism lesson on the Real Presence I ever had.

How does the traditional and reverent practice mentioned above compare with what takes place at most Novus Ordo parishes today?  Mr. Vennari concludes:

What do seven-year-olds now see? In modern parishes, under the lax rubrics of the New Mass, the priest simply picks up a dropped Host and moves on, as if he dropped some loose change. Particles are left to be stepped upon and desecrated. Before and after Mass, people prattle away in church as if they are socializing in the parish hall. Many modern priests and laity disregard their duty of silence before the Blessed Sacrament. They forget the stern warning of little Jacinta of Fatima, “Our Lady does not want people to talk in church”.

Where is this reverence and care for the Blessed Sacrament in the post-Conciliar Church with the introduction of Communion in the hand and the “anyone can handle it” attitude? How will our young people gain any understanding of the Real Presence of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament when He receives cavalier treatment from clergymen? How can reverence for the Eucharist be instilled in the Catholic faithful when they see It given in the hand as common foodstuffs, and distributed by ill-trained lay people who should not be handling the Blessed Sacrament in the first place?

It is no mystery why so many Catholics have lost faith in the Sacred Mysteries. Too many of our priests have abandoned the outward devotion necessary: 1) to give proper reverence to Christ in the Blessed Sacrament; 2) to teach the people through example that the highest reverence must be shown to Our Lord Jesus Christ truly present in the Blessed Sacrament.

Yet, the post-Conciliar catastrophe will not go on indefinitely. Someday the Church will once again be blessed with a hierarchy that gives Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament the reverence due to the King of Kings.

In the meantime, let us resist sacrilegious innovations such as Communion in the hand and lay-Eucharistic ministers, encourage others to resist them, and cling to the Latin Tridentine Mass wherein the rubrics that safeguard the reverence to the Blessed Sacrament are meticulously preserved.

Today let us make reparation to the Lord for the neglect He experiences today from His own ministers and servants who neglect to give His True Body the Reverence due to Him - He who is truly Almighty God!

Act of Reparation to the Blessed Sacrament By St. Louis Marie de Montfort

Let me cry, let me weep bitter tears to God above,
For Jesus is abandoned in his Sacrament of love;
Forgotten and insulted in the dwelling of the Lord,
Derided and rejected where once he was adored.

The mansions of the nobles are all clean and set with care,
Yet the house of God's forgotten, its altars standing bare;
The floor is all broken, the roof lets in the rain,
The crumbling walls are marked with holes and every kind of stain.

The crucifix is broken, the pictures green with damp,
The altar cloths are rotting, no light burns in the lamp,
The missals torn and battered, the brasswork stained with rust,
The things of God are thrown about and scattered in the dust.

The ciborium is tarnished, the chalice turning black,
The monstrance, which is made of tin, is mouldy at the back;
From font right up to sacristy the picture is the same,
Such disorder in the house of God is our reproach and shame.

The pagans in their temples dare not spit upon the floor,
But in our church a crowd of dogs run in and out the door;
They bark and fight continually and fill the place with slime,
But no one cares enough of this to avenge the dreadful crime.

There is just one exception in all this sorry scene:
My Lord and Lady's special pew is always neat and clean;
And standing out in bright new paint upon the dingy wall
Their gaily-colored coat-of-arms looks down upon it all.

Above the Lord's own altar, instead of the Lord's own name,
The banners of his Lordship, a place of honor claim;
Both priest and mule are flaunting the badges of their thrall,
The former at the altar, the latter in his stall.

The houses of the nobles are so crowded and gay,
And fashionable young ladies are courted night and day;
But the Church of God's deserted, unless they condescend
To go to church for one short Mass they think will never end.

Behold the worldly cleric coming in with haughty face
How his lady friends admire him as he bows with courtly grace!
He bobs a genuflection, then seeks whom he should greet;
He strolls about and chatters as though walking in the street

Still worse, he has a snuff-box, which he opens with a jest,
And delicately takes a pinch, then passes around the rest
Puffed up with self-importance and with his graceful ways,
He squirms about and poses, making faces as he prays

Alas, it's often happened, the way to church he's trod
To pay reverence to Venus, to a goddess not to God;
Every thought and aspiration, every word and loving glance
Are but homage to a creature, a prayer to find romance

Behold upon the other side a sorry scene is played,
A shameless hussy sitting in all her fine brocade;
In her dainty little slippers and head-dress trimmed with lace,
Come simply to parade herself within the holy place

This empty-headed madam, with an impudence unknown,
Up to the very altar ostentatiously is shown,
And poses on a bench in front, so to be seen by all,
To captivate the eyes of men and hold their hearts in thrall

To think this devil's agent, while her knee to Jesus bends,
Must rob him of his glory and lead astray his friends!
The splendor of her finery the thought of Jesus harms,
Forgotten is the altar in the presence of her charms.

And if the time seems tedious, she always has her fan,
Her dog and gloves, to pass the time, and often her young man;
She'll read a bit, and roll her eyes, and fix her hat with care,
Then look around the chapel to see who's watching her

O strike them, God almighty, strike this ungrateful lot!
At least let them respect thee, if they will love thee not
Too long hast thou been patient; thy justice let them see;
Let fear replace that insolence with which they now mock thee

Thy glory has been ravished, dishonored is thy name,
Such sinners against thy majesty must bow their heads in shame
And yet restrain thy anger, at least a while I pray;
The greatness of their wickedness with greater good repay

Forgive them, dearest Jesus, for they know not what they do;
Remember thy great Passion, and have mercy on us too
And if we are unable to atone for all our guilt,
Accept our feeble homage, and treat us as thou wilt

We confess before thy altar that we are sinners still;
Thou canst punish us or spare us according to thy will
But remember thy great mercy and the tears that we have shed,
And hear our cries for pardon, for our hearts are full of dread.

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Novena to our Lady of the Immaculate Conception

It is customary to pray a Novena to the Immaculate Conception starting on November 29 and ending on December 7, the Vigil of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. 

Novena to the Immaculate Conception

Immaculate Virgin! Mary, conceived without sin! Remember, thou wert miraculously preserved from even the shadow of sin, because thou wert destined to become not only the Mother of God, but also the mother, the refuge, and the advocate of man; penetrated therefore, with the most lively confidence in thy never-failing intercession, we most humbly implore thee to look with favor upon the intentions of this novena, and to obtain for us the graces and the favors we request. Thou knowest, O Mary, how often our hearts are the sanctuaries of God, Who abhors iniquity. Obtain for us, then, than angelic purity which was thy favorite virtue, that purity of heart which will attach us to God alone, and that purity of intention which will consecrate every thought, word, and action to His greater glory. Obtain also for us a constant spirit of prayer and self-denial, that we many recover by penance that innocence which we have lost by sin, and at length attain safety to that blessed abode of the saints, where nothing defiled can enter.

O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.

V. Thou are all fair, O Mary.
R. Thou art all fair, O Mary.

V. And the original stain is not in thee.
R. And the original stain is not in thee.

V. Thou art the glory of Jerusalem.
R. Thou art the joy of Israel

V. Thou art the honor of our people.
R. Thou art the advocate of sinners.

V. O Mary.
R. O Mary.

V. Virgin, most prudent.
R. Mother, most tender.

V. Pray for us.
R. Intercede for us with Jesus our Lord.

V. In thy conception, Holy Virgin, thou wast immaculate.
R. Pray for us to the Father Whose Son thou didst bring forth.

V. O Lady! aid my prayer.
R. And let my cry come unto thee.

Let us pray

Holy Mary, Queen of Heaven, Mother of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and mistress of the world, who forsakest no one, and despisest no one, look upon me, O Lady! with an eye of pity, and entreat for me of thy beloved Son the forgiveness of all my sins; that, as I now celebrate, with devout affection, thy holy and immaculate conception, so, hereafter I may receive the prize of eternal blessedness, by the grace of Him whom thou, in virginity, didst bring forth, Jesus Christ Our Lord: Who, with the Father and the Holy Ghost, liveth and reigneth, in perfect Trinity, God, world without end. Amen.

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The Holy Face Devotion is the Solution for France

The following prayers are taken from the prayers of Sister Saint Pierre, Carmelite Nun of Tours, to whom Our Lord gave the messages of devotion to His Holy Face and the work of reparation. 

"The future of France depends on the work of reparation, [devotion to the Holy Face.] It is always shown to me [Sister Saint Pierre] as the means of salvation which God, in His infinite mercy, has designed for FRANCE."

[Taken from the Life of Sister Saint Pierre, 1884]

PRAYERS of the seer of the Holy Face, Sister Saint Pierre OCD, with imprimatur.

Arrest, O Divine Father, the instruments of thy justice, ready to strike us!

Behold the instruments of the most Sacred Passion of Jesus, red with his Adorable

Blood. May this sight change thy justice to mercy, and move thee to speak peace to France and the world.

Eternal Father, I offer thee all the glory that our Divine Saviour Jesus has rendered thee during the thirty years of his hidden and laborious life, and all the merits he has acquired for us from the moment of his Divine Incarnation until his evangelical Life. I make this offering for the honor and glory of thy Holy Name, in reparation for the indignities offered our Saviour; finally, for the wants of the Holy Church, the salvation of France, and the Work of Reparation.

Eternal Father, I offer thee the Holy Face of Jesus for the salvation of poor France. It is the golden coin which alone can cancel her debts.

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