Commemoration of St. Dorothy

Commemoration (1954 Calendar): February 6

Today is the feastday of St. Titus with a commemoration of St. Dorothy in the Office and at Mass.

St. Dorothy was a virgin of Caesarea in Cappadocia, who was condemned to be beheaded toward the end of the third century. Before her execution, she had the happiness of winning for Christ two apostates who had been ordered to pervert her.

Catholic Tradition writes the following:

Dorothy was a virgin Martyred at Caesarea in Cappadocia in about A.D. 313, during the persecution of the Christians by Roman Emperor Diocletian. She had refused to marry or to worship idols and was, therefore, sentenced to death. As she was on her way to her execution, a young scribe or lawyer named Theophilus jeered at her and taunted her for her piety. According to her legend, he called out, "Send me some of the fruits and flowers from that garden you speak of, where you are going to your bridegroom." She responded, "Thy request is granted." As she knelt at the executioner's block, she prayed for Theophilus's wish to happen, and as she did, an Angel appeared before her with a basket of three apples and three roses. After she died, the basket was delivered to Theophilus, some say by the Angel and some by a child. He was immediately converted and was himself executed. St. Dorothy is always represented with the basket of roses; sometimes there are also apples.

Collect:

O Lord, pardon our sins through the intercession of the blessed virgin martyr Dorothy, who pleased You by her purity and her faith. Through Our Lord . . .

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St. Simeon the God-Receiver

After many decades had passed in the life of Simeon, the Divine Infant…just 40 days old…was being brought to the Temple by his Virgin Mother and His foster-father. During their journey from Bethlehem to Jerusalem, the Holy Ghost inspired Simeon to come to the temple for the long desired Messiah was approaching.

Simeon was very old…tradition saying that all his hairs were white as the feathers of a swan. And yet he quickly entered the temple with a spring in his step. It was as if he had shaken off old age and that he was once again in the Springtime of youth. Of all the little ones being brought to the temple by their parents, Simeon’s eyes immediately noted the Child Jesus and he reverently approached the Holy Family.

Simeon then falls on his knees and adores the Divine Child in Mary's arms. There is no doubt that Our Lady had also been moved by the Holy Ghost, for she willingly gave the Divine Infant into the arms of the joyful Simeon. The old man then prayed to God to release him from this life…Nunc Dimittis Servum Tuum, Domine…Now thou dost dismiss O Lord according to thy word in peace; because my eyes have seen Thy salvation.

St. Simeon, pray for us!

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Indulged Prayer to St. Blase

O glorious Saint Blasé, who by thy martyrdom has left to the Church a precious witness to the faith, obtain for us the grace to preserve within ourselves this divine gift, and to defend, without human respect, both by word and example, the truth of that same faith, which is so wickedly attacked and slandered in these our times. Thou who didst miraculously cure a little child when it was at the point of death by reason of an affliction of the throat, grant us thy powerful protection in like misfortunes; and, above all, obtain for us the grace of Christian mortification together with a faithful observance of the precepts of the Church, which may keep us from offending Almighty God. Amen.

An indulgence of 300 days. Source: The Raccolta

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Review of the Baronius Press 3 Volume Breviary Set

In November 2018 I ordered the rather expensive but only real option for a complete Latin and English Breviary set after Baronius Press restocked their inventory. After using this Breviary on a daily basis for over a year, I feel comfortable writing a review of it.

As I mentioned before in my posts How to Live A Liturgical Life and On The Inseparability of the Mass and the Divine Office, it is necessary for lay Catholics to rediscover the Divine Office. And it's equally, if not even more important, for priests to begin laying aside the modern Liturgy of the Hours (LOTH) and replace it with a Breviary that conforms to Catholic Tradition. Though of course the same can be said for them ceasing attending/celebrating the Novus Ordo and returning to the Tridentine Mass.

The Hymn Translations 

I previously used a 1962 Breviary for Lauds, Vespers, and Compline only in English from Collegeville that I picked up second-hand at Loomes Books in Minnesota. It was a nice book but it did not have the other hours and it had no Latin in it. The hymn translation in English in that one volume was, however, much better than the one in Baronius. Those hymns sounded like hymns. The Baronius Breviary offers more of a literal translation of the hymn so it does not sound like a hymn. Sometimes I still pick up the Collegeville English Breviary off the bookshelf to read the hymn translations in there instead.

The translations in the Baronius Breviary are taken from Fr. Joseph Connelly's "Hymns of the Roman Liturgy". They are literal and not intended for recitation. The online site Divinum Officium by contrast borrows from the Marques of Bute's English translation of the Breviary, which incorporated a lot of earlier translations made in the 19th century by some John Mason Neale and Father Edward Caswall.

The Rubrics of 1962 vs. Divino Afflatu

I prefer the 1954 Office with its multiple commemorations, additional readings, and preservation of Octaves. Sadly, Baronius does not make Latin/English breviaries using the Divino Afflatu rubrics. So sometimes I still use Divinum Officium's website when I want to see the full readings for Matins under DA. The 1962 Breviary chopped a lot of those down. And some of the previous feasts ranked as "simple" feasts were downgraded to only commemorations in 1962 so there is no reading at all at Matins. One such instance is St. Blase. We honor him by the Blessing of Throats which is an important custom but there is no reading for him in this Breviary. Or take for instance the obliteration to nearly all of the Octave that used to be in place. These are not found in the rubrics in the Baronius Press Breviary. And as occurred with the calendar, the breviary lost the Vigil of the Immaculate Conception, the Vigil of All Saint (Halloween), and the Vigils of the Apostles which are sorely needed today to help us re-ignite our connection to the Liturgical Year.

Book Binding / Quality

Overall, the quality of the book and binding is great. The Latin and English is side and side making it easy to read in either language. I have found very few typos or issues. There is nothing distracting in the text. While some do not like the short sentences on the theme of each Psalm, I like them as they aid in my prayers. The paper feels good - not too thin or too thick. The ribbons work nicely too.

Conclusion / Recommendation


While not the pre-1955 calendar that I prefer to keep, it is still a good Breviary with excellent production. I don't mind carrying a bigger book rather than having to carry a smaller book during the day for the Little Hours and a separate one for other hours at home at night. I prefer one volume with everything so the only other book I need is the Martyrology, which I read during Prime. As someone without appropriate Latin training, I need the English for the psalms

Is this Breviary perfect? No.  Is the 1962 Calendar perfect? No. But is it a great Breviary that is well worth the $400 investment? Absolutely.

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Free Email Subscription to Dom Gueranger's Liturgical Year

Sign up to receive a daily reading from the monumental "Liturgical Year" work of Dom Gueranger. Definitely worth a daily read. I've subscribed now for several weeks and find the meditations a wonderful addition to my morning after Matins and Lauds.

I first learned about this initiative through the FSSP's online article that was shared on social media which states in part:

“The prayer of the Church is, therefore, the most pleasing to the ear and heart of God, and therefore the most efficacious of all prayers.” So states the Benedictine abbot Dom Prosper Guéranger in the preface to his monumental work The Liturgical Year, a fifteen volume series that guides the reader through every day of the Church’s calendar by means of readings, meditations, prayers and commentary. Dom Guéranger, originally a diocesan priest, became instrumental in restoring monastic life in France after the French Revolution through his revitalization of the abandoned Solesmes Abbey and founding of the French Benedictine Congregation in the 1830s. His Liturgical Year is a goldmine of insights that assist the faithful soul in better praying and understanding the Mass, and St. Francis de Sales Parish, our apostolate in Atlanta, Georgia, has begun a digital delivery service that brings Dom Guéranger’s readings right to your inbox. We recently talked to Fr. James Smith, FSSP, assistant pastor at St. Francis, to learn more.

To sign up, simply visit the FSSP Atlanta Website, enter your email address, and choose the liturgical year option. The meditations follow the pre-1955 Office so you'll receive great meditations for commemorations and feastdays even neglected by the 1962 Missal.

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Book Review: The Courageous Shall Conquer by Henry Brenner OSB

A few year ago I picked up a second-hand copy of "The Courageous Shall Conquer" by Henry Brenner, published by St. Meinrad Abbey Press in 1943. I set down this month to read it and just completed it.

The Courageous Shall Conquer is a compact book that, like The Imitation of Christ, offers good meditations for daily life. There are 30 chapters in total. Each chapter opens with a Scripture excerpt that pertains to the lesson's topic and there are some real life examples of courage and virtue in life. At the back of the book is a topical index. Each chapter has a particular focus ranging from courage, manfulness, determination, earnestness, resistance, magnanimity, strength, and more.

Even though this book came out shortly before modernism roared and wrecked havoc on the Church, these pages are filled with sound doctrine. This short little book is a good addition to a man's library. Spend 10 minutes a day and read a chapter; then ask yourself how you can grow in that virtue, how you can better imitate the Lord who was full of all of the virtues, and how you can better serve Him.

The Courageous Shall Conquer is a good read. It is not a book by St. Thomas Aquinas. Don't expect to walk way with new philosophical arguments or radically different theories. It is not a history book either, so don't expect to learn about some saints that you never heard of. But if you want to grow in virtues and live more virtuously and courageously, pick it up and as you read it plan to make a list of concrete ways to change your own life for the better. We can all improve and be more courageous, and this book can help you think of some practical ways to do it.

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Our Obligation to Switch from a False to the One True Religion

The Catholic Church is the Only Divine Revealed Religion

"If twelve men without influence, without knowledge, inexperienced in the ways of the world, but loving Christ profoundly, have succeeded by the aid of some poor Jews in spreading the Christian Faith throughout the Roman Empire; if they have accomplished what Greece with all its eloquence, and Rome with its military power have failed to achieve; if they have succeeded in founding an institution which has lasted [20] centuries - an institution which has regenerated the world, emancipated the slave, rehabilitated women, dignified family life, comforted the afflicted, uprooted vices, taught sublime truths, pure morality and heroic virtue, an institution which has resisted long-continued and dangerous destructive tendencies, undergone centuries of persecution, witnessed the passing away of kingdoms and peoples, remaining itself erect and immovable upon the ruins of time - an institution which has opposed human interests and passions -surely we have here the greatest of miracles. Unless the principle of causality be denied or the cogency of evidence called in question, it is necessary to recognize that this institution is Divine" (Francois de Lamy).

There is only one God. All other alleged gods that people pray to are false. They are either demons or they do not exist at all. And it follows that if there is only one true God, there can only be one true religion. Baptism is either required for salvation or it is not. Jesus Christ is either God or He is not. A truth cannot be true and be false. It can not be true to some people and false to others. It also can not be true at some points in time and false at other points in time. To claim the contrary is to assert that 2 + 2 = 4 to some people but to others 2+2 = 5. Divinely revealed dogmatic truths are necessary for salvation, do not change, and are not dictated by opinion. They are true regardless of our own wants, opinions, or beliefs. They are as true as 2+2 equaling 4 even if we do not believe it is 4 or want it to be 4. But it is 4. And nothing changes that.

Likewise, there is only one true religion established by God and that is the Catholic Religion. As the Baltimore Catechism succinctly teaches: “There can be only one true religion, because a thing cannot be false and true at the same time, and, therefore, all religions that contradict the teaching of the true Church must teach falsehood. If all religions in which men seek to serve God are equally good and true, why did Christ disturb the Jewish religion and the Apostles condemn heretics?” (Baltimore Catechism #3 Q. 516).

It is the obligation of all people to convert to the Catholic Religion. Even if a person was born into a false religion that does not excuse them. Catholicism is not only meant for children born to Catholic parents in Catholic countries. All peoples are meant to be a member of the universally established religion for salvation – the Catholic Religion. The Baltimore Catechism’s wisdom teaches us: “What excuses do some give for not becoming members of the true Church? They do not wish to leave the religion in which they were born…How do you answer such excuses? To say that we should remain in a false religion because we were born in it is as untrue as to say we should not heal our bodily diseases because we were born with them…” (Baltimore Catechism #3 Q. 514-515).

We are all called to participate in the Church’s work of evangelization. In fact, in some old Catholic texts on the precepts of the Church list seven precepts of the Church and one of which is to participate in the Church’s evangelization efforts.

What can you do today to help spread the Faith to those who need to convert? How can you be a missionary to your friends and family? Each year the Church observes the Octave of Prayer for Christianity Unity in January, but we can incorporate those prayers  into our prayer lives throughout the year.

Jesus, Mary, I Love Thee! Save Souls!

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What Does Being a Godparent Mean?

What does being a godfather mean? What does being a godmother entail? What do godparents do? Whether you are a godmother or godfather, you may not know the responsibilities and requirements of being a godparent. Not everyone is eligible to be a godparent. And because you take on the responsibility for the baptized person's religious upbringing, you bear responsibility before God. It's not an honor to accept lightly.

Baptism is, above all, a Sacrament instituted by our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and it is necessary for salvation. Not all denominations have valid Baptisms, though. For more information on Baptism as a Sacrament, click here.

Eligibility to be a Godparent

• Godparents must be baptized, have attained the use of reason and have the intention of fulfilling their role as a godfather of a godmother.
• A godparent must be a confirmed Catholic and have received their First Holy Communion
• A godparent must not belong to a heretical or schismatic sect, nor have been excommunicated by a condemnatory or declaratory sentence, nor suffer from infamy of law, nor be excluded from legal acts, nor (if a cleric) have been deposed or degraded from the clerical rank.
• A godparent must live a life in conformity with the teachings of the Church including weekly attendance at Mass, rejection of artificial contraception and abortion, and a godparent must not support politicians who promote and support abortion, etc.
• Godparents cannot be the father or mother or spouse of the person to be baptized
• Godparents must be designated either by the person to be baptized or by the parents or guardians, or in their default by the minister of baptism.
• The godparent must, either in person or through proxy, physically hold or touch the one baptized, or receive him immediately after baptism from the sacred font or from the hands of the minister.
• The godparent must be at least sixteen years of age, unless for a just reason the minister admits younger persons or unless a different age is stipulated by the Bishop.
• The godparent must not be under excommunication, nor excluded from legal acts, nor suffer from infamy of law for reason of a notorious crime, even though no sentence was pronounced against him, nor must he be under an interdict, or otherwise a public criminal, or disgraced by infamy of fact.
• The godparent must know the rudiments of the faith.
• The godparent must not be a novice or professed member in any religious organization, unless there is nobody else to be had and the permission is granted by at least the local superior.
• The godparent must not be a cleric in sacred orders, unless he has the explicit permission of his proper Ordinary
• The godparent must not be in a mix-marriage (marriage with a non-Catholic) who believes his/her children should choose their own religion when they grow up rather than be raised in the Catholic religion.
• The godparent must not be involved in an invalid marriage (Justice of the Peace, marriage outside the Church)

As we stated above, a person that is a godparent must not be excommunicated by a condemnatory or declaratory sentence.  What does this mean?  Well here are some of the grave offenses that this would include:

From the 1983 Code of Canon Law:

• The person who throws away the consecrated Eucharistic species (can 1367);
• The person who takes or retains the consecrated species for a sacrilege purposes (ibid.);
• A person who uses physical violence against the Roman Pontiff (can 1370 § 1);
• A person who falsely denounces before an ecclesiastic superior a priest for solicitation to sin in confession (can. 1390);
• A person who procures a completed abortion (can. 1398).

Besides these cases, which are also punished with automatic excommunication in the Code of Canon Law of 1917, there were still others incurring latae sentenciae excommunications. They include:

• The editors of heretical or schismatic books that promote apostasy, heresy or schism (can. 2318 § 1);
• Those who read books forbidden by the Holy See without due license (ibid.);
• Authors who publish books on religious matters without due permission (can.2318 § 2);
• Those who contract marriage before a non-Catholic minister without permission (2319 § 1 n. 1);
• Those who contract marriage with a implicit or explicit agreement of educating the offspring outside of the Catholic Church (ibid. n. 2);
• Those who knowingly bring children to be baptized by non-Catholic ministers (ibid. n. 3);
• Parents or godparents who allow their children be educated in a non-Catholic religion (ibid. n. 4);
• Those who are not priests and celebrate masses and hear confessions (can. 2322 n. 1);
• Those who sell false relics,  distribute them or expose them for the veneration of the faithful (can. 2326);
• A person who profits from indulgences granted (can. 2327);
• A person who appeals a law, decree or mandate of a Sovereign Pontiff to an Ecumenical Council (can. 2332);
• Those invested with temporal power who directly or indirectly prevent the execution of the orders of the Apostolic See or its Legates from being executed (can. 2333);
• Those who make laws, decrees or mandates against the liberty and rights of the Church (can. 2334 n.1);
• Those who directly or indirectly impede the jurisdiction of the Church in the external or internal forum (ibid. n.2);
• Those who enroll their names in Masonic sects or other such associations that plot against the Church and the legitimate civil authorities (can. 2335).
• A person who enters a monastery or convent without due permission in violation of monastic cloister  (can. 2342 n.1);
• Nuns who leave the monastic cloister without due permission (ibid. n. 3);
• A person who physically attacks a Cardinal or a Papal Legate (can. 2343 § 2);
• A person who does the same to a Patriarch, an Archbishop or a Bishop (ibid., n. 3);
• A person who does the same to priest or a religious (ibid. n. 4);
• Those who usurp or keep goods that by right belong to the Catholic Church (can. 2345);
• Those who provoke or accept a duel (can. 2351);
• Those who forge false documents of the Apostolic See (can. 2360 § 1);
• The priest or the religious who contracts marriage after taking the solemn vow of chastity (can 2388 §1);
• Those who contract marriage after taking the non-solemn but perpetual vow of chastity(ibid., § 2);
• Those who sell offices, benefices or honors of the Church (can. 2392 § 1);
• Those who steal, destroy or substantially harm documents belonging to the Episcopal Curia (can. 2405).

Being a Godparent Is Both An Honor and A Great Responsibility

All in all, being a godparent is both a great honor and a serious responsibility.  For that reason, the Church has put a number of laws in place in regard to who may rightfully serve as a godparent.  Please review the above to ensure you qualify and your life is appropriately conformed to the life-saving religion of Jesus Christ - the Catholic religion.  As a godparent, you must be committed to the Church's teachings and participate in the life of the Church (i.e., going to Mass weekly, going to Confession often, praying daily, and all other duties that a Catholic must observe).  You also must stand firm to the pro-life views of the Church and reject all that the Church rejects (as listed above, for example). You must help ensure that the child (or adult) who is being baptized will be raised in the Catholic Faith.

Godparent Classes

The Church often requires those preparing for the honor of serving as a godparent to attend a class to understand what Baptism is (and what it is not), why it is a Sacrament, why it is necessary for salvation, and what the godparents must do at a Baptism and throughout the life of their godchild. CatechismClass.com produces a best-selling and extremely popular online Baptism course for those looking to take an online course of study.

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The Catholic Teaching on Artificial Insemination & In Vitro Fertilization

The practice of this artificial fertilization, since it is a question of man, cannot be considered neither exclusively, nor even mainly, from the biological and medical point of view, leaving aside that of morality and law.

Artificial fertilization, outside of marriage, is to be condemned outright as immoral. Such is indeed the natural law and the positive divine law, that the procreation of a new life can only be the fruit of marriage. Marriage alone safeguards the dignity of the spouses (mainly the woman in this case), their personal property. By itself, only it provides for the good and education of the child. Consequently, on the condemnation of artificial fertilization outside the conjugal union, no difference of opinion is possible between Catholics. A child conceived under these conditions would, by the very fact, be illegitimate.

Artificial fertilization in marriage, but produced by the active element of a third party, is also immoral and, as such, to be condemned without appeal. Only the spouses have a reciprocal right over their body to engender a new life, an exclusive, non-transferable, inalienable right. And that must also be taken into consideration of the child. To anyone who gives life to a small being, nature imposes, by virtue of this bond, the burden of its conservation and education. But between the legitimate husband and the child, the fruit of the active element of a third party (the spouse was he consenting), there is no bond of origin, no moral and legal bond of conjugal procreation.

As for the lawfulness of artificial fertilization in marriage, it suffices for us, for the moment, to recall these principles of natural law: the simple fact that the result to which we aim is achieved by this route, does not justify the use of the medium itself; nor the desire, in itself very legitimate among spouses, to have a child, is not enough to prove the legitimacy of the recourse to artificial fertilization, which would fulfill this desire.

Let it not be forgotten: only the procreation of a new life according to the will and the plan of the Creator carries with it, to an astonishing degree of perfection, the achievement of the aims pursued. It is, at the same time, in conformity with the bodily and spiritual nature and with the dignity of the spouses, with the normal and happy development of the child.

All is an Excerpt: Speech of Pope Pius XII to Catholic Doctors in Rome for their 4th International Congress (Sept. 29, 1949), Acta Apostolicae Sedis 49

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St. Ildephonsus (Mass in Some Places)

Today in the pre-1955 Traditional Catholic Missal is the Mass in Some Places (pro aliquibus locis) of St. Ildefonse.  St. Ildefonse was a scholar and theologian who served as the metropolitan Bishop of Toledo for the last decade of his life. His writings were influential across much of the Hispanic world. 

The following account is given in today's martyrology:

At Toledo, St. Ildefonse, bishop, renowned for sanctity. On account of his great purity of life, and his defense of the virginity of the Mother of God against the heretics who denied it, he received from her a brilliant white vestment, and was called to Heaven

Catholic Online shares the following short account of his praiseworthy life:

St. Ildephonsus is highly regarded in Spain and closely associated with devotion to the Blessed Virgin which he fostered by his famous work concerning her perpetual virginity. Born around 607, Ildephonsus came from a noble family and was probably a pupil of St. Isidore of Seville. While still quite young, he entered the Benedictine monastery of Agalia near Toledo and went on to become its Abbot. In that capacity he attended the Councils of Toledo in 653 and 655. 

In 657 the clergy and people elected this holy man to succeed his uncle, St. Eugenius, as Archbishop of Toledo. He performed his episcopal duties with diligence and sanctity until his death in 667. This saint was a favorite subject for medieval artists, especially in connection with the legend of Our Lady's appearance to present him with a chalice. St. Ildephonsus was a prolific writer, but unfortunately only four of his works have survived. Among these are the one already mentioned and an important document of the history of the Spanish Church during the first two-thirds of the seventh century, entitled Concerning Famous Men.

Dom Gueranger writes of him in his work "The Liturgical Year." The following is an excerpt:

Among the glorious Pontiffs, who honoured the noble episcopate of Spain, during the 7th and 8th centuries—for example: Leander, Isidore, Fulgentius, Braulio, Eugenius, Julian, Helladius—among them, and in the foremost rank, stands Ildephonsus, with his glory of having been the Doctor of the Virginity of the Mother of God, just as Athanasius is the Doctor of the Divinity of the Word, Basil the Doctor of the Divinity of the Holy Ghost, and Augustine the Doctor of Grace. The holy Bishop of Toledo has treated the dogma of Mary’s Virginity in all its completeness. With profound learning and with fervid eloquence, he proves, against the Jews, that Mary conceived without losing her Virginity; against the followers of Jovinian, that she was a Virgin in her Delivery; against the disciples of Helvidius, that she remained a Virgin, after she had given birth to her Divine Son. Other holy Doctors had treated separately on each of these sublime questions, before our Saint: but he brought together all their teachings, and merited that a Virgin-Martyr should rise from her tomb to thank him for having defended the honour of the Queen of Heaven. Nay, Mary herself, with her own pure hand, clothed him with that miraculous Chasuble, which was an image of the robe of light wherewith Ildephonsus shines now in heaven, at the foot of Mary’s Throne. 

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