Blessings Before and After Meals Throughout the Liturgical Year

Blessings Before and After Meals (in Latin Benedictio Mensae) are basic Catholic prayers that all Catholics should know. The standard short-form prayers are as follows. The longer form is used in many monasteries, convents, and seminaries still.

Blessing Before Meals Short Form Prayer

Bless us, O Lord, and these Thy gifts which we are about to receive from Thy bounty, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Benedic, Domine, nos et haec tua dona quae de tua largitate sumus sumpturi. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.

Blessing After Meals Short Form Prayer

We give Thee thanks, almighty God, for all Thy benefits, who livest and reignest forever and ever. Amen. And may the souls of the Faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Agimus tibi gratias, omnipotens Deus, pro universis beneficiis tuis, qui vivis et regnas in saecula saeculorum. Amen. Fidelium animae, per misericordiam Dei, requiescant in pace. Amen.

However, there are some seasonal variations for the Liturgical Year that have fallen out of standard usage but are still part of Catholic Tradition. Fr. John Hardon's website mentions them. These verses and responses are said before the main prayer mentioned above.

Blessing of Meals from Christmas until the Vigil of the Epiphany:

Before:

The Word was made flesh, Alleluia
And dwelt among us, Alleluia

Verbum caro factum est, Alleluia 
Et habitavit in nobis, Alleluia

After:

The Lord has made known, Alleluia
His salvation, Alleluia

Notum fecit Dominus, Alleluia
Salutare suum, Alleluia

Blessing of Meals for the Octave of the Epiphany:

Before:

The kings of Tharsis and the islands shall offer presents, Alleluia
The kings of the Arabians and of Saba shall bring gifts, Alleluia

Reges Tharsis et insulae munera offerent, Alleluia
Reges Arabum et Saba dona adducent, Alleluia

After:

They shall all come from Saba, Alleluia

Bringing gold and frankincense, Alleluia

Omnes de Saba venient, Alleluia
Aurum et thus deferentes, Alleluia

Blessing of Meals for Holy Thursday:

Christ was made obedient for us unto death.

Christus factus est pro nobis oboediens usque ad mortem.

Blessing of Meals for Good Friday:


Christ was made obedient for us unto death, even the death of the Cross

Christus factus est pro nobis oboediens usque ad mortem, mortem autem crucis.

Blessing of Meals (Before and After) During the Octave of Easter:

This is the day the Lord has made, Alleluia
Let us rejoice and be glad in it, Alleluia

Haec dies quam fecit Dominus, Alleluia
Exsultemus et laetemur in ea, Alleluia

Blessing of Meals During the Octave of the Ascension:

Before:

God is ascended with rejoicing, Alleluia
And the Lord with the sound of the trumpet, Alleluia

Ascendit Deus in jubilatione, Alleluia
Et Dominus in voce tubae, Alleluia

After:

Christ ascending on high, Alleluia

Has led captivity captive, Alleluia

Ascendens Christus in altum, Alleluia
Captivam duxit captivitatem, Alleluia

Blessing of Meals During the Octave of Pentecost:

Before:

The Spirit of the Lord has filled the whole earth, Alleluia
And that, which containeth all things, hath knowledge of the meaning of the voice, Alleuia

Spiritus Domini replevit orbem terrarum, Alleluia
Et hoc quod continet omnia, scientiam habet vocis, alleluia

After:

They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, Alleluia.
And began to speak, Alleluia.

Repleti sunt omnes Spiritu Sancto, Alleluia
Et coeperunt loqui, Alleluia

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Commemoration of Ss. Gordon & Epimachus

Commemoration (1954 Calendar): May 10

Besides the feast day of St. Antonius, May 10th is the Commemoration of Saints Gordon and Epimachus. Both suffered under Julian the Apostate in 362.

The Catholic Encyclopedia edited by Charles George Herbermann states:

"Gordanius was a judge but was so moved by the sanctity and sufferings of the saintly priest, Januarius, that he embraced Christianity with many of his household. Being accused before his successor, or some say before the prefect of the city, Apronaianus, he was cruelly tortured and finally beheaded. His body was carried off by the Christians and laid in a crypt on the Latin Way beside the body of St. Epimachus, who had been recently interred there. The two saints gave their name to the cemetery, and have ever since been joined together in the veneration of the Church. There is another Gordanius who suffered martyrdom with two companions (place uncertain) and is commemorated on September 17, and a third, commemorated on September 13, who with several companions was martyred in Pontus or Galatia."

Collect:

O Almighty God, may the intercessory power of Your blessed martyrs Gordian and Epimachus aid us who celebrate their feast today. Through Our Lord . . .

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Commemoration of St. Vitalis

Commemoration (1954 Calendar): April 28

The Church on April 28th celebrates the Feast of St. Paul of the Cross and includes a Commemoration of St Vitalis in the Liturgy.

St. Vitalis was a wealthy citizen of Milan who live in the first or second century. He was married to Saint Valeria. They are regarded as the parents of Saints Gervasius and Protasius. According to legend, when he encouraged Saint Ursicinus of Ravenna to be steadfast at his execution, St. Vitalis was discovered to be a Christian. A judge named Paulinus ordered him to be racked and then buried alive. He thus completed his martyrdom and won the prize of Heaven.

Collect:

O Almighty God, grant that we who celebrate the birthday of Your blessed martyr Vitalis may be made stronger in our love of You through his intercession. Through Our Lord . . .

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A Brief History of Catholic Catechisms

The word “catechism” today is often used only in reference to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, originally published in 1992.  Yet, this catechism often fails in many respects for converts and even for adult Catholics: its verbose language, its frequent references to the novelties of Vatican II as opposed to actual dogmatic works, and the recent errors promulgated by Pope Francis in regard to capital punishment.  In fact, the number of religious education programs that feel they must teach children from this catechism is frightening – no young child could attempt to learn from a text that is best suited for an undergraduate or master’s course.  So why do we either water down the faith or teach children that the only true source of doctrine is the 1992 text?

Unbeknown to many, the new catechism is far from the only catechism.  St. Peter Canisius, who was instrumental in fighting Protestantism in Germany, wrote the first catechism in 1555, known as the "Catechism of St. Peter Canisius."  Shortly afterward, in 1566, the Roman Catechism was commissioned by the Council of Trent, overseen by St. Charles Borromeo, and issued by His Holiness Pope St. Pius V.  It remains the most authoritative catechism in print.  Known as the “Roman Catechism,” the “Catechism of St. Pius V,” or also as the “Catechism of the Council of Trent,” this book has unfortunately fallen into extreme disuse.

The decades after the Council of Trent saw Fr. Laurence Vaux "Catechism of Christian Doctrine" published in 1567 and St. Robert Bellarmine's Catechism published in 1597. 

Fr. Henry Tuberville followed with the Douay Catechism in 1649, which was modeled on the Catechism of the Council of Trent and written to help combat English Protestantism.  It remains one of the clearest English catechisms ever written as it contains a simple-to-understand question and answer format. 

Fast forward to 1781 and Bishop George Hay published the extensive and heavily Scripturally based "Hay's Catechism" with a longer question and answer format.  Fr. Stephen Keenan in 1846 published his catechism with the purpose of countering heresies of the time especially in regard to papal infallibility.  And one year later in 1847, master catechism Fr. Joseph Deharbe wrote the most accomplished German catechism ever written called "A complete catechism of the Catholic religion."

Throughout the mid-1800s additional catechisms by Fr. Francis Jamison, St. John Neumann, Fr. Patrick Power, Fr. Michael Muller, and Cardinal Gibbons were also published.  Then in 1885, the Bishops of the United States enjoined by order of the Third Council of Baltimore the Baltimore Catechism, which was the most widely used catechism in the United States for over a century up until Vatican II. 

The notion that the “Catechism” is the exclusive right to the 1992 text promulgated by Pope John Paul II is absurd.  In fact, as the crisis in the Church deepened, Pope Benedict XVI remarked while still a Cardinal of the failure of modern catechesis in the Church when he said in an interview with Zenit in 2003, “It is evident that today religious ignorance is enormous; suffice it to speak with the new generations. Evidently, in the post-conciliar period, the concrete transmission of the contents of the Christian faith was not achieved.”  This echoed his previous sentiments which he published before the New Catechism was written when the future Pontiff wrote, “The catastrophic failure of modern catechesis is all too obvious.”

Some of these older Catechisms, like the Baltimore Catechism and the Roman Catechism, are still in print. Others that have fallen out of print are being published once again by the work of Tradivox. And organizations like CatechismClass.com are combining passages from various Catechisms along with Scripture and relevant prayers and commentary to teach the Faith in a way that resonates with more people. Whispers of Restoration lists 20 older catechisms and links to them in an online format.

As the many catechisms show us, the Faith is the same yet it can often be explained in slightly different ways. Whereas one definition or example may teach one person, another person may be better able to understand it explained in a different way. The Faith is changeless and timeless but we can use many different catechisms to teach the one, same Faith.

Check out some of these older catechisms and resources. Share them with your family and friends.

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Major Rogation Day (April 25th) Prayers of Blessing

In honor of the Major Rogation, I've put together a list of prayers and blessings to be said by a priest or the father of the family. The exact ones to be said vary depending on a person's property and what features it has. Please share it with anyone who needs a copy.

Blessing of a Farm

(This prayer may be said to obtain God's blessing on a farm with its buildings or for the farmhouse alone.)

Bless, O Lord, Almighty God, this house (or this farm).  May health and purity, goodness and meekness, and every virtue reign here.  May all those who dwell here be filled with faithfulness to Thy law and with thanksgiving to God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  May this blessing remain on this house (or this farm) and all who dwell here. Through Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Blessing of All Domestic Animals

Lord God, King of heaven and earth, Thou the Word of the Father by whom all creatures were given us for our support; look down, we beseech Thee, on our lowliness. As Thou hast given us these animals to assist us in our labors and needs, so mayest Thou in thy great goodness and mercy bless them from above, guard and preserve them; and, while Thou givest thy servants temporal benefits, mayest Thou grant us Thy continual grace so that we may praise Thy holy  name with thanksgiving.  Amen.

Blessing of a Water Supply

O Lord, Almighty God, who hast given us an ample supply of water, led off by pipes from this source, grant that, by Thy assistance and blessing and our cooperation, every diabolical attack and confusion may be kept off and that this water supply may always be pure and uncontaminated.  Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Blessing of a Spring or Well

We cry without ceasing, O Lord, to Thy Fatherly goodness that Thou wouldst sanctify this fountain of water with Thy heavenly blessing and make it suitable for every use.  Drive from it every influence of the devil so that whoever draws from it or drinks this water may enjoy good health and full vigor, and give praise and thanks to Thee, the Preserver and
Sanctifier of all things.  Through Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Blessing of Pasture, Meadows, and Fields

O God, through whom every good thing has its beginning, and through whom it is improved  and increased; grant, we beseech Thee, to us who cry to Thee, that this work, which we are beginning for the praise of Thy name, may be happily brought to completion through the never failing gift of Thy fatherly wisdom.  Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Almighty, eternal God, Thou hast given to Thy priests a special grace so that we may be sure that whatever is worthily done by them in Thy name is done also by Thee.  We beseech Thy clemency that Thou wouldst visit what we now visit, that Thou wouldst bless what we now bless, and that Thou wouldst stretch forth Thy mighty right arm over that which we now do, and that by the merits and intercession of Thy saints and this entrance of our humble persons, the demons may be put to flight and the angel of peace may enter in.  Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

(This solemn blessing may be said by a priest some time before cattle are put on the pasture for summer. If the father of the family is offering this blessing, the second paragraph can be omitted.)

The Litany of the Saints is inserted here followed by:

Send forth Thy spirit and they shall be created; And Thou shalt renew the face of the earth.  For the Lord will give goodness; and our earth shall yield her fruit.

We humbly beseech Thy clemency O Lord, that Thou wouldst render these fields (pastures, meadows) fertile with rains in due season, that Thou wousdst fill them with Thy blessing, and so grant that Thy people may be ever thankful for Thy gifts.  Take infertility from the earth and fill the hungry with Thy gifts which the fruitful earth will yield in fullness that the poor and needy may raise the name of Thy glory, forever and ever. Amen.

The Solemn Exorcism of Harmful Animals

I conjure you mice (worms, sails, snakes, spiders, lice, ticks, etc.) in the name of God, the Almighty Father, of Jesus Christ, His only Son, and of the Holy Spirit who proceeds from both, that you go out from these fields and pastures and remain no more in them, but depart for places where you can harm no one.  In the name of God, the Almighty, of the whole heavenly court, and of God's holy Church, I declare you accursed wherever you go so that you will become fewer day by day.  May no part of you be found again, unless it be for man's welfare.  May He graciously grant this, who will come to judge the living and the dead and the world by fire.

Note: Any prayer that is called an "exorcism" must be performed by a specially authorized priest.  You could pray this prayer of course, but not perhaps to the same effect.

Blessing of Orchards and Vineyards

We beseech Thee, Almighty God, in Thy goodness, to pour down Thy blessings on these young shoots and sprouts which Thou wouldst grow into mature fruit.  Grant to Thy people that they may always be permitted to grow, with due sunshine and rain, and make them gifts which the fruitful earth produces in fullness so that the poor and needy may praise Thy glory.  Amen.

Sources:

1. St. Mark's Day Blessings
2. Catholic Culture
3. Rogation & Ember Day Manual

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Third Secret of Fatima Still Not Revealed

Despite what some claim - that the third secret of Fatima referred to the attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II - the actual details of the third secret have not yet been revealed. This allegation, long triumphed by the late Father Nicholas Gruner, has been affirmed in recent days by Archbishop Vigano, the critic of Pope Francis who has largely gone into hiding for publishing some of his errors.

Chris Ferrara in Archbishop Viganó on the Third Secret of Fatima: Father Gruner Vindicated quotes Vigano from a recent interview where he stated:

“In 2000, during the pontificate of John Paul II, Cardinal Sodano presented as the Third Secret a version of his own that in several elements appeared clearly incomplete. It is not surprising that the new Secretary of State, Cardinal Bertone, sought to draw attention away to an event in the past [the assassination attempt on John Paul on May 13, 1981] to cause the people of God to believe that the words of the Virgin [in 1917 when She appeared] had nothing to do with the crisis of the Church [in the decades after 1960] and the marriage of modernists and Freemasonry that was contracted behind the scenes at the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). Antonio Socci, who has carefully investigated the Third Secret, unmasked this harmful behavior on the part of Cardinal Bertone. In addition, it was Bertone himself who heavily discredited and censured the Madonnina delle Lacrime (Madonna of Tears) of Civitavecchia, whose message perfectly agrees with what she said at Fatima.”

Mr. Ferrara continues:

With this pontificate, says the Archbishop, we are witnessing an attack on ecclesiastical celibacy, the “attempt to introduce a form of ordained female ministry” and in general an “approach to the Church’s dogmas [that has] adopted the so-called ‘situation theology,’ whose theological pillars are accidental facts or subjects: the world, nature, the female figure, young people… This theology does not have God’s immutable and eternal truth as its founding center; on the contrary, it starts from the observation of whatever is the current pressing need of these phenomena in order to give answers that are consistent with the expectations of the contemporary world.”

Read the rest of the article on the Fatima Center's website. And support their work, especially the 54 Day Rosary Novena that is to begin on May 1st with the intention of the consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart to bring an end to the COVID-19 Crisis and future calamities that await us until this is accomplished as requested by Our Lady of Fatima.

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Easter Monday & Easter Tuesday as Holy Days of Obligation

When writing about the rank of days in the Catholic Liturgical calendar, there are various ways to label them. In the modern Church, they will use the terms solemnity, feast, memorial, or optional memorial. In the 1962 Missal, we have First, Second, Third, or Fourth Class feastdays. But before the 1962 Missal up until the changes made by Pope Pius XII in 1955, there were from least to most important: Simples, Semidoubles, Lesser Doubles or also known as Doubles, Greater Doubles, Doubles of the second class, and lastly Doubles of the first class.   Using the traditional pre-1955 calendar, we notice something very interesting about Easter Monday and Easter Tuesday. Easter Monday and Tuesday are doubles of the first class whereas the rest of the Easter Octave is a semi-double.  Even with the variation in rank, the Easter Octave is privileged and no other feastday may occur in the Octave.    But what's unique about Easter Monday and Easter Tuesday is that no other saints are commemorated those days in the Mass or the Divine Office.
Why the special treatment for Easter Monday and Easter Tuesday? It is because they were universal holy days of obligation for a very long time. Easter Tuesday was not dropped from the list until 1771 by Pope Clement XIV; Easter Monday was dropped from the universal list at the beginning of the 20th century but is still a Holy Day of Obligation in many places to this very day. In Catholic European countries, it is still common to have Easter Monday off as a paid holiday.

The unequaled Dom Gueranger, in his seminal work, The Liturgical Year, writes:

So fervently did the faithful of those times appreciate and love the Liturgy, so lively was the interest they took in the newly made children of holy mother Church, that they joyfully went through the whole of the services of this week. Their hearts were filled with the joy of the Resurrection, and they thought it but right to devote their whole time to its celebration. Councils laid down canons, changing the pious custom into a formal law. The Council of Mâcon, in 585, thus words its decree: ‘It behoves us all fervently to celebrate the feast of the Pasch, in which our great High Priest was slain for our sins, and to honour it by carefully observing all it pre-scribes. Let no one, therefore, do any servile work during these six days (which followed the Sunday), but let all come together to sing the Easter hymns, and assist at the daily Sacrifice, and praise our Creator and Redeemer in the evening, morning, and mid-day.’ 

The Councils of Mayence (813) and Meaux (845) lay down similar rules. We find the same prescribed in Spain, in the seventh century, by the edicts of kings Receswind and Wamba. The Greek Church renewed them in her Council in Trullo; Charlemagne, Louis the Good, Charles the Bald, sanctioned them in their Capitularia; and the canonists of the eleventh and twelfth centuries, Burchard, St Ivo of Chartres, Gratian, tell us they were in force in their time. Finally, Pope Gregory IX inserted them in one of his decretals in the thirteenth century. But their observance had then fallen into desuetude, at least in many places. The Council held at Constance, in 1094, reduced the solemnity of Easter to the Monday and Tuesday. 

The two great liturgists, John Beleth in the twelfth, and Durandus in the thirteenth century, inform us that, in their times, this was the practice in France. It gradually became the discipline of the whole of the western Church, and continued to be so, until relaxation crept still further on, and a dispensation was obtained by some countries, first for the Tuesday, and finally for the Monday. In order fully to understand the Liturgy of the whole Easter Octave (Low Sunday included), we must remember that the neophytes were formerly present, vested in their white garments, at the Mass and Divine Office of each day. Allusions to their Baptism are continually being made in the chants and Lessons of the entire week.

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Saturday in Albis

The account that used to take place on Easter Saturday of the newly baptized laying aside their white garments, which they had worn since their Baptism on Holy Saturday, is very poignantly described by Dom Gueranger in the Liturgical Year:

The Taking Off of the White Garments

The Vespers, on each of the days of this week, were celebrated in the manner we described on the Sunday. There was a numerous attendance, each day, in the basilica; and the faithful thus testified their affectionate interest in the white-robed neophytes, who visited, during the Vespers of each day, the sacred font where they had been born to the new life of grace. This afternoon, the concourse of people is greater than on the preceding days, for an interesting ceremony is to take place. The neophytes are about to lay aside the outward symbol of innocence which they have been wearing; but they are also to give a solemn promise to maintain the inward purity of soul. By this public ceremony the Church restores the newly baptized to the duties of their ordinary station of life: they must now return to the world, and comport themselves as Christians—disciples of Christ—for such they are.

The visit to the baptistery has been made, and the Office of Vespers has terminated with the Station before the crucifix of the chancel: the neophytes are then led to a room adjoining the cathedral, in which is prepared a large vessel of water. The bishop goes to his throne. Seeing the newly baptized standing around him, he addresses them in a discourse, wherein he expresses the joy he feels, as pastor, at the increase wherewith it has pleased God to bless his much-loved flock. He congratulates them upon the grace they have received; and then, alluding to the main object of their coming together this afternoon—that is, the laying aside of the white garments they received after Baptism—he warns them, with paternal affection, to keep a guard over themselves, and see that they never sully the purity of soul, of which their white robes have been but an emblem.

These were lent to the neophytes by the Church, as we said on Holy Saturday; they come now to restore them. The water in which the garments are to be washed is blessed by the pontiff. As soon as he has finished the address to which we have just been alluding, he says a prayer, wherein he speaks of the power given to this element of cleansing the stains of the soul herself. Then turning to the neophytes, he recites the 116th Psalm, in thanksgiving; to which he adds this beautiful prayer:

Visit, O Lord, thy people with thy salvation! Behold it now illumined with the Paschal joy! But do thou vouchsafe to preserve in our neophytes what thou thyself hast wrought in them unto salvation. Grant that whilst laying aside these white robes, the change may be but exterior; that the spotless purity of Christ, which the eye cannot see, may ever be in their souls, so that they may never lose it; and that thy grace may assist them to gain, by good works, that immortal life whereunto the Paschal mystery obliges us to aspire.

After this, aided by their sponsors—the men by their godfathers, the women by their godmothers—the neophytes take off their white garments, which are then consigned to those whose duty it is to wash and keep them. The sponsors having assisted their spiritual children to put on their ordinary dress, lead them to the pontiff, who distributes to each an image of the divine Lamb, stamped on wax: it is the Paschal symbol.

A last vestige of this interesting ceremony is the distribution of the Agnus Dei. This distribution is made by the Pope, on this day, in Rome, the first and every seventh year of his pontificate. We have already described the rite observed in their blessing, and we then drew the attention of our readers to the allusion to the ancient form of Baptism by immersion. The Agnus Dei are blessed on the Wednesday of Easter Week: on the following Saturday, there is what is called Papal Chapel in the palace. After High Mass, the Agnus Dei are brought before the pontiff, who is seated on a throne. The prelate, who presents them, sings the following words, which are taken from one of the beautiful Responsories given above:’Holy Father! These are the new lambs, and they have announced to us the Alleluia: they have come but now to the fount: they are filled with light.' The Pope answers: Deo gratias! They who are happy enough to witness this function are forcibly reminded of the ancient ceremony we have been describing, in which the newly baptized were led before the bishop, as the innocent lambs whom he so gladly welcomed. The Pope then distributes the Agnus Dei to the cardinals, prelates, and others presented by the master of ceremonies: and thus is concluded this function, which is interesting, not only because of its signification, but also because of the sacred object wherewith it consoles us.

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Shrine of Christ the King: Easter Sunday 2020

Here are some photos from the live streamed Mass for Easter Sunday celebrated at the Shrine of Christ the King in Chicago, Illinois by Canon Talarico. The Shrine is still regularly broadcasting all of their Masses as the COVID-19 crisis continues. Check out their schedule, or the schedule of other ICKSP apostolates, here.

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Pre-1955 Holy Week with the Benedictines of Mary Queen of Apostles

As part of the widespread closure of churches due to COVID-19, I like many others had to watch livestream Masses rather than attend them for the Triduum. I chose to watch the pre-1955 Holy Week Liturgies through the Benedictines of Mary Queen of Apostles. Their website is worth visiting, as they keep many praiseworthy monastic practices.

Their community is based in Gower, Missouri and are affiliated with the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter. Here are some of the screenshots of the Sacred Triduum Liturgies.

Holy Thursday

Good Friday

Holy Saturday

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