Novena to St. Anthony: Day Three

Prayer:

O wonderful St. Anthony, glorious on account of the fame of your miracles, and through the condescension of Jesus in coming in the form of a little child to rest in your arms, obtain for me of His bounty the grace which I ardently desire from the depths of my heart . (State your intention)

You who were so compassionate toward miserable sinners, regard not the unworthiness of those who pray to you, but the glory of God that it may once again be magnified by the granting of the particular request (State your intention) which I now ask for with persevering earnestness. Amen

(Pray one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and Glory Be to the Father, in honor of Saint Anthony.)

Saint Anthony, pray for us!

DAY THREE

O purest St. Anthony, who through your angelic virtue was made worthy to be caressed by the Divine Child Jesus, to hold him in your arms and press him to your heart. I entreat you to cast a benevolent glance upon me. O glorious St. Anthony, born under the protection of Mary Immaculate, on the Feast of her Assumption into Heaven, and consecrated to her and now so powerful an intercessor in Heaven, I beseech you to obtain for me the favor I ask in this novena (State your intention). O great wonder-worker, intercede for me that God may grant my request.

One Our Father, one Hail Mary, and Glory Be to the Father, in honor of Saint Anthony.
Saint Anthony, pray for us!

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St. Boniface, Bishop and Martyr

“Saint Boniface Felling Donar’s Oak” by Johann Michael Wittmer (1861)

Simple (1955 Calendar): June 5
Memorial (1969 Calendar): June 5

Today the Church remembers St. Boniface, bishop and martyr. He was born around 680 AD into a Saxon family and performed missionary in Germany from 719 AD, when Pope Gregory II requested thusly, until the saint's death in c. 755 AD. Baptized with the name Winfrid, the saint received his early education in a Benedictine monastery in Exeter. In his teen years, he was sent to a monastery at Nursling in Hampshire, where compiled the first-ever dictionary of Latin grammar. At the age of 30, St. Boniface was ordained as a priest.

In 716 AD he began missionary work in the area of present-day Northern Holland. Declining the offer to become Abbot of Nursling, St. Boniface went to Rome in 719 and was commissioned by Pope Gregory II to be a missionary to Germany. At that point, he was given the name "Boniface" meaning "meaning maker of good". In his missionary work, St. Boniface was assisted by Saint Albinus, Saint Abel, and Saint Agatha. During his mission in Germany, St. Boniface destroyed idols and pagan temples and built churches on the sites to erase the false worship and establish the worship of the True God. In 722, St. Boniface was consecrated as a bishop.

Much of Germany had very little knowledge of true Christianity. The clergy there was corrupt and far too many people believed in heresies and errors in the truth. St. Boniface became bishop of Mainz and did amazing things for the Church in Germany by helping to spread the Faith. He also evangelized Holland where he and 52 of his new flock, including Saint Adaler and Saint Eoban were martyred in 755 AD. He is known as "The greatest Englishman of all time".

In Saxony, Boniface encountered a tribe worshipping a Norse deity in the form of a huge oak tree. Boniface walked up to the tree, removed his shirt, took up an axe, and without a word he hacked down the six foot wide wooden god. Boniface stood on the trunk, and asked, "How stands your mighty god? My God is stronger than he." Conversions began.

Traditional Matins Reading:

Boniface, formerly called Winfrid, was a native of England, born towards the end of the seventh century. From his very childhood, he turned away from the world and set his heart upon becoming a monk. When his father tried in vain to divert him from his wishes by the beguilements of the world, he entered a monastery, where under blessed Wulphard he was instructed in all virtuous discipline and every kind of knowledge. At the age of twenty-nine years he was ordained priest, and became an unwearied preacher of the word of God, wherein he had a special gift, which he used with great profit to souls. Nevertheless, his great desire was to spread the kingdom of Christ, and he continually bewailed the vast number of barbarians, who were plunged in the darkness of ignorance and were slaves of the devil. This zealous love of souls increased in him in intensity day by day, till having implored the divine aid by prayers and tears, he at last obtained the permission of the Prior of the monastery to set out for Germany.

He sailed from England with two companions and reached the town of Dorestadt in Friesland. On account of a great war then raging between Radbod, king of the Frieslanders, and Charles Martel, his preaching was without fruit: so he returned to England, and to his former monastery, the government of which, against his will, he was forced to accept. After two years, he obtained the consent of the Bishop of Winchester to resign his office, and he then went to Rome, that by the Apostolic authority he might be delegated to the mission for converting the heathens. When he arrived at the City, he was courteously welcomed by Gregory II, who changed his name from Winfrid to Boniface. He departed thence to Germany and preached Christ to the tribes in Thuringia and Saxony. Radbod, King of Friesland, who bitterly hated the Christian name, being dead, Boniface went a second time among the Frieslanders, and there, with his companion St Willibrord, preached the Gospel for three years with so much fruit, that the idols were hown down, and countless churches arose to the true God.


Saint Willibrord urged him to accept the office of bishop, but he refused, so that he might the more instantly toil for the salvation of unbelievers. Advancing into Germany, he reclaimed thousands of the Hessians from diabolic superstition. Pope Gregory sent for him to Rome, and after receiving from him a noble profession of his faith, consecrated him a bishop. He again returned to Germany, and thoroughly purged Hesse and Thuringia from all remains of idolatry. On account of such great works, Gregory III advanced Boniface to the dignity of archbishop, and on the occasion of a third journey to Rome, he was invested by the Sovereign Pontiff with the powers of legate of the Apostolic See. As such, he founded four bishoprics and held divers synods, among which is especially to be remembered that of Lessines held in Belgium, in the diocese of Cambrai, at which time he made great efforts to spread the faith among the Belgians. By Pope Zachary he was named Archbishop of Mainz, and by command of the same Pope, he anointed Pepin king of the Franks. After the death of St Willibrord, he undertook the government of the Church of Utrecht, at first by the ministry of Eoban, but afterwards, being released from the care of the Church of Mainz, he established his see at Utrecht. The Frieslanders having again fallen back into idolatry, he went once more to preach the Gospel among them, and while he was busied in this duty he won the palm of martyrdom, being slain by some impious barbarians, who attacked him together with his fellow-bishop Eoban, and many others, on the river Born. In accordance with his wish expressed during life, the body of St Boniface was carried to Mainz and buried in the monastery of Fulda, of which he had been the founder, and which he has rendered illustrious by numerous miracles. Pope Pius IX ordered his Office and Mass to be extended to the universa Church.

The Litany of St. Boniface:

For private use only

Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, have mercy on us. Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us, Christ, graciously hear us.
God the Father of Heaven, Have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, Have mercy on us.
God, the Holy Ghost, Have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, One God, Have mercy on us.

Holy Mary, Pray for us.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, Pray for us.
Holy Virgin of virgins, Pray for us.
Queen of the Apostles, Pray for us.

Saint Boniface, Pray for us.
Apostle of Germany, Pray for us.
Worthy successor of the Apostles, Pray for us.
Worthy disciple of Saint Benedict, Pray for us.
Ornament of the Catholic Church, Pray for us.
Thou light, shining for the conversion of pagan nations, Pray for us.
Thou light, shining like the sun, Pray for us.
Thou great benefactor of many nations, Pray for us.
Thou zealous preacher of the Gospel, Pray for us.
Thou unwearied laborer in the vineyard of the Lord, Pray for us.
Thou founder of the Catholic Church in Germany, Pray for us.
Saint Boniface, our Father, Pray for us.
St. Boniface, teacher of truth and virtue, Pray for us.
St. Boniface, extirpator of heathenism, Pray for us.
St. Boniface, destroyer of heresy, Pray for us.
St. Boniface, great bishop and model of missionaries, Pray for us.
St. Boniface, protector of missions, Pray for us.
St. Boniface, founder of many monasteries, Pray for us.
St. Boniface, powerful advocate with God, Pray for us.
St. Boniface, who didst work many miracles, Pray for us.
St. Boniface, great Martyr of faith, Pray for us.

That God may preserve and confirm us in our holy Catholic religion, Pray for us.
That God may grant us the grace to walk piously and faithfully before Him, Pray for us.
That God may humble the enemies of His Church, Pray for us.
That God may grant the grace of True Faith to all heretics and infidels, Pray for us.
That God may give us that spirit with which thou didst serve Him, Pray for us.
That God may restore the Faith to the whole of Germany, Pray for us.
That God may raise up zealous missionaries to convert all pagans and heretics, Pray for us.
That the Holy Spirit may enlighten all missionaries, Pray for us.

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, Have mercy on us.

Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us.
Lord have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.

Pray 1 Our Father for the conversion of sinners

Let Us Pray: Merciful God, Who hast shown compassion to so many heathen nations through Thy faithful servant St. Boniface, we humbly pray Thee to revive and preserve that Faith which he preached in Thy holy Name, that we may receive Thy revelation with a faithful heart, and so regulate our lives as to gain the Heavenly Kingdom, through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Preserve and increase, we beseech Thee, O God, the faith of Thy children, and lead back to the True Fold all those who have been separated or have separated themselves from it, through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Ecclesiae Fastos:

We were very glad, therefore, to hear that those countries which owe a special debt of gratitude to St. Boniface intend to make the twelfth centenary of the martyrdom of this shining glory of the Benedictine order an occasion of special rejoicing and public prayer.

ENCYCLICAL OF POPE PIUS XII ON ST. BONIFACE JUNE 5, 1954

In Hac Tanta:

In these dark times, the memory of St. Boniface, who brought salvation to Germany twelve centuries ago, is a ray of light and a messenger of hope and joy. We commemorate the ancient union of the German people with the Apostolic See. This union planted the first seeds of faith in your country and helped them grow. After the Roman See entrusted Boniface with this legation, he ennobled it by the exceptional glory of his deeds and, finally, by the blood of martyrdom.

Encyclical of Pope Benedict XV promulgated on May 14, 1919.

Prayer:

O God, Who didst vouchsafe by the zeal of blessed Boniface, Thy Martyr and Bishop, to call a multitude of peoples to the knowledge of Thy name: grant, in Thy mercy, that as we keep his solemn feast so we may also enjoy his protection. Through our Lord.

Prayer Source: 1962 Roman Catholic Daily Missal

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Why does Evil Exist?

This is question submerged in Theology and can be very complicated to answer coherently. That's why I'm trilled to have read Harrison's post on evil. It looked at evil from the perspectives of St. Iranaeus and St. Augustine. It is well worth your time.

Read the post.

Just remember that God can work good our of an evil. For it was through the Crucifixion of God that the world was redeemed and made whole again.

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Fulton J. Sheen: The Study of World Religions

Last week I watched my first episode of Archbishop's Fulton J. Sheen's Emmy award winning program, Life is Worth Living. It was a very popular show during the 1950's. Well this program was on Comparing world religions and Archbishop Sheen beautifully attacked the notion that Christianity is false and really just changes in pagan beliefs. He said this theory is based on two false assumptions.

1. Resemblances imply Imitations
2. Primitive causes Original

For the first, he used the example of paintings in an art gallery. Many paintings use the same combination of colors but that doesn't mean they were all painted by the same artist. And so just because in some pagan forms of culture there were legends of a Resurrection of a false "god" doesn't mean that is why we believe Jesus Christ rose from the grave. Everything has resemblences to other things but that doesn't mean they all are based from the same source.

For the second assumption, Archbishop Sheen looked at Napoleon. Now, his name is also written as Napolio. He said that is broken into two parts: Ne/apolio. He is the "new Apollo". Apollo, the "god" of the sun, in mythology had three sisters and two wives just like Napoleon. The Sun is weaker in the North or the South? It is weaker in the North and Waterloo was in the North. Therefore, Sheen, said that Napoleon never existed - he was based entirely on Apollo.

You see how people always think they have to go back to primitive beliefs concerning religion? But, they don't in any other field. Do we go back to the witchdoctors to learn more about medicine? No, and we don't need to do that with religion.

So how do we find the True Faith?

This was the best part of the program I think. Archbishop Sheen says we must line them all up. We must look at each belief from Christianity to Taoism to Judaism to Islam, etc. And learn what each one teaches. But, we must test them. And the test is this: "If one of you is the Truth surely people were expecting you."

Who among all of the world religion founders had a pre-announced birth and a foretold death? Which one was expected by the people? Surely the Messiah of the World and the Truth would be expected by someone. And, Archbishop Sheen says only one of them could step forward from the line and pass the test - Jesus Christ, God-made man. For only He is the Truth. For He foretold his death numerous times. His birth was pre-announced all the way back to the times of the prophets of Israel. Only Jesus Christ is Lord - only He is the way, the truth, and the Life. And, He is real. For Christianity is not a "religion of the book". It is not a dead one of the story of God who came for us and Ascended before we were born.

Christianity is a religion of love - the story of Our God that loved us so much He came and died our rightful deaths - a belief system not based on an ideal or a notion but a person! The same person enthroned in each Tabernacle in the Eucharist across the entire world. Jesus Christ is real and only He is to be worshipped, adored, and loved. And, if we, like the first apostles, must lay down our life of the faith, so be it. For Jesus Christ already laid down His life for us. For only He is continuing to perform miracles in the world that modern medicine cannot explain. The power of prayer is greater than any other power in the entire world. The number of miracles, Eucharistic miracles, and apparitions are so long that a whole blog could not house them all. Simply, believe the Gospel, believe Jesus Christ, and believe His Church.

So if you were hear someone claiming Christianity is based solely on paganism, remember these points from Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen.

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Younger Priests Are More Traditional

When I was reading Enormous Prayers: A Journey into the Priesthood, I came across some statistics that I wanted to share on my blog. According to a Times survey, priests under the age of 35 only account for 6% of all priests. However, according to the survey, 40% of them are very conservative/traditional priests. This is more than double the percentage of priests over 35 that are traditional.

Do you think this is true?

As someone desiring to serve as a priest, I can tell you that I am a very traditional person under the age of 35. And I can also say that many of the younger priests I know are traditional. I, for one, plan on using incense in the Masses that I celebrate as well as incorporating some Latin. I think people need to see our history. Children today are never brought into contact with the Latin Mass – the Mass that existed for centuries. I think they should at least be exposed to this Mass sometime in their lives.

Source: Enormous Prayers: A Journey into the Priesthood (page 41)
Image Source: June 2006 FSSP Ordinations/NLM

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Words of Inspiration: June 5, 2006

Blessed Mother Teresa:

"Anyone is capable of going to Heaven. Heaven is our home. Dying is not the end, it is just the beginning. Death is a continuation of life. This is the meaning of eternal life; it is where our soul goes to God, to be in the presence of God, to see God, to speak to God, to continue loving Him with greater love. We only surrender our body in death - our heart and our soul live forever."

Image Source: Jesus Returning the Keys to St. Peter by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, 1820

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Novena to St. Anthony: Day Two

Prayer:

O wonderful St. Anthony, glorious on account of the fame of your miracles, and through the condescension of Jesus in coming in the form of a little child to rest in your arms, obtain for me of His bounty the grace which I ardently desire from the depths of my heart . (State your intention)

You who were so compassionate toward miserable sinners, regard not the unworthiness of those who pray to you, but the glory of God that it may once again be magnified by the granting of the particular request (State your intention) which I now ask for with persevering earnestness. Amen

(Pray one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and Glory Be to the Father, in honor of Saint Anthony.)

Saint Anthony, pray for us!

DAY TWO

O miracle-working St. Anthony, remember that it never has been heard that you left without help or relief anyone who in his need had recourse to you. Animated now with the most lively confidence, even with full conviction of not being refused, I fly for refuge to thee, O most favored friend of the Infant Jesus. O eloquent preacher of the divine mercy, despise not my supplications but, bringing them before the throne of God, strengthen them by your intercession and obtain for me the favor I seek in this novena (State your intention) .

(One Our Father, one Hail Mary, and Glory Be to the Father, in honor of Saint Anthony).

Saint Anthony, pray for us!

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Words of Inspiration: June 5, 2006

"I will not rest until I find the whole world devoted to the Blessed Sacrament!" (Blessed Didacus Joseph of Cadiz).

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Pentecost Indulgence

There is a plenary indulgence today for anyone that recites "Veni Creator Spiritus," the Hymn for Pentecost. This of course requires us to perform the Normal Conditions of an indulgence:

1. One is free from all attachment from sin
2. One receives the Sacraments of Penance and the Eucharist (within 7 days of today)
3. One prays for the intentions of the Pope (An Our Father and Hail Mary)

If you don't know what an indulgence is or how to get one, please view my Indulgences post.

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Begin Novena to St. Anthony of Padua

Today I begin the nine day Novena to St. Anthony of Padua. He is an amazing example of living a life dedicated to Jesus Christ. He lived from 1195 to 1231 and received a vision of the child Jesus, who St. Anthony cradled in his arms.

Please join me in beginning the Novena to St. Anthony of Padua.

Prayer:

O wonderful St. Anthony, glorious on account of the fame of your miracles, and through the condescension of Jesus in coming in the form of a little child to rest in your arms, obtain for me of His bounty the grace which I ardently desire from the depths of my heart . (State your intention)

You who were so compassionate toward miserable sinners, regard not the unworthiness of those who pray to you, but the glory of God that it may once again be magnified by the granting of the particular request (State your intention) which I now ask for with persevering earnestness. Amen

(Pray one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and Glory Be to the Father, in honor of Saint Anthony.)

Saint Anthony, pray for us!

DAY ONE:

O holy St. Anthony, gentlest of saints, your love for God and charity for his creatures made you worthy while on earth to possess miraculous powers. Miracles waited your word, which you were ever ready to speak for those in trouble or anxiety. Encouraged by this thought, I implore you to obtain for me the favor I seek in this novena (State your intention). The answer to my prayer may require a miracle; even so, you are the saint of miracles. O gentle and loving Saint Anthony, whose heart was ever full of human sympathy, whisper my petition into the ears of the Infant Jesus, who loved to be folded in your arms, and thee gratitude of my heart will always be yours.

(One Our Father, one Hail Mary, and Glory Be to the Father, in honor of Saint Anthony).

Saint Anthony, pray for us!

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Prayers for Pentecost

Act of Consecration to the Holy Ghost

On my knees before the great multitude of heavenly witnesses, I offer myself soul and body to Thee, Eternal Spirit of God. I adore the brightness of Thy purity, the unerring keenness of Thy justice, and the might of Thy love. Thou art the Strength and Light of my soul. In Thee I live and move and am. I desire never to grieve Thee by unfaithfulness to grace, and I pray with all my heart to be kept from the smallest sin against Thee. Mercifully guard my every thought and grant that I may always watch for Thy light and listen to Thy voice and follow Thy gracious inspirations. I cling to Thee and give myself to Thee and ask Thee by Thy compassion to watch over me in my weakness. Holding the pierced Feet of Jesus and looking at His Five Wounds and trusting in His Precious Blood and adoring His opened Side and stricken Heart, I implore Thee Adorable Spirit, helper of my infirmity, so to keep me in Thy grace that I may never sin against Thee. Give me grace O Holy Ghost, Spirit of the Father and the Son, to say to Thee always and everywhere, Speak Lord, for Thy servant heareth. Amen.

Come Holy Spirit, Creator Blest (Veni, Creator Spiritus)

Come, Holy Spirit, Creator blest,
and in our souls take up Thy rest;
come with Thy grace and heavenly aid
to fill the hearts which Thou hast made.

O comforter, to Thee we cry,
O heavenly gift of God Most High,
O fount of life and fire of love,
and sweet anointing from above.

Thou in Thy sevenfold gifts are known;
Thou, finger of God's hand we own;
Thou, promise of the Father, Thou
Who dost the tongue with power imbue.

Kindle our sense from above,
and make our hearts o'erflow with love;
with patience firm and virtue high
the weakness of our flesh supply.

Far from us drive the foe we dread,
and grant us Thy peace instead;
so shall we not, with Thee for guide,
turn from the path of life aside.

Oh, may Thy grace on us bestow
the Father and the Son to know;
and Thee, through endless times confessed,
of both the eternal Spirit blest.

Now to the Father and the Son,
Who rose from death, be glory given,
with Thou, O Holy Comforter,
henceforth by all in earth and heaven. Amen.

Note: There is an indulgence associated with the above prayer.

Prayer for the Help of the Holy Ghost by Saint Anthony of Padua

O God, send forth your Holy Ghost into my heart that I may perceive, into my mind that I may remember, and into my soul that I may meditate. Inspire me to speak with piety, holiness, tenderness and mercy. Teach, guide and direct my thoughts and senses from beginning to end. May your grace ever help and correct me, and may I be strengthened now with wisdom from on high, for the sake of your infinite mercy. Amen. 

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The Solemnity of Pentecost!

Today is one of the most holy days in the year - Pentecost Sunday (also known as Whit Sunday)! As the Catholic Dictionary of Fr. John Hardon summarizes, today's holy day "commemorat[es] the descent of the Holy Ghost on the Apostles. It takes its name from the fact that it comes about fifty days after Easter. The name was originally given to the Jewish Feast of Weeks, which fell in the fiftieth day after Passover, when the first fruits of the corn harvest were offered to the Lord (Deuteronomy 16:9), and later on the giving of the law to Moses was celebrated."

Our celebration is based on a greater gift than that of the Two Tables of the Law to Moses - today we celebrate the Apostles and Our Lady receiving God Himself - the Holy Ghost. As the Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 1, illustrates, there were 120 people praying for the Holy Ghost. And just as the heavens opened and a dove descended in the Baptism of Jesus, the Holy Ghost descended on the Apostles and the Blessed Virgin Mary at Pentecost. How truly remarkable and breathtaking it would have been if we were there to see tongues of fire falling from the sky. But that is what happens to each of us, though invisibly, at our own Confirmation. The same Spirit is within those that have been confirmed in the Catholic Church. We have the Holy Ghost and we have the responsibility to go out and be beacons of the light of Christ, just like the Apostles did.

The word "Pentecost" means "fifty days" because today's celebration is fifty days after the celebration of the Lord's triumphant Resurrection on Easter Sunday. Pentecost, traditionally after the completion of its Octave, officially ends the Season of Pascaltide.  There is a Plenary Indulgence available today.

Dom Gueranger provides us with this account of the liturgy of Pentecost Sunday:

The Christian Pentecost, prefigured by the ancient one of the Jews, is of the number of the feasts that were instituted by the apostles. As we have already remarked, it formerly shared with Easter the honour of the solemn administration of Baptism. Its octave, like that of Easter, and for the same reason, ended with the Saturday following the feast. The catechumens received Baptism on the night between Saturday and Sunday. So that the Pentecost solemnity began on the vigil, for the neophytes at once put on their white garments: on the eighth day, the Saturday, they laid them aside. 

In the middle-ages, the feast of Pentecost was called by the beautiful name of ‘The Pasch of roses,’ just as the Sunday within the octave of the Ascension was termed the ‘Sunday of roses’. The colour and fragrance of this lovely flower were considered by our Catholic forefathers as emblems of the tongues of fire, which rested on the heads of the hundred and twenty disciples, and poured forth the sweet gifts of love and grace on the infant Church. The same idea suggested the red-coloured vestments for the liturgical services during the whole octave. In his Rational (a work which abounds in most interesting information regarding the mediæval liturgical usages), Durandus tells us that, in the thirteenth century, a dove was allowed to fly about in the church, and flowers and lighted tow were thrown down from the roof, during the Mass on Whit Sunday; these were allusions to the two mysteries of Jesus’ baptism, and of the descent of the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost.

When we read the Old Testament we realize that it mirrors and foreshadows the New Covenant in Christ. In the Old Testament, Jews celebrated Pentecost as an important feast to commemorate Moses receiving from God the Tablets of the Law.  Yet, for us Christians, we celebrate an even greater gift today - receiving the Third Person of the Trinity, God Himself, into our souls!

And the account of the Descent of the Holy Ghost holds another important lesson - prayer is necessary. After praying fervently for nine days Mary and the apostles receive the gift from on high. And it was when Jesus was praying after His baptism that the Heavens opened. It was during prayer that Jesus was transfigured on Mt. Tabor. Today we recall that the Holy Ghost descended during prayer. Let us keep the importance of prayer in mind. Prayer is after all necessary for salvation.

It was through the Spirit that the Apostles, the men who ran in fear during the Crucifixion, were given the courage to bring Jesus Christ to the whole world. They would not just bring Him to the people of Judea but to Gentiles (i.e. non-Jews) - to the whole world.

Pentecost also shows us the reversal of Babel as The Church's Year of Grace by Father Pius Parsch explains:

One final question: why the miracle of tongues? In answer, recall the story regarding the tower of Babel. Puffed up by pride, men attempted to build a tower that would touch the heavens. To punish their sin, God confused their speech. Sin causes confusion and division. Now Christ came to gather all men into His Church and thereby to unite them to Himself. This should result in creating but one family of nations again. To this blessed state the miracle of tongues points. Yes, even we as individuals have a gift of tongues which all men can understand. It is the gift of love infused into us by the Holy Spirit. Love unites, love is a common language, by means of love we can speak to all nations.

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Final Day of the Original Novena

Today is the ninth and final day of the Novena for the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, called the Original Novena because the apostles prayed for the Holy Spirit for 9 days. Today we focus on the fruits of the Holy Spirit as we prepare for tomorrow's glorious celebration on Pentecost Sunday. We remember not only the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles and the Blessed Virgin Mary but also the foundation of the Church. For it was the Descent of the Holy Spirit that founded the Church and set the disciples out as apostles to preach the Gospel to the whole world.

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Words of Inspiration: June 3, 2006

Blessed Mother Teresa:

"We are all capable of good and evil. We are not born bad: everybody has something good inside. Some hide it, some neglect it, but it is there. God created us to love and to be loved, so it is our test from God to choose one path or another."

Padre Pio:

"Jesus you already come into my soul. With what food must I feed You? With love! But my love is false, Jesus I love You very much, make up for my love" (AD,36).

St. Madeleine Sophie Barat:

"Ah! If we had faith! If we were penetrated by the thought that at this moment Our Lord is on the altar! We would be motionless, we would forget that we have bodies
. . . . We have so much to ask for the Church, for sinners, for the Society, for our families, for the children entrusted to us, for ourselves."

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St. Charles Lwanga & Companions

St. Charles Lwanga was born in 1865 at Bulimu, Buganda, Uganda. He was a servant of King Mwanga of Uganda. In 1885 he converted to Catholicism and for that he was burned to death in 1886 at Namugongo, Uganda because they refused to give in to the homosexual demands of King Mwanga. Yet, St. Charles did not scream in pain as he burned to death. He even helped arrange the sticks for the fire and said he was pleased to die for the True Faith. The Gift of Fortitude was very strong in him. St. Charles Lwanga is one of 22 people that we remember for dying for their faith in Uganda. 

Canonization of St. Charles Lwanga:

"The African martyrs add another page to the Church's roll of honor - an occasion both of mourning and of joy. These African martyrs herald the dawn of a new age. If only the mind of man might be directed not toward persecutions and religious conflicts but toward a rebirth of Christianity and civilization! Africa has been washed by the blood of these latest martyrs, and first of this new age (and, God willing, let them be the last, although such a holocaust is precious indeed). Africa is reborn free and independent."

From the homily at the canonization of Saint Charles Lwanga and companions by Pope Paul VI

    

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Fr. Todd Reitmeyer's eulogy

I would just like to ask everyone visiting my blog to continue praying for the soul of Fr. Todd Reitmeyer. As a blogger and a newly ordained priest, it is very sad to hear of his passing. The eulogy for the funeral is online, so if you click on the title of this post you can hear the it.

Image Source: Older Photo, Believed to be in the Public Domain, Not of Fr. Todd's Requiem

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Rosary Novena to Close Tiller's Abortion Mill

I am still continuing the 54-Day Rosary Novena, but I also wanted to let others know of another Rosary Novena going on right now. This is from Catholic Fire's Blog:

May 31st - Visitation of Mary to August 15th - Assumption of Mary
38 days of Petition May 31st to July 7th
39 days of Thanksgiving July 8th to August 15th

1. Daily Pray Seven Sorrows of Mary on Regular Rosary Beads.
Meditate on each mystery, as you pray 10 Hail Mary's on each decade.

First Sorrow: Simeon's Prophesy "Thy own soul shall pierce thy heart." Second: Mary and Joseph fled into Eygpt with Jesus.
Third: Jesus lost in the temple - Mary and Joseph suffered the loss of Jesus.
Fourth: Mary meets Jesus on the way of the Cross.
Fifth: Mary stood beneath the Cross and watched her Son suffer and die.
Sixth Sorrow: Mary cradles Her dead Son in Her arms.
Seventh Sorrow: Mary watched Her dead Son placed in the tomb.
Finish the 7 Sorrows Rosary as normal with the Hail Holy Queen, etc.

2. Daily Consecrate Tiller's Abortion Mill to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Use these or similar words: "I consecrate Tiller's abortion mill to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the Sacred Heart of Jesus."

3. Daily Accept Sufferings during the Novena to Close Tiller's abortion mill. "O Lord, I accept all sufferings during this novena, to close Tiller's abortion mill."

Promise: If during the Novena, Tiller's abortion mill is closed, I will do the best I can to create a memorial to the unborn on the sight, and help establish a procession to Our Lady of Guadalupe every year on the date of its closure.

This novena has already closed one abortion mill in Wichita, KS, but let's not stop there. Please join in to close the internationally famous Tiller's late-term abortion mill -- the place where people from all over the world come to slaughter the innocent -- the place where both women and children are murdered.

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Why Scripture-Alone (Sola-Scriptura) Is A False Doctrine

Sola-Scriptura (latin for "by Scripture alone") is a false doctrine that claims Scripture is the sole basis of Divine Revelation. It is believed by many Protestants. We, as Catholics, know that Scripture and the unwritten teachings of Jesus Christ as taught through His established Church are on the same level as the means of His Revelation among men. As the book “My Catholic Faith” succinctly summarizes: “Divine Revelation comes down to us by two means: through Holy Scripture, written down under divine inspiration, and through Tradition, handed down orally from Apostolic times.”

Look to 2 Thessalonians 2:15 if you have doubts:

St. Paul writes: "Therefore, brothers, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught, either by an oral statement or by a letter of ours."

Look also to 2 Timothy 3:14-17:

"But continue thou in those things which thou hast learned, and which have been committed to thee: knowing of whom thou hast learned them; And because from thy infancy thou hast known the holy scriptures, which can instruct thee to salvation, by the faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture, inspired of God, is profitable to teach, to reprove, to correct, to instruct in justice, That the man of God may be perfect, furnished to every good work."

Many Protestants will quote the above verses in 2 Timothy as if they support sola-scriptura. However, first and foremost, these verses never say that everything which must be believed is contained in the Scriptures. And most importantly, these verses do not refer to the Bible! When St. Paul wrote this, the Bible had not yet been put together. St. Paul was referring to the Old Testament being useful for teaching. This verse can not be used to support sola-scriptura.

Reflection by Father Franz Schmidberger entitled "The Errors of Luther and the Spirit of Today"

1. Sola scriptura (Scripture alone)

A whole string of powerful objections can be brought against this tenet of Luther and the Protestants; above all, Holy Scripture itself can be called to witness.

a) In John 20.30-1, we read: "Many other signs did Jesus in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book." And a little further on (John 21.25): "But there are also many other things which Jesus did; were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written."

Thus it is clearly stated that Holy Scripture presents only a portion of the world and deeds of Jesus; and it is not at all clear by what criterion the choice was made. It is therefore a wholly unjustified assumption that Holy Scripture alone contains the saving teachings of Christ and that what is left out consists only of unimportant details.

b) Actually the Lord instructed His disciples to go forth and teach. He gave them no commission to write a book. It is therefore the living teaching under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of Truth, which stands at the beginning of the life of the Church. This fact corresponds to an immediately obvious point: God the Creator of nature as well as of grace makes use of men as His tools, whereby a very special meaning comes to the spoken word in its transmission from person to person.

c) Only in later years was Holy Scripture first written down, after the Church had already existed for many years and had developed her life fully in the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice, the administration of the Sacraments and in the proclamation of the wonderful works of God. If Scripture had been the only definitive foundation of the Church, the Church would not have existed for the first few decades at all.

d) Whose authority is it to decide what belongs to Scripture? Or, to put it another way, what does the canon of Holy Writ contain? The criterion for this cannot be in the Bible itself, as the question can be asked only afterwards. There must therefore be a criterion outside Scripture which discerns and separates the authentically inspired writings from the apocryphal: this is the authority of Christ Himself, which carries a protection of faith under the guidance of the Holy Ghost intact through the storms of the ages.

e) Who interprets in doubtful cases and in disputes as they occur? The Holy Ghost Himself, say Luther and the Protestants. This opinion the Catholic can accept, provided he makes the restriction that the Holy Ghost must be expressed in an objective way by human standards, namely through the Magisterium of the Church, and that the guardianship of the treasury of the faith in every case of doubt be removed from all subjective association. The very number of self-contradictory Protestant sects shows clearly that God has entrusted the treasury of faith neither to private persons, nor to any and all rival groups for final decision.

Here as always, the Protestants have nothing positive with which to replace Catholic teaching. They live entirely and exclusively on criticism of our positions, and they claim that we Catholics are in principle no better than they, the Protestants; that they have Scripture as definitive source of faith, while we on our side have added yet another system of dogmas.

The answer to this argument is simple: the Catholic Church is neither a set of dogmas, nor a system of morality, but is above all, in its sacrifice in our midst, the powerfully living and powerfully working Emmanuel (Christ-with-us). The Church does not have a tradition; rather, the Church essentially is Tradition, more precisely, a prolongation of the Word-made-Flesh. Hence it is not the Church which offers sacrifice, it is not the Church which baptizes, and it is not the Church which teaches, but rather, properly and in the last analysis, it is Christ Who offers sacrifice, baptizes and teaches, and uses human priests and the Pope as Supreme Pontiff as His instruments in the mystery of mediating grace.

The Church is therefore the living Christ, established with a living authority, which is capable at any time of redefining truths (but not of inventing them!) to meet contemporary problems, to discern and sort out, to argue, to judge and to reject. "Whoever hears you, hears Me; whoever rejects you, rejects Me and rejects Him, Who sent Me," said the Lord to His apostles.

The Protestant position, in its one-sided emphasis on the Word, is nothing but cold rationalism. It does not want to acknowledge that the Word became Flesh and sacrificed Himself, that the Redemption is the great work of God in history. It pushes the altar aside and puts in its place the pulpit; the sermon and hymns stand in the center of things, no longer the tenting of God among men. So much the more painful must the reminders of the Reformation within the Church strike the Catholic of our day in light of the above: the rejection of Tradition, the pushing aside of mystery and the march to cold rationalism. As Stuttgart went over to Protestantism in the sixteenth century, the priests celebrated the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass for the last time on a prearranged day in the court chapel. Afterwards the prior took the Blessed Sacrament from the tabernacle; the eternal flame was put out; the building has remained standing to the present day; but He, Emmanuel, is gone.

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Updates on South Dakota Abortion Ban

November 7, 2006: South Dakota Residents did not approve the law by a roughly 45-55%. It is a sad day. But the pro-life movement will move on!!

There have been some updates in recent days concerning the ban on virtually all abortions in South Dakota.

1. Sioux Tribe President Cecilia Fire Thunder previouly said that she would allow an abortion clinic on her Indian nation because it would be outside of the law. Well, it's not going to happen. The Oglala Sioux tribal council has voted, in an unanimous vote, to ban all abortion businesses on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. The council has also suspended its president, Cecilia Fire Thunder, for accepting donations for the proposed abortion business without council approval. This is good news for the fight to end the murder of the unborn.
2. Now the bad news...South Dakota pro-abortion groups have submitted enough signatures to put a motion on the ballot to allow abortions and thereby reverse the ban signed into law by Governor Rounds on March 6, 2006. They supposedly have 30,000 signatures but it will take weeks to verify them all. They need 16,728 signatures to put the motion on the ballot.

Please pray that the ban will be upheld by the voters in Novemeber. We desperately need your prayers.

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7th Day of the Novena to the Holy Spirit

Please remember to pray the 7th Day of the Novena for the Gifts of the Holy Spirit as we prepare for Pentecost this Sunday. Pray today's prayers.

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