Reconciliation of the Penitents in the Sarum Rite

The following series of videos shows a reenactment of the Reconciliation of the Penitents, a liturgical act performed on Maundy Thursday before the Mass.

The Liturgical Act was found in early 16th century books. Those whose sins were of sufficient magnitude were expelled from the Church on Ash Wednesday and re-admitted as part of this Rite on Maundy Thursday.

"Venite, venite, venite, filii; audite me : timorem Domini docebo vos." ("Come, children, hearken to me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord."), sings the priest to begin the ceremony.

For additional information on this reenactment, please see this PDF from the National Museum in Wales.

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Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Yesterday was the last day of July and the Month of the Precious Blood has ended. August is the Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Through the Sacred Heart Devotion, we remember Jesus's love for us. In the Immaculate Heart, we unite our hearts with Mary in loving God.

May she guide and guard us while bringing us closer to the Heart of her Son. The image of the Immaculate Heart goes back to Luke 2:35, as we recall the sword of sorrow that pierced Mary's heart. It was our sins that crucified Our Savior and which tore a sword of sorrow through his dear Mother Mary.

As Mary revealed at Fatima in 1917, the thorns surrounding her heart are a symbol for sins. Each time we offend our Lord and crucify Him, we further increase the pain His Mother felt beneath the Cross. At Fatima Mary said: "Jesus wishes to establish devotion to my Immaculate Heart in the world. I promise salvation to those who embrace it. Tell everybody that God grants graces through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and that they must ask them from her. Tell them that the Heart of Jesus wishes that by His side should be venerated the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Tell them to ask peace through the Immaculate Heart of Mary; God has placed it in her hands."

EXALTATION OF THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY by Pope Pius XII

Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, in this tragic hour of the world's history, we entrust and consecrate ourselves to your Immaculate Heart, our only refuge, our hope, our salvation. Have pity on this world, torn by the most terrible conflicts, burning with the fires of hate, victim of its own sins. May your Heart be moved at the sight of so much ruin, pain and sorrow.

We consecrate to your maternal heart our persons, our families, our country--the whole of humanity. Protect and save us!

O Heart of Mary, source of true love, fill our selfish hearts with divine charity and with that true brotherly love without which there can never be peace. Grant that men and nations may understand and fulfill the precept of your Divine Son to love one another, in order that true peace may be firmly established in the Justice and Truth of Christ.

DAILY OFFERING TO THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY by Fr. Francois Xavier Gautrelet

O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary,I offer you my prayers, works, joys, and suffering of this day in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world.I offer them for all the intentions of Your Sacred Heart: the salvation of souls, reparation for sins, the reunion of all Christians;I offer them for the intentions of our Bishops and of all Apostles of Prayer and in particular for those recommended by our Holy Father this month.

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Support the Building of a Chapel in Honor of our Lady of Sorrows in Arizona

Our Lady of Sorrows was established in 1980 when a small group of traditionalists purchased the current church site from a Protestant denomination. Over the years, Sunday attendance has steadily grown to an average of 550 faithful.

The property is 10.8 acres. It is primarily comprised of the current Protestant-designed church, a growing K-12 Catholic school for 75 students, and a 34-room retreat house.

Retreatants come from across North America to attend one or more of fourteen retreats each year. Phoenix also annually hosts one of the two priests' retreats. More than 35 priests and usually a bishop are in attendance.

The site also has a priory, other living quarters, a large athletic field, and an orange grove.

Four priests reside at Our Lady of Sorrows. They serve the parish as well as nearby missions.

With fundraising nearing the end, I would like to promote this initiative so that a chapel may be built in honor of our Lady under the title, Our Lady of Sorrows.  Please visit the site to help them in this noble cause.

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Communism in the Catholic Church

In 1917 the Blessed Virgin at Fatima warned that if her requests to convert Russia were not heeded the agents of Communism would later infiltrate the Church with their errors. Vatican II provided a perfect opening for this Red influence to seep into the Church. The plan in 1962 was to invite the Soviets to the Second Vatican Council which is why certain dissident cardinals met secretly in France before the Council to sign the infamous 1962 Moscow-Vatican Agreement with Archbishop Nikodim. Russia's objective was to subvert the Church through the Council so it was crucial to their plan that the Church first be bound by a treaty that promised there would be no censure of Communism at the Council. Since 1962 the Church's hands and feet have been bound by this treaty while the agents of Communism have been gleefully at work dismantling the Church without censure.

Communist Infiltration of Catholic Seminaries

Anatoliy Golitsyn was formerly a high-ranking KGB official involved in espionage and counter-espionage who defected to the Unites States in 1961. In 1985, Golitsyn reported that Russian Orthodox priests are controlled and directed by the KGB in order to promote cooperation between Soviet churches and Western Catholics to help establish a united front for disarmament (peace and justice movements) and convergence. In 1990 Golitsyn warned against the Vatican’s (1962) policy of appeasement with the Communist Party:

"The Vatican should reverse its mistaken support for the renewal of the Communist régimes... It fails to understand that greater apparent official tolerance of religion is accompanied by a secret drive to increase Party and KGB penetration of the Catholic and other churches and to use agents therein for political and strategic purposes. As part of the program to destroy religion from within, the KGB, in the late 1950s started sending dedicated young Communists to ecclesiastical academies and seminaries to train them as future church leaders. These young Communists joined the Church at the call of the Communist Party... to implement its general line [unchanged policy] in the struggle against religion."

Memoirs of a Communist Agent

Back in the 60s the memoirs of a Communist agent were discovered by a French nurse named Marie Carre while attending to an auto accident in which the agent was killed. In his briefcase was found a set of biographical notes which she kept and read, and then decided to publish because of their extraordinary content. The end result is a little book entitled, AA 1025---The Memoirs of an Anti-Apostle, which reveals the sentiments and plans of this Communist who had deliberately entered the priesthood (along with others) with the intention of subverting and destroying the Catholic Church from within. The following excerpt is taken from his notes:

"It was during those days that I launched on the market the program that would allow Catholics to be accepted by Protestants... I prophesied with assurance the suppression of Latin, of priestly vestments, of statues and images, of candles and prie-dieu (so that they could kneel no more). And I also started a very active campaign for the suppression of the Sign of the Cross. This Sign, and also genuflections, are all ridiculous customs. I also prophesied (and we were then in 1940) the disappearance of altars, replaced by a completely bare table, and also of all the crucifixes, in order that Christ be considered as a man, not as a God. I insisted that Mass be only a community meal, to which all would be invited, even unbelievers... I searched for the means of suppressing the Pope. I consoled myself by hoping that we would surely succeed in making him look foolish."

Communist Infiltration of the Catholic Hierarchy

Manning Johnson, a former official of the Communist Party in America, gave the following testimony in 1953 to the House Un-American Activities Committee: "Once the tactic of infiltration of religious organizations was set by the Kremlin... the communists discovered that the destruction of religion could proceed much faster through the infiltration of the Church by communists operating within the Church itself. The communist leadership in the United States realized that the infiltration tactic in this country would have to adapt itself to American conditions and the religious makeup peculiar to this country. In the earliest stages it was determined that with only small forces available to them, it would be necessary to concentrate communist agents in the seminaries. The practical conclusion drawn by the Red leaders was that these institutions would make it possible for a small communist minority to influence the ideology of future clergymen in the paths conducive to communist purposes.... The policy of infiltrating seminaries was successful beyond even our communist expectations."

Russia today continues with its plan to subdue the Church and the world but their strategy at this time is to conceal this plan under the guise of a collapse of power. As they finalize their plan for world conquest they don't want the world to suspect what they're about to do (invade), so the Bear is simply playing dead while secretly promoting this global pacifism (green peace) that advocates the overthrow of the establishment.

This pacifist delusion of the last times is especially evident in the Church with the false security that all are forgiven and that a day of sunshine has dawned upon Christianity. (New Pentecost) The agents of Communism infiltrated into the Church with a plan to erase from our minds any notion of punishment or divine justice so that when this scourge (Russia) came upon society and the Church we would not be ready.

Communism of course is one of the tentacles of the internationalist octopus that is working around the clock to dissolve the institution of Christianity (papacy) and bring about a New World Order. The *prospective vision of Vatican II was a new church of man with the unification of all religions so the Council was an opening for this World Council of Churches to get in the door and use the Church as a forum to advance this New Communistic Order. [Novus Ordo]

If only the world had listened to Pope Paul's warning about Satan in the Church! With all that has transpired in the past forty years it somehow hasn't dawned on the faithful that the ancient serpent reared its head at Vatican II and challenged the Faith to a dual! It was this very onslaught against the Faith that the Blessed Virgin was attempting to alert us to in her message at Fatima. [Third Secret] The same prompted the Holy Father's S.O.S. of June 29, 1972: "From some fissure the smoke of satan entered into the temple of God."

This is a guest post by David Martin of Our Lady's Workers of Southern California, republished with permission.

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Video: Mass on Corpus Christi

On days when I am not able to attend Holy Mass, I find it comforting to listen to the holy chants of Mass. This video was taken this year of Mass said on Corpus Christi.

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Jesus Christ - A Divine Friend

Lately, I have had the unfortunate reality of encountering several individuals that have been confused regarding the nature of our Divine Lord.  Recall that our Blessed Lord, the Savior of the world, has said, "Be perfect just as your Heavenly Father is perfect" (Matthew 5:48), and only by imitating our Lord can we attain the perfection required to enter Heaven.  For those of you who desire greater intimacy with our Lord by imitating Him, I can not highly recommend enough the work of Thomas A Kempis in The Imitation of Christ.

It has come up in conversation as of late with individuals that our Blessed Lord was both a divine and a human person.  This is not correct.  It is true that it is a dogma of our Faith that our Lord has both a perfectly divine and a perfectly human nature, the only one in the history of the world to have both.  However, our Lord is not a human person, even if He has a human nature.  Rather, our Lord is a Divine person.  Understanding this is necessary to knowing our Lord and imitating Him.  As the Compendium states, "The Church calls the mystery of the wonderful union of the divine and human natures in the one divine Person of the Word the 'Incarnation'" (Paragraph 86).

There has also arisen in conversations lately and even in some comments on A Catholic Life, that our Lord is our "brother."  While it is true that our Blessed Lord has made us sharers of the glory to come, He never refers to the apostles in the Gospels as His brother.  Instead, He refers to Himself as their friend (cf Matthew 26:50), even as He is being betrayed and delivered up to the cruelty of death.

Try to put these realities together - the only Divine Person in the history of the world is our friend.  This reality should be the source of great consolation and peace.  However, this friendship, like the protestants would claim, is not guaranteed. We are not guaranteed to be "saved."  Our Lord says, "If you love me, keep my commandments " (John 14:15).  If we are His friends, then we will love Him.  How can someone remain another's friend without loving them?  It is not possible.  And yet, our Lord says that if we love Him, our deeds shall manifest our love.  How can we truly say that we are friends of our Lord and worthy of divine filiation and redemption if we do not keep His Commandments (and therefore do not love Him)?

In the Ascension, we hear in the Preface the meaning of our Lord's Ascension, which further illumines this reality of His friendship:

It is truly meet and just, right and for our salvation, that we should at all times, and in all places, give thanks unto Thee, O holy Lord, Father almighty, everlasting God: through Christ our Lord. Who, after His Resurrection, appeared openly to all His disciples, and, while they looked on, was taken up into Heaven, that He might grant unto us to be sharers in His own divinity.

Our Lord ascended into Heaven so that we might become sharers of His own divinity. The only Divine Person in the world extends His friendship to us. What marvel is this!  O How Great is our Redeemer.  Praise be to Him!

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Prayers in Times of Bad Weather

Preface: For a listing of hundreds of prayers with indulgences and special blessings attached to them, be sure to refer to a copy of the Raccolta often.  Click here to order one.

The Prayer or Blessing Against Storms

(At each '†', make the Sign of The Cross)

Jesus Christ a King of Glory has come in Peace.† God became man,† and the Word was made flesh.† Christ was born of a Virgin.† Christ suffered.† Christ was crucified.† Christ died.† Christ rose from the dead.† Christ ascended into Heaven.† Christ conquers.† Christ reigns.† Christ orders.† May Christ protect us from all storms and lightning† Christ went through their midst in Peace,† and the word was made flesh.† Christ is with us with Mary.† Flee you enemy spirits because the Lion of the Generation of Juda, the Root David, has won.† Holy God!† Holy Powerful God!† Holy Immortal God!† Have mercy on us. Amen!

A Prayer for Hurricane Season

O God, Master of this passing world, hear the humble voices of your children. The Sea of Galilee obeyed your order and returned to its former quietude; you are still the Master of land and sea. We live in the shadow of a danger over which we have no control. The Gulf, like a provoked and angry giant, can awake from its seeming lethargy, overstep its conventional boundaries, invade our land and spread chaos and disaster. During this hurricane season, we turn to You, O loving Father. Spare us from past tragedies whose memories are still so vivid and whose wounds seem to refuse to heal with the passing of time. O Virgin, Star of the Sea, Our Beloved Mother, we ask you to plead with your Son in our behalf, so that spared from the calamities common to this area and animated with a true spirit of gratitude, we will walk in the footsteps of your Divine Son to reach the heavenly Jerusalem where a storm-less eternity awaits us. Amen.

A PRAYER FOR HURRICANE SEASON

(Our Lady of Prompt Succor)

Our Father in Heaven through the intercession of Our Lady of Prompt Succor, spare us during this Hurricane season from all harm. Protect us and our homes from all disasters of nature. Our Lady of Prompt Succor, hasten to help us. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Another Prayer to Avert Storms and Hurricanes

Father, all the elements of nature obey your command. Calm the storms and hurricanes that threaten us and turn our fear of your power into praise of your goodness. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

Chaplet of Protection
(To be prayed on ordinary rosary beads)

The chaplet is said by starting with the Crucifix and reciting the Apostles' Creed, then the Our Father, followed by three Hail Mary's on the group of three beads nearest the Crucifix.

First Hail Mary in praise of God the Father; Second Hail Mary in petition or (request); Third Hail Mary in thanksgiving with confidence that your request will be granted.

Instead of the Glory be to the Father..., recite "Holy God, Holy Omnipotent One, save us who dwell in this land."

On EACH decade, instead of the Hail Mary, recite "Jesus Savior, merciful Savior, spare your people."

.....it is recommended that you complete 15 decades in this manner....

Upon completion of the final decade, recite "Son of God, Eternal Son, thank You for the things You have done. Amen."

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Remember the Promise of the Brown Scapular

I have in the past written on the benefits of the Brown Scapular and today added to my prior post this video. Please do not forget about the benefits of the Brown Scapular and the eternal rewards from wearing it. If you have fallen away from using it, come back to the Scapular.

Always remember the words of our Lady: "Whoever dies wearing this scapular shall not suffer eternal fire."

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Are SSPX Ordinations Illicit or Invalid?

Let us listen to an excerpt of the words Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre preached on June 29, 1978 during the priestly ordinations at Econe, Switzerland:

On this feast day of the holy Sts. Peter and Paul we are going to ordain 16 seminarians of the Priestly Society of St. Pius X and confer the major orders of the subdiaconate on another 21 seminarians whose formation we are constantly following at the seminary of Econe. The ceremony will not be postponed although we were asked to do so in a letter given us by the Nuncio in Berne in the name of Cardinal Seper...

Very grave reasons compel us to take the decision to continue our activity and to carry out the ordinations on June 29th. First of all, the present situation of the Church. In the face of general apostasy and the destruction of the Church from inside, provoked especially by the post-Conciliar reforms and the “open” spirit which dominated the Council, we think that for the good of the Church and for its very survival the ordination of good priests is absolutely indispensable. We read again with anguish the statement on the "auto-destruction" of the Church made by the Supreme Pontiff Paul VI

Secondly, there is the legal correctness of our situation. In November 1970 we obtained the authorization of the Bishop of Fribourg to form a fraternity in his diocese and to open seminaries according to a statute which was subsequently approved by Cardinal Wright, Prefect for the Congregation for the Clergy. It is difficult to understand how after five years suddenly there was the wish to suppress the seminary when we had changed nothing and done absolutely nothing to deserve the suppression.

Besides, the suppression in 1975 was carried out without any trial or any regular interrogation. We retain in conscience that we are not obliged to accept such an arbitrary decision because behind it we see a hand which is not that of the Church, an attitude and a lack of respect for Canon Law which is not that of the Church. These things force us to believe than an enemy has penetrated the Church and that it is he who orders us to close our seminary and to destroy our Society...

They talk to us of obedience. We wish to and we try to obey more and more every day the Church of all time founded by Jesus Christ, Son of God and Second Person of the Most Holy Trinity but we refuse to obey Masonry with its promotion of liturgical reform resulting in the “naturalization of the Incarnation.” The effects of the liturgical reforms are every day more clear and obvious to all. The ecumenical Mass leads logically to apostasy. One cannot serve two masters. One cannot nourish oneself indifferently with truth and error because error with its evil tendencies will triumph over the more austere and demanding truth...

The accusation of separation and of schism made against us because we refuse to participate in the protestantization of the Church is ridiculous! It is, however, deserved by those who foment that same protestantization. Among them are those who have for a long time fallen away from the Catholic Faith and yet, in common with all the heretics of history, work to try to make the Church become like them and conform to their ideas. We cannot understand how intelligent people can state that they “prefer to err with the Pope rather than to be with truth against the Pope.”..

The priests we ordain today and all their brothers of the Society of St. Pius X are at the disposal of the Pope and of the Church at any moment to collaborate in the work of restoring omnia in Christo, that is, of bringing back Christ to the center of family and social life, of education and every juridical order.

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Friday Reminder - Still a Day of Penance

O Lord, Our God, have mercy on us sinners!

Today is Friday, the day in which we commemorate Our Lord's passion and death. It was our own sins that condemned our glorious Lord to death on Good Friday - death on a Cross. As Catholics, we are still bound to either abstain from meat or rather to do some act of penance each Friday in the entire year. It was on this day of the week that our glorious Redeemer died for us. Please, never forget this, especially at 3 o'clock, the hour that He died. At 3 o'clock attempt to pray the 3 o'clock Mercy Prayer. Please remember Our Lord's love and repent today.

Code of Canon Law:

Can. 1249 All Christ's faithful are obliged by divine law, each in his or her own way, to do penance. However, so that all may be joined together in a certain common practice of penance, days of penance are prescribed. On these days the faithful are in a special manner to devote themselves to prayer, to engage in works of piety and charity, and to deny themselves, by fulfilling their obligations more faithfully and especially by observing the fast and abstinence which the following canons prescribe.

Can. 1250 The days and times of penance for the universal Church are each Friday of the whole year and the season of Lent.

Can. 1251 Abstinence from meat, or from some other food as determined by the Episcopal Conference, is to be observed on all Fridays, unless a solemnity should fall on a Friday. Abstinence and fasting are to be observed on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

Can. 1252 The law of abstinence binds those who have completed their fourteenth year. The law of fasting binds those who have attained their majority, until the beginning of their sixtieth year. Pastors of souls and parents are to ensure that even those who by reason of their age are not bound by the law of fasting and abstinence, are taught the true meaning of penance.

Can. 1253 The Episcopal Conference can determine more particular ways in which fasting and abstinence are to be observed. In place of abstinence or fasting it can substitute, in whole or in part, other forms of penance, especially works of charity and exercises of piety.

Today is also a great day to pray the Stations of the Cros. Please join me in praying the Stations of the Cross. Remember, it was on this day that He gave up His life all for you.

Prayer to the Glorious Cross:

I adore You, O glorious Cross, which was adorned with the Heart and Body of my Savior Jesus Christ, stained and covered with blood. I adore You, O Holy Cross, out of love for Him, Jesus, who is my Savior and my God.

(Pope Pius IX declared that reciting this prayer five times on Friday will free five souls from Purgatory and 33 souls by reciting it on Good Friday. This prayer should be recited before a crucifix with a contrite heart and praying a few minutes for the Pope).

Prayer to Jesus Christ Crucified:

My good and dear Jesus, I kneel before you asking you most earnestly to engrave upon my heart a deep and lively faith, hope, and charity, with true repentance for my sins, and a firm resolve to make amends. As I reflect upon your five wounds, and dwell upon them with deep compassion and grief, I recall the words the prophet David spoke long ago concerning yourself: they have pierced my hands and my feet, they have numbered all my bones!

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Litany of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus

Lord, have mercy.

Christ, have mercy.

Lord, have mercy.

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 Spirit, have mercy on us.

Holy Trinity, One God, have mercy on us.

Blood of Christ, only-begotten Son of the Eternal Father, save us.

Blood of Christ, Incarnate Word of God, save us.

Blood of Christ, of the New and Eternal Testament, save us.

Blood of Christ, falling upon the earth in the Agony, save us.

Blood of Christ, shed profusely in the Scourging, save us.

Blood of Christ, flowing forth in the Crowning with Thorns, save us.

Blood of Christ, poured out on the Cross, save us.

Blood of Christ, price of our salvation, save us.

Blood of Christ, without which there is no forgiveness, save us.

Blood of Christ, Eucharistic drink and refreshment of souls, save us.

Blood of Christ, stream of mercy, save us.

Blood of Christ, victor over demons, save us.

Blood of Christ, courage of Martyrs, save us.

Blood of Christ, strength of Confessors, save us.

Blood of Christ, bringing forth Virgins, save us.

Blood of Christ, help of those in peril, save us.

Blood of Christ, relief of the burdened, save us.

Blood of Christ, solace in sorrow, save us.

Blood of Christ, hope of the penitent, save us.

Blood of Christ, consolation of the dying, save us.

Blood of Christ, peace and tenderness of hearts, save us.

Blood of Christ, pledge of eternal life, save us.

Blood of Christ, freeing souls from purgatory, save us.

Blood of Christ, most worthy of all glory and honor, save us.

Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord!.

Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord!.

Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us. .

V. You have redeemed us, O Lord, in your Blood.

R. And made us, for our God, a kingdom.

Let us pray. Almighty and eternal God, you have appointed your only-begotten Son the Redeemer of the world, and willed to be appeased by his Blood. Grant we beg of you, that we may worthily adore this price of our salvation, and through its power be safeguarded from the evils of the present life, so that we may rejoice in its fruits forever in heaven. Through the same Christ our Lord. R. Amen.

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Sins Against the Eucharist are the Most Grevious of Sins

For anyone with any concern or interest in the Church the link below is a must hear. This is a sermon by an FSSP priest delivered on Sunday, June 26, the Feast of Corpus Christi. He points out that since the Eucharist is our greatest good to which we are indebted it stands that the greatest punishments from Heaven are reserved for those who receive Communion with the guilt of mortal sin on their conscience. (e.g. having engaged in fornication with the practice of birth control, immodesty, etc., without confession) According to St. Cyril of Alexandria people who receive Communion this way are throwing Christ to the infernal lions to be abused:

“They who make a sacrilegious Communion receive Satan and Jesus Christ into their hearts – Satan, that they may let him rule, and Jesus Christ, that they may offer Him in sacrifice as a Victim to Satan.” -- St Cyril of Alexandria

Upon consecration of the bread and chalice at Mass the substance of bread and wine ceases to exist and becomes the very substance of Jesus Christ without sharing in any other substance. The acknowledgment of this supernatural Mystery is the first and foremost requirement placed on us by the Church in order to receive Holy Communion, without which one may not receive Communion.

Should one approach the Communion rail in denial of this Dogma the verdict of Holy Scripture applies: "Therefore whosoever shall eat of this bread, or drink the chalice of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the Body and the Blood of the Lord... For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh judgment to himself, not discerning the Body of the Lord." (1 Corinthians 11: 27, 28) 

Listen: http://www.AudioSancto.org/auweb/20110626-Corpus-Christi-Sacrilege-Scandal-and-Souls.mp3

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Feast of the Most Precious Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ

Double of the I Class (1955 Calendar): July 1

Today we celebrate the feast of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ. This feast was instituted in 1849 by Pope Pius IX and was raised to the rank of a double of the first class by Pius XI on the occasion of the nineteenth centenary of our Savior's death.

We are reminded of the scene of Calvary and of the blow from the lance which pierced our Savior's side. The liturgy today is at pains to emphasize the meaning and tremendous significance of this fact in relation with our salvation. The Gospel and the Epistle are concerned with our Redemption, effected by the Blood and the love of our Savior.

God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. The Son's love was so great that He gave His very life. No greater love is there than to give one's very life for the ones that he loves.

Not only did our Lord sacrifice His very life, but He so arranged that this sacrifice would continue to the end of time. He daily offers Himself up in an un-bloody manner in the Sacrifice of the Mass.

Here upon the holy altar Our Lord makes Himself present under the appearances of bread and wine through the miracle of transubstantiation. Here too the sacrifice is complete. Christ is made present and then destroyed for our salvation.

St. Paul to the Corinthians says: "The chalice of benediction which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? And the bread which we break, is it not the partaking of the body of the Lord?"

We were not present to witness the awesome bloody sacrifice of God in atonement for our sins. We did not stand beneath the cross to receive the last drops of His precious blood upon our souls. Yet, we are still able to receive these same graces. We are able to follow our Lord spiritually to Calvary every time we assist at Mass.

It took great courage, conviction, and even more so, love to follow our Lord to Calvary. There were not many who had this love, conviction or courage. The majority of the Apostles were found wanting in this area. They had much to fear from a worldly point of view. They did not wish to receive the same fate as their Master. We have a much easier path to follow. Our Lord remains hidden, but is present nonetheless. He invites us to participate in this sacrifice, and we now have nothing to fear from the world. Perhaps the worst that we will receive today from the world is mockery, ridicule and scorn; but even this is rare in the worldly indifference of today.

Not only is our path easier to follow because we do not have to fear the physical persecution of the world, but it is also much more intimate. In the Sacrifice of the Mass we are able to unite our sacrifices with Christ's and we are able to receive Him into our own bodies and souls.

He comes to us the living Christ (Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity). He comes to us in a manner that will not frighten or shock us, hidden under the appearance of bread and wine. He makes Himself very docile to us and allows us not only to approach Him, but even to consume Him. In this manner we are able to unite ourselves with Him, and He with us.

This is the most precious time -- the time of Communion. The all powerful and all merciful God becomes the guest of our very bodies and souls. Here is the point where Heaven and earth meet, and all that is in disorder is easily righted.

Christ is truly our guest, but we are the beneficiaries of His benevolence. He wishes for us to receive Him so that He may give to us. The words of St. Francis ring most truly in Holy Communion: "It is in giving that we receive."

May we truly realize the words from today's Post-communion: "We have been admitted, Lord to the Holy Table, and we have drawn water with joy from the fountains of the Savior; may His Blood be for us, we pray, a fountain of water springing up to eternal life. Who being God lives and reigns."

Prayer:

Almighty and everlasting God, Who didst appoint Thine only-begotten Son to be Redeemer of the world, and didst vouchsafe to be appeased by His Blood: grant, we beseech Thee, that (by our solemn service), we may so venerate the Price of our redemption, and by its power be so defended from the evils of this present life on earth, that we may enjoy its fruit forevermore in heaven. Through the same our Lord.

Prayer Source: 1962 Roman Catholic Daily Missal

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Sacred Heart of Jesus is the Heart of Mary

"The...reason why the Sacred Heart is truly the Heart of Mary is that the Eternal Father, having considered the Blessed Virgin from the very instant of her conception as the one chosen to be the Mother of God, gave her from the first moment of her life a love similar to His love for His Divine Son.  According to many theologians, Mary had more love for Jesus at that moment than all the Seraphim will ever have.  Therefore, Mary's incomparable love for Jesus drew Him into her sacred womb and into her heart to rest there eternally as the Heart of her Heart and as a Divine Sun that sheds its celestial light into her soul and inflames it with divine fire.

"...She cooperated with the Blessed Trinity to form the human Heart of Jesus, which was formed of her virginal blood.  The blood of her holy Heart passed into the Heart of Jesus and received the perfection that was needed to form the Heart of the God-man.  This divinely human and humanly divine Heart dwelt in the sacred womb of Mary as a furnace of divine love, a furnace which transformed the Heart of Mary into the Heart of Jesus and made these two Hearts but one and the same Heart in a unity of spirit, affection and will."

Source: The Sacred Heart of Jesus by St. John Eudes

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First Priestly Blessings: 2011

We need them in life's early morning,
We need them again at its close;
We feel their warm clasp of true friendship,
We seek it while tasting life's woes.

When we come to this world we are sinful,
The greatest as well as the least.
And the hands that make us pure as angels
Are the beautiful hands of a priest.

At the altar each day we behold them,
And the hands of a king on his throne
Are not equal to them in their greatness
Their dignity stands alone.

For there in the stillness of morning
Ere the sun has emerged from the east,
There God rests between the pure fingers
Of the beautiful hands of a priest.

When we are tempted and wander
To pathways of shame and sin
'Tis the hand of a priest that absolve us.
Not once but again and again.

And when we are taking life's partner
Other hands may prepare us a feast
But the hands that will bless and unite us,
Are the beautiful hands of a priest.

God bless them and keep them all holy,
For the Host which their fingers caress,
What can a poor sinner do better
Than to ask Him who chose them to bless

When the death dews on our lids are falling,
May our courage and strength be increased
By seeing raised o'er us in blessing
The beautiful hands of a priest.

Source: SSPX.ORG

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Corpus Christi & Vigil of Natvity of St. John the Baptist

Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink His blood, you have no life in you; he who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day."-- John 6:53, 54

Today the Holy Church celebrates the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, a First Class Feast.  Today is also coincidentally the Vigil of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist.  While we celebrate the feast of Corpus Christi, the Vigil of the Nativity of St. John will be commemorated in the prayers of the day.

Today's feast has 3 purposes:

1) To honor Our Lord, who is truly present in the Holy Eucharist
2) To instruct others on the faith, mystery, and devotion concerning the Holy Eucharist
3) To show our appreciation for the great gift of the Holy Eucharist

Posts Recommended for Corpus Christi:

• Corpus Christi Procession: Birmingham Oratory, England
• Corpus Christi Procession: Mary Immaculate Queen, Rathdrum Idaho 
• Pope Benedict XVI Celebrates Corpus Christi (2009)
• Corpus Christi Processions: Videos
• Corpus Christi Procession at Ss. Philomena & Cecilia in Brookville, IN 
• Pope Urges The Practice Of Eucharistic Adoration 
• Oxford's Corpus Christi Procession 
• Corpus Christi in Rome in 2006
• Corpus Christi
• Eucharistic Processions
• The Eucharist
• Why did Jesus institute the Holy Eucharist?
• What is Eucharistic Adoration?

Posts Recommended for the Vigil of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist

• Preparing for the Nativity of St. John the Baptist - Customs Explained

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Without a Priest, There is No Sacrifice

"The human race has always felt the need of a priesthood: of men, that is, who have the official charge to be mediators between God and humanity, men who should consecrate themselves entirely to this mediation, as to the very purpose of their lives, men set aside to offer to God public prayers and sacrifices in the name of human society. For human society as such is bound to offer to God public and social worship. It is bound to acknowledge in Him its Supreme Lord and first beginning, and to strive toward Him as to its last end, to give Him thanks and offer Him propitiation. In fact, priests are to be found among all peoples whose customs are known, except those compelled by violence to act against the most sacred laws of human nature. They may, indeed, be in the service of false divinities; but wherever religion is professed, wherever altars are built, there also is a priesthood surrounded by particular marks of honor and veneration"  Source: Pope Pius XI, Ad Catholici Sacerdotii.

"Nothing is so deeply inscribed in human nature as religion and its essential act, sacrifice.  Now to accomplish a sacred act, "sacrum facere," there must be consecrated, designated persons capable of drawing near to God and of serving Him.  This person will be the priest, sacerdos, "giving the sacred."  We see how God in His infinite goodness and mercy has arranged everything so that worship worthy of Himself may be offered by men who had strayed far from Him" Source: The Mass of All Time by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.

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Ember Days

The Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday of this week are Ember Days and, as such, are days of penance.  Wednesday and Saturday are days of partial abstinence from meat while Friday is total abstinence (as usual).  

Although Ember Days are no longer considered required in mainstream Roman Catholicism following Vatican II, they can - and should - still be observed by the Faithful. In fact, many Traditional priests encourage the Faithful to observe the days. Ember Days are set aside to pray and/or offer thanksgiving for a good harvest and God's blessings. If you are in good health, please at least fast during these three days and pray the additional prayers. Remember the words from the Gospel: "Unless you do penance, you shall likewise perish" (Luke 13:5)

From New Advent:

Ember days (corruption from Lat. Quatuor Tempora, four times) are the days at the beginning of the seasons ordered by the Church as days of fast and abstinence. They were definitely arranged and prescribed for the entire Church by Pope Gregory VII (1073-1085) for the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday after 13 December (S. Lucia), after Ash Wednesday, after Whitsunday, and after 14 September (Exaltation of the Cross). The purpose of their introduction, besides the general one intended by all prayer and fasting, was to thank God for the gifts of nature, to teach men to make use of them in moderation, and to assist the needy. The immediate occasion was the practice of the heathens of Rome. The Romans were originally given to agriculture, and their native gods belonged to the same class.

At the beginning of the time for seeding and harvesting religious ceremonies were performed to implore the help of their deities: in June for a bountiful harvest, in September for a rich vintage, and in December for the seeding; hence their feriae sementivae, feriae messis, and feri vindimiales. The Church, when converting heathen nations, has always tried to sanctify any practices which could be utilized for a good purpose. At first the Church in Rome had fasts in June, September, and December; the exact days were not fixed but were announced by the priests. The "Liber Pontificalis" ascribes to Pope Callistus (217-222) a law ordering: the fast, but probably it is older. Leo the Great (440-461) considers it an Apostolic institution. When the fourth season was added cannot be ascertained, but Gelasius (492-496) speaks of all four. This pope also permitted the conferring of priesthood and deaconship on the Saturdays of ember week--these were formerly given only at Easter.

Before Gelasius the ember days were known only in Rome, but after his time their observance spread. They were brought into England by St. Augustine; into Gaul and Germany by the Carlovingians. Spain adopted them with the Roman Liturgy in the eleventh century. They were introduced by St. Charles Borromeo into Milan. The Eastern Church does not know them. The present Roman Missal, in the formulary for the Ember days, retains in part the old practice of lessons from Scripture in addition to the ordinary two: for the Wednesdays three, for the Saturdays six, and seven for the Saturday in December. Some of these lessons contain promises of a bountiful harvest for those that serve God.

From Catholic Culture:

Since man is both a spiritual and physical being, the Church provides for the needs of man in his everyday life. The Church's liturgy and feasts in many areas reflect the four seasons of the year (spring, summer, fall and winter). The months of August, September, October and November are part of the harvest season, and as Christians we recall God's constant protection over his people and give thanksgiving for the year's harvest.

The September Ember Days were particularly focused on the end of the harvest season and thanksgiving to God for the season. Ember Days were three days (Wednesday, Friday and Saturday) set aside by the Church for prayer, fasting and almsgiving at the beginning of each of the four seasons of the year. The ember days fell after December 13, the feast of St. Lucy (winter), after the First Sunday of Lent (spring), after Pentecost Sunday (summer), and after September 14 , the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (fall). These weeks are known as the quattor tempora, the "four seasons."

Since the late 5th century, the Ember Days were also the preferred dates for ordination of priests. So during these times the Church had a threefold focus: (1) sanctifying each new season by turning to God through prayer, fasting and almsgiving; (2) giving thanks to God for the various harvests of each season; and (3) praying for the newly ordained and for future vocations to the priesthood and religious life.

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Ecclesia Dei Letter: Altar Girls NEVER Permitted at Traditional Latin Mass

 

While it should go without saying that altar girls are NOT permitted at the Traditional Latin Mass, the above letter is confirmation that the usage of altar girls is NEVER permissible at the Traditional Latin Mass.

For my post on why altar girls should NEVER be used at any Mass, please see The History and Graces Received From Altar Serving.

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June: Dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

"Let us remember that the Heart of Jesus has called us not only for our own sanctification but also for that of other souls. He wants to be helped in the salvation of souls" (St. Padre Pio)

The Month of June is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Therefore, I recommend the following posts for the month of June.

Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Act of Reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Consecration to the Sacred Heart

Daily Offering to the Sacred Heart of Jesus for the dying

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