The Sacred Congregation of Rites

Our Lady of Prompt Succor: Jan. 15th.

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On their arrival in New Orleans, December 30,18lO, the statue of the Blessed Mother under the title of Our Lady of Prompt Succor was solemnly installed in the Convent
Chapel of the Ursuline nuns , and from that time the homage and veneration offered to Mary under this title of "OUR LADY OF PROMPT SUCCOR" has been constant in the city of New Orleans and indeed throughout the who of the of Louisiana.

Two historical facts are especially worthy of notice here: the great fire in 1812, and the Battle of New Orleans in 1815. Devotion to Our Lady of Prompt Succor was only beginning to be known in New Orleans when, in 1812, a terrible fire ravaged the city. The wind rapidly drove the flames toward the convent, and the danger being imminent an order was given to leave the convent. Just then, Sister Anthony placed a small statue of Our Lady of Prompt Succor on a window sill facing the fire, and Mother St. Michel prayed aloud: "Our Lady of Prompt Succor, we are lost, unless you hasten to our help." Instantaneously, the wind changed, the convent and its neighborhood were out of danger, and the flames extinguished. Witnesses of this inexplicable incident cried out unanimously: "Our Lady of Prompt Succor has saved us!"

General Andrew Jackson's glorious victory over the British in the battle of New Orleans, fought on the plains of Chalmette on the 8^th of January, 1815, is another signal favor rightly attributed to the all-powerful intercession of Our Lady of Prompt Succor. Before the combat, in order to obtain God's blessing upon the American forces, the weeping, terror-stricken wives, mothers, children, and sisters of Jackson's valiant little band spent the night of January 7th in prayer before the statue of Our Lady of Prompt Succor in the Ursuline Chapel. On the morning of January 8th, Very Rev. William Dubourg, Vicar General and, later, Bishop of New Orleans, offered the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass at the main altar, above which the statue had been placed, and the Ursulines, through their Prioress, Mother Ste. Marie Olivier de Vezin, made the vow to have a Mass of Thanksgiving sung annually should the Americans be victorious. At the moment of Communion, a courier rushed into the chapel, announcing the glad tidings of the English defeat. After Mass Father Dubourg intoned the Te Deum, which was sung enthusiastically and with heartfelt gratitude. No one could reasonably doubt the miraculous intervention of Our Lady of Prompt Succor. Jackson himself did not hesitate to admit of a Divine aid in his favor, and came in person to the convent, accompanied by his staff, to thank the nuns for their prayers on his behalf. The vow made by the
Ursulines has been faithfully kept ever since.

Rome has officially approved "DEVOTION TO OUR LADY OF PROMPT SUCCOR." On September 27, 1851, His Holiness, Pius IX, graciously authorized the celebration of the feast of Our Lady of Prompt Succor and the singing of the yearly Mass of Thanksgiving on January the 8^th with in the territory of the State of Louisiana.
A second feast is celebrated throughout the United States on the 15^th of January.

The Holy See approved and confirmed the choice of Our Lady of Prompt Succor as the Principal Patroness of the City of New Orleans and of the State of Louisiana, conceding at the same time each and all of the liturgical privileges proper to the principal patrons of places.

Saint Martin I. Pope and Martyr

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Saints Martin, Clement, Sixtus II, Lawrence.
Church of San Apollinare Revenna.

Feast: 12 November

Pope Martin I was born in the Tuscan town of Todi on the Tiber, and elected Pope--the seventy-fourth Pope--on the 21 of July, 649. without imperial approval. Saint Martin Convened the Lateran Council which condemned and deposed the patriarch of Constantinople for the crime of the heresy of Monothelitism, a heresy which taught that our Lord lacked a human will. This act placed the holy Pontiff in direct opposition to the Emperor Constans II himself a Monothelialite heretic. The Emperor had the Pope arrested brought before the Senate at Constantinople where after declaring him deposed from the throne of Saint Peter and charged with rebellion against God and the state, he was tortured, striped before the public and loaded down with a great number of heavy chains. The Pope was after placed in prison. Patriarch Paul of Constantinople, after witnessing the cruel manner in which Saint Martin had been treated, and moved by the Holy Spirit, repented of his heresy, a move which saved Saint Martin from execution, but was exiled instead to Cherson in the Crimean peninsula(modern day Chersonesus Taurica). The pope arrived at Cherson on the 15^th of May 655 died soon after on the 16^th of September from starvation and the rough treatment he suffered during his imprisonment and transportation to the Crimean. Saint Martin is listed among the holy martyr because of the manner in which he died, he is the last Pope martyrs.

His relics are venerated in the city of Rome in the church of San Martino ai Monti.

Traditional Dominican All Saints Nov. 12

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The Saints of the Dominican Order

The Martyrology for the Twelfth Day of November

The Feast of All the Saints of our Order. A totum duplex feast of the second class.

St. Martin I, pope and martyr, whose birthday is commemorated on September 16.

At Vitebsk in Poland, the suffering of St. Josaphat, of the Order of St. Basil a Polish archbishop and martyr. He was cruelly slain by the schismatics in their hatred of Catholic unity and truth. He was numbered among the martyrs by Pope Pius IX. His feast, however, is kept on November 14.

At Alcalá in Spain, the birthday of St. Didacus, confessor, of the Order of Friars Minor, who was noted for his humility. He was canonized by the Sovereign Pontiff, Pope Sixtus V; his feast is celebrated on November 13.

In Asia, the suffering of the holy Bishops Aurelius and Publius.

At Eachen in Belgium, St. Livinus, bishop and martyr. He had convcrted many persons to the Christian faith when he was slain by the heathens. His body was later transferred to Ghent.

At Gnesen in Poland, the holy hermits and martyrs Benedict, John, Matthew, Isaac, and Christian. They were engaged in prayer when they were savagely attacked by robbers and put to the sword.

At Sergines near Sens, St. Paternus, monk and martyr. He met some robbers in the nearby forest and when he tried to persuade them to correct their lives, they put him to death.

At Avignon, St. Rufus, who was the first bishop of that city.

At Cologne, the death of St. Cunibert, bishop.

At Tarazona in Aragon, Blessed Emilian, priest. He was remarkable for his many miracles. St. Braulio, Bishop of Saragossa, wrote his admirable life.

At Constantinople, St. Nilus, abbot. In the reign of Theodosius the Younger, he had been prefect of that city and then became a monk. He was distinguished for his learning and holiness.

V. And elsewhere, many other holy martyrs, confessors, and holy virgins.

R. Thanks be to God.

Reflection on the Sacred Liturgy.

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The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass

It is essential for all Catholics, but most especially for those Catholics who desire a restoration of the Sacred Liturgy in the Western church, to reflect from time to time on the nature--the doctrinal nature--of the Church's worship.

The following comes to us by way of an Anglo-Catholic who in turn comments on a post from a Russian-Orthodox blog. The insight is profound, moving, and very much on target.

A friend recently referred me to an excellent blog with which I had not been previously familiar. It is written by an Orthodox priest, and his insights are astounding. However, unlike most Roman Catholic blogs, the comments sections of his posts are also valuable and full of insight. One such insight sent me reeling a few days ago when I read it:
One of the first times I saw a liturgy was in a Russian church. I didn't understand anything, of course, and at first I was a bit distressed that people came and went, children wandered around, etc. But then I noticed that no matter what anyone was or wasn't doing, the liturgy continued. It was obvious that the audience was God, not the restless congregation. When I returned to my evangelical church, I asked the pastor if he would do the same things he had planned to do this Sunday if no one showed up. He was very struck by that and couldn't answer.
I know what the answer would have been in the pentecostal church of my youth, and I daresay that nearly every Protestant church would have the same answer to that question: dumbstruck silence. Odds are that this question would never have occurred to them. Which is understandable, but regrettable.

In most Protestant worship services, the "worship plan" simply would not work if the congregation did not show up for services. Nearly every element of it is dependent upon the participation, whether active or passive, of those gathered. Worship leaders would have no one to lead. Large, white screens projecting song lyrics that adorn either side of the platform would have no readers. Hymn boards would go unnoticed. No one would "amen," and no one would "testify." No one would listen or scribble notes in the margins of their Bibles during a 50 minute sermon. When the invitation was given, no one would respond.

Liturgical Catholic worship, the greatest expression of which is the Mass (or the Divine Liturgy, Holy Eucharist, whatever you wish to call it based on your tradition), is different, or at least it should be different. No one could show up but the priest, and yet the worship could, and should, happen anyway. And not only should it happen, but anyone who could not make it for some unforeseeable reason could, in faith, unite themselves spiritually with that worship no matter where they happened to be, because they knew the "game plan" well in advance.

However, we as Catholic worshippers must be careful not to fall into the same trap. Innovations which seek to elevate the worshipper over the Worshipped must not be permitted to enter the liturgy. Our focus should never be on ourselves. We enter our holy houses to be in the presence of One who far surpasses our ability to understand. We gather to worship and sacrifice; as a community, to be sure, but community is not the end. (This is why I emphatically advocate worship ad dominum at the Altar, instead of the precarious orientation that many churches have adopted during the last century.) It takes a little more doing, but it is possible for Catholic worship leaders to come up with the same response as their Protestant counterparts when asked the question of the day: dumbstruck silence.

Smug smiles and pats on the back should be shelved for a moment by "traditionalists," many of whom might think that this question doesn't apply to them. It does. The circumstances can become a bit trickier, but it is still a danger that even traditional Catholic worship can be turned from its purpose: worship. I dare not attempt a list of possibilities lest I begin a comments war that rivals those of a Minnesotan birdwatcher. Use your thinkers.
Would your corporate worship work if no one showed up? I pray yes.

Pax et bonum.

Saint Martin de Porres

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Saint Martin

Martin de Porres (1579 –1639)
Dominican lay brother.
Beatified in 1837 by Pope Gregory XVI
Canonized in 1962 by Pope John XXIII.

Feast Day: November 5th.

He is the patron saint of innkeepers, and barbers.

Dominican Commemoration of the Holy Relics

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The 31st of October is celebrated among Dominicans
as the commemoration of the saints whose relics
rest within the churches of the Order of Preachers.

Let us Pray: O God, who has been pleased to adorn this holy church with the relics of so many Saints, grant that we Thy servants may enjoy in heaven the fellowship of those whose memory we venerate on earth. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Consecration of the Human Race

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Consecration of the Human Race to the Sacred Heart of Jesus on the Feast of Christ the King

Most sweet Jesus, Redeemer of the human race, look down upon us humbly prostrate before Thine altar. We are Thine, and Thine we wish to be; but, to be more surely united with Thee, behold each one of us freely consecrates himself today to Thy most Sacred Heart.

Many indeed have never known Thee; many too, despising Thy precepts, have rejected Thee. Have mercy on them all, most merciful Jesus, and draw them to Thy sacred Heart. Be Thou King, O Lord, not only of the faithful who have never forsaken Thee, but also of the prodigal children who have abandoned Thee; grant that they may quickly return to Thy Father's house lest they die of wretchedness and hunger.

Be Thou King of those who are deceived by erroneous opinions, or whom discord keeps aloof, and call them back to the harbor of truth and unity of faith, so that there may be but one flock and one Shepherd.

Be Thou King of all those who are still involved in the darkness of idolatry or of Islamism, and refuse not to draw them into the light and kingdom of God. Turn Thine eyes of mercy towards the children of the race, once Thy chosen people: of old they called down upon themselves the Blood of the Savior; may it now descend upon them a laver of redemption and of life.

Grant, O Lord, to Thy Church assurance of freedom and immunity from harm; give peace and order to all nations, and make the earth resound from pole to pole with one cry:

"Praise be to the divine Heart that wrought our salvation; to it be glory and honor forever." Amen.

On the last Sunday of October, feast of Christ the King, there follows after the Mass a Consecration of the Human Race to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. the faithful who devotedly participate in this consecration receive a plenary indulgence.

CHRIST THE KING 2011

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Ecce Homo

“It would be a grave error, on the other hand, to say that Christ has no authority whatever in civil affairs, since, by virtue of the absolute empire over all creatures committed to him by the Father, all things are in his power.”

__H.H. Pius XI.

Saint Wilfred

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Saint Wilfred Bishop of York
634-709AD

Feast: October 12th.

Born to a wealthy family in Northumberland, Wilfred (also spelled Wilfrid) was a second generation Christian.

Although the native Britons were mainly Christians when Roman influence waned in the 5th Century, waves of Anglo-Saxons had invaded and brought their Pagan gods. This was also a time of struggle for dominance within the Church between the Irish/Scottish Celtic Christianity and the Roman tradition.

Wilfred had an interest in the things of God from a young age and went to study in Lindisfarne, a centre of Celtic Christianity, under St Aidan.

To continue his education Wilfred set out to travel to Rome, but stayed for quite a while in Lyon living the high-life. Eventually he arrived in Rome about 654, when he was about 20. He stayed for a short while, but returned to Lyon where he continued his education under the patronage of the Archbishop. However, the Archbishop's wealth and ways caused jealousy among the secular powers and he was put to death along with many of his entourage. Wilfred’s status as a foreign nobleman saved him from an early death.

At the age of about 27 Wilfred set up a magnificent new abbey at Ripon in Yorkshire with fine stonework using skilled men he had brought from France. St Cuthbert and his followers returned to Lindisfarne with their Celtic traditions.

The division between the Celtic and the Roman Church threatened to break into violence so in 664 the newly ordained Wilfred took his seat as an 'expert' at the Council of Whitby and championed the cause of Rome. Rome won.

A year later, Wilfred was appointed Bishop of York by the Pope and he went to France for his ordination. However, he stayed so long in France that Saint Chad was put in as bishop of York. Wilfred returned to his abbey in Ripon fuming.

Theodore, Archbishop of Canterbury, came to Wilfred’s aid three years later. He said that Chad had been irregularly ordained. Chad went away meekly to be an abbot and Wilfred took up York.

Immediately he set about restoring the Cathedral and other churches in the diocese. He provide funds for their upkeep and soon had amassed a great fortune for the Church . His fortune and growing power earned the jealously and fear of the secular powers.
Egfrid, the King of Northumberland, had taken a dislike to Wilfred and his chance for revenge came in 678, Egfrid called up the Archbishop of Canterbury when Wilfred was away doing a spot of missionary work. The King suggested that York was too large a diocese and should be split up. The Archbishop agreed as the proposal had much to commend it pastorally. But upon his return Wilfred, finding his diocese now shrunk was livid and went off to Rome to complain.

It was two years before Wilfred was back in England, vindicated by Rome. He was accepted back into his somewhat smaller diocese, but only for a while. Egfrid soon banished him, so Wilfred went off to do missionary work with the Saxons in Sussex and the Isle of Wight.

A year after the death of Egfrid in 685, Wilfred returned to take up York. He remained in power for five years, after which he was banished by the new king who felt Wilfred was getting to uppity.

In 703 Wilfred, now aged 69, returned to Rome to complain. Again he was vindicated and three years later took up the Archbishopric of York for the last three years of his life.

In 706 he died in Oundle and was buried in the church of St.Peter at Rippon. That monastery having been destroyed by the wars, the greatest part of his remains was translated to Canterbury in the time of St. Odo, and deposited under the high altar, in 959. They were enshrined by Lanfranc, and deposited on the north side of the altar by St. Anselm, on the 12th of October: the day of which translation became his principal festival. These relics are said now to repose near the monument of that truly great man, Cardinal Pole.

R.I.P. Archbishop Philip Hannan.

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H.E. Archbishop Hannan
Archbishop of New Orleans
1913-2011

Eleventh Metropolitan Archbishop of the see of New Orleans September 29, 1965 to
December 6, 1988. Eternal rest grant unto him O Lord.

Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary

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Our Lady of the Rosary

Blessed Mother, to you have been entrusted all the graces created, through you the life of heaven itself has come into the world. Pray for us to your divine son that we may obtain through you every blessing needed to reach our true heavenly home.

Sts. Dominic and Catherine pray for us.

exaltation of the Holy Cross

2011-09-02T11:39:00.000-07:00

The Exaltation of the Holy Cross

September 14th

This September 14th marks the fourth anniversary of the Apostolic Constitution Summorum-Pontificum of our present Holy Father Benedict XVI. To commemorate this happy anniversary I have posted below an extract from that fortuitous document.

Up to our own times, it has been the constant concern of supreme pontiffs to ensure that the Church of Christ offers a worthy ritual to the Divine Majesty, 'to the praise and glory of His name,' and 'to the benefit of all His Holy Church.'…we establish… [that] It is, …, permissible to celebrate the Sacrifice of the Mass following the typical edition of the Roman Missal promulgated by Bl. John XXIII in 1962 and never abrogated.

Marymas 2011

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“By the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, and by our own authority, we pronounce, declare, and define it to be a divinely revealed dogma: that the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory.”

_____Pope Pius XII; November 1, 1950

UNIVERSAE ECCLESIAE

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INSTRUCTION
Universae Ecclesiae:
on the application of the Apostolic Letter
Summorum Pontificum of
HIS HOLINESS POPE BENEDICT XVI
given Motu Proprio

Introduction:

1. The Apostolic Letter Summorum Pontificum of the Sovereign Pontiff Benedict XVI given Motu Proprio on 7 July 2007, which came into effect on 14 September 2007, has made the richness of the Roman Liturgy more accessible to the Universal Church.

2. With this Motu Proprio, the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI promulgated a universal law for the Church, intended to establish new regulations for the use of the Roman Liturgy in effect in 1962.

3. The Holy Father, having recalled the concern of the Sovereign Pontiffs in caring for the Sacred Liturgy and in their recognition of liturgical books, reaffirms the traditional principle, recognised from time immemorial and necessary to be maintained into the future, that "each particular Church must be in accord with the universal Church not only regarding the doctrine of the faith and sacramental signs, but also as to the usages universally handed down by apostolic and unbroken tradition. These are to be maintained not only so that errors may be avoided, but also so that the faith may be passed on in its integrity, since the Church's rule of prayer (lex orandi) corresponds to her rule of belief (lex credendi)."1

4. The Holy Father recalls also those Roman Pontiffs who, in a particular way, were notable in this task, specifically Saint Gregory the Great and Saint Pius V. The Holy Father stresses moreover that, among the sacred liturgical books, the Missale Romanum has enjoyed a particular prominence in history, and was kept up to date throughout the centuries until the time of Blessed Pope John XXIII. Subsequently in 1970, following the liturgical reform after the Second Vatican Council, Pope Paul VI approved for the Church of the Latin rite a new Missal, which was then translated into various languages. In the year 2000, Pope John Paul II promulgated the third edition of this Missal.

5. Many of the faithful, formed in the spirit of the liturgical forms prior to the Second Vatican Council, expressed a lively desire to maintain the ancient tradition. For this reason, Pope John Paul II with a special Indult Quattuor abhinc annos issued in 1984 by the Congregation for Divine Worship, granted the faculty under certain conditions to restore the use of the Missal promulgated by Blessed Pope John XXIII. Subsequently, Pope John Paul II, with the Motu Proprio Ecclesia Dei of 1988, exhorted the Bishops to be generous in granting such a faculty for all the faithful who requested it. Pope Benedict continues this policy with the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum regarding certain essential criteria for the Usus Antiquior of the Roman Rite, which are recalled here.

6. The Roman Missal promulgated by Pope Paul VI and the last edition prepared under Pope John XXIII, are two forms of the Roman Liturgy, defined respectively as ordinaria and extraordinaria: they are two usages of the one Roman Rite, one alongside the other. Both are the expression of the same lex orandi of the Church. On account of its venerable and ancient use, the forma extraordinaria is to be maintained with appropriate honor.

7. The Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum was accompanied by a letter from the Holy Father to Bishops, with the same date as the Motu Proprio (7 July 2007). This letter gave further explanations regarding the appropriateness and the need for the Motu Proprio; it was a matter of overcoming a lacuna by providing new norms for the use of the Roman Liturgy of 1962. Such norms were needed particularly on account of the fact that, when the new Missal had been introduced under Pope Paul VI, it had not seemed necessary to issue guidelines regulating the use of the 1962 Liturgy. By reason of the increase in the number of those asking to be able to use the forma extraordinaria, it has become necessary to provide certain norms in this area.
Among the statements of the Holy Father was the following: "There is no contradiction between the two editions of the Roman Missal. In the history of the Liturgy growth and progress are found, but not a rupture. What was sacred for prior generations, remains sacred and great for us as well, and cannot be suddenly prohibited altogether or even judged harmful."2

8. The Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum constitutes an important expression of the Magisterium of the Roman Pontiff and of his munus of regulating and ordering the Church’s Sacred Liturgy.3 The Motu Proprio manifests his solicitude as Vicar of Christ and Supreme Pastor of the Universal Church,4 and has the aim of:

a.) offering to all the faithful the Roman Liturgy in the Usus Antiquior, considered as a precious treasure to be preserved;

b.) effectively guaranteeing and ensuring the use of the forma extraordinaria for all who ask for it, given that the use of the 1962 Roman Liturgy is a faculty generously granted for the good of the faithful and therefore is to be interpreted in a sense favourable to the faithful who are its principal addressees;

c.) promoting reconciliation at the heart of the Church.

II.

The Responsibilitiesof the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei:

9. The Sovereign Pontiff has conferred upon the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei ordinary vicarious power for the matters within its competence, in a particular way for monitoring the observance and application of the provisions of the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum (cf. art. 12).

10. § 1. The Pontifical Commission exercises this power, beyond the faculties previously granted by Pope John Paul II and confirmed by Pope Benedict XVI (cf. Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum, artt. 11-12), also by means of the power to decide upon recourses legitimately sent to it, as hierarchical Superior, against any possible singular administrative provision of an Ordinary which appears to be contrary to the Motu Proprio.

§ 2. The decrees by which the Pontifical Commission decides recourses may be challenged ad normam iuris before the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura.

11. After having received the approval from the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei will have the task of looking after future editions of liturgical texts pertaining to the forma extraordinaria of the Roman Rite.

III.

Specific Norms:
12. Following upon the inquiry made among the Bishops of the world, and with the desire to guarantee the proper interpretation and the correct application of the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum, this Pontifical Commission, by virtue of the authority granted to it and the faculties which it enjoys, issues this Instruction according to can. 34 of the Code of Canon Law.
The Competence of Diocesan Bishops.

13. Diocesan Bishops, according to Canon Law, are to monitor liturgical matters in order to guarantee the common good and to ensure that everything is proceeding in peace and serenity in their Dioceses5, always in agreement with the mens of the Holy Father clearly expressed by the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum.6 In cases of controversy or well-founded doubt about the celebration in the forma extraordinaria, the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei will adjudicate.

14. It is the task of the Diocesan Bishop to undertake all necessary measures to ensure respect for the forma extraordinaria of the Roman Rite, according to the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum.

The coetus fidelium (cf. Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum, art. 5 § 1)

15. A coetus fidelium ("group of the faithful") can be said to be stabiliter existens ("existing in a stable manner"), according to the sense of art. 5 § 1 of the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum, when it is constituted by some people of an individual parish who, even after the publication of the Motu Proprio, come together by reason of their veneration for the Liturgy in the Usus Antiquior, and who ask that it might be celebrated in the parish church or in an oratory or chapel; such a coetus ("group") can also be composed of persons coming from different parishes or dioceses, who gather together in a specific parish church or in an oratory or chapel for this purpose.

16. In the case of a priest who presents himself occasionally in a parish church or an oratory with some faithful, and wishes to celebrate in the forma extraordinaria, as foreseen by articles 2 and 4 of the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum, the pastor or rector of the church, or the priest responsible, is to permit such a celebration, while respecting the schedule of liturgical celebrations in that same church.

17. § 1. In deciding individual cases, the pastor or the rector, or the priest responsible for a church, is to be guided by his own prudence, motivated by pastoral zeal and a spirit of generous welcome.

§ 2. In cases of groups which are quite small, they may approach the Ordinary of the place to identify a church in which these faithful may be able to come together for such celebrations, in order to ensure easier participation and a more worthy celebration of the Holy Mass.

18. Even in sanctuaries and places of pilgrimage the possibility to celebrate in the forma extraordinaria is to be offered to groups of pilgrims who request it (cf. Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum, art. 5 § 3), if there is a qualified priest.

19. The faithful who ask for the celebration of the forma extraordinaria must not in any way support or belong to groups which show themselves to be against the validity or legitimacy of the Holy Mass or the Sacraments celebrated in the forma ordinaria or against the Roman Pontiff as Supreme Pastor of the Universal Church.
Sacerdos idoneus ("Qualified Priest") (cf. Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum, art 5 § 4)

20. With respect to the question of the necessary requirements for a priest to be held idoneus ("qualified") to celebrate in the forma extraordinaria, the following is hereby stated:

a.) Every Catholic priest who is not impeded by Canon Law7 is to be considered idoneus ("qualified") for the celebration of the Holy Mass in the forma extraordinaria.

b.) Regarding the use of the Latin language, a basic knowledge is necessary, allowing the priest to pronounce the words correctly and understand their meaning.

c.) Regarding knowledge of the execution of the Rite, priests are presumed to be qualified who present themselves spontaneously to celebrate the forma extraordinaria, and have celebrated it previously.

21. Ordinaries are asked to offer their clergy the possibility of acquiring adequate preparation for celebrations in the forma extraordinaria. This applies also to Seminaries, where future priests should be given proper formation, including study of Latin8 and, where pastoral needs suggest it, the opportunity to learn the forma extraordinaria of the Roman Rite.

22. In Dioceses without qualified priests, Diocesan Bishops can request assistance from priests of the Institutes erected by the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, either to the celebrate the forma extraordinaria or to teach others how to celebrate it.

23. The faculty to celebrate sine populo (or with the participation of only one minister) in the forma extraordinaria of the Roman Rite is given by the Motu Proprio to all priests, whether secular or religious (cf. Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum, art. 2). For such celebrations therefore, priests, by provision of the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum, do not require any special permission from their Ordinaries or superiors.

Liturgical and Ecclesiastical Discipline

24. The liturgical books of the forma extraordinaria are to be used as they are. All those who wish to celebrate according to the forma extraordinaria of the Roman Rite must know the pertinent rubrics and are obliged to follow them correctly.

25. New saints and certain of the new prefaces can and ought to be inserted into the 1962 Missal 9, according to provisions which will be indicated subsequently.

26. As foreseen by article 6 of the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum, the readings of the Holy Mass of the Missal of 1962 can be proclaimed either solely in the Latin language, or in Latin followed by the vernacular or, in Low Masses, solely in the vernacular.

27. With regard to the disciplinary norms connected to celebration, the ecclesiastical discipline contained in the Code of Canon Law of 1983 applies.

28. Furthermore, by virtue of its character of special law, within its own area, the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum derogates from those provisions of law, connected with the sacred Rites, promulgated from 1962 onwards and incompatible with the rubrics of the liturgical books in effect in 1962.

Confirmation and Holy Orders

29. Permission to use the older formula for the rite of Confirmation was confirmed by the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum (cf. art. 9 § 2). Therefore, in the forma extraordinaria, it is not necessary to use the newer formula of Pope Paul VI as found in the Ordo Confirmationis.

30. As regards tonsure, minor orders and the subdiaconate, the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum does not introduce any change in the discipline of the Code of Canon Law of 1983; consequently, in Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life which are under the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, one who has made solemn profession or who has been definitively incorporated into a clerical institute of apostolic life, becomes incardinated as a cleric in the institute or society upon ordination to the diaconate, in accordance with canon 266 § 2 of the Code of Canon Law.

31. Only in Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life which are under the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, and in those which use the liturgical books of the forma extraordinaria, is the use of the Pontificale Romanum of 1962 for the conferral of minor and major orders permitted.

Breviarium Romanum

32. Art. 9 § 3 of the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum gives clerics the faculty to use the Breviarium Romanum in effect in 1962, which is to be prayed entirely and in the Latin language.
The Sacred Triduum.

33. If there is a qualified priest, a coetus fidelium ("group of faithful"), which follows the older liturgical tradition, can also celebrate the Sacred Triduum in the forma extraordinaria. When there is no church or oratory designated exclusively for such celebrations, the parish priest or Ordinary, in agreement with the qualified priest, should find some arrangement favourable to the good of souls, not excluding the possibility of a repetition of the celebration of the Sacred Triduum in the same church.

The Rites of Religious Orders

34. The use of the liturgical books proper to the Religious Orders which were in effect in 1962 is permitted.

Pontificale Romanum and the Rituale Romanum

35. The use of the Pontificale Romanum, the Rituale Romanum, as well as the Caeremoniale Episcoporum in effect in 1962, is permitted, in keeping with n. 28 of this Instruction, and always respecting n. 31 of the same Instruction.

*** *** ***

The Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI,
in an audience granted to the undersigned Cardinal President of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei on 8 April 2011,
approved this present Instruction and ordered its publication.

Given at Rome, at the Offices of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, 30 April, 2011,
on the memorial of Pope Saint Pius V.

***

William Cardinal LEVADA
President
Mons. Guido Pozzo
Secretary

_____________________________________________________________

1 BENEDICTUS XVI, Litterae Apostolicae Summorum Pontificum motu proprio datae, I, AAS 99 (2007) 777; cf. Institutio Generalis Missalis Romani, tertia editio 2002, n. 397.
2 BENEDICTUS XVI, Epistola ad Episcopos ad producendas Litteras Apostolicas motu proprio datas, de Usu Liturgiae Romanae Instaurationi anni 1970 praecedentis, AAS 99 (2007) 798.
3 Cf. Code of Canon Law, Canon 838 §1 and §2.
4 Cf. Code of Canon Law, Canon 331.
5 Cf. Code of Canon Law, Canons 223 § 2 or 838 §1 and §4.
6 BENEDICTUS XVI, Epistola ad Episcopos ad producendas Litteras Apostolicas motu proprio datas, de Usu Liturgiae Romanae Instaurationi anni 1970 praecedentis, AAS 99 (2007) 799.
7 Cf. Code of Canon Law, Canon 900 § 2.
8 Cf. Code of Canon Law, Canon 249; Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium, 36; Declaration Optatum totius, 13.9 BENEDICTUS XVI, Epistola ad Episcopos ad producendas Litteras Apostolicas motu proprio datas, de Usu Liturgiae Romanae Instaurationi anni 1970 praecedentis, AAS 99 (2007) 797.

Easter 2011

2011-04-29T17:46:00.001-07:00

ALLELUIA ALLELUIA ALLELUIA

XX anniversary of death

2011-03-25T20:42:00.001-07:00

Archbishop Marcel F.M.J. Lefebvre

November 29th 1905-March 25th 1991

Grant him eternal rest, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon him.

Septuagesima Sunday 2011

2011-02-10T12:27:00.000-08:00

Graciously hear, we beseech Thee,

O Lord, the prayers of Thy people,

that we, who are justly afflicted for our sins,

may for the glory of Thy Name, be mercifully delivered.

Septuagesima is the liturgical period commencing with Septuagesima Sunday (the ninth Sunday before Easter, the third before Ash Wednesday).

Septuagesima is intended to be observed as a preparation for Lent (in Latin Quadragesima), which is in itself a period of spiritual preparation for the great feast of Easter. In many traditionally Catholic places, Septuagesima Sunday marks the start of the carnival season, culminating on Shrove Tuesday, with what is known in Catholic Louisiana as Mardi Gras.

In the Traditional use of the Roman Rite, Alleluia ceases to be said during the celebration of the liturgy of Mass, and at first Vespers of Septuagesima Sunday, two alleluias are added to the closing verse of Benedicamus Domino and its response, Deo gratias, to signal the last utterance of as the Alleluia until the conclusion of Lent.

In addition to the silencing of the Alleluia, the Gloria will also not be used on Sundays until Holy Thursday, though it will continue to be said for feast days. The Church also assumes the penitential violet for all ferial celebrations.

O. L. Walsingham Ordinariate

2011-01-15T17:02:00.000-08:00

Today, January 15th, at the Cathedral of the Most Precious Blood in Westminster England, Archbishop Nichols ordained three former Anglican bishops to the Catholic Priesthood. The Ordination of the three was also the occasion for the initiation of the English Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham. The Ordinariate is a canonical structure similar to a diocese, created by the Holy Father for Anglicans who wishing to enter into full communion with the Church, also desire at the same time to preserve elements of Anglican Christianity--not at odds with the Faith--that have significant cultural value to them.

The three newly ordained are: Frs. John Broadhurst, Andrew Burnham and Keith Newton. The Holy Father has named Fr. Newton, 59, first ordinary of the new ordinariate.

O.L. of Prompt Socor January 15th

2011-01-08T18:47:00.000-08:00

Notre-Dame de Bon Secours

In 1812, a terrible fire ravaged the city of New Orleans, Louisiana. A high wind rapidly drove the flames toward the Ursuline convent, and the order was given for the nuns to leave the cloister. Sister Anthony, a lay sister, placed a small statue of Our Lady of Prompt Succor on a window sill facing the fire, and she and Mother Saint Michel prayed, "Our Lady of Prompt Succor, we are lost unless you hasten to our help." Instantaneously, the wind changed, and the convent was out of danger. Once again, Our Lady had hastened to set her seal of approval on the work of the Ursulines and the spread of the faith in the South.

The Ursuline Monastery of New Orleans was founded under the auspices of Louis XV of France by a band of French Ursulines in 1727. Soon after their arrival, the nuns began to teach the children of the colonists, to instruct the Indian and Negro races, and to nurse the sick in a hospital placed under their care. Other sisters came from France,and in 1763 when Louisiana became a Spanish possession, Spanish sisters helped to carry on the work. In l800 when Louisiana again became French territory, the Spanish sisters left for Havana Cuba, fearing that the horrors of the recent French revolution would be repeated in the colonies. Thus, by l803, only seven Ursulines remained to carry on the boarding school, day school, orphanage, courses of instruction for the Indians and Negroes, and the nursing of the sick. The superior appealed to a cousin of hers in France, Mother St.Michel, for aid and personnel.

Mother St. Michel had been driven from her convent by the Reign of Terror, and as soon as the first indication of religious tolerance appeared, she had, with another young woman, opened a boarding school for young girls which was beginning to realize all the hopes the bishop of her diocese had for it. Her bishop was happy to have such a zealous worker among his flock, and did not want to lose her. On receiving the appeal from her cousin, Mother St. Michel asked her spiritual director for his advice. He demurred. On direct appeal to the bishop, the answer came, "Only the Pope can give you authorization." This reply amounted almost to a definite "no", as the Pope was in Rome, a virtual prisoner of Napoleon, and his jailors were under strict injunction not to allow him to correspond with anyone. Additionally, there was no reliable way of sending messages. Nonetheless, Mother St. Michel wrote her request, concluding, "Most Holy Father, I appeal to your apostolic tribunal. I am ready to submit to your decision. Speak. Faith teaches me that you are the voice of the Lord. I await your orders. `Go' or `Stay', from Your Holiness will be the same to me."

The letter had been written for three months, but no opportunity had presented itself to send it. One day, as she was praying before a statue of Mary, Mother felt inspired to call on the Queen of Heaven with these words, "O Most Holy Virgin Mary, if you obtain a prompt and favorable answer to my letter, I promise to have you honored in New Orleans under the title of Our Lady of Prompt Succor."

That Mother St. Michel's trustful prayer was pleasing to Our Lady, and that she wished to be honored in the New World under this title are shown by the prompt and favorable reply she received. The letter was dispatched on March 19, l809, and the reply is dated in Rome on April 28.

That the reply directed Mother to place herself at the head of religious aspirants and go to Louisiana is miraculous in itself. The Pope was well aware of the need for workers such as Mother in France. Many would be needed to regenerate that which the Revolution had torn down. Nonetheless, he gave his approval of her voyage, and her bishop acknowledged that his hopes to keep her in France were defeated. He requested the privilege of blessing the statue of Our Lady which Mother St. Michel had commissioned according to her promise.

On the arrival of the pious missionaries in New Orleans in December of l8l0, this precious statue was solemnly installed in the convent chapel, and from that time the veneration to Mary under the title of Our Lady of Prompt Succor has been constantly growing and spreading all across the United States.

The victory of Andrew Jackson's American forces over the British in the Battle of New Orleans, in l8l5, is another favor attributed to the all-powerful intercession of Our Lady of Prompt Succor. Before the battle, the terror-stricken, weeping mothers, sisters, and daughters of Jackson's valiant little band spent the night in prayer in the chapel of the convent. They begged Our Lady for help for their men on the plains of Chalmette. On the morning of January the 8th, the statue of Our Lady of Prompt Succor was moved above the main altar and the Ursulines made a vow to have a Mass of Thanksgiving sung annually should the Americans be victorious. At the moment of Communion, a courier rushed into the chapel announcing the enemy`s defeat. Jackson himself acknowledged Divine intervention on his behalf, and came in person with his staff to thank the nuns for their prayers. The vow made by the Ursulines has been faithfully kept for over 150 years.

The chronicles of the Ursuline monastery record numerous favors, both spiritual and temporal, wrought through the intercession of Our Lady of Prompt Succor. Rome has officially approved the devotion. By Papal decree in l85l, Pius IX authorized the celebration of the feast of Our Lady of Prompt Succor and the singing of the yearly Mass of Thanksgiving on January 8. In 1894, Pope Leo XIII indulgenced the Confraternity, and in l897 raised it to the rank of an Arch-confraternity.

The statue was solemnly crowned by the papal delegate in l895. This was the first ceremony of this type in the United States. In l928, a new shrine in Our Lady's honor was consecrated, and by a decree of the Sacred Congregation of Rites, the Holy See approved and confirmed the choice of Our Lady of Prompt Succor as the principal patroness of the City of New Orleans and the State of Louisiana. The patronal feast was set for January 15. In l960, the solemn sesquicentennial of the arrival of Our Lady of Prompt Succor in Louisiana was celebrated.

When we invoke Our Lady under this title, we are telling her that our needs are great and pressing, and that we hope and expect much from her. Our confidence need know no bounds as Our Lady's power equals her love. May devotion to Mary under this hope-inspiring title continue to grow and spread.

the Octave of Christmas (Jan 1. 2011)

2011-01-01T19:58:00.000-08:00

At that time, after eight days were accomplished that the Child should be circumcised: His Name was called Jesus, which was called by the Angel before He was conceived in the womb.
____Saint Luke

Saint Thomas the Apostle

2010-12-21T18:57:00.000-08:00

Feast: December 21

Prayer to Saint Thomas the Apostle.

Touching the Lord's side, thou didst attain to the perfection of good things, for, as a sponge, thou drew therefrom the fount of all good and drank the drought of everlasting life, driving out ignorance from the minds of men and filling them with the doctrines of the knowledge of God.

First incredulous, then believing, thou strengthened those who were tempted, preaching to every creature how our Lord and God became flesh for us on earth and suffered death on the cross, being transfixed with nails and having His side opened with a lance, whence we draw life.

Most holy apostle, who dost rejoice in the vision of God, thou didst flood with light all the land of the Indies; when thou hadst enlightened these children of the light and the day, inspired by the Spirit, thou didst overthrow their pagan temples and didst raise their people in the love of God, to the praise and glory of the Church. O blessed intercessor for our souls.

Through a vision of the divine, thou didst become, O Thomas the Apostle, the mystic cup of the spiritual wisdom of Christ, in whom the souls of the faithful rejoice; a spiritual net, thou didst draw men from the abyss of ignorance. Hence thou became as a stream of charity from Sion, filling every creature with thy teachings of the divine. Thou didst imitate the Passion of Christ and, with thy side pierced for Him, didst put on immortality. Pray to Him for us, that He may have mercy on our souls.

The Immaculate Conception

2010-12-07T15:29:00.000-08:00

We declare, pronounce, and define that the doctrine which holds that the most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instance of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin, is a doctrine revealed by God and therefore to be believed firmly and constantly by all the faithful.
__Bl. Pius IX.

V Anniversary

2010-11-22T18:53:00.000-08:00

Saint Cecilia

The feast of Saint Cecilia this year marks the fifth anniversary of my entrance into the the third order of Saint Dominic (these days its known as the priestly fraternity of Saint Dominic. The lay folk of the third order are said these days to belong to the Dominican laity).

I had the singular privilege, on that memorable night, of being accepted into the order in the Friar's Chapel in the Church of Saint Vincent Ferrer in Manhattan.

Saint Cecilia, Blessed Father Dominic, Bl. Jordan pray for us all.

View of the High Altar at Saint Vincent Ferrer in Manhattan NY.

All Souls day (Dominican rite) Nov.7

2010-11-03T17:58:00.000-07:00

O God,
the Giver of pardon
and the Author of human salvation,
we beseech Thy clemency, through the intercession of the ever Blessed Virgin Mary
and of all Thy saints,
to admit the brethren and sisters, the friends and the benefactors of our congregation,
to the fellowship of eternal life.

Feast of All Saints

2010-10-30T17:29:00.001-07:00

Dominican Saints

Feast of all Saints: November 1.

Almighty and everlasting God,
who hast granted us to honor in one solemn Feast
the merits of all Thy Saints:
we beseech Thee, that, since so many are praying for us,
Thou wouldst pour forth upon us
the abundance of Thy mercy,
for which we long.
Amen.

Christ the King. Last sunday in October

2010-10-23T08:56:00.000-07:00

Christ the King

Consecration of the Human Race
to the the Sacred Heart.

Most sweet Jesus, Redeemer of the human race, look down upon us humbly prostrate before Your altar. We are Yours, and Yours we wish to be; but, to be more surely united with You, behold each one of us freely consecrates himself today to Your Most Sacred Heart. Many indeed have never known You; many too, despising Your precepts, have rejected You. Have mercy on them all, most merciful Jesus, and draw them to Your Sacred Heart.

You are King, O Lord, not only of the faithful who have never forsaken You, but also of the prodigal children who have abandoned You; grant that they may quickly return to their Father's house lest they die of wretchedness and hunger.

You are King of those who are deceived by erroneous opinions, or whom discord keeps aloof; call them back to the harbor of truth and unity of faith, so that soon there may be but one flock and one Shepherd.

You are King of all those who are still involved in the darkness of idolatry or of Islamism; refuse not to draw them all into the light and kingdom of God. Turn Your eyes of mercy toward the children of that race, once Your chosen people. Of old they called down upon themselves the Blood of the Savior; may it now descend upon them a laver of redemption and of life.

Grant, O Lord, to Your Church assurance of freedom and immunity from harm; give peace and order to all nations, and make the earth resound from pole to pole with one cry: Praise to the Divine Heart that wrought our salvation; to It be glory and Honor forever. Amen.

Our Lady of the Rosary. Oct VII

2010-10-05T22:43:00.001-07:00

Our Lady giving the rosary to
Saint Dominic.

Marymas: Aug.15

2010-08-13T13:19:00.000-07:00

Assumpta est Maria
in Coelorum
Gaudent Angeli,
collaudates benedicunt Dominum,
Alleluia.

Our Lady of Mount Carmel

2010-07-16T00:05:00.000-07:00

Our Lady of Mt. Carmel and the poor souls in purgatory

Feast: July 16.

O God, Who didst adorn the Order of Carmel with the unique title of the most blessed ever-Virgin Mary Thy Mother: propitiously concede that we, who with solemn office celebrate her commemoration today, may merit to attain to everlasting joys, strengthened by her protection. Who livest...etc.

S.S. Peter and Paul.

2010-06-18T11:05:00.001-07:00

S.S. Peter and Paul

Feast: June 29

Almighty God, whose blessed apostles Peter and Paul glorified thee by their martyrdom: Grant that thy Church, instructed by their teaching and example, and knit together in unity by thy Spirit, may ever stand firm upon the one foundation, which is Jesus Christ our Lord; who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the same Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. 2010

2010-06-10T19:42:00.000-07:00

Sacred Heart of Jesus

On the Closing of the year of the Priest

“On that day there shall be a fountain opened
for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem
to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness”

____Zechariah 13:1.

Saint Joan of Arc

2010-06-10T12:47:00.000-07:00

In the face of your enemies, in the face of harassment, ridicule, and doubt, you held firm in your faith. Even in your abandonment, alone and without friends, you held firm in your faith. Even as you faced your own mortality, you held firm in your faith. We pray you, that we may be as bold in our faith as you were in yours. O blessed saint of God, we beg accompany us with your prayers as we face our own daily battles. Help us to be mindful that what is worthwhile can be won when there is persistence. Help us hold firm to the true faith without which we cannot please God. Show us how to always be attentive to the voice of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

tres Catholique

2010-05-18T18:43:00.000-07:00

The ceremony of the flag in Quito Ecuador

Ascension Thursday 2010

2010-05-11T11:06:00.000-07:00

Not only Christ’s humanity but our humanity ascended into heaven. Preaching in June of 444 Pope St. Leo the Great (+461) stated:

“Truly it was a great and indescribable source of rejoicing when, in the sight of the heavenly multitudes, the nature of our human race ascended over the dignity of all heavenly creatures, to pass the angelic orders and to be raised beyond the heights of archangels. In its ascension it did not stop at any other height until this same nature was received at the seat of the eternal Father, to be associated on the throne of the glory of that One to whose nature it was joined in the Son.”

__Taken from Fr. Z's blog.

Feast of Saint George

2010-04-23T11:07:00.001-07:00

Feast: April 23

O GOD, who didst grant to Saint George strength and constancy in the various torments which he sustained for our holy faith; we beseech Thee to preserve,through his intercession, our faith from wavering and doubt, so that we may serve Thee with a sincere heart faithfully unto death. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Passio D.N.

2010-04-02T15:44:00.000-07:00

Good Friday 2010

From the Cross the Lord lifted His heart to His Father and prayed:
"Father forgive them for they know not what they do."
These words of the Lord spoken as He was suspended between earth and sky, like the words of the Sacrament effect what they signified.

Palm Sunday

2010-03-26T20:21:00.000-07:00

Second Sunday of the Passion:
O almighty and everlasting God, who didst cause our Savior to take upon Him our flesh, and to undergo the cross, for an example of humility to be imitated by mankind: mercifully grant that we may deserve to possess not only the lessons of His patience, but also the fellowship of His Resurrection. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son .

Holy Saint Joseph

2010-03-19T19:32:00.000-07:00

Saint Joseph Patron of the Universal Church

Feast: March 19

"Glorious St. Joseph, model of all who are devoted to labor, obtain for me the grace to work in the spirit of penance in expiation of my many sins; to work conscientiously by placing love of duty above my inclinations; to gratefully and joyously deem it an honor to employ and to develop by labor the gifts I have received from God, to work methodically, peacefully, and in moderation and patience, without ever shrinking from it through weariness or difficulty to work; above all, with purity of intention and unselfishness, having unceasingly before my eyes death and the account I have to render of time lost, talents unused, good not done, and vain complacency in success, so baneful to the work of God. All for Jesus, all for Mary, all to imitate thee, O patriarch St. Joseph! This shall be my motto for life and eternity."
- Pope Pius IX

From the Spanish Steps.

2009-12-08T08:04:00.000-08:00

H.H. Benedict XVI

December 8th

Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the BVM.

The Holy Father each 8th of December places a crown of flowers on the image of the Blessed Mother located on top of an ancient and massive Roman column in the Piazza di Spagna and gives a small edifying talk in honor of the Immaculate Conception. Bellow is found a copy of this years allocution.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

About three months ago I had the joy of going on pilgrimage to Lourdes, on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the historical apparitions of the Virgin Mary to St Bernadette. The celebration of this unique anniversary ends precisely today on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, because in showing herself to Bernadette for the last time in the Grotto of Massabielle, the "beautiful Lady", as Bernadette called her, revealed her name, saying "I am the Immaculate Conception". She said this in the local dialect and the little visionary related the phrase, to her unknown and incomprehensible, to her parish priest.

"Immaculate Conception": we too repeat that mysterious name with feeling, here, at the foot of this monument in the heart of Rome; and countless brothers and sisters of ours are doing the same in thousands of other places in the world, at shrines and in chapels as well as in Christian homes. Today, wherever a Catholic community exists, Our Lady is venerated in it with this stupendous and marvellous name: the Immaculate Conception. Of course, the conviction that Mary's conception was immaculate had already existed for centuries before the apparitions in Lourdes, but which came as a heavenly seal after my venerable Predecessor, Bl. Pius IX, defined the Dogma on 8 December 1854. On today's feast, so dear to Christian people, this expression rises from hearts and is pronounced by lips as our heavenly Mother's name. Just as a child raises his eyes to his mother's face and on seeing her smile forgets every fear and every pain, so do we, turning our eyes to Mary, recognize in her "God's smile", the immaculate reflection of divine light; in her we find new hope even in the midst of the problems and tragedies of the world.

It is a tradition that the Pope joins with the homage of the City, bringing Mary a basket of roses. These flowers express our love and devotion: the love and devotion of the Pope, of the Church of Rome and of the inhabitants of this City, who feel they are spiritual children of the Virgin Mary. Roses, symbolically, can express everything beautiful and good that we have done during the year because at this traditional encounter we all desire to offer everything to our Mother, convinced that we could not have done anything without her protection and without the graces that daily she obtains for us from God. Yet, as the saying goes, there is no rose without a thorn, and on the stems of these magnificent white roses too there is no lack of thorns that represent for us difficulty and suffering, the troubles that have marked and still mark people's lives and the life of our community. Joys are presented to our Mother but anxieties are also entrusted to her, since the faithful are confident that they will find comfort and support in her to go forward, so as not to be disheartened.

O Immaculate Virgin, at this moment I would especially like to entrust to you the "little ones" of our City: the children, first of all, and above all those who are seriously ill, children who are disabled and those who are suffering the consequences of oppressive family situations. Watch over them and grant that they may feel the warmth of God's love in the affection and help of those who are beside them! To you, O Mary, I entrust the lonely elderly, the sick, immigrants who find it hard to adjust, families that find it difficult to make ends meet and people who cannot find employment or who have lost a job indispensable for their survival. Teach us, Mary, to show solidarity with those in difficulty, to fill the ever increasing social gaps. Help us to foster a more lively sense of the common good, of respect for public property, and spur us to view the city and more than ever our City of Rome as the patrimony of all, making each one of us do our part, to build a more just and supportive society with awareness and commitment.

O Immaculate Mother, who are a sign of certain hope and comfort to everyone, help us to let ourselves be attracted by your immaculate purity. Your beauty Tota Pulchra, as we sing today assures us that the victory of love is possible; indeed, that it is certain. It assures us that grace is stronger than sin, and that redemption from any form of slavery is therefore possible. Yes, O Mary, help us to believe with greater trust in good, to wager on giving freely, on service, on non-violence, on the power of the truth. Encourage us to be alert, not to give into the temptation of easy evasions, to face reality and its problems with courage and responsibility. This is what you did, a young woman called to stake everything on the Word of the Lord. May you be a loving mother for our young people, so that they may have the courage to be "watchmen of the dawn", and give this virtue to all Christians so that they may be the heart of the world in this difficult period of history. Virgin Immaculate, Mother of God and our Mother, Salus Populi Romani, pray for us!

The Immaculate Conception Dec.VIII

2009-12-03T09:59:00.000-08:00

Virgin of the Immaculate Conception with Saints Andrew and John the Baptist by Juan de Valdes y Leal 1650

Feast: December 8th

We declare, pronounce and define that the doctrine which holds that the Blessed Virgin Mary, at the first instant of her conception, by a singular privilege and grace of the Omnipotent God, in virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of mankind, was preserved immaculate from all stain of original sin, has been revealed by God, and therefore should firmly and constantly be believed by all the faithful.

—Pope Paul IX, Ineffabilis Deus, December 8, 1854

Feast of Saint Francis Xavier Dec. III

2009-12-02T17:34:00.000-08:00

The death of Saint Francis Xavier

Feast: December 3

Saint Francis Xavier

Born in the Castle of Xavier near ...

...Sanguesa, in Navarre, 7 April, 1506; died on the Island of Sancian near the coast of China, 2 December, 1552. In 1525, having completed a preliminary course of studies in his own country, he went to Paris, to the collège de Sainte-Barbe. It was here that he met the Savoyard, Pierre Favre, and a warm personal friendship sprang up between them. It was at this same college that St. Ignatius Loyola, who was already planning the foundation of the Society of Jesus, resided for a time as a guest in 1529. He soon won the confidence of the two young men; first Favre and later Xavier offered themselves with him in the formation of the Society. Four others, Lainez, Salmerón, Rodríguez, and Bobadilla, having joined them, the seven made the famous vow of Montmartre, 15 Aug., 1534.

After completing his studies in Paris and filling the post of teacher there for some time, Xavier left the city with his companions 15 November, 1536, and turned his steps to Venice, where he displayed zeal and charity in attending the sick in the hospitals. On 24 June, 1537, he received Holy orders with St. Ignatius. The following year he went to Rome, and after doing apostolic work there for some months, during the spring of 1539 he took part in the conferences which St. Ignatius held with his companions to prepare for the definitive foundation of the Society of Jesus. The order was approved verbally 3 September, and before the written approbation was secured, which was not until a year later, Xavier was appointed, at the earnest solicitation of the John III, King of Portugal, to evangelize the people of the East Indies. He left Rome 16 March, 1540, and reached Lisbon about June. Here he remained nine months, giving many admirable examples of apostolic zeal.

On 7 April, 1541, he embarked in a sailing vessel for India, and after a tedious and dangerous voyage landed at Goa, 6 May, 1542. The first five months he spent in preaching and ministering to the sick in the hospitals. He would go through the streets ringing a little bell and inviting the children to hear the word of God. When he had gathered a number, he would take them to a certain church and would there explain the catechism to them. About October, 1542, he started for the pearl fisheries of the extreme southern coast of the peninsula, desirous of restoring Christanity which, although introduced years before, had almost disappeared on account of the lack of priests. He devoted almost three years to the work of preaching to the people of Western India, converting many, and reaching in his journeys even the Island of Ceylon. Many were the difficulties and hardships which Xavier had to encounter at this time, sometimes on account of the cruel persecutions which some of the petty kings of the country carried on against the neophytes, and again because the Portuguese soldiers, far from seconding the work of the saint, retarded it by their bad example and vicious habits.

In the spring of 1545 Xavier started for Malacca. He laboured there for the last months of that year, and although he reaped an abundant spiritual harvest, he was not able to root out certain abuses, and was conscious that many sinners had resisted his efforts to bring them back to God. About January, 1546, Xavier left Malacca and went to Molucca Islands, where the Portuguese had some settlements, and for a year and a half he preached the Gospel to the inhabitants of Amboyna, Ternate, Baranura, and other lesser islands which it has been difficult to identify. It is claimed by some that during this expedition he landed on the island of Mindanao, and for this reason St. Francis Xavier has been called the first Apostle of the Philippines. But although this statement is made by some writers of the seventeenth century, and in the Bull of canonization issued in 1623, it is said that he preached the Gospel in Mindanao, up to the present time it has not been proved absolutely that St. Francis Xavier ever landed in the Philippines.

By July, 1547, he was again in Malacca. Here he met a Japanese called Anger (Han-Sir), from whom he obtained much information about Japan. His zeal was at once aroused by the idea of introducing Christanity into Japan, but for the time being the affairs of the Society demanded his presence at goa, whither he went, taking Anger with him. During the six years that Xavier had been working among the infidels, other Jesuit missionaries had arrived at Goa, sent from Europe by St. Ignatius; moreover some who had been born in the country had been received into the Society. In 1548 Xavier sent these missionaries to the principal centres of India, where he had established missions, so that the work might be preserved and continued. He also established a novitiate and house of studies, and having received into the Society Father Cosme de Torres, a spanish priest whom he had met in the Maluccas, he started with him and Brother Juan Fernandez for Japan towards the end of June, 1549. The Japanese Anger, who had been baptized at Goa and given the name of Pablo de Santa Fe, accompanied them.

They landed at the city of Kagoshima in Japan, 15 Aug., 1549. The entire first year was devoted to learning the Japanese language and translating into Japanese, with the help of Pablo de Santa Fe, the principal articles of faith and short treatises which were to be employed in preaching and catechizing. When he was able to express himself, Xavier began preaching and made some converts, but these aroused the ill will of the bonzes, who had him banished from the city. Leaving Kagoshima about August, 1550, he penetrated to the centre of Japan, and preached the Gospel in some of the cities of southern Japan. Towards the end of that year he reached Meaco, then the principal city of Japan, but he was unable to make any headway here because of the dissensions the rending the country. He retraced his steps to the centre of Japan, and during 1551 preached in some important cities, forming the nucleus of several Christian communities, which in time increased with extraordinary rapidity.

After working about two years and a half in Japan he left this mission in charge of Father Cosme de Torres and Brother Juan Fernandez, and returned to Goa, arriving there at the beginning of 1552. Here domestic troubles awaited him. Certain disagreements between the superior who had been left in charge of the missions, and the rector of the college, had to be adjusted. This, however, being arranged, Xavier turned his thoughts to China, and began to plan an expedition there. During his stay in Japan he had heard much of the Celestial Empire, and though he probably had not formed a proper estimate of his extent and greatness, he nevertheless understood how wide a field it afforded for the spread of the light of the Gospel. With the help of friends he arranged a commission or embassy the Sovereign of China, obtained from the Viceroy of India the appointment of ambassador, and in April, 1552, he left Goa. At Malacca the party encountered difficulties because the influential Portuguese disapproved of the expedition, but Xavier knew how to overcome this opposition, and in the autumn he arrived in a Portuguese vessel at the small island of Sancian near the coast of China. While planning the best means for reaching the mainland, he was taken ill, and as the movement of the vessel seemed to aggravate his condition, he was removed to the land, where a rude hut had been built to shelter him. In these wretched surroundings he breathed his last.

It is truly a matter of wonder that one man in the short space of ten years (6 May, 1542 - 2 December, 1552) could have visited so many countries, traversed so many seas, preached the Gospel to so many nations, and converted so many infidels. The incomparable apostolic zeal which animated him, and the stupendous miracles which God wrought through him, explain this marvel, which has no equal elsewhere. The list of the principal miracles may be found in the Bull of canonization. St. Francis Xavier is considered the greatest missionary since the time of the Apostles, and the zeal he displayed, the wonderful miracles he performed, and the great number of souls he brought to the light of true Faith, entitle him to this distinction. He was canonized with St. Ignatius in 1622, although on account of the death of Gregory XV, the Bull of canonization was not published until the following year.

The body of the saint is still enshrined at Goa in the church which formerly belonged to the Society. In 1614 by order of Claudius Acquaviva, General of the Society of Jesus, the right arm was severed at the elbow and conveyed to Rome, where the present altar was erected to receive it in the church of the Gesu.

The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume VI
Nihil Obstat, September 1, 1909, Remy Lafort, Censor
Imprimatur. +John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York

Text Courtesy of TraditionalCatholic.net

XL Anniversary of a Crisis

2009-11-30T06:16:00.000-08:00

A celebration of the New Mass by a Bishop of the Church.

Note the use of improper vessels on the Altar, but also note

the tragic yet perfectly canonical banality of the rite itself.

November 30th 1969 a day that marks the climax of a profound crisis of identity in the Latin rite of the Church. On that day 40 years ago the Papal constitution Missale Romanum introduced into the life of the Church a rite of Mass compromised in its structure, and orientation by a false ecumenism that attempted to placate Protestantism. The Church is currently under going a process of reform under the saintly rule of Pope Benedict XVI. May the Lord grant him many years, and may the almighty God restore His Temple.

A new Ferula for the Pope

2009-11-29T12:52:00.000-08:00

H.H. Benedict XVI

As of first vespers on the first Sunday of Advent, the Holy Father began to employ the use of a brand new Papal Ferula. The Holy Father had been using the Ferula of Blessed Pius IX, and previously to his use of the Pio Nono ferula he used the regrettable and deeply ugly Ferula

of Pope John-Paul II. Things keep getting better every day.

The Ferula is a pastoral staff used Liturgically by bishops in the consecration of churches and other events. In the case of the Pope the Ferula has come to replace the pastoral staff of office used by other bishops as a symbol of their power to shepherd the flock of Christ's Faithful, and correct abuses in the body of the Church. The Ferula is then analogous to the royal scepter of kings.

Advent 2009

2009-11-28T17:50:00.000-08:00

Alma Redemptoris Mater,

quae pervia caeli

Porta manes, et stella maris, succurre cadenti,

Surgere qui curat, populo: tu quae genuisti,

Natura mirante, tuum sanctum Genitorem

Virgo prius ac posterius, Gabrielis ab ore

Sumens illud Ave,

peccatorum miserere.

Anglicanorum Coetibus

2009-11-18T14:04:00.000-08:00

In recent times the Holy Spirit has moved

GROUPS of ANGLICANS

-- to petition repeatedly and insistently to be received into full Catholic communion individually as well as corporately. The Apostolic See has responded favorably to such petitions. Indeed, the successor of Peter, mandated by the Lord Jesus to guarantee the unity of the episcopate and to preside over and safeguard the universal communion of all the Churches, could not fail to make available the means necessary to bring this holy desire to realization.

The Church, a people gathered into the unity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, was instituted by our Lord Jesus Christ, as “a sacrament – a sign and instrument, that is, of communion with God and of unity among all people.” Every division among the baptized in Jesus Christ wounds that which the Church is and that for which the Church exists; in fact, “such division openly contradicts the will of Christ, scandalizes the world, and damages that most holy cause, the preaching the Gospel to every creature.” Precisely for this reason, before shedding his blood for the salvation of the world, the Lord Jesus prayed to the Father for the unity of his disciples.

It is the Holy Spirit, the principle of unity, which establishes the Church as a communion. He is the principle of the unity of the faithful in the teaching of the Apostles, in the breaking of the bread and in prayer. The Church, however, analogous to the mystery of the Incarnate Word, is not only an invisible spiritual communion, but is also visible; in fact, “the society structured with hierarchical organs and the Mystical Body of Christ, the visible society and the spiritual community, the earthly Church and the Church endowed with heavenly riches, are not to be thought of as two realities. On the contrary, they form one complex reality formed from a two-fold element, human and divine.” The communion of the baptized in the teaching of the Apostles and in the breaking of the eucharistic bread is visibly manifested in the bonds of the profession of the faith in its entirety, of the celebration of all of the sacraments instituted by Christ, and of the governance of the College of Bishops united with its head, the Roman Pontiff.

This single Church of Christ, which we profess in the Creed as one, holy, catholic and apostolic “subsists in the Catholic Church, which is governed by the successor of Peter and by the Bishops in communion with him. Nevertheless, many elements of sanctification and of truth are found outside her visible confines. Since these are gifts properly belonging to the Church of Christ, they are forces impelling towards Catholic unity.”

In the light of these ecclesiological principles, this Apostolic Constitution provides the general normative structure for regulating the institution and life of Personal Ordinariates for those Anglican faithful who desire to enter into the full communion of the Catholic Church in a corporate manner. This Constitution is completed by Complementary Norms issued by the Apostolic See.

I. §1 Personal Ordinariates for Anglicans entering into full communion with the Catholic Church are erected by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith within the confines of the territorial boundaries of a particular Conference of Bishops in consultation with that same Conference.

§2 Within the territory of a particular Conference of Bishops, one or more Ordinariates may be erected as needed.

§3 Each Ordinariate possesses public juridic personality by the law itself (ipso iure); it is juridically comparable to a diocese.

§4 The Ordinariate is composed of lay faithful, clerics and members of Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, originally belonging to the Anglican Communion and now in full communion with the Catholic Church, or those who receive the Sacraments of Initiation within the jurisdiction of the Ordinariate.

§5 The Catechism of the Catholic Church is the authoritative expression of the Catholic faith professed by members of the Ordinariate.

II. The Personal Ordinariate is governed according to the norms of universal law and the present Apostolic Constitution and is subject to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and the other Dicasteries of the Roman Curia in accordance with their competencies. It is also governed by the Complementary Norms as well as any other specific Norms given for each Ordinariate.

III. Without excluding liturgical celebrations according to the Roman Rite, the Ordinariate has the faculty to celebrate the Holy Eucharist and the other Sacraments, the Liturgy of the Hours and other liturgical celebrations according to the liturgical books proper to the Anglican tradition, which have been approved by the Holy See, so as to maintain the liturgical, spiritual and pastoral traditions of the Anglican Communion within the Catholic Church, as a precious gift nourishing the faith of the members of the Ordinariate and as a treasure to be shared.

IV. IV. A Personal Ordinariate is entrusted to the pastoral care of an Ordinary appointed by the Roman Pontiff.

V. V. The power (potestas) of the Ordinary is:

a. ordinary: connected by the law itself to the office entrusted to him by the Roman Pontiff, for both the internal forum and external forum;
b. vicarious: exercised in the name of the Roman Pontiff;
c. personal: exercised over all who belong to the Ordinariate;

This power is to be exercised jointly with that of the local Diocesan Bishop, in those cases provided for in the Complementary Norms.

VI. § 1. Those who ministered as Anglican deacons, priests, or bishops, and who fulfill the requisites established by canon law and are not impeded by irregularities or other impediments may be accepted by the Ordinary as candidates for Holy Orders in the Catholic Church. In the case of married ministers, the norms established in the Encyclical Letter of Pope Paul VI Sacerdotalis coelibatus, n. 42 and in the Statement In June are to be observed. Unmarried ministers must submit to the norm of clerical celibacy of CIC can. 277, §1.

§ 2. The Ordinary, in full observance of the discipline of celibate clergy in the Latin Church, as a rule (pro regula) will admit only celibate men to the order of presbyter. He may also petition the Roman Pontiff, as a derogation from can. 277, §1, for the admission of married men to the order of presbyter on a case by case basis, according to objective criteria approved by the Holy See.

§ 3. Incardination of clerics will be regulated according to the norms of canon law.

§ 4. Priests incardinated into an Ordinariate, who constitute the presbyterate of the Ordinariate, are also to cultivate bonds of unity with the presbyterate of the Diocese in which they exercise their ministry. They should promote common pastoral and charitable initiatives and activities, which can be the object of agreements between the Ordinary and the local Diocesan Bishop.

§ 5. Candidates for Holy Orders in an Ordinariate should be prepared alongside other seminarians, especially in the areas of doctrinal and pastoral formation. In order to address the particular needs of seminarians of the Ordinariate and formation in Anglican patrimony, the Ordinary may also establish seminary programs or houses of formation which would relate to existing Catholic faculties of theology.

VII. The Ordinary, with the approval of the Holy See, can erect new Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, with the right to call their members to Holy Orders, according to the norms of canon law. Institutes of Consecrated Life originating in the Anglican Communion and entering into full communion with the Catholic Church may also be placed under his jurisdiction by mutual consent.

VIII. § 1. The Ordinary, according to the norm of law, after having heard the opinion of the Diocesan Bishop of the place, may erect, with the consent of the Holy See, personal parishes for the faithful who belong to the Ordinariate.

§ 2. Pastors of the Ordinariate enjoy all the rights and are held to all the obligations established in the Code of Canon Law and, in cases established by the Complementary Norms, such rights and obligations are to be exercised in mutual pastoral assistance together with the pastors of the local Diocese where the personal parish of the Ordinariate has been established.

IX. Both the lay faithful as well as members of Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, originally part of the Anglican Communion, who wish to enter the Personal Ordinariate, must manifest this desire in writing.

X. § 1. The Ordinary is aided in his governance by a Governing Council with its own statutes approved by the Ordinary and confirmed by the Holy See.

§ 2. The Governing Council, presided over by the Ordinary, is composed of at least six priests. It exercises the functions specified in the Code of Canon Law for the Presbyteral Council and the College of Consultors, as well as those areas specified in the Complementary Norms.

§ 3. The Ordinary is to establish a Finance Council according to the norms established by the Code of Canon Law which will exercise the duties specified therein.

§ 4. In order to provide for the consultation of the faithful, a Pastoral Council is to be constituted in the Ordinariate.

XI. Every five years the Ordinary is required to come to Rome for an ad limina Apostolorumvisit and present to the Roman Pontiff, through the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and in consultation with the Congregation for Bishops and the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, a report on the status of the Ordinariate.

XII. For judicial cases, the competent tribunal is that of the Diocese in which one of the parties is domiciled, unless the Ordinariate has constituted its own tribunal, in which case the tribunal of second instance is the one designated by the Ordinariate and approved by the Holy See.

XIII. The Decree establishing an Ordinariate will determine the location of the See and, if appropriate, the principal church.

We desire that our dispositions and norms be valid and effective now and in the future, notwithstanding, should it be necessary, the Apostolic Constitutions and ordinances issued by our predecessors, or any other prescriptions, even those requiring special mention or derogation.

Given in Rome, at St. Peter’s, on November 4, 2009, the Memorial of St. Charles Borromeo.

Roodmas [Sept.XIV]

2009-09-12T06:39:00.000-07:00

The Feast of the Exaltation of the True Cross

also called Roodmas

The feast of the Exaltation of the True Cross was first observed in Rome before the end of the seventh century. It commemorates the recovery of the relic of the Holy Cross, which had been discovered by St. Helena and after placed on Mt. Calvary, but then had fallen into the hands of Chosroas, King of the Persians after the capture of the city and the massacre of its Christian population by the forces of Benjamin of Tiberias. The precious relic was recovered and returned to Jerusalem by Emperor Heralius in 629.

Requiescant in Pace [Sept XI]

2009-09-11T06:44:00.000-07:00

Psalm 120

I have lifted up my eyes to the mountains, from whence help shall come to me.

My help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

May he not suffer thy foot to be moved: neither let him slumber that keepeth thee.

Behold he shall neither slumber nor sleep, that keepeth Israel.

The Lord is thy keeper, the Lord is thy protection upon thy right hand.

The sun shall not burn thee by day: nor the moon by night.

The Lord keepeth thee from all evil: may the Lord keep thy soul.

May the Lord keep thy going in and thy going out; from henceforth now and for ever.

Eternal rest grant onto them O Lord,

and may perpetual light shine upon them.

Exultation of the Holy Cross [Sept. XIV]

2009-09-08T06:46:00.000-07:00

World Trade Center Cross

This Cross, now relocated at Saint Peter's church, just yards from the site of the former World Trade Center, was discovered on September 13, 2001 (Vigil of the Holy Cross) standing among the rubble at Ground Zero. It has become, for the many of the rescue volunteers and to the population of the New York Metropolis, a powerful symbol of the presence of God in the midst of the horror; death, and destruction visited upon the people of New York on the morning of September 11, 2001.

In Memoriam [first anniversary] Sept. XXIX

2009-08-31T11:27:00.000-07:00

MEMORIAL TO MY MOTHER

WHO RESTS IN THE SURE

HOPE OF THE RESURRECTION

Saint Justa

by Murillo

Saint Justa, a vendor of clay pots, together with her sister Saint Rufina. After refusing to sell their pots for use in pagan worship were set upon by the pagans of Seville who destroyed their whole stock of pots. The saintly sisters in full Christian indignation then overturned the cult idol of the pagans, smashing it. They were denounced as Christians before the imperial authorities, a fact, which they did not deny. Having thus confessed the name of Christ they suffered martyrdom, and gained paradise.

O most blessed Saint Justa, pray for the soul of she who in this life so joyfully bore your name.

Prayer to Saint Michael [Sept. XXIX]

2009-08-31T08:58:00.000-07:00

Saint Michael the Archangel

defender of the Holy Church of God

Saint Michael

the Archangel,

defend us in battle.

Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil.

May God rebuke him, we humbly pray;

and do Thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host -

by the Divine Power of God -

cast into hell, satan and all the evil spirits,

who roam throughout the world seeking the ruin of souls.

Amen.

Bl. Mary of Jesus [Sept. XII]

2009-08-31T08:39:00.000-07:00

Blessed Mary of Jesus

Born in 1560 at Tartanedo (Spain), she took the Discalced Carmelite habit at Toledo in 1577 and made her profession the following year. She spent the rest of her life serving God in that Carmel, except for a brief period in 1585 when she helped with a foundation at Cuerva. She died at Toledo on September 13, 1640. St. Teresa of Jesus thought extremely highly of her. She was a great contemplative, intensely devoted to our Lord, and often drawing inspiration from the liturgy.

Our Day of Charity [Sept. VIII]

2009-08-31T03:29:00.000-07:00

Our Lady of Charity
pray for us.

Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary [Sept.VIII]

2009-08-31T03:15:00.000-07:00

The birth of the Mother of God

Thy birth, O Virgin Mother of God, 
heralded joy to all the world. 
For from thou hast risen the Sun of justice, 
Christ our God.

Destroying the curse, He gave blessing; 
and damning death, He bestowed on us life everlasting.

Blessed art thou among women 
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. 
For from thou hast risen of Sun of justice, Christ our God.

Saint Adrian of Nicomidia

2009-08-30T20:39:00.000-07:00

Saint Adrian Nicomidia

Feast: September 8th.

The holy martyrs Adrian and Natalia were married in their youth for one year prior to their martyrdom, and lived in Nicomedia during the time of the emperor Maximian (305-311). The emperor promised a reward to whomever would inform on Christians to bring them to trial. Then the denunciations began, and twenty-three Christians were captured in a cave near Nicomedia.

They were tortured, urged to worship idols, and then brought before the Praetor, in order to record their names and responses. Adrian, the head of the praetorium, watched as these people suffered with such courage for their faith. Seeing how firmly and fearlessly they confessed Christ, asked: "What rewards do you expect from your God for your suffering?" The martyrs replied: "Such rewards as we are not able to describe, nor can your mind comprehend." St Adrian told the scribes,"Write my name down also, for I am a Christian and I die gladly for Christ God."

The scribes reported this to the emperor, who summoned St Adrian and asked: "Really, have you gone mad, that you want to die? Come, cross out your name from the lists and offer sacrifice to the gods, asking their forgiveness."

St Adrian answered: "I have not lost my mind, but rather have I found it." Maximian then ordered Adrian to be thrown into prison. His wife, St Natalia, knowing that her husband was to suffer for Christ, rejoiced, since she herself was secretly a Christian.

She hastened to the prison and encouraged her husband saying: "You are blessed, my lord, because you have believed in Christ. You have obtained a great treasure. Do not regret anything earthly, neither beauty, nor youth (Adrian was then 28 years of age), nor riches. Everything worldly is dust and ashes. Only faith and good deeds are pleasing to God."

On the pledge of the other martyrs, they released St Adrian from prison to tell his wife about the day of his execution. At first St Natalia thought that he had renounced Christ and thus had been set free, and she did not want to let him into the house. The saint persuaded his wife that he had not fled from martyrdom, but rather had come to give her the news of the day of his execution.

They tortured St Adrian cruelly. The emperor advised the saint to have pity on himself and call on the gods, but the martyr answered: "Let your gods say what blessings they promise me, and then I shall worship them, but if they cannot do this, then why should I worship them?" St Natalia did not cease to encourage her husband. She asked him also to pray to God for her, that they would not force her into marriage with a pagan after his death.

Saint Teresa Margaret Redi of the Sacred Heart

2009-08-30T14:45:00.000-07:00

Saint Teresa Margaret of Redi

of the Sacred Heart

Teresa Margaret was born in Arezzo in Tuscany in 1747 of the noble Redi family, and entered the Discalced Carmelites at Florence on September 1, 1764. She was given a special contemplative experience concerning the words of St John, “God is love.” She felt deeply that her vocation was to live a hidden life of love and self-immolation. That vocation was confirmed by her heroic exercise of fraternal charity, but was soon completed: she died in 1770, aged twenty-three.

Saints of September

2009-08-30T14:32:00.000-07:00

La sainte chapelle

We enter into the month of September and find the saints of God already waiting for us. Let us enter and join the holy ones in the worship and adoration of the Lord.

List of the Saints commemorated in the month of September.

I. St. Teresa Redi

II. Bl. Walter of Bergamo and Ingrid of Skanninge

III. St. Balin of Techsaxon

IV. Blessed Catherine of Racconigi

V. St. Jordan of Pulsano

VI. Bl. Bertrand of Garrigue, Michael Czartorysky and Juliana Rodzinska

VII. St. Diuma

VIII. St. Adrian of Nicomedia

IX. St. Peter Claver of Verdu

X. St. Nicholas of Tolentino

XI. St. John Gabriel de le Puech

XII. Bl. Mary of Jesus

XIII. St. Philip the confessor

XIV. St. Cormac of Cashel

XV. St. Adam of Caithness

XVI. St. Ludmila

XVII. Bl. Albert of Jerusalem

XVIII. St. John Macias

XIX. St. Alfonso de Orozco

XX. Bl. Mark of Modena, and Francis de Posadas

XXI. St. Matthew the Apostle

XXII. Bl. Jacino and his companions, St. Maurice and his companions

XXIII. St. Pio of Pietrelcina

XXIV. Bl. DalmatiusMoner

XXV. St. Cadoc

XXVI. Sts. Cosmas and Damian

XXVII. Sts. Adolphus and John of Seville

XXVIII. Bl. Lawrence of Ripafratta, and St. Lorenzo Ruiz and his companions.

XXIX. St. Michael the Archangel

XXX. St. Midan

Saint Augustine

2009-08-25T08:05:00.001-07:00

Saint Augustine of Hippo

Feast: August 28

The Assumption of the Mother of God

2009-08-15T05:21:00.000-07:00

The Assumption of the Mother of God

August 15th.

…For the glory of Almighty God who has lavished his special affection upon the Virgin Mary, for the honor of her Son, the immortal King of the Ages and the Victor over sin and death, for the increase of the glory of that same august Mother, and for the joy and exultation of the entire Church; by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, and by our own authority,

We pronounce, declare, and define it to be a divinely revealed dogma: that the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory.

Hence if anyone, which God forbid, should dare willfully to deny or to call into doubt that which we have defined, let him know that he has fallen away completely from the divine and Catholic Faith.

___from the Papal Constitution Munificentissimus Deus of Pope Pius XII in which the Assumption of the Mother of God was dogmatically defined as a necessary article of Faith.

Saint Philomina

2009-08-12T07:52:00.000-07:00

Print showing principal image of St. Philomina

over her Altar at her tomb

Feast: August 11

Prayer

O most pure Virgin, glorious Martyr, St. Philomena, whom God in His eternal power has revealed to the world in these unhappy days in order to revive the faith, sustain the hope and enkindle the charity of Christian souls, behold me prostate at thy feet. Deign, O Virgin, full of goodness and kindness, to receive my humble prayers and to obtain for me that purity for which thou didst sacrifice the most alluring pleasures of the world, that strength of soul which made thee resist the most terrible attacks and that ardent love for our Lord Jesus Christ, which the most frightful torments could not extinguish in thee. So, that waring thy holy cord and imitating thee in this life, I may one day be crowned with thee in heaven.

Amen.

"Pray to St. Philomena, whatever you ask from Her She will obtain for you."

_____(Pope Gregory XVI)

The Cross of Jesus Christ

2009-08-02T11:49:00.000-07:00

The Holy Cross

Our understanding, which is enlightened by the Spirit of truth, should receive with purity and freedom of heart the glory of the cross as it shines in heaven and on earth. It should see with inner vision the meaning of the Lord's words when he spoke of the imminence of his passion: The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Afterward he said: Now my soul is troubled, and what am I to say? Father, save me from this hour. But it was for this I came to this hour. Father, glorify your Son. When the voice of the Father came from heaven, saying, I have glorified him, and will glorify him again, Jesus said in reply to those around him: It was not for me that this voice spoke, but for you. Now is the judgment of the world, now will the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all things to myself.

How marvelous the power of the cross; how great beyond all telling the glory of the passion. Here is the judgment-seat of the Lord, the condemnation of the world, the supremacy of Christ crucified.

Lord, you drew all things to yourself so that the devotion of all peoples everywhere might celebrate, in a sacrament made perfect and visible, what was carried out in the one temple of Judea under obscure foreshadowings. Now there is a more distinguished order of Levites, a greater dignity for the rank of elders, a more sacred anointing for the priesthood, because your cross is the source of all blessings, the cause of all graces. Through the cross the faithful receive strength from weakness, glory from dishonor, life from death.

The different sacrifices of animals are no more: the one offering of your body and blood is the fulfillment of all the different sacrificial offerings, for you are the true Lamb of God: you take away the sins of the world. In yourself you bring to perfection all mysteries, so that, as there is one sacrifice in place of all other sacrificial offerings, there is also one kingdom gathered from all peoples.

Dearly beloved, let us then acknowledge what Saint Paul, the teacher of the nations, acknowledged so exultantly: This is a saying worthy of trust, worthy of complete acceptance: Christ Jesus came into this world to save sinners.

God's compassion for us is all the more wonderful because Christ died, not for the righteous or the holy but for the wicked and the sinful, and, though the divine nature could not be touched by the sting of death, he took to himself, through his birth as one of us, something he could offer on our behalf.

The power of his death once confronted our death. In the words of Hosea the prophet: Death, I shall be your death; grave, I shall swallow you up. By dying he submitted to the laws of the underworld; by rising again he destroyed them. He did away with the everlasting character of death so as to make death a thing of time, not of eternity. As all die in Adam, so all will be brought to life in Christ.

______From one of the sermons of Saint Leo the Great

Blessed jean d'aza

2009-07-30T20:30:00.000-07:00

Image of Blessed Jane d'Aza mother of Saint Dominic

Feast: August 2.

Tradition holds that when pregnant with her son Dominic, Blessed Jane of Aza had a vision of a dog running around the whole world, a blazing torch in its mouth.

The son became the founder of the Order of Preachers; known as the Dominicans thus the prophetic dream was fulfilled as the Dominican friars took the light of the gospel throughout the world. They became known as the Dogs of the Lord. In Latin the word Dominican would be Domini Canes, literally Dogs of the Lord.

God the Father

2009-07-30T16:37:00.001-07:00

Our Father

2009-07-03T05:28:00.000-07:00

His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI has this morning, July 3rd 2009, approved the publication of the decree of the Congregation for the Cause of Saints thus recognizing officially as true the report of a miracle through the intercession of the Venerable John Henry Cardinal Newman.

.

Feast of the Most Precious Blood

2009-06-30T23:12:00.000-07:00

July 1

Feast of the Most Precious Blood.

Almighty and Eternal GOD, Who destined Your Only Begotten Son to be Redeemer of the world and willed to be appeased by His Precious Blood, grant us the grace of venerating the price of our Redemption and of discovering in It the virtue It contains - the defense against the evils of the present life - in such a way that we may eternally enjoy Its fruits in Heaven, through the same Christ, Our Lord. Amen.

Feast of Ss Peter and Paul

2009-06-26T20:46:00.000-07:00

Ss. Peter and Paul
founders of the church
of Rome

June 29th

In illo tempore dixit Iesus discipulis suis:

who do you say that I am?"
Simon Peter said in reply,
"You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Jesus said to him in reply, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah.
For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.
And so I say to you, you are Peter,
and upon this rock I will build my Church,
and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.
I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven.
Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven;
and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

Year of the Priest

2009-06-19T17:49:00.000-07:00

APOSTOLIC PENITENTIARY

DECREE

Special Indulgence for the Year for Priests

As has been announced, the Holy Father Benedict XVI has decided to establish a special Year for Priests on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the death of St John Mary Vianney, the holy Curé d'Ars, a shining model of a Pastor totally dedicated to the service of the people of God.

During the Year for Priests which will begin on 19 June 2009 and will end on 19 June 2010, the gift of special Indulgences is granted as described in the Decree of the Apostolic Penitentiary, published on 12 May.

Shortly the day will come on which will be commemorated the 150th anniversary of the pious departure to Heaven of St John Mary Vianney, the Curé d'Ars. This Saint was a wonderful model here on earth of a true Pastor at the service of Christ's flock.

Since his example is used to encourage the faithful, and especially priests, to imitate his virtues, the Supreme Pontiff Benedict XVI has established that for this occasion a special Year for Priests will be celebrated, from 19 June 2009 to 19 June 2010, in which all priests may be increasingly strengthened in fidelity to Christ with devout meditation, spiritual exercises and other appropriate actions.

This holy period will begin with the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a day of priestly sanctification on which the Supreme Pontiff will celebrate Vespers in the presence of the holy relics of St John Mary Vianney, brought to Rome by the Bishop of Belley-Ars, France.

The Most Holy Father will likewise preside at the conclusion of the Year for Priests in St Peter's Square, in the presence of priests from across the world who will renew their fidelity to Christ and the bond of brotherhood.

May priests commit themselves, with prayer and good works, to obtaining from Christ the Eternal High Priest, the grace to shine with Faith, Hope, Charity and the other virtues, and show by their way of life, but also with their external conduct, that they are dedicated without reserve to the spiritual good of the people something that the Church has always had at heart.

The gift of Sacred Indulgences which the Apostolic Penitentiary, with this Decree issued in conformity with the wishes of the August Pontiff, graciously grants during the Year for Priests will be of great help in achieving the desired purpose in the best possible way.

A. Truly repentant priests who, on any day, devoutly recite at least morning Lauds or Vespers before the Blessed Sacrament, exposed for public adoration or replaced in the tabernacle, and who, after the example of St John Mary Vianney, offer themselves with a ready and generous heart for the celebration of the sacraments, especially Confession, are mercifully granted in God the Plenary Indulgence which they may also apply to their deceased brethren in suffrage, if, in conformity with the current norms, they receive sacramental confession and the Eucharistic banquet and pray for the Supreme Pontiff's intentions.

Furthermore the Partial Indulgence is granted to priests who may apply it to their deceased confreres every time that they devoutly recite the prayers duly approved to lead a holy life and to carry out in a holy manner the offices entrusted to them.

B. The Plenary Indulgence is granted to all the faithful who are truly repentant who, in church or in chapel, devoutly attend the divine Sacrifice of Mass and offer prayers to Jesus Christ the Eternal High Priest, for the priests of the Church, and any other good work which they have done on that day, so that he may sanctify them and form them in accordance with His Heart, as long as they have made expiation for their sins through sacramental confession and prayed in accordance with the Supreme Pontiff's intentions: on the days in which the Year for Priests begins and ends, on the day of the 150th anniversary of the pious passing of St John Mary Vianney, on the first Thursday of the month or on any other day established by the local Ordinaries for the benefit of the faithful.

It will be most appropriate, in cathedral and parish churches, for the same priests who are in charge of pastoral care to publicly direct these exercises of devotion, to celebrate Holy Mass and to hear the confession of the faithful.

The Plenary Indulgence will likewise be granted to the elderly, the sick and all those who for any legitimate reason are confined to their homes who, with a mind detached from any sin and with the intention of fulfilling as soon as possible the three usual conditions, at home or wherever their impediment detains them, provided that on the above-mentioned days they recite prayers for the sanctification of priests and confidently offer the illnesses and hardships of their lives to God through Mary Queen of Apostles.

Lastly, the Partial Indulgence is granted to all the faithful every time they devoutly recite five Our Fathers, Hail Marys and Glorias, or another expressly approved prayer, in honour of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to obtain that priests be preserved in purity and holiness of life.

This Decree is valid for the entire duration of the Year for Priests. Anything to the contrary notwithstanding.

Given in Rome, at the Offices of the Apostolic Penitentiary on 25 April, the Feast of St Mark the Evangelist, in the year of the Incarnation of our Lord 2009.

Cardinal James Francis Stafford
Major Penitentiary

The Month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

2009-05-31T08:38:00.000-07:00

Sacred Heart of Jesus

JUNE

Among the many proofs of the boundless benignity of our Redeemer, there is one that stands out conspicuously, to wit the fact that when the charity of Christian people was growing cold, the Divine Charity itself was set forth to be honored by a special worship, and the riches of its bounty was made widely manifest by that form of devotion wherein worship is given to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, "In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge"
(Coloss. ii, 3).

____Pope Pius XI; Miserentissimus Redemptor. 1928

Saint Philip Neri

2009-05-19T18:35:00.000-07:00

Feast: May 26

Prayer of the Venerable Henry Cardinal Newman
to Saint Philip

Philip, my glorious Advocate, teach me to look at all I see around me after thy pattern, as creatures of God.

Let me never forget that the same God who made me, made the whole world and all animals that are in it.

Give me the grace to love all God’s works for God’s sake, and all men fore the sake of my Lord and savior who has redeemed me on the Cross.

The Ascension

2009-05-17T13:37:00.000-07:00

The Ascension of Christ means that he no longer belongs to the world of corruption and death, which conditions our life. It means that he belongs completely to God. He, the eternal Son, has taken our human being to the presence of God; he has taken with him flesh and blood in a transfigured form. Man finds a place in God through Christ; the human being has been taken into the very life of God. And, given that God embraces and sustains the whole cosmos, the Lord's Ascension means that Christ has not gone far away from us, but that now, thanks to the fact he is with the Father, he is close to each one of us forever. Each one of us may address him familiarly; each one may turn to him. The Lord always hears our voice. We may distance ourselves inwardly from him. We can live with our backs turned to him, but he always awaits us, and is always close to us.
_____ H.H. Benedict XVI, 2005

A benedictine quote

2009-05-12T19:09:00.000-07:00

“After the Second Vatican Council, the impression arose that the pope really could do anything in liturgical matters, especially if he were acting on the mandate of an ecumenical council. Eventually, the idea of the givenness of the liturgy, the fact that one cannot do with it what one will, faded from the public consciousness of the West. In fact, the First Vatican Council had in no way defined the pope as an absolute monarch. On the contrary, it presented him as the guarantor of obedience to the revealed Word. The pope's authority is bound to the Tradition of faith, and that also applies to the liturgy. It is not "manufactured" by the authorities. Even the pope can only be a humble servant of its lawful development and abiding integrity and identity. . . . The authority of the pope is not unlimited; it is at the service of Sacred Tradition. . . . The greatness of the liturgy depends - we shall have to repeat this frequently - on its unspontaneity.”

_____Pope Benedict XVI

Month of our Lady

2009-05-02T08:45:00.000-07:00

This is the Month of our Lady the Queen of Heaven and Earth
The great Daughter of the Father
The Mother of God the Son
The Bride of God the Holy Spirit.

She who is full of Grace
The Gate of Heaven
The Mother of all the Faithful
The first to be Called
She who crushes the head of the enemy.

St George

2009-04-21T16:44:00.000-07:00

Feast: April 23

From the Roman Martyrology:

The birthday of St. George, whose illustrious martyrdom is honored by the Church of God among the triumphs of the other martyrs.

Happy Birthday Holy Father

2009-04-16T06:37:00.000-07:00

H.H. Benedict XVI

Easter

2009-04-14T18:11:00.001-07:00

Good Friday

2009-04-10T06:21:00.001-07:00

Christ has become our sacrifice

2009-04-09T13:47:00.000-07:00

When Jesus said, "The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Mk 10:45), he summed up in these words the essential purpose of his messianic mission: "to give his life as a ransom." It is a redemptive mission for all humanity, because the expression, "as a ransom for many," according to the Semitic mode of thought, does not exclude anyone. The Messiah's mission had already been seen in the light of this redemptive value in the book of the prophet Isaiah, and particularly in the servant of the Lord oracles: "Yet it was our infirmities that he bore, our sufferings that he endured, while we thought of him as stricken, as one smitten by God and afflicted. But he was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins, upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole, by his stripes we were healed"
(Is 53:4-5).

The Sacrifice of the Mass

2009-03-26T09:39:00.000-07:00

The offering of the Son to the Father
for the sake of the souls in purgatory

Forasmuch as, in this divine sacrifice which is celebrated in the Mass, that same Christ is contained and immolated in an unbloody manner, who once offered Himself in a bloody manner on the altar of the cross; the holy Synod teaches, that this sacrifice is truly propritiatory and that by means thereof this is effected, that we obtain mercy, and find grace in seasonable aid, if we draw nigh unto God, contrite and penitent, with a sincere heart and upright faith, with fear and reverence. ___Trent

Annunciation 2009

2009-03-25T03:40:00.000-07:00

...And the Word became flesh

The Most Precious Blood of the Lord

2009-03-15T14:09:00.000-07:00

The Holy scourging

Unlimited is the effectiveness of the God-Man's Blood -- just as unlimited as the love that impelled him to pour it out for us, first at his circumcision eight days after birth, and more profusely later on in his agony in the garden, in his scourging and crowning with thorns, in his climb to Calvary and crucifixion, and finally from out that great wide wound in his side which symbolizes the divine Blood cascading down into all the Church's sacraments. Such surpassing love suggests, nay demands, that everyone reborn in the torrents of that Blood adore it with grateful love.

___Blessed John XXIII 1960

ASH WEDNESDAY

2009-02-25T10:02:00.000-08:00

February Contribution

2009-02-17T15:27:00.001-08:00

My Jesus for me you have mounted the tree of destruction
and have caused it to become the instrument of my redemption
from the powers of this passing world.

Grant me the grace of final perseverance.
Amen.

The Vision of Saint Thomas Aquinus

2009-01-27T21:07:00.000-08:00

The Vision of Saint Thomas Aquinus
painted by Santi di Tito in 1593 Florence

May He Rest in Peace.

2009-01-27T02:59:00.001-08:00

Msgr. William Smith

Te Deum

2009-01-27T02:56:00.000-08:00

The Excommunication of Tradition is at an end.