Swear Words

Today I will type up the Commentary of Cornelius A Lapide on S. Matthew 5:33-37

33. Again you have heard that it was said to them of old, Thou shalt not forswear thyself: but thou shalt perform thy oaths to the Lord.
34. But I say to you not to swear at all, neither by heaven, for it is the throne of God:
35. Nor by the earth, for it is his footstool: nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great king:
36. Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.
37. But let your speech be yea, yea: no, no: and that which is over and above these, is of evil.

But I say to you not to swear at all. "From this passage the Pelagians taught that no oath was lawful for Christians, as we see from the Council of Constance, and the Anabaptists of the present day hold the same opinion, who will not swear in a trial at the bidding of a judge. But this is an error of faith, which the ...example of God Himself , of S. Paul, and the saints condemn as is plain from Psalms 109:4, Rom 1:9, etc. ...An oath is an honor to God as the prime Verity, because he who swears appeals to God, who is infallible Truth, as his Witness. Therefore an oath is an act of religion, and the highest worship, provided that it be done in truth.
You will ask, Why then does Christ say, swear not at all? S. Bernard says that this is not a precept, but only of counsel...So as not to fall into perjury through the habit of swearing, as often happens.
...[Another reason is] Because the trustworthiness and honesty of men, especially of believers and Christians, ought to be such, that things not sworn to can be believed.
...S. Augustine says "False swearing is destructive, true swearing is perilous, swearing not at all is safe." ... Just as it is a moral evil, per se, to kill any one, there are circumstances in which it is permissible, dutiful, and even laudable So it is with an oath.

Neither by heaven for it is the throne of God,: Nor by the earth for it is his footstool: Nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great king. Christ here teaches that he who swears by heaven or earth, swears by God their creator... [by Jerusalem] The meaning is; Do not swear by the saints, the holy city of Jerusalem, nor by other sacred things, nor by your own possessions, or by any other creature, for they all belong to God, who is present in them all and who alone has complete power over them. In like manner, he who swears by creatures swears by God...
Wrongly, do the modern heretics, specifically Augustine Marloratus, say "Just as of old anyone who swore by another idol, detracted to the extent from God's rights, because they put something else in the place of Him who knows hearts and judges souls, so today, those who swear by angels and by dead saints, vainly attach to them the Divinity of which they have deprived from God." But this is an error and a heresy... Paul (1 Cor. 15:31) swears by the glory of the Corinthians, as is plain from the Greek text. The honor of the saints is the honor of God. For God made them saints; therefore one who swears by the saints swears by their God and Sanctifier.

Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. This means: Do not think that you are allowed to swear by your head because it is yours, and subject to you and your full control to use as you wish, for any purpose, even to bring down curses upon it by an oath if you perjure yourself; because in fact, your head is not your own, but God's. So you cannot make even one hair of your head white or black; that is for God alone to do. Therefore anyone who swears by their head, swears by God who made it; moreover-horrible thought-such a man is asking God to accept his very herd and life as a pledge, so that if he commits perjury, God will punish him by demanding his head and his life.

But let your speech be yea, yea: no, no: (simple affirmation or negation) and that which is over and above these (Greek "excessive": the Syrian version "what is added beyond these") is of evil. The Hebrew translated is "truly; truly, no, no."...
Hence S. Bernard praises Theobald for his simple truthfulness. "for him, as it is said, speaking simply is as good as swearing, and a trifling lie is accounted grave perjury..."
Is of evil- The Greek has "is from the evil one." Evil here may be taken in the masculine or the neuter gender. If masculine, of evil means "from the devil," who, as a ringleader of all iniquity, incites thee to swear falsely, which is the sin of perjury. If of evil is neuter, it means "cometh of vice." The custom of wearing arises from your own vice of levity or irreverence. Franz Lucas admits this: of evil, he says, means from a habit of swearing needlessly and lightly, or falsely and deceitfully. Again, of evil means from a habit of swearing that originates in human mistrust. Since it seemed that men would not believe one another unless they swore.

Why Devotion to the Heart of Our Mother in Her Sorrows?

"My daughter, tears shed for My Passion are dear to Me; but as I loved My Mother Mary with an immense love the Meditation on the torments which she endured at My death is even more agreeable to Me." -Jesus to Blessed Veronica of Binasco.

"I look around at all who are on earth, to see if by chance there are any who pity me, and meditate upon my sorrows; and I find there are very few..." Mary to St. Bridget

St. Albert the Great, O.P. (who's feast is was two days ago) said "that as we are under great obligations to Jesus for His Passion endured for our love, so also are we under great obligations to Mary for the martyrdom which she voluntarily suffered for our salvation in the death of her Son. Voluntarily since, as St. Agnes revealed to St. Bridget, 'our compassionate and benign Mother was satisfied rather to endure any torment than that our souls should not be redeemed."

We begin to understand why Mary, Mother of God, is Mary, Mother of all! Only to mothers does this innate, unconditional love come as natural. I would say for men and fathers, it is second nature. But to women! First!

"The grief of Mary was so great that, were it divided amongst all men, it would suffice to cause their immediate death."1

After meditating on this one line, we can begin to appreciate why she is so important. Why she has earned the title Co-Redemptix.

"While other martyrs suffered by sacrificing their own lives, the Blessed Virgin suffered by sacrificing her Son's life - a life that She loved far more than Her own; so that she not only suffered in her soul all that her Son endured in His body, but moreover the sight of her Son's torments brought more grief to her heart than if she had endured them all in her own person."2

OK, that was a little weird. What does that say on the surface? Shouldn't a mother rather give herself up than her Child? After meditating and contemplating on how could someone be selfless by giving up someone she loved, we find why she is so worthy of our compassion and our gratitude. Why? because her martyrdom started when Christ was born to die! Her soul was martyred for 33 consecutive years. Her soul, which is not the body. The martyred saints gave their body up for a brief period. We all know pains in the soul hurt much worse.

The Seven Sorrows of Our Lady
The First Sword- St. Simeon's Prophecy- "Behold, this Child is a sign of contradiction. And Thine own soul shall be pierced by a sword."

The Second Sword- The Flight of Jesus into Egypt- Three hundred miles on donkey with a delicate newborn child to feed and protect. What shelter could she offer her Child when they entered Egypt as strangers?

The Third Sword- The Loss of Jesus in the Temple- O! The desolation our Mother Mary must have felt as she lost the Divine Presence for three days. Job was tormented by losing all God had given him, but he did not lose God Himself.

The Forth Sword- The Meeting on the Way to Calvary- She hardly could recognized the bloody face of the man who met her in the streets. And when Jesus wiped away the clotted blood from His eyes, Their looks became as so many arrows to pierce the hearts which loved each other so tenderly.

The Fifth Sword- The Crucifixion and Death of Christ- When so many would faint at the deplorable sight of their naked son executed as a criminal, Our Lady stood.

The Sixth Sword- After being lanced in the side, Jesus is placed in the arms of Our Lady- Our Lord's body received the lance but he was dead. Our Lady's heart felt the pain that was doubled as she first touched her dead Son.

The Seventh Sword- The Burial of Jesus- Who had to tell Mary it was time to seal the tomb? After Our Mother told her son the last good bye she left her heart in the tomb to be sealed as well. Mary was so sad that while she returned home all who encountered her was moved to tears.

1- St. Bernadine of Sienna
2- St. Antoninus, O.P.

Today is the Order of the Servants of Mary's All Souls day.

May those souls, and all souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in Peace.

Our Lady of Sorrows, Pray for us.
St. Alphonsus de Liguori, Pray for us.

Assisi v. Assisi

Assisi (null hypothesis)

















Assisi I, II, et III.

The Roman Rite

There are, of course, many rites of Holy Mass. They are all considered Catholic. According to the new canon law of 1983, strictly speaking, you may fulfill your Sunday obligation by participating in any of the following (and a few more.)The Byzatine Rite is called Liturgy, and that is for the East. The Coptic Rite is more Egyptian. The Syriach Rite for the Palestinians and in the native tongue of Jesus. The Maronite Rite is glory of Lebanon, also in Aramaic.

Then, we look at the Latin Rites. Milan can use the Ambrosian Rite. The Carmamelites, the Dominicans, and the Carthusians are religious orders that have their own Rite. However, it was the champions known as the Franciscans that spread the Rite of Rome to the world. These all have the unification of being offered in the same language: Latin.

The Roman Rite is found in 99% of the parishes around town. A little known fact is that Vatican II focused only on the Roman Rite, and any rite that changed after Vatican II did not change by promulgation, but by adapting the Spirit of Vatican II. This blog entry will focus on the Roman Rite only.

The Holy Father says there are two forms of the Roman Rite. One is the "ordinary form," from the Missal of Paul VI, the other is the "extraordinary form," the Mass of John XXIII. Both are written in Latin. The Mass that 99% of parishioners hear is an English translation of the Latin Mass. There is no argument that the first attempt of turning it into English was not so much of a "translation" as it was an attempt to communicate the ideas from Latin to English. This is being corrected with the new translation. So, this year, we will have the Mass of Paul VI in English.

On to the Mass of John the XXIII. This Mass was never popularized in the vernacular. It does have an vernacular translation, and that is found in a thousands of hand missals all over the world. Latin on one side, English, Portuguese, French, Chinese, (you name it) on the other. This is to help people around the world worship God, all in a unified way. The Mass in Italy is the Mass in China is the Mass in Mexico is the Mass in the Philippines. While having Holy Mass in your own language might be nice, especially convienient if you cant read, one can make a case that there is still a language barrier. There are a lot of Polls in my diocese. I would be so lost if I went to a Polish Mass. Even Spanish Mass would be too much for me. So, it can be said that Mass in the vernacular has to, by language's very nature, exclude some people. I.e. there can not be one language that will please everyone. However, there is one language... in a very Lord of the Rings way... to rule them all (and in the darkness bind them?)

Latin is the official Language of our Church.

" The Latin language can be called truly catholic. It has been consecrated through constant use by the Apostolic See, the mother and teacher of all Churches, and must be esteemed "a treasure ... A most efficacious bond which unites in an admirable an unalterable continuity the Church of today with that of yesterday and of tomorrow."

-Pope John XXIII. Veterum Sapientia

Not only is it beautiful, but it is dead. Not being a living language that changes meaning over time is exactly what we need to mean the exact same things Catholics meant 1900 years ago, and what us Catholics will mean in 1900 years.. What else does the Church say about Latin?

"Care must be taken to ensure that the faithful may also be able to say or sing together in Latin those parts of the Ordinary of the Mass which pertain to them."- Vatican II. Sacrosanctum Concillium.

So, technically, we should have been taught by our parish priests the responses to the Latin Mass, but many of us have not. What to do now?

My suggestion would be to go to the "extraordinary form." The first time you go it will be confusing. No doubt about it. Sit in the pew second from the front. You can see the sanctuary better, and there will be someone in front of you who knows when to stand, sit, and kneel. You may not know whats being said, but don't worry. The prayers are magnificent. Try to read them ahead of time. If you try to follow along because the person next to you hands you a missalette, you are still going to get lost. The first time it may be best just to observe. If the priest doesn't say anything out loud for a while, enjoy the sacred silence in prayer (he's busy talking to God, not you.) If you feel offended his back is facing you, just think, he is leading you on a march to Calvary. After Holy Mass is over, you may not like it one bit OR you may like it very much. I would ask that you give it a second try regardless. The Latin doesn't bother you as much the second time, and you know what to expect which is half the battle.

While we're learning "where is the bathroom" in 50 languages, my opinion is we should learn the Pater Noster, the Ave Maria, and the Gloria Patri. Also, these two responses should get you started...

Et cum spiritu tuo "eht coom spee-ree-too too-oh" (And with thy spirit.) The response to "Dominus Vobiscum."

Amen "Ah-men" (after prayers. Often the answer to "Per omnia saecula saeculorum.")

There are a few more, but just learn a couple at a time. This way, when we are around people who don't know English, we could be eager to say, "Celebremus in Latinum"(lets celebrate in Latin) and the might respond "Nunc dices es" (now youre talking!) How unifying!

Two sides to every story?

Dear (lay-person wondering if they can go to a Non-Diocesan Catholic Church) ,

I passed your email on to Fr. ______, the chancellor for our diocese, requesting him to explain where Fr. (in question) stands regarding his position in the Catholic Church.

I’m sending you his response so that you have the full picture. A “celebret” is a document (The Latin means “He may celebrate [the Mass]”) that is valid only for one year as Fr. [chancellor] explains.

I hope this helps.

Bishop _____

----------------------------------------------

Bishop,

At [the vocation director's] request, because of the prospective seminarian from UNF who attends [the chapel in question,] only last week I checked with the Diocese of Scranton where Fr [in question] is incardinated.*1 I was told that he holds a celebret directly from the Ecclesia Dei Commission, and that, by decree of that Commission he is incardinated into the Diocese of Scranton. The date of that celebret would apparently be sometime in 2001 or 2002.

From the chancellor of the Scranton diocese I have the following information -

1. His incardination into the Scranton diocese was, indeed, directed by the Ecclesia Dei Commission

2. He does hold a celebret from that commission, but as celebrets are supposedly good only for about 1 year*2 (according to the Code), it would be out of date now

3. Fr [In question] does NOT have any faculties from the Diocese of Scranton. He was described by the chancellor there as very disobedient.*3

4. ...Unless there is some sort of papal decree placing that parish directly under the Holy See, or within some other ecclesiastical conscription,*4 it is not possible to be in communion with the Bishop of Rome (who they may say they recognize), but not in communion with the Bishop of (our diocese)!

As I understand it, if someone knows of the situation (and I understand that a few there do not) it would be gravely sinful to satisfy their Sunday obligation *5 by attending Mass at [the chapel in question.]

Fr. Chancellor
----------------------------------------------------

okay...

This looks pretty scary at first. Lets take it step by step.

#1 The priest in question is under another bishop of another diocese.

#2 I know that local sees update their priests' celebrets every year. However, The priest in question got one from Rome in 2001 and did not get another from Rome for 3 years when he was incardinated. All while he was in "good standing." If all celebrets are only good for a year, he was saying Mass illicitly for two years under the care of Ecclesia Dei. And they didn't seem to mind.

#3 That is correct. The priest in question does not have all of his faculties. He claims they were taken away unjustly and appeals to the law "ecclesia suppelit" He is seen as disobedient , however has never been suspended. (I asked him once if his bishop called him to return home for a meeting, would he go. He said he would out of obedience. But I have a feeling at that time, there would be a line drawn in the sand, and he would be suspended, and be in the boat of all the other Society priests.

#4 Speaking of Society priests, he has "friends" status with the society. He is not independent, he is under the wing of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Pius X. Although,the SSPX may not officially be a "ecclesiastical conscription," Rome sure does deal with them like they are.
"The situation of the members of this Society is an internal matter of the Catholic Church. The Society is not another Church or Ecclasial Community in the meaning used in the Directory." -Cardinal Edward Cassidy on May 3, 1994.

#5 The official word from this diocese must be readdressed. "As he understands it", the Lord Chancellor does not have all the information needed to make this judgement.
"You may fulfill your Sunday obligation by attending a Mass celebrated by a priest of the Society of St. Pius X" (letter, January 18, 2003.) (one of many found on the internet.)

Because Christ set up the Church, we should have recourse to her. I am about to print my own letter to Card. Leveda, president of Ecclesia Dei. I hope this matter will be put at rest when Rome herself makes judges my case. I will update this post in 4 or so months, depending on how fast Rome operates nowadays.

Let the Dead bury the Dead

Closure isn't everything. Our Lord tells that to a disciple who wants to follow Him to Jerusalem, but first bury his dead father. Christ responds by saying... "Follow Me, let the dead bury the dead." And "preach the kingdom of Heaven." This must have been hard to hear.

A man sees it as his duty to bury people, most of all, his father. Its a corporal work of mercy, even. However, Our Lord knows this man's heart. He knows he is sad. He knows he wants to have peace. He knows he wants this chapter in his life to end "And my father died, and like a good son I buried him, and like a good father, he left me my inheritance." But sometimes God doesn't want that. God wants Himself to be only what we inherit. We might say we are ready to follow God with our voice, but in our heart, we don't want to forfeit the goods that shoulda, woulda, coulda been.

God may ask us to have chapters end in the middle of a sentence, right as things were getting juicy. We can't look back or hope and wish there was more! He wants us to trust in Him more than anyone or anything. He wants us to know that while we can grieve for losses, we have to get up immediately and move on, looking forward only, because there is precious little time. He knows we want peace of mind, but we will not have it until God's will is done.

Let the dead bury the dead is not practical. It cannot even happen, I'm pretty sure. So when Jesus says this to us, we have to hold back that thought "Really, Jesus? Are You really going to expect me to just be miserable. Are You really going to let these loose ends be left untide? Instead, replace these thoughts with the prayer "My Dear Lord, I might be a wreck. Vivify me, self pity and moping is not for me. You know what I want. You know what I need. If what I want is not what You want, allow me to accept that. Please let chapters in my life close when they need to. Only the spiritually dead are concerned about everything ending with a pretty pink bow. Please, don't let me be one of them. Amen.

Obviously the question isn't whether the father gets in the ground! Let the dead bury the dead. It might be the hardest thing that we have to do, but we don't have to do it alone!

Through the Sacred Heart of Jesus,
St. Mary Margaret Alacoque, pray for us!

St. Thomas on Love

There are two types of Love in human action.
Selfish-you wish good for the pleasure it will give you. This is technically called the love of concupiscence.
Unselfish-you wish good to another not for your own sake, but for the other persons sake. This is technically called the love of friendship.

The love of concupiscence isn't evil. Self love will lead a man to seek perfect happiness! But it is true that the love of friendship is a higher kind of love, because this love is what allows you to grow out of the limitations of your own small self and into the larger world of intimacy with other free spirits, human, angelic, and the divine.

Knowledge is key for love, St. Thomas says. The appetite is only moved by something that attracts it, or repels it. But this attraction or repulsion cannot take place unless the object is known and recognized as such. Some people say love is blind. But love isn't the mystery, it is the objects of love or the actions that flow from love that is the real mystery. Love is blind only when there is no knowledge of the object first. Love can be moved to an unsuitable object because only the good in it, and not the evil, was proposed to the senses. We will see what happens after the evil is proposed to the senses, later. What is important to remember is that you cannot love what you do not know.

But, the knowledge doesn't have to be perfect to love something. Lets look at a steak, for instance. You can love a steak when you smell that bad boy and see how juicy it is. You can cut into it and feel how tender it will be from the ease of the knife slicing through, only to reveal a perfect medium rare. A person can love a steak without actually trying it. But once the appetite is engaged, all you want to do is know it more, in this case, find out how it tastes. The point is that some knowledge that an object as a good is necessary for love to exist at all. Imagine if you were blindfolded, and your nose was pinned shut, and the same steak came to your table all ready cut up. You can not have the same feeling of love, because the knowledge isn't there, right?

Goodness in the object, when perceived, is the fundamental cause of love. Likeness is also a cause of love. People say opposites attract, but St. Thomas says if a angry person seeks a calm and collected person, it is actually the likeness, rather than the unlikeness, that draws one to another. You actually admire the quality, and would like it for yourself.

"Where ever love is seen in action, it is obvious that love aims at the union between the lover and the loved one. It is love that drives a young man to want to be with his fiancee. It is love which makes a wife want the presence of her husband who is out of town.

The union caused by love is found at its best in the intimate life that lovers lead in one another. A man in love with a woman has the thought of her with him always. She lives in his mind and in his imagination. She lives in his will for when she is with him he is pleased, and when she is away he desires her presence. The lover seeks also to live in his beloved. They desire to know everything about each other. This explains why courting couples find so much to talk about. They are trying to get into one another's personalities by learning all they can about one another. The lover seeks even to live in the heart and will of his or her beloved. So lovers never are satisfied with one declaration of love, they want to say it and hear it over and over again. When this unifying effect of love is found in both parties, then human love between human beings is found at its highest.

Love is also ecstatic. To be in ecstasy means to go out of ones self. But it is characteristic of love that it makes you think less of yourself and more of the object you love. It will even move you to make personal sacrifices for the sake of the one you love... In this way is also the cause of zeal and jealousy. A lover is zealous and energetic in trying to do good things for the person he or she loves. Or he is jealous of anyone or anything which seems to threaten his exclusive possession of the one he loves."

But love can also injure or wound you, too. It is a movement of the appetite whether sensible or rational to Good. But sometimes a particular good thing is not suitable for mankind. Food is good, sure, but the love for too much food is gluttonous. An injury has objectively occurred. Love must be under the control of judgement of right reason or it can harm you more than it benefits you.

Even though there is a danger of loving things rashly, we must always remember love is basically an inclination for a good. Its behind every human action. Even if Hitler wanted to rule the world, its because he loved power. if you want to play the lotto, its because you love money.If you volunteer at an animal shelter, its because you love animals (or were court ordered to do service hours.) The bottom line is love seeks good.

The opposite of love is hate. Love, we said, is a movement towards good. Hate is a movement away from evil. If I set that steak before you again, you would see it as a good, and eat it. However, if I replaced that steak with a green and moldy piece of meat that you knew was left out for the flies for a couple of days, you would know its bad and hate it. All hatred is based on a love that comes before it. You hate it, because it will rob you of something you love. In this case, your health or life.

Hatred makes such a strong impression that we might think of hatred as stronger than love. But St. Thomas goes on, that with a little reflection, we will see love as always stronger. The stronger the hate, the stronger the love. I don't like mosquito bites because they are itchy and I like my comfort. I really hate eating rancid food, because it will kill me I love my life. Hatred is okay. It lets us make decisions not to do things that will ultimately destroy us. BUT BE CAREFUL! Why do we hate "hate?" Because so often hatred is for its own sake. Make sure what you hate is evil! Do not hate a good! Then hate becomes a disservice! If someone has made you hate something good, it is their fault, not the object's fault which remains good. That is why the edification of your neighbor is so important. And that's when this author interjects with a prayer.

Oh my God, I am dearly sorry for having turned off many souls from love of Your holy Church. Please, allow them to hate me (or the evil in me) instead of hating something so pure. Thank You for giving us the Church, and all of the successors of St. Peter. Make my love for each and every one of them grow by wanting to know them more. For the ones that are dead and I will never meet, and the one that is alive, this can be achieved by researching them and praying to them or for them. Give me the grace to read documents from Pre-Councillior or Post-Councillor popes, not because I may like/dislike what they say, but because they are popes, and because they reigned in Your good name. Allow me to know; so that I may love good, and hate evil. That I may then DO good, and avoid evil. Amen.

I covered what I wanted to cover pretty much. However, I would like to end with St. Thomas' teachings on desire. Desire is distinct from love. Love is complacency in the good. Desire is a tendency toward a good which is not yet present (or I might add lost.) When people have what the love, they no longer desires it, they only enjoy it...

St. Thomas, Angelic Doctor, pray for us.


up next... I don't know...

Source- My Way of Life, the pocket edition of the Summa

The sequence of Holy Father Francis

New signs of highest sanctity
Deserving praise exceedingly,
Wondrous and beautiful to see
In Francis we behold.

Unto the newly-gathered band
Directed by his guiding hand,
Francis receives the king's command
The new law to unfold.

Before the world's astonished view
Arise the life and order new,
Whose sacred laws again renew
The evangelic state.

The rule monastic he reforms,
Unto the law of Christ conforms,
And all the apostolic forms
He holds inviolate.

In raiment coarse and rough-endued,
A cord his only girdle rude,
Scant the measure of his food,
His feet withal unshod.

For poverty alone he yearns,
From earthly things he loathing turns,
The noble Francis money spurns
Despising all for God.

He seeks a place to weep apart,
And mouths in bitterness of heart
Time precious lost, when taking part,
In earthly joys and vain.

Within a mountain-cavern lone
He bides to weep, and lying prone
He prays with many a sigh and groan,
Till calm returns again.

There in that rocky cave's retreat,
Rapt high in contemplation sweet,
The earth (wise judge) spurned neath his feet,
To heaven he aspires.

His flesh by penance is subdued,
Transfigured wholly and renewed:
The Scriptures are his daily food,
Renouncing earth's desires.

Then Seraph-like from heaven's height,
The King of kings appears in sight,
The patriarch, in sore affright,
Beholds the vision dread.

It bears the wounds of Christ, and lo!
While gazing on in speech-less woe,
It marks him, and the stigmas show
Upon his flesh, blood-red.

This body like the Crucified,
Is signed on hands and feet; his side
Transfixed from right to left, and dyed
With crimson streams of blood.

Unto his mind words secret sound,
Things future all in light abound,
Inspired from high, the saint hath found
Their sense, and understood.

Now in those bleeding wounds, behold!
Black nails appear, within, all gold;
Sharp are the points, the pain untold,
Unspeakable the woe.

No instrument of man was brought
To make these wounds- here art did nought,
By nature's band they were not wrought,
Nor cruel mallet-blow.

We pray thee by the cross's sign
Marked on thy flesh, whereby twas thine,
The world, the flesh, the foe ma1ign,
To conquer gloriously.

Take us, O Francis, to thy care,
Shield us from woe, from every snare,
That we thy great reward may share,
In heaven eternally.

O Father holy! Father sweet!
Devoutly we thine aid entreat,
May we and all thy brethren meet
Victorious in the strife.

In virtue's way our footsteps train
And bring us with the saints to reign;
So may thy flock of Minors gain
The joy of endless life.

Amen. Alleluia.

Fun Facts!

Sacrosanctum Concilium, 4 December, 1963

54. A suitable place may be allotted to the vernacular in Masses which are celebrated with the people, especially in the readings and "the common prayer," and also, as local conditions may warrant, in those parts which pertain to the people, according to the rules laid down in Article 36 of this Constitution.

Nevertheless care must be taken to ensure that the faithful may also be able to say or sing together in Latin those parts of the Ordinary of the Mass which pertain to them.

fun fact # 2

Under the tab entitled "Schismatic Churches" found on the list of parishes for the Diocese of Orlando, the SSPX chapel, St. Thomas More, is not mentioned.



These facts would lead me to believe that even the Vatican II Church thinks all priest should be able to say Mass in Latin, at least when there is no congregation, and all Catholics should already know the responses in Latin, e.g. Deo gratias, laus tibi Christi, etc.

AND the SSPX may not be schismatic after all...

To Restore All Things in Christ

My living grandmother was born under this Pope-Saint's pontificate!

The following is a an excerpt from Rev. Fr. Michael Rodriguez's most recent sermon. He is the pastor of San Juan Bautista, a parish in El Paso, Texas. Is he crazy or on to something?

"...You better believe times have changed, but they have changed for the worst. And we've deviated from the teachings of the Holy Catholic Church and the teachings of Our Savior Jesus Christ, and even though its not easy to recover, we better work as hard as we can to recover. We have to recover the Catholic Faith. It might seem to the world that we fail in trying to recover the Catholic Faith; we might be ridiculed, we might be persecuted, whatever might happen, doesn't matter, we have to pray and God and ask for the grace to do our best to recover the Faith, to do it with joy, to do our best to trust in God and to persevere.
"Two final examples, very quick like, just to show you the gravity of the situation, because you've GOT TO TAKE SERIOUSLY that fact there is A GRAVE, GRAVE crisis in the Faith, even in our own diocese, the Catholic Faith is gone. You better work double time to recover, and help those you love also to recover it. Most of you already know a little bit of whats going on, but very quickly, you can pick this up as you exit, we've got copies of articles that I wrote that appeared as paid advertisements in the news paper, in the El Paso Times a couple weeks ago, some of you are also aware of the response that was given to the news paper by our diocese. Very tragic; so you can open your eyes and see whats taking place. Basically everything that is written in here, I mean there are a few exceptions, but basically the crux of whats written in these articles is Catholic Church teaching. There's no question about it. I'm quoting from the Catechism of the Catholic Church, I'm quoting from the Congregation of the Doctrine of Faith in Rome, I'm quoting from the United States Bishops, I'm qouting from Sacred Scripture, I'm quoting from Tradition or following the moral tradition of the Catholic Church that is 2,000 years old; that has its roots in Christ and the Apostles and the Catholic Church. Well, the official response from the diocese to the newspaper, again this was quoted in the news paper, when the news paper basically asked the diocese (well, you know) whats your comment, whats the deal (with lets say) with that that appeared by one of the priests? And the response of the diocese was " those are the person views and opinions of Fr. Michael Rodriguez."
"You've got to be kidding me...
"Here is, again, I'm just a little messenger, basically, herein this is contained the teachings of Our Savior, Jesus Christ, and His Holy Catholic Church, and the official word from Our Church is "those are personal views and opinions of a particular priest." If there ever was a betrayal of the Son of God, you better believe thats a betrayal of the Son of God and of the truth that is taught by Jesus Christ thats never going to change. And this is coming from the higher level in our diocese... Thats why were saying "we've lost the Catholic Faith"
"And one final example, also relevant to this, we'll complete with this one so you'll see whats going on (Open your eyes, open your hearts, get to work) with regard to what I wrote... one of my brother priest, he called, I didn't speak to him directly, he left a message on the machine, its also very significant, he left me a message, now there are many of my other brother priests that didn't leave me a message but they pretty much think the same way as this priest, lets not be fooled... basically the message he left me, I wont go through all of it, but basically he left me a message saying I was a disgrace to the Catholic Church, he told me that I better go on retreat and reform my life, he told me that I no longer was a Catholic priest because I wasn't preaching the gospel of love and forgiveness, the gospel that was found and the gospel that was preached by Jesus, and I forgot what else he told me, but you get a gist of what the message was... So be it. I can't say the message came as a surprise...
"The saddest thing about this is the following, though. That in actual reality, he is the one who is no longer in communion with the Catholic Church. He is the one, although in appearance, appears to be the Catholic priest, in the Eyes of God, and of Holy mother Church is no longer a priest. He is not teaching the Faith. Again, the saddest thing of all, is really begin to think how many souls are being led astray by basically I would say these impostors or these wolves in shepherds' clothing that have betrayed Christ, and have betrayed the Faith. And this is not one single indecent, this is not "well, you know there is just one single priest roaming around there that, you know, is doing this." They are Legion. To a large extent the Catholic Faith has disappeared, and has disappeared among so many of the faithful because its disappeared among so many of the shepherds...
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen"



Amen, Father.
This great priest needs your prayers. Ask God to give him the strength to continue to to fortify him with the guts to stand up in front of his congregation and preach the Word of God, without fear of what might happen to him. He sees a real problem, and has a real solution. To go back, and restore all things in Christ. Because right now, man is doing what they think is best. That is to restore some things in Christ, but not all. St. Pius' moto should be taken very seriously. They way he meant it. Please visit father's parish's website at http://sanjuan.webhop.org/

And from the pen of St. Pius, I will leave you with his words...
"We allude, Venerable Brethren, to many who belong to the Catholic laity, nay, and this is far more lamentable, to the ranks of the priesthood itself, who, feigning (putting on fictitiously) a love for the Church, lacking the firm protection of philosophy and theology, nay more, thoroughly imbued with the poisonous doctrines taught by the enemies of the Church (Modernists) vaunt themselves as reformers of the Church...and assail all that is most sacred in the work of Christ"

The beheading

Today is the feast of the beheading of St. John the Baptist. It also happens to be a Monday, so I said the Joyful Mysteries today. That made for an interesting second decade...
The second decade is, of course, the Visitation. While meditating on what happened at this meeting between the two cousins, we see that it is a meeting between two mothers. Two very similar mothers. I'm sure because of her old age, St. Elizabeth didn't live to see her son get his head chopped off, like Our Lady saw her Son die. But St. Elizabeth must have known it was coming. When the two mothers eyes met, it must have been bittersweet, for St. Elizabeth had a christ-type in her womb, too! St. John the Evangelist says "[St. John the Baptist] was not the light, but was to give testimony to the light" because his message was identical to Christ's message, called Rabbi, and he was persecuted and died like Christ, its easy to say "hey, this child was another Christ." And he was! Born for a purpose. There was a man sent from God- John 1:6. And [the executioner] beheaded him in prison, and brought his head on a dish- Mark 6:28.

The beginning, and the end.

At the moment of our conception we are sent by God to do one thing. To live, to love, and to serve Him (okay, three things.) St. John didn't even wait till his birth to glorify his Creator. He lept in the womb in the presence of Jesus. His mission was to always prepare others for the coming of the One who will judge them.

Today was much needed to show me behind the Joyful Mysteries there is sorrow. The children in the wombs of those holy joyful yet sorrowful mothers were born to die. So are we. Deny yourselves, take up your crosses daily. But, alas, there are more than just Joy and Sorrow. There is Glory. There is sorrow found in joy, yes, but there is glory behind dolors...

The Worldlings' 10 Commandments

from Love of Eternal Wisdom by St. Louis de Montfort
(these were my priest's notes for last Sundays sermon.)

77. The worldly man bases his conduct on personal honour, on "what will people say?," on convention, on high living, on self-interest, on ceremonious manners, and on witty conversation. These seven principles are the irreproachable supports on which, he believes, he can safely depend to enjoy a peaceful life. The world will canonize him for such virtues as courage, finesse, tactfulness, shrewdness, gallantry, politeness, and good humour. Ir stigmatises as serious offenses, insensitiveness, stupidity, poverty, boorishness and bigotry.

78. He obeys as faithfully as he can the commandments which the world gives him.

I. Thou shalt be well acquainted with the world.
II. Thou shalt be respectable.
III. Thou shalt be successful in business.
IV. Thou shalt hold on to whatever is yours.
V. Thou shalt rise above your background.
VI. Thou shalt make friends for yourself.
VII. Thou shalt frequent fashionable society.
VIII. Thou shalt seek the good life.
IX. Thou shalt not be a kill-joy.
X. Thou shalt not be singular, uncouth or over-pious.

What!?!?! What in the heck is St. Louis talking about here?
Up next... My best explanation.

The Feast of St. Anne.

A prayer for you single girls out there.

St. Anne, St. Anne. Send me a man,
...and any old man wont do.
St. Anne, St. Anne, as fast as you can!
(and one with a special devotion to you!)

Amen.







The following was a conversation I had with a single girl this time last year.

Her: Who needs to pray to stop being single though?

Me: Only those with a vocation to marriage!

Her: Hah, I guess that makes sense. I look at it differently. As someone who feels called to marriage, I just pray for my future husband, for his health and his life, etc. I figure that I don't need to pray for him to enter my life. It'll happen. Until then, definitely enjoying Jesus being the only man in my life. You're never truly single when you're pursuing him and letting him pursue you. Am I right?

A friend of ours agrees: I'm with [this girl]-- I'm in no rush to find a husband at all. Being single is nice, and more time to focus on God.

Me:This is a little different, but maybe I can help explain. If you have a priestly vocation, you should become a priest as soon as possible. Less time to get wrapped up in the woes of this world. The less debt, the less heart ache, the more time you could be in the confessional forgiving sins.
Now how this relates to the married life... Well, imagine (right now for just a second) if St. Joseph was to be your spouse! How amazing would that be having a saint for a husband. When St. Anne found St. Joseph for Our Lady I don't think Our Lady said, "hold on Mom, I need to focus on God." She knew that her calling in life was to raise Christ WITH her husband. Marriage is a sacrament. Not to be rushed into... but the natural part is of course is children, and the supernatural part is the SANCTIFICATION of the two who enter into it. The sooner the two get together, the more time they have to sanctify each other/ have children (future saints). If God sends you a man that will get you to heaven (one that fits the description of above prayer) then why not welcome him into your life as soon as possible. College degrees, jobs that make millions of dollars, being able to "travel before I have kids," none of those will get you to heaven, unlike a good husband. Its just like having a devotion to the Blessed Virgin. Loving her increases your love for her son, just like loving a husband would not detract from Jesus Christ, but I would argue that you would love Him more! But some young ladies would make excellent bride's of Christ. so don't leave that option out of your prayers!



St. Anne, pray for us!
Especially me, and the two girls above, as well!

My Daily Bread Snippet

Chapter 41- Earning the Reward.
(The first 40 chapters in the book are the soft ones. This is where it gets more "no-nonsense." Maybe not all are ready to hear it, but if you can make it to 4, not all hope, we find, is lost.)

Christ:
"My Child, for reasons which you cannot fully appreciate at present, I made your earthly life a time of labor and trial. Each and every time that I permit you to suffer pain, grief, or disappointment I do it for your own good. These trails help you to come closer to me in one way or another. I made your earthly life a time of labor and trail. Do not think too much about pleasure and rest in this life. Be prepared to exercise patience rather than enjoy comfort or consolation. Think more of carrying the cross of daily life rather than of avoiding everything unpleasant.

2. Do you expect to enjoy interior consolation whenever you wish? Not even My saints could do that during their earthly life. They had to face many troubles, temptations, interior misery and desolation. They went on, however, in spite of all these obstacles, trusting in Me more than in themselves. The were fully aware that the sufferings of this life are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to come.

3. Do you not see how selfish your desires are? You want to obtain quickly the peace and holiness which others achieved only after many trails and labors. You are more interested in enjoying My gifts than in earning them. No, you must do things My way if you want to live the best way.

4. Wait for the light and strength which I will send in due time. In the meantime have courage and be patient. Do not give up the fight against your faults and defects. Do your best to become the kind of person I want you to be. Leave the results to Me. I am near you every moment. Be unselfish enough to go on trying for My sake. I will someday reward you far beyond anything you can imagine.

Think:
Heaven is a reward- a thing to be earned. Though I can never really deserve it by my poor human efforts alone, Jesus has made it possible for me to work for it with His help. Strengthened by His grace, I can strive for Heaven. An honest daily effort against my faults and a faithful attempt to do God's Will in all things will bring me the glorious reward of Heaven. Earthly life has its labors, trails, and difficulties. Each day I show by my actions, words, thoughts and desires, how sincerely I am working for Heaven.

Pray:
Holy Spirit, my God, help me to see your guiding hand in time of trail, and let me follow humbly and loyally whatever You desire of me. I want to do the best that is in me, be it ever so little. Heaven is more than I will ever deserve, but at least I can do my best to make myself a little less unworthy of it. My God, I hope in You, for the grace to go on trying each hour of the day. Amen.

Meditatio #2

I was meditating on the Assumption of the BVM on the feast of Corpus Christi. I tried think about what the Body of Chirst meant to each Mystery (try it, very useful) and I thought about the following.

Our Lady is Queen of priests, but not herself one. Although she brought Jesus to man once, she could not do so ever again. However, someone she lived with could! St. John was there at the Last Supper for the Mandatum, he was at Calvery for the first Mass, and he was there at Pentecost for the Gifts of the Holy Ghost. He knew that if he wanted to bring back Christ, he could say Holy Mass, and Our Lady knew it, too! She probably had St. John say Mass all the time. I bet she even had him reserve the Blessed Sacrament and kept it in her house. I wouldn't be surprised if it was the Virgin Mary's idea to have adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.

Try that on for size. When you kneel before the Holy Eucharist, who's idea was that? Who loved Our Lord most? Can She ask her Son that we might love Him more?

Blunt

I was looking up some catholic quotes.
Guess who said what.

1. "Liberal Catholics are the worst enemies of the Church."

2. "At the hour of my death, when Out Lord asks me: 'What have you done with your episcopate, what have you done with your episcopal and priestly grace?' I do not want to hear from his lips the terrible words 'You have helped to destroy the Church along with the rest of them.'"

3. "Many cardinals, many bishops and many priests are on the road to perdition and are taking many souls with them."

4. "There are not over a 100 people in the U.S. that hate the Catholic Church, there are millions however, who hate what they wrongly believe to be the Catholic Church -- which is, of course, quite a different thing."












1. Pope Pius IX
2. Bp. Lefebvre
3. Our Lady (at Garabandal)
4. Bp. Sheen (apply that to the millions who refuse to look into any documents before Vatican II)