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?