Keep
your eyes open!...
September 29, 2022
(Rev 12:7-10) And there was a great
battle in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon, and
the dragon fought, and his angels. And they prevailed not: neither was
their place found any more in heaven. And that great dragon was cast
out, that old serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, who seduceth
the whole world. And he was cast unto the earth: and his angels were
thrown down with him. And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying: Now
is come salvation and strength and the kingdom of our God and the power
of his Christ: because the accuser of our brethren is cast forth, who
accused them before our God day and night.
ST. MICHAEL CENTER FOR THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY: How The Prayer Of St. Michael Came To Be Written
LIFESITENEWS: Producer of new St. Michael film: Weakening devotion to holy angels a ‘demonic strategy’
COMPELLING RELATED LINKS
Forgotten Customs of Michaelmas
Michaelmas and the Moon: this week on Storyteller's Night Sky
Here are the sacred places you can pray to St. Michael, enemy of Satan
CHRISTIANITY TODAY EXCERPT: Why Ukraine Calls Upon Michael the Archangel
Michael’s name in Hebrew means
“like unto God” or “Who is like unto God?” Some believe he first
appears in the Book of Joshua, just prior to the battle of
Jericho—where an angel identifies himself to Israel’s leader as
“commander of the army of the Lord” and we learn he has a “drawn sword
in his hand” (5:13–14).
In the Book of Daniel, in a vision,
Gabriel explains that Michael helped him defeat Persian rulers (10:13).
Later in that chapter (v. 21) Gabriel identifies Michael as “your
prince,” and two chapters later (12:1) “the great prince who protects
your people.” Michael is notably not a prince of any particular place
or thing; neither are the other archangels who are likewise identified
as “prince” or “saint.” Instead, the term serves as an honorific as God
the Father is the King of heaven—hence those who descend from him in
positions of power are identified as princes.
In the New Testament, Jude 9
mentions that Michael rescued Moses’ body from Satan. Here he invoked
the Lord in his rebuke of the Devil, a rebuke that became a common
exorcism formula in later Christian tradition. (The Catholic church
uses a special exorcism prayer to Michael.) And in Revelation 12:7–9,
after war breaks out in heaven, we learn that Michael and his angels
fought Satan and his angels, hurling them down to the earth.
These images of aggression and war
gave Michael a reputation among the early church as a fighter.
Christians considered Michael a leader of the church militant—in the
believers’ perpetual struggle against the Devil and the ongoing fight
against persecution.
Patristic texts identify Michael as
the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night that guided
the Hebrews through the Exodus. They further identify Michael as the
chief commander of God who annihilated 185,000 Assyrian soldiers (2
Kings 19:35); as the horseman who struck and killed Heliodorus at the
temple treasury (2 Maccabees 3:24–26); as the protector of the three
Hebrews in the fiery furnace (Dan. 3:22–25); and as the angel who
transferred Habbakuk by his hair from Judea to Babylon to take food to
Daniel in the lions’ den (Dan. 14:33–37).
Although warfare imagery
characterizes much perception of the archangel throughout history, he
also has gained a reputation as a dream revealer, miracle worker, and
healer. Early examples of Michael’s ability to interpret dreams and
heal emerge in Greek magical papyri, where in various spells, the
magician invokes angels such as Michael to fulfill personal requests.
According to Orthodox tradition,
Constantine built a sanctuary dedicated to the archangel in a village
just north of Constantinople. Known as the Michaelion, it became a
model for future Orthodox churches.
The location itself became
associated with healing waters. Tradition held that Michael helped a
man heal his mute daughter by instructing through a dream that she
drink from the spring. Both the father and child became Christians. In
another incident, Michael restored water to a church and saved it after
a group of pagans had cut off its supply. The ensuing spring that arose
was said to offer the sick healing and restoration.
Michael is also credited with
answering the prayers of Saint Gregory the Great to end a plague
tormenting Rome at the end of the sixth century. Gregory saw a vision
of Michael sheathing his sword atop the Mausoleum of Hadrian and
believed this meant the pandemic had ended. In honor of Michael,
Gregory renamed and dedicated the mausoleum to him as Castel
Sant’Angelo (Castle of the Holy Angel). A monumental sculpture of
Gregory’s vision of Michael sheathing his sword rests atop the building
to this day.
Another tradition says that Michael
was the conveyer of Christian souls and that he brought Mary a palm
branch as the sign of the annunciation of her prayed-for death. It is
said that his was one of the voices heard by Joan of Arc. Michael is
considered the patron saint of the sick, of soldiers, and of all
Christian souls. His name is often invoked in battle and in danger at
sea.
FATIMA
Angel’s Prayer
(With the Blessed Sacrament suspended in the air, the Angel of Peace
prostrated himself and recited this prayer during this third apparition
to the children in 1916.)
O Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I adore Thee
profoundly. I offer Thee the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and
Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the world,
in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges and indifferences by which
He is offended. By the infinite merits of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and
the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg the conversion of poor sinners.
The
Desert Fathers: sayings of the Early Christian Monks: Progress in Perfection
7. They used to say about Theodore of Pherme that
he kept these three rules before all others: poverty, abstinence, and avoiding
the company of other people.
September 28, 2022
(Mat 24:6-8)
And you shall hear of wars and rumours of wars. See that ye be not
troubled. For these things must come to pass: but the end is not yet.
For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: And
there shall be pestilences and famines and earthquakes in places. Now
all these are the beginnings of sorrows.
HEADLINES
Russia issues new nuclear warning as it wraps up contested Ukraine referendums
Experts urge world to deter Russia from using nuclear weapons in Ukraine
Ukraine shells a second electric power station
ANALYSIS:
Russia-Ukraine war: the worst is yet to come
Putin’s Address to the Russian People, September 21, 2022
A Time of War
THE PILLAR EDITORIAL: The Horror
President
Vladimir Putin has, under the fiction of “popular referenda” in the
regions of eastern Ukraine, put the world on notice that he intends to
declare the areas to be sovereign Russian territory.
The purpose of that, learned
opinion seems to hold, is to claim any attempt to liberate those areas
from Russian control is a Western-supported invasion of Russia proper —
and justify any use of force to repel it. To that end, Putin has
already announced the mobilization of 300,000 reservists, and begun
rattling the nuclear saber.
There are a couple of ways to look
at this development, which I’ll come to in a moment. But before that,
we should stop and consider what these regions under Russian control
are being subjected to: torture, murder, rape, and mass deportation.
The Russian track record of war crimes is now desperately long, and Pope Francis went further than ever in his public statements
about the war on Wednesday, referring to the list of atrocities in
“martyred Ukraine.” As winter approaches, and Russia uses its
stranglehold on Europe’s energy pipelines as a weapon, people in
Ukraine — families, children — are going to freeze. Things are going to
get a lot harder across Europe, too, and likely further abroad. And
there is going to be some talk of finding a way to make peace with
Putin’s Russia.
I’ve got no informed opinion, or
personal standing, to weigh in on those calls now, or later. But when
they come, we need to remember that every time someone talks about
ceding “territory” to Putin, that means surrendering the people there
too.
It means leaving them — families, children — to what Pope Francis is now calling martyrdom.
That being said, it seems to me
that Putin’s effort to freeze Ukraine into submission, and to
intimidate the West into washing its hands of the situation, might be
the least terrible and terrifying possibility for the next few months.
Experts have poured cold water on
the idea that Russia is actually capable of fielding and equipping
anything like 300,000 reservists anytime soon. The balance of
probability seems to be that Putin’s threat of nuclear weapons is still
(just about) more likely to be a bluff than earnest willingness to
court an Apocalypse.
But that rather prompts the
question: Why is he doing it? Certainly not to cement popular opinion.
Putin’s mobilization announcement seems to have divided fighting-age
Russians between those taking to the streets in protest (leading to
thousands of arrests) and those just flat-out fleeing the country.
So, if the threatened escalation is unpopular at home, and being treated as madness abroad, who is this for?
The unpleasant conclusion that
suggests itself is that Putin is under serious pressure from
ultra-nationalists within his own security services and military. And
this isn’t just my application of the principle of parsimony.
While it might surprise anyone to
learn Putin has a wing to his right, he does, and it has put him under
serious pressure following Ukraine’s unexpected advances earlier this
month, which retook thousands of square miles of Russian-held territory.
By coincidence, as the Ukrainian
army was rolling up the northeastern front on the evening of Sept. 11,
Moscow was kicking off its “Day of the City” carnival, where Putin
opened the Sun of Moscow, Europe’s largest ferris wheel.
The wheel was immediately hacked,
and its passengers left stranded for hours. And it was Russian
nationalists who took credit for it, posting a denunciation of the
establishment as a “rotten liberal intelligentsia” enjoying fireworks
while “our boys are dying on the front.” While these might appear like
minor data points, I have yet to find a Russian expert who thinks any
of this would have been possible without a green light from the FSB,
the Russian intelligence service.
We’ve written a lot about Putin’s
vision of Russkiy mir, a “Russian world” underpinned by revanchist
imperialism and religious nationalism. But the thing is, while Putin
might be fighting under its slogans, he didn’t invent them — he adopted
them, along with the ultra-nationalist political fringes who did come
up with them.
Analysts might go back and forth on
how much of this stuff Putin buys into as a creed, rather than a
political mantle to throw over his sheer will to power. And who knows,
the mind of man is capable of anything. But it does seem clear that,
for some very serious people in the security services and military,
Russian victory is an article of faith — to be achieved at any cost.
All this is to say, the nightmare
may not actually be Putin deciding to go all-in to keep the territory
that Russia currently occupies in Ukraine, though he may. Given the
Russian lives he’s already spent on his “special operation,” how many
Ukrainian lives do you think Putin would sacrifice to shore up his own
position?
If Putin's survival in power
demanded it, would you bet against him bombing a Ukrainian nuclear
power station, or deploying a strategic nuclear weapon to show he isn’t
kidding around? I wouldn’t.
But the real apocalyptic scenario
is that keeping the territory Russia still has in Ukraine, at whatever
cost, won’t be enough to satisfy the people behind Putin who would, in
total sincerity, prefer nuclear war to a perceived Russian defeat.
It’s a sobering thought, I know. But, well, I told you this newsletter wasn’t going to be a ray of sunshine.
So what is the Christian answer to all of this? Well, Padre Pio’s famous maxim "Pray, hope, and don’t worry" comes to mind.
Prayer is, as that saint could tell
you, not a cop-out or an escape from reality. On the contrary, it is
labor, combat even. It is a battle of faith against despair. It is a
sincere engagement with the world as it really is — under threat but
also before God.
“Don’t worry” doesn’t mean don’t
care. It means believing, and salting the Earth with the belief, that
Christ has conquered death. A Christian sees the world, dark as it may
appear, in the light of the Cross — the symbol not of death but of the
triumph of life over it.
So don’t worry, but pray like crazy.
The
Desert Fathers: sayings of the Early Christian Monks: Progress in Perfection
5. He also said, "A monk was told that his father
had died. He said to the messenger, 'Do not blaspheme. My Father
cannot die'."
September 26, 2022
(Luk 9:44-45)
“Pay attention to what I am telling you. The Son of Man is to be handed
over to men.” But they did not understand this saying; its meaning was
hidden from them so that they should not understand it, and they were
afraid to ask him about this saying.
ONLINE PAMPHLET: Suffering: How to Make the Greatest Evil in Our Lives Our Greatest Happiness by Fr. Paul O'Sullivan, O.P.
ALETEIA: A gift Jesus gives us: Seeing the cross as part of our good
Pay attention to what I am telling
you. The Son of Man is to be handed over to men.” When Jesus brings up
the time of his passion and death, everyone is left speechless and
without questions:
“But they did not understand this
saying; its meaning was hidden from them so that they should not
understand it, and they were afraid to ask him about this saying.”
Perhaps they sensed a negative presentiment in this kind of talk and
were careful not to go any deeper into the subject. Yet Jesus was
trying to educate his disciples about the flip side of the coin, which
is just as necessary as the front side, the side we all usually want.
For example, a father and mother
who bring a child into the world are normally happy about it, but they
try not to think about the fact that that gift must be let go at some
point. Loving in this case means accepting an eventual loss, letting
the child go to fulfill his or her destiny, even though it may be far
from us. Loving only by possessing would be wrong; we need to accept
the inconvenient side of it too.
The Cross, then, is not something
that works against us, but a mysterious part of life that contributes
to our good, together with the things we experience as good and
enjoyable.
The gift Jesus gave us is precisely
this, and St. Paul summed it up admirably: “All things work together
for good for those who love God” (Romans 8:28). All things! Even the
ones that seem to work against us. Therefore, we should not be afraid,
but confident.
EXCERPT CATHOLIC DAILY REFLECTIONS: Meaning in Suffering
When we face the mystery of Jesus’ sufferings, and when we face the
reality of suffering in our own lives or the lives of those we love, we
can often be confused at first. It takes a gift from the Holy Spirit to
open our minds to understand. Suffering is most often inevitable. We
all endure it. And if we do not allow the Holy Spirit to work in our
lives, suffering will lead us to confusion and despair. But if we allow
the Holy Spirit to open our minds, we will begin to understand how God
can work in us through our sufferings just as He brought salvation to
the world through the sufferings of Christ.
Reflect, today, upon how well you understand both Jesus’ sufferings and
your own. Are you allowing the Holy Spirit to reveal to you the meaning
and even the value of suffering? Say a prayer to the Holy Spirit asking
for this grace and let God lead you into this profound mystery of our
faith.
SAINT PIO:
Tribulations, crosses, have always been the inheritance and portion of
elect souls. To the extent that Jesus wants to raise a soul to
perfection, he then increases the cross of tribulation. Rejoice, I tell
you, to see yourself so privileged despite your lack of merit. The more
you are afflicted, the more you should exult, because a soul in the
fire of tribulation will become refined gold, worthy to shine in the
kingdom of heaven.
C.S. LEWIS: “God allows us to experience the low points of life in order to teach us lessons that we could learn in no other way.”
FYODOR DOSTOEVSKY:
Pain and suffering are always inevitable for a large intelligence and a
deep heart. The really great men must, I think, have great sadness on
earth.
The
Desert Fathers: sayings of the Early Christian Monks: Progress in Perfection
4. Evagrius said, "Some of our predecessors used
to say that a dry and regular diet combined with love will soon bring a
monk to the harbour where the storms of passion do not enter."
September 23, 2022
(Jud 1:17-21) But you, my dearly
beloved, be mindful of the words which have been spoken before by the
apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who told you that in the last time
there should come mockers, walking according to their own desires in
ungodlinesses. These are they who separate themselves, sensual men,
having not the Spirit. But you, my beloved, building yourselves upon
your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, Keep yourselves in the
love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, unto life
everlasting.
CARDINAL SARAH: "As a bishop, it is my duty to warn the West! The barbarians are already inside the city."
THE PILLAR: Belgian bishops publish text for same-sex blessings
LIFESITENEWS: Bp. Strickland calls for ‘chorus of bishops’ to defend the Catholic faith from ‘false teachings’
Bishop Joseph Strickland has shared a Canadian priest’s video imploring
bishops to transmit the teachings of the Church to the lay faithful,
instead of leaving the job to lay YouTubers.
In a Twitter post on Sunday evening, the Bishop of Tyler, Texas shared
Fr. Mark Goring’s recent video entitled “Dear Bishops: We Need
Clarity!”
“Once again Fr Goring nails it,” said Strickland. “We need a chorus of
bishops proclaiming the truth of our Catholic Faith & refuting the
false teachings that so many are putting forth.”
In his video, Fr. Goring called out the leaders of the Church in
Germany for their heresy. He reported that, back in April, more than
seventy bishops had signed a Fraternal Open Letter to the German bishops, begging them to remain faithful to the teachings of the Church.
Since then, the number of bishops and cardinals who have signed the
document has increased. They signed the document, “imploring the German
Catholic bishops to remain faithful to their promise to uphold the
Deposit of the Catholic Faith.”
YOUTUBE LINK: Dear Bishops: WE NEED CLARITY! - Fr. Mark Goring, CC
EXCERPT CHURCHPOP: Our Lady of Akita’s Alleged Apparition Warns of Coming Punishment if Sinners Do Not Repent
Third message (October 13, 1973): The tribulation of the Church
Our Lady of Akita’s last message again warns about the punishment that God will send to humanity if sinners do not repent.
“As I told you, if men do not
repent and better themselves, the Father will inflict a terrible
punishment on all humanity. It will be a punishment greater than the
deluge, such as one will never seen before.
“Fire will fall from the sky and
will wipe out a great part of humanity, the good as well as the bad,
sparing neither priests nor faithful. The survivors will find
themselves so desolate that they will envy the dead.
“The only arms which will remain
for you will be the Rosary and the Sign left by My Son. Each day recite
the prayers of the Rosary. With the Rosary, pray for the Pope, the
bishops and priests.” Our Lady of Akita also expresses concern for the
divisions, trials and persecutions that will enter Church.
“The work of the devil will
infiltrate even into the Church in such a way that one will see
cardinals opposing cardinals, bishops against bishops. The priests who
venerate me will be scorned and opposed by their confreres…churches and
altars sacked; the Church will be full of those who accept compromises
and the demon will press many priests and consecrated souls to leave
the service of the Lord.
“The demon will be especially
implacable against souls consecrated to God. The thought of the loss of
so many souls is the cause of my sadness. If sins increase in number
and gravity, there will be no longer pardon for them” “Pray very much
the prayers of the Rosary. I alone am able still to save you from the
calamities which approach. Those who place their confidence in me will
be saved.”
The
Desert Fathers: sayings of the Early Christian Monks: Progress in Perfection
3. Gregory said, 'God asks three things of anyone
who is baptized: to keep the true faith with all his soul and all his might;
to control his tongue; to be chaste in his body.'
September 21, 2022
(Joh 12:24-25) Amen, amen, I say to
you, unless the grain of wheat falling into the ground die, Itself
remaineth alone. But if it die it bringeth forth much fruit. He that
loveth his life shall lose it and he that hateth his life in this world
keepeth it unto life eternal.
THE PILLAR: Covid delays Cardinal Zen’s Hong Kong trial
EURASIA REVIEW: China’s Renewed Push To Tame Religion
DENVER CATHOLIC: A Double Persecution: The Witness of Hong Kong’s Cardinal Zen
FROM THE MAILBAG: From the final exhortation of Andrew Kim Taegon, priest and martyr
Love and perseverance are the crown of faith
My brothers and sisters, my dearest friends, think again and again on
this: God has ruled over all things in heaven and on earth from the
beginning of time; then reflect on why and for what purpose he chose
each one of us to be created in his own image and likeness. In this
world of perils and hardship if we did not recognize the Lord as our
Creator, there would be no benefit either in being born or in our
continued existence. We have come into the world by God’s grace; by
that same grace we have received baptism, entrance into the Church, and
the honor of being called Christians. Yet what good will this do us if
we are Christians in name alone and not in fact? We would have come
into the world for nothing, we would have entered the Church for
nothing, and we would have betrayed even God and his grace. It would be
better never to have been born than to receive the grace of God and
then to sin against him.
Look at the farmer who cultivates his rice fields. In season he plows,
then fertilizes the earth; never counting the cost, he labors under the
sun to nurture the seed he has planted. When harvest time comes and the
rice crop is abundant, forgetting his labor and sweat, he rejoices with
an exultant heart. But if the crop is sparse and there is nothing but
straw and husks, the farmer broods over his toil and sweat and turns
his back on that field with a disgust that is all the greater the
harder he has toiled.
The Lord is like a farmer and we are the field of rice that he
fertilizes with his grace and by the mystery of the incarnation and the
redemption irrigates with his blood, in order that we will grow and
reach maturity. When harvest time comes, the day of judgment, those who
have grown to maturity in the grace of God will find the joy of adopted
children in the kingdom of heaven; those who have not grown to maturity
will become God’s enemies and, even though they were once his children,
they will be punished according to their deeds for all eternity.
Dearest brothers and sisters: when he was in the world, the Lord Jesus
bore countless sorrows and by his own passion and death founded his
Church; now he gives it increase through the sufferings of his
faithful. No matter how fiercely the powers of this world oppress and
oppose the Church, they will never bring it down. Ever since his
ascension and from the time of the apostles to the present, the Lord
Jesus has made his Church grow even in the midst of tribulations.
For the last fifty or sixty years, ever since the coming of the Church
to our own land of Korea, the faithful have suffered persecution over
and over again. Persecution still rages and as a result many who are
friends in the household of the faith, myself among them, have been
thrown into prison and like you are experiencing severe distress.
Because we have become the one Body, should not our hearts be grieved
for the members who are suffering? Because of the human ties that bind
us, should we not feel deeply the pain of our separation?
But, as the Scriptures say, God numbers the very hairs of our head and
in his all-embracing providence he has care over us all. Persecution,
therefore, can only be regarded as the command of the Lord or as a
prize he gives or as a punishment he permits.
Hold fast, then, to the will of God and with all your heart fight the
good fight under the leadership of Jesus; conquer again the diabolical
power of this world that Christ has already vanquished.
I beg you not to fail in your love for one another, but to support one
another and to stand fast until the Lord mercifully delivers us from
our trials.
There are twenty of us in this place and by God’s grace we are so far
all well. If any of us is executed, I ask you not to forget our
families. I have many things to say, yet how can pen and paper capture
what I feel? I end this letter. As we are all near the final ordeal, I
urge you to remain steadfast in faith, so that at last we will all
reach heaven and there rejoice together. I embrace you all in love.
The
Desert Fathers: sayings of the Early Christian Monks: Progress in Perfection
2. Pambo said to Antony, 'What shall I do?' Antony
said, 'Do not trust in your own righteousness. Do not go on sorrowing over
a deed that is past. Keep your tongue and your belly under control.'
September 19, 2022
(Jer 2:19-20) Thy own wickedness
shall reprove thee, and thy apostasy shall rebuke thee. Know thou, and
see that it is an evil and a bitter thing for thee, to have left the
Lord thy God, and that my fear is not with thee, saith the Lord the God
of hosts. Of old time thou hast broken my yoke, thou hast burst my
bands, and thou saidst: I will not serve. For on every high hill, and
under every green tree thou didst prostitute thyself.
CATHOLIC CULTURE: Getting it right: On religious differences and God’s will
PATHEOS: Made For God?
ELEISON COMMENTS: Is God Selfish?
Love, if not freely given, is amiss.
God wants us free to choose, or not, His Bliss.
A reader writes in with an
objection to the goodness of God which he knows to be false, but which
nevertheless perturbs him, and to which he has for a long time found no
answer that satisfies him.
Here is the problem –
1. To command somebody, “Love me, or I will blow out your brains,” is
both selfish, because it is self-centred; and ridiculous, because
threats cannot produce true love.
2. But God says just that when He says to His human creatures, “If you do not love Me, you will go to Hell.”
3. Therefore (it is Satan that speaks) God is both selfish and ridiculous.
In order to answer this objection
to the love of God, let us see firstly what is the truth about what God
says to His human creatures when, by Himself creating their immortal
souls and infusing them into the material bodies put together by their
two human parents, He brings human beings into existence: “My dear
child, by giving you life and free-will, I mean you so to make use of
your life on earth that when you die you will have deserved to share My
eternal bliss with Me in My Heaven. But I will not force you to come to
My Heaven, because if I forced you I would make you into a robot, and
robots cannot enjoy My Heaven. I will leave you entirely free not to
come to My Heaven if you do not want to do so. Choosing Hell will be
entirely your own decision.
Now it is true that powerful
influences such as the world, the flesh and the Devil will do their
best to make you prefer Hell to Heaven, and it is true that a majority
of men to whom I give life, end up by preferring Hell to Heaven, but in
every case that will have been their own free choice, and I will no
more have forced them to choose Hell than I force anybody to choose
Heaven. And note that the more evil have been the influences they will
have resisted in order to prefer My Heaven, the more glorious and happy
that Heaven will be for them. So the evil has a purpose, and while I do
not want it, I do want to allow it, precisely so that I can make it
serve the eternal bliss of those who refuse evil.
And if you object to Me that in the
modern world the confusion and the evil are overwhelming and are too
strong for many souls to resist, I reply to you that whenever the evil
really does become too much, as in the time of Noah (who still resisted
it), I can intervene, as I did with the Flood. In fact the Flood saved
for eternity many souls that would otherwise have given way to the
corruption, so it was a great act of My Mercy. In the 21st century,
just wait for Me to give you a great Warning, announced notably by the
four girls of Garabandal in Spain in the 1960’s. It will give a great
help from all the confusion towards salvation through Jesus Christ, but
only if souls themselves freely choose that they want to be saved.
Now let us apply these truths to the three propositions of the original objection above –
1. To say to anybody “Love me or I will kill you,” is selfish if he who
says it says it primarily himself to be loved. But God in Himself is in
utter and unchanging bliss. Only externally to Himself does He gain
anything by souls sharing His bliss. That bliss He wants for them
primarily for their sake, not for Himself. Nor is God ridiculous. Of
course He wants no forced love. He leaves us entirely free to love Him,
or not.
2. It is true that if we do not
love God as we should, so that we die in a state of mortal sin, then we
will have deserved Hell. But once in Hell, a large part of the torture
will be to see with the utmost clarity just how easily I could have
saved my soul, with all the help and graces that God gave me in my life
on earth. But freely I chose not to want His help, and so what I am
suffering now is entirely my own fault.
3. So God is not at all saying, “Love Me, or I will blow your brains out.” He is neither selfish nor ridiculous.
The
Desert Fathers: sayings of the Early Christian Monks: Progress in Perfection
1. Somebody asked Antony, 'What shall I do in order
to please God?' He replied, 'Do what I tell you, which is this: wherever
you go, keep God in mind; whatever you do, follow the example of holy Scripture;
wherever you are, stay there and do not move away in a hurry. If you keep
to these guide-lines, you will be saved.'
September 16, 2022
(Gal 1:8-9) But
though we, or an angel from heaven, preach a gospel to you besides that
which we have preached to you, let him be anathema. As we said before,
so now I say again: If any one preach to you a gospel, besides that
which you have received, let him be anathema.
HEADLINES ACROSS THE GLOBE
Turbulent scenes and votes for homosexuality, women’s ordination at German Synodal Way
Collapse: Inside Ireland’s stunning rebuke of Catholicism
Study: Christians Likely to Be US Minority in a Few Decades
ON MODERNISM
Pope Pius X vs. Modernism
Modernity as Apostasy from God
CATHOLIC STAND: The Truth About Modernism
For Catholics, the heresy of Modernism has tentacles that have
insinuated themselves in the life and thinking of the Church for over
100 years.
Some things Modernists say:
- The truths of the Bible are not immutable because the Bible is dependent on the culture in which it was written.
- The Bible is inerrant only in its spiritual meanings, like the Parables.
- The great world religions are like spokes in a wheel. The hub of
the wheel at the center is like God so the closer the spokes are to the
source does more similar they are and the further away they are from
the source the more they seem to be different.
- Jesus is A way to Salvation — you could say he’s the privilege
route, but not THE Way — since even atheists can be saved without
coming to a knowledge of the savior.
- The only reason women can’t be ordained to the priesthood is because of patriarchy.
- It’s more important to be guided by the Holy Spirit as opposed to having some institutional Church telling you how to live.
- God’s existence can only be known through faith, not through natural reason.
- Like species in creation, Catholic dogmas can and do evolve over time.
- Adam and Eve were not two literally human beings, but literary
Myths, written by primitive authors to tell the story of the beginnings
of the human family.
If so, then you have some familiarity with modernism.
Modernism with a capital m was a kind of loose movement that began in
the late 19th century and early 20th century mainly in Europe among
Catholic theologians some of whom were priests. Some of the more famous
modernist leaders were Fr. Alfred Loisy, Fr. George Tyrrell, SJ, Baron
Friedrich von Hügel, and Maurice Blondel, to name a few.
All of the first generation modernists were professors and writers and
their ideas began to gain traction in seminaries and the formation of
priests. There was a kind of a trickle-down effect of modernism to out
the world of religion textbooks, spiritual direction advice, and
approaches to catechesis and evangelization.
See:
Modernism is an idea virus. And our minds were made to grasp and live by the truth, not be subject to infection by a virus.
Thoughts
and Sayings of Saint Margaret Mary: Various Subjects
30. I have no pleasure in this miserable life except
in what concerns the interests of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Who often fastens
me, stripped of all, to the Cross.
September 14, 2022
(Joh 16:33) These things I have
spoken to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you shall
have distress. But have confidence. I have overcome the world.
GOOD FRIDAY LITURGY: “Behold the wood of the Cross, on which hung the salvation of the world: come, let us worship!”
SAINT ROSE OF LIMA: “Apart from the cross there is no other ladder by which we may get to heaven.“
ALETEIA: The Exaltation of the Cross in art
ORTHODOX COMMENTARY: Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross
The Feast of the Universal Exaltation of the Precious and Life-Giving
Cross is a blessed day and celebration of the tremendous power of the
Cross of our Lord and is celebrated each year on September 14. Through
the Cross, the power and wisdom of God have been revealed. By the
Cross, we are reconciled to Christ, and we can find true and enduring
peace. It is the Cross that directs us to Christ and to the way of
salvation and eternal life.
The Feast commemorates the finding
of the True Cross of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ by Saint Helen,
the mother of the Emperor Constantine.
In the twentieth year of his reign
(326), Emperor Constantine sent his mother Saint Helen to Jerusalem to
venerate the holy places and to find the site of the Holy Sepulchre and
of the Cross. Relying upon the oral tradition of the faithful, Saint
Helen found the precious Cross together with the crosses of the two
thieves crucified with our Lord. However, Helen had no way of
determining which was the Cross of Christ.
With the healing of a dying woman
who touched one of the crosses, Patriarch Macarius of Jerusalem
identified the True Cross of Christ. Saint Helen and her court
venerated the Precious and Life-Giving Cross along with many others who
came to see this great instrument of Redemption.
The Patriarch mounted the ambo
(pulpit) and lifted the Cross with both hands so that all of the people
gathered could see it. The crowd responded with "Lord have mercy".
This became the occasion of the
institution in all of the Churches of the Exaltation of the Precious
Cross, not only in memory of the event of the finding of the Cross but
also to celebrate how an instrument of shame was used to overcome death
and bring salvation and eternal life.
The Feast is an opportunity outside
of the observances of Holy Week to celebrate the full significance of
the victory of the Cross over the powers of the world, and the triumph
of the wisdom of God through the Cross over the wisdom of this world.
This Feast also gives the Church an opportunity to relish the full
glory of the Cross as a source of light, hope, and victory for Christ's
people. It is also a time to celebrate the universality of the work of
redemption accomplished through the Cross: the entire universe is seen
through the light of the Cross, the new Tree of Life which provides
nourishment for those who have been redeemed in Christ.
Today as we venerate the Holy Cross of our Lord, and Orthodox
Christians around the world raise the symbol of the sacred and precious
wood, we proclaim the Cross to be an invincible shield, a divine
scepter, and the boast of the faithful. We exalt it by affirming that
the Cross sanctifies to the ends of the world. We hail the life-giving
Cross as the “unconquerable trophy of godliness, door to Paradise, and
succor of the faithful.” Through the Cross our enemies are vanquished,
freedom from corruption and mortality is established, and salvation is
offered universally.
As the Cross is lifted up, we
marvel at how an instrument meant for torture and shame leads us to
abundant and eternal life. We contemplate how an object that inflicted
suffering and death reveals the glory and power of God. We offer praise
and thanksgiving, for instead of hate and inhumanity, the Cross has
become love and freedom. Instead of suffering, we find healing and
hope. The Cross leads us from death and life, and through the Cross, we
know that all things are possible to those who believe in Christ.
UNIVERSALIS: The cross is Christ's glory and triumph (From a discourse by Saint Andrew of Crete)
We are celebrating the feast of the cross which drove away darkness and
brought in the light. As we keep this feast, we are lifted up with the
crucified Christ, leaving behind us earth and sin so that we may gain
the things above. So great and outstanding a possession is the cross
that he who wins it has won a treasure. Rightly could I call this
treasure the fairest of all fair things and the costliest, in fact as
well as in name, for on it and through it and for its sake the riches
of salvation that had been lost were restored to us.
Had there been no cross, Christ could not have been crucified. Had
there been no cross, life itself could not have been nailed to the
tree. And if life had not been nailed to it, there would be no streams
of immortality pouring from Christ’s side, blood and water for the
world’s cleansing. The legal bond of our sin would not be cancelled, we
should not have attained our freedom, we should not have enjoyed the
fruit of the tree of life and the gates of paradise would not stand
open. Had there been no cross, death would not have been trodden
underfoot, nor hell despoiled.
Therefore, the cross is something wonderfully great and honourable. It
is great because through the cross the many noble acts of Christ found
their consummation – very many indeed, for both his miracles and his
sufferings were fully rewarded with victory. The cross is honourable
because it is both the sign of God’s suffering and the trophy of his
victory. It stands for his suffering because on it he freely suffered
unto death. But it is also his trophy because it was the means by which
the devil was wounded and death conquered; the barred gates of hell
were smashed, and the cross became the one common salvation of the
whole world.
The cross is called Christ’s glory; it is saluted as his triumph. We
recognise it as the cup he longed to drink and the climax of the
sufferings he endured for our sake. As to the cross being Christ’s
glory, listen to his words: Now is the Son of Man glorified, and in him
God is glorified, and God will glorify him at once. And again: Father,
glorify me with the glory I had with you before the world came to be.
And once more: “Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from
heaven: “I have glorified it and will glorify it again.” Here he speaks
of the glory that would accrue to him through the cross. And if you
would understand that the cross is Christ’s triumph, hear what he
himself also said: When I am lifted up, then I will draw all men to
myself. Now you can see that the cross is Christ’s glory and triumph.
Thoughts
and Sayings of Saint Margaret Mary: Various Subjects
29. I am attacked on all sides, yet I will not
fear, for I keep myself strongly entrenched in my secure fortress-- the
Sacred Heart of my divine Master. Like a wise leader He deals out to me
just strength sufficient for each occasion.
September 12, 2022
(Mat 7:21-23) Not every one that saith to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter
into the kingdom of heaven: but he that doth the will of my Father who
is in heaven, he shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. Many will say
to me in that day: Lord, Lord, have not we prophesied in thy name, and
cast out devils in thy name, and done many miracles in thy name? And
then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, you
that work iniquity.
CATHOLIC WORLD REPORT: The Commandments and the restoration of civilization
REVIEW: The Great Awakening vs the Great Reset
MARCO TOSATTI: Ratzinger, Tyconius, and Fatima: An Interpretive Key for the End Times
EXCERPT: The Great Reset by Ted Flynn
As we progress into the near future, at some point there will be no
neutrality among people. Man is being winnowed. This is a battle for
all the marbles and how we will move into future generations. You will
either be in or out depending on your response to government dictates.
Tough decisions will need to be made by families. Jesus said, “My
kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36). We are exiles living in a
strange land. Our Lady has said to her followers, “Right when it
appears Satan is the victor, his victory will be snatched away in a
trice.” Trice means quickly or in an instant. Our Lady has also said
about her followers, “You are apostles of the last times.” Navigating
in these times for a believer can be difficult, so sticking to the
fundamentals of the faith for peace of soul will become paramount to
maintain the mental stability and equilibrium to function. Yes, there
is great hope, and we need to stand on the promises and not wobble.
Jesus was not “a reed shaken by the wind,” and neither should we be.
Heaven has a plan.
One could easily be demoralized if they are just seeing the negative
news and ignoring Heaven’s plan. Our Lady is exposing and dismantling
these groups, and she names her target specifically. Heaven will defend
their people and we have to trust what Our Lady is telling us. To usher
in the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart, we will see the old pass away,
and this is the process that we are watching now. It is painful to
watch and endure, but people must be purified as dross is removed from
gold so it becomes pure. It is uplifting and encouraging to know her
plan. Our Lady has told us, “All has Been Reveled to You” and we have
been given “the full and entire truth.” People following what Heaven
has been telling us, and specifically what The Blessed Mother has said
repeatedly should not be surprised by the events we see around us, even
though they are so incredulous. Before we see the Triumph of the
Immaculate Heart, our era must pass. This process to walk Calvary will
be painful, but the Church must pass through it. We are then promised
to see the New Era, the New Times, the New Jerusalem, and the Second
Pentecost.
Nothing is more comforting than what has been prophesied at Garabandal,
Spain. Promises await us for a reversion of millions of people to the
ways of God. Our Lady came and gave over 2,000 messages to four young
visionaries in the mountains of northern Spain from 1961-1965. These
prophesied events will shake the world like nothing before in history.
Many have expected the events before this time, but current events seem
to be pointing that they may now be closer. Heaven is seldom early, but
never late. Satan knows his time is short, thus we see the unrestrained
torrent of evil. However, right when all appears lost, it will be The
Woman Clothed with the Sun (Revelation 12:1-6) who crushes the head of
the serpent. It will be the culmination and fruition of Genesis 3:15,
“I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and
her seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
Nothing will be more of a bounteous display of grace than the Warning
and the Great Miracle that has been prophesied to come with the genesis
of events that originate from that small mountain village in
Garabandal, Spain. It will change life as we know it. There will be no
more than one year between the two events. It will be HEAVEN’S ULTIMATE
ACT OF MERCY for a wayward people. It will be so spectacular it will
change life as we know it.
The Blessed Mother has said what is coming will be the greatest miracle
since the creation of the world. We don’t know exactly what that is,
but we do have some clues. It will be so significant, we will measure
time with the event much in the same way we measure time now Before
Christ (BC) and After Christ (AD). The Warning will show every person
on earth the state of their soul as God will see it a judgment. All
will know they are in a Divine Presence of unexplainable love. It has
several names: the warning, a judgment in miniature, a life review, a
correction of conscience, and an illumination of conscience. Heaven
will meet the evil in the world on Heaven’s terms because, “Where sin
abounds, grace abounds all the more” (Romans 5:20).
A great day soon awaits us. We must embrace the future with faith and
hope that Heaven knows our circumstances and hears our cries.“Now the
God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may
abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13).
We must endure the fight until the end with vigilance, temperance,
fortitude, hope and the faith like those before us. Scripture informs
us, In the End We Win.
Thoughts
and Sayings of Saint Margaret Mary: Various Subjects
22. We should always look to God as in ourselves,
no matter in what manner we meditate upon Him, so as to accustom ourselves
to dwell in His divine presence. For when we behold Him within our
souls, all our powers and faculties, and even our senses, are recollected
within us. If we look at God apart from ourselves we are easily distracted
by exterior objects.
September 8, 2022
(Isa 58:7-9) Deal
thy bread to the hungry, and bring the needy and the harbourless into
thy house: when thou shalt see one naked, cover him, and despise not
thy own flesh. Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thy
health shall speedily arise, and thy justice shall go before thy face,
and the glory of the Lord shall gather thee up. Then shalt thou call,
and the Lord shall hear: thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am.
If thou wilt take away the chain out of the midst of thee, and cease to
stretch out the finger, and to speak that which profiteth not.
NCR: Ongoing Support: Catholic Charities Continue to Show Ukrainian Refugees the Face of Mercy
ACN: ACN steps up effort to help victims of worst floods in 30 years
ACIAFRICA: Catholic Charity Concerned Christians in Some African Countries Practice Faith Underground
ACN: The faith is the most precious treasure,’ drives ACN’s charitable mission
Tobias Lehner spoke with Father Martin Barta, ACN’s International Spiritual Assistant, about the focus areas of ACN’s work.
Q: Father
Martin, why is it sometimes easier to raise support for relief
campaigns in the social welfare sector—also within the spectrum of
services offered by the church—than for pastoral care emergencies?
A: We often view
human beings only as corporeal, cultural, social, or economic entities,
but not as spiritual beings. There is a lack of awareness that men and
women are created by God and for God. A holistic conception of humanity
is missing.
Q: Can you give
us concrete examples of how this approach is being taken in ACN’s
project work? What does a project application have to include so that
it will be approved by the organization?
A: A concern for
human beings, both their physical and spiritual well-being, must be at
the heart of a project. It is written in the Gospels that “Humankind
shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the
mouth of God.” (Matt 4:4). The spiritual and the divine, are the first
riches of humankind. You can’t first solve the socio-economic problems
and then begin approaching people about the spiritual. Human, economic,
and social development must go together with the growth of faith and of
the Kingdom of God.
Q: ACN generally
requires project applications be submitted with a recommendation by the
bishop responsible for the respective region. Why is this so important?
A: For us, the
recommendation of a bishop is like a seal of approval that guarantees
that the project will be developed and realized in the spirit of the
Church. It is not just about what will be done, but also how it will be
done. The people should feel that whatever they have received comes
from a heart that wants to give something of itself to others. Not only
because we want to promote them socially and humanely, but also because
we are supporting them as brothers and sisters in faith in God´s love.
A project should not only fulfil its earthly purpose, but also deepen
the faith and broaden horizons to embrace the divine.
Q: ACN has very
diverse focus areas. Among other things, the charity promotes the
training and education of clergy and lay people, supports religious
orders, provides pastoral counselling for families and aid for
refugees, donates vehicles and is engaged in media communications work.
Furthermore, ACN has made a strong commitment to building churches.
There are often calls to invest more in “living stones” than in
buildings. Why is the construction of churches and chapels so important
to ACN?
A: It is
important to invest in “living stones” because human beings are the
first temple of the Holy Spirit. However, church buildings are not
“dead stones.” One often forgets that God also built a dwelling place
for Himself here on Earth. The symbol of a tent is even used in the Old
Testament to represent the presence of God in this world. Therefore, a
church is not chiefly an initiative of humans, but of God, who comes to
us and lives among us. And that is why the church is first and foremost
a house of God. It is a living house, with living stones, because the
tabernacle is the beating heart of the Church. The church is the place
where human beings encounter God. And that is what makes a church
unique and different from all other buildings.
Q: Do the faithful in poorer countries understand this better than we who live in the affluent West?
A: One generally
finds a more vibrant faith in poorer countries. The people go to church
because they know that God is there. This is often evident in outward
things, such as when the people do all they can to ensure that the
church is beautifully decorated, and that Mass is a true
celebration—and that despite their poverty. There is also a strong
feeling of community. In this unity of faith, it is palpable that we
belong to the Lord as one. The word “church” stems from the Greek word
kyriakos, which means “belonging to the Lord.” We belong to the Lord:
that is the meaning of church.
Q: What projects are prioritized at ACN?
A: Top priority
is given to countries in which Christians are directly being persecuted
or suffering discrimination, in which they are risking their lives to
publicly live their faith. The most urgent need of these people is
subsistence aid, which is the only thing that makes it possible for
them to stay in their countries and bear witness to the Gospel. These
are the countries where you will find the most beautiful witnesses of
faith.
This reminds me of an incident that an Iraqi priest told me about.
Following an attack by the Islamic State on villages on the Nineveh
Plain that forced the Christians living there to make their escape in
the dark of night and take refuge in a refugee camp, a young boy asked
his grandmother, “We have lost everything. Why has God allowed this to
happen?” The grandmother answered him, “My boy, what are you saying? We
have lost everything, but we have been able to preserve the greatest
thing imaginable: our faith in God.” Faith is the most precious
treasure we have.
Thoughts
and Sayings of Saint Margaret Mary: Various Subjects
21. Having once made an entire donation of ourselves,
let us not retract it: our Lord will employ every means to sanctify us,
in proportion as we make use of every opportunity to glorify Him.
September 6, 2022
(Heb 10:23) Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering (for he is faithful that hath promised):
CATHOLICSCOMEHOME.ORG: Real People, RealStories
CATHOLIC TESTIMONIES: Bringing the World to Jesus
CATHOLIC SPIRIT: Why I am Catholic
BLOG EXCERPT: An Ex-Muslim on the Traditional Mass: “From the microcosm of the Mass, the entire world is reordered”
When Adam and Eve decided to take a
bite from the forbidden fruit, they put themselves above God, causing
the created order to become disordered. The sin of pride that was the
result of this inordinateness became the center of the human struggle
from then on. Without a proper view and understanding of who God is and
who we and our neighbor are in relation to Him, chaos will remain not
only in the society but in our own souls.
In the Old Covenant, over and over
again the Lord gives instructions and he attempts to guide His
rebellious people back to the order that would lead them to
fulfillment. One of the most crucial aspects of proper realignment is
the way that the Israelites worshipped God. The Lord gives detailed
instructions about the Temple, the vestments and how the sacrifice that
would atone for sin should be conducted. The details are exhaustive and
one feels the temptation to skip to the more exciting parts of the
Scripture. Because the New Covenant in Christ’s sacrifice is hidden in
the Old Testament, we must pay heed to what the Lord communicated to
His children through these instructions. As tedious and obsolete these
details may seem to our modern sensibilities, liturgy, as an activity
of worship, is designed by God to re-order the fallen world, thus
aiding us in our sinfulness. My first encounter with Traditional Latin
Mass reminded me of the proper order of creation where we all turn to
the Creator of the Universe in unison.
To this day, I remember the
solemnity with which we prepared to enter the mosque or the pray the
salat, the five daily prayers of Islam. One needs to perform physical
ablution that requires washing of hands, feet, face and arms while
uttering specific prayers. As a girl, I had to cover my whole body with
clothing except my face. Everyone took off their shoes as they entered
the mosque, because the house of Allah was holy. One good point about
Muslims is that they appreciate reverence. However, as a child, every
reverent action of mine was accompanied by a crippling servile fear
that was instilled in me, and in every Muslim, from an early age. Allah
is the capricious, unpredictable deity who was not bound by the rules
of consistency and goodness. Our reason is useless and our love is
meaningless. All we owe Him is our absolute, unquestioning and
undoubting obedience where a relationship of master and slave is
paramount.
From such a view of God, I plunged
into the cynical, sarcastic world of atheism. The sin of pride that had
poisoned almost every human heart was alive and strong within mine. We
mocked every religion and deity indiscriminately, but with a special
attention to insulting Allah who was supposed to instill such fear in
our hearts that we would tremble and do everything he commanded. Even
our cynical hearts were aware that a creator without love was not
worthy of obedience. It was no surprise that my head remained perfectly
erect above my shoulders even after my conversion when my Protestant
friends bowed their heads in prayer. My body refused to yield.
Protestant worship services were no
help either. I am eternally grateful to the missionaries who shared the
gospel with me, prayed for me and stayed faithful. yet, when we
gathered together on Sunday mornings, worship did not seem any
different from Bible study time or the time we sat around the fire to
sing songs. While I appreciated the notion that one can always reach
out to the Lord wherever one may be, the stark contrast to the worship
that God desired in the Old Testament was noticeable. Try as I might,
given my proud heart and cynical nature, these times of worship failed
to rouse my emotion and reorient my stance towards the Word that
created the cosmos.
My experience with Mass brought me closer to true worship, as I noted in my conversion story, From Islam to Christ:
The Mass was reverent and
beautiful. One of the things I could not get used to in the Evangelical
churches I attended was the style of worship. Neither in
non-denominational nor charismatic congregations did I feel as though
we were standing in the presence of God or kneeling in adoration before
Him. I felt rather as though we were hanging out with our pal Jesus. If
we actually believed that we were the sons and daughters of the
Almighty God, who created the endless cosmos and the tiniest cell in
our bodies, I thought we should fall on our knees often or at least
once a week on Sundays. I loved that during the Eucharistic prayer,
every man and woman knelt down in silent reverence. It was clear that
there was something significant and awe-inspiring taking place. This
was a Lord I would not hesitate to follow, because he had humbled
himself to be my friend, even though He had created the heavens and the
earth.
When I attended my first
traditional Latin Mass years later in an old English church with dark
walnut pews, that reverence I had experienced during my very first Mass
reached a new height where the reason for those tedious [Old Testament]
details about worship became clear. This was a God before whom I could
kneel; a God who held our existence in his hands, yet chose to humble
Himself to become one of us and suffer humiliation and death in love to
save us from our own sinfulness.
As the priest and the faithful
faced the Lord together, Mass was no longer oriented towards the
priest, but to God. It did not matter who the priest was as long as he
said the black and did the red. His personality was inconsequential.
The prescribed rubrics and prayers made sure that the priest would not
be the center of the worship, but stood in persona Christi with and for
the people as the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass was offered, surpassing
the limits of time and space.
Yes, the priest was not the focus,
but neither was the laity. With whispered prayers, the faithful stood,
knelt and uttered their own prayers. The silence and solemnity directed
our attention to the cross away from ourselves and each other, uniting
us in a unique way as we all directed our gaze towards heaven. Of
course, these impressions were all before I studied liturgy and the
meaning of the rubrics and prayers. Even for a newcomer, the
traditional Mass presented a kind of worship that reoriented our
bodies, minds and souls to the perfect order where the Lord received
the worship He was due as the loving Father. Finally, not only could I
bow my head, but I could also kneel in worship and unite my prayers
with the entire church. The limelight did not fall on the priest, the
server or on the congregation, but to where it belonged: the crucified
Word of God who loved the world unto death.
ST. JOHN KRONSTADT:
....as God is ever-flowing, infinite goodness, he seeks to impart His
goodness to His creatures, if only they turn to Him with faith, &
love, like children to their father, recognising their sinfulness,
poverty & blindness without Him.
Thoughts
and Sayings of Saint Margaret Mary: Various Subjects
18. I cannot but admire the goodness and liberality
of the Sacred Heart towards you. Our Lord seems to take pleasure in unfolding
all Its treasures for your benefit.
September 1, 2022
(2Th 2:13-15) But we ought to give
thanks to God always for you, brethren, beloved of God, for that God
hath chosen you firstfruits unto salvation, in sanctification of the
spirit and faith of the truth: Whereunto also he hath called you by our
gospel, unto the purchasing of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore, brethren, stand fast: and hold the traditions, which you
have learned, whether by word or by our epistle.
CATHOLIC STANDARD: New course aims to instruct new Catholics, reenergize lifelong Catholics
THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT: Finding virtue through the Catholic faith
FR. JOSEPH ESPER: Never Give Up!
LIFESITENEWS.COM: Cdl. Burke: Faithful Catholics must remain in the Church, hold bishops accountable to Apostolic Tradition
In an interview with German Catholic news outlet Die Tagespost,
Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke encouraged faithful Catholics to remain in
the Church in fidelity to Christ, and to work from within the Church
for a much-needed ecclesiastical reform, even should it require openly
correcting bishops when they betray the faith.
“Catholics must bear witness to the truth of the faith,” Burke said.
Addressing the distress of orthodox Catholics at the agenda of
pro-synodal bishops, such as those of Germany and Ireland, who are
aggressively pushing for “another church and another faith,” Burke
tried to bolster the laity in their witness to Christ, saying, “In the
tradition of the Church, a synod is a way to find out how to defend and
promote the Catholic faith, not to create another Church and another
faith. I think these good Catholics, as painful as it is, must remain
in their communities and fight for the truth of the faith.”
“If everyone leaves,” he continued, “the Church would otherwise fall
into the hands of those who destroy the Catholic faith and its
practice. It is important that the faithful do not leave the Church,
because Christ promised us to always remain with us in the Church. We
thus remain with Christ, even if we have to speak very openly with our
own bishops when they propose something that does not correspond to the
Catholic faith. We must return to the sacred tradition.”
Emphasizing the need to be faithful to the Church’s Apostolic
Tradition, the cardinal declared, “To call fidelity to Catholic
doctrine rigidity is simply wrong.” Burke reminded the lay faithful
that they have the right and duty to express their concerns about the
Church to their pastors. He also recalled to bishops their duty to
uphold the faith, which they undertook by oath at their episcopal
consecration.
“The dynamism of the Catholic faith comes from its continuity,” Burke
said. “Faith is God’s work and comes to us through the tradition of the
apostles. This is not rigidity, but fidelity to tradition, and bishops
are obliged to do so by the oath they took when they were ordained
bishops. To call fidelity to Catholic doctrine rigidity is simply
wrong. The faithful have the right and the duty to express their
concerns about the Church. Believers should openly exercise this right
– it is in canon law.
The cardinal doubled down on the need for good Catholics to correct
their bishops when they have spoken or acted against the faith, saying,
“In cases where the faith is betrayed even within the Church itself, it
is even more important for her to insist on Catholic doctrine and
practice. They must understand that they are not free to do so, but
that they are obliged to defend the Catholic faith in these times.
Obedience can never command us to do anything that is against faith and
good morals.”
Asked what practical means the faithful might use in defense of the
faith, the prelate pointed to the effectiveness of the means of
communication as well as the publication of the great Catholic
classics: the writings of the saints, Fathers, and Doctors of the
Church.
“First of all,” Burke said, the faithful need “to use the means of
communication to spread the message and, for example, to publish the
classical expositions of the Catholic faith – from the Fathers of the
Church, the great theologians and the reliable authors of the present.
Insist on talking to the pastor about these issues.” Cardinal Burke
remains a strong voice for faithful Catholics, who appreciate his
outspoken defense of the Church’s authentic doctrine and practice.
Thoughts
and Sayings of Saint Margaret Mary: Various Subjects
17. In all your needs, trustfully have recourse
to the divine Heart, and I am confident that our Lord will provide for
your wants; but above all be very grateful for the many benefits He has
bestowed on you.
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