From Catholic Latin Classics, performed by the Cathedral Singers, which can be purchased here.
Saturday, May 18, 2013
"The only thing you need to know about the inequity of justice in the VCII Church..."
"... is that the canonical recognition of the LCRW has not been revoked, and probably never will, despite the fact that they spread 'radical feminist themes incompatible with the Catholic faith', but we [SSPX priests and bishops] are denied the same even though we profess and love everything the Holy Catholic Church has taught for two thousand years."
Rarely will you hear a more accurate assessment than
this, a comment made by a priest regarding this column at The Remnant Newspaper.
The comparison between the Leadership Conference of Women
Religious and the Society of St. Pius X is perhaps one of the most ironic of
pictures one could find that demonstrates the utter hypocrisy of our modern
church leaders’ actions and the inherent contradictions in their thinking.
At this point, in the wake of the failed “talks” between
the SSPX and the Vatican, it is copiously clear that the Vatican position comes
down to protecting the established methodology of applying the Second Vatican
Council’s novelties (collegiality, ecumenism, religious liberty), a methodology
that treats these novelties as “infallible” teachings. In reality these
novelties cannot be infallible because, by the Church’s own admission, by the
Council’s own admission, and by the reigning, at the time of the Council, Pontiff’s
own admission the Second Vatican Council proclaimed no new dogmas or exercised
the power of infallibility.
The breakdown in the talks hinged on the Vatican’s
instance, with the full acquiescence of Pope Benedict XVI, that the SSPX was
not allowed to criticize the three novelties as errors. Rather, the Vatican
insisted that all Catholics must “accept” the Council, as though
everything its documents contain were infallible. It is clear that these
churchmen aren't so much concerned with the integrity of the Council; what they
are primarily concerned with is that everyone, especially the traditionalists, “accept”
as infallible the concepts of collegiality, ecumenism, and religious liberty,
when in reality they have no firm basis to do so. The Vatican authorities are
saying: “Technically these things are not infallible, but we must acknowledge
them as infallible, regardless.” The only true heresy in the minds of our modern
church leaders, the only heresy that carries any real canonical censure and penalty,
is to reject the non-infallible novelties of Vatican II that must be treated
infallibly anyway.
This is why there hasn't really been any penalties for
the LCWR. The Leadership Conference of Women Religious might espouse radical
feminist concepts that in any other generation of the Church’s history would
have been condemned as heresy, but that’s not important to our modern church
leaders. The women of the LCWR accept as infallible the concepts of
collegiality, ecumenism, and religious liberty; thus, they pass the litmus test
of the post-Vatican II generation. The LCWR’s canonical status and “full
communion” are guaranteed, regardless of whatever doctrinal shortcomings they
suffer, or assessments they must undergo, because they “accept” Vatican II, or
more accurately they regard as infallible the novelties of collegiality,
ecumenism, and religious liberty.
What is truly disturbing is that our conservative
Catholic pundits heap praises on the Vatican leadership for the “censure” of
the LCWR, as though it demonstrates the “orthodoxy” of Rome, as though it were
a sure sign that Rome is safe-guarding the teachings of Holy Mother Church. The
assessment of the LCWR, which started out, lest we forget, with abundant praise
for the LCWR’s many good works, was woefully inadequate. To date not a single
reform has taken place in the LCWR. No one has stepped down. The leaders of the
Leadership Conference are still comfortably in place, and just as outspoken in
their criticisms of the assessment as they were on the day after it first
appeared. Not a single radical feminist has cancelled lectures or retreats
through the LCWR. The bottom line is that the doctrinal assessment has amounted
to nothing more than a cacophony of words and useless commentary coupled by torpor
on the part of the church leaders tasked with unspecific and unproductive
directives.
Nothing will be done to the LCWR. They embody in too many
ways the goals of our modern church leaders, namely, the rejection of the hierarchy
of being (collegiality), the rejection that Jesus Christ is the Sovereign Lord
of all creation (religious liberty), which is a natural consequent of a loss of
faith that He is truly God, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, and,
finally, the rejection of the dogma, Nulla
extra ecclesiam salus (ecumenism).
Canonical censure for those who refuse to reject what the
Church has always taught, on the one hand, and a farce of discipline for those who go too far in
revealing the truth of what is being rejected by “accepting” the novelties of
the Council on the other hand. This was the modern Vatican’s standard operating procedure under Pope Benedict XVI, who liked to dress up like a traditionalist, and has often been confused for one. What will happen now under Pope Francis who lacks even an aesthetic regard for traditional Catholicism?
Collect of the Day: Vigil of Whitsunday
Ascensiontide
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Thy faithful and kindle in them the fire of Thy love.
V. Send forth Thy spirit, and they shall be created.
R. And Thou shalt renew the face of the earth.
Let us pray. O God, who hast taught the hearts of the faithful by the light of the Holy Spirit, grant that by the gift of the same Spirit we may be always truly wise and ever rejoice in His consolation. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
______________________
The Elect by Luca Signorelli, 1502
Whitsun Eve
From
The Liturgical Year
by Dom Guéranger, O.S.B.
 |
| The Annunciation by Alessandro Allori, 1603 |
If, then, the Holy Ghost’s visible reign on our earth was
deferred until such time as the Man-God should be enthroned on the Father’s
right hand, we must not conclude that this divine Spirit has been inactive.
What are the sacred Scriptures, from which the liturgy has selected so many
sublime passages for our instruction, but the silent production of Him, who, as
the venerable Symbol has it, “spoke by the prophets?” He gave us the Word, the
Wisdom of God, by the Scripture, who gave us, at a later period, this same Word,
in the flesh of human nature.
He has never been a moment of all the past ages without
working. He prepared the world for the reign of the Incarnate Word; He did so
by bringing together the various races of once separate nations, and by keeping
up that universal expectation of a Redeemer, which was held alike by the most
barbarous and by the most highly civilized. The earth had not as yet heard the name
of the Holy Ghost, but He moved over the universe of mankind, as He moved over
the dead mass of water at the beginning of the world.
Meanwhile, the prophets spoke of Him in several of the
prophecies wherein they foretold the coming of the Son of God. The Lord thus
spoke by the lips of Joel: “I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh.” He said
to us through Ezechiel: “I will pour upon you clean water, and you shall be
cleansed from all your filthiness, and I will cleanse you from all your idols.
And I will give you a new heart, and put a new spirit within you: and I will
take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of
flesh; and I will put My Spirit in the midst of you.”
But previously to the manifestation of Himself, the Holy
Ghost was to effect that of the divine Word. When infinite power called into
existence the body and soul of the future Mother of God, it was he that
prepared the dwelling for the sovereign Majesty, by sanctifying Mary from the
instant of her conception. And taking possession of her as the temple into
which the Son of God was soon to enter. When the ever blessed day of the
Annunciation came, the archangel declared unto Mary that the Holy Ghost would
come upon her, and that the power of the Most High would overshadow her. No
sooner did the Virgin consent to the fulfillment of the eternal decree, than
the operation of the divine Spirit produced within her the most ineffable of
mysteries: the Word was made Flesh, and dwelt among us!
Upon this flower that sprang from the branch of the tree
of Jesse, upon this Humanity divinely produced in Mary, there rested
complacently the Spirit of the Father and of the Son: he enriched it with His
gifts, He fitted it for its glorious and everlasting destiny. He that had so
filled the Mother with the treasures of His grace, that it seemed to border on
infinity, gave incomparably more to her Child. And, as ever, the Holy Spirit
worked these stupendous wonders silently; for the time of His manifestation had
not come. The earth is to catch but a glimpse of Him on the day of Jesus’
baptism, when He will rest with outstretched wings on the head of the
well-beloved Son of the Father. The holy Baptist John will understand the
glorious vision, as he had felt, when yet unborn, the presence of the blessed
fruit in Mary’s womb; but as to the bystanders, they saw but a dove, and the
dove revealed not his eternal secrets.
The reign of the Son of God, our Emmanuel, is established
upon its predetermined foundations. In Him we have a brother, for He has
assumed our weak human nature; a teacher, for He is the Wisdom of the Father,
and leads us into all truth; a physician, for He heals all our infirmities; a
mediator, for by His sacred Humanity He brings all creation to its Creator. In
Him we have our Redeemer, and in His Blood our ransom; for sin had broken the
link between God and ourselves, and we needed a divine Redeemer. In Him we have
a Head, who is not ashamed of His members, however poor they may be; a King
whom we have seen crowned with an everlasting diadem; a Lord, whom the Lord
hath made to sit on His right hand.
But if He rules over this earth for all ages, it is from
His throne in heaven that He is to rule, until the angel’s voice is heard
proclaiming that “time is no more”; and then He will return to “crush the heads”
of sinners. Meanwhile, long ages are to flow onwards in their course, and these
ages are to be the reign of the Holy Ghost. But as we learn from the
evangelist, the Spirit was not given until such time as Jesus was glorified. So
that our beautiful mystery of the Ascension stands between the two divine
reigns on earth: the visible reign of the Son of God, and the visible reign of
the Holy Ghost. Nor is it only the prophets who announce the succession of the
second to the first; it is our Emmanuel Himself, who, during the days of His
mortal life, heralded the approaching reign of the divine Spirit.
We have not forgotten His words: “It is expedient for you
that I go; for if I go not, the Paraclete will not come to you.” Oh, how much
the world must have needed this divine guest, of whom the very Son of God made
Himself the precursor! And that we might understand how great is the majesty of
this new master who is to reign over us, Jesus thus speaks of the awful chastisements
which are to befall them that offend Him: “Whosoever shall speak a word against
the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but he that shall speak against the
Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world nor in the
world to come.” This divine Spirit is not, however, to assume our human nature,
as did the Son; neither is He to redeem the world, as did the Son; but He is to
come among men with a love so immeasurable, that woe to them who despise it! It
is to Him that Jesus intends to confide the Church, His bride, during the long
term of her widowhood; to Him will He make over His own work, that He may
perpetuate and direct it in all its parts.
 |
| Pentecost by Girolamo da Cremona, circa 1460 |
The first we look for in this sanctuary of
recollectedness and peace, is Mary, the Mother of Jesus, the master-piece of
the Holy Ghost, the Church of the living God, from whom is to be born on the
morrow, and by the action of the same divine Spirit, the Church militant; for
this second Eve represents and contains it within herself. Well, indeed, does
this incomparable creature now deserve our honour! Have we not seen her glorious
share in all the mysteries of the Man-God? And is she not to be the dearest and
worthiest object of the Paraclete’s visit? Hail, then, O Mary full of grace!
Thou art our mother, and we rejoice in being thy children. The holy Church
expresses this joy of ours, when she thus comments the words of David’s
canticle: “Our dwelling in thee, O holy Mother of God, is as of them that are
all rejoicers!” In vain wouldst thou decline the honours that await thee on the
morrow! Mother Immaculate! Temple of the Holy Ghost! There is no escape, and
receive thou must a new visit of the Spirit, for a new work is entrusted to
thee: the care of the infant Church for several years to come!
The apostolic college is clustered around the holy
Mother; it is such a feast to them to look upon her, for they see the likeness
of their Jesus in her face! In the very cenacle where they are now assembled,
and in Mary’s presence, an event occurs which is of deep importance. As God,
when He formed His Israelite people, chose the twelve sons of Jacob that they
might be the fathers of that privileged race, so did Jesus choose twelve men,
and they, too, were Israelites, that they might be the foundations of the
Church, of which He Himself, and Peter together with and in Him, is the chief
corner-stone. The terrible fall of Judas has reduced the number to eleven; the
mysterious number is broken, and the Holy Ghost is about to descend upon the
college of the apostles. Jesus had not thought proper to fill up the vacancy
before His Ascension into heaven: and yet the number must be completed, before
the coming of the Power from on high. The Church surely could not be less
perfect than the Synagogue. Who, then, will take Christ’s place in designating
the new apostle? Such a right, says St. John Chrysostom, could not belong to
any but Peter; but he humbly waived his right, and expressed his wish that
there should be an election. The choice fell upon Mathias, who immediately took
his place among the apostles, and awaited the promised Comforter.
In the cenacle, and in the blessed Mother’s company,
there are also the disciples, less honoured, it’s true, than the twelve, yet
have they been witnesses of the works and mysteries of the Man-God; they, too, are
to share in preaching the good tidings. And finally, Magdalene and the other
holy women are there, preparing, as the Master had prescribed, for the visit
from on high, which is to tell upon them also. Let us honour this fervent assembly
of the hundred and twenty disciples. They are our models. The Holy Spirit is to
descend first upon them, for they are His first-fruits; but He is to come down
upon us also, and it is with a view to prepare us for our Pentecost that the
Church imposes on us today the obligation of fasting.
When I shall be sanctified in you, I will gather you together out of all the countries: and I will pour upon you clean water and you shall be cleansed from all your filthiness: and I will give you a new spirit, alleluia, alleluia.
(From the introit of the day's Mass, Ez. 36. 23-26)
The Holy Trinity by Guido Reni, in Santissima Trinita dei Pellegrini Church, Rome (FSSP)
(From the introit of the day's Mass, Ez. 36. 23-26)
The Holy Trinity by Guido Reni, in Santissima Trinita dei Pellegrini Church, Rome (FSSP)
Collect of the Day
Præsta, quæsumus, omnípotens Deus: ut claritátis tuæ super nos splendor effúlgeat: et lus tuæ lucis corda córum, qui per grátiam tuam renáti sunt, Sancti Spíritus illustratióne confírmet. Per Dómininum nostrum…
Grant, we beseech Thee, O almighty God, that the splendour of thy brightness may shine forth upon us, and the light of Thy light may, by the illumination of Holy Spirit, confirm the hearts of those who have been born again by Thy grace. Through…
Lesson - Acts 19. 1-8 / Gospel - St. John, 14. 15-21
The Source of Life and the Triumph of the Church by an unknown Flemish master, circa 1450
From a Homily by St. Augustine of Hippo
By these words of the Lord : I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter : he certainly doth imply that he himself is a comforter. The Greek word used, namely, Paraclete, signifieth also an advocate, and is used in that sense where it is written : We have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous. The Gospel continueth with the words : Even the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive : concerning which the Apostle saith : The carnal mind is enmity against God ; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can it be. Which is as though to say : Nothing can make unrighteousness righteous. By the word World, in this place, we must understand the lovers of the world, a love which cometh not of the Father. And therefore it is that this love of the world, which we strive to lessen and to destroy in ourselves, is contrary to the love of God, which is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
The world cannot receive him, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him. For to love the world is to lack those spiritual eyes, which are able to see him who is invisible, namely, the Holy Ghost. But, saith the Lord to his disciples : Ye know him, for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. That is, He cometh to dwell with you, so that he may be in you abidingly. The Lord did not mean that the Spirit would come to dwell for a while, and so be in his people only for a season. According to this latter sense of the verb To Be, one must first be in a place before one can dwell there. So, lest the Apostles should think that the words : He shall dwell with you : signified that he should visibly abide with them for a while, as do guests in the houses of men, the Lord added in explanation : He shall be in you : which is to say : He shall abide in you.
On this wise, then, is he seen that is invisible : If he were not in us we could have in us no knowledge of him ; but he is seen in us, as we see our consciences. We see the faces of other men, and we cannot see our own ; but of men's consciences we see none save that which is within ourselves. However, our conscience is never elsewhere except within us ; whereas the Holy Ghost may be outside of us, as well as within us. He is given to be within us, and unless he be within us, we can neither see nor know him, either within us or outside of us. Then, after the Lord had promised the Holy Ghost (lest anyone should fancy that he intended to give them this Comforter in place of himself, and he himself was to be no longer with them, but leave them as orphans), he said also : I will not leave you comfortless ; I will come to you. Therefore, although the Son of God hath made us by adoption sons of his own Father, and hath willed that the Same who is his Father by nature should be our Father by grace, nevertheless, he sheweth that he himself hath towards us a love as of a father, whereof he saith : I will not leave you comfortless, that is, orphans.
From the Roman Breviary
Friday, May 17, 2013
TradNews Roundup
*The Benedictine Abbey of Wisques, France, returns to the Traditional Latin Mass and traditional Catholicism!
*They are still spinning Pope Francis' record concerning his attitude toward the TLM. Why are so many people just telling straight up lies? Do they know that to tell a lie is a sin? No, really, my "conservative" Catholic friends... lying really is a sin, even when trying to put us uppity traditionalists in our collective place. Please consult St. Thomas Aquinas.
*Even some traditionalists will go to extraordinary lengths to spin Pope Francis, or at least, hold out some hope in the face of what is at best indifference and disinterest. The argument from "there are no coincidences" is flawed because of the fact that there are coincidences! To have some fun at Mr. Carosa's expense: I guess since Pope Francis hasn't abrogated the 1962 liturgical books, and this can't be a mere coincidence, he must be a friend of Tradition! The other day, Pope Francis' motorcade drove past the FSSP parish in Rome, and, because this can't be a mere coincidence, he must be a friend of Tradition! Pope Francis wore a chasuble during Mass, and since it is no mere coincidence that traditional priests also wear chasubles when they offer Mass, the Pope must be a friend of Tradition! So... how reliable is this argument? A Traditional Latin Mass was scheduled for St. Peter's on the first day of Pope Francis' pontificate, and, of course, this being no mere coincidence, the Pope has to be a friend of Tradition! Maybe a more reasonable explanation, Mr. Carosa, is that it is a coincidence? At any rate, all traditionalists are happy about the upcoming Summorum Pontificum pilgrimage and Mass in St. Peter's Basilica in October, 2013. (Hopefully, Pope Francis won't have it canceled when he finds out about it.)
*If liberals who are guilty of negligence in regards to the priest-sex-abuse-scandal are to fear from Pope Francis' impending (I wonder how long it will be "impending") house cleaning, they certainly aren't acting like it. Cardinal Mahony continues his public duties (and his blogging) as though nothing had happened.
*Pope Francis unexpectedly joins the Italian March for Life. Good for him! And he makes his strongest Pro-Life (anti-abortion) statement to date: "Uno di oi..."
*The Consecration of the Bergoglio Papacy to Our Lady of Fatima was a non-event, as suspected. Here is the full text of the consecration. The dogmatist in me took particular note of a single preposition in one of the sentences: "The Church... must assert herself increasingly as the place of conversion and forgiveness, because in her, truth is always expressed in charity." Granted, I'm working with an English translation, but if this is faithful to the original, the use of this preposition creates some theological problems. The proper preposition to use, in English, is "by", not "in". The Truth is not so much always expressed in the Church, but by the Church. This is an important distinction because it is more accurate and precise. First, there are, obviously, those "in" the Church who do not always express the truth or do it with charity. Secondly, the Church is the Body of Christ. The Church is a visible society of individuals, true, but also something much more than a collection of individual human beings; it is a Divine Society, vivified by the Holy Ghost, with Jesus Christ as her Head. It is God who always expresses the Truth, which is ultimately Himself, by the agency of the Church. Individual human members of this Church can fail in the mission of the Church; in fact, many Collects throughout the Church year express concern over this fact, and ardently beg God to give the Church the grace to fulfill her militant mission on earth.
*The martyrs of Otranto are added to the calendar for the universal Church.
*The statistical evidence belies the reality of the "Vatican II Springtime".
*Gosnell: Guilty. The State spares him the sentence he so gleefully handed out himself throughout his grotesque and sadistic career. Pray for his salvation.
*Breaking news about another abortionist under investigation for murder.
* Charlotte, NC, abortion clinic is shut down... much to the staff's disbelief. Apparently they have gotten away with their little war on poor and minority women for so long that its hard to believe that the authorities are actually shutting them down.
*Archbishop Braulio Rodriguez of Toledo warns of the impending collapse of Spanish society due to the Euro-zone crisis. "This is common to the whole of Western Europe. It goes back to the core issues of moral philosophy, of what we are as human beings. It is here that we must search for a way out of the impasse."
*The Legion of Christ is rocked by yet another scandal, revealing again that the problems suffered by the Legion are endemic to its very essence and substance. For the good of souls, the Legion should have been suppressed and dissolved years ago.
*"Catholic" Boston College reveals its true loyalties again.
*Something fishy in Puetro Rico. I say rip the stupid altar out, and put it against the wall! At least one problem would be solved! I doubt that support for homosexual civil unions is all that is at play here. The Pope, himself, once advocated such a position as Archbishop of Buenos Aires, and what fellow bishop would be willing to go to the mattresses against another bishop on this issue? I do know this much: some time back I remember there was a push by Puetro Rican Pro-Life activists to separate from the United States so a Pro-Life Puetro Rican constitution could be drafted. I don't know, but it wouldn't surprise me if this has something to do with it, and probably even more than the civil unions thing. From the article: "Although it is unclear how much support is enjoyed by the archbishop, organized demonstrations, supportive declarations and press conferences have been held in his favor by various groups, including a nationalistic pro-life group, the Catholic Puerto Rican Alliance for Life and Family, established in 2012, and the Coalition in Defense and Solidarity with the Archbishop of San Juan, which claims to represent close to one hundred organizations."
*They are still spinning Pope Francis' record concerning his attitude toward the TLM. Why are so many people just telling straight up lies? Do they know that to tell a lie is a sin? No, really, my "conservative" Catholic friends... lying really is a sin, even when trying to put us uppity traditionalists in our collective place. Please consult St. Thomas Aquinas.
*Even some traditionalists will go to extraordinary lengths to spin Pope Francis, or at least, hold out some hope in the face of what is at best indifference and disinterest. The argument from "there are no coincidences" is flawed because of the fact that there are coincidences! To have some fun at Mr. Carosa's expense: I guess since Pope Francis hasn't abrogated the 1962 liturgical books, and this can't be a mere coincidence, he must be a friend of Tradition! The other day, Pope Francis' motorcade drove past the FSSP parish in Rome, and, because this can't be a mere coincidence, he must be a friend of Tradition! Pope Francis wore a chasuble during Mass, and since it is no mere coincidence that traditional priests also wear chasubles when they offer Mass, the Pope must be a friend of Tradition! So... how reliable is this argument? A Traditional Latin Mass was scheduled for St. Peter's on the first day of Pope Francis' pontificate, and, of course, this being no mere coincidence, the Pope has to be a friend of Tradition! Maybe a more reasonable explanation, Mr. Carosa, is that it is a coincidence? At any rate, all traditionalists are happy about the upcoming Summorum Pontificum pilgrimage and Mass in St. Peter's Basilica in October, 2013. (Hopefully, Pope Francis won't have it canceled when he finds out about it.)
*If liberals who are guilty of negligence in regards to the priest-sex-abuse-scandal are to fear from Pope Francis' impending (I wonder how long it will be "impending") house cleaning, they certainly aren't acting like it. Cardinal Mahony continues his public duties (and his blogging) as though nothing had happened.
*Pope Francis unexpectedly joins the Italian March for Life. Good for him! And he makes his strongest Pro-Life (anti-abortion) statement to date: "Uno di oi..."
*The Consecration of the Bergoglio Papacy to Our Lady of Fatima was a non-event, as suspected. Here is the full text of the consecration. The dogmatist in me took particular note of a single preposition in one of the sentences: "The Church... must assert herself increasingly as the place of conversion and forgiveness, because in her, truth is always expressed in charity." Granted, I'm working with an English translation, but if this is faithful to the original, the use of this preposition creates some theological problems. The proper preposition to use, in English, is "by", not "in". The Truth is not so much always expressed in the Church, but by the Church. This is an important distinction because it is more accurate and precise. First, there are, obviously, those "in" the Church who do not always express the truth or do it with charity. Secondly, the Church is the Body of Christ. The Church is a visible society of individuals, true, but also something much more than a collection of individual human beings; it is a Divine Society, vivified by the Holy Ghost, with Jesus Christ as her Head. It is God who always expresses the Truth, which is ultimately Himself, by the agency of the Church. Individual human members of this Church can fail in the mission of the Church; in fact, many Collects throughout the Church year express concern over this fact, and ardently beg God to give the Church the grace to fulfill her militant mission on earth.
*The martyrs of Otranto are added to the calendar for the universal Church.
*The statistical evidence belies the reality of the "Vatican II Springtime".
*Gosnell: Guilty. The State spares him the sentence he so gleefully handed out himself throughout his grotesque and sadistic career. Pray for his salvation.
*Breaking news about another abortionist under investigation for murder.
* Charlotte, NC, abortion clinic is shut down... much to the staff's disbelief. Apparently they have gotten away with their little war on poor and minority women for so long that its hard to believe that the authorities are actually shutting them down.
*Archbishop Braulio Rodriguez of Toledo warns of the impending collapse of Spanish society due to the Euro-zone crisis. "This is common to the whole of Western Europe. It goes back to the core issues of moral philosophy, of what we are as human beings. It is here that we must search for a way out of the impasse."
*The Legion of Christ is rocked by yet another scandal, revealing again that the problems suffered by the Legion are endemic to its very essence and substance. For the good of souls, the Legion should have been suppressed and dissolved years ago.
*"Catholic" Boston College reveals its true loyalties again.
*Something fishy in Puetro Rico. I say rip the stupid altar out, and put it against the wall! At least one problem would be solved! I doubt that support for homosexual civil unions is all that is at play here. The Pope, himself, once advocated such a position as Archbishop of Buenos Aires, and what fellow bishop would be willing to go to the mattresses against another bishop on this issue? I do know this much: some time back I remember there was a push by Puetro Rican Pro-Life activists to separate from the United States so a Pro-Life Puetro Rican constitution could be drafted. I don't know, but it wouldn't surprise me if this has something to do with it, and probably even more than the civil unions thing. From the article: "Although it is unclear how much support is enjoyed by the archbishop, organized demonstrations, supportive declarations and press conferences have been held in his favor by various groups, including a nationalistic pro-life group, the Catholic Puerto Rican Alliance for Life and Family, established in 2012, and the Coalition in Defense and Solidarity with the Archbishop of San Juan, which claims to represent close to one hundred organizations."
Collect of the Day: St. Paschal Baylon
St. Paschal BaylonConfessor
The mouth of the just shall meditate wisdom, and his tongue shall speak judgment: the law of his God is in his heart.
(From the introit of the day's Mass, Ps. 36. 30, 31)
(From the introit of the day's Mass, Ps. 36. 30, 31)
Collect of the Day
Deus, qui beátum Paschálem Confesóremtuum mirífica erga córporis et sánguinis tui sacra mystéria dilectióne decorásti: concéde propítius; ut, quam ille ex hoc divíno convívio spíritus percépit pinguédinem, eámdem et nos percípere mereámur: Qui vivis...
O God, who didst adorn blessed Paschal Thy Confessor with a wonderful love for the holy Mysteries of Thy Body and Blood: mercifully grant, that we too may be worthy to receive the rich spiritual graces which he received from this divine banquet: Who livest and reignest...
Lesson - Ecclesiasticus, 31. 8-11 / Gospel - St. Luke, 12. 35-40
May 17.—ST. PASCHAL BAYLON.
FROM a child Paschal seems to have been marked out for the service of God; and amidst his daily labors he found time to instruct and evangelize the rude herdsmen who kept their flocks on the hills of Arragon. At the age of twenty-four he entered the Franciscan Order, in which, however, he remained, from humility, a simple lay-brother, and occupied himself, by preference, with the roughest and most servile tasks. He was distinguished by an ardent love and devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. He would spend hours on his knees before the tabernacle—often he was raised from the ground in the fervor of his prayer—and there, from the very and eternal Truth, he drew such stores of wisdom that, unlettered as he was, he was counted by all a master in theology and spiritual science. Shortly after his profession he was called to Paris on business connected with his Order.
The journey was full of peril, owing to the hostility of the Huguenots, who were numerous at the time in the south of France; and on four separate occasions Paschal was in imminent danger of death at the hands of the heretics. But it was not God's will that His servant should obtain the crown of martyrdom which, though judging himself all unworthy of it, he so earnestly desired, and he returned in safety to his convent, where he died in the odor of sanctity, May 15, 1592.As Paschal was watching his sheep on the mountainside, he heard the consecration bell ring out from a church in the valley below, where the villagers were assembled for Mass. The Saint fell on his knees, when suddenly there stood before him an angel of God, bearing in his hands the Sacred Host, and offering it for his adoration. Learn from this how pleasing to Jesus Christ are those who honor Him in this great mystery of His love; and how to them especially this promise is fulfilled: "I will not leave you orphans: I will come unto you " (John xiv. 18) .
Reflection.—St. Paschal teaches us never to suffer a day to pass without visiting Jesus in the narrow chamber where He, Whom the heaven itself cannot contain, abides day and night for our sake.
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Collect of the Day: St. Ubald (Thursday After the Ascension)
Ascensiontide
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Thy faithful and kindle in them the fire of Thy love.
V. Send forth Thy spirit, and they shall be created.
R. And Thou shalt renew the face of the earth.
Let us pray. O God, who hast taught the hearts of the faithful by the light of the Holy Spirit, grant that by the gift of the same Spirit we may be always truly wise and ever rejoice in His consolation. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
______________________
St. Ubald
Bishop and Confessor
The Lord made a covenant of friendship with him, and made him a prince; that he should possess the dignity of priesthood forever. Alleluia, alleluia.
(From the Introit of the day's Mass, Eccli. 45. 30)
Collect of the Day
Auxilium tuum nobis, Dómine, quæsumus, placátus impénde: et, intercessióne beáti Ubáldi Confessóris tui atque Pontíficis, contra omnes diáboli nequítias déxteram super nos tuæ propitiatiónis exténde. Per Dóminum nostrum...
O Lord, we beseech Thee, graciously lend us Thine aid, and through the intercession of blessed Ubald, Thy Confessor and Bishop, stretch forth the right hand of Thy mercy to shield us against all the snares of the devil. Through our Lord...
Lesson - Ecclesiasticus 44. 16-27; 45. 3-20 / Gospel - St. Matthew 25. 14-23
From
The Liturgical Year
by Dom Guéranger, O.S.B.
The Liturgical Year
by Dom Guéranger, O.S.B.
In order to honour her eternal High Priest, the Church
presents to him this day the merits of a pontiff who, after his mortal career,
was admitted into a happy immortality. Ubaldus, here on earth, was the image of
our Lord Jesus Christ. Like his divine Master, he received the holy anointing
of priesthood; he was a mediator between God and man; he was the shepherd of a
flock; and now he is united with our Risen Jesus, the great Anointed, the
Mediator, the Shepherd. In proof of his influence in heaven, Ubaldus has had
given to him a special power against the wicked spirits who lay snares for our
perdition. It has frequently happened that the simple invocation of his name
has sufficed to foil their machinations. The Church has fixed this day as his
feast with the view of encouraging the faithful to have recourse to his protection.
Let us now read the account she gives of the virtues of
the saintly bishop:
St. Ubald was born of a noble family at Gubbio in Umbria, and was well trained, from his earliest years, in devotion and in letters. As a young man, he was often urged to marry, but he never gave up his determination to preserve his virginity. When he was made a priest, he distributed his patrimony to the poor and to churches. He entered the Institute of the Canons Regular of St. Augustine and brought it to his own country. Against his will, he was put over the Church of Gubbio by Pope Honorius II and given episcopal consecration. Making himself with his whole heart a model for his flock, he changed nothing in his way of life and became illustrious for every kind of virtue. Although he suffered from various infirmities for a long time, he never ceased to give thanks to God. When he had governed the Church entrusted to him for many years in a way deserving of the highest praise, he fell asleep in peace, famous for his works and miracles.
O blessed Pontiff! be thou our protector against the spirits of hell. They are devoured by envy at seeing how man, that lowly and feeble creature. The incarnation of Son of God, his death of Grace--all these sublime means, whereby the infinite goodness of God has restored us to our lost dignity have excited the rage of the old enemy, and he seeks revenge by insulting, in us, the image of our Creator. At times he attacks man with all the frenzy of angry jealously. To mimic the operations of sanctifying grace, which, so to speak, makes us the instruments of God's good pleasure, Satan sometimes takes possession of our fellow-creatures, and makes them his slaves. Thy power, O Ubaldus, has often manifested itself by rescuing these unhappy victims of the devil's jealousy; and Holy Church, on this day, celebrates the special prerogative conferred on thee by our heavenly Father. Relent not in the exercise of thy charitable office. And yet, O holy Pontiff, thou knowest that the snares of the wicked spirits are more injurious to the souls than to the bodies of men. Have pity, then, on the unhappy slaves of sin, who, though the divine Sun of the Pasch has risen upon them, are still in the darkness of guilt. Pray for them, that they may become once more children of the light, and share in the Easter Resurrection which Jesus offers to all. |
| Christ in Heaven with Saints and Donor by Domenico Ghirlandaio, circa 1492 |
From
The Liturgical Year
by Dom Guéranger, O.S.B.
by Dom Guéranger, O.S.B.
O King of glory, Lord of hosts, who didst this day ascend in triumph above all the heavens! Leave us not orphans, but send upon us the Spirit of truth, promised by the Father, alleluia.
We have already seen how the Ascension of our Emmanuel won Him the empire over our understanding: it was the triumph of faith. The same mystery gave Him a second victory: the victory of love, which makes Him reign in our hearts. For eighteen hundred years, in whom have men believed, firmly and universally, except Jesus? In what have men agreed, except the dogmas of faith? What countless errors has this divine torch dispelled! What light has it given to the nations that received it! And in what darkness has it left those which rejected it after having once received it!
In like manner, no one has been loved as our Jesus has been, ever since the day of His Ascension; no one is so loved now or ever will be, as He. But no one is so loved now or ever will be, as He. But that He might thus win our love He had to leave us, just as He had to do in order to secure our faith. Let us return to our text, that we may get deeper into the beautiful mystery. “It is expedient for you that I go!” Before the Ascension, the disciples were as inconstant in their love as they were in their faith. Jesus could not trust them. But no sooner had He left them, than they became warmly devoted to Him. Instead of complaining of their bereavement, they returned full of joy to Jerusalem. The thought of their master’s triumph made them forget their own loss, and they hastened, as He bade them, to the cenacle, where they were to be endued with power from on high. Watch these men during the subsequent years; examine what their conduct was from that time to the day of their death; count, if you can, their acts of devotedness in the arduous labour of preaching the Gospel; and say, if any other motive than love for their master could have enabled them to do what they did. With what cheerfulness did they drink His chalice! With what raptures did they hail His cross, when they saw it being prepared for themselves!
But let us not stop at these first witnesses; they had seen Jesus, and heard Him, and touched Him. Let us turn to those who came after them, and knew Him by faith only; let us see if they love, which burned in the hearts of the apostles, has been kept up by the Christians of the past eighteen centuries. First of all, there is the contest of martyrdom, which has never been altogether interrupted since the Gospel began to be preached. The opening campaign lasted three hundred years. What was it that induced so many millions to suffer, not only patiently but gladly, every torture that cruelty could devise? Was it not their ambition to testify how much they loved their Jesus? Let us not forget how these frightful ordeals were cheerfully gone through, not only by men hardened to suffering, but also by delicate women, by young girls, yea even by little children. Let us call to mind the sublime answers they gave to their persecutors, whereby they evinced their generous ardour to repay the death of Jesus by their own. The martyrs of our own times, in China, Japan, the Corea, and elsewhere, have repeated, without knowing it, the very same words to their judges and executioners as were addressed to the proconsuls of the third and fourth centuries by the martyrs of those days.Yes, our divine King who has ascended into heaven, is loved as no other ever was or could be. Think of those millions of generous souls, who, that they might be exclusively His, have despised all earthly affections, and would know no other love than His. Every age—even our own, in spite of all its miseries—has produced souls of this stamp, and God alone knows how many.
Our Emmanuel has been, and to the end of time will ever be, loved on this earth. Have we not reason to say so, when we consider how many there have always been, even among the wealthiest ones of the world, who, in order that they might bear a resemblance to the Babe of Bethlehem, have given up everything they possessed? What an irresistible proof of the same truth we have in the countless sacrifices of self-love and price, made with a view to imitate the obedience of the God-Man on earth! And what else but an ardent love of Jesus could have prompted those heroic acts of mortification and penance, whereby the sufferings of His Passion have been emulated, and, as the apostle says, filled up?
But grand as all this is, it was not enough to satisfy man’s devoted love of His absent Lord. Jesus had said: “Whatsoever you do to the least of your brethren, you do it to Me.” Love is ever quick at catching the meaning of our Redeemer’s words. It took advantage of these, and saw in them another means for reaching Jesus—reaching Him through the poor. And as the worst of poverties is the ignorance of divine truths, because it would make a man poor and miserable for eternity, therefore have there risen up in every age zealous apostles, who, bidding farewell to home and fatherland, have carried the light of the Gospel to them that sat in darkness and in the shadow of death. They heeded not the fatigues or the perils of such a mission: what cared they for all these things, if they could but make Jesus known and honoured and loved by one poor savage or Hindoo?
But what of those other poor ones, the sick, in whom Jesus suffers? Fear not: He is too much loved to be forgotten there. Once let the Church be free enough to develop her plans of charity, and there will be an institute of relief for every class of sufferers. The poor, the sick, all will be cared for and comforted. There will be vocations to charity, to meet every want; and women, too, urged by the love of their divine Lord, will deem it an honour to be the nurses and attendants of the suffering or dying Lazarus. The world itself is in admiration at their heroism; and though it knows not the divine principle which originates these charitable institutions, yet is it obliged to acknowledge the extraordinary good they effect.
But man’s observation can only reach the exterior; the interior is the far grander reality, and it is beyond his notice. What we have said so far is, therefore, but a very feeble description of the ardour wherewith our Lord Jesus Christ has been, and still is, loved on this earth. Let us picture to ourselves the millions of Christians who have lived since the first foundation of the Church. Many, it is true, have had the misfortune to be unfaithful to the object of their existence; but what an immense number have loved Jesus with all their heart and soul and strength! Some have never flagged in their love; others have needed a conversion from vice or tepidity, returned to Him, and slept in the kiss of peace. Count, if you can, the virtuous actions, the heroic sacrifices, of those countless devoted servants of His, who are to be arrayed before Him in the valley of Josaphat. His memory alone can hold and tell the stupendous total of what has been done. This well-nigh infinite aggregate of holy deeds and thoughts, from the seraphic ardour of the greatest saint down to the cup of cold water given in the name of the Redeemer, what is it all but the ceaseless hymn of our earth to its beloved absent One, its never-forgotten Jesus? Who is the man, how dear soever his memory may be, for whom we would be devoted, or sacrifice our interests, or lay down our lives, especially if he had been ten or twenty ages gone from us? Who is that great Dead, the sound of whose name can make the hearts of men vibrate with love, in every country, and in every generation? It is Jesus, who died, who rose again, who ascended into heaven.
We humbly confess, O Jesus, that it was necessary for us that Thou shouldst go from us, in order that our faith might soar up to Thee in heaven, and that our hearts, being thus enlightened, might burn with Thy love. Enjoy thine Ascension, O Thou King of angels and of men! We, in our exile, will feast on the fruits of the great mystery, waiting for it to be fulfilled in ourselves. Enlighten those poor blind infidels, whose pride will not permit them to recognize Thee, not withstanding these most evident proofs. They continue in their errors concerning Thee, though they have such superabundant testimony of Thy Divinity in the faith and love Thou has received in every age. The homage offered The by the universe, represented, as it has ever been, by the chief nations of the earth and by the most virtuous and learned men of each generation, is as nought in the eyes of these unbelievers. Who are they, to be compared with such a cloud of faithful witnesses? Have mercy on them, O Lord! save them from their pride; then will they unite with us in saying: "It was indeed expedient for this world to lose Thy visible presence, O Jesus! for never were Thy greatness, Thy power, and Thy Divinity, so recognized and loved, as when Thou didst depart from us. Glory, then, be to the mystery of Thine Ascension, whereby, as the psalmist prophesied, Thou recievedst gifts, that Thou mightest bestow them upon men!"
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
On This Day O Beautiful Mother
On this day, O Beautiful Mother!
On this day we give thee our love;
Near thee, Madonna, fondly we hover,
trusting thy gentle care to prove.
On this day we ask to share, dearest Mother,
thy sweet care;
Aid us e'er, our feet astray, wandering from
thy guiding way.
Queen of Angels, deign to hear, thy dear
children's humble pray'r;
Young hearts gain, O Virgin pure, sweetly
to thyself allure.
On this day we give thee our love;
Near thee, Madonna, fondly we hover,
trusting thy gentle care to prove.
On this day we ask to share, dearest Mother,
thy sweet care;
Aid us e'er, our feet astray, wandering from
thy guiding way.
Queen of Angels, deign to hear, thy dear
children's humble pray'r;
Young hearts gain, O Virgin pure, sweetly
to thyself allure.
Collect of the Day: St. John Baptist de la Salle / Wednesday in Ascensiontide
Ascensiontide
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Thy faithful and kindle in them the fire of Thy love.
V. Send forth Thy spirit, and they shall be created.
R. And Thou shalt renew the face of the earth.
Let us pray. O God, who hast taught the hearts of the faithful by the light of the Holy Spirit, grant that by the gift of the same Spirit we may be always truly wise and ever rejoice in His consolation. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
______________________
St. John Baptist de la Salle
Confessor
Confessor
Alleluia, alleluia. Blessed is the man that endureth temptation, for when he hath been proved, he shall receive the crown of life. Alleluia.
(From the Alleluia versicle of the day's Mass, James, 1. 12)
(From the Alleluia versicle of the day's Mass, James, 1. 12)
Collect of the Day
Deus, qui ad christiánam páuperum eruditiónem, et ad juvéntam in via veritátis firmándam, sanctum Joánnem Baptístam Confessórem excitásti, et novam per eum in Ecclésia famíliam collegísti: concéde propitius; ut ejus intercessióne et exémplo, stúdio salúte fervéntes, ejus in cœlis corónæ partícipes fíeri valeámus. Per Dóminum nostrum...
O God, who didst raise up the holy Confessor John Baptist to promote the Christian education of the poor and to confirm the young in the way of truth, and through him didst beget a new family within Thy Church: mercifully grant through his prayer and example, that we may burn with zeal for Thy glory in the salvation of souls, and become worthy to share in his heavenly crown. Through our Lord...
Lesson - Ecclesiasticus, 31. 8-11 / Gospel - St. Matthew, 18. 1-10
From
The Liturgical Year
by Dom Guéranger, O.S.B.
From
The Liturgical Year
by Dom Guéranger, O.S.B.
John Baptist de la Salle, the teacher of the humble, takes
his place today beside Leo the Great, Athanasius, and Gregory of Nazianzum. He
has no fear. The Victor of Paschal Time is the same Jesus who said during his
mortal life: “Suffer the little children to come unto me,” and “unless you be
converted and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom
of heaven,” that kingdom of heaven which, after entering into his glory, he manifests
so fully upon earth. On the other hand, the Lion of Juda is never more terrible
in his anger than when he beholds evil men conspiring to keep from him the
little ones of whom he forms his court.
The promise made in Holy Scripture that “they that
instruct many to justice shall shine as stars for all eternity” is addressed
not only to the great doctors of the science of salvation, but also to the
humblest Christian teacher, and the supreme Pontiff, when inscribing the name
of the saint of today among those of the blessed, declared that the inspired
words “apply in a especial manner to those who, like him, have left all things
and devoted themselves to the instruction of the baptized from earliest infancy
in the teaching of the Gospel and the precepts which lead to life eternal.”
John Baptist de la Salle was a true disciple of our
blessed Lord, and entered so fully into the thought of his Master that no
sacrifice was too great for him if only he might carry it out, and no
suffering, humiliation, or persecution could hinder him from persevering in the
accomplishment of his works of love. He suffered from misunderstanding and lack
of support all through his life, but is he less great in heaven today on that
account?
The following account of him is given in the Breviary:
John Baptist de La Salle, born
of an honourable family at Rheims, when still a boy shewed by his manners and
actions that he was called by destiny to the Lord, and was to be adorned with
the excellence of holiness. As a youth he studied literature and the philosophical
sciences at the academy at Rheims. During this time, although his mental powers
and his lively and pleasant disposition endeared him to all, he nevertheless
shrank from the company of his fellows, so that, being inclined to solitude, he
might the more easily find time for God. Already having been for some time
enlisted in the ranks of the clergy, he was enrolled among the canons of Rheims
at the age of sixteen years. He went to Paris to study theology at the
university of the Sorbonne, and was admitted to the Sulpician seminary. But he
was soon forced to return home because of the death of his parents, and
undertook the education of his brothers, which he carried on, without meanwhile
interrupting his sacred studies, and with the greatest success, as was proved
by subsequent events.
He was finally ordained priest,
and said his first Mass with the intense faith and ardour of the soul which,
throughout his whole life, he brought to those holy Mysteries. Meanwhile,
burning with zeal for the salvation of souls, he devoted himself wholly to
their service. He undertook the direction of the Sisters of the Infant Jesus,
founded for the education of girls; and not only managed them most prudently,
but saved their institute from dissolution. From this time onwards, he turned
his attention to the education of poor boys in religion and good morals. And
God had raised him up for this very end, namely, that he should found in his
Church a new family of religious men, and should look after boys' schools,
especially of poor boys, with unceasing and efficient care. And, indeed, this
duty, entrusted to him by Divine providence, was successfully accomplished, in
spite of very much opposition and great hardships, by the foundation of an
institute of brothers which he named the Christian Schools.
His male associates in this
great and arduous work he at first received into his own house; and then,
establishing them in a more suitable dwelling, thoroughly inspired them with
his method and with those wise laws and regulations which were afterwards
confirmed by Benedict XIII. Because of humility and love of poverty, he first
resigned his canonry and distributed all his property among the poor; and later
also, after many unsuccessful attempts to do so, he of his own will resigned
the government of the institute which he had founded. But meanwhile his
solicitude for the brothers and for the schools which he opened in different
places did not lessen, though he began to give himself more diligently to God.
Shewing his hatred for self in constant fastings, in the use of the discipline
and in other austerities, he spent his nights in prayer. At length, conspicuous
for every kind of virtue, especially obedience, and zeal for fulfilling the
divine will, and love and devotion to the Apostolic See, full of merit, and
having devoutly received the sacraments, he fell asleep in the Lord in the
sixty-eighth year of his age. The Supreme Pontiff Leo XIII placed him in the
list of the Blessed; and, illustrious by new miracles, he was adorned with
honours of the Saints in the year of jubilee, 1900. Pius XII appointed him the
special heavenly patron of all teachers of boys and young men.
O God, who hast raised up the holy Confessor John Baptist
to promote the Christian education of the poor and to confirm the young in the
way of truth, and, through him, hast gathered together a new family within thy
Church: mercifully grant through his intercession and example that we may burn
with zeal for thy glory in saving souls, and may share his crown in heaven.
Through Christ our Lord.
Thus, O father of Christian schools, does Holy Church
pray today in thy honour. She is as full of confidence as though the trials of
thy mortal life had been sufficient to guard thy sons against similar
sufferings; as serene as though the future of thy work were assured. And yet,
might we not say that the culminating point of thy glorification on earth seems
to have given the signal for the triumph of hell over thy labours? But the
Church is strong in her experience of twenty centuries, and she fears no
persecution. She knows that if the tree be planted by God, the hurricane will
but strengthen its roots, and that a house built upon a rock can brave the wind
and the floods. We too, like the Church, are full of hope, trusting in thy
merits and thy intercession. Even if ruin seem complete, the divine Head of all
who suffer persecution assures us that the tomb itself, though sealed by the
powers of this world, cannot guarantee to Death the secure possession of his
victim.
MAY 15--ST. JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE, Confessor
The great saint, whose feast is celebrated on May 15, was born at Rheims, France, on the 30th of April, 1651. His parents were very careful about his early training, and insisted that their son should receive a thorough education in which the moral side of it would command the utmost attention.Perceiving that his vocation was to serve God in the church, the young man prepared himself accordingly, and was ordained to the holy priesthood on the 9th of April, 1678. His life as a priest of god was holy and exemplary in every particular duty that his vocation imposed upon him.
His great work in this world was the establishment of the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, for the purpose of giving a Christian education to the youth of the land, and uniting the members of the community under a religious rule, the observance of which would make them true followers of Christ. Like other religious communities established by saintly men for the greater honor and glory of God in the world, this particular one has been blessed by God in a special manner, so that in our time the Brothers of this community are thousands in number and the multitude of young men they have prepared for their life's work are an honor to their country, their Church, and their Creator.
As the life of St. John Baptist de la Salle was about to close, he invoked the blessing of God on his community and said in regard to himself: "In all things I adore the will of God." He died on Good Friday morning, April 7, 1719, and was canonized by Pope Leo XIII, May 24, 1900.
Reflection--Let those who have the care of the young remember that they will be held responsible by God for the education they give to the children he has given them. Let them learn from the lfie of St. John Baptist de la Salle not to neglect the most important part of child training, for: "This is eternal life, that they may know Thee the only true God and Jesus Christ whom Thou has sent." (John, 17. 3)
The Ascension by Thomas de Coloswar, 1427
From
The Liturgical Year
by Dom Guéranger, O.S.B.
by Dom Guéranger, O.S.B.
Let us now look upon the earth, for our eyes have hitherto been riveted upon the heaven into which our Jesus has entered. Let us see what effects the mystery of the Ascension has produced on this land of our exile. These effects are of the most extraordinary nature. This Jesus, who ascended into heaven unknown to the city of Jerusalem, and whose departure, when it did become known, excited neither regret nor joy among the men of that generation—now, eighteen hundred years after His departure from us, finds the whole earth celebrating the anniversary of His glorious Ascension. Our age is far from being one of earnest faith; and yet there is not a single country on the face of the globe, where, if there be a church or chapel or even a Catholic home, the feast of Jesus’ Ascension is not being now kept and loved.
He lived for three-and-thirty years on our earth. He, the eternal Son of our God, dwelt among His creatures, and there was only one people that knew it. That one favoured people crucified Him. As to the Gentiles, they would have thought Him beneath their notice. True, this beautiful “light shone in the darkness; but the darkness did not comprehend it; He came unto His own, and His own received Him not.” He preached to His chosen people; but His word was that seed which falls on stony ground, and takes no root, or is cast among thorns and is choked; it could with difficulty find a plot of good ground, wherein to bring forth fruit. If, thanks to His infinite patience and goodness, He succeeded in keeping a few disciples around Him, their faith was weak and hesitating, and gave way when temptation came.
And yet, ever since the preaching of these same apostles, the name and glory of Jesus are everywhere; in every language, and in every crime, He is proclaimed the Incarnate Son of God; the most civilized, as well as the most barbarous nations, have submitted to His sweet yoke; in every part of the universe men celebrate His birth in the stable of Bethlehem, His death on the cross whereby He ransomed a guilty world, His resurrection whereby He ransomed a guilty world, His resurrection whereby He strengthened the work He came to do, and His Ascension, which gives Him, the Man-God, to sit at the right of His Father. The great voice of the Church carries to the uttermost bounds of the earth the mystery of the blessed Trinity, which He came to reveal to mankind. This holy Church, founded by Him, teaches the truths of faith to all nations, and in every nation there are souls who are docile to her teaching.
How was this marvelous change brought about? What has given it stability during these eighteen hundred years? Our Saviour Himself explains it to us, by the words He spoke to His apostles after the last Supper: “It is,” said He, “expedient to you that I go.” What means this, but that there is something more advantageous to us than having Him visibly present amongst us? This mortal life is not the time for seeing and contemplating Him, even in His human Nature. To know Him, and relish Him, even in His human Nature, we stand in need of a special gift; it is faith. Now, faith in the mysteries of the Incarnate Word did not begin its reign upon the earth, until He ceased to be visible here below.
Who could tell the triumphant power of faith? St. John gives it a glorious name; he says: “It is the victory which overcometh the world.” It subdued the world to our absent King; it subdued the power and pride and superstitions of paganism; it won the homage of the earth for Him who has ascended into heaven, the Son of God and the Son of Mary, Jesus.
St. Leo the Great, the sublime theologian of the mystery of the Incarnation, has treated this point with his characteristic authority and eloquence. Let us listen to his glorious teaching:
Having fulfilled all the mysteries pertaining to the preaching of the Gospel and to the new Covenant, our Lord Jesus Christ ascended into heaven, in the sight of His disciples, on the fortieth day after His Resurrection; hereby withdrawing His corporal presence, for He was to remain at the right hand of His Father unto should be filled up the measure of time decreed by God for the multiplication of the children of the Church, and He (Jesus) should again come, and in the same Flesh wherewith He ascended, to judge the living and the dead. Thus, therefore, that which in our Redeemer had hitherto been visible passed into the order of mysteries. And to the end that faith might be grander and surer, teaching took the place of sight; which teaching was to be accepted by the faithful with hearts illumined by heavenly light.
This faith, increased by our Lord’s Ascension, and strengthened by the gift of the Holy Ghost, was proof against every trial; so that neither chains, nor prisons, nor banishment, nor hunger, nor fire, nor wild beasts, nor all the ingenuity of cruelty and persecution, could affright it. For this faith, not only men, but even women, not only beardless boys but even tender maidens, fought unto the shedding of their blood, and this in every country of the world. This faith cast out devils from such as were possessed, cured the sick, and raised the dead to life. The blessed apostles themselves—who, though they had so often witnessed their Master’s miracles and heard His teachings, turned cowards when they saw Him in His sufferings, and hesitated to believe His Resurrection—these same, I say, were so changed by His Ascension, that what heretofore had been a subject of fear, then became a subject of joy. And why? Because the whole energy of the soul’s contemplation was raised up to Jesus’ Divinity, now seated at the right hand of His Father; the vigour of the mind’s eye was not dulled by the bodily vision, and they came to the clear view of the mystery, namely, that He neither left the Father when He descended upon the earth, nor left His disciples when He ascended into heaven.
Never, then, was Jesus so well known, as when He withdrew Himself into the glory of His Father's majesty, and became more present by His Divinity in proportion as He was distant in His Humanity. Then did faith, made keener, approach to the Son coequal with His Father; she needed not the handling of the bodily substance of her Christ,--that bodily substance, whereby He is less than His Father. The substance of His glorified Body is the same; but our faith was to be of so generous a kind, that we were to go to the coequal Son, not by a corporal feeling, but by a spiritual understanding. Hence, when Mary Magdalene, who represented the Church, threw herself a the fee of the risen Jesus, and would have embraced them, He said to her: Touch Me not, for I am not yet ascended to My Father; as though He would say: I will not that thou come to Me corporally, or that thou know Me by the testimony of thy senses. I have sublimer recognition in store for thee; I have prepared something far better for thee. When I shall have ascended to My Father, then shalt thou feel Me in a higher and truer way; for thou shalt grasp what thou touchest not, and believe what thou seest not.
The departure of our Emmanuel was, therefore, the opening of that reign of faith, which is to prepare us for the eternal vision of the sovereign Good; and this blessed faith, which is our very life, gives us, at the same time, all the light compatible with our mortal existence, for knowing and loving the Word consubstantial with the Father, and for the just appreciation of the mysteries which this Incarnate Word wrought here below in His Humanity. It is now eighteen hundred years since He lived on the earth; and yet we know Him better than His disciples did before His Ascension. Oh! Truly it was expedient for us that He should go from us; His visible presence would have checked the generosity of our faith; and it is our faith alone that can bridge over the space which is to be between Himself and us until our ascension comes, and then we shall enter within the veil.
How strangely blind are those who see not the superhuman power of this element of faith, which has not only conquered, but even transformed, the world! Some of them have written long treatises to prove that the Gospels were not written by the evangelists: we pity their ravings. But these great discoverers have another difficulty to get over, and so far they have not attempted to grapple with it; we mean the living Gospel which is the production of the unanimous faith of eighteen centuries, and is the result of the courageous confession of so many millions of martyrs, of the holiness of countless men and women, of the conversions of so many both civilized and uncivilized nations. Assuredly He—who after having spent a few short years in one little spot of earth, had but to disappear in order to draw men’s hearts to Himself so that the brightest intellects and the purest minds gave Him their faith—must be what He tells us He is: the eternal Son of God. Glory, then, and thanks to Thee O Jesus, who to console us in Thine absence, hast given us faith, whereby the eye of our soul is purified, the hope of our heart is strengthened, and the divine realities we possess tell upon us in all their power! Preserve within us this precious gift of Thy gratuitous goodness; give it increase; and when our death comes—that solemn hour which precedes our seeing Thee face to face—Oh, give us the grand fullness of our dearest faith!
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Collect of the Day: Tuesday After the Ascension / Commemoration of St. Boniface
Ascensiontide
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Thy faithful and kindle in them the fire of Thy love.
V. Send forth Thy spirit, and they shall be created.
R. And Thou shalt renew the face of the earth.
Let us pray. O God, who hast taught the hearts of the faithful by the light of the Holy Spirit, grant that by the gift of the same Spirit we may be always truly wise and ever rejoice in His consolation. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
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The Ascension by Giulio Campi, 1549
Tuesday in Ascensiontide
Ye men of Galilee! why look ye wondering, up to heaven? Alleluia.
(From the introit of the day's Mass, Acts 1. 11)
(From the introit of the day's Mass, Acts 1. 11)
Collect of the Day
Concéde, quæsumus, omnípotens Deus : ut, qui hodiérna die Unigénitum tuum Redemptórem nostrum ad cælos ascendísse crédimus; ipse quoque mente in cæléstibus habitémus. Per eúmdem Dóminum...Grant, we beseech Thee, almighty God: that we, who believe Thine only-begotten Son, our Redeemer, to have ascended on this day into heaven, may also ourselves dwell in mind amid heavenly things. Through the same...
The Ascension of Christ by Andrea della Robbia, circa 1490
Lesson - Acts, 1. 1-11 / Gospel - St. Mark, 16. 14-20
From
The Liturgical Year
by Dom Guéranger, O.S.B.
The Liturgical Year
by Dom Guéranger, O.S.B.
The Lord of glory has ascended into heaven, and, as the apostle says, He has gone thither as our forerunner; but how are we to follow Him to this abode of holiness, we whose path is beset with sin, we who are ever needing pardon rather than meriting anything like glory? This brings us to another consequence of the exhaustless mystery of the Ascension; let us give it our closest attention. Jesus has gone to heaven, not only that He may reign as King, but also that He may intercede for us as our High Priest, and, in this quality, obtain for us both the pardon of our sins and the graces we need for following Him to glory. He offered Himself on the cross as a victim of propitiation for our sins; His precious Blood was shed as our superabundant ransom; but the gate of heaven remained shut against us, until He threw it open by His own entrance into that sanctuary, where He was to exercise His eternal office of "Priest according to the order of Melchisedech." By His Ascension into heaven, His priesthood of Calvary was transformed into a priesthood of glory. He entered with the veil of His once passible and mortal Flesh, within the veil of His Father's presence, and there is He our Priest for ever.
How truly is He called Christ, that is, "the Anointed!" for, no sooner was His divine Person united to the human Nature, than He received a twofold anointing: He was made both King and High Priest. We have already meditated upon His kingship; let us now contemplate His priesthood. He gave proofs of both during His life among us on earth; but it was only by His Ascension that their unclouded splendour was to be declared. Let us, then, follow our Emmanuel, and see Him as our High Priest.The apostle thus describes the office of a high priest. "He is taken from among men, and is ordained for men in the things that appertain to God that he may offer up gifts and sacrifices for sins."; he is appointed their ambassador and mediator with God. Jesus received this office and ministry, and He is fulfilling it in heaven. but, that we may the better appreciate the grand mystery, let us study the figures given of it in the holy Scriptures, and developed by St. Paul in his sublime Epistle; they will give us a precise idea of the grandeur of our Jesus' pontifical character.
Let us go in thought to the temple of Jerusalem. First of all there is the spacious uncovered court with its porticoes; in the centre stands the altar, whereon are slain the victims of the various sacrifices, and from the alter there radiate a number of conduits, through which flows the blood. We next come to a more sacred portion of the edifice; it is beyond the altar of holocausts, is covered in, and is resplendent with all the riches of the east. Let us respectfully enter, for the place is holy, and it was God Himself who gave to Moses the plan of the various fittings which adorn it with their mysterious and rich beauty: the altar of incense, with its morning and evening cloud of fragrance; the seven-branched candlestick, with its superb lilies and pomegranates; the table of the loaves of proposition, representing the offering made by man to Him who feeds him with the harvests of the earth. And yet it is not here, though the walls are wainscoted with the bright gold of Ophir, that is centered the great majesty of Jehovah. At the extreme end of the temple there is a veil of precious texture, richly embroidered with figures of the Cherubim, and reaching to the ground: it is there, beyond this veil, that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, has fixed the abode of His presence; it is there, also, that rests the ark of the covenant, over which two golden Cherubim spread their wings. It is called the Holy of holies, and no one, under pain of death, may draw aside the veil, or look, or enter within the hallowed precinct, where the God of hosts deigns to dwell.
So then, man is banished from the place wherein God dwells; he is unworthy to enter into so holy a presence. He was created that he might see God and be eternally happy with that vision of God. There is a veil between himself and Him who is his last end; neither can he ever remove that veil. Such is the severe lesson given to us by the symbolism of the ancient temple.
But there is a merciful promise, and it gives a gleam of hope. This veil shall one day be raised up, and man shall enter within: on one condition, however. Let us return to the figurative temple, and we shall learn what this condition is. As we have already noticed, none was allowed to enter the Holy of holies; there was but one exception, and that was in favour of the high priest, who might, once a year, penetrate beyond the veil. Yet even he had certain conditions to observe. If he entered without holding in his hands a vessel containing the blood of two victims, previously immolated by him for his own and the people's sins, he was to be put to death; if, on the contrary, he faithfully complied with the divine ordinances, he would be protected by the blood he carried in his hands, and might make intercession for himself and all Israel.
How beautiful and impressive are these figures of the first covenant! but how much more so their fulfillment in our Jesus' Ascension! Even during the period of His voluntary humiliations, He made His power felt in this sacred dwelling of God's Majesty. His last breath on the cross rent the veil of the Holy of holies, hereby signifying to us that man was soon to recover the right he had lost by sin, the right of admission into God's presence. We say soon; for Jesus had still to gain the victory over death, by His Resurrection; He had to spend forty days on earth, during which He, our High Priest, would organize the true priesthood that was to be exercised in His Church to the end of time, in union with the priesthood He Himself was to fulfill in heaven.
The fortieth day came, and found all things prepared: the witnesses of the Resurrection had proclaimed the victory of their master; the dogmas of the faith had all been revealed; the Church had been formed; the sacraments had been instituted: it was time for our High Priest to enter into the Holy of holies, accompanied by the holy souls of limbo. Let us follow Him with the eye of our faith. As He approached, the veil, that had closed the entrance for four thousand years, was lifted up. Jesus enters. Has He not offered the preparatory sacrifice?--not the figurative sacrifice of the old law, but the real one of His own Blood? And having reached the throne of the divine Majesty, there to intercede for us His people, He has but to show His eternal Father the wounds He received, and from which flowed the Blood that satisfied every claim of divine justice. He would retain these sacred stigmata of His sacrifice, in order that He might ever present them, as our High Priest, to the Father, and so disarm His anger. "My little children," says St. John in his first Epistle, "I write these things to you, that ye may not sin; but, if any man do sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the just." Thus, then, beyond the veil, Jesus treats of our interests with His Father; He gives the merits of His sacrifice their full efficacy; He is the eternal High Priest, whose advocacy is irresistible.St. John, who was granted a sight of the interior of heaven, gives us a sublime description of this twofold character of our divine Head,--Victim and yet King, sacrificed and yet immortal. He shows us the throne of Jehovah, round which are seated the four-and-twenty ancients, the four symbolical living lamps before it. But the prophet does not finish his description here. He bids us look at the right hand of Him who sits on the throne. There we perceive a Lamb standing and as it were slain: slain and yet standing, for He is radiant with glory and power. We should be at a loss to understand the vision, had we not our grand mystery of the Ascension to explain it; but now, all is clear. We recognize in the Lamb, portrayed by the apostle, our Jesus, the Word eternal, who, being consubstantial with the Father, is seated on the same throne with Him. Yet is He also the Lamb; for He assumed to Himself our flesh, in order that He mgiht be sacrificed for us as a victim; and this character of victim is to be for ever upon Him. Oh! see Him there, in all His majesty as Son of God, standing in the attitude of infinite power, yet withal, He will not part with the semblance of the immolated. The sword of sacrifice has left five wounds upon Him, and He would keep them for eternity. Yes, it is identically the same meek Lamb of Calvary, and He is to be for ever consummating in glory the immolation He perfected on the cross.
Such are the stupendous realities seen by the angels within the veil; and when our turn comes to pass that veil, we also shall be enraptured with the sight. We are not to be left outside, as were the Jewish people when, once each year, their high priest entered into the Holy of holies. We have the teaching of the apostle: "The fore-runner, Jesus, our High Priest, has entered within the veil for us." For us! Oh what music there is in these two words: for us! He has led the way; we are to follow! Even at the commencement, He would not go alone; He would have the countless legion of the souls of limbo to accompany Him: and ever since then, the procession into heaven has been one of unbroken magnificence. The apostle tells us that we, poor sinners as we are, are already saved by hope; and what is our hope, but that we are one day to enter into the Holy of holies? Then shall we blend our glad voices with those of the angels, the four-and-twenty ancients, the myriads of the blessed, in the eternal hymn: "To the Lamb that was slain, power, and divinity, and wisdom, and strength, and glory, and benediction, for ever and ever! Amen."
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Commemoration of
St. Boniface
Martyr
St. Boniface
Martyr
Collect
Da, quæsumus, omnípotens Deus: ut, qui beáti Bonifátii Mártyris tui solémnia cólimus, ejus apud te intercessiónibus adjuvémur. Per Dóminum nostrum Jesum Christum Fílium tuum, qui tecum vivit...
Grant, we beseech Thee, O almighty God, that we who keep the solemn festival of blessed Boniface, Thy Martyr, may be helped by his intercession with Thee. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth...
From
The Roman Breviary
(Divino Afflatu)
The Roman Breviary
(Divino Afflatu)
Boniface was a Roman citizen who had lived in sin with the noble lady Aglae. The memory of this transgression overwhelmed him with exceeding sorrow, so that for penance he gave himself up to look for and bury the bodies of the martyrs. While he was at Tarsus, and apart from his fellow-travellers, he saw a great many persons being divers ways tormented, because they confessed to believing in Christ. He kissed their chains, and vehemently exhorted them bravely to bear their sufferings, seeing that the same their affliction which was but for a moment, was working for them an exceeding, even an eternal weight of glory. For this cause Boniface also was taken, and his flesh torn off him with iron claws. Sharp reeds also were driven between his finger-nails and the quick, and molten lead poured into his mouth. In his agony he was only heard to say "I thank thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God." Afterward he was dipped head foremost into a vessel of boiling pitch, and as he was drawn out unharmed, the judge in fury commanded him to be beheaded. At the time it was done there was a great earthquake, whereby many unbelievers were turned to believe in the Lord Christ. The fellow-travellers of Boniface sought him the next day, and when they knew that he had undergone martyrdom, they bought his body for fifty shillings, and after that they had embalmed it with spices, and wrapped it in linen, they carried it to Rome. The Lady Aglae, who had herself with great contrition given up her life to godly works, was told by an angel what had come to pass. She therefore went forth to meet the holy body, and built a Church in the name of Boniface, wherein his said body was buried upon the fifth day of June next after that fourteenth of May whereon in the city of Tarsus in Cilicia, under the Emperors Diocletian and Maximian, he had passed away to heaven.
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