† Traditional True Mass Propers : Dominica in Palmis ~ Passiontide : Palm Sunday †

POPE PIUS IX

ENCYCLICAL
QUI PLURIBUS ~ ON FAITH And RELIGION

Promulgated Anno Dómini 9 November 1846

To All Patriarchs, Primates, Archbishops, and Bishops.

Venerable Brothers, We Greet You and Give You Our Apostolic Blessing.

For many years past We strove with you, venerable brothers, to devote Our best powers to Our episcopal office—an office full of labor and worry. We strove to feed those committed to Our care on the mountains of Israel, at its streams and in its richest pastures. Our illustrious Predecessor, Gregory XVI, whose famous actions are recorded in the annals of the Church in letters of gold, will surely be remembered and admired by future generations. Now though, upon his death, by the mysterious plan of divine providence, We have been raised to the supreme Pontificate. We did not purpose this nor expect it; indeed Our reaction is great disquietude and anxiety. For if the burden of the Apostolic ministry is rightly considered to be at all times exceedingly heavy and beset with dangers, it is to be dreaded most particularly in these times which are so critical for the Christian commonwealth.

2. We are well aware of Our weakness. So when We reflect on the most serious duties of the supreme apostolate especially in a period of great instability, We would simply have fallen into great sadness, did We not place all Our hope in God who is Our Saviour. For He never abandons those who hope in Him. Time and again, so as to demonstrate what His power can accomplish, He employs weak instruments to rule His Church; in this way, all men may increasingly realize that it is God Himself who governs and protects the Church with his wonderful providence. We are also greatly supported by the comforting consideration that We have you, venerable brothers, as Our helpers and companions in the work of saving souls. For since you have been called to share a portion of Our care, you strive to fulfill your ministry with attentiveness and zeal, and to fight the good fight.

3. For this reason, as soon as We were placed, despite Our unworthiness, on this high See of the prince of the apostles as the representative of the blessed Peter, and received from the eternal Prince of Pastors Himself the most serious divinely given office of feeding and ruling not only the lambs, that is, the whole Christian people, but also the sheep, that is, the bishops, We surely had no greater wish than to address you all with a deep feeling of love. Therefore, since We have now assumed the supreme pontificate in Our Lateran Basilica, We are sending this letter to you without delay, in accordance with the established practice of Our predecessors. Its purpose is to urge that you keep the night-watches over the flock entrusted to your care with the greatest possible eagerness, wakefulness and effort, and that you raise a protecting wall before the House of Israel; do these as you battle with episcopal strength and steadfastness like good soldiers of Christ Jesus Christ against the hateful enemy of the human race.

4. Each of you has noticed, venerable brothers, that a very bitter and fearsome war against the whole Catholic commonwealth is being stirred up by men bound together in a lawless alliance. These men do not preserve sound doctrine, but turn their hearing from the truth. They eagerly attempt to produce from their darkness all sorts of prodigious beliefs, and then to magnify them with all their strength, and to publish them and spread them among ordinary people. We shudder indeed and suffer bitter pain when We reflect on all their outlandish errors and their many harmful methods, plots and contrivances. These men use these means to spread their hatred for truth and light. They are experienced and skillful in deceit, which they use to set in motion their plans to quench peoples' zeal for piety, justice and virtue, to corrupt morals, to cast all divine and human laws into confusion, and to weaken and even possibly overthrow the Catholic religion and civil society. For you know, venerable brothers, that these bitter enemies of the Christian name, are carried wretchedly along by some blind momentum of their mad impiety; they go so far in their rash imagining as to teach without blushing, openly and publicly, daring and unheard-of doctrines, thereby uttering blasphemies against God.[1] They teach that the most holy mysteries of our religion are fictions of human invention, and that the teaching of the Catholic Church is opposed to the good and the prerogatives of human society. They are not even afraid to deny Christ Himself and God.

5. In order to easily mislead the people into making errors, deceiving particularly the imprudent and the inexperienced, they pretend that they alone know the ways to prosperity. They claim for themselves without hesitation the name of "philosophers." They feel as if philosophy, which is wholly concerned with the search for truth in nature, ought to reject those truths which God Himself, the supreme and merciful creator of nature, has deigned to make plain to men as a special gift. With these truths, mankind can gain true happiness and salvation. So, by means of an obviously ridiculous and extremely specious kind of argumentation, these enemies never stop invoking the power and excellence of human reason; they raise it up against the most holy faith of Christ, and they blather with great foolhardiness that this faith is opposed to human reason.

6. Without doubt, nothing more insane than such a doctrine, nothing more impious or more opposed to reason itself could be devised. For although faith is above reason, no real disagreement or opposition can ever be found between them; this is because both of them come from the same greatest source of unchanging and eternal truth, God. They give such reciprocal help to each other that true reason shows, maintains and protects the truth of the faith, while faith frees reason from all errors and wondrously enlightens, strengthens and perfects reason with the knowledge of divine matters.

7. It is with no less deceit, venerable brothers, that other enemies of divine revelation, with reckless and sacrilegious effrontery, want to import the doctrine of human progress into the Catholic religion. They extol it with the highest praise, as if religion itself were not of God but the work of men, or a philosophical discovery which can be perfected by human means. The charge which Tertullian justly made against the philosophers of his own time "who brought forward a Stoic and a Platonic and a Dialectical Christianity"[2] can very aptly apply to those men who rave so pitiably. Our holy religion was not invented by human reason, but was most mercifully revealed by God; therefore, one can quite easily understand that religion itself acquires all its power from the authority of God who made the revelation, and that it can never be arrived at or perfected by human reason. In order not to be deceived and go astray in a matter of such great importance, human reason should indeed carefully investigate the fact of divine revelation. Having done this, one would be definitely convinced that God has spoken and therefore would show Him rational obedience, as the Apostle very wisely teaches.[3] For who can possibly not know that all faith should be given to the words of God and that it is in the fullest agreement with reason itself to accept and strongly support doctrines which it has determined to have been revealed by God, who can neither deceive nor be deceived?

8. But how many wonderful and shining proofs are ready at hand to convince the human reason in the clearest way that the religion of Christ is divine and that "the whole principle of our doctrines has taken root from the Lord of the heavens above";[4] therefore nothing exists more definite, more settled or more holy than our faith, which rests on the strongest foundations. This faith, which teaches for life and points towards salvation, which casts out all vices and is the fruitful mother and nurse of the virtues, has been established by the birth, life, death, resurrection, wisdom, wonders and prophecies of Christ Jesus Christ, its divine author and perfector! Shining forth in all directions with the light of teaching from on high and enriched with the treasures of heavenly wealth, this faith grew famed and notable by the fore-tellings of so many prophets, the lustre of so many miracles, the steadfastness of so many martyrs, and the glory of so many saints! It made known the saving laws of Christ and, gaining in strength daily even when it was most cruelly persecuted, it made its way over the whole world by land and sea, from the sun's rising to its setting, under the single standard of the Cross! The deceit of idols was cast down and the mist of errors was scattered. By the defeat of all kinds of enemies, this faith enlightened with divine knowledge all peoples, races and nations, no matter how barbarous and savage, or how different in character, morals, laws and ways of life. It brought them under the sweet yoke of Christ Himself by proclaiming peace and good tidings to all men!

9. Now, surely all these events shine with such divine wisdom and power that anyone who considers them will easily understand that the Christian faith is the work of God. Human reason knows clearly from these striking and certain proofs that God is the author of this faith; therefore it is unable to advance further but should offer all obedience to this faith, casting aside completely every problem and hesitation. Human reason is convinced that it is God who has given everything the faith proposes to men for belief and behavior.

10. This consideration too clarifies the great error of those others as well who boldly venture to explain and interpret the words of God by their own judgment, misusing their reason and holding the opinion that these words are like a human work. God Himself has set up a living authority to establish and teach the true and legitimate meaning of His heavenly revelation. This authority judges infallibly all disputes which concern matters of faith and morals, lest the faithful be swirled around by every wind of doctrine which springs from the evilness of men in encompassing error. And this living infallible authority is active only in that Church which was built by Christ the Lord upon Peter, the head of the entire Church, leader and shepherd, whose faith He promised would never fail. This Church has had an unbroken line of succession from Peter himself; these legitimate pontiffs are the heirs and defenders of the same teaching, rank, office and power. And the Church is where Peter is,[5] and Peter speaks in the Roman Pontiff,[6] living at all times in his successors and making judgment,[7] providing the truth of the faith to those who seek it.[8] The divine words therefore mean what this Roman See of the most blessed Peter holds and has held.

11. For this mother and teacher[9] of all the churches has always preserved entire and unharmed the faith entrusted to it by Christ the Lord. Furthermore, it has taught it to the faithful, showing all men truth and the path of salvation. Since all priesthood originates in this church,[10] the entire substance of the Christian religion resides there also.[11] The leadership of the Apostolic See has always been active,[12] and therefore because of its preeminent authority, the whole Church must agree with it. The faithful who live in every place constitute the whole Church.[13] Whoever does not gather with this Church scatters.[14]

12. We, therefore, placed inscrutably by God upon this Chair of truth, eagerly call forth in the Lord your outstanding piety, venerable brothers. We urge you to strive carefully and zealously to continually warn and exhort the faithful entrusted to your care to hold to these first principles. Urge them never to allow themselves to be deceived and led into error by men who have become abominable in their pursuits. These men attempt to destroy faith on the pretext of human progress, subjecting it in an impious manner to reason and changing the meaning of the words of God. Such men do not shrink from the greatest insults to God Himself, who cares for the good and the salvation of men by means of His heavenly religion.

13. You already know well, venerable brothers, the other portentous errors and deceits by which the sons of this world try most bitterly to attack the Catholic religion and the divine authority of the Church and its laws. They would even trample underfoot the rights both of the sacred and of the civil power. For this is the goal of the lawless activities against this Roman See in which Christ placed the impregnable foundation of His Church. This is the goal of those secret sects who have come forth from the darkness to destroy and desolate both the sacred and the civil commonwealth. These have been condemned with repeated anathema in the Apostolic letters of the Roman Pontiffs who preceded Us[15] We now confirm these with the fullness of Our Apostolic power and command that they be most carefully observed.

14. This is the goal too of the crafty Bible Societies which renew the old skill of the heretics and ceaselessly force on people of all kinds, even the uneducated, gifts of the Bible. They issue these in large numbers and at great cost, in vernacular translations, which infringe the holy rules of the Church. The commentaries which are included often contain perverse explanations; so, having rejected divine tradition, the doctrine of the Fathers and the authority of the Catholic Church, they all interpret the words of the Lord by their own private judgment, thereby perverting their meaning. As a result, they fall into the greatest errors. Gregory XVI of happy memory, Our superior predecessor, followed the lead of his own predecessors in rejecting these societies in his apostolic letters.[16] It is Our will to condemn them likewise.

15. Also perverse is the shocking theory that it makes no difference to which religion one belongs, a theory which is greatly at variance even with reason. By means of this theory, those crafty men remove all distinction between virtue and vice, truth and error, honorable and vile action. They pretend that men can gain eternal salvation by the practice of any religion, as if there could ever be any sharing between justice and iniquity, any collaboration between light and darkness, or any agreement between Christ and Belial.

16. The sacred celibacy of clerics has also been the victim of conspiracy. Indeed, some churchmen have wretchedly forgotten their own rank and let themselves be converted by the charms and snares of pleasure. This is the aim too of the prevalent but wrong method of teaching, especially in the philosophical disciplines, a method which deceives and corrupts incautious youth in a wretched manner and gives it as drink the poison of the serpent in the goblet of Babylon. To this goal also tends the unspeakable doctrine of Communism, as it is called, a doctrine most opposed to the very natural law. For if this doctrine were accepted, the complete destruction of everyone's laws, government, property, and even of human society itself would follow.

17. To this end also tend the most dark designs of men in the clothing of sheep, while inwardly ravening wolves. They humbly recommend themselves by means of a feigned and deceitful appearance of a purer piety, a stricter virtue and discipline; after taking their captives gently, they mildly bind them, and then kill them in secret. They make men fly in terror from all practice of religion, and they cut down and dismember the sheep of the Lord. To this end, finally—to omit other dangers which are too well known to you—tends the widespread disgusting infection from books and pamphlets which teach the lessons of sinning. These works, well-written and filled with deceit and cunning, are scattered at immense cost through every region for the destruction of the Christian people. They spread pestilential doctrines everywhere and deprave the minds especially of the imprudent, occasioning great losses for religion.

18. As a result of this filthy medley of errors which creeps in from every side, and as the result of the unbridled license to think, speak and write, We see the following: morals deteriorated, Christ's most holy religion despised, the majesty of divine worship rejected, the power of this Apostolic See plundered, the authority of the Church attacked and reduced to base slavery, the rights of bishops trampled on, the sanctity of marriage infringed, the rule of every government violently shaken and many other losses for both the Christian and the civil commonwealth. Venerable brothers, We are compelled to weep and share in your lament that this is the case.

19. Therefore, in this great crisis for religion, because We are greatly concerned for the salvation of all the Lord's flock and in fulfillment of the duty of Our Apostolic ministry, We shall certainly leave no measure untried in Our vigorous effort to secure the good of the whole Christian family. Indeed, We especially call forth in the Lord your own illustrious piety, virtue and prudence, venerable brothers. With these and relying on heavenly aid, you may fearlessly defend the cause of God and His holy Church as befits your station and the office for which you are marked. You must fight energetically, since you know very well what great wounds the undefiled Spouse of Christ Jesus Christ has suffered, and how vigorous is the destructive attack of Her enemies. You must also care for and defend the Catholic faith with episcopal strength and see that the flock entrusted to you stands to the end firm and unmoved in the faith. For unless one preserves the faith entire and uninjured, he will without doubt perish forever.[17]

20. So, in accordance with your pastoral care, work assiduously to protect and preserve this faith. Never cease to instruct all men in it, to encourage the wavering, to convince dissenters, to strengthen the weak in faith by never tolerating and letting pass anything which could in the slightest degree defile the purity of this faith. With the same great strength of mind, foster in all men their unity with the Catholic Church, outside of which there is no salvation; also foster their obedience towards this See of Peter on which rests the entire structure of our most holy religion. See to it with similar firmness that the most holy laws of the Church are observed, for it is by these laws that virtue, religion and piety particularly thrive and flourish.

21. "It is an act of great piety to expose the concealments of the impious and to defeat there the devil himself, whose slaves they are.[18] Therefore We entreat you to use every means of revealing to your faithful people the many kinds of plot, pretense, error, deceit and contrivance which our enemies use. This will turn them carefully away from infectious books. Also exhort them unceasingly to flee from the sects and societies of the impious as from the presence of a serpent, earnestly avoiding everything which is at variance with the wholeness of faith, religion and morality. Therefore, never stop preaching the Gospel, so that the Christian people may grow in the knowledge of God by being daily better versed in the most holy precepts of the Christian law; as a result, they may turn from evil, do good, and walk in the ways of the Lord. You know that you are acting as deputies for Christ, who is meek ant humble, and who came not to call the just but sinners. This is the example that we should follow. When you find someone disregarding the commandments and wandering from the path of truth and justice, rebuke them in the spirit of mildness and meekness with paternal warnings; accuse, entreat and reprove them with all kindness, patience and doctrine. "Often benevolence towards those who are to be corrected achieves more than severity, exhortation more than threats, and love more than power."[19]

22. Strive to instruct the faithful to follow after love and search for peace, diligently pursuing the works of love and peace so that they may love one another with reciprocal charity. They should abolish all disagreements, enmities, rivalries and animosities, thus achieving compatibility. Take pains to impress on the Christian people a due obedience and subjection to rulers and governments. Do this by teaching, in accordance with the warning of the Apostle,[20] that all authority comes from God. Whoever resists authority resists the ordering made by God Himself, consequently achieving his own condemnation; disobeying authority is always sinful except when an order is given which is opposed to the laws of God and the Church.

23. However, priests are the best examples of piety and God's worship,"[21] and people tend generally to be of the same quality as their priests. Therefore devote the greatest care and zeal to making the clergy resplendent for the earnestness of their morals, the integrity, holiness and wisdom of their lives. Let the ecclesiastical training be zealously preserved in compliance with the sacred canons, and whenever it has been neglected, let it be restored to its former splendor. Therefore, as you are well aware, you must take the utmost care, as the Apostle commands, not to impose hands on anyone in haste. Consecrate with holy orders and promote to the performance of the sacred mysteries only those who have been carefully examined and who are virtuous and wise. They can consequently benefit and ornament your dioceses.

24. These are men who avoid everything which is forbidden to clerics, devoting their time instead to reading, exhorting and teaching, "an example to the faithful in word, manner of life, in charity, in faith, in chastity."[22] They win the highest respect from all men, and fashion, summon forth and inspire the people with the Christian way of life. "For it would certainly be better," as Benedict XIV, Our Predecessor of undying memory very wisely advises, "to have fewer ministers if they be upright, suitable and useful, than many who are likely to accomplish nothing at all for the building up of the body of Christ, which is the Church."[23] You must examine with greater diligence the morals and the knowledge of men who are entrusted with the care and guidance of souls, that they may be eager to continuously feed and assist the people entrusted to them by the administration of the sacraments, the preaching of God's word and the example of good works. They should be zealous in molding them to the whole plan and pattern of a religious way of life, and in leading them on to the path of salvation.

25. When ministers are ignorant or neglectful of their duty, then the morals of the people also immediately decline, Christian discipline grows slack, the practice of religion is dislodged and cast aside, and every vice and corruption is easily introduced into the Church. The word of God, which was uttered for the salvation of souls, is living, efficacious and more piercing than a two-edged sword.[24] So that it may not prove to be unfruitful through the fault of its ministers, never cease, venerable brothers, from encouraging the preachers of this divine word to carry out most religiously the ministry of the Gospel. This should not be carried out by the persuasive words of human wisdom, nor by the profane seductive guise of empty and ambitious eloquence, but rather as a demonstration of the spirit and power.

26. Consequently, by presenting the word of truth properly and by preaching not themselves but Christ crucified, they should clearly proclaim in their preaching the tenets and precepts of our most holy religion in accordance with the teaching of the Catholic Church and the Fathers. They should explain precisely the particular duties of individuals, frighten them from vice, and inspire them with a love of piety. In this way the faithful will avoid all vices and pursue virtues, and so, will be able to escape eternal punishment and gain heavenly glory.

27. In your pastoral care, continuously urge all ecclesiastics to think seriously of their holy ministry. Urge them to carefully fulfill their duties, to greatly love the beauty of God's house, to urgently pray and entreat with deep piety, and to say the canonical hours of the breviary as the Church commands. By these means they will be able both to pray efficaciously for God's help in fulfilling the heavy demands of their duty, and to graciously reconcile God and the Christian people.

28. You know that suitable ministers can only come from clergy who are very well trained, and that the proper training greatly influences the whole future life of clerics. Therefore, continually strive to ensure that young clerics are properly molded even from their earliest years. They should be molded not only in piety and real virtue, but also in literature and the stricter disciplines, especially the sacred ones. So your greatest desire should be, in obedience to the prescript of the fathers at Trent,[25] to set up skillfully and energetically, seminaries if they do not yet exiSaint If necessary expand those already established, supplying them with the best directors and teachers. Watch continuously and zealously that the young clerics in them are educated in a holy and religious manner, in the fear of the Lord and in ecclesiastical discipline. See that they are carefully and thoroughly improved, especially by the sacred sciences, according to Catholic doctrine, far from all danger of any error. They should also be improved by the traditions of the Church and the writings of the holy Fathers, as well as by sacred ceremonies and rites. Thus you will have energetic, industrious workers endowed with an ecclesiastical spirit, properly prepared by their studies, who in time will be able to tend the Lord's field carefully and fight strenuously in the Lord's battles.

29. Furthermore, you realize that spiritual exercises contribute greatly to the preservation of the dignity and holiness of ecclesiastical orders. Therefore do not neglect to promote this work of salvation and to advise and exhort all clergy to often retreat to a suitable place for making these exercises. Laying aside external cares and being free to meditate zealously on eternal divine matters, they will be able to wipe away stains caused by the dust of the world and renew their ecclesiastical spirit. And stripping off the old man and his deeds, they will put on the new man who was created in justice and holiness.

30. Do not regret that We have spoken at length on the education and training of the clergy. For you are very well aware many men are weary of the difference, instability and changing nature of their errors, and therefore want to profess our most holy religion. These men, with God's good help, will more easily embrace and practice the teaching, precepts and way of life of this religion if they see that the clergy surpass all others in their piety, integrity and wisdom, and in the noble example they give of all the virtues.

31. We recognize your many worthy attributes: your burning charity towards God and men, your exalted love of the Church, your almost angelic virtues, your episcopal bravery, and your prudence. Being inspired to do His holy will, you are all followers in the footsteps of the Apostles. As bishops, you are the deputies, and thus the imitators of ChriSaint In your harmonious pursuits you have become a sincere model for your flock, and you enlighten your clergy and faithful people with the splendor of your sanctity. In your compassionate mercy you seek out and overtake with your love the straying and perishing sheep, as the shepherd in the Gospel did. You place them paternally on your shoulders ant lead them back to the fold. At no time do you spare either cares or plans or toils in religiously fulfilling your pastoral duties and defending all Our beloved sheep who, redeemed by Christ, have been entrusted to your care from the rage, assault and snares of ravening wolves. You keep them away from poisonous pasture land and drive them on to safe ground, and in all possible ways you lead them by deed, word and example to the harbor of eternal salvation.

32. Therefore, to assure the greater glory of God and the Church, venerable brothers, join together with all eagerness, care and wakefulness to repulse error and to root out vice. When this is accomplished, faith, religion, piety and virtue will increase daily. Then all the faithful, as sons of light, casting aside the works of darkness, may walk worthily, pleasing God in all things and being fruitful in every good work. And in the very great straits, difficulties and dangers which must beset your serious ministry as bishops, especially in these times, do not ever be terrified; rather, be comforted by the strength of the Lord "who looks down on us who carry out his work, approves those who are willing, aids those who do battle, and crowns those who conquer."[26]

33. Nothing is more pleasing to Us than to assist you, whom We love, with affection, advice, and exertion. We devote Ourselves wholeheartedly together with you to protect and spread the glory of God and the Catholic faith; We also endeavor to save souls for whom We are ready to sacrifice life itself, should it be necessary. Come to Us as often as you feel the need of the aid, help and protection of Our authority and that of this See.

34. We hope that Our political leaders will keep in mind, in accordance with their piety and religion, that "the kingly power has been conferred on them not only for ruling the world but especially for the protection of the Church."[27] Sometimes We "act both for the sake of their rule and safety that they may possess their provinces by peaceful right."[28] We hope that with their aid and authority they will support the objects, plans and pursuits which we have in common, and that they will also defend the liberty and safety of the Church, so that "the right hand of Christ may also defend their rule."[29]

35. We hope that all these matters may turn out well and happily. Let us together entreat God in urgent and unceasing prayers, to make up for Our weakness by an abundance of every heavenly grace, to overwhelm with His all-powerful strength those who attack us, and to increase everywhere faith, piety, devotion and peace. Then when all enemies and errors have been overcome, His holy Church may enjoy the tranquillity it so greatly desires. Then too there may be one fold and one shepherd.

36. That the Lord may more readily respond to Us, let us call as intercessor Her who is always with Him, the most holy Virgin Mary, Immaculate Mother of God. She is the most sweet mother of us all; she is our mediatrix, advocate, firmest hope, and greatest source of confidence. Furthermore, her patronage with God is strongest and most efficacious. Let us invoke too the prince of the Apostles to whom Christ Himself gave the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whom He made the rock of His Church, against which the gates of hell will never prevail; let us also invoke his fellow-apostle Paul, and all the heavenly saints who are already crowned and hold the palm of victory. We ask that they implore for all Christians the abundance of divine favor which they desire.

37. Finally, as an augury of all the heavenly gifts and as witness of Our great charity towards you, receive the Apostolic Blessing which from deep in Our heart We most lovingly impart to yourselves, venerable brothers, and to all clerics and the faithful laity who are entrusted to your care.

Given in Rome at Saint Mary Major's on the 9th of November 1846 in the first year of Our Pontificate.

ENDNOTES

1. Ap 13.6.
2. Tertullian, de Praescript., chap. 8.
3. Rom 13.1
4. Saint John Chrysostom, hom. 1 in Isaiah.
5. Saint Ambrose on Ps 40.
6. Council of Chalcedon, Act. 2.
7. Synod of Ephes., Act. 3.
8. Saint Peter Chrysologus, epistle to Eutyches.
9. Council of Trent, session 7 on baptism.
10. Saint Cyprian, epistle 55 to Pope Cornelius.
11. Synod. Letter of John of Constantinople to Pope Hormisdas and Sozomen, HiSaint, III. 8.
12. Saint Augustine, epistle 162.
13. Saint Irenaeus, Adv. Haer. III, 3.
14. Saint Jerome, epistle to Pope Damasus.
15. Clement XII, constitution Providas; Pius VII, constitution Ecclesiam a Jesu Christo; Leo XII, constitution Ubi graviora.
16. Gregory XVI, encyclical letter Inter praecipuas machinationes.
17. Ex Symbolo Quicumque.
18. Saint Leo. sermon 8.4.
19. Council of Trent, session 13, chap. on reform.
20. Rom 12.1-2.
21. Council of Trent, session 22. chap. 1 on reform.
22. Tm 4.12.
23. Benedict XIV, encyclical letter Ubi primum.
24. Heb 4.12.
25. Council of Trent, session 23, chap. 18, on reform.
26. Saint Cyprian, epistle 77 to Nemesianus and other martyrs.
27. Saint Leo, epistle 156 (123) to Emperor Leo.
28. Saint Leo, epistle 43 (34) to Emperor Theodosius.
29. Ibid.

Pope Saint Felix III

"Not to oppose error is to approve it; and not to defend truth is to suppress it; and indeed to neglect to confound evil men, when we can do it, is no less a sin than to encourage them."

"America, it is said, is suffering from intolerance. It is not. It is suffering from tolerance of right and wrong, truth and error, virtue and evil, Christ and chaos.
Our country is not nearly so much overrun with the bigoted as it is overrun with the broadminded…In the face of this broadmindedness, what America needs is intolerance."
~ Servant of God, Archbishop Fulton Sheen

Symbolum Apostolorum ~ THE APOSTLES' CREED

While the present form of the Apostles' Creed first appeared in the 6th century in the writings of Caesarius of Arles ( A.D. 542 ), it can be traced in one form or another back to Apostolic times. Rufinus' Commentary on the Apostle's Creed ( A.D. 407 ) contains the prayer in a form very close to what we have today. The Creed can also be found in a letter to Pope Julius I ( A.D. 340 ) and even earlier in a circa 200 document containing the Roman baptismal liturgy. It appears that originally this Creed was a baptismal creed summarizing the teachings of the Apostles and was given to the catechumens when they were baptized. Instead of the continuous prayer as we have it today, each line was rather in the form of a question to which the catechumen gave assent indicating he both understood and believed. Eventually this question and answer style was modified into the prayer form as we have it today. A partial indulgence is granted to the faithful who recite the Symbolum Apostolorum.

CREDO in Deum Patrem omnipotentem, Creatorem caeli et terrae. Et in Iesum Christum, Filium eius unicum, Dominum nostrum, qui conceptus est de Spiritu Sancto, natus ex Maria Virgine, passus sub Pontio Pilato, crucifixus, mortuus, et sepultus, descendit ad inferos, tertia die resurrexit a mortuis, ascendit ad caelos, sedet ad dexteram Dei Patris omnipotentis, inde venturus est iudicare vivos et mortuos. Credo in Spiritum Sanctum, sanctam Ecclesiam catholicam, sanctorum communionem, remissionem peccatorum, carnis resurrectionem, vitam aeternam. Amen.

:

I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth: And in Jesus Christ Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord: Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary: Suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead and buried: He descended into hell: The third day he rose again from the dead: He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty: From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead: I believe in the Holy Ghost: I believe in the holy catholic church: the communion of saints: The forgiveness of sins: The resurrection of the body: And the life everlasting. Amen.

THE ATHANASIAN CREED

The Athanasian Creed, attributed to Saint Athanasius, also know as the Quicumque vult, was formerly recited at the office of Prime on Sundays and Trinity Sunday is the time when we renew our commitment to our Faith and the dogma Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus - "Outside the Church There is No Salvation." The Athanasian Creed is one of the four authoritative Creeds of Holy Mother Church ( The Apostle's Creed; Nicene Creed; and The Tridentine Creed, and it is not something that is an opinion but what every Roman Catholic must believe.

Quicumque vult salvus esse, ante omnia opus est, ut teneat catholicam fidem: Quam nisi quisque integram inviolatamque servaverit, absque dubio in aeternam peribit. Fides autem catholica haec est: ut unum Deum in Trinitate, et Trinitatem in unitate veneremur. Neque confundentes personas, neque substantiam seperantes. Alia est enim persona Patris alia Filii, alia Spiritus Sancti: Sed Patris, et Fili, et Spiritus Sancti una est divinitas, aequalis gloria, coeterna maiestas. Qualis Pater, talis Filius, talis Spiritus Sanctus. Increatus Pater, increatus Filius, increatus Spiritus Sanctus. Immensus Pater, immensus Filius, immensus Spiritus Sanctus. Aeternus Pater, aeternus Filius, aeternus Spiritus Sanctus. Et tamen non tres aeterni, sed unus aeternus. Sicut non tres increati, nec tres immensi, sed unus increatus, et unus immensus. Similiter omnipotens Pater, omnipotens Filius, omnipotens Spiritus Sanctus. Et tamen non tres omnipotentes, sed unus omnipotens. Ita Deus Pater, Deus Filius, Deus Spiritus Sanctus. Ita Dominus Pater, Dominus Filius, Dominus Spiritus Sanctus. Et tamen non tres Domini, sed unus est Dominus. Quia, sicut singillatim unamquamque personam Deum ac Dominum confiteri christiana veritate compelimur: ita tres Deos aut Dominos dicere catholica religione prohibemur. Pater a nullo est factus: nec creatus, nec genitus. Filius a Patre solo est: non factus, nec creatus, sed genitus. Spiritus Sanctus a Patre et Filio: non factus, nec creatus, nec genitus, sed procedens. Unus ergo Pater, non tres Patres: unus Filius, non tres Filii: unus Spiritus Sanctus, non tres Spiritus Sancti. Et in hac Trinitate nihil prius aut posterius, nihil maius aut minus: sed totae tres personae coaeternae sibi sunt et coaequales. Ita ut per omnia, sicut iam supra dictum est, et unitas in Trinitate, et Trinitas in unitate veneranda sit. Qui vult ergo salvus esse, ita de Trinitate sentiat. Sed necessarium est ad aeternam salutem, ut incarnationem quoque Domini nostri Iesu Christi fideliter credat. Est ergo fides recta ut credamus et confiteamur, quia Dominus noster Iesus Christus, Dei Filius, Deus et homo eSaint Deus est ex substantia Patris ante saecula genitus: et homo est ex substantia matris in saeculo natus. Perfectus Deus, perfectus homo: ex anima rationali et humana carne subsistens. Aequalis Patri secundum divinitatem: minor Patre secundum humanitatem. Qui licet Deus sit et homo, non duo tamen, sed unus est Christus. Unus autem non conversione divinitatis in carnem, sed assumptione humanitatis in Deum. Unus omnino, non confusione substantiae, sed unitate personae. Nam sicut anima rationalis et caro unus est homo: ita Deus et homo unus est Christus. Qui passus est pro salute nostra: descendit ad inferos: tertia die resurrexit a mortuis. Ascendit ad caelos, sedet ad dexteram Dei Patris omnipotentis: inde venturus est iudicare vivos et mortuos. Ad cuius adventum omnes homines resurgere habent cum corporibus suis: et reddituri sunt de factis propriis rationem. Et qui bona egerunt, ibunt in vitam aeternam: qui vero mala, in ignem aeternum. Haec est fides catholica, quam nisi quisque fideliter firmiterque crediderit, salvus esse non poterit. Amen.

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Whosoever wishes to be saved must, above all, keep the Catholic Faith. For unless a person keeps this Faith whole and entire, he will undoubtedly be lost forever. This is what the Catholic Faith teaches: we worship one God in the Trinity and the Trinity in unity. Neither confounding the Persons, nor dividing the substance. For there is one Person of the Father, another of the Son, another of the Holy Spirit. But the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit have one divinity, equal glory, and coeternal majesty. What the Father is, the Son is, and the Holy Spirit is. The Father is uncreated, the Son is uncreated, and the Holy Spirit is uncreated. The Father is boundless, the Son is boundless, and the Holy Spirit is boundless. The Father is eternal, the Son is eternal, and the Holy Spirit is eternal. Nevertheless, there are not three eternal beings, but one eternal being. So there are not three uncreated beings, nor three boundless beings, but one uncreated being and one boundless being. Likewise, the Father is omnipotent, the Son is omnipotent, the Holy Spirit is omnipotent. Yet there are not three omnipotent beings, but one omnipotent being. Thus the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. However, there are not three gods, but one God. The Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, and the Holy Spirit is Lord. However, there as not three lords, but one Lord. For as we are obliged by Christian truth to acknowledge every Person singly to be God and Lord, so too are we forbidden by the Catholic religion to say that there are three Gods or Lords. The Father was not made, nor created, nor generated by anyone. The Son is not made, nor created, but begotten by the Father alone. The Holy Spirit is not made, nor created, nor generated, but proceeds from the Father and the Son. There is, then, one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three sons; one Holy Spirit, not three holy spirits. In this Trinity, there is nothing before or after, nothing greater or less. The entire three Persons are co-eternal and co-equal with one another. So that in all things, as is has been said above, the Unity is to be worshipped in Trinity and the Trinity in Unity. He, therefore, who wishes to be saved, must believe thus about the Trinity. It is also necessary for eternal salvation that he believes steadfastly in the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ ChriSaint Thus the right faith is that we believe and confess that our Lord Jesus Christ Christ, the Son of God, is both God and man. As God, He was begotten of the substance of the Father before time; as man, He was born in time of the substance of His Mother. He is perfect God; and He is perfect man, with a rational soul and human flesh. He is equal to the Father in His divinity, but inferior to the Father in His humanity. Although He is God and man, He is not two, but one ChriSaint And He is one, not because His divinity was changed into flesh, but because His humanity was assumed unto God. He is one, not by a mingling of substances, but by unity of person. As a rational soul and flesh are one man: so God and man are one ChriSaint He died for our salvation, descended into hell, and rose from the dead on the third day. He ascended into Heaven, sits at the right hand of God the Father almighty. From there He shall come to judge the living and the dead. At His coming, all men are to arise with their own bodies; and they are to give an account of their own deeds. Those who have done good deeds will go into eternal life; those who have done evil will go into the everlasting fire. This is the Catholic Faith. Everyone must believe it, firmly and steadfastly; otherwise he cannot be saved. Amen.

THE NICENE CREED

Symbolum Nicaenum, or Nicene Creed, has a complex history. It was first promulgated at the Council of Nicea ( A.D. 325 ), though in an abbreviated form from what we have below. Saint Athanasius attributes its composition to the Papal Legate to the Council, Hossius of Cordova. The Creed is also sometimes called the Nicene-Constantinoplan Creed since it appears in the Acts of the Council of Constantinople ( A.D. 381 ), but it is clear that this Council is not the source of that composition for it appears in complete form in the Ancoratus of Epiphanius of Salamis some seven years earlier in A.D. 374. In any case, it was this text that appears in the Acts of the Council of Constantinople that was formally promulgated at Chalcedon in 451 and has come down to us as our present Nicene Creed. It was at the councils of Nicea and Constantinople that the true nature of Jesus Christ was defended against two heresies that had sprung up. The Arians denied Christ's divinity and the Monophysites denied Christ's humanity. The councils, drawing upon the traditions handed down to them from the Apostles, condemned both heresies and declared that Jesus Christ was indeed both true God and true man.

Credo in unum Deum, Patrem omnipotentem, factorem caeli et terrae, visibilium omnium et invisibilium. Et in unum Dominum Iesum Christum, Filium Dei unigenitum, et ex Patre natum ante omnia saecula. Deum de Deo, Lumen de Luminem, Deum verum de Deo vero, genitum non factum, consubstantialem Patri; per quem omnia facta sunt. Qui propter nos homines et propter nostram salutem descendit de caelis. Et incarnatus est de Spiritu Sancto ex Maria Virgine, et homo factus eSaint Crucifixus etiam pro nobis sub Pontio Pilato, passus et sepultus est, et resurrexit tertia die, secundum Scripturas, et ascendit in caelum, sedet ad dexteram Patris. Et iterum venturus est cum gloria, iudicare vivos et mortuos, cuius regni non erit finis. Et in Spiritum Sanctum, Dominum et vivificantem, qui ex Patre Filioque procedit. Qui cum Patre et Filio simul adoratur et conglorificatur: qui locutus est per prophetas. Et unam, sanctam, catholicam et apostolicam Ecclesiam. Confiteor unum baptisma in remissionem peccatorum. Et expecto resurrectionem mortuorum, et vitam venturi saeculi. Amen.

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I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord, Jesus Christ Christ, Son of God, only-begotten and of the Father born before all ages. God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father; through Whom all things were made. Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven. And was incarnate by the Holy Spirit from the Virgin Mary, and was made man. He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate; suffered, and was buried, and rose the third day according to the Scriptures; sits at the right hand of the Father. And He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and of His kingdom there shall be no end. And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and life-giver, Who from the Father and the Son proceeds. Who, with the Father and the Son, is simultaneously adored and equally glorified: Who has spoken through the prophets. And one holy, catholic and apostolic Church. I confess one baptism for the remission of sins. And I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the age to come. Amen.

Professio fidei Tridentinae
The Tridentine Creed

Pope Pius IV promulgated this creed in his Bull, Injunctium Nobis, in A.D. 1565, about year after the close of the Council of Trent. It begins by repeating the Nicene Creed, and then goes on to re-affirm dogmas of the Church that were then being attacked by Protestants. For a long time thereafter it was used in reconciling Protestants who wished to return to the Church. Although seldom used any more, it has never been abrogated and remains one of the four Creeds of the Holy Mother Church.

Ego N. firma fide credo et profiteor omnia et singula, quae continentur in Symbolo, quo Sancta Romana ecclesia utitur, videlicet:

Credo in unum Deum, Patrem omnipotentem, factorem caeli et terrae, visibilium omnium et invisibilium. Et in unum Dominum Iesum Christum, Filium Dei unigenitum, et ex Patre natum ante omnia saecula. Deum de Deo, Lumen de Lumine, Deum verum de Deo vero, genitum non factum, consubstantialem Patri; per quem omnia facta sunt. Qui propter nos homines et propter nostram salutem descendit de caelis. Et incarnatus est de Spiritu Sancto ex Maria Virgine, et homo factus eSaint Crucifixus etiam pro nobis sub Pontio Pilato, passus et sepultus est, et resurrexit tertia die, secundum Scripturas, et ascendit in caelum, sedet ad dexteram Patris. Et iterum venturus est cum gloria, iudicare vivos et mortuos, cuius regni non erit finis. Et in Spiritum Sanctum, Dominum et vivificantem, qui ex Patre Filioque procedit. Qui cum Patre et Filio simul adoratur et conglorificatur: qui locutus est per prophetas. Et unam, sanctam, catholicam et apostolicam Ecclesiam. Confiteor unum baptisma in remissionem peccatorum. Et expecto resurrectionem mortuorum, et vitam venturi saeculi. Amen.

Apostolicas et ecclesiasticas traditiones reliquasque eiusdem ecclesiae observationes et consitutiones firmissime admitto et amplector.

Item sacram Scripturam iuxta sensum eum, quem tenuit et tenet sancta mater Ecclesia, cuius et iudicare de vero sensu et interpretatione sacrarum Scripturarum, admitto, nec eam umquam nisi iuxta unanimem consensum Patrum accipiam et interpretabor.

Profiteor quoque septem esse vere et proprie Sacramenta novae legis, a Iesu Christo Domino nostro instituta, atque ad salutem humani generis, licet non omnia singulis, necessaria: scilicet Baptismum, Confirmationem, Eucharistiam, Poenitentiam, Extremam Unctionem, Ordinem et Matrimonium, illaque gratiam conferre, et ex his Baptismum, Confirmationem et Ordinem sine sacrilegio reiterari non posse.

Receptos quoque et approbatos ecclesiae catholicae ritus in supradictorum omnium Sacramentorum solemni administratione recipio et admitto.

Omnia et singula, quae de peccato originali et de iustificatione in sacrosancta Tridentina Synodo definita et declarata fuerunt, amplector et recipio.

Profiteor pariter, in Missa oferri Deo verum, proprium et propitiatorium sacrificium pro vivis et defunctis, atque in sanctissimo Eucharistiae Sacramento esse vere, realiter et substantialiter Corpus et Sanguinem, una cum anima et divinitate Domini nostri Iesu Christi, fierique conversionem totius substantiae panis in Corpus at totius substantiae vini in Sanguinem, quam conversionem Ecclesia catholica transsubstantiationem appellat. Fateor etiam sub altera tantum specie totum atque integrum Christum verumque Sacramentum sumi.

Constanter teneo, purgatorium esse, animasque ibi detentas fidelium suffragiis iuvari. Similiter et Sanctos, una cum Christo regnantes, venerandos atque invocandos esse, eosque orationes Deo pro nobis offerre, atque eorum reliquias esse venerandas.

Firmissime assero, imagines Christi ac Deiparae semper Virginis, necnon aliorum Sanctorum habendas et retiendas esse, atque eis debitum honorem et venerationem impertiendum.

Indulgentiarum etiam potestatem a Christo in Ecclesia relictam fuisse, illarumque usu christiano populo maxime salutarem esse affirmo.

Sanctam catholicam et apostolicam Ecclesiam romanam omnium ecclesiarum matrem et magistram agnosco, Romanoque Pontifici, beati Petri, Apostolorum principis, successori, ac Iesu Christi Vicario, veram obedientiam spondeo ac iuro.

Cetera item omnia a sacris canonibus et oecumenicis Conciliis, ac praecipue a sacrosancta Tridentina Synodo, et ab oecumenico Concilio Vaticano tradita, definita et declarata, praesertim de Romani Pontificis primatu et infallibili magesterio indubitanter recipio ac profiteor; simulaque contraria omnia, atque haereses quascumque ab Ecclesia damnatas et reiectas et anathematizatas ego pariter damno, reicio, et anathematizo.

Hanc veram catholicam fidem, extra quam nemo salvus esse potest, quam in praesenti sponte profiteor et veraciter teneo, eamdem integram, et inviolatam usque ad extremum vitae spiritum, constantissime, Deo adiuvante, retinere et confiteri, atque a meis subditis, vel illis, quorum cura ad me in munere meo spectabit, teneri, doceri et praedicari, quantum in me erit, curaturum, ego idem N. spondeo, voveo ac iuro. Sic me Deus adiuvet et haec sancta Dei Evangelia.

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I, ( name ), with firm faith believe and profess all and everything which is contained in the creed of Faith, which the holy Roman Church uses, namely:

"I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ Christ, the only-begotten Son of God; born of the Father before all ages; God of God, light of light, true God of true God; begotten, not made; being of one substance with the Father; by whom all things were made. Who for us men and for our salvation, came down from heaven. And was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary; and was made man. He was crucified also for us, suffered under Pontius Pilate, and was buried. And on the third day He rose again according to the Scriptures. And ascended into heaven. He sits at the right hand of the Father. And He shall come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead; of whose kingdom there shall be no end. And I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life, Who proceeds from the Father and the Son; Who together with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified; Who spoke by the Prophets. And in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. I confess one baptism for the remission of sins. And I look for the resurrection of the dead. And the life of the world to come. Amen.

"The Apostolic and Ecclesiastical traditions and all other observances and constitutions of that same Church I most firmly admit and embrace.

"I likewise accept Holy Scripture according to that sense which our holy Mother Church has held and does hold, whose (office) it is to judge the true meaning and interpretation of Sacred Scriptures; I shall never accept nor interpret it otherwise than in accordance with the unanimous consent of the Fathers.

"I also profess that there are truly and properly seven Sacraments of the New Law instituted by Jesus Christ Christ our Lord, and necessary for the salvation of mankind, although not all are necessary for each individual; these sacraments are Baptism, Confirmation, the Eucharist, Penance, Extreme Unction, Order, and Matrimony; and (I profess) that they confer grace, and that of these Baptism, Confirmation, and Order cannot be repeated without sacrilege. I also receive and admit the accepted and approved rites of the Catholic Church in the solemn administration of all the aforesaid Sacraments.

"I embrace and accept each and everything that has been defined and declared by the Holy Synod of Trent concerning original sin and justification.

"I also profess that in the Mass there is offered to God a true, proper sacrifice of propitiation for the living and the dead, and that in the most holy Sacrament of the Eucharist there is truly, really, and substantially present the Body and Blood together with the soul and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ Christ, and that there takes place a conversion of the whole substance of bread into the body, and of the whole substance of the wine into the blood; and this conversion the Catholic Church calls Transubstantiation.

"I also acknowledge that under one species alone the whole and entire Christ and the true Sacrament are taken.

"I steadfastly hold that Purgatory exists, and that the souls there detained are aided by the prayers of the faithful; likewise that the Saints reigning together with Christ should be venerated and invoked, and that they offer prayers to God for us, and that their relics should be venerated.

"I firmly assert that the images of Christ and of the Mother of God ever Virgin, and also of the other Saints should be kept and retained, and that due honor and veneration should be paid to them; I also affirm that the power of indulgences has been left in the Church by Christ, and that the use of them is especially salutary for Christian people.

"I acknowledge the holy Catholic and apostolic Roman Church as the mother and teacher of all Churches; and to the Roman Pontiff, the successor of blessed Peter, Prince of Apostles and Vicar of Jesus Christ Christ, I promise and swear true obedience.

"Also all other things taught, defined, and declared by the sacred Canons and Ecumenical Councils, and especially by the sacred and holy Synod of Trent (and by the Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, particularly concerning the Primacy of the Roman Pontiff and his infallible teaching,*) I without hesitation accept and profess; and at the same time all things contrary thereto, and whatever heresies have been condemned, and rejected, and anathematized by the Church, I likewise condemn, reject, and anathematize.

"This true Catholic faith, outside of which no one can be saved, (and) which of my own accord I now profess and truly hold, I (name) do promise, vow, and swear that I will, with the help of God, most faithfully retain and profess the same to the last breath of my life as pure and inviolable, and that I will take care as far as lies in my power that it be held, taught, and preached by my subjects or by those over whom by virtue of my office I have charge, so help me God, and these holy Gospels of God."

The Solution

"....a countless legion of the most saintly men of every age and of every condition have not only held the Rosary most dear, and have most piously recited it; but have also used it at all times as a most powerful weapon to overcome the devil; to preserve the purity of their lives; and acquire virtue more zealously...." ~ ~ Pope Pius XI, Encyclical Letter, Ingravescentibus Malis, On the Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The Most Holy Rosary Of The Blessed Virgin Mary

"I am the Lady of the Rosary" ~~ Speaking to the three children of Fatima.

'Wonder not that you have obtained so little fruit by your labors, you have spent them on barren soil, not yet watered with the dew of Divine Grace. When GOD willed to renew the face of the earth, He began by sending down on it the fertilizing rain of the Angelic Salutation. Therefore preach my Psalter composed of 150 Angelic Salutations and 15 Our Fathers, and you will obtain an abundant harvest'.
'The rosary shall be a powerful armor against hell, it will destroy vice, decrease sin, and defeat heresies. It will cause virtue and good works to flourish; it will withdraw the hearts of men from the love of the world and its vanities, and lift them to the desire of eternal things.'
~~ Words of the Blessed Virgin Mary to Saint Dominic

Prayer To The Lady Of The Rosary

Beloved Lady of the Rosary, I thank you for your great gift of your psalter. As the beads slip through my fingers, may my heart and my lips sing your praise, and my brain contemplate those sacred mysteries of my Holy Faith. May my meditations on your beloved Rosary draw me ever closer, trustingly, to you, and through you to your divine son, my Lord and my God.

The Mysteries of Rosary of The Blessed Virgin Mary

Joyful Mysteries

Often said on Monday and Saturday, the Joyful Mysteries include: The Annunciation, The Visitation, The Birth of Our Lord, The Presentation of Our Lord, and The Finding of Our Lord in the Temple.

Glorious Mysteries

Often said on Wednesday and Sunday the Glorious Mysteries include: The Resurrection, The Ascension, The Coming of the Holy Spirit, The Assumption of our Blessed Mother into Heaven, and The Coronation of our Blessed Mother.

Mysteries of Light

Often said on Thursday, the Mysteries of Light as inspired by and proposed in 1957 by Saint George Preca:

1. When Our Lord Jesus Christ Christ, after his baptism in the Jordan, was led into the desert.

2. When Our Lord Jesus Christ Christ showed, by word and miracles, that He is true God.

3. When Our Lord Jesus Christ Christ taught the Beatitudes on the mountain.

4. When Our Lord Jesus Christ Christ was transfigured on the mountain.

5. When Our Lord Jesus Christ Christ had his last Meal with the Apostles.

Sorrowful Mysteries

Often said on Tuesday and Friday the Sorrowful Mysteries include: The Agony in the Garden, The Scourging at the Pillar, The Crowning with Thorns, The Carrying of the Cross, and The Crucifixion and Death of Our Lord.

History Of The Rosary

Tradition holds that Our Lady gave the Rosary to Saint Dominic Guzman in 1206 as a form of gospel-preaching and popular prayer. For more than seven centuries, the Rosary devotion has been one of the most popular devotional practices in the church. Its combination of vocal and mental prayer have made it a prime tool for contemplation. Jesus Christ is the author and source of grade; Our Lady's Rosary is the key to open the treasury of grace to us.

Although prayer beads had been popular before Dominic's time, he and his friars quickly adopted the Rosary as an excellent way to teach the mysteries of Christianity to a largely illiterate European population. In 1470, Blessed Alan of Rupe founded the first Rosary Confraternity, and thereby launched the Dominican Order as the foremost missionaries of the Rosary. Through the efforts of Blessed Alan and the early Dominicans, this prayer form spread rapidly throughout Western Christendom.

The meditations on the fifteen mysteries serve as reminders of incidents in the lives of Christ and Mary. These are divided into the joyful, sorrowful, and glorious mysteries. Thirteen of the mysteries come from incidents in the New Testament. One, the assumption of Mary into heave, comes from Sacred Tradition. The fifteens, the Crowning of Mary as Queen of Heaven is thought to be derived from images in the Book of Revelation. These meditations make the Rosary a reflection on the fundamental beliefs of our Faith.

Through the years, Our Lady has re-affirmed her approval of this devotion, and her pleasure in the title "Queen of the Rosary." To Blessed Alan, she made fifteen promises to those who devoutly recite her beads. She told him, ".. immense volumes would have to be written if all the miracles of my Holy Rosary were to be recorded." Our Lady's promises are:

Those who shall have served me constantly by reciting the Rosary shall receive some special grace.

I promise my special protection and great graces to all who devoutly recite my Psalter.

The Rosary shall be a most powerful armor against hell; it shall destroy vices, weaken sin, overthrow unbelief.

It shall make virtues and good works to flourish again; it shall obtain for souls abundant mercies of God; it shall win the hearts of men from the love of the world and its vanities, and life them to a desire of things eternal. Oh, how many souls will be sanctified by this means !

The soul which has recourse to me through the Rosary shall not perish.

Whoever shall have recited the Rosary devoutly and with meditation on its mysteries, shall never be overcome by misfortunes, shall not experience the anger of God, shall not be lost by a sudden death; but if he be in sin he shall be converted; and if he be in grace, he shall persevere and be made worth of eternal life.

Truly devoted servants of my Rosary shall not die without the Sacraments.

It is my will that those who recite my Rosary have, in life and in death, light and the plenitude of graces; and in life and death, may participate in the merits of the saints.

Every day I deliver from Purgatory souls devoted to my Rosary.

True servants of my Rosary shall enjoy great glory in heaven.

Whatever you shall ask through the Rosary, you shall obtain.

I will assist in every necessity those who propagate my Rosary.

I have obtained from my Son that all members of the Confraternity of my Rosary may have in life and in death all the blessed as their associated.

All who recite my Rosary are my children and the brethren of my Only Begotten Son Jesus Christ ChriSaint

Devotion to my Rosary is a great sign of predestination.

Our Lady told Blessed Bartolo Longo to propagate the Rosary, and promised that those who would propagate this devotion would be saved. In 1884, Our Lady of Pompeii appeared at Naples to Fortuna Agrelli, who was desperately ill. She told Fortuna that the title "Lady of the Holy Rosary" was one which was particularly pleasing to her, and cured Fortuna of her illness.

At Lourdes, Our Lady told Saint Bernadette to pray many rosaries. When Bernadette saw the beautiful lady, she instinctively took her Rosary in her hands and knelt down. The lady made a sign of approval with her head, and took into her hands a Rosary which hung on her right arm. As Bernadette prayed, Our Lady passed the beads of her Rosary through her fingers, but said nothing except the Gloria at the end of each decade. At Fatima, Mary told the children to pray the Rosary often.

Popes throughout history have loved the Rosary. Not a single Pope in the last four hundred years has failed to urge devotion to the Rosary. From Pope Sixtus IV, in 1479, to the present day, all popes have urged the use of this devotion, and enriched its recitation with indulgences.

Pius XI dedicated the entire month of October to the Rosary.

Pope Saint Pius X said :

"Of all the prayers, the Rosary is the most beautiful and the richest in graces; of all, it is the one most pleasing to Mary, the Virgin Most Holy."

Pope Leo XIII repeatedly recommended the Rosary as a most powerful means whereby to move God to aid us in meeting the needs of the present age. In 1883, he inserted the invocation, "Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, pray for us ! " into the Liturgy for the Universal Church. John XXIII who was particularly faithful to the daily recital of the whole Rosary has said, " We can never sufficiently recommend the saying of the Rosary, not simply with the lips but with attention of the soul to the divine truths, with a heart filled with love and gratitude." John Paul II tells us to "... love the simple, fruitful prayer of the Rosary." Many of the Saints, and a number of the religious orders have praised the Rosary. Saint Charles said he depended on the Rosary almost entirely for the conversion and sanctification of his diocese. Founders of most religious orders have either commanded or recommended the daily recitation of the Rosary. The Benedictines speedily adapted this devotion in their ancient cloisters. The Carmelites were happy to receive the Rosary as well as their rule from the Dominicans. The Franciscans made their rosaries out of wood, and preached this devotion as well as poverty. The Servites wore their rosaries as a badge of that servitude which is the only true liberty. Inspired by the example of their founder, the Jesuits invariably propagated the devotion. Saint Francis Xavier used the touch of his chaplet as a means of healing the sick. Saint Vincent de Paul instructed the members of his order to depend more on the Rosary than upon their preaching.

Our ancestors had recourse to the Rosary as an every- ready refuge in misfortune, and as a pledge and a proof of their Christian faith and devotion. Saint Dominic used the Rosary as a weapon in his battle against the Albigensian heresy in France. In the last century, the Christian successes over the Turks at Temesvar and at Corfu coincided with the conclusion of public devotions of the Rosary. During the penal days in Ireland, the Rosary bound the Irish Catholics together as the church militant. When it was a felony to teach the Catholic Catechism, and death for a priest to say Mass, the Irish mothers used their rosaries to tell their little ones the story of Jesus Christ and Mary, and thus kept the Faith green in the hearts of their children. Saint John Vianney, the Cure d'Ars, declared emphatically that in the nineteenth century it was the Rosary which restored religion in France. Likewise, in the dark days of persecution in Mexico, in our own century, the sturdy Mexican Catholics clung faithfully to their rosaries. The martyr Miguel Pro was allowed his last request before being shot by a firing squad --- he knelt and prayed his Rosary. A special society, the Society of the Living Rosary, was founded by the Venerable Marie Pauline Jaricot in the city of Lyons, France, in 1826. She formed bands of fifteen members who each said one decade of the Rosary daily. Thus, the entire Rosary is said collectively by the members of each circle daily.

Father Timothy Ricci, O.P., instituted the Perpetual Rosary, or Mary's Guard of Honor, in 1635. The aim of this devotion is to unite the members in such a way that some devoted watchers will ever be found in prayer and praise at Our Lady's shrine, telling their beads for the conversion of sinners, the relief of the dying, and the succor of the dead. In Belgium, the Dominican nuns of the Third Order established a monastery for the express purpose of maintaining the Perpetual Rosary, so that there it became not merely the devotion of a society, but the distinctive work of a community. A number of shrines of the order are to be found in the United States. Here, the Rosary is said day and night by members of the community. Rosary processions are held, and pilgrims sing again and again the praises of the Heavenly Queen of all Roman Rite Catholics.

Our Lady has 117 blessed titles. Above all, She selected this title at Fatima: "I am the Lady of the Rosary."

Saint Francis de Sales said the greatest method of praying is: Pray the Rosary.

Saint Thomas Aquinas preached 40 straight days in Rome Italy on just the Hail Mary.

Saint John Vianney, patron of priests, was seldom seen without a rosary in his hand.

"The rosary is the scourge of the devil" -- Pope Adrian VI

"The rosary is a treasure of graces" -- Pope Paul V

Padre Pio the stigmatic priest said: "The Rosary is the weapon".

Several popes wrote encyclicals on the rosary.

John XXIII spoke 38 times about our Lady and the Rosary. He prayed 15 decades daily.

Saint Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort wrote: "The rosary is the most powerful weapon to touch the Heart of Jesus Christ, Our Redeemer, who so loves His Mother."

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary that never was it known that anyone who fled to Your protection, implored Your help, or sought Your intercession was left unaided. Inspired with this confidence, we fly to you, O Virgin of virgins, our Mother. To You we come; before You we stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not our petitions, but in Your me

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary that never was it known that anyone who fled to Your protection, implored Your help, or sought Your intercession was left unaided. Inspired with this confidence, we fly to you, O Virgin of virgins, our Mother. To You we come; before You we stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not our petitions, but in Your mercy, hear and answer us. Amen.

Commemorating
† The Feast of Saint Mary of Egypt †
( Observed A.D. 2 April 2012 )

The contrition of Saint Mary of Egypt was
motivated by love of God

Saint Mary of Egypt, also called the sinner, lived 47 years in the desert making penance and suffering privations. Toward the end of her life, Saint Zosimus of Palestine came upon her in the desert. When the Abbot asked her who she was and from where she came, this strange woman - burned and darkened by the sun - answered:

“Father, forgive me, but when I start to tell you my story you will run from me, as from a snake, for your ears will not be able to bear the vileness of my actions and the air will be contaminated by my impurity.

"I am called Mary and I was born in Egypt. I went to Alexandria at age 12 and lived there 17 years as a public woman, giving myself to whoever wanted me. But one day, I learned that some inhabitants of this city were going on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem to adore the True Cross, and I asked the sailors to let me also go aboard. They asked for money to pay for the journey, and I answered that I had none, but I offered my body instead. So the voyage was made.

“In Jerusalem, when I went with the other pilgrims to the church on the holy day of the Exaltation of the Cross, I felt an irresistible force that prevented me from crossing the doorstep. Three or four times I approached the doors of the church, and each time that invisible power prevented me from entering. All the others went in freely without any obstacle.

“Retreating to a corner of the porch, I began to understand the reason why I was prevented from being admitted to see the life-giving Cross. The word of salvation gently touched the eyes of my heart and revealed to me that it was my impure life that barred the entrance to me. I began to weep and lament, and beat my breast and sigh from the depths of my heart. And so I stood weeping when I saw above me the icon of the Most Holy Mother of God.

“Turning to her my bodily and spiritual eyes, I begged her to obtain forgiveness for my sins and to order the entrance of the church to be opened to me so that I could adore the True Cross. In exchange, I promised to renounce the world and live in chastity.

“With this prayer, I acquired some hope and felt some confidence in the mercy of the Mother of God, and went again to enter the church. This time I was able to go in without any difficulty and found myself in the holy place. As I piously adored the Holy Cross, I heard a voice that said, “If you cross the Jordan, you will find glorious rest.”

“With these words, I left the church and set off on my journey. As I was leaving the church a stranger glanced at me and gave me three coins. Taking the money, I bought three loaves and took them with me on my journey.

“I crossed the River Jordan and came to the desert, where I have lived for 47 years, never seeing a single human face during this whole time, feeding myself from those three loaves of bread that I brought with me. My dresses were reduced to tatters long ago.

“During the first 17 years I was tormented by temptations. After that, by the grace of God, I completely conquered them. This is my history. I am telling it so that you might pray to the Lord for me who am such a sinner.”

Then the old man, prostrating himself on the ground, praised God in the person of His servant.

She told him: “Now I ask you this. On sunset of the holy day of the Last Supper, bring me the Body of Christ. Wait for me on the banks of the Jordan, so that I can come and partake of the life-giving Gift. For during all the time I have been here, I have not approached the Holy Mysteries.”

The old man returned to his monastery, and the next year he returned to the banks of the Jordan bringing a consecrated Host. After waiting a while, he saw the holy woman appear and stand on the other side of the river, and he wondered how he could approach her since there was no boat. Then he saw that she made the Sign of the Cross over the waters and she at once stepped onto them and began walking across the surface until she reached him.

In awe over the miracle, the religious man wanted to prostrate himself humbly at her feet, but she said: “My Father, do not prostrate yourself before me, for you are a priest carrying the Body of Christ.”

After receiving the Holy Eucharist, she asked him the favor to return one more time to the same place where she first met him.

The next year Zozimus crossed the river and went to the place where he first met her. He found her lying dead in the sand. He wept with sorrow but did not dare to touch her remains, fearing to offend her since she was wearing nothing.

As he was wondering whether to bury her, he read an inscription in the sand by her head: ‘Abbot Zosimus, bury the body of humble Mary on this spot. Return to dust that which is dust and pray the Lord for me, who departed on April 2, on the very night of Our Lord’s Passion, after having partaken of the Divine Mysteries.” [Saint Mary died in the year 522].

Then Zosimus thought, “It is time to do as she wished. But I am old and weak, and how am I to dig a grave with nothing but my hands?”

Then he saw a lion, which drew near and with its front paws it dug a hole deep enough to bury the body. After the body was buried, the lion went off into the depth of the desert like a lamb, while Zosimus returned to the monastery glorifying and blessing Christ Our Lord.

And on reaching the monastery he told all the brothers about everything, and all marveled on hearing of God's miracles. And with fear and love they kept the memory of the Saint.

( From The Life Saint Mary of Egypt by Saint Sophronius, Patriarch of Jerusalem, 7th century ).

Comments of Professor Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira :

You should consider the beauty of the relation established here between sin and penance. The sinner was a very bad woman. For 17 years she had lived the worst possible life. Then this woman, directed by the unpredictable ways of Providence, arrived at the moment of her conversion.

To be present at the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem, she asked the sailors to include her on the voyage. But she made the worst kind of exchange for her passage: she offered her body to pay the way.

In Jerusalem, she went with the pilgrims to the Church of the Holy Cross. It was there that she experienced the clash between two realities. On one hand, she clearly saw her public scandalous sin in all its ugliness. On the other hand, she became aware that the Triune God, Who in His infinite purity, has horror of this sin and does not want the sinner to stain His sanctuary. For this reason, an invisible force prevented her from entering the church.

There is also, however, the grace and the mercy of God. She retreated to the outdoor porch, and in solitude she began to repent. She saw the horridness of her crime. She realized the enormous consequences of her sinful life, and how it was just that the wrath of Heaven should prevent her from entering the sanctuary. The doors of the church that were open to everyone were closed to her because of her vile life.

On the wall of the porch there was, providentially, an icon of Our Lady. She met, then, the Mother of Mercy, the Gate of Heaven. She prayed to the right person in order to receive mercy. Our Lady offered that mercy and because Mary of Egypt accepted, she was invited to make an extraordinary penance. She fled human relations completely. For an extraordinary sin, there was an extraordinary penance.

She crossed the Jordan River and retired to the desert where she spent 47 years making penance and seeing no other person. The beauty of the famed sinner disappeared; her skin became burned and dark; her dresses shredded into tatters. In that solitude she was turned toward loving God.

In the first phase she had temptations, but then they ended. Her penance became the penance of the innocent and no longer of the penitent. She acquired a high level of virtue and was completely forgiven for the sins of her past. After that, she made penance not only for herself, but for all sinners. Before her death, God wanted her to receive His supreme proof of reconciliation, Holy Communion.

Then a saintly old monk of the desert appeared – a holy priest of those times, with a long white beard, a black habit with a long hood, and a long stick. He was walking alone in the desert, blessing animals, condemning tyrants, accusing criminals, praying and working miracles for the sick. The only man I know in modern times similar to those old fathers of the desert is Blessed Charbel Macluf, who embodied all the primitive and magnificent charm of the epoch of the desert fathers.

So, this holy Abbot in the desert came upon this creature, and asked who she was. She answered with sententious words proper to the epoch: “Father, forgive me, but when I start to tell you my story you will run from me, as from a snake, for your ears will not be able to bear the vileness of my actions and the air will be contaminated by my impurity. I am called Mary and I was born in Egypt.” This introduction has a great literary beauty and reflects the extraordinary valor of her soul.

Her love of God was so elevated that when she went to receive Communion a year later she walked over the water. This signifies that God had forgiven everything, had forgotten everything; God had become only love for her and she survived solely on divine grace. A day after she received Holy Communion, she died. The holy man returned a year later to the place in the desert where he had first met her and found her body there. She had left a last will written in the sand asking him to bury her there.

The pure Abbot had some hesitancy about burying her because she was not dressed. Further, he did not know how he was going to dig a deep enough hole to bury her with his mere hands. But for the funeral of this woman penitent who had glorified the desert, God sent the king of the desert, a lion. It is a very poetic scene to imagine the lion digging the hole while the old man looked on. He blessed her, buried her, and it was finished. It continues only as the history of Saint Mary of the Desert, which is a golden page in the History of the Church. It is a marvel to have this description of the life of such a great soul.

You can see the beauty of contrition. Our epoch does not have an accurate notion of what contrition is. The modern mentality spreads the idea that contrition is exclusively fear of God, and that fear of God expunges the love of God. With this, it considers contrition as being, in a certain way, the opposite of the love of God. Nothing is further from the truth. Why?

First, because fear of God as a virtue is a gift of the Holy Ghost that cannot obliterate the love of God. Real fear of God is a means to increase the love of God and union with Him. We can see this in the repentance of Saint Mary of the Desert, which led her to an apex of love.

Second, because contrition is not motivated principally by fear, but rather by love. What is motivated by fear is attrition. Contrition is motivated by love. One can go through his whole life growing in contrition as well as love of Our Lord and intimacy with Him. This was what Blessed Apostle Saint Peter did until he died. These things are intertwined.

Therefore, the life of Saint Mary of the Desert should not cause us terror, but rather admiration for that primitive figure of a great penitent. The Catholic Church is like a sunlit day with different colors for its different hours. Each epoch has its own color. What shines in the life of Saint Mary of the Desert is the primitive life of the Church – great sins, great penances, great mortifications, virginal innocence, and tremendous austerities. Her life is like the tolling of an old, weighty bell that sounds from the past. This light and resonance from the past should enthuse the souls who truly love Our Lady.

Let us ask Saint Mary of the Desert to give us real contrition for our sins, a contrition accompanied by peace, a contrition that brings our souls closer to Our Lady.

Α ☧ Ω

CALENDAR of the SAINTS

Anno Dómini 1 April 2012

Ceiling Paintings of Balilihan Roman Catholic church

"....and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. ~ ~ Apocalypse

Α ☧ Ω

Saint Abraham Bulgareren

Α ☧ Ω

Saint Agape of Thessalonica

Α ☧ Ω

Blessed Anacleto González Flores, Martyr

Married layman in the archdiocese of Guadalajara, Mexico. Martyred A.D. 1 April 1927 in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, during in the Mexican Revolution.

Saint Berhard of Amiens

Α ☧ Ω

Saint Caidoc

Seventh century missionary to northern France. Active in the conversion of Saint Ricarius. Relics rest in the parish of Saint-Riquier near Amiens, France.

Α ☧ Ω

Saint Catherine of Palma

Orphan who lived an unhappy childhood in the home of her paternal uncle. Felt a call to the religious life at age 15, but her confessor convinced her to wait a little. Domestic servant in Palma, Spain where she learned to read and write. Joined the Canonesses of Saint Augustine at Saint Mary Magdalen convent in Palma. Subjected to many strange phenomena and mystical experiences including visits from angels, Saint Anthony of Padua and Saint Catherine of Siena. Had the gifts of visions and prophecy. Assaulted spiritually and physically by dark powers, she sometimes went into ecstatic trances for days at a time; her wounds from this abuse were treated by Saint Cosmas and Saint Damian. During her last years she was almost continually in ecstasy. Foretold the date of her death.

Α ☧ Ω

Saint Cellach of Armagh

Ninth century abbot of Iona, Scotland. Archbishop of Armagh, Ireland. Founded the monastery of Kells.

Α ☧ Ω

Archbishop Saint Celsus of Armagh

Benedictine monk. May have been a monk at Glastonbury. Teacher at Oxford, England. Last hereditary archbishop of Armagh, Ireland A.D. 1106. Built a reputation as a reformer and able administrator. Travelled throughout Ireland, preaching reform and ensuring discipline. Helped preside at the Synod of Rath Bresail A.D 1111, which helped align the Irish church administration with the rest of Europe. Rebuilt the Armagh cathedral. Peacemaker between warring Irish kings and chieftains. Worked with, and ordained his friend Saint Malachy O’More. From his deathbed, he appointed Malachy as Archbishop of Armagh, ending the tradition of hereditary succession to the see.

Α ☧ Ω

Saint Chionia of Thessalonica

Α ☧ Ω

Bishop Saint Dodolinus of Vienne

Seventh century bishop of Vienne, France.

Α ☧ Ω

Saint Euthymios of Souzdal

Α ☧ Ω

Saint Fricor

Α ☧ Ω

Blessed Gerard of Sassoferrato

Camaldolese novice at age nine at Holy Cross abbey in Sassoferrato, Italy. Parish priest at Sassoferrato.

Α ☧ Ω

Saint Gilbert de Moray, Martyr

Α ☧ Ω

Blessed Hugh of Bonnevaux

Nephew of Saint Hugh of Grenoble. Cistercian Bendictine monk at Mezieres Abbey, joining the Order A.D. 1138. Abbot at Leoncel, France A.D. 1163. Monk at Bonnevaux Abbey A.D. 1169. Noted for gifts of spiritual discernment and for his ministry as an exorcist. Mediated the conflict between Pope Alexander III and Emperor Frederick Barbarossa A.D. 1177.

Α ☧ Ω

Bishop Saint Hugh of Grenoble

Son of a soldier named Odilo, a man known for his Christian life, and who later became a Cistercian monk; his mother was known for her life of prayer and alms-giving. Uncle of Saint Hugh of Bonnevaux. Hugh was an exceptionally good student as a child. Canon in the cathedral of Valence, France at age 25. Bishop of Grenoble, France A.D. 1080 at age 27, consecrated by Pope Gregory VII; he served there for 52 years. He went to Grenoble as a reformer, but after two years, convinced that he had not improved the lives or the holiness of his clergy, he resigned and retired to become a Benedictine monk at Chaise-Dieu in Auvergne, France; after a year of this, Pope Gregory ordered him back to Grenoble. This time his work and his example paid off – large crowds attended his preaching, his clergy brought new zeal to their ministry, the poor were cared for, and religious life had a new start in his diocese. He gave land to Saint Bruno for La Grande Chartruse abbey, and helped him found the Carthusians. Gave both his mother and his 100 year old father their Last Rites. A frequent sufferer of head pain and headaches, which led to his patronage of the problem.

Α ☧ Ω

Saint Irenaeus of Armenia, Martyr

Martyred with Saint Quintian of Armenia.

Α ☧ Ω

Saint Irene of Thessalonica, Martyr

Sister of Saint Agape and Saint Chionia. Convicted of possessing the Scriptures despite this prohibition issued in A.D. 303 by Emperor Diocletian. Saint Irene was also imprisoned for refusing food that had been offered to the gods. Following the martyrdom of her sisters, Saint Irene was ordered to deny Jesus Christ as God; she refused. She was sent to a house of prostitution, and when she was unmolested after being exposed naked and chained, she was either burned alive or shot through the throat with an arrow - records are in conflict - A.D. 304 in Thessalonica, Macedonia.

Saint Jacqueline

Α ☧ Ω

Saint Leuconus of Troyes

Α ☧ Ω

Saint Ludovico Pavoni

Trained in theology by the Dominican Father Carlo Ferrari, future bishop of Brescia, Italy. Ordained A.D. 1807. Founded an Oratory for Christian education of poor boys in Brescia. Secretary to bishop Gabrio Nava A.D. 1812.

Rector of Saint Barnabas church A.D. 1818 where soon after he founded an orphanage and associated trade school, basing his work on the idea that improving social conditions will improve the spiritual life, and improving the spiritual life will improve social conditions. In A.D. 1821 the school was named the Institute of Saint Barnabas. Along with carpentry, silversmithing, blacksmithing, shoemaking, agriculture, and tool and dye makers, the school stressed the trades of printing and publishing. In A.D. 1823 Saint Ludivico established The Publishing House of the Institute of Saint Barnabas; it exists today under the name Ancora. That same year, the school began taking in deaf and mute students.

In A.D.1825 he founded a religious congregation of priests and brothers to run the school; it became the Brothers of Mary Immaculate or Pavoniani. Pope Gregory XVI authorized it for Brescia A.D. 1843, and on A.D. 8 December 1847, Ludovico and the first members made their religious profession. Today there are 210 members in Brazil, Colombia, Eritrea, Germany, Italy and Spain, and the order still publish books.

A.D. 24 March 1849, Brescia was in rebellion against the Austrians. Both sides were ready to pillage the city and Father Ludovico led his boys to safety at Saiano, seven miles away. He died a week later as Brescia was in flames, but his boys were safe.

Α ☧ Ω

Saint Macarius the Wonder Worker

Monk at the monastery at Pelekete, taking the name Macarius. Abbot. Miracle worker. Ordained by Patriarch Tarasius of Constantinople. Imprisoned and tortured for his opposition to Emperor Leo’s orders of iconoclasm. Released by Emperor Michael the Stammerer, then exiled for his continued support of icons.

Α ☧ Ω

Saint Marcella of Auvergne

Α ☧ Ω

Saint Melitina, Martyr

Α ☧ Ω

Bishop Saint Melito of Sardis, Martyr

Bishop of Sardis in Lydia, Asia Minor. He was praised by Eusebius and had the gift of prophecy. Saint Melito had a great reputation as an ecclesiastical writer, authoring an Apologia for Christianity to Emperor Marcus Aurelius. He was also revered by Tertullian as a prophet.

Α ☧ Ω

Saint Nicholas of Neti, Martyr

Α ☧ Ω

Saint Quintian of Armenia, Martyr

Armenian martyr whose Acts are no longer extant.

Α ☧ Ω

Saint Stephen, Martyr

Executed in Egypt, probably at Alexandria, in an unknown year.

Saint Tewdric

Α ☧ Ω

Saint Theodora of Rome, Martyr

Roman martyr. According to the Acta of Pope St. Alexander, she was the sister of Saint Hermes. She had given aid and care to her brother during his difficult time in prison. Saint Theodora was martyred A.D. 125 in Rome, Italy.

Α ☧ Ω

Bishop Saint Venantius of Dalmatia, Croatia, Martyr

Bishop and martyr. A prelate serving in Dalmatia, Croatia, he was executed during the persecutions of Catholics by the Roman government. His relics were translated from Split ( Spalato ), Dalmatia, to the Lateran Basilica in Rome under Pope John IV.

Α ☧ Ω

Saint Victor, Martyr

Executed in Egypt, probably at Alexandria, in an unknown year.

Α ☧ Ω

Saint Valery of Leucone

Monk at Luxeuil Abbey. Founded the monastery of Leuconay, France. The town of Saint-Valery-sur-Somme was named for him.

RULES FOR FASTING

Everyone over 21 and 59 years of age is bound to observe the law of faSaint The days of fast are all the days in Lent, all days of partial abstinence except Sundays. On days of fast only one full meal is allowed. Two other meatless meals, sufficient to maintain strength may be taken according to each one's need, but together they should not equal another full meal. Meat may be taken at the principal meal on a day of fast except on days of complete abstinence. Eating between meals is not permitted but liquids, including milk and fruit juices are allowed. When health or ability to work would be seriously affected, the law does not oblige. In doubt concerning fast or abstinence, consult your parish priest or confessor.

RULES FOR ABSTINENCE

Everyone over 7 years of age is bound to observe the law of abstinence. Complete abstinence is to be observed on Fridays, Ash Wednesday, Holy Saturday and the Vigils of the Immaculate Conception (December 7) and Christmas (December 24). On days of complete abstinence, meat and soup or gravy made from meat may not be used at all. Partial abstinence is to be observed on Ember Wednesdays and Saturdays and the vigil of Pentecost (Saturday before). On days of partial abstinence, (which are all the days of Lent) which are not complete abstinence days or Sundays, meat and soup or gravy made from meat may be taken only once a day at the principal meal.

To be a Roman Rite Catholic you must believe the body of Jesus Christ Christ is present in each consecrated wafer ( Holy Eucharist ); that the sacrifice of Calvary is repeated at every Mass; and that he gives Himself to us in the form of Holy Communion to sustain His creation ( you ) as His tabernacle.

Eucharistic Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in the Tabernacle or through exposition :

Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration is a wonderful devotion that adores Jesus Christ present in the Blessed Sacrament. Through a deeper love and closer relationship with Jesus Christ, you acquire the strength, healing and peace to make it through your pilgrimage of life and to achieve your ultimate goal - Heaven and the Beatific Vision.

In many ways, Our Lord, is calling us to worship and receive Him in the EuchariSaint He speaks this desire in many ways: through the Pope and the Magisterium of the Church, in the Bible ( Blessed Apostle Saint John 6 ), through his Blessed Mother in approved Marian apparitions, through the testimonies of Saints and Martyrs, through Eucharistic miracles, through Church approved messages given by Jesus Christ by Divine Revelation, through our souls who long for Jesus Christ in Communion, and through our suffering world which is in much need of prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. Unfortunately many of us disbelieve or have grown indifferent towards Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament.

Holy Mother most merciful, we implore the infinite mercy of thy Son even more, for now doth the world and the Church so reek of doubt and error. Everywhere thy Son is blasphemed and smited in the Holy Eucharist;

But what is still worse is the apostasy of both clerics and laity who no longer hold dear the whole and summit of our Faith; His Sacrifice and Sacrament of Body and Blood. In our un-dying love of the Bread of Life, the Everlasting Manna, the Holiest of Holies; we render unto thy Son adoration, thanksgiving, and atonement in reparation for these heinous acts of blasphemy. Would that we could shed our own blood to make them cease.

Again, Holy Mother, thou who art the enemy of the serpent, send forth thy legions to protect thy Son in the Blessed Sacrament, and command thy legions to act upon the mind and will of those who would blaspheme our Lord's Body and Blood.

COMMUNION IN THE HAND BY ONE NOT CONSECRATED

REMAINS A PROHIBITED AND CONDEMNED ABOMINATION

WITHIN THE HOLY AND APOSTOLIC CHURCH

"Communion in the hand" is a Protestant innovation foisted upon the Roman Rite Catholic world in the name of false ecumenism. The Novus Ordo practice of communion in the hand is rooted in the rejection of the Catholic doctrine on the Holy Eucharist and the denial of the Catholic priesthood.

The Church has condemned communion in the hand from the early centuries :

Pope Saint Sixtus ( 115-125 ). Prohibited the faithful from even touching the Sacred Vessels: "Statutum est ut sacra vasa non ab aliis quam a sacratis Dominoque dicatis contrectentur hominibus..." [It has been decreed that the Sacred Vessels are not to be handled by others than by those consecrated and dedicated to the Lord.]

Pope Saint Eutychian ( 275-283 ). Forbade the faithful from taking the Sacred Host in their hand.

Saint Basil The Great, Doctor of The Church ( 330-379 ). "The right to receive Holy Communion in the hand is permitted only in time of persecution." Saint Basil considered Communion in the hand so irregular that he did not hesitate to consider it a grave fault.

COUNCIL OF SARAGOSSA ( 380 ). It was decided to punish with EXCOMMUNICATION anyone who dared to continue the practice of Holy Communion in the hand. The Synod of Toledo confirmed this decree.

Pope Saint Leo The Great ( 440-461 ). Energetically defended and required faithful obedience to the practice of administering Holy Communion on the tongue of the faithful.

SYNOD OF ROUEN (650). Condemned Communion in the hand to halt widespread abuses that occurred from this practice, and as a safeguard against sacrilege.

SIXTH ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, AT CONSTANTINOPLE (680-681). Forbade the faithful to take the Sacred Host in their hand, threatening the transgressors with excommunication.

Saint Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274). "Out of reverence towards this sacrament [ the Holy Eucharist ], nothing touches it, but what is consecrated; hence the corporal and the chalice are consecrated, and likewise the priest's hands, for touching this sacrament." ( Summa Theologica, Pars III, Q. 82, Art. 3, Rep. Obj. 8 ).

COUNCIL OF TRENT (1545-1565). "The fact that only the priest gives Holy Communion with his consecrated hands is an Apostolic Tradition."

Pope Paul VI ( 1963-1978 ). "This method [on the tongue] must be retained." (Apostolic Epistle "Memoriale Domini" ).

Pope John Paul II. "To touch the sacred species and to distribute them with their own hands is a privilege of the ordained. ( Dominicae Cenae, sec. 11)

"It is not permitted that the faithful should themselves pick up the consecrated bread and the sacred chalice, still less that they should hand them from one to another." ( Inaestimabile Donum, April 17, 1980, sec. 9).

The Sacrifice of the Eucharist as the central act of worship of the Roman Rite Catholic Church. The "Mass" is a late form of mission (sending), from which the faithful are sent to put into practice what they have learned and use the graces they have received in the Eucharistic liturgy. The Mass cannot be understood apart from Calvary, of which it is a re-presentation, memorial, and effective application of the merits gained by ChriSaint

"Now as they were eating, Jesus Christ took bread, and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, "Take, eat; this is my body.' And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, "Drink of it, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins." ( Blessed Apostle Saint Matthew 26:26-28 ).

THE HOLY EUCHARIST

MIRAE CARITATIS
ENCYCLICAL OF POPE LEO XIII
ON DEVOTION TO THE HOLY EUCHARIST

To Our Venerable Brethren the Patriarchs, Primates,

Archbishops, and other Ordinaries, having Peace and in Communion with the Holy See.

Venerable Brethren, Health and Apostolic Benediction.

1. To examine into the nature and to promote the effects of those manifestations of His wondrous love which, like rays of light, stream forth from Jesus Christ-this, as befits Our sacred office, has ever been, and this, with His help, to the last breath of Our life will ever be Our earnest aim and endeavor. For, whereas Our lot has been cast in an age that is bitterly hostile to justice and truth, we have not failed, as you have been reminded by the Apostolic letter which we recently addressed to you, to do what in us lay, by Our instructions and admonitions, and by such practical measures as seemed best suited for their purpose, to dissipate the contagion of error in its many shapes, and to strengthen the sinews of the Christian life. Among these efforts of Ours there are two in particular, of recent memory, closely related to each other, from the recollection whereof we gather some fruit of comfort, the more seasonable by reason of the many causes of sorrow that weigh us down. One of these is the occasion on which We directed, as a thing most desirable, that the entire human race should be consecrated by a special act to the Sacred Heart of Christ our Redeemer; the other that on which We so urgently exhorted all those who bear the name Christian to cling loyally to Him Who, by divine ordinance, is "the Way, the Truth, and the Life," not for individuals alone but for every rightly constituted society. And now that same apostolic charity, ever watchful over the vicissitudes of the Church, moves and in a manner compels Us to add one thing more, in order to fill up the measure of what We have already conceived and carried out. This is, to commend to all Christians, more earnestly than heretofore, the all-holy Eucharist, forasmuch as it is a divine gift proceeding from the very Heart of the Redeemer, Who "with desire desireth" this singular mode of union with men, a gift most admirably adapted to be the means whereby the salutary fruits of His redemption may be distributed. Indeed We have not failed in the past, more than once, to use Our authority and to exercise Our zeal in this behalf. It gives Us much pleasure to recall to mind that We have officially approved, and enriched with canonical privileges, not a few institutions and confraternities having for their object the perpetual adoration of the Sacred Host; that We have encouraged the holding of Eucharistic Congresses, the results of which have been as profitable as the attendance at them has been numerous and distinguished; that We have designated as the heavenly patron of these and similar undertakings Saint Paschal Baylon, whose devotion to the mystery of the Eucharist was so extraordinary.

2. Accordingly, Venerable Brethren, it has seemed good to Us to address you on certain points connected with this same mystery, for the defense and honor of which the solicitude of the Church has been so constantly engaged, for which Martyrs have given their lives, which has afforded to men of the highest genius a theme to be illustrated by their learning, their eloquence, their skill in all the arts; and this We will do in order to render more clearly evident and more widely known those special characteristics by virtue of which it is so singularly adapted to the needs of these our times. It was towards the close of His mortal life that Christ our Lord left this memorial of His measureless love for men, this powerful means of support "for the life of the world" (Blessed Apostle Saint John VI., 52 ). And precisely for this reason, We, being so soon to depart from this life, can wish for nothing better than that it may be granted to us to stir up and foster in the hearts of all men the dispositions of mindful gratitude and due devotion towards this wondrous Sacrament, wherein most especially lie, as We hold, the hope and the efficient cause of salvation and of that peace which all men so anxiously seek.

3. Some there are, no doubt, who will express their surprise that for the manifold troubles and grievous afflictions by which our age is harassed We should have determined to seek for remedies and redress in this quarter rather than elsewhere, and in some, perchance, Our words will excite a certain peevish disgust. But this is only the natural result of pride; for when this vice has taken possession of the heart, it is inevitable that Christian faith, which demands a most willing docility, should languish, and that a murky darkness in regard of divine truths should close in upon the mind; so that in the case of many these words should be made good: "Whatever things they know not, they blaspheme" ( Saint Jude, 10 ). We, however, so far from being hereby turned aside from the design which We have taken in hand, are on the contrary determined all the more zealously and diligently to hold up the light for the guidance of the well disposed, and, with the help of the united prayers of the faithful, earnestly to implore forgiveness for those who speak evil of holy things.

4. To know with an entire faith what is the excellence of the Most Holy Eucharist is in truth to know what that work is which, in the might of His mercy, God, made man, carried out on behalf of the human race. For as a right faith teaches us to acknowledge and to worship Christ as the sovereign cause of our salvation, since He by His wisdom, His laws, His ordinances, His example, and by the shedding of His blood, made all things new; so the same faith likewise teaches us to acknowledge Him and to worship Him as really present in the Eucharist, as verily abiding through all time in the midst of men, in order that as their Master, their Good Shepherd, their most acceptable Advocate with the Father, He may impart to them of His own inexhaustible abundance the benefits of that redemption which He has accomplished. Now if any one will seriously consider the benefits which flow from the Eucharist he will understand that conspicuous and chief among them all is that in which the rest, without exception, are included; in a word it is for men the source of life, of that life which best deserves the name. "The bread which I will give is my flesh, for the life of the world" ( Blessed Apostle Saint John VI., 52 ). In more than one way, as We have elsewhere declared, is Christ "the life." He Himself declared that the reason of His advent among men was this, that He might bring them the assured fullness of a more than merely human life. "I am come that they may have life, and may have it more abundantly" ( Blessed Apostle Saint John X., 10 ). Everyone is aware that no sooner had "the goodness and kindness of God our Savior appeared" ( Tit. III., 4 ), than there at once burst forth a certain creative force which issued in a new order of things and pushed through all the veins of society, civil and domestic. Hence arose new relations between man and man; new rights and new duties, public and private; henceforth a new direction was given to government, to education, to the arts; and most important of all, man's thoughts and energies were turned towards religious truth and the pursuit of holiness. Thus was life communicated to man, a life truly heavenly and divine. And thus we are to account for those expressions which so often occur in Holy Writ, "the tree of life," "the word of life," "the book of life," "the crown of life," and particularly "the bread of life."

5. But now, since this life of which We are speaking bears v a definite resemblance to the natural life of man, as the one draws its nourishment and strength from food, so also the other must have its own food whereby it may be sustained and augmented. And here it will be opportune to recall to mind on what occasion and in what manner Christ moved and prepared the hearts of men for the worthy and due reception of the living bread which He was about to give them. No sooner had the rumor spread of the miracle which He had wrought on the shores of the lake of Tiberias, when with the multiplied loaves He fed the multitude, than many forthwith flocked to Him in the hope that they, too, perchance, might be the recipients of like favor. And, just as He had taken occasion from the water which she had drawn from the well to stir up in the Samaritan woman a thirst for that "water which springeth up unto life everlasting" ( Blessed Apostle Saint John IV., 14 ), so now Jesus availed Himself of this opportunity to excite in the minds of the multitude a keen hunger for the bread "which endureth unto life everlasting" ( Blessed Apostle Saint John VI., 27 ). Or, as He was careful to explain to them, was the bread which He promised the same as that heavenly manna which had been given to their fathers during their wanderings in the desert, or again the same as that which, to their amazement, they had recently received from Him; but He was Himself that bread: "I," said He, "am the bread of life" ( Blessed Apostle Saint John VI., 48 ). And He urges this still further upon them all both by invitation and by precept: "if any man shall eat of this bread, he shall live for ever; and the bread which I will give is my flesh, for the life of the world" ( Blessed Apostle Saint John VI., 52). And in these other words He brings home to them the gravity of the precept: "Amen, Amen, I say to you, unless you shall eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you shall not have life in you" ( Blessed Apostle Saint John VI., 54 ). Away then with the widespread but most mischievous error of those who give it as their opinion that the reception of the Eucharist is in a manner reserved for those narrow-minded persons ( as they are deemed ) who rid themselves of the cares of the world in order to find rest in some kind of professedly religious life. For this gift, than which nothing can be more excellent or more conducive to salvation, is offered to all those, whatever their office or dignity may be, who wish-as every one ought to wish-to foster in themselves that life of divine grace whose goal is the attainment of the life of blessedness with God.

6. Indeed it is greatly to be desired that those men would rightly esteem and would make due provision for life everlasting, whose industry or talents or rank have put it in their power to shape the course of human events. But alas! we see with sorrow that such men too often proudly flatter themselves that they have conferred upon this world as it were a fresh lease of life and prosperity, inasmuch as by their own energetic action they are urging it on to the race for wealth, to a struggle for the possession of commodities which minister to the love of comfort and display. And yet, whither-so-ever we turn, we see that human society, if it be estranged from God, instead of enjoying that peace in its possessions for which it had sought, is shaken and tossed like one who is in the agony and heat of fever; for while it anxiously strives for prosperity, and trusts to it alone, it is pursuing an object that ever escapes it, clinging to one that ever eludes the grasp. For as men and states alike necessarily have their being from God, so they can do nothing good except in God through Jesus Christ, through whom every best and choicest gift has ever proceeded and proceeds. But the source and chief of all these gifts is the venerable Eucharist, which not only nourishes and sustains that life the desire whereof demands our most strenuous efforts, but also enhances beyond measure that dignity of man of which in these days we hear so much. For what can be more honorable or a more worthy object of desire than to be made, as far as possible, sharers and partakers in the divine nature? Now this is precisely what Christ does for us in the Eucharist, wherein, after having raised man by the operation of His grace to a supernatural state, he yet more closely associates and unites him with Himself. For there is this difference between the food of the body and that of the soul, that whereas the former is changed into our substance, the latter changes us into its own; so that Saint Augustine makes Christ Himself say: "You shall not change Me into yourself as you do the food of your body, but you shall be changed into Me" ( confessions 1. VII., C.X. ).

7. Moreover, in this most admirable Sacrament, which is the chief means whereby men are engrafted on the divine nature, men also find the most efficacious help towards progress in every kind of virtue. And first of all in faith. In all ages faith has been attacked; for although it elevates the human mind by bestowing on it the knowledge of the highest truths, yet because, while it makes known the existence of divine mysteries, it yet leaves in obscurity the mode of their being, it is therefore thought to degrade the intellect. But whereas in past times particular articles of faith have been made by turns the object of attack; the seat of war has since been enlarged and extended, until it has come to this, that men deny altogether that there is anything above and beyond nature. Now nothing can be better adapted to promote a renewal of the strength and fervor of faith in the human mind than the mystery of the Eucharist, the "mystery of faith," as it has been most appropriately called. For in this one mystery the entire supernatural order, with all its wealth and variety of wonders, is in a manner summed up and contained: "He hath made a remembrance of His wonderful works, a merciful and gracious Lord; He hath given food to them that fear Him" ( Psalm CX, 4-5 ). For whereas God has subordinated the whole supernatural order to the Incarnation of His Word, in virtue whereof salvation has been restored to the human race, according to those words of the Apostle; "He hath purposed...to re-establish all things in Christ, that are in heaven and on earth, in Him" (Eph. I., 9-10), the Eucharist, according to the testimony of the holy Fathers, should be regarded as in a manner a continuation and extension of the Incarnation. For in and by it the substance of the incarnate Word is united with individual men, and the supreme Sacrifice offered on Calvary is in a wondrous manner renewed, as was signified beforehand by Malachi in the words: "In every place there is sacrifice, and there is offered to My name a pure oblation" (Mal. I., 11). And this miracle, itself the very greatest of its kind, is accompanied by innumerable other miracles; for here all the laws of nature are suspended; the whole substance of the bread and wine are changed into the Body and the Blood; the species of bread and wine are sustained by the divine power without the support of any underlying substance; the Body of Christ is present in many places at the same time, that is to say, wherever the Sacrament is consecrated. And in order that human reason may the more willingly pay its homage to this great mystery, there have not been wanting, as an aid to faith, certain prodigies wrought in His honor, both in ancient times and in our own, of which in more than one place there exist public and notable records and memorials. It is plain that by this Sacrament faith is fed, in it the mind finds its nourishment, the objections of rationalists are brought to naught, and abundant light is thrown on the supernatural order.

8. But that decay of faith in divine things of which We have spoken is the effect not only of pride, but also of moral corruption. For if it is true that a strict morality improves the quickness of man's intellectual powers, and if on the other hand, as the maxims of pagan philosophy and the admonitions of divine wisdom combine to teach us, the keenness of the mind is blunted by bodily pleasures, how much more, in the region of revealed truths, do these same pleasures obscure the light of faith, or even, by the just judgment of God, entirely extinguish it. For these pleasures at the present day an insatiable appetite rages, infecting all classes as with an infectious disease, even from tender years. Yet even for so terrible an evil there is a remedy close at hand in the divine Eucharist. For in the first place it puts a check on lust by increasing charity, according to the words of Saint Augustine, who says, speaking of charity, "As it grows, lust diminishes; when it reaches perfection, lust is no more" ( De diversis quaestionibus, IXXXIII., q. 36 ). Moreover the most chaste flesh of Jesus keeps down the rebellion of our flesh, as Saint Cyril of Alexandria taught, "For Christ abiding in us lulls to sleep the law of the flesh which rages in our members" ( Lib. IV., c. II., in Joan., VI., 57 ). Then too the special and most pleasant fruit of the Eucharist is that which is signified in the words of the prophet: "What is the good thing of Him," that is, of Christ, "and what is His beautiful thing, but the corn of the elect and the wine that engendered virgins" ( Zach. IX., 17 ), producing, in other words, that flower and fruitage of a strong and constant purpose of virginity which, even in an age enervated by luxury, is daily multiplied and spread abroad in the Catholic Church, with those advantages to religion and to human society, wherever it is found, which are plain to see.

9. To this it must be added that by this same Sacrament our hope of everlasting blessedness, based on our trust in the divine assistance, is wonderfully strengthened. For the edge of that longing for happiness which is so deeply rooted in the hearts of all men from their birth is whetted even more and more by the experience of the deceitfulness of earthly goods, by the unjust violence of wicked men, and by all those other afflictions to which mind and body are subject. Now the venerable Sacrament of the Eucharist is both the source and the pledge of blessedness and of glory, and this, not for the soul alone, but for the body also. For it enriches the soul with an abundance of heavenly blessings, and fills it with a sweet joy which far surpasses man's hope and expectations; it sustains him in adversity, strengthens him in the spiritual combat, preserves him for life everlasting, and as a special provision for the journey accompanies him thither. And in the frail and perishable body that divine Host, which is the immortal Body of Christ, implants a principle of resurrection, a seed of immortality, which one day must germinate. That to this source man's soul and body will be indebted for both these boons has been the constant teaching of the Church, which has dutifully reaffirmed the affirmation of Christ: "He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day" ( Blessed Apostle Saint John VI., 55 ).

10. In connection with this matter it is of importance to consider that in the Eucharist, seeing that it was instituted by Christ as "a perpetual memorial of His Passion" ( Opusc. IVII. Office. de festo Corporis Christi ), is proclaimed to the Christian the necessity of a salutary self-chastisement. For Jesus said to those first priests of His: "Do this in memory of Me" ( Blessed Apostle Saint Luke XXII, 18 ); that is to say, do this for the commemoration of My pains, My sorrows, My grievous afflictions, My death upon the Cross. Wherefore this Sacrament is at the same time a Sacrifice, seasonable throughout the entire period of our penance; and it is likewise a standing exhortation to all manner of toil, and a solemn and severe rebuke to those carnal pleasures which some are not ashamed so highly to praise and extol: "As often as ye shall eat this bread, and drink this chalice, ye shall announce the death of the Lord, until He come" ( 1 Cor. XI., 26 ).

11. Furthermore, if anyone will diligently examine into the causes of the evils of our day, he will find that they arise from this, that as charity towards God has grown cold, the mutual charity of men among themselves has likewise cooled. Men have forgotten that they are children of God and brethren in Jesus Christ; they care for nothing except their own individual interests; the interests and the rights of others they not only make light of, but often attack and invade. Hence frequent disturbances and strife between class and class: arrogance, oppression, fraud on the part of the more powerful: misery, envy, and turbulence among the poor. These are evils for which it is in vain to seek a remedy in legislation, in threats of penalties to be incurred, or in any other device of merely human prudence. Our chief care and endeavor ought to be, according to the admonitions which We have more than once given at considerable length, to secure the union of classes in a mutual interchange of dutiful services, a union which, having its origin in God, shall issue in deeds that reflect the true spirit of Jesus Christ and a genuine charity. This charity Christ brought into the world, with it He would have all hearts on fire. For it alone is capable of affording to soul and body alike, even in this life, a foretaste of blessedness; since it restrains man's inordinate self-love, and puts a check on avarice, which "is the root of all evil" (1 Blessed Apostle Saint Timothy. VI., 10 ). And whereas it is right to uphold all the claims of justice as between the various classes of society, nevertheless it is only with the efficacious aid of charity, which tempers justice, that the "equality" which Blessed Apostle Saint Paul commended ( 2 Cor. VIII., 14 ), and which is so salutary for human society, can be established and maintained. This then is what Christ intended when he instituted this Venerable Sacrament, namely, by awakening charity towards God to promote mutual charity among men. For the latter, as is plain, is by its very nature rooted in the former, and springs from it by a kind of spontaneous growth. Nor is it possible that there should be any lack of charity among men, or rather it must needs be enkindled and flourish, if men would but ponder well the charity which Christ has shown in this Sacrament. For in it He has not only given a splendid manifestation of His power and wisdom, but "has in a manner poured out the riches of His divine love towards men" ( Conc. Trid., Sess. XIII., De Euch. c. II. ). Having before our eyes this noble example set us by Christ, Who bestows on us all that He has assuredly we ought to love and help one another to the utmost, being daily more closely united by the strong bond of brotherhood. Add to this that the outward and visible elements of this Sacrament supply a singularly appropriate stimulus to union. On this topic Saint Cyprian writes: "In a word the Lord's sacrifice symbolizes the oneness of heart, guaranteed by a persevering and inviolable charity, which should prevail among Christians. For when our Lord calls His Body bread, a substance which is kneaded together out of many grains, He indicates that we His people, whom He sustains, are bound together in close union; and when He speaks of His Blood as wine, in which the juice pressed from many clusters of grapes is mingled in one fluid, He likewise indicates that we His flock are by the commingling of a multitude of persons made one" (Ep. 96 ad Magnum n. 5 (al.6)). In like manner the angelic Doctor, adopting the sentiments of Saint Augustine ( Tract. XXXVI., in Joan nun. 13, 17), writes: "Our Lord has bequeathed to us His Body and Blood under the form of substances in which a multitude of things have been reduced to unity, for one of them, namely bread, consisting as it does of many grains is yet one, and the other, that is to say wine, has its unity of being from the confluent juice of many grapes; and therefore Saint Augustine elsewhere says: 'O Sacrament of mercy, O sign of unity, O bond of charity!' " ( Sum. Theol. P. III., q. IXXIX., a. 1. ). All of which is confirmed by the declaration of the Council of Trent that Christ left the Eucharist in His Church "as a symbol of that unity and charity whereby He would have all Christians mutually joined and united. . . a symbol of that one body of which He is Himself the head, and to which He would have us, as members attached by the closest bonds of faith, hope, and charity" ( Conc. Trid., Sess. XIII., De Euchar., c. ii.). The same idea had been expressed by Blessed Apostle Saint Paul when he wrote: "For we, being many, are one bread, one body, all we who partake of the one bread" ( I Cor. X., 17 ). Very beautiful and joyful too is the spectacle of Christian brotherhood and social equality which is afforded when men of all conditions, gentle and simple, rich and poor, learned and unlearned, gather round the holy altar, all sharing alike in this heavenly banquet. And if in the records of the Church it is deservedly reckoned to the special credit of its first ages that "the multitude of the believers had but one heart and one soul" ( Acts IV., 32 ), there can be no shadow of doubt that this immense blessing was due to their frequent meetings at the Divine table; for we find it recorded of them: "They were persevering in the doctrine of the Apostles and in the communion of the breaking of bread" (Acts II., 42).

12. Besides all this, the grace of mutual charity among the living, which derives from the Sacrament of the Eucharist so great an increase of strength, is further extended by virtue of the Sacrifice to all those who are numbered in the Communion of Saints. For the Communion of Saints, as everyone knows, is nothing but the mutual communication of help, expiation, prayers, blessings, among all the faithful, who, whether they have already attained to the heavenly country, or are detained in the purgatorial fire, or are yet exiles here on earth, all enjoy the common franchise of that city whereof Christ is the head, and the constitution is charity. For faith teaches us, that although the venerable Sacrifice may be lawfully offered to God alone, yet it may be celebrated in honor of the saints reigning in heaven with God Who has crowned them, in order that we may gain for ourselves their patronage. And it may also be offered-in accordance with an apostolic tradition-for the purpose of expiating the sins of those of the brethren who, having died in the Lord, have not yet fully paid the penalty of their transgressions.

13. That genuine charity, therefore, which knows how to do and to suffer all things for the salvation and the benefit of all, leaps forth with all the heat and energy of a flame from that most holy Eucharist in which Christ Himself is present and lives, in which He indulges to the utmost. His love towards us, and under the impulse of that divine love ceaselessly renews His Sacrifice. And thus it is not difficult to see whence the arduous labors of apostolic men, and whence those innumerable designs of every kind for the welfare of the human race which have been set on foot among Catholics, derive their origin, their strength, their permanence, their success.

14. These few words on a subject so vast will, we doubt not, prove most helpful to the Christian flock, if you in your zeal, Venerable Brethren, will cause them to be expounded and enforced as time and occasion may serve. But indeed a Sacrament so great and so rich in all manner of blessings can never be extolled as it deserves by human eloquence, nor adequately venerated by the worship of man. This Sacrament, whether as the theme of devout meditation, or as the object of public adoration, or best of all as a food to be received in the utmost purity of conscience, is to be regarded as the center towards which the spiritual life of a Christian in all its ambit gravitates; for all other forms of devotion, whatsoever they may be, lead up to it, and in it find their point of rest. In this mystery more than in any other that gracious invitation and still more gracious promise of Christ is realized and finds its daily fulfillment: "Come to me all ye that labor and are heavily burdened, and I will refresh you" ( Blessed Apostle Saint Matthew XI., 28 ).

15. In a word this Sacrament is, as it were, the very soul of the Church; and to it the grace of the priesthood is ordered and directed in all its fullness and in each of its successive grades. From the same source the Church draws and has all her strength, all her glory, her every supernatural endowment and adornment, every good thing that is here; wherefore she makes it the chiefest of all her cares to prepare the hearts of the faithful for an intimate union with Christ through the Sacrament of His Body and Blood, and to draw them thereto. And to this end she strives to promote the veneration of the august mystery by surrounding it with holy ceremonies. To this ceaseless and ever watchful care of the Church or Mother, our attention is drawn by that exhortation which was uttered by the holy Council of Trent, and which is so much to the purpose that for the benefit of the Christian people We here reproduce it in its entirety. "The Holy Synod admonishes, exhorts, asks and implores by the tender mercy of our God, that all and each of those who bear the name of Christian should at last unite and find peace in this sign of unity, in this bond of charity, in this symbol of concord; and that, mindful of the great majesty and singular love of Jesus Christ our Lord, Who gave His precious life as the price of our salvation, and His flesh for our food, they should believe and revere these sacred mysteries of His Body and Blood with such constancy of unwavering faith, with such interior devotion and worshipful piety, that they may be in condition to receive frequently that super-substantial bread, and that it may be to them the life of their souls and keep their mind in soundness of faith; so that strengthened with its strength they may be enabled after the journey of this sorrowful pilgrimage to reach the heavenly country, there to see and feed upon that bread of angels which here they eat under the sacramental veils" ( Conc. Trid., Sess. XXII., c. VI ).

16. History bears witness that the virtues of the Christian life have flourished best wherever and whenever the frequent reception of the Eucharist has most prevailed. And on the other hand it is no less certain that in days when men have ceased to care for this heavenly bread, and have lost their appetite for it, the practice of Christian religion has gradually lost its force and vigor. And indeed it was a needful measure of precaution against a complete falling away that Innocent III., in the Council of the Lateran, most strictly enjoined that no Christian should abstain from receiving the communion of the Lord's Body at least in the solemn paschal season. But it is clear that this precept was imposed with regret, and only as a last resource; for it has always been the desire of the Church that at every Mass some of the faithful should be present and should communicate. "The holy Synod would wish that in every celebration of the Mass some of the faithful should take part, not only by devoutly assisting thereat, but also by the sacramental reception of the Eucharist, in order that they might more abundantly partake of the fruits of this holy Sacrifice" ( conc. Trid., Sess. XIII. de Euchar. c. VIII).

17. Most abundant, assuredly, are the salutary benefits which are stored up in this most venerable mystery, regarded as a Sacrifice; a Sacrifice which the Church is accordingly wont to offer daily "for the salvation of the whole world." And it is fitting, indeed in this age it is especially important, that by means of the united efforts of the devout, the outward honor and the inward reverence paid to this Sacrifice should be alike increased. Accordingly it is our wish that its manifold excellence may be both more widely known and more attentively considered. There are certain general principles the truth of which can be plainly perceived by the light of reason; for instance, that the dominion of God our Creator and Preserver over all men, whether in their private or in their public life, is supreme and absolute; that our whole being and all that we possess, whether individually or as members of society, comes from the divine bounty; that we on our part are bound to show to God, as our Lord, the highest reverence, and, as He is our greatest benefactor, the deepest gratitude. But how many are there who at the present day acknowledge and discharge these duties with full and exact observance? In no age has the spirit of contumacy and an attitude of defiance towards God been more prevalent than in our own; an age in which that unholy cry of the enemies of Christ: "We will not have this man to rule over us" ( Blessed Apostle Saint Luke xix., 14 ), makes itself more and more loudly heard, together with the utterance of that wicked purpose: "let us make away with Him" ( Jer. XI., II ); nor is there any motive by which many are hurried on with more passionate fury, than the desire utterly to banish God not only from the civil government, but from every form of human society. And although men do not everywhere proceed to this extremity of criminal madness, it is a lamentable thing that so many are sunk in oblivion of the divine Majesty and of His favors, and in particular of the salvation wrought for us by Christ. Now a remedy must be found for this wickedness on the one hand, and this sloth on the other, in a general increase among the faithful of fervent devotion towards the Eucharistic Sacrifice, than which nothing can give greater honor, nothing be more pleasing, to God. For it is a divine Victim which is here immolated; and accordingly through this Victim we offer to the most blessed Trinity all that honor which the infinite dignity of the Godhead demands; infinite in value and infinitely acceptable is the gift which we present to the Father in His only-begotten son; so that for His benefits to us we not only signify our gratitude, but actually make an adequate return.

18. Moreover there is another twofold fruit which we may and must derive from this great Sacrifice. The heart is saddened when it considers what a flood of wickedness, the result—as We have said—of forgetfulness and contempt of the divine Majesty, has inundated the world. It is not too much to say that a great part of the human race seems to be calling down upon itself the anger of heaven; though indeed the crop of evils which has grown up here on earth is already ripening to a just judgment. Here then is a motive whereby the faithful may be stirred to a devout and earnest Endeavour to appease God the avenger of sin, and to win from Him the help which is so needful in these calamitous times. And they should see that such blessings are to be sought principally by means of this Sacrifice. For it is only in virtue of the death which Christ suffered that men can satisfy, and that most abundantly, the demands of God's justice, and can obtain the plenteous gifts of His clemency. And Christ has willed that the whole virtue of His death, alike for expiation and impetration, should abide in the Eucharist, which is no mere empty commemoration thereof, but a true and wonderful though bloodless and mystical renewal of it.

19. To conclude, we gladly acknowledge that it has been a cause of no small joy to us that during these last years a renewal of love and devotion towards the Sacrament of the Eucharist has, as it seems, begun to show itself in the hearts of the faithful; a fact which encourages us to hope for better times and a more favorable state of affairs. Many and varied, as we said at the commencement, are the expedients which an inventive piety has devised; and worthy of special mention are the confraternities instituted either with the object of carrying out the Eucharistic ritual with greater splendor, or for the perpetual adoration of the venerable Sacrament by day and night, or for the purpose of making reparation for the blasphemies and insults of which it is the object. But neither We nor you, Venerable Brethren, can allow ourselves to rest satisfied with what has hitherto been done; for there remain many things which must be further developed or begun anew, to the end that this most divine of gifts this greatest of mysteries, may be better understood and more worthily honored and revered, even by those who already take their part in the religious services of the Church. Wherefore, works of this kind which have been already set on foot must be ever more zealously promoted; old undertakings must be revived wherever perchance they may have fallen into decay; for instance, Confraternities of the holy Eucharist, intercessory prayers before the blessed Sacrament exposed for the veneration of the faithful, solemn processions, devout visits to God's tabernacle, and other holy and salutary practices of some kind; nothing must be omitted which a prudent piety may suggest as suitable. But the chief aim of our efforts must be that the frequent reception of the Eucharist may be everywhere revived among Catholic peoples. For this is the lesson which is taught us by the example, already referred to, of the primitive Church, by the decrees of Councils, by the authority of the Fathers and of the holy men in all ages. For the soul, like the body, needs frequent nourishment; and the holy Eucharist provides that food which is best adapted to the support of its life. Accordingly all hostile prejudices, those vain fears to which so many yield, and their specious excuses from abstaining from the Eucharist, must be resolutely put aside; for there is question here of a gift than which none other can be more serviceable to the faithful people, either for the redeeming of time from the tyranny of anxious cares concerning perishable things, or for the renewal of the Christian spirit and perseverance therein. To this end the exhortations and example of all those who occupy a prominent position will powerfully contribute, but most especially the resourceful and diligent zeal of the clergy. For priests, to whom Christ our Redeemer entrusted the office of consecrating and dispensing the mystery of His Body and Blood, can assuredly make no better return for the honor which has been conferred upon them, than by promoting with all their might the glory of his Eucharist, and by inviting and drawing the hearts of men to the health-giving springs of this great Sacrament and Sacrifice, seconding hereby the longings of His most Sacred Heart.

20. May God grant that thus, in accordance with Our earnest desire, the excellent fruits of the Eucharist may daily manifest themselves in greater abundance, to the happy increase of faith, hope, and charity, and of all Christian virtues; and may this turn to the recovery and advantage of the whole body politic; and may the wisdom of God's most provident charity, Who instituted this mystery for all time "for the life of the world," shine forth with an ever brighter light.

21. Encouraged by such hopes as these, Venerable Brethren, We, as a presage of the divine liberality and as a pledge of our own charity, most lovingly bestow on each of you, and on the clergy and flock committed to the care of each, our Apostolic Benediction.

Given at Rome, at Blessed Apostle Saint Peter's on the 28th day of May, being the Vigil of the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, in the year 1902, of Our Pontificate the five and twentieth.

An Offering of Yourself to Christ in the Eucharist

My Lord, I offer Thee myself in turn as a sacrifice of thanksgiving. Thou hast died for me, and I in turn make myself over to Thee. I am not my own. Thou hast bought me; I will by my own act and deed complete the purchase. My wish is to be separated from everything of this world; to cleanse myself simply from sin; to put away from me even what is innocent, if used for its own sake, and not for Thine. I put away reputation and honor, and influence, and power, for my praise and strength shall be in Thee. Enable me to carry on what I profess. Amen.

Faith in the Eucharist

O, my God, I firmly believe that Thou art really and corporally present in the Blessed Sacrament of the altar. I adore Thee here present from the very depths of my heart, and I worship Thy sacred presence with all possible humility. O my soul, what joy to have Jesus Christ always with us, and to be able to speak to Him, heart to heart, with all confidence. Grant, O Lord, that I, having adored Thy divine Majesty here on earth in this wonderful Sacrament, may be able to adore it eternally in heaven. Amen.

Thanksgiving After Communion ( Saint Thomas Aquinas )

I give Thee thanks, O holy Lord, Father Almighty, Eternal God, that Thou hast vouchsafed, for no merit of my own, but of the mere condescension of Thy mercy, to satisfy me, a sinner and Thine unworthy servant, with the Precious Blood of Thy Son our Lord Jesus Christ. I implore Thee, let not this Holy Communion be to me an increase of guilt unto my punishment, but an availing plea unto pardon and forgiveness. Let it be to me the armor of faith and the shield of good will. Grant that it may work the extinction of my vices, the rooting out of concupiscence and lust, and the increase within me of charity and patience, of humility and obedience. Let it be my strong defense against the snares of all my enemies, visible and invisible; the stilling and the calm of all my impulses, carnal and spiritual; my indissoluble union with Thee the one and true God, and a blessed consummation at my last end. And I beseech thee that Thou wouldst vouchsafe to bring me, sinner as I am, to that ineffable banquet where Thou, with the Son and the Holy Ghost, art to Thy saints true and unfailing light, fullness and content, joy for evermore, gladness without alloy, consummate and everlasting bliss. Through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus

Traditional True Holy Mass Propers

† Dominica in Palmis ~ Palm Sunday ( Passiontide ) †

Anno Dómini 1 April 2012

† Statio ad S. Joannem in Laterano ~ Station at Saint John Lateran †

Commemorating
† The Feast of Saint Mary of Egypt †
( Observed A.D. 2 April 2012 )

Color: Violaceus ~ Violet Vestments I Classis ~ First Class Observance

Dómine, ne longe fácias auxílium tuum a me: ad defensiónem meam áspice: líbera me de ore leónis, et a córnibus unicornuórum humilitátem meam....
( Lord, do not stand at a distance, if Thou wouldst aid me; look to my defense: rescue me from the very mouth of the lion, the very horns of the wild oxen that have brought me thus low.... )

"....Scitis quia post bidium Pascha fiet, et Filius hominis tradetur, ut crucifigatur....."
( "....You know that after two days shall be the Pasch, and the Son of man shall be delivered up to be crucified....." )

"All whatsoever you do in word or work, do all in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ Christ,
giving thanks to God the Father through Jesus Christ Christ our Lord"--- Blessed Apostle Saint Paul

"Let it not be as a murderer or a thief, a malefactor or a coveter of other men's goods that any of you suffer; but if it is for the name of Christian, let him be not ashamed, but glorify God in that name." --- Blessed Apostle Saint Peter ( First Epistle 4:15-16 )

Therefore God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus Christ every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. ~~ Philippians 2:5-11

".... be filled with the knowledge of the will of God...."

Thread Sources

A very special 'Thank you' to AmericanCatholic.org; ASU.edu; fisheaters.com; Catholic Online; Friends of Fatima; catholic.org; and saints.sqpn.com, for edited commentaries and resources related to the presentation of today's Proper. Additional sources: Saint Andrew Daily Missal and the 1945 Marian Missal

Introitus ~ Introit
Psalm XXI:XX, XXII ~ 21:20, 22

DDómine, ne longe fácias auxílium tuum a me: ad defensiónem meam áspice: líbera me de ore leónis, et a córnibus unicórnium humilitátem meam. Psalm Deus, Deus meus, réspice in me: quare me dereliquísti? longe a salúte mea verba delictórum meórum. Dómine, ne longe fácias auxílium tuum a me: ad defensiónem meam áspice: líbera me de ore leónis, et a córnibus unicornuórum humilitátem meam. V. Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto. Sicut erat in principio et nunc et semper et in saecula saeculorum. Amen. Repeat : Dómine, ne longe fácias auxílium tuum a me....

O O Lord, keep not Thy help far from me: look to my defense: deliver me from the lion's mouth and my lowness from the horns of the unicorns. Psalm O God, my God, look upon me: why hast Thou forsaken me? Why cannot my sinful words reach Thee, Who art my salvation? Repeat : O Lord, keep not Thy help far from me....

ORATIO ~ COLLECT

OOmnípotens sempitérne Deus, qui humáno géneri, ad imitándum humilitátis exémplum, Salvatórem nostrum carnem súmere et crucem subíre fecísti: concéde propítius; ut et patiéntiæ ipsíus habére documénta et resurrectiónis consórtia mereámur. Per eúndem Dóminum nostrum Jesum Christum, Qui Tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti, Deus, per ómnia sæcula sæculórum. Amen.

Collect For The Intercession Of
The Blessed Virgin Mary

Deus, qui de beátæ Maríæ Vírginis útero Verbum tuum, Angelo nuntiánte, carnem suscípere voluísti: præsta supplícibus tuis; utqui vere eam Genitricem Dei crédimus, ejus apud to intercessiónibus adjuvémur. Per eúmdem Dóminum nostrum Jesum Christum fílium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitáte Spíritus Sancti, Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

Collect For The Intercession Of The Saints

A cunctis nos quæsumus Dómine mentis et córporis defénde perículis: et intercedénte beáta et gloriósa semper Vírgine Dei Genitrice María, cum beáto Joseph, beátis Apóstolis tuis Petro et Paulo, et ómnibus Sanctis, salútem nobis tríbue benígnus et pacem; ut destrúctis adversitátibus et erróribus univérsis, Ecclésia tua secúra tibi sérviat libertáte. Per Dóminum nostrum Jesum Christum Fílium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitáte Spíritus Sancti, Deus, Per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

Collect For The Living and the Dead

Omnipotens sempiterna Deus, qui vivorum dominaris simuesse praenoscis: te supplices exoramus; ut, pro quibus effundere preces decrevimus, quosque vel praesens saeculum adhuc in carne retinet, vel futurum jam exutos corpore suscepit, intercedentibus omnibus Sanctis tuis, pietatis tuae clementia omnium delictorum suorum veniam consequantur. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum, Qui Tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti, Deus, Per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

Collect for God's Holy Church

Ecclésiæ tuæ, quæsumus, Dómine, preces placátus admítte: ut, destrúctis adversitát-ibus et erróribus univérsis, secura tibi sérviat libertáte. Per Dóminum nostrum Jesum Christum Fílium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitáte Spíritus Sancti, Deus, Per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

L ook down in mercy, we beseech Thee, O Lord, upon Thy family; by Thy governance may we be outwardly in body; by Thy favor may we be inwardly strengthened in heart and mind, through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, foreveprotected r and ever.

Collect For The Intercession Of
The Blessed Virgin Mary

O God, Who didst will that at the message of an angel Thy word should take flesh in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary: grant that we, Thy suppliants, who believe her to be truly the mother of God, may be helped by her intercession with Thee, through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, forever and ever. Amen.

Collect For The Intercession Of The Saints

D efend us, we beseech Thee, O Lord, from all dangers of mind and body: and through the intercession of the blessed and glorious Mary, ever Virgin, mother of God, of Saint Joseph, of Thy holy apostles, Saints Peter and Paul, and of all the saints, in Thy loving-kindness grant us safety and peace; that, all adversities and errors being overcome, Thy Church may serve Thee in security and freedom.

Collect For The Living and the Dead

O Almighty and Eternal God, Who hast dominion over both the living and the dead, and hast mercy on all Whom Thou knowest shall be Thine by faith and good works: we humbly beseech Thee that all for whom we have resolved to make supplication whether the present world still holds them in the flesh, or the world to come has already received them out of the body, may, through the intercession of all Thy saints, obtain of Thy goodness and clemency pardon for all their sins, through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost; One God; forever and ever, Amen.

Collect For God's Holy Church

AAlmighty and everlasting God, by whose ordinance our Saviour took flesh and suffered crucifixion to give mankind a pattern of humility, grant us this boon, that, with the lesson of His endurance before us, we may be found worthy to have fellowship in His resurrection: through the same Jesus Christ Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, one God Forever and ever. Amen.

EPISTOLA ~ EPISTLE ¤ Philippénses ~ Philippians 2:5-11

Léctio Epístolæ beáti Pauli Apóstoli ad Philippénses.

Fratres: Hoc enim sentíte in vobis, quod et in Christo Jesu: qui, cum in forma Dei esset non rapínam arbitrátus est esse se æquálem Deo: sed semetípsum exinanívit, formam servi accípiens, in similitúdinem hóminum factus, et hábitu invéntus ut homo. Humiliávit semetípsum, factus obédiens usque ad mortem, mortem autem crucis. Propter quod et Deus exaltávit illum, et donávit illi nomen, quod est super omne nomen: [here all kneel] ut in nómine Jesu omne genu flectátur cæléstium, terréstrium, et infernórum: et omnis lingua confiteátur, quia Dóminus Jesus Christus in glória est Dei Patris.

Lesson from the Epistle of the Blessed Apostle Saint Paul to the Philippians.

Brethren: Yours is to be the same mind which Christ Jesus showed. His nature is, from the first, divine, and yet He did not see, in the rank of Godhead, a prize to be coveted; He dispossessed Himself, and took the nature of a slave, fashioned in the likeness of men, and presenting Himself to us in human form; and then He lowered His own dignity, accepted an obedience which brought Him to death, death on a cross. That is why God has raised Him to such a height, given Him that name which is greater than any other name; [here all kneel] So that everything in heaven and on earth and under the earth must bend the knee before the name of Jesus, and every tongue must confess Jesus Christ as the Lord, dwelling in the glory of God the Father.

GRADUALE ~ GRADUAL ¤ Psalm 72:24, 1-3

Tenuísti manum déxteram meam : et in voluntáte tua deduxísti me : et cum glória assumpsísti me. Quam bonus Israël Deus rectis corde! mei autem pæne moti sunt pedes, pæne effúsi sunt gressus mei : quia zelávi in peccatóribus, pacem peccatórum videns.

T hou dost hold me by my right hand: Thine to lead me in a way of Thy own choosing, Thine to take me up to Thyself in glory. What bounty God shows to Israel, to all upright hearts! Yet I came near to losing my foothold, and felt the ground sink under my steps, so indignant was I over the good fortune of the sinners that flout His law.

TRACTUS ~ TRACT ¤ Psalm 21: 2-9, 18, 19, 22, 24, 32

Deus, Deus meus, réspice in me: quare me dereliquísti? Longe a salúte mea verba delictórum meórum. Deus meus, clamábo per diem, nec exáudies: in nocte, et non ad insipiéntiam mihi. Tu autem in sancto hábitas laus Israel. In te speravérunt patres nostri: speravérunt et liberásti eos. Ad te clamavérunt, et salvi facti sunt: in te speravérunt et non sunt confúsi. Ego autem sum vermis, et non homo: oppróbrium hóminum, et abjéctio plebis. Omnes, qui vidébant me, aspernabántur me: locúti sunt lábiis et movérunt caput. Sperávit in Dómino, erípiat eum: salvum fáciat eum, quóniam vult eum. Ipsi vero consideravérunt, et conspexérunt me: divisérunt sibi vestiménta mea, et super vestem meam misérunt sortem. Líbera me de ore leónis: et a córnibus unicórnium humilitátem meam. Qui timétis Dóminum, laudáte eum: univérsum semen Jacob, magnificáte eum. Annuntiábitur Dómino generátio ventúra: et anuntiábunt cæli justítiam ejus. Pópulo, qui nascétur, quem fecit Dóminus.

M y God, my God, look upon me; why hast Thou forsaken me? Why cannot my sinful words reach Thee, Who art my salvation? Thou dost not answer, my God, when I cry out to Thee day and night and I am patient still. Thou art there nontheless, dwelling in the holy place Israel's ancient boast. It was in Thee that our fathers trusted, and Thou didst reward their trust by delivering them. They cried to Thee, and rescue came; no need to be ashamed of such trust as theirs. But I, poor worm, have no manhood left; I am a by-word to all, the laughing-stock of the rabble. All those who catch sight of me fall to mocking; mouthing out insults, while they toss their heads in scorn. He committed Himself to the Lord, why does not the Lord come to His rescue and set His favorite free? They stand there watching Me, gazing at Me. They divide My spoils among them, cast lots for My garments. Deliver me from the lion's mouth and my lowness from the horns of the unicorns. Praise the Lord, all you that are His worshipers; honor to Him, from the sons of Jacob. The Lord will claim for His own a generation that is still to come; Heaven itself will make known His faithfulness. To a people yet to be born, a people of the Lord's own founding.

From A Series of 153 Woodcuts by Jerome Nadal, SJ,
published in Evangelicae Historiae Imagines c.1593

EVANGELIUM ~ GOSPEL - Blessed Apostle Saint Matthaeum/Matthew 26: 1-75; 27: 1-66

† Sequentia sancti Evangelii secundum Joannem †
I n illo tempore : In illo tempore, dixit Jesus discipulis Suis: "Scitis quia post bidium Pascha fiet, et Filius hominis tradetur, ut crucifigatur." Tunc congregati sunt principes sacerdotum et seniores populi in atrium principia saccerdotum, qui dicebatur Caiphas: et consilium fecerunt, ut Jesum dolo tenerent, et occiderent. Dicebant autem: Non in die festo, ne forte tumultus fieret in populo. Cum autem Jesus esset in Bethania, in domo Simonis leprosi, accessit ad eum mulier habens alabastrum unguenti pretiosi: et effudit super caput ipsius recumbentis. Videntes autem discipuli, indignati sunt, dicentes: Ut quid perditio haec? Potuit enim istud venundari multo et dar pauperibus. Sciens autem Jesus, ait illis: "Quid molesti estis huic mulieri? Opus enim bonum operata est in Me. Nam semper pauperes habetis vobiscum: Me autem non semper habietis. Mittens enim haec unguentem hoc in corpus Meum, ad sepeliendum Me fecit. Amen dico vobis, ubicumque praedicatum fuerit hoc Evangelium in toto mundo, dicetur et quod haec fecit in memoriam ejus." Tunc abiit unus de duodecim, qui dicebatur Judas Iscariotes, ad principes sacerdotum; et ait illis: Quid vultis mihi dare, et ego vobis Eum tradam? At illi constituerunt ei triginta argenteos. Et exinde quaerebat opportunitatem, ut Eum traderet. Prima autem die Azymorum accesserunt discipuli ad Jesum dicentes: Ubi vis paremus Tibi comedere Pascha? At Jesus dixit: "Ite in civitatem ad quemdam, et dicite ei: Magister dicit: Tempus Meum prope est; apud te facio Pascha cum discipulis Meis."Et feerun discipuli sicut constituit illis Jesus: et paraverunt Pascha. Vespere autem facto, discumbebat cum duodecim discipulis Suis. Et edentibus illis, dixit: Dixit eis Jesus: "Qui intingit Mecum manum in paropside, hic Me tradet. Filius quidem hominis vadit, sicut scriptum est de illo. Vae autem homini illi, per quem Filius hominis tradetur! Bonum erat ei, si natus non fuisset homo ille." Respondens autem Judas qui tradidit eum dixit: Numquid ego sum, Rabbi? Ait illi: "Tu dixisti." Coenantibus autem eis, accepit Jesus panem: et benedixit, ac fregit, deditque discipulis Suis, et ait: "Accipite, et comedite: Hoc est corpus Meum." Et accipiens calicem, gratias egit: et dedi illis dicens: "Bibite ex hoc omnes. Hic est enim sanguis Meus novi testamenti, qui pro multis effundetur in remissionem peccatorum. Dico autem vobis: Non bibam amodo de hoc genimine vitis usque in diem illum, cum illud bibam vobiscum novum in regno Patris Mei." Et hymno dicto, exierunt in montem Oliveti. Tunc dicit illis Jesus: "Omnes vos scandalum patiemini in Me, in ista nocte. Scriptum est enim: Percutiam pastorem, et dispergentur oves gregis: postquam autem resurrexero, praecedam vos in Galilaeam. Respondens autem Petrus, ait Illi: Etsi omnes scandalizati fuerint in Te, ego nunquam scandalizabor. Ait illi Jesus: "Amen dico tibi quia in hac nocte, antequam gallus cantet, ter Me negabis." Ait illi Petrus: Etiam si oportuerit me mori Tecum, non Te negabo. Similiter et omnes dixerunt. Tunc venit Jesus cum discípulis suis in villam, quæ dícitur Gethsémani, et dixit discípulis suis: "Sedéte hic donec vadam illuc, et orem." Et assúmpto Petro, et duóbus fíliis Zebedæi, cæpit contristári et mæstus esse. Tunc ait illis: "Tristis est ánima mea usque ad mortem: sustinéte hic, et vigiláte mecum." Et progréssus pusíllum, prócidit in fáciem suam, orans, et dicens: "Pater mi, si possíbile est, tránseat a me calix iste: verúmtamen non sicut ego volo, sed sicut tu." Et venit ad discípulos suos, et invénit eos dormiéntes, et dicit Petro: "Sic non potuístis una hora vigiláre mecum? Vigiláte, et oráte ut non intrétis in tentatiónem. Spíritus quidem promptus est, caro autem infírma." Iterum secúndo ábiit, et orávit, dicens: "Pater mi, si non potest hic calix transíre nisi bibam illum, fiat volúntas tua." Et venit íterum, et invénit eos dormiéntes: erant enim óculi eórum graváti. Et relíctis illis, íterum ábiit, et orávit tértio, eúndem sermónem dicens. Tunc venit ad discípulos suos, et dicit illis: "Dormíte jam, et requiéscite: ecce appropinquávit hora, et Fílius hóminis tradétur in manus peccatórum. Súrgite, eámus: ecce appropinquávit qui me tradet." Adhuc eo loquénte, ecce Judas unus de duódecim venit, et cum eo turba multa cum gládiis et fústibus, missi a princípibus sacerdótum, et senióribus pópuli. Qui autem trádidit eum, dedit illis signum, dicens: Quemcúmque osculátus fúero, ipse est, tenéte eum. Et conféstim accédens ad Jesum, dixit: Ave Rabbi. Et osculátus est eum. Dixítque illi Jesus: "Amíce, ad quid venísti?" Tunc accessérunt, et manus injecérunt in Jesum, et tenuérunt eum. Et ecce unus ex his qui erant cum Jesu, exténdens manum, exémit gládium suum, et percútiens servum príncipis sacerdótum amputávit aurículam ejus. Tunc ait illi Jesus: "Convérte gládium tuum in locum suum: omnes enim, qui accepérint gládium, gládio períbunt. An putas, quia non possum rogáre Patrem meum, et exhibébit mihi modo plus quam duódecim legiónes Angelórum? Quómodo ergo implebúntur Scriptúræ, quia sic opórtet fíeri?" In illa hora dixit Jesus turbis: "Tamquam ad latrónem exístis cum gládiis et fústibus comprehéndere me: quotídie apud vos sedébam docens in templo, et non me tenuístis." Hoc autem totum factum est, ut adimpleréntur Scriptúræ prophetárum. Tunc discípuli omnes, relícto eo, fugérunt. At illi tenéntes Jesum, duxérunt ad Cáipham príncipem sacerdótum, ubi scribæ et senióres convénerant. Petrus autem sequebátur eum a longe, usque in átrium príncipis sacerdótum. Et ingréssus intro, sedébat cum minístris, ut vidéret finem. Príncipes autem sacerdótum, et omne concílium, quærébant falsum testimónium contra Jesum, ut eum morti tráderent: et non invenérunt, cum multi falsi testes accessíssent. Novíssime autem venérunt duo falsi testes, et dixérunt: Hic dixit: Possum destrúere templum Dei, et post tríduum reædificáre illud. Et surgens princeps sacerdótum, ait illi: Nihil respóndes ad ea, quæ isti advérsum te testificántur? Jesus autem tacébat. Et princeps sacerdótum ait illi: Adjúro te per Deum vivum, ut dicas nobis si tu es Christus Fílius Dei. Dicit illi Jesus: "Tu dixísti. Verúmtamen dico vobis, ámodo vidébitis Fílium hóminis sedéntem a dextris virtútis Dei, et veniéntem in núbibus cæli." Tunc princeps sacerdótum scidit vestiménta sua, dicens: Blasphemávit: quid adhuc egémus téstibus? Ecce nunc audístis blasphémiam: quid vobis vidétur? At illi respondéntes dixérunt: Reus est mortis. Tunc expuérunt in fáciem ejus, et cólaphis eum cecidérunt, álii autem palmas in fáciem ejus dedérunt, dicéntes: Prophetíza nobis, Christe, quis est qui te percússit? Petrus vero sedébat foris in átrio: et accéssit ad eum una ancílla, dicens: Et tu cum Jesu Galilæo eras. At ille negávit coram ómnibus, dicens: Néscio quid dicis. Exeúnte autem illo jánuam, vidit eum ália ancílla, et ait his, qui erant ibi: Et hic erat cum Jesu Nazaréno. Et íterum negávit cum juraménto: Quia non novi hóminem. Et post pusíllum accessérunt qui stabant, et dixérunt Petro: Vere et tu ex illis es: nam et loquéla tua maniféstum te facit. Tunc cæpit detestári et juráre quia non novísset hóminem. Et contínuo gallus cantávit. Et recordátus est Petrus verbi Jesu, quod díxerat: Priúsquam gallus cantet, ter me negábis. Et egréssus foras, flevit amáre. Mane autem facto, consílium iniérunt omnes príncipes sacerdótum et senióres pópuli advérsus Jesum, ut eum morti tráderent. Et vinctum adduxérunt eum, et tradidérunt Póntio Piláto præsidi. Tunc videns Judas, qui eum trádidit, quod damnátus esset, pæniténtia ductus, rétulit trigínta argénteos princípibus sacerdótum, et senióribus, dicens: Peccávi, tradens sánguinem justum. At illi dixérunt: Quid ad nos? Tu víderis. Et projéctis argénteis in templo, recéssit: et ábiens, láqueo, se suspéndit. Príncipes autem sacerdótum, accéptis argénteis, dixérunt: Non licet eos míttere in córbonam: quia prétium sánguinis est. Consílio autem ínito, emérunt ex illis agrum fíguli, in sepultúram, peregrinórum. Propter hoc vocátus est ager ille, Hacéldama, hoc est, ager sánguinis, usque in hodiérnum diem. Tunc implétum est quod dictum est per Jeremíam prophétam, dicéntem: Et accepérunt trigínta argénteos prétium appretiáti, quem appretiavérunt a fíliis Israel: et dedérunt eos in agrum fíguli, sicut constítuit mihi Dóminus. Jesus autem stetit ante præsidem, et interrogávit eum præses, dicens: Tu es Rex Judæórum? Dicit illi Jesus: "Tu dicis." Et cum accusarétur a princípibus sacerdótum et senióribus, nihil respóndit. Tunc dicit illi Pilátus: Non audis quanta advérsum te dicunt testimónia? Et non respóndit ei ad ullum verbum, ita ut mirarétur præses veheménter. Per diem autem solémnem consuéverat præses pópulo dimíttere unum vinctum, quem voluíssent: habébat autem tunc vinctum insígnem, qui dicebátur Barábbas. Congregátis ergo illis, dixit Pilátus: Quem vultis dimíttam vobis: Barábbam, an Jesum, qui dícitur Christus? Sciébat enim quod per invídiam tradidíssent eum. Sedénte autem illo pro tribunáli, misit ad eum uxor eius, dicens: Nihil tibi, et justo illi: multa enim passa sunt hódie per visum propter eum. Príncipes autem sacerdótum et senióres persuasérunt pópulis ut péterent Barábbam, Jesum vero pérderent. Respóndens autem præses, ait illis: Quem vultis vobis de duóbus dimítti? At illi dixérunt: Barábbam. Dicit illis Pilátus: Quid ígitur fáciam de Jesu, qui dícitur Christus? Dicunt omnes: Crucifigátur. Ait illis Præses: Quid enim mali fecit? At illi Magis clamábant dicéntes: Crucifigátur. Videns autem Pilátus quia nihil profíceret, sed magis tumúltus fíeret: accépta aqua, lavit manus coram pópulo, dicens: Innocens ego sum a sánguine justi hujus: vos vidéritis. Et respóndens univérsus pópulus, dixit: Sanguis ejus super nos, et super fílios nostros. Tunc dimísit illis Barábbam: Jesum autem flagellátum trádidit eis ut crucifigerétur. Tunc mílites præsidis suscipiéntes Jesum in prætórium, congregavérunt ad eum univérsam cohórtem, et exuéntes eum, chlámydem coccíneam circumdedérunt ei, et plecténtes corónam de spinis, posuérunt super caput eius, et arúndinem in déxtera eius. Et genu flexo ante eum, illudébant ei, dicéntes: Ave Rex Judæórum. Et expuéntes in eum, accepérunt arúndinem, et percutiébant caput ejus. Et postquam illusérunt ei, exuérunt eum chlámyde, et induérunt eum vestiméntis ejus, et duxérunt eum ut crucifígerent. Exeúntes autem invenérunt hóminem Cyrenæum, nómine Simónem: hunc angariavérunt ut tólleret crucem ejus. Et venérunt in locum qui dícitur Gólgotha, quod est Calváriæ locus. Et dedérunt ei vinum bíbere cum felle mixtum. Et cum gustásset, nóluit bíbere. Postquam autem crucifixérunt eum, divisérunt vestiménta eius, sortem mitténtes: ut implerétur quod dictum est per prophétam dicéntem: Divisérunt sibi vestiménta mea, et super vestem meam misérunt sortem. Et sedéntes, servábant eum. Et imposuérunt super caput eius causam ipsíus scriptam: Hic est Jesus Rex Judæórum. Tunc crucifíxi sunt cum eo duo latrónes: unus a dextris, et unus a sinístris. Prætereúntes autem blasphemábant eum movéntes cápita sua, et dicéntes: Vah qui déstruis templum Dei, et in tríduo illud reædíficas: salva temetípsum: si Fílius Dei es, descénde de cruce. Simíliter et príncipes sacerdótum illudéntes cum scribis et senióribus dicébant: Alios salvos fecit, seípsum non potest salvunt facere: si Rex Israel est, descéndat nunc de cruce, et crédimus ei: confídit in Deo: líberet nunc, si vult eum: dixit enim: Quia Fílius Dei sum. Idípsum autem et latrónes, qui crucifíxi erant eum co, improperábant ei. A sexta autem hora ténebræ factæ sunt super univérsam terram usque ad horam nonam. Et circa horam nonam clamávit Jesus voce magna, dicens: "Eli, Eli, lamma sabactháni?" Hoc est: "Deus meus, Deus meus, ut quid dereliquísti me?" Quidam autem illic stantes, et audiéntes, dicébant: Elíam vocat iste. Et contínuo, currens unus ex eis, accéptam spóngiam implévit acéto, et impósuit arúndini, et dabat ei bíbere. Cæteri vero dicébant: Sine, videámus an véniat Elías líberans eum Jesus autem íterum clamans voce, magna, emísit spíritum.

[ Here all kneel. ]

Et ecce velum templi scissum est in duas partes a summo, usque deórsum: et terra mota est, et petræ scissæ sunt, et monuménta apérta sunt: et multa córpora sanctórum, qui dormíerant, surrexérunt. Et exeúntes de monuméntis post resurrectiónem ejus, venérunt in sanctam civitátem, et apparuérunt multis. Centúrio autem, et qui cum eo erant, custodiéntes Jesum, viso terræmótu, et his, quæ fiébant, timuérunt valde, dicéntes: Vere Fílius Dei erat iste. Erant autem ibi mulíeres multæ a longe, quæ secútæ erant Jesum a Galilæa, ministrántes ei: inter quas erat María Magdaléne, et María Jacóbi, et Joseph mater, et mater filiórum Zebedæi. Cum autem sero factum esset, venit quidam homo dives ab Arimathæa, nómine Joseph, qui et ipse discípulus erat Jesu: hic accéssit ad Pilátum, et pédit corpus Jesu. Tunc Pilátus jussit reddi corpus. Et accépto córpore, Joseph invólvit illud in síndone munda. Et pósuit illud in monuménto suo novo, quod excíderat in petra. Et advólvit saxum magnum ad óstium monuménti, et ábiit.

† A reading from the Holy Gospel by Blessed Apostle Saint John †
A nd it came to pass, when Jesus had ended all these words, He said to His disciples: "You know that after two days shall be the Pasch, and the Son of man shall be delivered up to be crucified:" Then were gathered together the chief priests and ancients of the people into the court of the high priest, who was called Caiphas: And they consulted together, that by subtlety they might apprehend Jesus, and put Him to death. But they said: Not on the festival day, lest perhaps there should be a tumult among the people. And when Jesus was in Bethania, in the house of Simon the leper, there came to Him a woman having an alabaster box of precious ointment, and poured it on His head as He was at table. And the disciples seeing it, had indignation, saying: To what purpose is this waste? For this might have been sold for much, and given to the poor. And Jesus knowing it, said to them: "Why do you trouble this woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon Me. For the poor you have always with you: but Me you have not always. For she in pouring this ointment upon My body, hath done it for My burial. Amen I say to you, wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, that also which she hath done, shall be told for a memory of her." Then went one of the twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, to the chief priests, And said to them: What will you give me, and I will deliver Him unto you? But they appointed him thirty pieces of silver. And from thenceforth he sought opportunity to betray Him. And on the first day of the Azymes, the disciples came to Jesus, saying: Where wilt thou that we prepare for Thee to eat the pasch? But Jesus said: "Go ye into the city to a certain man, and say to him: the master saith, My time is near at hand, with thee I make the pasch with My disciples." And the disciples did as Jesus appointed to them, and they prepared the pasch. But when it was evening, He sat down with his twelve disciples. And whilst they were eating, He said: "Amen I say to you, that one of you is about to betray Me." And they being very much troubled, began every one to say: Is it I, Lord? But He answering, said: "He that dippeth his hand with Me in the dish, he shall betray Me. The Son of man indeed goeth, as it is written of Him: but woe to that man by whom the Son of man shall be betrayed: it were better for him, if that man had not been born." And Judas that betrayed Him, answering, said: Is it I, Rabbi? He saith to him: "Thou hast said it." And whilst they were at supper, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke: and gave to His disciples, and said: "Take ye, and eat. This is My body." And taking the chalice, He gave thanks, and gave to them, saying: "Drink ye all of this. For this is My blood of the new testament, which shall be shed for many unto remission of sins. And I say to you, I will not drink from henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I shall drink it with you new in the kingdom of My Father." And a hymn being said, they went out unto mount Olivet. Then Jesus said to them: "All you shall be scandalized in Me this night. For it is written: I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be dispersed. But after I shall be risen again, I will go before you into Galilee. And Peter answering, said to Him:" Although all shall be scandalized in thee, I will never be scandalized. Jesus said to him: "Amen I say to thee, that in this night before the cock crow, thou wilt deny me thrice." Blessed Apostle Saint Peter saith to Him: Yea, though I should die with Thee, I will not deny Thee. And in like manner said all the disciples. Then Jesus came with His disciples to a country place called Gethsemani, and He said to His disciples, "Sit down here, while I go over yonder and pray." And He took with Him Blessed Apostle Saint Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be saddened and exceedingly troubled. Then He said to them, "My soul is sad, even unto death. Wait here and watch with Me." And going forward a little, He fell on His face, and prayed, saying, "Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass away from Me; yet not as I will, but as Thou willest." Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And He said to Peter, "Could you not then watch one hour with Me? Watch and pray, that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." Again a second time He went away and prayed, saying, "My Father, if this cup cannot pass away unless I drink it, Thy will be done." And He came again and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. And leaving them He went back again, and prayed a third time, saying the same words over. Then He came to His disciples, and said to them, "Sleep on now, and take your rest. Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man will be betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us go. Behold, he who betrays Me is at hand." And while He was yet speaking, behold Judas, one of the Twelve, came and with him a great crowd with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and elders of the people. Now His betrayer had given them a sign, saying, "Whomever I kiss, that is He; lay hold of Him." And he went straight up to Jesus and said, "Hail, Rabbi!" and kissed Him. And Jesus said to him, "Friend, for what purpose hast thou come?" Then they came forward and set hands on Jesus and took Him. And behold, one of those who was with Jesus, stretching forth his hand, drew his sword, and striking the servant of the high priest, cut off his ear. Then Jesus said to him, "Put back thy sword into its place; for all those who take the sword will perish by the sword. Or dost thou suppose that I cannot entreat My Father, and He will even now furnish Me with more than twelve legions of angels? How then are the Scriptures to be fulfilled, that thus it must happen?" In that hour Jesus said to the crowds, "As against a robber you have come out, with swords and clubs to seize Me. I sat daily with you in the temple teaching, and you did not lay hands on Me." Now all this was done that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples left Him and fled. Now those who had taken Jesus led Him away to Caiphas the high priest, where the Scribes and the elders had gathered together. But Peter was following Him at a distance, even to the courtyard of the high priest, and he went in and sat with the attendants to see the end. Now the chief priests and all the Sanhedrin were seeking false witness against Jesus, that they might put Him to death, but they found none, though many false witnesses came forward. But last of all there came forward two false witnesses, and they said, "This man said, 'I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to rebuild it after three days.'" Then the high priest, standing up, said to Him, "Dost Thou make no answer to the things that these men prefer against Thee?" But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest said to Him, "I adjure Thee by the living God that Thou tell us whether Thou art the Christ, the Son of God." Jesus said to him, "Thou hast said it. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power of God and coming upon the clouds of Heaven." Then the high priest tore his garments, saying, "He has blasphemed; what further need have we of witnesses? Behold, now you have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?" And they answered and said, "He is liable to death." Then they spat in His face and buffeted Him; while others struck His face with the palms of their hands, saying, "Prophesy to us, O Christ! who is it that struck Thee?" Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard; and a maidservant came up to him and said, "Thou also wast with Jesus the Galilean." But he denied before them all, saying, "I do not know what thou art saying." And when he had gone out to the gateway, another maid saw him, and said to those who were there, "This man also was with Jesus of Nazareth." And again he denied with an oath, "I do not know the Man!" And after a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, "Surely thou also art one of them, for even thy speech betrays thee." Then he began to curse and to swear that he did not know the Man. And at that moment the cock crowed. And Peter remembered the word that Jesus had said, "Before the cock crows, thou wilt deny Me thrice." And he went out and wept bitterly. Now when morning came all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel together against Jesus in order to put Him to death. And they bound Him and led Him away, and delivered him to Pontius Pilate the procurator. Then Judas, who betrayed Him, when he saw that He was condemned, repented and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, saying, "I have sinned in betraying innocent blood." But they said, "What is that to us? See to it thyself." And he flung the pieces of silver into the temple, and withdrew; and went away and hanged himself with a halter. And the chief priests took the pieces of silver, and said, "It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, seeing that it is the price of blood." And after they had consulted together, they bought with them the potter's field, as a burial place for strangers. For this reason that field has been called even to this day, Haceldama, that is, the Field of Blood. Then was fulfilled what was spoken through Jeremias the prophet, saying, "And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of Him Who was prized, upon whom the children of Israel set a price; and they gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord directed me." Now Jesus stood before the procurator; and the procurator asked Him, saying, "Art Thou the King of the Jews?" Jesus said to him "Thou sayest it." And when He was accused by the chief priests and the elders, He made no answer. Then Pilate said to Him, "Dost Thou not hear how many things they prefer against Thee?" But He did not answer him a single word, so that the procurator wondered exceedingly. Now at festival time the procurator used to release to the crowd a prisoner, whomever they would. Now he had at that time a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. Therefore, when they had gathered together, Pilate said, "Whom do you wish that I release to you? Barabbas, or Jesus Who is called Christ?" For he knew that they had delivered Him up out of envy. Now, as he was sitting on the judgment-seat, his wife sent to him, saying, "Have nothing to do with that Just Man, for I have suffered many things in a dream today because of Him." But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to destroy Jesus. But the procurator addressed them, and said to them, "Which of the two do you wish that I release to you?" And they said, "Barabbas." Pilate said to them, "What then am I to do with Jesus Who is called Christ?" They all said, "Let him be crucified!" The procurator said to them, "Why, what evil has He done?" But they kept crying out the more, saying, "Let Him be crucified!" Now Pilate, seeing that he was doing no good, but rather that a riot was breaking out, took water and washed his hands in sight of the crowd, saying, "I am innocent of the blood of this Just Man; see to it yourselves." And all the people answered and said, "His blood be on us and on our children." Then he released to them Barabbas; but Jesus he scourged and delivered to them to be crucified. Then the soldiers of the procurator took Jesus into the praetorium, and gathered together about Him the whole cohort. And they stripped Him and put on Him a scarlet cloak; and plaiting a crown of thorns, they put it upon His head, and a reed into His right hand; and bending the knee before Him they mocked Him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" And they spat on Him, and took the reed and kept striking Him on the head. And when they had mocked Him, they took the cloak off Him and put on Him His own garments, and led Him away to crucify Him. Now as they went out, they found a man of Cyrene named Simon; him they forced to take up His cross. And they came to the place called Golgotha, that is, the Place of the Skull. And they gave Him wine to drink mixed with gall; but when He had tasted it, He would not drink. And after they had crucified Him, they divided His garments, casting lots, to fulfill that which was spoken through the prophets, saying, "They divided My garments among them, and upon My vesture they cast lots." And sitting down they kept watch over Him. And they put above His head the charge against Him, written This is Jesus, the King of the Jews. Then two robbers were crucified with Him, one on His right hand and one on His left. Now the passers-by were jeering at Him, shaking their heads, and saying, "Thou Who destroyest the temple, and in three days buildest it up again, save Thyself! If Thou art the Son of God, come down from the cross!" In like manner, the chief priests with the Scribes and the elders, mocking, said, "He saved others, Himself He cannot save! If He is the King of Israel, let Him come down now from the cross, and we will believe Him. He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now, if He wants Him; for He said, And the robbers also, who were crucified with Him, reproached Him in the same way. Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. But about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lamma sabacthani." That is, "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?"' And some of the bystanders on hearing this said, "This man is calling Elias." And immediately one of them ran and, taking a sponge, soaked it in common wine, put it on a reed and offered it to Him to drink. But the rest said, "Wait, let us see whether Elias is coming to save Him." But Jesus again cried out with a loud voice, and gave up His spirit.

[Here all kneel.]

And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were rent, and the tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep arose; and coming forth out of the tombs after His resurrection, they came into the holy city, and appeared to many. Now when the centurion, and those who were with him keeping guard over Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that were happening, they were very much afraid, and they said, "Truly He was the Son of God." And many women were there, looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to Him. Among them were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee. Now when it was evening, there came a certain rich man of Arimathea, Joseph by name, who also himself was a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered the body to be given up. And Joseph taking the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock. Then he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb, and departed.

Homily For Palm Sunday
April 2003 Anno Domini

by Father Louis J. Campbell
"Qui legit, intelligat"
"He who readeth, let him understand"

Suffering Servant of the Lord

Rather than praising the fleeting accomplishments and follies of man, we should prostrate ourselves on our knees in total fidelity to Christ the Redeemer King.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

Jesus Christ is our King, yet our supreme example of humility and Fear of the Lord. He appears today as our King, but He wears a crown of thorns. He is the most beautiful among the sons of men, yet He is mocked and scourged and spat upon. He commands the hosts of heaven, yet He is led away bound, to be crucified - Jesus, our true Messiah and Liberator.

As Jesus rides into Jerusalem to the hosannas of the crowd, He knows that their desire to make Him their King is motivated by expectations of earthly glory. As King, they expect, He would throw off the yoke of the Romans and restore Israel to the glory it enjoyed under David and Solomon. And so they shout, "Blessed is he who comes as king, in the name of the Lord" ( Blessed Apostle Saint Luke 19:38 ). Jesus accepts their hosannas, for He is truly their King, but He must refuse an earthly crown, for His Kingdom is not of this world (Blessed Apostle Saint John 18:36). Before receiving His Kingdom from the Father, He must go the way of humility, that of the Suffering Servant of the Lord.

"Who hath believed our report?" says Isaiah, speaking prophetically of the Christ, "And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? And He shall grow up as a tender plant before Him, and as a root out of a thirsty ground. There is no beauty in Him, nor comeliness: and we have seen Him, and there was no sightlines, that we should be desirous of Him: Despised and the most abject of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with infirmity: and His look was as it were hidden and despised. Whereupon we esteemed Him not. Surely He hath borne our infirmities and carried our sorrows: and we have thought Him as it were a leper, and as one struck by God and afflicted; But He was wounded for our iniquities: He was bruised for our sins. The chastisement of our peace was upon Him: and by His bruises we are healed" ( Isaiah 53:1-5 ).

It may seem odd to speak here of "Fear of the Lord," since Jesus Himself is Lord. But Holy Fear is one of the gifts of the Holy Ghost, which Jesus possessed in His human nature in their fullness, since the Spirit of the Lord descended upon Him at His Baptism, strengthening Him for His mission. Jesus applies to Himself the words of the Prophet Isaiah: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me because He has anointed Me: to bring good news to the poor He has sent Me, to proclaim to the captives release, and sight to the blind; to set at liberty the oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of recompense" ( Blessed Apostle Saint Luke 4:18,19).

Christ expressed the gift of Holy Fear in His reverence for the Father, especially in obedience to the Father's will. As He said to the Jews who opposed Him: "When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that of Myself I do nothing: but that I preach only what the Father has taught Me. And He Who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, because I do always the things that are pleasing to Him" ( Blessed Apostle Saint John 8:28,29 ).

Where can we look to find such evidence of humility and Fear of the Lord today, even among those who call themselves Christians? Like the Israelites who apostatized and adored the golden calf in obscene revelries at the foot of Mt. Sinai, many Christians have abandoned the true way and taken to themselves the false gods of pleasure, wealth and power. Their religion is a façade that will soon be torn away by a dose of reality. God's judgment is near.

As we witness the coalition of military forces, would-be messengers of freedom, coast to a seemingly quick victory in Iraq, we are faced, like Jesus, with a grave temptation. For Him there was no hesitation - He would refuse an earthly crown and the glory of an earthly empire won by "shock and awe" tactics at the expense of innocent lives. But this is the freedom the "coalition" brings to Iraq-freedom as the world understands it. They have chosen the way of pride and arrogance over humility and Fear of the Lord, confident that they can remove the speck from the eyes of others, unaware of the beam in their own. They are not missionaries of true spiritual freedom, but of the freedom of sin. By this freedom the devil is unleashed, disguised as an angel of light. The oppressed will now be free to choose their poison: contraception, abortion, pornography, movies and TV programs that mock God's Commandments, books and games that introduce their children to the dangers of occult knowledge, the right to choose any religion, or none. Freedom - to be just like us.

True freedom is in knowing Jesus Christ, Who has come "to set at liberty the oppressed." From this humble Servant of the Lord, may we yet learn the way of humility and Holy Fear, even if it must be through severe trial and suffering. "Take care that no one leads you astray," Jesus told His Apostles, "For many will come in my name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and they will lead many astray. For you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars. Take care that you do not be alarmed, for these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there will be pestilences and famines and earthquakes in various places. But all these things are the beginning of sorrows"( Blessed Apostle Saint Matthew 24:4-8 ). God save us from false prophets and Messiahs!

"Therefore mortify your members, which are on earth," says Blessed Apostle Saint Paul, "immorality, uncleanness, lust, evil desire and covetousness (which is a form of idol worship). Because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the unbelievers, and you yourselves once walked in them when they were your life. But now do you also put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, abusive language and foul-mouthed utterances. Do not lie to one another. Strip off the old man with his deeds and put on the new, one that is being renewed unto perfect knowledge 'according to the image of his Creator'" ( Colossians 3:5-10 ).

"Have this mind in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who though He was by nature God, did not consider being equal to God a thing to be clung to, but emptied Himself, taking the nature of a slave and being made like unto men. And appearing in the form of man, He humbled Himself, becoming obedient to death, even to death on a cross. Therefore God also has exalted Him and has bestowed upon Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend of those in Heaven, on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that the Lord Jesus is in the glory of God the Father" ( Philippians 2:5-11 ).

All glory, praise and honor, to Thee, Redeemer King!

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

OFFERTORIUM ~ OFFERTORY ¤ Psalm LXVIII:XXI_XXII ~ 68:21-22

Impropérium exspectávit cor meum, et misériam: et sustínui qui simul mecum contristarétur, et non fuit: consolántem me quæsívi, et non invéni: et dedérunt in escam meam fel, et in siti mea potavérunt me acéto.

Naught else but shame and misery does My heart forebode. I look around for pity, where pity is none; for comfort, where there is no comfort to be found: they gave Me gall to eat, and when I was thirsty they gave Me vinegar to drink.

SECRETA ~ SECRET

CConcéde, quæsumus, Dómine: ut óculos tuæ majestátis munus oblátum, et grátiam nobis devotiónis obtíneat, et efféctum beátæ perennitátis acquírat. Per Dóminum nostrum Jesum Christum Fílium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitáte Spíritus Sancti, Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

Secret For The Blessed Virgin Mary

In méntibus nóstris, quæsumus, Dómine, veræ fídei sacraménta confírma: ut, qui concéptum de Vírgine Deum verum et hóminem confitémur; per ejus salutíferæ resurrectiónis poténtiam, ad ætérnam mereámur perveníre lætítiam. Per eúmdem Dóminum nostrum Jesum Christum Fílium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitáte Spíritus Sancti, Deus, Per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

Secret For The Intercession Of The Saints

Exaudi nos, Deus salutaris noster : ut per hujus sacramenti virtutem, a cunctis nos mentis et corporis hostibus tuearis; gratiam tribunes in praesenti, et gloriam in futuro. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum, Qui Tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti, Deus, Per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

Secret For The Living and the Dead

Deus, Cui soli cogniuts est numerus electorum in superna felicitate locandus: tribue quaesumus; ut, intercedentibus omnibus Sanctis Tuis, universorum, quos in oratione commendatos suscepimus , et omnium fidelium nomina, beatae praedestinationis liber adscripta retineat. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum, Qui Tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti, Deus, Per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

Secret for God's Holy Church

Prótege nos, Dómine, tuis mystériis serviéntes: ut divínis rebus inhæréntes, et córpore tibi famulémur et mente. Per Dóminum nostrum Jesum Christum Fílium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitáte Spíritus Sancti, Deus, Per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

G rant, we pray Thee, Lord, that the gift we set before Thy majesty may obtain for us the grace of devotion, and ensure us an eternity of bliss, through the same Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Secret For The Blessed Virgin Mary

MMay this victim, we beseech Thee, O Lord, cleanse away our sins, sanctifying Thy servants in both soul and body for the celebration of this sacrifice, through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, One God, forever and ever. Amen.

Secret For The Intercession Of The Saints

Graciously hear us, O God our Savior, and by the virtue of this sacrament protect us from all enemies of soul and body, bestowing on us both grace in this life and glory hereafter. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Who livest and reignest, with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Secret For The Living and the Dead

O Almighty and Eternal God, O God, Who alone knowest the number of the elect to be admitted to the happiness of Heaven, grant, we beseech Thee, that through the intercession of all Thy saints, the names of all who have been recommended to our prayers and of all the faithful, may be inscribed in the book of blessed predestination. Protect us, O Lord, who assist at Thy mysteries; that, fixed upon things divine we may serve Thee in both body and mind, through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost; One God; forever and ever, Amen.

Secret For God's Holy Church

Protect us, O Lord, who assist at Thy mysteries, that, cleaving to things divine, we may serve Thee both in body and in mind.

PREFACE OF THE HOLY CROSS

Vere dignum et justum est, aequum et salutare, nos Tibi semper, et ubique gratias agere : Domine sancte, Pater omnipotens, aeterne Deus. Qui salutem humani generic in lingo Cruces constituisti : ut, unde mors oriebatur, inde vita resurgeret : et Qui in lingo vincebat, in lingo quoque vinceretur, per Christum Dominum nostrum. Per Quem majestatem tuam laudant angeli, adorant Dominationes, tremunt Potestates. Coeli, coelorumque Virtutes, ac beata Seraphim social exsultatione concelebrant. Cum quibus et nostras voces, ut admitti jubeas, deprecamur, supplici convessione dicentes: SANCTUS, SANCTUS, SANCTUS....

It is truly meet and just, right and for our salvation, that we should at all times, and in all places, give thanks unto Thee, O holy Lord, Father almighty, everlasting God : Who didst establish the salvation of mankind on the tree of the Cross: that whence death came thence also life might arise again, and that he, Who overcame by the tree, by the tree also might be overcome: Through Christ our Lord. Through Whom the Angels praise Thy Majesty, the Dominations worship it, the Powers stand in awe. The Heavens and the Heavenly hosts together with the blessed Seraphim in triumphant chorus unite to celebrate it. Together with these we entreat Thee, that Thou mayest bid our voices also be admitted while we say with lowly praise: HOLY, HOLY, HOLY...

COMMUNIO ~ COMMUNION ¤ Matthew 26: 42, 25

PPater, si non potest hic calix transíre nisi bibam illum, fiat volúntas Tua.

Father, if this chalice may not pass Me by, but I must drink it, then Thy will be done.

POSTCOMMUNIO ~ POSTCOMMUNION

Per hujus, Dómine, operatiónem mystérii, et vítia nostra purgéntur, et justa desidéria compleántur. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum. Qui vivis et regnas in cum Deo Patri in unitate Spiritus Sancti, Deus, unum Deum.

Postcommunion For The Blessed Virgin Mary

Grátiam tuam quæsumus, Dómine, méntibus nostris infúnde: ut qui, Angelo nuntiánte, Christi Fílii tui incarnatiónem cognóvimus: per passiónem ejus et crucem, ad resurrectiónis glóriam perducámur. Per eúmdem Dóminum nostrum Jesum Christum Fílium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spíritus Sancti, Deus. Per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

Postcommunion For The Intercession Of The Saints

Mundet et múniat nos quáesumus Dómine dívini sacraménti munus oblátum: et intercedénte beáta Vírgine Dei Genitríce María, cum beáto Joseph, beátis Apóstolis tuis Petro et Paulo, et ómnibus Sanctis; a cunctis nos reddat et pervérsitátibus expiátos, et advérsitátibus expedítos. Per eúmdem Dóminum nostrum Jesum Christum Fiiium tuum: Qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spíritus Sancti, Deus. Per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

Postcommunion For The Living and the Dead

Purificent nos, quaesumus, Omnipotens et misericors Deus, sacramenta quae sumpsimus : et, intercedentibus omnibus Sanctis tuis, praesta; ut hoc tuum sacramentum non sit nois reatus ad poenam, sed intercession salutaris ad veniam : sit ablution scelerum, sit fortitude fragilium sit contra omnia mundi pericula firmamentum ; sit vivorum atque mortuorum fidelium remissio omnium delictorum. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum, Qui Tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti, Deus, Per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

Postcommunion for God's Holy Church

Quæsumus, Dómine Deus noster, ut quos divína tribuis participatióne gaudére, humánis non sinas subjacére perículis. Per Dóminum nostrum Jesum Christum Fiiium tuum: Qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spíritus Sancti, Deus, Per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

By the working of this sacrament, Lord, may our sins be purged away, and our just desires fulfilled, through our Lord Jesus Christ, Who livest and reignest, with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Postcommunion For The Blessed Virgin Mary

Merciful God, who ceasest not to lavish upon us the riches of Thy sacraments; grant that we may ever draw near to Thine Altar with deepest reverence and with faith unwavering, through the Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, one God forever and ever. Amen.

Postcommunion For The Intercession Of The Saints

Graciously hear us, O God our Savior, and, by virtue of this Sacrament, defend us from all enemies of soul and body, bestowing upon us Thy grace here and Thy glory hereafter.

Postcommunion For The Living and the Dead

May the sacraments which we have received purify us, we beseech Thee, O almighty and merciful Lord; and through the intercession of all Thy saints, grant that this Thy sacrament may not be unto us a condemnation, but a salutary intercession for pardon; may it be the washing away of sin, the strength of the weak, a protection against all dangers of the world, and a remission of all the sins of the faithful, whether living or dead, through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost; One God; forever and ever, Amen.

Postcommunion for God's Holy Church

Protect us, O Lord, who assist at Thy mysteries, that, cleaving to things divine, we may serve Thee both in body and in mind.

PRAYER OVER THE MANY

Inclinantes se, Domine, majestati Tuaee, propitiatus intende; ut, Qui divino munere sunt refecti, caelestibus semper nutriantur auxiliis. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum. Qui vivis et regnas in cum Deo Patri in unitate Spiritus Sancti, Deus, unum Deum. Per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen..

L ook down, O Lord, in Thy mercy, upon those who bow before Thy majesty; that they who are refreshed by Thy divine gift may ever be sustained by heavenly aid, through our Lord Jesus Christ, Who livest and reignest, with You Almighty Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, one God; for ever and ever. Amen.

THE BLESSING

V. Sit Nomen Domini benedictum.
R. Ex hoc nunc, et usque in saeculum.
V. U Adjutorium nostrum in Nomine Domini.
R. Qui fecit cœlum et terram.
V. Benedicat vos, Omnipotens Deus:
V. Pater, et Filius, et Spiritus Sanctus, descendat super vos, et maneat semper.
R. Amen.

V. Blessed be the Name of the Lord.
R. Now and for ever more.
V. U Our help is in the Name of the Lord.
R. Who made Heaven and earth.
V. May Almighty God bless thee:
V. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, descend upon thee, and always remain with thee.
R. Amen.

† - Holy Queen of Heaven and Earth, pray for us. - †