† Traditional True Mass Propers : Dominica Tertia Post Pascha ~ Third Sunday after Easter †

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."

Reflection

Many churches now support and condone the sin of homosexuality. Some have perverted the Gospel with the abominable lie from hell that "all good people will go to Heaven." Too many pastors have quit preaching about sin for fear of offending people. For too many people, church has turned into little more than a social gathering and a place to be entertained on Sundays.
WHEN YOU COMPROMISE THE TRUTH OF GOD'S WORD, YOU ARE LEFT WITH NOTHING!

There is no such thing as a little sin. Sin by its very definition is rebellion against God. You either obey God or you don't. There is no middle ground. You are either living in accordance with His Word, or you are living in rebellion to His Word. There is no room for compromise! Many of you are facing the problems you have in your life today because you chose to compromise God's Word. The fact is, our way doesn't work and God's way does!

Whenever we choose to compromise the truth of God's Word, there is always a price to pay. Never forget that Satan is a liar ; a diabolical, deceitful justifier.

"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.

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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."

" look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the age to come. Amen.

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, after his baptism in the Jordan, was led into the desert.

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

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

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

5. When Our Lord Jesus 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

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 mercy, hear and answer us. Amen.

Commemorating
† Holy Saint Caterina Benincasa ( Catherine of Siena ), Doctor of His Church †

Saint Catherine of Siena, Patron Saint of Italy
. Resting at Santa Maire Sopra Minerva, Rome

( Observed Anno Dómini 30 April 2012 )

Saint Catherine of Siena (1347-1380) was born A.D. 25 March 1347 in Siena, Italy, one of more than 20 children in a family of a wool dyer. When she was six-years-old, she began to have mystical revelations that continued throughout her life. She resisted the efforts of her parents to have her marry. Instead, when she was age 16, she became a third order Dominican. Her confessor and biographer was Blessed Raymond of Capua. During the Avignon Captivity, She urged Pope Gregory XI to leave Avignon and return to Rome, which he did in A.D. 1377. She did not hesitate to reprove the next Pope, Urban VI, who welcomed her reprimands. She died on April 29, was canonized in A.D. 1461, and was declared Patron Saint of Italy in A.D. 1939.

Comments of Professor Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira :

Saint Catherine of Siena was a layperson, and one of the greatest saints of the 14th century.

She followed the orientation of Blessed Raymond of Capua, who wrote a very beautiful book about her life. We have, then, the history of a saint written by another saint; the history of a penitent written by her confessor. It is not very frequent one finds this. I read this biography written by Blessed Raymond of Capua and it is a true marvel.

In the late 14th century, the already bad situation of the Church became tragic. Before its end, the Middle Ages was spreading the virus of Humanism and Renaissance that would generate the monster of Protestantism.

In the Church there was no heresy, but there were all kind of abuses by ecclesiastics. The Benedictine Order, which had been the pillar of the Church in Europe, was in a state of degeneration. The abbots took advantage of their positions and privileges to live like grand secular lords. Rather than providing their religious with the tranquility and stability that nourish detachment from worldly goods, such monasteries gave the opposite: a life of luxury that violated the Rule of Saint Benedict. The Benedictine Rule requires pomp and richness for Divine Worship and the Church, but demands simplicity for the monks. In that time, however, abuses of earthly pleasures by monks abounded.

The secular [ or diocesan ] clergy was even more decadent than the regular clergy [ priests and Bishops from religious orders ]. The sickness extended to the very head of the Church: Cardinals and even the Pope. From it came a schism inside the Church. For a certain period, there were a Pope and two anti-popes creating such confusion that even saints were obeying anti-popes.

To make matters worse, the Popes were in Avignon, a French city that belonged to the Popes, but they were there under the dominion of the Kings of France. The good Catholics missed the Pope’s presence in Rome, which was so abandoned that often cattle could be found grazing inside the churches on the tall grass that had grown up there. This denotes the decadent situation of the center of Catholicsim.

It was in this epoch that God Almighty called a laywoman, a semi-religious, who lived like a hermit inside the house of her father. She attracted followers who used to remain in conversation with her until late in the evening. She would discuss the events of the time with them and give them religious instruction. They became enthusiasts of Saint Catherine. She was very intelligent and spoke easily and well. She understood how to treat these persons well, even while saying the difficult things they needed to hear.

She also maintained correspondence with several Popes, giving them orientation and transmitting to them the mystical revelations she had received regarding the future. She played a very important role in the affairs of her times. For example, she was chosen to be mediator in a controversy between the city of Florence and Pope Gregory XI. Later, she met the Pope at Avignon and urged him to return to Rome, which he did in A.D. 1377. She also strongly supported a crusade he convoked against the Turks. When the schism began under the reign of Urban VI, she publicly supported this Pope and often reprimanded him in private correspondence.

All this bestowed upon her a great fame and considerable influence on the Papacy. You understand, therefore, the good effect she exerted on Christendom at her time. She worked tirelessly for the reunification of the Church, and under her influence, Pope Gregory XI returned to Rome, a big step toward ending the general confusion.

Further, she was an amiable woman who loved to give gifts to her friends. She used to give them flowers and crosses, a very balanced combination. The flowers delighted them, and the crosses reminded them of the suffering they must bear to imitate Our Lord. She was also an enthusiast of indulgences, which she always encouraged her friends to acquire.

What is an indulgence? When a man commits a sin, there are two elements of it: the moral guilt and the corresponding penalty to be paid. The moral guilt for a sin is absolved by the pardon a priest gives in the sacraments of Penance or Extreme Unction. But the penalty still remains to be paid. When the priests were not liberal, they used to impose severe penances on their penitents. These penances greatly helped to remit the punishment due to sin. Today, with the increasingly less rigorous penances that confessors give, almost the entire penalty still remains to be paid.

Now then, an indulgence is a spiritual gift offered by the Church to partially or totally erase the punishment the person deserves. There are, for example, indulgences that free a soul from one year of punishment in Purgatory, others for three years, and even others – the plenary indulgences – that free a sinner from all the past penalties he would have to pay in Purgatory to be on a par with Divine Justice. So, you can understand the importance of indulgences.

In an epoch of faith, Catholics are eager to shorten their time in Purgatory as much as they can by means of indulgences. One reason the medieval people were enthusiasts of pilgrimages was because they went on them in the spirit of penance to shorten their time in Purgatory. They would travel to Saint James of Compostella in Spain, to Rome, to the Holy Land, and to many particular places inside their own countries. During these travels, they were exposed to inconveniences, diseases and accidents, to being robbed or beaten by bandits, and even to death. They made those pilgrimages, however, with the principle aim of obtaining indulgences.

At Christmas, Saint Catherine of Siena used to send a Papal Bull offering such and such indulgences along with her gifts to her friends. That is, what they could have earned by making a difficult pilgrimage, she gave them in a much simpler way as a special gift. This gave her friends great joy.

Saint Catherine was also known for speaking the plain truth to people. When she gave her friends these indulgences, she was sending them an implicit message: “You have debts to pay. Do not forget them. Think about your death.” To give indulgences along with other Christmas gifts is a gracious way to speak this truth.

She also did not spare the truth with Cardinals and Popes, and they would accept her admonishments well. How different from today!

Today the clergy imagines itself above any criticism. They rarely accept any advice a layperson might offer them. Among many other things, Vatican Council II had this curious point. It did not say one word about the internal deterioration of the clergy, which was already terrible in the early ‘60s. Even today the clergy do not admit any lay person to speak about their defects, even though their sins and vices are exploding notoriously everywhere. If someone tries to give a counsel, they take it as an offense.

With this modern attitude of pride, you can understand the difference between the two crises. The crisis of the 14th and 15th centuries was a very grave one that prepared the way for Protestantism. But it is nothing in comparison to the crisis we are witnessing today. The difference is analogous to the gap between the first guns that appeared at that time and today’s atomic bomb. Both are weapons that cause death. But what a difference between an old harquebus and an atomic bomb! How small and insignificant is the effect of the first compared to the degree of destruction caused by the second!

What is this atomic bomb here? It is the spirit of the Revolution that penetrated the clergy and raised great pride in its members: they do not admit correction. Refusing to admit their faults, they fell deeper and deeper into them. As this cycle of vices repeated itself indefinitely, it produced the crisis we are witnessing today.

Since Saint Catherine of Siena is a saint who worked to rebuild the Church at her time, it is natural that she should be the Patroness of those who work for the Catholic Church in the general collapse she experiences today. Therefore, let us ask her to help us achieve the victories she attained at her time. Protestantism would have come much sooner if Saint Catherine of Siena would not have been faithful. We are much less than she was, but we should desire to do more than she did. We should desire and pray that the Revolution against Dogma and Tradition be destroyed, reduced to ruin, and that over its ruins the fortress-palace of the Reign of the Most Holy Trinity and the Blessed Virgin Mary be built. Let us ask Jesus Christ for this grace. I am sure that He will be pleased to hear this prayer and attend to our pleas.

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CALENDAR of the SAINTS

Anno Dómini 29 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

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Abbots of Cluny

In the fragmented and localized Europe of the 10th and 11th centuries, the Cluniac network extended its reforming influence far. Free of lay and episcopal interference, responsible only to the papacy, which was in a state of weakness and disorder with rival popes supported by competing nobles, Cluniac spirit was felt revitalizing the Norman church, reorganizing the royal French monastery at Fleury and inspiring St Dunstan in England. There were no official English Cluniac priories until that of Lewes in Sussex, founded by the Anglo-Norman earl William de Warenne A.D. 1077. The best-preserved Cluniac houses in England are Castle Acre Priory, Norfolk, and Wenlock Priory, Shropshire. It is thought that there were only three Cluniac nunneries in England, one of them being Delapré Abbey at Northampton.

Until the reign of Henry VI, all Cluniac houses in England were French, governed by French priors and directly controlled from Cluny. Henry's act of raising the English priories to independent abbeys was a political gesture, a mark of England's nascent national consciousness.

The early Cluniac establishments had offered refuges from a disordered world but by the late 11th century, Cluniac piety permeated society. This is the period that achieved the final Christianization of the heartland of Europe.

Well-born and educated Cluniac priors worked eagerly with local royal and aristocratic patrons of their houses, filled responsible positions in their chanceries and were appointed to bishoprics. Cluny spread the custom of veneration of the king as patron and support of the Church, and in turn the conduct of 11th-century kings, and their spiritual outlook, appeared to undergo a change. In England, Edward the Confessor was later canonized. In Germany, the penetration of Cluniac ideals was effected in concert with Henry III of the Salian dynasty, who had married a daughter of the duke of Aquitaine. Henry was infused with a sense of his sacramental role as a delegate of Christ in the temporal sphere. He had a spiritual and intellectual grounding for his leadership of the German church, which culminated in the pontificate of his kinsman, Pope Leo IX. The new pious outlook of lay leaders enabled the enforcement of the Truce of God movement to curb aristocratic violence.

Within his order, the Abbot of Cluny was free to assign any monk to any house; he created a fluid structure around a central authority that was to become a feature of the royal chanceries of England and of France, and of the bureaucracy of the great independent dukes, such as that of Burgundy. Cluny's highly centralized hierarchy was a training ground for Catholic prelates: four monks of Cluny became popes: Gregory VII, Urban II, Paschal II and Urban V.

An orderly succession of able and educated abbots, drawn from the highest aristocratic circles, led Cluny, and three were canonized: Saints Odo of Cluny, the second abbot (died 942); Hugh of Cluny, the sixth abbot ( died A.D. 1109 ); and Odilo, the fifth abbot ( died A.D. 1049 ). Odilo continued to reform other monasteries, but as Abbot of Cluny, he also exercised tighter control of the order's far-flung priories.

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Saint Agapius of Cirta, Martyr

Priest. Martyred A.D. 259 at Citra, Algeriawith Saint Secundinus, Saint Emilian, Saint Tertula, Saint Antonia, and a woman and two children whose names are not known.

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Saint Antonia, Martyr

Martyred A.D. 259 at Citra, Algeria with Saint Secundinus, Saint Agapius, Saint Emilian, Saint Tertula, and a woman and two children whose names are not known.

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Saint Ava

Ava was the daughter of King Pepin. She was cured of blindness by Saint Rainfredis, became a Benedictine nun at Dinart, Hainault, and later was elected Abbess.

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Saint Basil of Ostrog

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Saint Caterina Benincasa ( Catherine of Siena ), Doctor of His Church

Caterina Benincasa was born in Siena, Italy, to Giacomo di Benincasa, a cloth dyer who ran his enterprise with the help of his sons, and Lapa Piagenti, possibly the daughter of a local poet.The house where Catherine grew up is still in existence. Born in A.D. 1347, she arrived when the black death struck the area; Siena was badly ravaged. Lapa was about forty years old when she prematurely gave birth to twin daughters, Catherine and Giovanna. Lapa had already had 22 children, but half of them had died. Giovanna was handed over to a wet-nurse, and presently died, whereas Catherine was nursed by her mother, and developed into a healthy child. She was two years old when Lapa had her 25th child, another daughter named Giovanna. Catherine had her first vision of Christ when she was age five or six, saying that Jesus smiled at her, blessed her, and left her in ecstasy. At age seven she vowed chastity.

Her older sister Bonaventura died in childbirth. Within a year, the younger sister named Giovanna also died. While tormented with sorrow, sixteen-year-old Catherine was now faced with her parents' wish that she marry Bonaventura's widower. Absolutely opposed to this, she started a massive fast, something she had learnt from Bonaventura, whose husband had not been considerate in the least. Bonaventura had changed his attitude by refusing to eat until he showed better manners. This had taught Catherine the power of fasting in close relationships. She claimed to feel "jubilant" when cutting off her long hair.

She would later advise her confessor and biographer, the Blessed Raymond of Capua, O.P., ( who went on to become Master General of the Order ) to do during times of trouble what she did now as a teenager: "Build a cell inside your mind, from which you can never flee." In this inner cell she made her father into a representation of Christ, Lapa into the Blessed Virgin Mary, and her brothers into the apostles. Serving them humbly became an opportunity for spiritual growth. The greater the suffering, the larger her triumph was. Eventually her father gave up and permitted her to live as she pleased.

A vision of Saint Dominic strengthened her, though, but her wish to join his Order was no comfort to Lapa, who took her daughter with her to the baths in Bagno Vignoni to improve her health. Soon she fell seriously ill with violent rash, fever and pain, which conveniently made her mother accept her wish to join the "Mantellate", the local association of Dominican tertiary Sisters. Lapa went to the Sisters of the Order and persuaded them to take in her daughter. Within days, Catherine seemed entirely restored, rose from bed and donned the black and white habit of the Third Order of Saint Dominic. As a tertiary, she lived outside the convent, at home with her family like before. The Mantellate taught Catherine how to read, and she lived in almost total silence and solitude in the family home. Her custom of giving away food and clothing without asking anyone's permission cost her family significantly but she demanded nothing for herself. By staying in their midst, she could live out her rejection of them more strongly. She did not want their food, referring to the table laid for her in Heaven with her real family.

Saint Catherine had received the habit of a Dominican tertiary from the friars of the Order, however, only after vigorous protests from the Tertiaries themselves, who up to that point had been only widows.

In about A.D.1366, Catherine experienced what she described in her letters as a "Mystical Marriage" with Jesus, later a popular subject in art as the Mystic marriage of Saint Catherine. Other miracles recounted in Raymond of Capua's biography include her reception of the stigmata and her receiving communion from Christ himself. Raymond also records that she was told by Christ to leave her withdrawn life and enter the public life of the world. Catherine dedicated much of her life to helping the ill and the poor, where she took care of them in hospitals or homes. Her early pious activities in Siena attracted a group of followers, both women and men, while they also brought her to the attention of the Dominican Order, which called her to Florence in A.D. 1374 to interrogate her for possible heresy. After this visit, in which she was deemed sufficiently orthodox, she began traveling with her followers throughout northern and central Italy advocating reform of the clergy and the launch of a new crusade and advising people that repentance and renewal could be done through "the total love for God."

Physical travel was not the only way in which Catherine made her views known. In the early A.D. 1370s, she began dictating letters to various scribes.These letters were intended to reach men and women of her circle, increasingly widening her audience to include figures in authority as she begged for peace between the republics and principalities of Italy and for the return of the Papacy from Avignon to Rome. She carried on a long correspondence with Pope Gregory XI, also asking him to reform the clergy and the administration of the Papal States.

In A.D. June 1376 Catherine went to Avignon herself as ambassador of Florence to make peace with the Papal States, but was unsuccessful. She also tried to convince Pope Gregory XI to return to Rome. She impressed the Pope so much that he returned his administration to Rome in A.D. January 1377. Following Gregory's death and during the Western Schism of A.D. 1378 she was an adherent of Pope Urban VI, who summoned her to Rome, and stayed at Pope Urban VI's court and tried to convince nobles and cardinals of his legitimacy. She lived in Rome until her death in A.D. 1380. The problems of the Western Schism would trouble her until the end of her life.

Saint Catherine's letters are considered one of the great works of early Tuscan literature. More than 300 have survived. In her letters to the Pope, she often referred to him affectionately as Papa ( "Pope" in Italian ). Other correspondents include her various confessors, among them Raymond of Capua, the kings of France and Hungary, the infamous mercenary John Hawkwood, the Queen of Naples, members of the Visconti family of Milan, and numerous religious figures. Roughly one third of her letters are to women.

Her other major work is The Dialogue of Divine Providence, a dialogue between a soul who "rises up" to God and God himself, and recorded between A.D. 1377 and 1378 by members of her circle. Often assumed to be illiterate, Catherine is acknowledged by Raymond in his life of her as capable of reading both Latin and Italian, and another hagiographer, Tommaso Caffarini, claimed that she could write in her own hand, though the majority of her written work was dictated.

Death

Saint Catherine died in Rome, the spring of 1380, at the age of thirty-three. Jesus is also commonly thought to have died at the same age, and Saint Catherine's heroine Blessed Apostle Saint Mary Magdalen is said to have fasted for thirty-three years.

Over the years Catherine had eaten less and less, claiming that she found no nourishment in earthly food. Instead she received the Holy Communion virtually on a daily basis. This extreme fasting appeared unhealthy in the eyes of the clergy and her own sisterhood, and her confessor, Blessed Raymond, ordered her to eat properly. But Catherine claimed that she was unable to, describing her inability to eat as an infermita (illness). She would disgorge what she swallowed, and suffered severe stomach pains, which she bore with patience as another penance.

She was buried in the cemetery of Santa Maria sopra Minerva which lies near the Pantheon. After miracles were reported to take place at her grave, Raymond moved her inside the Basilica of Santa Maria sopra Minerva, where she lies to this day. Her head however, was parted from her body and inserted in a gilt bust from bronze. This bust was later taken to Siena, and carried through that city in a procession to the Dominican church. Behind the bust walked Lapa, Catherine's mother, who lived until she was 89 years old. By then she had seen the end of the wealth and the happiness of her family, and followed most of her children and several of her grandchildren to the grave. She helped Raymond of Capua write his biography of her daughter, and said, "I think God has laid my soul athwart in my body, so it can't get out."

The people of Siena wished to have Saint Catherine's body. A story is told of a miracle whereby they were partially successful: Knowing that they could not smuggle her whole body out of Rome, they decided to take only her head which they placed in a bag. When stopped by the Roman guards, they prayed to Saint Catherine to help them, confident that she would rather have her body ( or at least part thereof ) in Siena. When they opened the bag to show the guards, it appeared no longer to hold her head but to be full of rose petals. Once they got back to Siena they reopened the bag and her head was visible once more. Due to this story, Saint Catherine is often seen holding a rose. The incorruptible head and thumb were entombed in the Basilica of San Domenico, where they remain.

Pope Pius II canonized Saint Catherine in the year 1461. Her feast day, at the time, was not included in the Roman Calendar. When it was added in A.D. 1597, it was put on the day of her death, April 29, as now, but because of a conflict with the feast of Saint Peter of Verona, which was also on April 29, it was moved in A.D. 1628 to the new date of April 30. In the A.D. 1969 revision of the Roman Catholic calendar of saints, it was decided to leave the celebration of the feast of Saint Peter of Verona to local calendars, because he was not as well known worldwide, and Saint Catherine's feast was restored to its traditional date of April 29.Some continued to use one or other of the calendars in force in the A.D. 1628–1969 period.

On A.D. 5 May 1940 Pope Pius XII named her a joint Patron Saint of Italy along with Saint Francis of Assisi. Pope Paul VI gave her the title of Doctor of the Church in 1970 along with Saint Teresa of Ávila making them the first women to receive this honor. In A.D. 1999, Pope John Paul II made her one of Europe's patron saints. She is also the patroness of the historically Catholic American woman's fraternity, Theta Phi Alpha.

Catherine is alleged to have suffered from anorexia mirabilis. Nonetheless she remains a greatly respected figure for her spiritual writings, and political boldness to "speak truth to power"— it being exceptional for a woman, in her time period, to have had such influence in politics and on world history.

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Saint Cercyra

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Saint Daniel of Gerona, Martyr

A hermit martyr, patron of the abbey church of the Benedictine nuns in Gerona, Spain. Saint Daniel is reported to have been a native of Asia Minor.

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Saint Dichu,

Son of an Ulster chieftain.Saint Patrick's first convert in Ireland; giving Saint Patrick the ground at Saul for His first church in Ireland.

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Saint Emilian, Martyr

Soldier. Martyred in A.D. 259 at Citra, Algeriawith Saint Secundinus, Saint Agapius, Saint Tertula, Saint Antonia, and a woman and two children whose names are not known.

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Saint Endellion of Tregony

Sister of Saint Nectan of Hartland. Part of her shrine still exists in Saint Endellion, Cornwall, England.

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Saint Euphrasius of Corfu, Martyr

A criminal, he was converted by Saint Jason and Saint Sosipater while in prison with them. Boiled in oil in the 2nd century on the Greek island of Corfu for his devotion to Jesus Christ. One of the Martyrs of Corfu.

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Saint Faustianus of Corfu, Martyr

A criminal, he was converted by Saint Jason and Saint Sosipater while in prison with them. Boiled in oil in the 2nd century on the Greek island of Corfu for his devotion to Jesus Christ. One of the Martyrs of Corfu.

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Saint Fiachan of Lismore

Monk at Lismore, Ireland. Spiritual student of Saint Carthage the Younger.

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Saint Hugh of Cluny, Martyr

Born to the Burgundian nobility. Eldest son of Count Dalmatius of Semur and Aremberge of Vergy. His father wanted him to become a knight and secular leader; his mother was advised of a vision received by a local priest that her son was destined for religious life. When Hugh seemed more inclined to the Church than the hunt, his father sent him to his grand-uncle Hugh, Bishop of Auxerre, France for education. Novice at Cluny Abbey at age 14. Monk at 15 under Saint Odilo. Deacon at 18. Priest at 20. Benedictine. Abbey prior. Elected abbot A.D. 1 January 1049.

Fought lay investiture, simony, and corruption among the clergy. Founded almost 2,000 new houses, led by like-minded religious, in France, Germany, Spain and Italy. Fought against simony at the Council of Rheims A.D. 1049. Participated in the Council of Rome A.D. 1059 that set the method of election of Popes. Presided over the Synod of Toulouse, and participated in the A.D. 1063 Council of Rome. Served as peace maker between the Vatican and Henry IV. Advisor to nine Popes. Miracles reported at his tomb. Most of his relics were destroyed by Huguenots A.D. 1575.

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Saint Inischolus of Corfu, Martyr

A criminal, he was converted by Saint Jason and Saint Sosipater while in prison with them. Boiled in oil in the 2nd century on the Greek island of Corfu for his devotion to Jesus Christ. One of the Martyrs of Corfu.

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Saint Januarius of Corfu, Martyr

A criminal, he was converted by Saint Jason and Saint Sosipater while in prison with them. Boiled in oil in the 2nd century on the Greek island of Corfu for his devotion to Jesus Christ. One of the Martyrs of Corfu.

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Saint Joseph Benedict Cottolengo, Martyr

Born to a middle class family. Studied at the seminary in Turin.Ordained in 1811. Parish priest in Bra and Corneliano. Doctor of Divinity. Joined the Order of the Corpus Christi in Turin.Canon of the Church of the Trinity in Turin.

For several years, Joseph treated his priesthood more as a career than a vocation. Then one night he was called to the bed of a poor, sick woman in labour. The woman badly needed medical help, but had been turned away everywhere for lack of money. Joseph stayed with her throughout the travail, and was there to hear her confession, give her absolution, Communion, and last rites. He baptized her newborn daughter, and then watched as both of them died in bed. The trauma of the evening changed his mind about his vocation.

In 1827 he opened a small shelter for the area sick and homeless, renting a room, filling it with beds, and seeking male and female volunteers. The place expanded, and he received help from the Brothers of Saint Vincent and the Vincentian Sisters. During a cholera outbreak in 1831, the local police closed the hospice, fearing it was a source of the illness.

In 1832 he transferred the operation to Valdocco, and called the shelter the Little House of Divine Providence ( Piccola Casa ). The Casa began receiving support, and grew, adding asylums, orphanages, hospitals, schools, workshops, chapels, alm-shouse, and programs to help the poor, sick, and needy of all types. This small village of the poor depended almost entirely on alms, Joseph kept no records, and turned down offers of state assistance; never once did they do without. Joseph directed the operation until a few days before his death, and the Casa continues to today, serving 8,000 or more each day. He founded fourteen communities to serve the residents, including the Daughters of Compassion, Daughters of the Good Shepherd, Hermits of the Holy Rosary, and Priests of the Holy Trinity.

Α ☧ Ω

Saint Mammius of Corfu, Martyr

A criminal, he was converted by Saint Jason and Saint Sosipater while in prison with them. Boiled in oil in the 2nd century on the Greek island of Corfu for his devotion to Jesus Christ. One of the Martyrs of Corfu.

Α ☧ Ω

Blessed Maria Magdalena Sordini

Caterina Sordini was born on 16 April 1770 at Grosseto, Italy, the fourth of nine children born into a deeply Catholic family. When she was 17 her father arranged for her to marry a maritime merchant. At first she was against it, but later complied with her father's wishes. The young man gave her a casket of jewels and, having adorned herself, turned to admire her reflection in the mirror but saw the image of the Crucified Christ who asked: "Do you want to leave me for another?"

She took the question seriously and in February 1788 visited the Franciscan Tertiary Monastery in Ischia di Castro. Caterina entered then and there, thus shocking her father who had thought it was merely a visit. She was clothed six months later, taking the name of Sister Mary Magdalene of the Incarnation.

On A.D. 19 February 1789, she fell into ecstasy and saw a vision of "Jesus seated on a throne of grace in the Blessed Sacrament, surrounded by virgins adoring him" and heard him telling her: "I have chosen you to establish the work of perpetual adorers who, day and night, will offer me their humble adoration...". Thus, she was called to become the foundress of the Perpetual Adorers of the Blessed Sacrament and to spend her life adoring Jesus in the Eucharist. In that turbulent period for the Church she set an example to all.

She was elected Abbess A.D. 20 April 1802. The period of her governance was accompanied by extraordinary phenomena and an increasingly fervent spiritual life, and the abbey thrived. With the consent of her spiritual director and the local Bishop she drafted the rules of the new Institute and set out for Rome on 31 May 1807.

A.D. 8 July that year, she and a few Sisters moved into Sts Joachim and Anne convent, near the Trevi Fountain. Under the French occupation it was confiscated and the Napoleonic laws suppressed her Order. She was exiled to Tuscany.

There she formed a new group of Adorers A.D. 19 March 1814, when they could return to Rome they settled at Sant'Anna al Quirinale. A.D. 13 February 1818, Pope Pius VII approved the Institute dedicated to perpetual, solemn, public exposition of the Most Blessed Sacrament.

Mother Sister Mary Magdalene died in Rome A.D. 29 April 1824. She was buried at Sant'Anna al Quirinale and in 1839 her remains were translated to the Church of Santa Maria Maddalena, the new generalate of the Perpetual Adorers of the Blessed Sacrament in Rome. Pope John Paul II decreed her heroic virtues A.D. 2001 and in 2007, Benedict XVI recognized a miracle attributed to her intercession.

Α ☧ Ω

Saint Marsalius of Corfu, Martyr

A criminal, he was converted by Saint Jason and Saint Sosipater while in prison with them. Boiled in oil in the 2nd century on the Greek island of Corfu for his devotion to Jesus Christ. One of the Martyrs of Corfu.

Α ☧ Ω

Martyrs of Corfu

A gang of thieves who converted while in prison, brought to the faith by Saint Jason and Saint Sosipater who were had been imprisoned for evangelizing. When the gang announced their new faith, they were all boiled in oil in the 2nd century on the Greek island of Corfu for their devotion to Jesus Christ.

Α ☧ Ω

Bishop Saint Paulinus of Brescia

Bishop of Brescia, Italy A.D. 524.

Α ☧ Ω

Saint Peter Verona, Martyr

Son of Catharist heretics. Educated in a Catholic school and at the University of Bologna. Embraced orthodox Catholicism upon hearing the teaching of Saint Dominic. Became a Dominican at age 16, received into the order by Saint Dominic.Priest. Noted and inspiring preacher in the Lombard region, he spoke often against the Catharists. Called a "Second Paul" because he turned from heresy and tried to convert his former confreres. Inquisitor for northern Italy c.1234, appointed by Pope Gregory IX. Assigned to preach against Manichaeanism, he evangelized throughout Italy. Murdered by Catharists on the road. Miracle worker. Italy. Interred in the mausoleum of the church of Saint Eustorgio, Milan. Miracles reported at his tomb.

Α ☧ Ω

Blessed Robert Bruges

Cistercian abbot, also called Robert Gruthhysen. He was born in Burges, Belgium, and entered the Cistercians. In 1311, he went to Clairvaux, France, where Saint Bernard of Clairvaux established the framed community. Eight years later, he was sent to his native region where he served as abbot of the monastery at Dunes. In 1153, he received the honor of succeeding Saint Bernard as abbot of Clairvaux.

Α ☧ Ω

Saint Robert of Molesme, Martyr

Born to the nobility. Benedictine monk in 1044. Prior of Moutiers-la-Celle Abbey. Abbot of Saint-Michel-de-Tonnerre, but considered it to have lax standards. Prior of Saint-Ayeul Abbey. In 1075, in an attempt to return to a simpler form of Benedictine life requested by a group of hermits from the forests around Colan, France, he helped found the monastery at Molesme, Burgundy. The group, especially Robert, gained a reputation for piety, which led to bequests of cash, which led to an increase in size of the monastery, which led to internal difficulties, and suddenly there were many brothers that objected to the severe life practised by the founders. Robert twice left to live on his own, but was ordered back to his position by the pope. In early 1098 Robert, Saint Stephen Harding, Saint Alberic of Citeaux and 18 other monks left Molesme, and on 21 March they founded the monastery of Cîteaux near Dijon, France, with the goal of living strictly by the Benedictine Rule, strict vows of poverty, and frequent retreats; Robert served as the first abbot. However, with conditions deteriorating at the Molesme house he was re-assigned as abbot there in 1100 with a mandate to reform; he lived and worked there the rest of his life. Traditionally considered one of the founders of the Cistercians, the reform that developed at Citeaux.

Α ☧ Ω

Saint Rudolph Strabo

Α ☧ Ω

Saint Saturninus of Corfu , Martyr

A criminal, he was converted by Saint Jason and Saint Sosipater while in prison with them. Boiled in oil in the 2nd century on the Greek island of Corfu for his devotion to Jesus Christ. One of the Martyrs of Corfu.

Α ☧ Ω

Saint Secundinus, Martyr

Priest. Martyred A.D. 259 at Citra, Algeria with Saint Secundinus, Saint Emilian, Saint Tertula, Saint Antonia, and a woman and two children whose names are not known.

Α ☧ Ω

Saint Senan of Wales, Martyr

Seventh century hermit in north Wales.

Α ☧ Ω

Saint Severus of Naples

Bishop of Naples, Italy. Miracle worker; he once brought a dead man back to life so he could clear his widow of false accusations.

Α ☧ Ω

Saint Tertula, Martyr

Martyred A.D. 259 at Citra, Algeria with Saint Secundinus, Saint Agapius, Saint Emilian, Saint Antonia, and a woman and two children whose names are known.

Α ☧ Ω

Saint Torpes of Pisa, Martyr

Martyred A.D. 65 at Pisa, Italy during the persecution of Catholics by pagan Nero. Saint-Tropez, France is named for him.

Α ☧ Ω

BishopSaint Tychicus of Colophon, Martyr

A disciple of Blessed Apostle Saint Paul mentioned five times in the New Testament ( Acts 20:4; Colossians 4:7; Ephesians 6:21; 2 Timothy 4:12; Titus 3:12 ). According to Blessed Apostle Saint Paul’s Letters to the Colossians and Ephesians, he was described as "my beloved brother and trustworthy minister in the Lord." Tradition declares him to have become bishop of Paphos, Cyprus.

Α ☧ Ω

Bishop Saint Wilfrid the Younger

Wilfrid was a student of England’s Whitby Abbey and a pupil of the bishop of York, (Saint) John of Beverley, who greatly esteemed him and chose him as his chaplain. After John had resigned his office to spend his remaining years in a monastery, Wilfrid succeeded him in the See of York. During his episcopate, Wilfrid manifested a great zeal in preaching to the faithful. He later followed in his mentor’s footsteps by spending the end of his life in a monastery.

Saint Wilfrid the Younger, was the last Bishop of York, as the See was converted to an archbishopric during the time of his successor. In the 10th century, two different groups claim to have taken the relics of an earlier Wilfrid from Ripon; most likely one party took those of Wilfrid the Younger.

Α ☧ Ω

Compare...
Traditional Latin Mass

Atmosphere of Reverent Worship :
Peaceful, otherworldly atmosphere. Emphasis on individual 'lifting his heart & mind to God.' The faithful direct their prayer and attention to God, not each other."

Profound Reverence for His Real Presence :
Sixteen genuflections. The hands of the priest alone touch the consecrated hoSaint Communion given only on tongue.

Fidelity to Catholic Doctrine :
Over the course of a year, all facets of Roman Rite Catholicism are presented.

Antiquity :
Bulk of Sunday prayers & their arrangement goes back at least to 300s and 400s AD. Canon essentially the same since Blessed Saint Ambrose ( Anno Dómini 397 ).

Stability :
Everything regulated by precise tradition to protect the purity of worship and doctrine.

Priest is Sacrificer:
Priest faces tabernacle, cross and altar ( symbolically toward God ). Priest performs all the actions & recites all the prayers of the Mass.

With....
Modern Mass at your parish

Social, Classroom, Entertainment Atmosphere :
Constant standing, sitting, amplified noise; atmosphere like a public meeting. Emphasis on 'instruction.' Socializing in church before & after service, and handshaking during.

Indifference, Irreverence towards Real Presence :
Only three genuflections required. Lay men & women distribute communion. Communion given in hand - a practice protestants introduced to deny Christ's Real Presence.

Systematic Omission of Catholic Doctrines :
New and or 'revised' prayers systematically omit all references to hell; judgment; punishment for sin; merits of the Saints; the One True Church; the souls of the departed; and heavenly miracles.

Novelty :
Traditional Sunday prayers omitted, or stripped of doctrines, and 'rearranged' from the 1960s to this day. Only 17% of old prayers remain. Chunks of ancient Canon are now 'optional'. The words of consecration, Christ's own words "For you and for many" have been changed. Three substitute 'Canons' invented & introduced in 1960s, with more invented later.

Constant Change :
Options, options and more options. Individual priests & parish liturgy committees get to pick, drop or invent texts to push whatever they think the faithful should believe.

Priest is "President", Actor :
Priest faces people instead of symbolically "toward God." Priest sits off to side. His functions given away to lay men and women whose hands have not been consecrated to hold the precious Body of Christ Jesus Christ, nor have they been given the Holy Sacrament of Holy Orders to perform priestly duties.

THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE

"Confession heals, confession justifies, confession grants pardon of sin. All hope consists in confession. In confession there is mercy. Believe it firmly, do not hesitate, never despair of the mercy of God." ~ Saint Isidore of Seville

As soon as Jesus Christ Christ rose from the dead and earned salvation for us, he brought his apostles a new gift. After speaking peace to them, he said, "As the Father has sent me, even so I send you" ( Blessed Apostle Saint John 20:21 ). Just as Jesus Christ Christ was sent by the Father to reconcile the world to God, Jesus Christ sent the apostles to continue his mission.

Jesus Christ then breathed on the apostles. This is a verse that is often passed over, but it has extraordinary significance because it is only the second time in all of Scripture where God breathes on anyone. The other instance was at the moment of creation, when God breathed his own life into the nostrils of Adam. This should tell us that something of great importance is taking place. Upon doing this, Jesus Christ said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained" ( Blessed Apostle Saint John 20:22-23 ).

Notice that Jesus Christ is not simply commissioning the apostles to preach about God's forgiveness. He is not saying, "Go tell everyone that when God forgives men's sins, they're forgiven." In using the second person plural you, Jesus Christ is telling his apostles that by the power of the Holy Spirit he has given them the power to forgive and retain the sins of men. Having the power to forgive and to retain sins implies that the apostle knows what a person's sins are, which in turn implies oral confession. Otherwise, how is the apostle to know what to retain or forgive?

Consider the following early Christian writings from the first five centuries:

"Confess your sins in church, and do not go up to your prayer with an evil conscience. This is the way of life. . . . On the Lord's Day gather together, break bread, and give thanks, after confessing your transgressions so that your sacrifice may be pure" ( Didache 4:14, 14:1 [ A.D. 70 ] ).

"[ Regarding confession, some ] flee from this work as being an exposure of themselves, or they put it off from day to day. I presume they are more mindful of modesty than of salvation, like those who contract a disease in the more shameful parts of the body and shun making themselves known to the physicians; and thus they perish along with their own bashfulness"(Tertullian, Repentance 10:1 [ A.D. 203 ] ).

"[ The bishop conducting the ordination of the new bishop shall pray: ] God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ Christ . . . pour forth now that power which comes from you, from your royal spirit, which you gave to your beloved Son, Jesus Christ Christ, and which he bestowed upon his holy apostles . . . and grant this your servant, whom you have chosen for the episcopate, [the power] to feed your holy flock and to serve without blame as your high priest . . . and by the Spirit of the high-priesthood to have the authority to forgive sins, in accord with your command" ( Hippolytus, Apostolic Tradition 3 [ A.D. 215 ] ).

"Priests have received a power which God has given neither to angels nor to archangels. It was said to them: 'Whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever you shall loose, shall be loosed.' Temporal rulers have indeed the power of binding; but they can only bind the body. Priests, in contrast, can bind with a bond which pertains to the soul itself and transcends the very heavens. Did [God] not give them all the powers of heaven? 'Whose sins you shall forgive,' he says, 'they are forgiven them; whose sins you shall retain, they are retained.' What greater power is there than this? The Father has given all judgment to the Son. And now I see the Son placing all this power in the hands of men" ( Saint John Chrysostom, The Priesthood 3:5 [ A.D. 387 ] ).

EXAMINATION OF CONSCIENCE

Prayers before Confession

Act of Contrition

O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, and I detest all my sins, because I dread the loss of Heaven and the pains of Hell, but most of all because they offend Thee, my God, Who art all-good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace, to confess my sins, do penance and to amend my life. Amen.

A Review of the Ten Commandments

Preliminary

Besides telling the nature of your sins, you must also recollect, as far as possible, the number of times you have committed them, telling also ( and only ) those circumstances which at times may either make a venial sin mortal or a mortal sin notably worse.

1. Have I ever failed to confess a serious sin or disguised it?
2. Have I been guilty of irreverence for this sacrament by failing to examine my conscience carefully?
3. Have I failed to perform the penance given me by the confessor or disobeyed any of his directions?
4. Have I neglected the Easter duty of receiving Holy Communion or failed to confess my sins within a year?
5. Have I any habits of serious sin to confess first (impurity, drunkenness, etc.)?
6. Have I improved on cutting down these habitual sins or is one confession after another sound like the same? If so, what can I resolve to improve?

First Commandment : I am the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not have strange gods before Me

1. Am I ignorant of my catechism ( Act of Contrition, Apostle's Creed, Ten Commandments, Seven Sacraments, the Our Father )?
2. Have I willfully doubted or denied any of the teachings of the Church ( heresy )?
3. Have I taken active part in any non-Catholic worship?
4. Am I a member of any anti-Catholic or any secret society?
5. Have I knowingly read any anti-Catholic literature or watched an anti-Catholic film or program or listened to anti-Catholic rhetoric?
6. Have I practiced any superstitions (horoscopes, fortune tellers, etc.)?
7. Have I failed to defend my Faith when it was attacked or have I remained silent for fear of being rebuked?

Second Commandment : Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain

1. Have I used God's name in vain by way of profanity?
2. Have I condoned others who use profanity by my silent approval?
3. Have I murmured or complained against God (blasphemy)?
4. Have I maligned priests or others consecrated to God without just reason?
5. Have I sworn by God's name (oath) either falsely or rashly?
6. Have I broken any vow to God either public or private?
7. Have I rationalized myself around a vow by cutting corners?

Third Commandment : Keep holy the Lord's Day

1. Have I missed Mass on Sundays or holydays through my own fault?
2. Have I been late for Mass through my own negligence?
3. Do I realize it is a venial sin to miss any part of the Mass?
4. Do I realize being really late for Mass is a mortal sin and my only alternative is to wait and go to another Mass?
5. Have I been inattentive at Mass or otherwise failed in reverence for the Most Blessed Sacrament?
6. Have I done unnecessary servile work (physical labor) or shopping on Sunday?
7. Have I eaten flesh meat on Friday (especially on Good Friday) or on Ash Wednesday or the assigned vigil fast days?
8. Have I obeyed the laws of the Church on fast and abstinence?

Fourth Commandment : Honor thy Father and Mother

1. Have I been disrespectful to my parents or neglected them?
2. Have I failed in obedience or reverence to others in authority?
3. Have I mistreated my wife or children?
4. Have I been disobedient or disrespectful to my husband?
5. Regarding my children:

-Have I neglected their material needs?
-Have I failed to care for their early Baptism or their proper religious instruction?
-Have I allowed them to neglect their religious duties?
-Have I tolerated their keeping questionable company or steady dating without chaperones?
-Have I otherwise failed to discipline them?
-Have I given them bad example in any way?
-Have I let boys and girls sleep together or with their parents?
-Have I interfered with their freedom to marry or follow a religious vocation?

Fifth Commandment : Thou shalt not kill

1. Have I placed any one's life in danger?
2. Have I threatened any one's life in anger?
3. Have I condoned or promoted abortion?
4. Have I condoned or tolerated others who promote abortion?
5. Have I taken pleasure in anyone's misfortune?
6. Have I jeopardized others by my driving recklessly?
7. Have I used contraceptives thus preventing life?
8. Have I been sympathetic to those contemplating suicide?

Sixth & Ninth Commandments : Thou shalt not commit adultery and Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife

1. Have I committed adultery or fornication?
2. Have I jeopardized my marriage by flirting or untoward glances and advances toward the opposite sex?
3. Have I denied my spouse his or her marriage rights?
4. Have I practiced birth control?
5. Have I abused my marriage rights in any other way?
6. Have I touched or embraced another impurely?
7. Have I sinned with others of the same sex?
8. Have I committed masturbation or otherwise sinned impurely with myself?
9. Have I harbored lustful desires for anyone?
10. Have I indulged in other impure thoughts?
11. Have I failed to dress modestly?
12. Have I done anything to provoke or occasion impure thoughts in others?
13. Have I read indecent literature or looked at indecent pictures or websites?
14. Have I watched suggestive films or television programs?
15. Have I permitted my children or others under my charge to do these things?
16. Have I used indecent language or told indecent stories?
17. Have I willingly listened to such stories?
18. Have I boasted of my sins?
19. Have I condoned promiscuity by my silent consent of the actions of others?
20. Have I sinned against chastity in any other way?
21. Do I realize my body is the temple of the Holy Ghost and must be treated as such?
22. Do I realize that there are more souls in hell for the sins of the flesh than any other sin? How seriously do I take that and what can I do to become more chaste?

Seventh & Tenth Commandments : Thou shalt not steal and Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's goods

1. Have I stolen anything?
2. Have I damaged anyone's property through my own fault?
3. Have I cheated or defrauded others?
4. Have I refused or neglected to pay any just debts?
5. Have I neglected my duties or been slothful in my work?
6. Have I refused or neglected to help anyone in urgent necessity?
7. Have I failed to make restitution?
8. Have I harmed the good name or reputation of others in any way?

Eighth Commandment : Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor

1. Have I lied about anyone ( calumny )?
2. Have I rash judged anyone of a serious sin?
3. Have I engaged in gossip (detraction) or spread scandal?
4. Have I lent an ear to scandal about my neighbor?
5. Have I been jealous or envious of anyone?
6. Have I taken pleasure in anyone's misfortune?
7. Have I quarreled with any one and caused scandal?
8. Have I cursed anyone or otherwise wished evil on him?
9. Is there anyone to whom I refuse to speak or be reconciled?

OTHER SINS :

1. Have I knowingly caused others to sin?
2. Have I cooperated in the sins of others?
3. Have I sinned by gluttony?
4. Have I become intoxicated?
5. Have I misused liquor or narcotics?
6. Have I been motivated by avarice?
7. Have I indulged in boasting or vain glory?
8. Have I received Holy Communion or another sacrament in the state of mortal sin?
9. Is there any other sin I need to confess?

Take time to thoroughly go over the list before you travel to church to go to confession. Once at church or in line for confession, recall the sins you have examined, and sincerely say the following prayer:

Prayer to the Holy Ghost

Come, Holy Ghost, fill the hearts of Thy faithful and enkindle in them the fire of Thy love.

For inspiration, read how Christ forgives from the Cross ( Blessed Apostle Saint Luke 23:33-34), the story of Blessed Apostle Saint Mary Magdalen and the Parable of The Two Debtors ( Blessed Apostle Saint Luke 7:36-50), and the Parable of the Prodigal Son ( Blessed Apostle Saint Luke 15:11-32 ). See also Saint Ephraem's "Homily on the Sinful Woman."

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 ).

If this devotional thread is a blessing to you, maybe you have a friend or family member that would be receptive to receiving this thread by e-mail. You can forward this link to them :

† Traditional True Mass Propers : Dominica Tertia Post Pascha ~ Third Sunday after Easter †
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/2878008/
New and/or revised Posts to this thread are : 13, 23, 32, 33 and 38.
A Sunday Homily is included in Post #38 ( just after the Gospel Reading )
May the protection and abundance of the Most Holy Trinity be with you and your loved ones.

Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus

Traditional True Holy Mass Propers

† Dominica Tertia Post Pascha ~ Third Sunday after Easter †

Anno Dómini 29 April 2012

Commemorating
† Saint Caterina Benincasa ( Catherine of Siena ) , Doctor of His Church †

( Observed Anno Dómini 30 April 2012 )

Color : Albus/White Vestments I Classis ~ First Class Observance

Jubiláte Deo, omnis terra, allelúja: psalmum dícite nómini ejus, allelúja, date glóriam laudi ejus, allelúja, allelúja, allelúja....
( Shout with joy to God, all the earth, alleluia: sing ye a psalm to His Name, alleluia: give glory to His praise, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.... )

"....Amen, amen dico vobis: quia plorábitis, et flébitis vos, mundus autem gaudébit: vos vero contristabímini, sed tristítia vestra vertétur in gáudium......"
( "....Amen, amen, I say to you, that you shall lament and weep, but the world shall rejoice: and you shall be made sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy......" )

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

"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 LXV: I-II ~ 65:1-2

Jubiláte Deo, omnis terra, allelúia: psalmum dícite nómini ejus, allelúia: date glóriam laudi ejus, allelúia, allelúia, allelúia. Psalm 65:3 Dícite Deo, quam terribília sunt ópera tua, Dómine! in multitúdine virtútis tuæ mentiéntur tibi inimíci tui. V. Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto. Sicut erat in principio et nunc et semper et in saecula saeculorum. Amen. Repeat : Jubiláte Deo, omnis terra, allelúia....

S hout with joy to God, all the earth, alleluia: sing ye a psalm to His Name, alleluia: give glory to His praise, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia. Psalm 65:3 Say unto God: How terrible are Thy works, O Lord! In the multitude of Thy strength Thy enemies shall lie to Thee. V. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost, as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. Repeat : Shout with joy to God, all the earth, alleluia......

ORATIO ~ COLLECT

Deus, qui errántibus, ut in viam possint redire justítiæ, veritátis tuæ lumen osténdis: da cunctis qui Christiána professióne censéntur, et illa respúere, quæ huic inimíca sunt nómini, et ea quæ sunt apta, sectári, per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum .

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.

Collect For The Intercession Of The Saints

A cunctis nos quæsumus Dómine mentis et cópores defénde perículis: et intercedénet 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.

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, quæ-sumus, Dómine, preces placátus admítte: ut, destrúctis adversitátibus et erróribus univérsis, secura tibi sérviat libertáte. Per Dóminum nostrum Jesum Christum.

Collect Against the persecutors of Holy Mother Church

Ecclesiae tuae, quaesumus, Domine, preces placatus admitte : ut, destructis adversitatibus et erroribus universis, secura tibi serviat libertate, per Dóminum nostrum Jesum Christum.

O God who upon them that go astray dost shed the light of Thy truth, leading them back into the paths of righteousness: upon all who profess to be Christians, bestow grace to put from them whatever befits not the name they bear, and to order their lives worthily thereof, through our Lord Jesus Christ..

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.

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.

Collect For God's Holy Church

Graciously hear, O Lord, the prayers of Thy Church that, having overcome all adversity and every error, she may serve Thee in security and freedom.

Collect Against the persecutors of Holy Mother Church

We beseech Thee, O Lord, mercifully to receive the prayers of Thy Church : that, all adversity and error being destroyed, she may serve Thee in security and freedom, through Jesus Christ our Lord

EPISTOLA ~ EPISTLE ¤ 1 Peter II: XI-XIX ~ 2: 11-19

Léctio Epístolæ beati Petri Apóstoli.

Caríssimi: Obsecro vos tamquam ádvenas et peregrínos abstinére vos a carnálibus desidériis, quæ mílitant advérsus ánimam, conversatiónem vestram inter gentes habéntes bonam: ut in eo, quod detréctant de vobis tamquam de malefactóribus, ex bonis opéribus vos considerántes, gloríficent Deum in die visitatiónis. Subjécti ígitur estóte omni humánæ creatúræ propter Deum: sive regi, quasi præcellénti: sive dúcibus, tamquam ab eo missis ad vindíctam malefactórum, laudem vero bonórum: quia sic est volúntas Dei, ut benefaciéntes obmutéscere faciátis imprudéntium hóminum ignorántiam: quasi líberi, et non quasi velámen habéntes malítiæ libertátem, sed sicut servi Dei. Omnes honoráte: fraternitátem dilígite: Deum timéte: regem honorificáte. Servi, súbditi estóte in omni timóre Dóminis, non tantum bonis et modéstis, sed étiam dyscolis. Hæc est enim grátia: in Christo Jesu Dómino nostro.

A reading from the Epistle of the blessed Apostle Saint Peter.

D early beloved: I beseech you, as strangers and pilgrims, to refrain yourselves from carnal desires, which war against the soul, having your conversation good among the Gentiles: that whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by the good works which they shall behold in you, glorify God in the day of visitation. Be ye subject therefore to every human creature for God's sake: whether it be to the king as excelling, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of the good: for so is the will of God, that by doing well you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: as free, and not as making liberty a cloak for malice, but as the servants of God. Honor all men: love the brotherhood: fear God: honor the king. Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the forward. For this is thankworthy before God: in Christ Jesus our Lord.

ALLELUIA ¤ Psalm 110:9; Blessed Apostle Saint Luke 24:46

A llelúia, allelúia. Redemptiónem misit Dóminus pópulo suo. V. Luke 24:46 Allelúia. Oportébat pati Christum, et resúrgere a mórtuis: et ita intráre in glóriam suam. Allelúia.

AAlleluia, alleluia. The Lord hath sent redemption to His people. V. Luke 24:46 Alleluia. It behoved Christ to suffer these things, and so to enter into His glory. Alleluia.

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

EVANGELIUM ~ GOSPEL - Blessed Apostle Saint Joannem XVI:XVI-XXII ~ 16:16-22

† Sequentia sancti Evangelii secundum Joannem †
I n illo témpore: Dixit Jesus discípulis suis: "Módicum, et jam non vidébitis me: et íterum módicum, et vidébitis me: quia vado ad Patrem. Dixérunt ergo ex discípulis ejus ad ínvicem: Quid est hoc, quod dicit nobis: Módicum, et non vidébitis me: et íterum módicum, et vidébitis me, et quia vado ad Patrem? Dicébant ergo: Quid est hoc quod dicit: Módicum? nescímus quid lóquitur. Cognóvit autem Jesus, quia volébant eum interrogáre, et dixit eis: "De hoc quæritis inter vos, quia dixi: Módicum, et non vidébitis me: et íterum módicum, et vidébitis me. Amen, amen dico vobis: quia plorábitis, et flébitis vos, mundus autem gaudébit: vos vero contristabímini, sed tristítia vestra vertétur in gáudium. Múlier cum parit tristítiam habet, quia venit hora ejus: cum autem pepérerit púerum, jam non méminit pressúræ propter gáudium, quia natus est homo in mundum. Et vos ígitur nunc quidem tristítiam habétis, íterum autem vidébo vos, et gaudébit cor vestrum: et gáudium vestrum nemo tollet a vobis."

† A continuation of the Holy Gospel recorded by Blessed Apostle Saint John †
A t that time Jesus said to His disciples: "A little while, and now you shall not see Me; and again a little while, and you shall see Me; because I go to the Father." Then some of His disciples said one to another, What is this that He saith to us, A little while, and you shall not see Me; and again a little while, and you shall see Me: and because I go to the Father? They said therefore: What is this that He saith, A little while? we know not what He speaketh. And Jesus knew that they had a mind to ask Him: and He said to them: "Of this do you inquire among yourselves because I said: A little while, and you shall not see Me; and again a little while, and you shall see Me? Amen, amen, I say to you, that you shall lament and weep, but the world shall rejoice; and you shall be made sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. A woman, when she is in labor, hath sorrow, because her hour is come; but when she hath brought forth the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world. So also you now indeed have sorrow, but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man shall take from you.

Homily For The Third Sunday After Easter
May 2003 Anno Domini

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

Strangers and Pilgrims

It is far better to suffer through our temporary exile here on earth, then to be eternally exiled; never to behold the Beatific Vision.

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

We are "strangers and pilgrims," says Blessed Apostle Saint Peter ( 1 Pet.2:11 ). When Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, after having fled from the anger of Pharaoh to the land of Midian, he called his first son Gershom, because he said, "I am a stranger in a foreign land" ( Exodus 2:22 ).

Our name is Gershom. We are like the Israelites during the Babylonian Captivity: "By the streams of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Sion. On the aspens of that land we hung up our harps, though there our captors asked of us the lyrics of our songs, and our despoilers urged us to be joyous: 'Sing for us the songs of Sion!' How could we sing a song of the Lord in a foreign land?" (Psalm 136:1-4 ).

Are we really exiles? Yes, because our original parents, Adam and Eve, were turned out of Paradise into an unfamiliar and inhospitable land. They had disobeyed God by eating of the fruit of the tree of good and evil. "Therefore the Lord God put him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. He drove out the man; and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the Cherubim, and the flaming sword, which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life" ( Genesis 3:23,24 ). Since then our race has longed for Paradise, and our life in this world is that of a pilgrim. Here we have no lasting home.

But some, having lost Paradise, choose to settle here as permanent residents. They forget God and become attached to the things of the world, which, without God, ends up in violence and chaos. "The earth was corrupt in the sight of God, and it was filled with violence. And God saw that the earth was corrupt; for all men lived corruptly on the earth. And God said to Noah, 'The end of all creatures of flesh is in my mind; the earth is full of violence because of them. I will destroy them with the earth" ( Genesis 6:11-13 ).

Today, as in the time of Noah, God is forgotten. Even the 'church of Vatican II,' which passes for the Church these days, has cast an admiring glance at the world and its allurements. It has made a pact with the world, hoping to become a partner in its plans for a New World Order, which it is trying to baptize as "a civilization of peace and love." But it is having a hard time convincing the European Union to give so much as a nod to Christianity in its new constitution.

Pope Pius XII speaks of the spiritual decline that has affected Europe:

"The denial of the fundamentals of morality had its origin, in Europe, in the abandonment of that Christian teaching of which the Chair of Peter is the depository and exponent. That teaching had once given spiritual cohesion to a Europe which, educated, ennobled and civilized by the Cross, had reached such a degree of civil progress as to become the teacher of other peoples, of other continents. But, cut off from the infallible teaching authority of the Church, not a few separated brethren have gone so far as to overthrow the central dogma of Christianity, the Divinity of the Savior, and have hastened thereby the progress of spiritual decay… Once the authority of God and the sway of His law are denied… the civil authority as an inevitable result tends to attribute to itself that absolute autonomy which belongs exclusively to the Supreme Maker. It puts itself in the place of the Almighty and elevates the State or group into the last end of life, the supreme criterion of the moral and juridical order, and therefore forbids every appeal to the principles of natural reason and of the Christian conscience." ( Pope Pius XII, Summi Pontificatus, 29,53, Oct. 20, 1939 ).

The nations in their present state cannot admit the true Catholic Church to partnership in the New World Order. The Church is a dangerous institution - it smites the enemies of God with the sword of God's word. It puts down liars and deceivers with the truth of the Gospel. Through its prayers and supplications it sends Archangel Saint Michael and the heavenly hosts of angels to do battle with Satan and his demonic legions, together with their earthly counterparts. Evildoers are right to fear His Catholic Church, for after its time of trial it will rise gloriously to shatter the kingdom of darkness by preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all nations. No wonder they want to destroy it. That's why His Church has been brought down to the dust and has all but disappeared. Jesus Christ was dangerous in the same way, and they had Him crucified. But He rose again on the third day.

The true Church does not go sniveling to the UN or the EU begging to be a partner in the new order of things. The true Catholic Church has the authority from God Himself to teach the nations, and the nations and their leaders have an obligation to hear His Church:

"All power in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you…" ( Blessed Apostle Saint Matthew 28:8-20a ). "He who believes and is baptized shall be saved, but he who does not believe shall be condemned" ( Blessed Apostle Saint Mark 16:16 ).

Whether the UN, the EU or the US, the nations must hear and obey the voice of God. "He who hears you hears Me; and he who rejects you, rejects Me; and he who rejects Me, rejects Him Who sent Me" ( Blessed Apostle Saint Luke 10:16 ). His Catholic Church speaks with the authority of God.

Pope Pius XII emphasizes this:

"The 'Catholic Church, the City of God, whose King is Truth, whose law is love and whose measure eternity' ( Saint Augustine, Ep. CXXXVIII. Ad Marcellinum, C. 3, N. 17 ), preaching fearlessly the whole truth of Christ and toiling as the love of Christ demands with the zeal of a mother, stands as a blessed vision of peace above the storm of error and passion awaiting the moment when the all-powerful Hand of Christ the King shall quiet the tempest and banish the spirits of discord which have provoked it" ( Summi Pontificatus, #110 ).

After we have fought the good fight and kept the faith our exile will be ended. Our joy will be like that of the Israelites returning from exile in Babylonia: "When the Lord brought back the captives of Sion, we were like men dreaming. Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with rejoicing. Then they said among the nations, 'The Lord has done great things for them.' The Lord has done great things for us; we are glad indeed. Restore our fortunes, O Lord, like the torrents in the southern desert. Those that sow in tears shall reap rejoicing. Although they go forth weeping, carrying the seed to be sown, they shall come back rejoicing, carrying their sheaves" (Psalm 125:1-6 ). †

Blessed be the Holy Name of Jesus, now and for all eternity. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.

( Pause and reflect. )

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

OFFERTORIUM ~ OFFERTORY ¤ Psalm CXLV:II ~ 145:2

Lauda ánima mea Dóminum: laudábo Dóminum in vita mea: psallam Deo meo, quámdiu ero, allelúia.

Praise the Lord, O my soul: in my life I will praise the Lord: I will sing to my God as long as I shall be. Alleluia.

SECRETA ~ SECRET

His nobis, Dómine, mystériis conferátur, quo terréna desidéria mitigántes, discámus amáre cæléstia, per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum.

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.

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.

Secret For The Living and the Dead

Omnipotens sempiterna Deus, qui vivorum dominaris simul et mortuorum, omniumque misereris quos tuos fide et opera futuros esse 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. 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.

F rom these sacred mysteries, O Lord, may there flow upon us grace to control our desires of earthly things, and to learn to love those which are of heaven, through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Secret For The Blessed Virgin Mary

Strengthen in our minds, O Lord, we beseech Thee, the mysteries of the true faith, that, confessing Him Who was conceived of the Virgin to be true God and true man, we may deserve, through the power of His saving resurrection, to attain everlasting joy, through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Secret For The Intercession Of The Saints

May these sacrifices, we beseech Thee, O Lord, cleanse our offenses, and sanctify the bodies and minds of Thy servants for the celebration of this sacrifice, through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Secret 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.

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, through our Lord Jesus Christ.

PREFACE FOR EASTER

Vere dignum et justum est, æqum et salutáre, te quidem Dómine omni témpore, sed in hac potíssimum die, gloriósius prædicáre, cum Pascha nostrum immolátus est Christus. Ipse enim verus est Agnus qui ábstulit peccáta mundi. Qui mortem nostram moriéndo destrúxit, et vitam resurgéndo reparávit. Et ídeo cum Angelis et Archángelis, cum Thronis et Dóminatiónibus, cumque omni milítia cæléstis exércitus, hymnum glóriæ tuæ cánimus sine fine dicentes: SANCTUS, SANCTUS, SANCTUS...

It is truly meet and just, right and for our salvation, at all times to praise Thee, O Lord, but more gloriously especially at this time above others when Christ our Pasch was sacrificed. For He is the true Lamb Who hath taken away the sins of the world: Who by dying hath destroyed our death: and by rising again hath restored us to life. And therefore with Angels and Archangels, with Thrones and Dominations, and with all the hosts of the heavenly army, we sing the hymn of Thy glory, evermore saying: HOLY, HOLY, HOLY...

COMMUNIO ~ COMMUNION ¤ Blessed Apostle Saint John XVI:XVI ~ 16:16

Módicum, et non vidébitis me, allelúia: íterum módicum, et vidébitis me, quia vado ad Patrem, allelúia, allelúia.

A little while, and now you shall not see Me, alleluia: and again a little while, and you shall see Me: because I go to the Father. Alleluia, alleluia.

POSTCOMMUNIO ~ POSTCOMMUNION

S acraménta quæ súmpsimus, quæsumus, Dómine, et spirituálibus nos instáurent aliméntis, et corporálibus tueántur auxíliis, per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum.

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.

Postcommunion For The Intercession Of The Saints

Mundet et muniat nos, quaesumus, Domine, dívini Sacramenti munus oblatum : et, intercedente beáta Virgine Dei. Genitrice Maria, cum beato Joseph, beatis Apostolis tuis Petro et Paulo, atque beato N. ( here mention the titular saint of the church ), et omnibus Sanctis; a cunctis nos reddat et pervérsitátibus expiátos, et advérsitátibus expedítos, per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum.

Postcommunion For The Living and the Dead

Omnipotens sempiterna Deus, qui vivorum dominaris simul et mortuorum, omniumque misereris quos tuos fide et opera futuros esse 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.

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 .

We beseech Thee, O Lord, that the Sacrament we have received may both be food to our souls and sure defense to our bodies, through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Postcommunion For The Blessed Virgin Mary

Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts, that we, to whom the incarnation of Christ Thy Son was made known by the message of an angel, may, by His passion and cross, be brought to the glory of His resurrection.

Postcommunion For The Intercession Of The Saints

May the oblation of this divine sacrament cleanse and defend us, we beseech Thee, O Lord, and, through the intercession of the blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, with blessed Joseph, Thy blessed apostles Peter and Paul, blessed N. ( here mention the titular saint of the church ), and all the saints, purify us from all our sins and deliver us from all adversity, through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Postcommunion 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.

Postcommunion for God's Holy Church

O Lord our God, we pray Thee that Thou suffer not to succumb to human hazards those whom Thou hast been pleased to make sharers of divine mysteries, through our Lord Jesus Christ.

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.

Look 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.

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 colum 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. - †

Litany of the Most Precious
Blood of Jesus Christ

Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, have mercy on us.

Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us.

God the Father of Heaven, Have mercy on us.

God the Son, Redeemer of the world, Have mercy on us.

God the Holy Spirit, Have mercy on us.

Holy Trinity, One God, Have mercy on us.

Blood of Christ, only-begotten Son of the Eternal Father, Save us.

Blood of Christ, Incarnate Word of God, Save us.

Blood of Christ, of the New and Eternal Testament, Save us.

Blood of Christ, falling upon the earth in the Agony, Save us.

Blood of Christ, shed profusely in the Scourging, Save us.

Blood of Christ, flowing forth in the Crowning with Thorns, Save us.

Blood of Christ, poured out on the Cross, Save us.

Blood of Christ, Price of our salvation, Save us.

Blood of Christ, without which there is no forgiveness, Save us.

Blood of Christ, Eucharistic drink and refreshment of souls, Save us.

Blood of Christ, river of mercy, Save us.

Blood of Christ, Victor over demons, Save us.

Blood of Christ, Courage of martyrs, Save us.

Blood of Christ, Strength of confessors, Save us.

Blood of Christ, bringing forth virgins, Save us.

Blood of Christ, Help of those in peril, Save us.

Blood of Christ, Relief of the burdened, Save us.

Blood of Christ, Solace in sorrow, Save us.

Blood of Christ, Hope of the penitent, Save us.

Blood of Christ, Consolation of the dying, Save us.

Blood of Christ, Peace and Tenderness of hearts, Save us.

Blood of Christ, Pledge of Eternal Life, Save us.

Blood of Christ, freeing souls from Purgatory, Save us.

Blood of Christ, most worthy of all glory and honor, Save us.

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Spare us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Graciously hear us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Have mercy on us.

Thou hast redeemed us, O Lord, in Thy Blood, And made of us a kingdom for our God.

Let Us Pray:

Almighty and Eternal God, Thou hast appointed Thine only-begotten Son the Redeemer of the world, and willed to be appeased by His Blood. Grant, we beseech Thee, that we may worthily adore This Sacrifice for our salvation, and through Its Power be safeguarded from the evils of this present life, so that we may rejoice in its fruits forever in Heaven. Through the will of the Most Holy Trinity. Amen.

Source: Treasury of Novenas, Father Lawrence G. Lovesick

~ Petitions ~

Our Lady of La Salette, pray for us.

Precious Innocents conceived in His image and likeness,
horrifically denied their right to the life He intended,
please forgive us.

Terri Schindler-Schiavo, please forgive us.

Saint Joseph, Patron of the Universal Church and Protector of the Faithful,
pray for us.
Our Lady of Perpetual Help, comforter to the many who seek your healing grace,
pray for us.
Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us.
Sister Maria Lucia of Jesus Christ and the Immaculate Heart, pray for us
Blessed Francisco, pray for us.
Blessed Jacinta, pray for us.
Saint John the Beloved, pray for us.

Saint John the Baptist, pray for us.
Saint Gabriel the Archangel, pray for us.
Saint Michael the Archangel, protect the faithful from the snares of the disciples of Lucifer in disguise, and
bring ruin to those who intimidate, oppress, imprison, torture, and murder His faithful servants
throughout the world.
Saint Raphael the Archangel, pray for us.
Saint John the Beloved, pray for us.

Saints Peter and Paul, pray for us.
Saint Padre Pio, pray for us.
Saint Therese ( Lisieux ) of the Child Jesus Christ, pray for us.
Saint Bartholomew of Rossano, pray for us.
Saint Jerome, pray for us.
Saint Hedwig, pray for us.
Saint Teresa of Avila, pray for us.
Pope Saint Callistus, pray for us.
Saint Edward the Confessor, pray for us.
Saint John Mary Vianney, pray for us.
Saint Vincent de Paul, pray for us.
Saint Therese Lisieux, pray for us.
Saint Martin of Tours, pray for us.
Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, pray for us.
Saint Athanasius, pray for us.
Saint Alphonsus de Liguori, pray for us.
Saint Dominic, pray for us.
Saint Basil, pray for us.
Saint Augustine, pray for us.
Saint Thomas Aquinas, pray for us.
Saint Vincent Ferrer, pray for us.
Saint Sebastian, pray for us.
Saint Tarcisius, pray for us.
Saint Agnes, pray for us.
Saint Agatha, pray for us.
Saint Bridget of Sweden, pray for us.
Saint Catherine of Sweden, pray for us.
Saint Philomena, pray for us.
Saint John Bosco, pray for us.
Saint Teresa of Avila, pray for us.
Saint Bernadette Soubirous, pray for us.
Pope Saint Pius V, pray for us.
Pope Saint Gregory the Great, pray for us.
Pope Saint Leo the Great, pray for us.
Pope Saint Pius X, pray for us.
Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich, pray for us.
Blessed Pauline Jaricot, pray for us.
Blessed Miguel Augustin Pro, pray for us.
Saint Athanasius, fierce fighter of the Arians, pray for us.
Saint Clare, the great apostle of Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration, pray for us.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world,spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.