Psalm 48(2-13

They that trust in their own strength, * and glory in the multitude of their riches,
48:8 No brother can redeem, nor shall man redeem: * he shall not give to God his ransom,
48:9 Nor the price of the redemption of his soul: * and shall labour for ever, and shall still live unto the end.
48:11 He shall not see destruction, when he shall see the wise dying: * the senseless and the fool shall perish together:
48:11 And they shall leave their riches to strangers: * and their sepulchres shall be their houses for ever.
48:12 Their dwelling places to all generations: * they have called their lands by their names.
48:13 And man when he was in honour did not understand; * he is compared to senseless beasts, and is become like to them.

The Apostolic Fathers (Wikipedia)

The Apostolic Fathers, also known as the Ante-Nicene Fathers, were core Christian theologians among the Church Fathers who lived in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD who are believed to have personally known some of the Twelve Apostles or to have been significantly influenced by them.[1] Their writings, though widely circulated in early Christianity, were not included in the canon of the New Testament. Many of the writings derive from the same time period and geographical location as other works of early Christian literature which came to be part of the New Testament.

Background[edit]

The label Apostolic Fathers has been applied to these writers only since the 17th century, to indicate that they were thought of as representing the generation that had personal contact with the Twelve Apostles.[1] The earliest known use of the term “Apostolic(al) Fathers” was by William Wake in 1693, when he was chaplain in ordinary to King William and Queen Mary of England.[2] According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the use of the term Apostolic Fathers can be traced to the title of a 1672 work by Jean-Baptiste CotelierSS. Patrum qui temporibus apostolicis floruerunt opera (“Works of the holy fathers who flourished in the apostolic times”), which was abbreviated to Bibliotheca Patrum Apostolicorum (Library of the Apostolic Fathers) by L. J. Ittig in his 1699 edition of the same.[1] The term “apostolic father” first occurs in the Hogedos of Anastasius of the seventh-century, however states that it was never used to refer to a body of writings until later.[3]

The history of the title for these writers was explained by Joseph Lightfoot, in his 1890 translation of the Apostolic Fathers’ works:[4]

…[T]he expression [‘Apostolic Fathers’] itself does not occur, so far as I have observed, until comparatively recent times. Its origin, or at least its general currency, should probably be traced to the idea of gathering together the literary remains of those who flourished in the age immediately succeeding the Apostles, and who presumably therefore were their direct personal disciples. This idea first took shape in the edition of Cotelier during the last half of the seventeenth century (A.D. 1672). Indeed such a collection would have been an impossibility a few years earlier. The first half of that century saw in print for the first time the Epistles of Clement (A.D. 1633), and of Barnabas (A.D. 1645), to say nothing of the original Greek of Polycarp’s Epistle (A.D. 1633) and the Ignatian Letters in their genuine form (A.D. 1644, 1646). The materials therefore would have been too scanty for such a project at any previous epoch. In his title page however Cotelier does not use the actual expression, though he approximates to it, SS. Patrum qui temporibus Apostolicis floruerunt opera; but the next editor [Thomas] Ittig (1699), adopts as his title Patres Apostolici, and thenceforward it becomes common.

List of works[edit]

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The following writings are generally grouped together as having been written by the Apostolic Fathers (in italics are writings whose authors are unknown):[5]

Additionally some have argued that the Odes of Solomon was written by a student of the Apostle John around the middle of the first century.[6]

All or most of these works were originally written in Greek. Older English translations of these works can be found online in the Ante-Nicene Fathers series on the Christian Classics Ethereal Library website.[7] Published English translations have also been made by various scholars of early Christianity, such as Joseph Lightfoot, Kirsopp LakeBart D. Ehrman and Michael W. Holmes.[note 2] The first English translation of the Apostolic Fathers’ works was published in 1693, by William Wake, then rector of Westminster St James, later Archbishop of Canterbury.[note 3] It was virtually the only English translation available until the mid-19th century. Since its publication many better manuscripts of the Apostolic Fathers’ works have been discovered.[note 4]

There are several Greek text editions:

  • The Apostolic Fathers. Vol. 1. I Clement. II Clement. Ignatius. Polycarp. Didache. Barnabas. Loeb Classical Library. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1912 Kirsopp Lake
  • The Apostolic Fathers. Vol. 2. Shepherd of Hermas. Martyrdom of Polycarp. Epistle to Diognetus. Loeb Classical Library. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1913 Kirsopp Lake
  • The Apostolic Fathers. Vol. 1. I Clement. II Clement. Ignatius. Polycarp. Didache. Loeb Classical Library. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2003 Bart Ehrman (replaced Lake)
  • The Apostolic Fathers. Vol. 2. Epistle of Barnabas. Papias and Quadratus. Epistle to Diognetus. The Shepherd of Hermas. Loeb Classical Library. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2005 Bart Ehrman (replaced Lake)
  • The Apostolic Fathers: Greek Texts and English Translations. 3rd Edition. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2007 Michael Holmes
  • Die Apostolischen Väter. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1992 Andreas Lindemann and Henning Paulsen (German)

Fathers

Clement of Rome

Clement of Rome (c. 35-99) was bishop of Rome from 88 to 99. Irenaeus and Tertullian list him as the fourth bishop after PeterLinus and Anacletus.[8] He was said to have been consecrated by Peter the Apostle, and he is known to have been a leading member of the Church in Rome in the late 1st century.[9][10]

The First Epistle of Clement (c. AD 96)[11] was copied and widely read and is generally considered to be the oldest Christian epistle in existence outside of the New Testament. The letter is extremely lengthy, twice as long as the Epistle to the Hebrews,[note 5] and it demonstrates the author’s familiarity with many books of both the Old Testament and New Testament. The epistle repeatedly refers to the Old Testament as scripture[12] and includes numerous references to the Book of Judith, thereby establishing usage or at least familiarity with Judith in his time. Within the letter, Clement calls on the Christians of Corinth to maintain harmony and order.[11] Tradition identifies the author as Clement, bishop of Rome, and scholarly consensus is overwhelmingly in favor of the letter’s authenticity.[13]

The Second Epistle of Clement was traditionally ascribed by some ancient authors to Clement, but it is now generally considered to have been written later, c. AD 140–160, and therefore could not be the work of Clement, who died in 99.[9] Doubts about the authorship of the letter had already been expressed in antiquity by Eusebius and Jerome.[14][15] Whereas 1 Clement was an epistle, 2 Clement appears to be a transcript of an oral homily or sermon,[9] making it the oldest surviving Christian sermon outside of the New Testament.[citation needed]

Ignatius of Antioch[edit]

Ignatius of Antioch (also known as Theophorus, from the Greek for God-bearer) (c. 35–110)[16] was bishop of Antioch.[17] He may have known the apostle John directly, and his thought is certainly influenced by the tradition associated with this apostle.[18] En route to his martyrdom in Rome, Ignatius wrote a series of letters which have been preserved as an example of the theology of the earliest Christians. Important topics addressed in these letters include ecclesiology, the sacraments, the role of bishops,[19] and the nature of biblical Sabbath.[20] He clearly identifies the local-church hierarchy composed of bishop, presbyters, and deacons and claims to have spoken in some of the churches through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. He is the second after Clement to mention the Pauline epistles.[11]

Polycarp of Smyrna[edit]

St. Polycarp, depicted with a book as a symbol of his writings.

Polycarp (c. AD 69 – c. 155) was bishop of Smyrna (now İzmir in Turkey).[21] His student Irenaeus wrote that he “was not only instructed by the apostles, and conversed with many who had seen the Lord, but was also appointed bishop by apostles in Asia and in the church in Smyrna”,[22] and that he had, as a boy, listened to “the accounts which (Polycarp) gave of his intercourse with John and with the others who had seen the Lord”.[23] The options for this John are John the son of Zebedee, traditionally viewed as the author of the Fourth Gospel, or John the Presbyter.[24] Traditional advocates follow Eusebius in insisting that the apostolic connection of Papius was with John the Evangelist, and that this John, the author of the Gospel of John, was the same as the apostle John.

Polycarp tried and failed to persuade Anicetus, bishop of Rome, to have the West celebrate Easter on 14 Nisan, as in the East.[25] He rejected the bishop’s suggestion that the East use the Western date. In 155, the Smyrnans demanded Polycarp’s execution as a Christian, and he died a martyr. His story has it that the flames built to kill him refused to burn him, and that when he was stabbed to death, so much blood issued from his body that it quenched the flames around him.[11] Polycarp is recognized as a saint in both the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches.

Papias of Hierapolis[edit]

Papias of Hierapolis (c. 60 – c. 130) was bishop of Hierapolis (now Pamukkale in Turkey). Irenaeus describes him as “an ancient man who was a hearer of John and a companion of Polycarp”.[26] Eusebius adds that Papias was Bishop of Hierapolis around the time of Ignatius of Antioch.[27] The name Papias (Παπίας) was very common in the region, suggesting that he was probably a native of the area.[28]

Papias’s major work was the Exposition of the Sayings of the Lord (Greek: Λογίων Κυριακῶν Ἐξήγησις) in five books; it has been lost and only survives in excerpts from Iraeneus and Eusebius. Other fragments come from the works of Philip of Side and George Hamartolos, but the authenticity of those are dubious.[29]

Quadratus of Athens[edit]

Quadratus of Athens (died c. 129) was bishop of Athens. Eusebius reports that he was a disciple of the apostles (auditor apostolorum) and that he was appointed as bishop after the martyrdom of his predecessor Publius.[30][31] Quadratus’s major work is the Apology, which was apparently read to Emperor Hadrian to convince him to improve imperial policy toward Christians. It has been lost and only survives in an excerpt from Eusebius.[32]

Other sub-apostolic literature[edit]

Didache[edit]

The Didache (Greek: Διδαχή,, translit. Didakhélit. “Teaching”)[33] is a brief early Christian treatise, dated anywhere from as early as AD 50 to the end of the 1st century.[34] It contains instructions for Christian communities. The text, parts of which may have constituted the first written catechism, has three main sections dealing with Christian lessons, rituals such as baptism and the Eucharist, and church organization. It was considered by some of the Church Fathers as part of the New Testament[35] but rejected as spurious (non-canonical) by others.[36] Scholars knew of the Didache through references in other texts, but the text had been lost; it was rediscovered in 1873 by Philotheos Bryennios, Metropolitan of Nicomedia, in the Codex Hierosolymitanus.

Shepherd of Hermas[edit]

The 2nd-century The Shepherd of Hermas was popular in the early church and was even considered scriptural by some of the Church Fathers such as Irenaeus[37] and Tertullian. It was written in Rome in Koine Greek. The Shepherd had great authority in the 2nd and 3rd centuries. The work comprises five visions, 12 mandates, and 10 parables. It relies on allegory and pays special attention to the Church, calling the faithful to repent of the sins that have harmed it.[38]

Epistle to Diognetus[edit]

The Epistle to Diognetus, sometimes called Mathetes or Epistle of Mathetes to Diogentus, is the first extant christian apology. In the apology, the anonymous author explain to a pagan friend who wants to know more about the new religion. The epistle talks mainly about the encarnation of Logos (Jesus Christ), the errors of paganism and Judaism and explain about the christian lifestyle.[39] This work is thought to have been written around 130 AD.[40]

Where is Father Wolfe?

Dear Friends,

For more than 5 years people seem to come out of the woodwork and mention Fr. Philip Wolfe, FSSP. They all remark that countless times he had helped them through a difficult time or a spiritual crisis. Fr. Wolfe served in Texas more than 7 years. As a result he has many contacts here.

So many people remark about the solid teaching which is readily available in his many sermons and teachings on YouTube. And all at no cost. He did an incredible series on “Our Lady of Revelation” which is a 9-part series. Outstanding work!

But that series is just a drop in the bucket of what is there for any and all to see. Fr. Wolfe was a longtime friend of Sr. Wilhelmina Lancaster of Gower, MO. You will recall that her body was found to be incorrupt earlier this year.

Fr. Wolfe was a frequent preacher of retreats there and guided those Sisters with his many spiritual talks. And for years he labored in the poor areas of Kansas City.

After he left Texas so many people have the same question: “Where is Fr. Wolfe?”

It appears no one who knows will answer that question. Why? I have no idea.

It is my opinion that if lay people do not begin to speak up, Fr. Wolfe might be permanently canceled.

Could it be that he will be returned to the lay state, i.e., laicized? I just don’t know. When will people speak up in support of Fr. Wolfe?

Could it be that many lay people have become servile? Instead of being active Catholic Christians they might prefer to take the easy way out. Again, I don’t know.

I do not understand such a stance.

If lay people admire and respect Fr. Wolfe, why are they not giving an account of his heroic virtue? Where is the gratitude?

Today is the Feast of Our Lady’s Maternity. I ask Our Lord in honor of His Mother to intercede on behalf of one of the finest Priest I’ve had the honor to meet. He is truly a Marian Priest. He is truly a Priest’s Priest…a rare thing in these difficult times.

If you did indeed benefit from the hard work of Fr. Wolfe, make it known and now. Please get out the word.

I am asking this after years of waiting for something to happen. Those who can write, and comment need to do so now. All of the above is my opinion. I have not asked Fr. Wolfe for permission to do this. No permission is necessary. We have rights and obligations as a result of our having been baptized. All of the above is done on my own initiative, from A – Z.

Fr. Paul Weinberger

Attending the Traditional Latin Mass – The Extraordinary Form

Link Link

Link to Today’s Mass

I wrote this article in sections. First, you’ll find background. If you don’t want that, then I have provided the next section on how to attend, follow, understand and celebrate the Mass. Then, I go into the philosophy and history of the Roman Mass.

If you want to attend a Tridentine Mass and you seem confessed about it, then this document may help. As a traditionally minded Catholic who only knew the Regular Sunday Mass as an attendee and server, I had a difficult time with the basic idea of attending a Latin Mass formerly known as the Extraordinary Form.

Still, I felt curious about the Extraordinary Form and when given the opportunity, I attended a low Mass given by our parish vicar, who transferred from a Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter (FSSP) parish. He wanted to keep up his skills and allowed us to attend masses he celebrated privately.

During the Mass, I had no idea what he did. It seemed strange to me. So, I began a study of the Mass. I researched everything I could and learned how to attend, participate and fell in love with the Extraordinary Form, which I now refer to as the TLM or Traditional Latin Mass.

Recently, my Bishop celebrated the Traditional Latin Mass in Tyler, Texas for the first time. An article on the National Catholic Register documents his experience.

Background

In 1963, the Second Vatican Council of 1962- 65 banned the Tridentine Mass established by Pope Pius V in 1570. A group of Council members said they wanted to modernize the Roman Catholic liturgy, allow more participation by the congregation and make it accessible to non-Catholics.

Protests by members of the clergy asserted that the new Roman Mass did more than that, it protestantized the ancient ritual. Any objective observer reviewing the various forms of services will have to admit that the “new mass” looks and sounds Lutheran and, or closer to the Anglican service.

The Roman Mass, formally required in a 1970 missal by Pope Paul VI, had priests use a country’s vernacular, such as English in stead of Latin in the Mass. In the new mass, the priest faced the congregation and brought lay ministers to the alter to read scripture. That began with an immediate Order of Pope Paul VI.

In 1984, Pope John Paul II decided to allow limited use of the Latin- only Tridentine Mass. News came by a circular of the Congregation for the Divine Faith. The Vatican issued the circular to the presidents of conferences of bishops around the world. It did not release it to the press until October 16, 1984. The circular outlined special conditions for celebrating the Tridentine Mass.

That broke a deadlock smoldering for years among Conservative and Liberal Roman Catholics, but unfortunately, the conditions outlined in the circular appeared oppressive. Essentially, the Tridentine mass did not return in 1984. Some observers consider the 1984 announcement as a mere gesture.

By the decree Quattuor Abhinc Annos of October 3, 1984, the Congregation for Divine Worship gave bishops the faculty to grant an indult for the celebration of Mass according to the 1962 Missal, provided that certain conditions be respected.

In 1988,, John Paul II recommended, in Ecclesia Dei, a “wide and generous application” of the norms in Quattuor abhinc annos. He established the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei to facilitate the return of traditionalist Catholics into full communion with the Holy See. As a result, the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP) began offering the Tridentine Mass again using the 1962 Missal.

In 2007, Pope Benedict XVI issued another motu proprio, Summorum Pontificum, which expanded and simplified the permissions to celebrate the whole liturgy according to the norms of 1962. He clarified that the 1962 Missale and 2008 Missale are both legitimate forms of the one Roman Rite, respectively called the Extraordinary and Ordinary Forms.

This Apostolic Letter has the aim of:

a. offering to all the faithful the Roman Liturgy in the Usus Antiquior, considered as a precious treasure to be preserved;

b. effectively guaranteeing and ensuring the use of the forma extraordinaria for all who ask for it, given that the use of the 1962 Roman Liturgy is a faculty generously granted for the good of the faithful and therefore is to be interpreted in a sense favorable to the faithful who are its principal addressees;

c. promoting reconciliation at the heart of the Church.

Thus did he exhort the whole Church to “generously open our hearts and make room for everything that the faith itself allows.” Any Priest of the Latin Church—provided he has the minimum rubrical and linguistic ability—may, without any further permission from the Holy See or his Ordinary, celebrate the Extraordinary Form of the Missale Romanum in a Mass without the people at any time except during the Sacred Triduum. If members of the faithful wish to join in these celebrations, they are permitted to do so.In parishes where a stable group of the faithful are attached to the Extraordinary Form of the Mass, they may approach the pastor, who is to support their petition willingly.

Parts of the Latin Mass by Dr. Taylor Marshall

Structure of the Traditional Latin Mass (Abridged)

The Mass is divided into two parts, the Mass of the Catechumens and the Mass of the Faithful. Catechumens, those being instructed in the faith, are dismissed after the first half, not having yet professed the faith. Profession of faith was considered essential for participation in the Eucharistic sacrifice.]

Mass of the Catechumens


The first part is the Mass of the Catechumens.
Prayers at the foot of the altar
The sequence of Prayers at the foot of the altar is:
Sign of the cross
The priest, after processing in with one or more servers and at Low Mass placing the veiled chalice on the center of the altar, makes the sign of the cross at the foot of the altar.
Psalm 42, Judica me, preceded and followed by an antiphon of the same psalm: “Introibo ad altare Dei, ad Deum qui lætificat iuventutem meam” (Translation: “I shall go in to the altar of God: to God who giveth joy to my youth”), recited by the priest, alternating with the deacon and subdeacon (if present) or servers.


Psalm 123:8 is recited:
The Priest (makes the sign of the cross): “Our help is in the name of the Lord,”
The servers recites: “Who made heaven and earth.”


The double form of a prayer of general confession of sins, known by its incipit Confiteor (I confess to almighty God…), is recited:
Priest (while bowing low): “Confíteor – I confess to almighty God…)
The servers pray for the priest: “May Almighty God have mercy on thee, forgive thee thy sins, and bring thee to life everlasting.” Then it is the ministers’ or servers’ turn to confess sinfulness and to ask for prayers. They use the same words as those used by the priest, except that they say “you, Father,” in place of “you, brethren”, and the priest responds with the same prayer that the servers have used for him (but using the plural number) plus an extra prayer.


The several verses are then said by priest and ministers (or servers)


The priest then says, Oremus (Let us pray). After this he ascends to the altar, praying silently “Take away from us our iniquities, we beseech thee O Lord, that with pure minds we may worthily enter into the holy of holies”, a reference to Exodus 26:33-34, 1 Kings 6:16, 1 Kings 8:6, 2 Chronicles 3:8, Ezekiel 41:4, and others.

He places his joined hands on the edge of the altar, so that only the tips of the small fingers touch the front of it, and silently prays that, by the merits of the Saints whose relics are in the altar, and of all the Saints, God may pardon all his sins. At the words quorum relíquiæ hic sunt (whose relics are here), he spreads his hands and kisses the altar.


Priest at the altar:
Dominus vobiscum (“The Lord be with you”) before the Collect.
In the Tridentine Mass the priest should keep his eyes downcast at this point.
Introit
The priest again makes the sign of the Cross while he begins to read the Introit, which is usually taken from a Psalm.
Kyrie
This part of Mass is a linguistic marker of the origins of the Roman liturgy in Greek. “Kyrie, eleison; Christe, eleison; Kyrie, eleison.” means “Lord, have mercy; Christ have mercy;…” Each phrase is said three times.


Gloria in excelsis Deo
The first line of the Gloria is taken from Lk 2:14.


The Collect
The priest turns toward the people and says, “Dominus vobiscum.” The servers respond: “Et cum spiritu tuo.” (“The Lord be with you.” “And with thy spirit”). The Collect follows, a prayer not drawn directly from Scripture. It tends to reflect the season.
Instruction
The priest reads the Epistle, primarily an extract from the letters of St. Paul to various churches.
The Gospel reading
Before the reading or chanting of the Gospel, the priest prays: “Cleanse my heart and my lips, O almighty God, who didst cleanse the lips of the prophet Isaias…”, a reference to Isaiah 6:6. In this passage, after being cleansed by the angel, Isaiah was instructed to prophesy.
The Homily
The Creed


Mass of the Faithful


The second part is the Mass of the Faithful.


Offertory
Offertory Verse:
After greeting the people once more (“Dominus vobiscum/Et cum spiritu tuo”) and giving the invitation to pray (Oremus), the priest enters upon the Mass of the Faithful, from which the non-baptized were once excluded. He reads the Offertory Verse, a short quotation from Holy Scripture which varies with the Mass of each day, with hands joined.
Offering of Bread and Wine
Washing the hands
The priest prays Psalm 26:6-12: “I will wash my hands among the innocent…”
Prayer to the Most Holy Trinity
Consecration
Preface of the Canon
Sanctus
Canon or rule of consecration
Intercession
Prayers preparatory to the consecration
A prayer that God may graciously accept the offering and “command that we be delivered from eternal damnation and counted among the flock of those you have chosen”.
Consecration (transubstantiation) and major elevation

An oblation is an offering; the pure, holy, spotless victim is now offered, with a prayer that God may accept the offering and command his holy angel to carry the offering to God’s altar on high, so that those who receive the Body and Blood of Christ “may be filled with every grace and heavenly blessing”.
Remembrance of the Dead
Communion
The Lord’s Prayer and Libera nos
Fraction of the Host
Agnus Dei
The Pax
The priest asks Christ to look not at the priest’s sins but at the faith of Christ’s Church, and prays for peace and unity within the Church.
Prayers preparatory to the Communion
In the first of these two prayers for himself, the priests asks that by Holy Communion he may be freed from all his iniquities and evils, be made to adhere to the commandments of Jesus and never be separated from him. In the second he asks: “Let not the partaking of Thy Body, O Lord Jesus Christ…turn to my judgment and condemnation: but through Thy goodness may it be unto me a safeguard….”


Receiving of the Body and Blood of our Lord
The priest quietly says several prayers here, before receiving Communion. “Praising I will call upon the Lord: and I shall be saved from my enemies.”
Priest on the “Ecce Agnus Dei – Behold the Lamb of God” in the people communion.
If the priest is to give Communion to others, he holds up a small host and says aloud: “Behold the Lamb of God …”, and three times: “Lord, I am not worthy …”. He then gives Communion, first making with the host the sign of the cross over each communicant, while saying: “May the Body of Our Lord Jesus Christ preserve your soul for eternal life. Amen.”


Conclusion

“Ite, missa est” sung by the deacon at a Solemn Mass.
Prayers during the Ablutions
The prayers now focus on what has been received, that “we may receive with a pure mind”, “that no stain of sin may remain in me, whom these pure and holy sacraments have refreshed.”
Communion Antiphon and Postcommunion
The communion antiphon is normally a portion of a Psalm. The Postcommunion Prayer is akin to the Collect in being an appropriate prayer not directly drawn from Scripture.
Ite Missa est; Blessing
“Go, it is the dismissal.” The word “Mass” derives from this phrase.


After saying a silent prayer for himself, the priest then gives the people his blessing.

The Last Gospel
The priest then reads the Last Gospel, the beginning of the Gospel of John, John 1:1-14, which recounts the Incarnation of the Son of God. On certain occasions, as for instance at the Day Mass on Christmas Day, another Gospel passage was read instead because that Gospel is read as the Gospel of the Mass, but Pope John XXIII’s revision of the rubrics decreed that on those and on other occasions the Last Gospel should simply be omitted.

Videos to Help

A US Bishop Discovers the Traditional Latin Mass

Bishop Joseph Strickland discusses what inspired him to celebrate the extraordinary form of the Mass on June 11.Bree A. Dail

TYLER, Texas — Before January, Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler, Texas, had only attended a traditional Latin Mass once before and never had even said the words of consecration in Latin in the 35 years of his priesthood.

He changed all that in a dramatic way, celebrating his first Mass in the extraordinary form on June 11, the Solemnity of Corpus Christi on the Church calendar followed by traditional Catholics.

See entire article here

PRAYER IN TIMES OF EPIDEMICS (extract from the Roman Ritual, Titulus X, Caput X)

V. Deal not with us, Lord, according to our sins.
R. And take not vengeance on us because of our misdeeds.
V. Help us, O God, our Deliverer.
R. And for thy name’s sake, O Lord, free us.
V. Remember not, O Lord, our sins of old.
R. Hasten to us with thy compassion, for we are become exceeding poor.
V. St. Sebastian, pray for us.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
V. O Lord hear my prayer.
R. And let my cry come unto thee.
V. The Lord be with you.
R. And with thy spirit.

Let us pray.
Vouchsafe to hear us, O God, our only salvation! And through the intercession of the glorious and blessed Mary, Mother of God and ever Virgin, of thy blessed martyr, Sebastian and of all the saints, deliver thy people from the terrors of thy wrath, and restore their confidence by the outpouring of thy compassion. Be moved to pity, O Lord, at our earnest entreaties, and heal the illnesses of body and soul; so that experiencing thy forgiveness we may ever rejoice in thy blessing.

We beseech thee, O Lord, grant us a hearing as we devoutly raise our petitions to thee, and
graciously turn away the epidemic of plague which afflicts us; so that mortal hearts may
recognize that these scourges proceed from thine indignation and cease only when thou art moved to mercy. Through our Lord…

R. Amen.

The priest then blesses the people with a relic of the True Cross, saying:


And may the blessing of Almighty God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit descend upon you and
remain forever.

R. Amen.

The Surrender Novena

Day 1
Why do you confuse yourselves by worrying? Leave the care of your affairs to me and everything will be peaceful. I say to you in truth that every act of true, blind, complete surrender to me produces the effect that you desire and resolves all difficult situations.

O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything! (10 times)

Day 2
Surrender to me does not mean to fret, to be upset, or to lose hope, nor does it mean offering to me a worried prayer asking me to follow you and change your worry into prayer. It is against this surrender, deeply against it, to worry, to be nervous and to desire to think about the consequences of anything.

It is like the confusion that children feel when they ask their mother to see to their needs, and then try to take care of those needs for themselves so that their childlike efforts get in their mother’s way. Surrender means to placidly close the eyes of the soul, to turn away from thoughts of tribulation and to put yourself in my care, so that only I act, saying, “You take care of it.”

O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything! (10 times)

Day 3
How many things I do when the soul, in so much spiritual and material need, turns to me, looks at me and says to me, “You take care of it,” then closes its eyes and rests. In pain you pray for me to act, but that I act in the way you want. You do not turn to me, instead, you want me to adapt your ideas. You are not sick people who ask the doctor to cure you, but rather sick people who tell the doctor how to. So do not act this way, but pray as I taught you in the Our Father: “Hallowed be thy Name,” that is, be glorified in my need. “Thy kingdom come,” that is, let all that is in us and in the world be in accord with your kingdom. “Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven,” that is, in our need, decide as you see fit for our temporal and eternal life. If you say to me truly: “Thy will be done,” which is the same as saying: “You take care of it,” I will intervene with all my omnipotence, and I will resolve the most difficult situations.

O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything! (10 times)

Day 4
You see evil growing instead of weakening? Do not worry. Close your eyes and say to me with faith: “Thy will be done, You take care of it.” I say to you that I will take care of it, and that I will intervene as does a doctor and I will accomplish miracles when they are needed. Do you see that the sick person is getting worse? Do not be upset, but close your eyes and say, “You take care of it.” I say to you that I will take care of it, and that there is no medicine more powerful than my loving intervention. By my love, I promise this to you.

O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything! (10 times)

Day 5
And when I must lead you on a path different from the one you see, I will prepare you; I will carry you in my arms; I will let you find yourself, like children who have fallen asleep in their mother’s arms, on the other bank of the river. What troubles you and hurts you immensely are your reason, your thoughts and worry, and your desire at all costs to deal with what afflicts you.

O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything! (10 times)

Day 6
You are sleepless; you want to judge everything, direct everything and see to everything and you surrender to human strength, or worse—to men themselves, trusting in their intervention—this is what hinders my words and my views. Oh, how much I wish from you this surrender, to help you; and how I suffer when I see you so agitated! Satan tries to do exactly this: to agitate you and to remove you from my protection and to throw you into the jaws of human initiative. So, trust only in me, rest in me, surrender to me in everything.

O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything! (10 times)

Day 7
I perform miracles in proportion to your full surrender to me and to your not thinking of yourselves. I sow treasure troves of graces when you are in the deepest poverty. No person of reason, no thinker, has ever performed miracles, not even among the saints. He does divine works whosoever surrenders to God. So don’t think about it any more, because your mind is acute and for you it is very hard to see evil and to trust in me and to not think of yourself. Do this for all your needs, do this, all of you, and you will see great continual silent miracles. I will take care of things, I promise this to you.

O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything! (10 times)

Day 8
Close your eyes and let yourself be carried away on the flowing current of my grace; close your eyes and do not think of the present, turning your thoughts away from the future just as you would from temptation. Repose in me, believing in my goodness, and I promise you by my love that if you say, “You take care of it,” I will take care of it all; I will console you, liberate you and guide you.

O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything! (10 times)

Day 9
Pray always in readiness to surrender, and you will receive from it great peace and great rewards, even when I confer on you the grace of immolation, of repentance, and of love. Then what does suffering matter? It seems impossible to you? Close your eyes and say with all your soul, “Jesus, you take care of it.” Do not be afraid, I will take care of things and you will bless my name by humbling yourself. A thousand prayers cannot equal one single act of surrender, remember this well. There is no novena more effective than this.

O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything! (10 times)

Mother, I am yours now and forever.
Through you and with you
I always want to belong
completely to Jesus.

Catholic “Blessed Torelli Holy water” for Healing

Blessed Torello of Poppi

Born 1202 in the Tuscan town of Poppi, Blessed Torell of Poppi came from the noble family of Torelli. When he lost his parents at the age of eighteen, he was thinking of devoting himself to the service of God and gave generous alms to the poor. But he had two bad friends and was soon corrupted by their example and influence, so that he became the scandal of the town.

One day, when he was about thirty-six years old, Blessed Torello of Poppi was amusing himself with his associates at the game of bowling. During the game a cock perched on his arm and crowed three times. Torello took this as a warning from heaven, deserted his friends without delay, and went to confession to a priest at the abbey of San Fedele, one of the houses of the Vallombrosan Benedictines.

Torello then went into the nearby Cosentino mountains to look for a suitable place for a hermitage. After wandering around in the woods for eight days, he found a cave in a secluded spot called Avellaneto, not far from Poppi.

After purchasing the land around this cave and giving what remained of his property to the poor, he built a little hermitage at the cave and cultivated a small vegetable garden to provide himself with food. But he ate very little and fasted for days at a time. He limited his sleep to three hours daily, and slept on a bed of brushwood and thorny twigs. To overcome the persistent temptations of the flesh and the devil, he scourged himself unmercifully and sometimes immersed himself in freezing water.

Under his wollen habit he wore a shirt of pigskin from which only some of the bristles had been removed. He kept up this life of penance for about forty-five years; and as Wadding tells us, he became a member of the Third Order of St Francis in the fourth year of his conversion.

Like St Francis, he possessed a supernatural power over the wolves, of whom there were many in the Casentino mountains during the thirteenth century. He worked several miracles in behalf of children who were carried off by wolves, and for others who were attacked and bitten by wolves, both before and after his death. When he was eighty years old, Blessed Torello went back to the abbey of San Fedele to make a general confession of his whole life and to ask that his body be buried at the abbey.

Despite the entreaties of the monks that he spend his last days in their care, Torello returned to his hermitage, where another hermit, Peter of Poppi, had joined him. And there he died on March 16, 1282, while kneeling in prayer. He was beatified by Pope Benedict XIV.

At the tomb of Blessed Torello of Poppi in the abbey church, a man who was an exile from Siena prayed that he might be permitted to return to his native city. He promised to observe the feast of Blessed Torello every year and to have a picture of the holy hermit painted. His prayer was answered, and he engaged the services of an artist. But the latter had never seen Blessed Torello and did not know what to do. Then he had a dream or vision in which he saw Torello, wearing the habit of the Third Order and holding a wolf-cub in his arms. And this is how the painting represents Blessed Torello of Poppi.

from: The Franciscan Book Of Saints, ed. by Marion Habig, OFM


Feast Day – March 16

BLESSING OF WATER FOR THE SICK

In Honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary (B.V.M.) AND ST. TORELLUS

(By a Brief dated December 16, 1628)

P: Our help is in the name of the Lord.

All: Who made heaven and earth.

P: The Lord be with you.

All: And with your spirit.

Let us pray.

God, who in your heavenly mercy keep harmful things from man, giving him only the things that are for his good; who at the pool of Probatica moved the waters by the hand of your angel, thus destroying sickness and conferring health; pour out the dew of your blessing + on this water, so that all the sick who drink it may, by the merits and prayers of the blessed Virgin Mary and the holy confessor, Torellus, regain their health. May women who are with child be spared every dire misfortune, and have the happiness of bringing their offspring to the grace of holy baptism; through Christ our Lord. Amen.

The water is sprinkled with holy water.

Latin:

BENEDICTIO AQUÆ IN HONOREM B.M.V. ET S. TORELLI CONF. PRO
INFIRMIS
(Breve 16 Decembris 1628)


V. Adjutórium nostrum in nomine Domini. R. Qui fecit cælum et terram.
V. Dóminus vobíscum. R Et cum spíritu tuo.


Orémus. Oratio

Deus, qui miseratione tua cælésti hominibus noxia subtrahis, et benígna concédis, quique mota per Angelum tuum aqua languorem in probática piscina eripiendo valetudinem contulísti: infúnde in aqua ista tuæ bene + dictionis rorem, ut de ea suméntes, méritis et précibus beatissimæ Mariæ Virginis, ac sancti Torelli Confessoris, sanitátem consequantur infirmi, paritérque fecundátæ mulieres a malis ingruentibus salvæ, partúsque suos ad sacrosancti Baptísmi grátiam feliciter perdúcant. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. R. Amen.


Et aspergatur aqua benedicta.

Did John the Baptist Know Jesus?

In this video, Dr. Pitre looks at John the Baptist’s statement in John 1: “I myself did not know him; but for this I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.” How did John the Baptist not know Jesus if they were cousins and Mary and Elizabeth knew each other?

Archbishop Sample: All Priests should learn Traditional Latin Mass

In another segment from the 2SPetrvs interview with Archbishop Alexander K. Sample of the Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon, His Excellency graciously discusses misunderstanding surrounding the Extraordinary Form and assesses the future prospects of the Two Forms of the one Roman Rite. Subscribe now for more Catholic Youtube videos! Join the 2SPetrvs community!

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A Free Website Service to Help You Keep Track of Your First Friday Attendance

I use a website First-Friday.us to help me keep track of my attendance. The webmaster sends me an email a week before the next first Friday Mass to remind me to go. He sends me another email a day before and gives me some user space to record my attendance. They don’t charge for the service and I appreciate it.

I want you to know about it too. Click on the liink above to find them. It’s an Act of Mercy. God bless them!

Those who faithfully complete the First Friday devotion for nine consecutive months are promised the following, as told to Roman Catholic nun St. Margaret Mary Alacoque by Our Lord Jesus Christ:

  1. I will give them all of the graces necessary for their state of life.
  2. I will establish peace in their homes.
  3. I will comfort them in all their afflictions.
  4. I will be their strength during life and above all during death.
  5. I will bestow a large blessing upon all their undertakings.
  6. Sinners shall find in My Heart the source and the infinite ocean of mercy.
  7. Tepid souls shall grow fervent.
  8. Fervent souls shall quickly mount to high perfection.
  9. I will bless every place where a picture of my heart shall be set up and honored.
  10. I will give to priests the gift of touching the most hardened hearts.
  11. Those who shall promote this devotion shall have their names written in My Heart, never to be blotted out.
  12. I promise you in the excessive mercy of My Heart that My all-powerful love will grant all to those who communicate on the First Friday in nine consecutive months the grace of final penitence; they shall not die in My disgrace nor without receiving their sacraments; My Divine Heart shall be their safe refuge in this last moment.

To gain these blessings there are just three simple requirements to complete each month.

To meet the requirements for the First Friday Devotion a person must, on each First Friday for nine consecutive months:

  1. Attend Holy Mass
  2. Receive Communion
  3. Go to Confession †


† Some Catholic resources on this devotion say that Confession is not strictly required but only necessary if you need the sacrament in order to receive a worthy Communion, in other words, you need to go to Confession so you can be in the state of grace before you can receive Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. Other sources say you must go to Confession with in eight days before or after the Friday. Even if you are in the state of grace. If in doubt, consult your spiritual director. The more prevalent view prescribes the latter.

THE LITANY OF THE MOST HOLY NAME OF JESUS.

Susanna and the Elders, 1856 (oil on panel) by Chasseriau, Theodore (1819-56) oil on panel 40×31 Louvre, Paris, France Giraudon French, out of copyright

Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.

Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

Jesus, hear us.
Jesus, hear us.

Jesus, graciously hear us. Jesus,
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.

Jesus, Son of the living God,
have mercy on us.

Jesus, Splendor of the Father,
have mercy on us.

Jesus, Brightness of eternal Light,
have mercy on us.

Jesus, King of Glory,
have mercy on us.

Jesus, Sun of Justice,
have mercy on us.

Jesus, Son of the Virgin Mary,
have mercy on us.

Jesus, most amiable,
have mercy on us.

Jesus, most admirable,
have mercy on us.

Jesus, the mighty God,
have mercy on us.

Jesus, Father of the world to come,
have mercy on us.

Jesus, Angel of Great Council,
have mercy on us.

Jesus, most powerful,
have mercy on us.

Jesus, most patient,
have mercy on us.

Jesus, most obedient,
have mercy on us.

Jesus, meek and humble of heart,
have mercy on us.

Jesus, Lover of Chastity,
have mercy on us.

Jesus, our Lover,
have mercy on us.

Jesus, God of Peace,
have mercy on us.

Jesus, Author of Life,
have mercy on us.

Jesus, Model of Virtue,
have mercy on us.

Jesus, zealous for souls,
have mercy on us.

Jesus, our God,
have mercy on us.

Jesus, our Refuge,
have mercy on us.

Jesus, Father of the Poor,
have mercy on us.

Jesus, Treasure of the Faithful,
have mercy on us.

Jesus, good Shepherd,
have mercy on us.

Jesus, true Light,
have mercy on us.

Jesus, eternal Wisdom,
have mercy on us.

Jesus, infinite Goodness,
have mercy on us.

Jesus, our Way and our Life,
have mercy on us.
Jesus, joy of the Angels,
have mercy on us.

Jesus, King of the Patriarchs,
have mercy on us.

Jesus, Master of the Apostles,
have mercy on us.

Jesus, Teacher of the Evangelists,
have mercy on us.

Jesus, Strength of Martyrs,
have mercy on us.

Jesus, Light of Confessors,
have mercy on us.

Jesus, Purity of Virgins,
have mercy on us.

Jesus, Crown of all Saints,
have mercy on us.

Be merciful,
spare us O Jesus.

Be merciful,
graciously hear us, O Jesus.

From all evil,
deliver us, O Jesus.

From all sin,
deliver us, O Jesus.

From Thy wrath,
deliver us, O Jesus.

From the snares of the devil,
deliver us, O Jesus.

From the spirit of fornication,
deliver us, O Jesus.

From everlasting death,
deliver us, O Jesus.

From the neglect of Thy inspirations,
deliver us, O Jesus.

Through the mystery of Thy holy Incarnation,
deliver us, O Jesus.

Through Thy Nativity,
deliver us, O Jesus.

Through Thy Infancy,
deliver us, O Jesus.

Through Thy most divine Life,
deliver us, O Jesus.

Through Thy Labors,
deliver us, O Jesus.

Through Thy Agony and Passion,
deliver us, O Jesus.

Through Thy Cross and Dereliction,
deliver us, O Jesus.

Through Thy Sufferings,
deliver us, O Jesus.

Through Thy Death and Burial,
deliver us, O Jesus.

Through Thy Resurrection,
deliver us, O Jesus.

Through Thy Ascension,
deliver us, O Jesus.

Through Thy Institution of the Most Holy Eucharist,
deliver us, O Jesus.

Through Thy Joys,
deliver us, O Jesus.

Through Thy Glory,
deliver us, O Jesus.

Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world,
spare us, O Jesus.

Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world,
graciously hear us, O Jesus.

Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world,
have mercy on us, O Jesus.

Jesus hear us.
Jesus, graciously hear us.

Let us pray,

O Lord Jesus Christ, Thou hast said,
“Ask and you shall receive;
seek and you shall find;
knock, and it shall be opened to you”;
mercifully attend to our supplications,
and grant us the grace of Thy most divine love,
that we may love Thee with all our hearts,
and in all our words and actions,
and never cease to praise Thee.

Make us, O Lord,
to have a perpetual fear
and love of Thy holy name,
for Thou never failest to govern
those who Thou dost solidly establish in Thy love.

Amen.

Good Works

Catholics believe salvation comes from faith and good works. Protestants simply believe they’re saved by faith alone.

What are those Works?

Spiritual Works of Mercy:
Forgive offenses
Bear wrongs patiently
Comfort the sorrowful
Counsel the doubtful
instruct the uninformed
Admonish the sinner
Pray for the living & the dead

Corporal Works of Mercy:
Feed the hungry
Give drink to the thirsty
Clothe the naked
Shelter the homeless
Visit the sick
Visit the imprisoned
Bury the dead

Visitandine Mystics of the Sacred Heart

Jesus Christ chose the Visitation Order of Holy Mary to be the sanctuary of His Sacred Heart. He has revealed to His Visitandine Spouses the intimacies of His Love throughout four centuries. We present six French Visitation Nuns who were holy recipients of his messages. We hope His Heart will touch yours.

1. St. Margaret Mary Alacoque is the Visitation Order’s “mystic of mystics”.Our Lord chose her to receive the revelations of His Love for us in His Sacred Heart. From 1673 to 1675 Christ appeared to St. Margaret Mary in the Visitation Monastery of Paray-le-Monial, France, showing her His Heart. “My divine Heart”, He said, “is so passionately fond of the human race, and of you in particular, that it cannot keep back the pent-up flames of its burning charity any longer. They must burst out through you.” He mourned the world’s indifference, asking St. Margaret Mary for a communion of reparation on the First Friday of each month. In another great vision Jesus revealed His Heart, saying, “Behold this Heart which has loved everyone so much that it has spared nothing, even to exhausting and consuming itself, in order to testify its love.”Jesus Christ requested a special liturgical feast for His Sacred Heart. The Twelve Promises of the Sacred Heart were also drawn from these revelations.

Spend time before Jesus’ Heart in prayer, receiving His Love, loving Him and comforting Jesus for those who do not know His Love.

Each succeeding Visitation Sister’s mission of the Sacred Heart seems to build upon and develop that which was first revealed to St. Margaret Mary.

Venerable Sister Anne Madeleine Remuzat, of Marseilles, France, was a Visitation Nun whose prayers encouraged the consecration of that city to the Sacred Heart, which saved Marseilles from the bubonic plague! She was born in 1696, a generation after St. Margaret Mary.

She prayed, Oh! That I had a new heart to love Thee with! Oh! That I had all the love of all the hearts in all the world, so that I might give Thee Thy desert of love.”

When the bubonic plague erupted in Marseilles in 1720, Ven. Anne Madeleine’s prayers for society, city and the abasement of disease were heart-rending and accompanied by sacrifice and self-giving to a deep degree.

That year Marseille was the first city in France to be consecrated to the Sacred Heart during Bishop Belsunce’s episcopacy.

Sister Anne-Madeleine Rémuzat whose own heart is preserved in the Basilica, worked to spread devotion to the Sacred Heart. The bubonic plague ceased.

She had a saintly death 10 years later in 1730, having received the stigmata. Her cause for beatification is being handled by Bishop Jean-Pierre Ellul as Postulator

Pray that your city, Diocese and nation may be consecrated or re -dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus!

Sister Marie of the Sacred Heart Bernaud was Foundress of the Guard of Honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Her Visitation Monastery of Bourg-en-Bresse France received a letter from Annecy, the founding community, stating that Our Lord complained to a favored soul there that Visitandines were not employing enough zeal in spreading devotion to His Heart. The sisters looked towards Sr. Marie saying: “It is up to you to find a new way to glorify the Heart of Jesus” Sr. Marie had a vision of the Sacred Heart surrounded by a dial with the words Glory! Love! Reparation! She reproduced this image and entitled it Guard of Honor of the Sacred Heart. March 13, 1863, the fledgling Guard of Honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus was founded.

The Guard of Honor is the providential means of worship particular to the wound of the Heart of Jesusreceived by the soldier’s lance. It is an Association any one can join.

Choose an hour to honor the wounded Heart of Jesus, every day, as you go about your ordinary tasks.

Venerable Mary Martha Chambon of the Visitation of Chambery, France was mystically commissioned by Jesus during her lifetime (1841-1907) to renew reverence to His Holy Wounds. She sensed Our Lord Jesus say to her one time, “My heart is wide, My Heart is tender. The wound of My Heart is deep enough to contain all your needs. St. Francis de Sales in a vision told her “God has chosen you to complete the devotion to the Sacred Heart.”

In prayer she was given the Chaplet of the Holy Wounds. Place your hurts, needs and intentions into the Holy Wounds of Jesus as you pray this Chaplet.

Pray on the large beads of your Rosary:

Eternal Father, I offer You the Wounds of our Lord Jesus Christ to heal the wounds of our souls.

And on the small beads:

My Jesus, pardon and mercy, through the merits of Your Holy Wounds.

Venerable Louise Margaret Claret de la Touche was chosen by Our Lord to live her religious life for the clergy.

Jesus said to her,

“The heart of my priest ought to be a burning flame, warming and purifying souls. If the priest only knew the treasures of love which My Heart contains for him! Let him come to My Heart, let him draw from It, let him fill himself with love until it overflows from his heart and spreads itself over the world.

Margaret Mary has shown My Heart to the world, you show It to My priests, and draw them all to My Heart.”

Ven. Louise Margaret’s mission included organizing four groups that would make known his love to priests.

Eventually the Visitation community she founded in Italy became a new congregation, Bethany of the Sacred Heart.

May your intercessions before the Sacred Heart include the needs of our ordained priests.

Sister Marie Teresa Desandais was a Visitation Nun known as the Apostle of Merciful Love and a contemporary of St. Faustina

Born in France in 1876, she began her literary activity under the pseudonym of “little hand” or “Sulamite.” Everything she wrote was, according to her own words, “written at the dictation of God”, receiving His revelations of Merciful Love. She wrote:

“Love is not Loved because it is not known, ..Merciful Love wants to reveal itself to this world. To know God is also to know Merciful Love.

Merciful Love is not a new thing; the Church has taught it from the beginning. It is the love of the Savior, his manifestation of the new Law. I do not want that you embrace this devotion hoping to find in it some new form of spirituality.”

In 1912, without possessing special knowledge of painting Sister Marie Teresa painted the first image of the painting of ‘”merciful love” .

Sister Maria Teresa served her community as Superior for 9 years. Her writings became well known in Spain, through the interest of Fr. Juan Arintero who published them. She died in 1943.

May you run to Merciful Love with the needs of your soul and that of all those for whom your pray.

Final Promise of Jesus to Saint Margaret Mary

In the excess of the mercy of my Heart, I promise you that my all powerful love will grant to all those who will receive Communion on the First Fridays, for nine consecutive months, the grace of final repentance: they will not die in my displeasure, nor without receiving the sacraments; and my Heart will be their secure refuge in that last hour.

Should Christians Care About What Has Happened to Discourse on Sexual Identity?

In this video, Jordan Peterson, a Canadian clinical psychologist and a professor of psychology at the University of Toronto with a particular interest in the psychology of religious and ideological belief and the assessment and improvement of personality and performance takes on gender identity advocates.

Peterson attempts to frame his argument within 15 minutes. He actually does an excellent job in the event you know some of the terms he used. For most observers unfamiliar with the Post Modern movement, you need to also understand the modernist movement specifically in the Catholic Church.

If you research the terms, you will find that among elitists, a number of writers coined terms know only to them. Yet, among universities you will find these terms bandied about in conversations as if the 99.9% of humanity should know what they mean.

We all face problems with these movement since they have influenced governments, who in turn rule our lives. In this clip, Peterson debunks social models supposed to make life better.

A manuscript of a soul in Purgatory

I can tell you about the different degrees of Purgatory because I have passed through them. In the great Purgatory there are several stages. In the lowest and most painful, like a temporary hell, are the sinners who have committed terrible crimes during life and whose death surprised them in that state. It was almost a miracle that they were saved, and often by the prayers of holy parents or other pious persons. Sometimes they did not even have time to confess their sins and the world thought them lost, but God, whose mercy is infinite, gave them at the moment of death the contrition necessary for their salvation on account of one  or more good actions which they performed during life. For such souls,  Purgatory is terrible. It is a real hell with this difference, that in hell they curse God, whereas we bless Him and thank Him for having saved us. Next to these come the souls, who though they did not commit great crimes like the others, were indifferent to God. They did not fulfill their Easter duties and were also converted at the point of death. Perhaps they were unable to receive Holy Communion. They are in Purgatory for the long years of indifference.  They suffer unheard of pains and are abandoned either without prayers or if they are said for them, they are not allowed to profit by them.
There are in this stage of Purgatory religious of both sexes, who were tepid, neglectful of their duties,  indifferent towards Jesus, also priests who did not exercise their sacred ministry with the reverence due to the Sovereign Majesty and who did not instill the love of God sufficiently into the souls confided to their care. I was in this stage of Purgatory.

During Lent: Daily Plenary Indulgences

At Our Lady of Victory in Paris Texas, parishioners can gain Plenary Indulgences, which remove the temporal punishment of sin.

The Church prescribes four primary Indulgences for the Lenten Season. On Fridays, the Prayer Before the Cross gains a Plenary Indulgence.

The Stations of the Cross.

Each Friday evening during Lent, parishioners of Our Lady of Victory gather to take part in this devotion. Making the Stations of the Cross along with the three conditions can lead to a plenary indulgence.

The official Church’s Enchiridion Indulgentiarum, or Manual of Indulgences, Fourth Edition, says:
The basic way is that the faithful “personally make the pious Way of the Cross.”

The manual prescribes that this “pious exercise must be made before stations of the Way of the Cross legitimately erected”. Our Lady of Victory does this by “representing the 14 stations of Jerusalem.”

We follow the prescribed method with the Deacon leading and his party (progressing) from one station to the next while we follow the “14 devotional readings and vocal prayers.”

Reciting the Rosary

“Devoutly recite the Marian Rosary in a church or oratory, or in a family, a religious community, or an association of the faithful, and in general when several of the faithful gather for some honest purpose,” states the manual of the basic ways.

The first three are most applicable for everyone for Lent: in a church, or an oratory, or in a family. The manual also reminds us that the five-decade rosary is sufficient but all five decades have to be done without interruption.

After daily Mass, you should stay as one of the attendees may lead the Rosary spontaneously.

Eucharistic Adoration

“Visit the Blessed Sacrament for adoration lasting at least a half hour.”

Reading or listening to Sacred Scriptures

“Read the Sacred Scriptures as spiritual reading, from a text approved by a competent authority, and with the reverence due to the divine word, for at least a half an hour; if the time is less, the indulgence will be partial.” Or if you’re unable to read it, you can listen to it being read.”

Three Necessary Conditions 

Conditions exist for receiving a plenary indulgence for doing any of the prescribed works. Each aids our Lenten journey. The manual insists we must “have the interior disposition of complete detachment from sin, even venial sin.”

• Sacramentally confess our sins
• Receive Holy Communion.
• Pray for the intentions of the Holy Father. One Our Father and one Hail Mary fully satisfies this.

The Church says we must take Holy Communion and pray for the intentions of the Holy Father for each Plenary Indulgence we wish to gain. One sacramental confession does suffice for gaining several plenary indulgences.

Yet “it is, however, fitting that Communion be received and the prayer for the intention of the Holy Father be said on the same day the work is performed.”

The manual also reminds, one must be baptized and in the state of grace at the time to receive an indulgence and our “interior disposition (should remain with) complete detachment from sin, even venial sin.” Otherwise, the indulgence becomes partial, not plenary.

We do not receive indulgences unintentionally or by accident. We must, at the minimum, have a general intention to gain the indulgence.

The Church does not leave out those who cannot fulfill all the conditions. The manual has answers and aids. “For the sake of those legitimately impeded, confessors can commute both the work prescribed and the conditions required (except, obviously, detachment from even venial sin).”

Prayer Before the Cross

The faithful can receive a partial indulgence if they recite the prayer after Communion before a crucifix.

On the Fridays of Lent, the indulgence is a plenary indulgence
Grant 8 § 1, 2º in the
Manual of Indulgences

Look down upon me, good and gentle Jesus,
while before Thy face I humbly kneel and,
with burning soul,
pray and beseech Thee
to fix deep in my heart lively sentiments
of faith, hope and charity;
true contrition for my sins,
and a firm purpose of amendment.
While I contemplate,
with great love and tender pity,
Thy five most precious wounds,
pondering over them within me
and calling to mind the words which David,
Thy prophet, said of Thee, my Jesus:
They have pierced My hands and My feet,
they have numbered all My bones.”
Amen.

The Stations of the Cross: A Lenten Practice with Plenary Indulgences

I sat in Church Friday night after taking part in the Solemn Lenten Practice of Stations of the Cross. I noticed a range of feelings passing through my body as we journeyed with Jesus. Our Priest and Deacon helped make the Way of the Cross so real.

I wonder if having died twice during my own life has anything to do with the sorrow I felt when I noticed the absence of so many of you. Elderly people talk about realizing the brief span of our lives when it seems too late to do anything about it. “Life is short, and we don’t realize it until it’s too late.” I know the feeling, but I also knew it as a child. Wishing we would have made different choices does not lead to salvation.

I have no doubts about an afterlife. I also have no doubts about Jesus. The two years I suffered through religious school at a Rabbinical Synagogue left no doubt. After the final destruction of Judea, Rabbis codified their teachings in the books called the Talmud. In the Talmud, the authors mention Jesus more than any other person.

Of the many religious sects in Judea, only the Pharisees and Nazoreans survived the Roman annihilation. The latter also known as the Church of Jerusalem survived because we moved across the Jordan to Pella where the Romans left us alone.

The Talmud said nothing about the Eucharist, even though Orthodox Hebrews try to practice their own version of it. The books said nothing about the Treasury of Merit created by Jesus and given to the first Pope, Peter, and his successors. The Pope has granted many Plenary Indulgences during Lent, chief among them? The Stations of the Cross.

Where do you go on Friday nights during Lent?

When I learned about the Church’s Treasury of Merit, I knew that the gospels answered the questions posed by the Rabbi’s for two thousand years. I also knew the Church would give me access to the path than I did not find in those near-death experiences.

Christ’s mercy exists and thank God, His plan includes giving His Vicar the power to dispense His Treasure and forgive the punishment of temporal sin. That punishment keeps us from reaching Heaven unabated as we must expiate it in purgatory. Frankly, I do not want to pass through purgatory on my way to Christ’s Kingdom.

Can you help me explain the indignation we allow our Lord to suffer by ignoring Him on Friday nights during Lent? What justification exists for passing up the opportunity to gain a Plenary Indulgence from the Church’s Treasury offered by our Sovereign Pontiff? On Friday nights of Lent, please come to the Church and take part in the 14 Stations of the Cross, accept your treasure. If you do not feel you need it, give it to a soul in purgatory who cannot progress without our prayers.
Your brother in the Lord

The 14 Stations of the Cross represent events from Jesus’ passion and death. At each station we use our senses and our imagination to reflect prayerfully upon Jesus’ suffering, Death, and Resurrection.

The Stations of the Cross reorient our soul’s journey to God. Popular devotions like the Stations of the Cross can help us cultivate a rich spiritual life. They help us to know God and His beloved Son deeply.

1. Jesus Is Condemned to Death.
Pontius Pilate condemns Jesus to death.
2. Jesus Takes Up His Cross.
Jesus willingly accepts and patiently bears his cross.
3. Jesus Falls the First Time.
Weakened by torments and by loss of blood, Jesus falls beneath his cross.
4. Jesus Meets His Sorrowful Mother.
Jesus meets his mother, Mary, who is filled with grief.
5. Simon of Cyrene Helps Jesus Carry the Cross.
Soldiers force Simon of Cyrene to carry the cross.
6. Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus.
Veronica steps through the crowd to wipe the face of Jesus.
7. Jesus Falls a Second Time.
Jesus falls beneath the weight of the cross a second time.
8. Jesus Meets the Women of Jerusalem.
Jesus tells the women to weep not for him but for themselves and for their children.
9. Jesus Falls the Third Time.
Weakened almost to the point of death, Jesus falls a third time.
10. Jesus Is Stripped of His Garments.
The soldiers strip Jesus of his garments, treating him as a common criminal.
11. Jesus Is Nailed to the Cross.
Jesus’ hands and feet are nailed to the cross.
12. Jesus Dies on the Cross.
After suffering greatly on the cross, Jesus bows his head and dies.
13. Jesus Is Taken Down From the Cross.
The lifeless body of Jesus is tenderly placed in the arms of Mary, his mother.
14. Jesus Is Laid in the Tomb.
Jesus’ disciples place his body in the tomb.

The closing prayer—sometimes included as a 15th station—reflects on the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Morning Offering

O Jesus,
through the Immaculate Heart of Mary,
I offer You my prayers, works,
joys and sufferings
of this day for all the intentions
of Your Sacred Heart,
in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass
throughout the world,
in reparation for my sins,
for the intentions of all my relatives and friends,
and in particular
for the intentions of the Holy Father.
Amen.

Other variations exist but all have the intention to start the day giving to God whatever one encounters during the upcoming day.

Prayers for Lent: Ash Wednesday Prayer for Family

This prayer is designed to be said within the family before a Crucifix from Ash Wednesday to Saturday at the beginning of Lent.

Mother or a child: From the words of St. John the Evangelist (14:1-6).

Let not your hearts be troubled.
You who believe in God, believe also in me.
In my Father’s house there are many mansions.
Were it not so, I would have told you,
because I go to prepare a place for you.
And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I am coming again,
and I will take you to myself,
that where I am, there you also may be.
And where I go, you know, and the way you know.

Father:
We ought to glory in the Cross of our Lord Jesus
Christ

Family:
in whom is our salvation, life and resurrection.

Father:
Let us pray.
Grant to your faithful, Lord,
a spirit generous enough to begin these solemn
fasts
with proper fervor and to pursue them with
steadfast devotion.
This we ask of you through our Lord Jesus Christ,
your Son.

Family:

Amen.
Favor this dwelling, Lord, with your presence.
Far from it repulse all the wiles of Satan.
Your holy angels–let them live here,
to keep us in peace.
And may your blessing remain always upon us.
This we ask of you through our Lord Jesus Christ,
your Son.

Father:
Let us bless the Lord.

Family:
Thanks be to God.

Father:
May the almighty and merciful Lord,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
bless and keep us.

Family:

Amen.

Anima Christi Soul of Christ Spanish Song

ALMA de Cristo, santifícame
Cuerpo de Cristo, sálvame
Sangre de Cristo, embriágame
Agua del costado de Cristo, lávame
Pasión de Cristo, confórtame
Oh buen Jesús, óyeme
Dentro de tus llagas, escóndeme
No permitas que me separe de Tí
Del enemigo, defiéndeme
En la hora de mi muerte, llámame
Y mándame ir a Tí
Para que con Tus santos Te alabe
Por los siglos de los siglos. 
Amén.

APOSTOLIC PENITENTIARY

Enchiridion Indulgentiarum, fourth edition (1999) Book of Indulgences


EUCHARISTIC AND SPIRITUAL COMMUNION

OTHER CONCESSIONS 8

§2     A partial indulgence is granted to the faithful who, using any duly approved pious formula, make 1°  an act of spiritual communion; 2°  an act of thanksgiving after Communion (e.g., Anima Christi; En ego, O bone et dulcissime Iesu).

Anima Christi Soul of Christ, sanctify me. Body of Christ, save me. Blood of Christ, inebriate me. Water from the side of Christ, wash me. Passion of Christ, strengthen me. O good Jesus, hear me. Within thy wounds hide me. Suffer me not to be separated from thee. From the malicious enemy defend me. In the hour of my death call me. And bid me come to thee, That with thy saints I may praise thee for ever and ever. Amen. 





Love Never Fails

I did not know these word came from Paul



Love is patient, love is kind.
It is not jealous, it is not pompous,
It is not inflated, it is not rude,
it does not seek its own interests,
it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury,
it does not rejoice over wrongdoing
but rejoices with the truth.
It bears all things, believes all things,
hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never fails.
If there are prophecies, they will be brought to nothing;
if tongues, they will cease;
if knowledge, it will be brought to nothing.
For we know partially and we prophesy partially,

but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.

When I was a child, I used to talk as a child,
think as a child, reason as a child;

when I became a man, I put aside childish things.

At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror,
but then face to face.
At present I know partially;
then I shall know fully, as I am fully known.
So faith, hope, love remain, these three;
but the greatest of these is love.

First Corinthians Chapters 12 &  13

Prayer for Souls in Pergatory

In purgatory, the souls of many of those who have died in God’s grace undergo purification so that they may enter heaven.  We cannot know for certain if our loved ones have transitioned to Heaven. Even if they have, other souls in purgatory need our prayers.
St. Gertrude, a Benedictine nun and mystic, wrote prayers for souls in purgatory. She lived in the 13th century and received assurance from our Lord that the following prayer would see 1000 souls  released from purgatory each time we pray it with devotion.
You can wish to add this to your daily prayer life. 
Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the masses said throughout the world today, for all the holy souls in purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen.

Requiem Aeternam: Praying for the Souls in Purgatory

I began praying the Rosary in Latin about three years ago. I promised myself that I would take one year to learn the Latin Rosary, no matter what and that I would say the prayer every day.

During the first two months, I must admit feeling dizzy and disoriented. I found videos of people praying the Latin Rosary on YouTube and said the prayers along with them. After a year, they seemed natural and in my humble opinion, beautiful.

On several of the videos, I heard the Requiem aeternam and that lead to much researching on my part. That lead to so much information about the Faith for me. I cannot imagine how any Catholic can understand the teachings of the Church without the understand of purgation.

The Catholic Prayer, Requiem aeternam, asks God to hasten the progression of the souls of the faithful departed in Purgatory to their place in Heaven.

We find this Roman Catholic doctrine in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 1030-1032:

All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven. The Church gives the name Purgatory to this final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned…From the beginning the Church has honoured the memory of the dead and offered prayers in suffrage for them, above all the Eucharistic sacrifice, so that, thus purified, they may attain the beatific vision of God. The Church also commends almsgiving, indulgences, and works of penance undertaken on behalf of the dead.

I found these prayers we can recite individually or within groups.

I.

Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine
Et lux perpetua luceat eis
Requiescant in pace.
Amen.

Eternal rest, grant unto them, O LORD,
And let perpetual light shine upon them.
May they rest in peace.
Amen.

II.

Oh Lord hear my prayer, and let my cry come to you.
O God, the creator and redeemer of all the faithful, grant to the souls of your departed servants the remission of all their sins that through our prayers they may obtain that pardon which they have always desired. Amen

Holy Land Baptism Site Cleared of 1500 Landmines After 50 Years


On 10 December 2018, several news outlets reported that a 22 person team of Georgians removed enough of a West Bank minefield to unblock the site of Jesus’s baptism. Historically called Qasr el-Yahud, biblical accounts also say the Israelites entered Canaan at this crossing and Elijah the Prophet ascended to heaven. It lies near an ancient road and river ford connecting Jerusalem and Jericho with biblical sites such as Madaba, Mount Nebo and the King’s Highway. 

During the 1967 Six-Day War, Jordanians and Israeli’s mined both sides of the river. Jordan removed their mines after signing the Peace Treaty with Israel in 1994. Israel did not clear Qasr al-Yahud until 2000, when Pope John Paul II landed there in a helicopter and held private worship. Israel refused to open Qasr al-Yahud to the public until 2011. The government limited the clearing to a narrow corridor leading to the river.  

The mine field on the West Bank encompasses seven church compounds. One Israeli newspaper said the Georgians cleared landmines from three of the seven church compounds. Also, five monasteries at the Qasr el-Yahud baptism site became casualties of the 1967 war. The Israeli Defense Ministry and the British anti-mine organization HALO Trust estimated 6,500 landmines and booby traps lined the holy site. 

The site remains under control of the IDF military zone.

Also see an article from Scotland’s National Newspaper






Little Office of the Sacred Heart of Jesus PDF

You can download the 14 page PDF of the LITTLE OFFICE OF THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS for your perusal.

I thought you would like to see it.  It will become part of the curriculum for use in a course compiled for use at Our Lady of Victory Catholic Church in Paris Texas.

The project plan calls for an introduction to historical devotions.

A discussion of the significance of the Liturgy of the Hours precedes the Little Office. Also the definition or short discussion of an “Office” in Catholic terms  including the traditional  breviary hours. I believe that’s important if we want to familiarize the laity (of which I am a member ) with the monastic practices and how those became part of the routine of everyday Catholics after the Great Plague of Marseille.

Cristi pax

Introduction to the Sacred Heart from the Little Manual 1888

Though devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus was of great antiquity in the Church, yet it was reserved to Blessed Margaret Mary Alacoque, of the order of the Visitation, to make this devotion public. During the octave of Corpus Christi, in the year 1690, our blessed Lord appeared to his devoted servant, and disclosing to her his heart, said:

“Behold this Heart, which, notwithstanding the burning love for man with which it is consumed and exhausted, meets with no other return from the generality of Christians than sacrilege, contempt, indifference, and ingratitude, even in the sacrament of my love. But what pierces my heart most deeply is, that I am subjected to those insults by persons specially consecrated to my service.

Wherefore, I require of you to cause the first Friday after the octave of the blessed sacrament to be dedicated to honor my Heart, by receiving the holy communion, and making an act of atonement to repair the many indignities which have been offered to the holy sacrament while exposed on the altars; and in return, I promise that this Heart shall be dilated to pour out in abundance the influence of divine love on all who shall render to it this honor, or cause it to be rendered.”

But what will it avail us to have listened to these so just complaints of our Savior, if we are not moved with compassion, and generously resolved to testify our sorrow for our past indifference by honoring his Sacred Heart, and by repairing, as far as lies in our power, the insults to which his ardent desire to dwell with the children of men daily exposes him in the august sacrament of his love.

If gratitude to the God who suffered such torments for our salvation does not incline us to accept his gracious invitation, and to rank ourselves among the number of his adorers, at least let the recollection of the many spiritual advantages to be derived from devotion to the Sacred Heart induce us to pray fervently and humbly, that he, who has himself declared that it was a last effort of his love for man that induced him to discover to them the treasures of his Heart, may infuse into our souls the great gift of true piety to his most Sacred Heart.

Let us respond to the call of this adorable Heart. It longs to rescue and shield us from the arch-enemy of our salvation. If the recollection of your unworthiness discourages you, call to mind the words of your Savior, “Come to me, all you that labor and are heavily burdened, and I will refresh you.”
Remember that the Sacred Heart, which is compassion itself, is ever open to receive and shelter the repentant sinner. If you are bowed down by sin or sorrow, if temptations assail you, or the sight of your many infidelities and frequent relapses induce you to despair, fly with confidence to this furnace of love, for there, and there alone, will you find joy and consolation.

“O sweetest Jesus,” says St. Bernard, “what riches do you not enclose in your Heart! How easy for us to enrich ourselves, since we possess in the holy eucharist this infinite treasure!” If you are anxious to make atonement to the eternal Father for your many acts of ingratitude to him, offer him the merits of his divine Son.

“Honor the adorable Heart of Jesus, by constant acts of fervent devotion.” says Langpergius, “offer all your petitions to God through that divine Heart, unite your intentions and actions to its merits; for it is the rich treasury of heaven.

In your troubles and perplexities seek refuge in the Sacred Heart and be convinced that though all the world should forget and forsake you, Jesus will ever be your faithful friend, and his Heart your secure asylum.”

In the eucharist Jesus bestows on us the most precious gift which even a God can give-his own Sacred Heart; and the only return he requires from us is, that we should give him our hearts in exchange.

“Son give me thy heart.” Determine, then, to respond to the affectionate solicitation of your Savior. Never let a day pass without performing some pious exercise in honor of his Sacred Heart. Our Lord himself directed St. Mechtilde to let her first act when she a woke be to salute his Sacred Heart, and to offer him her own.

Frequently during the day make fervent aspirations in honor of the Sacred, Heart. Assist devoutly at the holy sacrifice of the Mass, and endeavor, as far as lies in your power, to make atonement to Jesus for the many outrages he has received in the sacrament of his love.

As the first Friday of the month is in a special manner devoted to honor the Sacred Heart, be careful to consecrate that day to the love of our blessed Savior. Cause your name to be enrolled in the “Confraternity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus,” which has been enriched by the Holy See with considerable indulgences. The duties are few and easy, and do not bind under pain of sin, but merely under forfeitures of the indulgences.

They are but two in number. First, daily to recite, in honor of the Sacred Heart, the Our Father, Hail Mary, and Creed, with the following aspiration:
“O Heart of Jesus, grant that I may love thee daily more and more.”

Let us respond to the call of this adorable Heart. It longs to rescue and shield us from the arch-enemy of our salvation. If the recollection of your unworthiness discourage you, call to mind the words of your Savior, “Come to me, all you that labor and are heavily burdened, and I will refresh you.”

Remember that the Sacred Heart, which is compassion itself, is ever open to receive and shelter the repentant sinner. If you are bowed down by sin or sorrow, if temptations assail you, or the sight of your many infidelities and frequent relapses induce you to despair, fly with confidence to this furnace of love, for there, and there alone, will you find that he, who has himself declared that it was a last effort of his love for man that induced him to discover to them the treasures of his Heart, may infuse into our souls the great gift of true piety to his most Sacred Heart.

Second-To pass one hour before the blessed sacrament on any one day of the year selected by the member on his joining the association; that hour to be spent in prayer, to repair the outrages offered to the Sacred Heart in the holy eucharist. Go to communion on the day of your entrance into the confraternity, in order to gain the plenary indulgence granted on that occasion.

Every associate should have in his home a picture of the Sacred Heart. Our Blessed Lord, speaking on this subject to Margaret Mary, says: “I am much pleased with the devotion the faithful show for my Heart, and for this reason I desire the picture thereof may be drawn and exposed, that by this so amiable a representation the hearts of ‘men may be softened into repentance. I promise that such as, in a more particular manner, honor this picture, shall partake more amply of those graces with which my Heart is replenished.”

I promise that such as, in a more particular manner, honor this picture, shall partake more amply of those graces with which my Heart is replenished.”
We find in the Hearts of Jesus and Mary, light, love, fortitude, resignation, zeal, patience, peace, and rest.

SALUTARY PRACTICES.
1. Carefully avoid all sin, for it is the only cause of sorrow to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary.
2. Perform all your devotions and actions in union with the Hearts of Jesus and Mary.
3. Beg all graces through their intercession, repeating frequently, and especially in time of temptation, the prayer, “Sweet Hearts of Jesus and Mary, be my refuge.”

Consecration of the Home and Family and the Devotion of Enthronement

We can consecrate our homes and families to the Sacred Heart of Jesus through the traditional prayers or by using the Catholic enthronement ceremony. The later requires keeping a place of honor as a throne and a ceremony typically conducted by a Priest or member of the clergy. This helps us remember the importance of the Sacrament of the Eucharist and allows us to invite Jesus to live with us and cultivate our friendship with Him. 



If you have seen a brochure or recognize the practice of attending “nine first Friday” masses, then you may know about Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque. In her first of three great apparitions of Jesus, He said:

“I will bless the homes in which the Image of My Sacred Heart shall be exposed and honored.”

Jesus calls us through the devotions to the Sacred Heart to welcome Him into our daily life. When we take part in the Sacrament of Penance, attend weekly or daily Mass and spend some time in Adoration, we broaden our friendship with God.

The enthronement ceremony requires a few steps as depicted below.
1. Set a date with the Pastor. It is desirable to have a priest conduct the ceremony, but it is not essential to gain the indulgences.
2. The entire family should receive Communion by the priest.
3. Obtain or use an existing picture or statue of the Sacred Heart.
4. Below the place of honor reserved for the statue or picture, prepare a table or a mantelpiece covered with white cloth, flowers, and candles. We consider this the throne.
Place the picture or statute on a small table near the throne before the ceremony.
5. Invite relatives and friends to the ceremony and consider having a dinner or celebration afterward.
6. Make this day one everyone will remember.
THE CEREMONY
1. All gather around the image of the Sacred Heart near the priest.
2. The priest, in surplice and white stole, blesses the image.

Let us pray. Almighty and everlasting God, who dost approve the painting and sculpture of the images of Thy Saints, so that as often as we gaze upon them we are reminded to imitate their deeds and sanctity; vouchsafe, we implore Thee, to bless and sanctify this image’ made in honor and in memory of the Most Sacred Heart of Thy only begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ; and grant, that whosoever in its presence, will suppliantly worship and honor the Most Sacred Heart of Thy only begotten Son, may obtain through His merits and intercession grace in this life and everlasting glory in the world to come. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

[The priest here sprinkles the image with holy water.]
3. The father [or in his absence, the mother, or some other member of the family] enthrones the image in the place of honor prepared for it. We consider this the symbolic act of “Enthronement.”
4. All stand and recite the Apostle’s Creed as an act of faith on the part of the family.
5. We then sit while the priest addresses a few words to those present, reminding the members of the family of what the Sacred Heart expects recalling the magnificent promises of the Sacred Heart; urging the family to live its Enthronement and frequently to renew the act of consecration which they are about to make.
6. All kneel, while the priest and the father or other family member recites the official Act of Consecration.

(On the Feast of the Sacred Heart, you will receive a plenary indulgence for reciting on the Feast the Litany of the Sacred Heart. You can also obtain a plenary indulgence for reciting the following Prayer on the Feast Act of Consecration of the Human Race:

Most sweet Jesus, Redeemer of the human race, look down upon us humbly prostrate before Thy altar. We are Thine, and Thine we wish to be; but to be more surely united with Thee, behold each one of us freely consecrates himself today to Thy most Sacred Heart. Many indeed have never known Thee; many too, despising Thy precepts, have rejected Thee. Have mercy on them all, most merciful Jesus, and draw them to Thy Sacred Heart. Be Thou King, O Lord, not only of the faithful who have never forsaken Thee, but also of the prodigal children who have abandoned Thee; grant that they may quickly return to their Father’s house lest they die of wretchedness and hunger. Be Thou King of those who are deceived by erroneous opinions, or whom discord keeps aloof, and call them back to the harbor of truth and unity of faith, so that soon there may be but one flock and one Shepherd.

Be Thou King of all those who are still involved in the darkness of idolatry or of Islamism and refuse not to draw them all into the light and kingdom of God. Turn Thine eyes of mercy towards the children of that race, once Thy chosen people: of old they called down upon themselves the Blood of the Savior; may It now descend upon them, a laver of redemption and of life. Grant, O Lord, to Thy Church assurance of freedom and immunity from harm; give peace and order to all nations, and make the earth resound from pole to pole with one cry: “Praise be to the divine Heart that wrought our salvation; to It be glory and honor for ever.” Amen.

Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart

O Sacred Heart of Jesus, who didst make known to St. Margaret Mary Thine ardent desire to reign over Christian families, behold us assembled here today to proclaim Thine absolute dominion over our home.

Henceforth we purpose to lead a life like unto Thine, so that amongst us may flourish the virtues for which Thou didst promise peace on earth, and for this end we will banish from our midst the spirit of the world which Thou dost abhor so much.

Thou wilt reign over our understanding by the simplicity of our faith. Thou wilt reign over our hearts by an ardent love for Thee; and may the flame of this love be kept burning in our hearts by the frequent reception of the Holy Eucharist.

Deign, O Divine Heart, to preside over our meetings, to bless our undertakings, both spiritual and temporal, to banish all worry and care, to sanctify our joys and soothe our sorrows. If any of us should ever have the misfortune to grieve Thy Sacred Heart, remind him of Thy goodness and mercy toward the repentant sinner.

Lastly when the hour of separation will sound and death will plunge our home into mourning, then shall we all and every one of us be resigned to Thy eternal decrees, and seek consolation in the thought that we shall one day be reunited in Heaven, where we shall sing the praises and blessings of Thy Sacred Heart for all eternity.

May the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the glorious Patriarch St. Joseph offer Thee this our Consecration and remind us of the same all the days of our life.
Glory to the Divine Heart of Jesus, our King, and our Father!

7. The priest asks those present to say an Our Father and Hail Mary for absent members, both living and dead, so that they will share in the graces of the Enthronement.
8. Recite the following Prayer of Thanksgiving

Glory be to Thee, O Sacred Heart of Jesus, for the infinite mercy Thou hast bestowed upon the privileged members of this family. Thou hast chosen it from thousands of others, as a recipient of Thy love and a sanctuary of reparation wherein Thy most loving Heart shall find consolation for the ingratitude of men. How great, O Lord Jesus, is the confusion of this portion of Thy faithful flock as we accept the unmerited honor of seeing Thee preside over our family! Silently we adore Thee, overjoyed to see Thee sharing under the same roof the toils, cares and joys of Thy children! It is true, we are not worthy that Thou shouldst enter our humble abode, but Thou hast already reassured us, when Thou didst reveal Thy Sacred Heart to us, teaching us to find in the wound of Thy Sacred Side the source of grace and life everlasting. In this loving and trusting spirit we give ourselves to Thee, Thou who art unchanging Life. Remain with us, Most Sacred Heart, for we feel an irresistible desire to love Thee and make Thee loved.

May our home be for Thee a haven as sweet as that of Bethany, where Thou canst find rest in the midst of loving friends, who like Mary have chosen the better part in the loving intimacy of Thy Heart! May this home be for Thee, O be. loved Savior, a humble but hospitable refuge during the exile imposed on Thee by Thine enemies.

Come, then, Lord Jesus, come, for here as at Nazareth, we have a tender love for the Virgin Mary, Thy sweet Mother whom Thou hast given us to be our Mother. Come, to fill with Thy sweet presence the vacancies which misfortune and death have wrought in our midst.

O most faithful Friend, hadst Thou been here in the midst of sorrow, our tears would have been less bitter; the comforting balm of peace would then have soothed these hidden wounds, which are known to Thee alone. Come, for even now perhaps, there is drawing near for us the twilight of tribulation, and the decline of the passing days of our youth and our illusions. Stay with us, for already it is late, and a perverted world seeks to envelop us in the darkness of its denials while we wish to adhere to Thee who alone art the Way the Truth and the Life. 

Repeat for us those words

Thou didst utter of old: “This day I must abide in this home.”
Yes, dear Lord, take up Thy abode with us, so that we may live in Thy love and in Thy presence, we who proclaim Thee as our King and wish no other! May Thy triumphant Heart, O Jesus, be forever loved, blessed, and glorified in this home! Thy Kingdom Come! Amen!

9. For the grace of the Enthronement, thank the Immaculate Heart of Mary, by reciting the (Salve Regina) Hail Holy Queen:

Hail, holy Queen, Mother of mercy; hail our life, our sweetness and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve. To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn then, most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us. And after this our exile show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary. 

Pray for us, O holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

You may also say the Act of Consecration to the Heart of Mary, and install her image with the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
10.  Recite the Follow:

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus: Have mercy on us! [3 times]
Immaculate Heart of Mary: Pray for us.
St. Joseph: Pray for U.S’.
St. Margaret Mary: Pray for us.
Glory to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus forever and ever!
Amen.

11. The priest gives his blessing:

May the blessing of Almighty God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, descend upon you and remain forever.
Amen.

12. Then the members of the family and the priest sign the Certificate of the Enthronement. Frame it and hang it near the image of the Sacred Heart.
This signifies the installation of the tradition Enthronement.

Liberalism is a Sin (Book by Dr. Don Felix Sarda Y Salvany) 1886

“In 1886 there appeared in Spain a little work under the title El Liberalismo es Pecado, “Liberalism Is a Sin,” by Don Felix Sarda y Salvany, a priest of Barcelona and editor of a journal called La Revista Popular. The book excited considerable commotion. It was vigorously assailed by the Liberals.”

Entire Book in English  Translated and adapted for American readership by Conde B. Pallen, Ph.D., LL.D.


Sample: Chapter 1 – What Begets Liberalism

Physical science tells us that floating through the atmosphere are innumerable disease germs seeking a suitable nidus in which to settle and propagate and that we are constantly breathing these germs into the lungs. If the system be depleted or weakened, the dangerous microbe takes up its abode with us, and propagating its own kind with astonishing rapidity, undermines and ravages our health. The only safeguard against the encroachments of this insidious enemy, which we cannot escape, is a vigorous and healthy body with adequate powers of resistance to repel the invader.

It is equally true that we are subject to like infectious attacks in the spiritual order. Swarming in the atmosphere of our spiritual lives are innumerable deadly germs, ever ready to fasten upon the depleted and weakened soul and, propagating its leprous contagion through every faculty, destroy the spiritual life. Against the menace of this ever-threatening danger, whose advances we cannot avoid in our present circumstances, the ever-healthy soul alone can be prepared. To escape the contagion, the power of resistance must be equal to the emergencies of the attack, and that power will be in proportion to our spiritual health. To be prepared is to be armed, but to be prepared is not sufficient; we must possess the interior strength to throw off the germ. There must be no condition in the soul to make a suitable nidus for an enemy so insidious and so efficacious as to need only the slightest point of contact whence to spread its deadly contagion.

It is not only through the avenues of disordered passions that this spiritual disease may gain an entrance; it may make its inroad through the intellect, and this under a disguise often calculated to deceive the unwary and incautious. The Trojans admitted the enemy into their walls under the impression that they were actually securing a valuable acquisition to their safety, and today their fatal experience has come down to us in the proverb — “Beware of the Greeks when they bring gifts.” Intellectual torpidity, inexperience, ignorance, indifference, and complaisance, or even virtues, such as, benevolence, generosity, and pity may be the unsuspected way open to the foe, and lo, we are surprised to find him in possession of the citadel!

That we may know our danger, we must appreciate the possible shapes in which it may come. Here is just the difficulty; the uniform of the enemy is so various, changeable, sometimes even of our own colors, that if we rely upon the outward semblance alone, we shall be more often deceived than certain of his identity. But before laying down any test by which we may distinguish friend from foe in a warfare so subtly fought within the precincts of our own souls, let us first reconnoiter the respective positions of either camp, and to do this best, we shall consider the origin and sources of the danger which surrounds us, for we may be asked: “Where is this foe described as so intangible as scarcely to be apprehended by ordinary mortals?” Or it may be urged: “Is the danger as proximate, as frequent and [as] fearful as you allege? Whence is it anyhow? Point it out! If we know from what direction the enemy comes, we may better appreciate the peril.”

As we are addressing ourselves to those who live amidst the peculiar circumstances of our American life, and as the spiritual and moral conditions which obtain in this country make up the moral and spiritual atmosphere in which we have our being, it is in the relation of our surroundings to ourselves as well as of ourselves to our surroundings that we shall find the answer to our question. Let us then consider these surroundings in a general way for the moment.

First, as to some patent facts: The population of this country is at present something over 260 million. [1990 census]. Of these, 60 million are Catholics, and according to their claim, 80 million are Protestants, leaving a population of 120 million or more who do not profess any form become mere differences of private opinion, dependent upon nothing but the caprice or choice of the individual.
Outside of these various bodies of loosely professed Christians stands a still larger mass of our population who are either absolutely indifferent to Christianity as a creed or positively reject it. In practice, the distinction is of little moment whether they hold themselves merely indifferent or positively hostile.

In other words, we have here to reckon with a body, to all practical purposes, that is infidel. This mass comprises over 45 percent of our population, holding itself aloof from Christianity, and in some instances virulently antagonistic to it. In distinct religious opposition to this mass of infidelity and Protestantism [now in excess of 76 percent of our population, but currently enhanced to an even more frightening percentage by the vast majority of Catholics today — 1993 — who either do not practice their faith at all or who are ignorant of its teachings (especially with regard to morality) or in practice simply disregard those teachings — bringing the total of practical non-believing and infidel people to probably just over 90 percent, if we can presume there to be today approximately 25 million believing, practicing Catholics], Catholics find themselves sharply and radically opposed. Heresy and infidelity are irreconcilable with Catholicity.

 “He that is not with me is against me” (Matt. 12:30) are the words of Our Lord Himself, for denial of Catholic truth is the radical and common element of both heresy and infidelity. The difference between them is merely a matter of degree. One denies less, the other more. Protestantism, with its sliding scale of creeds, is Simply an inclined plane into the abyss of positive unbelief. It is always virtual infidelity, its final outcome open infidelity, as the 120 million unbelievers in this country stand witness.

We live in the midst of this religious anarchy. Some 235 million of our population can, in one sense or other, be considered anti-Catholic [1990 figures]. From this mass — heretical and infidel — exhales an atmosphere filled with germs poisonous and fatal to Catholic life, if permitted to take root in the Catholic heart. The mere force of gravitation, which the larger mass ever exercises upon the smaller, is a power which the most energetic vigor alone can resist. Under this dangerous influence, a deadly inertia is apt to creep over the souls of the incautious and is only to be overcome by the liveliest exercise of Catholic faith. To live without enervation amidst an heretical and infidel population requires a robust religious constitution. And to this danger we are daily exposed, ever coming into contact in a thousand ways, in almost every relation of life, with anti-Catholic thought and customs. But outside of this spiritual inertia, our non-Catholic surroundings — a danger rather passive than active in its influence — beget a still greater menace.

It is natural that Protestantism and infidelity should find public expression. What our 200 million non-Catholic population thinks in these matters naturally seeks and finds open expression. They have their organs and their literature where we find their current opinions publicly uttered. Their views upon religion, morality, politics, the constitution of society are perpetually marshaled before us. In the pulpit and in the press they are reiterated day after day. In magazine and newspaper they constantly speak from every line.

Our literature is permeated and saturated with non-Catholic dogmatism. On all sides do we find this opposing spirit. We cannot escape from it. It enfolds and embraces us. Its breath is perpetually in our faces. It enters in by eye and ear. From birth to death, it enslaves us in its offensive garments. It now soothes and flatters, now hates and curses, now threatens, now praises. But it is most dangerous when it comes to us under the form of “liberality.” It is especially powerful for seduction in this guise. And it is under this aspect that we wish to consider it. For it is as Liberalism that Protestantism and Infidelity make their most devastating inroads upon the domain of the Faith. Out of these non-Catholic and anti-Catholic conditions thus predominating amongst us springs this monst

Indulgences and Catholics Left Out

September 21, 2018, Paris, Texas

Father Denzil, Pastor of the Our Lady of Victory Catholic Parish, sent a text message saying that Bishop Strickland would grant a partial indulgence to anyone who visits the Cathedral in Tyler, Texas on October 5th, 2018. The Bishop requested the veneration (regards with profound respect) of the relics of St. Padre Pio!

At once, I recalled an article from the New York Times by Paul Vitello entitled, “For Catholics, a Door to Absolution Is Reopened.” He started his story, “the announcement in church bulletins and on Web sites has been greeted with enthusiasm by some … but it has gone over the heads of a vast generation of Roman Catholics who have no idea what it means.”

Vitello went on to state that like the Latin Mass and meatless Fridays, the indulgence was one of the traditions decoupled from mainstream Catholic practice in the 1960s by the Second Vatican Council.
He used a light touch when he rolled back the part about decoupling indulgences. The Second Vatican Council did not dispute the importance of indulgences. Like other practices the reformers simplified and codified them.

While Catholics under 60 may have never sought an indulgence, let alone heard of them, they play a significant part in the remediation of sin. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) addresses indulgences as follows:

“The doctrine and practice of indulgences in the Church are closely (intricately) linked to the effects of the sacrament of Penance. An indulgence is a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven… To understand this doctrine and practice of the Church, it is necessary to understand that sin has a double consequence.”

While playing baseball, Chris makes a great hit but breaks his neighbor’s window. He goes to the neighbor’s house and asks Mr. Fine for forgiveness. Mr. Fine replies, “Sure. I accept your apology. No hard feelings.” Chris thanks his neighbor and begins to walk away. Mr. Fine stops him and says, “Chris, I do forgive you, but you need to pay for the broken window.” Chris looks complete dejected and says, “I don’t have any money.” Mr. Fine says kindly, “Well, if you don’t have the money, you can do yardwork to pay me back.”

The double consequence of sin includes Penance in the form of Confession and Purgation for the forgiveness of temporal punishment of sin.

The Catechism states:

The forgiveness of sin and restoration of communion with God entail the remission of the eternal punishment of sin, but temporal punishment of sin remains. While patiently bearing sufferings and trials of all kinds and, when the day comes, serenely facing death, the Christian must strive to accept this temporal punishment of sin as a grace. He should strive by works of mercy and charity, as well as by prayer and the various practices of penance, to put off completely the “old man” and to put on the “new man.” (CCC 1473).

Indulgences negate some or all the temporal punishment of sin we have accumulated. Many of our Catholic devotions include partial indulgences such as praying the Rosary together before or after Mass.

(I suggest that parishioners read about indulgences in CCC 1471 and download or obtain the publication, Enchiridion of Indulgences.)

To obtain an indulgence, Catechism and Canon Law states:
To gain indulgences, whether plenary or partial, it is necessary that the faithful be in the state of grace at least at the time the indulgenced work is completed.
Have the interior disposition of complete detachment from sin, even venial sin;
Have sacramentally confessed their sins;

Receive the Holy Eucharist (it is certainly better to receive it while participating in Holy Mass, but for the indulgence only Holy Communion is required);
Pray for the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff.

It is appropriate, but not necessary, that the sacramental Confession and especially Holy Communion and the prayer for the Pope’s intentions take place on the same day that the indulgenced work is performed; but it is sufficient that these sacred rites and prayers be carried out within several days (about 20) before or after the indulgenced act.

Prayer for the Pope’s intentions is left to the choice of the faithful, but an “Our Father” and a “Hail Mary” are suggested. One sacramental Confession suffices for several plenary indulgences, but a separate Holy Communion and a separate prayer for the Holy Father’s intentions are required for each plenary indulgence.

For the sake of those legitimately impeded, confessors can commute both the work prescribed and the conditions required (except, obviously, detachment from even venial sin).

Indulgences can always be applied either to oneself or to the souls of the deceased, but they cannot be applied to other persons living on earth.

“Bishop Strickland offered our Diocese a partial indulgence to anyone who visits the Cathedral on October 5th, 2018 and venerates (regards with profound respect) the relics of St. Padre Pio!

October 5th falls on the First Friday of the month. The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception holds Mass at 6pm.

Radical Christian Hospitality – A Sham


In an article by Carrie A Robinson entitled why Catholics are called to radical hospitality in these political times, August 24, 2017 published in American Jesuit Review, the author stresses globalization in the most idealistic terms. His thesis reflects the naive liberal ideals that have plagued Catholicism and in a sense civilization as a whole.

His theory, based on limited experience, has numerous flaws. Catholics have obligations to their families and loved ones and a singular commitment to God. We perform good works as a matter of course, not as a substitute to receiving the Eucharist.

The last Vatican counsel stressed the a singular focus to receiving the Sacred Sacrament as the center of Christianity and de-emphasized popular devotions and activities that did not lead directly to the celebration of the Lord’s supper. Yet, activities outside the scope of of the Eucharist especially social justice has sapped the energy of evangelical causes.

Social justice lacks the sanction of the Council and for good reason. Societies differ within the church across our planet. Our faith should have a stabilizing effect on whatever country or political unit in which the church resides.

If you wonder how radical globalists have sabotaged American and Western values, then look no further than the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) who occupy positions within education the world over. These men poison the minds of your children and have created a world in which family vocations have almost disappeared. They provoke hysteria among women who have come to hate men, who in turn hate women.

The Pope has dominion many branches of the body of the faithful including these unique cultures in union with Rome: East Syriac, Personal Ordinariate of Anglicans, Patriarchal Armenian Catholic Church, Syrian Maronite Catholic Church, Chaldean Catholics, Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, Italo-Albanian Catholic, Romanian Catholic Church, Greek Catholic Church, Bulgarian Catholic Church, Slovak Catholic Church, Albanian Catholic Church and so forth. Is that enough diversity for you.


Think about it.

George Santayana wrote the Those who do not know history’s mistakes are doomed to repeat them. Such can be said about liberal values within church teachings today. Radical hospitality attempts to integrate people whose core beliefs differ from those taught by Jesus Christ. You can expect Muslims to have a dialogue with Christians because the doctors of their faith believe we have perverted the word.

Protestants believe that after the death of Jesus Christianity didn’t exist until the Protestant Reformation. Mormons also believe that. The core belief of Protestants consider Catholics as apostates. According to them, we did not live the teachings of Jesus and grow from a nice event today and called of approximately 120 adherents and 50 A.D. to 33 million in 350 A.D.

How can you reconcile such diverse worldviews and embrace ecumenism? 



Radical hospitality suggest we invite everyone into our homes, even those who do not adopt Catholic teachings that existed before the Protestant Reformation. Let us not forget history, let us not forget the religious wars!

Let us not forget the genocides of the last few hundred years. The Ottomans slaughtered those who refused to convert to their Muslim faith. The Germans and their allies murdered, not only six million Jews, but approximately 80% of all those who died during World War II.

During my college years, I  embraced an idealistic worldview. My professors had such an influence on me that I could not vary from their enforced reality. If I did, my grades would suffer, and that meant I would face a dismal future.

When I entered the business world, I faced a new reality and different norms of behavior. If I wanted to make a decent living, accumulate the basics of a household, pay for a car and food and student loans, then my idealistic liberal mentality had to go. Some people call that the real world. One cannot expect his or her idealism to end wars, to stop conflicts, or redistribute wealth to those who lack the basic understanding of how to handle money.

I also worked as a bureaucrat at the Library of Congress. I saw little change from the University environment. My coworkers knew nothing about business, industry and how to make a living in business. That, my friends sums up what people call the deep state.

I’ve seen statistics which indicate liberals represent 85% of the Catholic Church. A similar number of Catholics use contraception and many have had abortions. The excuses fall under the auspices of  hysteria caused by mainstream media who oppose the Catholics in general. In the last election the head of the Democratic party attempted to create a Catholic spring. 

I didn’t become a Catholic, that is, join the Catholic Church to engage in the administration of the faith. I joined to merit heaven and to me that includes accepting the Eucharist and contributing my talents to my parish in hopes to remedy the punishment of temporal sin, to confess my sins and to welcome those who choose to remain devoted Catholics and guests who may want to join the church.

I doubt we have the time or resources on our own to engage in social justice. I hope you’ll give it up.

The Jesu Dulcissime prayer for the Feast of the Sacred Heart


The Feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. “On the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, publicly recite the act of reparation Jesu dulcissime (a partial indulgence is granted for its use in other circumstances, such as private recitation).

To gain a plenary indulgence one must:

Be baptized and in the state of grace, at least at the time the indulgenced work is done.

Have “the interior disposition of complete detachment from sin, even venial sin.” Otherwise, the indulgence becomes partial, not plenary.

And fulfill these three conditions:

Sacramentally confess your sins
Receive Holy Communion.
Pray for the intentions of the Holy Father. One Our Father and one Hail Mary fully satisfies this.

Most sweet Jesus, whose overflowing charity for men is requited by so much forgetfulness, negligence, and contempt, behold us prostrate before you, eager to repair by a special act of homage the cruel indifference and injuries to which your loving Heart is everywhere subjected.

Mindful, alas! That we ourselves have had a share in such great indignities, which we now deplore from the depths of our hearts, we humbly ask your pardon and declare our readiness to atone by voluntary expiation, not only for our own personal offenses, but also for the sins of those who, straying from the path of salvation, refuse in their obstinate infidelity to follow you, their Shepherd and Leader, or, renouncing the promises of their Baptism, have cast off the sweet yoke of your law.

We are now resolved to expiate each and every deplorable outrage committed against you; we are determined to make amends for the manifold offenses against Christian modesty in indecent dress and behavior, for all the foul seductions laid to ensnare the feet of the innocent, for the frequent violations of Sundays and holydays, and for the shocking blasphemies uttered against you and your Saints. We wish also to make amends for the insults to which your Vicar on earth and your priests are subjected, for the profanation, by conscious neglect or terrible acts of sacrilege, of the very Sacrament of your divine love, and lastly for the public crimes of nations who resist the rights and teaching authority of the Church which you have founded.

Would that we were able to wash away such abominations with our blood. We now offer, in reparation for these violations of your divine honor, the satisfaction you once made to your Eternal Father on the cross and which you continue to renew daily on our altars; we offer it in union with the acts of atonement of your Virgin Mother and all the saints and of the pious faithful on earth; and we sincerely promise to make recompense, as far as we can with the help of your grace, for all the neglect of your great love and for the sins we and others have committed in the past. Henceforth, we will live a life of unswerving faith, of purity of conduct, of perfect observance of the precepts of the Gospel and especially that of charity. We promise to the best of our power to prevent others from offended you and to bring as many as possible to follow you.

O loving Jesus, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mother, our model of reparation, deign to receive the voluntary offering we make of this act of expiation; and by the crowning gift of perseverance keep us faithful unto death to our duty and the allegiance we owe to you, that we may all one day come to that happy home, where with the Father and the Holy Spirit you live and reign, for ever and ever. Amen.

Annum Sacrum Encyclical of Pope Leo XIII on Consecration to The Sacred Heart


ANNUM SACRUM

ENCYCLICAL OF POPE LEO XIII ON CONSECRATION TO THE SACRED HEART

To the Patriarchs, Primates, Archbishops, and Bishops of the Catholic World in Graceand Communion with the Apostolic See.

Venerable Brethren, Health and Apostolic Benediction
But a short time ago, as you well know, We, by letters apostolic, and following the custom and ordinances of Our predecessors, commanded the celebration in this city,at no distant date, of a Holy Year. And now to-day,in the hope and with the object that this religious celebration shall be more devoutly performed, We have traced and recommended a striking design from which, if all shall follow it out with hearty good will, We not unreasonably expect extraordinary and lasting benefits for Christendom in the first place and also for the whole human race.

Already more than once We have endeavored, after the example of Our predecessors Innocent XII, Benedict XIII, Clement XIII, Pius VI, and Pius IX., devoutly to foster and bring out into fuller light that most excellent form of devotion which has for its object the veneration of the SacredHeart of Jesus;this We did especially by the Decreegiven on June 28,1889, by which We raisedthe Feast under that name to the dignity of the firstclass. But now We have in mind a more signal form of devotion which shall be in a manner the crowning perfection of all the honors that people have been accustomed to pay to the Sacred Heart, and which We confidently trust will be most pleasing to Jesus Christ, our Redeemer. This is not the first time, however, that the design of which We speak has been mooted. 

Twenty-five years ago, on the approach of the solemnities of the secondcentenary of the Blessed MargaretMary Alacoque’s reception of the Divine command to propagate the worship of the Sacred Heart, many letters from all parts, not merely from private persons but from Bishopsalso were sent to Pius IX. beggingthat he would consent to consecrate the whole human race to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.It was thought best at the time to postponethe matter in order that a well-considered decision might be arrived at. Meanwhile permission was granted to individual cities which desired it thus to consecrate themselves, and a form of consecration was drawn up. Now, for certain new and additional reasons, We considerthat the plan is ripe for fulfilment.

3.  This world-wide and solemn testimony of allegiance and piety is especially appropriate to Jesus Christ, who is the Head and SupremeLord of the race. His empire extendsnot only over Catholic nationsand those who, having been duly washed in the waters of holy baptism, belong of right to the Church, although erroneous opinions keep them astray, or dissent from her teachingcuts them off from her care; it comprises also all those who are deprived of the Christianfaith, so that the whole humanrace is most truly under the power of JesusChrist. For He who is the Only-begotten Son of God the Father, having the same substance with Him and being the brightness of His glory and the figure of His substance (Hebrews i., 3) necessarily has everything in common with the Father,and therefore sovereignpower over all things. This is why the Son of God thus speaks of Himself through the Prophet: “But I am appointed king by him over Sion, his holy mountain. . . The Lord said to me, Thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me and I will give thee the Gentiles for thy inheritance and the utmostparts of the earth for thy possession” (Psalm, ii.). By these words He declares that He has powerfrom God over the whole Church, whichis signified by Mount Sion, and also over the rest of the world toits uttermost ends.On what foundation this sovereignpower rests is made sufficiently plain by the words, “Thou art My Son.” For by the very fact that He is the Son of the King of all, He is also the heir of all His Father’s power: hence the words-“I will give thee the Gentiles for thy inheritance,” which are similar to those used by Paul the Apostle, “whom he bath appointed heir of all things” (Hebrews i., 2).
4.  But we should now give most special consideration to the declarations made by Jesus Christ, not through the Apostles or the Prophets but by His own words. To the Roman Governor who asked Him, “Art thou a king then?” He answered unhesitatingly, “Thou sayest that I am a king” (John xviii. 37). And the greatness of this power and the boundlessness of His kingdom is still more clearly declared in these words to the Apostles: “All power is given to me in heaven and on earth” (Matthew xxviii., 18). If then all power has been given to Christ it follows of necessity that His empire must be supreme, absolute and independent of the will of any other, so that none is either equal or like unto it: and since it has been given in heaven and on earth it ought to have heaven and earth obedient to it. And verily he has acted on this extraordinary and peculiar right when He commanded His Apostles to preach His doctrine over the earth, to gather all men together into the one body of the Churchby the baptism of salvation, and to bind them by laws, whichno one could reject without risking his eternal salvation.
5.  But this is not all. Christ reigns nor only by naturalright as the Son of God, but also by a right that He has acquired.For He it was who snatchedus “from the power of darkness” (Colossians i., 13), and “gave Himselffor the redemption of all” (I Timothy ii., 6). Therefore not only Catholics, and those who have duly received Christian baptism, but also all men, individually and collectively, have become to Him “apurchased people” (I Peter ii., 9). St. Augustine’s words are therefore to the point when he says:“You ask what price He paid? See what He gave and you will understand how much He paid. The price was the blood of Christ.What could cost so much but the whole world, and all its people?The great price He paid was paid for all” (T. 120 on St.John).
6.  How it comes about that infidelsthemselves are subjectto the power and dominionof Jesus Christ is clearlyshown by St. Thomas,who gives us the reasonand its explanation. For havingput the question whether His judicial power extends to all men, and havingstated that judicialauthority flows naturallyfrom royal authority, he concludes decisively as follows: “All things are subject to Christ as far as His power is concerned, although they are not all subject to Him in the exercise of that power” (3a., p., q. 59, a. 4). This sovereign power of Christ over men is exercisedby truth, justice,and above all, bycharity.


7.  To this twofold ground of His power and domination He graciously allows us, if we think fit, to add voluntary consecration. Jesus Christ,our God and our Redeemer, is rich in the fullestand perfect possession of all things:we, on the other hand, are so poor and needy that we have nothing of our own to offer Him as a gift. But yet, in His infinite goodness and love,He in no way objectsto our giving and consecrating to Him what is alreadyHis, as if it were really our own;nay, far from refusing such an offering, He positively desiresit and asks for it: “My son, give me thy heart.” We are, therefore, able to be pleasing to Him by the good will and the affectionof our soul. For by consecrating ourselves to Him we not only declareour open and free acknowledgment and acceptance of His authority over us, but we also testify that if what we offer as a gift were really our own, we would stilloffer it with our wholeheart. We also beg of Him that He would vouchsafe to receive it from us, though clearly His own. Such is the efficacy of the act of which We speak, such is the meaning underlying Our words.
8.  And sincethere is in the SacredHeart a symboland a sensible image of the infinitelove of JesusChrist which moves usto love one another, therefore is it fit and properthat we should consecrate ourselves to His most Sacred Heart-anact which is nothingelse than an offering and a bindingof oneself to Jesus Christ,seeing that whateverhonor, veneration and love is given to this divine Heart is really and truly given to Christ Himself.
9.  For these reasons We urge and exhort all who know and love this divineHeart willingly to undertake this act of piety; and it is Our earnest desire that all should make it on the same day, that so the aspirations of so many thousands who areperforming this act of consecration may be borneto the temple of heavenon the same day. But shall We allow to slip from Our remembrance those innumerable others upon whom the light of Christiantruth has not yet shined?We hold the placeof Him who came to save that which was lost, and who shed His blood for the salvation of the whole human race. And so We greatly desire to bring to the true life those who sit in the shadow of death. As we have already sent messengers of Christ over the earth to instruct them, so now, in pity for their lot with all Our soul we commend them, and as far as in us lies We consecrate them to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In this way this act of devotion, which We recommend,will be a blessing to all. For having performed it, those in whose heartsare the knowledge and love of Jesus Christ will feel that faith and love increased. Those who knowing Christ, yet neglect His law and its precepts, may still gain from His Sacred Heart the flame of charity. And lastly, for those still more unfortunate, who are struggling in the darkness of superstition, we shall all with one mind implorethe assistance of heaven that Jesus Christ,to whose power they are subject, may also one day render them submissive to its exercise;and that not only in the life to come when He will fulfil His will upon all men, by saving some and punishing others, (St. Thomas, ibid), but also in this mortal life by giving them faith and holiness. May they by these virtues strive to honor God as they ought, and to win everlasting happiness in heaven.
10.  Such an act of consecration, since it can establish or draw tighter the bonds which naturally connect public affairs with God, gives to States a hope of betterthings. In these latter times especially, a policy has been followedwhich has resulted in a sort of wall being raised between the Church and civil society. In the constitution and administration of States the authorityof sacred and divine law is utterlydisregarded, with a view to the exclusionof religion from having any constant part in public life. This policy almost tends to the removalof the Christian faith from our midst, and, if that were possible, of the banishment of God Himself from the earth. When men’s minds are raised to such a height of insolentpride, what wonder is it that the greater part of the human race should have fallen into such disquietof mind and be buffeted by waves so rough that no one is sufferedto be free from anxietyand peril? When religion is once discardedit follows of necessity that the surestfoundations of the public welfaremust give way, whilst God, to inflicton His enemies the punishment they so richly deserve, has left them the prey of their own evil desires, so that they give themselves up to their passions and finally wear themselves out by excess ofliberty.
11.  Hence that abundance of evils whichhave now for a long time settledupon the world,and which pressingly call upon us to seek for help from Him by whose strength alone they can be driven away. Who can He be but Jesus Christ the Only-begotten Son of God? “Forthere is no other name under heavengiven to men whereby we must be saved” (Acts iv., 12). We must have recourseto Him who is the Way, the Truth and the Life. We have gone astrayand we must return to the right path:darkness has overshadowed our minds, and the gloom must be dispelled by the light of truth:death has seized upon us, and we must lay hold of life. It will at length be possiblethat our many wounds be healed and all justice spring forth again with the hope of restored authority; that the splendors of peace be renewed, and swords and arms drop from the hand when all men shall acknowledge the empire of Christ and willingly obey His word,and “Every tongue shall confess that our Lord JesusChrist is in the glory of God the Father” (Philippians ii, II).
12.  When the Church, in the days immediately succeeding her institution, wasoppressed beneath the yoke of the Caesars, a youngEmperor saw in the heavensacross, which becameat once the happy omen and causeof the glorious victorythat soon followed. And now, to-day, behold another blessed and heavenly tokenis offered to our sight-the most Sacred Heart of Jesus, with a cross rising fromit and shining forth with dazzling splendor amidst flames of love. In thatSacred Heart all our hopesshould be placed,and from it the salvationof men isto be confidently besought.
13.  Finally, there is one motive which We are unwilling to pass over in silence, personal to Ourselves it is true, but still good and weighty,which moves Us to undertake this celebration. God, the authorof every good, not long ago preserved Our life by curingUs of a dangerous disease.We now wish, by this increase of the honor paid to the Sacred Heart, that thememory of this great mercy should be brought prominently forward, and Our gratitude be publicly acknowledged.
14.  For these reasons, We ordain that on the ninth, tenth and eleventh of thecoming monthof June, in the principal church of every town and village, certainprayers besaid, and on each of these days there be added to the other prayers the Litanyof the SacredHeart approved by Our authority. On the last day the form ofconsecration shall be recitedwhich, Venerable Brethren, We sent to you withthese letters.
15.  As a pledge of divine benefits, and in token of Our paternal benevolence, toyou, and to the clergyand people committed to your care We lovinglygrant inthe Lord the ApostolicBenediction.

Given in Rome at St. Peter’s on the 25th day of May, 1899, the twenty-second year of Our Pontificate.

LEO XIII

The Sacred Heart of Jesus: A Story

Contents

1. The Sacred Heart of Jesus: A Story. 2
2. Marseille. 2
3. Plague Disappears from Western Europe. 5
4. Theological Crisis in France. 5
5. A Jesuit Priest and a Visitandine Nun. 6
6. Saint Claude de la Colombière. 8
7. England. 8
8. John Croiset 9
9. The Jesuits and the Sacred Heart 9
10. The Sacred Heart Devotions in 21st Century. 11
11. The Laity and Holy Hour 14
12. Sacred Heart Solemnities. 15
13. First Friday Devotions. 16
14. Consecration of one’s home to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. 17
15. Parting Notes. 18
Every year, 11 million people climb three hundred steps to the summit of Montmartre in Paris, France, and become stunned by the splendid Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Words do no justice to what one finds there. Drawn for no apparent spiritual reason, first time visitors emerge astonished.
 
Aside from the Basilica’s lure as a tourist attraction, few Parisians know why it exists. In 1885, French bishops placed a monstrance on the chapel’s high alter. Prayer and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament have continued uninterrupted since. The entrance bears the words “Sanctuary of the Eucharistic Adoration and divine mercy.”
 
Christians from around the world journey to France to pray at the Basilica. They spend hours in in the chapels meditating, reading, viewing the art including the immense mosaic covering the dome’s interior. The faithful come to meditate and join the all-night prayers.
 
Visitors also tour the gardens and fountain. They attended Mass, take confession, and linger under the Byzantine archways. The outside dome stays open and presents visitors with a panoramic view of the city.

 
History almost forgot the religious importance the Basilica holds with Sacred Heart followers in Paris. The French also consider the church a political and cultural monument. Yet, it continues to draw people seeking holiness from distant lands. *
 
While majestic, a thousand landmarks and communities consider the Basilica a generous example made by the Sacred Heart of Jesus followers. Today, few Catholics remember the importance those consecrations made. They exist as artifacts of Christendom’s most popular spiritual devotion.

Marseille

Travel southeast from Paris about 500 miles and you will find the city of Marseilles. The Greeks built it as a trade hub in 600 BC. It remains a trading hub and stands as the largest French city on the Mediterranean coast. Marseille has the largest port for commerce, freight, and cruise ships in western Europe.
 
Marseille became the 18thcentury’s battlefield of Milvian Bridge. Instead of two Roman armies facing off, one with Christian symbols painted on their shields; the French clergy went into spiritual battle holding the image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. They would fight an enemy that had invaded and ravaged Europe for three hundred years. 
 
On June 20, 1720, illness took its first reported casualty in Marseilles when Marie Dauplan complained about headache, fever and weakness. Her family sent for help, but doctors refused to attend to Marie. She lived on Belle-Table Street, a narrow, dark alley in the old city. Within a few hours and before her family could summon a priest, Marie Dauplan died.
 
The district’s chief health inspector had little time to investigate Marie’s death. He became anxious about a ship, the Grand-Saint-Antoine, in the harbor with ten dead sailors on-board. About the same time, he heard about Marie Dauplan, he received information that plague may have hit the boat. Frantic and worried, the inspector demanded a doctor examine Marie’s body. That afternoon, two Marseille Intendants braved the old city streets and brought the body to the morgue. The doctors saw no plague. Or so they thought.
 
Eight days later, Michel Cresp died abruptly. On July 1, 1720, two women from the Rue de l’Echelle died, one showed symptoms like Marie Dauplan but also coughing blood. The second woman exhibited large open blisters on her neck that even the commoners knew meant the black death.
During August, Marseille’s District Director tried to isolate the plague. He began giving orders to quarantine the city and nearby ports. Before finishing, death took him a few days before plague began sweeping the old city.
 
When the plague reached its height, the Marseille Provost, his four remaining officers and Le Chevalier Rose, the Captain of the District, distributed food, arranged shelter for the sick and burials. The clergy also worked. Monasteries devoted themselves to service throughout the city.
Pope Clement XI sent wheat to France. On the way, Moorish corsairs seized the cargoes. When the Moors learned the fleet’s destination, they showed mercy and let the ships continue.
Louis XV, Orleans Regent’s Duke, sent 22,000 silver marks to the city. He also sent corn, and doctors, then troops to shut in the residents.
 
Journalists wrote that the plague took 300, then 1000 people a day destroying entire families and parishes. The quarantines did not work, and the Marseille social order broke down. The rule of law vanished.
 
Superintendents left their infirmaries, stewards abandoned hospitals; judges, public officers, notaries, and many Marseille artisans died. The Provost and his four municipal officers continued working until only 1,100 francs remained in their treasury. The city became a disorganized province without work, food and restraint. The people became prey to a disease that once wiped-out half of the population of Europe.
 
Some Marseille Parliament members survived by leaving. On May 31, they released a decree to prevent survivors from crossing a boundary around the city with the threat of certain death. Given the lack of law enforcement, people escaped and carried plague to Arles, Aix, Toulon, and sixty-three smaller towns and villages.
 
Authorities released prisoners and convicts from the galleys to collect corpses and carry the sick to infirmaries. The criminals saw unlimited opportunities to plunder. If one carried a sick person to an infirmary, he would catch the plague. So, no one carried the sick. The streets continued to fill with dying people as relatives pushed family members out of their homes.
Half the population lay dead. Father Giraud wrote that God declared war on his people. The Priest misspoke. God had not made war, evil had.
 
The Bishop of Marseille, Henri de Belsunce, chose to stay and do battle with the devil. He fought the devastation spiritually and physically. In a letter to the Bishop of Toulon, he wrote, “What horrors have I not seen or heard? I walk in streets flanked on both sides by half-rotten, dog-chewed bodies, with so much plague-ridden debris and filth underfoot that it was impossible to know where to tread. I clamber among the corpses to seek out and offer confession and consolation to the dying.”
 
Each day, the Bishop went into the streets with three confessors and searched for those still alive. He sent his household staff to aid the sick. The Bishop used the clergy to distribute money and food (alms) to the poor. Each day, the Bishop lost at least one of his confessors; when forty died, Belsunce feared that he might die without receiving last rites.
 
With Marseille’s churches shuttered, the Bishop in a demonstration of bravery and trust in God, held improvised services in the open air. He celebrated Mass bare headed, bare footed and with a torch in hand. His courage, dedication and persistence gave people hope.
 
On the advice of Venerable Sister Anne-Madeleine Rémusat, the Bishop consecrated Marseille to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. He organized a general procession around the Mass graves outside the city walls. He blessed each of the sites and led devotions to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
 
In what historians call the appeasement, sufferers began to recover while the daily mortality fell from about 1000 to about 20 people. The decline continued during the early part of 1721. Daily mortality finally fell to an average of two people.
 
Shops reopened, work resumed on the port and anglers began bringing in their catches. By February, the aldermen returned and so did civil authority.
 
On June 20, 1721, Bishop Belsunce organized a large procession on the feast of the Sacred Heart. Many worried about a return of the plague including Commander Charles-Claude Langeron but it did not return. In his address to the Assembly of the Clergy in 1725, Belsunce stated that more than 250 priests and religious perished during the plague.
 
French and English poets called Belsunce the soul of the rescuers. The King offered him, a position equivalent to a Duke, but the Bishop decline and remained in Marseille. The heroism and charity displayed by the Bishop during the plague of 1720 and 1721 made his name a household word.

Plague Disappears from Western Europe

The last outbreak of plague in Western Europe occurred in Marseille. In 1722, a brief outbreak recurred. Afterward, it did not return.
 
Recently, two separate teams from 1) The Institute for the Science of Human History in Germany and 2) The Bundeswehr Institute of Microbiology in Munich examined DNA from 200 bodies excavated from mass graves in Marseille. They concluded the pathogen, Y. Peste, caused the plague in 1721 and became extinct in Europe after Marseille.

Theological Crisis in France

During the mid-1600’s, the Church faced a series of theological crises aside from the protestant reformation. One Church faction claiming affinity to Saint Augustine’s teachings questioned the spiritual reality of apparitions of famous mystics like St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Louis de Montfort, Joan of Arc and so forth.
 
Unwittingly, the Sacred Heart of Jesus movement conflicted with an Augustin-Calvinist doctrine (disguised as Catholic) that emptied Churches in France, Belgium, and Italy. Simply put, the doctrine had Catholics believe that Christ’s sacrifice on the cross helped no one. God had already decided the souls destined for heaven. He never gave us free choice, a tenet of Calvin’s Protestantism.
 
Jesuits fought the movement that they called Jansenism after its founder. In 1653, Pope Innocent X condemned the five cardinal doctrines of Jansenism as heresies. The movement had momentum and persisted. The leaders headquartered at the Port-Royal-des-Champs Abbey and dug-in.
 
The Jansenist priests had a tragic effect on normally faithful Catholics. Proponents refused to celebrate the liturgy and omitted Catholics’ Easter duty. They refused communion to the dying. Refusing to offer Mass saw many Catholics failed to receive first communion until the age of thirty.
 
St. Vincent de Paul described the situation in Paris in a letter saying, “We no longer see persons frequenting the Sacraments, not even at Easter, the way they formerly did.” Speaking of annual Communions, he reports that “Saint Sulpice has 3,000 less; the parish priest of Saint Nicholas du Chardonnet, after having visited his families in the parish after Easter, in person and by proxy, told us recently that he discovered 1,500 of his parishioners had not been to Holy Communion; and the same is true of others.” Many people used to receive communion at least once a month. “But now scarcely anyone can be seen going to Holy Communion on the first Sunday of the month and on feast days . . . unless a few at the Jesuit churches.”

 A Jesuit Priest and a Visitandine Nun

When she told of her apparitions, St. Margaret Mary met with opposition and ridicule. Jansenist doctrine continued influencing Church elders. Several men arrived at the Visitandine convent and questioned the authenticity of Margaret Mary’s visions.
 
The elders viewed Margaret Mary as a threat to the popular doctrines of the day even though she had no familiarity with those ideas. The priests said that a nun such as her could not have communed with Jesus. They forbid her mention her visions or to place a picture of the Sacred Heart in any conspicuous place. They allowed her to honor it in private but not in a public place.
 
Margaret Mary ’s sisters ridiculed, isolated and denounced her. We call that bullying today. Before taking her solemn vows, Margaret Mary worried the religious order’s Mother Superior would expel her. Margaret Mary took solemn vows, but the local superior badgered the new sister making her work incessantly on the most menial and degrading tasks.
 
During February 1675, Father Claude de la Colombière’s superiors demoted him from the Court of Louis XIV for an unwitting comment made about the Minister of Finance. The minister, Jean-Baptiste Colbert, took offense to the comment and he didn’t like Jesuits.
 
François de la Chaise, the King’s confessor, sent Colombière to the community of Paray. Father Claude took over the rectory, which consisted of four priests. He made missions to nearby villages and took confessions from the Visitandine sisters including the surprising Margaret Mary Alacoque.
 
After her second confession, Margaret Mary told Father Colombièreabout the devotions given to her in private apparitions by Jesus. She also gave him a message. Colombière recognized the authenticity of Margaret Mary’s encounters. Her episodes resonated with his experience of Apostolic Catholicism.
Colombière also noted that the apparitions occurred in front of the Tabernacle in the Visitandine chapel. 
 
The devotions came to Margaret Mary while she kneeled in a state of grace after confession. Jesus asked for a feast of the Eucharist, an hour of adoration in front of the Sacrament and attendance at Mass on every first Friday of the month.
 
Colombière saw no conflict with pure Church teaching including those from the time of the apostles. He intervened on behalf of the young nun with Mother Mary Frances de Saumaise. He authenticated Margaret Mary’s apparitions and with what Jesus told her.
 
Jesus’ love of humankind spared nothing, given his Sacrifice and Passion. In modern France, the once faithful had abandoned the Eucharist. He instituted the Eucharist for us and now, He received ingratitude, by the irreverence, sacrilege, coldness and contempt for His Sacrament of Love.

Saint Claude de la Colombière

Saint Claude de la Colombière, also a mystic, knew Jesus wanted him to spread the devotions to the Lord’s Sacred Heart. Claude’s spiritual notes confirmed his pledge to this cause without reservation. In those notes historians found that, even before he became Margaret Mary’s confessor, Claude’s fidelity to the directives of St. Ignatius in the Spiritual Exercises had brought him to contemplate the Heart of Christ as symbol of his love.
 
Colombière began to practice the devotions taught to him through Margaret Mary. He consecrated himself to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. He joined Margaret Mary and the Visitandine sisters in their mission and preached the devotions of the Sacred Heart.
 
Religious communities across the vicinity of Paray-le-Monial, France joined the sisters and Colombière. The message of love resonated throughout the south of France. In turn, communities spread word to communities who in the turn spread word and so forth. A movement of the Sacred Heart became rooted within the monasteries of the Catholic church in France.
 
As Margaret Mary’s confessors noted, her great apparitions occurred while in the front of the Holy Sacrament, twice during Holy Hour and once during Mass. The Sacred Heart philosophy did not bring into question Church doctrine. In fact, they verified the writings St. Gertrude the German Benedictine mystic.
 
The superior who sent Father Colombière to Paray recalled him. François de la Chaise sent Claude to London and ordered him to act as spiritual guide to Maria Beatriz d’ Este, Duchess of York.

England

Caught up in the anti-Catholic hysteria, the English confined Colombière and his fellow Jesuits to the King’s Bench Prison. Colombière suffered from exposure as did 20 Jesuits who died. Claude wrote:
“The name of the Jesuit is hated above all else, even by priests both secular and regular, and by the Catholic laity as well, because it is said that the Jesuits have caused this raging storm, which is likely to overthrow the whole Catholic religion”.
 
As a member of the French Royal Court the King of France, Louis XIV had Claude released. He left the Bench Prison in 1679 and returned to France. He died two years later in Paray.
 
Pope Pius XI beautified Colombière and Pope John Paul II canonized him. The Jesuits preserved his personal effects in the Jesuit Church near Visitation monastery at Paray-le-Monial.

John Croiset

The Jesuits sent a professor from Lyons, John Croiset, to work with Margaret Mary. She wrote ten letters to him during the last 18 months of her life, which he used as the basis of his book about the devotions to the Sacred Heart. Croiset published the book in 1691.
 
Croiset entitled the book, The Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
John Croiset also embraced the Sacred Heart. Some historians think Fr. Croiset found Margaret Mary’s autobiography in the back of a Claude Colombière’s manuscript. (Another historian, Wendy M. Right, suggests that Margaret Mary wrote the manuscript at the express request of Jesuit Fr. F. J. Rolin). Croiset published the autobiography and news of the devotions spread on a broad scale among monasteries across Europe focused in France, Belgium, and Italy.

The Jesuits and the Sacred Heart

St. Margaret Mary wrote five letters that commissioned the Society of Jesus to propagate devotion to His Sacred Heart. She addressed the first two and fourth to her former superior, Mother de Saumaise; the third and fifth to Father Croiset, S.J. When St. Margaret Mary wrote “Fathers of the Society of Jesus,” she means the entire Society.
 
“Then turning to Father la Colombière, this Mother of Divine Goodness said: ‘As for you, faithful servant of my divine Son, you have a great share in this precious treasure. For if it is given to the daughters of the Visitation to know and distribute it to others, it is reserved to the Fathers of your Society to show and make known its utility and value, so that all may profit from it by receiving it with the respect and gratitude due so great a benefit. In proportion as they give Him this pleasure, this divine Heart, source of blessings and graces, will shower them so abundantly on the works of their ministry that they will produce fruits far beyond their labors and hopes, even for the salvation and perfection of each of them in particular.”
 
      “Our good Father Colombièrehas obtained that the holy Society of Jesus be blessed … with all the graces and special privileges of this devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus … He promises that He will bless abundantly, even profusely, their labors for souls and the works of charity in which they are engaged.”
 
3    Although this treasure of love is a good everyone can claim and to which everyone has a right, it has hitherto been little known…. It is reserved to the Reverend Fathers of the Society of Jesus to make known the value and advantages of this precious treasure, of which the more one takes the more there is to take. All they have to do, then, is to enrich themselves abundantly with every grace and blessing from it. For it is by this efficacious means which He is entrusting to them that they will be able to carry out perfectly according to His desire the sacred ministry of charity committed to them. This divine Heart will so spread the sweet unction of His charity on their words that they will penetrate like a two-edged sword the most hardened hearts and make them susceptible to the love of this divine Heart. The most sin-ladened souls will be brought by this means to salutary repentance…. He expects much of your holy Society in this regard and has great designs upon it. That is why He made use of the good Father la Colombièreto begin the devotion to this adorable Heart.”
 
      “This Sacred Heart will shower upon it [the Society of Jesus] grace and blessings in abundance…. To the daughters of the Visitation He has given the commission of revealing His Heart and making it known by establishing the devotion to this all-lovable Heart. He wants the Reverend Jesuit Fathers to make known its utility and worth. This is reserved for them.”
 
”     If it is true that this most attractive devotion is to take its origin in the Visitation, it will be spread through the efforts of the Reverend Jesuit Fathers… . There is nothing more attractive or gentle and at the same time stronger or more efficacious than the unction of the ardent charity of this lovable Heart…  It will melt by His love the coldest hearts. This applies especially to the holy Society of Jesus, to which He offers His graces to give its members effective means for worthily and perfectly fulfilling the duties of their ministry of charity, for the glory of God, in the conversion of souls. The members of the Society ought frequently to exhort souls to avail themselves of the great treasures contained in this devotion to the Sacred Heart.”
 
The Jesuits accepted the commission with vigor and devotion. They continued spreading and teaching the devotions to clerics and laity for 300 years. As the order with missionary work as their core value, they instilled the devotions to the Sacred Heart of Jesus throughout the world.
 
In his book, The Jesuits, Malachi Martin comments on a dilemma that faced Pedro Arrupe SJ, the Spanish Basque Jesuit priest, who served as the twenty-eighth Superior General of the Society of Jesus.
 
Martin writes:
“Without here delving into the causes that did away with that importance of devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus as the centerpiece of the Jesuit character we can get a very poignant idea of how profoundly that classical character of the Jesuit had changed at the beginning of the seventies by reading the words of Father General Pedro Arrupe in 1972.
 
As that year was the centenary of Father General Beckx’s consecration of the whole Society to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Arrupe planned a centenary celebration. But when he broached the subject by word of mouth and in letters with the other Superiors and leading Jesuits in Rome and elsewhere, he found, as surely he must already have realized at least dimly, that Jesuits on the whole and in their majority had simply lost interest in devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
 
Few saw any connection between this devotion and the Ignatian character of the Jesuits. In sum, Arrupe could not find a commonly shared persuasion any longer among his Jesuits that the Society had a divine commission from Christ through Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque and the Holy See to propagate this devotion.”
The Jesuits stopped propagating the teachings of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. More likely than not, when the Jesuits ceased no one took their place. Vatican II emphasized more participation of the laity in the functions of the Liturgy and their parishes. Perhaps the framers of Vatican II expected the laity to take up a mission if dropped by a Religious Order, but no one came forward and within a few years, the Sacred Heart lost momentum.

The Sacred Heart Devotions in 21stCentury

An across-the-board misunderstanding exists among current generations of Catholics about the Sacred Heart devotions. Some people believe the Church formally dropped the devotions. Some might know about the 12 Promises of Christ but don’t know their connection to the Scared Heart of Jesus.
 
The three devotions of the Sacred Heart of Jesus include 1) Attending Nine Consecutive Masses on the First Friday of each month; 2) Participating in the Annual Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus; 3) Enthronement.
 
We’ll discuss those toward the end of this section.
 
In many parishes around the world, priests continue to use “end of Mass” prayers, which Catholics knew as Leonine. You may see and hear a priest invoke “Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us” repeating it three times. You may have no other exposure to the Sacred Heart than that. When I ask other parishioners if they know what it means, I get a universal “no or not really.”
 
One day, I asked my Priest if the Sacred Heart had a special meaning. He had no answer for me. He may have known but if he did, he didn’t share it. I went to the Internet and searched on the phrase “Sacred Heart of Jesus” and eventually discovered disparate information.
 
If you look for these once widespread practices, you too might only find a trickle of information. Fortunately, my searched started with Wikipedia and as an editor, I knew how to follow links from the citations. The key words for my research came from there.
 
Interviewers in many articles asked questions of older priests like, “Why has this devotion been lost over the past 30 to 50 years?”
 
A common answer suggested in one priest’s words, “no room existed for popular devotions in the post-conciliar period.” I did not buy that.
 
Many religious orders devote themselves to the Sacred Heart of Jesus including the Brothers of St. Francis of the Sacred Heart of Jesus; the Sisters of Carmel; the Brothers of the Sacred Heart; the Legion of the Sacred Heart; the Dominican Missionary Sisters, Visitation Nuns, the Benedictine Sisters of the Sacré-cœur de Montmartre and many others, all of whom continue to propagate the devotions in a ascetic way.
 
The documents making up the Second Vatican Council contradict the claim that no room exists for popular devotions. In one of the four constitutions, Sacrosanctum Concilium (Sacred Council), Pope Paul VI wrote:
 
“Popular devotions of the Christian people are to be highly commended, provided they accord with the laws and norms of the Church, above all when they are ordered by the Apostolic See (the Pope).”
Do these devotions seem OK with the Apostolic See? Yes. Some excerpts from Popes Francis, Benedict and Saint John Paul II that follow, confirm their approval:
 
Pope Francis:
What is it, that is so distinctive about this people? And this morning, praying about it, I was struck by the consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. I think I should offer this to you as a message from Jesus: all this richness that you have, the spiritual richness of piety and great depth, has come about because of the courage you have shown in very difficult moments when the nation was consecrated to the Heart of Christ, that human and divine Heart which loves us so dearly.
Wednesday, 8 July 2015 National Marian Shrine of “El Quinche”, Quito, Ecuador
 
Friday will be the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. I invite you to pray to the Heart of Jesus during the month of June, and to support your priests with closeness and affection, so that they are the image of this Heart full of merciful love.
Wednesday, 6 June 2018, St. Peter’s Square
 
Pope Benedict XVI:
The heart of God burns with compassion! On today’s solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus the Church presents us this mystery for our contemplation: the mystery of the heart of a God who feels compassion and who bestows all his love upon humanity. A mysterious love, which in the texts of the New Testament is revealed to us as God’s boundless and passionate love for humankind.
Saint Peter’s Basilica Friday, 19 June 2009
 
Pope Saint John Paul II:
Devotion to the Heart of Christ, “the universal seat of communion with God the Father; … seat of the Holy Spirit aims at strengthening our bond with the Holy Trinity”. 
Warsaw, 11 June 1999, Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
 
Observers like the late Father Massimo Taggi use implied criticism with terms like “devotionism” and “popular religiosity” to characterize daily prayer life. When he used those terms, he held the position of the national director of the Apostleship of Prayer in Italy.
 
In the 16 documents that make up the Constitutions, Decrees and Declarations of the Second Vatican Council I could not find the term “devotionism” or “religiosity”. The Popes seem quite OK with the Sacred Heart of Jesus as a popular devotion.

The Laity and Holy Hour

The Second Vatican Council transformed the Liturgy demanding participation by the laity. After the close of the Council in 1965, Pope Paul VI composed the Novus Ordo Mass. He expected people in the pews to take part in Mass as Alter Servers, Lectors, Eucharistic ministers and Deacons. Married men joined the permanent ministry as Deacons. Novus Ordo participants stand to say prayers as a congregation. 
 
With Vatican II emphasizing lay involvement in the mission of the Church, modernists bought it. Modern parishes allow laity, for example, to coordinate Perpetual Adoration in cooperation with the a parish priest. 
The first devotion mentioned above, “Attending Nine Consecutive Masses on the First Friday of each month”, consists of three parts which include adoration or Holy Hour, confession and communion. Holy hour came about as a stand-alone devotion of the teachings of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Saint Margaret Mary prayed in the Visitandine Convent’s Chapel in front of the Tabernacle. Jesus asked her to spend an hour on Thursday night with him.
 
The “Instruction on Eucharistic Worship”, issued by the Sacred Congregation of Rites on the Feast of Corpus Christi, 25 May 1967, reads in part, “The exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, for which either a monstrance or a ciborium may be used, stimulates the faithful to an awareness of the marvelous presence of Christ and is an invitation to spiritual communion with Him. It is therefore an excellent encouragement to offer Him that worship in spirit and truth which is His due.”
 
Speaking to a gathering in Phoenix Park, during a three-day visit to Ireland, from September 29 to October 1, 1979, Pope John Paul II said:
“The visit to the Blessed Sacrament is a great treasure of the Catholic faith. It nourishes social love and gives us opportunities for adoration and thanksgiving, for reparation and supplication. 
 
Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, Exposition and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, Holy Hours, and Eucharistic processions are likewise precious element of your heritage–in full accord with the teaching of the Second Vatican Council.”
 
Where Eucharistic adoration is done by an individual for an uninterrupted hour, this is known as a Holy Hour. The inspiration for the Holy Hour is Matthew 26:40 when in the Garden of Gethsemane, the night before his crucifixion, Jesus asks Peter: “So, could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?”
 
In 1673, Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque stated that she had a vision of Jesus asking her to spend an hour every Thursday night to meditate on the sufferings in the Garden of Gethsemane. This practice later became widespread within the Church.
 
In 1829, Père Robert Debrosse established the Archconfraternity of the Holy Hour at Paray-le-Monial, Burgundy, France. In 1911 it received the right of aggregation for the entire world. A similar society called “The Holy Perpetual Hour of Gethsemane” formed in Toulouse in 1885 and became canonically erected in 1907. In 1909 it received indulgences from Pope Pius X.
 
Many parishes have implemented perpetual adoration. Some parishes also provide formal adoration on Thursdays in commemoration of Holy Thursday and, or the apparition of Margaret Mary. Priests can inform their parish about the importance and encourage attendance on Thursdays for Holy Hour, especially on the first Thursday of the month.

Sacred Heart Solemnities

The Catholic Church celebrates solemnities as the highest-ranking feast days in the liturgical calendar. In the early Church the term feast or holy day meant a celebration. They celebrated a Saint, a mystery of faith such as the Trinity, an event in the life of Jesus or an important date such the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
 
Today, the Catholic Church uses the term, feast, to mean an observance. The Holy See set-up diverse levels for feast days with a solemnity as the highest. Of Eighteen solemnities celebrated during the Roman Catholic Liturgical Year, the Church named the Sacred Heart of Jesus as one.
 
St. John Eudes wrote the Liturgy and celebrated the first feast, local to Rennes, France on August 31, 1670. In 1856, Pope Pius IX set up the Feast as obligatory for the whole Church, but not to the level of a Solemnity.
 
In June 1889, Leo XIII raised the feast to the dignity of the first class. In 1928, Pope Pius XI raised the feast to the highest rank, Double of the First Class.
 
In 1929, the Pope approved replacement Mass prayers and readings. The Roman Missal published in 1970, gave three sets of prayers and readings, one for each year of the three-year liturgical cycle. The prayer to end the introductory rites of the Mass known as the Collect.
 
Priests may use this Mass, celebrated with white vestments, as a Votive Mass on other days also, especially on the first Friday of each month (unless falling on a day of higher rank).
Pope Saint John Paul II instituted the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus as the World Day of Prayer for the Sanctification of Priests.

First Friday Devotions

You may see a card entitled the 12 promises of Christ. If you read it, then you will see mention of attending mass on the First Friday of each month nine consecutive times. Catholics attribute this devotion to one of Saint Margaret Mary’s Great Apparitions.
 
We honor the Sacred Heart of Jesus on the first Friday of each month with a Mass. Prior to taking communion, tradition holds that we make a good confession and spend an hour in holy adoration or reparation preferably in front of the Sacrament (Sanctified Host) exposed in a monstrance. If no one exposed the Sacrament, then we can take Holy Hour with the Sacrament in a closed tabernacle.
 
In the 21st century few Catholics will know the importance First Friday devotions held among parishioners. The except below from an article by the late Cardinal Carlo Maria Martin depicts the world when the Sacred Heart of Jesus pervaded the Catholic world. The Cardinal writes:
 
“My personal Christian journey had in some way been involved with this devotion from childhood. It had been implanted in me by my mother with the practice of the First Friday of the month.
 
“On that day mother would get us up early to go to Mass in the parish church and take communion. There was the promise that those who had confessed and taken communion for nine first Fridays of the month in succession (skipping one was not allowed!) could be certain of obtaining the grace of deathbed perseverance.
 
“This promise was very important for my mother. I recall that for us kids there was also another reason for going to Mass so early. In fact, we had breakfast in a cafe.
 
“Once one had taken communion for nine first Fridays in succession, it was a good thing to repeat the series, to be sure of obtaining the desired grace. Out of that then came the habit also of devoting that day to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a habit that then from monthly became weekly: every Friday of the year was devoted in some way to the Heart of Christ.”

Consecration of one’s home to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

The first baby boomers (born in the late 1940’s), might have a vague memory of Catholic homes consecrated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. A priest would conduct a formal enthronement ceremony, which involved placing an image or statute of Jesus Christ (with his Sacred Heart exposed) in a prominent place in the home.
 
Catholics found that enthronement strengthened family bonds and faith in the home.
Jesus assured Saint Margaret Mary, that great blessings and graces will abound. When and where we expose and give “special honor” to an image of His Sacred Heart of Jesus.
 
Members of the “Great Generation” grew-up in the pre-consular period and they he or she cannot imagine a world where a family failed to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
 
If you find an old missal or Catholic prayer book, then you might find prayer-cards with the distinctive hallmark of Catholic spirituality, the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Few Catholic homes lacked a picture or statue.
 
Consecration of the home, commonly called Enthronement, occurs when a priest preforms a ceremony of prayers and blessings to establish the presence of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the home. The family members also consecrate themselves to the Sacred Heart. When the family prays together, they say one for the renewal of this consecration.
 
When Saint Margaret Mary explained the reason for consecration, she wrote:
“All those who are devoted to this Sacred Heart will never perish and that, since He is the source of all blessings, He will shower them in abundance on every place where an image of this loving heart shall be exposed to be loved and honored.”
 
I can imagine why the Jesuits wore a patch of the Sacred Heart and why the distinctive hallmark of Catholic spirituality, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, appeared in home, churches, hospitals, prayer cards and so forth.

Parting Notes

In the first three centuries of the common era, Christianity gave people their humanity. According to Rodney Stark’s “The Rise of Christianity” the Catholic Church grew because of the teachings of Jesus and when He made His disciples, fishers of men:
 
“Again and again, research shows that religious conversions happen” …through social networks, through a structure of direct and intimate interpersonal attachments.” Everyday friendships and the personal interactions of average believers are what makes the greatest difference. Nowadays and in the past. I won’t belabor you with all of the statistics and studies, but they’re in the book, if you want them.
 
“Christians cared for the sick, widows, and orphans and those suffering from plagues, fires, natural disasters, and devastation from riots or war. They were semi-regular occurrences in the cities which the early Christians called home. What distinguished Christians was their response to these all-too-frequent calamities. Instead of fleeing to the countryside to escape the most recent plague, they stayed to care for their own, and for others. Even without any knowledge of medical science, the simple act of giving food, water, and shelter to sick people vastly improved survival rates in times of widespread disease. It also sent a powerful message of solidarity to those pagans who happened to receive a helping hand. The results, over time, were shifting social networks and regular conversions to the Christian community of faith so dedicated to service.
 
“Christians took an unyielding stance against adultery, abortion, and infanticide. The ancient Roman world was not kind to women and children. Married men could sleep with other women (especially slaves and prostitutes), and the unwanted offspring of these unions were usually aborted or simply left to die from exposure after birth. Christians spoke out against all of these practices, exhorting the followers of Jesus to remain faithful in marriage (even the men!), and to care for the most vulnerable members of society: little babies. Some Christians would even rescue abandoned babies, raising them as their own. All of these beliefs and actions led to higher birth and adoption rates.
 
“Christians offered the world a theology of love. The actions described above, engaging one’s neighbor, caring for the sick, rescuing little babies reflected Christian theological principles. The most important one is the insistence that God loves the world He has created and that He desires those who love Him to also love their fellow man.
 
“In our post-Christian context, such an idea seems self-evident. It’s almost a cliché. Yet an all-encompassing ethic of love is a radical idea. We believe in it so widely nowadays, at least on a theoretical level, only because Christianity incorporated it so successfully into the very being of Western civilization over centuries.
 
“. . . Christianity served as a revitalization movement that arose in response to the misery, chaos, fear, and brutality of life in the urban Greco-Roman world. Christianity revitalized life in Greco-Roman cities by providing new norms and new kinds of social relationships able to cope with many urgent problems. To cities filled with the homeless and impoverished, Christianity offered charity as well as hope. To cities filled with newcomers and strangers, Christianity offered an immediate basis for attachment. To cities filled with orphans and widows, Christianity provided a new and expanded sense of family. To cities torn by violent ethnic strife, Christianity offered a new basis for social solidarity. And to cities faced with epidemics, fire, and earthquakes, Christianity offered effective nursing services. For what they brought was not simply an urban movement, but a new culture capable of making life in Greco-Roman cities more tolerable.” (Rodney Stark, The Rise of Christianity, Princeton University Press, 1996, page 161.)
 
Satan has once again cultivated another rise of paganism. Today we call it “secularism.” One hundred years ago, Pope Pius X called it modernism.
 
Do you consider it proper in the face of the ethical problems facing humanity today, to ignore Jesus? If not, we have a roadmap. The devotions to the Sacred Heart of Jesus worked before.
 
To Margaret Mary He expressed His sadness over the lukewarmness of the vast majority of the practicing faithful and especially the Clergy who vowed to have no other love but His.
 
“Behold this Heart which has so loved men that it has spared nothing, even to exhausting and consuming itself, in order to testify its love. In return, I receive from the greater part only ingratitude, by their irreverence and sacrileges, and by the coldness and contempt they have for me in this sacrament of love…. I come into the heart I have given you in order that through your fervor you may atone for the offenses which I have received from lukewarm and slothful hearts that dishonor me in the Blessed Sacrament.”
 
Respectfully submitted


Note:
*The Ephrem hotel serves as the guesthouse of the Sacred Heart Basilica of Montmartre, where faithful Christians adore Jesus Christ day and night where they display the Holy Sacrament.
Located next to the Basilica, the Guest House hosts individuals, families and groups who come to pray, make a pilgrimage, take part in the adoration of the Eucharist or liturgical celebrations.
The Guesthouse accommodates 52 bedrooms, 180 beds, dormitories, meeting and dining rooms
Chaplains and Benedictine Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Montmartre stay on duty for prayer service and spiritual counselling.

Bethany Where the Jordan River Flowed in the First Century

The name used by some versions of the New Testament for the site east of the Jordan where John the Baptist preached and performed baptisms, where he met with a group of priests and Levites sent by the Pharisees to investigate his ministry, and where he baptised Jesus. The name “Bethabara” also appears on the 6th-century Madaba Map and in the Talmud.

Bethany, for the place where John was baptising “with water” and where he named Jesus “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”(John 1:28-29)

In the late 1990s, when mine clearing operations east of the Jordan at Wadi Al-Kharrar enabled archaeological digs to unearth an ancient church marking baptism on a site where the Jordan River flowed in the first century, matching the place marked on the Madaba map. The local Arabic name of the site is Al Maghtas, “the immersion/baptism”. This site, just east of the Jordan River and slightly north of the place where it empties into the Dead Sea, is most likely to be the place where John the Baptist was baptizing:



The archaeological survey and excavation of the eastern side of the Jordan River was initiated in 1996-1997 season as part of the Jordan Cultural Resources Management Project. The archaeological remains are located along the southern edge of Wadi al-Kharrar. The sites are scattered over small hills and barren terraces of marland limestone. The work up to date has identified over 15 related sites from the Roman, and Byzantine periods.

The key discoveries are the Roman remains and Byzantine monastery at al-Kharrar, ancient Bethany Beyond the Jordan River., several smaller churches, chapels, monks hermitages, caves and cells; a large Byzantine church complex adjacent to the Jordan River’ an impressive water system included ceramic pipeline bringing water to Bethany beyond Jordan; several Kilometers to the east; a large plastered pools and adjacent caravanserai halfway between the Bethany settlement and the Jordan River, a pilgrims’ rest station and caravanserai east of Bethany, on the route to Mount Nebo; and other scattered remains. Most of the sites are clustered along the south bank of the Wadi al-Kharrar perennial stream. 

“Pie Jesu” By Young Teenager

Pie Jesu, pie Jesu, pie Jesu, pie Jesu
Qui tollis peccata mundi
Dona eis requiem, dona eis requiem
Pie Jesu, pie Jesu, pie Jesu, pie Jesu
Qui tollis peccata mundi
Dona eis requiem, dona eis requiem
Agnus Dei, Agnus Dei, Agnus Dei, Agnus Dei
Qui tollis peccata mundi
Dona eis requiem, dona eis requiem
Sempiternam
Sempiternam
Requiem


“Pie Jesu” English Translation

Merciful Jesus, merciful Jesus, merciful Jesus, merciful Jesus
Father, who takes away the sins of the world
Grant them rest, grant them rest
Merciful Jesus, merciful Jesus, merciful Jesus, merciful Jesus
Father, who takes away the sins of the world
Grant them rest, grant them rest
Lamb of God, Lamb of God, Lamb of God, Lamb of God
Father, who takes away the sins of the world
Grant them rest, grant them rest
everlasting
everlasting
Rest

Modern Exorcism Spiritual Warfare

Spiritual Warfare Pt. 1 – (Lecture 1) by Exorcist Fr. Chad Ripperger

Filmed / Edited by Swords of Saint Michael, on June 6th, 2015

at the Cathedral Catholic center

Click video window to enlarge.

Prefatory Prayer from Catholic Encyclopedia (1913) The first verse of the sixty-ninth Psalm

Domine, labia mea aperies,
Et os meum annuntiabit laudem tuam.
Deus in adiutorium meum intende,
Domine ad adiuvandum me festina.

Oh Lord open my lips.
My mouth will proclaim thy praise.
God help me;
Lord, hasten to help me




Attribution of image
Found on the Internet
from 888spiritualscience.blogspot.com

Domine = Lord      
labia = thou
mea = my
aperies = open
Et = and
os = mouth
mea = my
annuntiabit = show
laudem = praise
annuntiabit = face
in = in
adiuvandum= help
intende = forward
ad = to
adiuvandum = help
festina = haste

These words form the introductory prayer to every Hour of the Roman, monastic, and Ambrosian Breviaries, except during the last three days of Holy Week, and in the Office of the Dead.

While they are said, or sung, all present sign themselves with the sign of the cross. Tradition says that St. Benedict introduced this custom into the monastic Office and that St. Gregory I extended it to all the Roman churches; Cassian (Coll., X, 10), however, says that from the earliest Christian times the monks used this introduction very often, probably outside of the liturgical prayers.

In placing this supplication at the beginning of every Hour the Church implores the assistance of God against distractions in prayer. In the Roman Rite the “Deus in adjutorium” is preceded in Matins by the “Domine labia mea aperies”, whilst in the monastic Breviary the order is reversed.

Litaniae Cordis Sanctae Iesu (Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus)

Litaniae Cordis Sanctae Iesu (Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus)

In 1899 Pope Leo XIII approved this Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus for public use. This litany is actually a synthesis of several other litanies dating back to the 17th century. Father Croiset composed a litany in 1691 from which 17 invocations were used by Venerable Anne Madeleine Remuzat when she composed her litany in 1718 at Marseille. She joined an additional 10 invocations to those of Father Croiset, for a total of 27 invocations.  Six more invocations written by Sister Madeleine Joly of Dijon in 1686 were added by the Sacred Congregation for Rites when it was approved for public use in 1899. This makes a total of 33 invocations, one for each year of life of our Lord Jesus Christ. A partial indulgence is attached to this litany.

Kyrie, eleison  Kyrie, eleison.
Christe, eleison    Christe, eleison.
Kyrie, eleison  Kyrie, eleison.

Christe, audi nos   Christe, audi nos.
Christe, exaudi nos.    Christe, exaudi nos.

Pater de caelis, Deus,  miserere nobis.
Fili, Redemptor mundi, Deus,    miserere nobis.
Spiritus Sancte, Deus,  miserere nobis.
Sancta Trinitas, unus Deus, miserere nobis.

Cor Iesu, Filii Patris aeterni, miserere nobis.
Cor Iesu, in sinu Virginis Matris a Spiritu Sancto formatum miserere nobis.
Cor Iesu, Verbo Dei substantialiter unitum, miserere nobis.
Cor Iesu, maiestatis inifinitae,    miserere nobis.
Cor Iesu, templum Dei sanctum,  miserere nobis.
Cor Iesu, tabernaculum Altissimi,   miserere nobis.
Cor Iesu, domus Dei et porta caeli, miserere nobis.
Cor Iesu, fornax ardens caritatis,  miserere nobis.
Cor Iesu, iustitiae et amoris receptaculum, miserere nobis.
Cor Iesu, bonitate et amore plenum, miserere nobis.
Cor Iesu, virtutem omnium abyssus,  miserere nobis.
Cor Iesu, omni laude dignissimum,   miserere nobis.
Cor Iesu, rex et centrum omnium cordium,    miserere nobis.
Cor Iesu, in quo sunt omnes thesauri sapientiae et scientiae, miserere nobis.
Cor Iesu, in quo habitat omnis plenitudo divinitatis,   miserere nobis.
Cor Iesu, in quo Pater sibi bene complacuit,    miserere nobis.
Cor Iesu, de cuius plenitudine omnes nos accepimus, miserere nobis.
Cor Iesu, desiderium collium aeternorum,    miserere nobis.
Cor Iesu, patiens et multae misericordiae,  miserere nobis.
Cor Iesu, dives in omnes qui invocant te,   miserere nobis.
Cor Iesu, fons vitae et sanctitatis,    miserere nobis.
Cor Iesu, propitiatio pro peccatis nostris, miserere nobis.
Cor Iesu, saturatum opprobriis, miserere nobis.
Cor Iesu, attritum propter scelera nostra,  miserere nobis.
Cor Iesu, usque ad mortem obediens factum,  miserere nobis.
Cor Iesu, lancea perforatum,    miserere nobis.
Cor Iesu, fons totius consolationis,    miserere nobis.
Cor Iesu, vita et resurrectio nostra,   miserere nobis.
Cor Iesu, pax et reconciliatio nostra,  miserere nobis.
Cor Iesu, victima peccatorum,   miserere nobis.
Cor Iesu, salus in te sperantium,   miserere nobis.
Cor Iesu, spes in te morientium,    miserere nobis.
Cor Iesu, deliciae Sanctorum omnium,    miserere nobis.

Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi,    parce nobis, Domine.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi,    exaudi nos, Domine.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi,    miserere nobis, Domine.

 V. Iesu, mitis et humilis Corde,
R. Fac cor nostrum secundum Cor tuum.

Oremus:

Omnipotens sempiterne Deus, respice in Cor dilectissimi Filii tui et in laudes et satisfactiones, quas in nomine peccatorum tibi persolvit, iisque misericordiam tuam petentibus, tu veniam concede placatus in nomine eiusdem Filii tui Iesu Christi: Qui tecum vivit et regnat in saecula saeculorum. Amen

Sacred Heart of Jesus Devotions – Novena Prayer

Novena Prayer

Divine Jesus, You have said, “Ask and you shall receive; seek and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened to you.” Behold me kneeling at Your feet, filled with a lively faith and confidence in the promises dictated by Your Sacred Heart to Saint Margaret Mary. I come to ask this favor: Mention your request).

To whom can I turn if not to You, Whose Heart is the source of all graces and merits? Where should I seek if not in the treasure which contains all the riches of Your kindness and mercy? Where should I knock if not at the door through which God gives Himself to us and through which we go to God? I have recourse to You, Heart of Jesus. In You, I find consolation when afflicted, protection when persecuted, strength when burdened with trials, and light in doubt and darkness.

Dear Jesus, I firmly believe that You can grant me the grace I implore, even though it should require a miracle. You have only to will it and my prayer will be granted. I admit that I am most unworthy of Your favors, but this is not a reason for me to be discouraged. You are the God of mercy, and You will not refuse a contrite heart. Cast upon me a look of mercy, I beg of You, and Your kind Heart will find in my miseries and weakness a reason for granting my prayer.

Sacred Heart, whatever may be Your decision with regard to my request, I will never stop adoring, loving, praising, and serving You. My Jesus, be pleased to accept this my act of perfect resignation to the decrees of Your adorable Heart, which I sincerely desire may be fulfilled in and by me and all Your creatures forever.

Grant me the grace for which I humbly implore You through the Immaculate Heart of Your most sorrowful Mother. You entrusted me to her as her child, and her prayers are all-powerful with You. Amen.

Prayer of Humility – said During Mass – Lord I am not Worthy | Domine, non sum dignus

Sign of the Cross

In nomine Patris, et 

Filii, et Spiritus Sancti. Amen

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Prayer of Humility
Domine, non sum dignus, ut intres sub tectum meum,
sed tantum dic verbo
et sanabitur anima mea.

Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof,
but only say the word
and my soul shall be healed.

Domine = Lord
non = not
sum = I am
dignus = worthy
ut = that
intres = enter
sub = under
tectum = roof
meum = my
sed = but
tantum = only
dic = say
verbo = word
et = and
sanabitur = heal
anima = soul
mea = my