Actuosa partipatio

Pope St. Pius X has written:

The Holy Mass is a prayer itself, even the highest prayer that exists. It is the Sacrifice, dedicated by our Redeemer at the Cross, and repeated every day on the Altar. If you wish to hear Mass as it should be heard, you must follow with eye, heart, and mouth all that happens at the Altar. Further, you must pray with the Priest the holy words said by him. You have to associate your heart with the holy feelings which are contained in these words and in this manner you ought to follow all that happens on the Altar. When acting in this way, you have prayed Holy Mass.

Worship God, not man.

Christ Won, Satan Zero

Satan Exists, and Christ Defeated Him
Gospel Commentary for 1st Sunday of Lent
By Father Raniero Cantalamessa, OFM Cap

VATICAN CITY, FEB. 8, 2008 (Zenit.org.)- Demons, Satanism and other related phenomena are quite topical today, and they disturb a great part of our society.

Our technological and industrialized world is filled with magicians, wizards, occultism, spiritualism, fortune tellers, spell trafficking, amulets, as well as very real Satanic sects. Chased away from the door, the devil has come in through the window. Chased away by the faith, he has returned by way of superstition.

The episode of Jesus' temptations in the desert that is read on the First Sunday of Lent helps us to have some clarity on this subject. First of all, do demons exist? That is, does the word "demon" truly indicate some personal being with intelligence and will, or is it simply a symbol, a manner of speaking that refers to the sum of the world's moral evil, the collective unconscious, collective alienation, etc.?

Many intellectuals do not believe in demons in the first sense. But it must be noted that many great writers, such as Goethe and Dostoyevsky, took Satan's existence very seriously. Baudelaire, who was certainly no angel, said that "the demon's greatest trick is to make people believe that he does not exist."

The principal proof of the existence of demons in the Gospels is not the numerous healings of possessed people, since ancient beliefs about the origins of certain maladies may have had some influence on the interpretation of these happenings. The proof is Jesus' temptation by the demon in the desert. The many saints who in their lives battled against the prince of darkness are also proof. They are not like "Don Quixote," tilting at windmills. On the contrary, they were very down-to-earth, psychologically healthy people.

If many people find belief in demons absurd, it is because they take their beliefs from books, they pass their lives in libraries and at desks; but demons are not interested in books, they are interested in persons, especially, and precisely, saints.

How could a person know anything about Satan if he has never encountered the reality of Satan, but only the idea of Satan in cultural, religious and ethnological traditions? They treat this question with great certainty and a feeling of superiority, doing away with it all as so much "medieval obscurantism."

But it is a false certainty. It is like someone who brags about not being afraid of lions and proves this by pointing out that he has seen many paintings and pictures of lions and was never frightened by them. On the other hand, it is entirely normal and consistent for those who do not believe in God to not believe in the devil. It would be quite tragic for someone who did not believe in God to believe in the devil!

Yet the most important thing that the Christian faith has to tell us is not that demons exist, but that Christ has defeated them. For Christians, Christ and demons are not two equal, but rather contrary principles, as certain dualistic religions believe to be the case with good and evil. Jesus is the only Lord; Satan is only a creature "gone bad." If power over men is given to Satan, it is because men have the possibility of freely choosing sides and also to keep them from being too proud (cf. 2 Corinthians 12:7), believing themselves to be self-sufficient and without need of any redeemer. "Old Satan is crazy," goes an African-American spiritual. "He shot me to destroy my soul, but missed and destroyed my sin instead."

With Christ we have nothing to fear. Nothing and no one can do us ill, unless we ourselves allow it. Satan, said an ancient Father of the Church, after Christ's coming, is like a dog chained up in the barnyard: He can bark and lunge as much as he wants, but if we don't go near him, he cannot harm us.

In the desert Jesus freed himself from Satan to free us! This is the joyous news with which we begin our Lenten journey toward Easter.

Pray for those who persecute

The faithful of the One, True Church of God continue to be persecuted by Satan's minions.

Good people, be strong, courageous and steadfast in your faith. Do not allow victory to those who believe in harming you with false accusations, vile words, and anger.

The Sacred Blood of Jesus covers you.

I am of Christ. What about you?

Saint Paul on the “Cult of Personality”

First Epistle of Saint Paul to the Corinthians

Chapter 1 | Verses 11-15

For it hath been signified unto me, my brethren, of you, by them that are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you. Now this I say, that every one of you saith: I indeed am of Paul; and I am of Apollo; and I am of Cephas; and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? Was Paul then crucified for you? or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I give God thanks, that I baptized none of you but Crispus and Caius; Lest any should say that you were baptized in my name. -- Douay-Rheims

Participatio Actuosa

The assertion that the Mass must employ "the full and active participation" of the people is an open-ended declaration that, lacking specifics, has led to every form of excess and abuse…

Christ mandated: "My house (churches) shall be called the house of prayer to all nations." Yet, what do we witness today in far too many of our churches. In such settings, a surrounding conducive to individual prayer, devotion and reflection is practically non-existent. The so-called dictate of "the full and active participation of all the people," has transformed the "house of prayer" with its holy, reverent, solemn and prayerful environment to that of "gathering" halls with its attendant accruements of welcoming, introductions, hand shaking and hugs, conversation and worldliness with some ritual inserted to assure meeting the Sunday obligation.

The holy sanctuary set aside and prominent, incorporating the altar of Christ's sacrifice and the tabernacle preserving His real presence, has always rightfully been revered and treated as a holy space (read Moses before God in the burning bush). Now we witness the sanctuary and sacristy, before and during Mass, as the "people’s activity center" with men, women and children, in every form of profane dress, flowing to and fro, all "actively participating" in "ministry," of course.

Most all of this extraordinary lay activity is neither mandated by the Church nor essential to the Mass. Indeed, it detracts from the sacred Liturgy by the fact that such activity obstructs attentiveness on Christ whose adoration and beseeching should be our first and paramount intention at any Mass. For the Modernist, however, whose priorities are to the world and thus the divination of man, the call for "the full and active participation by all the people," in the absence of specificity, presents itself as a tool for asserting lay participations in the Liturgy far in excess of the original intent of the framers of the Vatican II documents. Moreover, this is precisely what has been done. -- Seattle Catholic | Erven Park | Toledo, WA | 1/16/2002

Rejoice in the Lord

Let all rejoice in the Lord, celebrating a festival day in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary, for whose Assumption the Angels rejoice and give praise to the Son of God (Ps. 44: 2) My heart hath uttered a good word: I speak my works to the King. v. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost, as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. -- Introit | Assumption of the BVM

Saint Michael the Archangel

Defend Us in Battle

Lord, teach us to pray.

One of our deacons offered the following as part of his homily this morning:

Our Father

Do not say:
"Our," if you persist in your ego.
Do not say:
"Father," if you don't share like a family.
Do not say:
"Hallowed be Thy Name," if you only believe in earthly things.
Do not say:
"Thy Kingdom Come," if you confuse it with materialism.
Do not say:
"They Will be Done," if you won't accept His commandments.
Do not say:
"On Earth as it is in Heaven," if you don't believe in His creation.
Do not say:
"Give Us This Day," if you don't feel compassion for the poor.
Do not say:
"Forgive Us Our Trespasses," if you don't forgive others.
Do not say:
"Lead Us Not into Temptation," if you don't avoid occasion of sin.
Do not say:
"Deliver Us from Evil," if you don't trust Him.
Do not say:
"Amen," if you don't take seriously the words of the Our Father.

Causa finita est

Litany of the Precious Blood

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

God, the Father of heaven, Have mercy on us.
God, the Son, Redeemer of the world,
God, the Holy Ghost,
Holy Trinity, One God,

Blood of Christ, only-begotten Son of the Eternal Father, Save us.
Blood of Christ, Incarnate Word of God,
Blood of Christ, of the New and Eternal Testament,
Blood of Christ, falling upon the earth in the Agony,
Blood of Christ, shed profusely in the Scourging,
Blood of Christ, flowing forth in the Crowning with Thorns,
Blood of Christ, poured out on the Cross,
Blood of Christ, price of our salvation,
Blood of Christ, without which there is no forgiveness,
Blood of Christ, Eucharistic drink and refreshment of souls,
Blood of Christ, stream of mercy,
Blood of Christ, Victor over demons,
Blood of Christ, courage of martyrs,
Blood of Christ, strength of confessors,
Blood of Christ, bringing forth virgins,
Blood of Christ, help of those in peril,
Blood of Christ, relief of the burdened,
Blood of Christ, solace in sorrow,
Blood of Christ, hope of the penitent,
Blood of Christ, consolation of the dying.
Blood of Christ, peace and tenderness of hearts,
Blood of Christ, pledge of Eternal Life,
Blood of Christ, freeing souls from Purgatory,
Blood of Christ, most worthy of all glory and honour,

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

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

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

V. Thou hast redeemed us, 0 Lord, in Thy Blood.
R. And made us, for our God, a kingdom.

Let us pray

ALMIGHTY and Eternal God, Thou hast appointed Thy only begotten Son the Redeemer of the world, and willed to be appeased by His Blood. Grant, we beg of Thee, that we may worthily adore this price of our salvation, and through its power be safeguarded from the evils of this present life, so that we may rejoice in its fruits forever in heaven. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

Creation

I believe in the “Big Bang” theory.

God spoke and bang, it happened.

OLPH Novena begins Monday

First Novena Prayer

Behold at thy feet, O Mother of Perpetual Help, a wretched sinner who has recourse to thee and confides in thee. O Mother of mercy, have pity on me. I hear thee called by all the refuge and the hope of sinners: be then, my refuge and my hope. Assist me, for the love of Jesus Christ; stretch forth thy hand to a miserable fallen creature who recommends himself to thee, and who devotes himself to thy service for ever. I bless and thank Almighty God, who in His mercy has given me this confidence in thee, which I hold to be a pledge of my eternal salvation. It is true that in the past I have miserably fallen into sin, because I had not recourse to thee. I know that, with thy help, I shall conquer. I know, too, that thou wilt assist me, if I recommend myself to thee; but I fear that, in time of danger, I may neglect to call on thee, and thus lose my soul. This grace, then, I ask of thee, and this I beg, with all the fervor of my soul, that in all the attacks of hell I may ever have recourse to thee. O Mary, help me. O Mother of Perpetual Help, never suffer me to lose my God.---3 Hail Marys.

Second Novena Prayer

O Mother of Perpetual Help, grant that I may ever invoke thy most powerful name, which is the safeguard of the living and the salvation of the dying. O purest Mary, O sweetest Mary, let thy name henceforth be ever on my lips. Delay not, O Blessed Lady, to help me, whenever I call on thee; for, in all my temptations, in all my needs, I shall never cease to call on thee, ever repeating thy sacred name, Mary, Mary. O what consolation, what sweetness, what confidence, what emotion, fill my soul when I utter thy sacred name, or even only think of thee. I thank the Lord for having given thee, for my good, so sweet, so powerful, so lovely a name. But I will not be content with merely uttering thy name. Let my love for thee prompt me ever to hail thee, Mother of Perpetual Help.---3 Hail Marys.

Third Novena Prayer

O Mother of Perpetual Help, thou art the dispenser of all the gifts which God grants to us miserable sinners; and for this end He has made thee so powerful, so rich, and so bountiful, in order that thou mayest help us in our misery. Thou art the advocate of the most wretched and abandoned sinners who have recourse to thee: come to my aid, for I recommend myself to thee. In thy hands I place my eternal salvation, and to thee I entrust my soul. Count me among thy most devoted servants; take me under thy protection, and it is enough for me. For, if thou protect me, I fear nothing; not from my sins, because thou wilt obtain for me the pardon of them; nor from the devils, because thou art more powerful than all hell together; nor even from Jesus, my judge, because by one prayer from thee He will be appeased. But one thing I fear: that in the hour of temptation I may through negligence fail to have recourse to thee and thus perish miserably. Obtain for me, therefore, the pardon of my sins, love for Jesus, final perseverance, and the grace ever to have recourse to thee, O Mother of Perpetual Help.---3 Hail Marys.

Ora pro nobis

“The firm purpose and desire which We resolved upon at the beginning of Our Pontificate to consecrate all the energy which the good Lord deigns to grant Us in the work of restoring all things in Christ, reawakens in Our heart a great trust in the all powerful grace of God. Without that grace We can neither plan nor undertake anything great or fruitful for the good of souls here below.” -- Pope St. Pius X | IL FERMO PROPOSITO | June 11, 1905

Fiat! Fiat! Fiat!

After the time of the apostolic church, the term anathema has come to mean a form of extreme religious sanction beyond excommunication, known as major excommunication. The earliest recorded instance of the form is in the Council of Elvira (c. 306), and thereafter it became the common method of cutting off heretics. Cyril of Alexandria issued twelve anathemas against Nestorius in 431. In the fifth century, a formal distinction between anathema and excommunication evolved, where excommunication entailed cutting off a person or group from the rite of Eucharist and attendance at worship, while anathema meant a complete separation of the subject from the Church.

While "minor excommunication" could be incurred by associating with an excommunicate, and "major excommunication" could be imposed by any bishop, "anathema" was imposed by the Pope in a specific ceremony described in the Pontificale Romanum. Wearing a purple cope (the liturgical color of penitence) and holding a lighted candle, he, surrounded by twelve priests, also with lighted candles, pronounced the anathema with a formula that concluded with the phrase:

"Wherefore in the name of God the All-powerful, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, of Blessed Peter, Prince of the Apostles, and of all the saints, in virtue of the power which has been given us of binding and loosing in Heaven and on earth, we deprive (Name) himself and all his accomplices and all his abettors of the Communion of the Body and Blood of Our Lord, we separate him from the society of all Christians, we exclude him from the bosom of our Holy Mother the Church in Heaven and on earth, we declare him excommunicated and anathematized and we judge him condemned to eternal fire with Satan and his angels and all the reprobate, so long as he will not burst the fetters of the demon, do penance and satisfy the Church; we deliver him to Satan to mortify his body, that his soul may be saved on the day of judgment."

The priests responded: "Fiat, fiat, fiat" (Let it be done), and all, including the pontiff, cast their lighted candles on the ground. A notice is sent in writing to the priests and neighboring bishops of the name of the one who has been excommunicated and the cause of his excommunication, in order that they may have no communication with him. Although he is delivered to Satan and his angels, he can still, and is even bound to repent. The Pontifical gives the form for absolving him and reconciling him with the Church.

Reborn by water and the Holy Spirit

Thanks be to God for the 47 new little Catholics baptized at Saint Charles Borromeo parish in three celebrations last Saturday and today. May God grant them, their parents, and Godparents many years!

La Aparecida

In October of 1717, Dom Pedro de Almedida, Count of Assumar, was on his way to the state of Minas Gerais from Sao Paulo. He would have to pass by Guarantinqueta, a small city in the Paraiba river valley. The people of Guarantinqueta decided to hold a great feast to honor the Count, and a lot of fish would be needed.

However, it was not the season for fish and the water seemed deserted. After many hours of catching nothing, the fishermen were very depressed. Among the fishermen were three men who always prayed to Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception -- Domingos Garcia, Joco Alves, and Felipe Pedroso. Before going out to fish, they asked God to help then in this difficult task, to find enough fish at this time when no fish were available. Felipe knelt and prayed, along with his companions, "Mother of God and our Mother, we need to find fish!"

Just before they were ready to give up, Joco cast his net one more time near the Port of Itaguagu in hopes that they would find fish. However, they found a body of a statue! Joco called out in surprise, "Domingo! Felipe! Come and see what we have!" They cast the net one more time and brought up the head of the statue!

They very carefully washed the statue and saw that it was Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception. They wrapped her in some cloths and continued to fish. Domingo commented, "We worked all night and have found no fish!"

Felipe had a proposition: "Let's continue to fish with faith in the Virgin Aparecida (who appeared)." From this moment on, the net became very full with fish. This was the first miracle of Our Lady of Aparecida.

It is not known how the small (less than three feet high) statue came to rest at the bottom of the river, but its artist is known, Frei Agostino de Jesus, a "carioca'' monk from Sao Paulo who created artistic clay sculptures.The image was made around 1650 and must have stayed submerged in the river for many years because it lost its original polychromy. The image is now a brilliant dark brown color, and is covered by a stiff mantle of richly embroidered thick cloth, allowing only her face and hands to be seen. She wears on her head the imperial crown with precious stones with which she was crowned in 1904. In 1930 Pope Pius XII proclaimed her principal patroness of Brazil.

Pope begins voyage to Brazil

Rome, May. 9, 2007 (CWNews.com) - Pope Benedict XVI left Rome this morning, beginning his apostolic voyage to Brazil. He is scheduled to arrive in Sao Paulo at 4:30 (local time) this afternoon.

The Holy Father left Rome's Fiumicino airport at 9 in the morning, boarding an Alitalia flight, in a Boeing 777, that will take over 12 hours to cover a distance of nearly 6,000 miles.

On his arrival at the Sao Paulo/Guarulhos airport, the Pontiff will be formally welcomed by Brazilian Luiz Inacio "Lula" da Silva. After the short welcome ceremony there, he will continue by helicopter to the Campo de Marte air field outside the city, where he will again receive greetings from local public officials.

From there the Pope will travel in an open car to the Sao Bento monastery, where he will be lodged during his stay in Sao Paulo. He is expected to make a brief appearance to address the public from a balcony there on Wednesday evening.

During most of his stay in Brazil the Pope will deliver his public speeches in Portuguese, the national language. However on Sunday, when he opens the 5th general assembly of the Latin American bishops' conference, CELAM, he will speak in Spanish.

The Vatican delegation accompanying the Pontiff is composed of 31 people: 4 cardinals, 3 bishops, 5 priests, and 19 laymen. The cardinals making the trip are the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone ; the prefect for the Congregation for Bishops, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re; the prefect of the Congregation for Clergy, Cardinal Claudio Hummes; and the prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins.

Cardinals Re and Hummes will be acting as co-presidents for the CELAM meeting. Cardinal Hummes, a native of Brazil, will be traveling into very familiar territory; he is the former Archbishop of Sao Paulo.

Fatima News

Pope Praises Rosary as Fatima Anniversary Nears

Cardinal Sodano to Represent Pontiff at Festivities

VATICAN CITY, MAY 7, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI says he hopes the 90th anniversary of Mary's apparitions in Fatima will help the faithful to grow in their appreciation of the rosary.

The Pope said this in a letter sent to Cardinal Angelo Sodano, dean of the College of Cardinals, naming him as the pontifical legate for the opening celebrations of the anniversary.

The celebrations will take place in Fatima, Portugal, this Saturday and Sunday.

The Holy Father's message reads: "We, who have already visited the sanctuary and, as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, have studied the message entrusted by the Blessed Virgin Mary to the little shepherds, hope that the faithful will rediscover the value of praying the holy rosary."

The letter was written in Latin and published on Wednesday by the Holy See.

Pope John Paul II entrusted then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger with the task of writing the "Theological Commentary on the Third Part of the Secret of Fatima" (June 20, 2000).

On May 13, 2000, during the third and last visit of John Paul II to Fatima, Cardinal Sodano, then Vatican secretary of state, announced the third part of the secret of Fatima and explained its meaning. His announcement followed the beatification of two of the three visionaries, Francisco and Jacinta.

Benedict XVI's message also referred to John Paul II's visit to Fatima in 1982 to thank the Virgin Mary for "having preserved in a miraculous way" his life during the assassination attempt in St. Peter's Square on May 13, 1981.

Benedict XVI recalled how, on that occasion, John Paul II "exhorted the faithful to heed [Our Lady of Fatima's] warnings and fulfill her requests."

Consubstantial with the Father

St. Athanasius, the great champion of the Faith was born at Alexandria, about the year 296, of Christian parents. Educated under the eye of Alexander, later Bishop of his native city, he made great progress in learning and virtue. In 313, Alexander succeeded Achillas in the Patriarchal See, and two years later St. Athanasius went to the desert to spend some time in retreat with St. Anthony.

In 319, he became a deacon, and even in this capacity he was called upon to take an active part against the rising heresy of Arius, an ambitious priest of the Alexandrian Church who denied the Divinity of Christ. This was to be the life struggle of St. Athanasius.

In 325, he assisted his Bishop at the Council of Nicaea, where his influence began to be felt. Five months later Alexander died. On his death bed he recommended St. Athanasius as his successor. In consequence of this, Athanasius was unanimously elected Patriarch in 326.

His refusal to tolerate the Arian heresy was the cause of many trials and persecutions for St. Athanasius. He spent seventeen of the forty-six years of his episcopate in exile. After a life of virtue and suffering, this intrepid champion of the Catholic Faith, the greatest man of his time, died in peace on May 2, 373. St. Athanasius was a Bishop and Doctor of the Church. – www.catholic.org

Ora Pro Nobis