Recta Ratio

The month of August is dedicated by the Church to Our Blessed Lady's Immaculate Heart, and I am dedicating the August installments of Our Blessed Lady's Saturday likewise.

Mother of Sweetness

Mother of Sweetness, the faith and love with which thou giveth thy
Divine Son urges me to open my heart to the love of thy heart so
that the sweetness of thy Mother's love may touch me deeply.
May the sweetness of thy heart cause me to share with
others thy love for Jesus.

When I meditate on the mysteries of Jesus Christ in the most
Holy Rosary, ever-Virgin Mother Mary, reveal to me the
sweetness of thine own Immaculate Heart.
Amen.

Labels: Restorationists

Antiphon
Remember not, Lord, my offenses, nor the offenses of my fathers, nor takest Thou vengeance upon them.

Psalm 50

1 Unto the end, a psalm of David, 2 When Nathan the prophet came to him after he had sinned with Bethsabee. 3 Have mercy on me, O God, according to thy great mercy. And according to the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my iniquity. 4 Wash me yet more from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. 5 For I know my iniquity, and my sin is always before me.

6 To thee only have I sinned, and have done evil before thee: that thou mayst be justified in thy words and mayst overcome when thou art judged. 7 For behold I was conceived in iniquities; and in sins did my mother conceive me. 8 For behold thou hast loved truth: the uncertain and hidden things of thy wisdom thou hast made manifest to me. 9 Thou shalt sprinkle me with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed: thou shalt wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow. 10 To my hearing thou shalt give joy and gladness: and the bones that have been humbled shall rejoice.

11 Turn away thy face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. 12 Create a clean heart in me, O God: and renew a right spirit within my bowels. 13 Cast me not away from thy face; and take not thy holy spirit from me. 14 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation, and strengthen me with a perfect spirit. 15 I will teach the unjust thy ways: and the wicked shall be converted to thee.

16 Deliver me from blood, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall extol thy justice. 17 O Lord, thou wilt open my lips: and my mouth shall declare thy praise. 18 For if thou hadst desired sacrifice, I would indeed have given it: with burnt offerings thou wilt not be delighted. 19 A sacrifice to God is an afflicted spirit: a contrite and humbled heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. 20 Deal favourably, O Lord, in thy good will with Sion; that the walls of Jerusalem may be built up.

21 Then shalt thou accept the sacrifice of justice, oblations and whole burnt offerings: then shall they lay calves upon thy altar.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, as it was in the beginning, is now, and always will be in the World of Worlds.
Amen.

Antiphon
Remember not, Lord, my offenses, nor the offenses of my fathers, nor takest Thou vengeance upon them.

Prayer Against Lust
Father, I have sinned against heaven and before Thee, and now I am not worthy to be called Thy son. What shall I, wretched that I am, do? For Thy Spirit shall not remain in man, for he is flesh. Oh have mercy on me, have mercy! I attribute to Thy infinite goodness that I am not taken along with the many thousands of the damned, who the cursed abomination of lust casts headlong into Gehenna even today. Shall I therefore sin again? O Jesus, in the love of base pleasures shall I again trample under foot Thy most precious Blood poured forth in the washing away of my sins? Far from it, O Jesus, far from it! I beseech Thee, O Son of the most chaste Virgin Mary to free me from the spirit of fornication. Wash me from my iniquities and cleanse me from my sin. Do not cast me from Thy face nor take Thy Holy Spirit from me!

Labels: Restorationists

A very good article.

Labels: Restorationists

Eighty-five years ago today, Michael Collins, driving force of Irish independence and first Commander-in-Chief of the Irish Army was murdered in an ambush by the IRA. Collins had been instrumental in negotiating the treaty by which Britain recognized Irish independence within the Commonwealth and in urging Irish voters to accept the treaty. But the IRA and de Valera, demanding a complete break no matter what the realities, would not be satisfied with the results of the election, and began a civil war.

Collins, a native of Cork, was driving along rural areas in an inspection tour to gauge sentiment and to do some secret negotiation with the IRA. In fact, he was travelling under a guarantee of safe conduct from the IRA. In Bael na m Blath ("the Mouth of Flowers"), the small convoy was ambushed. Collins took cover behind his car. The attack lost steam, and Collins' guard began to take the initiative. Just then, Collins stood up to either order his men to go up into the hills after the attackers, or call on the partisans to surrender. He was shot through the head. Ireland was doomed to 50 years of corruption and stagnation under de Valera and his successors.

The story has a personal side for me. My grandfather (who was from Ennis, Co. Clare) had taken the British civil service exam with Collins and the two became friends. Granddad Fitzpatrick was a golf pro, but worked for the Royal Postal Service in Co. Clare as his day job. Collins took a job with the postal service in London. They went their separate ways during the Great War, with Collins agitating and becoming a leader in the Easter Rebellion. My grandfather joined his brothers in enlisting in the Connaught Rangers and fighting on the Western Front (and become a gas casualty at the 2nd Battle of Ypres). Collins negotiated the treaty that led to the recognition of the Irish Free State, and became a prime mover in its government, first Finance Minister, then Commander-in-Chief of the Army. My grandparents, from what I can gather, approved of the treaty (being from Clare and safely in the West, and not under any romantic delusions about "all or nothing"). After the treaty was approved, Collins sent my grandfather a signed photo clipped out of the newspaper of himself in his new uniform as Commander-in-Chief. Collins was murdered within ten days. Ten days after that, my grandfather and grandmother decamped for a new life in America, escaping an Ireland torn by civil war.

Labels: Being Irish

August 22nd is the traditional feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. In the new calendar, it was moved, not entirely without good reason, to the Saturday following the Feast of the Sacred Heart (which is always a Friday), so that the feasts of the Two Hearts fall back-to-back. So that means I, being both a trad and a realist, get to celebrate the Immaculate Heart twice! Plus the entire month of August is dedicated to the Immaculate Heart still.

Prayer of Saint Pio to the Immaculate Heart of Our Blessed Lady
‘O Immaculate Heart of Mary, full of goodness, show thy love towards us. Let the flame of thy Heart, O Mary, descend on all people. We love thee immensely. Impress true love in our hearts so that we have a continuous desire for thee. O Mary, gentle and humble of heart, remember us when we are in sin. Thou knowest that all men sin. Give us, by means of thy Immaculate Heart, spiritual health. Let us always see the goodness of thy motherly Heart and may we be converted by the flame of thy Heart. AMEN’

“Immaculate Heart of Mary, visit today we beseech thee, those souls who are in the cold sweat of death and at enmity with God. Bathe them in the Most Precious Blood of Jesus. Breathe into them the very life of God. Obtain for them the grace to make perfect Acts of Faith, Hope and Divine Charity, that they may be snatched from the very abyss of Hell, to glorify God for all Eternity and to – add to the lustre of thy Triumph!”

SWEET HEART OF MARY, BE OUR SALVATION!

Labels: Restorationists

The Works of Fisher Ames are available via Google Books.

Volume 2

Labels: Conservatism, Rightly Understood

Today is the feast of Our Lady of Knock, one of the better-documented Marian apparitions of modern times.

In Knock, County Mayo, on August 21st, 1879, The Blessed Mother, St. Joseph, and St. John the Evangelist appeared at the south gable of the parish church to 15 people over a period of 2 hours. Two ecclesiastical commissions have looked into the Knock apparition, and have endorsed it as authentic.

In 1979, Pope John Paul II said Mass in Knock. Knock has become, after Lourdes and Fatima, the most popular Marian pilgrimage site.

This is Knock's official website.

Lady of Knock

by Dana (Rosemary Scallon)

There were people of all ages
Gathered ‘round the gable wall
Poor and humble men and women,
Little children that thou called.

We are gathered here before thee,
And our hearts are just the same
Filled with joy at such a vision,
As we praise Thy name.

Refrain:
Golden Rose, Queen of Ireland,
All my cares and troubles cease
As we kneel with love before thee,
Lady of Knock, my Queen of Peace

Though thy message was unspoken,
Still the truth in silence lies
As we gaze upon thy vision,
And the truth I try to find.

Here I stand with John the teacher,
And with Joseph at your side
And I see the Lamb of God,
On the Altar glorified.

Refrain

And the Lamb will conquer
And the woman clothed in the sun
Will shine Her light on everyone.

And the lamb will conquer
And the woman clothed in the sun,
Will shine Her light on everyone.

Refrain:

Labels: Being Irish