Saturday, September 20, 2008
Saturday Of the Michaelmas Embertide
This is the last Ember Day until Advent, the week before Christmas, in fact. Now that little fact really makes you sit up and take notice of the change of seasons.
Labels: Remember It's Ember
Our Blessed Lady's Saturday
O Mother of Sorrows, by the anguish and love with which thou didst stand beside the Cross of Jesus, stand by me in my last agony. To thy maternal heart I commend the three last hours of my life. Offer these hours to the Eternal Father in union with the agony of our dearest Lord. Offer frequently to the Eternal Father, in atonement for my sins, the Precious Blood of Jesus, mingled with thy tears on Calvary, to obtain for me the grace to receive Holy Communion with most perfect love and contrition before my death, and to breathe forth my soul in the actual presence of Jesus.
Dearest Mother, when the moment of my death has come, present me as thy child to Jesus; say to Him in my behalf: "Son, forgive him, for he knew not what he did. Receive him this day into Thy kingdom."
Amen.
Labels: Restorationists
Friday, September 19, 2008
Saint Januarius
San Gennaro, for our Italian readers.
The Catholic Encyclopedia has more on this saint.
This is one of the two days of the year on which the relic of his blood liquifies.
Has it done so today?
Labels: Restorationists
Friday Of the Michaelmas Embertide
Today is an Ember Day, a specially penitential day for fasting/abstinence, prayer, and almsgiving.
How you reconcile that with it's also being International Talk Like a Pirate Day, I leave to your conscience.
How you reconcile that with it's also being International Talk Like a Pirate Day, I leave to your conscience.
Labels: Remember It's Ember
Friday At the Foot Of the Cross
Dearest Jesus, Whose love poured forth upon mankind is so ungratefully repaid with forgetfulness, coldness and disdain, behold us prostrate before Thine Altar. We strive to pay Thee special honour and thus make amends for the wrong done on every side to Thy loving Heart.
Nevertheless remembering that even we have not always been free from that guilt and unworthiness, moved too by deep sorrow, first of all we entreat Thy mercy for ourselves. We are ready and longing to make amends, not only for our own wrongdoing, but also for the wickedness of others who, straying from the path of salvation and stubborn in disobedience, refuse to follow thee, their shepherd and guide, or trampling under foot the vows of their Baptism, have shaken off the sweet yoke of Thy law. For all this grievous sin we are eager to atone, and moreover resolute to amend each separate evil; whatever is immodest and shameful whether in life or in attire; the many snares set for the undoing of innocent souls; Holy days dishonoured; loathsome blasphemies against thee and Thy Saints: insults offered to Thy Vicar and Thy priesthood; the very Sacrament of Divine Love slighted or profaned by dreadful sacrilege; lastly, the open affronts of nations which deny her just rights to the Church founded by thee, and reject her
teaching.
Would that with our own blood we could wash away these offences. Still that the outraged honour of God may be restored, we can and we do invoke that atonement which once upon the Cross Thou didst offer to Thy Father, and which day by day thou dost ever renew upon the Altar. And we join therewith the expiation made by the Virgin Mother, by all the Saints, and by the piety of Thy faithful. From our hearts we promise-----Thy grace aiding us-----to make good, so far as in us lies, for our own past sins and those of others, and for all our indifference to Thy great love, by steadfast faith, innocency of life, perfect observance of the laws of Thy Gospel, most of all the law of charity; and furthermore to hinder with all our might every offence against Thee and to enlist in Thy following all whomsoever we may.
Most gracious Jesus, accept, we beseech Thee, through the intercession of our Blessed Lady, our Patroness in Reparation, the obedience which freely offers this expiation, vouchsafe to bestow upon us the great grace of perseverance, deign to keep us faithful in Thy service even unto death; so that we may all at last reach our home where Thou dost live and reign with the Father and the Holy Ghost, God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
Labels: Restorationists
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Saint Joseph Of Cupertino
Reverence For the Blessed Sacrament
I know I am probably both beating a dead horse and preaching to the choir on this one, but I have just reached the point where I need to say something about this.
I am tired, disgusted, and baffled.
For so long now, in so many churches, I have seen it. It has been going on all my life, and probably somewhat before I was born.
The "what" is plain, blatantly shocking lack of respect and reverence for the Blessed Sacrament reserved in the Tabernacle.
And the perpetrators are not the CINOs who attend Mass a Christmas and Easter, maybe, or get baptized, confirmed, married, and buried from the church. Oh, no. It is the folks who much better can be expected of, the ones who really ought to know better. The worst offenders are the personnel of churches, and those who attend daily Mass or devotions. These are the folks up and at church at 5:30 am, whose hearts are almost certainly in the right place.
Raise your hand if you have seen this. Someone goes into a parish church or urban shrine or chapel, and kneels down in front of the altar. They say their prayers. Then they get up and walk right past the Tabernacle without the slightest sign of reverence. They genuflect, if they genuflect, in the direction of the altar, not the Tabernacle. They are doing some routine business in the sanctuary, and pass right in front of the Tabernacle, time and again, with no outward mark of reverence at all.
I see it daily. And have for years.
What is causing this epidemic of irreverence toward the Blessed Sacrament?
In my view, it stems from several factors.
First of all, for all of those who pay the altar the respect due to the Tabernacle, it is a holdover from the old days, when the Tabernacle was almost always in the reredos of the high altar, on the central axis of the church. Old-timers out of habit kneel before the altar, genuflect to the altar, and are utterly unmindful of the Blessed Sacrament reserved in the Tabernacle off to the side. It is an old habit for them, and one that is hard to break. In the days when Tabernacle and altar were always together, one could give the altar all the reverence, and just walk off to the side when done with one's prayers.
But today, when most churches, except those happy few where the revolution of the 1960s has been at least partially undone, or, those happier even fewer where the liturgical depredations of the last 40+ years have never reached, have the Tabernacle separate from the main altar, two acts of reverence are necessary.
The second cause is much more disturbing. I saw a poll some years back in which it was stated that 70% of Roman Catholics do not believe in the Lord's True, Real, and Substantial Presence in the Blessed Sacrament. Generations of Catholics have been so poorly catechized that they do not believe in the Real Presence. That that includes priests, religious of all sorts, and some of the seemingly most devout lay people.
The Real Presence is what separates Catholicism from all other efforts at Christian practice. It is not a symbol. Jesus Himself is the Eucharistic Wafer. The Eucharistic Wafer IS Jesus, under the veils of the Sacrament. Of course, the Eucharistic Wafer does not encapsulate all that He is, in the sense that by destroying the Wafer, you destroy Him. He has an existence at another level over and above the Wafer. But all of Him is there in the Wafer.
Truly the priest after the Consecration, holds up the Wafer to the congregation of the faithful, and says, "Behold, the Lamb of God Who takest away the sins of the world."
The altar is the table upon which the Sacrifice of the Mass takes place. It contains an altar stone in which is encased the first class relic or relics of a saint. As such, it is owed great respect. And we mean both altars, in those places where there are still two: the original pre-Vatican II high altar, and the newer "People's Altar." But usually, you can pay your duty to both altars at the same time, as they are one behind the other. And what sort of duty is due to the altar? A profound bow, from the hips shows the respect that the holy altar is due.
But the Tabernacle is owed an entirely higher order of reverence. You cannot be a Roman Catholic unless you believe, know, understand (or at least try to believe, know, and understand) that the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ is truly, really, and substantially present in the Blessed Sacrament reserved in the Tabernacle. Those Eucharistic Wafers in the Tabernacle are Jesus Christ Himself, wholly and fully, just hidden under the veils of the Sacrament.
Since the Tabernacle contains Our Lord in a uniquely special way (of quite a higher order than His general presence everywhere and at all times), it is owed the highest level of reverence.
When you bless yourself with Holy Water on the way into or out of church, you should turn to face the Tabernacle.
When you genuflect on entering your pew, you should orient your body in the direction of the Tabernacle, not the altar (or, as I have seen many times, the door, the wall, the window, the US flag, the Vatican flag, or any other object in the church: oy vey!).
And when you pass before the Tabernacle on your way around the church, even if you are on routine business, even if that routine business will take you back and forth before the Tabernacle a dozen or two dozen times, you stop and genuflect before the Tabernacle. Each time.
If you are infirm, and unable to genuflect, you can make due with the physical level of reverence you are capable of.
What you don't do is just pass before the Tabernacle as if you were passing by blank wall. And I have seen priests, nuns, friars, seminarians, EEMs, music ministers, altar servers, and countless lay Catholics do just that: walk by the Tabernacle as if it wasn't there, utterly heedless of the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament, and the Blessed Sacrament's presence in the Tabernacle.
Happily, a partial solution to this problem exists. I remember reading in the Holy Father's Apostolic Exhortation Sacramentum Caritatis that in churches where the old high altar is still in place, the Tabernacle ought to be reunited with the altar. That would take care of the old-timers (and those who have learned from them) who are confused and poorly grasp the concept that it is the Blessed Sacrament that we worship and adore, not the altar. Once altar and Tabernacle are re-united as the Holy Father suggests, the shocking lack of respect shown by the most devout will be diminished.
The other part of the problem is being taken care of at the grass roots in many places, and will spread. Slowly, a better understanding of the Real Presence of Lord in the Blessed Sacrament is being inculcated through the internet, through better instruction in seminary, through better instruction via The Compendium of the Catechism through a renewal of proper practice. That renewal cannot reach the lowest level soon enough. But it will come. Mark my words.
Here is a prayer I find very helpful for making reparation for the many marks of irreverence that Our Lord as Prisoner In the Tabernacle must endure:
I adore Thee profoundly, O my Jesus, in Thy sacramental form; I acknowledge Thee to be true God and true Man, and by this act of adoration I intend to atone for the coldness of so many Christians who pass before Thy churches and sometimes before the very Tabernacle in which Thou art pleased to remain at all hours with loving impatience to give Thyself to Thy faithful people, and do not so much as bend the knee before Thee, and who, by their indifference proclaim that they grow weary of this heavenly manna, like the people of Israel in the wilderness. I offer Thee in reparation for this grievous negligence, the Most Precious Blood which Thou didst shed from Thy five wounds, and especially from Thy sacred Side, and entering therein, I repeat a thousand times with true recollection of spirit:
O Sacrament most holy! O Sacrament Divine!
All praise and all thanksgiving be every moment Thine.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.
Profoundly I adore Thee, my Jesus; I acknowledge Thy Presence in the Blessed Sacrament, and by this act of adoration I intend to atone for the carelessness of so many Christians who see Thee carried to poor sick people to strengthen them for the great journey to eternity, and leave Thee unescorted, nay, who scarcely give Thee any outward marks of reverence. I offer Thee in reparation for such coldness, the Most Precious Blood which Thou didst shed from Thy five wounds and especially from Thy sacred Side, and entering therein I say again and again with my heart full of devotion:
O Sacrament most holy! O Sacrament Divine!
All praise and all thanksgiving be every moment Thine.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.
Profoundly I adore Thee, my Jesus, true Bread of life eternal, and by my adoration I intend to compensate Thee for the many wounds which Thy Heart suffers daily in the profaning of churches where Thou art pleased to dwell beneath the sacramental veils to be adored and loved by all Thy faithful people; and in reparation for so many acts of irreverence, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood which Thou didst shed from Thy five wounds and especially from Thy sacred Side, and entering therein with recollected spirit I repeat every instant:
O Sacrament most holy! O Sacrament Divine!
All praise and all thanksgiving be every moment Thine.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.
Profoundly I adore Thee, my Jesus, the living Bread which cometh down from Heaven, and by this act of adoration, I intend to atone for all the many acts of irreverence which are committed all the day long by Thy faithful when they assist at Holy Mass, wherein through Thine exceeding love Thou dost renew in an unbloody manner the self-same sacrifice which Thou didst once offer on Calvary for our salvation. I offer Thee in atonement for such base ingratitude the Most Precious Blood which Thou didst shed from Thy five wounds and especially from Thy sacred Side, and entering therein with sincere devotion, I unite my voice to that of the Angels who stand around Thee in adoration, saying with them:
O Sacrament most holy! O Sacrament Divine!
All praise and all thanksgiving be every moment Thine.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.
Profoundly I adore Thee, my Jesus, true Victim of expiation for our sins, and I offer Thee this act of adoration to atone for the sacrilegious outrages Thou dost suffer from so many ungrateful Christians who dare to draw near to receive Thee with mortal sin upon their souls. In reparation for such hateful sacrileges I offer Thee the last drops of Thy Most Precious Blood, which Thou didst shed from Thy sacred wounds and especially from the wound in Thy sacred Side, and entering therein with a devout heart, I adore Thee, I bless and I love Thee, and I repeat with all the hearts who are devoted to the Blessed Sacrament:
O Sacrament most holy! O Sacrament Divine!
All praise and all thanksgiving be every moment Thine.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.
"Divine Heart of Jesus, I offer Thee, through the compassionate Heart of Mary, the prayers, works and sufferings of this day, in reparation for the offences that are committed against Thee, and for all the intentions that Thou hast in immolating Thyself continually on the altar."
Amen.
I am tired, disgusted, and baffled.
For so long now, in so many churches, I have seen it. It has been going on all my life, and probably somewhat before I was born.
The "what" is plain, blatantly shocking lack of respect and reverence for the Blessed Sacrament reserved in the Tabernacle.
And the perpetrators are not the CINOs who attend Mass a Christmas and Easter, maybe, or get baptized, confirmed, married, and buried from the church. Oh, no. It is the folks who much better can be expected of, the ones who really ought to know better. The worst offenders are the personnel of churches, and those who attend daily Mass or devotions. These are the folks up and at church at 5:30 am, whose hearts are almost certainly in the right place.
Raise your hand if you have seen this. Someone goes into a parish church or urban shrine or chapel, and kneels down in front of the altar. They say their prayers. Then they get up and walk right past the Tabernacle without the slightest sign of reverence. They genuflect, if they genuflect, in the direction of the altar, not the Tabernacle. They are doing some routine business in the sanctuary, and pass right in front of the Tabernacle, time and again, with no outward mark of reverence at all.
I see it daily. And have for years.
What is causing this epidemic of irreverence toward the Blessed Sacrament?
In my view, it stems from several factors.
First of all, for all of those who pay the altar the respect due to the Tabernacle, it is a holdover from the old days, when the Tabernacle was almost always in the reredos of the high altar, on the central axis of the church. Old-timers out of habit kneel before the altar, genuflect to the altar, and are utterly unmindful of the Blessed Sacrament reserved in the Tabernacle off to the side. It is an old habit for them, and one that is hard to break. In the days when Tabernacle and altar were always together, one could give the altar all the reverence, and just walk off to the side when done with one's prayers.
But today, when most churches, except those happy few where the revolution of the 1960s has been at least partially undone, or, those happier even fewer where the liturgical depredations of the last 40+ years have never reached, have the Tabernacle separate from the main altar, two acts of reverence are necessary.
The second cause is much more disturbing. I saw a poll some years back in which it was stated that 70% of Roman Catholics do not believe in the Lord's True, Real, and Substantial Presence in the Blessed Sacrament. Generations of Catholics have been so poorly catechized that they do not believe in the Real Presence. That that includes priests, religious of all sorts, and some of the seemingly most devout lay people.
The Real Presence is what separates Catholicism from all other efforts at Christian practice. It is not a symbol. Jesus Himself is the Eucharistic Wafer. The Eucharistic Wafer IS Jesus, under the veils of the Sacrament. Of course, the Eucharistic Wafer does not encapsulate all that He is, in the sense that by destroying the Wafer, you destroy Him. He has an existence at another level over and above the Wafer. But all of Him is there in the Wafer.
Truly the priest after the Consecration, holds up the Wafer to the congregation of the faithful, and says, "Behold, the Lamb of God Who takest away the sins of the world."
The altar is the table upon which the Sacrifice of the Mass takes place. It contains an altar stone in which is encased the first class relic or relics of a saint. As such, it is owed great respect. And we mean both altars, in those places where there are still two: the original pre-Vatican II high altar, and the newer "People's Altar." But usually, you can pay your duty to both altars at the same time, as they are one behind the other. And what sort of duty is due to the altar? A profound bow, from the hips shows the respect that the holy altar is due.
But the Tabernacle is owed an entirely higher order of reverence. You cannot be a Roman Catholic unless you believe, know, understand (or at least try to believe, know, and understand) that the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ is truly, really, and substantially present in the Blessed Sacrament reserved in the Tabernacle. Those Eucharistic Wafers in the Tabernacle are Jesus Christ Himself, wholly and fully, just hidden under the veils of the Sacrament.
Since the Tabernacle contains Our Lord in a uniquely special way (of quite a higher order than His general presence everywhere and at all times), it is owed the highest level of reverence.
When you bless yourself with Holy Water on the way into or out of church, you should turn to face the Tabernacle.
When you genuflect on entering your pew, you should orient your body in the direction of the Tabernacle, not the altar (or, as I have seen many times, the door, the wall, the window, the US flag, the Vatican flag, or any other object in the church: oy vey!).
And when you pass before the Tabernacle on your way around the church, even if you are on routine business, even if that routine business will take you back and forth before the Tabernacle a dozen or two dozen times, you stop and genuflect before the Tabernacle. Each time.
If you are infirm, and unable to genuflect, you can make due with the physical level of reverence you are capable of.
What you don't do is just pass before the Tabernacle as if you were passing by blank wall. And I have seen priests, nuns, friars, seminarians, EEMs, music ministers, altar servers, and countless lay Catholics do just that: walk by the Tabernacle as if it wasn't there, utterly heedless of the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament, and the Blessed Sacrament's presence in the Tabernacle.
Happily, a partial solution to this problem exists. I remember reading in the Holy Father's Apostolic Exhortation Sacramentum Caritatis that in churches where the old high altar is still in place, the Tabernacle ought to be reunited with the altar. That would take care of the old-timers (and those who have learned from them) who are confused and poorly grasp the concept that it is the Blessed Sacrament that we worship and adore, not the altar. Once altar and Tabernacle are re-united as the Holy Father suggests, the shocking lack of respect shown by the most devout will be diminished.
The other part of the problem is being taken care of at the grass roots in many places, and will spread. Slowly, a better understanding of the Real Presence of Lord in the Blessed Sacrament is being inculcated through the internet, through better instruction in seminary, through better instruction via The Compendium of the Catechism through a renewal of proper practice. That renewal cannot reach the lowest level soon enough. But it will come. Mark my words.
Here is a prayer I find very helpful for making reparation for the many marks of irreverence that Our Lord as Prisoner In the Tabernacle must endure:
I adore Thee profoundly, O my Jesus, in Thy sacramental form; I acknowledge Thee to be true God and true Man, and by this act of adoration I intend to atone for the coldness of so many Christians who pass before Thy churches and sometimes before the very Tabernacle in which Thou art pleased to remain at all hours with loving impatience to give Thyself to Thy faithful people, and do not so much as bend the knee before Thee, and who, by their indifference proclaim that they grow weary of this heavenly manna, like the people of Israel in the wilderness. I offer Thee in reparation for this grievous negligence, the Most Precious Blood which Thou didst shed from Thy five wounds, and especially from Thy sacred Side, and entering therein, I repeat a thousand times with true recollection of spirit:
O Sacrament most holy! O Sacrament Divine!
All praise and all thanksgiving be every moment Thine.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.
Profoundly I adore Thee, my Jesus; I acknowledge Thy Presence in the Blessed Sacrament, and by this act of adoration I intend to atone for the carelessness of so many Christians who see Thee carried to poor sick people to strengthen them for the great journey to eternity, and leave Thee unescorted, nay, who scarcely give Thee any outward marks of reverence. I offer Thee in reparation for such coldness, the Most Precious Blood which Thou didst shed from Thy five wounds and especially from Thy sacred Side, and entering therein I say again and again with my heart full of devotion:
O Sacrament most holy! O Sacrament Divine!
All praise and all thanksgiving be every moment Thine.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.
Profoundly I adore Thee, my Jesus, true Bread of life eternal, and by my adoration I intend to compensate Thee for the many wounds which Thy Heart suffers daily in the profaning of churches where Thou art pleased to dwell beneath the sacramental veils to be adored and loved by all Thy faithful people; and in reparation for so many acts of irreverence, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood which Thou didst shed from Thy five wounds and especially from Thy sacred Side, and entering therein with recollected spirit I repeat every instant:
O Sacrament most holy! O Sacrament Divine!
All praise and all thanksgiving be every moment Thine.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.
Profoundly I adore Thee, my Jesus, the living Bread which cometh down from Heaven, and by this act of adoration, I intend to atone for all the many acts of irreverence which are committed all the day long by Thy faithful when they assist at Holy Mass, wherein through Thine exceeding love Thou dost renew in an unbloody manner the self-same sacrifice which Thou didst once offer on Calvary for our salvation. I offer Thee in atonement for such base ingratitude the Most Precious Blood which Thou didst shed from Thy five wounds and especially from Thy sacred Side, and entering therein with sincere devotion, I unite my voice to that of the Angels who stand around Thee in adoration, saying with them:
O Sacrament most holy! O Sacrament Divine!
All praise and all thanksgiving be every moment Thine.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.
Profoundly I adore Thee, my Jesus, true Victim of expiation for our sins, and I offer Thee this act of adoration to atone for the sacrilegious outrages Thou dost suffer from so many ungrateful Christians who dare to draw near to receive Thee with mortal sin upon their souls. In reparation for such hateful sacrileges I offer Thee the last drops of Thy Most Precious Blood, which Thou didst shed from Thy sacred wounds and especially from the wound in Thy sacred Side, and entering therein with a devout heart, I adore Thee, I bless and I love Thee, and I repeat with all the hearts who are devoted to the Blessed Sacrament:
O Sacrament most holy! O Sacrament Divine!
All praise and all thanksgiving be every moment Thine.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.
"Divine Heart of Jesus, I offer Thee, through the compassionate Heart of Mary, the prayers, works and sufferings of this day, in reparation for the offences that are committed against Thee, and for all the intentions that Thou hast in immolating Thyself continually on the altar."
Amen.
Labels: Restorationists
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Prayer Request
Please keep Ginny The Inspired Traditionalist and her family in your prayers as she is having some surgery tomorrow.
Update 9/19:
Ginny had the surgery, and is doing very well.
Update 9/19:
Ginny had the surgery, and is doing very well.
Labels: Prayer Requests
The Stigmata Of Saint Francis Of Assisi
Wednesday Of the Michaelmas Embertide
Today is an Ember Day, a day for special prayer, fasting/abstinence, and almsgiving. this Embertide comes at the beginning of Fall, and marks the fullness of the harvest and the change of seasons. It comes just before Michaelmas (September 29th).
Labels: Restorationists
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Ember Week Alert
The Michaelmas Embertide is upon us. Tomorrow, Friday and Saturday are Ember Days.
Learn more about Ember Days here, and here.
The nature of the Michaelmas Embertide is nicely captured here by Fisheaters.
Learn more about Ember Days here, and here.
The nature of the Michaelmas Embertide is nicely captured here by Fisheaters.
Labels: Remember It's Ember
As Michaelmas Approaches
The weather begins to turn fallish. The high temps for the week are expected to be in the 60s, which I consider very pleasant. You can see a few trees around Boston beginning to turn.
Labels: Annual Cycles
Weekend Sports Wrap-Up
This is the first of the new football season.
Starting local, our Saint John's Prep Eagles are 2-0 on the new season, having beaten Masconomet and Peabody. By a quirk in the schedule, they face only one other Catholic school in the first half of the season, but then the last 5 weeks they play nothing but Catholic Conference rivals. The Prep started off quickly last year, too, but sunk to mediocrity in the second half. All may yet be well at the corner of Spring and Summer.
Boston College is in a rebuilding year. No question about that. They are 1-1 so far, and 0-1 in the ACC. As long as they beat Notre Dame later this season, all will be well at the Heights.
Despite losing Hollywood's own quarterback, and playboy of the Western World Tom Brady, in the first quarter of the first game, the New England Patriots are 2-0 so far, under Matt Cassel. They are building on the record for most consecutive regular season wins. Now all they need to do is wipe out the painful memory of that Super Bowl loss last winter, and all will be well with the Pats.
And the Red Sox. Most of Red Sox Nation was in despair last week, when we had the Devil Rays at home, and had pulled to within a half game, but Papelbon, of all people, blew a save, and the next game ended with a 14-inning loss. But they have done well since, beating Toronto in 3 out of 4 games, and now last night beating Tampa at home, to move to within 2 percentage points of first place. The Rays have played two fewer games than the Sox, and the Sox have won one and lost one.
The Sox lead in the AL Wild Card race is significant, if not commanding. Boston.com does not report any other contenders at this moment, which I believe means that there is no other team within 6 games. So we should make the playoffs, baring disaster. How far into the playoffs the team will go, I don't know. The Angels could win 102 games this year, and may be very tough to beat. I am confident that the Sox are on the same diamond with the White Sox or the Rays. And I am pretty sure that whoever wins the AL Pennant will win the World Series. So all may be well in Red Sox Nation.
Starting local, our Saint John's Prep Eagles are 2-0 on the new season, having beaten Masconomet and Peabody. By a quirk in the schedule, they face only one other Catholic school in the first half of the season, but then the last 5 weeks they play nothing but Catholic Conference rivals. The Prep started off quickly last year, too, but sunk to mediocrity in the second half. All may yet be well at the corner of Spring and Summer.
Boston College is in a rebuilding year. No question about that. They are 1-1 so far, and 0-1 in the ACC. As long as they beat Notre Dame later this season, all will be well at the Heights.
Despite losing Hollywood's own quarterback, and playboy of the Western World Tom Brady, in the first quarter of the first game, the New England Patriots are 2-0 so far, under Matt Cassel. They are building on the record for most consecutive regular season wins. Now all they need to do is wipe out the painful memory of that Super Bowl loss last winter, and all will be well with the Pats.
And the Red Sox. Most of Red Sox Nation was in despair last week, when we had the Devil Rays at home, and had pulled to within a half game, but Papelbon, of all people, blew a save, and the next game ended with a 14-inning loss. But they have done well since, beating Toronto in 3 out of 4 games, and now last night beating Tampa at home, to move to within 2 percentage points of first place. The Rays have played two fewer games than the Sox, and the Sox have won one and lost one.
The Sox lead in the AL Wild Card race is significant, if not commanding. Boston.com does not report any other contenders at this moment, which I believe means that there is no other team within 6 games. So we should make the playoffs, baring disaster. How far into the playoffs the team will go, I don't know. The Angels could win 102 games this year, and may be very tough to beat. I am confident that the Sox are on the same diamond with the White Sox or the Rays. And I am pretty sure that whoever wins the AL Pennant will win the World Series. So all may be well in Red Sox Nation.
Labels: Football Weekend Report
Monday, September 15, 2008
Our Blessed Lady's Sorrows
Sea of Sorrow
Oh! on what a sea of sorrow
Was the Virgin-Mother cast,
When her eyes with tears o'erflowing
Gazed upon her Son aghast,
From the bloodstained gibbet taken,
Dying in her arms at last.
In her bitter desolation,
His sweet mouth, His bosom too,
Then His riven side beloved,
Then each hand, both wounded through,
Then His feet, with blood encrimsoned,
Her maternal tears bedew.
She, a hundred times and over,
Strains Him closely to her breast
Heart to Heart, arms arms enfolding,
Are His wounds on her impressed:
Thus, in sorrow's very kisses,
Melts her anguished soul to rest.
Oh, dear Mother! we beseech thee,
By the tears thine eyes have shed,
By the cruel death of Jesus
And His wounds' right royal red,
Make our hearts o'erflow with sorrow
From thy heart's deep fountainhead.
To the Father, Son, and Spirit,
Now we bend on equal knee:
Glory, sempiternal glory,
To the Most High Trinity;
Yea! perpetual praise and honor
Now and through all ages be.
Novena Prayer To Our Sorrowful Mother
Most Blessed and afflicted Virgin, Queen of Martyrs, who didst stand generously beneath the cross, beholding the agony of thy dying Son; by the sword of sorrow which then pierced thy soul, by the sufferings of thy sorrowful life, by the unutterable joy which now more than repays thee for them; look down with a mother's pity and tenderness, as I kneel before thee to compassionate thy sorrows, and to lay my petition with childlike confidence in thy wounded heart. I beg of thee, O my Mother, to plead continually for me with thy Son, since He can refuse thee nothing, and through the merits of His most sacred Passion and Death, together with thy own sufferings at the foot of the cross, so to touch His Sacred Heart, that I may obtain my request,
For to whom shall I fly in my wants and miseries, if not to thee, O Mother of mercy, who, having so deeply drunk the chalice of thy Son, canst most pity us poor exiles, still doomed to sigh in this vale of tears? Offer to Jesus but one drop of His Precious Blood, but one pang of His adorable Heart; remind Him that thou art our life, our sweetness, and our hope, and thou wilt obtain what I ask, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Hail Mary
Virgin Most Sorrowful, pray for us
(Seven times each)
Mary, most holy Virgin and Queen of Martyrs, accept the sincere homage of my filial affection. Into thy Heart, pierced by so many swords, do thou welcome my poor soul. Receive it as the companion of thy sorrows at the foot of the Cross, on which Jesus died for the redemption of the world. With thee, O sorrowful Virgin, I will gladly suffer all the trials, contradictions, and infirmities which it shall please Our Lord to send me. I offer them all to thee in memory of thy sorrows, so that: every thought of my mind and every beat of my heart may be an act of compassion and of love for thee. And do thou, sweet Mother, have pity on me, reconcile me to thy Divine Son, Jesus; keep me in His grace and assist me in my last agony, so that I may be able to meet thee in Heaven and sing thy glories.
Most holy Virgin and Mother, whose soul was pierced by a sword of sorrow in the Passion of thy Divine Son, and who in His glorious Resurrection wast filled with never ending joy at His triumph, obtain for us who call upon thee, so to be partakers in the adversities of Holy Church and the Sorrows of the Sovereign Pontiff, as to be found worthy to rejoice with them in the consolations for which we pray, in the charity and peace of the same Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Litany of the Seven Sorrows
For private use only.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
God the Father of Heaven,
Have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world,
Have mercy on us.
God the Holy Spirit,
Have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, One God,
Have mercy on us.
Holy Mary,
Pray for us.
Holy Mother of God,
Pray for us.
Holy Virgin of virgins, etc.
Mother crucified,
Mother sorrowful,
Mother tearful,
Mother afflicted,
Mother forsaken,
Mother desolate,
Mother bereft of thy Child,
Mother transfixed with the sword,
Mother consumed with grief,
Mother filled with anguish,
Mother crucified in heart,
Mother most sad,
Fountain of tears,
Abyss of suffering,
Mirror of patience,
Rock of constancy,
Anchor of confidence,
Refuge of the forsaken,
Shield of the oppressed,
Subduer of the unbelieving,
Comfort of the afflicted,
Medicine of the sick,
Strength of the weak,
Harbor of the wrecked,
Allayer of tempests,
Resource of mourners,
Terror of the treacherous,
Treasure of the faithful,
Eye of the Prophets,
Staff of the Apostles,
Crown of Martyrs,
Light of confessors,
Pearl of virgins,
Consolation of widows,
Joy of all Saints,
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.
Look down upon us, deliver us, and save us from all trouble,
in the power of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Let Us Pray.
Imprint, O Lady, thy wounds upon my heart, that I may read therein sorrow and love
--- sorrow to endure every sorrow for thee, love to despise every love for thee. Amen.
Conclude with the Apostles Creed, Hail Holy Queen, and three Hail Marys,
in honor of the Most Holy Heart of Mary.
Stabat Mater Dolorosa
Stabat mater dolorosa
iuxta Crucem lacrimosa,
dum pendebat Filius.
Cuius animam gementem,
contristatam et dolentem
pertransivit gladius.
O quam tristis et afflicta
fuit illa benedicta,
mater Unigeniti!
Quae maerebat et dolebat,
pia Mater, dum videbat
nati poenas inclyti.
Quis est homo qui non fleret,
matrem Christi si videret
in tanto supplicio?
Quis non posset contristari
Christi Matrem contemplari
dolentem cum Filio?
Pro peccatis suae gentis
vidit Iesum in tormentis,
et flagellis subditum.
Vidit suum dulcem Natum
moriendo desolatum,
dum emisit spiritum.
Eia, Mater, fons amoris
me sentire vim doloris
fac, ut tecum lugeam.
Fac, ut ardeat cor meum
in amando Christum Deum
ut sibi complaceam.
Sancta Mater, istud agas,
crucifixi fige plagas
cordi meo valide.
Tui Nati vulnerati,
tam dignati pro me pati,
poenas mecum divide.
Fac me tecum pie flere,
crucifixo condolere,
donec ego vixero.
Iuxta Crucem tecum stare,
et me tibi sociare
in planctu desidero.
Virgo virginum praeclara,
mihi iam non sis amara,
fac me tecum plangere.
Fac, ut portem Christi mortem,
passionis fac consortem,
et plagas recolere.
Fac me plagis vulnerari,
fac me Cruce inebriari,
et cruore Filii.
Flammis ne urar succensus,
per te, Virgo, sim defensus
in die iudicii.
Christe, cum sit hinc exire,
da per Matrem me venire
ad palmam victoriae.
Quando corpus morietur,
fac, ut animae donetur
paradisi gloria. Amen.
Prayer To Our Lady of Sorrows, by St. Bridget
O Blessed Virgin Mary, Immaculate Mother of God, who didst endure a martyrdom of love and grief beholding the sufferings and sorrows of Jesus! Thou didst cooperate in the benefit of my redemption by thine innumerable afflictions and by offering to the Eternal Father His only begotten Son as a holocaust and victim of propitiation for my sins. I thank thee for the unspeakable love which led thee to deprive thyself of the Fruit of thy womb, Jesus, true God and true Man, to save me, a sinner. Oh, make use of the unfailing intercession of thy sorrows with the Father and the Son, that I may steadfastly amend my life and never again crucify my loving Redeemer by new sins, and that, persevering till death in His grace. I may obtain eternal life through the merits of His Cross and Passion. Amen.
Mother of love, of sorrow and of mercy, pray for us.
Saint Alphonsus Liguori's Prayer To The Mother Of Sorrows
O, my Blessed Mother, it is not one sword only with which I have pierced thy heart, but I have done so with as many as are the sins which I have committed. O, Lady, it is not to thee, who art innocent, that sufferings are due, but to me, who am guilty of so many crimes. But since thou hast been pleased to suffer so much for me, by thy merits, obtain me great sorrow for my sins, and patience under the trials of this life, which will always be light in comparison with my demerits; for I have often deserved Hell.
Amen.
Labels: Restorationists
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Roodmas
Also known as Exaltation Of the True Cross
The Golden Legend
The Catholic Encyclopedia on the True Cross
Wikipedia
Fisheaters
Some images of what are said to be relics of the True Cross
Scoffers love to repeat the old saw that, if all the alleged relics of the True Cross were brought together, you could re-build Noah's Ark, but in fact, all the pieces are quite small, most just splinters.
"In 1870 a Frenchman, Rohault de Fleury, catalogued all the relics of the True Cross including relics that were said to have existed but were lost. He measured the existing relics and estimated the volume of the missing ones. Then he added up the figures and discovered that the fragments, if glued together, would not have made up more than one-third of a cross."
Litany of the Holy Cross
For Private Use Only.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
God the Father of Heaven,
Have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world,
Have mercy on us.
God the Holy Ghost, our Advocate,
Have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God,
Have mercy on us.
Holy Cross whereon the Lamb of God was offered,
Save us, O Holy Cross.
Hope of Christians,
Save us, O Holy Cross.
Pledge of the resurrection of the dead, etc.
Shelter of persecuted innocence,
Guide of the blind,
Way of those who have gone astray,
Staff of the lame,
Consolation of the poor ,
Restraint of the powerful,
Destruction of the proud,
Refuge of sinners,
Trophy of victory over Hell,
Terror of demons,
Mistress of youth,
Succor of the distressed,
Hope of the hopeless,
Star of the mariner,
Harbor of the wrecked,
Rampart of the besieged,
Father of orphans,
Defense of widows,
Counsel of the just,
Judge of the wicked,
Rest of the afflicted,
Safeguard of childhood,
Strength of manhood,
Last hope of the aged,
Light of those who sit in darkness,
Splendor of kings,
Civilizer of the world,
Shield impenetrable,
Wisdom of the foolish,
Liberty of slaves,
Knowledge of the ignorant,
Sure rule of life,
Heralded by Prophets,
Preached by Apostles,
Glory of Martyrs,
Study of hermits,
Chastity of virgins,
Joy of priests,
Foundation of the Church,
Salvation of the world,
Destruction of idolatry,
Stumbling block to the Jews,
Condemnation of the ungodly,
Support of the weak,
Medicine of the sick,
Health of the leprous,
Strength of the paralytic,
Bread of the hungry,
Fountain of those who thirst,
Clothing of the naked,
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,
Hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
Have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and we praise Thee,
R. Because by Thy Holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.
[Together] Behold the Cross of the Lord! Begone ye evil powers!
The Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, has conquered! Alleluia!
Let Us Pray.
O God, Who for the redemption of the world, wast pleased to be born in a stable and to die upon a cross; O Lord Jesus Christ, by Thy holy sufferings, which we, Thy unworthy servants, call to mind: by Thy Holy Cross, and by Thy death, deliver us from the pains of Hell, and vouchsafe to conduct us whither Thou didst conduct the good thief who was crucified with Thee, Who livest and reignest eternally in Heaven. R. Amen.
Sweet the wood, sweet the nails,
sweet the Burden which thou bearest,
for thou alone, O Holy Cross,
wast worthy to bear the King and Lord of Heaven.
R. Amen.
This litany, which has come down to us from the Middle Ages and from many countries, should not be thought to be addressed to an inanimate object, great relic though it is, but rather, to Him who hung upon it and thereby redeemed us all. By our salutation to the chief instrument of Our Lord's Passion and death, we hope and we trust that He will show mercy to us.
The Golden Legend
The Catholic Encyclopedia on the True Cross
Wikipedia
Fisheaters
Some images of what are said to be relics of the True Cross
Scoffers love to repeat the old saw that, if all the alleged relics of the True Cross were brought together, you could re-build Noah's Ark, but in fact, all the pieces are quite small, most just splinters.
"In 1870 a Frenchman, Rohault de Fleury, catalogued all the relics of the True Cross including relics that were said to have existed but were lost. He measured the existing relics and estimated the volume of the missing ones. Then he added up the figures and discovered that the fragments, if glued together, would not have made up more than one-third of a cross."
Litany of the Holy Cross
For Private Use Only.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
God the Father of Heaven,
Have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world,
Have mercy on us.
God the Holy Ghost, our Advocate,
Have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God,
Have mercy on us.
Holy Cross whereon the Lamb of God was offered,
Save us, O Holy Cross.
Hope of Christians,
Save us, O Holy Cross.
Pledge of the resurrection of the dead, etc.
Shelter of persecuted innocence,
Guide of the blind,
Way of those who have gone astray,
Staff of the lame,
Consolation of the poor ,
Restraint of the powerful,
Destruction of the proud,
Refuge of sinners,
Trophy of victory over Hell,
Terror of demons,
Mistress of youth,
Succor of the distressed,
Hope of the hopeless,
Star of the mariner,
Harbor of the wrecked,
Rampart of the besieged,
Father of orphans,
Defense of widows,
Counsel of the just,
Judge of the wicked,
Rest of the afflicted,
Safeguard of childhood,
Strength of manhood,
Last hope of the aged,
Light of those who sit in darkness,
Splendor of kings,
Civilizer of the world,
Shield impenetrable,
Wisdom of the foolish,
Liberty of slaves,
Knowledge of the ignorant,
Sure rule of life,
Heralded by Prophets,
Preached by Apostles,
Glory of Martyrs,
Study of hermits,
Chastity of virgins,
Joy of priests,
Foundation of the Church,
Salvation of the world,
Destruction of idolatry,
Stumbling block to the Jews,
Condemnation of the ungodly,
Support of the weak,
Medicine of the sick,
Health of the leprous,
Strength of the paralytic,
Bread of the hungry,
Fountain of those who thirst,
Clothing of the naked,
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,
Hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
Have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
V. We adore Thee, O Christ, and we praise Thee,
R. Because by Thy Holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.
[Together] Behold the Cross of the Lord! Begone ye evil powers!
The Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, has conquered! Alleluia!
Let Us Pray.
O God, Who for the redemption of the world, wast pleased to be born in a stable and to die upon a cross; O Lord Jesus Christ, by Thy holy sufferings, which we, Thy unworthy servants, call to mind: by Thy Holy Cross, and by Thy death, deliver us from the pains of Hell, and vouchsafe to conduct us whither Thou didst conduct the good thief who was crucified with Thee, Who livest and reignest eternally in Heaven. R. Amen.
Sweet the wood, sweet the nails,
sweet the Burden which thou bearest,
for thou alone, O Holy Cross,
wast worthy to bear the King and Lord of Heaven.
R. Amen.
This litany, which has come down to us from the Middle Ages and from many countries, should not be thought to be addressed to an inanimate object, great relic though it is, but rather, to Him who hung upon it and thereby redeemed us all. By our salutation to the chief instrument of Our Lord's Passion and death, we hope and we trust that He will show mercy to us.
Labels: Restorationists
