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| The Golden Legend: Of the Circumcision of Our Lord |
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Posted by: Stone - 01-01-2021, 07:17 AM - Forum: Christmas
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Taken from The Golden Legend, compiled by Jacobus de Voragine, Archbishop of Genoa, 1275
And here followeth His Circumcision
The day of the circumcision of our Lord there be four things that make and show it to be holy and solemn. The first is the utas of the Nativity. The second the imposition of a new name bearing health. The third the effusion of his precious blood. The fourth the signs of the circumcision. As for the first it appeareth, for the utas of saints be solemn, by much more reason ought it to be of him that is the saint of all saints.
Now it seemeth that the Nativity of our Lord ought not to have none utas. For the nativity tendeth to the death. And the decease of saints have their utas because they be born of the nativity that stretcheth to life perdurable, for to be after glorified in body. And by the same way it seemeth that the nativity of the glorious Virgin Mary and of S. John Baptist, and of the Resurrection of our Lord ought not to have utas, for the resurrection was then done. Hereto we ought to consider, like as saith a doctor, that, in this we should fulfil such things as we accomplished not in the principal day that our Lord was born in. Of which of ancient time men were wont to sing at the Mass: Vultum tuum domine, etc. to the honour of our Lady S. Mary.
The other octaves or utases as of Paske, Whitsuntide, the nativity of our Lady and S. John Baptist be of devotion, as of other saints that men will honour for singular cause or affection. And they may be said the octaves of figuration, for they signify and figure the octave of the last resurrection perpetual, which is the eighth age. And as to the second, this day was his name imposed to him, and was named with the new name that the mouth of God named.
This is the name of which there is none other under heaven by which we may be saved, that is Jesus. After S. Bernard: This is the name which in the mouth is honey, in the ear melody, and in the heart joy; this is the name after that he saith, it lighteth and shineth like oil. When it is preached it feedeth the soul, when it is in the mind of the heart it is sweet, and it anointeth when it is called. And as the evangelist saith, he had three names, that is to wit the Son of God, Jesus, and Christus.
He is called the Son of God insomuch as he is God of God the Father; Christ insomuch as he is a man taken of a person divine and nature human, and Jesus inasmuch as he is God united to our humanity. And of this three manner of names, saith S. Bernard: Ye that lie in dust and powder arise out of your sleep and awake ye and give praising to God. Lo here that our Lord shall come unto your health, he cometh with unction, he cometh with glory. Jesus cometh not without health, nor Christ cometh not without unction, nor the Son of God without glory. For he is our health, our unction and our joy. And as touching this treble name; before his passion, he was not perfectly known. As touching the first he was somewhat known by conjecting, as of his enemies, which said Jesu Christ to be the Son of God. And as to the second, of less or fewer he was known for Jesu Christ. And as to the third, vocally, for as much as by the voice he was called Jesus. But as to the reason of the name, he was not known. For Jesus is as much to say as Saviour, and this understood not they.
After the resurrection, this treble was clarified and declared. The first to the certainty, the second to the publication, the third to the reason of the name. The first name is Son of God. And that these names be appropriate to him, Saint Hilary in his book that he made of the Trinity saith thus: Vere filium Dei unigenitum. In divers manners this name, Son of God, is known, as it is witnessed of God. God the Father witnesseth it that he is his son. Apostles preach it, the religious believe it, the fiends our enemies confess it. And therefore we know our Lord Jesu Christ in his manners, by name, by nature, by nativity, by puissance, and by his passion.
The second name is Christus, which is interpreted unction. For he was anointed with the oil of gladness before all them that to him were party. And by that he is said anointed, it is showed that he was a prophet, a champion, a priest and a king. These four persons sometime were wont to be anointed. Jesu Christ was a prophet teaching the doctrine divine, a champion in the battle against the devil whom he overcame, a priest in reconciling the human lineage to God the Father, and a king in distributing and rewarding every man. Of this second name we be all named, for of this name Christ we be called christian men. Of which name S. Austin saith thus: Every christian man ought to be c puissance or might is to him perdurable, the second, of might of habitation, is to him sith the beginning of his conception, like as the angel showed, and after that he hath puissance of deed and work. was imposed to him of Joseph, because of his passion that was to against original sin, the devil weened that he that received it were a sinner, and had need of the remedy of circumcision.
And for this cause Jesu Christ would that his mother being alway a virgin should be married, because that by the sacrament of matrimony his Incarnati purpose is for to leave sin and take the good, the which is showed us by the son that dispended his good follily, and when he had perceived that he had done evil and foolishly, he advertised himself and said: I shall depart and return to my father, and shall pray that I may serve him, and that he may receive me to mercy, and make me as one of his servants.
The third is shame of sin, whereof saith S. Paul to them that for their sins be in pain and in torment: What fruit have ye founder in those sins in your life of which now ye be ashamed?
The fourth is dread of the coming judgment and doom, whereof Job saith: I have feared and doubted God as men dread the waves of the sea in their great rage and tempest. And S. Jerome saith thus: Sive comedam sive bibam, etc. As oft as I eat or drink or that I do any other thing, alway me seemeth that I hear the sound and the voice crying: Arise, ye dead men, and come to the doom and the judgment.
The fifth is contrition, whereof S. Jerome saith: Give thy weeping and bitterness of that which thou hast angered thy God by thy sin.
The sixth is confession, whereof David saith: Dixi confitebor, etc.: I have said and purposed in my heart that I shall confess me to God and make knowledge of my sin.
The seventh is hope of pardon, for if Judas had had very repentance and hope, and had confessed his sin, he had had forgiveness and pardon.
The eighth is satisfaction and sacrifice, and then is the man verily circumcised, not only from the sin, but also from pain. Where the two first days be for the sorrow of sin that hath been done and the will for to amend it, the third day we should confess the evil that we have done and the good deeds that we have left. The other four days be orison, effusion of tears, affliction of body, and alms given.
Or otherwise by these eight days may be understood eight things, of which the considerati the nativity of Jesu Christ that is called the day of circumcision, we find that Jesu Christ said by the mouth of his saints: Non veni legem solvere sed adimplere; I came not, said Jesu Christ, to break the law, but to fulfil it. And he was that day circumcised and named Jesus, which is as much to say as Saviour.
And at the circumcision must he cut a little of the skin at the end of the member or yard, and that is signified and shewed that we ought to be circumcised, and cut and taken away from us the sins and evil vices, that is to wit pride, wrath, envy, covetousness, sloth, gluttony, and lechery, and all sins, and purge us by confession, by contrition, by satisfaction, by almsdeeds, and by prayers, and to give for God’s sake of the goods that he hath lent us. For we have nothing proper, but Jesu Christ hath lent to us all that we have.
Then it is well reason that we do give for him to the poor of such goods as be his, for we be but servants, and we ought to give to the hungry meat, to the thirsty drink, to the naked clothing, visit the sick, and tofore all things to love God, and after, our neighbour as ourself; and despoil ourself from sin, and clothe us with good works and virtues, and follow the commandment of Jesu Christ. And in this manner we shall fulfil the will of our father Jesu Christ, if we been so purged and thus circumcised.
Then let us pray unto the Lord of heaven that saith that he came not to break the law but to fulfil it, that he give us grace in such manner to fulfil the law and his will in this world, that we may come into his holy bliss in heaven. Amen.
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| Venerable Mary of Agreda: The Circumcision of Our Lord |
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Posted by: Stone - 01-01-2021, 07:06 AM - Forum: Christmas
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Taken from The Mystical City of God, Book 4, Chapter V:
From the moment the most prudent Virgin found Herself chosen as the Mother of the divine Word, She began to ponder upon the labors and sufferings in store for her sweetest Son. As her knowledge of Scripture was profound, She understood all the mysteries contained therein and She began to foresee and prepare with incomparable compassion for all that He was to suffer for the Redemption of Man. This sorrow, foreseen and expected with such a full knowledge of details, was a prolonged martyrdom for the most meek Mother of the sacrificial Lamb of God (Jer. 11, 19). But in regard to the Circumcision, which was to take place after the birth of the Child, the heavenly Lady had received no command or intimation of the will of the eternal Father. This uncertainty excited the loving solicitude and sweet plaints of the tender and affectionate Mother. Her prudent foresight enabled Her to conjecture, that, as her most holy Son had come to honor and confirm his law by fulfilling it and as He had moreover come in order to suffer for men, He would be constrained by his burning love and by other motives to undergo the pains of circumcision.
On the other hand her maternal love and compassion longed to exempt her sweet Child if possible, from this suffering; moreover She knew, that circumcision was a rite instituted for cleansing the newborn children from original sin, whereas the divine Infant was entirely free from this guilt, not having contracted it in Adam. In this hesitation between love of her divine Son and obedience to the eternal Father, the most prudent Virgin practiced many heroic acts of virtue, unspeakably pleasing to his Majesty. Although She could have easily escaped this uncertainty by directly asking the Lord what was to be done; yet, being as humble as She was prudent, She refrained. Neither would She ask her angels; for with admirable wisdom, She awaited the opportune time and occasion, assigned by divine Providence for all things, and She would not presume curiously to search or pry into his decrees by consulting supernatural sources of information, especially in order to rid Herself of any suffering. When any grave and doubtful affair arose, in which there was danger of offending God, or some urgent undertaking for the good of creatures, in which it would be necessary to know the divine will, She first asked permission to submit her petition for enlightenment regarding the divine pleasure.
Most holy Mary issued from her prayer and requested saint Joseph to take the necessary steps for the Circumcision of the divine Infant. With rarest prudence She avoided telling Him anything of what She had been told in answer to her prayer. She spoke as if She wished to consult Him or ask his opinion in regard to the Circumcision, saying that the time appointed by law for the Circumcision of the Child had arrived and since they had not received any orders to the contrary, it seemed necessary to comply with it. They themselves, She said, were more bound to please the Most High, to obey more punctually his precepts, and to be more zealous in the love and care of his most holy Son than all the rest of creatures, seeking to fulfill in all things the divine pleasure in return for his incomparable favors. To these words saint Joseph answered with the greatest modesty and discretion, saying, that, as no command to the contrary had been given concerning the Child he wished in all things to conform himself to the divine will manifested in the common law; that, although as God the incarnate Word was not subject to the law, yet He was now clothed with our humanity, and, as a most perfect Teacher and Savior, no doubt wished to conform with other men in its fulfillment. Then he asked his heavenly Spouse how the Circumcision was to take place.
The most holy Mary answered, that the Circumcision should be performed substantially in the same way as it was performed on other children but that She need not hand him over or consign Him to any other person, but that She would herself hold Him in her arms. And the delicacy and tenderness of the Infant would make this ceremony more painful to him than to other children, they should have at hand the soothing medicine, which was ordinarily applied at circumcision. Moreover, She requested saint Joseph to procure a crystal or glass vessel for preserving the sacred relic of the Circumcision of the divine Infant. In the meanwhile the cautious Mother prepared some linen cloths to catch the sacred blood, which was now for the first time to be shed for our rescue, so that not one drop of it might be lost or fall upon the ground. After these preparations the heavenly Lady asked saint Joseph to inform the priest and request him to come to the cave where, without the necessity of bringing the Child to any other place, he might, as a fit and worthy minister of so hidden and great a sacrament, with his priestly hands perform the rite of the Circumcision.
Then most holy Mary and Joseph took counsel concerning the name to be given to the divine Infant in the Circumcision, and the holy spouse said: “My Lady, when the holy angel of the Most High informed me of this great sacrament, he also told me that thy most sacred Son should be called JESUS.” The Virgin Mother answered: “This same name was revealed to me when He assumed flesh in my womb; and thus receiving this name from the Most High through the mouth of his holy angels, his ministers, it is befitting that we conform in humble reverence with the hidden and inscrutable judgments of his infinite wisdom in conferring it on my Son and Lord, and that we call Him JESUS. This name we will propose to the priest, for inscription in the register of the other circumcised children.”
While the great Mistress of heaven and saint Joseph thus conversed with each other, innumerable angels descended in human forms from on high, clothed in shining white garments, on which were woven red embroideries of wonderful beauty. They had palms in their hands and crowns upon their heads and emitted a greater splendor than many suns. In comparison with the beauty of these holy princes all the loveliness seen in this world appeared repulsive. But pre–eminent in splendor were the devices or escutcheons on their breasts, at each of which the sweet name of Jesus was engraved or embossed. The effulgence which each of these escutcheons exceeded that of all the angels together, and the variety of the beauty thus exhibited in this great multitude was so rare and exquisite as neither human tongue can express nor human imagination ever compass. The holy angels divided into two choirs in the cave, keeping their gaze fixed upon the King and Lord in the arms of his virginal Mother. The chiefs of these heavenly cohorts were the two princes, saint Michael and saint Gabriel, shining in greater splendor than the rest and bearing in their hands, as a special distinction, the most holy name of JESUS, written in larger letters on something like cards of incomparable beauty and splendor.
The two princes presented themselves apart from the rest before their Queen and said: “Lady, this is the name of thy Son (Matth. 1, 21), which was written in the mind of God from all eternity and which the blessed Trinity has given to thy Onlybegotten Son and our Lord as the signal of salvation for the whole human race; establishing Him at the same time on the throne David. He shall reign upon it, chastise his enemies and triumph over them, making them his footstool and passing judgment upon them; He shall raise his friends to the glory of his right hand. But all this is to happen at the cost of suffering and blood; and even now He is to shed it in receiving this name, since it is that of the Savior and Redeemer; it shall be the beginning of his sufferings in obedience to the will of his eternal Father. We all are come as ministering spirits of the Most High, appointed and sent by the holy Trinity in order to serve the Onlybegotten of the Father and thy own in all the mysteries and sacraments of the law of grace. We are to accompany Him and minister to Him until He shall ascend triumphantly to the celestial Jerusalem and open the portals of heaven; afterwards we shall enjoy an especial accidental glory beyond that of the other blessed, to whom no such commission has been given.” All this was witnessed by the most fortunate spouse Joseph conjointly with the Queen of heaven; but his understanding of these happenings was not so deep as hers, for the Mother of wisdom understood and comprehended the highest mysteries of the Redemption. Although saint Joseph understood many more mysteries than other mortals, yet he did not penetrate them in the same way as his heavenly Spouse. Both of them, however, were full of heavenly joy and admiration, and extolled the Lord in new canticles of glory. All that they experienced in these various and wonderful events surpasses human language, and certainly my own powers, and I cannot find adequate words for expressing my conceptions.
The priest came to the gates or cave of the Nativity, where the incarnate Word, resting in the arms of his Virgin Mother, awaited him. With the priest came also two other officials, who were to render such assistance as was customary at the performance of the rite. The rudeness of the dwelling at first astonished and somewhat disconcerted the priest. But the most prudent Queen spoke to him and welcomed him with such modesty and grace that his constraint soon changed into devotion and into admiration at the composure and noblest majesty of the Mother; and without knowing the cause he was moved to reverence and esteem for such an unusual personage. When the priest looked upon the face of Mary and of the Child in her arms he was filled with great devotion and tenderness, wondering at the contrast exhibited amid such poverty and in a place so lowly and despised. The priest thereupon proceeded to his duty and circumcised the Child, the true God and man. At the same time the Son of God, with immeasurable love, offered up to the eternal Father three sacrifices of so great value that each one would have been sufficient for the Redemption of a thousand worlds. The first was that He, being innocent and the Son of the true God, assumed the condition of a sinner (Phil. 2, 7) by subjecting Himself to a rite instituted as a remedy for original sin, and to a law not binding on Him (II Cor. 5, 21). The second was his willingness to suffer the pains of circumcision, which He felt as a true and perfect man. The third was the most ardent love with which He began shed his blood for the human race, giving thanks to eternal Father for having given Him a human nature capable of suffering for his exaltation and glory.
This prayerful sacrifice of JESUS our Savior the Father accepted, and, according to our way of speaking, He began to declare Himself satisfied and paid for the indebtedness of humanity. The incarnate Word offered these first fruits of his blood as pledges that He would give it all in order to consummate the Redemption and extinguish the debt of the sons of Adam. All these interior acts and movements of the Onlybegotten his most holy Mother perceived, and in her heavenly wisdom She penetrated the mystery of this sacrament, acting as his Mother and in concert with Her Son and Lord in all He was doing and suffering. True to his human nature, the divine Infant shed tears as other children. Although the pains caused by the wounding were most severe, as well on account of the delicacy of his body as on account of the coarseness of the knife, which was made of flint, yet his tears were caused not so much by the sensible pain as by the supernatural sorrow caused by his knowledge of the hard–heartedness of mortals. For this was more rude and unyielding than the flint, resisting his sweetest love and the divine fire He had come to enkindle in the world and in the hearts of the faithful (Luke 12, 49). Also the tender and affectionate Mother wept, like the guileless sheep, which raises its voice in unison with the innocent lamb. In reciprocal love and compassion the Child clung to his Mother, while She sweetly caressed Him at her virginal breast and caught the sacred relics and the falling blood in the towel.
In the meanwhile the priest asked the parents what name they wished to give to the Child in Circumcision; the great Lady, always attentive to honor her spouse, asked saint Joseph to mention the name. Saint Joseph turned toward Her in like reverence and gave Her to understand that He thought it proper this sweet name should first flow from her mouth. Therefore, by divine interference, both Mary and Joseph said at the same time; “JESUS is his name.” The priest answered: “The parents are unanimously agreed, and great is the name which they give to the Child”; and thereupon he inscribed it in the tablet or register of names of the rest of the children. While writing it the priest felt great interior movements, so that he shed copious tears; and wondering at what he felt yet not being able to account for, he said: “I am convinced that this Child is to be a great Prophet of the Lord. Have great care in raising Him, and tell me in what I can relieve your needs.” Most holy Mary and Joseph answered the priest with humble gratitude and dismissed him after offering him the gift of some candles and other articles.
Being again left alone with the Child, most holy Mary and Joseph celebrated anew the mystery of the Circumcision, commenting on the holy name of JESUS amid sweet canticles and tears of joy, the fuller knowledge of which (as also of other mysteries which I have mentioned) is reserved as an additional accidental glory to the saints in heaven. The most prudent Mother applied to the wound caused by the knife such medicines as were wont to be used on such occasions for other children, and during the time while the pain and the healing lasted She would not for a moment part with holding Him in her arms day and night. The tender love of the heavenly Mother is beyond all comprehension or understanding of man; for her natural love was greater than any other mother was capable of, and her supernatural love exceeded that of all the angels and saints together. Her reverence and worship cannot be compared with that of any other created being. These were the delights of the incarnate Word (Prov. 8, 31), which He desired and longed for among the children of men; and this was the recompense, which his loving heart drew from the exceeding sanctity of the Virgin Mother for the sorrows occasioned Him by their behavior.
WORDS OF THE QUEEN
The Virgin Mary speaks to Sister Mary of Agreda, Spain
My daughter, I wish thee to consider attentively the blessed favor conferred upon thee by being informed of the solicitous care and attention which I lavished upon my most holy and sweetest Son in the mysteries just now described. The Most High does not give thee this special light in order only to be regaled by the knowledge of these mysteries; but in order to imitate me in all these things as a faithful handmaid and in order to distinguish thyself in rendering thanks for his works in the same measure as thou art distinguished in knowing them more fully. Ponder, then, dearest, upon the small return given for the love of my Son and Lord by mortals, and how forgetful of thanks even his faithful continue to be. Assume it as thy task, as far as thy weak powers allow, to render satisfaction for this grievous offense: loving Him, thanking Him and serving Him with all thy powers, for all the other men who fail to do so. Therefore thou must be an angel in promptitude, most fervent and punctual on all occasions; thou must die to all earthly things, eliminating and crushing all human inclinations and rising upon the wings of love to the heights of love designed for thee by the Lord.
Thou art not ignorant of the sweet efficacy contained in the memory of the works performed by my most holy Son: and although thou canst so copiously avail thyself of the light given thee to be thankful: yet, in order that thou mayest fear so much the more the danger of forgetfulness, I particularly inform thee that the saints in heaven, comprehending by the divine light these mysteries, are astonished at themselves for not having paid more attention to them during their life. And if they were capable of pain, they would be deeply grieved for their tardiness and carelessness in not having set proper value upon the works for the Redemption, and for failing in the imitation of Christ. All the angels and saints, by an insight hidden to mortals, wonder at the cruelty of human hearts against themselves and against Christ their Redeemer. Men have compassion neither for the sufferings of the Lord, nor for the sufferings they themselves stand in danger of incurring. When the foreknown, in unending bitterness shall recognize their dreadful forgetfulness and their indifference to the works of Christ their Savior, their confusion and despair will be an intolerable punishment, and it alone will be a chastisement beyond all imagination; for they will then see the copiousness of the Redemption, which they have despised (Ps. 44, 11). Hear me, my daughter, and bend thy ears to these counsels and doctrines of eternal life. Cast out from thy faculties every image and affection toward human creatures and turn all the powers of thy heart and soul toward the mysteries and blessings of the Redemption. Occupy thyself wholly with them, ponder and weigh them, give thanks for them as if thou alone wert in existence, as if they had been wrought solely for thee, and singly for each human being in particular (Gal. 2, 20). Thus thou wilt find life and the way of life, proceeding thus thou canst not err; but thou shalt find therein the light of thy eyes and true peace.
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| Feast of the Circumcision of Our Lord and the Octave Day of Christmas |
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Posted by: Stone - 01-01-2021, 06:49 AM - Forum: Christmas
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INSTRUCTION ON THE OCTAVE DAY OF THE NATIVITY
NEW YEAR'S DAY
Taken from Fr. Leonard Goffine's Explanations of the Epistles and Gospels for the Sundays, Holydays throughout the Ecclesiastical Year, 1880
Why is this day so called?
Because the secular year begins with this day, as the Church year begins with the First Sunday in Advent.
What should we do on this day?
An offering of the new year should be made to God, asking His grace that we may spend the year in a holy manner, for the welfare of the soul.
Why do we wish each other a "happy new year"?
Because to do so is an act of Christian love; but this wish should come from the heart, and not merely from worldly politeness, otherwise we would be like the heathens (Mt. 5:47), and receive no other reward than they.
What feast of the Church is celebrated today?
The Feast of the Circumcision of our Lord, Who, for love of us, voluntarily subjected Himself to the painful law of the Old Covenant, that we might be freed from the same.
What was the Circumcision?
It was an external sign of the Old Law, by which the people of that day were numbered among the chosen people of God, as now they become, by baptism, members of the Church of Christ.
What is the signification of Circumcision in the moral or spiritual sense?
It signifies the mortification of the senses, of evil desires, and inclinations. This must be practiced by Christians now, since they have promised it in baptism which would be useless to them without the practice of mortification; just as little as the Jew by exterior Circumcision is a true Jew, just so little is the baptized a true Christian without a virtuous life. Beg of Christ, therefore, today, to give you the grace of the true Circumcision of heart.
PRAYER. I thank Thee, O Lord Jesus, because Thou hast shed Thy blood for me in Circumcision, and beg Thee that by Thy precious blood I may receive the grace to circumcise my heart and all my senses, so that I may lead a life of mortification in this world, and attain eternal joys in the next. Amen.
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INTROIT. A child is born to us, and a Son is given to us; whose government is upon his shoulder; and his name shall be called the Angel of great counsel (Is. 9). Sing ye to the Lord a new canticle: for he bath done wonderful things (Ps. 97). Glory be to the Father.
COLLECT. O God, Who, by the fruitful virginity of blessed Mary, hast bestowed upon mankind the rewards of eternal salvation; grant, we beseech Thee, that we may feel the benefit of her intercession for us, through whom we have deserved to receive the author of life, our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who livest and reignest, etc.
EPISTLE. (Tit. 2:11-15). Dearly beloved, the grace of God our Savior hath appeared to all men, instructing us, that denying ungodliness and worldly desires, we should live soberly, and justly, and godly in this world, looking for the blessed hope and coming of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and might cleanse to himself a people acceptable, a pursuer of good works. These things speak, and exhort, in Christ Jesus our Lord.
GOSPEL. (Lk. 2:21). At that time, after eight days were accomplished that the child should be circumcised, his name was called Jesus, which was called by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
Why did Jesus submit to Circumcision?
That He might show His great love for us, which caused Him even at the very beginning of His life, to shed His blood to cleanse us thereby from all our sins. Furthermore to teach us obedience to the commandments of God and His Church, since He voluntarily subjected Himself to the Jewish law, although He was not in the least bound by it, which ordered that every male child should be circumcised on the eighth day after its birth (Lev. 12:3).
Why was He named Jesus?
Because Jesus means Redeemer and Savior, and He had come to redeem and save the world (Mt. 1:21). This is the holiest, most venerable, and most powerful name by which we can be saved.
What power has this name?
The greatest power, for it repels all attacks of the evil Spirit, as Jesus Himself says (Mk. 16:17). And so great is the efficacy of this most holy name that even those who are not righteous, can by it expel devils (Mt. 7:22). It has power to cure physical pains and evils, as when used by the apostles (Acts. 3:3-7), and Christ promised that the faithful by using it could do the same (Mk. 16:17). St. Bernard calls the name of Jesus a "Medicine"; and St. Chrysostom says, "This name cures all ills; it gives succor in all the ailments of the soul, in temptations, in faintheartedness, in sorrow, and in all evil desires, etc." "Let him who cannot excite contrition in his heart for the sins he has committed, think of the loving, meek, and suffering Jesus, invoke His holy name with fervor and confidence, and he will feel his heart touched and made better," says St. Lawrence Justinian. It overcomes and dispels the temptations of the enemy: "When we fight against Satan in the name of Jesus," says the martyr St. Justin, "Jesus fights for us, in us, and with us, and the enemies must flee as soon as they hear the name of Jesus." It secures us help and blessings in all corporal and spiritual necessities, because nothing is impossible to him who asks in the name of Jesus, whatever tends to his salvation will be given him (Jn. 14:13). Therefore it is useful above all things, to invoke this holy name in all dangers of body and soul, in doubts, in temptations, especially in temptations against holy chastity, and still more so when one has fallen into sin, from which he desires to be delivered; for this name is like oil (Cant. 1:2) which cures, nourishes, and illumines.
How must this name be pronounced to experience its power?
With lively faith, with steadfast, unshaken confidence, with deepest reverence and devotion, for in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those that are in heaven, on earth, and under the earth (Phil. 2:10). What wickedness, then, is theirs who habitually pronounce this name carelessly and irreverently, upon every occasion! Such a habit is certainly diabolical; for the damned and the devils constantly abuse God and His holy name.
Why does this name so seldom manifest its power in our days?
Because Christian faith is daily becoming weaker, and confidence less, while perfect submission to the will of God is wanting. When faith grows stronger among people, and confidence greater, then will the power of this most sacred name manifest itself in more wonderful and consoling aspects.
PRAYER TO JESUS IN DIFFICULTIES
O Jesus! Consolation of the afflicted! Thy name is indeed poured out like oil; for Thou dost illumine those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death; Thou dost disperse the blindness of the soul and dost cure its ills; Thou givest food and drink to those who hunger and thirst after justice. Be also, O Jesus! my Savior, the physician of my soul, the healer of its wounds. O Jesus! Succor of those who are in need, be my protector in temptations! O Jesus! Father of the poor, do Thou nourish me! O Jesus! joy of the angels, do Thou comfort me! O Jesus! my only hope and refuge, be my helper in the hour of death, for there is given us no other name beneath the sun by which we may be saved, but Thy most blessed name Jesus!
EXHORTATION. St. Paul says: All whatsoever you do in word or in work, all things do ye in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ (Col. 3:17). We should, therefore, follow the example of the saints, and continually say, at least in our hearts: "For love of Thee, O Jesus, I rise; for love of Thee I lie down; for love of Thee I eat, drink, and enjoy myself; for love of Thee I work, speak, or am silent." Thus we will accustom ourselves to do all in the name of Jesus, by which everything is easily or at least meritoriously accomplished.
PRAYER TO BE SAID ON NEW YEAR'S DAY
O God, Heavenly Father of Mercy, God of all Consolation! we thank Thee that from our birth to this day, Thou hast so well preserved us, and hast protected us in so many dangers; we beseech Thee, through the merits of Thy beloved Son, and by His sacred blood which He shed for us on this day in His circumcision, to forgive all the sins which, during the past year, we have committed against Thy commandments, by which we have aroused Thy indignation and wrath against ourselves. Preserve us in the coming year from all sins, and misfortunes of body and soul. Grant that from this day to the end of our lives, all our senses, thoughts, words, and works, which we here dedicate to Thee for all time, may be directed in accordance with Thy will, and that we may finally die in the true Catholic faith, and enjoy with Thee in Thy kingdom a joyful new year, that shall know no end. Amen.
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| The Birth of the SSPX's 'The Angelus' |
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Posted by: Stone - 12-31-2020, 06:55 PM - Forum: Articles by Catholic authors
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The Angelus - March 2015
The Birth of The Angelus
Forgetting the past is a sure recipe for failure. Here are a few considerations about the humble beginnings of one aspect of the life of Tradition in the United States: Angelus Press and its magazine, The Angelus.
The Angelus: Mrs. Slovak, perhaps a short history of the first years of the Society in the United States is in order.
Irene Slovak: The Society of St. Pius X was first established in the U.S. in Armada, Michigan, after a visit of Archbishop Lefebvre, and this led to the establishment of the seminary of Armada which functioned for a few years until 1979, when it moved to Ridgefield, Connecticut, and operated until the opening of Winona in 1988. The headquarters of the SSPX moved rapidly to Oyster Bay, New York, with Fr. Clarence Kelly being appointed the first District Superior. He printed a small bulletin for the English-speaking world titled For You and for Many.
The Angelus: I understand that Father Bolduc was instrumental in the work of The Angelus.
Irene Slovak: In 1974, Fr. Hector Bolduc, originally from New Hampshire, was ordained priest at Ecône by Archbishop Lefebvre. A group of Catholics in Houston, Texas, contacted the Archbishop to ask for a priest for their group, which numbered by then about 200 people. He answered their request and sent Father Bolduc to tend to the care of the American faithful in the Southwest portion of the country. He purchased a church property in Dickinson, Texas, on November 18, 1976. This became Queen of Angels, which was dedicated by the Archbishop July 10, 1977. Also involved in the work there were to be the long-lasting fixtures of the Dickinson priory: Sister Grace and Father Carl.
The Angelus: Could you present to our readers these heroes of the first hour?
Irene Slovak: Father Bolduc was very dynamic and could be described in layman’s terms as a “mover and shaker.” He laid the foundation, and we are indebted to him. At the end of his life he was concerned for the records he had of the early years, which he said filled a dozen four-drawer file cabinets. He wrote,
“I have never been asked for my recollections of the early SSPX days although I was involved in the purchase, acquisition, and building up of most of the large houses or churches of the SSPX, all of which are still thriving.”
Not much has been recorded of Sister Grace. With the help of Father Bolduc, she literally escaped from her Benedictine convent in Arkansas to join the traditional movement to preserve her sanity and her vocation. She was a fixture at Queen of Angels for many years helping the priests and lending support wherever she was needed. She was the school nurse as well.
At the same time, Father Carl, a Capuchin from Wisconsin, as was the custom in the good old days of the penal colonies, had been relegated to Australia to amend his traditional leanings. As if by Divine Providence, there he met with the Archbishop, who was attending the Melbourne Eucharistic Congress held in 1973. Father was very unhappy with the changes in the Church after Vatican II, and he asked the Archbishop to help him. The Archbishop responded to his request and sent him to join Father Bolduc in Texas. He never formally joined the SSPX but, as there were so few priests in the beginning, he and Father Bolduc traveled many air miles to missions all over the southwest part of the U.S. and Mexico. When he wasn’t traveling he was enlisted as printer for The Angelus. Father was very experienced, having worked as a printer on one of the six Indian reservations in Montana where he was the pastor during the 1960s. During the mid-1980s Father Carl was prior at Queen of Angels.
The Angelus: I do not quite understand. You spoke about For You and for Many as the official bulletin of the Society in the U.S. Why then have another one, The Angelus, which fulfilled exactly the same function?
Irene Slovak: Here we would have to go back to the question of the Nine, priests who eventually broke away from the Archbishop in 1983. But by 1977, Father Kelly’s publication For You and for Many was printing things and emitting judgments on issues which were not in agreement with the aims of the SSPX. I know there were particularly heavy criticisms of the Pope with a covert tendency to sedevacantism. The Archbishop wrote Father Bolduc asking him to establish a new publication that better represented the principles of the Society and of its founder. Later on, the Archbishop created the U.S. Southwest District and entrusted it to Father Bolduc who, by that time, had acquired properties in several states, the largest being St. Mary’s in Kansas in 1978. The apostolic field had grown so much that it made sense to divide the U.S. into two districts.
The Angelus: So, when was The Angelus created? Was it produced before or after Angelus Press itself?
Irene Slovak: The first issue was published in January 1978. In the beginning, only the monthly periodical was being produced, printed, and mailed from Dickinson. However, there was a separate entity called “Angelus Press” that sold many books already in print. Practically speaking, Angelus Press was incorporated in the state of Texas as something completely independent of the SSPX. Its first president was Father Bolduc.
In June of 1978 there is an insert in that issue of The Angelus which reads in part:
Quote:“Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, Superior General of the Society of St. Pius X, has appointed THE ANGELUS PRESS as official editor and publisher of books, pamphlets, and all official publications of the Society emanating from International Headquarters of the Society in Switzerland.”
The Angelus: What was the reason for the name and the logo of The Angelus?
Irene Slovak: Father Bolduc chose it and dedicated it to Our Lady as Queen of Angels, the same name as the Dickinson chapel. The logo was crafted by a local woman artist in Dickinson. The quill and paper represented the written word.
The Angelus: The title and a logo for a magazine are nice enough, but by themselves they do not get things done. Who were the leading figures behind the scenes?
Irene Slovak: Naturally enough, the first crew to work at the magazine were gathered from among the parishioners. The “Angelus ladies” were Sue Broussard and Irene Slovak on the more practical side of things. Carlita Brown was an extraordinary typist, did all of the layouts, and prepared each page for printing. Dr. Mary Buckalew was also involved right from the start as a reliable proofreader. Father Bolduc had to eventually leave Dickinson for St. Mary’s after the fire which consumed the Immaculata Church. In June of 1984 Father Laisney came and took over the job of Editor as well as District Superior. Carlita was enlisting people to write. It was the grass-roots, but many good writers came forward as there were few outlets for traditional Catholic writers to pursue. Dr. Malcolm Brennan wrote a column on the English Martyrs. Dr. Mary Buckalew kept an on-going column variously titled but having finally been titled “Catholic Truth vs. the Spirit of Vatican II.” She also was immensely helpful as she proofread the many books that were published. American seminarians at Ecône gave us a glimpse from the cradle of the SSPX. And there was always an article about Archbishop Lefebvre or from him; “The Bishop Speaks” was a regular one.
The Angelus: Any other prominent writers at the early stage of the magazine?
Irene Slovak: I can recall Mary Martinez who wrote from Mexico but was also our Vaticanist pen. Father Carl created the popular column “Ask Father Carl,” which became later the “Questions & Answers.” Then we had always some priestly help: Father Cooper and Father Laisney; Father Post came on board when he was posted to Dickinson.
I must mention also the great support given us by Michael Davies. We met him at a Remnant Forum in late 1978, and I remember that we asked Michael to write for The Angelus. He jokingly related the outcome of the deal by explaining that the balance finally tilted to the side of “Yes” right when he was offered a bottle of Scotch by gracious ladies all too happy to reel in such a big fish!
The Angelus: Did you have a mailing list to start with or was the first publication a shot in the dark?
Irene Slovak: At the beginning, we printed about 1000 copies. A Catholic publication in the Northeast had ceased publication. Father Bolduc acquired all of the names of their subscribers as well as equipment to make name plates and a machine to stamp the names for mailing purposes. That was our humble first mailing list and from it we received many subscriptions. The high watermark of 3500 subscribers was reached during the 1980s and 1990s. Father Carl was getting his hands dirty as he bought and ran an old offset printing press which served for a long decade, until 1991, the year The Angelus moved to St. Louis. Over the years a collator was purchased which put to rest the tiring job of hand collating each issue as well as the books. The last issue we worked on was the one dedicated to the death and burial of the Archbishop in March 1991. That was the saddest one we ever did but the most gratifying. What a debt we owe to him. One of the happiest memories I have was during one of his visits I was able to tell him, “Thank you.”
The Angelus: How would you describe the spirit which moved you in these early years?
Irene Slovak: Now we come to the heart of the matter. What motivated us? We were fighters. Most of us had fought vigorously in our own parishes against the changes of Vatican II. When it became necessary for us to leave our parishes, we broke many ties with family and friends and even our revered priests who considered us to have “left the Church.” We were outcasts from our own fellow Catholics. We witnessed good priests who resisted the changes put out to “pasture” by their bishops and we wept for them.
Archbishop Lefebvre gave us a home and sent us priests who were also fighters like he was. The Angelus became our means of communication to others, to those who were also suffering, often without the Mass or Sacraments, to encourage them in the fight for the Faith. Our joy was in being able to be a link that spread the Apostolic Faith so that others might know it had not died. We are blessed to have been in the company of these early pioneers who paved the way for the growth of the Society. They were fearless, unhampered by human respect.
The Angelus: Were there any improvements in time? Perhaps the first issues of The Angelus proved too simple? Did anyone complain about the content of the articles?
Irene Slovak: Our articles never gave the suspicion of sedevacantism, even when criticizing the strange behavior of the Pope at times. However “simple” it was in the beginning, we never shied away from telling the truth about the errors of Vatican II, and never concerned ourselves with trying to please our adversaries.
The Angelus: What about the publishing side? Which books were edited and published by the Angelus Press?
Irene Slovak: We mentioned getting Michael Davies from England to write for us regularly from December 1978 onwards. By the following August, he had already written his first book of the Apologia and before too long the famous Liturgical Revolution trilogy comprising Cranmer’s Godly Order, Pope John’s Council, and Pope Paul’s New Mass. Other little books of Michael Davies were also published and, in 1982, the Archbishop’s I Accuse the Council. All such books were the work of Angelus Press. The volunteers were collating the books by themselves: we gathered around a large table, set the various copies by reams and started turning around the table joining the third set to the second to the first until, finally, the whole book was gathered and set apart.
I recall being so proud of the first book of Michael Davies we printed. Michael had just arrived at the airport and while riding back toward Dickinson he was handed a copy, hot off the press. To our embarrassment, when he opened the book, the pages inside were upside down. Happily, Michael had a very good sense of humor, but he also never let it be forgotten, retelling the story at every opportunity. He was also fond of joking about our way of setting the book: “This is the way these Angelus ladies produce a book: they gather the pages together and they glue them in a toaster!”
The Angelus: Were there any other apostolates you were involved in, in the printing world of Angelus Press?
Irene Slovak: By 1979 or 1980 we branched off and started the printing of a calendar for the traditional world. And then we had holy cards which were made into Christmas Cards.
The Angelus: What was the original spirit of The Angelus? Would you say that it has varied substantially later on?
Irene Slovak: With the dedication and leadership of the Archbishop, Father Bolduc, and Father Carl, we had a determination to fight against the injustice of having our Faith and our Mass become something we could no longer recognize as Catholic. There was a fire that spurred us on to stand up against the forces that would silence us if they could. We never fooled ourselves that we were ever more than a little spark, but with Our Lady’s help we hoped some found comfort and support in what was done here.
We can’t appreciate what doesn’t cost us something or require sacrifice to attain. Now we are in our twilight years looking back. It has been a situation that has lasted almost our entire lives. Are we tired? Yes. Would we have done it differently? No. We stood as a contradiction then to all the Modernist heresies that had come into the Church.
Our work at the beginning was a breakthrough to voice the message of Tradition to the world. Souls were in expectation of the growing movement around the whole country. Our prime duty at that time was to spread the message of the Archbishop as clearly and simply as could be: the defense of the Mass of all times, the arguments against Vatican II, and the crusade of Catholic family life in our traditional circles.
Needless to say, the early stages of the struggles have left their marks and are still present in the publications of the Angelus Press as the present large selection of the yearly catalog bears witness. Also the Society’s means of reaching souls has grown considerably. In a world where the media’s ongoing revolution from words to image advances, the printing apostolate has somewhat taken the back seat behind the Internet, its websites and blogs, and the short videos which are meant to guide people to more serious thinking and reading. [...]
The Angelus: Do you have any last thought about the place or mission you were called upon to fulfill as one of the “Angelus Ladies”?
Irene Slovak: Looking back I have to wonder, “Why me?” How did I come to be involved in this work at this critical time in the Church’s history? God has blessed me abundantly through the Society. There was and still is a special bond among those who were part of these early years. I think it is a credit to those missionary priests who, together with the laity, worked so hard to rebuild what the new Church had rejected. We shared the pain of losing the Church we grew up in and then the joy of finding it again. God bless them, and we pray for the day when the Catholic Church returns to the Faith of our Fathers. If it is true that the pen is mightier than the sword then let’s use it with the courage of our predecessors.
[Emphasis - The Catacombs]
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| What are we to think of the Fraternity of St. Peter? |
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Posted by: Stone - 12-31-2020, 06:36 PM - Forum: Q&A: Catholic Answers to a Catholic Crisis
- Replies (4)
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From the SSPX Archives:
What are we to think of the Fraternity of St. Peter?
Since the introduction of the new sacramental rites, Rome had allowed no religious society or congregation exclusive use of the older rites. Then on June 30, 1988, Archbishop Lefebvre consecrated four bishops to ensure the survival of the traditional priesthood and sacraments, and especially of the traditional Latin Mass.
Suddenly, within two days, Pope John Paul II recognized (Ecclesia Dei Afflicta, July 2, 1988) the “rightful aspirations” (for these things) of those who wouldn’t support Archbishop Lefebvre’s stance, and offered to give to them what he had always refused the Archbishop. A dozen or so priests of the SSPX accepted this “good will” and broke away to found the Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP).
The Fraternity of St. Peter is founded upon more than questionable principles, for the following reasons:
1. It accepts that the Conciliar Church has the power:
- to take away the Mass of all time (for the Novus Ordo Missae is not another form of this, question 5),
- to grant it to those only who accept the same Conciliar Church’s novel orientations (in life, belief, structures),
- to declare non-Catholic those who deny this by word or deed (An interpretation of "Everyone should be aware that formal adherence to the schism [of Archbishop Lefebvre] is a grave offense against God and carries the penalty of excommunication." Ecclesia Dei Afflicata), and,
- to professes itself in a certain way in communion with anyone calling himself “Christian,” and yet to declare itself out of communion with Catholics whose sole crime is wanting to remain Catholic (Vatican II, e.g., Lumen Gentium, §15; Unitatis Redintegratio §3).
2. In practice, the priests of the Fraternity, having recourse to a Novus Ordo bishop willing to permit the traditional rites and willing to ordain their candidates, they are forced to abandon the fight against the new religion which is being installed:
- they reject the Novus Ordo Missae only because it is not their “spirituality” and claim the traditional Latin Mass only in virtue of their “charism” acknowledged them by the pope,
- they seek to ingratiate themselves with the local bishops, praising them for the least sign of Catholic spirit and keeping quiet on their modernist deviations (unless perhaps it is a question of a diocese where they have no hopes of starting up), even though by doing so they end up encouraging them along their wrong path, and
- note, for example, the Fraternity’s whole-hearted acceptance of the (New) Catechism of the Catholic Church (question 14), acceptance of Novus Ordo professors in their seminaries, and blanket acceptance of Vatican II’s orthodoxy (question 6).
They are therefore Conciliar Catholics and not traditional Catholics.
This being so, attending their Mass is:
- accepting the compromise on which they are based,
- accepting the direction taken by the Conciliar Church and the consequent destruction of the Catholic Faith and practices, and
- accepting, in particular, the lawfulness and doctrinal soundness of the Novus Ordo Missae and Vatican II.
That is why a Catholic ought not to attend their Masses.
[Emphasis in the original]
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| How Can We in Good Conscience Recognize the 'Validity of the Novus Ordo Indult?' |
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Posted by: Stone - 12-31-2020, 06:34 PM - Forum: Q&A: Catholic Answers to a Catholic Crisis
- Replies (3)
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The Angelus - July 1985
Ask Me...
answers given by Father Carl Pulvermacher
Q. To have the Tridentine Mass said in the Archdiocese of Portland one requirement is: "The recognition of the validity of the New Order of the Mass as promulgated by Pope Paul VI by those who request that the Mass be celebrated . . ." In view of the decree by Pope St. Pius V that the Tridentine Mass can never be legally revoked or amended . . . how can we in good conscience recognize the "validity of the New Order"?
A. In truth we cannot. Even if we might agree that the New Order Mass is substantially valid we cannot agree that it is a valid substitute for the immemorial Mass, the Tridentine Mass.It is Protestant in its form, teaching by its words, actions, and omissions a strikingly Protestant theology. Compared to Cranmer's and Luther's liturgies, it is surprisingly similar. Whoever made up the Indult of October 3, 1984, knew how to grant a favor without granting it! For you to benefit by the Indult you have to be of the mind that you really don't object to the New Mass. What an unbelievable state of mind this is! If one does not "impugn the lawfulness and doctrinal soundness of the Roman Missal promulgated in 1970 by Pope Paul VI," why would he ask for the Latin Tridentine Mass in the first place? To request the use of the Indult one must necessarily tell an untruth. That is the way it looks to me.
[Emphasis - The Catacombs]
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| What is the difference between 'Grace-giving' and 'Valdiity/" |
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Posted by: Stone - 12-31-2020, 06:31 PM - Forum: Q&A: Catholic Answers to a Catholic Crisis
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The Angelus - April 1984
Ask Me...
answers given by Father Carl Pulvermacher
Q. Several people objected to my saying, in last month's column, that the New Mass was not grace-giving. "It is heresy to hold a valid Mass is not grace giving."
A. First of all, there is a difference between validity and grace-giving. I believe the one may be present without the other. Surely, I do not claim that in every case the New Mass is invalid. I hate to make comparisons but I know you would agree that a valid Satanic mass (Black Mass) would not be grace giving. I certainly do not hold the New Mass is the same as a Black Mass. I merely look at the fruits.
So far I have not seen a Catholic who has advanced in holiness because of the graces of the New Mass. No Novus Ordo priest or lay person that I know of has even come close to being lifted to the honors of the Altar—sainthood. Of course, you might say that 15 or 20 years is not enough time to tell. However, we can look at the miserable condition of the papacy, the episcopacy, the priesthood, the brotherhood and sisterhood, and the laity—single and married—and we find it easier to say "no grace giving," than "grace giving."
We have material eyes and cannot see the state of grace, so we cannot prove it one way or the other. All we can do is to look at the results of the New Mass. Has anyone ever dreamed that in most of our churches such sacrilegious things could take place as clown liturgies, dancing girls, homosexual masses, Jewish and Protestant liturgies?
Our Lord said, "Let no one lead you astray." "By their fruits you shall know them." "Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves." I have yet to see a single Catholic who has truly benefitted from the New Mass. Never have I seen a novus ordo convent or a monastery where religious life was not in a state of decline. When we had the true Mass, normal progress was seen. When we adopted the Novus Ordo, we have seen normal decline. I dare any person—cleric or lay—to prove the grace-givingness of the New Ordo liturgy!
+ + +
Quote:The following were Fr. Pulvermacher's original comments alluded to in the opening question:
The Angelus - March 1984
Q. We started going to our parish church (Novus Ordo, of course) on the Sundays there was no traditional Mass here. My question is this. Is it wrong to go to our parish church when the traditional Mass is only available so infrequently? Is it wrong to receive Communion or any other Sacrament in the Novus Ordo church? Is the bread and wine really transubstantiated into the Body and Blood of Christ at the Novus Ordo Mass? S. P., Kasson, Minn.
A. Here we get down to the bare facts. In all questions like this I always advise people to avoid attending the New Mass, as well as the altered Sacraments. I do not say they are always invalid. However, this alone doesn't make them good. The New Mass is not grace-giving. It is not our Catholic Mass. The only reason it was created was to destroy our true Mass. This excuse of people not being able to understand the Latin language is silly. We were always instructed to follow with our English (or other) missals. Latin is still the official language of the Church. Anybody telling me the New Mass in Latin is easier to understand than the Tridentine Mass is surely joking. The real thing is better than the substitute.
[Emphasis -The Catacombs]
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| Why do Catholics call their priests 'Father?' |
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Posted by: Stone - 12-31-2020, 06:24 PM - Forum: Q&A: Catholic Answers to a Catholic Crisis
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The Angelus - April 1984
Ask Me...
answers given by Father Carl Pulvermacher
Q. Catholics call their priests "Father" in spite of the fact that Our Lord says, "Call no man on earth father" (Matt. 23:9). Isn't this breaking Christ's command? V. C., Spokane, Wash.
A. This is a question that causes some Catholics to stutter and blush. However, there should be no need of this. Our Lord commanded us to honor our father and mother (Matt. 15:3-7). Blessed Mary called St. Joseph "Father" to her Son: "Thy Father and I have sought Thee sorrowing" (Luke 2:48). The husband of our mothers we normally call "father," not "pal" or "Joe" or whatever, but "Father." St. Paul 4:16 calls Abraham the "Father" of us all.
No man can stand in any way whatsoever as a father unless God holds him up. So Our Lord tells us never to forget that the power of fatherhood is God's above, and no man in anyway can add or detract from that absolute fact. Surely we know as faithful Catholics that an earthly father shares in the wonderful work of the Heavenly Father's work of creation in bringing a new life into the world.
A priest is surely called "Father" because he too brings spiritual life to souls—in Baptism, Confession and the other Sacraments. In some way God upholds this fatherhood of the priest by the grace of spiritual life which He distributes through the hands of his priests. If the priest does not beget spiritual life, he is not a father, just as an earthly man is no father unless he begets or supports earthly life. Calling anyone a father or master who really does not share the life-giving faculty of God the Father is what Our Lord meant when He forbad the calling of anyone on earth your father. No one reading the Bible carefully should ever wonder about this oft-repeated, stupid question. All fatherhood in earth or in heaven is named after Him, the Heavenly Father (Ephesians 3:14).
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| What is the Role of the Laity in the Church? |
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Posted by: Stone - 12-31-2020, 06:22 PM - Forum: Q&A: Catholic Answers to a Catholic Crisis
- No Replies
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1917 Catholic Encyclopedia
Laity
Laity means the body of the faithful, outside of the ranks of the clergy. This article treats the subject under three heads: (1) General Idea; (2) Duties and Rights of the Laity; (3) Privileges and Restrictions of the Laity.
(1) General idea
Whereas the word faithful is opposed to infidel, unbaptized, one outside the pale of Christian society, the word laity is opposed to clergy. The laity and clergy, or clerics, belong to the same society, but do not occupy the same rank. The laity are the members of this society who remain where they were placed by baptism, while the clergy, even if only tonsured, have been raised by ordination to a higher class, and placed in the sacred hierarchy. The Church is a perfect society, though all therein are not equal; it is composed of two kinds of members (see can. "Duo sunt", vii, Caus. 12, Q. i, of uncertain origin): in the first place, those who are the depositaries of sacred or spiritual authority under its triple aspect, government, teaching, and worship, i.e. the clergy, the sacred hierarchy established by Divine law (Conc. Trid., Sess. XXIII, can. vi); in the second place, those over whom this power is exercised, who are governed, taught, and sanctified, the Christian people, the laity; though for that matter clerics also, considered as individuals, are governed, taught, and sanctified. But the laity are not the depositaries of spiritual power; they are the flock confided to the care of the shepherds, the disciples who are instructed in the Word of God, the subjects who are guided by the successors of the Apostles towards the last end, which is eternal life. Such is the constitution which Our Saviour has given to His Church.
This is not the place for a detailed demonstration of this assertion, the proof of which may be reduced to the following points more fully developed under CHURCH: on the one hand, a distinction between the governed and those governing is necessary in every organized society; now Jesus Christ established His Church as a real society, endowed with all the authority requisite for the attaining of its object. On the other hand, in the Church, government has always been in the hands of those who were entrusted exclusively with the teaching of doctrine and the care of Divine worship. If one studies without prejudice the New Testament and the beginnings of Christianity, some doubt may arise on certain matters of detail; but the conclusion will certainly be that every Christian community had its superiors, these superiors had a stable spiritual authority, and this authority had as its end the exclusive care of religious functions (including teaching) as well as the government of the community. There have been differences of opinion concerning the origin of the monarchial episcopacy, which soon became the sole form of ecclesiastical organization; but no one holds that the monarchial episcopacy succeeded a period of anarchy or of government by a community where all had equal authority. The organization of all Christian Churches under the authority of the bishops and clergy, as early as the third century, is so evident as to place beyond all doubt the existence at that time of two distinct classes, the clergy and the laity. Moreover, in all societies among which Christianity had spread, religious service had already its special ministers, and the Christian organization would have retrograded if its worship and its sacrifice had not been entrusted exclusively to a special class.
Christ selected the Apostles from among His disciples, and among the Apostles He selected Peter to be their head. He entrusted them with the furtherance of His work; to them he confided the power of the keys, i.e. spiritual authority, for they are the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 16:19); He gave them the mission to teach and baptize all nations (Matthew 28:18); to them also He addressed those words at the Last Supper: Do this in commemoration of me" (Luke 22:19). As soon as the Church begins to live, the Apostles appear as its leaders; they are distinct from the "multitude of believers"; it is into their ranks that they bring Matthias (Acts 1:15), and later, by the command of the Holy Ghost, Saul and Barnabas, whom they receive with the imposition of hands (Acts 13:2). Wherever St. Paul founds Churches he gives them leaders "placed by the Holy Spirit to govern the Church of God" (Acts 20:28); the Pastoral Epistles reveal to us a directing body composed of the bishops, or priests, and deacons (Epistle of Clement 43.4); and they it is, especially the bishops, who perform exclusively the liturgical services (Ignatius, Smyrnæans 8). If at times the Christian people participate in the Divine service or the government, they never appear acting independently nor even on an equal footing with the heads of the community (cf. Batiffol, "L'Église naissante et le catholicisme", Paris, 1909). This distinction between the two classes in the Christian society refers to social rank, not to individual moral perfection. It is true that the clergy, being dedicated to the service of the altar, are thereby bound to strive after perfection; yet neither their virtues not their failing influence in any way their powers. On the other hand, the laity, besides their right to aspire freely to admission into the ranks of the clergy, on complying with the requisite conditions, are exhorted to practise every virtue, even in the highest degree. They can also bind themselves to observe the evangelical counsels, under the guidance of the Church, either in the world, as did the ancient ascetics, or by withdrawing from the world into one of the many religious houses. But ascetics, nuns, and unordained members of religious associations of men were not originally in the ranks of the clergy, and, strictly speaking, are not so even today, though, on account of their closer and more special dependence on ecclesiastical authority, they have long been included under the title clergy in its wider sense (see RELIGIOUS). The juridical condition of the laity in the Christian society is therefore determined by two considerations: their separation from the clergy, which excludes them from the performance of acts reserved to the latter; and second, their subjection to the spiritual authority of the clergy, which imposes certain obligations on them, while at the same time it confers on them certain rights.
(2) Duties and rights of the laity
Having come through Baptism to the supernatural life, being members of the Christian society and adopted children of God, the laity belong to the "chosen race", the "royal priesthood" (1 Peter 2:9) formed of all those who are born again in Christ. They have therefore a right to share in the common spiritual goods of the Christian society, which implies a corresponding obligation on the part of the clergy to bestow on them these goods, in as far as this bestowal requires the intervention of the ministers of religion and of the spiritual authority. But if the laity are to share in these common goods they must employ more or less frequently the means of sanctification instituted by Jesus Christ in His Church, and of which the clergy have been put in charge. Further, the laity, being subject to ecclesiastical authority, must obey and respect it; but in return they have the right to obtain from it direction, protection, and service. Thus, for the laity rights and duties are, as always, correlative. The first duty of a Christian is to believe; the first obligation imparted to the laity is, therefore, to learn the truths of faith and of religion, at first by means of the catechism and religious instruction, and later by being present at sermons, missions, or retreats. If they are thus obliged to learn, they have the right to be instructed and consequently to require their priests to give them and their children Christian teaching in the ordinary way. Second, a Christian's moral conduct should be in keeping with his faith; he must, therefore, preserve his spiritual life by the means which Jesus has established in His Church; The Divine service, especially the Mass, the Sacraments, and other sacred rites.
This necessity of having recourse to the pastoral ministry gives rise to a right in the laity as regards the clergy, the right of obtaining from them the administration of the sacraments, especially Penance and the Holy Eucharist, and others according to circumstances; also all the other acts of Christian worship, especially the Mass, the sacramentals and other rites, and lastly Christian burial. These are the spiritual goods destined for the sanctification of souls; if the clergy are appointed to administer them, they are not free dispensers, and they are bound to give their services to the faithful, as long, at least, as the latter have not by their own fault placed themselves in a condition that deprives them of the right to demand these services. Considered from the standpoint of the laity, this recourse to the ministry of the clergy is sometimes obligatory and sometimes optional, according to circumstances. It may be an obligation imposed by a command of the Church, or necessitated by personal reasons; in other cases, it may be a matter of counsel and left to the devotion of each one. This is a subject which exhibits most clearly the difference between a precept and a counsel with regard to our outward Christian life. Assistance at Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation, annual confession, Easter communion, the reception of the viaticum and the last services of religion, the celebration of marriage in the prescribed form, the baptism and religious instruction of children, and, finally, the rites of Christian burial---all these suppose a recourse to the ministry of the clergy which is of obligation for the laity, abstracting from individual cases when there may be a legitimate excuse. On the other hand, more or less frequent confessions and communions, hearing of daily Mass, frequenting the Divine Office, asking for special ceremonies (for instance, churching) celebration of Masses, obtaining services and prayers for the dead or for other intentions, are things that are perfectly legitimate and are counselled, but are optional. We may also mention the obligatory or free acts intended for the personal sanctification of the laity, but which do not require the help of the clergy: private prayer, fasting and abstinence, avoidance of servile work on Sundays and holy days of obligation, and, lastly, in general all that relates to the moral life and the observance of the commandments of God.
From these obligatory and optional relations existing between the laity and the clergy there arise certain duties of the former towards the latter. In the first place, respect and deference should be shown to the clergy, especially in the exercise of their function, on account of their sacred character and the Divine authority with which they are invested (Conc. Trid., Sess. XXV, c. xx). This respect should be shown in daily intercourse, and laymen inspired with a truly Christian spirit do homage to God in the person of His ministers, even when the conduct of the latter is not in keeping with the sanctity of their state. In the second place the laity are obliged, in proportion to their means and circumstances of the case, to contribute towards the expenses of Divine service and the fitting support of the clergy; this is an obligation incumbent on them in return for the right which they have to the services of their priests with regard to the Mass and other spiritual exercises. These contributions fall under two distinct classes: certain gifts and offerings of the faithful are intended in general for the Divine services and the support of the clergy; others, on the contrary, are connected with various acts of the sacred ministry which are freely asked for, such as the stipends for Masses, the dues for funeral services, marriages, etc. There is no fixed sum for the former class, the matter being left to the generosity of the faithful; in many countries they have taken the place of the fixed incomes that the various churches and the clergy were possessed of, arising especially from landed property; they have likewise replaced the tithes, no longer recognized by the secular governments. The latter class, however, are fixed by ecclesiastical authority or custom and may be demanded in justice; not that this is paying for sacred things, which would be simony, but they are offerings for the Divine service and the clergy on the occasion of certain definite acts (see OFFERINGS; TITHES).
There remains to speak of the duties and rights of the laity towards the ecclesiastical authority as such, in matters foreign to the sacred ministry. The duties, which affect both laity and clergy, consist in submission and obedience to legitimate hierarchical authority: the pope, the bishops, and, in a proportionate degree, the parish priests and other acting ecclesiastics. The decisions, judgments, orders, and directions of our lawful pastors, in matters of doctrine, morals, discipline, and even administration, must be accepted and obeyed by all members of the Christian society, at least in as far as they are subject to that authority. That is a condition requisite to the well-being of any society whatsoever. However, in the case of the Christian society, authoritative decisions and directions, in as far as they are concerned with faith and morals, bind not merely to exterior acts and formal obedience; they are, moreover, a matter of conscience and demand loyal interior acceptance. On the other hand, seeing that in the Church the superiors have been established for the welfare of the subjects, so that the pope himself glories in the title "servant of the servants of God", the faithful have the right to expect the care, vigilance, and protection of their pastors; in particular they have the right to refer their disputes to the ecclesiastical authorities for decision, to consult them in case of doubt or difficulty, and to ask for suitable guidance for their religious or moral conduct.
(3) Privileges and restrictions of the laity
Since the laity is distinct from the clergy, and since Divine worship, doctrinal teaching, and ecclesiastical government are reserved, at least in essentials, to the latter, it follows that the former may not interfere in purely clerical offices; they can participate only in a secondary and accessory manner, and that in virtue of a more or less explicit authorization. Any other interference would be an unlawful and guilty usurpation, punishable at times with censures and penalties. We will apply this principle now to matters of worship, teaching, and government or administration.
As to the liturgy
As to Divine service, the liturgy and especially the essential act of the Christian worship, the Holy Sacrifice, the active ministers are the clergy alone. But the laity really join in it. Not only do they assist at the Sacrifice and receive its spiritual effects, but they offer it through the ministry of the priest. Formerly they could, and even were obliged to, bring and offer at the altar the mater of the sacrifice, i.e. the bread and wine; that is what they really do today by their offerings and their stipends for Masses. At several parts of the Mass, the prayers mention them as offering the sacrifice together with the clergy, especially in the passage immediately after the consecration: "Unde et memores, nos servi tui (the clergy) sed et plebs tua sancta (the laity) . . . offerimus praeclare Majestati tuae, de tuis donis ac datis", etc. The laity reply to the salutations and invitations of the celebrant, thus joining in the solemn prayer; especially do they share in the Holy Victim by Holy Communion (confined for them in the Latin Liturgy to the species of bread), which they can receive also outside of the time of Mass and at home in case of illness. Such is the participation of the laity in the Liturgy, and strictly they are limited to that; all the active portion is performed by the clergy.
Regularly, no layman may sit within the presbyterium, or sanctuary, nor may he read any part of the Liturgy, much less pray publicly, or serve the priest at the altar, or, above all, offer the Sacrifice. However, owing to the almost complete disappearance of the inferior clergy, there has gradually arisen the custom of appointing lay persons to perform certain minor clerical duties. In most of our churches, the choirboys, schoolboys, sacristans, and chanters, serve low Masses and Missae cantatae, occupy places in the sanctuary, and act as acolytes, thurifers, masters of ceremonies, and even as lectors. On such occasions they are given, at least in solemn services, a clerical costume, the cassock and surplice, as if to admit them temporarily to the ranks of the clergy and thus recognize and safeguard the principle of excluding the laity. These remarks apply not only to the celebration of Mass, but to all liturgical services: the laity are separated from the clergy. In processions especially, confraternities and other bodies of the laity precede the clergy; the women being first, then the men, next regular clergy, and lastly the secular clergy.
In the administration of the sacraments, the sacramentals, and other like liturgical offices, the same principle applies, and ordinarily everything is reserved to the clergy. But it should be mentioned that the laity may administer baptism in cases of necessity, and though not of practical importance with regard to adults, this frequently occurs when children are in danger of death. In the early ages, the faithful carried away the Blessed Eucharist to their homes and gave themselves the Holy Communion (cf. Tertullian, "Ad uxorem", ii, 5). That was a purely material administration of the sacrament, and hardly differed from the communion ceremony in the church, where the consecrated host was placed in the hand of each communicant. We should mention also that the use of the blessed oil by those who were sick, if that be considered an administration of extreme unction (cf. the Decretal of Innocent I to Decentius of Eugubium, n. 8; serm. cclxv and cclxxix; append. of the works of St. Augustine, really the work of St. Caesarius of Arles). But those practices have long since disappeared. As to matrimony, if the sacrament itself, which is none other than the contract, has as its authors the lay persons contracting, the liturgical administration is reserved today, as formerly, to the clergy. With these exceptions, there is nothing to prevent the laity from using the liturgical prayers in their private devotions, from reciting the Divine Office, or the various Little Offices drawn up particularly for them, or from joining in associations or confraternities to practise together and according to rule certain pious exercises, the confraternities having been formed lawfully in virtue of episcopal approbation.
As to doctrine
The body of the faithful is strictly speaking the Ecclesia docta (the Church taught), in contrast with the Ecclesia docens (the teaching Church), which consists of the pope and the bishops. When there is question, therefore, of the official teaching of religious doctrine, the laity is neither competent nor authorized to speak in the name of God and the Church (cap. xii et sq., lib. V, tit. vii, "de haereticis"). Consequently they are not allowed to preach in church, or to undertake to defend the Catholic doctrine in public discussions with heretics. But in their private capacity, they may most lawfully defend and teach their religion by word and writing, while submitting themselves to the control and guidance of ecclesiastical authority. Moreover, they may be appointed to give doctrinal instruction more or less officially, or may even become the defenders of Catholic truth. Thus they give excellent help to the clergy in teaching catechism, the lay masters in our schools give religious instruction, and some laymen have received a missio canonica, or due ecclesiastical authorization, to teach the religious sciences in universities and seminaries; the important point in this, as in other matters, is for them to be submissive to the legitimate teaching authority.
As to jurisdiction and administration
The principle is that the laity as such have no share in the spiritual jurisdiction and government of the Church; but they may be commissioned or delegated by ecclesiastical authority to exercise certain rights, especially when there is no question of strictly spiritual jurisdiction, for instance, in the administration of property. The laity are incapable, if not by Divine law at least by canon law, of real jurisdiction in the Church, according to chap. x, "De constit." (lib. I. tit. ii): "Attendentes quod laicis etiam religiosis super ecclesiis et personis ecclesiasticis nulla sit atributa facultas, quos obsequendi manet necessitas non auctoritas imperandi", i.e., the laity have no authority over things or persons ecclesiastical; it is their duty to obey not to command. Therefore no official acts requiring real ecclesiastical jurisdiction can be properly performed by the laity; if performed by them, they are null and void. A layman therefore cannot be at the head of a Church or any Christian community, nor can he legislate in spiritual matters, no act as judge in essentially ecclesiastical cases. In particular, the laity (and by this word we here include the secular authority) cannot bestow ecclesiastical jurisdiction on clerics under the form of an election properly so called, conferring the right to an episcopal or other benefice. An election by the laity alone, or one in which the laity took part, would be absolutely null and void (c. lvi, "De elect.") (see ELECTION). But this refers to canonical election strictly so called, conferring jurisdiction on the right to receive it; if it is merely a question, on the other hand, of selecting an individual, either by way or presentation or a similar process, the laity are not excluded, for the canonical institution, the source of spiritual jurisdiction, is exclusively reserved to the ecclesiastical authority. That is why no objection can be raised against the principle we have laid down from the fact that the people took part in the episcopal elections in the first ages of the Church; to speak more accurately, the people manifested their wish rather than took part in the election; the real electors were the clerics; and lastly, the bishops who were present were the judges of the election, so that in reality the final decision rested in the hands of the ecclesiastical authority. It cannot be denied that in the course of time the secular power encroached on the ground of spiritual jurisdiction, especially in the case of episcopal elections; but the Church always asserted her claim to independence where spiritual jurisdiction was involved, as may be clearly seen in the history of the famous dispute about investitures (q.v.).
When jurisdiction properly so called is duly protected, and there is question of administering temporal goods, the laity may and do enjoy as a fact real rights recognized by the Church. The most important is that of presentation or election in the wide sense of the term, now known as nomination, by which certain laymen select for the ecclesiastical authorities the person whom they wish to see invested with certain benefices or offices. The best known example is that of nomination to sees and other benefices by temporal princes, who have obtained that privilege by concordats. Another case recognized and carefully provided for in canon law is the right of patronage. This right is granted to those who from their own resources have established a benefice or who have at least amply endowed it (contributing more than one-third of the revenue). The patrons can, from the moment of foundation, reserve to themselves and their descendants, the right of active and passive patronage, not to mention other privileges rather honorary in their nature; in exchange for these rights, they undertake to protect and maintain their foundation. The right of active patronage consists principally in the presentation of the cleric to be invested with the benefice by the ecclesiastical authorities, provided he fulfils the requisite conditions. The right of passive patronage consists in the fact that the candidates for the benefice are to be selected from the descendants or the family of the founder. The patrons enjoy by right a certain precedence, among other things the right to a more prominent seat in the churches founded or supported by them; sometimes, also, they enjoy other honours; they can reserve to themselves a part in the administration of the property of the benefice; finally, if they fall upon evil days, the Church is obliged to help them from the property that was acquired through the generosity of their ancestors. All these rights, it is clear, and particularly that of presentation, are concessions made by the Church, and not privileges which the laity have of their own right.
It is but equitable that those who furnish the resources required by the Church should not be excluded from their administration. For that reason the participation of the laity in the administration of church property, especially parish property, is justified. Under the different names such as, "building councils", "parish councils", "trustees", etc., and with rules carefully drawn up or approved by the ecclesiastical authorities, and often even recognized by the civil law, there exist almost everywhere administrative organizations charged with the care of the temporal goods of churches and other ecclesiastical establishments; most of the members are laymen; they are selected in various ways, generally co-option, subject to the approval of the bishop. But this honourable office does not belong to the laity in their own right; it is a privilege granted to them by the Church, which alone has the right to administer her own property (Conc. Plen. Baltim. III, n. 284 sq.); they must conform to the regulations and act under the control of the ordinary, with whom ultimately the final decision rests; lastly and above all, they must confine their energies to temporal administration and never encroach on the reserved domain of spiritual things (Conc. Plen. Baltim. II, n. 201; see ECCLESIASTICAL BUILDINGS). Lastly, there are many educational and charitable institutions, founded and directed by laymen, and which are not strictly church property, though they are regularly subject to the control of the ordinary (Conc. Trid., Seess. VII, c. xv; Sess. XXII, c. viii); the material side of these works is not the most important, and to attain their end, the laity who govern there will above all be guided and directed by the advice of their pastors, whose loyal and respectful auxiliaries they will prove themselves to be.
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Sources
FERRARIS, Prompta Bibliotheca s.v. Laicus; SAGMULLER, Kirchenrecht (Freiburg, 1909), 48; LAURENTIUS, Instit. Juris eccles., n. 50 sq. (Freiburg, 1908); Kirchenlexicon, s.v. Clerus.
About this page
APA citation. Boudinhon, A. (1910). Laity. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved June 2, 2018 from New Advent: www.newadvent.org/cathen/08748a.htm
MLA citation. Boudinhon, Auguste. "Laity." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 8. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 2 Jun. 2018 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08748a.htm>.
Transcription. This article was transcribed for New Advent by Thomas M. Barrett. Dedicated to the St. Peter (Portland, Oregon) Parish Council.
Ecclesiastical approbation. Nihil Obstat. October 1, 1910. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.
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| Soft Vaccine Passport Rollout: LA vaccine recipients can keep digital passport |
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Posted by: Stone - 12-31-2020, 08:31 AM - Forum: Pandemic 2020 [Secular]
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Los Angeles vaccine patients will be given proof they've been vaccinated that they can add to their Apple Wallets
Business Insider |Dec 29, 2020
- Patients in Los Angeles County will soon receive digital records of their vaccine that they can store in their Apple Wallet, according to Bloomberg.
- Initially, the digital token is meant to remind people to come back for their second dose of the vaccine, but it could ultimately be shown at places like concerts and airports.
- Healthvana, the software company behind the technology, says it's talking to event venues, schools, and airlines.
People who get a COVID-19 vaccine in Los Angeles County will soon get digital reminders they can put in their Apple Wallets, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.
The idea is that the digital token, provided by the software company Healthvana, will remind patients to come in for their second dose of the vaccine - but it could ultimately be used to access event venues, or airports, should they bring in so-called health-passport systems.
"We're really concerned. We really want people to come back for that second dose," Claire Jarashow, the director of vaccine preventable disease control at Los Angeles County's Department of Public Health, told Bloomberg.
"We just don't have the capacity to be doing hundreds of medical record requests to find people's first doses and when they need to get their second," she said.
Los Angeles County has recorded nearly 720,000 coronavirus infections during the pandemic, far above the county with the second-highest total - Cook County in Illinois, with 385,000 - according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
One Los Angeles hospital is so overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients that it is being forced to treat some people in the gift shop and the chapel, as cases continue to surge after the holidays, CNN reported on Monday.
Healthvana CEO Ramin Bastani told Bloomberg the digital vaccination record, which could go in an Apple Wallet or equivalent Google platform and is set to be rolled out this week, would be useful "to prove to airlines, to prove to schools, to prove to whoever needs it." He added Healthvana was in talks with concert venues, employers, universities, and schools about applying its technology.
Bastani believes competing services to Healthvana's will emerge as vaccination becomes more widespread. "It's not going to be like one credit card you can use across the US," he said, adding: "Sometimes you can pay cash, sometimes you can use your Apple Wallet." Bloomberg said Los Angeles County had administered 38,850 doses of Pfizer and BioNTech's vaccine, having so far focused on healthcare workers, care-home residents, and paramedics.
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| Argentina legalizes abortion |
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Posted by: Stone - 12-31-2020, 08:00 AM - Forum: Abortion
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Argentina legalizes abortion
It is a dark day for Argentina’s most vulnerable children, and the carnivorous shrieks of joy that met their betrayal were an awful glimpse into the ongoing collapse of precious cultural values.
ARGENTINA, December 30, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – After a fierce debate that lasted through Wednesday night, the Argentine Senate voted at 4:00 a.m. to approve the government’s legislation legalizing abortion through the first 14 weeks of pregnancy. Thousands of pro-life activists, represented by the “Blue Wave” bandanas that mark their movement, waited outside for the result. The announcement, when it came, was crushing. Many sobbed with grief.
Crowds of gathered abortion supporters also waited, clad in green. When the vote was announced – 38-29 with one abstention – the abortion supporters went wild with joy. Children could finally be aborted legally in Argentina. The crowd of green was a writhing mass of celebration, coiling and uncoiling. It was, as C.S. Lewis described the Lady of the Green Kirtle, “as green as poison.” Ember smoke rose above the crowd as the result was announced.
The Congress approved the legislation earlier this month, the ninth time abortion activists have attempted to legalize abortion in Argentina. In 2018, a proposed abortion law galvanized pro-lifers across the country and the continent. Millions joined the Blue Wave movement, with more than four million marching in Argentina to protest legalization and massive rallies pushing back against abortion activists in Guatemala, Chile, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and elsewhere. Scenes of celebration awash with green last night are the inverse of that joyful night two years ago, when it was pro-lifers cheering in the streets.
Many pro-lifers expected a narrow victory last night, with the Catholic clergy calling on politicians to reject the bill – although there has been widespread disappointment with the extraordinarily muted response of native son Pope Francis, especially considering the wide range of issues on which he frequently comments. A strong majority – nearly 70 percent – of Argentines do not support abortion, and Evangelicals marched rank and file with Catholics to stop the proposal. President Alberto Fernandez, who heads Argentina’s left-wing coalition government, has long promised to ramrod legalization through anyhow.
Argentina’s Blue Wave movement is now regrouping to strategize a response. One speaker, addressing the mourners from a makeshift stage, promised to fight on: “We are witnessing a defeat of life. But our convictions do not change. We are going to make ourselves heard.” Pro-life activist Sara de Avellaneda told the Clarin newspaper that the fight against abortion will continue: “I came because I had to be here. We are not invisible. Not everything is a green tide. This law is unconstitutional and its implementation is not going to be easy.”
It is a dark day for Argentina’s most vulnerable children, and the carnivorous shrieks of joy that met their betrayal were an awful glimpse into the ongoing collapse of precious cultural values. The Reuters headline announced: “Sisters, We Did It.” But as Charles Camosy noted: “The bill was pushed by a male health minister and a male president who strongly campaigned against prenatal justice. Argentine women overwhelmingly rejected this bill.”
Their dedication to the protection of human life will be all the more essential in the days ahead.
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| December 31st - St. Sylvester |
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Posted by: Elizabeth - 12-30-2020, 11:06 PM - Forum: December
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Saint Sylvester
Pope and Confessor
(280-335)
Saint Sylvester was born in Rome. When he reached the age to dispose of his fortune, he took pleasure in giving hospitality to Christians passing through the city. He would take them with him, wash their feet, serve them at table, and in sum give them in the name of Christ, all the care that the most sincere charity inspired. One day Timothy of Antioch, an illustrious confessor of the Faith, arrived in Rome. No one dared receive him, but Sylvester considered it an honor. For a year Timothy, preaching Jesus Christ with unflagging zeal, received at Sylvester's dwelling the most generous hospitality. When this heroic man had won the palm of martyrdom, Sylvester took up his precious remains and buried them during the night. But he himself was soon denounced to the prefect and accused of having hidden the martyr's treasures. He replied, Timothy left to me only the heritage of his faith and courage. The governor threatened him with death and had him imprisoned, but Sylvester said to him, Senseless one, this very night it is you who will render an account to God. And the persecutor that evening swallowed a fish bone, and died in fact that night.
Fear of heavenly chastisements softened the guardians, and the brave young man was set at liberty. Sylvester's courageous acts became known to Saint Melchiad, Pope, who elevated him to the diaconate. He was a young priest when persecution of the Christians grew worse under the tyrant Diocletian. Idols were erected at the street corners, in the market-places, and over the public fountains, so that it was scarcely possible for a Christian to go abroad without being put to the test of offering sacrifice, with the alternative of apostasy or death. During this fiery trial, Sylvester strengthened the confessors and martyrs, and God preserved his life from many dangers. It was indeed he who was destined to succeed the Pope who had recognized his virtues.
His long pontificate of twenty-one years, famous for several reasons, is remembered in particular for the Council of Nicea, the Baptism of Constantine, and the triumph of the Church. Some authors would place Constantine's Baptism later, but there are numerous and serious testimonies which fix the emperor's reception into the Church under the reign of Saint Sylvester, and the Roman Breviary confirms that opinion. Constantine, while still pagan and little concerned for the Christians, whose doctrine was entirely unknown to him, was attacked by a kind of leprosy which soon covered his entire body. One night Saint Peter and Saint Paul, shining with light, appeared to him and commanded him to call for Pope Sylvester, who would cure him by giving him Baptism. In effect, the Pope instructed the royal neophyte and baptized him. Thus began the social reign of Jesus Christ: Constantine's conversion, culminating in the Edict of Milan in 313, had as its happy consequence that of the known world.
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| URGENT News about the Covid-19 Vaccine |
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Posted by: Deus Vult - 12-30-2020, 10:31 PM - Forum: Pandemic 2020 [Secular]
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Dr. Coleman is a general practitioner principal and a former Professor of Holistic Medical Sciences at the International Open University in Sri Lanka. He has an honorary DSc. He has given evidence to the House of Commons and the House of Lords in the UK.
In this video Dr. Coleman exposes a remarkable truth about the covid-19 vaccine. You must watch and share this. Click on the following link to go to Dr Coleman's website then click on the health button http://www.vernoncoleman.com
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| Fr. Yves Normandin has passed away |
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Posted by: Stone - 12-30-2020, 03:58 PM - Forum: Appeals for Prayer
- No Replies
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Dear friends, please pray for the repose of the soul of Fr. Yves Normandin, who passed away today [December 30, 2020] at 4:50 AM.
Requiem aeternam dona eis Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis. Requiescat in pace. Amen.
From Una Voce Canada:
The history of the [traditional] Mass in Quebec is inseparably tied up with the history of Fr. Yves Normandin and Sainte-Yvett’s parish in Montréal. On 14th May 1975 Fr. Normandin decided to revert to the Mass of his ordination. On April 18, however, the CCCB had decreed that, effective 30th June 1975, only ill and elderly priests could thenceforth celebrate the traditional Mass, and only in private.
Oct. 27th 1975 in a meeting with Abp. Grégoire Fr. Normandin was told ‘I must demand your resignation because you stubbornly insist on celebrating the Mass of St. Pius V, contrary to the ordinance of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops…… You are to resign immediately. Otherwise, effective Nov. 5, you shall lose all jurisdiction in this diocese.”
Nov. 9th Abp. Lefebvre celebrates pontifical high Mass at Sainte-Yvette’s. Nov. 12th. Mgr. Grégoire published a letter which declared the Mass of all time is no longer the Mass of today, and that the cure of Sainte-Yvette’s is deserving of his removal by virtue of his unrepentant disobedience to the Church.
To cut a long story short the battle moves on to court, to the barricading of the rectory doors and the changing of locks; to Fr. Normandin having to leave the rectory, on Dec. 15th by stepladder from the balcony to escape notice of the guards and attend court. The rectory doors are broken down and Fr. Normadin starts a new phase in the ‘Traditional Latin Mass Movement’ in Canada.
This phase is what I would characterize as that of a wandering priest. Fr. Normandin ‘As a young man, I had dreamed of an apostolate as an itinerant missionary in the jungle, with the White Fathers of Africa. Now, at 52 years of age, I discover that Canada, thanks to our own post conciliar bishops, has become a missionary frontier, once again a spiritually barren land, offering itself to priests loyal to infallible and indestructible Tradition.
‘Every Sunday about 400 continue to attend the Traditional Latin Mass in spacious quarters in Montréal and we have found the means to expand our ministry, to Ottawa and to Northern New Brunswick, to Toronto, London and Stratford, to Winnipeg and to Vancouver and Victoria and even as far away as Florida.’
After the expulsion of Fr. Normandin there arose a movement under the leadership of Mr. Roman Bhattacharya. It is from this movement's fidelity to the traditional Roman Liturgy that formed primarily the faithful group, which is at the origin of the community Saint-Paul in Montreal. Their first "priest", providentially, was Fr. Normandin who for nine years after the expulsion from his Parish, led a heroic life of missionary activity providing access to the traditional liturgy across the Canada. It is at this point that Fr. Normandin visited Vancouver to offer the Mass.
Fr. Normandin was parish priest of the Latin Community Catholic St-Paul October 7, 1985, to January 1, 2010, i.e. for almost twenty-five years before finally retiring.
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Unfortunately, Fr. Normandin became entangled in the snares set by the Conciliar Church and its targeted attack against traditional priests - Fr. Normandin ended up accepting the New Mass. Here are the words of Archbishop Lefebvre on the traps being set for priests of tradition:
Quote:We find ourselves now in a new period, in a new phase, and they would like to entice us also with certain traditional appearances, whereas in reality they put us in the margin, as they say, by the Decree! We are not concerned with this, since we are among those who do not accept the Council without reserve, who do not accept the New Mass. Therefore this is not for us! But that makes no difference, they seek and they have already succeeded in alluring some of our people, like Father Normandin of Canada, who has accepted the principle of the New Mass. By this means, he has been given the Mass of St. Pius V, he has been given a parish, so there! There are also Fathers Bleue and Le Pivain, and several others, who are lured by the bishops. The bishops are very happy to be able to have some of the priests who formerly were traditionalists and who agree to make this little contract which is moreover apparently very restrained but which at last puts them into the surroundings, in the bath, with those who have liberal ideas and who say the New Mass.
Please do pray for this priest, who started out doing so much good for souls!
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