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| Venerable Mary of Agreda: The Birth of Our Lord, As Described by Our Blessed Lady |
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Posted by: Stone - 12-27-2020, 08:18 AM - Forum: Christmas
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The Birth of Our Lord, As Described by Our Blessed Lady
Taken From "The Mystical City of God" by Venerable Mary of Agreda
Imprimatur: 1949
Our travelers arrived at the town of Bethlehem at four o'clock, a Saturday. As it was at the time of the winter solstice, the sun was already sinking and the night was falling. They entered the town, and wandered through many streets in search of a lodging-house or inn for staying over night. They knocked at the doors of their acquaintances and nearer family relations; but They were admitted nowhere and in many places they were met with harsh words and insults. The most modest Queen followed Her spouse through the crowds of people, while he went from house to house and from door to door. Although She knew that the hearts and the houses of men were to be closed to Them, and although to expose Her state at Her age to the public gaze was more painful to Her modesty than their failure to procure a night-lodging, She nevertheless wished to obey Saint Joseph and suffer this indignity and unmerited shame. While wandering through the streets they passed the Office of the Public Registry and They inscribed their names and paid the fiscal tribute in order to comply with the edict and not be obliged to return. They continued their search, betaking themselves to other houses. But having already applied at more than fifty different places, They found themselves rejected and sent away from them all.
It was nine o'clock at night when the most faithful Joseph, full of bitter and heart rending sorrow, returned to his most Prudent Spouse and said: "My Sweetest Lady, my heart is broken with sorrow at the thought of not only being able to shelter Thee as Thou deservest and as I desire, but in not being able to offer Thee even any kind of protection from the weather, or a place of rest, a thing rarely or never denied to the most poor and despised in the world. No doubt Heaven in thus allowing the hearts of men to be so unmoved as to refuse us a night-lodging, conceals some mystery. I now remember, Lady, that outside the city walls there is a cave, which serves as a shelter for the shepherds and their flocks. Let us seek it out; perhaps it is unoccupied, and we may there expect some assistance from Heaven, since we receive none from men on earth." The most prudent Virgin answered: "My spouse and My master, let not thy kindest heart be afflicted because the ardent wishes which the love of Thy Lord excites in thee cannot be fulfilled. Since I bear Him in My womb, let us, I beseech thee, give thanks for having disposed events in this way. The place of which thou speakest shall be most satisfactory to me. Let thy tears of sorrow be turned to tears of joy, and let us lovingly embrace poverty, which is the inestimable and precious treasure of My Most Holy Son. He came from Heaven in order to seek it, let us then afford Him an occasion to practice it in the joy of Our Souls; certainly I cannot be better delighted than to see thee procure it for me. Let us go gladly wherever the Lord shall guide us." The holy Angels accompanied the Heavenly pair , brilliantly lighting up the way, and when they arrived at the city gate they saw that the cave was forsaken and unoccupied.
The palace which the Supreme King of Kings and the Lord of Lords had chosen for entertaining His Eternal and Incarnate Son in this World was a most poor and insignificant hut or cave, to which Most Holy Mary and Joseph betook themselves after they had been denied all hospitality and the most ordinary kindness by their fellow-men, as I have described in the foregoing chapter. This place was held in such contempt that though the town of Bethlehem was full of strangers in want of night-shelter, none would demean or degrade himself so far as to make use of it for a lodging; for there was none who deemed it suitable or desirable for such a purpose, except the Teachers of humility and poverty, Christ Our Savior and his Purest Mother. On this account the wisdom of the Eternal Father had reserved it for Them, consecrating it in all its bareness, loneliness and poverty as the "First Temple of Light" [Malachy 4, 2, Ps. Ill, 4] and as the house of the True Sun of Justice, which was to arise for the upright of heart from the resplendent Aurora Mary, turning the night of sin into the daylight of grace.
Most Holy Mary and Saint Joseph entered the lodging thus provided for them and by the effulgence of the ten thousand Angels of their guard they could easily ascertain its poverty and loneliness, which they esteemed as favors and welcomed with tears of consolation and joy. Without delay the two Holy Travelers fell on Their knees and praised the Lord, giving Him thanks for His benefit, which they knew had been provided by His wisdom for His own hidden designs. Of this mystery the Heavenly Princess Mary had a better insight; for as soon as She sanctified the interior of the cave by Her sacred footsteps She felt a fullness of joy which entirely elevated and vivified Her. She besought the Lord to bless with a liberal hand all the inhabitants of the neighboring city, because by rejecting Her they had given occasion to the vast favors, which She awaited in this neglected cavern. It was formed entirely of the bare and coarse rocks, without any natural beauty or artificial adornment; a place intended merely for the shelter of animals; yet the Eternal Father had selected it for the shelter and dwelling-place of His Own Son.
The Angelic spirits, who like a celestial militia guarded their Queen and Mistress, formed themselves into cohorts in the manner of court guards in a royal palace. They showed themselves in their visible forms also to Saint Joseph; for on this occasion it was befitting that he should enjoy such a favor, on the one hand in order to assuage his sorrow by allowing him to behold this poor lodging thus beautified and adorned by their celestial presence, and on the other, in order to enliven and encourage him for the events which the Lord intended to bring about during that night, and in this forsaken place. The great Queen and Empress, who was already informed of the mystery to be transacted here, set about cleaning with Her Own hands the cave, which was so soon to serve as a royal throne and sacred mercy-seat; for neither did She want to miss this occasion for exercising Her humility, nor would She deprive Her Only-begotten Son of the worship and reverence implied by this preparation and cleansing of His temple.
Saint Joseph, mindful of the majesty of his Heavenly Spouse [which, it seemed to him, She was forgetting in Her ardent longing for humiliation], besought Her not to deprive Him of this work, which he considered as his alone; and he hastened to set about cleaning the floor and the corners of the cave, although the humble Queen continued to assist him therein. As the holy Angels were then present in visible forms, they were [according to our mode of speaking] abashed at such eagerness for humiliation, and they speedily emulated with each other to join in this work; or rather, in order to say it more succinctly, in the shortest time possible they had cleansed and set in order that cave, filling it with holy fragrance. Saint Joseph started a fire with the material which he had brought for that purpose. As it was very cold, they sat at the fire in order to get warm. They partook of the food which they had brought, and they ate this, their frugal supper, with incomparable joy of their souls. The Queen of Heaven was so absorbed and taken up with the thought of the impending mystery of Her Divine delivery, that She would not have partaken of food if She had not been urged there to by obedience to Her spouse.
After their supper they gave thanks to the Lord as was their custom. Having spent a short time in this prayer and conferring about the mysteries of the Incarnate Word, the Most Prudent Virgin felt the approach of the Most Blessed Birth. She requested Her spouse Saint Joseph to betake himself to rest and sleep as the night was already far advanced. The man of God yielded to the request of his Spouse and urged Her to do the same; and for this purpose he arranged and prepared a sort of couch with articles of wear in their possession, making use of a crib or manger , that had been left by the shepherds for their animals. Leaving Most Holy Mary in the portion of the cave thus furnished, Saint Joseph retired to a corner of the entrance, where he began to pray. He was immediately visited by the Divine Spirit and felt a most sweet and extraordinary influence, by which he was wrapt and elevated into an ecstasy. In it was shown him all that passed during that night in this blessed cave; for he did not return to consciousness until his Heavenly Spouse called him. Such was the sleep which Saint Joseph enjoyed in that night, more exalted and blessed than that of Adam in paradise [Gen. 21, 2].
The Queen of all creatures was called from Her resting place by a loud voice of the Most High, which strongly and sweetly raised Her above all created things and caused Her to feel new effects of Divine power; for this was one of the most singular and admirable ecstasies of Her Most Holy Life. Immediately also She was filled with new enlightenment and Divine influences, such as I have described in other places, until She reached the clear vision of the Divinity. The veil fell and She saw intuitively the Godhead Itself in such glory and plenitude of insight, as all the capacity of men and Angels could not describe or fully understand. All the knowledge of the Divinity and humanity of Her Most Holy Son, which She had ever received in former visions was renewed and, moreover, other secrets in the inexhaustible archives of the bosom of God were revealed to Her. I have not ideas or words sufficient and adequate for expressing what I have been allowed to see of these Sacraments by the Divine Light; and their abundance and multiplicity convince me of the poverty and want of proper expression in created language.
The Most High announced to His Virgin Mother, that the time of His coming into the World had arrived and what would be the manner in which this was now to be fulfilled and executed. The Most Prudent Lady perceived in this vision the purpose and exalted scope of these wonderful Mysteries and Sacraments, as well in so far as related to the Lord Himself as also in so far as they concerned creatures, for whose benefit they had been primarily decreed. She prostrated Herself before the throne of His Divinity and gave Him glory, magnificence, thanks and praise for Herself and for all creatures, such as was befitting the ineffable mercy and condescension of His Divine Love. At the same time She asked of the Divine Majesty new light and grace in order to be able worthily to undertake the service and worship and the rearing up of the Word made Flesh, whom She was to bear in Her arms and nourish with Her virginal milk. This petition the Heavenly Mother brought forward with the profoundest humility, as one who understood the greatness of this new sacrament. She held Herself unworthy of the office of rearing up and conversing as a Mother with a God Incarnate of which even the highest Seraphim are incapable. Prudently and humbly did the Mother of Wisdom ponder and weigh this matter. And because She humbled Herself to the dust and acknowledged Her nothingness in the presence of the Almighty, therefore His Majesty raised Her up and confirmed anew upon Her the title of Mother of God. He commanded Her to exercise this office and ministry of a legitimate and true Mother of Himself; that She should treat Him as the Son of the Eternal Father and at the same time the Son of Her womb. All this could be easily entrusted to such a Mother, in whom was contained an excellence that words cannot express.
The Most Holy Mary remained in this ecstasy and beatific vision for over an hour immediately preceding Her Divine delivery. At the moment when She issued from it and regained the use of Her senses She felt and saw that the Body of the Infant God began to move in Her virginal womb; how. releasing and freeing Himself from the place which in the course of nature He had occupied for nine months. He now prepared to issue forth from that sacred bridal chamber. This movement not only did not cause any pain or hardship, as happens with the other daughters of Adam and Eve in their childbirths; but filled Her with incomparable joy and delight. causing in Her Soul and in Her Virginal Body such exalted and Divine effects that they exceed all thoughts of men. Her body became so spiritualized with the beauty of Heaven that She seemed no more a human and earthly creature. Her countenance emitted rays of light, like a sun incarnadined, and shone in indescribable earnestness and majesty, all inflamed with fervent love. She was kneeling in the manger. Her eyes raised to Heaven, Her hands joined and folded at Her breast, Her soul wrapped in the Divinity and She Herself was entirely deified. In this position, and at the end of the Heavenly rapture, the Most Exalted Lady gave to the World The Only-begotten of the Father and Her Own, Our Savior Jesus, True God and man, at the hour of midnight, on a Sunday, in the year of the creation of the world five thousand one hundred and ninety-nine [5199], which is the date given in the Roman Church, and which date has been manifested to me as the true and certain one.
At the end of the beatific rapture and vision of the Mother ever Virgin, which I have described above, was born the Sun of Justice, the Only-begotten of the Eternal Father and of Mary most pure, beautiful, refulgent and immaculate, leaving Her untouched in Her virginal integrity and purity and making Her more Godlike and forever sacred; for He did not divide, but penetrated the virginal chamber as the rays of the sun penetrate the crystal shrine, lighting it up in prismatic beauty.
The Infant God therefore was brought forth from the virginal chamber unencumbered by any corporeal or material substance foreign to Himself. But He came forth glorious and transfigured for the Divine and Infinite Wisdom decreed and ordained that the Glory of His Most Holy Soul should in His birth overflow and communicate itself to His body, participating in the gifts of glory in the same way as happened afterwards in His Transfiguration on Mount Tabor in the presence of the Apostles [Matth. 17, 2]. This miracle was not necessary in order to penetrate the virginal enclosure and to leave unimpaired the virginal integrity; for without this Transfiguration God could have brought this about by other miracles. Thus say the holy doctors, who see no other miracle in this Birth than that the Child was born without impairing the virginity of the Mother. It was the will of God that the Most Blessed Virgin should look upon the body of Her Son, the God-Man, for this first time in a glorified state for two reasons. The one was in order that by this Divine Vision the Most Prudent Mother should conceive the highest reverence for the Majesty of Him whom She was to treat as her Son, the True God-Man. Although She was already informed of His two-fold nature, the Lord nevertheless ordained that by ocular demonstration She be filled with new graces, corresponding to the greatness of Her Most Holy Son, which was thus manifested to Her in a visible manner. The second reason was to reward by this wonder the fidelity and holiness of the Divine Mother; for Her most pure and chaste eyes, that had turned away from all earthly things for love of Her Most Holy Son, were to see Him at His very Birth in this glory and thus be rejoiced and rewarded for Her loyalty and beautiful love.
The sacred evangelist Luke tells us that the Mother Virgin, having brought forth Her first begotten Son, wrapped Him in swathing clothes and placed Him in a manger. He does not say that She received Him in Her arms from Her virginal womb; for this did not pertain to the purpose of his narrative. But the two sovereign princes, Saint Michael and Saint Gabriel, were the assistants of the Virgin on this occasion. They stood by at proper distance in human corporeal forms at the moment when the Incarnate Word, penetrating the virginal chamber by Divine power, issued forth to the light, and they received Him in their hands with ineffable reverence.
In the same manner as a priest exhibits the Sacred Host to the people for adoration, so these two celestial ministers presented to the Divine Mother Her Glorious and Refulgent Son. All this happened in a short space of time. In the same moment in which the Holy Angels thus presented the Divine Child to His Mother, both Son and Mother looked upon each other, and in this look, She wounded with love the Sweet Infant and was at the same time exalted and transformed in Him. From the arms of the Holy Princes the Prince of All the Heavens spoke to His Holy Mother: "Mother, become like unto Me, since on this day, for the human existence, which Thou hast today given Me, I will give Thee another more exalted existence in grace, assimilating Thy existence as a mere creature to the likeness of Me, who am God and Man." The Most Prudent Mother answered: "Trahe me post Te, curremus in odorem unguentorum tuorum" [Cant. 1, 3]. Raise me, elevate Me, Lord, and I will run after Thee in the odor of Thy ointments. In the same way many of the hidden mysteries of the Canticles were fulfilled; and other sayings which passed between the Infant God and the Virgin Mother had been recorded in that book of songs, as for instance: "My Beloved to Me, and I to Him, and His desire is toward Me" [Cant. 2, 16]. "Behold Thou art beautiful, my friend, and Thy eyes are dove's eyes. Behold, My beloved, for Thou art beautiful;" and many other sacramental words which to mention would unduly prolong this chapter.
The words, which Most Holy Mary heard from the mouth of Her Most Holy Son, served to make Her understand at the same time the interior acts of His Holiest Soul united with the Divinity; in order that by imitating them She might become like unto Him. This was one of the greatest blessings, which the Most Faithful and Fortunate Mother received at the hands of her Son, the True God and man, not only because it was continued from that day on through all Her life, but because it furnished Her the means of copying His Own Divine life as faithfully as was possible to a mere creature. At the same time the Heavenly Lady perceived and felt the presence of the Most Holy Trinity, and She heard the voice of the Eternal Father saying: "This is My Beloved Son, in whom I am greatly pleased and delighted," [Matth. 17, 5]. The Most Prudent Mother made entirely Godlike in the overflow of so many sacraments, answered: "Eternal Father and Exalted God, Lord and Creator of the Universe, give Me anew Thy permission and benediction to receive in My arms the Desired of Nations [Agg. 2, 8]; and teach Me to fulfill as Thy unworthy Mother and lowly slave, Thy Holy Will." Immediately She heard a voice which said: "Receive Thy Only begotten Son, imitate Him and rear Him; and remember, that Thou must sacrifice Him when I shall demand it of Thee." The Divine Mother answered: "Behold the creature of Thy hands, adorn Me with Thy grace so that Thy Son and My God receive Me for His slave; and if Thou wilt come to My aid with Thy Omnipotence, I shall be faithful in His service; and do Thou count it no presumption in Thy insignificant creature, that She bear in Her arms and nourish at Her breast Her Own Lord and Creator."
After this interchange of Words, so full of mysteries, the Divine Child suspended the miracle of His Transfiguration, or rather He inaugurated the other miracle, that of suspending the effects of glory in His Most Holy Body, confining them solely to His Soul; and He now assumed the appearance of one capable of suffering. In this form the Most Pure Mother now saw Him and, still remaining in a kneeling position and adoring Him with profound humility and reverence, She received Him in Her arms from the hands of the Holy Angels. And when She saw Him in Her arms, She spoke to Him and said: "My sweetest Love and light of My eyes and being of My Soul, Thou hast arrived in good hour into this World as the Sun of Justice [Malach. 4, 2], in order to disperse the darkness of sin and death! True God of the True God, save Thy servants and let all flesh see Him, who shall draw upon it salvation [Is. 9, 2]. Receive Me Thy servant as Thy slave and supply My deficiency, in order that I may properly serve Thee. Make Me, My Son, such as Thou desirest Me to be in Thy service." Then the Most Prudent Mother turned toward the Eternal Father to offer up to Him His Only begotten, saying: "Exalted Creator of all the Universe, here is the altar and the sacrifice acceptable in Thy eyes [Malachy 3, 4,]. From this hour on, O Lord, look upon the human race with mercy; and inasmuch as we have deserved Thy anger; it is now time that Thou be appeased in Thy Son and Mine. Let Thy justice now come to rest, and let Thy mercy be exalted; for on this account the Word has clothed Itself in the semblance of sinful flesh [Rom. 8, 3], and became a Brother of mortals and sinners [Philip 2, 7]. In this title I recognize them as brothers and I intercede for them from my inmost soul. Thou, Lord, hast made me the Mother of Thy Only begotten without My merit, since this dignity is above all merit of a creature; but I partly owe to men the occasion of this incomparable good fortune; since it is on their account that I am the Mother of the Word made man and Redeemer of them all. I will not deny them My love, or remit My care and watchfulness for their salvation. Receive, Eternal God, My wishes and petitions for that which is according to Thy pleasure and good will."
The Mother of mercy turned also toward all mortals and addressed them, saying: "Be consoled ye afflicted and rejoice ye disconsolate. be raised up ye fallen, come to rest ye uneasy. Let the just be gladdened and the Saints be rejoiced; let the Heavenly spirits break out in new jubilee, let the Prophets ahd Patriarchs of limbo draw new hope, and let all the generations praise and magnify The Lord, Who renews His wonders. Come, come ye poor; approach ye little ones, without fear, for in My arms I bear the Lion made a Lamb, the Almighty, become weak, the Invincible subdued. Come to draw life, hasten to obtain salvation, approach to gain eternal rest, since I have all this for all, and it will be given to you freely and communicated to you without envy. Do not be slow and heavy of heart, ye sons of men; and Thou, O Sweetest Joy of My Soul, give Me permission to receive from Thee that kiss desired by all creatures." Therewith the Most Blessed Mother applied Her most chaste and heavenly lips in order to receive the loving caresses of the Divine Child, Who on His part, as Her True Son, had desired them from Her.
Holding Him in Her arms, She thus served as the altar and the sanctuary, where the ten thousand Angels adored in visible human forms Their Creator Incarnate. And as the Most Blessed Trinity assisted in an especial manner at the Birth of the Word, Heaven was as it were emptied of its inhabitants, for the Whole Heavenly Court had betaken itself to that Blessed Cave of Bethlehem and was adoring the Creator in His garb and habit of a Pilgrim [Phil. 2, 7]. And in their concert of praise the Holy Angels intoned the new canticle: "Gloria in excelsis Deo, et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis" [Luke 2, 14]. In sweetest and sonorous harmony they repeated it, transfixed in wonder at the new miracles then being fulfilled and at the unspeakable prudence, grace, humility and beauty of that tender Maiden of fifteen years, who had become the worthy Trustee and Minister of such vast and magnificent sacraments.
It was now time to call Saint Joseph, the faithful spouse of the most discreet and attentive Lady.
As I have said above he was wrapped in ecstasy, in which he was informed by Divine Revelation of all the Mysteries of this Sacred Birth during this night. But it was becoming that he should see, and, before all other mortals, should in his corporeal faculties and senses be present and experience, adore and reverence the Word Made Flesh; for he of all others had been chosen to act as the faithful warden of this Great Sacrament. At the desire of his Heavenly Spouse he issued from his ecstasy and, on being restored to consciousness, the first sight of his eyes was the Divine Child in the arms of the Virgin Mother reclining against Her sacred countenance and breast. There he adored Him in profoundest humility and in tears of joy. He kissed his feet in great joy and admiration, which no doubt would have taken away and destroyed life in him, if Divine power had not preserved it; and he certainly would have lost all the use of his senses, if the occasion had permitted. When Saint Joseph had begun to adore the Child, the Most Prudent Mother asked leave of Her Son to arise [for until then She had remained on Her knees] and, while Saint Joseph handed Her the wrappings and swaddling-clothes, which She had brought, She clothed Him with incomparable reverence, devotion and tenderness. Having thus swathed and clothed Him, His Mother, with Heavenly wisdom, laid Him in the crib, as related by Saint Luke [Luke 2, 7]. For this purpose She had arranged some straw and hay upon a stone in order to prepare for the God-Man His first resting-place upon earth next to that which He had found in Her arms. According to Divine ordainment an ox from the neighboring fields ran up in great haste and, entering the cave, joined the beast of burden brought by the Queen. The Blessed Mother commanded them, with what show of reverence was possible to them to acknowledge and adore Their Creator. The humble animals obeyed their Mistress and prostrated themselves before the Child, warming Him with their breath and rendering Him the service refused by men. And thus the God made man was placed between two animals, wrapped in swaddling-clothes and wonderfully fulfilling the prophecy, that "the ox knoweth His owner, and the ass His master's crib; but Israel hath not known Me, and My people hath not understood." [Is. 13.]
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| G.K. Chesterton: God in the Cave |
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Posted by: Stone - 12-27-2020, 08:15 AM - Forum: Christmas
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We all know the story of how Herod, alarmed at some rumor of a mysterious rival, remembered the wild gesture of the capricious despots of Asia and ordered a massacre of suspects of the new generation of the populace. Everyone knows the story; but not everyone has perhaps noted its place in the story of the strange religions of men. Not everybody has seen the significance even of its very contrast with the Corinthian columns and Roman pavement of that conquered and superficially civilized world. Only, as the purpose in his dark spirit began to show and shine in the eyes of the Idumean, a seer might perhaps have seen something like a great grey ghost that looked over his shoulder; have seen behind him filling the dome of night and hovering for the last time over history, that vast and fearful face that was Moloch of the Carthaginians; awaiting his last tribute from a ruler of the races of Shem. The demons also, in that first festival of Christmas, feasted after their own fashion.
Unless we understand the presence of that enemy, we shall not only miss the point of Christianity but even miss the point of Christmas. Christmas for us in Christendom has become one thing, and in one sense even a simple thing. But like all the truths of that tradition, it is in another sense a very complex thing. Its unique note is the simultaneous striking of many notes; of humility, of gaiety, of gratitude, of mystical fear, but also of vigilance and of drama.
There is something defiant in it also; something that makes the abrupt bells at midnight sound like the great guns of a battle that has just been won. All this indescribable thing that we call the Christmas atmosphere only hangs in the air as something like a lingering fragrance or fading vapor from the exultant explosion of that one hour in the Judean hills nearly two thousand years ago. But the savor is still unmistakable, and it is something too subtle or too solitary to be covered by our use of the word peace. By the very nature of the story the rejoicings in the cavern were rejoicings in a fortress or an outlaw's den; properly understood it is not unduly flippant to say they were rejoicings in a dug-out.
It is not only true that such a subterranean chamber was a hiding-place from enemies; and that the enemies were already scouring the stony plain that lay above it like a sky. It is not only that the very horse-hoofs of Herod might in that sense have passed like thunder over the sunken head of Christ. It is also that there is in that image a true idea of an out-post, of a piercing through the rock and an entrance into an enemy territory .There is in this buried Divinity an idea of undermining the world; of shaking the towers and palaces from below; even as Herod the great king felt that earthquake under him and swayed with his swaying palace.
That is perhaps the mightiest of the mysteries of the cave. It is already apparent that though men are said to have looked for Hell under the earth, in this case it is rather Heaven that is under the earth. And there follows in this strange story the idea of an upheaval of Heaven. That is the paradox of the whole position; that henceforth the highest thing can only work from below. Royalty can only return to its own by a sort of rebellion. Indeed the Church from its beginnings, and perhaps especially in its beginning, was not so much a principality as a revolution against the prince of the world.
This sense that the world had been conquered by the great usurper, and was in his possession, has been much deplored or derided by those optimists who identify enlightenment with ease. But it was responsible for all that thrill of defiance and a beautiful danger that made the good news seem to be really both good and new. It was in truth against a huge unconscious usurpation that it raised a revolt, and originally so obscure a revolt. Olympus still occupied the sky like a motionless cloud molded into many mighty forms; philosophy still sat in the high places and even on the thrones of the kings, when Christ was born in the cave and Christianity in the catacombs.
In both cases we may remark the same paradox of revolution; the sense of something despised and of something feared. The cave in one aspect is only a hole or corner into which the outcasts are swept like rubbish; yet in the other aspect it is a hiding-place of something valuable which the tyrants are seeking like treasure. In one sense they are there because the innkeeper would not even remember them, and in another because the king can never forget them.
We have already noted that this paradox appeared also in the treatment of the early Church. It was important while it was still insignificant, and certainly while it was still impotent. It was important solely because it was intolerable; and in that sense it is true to say that it was intolerable because it was intolerant. It was resented, because, in its own still and almost secret way, it had declared war. It had risen out of the ground to wreck the heaven and earth of heathenism. It did not try to destroy all that creation of gold and marble; but it contemplated a world without it. It dared to look right through it as though the gold and marble had been glass.
Those who charged the Christians with burning down Rome with firebrands were slanderers; but they were at least far nearer to the nature of Christianity than those among the moderns who tell us that the Christians were a sort of ethical society, being Martyred in a languid fashion for telling men they had a duty to their neighbors, and only mildly disliked because they were meek and mild.
Herod had his place, therefore, in the miracle play of Bethlehem because he is the menace to the Church Militant and shows it from the first as under persecution and fighting for its life. For those who think this a discord, it is a discord that sounds simultaneously with the Christmas bells. For those who think the idea of the Crusade is one that spoils the idea of the Cross, we can only say that for them the idea of the Cross is spoiled; the idea of the Cross is spoiled quite literally in the cradle.
It is not here to the purpose to argue with them on the abstract ethics of fighting; the purpose in this place is merely to sum up the combination of ideas that make up the Christian and Catholic idea, and to note that all of them are already crystallized in the first Christmas story.
They are three distinct and commonly contrasted things which are nevertheless one thing; but this is the only thing which can make them one.
The first is the human instinct for a Heaven that shall be as literal and almost as local as a home. It is the idea pursued by all poets and pagans making myths; that a particular place must be the shrine of the god or the abode of the blest; that fairyland is a land; or that the return of the ghost must be the resurrection of the body. I do not here reason about the refusal of rationalism to satisfy this need. I only say that if the rationalists refuse to satisfy it, the pagans will not be satisfied.
The second element is a philosophy larger than other philosophies. It looks at the world through a hundred windows where the ancient stoic or the modern agnostic only looks through one. It sees life with thousands of eyes belonging to thousands of different sorts of people, where the other is only the individual stand point of a stoic or an agnostic. It has something for all moods of man, it finds work for all kinds of men, it understands secrets of psychology, it is aware of depths of evil, it is able to distinguish between real and unreal marvels and miraculous exceptions, it trains itself in tact about hard cases, all with a multiplicity and subtlety and imagination about the varieties of life which is far beyond the bald or breezy platitudes of most ancient or modern moral philosophy. In a word, there is more in it; it finds more in existence to think about; it gets more out of life. Masses of this material about our many-sided life have been added since the time of Saint Thomas Aquinas. But Saint Thomas Aquinas alone would have found himself limited in the world of Confucius or of Comte.
The third point is this; that while it is local enough for poetry and larger than any other philosophy, it is also a challenge and a fight. While it is deliberately broadened to embrace every aspect of truth, it is still stiffly embattled against every mode of error. It gets every kind of man to fight for it, it gets every kind of weapon to fight with, it widens its knowledge of the things that are fought for and against with every art of curiosity or sympathy; but it never forgets that it is fighting. It proclaims peace on earth and never forgets why there was war in Heaven.
This is the trinity of truths symbolized here by the three types in the old Christmas story; the shepherds and the kings and that other king who warred upon the children. It is simply not true to say that other religions and philosophies are in this respect its rivals. It is not true to say that anyone of them combines these characters; it is not true to say that anyone of them pretends to combine them.
Buddhism may profess to be equally mystical; it does not even profess to be equally military. Islam may profess to be equally military; it does not even profess to be equally metaphysical and subtle. Confucianism may profess to satisfy the need of the philosophers for order and reason; it does not even profess to satisfy the need of the mystics for miracle and Sacrament and the consecration of concrete things. There are many evidences of this presence of a spirit at once universal and unique. One will serve here which is the symbol of the subject of this chapter; that no other story, no pagan legend or philosophical anecdote or historical event, does in fact affect any of us with that peculiar and even poignant impression produced on us by the word Bethlehem.
No other birth of a god or childhood of a sage seems to us to be Christmas or anything like Christmas. It is either too cold or too frivolous, or too formal and classical, or too simple and savage, or too occult and complicated. Not one of us, whatever his opinions, would ever go to such a scene with the sense that he was going home. He might admire it because it was poetical, or because it was philosophical, or any number of other things in separation; but not because it was itself. The truth is that there is a quite peculiar and individual character about the hold of this story on human nature; it is not in its psychological substance at all like a mere legend or the life of a great man. It does not exactly, in the ordinary sense, turn our minds to greatness; to those extensions and exaggerations of humanity which are turned into gods and heroes, even by the healthiest sort of hero-worship. It does not exactly work outwards, adventurously, to the wonders to be found at the ends of the earth.
It is rather something that surprises us from behind, from the hidden and personal part of our being; like that which can sometimes take us off our guard in the pathos of small objects or the blind pieties of the poor. It is rather as if a man had found an inner room in the very heart of his own house, which he had never suspected; and seen a light from within.
It is as if he found something at the back of his own heart that betrayed him into good. It is not made of what the world would call strong materials; or rather it is made of materials whose strength is in that winged levity with which they brush us and pass. It is all that is in us but a brief tenderness that is there made eternal; all that means no more than a momentary softening that is in some strange fashion become a strengthening and a repose; it is the broken speech and the lost word that are made positive and suspended unbroken; as the strange kings fade into a far country and the mountains resound no more with the feet of the shepherds; and only the night and the cavern lie in fold upon fold over something more human than humanity.
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| The Mother of the Savior by Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange |
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Posted by: Stone - 12-27-2020, 08:09 AM - Forum: Resources Online
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Selections of The Mother of the Savior
by Fr. Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, O. P.
Nihil Obstat and Imprimi Potest 1941 and 1948
The Dominican theologian-author's work, THE MOTHER OF THE SAVIOR, is not just another pious book about Mary, although there would not be a diminishment of the honor due Mary if it were, but this work is considered one of the finest summations of the Catholic Church's teaching about the Mother of God. From the pen of the probably the twentieth century's greatest theologian, this work is filled with the spirit of faith and inspired by love begotten of sanctity. It is "an exposition of the principal theses of Mariology in their bearing on our interior life." The doctrines presented here are based not the author's personal ones, but on on that of the school of St. Thomas Aquinas.
It's purpose is aimed at increasing in us a love for and devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary by teaching us more about her. The Book is divided into three main sections, The Divine Maternity and the Plenitude of Grace, and Mary, Mother of All Men and Her Universal Mediation and Our Interior Life.
Catholic Tradition has selected a large extract culled from each section, covering several chapters. The selected chapters include Garrigou-Lagrange's section on Mary's perpetual Virginity because this teaching of the Church is under serious incessant attack these days, a grave insult to the Mother of God and to Our Savior. Originally there was included a chapter on St. Joseph, which is exquisite and so worthy of this most cherished Saint of popular devotion, the Chaste Spouse of Mary and Foster-Father of our Lord Savior.
The Mother of the Savior can be read online HERE.
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| Our Lady of Fatima |
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Posted by: Elizabeth - 12-26-2020, 11:29 PM - Forum: Catholic Prophecy
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Our Lady of Fatima:
"Even in the highest positions, it is Satan who will rule and decide the course of events. He will even be able to penetrate to the highest heights of the Church.... There will also come a time of hard trials for the Church; cardinals will be against cardinals, bishops against bishops.... Satan will stand in the midst of their ranks... The Church will be obscured and the world plunged into confusion..."
"Le Sacré-Coeur et la France" ("The Sacred Heart and France") by Marquis de la Franquerie, page 26
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| Minnesota lawmakers claim 40-percent inflation in state COVID death numbers |
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Posted by: Stone - 12-26-2020, 04:45 PM - Forum: Pandemic 2020 [Secular]
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Minnesota lawmakers claim 40-percent inflation in state COVID death numbers
State senator Scott Jensen, a practicing physician who is calling for an audit, noted that 'doctors and hospitals have an incentive to,
if you will, massage the numbers.'
Minnesota state senator Scott Jensen, M.D.
December 23, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) — Two Minnesota lawmakers have called for an investigation of the state’s COVID-19 mortality data after finding that hundreds of recent deaths may have been misattributed to the virus.
State senator Scott Jensen and state representative Mary Franson, both Republicans, released a video last week pressing officials to “audit the death certificates” in light of discrepancies uncovered by Franson.
After being “given the raw files from [Minnesota Department of Health] on the death certificates,” Franson said, “my team and I” “listed several examples of records where COVID is the underlying condition and where COVID is only mentioned.”
“We looked at 2,800 death certificate data points, but of those, what we found was that 2,000 of them had COVID-19 as the underlying cause of death but 800 did not,” she noted. “That would mean that we’ve had the number inflated by 40 percent,” Franson said.
She noted examples of an auto accident death counted as a virus fatality because the decedent still had “COVID in the system.”
“I have other examples where COVID isn’t the underlying cause of death,” she added. “We have a fall. Another example, we have a freshwater drowning. We have dementia. We have a stroke and multi-organ failure,” Franson related.
“The CDC wants accuracy on the death certificates, and what Representative Franson has uncovered is not quibbling. We are not trying to be political, we are just trying to follow facts,” Senator Jensen said. He emphasized that the death certificates “didn’t from some secret treasure trove.” “That information is public data. Anybody can request that data,” he said.
Substantial issues with COVID-19 data have raised concerns in several states, including in Minnesota, and prompted a joint audit effort by almost a dozen state auditors in September.
Florida’s death numbers were challenged earlier this year, for example, after it was found that medical commissioners counted non-residents among the state’s COVID-19 fatalities, while the health department did not.
At least 3,700 ostensible COVID-19 deaths were flagged by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in July for being the result of “intentional and unintentional injury, poisoning and other adverse events.”
“Right now we’re at scary numbers that are being reported, but we’re not told the full information,” Franson said. “Our state is shut down yet again, we have people that are unemployed, we have businesses that are being threatened, business owners that are being threatened to go to jail because we don’t have the truth.”
“I want people to have the truth so that they can make their own informed decisions on how they want to live with their life, instead of government saying this is how we feel you need to live your life and if you don’t live your life the way government says, well, ‘We’ve got a jail cell for you,’” Sen. Jensen said.
“That’s not living,” he added.
Jensen, a practicing physician, also noted that “doctors and hospitals have an incentive to, if you will, massage the numbers.”
“We saw some 22 billion dollars distributed from the feds to hospitals based on what was the impact of COVID-19,” he explained, referring to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act signed by President Trump in March. The CARES Act authorized “[a] Medicare add-on payment of 20%” for all coronavirus patients.
“[The Department of Health and Human Services] is allocating funding to hospitals that have a high number of confirmed COVID-19-positive inpatient admissions,” Jensen noted.
For months, Sen. Jensen has condemned “perverse incentives” enabled by federal COVID-19 relief funding, which have been attested to by CDC chief Robert Redfield, among others.
“Hospital administrators might well want to see COVID-19 attached to a discharge summary or a death certificate,” Jensen said on Facebook in April. “Why? Because if it’s a straightforward, garden-variety pneumonia that a person is admitted to the hospital for — if they’re Medicare — typically, the diagnosis-related group lump sum payment would be $5,000,” he continued.
“But if it’s COVID-19 pneumonia, then it’s $13,000, and if that COVID-19 pneumonia patient ends up on a ventilator, it goes up to $39,000,” he said.
“You can diagnose COVID-19 without a positive test; you can diagnose it simply on the symptoms and if there’s transmission in the community,” Jensen stated in his video with Rep. Fransen from last week. “I’ve talked to hospital administrators and they’ve assured me that that is happening,” Jensen reported.
“You’re not going to see hospital administrators jump up and volunteer that information ... but you can certainly see that if you can get 77,000 per admission or 50,000 per admission, that is an incentive.”
Liberal media outlets like The New York Times have attacked Jensen repeatedly for his statements, although left-wing “fact-checks” have vindicated his claims. The senator has been the target of anonymous accusations submitted to Minnesota’s medical board as well, which have charged him with spreading “misinformation.” The board cleared Jensen of any wrongdoing in July.
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| Did Communism ever die? Our current crisis in light of Our Lady of Fatima |
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Posted by: Stone - 12-26-2020, 04:39 PM - Forum: Socialism & Communism
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Opinion piece:
Did Communism ever die? Our current crisis in light of Our Lady of Fatima
It seems now to me, looking back, how, while we went to sleep thinking that Communism was effectively dead, other themes and strategies were developed that still aimed at establishing modified Communist systems in the world.
December 24, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – In light of our current election crisis, involving a Joe Biden/Kamala Harris team and with their cooperation with the socialist project of the Great Resent looming over us, much has been said about an impending Communist threat. Suddenly, we realize how China has been influencing the affairs of the West by way of party members working in Western companies, but also the news that China might have been involved in the current election fraud shook many of us. We suddenly woke up to the reality of a strong and strategic Communist presence in the West.
Yet, did we not largely think that Communism had essentially died with the fall of the Soviet Union at the beginning of the 1990s? But let us now look back and reflect upon the question: Did Communism ever die? I am writing these reflections as someone born and raised in Germany and having studied in Germany and lived in Switzerland for some time, and having moved to the U.S. some 13 years ago – that is to say, from a European-American perspective.
Looking back, it baffles me how certain key steps were taken right at the formal end of the Soviet Union. Remember how not long after that political change, the U.S. started trading more intensely with China, something that many conservatives have still called “trading with the enemy.” Already in 1993, President Bill Clinton proposed a policy of “constructive engagement” with China, and in 2000, the same president granted China permanent normal trade relations with the United States and paving the way for China to join the World Trade Organization in 2001. How could this have happened, we now ask, that the U.S. would allow itself to be so intertwined with a country – having most of its goods even produced by it – whose political system is so contrary to our Western democracies. Were we sleeping? That country was still Communist!
As LifeSite contributor and China expert Steven Mosher recently summed it up so well:
Quote:The #CCP studied 1991 collapse of the USSR They instituted mandatory Patriotic Education, clamped down on dissent. They created a facade of capitalism to deceive us, while infiltrating and undermining American institutions. They intend to do to us what we did to USSR. Soon.
At the same time, let us consider another aspect of this history: I still remember attending around that time a talk by Josef Joffe, the editor-in-chief of the German intellectual newspaper Die Zeit. Speaking to an audience of the University of Zurich in Switzerland, he was promoting the idea of globalism. We are now in the era of globalism. National borders are falling, all nations are getting interconnected. Where did this sudden change come from? Who came up with the idea, shortly after the perceived fall of Communism, that we need to break national borders apart? At the time, I revolted against the words of Joffe. They seemed so artificial to me, as if there was a sort of law that forced the world to go down the globalist path. Why did politicians suddenly decide to change the laws in order to make this globalization possible? Little did I realize at the time that Joffe was at the time participating at conferences of the Bilderberg Group and the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Looking back, it now sounds like a change of the propaganda, a change of the code words. Someone decided that things will change in the West.
Another example: not long after the “fall” of Communism at the beginning of the 1990s, we in Germany had suddenly the surge of the economization of education, of partnerships between schools and companies. There was this push for making education pay. For making research pay. As if the work of the mind can be and should be connected with financial outcomes and matters. Where did this new slogan come from? I remember at the time, being a student at the University of Hannover, how a group of students opposed this idea and published articles on it. We were against the economization of education which would level down the education of future generations. We wanted academic freedom and independence, not an academic life that was depending upon financial aspects.
Finally, there was another strange phenomenon: the United Nations came up with the Agenda 21. I remember how I one day, at a feast with people from the former Communist part of Germany, discussed with them this new agenda that had been agreed upon by the United Nations at the Brazil Earth Summit in 1992. Having read about this agenda, I told these acquaintances that this agenda contains such ideas as that one has to share one’s car with one’s neighbor since the environment was to be protected. The Agenda 21 document, for example, expounded: “Raise public awareness of the environmental impacts of transport and travel behaviour through mass media campaigns and support for non-governmental and community initiatives promoting the use of non-motorized transport, shared driving and improved traffic safety measures.” Furthermore, they proposed to assist “individuals and households to make environmentally sound purchasing decisions,” which includes “deposit/refund systems,” that is to say, shared ownership of goods.
It sounded so Communist to me at the time, and I remember how my interlocutors shook their heads, too. They could not believe it, having just been freed from a Communist dictatorship.
By now, this Agenda 21 has been further developed, not only into the Sustainable Development Goals which are anti-life and pro-birth control. The Davos Economic Forum group just published a video which makes one's hair stand up. “You'll own nothing. And you'll be happy,” they predict for the year 2030, proposing that in a few years, we will merely “rent” whatever we “want” for a certain period of time, thus repeating the idea that I discussed at the beginning of the 1990s with my acquaintances from formerly Communist Eastern Germany. Private property is to be abolished for the sake for a purported environmental crisis. Remember how the former president of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, was first among that new Green Movement at that time? That he founded, in 1993, a year after the 1992 Earth Summit that agreed upon the Agenda 21 and because of it, the Green Cross Movement? Is this a coincidence? Or remember how Leonardo Boff, a proponent of Marxist Liberation Theology in Southern America, suddenly went green? Interesting about this Davos video is that when it states that “the U.S. won't be the leading world superpower,” but, instead that “a handful of states will dominate,” it shows a photo with flags, at the center of which flies the Turkish one, overshadowing the U.S. flag.
It seems now to me, looking back, how, while we went to sleep thinking that Communism was effectively dead, other themes and strategies were developed that still aimed at establishing modified Communist systems in the world. National borders were to be weakened, national economies globalized, education leveled down with new economically inspired reforms, while the largest Communist country in the world, China, was somehow welcomed as a normal partner on the international level.
On top of all of this, there suddenly also emerged the LGBT agenda. Where did it come from? When did it emerge? Also here, I remember the homosexual lobby (which was the first of that multi-faceted movement) started to get stronger in light of the HIV discussion. Information booklets about the disease were being used by this lobby to present homosexual relations as something normal. Yes, that was also in the 1990s. Strange coincidence!
It seems now, in retrospect, as if Communism merely shifted its approaches and agendas, but not its goal. It infiltrated the West more indirectly, by means of soft power, rather than with the help of Soviet tanks. My husband, Dr. Robert Hickson, likes to quote here James Burnham, a former Trotskyite and political analyst who warned the West not to adapt to the enemy, without realizing it. Burnham called one of his essays The Suicide of the West: An Essay on the Meaning and Destiny of Liberalism (1964). My husband once quoted Burnham with these insistent warnings: “From the communist point of view, every institution in the camp of the enemy is a battleground: churches as well as armies; business corporations and trade unions alike; art, literature and science; Boy Scout troops along with intelligence agencies; communications media just as much as political parties.”
This, we need to understand also who stands behind Communism. We might have thought in too limited ways that it was just the Communist party of the Soviet Union that dominated the East. But who prepared and implemented the Communist Revolution? Here, we can refer to a letter written on November 8, 1918 to the papal nuncio Archbishop Eugenio Pacelli by Cardinal Felix von Hartmann, a German prelate, in which he warns the Pope of an impending Communist revolution in Germany that aimed at destroying the German monarchy, but also aimed at the Catholic Church.
Von Hartmann wrote on behalf of the German Emperor Willhelm II: “that, according to news that came to him yesterday, the Grand Orient [a Freemasonic lodge] has just decided first to depose all Sovereigns – first of all him, the Emperor – then to destroy (?) the Cathol.[olic] Church, to imprison the pope, etc and, finally, to establish on the ruins of the former bourgeois society a world republic under the leadership of American Big Capital. [...] France and America, however, are said to be under the full influence of the Grand Orient. Bolshevism is said to be the external tool to establish the desired conditions. In the face of such a great danger which threatens in addition to the Monarchy, also the Catholic Church; it is thus important that the German episcopacy be informed and that also the pope be warned.”
As von Hartmann explained, this Communist threat was organized by Freemasonry. And he said they planned to use people from the U.S. high finance to further this project. That is to say, there are well-connected international financial and Freemasonic elites which funded and organized the Communist Revolution. That very same elite seems now to be analogously organizing the Great Reset, and they have been preparing for it essentially since the fall of the Soviet Union, the moment when most of us had gone to sleep.
Now we are awake. Very much awake. Because we realize our entire way of living is at stake, our liberties, our properties, our children, our churches. As the new Davos Forum video states: “Western values will have been tested to the breaking point.” It is our formative Christian civilization and way of life that are increasingly at stake. We woke up and face this election fraud, and we do not even know who will win this battle – perhaps those forces that wish us to have no more personal property.
But here we also remember that Our Lady of Fatima said that “the errors of Russia will spread throughout the world,” should Russia not be consecrated by the Pope to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. According to Sister Lucia, in 1946, the United States would also become Communist.
We are approaching it. We stare right into the eyes of this Communist apparatus funded and conceptualized by a global financial-Freemasonic elite. But what now?
Let us call to Our Mother. She was so loving and kind to warn us 100 years ago; she will surely not abandon us now! She can work the miracle – and she will! – turning men's hearts back to God. Perhaps even the men of the Great Reset. Pray God.
She promised us that the consecration of Russia would be done. It would be late, but it would come, and there would then be a time of peace. She stated on July 13, 1917: “If My requests are heeded, Russia will be converted and there will be peace; if not, she will spread her errors throughout the world, causing wars and persecutions of the Church. The good will be martyred, the Holy Father will have much to suffer, various nations will be annihilated. In the end, My Immaculate Heart will triumph. The Holy Father will consecrate Russia to Me, and she will be converted, and a period of peace will be granted to the world.”
May we, until then, show our fidelity to Christ, fight for every single aspect of truth on the way.
May we refuse to live the lie, which would accustom our minds and souls to adjust to untruth. God is truth!
May we refuse to take the terrible, abortion-tainted corona vaccines which happen also to be gene manipulated! Let us not participate in a child sacrifice that is being perpetuated by the use of human cells of those babies that had to die so that we may live. Father Chad Rippberger calls it “ongoing theft.” Let us not agree to a human sacrifice that, similar to the ones of the Aztecs (listen here a priest who makes a similar argument), done with the hope that mankind may benefit from that lethal sacrifice! May we mothers say a clear no to the fact that the cells are still being stolen from these babies who were killed dozens of years ago, thereby still violating the rights of God Who is the author of natural and supernatural life!
It nearly seems to me that this global elite that wishes that the “Western values” come to a breaking point – as announced by the recent Global Reset video – wishes us all collectively to participate in a perpetuated child sacrifice, taking into our bodies the cells and DNA of another human being, in a sort of cannibalism!
So while we fight and resist, we pray to Our Lady, to Our Mother, asking her to hold us tight in her hands, leading us to her Son, trusting that she will not let us perish. May we be granted the wisdom and courage that are now needed, may we receive all the Graces we need next.
And let us gaze upon the little baby in the manger, the child of all children, the baby of all babies, that was only acceptable to God the Father as the freely offered ultimate sacrifice. He alone was to be sacrificed so that all may live. He alone was to die so that the lives of the eternal souls may be with the Father in heaven, for eternity. But to benefit from this Eternal Sacrifice, we need to follow Him, do right, pray, and resist the subtle violations of the first and the fifth Commandments.
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| California Judge Orders Video Journalists to Pay $13.6 M to Planned Parenthood |
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Posted by: Stone - 12-26-2020, 04:27 PM - Forum: Abortion
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California Judge Orders Video Journalists to Pay $13.6 M to Planned Parenthood
Breitbart | 24 Dec 2020
A federal judge in California ordered the video journalists who exposed Planned Parenthood’s practices in the harvesting and sales of aborted baby body parts to pay the abortion giant $13.6 million to cover its legal costs in its case against them.
Quote:Planned Parenthood is suing the organization behind the sting videos exposing its baby organ harvest https://t.co/14ndpdoyNd
On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge William Orrick III ordered David Daleiden and his associates at Center for Medical Progress (CMP) to pay $13.6 million over the $2 million in damages they were ordered to pay last year for recording the abortion vendor’s officials while they discussed how they harvest the fetal tissue for sale.
Daleiden and his advocates have now appealed the verdict to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
In November 2019, a jury found the pro-life journalists violated the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), causing significant harm to Planned Parenthood with its video series, and awarded the punitive damages to the abortion provider.
Quote:The jury in the federal civil case brought against the undercover video journalists who exposed Planned Parenthood in its alleged trafficking of the body parts of aborted babies found in favor of Planned Parenthood Friday. https://t.co/akqcVg1KRS
Orrick, Daleiden told SiriusXM’s Breitbart News Tonight soon afterward, “is actually the founder of a Planned Parenthood of Northern California clinic in San Francisco.”
He added what he and his legal team discovered about the relationship between Orrick and high-level Democrats:
Planned Parenthood, very intentionally and very strategically and with a lot of gamesmanship, filed this case specifically to get it in San Francisco in front of Judge William Orrick, who is an Obama appointee, who was a bundler for the Obama campaign for hundreds of thousands of dollars, is best friends with Tom Steyer.
Daleiden and his attorneys unsuccessfully attempted to get Orrick recused from the case several times.
The judge blocked the jury from viewing all the undercover video he produced during his undercover investigation, Daleiden said.
In addition, Orrick’s wife’s Facebook account was found to have included posted public comments — along with a photo of her and her husband — that indicated support for Planned Parenthood and criticism of Daleiden and CMP.
Planned Parenthood has yet to be prosecuted for any of the allegations of profiting from the sales of the body parts of babies aborted in its clinics.
In June 2019, Senate Judiciary Chairman(SJC) Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and his predecessor Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), wrote to Attorney General William Barr and FBI Director Christopher Wray, seeking an update on the federal investigation that was supposedly launched in 2017 into the allegations raised, in part, through the video documentation by CMP.
The senators asked Barr and Wray to respond to their inquiry no later than July 2 of last year.
In August 2019, Breitbart News reached out to the Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) press team for an update on the Department of Justice/FBI response and was informed SJC was still awaiting a response.
In January 2020, Daleiden told Breitbart News the civil and criminal cases against him and his colleagues “are really all part of the same conspiracy.”
“Planned Parenthood and the National Abortion Federation and Kamala Harris and the California Attorney General’s office,” he said. “All violating our First Amendment civil rights.”
Quote:Top prolife leaders from across the country, including our own @daviddaleiden, sign letter urging the US Senate to reject Biden HHS nominee @XavierBecerra. Via @WashTimes https://t.co/HgWbhEw1br
In an op-ed at Breitbart News in October, Daleiden [url=https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/10/28/journalist-who-exposed-planned-parenthood-kamala-harris-weaponized-her-office-to-punish-me-on-behalf-of-her-donors/]wrote that Harris, who ordered a raid on his California home, is “one of the biggest threats to First Amendment civil liberties that our country has ever seen.”
He continued:
Does anyone doubt that if I had been investigating and publishing undercover video reports on unlicensed gun sales, factory farming, or unsanitary grocery practices, that Harris never would have dreamed of raiding my home? Local news reporters in California tape and publish undercover conversations with corrupt chiropractors in their offices, fraudulent repairmen in private homes, and vendors in unlicensed marijuana dispensaries, but are not prosecuted under the California video recording law. Yet I, who filmed in crowded public restaurants and hotel lobbies, had my home raided and face the first-ever criminal charges for newsgathering under the recording law.
“Is there any doubt why Kamala Harris subjected me alone among undercover video reporters in California to this selective standard of ‘justice?’” he asked. “It is because I dared to question Planned Parenthood and the abortion industry, and to speak the truth: Planned Parenthood sells baby parts.”
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| Doctor reportedly has first documented severe allergic reaction to Moderna COVID-19 vaccine |
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Posted by: Stone - 12-26-2020, 04:22 PM - Forum: COVID Vaccines
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Doctor reportedly has severe allergic reaction to Moderna COVID-19 vaccine
This is the first known reaction of its severity from the Moderna shot
Fox News | December 26, 2020
Boston doctor with shellfish allergy experiences severe allergic reaction to Moderna vaccine; Dr. Qanta Ahmed reacts on ‘FOX & Friends Weekend.’
A Boston doctor suffered a serious allergic reaction to Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine, the first of its kind documented, a report said Friday.
Dr. Hossein Sadrzadeh, a geriatric oncologist at Boston Medical Center, became dizzy and felt his heart racing minutes after receiving the vaccine on Thursday, he told The New York Times.
"It was the same anaphylactic reaction that I experience with shellfish," Dr. Sadrzadeh told the paper, noting that his tongue became numb, his blood pressure plummeted and he broke into a cold sweat.
"I don’t want anybody to go through that."
Sadrzadeh self-administered an EpiPen he brought in the event of such a reaction, and was discharged following a brief emergency room examination, the report said.
Though a handful of recipients of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine have reported allergic reactions to that inoculation — including a New York City health care worker — Sadrzadeh’s symptoms mark the first known reaction of its severity to the Moderna shot.
The vaccines, which have similar ingredients, both require two shots administered a few weeks apart.
Neither Moderna nor the federal Food and Drug Administration, which approved the vaccines, commented on the Times’ report.
Related: STATE WITH ONE OF THE STRICTEST LOCKDOWNS IN THE COUNTRY HAS THE MOST COVID CASES
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| December 26th - St. Stephen |
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Posted by: Elizabeth - 12-26-2020, 12:42 AM - Forum: December
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Saint Stephen
First Martyr
(† 35)
The Jewish origin of Saint Stephen is universally acknowledged; he is known and loved everywhere as the first follower of Christ to give to his martyred God love for love, blood for blood. It is not certain whether he was among the seventy-two disciples of Jesus; some believe he was of the Greek tongue and not a native of Palestine. He studied with Saint Paul and Saint Barnabas under the famous Doctor of the Law, Gamaliel, who, being a member of the Sanhedrin, attempted to stop the persecution of the Apostles. (Acts of the Apostles 5:34-40) What is certain, however, is that he distinguished himself among his brethren as an admirable Christian, replete with the gifts of the Holy Spirit. To his great beauty and angelic chastity were joined humility, patience, gentleness and charity, so perfect that they drew from all the faithful great admiration and esteem for him.
He was head of the seven disciples whom the Apostles named as deacons, to execute the works of charity which their mandate to preach did not permit them to carry out. Stephen manifested all the qualities one could wish for in a minister of charity and of the Gospel. He knew Scripture to perfection and was steeped in its divine spirit; he was endowed with invincible force because he feared nothing in the service of God. Everywhere in Jerusalem, he was proving Jesus of Nazareth to be the Messiah, and working great prodigies to confirm the truths he taught. Some believe he was the cousin of Saul, later Saint Paul; in any case, the latter, still a fire-breathing Pharisee, took offense at his boldness and presided at the scene of his martyrdom by stoning. The fervent deacon, insensible to his own fate, defended Christ before the Jerusalem tribunal with a perfection which enraged the proud authorities of Jerusalem, unwilling to recognize a humble carpenter of Nazareth for their Saviour. He boldly upbraided the chief priests with their hard-hearted resistance to the Holy Spirit. And when he accused them of putting to death, just as their forebears had treated the prophets who foretold Him, the long-awaited Just One announced by Moses, they stoned him without further delay. (Acts of the Apostles, chapter 7)
Saint Stephen died, beholding his Lord standing at the right hand of God. He imitated Him in death; crying out, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit! He concluded on his knees, Lord, do not impute to them this sin! And then he fell asleep, the narrative says.
His mortal remains were left outdoors to be devoured by beasts, but were protected by God; and Gamaliel, the Doctor of the Law, took the body of the martyr to his own country home, a few leagues from the city, where he buried him. His tomb was discovered miraculously in the fifth century, by the intervention of Gamaliel himself in a priest's dream. The greater part of his relics are still conserved in the Basilica of Saint Lawrence and Saint Stephen in Rome. His death was the signal for a great persecution of the Christians in Jerusalem, spurred on by Saul, who had approved his death. But Saint John Chrysostom remarks that because Stephen prayed, we have Saint Paul, whose conversion miraculously came about soon afterwards.
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| December 25th - The Nativity of Our Lord |
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Posted by: Elizabeth - 12-26-2020, 12:40 AM - Forum: December
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The Nativity of Our Lord
Noel! Noel! This was the cry of our fathers when the Faith prevailed, ardent and lively in the bosom of families, institutions, and all of society. That cry has grown very weak in our day, for the naivete of simple faith has tended to disappear. Nevertheless, of all the Christian feasts, Christmas is perhaps the most beloved and the most popular.
God used the most apparently indifferent events to reach His ends. Mary lived in Nazareth, and the prophets predicted that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. But an edict of Caesar Augustus ordered all the inhabitants of Judea to go at a certain time to enroll in their native city. Bethlehem was the birthplace of Joseph, so that is where the holy spouses went; and that is where, in conformity to the predictions of the prophets, Jesus was to come into the world.
What a birth for a God! Joseph looked for an inn, but there was none for such poor people; rejected and scorned, they were obliged to seek refuge in an isolated stable. And that is where, in the middle of the night, Mary miraculously gave birth to Jesus; that is where the most meek Saviour received the first adorations, where He received the first kisses and caresses, where He shed His first tears! Mary took the Infant in Her arms, covered Him with poor swaddling clothes and laid Him softly in a cold manger. O first moments which Mary and Joseph spent at the feet of Jesus, how precious you were for them, how full of charm! We will taste a little of this joy and these charms on going to our church to pay a visit to the manger scene that represents such a great mystery. Earthly joys are deceitful, but the joy of God's service are lasting and true.
Jesus was born, and behold, the heavens rang out in hymns of joy as the Angels sang the canticle of triumph, Glory to God in the highest! and the canticle of peace, Peace on earth to men of good will! Jesus was born, and at once the poor shepherds, informed by the Angels, came to adore the Redeemer of Israel in that little Infant. Jesus was born, and soon the princes of the East, led by a Star, laid their homages at His feet. Let us hail Christmas, the dawn of peace and salvation.
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| Fr. Goffine: The Three Masses of Christmas |
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Posted by: Stone - 12-25-2020, 12:24 PM - Forum: Christmas
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The 3 Masses of Christmas Day
Image above: engraving from an altar missal for the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Christmas Eve
Let us therefore make him a little chamber, and put a little bed in it for him and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick, that when he cometh to us, he may abide there" (4 Kings 4:13).
Such was the Sunamite woman's regard for the prophet Eliseus, that she would make such preparations for his entertainment! Will we do as much for Christ who is ready to come to us? Take pains, O Christian, to occupy this night in pious thoughts, and aspirations, for the love of God and for the good of your own soul, making yourself worthy to receive the graces which He is ready when He comes, to give you.
Think how Mary, who was near her time, and Joseph her spouse obedient to the Imperial command, and perfectly submissive to the will of God, journeyed with the greatest inconvenience to Bethlehem, and when, because of the multitude of people, they found no place to receive them they took refuge, as God willed it, in a most miserable stable, at the extreme end of the town. What love does not the Savior deserve, who for love of us so humbled Himself!
COLLECT O God, who makest us rejoice in the yearly expectation of the feast of our redemption: grant, that we who cheerfully receive Thy only-begotten Son as a Redeemer, may behold without fear the same Lord Jesus Christ, coming as our judge. Through Our Lord.
Christmas Day
What is Christmas Day?
It is the day on which Christ Jesus, our Redeemer, was born of the Blessed Virgin in a stable at Bethlehem.
Why is this festival called "the Holy Night"?
Because this night has been especially blessed and sanctified by the holy, mysterious birth of the Redeemer of the world.
Why do priests say three Masses on this day?
In commemoration of the threefold birth of the Redeemer: of His birth from all eternity in the bosom of His Heavenly Father; of His birth in the fullness of time; and of His spiritual birth in the hearts of the faithful who, by lively faith in Him, receive the power to become children of God (Jn. 1:12).
Why is the first Mass said at midnight?
Because Christ, the true light which came into the world to enlighten those who sat in darkness and the shadow of death, that is, of unbelief and of sin (Lk. 1:79), was born at night, and because the divine birth is incomprehensible to us.
Why is the next Mass said at daybreak, and the third after sunrise?
To signify that the birth of Christ, expelling the darkness of ignorance and infidelity, brought us the clear daylight of the knowledge of God, and that the spiritual birth of Christ can take place at any time in the pure soul.
When does this spiritual birth take place?
It takes place when the soul, having been cleansed from all sin, makes the firm, unalterable resolution to die to the world and all carnal desires, and arouses in itself the ardent desire henceforth to live only for Christ, and, by His grace, to practice all virtues.
Instruction on the First Mass
The Introit of this Mass reminds us of the eternal birth of Christ, the Lord.
INTROIT The Lord hath said to me: Thou art my Son, this day (that is, from all eternity) have I begotten thee (Ps. 2:7). Why have the Gentiles raged, and the people devised vain things (Ps. 2:1)? Glory be to the Father.
COLLECT O God, who hast made this most sacred night to shine forth with the brightness of the true light: grant, we beseech Thee, that we may enjoy His happiness in heaven, the mystery of whose light we have known upon earth. Through Our Lord.
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.
In what special manner has the grace and goodness of God been manifested to us?
In the incarnation and birth of Christ, His Son, whom, in His infinite love, He has made like unto us, our brother and our teacher, by whom we have become children of God, and co-heirs of His kingdom.
What does Christ by His incarnation desire to teach us especially?
That we should put aside all unrighteousness, all infidelity and injustice, and endeavor to become like unto Him, who, except in sin, has become altogether like unto us. But especially that we repress the desires of lust, wealth, and honor, and not rest until we have rooted them from our hearts.
How do we live soberly, justly, and godly?
We live soberly, when we fulfill all duties towards ourselves; justly, when we fulfill all duties towards our neighbor; and godly, when we fulfill all duties to God.
ASPIRATION Blessed art Thou, Oh! newborn Savior, who hast descended from on high to teach me the ways of justice, hast become man and equal to me. In return for this goodness of Thine, I renounce all evil, all sinful desires, words, and deeds. In return for Thy love, I will ever uproot from my heart all carnal desires, and always live soberly, justly, and godly; do Thou by Thy grace, strengthen me in this resolve.
GOSPEL (Lk. 2:1-14). At that time there went forth a decree from Caesar Augustus, that the whole world should be enrolled. This enrolling was first made by Cyrinus, the governor of Syria. And all went to be enrolled, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, to be enrolled with Mary his espoused wife, who was with child. And it came to pass, that when they were there, her days were accomplished, that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her first-born son, and wrapped him up in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were in the same country shepherds watching, and keeping the night-watches over their flock. And behold, an Angel of the Lord stood by them, and the brightness of God shone round them; and they feared with a great fear. And the Angel said to them: Fear not: for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, that shall be to all the people: for this day is born to you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord, in the city of David. And this shall be a sign unto you: You shall find the infant wrapped in swaddling clothes, and laid in a manger. And suddenly there was with the Angel a multitude of the heavenly army, praising God, and saying: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good-will.
Why, at the time of Augustus, were all the Roman subjects enrolled?
This happened by a special ordinance of God, that by this enrollment Mary and Joseph should be obliged to go to Bethlehem, that it might be made known to the world that Christ was really born at Bethlehem, of the tribe of Juda, and the house of David, and that He was the Messiah who had been foretold by the prophets (Mich. 5:2). Let us learn from this how the providence of God directs all things according to His will, and consider the obedience which Mary rendered to the command of a heathen emperor, or rather to God who caused the command.
Why is Christ called the "first-born" of Mary?
Because she gave birth to no child before Him; she bore none after Him, He was the only son of Mary, as He was the only-begotten Son of the Heavenly Father.
Why was Christ born in such poverty?
To teach us not by words but by example that which He afterwards so often preached and forcibly taught, namely: the love of poverty, the practice of humility and patience with contempt of the world, and also to confound by His humble birth the foolish wisdom of the world which seeks only honors, pleasures and riches.
Why was the birth of Christ announced to poor shepherds, and not to King Herod and the chief priests?
That it might be known that God loves to dwell with poor, simple, pious, faithful people, such as the shepherds were, and reveals Himself to those who are little in their own eyes (Mt. 11:25), while He despises the proud and leaves them over to their own spiritual blindness. Let us learn from this to acquire simplicity and humility, and despise pride and cunning, that God may reveal Himself to us by His interior inspirations.
What is meant by the angelic song of praise: "Glory be to God on high"?
By this song of praise which the priests usually say in the Mass is meant that the greatest praise and the most heartfelt thanks are due to God for having sent His Son into the world; and that those who have the good will to glorify God by all their actions, will receive peace, that is, all happiness, blessings, and salvation.
Rejoice with the angels over the birth of the Savior, return thanks to God, and honor Him alone in all things, that you may have that peace: peace with God, peace with yourself and peace with all men.
Learn also from the angels, who rejoiced in the graces which man would receive from the birth of Christ, to rejoice, and thank God for the favors which He gives your neighbor, and by rejoicing participate in them.
Instruction on the Second Mass
In the Introit of this Mass the Church makes use of the words of Isaias:
INTROIT A light shall shine upon us this day: for our Lord is born to us: and he shall be called Wonderful, God, the Prince of peace, the Father of the world to come; of whose reign there shall be no end (Is. 9). The Lord hath reigned, he is clothed with beauty: the Lord is clothed with strength, and hath girded himself. Glory be to the Father.
COLLECT Grant, we beseech Thee, Almighty God, that we, who are filled with the new light of Thy incarnate Word, may show forth in our works what by faith shineth in our minds. Through Our Lord.
EPISTLE (Tit. 3:4-7). Dearly beloved, the goodness and kindness of God our Savior hath appeared: not by the works of justice which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the laver of regeneration, and renovation of the Holy Ghost, whom he hath poured forth upon us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior: that, being justified by his grace, we may be heirs according to hope of life everlasting, in Christ Jesus our Lord.
To whom do we owe our salvation?
Not to ourselves, nor any good works we may have performed, but entirely to the mercy of God who from all eternity decreed our redemption, and sent His only-begotten Son into this world to accomplish it; which redemption is bestowed upon us in baptism, where we are washed from the stain of sin, and by the rich infusion of the Holy Ghost born again, heirs of eternal life.
Why, then, had God no mercy on the fallen angels?
To this question St. John of Damascus replies:
We must know here that the fall was to the angels what death is to man; for the angels there was no repentance after the fall, as for man there is no repentance after death" (De fid. orthod. lib.2. c.4).
In eternity there is no available contrition and penance, so God showed no mercy to the fallen angels. Let us learn from this, to make ourselves participators in the merry of God, by contrition and penance while there is yet time.
GOSPEL (Lk. 2:15-20). At that time the shepherds said one to another: Let us go over to Bethlehem, and let us see this word that is come to pass, which the Lord hath showed to us. And they came with haste; and they found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in a manger. And seeing they understood of the word that had been spoken to them concerning this child. And all that heard wondered, and at those things that were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these words, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God, for all the things they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.
Instruction
I. The shepherds follow at once the voice of God which calls them to the manger; they exhort one another to do so; they seek the Redeemer and happily find Him; they make Him known to others, and heartily thank God for the grace given them.
Let us follow the inspirations of God with ready obedience; let us exhort one another to virtue by our good example and edifying conversation; let us make good use of the knowledge given us by God, give it to others, and praise God for the same.
II. Mary kept all these words, spoken about her Son, and pondered them in her heart. Let us learn from her to prepare food for our souls by careful meditation on the divine truths that are made known to us: so that we may be preserved and strengthened in spiritual life.
Instruction on the Third Mass
The Introit of this Mass reminds us of the spiritual birth of Christ, by which He is spiritually born in us:
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 hath done wonderful things (Ps. 97). Glory be to the Father.
COLLECT Grant, we beseech Thee, Almighty God, that the new birth of Thine only-begotten Son in the flesh may deliver us who are held by the old bondage under the yoke of sin. Through Our Lord.
EPISTLE (Heb. 1:1-12). God, who diversely and many ways, spoke in times past to the fathers by the prophets, last of all, in these days hath spoken to us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the world. Who being the brightness of his glory, and the figure of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his power, making purgation of sins, sitteth on the right hand of the majesty on high: being made so much better than the angels, as he hath inherited a more excellent name than they. For to which of the angels hath he said at any time: Thou art my son, today have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son? And again when he bringeth in the first-begotten into the world, he saith: And let all the angels of God adore him. And to the angels indeed he saith: He that maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire. But to the Son: Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a scepter of justice is the scepter of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved justice, and hated iniquity: therefore, God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. And: Thou in the beginning, O Lord, didst found the earth; and the works of thy hands are the heavens. They shall perish, but thou shaft continue; and they shall all grow old as a garment, and as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed; but thou art the self-same, and thy years shall not fail.
INSTRUCTION The greatness of Christ Jesus, the dignity of His divinity and humanity, the love and goodness of His Heavenly Father, who has given Him to us as our teacher, could not be more gloriously described than in this epistle. Learn from it how much you are obliged, because of this, to serve God, to be grateful to Him, and to follow Christ who governs heaven and earth; and whom the angels serve.
ASPIRATION I thank Thee, a thousand times, O Heavenly Father, that Thou hast spoken to us through Thy only-begotten Son, in whom Thou art well pleased. With my whole heart, O Father of Mercy, will I listen to Him, and be obedient to all His instructions.
GOSPEL (Jn. l:1-14). In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him, and without him was made nothing that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men; and the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. There was a man sent from God whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the light, that all men might believe through him. He was not the light, but was to bear witness of the light. That was the true light, which enlighteneth every man that cometh into this world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them he gave power to be made the sons of God, to them that believe in his name. Who are born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us (and we saw his glory, the glory as of the only-begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth.
What does St. John mean by the Word?
That the Son of God, who was begotten and brought forth like a word of the mouth from the Father, but in a manner incomprehensible and inscrutable to us, is one with the Father in the divine nature, but different from Him in person; He is also called the Word of the Father, because through Him the Father has spoken and made known the divine will (Heb. 1:2; Mt. 17:5).
What is meant by: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God?
When all things had their beginning the Son of God already was, not made or created, but born of the Father from eternity, with whom and in whom He therefore existed from all eternity. St. John here teaches the divinity, the eternity, and the equality of Christ with the Father.
What is meant by: All things were made by Him?
That the Son of God, Himself true God, with the Father and the Holy Ghost, has made all things, visible and invisible.
What is meant by: In Him was the life?
It means: The Son of God is the origin and fountain of the spiritual life of our souls upon earth, and of the glorious life in eternity. To give this true life to us, He became man, whereby we are born again, newly created, as it were, from the death of sin to the life of grace and righteousness.
Why is this life the light of men?
Because this true life of the soul which Christ has obtained for us, consists in the ever increasing knowledge of God and his salvation, which knowledge also comes from Christ, either externally through holy words and examples, or inwardly by divine inspiration.
How did the light shine in darkness?
The Son of God has given the necessary grace to find the true faith to mankind. He still imparts to all men the necessary light, especially by His holy Word which is preached to them, but the hardened sinners reject it, because they wish not to hear of faith and repentance.
How did St. John the Baptist bear witness of the light?
By announcing the Savior to the world, and even pointing Him out when He appeared.
Who receive Christ?
Those who walk in the light of His grace, co-operate with it, and so become the children of God.
How are we to understand: The Word was made flesh?
We are to understand by it that the Word was not changed into human nature, but that He became incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, and was made man, thus uniting in Himself two natures, the divine and the human. So Christ is true God, and at the same time true man, therefore God-Man; consequently there are in Christ two wills, the divine and the human. In His humanity He is less than the Father (Jn. 14:28), in His divinity He is equal to the Father (Jn. 10:30); His humanity filled Him with a natural terror of His sufferings, but His divinity was perfectly united with the will of His Heavenly Father, and could pray: Not my will, but thine be done.
ASPIRATION O God, our Heavenly Father, Who this night has given to us sinners, in the form of a child from the immaculate womb of Mary, Thine only-begotten Son as our Mediator and Redeemer, we give Thee thanks with heart and lips, and humbly beseech Thee that Thou wilt never permit us to forget such a grace, and that we may sustain ourselves by it in all temptations; that we may be ever grateful to Thee for it, and until death praise, honor and serve Thee in sanctity. Amen.
Whence comes the custom of representing in our churches and houses the crib of Bethlehem?
This custom was introduced by St. Francis of Assisi who, having a particular devotion to the Infant Jesus, was accustomed to represent to himself in this way the stable and manger at Bethlehem the further to excite his love; and as this pious practice is calculated to assist exceedingly in the instruction of the unlearned, especially of children, it was introduced into many congregations.
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| Dom Guéranger: The Three Masses of Christmas |
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Posted by: Stone - 12-24-2020, 10:09 AM - Forum: Christmas
- Replies (6)
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CHRISTMAS DAY: MIDNIGHT MASS
Taken from The Liturgical Year authored by Dom Prosper Gueranger (1841-1875)
It is now time to offer the Great Sacrifice, and to call down our Emmanuel from heaven: he alone can fully pay the debt of gratitude which mankind owes to the Eternal Father. He will intercede for us on the Altar, as he did in his Crib. We will approach him with love, and he will give himself to us.
But such is the greatness of to-day’s Mystery, that the Church is not satisfied with only once offering up the Holy Sacrifice. The long-expected and precious Gift deserves an unusual welcome. God the Father has given his Son to us; and it is by the operation of the Holy Ghost that the grand Portent is produced: let there be, then, to the ever Blessed Three, the homage of a triple Sacrifice.
Besides, this Jesus, who is born to-night, is born thrice. He is born of the Blessed Virgin, in the stable of Bethlehem; he is born by grace, in the hearts of the Shepherds, who are the first fruits of the Christian Church; and he is born eternally from the Bosom of the Father, in the brightness of the Saints: to this triple Birth, therefore, let there be the homage of a triple Sacrifice.
The first Mass honours the Birth according to the Flesh, which, like the other two, is an effusion of the Divine Light. The hour is come: the people that walked in darkness have seen a great Light; Light is risen to them that dwelt in the region of the shadow of death [Isa. ix 2]. Outside the holy place, where we are now assembled, there is dark Night: material Night, caused by the absence of the sun; spiritual Night, by reason of the sins of men, who either sleep in the forgetfulness of God, or wake to the commission of crime. At Bethlehem, round the Stable, and in the City, all is deep darkness; and the inhabitants, who would not find room for the Divine Babe, are sleeping heavily: will they awaken when the Angels begin to sing?
Midnight comes. The Holy Virgin has been longing for this happy moment. Her heart is suddenly overwhelmed with a delight which is new even to her. She falls into an ecstasy of love. As her Child will one day, in his almighty power, rise through the unmoved barrier of his Sepulchre; so now, as a sunbeam gleaming through purest crystal, he is born, and lies on the ground before her. With arms outstretched to embrace her, and smiling upon her: this is her first sight of her Son, who is Son also of the Eternal Father! She adores - takes him into her arms - presses him to her heart - swathes his infant limbs - and lays him down in the manger. Her faithful Joseph unites his adoration with hers; and so, too, do the Angels of heaven, for, the Royal Psalmist had sung this prophecy of their adoring him on his entrance into the world [Ps. xcvi 7; Heb. i 6]. Heaven opens over this spot of earth, which men call a Stable; and from it there mount to the Throne of the Eternal Father the first prayer, the first tear, the first sob of this his Son, our Jesus, who thus begins to prepare the world’s salvation.
The eyes of the faithful are now riveted on the Sanctuary, where the same Jesus is to be their Holy Sacrifice. The procession of the sacred Ministers has entered the Holy of Holies, and the Priest comes with them to the foot of the Altar. The Choir is singing its opening-canticle, the Introit; where we have our God himself speaking to his Son, and saying: This Day have I begotten thee. Let the Nations rage, if they will, and be impatient of the yoke of this Babe of Bethlehem; he shall subdue them and reign over them, for he is the Son of God.
INTROIT
Dominus dixit ad me: Filius meus es tu; ego hodie genui te.
Ps. Quare fremuerunt gentes, et populi meditati sunt inania? V. Gloria Patri. Dominus dixit.
The Lord hath said unto me: Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.
Ps. Why have the nations raged, and the people devised vain things? V. Glory, etc. The Lord hath said, etc.
The Angelic Hymn is preceded by the Kyrie eleison; but these nine supplications for mercy over, it bursts forth with those sublime words: GLORIA IN EXCELSIS DEO; ET IN TERRA PAX HOMINIBUS BONAE VOLUNTATIS!
Let us unite, heart and voice, in this the chant of the Angels: Glory be to God! Peace be to men! These our heavenly Brethren first intoned it, and they are, at this moment, round our Altar, as they were round the Crib; they are singing our happiness. They are adoring that divine Justice, which gave not a Redeemer to their fallen fellow-angels, yet to us gives the very Son of God to be our Redeemer. They are magnifying that deep humiliation of him who made both Angels and men, and who so lovingly favours the weaker of the two. They know that our gratitude needs help, and so they lend us their sweet voices to give thanks to him who, by this mystery of love and magnificence, is enabling us poor mortals one day to fill up the thrones left vacant by the rebel spirits. Oh! yes; let us all, men and Angels, Church of earth and Church of heaven, let us sing: Glory be to God! and Peace to men! The more the Son of the Eternal Father has had to humble himself in order to enrich and exalt us, the more fervently must we cry out our warmest praise, and hymn this Mystery of the Incarnation: Tu solus Sanctus! Tu solus Dominus! Tu solus altissimus, Jesu Christe! Thou only, O Jesus! art Holy! Thou only art Lord! Thou only art Most High!
The Collect then follows, summing up all our prayers in one.
COLLECT
Deus, qui hanc sacratissimam noctem veri luminis fecisti illustratione clarescere: da, quaesumus, ut cujus lucis mysteria in terra cognovimus, ejus quoque gaudiis in coelo perfruamur. Qui tecum.
O God, who hast enlightened this most sacred Night by the brightness of him who is the true Light: grant, we beseech thee, that we who have known the mysteries of this Light on earth, may likewise come to the enjoyment of it in heaven. Who liveth, etc.
EPISTLE
Lesson of the Epistle of St Paul the Apostle to Titus. Ch. II.
Dearly beloved, the grace of God our Saviour 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 glory of the great God and our Saviour 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 Jesus Christ our Lord.
Quote:This God our Saviour hath at length appeared! and with such grace and mercy! He alone could deliver us from dead works, and restore us to life. At this very hour, he appeareth to all men, laid in his narrow Crib, and fastly wrapped, as a Babe, in swaddling- clothes. Yes, here have we the Blessed One, whose visit we had so long hoped for! Let us purify our hearts, that he may be pleased with us; for though he is the Infant Jesus, he is also, as the Apostle has just told us, the Great God, and the Son of the Eternal Father, born from all eternity. Let us unite with the Angels and the Church in this hymn to our Great God, Jesus of Bethlehem.
GRADUAL
Tecum principium in die virtutis tuae, in splendoribus sanctorum: ex utero ante luciferum genui te.
V. Dixit Dominus Domino meo: sede a dextris meis, donec ponam inimicos tuos scabellum pedum tuorum. Alleluia, alleluia.
Dominus dixit ad me: Filius meus es tu, ego hodie genui te. Alleluia.
With thee is the principality in the day of thy strength, in the brightness of the Saints: from the womb, before the day-star, I begot thee.
V. The Lord said to my Lord: Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies my footstool. Alleluia, alleluia.
V. The Lord hath said to me: Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee. Alleluia.
GOSPEL
Sequel of the holy Gospel according to Luke. Ch. II.
At that time, there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that the whole world should be enrolled. This enrolling was first made by Cyrinus, the governor of Syria. And all went to be enrolled, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; because he was of the house and family of David, to be enrolled with Mary, his espoused wife, who was with child. And it came to pass, that when they were there, her days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her first born Son, and wrapt him up in swaddling-clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were in the same country Shepherds watching and keeping the night-watches over their flock. And behold an Angel of the Lord stood by them, and the brightness of God shone round about them, and they feared with a great fear. And the Angel said to them: Fear not: for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, that shall be to all the people: for this day is born to you a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord, in the city of David. And this shall be a sign unto you: You shall find the Infant wrapped in swaddling-clothes, and laid in a manger. And suddenly there was with the Angel a multitude of the heavenly army, praising God and saying: Glory to God in the highest; and on earth peace to men of good will.
Quote:O Divine Infant! we too must needs join our voices with those of the Angels, and sing with them: Glory be to God! and Peace to men! We cannot restrain our tears at hearing this history of thy Birth. We have followed thee in thy journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem; we have kept close to Mary and Joseph on the whole journey; we have kept sleepless watch during this holy Night, waiting thy coming. Praise be to thee, sweetest Jesus, for thy mercy! and love from all hearts for thy tender love of us! Our eyes are riveted on that dear Crib, for our Salvation is there; and there we recognize thee as the Messias foretold in those sublime Prophecies which thy Spouse the Church has been repeating to us in her solemn prayers of this night. Thou art the mighty God - the Prince of Peace - the Spouse of our souls - our Peace - our Saviour - our Bread of Life. And now what shall we offer thee? A good Will? Ah! dear Lord! thou must form it within us; thou must increase it, if thou hast already given it; that thus, we may become thy Brethren by grace, as we already are by the human nature thou hast assumed. But, O Incarnate Word! this Mystery of thy becoming Man works within us a still higher grace: it makes us, as thy Apostle tells us, partakers of that divine nature [St Pet. i 4] which is inseparable from thee in the midst of all thy humiliations. Thou hast made us less than the Angels in the scale of creation; but in thy Incarnation thou hast made us Heirs of God, and Joint-Heirs [Rom viii 17] with thine own divine Self. Never permit us, through our own weaknesses and sins, to degenerate from this wonderful gift, whereby thy Incarnation exalted us, and oh! dear Jesus, to what a height!
After the Gospel, the Church triumphantly chants the glorious symbol of our Faith, which tells, one by one, the Mysteries of the Man-God. At the words: Et Incarnatus est de Spiritu Sancto ex Maria Virgine, ET HOMO FACTUS EST, profoundly adore the great God who assumed our human nature, and became like unto us, his poor creatures; let your adoration and love repay him, if it were possible, for this his incomprehensible abasement. In each of to-day’s Masses, when the Choir comes to these words in the Credo, the Priest rises from the sedilia, and remains kneeling in humble adoration at the foot of the Altar whilst they are being sung. You must unite your adorations with those of the Church, which is represented by the Celebrant.
During the Offering of the bread and wine, the Church tells us how the Birth of Jesus Christ filled heaven and earth with joy. In a few short moments there will be on our Altar, where we now see mere bread and wine, the Body and Blood of this same Jesus, our Emmanuel.
OFFERTORY
Laetentur coeli et exsultet terra ante faciem Domini, quoniam venit.
Let the heavens rejoice, and the earth be glad in the presence of the Lord, for he is come.
SECRET
Accepta tibi sit, Domine, quaesumus, hodiernae festivitatis oblatio; ut, tua gratia largiente, per haec sacrosancta commercia in illius inveniamur forma, in quo tecum est nostra substantia. Qui tecum vivit.
Receive, O Lord, the offerings we make to thee on this present solemnity: that by thy grace, through the intercourse of these sacred mysteries, we may be conformable to him in whom our nature is united to thine. Who liveth, etc.
The Preface then gives expression to the thanksgiving of the people, and finishes with the triple Sanctus to the God of Sabaoth. At the Elevation, when, in the midst of the mysterious silence, your Saviour, the Incarnate Word, descends upon the Altar, you must see, with the eye of your faith, the Crib, and Jesus stretching out his hands to his Eternal Father, and looking upon you with extreme tenderness, and Mary adoring him with a Mother’s love, and Joseph looking on and weeping with joy, and the holy Angels lost in amazement at the mystery. You must give your heart to the New-Born Babe, that he may fill it with what he wishes to see there; nay, beg of him to fill it with himself, and make himself its Master and its All.
After the Communion, the Church, which has just been united to the Infant God by partaking of the sacred mysteries, once more celebrates the Eternal Generation of that Divine Word, who was born from the Bosom of the Father before any creature existed, and who has appeared to the world this Night before the Day-Star has risen.
COMMUNION
In splendoribus Sanctorum, ex utero ante luciferum genui te.
In the brightness of the Saints, from the womb, before the day-star, I begot thee.
The Church terminates this her first Sacrifice, by praying for the grace of indissoluble union with the Saviour who is born to her.
POSTCOMMUNION
Da nobis, quaesumus, Domine Deus noster, ut qui Nativitatem Domini nostri Jesu Christi mysteriis nos frequentare gaudemus, dignis conversationibus ad ejus mereamur pervenire consortium. Qui tecum.
Grant, we beseech thee, O Lord our God, that we, who celebrate with joy the Birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, by partaking of these sacred mysteries, may, by a worthy conduct of life, come to be united with him. Who liveth, etc.
The sacred Night is passing quickly on; and will soon bring us to the Second Mass, which is to sanctify the hour of day-break, or the Aurora. Every day in the year, the Church passes the hour before Sunrise in prayer, for the rising of the Sun is a beautiful figure of the mystery of Jesus’ coming to this earth to give it light. This portion of the Divine Office is called Lauds, on account of its being wholly made up of praise and joy.
On Christmas Day, however, she somewhat anticipates the usual hour, in order that she may begin, at the precise time of the Aurora, a more perfect and more divine Sacrifice of Praise - the Eucharistic Oblation, which satisfies all the obligations we owe to the Divine bounty.
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