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| Novena to Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal [Feast Day - November 27th] |
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Posted by: Stone - 11-18-2024, 07:40 AM - Forum: Marian Novenas
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Novena to Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal
[Feast Day - November 27th]
Taken from here.
![[Image: Novena%20Miraculous%20Medal_1.jpg]](https://catholicharboroffaithandmorals.com/Novena%20Miraculous%20Medal_1.jpg)
OPENING PRAYER
V. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.
R. Amen.
V. Come, O Holy Ghost, fill the hearts of Thy faithful, and kindle in them the fire of Thy love. Send forth Thy Spirit, and they shall be created.
R. And Thou shalt renew the face of the earth.
V. Let us pray: O God, who didst instruct the hearts of the faithful by the light of the Holy Spirit, grant us in the same Spirit to be truly wise and ever to rejoice in His consolation, through Jesus Christ Our Lord.
R. Amen.
V. O Mary, conceived without sin,
R. Pray for us who have recourse to thee. ( 3 times.)
Lord Jesus Christ who hast vouchsafed to glorify by numberless miracles the Blessed Virgin Mary Immaculate from the first moment of her Conception, grant that all who devoutly implore her protection on earth may eternally enjoy Thy presence in heaven who, with the Father and Holy Ghost livest and reignest, God, for ever and ever. Amen. O Lord Jesus Christ who for the accomplishment of Thy greatest works hast chosen the weak things of the world that no flesh may glory in Thy sight and who for a better and more widely diffused belief in the Immaculate Conception of Thy Mother hast wished that the Miraculous Medal be manifested to Saint Catherine Laboure grant, we beseech Thee that filled with like humility we may glorify this mystery by word and work. Amen.
MEMORARE
Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thy intercession, was left unaided, Inspired with this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother! To thee I come; before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy, hear and answer me. Amen.
NOVENA PRAYER
O Immaculate Virgin Mary Mother of Our Lord Jesus and our Mother, penetrated with the most lively confidence in Thy all powerful and never failing intercession, manifested so often through the Miraculous Medal, we Thy loving and trustful children implore Thee to obtain for us the graces and favors we ask during this Novena, if they be beneficial to our immortal souls, and the souls for whom we pray. [Here mention your intentions] Thou knowest, O Mary, how often our souls have been the sanctuaries of Thy Son who hates iniquity. Obtain for us then a deep hatred of sin and that purity of heart which will attach us to God alone so that our every thought, word and deed may tend to His greater glory. Obtain for us also a spirit of prayer and self-denial that we may recover by penance what we have lost by sin and at length attain to that blessed abode where thou art the Queen of angels and of men. Amen.
AN ACT OF CONSECRATION TO OUR LADY OF THE MIRACULOUS MEDAL
Virgin Mother of God, Mary Immaculate, we dedicate and consecrate our selves to Thee under the title of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal. May this Medal be for each one of us a sure sign of thy affection for us and a constant reminder of our duties toward thee. Ever while wearing it, may we be blessed by thy loving protection and preserved in the grace of thy Son. O most powerful Virgin, Mother of our Savior, keep us close to thee every moment of our lives. Obtain for us, Thy children, the grace of a happy death; so that, in union with thee, we may enjoy the bliss of heaven forever. Amen.
V. O Mary, conceived without sin,
R. Pray for us who have recourse to thee. ( 3 times.)
+ + +
![[Image: Novena%20Miraculous%20Medal_2.jpg]](https://catholicharboroffaithandmorals.com/Novena%20Miraculous%20Medal_2.jpg)
Saint Catharine Laboure
by Constantine Kempf, 1916
The "Miraculous Medal" of the Immaculate Conception has found devout friends throughout the Catholic world and there is no doubt that it has been the means of great blessings for many. We need not wonder, then, that the person chosen to inaugurate this devotion to Mary was favored with extraordinary graces.
This child of predilection was the venerable Sister of Charity, Catharine Laboure. Sister Catharine was born on May 2, 1806, at Fainles-Moutier, near Dijon, and in Baptism was given the name of Zoe. The world never possessed her heart. From her earlier years she felt an attraction toward the religious life. She met with an obstinate resistance from her father because, on account of the early death of her mother, she seemed to be indispensable at home. To drive the thought of the cloister out of her mind her father sent her to Paris, where one of his sons kept a restaurant. But it was in vain. Paris simply aroused in Zoe a detestation for the ways of the world. The father finally relented and at the age of twenty-four she was permitted to take the religious habit in the convent of the Sisters of St. Vincent at Chatillon-sur-Seine. She was now named Sister Catharine.
In the following year, 1831, we find her in the hospital of Enghien at Paris, where she served in the humblest duties for forty-five years until her death on December 31, 1876. It was in the second year of her religious life that Sister Catharine was thrice favored with apparitions of the Blessed Virgin, who commissioned her to have medals made representing the apparition and bearing the legend "O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee." Her director proved rather skeptical and at first had only scoff and contempt for these extraordinary manifestations. But the conviction grew that the sister was not at all a victim of a delusion. The archbishop of Paris, Monsignor de-Quelen, soon became an advocate of the "Miraculous Medal," which now entered upon a victorious course throughout Catholic countries. Among many other remarkable events, the sudden conversion of the Jew, Alphonse Ratisbonne, has an intimate connection with this medal.
Leo XIII, after a careful examination of the facts and a scrutiny by the Sacred Congregation of Rites, approved a Mass and an Office commemorating the apparition of the Blessed Virgin of the Miraculous Medal." Though Sister Catharine, in accomplishing the desire of the Mother of God, did very much to spread the Miraculous Medal, she nevertheless found ways and means in her humility to keep secret from the world the fact that she was the chosen soul favored with the apparition of the Immaculate Conception. Yet, while unaware of the many extraordinary favors she had received, her sisters in religion, and all who became acquainted with her, were thoroughly persuaded of her sanctity. At her death there was great emotion among the people and two Sisters were kept busy for a day applying to the corpse of the Venerable Catharine objects of devotion brought by the great numbers of visitors.
O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.
(One hundred days' indulgence once a day; Leo XIII., March 15, 1884)
Saint Catharine Laboure, pray for us.
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| St. Basil: The Catholic Must Stand Alone If Necessary to Uphold the Truth |
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Posted by: Stone - 11-17-2024, 06:51 AM - Forum: The Saints
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The Catholic Must Stand Alone If Necessary to Uphold the Truth
St. Basil of Caesarea, Epistle 128
![[Image: ?u=http%3A%2F%2Fdioces48-previews.s3.ama...ipo=images]](https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fdioces48-previews.s3.amazonaws.com%2F5272_thumb2.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=9b9093f5ee06331769bc598041f3b6a3cc11da6d8e186e79cd0b6d00a3557b76&ipo=images)
TIA | June 29, 2024
Arianism, which denied the divinity of Christ, was at its height in the mid 4th century. Emperor Valens put great pressure on St. Basil to remain silent and admit the heretics to communion. St. Basil, Archbishop of Caesarea, remained firm, and Valens backed down. He strove mightily to unite and rally his fellow Catholics who were crushed by tyranny and torn by internal dissension. At the end of his life, his efforts might have seemed in vain. His health was breaking, the Goths were at the door of the Byzantine Empire, Antioch was in schism, the Bishops refused to be brought together as he wished. Yet he made no compromises in doctrine to bring the heretics into communion.
St. Basil describes his apostolate succinctly: Expose error, preserve the Faith of the Fathers integrally, and help the faithful to avoid following apostates to damnation. As St. Basil tells us, he absolutely refused to remain silent to have peace. He counseled the faithful to not follow the multitude, but remain completely alone if necessary to uphold the truth.
St. Basil of Caesarea
Let the Faith of our Fathers be proposed to those who are misled but of good will, with all tenderness and charity. If they will assent thereunto, let us receive them into our midst. Should they not assent, let us dwell by ourselves alone, regardless of numbers; and let us keep aloof from equivocating souls, who are not possessed of that simplicity without guile, indispensably required in the early days of the Gospel.
The believers, as written in Scriptures, had but one heart and one soul. Let those, therefore, who would reproach us for not desiring pacification, mark well who are the real authors of the disturbance. Let them not call for reconciliation on our side anymore.
To every specious argument that would seem to counsel silence on our part, we oppose this other argument, namely, that charity counts as nothing, either her own proper interests or the difficulties of the times. Even though no man is willing to follow our example, what then? Are we for that reason alone to abandon duty? In the fiery furnace, the children of the Babylon captivity chanted their canticle to the Lord, without making any reckoning of the multitude who set truth on one side. They were quite sufficient for one another, merely three as they were! …
So, take heart! under every stroke, renew yourselves in love; let your zeal gain strength every day, knowing that in you are to be preserved the last remains of godliness which the Lord, at His return, may find upon the earth. …
Heed not what the crowd may think, for a mere breath of wind is sufficient to sway the crowd to and fro, like the rippling wave. Even though only one were to be saved, as in the case of Lot out of Sodom, it would not be lawful for him to deviate from the path of rectitude, merely because he finds that he is the only one that is right. No; he must stand alone, unmoved, holding fast his hope on Jesus Christ.”
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| St. Basil: War Waged against Us by Fellow Catholics Is the Hardest to Bear |
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Posted by: Stone - 11-17-2024, 06:47 AM - Forum: The Saints
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War Waged against Us by Fellow Catholics Is the Hardest to Bear
St. Basil of Caesarea, Epistle 257
![[Image: ?u=http%3A%2F%2Fcommunio.stblogs.org%2FS...ipo=images]](https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fcommunio.stblogs.org%2FSt%2520Basil%2520at%2520the%2520Liturgy.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=dbb3316bb0bc0b215c17ac76f1b00270c63a2dce9633e75a4261c053ee33deca&ipo=images)
TIA | November 16, 2024
Writing to the monks harassed by the Arians, St. Basil of Caesarea reminded them that these heretics inside the Church were more difficult to fight than the pagans of old outside the Church. He reminds them that traitors have risen among the clergy themselves, but this only increases the need to fight, having confidence God will give the victory.
Finally he tells them that he is persuaded that the reward God has for the righteous who fight the heretics inside the Church is even greater than that bestowed on the martyrs.
This bears a great similarity to the situation in which good Catholics live today...
St. Basil of Caesarea
I have thought it only right to announce to you by letter what I said to myself, when I heard of the trials brought upon you by the enemies of God, that in a time reckoned a time of peace you have won for yourselves the blessings promised to all who suffer persecution for the sake of the name of Christ.
In my judgment the war that is waged against us by our fellow countrymen is the hardest to bear, for it is easy to defend ourselves against open and declared enemies, while we are necessarily at the mercy of those who are associated with us, and are thus exposed to continual danger. This has been your case.
Our fathers were persecuted, but by idolaters their possessions were plundered and their houses were overthrown. They themselves were driven into exile by our open enemies, for Christ’s name’s sake. The persecutors who have lately appeared [the Arians inside the Church] hate us no less than these idolaters, but, to the deceiving of many, they put forward the name of Christ that the persecuted may be robbed of all comfort from its confession…
I am, therefore, persuaded that the reward in store for you from the righteous Judge is yet greater than that bestowed on those former martyrs. They indeed both had the public praise of men and received the reward of God. To you, though your good deeds are not less, no honors are given by the people. It is only fair that the requital in store for you in the world to come should be far greater.
I exhort you, therefore, not to faint in your afflictions, but to be revived by God’s love, and to add daily to your zeal, knowing that in you ought to preserve that remnant of True Religion which the Lord will find when He comes on the earth.
Even if bishops are driven from their churches, be not dismayed. If traitors have arisen from among the very clergy themselves, let not this undermine your confidence in God. We are saved not by names, but by mind and purpose, and genuine love toward our Creator.
Bethink you how in the attack against Our Lord, high priests and scribes and elders devised the plot, and how few of the people were found really receiving the word.
Remember that it is not the multitude who are being saved, but the elect of God. Be not then affrighted at the great multitude of the people who are carried here and there by winds like the waters of the sea. If but one be saved, like Lot at Sodom, he ought to abide in right judgment, keeping his hope in Christ unshaken, for the Lord will not forsake His holy ones.
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| Join Archbishop Viganò in novena for President Trump’s conversion starting November 21 |
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Posted by: Stone - 11-16-2024, 10:32 AM - Forum: Appeals for Prayer
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Join Archbishop Viganò in novena for President Trump’s conversion starting November 21
LifeSiteNews readers are warmly invited to register and take part in a nine-day novena dedicated to the well-being of President Donald Trump and his conversion to the Catholic faith. Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò and others will be participating.
![[Image: NEWS-810x500-Nov-15-2024-4-1.jpg]](https://www.lifesitenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/NEWS-810x500-Nov-15-2024-4-1.jpg)
LifeSiteNews
Nov 15, 2024
(LifeSiteNews) — LifeSiteNews readers are warmly invited to register and take part in a nine-day novena dedicated to the well-being of President Donald Trump and his conversion to the Catholic faith.
Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò will be participating, as well as Deacon Keith Fournier and Fathers David Nix, Chris Alar, and James Altman.
The novena will begin on the Feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, November 21, and end on the Vigil of Saint Andrew, November 29. Saint Andrew is, of course, the patron saint of Scotland, the country in which the president-elect’s Gaelic-speaking mother, Mary Anne MacLeod Trump, was born and raised.
We will compile a list of the names of those who participate and present it by email to President Trump as a “spiritual bouquet” on St. Andrew’s Day, November 30. Fr. James Altman has agreed to deliver a paper copy to the president-elect’s home in Mar-a-Lago at a later date.
Here is the Novena Prayer:
Quote:Heavenly Father, in the name of Thy Son and our Savior, Jesus Christ, the King of Kings, we beseech Thee to look with favor upon Thy servant, President Donald Trump, as he assumes his public office. Guide him in this task by Thy Holy Spirit. Draw him ever closer to Thyself. Surround him with men and women of living faith. Give him heavenly wisdom to accomplish his work here on earth.
Make him a man of prayer. Give him an ever-deepening hunger for the Truth found in Thy Holy Word and the teaching of Thy Church. Pour forth upon him the spirit of wisdom, charity, and true service. May St. Michael the Archangel protect him against the evil one. Please Lord, help him to both discern – and work for – the real common good. Use him to promote authentic peace and justice, in this nation, and with other nations.
Lead him to embrace Thy One True Faith. Enlighten his mind with Thy Holy Spirit that he may defend the sanctity of all human life, from conception to natural death. May he protect and defend authentic marriage, and the family and the social order founded upon it. May he promote authentic human freedom, including economic freedom, governing with a heart for the poor.
May he recognize, affirm and uphold the Natural Moral Law and Thy Divine Law in his exercise of governance as the President of the United States of America. Grant him the grace to turn away from all forms of evil and self-interest, and to lead with humility, integrity, and compassion. O Lord, we place President Trump in Thy hands. May he always seek to serve Thee above all, and lead with a heart transformed by Thy love. And we ask for the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Patroness of the United States of America, for him, his family and our nation. Amen.
During his recent and successful campaign, President Trump shared on X (formerly Twitter) an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe on September 8, the Feast of her Nativity, and publicly wished her a happy birthday. On September 29, he posted Guido Reni’s 1636 painting of St. Michael defeating Satan under a transcription of the Prayer to St. Michael. Although President Trump has sadly weakened his stance in defense of the unborn in recent years, Catholics were pleased (or intrigued) by his tweets. The then-candidate also took part, as is customary, in this year’s Al Smith Dinner hosted by the Archdiocese of New York, unlike his rival for the presidential office, current Vice President Kamala Harris.
On Truth Social, Trump accused the Biden-Harris administration of anti-Catholic persecution, possibly a reference to FBI plans to spy on Traditional Latin Mass communities and the arrest of Catholic pro-life witness Mark Houck at his home in front of his children. (It is worth noting, too, that the FBI targeted another Catholic pro-life witness, Mark Reno, who died in prison after a false accusation and was posthumously framed for the arson of an abortion clinic.)
“It’s sad, but not surprising, that Kamala has decided not to attend,” Trump posted. “I don’t know what she has against our Catholic friends, but it must be a lot, because she certainly hasn’t been very nice to them, in fact, Catholics are literally being persecuted by this Administration.”
Subsequently, 56 percent of U.S. Catholics who voted in the 2024 presidential election voted for Trump, and only 41 percent voted for Harris.
Add your name to the spiritual bouquet for President Trump
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| Infamous US abortionist says he commits elective late-term abortions ‘all the time’ |
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Posted by: Stone - 11-16-2024, 07:41 AM - Forum: Abortion
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Infamous US abortionist says he commits elective late-term abortions ‘all the time’
‘It happens all the time, of course,’ notorious Colorado abortionist Warren Hern said when asked if women ever come to him for abortions in second trimester or third trimester because ‘they just don’t want the baby, they change their mind.’
![[Image: image-1.png]](https://www.lifesitenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/image-1.png)
Joanna Kulesza/The Atlantic
Nov 15, 2024
(LifeSiteNews [adapted - not all hyperlinks included from original]) — In a recent interview, a notorious late-term abortionist dropped any pretense that late term-abortions are “necessary” due to medical conditions that allegedly endanger the life of the mother.
In a talk-show discussion about what leads women to have abortions, Colorado-based abortionist Warren Hern was asked, “Do you ever get any women in their second half of the second trimester or in the third trimester that say they have no medical problems, they just don’t want the baby, they change their mind? Would you do it?”
“Well, of course, if the woman doesn’t want to be pregnant, there’s no justification for forcing her to continue the pregnancy,” answered Hern.
“Has that happened?” asked host Michael Shermer.
“It happens all the time, of course,” averred Hern. “She has a potentially fatal illness, condition that can kill her…”
“No, no, I mean, if she has no medical problems,” clarified Shermer.
“The medical problem is that she’s pregnant!” declared Hern.
“Hern’s statement – ‘the medical problem is that she’s pregnant’ – sums up the entire issue,” noted Casey Fiano-Chesser in a report for Live Action. “Abortionists are not killing preborn babies because women need them due to medical emergencies. They’re doing it, quite simply, because they can.”
Abortion, the murder of a preborn child in his or her mother’s womb, is never medically necessary nor justifiable to save a mother’s life or protect her health, as numerous medical experts have affirmed. Studies show that abortion is far more dangerous for women’s health than pregnancy. Moreover, human life begins at the moment of conception, and abortion is always a grave violation of a child’s inalienable right to life.
“Hern literally wrote the book on abortion (Abortion Practice),” according to LifeSiteNews’ Jonathon Van Maren, “and has been blunt about what he does”:
Destroying babies in the womb at 22, 25, or even 30 weeks can be hard work. “The sensations of dismemberment,” Hern has noted, “flow through the forceps like an electric current.”
While the still-thriving abortion industry employs euphemistic terms such as “fetus” in order to deny the humanity of unborn children, others are awakening to the dark truth about abortion, including late-term abortions.
Just last month, Elon Musk, founder and CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, and X, acknowledged that it is “murder” to abort a baby who “can survive outside the womb,” which is also the case at any stage of pregnancy.
Despite Democrats’ and their media allies’ claims to the contrary, 50,000 abortions a year happen after 15 weeks — including several thousand in the third trimester — and Democrats consistently oppose doing anything about it.
“Abortion – the destruction of an innocent unborn baby – is always gravely immoral and never needed nor justifiable, including for alleged ‘anomalies,’ for which a fatally ill child could be treated with palliative care rather than brutally murdered,” observed LifeSiteNews’ Calvin Freiburger during the waning weeks of the presidential election.
“More than 50,000 abortions a year take place after 15 weeks (almost four months into pregnancy), and approximately 10,000 take place after 20 weeks (five months),” Freiburger later noted. “Further, a 2013 report by the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute admitted ‘data suggests that most women seeking later terminations are not doing so for reasons of fetal anomaly or life endangerment,’ and Hern’s own published data found that ‘fetal abnormalities’ ranged from just a fifth to a third of his patients – and that the most common of those ‘abnormalities’ was Down syndrome, a condition that is neither a death sentence nor even a guarantee of an unhappy life.”
“While pro-life laws have reduced the number of surgical abortions in the two years since Roe v. Wade was overturned, the abortion lobby has also been working feverishly to cancel out the deterrent effects of pro-life laws by legal protection and financial support of interstate abortion travel, placing abortion facilities near borders shared by pro-life and pro-abortion states, making liberal states havens for those who want to evade or violate the laws of more pro-life neighbors, embedding abortion ‘rights’ in state constitutions, and, most effectively, the proliferation of abortion pills across state lines,” he added.
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| Vatican approves Mayan rite with ritual dance, female incensors and lay leadership of Mass parts |
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Posted by: Stone - 11-16-2024, 07:34 AM - Forum: New Rite Sacraments
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Vatican approves Mayan rite with ritual dance, female incensors and lay leadership of Mass parts
The much anticipated Mayan rite of the Mass will be implemented in certain parts of Mexico, and contains a number of element drawn from pagan, indigenous culture. A draft of the rite seen previously by LifeSite highlights the pagan theology underpinning the actions.
![[Image: Mayan-Altar-810x500.png]](https://www.lifesitenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Mayan-Altar-810x500.png)
Mayan altar on the floor of a church
(Seminario Conciliar De San Cristóbal/Facebook
Nov 15, 2024
VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — The Vatican has approved the Mayan rite of the Mass which will involve ritual dancing, women taking the place of the priest in incensing the altar, and lay leadership of certain prayers in the liturgy.
The announcement came via Cardinal Felipe Arizmendi Esquivel, who is bishop emeritus of the San Cristobal de Las Casas diocese in Mexico and one of the leading promoters of this new rite.
Writing in his weekly column November 13, Arizmendi joyfully revealed that the Vatican’s Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments has “with the authority of the Pope, on November 8 of this year, granted the long-awaited recognitio of some liturgical adaptations for the celebration of the Holy Mass in the Tseltal, Tsotsil, Ch’ol, Tojolabal, and Zoque ethnic groups of the diocese of San Cristóbal de Las Casas.”
Arizmendi has previously been in communication with LifeSite’s Dr. Maike Hickson, providing her with details about the proposed draft of the rite when it was being assessed by the Vatican. Subsequently, he confirmed to this correspondent a few times about his consternation that the Dicastery was taking so long to approve the rite.
The Vatican’s approval is “the official recognition of the Church by which these adaptations are approved as valid and legitimate,” he wrote in his column.
“They are the liturgy of the Church, and not just customs and habits that are viewed with suspicion,” he said in defense of the new rite of the Novus Ordo Mass. {Emphasis original}
Arizmendi was keen to highlight the significance of the development, since it is indeed only the second such rite since the Second Vatican Council which has been approved, the other being the Zaire rite in Africa.
Echoing Pope Francis on the topic, Arizmendi opined that such rites “are a form of incarnation of faith in expressions that are very specific to these cultures. We did not invent them, but we adopted what they live and which is in accordance with the Roman rite.”
“If there are deviations in some indigenous customs, we can help them to reach their fullness in Christ and in his Church,” he said.
What is new?
Last summer, Arizmendi provided LifeSite with the draft that had been submitted to the Vatican.
The now Vatican-approved rite – as described by Arizmendi – is outlined below:
Ritual dances: “Ritual dances” were approved at the Offertory, in the prayer of the faithful or in the thanksgiving after communion. These, Arizmendi said, are “simple movements of the entire assembly, monotonous, contemplative, accompanied by traditional music, and which express the same thing as the Roman rite, but in a different cultural form.”
“The content of the Mass is not changed, but the way it is expressed,” he said.
Women to incense instead of the priest: Women will perform the “ministry of incense bearers” in Mass “instead of the priest.” After the priest blesses and imposes incense, the woman then incense the “altar, the images, the Gospel book, the ministers and the assembly.” They will apparently not use the customary thurible, but rather “an incense burner proper to their culture.”
This, Arimenzi said, is born out of the indigenous custom of having usually women incensing during prayer.
Lay leadership of Mass prayers: The practice of having a lay man or woman of “recognized moral importance” who will be the “principal,” has been approved to “lead certain parts of the community prayer.” These times would be: “either at the beginning of the Mass, to initiate the community into the celebration, to name the intentions and to ask for forgiveness, or in the prayer of the faithful, after the priest makes the initial invitation and closes with the concluding prayer, or after communion as a thanksgiving, which the priest concludes with the post-communion prayer.”
The cardinal attested that the new practice did not mean “removing the priest from his service as president of the assembly, since he is the one who is at the head of the celebration, and he authorizes these moments.”
The lay leader “promotes and guides the prayer of all,” as he does not pray in just his name. “It is another way for the assembly to participate; the content of the Roman rite is not changed, but its cultural expression,” said Arizmendi.
Pagan theology underpinning rite
The Vatican had been assessing the text since July of 2023, after Mexico’s bishops voted 103-2 in favor during the April 2023 plenary assembly of the rite. The bishops of Mexico discussed an initial draft version, which was then amended slightly for presentation to the Vatican.
Speaking last year, Arizmendi stated that the country’s bishops extended the proposals to “all the native peoples of the country,” rather than just to those of the San Cristóbal diocese. However, that nation-wide permission has not been officially given, though in practice it remains very unlikely that the rite will be limited to the areas outlined by the Vatican.
Dr. Hickson previously noted that a Mayan rite has already been practiced in the Diocese of San Cristóbal, as it has been approved by the Mexican bishops’ conference. (See her prior coverage HERE and HERE)
In the March 2023 draft of the rite sent to LifeSite, the role of the “principal” was posited as being key as such an individual would “become even more relevant during the period of absence of the clergy in our diocese.” Such a line prompts the suggestion of completely lay led ceremonies as a norm in the future, rather than simply certain parts of the Mass.
It is not yet clear from Arizmendi’s description if the “principal” will engage in the pagan practice of praying to the four directions of the earth. The March 2023 draft noted that “on special occasions this prayer can be realigned by invoking God from the four cardinal points.” To invoke God from the four cardinal points implies in the Mayan polytheistic tradition: the four directions of the earth—north, west, south, east—which are traditionally connected with gods. However this was not present in the draft sent to the Vatican last summer and seen by LifeSite at the time.
But despite this, the underlying pagan theology remains. The “ritual dance” Arizmendi mentions was described in the March 2023 draft thus: “the feet caress the face of Mother Earth, making light movements. The face of God is greeted by moving to the four directions of the universe.”
The Undersecretary of the Dicastery — Bishop Aurelio García Macías — was heavily involved in drawing up the rite. He told local media in March last year that the process was “a personal enrichment for me because I believe that the local experience of San Cristóbal de Las Casas has discerned, has been able to study, reflect and can be enriched with the universal experience of the Catholic Church.”
Meanwhile, another pagan-based rite is also under consideration by the Vatican. The Amazon, or Amazonian, rite is about to begin a three-year trial period later this year. The Amazon rite is a product of the highly controversial 2019 Synod of Bishops on the Amazon, or the Amazon Synod.
Among the many proposals raised by the Amazon Synod and its final document are the opening of the clerical state to women and admitting married men to the priesthood, in an attempt to make the Church more appealing to Catholics in the region.
This “Amazonian rite” would “expresses the liturgical, theological, disciplinary and spiritual heritage of the Amazon,” which would assist the “work of evangelization.”
Meanwhile, the Dicastery for Divine Worship has been accused of implementing a “persecution” of the Church’s traditional liturgy across the global Church.
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| Leo XIII: Superiore Anno - On the Recitation of the Rosary |
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Posted by: Stone - 11-15-2024, 06:24 AM - Forum: Encyclicals
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Superiore Anno
On the Recitation of the Rosary
Pope Leo XIII - 1884
To All Our Venerable Brethren the Patriarchs, Primates, Archbishops, and Bishops of the Catholic World in the Grace and Communion of the Apostolic See.
Venerable Brethren, Health and Apostolic Benediction.
Last year, as each of you is aware, We decreed by an Encyclical Letter that, to win the help of Heaven for the Church in her trials, the great Mother of God should be honoured by the means of the most holy Rosary during the whole of the month of October. In this We followed both Our own impulse and the example of Our predecessors, who in times of difficulty were wont to have recourse with increased fervour to the Blessed Virgin, and to seek her aid with special prayers. That wish of Ours has been complied with, with such a willingness and unanimity that it is more than ever apparent how real is the religion and how great is the fervour of the Christian peoples, and how great is the trust everywhere placed in the heavenly patronage of the Virgin Mary. For Us, weighed down with the burden of such and so great trials and evils, We confess that the sight of such intensity of open piety and faith has been a great consolation, and even gives Us new courage for the facing, if that be the wish of God, of still greater trials. Indeed, from the spirit of prayer which is poured out over the house of David and the dwellers in Jerusalem, we have a confident hope that God will at length let Himself be touched and have pity upon the state of His Church, and give ear to the prayers coming to Him through her whom He has chosen to be the dispenser of all heavenly graces.
2. For these reasons, therefore, with the same causes in existence which impelled Us last year, as We have said, to rouse the piety of all, We have deemed it Our duty to exhort again this year the people of Christendom to persevere in that method and formula of prayer known as the Rosary of Mary, and thereby to merit the powerful patronage of the great Mother of God. In as much as the enemies of Christianity are so stubborn in their aims, its defenders must be equally staunch, especially as the heavenly help and the benefits which are bestowed on us by God are the more usually the fruits of our perseverance. It is good to recall to memory the example of that illustrious widow, Judith - a type of the Blessed Virgin - who curbed the ill-judged impatience of the Jews when they attempted to fix, according to their own judgment, the day appointed by God for the deliverance of His city. The example should also be borne in mind of the Apostles, who awaited the supreme gift promised unto them of the Paraclete, and persevered unanimously in prayer with Mary the Mother of Jesus. For it is indeed, an arduous and exceeding weighty matter that is now in hand: it is to humiliate an old and most subtle enemy in the spread-out array of his power; to win back the freedom of the Church and of her Head; to preserve and secure the fortifications within which should rest in peace the safety and weal of human society. Care must be taken, therefore, that, in these times of mourning for the Church, the most holy devotion of the Rosary of Mary be assiduously and piously observed, the more so that this method of prayer being so arranged as to recall in turn all the mysteries of our salvation, is eminently fitted to foster the spirit of piety.
3. With respect to Italy, it is now most necessary to implore the intercessionof the most powerful Virgin through the medium of the Rosary, since amisfortune, and not an imaginary one, is threatening-nay, rather is among us.The Asiatic cholera, having, under God's will, crossed the boundary within whichnature seemed to have confined it, has spread through the crowded shores of aFrench port, and thence to the neighbouring districts of Italian soil. - To Mary,therefore, we must fly - to her whom rightly and justly the Church entitles thedispenser of saving, aiding, and protecting gifts - that she, graciouslyhearkening to our prayers, may grant us the help they besought, and drive farfrom us the unclean plague.
4. We have therefore resolved that in this coming month of October, in which the sacred devotions to Our Virgin Lady of the Rosary are solemnised throughout the Catholic world, all the devotions shall again be observed which were commanded by Us this time last year. - We therefore decree and make order that from the 1st of October to the 2nd of November following in all the parish churches [curialibus templis], in all public churches dedicated to the Mother of God, or in such as are appointed by the Ordinary, five decades at least of the Rosary be recited, together with the Litany. If in the morning, the Holy Sacrifice will take place during these prayers; if in the evening, the Blessed Sacrament will be exposed for the adoration of the faithful; after which those present will receivethe customary Benediction. We desire that, wherever it be lawful, the localconfraternity of the Rosary should make a solemn procession through the streetsas a public manifestation of religious devotion.
5. That the heavenly treasures of the Church may be thrown open to all, We hereby renew every Indulgence granted by Us last year. To all those, therefore, who shall have assisted on the prescribed days at the public recital of the Rosary, and have prayed for Our intentions - to all those also who from legitimate causes shall have been compelled to do so in private - We grant for each occasion an Indulgence of seven years and seven times forty days. To those who, in the prescribed space of time shall have performed these devotions at least ten times - either publicly in the churches or from just causes in the privacy of their homes - and shall have expiated their sins by confession and have received Communion at the altar, We grant from the treasury of the Church a Plenary Indulgence. We also grant this full forgiveness of sins and plenary remission of punishment to all those who, either on the feast day itself of Our Blessed Lady of the Rosary, or on any day within the subsequent eight days, shall have washed the stains from their souls and have holily partaken of the Divine banquet, and shall have also prayed in any church to God and His most holy Mother for Our intentions. As We desire also to consult the interests of those who live in country districts, and are hindered, especially in the month of October, by their agricultural labours, We permit all We have above decreed, and also the holy Indulgences gainable in the month of October, to be postponed to the following months of November or December, according to the prudent decision of the Ordinaries.
6. We doubt not, Venerable Brethren, that rich and abundant fruits will be the result of these efforts, especially if God, by the bestowal of His heavenly graces, bring an added increase to the fields planted by Us and watered by your zeal. We are certain that the faithful of Christendom will hearken to the utterance of Our Apostolic authority with the same fervour of faith and piety of which they gave most ample evidence last year. May our Heavenly Patroness, invoked by us through the Rosary, graciously be with us and obtain that, all disagreements of opinion being removed and Christianity restored throughout the world, we may obtain from God the wished for peace in the Church. - In pledge of that boon, to you, your clergy, and the flock entrusted to your care, We lovingly bestow the Apostolic Benediction.
Given in Rome, at St. Peter's, the 30th of August, 1884, in the Seventh Year of Our Pontificate.
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| Promptitude in Assisting the Holy Souls by Fr Henry James Coleridge SJ, 1889 |
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Posted by: Stone - 11-15-2024, 06:09 AM - Forum: Resources Online
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The price of delay in relieving the souls in Purgatory
When November rolls around, it's easy to put off things like November envelopes and arranging Masses for the dead.
Fr Henry James Coleridge SJ tells us why this is a big mistake.
![[Image: https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.ama...0x675.jpeg]](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fba5fa170-378b-4cfb-ac22-7dd794f60845_1200x675.jpeg)
Image from Wiki Commons, Public Domain.
fathercoleridge.org | November 2, 2024
Editor’s Notes
It’s easy to put things off – especially when it involves arranging Masses, arranging November envelopes, and so on.
And while a moment’s delay for us seems to be a matter of indifference, it can make all the difference to the departed souls, God’s glory, and our very ability to do anything for them at all. For we do not the hour of own departure from this life!
So at the end of this month, let’s reflect one last time on Purgatory with Fr Coleridge, on the value of promptitude in arranging for the relief of the Holy Souls.
Promptitude in Assisting the Holy Souls
From The Prisoners of the King - Thoughts on the Catholic Doctrine of Purgatory
Fr Henry James Coleridge SJ, 1889, pp 67-75
Headings and some line breaks added by The WM Review
The cures wrought on the evening of the Sabbath
The miracles wrought in the deliverance of the demoniac in the synagogue, and in the healing of the mother of St. Peter s wife, do not exhaust the gracious works of mercy which made this first Sabbath of our Lord’s preaching at Capharnaum so memorable in the Gospel history.
The Evangelists tell us that, in the short evening of that day, after the sunset, “they brought all to Him that were diseased, and that were possessed with devils: and all the city was gathered together at the door.” St. Luke, speaking of the sick, says that “He, laying His hands on every one of them, healed them.” As to the demoniacs, St. Matthew says that “He cast out the spirits with His word”; and St. Luke and St. Mark add that, when the devils cried out, “Thou art the Son of God, He rebuked them, and would not suffer them to speak.”
The promptitude of the people of Capharnaum
These miracles have one characteristic circumstance, which each of the Evangelists mentions, and which will be sufficient for our present consideration.
In each narrative we are told that these poor sufferers were brought to our Lord as soon as it was evening, after the sun had set. The reason for this, in the minds of the people of Capharnaum, was that the rest of the Sabbath lasted from sunset to sunset, and that they were consequently free to do so much of work in the way of charity as was required for the bringing of the sick, some of whom no doubt had to be carried on beds or pallets to the door of the house in which our Lord was, as soon as the sun had set.
The twilight in those countries is usually very short, and there was, therefore, very little time for the transport of the sick from one part of the city to another, and for the leisurely healing of them by our Lord, as He laid His hands on each one singly.
But the charitable zeal of the good people of Capharnaum would not wait for the morning, and it may have been that this wonderful exercise of our Lord’s mercy was carried on when, but for that, the whole city would have been wrapped in sleep, under the bright light of the summer moon, and it must have lasted far into the night ere the last poor sufferers had been relieved.
And it was well for them that their friends had been so eager, and even so impatient to procure their speedy cure. For we are told by the Evangelists that very early indeed on the following morning our Lord rose and went out of the city into a desert place to pray. He was pursued by Simon Peter and the other disciples, who entreated Him to return, as every one was seeking Him. But He bade them come with Him on the journey which He at once began, to go through the other cities and villages of Galilee preaching, and it does not seem that He even went back for a moment into Capharnaum.
As it appears, the sufferers would have been unrelieved but for the eagerness and promptitude of their friends, who would not delay a moment in bringing them to our Lord, notwithstanding the lateness of the hour and the great throng at the door – so great that St. Mark, speaking from the recollection of St. Peter, an eye-witness, says that “all the city” was collected there.
It was probably a warm summer night in June, and it cost them but little to wait patiently for their turn in that immense crowd, and when in the morning they learnt that the wonderful Teacher and Healer was already far on His way to other places, they must have thanked with all their hearts the quick charity which had taken them at once to His feet.
The value of promptitude
These people of Capharnaum, therefore, are in this narrative set before us as examples of promptitude in acts of mercy and charity, and we cannot be surprised if our Lord, in His joy at their faith and eagerness, poured out for them a very large measure of His bounty.
The language of the Evangelists would almost justify us in saying that He left no one unhealed who could be brought to Him, and that a very large number of the sick and the demoniacs that were there to be found were brought to Him.
It was the beginning of the great display of miracles by which His public preaching throughout the country of Galilee was heralded, and it is often the way of God to give at the beginning of His merciful dispensations more freely and largely than afterwards, in return for the fresh ready faith with which those dispensations are welcomed. However the facts of the case may have been, it is certain that the conduct of the people of Capharnaum, which was met by our Lord with so rich and magnificent a series of miracles, may be taken as a typical instance of that very beautiful virtue of promptitude which is so dear to God.
Like other graces, it has a natural representative and image in the natural quickness in which some persons excel others so much – a quality not always virtuous, but which enables those who possess it to do so much more in the business and conflict of life than others who are by nature slower. The promptitude which is a grace of God, and which may be said in some measure to reflect His own rapid way of working great effects and changes in a moment, is accompanied with the most perfect calm and tranquillity, which also are qualities which characterise the most mighty and the most instantaneous works of God.
In some respects God appears to us to be infinitely patient and deliberate in His works, biding His time, as we say, and letting years or centuries pass away until the moment which He has chosen arrives. And then – swiftly, silently, and in a moment – His works are done. We are to imitate His patience and deliberateness, so to speak, by never acting until our path is plain and until we are clear as to His will, and then we are to reflect His swiftness in brooking no further delay, and carrying out at once the good work which we have conceived.
For all that we have to do must be done in time, and time is a thing which we can never command – the moment passes away, the opportunity is lost.
All the good that we can do depends for its performance and for its perfection on the assistance of His grace, and grace is another thing which we can never depend upon at a future moment if we do not use it while we have it. We cannot bid it wait or come again to-morrow. Thus, one of the great beauties in the perfection of the work of the saints is the swiftness and promptitude of their actions, which are guided by Him of Whom a Father says – “Nescit tarda molimina Spiritus Sancti gratia.” This quickness runs through the whole range of their virtues, and con sists in perfect correspondence to Divine grace in the use of the occasions of virtue which present themselves. It has nothing of impetuosity or hurry or fussiness about it.
For just as the good use of the tongue consists as much in silence as in speech, so swiftness and promptitude consist as much in not doing things before their time as in doing them at the right time, and not later. The Preacher counsels us “Whatsoever thy hand is able to do, do it earnestly,”[1] as if we had nothing else to do for the time but that; and our Lord bids us “take no thought for the morrow,” as if to do so were to occupy our minds anxiously on things which have not yet come to our hand, and as to which we are not certain that they ever will come.
Promptitude in justice, charity and fidelity
Among all the exercises and acts of virtue which are to be done swiftly and at once, after the pattern of God’s works, there are some which fall under this head in an especial way, such as works of justice, of charity, and of fidelity.
Thus not to pay wages or debts at the right time, to delay the fulfilment of a promise which we have made, or to put off an act of charity which concerns God, our own souls, or our neighbour’s good, are acts on which the failure of promptitude may have very serious consequences. Thus we find St. James reproaching the rich and threatening them with severe punishment for keeping back the wages of their labourers.[2]
Any debt that we owe to man or God, such as the debt of penance and satisfaction, or of a vow or promise, and the like, comes under that urgent instruction of our Lord in the Sermon on the Mount, where He bids us “be at agreement with thy adversary betimes, whilst thou art in the way with him: lest perhaps the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. Amen, I say to thee, thou shalt not go out from thence till thou repay the last farthing.”[3] And we know that when our brethren are in need or in pain, and it is in our power to relieve them, we are bound in all charity not to delay a moment, if possible, to relieve their affliction.
To delay help is at all events to increase their suffering, to add to its duration, and to run the risk of not relieving it at all.
Application to Purgatory
These thoughts very naturally lead us to the application of the lesson here set before us as to our duties in regard of the Holy Souls of Purgatory.
For in the first place, very many of them may be suffering there for a lack of this promptitude in the discharge of obligations, whether of justice or of charity, of which we have spoken. Many an act of devotion, or of charity, or of restitution, or of satisfaction for sin, may have been delayed by them, and death may have found them with that debt undischarged. It is impossible that persons who have not habitually this grace of promptitude and exactness should have nothing to make up in the next world in consequence – and when we remember that death, however much it might have been looked forward to in an ordinary way, is unexpected when it actually comes to the majority of Christians, we may be certain that most men will be found, in this sense, unprepared for it.
But, putting this consideration aside, it is certain that our charity to God, and to the Holy Souls, and to ourselves, binds us, even when there is no obligation of justice, not only to assist them in all the ways in our power, but also to assist them as quickly as possible. The obligation of justice, of course, is still more serious, as binding those who are children or heirs of the departed, those who have received benefits and kindness from them, those whom they have instructed and helped, the priests who have received alms in order that they may say Mass for them, or any who have lived upon the foundations which they have made.
But where the obligation is strictly an obligation of Christian charity, the circumstances of the case of the Holy Souls plead for their help without a moment’s delay. It is a very great difference indeed whether God is deprived or not of His glory by their complete deliverance even a little later or a little sooner.
If it was an immense gain to one of these poor sufferers from disease or demoniacal possession at Capharnaum to have been healed or set free by our Lord on that Sabbath night rather than on the next day, much more is it an incalculable gain to a soul in Purgatory if its detention in that prison be cut short even by an hour or by a minute. It is not the certainty that they will be delivered some time or other that is enough to satisfy the charity of anyone who is at all enlightened as to the pains of sense and of loss which are to be undergone there. We count it very poor charity indeed, in the case of human sickness or affliction of any kind, that is content with the knowledge that, after an indefinite period, that affliction will cease.
And when we remember that our Lord has told us that we shall be dealt with by Him as we have dealt with others, we may be quite certain that, if by His merits and mercy we escape the flames of Hell, it will still be a terrible aggravation to our lot in the fires of Purgatory if we have any slowness or delay in relieving others with which to reproach ourselves.
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| The Catholic Trumpet: Possible SEO attack? |
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Posted by: Stone - 11-15-2024, 06:02 AM - Forum: The Catacombs: News
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A word of caution:
The Catacombs recently promoted and praised a new website called The Catholic Trumpet, here. It's content is excellent.
However, it appears that a YouTube channel with the same name has recently been created that is NOT in any way affiliated with The Catholic Trumpet website. I have not watched the videos on this new website but I have been informed that they are heretical.
At this time, The Catholic Trumpet website does not own a You Tube channel. Whether or not this 'coincidence' is intentional or not remains to be seen.
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