HELP BUILD A CHURCH WORTHY OF GOD!
In need of prayers? How about a novena of Masses?
starting the 17 of every month
Click on candle for arrangements.
1 Corinthians 16:22
Praying for Priests Persecuted for Adhering to Dogma & Sacred Tradition
For custom-made, traditional liturgical furniture, click on image:
She Before Whom the Devils Tremble
Estandarte que usó Hernán Cortés en la conquista de México y que se conserva en el castillo de Chapultepec. Este pendón, llevado al frente de las conquistas, intenta ser un signo de la creencia religiosa de los conquistadores, que refleja el mandato del monarca español, basado en las bulas alejandrinas, de implanter la fe Cristiana entre los indígenas mediante la evangelización. – Salvat, Historia de México, volumen IV, Fascículo 49
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Standard that Hernán Cortés used in the conquest of Mexico and that is preserved in the castle of Chapultepec. This banner, carried at the front of the [battles for] [conquest, has the purpose of being a sign of the religious creed of the conquerors, that reflects the mandate of the Spanish monarch, based on Bulls of [Pope] Alexander [VI], of implanting the Christian faith among the natives by means of evangelization.
The Garden of our Souls
We’ve started enjoying the fruits of our garden: tender squash, a variety of peppers, parsley, mint, basil, Swiss chard. I’ve even made pectin from apple drops. And what a delight to see the heaven-sent freebies! I keep a compost pile, and invariably, from it will spring surprises for plate and palate. This year, from that pile of dirt and refuse, God sent us tomatillos and French pumpkins! I’ve already counted three of the latter, one of them already a monstrosity in size!
Last November, a kind and thoughtful acquaintance gave us a French pumpkin, but I left it in the paper bag on the porch and forgot all about it. Lo and behold, when I did remember it, it was rotting and moldy, so into the compost it went. I just hoped the dear man would not inquire as to how we liked the pumpkin. He told me they make delicious soup. We shall see. 🙂
And because our souls are like a garden, all of this leads me to the real topic of this post: The Dew of Grace, from the writings of St. Julian Eymard. The next time we spend time in our garden, lets meditate on his words:
In the garden of our soul, that paradise of God, we have to cultivate the divine grain, Jesus Christ, sown in us by Holy Communion, that it may spring up and produce the flower of sanctity. Now, in nature, in growing flowers the essential thing is to keep them fresh by watering the roots. If the root dies, the plant will die. Fertility depends on moisture. The sun by itself does not make flowers bloom; its heat alone would make them wither… Therefore, to cultivate the flower of sanctity in your soul, you have to keep the roots fresh and moist, which means simply that you have to live the interior life. Nature gives dew and rain to the earth. The grace of God is the dew of the soul; given in abundance, it is a shower which floods it and makes it fruitful.
The cultivation of your souls consists, therefore, in leading a life of recollection.
Beyond doubt, life in the outer world, however holy and apostolic it may be, always makes us lose a little of our recollection, and if we fail to renew this inner self, we end by losing all grace and all supernatural life…..Ask missionaries whether their zealous activities promote their inner life, and they will all answer no.
…Mind you, I speak not only of brilliant and arduous labors such as preaching, the direction of charitable works, study, and the hearing of confessions. No, it is the simple daily occupations to which we are bound by the obligations of our state or by obedience that use up our spiritual reserves. And unless we frequently renew our intention, they will be fatal to us. We shall become machines, and machines even less perfect than the steam engine which gives forth constantly and regularly the power of which it is capable, while we ourselves cannot long keep up the same pace. We shall become a monstrous machine….
What I say of outside activities and manual labor is true also of study. Even your study of God, of Holy Scripture, of theology, the highest of all knowledge, will puff you up and make your heart arid if you do not unremittingly cultivate the interior life….
The world is strangely deceived in this regard. “Look,” people say. “What a beautiful life! This person has not a moment to himself; he sacrifices himself entirely in the service of others.” All very good but on closer examination I find certain defects in all this good which make me suspicious of so great a zeal. The leaves on this fine tree, it seems to me, are beginning to turn yellow before their time. There must be some inner blight. You see it dying little by little; it lacks the true sap, the inner life. We must be as closely united to God inwardly as we are in the performance of good works. Well does the devil know how to make use of our ignorance or neglect of this principle to send us to perdition. When he sees a zealous and generous soul, he urges it on and makes it so absorbed in work that it is unable to look within….
Here is a practical rule: if, instead of dominating your position, you are dominated by it, you are lost. What will become of a ship in spite of all the skill of its pilot, when its rudder has been carried away by the tempest? The rudder which guidess you and moves you is recollection. Do everything in your power to preserve it, or you will go adrift.
Then, never say again: “Oh, what a holy soul! See how zealous this person is!” but, “Does he live the interior life?” If so, you may expect everything good from him; if not, he will come to nothing holy or great in the eyes of God. Therefore, be master of your exterior life; if it masters you, it will hurry you on to destruction. If your occupations leave you opportunity to contemplate our Lord interiorly, you are on the right road…
St. Fiacre, Pray for us!
How Do You Participate at Mass?
You see! I’ve been telling people this for some time!
Active Participation? Be Like Mary and the Angels in Holy Mass
Posted by Taylor Marshall 
The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is a participation in the eternal liturgy of Heaven at which Christ is the celebrant. Prior to Christ’s death on the life-giving cross, Heaven was closed to humans. The Old Testament saints remained in the Limbo of the Fathers (“Abraham’s bosom”) until the death of Christ opened the gates of Heaven. This is why the Old Testament Temple had statues and images of angels within it, but no images of human beings. Now that Christ has bodily entered Heaven and escorted humans into Heaven, our temples or churches now contain statues and images of angels and human saints.
The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass allows us to participate in the mystical worship of the Holy Trinity. Any so-called theologian or liturgist who does not consider the Holy Mass as a sacrifice and a mystical participation in Heaven is not thinking with the mind or heart of the Holy Church. Saint Paul explains what Christ taught concerning this:
[22] But you are come to Mount Sion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to the company of many thousands of angels, [23] And to the church of the firstborn, who are written in the heavens, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of the just made perfect, [24] And to Jesus the mediator of the new testament, and to the sprinkling of blood which speaketh better than that of Abel. [25] See that you refuse him not that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spoke upon the earth, much more shall not we, that turn away from him that speaketh to us from heaven. (Heb 12:22-28)
The Holy Mass is the enfolding of the death of Christ, the resurrection of Christ, and union with Him now in Heaven. Thus, we who are embodied here on earth must adapt to this mystical reality. The rubrics, music, architecture, and words of Holy Mother Church ensure that this reality (which is impossible to see without the eyes of faith) is illustrated through dignified signs.
The priest, we know, signifies Christ and acts in the person of Christ. What do the laity signify? The Eastern Cherubikon, or Cherubic Hymn, describes the Catholic faithful as “mystically representing the Cherubim”:
Greek:
Οἱ τὰ Χερουβεὶμ μυστικῶς εἰκονίζοντες,
καὶ τῇ ζωοποιῷ Τριάδι τὸν Τρισάγιον ὕμνον προσάδοντες,
πᾶσαν νῦν βιοτικὴν ἀποθώμεθα μέριμναν,
ὡς τὸν Βασιλέα τῶν ὅλων ὑποδεξόμενοι,
ταῖς ἀγγελικαῖς ἀοράτως δορυφορούμενον τάξεσιν. Ἀλληλούϊα.
English:
We who mystically represent the Cherubim,
and who sing to the Life-Giving Trinity the thrice-holy hymn,
let us now lay aside all earthly cares
that we may receive the King of all,
escorted invisibly by the angelic orders. Alleluia
If we truly believe the words of this hymn (and the testimony of Saint Paul), then our participation in the Holy Mass will become profoundly angelic. Active participation does not mean moving around physically or carrying things around the sanctuary. Rather, active participation means being aflame with love in the presence of God [my emphasis]. Cherubs, in the Old Testament, are not fat babies, but fierce beast-like protectors of God’s glory and sanctity. Mary was and is the greatest active participant of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass because she co-offered it with her Son nearly 2,000 years ago at Golgotha. She did not speak or move. She united herself. In union with Jesus, she was perfectly actualized with love, reverence, and worship. I wish that I could see what she must have looked like on that dreadful day. Mary is higher than the cherubim and seraphim because she is also the sincere and wounded lover of the Holy Sacrifice.
If we really want to get serious about the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the liturgy, then we need to scrap all the “liturgy workshops” of the last forty years and engage ourselves in Mariology. How can we be more like Mary at the Cross? How can we be more like Mary when we bear Christ in our bellies? How do the holy priests of the Catholic Church best enter into this mystery? To be Marian is to be liturgically sound.
I learned from a holy priest that it was the practice of Bl. Contardo Ferrini, a holy layman, to humbly pray Mary’s Magnificat as soon as he received Holy Communion at the altar rail. In this way, he made himself “active” in the mystery of the liturgy. The words of Our Lady’s canticle are in fact a perfect post-Communion thanksgiving and instill the humility that we need. Mary was, the saints confirm, the most humble creature that ever lived.
“This nonsense has to stop.”
What can I say? Mr. Ferrara makes much sense about so much nonsense. 🙂
Una Voce Mexico and FSSP Present a Course on the TLM
Please, at least prayerfully support this endeavor. The invasion of Protestant sects into Latin America, and “Catholic” Pentecostalism have made a shambles of the Faith in Spanish-speaking countries. Contrary to what we are told, guitar, maracas and tambourine Masses, Mariachi Masses do not pertain to the Catholic cult of worship. The Cristeros would have been horrified at the mere thought of such profanation taking place in the temple of God!
This is Our Heritage!
Enjoy!
Ever Ancient, Ever New
I should have posted this a couple of days ago, on the four-year anniversary of Summorum Pontificum, but… better late than never.
Published in the Remnant, 6/15/11
Never be a Bore
Advice on Recreation from a Novice Master, edited
(Religious Life, May-June 2011 )
“I told you I wanted to write you something on recreation, so here it is. I think I would like to talk about the virtuous nature of recreation. Aristotle has a virtue he calls eutrapelia that is the virtue found in games. It is a part of the virtue of temperance and consists in enjoying activity in moderation which is done for no other purpose than because you like it. We call it play.
“First, it is important to state that contemplation of divine truth is the deepest, highest and most human of our activities. All men must experience it. Grace gives all Christians the ability to do this, but especially priests and religious. Even Aristotle stated that the contemplation of divine truth is the happiness of man in this life and the reason we do all the ethical actions we do. You must always pursue contemplation and for that reason, some leisure is necessary for you.
“When St. Thomas Aquinas examines the virtue of eutrapelia, he does so first by explaining that though contemplation of God’s truth is the highest human activity, because it is so deep, a person cannot be always engaged in it. Just as the body needs to experience rest, so the soul needs to be relaxed too. This is not to pursue relaxation in itself, but because of the need to return refreshed to deeper activities. Recreation has no useful purpose except to pursue it because you enjoy it.
“St. Thomas talks about a story told in the Conferences of John Cassian. He evokes an apocryphal story from Cassian that John the Beloved Disciple was once playing a game with his follower and bystanders observing this scene reproved him for this. He asked one of the critics who had a bow to shoot an arrow and when he had done this he asked him to do this indefinitely. The man answered that he could not because the bow would break. John the Beloved Discipline drew the lesson from this that man’s mind would break if there [were] never a relaxation of tension. Your soul must delight in playful and humorous actions so that when you relax your soul, you can prepare it to be more involved in deep and divine things later. There are some important things to consider about this, though.
“…one can seek fun too much. Legitimate recreation can be an excuse for perpetual adolescence. Men in general and priests and religious in particular are often spiritually absent from their families or parishes because they are constantly recreating outside the home or parish…[or]being absent from the spouse or the kids because one wants to watch games or other things on TV, all of these types of things are signs of a lack of appreciation of the spiritual role of fatherhood.
“…The Fathers of the Council of Trent saw as one of their principle disciplinary reforms the residency requirement for ecclesiastical superiors. This is because the ministry of presence is so important….Can a father fail to answer the cries of his children even if they occur in the middle of the night? Of course, there are people who impose themselves rudely on one’s time. One must have the wisdom to distinguish between the rude imposition and the soul genuinely distressed.
“By the same token, moderation in this regard demands that one not be a bore. St. Thomas Aquinas says it well: “In human affairs whatever is against reason is a sin. Now it is against reason for a man to be burdensome to others by offering no pleasure to others, and by hindering their enjoyment. “ (ST, II-II, 168, 4, corp.) St. Thomas also warns that a sense of humor is like salt in food. A little goes a long way, but one must still have it.
“Never be a bore to others. Legitimate recreation requires that one should try to find the humorous sign in most things. Making life more livable for others is a beautiful quality and a sense of humor goes a long way in this regard. Remember, there is no real humor in hell.”
Yours in Christ,
Father Aquinas
Posted in spiritual direction
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