Dies Irae

Dedication of the Basilica of St. John Lateran - 10th november 2009

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We celebrate today the Dedication of the Basilica of St. John Lateran in Rome because it is the head and mother church of all churches in the world. On the façade of the basilica there is an inscription in Latin which reads, “the mother and mistress of all churches of Rome and the world.” One might think St. Peter’s Basilica is the head of all the churches but in fact it is the Basilica of St. John Lateran. Every bishop has a cathedral and the Pope’s cathedral is the Basilica of St. John Lateran not the Basilica of St. Peter.

You may ask “Why is the Basilica of St. John Lateran the Pope’s cathedral and not the Basilica of St. Peter since he lives next to St. Peter's Basilica?” History gives us the answer. In the early centuries Christianity was outlawed in Rome and many Christians in Rome suffered martyrdom. The Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity and the famous Edict of Milan in 313 AD allowed Christians to practice their religion in public. Constantine had been given the palace in Rome that belonged to the Laterani and after his conversion to Christianity he gave it to the Pope. The Lateran Palace was then adapted to become a church and was dedicated on 9th November 324 and the Pope then lived in the Lateran Palace as it was called for the next 1000 years and the basilica was his cathedral. It was first called the Basilica of the Savior but later was also dedicated to St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist and so it acquired the name Basilica of St. John Lateran. When the Papacy transferred to Avignon for about a century the condition of the Lateran deteriorated so much that when the Papacy returned to Rome the Pope lived in two other locations before finally settling adjacent to St. Peter's Basilica where he now lives.

Perhaps we could say that the many times the Basilica suffered destruction of some kind is a symbol of the attacks on the Church and the hatred of some for the Church. The Basilica was attacked by the Vandals twice in 408 and 455. It was almost totally destroyed by an earthquake in 896 and it was destroyed by fire in 1308 and 1360. The Basilica is visited by huge numbers of pilgrims every year also symbolizing the love of so many people for the Church.

Those who visit the Basilica on pilgrimage visit it not just because it is the head of all churches and the Pope’s cathedral. The wooden altar on which St. Peter celebrated Mass while in Rome is inside the main altar. The heads of Sts Peter and Paul were once believed to be inside busts above the main altar. Part of the table on which the Last Supper was celebrated is said to be behind a bronze depiction of the Last Supper. At one time the Holy Stairs which is nearby was also in the Lateran, the stairs in Pilate's house on which Jesus is said to have walked during his trial. It is a marble stairs and is now covered with wood to protect it. Pilgrims ascend the stairs on their knees contemplating Jesus’ Passion and on the way up drops of blood may be seen on the marble stairs beneath protective glass. The stairs was brought to Rome by Constantine’s mother St. Helena.

Celebrating the dedication of the Pope’s cathedral today shows our unity with the Pope and our love and respect for him. Not only that, but it shows that we are united with each other in the Church. St. Paul described this unity in the Church in his first letter to the Corinthians as the Body of Christ.

For as with the human body which is a unity although it has many parts – all the parts of the body, though many, still making up one single body – so it is with Christ. We were baptized into one body in a single Spirit, Jews as well as Greeks, slaves as well as free men, and we were all given the same Spirit to drink. (1 Cor 12:12-13)…Now Christ’s body is yourselves, each of you with a part to play in the whole. (1 Cor 12:27)

In our first reading today we heard Ezekiel’s vision of a river flowing from the Temple in Jerusalem and bringing life everywhere it went. We could see it as a vision of the Church receiving life-giving grace from Jesus. In the Letter to the Ephesians we read,

You are built upon the foundations of the apostles and prophets, and Christ Jesus himself is the cornerstone. Every structure knit together in him grows into a holy temple in the Lord; and you too in him are being built up into a dwelling-place of God in the Spirit.

In our second reading today we have a similar idea, “You are God’s building…the foundation…is Jesus Christ.” These passages from Scripture remind us to make Jesus the foundation stone and corner stone of our lives because there is a life-giving river flowing from him to fill us with his grace.

As we celebrate today the dedication of the “the mother and mistress of all churches of Rome and the world” let us pray also for those who have got lost going through life that they find the Church as a true mother to them and that Jesus may become the foundation stone and corner stone of their lives.

From http://www.frtommylane.com/homilies/years_abc/dedication_basilica_john_lateran.htm

St. Sylvia - 5th November 2009

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Mother of Pope St. Gregory the Great, born about 515 (525?); died about 592.

There is unfortunately no life of Silvia and a few scanty notices are all that is extant concerning her. Her native place is sometimes given as Sicily, sometimes as Rome. Apparently she was of as distinguished family as her husband, the Roman regionarius, Gordianus. She had, besides Gregory, a second son.

Silvia was noted for her great piety, and she gave her sons an excellent education. After the death of her husband she devoted herself entirely to religion in the "new cell by the gate of blessed Paul" (cella nova juxta portam beati Pauli). Gregory the Great had a mosaic portrait of his parents executed at the monastery of St. Andrew; it is minutely described by Johannes Diaconus (P.L., LXXV, 229-30). Silvia was portrayed sitting with the face, in which the wrinkles of age could not extinguish the beauty, in full view; the eyes were large and blue, and the expression was gracious and animated.

The veneration of St. Silvia is of early date. In the ninth century an oratory was erected over her former dwelling, near the Basilica of San Saba. Pope Clement VIII (1592-1605) inserted her name under 3 November in the Roman Martyrology. She is invoked by pregnant women for a safe delivery.

St. Charles Borromeo - 4th November 2009

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Born to a wealthy, noble family, the third of six children, son of Count Giberto II Borromeo and Margherita de’ Medici. Nephew of Pope Pius IV. Suffered with a speech impediment. Studied in Milan, and at the University of Pavia, studying at one point under the future Pope Gregory XIII. Civil and canon lawyer at age 21. Cleric at Milan, taking the habit on 13 October 1547. Abbot commendatario of San Felino e San Graziano abbey in Arona, Italy, on 20 November 1547. Abbot commendatario of San Silano di Romagnano abbey on 10 May 1558. Prior commendatario of San Maria di Calvenzano abbey on 8 December 1558. Protonotary apostolic participantium and referendary of the papal court to Pope Pius IV on 13 January 1560. Member of the counsulta for the administration of the Papal States on 22 January 1560. Appointed abbot commendatario of Nonatola, San Gallo di Moggio, Serravalle della Follina, San Stefano del Corno, an abbey in Portugal, and an abbey in Flanders, Belgium on 27 January 1560. Created cardinal on 31 January 1560 at age 22.

Apostolic administrator of Milan, Italy on 8 February 1560. Papal legate to Bologna and Romandiola for two years beginning on 26 April 1560. Deacon on 21 December 1560. Vatican Secretary of State. Governor of Civita Castellana,Italy in 1561. Governor of Ancona on 1 June 1561. Made an honorary citizen of Rome, Italy on 1 July 1561. Founded the Accademia Vaticana in 1562. Governor of Spoleto, Italy on 1 December 1562. Ordained on 4 September 1563. Helped re-open the Council of Trent, and participated in its sessions during 1562 and 1563. Named prince of Orta in 1563. Member of the Congregation of the Holy Office. Bishop of Milan on 7 December 1563. President of the commission of theologians charged by the pope to elaborate the Catechismus Romanus. Worked on the revision of the Missal and Breviary. Member of a commission to reform church music. Archbishop of Milan on 12 May 1564. Governor of Terracina, Italy on 3 June 1564. Archpriest of the patriarchal Liberian basilica in Rome in October 1564. Count of the Palatine in 1564. Prefect of the Tridentine Council from 1564 until September 1565. Papal legate in Bologna, Romandiola, legate a latere, and vicar general in spiritualibus of all Italy on 17 August 1565. Grand penitentiary on 7 November 1565. Participated in the conclave of cardinals in 1565 to 1566 that chose Pope Pius V; he asked the new pope to take the name. Protector of the Swiss Catholic cantons; he visited them all several times worked for the spiritual reform of both clergy and laymen. Due to his enforcement of strict ecclesiastical discipline, some disgruntled monks in the Order of the Humiliati hired a lay brother to murder him on the evening of 26 October 1569; he was shot at, but was not hit. Participated in the conclave in 1572 that chose Pope Gregory XIII. Member of the Apostolic Penitentiary in May 1572. Worked with the sick, and helped bury the dead during the plague outbreak in Milan in 1576. Established the Oblates of Saint Ambrose on 26 April 1578. Teacher, confessor and parish priest to Saint Aloysius Gonzaga, giving him his first communion on 22 July 1580. To help the Swiss Catholics he founded the Collegium Helveticum.

Saint Charles spent his life and fortune in the service of the people of his diocese. He directed and fervently enforced the decrees of the Council of Trent, fought tirelessly for peace in the wake of the storm caused by Martin Luther, founded schools for the poor, seminaries for clerics, hospitals for the sick, conducted synods, instituted children’s Sunday school, did great public and private penance, and worked among the sick and dying, leading his people by example.

St. Martin of Porres - 3rd November 2009s

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St. Martin de Porres was born out of wedlock in Lima, Peru, on December 9, 1579 to Don Juan de Porres, a Spanish nobleman and adventurer, and Ana Velasquez, a freed daughter of slaves from Panama. His father abandoned the family when Martin and his sister, Juana, were very young. Ana Velasquez supported her children by taking in laundry. Martin's childhood poverty did not embitter him but made him sensitive to the plight of the poor, and especially the orphans to whom he would devote much of his time and resources. Even as a child, Martin would give the family's scarce resources to the beggars whom he saw as less fortunate than himself.

When Martin turned eight, his father had a change of heart and decided to claim his two mulatto children in spite of the gossip to which it subjected him. He made sure that both were afforded a good education and had enough money for the family not to suffer privation.

At the age of twelve, Martin began an apprenticeship with a barber/surgeon named Marcel de Rivero. He proved extremely skillful at this trade and soon customers, who at first were skeptical of the young black lad, came to prefer and ask for him.

After leaving home, Martin took a room in the house of Ventura de Luna. Always a devoted Catholic who spent much time in church, Martin begged his landlady for some candle stubs. She was curious about his activities and one night spied on him through a keyhole and witnessed Martin in a vigil of ecstatic prayer -- a practice he would continue throughout his life.

Martin de Porres joined the Dominican Order of Preachers as a donado (lay helper or tertiary). The donados were the lowest-ranking Dominicans, performing the heaviest chores in the Order. He was eventually elevated to brother but never did become a full priest.

Martin continued to practice his old trades of barbering and healing and performed many, many miraculous cures. He also took on kitchen work, laundry, and cleaning. His relationship with his brothers was tinged by their curiosity and occasional pranks. For example, just before the meal was to be served, they would hide the potholders and Martin would have to lift the scalding pots with his bare hands. Yet never once did his fingers get burned!

Martin often challenged his brothers on their racial attitudes. In one story, Martin came upon a group of Indians sweeping the floor under the watchful eye of one of the Dominican brothers. When told that they were cleaning to repay a meal they had received, Martin pointed out that the brother had fed some white people the previous day without forcing them to clean. After Martin's firm but gentle challenge, the brother took up the broom himself.

Martin frequently insisted on performing such hard and menial tasks as caring for the Order's horses in the evenings, even when informed that servants were available for these chores. He would argue that the servants were tired from their day's work while he, Martin, had done very little. He also extended his healing gifts -- going to the servants' quarters and treating their ailments.

Martin's spiritual practices were legendary. He would often fast for extensive periods of time on bread and water. He loved all-night vigils, frequently praying by lying down as if crucified, sometimes kneeling but, miraculously, a foot or more off the floor. He would "take the discipline", scourging himself with chains, three times a day: for the souls in Purgatory, for unrepentant sinners, and, finally, for his own soul.

Equally legendary was his love of animals. He would feed a and heal all animals that came into his vicinity and they understood and obeyed him. St. Martin is often portrayed with mice because, according to one story, the monastery was tired of their rodent problems and decided to set traps. Martin was so distressed that he spoke to the mice and cut a deal with them that if they would leave the monastery, he would feed them at the back door of the kitchen. From that day forward, no mouse was seen in the monastery.

However, it is St. Martin de Porres' charity that made him the patron saint of social justice. Martin fed, sheltered and doctored hundreds of families. He also provided the requisite dowry of 4,000 pesos to enable at least 27 poor young women to marry. Last, but not least, he established the Orphanage and School of the Holy Cross which took in boys and girls of all classes and taught them trades or homemaking skills. Over much criticism, he insisted that the school staff be well-paid so that they would give their best service.

St. Martin de Porres died on November 3rd, 1639. He died surrounded by his brothers and reciting the Credo, his life ending with the words "et homo factus est". His funeral was attended by thousands of Peruvians from all walks of life who vied to get a piece of St. Martin's habit as a relic. These pieces of the saint's habit have been associated with innumerable miraculous cures.

St. Martin de Porres was declared "Blessed" by Pope Gregory XVI and his feast day was set for November 5th. He was canonized by Pope John XXIII on May 6th, 1962 before a crowd of 40,000 people. St. Martin de Porres continues to be greatly revered, especially in the Americas, for his commitment to racial and social justice.

All Souls Day - 2nd November 2009

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All Souls Day follows All Saints Day, and commemorates the faithful departed, those who die in God's faith and friendship. However, Catholics believe that not all those who die in God's grace are immediately ready for the Beatific vision, i.e. the reality and goodness of God and heaven, so they must be purified of "lesser faults," and the temporal effects of sin. The Catholic Church calls this purification of the elect, "purgatory." The Catholic teaching on Purgatory essentially requires belief in two realities: 1. that there will be a purification of believers prior to entering heaven and 2. that the prayers and masses of the faithful in some way benefit those in the state of purification. As to the duration, place, and exact nature of this purification, the Church has no official dogma, although Saint Augustine and others used fire as a way to explain the nature of the purification. Many faithful Catholics, including Pope Benedict XVI, grant that Purgatory may be an existential state as opposed to a temporal place. In other words, Purgatory may be something we experience instantaneously, because it is outside of the confines of created time and space. Many non-Catholics, including C.S. Lewis, have believed in Purgatory, and the official dogma of Purgatory is hardly offensive, even if the popular understanding of it has led to confusion. As a more everyday explanation, many liken Purgatory to a place to "clean up" oneself before going into the presence of Almighty God.

All Souls is the day to remember, pray for, and offer requiem masses up for these faithful departed in the state of purification. Typically Christians will take this day to offer prayers up on behalf of their departed relatives and friends. Others may remember influential individuals that they never knew personally, such as presidents, musicians, etc. This may be done in the form of the Office of the Dead (Defunctorum officium), i.e. a prayer service offered in memory of departed loved ones. Often this office is prayed on the anniversary (or eve) of the death of a loved one, or on All Souls' Day.

There are many customs associated with All Souls Day, and these vary greatly from culture to culture. In Mexico they celebrate All Souls Day as el dia de los muertos, or "the day of the dead." Customs include going to a graveyard to have a picnic, eating skull-shaped candy, and leaving food out for dead relatives. The practice of leaving food out for dead relatives is interesting, but not exactly Catholic Theology. If all of this seems a little morbid, remember that all cultures deal with death in different manners. The Western aversion to anything related to death is not present in other cultures. In the Philippines, they celebrate "Memorial Day" based loosely on All Souls Day. Customs include praying novenas for the holy souls, and ornately decorating relatives' graves. On the eve of All Souls (i.e. the evening of All Saints Day), partiers go door-to-door, requesting gifts and singing a traditional verse representing the liberation of holy souls from purgatory. In Hungary the day is known as Halottak Napja, "the day of the dead," and a common custom is inviting orphans into the family and giving them food, clothes, and toys. In rural Poland, a legend developed that at midnight on All Souls Day a great light shone on the local parish. This light was said to be the holy souls of departed parishioners gathered to pray for their release from Purgatory at the altars of their former earthly parishes. After this, the souls were said to return to scenes from their earthly life and work, visiting homes and other places. As a sign of welcome, Poles leave their windows and doors ajar on the night of All Souls Day. All of these customs show the wide variety of traditions related to All Souls Day.

Christians have been praying for their departed brothers and sisters since the earliest days of Christianity. Early liturgies and inscriptions on catacomb walls attest to the ancientness of prayers for the dead, even if the Church needed more time to develop a substantial theology behind the practice. Praying for the dead is actually borrowed from Judaism, as indicated in 2 Maccabees 12:41-42. In the New Testament, St Paul prays for mercy for his departed friend Onesiphorus (2 Timothy 1:18). Early Christian writers Tertullian and St. Cyprian testify to the regular practice of praying for the souls of the departed. Tertullian justified the practice based on custom and Tradition, and not on explicit scriptural teaching. This demonstrates that Christians believed that their prayers could somehow have a positive effect on the souls of departed believers. Closely connected to the ancient practice of praying for the dead is the belief in an explicit state called purgatory. The New Testament hints at a purification of believers after death. For example, Saint Paul speaks of being saved, "but only as through fire" (1 Corinthians 3:15). Over time, many Church Fathers, including St. Augustine, e.g. in Enchiridion of Faith, Hope, and Love and City of God, further developed the concept of a purgation of sins through fire after death.

In the early days, departed Christians' names were placed on diptychs. In the sixth century, Benedictine communities held commemorations for the departed on the feast of Pentecost. All Souls' Day became a universal festival largely on account of the influence of Odilo of Cluny in AD 998, when he commanded its annual celebration in the Benedictine houses of his congregation. This soon spread to the Carthusian congregations as well. The day was celebrated on various days, including October 15th in 12th century Milan. Today all Western Catholics celebrate All Souls' Day on November 2, as do many Anglicans and Lutherans. Initially many Protestant reformers rejected All Souls' Day because of the theology behind the feast (Purgatory and prayers/masses for the dead), but the feast is now being celebrated in many Protestant communities, in many cases with a sub-Catholic theology of Purgatory. Some Protestants even pray for the dead; many Anglican liturgies include such prayers. While the Eastern Churches lack a clearly defined doctrine of Purgatory, they still regularly pray for the departed.

All Saints Day - 1St November 2009

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Solemnity celebrated on the first of November. It is instituted to honour all the saints, known and unknown, and, according to Urban IV, to supply any deficiencies in the faithful's celebration of saints' feasts during the year.

In the early days the Christians were accustomed to solemnize the anniversary of a martyr's death for Christ at the place of martyrdom. In the fourth century, neighbouring dioceses began to interchange feasts, to transfer relics, to divide them, and to join in a common feast; as is shown by the invitation of St. Basil of Caesarea (397) to the bishops of the province of Pontus. Frequently groups of martyrs suffered on the same day, which naturally led to a joint commemoration. In the persecution of Diocletian the number of martyrs became so great that a separate day could not be assigned to each. But the Church, feeling that every martyr should be venerated, appointed a common day for all. The first trace of this we find in Antioch on the Sunday after Pentecost. We also find mention of a common day in a sermon of St. Ephrem the Syrian (373), and in the 74th homily of St. John Chrysostom (407). At first only martyrs and St. John the Baptist were honoured by a special day. Other saints were added gradually, and increased in number when a regular process of canonization was established; still, as early as 411 there is in the Chaldean Calendar a "Commemoratio Confessorum" for the Friday after Easter. In the West Boniface IV, 13 May, 609, or 610, consecrated the Pantheon in Rome to the Blessed Virgin and all the martyrs, ordering an anniversary. Gregory III (731-741) consecrated a chapel in the Basilica of St. Peter to all the saints and fixed the anniversary for 1 November. A basilica of the Apostles already existed in Rome, and its dedication was annually remembered on 1 May. Gregory IV (827-844) extended the celebration on 1 November to the entire Church. The vigil seems to have been held as early as the feast itself. The octave was added by Sixtus IV (1471-84).

Sts. Simon and Jude, Apostles - 28th October 2009

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A tradition attests that the two Apostles went to evangelize Armenia and Persia, and that they suffered martyrdom in the city of Suanir in the year 47.

St. Simon was also called the Zealot, probably because he had been a member of the nationalist party of Zealots who refused to recognize any foreign yoke over Palestine.

The mother of St. Jude Thaddeus was Mary of Cleophas, a sister-in-law of the Blessed Virgin, who with the Virgin Mary stood by the Cross of Jesus on Calvary. His father was Cleophas [Clopas or Alpheo in Aramaic], a brother of St. Joseph. Therefore, he was the legal cousin of the Man-God. Jude was one of those that his fellow countrymen called a “brother” of the Son of the Carpenter, because it was a custom among the Jews at that time to call cousins brothers. He wrote an epistle to combat the Gnostic heresy, which was just beginning to appear.

In 1605, the relics of the two Apostles were transported to the Vatican Basilica and placed in a crypt under the Altar of the Crucifixion. Tradition tells us this was the site where the cross of St. Peter once stood. St. Semin’s Basilica in Toulouse, France, also has some of their relics.

Comments of Prof. Plinio:

There are several facts worthy of consideration in this selection. The first is the fact that St. Simon was called the Zealot. The Zealots were those who had a especial zeal for the independence of the Palestine, that is, they did not want the Holy Land to fall into the hands of any pagans whatsoever. Since the Zealot cause had some good points – commendable in some aspects – we understand why Our Lord recruited one of His Apostles from its numbers.

St. Jude was the cousin of Our Lord. He was not the only cousin: St. James the Lesser was also His cousin. It seems that St. James the Greater and St. John were also closely related to Jesus Christ. This shows the extraordinary predestination of the race of David. If just one Apostle belonged to this race, that would have been enough to immortalize it. However, to demonstrate His love for the stock of David, not only did God choose to descend from this race, but He chose most of the Apostles from it.

It also shows God’s consideration for legacy. We see the lack of wisdom and absurdity of these egalitarian persons who attack the principle of inheritance in society. This erroneous position can be refuted by thousands of episodes in Scriptures.

St. Jude is the patron saint of desperate causes, the patron of the impossible. Many times in our counter-revolutionary life we feel the disproportion of our means in relation to those of the Revolution that we are called to destroy. To some of us it may appear impossible to win this battle. So, when a temptation of discouragement assaults us, we should have recourse to St. Jude.

In our days we are witnessing the usurpation of Holy Mother Church by Progressivism, which is a doctrine different from Catholic doctrine. We should ask St. Simon to communicate to us the zeal he showed for the Holy Land. With his zeal we should fight any impure doctrine that exists in the Church and expel it from her bosom.

Thus, on this day when we commemorate the martyrdom of these two illustrious Apostles, we should ask St. Jude to restore our courage for the fight against the Revolution. Then, we should ask for St. Simon’s zeal so that this renewed courage will become a blazing torch against the enemies of the Holy Church.

St. Sabina - 27th October 2009

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Saint Sabina Martyr was a noble pagan, wife of Senator Valentino, was converted to Christianity by her maid Serapia. She was accused of being a Christian by Elpidio the Perfect (at the time), after having placed, in the family Sepulcher the holy body of Serapia, (who is also a martyr). Killed because she declared herself inscribed in the new religion, she courageously professed her faith in Christ.

Saint Sabina suffered martyrdom on the 29th of August in the year 125 under Emperor Hadrian. Her relics, together with those of the Saints Serapia, Alexander, Evenzio and Teodulo are venerated under the High Altar of the Roman Basilica which bears her name.

For information about the Church of Santa Sabina please click here

St. Evaristus - 26th October 2009

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Son of a Hellenic Bethlehem Jew. He was the sixth Pope of the Catholic Church. Traditionally considered a martyr, but there is no documentation of the event. Papal Ascension: c.99. Died: c.107; buried at Vaticano near Saint Peter.

Saint Evaristus succeeded Saint Anacletus on the throne of Saint Peter, elected during the second general persecution, under the reign of Domitian. That emperor no doubt did not know that the Christian pontificate was being perpetuated in the shadows of the catacombs. The text of the Liber Pontificalis, says of the new pope:

“Evaristus, born in Greece of a Jewish father named Juda, originally from the city of Bethlehem, reigned for thirteen years, six months and two days, under the reigns of Domitian, Nerva and Trajan, from the Consulate of Valens and Veter (96) until that of Gallus and Bradua (108). This pontiff divided among the priests the titles of the city of Rome. By a constitution he established seven deacons who were to assist the bishop and serve as authentic witnesses for him. During the three ordinations which he conducted in the month of December, he promoted six priests, two deacons and five bishops, destined for various churches. Evaristus received the crown of martyrdom. He was buried near the body of Blessed Peter in the Vatican, on the sixth day of the Calends of November (October 25, 108). The episcopal throne remained vacant for nineteen days.”

The Bollandists explain two passages of this text as follows: Saint Anacletus had ordained twenty-five priests for the city of Rome; Saint Evaristus completed this institution by settling the boundaries of each of these titles, and filling the vacancies which probably occurred during the persecution of Diocletian. As for the decree by which he ordains that seven deacons make up the cortege of the bishop, we find in the first epistle of Saint Anacletus a text which helps us to grasp and better perceive the discipline of the early Church. There existed amid the diverse elements which composed it in its first years, proud minds, envious souls, ambitious hearts which could not bear the yoke of obedience, and who by their revolts and incessant detraction fatigued the patience of the Apostles. The deacons were to be the Pope’s guards against their ill-intentioned projects.

It was at the same time as Saint Ignatius, the illustrious bishop of Antioch, that Pope Saint Evaristus gave his life by martyrdom. The acts of his martyrdom are lost, but we perceive that the same faith, heroism and devotion united the churches of the East and of the West. He is often represented with a sword because he was decapitated, or with a crib, because it is believed that he was born in Bethlehem, from which his father migrated.

Marriage needs children

2009-10-25T13:40:00.000-04:00

All marriages go through a crisis, writes Msgr Cormac Burke who, as a retired judge in the Roman Rota, has reviewed thousands of cases of marriage annulment from around the world. The following is partly adapted from his book "Covenanted Happiness".

This crisis usually takes place at about two to five years after a couple gets married. Hence, he writes, a couple's biggest and most frequent mistake for their marriage is to postpone having children until two to five years after they are married.

It is at this point of time that the romance and love between a married couple begins to fade. It is, according to Msgr Burke, nature's plan for married couples to have children as the support for their marriage at this point of time. But because many married couples choose to delay having children, the support for their marriage does not exist when they need it.

Many young couples want to enjoy themselves to each other for a number of years after getting married. Despite whatever reasons they give, "to have a good time together" is not much of an ideal for two people to share, and is definitely not going to be enough to hold them together in love for a lifetime.

A couple that plans for a marriage with sacrifice reduced to a minimum and, if possible, totally eliminated, is a couple who wants a marriage where they will eventually lose respect for each other.

One reason that is given that the couple wants to mature first before having children, not realizing that it is in the process of raising children together that they mature. I am sure that you can think of many young men in the army who are hardly mature simply because their parents have protected them and prevented them from undergoing hardship throughout their lives. These parents are not doing their children a favour, they are damaging them, spoil-ing them.

In the same way, a married couple that avoids having children under the pretext of maturity is, in fact, preventing their marriage from maturing. They are damaging their marriage deliberately, they are spoil-ing their marriage and themselves.

People have always cried out, "We want to be able to enjoy marriage without the Church telling us what to do. We don't want to be weighed down by the rules of the Church." It is ironic then that the people who pay least heed to the laws of the Church are the ones who are finding least happiness in marriage. What is more ironic is that they now blame the Church for giving them a guilty conscience which led to their unhappiness in marriage. That is one sign of immaturity in a person - the refusal to take responsibility for one's own mistakes. Immature people are always looking for a scapegoat for their problems.

For love to exist and withstand the trials of life, there must be sacrifice, because sacrifice is part of love. To plan for a marriage with the least amount of sacrifice possible is to plan for a marriage with the least amount of love. It is to plan for a marriage that is most likely to breakdown.

St. Anthony Mary Claret - 24th October 2009

2009-10-24T04:45:00.000-04:00

Historic-Liturgical Note

The founder of the Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Anthony Mary Claret died in the Cistercian monastery at Fontfroide in France on this date in 1870. He was canonized in 1950 and listed in the Roman Calendar in 1960. Anthony was born at Salent in the Diocese of Vich in Catalonia, Spain, in the year in which Napoleon invaded Spain. He was trained for manual labor, since his father was a weaver, but in 1829 he entered the seminary at Vich. Ordained to the priesthood in 1835, he was assigned as pastor in his home parish. Later he went to Rome to work for the Propagation of the Faith. He also entered the novitiate of the Jesuits but had to leave because of ill health, so he returned to Spain and was assigned as pastor of a parish. His apostolate consisted of rural preaching, conferences for the clergy and publications (he wrote more than 150 books). Because of his successful apostolate he aroused the animosity of some of the clergy and as a result he left Catalonia for the Canary Islands (1848). After a year he returned to Catalonia and resumed his preaching apostolate.

In 1849 Anthony gathered together five priests who formed the basis of the Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (popularly known as Claretians). At the suggestion of the Queen of Spain, Isabella II, Anthony was named archbishop of Santiago, Cuba (1850). For the next seven years he made pastoral visitations, preached against the slavery of the Negroes, and regularized numerous marriages. As a result of his activity he was frequently threatened with death and on one occasion an attempt was actually made on his life. In 1857 he was recalled to Spain as confessor to the queen. In this way he was able to exert some influence in the naming of bishops, set up a center of ecclesiastical studies at the Escorial, and work towards the recognition of religious orders in Spain. In 1869 he was in Rome, preparing for the First Vatican Council. He followed Isabella II into exile and at the insistence of the Spanish ambassador, was placed under house arrest in the Cistercian monastery at FontFroide, where he died at the age of 63. His remains were ultimately returned to Vich.

Message And Relevance

In the new Opening Prayer of the Mass for this nineteenth-century apostle we pray: "Father, you endowed Anthony Claret with the strength of love and patience to preach the gospel to many nations." From his earliest years in the priesthood Anthony had a zealous missionary spirit that took him to Rome, the Canary Islands, and eventually to Cuba. Not only did he serve as rector of the seminary at the Escorial in Madrid, but he promoted Catholic publications and founded an academy of St. Michael for artists and literary persons. In Cuba he worked for the general uplifting of the population but did not succeed in founding a school of agriculture, as he had wished. He did, however, establish the Apostolic Institute of Mary Immaculate.

The patience of St. Anthony Claret was tested in the political upheavals of the nineteenth century, both in his native Spain and in Cuba. His efforts at reform stirred up a great deal of hostility. Therefore, we ask in the Opening Prayer that we may "work generously for God's kingdom and gain our brothers and sisters for Christ." In the Office of Readings, an excerpt from the writings of St. Anthony Mary Claret states: "The zealous man desires and achieves all great things and he labors strenuously so that God may always be better known, loved and served in this world and in the life to come, for this holy love is without end."

This great apostle, whose major work, , reached millions of people, promoted fidelity to the gospel among all classes of people, and especially among the laity and religious. In this way he anticipated the teaching of the Second Vatican Council concerning the vocation of all the faithful to the perfection of charity.

Opening Prayer Father, you endowed Anthony Claret with the strength of love and patience to preach the gospel to many nations. By the help of his prayers may we work generously for your kingdom and gain our brothers and sisters for Christ.

(Courtesy EWTN)

St. John of Capistrano - 23rd October 2009

2009-10-23T16:22:00.002-04:00

Today we celebrate the feast of St. John of Capistrano, let us read what Dr. Plinio has to say about this saint.

Biographical selection:

Born in 1386 in the city of Capistrano in the Kingdom of Naples, Italy, John entered law school at Perugia where he became a famous jurist and was appointed governor of that city in 1412 at age 26. He entered the Franciscan Monastery of Monte after becoming disillusioned with the world. His superior, Blessed Mark of Bergamo, made strong tests of his late vocation before he was accepted in the Order. For example, once John was ordered to ride through the streets of Perugia on a donkey with his head turned toward the tail of the animal and wearing a cardboard mitre on his head with his worst sins written on it. (Ouch)

With the support of St. James of the Marches and St. Bernardine of Siena, he overcame all the difficulties and met with great success in his apostolate. He had the friendship and support of four Popes, reformed his Order, led a Crusade, and with his extraordinary gift for preaching evangelized in Italy, France, Germany, Austria, Hungary and Poland. He converted countless pagans, fanatic heretics, and obstinate Jews, and brought hundreds of young men to the religious life. He had a special grace to reconcile quarrels. He was named Inquisitor against the Hussites and tenaciously fought this heresy.

He was described by the future Pius II, then a Bishop, as “small, old, dry, thin, wasted, nothing but skin and bones. Always cheerful and tireless, he preached often to audiences of twenty or thirty thousand people. He used to resolve the most difficult questions to the satisfaction of both the simple and the erudite.”

After the fall of Constantinople at Islamic hands, he preached the Crusade against the Muslim Turks, exhorting Catholics to raise an army to resist the invaders, who were threatening Christendom by their victorious march into the northwest of Europe. At age 70 he was commissioned by Pope Callistus II as delegate and adviser for the war against the Turks.

He traveled to Belgrade to encourage the 40,000 Catholic soldiers who were surrounded by Mohammed II. By a clever feint, he got past the Turkish guard, entered the city and began to preach constancy in the fight and confidence in the victory. All of Christendom was praying for a successful outcome for the city. The soldiers, under the influence of the Saint, fought and prayed. John Capistrano accompanied the troops in their more difficult maneuvers: the surprise attacks and recoups. Although he took the greatest risks, he was never wounded by a single bullet. It was due to him, above all, that Belgrade was saved. This victory stalled the Turkish invasion, which in turn saved all of Europe.

Then, worn out from the battle, he was taken in the field by the bubonic plague. A few months later, he died in 1486 in the Franciscan Monastery of Villach, Austria.

Comments of Prof. Plinio:

One could try to make a classification of the saints. Some were founders of nations, others were organizers of nations, still others were founders of religious orders. Then, there is a category of saints who were the defensive walls of the House of God. They constitute a kind of saint whose principal goal is to fight, to destroy the enemies of God. They have the capacity to put fire in souls to stimulate them to the defense of God, to lead them to combat. And in the combat they know how to sustain the courage of the good as well as how to attack the enemies. Doing this, they defend the walls of the House of God. Such is the mission of this category of saints. St. John of Capistrano was one of these saints.

Consider his vocation: First, he was an Inquisitor and a great fighter against heretics on the doctrinal level, a fighter who also converted many of them. I do not think that to fight against heretics and destroy them is a negative mission, because the heretics are already negative, and to place a negative with the negative is to make a positive. No one would say that a physician who destroys the viruses that attack the human body would be doing something negative. The same principle applies to the Inquisitors. They were the physicians who destroyed the viruses that attacked the spiritual health of the Church and Christendom.

Second, he was a great orator who preached to audiences of 20-30,000 people. There is a curious thing that the text does not report, which is the way the people of that time used to listen to an orator. There was no hall large enough to receive these multitudes, so the speaker would deliver his speech outdoors. But a problem would arise when the wind would change, because then the voice could no longer be heard in some places among the crowd. To resolve this problem the custom was established to have a flag hanging at a high site that everyone could see. When the wind would change, the waving flag would indicate the change, and the people would know where they needed to stand to hear the voice of the speaker and they would move there to accommodate the wind change. Thus, it was a moving audience. But let us return to our St. John of Capistrano.

Third, he preached a Crusade and made the necessary diplomatic arrangements for the Catholics to fight against the Turks. But he was not satisfied with this. He went a step further. He thought it necessary to be present on the battlefront. Although he did not personally take up weapons, since a priest is not supposed to shed human blood, he was there as the soul of the combat. He was everywhere giving support and encouragement. It was his action that saved Belgrade, which at that moment was the strategic weak point of Christendom. He broke the march of the Turks into the West and foiled their plan to enter Hungary, Austria, and Italy until they reached Rome to subjugate the Holy See.

Rich in merit and years, he died. His figure remains in History as a great fighter. Perhaps it is for this reason we do not hear much praise today of St. John of Capistrano.

A final point that requests comment in this text is that of the convivium of saints. This association of fellow-saints is one of the most beautiful things in the History of the Church. One saint is already a rare and admirable thing. But this fellowship of many saints, the convivium that sometimes existed among them, and the way that the distinctive holiness of one influences another and in this sense multiplies the sanctity – all this is truly wonderful.

St. John of Capistrano lived in an ambience of sanctity. His superior was Blessed Mark of Bergamo. He was a disciple of St. Bernardine of Siena and a fellow student with St. James of the Marches. There were four saints in a small region of Italy. Four saints of the same religious order living at the same time. Can you imagine the supernatural atmosphere that reigned there under such conditions?

The only thing that remains for us to do is to recommend ourselves to the prayers of the great St. John of Capistrano.

St. Maria Bertilla Boscardin - 20 October 2009

2009-10-20T10:05:00.001-04:00

Anna Francesca Boscardin was born at Brendola, Veneto in 1888. She lived in fear of her father, a poor, violent and jealous farmer who was often drunk. As a child she could attend school irregularly as she was needed to help at home and in the fields. She showed few talents and was often the target of jokes. She acquired the nickname of "the goose", and all her life this nickname will remain with her both at home and in the convent.

In 1904 she joined the Sisters of Saint Dorothy, Daughters of the Sacred Heart at Vicenza, taking the name "Maria Bertilla". She was then sent to Treviso to learn nursing at the municipal hospital there, which was under the direction of her order.

She began working in a hospital with children suffering from diphtheria. There the young nun seemed to find her true vocation: nursing very ill and disturbed children. Later, when the hospital was taken over by the military in World War I, Sister Maria Bertilla cared for patients amidst the threat of constant air raids and bombings.

She died in 1922 after suffering for many years from a painful tumor.

Her reputation for simplicity and devoted, caring hard work had left a deep impression on those who knew her. She was canonized in 1961.

She had no visions like those of Bernadette Soubirous. She wrote no book, like Story of a Soul by Thérese of Lisiseux. But she is compared with these higher-profile saints. And all because she had a gift for nursing and a courageous dedication to her vocation, even when war and disease threatened. She nursed terribly sick children while the bombs of World War I fell around her. “Here I am, Lord,” she wrote in a diary, “to do your will whatever comes—be it life, death, or terror.”

She gave up nursing and returned uncomplaining to the kitchen when a superior thought better of her assignment. She was sent back to nursing by another superior. “She is said to have prayed to Our Lady not for ‘visions, or revelations, or favors, even spiritual ones,’ but ‘to suffer joyfully without any consolation [and] to work hard for you until I die.” Die she soon did, of a painful tumor. “Crowds thronged to her funeral in Vicenza,” according to Richard P. McBrien’s Lives of the Saints.

When Maria Bertilla Boscardin was canonized in 1961, some who had been her patients forty years before were in attendance at St. Peter’s. In the intervening years, there had been reports of miracles. “At the . . . ceremony Pope John XXIII pointed out that the source of Maria Bertilla’s ‘greatness’ was her humility, that her sacrifices were ‘heroic,’ and that hers was a life of ‘simplicity arising from an abundant trust in God.’”

St. Paul of the Cross - 19th October 2009

2009-10-19T13:14:00.002-04:00

Paul Francis Danei, founder of the Passionists, was born in Ovada, Italy in 1694 on January 3, the eldest son of noble parents. At fifteen while still at home in Lombardy he adopted an austere way of life that included great mortification. In 1714 he joined the Venetian army to fight the Turks , and when discharged a year later, he resumed his life of prayer and penance, refusing marriage. He remained at home in Castellazzo for several years as a retreat; but in 1720 he had a vision of Our Lady in a black habit with the name Jesus and a cross in white on the chest in which she told him to found a religious order devoted to preaching the Passion of Christ.

He received permission to proceed from the bishop of Alessandria, who decided the visions were authentic, and Paul drew up a rule during a forty-day retreat that became the basic role for the congregation he was to found. With his brother, John the Baptist, who became his inseparable companion and closest confidant, he went to Rome for papal approval, was refused at first, but on their return to Rome in 1725 were granted permission to accept novices from Pope Benedict XIII, who ordained them in 1727.

They set up a house on Monte Argentaro, lost many of their first novices because of the severity of the rule, opened their first monastery in 1737, and in 1741 received approval of a modified rule from Pope Benedict XIV, and the Barefooted Clerks of the Holy Cross and Passion [the Passionists] began to spread throughout Italy, in great demand for their missions, which became famous. Paul was elected first superior general, against his will, at the first general chapter at Monte Argentaro and held that position the rest of his life. He preached all over the Papal States to tremendous crowds, raised them to a fever pitch as he scourged himself in public, and brought back to the faith the most hardened sinners and criminals. He was blessed with supernatural gifts-----prophecy, miracles of healing, appearances to people in visions in distant places-----and was one of the most celebrated preachers of his time. People fought to touch him and to get a piece of his tunic as a relic. One of his particular concerns was for the conversion of sinners, for which he prayed for fifty years.

The Passionists received final approbation from Pope Clement XIV in 1769, and two years later, Paul's efforts to create an institute of nuns came into being with the opening of the first house of the Passionist nuns, at Corneto. He was ill the last three years of his life, and died in Rome on October 18, and was canonized in 1867. His Feast day is October 19 in the traditional calendar.

Prayer to Saint Paul of the Cross

O glorious Saint Paul of the Cross, on earth thou wast a mirror of innocence and a model of penance! O hero of saintliness, chosen by God to meditate day and night on the bitter Passion of His only-begotten Son, and to spread devotion thereto by word and deed as well as by means of thy religious family! O Apostle, mighty in word and work, thou didst spend thy life in bringing back to the foot of the Cross the erring souls of countless unfortunate sinners! Do thou mercifully look down once more from Heaven upon my poor soul and hear my petitions. Obtain for me so great a love of Jesus suffering, that by constant meditation on His Passion I may make His sufferings mine. Let me realize in the deep Wounds of my Savior the wickedness of my transgressions, and obtain from them, as from the fountain of salvation, the grace of bitter tears and an effectual resolution to imitate thee in thy penance, if I have not followed thine example of innocence. Obtain for me, also, Saint Paul, the favor that I now especially ask of thee, as I humbly kneel before thee . . . Obtain, moreover, for our Holy Mother the Church, victory over Her foes; for sinners, the gift of conversion; for heretics, the grace of returning to the unity of the Catholic faith. Finally, intercede for me that I may, by the grace of God, die a holy death, and come at last to enjoy with thee His blessed Presence in Heaven for all eternity. Amen.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.

St. Edward the Confessor - 13th October 2009

2009-10-13T05:02:00.000-04:00

King of England, born in 1003; died 5 January, 1066. He was the son of Ethelred II and Emma, daughter of Duke Richard of Normandy, being thus half-brother to King Edmund Ironside, Ethelred's son by his first wife, and to King Hardicanute, Emma's son by her second marriage with Canute. When hardly ten years old he was sent with his brother Alfred into Normandy to be brought up at the court of the duke his uncle, the Danes having gained the mastery in England. Thus he spent the best years of his life in exile, the crown having been settled by Canute, with Emma's consent, upon his own offspring by her. Early misfortune thus taught Edward the folly of ambition, and he grew up in innocence, delighting chiefly in assisting at Mass and the church offices, and in association with religious, whilst not disdaining the pleasures of the chase, or recreations suited to his station. Upon Canute's death in 1035 his illegitimate son, Harold, seized the throne, Hardicanute being then in Denmark, and Edward and his brother Alfred were persuaded to make an attempt to gain the crown, which resulted in the cruel death of Alfred who had fallen into Harold's hands, whilst Edward was obliged to return to Normandy. On Hardicanute's sudden death in 1042, Edward was called by acclamation to the throne at the age of about forty, being welcomed even by the Danish settlers owing to his gentle saintly character. His reign was one of almost unbroken peace, the threatened invasion of Canute's son, Sweyn of Norway, being averted by the opportune attack on him by Sweyn of Denmark; and the internal difficulties occasioned by the ambition of Earl Godwin and his sons being settled without bloodshed by Edward's own gentleness and prudence. He undertook no wars except to repel an inroad of the Welsh, and to assist Malcolm III of Scotland against Macbeth, the usurper of his throne. Being devoid of personal ambition, Edward's one aim was the welfare of his people. He remitted the odious "Danegelt", which had needlessly continued to be levied; and though profuse in alms to the poor and for religious purposes, he made his own royal patrimony suffice without imposing taxes. Such was the contentment caused by "the good St. Edward's laws", that their enactment was repeatedly demanded by later generations, when they felt themselves oppressed.

Yielding to the entreaty of his nobles, he accepted as his consort the virtuous Editha, Earl Godwin's daughter. Having, however, made a vow of chastity, he first required her agreement to live with him only as a sister. As he could not leave his kingdom without injury to his people, the making of a pilgrimage to St. Peter's tomb, to which he had bound himself, was commuted by the pope into the rebuilding at Westminster of St. Peter's abbey, the dedication of which took place but a week before his death, and in which he was buried. St. Edward was the first King of England to touch for the "king's evil", many sufferers from the disease were cured by him. He was canonized by Alexander III in 1161. His feast is kept on the 13th of October, his incorrupt body having been solemnly translated on that day in 1163 by St. Thomas of Canterbury in the presence of King Henry II.

Special Lepanto Mass for Our lady of The Rosary

2009-10-07T04:02:00.001-04:00

The Oratory of St. Philip Neri & Holy Family Church will be having a mass in the Usus Antiquior format to celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary as well as the Victory at Lepanto

Location: 1372 King Street West
Toronto, Ontario, Canada M6K 1H3

Date: 10th October 2009
Time 11:00AM

For more details click the link

Saint M. Faustina Kowalska - 5th October 2009

2009-10-06T15:21:00.001-04:00

On October 5, 1938, a young religious by the name Sister Faustina (Helen Kowalska) died in a convent of the Congregation of Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in Cracow, Poland. She came from a very poor family that had struggled hard on their little farm during the terrible years of WWI. Sister had had only three years of very simple education. Hers were the humblest of tasks in the convent, usually in the kitchen or the vegetable garden, or as a porter.

On February 22, 1931, Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ appeared to this simple nun, bringing with Him a wonderful message of Mercy for all mankind. Saint Faustina tells us in her diary under this date:

"In the evening, when I was in my cell, I became aware of the Lord Jesus clothed in a white garment. One hand was raised in blessing, the other was touching the garment at the breast. From the opening of the garment at the breast there came forth two large rays, one red and the other pale. In silence I gazed intently at the Lord;
my soul was overwhelmed with fear, but also with great joy. After a while Jesus said to me, 'paint an image according to the pattern you see, with the inscription: Jesus, I trust in You.'"

Some time later, Our Lord again spoke to her:

"The pale ray stands for the Water which makes souls righteous; the red ray stands for the Blood which is the life of souls. These two rays issued forth from the depths of My most tender Mercy at that time when My agonizing Heart was opened by a lance on the
Cross....Fortunate is the one who will dwell in their shelter, for the just hand of God shall not lay hold of him."

Notes from St. Faustina's diary regarding the second coming

You will prepare the world for My final coming. (Diary 429)

Speak to the world about My mercy ... It is a sign for the end times. After it will come the Day of Justice. While there is still time, let them have recourse to the fountain of My mercy. (Diary 848)

Tell souls about this great mercy of Mine, because the awful day, the day of My justice, is near. (Diary 965).

I am prolonging the time of mercy for the sake of sinners. But woe to them if they do not recognize this time of My visitation. (Diary 1160)

Before the Day of Justice, I am sending the Day of Mercy. (Diary 1588)

He who refuses to pass through the door of My mercy must pass through the door of My justice. (Diary 1146).

You have to speak to the world about His great mercy and prepare the world for the Second Coming of Him who will come, not as a merciful Savior, but as a just Judge. Oh how terrible is that day! Determined is the day of justice, the day of divine wrath. The angels tremble before it. Speak to souls about this great mercy while it is still the time for granting mercy. (Diary 635).

Indulgences for saying the Rosary

2009-10-06T10:14:00.000-04:00

An indulgence is the remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven, a remission, which one of the faithful, properly disposed and under certain definite conditions, can acquire through the Church, which authoritatively dispenses, applying the treasure of the satisfactions of Christ and the Saints.

An indulgence is either PLENARY or PARTIAL, depending upon whether it frees one from the whole or from a part of the temporal punishment due to sin.

This means that one of the faithful who, with at least a contrite heart, performs a work enriched with a partial indulgence, is granted by the power of the Church that same amount of remission of temporal punishment as he has already obtained by the work itself. In other words, the remission is doubled, and that as often as the work prescribed is performed. A plenary indulgence means a full remission of temporal punishment, provided that several other conditions apply, in addition to the work performed or prayer said.

1. The faithful, whenever they recite a third part of the Rosary with devotion, may gain:
* A partial indulgence
* A Plenary indulgence on the usual conditions, if they do this for an entire month.

2. If they recite a third part of the Rosary in company with others, wheter in public or in private, they may gain:

* A partial indulgence, once a day;
* A plenary indulgence on the last Sunday of each month, with the addition of Confession, Communion and a visit to a church or a public oratory, if they perform such a recitation at least three times in any of the preceding weeks.
If however they recite this together in family group, besides the partial indulgence, they are granted:
* A plenary indulgence twice a month, if they perform this recitation, daily for a month, go to confession, receive Holy Communion, and visit some church or public oratory.

The faithful who daily recite a third part of the Rosary with devotion in a family group besides the indulgences already granted under

1. are also granted a Plenary indulgence on condition of Confession and Communion on each Saturday, on two other days of the week, and on each of the Feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Universal Calendar namely: the Immaculate Conception, the Purification, the Apparition of our Blessed Lady at Lourdes, the Annunciation, the Seven Dolors (Friday of Passion Week), the Visitation, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel; Our Lady of the Snows, the Assumption, the Immaculate Heart of Mary, the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin, the Seven Dolors (Sept 15), Our Lady of Ransom, the Most Holy Rosary, the Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin.

3. Those who piously recite a third part of the Rosary in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, publicly exposed or even reserved in the tabernacle, as often as they do this, may gain:

* A plenary indulgence, on conditon of confession and Communion.

The faithful who at any time of the year devoutly offer their prayers in honor of our Lady of the Rosary, with the intention of continuing the same for 9 consecutive days, may gain:

o A partial indulgence on any day of the novena;
o A plenary indulgence on the usual conditions at the close of the novena.
The faithful who resolve to perform a devout exercise in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary for 15 uninterrupted Saturdays (or these being impeded, for any respective Sundays immediately following) if they devoutly recite at least a third part of the Rosary or meditate on its mysteries in some other manner may gain:
o A plenary indulgence on the usual conditions on any of these 15 Saturdays, or corresponding Sundays.

The faithful who during the month of October recite at least a third part of the Rosary, either publicly or privately, may gain:

o A partial indulgence each day;
o A plenary indulgence, if they perform this devout exercise on the Feast of the Rosary and throughout the Octave, and moreover, go to confession, receive Holy Communion and visit a church;
o A plenary indulgence, with the addition of confession, Communion and visit to a church, if they perform this same recitation of the Holy Rosary for at least 10 days after the Octave of the aforesaid Feast.

A partial indulgence may be gained once a day by the faithful who kissing a blessed Rosary, which they carry with them, at the same time recite the first part of the Hail Mary up to "Jesus" inclusive.

St. Michael the Archangel - 29 September 2009

2009-09-29T09:09:00.000-04:00

The Church considers St. Michael, who stands between mankind and the Divinity, as the mediator of her liturgical prayer. God, who made the visible and invisible hierarchies with an admirable order, makes use of the ministry of the celestial spirits for his glory. The angelical choirs, who contemplate ceaselessly the face of the Father, know, better than men, how to adore and contemplate the beauty of His infinite perfections.

The Church on earth also invites the celestial spirits to praise and glorify the Lord, to worship and ceaselessly adore Him. This contemplative mission of the Angels is a model for us, as St. Leo reminds us in the beautiful preface of his Sacramental:

“It behooves us to render graces to Thee, who teaches us through Thy Apostle that our life is directed toward Heaven; that Thou dost benevolently desire that our spirits are transported to the heavenly region, the home of those whom we venerate, and that especially on this day, the feast day of St. Michael the Archangel, we ascend to these heights."

Comments of Prof. Plinio:

St. Michael is the chief of the Angels who fought against the Devil and the bad Angels and threw them into Hell. He is the chief of the Guardian Angels of individuals, and also of institutions. He himself is the Guardian Angel of the institution of all institutions, which is the Holy Roman Catholic and Apostolic Church. He has, therefore, a mission of tutelage. Regarding such mission, we can ask what relation exists between St. Michael’s first mission of defeating the revolted Angels and the protection he gives men in this valley of tears.

The two missions are linked. God wanted St. Michael to be His shield against the Devil in the first celestial fight. He also wants St. Michael to be the shield of men against the Devil, and the shield of the Holy Catholic Church as well. But St. Michael does not limit himself to be a shield of protection. He is also a sword to defeat and hurl the enemy into Hell. It is a double mission that is correlated.

For this reason, in the Middle Ages St. Michael was considered the first knight, the celestial knight: faithful, strong, and pure as a knight should be. He was also victorious, because he put all his trust in God, and after the birth of Our Lady, all his confidence in her.

It is this admirable figure of St. Michael whom we should consider our natural ally in the fights in which we are called to engage in defense of the honor of God, Our Lady, the Holy Church and Christian Civilization. With St. Michael as our model, we should defend them as a shield, and attack their enemies as a sword in order to destroy the Devil’s empire and establish the Reign of Mary on this earth. St. Michael should be our special patron.

The selection points to a particular aspect of devotion to the Angels that should be stressed. The Angels are inhabitants of the celestial court who continuously see God face-to-face. The apex of angelic and human happiness is to contemplate God, and this is the essence of life in Heaven; it is what makes Heaven the motherland of our souls. God continuously manifests new aspects of Himself that suffuse the Angels with happiness.

In epochs of true faith, something of this heavenly happiness filtrates to earth and is communicated to some pious souls, who, in their turn, express it to the entire Church and incorporate it into her spiritual treasure for us to share. Today we sorely lack this sense of heavenly happiness and, therefore, we have less appetite for Heaven. Many persons only have an appetite for earthly things. If they could understand for only one moment the consolation that comes from the consideration of heavenly things, they would understand how provisory earthly goods are, how worthless they are, how other values far transcend them. If they understood these things, they would be able to remove themselves from their attachment to earthly goods.

But, in our days, people are enthusiastic about money, petty politics, worldly things, the trivial life and its little news. They are no longer elevated souls who are enthused by great doctrinal problems and celestial things.

What we are so greatly lacking today is precisely what the holy Angels can obtain for us. They are inundated with a heavenly happiness, which they can communicate to us. So, let us ask them to give us the desire for celestial things. This is an excellent thing to ask on St. Michael the Archangel’s feast day, that we might model ourselves after him and become the perfect knights of Our Lady on this earth.

Feast of the Canadian Martyrs

2009-09-26T09:42:00.000-04:00

Jean de Brébeuf

Jean de Brébeuf, was ordained at thirty-three. He was the first Jesuit Missionary in Huronia (1626), a master of the Indian language.

He worked throughout all the district, founded Mission outposts converted thousands to the faith. He inspired many Jesuits to volunteer for the Missions of New France.

Massive in body, strong yet gentle in character, his visions of the cross and of his future martyrdom were fulfilled when captured March 16, 1649, he was tortured for hours. He was martyred at St. Ignace, six miles from Ste. Marie at the age of fifty-six.

Brebeuf is said to have the heart of a giant. He was known as the apostle of the Hurons. The Indians called him Echon.

Gabriel Lalemant

Gabriel Lalemant, a Jesuit at nineteen, ordained at twenty-seven, a scholar and professor and a College administrator, delicate in body had a strong desire for the Mission of Huronia.

After two years in Canada he left for Huronia. After seven months in Huronia, he was able to speak the Native tongue. For one month he was assistant to Brebeuf and then his companion in Martyrdom for seventeen long hours. He died March 17, 1649 at Ste. Ignace.

He summed up his own strength, "My strength is the strength of God. In Him, I can do all things."

Antoine Daniel

Antoine Daniel, was ordained a priest at twenty-nine, was a missionary near Bias-d'or Lakes (1632), founded the first boys' College in North America (Quebec 1635), laboured in Huronia for twelve years.

In 1648 he made his retreat at Ste. Marie and returned to his mission twelve miles away. On July 4, he just finished Mass when the Mission was attacked. In Mass vestments he faced the enemy, encouraging the Christian converts to live their faith and thus giving time for some to escape.

His martyred body was thrown in the flames of the burning Church. This was at Mount St. Louis. He was forty-eight.

Charles Garnier

Charles Garnier, was a Jesuit Missionary in Huronia at age of thirty-one. For thirteen years he was pastor and missionary to the Hurons and Petuns.

Gentle, innocent, fearless, a person of faith he drew converts to the faith. Even when the Mission of Etharita was attacked and he himself wounded, he continued to baptize neo-phytes and to assist a wounded Huron. In this act he died at the age of forty-four about thirty miles from Ste. Marie.

Noël Chabanel

Noël Chabanel, a Jesuit priest at twenty-eight, a successful professor and humanist in France, had a strong desire to come to the Canadian Missions. Here he was unable to learn the native language and felt useless in the ministry.

He took a vow to remain in the missions, on the cross of seeming failure, always in the shadow of martyrdom. Even his martyrdom came secretly at the hands of an apostate on December 8, 1649 on the Nottawasaga, twenty-five miles from Ste. Marie.

Isaac Jogues

Isaac Jogues, came to Huronia in 1636, supplied at mission outposts for three years, helped to build Ste. Marie (1639), explored as far west as Sault Ste. Marie.

Captured by the Iroquois when returning to Ste. Marie from Quebec (1642), he was tortured, lost his fingers, made a slave. He escaped to France, but returned the same year to again be an emissary and missionary to the Iroquois.

He was martyred at Auriesville, N.Y. at age of thirty-nine.

René Goupil

René Goupil, had to leave the Jesuit novitiate because of ill health. He studied medicine and offered his services to the Jesuit missions in Canada. On his way to Ste. Marie, he and Isaac Jogues were captured and tortured.

Isaac Jogues received his vows into the Society of Jesus. A month later, he was martyred while making the Sign of the Cross on a child. It took place at Auriesville, N.Y. He was thirty-five.

He was the first of the eight Martyrs to receive the palm of Martyrdom.

Jean de Lalande

Jean de Lalande, at nineteen offered his services as a layman to the Jesuits in New France. He accompanied Jogues to the Mohawk Mission (1646), was captured with him and tortured. He saw Jogues martyred. On the following day (October 19, 1646), he himself was killed, a martyr, at Auriesville, N.Y.

Sts. Cosmas and Damien - 26th September 2009

2009-09-26T07:59:00.001-04:00

ST. COSMAS AND ST. DAMIEN

These two martyrs were twin brothers from Syria who lived in the fourth century. They were very famous students of science and both became excellent doctors. Cosmas and Damien saw in every patient as a brother or sister in Christ. For this reason, they showed great charity to all and treated their patients to the best of their ability. Yet no matter how much care a patient required, neither Cosmas nor Damien ever accepted any money for their services. For this reason, they were called by a name in Greek which means "the penniless ones."

Every chance they had, the two saints told their patients about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Because the people all loved these twin doctors, they listened to them willingly. Cosmas and Damien often brought health back to both the bodies and the souls of those who came to them for help.

When Diocletian's persecution of Christians began in their city, the saints were arrested at once. They had never tried to hide their great love for their Christian faith. They were tortured, but nothing could make them give up their belief in Christ. They had lived for him and had brought so many people to his love. So at last, they were put to death in the year 303. These holy martyrs are named in the First Eucharistic Prayer of the Mass.

In honor of St. Cosmas and St. Damien, we can perform a work of mercy today--either spiritual or material.

Hypocrisy - St. Padre Pio

2009-09-25T09:49:00.003-04:00

I am a day late posting about St. Padre Pio. None the less the following article is worth reading.

Hypocrisy
PADRE PIO, the famous Capuchin Stigmatic, in an interview with William M. Carrigan in 1945 said:

"HYPOCRISY IS THE GREATEST EVIL OF OUR TIME. It exists in all levels of our society, in high places and in low places."

Padre Pio had no claim to scholarship, but his deep wisdom concerning the spiritual welfare of man flowed through his life and works, and touched all who came into his sphere.

Hypocrisy In Our Day...

We are all familiar with hypocrisy in Politics - in Education - in the Courts - in Medicine - in Advertising - in Religion. We see it constantly in the Media. TV Newspapers - and Magazines as well as Radio and Theatre - all find it good stock in trade.

Few of them will pass up the use of half truths - prejudices - slanted reporting - calumny - detraction - mythical argument - distortion of facts - falsifications - pretense of virtue while supporting vice - glorification of violence....if they add to the saleability of their stocks in trade. These hypocritical forms are found constantly in the media. So common are they that they have been acceptable methods of selling ideas. They are the reason for so many ethics standards appearing in govemment and business.

A Kind of Brain Washing. . .

The sales pitch for almost everything that touches our lives includes hypocrisy. To convince the gullible, nearly everything from cosmetics to religion is presented as seeming different than what it really is. We see in politics, promises that are impossible to honor, in education theories that could destroy society, in medicine false arguments which prevent the next generation from arriving on the earth, in commerce most advertising on TV and in the press distorts the truth, the porno people and the amoral sales people sell their stuff with the argument that somehow `what is adult' is sinless, that what may be bad for children is not bad for adults.

In religion - how the struggle goes on for souls! Those who truly seek God are entrapped in a thousand schemes to lead them to God by this or that road, and often worldly advantages are part of the package.

Hypocrisy is rampant in the whole spectrum of moral consequences in human conduct. Humanism is taking its toll among our childnn "Seek your own value system" is drummed into them in school, on T.V. and in the media generally. When they ask "When do we know we have a value?" they are told "As long as you are comfortable with it." No one seems to remember that God gave us our value system through Moses. Padre Pio never thought there could be a better one.

In the Days of Christ...

How many of these same hypocritical forms were used in Christ's time! Did He not strike out at hypocrisy in the temple and in the hearts of men from the earliest days of His ministry!

How old and how new is the evil! Was it not hypocrisy among the Politicians and the religious leaders that brought Christ to Pilate - before the Soldiers who beat Him to exhaustion - forced Him under the heavy cross - and drove the nails into His body and made Him a common criminal to die on the cross with thieves?

Padre Pio understood hypocrisy in Christ's time. For 50 years he shared the five wounds of Christ in his body - and he experienced some of the hypocrisy of the politicians and other authorities through those long years in his own life.

Christ on The Cross...

This season we again commemorate the suffering of Jesus on the cross. This season tens of thousands of Padre Pio's devotees throughout the world have greater undestanding of the meaning, of the suffering of Christ on Calvary because Padre Pio conveyed that understanding to them through his own sharing of Christ's wounds and his extraordinary example as an altar christus, an annointed Priest.

Holy Week on The Gargano...

Padre Pio always placed special emphasis on Holy Week. Thousands of his spiritual children found their way up the mountain of the Gargano - which formed the spur of the boot of Italy - to participate with him in reviewing the events of Christ's last days on earth.

No spiritual experience quite equalled Holy Week with Padre Pio. His Masses convinced the most incredulous of the truth and meaning, of the Last Supper. For many he became the answer to the crises of faith. Conversions were commonplace at this time. Many vowed to change their way of life - some found vocations to the religious life. Credibility is what they found in Padre Pio - credibility in belief that Christ is really what He said He is.

CURE for Hypocrisy

TRUTH In the confessional he demanded "full disclosure" of his spiritual children.
CREDIBILITY is the first fruit of truth.
TRUST becomes the offspring of credibility, he wanted his children to trust the word of Christ.
JUSTICE Trust leads directly to the exercise of justice. Respect for persons and property follows naturally.
LOVE enters freely where there is truth, credibility, trust and justice.
PEACE can be enjoyed where justice and love fill the heart and mind.

St. Matthew the Evangelist - 21 September 2009

2009-09-21T02:54:00.002-04:00

The Apostle St. Matthew evangelized Ethiopia, where he disclosed as agents of the Devil the various magicians who misled the King and the people. He resurrected the son of the King, and the admiring people wanted to adore him as a god. But St. Matthew did not permit it and used the gold and silver they brought in his homage to build a great church. He resided there under the protection of the sovereign for 33 years. The king’s daughter, St. Ephigenia [Feast day also September 21], consecrated herself to God and founded a convent where she was the superior of more than 200 virgins.

The King died, and his successor, Hirtacus, wanted to marry St. Ephigenia since he considered her the only woman worthy of him. The new King asked St. Matthew to convince the Princess to marry and promised him half of his kingdom if he should succeed. The Apostle told him to come to church on Sunday, and that there he would find a response to his request. The King hastened to comply, thinking that the Apostle would persuade Ephigenia to marry him. With the virgins and whole populace present, St. Matthew preached at great length on the excellence of the sacrament of marriage.

Hirtacus was pleased believing that the sermon would make Ephigenia consent to marriage with him. However, at a certain moment, St. Matthew said:

"Since marriage is good as long as the union is kept inviolate, all of you here present know that if a servant dared to usurp the king’s spouse, he would deserve not only the king’s anger, but death as a penalty."

Then he turned to the king and addressed him:

“So it is with you, O King! You know that Ephigenia has become the spouse of the Eternal King and is consecrated with the sacred veil. How can you take the spouse of One who is more powerful than you and make her your wife?”

Filled with rage and hatred, the King left the church. When the Mass was concluded, he sent a swordsman with the order to kill St. Matthew. Finding St. Matthew standing before the altar with his hands raised to Heaven in prayer, he stabbed the Apostle in the back, killing him and making him a martyr.

Learning of this, the indignant people ran to the royal palace to take revenge for that crime, but the priests restrained them and advised them to follow the funeral of the Saint instead. Hirtacus then had a huge fire ignited around the convent of St. Ephigenia to kill her and the virgins. But St. Matthew appeared to them and turned the fire away from the convent and towards the royal palace, which was completely consumed along with all in it. Only the King and his son managed to escape.

The Prince immediately ran to the tomb of St. Matthew confessing his father’s crimes and asking forgiveness. The King was stricken with a loathsome leprosy and took his life with his own sword. The people chose as king the brother of Ephigenia. He reigned for 70 years spreading the cult of Christ and building churches throughout Ethiopia. (From the Golden Legend)

Comments of Prof. Plinio:

First, we should notice that Ethiopia had a special character of those countries of ancient Africa. It was one of the first to become Catholic and develop a strong personality. Later, unfortunately, it became Monophysist. Until some time ago, Ethiopia was an Empire. The Golden Legend tells us how the King and the people of Ethiopia had been led astray by magicians from the worship of the true God that one can have by faithfulness to Natural Law. Those magicians had a pact with the Devil. St. Matthew destroyed their power showing the King and the people that they were agents of the Devil.

We can imagine the scene of the Publican Jew, Matthew, arriving in that country by sea, or perhaps by the Nile, and beginning to preach. We can envision how the magicians felt a great power in St. Matthew that came from God, and feared him. The selection is brief on this point, but we can suppose that they probably performed many tricks with miraculous hues to convince the people that they had a divine power. St. Matthew arrived and shortly afterward resurrected the son of the King. With this, he confounded the magicians before the King and the people. Seeing this noble, powerful, supernatural, and amiable man perform such a miracle, the Ethiopian multitude was filled with admiration and became enthused with him.

One of the great natural qualities of the black race is their capacity to admire. Grace elevates and develops this quality. The capacity to admire is such a beautiful thing that, from a certain point of view, I believe it is more beautiful than the capacity to be admired. In Heaven for all eternity we will admire, we will adore Our Lord. Then, we can imagine those Ethiopians exercising this gift, enthused with St. Matthew, and asking him to baptize them.

Second, the conversion of the daughter of the King is very beautiful, as well. A nation that lived for centuries in Paganism and impurity was converted by the words of St. Matthew, and 200 ebony young ladies went with the daughter of the King to a convent to be spouses of Our Lord Jesus Christ. They resided near Ethiopia’s first church built under the direction of St. Matthew himself. The convent that received those 200 ebony virgins was also near the royal palace. Probably, in a special ceremony, St. Matthew gave them a symbol of their consecration, the veil, to begin their religious life. We can imagine the influence this episode had on the people, and the joy of God and His Angels in Heaven seeing these Catholic institutions born in Ethiopia. It is a wonderful thing!

Third, it is interesting to note the agility of St. Matthew. When the Apostle began to preach, the King thought he would obtain the hand of St. Ephigenia in marriage. But then St. Matthew turned the sermon around, and solemnly condemned the sovereign.

Another curious point, the priests advised the people not to destroy the royal palace, but directed them to St. Matthew’s funeral. But apparently the Saint did not agree with this advice, because he deviated the fire from the convent to burn the royal palace, chastising its inhabitants and doing more or less what the people would have done if the priests hadn’t stopped them.

Fourth, the final sentence of the selection affirms that the new King reigned for 70 years spreading the Catholic Faith and building churches. This transmits an idea of a long, peaceful, and elevated kingdom. It is the peace of Christ in a kingdom of Christ. When the Catholic Faith is established, it is the seed of every good. When it is not established, the seed of every evil is sown.

Some say that the Golden Legend would not be true because the stories it tells are too marvelous. My first inclination is to think the opposite: if it is marvelous, it would be true.

Let us ask St. Matthew to give us the intrepid faith he had that made him able to convert a whole kingdom single-handed and to establish the seed of Christendom in Ethiopia. Like him we should be Apostles of the End Times bringing entire countries to Our Lord and Our Lady.

Our Lady of La Salette - 20 September 2009

2009-09-20T06:50:00.000-04:00

On September 19, 1846, Our Lady appeared to two small shepherds, Maximin Giraud and Melanie Calvat. The beautiful lady, as the children called her, appeared in an attitude of profound sadness asking prayers and penance to help her prevent the arm of her Son from falling over humankind for its sins. Our Lady also revealed to the shepherd children a secret. Since this apparition took place on the mountain called La Salette in the Diocese of Grenoble, France, a new invocation of Our Lady soon spread throughout the world – Our Lady of La Salette.

There have been three major apparitions of Our Lady in the last 150 years: La Salette, Lourdes and Fatima. In all of them the Church accepted the authenticity of the apparitions and endorsed them by making special feasts to commemorate them. In each of those three apparitions Our Lady left a secret.

In all of them, Our Lady manifested herself as profoundly sad because of the state of mankind, and predicted an enormous chastisement that would come at a chosen moment. Therefore, in the last 150 years Our Lady has adopted a position very similar to that of the counter-revolutionaries.

You are constantly in contact with members of the High and Low Clergy as well as with Catholic laypeople who are very happy, who think that everything is going very well. If you tell these people that a chastisement is being prepared for mankind, they respond that it is absurd. They affirm that today Religion is in an extraordinary progress.

Next to such people we look gloomy and sad. We play the role of the pessimistic hypochondriacs who do not fit into the joyful, carefree atmosphere of our days, which always disseminates an optimistic and positive opinion about everything.

Our role is a hard one, because it is always hard to foresee and announce chastisements for a mankind turned toward enjoying life. It is not surprising that very few people are willing to believe and follow our political and religious perspectives regarding events, which demonstrates the ever greater victory of the Revolution. They do not want to hear about the great chastisement that God is preparing. Since Our Lady herself brought three major messages that were not accepted, it is not surprising that our apostolate also is not well received.

This is characteristic of all epochs that take the wrong path. When people hear someone saying that they are going astray, they do not listen. For this reason, the great chastisements come. If the people would listen, they would convert, and the chastisement would be averted. It is precisely because they do not open their souls to the message that the catastrophe becomes inevitable. The fact that they do not believe in Our Lady’s messages is the proof that those messages will be fulfilled.

Someone could object: One hundred and fifty years have already past and nothing has happened. How have these messages been fulfilled?

I sustain that in ovo (in the egg; in its seed) the great chastisements have begun. Our Lady appeared in La Salette in 1846; in 1870 the Franco-Prussian war started as a result of the rivalry between France and Germany. This rivalry would reach an apogee in 1914 and be the most profound cause for World War I, as well as for World War II. The quarrels of WWII have still not been resolved completely and the perspective of a World War III lies on the horizon. A possible WWIII with its nuclear apocalypse can very well be the start of the great chastisement predicted in La Salette and Fatima.

The great chastisements of God defy the patience of those few who are faithful. The most characteristic example was the Deluge where everybody laughed at Noah who was building his ark in expectation of a great chastisement. It took him 100 years to complete his work, and then the Flood came. At times Noah might have been tempted to think that he was wrong and that the people laughing at him were right. But he did not relent. He remained faithful to the message he received from God and continue to prepare for the chastisement. The fact that it took a long time to come did not mean that it would not come; rather, it meant that it would be an enormous chastisement.

Our Lord predicted that the Temple of Jerusalem would be destroyed. When He died, an earthquake shook its floors and the veil of the Temple was rent in the middle. Some walls were damaged but the Temple remained standing. Decades passed and the prophecy was not fulfilled. Several times the faithful of Jerusalem thought that the signs were ripe for the chastisement and fled to the mountains, as Our Lord had advised them to do. However, nothing happened and they returned to their normal lives, perhaps a little discouraged. Then, 40 years after Our Lord’s death, and apparently by chance, a soldier from the army of Titus threw a torch into one of the side windows of the Temple; the fire spread quickly, swallowed all the buildings, and then, in truth, not one stone remained over the other just as He had predicted. Afterward the Temple was never rebuilt.

We should be convinced that we were chosen to be among the few who listen to the voice of Our Lady and wait for the chastisement she predicted. These cherished ones must give proof of their love. They must give proof of their fidelity before the word of God is accomplished. This is the situation we are in. I don’t know how many years we must await the promises of La Salette and Fatima to be fulfilled. At times we think: “Now it has to come, because it is impossible for the situation to be any worse.” Then, it doesn’t come. The stormy sky releases just some few drops of rain and dissipates. Again the sky becomes stormy… People laugh at us. We should remember Noah. When the rain finally fell, it was the Deluge.

To confide against all appearances, and believe after all the delays is the demand of God in selecting those with whom He will make His alliance. This is the great teaching of La Salette. This is the spirit we should ask to receive on the feast day of Our Lady of La Salette: to have a blind confidence in her promise, and to be certain that its fulfillment will come.

St. Januarius - 19 September 2009

2009-09-18T14:38:00.001-04:00

In the time of Diocletian, emperor, and in the fifth consulate of Constantine [Constantius], and seventh [probably "fifth"] of Maximian, there was a great persecution of the Christians. At that time Diocletian appointed Timothy, a pagan, governor in the province of Campania and ordered him to offer sacrifices to idols and to compel all who believed in Christ to do the same. It happened as he was making the customary round of cities, he came to the city of Nola. There he ordered the officials to present themselves before him and when they were present he began to inquire from them concerning the judgments of his predecessors.

To him the officials related their deeds and among them, when they reached the affairs of the blessed martyrs Sosius, deacon of the church at Miseno and Proculus, deacon of the church at Pozzuoli, and Eutychetes and Acutius, and how they had been tormented by various tortures and had been recast into prison by the order of the judge, he asked the officials what had been done with them. They replied saying that they for a long time were detained in chains and they uttered in addition evil remarks concerning the Blessed Januarius, bishop of Benevento.

This most unjust Timothy having heard these remarks regarding Januarius, ordered him to be brought before him and when he was presented before his tribunal at Nola, Timothy the judge said to him: "Januarius, having heard of the reputation of your family I exhort you to sacrifice to the gods in obedience to the decrees of the invincible rulers. But if you are unwilling I shall subject you to horrible torments which the God whom you worship when he shall see them he himself shall fear."

St. Januarius however replied: "Be silent, O unhappy man, and do not insult in my hearing Him who created heaven and earth, lest the Lord God may hear such a blasphemy as that which proceeds from you mouth and he may destroy you and you shall be mute and deaf, not hearing and like a blind man not seeing."

Having heard these things the tyrant Timothy says to the saint: "Is it in your power that by any enchantments whatever you or your god can prevail against me?"

St. Januarius replies: "My power is nothing but there is a God in heaven who can resist you and all who obey and abet you." And when he had said this the tyrant ordered him back to prison.

Being very angry he ordered a furnace to be heated for three days and the saint to be cast into it. The holy man made the sign of the cross on his forehead, looked up to heaven sighing and extending his hands, and having entered the fiery furnace he was praising God, saying: "O Lord Jesus Christ for the sake of thy holy name I embrace willingly this suffering and I expect every promise which thou hast promised to those who love Thee. Hear me praying to Thee and deliver me from this flame, thou who wert present with the three children, Ananias, Azarias, Misael in the fiery furnace, and be with me in this my trial to deliver me from the hands of the enemy." Saying these things, Blessed Januarius began to walk with holy angels in the midst of the fire praising the Father and Son and Holy Ghost.

When the soldiers who were around the furnace heard St. Januarius in its depth praising God they feared with a great fear and ran in great haste and told the judge saying, "We beseech thee, sir, not to be angry with us but we have heard the voice of Januarius in the furnace invoking his Lord, and being greatly terrified we fled." Timothy hearing this ordered the furnace to be opened and when it was opened the flames shot out and devoured some incredulous pagans who were around about it. But St. Januarius appeared in the midst glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ so that the fire could not touch either his clothes or his hair.

Timothy however when he had heard this ordered him before him and said to him: "Of what avail is it that the magic you exercise is powerful? By various torments I will make you perish." Bl. Januarius replied: "It will not be well for thee, thou cruel tyrant, to alienate the servant of Christ from the truth of Christ or to cause me to obey through fear. I will hope in the Lord. I will not fear no matter what men may do to me," and thus replying the judge ordered him led back to prison.

On another day early in the morning Timothy had Januarius before him: "How long, unhappy man, will you refuse to sacrifice to the immortal gods? Approach now and offer incense. If not I shall order you to be beheaded and if he can, let your God free you from my hands." The saint replied: "You do not know that the power of God is great. Would that you would repent so that my God might pardon you whom you say to be unable to free me from your hands! When you speak thus you are heaping up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath."

The judge not liking this speech ordered his shackels [-nervi-] to be removed. Januarius prayed God saying: "O Lord Jesus Christ who hast not abandoned me from my mother's womb now hear thy servant crying to thee and command me to depart this world and obtain thy mercy." The judge thinking how he would kill him sent him back to prison.

While guarded by soldiers in hard captivity, two of his clergy, the deacon Festus and the reader Desiderius, learned of their bishop's captivity and being moved by the Holy Ghost they immediately set out from Beneventum and came to Nola, and there weeping they cried: "Why is such a man in custody? What crimes did he commit? When did he fail to aid those in trouble? What sick man was visted by him without regaining health? Who approached him weeping and went away not rejoicing?"

Their words were reported to Timothy who ordered them at once to be detained and along with Januarius to be brought before him, whereupon he asked Januarius who were these two and the saint replied: "One is my deacon and the other is my reader." "Do they proclaim themselves Christians?" "Certainly, for if you ask them, I hope in my Lord Jesus Christ that they will not deny themselves to be Christians," and being asked, they said: "We are Christians and we are prepared to die for the love of God."

Then Timothy filled with anger ordered Januarius the bishop, along with Festus the deacon and Desiderius the reader, to be bound in chains and to be dragged before his chariot to the city of Pozzuoli, determining that there along with Sosius, Proculus, Eutyches and Acutius, they should be delivered up to wild beasts. When they were come to Pozzuoli, they were kept in prison until the arena was prepared. On the day appointed they were led into the amphitheatre and Timothy coming ordered the wild beasts to be let loose; and when this was done, St. Januarius cried: "O brethren, seize the shield of faith and let us pray to the Lord our Helper in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth." And the mercy of God was so present that to the feet of Januarius like sheep with heads down ran the wild beasts.

The unbelieving judge had the beasts removed and the saints of God taken from the arena and brought before his tribunal, where sitting in state he dictated their sentence: "We order to be beheaded, Januarius bishop, Sosius, Proculus and Festus deacons, Desiderius reader, Eutyches and Acutius, citizens of Pozzuoli, who have professed themselves Christians and have despised the sacrifices of the gods and the commands of the emperor." But Bl. Januarius looking up to heaven said: "Lord Jesus Christ who descended from on high for the redemption of the human race, deliver me and free me from the hand of this enemy and I beg thee my God that you punish Timothy for the things he did against me thy servant and that thou blind his eyes so that he may not see the light of heaven."

When he had finished his prayer darkness fell on his [Timothy's] eyes and suddenly he was made blind. Then prayed Januarius to the Lord, and said: "I give thanks to thee, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hast heard thy servant and destroyed the eyes of the impious Timothy because many souls on account of him have been perverted to the evil spirits."

Then Timothy was suffering with his stricken eyes and the pain was increasing. Repentant he began to cry out and say to the officials: "Go, bring Januarius to me." And they going found him lead along by the executioners on the incline that leads to the Solfatara and bringing him back they set him before the judge and a great multitude of people was attracted by the sight. But Timothy began to cry out with a great cry and to say to Bl. Januarius: "Januarius, servant of the most high God, pray the Lord, thy God, for me blind that I may recover the sight which I have lost."

Then Januarius raising his eyes to heaven prayed: "God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob, hear my prayer and restore to Timothy though unworthy his eyes that all the people present may know that thou art God and there is no other but thee; for we may not return evil for evil." And when St. Januarius had finished his prayer his were opened.

The multitude seeing the wonderful things which the Lord wrought by Januarius his martyr, many of the bystanders believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, almost five thousand, and they cried out raising their voices: "Will not the God of such and so great a man be feared? Will he not perhaps take revenge for their sufferings and death and will we not all likewise perish?" Januarius was very beautiful both in body and disposition. Then the impious judge Timothy seeing such a crowd turned toward the Lord was troubled and (lest the servant of the Lord Jesus Christ might be deprived of his crown) fearing the commands of the emperor the judge ordered the soldiers to take him away quickly and to behead him with the holy martyrs.

When they were on their way to martyrdom a certain old and very poor man, hoping favor from Januarius placed himself in his way and fell at his feet and besought him that he might receive some of his clothes. But Januarius said to that old man: "When my body has been buried thou wilt see that I myself will give thee my orarium with which I will have bound my eyes." The mother also of St. Januarius residing at Benevento, three days before her son suffered, saw in a dream that Januarius was flying in the air to heaven and when she was puzzled by the dream and would inquire what it meant, suddenly it was announced to her that her son was imprisoned for the love of God. She however greatly terrified, prostrating herself in prayer before the Lord, gave up her spirit.

In the meantime when the saints had arrived at the place where they were to be beheaded, that is at the Solfatara, St. Januarius kneeling prayed: "O Lord, omnipotent God, into thy hands I commend my spirit" and then rising he took his orarium and bound his eyes and kneeling again he placed his hand on his neck and asked the executioner to strike. The executioner struck with great force and cut off at the same time a finger of the saint's hand and his head. The other saints received likewise their crown.

St. Januarius after his execution appeared to the old man and offered him as he had promised the orarium which had bound his eyes and said: "Behold what I promised you, take it as I promised it," and he took it and hid it in his bosom with great reverence.

The executioners and two other officials seeing the old man, laughingly asked him: "Have you got what he who was beheaded promised?" But he said, "Yes," and showed them the orarium which they recognized and wondered greatly.

On the very same hour at which St. Januarius and the holy martyrs were beheaded the cruel Timothy began to suffer very much and he was exclaiming aloud: "I suffer these pains for having treated Januarius the servant of God so impiously. The angels of God torment [me]." And when he had been long tormented he gave up the ghost.

The Christians of various cities were guarding the bodies of the saints that they might carry them off at night to their own cities and they kept a careful though secret watch; and when night was come and all were sleeping, St. Januarius in the silence of the night appeared to one of those who were prepared to take away his body and said to him: "Brother, when you take away my body know that the finger of my hand is missing. Seek it and place it with my body." And so it was done as the saint himself had admonished. The bodies of the saints lay at the Solfatara where later was founded a church worthy of St. Januarius the martyr.

Here ends the passion of Januarius Martyr.