Saints of the Day & Norte Dame

Here’s the saint’s calendar for April 17, 2019, and some versions, each focusing on individual saints, all wonderful; for they are the Church Triumphant.

The Catholic Church has many saints and reading about their lives has been a spiritual journey Catholics have been on since the publication of the Golden Legend, http://sourcebooks.web.fordham.edu/basis/goldenlegend/

From Butler’s Calendar of the Saints listing all of the saints of today. https://web.archive.org/web/20060812043440/http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/day0417.htm

From Butler’s Lives of the Saints, St. ANICETUS, Pope, Martyr. “ST. ANICETUS succeeded St. Pius, and sat about eight years, from 165 to 173. If he did not shed his blood for the Faith, he at least purchased the title of martyr by great sufferings and dangers. He received a visit from St. Polycarp, and tolerated the custom of the Asiatics in celebrating Easter on the 14th day of the first moon after the vernal equinox, with the Jews. His vigilance protected his flock from the wiles of the heretics Valentine and Marcion, who sought to corrupt the faith in the capital of the world.

“The first thirty-six bishops at Rome, down to Liberius, and, this one excepted, all the popes to Symmachus, the fifty-second, in 498, are honored among the Saints; and out of two hundred and forty-eight popes, from St. Peter to Clement XIII. seventy-eight are named in the Roman Martyrology. In the primitive ages, the spirit of fervor and perfect sanctity, which is nowadays so rarely to be found, was conspicuous in most of the faithful, and especially in their pastors. The whole tenor of their lives breathed it in such a manner as to render them the miracles of the world, angels on earth, living copies of their divine Redeemer, the odor of whose virtues and holy law and religion they spread on every side.” http://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/lots/lots125.htm

From Franciscan Media, St. Benedict Joseph Labre, (March 25, 1748 – April 17, 1783), “Benedict Joseph Labre was truly eccentric, one of God’s special little ones. Born in France and the eldest of 18 children, he studied under his uncle, a parish priest. Because of poor health and a lack of suitable academic preparation he was unsuccessful in his attempts to enter the religious life. Then, at age 16, a profound change took place. Benedict lost his desire to study and gave up all thoughts of the priesthood, much to the consternation of his relatives.

“He became a pilgrim, traveling from one great shrine to another, living off alms. He wore the rags of a beggar and shared his food with the poor. Filled with the love of God and neighbor, Benedict had special devotion to the Blessed Mother and to the Blessed Sacrament. In Rome, where he lived in the Colosseum for a time, he was called “the poor man of the Forty Hours devotion” and “the beggar of Rome.” The people accepted his ragged appearance better than he did. His excuse to himself was that “our comfort is not in this world.”

“On April 16, 1783, the last day of his life, Benedict dragged himself to a church in Rome and prayed there for two hours before he collapsed, dying peacefully in a nearby house. Immediately after his death, the people proclaimed him a saint.

“Benedict Joseph Labre was canonized by Pope Leo XIII in 1881.” https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-benedict-joseph-labre/

Here is a wonderful daily devotional site offering much to reflect on, including their version of saint of the day, Anastpaul https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/

From Tradition in Action, St. Stephen Harding, “Stephen Harding, son of an English noble, consecrated himself very early to the monastic life in the Abbey of Sherbonne in Dorsetshire. He was sent to France and pursued a brilliant course in humanities, philosophy and theology.

“After a pilgrimage to Rome, he returned to France to the Abbey of Molesme, under the direction of the Abbot St. Robert and Blessed Alberic. Notwithstanding the influence of these saints, the monastery declined. The two saints determined to leave the community and together with St. Stephen and 18 other monks, they instituted a reformed new abbey in Cîteaux (Cister) with the support of Duke Eudes of Bourgogne. This was the origin of the famous Cistercians. On Alberic’s death in 1110, St. Stephen was elected Abbot of the monastery and wrote its statutes, which were approved by Pope Paschal II.

“During his term as Abbot, St. Stephen fought to maintain the strict observance. Since the monastery received very few novices, he began to have doubts that the new institution was pleasing to God. He prayed for enlightenment and received a response that encouraged him and his small community. From Bourgogne a noble youth arrived with 30 companions, asking to be admitted to the abbey. This noble was the future St. Bernard. In 1115 St. Stephen built the abbey of Clairvaux, and installed St. Bernard as its Abbot. From it 800 abbeys were born.

“St. Stephen died in 1134, saying that he would appear before God as a useless servant who had made poor use of the gifts God had given him.” https://traditioninaction.org/SOD/j123sdStephenHarding_3-17.htm

Here is what the 1962 Roman Missal says about St. Anicetus, Pope, Martyr, “This Pope governed the Church under Marcus Aurelius from 155 to 166. He suffered so much for the faith that, although he did not shed his blood he was given the title of martyr.” (p. 1236) The Daily Missal and Liturgical Manual. (2004). To purchase this Missal for your library go to the publisher, Baronius Press: London: https://www.baroniuspress.com/book.php?wid=56&bid=4#tab=tab-1

Norte Dame

Excellent article from Catholic World Report.

An excerpt.

Through the intercession of the Mother of God, may this tragedy remind us of Notre-Dame’s true purpose.

First commissioned by King Louis VII in 1163, the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris took nearly 200 years to build. Since its completion in 1345, it has stood as a monument to the glory of French, European, and Western civilizations. Twelve million visitors or more are drawn to the Cathedral every year to admire its Gothic architecture, flying buttresses, and majestic rose windows.

But, in just a few shocking hours, the shrine was almost completely destroyed. Its near obliteration in a fire yesterday is front page news the world over. It was devastating to watch the live video of the billowing smoke, searing flames, and collapsing spire. Though the worst has been avoided, as it now appears the stone vault and interior remain largely intact (along with the two bell towers of the Cathedral’s iconic facade), the world still mourns the damage done, the full measure of which is yet to be determined.

As the eyes of the world turned to Paris yesterday in concern for the survival of a monument of unique importance in the history of art and architecture, what did they see? As Sohrab Ahmari noted yesterday on Twitter, the world was looking at a cross. A burning cross at the center of Paris for the Notre-Dame Cathedral is cruciform in shape. Let us pray that what rises from the ashes of this tragedy is a recognition that the heritage of France, Europe and the West is cruciform, for Notre-Dame is a monument in stone to the Christian Faith that built these civilizations.

One can readily see in the fire a metaphor for the state of the Faith in Europe in this increasingly secular age. But after the Cross comes Resurrection—and yesterday provided signs of hope.

The first sign came in the immediate concern expressed for the Blessed Sacrament. That the tabernacle was emptied and Our Lord’s Real Presence in the Eucharist was saved from harm is a consolation. The priests and firefighters who facilitated this reminded the world that the whole purpose for the construction of Notre-Dame in the first place was to be a worthy dwelling place for God. I am reminded of Cordelia’s conversation with Charles in Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited. She tells him about the closing of the chapel at their family estate after the funeral of her mother and explains having to watch the priest empty the tabernacle, leaving its golden door ajar. “I suppose none of this makes sense to you, Charles, poor agnostic.” she said. “I stayed there till he was gone, and then, suddenly, there wasn’t any chapel any more, just an oddly decorated room.”

Indeed, without the Blessed Sacrament the Notre-Dame Cathedral would be just an odd-looking building in the heart of a cosmopolitan city. It is the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist that makes it a church. It was to provide a worthy dwelling place for the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist that inspired our ancestors in the Faith to spend their lives building such a glorious edifice. That same faith was on display yesterday when the Blessed Sacrament was rescued.

The second sign of hope was the concern given to also saving one of Christendom’s most cherished relics—the Crown of Thorns. When King Saint Louis IX acquired this instrument of Our Lord’s Passion and brought it to Paris in 1239, he removed his own crown and royal robes to walk barefoot behind the relic as it was carried in procession through the city streets. That same faith was on display yesterday when the Crown of Thorns was saved amid and through the flames.

Finally, the “living stones” of the Church took to the streets of Paris to remind us that the Church is more than just stones but is Christ’s Mystical Body on Earth. It was deeply moving to see the crowds kneeling in prayer in the shadow of Notre-Dame singing the Ave Maria. Why were their tears in the eyes of so many Parisians? Were they crying simply over damage done to a building of grand art and architecture? Or were they crying over something more? Perhaps it was over the lost Catholic identity of their nation symbolized in the flames engulfing Notre-Dame.

And when the French President, Emmanuel Macron, made a solemn promise to rebuild the Cathedral, it should be asked, why? Why bother with such an investment of time, money, and effort? It only makes sense if it is for the same reason it was built in the first place. It must be rebuilt for the glory of Jesus Christ and His Mother. The beauty and meaning of Notre-Dame lies in the religious beliefs, principles, and culture that inspired its construction. The same faith that inspired its builders 800 years ago was on full display yesterday in the uplifting sounds of the Ave Maria being sung by the crowds on the streets of Paris.

Retrieved April 16, 2019 from https://www.catholicworldreport.com/2019/04/16/signs-of-hope-amid-the-flames/

Saints of the Day & Chosen by God to be Here Now

Here’s the saint’s calendar for April 9, 2019, and some versions, each focusing on individual saints, all wonderful; for they are the Church Triumphant.

The Catholic Church has many saints and reading about their lives has been a spiritual journey Catholics have been on since the publication of the Golden Legend, http://sourcebooks.web.fordham.edu/basis/goldenlegend/

From Butler’s Calendar of the Saints listing all of the saints of today. https://web.archive.org/web/20061019144026/http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/day0409.htm

From Butler’s Lives of the Saints, St. JOHN THE ALMONER. “ST. JOHN was married, but when his wife and two children died he considered it a call from God to lead a perfect life. He began to give away all he possessed in alms, and became known throughout the East as the Almoner. He was appointed Patriarch of Alexandria; but before he would take possession of his see he told his servants to go over the town and bring him a list of his lords—meaning the poor. They brought word that there were seventy-five hundred of them, and these he undertook to feed every day. On Wednesday and Friday in every week he sat on a bench before the church, to hear the complaints of the needy and aggrieved; nor would he permit his servants to taste food until their wrongs were redressed. The fear of death was ever before him, and he never spoke an idle word. He turned those out of church whom he saw talking, and forbade all detractors to enter his house. He left seventy churches in Alexandria, where he had found but seven. A merchant received from St. John five pounds weight of gold to buy merchandise. Having suffered shipwreck and lost all, he had again recourse to John, who said, “Some of your merchandise was ill-gotten,” and gave him ten pounds more; but the next voyage he lost ship as well as goods. John then said, “The ship was wrongfully acquired. Take fifteen pounds of gold, buy corn with it, and put it on one of my ships.” This time the merchant was carried by the winds without his own knowledge to England, where there was a famine; and he sold the corn for its weight in tin, and on his return he found the tin changed to finest silver. St. John died in Cyprus, his native place, about the year 619.” http://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/lots/lots117.htm

From Franciscan Media, St. Casilda, (d. c. 1050), “Some saints’ names are far more familiar to us than others, but even the lives of obscure holy persons teach us something.

“And so it is with Saint Casilda. Her father was a Muslim leader in Toledo, Spain, in the 10th century. Casilda was a devout Muslim but was kind to Christian prisoners. She became ill as a young woman but did not trust that any of the local Arab doctors could cure her. So she made a pilgrimage to the shrine of San Vicenzo in northern Spain. Like so many other people who made their way there—many of them suffering from hemorrhages—Casilda sought the healing waters of the shrine. We’re uncertain what brought her to the shrine, but we do know that she left it relieved of illness.

“In response, she became a Christian and lived a life of solitude and penance not far from the miraculous spring. It’s said that she lived to be 100 years old. Her death likely occurred around the year 1050.” https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-casilda/

Here is a wonderful daily devotional site offering much to reflect on, including their version of saint of the day, Anastpaul https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/

From Tradition in Action, Blessed Antonio Pavoni, “Antonio Pavoni was born in 1322 to a noble family in Savigliano, a municipality in the Piedmont in northern Italy. At age 15 he entered the Dominican Monastery of Savigliano. In 1351 he was ordained a priest and began fighting the heresies that were infiltrating the Piedmont region.

“At age 39 Pope Urban V named him Inquisitor-General of the Piedmont, Lombardy and Genoa. Sent to combat the heretics in Turin, he refuted with precision and clarity the Waldensian errors. He was threatened by those heretics but did not fear them.

“God revealed to him the plans of the heretics and the day and hour of his death. On the eve of that day, he went to the barber in the town of Bricherasio where he was preaching and said: “Shave me well because I am going to a wedding.”

“The barber replied: “Impossible! If there were any wedding in town I would certainly know about it since all news come to my barbershop.”

“Antonio insisted: “Believe me, I am telling you the truth.”

“The following day, April 9, 1374, after having prayed all night, he celebrated Mass, left the church and seven men fell upon him and stabbed him to death, breaking his body into pieces.

“His body today is in the Dominican church of Racconigi in the province of Cuneo. The Diocese of Pinerolo, in the region where he was martyred, celebrates his feast on April 9. Many miracles were attributed to his intercession. In 1856 Pius IX authorized his cult.” https://traditioninaction.org/SOD/j292sd_Pavoni_4_9.htm

Chosen by God to be Here Now

In all the turmoil facing the Church, this article from the National Catholic Register is a good reminder that, yes, God chose us to be here now, to fight for our faith.

An excerpt.

The sex-abuse scandal has led many to lose their faith, and as we learn more about the extent and nature of the corruption, many more will be tempted to leave. Those of us who are “red-pilled” need to be cautious about how much we share with those who are not “red-pilled.”

The expression refers to a moment in the 1999 film The Matrix wherein the main character chooses to take a pill that will wake him up to reality no matter how “gritty and painful” (Urban Dictionary) that reality might be. Those of us who have delved into the sex-abuse crisis, who read the daily onslaught of dispiriting (to speak mildly) articles about scandals of sexual misconduct and cover-up in the Church, who have watched the documentaries and read the books, are red-pilled to the extent that there is almost no sordid scenario about the Church in the last two centuries that would surprise us — although we still struggle with the realization that our beloved Church has been led by such nefarious men.

The Catholics who, as of yet, are not red-pilled get their news almost entirely from the secular media, which has little interest in the current crisis. They don’t read the Catholic media and “exposé” books, especially those on the fringes that report the most sensational reports, reports like those told by Leon Podles in his book Sacrilege. Many have come to realize these stories have not been sensationalized.

Those who are red-pilled seem like alarmists to those who are not. We know so much that others don’t know. Others — as we did at one time — think it disrespectful to suspect that a large number of bishops are not at all interested in getting at the truth behind the Theodore McCarrick case or ridding their dioceses of priests who live double lives — precisely because they too are living double lives. They still think, “If only we could persuade the bishops to do this or that, all would be well.” But some of us have become convinced that we cannot expect the bishops to fix the problem because too many of them are the problem.

One of the “red-pilling” techniques I use is to point out that if a healthy heterosexual male learns of an adult male sexually abusing a child, the first emotional reaction is visceral and violent: He wants to kill the molester. Have we seen any evidence that bishops respond in that way? Rather, their first thought seems to be: “Oh, that poor priest; his life is ruined” or “Poor me, now I have another mess on my hands.” The response to the victim seems to be that he is largely an annoyance. Yes, the bishops’ words, their policies, their websites say one thing, but their actions don’t seem to correspond to those words, policies and websites.

I often have to be careful about how much and what I tell the seminarians I teach. Recently a seminarian said to me, “We want to know if the bishops will have our backs when we get ordained.” I assumed he had in mind if someone made false accusations against them, or if they gave homilies defending controversial truths of the faith, would the bishops support them? Quite spontaneously, I said, “No.” Immediately I felt bad because I never want to say something that might derail a vocation. But then I thought, “He needs to know the truth — this is the Church to which he intends to dedicate himself.”

A priest to whom I told this story said, “Actually, the bishops have not had our backs since the Dallas Charter.” How sad, that young men know that bishops have gone to great lengths to cover up for child abusers and to protect vow-breaking priests, but these same bishops will throw faithful priests under the bus if some wealthy parishioner doesn’t like the amount of Latin in the Mass. That conversation haunted me for days.

Recently I had dinner with several young men in a religious order. To my astonishment, when I said the seminaries in the ’70s and ’80s were homosexual hothouses, one of the older members among my dinner companions confirmed with a loud: “Everyone knew!”

This consecrated religious entered a diocesan seminary in 1989 and said there were only four such institutions in the United States he was willing to enter. I was impressed and pleased that he was willing to be so open with seminarians, for it was clear that, in spite of what he knew, he was dedicated to his priesthood. The same could be said about the entire group I had dinner with that evening — they seemed to believe that God had called them to the priesthood at this time and that he has chosen these men for this time.

Retrieved April 9, 2019 from http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/god-chose-you-to-live-at-this-moment-in-church-history

Saints of the Day & Ancient House Churches

Here’s the saint’s calendar for March 29, 2019, and some versions, each focusing on individual saints, all wonderful; for they are the Church Triumphant.

The Catholic Church has many saints and reading about their lives has been a spiritual journey Catholics have been on since the publication of the Golden Legend, http://sourcebooks.web.fordham.edu/basis/goldenlegend/

From Butler’s Calendar of the Saints listing all of the saints of today. https://web.archive.org/web/20061014210755/http://www.catholic-forum.com/Saints/day0329.htm

From Butler’s Lives of the Saints, St. JONAS, BARACHISIUS, and their Companions, Martyrs. “KING SAPOR, of Persia, in the eighteenth year of his reign, raised a bloody persecution against the Christians, and laid waste their churches and monasteries, Jonas and Barachisius, two brothers of the city Beth-Asa, hearing that several Christians lay under sentence of death at Hubaham, went thither to encourage and serve them. Nine of that number received the crown of martyrdom. After their execution, Jonas and Barachisius were apprehended for having exhorted them to die. The president entreated the two brothers to obey the king of Persia, and to worship the sun, moon, fire, and water. Their answer was, that it was more reasonable to obey the immortal King of heaven and earth than a mortal prince. Jonas was beaten with knotty clubs and with rods, and next set in a frozen pond, with a cord tied to his foot. Barachisius had two red-hot iron plates and two red-hot hammers applied under each arm, and melted lead dropped into his nostrils and eyes; after which he was carried to prison, and there hung up by one foot. Despite these cruel tortures, the two brothers remained steadfast in the Faith. New and more horrible torments were then devised under which at last they yielded up their lives, while their pure souls winged their flight to heaven, there to gain the martyr’s crown, which they had so faithfully won.” http://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/lots/lots104.htm

From Franciscan Media, St. Ludovico of Casoria, (March 11, 1814 – March 30, 1885), “Born in Casoria, near Naples, Arcangelo Palmentieri was a cabinet-maker before entering the Friars Minor in 1832, taking the name Ludovico. After his ordination five years later, he taught chemistry, physics, and mathematics to younger members of his province for several years.

“In 1847, he had a mystical experience which he later described as a cleansing. After that, he dedicated his life to the poor and the infirm, establishing a dispensary for the poor, two schools for African children, an institute for the children of nobility, as well as an institution for orphans, the deaf, and the speechless, and other institutes for the blind, elderly, and for travelers. In addition to an infirmary for friars of his province, he began charitable institutes in Naples, Florence, and Assisi. He once said, “Christ’s love has wounded my heart.” This love prompted him to great acts of charity.

“To help continue these works of mercy, in 1859 he established the Gray Brothers, a religious community composed of men who formerly belonged to the Secular Franciscan Order. Three years later, he founded the Gray Sisters of St. Elizabeth for the same purpose.” https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-ludovico-of-casoria/

From a most lovely site, really a daily devotional site offering much more than just saint of the day, Anastpaul https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/

Ancient House Churches

Wonderful article about the early days of Mass, from Community in Mission Blog.

An excerpt.

The Catholic Faith was illegal in the Roman Empire prior to 313 A.D., when the Emperor Constantine issued the Edict of Milan permitting it to flourish publicly. Prior to that time, Church buildings as we know them today were rare – Mass was usually celebrated in houses.

These “houses” were usually rather sizable, with a central courtyard or large room that permitted something a little more formal than Mass around the dining room table. I remember being taught (incorrectly) that these early Masses were informal, celebrated facing the people, and had a relaxed, communal atmosphere. In fact, the people didn’t just sit around a table or on the floor in circle – not at all. They sat or stood formally, with everyone faced in one direction: east.

The drawing above shows the layout of an ancient house church (more often called a Domus Dei (House of God)), based on an excavated 3rd century house church in Dura-Europos (located in what is now Syria).

The assembly room is on the left, and a priest or bishop is depicted conducting a liturgy (facing east) at an altar against the east wall. A baptistry is on the right, and a deacon is shown guarding the entrance. The lonely-looking deacon in the back of the assembly hall is there to “preserve good order,” as you will read below.

What is remarkable about these early liturgies is how formal they were despite the less-than-ideal circumstances. The following text is from the Didiscalia, a document written in about 250 A.D. Among other things, it gives rather elaborate details about the celebration of the early Catholic Mass in these “house liturgies.” I have included an excerpt below (in bold italics); my comments are shown in regular italics.

Now, in your gatherings, in the holy Church, convene yourselves modestly in places of the brethren, as you will, in a manner pleasing and ordered with care.

These “house liturgies” were not informal; good order and careful attention to detail were essential.

Let the place of the priests be separated in a part of the house that faces east.

Even in these early house Masses, the sanctuary (where the clergy ministered) was distinct from where the laity gathered. People were not all just clustered around a dining room table.

In the midst of them is placed the bishop’s chair, and with him let the priests be seated. Likewise, and in another section let the lay men be seated facing east. For thus it is proper: that the priests sit with the bishop in a part of the house to the east and after them the lay men and the lay women,

Everyone faced east, laity and clergy. Notice that men and women sat in separate sections, which was the tradition in many churches until relatively recently (the last 150 years or so).

and when you stand to pray, the ecclesial leaders rise first, and after them the lay men, and again, then the women. Now, you ought to face to east to pray for, as you know, scripture has it, Give praise to God who ascends above the highest heavens to the east.

Again, note that Mass was not celebrated facing the people, as some suppose of the early Church. Everyone faced in the same direction: east. The text cites Scripture as the reason for this: God is to the east, the origin of the light.

Retrieved March 27, 2019 from http://blog.adw.org/2019/03/ancient-mass-house-churches-not-informal-many-think/

Saints of the Day & Why the Crucifixion Cross?

Here’s the saint’s calendar for March 23, 2019, and some versions, each focusing on individual saints, all wonderful; for they are the Church Triumphant.

The Catholic Church has many saints and reading about their lives has been a spiritual journey Catholics have been on since the publication of the Golden Legend, http://sourcebooks.web.fordham.edu/basis/goldenlegend/

From Butler’s Calendar of the Saints listing all of the saints of today. https://web.archive.org/web/20060921163541/http://www.catholic-forum.com/Saints/day0323.htm

From Butler’s Lives of the Saints, St. Victorian and Others, Martyrs, “Huneric, the Arian king of the Vandals in Africa, succeeded his father Genseric in 477. He behaved himself at first with moderation towards the Catholics, but in 480 he began a grievous persecution of the clergy and holy virgins, which in 484 became general, and vast numbers of Catholics were put to death. Victorian, one of the principal lords of the kingdom, had been made governor of Carthage, with the Roman title of Proconsul. He was the wealthiest subject of the king, who placed great confidence in him, and he had ever behaved with an inviolable fidelity. The king, after he had published his cruel edicts, sent a message to the proconsul, promising, if he would conform to his religion, to heap on him the greatest wealth and the highest honors which it was in the power of a prince to bestow. The proconsul, who amidst the glittering pomps of the world perfectly understood its emptiness, made this generous answer: “Tell the king that I trust in Christ. His Majesty may condemn me to any torments, but I shall never consent to renounce the Catholic Church, in which I have been baptized. Even if there were no life after this, I would never be ungrateful and perfidious to God, Who has granted me the happiness of knowing Him, and bestowed on me His most precious graces.” The tyrant became furious at this answer, nor can the tortures be imagined which he caused the Saint to endure. Victorian suffered them with joy, and amidst them finished his glorious martyrdom. The Roman Martyrology joins with him on this day four others who were crowned in the same persecution. Two brothers, who were apprehended for the faith, had promised each other, if possible, to die together; and they begged of God, as a favor, that they might both suffer the same torments. The persecutors hung them in the air with great weights at their feet.” http://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/lots/lots098.htm

From Franciscan Media, St. Turibius of Mogrovejo, (November 16, 1538 – March 23, 1606), “Together with Rose of Lima, Turibius is the first known saint of the New World, serving the Lord in Peru, South America, for 26 years. Born in Spain and educated for the law, he became so brilliant a scholar that he was made professor of law at the University of Salamanca and eventually became chief judge of the Inquisition at Granada. He succeeded too well. But he was not sharp enough a lawyer to prevent a surprising sequence of events. When the archdiocese of Lima in Peru required a new leader, Turibius was chosen to fill the post: He was the one person with the strength of character and holiness of spirit to heal the scandals that had infected that area.” https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-turibius-of-mogrovejo/

From a most lovely site, really a daily devotional site offering much more than just saint of the day, Anastpaul https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/

One of my personal favorites, Tradition in Action, St. Toribio de Mogrovejo, (same person, different spelling) “Toribio Alfonso de Mogrovejo was born in 1538 in Mayorca, Spain, into a noble family. From childhood, his disposition was turned toward virtue and against sin. He also had a great devotion to the Most Holy Virgin. He prayed her Office and the Rosary every day and fasted on Saturdays in her honor. He had a natural inclination for academics, and studied law at Valladolid and Salamanca. In recognition of his virtue and learning, King Philip II named him chief judge of the Supreme Court of Granada, and head of the Inquisition in the same city. He carried out this office in an exceptional way for five years. In 1580 when the Episcopal See of Lima, Peru, became vacant, the King selected him to fill this position.” https://traditioninaction.org/SOD/j013sdSt.Toribior3-23.htm

Why the Crucifixion Cross?

Something I also, as an adult convert, wondered about as all the representations of Christ in my previous church were of the Resurrected Christ.

Great explanation from Aleteia.

An excerpt.

The use of crucifixes by Catholics follows an ancient tradition that honors the supreme sacrifice of Jesus.

While the empty cross is a common Christian symbol shared by all Christian churches, Catholics stand out for their frequent use of the crucifix, a cross that shows the tortured body of Jesus Christ.

Why is that?

The Catholic Church has honored the supreme sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross from the earliest days of Christianity. Initially this was done in a veiled way, using symbolic figures to represent Jesus on the cross. Initially the Greek letters tau (T) and rho (P) were interposed, and created an abstract image that looks like someone on the cross.

Also, the early Christians were known to use a dolphin twisted around a trident, symbols borrowed from Greek mythology that were applied to Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.

However, once Christianity was legalized, artists were able to be more realistic and open, and Christians freely depicted Jesus on the cross. One of the inspirations behind this artistic expression comes from St. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, where he writes, “We proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles” (1 Corinthians 1:23).

The purpose of the crucifix has always been to display the immense love Christ has for all humanity and to remind us of the hope of the Resurrection won by that victory of Jesus’ Passion.

St. Augustine in the 4th century offered a perfect summary of why Catholics use a crucifix.

“The death of the Lord our God should not be a cause of shame for us; rather, it should be our greatest hope, our greatest glory. In taking upon himself the death that he found in us, he has most faithfully promised to give us life in him, such as we cannot have of ourselves.

“He loved us so much that, sinless himself, he suffered for us sinners the punishment we deserved for our sins. How then can he fail to give us the reward we deserve for our righteousness, for he is the source of righteousness? How can he, whose promises are true, fail to reward the saints when he bore the punishment of sinners, though without sin himself?

“Brethren, let us then fearlessly acknowledge, and even openly proclaim, that Christ was crucified for us; let us confess it, not in fear but in joy, not in shame but in glory.”

Retrieved March 22, 2019 from https://aleteia.org/2019/03/22/why-do-catholics-use-crucifixes-that-show-jesus-on-the-cross/

Saints of the Day & Catholics Leaving the Church

Here’s the saint’s calendar for March 15, 2019, and some versions, each focusing on individual saints, all wonderful; for they are the Church Triumphant.

The Catholic Church has many saints and reading about their lives has been a spiritual journey Catholics have been on since the publication of the Golden Legend, http://sourcebooks.web.fordham.edu/basis/goldenlegend/

From Butler’s Calendar of the Saints listing all of the saints of today. https://web.archive.org/web/20061019142203/http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/day0315.htm

From Butler’s Lives of the Saints, St. Zachary, Pope, “St. Zachary succeeded Gregory III., in 741, and was a man of singular meekness and goodness. He loved the clergy and people of Rome to that degree that he hazarded his life for them on occasion of the troubles which Italy fell into by the rebellion of the Dukes of Spoleto and Benevento against King Luitprand.” http://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/lots/lots090.htm

From Franciscan Media, St. Louise de Marillac, (August 12, 1591 – March 15, 1660), “Saint Louise de Marillac had an open heart for the poor. Along with Saint Vincent de Paul, she eventually formed what would become a religious order known as the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul. By the time of her death, the community had 40 houses in France.” https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-louise-de-marillac/

From a most lovely site, really a daily devotional site offering much more than just saint of the day, Anastpaul https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/

One of my personal favorites, Tradition in Action, St. Clement Marie Hofbauer, “Apostle of Vienna, born in Tasswitz, Austria on December 26, 1751, died on March 15, 1821.” https://traditioninaction.org/SOD/j012sd%20St.ClementHofbauer3-15.htm

Catholics Leaving the Church

No surprise here, in this story from the Wall Street Journal; though it is better just to pray for her, and the daily traditional 15 decade rosary is the super-weapon of choice.

An excerpt.

More than a third of U.S. Catholics say the sexual abuse crisis rocking the Catholic Church has made them consider leaving the church, significantly more than when the last major scandal erupted, according to new research conducted by Gallup.

The study found that 37% of U.S. Catholics said the abuse crisis had led them to question whether to remain part of the church. That number is up from 22% of Catholics who said the same in 2002, when the Vatican last dealt with a major sexual abuse scandal.

Catholics who seldom or never attend church were most likely to question whether they should leave entirely. Among those, forty-six percent said they were questioning this year, up from 29% in 2002. Meanwhile, 22% of those who attend church every week were questioning whether to remain, up from 12% in 2002.

Many Catholics said they had previously believed the church had put the problem of sexual abuse by priests behind it. But a series of scandals—including a Pennsylvania grand-jury report that detailed more than half a century of abuse by priests in that state—rekindled anger about the church’s failure to protect children from abusive clergymen.

Last month, former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick of Washington, D.C., was defrocked after being found guilty of sexual abuse of minors and sexual misconduct with adults. Another U.S. cardinal, Donald Wuerl, resigned as archbishop of Washington in October after coming under fire for not doing enough to root out abusive priests.

A separate Gallup study conducted late last year found that 31% of U.S. Catholics rated the ethics and honesty of clergy highly, down from 49% in 2017 and 63% in 2008.

The percentage of the U.S. population that identifies as Catholic has been trending slightly downward, from 25% at the turn of the century to 22% last year, according to Gallup.

After the Boston Globe did a series on the sexual abuse by Catholic priests and the church’s efforts to cover it up in 2002, “the average lay Catholic was able to accept that there were many bad apples and the church was going to need to clean them up,” said Chad Pecknold, a professor at the Catholic University of America. The revelations last year “deepened the original sense of betrayal” among the faithful, he said, because bishops’ involvement in covering up the abuse became clear.

Retrieved March 13, 2019 from https://www.wsj.com/articles/more-catholics-considering-abandoning-the-church-11552464000?mod=hp_listb_pos1

Saints of the Day & the Catholic Church is the Only True Church

Here’s the saint’s calendar for February 11, 2019, and some versions, each focusing on individual saints or sacred events, all wonderful; for they are the Church Triumphant.

The Catholic Church has many saints and reading about their lives has been a spiritual journey Catholics have been on since the publication of the Golden Legend, http://sourcebooks.web.fordham.edu/basis/goldenlegend/

From Butler’s Calendar of the Saints listing all of the saints of today. https://web.archive.org/web/20060924074029/http://catholic-forum.com/saints/day0211.htm

From Butler’s Lives of the Saints, St. Severinus, Abbot of Agaunum, http://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/lots/lots054.htm

From Franciscan Media, celebrating Our Lady of Lourdes, https://www.franciscanmedia.org/our-lady-of-lourdes/

From a most lovely site, really a daily devotional site offering much more than just saint of the day, Anastpaul https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/

One of my personal favorites, Tradition in Action, also Our Lady of Lourdes, https://traditioninaction.org/SOD/j115sdLourdes_2-11.htm

Here is what the 1962 Roman Missal says about Our Lady of Lourdes: “This Feast commemorates the appearing of Our Lady on several occasions in 1858 at Lourdes in France.” (p. 1182) The Daily Missal and Liturgical Manual. (2004). Baronius Press: London. To get this for your library, go to the source: https://www.baroniuspress.com/book.php?wid=56&bid=4#tab=tab-1

Catholic Church is True Church, the Only True Church

This doctrine, eternally central to Church teaching—and any effective ministry to criminals—is noted again in this column by one of my favorite Catholic writers, Chris Ferrara.

An excerpt.

Pope Francis did not invent the epochal folly of “interreligious dialogue,” which requires the Catholic “dialogue partner” to pretend — forever — that God Incarnate did not found the Church he represents and endow it with a divine mission to “teach all nations; baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded …” (Matt. 28:19-20)

No, the dissolvent nonsense that is “interreligious dialogue” emerged from the Vatican II document Nostra Aetate, which declares — for the first time in Church history — that “The Church, therefore, exhorts her sons, that through dialogue and collaboration with the followers of other religions, carried out with prudence and love and in witness to the Christian faith and life,  they recognize, preserve and promote the good things, spiritual and moral, as well as the socio-cultural values found among these men.”

Quite predictably, the “witness to the Christian faith and life” fig leaf in this pronouncement was quickly dropped in the post-conciliar rush to put “interreligious dialogue” into practice as simply naked religious indifferentism.  The results were disastrous.

It was not long before Catholic churchmen succumbed to the utopian delusion of which Pius XI warned when he condemned the nascent “ecumenical movement” of Protestant origin in Mortalium Animos and forbade any Catholic participation in such programs, as though “the nations, although they differ among themselves in certain religious matters, will without much difficulty come to agree as brethren in professing certain doctrines, which form as it were a common basis of the spiritual life.” This fantasy is the mainspring of “interreligious dialogue,” whose very purpose is to advance what Pius XI denounced as “that false opinion which considers all religions to be more or less good and praiseworthy since they all in different ways manifest and signify that sense which is inborn in us all, and by which we are led to God and to the obedient acknowledgment of His rule.”

Those who embrace this false opinion, Pius warned, end in “distorting the idea of true religion” and “little by little, turn aside to naturalism and atheism… altogether abandoning the divinely revealed religion.” This is not to say that the Catholic partisans of this error formally abandon the divinely revealed religion.  On the contrary, they continue to identify themselves as Catholics. The abandonment is material in that they no longer speak and act as if the divinely revealed Catholic religion — the “one true religion,” as Catholic churchmen called it during all the centuries before Nostra Aetate — were anything more than just one of the many religions pleasing to God in a world of splendid diversity.

Francis, in fact, expressed precisely that sentiment in a document he signed during his trip to the United Arab Emirates, the Muslim nation-state founded in the very place where Mohammed invented his religion of conquest: “The pluralism and the diversity of religions, colour, sex, race and language are willed by God in His wisdom, through which He created human beings. This divine wisdom is the source from which the right to freedom of belief and the freedom to be different derives.”

There is no distinction here between the positive divine will, which wills only what is good and true, and God’s permissive will, which tolerates evils worked by fallen men rather than preventing their freely willed human actions. As the Catholic Encyclopedia explains, “The council of Trent (Sess. VI, can. vi, A.D. 816) defines that evil is in the power of man, and that evil deeds are not to be attributed to God in the same sense as good deeds, but permissive only [emphasis in original], so that the vocation of Paul is God’s work in a much truer sense than the treachery of Judas.”

No reasonable interpretation of the declaration to which Francis has lent the authority of his office can produce anything other than the conclusion that he has endorsed the error that “all religions [are] more or less good and praiseworthy…” — including Islam, which Pius XI described as “darkness” along with outright idolatry. Francis has declared that God in His wisdom has willed “the diversity of religions,” not merely permitted it, despite the reality that the religions invented by men, including Islam, contradict His revelation on innumerable points and teach damnable errors on matters of faith and morals essential to the salvation of souls.

Retrieved February 7, 2019 from https://fatima.org/news-views/fatima-perspectives1274/

Saints of the Day & Religious Diversity: Point-Counterpoint

Here’s the saint’s calendar for February 8, 2019, and some versions, each focusing on individual saints, all wonderful; for they are the Church Triumphant.

The Catholic Church has many saints and reading about their lives has been a spiritual journey Catholics have been on since the publication of the Golden Legend, http://sourcebooks.web.fordham.edu/basis/goldenlegend/

From Butler’s Calendar of the Saints listing all of the saints of today. https://web.archive.org/web/20060920180500/http://www.catholic-forum.com/SAINTS/day0208.htm

From Butler’s Lives of the Saints, St. John of Matha, http://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/lots/lots051.htm

From Franciscan Media, St. Josephine Bakhita, https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-josephine-bakhita/

From a most lovely site, really a daily devotional site offering much more than just saint of the day, Anastpaul https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/

One of my personal favorites, Tradition in Action, also St. John of Matha, https://traditioninaction.org/SOD/j114sdJohnMatha_2-08.htm

Here is what the 1962 Roman Missal says about St. John of Matha, “With St. Felix of Valois, St. John founded the Order of the Trinitarians for the ransoming of captives who had fallen into the hands of the Mohammedans. He died A. D. 1213. ” (p. 1179) The Daily Missal and Liturgical Manual. (2004). Baronius Press: London. To get this for your library, go to the source: https://www.baroniuspress.com/book.php?wid=56&bid=4#tab=tab-1 

Religious Diversity: Point-Counterpoint

Very revealing post from Rorate-Caeli.

The post:

Point:

The pluralism and the diversity of religions, colour, sex, race and language are willed by God in His wisdom, through which He created human beings.

Document co-signed by Francis and the “Grand Imam of Al-Azhar” Ahmad Al-Tayyeb

Counterpoint:

Never perhaps in the past have we seen, as we see in these our own times, the minds of men so occupied by the desire both of strengthening and of extending to the common welfare of human society that fraternal relationship which binds and unites us together, and which is a consequence of our common origin and nature. For since the nations do not yet fully enjoy the fruits of peace – indeed rather do old and new disagreements in various places break forth into sedition and civic strife – and since on the other hand many disputes which concern the tranquility and prosperity of nations cannot be settled without the active concurrence and help of those who rule the States and promote their interests, it is easily understood, and the more so because none now dispute the unity of the human race, why many desire that the various nations, inspired by this universal kinship, should daily be more closely united one to another.

A similar object is aimed at by some, in those matters which concern the New Law promulgated by Christ our Lord. For since they hold it for certain that men destitute of all religious sense are very rarely to be found, they seem to have founded on that belief a hope that the nations, although they differ among themselves in certain religious matters, will without much difficulty come to agree as brethren in professing certain doctrines, which form as it were a common basis of the spiritual life. For which reason conventions, meetings and addresses are frequently arranged by these persons, at which a large number of listeners are present, and at which all without distinction are invited to join in the discussion, both infidels of every kind, and Christians, even those who have unhappily fallen away from Christ or who with obstinacy and pertinacity deny His divine nature and mission.

Certainly such attempts can nowise be approved by Catholics, founded as they are on that false opinion which considers all religions to be more or less good and praiseworthy, since they all in different ways manifest and signify that sense which is inborn in us all, and by which we are led to God and to the obedient acknowledgment of His rule.

Not only are those who hold this opinion in error and deceived, but also in distorting the idea of true religion they reject it, and little by little turn aside to naturalism and atheism, as it is called; from which it clearly follows that one who supports those who hold these theories and attempt to realize them, is altogether abandoning the divinely revealed religion.

Pius XI

Mortalium Animos

Retrieved February 5, 2019 from https://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2019/02/no-francis-god-did-not-will-plurality.html

Saints of the Day & Martyrs of the Reform

Here’s the saint’s calendar for February 5, 2019, and several versions, each focusing on individual saints, all wonderful; for these are the Church Triumphant.

The Catholic Church has many saints and reading about their lives has been a spiritual journey Catholics have been on since the publication of the Golden Legend, http://sourcebooks.web.fordham.edu/basis/goldenlegend/

From Butler’s Calendar of the Saints listing all of the saints of today. https://web.archive.org/web/20060829161013/http://catholic-forum.com/saints/day0205.htm

From Butler’s Lives of the Saints, St. Agatha, Virgin, Martyr, http://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/lots/lots047.htm

From Franciscan Media, also St. Agatha, https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-agatha/

From a most lovely site, really a daily devotional site offering much more than just saint of the day, Anastpaul https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/

One of my personal favorites, Tradition in Action, the Martyrs of Japan, https://traditioninaction.org/SOD/j211sd_MartyrsJapan_02_05.html

Here is what the 1962 Roman Missal says about St. Agatha, “Born in Sicily of noble parents, St. Agatha suffered dreadful torture at the hands of her persecutors, but she was healed on the following night by a vision of St. Peter. Other sufferings were inflicted upon her, and from these she died A. D. 254.” (p. 1175) The Daily Missal and Liturgical Manual. (2004). Baronius Press: London. To get this for your library, go to the source: https://www.baroniuspress.com/book.php?wid=56&bid=4#tab=tab-1

Martyrs of the Reform

The eleventh century was one of the most corrupt in the Church’s history, and those working for reform struggled mightily, as this article by Roberto de Mattei explains.

An excerpt.

Also the reform of the Church has its martyrs. Among them are Saints Arialdo (+1066) and Erlembald (+1075), leaders of the “Pataria”, a lay movement in the XI century which aimed at the restoration of morality in the diocese of Milan, one of the most corrupt in Italy.

Simony and Nicolaism were the two plagues afflicting the Church at that time.  Simony was the pretense of buying and selling clerical offices; Nicolaism, was the practice of taking wives and mistresses by bishops and priests. However, the most shameful expression of moral dissoluteness was sodomy, which, as St. Peter Damian writes, raged “like a bloodthirsty beast inside the sheepfold of Christ” (Liber Gomorrhianus, tr. it. Fiducia, Roma 2015, p. 41).  These vices were so deeply-rooted in northern Italy as to constitute general praxis.

Against the diffusion of this immorality, a reformist movement arose at the initiative of the Deacon Arialdo and the brothers Landulf and Erlembald Cotta. They came from noble families in Lombardy, but because the people followed them they were called by their adversaries “patarini” that is to say “straccioni”  (“ragpickers” i.e. “tramps”- the Pataria was the rag-market). The opposition party to this reform was led by the Archbishop of Milan himself, Guido da Velate, who justified the corrupt clergy for political reasons. This resulted in an open clash, narrated by an eyewitness, the Vallombrosian  Abbot, Andrea da Strumi, in the Vita Sancti Arialdi (Monumenta Germanica, Hist., Scriptores, XXX, 2, Lipsiae 1935, pp. 1047-1075; tr. it. Arialdo. Passione del santo martire milanese, Jaca Book, Milano 1994).

The movement’s moral leader was Arialdo, who, according to Andrea da Strumi, Christ Himself had chosen, in defensione veritatis.  Addressing the Milanese people, Arialdo exhorted them to separate themselves from bad priests and pastors with these words: “Those who wish sincerely to find the truth must boldly refute every form of deception. For this, whereby you can fully delight in the Truth, which is God, I entreat you, in His name, to stay away completely from  false priests.  Indeed, there cannot be any possibility of agreement or close union between light and darkness, between the faithful and the unbelievers, between Christ and  Belial. It is in fact written: “Go out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing” (2 Cor. 6, 17-18).

How  can it be that He will not concede you the least, that is, pastors to guide you rightly, if you ask Him – He who, when none of you even existed, conceded you the most, that is, His very self for your salvation?  Thus, try not to have anything to do with all the heretics and ask God confidently for good and faithful pastors; without doubt you will have them: be sure of this!”(p.69). The Lord – continued Arialdo, said: “If these shall hold their peace, the stones will cry out” (Luke 19,40) and also “Cursed be he that withholdeth his sword from blood”.(Jer. 48, 10). The sword invoked by Arialdo, was first and foremost that of the Word of God; but, when it was required, the reformers did not hesitate in taking up arms to defend themselves against the violent aggressions of their enemies, who were trying to obstruct their preaching.

The Archbishop of Milano, worried about the populist reaction which was expanding, summoned his accusers to exonerate themselves at a synod which took place in the monastery of Fontaneto, in the diocese of Novara. The leaders of the Pataria, Arialdo and Landulf, did not show up and were excommunicated in absentia by the bishop. Arialdo then went to Rome to Pope Stephen IX, to whom he laid out the reasons for resisting the Archbishop of Milan. The Pope, sympathetic to the movement that was arising, sent to Milan, two apostolic visitors, who were leading the reform of the Church at that time: the Archbishop of Lucca, Anselmo da Baggio and the Roman Archdeacon, Hildebrand. Both were destined to become Popes in the succeeding years.  In the winter of 1060-61, Anselmo da Baggio was once again the representative of the Pope in Milan, along with the Cardinal Bishop of Ostia, Peter Damian. In both cases, the papal visitors, realizing the scandalous situation in the Diocese of Milan, exhorted the Pataria to  persist in the fight, in turn, preaching to the people against the corrupt clergy.

In 1063, when Landulf Cotta died following an attempt on his life, Arialdo invited his brother Erlembald to take over as leader of the movement. Before accepting, Erlembald, wanted to go on pilgrimage to Rome in order to pray at the tomb of St. Peter and seek counsel from Anselmo da Baggio, who had become Pope in 1061 taking the name of Alexander II.  Pope Alexander exhorted Erlembald to take on the leadership of the movement, made him Gonfalonier of the Holy Roman Church and entrusted him with the vexillum sancti Petri, which he had previously sent to the Norman, Ruggero, for his victory over the Muslims in Sicily. Erlembald was a knight, of a religious and warrior spirit, of whom Andrea da Strumi writes:”The noble Erlembald, when he appeared before men, was like a general in precious garments, encircled by knights and arms. But hidden, before God, he was clothed in simple wool, like a rough hermit.”

The papal approval gave new vigor to the Pataria struggle. When abbots were chosen in a simoniac manner for the three important monasteries in Milan, St. Celso, St. Vincenzo and St. Ambrose the “patarini” rose up and a new phase of clashes began. Arialdo, the Deacon, was alongside Erlembald even in the “patarino” movement’s military leadership and together, raising the banner of St. Peter, they defeated the Archbishop Guido da Velate.

In the spring of 1066, Erlembald, returned to Milan, carrying two Papal Bulls: the first  was Archbishop Guido’s excommunication; the second wherein the Pope exhorted the Milanese clergy to follow the indications from Rome. Guido da Velate convened a great assembly to which thousands of people of opposite factions flocked, including Arialdo and Erlembald.  When the Archbishop lashed out against the Pope’s claim to dictate laws in Milan, a part of the crowd assailed Arialdo and Erlembald. Erlembald defended himself by whirling in the air the banner of Holy Church which was always with him. Arialdo was forced to flee, but near Piacenza he was arrested and taken to the castle of Donna Oliva, Guido da Velate’s niece. On June 28th 1066 she had him killed on a small island in Lake Maggiore. Before killing him, his assassins grabbed him by the ears, ordering him to obey the Archbishop of Milan.

Retrieved February 4, 2019 from http://www.robertodemattei.it/en/2019/01/25/martyrs-of-the-reform-of-the-church/

 

Saints of the Day & Deaconate Good News

Here is the saint’s calendar for January 13, 2019 and several versions, each focusing on individual saints, all wonderful.

From Butler’s Calendar of the Saints listing all of the saints of today, (so many). https://web.archive.org/web/20061019111620/http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/day0113.htm

From Butler’s Lives of the Saints, highlighting one, http://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/lots/lots023.htm

From Franciscan Media https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-hilary/

From a most lovely site, really a daily devotional site offering much more than just saint of the day, Anastpaul https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/

And a great resource for further exploration of individual saints, The Catholic Encyclopedia, http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/index.html

Deaconate Good News

Nice to have good news about the Church, as this story from the Wanderer Newspaper certainly is.

An excerpt.

With all the problems going on in the Catholic Church today — perceived and otherwise — it is perhaps useful to take stock of the things that are going well.

For instance, the permanent diaconate is a wonderful start. The diaconate a much older institution than the priesthood, coming from a time when bishops themselves were able to conduct the Holy Mass while deacons, subdeacons, “deaconesses” (which were really equivalent to a prioress of nuns and don’t let anyone tell you different), religious brothers and sisters, and a host of laity performed the charitable and at times sacramental work of the Church. This sacramental work was limited to deacons, of course, and limited to what in modern parlance was to “hatch, match, and dispatch” — or in other words, to confer the Sacraments of Baptism, Marriage, and Last Rites.

At no point in time in salvation history have we had more deacons than today.

Right now, despite the “vocations crisis” in the Western world, in places such as Africa and Asia, the vocations crisis takes on a different form: how to build the seminaries fast enough. Right now, there are over 415,000 priests in the world — more than at any other point in time in salvation history.

The same is true for our bishops. We have more active bishops — 5,304 to be exact — in active ministry right now than at any other point in time in salvation history.

This is critically important for any number of reasons, but most importantly because these bishops can create new priests — and in that respect, we have over 116,000 new seminarians actively exploring a priestly vocation. Over a five-year average? At no other point in salvation history have we seen this many vocations being explored.

Now we come to the fun part — the Church Militant. Right now, there are over 1.3 billion professed Catholics around the world. One in six, to be clear. Both as a percentage of the human race and as a raw number of human beings, at no other point in time in salvation history has the Catholic Church enjoyed so wide a membership.

Yet that’s not all! How do you become a Catholic nominally? Of course, one has to accept baptism, which is a mark that cannot be erased and is enjoyed by Protestant, Orthodox, and other varying Christian traditions. So the grand total of souls claimed for the Catholic Faith? 2.3 billion.

At no other time in salvation history have there been so many individual souls marked indelibly with the Sacrament of Baptism.

Right now, the Catholic Church has opened more hospitals, more colleges, more clinics, more schools, more parishes, more refugee camps, more shelters, feeds more indigent populations, visits more prisoners and advocates on behalf of the unspoken more today than at any other time in salvation history.

Full stop and pause for just a moment.

Set aside all of the scandal for just a moment and imagine the Catholic Church as she is, not as how the press and the world would want her to be perceived. Consider what we would imagine her to be in holiness, and reflect on how truly amazing all of these gifts — both spiritual and temporal — truly are.

Granted, in the Catholic West, it can seem as if Christendom is falling apart. Scandals, persecutions, and even calumnies from within seem to be waging war against the Body of Christ.

Yet in perspective, there is no small wonder why the Catholic Church is under such attack — we are growing, and not only are we growing, but more souls today than at any other point in time in salvation history are enjoying the protection, prayers, and charitable works of the Catholic Church.

From http://thewandererpress.com/catholic/news/frontpage/reasons-for-hope/#more-24521

Saint of the Day & Why Join the Church?

Today, December 7, 2018, is the feast day of St. Ambrose, Bishop & Doctor of the Church (340 AD -397 AD) according to Lives of the Saints by Fr. Alban Butler (first published in 1887 under the title Lives of the Saints–With Reflections for Every Day in the Year), read here http://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/lots/lots376.htm and a more detailed article from Tradition in Action at https://traditioninaction.org/SOD/j051sdAmbrose12-7.htm

The definitive article though is at the Catholic Encyclopedia, http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01383c.htm and here is the Wikipedia link https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambrose

Reading about these saints is a wonderful daily reflection; such marvelous lives the saints lived, such an army, the Church Triumphant, who has our back in heaven.

Why Join the Church?

A bracing reminder of the roots and truth of our faith, regardless of the sinners (clerical and laity) within it, from Father Z.

An excerpt.

From a reader…

QUAERITUR:

“Why should a Protestant like me convert and join the Catholic church, given the current corruption that appears to reach all the way to the top?

“(This is not an idle question. I was ready to call a priest and learn more, just before the recent scandal broke.)”

I get it.  I really do.  I am a convert and those times when I came into the Church were also troubling.  They have been for a while.  As a matter of fact, there has been controversy swirling in and around the Church since the moment Our Lord’s feet disappeared into the heavens at his Ascension.

First, remember that the Church was founded for sinners.  Therefore, let’s not be surprised when we find that the Church is filled with sinners, at every level.

Second, remember that the Devil hates the Church.  The Enemy attacks relentlessly.  It is a good strategy to strike high, strike the shepherds so that the sheep will scatter.  It should shock us but not at all surprise us that there are corrupt clergy and lay people in the Church at every level.   The attacks on the Church are, themselves, proofs that she is who she says she is.

Third, the fact that there is corruption or incompetence in the Church, and that the Church  has always prevailed and moved forward in the Lord’s mission is a sign that this, the Catholic Church, truly is the Church that Christ founded.  Left to us, we would destroy it.  The continuance of the Church demonstrates God’s favor and grace and protection, even from us.

There is no better place to be than in the Church that Christ Himself founded.  The faults of individuals disgust and demoralize from time to time, but they  are not “the Church”.  The Church is, truly, the spotless bride of Christ.  God’s love for us is so great that He entrusts His Church to us little sinful mortals as we muddle along.

If you believe in Christ’s promises and in the Church true claims – as they really are, and not at the fools, libs, modernists, liars and confused distort them for their worldly objectives – then there is no where else that we can be.  We must be Catholics in the Catholic Church.  And if we, knowing the claims of the Church and Christ’s promises, knowing that this is Christ’s Church, fail to enter her embrace or determine to leave it, we put our salvation in peril, because, in rejecting the truth, we reject our Lord Himself.

Great spiritual gain (membership in the Church) comes at a cost.   There is always a cost.   For some it is giving up a known community.  For others it is giving up comfort.  For others it is giving up customs or other matters.   There is always a cost.

The benefits, however, are abundant, if not always immediately comfortable.

Crises come and go.  The Catholic Church was founded by Christ.  And, given that truth, there is no place else we can be.

Retrieved December 3, 2018 from http://wdtprs.com/blog/2018/12/ask-father-why-should-a-protestant-convert-and-join-the-catholic-church/