A Breather

I’ll be taking a short break from the blog, most likely I’ll be back by Friday/Saturday.

A misericordiam from St. Davids Cathedral. The monks used to lean their backsides on the slight ledge during long offices.

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Romanism! XIII

Hail, O Rome,
Eternal abode of memories;
A thousand palms and a thousand altars
Sing your praises.

O city of the Apostles,
Mother and guide of the elect,
Light of the nations,
And hope of the world!
Hail, O Rome!
Your light will never fade;
The splendour of your beauty
Disperses hatred and shame.

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O city of the Apostles,
Mother and guide of the elect,
Light of the nations,
And hope of the world! Pontifical Hymn

(See Romanism Page)
(Church Fathers on the  Primacy of Rome)

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The Works of the Lord

For in his hand are both we, and our words, and all wisdom, and the knowledge and skill of works. For he hath given me the true knowledge of the things that are: to know the disposition of the whole world, and the virtues of the elements, The beginning, and ending, and midst of the times, the alterations of their courses, and the changes of seasons, The revolutions of the year, and the dispositions of the stars, The natures of living creatures, and rage of wild beasts, the force of winds, and reasonings of men, the diversities of plants, and the virtues of roots. Wisdom 7:16

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Matrimony

And there came to him the Pharisees tempting him, and saying: Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause? Who answering, said to them: Have ye not read, that he who made man from the beginning, Made them male and female? And he said: For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife, and they two shall be in one flesh. Therefore now they are not two, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let no man put asunder. Matt 19:3

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He Gave Them Power

And having called his twelve disciples together, he gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of diseases, and all manner of infirmities. Matt 10:1

The cult that has emerged here in Sarsina, a town in the hills between Tuscany and the northern Adriatic Sea, centers on the metal collar. Legend has it that St. Vicinus, bishop in Sarsina around AD 300, used it first as a form of self-castigation when he prayed. It resembles a shackle that might be used on a slave. He would put it around his neck attached to a heavy stone to focus his mind in penitence.

Eventually he began to use it to ward off evil spirits. St. Vicinus became one of the church’s early exorcists, and the fame of the collar and its purported powers have endured. (The one used now is not said to be St. Vicinus’ original but is believed to date to the 8th or 9th century, roughly the same time the church was built.) St. Vicinus

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American Protestantism

Nelson Burroughs displays the branded “KKK” on head and chest that Klan members gave him when he refused to recant his Catholicism in June 1924. The Ku Klux Klan was originally a secret movement of vigilantes who, following the American Civil War, handed out rough justice in the Southern United states. The Klan was reborn, decades later, after it was shown in a very heroic light in D.W. Griffiths’ 1915 movie, Birth of a Nation. The new Ku Klux Klan was savagely racist, sectarian and xenophobic. (From this online Book)

In 1921, the Klan arrived in Oregon from central California and established the state’s first klavern in Medford. In a state with one of the country’s highest percentages of white residents, the Klan attracted up to 14,000 members and established 58 klaverns by the end of 1922. Given small population of non-white minorities outside Portland, the Oregon Klan directed attention almost exclusively against Catholics, who numbered about 8% of the population. In 1922, the Masonic Grand Lodge of Oregon sponsored a bill to require all school-age children to attend public schools. With support of the Klan and Democrat Governor Walter M. Pierce, endorsed by the Klan, the Compulsory Education Law was passed with a majority of votes. Its primary purpose was to shut down Catholic schools in Oregon. (Wiki Post on the KKK)

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The Roman Curia…

..After the “shrinking ray gun” mishap of 2015….

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Another

I am come in the name of my Father, and you receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him you will receive. John 5:43

With their ears they have been dull of hearing, and their eyes they have shut: lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them. Matt 13:15

One of the many “Anothers”: I remember quite a few years back, when the gentleman on the  billboards (Menachem Schneerson) passed away his followers plastered stickers, and ads throughout NYC emblazoned with the word “Mosiach” (Messiah). Evidently some of the NY Hasidim considered him to be the long-awaitied Messiah. Some of them waited for his Resurrection (perhaps some still are). Some interesting articles below:

NY times Article: The messianists, who say they believe they can hasten the rebbe’s return by persuading as many people as possible that he is the messiah, promote their agenda in the streets, proselytizing regularly in non-Lubavitch neighborhoods, approaching strangers and prodding them to recite Yechi. Their calls are echoed by two messianic talk-radio shows, ”Living With Moshiach” (the Hebrew word for messiah) and ”Moshiach in the Air.”

They are also reclaiming an abandoned element of the religion; Judaism, after all, was the original Western messianic faith. Still, for most Jews today, observant and secular alike, the very concept of a messiah has become, at most, a metaphorical one.

Another Article (Protestant Site): Rebbe Menachem Schneerson wouldn’t be of much interest to most of us outside his movement, except for one fact. Beginning in the1980s, speculation was rife among many followers that the Rebbe was, indeed, the long awaited Messiah, the Moshiach, as they called him. Many Lubavitch were certain that Rebbe Schneerson would reveal himself as Moshiach. You could even see some bumper stickers around New York reading Moshiach Now!

There was only one slight problem. In 1994, the Rebbe died.

Here, though, is the fascinating thing: though Rebbe Schneerson died, speculation that he was the Messiah didn’t. Many followers believed that he would soon be resurrected and assume his rightful position as the Messiah. Rumors abounded that holes were drilled in the top of his coffin so that he could breathe. One Lubavitch newspaper wrote the following about Schneerson–after his death: “May our Master, Teacher, and Rabbi the King Messiah live forever.”
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Nevertheless I say to you, hereafter you shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of the power of God, and coming in the clouds of heaven. Matt 26:64

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Shadow of Death

For though I should walk in the midst of the shadow of death, I will fear no evils, for thou art with me. Psalm 22

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Chasubles

Trad?:

When I first came back to the Church 6 years ago (via the Traditional Latin Mass) I was astounded by the beautiful, dignified, vestments of a type I had never seen before. I speak of the “Roman” or “Fiddleback”, which seemed to disappeared between VatII, and my earliest memories. At the time I thought that the “Roman” vestments were vastly superior to the dowdy horse-blankets I remembered the priests wearing when I was a kid (and more “trad” to boot!). However, over the years my aesthetic sensibilities have changed, and I have seen that the Gothic style is every bit as dignified, and traditional, as it’s Roman cousin. It’s just that the modern interpretation of the Gothic seems to be purposely ugly in the name “simplicity”. Long story short: Both styles are traditional, and dignified if made with their final use in mind: The Greater Glory of God (Post on different vestments styles at NLM)

Not Trad ?

Look Familiar?

(St. Bede’s Vestment Studio)

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Asperges Me

If the bishop be present, let the presbyter and deacon stand by, and let him say thus: O Lord of hosts, the God of powers, the creator of the waters, and the supplier of oil, who art compassionate, and a lover of mankind, who hast given water for drink and for cleansing, and oil to give man a cheerful and joyful countenance; do Thou now also sanctify this water and this oil through Your Christ, in the name of him or her that has offered them, and grant them a power to restore health, to drive away diseases, to banish demons, and to disperse all snares through Christ our hope, with whom glory, honour, and worship be to You, and to the Holy Ghost, for ever. Amen.  Apostolic Constitutions (Book VIII)   4th Century

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Pray for Priests

It’s got to be difficult sometimes .

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Hath seen great light

The people that sat in darkness, hath seen great light: and to them that sat in the region of the shadow of death, light is sprung up. Matt 4:16

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Hymn of Praise

When the priest conducts the Divine Sacrifice, angels station themselves about him and in a choir they chant a hymn of praise in honor of the Victim Who is sacrificed. St John Chrysostom

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Holy Cross

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And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him, may not perish; but may have life everlasting. John 3:14

For the word of the cross, to them indeed that perish, is foolishness; but to them that are saved, that is, to us, it is the power of God. Cor 1, 1:18

Faithful Cross,above all other, the one noble tree.
None in foliage, nor in blossom,nor in fruit offers more:
Sweetest wood and sweetest iron, Sweetest weight is hung on thee (Crux Fideles)

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The Roman Missal promulgated by St. Pius V and reissued by Bl. John XXIII is to be considered as an extraordinary expression of that same ‘Lex orandi,’ and must be given due honour for its venerable and ancient usage. These two expressions of the Church’s Lex orandi will in no any way lead to a division in the Church’s ‘Lex credendi’ (Law of belief). They are, in fact two usages of the one Roman rite.

It is, therefore, permissible to celebrate the Sacrifice of the Mass following the typical edition of the Roman Missal promulgated by Bl. John XXIII in 1962 and never abrogated, as an extraordinary form of the Liturgy of the Church. Pope Benedict XVI: Summorum Pontificum

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The Hammer & Sickle & the Cross?

The doctrine of modern Communism, which is often concealed under the most seductive trappings, is in substance based on the principles of dialectical and historical materialism previously advocated by Marx, of which the theoricians of bolshevism claim to possess the only genuine interpretation. According to this doctrine there is in the world only one reality, matter, the blind forces of which evolve into plant, animal and man. Even human society is nothing but a phenomenon and form of matter, evolving in the same way. By a law of inexorable necessity and through a perpetual conflict of forces, matter moves towards the final synthesis of a classless society. In such a doctrine, as is evident, there is no room for the idea of God; there is no difference between matter and spirit, between soul and body; there is neither survival of the soul after death nor any hope in a future life. Insisting on the dialectical aspect of their materialism, the Communists claim that the conflict which carries the world towards its final synthesis can be accelerated by man. Hence they endeavor to sharpen the antagonisms which arise between the various classes of society. Thus the class struggle with its consequent violent hate and destruction takes on the aspects of a crusade for the progress of humanity. On the other hand, all other forces whatever, as long as they resist such systematic violence, must be annihilated as hostile to the human race.

What would be the condition of a human society based on such materialistic tenets? It would be a collectivity with no other hierarchy than that of the economic system. It would have only one mission: the production of material things by means of collective labor, so that the goods of this world might be enjoyed in a paradise where each would “give according to his powers” and would “receive according to his needs.” Communism recognizes in the collectivity the right, or rather, unlimited discretion, to draft individuals for the labor of the collectivity with no regard for their personal welfare; so that even violence could be legitimately exercised to dragoon the recalcitrant against their wills. In the Communistic commonwealth morality and law would be nothing but a derivation of the existing economic order, purely earthly in origin and unstable in character. In a word. the Communists claim to inaugurate a new era and a new civilization which is the result of blind evolutionary forces culminating in a humanity without God.  Pius XI: Atheistic Communism

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A Piece Of Us Is Missing/Justice Delayed

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord.
R. And let perpetual light shine upon them.
P. May the souls of all the faithful departed, rest in peace.
R. Amen.

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Where the Hell is Osama? Did we forget about Bin Laden while fighting for Israel in Iraq? (thanks to AIPAC, and our Evangelical “brethren”). If you would have told me in Sept-Oct 2001 that 7 years later Muhammeds truest son would still be breathing I would have laughed, or have been very angry. But, nonetheless here we are. Justice delayed is justice denied.

In my eyes at least, Bush can partially redeem his otherwise horrible presidency by getting this guy before he leaves office. (Since his malfeasance almost guarantees a Democratic win in the upcoming election, or at best a razor thin Republican win).

President Obama will be too busy building his vision of a Socialism: American Style (Federally mandated sodomite “marriage”, more liberal pre-natal infanticide laws, civilian brownshirsts, Sex ed in Kindergarten, you get the picture..) than hunting down his co-religionists in Afghanistan. (Mrs. Obama is the really scary one). I digress from the filth of politics, back to the question….

What the Hell? Osama is still alive 7 years after murdering over 3000 Americans in our own backyard!

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Old Treasures

Today while in the Vatican Basilica I saw something I didn’t think I’d ever see and something that hasen’t been seen here likely in about forty (or more) years in St. Peter’s Basilica!

They brought back the old giant carpet covers for the choir benches at the altar of the chair. It’s difficult to explain what exactly these are, and it will be impossible to get close to get a photo. But today they were putting them out.  From Orbis Catholicus

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JPII and the 1st Defeat of Militant Atheism

(Orthodox church in Petresti, Romania with a mural of JPII,  George Bush Sr., and Gorbachev!)

In Bucharest I highlighted the fact that in Romania, too, you suffered together:  “The communist regime suppressed the Church of the Byzantine-Romanian rite united with Rome and persecuted Bishops and priests, men and women religious and lay people, many of whom paid with blood for their fidelity to Christ…. I would also like to give due recognition to the members of the Romanian Orthodox Church and of other Churches and religious communities who suffered similar persecutions and grave restrictions. Death united our brothers and sisters in faith in the heroic witness of martyrdom:  they have left us an unforgettable lesson of love for Christ and his Church” John Paul II: The Church in Romania

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First Attempted Suicide of the West

On every side the dread phantom of war holds sway: there is scarce room for another thought in the minds of men. The combatants are the greatest and wealthiest nations of the earth; what wonder, then, if, well provided with the most awful weapons modern military science has devised, they strive to destroy one another with refinements of horror. There is no limit to the measure of ruin and of slaughter; day by day the earth is drenched with newly-shed blood, and is covered with the bodies of the wounded and of the slain. Who would imagine as we see them thus filled with hatred of one another, that they are all of one common stock, all of the same nature, all members of the same human society? Who would recognize brothers, whose Father is in Heaven? Yet, while with numberless troops the furious battle is engaged, the sad cohorts of war, sorrow and distress swoop down upon every city and every home; day by day the mighty number of widows and orphans increases, and with the interruption of communications, trade is at a standstill; agriculture is abandoned; the arts are reduced to inactivity; the wealthy are in difficulties; the poor are reduced to abject misery; all are in distress. Benedict XV: Appealing for Peace

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Originally seen at Idle Speculations

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Essence Of A Christian Life

Source on Flickr

Now the whole essence of a Christian life is to reject the corruption of the world and to oppose constantly any indulgence in it; this is taught in the words and deeds, the laws and institutions, the life and death of Jesus Christ, “the author and finisher of faith.”Hence, however strongly We are deterred by the evil disposition of nature and character, it is our duty to run to the “fight proposed to Us,”fortified and armed with the same desire and the same arms as He who, “having joy set before him, endured the cross.”Wherefore let men understand this specially, that it is most contrary to Christian duty to follow, in worldly fashion, pleasures of every kind, to be afraid of the hardships attending a virtuous life, and to deny nothing to self that soothes and delights the senses. “They that are Christ’s, have crucified their flesh, with the vices and concupiscences” — so that it follows that they who are not accustomed to suffering, and who hold not ease and pleasure in contempt belong not to Christ. By the infinite goodness of God man lived again to the hope of an immortal life, from which he had been cut off, but he cannot attain to it if he strives not to walk in the very footsteps of Christ and conform his mind to Christ’s by the meditation of Christ’s example. Therefore this is not a counsel but a duty, and it is the duty, not of those only who desire a more perfect life, but clearly of every man “always bearing about in our body the mortification of Jesus.” Leo XIII: Right Ordering of Christian Life

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Reminder for Catholics local to NYC

A short but pretty good video clip of Pius XII:

A Sung Mass in the Extraordinary Rite

will be offered for the intention of the
BEATIFICATION OF POPE PIUS XII

Followed by

Veneration of personal Relics of Pope Pius XII
and a lecture on his life and papacy by
Sister Margherita Marchione.

†

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact 718 512 8577

at

The Church of the Holy Innocents
http://www.innocents.com/
128 West 37th Street
New York, NY

Saturday, September 6th at 1 PM

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Friends of God

We depict Christ as our King and Lord, and do not deprive Him of His army. The saints constitute the Lord’s army. Let the earthly king dismiss his army before he gives up his King and Lord. Let him put off the purple before he takes honour away from his most valiant men who have conquered their passions. For if the saints are heirs of God, and co-heirs of Christ, (Rom. 8.17) they will be also partakers of the divine glory of sovereignty. If the friends of God have had a part in the sufferings of Christ, how shall they not receive a share of His glory even on earth? “I call you not servants,” our Lord says, “you are my friends.” (Jn. 15.15) Should we then deprive them of the honour given to them by the Church? What audacity! What boldness of mind, to fight God and His commands! You, who refuse to worship images, would not worship the Son of God, the Living Image of the invisible God, (Col. 1.15) and His unchanging form. I worship the image of Christ as the Incarnate God; that of Our Lady, the Mother of us all, as the Mother of God’s Son; that of the saints as the friends of God. St. John Damascene: On Holy Images

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Except By Means Of Jesus Christ

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We shall never, however much we exert ourselves, succeed in calling men back to the majesty and empire of God, except by means of Jesus Christ. “No one,” the Apostle admonishes us, “can lay other foundation than that which has been laid, which is Jesus Christ.” (I. Cor., iii., II.) It is Christ alone “whom the Father sanctified and sent into this world” (Is. x., 36), “the splendor of the Father and the image of His substance” (Hebr. i., 3), true God and true man: without whom nobody can know God with the knowledge for salvation, “neither doth anyone know the Father but the Son, and he to whom it shall please the Son to reveal Him.” (Matth. xi., 27.) Hence it follows that to restore all things in Christ and to lead men back to submission to God is one and the same aim. To this, then, it behoves Us to devote Our care — to lead back mankind under the dominion of Christ; this done, We shall have brought it back to God. When We say to God We do not mean to that inert being heedless of all things human which the dream of materialists has imagined, but to the true and living God, one in nature, triple in person, Creator of the world, most wise Ordainer of all things, Lawgiver most just, who punishes the wicked and has reward in store for virtue. St. Pius X: Restoring All Things In Christ

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For a little video clip of our Saint (fast forward to 6:00)

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All Generations

Because he hath regarded the humility of his handmaid; for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. Luke 1:48

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