Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Father, all-powerful and ever-living God,
we do well always and everywhere to give you thanks
as we do honour the Blessed Virgin Mary,
Mother of Carmel.

Your word filled her heart
and inspired her actions,
making her constant in prayer with the Apostles,
and, through her share in our salvation,
constituting her the spiritual mother of all mankind.
She watches unceasingly with a mother’s loving care
over the brethren of her Son,
and lights us along our pilgrim way
to the Mount of your Glory,
our beacon of comfort,
and the embodiment or all our hopes
as members of the Church.
Now, with all the saints and angels,
we praise you forever:

Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.

(Preface of Our Lady of Mount Carmel I, Carmelite Missal)

Quote

“Your prayers should be liturgical. How I would like to see you using the psalms and prayers from the missal, rather than private prayers of your own choice.”

(St. Josemaría Escrivá, The Way, 86)

Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary outside of the Cathedral of the Assumption in Zagreb, Croatia. (image source)

May Crowning Before Mass

I believe this is the first time I have seen a May Crowning since I was in the 1st grade.

This video was taken by Tom Ryan, a man with powerful friends:

Book Review: Words of Light

Words of Light: Inspiration From the Letters of Padre Pio

Author: St. Pio of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio)
Publisher: Paraclete Press
Binding: Hardcover
Page Count: 206 pages

Words of Light: Inspiration From the Letters of Padre Pio released earlier this year by Paraclete Press is a 206 page hardbound book. For the most part I tend not to be too concerned with the cover of a book. Hardcover, soft cover, leather bound, no cover at all – it makes no difference to me. The content is all that matters. But, with this particular book I was very glad to have the hardcover.

I have found myself carrying this book around with me quite a bit. I read a little bit in Church before Mass, I read it at home. I even tend to leave it in the car so that I can read it if I arrive early to a doctor’s appointment. To say that that I have been rough with this book would be a bit of an understatement. And through it all it has held up beautifully.

And now we get to the reason why I carry this book around so much (and am therefore thankful that it is in hardcover): the content. I am the type of person who likes to read a book as quickly as possible. The quicker I finish one book the quicker I can begin another. But, that is just not possible with Words of Light. I will sit down with the intention of reading a chapter only to find that I have read the same passage 3 or 4 times. I will put the book down for awhile – maybe an hour or a maybe a few days – and when I come back to it I find myself back on the same passage.

The book, compiled by Fr. Raniero Cantalmessa, the preacher to the papal household, is taken from the letters of St. Pio of Pietrelcina, better known to the world as Padre Pio, to his spiritual directors on a variety of topics. Prior to the publication of this book these words of Padre Pio were only available in a much larger Italian edition. Now, excerpts from these letters have been taken and arranged by topic in chapters such as ‘Satan is a powerful enemy’, ‘I do not wish to ever offend God again’, and ‘Church, Priesthood, and Eucharist’ for the benefit of the English speaking world.

Words of Light took me through some lows and some highs. When Padre Pio writes that “my prayers are worthy rather of punishment than reward, because I have sickened Jesus too much by my numberless sins…” (p. 27) or “Such is the opinion I have of myself, that I don’t know if there be any worse than me.” (p. 167) I can’t help but feel horrible. Surely my sins must be more numberless than his. Surely I deserve much greater punishment than he. Thankfully other passages are as uplifting to me as these are depressing: “We have raised our thoughts to heaven, our true homeland, of which the earth is only a pale reflection. With divine assistance we strive to preserve, in every event, joyful or sad, that serenity and calm that become the true followers of the fair-haired Nazarene.” (p. 156)

In conclusion I will just say that there are a lot of books out there that will let you know about Padre Pio. This is the first one that I have encountered that will help you to get to know Padre Pio.

St. Joseph The Worker

In those dioceses not celebrating the Feast of the Ascension today is the Memorial of St. Joseph the Worker. We already honor St. Joseph each year on the Solemnity of St. Joseph, March 19th (moved to March 15th this year).

This feast was instituted in 1955 by Pope Pius XII and is celebrated on May 1, since this is the day labor is honored in many countries. In the Gospel Jesus was called “the son of the carpenter.” This feast reminds us that honest work, no matter how seemingly menial, can be sanctified. Through work we can sanctify ourselves and others, making each of us participants in the work of redemption.
(Our Sunday Visitor/Midwest Theological Forum Daily Roman Missal)

God, our Father,
Creator and ruler of the universe,
in every age You call man
to develop and use his gifts for the good of others.
With Saint Joseph as our example and guide,
help us to do the work you have asked
and come to the rewards you have promised.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
(Opening Prayer 1970 Roman Missal)

Which Theologian Are You?

Which theologian are you? created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as Anselm Anselm is the outstanding theologian of the medieval period. He sees man’s primary problem as having failed to render unto God what we owe him, so God becomes man in Christ and gives God what he is due. You should read ‘Cur Deus Homo?’ Anselm 100% Karl Barth 93% Augustine 87% Friedrich Schleiermacher 67% John Calvin 67% Jonathan Edwards 53% Charles Finney 47% Paul Tillich 33% Martin Luther 33% Jürgen Moltmann 27%

Quite an appropriate result for 2 reasons:

1. There are 8 Protestant Theologians and 2 Catholic Theologians and I ended up a 100% match with one of the Catholics.

2. Today is the Feast of St. Anselm. And what better way to honor the man than to agree 100% with what he taught?

Back To Back Pro-Life Feasts

This year due to a quirk in the Liturgical Calendar caused by the early date of Easter we have been blessed with back to back Pro-Life Feasts - Divine Mercy Sunday and the Feast of the Annunciation - on March 30th and 31st, respectively.

The 2nd Sunday of Easter, celebrated yesterday, was renamed the Feast of Divine Mercy by Pope John Paul II in the year 2000 during the canonization of Sr. Faustina, the apostle of Divine Mercy. Even before receiving its new name the 2nd Sunday of Easter already focused on the Mercy of God.

The Gospel Reading of the day shows us the institution of the Sacrament of Penance:

On the evening of that first day of the week,
when the doors were locked, where the disciples were,
for fear of the Jews,
Jesus came and stood in their midst
and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.
The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you.
As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,
“Receive the Holy Spirit.
Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them,
and whose sins you retain are retained.”

Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve,
was not with them when Jesus came.
So the other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.”
But he said to them,
“Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands
and put my finger into the nailmarks
and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

Now a week later his disciples were again inside
and Thomas was with them.
Jesus came, although the doors were locked,
and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.”
Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands,
and bring your hand and put it into my side,
and do not be unbelieving, but believe.”
Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me?
Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”

Now, Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples
that are not written in this book.
But these are written that you may come to believe
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,
and that through this belief you may have life in his name.

(John 20:19-31 NAB)

This Gospel passage, selected by the Church for the Sunday after Easter centuries ago, shows us that the Mercy of God is powerful enough to forgive us of any sin. But, today I want to relate the Feast of Divine Mercy to one sin in particular: abortion.

Sister Maria Faustina Kowalska, the Saint whose life and writings inspired our late Holy Father, Pope John Paul I, to rename the Octave day of Easter after the Mercy of God, wrote about abortion in her diary, Divine Mercy in My Soul:

September 16, 1937. I wanted very much to make a Holy Hour before the Blessed Sacrament today, but God’s will was otherwise. At eight o’clock I was seized with such violent pains that I had to go to bed at once. I was convulsed with pain for three hours; that is, until eleven o’clock at night. No medicine had any effect on me, and whatever I swallowed I threw up. At times, the pains caused me to lose consciousness. Jesus had me realize that in this way I took part in His Agony in the Garden, and that He himself allowed these sufferings in order to offer reparation to God for the souls murdered in the wombs of wicked mothers. I have gone through these sufferings three times now. They always start at eight o’clock in the evening and last until eleven. No medicine can lessen these sufferings. When eleven o’clock comes, they cease by themselves, and I fall asleep at that moment. The following day, I feel very weak.

This happened to me for the first time when I was at the sanatorium. The doctors couldn’t get to the bottom of it, and no injection or medicine helped me at all nor did I myself have any idea of what the sufferings were about. I told the doctor that never before in my life had I experienced such sufferings, and he declared he did not know what sort of pains they are. But now I understand the nature of these pains, because the Lord himself as made this known to me… Yet when I think that I may perhaps suffer in this way again, I tremble. But I don’t know whether I’ll ever again suffer in this way; I leave that to God. What it pleases God to send, I will accept with submission and love. If only I could save even one soul from murder by means of these sufferings!

(Divine Mercy in My Soul 1276)

St. Faustina was permitted to suffer these terrible pains and offer them up to God in reparation for the children killed through abortion. This passage serves to remind us that we too can offer reparation for abortion. Obviously, God does not give each and every one of us intense physical sufferings to offer up. But, doesn’t mean that there is nothing we can do. Prayer and fasting can serve as reparation to God. And if anyone has ever taken part in the sin of abortion, either directly or indirectly, there is always the Mercy of God available in the confessional.

The second Pro-Life Feast is the Annunciation. This Feast is typically celebrated on March 25th, exactly 9 months before the birth of Christ. But, because this year March 25th fell during the Octave of Easter it is moved to the next available day - March 31st.

The incarnation did not occur on the 1st Christmas. Rather, God became flesh in the womb of his mother and lived there for 9 months before his birth. The fact that God chose to dwell with man in this manner is a powerful witness that life begins at conception and not at birth.

Mary’s fiat - “May it be done to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38) - allowed the Savior to enter the world and redeem all creation. And this feast should serve as a reminder to us to pray that all mothers will say yes to the life God has created within them.

Thank You St. Joseph

Because this year March 19th falls in Holy Week the Solemnity of St. Joseph is moved to today, the 15th. I am sure that the Patron of the Universal Church and the Guardian of the Redeemer does not mind being bumped for the Lord.

Saint Joseph was never a particular favorite of mine. For many years I gave almost no thought at all to him. That began to change a few years back. At that time I was considering adoption for reasons that I won’t go into here. But, even though I was excited about it I was also a little bit uneasy. I began to think about the fact that I may never have a biological child.

And then I began to think about St. Joseph, the Foster Father of the Lord. I would find myself spending more and more time kneeling in front of an image of him and meditating on his role in the Holy Family. Over time I noticed my uneasiness slipping away and being replaced by a feeling of peace.

Circumstances changed. We never adopted a baby. And I very well may end up having a biological child some day. Or adopting. Or both for that matter. But, I know that no matter what happens it is through the intercession of St. Joseph that the uneasiness that I previously felt will not return and I will continue to seek his intercession that I might have a Holy Family of my own some day.

Father, you entrusted our Savior to the care of Saint Joseph. By the help of his prayers may Your Church continue to serve its Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. (1970 Roman Missal)

The Seven Sorrows Of Mary

In the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite even though today is Friday in Passion Week (the 5th Week of Lent) the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary are also commemorated. A commemoration means that the Collect, the Secret, and the Postcommunion of the Feast of the Seven Sorrows are said after the same prayers of the day.

Collect
O God, in whose passion, according to the prophecy of Simeon, the sword of sorrow did pierce the most sweet soul of the glorious Mary, Virgin and Mother; mercifully grant that we who call to mind with veneration her anguish and suffering, may obtain the blessed fruit of Thy passion through the glorious merits and prayers of all the Saints who have faithfully stood by the cross interceding for us: Who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

Secret
We offer unto Thee our prayers and oblations, O Lord Jesus Christ, and humbly beseech Thee that, even as in our prayers we recall the piercing of the most sweet soul of Thy Blessed Mother Mary, so through the merits of Thy death, and the repeated loving intercession of Thy Mother and her holy companions at the foot of the cross, we may share in the reward of the blessed: Who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, ever one God world without end. Amen.

Postcommunion
O Lord Jesus Christ, may the sacrifice of which we partook while devoutly recalling the anguish of Thy virgin Mother, win for us from Thy mercy all good and healthful fruit: Who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, ever one God world without end. Amen.

The Seven Sorrows themselves are:

The Prophecy of Simeon (Luke 2:34-35)
The Flight into Egypt (Matthew 2:13-14)
The Loss of the Child Jesus in the Temple (Luke 2:43-45)
The Meeting of Jesus and Mary on the Way of the Cross (Luke 23:27)
The Crucifixion (John 19:25-27)
The Taking Down of the Body of Jesus from the Cross (Mark 15:43-46)
Jesus laid in the Tomb (John 19:38-42)

Of the Seven Sorrows only the first one, the Prophecy of Simeon, is specifically mentioned in the prayers of the Mass today.

The Sorrows of Mary can also be seen in the Sequence Stabat Mater which is very commonly used during the Stations of the Cross:

At the Cross her station keeping,
stood the mournful Mother weeping,
close to Jesus to the last.

Through her heart, His sorrow sharing,
all His bitter anguish bearing,
now at length the sword has passed.

O how sad and sore distressed
was that Mother, highly blest,
of the sole-begotten One.

Christ above in torment hangs,
she beneath beholds the pangs
of her dying glorious Son.

Is there one who would not weep,
whelmed in miseries so deep,
Christ’s dear Mother to behold?

By the Cross with thee to stay,
there with thee to weep and pray,
is all I ask of thee to give.

For the sins of His own nation,
She saw Jesus wracked with torment,
All with scourges rent:

She beheld her tender Child,
Saw Him hang in desolation,
Till His spirit forth He sent.

Can the human heart refrain
from partaking in her pain,
in that Mother’s pain untold?

O thou Mother! fount of love!
Touch my spirit from above,
make my heart with thine accord:

Make me feel as thou hast felt;
make my soul to glow and melt
with the love of Christ my Lord.

Holy Mother! pierce me through,
in my heart each wound renew
of my Savior crucified:

Let me share with thee His pain,
who for all my sins was slain,
who for me in torments died.

Let me mingle tears with thee,
mourning Him who mourned for me,
all the days that I may live:

Let me, to my latest breath,
in my body bear the death
of that dying Son of thine.

Virgin of all virgins blest!,
Listen to my fond request:
let me share thy grief divine;

Wounded with His every wound,
steep my soul till it hath swooned,
in His very Blood away;

Be to me, O Virgin, nigh,
lest in flames I burn and die,
in His awful Judgment Day.

Christ, when Thou shalt call me hence,
by Thy Mother my defense,
by Thy Cross my victory;

When my body dies,
let my soul be granted
the glory of Paradise. Amen.