Category Archives: Holy Days and Sundays

The Triumph and the Sorrow

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This weekend was a special one; yesterday was the feast of the Triumph (or Exaltation) of the Cross and today is the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows. 
Both are important inasmuch as the Triumph of the Cross can be compared to our triumph over our addictions. Alcoholism and drug addiction would have been our death, but we survived. Whether it was through a Twelve Step program of we ‘found religion’ or a combination, we triumphed over that which was crucifying us. We nailed or addictions to the Cross and rose again as new people, clean and sober.

Our Lady of Sorrows present another dimension to the suffering: just as Our Lady suffered throughout her life because she knew through the prophecy of Simeon that Jesus was to suffer a death that would pierce her heart and soul, to so did the people in our lives suffer over our addictions and the behaviour we acted out. As Mary stood at the foot of the Cross watching her Son die, so to did many of our loved ones (those that did not abandon us) watch us, often helplessly, as we strode towards death. And they rejoiced as we beat the addiction and rise again.

I found an old post that, like this, was written about these feast days late. From 2009:

Earlier this week (September 14th and 15th) the Church celebrated two feasts which I had written about before in these two posts: Triumph of the Cross and Our Lady of Sorrows.

I think it is intentional that these 2 feasts are linked by being placed a day apart.

The triumph of Jesus on the Cross was His death. Death is usually a defeat but His liberated us from the prison that was ours. He opened the gates of Heaven for us. Heaven is now attainable, whereas previously it was prohibited to us by the Original Sin of Adam. The Sorrows of Mary were many but in tying these dates together, the Church is perhaps emphasizing Jesus’ suffering, death and burial and how they must have ripped apart the heart of Mary as she witnessed them.

Both Jesus and Mary are marked in their obedience to God the Father’s will. Jesus accepted that His role and mission was to suffer and die for our sins. Mary accepted hers as being the bearer of the Messiah, the Savior of Humanity. Her willing submission to God’s will linked her life to that of Jesus.

So it can be said of us. If we accept that our duty as Christians is to submit ourselves to God’s will in our lives, looking to the Church for guidance, then we open ourselves to the sufferings and sorrows about us. In accepting God’s will for us, it is necessary for us to “die to ourselves” so that the inspirations and beckoning of the Holy Spirit can be felt. We decrease, so it can increase. In so dying, we are reborn into the person God intended for us to be and therefore are able to fulfill His plan for our lives. The sufferings and sorrows we feel are our compassion for others.

As addicts and alcoholics, we are especially attuned to this. Our old selves died when we gave up drinking and using. Our truer selves were resurrected from the Cross we nailed our addictions to. And in our new lives we see others about us differently. We see others and broken and wounded souls, as we are also. Our hearts are pierced by the swords of their pain and suffering. 

As Jesus on the Cross gave Mary to each of us to be our Mother, we, in our recovery, are given to others to nurture and sustain them.

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

A Prayer to the Holy Face from EWTN

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I ran across this prayer to the Holy Face of Jesus from EWTN on my Facebook feed a few minutes ago. I had been planning on writing a post on the Holy Face Chaplet as it can be used by alcoholics, so I took this as a reminder to get around to it (which will be the next post in a little while after this.)

The Holy Face | EWTN

I included a screenshot in case the link vanishes (as does happen quite a lot with EWTN links after several years pass.)

If you read the prayer, it invokes the Sorrowful Mother (“piercing sorrow of Our Lady as she beheld You in Your cruel Passion”) and that line served as yet ANOTHER reminder to ME to remind YOU that today kicks off the month of September, which is dedicated to Our Lady of Sorrows. Her Feast Day is September 15, which is a Sunday this year which means there will be no Mass honoring Our Lady under that title this year. 

Nevertheless, I will post a few things about the Devotion to Our Lady of Sorrows over the next two weeks. 

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

The apparitions of Our Lady as “Rosa Mystica”

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Tomorrow, July 13th, is a new feast day in honor of the Blessed Virgin under a new title, that of “Rosa Mystica” (Mystical Rose.) I am posting this today to give you a head’s up on it. Tomorrow I’ll be posting information on devotions.

The apparitions of Our Lady as “Rosa Mystica” occurred between 1947 and 1976 in Montichiari, Italy, to Pierina Gilli, a nurse. The primary purpose was the reform of clergy and religious houses, continuing the message of Fatima by urging prayer, penance, and the Rosary. Today is the feast day of the Apparition. Interestingly, July 13th is the anniversary of the Fatima Apparition when the three seers were given a vision of Hell as well as three secrets. What is really intersting is that this newly approved apparition taken as a extension of Fatima. 

The Church had doubts about the apparition’s supernatural character. After initially refusing to acknowledge the apparition, about a decade after the seer’s death in 1991, the investigation was reopened and only within the past few years “gained steam” leading to its official approval this past Monday, July 8th.

This is the story of the Apparition, gleaned from several sites listed in the link in the previous sentence.

The first Apparition ocurred in the Spring  of 1947. Our Lady appeared to Pierina Gilli  in a hospital room, wearing a violet dress and white veil about her head. She also appeared to be sad, with tears and three swords in her chest. She called for “Prayer, Penance, Expiation.”

During the second Apparition on July 13, 1947, Our Lady appeared in a white dress with three roses (white for prayer, red for sacrifice, yellow for penance and conversion) instead of swords. Our Lady said:

“I am the Mother of Jesus and the Mother of all of you. Our Lord sends me to bring you a new Marian devotion to all religious orders and institutes, male and female, and to the priests of the world. I promise to protect those religious orders and institutes who will venerate me in this special way, increase their vocations, and achieve a greater striving for saintliness among the servants of God.”

She also requested Marian devotion on the 13th of each month, with July 13th being celebrated in honor of her under her title of Mystical Rose.

In the third Apparition on October 22, 1947,  Mary emphasized her role as, quote:

“I have placed myself as the mediatrix between my Divine Son and mankind, especially for the soul consecrated to God. Tired of the continuous offenses, He already wanted to dispense His Justice.”

Our Lady concluded her visit with saying:

“Live out of love!”

The fourth Apparition on November 16, 1947, Our Lady appeared in the Basilica of Montichiari, saying:

“Our Lord can no longer watch the many grievous sins against purity. He wants to send a flood of punishments. I have interceded that He may be merciful once more! Therefore, I ask for prayer and penance to atone for these sins.”

The Blessed Virgin added:

“I lovingly ask the priests to express their great love and stop the people from committing those sins. Whoever will atone for those sins, will receive my blessing and graces.”

In reply to the Pierina Gilli’s question as to whether we may hope for forgiveness, Our Lady said:

“Yes, as long as these sins are no longer committed.”

With these words, she went away.

In the fifth Apparition on November 22, 1947, Our Lady appeared in the Basilica of Montichiari and said:

“I descend on this place, for many great conversions will happen here,”

and in a sad voice she continued:

“The Christians of your Italian nation belong to those who offend most my Divine Son, Jesus through their sins of unchastity. Our Lord demands, therefore, PRAYER, GENEROUS SACRIFICES, AND PENANCE!”

Pierina asked: “What do we have to do to fulfill your demands for prayer and penance?”

Our Lady replied full of tenderness:

“Prayer!”

After a short, silent pause, she explained:

“Penance means to accept every day all the little crosses and the duties too, in the spirit of penance.”

Thereupon, she promised solemnly:

“On the December 8th, at noon, I shall appear again here in the Basilica. It will be the Hour of Grace.”

Pierina asked: “Please explain to me the meaning of the “Hour of Grace?””

This Hour of Grace will produce great and numerous conversions. Hardened and cold hearts resembling this marble will be touched by Divine Grace, and they will become faithful to Our Lord in loyal love.” 

For sixth Apparition onDecember 7, 1947, Our Lady appeared at the Basilica of Montichiari with the two deceased Fatima children, Jacinta and Francisco Marto (now saints), emphasizing her connection to the message of Fatima and the devotion to her Immaculate Heart, along with her desire to be venerated under the title of  “Rosa Mystica.” Another reason for appearing with the two Fatima seers was revealed when Our Lady said:

Jacinta and Francisco” they will help you in your trials and suffering. They too, suffered. I wish from you the simplicity and goodness of these two children.

On the seventh Apparition on December 8, 1947, Our Lady appeared on a large white staircase, decorated with a white, red and yellow rose. She said with a smile:

I am the Immaculate Conception. 

And descending several steps with great majesty, she continued:

I am Mary, full of grace, Mother of my Divine Son, Jesus Christ.

Descending even more, she said:

Through my coming to Montichiari, I wish to be known as the Rosa Mystica. It is my wish that every year, on the 8th of December, at noon, the Hour Of Grace for the World be celebrated . Many divine and bodily graces will be received through this devotion. Our Lord, my Divine Son Jesus, will send His overflowing mercy if good people will pray continuously for their sinful brothers. One should very soon notify the Holy Father of the Church, Pope Pius XII, that it is my wish that the Hour Of Grace for the World be made known and spread throughout the world. If anyone is unable to visit his church, yet will pray at noon at home, he will also receive graces through me. Whoever prays on these tiles and weeps tears of penance, will find a secure heavenly ladder and receive protection and grace through my motherly heart.

Then Our Lady showed Pierina her heart and said:

Look at this heart, which loves mankind so very much, but most people only shower offenses upon it. If the good and the bad unite in prayer they will obtain mercy and peace through this heart. The Lord is still protecting the good and is holding back a great punishment because of my intercession.

Our Lady smiled again and went on:

Soon one will recognize the greatness of this Hour of Grace.

(More on this “Hour of Grace” in this post.)

In 1966, a new series of apparitions  ocurred at Fontanelle, on the outskirts of Montichiari. These focused on the healing powers of a spring where pilgrims gather water for pious uses. Our Lady touched the water twice with her hands and said to Pierina.

My Divine Son sent me here to bestow healing power on this water. I want the sick and all my Children to come to this miraculous well. children must first ask pardon for their sins and draw the water lovingly from the well.

There were more apparitions in the ensuing years, as this post is long enough already, I will just refer you to: The History Of Apparitions Mary Appears As “Rosa Mystica” In Montichiari And Fontanelle

So, there it is. We have a new day to honor Our Lady with some new devotions (see the links in the Vatican approval post of mine I linked to way up above.)

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

Feast of St. Matthias, Apostle

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Today is the feast of St. Matthias, the Apostle who was selectef to replace Judas after the traitor committed suicide. 

I discovered about six years ago that he is a patron of alcoholics and reformed alcoholics. I suppose the difference is the former are still in the cups while the latter are in recovery.

This is what I wrote in 2018:

Today is the feast of St. Matthias, a disciple of Jesus who was selected to replace Judas Iscariot.

I read today in my Laudate app on my Kindle Fire that he is a patron of alcoholics. Wow, we have an apostle who is our patron?! I had to look that up!

Although St. Matthias left behind no existing writings, (all works attributed to him are regarded as having been written by heretics who borrowed his name to lend authenticity to their errors,) several of his teachings while he preached in Ethiopia and elsewhere have been quoted by several Church Fathers, especially Clement of Alexandria. They refer to the need to “combat the flesh” which is subject to many temptations and errors. The flesh must be mortified so that we can enjoy the workings of the Holy Spirit.

The one problem that I have with any of this is that the sources all cite works that are possibly either apocryphal or outright heretical. Even Clement of Alexandria is suspect, having been on the Roman calendar until being removed from it 500 years ago due to suspicions.

Anyway, there isn’t anything wrong with mortification, especially if care is done to avoid excesses. The emphasis on the flesh in teachings attributed to St. Matthias appear to be influenced by Gnosticism, which held that flesh and matter were evil. Setting that aside, many online Catholic resources of solid orthodoxy accept his patronage of alcoholics (someone’s gotta look after us 😉 ) and thus I think “It can’t hurt.” 🙂

And so we alcoholics and addicts have an Apostle to call our very own.

This is a quote attributed to him:

It behooves us to combat the flesh, and make use of it, without pampering it by unlawful gratifications. As to the soul, we must develop her power by faith and knowledge.

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The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary: the Alliance of the Two Hearts of Jesus and Mary, Part 13

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Today is December 8th, the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It’s also Friday, meaning it’s time for my weekly Sacred Heart Friday post! 

The fact that today’s feast falls on a Friday this time around helped me to come up with the post. I wrote this back in August or September, but realized it would be perfect for today and thus kept it in the local drafts folder.

It isn’t explicit or all that implicit in the Bible; you’d have to ponder certain events and extrapolate from them quite a ways to arrive at the following (which is why non-Catholic theologians never come up with anywhere near the things Catholic ones have, who are guided by the right use of human reason and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. And, throw in a fair number of approved Marian Apparitions and private revelations….)

Many medieval and faithful contemporary theologians agree that God created Mary for the sole purpose of being the Mother of Jesus. She wasn’t just some random girl that God picked out to be the Mother of His Son. The idea is laughable. The single most important event in the history of humanity, the Incarnation, would not have a single element in it that was a ‘causal’ or ‘happenstance’ decision. Everything, and I mean, E V E R Y T H I N G that is a sequence in God’s decision-making process (to use our manner of speaking because God, being omniscient and omnipotent, doesn’t need to employ a ‘process’ to arrive at things, He gets it all instantaneously) is tremendously important. God’s Will is how the Universe is run. How He accomplishes things and how they are accomplished is important. And if He wanted His Divine Son to be born of a woman, then you’d better believe that that woman is not going to be just any ordinary female picked at random. Any act of God, no matter how seemingly trivial, is vitally important and contains lessons. The Mother of God would be created specifically to bear God’s Son and therefore accorded all the privileges, benefits, and advantages that such a woman deserves. 

The Church Fathers and theologians through the Medieval era developed the belief that God planned Mary’s creation from all eternity. When she was conceived she was gifted with being “full of grace,” that is, so full of the plenitude of God’s free gifts of supernatural help that she lacked Original Sin from the moment of her conception. As a result of this, she lacked the hindrances that arose from Original Sin. Before the Fall, Adam and Eve were perfect. They were genetically perfect, lived in harmony with God’s Will, and benefitted from that union, which probably included superior knowledge of things (except for the knowledge of Good and Evil, which was the carrot used by Satan to tempt them and wasn’t needed by them since they didn’t naturally do evil because they didn’t have to, given their relationship with God. Except for that one time when their Free Will was corrupted by Satan and all Hell broke loose.)

Mary, lacking Original Sin, was in the state Adam and Eve were in before the Fall. Therefore, she was in perfect harmony and union with God and from her conception grew in the love and knowledge of God. The Church Fathers and Medieval theologians also taught that she possessed full use of reason, which was likely true given her Immaculate state. (You have to ponder and meditate on what was lost by our First Parents through Original Sin. The implications of the Fall are glossed over because we’ve read Genesis 3 too often and it’s frequently not taken seriously because of the imagery of a snake tempting a woman with an apple. The profundity is missed.) 

OK, now to connect this with the topic of this post. Mary lived in perfect harmony with God while in the womb. She loved Him, and possessing the use of reason, knew Him. As we read in Scripture, sometimes something happened and Mary ‘pondered it in her heart.’ This was mentioned more than once so we can infer it was a natural part of her personality and behavior. She was the perfect contemplative. There’s no reason why this did not occur while she was in the womb. In her love and knowledge of God, she pondered Him in her heart. 

God, being a Trinity, and so where One member is the other Two also are, when Mary loved and pondered God the Father, she also was doing so for the Second Person of the Trinity, the Word that was yet to be made flesh and dwell within her. Whether she knew that the Word was to be born in her is open to conjecture. (‘No,’ in the approved private revelation of the Blessed Mother to the Venerable Mary of Agreda in the epic “Mystical City of God.”) However, through her participation (according to our way of speaking) in the hypostatic union, her heart also beat in union with the Word’s. (But the Word wasn’t made flesh yet, how can there be a heart? Easy. The Word still loved. St. Maximilian Kolbe focused often on the fact that the Holy Spirit is the intense love that the Father and the Son have for each other. It is so intense that it manifests from all eternity as the Third Person of the Trinity (my language may be a tad imprecise, but I’m just an armchair theologian. 😉 )

And so there you have it. Mary’s heart, by virtue of her Immaculate Conception, was linked to Jesus’ while he was still dwelling solely with the Father and the Spirit in Heaven. 

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

St. Maximilian Kolbe. August 14, 1941

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St. Maximilian Maria Kolbe was executed in the Nazi German concentration camp at Auschwitz eighty-twoyears ago today for being a Catholic priest.

He was a Conventual Franciscan friar and Guardian (leader, administrator) of Niepokalanow, then the world’s largest friary and a major Catholic media center. It is located some distance west of Warsaw, Poland.

He was canonized a saint by the Church in October 1982.

In late July 1941 a prisoner escaped and as was Nazi policy, ten men from that cell block were randomly selected to be sentenced to a starvation bunker until the escapee was found (dead or alive.) In reality, the ten condemned wouldn’t be released at all, regardless of the escapee’s status.

Death by starvation and dehydration is a very slow and very painful way to die. The ten were stripped naked and placed in a cell that measured three meters by three meters (that’s about 9 feet on a side.)

One of the ten was a Polish Army sergeant by the name of Franciszek Gajowniczek, who, upon being selected, wailed that he was a husband and father and bemoaned the fate of his family. Upon hearing this, Fr. Kolbe stepped out of line, went forward to the commander and offered to take the sergeant’s place.

The Nazi officer was duly astounded. Perhaps taken aback and confused by this act of selfless sacrifice, he accepted Kolbe’s offer and the Gajowniczek was excused. He survived the war.

Over the course of the next few weeks, the ten died, one-by-one. Every day an attendant would go into the cell to retrieve the dead.

Prison guards and camp survivors reported that while there would typically be sounds or rage and anger, of wailing and crying and begging, during the two weeks that Fr. Kolbe was imprisoned in the cell with the others, the sounds were quite different. Hymns were sung. Rosaries said. It was as if Fr. Kolbe had turned the bunker into a chapel. On August 14th, seeing that he was still alive, the Nazis got impatient that he wasn’t dying fast enough and had him injected with carbolic acid.

When he volunteered to take the sergeant’s place, the Nazi asked Fr. Kolbe who he was. His answer?

“I am a Catholic priest.” This was his identity, it was who he was. He died for being a priest; he died being a priest, ministering to his fellow condemned

. Week48IAmACatholicPriest

(Image via MI Canada)

Being a priest was enough to have him targeted by the Nazis; however there was more to him than that. For nearly twenty years he published “Knight of the Immaculata,” a monthly magazine dedicated to being the voice of the Militia of the Immaculata movement he founded in 1917 (more on that, later.) This publishing venture, begun in 1922, gradually expanded over the 1920s and ‘30s to include other periodicals and a daily newspaper. Circulation was amongst the largest in pre-WW2 Poland (and significant amongst global circulations, too.) Fr. Kolbe had already launched a shortwave radio station, although it was limited at first to just being on the Amateur bands. He also had plans for a TV station. Expansion of the radio station to non-amateur broadcasting and the TV enterprise were halted by the Nazi and Soviet invasion of September 1939. Fr. Kolbe also had plans for a motion picture studio.

He was “New Evangelization” before anyone else thought of it. If you wish to get the gist of what he did and also what he planned, what Mother Angelica did in Alabama 50 years later is essentially that.

Here are some links:

Militia of the Immaculata in the USA The global Militia “Niepokalanow” another official Niepokalanow site

NOTE: This is reposted from earlier, older versions.

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Saint James the Greater

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I’m writing this as a way to distinguish between St. James the Greater and St. James the Less. One has a feast day which is today, July 25th. One wrote the Book of James in the New Testament. I know one of them is one of the sons of Zebedee and the brother of St. John the Evangelist and the one whose relics pilgrims who travel the Way of St. James in northwestern Spain visit. And the other isn’t. 

Okay, so I hit the Internet. I hear it’s a decent source for information on things.

St. James the Greater is the first of the Apostles to be martyred. Prior to that he evangelized Spain. Legend holds he wasn’t very good at it but he still loved the Spanish and after his martyrdom his disciples took his remains to Spain to be entombed there. There are numerous legends surrounding his relationship with Spain. Many modernist claim they’re all false. But that’s what modernists do. One of the legends is that the first Marian Apparition ever was to him. (Modernists really go on about denying that one!)

Tradition says that in the early day of the Church, Saint James the Greater was spreading the Gospel in Spain, but making very little progress. He was dejected and questioning his mission. About 44, the Virgin Mary, who was still living in Jerusalem at the time, bi-located and appeared to him in a vision to boost his morale. In it, she was atop a column or pillar, which was being carried by angels. That pillar is believed to be the same one venerated in Zaragoza, Spain today. Miraculous healings reported at the scene. 

From: CatholicSaints.Info » Blog Archive » Our Lady of the Pillar.

You can read a lot about St. James the Greater here: CatholicSaints.Info » Blog Archive » Saint James the Greater

There. I think I’ve finally gotten it down as to which one is which. (It helps me to remember things when I can attach the thing to another thing. So, the GREATER is attached to the blogpost.) St. James the Greater is the July 25th and Camino one. Watch me, I’ll still mix ‘em up. 

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus: Ordinary Mass Readings to Ponder the Mystery of His Love

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Earlier on this Sacred Heart Friday, I posted the Mass Propers for the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus from the Traditional Latin Mass. This post has the readings from this year’s Ordinary Rite. Again, meditating on these should provide spiritual insight into the mystery of the Sacred Heart.

 

First Reading (Deuteronomy 7:6-11)

Moses said to the people:

“You are a people sacred to the LORD, your God;

he has chosen you from all the nations on the face of the earth

to be a people peculiarly his own.

It was not because you are the largest of all nations

that the LORD set his heart on you and chose you,

for you are really the smallest of all nations.

It was because the LORD loved you

and because of his fidelity to the oath he had sworn your fathers,

that he brought you out with his strong hand

from the place of slavery,

and ransomed you from the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt.

Understand, then, that the LORD, your God, is God indeed,

the faithful God who keeps his merciful covenant

down to the thousandth generation

toward those who love him and keep his commandments,

but who repays with destruction a person who hates him;

he does not dally with such a one,

but makes them personally pay for it.

You shall therefore carefully observe the commandments,

the statutes and the decrees that I enjoin on you today.”

 

Responsorial Psalm (Ps 103:1-2, 3-4, 6-7, 8, 10)

 

R. The Lord’s kindness is everlasting to those who fear him.

 

Bless the LORD, O my soul;

all my being, bless his holy name.

Bless the LORD, O my soul;

and forget not all his benefits.

 

R. The Lord’s kindness is everlasting to those who fear him.

 

He pardons all your iniquities,

heals all your ills.

He redeems your life from destruction,

crowns you with kindness and compassion.

 

R. The Lord’s kindness is everlasting to those who fear him.

 

Merciful and gracious is the LORD,

slow to anger and abounding in kindness.

Not according to our sins does he deal with us,

nor does he requite us according to our crimes.

 

R. The Lord’s kindness is everlasting to those who fear him.

 

Second Reading (1 John 4:7-16)

 

Beloved, let us love one another,

because love is of God;

everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God.

Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love.

In this way the love of God was revealed to us:

God sent his only Son into the world

so that we might have life through him.

In this is love:

not that we have loved God, but that he loved us

and sent his Son as expiation for our sins.

Beloved, if God so loved us,

we also must love one another.

No one has ever seen God.

Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us,

and his love is brought to perfection in us.

 

This is how we know that we remain in him and he in us,

that he has given us of his Spirit.

Moreover, we have seen and testify

that the Father sent his Son as savior of the world.

Whoever acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God,

God remains in him and he in God.

We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us.

 

God is love, and whoever remains in love

remains in God and God in him.

 

Alleluia (Mt 11:29)

 

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Take my yoke upon you, says the Lord;

and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

 

Gospel (Matthew 11:25-30)

 

At that time Jesus exclaimed:

“I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,

for although you have hidden these things

from the wise and the learned

you have revealed them to little ones.

Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.

All things have been handed over to me by my Father. 

No one knows the Son except the Father,

and no one knows the Father except the Son

and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.

 

“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,

and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,

for I am meek and humble of heart;

and you will find rest for yourselves. 

For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”

Source: EWTN

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus: Latin Mass Readings to Draw from the Sacred Wellspring

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One of the ways to gain a significant insight into a saint or feast day is to meditate on the Mass Readings for that day. So, on this Sacred Heart Friday, I will offer two posts featuring these. First up are the readings for the Mass for the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, using the Propers from the Extraordinary Form. Next post will have the Ordinary Rite Readings.

I will let them speak for themselves and you might want to petition the Holy Spirit for the wisdom and understanding to gain from these readings.

Introit (Psalms 32: 11, 19)

O God, who in the Heart of Thy Son,
wounded by our sins, dost mercifully
vouchsafe to bestow upon us the
boundless treasures of Thy love:
grant, we beseech Thee, that we who
now render Him the service of our
devotion and piety, may also fulfill our
duty of worthy satisfaction. Through
the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our
Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God,
forever and ever.

Collect

O God, who in the Heart of Thy Son,
wounded by our sins, dost mercifully
vouchsafe to bestow upon us the
boundless treasures of Thy love:
grant, we beseech Thee, that we who
now render Him the service of our
devotion and piety, may also fulfill our
duty of worthy satisfaction. Through
the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our
Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God,
forever and ever.

Epistle (Ephesians 3: 8-19)

Brethren, To me, the least of all the
Saints, is given this grace, to preach
among the Gentiles the unsearchable
riches of Christ: and to enlighten all
men, that they may see what is the
dispensation of the mystery which
hath been hidden from eternity in God,
who created all things: that the
manifold wisdom of God may be made
known to the principalities and powers
in heavenly places through the
Church, according to the eternal
purpose which He made in Christ
Jesus our Lord: in whom we have
boldness and access with confidence by the faith of Him. For this cause I
bow my knees to the Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ, of whom all
paternity in heaven and earth is
named, that He would grant you
according to the riches of His glory, to
be strengthened by His Spirit with
might unto the inward man, that Christ
may dwell by faith in your hearts: that,
being rooted and grounded in charity,
you may be able to comprehend with
all the Saints, what is the breadth and
length, and height and depth: to know
also the charity of Christ which
surpasseth all knowledge, that you
may be filled unto all the fullness of
God.

Gradual (Psalms 24: 8-9)

The Lord is sweet and righteous:
therefore He will give a law to sinners
in the way. He will guide the mild in
judgment: He will teach the meek His
ways.

Lesser Alleluia (Matthew 11: 29)

Alleluia, alleluia. Take my yoke upon
you and learn from Me, because I am
meek and humble of Heart: and you
shall find rest to your souls. Alleluia.

Gospel (John 19: 31-37)

At that time: The Jews (because it was
the Parasceve), that the bodies might
not remain upon the cross on the
Sabbath day (for that was a great
Sabbath day) besought Pilate that
their legs might be broken, and that
they might be taken away. The
soldiers therefore came: and they
broke the legs of the first, and of the
other that was crucified with Him. But
after they were come to Jesus, when
they saw that He was already dead
they did not break His legs. But one
of the soldiers with a spear opened
His side, and immediately there came
out blood and water. And he that saw
it hath given testimony: and his testimony is true. And he knoweth
that he saith true, that you may
believe. For these things were done
that the Scripture might be fulfilled:
You shall not break a bone of Him.
And again another Scripture saith:
They shall look on Him whom they
pierced.

Offertory (Psalms 68: 21)

My Heart hath expected reproach and
misery; and I looked for one that
would grieve together with me, but
there was none: and for one that
would comfort me, and I found none.

Secret

Have regard, we beseech Thee, O
Lord, to the inexpressible love of the
Heart of Thy beloved Son: so that
what we offer may be a gift acceptable
to Thee, and an expiation for our
offenses. Through the same Jesus
Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who lives
and reigns with Thee in the unity of
the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever.

Preface of the Sacred Heart

It is truly meet and just, right and for
our salvation, that we should at all
times and in all places give thanks to
Thee, holy Lord, Father almighty,
eternal God: Whose will it was that
Thine only-begotten Son, while
hanging on the Cross, should be
pierced by the soldier’s lance: that the
Heart thus opened should, as from a
well of divine bounty, pour over us
streams of mercy and of grace: and
that the Heart which never ceased to
burn with love for us, should be for the
devout a haven of rest and for the
penitent an open refuge of salvation.
And therefore with Angels and
Archangels, with Thrones and
Dominations, and with all the hosts of
the heavenly army, we sing a hymn
to Thy glory, evermore saying:

Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of hosts.

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.

Communion Prayer (John 19: 34)

One of the soldiers with a spear
opened His side, and immediately
there came out blood and water.

Postcommunion Prayer

May Thy holy Mysteries, O Lord
Jesus, impart to us divine fervor:
wherein we may taste the sweetness
of Thy most loving Heart, and learn to
despise what is earthly and love what
is heavenly: Who lives and reigns
with God the Father in the unity of the
Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever.

Source: The Latin Mass Helper

I hope this was all beneficial to you. Really study these readings and gain some insight into what the Sacred Heart really signifies.

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

The Alliance of the Two Hearts of Jesus and Mary! Part 3

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For this Sacred Heart Friday post, I’m going to set aside what I had originally written for Part 3; mainly because I don’t like what I’ve got. So, I’m taking this opportunity to remind everyone of certain upcoming feasts that relate to both the Sacred Heart and the Heart of Mary. 

Aside from the Solemnity of Pentecost this Sunday (this birthday of the Church!) we have this Monday the Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church. This is a new feast day, instituted by Pope Frances just a few years ago. I like it! Any increase in liturgical observances to Mary is all right with me! Mary IS the Mother of the Church; her heart nurtured it in the Church’s early years, after Christ’s Ascension and Mary’s own Assumption. She knew that the Church was the creation her Son, and just as His Sacred Heart beats in the Sacraments, her Immaculate Heart lovingly guided and taught the Apostles and disciples just like she taught Him during His first 30 years. 

This an example of how the Two Hearts operate. They work in tandem for the salvation of souls. Christ’s love for humanity leaves behind the Church to instruct the faithful until He returns; Mary’s love for us helps build up the Church.

Another day coming up is the  Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Right after the Annunciation Mary made haste and went to the hill country of Judea and visited her cousin Elizabeth who was with child. Carrying St. John the Baptist in her womb, Elizabeth was the first human to acknowledge Mary’s Divine Maternity when she greeted her. Not only that, but the unborn child in the womb  also acknowledged the existence of another unborn child, Jesus. St. John the Baptist, upon hearing Mary’s voice and the referencing to the Lord, leapt in Elizabeth’s wombs as he was filled with the Holy Spirit.

Another example of how the Two Hearts operate: Mary’s love for her cousin sends her off on a journey and the beating of the Sacred Heart in her womb signals to the Baptist. 

And that’s it for May. June begins next Thursday and that month is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus! I hope to finish up this series on he Alliance of the Two Hearts of Jesus and Mary as well as come up with some really great stuff. I may even post multiple Sacred Heart Fridays!

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)