5th Day of Christmas – Feast of Saint Thomas Beckett – December 29th

Posted on December 30, 2017 by mikatsa6

saint thomas beckett

On this fifth day of Christmas the Holy mother Church honors the Memorial of Saint Thomas Beckett. Thomas was born in the year 1118, on December 21, the Feast of St. Thomas the Apostle. He was the son of a prosperous merchant and his wife, Matilda. Thomas received a fine education first in London and then in Paris. He was even sent to live in the household of Theobald of Bec, the Archbishop of Canterbury. Beckett’s intelligence and charm helped him advance in life… By the time he was thirty six he was made Archdeacon of Canterbury, and  by 1155, just one year later, he was made Lord Chancellor of England.

As Chancellor, he held the most important role next to the King, it was during this time that he proved himself to be quite worthy to King Henry II. The two men became friends, often hunting together and socializing.  Thomas was a good help to the King and aided him in many matters, often times working against the Church’s best interests. In 1161, when Theobold, the Archbishop of Canterbury, died, Henry quickly devised a plan to increase his influence over the Church by naming Thomas, his loyal advisor, to the post. King Henry petitioned the Pope, who agreed. Beckett was reluctant, he did not want the position and warned his friend, that this would surely ruin their friendship…because if appointed, he would have to uphold the rights of the Church, but King Henry insisted…sure of his  power of influence over his friend… never realizing that power of the God’s Church over man was stronger….

There was still one small problem…because Thomas had gone right into the work, he had never been ordained. But that did not deter the King, who immediately had Thomas invested as a priest and then ordained a Bishop the next morning, and by that afternoon, Thomas reluctantly agreed to be named Archbishop of Canterbury.

King Henry’s plan of gaining more control through the use of his friendship with Beckett, did not go as planned for the King. Because once Thomas was appointed Archbishop, he went through a drastic transformation….changing his entire way of life. Where once he had been pretentious… he renounced his former pleasures. With this transformation, his allegiance shifted from his friend, the King and his court, to the Holy Mother Church. He became devout and austere…embracing the papacy and its canon laws...the friendship which once had been shared between the two men was beginning to unravel….their alliance was coming to an end…and the quarrels soon began…

Back during this time, the Church reserved the right to try felonious clerics (churchmen) in their own religious courts of justice, and not in the courts of the crown. King Henry did not like this and wanted more authority. He did not agree with the way Ecclesiastical courts seemed to be able to undermine his authority, particularly when passing out punishments. So he created a series of royal customs called the Constitutions of Clarendon, which were mostly a set of legislative procedures aimed at restricting the ecclesiastical privileges and more importantly, created to curb the power of the Church’s court. The King required that all the bishops and Lords sign the new Constitution….Beckett in good conscience…refused….

This did not sit well with the King…and in an effort to attack Thomas, he set forth an investigation into his life with the authority of the royal courts. Thomas, seeing that he was facing an unjust imprisonment, fled to France, enjoying protection under King Louis VII. The Pope was in France at the time, and helped Thomas as best he could. Thomas spent the next two years at a Benedictine monastery, until King Henry wrote and angry letter to the head abbot, and then Thomas moved on… keeping just ahead of King Henry for the next several years.

All the while Thomas was in France, King Henry kept issuing orders against him and his supporters… and Beckett excommunicated a number of Henry’s advisers and clerical servants….it was playing out like a game of tit for tat…King Henry II, never wanting to give an inch for the Church or the power of the Archbishop…

While Thomas was away, Roger of York appointed King Henry’s son as co- king, which he had no authority to do. With the pope’s blessing, Thomas traveled back to England, after being away for six years. He had gone back to assert his rightful role as Archbishop of Canterbury. He had gone back to enforce the authority of the Mother Church, knowing full well what was destined for him there. Some historians say that while Thomas was in France, the Blessed Mother had visited him… presenting him with a red chasuble which represented his future martyrdom. By the time Thomas returned to England, the persecuted Archbishop’s case was known to all of Christian Europe… many sympathized with him and were enthusiastic about his return.

With the pope’s support behind him, Becket’s strength grew.  He excommunicated all those who were responsible, including Roger of York. Fearing that the Church would withdraw most of the sacraments from his district, King Henry II treated him with an air of civility. But Thomas wasn’t interested in rekindling a relationship with his former friend….

After his return, Becket continued to carry excommunications against royal servants,  refusing to lift the excommunication of Roger of York. When news of Becket’s actions reached Henry he was infuriated, and speaking violently, he exclaimed, “Will no one rid me of this troublesome priest?”  Four knights of the court, overheard his exclamation, and taking his words literally, went to Canterbury to confront the archbishop. They asked Becket to give an account of his actions to the king. When he refused they violated a monastic cloister’s and the chapel, and accosted him while he was assisting at vespers. Refusing to flee the church as the assassins ordered him to do, he was slain at the foot of the altar…. cruelly murdered by repeated blows to the head with their swords. He died, saying: “I die willingly, for the name of Jesus and for the defense of the Church.”

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The martyred Archbishop was canonized by Pope Alexander III on Ash Wednesday, 1173, just shy of  three years after his death on December 29, 1170, to the edification of the entire Church.

As we celebrate this fifth day of Christmas, honoring the memorial of Saint Thomas Beckett, and  his martyrdom, we discover that the Lord blessed him with strength and resolve. By learning about his life, we see that through all of his ordeals, he was the recipient of God’s good graces so that he could do his battle…and defend the Church ….defend the Faith. And  I can say without a doubt, that I would prefer to gain the golden crown of martyrdom … any day, over the earthly gifts we often sing of …as in the five golden rings. And I pray that with the intercession of all the holy saints in heaven that if ever faced with such a task….I have the courage and strength to do so….Saint Thomas Beckett pray for us. Amen.

 

Great Saint Thomas, Bishop, Priest, Martyr, and sacrificial lamb for the Faith, pray for us.

You who were a fearless Shepherd of the people of God, pray for us to have courage in all the circumstances of our lives, to living according to the light that your example gives to our consciences. May we be faithful unto death, as you were. May we always seek God’s Holy will in our lives.

Saint Thomas, many were brought to you for healing both in your lifetime and especially after your martyrdom, please hear and accept my prayers  for:

       (Names)

We pray for the living and the dead:

      (Names)

 confident that you who now stand before Gods Holy Throne will intercede for us and draw us closer to Christ.

 St Thomas pray for us that in Him, and With Him, we may live and move and have our being.

 Amen.

 

Composed 2015 by a Poor Clare Cloistered Nun

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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4th Day of Christmas – Feast of the Holy Innocents

Posted on December 28, 2017 by mikatsa6

massacre-of-the-innocents-1611.jpgBlog

‘A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because her children are no more.’[

As we continue our celebration of the twelve days of Christmas…the official Christmas season, we are forced to break from the joy and merriment that is filling our hearts…we are prompted by the good and Holy Church to remember the Holy Innocents... those young children…those babies who were killed by Herod in attempt to kill the Baby Jesus. As we recognize these Holy Innocents, we are reminded of the difficult journey that the Holy Family endured…Joseph, who had already struggled with the circumstances of Mary’s pregnancy, was roused from his sleep by an angel and told to flee with Mary, who had just given birth to Jesus…it was a difficult journey, that we read about in the Gospel of Matthew.

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Gospel  Matthew 2: 13-18

When the magi had departed, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said,
“Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt,
and stay there until I tell you.
Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him.”
Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night
and departed for Egypt.
He stayed there until the death of Herod,
that what the Lord had said through the prophet might be fulfilled,
Out of Egypt I called my son.

When Herod realized that he had been deceived by the magi,
he became furious.
He ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity
two years old and under,
in accordance with the time he had ascertained from the magi.
Then was fulfilled what had been said through Jeremiah the prophet:

A voice was heard in Ramah,
sobbing and loud lamentation;
Rachel weeping for her children,
and she would not be consoled,
since they were no more.

This feast of the Holy Innocents also prompts us to remember all the holy innocent children…the innocent babies, who were martyred for the life of Christ. Since the fifth century the Catholic Church has set aside the 28th of December as a day to remember the innocent babies who were slaughtered by King Herod in his effort to kill the baby Jesus. What separates these martyrs from the others, is that they died saving God...in the Christ Child. They did not know Him…but their lives were, in fact, given so that the prophecy of old might be fulfilled…and because they died in total innocence they were immediately received into Heaven.

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One of the things that always gets me right to the core…is the anguish of the mother’s faces in all of the paintings I have seen…the pain is like that of a sword piercing the heart…it is an inconsolable ache that never leaves. The mother’s faces are in stark contrast to the innocence of the babes…and the angry men who are doing the slaughtering for Herod…

As we celebrate Mass and pray for all the names of the children who have been lost…it always makes me sad to contemplate the mother’s who have been lied to by the abortion industry…they have been fed the lies of the devil…

Well sure, I know some of them come  to seek out this atrocity on their own…but most of the women who find themselves stepping into the horrors of an abortion mill…have been lied to… by at least one person in their life…as Faithful Catholics, we have to ask ourselves…When the rest of the world is caught in the lying, who is going to tell them the Truth?? Who is going to take the time to guide them and comfort them? It is not an easy road….but it is the call within each of us who want to do God’s work…and want to fight against this growing tide of darkness that is threatening to consume God’s entire creation.

inocent child

As we read about the murders and contemplate the artistic renderings of the slaughter, we must accept the fact that the Holy Innocents expose a terrible truth that still grips the hearts of man today… King Herod killed all these young children because he was filled with fear that the birth of Christ would mean an end to his kingdom …he was afraid that it would mean the end of his reign… He was afraid that he would lose whatever power he had attained… This fear gripped him so much that he was willing to have thousands of innocent babies killed… because they didn’t matter… all that mattered to him was the fear that gripped his being…

This brings us back to the scourge of abortion throughout our lands today. The fear that prompted King Herod to send his minions on a killing spree, is the same fear that grips the hearts of many who think that if they just abort the ‘unborn fetus’…they will maintain control of their lives. Sometimes, it is a boyfriend who doesn’t want to commit to the relationship..or a parent who thinks they are preserving their daughters life…all the while encouraging her to kill her unborn child….all the while not even recognizing it as murder…Dear Lord have mercy on us all...

But what all of these people do not understand is that their fear makes them lose focus of the Truth…it distorts and causes one to look only at the self. Fear is a powerful emotion that can drive a person into doing some pretty awful things. As Catholics, we need to help these people find the Truth…we have to pray that God will use us to defeat the lies of the evil one and end this scourge which has been a plague upon our world for almost fifty years.

“Do not be afraid,” is a common theme of the New Testament…and ‘Be Not Afraid‘ was one of the slogans of Pope John Paul the II, it is time to make it our slogan as well. It is time to be a voice for the voiceless…and end the silence which  allows the blood of so many innocent children to be spilled in our country today. May the Lord have mercy on us, who do nothing, and allow the little ones…His little ones, to be handed over to such a cruel and senseless death. Amen.

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Holy children of God, you suffered death before you enjoyed the fullness of life, yet now you rest and reign with Christ in glory.   Look down from heaven on our poor earth where children like you still suffer and die at the hands of those blinded by this world.   Surround and protect the innocent and when our own poor efforts fail, comfort and console the parents whose loss we can hardly comprehend or imagine.  We commend to your joyful company in heaven the souls of all dear children who have died.   Help us to become like you, simple, pure and true! Teach us to accept love and blessings like you!   Fill us with the joy and laughter of life to remind us that to such babes as you, the Kingdom of Heaven belongs.   AMEN.   Father Joseph Veneroso, M.M.

 

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3rd Day of Christmas – Feast of Saint John the Evangelist – December 27th

Posted on December 27, 2017 by mikatsa6

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“On this third day of Christmas, my True Love gave to me…three French hens…two turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree…”

Well, not really, but He did give us the wonderful Christ Child whose birth we continue to celebrate for the next nine days, right up until the Feast of the Epiphany. During this Christmastide, we are encouraged to keep our focus on the Lord, and the wonderful gift He gave us in His Son, Jesus. As we come to the third day of our celebration we look to the life of Saint John the Evangelist as an example in how we are to love the Lord.

Saint John was often referred to as ‘the disciple whom Jesus loved.’ He is also responsible for several writings in the Bible, including the fourth Gospel and several Epistles. He is also considered to be the one who wrote the Book of Revelation. And it was John who served as witness to Christ’s Incarnation through his words, which turned the  philosophy of his day, on its head with his affirmation:                                                                         “The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.”        (John 1:14).

 

saint John and Jesus

Saint John the Evangelist was the only apostle who did not die a martyr’s death, but not because his enemies didn’t try…It seems that there were several attempts made on the life of Saint John. He was beaten and poisoned and thrown into a cauldron of boiling oil. But instead of being burned, he stepped out of the boiling oil unharmed. Another  time, he was given poisoned wine, and sensing that something was wrong, he blessed the wine before taking a sip, causing the poison to leave the chalice in the shape of a serpent.

And it wasn’t just his enemies that were set on his destruction. Once, John had set sail to travel to Asia to preach, but the ship was tossed about in a terrible storm, his ship was completely wrecked. All the crew, except John, were cast ashore. Several weeks went by, and John was presumed dead, but then miraculously he was washed ashore, unharmed, at the feet of his disciple Prochoros.

Many think that Saint John was spared from martyrdom, because he was the only one of Jesus’ apostles to stay with Christ throughout His suffering and agony and death on the Cross. John was the only apostle to hear the Last Words of Christ as He spoke from the Cross. He was the one chosen to stand at the foot of the cross and bear witness to Christ’s crucifixion with the Blessed Mother. Later, when he heard that Jesus was risen from the dead, he rushed to see, and was the first one to reach the tomb. When he met Jesus at the lake of Tiberias, he was the first one to recognize Him. Because he was such a dedicated disciple, he was chosen by Jesus to accompany Him on the ascent of Mount Tabor, and was there for the transfiguration, and witnessed  the proclamation by God that Jesus was “His beloved Son.”

After Christ’s crucifixion, John remained close to the Blessed Mother, and was with her as she breathed her last breath on August 15th. He officiated at her burial and was among the other disciples who discovered her empty tomb after she had been assumed into Heaven.

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Having fulfilled his promises to the Lord, Saint John turned all of his attention to carrying the message of Jesus Christ to all areas of the spiritually dark world. He traveled and preached throughout Asia Minor with such passion, that many were converted to Faith. Unlike the other apostles, Saint John lived to the old age of 105…continuing to serve the Lord for the duration of his life. Which makes him a record holder at the most conversions for Christ. It is established that he converted more than 400,000 pagans to Christianity. Imagine what a man like that could do to evangelize with our modern technology!

So as we continue our journey, hoping to be the Light of Christ in our present world, that seems to grow darker in sin as the days go by…let us turn our intercessory prayers to Saint John the Evangelist and ask for his guidance so that like him, we can stand with Christ through all of our trials and convert the pagan world to the one True and Holy Catholic Church. Saint John the Evangelist, pray for us.

 

 

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2nd Day of Christmas – Feast of Saint Stephen the Martyr – Dec. 26th

Posted on December 26, 2017 by mikatsa6

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“On this second day of Christmas, my True Love gave to me, two turtle doves….and a partridge in a pear tree…” It is a familiar Christmas carol…one that is quite long and  fun to sing when you have a house full of people who are feeling festive and up for the challenge. But what does the song mean? As a child we sang this song, never giving a thought to why it was written or what it might mean.

The story has it, that this song was written in Britain during a period in history when it was illegal to practice the Catholic Faith. It has been said that the song was written with hidden messages so that the children could be taught the Catholic Faith without fear of repercussions from the anti-Catholic government. The song recounts each gift that was given by ‘My True Love…’ Today’s gift of the two turtle doves is supposed to represent the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. Each of the gifts the ‘True Love’ gives are in fact gifts that God, Our One True Love,  has given us, particularly through Faith and the Holy Mother Church….There is debate as to the authenticity of this research…but it is quite interesting to say the least. But what we do know, is that these twelve days of Christmas are rift with gifts…or feasts, to help us focus on our primary goal…that of reaching sainthood…thus securing a spot with God in heaven…so that we may be free to praise and worship Him for all eternity.

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On this second day of Christmas…December 26th, we have the feast of Saint Stephen, the first holy martyr. This feast is particularly important for Christians as it helps point the way, not only to Christ, but the way of Christ as well.… It shows us that the baby whose birth we celebrated yesterday, came as a sacrifice for many…He came to die for us…He came to die for our sins…it is a brutal reminder of the Truth…but something that, as Christians, we must face… It is also a reminder as to how we are supposed to live our Faith… we are to be standing in the ready, willing to lay down our life for that of another. Saint Stephen was stoned for Christ…we must be willing to do the same.

We may never be called to lay it all on the line, but so many times we are called to step up…to help the marginalized and those who are suffering in one way or another…Often we are called…to be Christ’s voice… the lone voice amidst all the chaos, defending the Faith. When all those around us are seeped in sin and promoting it as the ‘truth’, we need to invoke the intercession of St. Stephen, so that we be able to always stand for what is right…whether they are hurtling stones at us or just angry insults…we must always stand on the side of Christ, and be willing to defend His Faith…His Truth…and His Holy Church with our life… Saint Stephen, pray for us.

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First Day of Christmas – The Nativity of the Lord – December 25th

Posted on December 26, 2017 by mikatsa6

4 Subversive Truths from the Birth of Jesus

Christmas, or the Feast of the Nativity of the Lord, as it is also called, is in fact the 1st day of Christmas. It is one of the twelve days that lead us right to the Feast of Epiphany. And contrary to what the secular world tells us, the twelve days of Christmas begin with Christmas, and not end with it. Tomorrow as the rest of the world departs from the ‘holiday season’…We Faithful Catholics, will still be reveling in it! This is an important week in the calendar of the Church. First, we have eight days separating the birth of Christ and the Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which is called the Christmas Octave. With great wisdom, the Church leads us right from the birth of Christ…and ends eight days later, pointing us to Mary and Her role in the redemption of mankind, as we celebrate the passing of one year into the next…The Solemnity of Mary is on January 1st…

So as the rest of the world is tossing out the trees, and throwing their ‘merriment’ to the curb by removing themselves out of the celebration and right back into the everyday, let us,  the faithful, remember that in fact we still have eleven days until the Epiphany…when the Magi arrived to pay their homage to the New Born King…and we still have this week, this Octave of Christmas that is filled with so many feast days to help us fulfill our end goal…that is to be alter Christus…in other words, to become another Christ...to those we come in contact with throughout our days. Merry Christmas…let’s make it a good and holy one.

 

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Merry Christmas!

Posted on December 25, 2017 by mikatsa6

birth of Christ“Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you;

He is Christ the Lord.”

 (Luke 2:11)

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My Soul Proclaims the Goodness of the Lord….My Spirit Rejoices in God My Savior- Dec. 22nd

Posted on December 23, 2017 by mikatsa6

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As we come to the final days of Advent, the readings from today’s Mass guide us in our reflection of Mary and her response to the Lord. When She realized that the Lord had chosen her to be the Mother of God, she knew it would be a difficult road, yet She accepted her role and used her small life as a way to magnify the greatness of the Lord. It is called the Magnificat. It is from the Gospel of Luke 1:46-56.

Mary said:

“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my savior.
for he has looked upon his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
and has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children for ever.”

Mary remained with Elizabeth about three months
and then returned to her home.

In order that we should grow in a closer union with our Lord..the God Who made us, we should meditate upon this beautiful prayer…the response of the Blessed Virgin to God. In it she recognizes that she is but ‘a handmaid of the Lord’…a lowly creature put here to proclaim God’s goodness… As Christians, we should remember that God often chooses the weak and the lowly to carry out His plans. We cannot live our lives under a blanket of excuses, shunning our obligations to God simply because we are not rich…or have no worldly power…If we look through the pages of history…we see that God has chosen those without worldly esteem throughout the history of the world…we must accept the fact that He could be choosing us…that He is choosing us…

The Blessed Mother accepted Her role in the history of man’s salvation, even though it was foretold to Her by Simeon that her heart would be pierced…and that She would suffer much pain…. She still filled her heart with nothing but praises for God, and as per Her example, we should strive also to fill our hearts with this same love. We need to understand that God’s love for us is a constant call….it is the quiet that beckons in our souls to do His Will in all things. As we finish up our advent season…and finish our final preparations both physically and spiritually…..for the coming birth of Christ, ask yourself…Are you making room for Him in  your soul? Are you ready to respond to whatever He desires? It is a difficult promise….but one that must be made.

As we pause in the chaos of the world…and meditate upon this prayer, it should help us understand that no matter what befalls us while we are making our journey here on earth…as long as we fill our hearts with praises for the Lord, that we too will be able to maintain our focus…maintain our calm. Our souls will then able to release all that is troubling….the worries and regrets…our fears..and pains…everything will fall into it’s place, as long as we place God first.

We have all heard it said before, so much so that it often sounds so cheesy as it hits our ears, but we must remember…as the Church here upon the earth…we are the Church  Militant… the soldiers for Christ…for the Church. We are in fact the hands and feet of Christ…. And with our yes to the Lord….He empties us….taking our sinfulness from us…and replacing it with what is good…what is pure. With our yes…much like Mary’s … Christ enters in… He breaths in us….when we allow Him His rightful place...we can do all things….because He is our heart…And our lives…however small and lowly, can Magnify the goodness of the Lord.

 

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Homosexuality- “Changing the Truth of God for a Lie”- St. John Chrysostom

Posted on December 21, 2017 by mikatsa6

It sneaks in… the whispers of the evil one…soothing almost..to the souls of those who are lost….those who are hurt and those who feel abandoned and don’t know which way to turn. However, as Faithful Catholics… as Faithful Christians…. We have an obligation to Truth. We must speak out. We must never stop proclaiming the Truth…the fact is, there is an intrinsic evil attached to the homosexual act that must be acknowledged. The Truth must be proclaimed whenever anyone starts spreading the lies. Only Christ can shine a Light on the darkness, that this scourge, truly is.

The world has lost it’s way…the lies of the evil one have pervaded the very core of our society ... and the Truth is getting cast aside. There are many people who refuse to accept the Truth that Christ taught, and by having eradicated Christ from their lives, they have created their own set of standards…their own ‘moral code’. By doing so, not only have they put their souls in jeopardy of losing heaven… but they have set the souls of their children perilously close to the hands of an angry beast…which I have said before, is a monster which seeks only to destroy all that God has made … There is a grave danger that threatens them all with the very fires of hell.

So many of our young people have been raised in Godless homes and having been lied to for most of their lives…they have no idea how to cope. It begins a downward spiral as they find themselves in a free fall from grace…they can’t even recognize the Truth from the lies…It is a very lonely place. Many are unhappy…allowing themselves  to be sucked into the empty promise of the homosexual caress, hoping to find some semblance of peace to fill that empty space…

But Christians are not immune to the poison that is being spread, it should be said that no good Christian…no Christian worth his salt…would accept the lie that a homosexual relationship holds the same merit as a heterosexual one, yet so many do…They refuse even to look at the very Bible that is at the cornerstone of their beliefs.  Yet, all one has to do is look at the Holy Scriptures… there are many references through the Sacred Text that clearly point this out. From the book of Romans 1 :26-27, 31-32-

  “For this cause God delivered them up to shameful afflictions.  For their women have changed the natural use into that use which is against nature.  And in like manner the men also, leaving the natural use of the women, have turned in their lusts one towards another, men with men working that which is filthy, and receiving in themselves the recompense which was due to their error.  (…)  Foolish, dissolute, without affection, without fidelity, without mercy.  Who, having known the justice of God, did not understand that they, who do such things, are worthy of death: and not only they that do them, but they also that consent to them that do them.

And in I Corinthians VI, 9-10:

“Know you not that the unjust shall not possess the kingdom of God? Do not err: Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers.  Nor the effeminate, nor liars with mankind, (…) shall possess the kingdom of God”. 

As Faithful Catholics, not only do we have the benefit of Holy Scripture, we have the benefit of Apostolic Teaching and Tradition, handed on through the centuries… the words that Christ shared with His apostles and disciples.  From the Holy Mother Church, we have the writings of many holy men, Doctors of the Church, who have written numerous articles and papers that point out the evil nature of homosexuality. St. Augustine wrote:

“Those offenses which be contrary to nature are everywhere and at all times to be held in detestation and punished; such were those of the Sodomites, which should all nations commit, they should all be held guilty of the same crime by the divine law, which hath not so made men that they should in that way abuse one another. For even that fellowship which should be between God and us is violated, when that same nature of which He is  author is polluted by the perversity of lust.” 

Saint John Chrysostom, wrote in his series of Homilies on Romans  a detailed theological exposition on why homosexuality is one of the most evil of sins. He explains why it is and forever remains one of the “four sins that cry to heaven for vengeance”. Catholics need to regain their focus on the world. Not only do we need to familiarize ourselves with these works, we also need to pray that God will help us…give us grace and guide us so that we can once again hope to see the world from God’s perspective, not man’s. Saint John Chrysostom, reminds the Faithful that the sin of homosexuality is in fact a betrayal of Christ and His Church. Whether out of a sense of misguided compassion, or lack of knowledge,so many have allowed themselves to fall into the trap of minimalizing the Church’s Traditional teaching on the matter… we must pray that we remain firm in the Truth.

Another great Doctor of the Church, is Saint Peter Damian, who wrote his famous book “The Road to Gomorrah,” which dealt with the evil of homosexuality, especially  within the priesthood. From his book we read:

“Truly, this vice is never to be compared with any other vice because it surpasses the enormity of all vices.… It defiles everything, stains everything, pollutes everything. And as for itself, it permits nothing pure, nothing clean, nothing other than filth.…

He goes on to write,

“The miserable flesh burns with the heat of lust; the cold mind trembles with the rancor of suspicion; and in the heart of the miserable man chaos boils like Tartarus [Hell]…. In fact, after this most poisonous serpent once sinks its fangs into the unhappy soul, sense is snatched away, memory is borne off, the sharpness of the mind is obscured. It becomes unmindful of God and even forgetful of itself. This plague undermines the foundation of faith, weakens the strength of hope, destroys the bond of charity; it takes away justice, subverts fortitude, banishes temperance, blunts the keenness of prudence.

“And what more should I say since it expels the whole host of the virtues from the chamber of the human heart and introduces every barbarous vice as if the bolts of the doors were pulled out.”

From his writings we can clearly see that by allowing ourselves to be deceived by the evil one, we are in fact partaking in the destruction of our union with God, Our Father…the creator of all that is good and holy. It is a separation that will lead us straight into the pits of hell. For all eternity.  That seems like a dangerous deal to me. Many of the saints who were shown glimpses of hell were forever changed by the suffering they witnessed there. The three children of Fatima were shown the fires of hell by the Blessed Mother…they said that, if it were not for the knowledge that the Blessed Mother was with them, they would have died of fear. And even so, even after they returned home, they were changed for the rest of their lives…praying fervently for the conversion of souls so that they would convert and not have to suffer the enduring… endless …agony of hell. It was that terrible.

It would seem that telling the people the Truth about homosexuality and the evilness that is at it’s very core, would be easy. But so many people have turned away from God. Remember those ‘spiritual’ people we talked about several weeks age? They are at the root of the difficult task we are facing. They are more apt to spit at you, slander you and call you names, because whether they want to realize it or not…they have replaced the rightful place in their hearts, that should belong to God, with a love for the devil and all of his empty lies.These are the ones who preach ‘freedom’ and ‘choice’ but live their lives chained to the evil one and the demonic creatures which have attached themselves to their desire of vises… It can be quit the dark and lonely place without God and His virtues..again, whether they realize it or not… they have lost the peace of Christ…and that itself is a horrible thing… it is not what God intended for us.

We all know people like this…it is one of the things that is going to separate the wheat from the chaff…it will bring many persecutions to Faithful Christians, the world over… Be prepared…because the devil is clever …and oh so cunning…and he will pit family members against each other. Pray and stand firm…or should I say kneel...because it will get ugly…. particularly  from other friends and family members who themselves claim to have a Christian heart…Unless they are willing to step back…to look at the whole picture…. to see the Truth…they too will join in on the persecution…The devil always tries to crush the Faithful Christian…We must remember... the Church has gone through many persecutions before… But just as before…. with God’s mercy and His good Graces, we can go through them again in triumph. Holy Saints of God, pray for us. Amen.

 

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Rorate Caeli Mass – Votive Mass in Honor of Our Blessed Mother

Posted on December 17, 2017 by mikatsa6
Rorate 10

Rorate Mass celebrated on December 15, 2012 in Kinkora

Yesterday we awoke several hours early… at four a.m. so that we could travel downtown to the Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, which is located in Jacksonville Florida and celebrate the traditional Votive Mass in honor of the Blessed Mother. It is called Rorate Caeli... and it has to be said before dawn. I did not think to grab my camera, so the above image is borrowed from the Toronto Traditional Mass Society’s website.

Since no one had ever been to this special Mass, there was a higher level of anticipation hurrying each of us as we dressed and prepared to travel the dark and mostly empty roads to the Basilica. After we made the long drive,  we entered the dark, yet inviting, Church,with  the only light to greet us was from the many candles that adorned the main altar… it was a warm glow on the otherwise cool morning, and  it was absolutely beautiful!

As we entered the Church, there was a box a candles near the door, so that if we wanted, we could hold a candle, much like we do for the Easter Vigil. But unlike the Easter Vigil.…this morning…the lights would not be turned on. The lights remained off  for the entire celebration to remind us that we were waiting…Waiting, much like the world waits….for the light of Christ to enter once again, into the dark world on Christmas morning.

The Mass gets its name from the first words of the Introit, which are from Isiah 45:8, and in Latin they are:

“Rorate, caeli, desuper, et nubes pluant justum, aperiatur terra, et germinet Salvatorem.” Translated into English they mean:

“Drop down dew, ye heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain the just: let the earth be opened and bud forth a Savior.”

To honor the Blessed Virgin Mary, the priests wear white vestments instead of the normal purple hues of Advent. As we sat in the dimly lit Church, we were praying… preparing ourselves to honor the Light of the world, Who’s birth we will celebrate on Christmas. In addition to those prayers, we joined our prayers with the priest…quietly following along in our missals… as he offered praise to God for the very special gift of Our Blessed Mother.

sunriseAs the Mass progressed, dawn broke over the outside world… The sun rose, sending forth fingers of light that climbed and fell… over and around the downtown buildings…As the sun continued to rise higher…these rays of light crawled through the panes of stained glass before making their way inside… shrinking darkness into the shadows…dispelling it. Soon the church was swathe in the soft colors of morning and the interior was illuminated. On this morning…. the light of the sun is the perfect representation of Christ…the Son…Who, with His strong and gentle hands…spreads His Light through the darkness of our souls….and the darkness of the world….dispelling the darkness and illuminating our life … and the whole world with His Faith. It is up to each of us to embrace the Light…and not turn from it…

The readings and the prayers that are used for this special Mass focus on the prophecy of the Virgin who would bear a Son and call Him Emmanuel. Timed as it was…the Saturday in the third week of advent… it was just the call we needed, to prompt us into lifting up our hearts so that Christ the King might enter….Then, as we knelt before the Lord… we asked for the graces each of us needs so that we may prepare ourselves spiritually to be ready to receive the gift of eternal life… The gift that was gained for us, solely on the merits of  Christ’s Incarnation and His saving Resurrection…

darkened church

We have sinned, and are as an unclean thing,
and we all do fade as a leaf:
and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away;
thou hast hid thy face from us:
and hast consumed us, because of our iniquities.

                                         – Verse from the Advent Prose used during Mass

 

Mary with ChildIt was a very special morning. As we traveled the dark roads it felt like we were on a secret mission….It was almost as if, that because we were listening… we were given the grace to hear the whisperings of Our Loving Lord in our hearts… and having heard it…we were running to meet Him… and it no longer mattered if the rest of the world was still cozied in bed, asleep…we had heard, and we were responding in the best way that we knew how…by taking part in this Traditional Holy Mass… Kneeling there in the darkness…with the incense and the billows of smoke, going in and out of the shadows… It felt like the veil had been lifted…or at least thinned…and for a few brief moments, we were transported to a very special and holy place….waiting…near the foot of the Blessed Mother…as She prepared Herself for the appointed time….Waiting in great anticipation for the coming of Christ’s birth.

 

As we knelt in the dark…quietly waiting…it seemed as if we had been transported to heaven…All the normal distractions vanished and all of our senses  were focused on what was happening on the altar…The dancing flicker of the candles…the sweet incense…the beautiful voices drifting down from the choir loft...the movements of the priest as he implored the Lord on our behalf...It was truly a very special way to end the third week of advent and help us refocus our attention on this final week of advent, and what this coming Christmas season is really all about. It was a step out of the hustle and bustle of the abject world, allowing us to slip into the realm of the mystical, so that we could unite ourselves to God and His most Blessed Mother… and prepare ourselves for the coming celebration of the birth of Christ.

 

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Rorate Caeli Mass at St. Michael’s in Scranton- Fr. M. McNeely

 

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The Miraculous image of Our Lady of Guadalupe

Posted on December 12, 2017 by mikatsa6

For Faithful Catholics throughout the world, December 12th is a very special day indeed,  especially to those of us here in the Americas. Our lady of Guadalupe is the first image of our Blessed Mother to be given to the Church in the New World. It is the first image to be venerated and honored  in the Americas.  It was a vital instrument in the conversion of a pagan land. The beautiful image alone, without any other religious instruction, is responsible for the conversion of millions of native people….just by gazing upon the holy and miraculous image… people’s hearts were moved into conversion. There is a simple recognizable Truth that cannot be denied when one contemplates the miraculous details contained within the image. So True are these details, that they could be understood by millions of pagan natives…proving that Our Blessed Mother is a wonder worker in the hearts of man…

Yesterday we read about how the Blessed Mother appeared to a humble Indian, St. Juan Diego during a period of time when so many innocent people were being sacrificed to pagan gods. During the four days that the apparitions occurred, the Blessed Mother left Her image on the cloak or tilma, of the pious saint, so that a Catholic Church would be built in the small town in Mexico.

The image is truly miraculous! It has been studied for hundreds of years… by those who are religious and those who are secular minded. All who study it have been amazed at what they found…it is truly a beautiful work…it has been said that this is the only self portrait of the Blessed Mother...as it was painted by her own hand! There are many wonderful sites out there that go into the great detail about everything that is represented in the image, but below is an overview of the image with several of the more notable facts detailed. Our Lady of Guadalupe….Mother of the Americas…pray for us.

guadalupe miracles.jpg

 

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