Jan 19: Return of Oriental Separatists (Church Unity Octave Prayer)
by VP
Posted on Friday January 19, 2024 at 12:00AM in Poetry
"Once more thy guiding star place in the sky,
And lead - lead back the Magi of the East
To thy One See on earth through which from High
Thou speakest to the world's greatest and least:
Communion with the Apostolic See
Will banish schism in true unity.
"Ut omnes unum sint," O lord, we pray
That all be drawn within thy one, true fold,
Back to thy Church - from which the wand'rers stray
And the true Faith she keeps like saints of Old.
O bring them back, Good Shepherd of the sheep;
And rouse the heathen nations from their sleep. Amen"
Source: Catholic Hymns for the People, James Martin Raker 1919 -
"On this second day of the Unity octave our prayers are for a special group cut off from the Church, but united to her in may ways. These dissidents of the East who can trace their spiritual lineage to Ignatius of Antioch, John Chrystostom, the two Gregorys, John Damascene and so many other illustrious saints, have the seven sacraments and the Mass; they have bishops and priests with valid orders. They treasure a deep devotion to the Mother of God, but they lack the fullness of love because they reject the oneness of government and authority in the Holy Father.
Among the so-called Orthodox there are many manifestations of love for Mary. The icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Byzantine in style, is the most popular representation of Mary in the Near East and before the Bolsheviks and Communists defamed her image it was most widely venerated in "Holy Russia." Despite the suffering and persecution of the present hour an ardent love for Mary lives on in the hearts of the Russian people and of others enslaved by the same oppressor, with smuggled pictures and hidden icons that testify to a love that cannot be uprooted by force. The flames now concealed will burst forth again and the Bogoroditza (She-who-gave-birth-to-God) will once more reign as Queen and Mother.
Even in the Kremlin there is a church building dedicated to Mary under the title of the Assumption. Assuredly it is not used for divine services today, but in the future it will again re-echo the prayers and hymns in honor of the Mother of God and the prophecy of a holy priest and Apostles of Mary, Maximilian Kolbe, O.F.M. Conv., will be fulfilled: "One day you will see the statue of the Immaculate atop the Kremlin."
When the Catholics of Zhorimir, Russia, asked Pope Leo XIII for a copy of the most popular picture of Our Lady of Rome, the Pontiff sent a copy of the picture of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. He likewise made it the official seal of the Pontifical Mission for Russia. The same inscription is used as the cover of a publication, Balcan, devoted to the study of Christian Unity, it adorns the walls of the Institute of Oriental Studies in Rome, an inspiration for the Europeans and Asiatics who gather there to discuss plans for reunion.
In 1931 Pope Piux XI issued an encyclical, Lux Veritatis, on the fifteenth centenary of the Council of Ephesus. His reference to Our Lady at the end of the document is most appropriate at the present time:
Under the auspices of the Heavenly Queen, We desire all to beg for a very special favor of the greatest importance, that she who is loved and venerated with such ardent piety by the people of the East, may not permit that they should be unhappily wandering and still kept apart from the unity of the Church, and thus from her Son, whose vicar We are... Would, moreover, that very soon the happiest of days might dawn when the Virgin Mother of God, looking through her image so exquisitely worked in mosaic under Our Predecessor, Sixtus III, in the Liberian Basilica, and restored by Us to its original beauty, would see the separated children returning ot venerate her with Us with one mind and one faith." Lux Veritatis, Dec. 25 1931
Source: Father Titius Crannis, S.A. The American Ecclesiastical Review, Volume 130, Herman Joseph Heuser Catholic University of America Press, 1954
St. Paul, The First Hermit, Confessor, A.D. 343
by VP
Posted on Monday January 15, 2024 at 08:24AM in Poetry
St. Paul lived in the desert about a hundred years, clothed with the leaves of the trees, feeding on dates and bread, — a crow bringing him daily half a loaf, as St. Jerome relates in his life, and drinking at the fountain. Pray that you may understand something of this spirit. A little is sufficient to sustain nature; and all beyond this is some degree of excess. It is the will of God that you should eat and drink, to preserve the life which he has given you: but if in this you study to indulge a disorderly appetite, what is this but an abuse? It is an act of injustice, in feeding that which you are obliged to weaken and overcome. And what is all your expense in that way, but defrauding the poor, who have a right to all that is superfluous to you? To what account will you place what is thus laid out? Consider if it will be accepted by Him, who cannot be imposed upon by vain pretexts.
Reflect too on the penitential life of this saint. If these holy men did so much for salvation, have you not reason to fear when you do so little? If theirs was the way to heaven, is yours so too, when you take quite a contrary method?" The Catholic Year, by Rev. Fr. John Gother
To the Divine Infant
by VP
Posted on Sunday January 14, 2024 at 12:00AM in Poetry
Sweet Infant - God! I humbly fly to Thee,
For I have heard Thy whisper all divine:
"Come all who labor, come with trust to me,"
"Your hearts can only rest in love of mine."
Sweet Infant - Jesus! I believe in Thee,
And hope for mercy from Thy loving Heart.
O may I love and serve Thee fervently!
"The Prince of peace," "Emmanuel" Thou art!
Sweet little Jesus! Souls so dear to Thee
Shall be the objects of my tender love.
O grant that we may all eternally
Rejoice and praise Thee in the land above.
Written by: Enfant de Marie (These lines were suggested by the beautiful prayer in honor of the Holy Infant of Prague, composed by the Carmelite, Father Cyril a Matre Dei.)The Carmelite review, 1898
The Safeguard of our Soul
by VP
Posted on Sunday October 15, 2023 at 11:25AM in Poetry
Sacred Heart, Raleigh NC
"Lord, come down before that my son die."— St. John IV
"The Gospel narrative today is simple and touching. The ruler loved his son, and was sorely grieved that he was losing him. Opportunely he heard that our Blessed Lord had come from Judea to Galilee. He hastened therefore to Him; and the cry of his heart went forth, full of faith and trusting hope: Lord, come down and heal my son. And when our Savior chided him that unless he saw signs and wonders he believed not, the father's heart, not minding the rebuke, persevered in the prayer: "Lord, come down before that my son die."Have we not something that we should cherish even more than that father did his son? Should not our prayer be more earnest and persevering than that father's? Ours should be, "Lord, come down before that my soul die." And how this prayer of poor fallen man has been heard! God the Son came down from heaven and became Man to succor the soul of man. He taught it; He comforted it; He blessed it, and redeemed it. He, Who was the glory of heaven, came down, and became the Crucified Victim of Calvary for us. And lest in succeeding ages the memory of this atonement should grow dim, and lose its power over the hearts of men, the loving Lord perpetuated this Sacrifice, this oblation of Himself for man, lest that our soul should die. Faithful hearts gather round the altar, and their cry is, "Come down." During all these centuries, day after day, in every church the miracle of miracles is worked, and at the words of consecration in the Mass, Christ our Lord, true God, true Man, comes down in His Mercy and His love. Here is our salvation! What Calvary did, the Mass can do! The work of our redemption is renewed lest our souls die. For a moment reflect; what earnestness, devotion, gratitude should be ours for the daily Holy Mass. Christ comes down to heal us, strengthen us, to make our hearts live for and tend to their eternal destiny.
Come down! Yes, daily upon our altars, and yet the Sacred Heart of Jesus is not content. There is another yearning, another longing that inflames it. Come down, He bids us pray again. Come down, dear Lord, into the very depths of our poor souls, come down and heal them in Holy Communion. Have we no pity for our own poor souls, that are dying-frail, languishing, wasting for nourishment and health and strength? And our Blessed Lord comes down to us, saying to us, "I am the Bread of life. If any man eat of this Bread he shall live for ever (John vi. 48, 52). All that is wanting is our desire and longing to come to Him to be healed.
What shall we answer to Christ the Judge if our souls die? It will be all our own fault. No shadow of an excuse. No one upon whom to lay the blame except our own selves. We may say we were tempted by the devil; but here was our Lord to succor us. We were weak and sinful; yes, and we neglected to seek strength and holiness here in the Blessed Sacrament. We were busy and occupied with many cares and the pursuits of the world; ah! had we not time to secure eternity? Passing pleasures of an hour were more thought of than the eternal joys of heaven, of which the Blessed Eucharist is the token and the pledge.
Our divine Lord is longing to come to us; but we, alas! have little longing or desire to come to Him. Where is our faith, our hope, our love for Him? Where is the fear within us lest our soul should die? It humbles us to remember the devoutness of others, and how in response to the cry of their hearts, our Savior has come and made His abode with them, and transformed them into saints. Yes, they have become saints because they were anxious about their souls, and their faith taught them how their souls could be safeguarded. The cry of their heart was, "Lord, come down"; they knew they could not do without Him. And the safety, the growth, the perfecting of their souls was in this that our Lord had come with His blessed healing and nourishing, and had stayed with them. His Presence made them realize more and more His blessings and His love, and then on their part their desire and longing for Him and wholehearted response to His graces grew more and more.
Mass and Holy Communion must not become matters of custom and habit, and there is here a great danger, especially for the young and thoughtless. But they must be so prepared for and longed for each day, that this love of receiving our divine Lord may be intensified each time. We are humbled, when we think of the devotion of the saints that we read of. How St. Gerard, a mere little boy, longed so for his Lord that St. Michael the Archangel brought him his first Communion. How the Sacred Host left the altar and came of itself to St. Catherine of Siena at the end of the church.
Each time at Holy Communion let us try to learn to be more devout. And thus we shall come to be prepared for that last and final visit, when our days on earth are drawing to a close, and in response to our dying cry," Lord, come down," the Holy Viaticum will be brought to us, and for the last time on earth our wistful eyes will look upon our Blessed Lord in the Holy Eucharist! Soon to behold Him in His glory in that eternal home whither He will lead us." Twentieth Sunday After Pentecost. Short Sermons on the Epistles & Gospels of the Sundays of the Year By Francis Paulinus Hickey
Saint Paul
by VP
Posted on Friday June 30, 2023 at 09:35AM in Poetry
Prayer to Saint Paul
O Glorious Saint Paul, after persecuting
the Church you became by Godʼs grace its most zealous Apostle. To carry
the knowledge of Jesus, our divine Savior, to the uttermost parts of
the earth you joyfully endured prison, scourgings, stonings, and
shipwreck, as well as all manner of persecutions culminating in the
shedding of the last drop of your blood for our Lord Jesus Christ.
May your example inspire our parish priests today to be zealous in
their service to Godʼs people. Obtain for our priests the grace to labor
strenuously to bring the faith to others and to accept any trials and
tribulations that may come their way. Help them to be inspired by your
Epistles and to partake of your indomitable love for Jesus, so that
after they have finished their course they may join you in praising him
in heaven for all eternity. Amen.
Surrexit Christus spes mea
by VP
Posted on Sunday April 09, 2023 at 01:00AM in Poetry
Peter and John Running to the Tomb Eugène Burnand (1850 – 1921)
Christians, to the Paschal victim
offer your thankful praises!
A lamb the sheep redeemeth:
Christ, who only is sinless,
reconcileth sinners to the Father.
Death and life have contended
in that combat stupendous:
the Prince of life, who died,
reigns immortal.
Speak, Mary, declaring
what you saw, wayfaring:
"The tomb of Christ, who is living,
the glory of Jesus' resurrection;
"Bright angels attesting,
the shroud and napkin resting.
"Yea, Christ my hope is arisen;
to Galilee he will go before you."
Christ indeed from death is risen,
our new life obtaining;
have mercy, victor King, ever reigning!
Canon 11. If anyone says that faith alone is sufficient preparation for receiving the sacrament of the most Holy Eucharist, let him be anathema.
by VP
Posted on Friday September 16, 2022 at 01:00AM in Poetry
"The claim that faith is the only requirement for worthy reception of the Holy Eucharist was condemned by the Council of Trent as a heresy. (...)
We, the undersigned, confess the Catholic faith concerning the worthy reception of the Eucharist as it is defined by the Council of Trent, according to which faith alone is not a sufficient preparation for receiving the sacrament of the most Holy Eucharist. We encourage all the bishops and clerics of the Catholic Church to publicly confess the same doctrine about the worthy reception of the Eucharist, and enforce the related canons in order to avoid grave and public scandal"
• Most Rev. Joseph Strickland, Bishop of Tyler
• Most Rev. René Henry Gracida, Bishop Emeritus of Corpus Christi
• Most Rev. Robert Mutsaerts, Auxiliary Bishop of S’Hertogenbosch in Netherlands
• Most Rev. Athanasius Schneider, Auxiliary Bishop of Astana, Kazakhsta
ect....
Source: Life site news. The Teaching of the Catholic Faith on the reception of the Holy Eucharist
The Exaltation of the Cross
by VP
Posted on Wednesday September 14, 2022 at 01:46AM in Poetry
HAIL, O Cross! tree of life! noble and noted!
Banner, throne, altar to Jesus devoted!
Cross! to unholy
Men both death and terror,
To Christians truly
Art thou virtue’s mirror,
Safety, victory, all-divine!
Thou, when he hurried
Against Maxentius’ horde;
Thou, when he carried
By Danube’s shores the sword,
Glory wast to Constantine!
Chosroes and his son
Through thee were overthrown,
For Heraclius fighting:
Well may Christians glory
In this tree’s true story,
In such balms delighting!
Length and breadth, Cross! blending
With height, depth, far-reaching,
Thou, four ways extending,
Precious truths thus teaching,
Savest earth’s four quarters.
Balm with true health gifted!
On the Cross-scales lifted,
Christ was there extended,
As the price expended
To redeem death’s charters.
The Cross the balance is to weigh our right,
Our Monarch’s scepter and His rod of might;
The sign of Heaven’s own victory in the fight,
Our strength in war and glory’s palm-branch bright!
Ladder! raft! upbearing
Hearts through grief despairing!
Their last plank, when drowning!
Thou Christ’s beauty sharest,
Since His limbs thou barest,
Cross! the crown kings crowning.
Through thee, Cross! with blessings freighted!
Cross, by Christ’s blood consecrated!
May the grace of God most high
Deathless joys to us supply!
Amen.
Source: The Liturgical Poetry of Adam of St. Victor From the Text of Gautier, Vol. III. Kegan Paul, Trench, & Co. (London: 1881).pp. 2-5.
Saint Lawrence, Martyr
by VP
Posted on Wednesday August 10, 2022 at 01:00AM in Poetry
Holy Deacon! by thy yearning
For the Martyr's glorious crown;
By thy tortures, by thy burning,
By thy death of bright renown;
When the world and flesh and devil
Tempt our souls to sin and evil,
Dear Saint Lawrence, pray for us!
By the love that thou didst ever
To thy Pontiff-Father bear,
Pray that no base act may sever
Us from Peter's loving care!
But when men would once more lead us,
Into bonds from which Christ freed us,
Dear Saint Lawrence, pray for us!
By the Pontiff's words of warning,
Bidding all thy sorrow cease,
Words foretelling bitter mourning
Leading unto lasting peace!
That to Jesus in our sadness
We may look for help and gladness,
Dear Saint Lawrence, pray for us!
By thy love, which knew no measure,
For the needy and the old,
Giving them the Church's treasure -
Dearer they than gems and gold!
Teaching us that alms well given
Are but treasures stored in heaven,
Dear Saint Lawrence, pray for us!
By thy fervent love for Jesus,
By thy strong and constant faith,
Or our sinful burdens ease us!
Help us at the hour of death!
When the fears of death confound us,
When the cleansing fires surround us!
Dear Saint Lawrence, pray for us!
Source: The Parochial Hymn Book 1881
Our Lady of Snows, by Lionel Johnson
by VP
Posted on Friday August 05, 2022 at 01:00AM in Poetry
Far from the world, far from delight,
Distinguishing not day from night ;
Vowed to one sacrifice of all
The happy things, that men befall ;
Pleading one sacrifice, before
Whom sun and sea and wind adore;
Far from earth's comfort, far away,
We cry to God, we cry and pray
For men, who have the common day.
Dance, merry world! and sing: but we.
Hearing, remember Calvary:
Get gold, and thrive you ! but the sun
Once paled ; and the centurion
Said : This dead man was Gods own Son,
Think you, we shrink from common toil,
Works of the mart, works of the soil ;
That, prisoners of strong despair,
We breathe this melancholy air;
Forgetting the dear calls of race,
And bonds of house, and ties of place;
That, cowards, from the field we turn.
And heavenward, in our weakness, yearn?
Unjust! unkind! while you despise
Our lonely years, our mournful cries:
You are the happier for our prayer;
The guerdon of our souls, you share.
Not in such feebleness of heart,
We play our solitary part;
Not fugitives of battle, we
Hide from the world, and let things be:
But rather, looking over earth,
Between the bounds of death and birth ;
And sad at heart, for sorrow and sin.
We wondered, where might help begin.
And on our wonder came God's choice,
A sudden light, a clarion voice,
Clearing the dark, and sounding clear :
And we obeyed: behold us, here!
In prison bound, but with your chains:
Sufferers, but of alien pains.
Merry the world, and thrives apace.
Each in his customary place:
Sailors upon the carrying sea.
Shepherds upon the pasture lea,
And merchants of the town ; and they,
Who march to death, the fighting way;
And there are lovers in the spring.
With those, who dance, and those, who sing:
The commonwealth of every day.
Eastward and westward, far away.
Once the sun paled; once cried aloud
The Roman, from beneath the cloud:
This day the Son of God is dead!
Yet heed men, what the Roman said?
They heed not : we then heed for them,
The mindless of Jerusalem ;
Careless, they live and die : but we
Care, in their stead, for Calvary.
O joyous men and women! strong,
To urge the wheel of life along.
With strenuous arm, and cheerful strain,
And wisdom of laborious brain:
We give our life, our heart, our breath,
That you may live to conquer death;
That, past your tomb, with souls in health,
Joy may be yours, and blessed wealth;
Through vigils of the painful night.
Our spirits with your tempters fight:
For you, for you, we live alone.
Where no joy comes, where cold winds moan:
Nor friends have we, nor have we foes ;
Our Queen is of the lonely Snows.
Ah! and sometimes, our prayers between.
Come sudden thoughts of what hath been :
Dreams! And from dreams, once more we fall
To prayer : God save, Christ keep, them all.
And thou, who knowest not these things,
Hearken, what news our message brings!
Our toils, thy joy of life forgot:
Our lives of prayer forget thee not.
Source: Dreams and Images: An Anthology of Catholic Poets by Joyce Kilmer (Boni and Liveright, 1917) p109
