The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin
by VP
Posted on Friday August 15, 2025 at 01:00AM in Tradition
Palma Vecchio: Assumption of Mary
Munificentissimus Deus: Defining the Dogma of the Assumption, Pope Pius XII,
"Queen of heaven, thy immense love for God maketh thee likewise love His Church. We pray thee, come to its help amidst the ills under which it is now suffering, rent asunder as she is by her own children. Thy prayers, being a mother’s, can obtain all from that God Who loveth Thee so well. Pray then, pray for the Church; ask for enlightenment for so many unbelievers who are persecuting it, and obtain for faithful souls the necessary strength to resist being caught in the snares of the unbelievers who would drag them down into their own ruin." Source: St. Alphonsusʼ Prayer Book (Father Edward Saint Omer, Redemptorist.1888)
The Assumption of the B. V Mary.
"THIS solemnity is in memory of the happy passage of the Blessed Virgin out of this life into the kingdom of her Son. Pray for a happy death; prepare for it, and be assured that the best preparation for it is a holy life.
It is to celebrate that happy privilege, which by a pious tradition we have received, of her being assumed into heaven, and glorified both in body and soul. Adore the wonderful goodness of God, and bless Him for all the privileges of grace and glory bestowed on the Blessed Virgin Mary. Her soul magnified our Lord: join with her in giving praise to Him, who is the author of every good gift.
Though the general resurrection is the time appointed for our souls to be again united to our bodies, yet it is in the power of God to exempt some from this general decree. This power He has certainly manifested in those, who at Christ's resurrection took up their bodies, and appeared to their friends in Jerusalem. He dispensed with Enoch and Elias, as to the general sentence of death at the usual time; and these He dispensed with in the anticipation of the general resurrection. For it is easy for that power, which makes a decree, to privilege some with an exemption, and to do to some only, from particular motives, what He could have done to all, if He had so pleased. The power admits of no dispute; and that the Blessed Virgin had a part in this privilege may be easily allowed. For this is not so particular as those other privileges, which were granted to her, in being Mother of God, in being both mother and virgin. And this more especially since we know how great was her humility, who being raised to the highest dignity, considered herself the meanest of God's servants. We need not doubt that God has exalted her in proportion to her humility: and that as she reputed herself the lowest of all, so he, who regarded her humility, has raised her above all. This none of the faithful can question: but whether this has been as to her soul only, or both in body and soul, the Church has not positively declared. It is plain, however, that she inclines to the pious belief that the Blessed Virgin was assumed both body and soul; and will not the faithful do well to believe the same? But however this maybe, the joy of this festival is still the same. For as we honor world, so we have the departure of other saints out of this reason to honor and rejoice on this day, when the Blessed Virgin, who had been chosen Mother of Christ, left this world, and entered into the possession of those joys, which her divine son had prepared for her. It was a day of joy and glory to her; it ought to be a day of joy and thanksgiving to us. In these holy transports our souls ought to pour themselves forth before God; and then turning back our thoughts upon ourselves, we are to consider whether, as we are created for the same happiness, we are in so holy a disposition, as to hope that the day of our departure will be to us a day of joy, in opening us a passage into bliss.
This hope cannot be reasonable, except we discover in ourselves some proportion at least of those graces and virtues by which the soul of the Blessed Virgin was prepared for the happiness of this day. It is the love of God, humility, purity, patience, the spirit of adoration, praise and thanksgiving, that must be the ground of these hopes; these being the necessary dispositions, by which our souls must be prepared for the state of bliss. For that being a state, wherein the souls of the blessed are for ever magnifying and adoring our Lord, how can a Christian be prepared for this, but by the spirit of adoration here? That being a state of perfect union with God in love and submission, how can a Christian be prepared for this, but by loving Him here, and by perpetual endeavors to approve and embrace His will in all things? That being a state of infinite holiness and purity; what other preparation can there be for it, but by daily disengaging our souls from sin and impurity, and ever laboring to obtain clean hearts. It is certainly a great delusion to think of being translated to that life of infinite perfection, from a worldly and sinful life. There must be nuptial robes for as many as are to be admitted to the marriage of the Lamb. And if all others are to be cast forth into utter darkness, who come not thus vested, what hopes can they have, who in this life, when they should be making preparation, have their souls covered with no other garments but those of slaves, of the enemies of God, and of sin? The life of the just in heaven, and on earth, is the same, consisting in the knowledge and love of God; and the difference of one life from the other, is only in the different degrees of this knowledge and love. So that the qualifications which make up the justice of this life, being the same with those of the life eternal, there is nothing more necessary for the just on earth to become eternally blessed, but only the augmenting those very gifts, with which their souls are found enriched at the hour of their death; God then perfecting His work by glory, which was begun and carried on here by His grace. How then can those Christians, in reason, hope to have any part in this happiness, who have none of those graces in them, which are to be perfected by glory? Can the knowledge and love of God be perfected in those souls, which have neither the knowledge nor love of God in them? They have more reason to apprehend that those very affections and passions, with which their souls are disordered at the hour of their deaths, will then be augmented, their ingratitude, disobedience, aversion to God's law and will, their pride, self-love, and sensuality. Heaven being not accessible to these abominations, whither must they go, but to the place of eternal confusion, where being incapable of change, their souls will for all eternity lie under those very disorders, in which death found them?
Have not then all Christians great reason to be preparing their souls all their lives, and not to put off this work to the last
hour? For who knows if they shall then have that time, which they now
promise themselves? Who knows if their sickness will be such, as to give
them opportunity of then undertaking this work? And if they do undertake it, how very little hopes can they have of finishing it? Will the divine grace be then at their command, which they have neglected all their lives? Christ said to the Jews,
that they would seek Him, and yet die in their sins. These seek Christ
then, but not seeking Him as they ought, may not find Him, who has been
so often rejected by them. And though they come to confession, and find
their hearts then oppressed with grief, yet who can say that this may
not be more a natural trouble, than contrition for their sins? Who can
give hopes that this works now in a moment that effectual change in
their souls, of which they had so long before thought, but without any effect? This can be the effect of nothing
less than a miraculous grace: and are miracles to be expected by those
who have so long been obstinate against all ordinary helps? Truly there
appear so many difficulties in this case, that they must be
presumptuously mad, who expose their salvation to this hazard. This is
not the method of the saints whom we honor: it is not the lesson which we learn from our Master, who knowing the danger of the last
hour, commands us to be prepared against it: Be you also ready. Teach
us, O Jesus, this lesson, that when Thou callest, we may be found
watching. Deliver us from all the effects of sloth
and presumption; and since what we desire is to enjoy Thy presence, may
we never permit any disorder in our souls, which would exclude us from
this happiness." The Catholic Year by Fr. John Gother
Feast of the Transfiguration of our Lord.
by VP
Posted on Wednesday August 06, 2025 at 01:00AM in Tradition
The Transfiguration by James Tissot
"AN ancient festival of the Church, in memory of the glorious transfiguration of Christ on mount Thabor, in presence of three of his
apostles, when a voice was heard from heaven saying: "This is my
beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, hear ye him." Pray for a true
sense of this mystery; that as Christ's apostles, by this foretaste of glory, were prepared to suffer, and to regard all troubles of this life as inconsiderable, in comparison of the eternal weight of glory to be purchased by them; so you may conceive this day so true an idea of future happiness, as not to value all the difficulties of this life, so that you may but secure your portion with the blessed. Pray for this heartily; for if you had a true sense of the goods
to come, you would be more diligent in all duties, and less concerned
in all troubles. All your neglect, sloth, and impatience proceed from
this root: and you love this world, because you take no pains to know the next. Endeavor therefore to form a lively idea of that glorious state, which God has prepared for those that serve him, where souls shall be brought to the presence of their God, where they shall be filled with the glory of his majesty, penetrated with the sweetness of his adorable mercy, overflow with the transporting love of his goodness, and see themselves so encompassed with unspeakable comforts and joys on every side, as to be out of all danger of interruption, change or end. If your soul is penetrated with a vigorous and quickening faith of this goodness and mercy of God, and his love to man, this faith will so prepare you for the trials of this life, as to think no suffering hard, which is the way to this happiness. O God, when will the thoughts of future glory so possess our souls, as to make us despise all the goods and evils of this life? Thabor is our encouragement; but Calvary is the way of bliss. Offer yourself with indifference to both; and beseech God to confirm you in this spirit." The Catholic Year by Fr. John Gother
Priests' First Saturday
by VP
Posted on Saturday August 02, 2025 at 01:00AM in Tradition
Mary as Mother of Priests is in the Dominican Priory Church of the Holy Cross in Leicester. by Lawrence OP
"Listen to what our Holy Father, Pope Pius XI, says: " God in heaven and I on earth, we desire nothing more ardently than prayer and sacrifice for priests...Let us beg God that He may give holy priests! If we have this, all else will follow; but if this be wanting, all else will avail nothing." It was from this trend of thought that the idea of the Priest's Saturday" took its origin, which idea the Superior General of the Salvatorian Fathers placed before the Holy Father in special private audience on November 21, 1934. His Holiness was much pleased with the plan and said, in conclusion: "We heartily praise and bless the work....We repeat, the thing pleases Us, We praise and bless it heartily."
What is the plan?
The Priest's Saturday:
It is something quite simple and easy, yet immeasurable great in its results. You should make it a point to offer the Saturday after the First Friday of each month to your Savior, through the hands of Mary, the great mediatrix of all graces, for the sanctification of all the priests and students for the priesthood throughout the whole world. For this purpose you should give the Saturday wholly and entirely to Him, that is to say, Holy Mass, Holy Communion, all prayers, labors, sacrifices, joys and sorrows. Whatever you cannot do on this day (Holy Mass and Holy Communion) you ought to supply immediately on Sunday. So there is really nothing new for you to do. You merely offer up this Saturday (or even every Saturday or some other day) for the sanctification of priests. It is not a case of any sodality of fraternity or anything like that. Like the First Friday in honor of the Sacred Heart, the Priest's Saturday seeks to become something religiously observed by all the Catholics of the world.
(...) Concern about the holiness of priests is the concern of the Heart of the Divine Savior and of His blessed Mother. Therefore, you also should be sure to take part in this "apostolate to the apostles. " The Holy Father, all bishops, all priests, all students for the priesthood, and especially also your own pastor, earnestly beg of you thus to participate."
Source: Priest's Saturday Series, #2 Prayers and Devotions for Priest's Day. used with permission
Priests' First Saturday. Prayer:
Divine Savior, Jesus Christ, Who hast
entrusted the whole work of Thy redemption, the welfare and salvation of
the world, to priests as Thy representatives, through the hands of Thy
most holy Mother and for the sanctification of Thy priests and
candidates for the priesthood I offer Thee this present day wholly and
entirely, with all its prayers, works, sacrifices, joys, and sorrows.
Give truly holy priests who, inflamed with the fire of Thy divine love,
seek nothing but Thy greater glory and the salvation of our souls.
And thou, Mary, good Mother of priests, protect all priests in the
dangers of their holy vocation and, with the loving hand of a Mother,
also lead back to the Good Shepherd those poor priests who have become
unfaithful to their exalted vocation and have gone astray. Amen
In addition to the above make it a point also to recite frequently the following:
Divine Savior, Jesus Christ, Who Hast entrusted the weal and woes of
Thy Holy Church to priests, with all the fervor of my heart I recommend
to Thee the wants of my pastor and all priests. Enrich them more and
more with true priestly sanctity. Give them generous, all embracing,
apostolic hearts, full of love for Thee and for all Thy souls, so that
they, being themselves sanctified in Thee, may sanctify us who are
confided to their care, and may lead us safely to heaven. Bestow upon
them in rich abundance all Thy priestly graces!
Let them ever
give us a glowing example of love and fidelity towards Holy Mother
Church, towards the Pope, and bishops, and grant that by word and
example they may shine as models of every virtue.
Most loving
Jesus, bless all their priestly labors and sacrifices! Bless all their
prayers and words at the altar and in the confessional, in the pulpit,
and in school, in confraternities, and at the bedside of the sick!
Protect and preserve them in all dangers from within and from without.
Divine Savior, give to Thy Church priests who abound in true holiness!
Call many good boys and young men to the priestly and religious state!
Aid and sanctify all those who are to become Thy priests! And to the
souls of departed priests grant everlasting rest.
But to me
give a true spirit of faith and humble obedience, in order that in my
pastor I may ever behold the representative of God and willingly follow
all his teachings. Amen
First Friday Devotion
by VP
Posted on Friday August 01, 2025 at 01:00AM in Tradition
Sacred Heart, Holy Name Cathedral, Raleigh NC ©CAPG
Prayer for Priests: O
Jesus, eternal High Priest, divine Sacrificer, Thou who in an
unspeakable burst of love for men, Thy Brethren, didst cause the
Christian Priesthood to spring forth from Thy Sacred Heart, vouchsafe to pour forth upon Thy priests continual living streams of infinite love. Live
in them, transform them in to Thee; make them, by Thy Grace, fit
instruments of Thy mercy; do Thou act in them and through them, and
grant, that they may become wholly one with Thee by their faithful
imitation of Thy Virtues; and, in Thy name and by the strength of Thy
spirit, may they do the works which Thou didst accomplish for the
salvation of the world.
Divine
Redeemer of souls, behold how great is the multitude of those who still
sleep in the darkness of error; reckon up the number of those
unfaithful sheep who stray to the edge of the precipice; consider the
throngs of the poor, the hungry, the ignorant and the feeble who groan
in their abandoned condition.
Return
to us in the person of Thy priests; truly live again in them; act
through them and pass once more through the world, teaching, forgiving,
comforting, sacrificing and renewing the sacred bonds of love between the Heart of God and the heart of man. Amen. St. Pius X (Raccolta 1907, Prayer 614. Rescript in his own hand. March 3, 1905 )
An Act of Reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
O adorable Heart of my God and Saviour, filled with a lively sorrow at the thought of the injuries which thou hast received, and art every day receiving, in the august Sacrament of the altar, I prostrate myself at thy feet, to make thee an act of humble reparation for all that thou hast suffered. Oh, that by my reverence, by my devotion, I could make amends to thy outraged majesty! Oh, that I could do so, even at the sacrifice of my life! Call to mind thy mercies, O Jesus! and grant me the pardon which I beg for so many impious, heretical, and slothful Christians who dishonour thee, and above all, for myself, who have so often offended thee. Remember not my ingratitude; but remember that thy divine Heart, bearing the burden of my sins, was afflicted even unto death. Let not thy sufferings and thy blood be in vain; destroy in me my sinful heart, and give me one according to thine own, a humble and a contrite heart; a heart that is pure, and full of horror for sin; a heart that henceforth may be as a victim wholly consecrated to thy glory, and inflamed with the sacred fire of thy love. And for my part, I promise thee, O most sweet Jesus, to endeavour for the future, as much as in me lies, by my devotion in church, by my diligence in visiting thee in the Sacrament of the altar, by my fervour in receiving thee in the holy Communion, to make reparation for the irreverences, the profanations, and the sacrileges which I deplore in the bitterness of my soul. Amen.
A Visit to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
O Heart of Jesus! who remainest day and night amongst us, inviting, expecting, receiving, all those who come to visit thee, I worship thee, and confess to thee my misery and my nothingness. I thank thee for all the mercies which thou hast bestowed upon me, especially for delivering me from the power of the devil; for restoring to me the dignity of a child of God, which I had lost by sin; for giving me blessed Mary for my advocate; and inspiring me with the desire to come into thy presence. I thank thee with all my heart, that thou vouchsafest to remain open for me; I desire to repair the injuries which I have had the misery to inflict upon thee, by my coldness and indifference to thy service. Oh, that I could honour thee as thou deservest to be honoured, in all places where now thou art the least honoured and the most neglected. Amen.
And thou, immaculate Mary, most holy and dear Mother of fair love, who so earnestly desirest that thy divine Son should be loved by all, obtain for me, by thy most powerful intercession, that he may receive and accept this solemn consecration, which I this day make of my whole self in thy presence; to the end that my name may be written indelibly in the number of those happy souls, who, faithful and constant in his service, shall never be separated from the most sweet love of thy dear and most amiable Son Jesus. Amen.
Source: The path to Heaven, a collection of all the devotions in general use, 1866
The Maccabees, Martyrs
by VP
Posted on Friday August 01, 2025 at 01:00AM in Tradition
The Courage of a Mother, one of Gustave Doré's illustrations for La Grande Bible de Tours, 1866.
The Collect: We beseech thee, O Lord, that the fraternal victory of thy Holy Martyrs may make us glad: that so our faith may receive an increase of strength; and our hearts be comforted by the prayers of so many intercessors. Through...
On the Solemnity of the Maccabee Martyrs, St. Augustine
(Sermon 300)
The people of God was Christian before Christ, in fact if not in name.
1. The glory of the Maccabees has made this day into a very special feast day for us; when the marvelous account of their sufferings was read to us, we not only heard about them, but could practically see them as spectators. These things happened a long time ago, before the incarnation, before the passion of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ. These martyrs emerged in that first people, which produced the prophets who foretold these present realities. Nor should anyone suppose that before there was a Christian people, God had no people. On the contrary, if I may so put it, as is indeed really the case, though it’s not the usual way of talking, the people of that time too was Christian.
I mean, it wasn’t only after his passion that Christ began to have his people; his too was the people born of Abraham, to whom the Lord himself bore witness when he said, Abraham longed to see my day; he saw it and rejoiced (Jn 8:56). So it was from Abraham that that people was born, which was enslaved in Egypt, and which was delivered from the house of bondage with a mighty arm through Moses, God’s servant, was led through the Red Sea as the waves sank away, tried and tested in the desert, subjected to the law, established in the kingdom. From that people, as I said, arose the prophets, from there these martyrs blossomed. Christ indeed had not yet died; but Christ who was going to die made them martyrs, witnesses to himself.
These martyrs were Christians, though they suffered for the law of Moses in the way that the later martyrs suffered for the name of Christ.
2. So the first thing I must impress upon your graces is that when you are admiring these martyrs, you shouldn’t think they weren't Christians. They were Christians; but with their deeds they anticipated the name Christian that was publicized much later on. But yes, it’s true, as though it wasn’t Christ they were confessing, they were not being forced by the godless king and persecutor to deny Christ, which the later martyrs were forced to do, and didn’t, and so obtained a similar glory. Subsequent persecutors of the Christian people, you see, were compelling those they persecuted to deny the name of Christ; those who persisted most steadfastly in the name of Christ suffered the same sort of things as we heard that these did, when the account was read. So those more recent martyrs, by whose blood in their thousands the earth has been empurpled, were being commanded and told by the persecutors, “Deny Christ.” When they didn’t do it, they suffered the same sort of things as these did. These though were being told, “Deny the law of Moses.” They didn’t; they suffered for the law of Moses. Those for the name of Christ, these for the law of Moses.
The Old Testament is the veiling or concealing of the New,the New Testament is the unveiling or revealing of the Old .
3. Some Jew steps forward and says to us, “How can you reckon these people of ours to be your martyrs? How can you be so unwise’ as to celebrate their memory? Read their confessions; see whether they confessed Christ.”
To whom we reply, “It’s true, you are one of those who did not believe in Christ, and being broken off from the olive remained withered outside, when the wild olive took your place; what are you going to say, being one of those
faithless people? They weren’t openly confessing Christ, because the mystery of Christ was still concealed behind a veil. The Old Testament, you see, is the veiling of the New Testament, and the New Testament is the unveiling of the Old Testament. So about the unbelieving Jews, your ancestors, but in evil your brothers, about such as they see what the apostle Paul has to say: All the time Moses is read until now, a veil has been placed over their hearts. Now the same veil remains in the reading of the Old Testament, which is not being unveiled, since it is being made void in Christ. When you pass over, he says, to Christ, the veil will be taken away (2 Cor 3:14-16).”
The veil, he says, remains in the reading of the Old Testament, which is not being unveiled, since it is being made void in Christ; not the reading of the Old Testament, but the veil which has been placed there. The reading of the Old Testament, indeed, is not being made void, but is being fulfilled by the one who said, I did not come to abrogate the law, but to fulfill it (Mt 5:17). So the veil is being made void, in order that what was obscure might be understood. This, of course, was still shut away, a closed book, because the key of the cross was not yet available.’
How Christ in his passion deliberately fulfilled even minor points of Old Testament prophecy .
4. To clinch the matter, turn your attention to the Lord’s passion, set him before your eyes hanging on the tree, and lying down like a lion when he wished, and in order to slay death, dying not of necessity but as an act of power. Notice this very point; see how he said on the cross, Z thirst (Jn 19:28). And when the Jews,’ ignorant of what was being enacted by means of them, of what was being fulfilled by the hands of the ignorant, bound a sponge with vinegar in it to a reed and gave it to him to suck on, he sipped the vinegar and answered, It is accomplished. And bowing his head he gave up the spirit (Jn 19:30). Does anyone set out on a journey as calmly, as deliberately, as he departed this life? With as much straightforwardness, as much authority as this man who had said, I have the authority to lay down my life, and the authority to take it up again. Nobody can take it from me, but I myself lay it aside from myself, and take it up again (Jn 10:17-18)? Anyone who reflects worthily on his authority as he dies
will acknowledge his kingship and his kingdom as he lives.
Now he had already said this to the Jews themselves through the prophet: I myself went to sleep (Ps 3:5). As though to say, “Why do you people pride yourselves on my death? Why do you indulge in vain boasting, as though you had overcome me? J myself went to sleep. I myself have gone to sleep, because I wished to, not because you have raged against me. I myself have fulfilled what I wished; as for you, you have remained in your crime.”! So having received and sipped the vinegar, he said, It is accomplished.
What is accomplished?
“What has been written about me.”
What was written about him?
They gave me gall for my food, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink
(Ps 69:21).
So as he looked round at all the things that had been enacted in the course of his passion: those people had already wagged their heads in front of the cross, already given him gall, already counted his bones as he was hanging there, stretched out; his garments had already been divided up, and they had cast lots for his indivisible tunic; so having looked round and after a fashion counted up all the things that the prophets had foretold about his passion, he noticed that goodness knows what still remained, some lesser point: And in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. In order that this small point that remained might be added to the list, he said, I thirst. And on receiving this lesser thing, he answered, It is accomplished. Having said that, he bowed his head and gave up the spirit (Jn 19:28-30).
Then the foundations of the earth were shaken, then the rocks were split open and the secrets of the underworld laid bare, then the tombs gave up the dead; and, to state the point which everything I have said has been leading up to, because now was the time for everything that was veiled in the Old Testament to be unveiled and revealed in the mystery of the cross, the veil of the temple was torn away."
In dying for the law of Moses, these martyrs died for Christ
5. So from that moment Christ began to be proclaimed quite openly after the resurrection. The things that had been prophetically foretold began to be evidently fulfilled in him;'the martyrs began to confess him with the greatest
constancy. The martyrs confessed plainly the same one as the Maccabees at that earlier time confessed in a hidden manner; the former died for Christ unveiled in the gospel, while the latter died for the name of Christ veiled in the law. Christ possesses both, Christ came to the aid of both as they fought the good fight, Christ crowned both. Christ has them both in his service, like some Very Important Person traveling along with a troop of attendants, some going in front, others following behind. So fix your gaze on him rather, as he presides in the chariot of the flesh;'° both those who march ahead are attentive to him, and those who follow behind are devoted to him.
I mean, to show you, and to show you clearly, that those who died for the law of Moses died for Christ, listen to Christ himself, my dear Jew, listen; and may your heart at last be opened, may the veil be lifted from your eyes. If you believed Moses, you would also believe me. Listen to that, accept it if you can. “If the veil has been lifted by me, open your eyes and see.”!” If you believed Moses, he said, you would also believe me; for it was about me that he wrote (In 5:46). If it was about Christ that Moses wrote, those who truly died for the law of Moses laid down their lives for Christ. Jt was about me, he said, that he wrote. He was served by the tongues of those who confessed him, served also by the reed pen of those who wrote the truth about him. How will you people
be able to understand the reed Moses wrote with, seeing you put vinegar on a reed?'If only you would eventually drink the wine of the one, to whom as an insult you offered vinegar to drink!
A basilica very properly dedicated to the Maccabees in Antioch
6. So the Maccabees really are martyrs of Christ. That’s why it is not unsuitable, not in the least improper, but on the contrary absolutely right for their day and their solemnity to be celebrated especially by Christians. What do the Jews know about such a celebration? Word is going round” that there is a basilica of the Holy Maccabees in Antioch; in the very city, that is to say, which is called by the name of that persecuting king. They endured the persecution of the wicked king Antiochus, and the memory of their martyrdom is celebrated in Antioch, so that both the name of the one who persecuted and the memory of the one who crowned them are heard together.! This basilica is owned by Christians, was built by Christians. It’s we who keep, we who celebrate their memory; it’s among us that thousands of holy martyrs throughout the world have imitated their sufferings.
So nobody need hesitate, my brothers and sisters, to imitate the Maccabees, in case while imitating the Maccabees, you should think you weren’t imitating Christians. Of course, of course, we should cherish a fervent desire to imitate them in our hearts. Let men learn how to die for the sake of the truth. Let women learn from the extraordinary patience, the inexpressible courage of that mother; she really did know how to keep and preserve her sons.? She knew how to keep them, because she was not afraid of losing them. Each of them suffered by feeling pain in himself; she, by seeing what was done, suffered in all of them. Becoming the mother of seven martyrs, she was herself seven times a martyr; not separated from her sons as she watched, and added to her sons as she died.”
She watched them all dying, she loved them all; she endured in her eyes what they all endured in the flesh. Not only was she not terrorized, she even encouraged them.
The story of the mother's last son
7. The persecutor Antiochus thought of this woman as a mother like other mothers. “Persuade your son,” he said, “not to perish.” And she said,” “I will certainly persuade my son to live, by encouraging him to die; you, though, want to persuade him to die by sparing himself.” But what a little speech it was, how full of family feeling, how motherly, how evenly balanced between spiritual and carnal considerations! Son, take pity on me. Son, she said, take pity on me, who bore you for nine months in my womb; I gave you milk for three years, and brought you up to this age; take pity on me (2 Mac 7:27).
They were all expecting words like the following: “Give your consent to the king, don’t abandon your mother.” She on the contrary said, “Give your consent to God, don’t abandon your brothers. If you seem to abandon me, that’s when you don’t abandon me. I will find you there, where I will not have to fear losing you anymore. Christ will keep you for me there, and Antiochus won't take you away from me there.” He feared God, listened to his mother, answered the king, clung to his brothers, drew his mother after him.
Source: Saint Augustine - Sermons in 11 vols
Feast of the Sacred Heart
by VP
Posted on Friday June 27, 2025 at 01:00AM in Tradition
"If it is true that by contemplating Christ, sinners learn from Him the “sorrow for sins” needed to bring them back to the Father, this is even more the case for sacred ministers. How can we forget, in this regard, that nothing causes more suffering for the Church, the Body of Christ, than the sins of her pastors, especially the sins of those who become “thieves and robbers” of the sheep (cf. Jn 10:1 ff.), lead them astray by their own private teachings, or ensnare them in the toils of sin and death? Dear priests, the summons to conversion and to trust in God’s mercy also applies to us; we too must humbly, sincerely and unceasingly implore the heart of Jesus to preserve us from the terrifying risk of endangering the very people we are obliged to save." -- Pope Benedict XVI, Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, 19 June 2009
Prayer for Priests: O
Jesus, eternal High Priest, divine Sacrificer, Thou who in an
unspeakable burst of love for men, Thy Brethren, didst cause the
Christian Priesthood to spring forth from Thy Sacred Heart, vouchsafe to pour forth upon Thy priests continual living streams of infinite love. Live
in them, transform them in to Thee; make them, by Thy Grace, fit
instruments of Thy mercy; do Thou act in them and through them, and
grant, that they may become wholly one with Thee by their faithful
imitation of Thy Virtues; and, in Thy name and by the strength of Thy
spirit, may they do the works which Thou didst accomplish for the
salvation of the world.
Divine
Redeemer of souls, behold how great is the multitude of those who still
sleep in the darkness of error; reckon up the number of those
unfaithful sheep who stray to the edge of the precipice; consider the
throngs of the poor, the hungry, the ignorant and the feeble who groan
in their abandoned condition.
Return
to us in the person of Thy priests; truly live again in them; act
through them and pass once more through the world, teaching, forgiving,
comforting, sacrificing and renewing the sacred bonds of love between the Heart of God and the heart of man. Amen.St. Pius X (Raccolta 1907, Prayer 614. Rescript in his own hand. March 3, 1905 )
Allegory of the Holy Eucharist by Miguel Cabrera, 1750 pd
"Out
of devotion to the Holy Eucharist and the Passion of Christ grew the
devotion to the Sacred heart of Jesus with its feast and that of the S.
Priesthood of Christ (Octave of Corpus Christi), and the more recent
feast (1921) of the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus on the Thursday following
the third Sunday after Easter. (American Ecclesiastical Review V 68, 1923 page 470)
"This
devotion does not substantially differ from the ordinary devotion to
the Sacred Heart. It merely emphasizes the act of supreme love of the
Heart in bestowing the gift of the Holy Eucharist upon us." The Raccolta
On
9 November 1921, Pope Benedict XV instituted the feast of the
Eucharistic Heart of Jesus to be celebrated on the Thursday within the
Octave of the Sacred Heart with a Proper Mass and Office. The feast
continues to be celebrated in some places. In instituting the feast,
Pope Benedict XV wrote: "The chief reason of this feast is to
commemorate the love of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the mystery of the
Eucharist. By this means the Church wishes more and more to excite the
faithful to approach this sacred mystery with confidence, and to inflame
their hearts with that divine charity which consumed the Sacred Heart
of Jesus when in His infinite love He instituted the Most Holy
Eucharist, wherein the Divine Heart guards and loves them by living with
them, as they live and abide in Him. For in the sacrament of the Holy
Eucharist He offers and gives Himself to us as victim, companion,
nourishment, viaticum, and pledge of our future glory." The Raccolta
"122. It is likewise Our most fervent desire that all who profess themselves Christians and are seriously engaged in the effort to establish the kingdom of Christ on earth will consider the practice of devotion to the Heart of Jesus as the source and symbol of unity, salvation and peace. Let no one think, however, that by such a practice anything is taken from the other forms of piety with which Christian people, under the guidance of the Church, have honored the divine Redeemer. Quite the opposite. Fervent devotional practice towards the Heart of Jesus will beyond all doubt foster and advance devotion to the Holy Cross in particular, and love for the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar. We can even assert - as the revelations made by Jesus Christ to St. Gertrude and to St. Margaret Mary clearly show - that no one really ever has a proper understanding of Christ crucified to whom the inner mysteries of His Heart have not been made known. Nor will it be easy to understand the strength of the love which moved Christ to give Himself to us as our spiritual food save by fostering in a special way the devotion to the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, the purpose of which is - to use the words of Our predecessor of happy memory, Leo XIII - "to call to mind the act of supreme love whereby our Redeemer, pouring forth all the treasures of His Heart in order to remain with us till the end of time, instituted the adorable Sacrament of the Eucharist."(122) For "not the least part of the revelation of that Heart is the Eucharist, which He gave to us out of the great charity of His own Heart."(123). (Encyclical Haurietis Aquas Pope Pius XII May 15, 1956).
Proper Prayers for the Mass in the Extraordinary form for the Feast of the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus
Prayer:
Heart of Jesus in the Eucharist, sweet companion in our exile, I adore Thee.
Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, I adore Thee.
Heart solitary, I adore Thee.
Heart humiliated, I adore Thee.
Heart abandoned, I adore Thee.
Heart forgotten, I adore Thee.
Heart despised, I adore Thee.
Heart outraged, I adore Thee.
Heart ignored by men, I adore Thee.
Heart, lover of our hearts, I adore Thee.
Heart desirous of being loved, I adore Thee.
Heart patient in waiting for us, I adore Thee.
Heart eager to hear us, I adore Thee.
Heart longing to be prayed to, I adore Thee.
Heart source of new graces, I adore Thee.
Heart wrapped in silence, desiring to speak to souls, I adore Thee.
Heart, the sweet refuge of the hidden life. I adore Thee.
Heart, teacher of the secrets of union with God, I adore Thee.
Heart of Him Who sleeps yet ever watches, I adore Thee.
Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, have pity on us,
Jesus, Victim, I desire to console Thee,
I unite myself to Thee, and sacrifice myself with Thee. I
I annihilate myself in Thy presence. I adore Thee.
I would forget myself to be mindful of Thee.
I would be forgotten and despised for love of Thee.
And be neither understood nor love, except by Thee.
I will silence myself to listen to Thee, I will abandon myself to lose myself in Thee.
Grant
that I may thus appease Thy thirst, the thirst for my sanctification
and salvation, and that being purified I am bestow on Thee a pure and
true love. I would not longer weary Thy patience; take possession of me,
I give myself to Thee.
I offer Thee all my actions, my intellect
to be illuminated by Thee, my heart to be guided by Thee, my will to be
made strong, my soul and body to be nourished, my misery to be
lightened. Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, whose blood is the life of my
soul, may it be no longer I that live but do thou alone live in me.
Amen. Blessed Sacrament Book Fr. Francis Xavier Lasance. page 676
Resources:
- The Eucharistic Christ: Reflections and Considerations on the Blessed Sacrament By Fr Albert Tesnière (PDF) 1897
- The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, Readings for the Month of June, by Fr. Albert Tesnière 1928
- A Neglected Gem in the Traditional Roman Missal: The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus by Peter Kwasniewski, PhD
Sunday for Priests
by VP
Posted on Sunday June 08, 2025 at 01:00AM in Tradition
O Holy Spirit, Creator, be propitious to the Catholic Church; and by Thy heavenly power make it strong and secure against the attacks of its enemies; and renew in charity and grace the spirit of Thy servants, whom Thou has anointed, that they may glorify Thee and the Father and His Only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. amen.
Manual of prayers to the Holy Ghost by Very Rev. Fr. Felix of Jesus 1941
Priests' First Saturday
by VP
Posted on Saturday June 07, 2025 at 01:00AM in Tradition
Mary as Mother of Priests is in the Dominican Priory Church of the Holy Cross in Leicester. by Lawrence OP
"Listen to what our Holy Father, Pope Pius XI, says: " God in heaven and I on earth, we desire nothing more ardently than prayer and sacrifice for priests...Let us beg God that He may give holy priests! If we have this, all else will follow; but if this be wanting, all else will avail nothing." It was from this trend of thought that the idea of the Priest's Saturday" took its origin, which idea the Superior General of the Salvatorian Fathers placed before the Holy Father in special private audience on November 21, 1934. His Holiness was much pleased with the plan and said, in conclusion: "We heartily praise and bless the work....We repeat, the thing pleases Us, We praise and bless it heartily."
What is the plan?
The Priest's Saturday:
It is something quite simple and easy, yet immeasurable great in its results. You should make it a point to offer the Saturday after the First Friday of each month to your Savior, through the hands of Mary, the great mediatrix of all graces, for the sanctification of all the priests and students for the priesthood throughout the whole world. For this purpose you should give the Saturday wholly and entirely to Him, that is to say, Holy Mass, Holy Communion, all prayers, labors, sacrifices, joys and sorrows. Whatever you cannot do on this day (Holy Mass and Holy Communion) you ought to supply immediately on Sunday. So there is really nothing new for you to do. You merely offer up this Saturday (or even every Saturday or some other day) for the sanctification of priests. It is not a case of any sodality of fraternity or anything like that. Like the First Friday in honor of the Sacred Heart, the Priest's Saturday seeks to become something religiously observed by all the Catholics of the world.
(...) Concern about the holiness of priests is the concern of the Heart of the Divine Savior and of His blessed Mother. Therefore, you also should be sure to take part in this "apostolate to the apostles. " The Holy Father, all bishops, all priests, all students for the priesthood, and especially also your own pastor, earnestly beg of you thus to participate."
Source: Priest's Saturday Series, #2 Prayers and Devotions for Priest's Day. used with permission
Priests' First Saturday. Prayer:
Divine Savior, Jesus Christ, Who hast
entrusted the whole work of Thy redemption, the welfare and salvation of
the world, to priests as Thy representatives, through the hands of Thy
most holy Mother and for the sanctification of Thy priests and
candidates for the priesthood I offer Thee this present day wholly and
entirely, with all its prayers, works, sacrifices, joys, and sorrows.
Give truly holy priests who, inflamed with the fire of Thy divine love,
seek nothing but Thy greater glory and the salvation of our souls.
And thou, Mary, good Mother of priests, protect all priests in the
dangers of their holy vocation and, with the loving hand of a Mother,
also lead back to the Good Shepherd those poor priests who have become
unfaithful to their exalted vocation and have gone astray. Amen
In addition to the above make it a point also to recite frequently the following:
Divine Savior, Jesus Christ, Who Hast entrusted the weal and woes of
Thy Holy Church to priests, with all the fervor of my heart I recommend
to Thee the wants of my pastor and all priests. Enrich them more and
more with true priestly sanctity. Give them generous, all embracing,
apostolic hearts, full of love for Thee and for all Thy souls, so that
they, being themselves sanctified in Thee, may sanctify us who are
confided to their care, and may lead us safely to heaven. Bestow upon
them in rich abundance all Thy priestly graces!
Let them ever
give us a glowing example of love and fidelity towards Holy Mother
Church, towards the Pope, and bishops, and grant that by word and
example they may shine as models of every virtue.
Most loving
Jesus, bless all their priestly labors and sacrifices! Bless all their
prayers and words at the altar and in the confessional, in the pulpit,
and in school, in confraternities, and at the bedside of the sick!
Protect and preserve them in all dangers from within and from without.
Divine Savior, give to Thy Church priests who abound in true holiness!
Call many good boys and young men to the priestly and religious state!
Aid and sanctify all those who are to become Thy priests! And to the
souls of departed priests grant everlasting rest.
But to me
give a true spirit of faith and humble obedience, in order that in my
pastor I may ever behold the representative of God and willingly follow
all his teachings. Amen
Queenship of Mary
by VP
Posted on Saturday May 31, 2025 at 01:00AM in Tradition
Our Lady, St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, Front Royal, VA
"Queen
of heaven, thy immense love for God maketh thee likewise love His
Church. We pray thee, come to its help amidst the ills under which it is
now suffering, rent asunder as she is by her own children. Thy prayers,
being a mother’s, can obtain all from that God Who loveth Thee so well.
Pray
then, pray for the Church; ask for enlightenment for so many
unbelievers who are persecuting it, and obtain for faithful souls the
necessary strength to resist being caught in the snares of the
unbelievers who would drag them down into their own ruin.
Encyclical of Pope Pius XII on Proclaiming the Queenship
of Mary to the Venerable Brethren, the Patriarchs, Primates,
Archbishops, Bishops, and Other Local Ordinaries in Peace and Communion
with the Holy See.
"47. Since we are convinced, after
long and serious reflection, that great good will accrue to the Church
if this solidly established truth shines forth more clearly to all, like
a luminous lamp raised aloft, by Our Apostolic authority We decree and
establish the feast of Mary's Queenship,
which is to be celebrated every year in the whole world on the 31st of
May. We likewise ordain that on the same day the consecration of the
human race to the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary be
renewed, cherishing the hope that through such consecration a new era
may begin, joyous in Christian peace and in the triumph of religion.
48.
Let all, therefore, try to approach with greater trust the throne of
grace and mercy of our Queen and Mother, and beg for strength in
adversity, light in darkness, consolation in sorrow; above all let them
strive to free themselves from the slavery of sin and offer an unceasing
homage, filled with filial loyalty, to their Queenly Mother. Let her
churches be thronged by the faithful, her feast-days honored; may the
beads of the Rosary be in the hands of all; may Christians gather, in
small numbers and large, to sing her praises in churches, in homes, in
hospitals, in prisons. May Mary's name be held in highest reverence, a
name sweeter than honey and more precious than jewels; may none utter
blasphemous words, the sign of a defiled soul, against that name graced
with such dignity and revered for its motherly goodness; let no one be
so bold as to speak a syllable which lacks the respect due to her name."
(...)
52.
Earnestly desiring that the Queen and Mother of Christendom may hear
these Our prayers, and by her peace make happy a world shaken by hate,
and may, after this exile show unto us all Jesus, Who will be our
eternal peace and joy, to you, Venerable Brothers, and to your flocks,
as a promise of God's divine help and a pledge of Our love, from Our
heart We impart the Apostolic Benediction."
Source: Ad Caeli Reginam
The Ascension: Festival of Encouragement
by VP
Posted on Thursday May 29, 2025 at 01:00AM in Tradition
"The Lord Jesus was taken up into heaven." MARK XVI. 19.
1. Reconstruction of the event.
2. He had been the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
3. He ascended to claim the Kingdom for Himself and all who believe in Him.
4. Remembrance of this day, the hope and strength of His disciples.
"THE Ascension is the grand finale of the drama of Christ's life on earth. Short as are the accounts of it in the gospels and Acts of the Apostles, we can reconstruct devoutly the events of this blessed day. St. Luke tells us that "He led them out as far as Bethania." What tender condescension of our Blessed Lord! For the last time He wended His way along the lower slopes of Mount Olivet, accompanied by the disciples and His holy Mother. He loved His friends to the end; and we are told in the gospel that Jesus loved Martha and Mary. So He passed by their home in Bethania with a last, loving look; and at the grave of Lazarus and the house of Simon the leper where He had supped, and mounted the gentle rise to Olivet. There He had spent many a night in prayer; from there He had looked down upon Jerusalem and begun His humble triumph on Palm Sunday, and lower down He had commenced His sacred Passion six weeks before. Now that all things had been accomplished by the Son of Man, how befitting to rise hence and to enter into His glory. Picture the touching scene of His last farewell. Each of those favoured ones received a look of ineffable love; words of encouragement, to be treasured all life long; they were permitted to kiss His sacred feet, and the hand of blessing was laid upon their heads bowed down in adoration. It is beyond us to realize the farewell of the Mother and the Son! The Mother's heart would yearn never to be parted, but, according to His Will, that Mother gave up her divine Son to become the Mother of the infant Church. Her presence was needed to encourage the Apostles: to be a model to them, and to be a living proof that the Saviour, though departed to enter into His glory, had been a real Man born of the Virgin Mary; Who had lived for us; died for us on the Cross; and had risen again, immortal and glorified, to prove that He was not only Man, but God!
"And the Lord Jesus was taken up to heaven.” He had declared Himself thus: "I am the way, the truth, and the life" (John xiv. 6). The way of salvation He had shown to men by His obedience to His heavenly Father; by doing good to all; by being meek and humble of heart; by forgiving His enemies; by dying on the Cross for our salvation.
The truth He had taught them. He had renewed the commandments of old and explained and amplified them. He had taught them that the blessedness of life was to be found in poverty, in suffering, in peace, in cleanliness of heart, in suffering persecution for justice' sake.
The life! For from whence could man draw the power to obey the truth, to follow the way, but from that loving God made man, Who made us partakers of His own strength, endurance, and immortality; Who crowns our endeavours in this short life on earth with a never-ending life of glory?
And thus, when our Lord ascended into heaven, the Apostles did not lose Him, He only went before themtheir Leader, the Victor-to claim that heaven which He had won for us. On ascending, He had lifted up His hands and bestowed such a blessing upon them that their faith rose superior to His departure, and their hearts rejoiced. They had not lost Him! He had associated them with Himself in His triumph, as the Church sings this day, "Ascendo ad Patrem Meum" (I ascend to My Father and to your Father; to My God and to your God).
What a divine encouragement this vision of their beloved Master ascending to His Kingdom was to the Apostles! They had now to return, wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit, and then commence their labours. Yes, their labours, their persecutions, their martyrdom before their glory. As their Master, so they themselves. And He had said to them before His departure, "Thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise again from the dead" (Luke xxiv. 46).
How the remembrance of the Ascension has been the source of the heroism of the saints! Not only to the Apostles, a vivid, lifelong remembrance; but to the martyrs amidst their tortures; to the hermits and fathers of the desert amidst trials and temptations; to the inmates of cloisters, during the slow martyrdom of obedience and unchanging monotony of life. It was heavenly sunshine to them, that lifted up their souls, and made them hopefully and bravely cling to their King and Master, Christ. Aye, and amongst the poor, unknown faithful, amidst their daily trials and labour and sorrows, the memory that Christ, their Lord, has won the Kingdom for them, has prepared a home for them, is waiting with the welcome on His lips, till they have fought the good fight and been faithful. Oh, how many have persevered through this blessed remembrance !
