Saturday, May 16, 2009

THE DEVOTION OF THE 'THREE HAIL MARYS' - history and Novena prayers


Our Lady of Mt Carmel with the Child - beautiful statue in the series of Spanish style sacral art.

Practiced and Recommended
Many great saints have practiced and recommended the devotion of the "Three Hail Mary". Here are the names of but a few of them: St. Leonard of Port Maurice, St. Bruno, St. Bonaventure, St. John Berchmans, St. John Baptist Mary Vianney (Cure of Ars), St. Anthony of Lisbon and of Padua, St. Stanislaus Kostka, St. Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort, St. John Joseph of the Cross, St. John Baptist de Rossi, St. Gerard Majella, St. Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows, Blessed Marcellinus Champagnat, and, above all, the great Marian doctor St. Alphonsus Liguori who, in his writings recommended this devotion about twenty times. As a result, this devotion has been spreading, and we are reminded of it in many ways: at shrines, in churches and chapels, through association and sodalities, through novenas, pictures, statues and medals, and especially by the innumerable graces and favors received through the practice of this devotion. No doubt, one day in the near future, it will be numbered among the universally-known important Marian devotions. Moreover, various Popes have indicated that they favor this devotion and Pius IX, Leo XIII, St. Pius X have granted special indulgences for the practice of this devotion. Since 1095, Urban II at the Council of Clermont have proposed it as a means for obtaining the triumph of the Church; while Leo XIII and St. Pius X have ordered its recitation after the Mass for the same intention, that is why the "Three Hail Marys" were recited after the Low Masses before the Liturgical Reform. St. Pius X was convinced that this devotion will save Mexico, and so he recommended all the faithful to practice it.

Innumerable Fruits
"Astonishing conversions, increase in virtues, cure of the sick, temptations conquered, business difficulties solved, holy death.and salvation." - the promise made by the Blessed Virgin to St. Mathilda.
The "Three Hail Marys", are in the words of St Alphonsus Maria Liquori: "the best safeguard for chastity" This statement was recorded and attributed to St. Alphonsus Maria Liguori by St. Pius X; "that it is true, has been confirmed by our experiences as well as those of many missionaries" (according to Frassinetti). Even the number of graces and favors obtained through the practice of this devotion show us just how pleasing it is to the Blessed Virgin Mary.



Devotion for Everyone
This devotion is suitable for everyone: For sinners, it is a classic example of a devotion approved especially for them by the Church. Even if the complete renewal in our way of life does not occur immediately, at least a great change for the better will be noted. Our faithful perseverance in this practice will succeed in obtaining the complete change, sooner or later, through Our lady's intercession - this is what St. Alphonsus Maria Liguori wrote about this devotion. Of course, it is understood that the person who is praying for the favor -- even if he/she be a great sinner -- must have pure intentions and good will, and pray with great attention, fervor and constancy. For those who progress in spiritual life, the "Three Hail Marys" are powerful arms against temptations, especially those against purity. "From my wide experience, I know that boys and girls who faithfully honor Mary, do not usually commit serious sins" (Frassinetti). And this devotion is really very easily practiced, for its very brevity makes it suitable for everyone, however busy they may be, since it does not even take one minute to pray the "Three Hail Marys". To say the prayer takes around 40 seconds, therefore, of the 1,440 minutes in each day, are we unable to devote about one minute and half per day to reciting the "Three Hail Marys" in the morning and at night in order that we may obtain our eternal salvation?!

How to Pray the "Three Hail Marys"
Although the devotion of the "Three Hail Marys" is very easy, there are certain conditions which we should observe:
1. Our intentions must be pure, and we must have good will.
2. We must pray with attention, fervor and constancy.
3. With each "Hail Mary", we must have the intention of honoring one of the three privileges granted by the Blessed Trinity to the Blessed Virgin Mary: POWER, WISDOM and MERCY.
4. Since the main aim of these "Three Hail Marys" is our sanctification and salvation, we should add one of the ejaculations which recall this aim. Some of them had been recommended and indulgenced by Leo XIII or by St. Pius X.

Here are some examples:
a) "Mary, my Mother, keep me free from mortal sin during this day" or "during this night" (as the case may be).
b) "O Mary, by your Immaculate Conception, keep my body pure and my soul holy."
c) "O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee and also for those who do not have recourse to thee, especially for the enemies of the Church."

Its Effectiveness
Here is the personal testimony of a sinner who used the devotion with good results: "For the last three years, I have been the slave of a bad habit against the virtue of purity. How could I get rid of this terrible passion? I tried every means available, but all proved useless. I used to give in to very serious sins and even to sacrileges. This was most disheartening. "Then, one day, someone recommended to me the devotion of the "Three Hail Marys". And now, it is not yet quite one month since I started to pray the "Three Hail Marys" every morning and every night without fail. I cannot explain what has happened within me, but I do know and can assure you that, since the very first moment, it has produced wonderful results within me: I have not succumbed to the impure temptations since then. When I have been weak and just about ready to succumb, something or another has happened which has stopped me from giving in; and, indeed, I do know that it was something stronger than my desire of sinning."

Fatal Delay in Explaining
Although the recitation of the "Three Hail Marys" was recommended after Low Masses, at the beginning of each Rosary, etc., the importance of this devotion was not explained to the faithful on a wide scale. Therefore, most Catholics did not know its meaning or its importance, and so, they did not pray them with the proper dispositions. As a result, anti-Christian forces -- like Atheism, Communism, etc. -- have been able to organize secret societies to attack the Church. Let us hasten to start practicing this devotion of the "Three Hail Marys" every morning and every night! Let us not put it off till tomorrow! Moreover, let us introduce this devotion to our friends and relations and urge them to recite the "Three Hail Marys" daily, every morning and every night! Through the practice of this simple devotion we may be led to study the Message of Fatima in greater detail, and so we may lead a life of greater prayer, sacrifice and consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The suppression of the anti-Christian doctrines, the conversion of sinners and of Russia, and, above all, peace in the world depends on our obtaining the necessary graces from God through our prayers and sacrifices!

Efficient novena of the Three Hail Mary

I – Oh Mary, Powerful Virgin, Virgo Potens, You to whom nothing is impossible... * ,by this same power that gratified You the Powerful Father, I conjures you, attend me in the necessity where I find me. Therefore that You, you only can help me, you do not abandon me, oh You who you are the lawyer of the most desperate causes! It seems - me that the Glory of God, Your Honour and the good of my soul are on to the concession of this favour. If, therefore, as I think, it is in agreement to most nice and most holly will of God, I conjure You, oh Most Powerfull Petitioner, Omnipotentia Suplex, intercede for me next to Your Son who nothing can refuse You. I ask you, on behalf of the Power without limits that the Celestial Father communicated You, and in honour of which I say You, in union with saint Matilde, to whom You disclosed the practical very salutary of the Three Hail Mary. – Hail Mary…

II - Divine Wisdom, that you are called the Throne the Wisdom, Sede Sapientiae, because the non created Wisdom, the Verb of God, inhabited in You... You to whom this adorable Son communicated all the extension of Its Divine Science, in the measure where the most perfect creature could receive it... You know the largeness of my misery and how much necessity I have of Your assistance. Trusted in Your Divine Wisdom, I abandon me entirely between Your hands, so that You do everything, with force and tenderness, for the biggest Glory of God and greater well of my soul. Please therefore, to come in my aid, for the ways that You know to be most proper to reach this end. Oh Mary, Mother of the Divine Wisdom, I request You, to get - me the precious favour that I request; I ask for in the same name of this incomparable Wisdom of that the Verb, Your Son, illuminated You, and in honour of which I say to You, in union with Saint Anthony of Lisbon and Saint Leonard of Porto Maurício, the most zealous preachers of Yours Three Hail Mary. – Hail Mary...

III – Oh good, oh tender Mother, true Mother of Mercy, Mater Misericordiae, that in these last times you called Yourself "Mother All Merciful one", I come to request - that you use with me of Your compassionate Goodness. Greater is my misery, but it must excite Your compassion. I know, I by no means do not deserve the precious favour that desire, I who I have You as many times saddened offending Your Son. But if I have been guilty, very guilty, I sincerely repent myself having wounded the so tender Heart of Jesus and Yours. Moreover, you are not You, as you said to Saint Brigit, "the Mother of the sorry sinful people"? You pardon - me, therefore, my passed ingratitude, and considering only Your Merciful Goodness and the Glory that of this will result for God and You, you get - me from the Divine Mercy the favour that I beg for Your intercession. Oh You to whom nobody ever invoked vainly, "oh Clement, oh Merciful, oh sweet Virgin Mary; the Clemens, the Pia, the Dulcis Virgo Maria "! oh come, come to help me, I conjure You, for this Merciful Goodness that the Holly Spirit filled You for us, and in honour of which I say with Saint Alfonso of Ligory , apostle of Your Mercy and I give it apostle of Your Mercy and the doctor of the Three Hail Mary. – Hail Mary...

In Honor of the Power, Wisdom, and Loving Mercy of the Blessed Virgin Mary
This novena was originally prayed by Franciscans and later developed into Angelus Prayer. Reciting three Hail Marys This as a petition for purity and other virtues is a traditional Roman Catholic devotional practice. It is not to be confused with the Three Hail Marys devotion, invoking the Immaculate Conception, although they are similar and have the same origin. One of the first to practice this and to recommend it was St. Anthony of Padua (1195–1231). His purpose was "to honor the spotless Virginity of Mary and to preserve a perfect purity of mind, heart and body in the midst of the dangers of the world."

According to St. Gertrude (1256–1301), the Blessed Virgin Mary promised the following: "To any soul who faithfully prays the Three Hail Marys I will appear at the hour of death in a splendor of beauty so extraordinary that it will fill the soul with Heavenly consolation."

Later on, St. Leonard of Port Maurice, "had the three Ave Marias recited morning and evening in honor of Mary Immaculate, to obtain the grace of avoiding all mortal sins during the day or and night; moreover, he promised in a special manner eternal salvation to all those who proved constantly faithful to this practice."

St. Alphonsus Liguori (1696–1787) adopted this pious practice and highly recommended it. He told parents to train their children to acquire the habit of saying three Hail Marys in the morning and evening. After each Hail Mary, he advice that the following prayer be said: "By thy Immaculate Conception, O Mary, make my body pure and my soul holy."

St. Mechtilde received a private revelation from the Virgin Mary on how the Three Hail Marys honor the three persons of the Blessed Trinity: "The first Hail Mary will be in honor of God the Father, Whose omnipotence raised my soul so high above every other creature that, after God, I have the greatest power in Heaven and on earth. In the hour of your death I will use that power of God the Father to keep any hostile power from you.

"The second Hail Mary will be in honor of God the Son, Who communicated His inscrutable wisdom to me . . . In the hour of your death I will fill your soul with the light of that wisdom so that all the darkness of ignorance and error will be dispelled.

"The third Hail Mary will be in honor of God the Holy Ghost, Who filled my soul with the sweetness of His love and tenderness and mercy . . . In your last hour I will then change the bitterness of death into Divine sweetness and delight."

According to the St. Martha Catholic Church of the Pallottine Fathers, after Night Prayers, "Many Saints have had the practice of adding three "Hail Mary's" here in honor of Mary's purity for the grace of a chaste and holy life." Thus, it has been recommended as a daily practice for people who have received confirmation that they pray the Three Hail Marys for "purity of mind, heart and body" after examination of conscience.

I. Oh, Immaculate Mary, Virgin most Powerful, I beseech thee, through that immense Power which thou hast received from the eternal Father, obtain for me Purity of heart,---Strength to overcome all the enemies of my soul; ---and the special favor I implore in my present necessity.

[Name it.]

Mother most pure! Forsake me not, despise not my prayer, graciously hear me for God's glory, thy honor, and the welfare of my soul.

To obtain this favor I honor thy Power by reciting:

Hail Mary, Full of Grace, The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of death.
Amen.

II

Oh Virgin Mary, My Mother, through that ineffable Wisdom bestowed upon thee by the Incarnate Word of God, I humbly beseech thee, obtain for me Meekness and humility of heart;---a perfect knowledge of the Divine Will and strength to accomplish it always.

Oh Mary, Seat of Wisdom; as a tender Mother lead me in the path of Christian Virtue and perfection; enlighten and enable me to do what is most pleasing to thy beloved Son, and obtain my petition.

[Name it.]

To obtain this grace I honor thy Wisdom by reciting:

Hail Mary, Full of Grace, The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of death.
Amen.

III

Oh, Mother of Mercy, Mother of penitent sinners, I stand before thee sinful and sorrowful, beseeching thee through the immense Love given to thee by the Holy Spirit for us poor sinners, obtain for me true and perfect contrition for my sins, which I hate and detest with all my heart, because I love God.

Mother most Merciful, help me in my present necessity.

[Name it.]

Turn, then those eyes of Mercy toward us, Oh Clement, Oh Loving oh Sweet Virgin Mary!
To obtain this precious gift, I honor thy Loving Mercy by reciting:

Hail Mary, Full of Grace, The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of death.
Amen.

Credit: "Fatima Findings" in 'Cavaleiro da Imaculada' by Fr Nazario SJ

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Thursday, May 14, 2009

Serious scientific critiques of the evolution theory presented at Sapienza University Conference - click to read more




Great and encouraging news, the world renown scientists are bringing to light facts and speaking against evolution nonsense.

"Top scientists in the fields of biology, geophysics, geology, genetics, and other disciplines, will present scientific facts against the theory of evolution at Sapienza University’s Pathology Amphitheatre, Umberto Policlinico, in Rome, Italy, on Nov. 3, from 9:30AM to 5:00PM. Admission is free. The scientists who will speak at the Sapienza University conference agree with Nobel Prize-winning biochemist Sir Ernst Chain, who said that evolution was an "hypothesis based on no evidence and irreconcilable with the facts.""

Credit: The Remnant





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Theologian Dr Alice von Hildebrand critical view of Theology of the Body speaker, Christopher West - click to read


Dr Alice von Hildebrandt "criticized his (Christopher West) presentations as irreverent and insensitive to the “tremendous dangers” of concupiscence. Her view are followed by other Catholic authors and theologians such as Mary Shivanandan and Fr. José Granados.

Credit: The Remnant




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Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Feast of Our Lady of Fatima - click to read




"My Immaculate Heart will triumph”. What does this mean? The Heart open to God, purified by contemplation of God, is stronger than guns and weapons of every kind. The fiat of Mary, the word of her heart, has changed the history of the world, because it brought the Saviour into the world—because, thanks to her Yes, God could become man in our world and remains so for all time. The Evil One has power in this world, as we see and experience continually; he has power because our freedom continually lets itself be led away from God. But since God himself took a human heart and has thus steered human freedom towards what is good, the freedom to choose evil no longer has the last word. From that time forth, the word that prevails is this: “In the world you will have tribulation, but take heart; I have overcome the world” (Jn 16:33). The message of Fatima invites us to trust in this promise.

Credit: Joseph Card. Ratzinger "Theological Commentary on the Message of Fatima"




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Pope Benedict XVI in the Holy Land - click to read







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Sunday, May 10, 2009

May - month dedicated to Our Lady



PRESENCE OF GOD - Under your protection I take refuge, O Mary; be the guide and model of my interior life.

MEDITATION

1. Month of May, Month of Mary! The heart of every Christian turns spontaneously toward his heavenly Mother, with a desire to live in closer intimacy with her and tostrengthen the sweet ties which bind him to her. It is a great comfort on our spiritual way, which is often fatiguing and bristling with difficulties, to meet the gentle presence of a mother. One is so at ease near one's mother. With her, everything becomes easier; the weary, discouraged heart, disturbed by storms, finds new hope and strength, and continues the journey with fresh courage.

"If the winds of temptation arise," sings St Bernard, "if you run into the reefs of trials, look to the star, call upon Mary. In danger, sorrow or perplexity, think of Mary, call upon Mary." There are times when the hard road of the "nothing" frightens us, miserable as we are; and then, more then ever, we need her help, the help of our Mother. The Blessed Virgin Mary has, before us, trodden the straight and narrow path which leads to sanctity; before us she has carried the cross, before us she has known the ascents of the spirit through suffering. Sometimes, perhaps, we do not dare to look at Jesus the God-Man, who because of His divinity seems too far above us; but near Him is Mary, His Mother and our Mother, a privileged creature surely, yet a creature like ourselves, and therefore a model more accessible for our weakness. Mary comes to meet us during this month, to take us by the hand, to initiate us into the secret of her interior life, which must become the model and norm of our own.

2. St Therese of the Child Jesus, referring to certain discourses on the Blessed Virgin, said, "She is spoken of as unapproachable, whereas she should be represented as imitable" (Novissima Verba). Mary is inaccessible, it is true, in the sublime privileges which flow from her divine maternity, and it is right to consider these prerogatives in order to admire and contemplate them, to praise our Mother's greatness and hence always to love her more and more; but, at the same time, we must consider Mary in the concrete picture of her earthly life. It is a simple, humble picture, which never leaves the framework of the ordinary life common to all mothers; under this aspect, Mary is truly imitable. Our program for the month of May, then, will be to contemplate the grandeurs of Mary, that we may be stimulated to imitate her virtues.

We shall consider Mary especially as the ideal and the model of our interior life. No one has understood, as she did, the depth of meaning in the words of Jesus: "But one thing is necessary" (Luke 10,42), and no one has lived by these words better than she. From the very first moment of her life, Mary was entirely God's and lived only for Him. Consider the years spent in the Temple in silence and prayer, the months passed at Nazareth in recollection, and in adoration of the eternal Word incarnate within her, the thirty years lived in sweet intimacy with Jesus, her Son and her God; then the sharing of His apostolic life, the union with Him in His Passion, and finally, her last years with St John, during which, by her prayers, she was the support of the infant Church. Although the scenes in which she moved changed in appearance, although the external circumstances varied, her life remained unchanged in its substance, in her interior search for the "one thing necessary", and in her adherence to God alone. The succession of events and her exterior activity did not hinder her from persevering in that attitude of continual prayer in which St Luke presents her to us: "Mary kept all these words , pondering them in her heart" (2:19).

If, in imitation of Mary, our heart is firmly anchored in God, nothing can distract us from our interior occupation: to seek and love the Lord and live in intimacy with Him.

credit: "Divine Intimacy" by Fr Gabriel of St Mary Magdalene OCD and OLRL




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Saturday, May 09, 2009

Fourth Sunday After Easter - click to read






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Saturday, Our Lady's Day - Mary, the Virgin Mother of God


As is the case with every mother, her life is closely interwoven with the life of her Divine Son. She bore Him in her womb. She gave birth to Him at Betlehem, in fulfilment of the ancient prophecy. She fled with Him to Egypt to escape the murderous wrath of Herod. She lived with Him for years in the obscurity of Nazareth. She asked Him to perform His first miracle in His public ministry. She was with Him on Calvary. On Calvary, in obedience to the will of God, she renounced her maternal rights to the life of her Son, her rights to His continued filial love and care in this world. She offered her own maternal agony to God for the salvation of men. In union with Christ, she offered the life of her Son for the redemption of man. in this way she merited the right to dispense all God's graces to men to the end of time. After her own death, her Divine Son, because of His filial love for her, raised her body from death and she was assumed body and soul into heaven. In heaven she reigns as the Queen of angels and men.
When we consider the unique position given by God to Mary, when we reflect on the great privilages God has granted Mary, then we are not surprised at the great devotion of Catholics to Mary. If God has so honoured Mary, can we do less? Since all her privileges, all her great dignity are due to the perfection and dignity of her Son, the the honour which we give to Mary does not detract from the honour we give Christ. Rather, it is fitting tribute to the Son Who could fashion for Himself so great a Mother.
Previous post HERE





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Friday, May 08, 2009

Apparition of St Michael the Archangel on Mt Gargano, 492 AC - click to read



Meditation on St Michael Apparition




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Wednesday, May 06, 2009

Contamplative life - movie from Franciscans of Immaculate






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Tuesday, May 05, 2009

St Angelus, Carmelite Friar and Martyr



St. Angelus was one of the first Carmelite to come to Sicily form Mount Carmel about the year 1217. He preached at Palermo and Messina. He was martyred by a certain Count Berenger, a powerful lord of that country, who for several years had lived openly in unhallowed union with his own sister. St. Angelus rebuked him severely, as St John the Baptist had formerly rebuked Herod, and found the same recompence. By command of Berenger he was hung upon a tree and shot with arrows. Only in 1632 were his relics transferred to the Carmelite Church. Veneration of St. Angelus spread throughout the Carmelite Order as well as among the Universal Church. He has been named patron of many places in Sicily and up to this day many Catholics invoke his intercession faithfully in their needs.

Hymn in honour of St Angelus
(fragments from Thaditional Carmelite Propers of Divine Office)

Hail, happy Angelus of blest renown!
Hail, in the beauty of thy martyr's crown!
Rejoice, O Carmel, at his heavenly birth,
Rejoice to greet thy favoured child, O Earth!

This chosen son, as presage of his fame,
Hears from the Virgin's lips his angel name,
Sweet pledge and token Heaven doth bestow,
his kinship with the Blessed to foreshow.

Sing glory to the Father and the Son
And to the Holy Spirit, Three in one!
Then haste to join the glad angelic lay,
And praise our glorious Mother on this day.

Prayer
O Lord, let Thy people glorify Thee by honouring the Blessed Angelus, Thy Priest and Martyr, and through his intercession, may they deserve to be led by Thee. Through our Lord.





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Monday, May 04, 2009

St Alphonsus de Liquori 'Against the reformers' - Meditation for the Third Week After Easter



St. Francis Jerome, when he visited the parents of St. Alphonsus shortly after his birth, made this prophecy: "This child will be blessed with length of days; he shall not see death before his ninetieth year; he will be a bishop and will do great things for Jesus Christ." This prophecy certainly came true. One of the most accomplished of all the saints is Alphonsus Liguori. He was a lawyer in both civil and Church law before he dedicated his whole life to serving God. He was founder of a religious order, author of more than a hundred books, originator of modern moral theology, renowned preacher and confessor, bishop, musical composer and painter. For all of his 91 years on earth, he was also a man of prayer and deep personal holiness.
"A church which is not one in its doctrine and faith can never be the True Church ... Hence, because truth must be one, of all the different churches ... only one can be the true one ... and out of that Church there is no salvation. Now, in order to determine which is this one true Church ... it is necessary to examine which is the Church first founded by Jesus Christ, for, when this is ascertained, it must be confessed that this one alone is the true Church which, having once been the true Church must always have been the true Church and must forever be the true Church. For to this first Church has been made the promise of the Savior that the gates of Hell would never be able to overturn it (Matthew 16:18) ... In the entire history of religion, we find that the Roman Catholic Church alone was the first Church, and that the other false and heretical churches afterwards departed and separated from her. This is the Church which was propagated by the Apostles and afterwards governed by pastors whom the Apostles themselves appointed to rule over her ... This character can be found only in the Roman Church, whose pastors descend securely by an uninterrupted and legitimate succession from the Apostles of the world (Matthew 28:20)
"The innovators themselves do not deny that the Roman Church was the first which Jesus Christ founded ... however, they say ... that it was the true Church until the fifth century, or until ... it fell away, because it had been corrupted by the Catholics ... But how could that Church fall which St. Paul calls the "pillar and ground of truth" (1 Timothy 3:15)? ... No. The Church has not failed ... The truth is ... that all the false churches which have separated from the Roman Church have fallen away and erred ... To convince all heretical sects of their error, there is no way more certain and safe than to show that our Catholic Church has been the first one founded by Jesus Christ; for, this being established, it is proved beyond all doubt that ours is the only true Church and that all the others which have left it and separated are certainly in error ... But, pressed by this argument, the innovators have invented an answer: they say that the visible Church has failed, but not the invisible Church ... But these doctrines are diametrically opposed to the Gospel.
"The innovators have been challenged several times to produce a text of Sacred Scripture which would prove the existence of the invisible church they invented, and we are unable to obtain any such text from them. How could they adduce such a text when, addressing His Apostles whom He left as the propagators of His Church, Jesus said: "You cannot be hidden" (Matthew 5:14)? ... Thus He has declared that the Church cannot help but be visible to everyone ... The Church has been at all times, and will forever be, necessarily visible, so that each person may always be able to learn from his pastor the true doctrine regarding the dogmas of faith ... to receive the Sacraments, to be directed in the way of salvation, and to be enlightened and corrected should he ever fall into error. For, were the Church in any time hidden and invisible, to whom would men have recourse in order to learn what they are to believe and to do? ... It was necessary that the Church and her pastors be obvious and visible, principally in order that there might be an infallible judge ... to resolve all doubts, and to whose decision everyone should necessarily submit. Otherwise, there would be no sure rule of faith by which Christians could know the true dogmas of faith and the true precepts of morality, and among the faithful there would be endless disputes and controversies ... "And Christ gave some apostles, and others pastors and doctors, that henceforth we be no more children tossed to-and-fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine" (Eph. 4:11-14)
"But what faith can we learn from these false teachers when, in consequence of separating from the Church, they have no rule of faith? ... How often Calvin changed his opinions! And, during his life, Luther was constantly contradicting himself: on the single article of the Eucharist, he fell into thirty-three contradictions! A single contradiction is enough to show that they did not have the Spirit of God. "He cannot deny Himself" (2 Timothy 2:13). In a word, take away the authority of the Church, and neither Divine Revelation nor natural reason itself is of any use, for each of them may be interpreted by every individual according to his own caprice ... Do they not see that from this accursed liberty of conscience has arisen the immense variety of heretical and atheistic sects? ... I repeat: if you take away obedience to the Church, there is no error which will not be embraced.

credit: Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible
Picture shows the famous
Ghent Altarpiece with wings open





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Sunday, May 03, 2009

The Revealing the True Cross - click to read


"And their bodies shall lie in the streets of the great city which is called spiritually, Sodom and Egypt: where their Lord also was crucified."-Apocalypse 11:8




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Third Sunday after Easter - click to read






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Saturday, May 02, 2009

Saturday - Day of Our Lady

More reflection from the "Summa Simplified" on Mary, the Virgin Mother of God


The Child conceived in Mary is the most perfect Child in the world ever known. Because the active principle in the generation of Christ was God Himself, the body of Christ was perfectly formed from the first moment of its existence. it had a rational soul. The Son of God assumed this body at the very moment of the infusion of the rational soul. In this way, Mary is the Mother of God from the first instant of the conception of Christ in the womb. In fact, if it were otherwise, Mary would not be the Mother of God, but the of a human being who was later assumed by the Son of God.

In addition, Christ was, as we have already seen, spiritually perfect. He possessed, from the first moment of His existence, the absolute fullness of the beatific vision of God. He possessed infused knowledge, and hence was capable of free acts of His will. Hence, too, He was capable of meriting grace and redemption for men from the very beginning of His existence as man.

Mary is truly the Mother of God. When we consider the absolutely infinite perfection of God, the obvious humanity of Mary and the no less obvious humanity of her Son, Christ, this might seem a startling statement. But it is none the less true. When any mother gives birth to a child, she gives birth not only to a human nature but also to a person who exists in that human nature. We do not say that Mrs Smith is the mother of a human nature. We say that she is the mother of John Smith, or of Richard Smith, or of Helen Smith. In other words, we say that she is the mother of the persons to whom she gave a human nature. So, also, in the Incarnation we do say simply that Mary is the Mother of the human nature of Christ. We say, and rightly, that she is the Mother of the Person Who exists in the human nature, of the Person of Whom she gave that human nature. Since that Person is God, the Son of God, we say rightly that Mary is the Mother of God. This Divine Maternity is the greatest of Mary's privileges and the source of all her other divinely given privileges.

Previous posts HERE
and HERE




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Thursday, April 30, 2009

Good Shepherd meditation - click to read






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Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Feast of St Paul of the Cross, founder of Passionists - click to read



More aboutPassionists

..."Clement XIV and gave Paul of the Cross the house and basilica on the Celian hill, SS. Giovanni e Paolo. A short distance from the Coliseum, it was here Paul passed the last years of his life. Here, too, he was visited by two Popes, Clement XIV in 1774 and by Pius VI in 1775. He died a few months after the latter visit. His mortal remains are enshrined in the chapel, completed in 1880, dedicated to him....






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Sunday, April 26, 2009

Canonization of the Blessed Nuno Alvarez Pereira O.Carm today!



More about new Saint HERE




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Saturday, April 25, 2009

Feast of St Mark Evangelist - click to read


St Mark by Donatello

"...When, on the occasion of the famine of A.D. 45-46, Barnabas and Saul had completed their ministration in Jerusalem, they took Mark with them on their return to Antioch (Acts 12:25). Not long after, when they started on St. Paul's first Apostolic journey, they had Mark with them as some sort of assistant (hupereten, Acts 13:5);...The context of Acts 13:5, suggests that he helped even in preaching the Word. When Paul and Barnabas resolved to push on from Perga into central Asia Minor, Mark, departed from them.... and returned to Jerusalem (Acts 13:13)... St. Paul, who refused on account of it to take Mark with him on the second Apostolic journey. This refusal led to the separation of Paul and Barnabas, and the latter, taking Mark with him, sailed to Cyprus (Acts 15:37-40). At this point (A.D. 49-50) we lose sight of Mark in Acts, and we meet him no more in the New Testament, till he appears some ten years afterwards as the fellow-worker of St. Paul, and in the company of St. Peter, at Rome (Colossians 4:10)....and he was probably there when St. Paul was martyred.

When we turn to tradition, Papias (Eusebius, Church History 3:39) asserts not later than A.D. 130, on the authority of an "elder", that Mark had been the interpreter (hermeneutes) of Peter, and wrote down accurately, though not in order, the teaching of Peter (GOSPEL OF SAINT MARK). A widespread... tradition represents St. Mark as the founder of the Church of Alexandria...The date of Mark's death is uncertain. As to the manner of his death, the "Acts" of Mark give the saint the glory of martyrdom, and say that he died while being dragged through the streets of Alexandria; so too the Paschal Chronicle.... In Christian literature and art St. Mark is symbolically represented by a lion. The Latin and Greek Churches celebrate his feast on 25 April, but the Greek Church keeps also the feast of John Mark on 27 September."




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Clandestine 'ordinations' of four 'Catholic' women-bishops in California - click to read

I am posting this sad news thinking about Archp Lefebvre's excommunication for ordaining four Bishops without Papal approval over twenty years ago, whereas clandestine ordinations of women priests in the Catholic Church are still taking place. Pope Benedict issued statement last year declaring automatic excommunication for women priests and for Bishops ordaining them. This has not been taken seriously enough by those involved in the scandal.


This humorous picture referring to the scandal was posted on the Angelqueen forum. It maybe entitled "Tea party after".
One can watch this misery on YouTube

From EWTN library Ban on women priests infallible Those who are involved in women-priests ordinations or propagate this idea are NOT CATHOLIC. Our Lord called twelve MEN for His Apostles and no women, very clear message.




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