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| St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori: A Meditation on Paradise for the Paschal Season |
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Posted by: Stone - 04-18-2022, 06:28 AM - Forum: Articles by Catholic authors
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The Joys of Heaven
I.
Oh, happy are we if we suffer with patience on earth the troubles of this present life! Distress of circumstances, fears, bodily infirmities, persecutions and crosses of every kind, will one day come to an end; and if we be saved, they will all become for us subjects of joy and glory in paradise: Your sorrow (says the Saviour, to encourage us) shall be turned into joy.
So great are the delights of paradise, that they can neither be explained nor understood by us mortals: Eye hath not seen (says the Apostle), nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, what things God hath prepared for those who love Him. Beauties like the beauties of paradise, eye hath never seen; harmonies like unto the harmonies of paradise, ear hath never heard; nor hath ever human heart gained the comprehension of the joys which God hath prepared for those who love Him.
Beautiful is the sight of a landscape adorned with hills, plains, woods and views of the sea. Beautiful is the sight of a garden abounding with fruit, flowers and fountains. Oh, how much more beautiful is paradise!
II.
To understand how great the joys of paradise are, it is enough to know that in that blessed realm resides a God Omnipotent, Whose care is to render happy His beloved souls. St. Bernard says that paradise is a place where “there is nothing that thou wouldst not, and everything that thou wouldst.” There shalt thou not find anything that is displeasing to thyself, and everything thou dost desire thou shalt find: “There is nothing that thou wouldst not.” In paradise there is no night; no seasons of winter and summer; but one perpetual day of unvaried serenity, and one perpetual spring of unvaried delight.
No more persecutions, no jealousies are there; for there do all in sincerity love one another, and each rejoices in each other’s good, as if it were his own. No more bodily infirmities, no pains are there, for the body is no longer subject to suffering; no poverty is there, for everyone is rich to the full, not having anything more to desire; no more fears are there, for the soul being confirmed in grace can sin no more, nor lose that supreme good which it possesses.
III.
“There is everything that thou wouldst.” “Nihil est nolis, totum est quod velis.” In paradise thou shalt have whatsoever thou desirest. There the sight is satisfied in beholding that city so beautiful and its citizens all clothed in royal apparel, for they are all kings of that everlasting kingdom.
There shall we see the beauty of Mary, whose appearance will be more beautiful than that of all the Angels and Saints together.
We shall see the Beauty of Jesus, which will immeasurably surpass the beauty of Mary.
Smell will be satisfied with the perfumes of paradise. Hearing will be satisfied with the harmonies of heaven and the canticles of the blessed, who will all with ravishing sweetness sing the divine praises for all eternity.
Ah, my God, I deserve not paradise, but hell; yet Thy death gives me a hope of obtaining it. I desire and ask paradise of Thee, not so much in order to enjoy, as in order to love Thee everlastingly, secure that it will never more be possible for me to lose Thee.
O Mary, my Mother, O Star of the Sea, it is for thee, by thy prayers, to conduct me to paradise.
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| St. Bernadette’s Incorrupt Relics Tour the U.S. for the First Time Ever |
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Posted by: Stone - 04-17-2022, 07:08 AM - Forum: General Commentary
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Very Novus Ordo-y but important nonetheless...
St. Bernadette’s Incorrupt Relics Tour the U.S. for the First Time Ever
![[Image: bernadette-tour-700x438.jpg]](https://www.churchpop.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/bernadette-tour-700x438.jpg)
Church Pop | Apr 8, 2022
This is so exciting!
The incorrupt relics of St. Bernadette Soubirous will travel through the United States for the first time ever this year. The tour began in Miami, Fla. on April 7, 2022 and will conclude on Aug. 4, 2022 in Los Angeles, Calif.
The relics will visit several additional states, including Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Texas, South Carolina, and Wisconsin.
Click here for the full itinerary.
The website explains that the Sisters of Nevers distributed the relics “to various houses of their congregation.”
The relic traveling in a reliquary to the United States is an ex-carne (from the flesh) relic.
Rector of the Sanctuary of Lourdes Olivier Ribadeau Dumas expressed deep joy and enthusiasm for this U.S. tour of St. Bernadette’s relics.
He says he “deeply rejoices in this pilgrimage,” where “this little Bernadette, in her simplicity, in her joy, who is coming to join you, who is coming to invite you to pray to the Virgin Mary in complete trust, to renew your confidence in the one who became the handmaid of the Lord.”
Here’s his video below:
The website also says the faithful may obtain a plenary indulgence through the veneration of the relics, along with following the three usual conditions: receiving sacramental confession, holy communion, and praying for the Holy Father, as well as detaching oneself from all sin.
Here’s a video of the relics entering the first U.S. Church – Our Lady of Lourdes in Miami.
St. Bernadette and Our Lady of Lourdes, please pray for us!
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| St. John Chrysostom: Homily on "Father, if it be possible..." |
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Posted by: Stone - 04-16-2022, 07:55 PM - Forum: Fathers of the Church
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Against Marcionists and Manichæans
On the passage Father if it be possible let this cup pass from me, nevertheless not as I will but as you will: and against Marcionists and Manichæans: also, that we ought not to rush into danger, but to prefer the will of God before every other will.
1. I lately inflicted a severe stroke upon those who are grasping and wish to overreach others; I did this not in order to wound them but in order to correct them; not because I hate the men, but because I detest their wickedness. For so the physician also lances the abscess, not as making an attack upon the suffering body, but as a means of contending with the disorder and the wound. Well today let us grant them a little respite, that they may recover from their distress, and not recoil from the remedy by being perpetually afflicted. Physicians also act thus; after the use of the knife they apply plasters and drugs, and let a few days pass while they devise things to allay the pain. Following their example let me today, devising means for them to derive benefit from my discourse, start a question concerning doctrine, directing my speech to the words which have been read. For I imagine that many feel perplexed as to the reason why these words were uttered by Christ: and it is probable also that any heretics who are present may pounce upon the words, and thereby upset many of the more simple-minded brethren.
In order then to build a wall against their attack and to relieve those who are in perplexity from bewilderment and confusion, let us take in hand the words which have been cited, and dwell upon the passage, and dive into the depths of its meanings. For reading does not suffice unless knowledge also be added to it. Even as the eunuch of Candace read, but until one came who instructed him in the meaning of what he was reading he derived no great benefit from it. In order therefore that you may not be in the same condition attend to what is said, exert your understanding, let me have your mind disengaged from other thoughts, let your eye be quick-sighted, your intention earnest: let your soul be set free from worldly cares, that we may not sow our words upon the thorns, or upon the rock, or by the way side, but that we may till a deep and rich field, and so reap an abundant harvest. For if you thus attend to what is said you will render my labour lighter and facilitate the discovery of that which you are seeking.
What then is the meaning of the passage which has been read Father if it be possible let this cup pass from me? What does the saying mean? For we ought to unlock the passage by first giving a clear interpretation of the words. What then does the saying mean? Father if it be possible take away the cross. How do you say? Is he ignorant whether this be possible or impossible? Who would venture to say this? Yet the words are those of one who is ignorant: for the addition of the word if, is indicative of doubt: but as I said we must not attend to the words merely, but turn our attention to the sense, and learn the aim of the speaker, and the cause and the occasion, and by putting all these things together turn out the hidden meaning. The unspeakable Wisdom then, who knows the Father even as the Father knows the Son, how should he have been ignorant of this? For this knowledge concerning His passion was not greater than the knowledge concerning His essential nature, which He alone accurately knew. For as the Father knows me He says even so know I the Father. John 10:15 And why do I speak of the only begotten Son of God? For even the prophets appear not to have been ignorant of this fact, but to have known it clearly, and to have declared beforehand with much assurance that so it must come to pass, and would certainly be.
Hear at least how variously all announce the cross. First of all the patriarch Jacob: for directing his discourse to Him he says Out of a tender shoot did you spring up: by the word shoot signifying the Virgin and the undefiled nature of Mary. Then indicating the cross he said You lied down and slumber as a lion, and as a lion's cub; who shall raise him up? Ibid Here he called death a slumbering and a sleep, and with death he combined the resurrection when he said who shall raise him up? No one indeed save he himself — wherefore also Christ said I have power to lay down my life, and I have power to take it again, John 10:18 and again Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up. John 2:19 And what is meant by the words you lied down and slumber as a lion? For as the lion is terrible not only when he is awake but even when he is sleeping, so Christ also not only before the cross but also on the cross itself and in the very moment of death was terrible, and wrought at that time great miracles, turning back the light of the sun, cleaving the rocks, shaking the earth, rending the veil, alarming the wife of Pilate, convicting Judas of sin, for then he said I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood; Matthew 27:4 and the wife of Pilate declared Have nothing to do with that just man, for I have suffered many things in a dream because of Him. Matthew 27:19 The darkness took possession of the earth, and night appeared at midday, then death was brought to nought, and his tyranny was destroyed: many bodies at least of the saints which slept arose. These things the patriarch declaring beforehand, and demonstrating that, even when crucified, Christ would be terrible, said you lied down and slumber as a lion. He did not say you shall slumber but you slumbered, because it would certainly come to pass. For it is the custom of the prophets in many places to predict things to come as if they were already past. For just as it is impossible that things which have happened should not have happened, so is it impossible that this should not happen, although it be future. On this account they predict things to come under the semblance of past time, indicating by this means the impossibility of their failure, the certainty of their coming to pass. So also spoke David, signifying the cross; They pierced my hands and my feet. He did not say they shall pierce but they pierced they counted all my bones. And not only does he say this, but he also describes the things which were done by the soldiers. They parted my garments among themselves, and upon my vesture did they cast lots. And not only this but he also relates they gave Him gall to eat, and vinegar to drink. For he says they gave me gall for my food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. And again another one says that they smote him with a spear, for they shall look on Him whom they pierced. Zechariah 12:10 Esaias again in another fashion predicting the cross said He was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before his shearer is dumb, so opens he not his mouth. In his humiliation his judgment was taken away. Isaiah 53:7-8
2. Now observe I pray how each one of these writers speaks as if concerning things already past, signifying by the use of this tense the absolute inevitable certainty of the event. So also David, describing this tribunal, said, Why did the heathen rage and the people imagine vain things? The Kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against his Christ. And not only does he mention the trial, and the cross, and the incidents on the cross, but also him who betrayed him, declaring that he was his familiar companion and . For, he says, he that eats bread with me did magnify his heel against me. Thus also does he foretell the voice which Christ was to utter on the cross saying My God, My God why have you forsaken me? and the burial also does he describe: They laid me in the lowest pit, in dark places, and in the shadow of death. And the resurrection: you shall not leave my soul in hell, neither shall you suffer your Holy One to see corruption; and the ascension: God has gone up with a merry noise, the Lord with the sound of the trump. And the session on the right hand: The Lord said to my Lord sit thou on my right hand until I make your foes your footstool. But Esaias also declares the cause; saying, for the transgressions of my people is He brought to death, Isaiah 53:8 and because all have strayed like sheep, therefore is he sacrificed. Isaiah 53:6-7 Then also he adds mention of the result, saying by his stripes we have all been healed: Isaiah 53:5 and he has borne the sins of many. Isaiah 53:12 The prophets then knew the cross, and the cause of the cross and that which was effected by it, and the burial and the resurrection, and the ascension, and the betrayal, and the trial, and described them all with accuracy: and is He who sent them and commanded them to speak these things ignorant of them Himself? What reasonable man would say that? Do you see that we must not attend merely to the words? For this is not the only perplexing passage, but what follows is more perplexing. For what does He say? Father if it be possible let this cup pass from me. Here he will be found to speak not only as if ignorant, but as if deprecating the cross: For this is what He says. If it be permissible let me not be subjected to crucifixion and death. And yet when Peter, the leader of the apostles, said this to Him, Be it far from you Lord, this shall not happen unto You, He rebuked him so severely as to say; get you behind me Satan, you are an offense unto me, for you savour not the things which be of God, but those which be of men: Matthew 16:22-23 although a short time before he had pronounced him blessed. But to escape crucifixion seemed to Him so monstrous a thing, that him who had received the revelation from the Father, him whom He had pronounced blessed, him who had received the keys of Heaven, He called Satan, and an offense, and accused him of not savouring the things which be of God because he said to Him, Be it far from you Lord, this shall never be unto You— namely crucifixion. He then who thus vituperated the disciple, and poured such an invective upon him as actually to call him Satan (after having bestowed such great praise on him), because he said avoid crucifixion, how could He desire not to be crucified? And how after these things when drawing the picture of the good shepherd could He declare this to be the special proof of his virtue, that he should be sacrificed for the sake of the sheep, thus saying, I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep? John 10:11 Nor did He even stop there, but also added, but he that is an hireling and not the shepherd sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep, and flees. John 10:12 If then it is the sign of the good shepherd to sacrifice himself, and of the hireling to be unwilling to undergo this, how can He who calls Himself the good shepherd beseech that he may not be sacrificed? And how could He say I lay down my life of myself? For if you lay down your life of yourself, how can you beseech another that you may not lay it down? And how is it that Paul marvels at Him on account of this declaration, saying Who being in the form of God counted it not a prize to be on an equality with God, but emptied Himself taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men, and being found in fashion as a man he humbled himself, becoming obedient even unto death, yea, the death of the cross. Philippians 2:6-8 And He Himself again speaks in this wise, For this cause does my Father love me, because I lay down my life that I may take it again. John 10:17 For if He does not desire to lay it down, but deprecates the act, and beseeches the Father, how is it that He is loved on this account? For love is of those who are like minded. And how does Paul say again Love one another even as Christ also loved us and gave Himself for us? Ephesians 5:2 And Christ Himself when He was about to be crucified said Father, the hour has come: glorify your Son, John 17:1 speaking of the cross as glory: and how then does He deprecate it here when He urges it there? For that the cross is glory listen to what the evangelist says the Holy Ghost was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. John 7:39 Now the hearing of this expression is grace was not yet given because the enmity towards men was not yet destroyed by reason that the cross had not yet done its work. For the cross destroyed the enmity of God towards man, brought about the reconciliation, made the earth Heaven, associated men with angels, pulled down the citadel of death, unstrung the force of the devil, extinguished the power of sin, delivered the world from error, brought back the truth, expelled the Demons, destroyed temples, overturned altars, suppressed the sacrificial offering, implanted virtue, founded the Churches. The cross is the will of the Father, the glory of the Son, the rejoicing of the Spirit, the boast of Paul, for, he says, God forbid that I should boast save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Galatians 6:14 The cross is that which is brighter than the sun, more brilliant than the sunbeam: for when the sun is darkened then the cross shines brightly: and the sun is darkened not because it is extinguished, but because it is overpowered by the brilliancy of the cross. The cross has broken our bond, it has made the prison of death ineffectual, it is the demonstration of the love of God. For God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that every one who believes in Him should not perish. John 3:16 And again Paul says If being enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son. Romans 5:10 The cross is the impregnable wall, the invulnerable shield, the safeguard of the rich, the resource of the poor, the defense of those who are exposed to snares, the armour of those who are attacked, the means of suppressing passion, and of acquiring virtue, the wonderful and marvellous sign. For this generation seeks after a sign: and no sign shall be given it save the sign of Jonas; Matthew 12:39 and again Paul says, for the Jews ask for a sign and the Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified. 1 Corinthians 1:22 The cross opened Paradise, it brought in the robber, it conducted into the kingdom of Heaven the race of man which was about to perish, and was not worthy even of earth. So great are the benefits which have sprung and do spring from the cross, and yet does He not desire to be crucified I ask? Who would venture to say this? And if He did not desire it who compelled Him, who forced Him to it? And why did He send prophets beforehand announcing that He would be crucified, if He was not to be, and did not wish to undergo it? And for what reason does He call the cross a cup, if He did not desire to be crucified? For that is the word of one who signifies the desire which he has concerning the act. For as the cup is sweet to those who are thirsty so also was crucifixion to Him: wherefore also He said With desire have I desired to eat this Passover with you, Luke 22:15 and this He meant not absolutely, but relatively, because after that evening the cross was awaiting Him.
3. He then who calls the thing glory, and rebukes the disciple because he was trying to hinder Him, and proves that what constitutes the good shepherd is his sacrificing himself on behalf of the sheep, and declares that he earnestly longs for this thing, and willingly goes to meet it, how is it that He beseeches it may not come to pass? And if He did not wish it what difficulty was there in hindering those who came for that purpose? But in fact you behold Him hastening towards the deed. At least when they came upon Him He said Whom do you seek? and they replied Jesus. Then He says to them Lo! I am He: and they went backward and fell to the ground. John 18:6 Thus having first crippled them and proved that He was able to escape their hands, He then surrendered Himself, that you might learn that not by compulsion or force, or the tyrannical power of those who attacked Him, did He unwillingly submit to this, but willingly with purpose and desire, preparing for it a long time before. Therefore also were prophets sent beforehand, and patriarchs foretold the events, and by means of words and deeds the cross was prefigured. For the sacrifice of Isaac also signified the cross to us: wherefore also Christ said Abraham your father rejoiced to see my glory and he saw it and was glad. John 8:56 The patriarch then was glad beholding the image of the cross, and does He Himself deprecate it? Thus Moses also prevailed over Amalek when he displayed the figure of the cross: and one may observe countless things happening in the Old Testament descriptive by anticipation of the cross. For what reason then was this the case if He who was to be crucified did not wish it to come to pass? And the sentence which follows this is yet more perplexing. For having said Let this cup pass from me He added nevertheless not as I will but as You will. Matthew 26:39 For herein as far as the actual expression is concerned we find two wills opposed to one another: if at least the Father desires Him to be crucified, but He Himself does not desire it. And yet we everywhere behold Him desiring and purposing the same things as the Father. For when He says grant to them, as I and Thou are one that they also may be one in us, John 17:11 it is equivalent to saying that the purpose of the Father and of the Son is one. And when He says The words which I speak I speak not myself, but the Father which dwells in me, He does these works, John 14:10 He indicates the same thing. And when He says I have not come of myself John 7:28 and I can of my own self do nothing John 5:30 he does not say this as signifying that He has been deprived of authority, either to speak or to act (away with the thought!), but as desiring to prove the concord of his purpose, both in words and deeds, and in every kind of transaction, to be one and the same with the Father, as I have already frequently demonstrated. For the expression I speak not of myself is not an abrogation of authority but a demonstration of agreement. How then does He say here Nevertheless not as I will but as You will? Perhaps I have excited a great conflict in your mind, but be on the alert: for although many words have been uttered I know well that your zeal is still fresh: for the discourse is now hastening on to the solution. Why then has this form of speech been employed? Attend carefully, The doctrine of the incarnation was very hard to receive. For the exceeding measure of His lovingkindness and the magnitude of His condescension were full of awe, and needed much preparation to be accepted. For consider what a great thing it was to hear and to learn that God the ineffable, the incorruptible, the unintelligible, the invisible, the incomprehensible, in whose hand are the ends of the earth, who looks upon the earth, and causes it to tremble, who touches the mountains, and makes them smoke, the weight of whose condescension not even the Cherubim were able to bear but veiled their faces by the shelter of their wings, that this God who surpasses all understanding, and baffles all calculation, having passed by angels, archangels, and all the spiritual powers above, deigned to become man, and to take flesh formed of earth and clay, and enter the womb of a virgin, and be borne there the space of nine months, and be nourished with milk, and suffer all things to which man is liable. Inasmuch then as that which was to happen was so strange as to be disbelieved by many even when it had taken place, He first of all sends prophets beforehand, announcing this very fact. For instance the patriarch predicted it saying You sprang from a tender shoot my son: you lied down and slumber as a lion; Genesis 49:9 and Esaias saying Behold the Virgin shall conceive and bear a son and they shall call His name Emmanuel; Isaiah 7:14 and elsewhere again We beheld Him as a young child, as a root in a dry ground; Isaiah 53:2 and by the dry ground he means the virgin's womb. And again unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, Isaiah 9:6 and again there shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a flower shall spring out of his root. Isaiah 11:1 And Baruch in the book of Jeremiah says this is our God: no other shall be reckoned by the side of Him: He found out every path of knowledge and gave it to Jacob His servant, and Israel his beloved. After these things also He appeared upon the earth, and held converse with men. And David signifying His incarnate presence said He shall come down like the rain into a fleece of wool, and like the drop which distills upon the earth because He noiselessly and gently entered into the Virgin's womb.
4. But these proofs alone did not suffice, but even when He had come, lest what had taken place should be deemed an illusion, He warranted the fact not only by the sight but by duration of time and by passing through all the phases incident to man. For He did not enter once for all into a man matured and completely developed, but into a virgin's womb, so as to undergo the process of gestation and birth and suckling and growth, and by the length of the time and the variety of the stages of growth to give assurance of what had come to pass. And not even here were the proofs concluded, but even when bearing about the body of flesh He suffered it to experience the infirmities of human nature and to be hungry, and thirsty, and to sleep and feel fatigue; finally also when He came to the cross He suffered it to undergo the pains of the flesh. For this reason also streams of sweat flowed down from it and an angel was discovered strengthening it, and He was sad and down-cast: for before He uttered these words He said my soul is troubled, and exceeding sorrowful ever unto death. Matthew 26:38 If then after all these things have taken place the wicked mouth of the devil speaking through Marcion of Pontus, and Valentinus, and Manichæus of Persia and many more heretics, has attempted to overthrow the doctrine of the Incarnation and has vented a diabolical utterance declaring that He did not become flesh, nor was clothed with it, but that this was mere fancy, and illusion, a piece of acting and pretence, although the sufferings, the death, the burial, the thirst, cry aloud against this teaching; supposing that none of these things had happened would not the devil have sown these wicked doctrines of impiousness much more widely? For this reason, just as He hungered, as He slept, as He felt fatigue, as He ate and drank, so also did He deprecate death, thereby manifesting his humanity, and that infirmity of human nature which does not submit without pain to be torn from this present life. For had He not uttered any of these things, it might have been said that if He were a man He ought to have experienced human feelings. And what are these? In the case of one about to be crucified, fear and agony, and pain in being torn from present life: for a sense of the charm which surrounds present things is implanted in human nature: on this account wishing to prove the reality of the fleshly clothing, and to give assurance of the incarnation He manifests the actual feelings of man with full demonstration.
This is one consideration, but there is another no less important. And what is this? Christ having come to earth wished to instruct men in all virtue: now the instructor teaches not only by word, but also by deed: for this is the teacher's best method of teaching. A pilot for instance when he makes the apprentice sit by his side shows him how he handles the rudder, but he also joins speech to action, and does not depend upon words alone or example alone: in like manner also an architect when he has placed by his side the man who is intended to learn from him how a wall is constructed, shows him the way by means of action as well as by means of oral teaching; so also with the weaver, and embroiderer, and gold refiner, and coppersmith — and every kind of art has teachers who instruct both orally and practically. Inasmuch then as Christ Himself came to instruct us in all virtue, He both tells us what ought to be done, and does it. For, he says, he who does and teaches the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:19 Now observe; He commanded men to be lowly-minded, and meek, and He taught this by His words: but see how He also teaches it by His deeds. For having said Blessed are the poor in spirit, blessed are the meek, Matthew 5:3-4 He shows how these virtues ought to be practised. How then did He teach them? He took a towel and girded Himself and washed the disciples' feet. John 13:4-5 What can match this lowliness of mind? For He teaches this virtue no longer by His words only but also by His deeds. Again He teaches meekness and forbearance by His acts. How so? He was struck on the face by the servant of the high priest, and said If I have spoken evil bear witness of the evil: but if well why do you smite me? John 18:23 He commanded men to pray for their enemies: this also again He teaches by means of His acts: for when He had ascended the cross He said Father forgive them for they know not what they do. Luke 23:34 As therefore He commanded men to pray so does He Himself pray, instructing you to do so by his own unflagging utterances of prayer. Again He commanded us to do good to those who hate us, and to deal fairly with those who treat us despitefully: Matthew 5:44 and this He did by his own acts: for he cast devils out of the Jews, who said that He Himself was possessed by a devil, He bestowed benefits on His persecutors, He fed those who were forming designs against Him, He conducted into His kingdom those who were desiring to crucify Him. Again He said to His disciples Get you no gold nor silver neither brass in your purses, Matthew 10:9 thus training them for poverty: and this also He taught by His example, thus saying, Foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man has not where to lay His head. Matthew 8:20 And He had neither table nor dwelling nor anything else of that kind: not because He was at a loss to obtain them, but because He was instructing men to go in that path. After the same manner then he taught them also to pray. They said to Him Teach us to pray. Luke 11:1 Therefore also He prays, in order that they may learn to pray. But it was necessary for them not merely to learn to pray but also how they ought to pray: for this reason He delivered to them a prayer in this form: Our Father which art in Heaven hallowed be your name, Your kingdom come: Your will be done, as in Heaven, so on earth. Give us this day our daily bread: and forgive us our debts as we also forgive our debtors: and lead us not into temptation: Luke 11:2-4 that is into danger, into snares. Since then He commanded them to pray lead us not into temptation, He instructs them in this very precept by putting it in practice Himself, saying Father if it be possible, let this cup pass away from me, thus teaching all the saints not to plunge into dangers, not to fling themselves into them but to wait for their approach, and to exhibit all possible courage, only not to rush forwards themselves, or to be the first to advance against terrors. Why so, pray? Both to teach us lowliness of mind, and also to deliver us from the charge of vainglory. On this account it is said also in this passage that when He had spoken these words He went away and prayed: and after He had prayed He speaks thus to His disciples Could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you enter not into temptation. Matthew 26:39-41 Do you see He not only prays but also admonishes? For the Spirit indeed is willing, He said, but the flesh is weak. Matthew 26:41 Now this He said by way of emptying their soul of vanity, and delivering them from pride, teaching them self-restraint, training them to practice moderation. Therefore the prayer which He wished to teach them, He Himself also offered, speaking after the manner of men, not according to His Godhead (for the divine nature is impassable) but according to His manhood. And He prayed as instructing us to pray, and even to seek deliverance from distress; but, if this be not permitted, then to acquiesce in what seems good to God. Therefore He said Nevertheless not as I will but as You will: not because He had one will and the Father another; but in order that He might instruct men even if they were in distress and trembling, even if danger came upon them, and they were unwilling to be torn from present life, nevertheless to postpone their own will to the will of God: even as Paul also when he had been instructed practically exhibited both these principles; for he besought that temptations might be removed from him, thus saying For this thing I besought the Lord thrice: 2 Corinthians 12:8 and yet since it did not please God to remove it, he says Wherefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in insults, in persecutions. 2 Corinthians 12:10 But perhaps what I have said is not quite clear: therefore I will make it clearer. Paul incurred many dangers and prayed that he might not be exposed to them. Then he heard Christ saying my grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness. 2 Corinthians 12:9 As soon then as he saw what the will of God was, he in future submitted his will to God's will. By means of this prayer then Christ taught both these truths, that we should not plunge into dangers, but rather pray that we may not fall into them; but if they come upon us we should bear them bravely, and postpone our own will to the will of God. Knowing these things then let us pray that we may never enter into temptation: but if we do enter it let us beseech God to give us patience and courage, and let us honour His will in preference to every will of our own. For then we shall pass through this present life with safety, and shall obtain the blessings to come: which may we all receive by the favour and lovingkindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, with Whom be to the Father, together with the Holy Ghost, glory, might, honour, now and for ever world without end. Amen.
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| Cancer Vaccine in the works using mRNA technology |
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Posted by: Stone - 04-16-2022, 05:22 AM - Forum: Health
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Promising cancer vaccine in the works utilizing similar mRNA technology that combats COVID: Duke researchers
Duke researchers find potential in a cancer vaccine based on the same messenger RNA, or mRNA, technology used by COVID-19 vaccines
Fox News | April 15, 2022
COVID-19 vaccine technology doesn’t just fight viruses – it can combat cancer.
Duke researchers find potential in a cancer vaccine based on the same messenger RNA, or mRNA, technology used by COVID-19 vaccines to combat a type of breast cancer that over expresses a protein called HER2, according to a recent Fox 8 report.
"It is a product which is RNA nucleic acid which encodes a specific protein and then that can be encapsulated in something we like to call a lipid nanoparticle, which is really a little fat bubble, and that can be injected into your body and sort of teaches your body what to go after immunologically," said Dr. Zachary Hartman, assistant professor in the departments of surgery, pathology, and immunology at Duke University School of Medicine,
Hartman works in the lab at Duke that’s spearheading the research.
Dr. Herbert Kim Lyerly, who runs the lab, has been at Duke for almost 40 years, seeing first-hand how cancer therapy has evolved from chemotherapy, with its myriad side effects, to targeted immunotherapy, per the report.
"Think about that: in my career, a complete reversal of fortune for immunotherapy to be something to being considered an outsider, not likely to ever work, to being the most prominent form of cancer therapy and the development of new cancer therapeutics in the world, today," added Lyerly, George Barth Gellar professor of cancer research and professor of surgery, immunology and pathology at Duke University.
According to Clinical Cancer Research, the HER2 protein, which is associated with aggressive tumor growth, goes on overdrive in 20% to 30% of breast cancers, so treatments are targeted against this protein, but drug resistance limits its use, said Lyerly.
So in 2019, the Duke researchers found potential in a phase 1 clinical trial with a vaccine that induced anti-tumor growth in seven of the 22 patients who had recurrent breast cancer, with two continuing to survive at the time of the published research, according to an updated July 9, 2019 press release.
He told Fox News, "We have been working on this [vaccine mRNA] technology for many years. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the potency of the approach."
Although the current vaccine, which is a synthetic mRNA vaccine, is directed against breast cancer, it can be used for other cancers that express the HER2 protein, including lung cancer, stomach, and esophageal cancer, Lverly added.
"Vaccines stimulate the immune system, specifically killer T cells, that now are active and react to seek and destroy tumor cells. It programs the immune system to not ignore the tumor cells, but to recognize them as bad guys to kill them," Lyerly told Fox News.
He assuages some people’s concern that mRNA technology can be harmful by explaining the context of how mRNA vaccines work in our body during the pandemic, per the news outlet.
"You have mRNAs – billions of mRNA copies in your body, right now. And so, to be concerned that the introduction of an mRNA coding of a viral protein is going to be harmful to you, again, doesn’t make a lot of sense to me, because if you happen to be infected with a coronavirus, you’re going to have a thousand times more mRNAs from the virus invading your body."
Vaccination is the best way to protect against COVID-19, he added, who disclosed to Fox News that he has equity in AlphaVax, a biopharmaceutical company that has patents on mRNA vaccines.
But although the study’s vaccine works to a certain degree on its own against breast cancer, the tumor can recruit "backup strategies" to stay alive, according to a 2020 Duke press release.
So the researchers are now in the part of the research that tests whether a new treatment works, called a Phase 2 trial, that combines the vaccine with an immune checkpoint inhibitor called pembrolizumab, which when used alone showed limited benefit against breast cancer but when combined with the vaccine, carries a "one-two punch," the press release added.
"By working in tandem, the vaccine primes the immune system and the checkpoint inhibitor then rallies the T-cells to action, resulting in pronounced tumor reduction and long-term tumor-free survival," the press release said.
"I think that within my lifetime we will see cancer as a more managed disease," said Hartman.
"We’re going to turn the dial and be able to treat more and more of these kinds of cancers in the coming years and decades to where it’s not quite the same sentence it was 20 or 30 years ago. I don’t think we’ll ever be able to rid the world of cancer, but I think we will be able to prevent a lot of cancers and then a lot of cancers that we’ll be able to catch early and treat, we’ll have very effective treatments."
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| Abp. Viganò meditation for Good Friday: ‘Let us bend the knee before the Wood of Salvation’ |
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Posted by: Stone - 04-15-2022, 08:08 PM - Forum: Archbishop Viganò
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Abp. Viganò meditation for Good Friday: ‘Let us bend the knee before the Wood of Salvation’
In the silence of this Good Friday, when nature itself silently attends the immolation of God – of God! – almost incredulous at the hardness of so many hearts,
let us prostrate ourselves before the Cross.
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The crucifixion by Giotto in Scrovegni Chapel
Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò
Fri Apr 15, 2022 EDT
(LifeSiteNews) – Astiterunt reges terræ, et principes convenerunt in unum, adversus Dominum, et adversus Christum ejus (Ps 2 :2). The kings of the earth and the princes have allied themselves against the Lord and against Christ.
The Psalm which begins the First Nocturn of Matins on this day declaims succinctly. Let us break their bonds; let us cast away their yoke from us! Is this not what we have been seeing happening right before our eyes for a long, too long, a time? Do not the powerful and the elite want to cancel every tie with God and rebel against His holy Law? Do they not seek to disfigure the image of the Creator in the creature and the likeness of the Holy Trinity in man? And how many times are we ourselves tempted to withdraw from the sweet yoke of Christ, ending by making ourselves slaves of the world, the flesh, and the devil?
All of today’s liturgy resounds with the indignation of the Divine Majesty; of the dismay of the provident Father at the revolt of His children; of the sorrow of the Son over the ingratitude of man; of the bitter disappointment of the Paraclete at the insane obstinacy in evil of those who make themselves blind to the Truth and deaf to the Word of God.
The silence of the Bride of the Lamb, who yesterday stripped herself in her altars, recalling the division of her Lord’s garments, brings us back to the severe liturgy of Calvary, to the solemn sacred action of the Passion, whose divine celebrant intoned the antiphon Deus, Deus meus, quare me dereliquisti? – My God, My God, why have you abandoned me? (Ps 21:1), which was misunderstood by those who witnessed that rite.
Eliam vocat iste – He is calling Elijah – said those who were present, unaware of having before them the God Incarnate who was bringing to fulfillment, right before their eyes, exactly what David had prophesied in the twenty-first Psalm. Speravit in Domino, eripiat eum: salvum faciat eum, quoniam vult eum – He hoped in the Lord, let him deliver him: let him save him, since he desires him. And they repeated, as we read in the Passion: Si Filius Dei es, descende de cruce! – If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross! And again: Diviserunt sibi vestimenta mea, et super vestem meam miserunt sortem – They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots. At the foot of the Cross, the soldiers rolled dice for the Lord’s seamless garment, without knowing that by this gesture they were taking part in the sacred representation prophesied by Scripture.
If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross! What foolishness. They did not understand that precisely because that man disfigured by the torments of the Praetorium, the scourging, the crowning with thorns, the ascent to Golgotha and the crucifixion was the Son of God, He did not want to descend from the cross.
The sacrifice of a man, even the most heroic and atrocious, could never have been able to repair the infinite gravity of original sin and the sins of all times: in order to be able to redeem us from being children of wrath and restore us to the order of Grace, it was necessary that God die on that cross, or rather the Man-God, He who from all Eternity had answered Ecce, venio – Behold, I come – to the voice of the Father; He who in view of whose Incarnation the divine Wisdom had prepared the Immaculate Virgin, the most worthy tabernacle of the Most High – Domus Aurea – the House of Gold, the Ark of the new and eternal Covenant, the Seat of Wisdom.
Foderunt manus meas et pedes meos: dinumeraverunt omnia ossa mea – They have pierced my hands and my feet: they have numbered all my bones. And those most sacred hands, those blessed feet that were pierced by nails, even though the Roman custom was that the condemned should only be tied to the cross, should have opened the eyes of a people who heard those words repeated in the synagogues, words that the High Priests knew by heart, words that the doctors of the Law taught to Jewish children. Potaverunt me aceto, the Psalm warned – they gave me vinegar to drink – while a soldier tried to give the dying Lord a drink with a reed.
We should ask ourselves if the ignorance of the Jewish people due to the corruption of the Sanhedrin does not sound like a terrible warning for today’s High Priests, who are equally responsible for the ignorance of the Christian people; and if the threat that the High Priests then saw in the meek Nazarene who performed miracles and preached the Gospel, to the point of plotting to send him to death by the hand of the civil authority, should not make the present High Priests tremble, who even today resort to the kings of the earth and to princes in order to impede His Kingdom, with the sole intention of maintaining their power and social prestige.
Vinea mea electa, ego te plantavi: quomodo conversa es in amaritudinem, ut me crucifigeres, et Barabbam dimitteres? Sepivi te, et lapides elegi ex te, et ædificavi turrim. These are the words of the Responsory of the First Nocturn of Matins: O my beloved vineyard, it was I who planted you: how could you have given me bitter fruit, to the point of crucifying me and setting Barabbas free? I fenced you off; I removed the stones from your soil; I built a watchtower for you.
To this vineyard, cultivated with so much care, Divine Wisdom cries her loving and tormented warning: Convertere ad Dominum Deum tuum – Be converted to the Lord your God – and repeats it during the pangs of the Passion, in contemplating the betrayal of Jerusalem, the apostasy of Israel. We tremble, dear children, in thinking of how great is the torment of Our Savior in contemplating the betrayal of those who, redeemed by His Most Precious Blood and purchased at the price of so much suffering, today once again condemn the Lord to death and choose to free Barabbas.
Tamquam ad latronem existis cum gladiis et fustibus comprehendere me: quotidie apud vos eram in templo docens, et non me tenuistis: et ecce flagellatum ducitis ad crucifigendum – You have come out to seize me, as a thief, with swords and clubs : daily I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not apprehend me : and behold, you lead me to be scourged and crucified. Every day we have heard the Lord teaching in our churches, through the mouth of His Ministers, and today there are those who move against Him with swords and clubs, as if he were a malefactor. Adversus Dominum, et adversus Christum ejus – Against the Lord, and against his Christ.
And if the torment of the Lord betrayed by his followers, abandoned by His Apostles, and denied and left alone at the mercy of His enemies is not sufficient to move us to detest our infidelities, let us think of the dreadful sorrow of His Most Holy Mother, who conceived, nursed, and raised the Man-God, saw him become an adult, and accompanied him for thirty years only to see him betrayed by those whom he had benefited most, sent to die by those who only a few days before had acclaimed Him as the Son of David and the King of Israel.
Let us contemplate Our Lady of Sorrows, whose Immaculate Heart was pierced by a sword, and remain standing at the foot of the Cross along with Saint John. In those terrible hours the Divine Maternity of the Most Blessed Virgin had to know in a unique and intimate way the Passion of Her most beloved Son, so as to merit for Her the title of Co-Redemptrix.
To Her torment at the sufferings of Our Lord was added Her suffering over our sins, the cause of so much grief for the Savior. Each one of them pierced the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, mystically uniting the Divine Son and the Most Pure Mother in the Passion. This should be enough, dear children, to make us detest our sins and spur us not only to convert but to make every breath, every beat of our heart, and every thought a cause of relief and comfort for Them, in a spirit of reparation and expiation.
In the silence of the Parasceve, when nature itself silently attends the immolation of God – of God! – almost incredulous at the hardness of so many hearts, let us prostrate ourselves before the Cross, repeating with Saint Venantius Fortunatus the solemn words of the hymn with which we will accompany the Blessed Sacrament from the Tomb to the altar:
O Crux, ave, spes unica! – Hail O Cross, our only hope! Let us bend the knee before the wood of salvation consecrated by the New Adam.
Salve ara, salve, victima – Hail, altar; Hail, victim.
Beata, cujus brachiis pretium pependit sæculi: statera facta corporis, tulitque prædam tartari. – Blest Tree, whose happy branches bore the wealth that did the world restore; The beam that did that Body weigh which raised up hell’s expected prey.
Let us make our own the consoling verses of Crux Fidelis:
Flecte ramos, arbor alta, tensa laxa viscera,
et rigor lentescat ille quem dedit nativitas,
ut superni membra regis mite tendas stipite.
Bend your branches, ancient tree,
relax your inward pith and rigor,
Make soft that native hardihood,
and stretch gently on your wood
the limbs of the celestial King.
Pange, lingua, gloriosi lauream certaminis
et super crucis trophæo dic triumphum nobilem,
qualiter Redemptor orbis immolatus vicerit.
Sing, my tongue, the glory
of the victorious fight,
and the trophy won on the Cross.
Tell of the noble triumph:
the Redeemer of the world conquered
by immolating Himself.
And so may it be.
+ Carlo Maria Viganò, Archbishop, 15 April 2022. Feria VI in Parasceve, Good Friday 2022.
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| In the Footsteps of JPII: Francis Goes Inter-religious |
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Posted by: Stone - 04-13-2022, 07:36 AM - Forum: Pope Francis
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In the Footsteps of JPII: Francis Goes Inter-religious
gloria.tv [Emphasis mine.] | April 13, 2022
Francis wants to visit the September 14/15 inter-religious congress in Nur-Sultan (formerly: Astana) in Kazakhstan, he told Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in a video (VaticanNews.va).
The congress initiated in 2003, is held every three years on the model of the "Day of Prayer for Peace" convened in Assisi by John Paul II. The 2022 Congress is about the highfalutin theme “The Role of Leaders of World and Traditional Faiths in the Socio-Spiritual Development of Humanity after the Pandemic.”
Scheduled for June 2021, the meeting was postponed due to Covid. The meeting place is a 77 meters pyramid built in 2018 as a conference venue for world and religious leaders.
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| Over 70 bishops warn German bishops that ‘Synodal Path’ will lead to ‘schism’ |
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Posted by: Stone - 04-13-2022, 07:01 AM - Forum: Vatican II and the Fruits of Modernism
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N.B. Unfortunately, while one appreciates the efforts of the conservative members of the Catholic hierarchy who are attempting to reign in the much more progressive members and their radical implementation of Vatican II, they are doing so ... by citing Vatican II. They are pleading with the German clergy to not be so liberal in their interpretation of Vatican II. They have not yet realized that it is because of Vatican II, because of the 'time-bomb' tenets of Vatican II, that these are what the progressive clergy are aggressively attempting to implement in a more ultra-modern way.
Over 70 bishops warn German bishops that ‘Synodal Path’ will lead to ‘schism’
The ‘destructive example’ could eventually lead to a sabotage of the Church’s mission of ‘converting and sanctifying the world,’ wrote the signatories.
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(L-R) Cardinals Francis Arinze, Raymond Burke, Wilfred Napier, George Pell, all signatories of the open letter.
Tue Apr 12, 2022
(LifeSiteNews) – Over 70 cardinals, archbishops, and bishops have written an open letter to Germany’s Catholic hierarchy, warning that the country’s Synodal Way will “inevitably” lead to “schism.”
The “fraternal open letter,” released April 12 on Catholic News Agency (CNA), is addressed to “our brother bishops in Germany,” and warns that Germany’s “Synodal Path” is not limited to one country, but will have “implications for the Church worldwide.”
Based on this very nature of the Church, the signatories noted that “events in Germany compel us to express our growing concern about the nature of the entire German ‘Synodal Path’ process and the content of its various documents.”
Synodal Path risks leading to a ‘dead end’
Germany’s Synodal Path is a highly controversial movement within the German Catholic Church which was launched by the bishops in 2019. Clear, unchangeable Church teaching on homosexuality and LGBT issues has been consistently ignored by its participants, as well as by Germany’s Bishops’ Conference, and recently an [url=https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/german-synodal-path-calls-for-blessing-of-same-sex-couples-womens-ordination/]overwhelming majority[/url] of participants voted in early February to approve Synodal draft documents calling for “blessing” of same-sex couples and the ordination of women.
A number of high-ranking prelates have spoken out against the Synodal Path, but seemingly to no avail. Now, the 74 signatories of the fraternal letter warn of “the confusion that the Synodal Path has already caused and continues to cause, and the potential for schism in the life of the Church that will inevitably result.”
The prelates – including prominent cardinals including Cardinals Raymond Burke, Francis Arinze, and George Pell (full list below) – noted the ancient need for “reform and renewal.” However, they warned that “Christian history is littered with well-intended efforts that lost their grounding in the Word of God, in a faithful encounter with Jesus Christ, in a true listening to the Holy Spirit, and in the submission of our wills to the will of the Father.”
Such failures “ignored the unity, experience, and accumulated wisdom of the Gospel and the Church,” wrote the signatories.
Rejecting the words of Christ, these efforts “were fruitless and damaged both the unity and the evangelical vitality of the Church.” “Germany’s Synodal Path risks leading to precisely such a dead end,” wrote the 74 prelates.
Seven key problems – ‘submission’ to ‘world’ instead of Christ
While noting that the letter was only a brief summary of the many issues, the signatories highlighted seven key problems with the Synodal Path. First they noted the Synodal Path’s actions “undermine the credibility of Church authority; including that of,” as well as Catholic “sexual morality” and even the “reliability of Scripture.”
Secondly, the prelates condemned the Synodal Path documents as “largely inspired not by Scripture and Tradition,” even though the documents displayed a “patina of religious ideas and vocabulary.” Instead, the documents were guided by “sociological analysis and contemporary political, including gender, ideologies,” stated the prelates. “They look at the Church and her mission through the lens of the world rather than through the lens of the truths revealed in Scripture and the Church’s authoritative Tradition.”
RELATED: Head of Polish bishops urges German counterpart not to ‘yield to the pressures of the world’
Troublesome also to the 74 signatories is the manner in which the Synodal Path “seems to reinterpret, and thus diminish, the meaning of Christian freedom.” Gone is the “Christian” understanding of freedom as the “unhampered ability to do what is right,” which is replaced by a basic notion of “autonomy.”
The Synodal Path “displays more submission and obedience to the world and ideologies than to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior,” wrote the signatories. It is marked by being “bureaucracy-heavy, obsessively critical, and inward-looking,” and “becomes anti-evangelical in tone.”
Synodal Path’s ‘spirit’ is ‘fundamentally at odds’ with the ‘Christian life’
Continuing their forthright tone, the signatories noted how “the Synodal Path’s focus on ‘power’ in the Church suggests a spirit fundamentally at odds with the real nature of Christian life.”
The members of the Synodal Path appeared to be demanding structural change, rather than “conversion of hearts,” added the letter.
The “destructive example” of the Synodal Path could lead bishops and would certainly lead “many otherwise faithful laypeople, to distrust the very idea of ‘synodality’,” warned the signatories. They added how such an event would prevent the Church’s mission of “converting and sanctifying the world.” “In a time of confusion, the last thing our community of faith needs is more of the same.”
Signatories double down, call for more bishops to join
The majority of the prelates who signed the letter are from the U.S., including figures such as Cardinal Burke; Denver’s Archbishop Samuel Aquila; San Francisco’s Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone; Archbishop Joseph Naumann, recent former chairman of the USCCB Committee on Pro-Life Activities; Bishop Kevin Rhoades, the recent former head of the USCCB Committee on doctrine; and Tyler, Texas’ Bishop Joseph Strickland.
The signatories also numbered bishops from Africa, particularly Tanzania, along with Nigeria’s Cardinal Francis Arinze, the former Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, and the archbishop emeritus of Durban, Cardinal Wilfred Napier.
Bishop Paprocki, himself a signatory, told CNA that “the German Synodal Way has strayed far from the path of authentic synodality and has placed itself in opposition to the truths of our Catholic faith as taught over the centuries from Scripture and Tradition. In fraternal correction and in union with bishops from around the world, I encourage the Bishops of Germany to return to the true deposit of faith as handed on to us by Jesus Christ.”
“As successors of the Apostles, we’ve got something of a duty to bear witness to the truth,” Cardinal Pell told the National Catholic Register. Pell has previously described the Synodal Path as a “rupture, not compatible with the ancient teaching of Scripture and the Magisterium, not compatible with any legitimate doctrinal developments.”
The signatories have provided an email address, episcopimundi2022@gmail.com, for fellow bishops to write regarding adding their name to the open letter.
Meanwhile Bishop Strickland, a well-known name on LifeSiteNews, called for more bishops to join in “calling our German brothers to return to the Truth of Jesus Christ. Let us pray for a renewal of faith during this Holy Week.”
The full text of the open letter and list of signatories is found below:
Quote:A FRATERNAL OPEN LETTER TO OUR BROTHER BISHOPS IN GERMANY
April 11, 2022
In an age of rapid global communication, events in one nation inevitably impact ecclesial life elsewhere. Thus the “Synodal Path” process, as currently pursued by Catholics in Germany, has implications for the Church worldwide. This includes the local Churches which we pastor and the many faithful Catholics for whom we are responsible.
In that light, events in Germany compel us to express our growing concern about the nature of the entire German “Synodal Path” process and the content of its various documents. Our comments here are deliberately brief. They warrant, and we strongly encourage, more elaboration (as, for example, Archbishop Samuel Aquila’s An Open Letter to the Catholic Bishops of the World) from individual bishops. Nonetheless, the urgency of our joint remarks is rooted in Romans 12, and especially Paul’s caution: Do not be conformed to this world. And their seriousness flows from the confusion that the Synodal Path has already caused and continues to cause, and the potential for schism in the life of the Church that will inevitably result.
The need for reform and renewal is as old as the Church herself. At its root, this impulse is admirable and should never be feared. Many of those involved in the Synodal Path process are doubtless people of outstanding character. Yet Christian history is littered with well-intended efforts that lost their grounding in the Word of God, in a faithful encounter with Jesus Christ, in a true listening to the Holy Spirit, and in the submission of our wills to the will of the Father. These failed efforts ignored the unity, experience, and accumulated wisdom of the Gospel and the Church. Because they failed to heed the words of Jesus, “Apart from me you can do nothing” (Jn 15: 5), they were fruitless and damaged both the unity and the evangelical vitality of the Church. Germany’s Synodal Path risks leading to precisely such a dead end.
As your brother bishops, our concerns include but are not limited to the following:
1. Failing to listen to the Holy Spirit and the Gospel, the Synodal Path’s actions undermine the credibility of Church authority, including that of Pope Francis; Christian anthropology and sexual morality; and the reliability of Scripture.
2. While they display a patina of religious ideas and vocabulary, the German Synodal Path documents seem largely inspired not by Scripture and Tradition — which, for the Second Vatican Council, are “a single sacred deposit of the Word of God” — but by sociological analysis and contemporary political, including gender, ideologies. They look at the Church and her mission through the lens of the world rather than through the lens of the truths revealed in Scripture and the Church’s authoritative Tradition.
3. Synodal Path content also seems to reinterpret, and thus diminish, the meaning of Christian freedom. For the Christian, freedom is the knowledge, the willingness, and the unhampered ability to do what is right. Freedom is not “autonomy.” Authentic freedom, as the Church teaches, is tethered to truth and ordered to goodness and, ultimately, beatitude. Conscience does not create truth, nor is conscience a matter of personal preference or self-assertion. A properly formed Christian conscience remains subject to the truth about human nature and the norms of righteous living revealed by God and taught by Christ’s Church. Jesus is the truth, who sets us free (Jn 8).
4. The joy of the Gospel — essential to Christian life, as Pope Francis so often stresses — seems utterly absent from Synodal Path discussions and texts, a telling flaw for an effort that seeks personal and ecclesial renewal.
5. The Synodal Path process, at nearly every step, is the work of experts and committees: bureaucracy-heavy, obsessively critical, and inward-looking. It thus itself reflects a widespread form of Church sclerosis and, ironically, becomes anti-evangelical in tone. In its effect, the Synodal Path displays more submission and obedience to the world and ideologies than to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
6. The Synodal Path’s focus on “power” in the Church suggests a spirit fundamentally at odds with the real nature of Christian life. Ultimately the Church is not merely an “institution” but an organic community; not egalitarian but familial, complementary, and hierarchical — a people sealed together by love of Jesus Christ and love for each other in his name. The reform of structures is not at all the same thing as the conversion of hearts. The encounter with Jesus, as seen in the Gospel and in the lives of the saints throughout history, changes hearts and minds, brings healing, turns one away from a life of sin and unhappiness, and demonstrates the power of the Gospel.
7. The last and most distressingly immediate problem with Germany’s Synodal Path is terribly ironic. By its destructive example, it may lead some bishops, and will lead many otherwise faithful laypeople, to distrust the very idea of “synodality,” thus further impeding the Church’s necessary conversation about fulfilling the mission of converting and sanctifying the world.
In a time of confusion, the last thing our community of faith needs is more of the same. As you discern the Lord’s will for the Church in Germany, be assured of our prayers for you.
Cardinal Francis Arinze (Onitsha, Nigeria)
Cardinal Raymond Burke (archbishop emeritus of St. Louis, Missouri, USA)
Cardinal Wilfred Napier (archbishop emeritus of Durban, South Africa)
Cardinal George Pell (archbishop emeritus of Sydney, Australia)
Archbishop Samuel Aquila (Denver, Colorado, USA)
Archbishop Emeritus Charles Chaput (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA)
Archbishop Paul Coakley (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA)
Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone (San Francisco, California, USA)
Archbishop Damian Dallu (Songea, Tanzania)
Archbishop Emeritus Joseph Kurtz (Louisville, Kentucky, USA)
Archbishop J. Michael Miller (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada)
Archbishop Joseph Naumann (Kansas City, Kansas, USA)
Archbishop Andrew Nkea (Bamenda, Cameroon)
Archbishop Renatus Nkwande (Mwanza, Tanzania)
Archbishop Gervas Nyaisonga (Mbeya, Tanzania)
Archbishop Gabriel Palmer-Buckle (Cape Coast, Ghana)
Archbishop Emeritus Terrence Prendergast (Ottawa-Cornwall, Ontario, Canada)
Archbishop Jude Thaddaeus Ruwaichi (Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania)
Archbishop Alexander Sample (Portland, Oregon, USA)
Bishop Joseph Afrifah-Agyekum (Koforidua, Ghana)
Bishop Michael Barber (Oakland, California, USA)
Bishop Emeritus Herbert Bevard (St. Thomas, American Virgin Islands)
Bishop Earl Boyea (Lansing, Michigan, USA)
Bishop Neal Buckon (Auxiliary, Military Services, USA)
Bishop William Callahan (La Crosse, Wisconsin, USA)
Bishop Emeritus Massimo Camisasca (Reggio Emilia-Guastalla, Italy)
Bishop Liam Cary (Baker, Oregon, USA)
Bishop Peter Christensen (Boise, Idaho, USA)
Bishop Joseph Coffey (Auxiliary, Military Services, USA)
Bishop James Conley (Lincoln, Nebraska, USA)
Bishop Thomas Daly (Spokane, Washington, USA)
Bishop John Doerfler (Marquette, Michigan, USA)
Bishop Timothy Freyer (Auxiliary, Orange, California, USA)
Bishop Donald Hying (Madison, Wisconsin, USA)
Bishop Emeritus Daniel Jenky (Peoria, Illinois, USA)
Bishop Stephen Jensen (Prince George, British Columbia, Canada)
Bishop William Joensen (Des Moines, Iowa, USA)
Bishop James Johnston (Kansas City-St. Joseph, Missouri, USA)
Bishop David Kagan (Bismarck, North Dakota, USA)
Bishop Flavian Kassala (Geita, Tanzania)
Bishop Carl Kemme (Wichita, Kansas, USA)
Bishop Rogatus Kimaryo (Same, Tanzania)
Bishop Anthony Lagwen (Mbulu, Tanzania)
Bishop David Malloy (Rockford, Illinois, USA)
Bishop Gregory Mansour (Eparchy of Saint Maron of Brooklyn, New York, USA)
Bishop Simon Masondole (Bunda, Tanzania)
Bishop Robert McManus (Worcester, Massachusetts, USA)
Bishop Bernadin Mfumbusa (Kondoa, Tanzania)
Bishop Filbert Mhasi (Tunduru-Masasi, Tanzania)
Bishop Lazarus Msimbe (Morogoro, Tanzania)
Bishop Daniel Mueggenborg (Reno, Nevada, USA)
Bishop William Muhm (Auxiliary, Military Services, USA)
Bishop Thanh Thai Nguyen (Auxiliary, Orange, California, USA)
Bishop Walker Nickless (Sioux City, Iowa, USA)
Bishop Eusebius Nzigilwa (Mpanda, Tanzania)
Bishop Thomas Olmsted (Phoenix, Arizona, USA)
Bishop Thomas Paprocki (Springfield, Illinois, USA)
Bishop Kevin Rhoades (Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana, USA)
Bishop David Ricken (Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA)
Bishop Almachius Rweyongeza (Kayanga, Tanzania)
Bishop James Scheuerman (Auxiliary, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA)
Bishop Augustine Shao (Zanzibar, Tanzania)
Bishop Joseph Siegel (Evansville, Indiana, USA)
Bishop Frank Spencer (Auxiliary, Military Services, USA)
Bishop Joseph Strickland (Tyler, Texas, USA)
Bishop Paul Terrio (St. Paul in Alberta, Canada)
Bishop Thomas Tobin (Providence, Rhode Island, USA)
Bishop Kevin Vann (Orange, California, USA)
Bishop Robert Vasa (Santa Rosa, California, USA)
Bishop David Walkowiak (Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA)
Bishop James Wall (Gallup, New Mexico, USA)
Bishop William Waltersheid (Auxiliary, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA)
Bishop Michael Warfel (Great Falls-Billings, Montana, USA)
Bishop Chad Zielinski (Fairbanks, Alaska, USA)
RELATED:
Holy See reiterates Pope’s support for ‘synodal way’ after Polish bishop said he’s distancing himself from it
Cdl. Müller endorses Cdl. Pell’s call for Vatican to reprimand ‘open heresy’ of German bishops
Cdl. Brandmüller calls out German bishops ‘openly contradicting the truths of faith’
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| Americans Are "In Charge" Of The War Says French Journalist Who Returned From Ukraine |
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Posted by: Stone - 04-13-2022, 06:43 AM - Forum: Global News
- No Replies
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Americans Are "In Charge" Of The War Says French Journalist Who Returned From Ukraine
ZH | APR 13, 2022
Authored by Paul Joseph Watson via Summit News,
A French journalist who returned from Ukraine after arriving with volunteer fighters told broadcaster CNews that Americans are directly “in charge” of the war on the ground.
The assertion was made by Le Figaro senior international correspondent Georges Malbrunot.
Malbrunot said he had accompanied French volunteer fighters, two of whom had previously fought against ISIS.
“I had the surprise, and so did they, to discover that to be able to enter the Ukrainian army, well it’s the Americans who are in charge,” said Malbrunot.
Adding that he and the volunteers “almost got arrested” by the Americans, who asserted they were in charge, the journalist then revealed that they were forced to sign a contract “until the end of the war.”
“And who is in charge? It’s the Americans, I saw it with my own eyes,” said Malbrunot, adding, “I thought I was with the international brigades, and I found myself facing the Pentagon.”
Malbrunot also mentioned America providing Ukraine with switchblade suicide drones, something highlighted by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in a tweet that revealed Ukrainian soldiers were being trained to use the devices in Biloxi, Mississippi.
Citing a French intelligence source, Malbrunot also tweeted that British SAS units “have been present in Ukraine since the beginning of the war, as did the American Deltas.”
Russia is apparently well aware of the “secret war” being waged in Ukraine by foreign commandos who have been in the region since February.
Both the United States and the UK have publicly asserted that there won’t be “boots on the ground” in Ukraine, but apparently there has been a US-UK military presence since the start of the war.
“Polls showed in the run up to the war the overwhelming majority of Americans wanted our government to stay out of it but our leaders know best and are more than happy to risk World War III in defense of Ukraine’s puppet regime,” writes Chris Menahan.
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| The Traditional Understanding of the Mandatum |
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Posted by: SAguide - 04-12-2022, 11:05 PM - Forum: In Defense of Tradition
- Replies (1)
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Taken from the Carol Byrne series: https://thecatacombs.org/showthread.php?...11#pid3811
The Mandatum or Foot-Washing Ceremony
Now, we come to a reform which did not arise spontaneously from the devotion of the people, and which nobody except the progressivists wanted and, certainly, no one requested or needed. Pius XII introduced a ceremony that had no precedent in the History of the Church: the washing of the feet of laymen during the Mass of Holy Thursday.
The mandatum was traditionally for clerics, a reflection of Christ washing the feet of the Apostles.
After many abuses we see, below, Francis washing the feet of Muslim & Hindu male & female refugees
![[Image: F127_refugee.jpg]](https://www.traditioninaction.org/HotTopics/HTimages_b-f/F127_refugee.jpg)
What is most disturbing about this innovation is that it originated from the most extreme wing of the Liturgical Movement, as Fr. Hermann Schmidt S.J., Professor of Liturgy at the Gregorianum, Rome, candidly admitted:
“It was during the Liturgical Congress at Lugano in 1953 that we proposed, not without opposition, putting the foot washing after the chanting of the Gospel at Mass. … It is a new evolution in the history of the mandatum. (3) [emphasis in the original]
The rubrics state that this can take place in the sanctuary (“in medio presbyterii”) after the homily. This is in marked contrast to the rubrics of the pre-1955 Missale Romanum, which stipulated that after the stripping of the altars, the clergy gathered together for the foot washing ceremony (conveniunt Clerici ad faciendum Mandatum). This was to take place in a specially designated area (in loco ad id deputato), which was usually a chapter house or a priest’s residence or a different part of the church building where the ceremony could be performed in privacy and without the participation of laymen.
The first point to note about Pius XII’s innovation is the cacophony of symbols it presents. In fact, when viewed against the backdrop of liturgical tradition, the whole ceremony abounds in anomaly.
This was the first papally sanctioned use of the sanctuary for the purposes of “active participation” by the laity. It may have seemed a small concession in 1955 and few people, then, realized the threat such an innovation posed to the priesthood. But History has shown that it acted as a snowball that gathered an unstoppable momentum until, with the proliferation of lay ministries in the liturgy in the 1970s, it completely submerged the uniqueness of the priesthood.
Clericalizing the Laity
Theologically, there ensued some adverse results, which could have been foreseen and avoided. By giving lay people privileges to enter the sanctuary and therein perform liturgical functions hitherto reserved for the clergy, Pius XII opened the way to undermining the role of the ordained ministers.
It was inevitable that the effect of this radical innovation would not only blur the distinction between the priest and the non-ordained members of the Church, but also create confusion over the architectural expression of that distinction: the sanctuary for the clergy and the nave for the people. And it is equally obvious that this weakened concept of the priesthood would, in turn, lead to the re-ordering of churches or the building of new ones to express the “new theology” that exalted the laity and diminished the role of the priest.
In short, the reformed Holy Thursday rite fails to invoke the spiritual connections that were inherent in the traditional liturgy and its supporting architecture, both of which helped reinforce what the priesthood means. It is also clear that this particular reform went hand in hand with the progressivists’ revolutionary ideas of what a church is, how it should function and what message it should proclaim: the democratization of the People of God.
Continued
Dr. Carol Byrne: A Series on the History of the Dialogue Mass
Laymen Introduced in the Foot Washing
Taken from here [slightly adapted - emphasis mine].
Before looking further into the phenomenon of lay people having their feet washed in the sanctuary, it would be useful to keep in mind the sort of thinking among the progressivists that led up to it.
Ever since Beauduin launched his famous dictum at the Malines Conference in 1909 about “active participation” as the right of the laity, his slanderous accusation gained ground through the Liturgical Movement that a dominating clergy had been for centuries unjustly depriving lay people of their rightful role in the liturgy.
When Pius XII came to the defense of the so-called lay “victims” by granting them more active roles in the liturgy, he was not only lending support to the reformers’ clerical-lay conflict theory, but also unwittingly creating conflict among the clergy. There were voices raised not only among the clergy, but also the laity against the various reforms of Holy Week. Where all this was leading to was the perfect Marxist-style bellum omnium contra omnes (war of all against all), which would be played out at Vatican II.
The Traditional Understanding of the Mandatum
As part of the liturgy of Holy Thursday, the Mandatum was, according to longstanding tradition, a ritual performed among priests, based on Christ’s example of washing the feet of the 12 Apostles at the Last Supper. It is not to be confused with the so-called “Mandatum of the Poor,” (1) an entirely separate ceremony that existed alongside its clerical counterpart. Whereas the latter included laymen, the former was a discreet service performed by clerics and for clerics away from the public gaze. Up to 1955, there was no official approval for either form of ablution to take place in the sanctuary or during the Mass of Holy Thursday.
The Pope washing the feet of other clergymen in the late 19th century
Here we are considering only the ancient tradition whereby a religious Superior (Pope, Bishop or Abbot) would wash the feet of clerics under his charge. It was always understood to be a ritual re-enactment of the actions of Christ when He washed the feet of the 12 Apostles to make them worthy of priestly service at the altar. (2)
The theological symbolism of the traditional ceremony spoke volumes about its meaning: it was a commemoration of the priesthood on the anniversary of its institution and, thus, intimately related to the Sacrament of Holy Orders. We will need to keep this in mind when we come to consider the inclusion of laymen in 1955 (and later lay women) into the ceremony.
The history of the Liturgical Movement has shown how the harmful nature of the reforms is never more sharply exposed than over the issue of lay “active participation” and the consequent steady diminution of the priesthood. The 1955 reform of the Mandatum is a good example of this baneful process, as it illustrates the reformers’ strategy of deconstructing a liturgical ritual and subverting its principles.
Bypassing the Mandatum’s Significance
In this they were aided by the Instruction issued by the Sacred Congregation of Rites, which accompanied Pius XII’s Decree Maxima Redemptionis introducing the Holy Week reforms in 1955.
At first the change allowed only laymen on the altar for the Mandatum on Holy Thursday
This Instruction, together with the rubrics of the new Ordo of Holy Week, acted as a sort of “game-changer” by introducing a new element into the Mandatum that would produce a significant change in its meaning. All the Instruction says about the foot washing is that it is a demonstration of Christ’s “fraternal love” and an example for the faithful to engage in acts of “Christian charity.” (3)
The inclusion of laymen (“viri selecti”) in what had hitherto been an all-clerical ceremony completely changed the way future generations of Catholics thought about Christ’s actions at the Last Supper when He washed the feet of His Apostles.
Small wonder that so many have lost sight of the fact that the original Mandatum was not intended for Christ’s followers in general, but only those whom He had personally called to the priesthood. How, then, could laymen be said to represent the Apostles in a ceremony that was meant to commemorate the institution of Holy Orders and the exercise of the priestly ministry?
Ratcheting up the Reform
To bestow this privilege upon laymen could only threaten to undermine the identity by which the priesthood is defined. This was an early phase of the reformers’ end-game strategy.
Before long, every abuse entered. Above, Card. Bergoglio washing the feet of an unwed mother;
below, with drug abusers
With it they turned the ratchet of liturgical confusion another notch. Having first stigmatized all priests as “elitist” who said the Mass in its entirety while the congregation remained silent, they turned the ratchet by promoting vocal participation as a “right” of the laity to say Mass with the priest. They turned it again when they persuaded Pius XII to allow laymen to enter the sanctuary and stand in the place of priests.
Thus, a precedent was set in 1955 for the post-Vatican II introduction of “lay ministries” to supplant the traditional role of the priest. Pius XII’s promotion of the foot washing of the laity became the emblem of the liturgical chaos that undermined the role of the priest. It matters not that the ceremony was only optional; its consequences were far reaching.
Once the principle had been breached and the essential meaning lost, secularism has made its way into the ranks of the priesthood and even into the sanctuary where priests always exercised their exclusive ministry. That which is supernatural and transcendent was made to yield to the democratic spirit of the modern age and adapt itself to an earthly end.
Hence the liturgical free-for-all we see today where literally everyone and anyone can have their feet washed in the name of equality, diversity and inclusiveness. As a result, the Mandatum has now turned into a political platform for immigration and other fashionable shibboleths, making a mockery of liturgical law, spirituality and tradition.
Absurd though it may be, this is just the logical conclusion of having reinvented the Mandatum as community service, (4) with the priest as social worker. Thus, we have arrived at a point where the priesthood is no longer honored in this rite as a supernatural benefit to the Church – as it had been honored since the early Middle Ages – but only insofar as it furthers the ideology of “equality” for all.
Continued
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| G.K. Chesterton: The Donkey |
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Posted by: Stone - 04-11-2022, 06:33 AM - Forum: Resources Online
- No Replies
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When fishes flew and forests walked
And figs grew upon thorn,
Some moment when the moon was blood
Then surely I was born.
With monstrous head and sickening cry
And ears like errant wings,
The devil’s walking parody
On all four-footed things.
The tattered outlaw of the earth,
Of ancient crooked will;
Starve, scourge, deride me: I am dumb,
I keep my secret still.
Fools! For I also had my hour;
One far fierce hour and sweet:
There was a shout about my ears,
And palms before my feet.
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