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| May 24 - Feast of Our Lady, Help of Christians |
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Posted by: Stone - 05-25-2021, 09:48 AM - Forum: May
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May 24 - Feast of Our Lady, Help of Christians
Ever since our entrance upon the joys of the Paschal Season, scarcely a day has passed without the Calendar’s offering us some grand Mystery or Saint to honor; and all these have been radiant with the Easter sun. But of our Blessed Lady, there has not been a single Feast to gladden our hearts by telling us of some mystery or glory of this august Queen. The Feast of her Seven Dolors is sometimes kept in April—that is, when Easter Sunday falls on or after the 10th of that month; but May and June pass without any special solemnity in honor of the Mother of God. It would seem as though Holy Church wished to honor, by a respectful silence, the forty days during which Mary enjoyed the company of her Jesus, after his Resurrection. We, therefore, should never separate the Mother and the Son, if we would have our Easter meditations be in strict accordance with truth—and that, we surely must wish. During these forty days, Jesus frequently visits his Disciples, weak men and sinners as they are: can he, then, keep away from his Mother, now that he is so soon to ascend into heaven, and leave her for several long years here on earth? Our hearts forbid us to entertain the thought. We feel sure that he frequently visits her, and that, when not visibly present with her, she has him in her soul, in a way more intimate and real and delicious than any other creature could have.
No Feast could have given expression to such a mystery; and yet the Holy Ghost, who guides the spirit of the Church, has gradually led the Faithful to devote to the honoring Mary, in an especial manner, the entire Month of May, the whole of which comes, almost every year, under the glad season of Easter. No doubt, the loveliness of the May Month would, some time or other, suggest the idea of consecrating it to the Holy Mother of God; but if we reflect on the divine and mysterious influence which guides the Church in all she does, we shall recognize, in this present instance, a heavenly inspiration which prompted the Faithful to unite their own joy with that of Mary’s, and spend this beautiful Month, which is radiant with their own Easter joy, in commemorating the maternal delight experienced, during that same period, by the Immaculate Mother when on earth.
Today, however, we have a Feast in honor of Mary. True—it is not one of those Feasts which are entered on the general Calendar of the Church; yet is it so widely spread, and this with the consent of the Holy See, that our Liturgical Year would have been incomplete without it. Its object is to honor the Mother of God as the Help of Christians—a title she has justly merited by the innumerable favors she has conferred upon Christendom. Dating from that day, whose anniversary we are soon to be celebrating, and on which the Holy Ghost descended upon Mary in the Cenacle, in order that she might begin to exercise over the Church Militant her power as Queen—who could tell the number of times that she has aided, by her protection, the Kingdom of her Son on earth?
Heresies have risen up, one after the other; they were violent; they were frequently supported by the great ones of this world; each of them was resolved on the destruction of the True Faith—and yet, one after the other, they have dwindled away or fall into impotency; or are gradually sinking by internal discord; and Holy Church tells us that it is Mary who “alone destroys all heresies throughout the whole world.” (Gaude, Maria Virgo! cunctas hæreses sola interemisti in universo mundo.—Office of the Blessed Virgin; Matins, vii. Antiphon.) If public scandals or persecutions, or the tyranny of secular interference have, at times, threatened to stay the progress of the Church—Mary has stretched forth her arm, the obstacles were removed, and Jesus’ Spouse continued her onward march, leaving her foes and her fetters behind her. All this was vividly brought before the mind of the saintly Pontiff, Pius the Fifth, by the victory of Lepanto, gained, by Mary’s intercession, over the Turkish Fleet, and he resolved to add one more title to the glorious ones given to our Lady in the Litany: the title he added was, Auxilium Christianorum, Help of Christians.
Our present century, the 19th, has had the happiness of seeing another Pontiff, also named Pius, institute a Feast under this same title—a Feast which is intended to commemorate the Help bestowed on Christendom, and in all ages, by the Mother of God. nothing could be happier than the choice of the day on which this Feast was to be kept. On the 24th of May, in the year 1814, there was witnessed in Rome the most magnificent triumph that has yet been recorded in the annals of the Church. That was a grand day, whereon Constantine marked out the foundations for the Vatican Basilica in honor of the Prince of the Apostles; Sylvester stood by and blessed the Emperor, who had just been converted to the true Faith: but important as was this event, it was but a sign of the last and decisive victory won by the Church, in the then-recent persecution of Dioclesian. That was a grand day, whereon Leo the Third, Vicar of the King of kings, crowned Charlemagne with the imperial diadem and, by his apostolic power, gave continuance to the long interrupted line of Emperors: but Leo the Third, by this, did but give an official and solemn expression to the power which the Church had already frequently exercised in the newly constituted nations, which received from her the idea of Christian government, the consecration of their rights, and the grace that was to enable them to fulfill their duties. That was a grand day, whereon Gregory the Ninth took back to the City of Peter the Papal Throne, which had been pent up at Avignon for seventy sad years: but Gregory the Ninth, in this, did but fulfill a duty, and his predecessors, had they willed it, might have effected this return to Rome, which the necessities of Christendom so imperatively called for.
Yes, all these were glorious days; but the 24th of May, of 1814, surpasses them all. Pius the Seventh re-entered Rome amidst the acclamations of the Holy City, whose entire population went forth to meet him, holding palm branches in their hands, and greeting him with their hosannas of enthusiastic joy. He had been a captive for five years, during which the spiritual government of the Christian world had suffered a total suspension. It was not the Allied Powers, who had made common cause against his oppressor, that broke the Pontiff’s fetters; the very tyrant who kept him from Rome, had given him permission to return at the close of the preceding year; but the Pontiff chose his own time, and did not leave Fontainebleau till the 25th of January. Rome, whither he was about to return, had been made a part of the French Empire five years previously, and by a Decree in which was cited the name of Charlemagne! The City of Peter had been reduced to a head-town of a Department, with a Prefect for its administrator; and, with a view to making men forget that it was the City of the Vicars of Christ, its name was given as a title to the heir-presumptive of the Imperial crown of France.
What a day that 24th of May, which witnessed the triumphant return of the Pontiff into the Holy City, whence he had been dragged, during the night, by the soldiers of an ambitious tyrant! He made the journey in short stages, meeting, on his way, the Allied Armies of Europe, which recognized his right as King. This right is superior, both in antiquity and dignity, to that of all other monarchs; and all, no matter whether they be heretics, schismatics, or Catholics, must admit it, were it only on the strength of its being a historical fact.
But what we have so far said is not sufficient to give an adequate idea of the greatness of the prodigy thus achieved by our Lady, the Help of Christians. In order to have a just appreciation of it, we must remember that the miracle was not wrought in the age of Sylvester and Constantine, or of St. Leo the Third and Charlemagne, or of the great prophetess Catharine of Sienna, who made known the commands of God to the people of Italy and to the Popes of Avignon. The age that witnessed this wondrous event was the 19th, and that, too, when it was under the degrading influence of Voltairianism, and there were still living the authors and abettors of the crimes and impieties that resulted from the principles taught in the 18th century. Everything was adverse to such a glorious and unexpected triumph; Catholic feeling was far from being roused as it now is—the action of God’s providence had to show itself in a direct and visible manner: and to let the Christian world know that such was the case, Rome instituted the annual Feast of the 24th of May as an offering of acknowledgment to Mary, the Help of Christians.
Let us now weigh the importance of the twofold Restoration which was wrought on this day by the intercession of the Holy Mother of God. Pius the Seventh had been forcibly taken from Rome and dethroned; on this 24th of May, he was reinstated in Rome, both as Pope and as Temporal Sovereign. On the respective Feasts of St. Peter’s Chair at Rome and Antioch, we gave our readers the doctrine of the Church, which teaches us that the succession to the rights conferred by Christ upon St. Peter belongs to the Bishop of Rome. From this it follows that the residence in the City of Rome is both the right and obligation of the successor of St. Peter, save in the case of his deeming a temporary absence to be demanded by circumstances. Whosoever, therefore, by means of physical force, keeps the Sovereign Pontiff out of Rome, or prevents him from residing there—is acting in opposition to the Divine Will; for the Pastor ought to be in the midst of his flock; and Rome having been made, by Christ, the head of all Churches, these have a right to find in Rome him who is both the Infallible Doctor of Faith, and the source of all spiritual jurisdiction. The first blessing, therefore, for which we are indebted to Mary, on this day, is that she brought back the Pastor to his flock, and restored the supreme government of holy Church to its normal state.
The second is her having reinstated the Pontiff in possession of his Temporal Power, which is the surest guarantee of his being independent in the exercise of his Spiritual Power. We have but to consult history, and we shall learn what miseries and dangers have followed from the Popes being the subject of any earthly Monarch. The experience of the past shows us that the City of Rome, if under any other government than that of the Papacy, excites the mistrust of Christendom as to the liberty necessary for the due election of the Supreme Pontiff. God, in his all-seeing wisdom, provided against what would have been a perpetual source of anarchy in the Church. From the earliest commencement of the Christian Era, he prepared the foundation of the temporal dominion of the Papacy over Rome and its territory, even before the sword of the Franks was drawn for the defense, the establishing, and increasing this precious Domain, which is the property of Christendom. Whosoever dares to invade it, attacks the liberty of the entire Church; and we know, as St. Anselm says, that “there is nothing in this world more loved by God than the Liberty of his Church:” hence the severe punishments that have ever followed such as offered violence to it.
The Pontifical Sovereignty over Rome and the States belonging to the Church, has arisen from necessity—but that necessity belongs to the supernatural order of things. It follows that this Sovereignty surpasses all others in dignity, and that, in consequence of its being consecrated to God’s service on earth, it is to be considered as a sacred thing. He that dares to invade it is guilty not only of a spoliation, but of sacrilege; and the anathemas of the Church lie heavily upon him. Here again, we have history telling us how terrible has been the lot of all those who, despising the anathema, refused to make restitution to the Church, and dared to defy the justice of Him who conferred on Peter the power of binding and loosing.
Finally, Authority being the basis of every society, and its maintenance being of the utmost importance to the preservation of order and justice—it should be mainly respected and upheld in the Roman Pontiff, for he is the highest representative of Authority on earth, his temporal Power is by far the oldest in existence, and his Kingly character is enhanced by the union of supreme Spiritual power. He, therefore, that attacks or overthrows the Temporal Sovereignty of the Pope is an enemy to every Government; for there is no other that can bear comparison with this in merit and rightful possession; and if it be not spared, no other is safe.
Let us, then, give thanks to the Blessed Mother of God, on this feast of the twenty-fourth day of May, which has been instituted in commemoration of the twofold blessing she thus brought upon the world—the preservation of the Church, and the preservation of Society. Let us unite in the fervent acclamations of the then-loyal citizens of Rome and, like them, sing, with all the glad joy of our Easter Alleluia, our greetings of Hosanna to the Vicar of Christ—the Father of that dear Land, our common Country. The remembrance of St. Peter’s deliverance from prison, and his restoration to liberty, must have been vividly on the minds of that immense concourse of people, whose love for their Pontiff was redoubled by the sufferings he had gone through. As the triumphal chariot, on which he had been placed, came near the Flaminian Gate, the horses were unyoked, and the Pontiff was conveyed by the people to the Vatican Basilica, where a solemn thanksgiving was made, over the Tomb of the Prince of the Apostles.
But let us not close the day without admiring the merciful intervention of our Lady, the Help of Christians. If the protection she gives to the Faithful sometimes necessitates her showing severity to them that were the tyrants—her maternal heart is full of compassion for the vanquished, and she extends her Help even to them. Thus it was with the haughty Emperor, over whom she triumphed on the twenty-fourth of May;—she would then bring him back to humble repentance and to the practice of his religious duties. A messenger from the Island of Saint Helena was one day ushered into the presence of Pius the Seventh. The exiled Napoleon, whom he had consecrated Emperor in the Church of Notre Dame, and whose after conduct brought him under the ban of excommunication, now besought the Pontiff, the true and only King of Rome, to allow him to be re-admitted to those spiritual blessings of which he had been justly deprived. Our Lady was preparing a second victory.
Pius the Seventh, whose name the fallen Emperor could never pronounce without emotion, and whom he called “a lamb,”—Pius the Seventh, who had so courageously braved public opinion by giving hospitality, at Rome, to the members of the unfortunate Napoleon family—readily complied with the request thus made to him; and the holy Sacrifice of the Mass was, shortly afterwards, offered up in the presence of the illustrious exile of Saint Helena. Our Lady of Help was advancing her conquest.
But before granting pardon, the Justice of God had required a full and public expiation. He who had been the instrument of salvation to millions of souls, by restoring Religion to France, was not to be lost; but he had impiously imprisoned the Sovereign Pontiff in the castle of Fontainebleau; and it was in that very castle that he had afterwards to sign the deed of his own abdication. For five years he had held captive the Vicar of Christ; for five years, he himself had to endure the sufferings and humiliation of captivity. Heaven accepted the retribution, and left Mary to complete her victory. Reconciled with the Church, and fortified by the holy Sacraments which prepare the Christian for eternity, Napoleon yielded up his soul into the hands of his Maker on the 5th of May—the Month that is sacred to Mary, and gives us the Feast we are keeping today. The day chosen by God, from all eternity, for Napoleon’s death, was the Feast of St. Pius the Fifth; on which same Feast, Pius the Seventh was receiving the congratulations of his faithful Romans. The name Pius signifies compassion and mercy; it is the glorious name which our lips have been repeating for the last five and twenty years, the name of Pius the Ninth. It is one of the names given to God, in the Sacred Scripture: Pius et misericors est Deus: God is compassionate and merciful. Mary, too, is compassionate; it is the title we give her in one of our prayers: O clemens, O Pia, O dulcis Virgo Maria! She is ever ready with her aid, be the danger one that affects the Church at large, or a single individual soul: she is the Help of Christians, and, as such, we honor her on this Feast. God has willed her to be so; and we are but complying with his wishes, when we have an unreserved confidence in the protection of this powerful Queen, this loving Mother.
Let us now read the account, as given in today’s Liturgy, of the great event that prompted the institution of our Feast.
Quote:The Faithful have frequently seen it proved, by miraculous intervention, that the Mother of God is ever ready, with her Help, to repel the enemies of Religion. It was on this account, that, after the signal victory gained by the Christians, over the Turks, in the Gulf of Lepanto, through the intercession of the most Blessed Virgin, the holy Pope Pius the Fifth ordered, that to the other titles given to the Queen of Heaven, in the Litany of Loretto, there should be added this of Help of Christians. But, one of the most memorable proofs of this her protection, and one which may be regarded as an incontestable miracle, is that which happened during the Pontificate of Pius the Seventh. By the intrigues and armed violence of certain impious men, the Pontiff had been driven from the Apostolic See of Peter, and was kept in close confinement, mainly at Savona, for upwards of five years.
During this period, by a persecution unheard of in any previous age, every possible means was resorted to in order to prevent his governing the Church of God. When lo! suddenly and to the surprise of men, he was restored to the Pontifical Throne, to the great joy, it might be almost said, with the concurrence, of the whole world.
The same thing happened also a second time, when a fresh disturbance arose and compelled him to leave Rome, and go, with the Sacred College of Cardinals, into Liguria. Here again, the storm that threatened great destruction was appeased by a most prompt interference of God’s providence, and the Pontiff’s return to Rome filled Christendom with new joy. Before returning, however, he would carry out an intention, which his captivity had hitherto prevented him from doing: with his own hand, he solemnly placed a golden crown on the celebrated statue of the Mother of God that was venerated at Savona, under the title of Mother of Mercy. The same Sovereign Pontiff, Pius the Seventh, who was so thoroughly acquainted with every circumstance of these events, rightly attributed their happy issue to the intercession of the most holy Mother of God, whose powerful help he himself had earnestly besought, besides urging all the Faithful to obtain it by their prayers. He therefore instituted a solemn Feast in honor of the same Virgin-Mother, under the title of Help of Christians. It was to be kept, every year, on the twenty-fourth of May, the anniversary of his own most happy return to Rome. He also sanctioned a proper Office for this Feast, in order that the remembrance of so great a favor might ever be vividly on the minds of the Faithful, and secure the thanksgiving it deserved.
The two beautiful Hymns which follow are from the Office of this Feast. They admirably express the gratitude we should feel towards the Blessed Mother, whose intercession has so often wrought the Church’s deliverance.
1st Hymn
Sæpe dum Christi populus cruentis
Hostis infensi premeretur armis,
Venit adjutrix pia Virgo cœlo
Lapsa sereno.
Ofttimes, when the Faithful of christ have been threatened by the blood-stained sword of a ruthless foe, the compassionate Virgin came down from bright heaven, and was their Help.
Prisca sic patrum monumenta narrant,
Templa testantur spoliis opimis
Clara, votivo repetita cultu
Festa quotannis.
We know it from the venerable documents of our fathers; it is attested by the sacred edifices which are enriched with the trophies taken from our enemies, and by the yearly recurrence of our solemn Feasts.
En novi grates liceat Mariæ
Cantici lætis modulis referre
Pro novis donis, resonante plausu
Urbis et Orbis.
Lo! a new favor demands of us today a new canticle of grateful and glad thanks to Mary:—it is the favor that made both Rome and the world resound with joy.
O dies felix, memoranda fastis,
Qua Petri sedes fidei magistrum
Triste post lustrum reducem beata
Sorte recepit!
O happy and ever memorable day! whereon the See of Peter was blessed with the return of the teacher of Faith, after a sad exile of five years.
Virgines castæ, puerique puri,
Gestiens clerus, populusque grato
Corde Reginæ celebrare cœli
Munera certent.
Let chaste maidens, and innocent youths, and the glad clergy, and the people, vie with each other in celebrating, with grateful hearts, the favors granted by heaven’s Queen.
Virginum Virgo, benedicta Jesu
Mater, hæc auge bona; fac, precamur,
Ut gregem Pastor Pius ad salutis
Pascua ducat.
O thou Virgin of virgins! Blessed Mother of Jesus! add favors still to these:—pray, we beseech thee, that the good Pastor may lead the flock to the pastures of salvation.
Te per æternos veneremur annos,
Trinitas, summo celebranda plausu;
Te fide mentes, resonoque linguæ
Carmine laudent.
Amen.
O holy Trinity, to whom all praise is due! grant that we may praise thee through eternal years. May our souls by their faith, and our lips by their hymns, laud thy holy name. Amen.
2nd Hymn
Te Redemptoris Dominique nostri
Dicimus Matrem, speciosa Virgo,
Christianorum decus, et levamen
Rebus in arctis.
O beautiful Virgin! we acknowledge thee to be the Mother of our Savior and God; but thou art, too, the solace and Help of Christians, in their adversities.
Sæviant portæ licet inferorum,
Hostis antiquus fremat, et minaces,
Ut Deo sacrum populetur agmen,
Suscitet iras.
The gates of hell may rage; the old enemy may, in his wrath, stir up anger which may threaten to destroy the people of God;
Nil truces possunt furiæ nocere
Mentibus castis, prece quas vocata
Annuens Virgo fovet, et superno
robore firmat.
But this wild passion can do no hurt to those pure souls, whose prayers have won protection and heavenly strength from the Virgin ever Blessed.
Tanta si nobis faveat patrona,
Bellici cessat sceleris tumultus,
Mille sternuntur, fugiuntve turmæ,
Mille cohortes.
If she be our Patroness and help us, the din of wicked war must cease, and our enemies must fall by thousands, or be put to flight.
Tollit ut sancta caput in Sione
Turris, arx firmo fabricata muro,
Civitas David, clypeis et acri
Milite tuta:
As on the holy mount of Sion there was a tower and citadel with its well-built wall, and the City of David was safe with its shields and valiant men:
Virgo sic fortis Domini potenti
Dextera, cœli cumulata donis,
A piis longe famulis repellit
Dæmonis ictus.
So the Virgin, made strong by the mighty hand of God, and laden with heaven’s gifts, wards off from her devoted clients the blows of Satan.
Te per æternos veneremur annos,
Trinitas, summo celebranda plausu;
Te fide mentes, resonoque linguæ
Carmine laudent.
Amen.
O holy Trinity, to whom all praise is due! grant that we may praise thee through eternal years. May our souls by their faith, and our lips by their hymns, laud thy holy name. Amen.
I have lifted up mine eyes to the mountains, from whence Help shall come to me: my help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. Thus prayed the Israelites of old—thus also prays the Church—though, for her, the help is nigher and comes more speedily. The Psalmist’s petition has been granted: the heavens have bowed down, and the divine Help is now close by our side. This Help is Jesus, Son of God, and Son of Mary. He is unceasingly fulfilling the promise made us by his Prophet: In the day of thy salvation, I have helped thee. But this King of kings has given us a Queen, and this Queen is Mary, his Mother. Out of love for her, he has given her a throne, on his right hand, as Solomon did for his mother Bethsabee; and he would have her, also, be the Help of Christians. It is the Church that teaches us this, by inserting this beautiful title in the Litany; and Rome invites us, on this day, to unite with her in giving thanks and praise to our Blessed Lady of Help, for one of the most signal of her favors.
O Queen of Heaven! our Paschal joy is increased on this the anniversary of thy giving back to Rome her Pastor and her King. Yes, it was thy intercession that achieved the grand victory, and we offer thee the homage of our grateful rejoicings. This Month is thine in an especial manner; but its twenty-fourth day makes us redouble our devotion. It encourages us to entreat thee, with all the earnestness of our souls, that thou wouldst protect Rome and its Pontiff, for new dangers have arisen. The Rock, set by thy Jesus, has again become a sign of contradiction, and the billows of impiety and violence are beating against it. We know the great promise:—the Rock can never be swept away, and on it safely stands the Church; but we know, too, that this Church is one day to be taken up to heaven, and then the Judgment! Meanwhile, thou, Mary, art our Help: Oh! stretch forth that arm of thine, which nothing can resist. Be mindful of Rome, where thou art so devoutly honored, and where thy glory is proclaimed by so many sumptuous sanctuaries. The end of the world is not yet come; the holiest of causes requires thine aid. Never permit the Holy City to be desecrated, by her falling into the power of impious men; suffer her not to be deprived of the presence of her Pontiff; and uphold the Independence which the Vicar of Christ must possess, if the Church is to be rightly governed.
But Rome is not the only spot on earth that needs thy powerful Help, O Mary! The Vineyard of thy Son is everywhere being laid waste by the wild beast. Vice and error and seduction are everywhere. There is not a country where the Church is not persecuted, and her Liberty trampled upon. Society has lost its Christian traditions; it is at the mercy of revolutions, against which it has no power. O thou that art the Help of Christians, aid the world in these its perils! Thou hast the power to save it from danger! Wilt thou permit the people to be lost, who were redeemed by the Blood of Jesus, and whom he, from his Cross, entrusted to thy care?
Thou, O Mary, art the Help of each Christian soul, as well as of the entire world. That same enemy, who is bent on the destruction of the whole human race, is seeking to drag each one of us into perdition. He hates the image of thy Son, which he sees reflected in our human nature. Oh! come to our assistance; save us from this roaring lion of hell. He knows thy power, and that thou canst procure our deliverance, so long as we are left in this present life. Thou hast gained the most stupendous victories for the salvation of thy clients; tire not, we beseech thee, in aiding poor sinners to return to their God. When Jesus spoke of them that were invited to the Marriage-Feast, and told us how the King said to his servants: Compel them to come in: it was thee that he had mainly in view. Lead us then to our King!
Our supplications to thee, O Help of Christians, are thus earnest, because our wants are great; but we are not, on that account, the less mindful of the special honor that we owe thee at this holy Season of Easter, when the Church contemplates the joy thou hadst in thy Risen Jesus’ presence. She congratulates thee on the immense happiness that thus repaid thee for thine anguish on Calvary and at the Sepulcher. It is to the Mother consoled by and exulting in her Son’s triumphant Resurrection that we offer this sweet Month, whose loveliness is so in keeping with thine own incomparable beauty, dear Mother! In return for this homage of our devotion, pray for us, that our souls may persevere in the beauty of grace given to them by this year’s union with our Jesus; and that we may be so well prepared for the Feast of Pentecost as to merit to receive the Gifts of the Holy Ghost, who comes that he may perfect the work of our Paschal Regeneration.
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| Pandemic Profiteers |
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Posted by: Stone - 05-25-2021, 07:27 AM - Forum: Pandemic 2020 [Secular]
- Replies (2)
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More pandemic profiteers: COVID-19 vaccines have minted at least NINE new pharma billionaires - and their combined wealth
is enough to buy shots for 780 MILLION people in low-income nations
- Nine executives from Moderna, BioNTech, ROVI and CanSino Biologics have all become billionaires throughout the pandemic
- Together they are now worth $19.3 billion - a combined net wealth greater than what it would cost to vaccinate the world's poorest nations
- The list was compiled by the People's Vaccine Alliance, a campaign group that includes Oxfam, UNAIDS, Global Justice Now and Amnesty International
- Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel is now worth a whopping $4.3 billion after his company was granted emergency use authorization in the US in December
- CEO and co-founder of BioNTech Ugur Sahin is close behind with a wealth of $4 billion, following its collaboration on a vaccine with Pfizer
- Senior executives from CanSino Biologics have also become billionaires after it developed a one-shot vaccine that was approved for use in China this February
- It comes as world leaders will discuss at the G20 Global Health Summit whether to waive patent protections for COVID-19 vaccines
- Supporters say it will allow more manufacturers to produce life-saving vaccines and increase their supply to poorer countries
Daily Mail | 21 May 2021
The development and rollout of COVID-19 vaccines has minted at least nine new billionaires in the pharma industry, whose new combined wealth is enough to buy shots for a staggering 780 million people in low-income nations.
Nine executives from Moderna, BioNTech, ROVI and CanSino Biologics have hugely profited from the pandemic that has so far killed 3.4 million people worldwide, as their individual wealth soared past the billion-dollar mark over the last year.
The rich list was compiled by the People's Vaccine Alliance, a campaign group that includes Oxfam, UNAIDS, Global Justice Now and Amnesty International, using the Forbes Rich List.
Topping the list is the CEO of Moderna Stéphane Bancel who is now worth a whopping $4.3 billion after his company became the second to be granted emergency use authorization in the US for its vaccine back in December.
CEO and co-founder of BioNTech Ugur Sahin is close behind with a wealth of $4 billion, following its collaboration on a vaccine with Pfizer.
Other Moderna execs have also profited, with immunologist and early investor Timothy Springer now worth $2.2 billion, Chairman Noubar Afeyan $1.9 billion and scientist and founding investor Robert Langer $1.6 billion.
Senior executives from CanSino Biologics have also become billionaires over the last year with the Chinese firm's co-founder and chief scientific officer Zhu Tao now worth $1.3 billion, co-founder and Senior Vice President QiuDongxu worth $1.2 billion and co-founder and Senior Vice President Mao Huinhoa $1 billion.
CanSino has developed a one-shot vaccine that was approved for use in China this February.
The ninth newfound billionaire is ROVI Chairman Juan Lopez-Belmonte, who is now worth $1.8 billion. Spanish contract drugmaker Rovi makes bottles for Moderna's vaccine and last month reached a new deal to start making its active ingredients.
Together, the industry's nine new billionaires are worth $19.3 billion.
This is a combined net wealth greater than what it would cost to vaccinate the world's poorest nations.
With the average vaccine costing $19 and 775,710,612 people living in low-income countries, according to UN data, this money would be enough to vaccinate every person 1.3 times, the alliance said.
The alliance released its analysis to show how the pandemic has exacerbated inequities in healthcare among the rich and poor.
While the pandemic has ravaged the world, killing millions and throwing even more further into poverty, a small faction of pharma executives have made a tidy profit.
As well as the new billionaire set, the pandemic has also seen the rich get richer.
Eight existing billionaires with big stakes in the pharma companies behind the COVID-19 vaccines have seen their combined wealth increase by a staggering $32.2 billion, the research found.
This wealth would be enough to fully vaccinate everyone in India.
Anne Marriott, Oxfam's health policy manager, said the pharma companies and the execs behind them have taken the monopoly on the COVID-19 vaccine.
'These billionaires are the human face of the huge profits many pharmaceutical corporations are making from the monopoly they hold on these vaccines,' she said.
'These vaccines were funded by public money and should be first and foremost a global public good, not a private profit opportunity,' she added.
Shares in pharma companies responsible for developing the vaccines skyrocketed as they gained authorization for use in nations across the world.
Moderna has seen its share price surge more than 700 percent since last February when COVID shuttered much of the world.
During the same timeframe, BioNTech has increased by 600 percent and CanSino Biologics 440 percent.
The research comes ahead of the G20 Global Health Summit where world leaders are expected to discuss whether to waive patent protections for COVID-19 vaccines.
Supporters say it will allow more manufacturers to produce life-saving vaccines and increase their supply to poorer countries.
Joe Biden has said America supports waiving intellectual property protections to allow poorer countries hard hit by the virus to produce vaccines.
However other nations such as Germany are opposed to it, saying IP rights are a source of innovation.
There's also been pushback from some top names in pharma as such a move would likely slash their profits.
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla blasted the idea as 'so wrong', saying it would punish the firm for its progress and discourage biotech companies from creating treatments and innoculations for future pandemics.
He also claimed it would spark a race for raw materials that would threaten the safe and efficient production of the shots.
Instead, he said the company will provide two billion vaccine doses to low- and middle-income countries over the next 18 months.
Bourla's own pay surged to a staggering $21 million last year, a rise of 17 percent and he has scored a deal with Harper Business to write a book on the story behind the vaccine development.
It's not just pharma companies: Amazon, Google and Facebook rake in the profits amid COVID-19 pandemic
COVID-19 helped Amazon more than triple its profits to $8.1 billion for the first quarter of 2021 with Prime memberships and third party sellers using its warehouses fueling the boom.
In the first three months of this year, the company reported profit of $8.1billion, compared to $2.5billion for the same period the year before, according to financial results shared on Thursday.
Revenue jumped 44 per cent to $108.5billion - the second quarter in row that the company has passed the $100billion milestone.
Earnings per share came to $15.79, about $6 more per share than what Wall Street analysts expected, according to FactSet.
Net sales rose to $108.52billion in the first quarter ended March 31 from $75.45billion during the same period last year, beating analysts' average estimate of $104.47billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
News of the company's revenue, which exceeded expectations of analysts on Wall Street, sent the firm's shares surging by some 4 per cent in after-hours trading on Thursday.
Amazon is one of the few retailers that has benefited during the pandemic. As physical stores temporarily closed, people stuck at home turned to Amazon to buy groceries, cleaning supplies and more.
That doesn't seem to be dying down, with many now branding the online shopping behemoth to basic infrastructure.
While brick-and-mortar stores closed, Amazon has now posted four consecutive record quarterly profits, attracted more than 200 million Prime loyalty subscribers, and recruited over 500,000 workers to keep up with surging consumer demand.
That has kept the world's largest online retailer at the center of workplace tumult.
Its warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama, this winter became a rallying point for organized labor, hoping staff would form Amazon's first US union and inspire similar efforts nationwide.
Workers ultimately rejected the union bid by a more than 2-to-1 margin, but CEO Jeff Bezos said the saga showed how the company had to do better for employees.
The company meanwhile has been facing litigation in New York over whether it put profit ahead of worker safety in the COVID-19 pandemic.
Amazon's operation has been unfazed by these developments.
Bezos touted the results of the company's cloud computing unit Amazon Web Services (AWS) in a press release, saying, 'In just 15 years, AWS has become a $54billion annual sales run rate business competing against the world’s largest technology companies, and its growth is accelerating.'
Andy Jassy, who had been AWS's CEO, is scheduled to succeed Bezos as Amazon's chief this summer.
His unit continues to be a bright spot.
Just last week, for instance, Dish Network Corp announced a deal to build its 5G network on AWS. The unit increased revenue 32 per cent to $13.5billion, ahead of estimates of $13.2billion.
Adding to Amazon's revenue was its growing chain of physical stores, including Whole Foods Market and its first overseas cashier-less convenience shop, opening last month in Ealing, West London.
Amazon delved further into healthcare as well with an online doctors-visit service for employers, representing another area it is aiming to disrupt after retail, enterprise technology and Hollywood.
Profit more than tripled to $8.1billion.
Amazon, which saw its stock price nearly double in the first part of 2020 as it benefited from the pandemic, has this year underperformed the S&P 500 market index.
Its shares were up about 8.5 per cent year to date versus the index's 13 per cent gain.
At the same time, spending on COVID-19 and logistics has chipped away at Amazon's bottom line.
The company has poured money into buying cargo planes and securing new warehouses, aiming to place items closer to customers to speed up delivery.
It said Wednesday it planned to hike pay for over half a million employees, costing more than $1billion - and it is still hiring for tens of thousands more positions.
Amazon said it expects operating income for the current quarter to be between $4.5billion and $8billion, which assumes about $1.5billion of costs related to COVID-19.
While far behind ad sales leaders Facebook and Alphabet's Google, Amazon is winning business because advertisers' placements often result directly in sales, reaching customers who are on Amazon with an intention to shop.
Amazon said ad and other sales rose 77 per cent to $6.9billion, ahead of analysts' estimate of $6.2billion.
Other tech giants also reported handsome revenue increases for the first quarter of this year.
Google's parent company Alphabet saw its revenues soar to $55.3billion in the first quarter of this year, according to a financial statement released on Tuesday - a 34 per cent increase compared to the same time last year.
The Silicon Valley company beat quarterly revenue estimates of $51.7billion, as the recovering economy and surging use of online services combined to accelerate its advertising and cloud businesses.
Apple and Facebook reported sharp increases in quarterly revenue Wednesday as both companies continue to take advantage of pandemic trends that have devastated other parts of the economy.
At Apple, revenue rose to $89.6billion - good for earnings of $1.40 a share, which beat Wall Street analysts' expectations, which called for 99 cents.
That was a 54 per cent jump in revenue from the first quarter of 2021. Sales of iPads leapt by 79 per cent, while iMac sales grew by 70 per cent, and iPhone sales rose by 65 per cent.
Profits for the quarter surged to $23.6billion, more than double the year-ago period, the company said on Wednesday.
Apple's main revenue driver continues to be the iPhone: Revenue for the iPhone rose 65 per cent to $47.9billion. That beat the expectations of Wall Street analysts, who were expecting a 42 per cent increase.
Revenue from their Macs was $9.10 billion, versus a pre-results estimate of $6.86billion.
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| OSHA backtracks, won’t hold employers requiring COVID shot liable for workers’ vaccine injuries |
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Posted by: Stone - 05-24-2021, 07:31 PM - Forum: COVID Vaccines
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OSHA backtracks, won’t hold employers requiring COVID shot liable for workers’ vaccine injuries
‘It’s hard to overstate how shocking this change is,’ tweeted former New York Times journalist Alex Berenson.
‘If your boss tells you to take a vaccine or get fired, and you wind up in the hospital afterwards, no one has to know.’
WASHINGTON, D.C., May 24, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) — The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has suddenly backpedaled its policy that employers could potentially be held liable for employees’ adverse reactions to coronavirus vaccines, should they attempt to require workers to receive such injections.
The original policy put employers on notice that should they attempt to require employees to receive experimental coronavirus vaccines, any resulting adverse reaction could be considered “work-related” for which the employer may be held liable.
OSHA released this guidance only on April 20 with its reversal coming just in the last several days.
OSHA’s previous “Frequently Asked Questions” section about the coronavirus included a question about whether an employer that mandates employees receive a coronavirus vaccine is required to record any adverse events as a result of these injections. Such recording requirements of serious work-related injuries and illness may not only leave an employer vulnerable to worker’s compensation claims but such incidents could also impact the employer’s safety record.
The question and answer read in full:
Quote:If I require my employees to take the COVID-19 vaccine as a condition of their employment, are adverse reactions to the vaccine recordable?
If you require your employees to be vaccinated as a condition of employment (i.e., for work-related reasons), then any adverse reaction to the COVID-19 vaccine is work-related. The adverse reaction is recordable if it is a new case under 29 CFR 1904.6 and meets one or more of the general recording criteria in 29 CFR 1904.7.
Following pushback from some trade associations, who had pledged to leverage the intervention of members of the U.S. Congress, OSHA changed its policy stating they would not enforce these recording requirements for at least for another year.
The new question and answer read in full:
Quote:Are adverse reactions to the COVID-19 vaccine recordable on the OSHA recordkeeping log?
DOL and OSHA, as well as other federal agencies, are working diligently to encourage COVID-19 vaccinations. OSHA does not wish to have any appearance of discouraging workers from receiving COVID-19 vaccination, and also does not wish to disincentivize employers’ vaccination efforts. As a result, OSHA will not enforce 29 CFR 1904’s recording requirements to require any employers to record worker side effects from COVID-19 vaccination through May 2022. We will reevaluate the agency’s position at that time to determine the best course of action moving forward.
When the original policy was announced, Brian Turmail, AGC vice president of public affairs, commented, “It's almost like they haven't talked to the rest of the Biden administration about the goal of getting as many people vaccinated as possible.”
screenshot of osha.gov/coronavirus/faqs#vaccine, accessed May 10, 2021
Author Alex Berenson, a former New York Times journalist, tweeted about the change, commenting, “The vaccine fanatics have come for [OSHA] … It’s hard to overstate how shocking this change is … if your boss tells you to take a vaccine or get fired, and you wind up in the hospital afterwards, no one has to know.”
“And please note this language appears to apply not just to quasi-mandatory (take it or get moved to a different job) but actually mandatory (take it or get fired) vaccinations,” he concluded.
screenshot of osha.gov/coronavirus/faqs#vaccine, accessed May 24, 2021
Despite universally accepted medical norms established by the Nuremberg Code of 1947, prohibiting any coercion to receive experimental medical treatment, there have been a number of employers who have been seeking to mandate these experimental injections, despite even possible illegality. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported this beginning trend in a variety of fields including machine operators, office workers, restaurant waiters, and medical staff.
“The Houston Methodist Hospital network is mandating vaccines for both existing employees and new hires, barring an exemption,” Chip Cutter of the WSJ wrote. “Those who fail to comply will at first be suspended without pay, and later terminated.”
Under the previous OSHA policy, employers would have been more vulnerable to be held liable had an employee been afflicted with an adverse reaction, or even death, due to such a vaccine mandate.
For example, 39-year-old nurse aide Janet More died this last New Year’s Eve within 48 hours of receiving one of these injections. According to her brother, she at least had the impression “it was a mandatory vaccine that she had to take for her job.”
A similar case involves the death of 28-year-old Sara Stickles, a nutritional specialist at Swedish American hospital in Rockford, IL who died just five days following her second shot of one of the mRNA gene-therapy vaccines. She too had the clear impression that these injections were required by her employer.
While the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986 shields vaccine manufacturers from any liability due to injuries or death caused by their products, such scenarios as these could still leave employers who mandate coronavirus vaccines liable for significant damages.
And adverse events with regard to these shots are not uncommon. Data released from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) last Friday reveals that between December 14, 2020 and May 14, a total of 227,805 total adverse events were passively reported to the U.S. government’s primary reporting system (VAERS), including 4,201 deaths and 18,528 serious injuries.
While causation is not explicitly confirmed through the VARES reporting system, neither can it be presumed that all such adverse events are reported. Indeed, one study in 2010 found that “fewer than 1% of vaccine injuries” are reported to VAERS, suggesting the actual numbers of deaths and injuries due to these experimental substances are significantly higher.
And despite this change in OSHA policy, it remains possible employers requiring these injections may be held legally liable for violating federal law. According to America’s Frontline Doctors (AFLDS) such products as these which are approved for emergency use only, “are prohibited from being mandated by federal law.” The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s emergency use authorization (EUA) specifically states that individuals must have the free "option to accept or refuse” these vaccines. The prospect of being terminated from one’s job by refusing, certainly undermines such necessary freedom.
Attorneys Mary Holland, president of Children’s Health Defense, and Greg Glaser warned last January that employers and universities who seek to defy the EUA law and attempt to require such injections of employees and students, “are likely to lose if challenged in court.”
In order to assist individuals who wish to challenge their employers, schools, or universities that are requiring experimental COVID-19 vaccines, AFLDS has provided a template letter that can be sent to these entities and persons putting them on notice of their legal vulnerability.
“The law is clear. An experimental vaccine cannot be mandated,” the introduction reads. And the text, drafted in the second person to the mandating authority states, “any employer, public school, or any other entity or person who mandates experimental vaccines on any human being is not protected from liability for any resulting harm. While vaccine manufacturers may be shielded from liability, your institution is not protected, and neither are you.”
The Informed Consent Action Network’s legal team is also offering help to individuals in this position. More information can be found here.
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| Whitsun Week [Monday thru Saturday] |
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Posted by: Stone - 05-24-2021, 08:36 AM - Forum: Pentecost
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Monday in Whitsun Week
Veni, sancte Spiritus, reple tuorum corda fidelium, et tui amoris in eis ignem accende.
Come, O Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of thy faithful, and enkindle within them the fire of thy love.
Yesterday, the Holy Ghost took possession of the world: his commencement of the mission given him by the Father and the Son was such as to indicate his power over the human heart, and prepare us for his future triumphs. The days of this solemn Octave are a fitting occasion for our respectfully considering the progress of his workings in the Church and the souls of men.
Jesus, our Emmanuel, is the King of the whole earth; his Father gave him all nations for his inheritance. He Himself tell us that all power is given to him in heaven and in earth. But he ascended into heaven before establishing his Kingdom here below. The very Israelites—to whom he preached his Gospel, and under whose eyes he wrought such stupendous miracles in attestation of his being the Messias—have refused to acknowledge him, and ceased to be his people. A few have been faithful, and others will follow their example: but the mass of the people of Israel have impiously resolved not to have this Man to reign over them.
As to the Gentiles, what likelihood is there of their accepting the Son of Mary for their Master? They know nothing whatsoever of Him, his teachings, or his mission. They have lost all their primitive religious traditions. Materialism reigns supreme in every country, whether civilized or barbarian; and every creature is made an object for adoration. The very first principles of morality have been corrupted. The insignificant minority, who proudly call themselves Philosophers, have the strangest theories: they became vain in their thoughts, as St. Paul says of them, and their foolish heart was darkened. Races, once distinct, have been gradually fused into each other by conquest. Revolution after revolution has habituated mankind to respect no power but that of might. The colossal Roman Empire, with despotic Cæsars at its head, crushes the whole earth beneath its sway. And this is the time chosen by the heavenly Father for sending his Son into the world! Jesus is to reign over men, and his reign must be accepted:—but there seems to be little chance of there being any welcome given to a King who claims to rule the mind and heart of his subjects!
During these long sad ages, another master has presented himself to the Nations, and they have enthusiastically hailed him as their king. It is Satan. So firmly indeed has he established his rule, that our Lord calls him the Prince of this world. He must be cast out; that is, he must be driven from the temples men have built to him, from society, from the soul, from literature, from art, from political life—all of which are under his sway. There will be resistance from the world he has corrupted; nay, he himself, the strong armed one, will resist, and so powerfully that no mere created power shall ever make him yield.
So, then, everything is against the Kingdom of Christ, and nothing is favorable. And yet, if we are to believe certain modern writers, the world was in a fit state for a total and complete reformation! Impious and absurd assertion! Are we to deny the evidence of facts? Or must we admit that error and vice are the best preparation for truth and virtue? Man may know that he is in a state of wretchedness, and yet not know that his wretchedness comes from sin, still less be resolved to become, at once and at every sacrifice, a hero in virtue!
No:—in order that Jesus might reign over a world such as our was, there was need of a miracle, nay of a miracle, as Bossuet observes, comparable to that of creation, whereby God draws being out of nothingness. Now, it was the Holy Ghost who worked this miracle. He willed that we, who have never seen the Lord Jesus, should be as certain of his being our Messias and God, as though we had witnessed his wonderful works, and heard his divine teachings. For this end, he achieved the master-miracle of the conversion of the world, wherein God chose the weak things of the world, that he might confound the strong—the things that are not, that he might bring to nought the things that are. By this stupendous fact, which was evident to men as the noon-day sun, the Holy Ghost made his presence known and felt by the world.
Let us consider the means he took for establishing the Kingdom of Jesus upon the earth. And first, let us return to the Cenacle. Look at these men now endued with power from on high: what were they a while ago? Men without influence, poor, ignorant, and, as we all know, easily intimidated. But now, the Holy Ghost has changed them into other men: they have an eloquence which it is hard to resist; they are heedless of every threat or peril; they are soon to stand before the world, yea, and conquer it with a victory such as no monarch ever won or fancied. The fact is too evident for the blindest incredulity to deny—the world has been transformed, and transformed by these poor Jews of the Cenacle. They received the Holy Ghost on the Day of Pentecost, and he has done through them the work he came to do.
He gave them three things on that day: the power to preach the word, which was signified by the Tongues that sat upon them; the ardor of love, expressed by the Fire; and the gift of miracles, which they exercised that very morning. The word is the sword wherewith they are armed; love is the source of their dauntless courage; miracles win man’s attention to their teachings. These are the means used for driving Satan from the world, and for establishing the Kingdom of Jesus; and these means are all provided by the Holy Ghost.
But he does not confine his action to this. It is not enough for men to hear the word, and admire the courage, and witness the miracles of the Apostles. Neither is it sufficient that they should see the force of truth and the beauty of virtue, or acknowledge the disgrace and sinfulness of their own manner of life. In order to a conversion of heart—to confess that the Jesus, who is preached to them, is God—to love him, be baptized, promised fidelity to him, even to martyrdom if required—for all this there is need of the grace of the Holy Ghost. He alone can take away the stony heart, as the Prophet expresses it, and give a heart of flesh, filled with supernatural faith and love. Hence, he will accompany his ministers wheresoever they preach the Gospel; the visible working is theirs, the invisible is His: man’s salvation is to be the result of the two united. They must be applied to each individual, and each individual must freely yield his assent to the exterior preaching of the apostle, and to the interior action of the Holy Spirit. Truly, the undertaking is one of extreme difficulty—to bring mankind to receive Jesus as its Lord and King: but after three centuries of contest, the Cross of our Redeemer will be the standard round which the whole civilized world will be rallied.
It was just, that the Holy Spirit and the Apostles should first turn to the Israelites. They were the people to whom were committed the words of God; and the Messias was born of their race. Jesus had said that he was not sent but to the sheep that were lost of the house of Israel. Peter, his Vicar, inherited the glory of being the Apostle of the Jews; although it was also by his ministry that the Gentiles, in the person of Cornelius the Centurion, were first admitted into the Church; and again, it was by him, at the Council of Jerusalem, that the baptized Gentiles were declared emancipated from the Jewish Law. We repeat it—the first preaching of the Christian Law was an honor due to the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: hence, our first Pentecost is a Jewish one, and the first to celebrate it are Jews. It is upon the people of Israel that the Holy Spirit first pours forth his divine Gifts.
As soon as the Solemnity was over, these men who have received the faith and are now truly children of Abraham by holy Baptism, return to the several provinces of the Gentile world whence they came; they return, bearing in their hearts that Jesus whom they have acknowledged to be the Messias, their God and their Savior. Let us honor these first-fruits of holy Church, these trophies of the Paraclete Spirit, these messengers of the good tidings. They will soon be followed by the Disciples of the Cenacle, who—after using every means that zeal could devise for the conversion of the proud and ungrateful Jerusalem, but to no effect—will turn to the Gentiles.
So that, of the Jewish nation, a very small minority has acknowledged the Son of David as the heir of the Father of the Family; the body of the people has rebelled against him, and is running headlong to destruction. By what name are we to call their crime? The Protomartyr, St. Stephen, speaking to these unworthy children of Abraham, says: O stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! we always resist the Holy Ghost! Resistance, then, to the Spirit of God is their crime; and the Apostles, finding the favored people determined to refuse the truth, turn to them that are sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death. These are the Gentiles; and upon them the Apostles are henceforward to lavish the torrents of grace, which Jesus has merited for mankind by his Sacrifice on the Cross.
These messengers of the word of life carry the treasure to pagan lands. Every opposition in man’s power is made against them, but they triumph over all. The Holy Spirit gives efficacy to his own indwelling within them; he acts himself on the souls of their hearers; and rapid is the spread of Faith in Jesus. A Christian colony is soon formed at Antioch, then at Rome, and then at Alexandria. The tongue of fire runs through the world, beyond even the farthest limits of the Roman Empire, which, as the Prophets had foretold, was to serve as an instrument to the establishing the Kingdom of Christ. India, China, Ethiopia, and a hundred other distant countries, hear the word of the heralds of the Gospel of Peace.
But they have another testimony besides their word, to give to Jesus their King: they owe him the testimony of their blood, and they give it. The fire that was enkindled within them on the Day of Pentecost, consumes them in the holocaust of martyrdom.
And yet, observe the power and fruitfulness of the Holy Spirit! To these first Apostles he raises up successors, in whom he continues his influence and work. So will it be to the end of time; for Jesus is to be acknowledged as Lord and Savior by all generations, and the Holy Ghost has been sent into the world in order to effect this.
The Prince of this world, the old serpent, makes use of the most violent means for staying the conquests of these messengers of the Holy Spirit. He has had Peter crucified, and Paul beheaded; he spared not one of the glorious chieftains. They are gone, and yet his defeat is terrible to his pride. The mystery of Pentecost has created a new people; the seed sown by the Apostles has produced an immense harvest. Nero’s persecution has swept away the Jewish leaders of the Christian host; but they had done their grand work—they had established the Church among the Gentiles: we sang their triumph in our yesterday’s Introit: The Spirit of the Lord hath filled the whole earth! Alleluia! Towards the close of the first century, Domitian finds Christians even in the imperial family; he makes them Martyrs. Trajan, Adrian, Antoninus, Marcus Aurelius—all are jealous of the growing power of Jesus of Nazareth; they persecute his flock, and yet they see it multiply. Their master, the Prince of this world, gives them political influence and philosophy; but the Holy Ghost brings both to nought, and the Truth spreads through the universe. Other Emperors—such as Severus, Decius, Gallus, Valerian, and Maximian—with the sterner course of cruelty unrefined by sophistry, order a universal massacre of the Christians, for the Empire was filled with them. And when this too failed, Satan brings all his power to bear in the last Persecution, which is decreed by Diocletian and his fellow Cæsars. It is to be the extermination of the Christian name. It deluges the Empire with the blood of Martyrs; but the victory is for the Church, and her enemies die, despairing and baffled.
How magnificent, O Holy Spirit! is thy triumph! How divine is this Kingdom of Jesus, which thou thus foundest in spite of human folly and malice, or of Satan’s power, strong as it then was upon the earth! Thou infusest into millions of souls the love of a Religion which demands the most heroic sacrifices from its followers. Thou answerest the specious objections of man’s reason by the eloquence of miracles; and hearts that once were slaves to concupiscence and pride are inflamed, by thee, with such a love of Jesus that they cheerfully suffer every torture, yea and death itself, for his dear sake!
Then it was that was fulfilled the promise made by our Savior to his Disciples: When they shall deliver you up, take no thought how or what to speak, for it shall be given to you, in that hour, what to speak; for it is not you that speak, but the Spirit of your Father that speaketh in you. We have a proof of it in the Acts of the Martyrs, where we read their simple and sublime answers, when questioned by their persecutors, and this frequently in the midst of the most excruciating torments. It is the word of the Spirit, combating and conquering the world. The bystanders would frequently exclaim: “Great is the God of the Christians!” At times, the executioners, excited by the heavenly eloquence of the victims they were torturing, cried out that they too would be Disciples of such a God. We are told by authors who lived in those times that the arena of martyrdom was the forum of Faith, and that the blood and testimony of the Martyrs was the seed of Christians.
For three centuries did these prodigies of the Holy Spirit continue, and then the victory was complete. Jesus was acknowledged as the King and Savior of the world, as the Teacher and Redeemer of mankind; Satan was driven from the kingdom he had usurped; and idolatry was either abolished by the Faith in the one true God, or they, that still kept it up, were looked upon as ignorant and depraved beings. Now, this victory—which was gained, first over the Roman Empire and, since then, over so many other infidel nations—is the work of the Holy Ghost. The miraculous manner of its being accomplished, is one of the chief arguments whereon our faith rests. We have not seen or heard Jesus; and yet we confess him to be our God, because of the evident testimony given of him by the Spirit whom he sent to us. May all creatures, then, give glory, thanks and love to this Holy Paraclete who has thus put us in possession of the salvation brought us by our Emmanuel!
Mass
The Station for today is in the Basilica of Saint Peter-ad-Vincula. This Church, which is called also (after the name of the Empress who built it) the Basilica of Eudaxia, possesses the precious relic of the Chains (Vincula) wherewith St. Peter was bound at Jerusalem by order of Herod, and at Rome by order of Nero. The Faithful would be reminded, by their being assembled in this Church, of the fortitude wherewith the Apostles were endowed by the Holy Ghost, on the day of Pentecost. Peter was bound with chains because he labored in the service of his divine Master; he felt it an honor to be thus fettered. He that once trembled at being questioned about Jesus by a woman, now that he has received the gift of the Holy Ghost, rejoices at being loaded with chains for Jesus’ sake. The Prince of this world thought he might enchain the Word of God; but no, this Word is free, even under the shackles forged by a Nero!
The Introit is taken from the Psalms, and is an allusion to the newly baptized neophytes who are present at the Holy Sacrifice, vested in their white garments. After their Baptism, they were fed with the fat of Wheat,—the Bread of Life. They received honey out of the Rock: the Rock is Christ, as St. Paul tells us, and Christ permitted Simon, the son of Jonas, to share with him the honor;—he made him the Rock when he said to him: Thou art Peter! Would we have a proof of Simon’s staunch fidelity to his Master? Look at these Chains! Now, the same Holy Spirit that manned Peter for the combat is now resting on the Neophytes of Pentecost.
Introit
Cibavit eos ex adipe frumenti, alleluia; et de petra, melle saturavit eos. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
He fed them with the fat of wheat, alleluia; and filled them with honey out of the rock. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
Ps. Exsultate Deo adjutori nostro: jubilate Deo Jacob. ℣. Gloria Patri. Cibavit.
Ps. Rejoice in God, our helper; sing aloud to the God of Jacob. ℣. Glory, &c. He fed them, &c.
In the Collect, holy Church commemorates the descent of the Holy Ghost upon the Apostles; and while thanking God for the gift of Faith, which he has bestowed on the newly baptized, she beseeches him to bless them with that Peace which our Risen Jesus gave to his Disciples.
Collect
Deus, qui Apostolis tuis Sanctum dedisti Spiritum: concede plebi tuæ piæ petitionis effectum; ut quibus dedisti fidem largiaris et pacem. Per Dominum.
O God, who didst give the Holy Ghost to thine Apostles, hear the prayers of thy people, that they may enjoy a happy peace, who, by thy grace, have received the gift of faith. Through, &c.
Epistle
Lesson from the Acts of the Apostles. Ch. X.
In those days: Peter opening his mouth, said: Brethren, the Lord commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that it is he who was appointed by God, to be judge of the living and of the dead. To him all the prophets give testimony, that by his name all receive remission of sins, who believe in him. While Peter was yet speaking these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them that heard the word. And the faithful of the circumcision, who came with Peter, were astonished, for that the grace of the Holy Ghost was poured out upon the Gentiles also. For they heard them speaking with tongues, and magnifying God. Then Peter answered: Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, who have received the Holy Ghost, as well as we? And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Quote:This passage from the Acts of the Apostles, read on such a day as this, and in such a place, is most appropriate. Peter, the Vicar of Christ, is speaking to some Jews, who have been converted to the Christian Faith. Several Gentiles, who are present, are touched with grace on hearing Peter preaching, and they profess themselves believers in Jesus, the Son of God: the moment is come for the Apostle to throw the Church open to the Gentile world. Knowing that the Jewish converts would be tempted to jealousy, he appeals to the Prophets. What say these Prophets? That all, without distinction, who shall believe in Jesus, shall receive forgiveness of their sins in his Name. While Peter is thus arguing with his audience, the Holy Ghost removes every objection by falling, as he did on the day of Pentecost, on these humble and believing Gentiles. As soon as the Jewish converts perceive the miracle, they are astonished, and exclaim: “What! is the grace of the Holy Ghost poured out on the Gentiles also!” Peter replies: “Who dares to refuse Baptism to these men, who have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?”—and without waiting for an answer, he gives the order, as Head of the Church, that Baptism be immediately conferred upon these privileged Catechumens.
We repeat it: nothing could be more appropriate than this passage of Sacred Scripture, read as it was in Rome, the center of the Gentile world—and in the presence of the newly baptized, who had so recently received the gifts of the Holy Ghost. We, also, have our lesson to learn from this Epistle: we must fervently thank our Heavenly Father for his having vouchsafed to call our ancestors to the true Faith, and make us also partakers of the graces of the Holy Ghost.
Alleluia, alleluia.
Alleluia, alleluia.
℣. Loquebantur variis linguis Apostoli magnalia Dei.
℣. The Apostles spoke, in diverse tongues, the wondrous works of God.
Here all kneel.
Alleluia.
Alleluia.
℣. Veni, Sancte Spiritus, reple tuorum corda fidelium: et tui amoris in eis ignem accende.
℣. Come, O Holy Spirit! fill the hearts of thy faithful, and kindle within them the fire of thy love.
Then follows the Sequence, Veni Sancte Spiritus.
Hymn
Veni, creator Spiritus,
Mentes tuorum visita,
Imple superna gratia
Gratiæ tu creasti pectora.
O come, Creator Spirit, visit our souls; and with thy heavenly grace fill the hearts that were made by thee.
Qui diceris Paraclitus,
Altissimi donum Dei,
Fons vivus, ignis, caritas,
Et spiritalis unctio.
Thou art called the Paraclete, the Gift of the Most High God, the Living Fountain, Fire, Love, and Spiritual Unction.
Tu septiformis munere,
Digitus Paternæ dexteræ,
Tu rite promissum Patris,
Sermone ditans guttura.
Thou art sevenfold in thy gifts; the Finger of the Father’s hand; the Father’s solemn Promise, that enrichest men with the gift of tongues.
Accende lumen sensibus,
Infunde amorem cordibus,
Infirma nostri corporis
Virtute firmans perpeti.
Enkindle thy light in our minds; infuse thy love into our hearts; and strengthen the weakness of our flesh by thine unfailing power.
Hostem repellas longius,
Pacemque dones protinus:
Ductore sic te prævio
Vitemus omne noxium.
Repel the enemy far from us, and delay not to give us peace; be thou our guide, that we may shun all that could bring us harm.
Per te sciamus da Patrem,
Noscamus atque Filium,
Teque utriusque Spiritum
Credamus omni tempore.
Grant that, through thee, we may know the Father and the Son; and that we may evermore confess thee the Spirit of them both.
Deo Patri sit gloria,
Et Filio, qui a mortuis
Surrexit, ac Paraclito
In sæculorum sæcula.
Amen.
Glory be to God the Father, and to the Son who rose from the dead, and to the Paraclete, for everlasting ages! Amen.
Ant. Spiritus Domini.
Ant. The Spirit of the Lord.
Gospel
Sequel of the holy Gospel according to John. Ch. III.
At that time: Jesus said to Nicodemus: God so loved the world, as to give his only begotten Son; that whosoever believeth in him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting. For God sent not his Son into the world, to judge the world, but that the world may be saved by him. He that believeth in him is not judged. But he that doth not believe, is already judged: because he believeth not in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the judgment: because the light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than the light: for their works were evil. For every one that doth evil hateth the light, and cometh not to the light, that his works may not be reproved. But he that doth truth, cometh to the light, that his works may be made manifest, because they are done in God.
Quote:The Holy Ghost creates Faith within our souls, and by Faith we obtain life everlasting; for Faith is not the Intellect’s assent to a proposition logically demonstrated, but a virtue which proceeds from the Will vivified by grace. Nowadays, Faith is rare. Pride of Intellect is at its height, and docility to the Church’s teachings is far from being general. A man calls himself a Christian and a Catholic, and yet he has his own views upon certain subjects, which he would very reluctantly give up, were they to be condemned by the only authority on earth which has power to guide us in what we are to hold or reject in matters pertaining to Faith. He reads dangerous, sometimes even bad, books, without thinking of inquiring if the laws of the Church forbid such books. His religious instruction has been of a very meager kind, and he seems to wish it to remain so, for he takes no pains to come to a solid and perfect knowledge of his religion; the result is that his mind is filled with the fashionable prejudices of the world he lives in and, on more than one point, he may depend upon his having imbibed heretical nations. He is looked upon as a Catholic; he satisfies the exterior obligations of his Religion, either because of his early training, or because the rest of his family do so, or because he feels more satisfied to do than to omit them: and yet—how sad it is to say it!—he is not a Catholic, for his Faith is gone.
Faith is the first link that unites us to God; for as the Apostle says, he that cometh to God, must believe. Our Savior here tells us that he who believeth is not judged: and the reason is that he whose Faith is what our Gospel implies it to be, does not only assent to a doctrine, but he embraces it with his whole heart and mind; he believes it because he wishes to love what he believes. Faith works, and is perfected by Charity; but itself is a foretaste of Charity. Therefore does our Lord promise salvation to him that believeth. This Faith meets with obstacles, because of our fallen nature. As we have just been told, Light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than the Light. In this our age, darkness is prevalent. Even false lights are seen to rise up, and they mislead thousands. We repeat it: Faith—that Faith which brings us to God and saves us from his judgments—is now rare. O Divine Spirit! deliver us from the darkness of the times in which our lot has been cast. Humble the pride of our minds. Save us from that false Religious Liberty, which is one of the idols of our generation, but which keeps men from the true Faith. We wish to love and possess and keep within us the glorious Light: we wish to merit, by the docility and child-like simplicity of our Faith, to enjoy the full cloudless vision of this divine Light in heaven.
The Offertory is taken from one of the sublimest of the Psalms. It speaks of the tempest, which heralded the coming of the Holy Spirit; and of the fountains of the living waters of Baptism, which sprang up and covered the earth with spiritual verdure.
Offertory
Intonuit de c&aoelig;lo Dominus, et Altissimus dedit vocem suam: et apparuerunt fontes aquarum, alleluia.
The Lord thundered from heaven, and the Highest gave his voice: then the fountains of waters appeared, alleluia.
In the Secret, the Church prays that, by the operation of the Holy Spirit, our hearts and the sacred elements on the Altar may be an offering well pleasing to God.
Secret
Propitius, Domine quæsumus, hæc dona sanctifica: et hostiæ spiritalis oblatione suscepta, nosmetipsos tibi perfice munus æternum. Per Dominum.
Mercifully sanctify, we beseech thee, O Lord, these offerings; and having accepted the oblation of our spiritual victim, make us also an offering pleasing to thee. Through, &c.
The Preface is the same at Whit Sunday.
The Communion-Anthem is formed of the words spoken by Jesus to his Disciples, wherein he explains to them the ministry which the Holy Ghost is come to fulfill:—he will provide for the teaching of the truths which Jesus has revealed.
Communion
Spiritus Sanctus docebit vos, alleluia: quæcumque dixero vobis. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Holy Ghost shall teach you, alleluia, whatever I shall say to you. Alleluia, alleluia.
In the Postcommunion, the Church prays for us all, but in a special manner for her dear Neophytes. They have just been receiving the sacred mysteries; but their virtue and constancy will soon be put to the test: Satan, the world and persecution, await them. The holy Mother asks of God that he would have pity on these tender plants, and shelter them under the cover of his fostering care.
Postcommunion
Adesto, quæsumus Domine, populo tuo: et quem mysteriis cœlestibus imbuisti, ab hostium furore defende. Per Dominum.
Help, we beseech thee, O Lord, thy people, and defend from the fury of their enemies those whom thou hast fed with thy sacred mysteries. Through, &c.
The Armenian Church gives us, for the Monday within the Octave, the following beautiful Hymn, wherein is celebrated the Mission of the Holy Ghost.
Hymn
(Canon secundæ diei.)
Idem ac similis Patri et Filio, Spiritus tu non facte, et co-existens, procedens a Patre inscrutabiliter, accipiens a Filio inenarrabiliter, in Cœnaculum hodie descendisti, spiritu gratiæ tuæ potasti: pota nos quoque per misericordiam calice sapientiæ.
O Uncreated Spirit! one and the same and co-existing with the Father and Son; who proceedest inscrutably from the Father, and receivest of the Son ineffably; thou this day descendedst into the Cenacle, and gavest the Disciples to drink of the spirit of grace. Oh! give us also in thy mercy, to drink of the chalice of wisdom.
Exstantium creator effectorum, qui ferebaris super aquas, pariter in aquis lavacri concessi nobis a tibi co-existente, blandiris amore columbæ instar, homines generas Deiformes: pota nos quoque per misericordiam calice sapientiæ.
O Creator of all things, who movedst over the waters! thou, in the form of a Dove, lovingly broodest over the water of the Font given to us by Him who is God together with thee; and thus thou givest birth to a race of godlike men. Oh! give us also, in thy mercy, to drink of the chalice of wisdom.
Magister supernorum intellectualium, ac imorum horum sensibilium; qui Prophetas das de pastoribus, et Apostolos de piscatoribus, Evangelistas publicanos, prædicatores verbitui persecutores: pota nos quoque per misericordiam calice sapientiæ.
O Master of the heavenly Spirits, and of us men who live on earth; who turnest shepherds into Prophets, and fishermen into Apostles, and publicans into Evangelists, and persecutors into Preachers of thy word; oh! give us also, in thy mercy, to drink of the chalice of wisdom.
Formidabilis venti instar, horrisono vehementi sonitu, apparuisti in Cœnaculo, Spiritus tu, choro duodecim, qui a te baptizati, velut aurum igne purgati sunt, expurga a nobis caliginem peccati, et indue nos lumine gloriæ.
O Divine Spirit, who, as a mighty wind, whose rushing sound fills men with fear, appearedst in the Cenacle to the choir of the twelve Apostles, baptizing them with fire, as gold is cleansed of its dross;—oh! drive from us the darkness of sin, and clothe us with the light of glory.
Amor ex amore te amorem misit, sibi membra sua junxit, Ecclesiam suam quam ædificavit, septem columnis tuis firmavit, œconomisi in ea posuit Apostolos septem charismatibus tuis exornatos: expurga a nobis caliginem peccati, et indue nos lumine gloriæ.
He that is Love, out of love for man, sent thee that art Love; by thee, he united his members (that is, his Church) to himself; he, by thee, built this Church, and set it upon seven pillars, and entrusted her to the stewardship of the Apostles, who were adorned with thy seven gifts;—oh! drive from us the darkness of sin, and clothe us with the light of glory.
The following Sequence was composed in the 11th Century, by the pious and learned Hildebert, Bishop of Le Mans, and afterwards, Archbishop of Tours. It will show us what an enlightened appreciation of the mystery of the Holy Ghost was possessed by the Christians of the Ages of Faith, and how fervently they celebrated it.
Sequence
Spiritus sancte,
Pie Paraclite, O Holy Spirit! merciful Paraclete!
Amor Patris et Filii,
Nexus Gignentis et Geniti.
Love of the Father and Son! Link of the Begetting and Begotten!
Utriusque bonitas et charitas,
Et amborum essentiæ puritas;
Benignitas, suavitas,
Jocunditas.
Their Goodness and Charity; the Purity of their essence; Benignity, Sweetness, Joy!
Vinculum nectens
Deum homini,
Virtus adunans
Hominem Numini.
The bond that joinest God to man; the Power that unitest man to God!
Tibi soli digno coli
Cum Patre Filioque
Jugis cultus,
Honor multus
Sit semper
Procedenti ab utroque.
To thee, who, with the Father and the Son, art alone worthy of adoration; to thee that proceedest from both, be worship and honor forever!
Tu mitis et hilaris,
Amabilis, laudabilis,
Vanitatis mundator,
Muntitiæ amator.
Thou art gentle and joyous, worthy of love and praise. Thou cleansest the soul from vanity. Thou art the lover of purity.
Vox suavis exsulum
Mœrentium,
Melodia civium
Gaudentium.
Thou art music to them who mourn in exile; thou art the melody of them that are in joy.
Istis solamen,
Ne desperent de te,
Istis juvamen,
Ut suspirent ad te.
To the first, thou art a Comforter, lest they should despair of thy help; to the second, a Helper, that they may long to behold thee.
Consolator piorum,
Inspirator bonorum,
Consiliator mœstorum,
The Consoler of the pious, the Inspirer of the good, the Counsellor of the afflicted!
Purificator errorum,
Eruditor ignotorum,
Declarator perplexorum,
The Remover of errors, the Teacher of the ignorant, the Solver of doubts!
Debilem erigens,
Devium colligens,
Errantem corrigens,
Sustines labantem,
Promoves conantem,
Perficis amantem.
Thou supportest the weak, guidest the wanderer, bringest back him that is astray, holdest him that is falling, encouragest him that strives, perfectest him that loves.
Perfectum educis
De lacu fecis,
Et miseriæ.
’Twas thou that broughtest from the pit of dregs and misery him that now is perfect.
Deducis per semitam
Pacis et lætitiæ:
Inducis sub nube
In aulam sapientiæ.
’Tis thou that leadest him through the path of peace and joy, and admittest him, under the cloud (of faith), into the sanctuary of wisdom.
Fundamentum sanctitatis,
Alimentum castitatis,
Ornamentum lenitatis,
Lenimentum paupertatis,
Supplementum largitatis,
Munimentum probitatis.
Thou art the Foundation of sanctity, the Nourishment of chastity, the Beauty of meekness, the Solace of poverty, the Treasury of munificence, the Bulwark of honesty.
Miserorum refugium,
Captivorum suffragium.
Thou art the Refuge of the miserable, and the Deliverer of captives;
Illis aptissimus,
Istis promptissimus.
To the first, most seasonable; to the second, most prompt.
Spiritus veritatis,
Nodus fraternitatis,
Ab eodem missus
A quo et promissus.
Thou art the Spirit of truth, and the bond of brotherly love. He that sent thee, is the same that gave us the promise.
Tu crederis
Omnium judex,
Qui crederis
Omnium opifex.
We believe thee to be the Judge of all men, as we believe thee to be their Creator.
Honestans bene meritos
Præmio,
Onustans immeritos
Supplicio.
Thou givest reward to them that merit it; thou inflictest chastisement on them that have no merit.
Spiras ubi vis
Et quando vis;
Doces quos vis
Et quantum vis.
Thou breathest where and when thou wilt; thou teachest whom thou wilt, and as much as thou wilt.
Imples et instruis
Certos in dubiis
Firmas in subitis,
Regis in licitis.
Thou givest light and knowledge to thy faithful servants when in doubt; thou strengthenest them when taken unawares; thou guidest them when doing what is right.
Tu ordo decorans
Omnia,
Decor ordinans et ornans
Omnia,
Dicta, facta, cogitata,
Dicta veritate,
Facta honestate,
Cogitata puritate.
Thou art Order, that beautifiest all things; thou art Beauty, that ordainest all things,—said, done, or thought; giving truth to what is said, honesty to what is done, purity to what is thought.
Donum bonum,
Bonum perfectum,
Dans et affectum.
Thou art the good and perfect Gift, giving both understanding and love.
Dirigens rectum,
Formans affectum.
Firmans provectum,
Et ad portas Paradisi
Coronans dilectum.
Amen.
Thou guidest man to truth, thou formest his love. Thou confirmest him in good, and, having made him deserving of thy love, thou crownest him at heaven’s gate. Amen.
The Gift of Godliness
The gift of the Fear of God is intended as a cure for our pride; the gift of Godliness is infused into our souls by the Holy Ghost, in order that we may resist self-love, which is one of the passions of our fallen nature, and the second hindrance to our union with God. The heart of a christian is not made to be either cold or indifferent; it must be affectionate and devoted; otherwise, it never can attain the perfection for which God, who is Love, has graciously created it.
The Holy Ghost, therefore, puts the Gift of Godliness into the soul by inspiring it with a filial affection for her Creator. You have received, says the Apostle, the Spirit of adoption of Sons, whereby we cry to our God, Abba! Father! This disposition makes the soul alive to whatsoever regards God’s honor. It enables man to nourish within him a sorrow for his sins, in consideration of the divine mercy which has borne with and forgiven him, and of the Sufferings and Death of his Redeemer. It makes him thirst for God’s glory to be ever spreading; he would, if he could, bring all his fellow creatures to adore this God; he feels most keenly every insult that is offered to so dear a King. His greatest joy is to see others growing in their love and devotedness in the service of the sovereign Good. He is filled with filial submission to his Heavenly Father, whose every will he is most ready to do, cheerfully resigned to whatsoever he may appoint.
His Faith is unhesitating and fervent. Affectionately docile to the Church, he is always in the disposition of mind to abandon his most cherished ideas the moment he discovers them to be, in any way, out of harmony with her teaching or practice, for he has an instinctive horror of novelties and insubordination.
This devotedness to God, which results from the gift of Godliness and unites the soul to her Creator by filial love, makes her love all God’s creatures, inasmuch as they are the work of his hands and belong to him.
The Blessed in heaven hold the first place in the fraternal affection of such a Christian. He has a most tender love for the holy Mother of God, and is zealous for her honor; he venerates the Saints; he is a warm admirer of the courage of the Martyrs, and of the heroic actions of the servants of God; he delights in reading of their miracles, and has a devotion to their sacred Relics.
But his love is not limited to the citizens of heaven; it is extended also to his fellow creatures here on earth, for the gift of Godliness makes him find Jesus in them. He is kind to everyone without exception. He forgives injuries, bears with the imperfections of others, and where an excuse is possible for his neighbor, he makes it. He has compassion on the poor, and it attentive to the sick. His whole conduct is the index of a sterling warmheartedness that weeps with them that weep, and rejoices with them that rejoice.
All this is found in those who use thy gift of Godliness, O Holy Spirit! By infusing it into our souls, thou enablest us to withstand the workings of our self-love, which would corrupt the heart; thou preservest us from that odious indifference to everyone around us, which dries up all feeling; thou drivest from us the sentiments of jealousy and hatred. Yes, Godliness inspired us with a filial love for our Creator, that softened the heart; and every creature of God became dear to us. O Blessed Paraclete! grant that this Gift may produce its rich fruits in us! Never permit us to stifle it by the love of self. Our Jesus has told us that his heavenly Father maketh his sun to rise upon the good and bad: he would have us take this divine generosity as our model: do thou, therefore, foster within us that germ of devotedness, kindness and sympathy, which we received from thee on the day of our Baptism, when thou first tookest possession of our souls!
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| Report: Government Scientific Advisors Admit They Used ‘Totalitarian’ Fear Tactics To Control People |
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Posted by: Stone - 05-24-2021, 08:13 AM - Forum: Socialism & Communism
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Report: Government Scientific Advisors Admit They Used ‘Totalitarian’ Fear Tactics To Control People During Pandemic
“The way we have used fear is dystopian”
Summit News [emphasis mine] | 17 May, 2021
Scientists in the UK working as advisors for the government have expressed regret for using what they now
admit to be “unethical” and “totalitarian” methods of instilling fear in the population in order to control behaviour during the pandemic, according to a report.
The London Telegraph reports the comments made by Members of the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Behaviour (SPI-B), a sub-committee of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) the government’s chief scientific advisory group.
The report quotes a briefing from March 2020, as the first lockdown was decreed, that stated the government should drastically increase “the perceived level of personal threat” that the virus poses because “a substantial number of people still do not feel sufficiently personally threatened”.
One scientist with the SPI-B admits that “In March [2020] the Government was very worried about compliance and they thought people wouldn’t want to be locked down. There were discussions about fear being needed to encourage compliance, and decisions were made about how to ramp up the fear.”
The unnamed scientist adds that “The way we have used fear is dystopian.”
The scientist further confessed that “The use of fear has definitely been ethically questionable. It’s been like a weird experiment. Ultimately, it backfired because people became too scared.”
Another separate scientist on the subcommittee professed “You could call psychology ‘mind control’. That’s what we do… clearly we try and go about it in a positive way, but it has been used nefariously in the past.”
Another scientist warned that “We have to be very careful about the authoritarianism that is creeping in,” adding “people use the pandemic to grab power and drive through things that wouldn’t happen otherwise.”
According to the report, another researcher with the group acknowledged that “Without a vaccine, psychology is your main weapon,” adding that “Psychology has had a really good epidemic, actually.”
Yet another scientist on the subcommittee stated that they have been “stunned by the weaponisation of behavioural psychology” over the past year, and warned that “psychologists didn’t seem to notice when it stopped being altruistic and became manipulative.”
“They have too much power and it intoxicates them”, the scientist further warned.
The comments were collected by author Laura Dodsworth, for her book A State of Fear, out today, that explores the government’s actions during the pandemic.
When the Telegraph asked the subcommittee for comment on the findings, SPI-B psychologist Gavin Morgan replied “Clearly, using fear as a means of control is not ethical. Using fear smacks of totalitarianism. It’s not an ethical stance for any modern government.”
Morgan added that “By nature I am an optimistic person, but all this has given me a more pessimistic view of people.”
Commenting on the revelations, Conservative Steve Baker, a member of a group of anti-lockdown MPs said “If it is true that the state took the decision to terrify the public to get compliance with rules, that raises extremely serious questions about the type of society we want to become.”
“Do I fear that Government policy today is playing into the roots of totalitarianism? Yes, of course it is,” Baker urged.
The government state of fear continues minute by minute as government ministers are now suggesting that so called ‘freedom day’ in the UK (a situation where the government permits people to have basic rights is not freedom) on June 21st is under threat because a sizeable portion of the population is refusing to take the vaccine:
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| Germany, WHO announce creation of new data hub to fight pandemics |
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Posted by: Stone - 05-24-2021, 08:05 AM - Forum: Great Reset
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Germany, WHO announce creation of new data hub to fight pandemics
Reuters [emphasis mine] | May 5, 2021
German Health Minister Jens Spahn called on Wednesday for a "global reset" in the fight against pandemics as Germany and the World Health Organization (WHO) announced the creation of a new global hub in Berlin for gathering data on pandemics.
Speaking at a virtual news conference attended also by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the head of the WHO, Spahn said the world was still insufficiently prepared for pandemics.
"We need to identify pandemic and epidemic risks as quickly as possible, wherever they occur in the world," Spahn said.
"For that aim, we need to strengthen the global early warning surveillance system with improved collection of health-related data and inter-disciplinary risk analysis."
The new hub in Berlin, bringing together governmental, academic and private sector institutions, aims to harness global data to predict, prevent and respond to pandemic and epidemic risks worldwide.
"There will be more viruses that will emerge with the potential of sparking pandemics," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told the news conference.
The WHO has been criticised for its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, sparked by a new coronavirus that emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019.
Three independent panels are due to report this month on how the WHO and member states reacted, and propose changes. Tedros has said repeatedly that the U.N. agency is open to reforms. [See here, for example. - The Catacombs]
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| World Health Org. calls for global system of surveillance, more authority over nations |
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Posted by: Stone - 05-24-2021, 07:57 AM - Forum: Socialism & Communism
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World Health Org. calls for global system of surveillance, more authority over nations, billions more in funding
Patrick Wood, Editor in Chief of Technocracy News told LifeSiteNews that, were the recommendations of the report to be implemented,
'the top political leaders of each nation would become the puppets of the WHO whenever it decides to declare a pandemic.'
May 20, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) – The pro-abortion World Health Organization (WHO) has released a report calling for greater authority for itself in countries around the globe, a global surveillance system, as well as billions more dollars in financing for itself.
In a report released this month entitled, COVID-19: Make it the Last Pandemic, a group called the "Independent Panel" established by the WHO, analyzed the global response to the Wuhan Virus and delivered a strong message for international changes.
They state, "Our message is loud and clear: no more pandemics. If we fail to take this goal seriously, we will condemn the world to successive catastrophes."
"On the basis of its diagnosis of what went wrong at each stage of the COVID-19 response, the Panel makes […] seven recommendations directed to ensuring that a future outbreak does not become a pandemic. Each recommendation is linked directly back to evidence of what has gone wrong. To be successful they must be implemented in their entirety."
The panel is co-chaired Rt Hon. Helen Clark, former Prime Minister of New Zealand and H.E. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, former President of Liberia and Nobel Laureate and includes eleven other professionals from around the world.
Patrick Wood, Editor in Chief of Technocracy News told LifeSiteNews that, were the recommendations of the report to be implemented, “the top political leaders of each nation would become the puppets of the WHO, whenever it decides to declare a pandemic.”
“The WHO is not and never has been independent,” Wood continued. “Rather, it is a key agency of the United Nations and subservient to its ideology. It seeks additional authority over nations and needs money to accomplish it. Nobody prevents a virus from spreading, so the call for more funding is spurious at best. After contributing to the current crisis, they want to prevent the next one?”
Wood told LifeSiteNews that “total surveillance” is “the holy grail” of the “sustainable development” agenda, which he says can also be described as the “technocracy” agenda.
“This is a fast-track conduit/supply chain for Big Pharma to push its gene therapy shots and vaccines to a generally uninformed global citizenry,” Wood added.
Regarding the so-called “Independent Panel”, Wood said:
Quote:The panel of eleven is far from “independent”. Two are associated with the elitist Trilateral Commission, two with United Nations agencies, one member of the Communist Chinese Party who was a principal in the COVID outbreak in China and all are UN ideologues. To my knowledge and study, when the United Nations calls for “independent” or “high level” panels, they are signaling the exact opposite. Those elitist/ideologues who populate such panels always and only promote one thing: Sustainable Development in all its forms and control over society.
Working together since September 2020, the panel says that it has "examined the state of pandemic preparedness prior to COVID-19," as well as the global responses to COVID-19.
They state:
Quote:The world cannot afford to focus only on COVID-19. It must learn from this crisis, and plan for the next one. Otherwise, precious time and momentum will be lost. That is why our recommendations focus on the future. COVID-19 has been a terrible wake-up call. So now the world needs to wake up, and commit to clear targets, additional resources, new measures and strong leadership to prepare for the future. We have been warned.
Global failure
In a 7-page summary document of the full report, the authors of the report state that "the initial outbreak became a pandemic as a result of gaps and failings at every critical juncture of preparedness for and response to COVID-19."
According to the summary report these failings included "inadequate funding and stress testing of preparedness, despite the increasing rate at which zoonotic diseases are emerging."
The authors of the report say that China was "quick to spot unusual clusters of pneumonia of unknown origin," but that the procedures under the International Health Regulations were much too slow. Further, countries did not act quickly enough with an "aggressive containment strategy," but rather took a "'wait and see' approach."
As the virus spread, the WHO, trying to support the countries with advice and guidance, found that "Member States had underpowered the agency to do the job demanded of it."
"Preparedness was underfunded and response funding was too slow," they say. The result, they explain was "widening inequalities" in regards to the "impact on women and vulnerable and marginalized populations."
Global recommendations
The summary report concludes with seven recommendations that, if acted upon immediately (by fall 2021) will change the course of how the world deals with virus outbreaks. The strongly iterate that their recommendations be "fulfilled in their entirety."
The recommendations focus mainly on increasing the authority and power of the WHO and vastly increasing the amount of money given annually to them.
The global recommendations are:
1. "Elevate pandemic preparedness and response to the highest level of political leadership." This would include setting up a “Global Health Threats Council.”
2. "Strengthen the independence, authority and financing of WHO." This would include increasing the fees of Member States to cover 2/3 of the WHO (in 2019, Member State fees made up 51% of the budget). Further, the authority and independence of the Director-General would be strengthened and include a "single term of office for seven years with no option for re-election" and that the WHO "be empowered to take a leading, convening, and coordinating role in operational aspects of an emergency response to a pandemic, without, in most circumstances, taking on responsibility for procurement and supplies."
3. "Invest in preparedness now to prevent the next crisis." The Panel is calling governments to update their plans to meet the benchmarks set by the WHO, which include separate nations completing peer reviews of each other on their pandemic preparedness of "as a means of accountability and learning between countries." The report also recommends that there be an annual assessment of each country by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) regarding their preparedness.
4. "A new agile and rapid surveillance information and alert system." The WHO needs to establish "a new global system for surveillance, based on full transparency by all parties, using state-of-the-art digital tools to connect information centers around the world and including animal and environmental health surveillance, with appropriate protections of people’s rights." This includes the "explicit authority to publish information about outbreaks with pandemic potential immediately without requiring the prior approval of national governments, and the power to investigate pathogens with pandemic potential…"
Along with the global surveillance, the Panel is further recommending that the Director-General be given the authority to act out of precaution. "The bias of the current system of pandemic alert is towards inaction — steps may only be taken if the weight of evidence requires them. This bias should be reversed — precautionary action should be taken on a presumptive basis, unless evidence shows it is not necessary."
5. "Establish a pre-negotiated platform for tools and supplies."
6. "Raise new international financing for pandemic preparedness and response." The Panel here is proposing that countries around the world, not only up their membership fees to the WHO, but work to raise an additional "US$5-10billion annually to finance preparedness" so that the WHO can distribute US$50-100 billion at a moment's notice if needed.
7. "National Pandemic Coordinators have a direct line to Head of State or Government." Each state should have a national pandemic coordinator that will have the power to drive the coordination of the government response under the guidance of the WHO. As well, each state "should conduct multi-sectoral active simulation exercises on a yearly basis." These simulations should be with various populations to make sure the people remain accountable and know how to respond as they are expected to.
The so-called “Independent Panel” offers a timetable for immediate action. By September 2021, the WHO wants to see countries with a "vaccination pipeline" to begin providing at least 1 billion doses to lower income countries. Immediately, they are recommending that the WHO take charge to develop the roadmap to guide the globe to end the Wuhan Virus pandemic and that testing for the virus be "scaled up urgently" in low and middle-income countries. Further, as there is $19 billion US needed to purchase and develop more vaccines in order to vaccinate all the middle and lower income countries, they are requesting an immediate $11.4 billion of this cost be incurred by the G7 countries.
Entirely absent from this report is any analysis of the impact on society that these recommendations will have. Further, the clear implication from the document is that the WHO believes it has made no mistakes in its response to COVID-19 thus far. The report contains no analysis of the impact of the global response to COVID-19 on small businesses, the middle-class, mental health, the education of children, health of citizens, infringement on personal rights, or the enormous debt incurred by governments through the investment of billions of dollars in vaccines and other COVID-related costs.
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| Come O Holy Spirit, Come |
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Posted by: Stone - 05-23-2021, 09:05 AM - Forum: Pentecost
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SEQUENCE OF PENTECOST
Veni Sacnte Spiritus
Ascr. to Innocent III, d.1216 / Samuel Webbe, d.1816
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| Veni Creator Spiritus |
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Posted by: Stone - 05-23-2021, 08:52 AM - Forum: Pentecost
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One of the most widely used hymns in the Church, Veni, Creator Spiritus, is attributed to Rabanus Maurus (776-856). It is used at Vespers, Pentecost, Dedication of a Church, Confirmation, and Holy Orders and whenever the Holy Spirit is solemnly invoked.
Latin
VENI, Creator Spiritus,
mentes tuorum visita,
imple superna gratia
quae tu creasti pectora.
Qui diceris Paraclitus,
altissimi donum Dei,
fons vivus, ignis, caritas,
et spiritalis unctio.
Tu, septiformis munere,
digitus paternae dexterae,
Tu rite promissum Patris,
sermone ditans guttura.
Accende lumen sensibus:
infunde amorem cordibus:
infirma nostri corporis
virtute firmans perpeti.
Hostem repellas longius,
pacemque dones protinus:
ductore sic te praevio
vitemus omne noxium.
Per te sciamus da Patrem,
noscamus atque Filium;
Teque utriusque Spiritum
credamus omni tempore.
Deo Patri sit gloria,
et Filio, qui a mortuis
surrexit, ac Paraclito,
in saeculorum saecula.
Amen.
English
COME, Holy Spirit, Creator blest,
and in our souls take up Thy rest;
come with Thy grace and heavenly aid
to fill the hearts which Thou hast made.
O comforter, to Thee we cry,
O heavenly gift of God Most High,
O fount of life and fire of love,
and sweet anointing from above.
Thou in Thy sevenfold gifts are known;
Thou, finger of God's hand we own;
Thou, promise of the Father, Thou
Who dost the tongue with power imbue.
Kindle our sense from above,
and make our hearts o'erflow with love;
with patience firm and virtue high
the weakness of our flesh supply.
Far from us drive the foe we dread,
and grant us Thy peace instead;
so shall we not, with Thee for guide,
turn from the path of life aside.
Oh, may Thy grace on us bestow
the Father and the Son to know;
and Thee, through endless times confessed,
of both the eternal Spirit blest.
Now to the Father and the Son,
Who rose from death, be glory given,
with Thou, O Holy Comforter,
henceforth by all in earth and heaven.
Amen.
Source
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| Pentecost Sunday |
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Posted by: Stone - 05-23-2021, 07:00 AM - Forum: Pentecost
- Replies (7)
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INSTRUCTION ON THE GREAT FESTIVAL OF PENTECOST
From Fr. Leonard Goffine's Explanations of the Epistles and Gospels for the Sundays, Holydays, and Festivals throughout the Ecclesiastical Year 36th edition, 1880
What festival is this?
IT is the day on which the Holy Ghost descended in the form of fiery tongues, upon the apostles and disciples, who with Mary, the Mother of Jesus, were assembled in prayer in a house at Jerusalem. (Acts ii.)
Why is this day called Pentecost?
The word "Pentecost" is taken from the Greek, and signifies fifty. As St. Jerome explains it, this was the last of the fifty days, commencing with Easter, which the early Christians celebrated as days of rejoicing at the resurrection of the Lord.
Why is this day observed so solemnly?
Because on this day the Holy Ghost, having descended upon the apostles, the law of grace, of purification from sin, and the sanctification of mankind, was for the first time announced to the world; because on this day the apostles, being filled with the Holy Ghost, commenced the work of purifying and sanctifying mankind, by baptizing three thousand persons who were converted by the sermon of St. Peter; and because on this day the Church of Jesus became visible as a community to the world, and publicly professed her faith in her crucified Saviour.
Why did the Holy Ghost descend on the Jewish Pentecost?
Because on their Pentecost the Jews celebrated the anniversary of the giving of the law on Mount Sinai, and God would show by sending the Holy Ghost on this day, that the Old Law had ceased and the New Law commenced. God also chose this time, that the Jews who on this day came together from all countries to Jerusalem to celebrate the Pentecost, might be witnesses of the miracle, and hear the New Law announced by the Apostles.
Why is the baptismal font blessed on the vigil of Pentecost, as on Holy Saturday?
Because the Holy Ghost is the Author of all sanctity and the Fountain of baptismal grace, and because in the Acts (i. 5.) the descent of the Holy Ghost itself is called a baptism.
✠ ✠ ✠
In the Introit of the Mass the Church rejoices at the descent of the Holy Ghost and sings: The Spirit of the Lord hath filled the whole earth, allel.; and that which containeth all things hath knowledge of the voice, Allel., allel., allel. (Wisd. i. 7.) Let God arise, and his enemies be scattered: and let them that hate him, fly before his face. (Ps. 67.) Glory, &c.
PRAYER OF THE CHURCH. O God, who on this day didst instruct the hearts of the faithful by the light of the Holy Spirit: grant us in the same spirit to relish what is right, and ever to rejoice in His consolation. Thro. — in the unity of the same, &c.
LESSON. (Acts n. 1 — 11.) When the days of Pentecost were accomplished, they were all together in one place; and suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a mighty wind coming, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them parted tongues as it were of fire, andit sat upon every one of them: and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they began to speak with divers tongues, according as the Holy Ghost gave them to speak. Now there were dwelling at Jerusalem, Jews, devout men, of every nation under heaven. And when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded in mind, because that every man heard them speak in his own tongue: and they were all amazed, and wondered, saying: Behold, are not all these that speak Galileans? And how have we heard every man our own tongue wherein we were born? Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea, and Cappadocia, Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphilia, Egypt, and the parts of Lybia about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews also and Proselytes, Cretes, and Arabians: we have heard them speak in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.
Quote:Why did the Holy Ghost come upon the Apostles in the form of fiery tongues?
The appearance of fiery tongues indicated the gift of language imparted to the apostles by the Holy Ghost, and inflamed their hearts and the hearts of the faithful with the love of God and their neighbor.
Why did a mighty wind accompany the descent?
To direct the attention of the people to the descent of the Holy Ghost, and to assemble them to hear the sermon of the Apostle Peter.
What special effects did the Holy Ghost produce in the apostles?
He freed them from all doubt and fear; gave them His light for the perfect knowledge of truth; inflamed their hearts with the most ardent love, and incited in them the fiery zeal for the propagation of the kingdom of God, strengthened them to bear all sufferings and persecutions, (Acts v. 41.) and gave them the gift of speaking in various languages, and of discerning spirits.
GOSPEL. (John xiv. 23 — 31.) At that time, Jesus said to his disciples: If any one love me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him, and will make our abode with him. He that loveth me not, keepeth not my words: and the word which you have heard is not mine, but the Father's, who sent me. These things have I spoken to you, abiding with you: but the Paraclete, the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring all things to your mind, whatsoever I shall have said to you. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, do I give unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid. You have heard that I said to you, I go away, and I come unto you. If you loved me, you would indeed be glad, because I go to the Father; for the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you before it came to pass, that when it shall come to pass you may believe. I will not now speak many things with you;for the prince of this world cometh, and in me he hath not anything. But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father hath given me commandment, so do I.
Why is the Holy Ghost expressly called “Holy" since this attribute is due to each of the divine persons?
Because He is the Author of inward sanctity and of all supernatural gifts and graces; and therefore to Him is especially ascribed the work of man's sanctification.
What does the Holy Ghost effect in man?
He enlightens him that he may know the truths of religion and salvation, and the beauty of virtue; He moves him to desire, to aim after and to love these things; He renews his heart by cleansing it from sin, and imparts to him the supernatural gifts and graces by which he can become sanctified, and He brings forth in him wonderful fruits of holiness.
What are the gifts of the Holy Ghost?
According to the Prophet Isaias they are seven:
1. The gift of wisdom, which enables us to know God, to esteem spiritual more than temporal advantages, and to delight only in divine things.
2. The gift of understanding, by which we know and understand that which our faith proposes to our belief; children and adults should pray fervently for this gift, especially before sermons, and instructions in the catechism.
3. The gift of counsel, which gives us the knowledge necessary to direct ourselves and others when in doubt, a gift particularly necessary for superiors, for those about choosing their state of life, and for married people who live unhappily , and do not know how to help themselves.
4. The gift of fortitude, which strengthens us to endure and courageously overcome all adversities and persecutions for virtue's sake.
5. The gift of knowledge, by which we know ourselves, our duties, and how to discharge them in a manner pleasing to God.
6. The gift of piety, which induces us to have God in view in all our actions, and infuses love in our hearts for His service.
7. The gift of the fear of the Lord, by which we not only fear the just punishment, but even His displeasure at every sin, more than all other things in the world.
Which are the fruits of the Holy Ghost?
As St. Paul (Gal. v. 22 — 21) enumerates them, they are twelve:
1. Charity.
2. Joy.
3. Peace.
4. Patience.
5. Benignity.
6. Goodness.
7. Longanimity.
8. Mildness.
9. Faith.
10. Modesty.
11. Continency.
12. Chastity.
To obtain these fruits as well as the gifts of the Holy Ghost, we should daily say the prayer: "Come, O Holy Ghost, &c."
Why does Christ say: The Father is greater than I?
Christ as God is in all things equal to His Father, but as Christ was at the same time Man, the Father was certainly greater than the Man-Christ.
Why does Christ say: I will not now speak many things with you?
Christ spoke these words a short time before His passion; and by them He wished to say that the time was near at hand when Satan, by his instruments, the wicked Jews, would put Him to death, not because Satan had this power over Him, but because He Himself wished to die in obedience to the will of His Father.
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| Caught Red-Handed: CDC Changes Test Thresholds To Virtually Eliminate New COVID Cases Among Vaxx'd |
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Posted by: Stone - 05-23-2021, 06:50 AM - Forum: Pandemic 2020 [Secular]
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Caught Red-Handed: CDC Changes Test Thresholds To Virtually Eliminate New COVID Cases Among Vaxx'd
Authored by Kit Knightly via Off-Guardian.org
New policies will artificially deflate “breakthrough infections” in the vaccinated, while the old rules continue to inflate case numbers in the unvaccinated.
The US Center for Disease Control (CDC) is altering its practices of data logging and testing for “Covid19” in order to make it seem the experimental gene-therapy “vaccines” are effective at preventing the alleged disease.
They made no secret of this, announcing the policy changes on their website in late April/early May, (though naturally without admitting the fairly obvious motivation behind the change).
The trick is in their reporting of what they call “breakthrough infections” – that is people who are fully “vaccinated” against Sars-Cov-2 infection, but get infected anyway.
Essentially, Covid19 has long been shown – to those willing to pay attention – to be an entirely created pandemic narrative built on two key factors:
1. False-positive tests. The unreliable PCR test can be manipulated into reporting a high number of false-positives by altering the cycle threshold (CT value)
2. Inflated Case-count. The incredibly broad definition of “Covid case”, used all over the world, lists anyone who receives a positive test as a “Covid19 case”, even if they never experienced any symptoms.
Without these two policies, there would never have been an appreciable pandemic at all, and now the CDC has enacted two policy changes which means they no longer apply to vaccinated people.
Firstly, they are lowering their CT value when testing samples from suspected “breakthrough infections”.
From the CDC’s instructions for state health authorities on handling “possible breakthrough infections” (uploaded to their website in late April):
Quote:For cases with a known RT-PCR cycle threshold (Ct) value, submit only specimens with Ct value ≤28 to CDC for sequencing. (Sequencing is not feasible with higher Ct values.)
Throughout the pandemic, CT values in excess of 35 have been the norm, with labs around the world going into the 40s.
Essentially labs were running as many cycles as necessary to achieve a positive result, despite experts warning that this was pointless (even Fauci himself said anything over 35 cycles is meaningless).
But NOW, and only for fully vaccinated people, the CDC will only accept samples achieved from 28 cycles or fewer. That can only be a deliberate decision in order to decrease the number of “breakthrough infections” being officially recorded.
Secondly, asymptomatic or mild infections will no longer be recorded as “covid cases”.
That’s right. Even if a sample collected at the low CT value of 28 can be sequenced into the virus alleged to cause Covid19, the CDC will no longer be keeping records of breakthrough infections that don’t result in hospitalisation or death.
From their website:
Quote:As of May 1, 2021, CDC transitioned from monitoring all reported vaccine breakthrough cases to focus on identifying and investigating only hospitalized or fatal cases due to any cause. This shift will help maximize the quality of the data collected on cases of greatest clinical and public health importance. Previous case counts, which were last updated on April 26, 2021, are available for reference only and will not be updated moving forward.
Just like that, being asymptomatic – or having only minor symptoms – will no longer count as a “Covid case” but only if you’ve been vaccinated.
The CDC has put new policies in place which effectively created a tiered system of diagnosis. Meaning, from now on, unvaccinated people will find it much easier to be diagnosed with Covid19 than vaccinated people.
Consider…
Person A has not been vaccinated. They test positive for Covid using a PCR test at 40 cycles and, despite having no symptoms, they are officially a “covid case”.
Person B has been vaccinated. They test positive at 28 cycles, and spend six weeks bedridden with a high fever. Because they never went into a hospital and didn’t die they are NOT a Covid case.
Person C, who was also vaccinated, did die. After weeks in hospital with a high fever and respiratory problems. Only their positive PCR test was 29 cycles, so they’re not officially a Covid case either.
The CDC is demonstrating the beauty of having a “disease” that can appear or disappear depending on how you measure it.
To be clear: If these new policies had been the global approach to “Covid” since December 2019, there would never have been a pandemic at all.
If you apply them only to the vaccinated, but keep the old rules for the unvaccinated, the only possible result can be that the official records show “Covid” is much more prevalent among the latter than the former.
This is a policy designed to continuously inflate one number, and systematically minimise the other.
What is that if not an obvious and deliberate act of deception?
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| Dom Prosper Guéranger: The Practice for the Time after Pentecost |
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Posted by: Stone - 05-22-2021, 07:21 AM - Forum: Pentecost
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PRACTICE FOR THE TIME AFTER PENTECOST
The object which holy Church has in view by her Liturgical Year, is the leading her Christian soul to union with Christ, and this by the Holy Ghost. This object is the one which God himself has in giving us his own Son, to be our Mediator, our Teacher, and Redeemer, and in sending us the Holy Ghost to abide among us. It is to this end that is directed all that aggregate of Rites and Prayers, which we have hitherto explained: they are not a mere commemoration of the mysteries achieved for our salvation by the divine goodness, but they bring with them the graces corresponding to each of those mysteries; that thus we may come, as the Apostle expresses it, to the age of the fulness of Christ.
As we have elsewhere explained, our sharing in the mysteries of Christ, which are celebrated in the Liturgical Year, produces in the Christian what is called, in Mystic Theology, the Illuminative Life, in which the soul gains continually more and more of the light of the Incarnate Word, who, by his examples and teachings, renovates each one of her faculties, and imparts to her the habit of seeing all things from God’s point of view. This is a preparation which disposes her for union with God, not merely in an imperfect manner, and one that is more or less inconstant, but in an intimate and permanent way, which is called the Unitive Life. The production of this Life is the special work of the Holy Ghost, who has been sent into this world that he may maintain each one of our souls in the possession of Christ, and may bring to perfection the love whereby the creature is united with its God.
In this state, in this Unitive Life, the soul is made to relish, and assimilate into herself, all that substantial and nourishing food which is presented to her so abundantly during The Time after Pentecost. The mysteries of the Trinity and of the Blessed Sacrament, the mercy and power of the Heart of Jesus, the glories of Mary and her influence upon the Church and souls,—all these are manifested to the soul with more clearness than ever, and produce within her effects not previously experienced. In the Feasts of the Saints, which are so varied and so grand during this portion of the year, she feels more and more intimately the bond which unites her to them in Christ, through the Holy Spirit. The eternal happiness of Heaven, which is to follow the trials of this mortal life, is revealed to her by the Feast of all Saints; she gains clearer notions of that mysterious bliss, which consists in light and love. Having become more closely united to Holy Church, which is the Bride of her dear Lord, she follows her in all the stages of her earthly existence, she takes a share in her sufferings, she exults in her triumphs; she sees, and yet is not daunted at seeing, this world tending to its decline, for she knows that the Lord is nigh at hand. As to what regards herself, she is not dismayed at feeling that her exterior life is slowly giving way, and that the wall which stands between her and the changeless sight and possession of the sovereign Good is gradually falling to decay; for, it is not in this world that she lives, and her heart has long been where her treasure is.
Thus enlightened, thus attracted, thus established by the incorporation into herself of the mysteries, wherewith the sacred Liturgy has nourished her, as also by the gifts poured into her by the Holy Ghost, the soul yields herself up, and without any effort, to the impulse of the divine Mover. Virtue has become all the more easy to her, as she aspires, it would almost seem, naturally, to what is most perfect; sacrifices, which used, formerly, to terrify, not delight her; she makes use of this world, as though she used it not, for all true realities, as far as she is concerned, exist beyond this world; in a word, she longs all the more ardently after the eternal possession of the object she loves, as she has been realizing even in this life, what the Apostle describes, where he speaks of a creature’s being one spirit with the Lord, by being united to him in heart.
Such is the result ordinarily produced in the soul, by the sweet and healthy influence of the sacred Liturgy. But if it seem to us, that, although we have followed it in its several seasons, we have not, as yet, reached the state of detachment and expectation just described, and that the life of Christ has not, so far, absorbed our own individual life into itself,—let us be on our guard against discouragement on that account. The Cycle of the Liturgy, with its rays of light and grace for the soul, is not a phenomenon that occurs only once in the heaven of holy Church; it returns each Year. Such is the merciful design of that God, who hath so loved the world, as to give it his Only Begotten Son; of that God, who came not to judge the world, but that the world may be saved by him. Such, we say, is the Design of God; and holy Church is but carrying out that design, by putting within our reach the most powerful of all means for leading man to his God, and uniting him to his sovereign Good; she thus testifies the earnestness of her maternal solicitude. The Christian who has not been led to the term we have been describing by the first half of the Cycle, we still meet, in this second, with important aids for the expansion of his faith and the growth of his love. The Holy Ghost, who reigns, in a special manner, over this portion of the Year, will not fail to influence his mind and heart; and, when a fresh Cycle commences, the work, thus begun by grace, has a new chance for receiving that completeness, which had been retarded by the weakness of human nature.
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| Dom Prosper Guéranger: The Mystery of the Time after Pentecost |
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Posted by: Stone - 05-22-2021, 07:15 AM - Forum: Pentecost
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THE MYSTERY OF THE TIME AFTER PENTECOST.
That we may thoroughly understand the meaning and influence of the Season of the Liturgical Year upon which we have now entered, it is requisite for us to grasp the entire sequel of mysteries, which holy Church has celebrated in our presence and company; we have witnessed her Services, and we have shared in them. The celebration of those mysteries was not an empty pageant, acted for the sake of being looked at. Each one of them brought with it a special grace, which produced in our souls the reality signified by the Rites of the Liturgy. At Christmas, Christ was born within us; at Passiontide, He passed on and into us his sufferings and atonements; at Easter, he communicated to us his glorious, his untrammelled life; in his Ascension, he drew us after him, and this even to heaven’s summit; in a word, as the Apostle expresses all this working, Christ was formed in us.
But, in order to give solidity and permanence to the image of Christ formed within us, it was necessary that the Holy Ghost should come, that so he might increase our light, and enkindle a fire within us that should never be quenched. This divine Paraclete came down from heaven; he gave himself to us; he wishes to take up his abode within us, and take our life of regeneration entirely into his own hands. Now, it is during the period called, by the Liturgy, The Time after Pentecost, that there is signified and expressed this regenerated life, which is to be spent on the model of Christ’s, and under the direction of his Spirit.
Two objects here offer themselves to our consideration: the Church and the Christian soul. As to holy Church, the Bride of Christ, filled as she is with the Paraclete Spirit, who has poured himself forth upon her, and, from that time forward, is her animating principle,—she is advancing onwards in her militant career, and will do so till the second Coming of her heavenly Spouse. She has within her the gifts of Truth and Holiness. Endowed with Infallibility of Faith, and Authority to govern, she feeds Christ’s flock, sometimes enjoying liberty and peace, sometimes going through persecutions and trials. Her divine Spouse abides with her, by his grace and the efficacy of his promises, even to the end of time; she is in possession of all the favors he has bestowed upon her; and the Holy Ghost dwells with her, and in her, forever. All this is expressed by this present portion of the Liturgical Year. It is one wherein we shall not meet with any of those great events which prepared and consummated the divine work; but, on the other hand, it is a season when holy Church reaps the fruits of that holiness and doctrine, which those ineffable mysteries have already produced, and will continue to produce, during the course of ages. It is during this same season, that we shall meet with the preparation for, and, in due time, the fulfillment of, those final events which will transform our Mother’s militant life on earth into the triumphant one in heaven. As far, then, as regards holy Church, this is the meaning of the portion of the Cycle we are commencing.
As to the faithful soul, whose life is but a compendium of that of the Church, her progress, during the period which is opened to her after the Pentecostal Feasts, should be in keeping with that of our common Mother. The soul should live and act according to that Jesus, who has united himself with her by the mysteries she has gone through; she should be governed by the Holy Spirit, whom she has received. The sublime episodes, peculiar to this second portion of the year, will give her an increase of light and life. She will put unity into these rays, which, though scattered in various directions, emanate from one common center: and, advancing from brightness to brightness, she will aspire to being consummated in him whom she now knows so well, and whom death will enable her to possess as her own. Should it not be the will of God, however, to take her as yet to himself, she will begin a fresh year, and live, over again, those mysteries which she has already enjoyed in the foregoing first half of the Liturgical Cycle, after which, she will find herself, once more, in the season that is under the direction of the Holy Ghost; till at last, her God will summon her from this world, on the day and at the hour which he has appointed from all eternity.
Between the Church, then, and the Soul, during the time intervening from the descent of the divine Paraclete to the consummation, there is this difference,—that the Church goes through it but once, whereas the Christian soul repeats it each year. With this exception, the analogy is perfect. It is our duty, therefore, to thank God for his providing thus for our weakness, by means of the sacred Liturgy, whereby he successively renews within us those helps, which enable us to attain the glorious end of our creation.
Holy Church has so arranged the order for reading the Books of Scripture during the present period, as to express the work then accomplished, both in the Church herself, and in the Christian soul. For the interval between Pentecost and the commencement of August, she gives us the Four Books of Kings. They are a prophetic epitome of the Church’s history. They describe how the kingdom of Israel was founded by David, who is the type of Christ victorious over his enemies, and by Solomon, the king of peace, who builds a temple in honor of Jehovah. During the centuries comprised in the history given in those Books, there is a perpetual struggle between good and evil. There are great and saintly kings, such as Asa, Ezechias, and Josias; there are wicked ones, like Manasses. A schism breaks out in Samaria; infidel nations league together against the City of God. The holy people, continually turning a deaf ear to the Prophets, give themselves up to the worship of false gods, and to the vices of the heathen; till, at length, the justice of God destroys both Temple and City of the faithless Jerusalem: it is an image of the destruction of this world, when Faith shall be so rare, as that the Son of Man, at his second Coming, shall scarce find a vestige of it remaining.
During the month of August, we read the Sapiential Books,—so called, because they contain the teachings of Divine Wisdom. This Wisdom is the Word of God, who is manifested unto men through the teachings of the Church, which, because of the assistance of the Holy Ghost permanently abiding within her, is infallible in the truth.
Supernatural truth produces holiness, which cannot exist, nor produce fruit, where truth is not. In order to express the union there is between these two, the Church reads to us, during the month of September, the Books called Hagiographic; these are, Tobias, Judith, Esther, and Job, and they show Wisdom in action.
At the end of the world, the Church will have to go through combats of unusual fierceness. To keep us on the watch, she reads to us, during the month of October, the Book of Machabees; for there we have described to us the noble-heartedness of those defenders of the Law of God, and for which they gloriously die; it will be the same at the last days, when power will be given to the Beast, to make war with the Saints, and to overcome them.
The month of November gives us the reading of the Prophets: the judgments of God impending upon a world which he is compelled to punish by destruction, are there announced to us. First of all, we have the terrible Ezechiel; then Daniel, who sees empire succeeding empire, till the end of all time; and, finally, the Minor Prophets,,/em> who, for the most part, foretell the divine chastisements, though the latest among them proclaim, at the same time, the near approach of the Son of God.
Such is the Mystery of this portion of the Liturgical Cycle, which is called The Time after Pentecost. It includes also the use of green Vestments; for that color expresses the hope of the Bride, who knows that she has been intrusted, by her Spouse, to the Holy Ghost, and that he will lead her safe to the end of her pilgrimage. St. John says all this in those few words of his Apocalypse: The Spirit and the Bride say: Come!
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| Dom Prosper Guéranger: The History of the Time after Pentecost |
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Posted by: Stone - 05-22-2021, 07:11 AM - Forum: Pentecost
- Replies (1)
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THE HISTORY OF THE TIME AFTER PENTECOST
The Solemnity of Pentecost and its Octave are over, and the progress of the Liturgical Year introduces us into a new period, which is altogether different from those we have hitherto spent. From the very beginning of Advent, which is the prelude to the Christmas festival, right up to the anniversary of the descent of the Holy Ghost, we have witnessed the entire series of the Mysteries of our Redemption; all have been unfolded to us. The sequel of Seasons and Feasts made up a sublime drama, which absorbed our very existence; we have but just come from the final celebration, which was the consummation of the whole. And yet, we have got through but one half of the year. This does not imply that the period we have still to live is devoid of its own special mysteries; but, instead of keeping up our attention by the ceaseless interest of one plan hurrying on its completion, the sacred Liturgy is about to put before us an almost unbroken succession of varied episodes, of which some are brilliant with glory, and others exquisite in loveliness, but each one of them bringing its special tribute towards either the development of the dogmas of faith, or the furtherance of the Christian life. That year’s Cycle will thus be filled up; it will disappear; a new one will take its place, bringing before us the same divine facts, and pouring forth the same graces on Christ’s mystical body.
This section of the Liturgical Year, which comprises a little more or a little less than six months, according as Easter is early or late, has always had the character it holds at present. But, although it only admits detached solemnities and Feasts, the influence of the moveable portion of the Cycle is still observable. It may have as many as twenty-eight, or as few as twenty-three weeks. This variation depends not only upon the Easter Feast, which may occur on any of the days between the 22nd of March and 25th of April, inclusively; but, also, on the date of the first Sunday of Advent, the opening of a new Ecclesiastical Year, and which is always the Sunday nearest the Kalends of December.
In the Roman Liturgy, the Sundays of this series go under the name of Sundays after Pentecost. As we shall show in the next Chapter, that title is the most suitable that could have been given, and is found in the oldest Sacramentaries and Antiphonaries; but it was not universally adopted by even all those Churches which followed the Roman Rite; in progress of time, however, that title was the general one. To mention some of the previous early names:—in the Comes of Alcuin, which takes us back to the 8th Century, we find the first section of these Sundays called Sundays after Pentecost; the second is named Weeks after the Feast of the Apostles (post Natale Apostolorum); the third goes under the title of Weeks after Saint Laurence (post Sancti Laurentii); the fourth has the appellation of Weeks of the Seventh Month (September); and, lastly, the fifth is termed Weeks after Saint Michael (post Sancti Angeli), and lasts till Advent. As late as the 16th Century, many Missals of the Western Churches gave us these several sections of the Time after Pentecost, but some of the titles varied according to the special Saints honored in the respective dioceses, and which were taken as the date-marks of this period of the Year. The Roman Missal, published by order of Saint Pius the Fifth, has gradually been adopted in all our Latin Churches, and has restored the ancient denomination to the Ecclesiastical Season we have just entered upon; so that the only name under which it is now known amongst us is, The Time after Pentecost (post Pentecosten).
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