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| Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Our Lady of Loreto) |
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Posted by: Hildegard of Bingen - 02-04-2021, 09:38 PM - Forum: Marian Litanies
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LITANY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY (OUR LADY OF LORETO)
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us. Christ hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
God, the Father of heaven,
Have mercy on us.
God, the Son, Redeemer of the world:
Have mercy on us.
God, the Holy Ghost,
Have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, One God,
Have mercy on us.
Holy Mary, pray for us. (repeat at end of each phrase.)
Holy Mother of God,
Holy Virgin of virgins,
Mother of Christ,
Mother of divine grace,
Mother most pure,
Mother most chaste,
Mother inviolate,
Mother undefiled,
Mother most amiable,
Mother most admirable,
Mother of good counsel,
Mother of our Creator,
Mother of our Savior,
Virgin most prudent,
Virgin most venerable,
Virgin most renowned,
Virgin most powerful,
Virgin most merciful,
Virgin most faithful,
Mirror of justice,
Seat of wisdom,
Cause of our joy,
Spiritual vessel,
Vessel of honor,
Singular vessel of devotion,
Mystical rose,
Tower of David,
Tower of ivory,
House of gold,
Ark of the covenant,
Gate of Heaven,
Morning star,
Health of the sick,
Refuge of sinners,
Comforter of the afflicted,
Help of Christians,
Queen of angels,
Queen of patriarchs,
Queen of prophets,
Queen of apostles,
Queen of martyrs,
Queen of confessors,
Queen of virgins,
Queen of all saints,
Queen conceived without original sin,
Queen assumed into heaven,
Queen of the most holy Rosary,
Queen of peace,
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, Graciously hear us O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, Have mercy on us.
V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let us pray:
Grant, O Lord God, we beseech Thee, that we Thy servants may rejoice in continual health of mind and body; and, through the glorious intercession of Blessed Mary ever Virgin, may be freed from present sorrow, and enjoy eternal gladness. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
It is good, and comforting to remember when praying the Litany to the Blessed Virgin Mary, that, as St. Bernard once put it “Mary has made herself all to all, and opens her merciful heart to all, that all may receive of her fullness: the sick, health; those in affliction, comfort; the sinner, pardon, and God, glory.”
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| Our Lady of the Bowed Head |
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Posted by: Hildegard of Bingen - 02-04-2021, 09:29 PM - Forum: Our Lady
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Mary miraculously spoke through this image, which was rescued from a trash pile
Our Lady of the Bowed Head
by Larry Peterson | Feb 08, 2020
“The beauty of the images moves me to contemplation, as a meadow delights the eyes and subtly infuses the soul with the glory of God.” St. John Damascene
The story of Our Lady of the Bowed Head begins in Sicily in 1610. A Carmelite monk, by the name of Dominic of Jesus and Mary, was charged with inspecting an old, broken down house to see if it might be suitable to convert into a monastery. As he walked around the grounds, he passed a pile of trash. Giving the debris a cursory look, Friar Dominic kept on walking. Suddenly he stopped. Something or someone was telling him to go back and look closer at the trash.
He heeded the prompt and returned to the garbage pile. He grabbed a broken stick and began separating the mounds of junk. When he saw the edge of a picture frame, he paused. He carefully pushed away the debris that surrounded what he now realized was a painting. Rescuing the artwork from its impending fate, he pulled it out and discovered it was an old oil painting of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
He could not believe someone had thrown such a beautiful picture of the Blessed Mother in the garbage. Friar Dominic wrote that the first thing he did was to apologize to Mary. He said, “I am sorry, dear Mother, that someone has treated thy image in such a terrible manner. I will take it back to the monastery with me and fix it up, and I will give thee the homage which thou so rightly deserve.”
Dominic did indeed, take it back to the monastery, and restore it as best he could. He hung the picture in his cell and every day gave Mary the attention, reverence, and devotion that was due her. He prayed to Our Lady with an increased exuberance asking her for the grace to please Jesus in all things.
One day when Dominic was cleaning his cell, the sunlight happened to land on the picture. Dominic thought there was dust on the painting and went over to clean it. The humble friar felt that he had been remiss in his duties and, raising his eyes to heaven, apologized to Our Lady for having neglected her painting. He even apologized for using the old rag he had.
As he proceeded to dust the picture, Our Lady’s face began to move, and she smiled at the priest. Dominic was not sure what was happening and then Our Lady spoke to him, saying, “Fear not, my son, for your request is granted! Your prayer will be answered and will be part of the reward, which you will receive for the love that you have for my Son Jesus and myself.”
She proceeded to tell him that she would grant him any favor he wanted. He asked for Her to help his friend be released from Purgatory. She told him, “Dominic, my son, I will deliver this soul from Purgatory if you will make many sacrifices and will have many Masses offered for this soul.” Then the apparition of Mary faded away.
The apparition of Our Lady vanished and Friar Dominic knew he had to share the painting with everyone. It was placed in the Oratory of St. Charles located next to the Church of Santa Maria de la Scale.
The painting remained in the Church of Santa Maria de la Scale until Dominic’s death in 1630. Then it was loaned to the Duke of Bavaria, Maximilian. Later it was loaned to Emperor Ferdinand II and then returned to the Carmelite Fathers after Ferdinand’s death in 1655. In 1901 a new church was built in Vienna and the image was given a place of honor there.
Today it is in the monastery Church of Vienna Dobling. On September 27, 1931, it was solemnly crowned by Pope Pius XI – the 300th anniversary of its arrival in Vienna.
Fr. Dominic was declared Venerable by St. Pius X in 1907.
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| God Wills that all Graces come through Mary |
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Posted by: Hildegard of Bingen - 02-04-2021, 09:24 PM - Forum: Our Lady
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God Wills that all Graces come through Mary
Therefore the intercession of Mary is morally necessary for our salvation.
Although not infallibly defined as a doctrine of Church teaching, as are Mary's Immaculate Conception and her Assumption into heaven, St. Alphonsus de Liguori considers it to be a certain truth that all graces come to us through the Mother of God. He copiously demonstrates the reasons for this in his book The Glories of Mary. St Alphonsus (1696-1787), who has been declared a Doctor of the Church, penned this Catholic classic 250 years ago. Following are selected passages from chapter five of The Glories of Mary:
That it is most useful and holy to have recourse to the intercession of Mary can only be doubted by those who have not faith. But that which we intend to prove here is, that the intercession of Mary is even necessary to salvation; we say necessary – not absolutely, but morally. This necessity proceeds from the will itself of God, that all graces that He dispenses should pass by the hands of Mary, according to the opinion of St. Bernard, and which we may now with safety call the general opinion of theologians and learned men. In the words of the saint, “Such is His will, that we should have all by Mary.”
Another author, in a commentary on a passage of Jeremias [Jer. 31: 22], in which the prophet, speaking of the Incarnation of the Eternal Word, and of Mary His Mother, says that “a woman shall compass a man,” remarks, that “as no line can be drawn from the center of a circle without passing by the circumference, so no grace proceeds from Jesus, who is the center of every good thing, without passing by Mary, who compassed Him when she received Him into her womb.” Saint Bernadine says that for this reason, “all gifts, all virtues, and all graces are dispensed by the hands of Mary to whomsoever, when, and as she pleases.” Richard of Saint Lawrence also asserts “that God wills that whatever good things He bestows on His creatures should pass by the hands of Mary.”
TAN Books
That it is not only lawful but useful to invoke and pray to the saints, and more especially to the Queen of Saints, the most holy and ever Blessed Virgin Mary, in order that they obtain us the Divine grace, is an article of faith, and has been defined by general councils, against heretics who condemned it as injurious to Jesus Christ, who is our only mediator. But on the other hand it is impious to assert that God is not pleased to grant graces at the intercession of His saints, and more especially of Mary His mother, whom Jesus desires to see loved and honored by all.
No one denies that Jesus Christ is our only mediator of justice, and that He by His merits has obtained our reconciliation with God. But . . . mediation of justice by way of merit is one thing, and mediation of grace by way of prayer is another. There can be no doubt that by the merits of Jesus, Mary was made the mediatress of our salvation; not indeed a mediatress of justice, but of grace and intercession; as St. Bonaventure expressly calls her “Mary the most faithful mediatress of our salvation.”
There is certainly nothing contrary to faith in this, but the reverse. It is quite in accordance with the sentiments of the Church, which, in its public and approved prayers, teaches us continually to have recourse to this Divine Mother, and to invoke her as the “health of the weak, the refuge of sinners, the help of Christians, and as our life and hope.” In the office appointed to be said on the feasts of Mary, this same holy Church, applying the words of Ecclesiasticus to this Blessed Virgin, gives us to understand that in her we find all hope, “In me is all hope of life and of virtue;” in Mary is every grace, “In me is all grace of the way and of the truth [Eccl. 24:25].” In Mary, finally, we shall find life and eternal salvation: “Who finds me finds life, and draws salvation from the Lord [Prov. 8:35].” And elsewhere: “They that work by me shall not sin; they that explain me shall have everlasting life [Eccl 24: 30-31].” And surely such expressions as these sufficiently prove that we require the intercession of Mary.
By Fra Angelico
And thus, finally, do we understand why the holy Church requires that we should salute and invoke the Divine Mother under the glorious title of “our hope.” The impious Luther said that he “could not endure that the Roman Church should call Mary, who is only a creature, 'our hope;' for,” said he, “God alone, and Jesus Christ as our Mediator, is our hope: and God curses those who place their hope in a creature, according to the prophet Jeremias: 'Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord' [Jer. 17:5].”
But the Church teaches to invoke Mary on all occasions, and to call her “our hope; hail, our hope!” Whoever places his confidence in a creature independently of God, he certainly is cursed by God; for God is the only source and dispenser of every good, and the creature without God is nothing and can give nothing. But if our Lord has so disposed it, as we have proved that He has done, that all graces should pass by Mary as by a channel of mercy, we not only can but ought to assert that she, by whose means we receive the divine graces, is truly our hope. Saint Thomas says that “Mary is the whole hope of our salvation.”
Jesus was the fruit of Mary, as Saint Elizabeth told her: “Blessed are thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of they womb. Whoever therefore desires the fruit must go to the tree; whoever desires Jesus must go to Mary; and whoever finds Mary will most certainly find Jesus. And as we have access to the Eternal Father, says Saint Bernard, only through Jesus Christ, so we have access to Jesus Christ only through Mary: “By thee we have access to the Son, O blessed finder of grace, bearer of life, and mother of salvation, that we may receive Him by thee, Who through thee was given to us.”
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| Nanotechnology: Johns Hopkins researchers take inspiration from parasitic work for medicine delivery |
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Posted by: Stone - 02-04-2021, 11:55 AM - Forum: Health
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Johns Hopkins researchers take inspiration from parasitic work for medicine delivery
"Theragrippers" are tiny, shape-changing machines that deliver medicine efficiently to the GI tract
JHU.edu / Published Nov 25, 2020
Inspired by a parasitic worm that digs its sharp teeth into its host's intestines, Johns Hopkins researchers have designed tiny, star-shaped microdevices that can latch onto intestinal mucosa and release drugs into the body.
When an open theragripper, left, is exposed to internal body temperatures, it closes on the instestinal wall. In the gripper’s center is a space for a small dose of a drug
David Gracias, a professor in the Whiting School of Engineering, and gastroenterologist Florin M. Selaru, director of the Johns Hopkins Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center, led a team of researchers and biomedical engineers that designed and tested shape-changing microdevices that mimic the way the parasitic hookworm affixes itself to an organism's intestines.
The "theragrippers" are made of metal and a thin, shape-changing film, then coated in heat-sensitive paraffin wax. The devices, each roughly the size of a dust speck, can potentially carry any drug and release it gradually into the body.
The team published results of an animal study this week as the cover article in the journal Science Advances.
Gradual or extended release of a drug is a long-sought goal in medicine. Selaru explains that a problem with extended-release drugs is they often make their way entirely through the gastrointestinal tract before they've finished dispensing their medication.
"Normal constriction and relaxation of GI tract muscles make it impossible for extended-release drugs to stay in the intestine long enough for the patient to receive the full dose," says Selaru, who has collaborated with Gracias for more than 10 years. "We've been working to solve this problem by designing these small drug carriers that can autonomously latch onto the intestinal mucosa and keep the drug load inside the GI tract for a desired duration of time."
Thousands of theragrippers can be deployed in the GI tract. When the paraffin wax coating on the grippers reaches the temperature inside the body, the devices close autonomously and clamp onto the colonic wall. The closing action causes the tiny, six-pointed devices to dig into the mucosa and remain attached to the colon, where they are retained and release their medicine payloads gradually into the body. Eventually, the theragrippers lose their hold on the tissue and are cleared from the intestine via normal gastrointestinal muscular function.
A theragripper is about the size of a speck of dust. This swab contains dozens of the tiny devices.
Gracias notes advances in the field of biomedical engineering in recent years.
"We have seen the introduction of dynamic, microfabricated smart devices that can be controlled by electrical or chemical signals," he says. "But these grippers are so small that batteries, antennas and other components will not fit on them."
Theragrippers, says Gracias, don't rely on electricity, wireless signals or external controls. "Instead, they operate like small, compressed springs with a temperature-triggered coating on the devices that releases the stored energy autonomously at body temperature."
The Johns Hopkins researchers fabricated the devices with about 6,000 theragrippers per 3-inch silicon wafer. In their animal experiments, they loaded a pain-relieving drug onto the grippers. The researchers' studies found that the animals into which theragrippers were administered had higher concentrates of the pain reliever in their bloodstreams than did the control group. The drug stayed in the test subjects' systems for nearly 12 hours versus two hours in the control group.
The technology is available for licensing through Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures.
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| Medical Doctor: Bacterial Pneumonias Rising From Mask Wearing |
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Posted by: Stone - 02-04-2021, 11:10 AM - Forum: Pandemic 2020 [Secular]
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Medical Doctor: Bacterial Pneumonias Rising From Mask Wearing
Principia Scientific International | January 25, 2021
A group is suing Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum and Tulsa Health Department Executive Director Bruce Dart, saying the city’s mask mandate is harmful to healthy people,” reports Activist Post.
The group includes business owners and two doctors who “are asking the city to immediately repeal the mask mandate which was passed by city council last month.”
At a press conference, optometrist Robert Zoellner said:
Quote:“…the fear factor has got to step back. This idea that I don’t want to give you something that I don’t even know that I have is almost at the point of ridiculous. Let’s use some common sense.”
Dr. James Meehan, MD followed by warning that mask wearing has “well-known risks that have been well-studied and they’re not being discussed in the risk analysis.
Quote:“I’m seeing patients that have facial rashes, fungal infections, bacterial infections. Reports coming from my colleagues, all over the world, are suggesting that the bacterial pneumonias are on the rise.
“Why might that be? Because untrained members of the public are wearing medical masks, repeatedly… in a non-sterile fashion… They’re becoming contaminated. They’re pulling them off of their car seat, off the rearview mirror, out of their pocket, from their countertop, and they’re reapplying a mask that should be worn fresh and sterile every single time.”
Dr. Meehan adds:
Quote:“New research is showing that cloth masks may be increasing the aerosolization of the SARS-COV-2 virus into the environment causing an increased transmission of the disease…”
In conclusion, Dr. Meehan states:
Quote:“In February and March we were told not to wear masks. What changed? The science didn’t change. The politics did. This is about compliance. It’s not about science… Our opposition is using low-level retrospective observational studies that should not be the basis for making a medical decision of this nature.”
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| NYT calls for a government 'reality czar' to fight 'disinformation and domestic extremism' |
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Posted by: Stone - 02-04-2021, 09:54 AM - Forum: Socialism & Communism
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New York Times piece calls for ‘reality czar’ to fight ‘disinformation and domestic extremism’
One commentator quipped that a reality czar would simply be ‘more or less announcing to people
who believe that the government is out to get them that yes, the government is indeed out to get them.’
NEW YORK, February 3, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) — In a move self-described as “draconian,” a New York Times writer has called for Joe Biden to appoint a “reality czar” in order to “tackle disinformation and domestic extremism” with particular reference to election fraud and information about COVID-19.
The suggestion came from Kevin Roose’s column in the Times, laying out the ways in which Biden could solve a “reality crisis.” Roose suggested that the so-called crisis was being promulgated by people who supported former President Donald Trump, believing that he legitimately won the 2020 election, as well as by people who peddled “conspiracy theories” about the origins of COVID-19.
One such conspiracy Roose mentioned was the view that COVID-19 had been created in a lab — a belief which has been strongly supported by scientists, China experts, and the former U.S. Secretary of State. (See here, here, here, here, here, here, and here for further evidence and support of this.)
As a way to rid America of what Roose termed “disinformation and domestic extremism,” he suggested Biden should appoint a “reality czar.”
“It sounds a little dystopian, I’ll grant,” Roose admitted, before presenting quotations from his chosen team of “experts” to support his position.
One of Roose’s “experts,” Dr. Joan Donovan from Harvard’s Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy, promoted a “truth commission” which would study the “planning and execution of the Capitol siege on Jan. 6,” and avoid listening too much to the “fringe groups that came out in droves for Trump.”
Another “expert,” Renée DiResta, a disinformation researcher at Stanford’s Internet Observatory, suggested that those who promoted “misinformation about Covid-19 and misinformation about election fraud” were often the same people. As such, she suggested that there should be a “centralized task force” which would organize a “single, strategic response.”
This would be bolstered by partnering with “tech platforms,” DiResta said, so that the reality task force could “push for structural changes that could help those companies tackle their own extremism and misinformation problems.”
She mentioned how such a draconian assault on free speech and personal liberties, would thus be “the tip of the spear for the federal government’s response to the reality crisis.”
The commissioner of truth would work in conjunction with Big Tech companies like Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube to unearth users on the platforms who were “amplifying conspiracy theories and extremist views.”
The editor-in-chief of the National Pulse, Raheem Kassim, responded to the news with a simple tweet, comparing the reality czar to the Ministry of Truth in George Orwell’s dystopian novel “1984.”
“Ah, the Ministry of Truth,” he tweeted. “I’ve been waiting for this one.”
Writing for National Review, Jim Geraghty pointed out that a reality czar would simply be “more or less announcing to people who believe that the government is out to get them that yes, the government is indeed out to get them.”
“Has Orwell’s dystopian novel gone from being a prophetic warning to now becoming a Biden administration handbook?” questioned conservative political commentator Dinesh D’Souza.
Not content with his plans, Roose went further, saying that a reality czar would not be enough to “bring back the millions of already radicalized Americans.” He suggested a “social stimulus” whereby people would enroll in “federal programs” to keep them busy and away from the danger of being radicalized online. Unless Biden addresses the “urgent threats” of “conspiracy theories and disinformation … violent unrest and civic dysfunction will only grow,” Roose warned.
Tech giants like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube are already leading the way in conducting widespread censorship of conservative views.
As Paul Joseph Watson commented sarcastically for Summit News, “If there really was a truly independent ‘reality czar,’ the media would be big trouble because its entire raison d’être is predicated around distorting reality.”
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| Fr. Libietis: A Bishop Speaks from Beyond the Grave |
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Posted by: Stone - 02-03-2021, 11:54 AM - Forum: The New-Conciliar SSPX
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A Bishop Speaks FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE
The Archbishop’s words on the subject of UNION WITH ROME
[Fr. Libietis - Resistance Brochure #1 of 7]
Part 1 of 2
"Recently, there has been much talk and insistence upon Bishop Fellay’s “grace of state” to conduct negotiations with Modernist Rome, as though that grace is an infallible grace that cannot possibly “get things wrong.” Let it be said that ALL CATHOLICS have the grace of state available to fulfill their role in life—popes, cardinals, bishops, priests, husbands, wives, parents, teachers, etc.—yet look at the mess the world is in despite the available “graces of state.”
All this reminds me of Vatican II with its endless talk of the “rights of man” while ignoring the “rights of God.” Let us not focus so much on Bishop Fellay’s “grace of state” as a mere superior general of the SSPX, but let us go higher, and let us look at the “grace of state” of the 1970 FOUNDER of the organization, that Bishop Fellay now leads. The “grace of the founder” is what the future leaders of the organization should follow, if they are going to be true to their “grace of state.” Most, if not all, religious orders, sooner or later, stray from the initial spirit of their founders. Fr. Ludovic Barrielle (the priest chosen by Archbishop Lefebvre to be the spiritual director of his seminary in Ecône) once said that the time it takes for a religious order to start to drift from its founder’s moorings is around 40 years. Today, 40 or so years after the founding of the SSPX, we see serious problems and divisions facing the SSPX (or the NOVUS–SSPX ). When religious orders thus drift away, a reform is usually carried out by some, in order to recapture the original ideals, attitudes and spirit of their founders.
Perhaps the time has come for the SSPX to do the same. But to recapture the Archbishop’s spirit, we must carefully, frequently and zealously read the books in which Archbishop Lefebvre’s words are printed. I remember a traditional priest, a professor of dogmatic theology, once saying: “There are many commentaries and explanations written on the Summa Theologica of St. Thomas Aquinas, but many, if not most of them, merely complicate the simple thought of St. Thomas. Go to the source! Read St. Thomas first, and then, if you cannot understand him, then read the commentary.” Similarly, in these days, when we are being told how to interpret Archbishop Lefebvre by this or that priest, who professes to know the Archbishop’s thought— go first to the source, the Archbishop! What was bad in his day, has become much worse today. What applied then, applies even more today. If he spoke strongly then, he would speak more strongly today! He spoke simply while alive, and he still speaks simply from beyond the grave!
1974:
“We hold firmly with all our heart and with all our mind to Catholic Rome, Guardian of the Catholic Faith and of the traditions necessary to the maintenance of this faith, to the eternal Rome .... We refuse on the other hand, and have always refused, to follow the Rome of Neo-Modernist and Neo-Protestant tendencies which became clearly manifest during the Second Vatican Council, and after the Council, in all the reforms which issued from it.” (Archbishop Lefebvre, Declaration of November 21, 1974)
1976:
“We are not of this new religion! We do not accept this new religion! We are of the religion of all time; we are of the Catholic religion. We are not of this “universal religion” as they call it today—this is not the Catholic religion any more. We are not of this liberal, modernist religion which has its own worship, its own priests, its own faith, its own catechisms, its own “ecumenical Bible. We cannot accept these things. They are contrary to our faith. It is an immense, immense pain for us, to think that we are in difficulty with Rome because of our faith! We are in a truly dramatic situation. We have to choose an appearance of disobedience—for the Holy Father cannot ask us to abandon our faith; it is impossible, impossible! We choose not to abandon our faith, for in that we cannot go wrong.” (Archbishop Lefebvre, Ordination Sermon, June 29.1976)
In the days following his ordination sermon Archbishop Lefebvre was informed by Rome that he was suspended “a divinis.” The Archbishop’s reaction to this was:
1976:
“It deprives me of the right inherent ... of celebrating Holy Mass, and of conferring the Sacraments, and of preaching in consecrated places: namely, I am forbidden to celebrate the New Mass, to confer the new sacraments, to preach the new doctrine.”
Humurously, he saw the suspension as a ‘gift’ to prevent him from following all the Modernist changes. He then speaks of Rome’s demand, through Msgr. Benelli’s letter of June 25th 1976, which required the SSPX’s fidelity to the Church of Vatican II.
Msgr. Benelli writes ... “If they have good will and are seriously prepared for a priestly ministry in true fidelity to the Conciliar Church, finding the best solution for them will then be undertaken, but let them also make a beginning through this act of obedience to the Church.” Archbishop Lefebvre continues: “What could be clearer? We must [according to Rome] henceforth obey and be faithful to the Conciliar Church, no longer to the Catholic Church. Right there is our whole problem: We are suspended a divinis by the Conciliar Church, the Conciliar Church, to which we have no wish to belong! That Conciliar Church is a schismatic Church because it breaks with the Catholic Church that has always been. It has its new dogmas, its new priesthood, its new institutions, its new worship ...The Church that affirms such errors is at once schismatic and heretical. This Conciliar Church is, therefore, not Catholic.” (Archbishop Lefebvre, Reflections on his suspension “ a Divinis,”July 29.1976)
1976:
“...our attitude in the face of the upheaval brought about by Vatican II—either we conform to the official directives of those holding positions of authority within the Church ... or we integrally preserve the Church’s treasure.” (Archbishop Lefebvre, Letter to Members of the Society, Letter N° 2, Christmas. 1976)
1977:
“We are incriminated because we have chosen the so-called way of disobedience. But we must understand clearly what this way of disobedience consists of. We may truthfully say that, if we have chosen the way of apparent disobedience, we have chosen the way of true obedience...those who follow the new way...they are the ones who have chosen the way of disobedience. Following Tradition is precisely the sign of our obedience.” (Archbishop Lefebvre, Poitiers, September 3, 1977)
1978:
“We now know with whom we have to deal. We know perfectly well that we are dealing with a “diabolical hand” which is located at Rome, and which is demanding, by obedience, the destruction of the Church! And this is why we have the right and the duty to refuse this obedience…I believe that I have the right to ask these gentlemen who present themselves in offices which were occupied by Cardinals….. “Are you with the Catholic Church?” “Are you the Catholic Church?” “With whom am I dealing?” If I am dealing with someone who has a pact with Masonry, have I the right to speak with such a person? Have I the duty to listen to them and to obey them?”(Archbishop Lefebvre, 1978, Ordination Sermon, Apologia Pro Marcel Lefebvre , Vol. 2, p. 209, Michael Davies)
1980:
“I have never changed. I have preached and done what the Church has always taught. I have never changed what the Church said in the Council of Trent and at the First Vatican Council. So who has changed?...It is the enemy, as St. Pius X said, the enemy who is working within the Church because he wants the Church to be finished with her tradition.”(Archbishop Lefebvre, Homily, Venice, 7 April 1980)
1984:
“We are convinced of this, it is they who are wrong, who have changed course, who have broken with the Tradition of the Church, who have rushed into novelties, we are convinced of this. That is why we do not rejoin them and why we cannot work with them; we cannot collaborate with the people who depart from the spirit of the Church, from the Tradition of the Church. I think that it is that outlook that should guide us in our present situation.
Let us not deceive ourselves by believing that by these little braking actions that are given on the right and on the left, in the excesses of the present situation, that we are seeing a complete return to Tradition. That is not true, that is not true! They remain always liberal minds. It is always the liberals who rule Rome, and they remain liberal. There is no rallying to these people. From the moment when we rally ourselves, this rallying will be the acceptance of the liberal principles. We cannot do this, even if certain appeasements are given us, certain satisfactions, certain recognitions, certain incardinations, which could even be offered to you eventually. But as long as one is dealing with people who have made this agreement with the Devil, with liberal ideas, we cannot have any confidence. They will string us along little by little; they will try to catch us in their traps, as long as they have not let go of these false ideas. So, from my point of view, it is not a question of doing whatever one can. Those who would have a tendency to want to accept that will end up being recycled.” (Archbishop Lefebvre, December 13, 1984, Address to the priests of the French District)
1986:
“In the Church there is no law or jurisdiction which can impose on a Christian a diminution of his faith. All the faithful can and should resist whatever interferes with their faith... If they are faced with an order putting their faith in danger of corruption, there is an overriding duty to disobey.... It is because we judge that our faith is endangered by the post-conciliar reforms and tendencies, that we have the duty to disobey and keep the Tradition. Let us add this, that the greatest service we can render to the Church and to the successor of Peter is to reject the reformed and liberal Church ... I am not of that religion. I do not accept that new religion. It is a liberal, modernist religion....
Christians are divided ... Priests no longer know what to do; either they obey blindly what their superiors impose on them, and lose to some degree the faith, or they resist, but with the feeling of separating themselves from the Pope...Two religions confront each other; we are in a dramatic situation and it is impossible to avoid a choice.” (Archbishop Lefebvre, 1986, Open Letter to Confused Catholics, chapter 18, “True & False Obedience”)
These quotes take us from the beginnings of the SSPX’s 1976 division with Rome, up to 1986 and the preparation for the episcopal consecrations in 1988. In Part Two, we will look at the words of Archbishop Lefebvre in the last 5 years of his life. We recommend that you take time to purchase and read the many sermons, writings and accounts of Archbishop Lefebvre’s life—so as to learn, understand and absorb the spirit of the man, chosen by God, to be the FOUNDER, not just leader, of the SSPX. - Fr. Libietis
[Emphasis - The Catacombs]
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| Did French bishops just declare war on the traditional Mass? |
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Posted by: Stone - 02-03-2021, 08:47 AM - Forum: Vatican II and the Fruits of Modernism
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Did French bishops just declare war on the traditional Mass?
The French Bishops’ conference suggests that the 'exclusive use of the extraordinary form' should be revoked.
FRANCE, February 2, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) – The French Bishops’ conference (CEF) has produced a report on the application of Pope Benedict XVI’s Motu proprio Summorum Pontificum in France, in order to assess the way in which the Vetus Ordo of the Roman Rite – the so-called “extraordinary form” – is being celebrated and lived out in the Catholic dioceses of France. The survey came as a response to a questionnaire from the Congregation of the Doctrine of the faith that was sent to all countries of the world last April and that should normally have resulted in a worldwide report. The fact that the French Bishops’ conference should have preemptively presented a national synthesis for France has given rise to speculation: is the CEF aiming to bear pressure on Rome’s own, yet to be published appraisal of the usus antiquior in the Latin Church?
If such is the case, that pressure is certainly hostile to the large “traditional” Catholic community in France – so much so that Jean des Tauriers, president of Notre Dame de Chrétienté that organizes the yearly, 20,000-strong traditional pilgrimage from Paris to Chartres, summarized his reaction with this question: “Who can have written such a document? How can the French Bishops’ Conference have produced a document so far removed from commonly agreed terms of language and also from the most elementary charity?”
In a 10-page, unsigned synthesis made available online, among others, by the pro-traditional Mass association “Paix liturgique” (see here), the CEF makes clear that most bishops in France are critical of many aspects of the traditional Roman Rite and of the priests and faithful who are attached to it – especially the young – accusing the Summorum Pontificum community of living out the faith in a “parallel” Church and suggesting that efforts should be made so that all priests who celebrate in the traditional rite should also use the “ordinary form.”
The document reads like a classic progressivist analysis of the situation and contains many disparaging comments ranging from the training of priests in seminaries run by traditional institutes to the negative character traits of young people who prefer the traditional Latin Mass (TLM).
Paix liturgique commented:
Quote:“From a political point of view, the realization of this synthesis is a kind of coup de force. The Roman Congregation itself should have analyzed the responses of the bishops and made a general synthesis of them. However, both the Italian and the French Conferences (and no doubt others as well) have decided to do this work themselves, which makes it possible, according to the usual inclination of bishops' conferences, to draw up a general line, to which a certain number of bishops will not relate, and to formulate wishes that are purported to be those of all.”
Remarkably, the CEF’s synthesis shows that at least 15,000 French Catholics practice their faith in TLM or bi-ritualist parishes and other sanctuaries approved by their local bishop – an under-estimated figure, according to Paix liturgique, whose surveys point to the much higher figure of 67,000, albeit including the faithful who join FSSPX (Priestly fraternity of Saint Pius Xth) Masses.
France has been a historic fighting ground for the TLM since the introduction of the “Mass of Paul VI” in 1969: nowadays, both FSSPX chapels and “Motu proprio” Masses attract not only those who are presented as “nostalgic” of the “old Mass,” but many young people, young families and converts in a country where religious practice has declined catastrophically among the younger generations of the “underprivileged” socio-professional categories.
A certain resentment against the often-flourishing TLM communities can be sensed in the French Bishops’ official synthesis, in particular in its systematic minimization of regular TLM-goers (“20 to 70” per venue in most dioceses where one or two “Motu proprio” Sunday Masses are usually available, although four dioceses offer none at all). Given the hundred or so dioceses existing in France, one wonders why such a supposedly marginal phenomenon should be causing concern to the CEF… Roughly half of the dioceses offering TLM have called on traditional institutes such as the FSSP (Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter) or the ICKSP (Institute of Christ the King). Four “personal parishes” exist in Blois, Laval, Strasbourg and Versailles, solely for the traditional rite.
The diocese of Versailles is an exception or a flagship: 17 “Motu proprio” Masses every Sunday, with 11 in the city of Versailles alone: 9 percent of practicing Catholics (5,500) frequent the TLM there (not counting the FSSPX), according to the document.
To the second question in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith’s survey regarding the “pastoral need” for the TLM, two-thirds of the French bishops answered that this need does exist. The rest often responded: “The extraordinary form is more an answer to the expectations of some rather than to a pastoral need.” And the CEF commented: “When do the faithful’s expectations become a pastoral need?”
Several bishops noted that they offer Motu proprio Masses to “allow the faithful to retain a bond with the Catholic Church” and to avoid their going to an FSSPX Mass, but, added the CEF:
Quote:“When a place run by the FSSPX is nearby, there is no notable flux of a return to the Catholic Church” – even though the excommunications of the bishops ordained by Bishop Lefebvre in 1988 were lifted by Pope Benedict XVI, and Pope Francis gave its priests the legal power to celebrate marriages and to hear confessions.
As an aside, it should be added that the two strict COVID-19 lockdowns in France last Spring and in November led many Catholics to join more or less underground FSSPX Masses because many diocesan parishes were not offering public Mass.
The CEF voiced another negative comment regarding the principle of offering diocesan TLM: “It often simply maintains the faithful in a particular conception of the Church (rejection of Vatican II, criticism of Pope Francis, hostility to a Church that is too ‘open’).”
While the document does acknowledge that these TLM venues are mostly promoted by “young large families,” it immediately regrets that these faithful find support for their “individualism” and their “cliquishness,” adding that some bishops have questions about the “theological training” priests from the FSSP or ICKSP – although seminarians or young priests who frequented both a diocesan seminary and then a traditional one are often critical of the lack of well-grounded training in the former.
The idea of the CEF is clearly to evaluate the priests hailing from the latter, as its document openly states.
The CEF recognizes that the traditional Mass has some positive aspects (question 3) such as a clearer sense of the “sacrificial” aspect, “heartbalm for those who were wounded after Vatican II,” “solemnity” and even: “Celebrating ad orientem could be an antidote to the threat of clericalism.”
But according to the document, the “negative aspects” far outweigh the positive ones, through “wounding the unity of the Church,” criticism of the “conciliar Church,” the “inducing of a parallel Church” of even of “Two Churches.” Individualism, subjectivism and “self-centeredness” are pointed at and the FSSP priests, who refuse any kind of concelebration, are especially singled out. The faithful are accused of not participating in diocesan activities and the use of the traditional calendar and lectionary are pointed at for allowing them “limited access to the Word of God.”
“These faithful are depriving themselves of liturgical riches linked to the reform;” “Reading one’s bilingual missal does not foster union of hearts;” “the poor quality of the sermons” are but some of the criticisms leveled at the TLM communities and their pastors who are deemed to become useless for other tasks as they “specialize” in the Old Rite and in catechism classes that are very different from those dispensed in the official circuit. The faithful are accused of having certain political views (such as monarchism) and of “exerting pressure to get what they want.” The CEF even deplores the “impossibility of organizing common moments of prayer such as Vespers or Adoration” – in a context where many traditional Masses are grudgingly conceded and no time is offered for such celebrations.
Worst of all, according to the CEF, “the authority of the bishop over these communities is next to zero.” The question is, of course, why – when so many Catholic parents realize that the religious education offered in many dioceses does not actually teach their children about the dogmas of the Faith.
The CEF acknowledges that Benedict XVIth’s Motu proprio brought with it a form of appeasement, but adds: “one would have hoped that a dialogue would have been initiated regarding in-depth acceptance of the conciliar teachings.”
“Some bishops have questions about the true communion of these faithful with the Catholic Church,” the document reveals. This is a grave accusation: it implies that people who frequent the TLM within their diocese and under approval of the Church have actually already separated from the Church.
Interestingly, in the commentary on Question 4 regarding the correct implementation of Summorum Pontificum, the CEF notes that the idea of a “stable group” that is allowed to ask for the TLM is not clear: “We can but notice that in many places where the TLM is celebrated, a pole of attraction is established where faithful come from afar, and sometimes even from other dioceses.”
The CEF also condemns the “sometimes critical and suspicious attitude of these communities towards the conciliar Church, beyond the liturgical issue,” “homilies are sometimes revealing of this drift.”
Question 5 asked whether elements of the TLM were being imported into the “ordinary form.” The answer was: “marginally,” with more Latin, old vestments, the adding of signs of the Cross, veiling statues during the Passion weeks, use of the communion-plate… Some bishops attribute the more careful celebration of the New Mass by young priests not to the influence of the TLM, but to “a generational issue.” But the CEF adds: “When some elements are introduced into the ordinary form, they are more often a cause for tensions than of enrichment. ‘Often, extraordinary means exclusive.’”
The CEF glosses over the use of the 1962 missal as required by Summorum Pontificum, but stresses that the bishop of Nîmes finds it “difficult to know whether the prayer for the Jews on Good Friday is effectively recited in the way Pope Benedict XVI modified it, and the same goes for the use of certain prefaces.”
As regards the other Sacraments and catechesis (Question 7), most bishops celebrate confirmations in the traditional rite once a year or once in every two years for these communities, but the CEF notes that many bishops have questions about the Catechism used to prepare for the Sacraments: “This catechesis is often very remote from that offered by the diocese.”
Question 8 asks about the impact of Summorum Pontificum on life in seminaries. The answer, as synthesized by the CEF, reveals that most of the handful of seminaries that are still functioning in France hardly ever offer the TLM: some seminarians left them to join the FSSP, others “train individually thanks to their own network or during a stay at a TLM religious community; others take advantage of their holidays to familiarize themselves with the TLM.”
In other words, many French diocesan seminarians receive little or no training in the extraordinary form of the Roman Rite; bishops are instead stressing the importance of “training to understand the liturgy… in order to obtain a correct comprehension of the ordinary form.” “It would be wrong to give rise… to the belief that there are two forms in the Latin Church between which you can choose. A pedagogy must be devised so that the presentation of the TLM can be made in a non-divisive manner,” summarizes the CEF.
It also remarks: “One bishop suggested that we should think about training a few seminarians for the TLM in order to break free from depending on particular institutes, and especially the FSSP, that exclusively use the extraordinary form.” It adds that “seminarians do not master Latin” – not very surprising, given that Latin is only taught in the traditional way in independent Catholic schools, mostly attached to the TLM: in State-funded schools, Latin is taught – when it is taught! – using “whole language” methods.
The CEF document also reveals that “bishops are attentive to the training given in their seminaries… and they exert vigilance as to the manner in which seminarians live out their attachment to the liturgy.” This sounds like a form of surveillance regarding the possible influence of the traditional rite.
Question 9 asked the bishops to offer their advice regarding the TLM. The CEF noted several major trends. Some spoke of “the wounding of unity” in their diocese, as well as the possibility for an “insidious implementation of parallel pastoral care”: “Some bishops note that these communities are often vindicative; the Motu proprio has often simply bolstered a small minority in its shortcomings and in the cultivation of its particularisms by asking for more and more rights. A world apart, a parallel Church is in formation.”
The CEF also favorably presents the suggestion that the TLM should adopt the new lectionary “to help FSSP and ICKSP priests to enter into the intelligence of liturgical teachings that emerged from the [liturgical] reform but also in that of Verbum Domini or Evangelii Gaudium.”
It is not a surprise to learn that the CEF’s document suggests that the “exclusive use of the extraordinary form” should be revoked: it even asserts that the FSSP’s exclusive celebration of the TLM is “a cause for scandal,” grave words that are usually applied to situations where great sins are involved. “One bishop suggested not to incardinate a priest who would refuse to celebrate in the ordinary form.”
The CEF also puts forward a “doctrinal concern,” suggesting that there is “an underlying ecclesiological issue linked to the implementation of the Motu proprio.” “It would be wrong here to forget the moral teaching of the Church – and that includes the reception of Amoris Laetitia.”
The CEF would like to see “missionary dynamics” in communities where they are “weak,” in order for them to conform to Pope Francis’ vision. Beyond “personal sensitivity” regarding liturgy, the bishops of France (or at least those who have the upper hand in the CEF) suggest that priests should “work on the link between the Eucharist and apostolic life at the service of a part of the People of God.” They add: “The FSSO could also deploy its zeal in favor of other persons than communities celebrating in the ordinary form” (this is probably a slip of the pen).
In a short comment, fsspx.news noted that the missionary spirit of Novus Ordo parishes remains to be proved: Quote:“The regular decline of practicing Catholics is a sure witness… It is clear that if the churches are emptying, it is because of doctrinal and moral deficiencies and of the meagerness of the spiritual life being offered by the ‘conciliar’ Church.”
Finally, the CEF suggests several “points of attention” that deserve to be translated in full:- Take care not to extend the TLM so as not to induce a wrongful understanding of the place of this form that would end up being considered as a rite.
- A fragile and identity-conscious youth is easily fascinated by the TLM. It is reinforced in its siege mentality by mediocre sermons and by social media that impoverish thought and reinforce the young in their ideas and even their excesses.
- Liturgical education (Ars celebrandi) and historical and theological training that insist on ecclesiology (study of the Dogmatic Constitutions and pastoral care according to Vatican II).
- Verifying the obedience of the communities that celebrate in the extraordinary form.
The questionnaire left the bishops wondering at young people’s “craze” for the extraordinary form; “the scrupulous form,” as the document put it.
It also led them to question Summorum pontificum itself: Quote:“The publication of the Motu proprio demonstrates commendable intent but it is not giving expected fruits. While it honors a principle of reality, un untiring work for unity appears necessary. The promise of mutual enrichment of the two forms of the one Roman Rite remain largely inchoative. Sterilizing mutual distrust remains. The concern for the unity of the Church is not honored in full by the implementation of the Motu proprio. The implementation of this letter ultimately poses ecclesiological questions rather than liturgical ones.”
Put in plainer terms, the French bishops’ conference is accusing Pope Benedict of having favored a drift towards schism by pandering to anti-Vatican II, self-centered Catholics whose catholicity should now be questioned, their communities watched and the priests who serve them put under scrutiny.
Jean des Tauriers’ comment on what looks like a declaration of war on the part of the CEF underscores an important point:
Quote:“The text in itself is not surprising when one frequents certain French episcopal circles. It represents the historical canal of the progressive reforms, of the great pastoral, liturgical and suchlike experiments of the sixties. In France, these ill-inspired and badly conducted reforms aroused a powerful traditional reaction that created, among other things, Notre-Dame de Chrétienté. Benedict XVI wanted to appease the spirits through an act of reconciliation (the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum of 2007). The reading of this synthesis of the CEF clearly shows that the motu proprio was ultimately never accepted or understood by many dioceses.”
He added:
Quote:“We meet many priests and seminarians in our pilgrimages who do not all come from the so-called ‘Eccesia Dei’ environment. Remember all those conversations with priests, seminarians and sometimes bishops during our pilgrimage. The Catholic friendship that unites us is much more important than the stereotypes being spread by the synthesis. This friendship is the fruit of Benedict XVI’s motu proprio. When he was Cardinal Ratzinger, he assured us that we had our full place in the Church, just as we were, that is, integrally.
“Dear pilgrim friends of Notre Dame de Chrétienté, I understand your resentment in the face of this ill-treatment. You are involved in your workplaces, in schools, in pro-life movements, in the defense of the family, in evangelization. …You fight every day so that your children may receive a Catholic catechism, and Catholic sacraments in an atheistic and anti-Catholic world. You are right to support the priests of communities who give their lives for your souls. Let us neither be discouraged nor divided. This synthesis of the CEF shows no understanding for the difficulty of Christian life in a ‘world that has ceased to be Christian’. This anti-Catholic world, dear friends, is a legacy you have inherited and those who today criticize and judge you, are those who attended in the front row the collapse of the Catholic Church in France!
“The last ‘observant’ French Catholic families have no use for this hatred, this shriveled resentment. They simply ask for the basic charity of the Catholic towards his neighbor and also, for the salvation of our souls, the possibility of carrying on the experiment of tradition.”
[Emphasis mine.]
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| March 16th - St. Abraham and St. Mary, his niece |
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Posted by: Elizabeth - 02-02-2021, 11:04 PM - Forum: March
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Saint Abraham
Solitary and Priest
(†370)
and Saint Mary (†375)
his niece
(†370)
Abraham was a rich nobleman of Edessa, born in the year 300. Ceding to his parents' desire, while still very young he married, but escaped to a cell near the city as soon as the feast was over. His family searched for him for seventeen days, and were still more astonished when they found him. Why are you surprised? he asked them. Admire instead the favor God has granted me, the grace to bear the yoke of His service, which He has wanted to impose on me without regard to my unworthiness. He walled up his cell door, leaving only a small window open for the food which would be brought to him from that time on.
The wealth which fell to Saint Abraham by the death of his parents ten years after his retirement, he gave to the poor by the good offices of a friend, to whose probity he entrusted the commission. Since many were seeking him out for advice and consolation, the Bishop of Edessa ordained him priest, overruling his humility. Soon after his ordination, he was sent to an idolatrous city which had hitherto been deaf to every messenger. He was insulted, beaten, and three times banished, but he returned each time with fresh zeal. For three years he pleaded with God for those souls, and in the end prevailed. Every citizen came to him for Baptism. After providing for their spiritual needs he went back to his cell, more than ever convinced of the power of prayer.
In that cell, then, for fifty years, he would continue to sing God's praises and implore mercy for himself and for all men. Saint Ephrem wrote of him that a day did not pass without his shedding tears; but that despite his constant and severe penance, he always maintained an agreeable disposition and a healthy and vigorous body. He never reproved anyone with sharpness, but all he said was seasoned with the salt of charity and gentleness.
His brother on dying left an only daughter, Mary, to the Saint's care. He placed her in a cell near his own, and devoted himself to training her in perfection. After twenty years of innocence she grew lax and fled to a distant city, where she drowned the voice of her conscience in sin. For two years the Saint and his friend Saint Ephrem prayed earnestly for her. Then Abraham went in disguise to seek the lost sheep, and had the joy of bringing her back to the desert a true penitent. She received the gift of miracles, and her countenance after death shone as the sun. Saint Abraham died five years before her, in about 360. All of Edessa came for his last blessing and to secure his relics.
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| Abp. Viganò decries Vatican letter to consecrated men, women |
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Posted by: Stone - 02-02-2021, 02:30 PM - Forum: Archbishop Viganò
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‘The World Economic Forum…could not have expressed it better!’: Abp. Viganò decries Vatican letter to consecrated men, women
Anyone who would imagine that, in a document promulgated for the XXV Day of Consecrated Life, there would be some sort of doctrinal, moral, or spiritual reference
to the mystery of the Purification of the Most Holy Virgin Mary or to the Presentation of Our Lord in the Temple, would assuredly be disappointed.
![[Image: vigano_cic_810_500_75_s_c1.jpg]](https://assets.lifesitenews.com/images/made/images/remote/https_www.lifesitenews.com/images/local/vigano_cic_810_500_75_s_c1.jpg)
February 1, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) – Below is a new reflection from Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò.
PARS HEREDITATIS MEÆ
On the occasion of the XXV Day of Consecrated Life
Dominus pars hereditatis meæ et calicis mei: tu es qui restitues hereditatem meam mihi. Ps 16: 5
On February 2 the Church celebrates the Purification of Mary Most Holy and the Presentation of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Temple. The feast, also called Candlemas because of the candles that are blessed during the rite on this day, began as a Marian celebration of a penitential nature. In ancient times in Rome the procession from Sant’Adriano in the Roman Forum to Saint Mary Major required the Pope to walk barefoot in black vestments. Only with the reform of John XXIII in 1962 was pre-eminence given to the “Christological dimension.” A soul rooted in solid doctrine and sound spirituality does not consider the glory of the Son to be obscured by the honors which the Church offers to His Mother, because He alone is the source of all the greatness which we celebrate in Her!
According to the precepts of the Ancient Law, the women of Israel were required to abstain for forty days from approaching the tabernacle, and at the end of this period they had to offer a purificatory sacrifice which consisted of a lamb to be consumed in holocaust, to which was added a turtledove or a pigeon, offered for sin. Along with the purification of the woman who had just given birth, the divine commandment prescribed that the first-born sons – who according to the Law were declared to be the property of the Lord – were to be redeemed at the price of five shekels of twenty obolus each.
These rites of purification of the woman and the redeeming of the first-born obviously were not necessary either for Mary Most Holy, who was conceived without any stain of sin and was preserved as Ever-Virgin before, during, and after childbirth, or for the Son of God, He who is the author Himself of the redemption of humanity which fell in Adam. And yet, in the counsel of the Most High, these solemn acts of obedience to the Law and of voluntary submission show us the humility of the Mother of God and Her Divine Son. On that occasion, the Second Temple of Jerusalem was sanctified, according to the prophecy of Haggai, by the presence of the “desired of all the nations” (Hag 2:7), who releases the tongue of Simeon in the canticle of the Nunc dimittis.
On this day, the Holy Church in her traditional rites offers her children to the Majesty of God, consecrating them to His service by means of the Sacred Tonsure and the Minor Orders. During the ceremony of the cutting of the hair, a sign of penitence and of renouncing the vanities of the world, an antiphon is chanted taken from the Psalms: “Dominus pars hereditatis meæ et calicis mei: tu es qui restitues hereditatem meam mihi [The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and my cup: it is you who shall restore my inheritance to me]” (Ps 16: 5). These splendid words proclaim that the Lord is the guarantor of our inheritance, and the One who brings us back to full possession of that which we had lost with the sin of Adam. Thus the cleric, vesting in the white surplice, recites: “Indue me, Domine, novum hominem, qui secundum Deum creatus est in justitia, et sanctitate veritatis [Clothe me, Lord, as new man, who is created according to God in justice and the sanctity of truth]” recalling that in Christ we find the new man, created in the image of God in justice and the holiness of truth. For it is only in the light of Truth, a divine attribute of the Most Holy Trinity, that the flame of true Charity can burn. Fraternal charity, which binds us reciprocally to our brothers, in fact presupposes the paternity of God, without whom it is corrupted into sterile philanthropy, humanistic solidarity, and gloomy Masonic brotherhood.
On January 18, the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life published a Letter, addressed to all consecrated men and women. Anyone who would imagine that, in a document promulgated for the XXV Day of Consecrated Life, there would be some sort of doctrinal, moral, or spiritual reference to the mystery of the Purification of the Most Holy Virgin Mary or to the Presentation of Our Lord in the Temple, would assuredly be disappointed. Indeed, he would also be led to believe that the letter, written in cold bureaucratic prose, issued from the grey Orwellian offices of the Ministry of Truth, and not from the Roman Dicastery which presides, in the name of the Roman Pontiff, over all the Religious of the Catholic world. And yet it is sufficient to scroll through the text to the end to read – in calce [at the bottom], as the saying goes – the signatures of the Prefect João Braz de Aviz and his Secretary José Rodríguez Carballo, O.F.M.: two personalities who shine in the firmament of the Bergoglian Curia as inimitable stars. There is no surprise, therefore, if not also a minimum of human relief, in seeing that at least the recipients of the letter have been spared the epithets which Rodríguez Carballo addressed to the nuns on November 21, 2018: “You are adult women! Deal with your life as adults, not as adulteresses” (here).
The Letter of the Congregation is an example of the “politically correct” with which the hierarchs of Santa Marta wink indecorously at gender equality, which is so dear to today’s aligned thought (we are on the wave of the new version of the Orate fratres of the reformed rite, of lectresses and acolytesses) and at all the markers of the new language: the document strains itself to make references to the pandemic, to the “universal aspiration to fraternity,” to the “new dream of fraternity and social friendship,” and also to the invitation to religious to be “architects of universal brotherhood, custodians of our common home,” “brothers and sisters of all, regardless of faith” [sic], culminating in the cry of impiety of the global religion of Fratelli Tutti: “Let us dream, then, as a single human family, as fellow travelers sharing the same flesh, as children of the same earth which is our common home, each of us bringing the richness of his or her beliefs and convictions, each of us with his or her own voice, brothers and sisters all!”
What then is the practical proposal that the Congregation offers to those who are consecrated? How does it intend to help the Religious Orders to each be faithful to their own charism, to the Holy Rule, to the Constitutions of their Founder Saints? Here are the Prefect’s lofty words:
Quote: “It is a question, then, of creating ways of accompanying, transforming, and creating; of developing projects to promote a culture of encounter and dialogue between different peoples and generations; of starting with one’s own vocational community and then reaching to every corner of the earth and to every creature, because never as during this pandemic have we experienced how everything is linked, everything is related, everything is connected” (here).
The World Economic Forum, the promoter of the Great Reset, could not have expressed it better! What does it matter if Saint Teresa of Avila, Saint Dominic, Saint Clare, Saint Francis de Sales and all the Founder Saints are left scandalized by the systematic demolition of their Orders, when the words of the Holy See enjoy the benign applause of the globalist elite, the infamous sect, and the enemies of Christ! What else does “creating ways of accompanying, transforming, and creating” mean, if not an invitation to deny fidelity to the original charism, re-educating those who resist and constraining the recalcitrant by force? What is this “developing projects to promote a culture of encounter and dialogue” if not the application of religious indifferentism and conciliar ecumenism?
Here is the distressing horizontal vision of religious life, devoid of any supernatural impulse, which is held by those who ought to guard it as a precious treasure of the Church. A vision in which it is possible to be “brothers and sisters of all, regardless of faith,” making not only the embrace of religious the state unnecessary but also Baptism itself, and along with it the Redemption, the Church, and even God Himself.
We have understood, in these times of crisis, that whoever is constituted in authority is now disconnected from those over whom he holds command. The so-called pandemic has shown that those who govern are obedient to the orders of supranational powers, while citizens are deprived of their rights, and any form of dissent is censored or psychiatrized, according to a recent felicitous expression. The same thing happens in the Church: the highest levels of the Hierarchy obey the same powers and deprive the faithful of their rights, censoring those who do not intend to renounce their faith and do not accept seeing the Church being demolished by its Ministers. João Braz de Aviz is perfectly aligned with Jorge Mario Bergoglio, and both of them zealously support the establishment of the New World Order.
This is the painful reality with which we must daily confront ourselves, and for which we must pray, fast, and do penance, imploring the intervention of God and the Most Holy Virgin to help us. In this supernatural battle, the contribution of religious men and women is fundamental: this is why it is more necessary than ever that consecrated souls rediscover the sacrificial dimension of their vocation, offering themselves in holocaust as expiatory victims. This, after all, is the heart of the religious vocation and of being Christian itself: becoming like Christ and following Him on the Cross, so as to sit at His right hand in blessed eternity.
I therefore invite those who have the privilege of having chosen the state of perfection to pray with renewed ardor, to fast with zeal, and to do penance. Finally, let us ask the Holy Spirit to touch the Ministers and Religious who have been led astray, granting them the gift of repentance and the grace of forgiveness.
+ Carlo Maria Viganò, Archbishop
2 February 2021
In Purificatione Beatæ Mariæ Virginis
Official translation
[Bold emphasis mine.]
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| Chicago abortion facility closes permanently |
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Posted by: Hildegard of Bingen - 02-02-2021, 12:58 PM - Forum: Global News
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Chicago abortion facility closes permanently
By Matt C. Abbott
February 1, 2021
The following e-letter was written by Suzanne and Pietrina Probst. God bless everyone involved in this pro-life endeavor!
___________________________
In February 2020, Joe Lazar, a parishioner at St. Peter Church in Volo, organized and led the 40 Days for Life campaign at the Family Planning Associates (FPA) on North Milwaukee Avenue in Chicago. When the escorts at FPA realized that large groups of prayer warriors were descending upon their territory during the 40 Days campaign, they took a break and left the prayer warriors alone to pray and counsel women.
Through the power of the Holy Spirit, babies were saved during this campaign.
After the 40 Days for Life campaign ended, the escorts did not return right away. The prayer warriors were able to counsel more women and give them literature on how to save their babies. FPA dispensed the abortion pill. The Women's Center is not far from FPA, so women were referred to The Women's Center, which is a Catholic-based pregnancy resource center.
nullFPA was open on Friday's only. So Joe Lazar felt called by God and decided that his goal was to permanently close this abortion facility. He devised a plan. He set up a sign-up schedule online for the prayer warriors to insure that all of the hours that FPA was open were covered by prayer warriors.
We ordered yellow T-shirts and yellow baseball hats with a pro-life message to wear during the prayer vigils. We ordered more pro-life literature to give to the women as we counseled them and put the literature in small yellow bags.
Joe Lazar held a training session online for the prayer warriors to better equip them with saving babies. When parades and picnics were cancelled due to the pandemic, the prayer warriors gathered together at FPA on July 4 to sing patriotic songs and pray to end abortion.
People from all walks of life prayed every Friday throughout the summer and fall at FPA.
The Crusaders for Life joined in the fight for Life on October 10, 2020 by coloring large letters in yellow chalk on the sidewalk in front of FPA, and they wrote, "Choose Life," and drew pink and blue precious feet on the sidewalk. The photos included in this email were from that prayer vigil on October 10, 2020, and how prophetic are the words that were written on the sidewalk in front of the FPA door, "Closed!"
Joe Lazar continued the 40 Days for Life campaign in the fall of 2020 at FPA. The prayer warriors continued to pray on Friday's. There weren't as many escorts during the 40 Days vigil.
When turmoil arose during the election in November, the prayer warriors did not pray at FPA until they felt it was safe to return. Prayer vigils began again in January 2021 on Fridays. Joe Scheidler continued his prayer vigils at FPA in the weeks before his passing.
When the prayer warriors returned to FPA on Friday, January 29, 2021, they learned that the escorts were gone and the abortion facility was closed. The prayer warriors witnessed FPA employees removing large file boxes from the facility.
When Joe Lazar learned of this turn of events on Friday, January 29, 2021, he called FPA and was told that FPA on North Milwaukee Avenue was closed permanently!
Prayers really work! Prayer vigils really work! Miracles really happen!
So when we feel discouraged and wonder if our prayers are effective, please remember what happened at the FPA on North Milwaukee Avenue on Friday, January 29, 2021.
Through God's grace and the intercession of our Blessed Mother, St. Joseph, and all the Saints, FPA on North Milwaukee Avenue closed, and as a result, babies will be saved due to the closing of this abortion facility.
Remember that 2021 is the year of St. Joseph. May St. Joseph, Protector of Families, continue to close more abortion facilities.
God bless all of you! Thank you for praying outside of this abortion facility and other abortion facilities in your area!
© Matt C. Abbott
Source: http://www.renewamerica.com/columns/abbott/210201
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| Seven die at Spanish care home after getting Pfizer Covid-19 jab |
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Posted by: Stone - 02-02-2021, 12:42 PM - Forum: COVID Vaccines
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7 die at Spanish care home after getting Pfizer Covid-19 jab as ALL residents test positive for virus, second doses still to come
RT | February 1, 2021
All 78 residents at a nursing home in central Spain have tested positive for Covid-19 after being given their first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, and at least seven people have died, staff confirmed on Monday.
Most of those who succumbed to the virus had existing conditions, according to Spanish news agency EFE, while four residents are currently hospitalized, and 12 staff have also been infected.
The huge outbreak is at the Lagartera Residence for the Elderly in the Toledo area, southwest of the capital Madrid.
The home’s 33 staff must now present a negative PCR test before they start work, and a spokesperson said that health measures to contain the spread of the virus are in place “at all times.”
“On January 13, all residents, including nursing home staff, were vaccinated with the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine, and after six days the first symptoms began to appear in ten of the residents,” they said in a statement.
Some members of staff began to go off sick with the virus five days after being inoculated.
On January 21, management approved the decision to test all residents of the home and quarantine them to their rooms, with families informed of the move.
The testing results, on January 25, showed that all the residents had caught the virus apart from one, who then also tested positive at a later date.
In December, Spain’s Supreme Court ordered an investigation into deaths at nursing homes, which were a disturbing feature of the early pandemic, making up 69 percent of all Covid-19 fatalities between April 6 and June 20.
The Lagartera Residence for the Elderly insisted the current outbreak was its first of the pandemic, having remained virus-free during the first two waves of infections.
The next doses of the vaccine are to be administered at the home on February 3, and the next round of PCR tests will be carried out on February 5.
Across Spain, almost 1.5 million people have been injected with either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine.
More than 58,000 people have died from Covid-19 in Spain and the country has registered more than 2.7 million cases of the virus in total.
[Emphasis mine.]
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| Our Lady of Good Success Quito Ecuador |
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Posted by: Stone - 02-02-2021, 10:23 AM - Forum: Our Lady
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OUR LADY OF GOOD SUCCESS
It was the year 1563. In the Basque province of Viscaya, near to the border with France, into an aristocratic family of Spain, Mariana Francisca de Jesus Torres y Berriochoa was born as the first daughter of Diego Torres and Maria Berriochoa, both devout Catholics. Mariana was endowed “with rare beauty, quick intelligence, a sweet nature and, above all, a strong inclination toward virtue”. From infancy, Mariana rejected all the childish games of youth to secretly retire to the church of her baptism, which was close to her home. Her mother would often find her prostrate there before the Tabernacle. At the age of seven, a fire broke out in the church destroying it and damaging her house and paternal property, precipitating the family into poverty. The parents of the young girl found themselves obliged to leave Viscaya and to relocate themselves and their three children to Santiago of Galicia, in the northwestern part of Spain.
One day, prostrate at the foot of the Tabernacle, with her heart inflamed with burning desire to unite herself to Jesus in Holy Communion, Mariana exclaimed aloud: «Oh, my Love! When will that day arrive when I might unite myself to You in Holy Communion?». Instantly, she heard a voice coming from the Tabernacle: «Whatever day you desire, My daughter, for your heart is even now prepared!». Unveiling the secret of this dialogue to a Franciscan priest, with his instruction, she began to prepare for this great day. On December 8, 1572, at the age of nine, Mariana received her First Holy Communion. Upon her first embrace with Jesus the torrent of divine love in her heart overwhelmed her and she fell into ecstasy. She saw our Immaculate Mother who explained to her the grandeur of the vow of virginity. She taught her the meaning of such a vow and instructed Mariana to make it, for her Heavenly Queen had destined her to be a religious of her Immaculate Conception.
Then, she saw in the Tabernacle the Three Persons of the Most Holy Trinity and St. Joseph. She pronounced the solemn vow of chastity, repeating the words taught to her by Our Lady. When she was finished, the Eternal Father blessed the union of Mariana and His Holy Son, who asked her to walk the road of sacrifice and love.
The leading families of Quito, along with many inhabitants of the city, met a group of friars to petition the King of Spain to found the first Convent of the Immaculate Conception of the New World, in their colony. The King, Philip II, in 1566, issued the Royal Edict for the foundation of the Convent of the Immaculate Conception of Quito, dedicated to praying the Divine Office and devoted to the religious education and formation of the Spanish daughters and criollas of the Spanish colony. The King himself sent from Spain the first group of founding mothers and he placed at their head the Rev. Mother Maria de Jesus Taboada, related to the royal family and aunt of Mariana.
As soon as Mariana heard of the foundation of this new Convent, she understood Jesus’ words when He was inviting her to leave her paternal home to join Him. The founding Mother Maria decided to take Mariana with her and, a few days before taking leave, upon receiving Holy Communion, she had a vision of Jesus Who explained to her: «My Spouse, the time has already arrived for you to bid an eternal farewell to your motherland and to your paternal home. Eagerly coveting your beauty, I will bring you to My house, where, behind strong walls, you will live far from flesh and blood, hidden and forgotten by all human creatures. For your inheritance and patrimony, you will have, in imitation of Me, the cross and great sufferings. Strength and courage will not be lacking to you. I desire only that your will be always prepared to do Mine».
In 1576, no sooner did Mother Maria, the other four founding mothers and Mariana embarked for Ecuador, when a tempest of unimaginable fury came over the ocean. The clear sky of day suddenly darkened, being transformed into a most disastrous night. The ship began to sink and the frightened sailors, rendering their efforts futile, cried out that this terrible tempest would bury them all in the ocean’s bottomless tomb. Thinking to be cause of such disaster, Mariana joined her aunt to pray to God for His mercy. Then both Mother Maria and Mariana beheld a vision. From out of the ocean, a monstrous serpent with seven heads arose, stirring up the waters of the sea, and attempting to destroy and sink their ship. Mariana fainted. However Mother Maria continued her entreaties to Heaven and upon completion of her prayer, suddenly, the light of the day made a breach in the darkness and the tempest calmed down. God had answer her prayer.
When Mariana woke up, she told her aunt that she has seen a serpent larger than the sea and then a Lady of incomparable beauty appeared “clothed in the sun, crowned with stars, carrying a beautiful Child in her arms” and over her heart a monstrance of the Blessed Sacrament. In her hand she carried a large cross of gold, which had a sharp lance at its end. The Lady, with the help of the Blessed Sacrament and the hand of the Child, struck the head of the serpent with the end of this cross so forcefully that the serpent was slashed to pieces. Two years later, Mother Maria ordered to strike a cloth medallion showing the scene of Mariana’s vision, and since that time the Conceptionists wear it on the breast of their habit.
The founding Sisters arrived in Quito on December 30, 1576. On January 13, 1577, the Convent was founded. The spiritual and temporal government of the religious was placed in the hands of Rev. Father Antonio Jurado O.F.M. who received the vows of obedience of the Founding Mothers. All the inhabitants of Quito joined in this solemn celebration of the first Convent of the Immaculate Conception in their Colony.
On completing her 15th year, September 8, 1577, Mariana entered the novitiate, beginning the year of probation under the guidance of her aunt and the Friars Minor. On October 4, 1579, after observing two years of religious life, practicing all virtues and strictly following the Rule, Mariana made her religious profession at the hands of her Abbess, Mother Maria. As she finished pronouncing her vows, she fainted in ecstasy. Thus, at the same time, Mother Maria accepted her profession, Mariana heard the Eternal Father repeating the words of her aunt: «If you are faithful in this, I promise you eternal life». She then saw Our Lord Who, with ineffable majesty and sweetness, then espoused Himself to her, placing on the finger of her right hand a beautiful ring with four precious stones. On each stone was written one of the four vows: poverty, obedience, chastity and cloister. Our Lord addressed her, saying: «My Spouse, I desire for you a life of immolation. Your life will be a continuous martyrdom».
Apparition of the Most Holy Trinity
It was the year 1582. One day, after a particularly bitter incident with one of her Sisters, Mother Mariana went to the feet of Jesus Christ communicating to Him her torment and begging Him for fortitude. While she was talking to Jesus, at a moment, she heard an overwhelming sound, and saw that the whole Church had become immersed in darkness, as from dust and smoke. Looking up, Sister Mariana saw the main altar illuminated by full day. The Tabernacle opened and Christ Himself emerged, suffering, as on Golgotha in His agony with the Blessed Virgin, St. John and Mary Magdalene at His feet. Seeing this, the humble virgin, believing herself to be at fault, prostrated herself on the ground with her arms extended in the form of a cross, exclaiming: «Lord, I am the guilty one. Punish me and pardon your people». Her Guardian Angel made her rise, saying: «No! You are not to blame. Arise and approach, for God desires to reveal to you a great secret». She arose, and seeing the tears of the Most Holy Virgin, she addressed her, saying: «My Lady, am I to blame for thy sadness?». «No, it is not you, but the criminal world!».
Then, as Our Lord agonised, she heard the voice of the Eternal Father saying: «This punishment will be for the 20th century»! Then, she saw three swords over the head of Christ. On each was written: “I shall punish heresy”, “I shall punish impiety”, “I shall punish impurity”, and she was given to understand all that would take place in the 20th century. The Holy Virgin continued: «My daughter, will you sacrifice yourself for the people of this time?». «I am willing» Mariana replied. Immediately, the swords moved away from the agonising Christ and buried themselves in the heart of Sister Mariana, causing her a mystical death from the violence of the pain. She appeared before God’s justice. Our Lord presented her with two crowns: one of immortal glory of indescribable beauty; the other of white lilies surrounded by thorns, and He said: «My Spouse, choose one of these crowns». She had to choose between the glory of Paradise and the glory of her return to earth, for suffering as a sacrificial victim to placate the Divine Justice for the heresies, impieties and impurities that would be committed in the 20th century. Reassured by the Virgin Mary’s words and her promise of help in this terrible test, Sister Mariana replied: «My Lady and Mother, may the Divine Will be accomplished in me». After these words, Mariana chose, with humility and resignation, the crown of lilies surrounded with thorns and returned to the world to suffer.
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| O Gloriosa Virginum |
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Posted by: Stone - 02-02-2021, 09:44 AM - Forum: Marian Hymns
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O Gloriosa Virginum
Lyrics
O gloriosa virginum,
Sublimis inter sidera,
Qui te creavit, parvulum,
Lactente nutris ubere.
Quod Heva tristis abstulit,
Tu reddis almo germine:
Intrent ut astra flebiles,
Caeli recludis cardines.
Tu Regis alti janua
Et aula lucis fulgida:
Vitam datam per Virginem,
Gentes redemptae, plaudite.
Jesu, tibi sit gloria,
Qui natus es de Virgine,
Cum Patre, et almo Spiritu,
In sempiterna saecula. Amen.
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| Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary - February 2nd |
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Posted by: Stone - 02-02-2021, 08:45 AM - Forum: Our Lady
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February 2 – The Purification of the Blessed Virgin
The Forty Days of Mary’s Purification are now completed, and she must go up to the Temple, there to offer to God her Child Jesus. Before following the Son and his Mother in this their mysterious journey, let us spend our last few moments at Bethlehem, in lovingly pondering over the mysteries at which we are going to assist.
The Law commanded that a woman who had given birth to a son should not approach the Tabernacle for the term of forty days, after which time she was to offer up a lamb as a holocaust, and a turtle or dove as a sin offering. But if she were poor, and could not provide a lamb, she was to offer, in its stead, a second turtle or dove.
By another ordinance of the Law, every first-born son was to be considered as belonging to God, and was to be redeemed by five sicles, each sicle weighing, according to the standard of the Temple, twenty obols.
Mary was a Daughter of Israel — she had given Birth to Jesus — he was her First-born Son. Could such a Mother, and such a Son, be included in the Laws we have just quoted? Was it becoming that Mary should observe them?
If she considered the spirit of these legal enactments, and why God required the ceremony of Purification, it was evident that she was not bound to them. They, for whom these Laws had been made, were espoused to men; — Mary was the chaste Spouse of the Holy Ghost, a Virgin in conceiving, and a Virgin in giving Birth to, her Son; her purity had ever been spotless as that of the Angels — but it received an incalculable increase by her carrying the God of all sanctity in her womb, and bringing him into this world. Moreover, when she reflected upon her Child being the Creator and sovereign Lord of all things — how could she suppose that he was to be submitted to the humiliation of being ransomed as a slave, whose life and person are not his own?
And yet, the Holy Spirit revealed to Mary, that she must comply with both these Laws. She, the holy Mother of God, must go to the Temple like other Hebrew mothers, as though she had lost a something which needed restoring by a legal sacrifice. He, that is the Son of God and Son of Man, must be treated in all thing’s as though, he were a Servant, and be ransomed in common with the poorest Jewish boy. Mary adores the will of God, and embraces it with her whole heart.
The Son of God was not to be made known to the world but by gradual revelations. For thirty years, he leads a hidden life in the insignificant village of Nazareth; and during all that time, men took him to be the son of Joseph. It was only in his thirtieth year that John the Baptist announced him, and then only in mysterious words, to the Jews, who flocked to the Jordan, there to receive from the Prophet the baptism of penance. Our Lord himself gave the next revelation—the testimony of his wonderful works and miracles. Then came the humiliations of his Passion and Death, followed by his glorious Resurrection, which testified to the truth of his prophecies, proved the infinite merits of his Sacrifice, and, in a word, proclaimed his Divinity. The earth has possessed its God and its Savior for three-and-thirty years, and men, with a few exceptions, knew it not. The Shepherds of Bethlehem knew it; but they were not told, as were afterwards the Fishermen of Genesareth, to go and preach the Word to the furthermost parts of the world. The Magi, too, knew it; they came to Jerusalem and spoke of it, and the City was in a commotion; but all was soon forgotten, and the Three Kings went back quietly to the East. These two events (which would, at a future day, be celebrated by the Church as events of most important interest to mankind), were lost upon the world, and the only ones that appreciated them were a few true Israelites who had been living in expectation of a Messias, who was to be poor and humble, and was to save the world. The majority of the Jews would not even listen to the Messias’ having been born; for Jesus was born at Bethlehem, and the Prophets had distinctly foretold that the Messias was to be called a Nazarene.
The same Divine plan — which had required that Mary should be espoused to Joseph, in order that her fruitful Virginity might not seem strange in the eyes of the people — now obliged her to come, like other Israelite mothers, to offer the sacrifice of Purification, for the Birth of the Son, whom she had conceived by the operation of the power of the Holy Ghost, but who was to be presented in the Temple as the Son of Mary, the Spouse of Joseph. Thus it is, that Infinite Wisdom delights in showing that his thoughts are not our thoughts, and in disconcerting our notions; he claims the submissiveness of our confidence, until the time come that he has fixed for withdrawing the veil, and showing himself to our astonished view.
The Divine Will was dear to Mary in this as in every circumstance of her life. The Holy Virgin knew, that by seeking this external rite of Purification, she was in no wise risking the honour of her Child, or failing in the respect due to her own Virginity. She was in the Temple of Jerusalem what she was in the house of Nazareth, when she received the Archangel’s visit — she was the Handmaid of the Lord. (Luke 1:38) She obeyed the Law, because she seemed to come under the Law. Her God and her Son submitted to the ransom as humbly as the poorest Hebrew would have to do; he had already obeyed the edict of the emperor Augustus, in the general census; he was to be obedient even unto death, even to the death of the Cross. The Mother and the Child, both humbled themselves in the Purification, and man’s pride received, on that day, one of the greatest lessons ever given it.
What a journey was this of Mary and Joseph, from Bethlehem to Jerusalem! The Divine Babe is in his Mother’s arms — she had him on her heart the whole way. Heaven, and earth, and all nature, are sanctified by the gracious presence of their merciful Creator. Men look at this Mother as she passes along the road with her sweet Jesus; some are struck with her appearance, others pass her by as not worth a look; but of the whole crowd, there was not one that knew he had been so close to the God, who had come to save him.
Joseph is carrying the humble offering, which the Mother is to give to the Priest. They are too poor to buy a lamb — besides, their Jesus is the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world. The Law required that a Turtle, or Dove, should be offered in the place of a lamb, when the Mother was poor. Innocent birds! emblems of purity, fidelity, and simplicity. Joseph has also provided the five Sides, the ransom to be given for the First-born Son — Mary’s only Son, who has vouchsafed to make us his Brethren, and, by adopting our nature, to render us partakers of his.
At length, the Holy Family enters Jerusalem. The name of this holy City signifies Vision of Peace; and Jesus comes to bring her Peace. Let us consider the names of the three places in which our Redeemer began, continued, and ended his life on earth. He is conceived at Nazareth, which signifies a Flower; and Jesus is, as he tells us in the Canticle, the Flower of the field and the Lily of the valley, by whose fragrance we are refreshed. He is born at Bethlehem, the House of Bread; for he is the nourishment of our souls. He dies on the Cross in Jerusalem, and by his Blood he restores peace between heaven and earth, peace between men, peace within our own souls; and on this day of his Mother’s Purification, we shall find him giving us the pledge of this peace.
Whilst Mary, the Living Ark of the Covenant, is ascending the steps, which lead up to the Temple, carrying Jesus in her arms, let us be attentive to the mystery — one of the most celebrated of the prophecies is about to be accomplished, one of the principal characters of the Messias is about to be shown as belonging to this Infant. We have already had the other predictions fulfilled, of his being conceived of a Virgin, and born in Bethlehem ; to-day, he shows us a further title to our adoration — he enters the Temple.
This edifice is not the magnificent Temple of Solomon, which was destroyed by fire during the Jewish captivity. It is the Second Temple, which was built after the return from Babylon, and is not comparable to the First in beauty. Before the century is out, it also is to be destroyed; and our Savior will soon tell the Jews that not a stone shall remain on stone that shall not be thrown down. Now, the Prophet Aggeus—in order to console the Jews, who had returned from banishment, and were grieving because they were unable to raise a House to the Lord equal in splendor to that built by Solomon—addressed these words to them, which mark the time of the coming of the Messias: “Take courage, O Zorobabel, saith the Lord; and take courage, O Jesus, the son of Josedec, the High Priest; and take courage, all ye people of the land;—for this saith the Lord of hosts: Yet one little while, and I will move the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land. And I will move all nations, and the Desired of all nations shall come; and I will fill this House with glory.—Great shall be the glory of this House, more than of the first; and in this place I will give Peace, saith the Lord of hosts.”
The hour is come for the fulfillment of this prophecy. The Emmanuel has left Bethlehem ; he has come among the people; he is about to take possession of his Temple, and the mere fact of his entering it, will straightways give it a glory, which is far above that of its predecessor. He will often visit it during his mortal life; but his coming to it to-day, carried as he is in Mary’s arms, is enough for the accomplishment of the promise, and all the shadows and figures of this Temple at once pale before the rays of the Sun of Truth and Justice. The blood of oxen and goats will, for a few years more, flow on its altar; but the Infant, who holds in his veins the Blood that is to redeem the world, is, at this moment, standing near that very Altar. Amidst the Priests who are there, and amidst the crowd of Israelites who are moving to and fro in the sacred building, there are a few faithful ones, who are in expectation of the Deliverer, and they know that the time of his manifestation is at hand; — but there is not one among them all, who knows, that at that very moment, this expected Messias is under the same roof with himself.
But, this great event could not be accomplished, without a prodigy being wrought by the Eternal God, as a welcome to his Son. The Shepherds had been summoned by the Angel, and the Magi had been called by the Star, when Jesus was born in Bethlehem: this time, it is the Holy Ghost himself who sends a witness to the Infant, now in the great Temple.
There was then living in Jerusalem an old man whose life was well nigh spent. He was a Man of desires, and his name was Simeon; his heart had longed unceasingly for the Messias, and at last, his hope was recompensed. The Holy Ghost revealed to him that he should not see death without first seeing the rising of the Divine Light. As Mary and Joseph were ascending the steps of the Temple to take Jesus to the Altar, Simeon felt within himself the strong impulse of the Spirit of God; he leaves his house, and walks towards the Temple; the ardor of his desire makes him forget the feebleness of age. He reaches the porch of God’s House—and there, amidst the many mothers who had come to present their children, his inspired gaze recognizes the Virgin, of whom he had so often read in Isaias, and he presses through the crowd to the Child she is holding in her arms.
Mary, guided by the same Divine Spirit, welcomes the saintly old man, and puts into his trembling arms the dear object of her love, the Salvation of the world. Happy Simeon! figure of the ancient world, grown old in its expectation, and near its end. No sooner has he received the sweet Fruit of Life than his youth is renewed as that of the eagle, and in his person is wrought the transformation which was to be granted to the whole human race. He cannot keep silence—he must sing a Canticle—he must do as the Shepherds and Magi had done, he must give testimony: “Now,” says he, “now, O Lord, thou dost dismiss thy servant in Peace, because my eyes have seen thy Salvation, which thou hast prepared—a Light that is to enlighten the Gentiles and give glory to thy people Israel.”
Immediately, there comes, attracted to the spot by the same Holy Spirit, the holy Anna, Phanuel’s daughter, noted for her piety, and venerated by the people on account of her great age. Simeon and Anna, the representatives of the Old Testament, unite their voices, and celebrate the happy coming of the Child who is to renew the face of the earth; they give praise to the mercy of Jehovah, who, in this place, in this Second Temple, gives Peace to the world, as the Prophet Aggeus (Haggai) had foretold.
This was the Peace so looked forward to by Simeon, and now, in this Peace will he sleep. Now, O Lord, as he says in his Canticle, thou dost dismiss thy servant, according to thy word, in Peace! His soul, quitting is bond of the flesh, will now hasten to the bosom of Abraham, and bear to the elect, who rest there, the tidings that Peace has appeared on the earth, and will soon open heaven. Anne has some years still to pass on earth; as the Evangelist tells us, she has to go and announce the fulfilment of the promises to such of the Jews as were spiritually minded, and looked for the Redemption of Israel. The divine seed is sown; the Shepherds, the Magi, Simeon, and Anne, have all been its sowers; it will spring up in due time; and when our Jesus has spend his thirty years of hidden life in Nazareth, and shall come for the harvest time, he will say to his Disciples: Lift up your eyes, and see the countries, for they are white already for the harvest: pray ye the Lord of the harvest that he send laborers into his harvest.
Simeon gives back to Mary the Child she is going to offer to the Lord. The two Doves are presented to the Priest, who sacrifices them on the Altar; the price for the ransom is paid; the whole law is satisfied; and, after having paid her homage to her Creator in this sacred place, where she spent her early years, Mary, with Jesus fastly pressed to her bosom, and her faithful Joseph by her side, leaves the Temple.
Such is the mystery of this fortieth day, which closes, by this admirable Feast of the Purification, the holy season of Christmas. Several learned writers, among whom we may mention Henschenius and Pope Benedict the Fourteenth, are of opinion that this Solemnity was instituted by the Apostles themselves. This much is certain, that it was a long-established Feast even in the fifth century.
The Greek Church and the Church of Milan count this Feast among those of our Lord; but the Church of Rome has always considered it as a Feast of the Blessed Virgin. It is true, it is our Saviour who is this day offered in the Temple; but this offering is the consequence of our Lady’s Purification. The most ancient of the Western Martyrologies and Calendars call it The Purification. The honour thus paid by the Church to the Mother, tends, in reality, to the greater glory of her Divine Son, for He is the Author and the End of all those prerogatives which we revere and honour in Mary.
FIRST VESPERS
The holy Church sings, in this Office, the celebrated Antiphons of the Feast of the Circumcision, which speak of the great Mystery of the Incarnation of the Word, and of Mary’s fruitful Virginity. “We give the Psalms in the Second Vespers, inasmuch as they are more generally assisted at by the Faithful than the First.
Ant. O admirable Interchange! The Creator of mankind, assuming a living Body, deigned to be born of a Virgin; and becoming Man, without man’s aid, bestowed on us his Divinity.
Psalm, Dixit Dominus
Ant. When thou wast born ineffably of the Virgin, the Scriptures were fulfilled. As dew upon Gedeon’s Fleece, thou earnest down to save mankind. O Lord, our God! we praise thee.
Psalm, Laudate pueri
Ant. In the bush seen by Moses as burning yet unconsumed, we recognize the preservation of thy glorious Virginity. Mother of God, intercede for us.
Psalm, Lætatus sum.
Ant. The Root of Jesse hath budded; the Star hath risen out of Jacob; a Virgin hath brought forth the Saviour. O Lord our God! we praise thee.
Psalm, Nisi Dominus
Ant. Lo! Mary hath brought forth a Saviour unto us, whom John seeing, exclaimed: Behold the Lamb of God! Behold him that taketh away the sins of the world. Alleluia.
Psalm, Lauda Jerusalem
The Capitulum is the prophecy of Malachy, announcing the coming of the Lord, the Angel of the Testament, into his Temple. The prophecy was fulfilled on the day of Mary’s Purification.
CAPITULUM
(Malachi 3)
Behold I send my Angel, and he shall prepare the way before my face.. And presently the Lord, whom ye seek, and the Angel of the testament, whom ye desire, shall come to his holy Temple.
HYMN
(Ave Maris Stella)
Ave, maris stella,
Dei mater alma,
atque semper virgo,
felix cœli porta. Sumens illud «Ave»
Gabrielis ore,
funda nos in pace,
mutans Evæ nomen.
Solve vincla reis,
profer lumen cæcis,
mala nostra pelle,
bona cuncta posce.
Monstra te esse matrem,
sumat per te precem
qui pro nobis natus
tulit esse tuus.
Virgo singularis,
inter omnes mitis,
nos culpis solutos
mites fac et castos.
Vitam præsta puram,
iter para tutum,
ut videntes Jesum
semper collætemur.
Sit laus Deo Patri,
summo Christo decus,
Spiritui Sancto
tribus honor unus. Amen
Hail, star of the sea,
Nurturing Mother of God,
And ever Virgin
Happy gate of Heaven
Receiving that “Ave” (hail)
From the mouth of Gabriel,
Establish us in peace,
Transforming the name of “Eva” (Eve).
Loosen the chains of the guilty,
Send forth light to the blind,
Our evil do thou dispel,
Entreat (for us) all good things.
Show thyself to be a Mother:
Through thee may he receive prayer
Who, being born for us,
Undertook to be thine own.
O unique Virgin,
Meek above all others,
Make us, set free from (our) sins,
Meek and chaste.
Bestow a pure life,
Prepare a safe way:
That seeing Jesus,
We may ever rejoice.
Praise be to God the Father,
To the Most High Christ (be) glory,
To the Holy Spirit
(Be) honour, to the Three equally. Amen
℣. Simeon had received an answer from the Holy Ghost,
℟. That he should not see death, before he had seen Christ of the Lord.
ANTIPHON OF THE MAGNIFICAT
Ant. The old man carried the Child, but the Child guided the old man. A Virgin bore him, and, after childbirth, continued a Virgin : she adored Him, whom she brought forth.
LET US PRAY.
Almighty and Eternal God, we humbly beseech thy divine Majesty, that as thy only Son, in the substance of our flesh, was this day presented in the temple, so our souls, being perfectly cleansed, may become a pure oblation, and presented to thee. Through the same, etc.
Blessing of the Candles
After Tierce follows the Blessing of the Candles, which is one of the three principal ones observed by the Church during the year; the other two are the Blessing of the Ashes, and the Blessing of the Palms. The signification of this ceremony bears so essential a connection with the mystery of our Lady’s Purification that if Septuagesima, Sexagesima, or Quinquagesima Sunday fall on the 2nd of February, the Feast is deferred to tomorrow; but the Blessing of the Candles, and the Procession which follows it, always take place on this precise day.
In order to give uniformity to the three great Blessings of the year, the Church prescribes for that of the Candles the same color for the vestments of the sacred Ministers, as is used in the two other Blessings of the Ashes and Palms—namely Purple. Thus this solemn function, which is inseparable from the day on which our Lady’s Purification took place, may be gone through every year on the 2nd of February without changing the color prescribed for the three Sundays just mentioned.
It is exceedingly difficult to say what was the origin of this ceremony. Baronius, Thomassin, and others, are of opinion, that it was instituted towards the close of the 5th century, by Pope St. Gelasius, in order to give a christian meaning to certain vestiges, still retained by the Romans, of the old Lupercalia. St. Gelasius certainly did abolish the last vestiges of the feast of the Lupercalia, which, in earlier times, the Pagans used to celebrate in the month of February. — Pope Innocent the Third, in one of his Sermons for the Feast of the Purification, attributes the institution of this ceremony of Candlemas to the wisdom of the Roman Pontiffs, who turned into the present religious rite the remnants of an ancient pagan custom, which had not quite died out among the Christians. The old Pagans, he says, used to carry lighted torches in memory of those which the fable gives to Ceres, when she went to the top of Mount Etna in search of her daughter Proserpine. But against this, we have to object, that on the pagan Calendar of the Romans, there is no mention of any feast in honour of Ceres, for the month of February. — We, therefore, prefer adopting the opinion of Dom Hugh Menard, Rocca, Henschenius, and Pope Benedict the Fourteenth; that an ancient feast, which was kept in February, and was called the Amburbalia, during which the pagans used to go through the city with lighted torches in their hands, gave occasion to the Sovereign Pontiffs to substitute, in its place, a Christian ceremony, which they attached to the Feast of that sacred mystery, in which Jesus, the Light of the world, was presented in the Temple by his Virgin-Mother.
The mystery of today’s ceremony has frequently been explained by liturgists, dating from the 7th century. According to St. Ivo of Chartres, the wax—which is formed from the juice of flowers by the bee (which has always been considered as the emblem of virginity)—signifies the virginal flesh of the Divine Infant, who diminished not, either by his conception or his birth, the spotless purity of his Blessed Mother. The same holy Bishop would have us see, in the flame of our Candle, a symbol of Jesus, who came to enlighten our darkness. St. Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury, speaking on the same mystery, bids us consider three things in the blessed Candle: the Wax, the Wick, and the Flame. The Wax, he says, which is the production of the virginal bee, is the Flesh of our Lord; the Wick, which is within, is his Soul; the Flame, which burns on the top, is his Divinity.
Formerly, the Faithful looked upon it as an honour to be permited to bring their wax tapers to the Church, on this Feast of the Purification, that they might be blessed together with those, which were to be borne in the procession by the Priests and sacred Ministers; and the same custom is still observed in some congregations. It would be well if Pastors were to encourage this practice, retaining it where it exists, or establishing it where it is not known. There has been such a systematic effort made to destroy, or, at least, to impoverish the exterior rites and practices of religion, that we find, throughout the world, thousands of Christians who have been insensibly made strangers to those admirable sentiments of faith, which the Church alone, in her Liturgy, can give to the body of the Faithful. Thus, we shall be telling many what they have never heard before, when we inform them, that the Church blesses the Candles to-day, not only to be carried in the Procession, which forms part of the ceremony, but, also, for the use of the Faithful, inasmuch as they draw, upon such as use them with respect, whether on sea or on land, (as the Church says in the Prayer,) special blessings from heaven. These blest Candles ought, also, to be lit near the bed of the dying Christian, as a symbol of the immortality merited for us by Christ, and of the protection of our Blessed Lady.
As soon as all is prepared, the Priest goes up to the Altar, and thus begins the Blessing of the Candles.
℣. Dominus Vobiscum.
℣. The Lord be with you.
℟. Et cum spiritu tuo.
℟. And with thy spirit.
Oremus.
Domine sancte, Pater omnipotens, æterne Deus, qui omnia ex nihilo creasti, et jussu tuo per opera spum hunc liquorem ad perfectionem cerei pervenire fecisti; et qui hodierna die petitionem justi Simeonis implesti: te humiliter deprecamur, ut has candelas ad usus hominum, et sanitatem corporum et animarum, sive in terra, sive in aquis, per invocationem tui sancti Nominis, et per intercessionem beatæ Mariæ semper Virginis, cujus hodie festa devote celebrantur, et per preces omnium Sanctorum tuorum, bene✠dicere et sancti✠ficere ✠ digneris; et hujus plebis tuæ, quæ illas honorifice in manibus desiderat portare, teque cantando laudare, exaudias voces de cœlo sancto tuo, et de sede Majestatis tuæ; et propitius sis omnibus clamantibus ad te, quos redemisti pretioso sanguine Filii tui, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti, Deus, per omnia sæcula sæculorum.
℟. Amen.
Let us Pray.
Holy Lord, Father Almighty and Eternal God, who didst create all things out of nothing and by the labor of the bees, following thy commands, hast brought this liquor to the perfection of wax; and who, on this day, didst accomplish the desire of the righteous Simeon; we humbly beseech thee, that by the invocation of thy most holy name, and by the intercession of Blessed Mary, ever a Virgin, whose festival we this day devoutly celebrate, and by the prayers of all thy Saints, thou wouldst vouchsafe to bless ✠ and sanctify ✠ these candles, for the service of men, and for the good of their bodies and souls in all places, whether on sea, or on land; and that thou wouldst please mercifully to hear from thy holy temple, and from the throne of thy majesty, the prayers of this thy people, who desire to carry them in their hands with reverence, and with sacred hymns to praise thy name; and show mercy to all that cry out unto thee, whom thou hast redeemed by the precious blood of thy beloved Son: who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.
℟. Amen.
Oremus.
Omnipotens, sempiterne Deus, qui, hodierna die, Unigenitum tuum, ulnis sancti Simeonis in Templo sancto tuo suscipiendum præsentasti: tuam supplices deprecamur clementiam, ut has candelas, quas nos famuli tui, in tui Nominis magnificentiam suscipientes, gestare cupimus luce accensas, bene✠dicere et sancti✠ficere ✠, atque lumine supernæ benedictionis accendere digneris; quatenus eas tibi Domino nostro offerendo, digni et sancto igne dulcissimæ charitatis tuæ succensi, in Templo sancto gloriæ repræsentari mereamur. Per eumdem Christum Dominum nostrum.
℟. Amen.
Let us Pray.
O Almighty and Eternal God, who on this day wast please that thy only Son should be presented in the temple, and be received into the arms of holy Simeon: we humbly beseech thy mercy to bless ✠, sanctify ✠, and give the light of thy heavenly benediction to these candles, which we thy servants desire to carry in honor of thy name: that by offering them to thee, our Lord God, we may be inflamed by the fire of thy sweet love, and made worthy to be presented in the holy temple of thy glory. Through the same Christ our Lord.
℟. Amen.
Oremus.
Domine Jesu Christe, lux vera, quæ illuminas omnem hominem venientem in hunc mundum: effunde bene✠dictionem tuam super hos cereos, et sancti✠fica eos lumine gratiæ tuæ; et concede propitius, ut sicut hæc luminaria, igne visibili accensa, nocturnas depellunt tenebras, ita corda nostra invisibili igne, id est Sancti Spiritus splendore illustrata, omnium vitiorum cæcitate careant: ut purgato mentis oculo, ea cernere possimus quæ tibi sunt placita, et nostræ saluti utilia; quatenus post hujus sæculi caliginosa discrimina, ad lucem indeficientem pervenire mereamur. Per te, Christe Jesu, Salvator mundi, qui in Trinitate perfecta vicis et regnas Deus, per omnia sæcula sæculorum.
℟. Amen.
Let us Pray.
Lord Jesus Christ, the true light, that enlighteneth every man that cometh into the world: pour forth thy blessing ✠ upon these candles, and sanctify ✠ them by the light of thy grace; and grant in thy mercy, that as these candles, by their visible light, dispel the darkness of the night, so our hearts burning with invisible fire, and enlightened by the grace of the Holy Ghost, may be delivered from all blindness of sin: that the eye of our soul being purified, we may discern those things that are pleasing to thee, and beneficial to our souls: that after having finished the darksome passage of this life, we may come to never-fading joys, through thee, O Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, who, in perfect Trinity, livest and reignest God, world without end.
℟. Amen.
Oremus.
Omnipotens sempiterne Deus, qui per Moysen famulum tuum, purissimum olei liquorem ad luminaria ante conspectum tuum jugiter concinnanda præparari jussisti: bene✠dictionis tuæ gratiam super hos cereos benignus infunde, quatenus sic administrent lumen exterius ut, te donante, lumen Spiritus tui nostris non desit mentibus interius. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitate ejusdem Spiritus Sancti, Deus, per omnia sæcula sæculorum.
℟. Amen.
Let us Pray.
O Almighty and Eternal God, who, by thy servant Moses, commandedst the purest oil to be prepared for lamps, continually to burn in thy presence, mercifully pour forth the grace of thy blessing ✠ on these candles: that as they supply us with visible light, so, by thy assistance, the light of thy Spirit may never be wanting inwardly in our souls. Through our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the same Holy Spirit, God, world without end.
℟. Amen.
Oremus.
Domine Jesu Christe, qui hodierna die, in nostræ carnis substantia, inter homines apparens, a parentibus in Templo es præsentatus, quem Simeon venerabilis senex, lumine Spiritus tui irradiatus, agnovit, suscepit, et benedixit: præsta propitius, ut ejusdem Spiritus Sancti gratia illuminati, atque edocti, te veraciter, agnoscamus et fideliter diligamus. Qui cum Deo Patre, in unitate ejusdem Spiritus sancti, vivis et regnas, Deus, per omnia sæcula sæculorum.
℟. Amen.
Let us Pray.
Lord Jesus Christ, who appearing amongst men in the substance of our flesh, wast pleased this day to be presented in the temple by thy parents, and whom the venerable Simeon, enlightened by the Holy Ghost, publicly confessing, received in his arms, and blessed: mercifully grant that, being inspired and taught by the grace of the same Holy Spirit, we may sincerely acknowledge and faithfully love thee. Who with God the Father, in the unity of the same Holy Spirit, livest and reignest God, world without end.
℟. Amen.
These five Prayers having been said, the Celebrant sprinkles the Candles with holy water (saying the Asperges in secret), and then incenses them; after which, he distributes them to both clergy and Laity (in receiving the Candle, the Faithful should kiss first the Candle itself, and then the Priest’s hand). During the distribution, the Church—filled with emotion at the sight of these sacred symbols, which remind her of Jesus—shares in the joyous transports of the aged Simeon, who, while holding the Child in his arms, confessed him to be the Light of the Gentiles. She chants his sweet Canticle, separating each verse by an Antiphon, which is formed out of the last words of Simeon.
Ant. Lumen ad revelationem gentium, et gloriam plebis tuæ Israel.
Ant. A Light to the revelation of the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.
Canticle of Simeon
(St. Luke, II)
Nunc dimittis servum tuum, Domine: * secundum verbum tuum in pace.
Now thou dost dismiss thy servant, O Lord, according to thy word in peace.
Ant. Lumen ad revelationem gentium, et gloriam plebis tuæ Israel.
Ant. A Light to the revelation of the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.
Quia viderunt oculi mei: * Salutare tuum.
Because my eyes have seen thy Salvation.
Ant. Lumen ad revelationem gentium, et gloriam plebis tuæ Israel.
Ant. A Light to the revelation of the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.
Quod parasti: * ante faciem omnium populorum.
Which thou hast prepared before the face of all peoples.
Ant. Lumen ad revelationem gentium, et gloriam plebis tuæ Israel.
Ant. A Light to the revelation of the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.
Gloria Patri et Filio, * et Spiritui Sancto.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
Ant. Lumen ad revelationem gentium, et gloriam plebis tuæ Israel.
Ant. A Light to the revelation of the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.
Sicut erat in principio, et nunt et semper, * et in sæcula sæculorum. Amen.
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Ant. Lumen ad revelationem gentium, et gloriam plebis tuæ Israel.
Ant. A Light to the revelation of the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.
After the distribution of the Candles, the following Antiphon and verse of the 43rd Psalm are sung.
Exsurge, Domine, adjuva nos, et libera nos propter nomen tuum.
Arise, O Lord, help us, and, for thy name’s sake, deliver us.
Ps. Deus, auribus nostris audivimus: patres nostri annuntiaverunt nobis. ℣. Gloria Patri. Exsurge.
Ps. We have heard, O God, with our ears: our fathers have declared unto us. ℣. Glory. Arise.
If it be in the season of Septuagesima, there is also added by the Deacon, Flectamus genua (Let us kneel down); to which the Subdeacon replies, Levate (Arise).
Oremus.
Exaudi, quæsumus, Domine, plebem tuam: et quæ extrinsecus annua tribuis devotione venerari, interius asseaui gratiæ tuæ luce concede. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.
Let us Pray.
Give ear, we beseech thee, O Lord, to thy people; that what we outwardly perform by this yearly devotion, we may inwardly obtain the effects of, by the light of thy grace. Through, &c.
THE PROCESSION
Filled with holy joy, radiant with the mystic light, excited, like the venerable Simeon, by the impulse of the Holy Spirit—the Church goes forth to meet her Emmanuel. It is this meeting which the Greek Church calls the Hypapante (or Hypante), under which name she also designates today’s Feast. The Church would imitate that wondrous Procession which was formed in the Temple of Jerusalem on the day of Mary’s Purification. Let us listen to St. Bernard.
“On this day, the Virgin Mother brings the Lord of the Temple into the Temple of the Lord; Joseph presents to the Lord a Son, who is not his own, but the Beloved Son of that Lord himself, and in whom he is well pleased; Simeon, the just man, confesses Him for whom he had been so long waiting; Anna, too, the widow, confesses him. The Procession of this solemnity was first made by these four, which, afterwards, was to be made, to the joy of the whole earth, in every place and by every nation. Let us not be surprised at its then being so little for He that carried was Little! Besides, all who were in it were just, and Saints, and perfect—there was not a single sinner.”
And yet, let us join the holy procession. Let us go to meet Jesus, the Spouse of our souls, as did the Wise Virgins, carrying in our hands lamps burning with the flame of charity. Let us remember the command given us by our Lord: Let your loins be girt, and lamps burning in your hands: and you yourselves like to men who wait for their Lord. Guided by faith and enlightened by charity, we shall meet and know him, and he will give himself to us.
The holy Church opens her chants of this Procession with the following Antiphon, which is found, word for word, in the Greek Liturgy of this same Feast.
Ant. Adorna thalamum tuum, Sion, et suscipe Regem Christum: amplectere Mariam, quæ est cœlestis porta; ipsa enim portat Regem gloriæ novi luminis; subsistit Virgo, adducens, manifub Filium ante luciferum genitum; quam accipiens Simeon in ulnas suas, prædicavit populis Dominum eum esse vitæ et mortis et Salvatorem mundi.
Ant. Adorn thy bridechamber, O Sion, and receive Christ, thy King. Salute Mary, the gate of heaven; for she beareth the King of glory, who is the new Light. The Virgin stands, bringing in her hands her Son, the Begotten before the day-star; whom Simeon receiving into his arms, declared him to the people as the Lord of life and death, and the Savior of the world.
Then is added the following Anthem, taken from the Gospel, and in which is related the mysterious meeting between Jesus and Simeon.
Ant. Responsum accepit Simeon a Spiritu Sancto, non visurum se mortem, nisi videret Christum Domini; et cum inducerent Puerum in Templum, accepit eum in ulnas suas, et benedixit Deum, et dixit: Nunc dimittis servum tuum, Domine, in pace.
Ant. Simeon had received an answer from the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Christ of the Lord; and when his parents brought the Child into the Temple, he took him into his arms, and blessed God, and said: Now, thou dost dismiss thy servant, O Lord, in peace.
℣. Cum inducerent puerum Jesum parentes ejus ut facerent secundum consuetudinem Legis pro eo, ipse accepit eum in ulnas suas.
℣. When his parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the law, he took him into his arms.
On re-entering the Church, the Choir sings the following Responsory:
℟. Obtulerunt pro eo Domino par turturum, aut duos pullos columbarum: * Sicut scriptum est in Lege Domini.
℟. They offered for him, to the Lord, a pair of turtle doves, or two young pigeons: * As it is written in the Law of the Lord.
℣. Postquam impleti sunt dies purgationis Mariæ, secundum legem Moysi, tulerunt Jesum in Jerusalem, ut sisterent eum Domino. * Sicut scriptum est in Lege Domini. Gloria Patri. * Sicut scriptum est.
℣. After the days of Mary’s purification, according to the law of Moses, were accomplished, they carried Jesus to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord. * As it is written in the law of the Lord. Glory. * As it is written.
After the Procession, the Celebrant and his Ministers put off their purple vestments, and vest in white for the Mass of the Purification.
But if it be any of the three Sundays, Septuagesima, Sexagesima, or Quinquagesima, the Mass of the Feast is deferred till the morrow, as we have already explained.
MASS
In the Introit, the Church sings the glory of Jerusalem’s Temple that was this day visited by the Emmanuel. Great, indeed, today, is the Lord in the City of David, great is he on his mount of Sion. Simeon, the representative of the whole human race, receives into his arms Him that is the Mercy sent us by God.
Introit
Suscepimus, Deus, misericordiam tuam in medio Templi tui: secundum Nomen tuum, Deus, ita et laus tua in fines terræ: justitia plena est dextera tua.
We have received thy mercy, O God, in the midst of thy temple: according to thy name, O God, so also is thy praise unto the ends of the earth: thy right hand is full of justice.
Ps. Magnus Dominus et laudabilis nimis, in civitate Dei nostri, in monte sancto ejus. ℣. Gloria Patri. Suscepimus.
Ps. Great is the Lord, and exceedingly to be praised: in the City of our God, in his holy Mountain. ℣. Glory, &c. We have.
In the Collect, the Church prays that her children may be presented, as Jesus was, to the Eternal Father; but in order that they may meet with a favorable reception, she asks him to grace them with purity of heart.
Collect
Omnipotens sempiterne Deus Majestatem tuam supplices exoramus ut, sicut unigenitus Filius tuus, hodierna die, cum nostræ carnis substantia in Templo est præsentatus, ita nos facias purificatis tibi mentibus præsentari. Per eumdem.
O Almighty and Eternal God, we humbly beseech thy divine Majesty, that as thy Only Begotten Son, in the substance of our flesh, was this day presented in the temple, so our souls being perfectly cleansed, may become a pure oblation, and presented to thee. Through the same, &c.
Epistle
Lesson from the Prophet Malachy. Ch. iii.
Thus saith the Lord God: Behold I send my angel, and he shall prepare the way before my face. And presently the Lord, whom you seek, and the angel of the testament, whom you desire, shall come to his temple. Behold he cometh, saith the Lord of hosts. And who shall be able to think of the day of his coming? and who shall stand to see him? for he is like a refining fire, and like the fuller’ s herb: And he shall sit refining and cleansing the silver, and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and shall refine them as gold, and as silver, and they shall offer sacrifices to the Lord in justice. And the sacrifice of Juda and of Jerusalem shall please the Lord, as in the days of old, and in the ancient years, saith the Lord Almighty.
Quote:All the Mysteries of the Man-God have this for their object—the purifying of our hearts. As today’s Epistle explains, He sends his Angel (that is, his Precursor) before his face, that he may prepare his way; and we have heard this holy Prophet crying out to us, in his wilderness: Be humbled, O ye hills! and ye valleys, be ye filled up!—At length, he that is the Angel, the Sent, by excellence, comes in person to make a Testament, a Covenant, with us. He comes to his Temple, and this Temple is our heart. But he is like a refining fire that takes away the dross of metals. He wishes to renew us by purifying us; that thus we may be worthy to be offered to him, and with him, by a perfect sacrifice. We must, therefore, take care and not be satisfied with admiring these sublime Mysteries. We must hold this as a principle of our spiritual life—that the Mysteries brought before us, feast after feast, are intended to work in us the destruction of the old, and the creation of the new, man. We have been spending Christmas; we ought to have been born together with Jesus; this new Birth is now at its fortieth day. Today, we must be offered by Mary (who is also our Mother) to the Divine Majesty, as Jesus was. The moment is come for our offering, for it is the hour of the Great Sacrifice—let us redouble the fervor of our preparation.
In the Gradual, the Church again celebrates that sweet Mercy, who has appeared in the Temple of Jerusalem, and is about to show himself to us in this more perfect manifestation of the Holy Sacrifice.
Gradual
Suscepimus, Deus, misericordiam tuam in medio Templi tui: secundum nomen tuum, Deus, ita et laus tua in fines terræ.
We have received thy Mercy, O God, in the midst of thy Temple: according to thy name, O God, so also is thy praise unto the ends of the earth.
℣. Sicut audivimus, ita et vidimus in civitate Dei nostri, in monte sancto ejus.
℣. As we have heard, so have we seen in the City of our God, on his holy mountain.
Alleluia, alleluia.
Alleluia, alleluia.
℣. Senex Puerum porta bat: Puer autem senem regebat. Alleluia.
℣. The old man carried the Child: but the Child guided the old man. Alleluia.
If the season of Septuagesima be already begun, the Church, instead of the Alleluia-verse, sings the following Tract, which is composed of the words of the venerable Simeon.
Tract
Nunc dimittis servum tuum, Domine, secundum verbun tuum in pace.
Now thou dost dismiss thy servant, O Lord, according to thy word in peace.
℣. Quia viderunt oculi mei Salutare tuum.
℣. Because my eyes have seen thy Salvation.
℣. Quod parasti ante faciem omnium populorum.
℣. Which thou hast prepared before the face of all peoples.
℣. Lumen ad revelationem gentium, et gloriam plebis tuæ Israel.
℣. A Light to the revelation of the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.
Gospel
Sequel of the holy Gospel according to St. Luke. Ch. ii.
At that time: After the days of purification of Mary, according to the law of Moses, were accomplished, they carried him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord: As it is written in the law of the Lord: Every male opening the womb shall be called holy to the Lord: And to offer a sacrifice, according as it is written in the law of the Lord, a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons: And behold there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Ghost was in him. And he had received an answer from the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Christ of the Lord. And he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when his parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the law, He also took him into his arms, and blessed God, and said: Now thou dost dismiss thy servant, O Lord, according to thy word in peace; Because my eyes have seen thy salvation, Which thou hast prepared before the face of all peoples: A light to the revelation of the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.
Quote:The Holy Spirit has led us to the Temple, as he did Simeon. There, we see the Virgin Mother offering at the Altar her Son, who is the Son of God. We are filled with admiration at this fidelity of the Child and his Mother to the Law; and we feel in our hearts a desire to be also presented to our Creator, who will accept our homage, as he accepted that offered him by his Divine Son. Let us at once put ourselves in those same holy dispositions which filled the Hearts of Jesus and Mary. The salvation of the world has this day gained ground; let the work of our individual sanctification also advance. From this Feast forward, the Mystery of the Infant-God will no longer be put before us by the Church as the special object of our devotion; the sweet Season of Christmas will, in a few hours, have left us, and we shall have to follow our Jesus in his combats against our enemies. Let us keep close to our dear King. Let us ever keep Simeon’s spirit, and follow our Redeemer, walking in His footsteps, who is our Light. Let us love this Light, and merit, by our fidelity in using it, that it unceasingly shine upon us.
During the Offertory, the Church speaks the praises of the grace put, by our Lord, on Mary’s lips. She celebrates the favors poured out on Her who was called by the Archangel Blessed among women.
Offertory
Diffusa est gratia in labiis tuis; propterea benedixit te Deus in æternum, et in sæculum sæculi.
Grace is spread on thy lips; therefore hath God blessed thee for ever, and for ever.
Secret
Exaudi, Domine, preces nostras: et ut digna sint munera, quæ oculis tuæ Majestatis offerimus, subsidium nobis tuæ pietatis impende. Per Dominum.
Mercifully hear our prayers, O Lord, and grant us the assistance of thy mercy, that what we offer to thy divine Majesty may be worthy to be accepted. Through, &c.
The Preface is that of Christmas.
After having distributed the Bread of Life—the Fruit of Bethlehem—which has been offered on our Altar, and has redeemed us from all our iniquities, the holy Church again reminds her children of the sentiments which filled Simeon’s soul. But in the Mystery of love, we not only, like Simeon, receive into our arms Him who is the Consolation of Israel; he enters into our very breast and soul, and there he takes up his abode.
Communion
Responsum accepit Simeon a Spiritu Sancto, non visurum se mortem, nisi videret Christum Domini.
Simeon received an answer from the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death till he beheld the Christ of the Lord.
Let us, in the Postcommunion, unite with the Church in praying that the heavenly remedy of our regeneration may not only produce in our souls a passing grace, but may, by our fidelity, fructify in us to life eternal.
Postcommunion
Quæsumus, Domine Deus noster, ut sacrosancta mysteria, quæ pro reparationis nostræ munimine contulisti, intercedente beata Maria semper Virgine, et præsens nobis remedium esse facias et futurum. Per Dominum.
We beseech thee, O Lord our God, that the sacred mysteries we have received to preserve our new life may, by the intercession of Blessed Mary, ever a Virgin, become a remedy to us both now and for the future. Through, &c.
The Ancient Liturgies contain but few Hymns on the Purification of the Blessed Virgin.
One of these is the composition of St. Paulinus, the Patriarch of Aquileia, and is not without its merits.
HYMN
As soon as the Maiden’s forty days were accomplished, according to the Law of the Lord, the Virgin Mary took the Holy Child Jesus, the Only Begotten Son of the Eternal Father, into the Temple, carrying him in her saintly arms.
The Blessed Mother carried upon her most chaste bosom her God, who was hid under the veil of our flesh. Sweetly and fondly does she kiss the lips of Him that was true God and Man, and, at whose bidding, all things were made.
The Parents took two tender little milk-white doves, which they offered for their Jesus, and which, by the prescription of the Law, were consumed in a holocaust.
There lived in the City a Priest of God, who was humble, and meek exceedingly: he was just, and, though old, was without a fault: his name was Simeon, the happy, blessed, heavenly-minded Simeon, who, being full of the Holy Ghost, was urged by a divine impulse to enter the holy Temple.
He had, long ago, received an answer from the Holy Ghost, that he should not be loosed, by death, from the bonds of his flesh, until he had seen, in this present life, the Christ of the Lord, whom the Father was to send from his high throne.
Receiving, therefore, the Child into his hands, he gave thanks to the heavenly Father; and, as he held the Babe in his arms, he blessed his Lord. Then, also, with his heart teeming with love, he thus sweetly cried aloud:
“Dismiss thy servant, Lord! dismiss me, I beseech thee, in Peace, for I have now seen, with mine eyes, the Saviour thou hast, in wondrous mercy, prepared before the face of every people.
“He is the Light that is to shine upon the Gentiles, and bring glory to the people of Israel. He is set for the fall and the salvation of the race of Jacob, as shall be seen on the day when the secrets of hearts shall be revealed.
“Behold, O Holy Mother! thy own soul shall be pierced with a sword! Mary heard these high mysterious words, pondering them joyfully in her heart, for she ever took the words of heaven with ready faith.
Glory be to the Father of our Lord Jesus! And to thee, the Only Begotten Son of the Father, to thee, O God! be power and heavenly virtue! And to the Holy Paraclete, be infinite praise, honour, and empire, for endless ages. Amen.
Sequences for the Purification are as rare as Hymns, in the ancient Liturgies.
The one we give here, is taken from the old Sequence-Book of the Monastery of St. Gall, and was composed by Blessed Notker.
SEQUENCE
This people, with one accord, venerates thee, Mary! and honours thee with devout heart.
Thou art the Daughter of the noble Abraham, and of the kingly race of David.
O Virgin of virgins! thou wast pure above all creatures, most spotless in thy life, and of surpassing beauty.
Be glad, Mother and Virgin most glorious! Thou didst believe what Gabriel the Archangel said unto thee — thou didst bring forth a Son, and yet wast a Virgin as before.
In the most precious Blood of this thy Son, the lost human race was cleansed, as God had promised unto Abraham.
The dry Rod of Aaron, that yielded a lovely flower, was a figure of thee, Mary! who wast the Virgin-Mother of the Flower Divine.
Thou wast the ever-closed Gate, O Mary, of which Ezekiel speaks, and which was opened to none save only God.
But, on this day, wishing to give us an example worthy of the Mother of every virtue, thou didst subject thyself to the law which was made not but for the mothers of men.
O spotless Mother! thou didst bring with thee to the Temple, (as though he could be cleansed,) Him, who gave thee the splendour of thy virginity — thou didst bring with thee the God made Man.
Be glad, O Holy Mary! whom He, that searcheth the hearts and reins, found to be the only worthy dwelling of his majesty.
Rejoice, Mary! on whom the Little One, whose look gives joy and being to the world, looked and smiled.
We, therefore, who celebrate the Feast of Jesus, (become an Infant for our sakes,) and of his sweet Mother Mary,
Since we cannot, because we are weak, follow the wondrous humility of a God, let us take Mary as our model.
Praise to the Father of glory, who hath united us all into one, by revealing his Son to both the Gentiles and his people of Israel.
Praise to the Son, who hath given us fellowship with the citizens of heaven, by reconciling us, by his Blood, to the Father.
Praise, too, be forever to the Holy Ghost. Amen.
The admirable Sequence we subjoin to this, is one of the finest written by Adam of Saint- Victor.
We are indebted for it to Gautier, who was the first to publish it, in his beautiful edition of the great Lyric’s poetical writings.
But, besides the interest it has as being so fresh a treasure, our readers will find in it so much beauty,
that we should not be surprised at their giving it the first place among all the Hymns to our Lady, written in the Middle-Ages.
SEQUENCE
Let us adorn the temple of our souls, and, with new hearts, bring back again that old man’s joy, whose long-cherished wish is granted, as his arms press Jesus to his breast.
This Child is the Standard of the people, filling the Temple with light, our choirs with praise, and our hearts with jubilee. This day, is he presented in the Temple, and will, another day, when grown to manhood, be offered on the Cross, the offering for sin.
On one side Jesus, on the other Mary; here the sweet Infant, and there the sweet Mother; — oh! what a glad sight! — But let us devoutly carry within us that work of Light, which our lighted tapers symbolize.
The Father’s Word is the light — his virginal flesh is the wax — our lighted taper is Christ himself, who enlightens our hearts with that wisdom, which rescues the sinner from the error of his way, and sets him on virtue’s path.
He that holds Jesus by love, carries, as our Feast would have him do, the Candle blessed with light. So did Simeon love the Father’s Word, and fondly carry in his arms the Mother’s Babe.
Be glad, O Mother of thy God! simple, pure, unwrinkled, spotless Mother! O Maiden! chosen by the God of thy love, and loved by the God of thy choice.
All beauty is cloudy, deformed, and displeasing, to him that has seen thine. All sweetness seems bitter, or false, or insipid, to the soul that has tasted of thine.
All fragrance, put near thine, grows faint or foul; and love is powerless o’er a heart that feeds on thine.
Beautiful Star of the sea! Thou beautiful honour of all mothers! true Mother of Truth! path of holy living! O remedy of the world’s ills! Source of the fount of that Wine of Life, for which all men should thirst, and whose strength-giving chalice is sweet to the healthy and the sick, and restores the drooping heart!
O fount sealed up in holiness! pour out on us thy streams! — Fount of inner gardens! water, with thy rivulet’s wave our parched and stony hearts!
Overflowing Fount! flow out on us, and wash our hearts’ defilements. O Fount sublime, limpid above our thought! cleanse thy servants’ hearts from an unclean world. Amen.
Now let us give ear to the sweet hymn of the Greek Church. She thus celebrates the Purification in her Mensea.
IN HYPAPANTE DOMINI
This day, Simeon receives into his arms the Lord of glory, whom, heretofore, Moses saw under a cloud, on Mount Sina, when he received the tables of the Law. This is he that speaks in the Prophets, and is the Maker of the Law. This is he whom David foretells: he is the terrible God: his mercy is great and exceeding rich.
O thou the Treasure of all ages, and the Life of all creatures! thou, for my sake, becamest an Infant; thou who, heretofore, didst engrave the Law on the Tables, on Sina, wast made under the Law, so to give all men freedom from the ancient servitude of the Law. Glory, O Jesus! be to thy mercy. Glory be to thy kingdom! Glory be to thy dispensation, thou the only lover of mankind!
Mary, the Virgin-Mother of God, carries in her arms Him that is seated on the chariot of Cherubim, and is hymned in the songs of Seraphim: Him that was made incarnate from her: — Him, the Lawgiver, who now is observing the ordinance of the Law. She gave him into the arms of the aged Priest, who, as he thus held the Life, prayed to be loosed from life, saying: “Now, O Lord, dismiss me, that I may go tell Adam how I have seen the immutable God, who is from all eternity, made a Little Child, and the Saviour of the world.”
The old man prostates, and following, in spirit, the steps of the Virgin-Mother of God, he says: “Thou art carrying Fire, O pure one! Thy trembling arms are bearing the Infant, who is the God of never-setting light, and the Lord of peace.”
“Isaias was cleansed when he took from the Seraph the ” burning coal,’ said the old man to the Mother of God: “but thou inflamest me with the instrument of thy hands, giving me Him thou holdest — the Lord of light, that setteth not, and of peace.”
O ye that are of good-will! let us all run to the Mother of God, to see her Child, whom she now gives to Simeon; which the heavenly Spirits seeing, they say in deepest wonder: “This day, we behold wonderful, incredible, in comprehensible, things. He, that heretofore made Adam, is carried as a Babe! He, whom no space may hold, is held in an old man’s arms! He, that dwells in the bosom of the Father, wills to have, by flesh, the limits Divinity could not have! Who but God, could bear towards man such love as this?”
We adore and thank thee, O Emmanuel ! on this happy day, which saw thee enter into the Temple of thy Majesty, carried in the arms of thy incomparable Mother. Thou comest into the Temple, that thou mayest offer thyself for our sakes. Thou deignest to be redeemed by the payment of a ransom, for, one day, thou hast to pay an infinite ransom for us. Thou comest, now, to offer a ceremonial sacrifice, because thou art soon to abolish every sacrifice by the one that alone is perfect. Thou enterest, to-day, into that Jerusalem, which is to be the place of thy passion and death. Our salvation urges thee on. Thou wast born for us, but thou art not satisfied; and every gift of this thy fortieth day must needs bespeak the future proofs thou hast yet to give us, of the love thou bearest us.
O thou, the Consolation of Israel ! on whom the Angels love to look! thou enterest into the Temple, and they, who were living in expectation of their Redeemer, redouble their hope. Oh! that we had something of that love, which burned in Simeon’s heart, as he held thee in his arms! All he lived for, was to see thee, O Divine Infant ! and having seen thee, he longs to die. One brief moment’s sight of thee makes him sleep in peace! What must it be to possess thee eternally, when a glance could satisfy the longings of a whole life!
But, O Saviour of our souls! if Simeon was so satiated with this seeing thee presenting thyself for mankind in the Temple — how ought we to love thee, we who have seen the final consummation of thy Sacrifice? The day will come, when, as thy devout servant Bernard expresses it, thou wilt be offered, not in the Temple and on Simeon’s arms, but outside the City-gates and on the arms of the Cross. On that day, man will not offer up the blood of a victim for thee, but thyself wilt offer up thine own Blood for man. Now, it is the “morning; then, it will be the evening, sacrifice. Now, thou art in the age of Infancy; then, thou wilt have attained the fullness of the age of Man; and having loved us from the beginning, thou wilt love us even unto the end.
What return shall we make to thee, O Divine Infant! for thou bearest within thy heart, during this thy first offering, the same infinite love of us wherewith thou wilt consummate thy last? Can we do less than offer ourselves to thee, from this very day, and be wholly thine? Thou givest thyself to us in the Adorable Sacrament, with more perfection than thou didst give thyself to Simeon; and we receive thee not in our arms, but in our very breast. Dismiss us, dear Jesus! break our chains. Give us thy Peace, and may we, like Simeon, enter now on a new life. In order to imitate thy virtues and be united with thee, we have endeavored, during this holy Season, to gain that humility and simplicity which thou wishest to see within us. Assist us to persevere in the spiritual life, that, like thee, we may grow in age and wisdom, before both God and men.
And thou, O Mary! purest of Virgins, and Mother blessed above all mothers!—O Daughter of the Prince! how beautiful are thy steps on this day of thy Purification, when thou enterest the Temple with our Jesus in thy arms! Who could tell the joy and the humility on thy maternal heart, in this offering thou makest to the Eternal Father of his and thy Son? Looking around on the mothers who have come for their own purification on this same day, thou rejoicest at the thought that the babes they are now presenting in the Temple will one day see and now thy Jesus, their Savior. What a privilege, that these Children should be presented to the Lord together with thine! What honor for these mothers, that they should be purified in thy holy company! If the Temple is glad at seeing enter within its walls the God, in whose honor it has been built—part of its joy is to see him throned there in thy arms, who art the holiest of creatures, the one child of Eve that has never known sin, the Virgin Mother of this God.
But, whilst humbly keeping within thyself the secrets of the Eternal Father, and mingled in the throng of these Hebrew mothers — the holy Simeon advances towards thee, Mary! Knowing that the Holy Ghost has revealed the mystery to him, thou affectionately placest in his hands the God of heaven and earth, who has come to be the Consolation of Israel. The holy Anna, too, approaches thee, and thou lovingly receivest her. Perhaps, in thy younger years, thou hadst received from her, in this very Temple, the affection and care of a second mother. Thy heart thrills with delight, at hearing these two venerable Saints extolling God’s faithfulness to his promises, and the glory of thy Child, and the splendour of the Light which is now to be shed forth on all nations. The happiness of thus hearing the praises of the God, who is thy Child, fills thee with joy and thankfulness — but, oh! what a sword of grief pierces thy heart, dear Mother, at the words of Simeon as he gives thee back thy Babe! Henceforth, thou must weep as often as thou lookest on Him! He is to be a sign of contradiction (Luke 2:34) and the wounds men are to give him are to wound thy soul! The blood of victims like these, that are now being offered in the Temple, shall cease to flow, and be changed for the Blood of thy Jesus!
O Mother of Sorrows ! we were the cause of all this. It was our sins, that changed thy joy into mourning. And yet, thou lovest us, because thy Jesus loves us! Love us now and for ever. Intercede for us with thy Son. Pray, that we may never lose the
graces granted us during these forty happy days.
These graces drew us to the Crib of thy Child, and thy affection for us encouraged to stay. We are resolved to maintain our position near this Jesus, following him through all the Mysteries which are now to succeed this of his Infancy. We are resolved to be faithful disciples of this dear Master, and follow him, as thou didst, even to the foot of that Cross,
which was revealed to thee on this day.
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