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| Fr. Goffine [1871]: Manner of Hearing Mass at Home |
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Posted by: Stone - 11-23-2020, 08:19 PM - Forum: When there is No Priest
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MANNER OF HEARING MASS AT HOME
by Rev. Leonard Goffine, 1871
For those who on account of sickness, old age, or for other proper reasons cannot assist at holy Mass, especially on Sundays and Holidays.
PREFATORY REMARKS.
Bear in mind, O Christian soul, that those who would with pleasure be present at the holy Sacrifice of the Mass, if it were possible, such as the sick, the infirm, the aged, fathers and mothers who must remain at home with the little children, and for other reasons, are all included in the holy Sacrifice, that is, take part in the prayers of the Church, in the blessings and merits of the Sacrifice, if they have a sincere desire for it, and, include themselves in the holy Sacrifice.
The holy Sacrifice of the Mass does not belong to any one person, but is offered for all the faithful. As Christ offered Himself for all men on the cross, so He now offers Himself in an unbloody manner for all in the holy Mass, and as He offers the blessing and merits of His sacrifice on the cross to all men, all also have a part in them, who by faith, by hearty desire, by penitent sentiments, and by a life pleasing to God assist at the holy Sacrifice. And if you are kept at home, the priest prays, the Church prays, your Saviour Jesus Christ offers Himself, and the merits and blessing of the holy Sacrifice flow to you, if you only heartily desire it, and unite your prayers at home with the prayers of the priest and the whole congregation. Therefore kneel in spirit before the altar and devoutly make a
GOOD INTENTION.
My Father and my God, Thou knowest how sincerely I would like to assist at the Sacrifice of Thy beloved Son, my Redeemer, which is now being offered to Thee upon the altar by the hands of the priest; but obstacles as Thou knowest, prevent me. Because I cannot now be present in Thy holy house, do Thou graciously look down upon the desire of my heart, and let me have part in the prayers of Thy holy Church and in the blessing and merits of Thy divine Son, who died for me on the cross, and again offers Himself in an unbloody manner upon the altar. With the same intention with which the priest accomplishes the holy Sacrifice on the altar, I also offer it to Thee for Thy praise and glory, in thanksgiving for all gifts and graces which Thou hast granted me, to reconciliate Thee with me, a poor sinner, and for forgiveness of my sins, and with the most fervent petition, that Thou wilt be to me in my cares and afflictions a gracious Father, and for the sake of Thy Son Jesus not refuse me Thy aid.
O my holy Guardian Angel, do thou stand by my side and unite thy prayers with mine, that they may be acceptable to God's Majesty, and do thou, my beloved Mother Mary, assist me that I may attend in spirit to the unbloody Sacrifice of the Mass with the same intention as thou didst have, when thou didst assist at the bloody Sacrifice of the cross. Amen.
FROM THE COMMENCEMENT OF MASS TO THE GOSPEL.
My Lord and my God! Creator of heaven and earth, the highest Majesty! how can I presume to raise my hands and pray to Thee? Thou art infinite holiness, in whose sight even the angels are not pure, Thou art the Almighty, before whom even the blessed spirits veil their faces, and I, what am I? Nothing but a poor sinner, a little dust and ashes, who long ago deserved punishment. But Thou art also infinitely gracious and merciful. In the spirit of the deepest contrition and humility, behold, I prostrate myself before Thee with the priest and confess my fault, my great fault, my greatest fault. From my inmost heart I grieve for all my sins and crimes, earnestly beseeching Thee, O my good God and Father, to bestow forgiveness upon me. With the priest I penitently call upon Thee, have mercy on me, O Lord, have mercy on me! Thy mercy is indeed infinitely great, and a contrite heart Thou wilt never despise. And if my sorrow and contrition are not sufficient, O Father in heaven, then graciously accept the penitent tears of all the holy penitents, the dolors of my beloved Mother Mary under the cross, and the grief of Thy most tender heart for the sins of men. Graciously accept the homage which the Church offers Thee, to which I also add my poor adoration. To Thee, O God on high, be glory! Would that Thou mightest be everywhere glorified! Would that Thy most holy name might be everywhere honored and praised! For this Thou didst send Thine only begotten Son upon earth, for this, that all men might acknowledge Thee, love Thee, learn to serve Thee; and for this Thy divine Son sent His apostles over the whole earth to lead all men to the truth. O give me the grace to always acknowledge the truth which Thy Son brought to earth, and ever more faithfully observe His sacred precepts, that I may be acceptable to Thee and eternally happy. Amen.
FROM THE GOSPEL TO THE CONSECRATION.
Most heartfelt thanks to Thee, O God! for the Catholic faith in which I was born, and which as a little child I received, without any merit of mine, from Thy hands. O how unfortunate would I be, if like so many others I were left to wander in heresy or unbelief, never finding the light of the true faith, which shines only in the Catholic Church, to lead me to heaven! With joy I profess this my holy faith, and beseech Thee, O my God, with all my heart to grant me the grace to live always in accordance with it. For what would it avail me if I should fully believe every truth the Catholic Church teaches, if I did not also faithfully obey it? O my God, do not permit this ever to happen, do not permit me to give ear to false and evil doctrines, which are everywhere spread by vicious men; do not permit me to become weak in faith, do not permit me to be faithless to the promises I have made Thee in Baptism and holy Communion. I desire to be and to remain a child of Thy holy Church, for in this Church alone can I be happy; for she only has all the means of grace for happiness, she alone possesses the fountain of all grace, the holy Sacrifice of the Mass, in which Thine only Son, Jesus, offers Himself to Thee, in order to bestow upon us all that His blood won for us on the cross. I see now, in spirit, the priest standing on the altar with bread and wine in his hands, praying to the Holy Ghost to bless these gifts, that they may be fitted to be changed into the body and blood of Thy beloved Son. I unite my heart to these consecrated gifts of sacrifice, and lay it upon the altar. I possess nothing which I could give to Thee, but a heart which can and will love Thee. O take this poor heart of mine, purify it from all sins and stains, inflame it with the fire of Thy love, and draw it near to Thee, O infinite Goodness, that it may be never more separated from Thee. At the same time I offer to Thee with my heart all its cares and anxieties. Nothing that weighs upon it, is unknown to Thee, O my God, plain before Thy eyes lie all my heart's desires. O do not permit it to desire anything displeasing to Thee, turn it entirely to Thee, and by Thy grace make it ever one with the most loving heart of Thy most loving Son, who, as long as He was upon earth, sought only that Thy will should be done upon earth as in heaven. Amen.
BEFORE THE ELEVATION.
Holy, holy, holy art Thou, O Triune God, and because Thou art infinitely holy, no offering can please Thee as that infinitely holy Sacrifice of Thy Son Jesus, and because Thou art infinitely just, no other Sacrifice can satisfy Thee but this one stainless Sacrifice, which Thy beloved Son accomplished on the cross, and now in an unbloody manner renews upon the altar. For the sake of this holy Sacrifice now being accomplished on the altar, I beseech Thee, O God in heaven, to graciously look down upon all true Christians and preserve them in the unity of faith and love; permit the light of truth to shine for all unbelievers and heretics, give Thy good Spirit to the *True and valid pope, our common father and head, to the bishops and priests, that they may lead the souls entrusted to them, in the way of salvation to heaven, give the grace of conversion to all poor sinners, console the afflicted, strengthen the weak, guide the erring, steady the wavering, and graciously hear the prayers of those who supplicate Thee. Remember, O best Father, my poor soul, also, bought by Thy divine Son with His blood. I confess in deepest humility and most profound sorrow, that I have often stained that soul with sin and by transgressing Thy holy commandments; give me but one drop of that Most Precious Blood, and it will become pure and pleasing to Thee. Thou knowest my desire to serve Thee with all faithfulness, O give me Thy grace, always to do Thy holy will; assist me, that I may always follow the beautiful virtues of Thy beloved Son, His humility, His peacefulness, and become thus always more and more pleasing to Thee. Do not forsake me, O merciful Father, in my crosses and afflictions, and in the heavy cares which weigh upon my heart. Give me strength to bear them, and cause all to redound to Thy honor and the salvation of my own poor soul. Aid me now, O most blessed Virgin and Mother of God, and all you saints in heaven, in this most solemn hour, when Jesus, the Lamb of God, offers Himself with your petitions, that my prayers may be heard at the throne of God, before which you stand, singing hymns of praise. You have won and are now happy, we must yet suffer and fight, aid us, that through Christ, our Saviour, we may conquer the enemies of our salvation and meet with you in heaven. Amen.
AT THE ELEVATION.
Most merciful Heavenly Father! Thou hast given us Thy beloved Son Jesus, and with Him all. He, Thine only Son, is now my possession, He is now present on the altar, and I presume to draw near to Him, presume to offer Him to Thee for Thy glory, in thanksgiving for all Thy graces, for forgiveness of my sins, and for the obtaining of new graces which I so much need. A thousand thanks to Thee for having given us Thy beloved Son, through whom we poor sinners have access to Thee; through Him, my Jesus, I offer to Thy great Majesty my heart, my body, my soul, everything that I am or have. I offer Thee His infinite merits for my poverty, His infinite virtues for my sinfulness, the holiness of His life upon earth for my crimes, His Most Precious Blood as my appeal for mercy. Have mercy on me, O Father in Heaven, have mercy on me! Forgive me all my offences, and permit me to be and remain Thy child. Amen.
AFTER THE ELEVATION.
How infinitely great, O my most loving Jesus, how perfectly incomprehensible is Thy love for us weak men who can do nothing but sin! It was not enough for Thee to die on the cross with unutterable agonies for us, and by that bloody Sacrifice reconcile us sinners with Thy just Father, opening heaven to us, but Thou wouldst daily renew it on our altars, wouldst daily descend from heaven, changing the bread into Thy Sacred Body and the wine into Thy most Precious Blood, presenting to our eyes Thy death upon the cross and giving us all its merits. O who can comprehend this Thine infinite love? And how ungrateful we are to Thee for it! Instead of loving Thee in return, instead of doing everything which is pleasing to Thee, instead of following Thee and becoming always more like Thee, we insult Thee, nail Thee anew by our sins to the cross, drive Thee from us, and follow the broad way of the world, which leads to destruction. I also, O my most loving Saviour, am one of these ingrates; O forgive me, for I am indeed sorry from my whole heart for having acted so ungratefully towards Thee. In deepest humility I fall down before Thee, confessing my offences, give me but a drop of Thy most Precious Blood; that I may be purified. Look upon me with the eyes of Thy boundless mercy, and give me the grace to love Thee with my whole heart and faithfully to serve Thee. Yes, I love Thee, O Jesus, I love Thee, and will always love Thee. Remember also, O most faithful Jesus, those who have departed from this world in faith in Thee and Thy most holy Church, remember my (parents, relations) friends, benefactors; let them share in the merits of Thy most Precious Blood, that they may obtain consolation and comfort in the tortures of purgatory and soon arrive at redemption. Amen.
AT THE PRIEST'S COMMUNION.
O Jesus, how unutterable is Thy love for man! Thou art not only willing to bestow upon him the merits of Thy holy Sacrifice, but desirest to give Thyself entirely to him, to nourish and strengthen his soul by Thy most Sacred Body and Blood, uniting Thyself wholly with him. How infinitely great is Thy condescension to us, Thy poor creatures! Thou who art infinite Holiness, the Almighty, the Creator of heaven and earth, the Lord of legions, desirest to come to us and dwell with us! Who could believe it, if Thou hadst not said it? Since it is, then, certain and true, that Thou dost visit us and dwell in our hearts, I will presume, poor sinner though I am, to draw near to Thee, to unite myself with the priest and earnestly pray and beseech Thee, O Jesus! Come to me! I am not worthy, but Thy great goodness, Thy great mercy permits me to hope, that Thou wilt not refuse to deign to come into my poor heart. I cannot, it is true, now actually receive Thee, Thy Sacred Body and Blood, with the priest, but Thou canst come to me with Thy effective grace to console, strengthen, purify, and sanctify my soul. Come, then, O Jesus, sole desire of my heart! Behold, I dedicate my heart to Thee, may it love only Thee! I dedicate my soul to Thee, may it think only of Thee and be acceptable to Thee! I dedicate my body and all its members to Thee, that they may be used only in doing good. Come, O Jesus, and make me entirely Thine, for Thee I desire to live and to die. Amen.
FROM THE COMMUNION TO THE BENEDICTION.
Thou hast now, O most tender Jesus, finished Thy most holy Sacrifice, Thou hast given Thyself for the honor and glory of Thy Heavenly Father, and called at His throne for grace and mercy for us. Thou hast permitted the merits of Thy most holy Sacrifice to flow into our souls. How can I thank Thee enough for it? For if I had the tongues of all the angels, I could not sufficiently praise Thee. Since I have not the power, I offer Thee the praise, adoration, and thanks of Thy holy Mother Mary and of all the saints, earnestly beseeching Thee to supply from Thy own loving heart all that I, in my poverty, cannot give Thee. Thou hast given me the grace, O Heavenly Father, to offer Thee Thy divine Son in union with the priest and the congregation, to adore and praise Thee, and to presume to offer Thee the price of the forgiveness of my sins. Thanks be to Thee for this grace. May I stand always firmly in faith in Thee and in Him, Thy only begotten Son, whom Thou hast sent, may my trust in Thee never become weakened and may I never cease to love Thee as long as I live! Amen.
AT THE BENEDICTION.
May + God the Father, + the Son, and + the Holy Ghost bless me. Strengthened by this blessing, I will seek to-day and at all times to do Thy will, O Holy Trinity. I desire not only to be called Thy child, O Heavenly Father, but to be Thy child, always and at all times to fulfil Thy commandments with filial obedience. I desire not only to be Thy disciple, O Jesus, but to be Thy faithful disciple. I wish to be humble and meek, like Thee, at peace with all men, always preserving purity of body and soul, and merciful to all my fellowmen, friends, and enemies alike. I will cheerfully follow Thy inspirations, O Divine Spirit, faithfully use the graces, with which Thou overloadest me, depart from sin, and live for virtue. O Mary, blessed Mother of my Saviour, pray for me and assist me to keep my resolutions. Take me, and all for whom I am bound to pray and all my friends, under thy protection and lead us to the heaven, where thou livest in splendor, that with thee and the saints we may always love and praise the Triune God. Amen.
Source
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| Soviet expert: COVID isolation ‘blatantly and obviously cover for social control |
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Posted by: Stone - 11-23-2020, 07:56 PM - Forum: Socialism & Communism
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Soviet propaganda expert: COVID isolation ‘blatantly and obviously cover for social control’
'What this COVID thing is doing is basically putting us each in kind of a vault,' said Stella Morabito, who was stationed in the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
Stella Morabito gives a talk at the Family Research Council in 2016.
November 20, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) — On November 20, the Center for Family and Human Rights (C-Fam) hosted an online seminar about the “totalitarian” implications of enforced isolation. C-Fam is a pro-life, pro-family organization that defends the natural family and the right to life in international institutions.
Austin Ruse, president of C-Fam, was joined by Soviet propaganda expert Stella Morabito, a former CIA analyst who was stationed in the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
“What this COVID thing is doing is basically putting us each in kind of a vault,” Morabito said. She compared current lockdown measures to social separation tactics used as a “weapon of choice” by Soviet and other communist regimes. “How do you control people? You isolate them. You control their personal relationships,” she said.
Morabito discussed “threat of being socially isolated” as the “greatest tool” of totalitarian governments, referencing calculated solitary confinement of political prisoners in the Soviet Union. In his landmark The Gulag Archipelago, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, a Soviet internment camp survivor, described how “[s]ecurity officers would decide the degree of isolation” for persons “under suspicion.” In certain cases, “while nominally remaining free, a man lost all his personal freedom and was sent off to some isolated area,” he wrote.
Soviet scholar Anne Applebaum also has noted the systematic use of social isolation in Soviet gulags, in which isolation was punishment for “people who disobeyed or who failed to fulfill the norm” or “myriad rules,” like those against excessive “fraternization.”
Enforced seclusion is “all part of the totalitarian mindset,” Morabito said. In a recent article, she further condemned the “social isolation and misery” of COVID measures imposed by “certain power grabbers” that leave us “locked down indefinitely, economically strapped, and demoralized.”
Tens of thousands of medical professionals have voiced similar complaints. The Great Barrington Declaration, which was published only six weeks ago, reports having collected the signatures of over 52,000 doctors and scientists, along with those of more than 638,000 private citizens. The declaration decries the “damaging physical and mental health impacts of the prevailing COVID-19 policies.” “Current lockdown policies are producing devastating effects on short and long-term public health,” it warns.
Detrimental effects of social isolation were a top concern of medical practitioners at last month’s second “White Coat Summit” as well. At the event, Dr. Lee Merritt, a former military surgeon trained at the University of Rochester Medical School, stated, “Besides what they’re doing to society as a whole, separating us, isolating us, think about what they’re doing to our children.” “Children need to look at faces to learn how to be a human. Reading faces is part of humanity[.] ... [T]his is George Orwell’s boot on a human face forever if we don’t get this off,” Merritt said.
Other medical experts such as Stanford’s Dr. John Ioannidis and Dr. Roger Hodkinson of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada have sounded the alarm against political and psychological dangers of COVID policies like mandatory masking. Hodkinson called masks “utterly useless” and “simply virtue-signaling.” In May, an article in the New England Journal of Medicine admitted as much, saying “that wearing a mask outside health care facilities offers little, if any, protection from infection.” The authors referred to masks as “talismans that may help increase health care workers’ perceived sense of safety, well-being
C-Fam’s seminar concluded by emphasizing the enhanced impact of political censorship and identity politics amid extended lockdowns. Morabito said that “in an era of social isolation, when people respond by self-censorship, all they are doing is creating more isolation.”
She described political correctness as “virtual solitary confinement” “designed to induce self-censorship ... through the threat of being separated from others.” Morabito continued, “because there is such a monopoly in the mainstream media that enforces this totalitarian mindset that only they can say what is real and what is true.”
As with lockdowns, identity politics and political censorship work to “destabilize individual identity” and “sow hostilities between people so that they cannot relate as real human beings,” she said.
Justifications like “public health” and “equality” may be serving to “cover up a totalitarian agenda,” with enduring ramifications for free association and thought. “People who are used to living in freedom just take that for granted,” Morabito said.
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| Oregon Gov. Encourages Residents to Call Police on Neighbors Violating COVID Restrict |
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Posted by: Stone - 11-23-2020, 07:28 PM - Forum: Pandemic 2020 [Secular]
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Oregon Gov. Kate Brown Encourages Residents to Call Police on Neighbors Violating COVID Restrictions
MSN | November 23, 2020
Oregon Governor Kate Brown is encouraging residents to call the police on any neighbors who flout state COVID-19 restrictions, which include limiting in-home gatherings to a maximum of six people.
“This is no different than what happens if there’s a party down the street and it’s keeping everyone awake,” Brown said in an interview Friday. “What do neighbors do [in that case]? They call law enforcement because it’s too noisy. This is just like that. It’s like a violation of a noise ordinance.”
Last week the Democratic governor instituted a new round of restrictions aimed at mitigating the spread of coronavirus in the state via executive order, including a two-week “freeze” limiting indoor and outdoor gatherings to no more than six people from no more than two households just ahead of Thanksgiving.
Residents are also prohibited from eating out at restaurants and going to the gym, though faith-based gatherings of up to 25 people indoors and 50 people outdoors are allowed.
Violators can face up to 30 days in jail, $1,250 fines or both.
The Marion County Sheriff’s office said in a statement on Friday that it believes “we cannot arrest or enforce our way out of the pandemic.”
“We believe both are counterproductive to public health goals.”
Brown pushed back, calling criticisms of the new restrictions “irresponsible.”
“This is about saving lives and it’s about protecting our fellow Oregonians,” she said. “We have too many sporadic cases in Oregon. We can’t trace these cases to a particular source. We have to limit gatherings and social interactions.”
On Sunday, new COVID-19 cases reached a record high in the state for the third straight day, with 1,517 new infections recorded, bringing the state total to 65,170.
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| November 23rd |
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Posted by: Stone - 11-23-2020, 10:12 AM - Forum: November
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Saint Clement I of Rome
Pope and Martyr
(† 100)
Saint Clement is a Roman of noble birth, the son of the Senator Faustinian. Saint Paul speaks of him in his Epistle to the Philippians, chapter 4, assuring that Clement had worked with him in the ministry of the Gospel, and that his name was written in the Book of Life. Later Saint Clement was consecrated bishop by Saint Peter himself. He succeeded in the supreme office to Saint Linus, the immediate successor to Saint Peter, and the Liber Pontificalis says that he reigned nine years, two months and ten days, from 67 to 76, ...until the reign of Vespasian and Titus.
It was, we may say, with the words of the Apostles still resounding in his ears that he began to rule the Church of God; he was among the first, as he was among the most illustrious, in the long line of those who have held the place and power of Peter. Living at the same time and in the same city with Domitian, persecutor of the Church, and having to face not only external foes but to contend with schism and rebellion from within, his days were not tranquil. The Corinthian Church was torn by intestine strife, and its members were defying the authority of their clergy. It was then that Saint Clement intervened in the plenitude of his apostolic authority, and sent his famous Epistle to the Corinthians. He reminded them of the duties of charity, and above all of submission to the clergy. He did not speak in vain; peace and order were restored. Saint Clement had done his work on earth, and shortly after sealed with his blood the Faith which he had learned from Peter and taught to the nations.
* * *
Saint Felicitas or Felicity
Mother of the 7 Holy Brothers
Martyr
(† 150)
Saint Felicity was a noble Roman matron, distinguished above all for her virtue. This mother of seven children raised her sons in the fear of the Lord, and after the death of her husband, served God in continence, concerning herself only with good works. Her good examples and those of her children brought a number of pagans to renounce their superstitions, and also encouraged the Christians to show themselves worthy of their vocation. The pagan priests, furious at seeing their gods abandoned, denounced her. She appeared with her pious sons before the prefect of Rome, who exhorted her to sacrifice to idols, but in reply heard a generous confession of faith.
Wretched woman, he said to her, how can you be so barbarous as to expose your children to torments and death? Have pity on these tender creatures, who are in the flower of their age and can aspire to the highest positions in the Empire! Felicity replied, My children will live eternally with Jesus Christ, if they are faithful; they will have only eternal torments to await, if they sacrifice to idols. Your apparent pity is but a cruel impiety. Then, turning to her children, she said: Look towards heaven, where Jesus Christ is waiting for you with His Saints! Be faithful in His love, and fight courageously for your souls.
The Judge, taking the children one by one, tried to overcome their constancy. He began with Januarius, but received for his answer: What you advise me to do is contrary to reason; Jesus, the Saviour, will preserve me, I hope, from such impiety. Felix, the second, was then brought in. When they urged him to sacrifice, he answered: There is only one God, and it is to Him that we must offer the sacrifice of our hearts. Use all artifices, every refinement of cruelty, you will not make us betray our faith! The other brothers, when questioned, answered with the same firmness. Martial, the youngest, who spoke last, said: All those who do not confess that Jesus Christ is the true God, will be cast into a fire which will never be extinguished.
When the interrogation was finished, the Saints underwent the penalty of the lash and then were taken to prison. Soon they completed their sacrifice in various ways: Januarius was beaten until he died by leather straps capped with lead; Felix and Philip were killed with bludgeons; Sylvanus was thrown headfirst from a cliff; Alexander, Vitalis and Martial were beheaded. Felicity, the mother of these new Maccabees, was the last to suffer martyrdom.
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| November 22nd |
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Posted by: Stone - 11-23-2020, 10:02 AM - Forum: November
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Saint Cecilia
Virgin, Martyr
(† 177)
Patron of musicians
It is under the emperor Alexander Severus that this young Saint, one of the most fragrant flowers of Christian virginity and martyrdom, suffered for the Faith she had chosen; to choose it was at that moment as certain an end to earthly felicity as it is a guarantee, at every epoch, of the eternal felicity of those who remain faithful to it. Cecilia was the daughter of an illustrious patrician, and was the only Christian of her family; she was permitted to attend the reunions held in the catacombs by the Christians, either through her parents' condescension or out of indifference. She continually kept a copy of the holy Gospel hidden under her clothing over her heart. Her parents obliged her, however, despite her vow of virginity, which most probably they knew nothing of, to marry the young Valerian, whom she esteemed as noble and good, but who was still pagan.
During the evening of the wedding day, with the music of the nuptial feast still in the air, Cecilia, this intelligent, beautiful, and noble Roman maiden, renewed her vow. When the new spouses found themselves alone, she gently said to Valerian, Dear friend, I have a secret to confide to you, but will you promise me to keep it? He promised her solemnly that nothing would ever make him reveal it, and she continued, Listen: an Angel of God watches over me, for I belong to God. If he sees that you would approach me under the influence of a sensual love, his anger will be inflamed, and you will succumb to the blows of his vengeance. But if you love me with a perfect love and conserve my virginity inviolable, he will love you as he loves me, and will lavish on you, too, his favors. Valerian replied that if he might see this Angel, he would certainly correspond to her wishes, and Cecilia answered, Valerian, if you consent to be purified in the fountain which wells up eternally; if you will believe in the unique, living and true God who reigns in heaven, you will be able to see the Angel. And to his questions concerning this water and who might bestow it, she directed him to a certain holy old man named Urban.
That holy Pontiff rejoiced exceedingly when Valerian came to him the same night, to be instructed and baptized; his long prayer touched the young man greatly, and he too rejoiced with an entirely new joy in his new-found and veritable faith, so far above the religion of the pagans. He returned to his house, and on entering the room where Cecilia had continued to pray for the remainder of the night, he saw the Angel waiting, with two crowns of roses and lilies, which he would place on the head of each of them. Cecilia understood at once that if the lilies symbolized their virginity, the roses foretold for them both the grace of martyrdom. Valerian was told he might ask any grace at all of God, who was very pleased with him; and he requested that his brother Tiburtius might also receive the grace he had obtained; and the conversion of Tiburtius soon afterwards became a reality.
The two brothers, who were very wealthy, began to aid the families which had lost their support through the martyrdom of the fathers, spouses, and sons; they saw to the burial of the Christians, and continually braved the same fate as these victims. In effect they were soon captured, and their testimony was such as to convert a young officer chosen to conduct them to the site of their martyrdom. He succeeded in delaying it for a day, and took them to his house, where before the day was ended he had decided to receive Baptism with his entire family and household. The two brothers offered their heads to the sword; and soon afterward the officer they had won for Christ followed them to the eternal divine kingdom. It was Cecilia who saw to the burial of all three martyrs. She then distributed to the poor all the valuable objects of her house, in order that the property of Valerian might not be confiscated according to current Roman law, and knowing that her own time was close at hand.
She was soon arrested and arraigned, but having asked a delay after her interrogation, she assembled those who had heard her with admiration and instructed them in the faith; the Pontiff Urban baptized a large number of them. The death appointed for her was suffocation by steam. Saint Cecilia remained unharmed and calm, for a day and a night, in the calderium, or place of hot baths, in her own palace, despite a fire heated to seven times its ordinary violence. Finally, an executioner was sent to dispatch her by the sword; he struck with trembling hand the three blows which the law allowed, and left her still alive. For two days and nights Cecilia would lie with her head half severed, on the pavement of her bath, fully sensible and joyfully awaiting her crown. When her neophytes came to bury her after the departure of the executioner, they found her alive and smiling. They surrounded her there, not daring to touch her, for three days, having collected the precious blood from her wounds. On the third day, after the holy Pontiff Urban had come to bless her, the agony ended, and in the year 177 the virgin Saint gave back her glorious soul to Christ. It was the Supreme Pontiff who presided at her funeral; she was placed in a coffin in the position in which she had lain, as we often see her pictured, and interred in the vault prepared by Saint Callixtus for the Church's pontiffs. The authentic acts of her life and martyrdom were prepared by Pope Anteros in the year 235. When the tomb was opened in 1599 her body was entirely intact still.
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| Feast of the Presentation of Our Lady in the Temple -November 21st |
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Posted by: Stone - 11-23-2020, 09:37 AM - Forum: November
- Replies (1)
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The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Religious parents never fail by devout prayer to consecrate their children to God, His divine service and love, both before and after their birth. Some among the Jews, not content with this general consecration of their children, offered them to God in their infancy, by the hands of the priests in the Temple, to be brought up in quarters attached to the Temple, attending the priests and Levites in their sacred ministry. There were special divisions in these lodgings for the women and children dedicated to the divine service. (III Kings 6:5-9) We have examples of this special consecration of children in the person of Samuel, for example. Today the Church celebrates the feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Temple of Jerusalem. It is very probable that the holy prophet Simeon and the prophetess Anna, who witnessed the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple, as we read in the second chapter of the Gospel of Saint Luke (verses 25 ff.) had known His Mother as a little girl in the Temple and observed her truly unique sanctity.
It is an ancient and very trustworthy tradition that the Blessed Virgin was thus solemnly offered in the Temple to God at the age of three by Her parents, Saint Anne and Saint Joachim. The Gospel tells us nothing of the childhood of Mary; Her title Mother of God, eclipses all the rest. Where, better than in the Temple, could Mary be prepared for Her mission? Twelve years of recollection and prayer, contemplation and sufferings, were the preparation of the chosen one of God. The tender soul of Mary was adorned with the most precious graces and became an object of astonishment and praise for the holy Angels, as well as of the highest complacency for the adorable Trinity. The Father looked upon Her as His beloved Daughter, the Son as One set apart and prepared to become His Mother, and the Holy Ghost as His undefiled Spouse.
Here is how Mary's day in the Temple was apportioned, according to Saint Jerome. From dawn until nine in the morning, She prayed; from 9:00 until 3:00 She applied Herself to manual work; then She turned again to prayer. She was always the first to undertake night watches, the One most applied to study, the most fervent in the chanting of Psalms, the most zealous in works of charity, the purest among the virgins, Her companions, the most perfect in the practice of every virtue. On this day She appears as the standard-bearer for Christian virginity: after Her will come countless legions of virgins consecrated to the Lord, both in the shadow of the altars or engaged in the charitable occupations of the Church in the world. Mary will be their eternal Model, their dedicated Patroness, their sure guide on the paths of perfection.
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| Feast of Our Lady's Presentation in the Temple - November 21st |
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Posted by: Stone - 11-23-2020, 09:37 AM - Forum: Our Lady
- Replies (6)
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The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Religious parents never fail by devout prayer to consecrate their children to God, His divine service and love, both before and after their birth. Some among the Jews, not content with this general consecration of their children, offered them to God in their infancy, by the hands of the priests in the Temple, to be brought up in quarters attached to the Temple, attending the priests and Levites in their sacred ministry. There were special divisions in these lodgings for the women and children dedicated to the divine service. (III Kings 6:5-9) We have examples of this special consecration of children in the person of Samuel, for example. Today the Church celebrates the feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Temple of Jerusalem. It is very probable that the holy prophet Simeon and the prophetess Anna, who witnessed the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple, as we read in the second chapter of the Gospel of Saint Luke (verses 25 ff.) had known His Mother as a little girl in the Temple and observed her truly unique sanctity.
It is an ancient and very trustworthy tradition that the Blessed Virgin was thus solemnly offered in the Temple to God at the age of three by Her parents, Saint Anne and Saint Joachim. The Gospel tells us nothing of the childhood of Mary; Her title Mother of God, eclipses all the rest. Where, better than in the Temple, could Mary be prepared for Her mission? Twelve years of recollection and prayer, contemplation and sufferings, were the preparation of the chosen one of God. The tender soul of Mary was adorned with the most precious graces and became an object of astonishment and praise for the holy Angels, as well as of the highest complacency for the adorable Trinity. The Father looked upon Her as His beloved Daughter, the Son as One set apart and prepared to become His Mother, and the Holy Ghost as His undefiled Spouse.
Here is how Mary's day in the Temple was apportioned, according to Saint Jerome. From dawn until nine in the morning, She prayed; from 9:00 until 3:00 She applied Herself to manual work; then She turned again to prayer. She was always the first to undertake night watches, the One most applied to study, the most fervent in the chanting of Psalms, the most zealous in works of charity, the purest among the virgins, Her companions, the most perfect in the practice of every virtue. On this day She appears as the standard-bearer for Christian virginity: after Her will come countless legions of virgins consecrated to the Lord, both in the shadow of the altars or engaged in the charitable occupations of the Church in the world. Mary will be their eternal Model, their dedicated Patroness, their sure guide on the paths of perfection.
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| Feast of the Presentation of Our Lady in the Temple -November 21st |
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Posted by: Stone - 11-23-2020, 09:37 AM - Forum: Our Lady
- Replies (5)
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The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Religious parents never fail by devout prayer to consecrate their children to God, His divine service and love, both before and after their birth. Some among the Jews, not content with this general consecration of their children, offered them to God in their infancy, by the hands of the priests in the Temple, to be brought up in quarters attached to the Temple, attending the priests and Levites in their sacred ministry. There were special divisions in these lodgings for the women and children dedicated to the divine service. (III Kings 6:5-9) We have examples of this special consecration of children in the person of Samuel, for example. Today the Church celebrates the feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Temple of Jerusalem. It is very probable that the holy prophet Simeon and the prophetess Anna, who witnessed the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple, as we read in the second chapter of the Gospel of Saint Luke (verses 25 ff.) had known His Mother as a little girl in the Temple and observed her truly unique sanctity.
It is an ancient and very trustworthy tradition that the Blessed Virgin was thus solemnly offered in the Temple to God at the age of three by Her parents, Saint Anne and Saint Joachim. The Gospel tells us nothing of the childhood of Mary; Her title Mother of God, eclipses all the rest. Where, better than in the Temple, could Mary be prepared for Her mission? Twelve years of recollection and prayer, contemplation and sufferings, were the preparation of the chosen one of God. The tender soul of Mary was adorned with the most precious graces and became an object of astonishment and praise for the holy Angels, as well as of the highest complacency for the adorable Trinity. The Father looked upon Her as His beloved Daughter, the Son as One set apart and prepared to become His Mother, and the Holy Ghost as His undefiled Spouse.
Here is how Mary's day in the Temple was apportioned, according to Saint Jerome. From dawn until nine in the morning, She prayed; from 9:00 until 3:00 She applied Herself to manual work; then She turned again to prayer. She was always the first to undertake night watches, the One most applied to study, the most fervent in the chanting of Psalms, the most zealous in works of charity, the purest among the virgins, Her companions, the most perfect in the practice of every virtue. On this day She appears as the standard-bearer for Christian virginity: after Her will come countless legions of virgins consecrated to the Lord, both in the shadow of the altars or engaged in the charitable occupations of the Church in the world. Mary will be their eternal Model, their dedicated Patroness, their sure guide on the paths of perfection.
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| November 20th |
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Posted by: Stone - 11-23-2020, 09:29 AM - Forum: November
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Saint Felix of Valois
Founder
(1127-1212)
Saint Felix was the son of the Count of Valois. His mother carried him to Saint Bernard at his monastery of Clairvaux, to offer him there to God, when he was three years old; she kept him, however, under her own care and took particular care of him, permitting him, still young, to distribute the alms she was pleased to give to the poor. When the exiled Pope Innocent II sought refuge in France, the Count of Valois, father of Felix, offered his castle of Crepy to the Pontiff, who often blessed the young child whom he saw being trained in virtue. One day when Felix gave away his own habits to a poor beggar, he found them that evening neatly laid on his bed; and he thanked God for this sign of His divine goodness, proving that one loses nothing when one gives to the poor.
When he was ten years old he obtained grace for a prisoner condemned to death, by means of his prayer and his pleadings with his uncle, a lord of whom the man was the subject. Felix had a presentiment that this man would become a saint; and in fact, he retired into a deep solitude where he undertook severe penance and died the death of the just.
The unfortunate divorce of the parents of Felix, and the excommunication of his father, who had remarried and whose condemnation raised serious troubles on his domains, caused to mature in the young man a long-formed resolution to leave the world. Confiding his mother to her pious brother, Thibault, Count of Champagne, Felix took the Cistercian habit at Clairvaux. His rare virtues drew on him an admiration such that, with Saint Bernard's consent, he fled from it to Italy, where he began to live an austere life with an aged hermit in the Alps. For this purpose he had departed secretly, and the servants his uncle sent believed him dead, being unable to trace him; they published the rumor of his death. About this time the old hermit procured the ordination of his disciple as a priest.
After his elderly counselor died in his arms, Saint Felix returned to France. He built a cell in the diocese of Meaux in an uninhabited forest; this place was later named Cerfroid. Amid savage beasts he led an angelic life of perpetual fasting. Here God inspired him with the desire of founding an Order for the redemption of Christian captives. The Lord also moved Saint John of Matha, a young nobleman of Provence, to seek out the hermit and join him. The two applied themselves to the practice of all virtues. It was John who overtly proposed to Saint Felix the project of an Order for the redemption of captives, when his preceptor was already seventy years old. The latter gladly offered himself to God for that purpose, and after praying for three days the two solitaries made a pilgrimage to Rome in the middle of winter. They were kindly received by the Pope, after he read the recommendation which the Bishop of Paris had given them. He too prayed and became convinced that the two Saints were inspired by the Holy Spirit, and he gave his approbation to the Trinitarian Order
Within forty years the Order would have six hundred monasteries. Saint John, who was Superior General, left to Saint Felix the direction of the convents in France, exercised from the monastery which the founders had built at Cerfroid. There Saint Felix died in November of 1212, at the age of eighty-five, only about six weeks before his younger co-founder. It is a constant tradition in the Trinitarian Order that Saint Felix and Saint John were canonized by Urban IV in 1260, though no bull has ever been found. In 1219 already the feast of Saint Felix was kept in the entire diocese of Meaux. In 1666 Alexander VI declared that veneration of the servant of God was immemorial.
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| November 18th |
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Posted by: Stone - 11-23-2020, 09:21 AM - Forum: November
- Replies (1)
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Saint Odon or Eudes of Cluny
Benedictine, abbot of Cluny
(† 942)
On Christmas Eve of the year 877, a pious but childless Christian nobleman of Aquitaine implored Our Lord, by the fecundity of His Holy Mother and His Incarnation, to grant him a son. His prayer was heard; Odon was born, and his grateful father, in a prayer offered him — still an infant in his arms — to Saint Martin of Tours (†400) to be his spiritual son. Odon was later taught by a wise priest, then was placed in the court of the Count of Anjou and that of the Duke of Aquitaine. There he was influenced by the passions which reign in courts, and neglected his prayers to think only of games, hunting, and military pursuits. But God did not abandon him, and he was haunted in his dreams by the dangers of a disordered life. He prayed to the Blessed Virgin and begged Her one Christmas Eve to lead him on the narrow path of sanctity.
He was then sixteen years old, and the next day he fell ill with a sickness which increased and for three years kept him on the verge of death. When his father told him he had consecrated him to Saint Martin, Odon renewed this consecration and promised to enter into his service; suddenly then his headaches left him and he recovered from his illness.
He went to Tours to serve in the church of Saint Martin for a time. But when a hermitage was built nearby he retired there to devote himself to prayer and study, while continuing to visit the tomb of Saint Martin every night. He began to study the Scriptures and abandoned all pagan readings. Later he was inspired to enter the monastery of Baume in the diocese of Besançon, and there he received the habit from Saint Bernon, the abbot, in the year 909. He was charged with the instruction of novices and boarding students. When later he returned home on a visit to his parents, they were so touched by his words that despite their age they renounced the world and entered a monastery. When Odon returned to Baume he was ordained a priest.
When Saint Bernon, who had governed six monasteries, died, three of those were entrusted to Saint Odon; these were Cluny, newly founded in 910, Massay, and Deols. He resided in Cluny, of which he is often titled the Founder, because he organized and enlarged this new house. His reputation attracted a large number of vocations. His special care was for children; at that period the schools had taken refuge in the cathedrals and monasteries. He watched with gentleness over the habits, studies, and repose of these dear children. He personally taught them as well as the monks. The Rule of Saint Benedict, providing for the education of children as well as the formation of monks, was followed zealously. Many alms were given to the poor, without concern for the morrow. The charity of Cluny was so abundant that in one year food was distributed to more than seven thousand indigent persons.
Saint Odon visited Rome three times; there he reformed a monastery, and later in France he submitted several abbeys to the discipline of Cluny. These were organized into a federation under the sole abbot of Cluny, with great unity of statutes and regime. It was said that from Benevent to the Atlantic Ocean, the most important monasteries of Italy and Gaul rejoiced in being under his commandment. After celebrating the feast of Saint Martin at Tours in 942, Saint Odon fell ill; and having exhorted all the religious who had come there to see him and learn how to be regular in their observance, he blessed them and gave up his soul to God. He was buried at Tours in the church of Saint Julian.
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Saint Elizabeth of Hungary
Widow
(1207-1231)
Patron of the Third Order of St. Francis
Elizabeth was the daughter of the just and pious Andrew II, king of Hungary, the niece of Saint Hedwig, and the sister of the virtuous Bela IV, king of Hungary, who became the father of Saint Cunegundes and of Saint Margaret of Hungary, a Dominican nun. Another of her brothers was Coloman, King of Galicia and prince of Russia, who led an angelic life amid the multiple affairs of the world and the troubles of war.
She was betrothed in infancy to Louis, Landgrave of Thuringia, and brought up from the age of four in his father's court. Never could she bear to adopt the ornaments of the court for her own usage, and she took pleasure only in prayer. She would remove her royal crown when she entered the church, saying she was in the presence of the Saviour who wore a crown of thorns. As she grew older, she employed the jewels offered her for the benefit of the poor. Not content with receiving numbers of them daily in her palace, and relieving all in distress, she built several hospitals, where she herself served the sick, bathing them, feeding them, dressing their wounds and ulcers. The relatives of her fiancé tried to prevent the marriage, saying she was fit only for a cloister; but the young prince said he would not accept gold in the quantity of a nearby mountain, if it were offered him to abandon his resolution to marry Elizabeth.
Once as she was carrying in the folds of her mantle some provisions for the poor, she met her husband returning from the hunt. Astonished to see her bending under the weight of her burden, he opened the mantle and found in it nothing but beautiful red and white roses, though it was not the season for flowers. He told her to continue on her way, and took one of the marvelous roses, which he conserved all his life. She never ceased to edify him in all of her works. One of her twelve excellent Christian maxims, by which she regulated all her conduct was, Often recall that you are the work of the hands of God and act accordingly, in such a way as to be eternally with Him.
When her pious young husband died in Sicily on his way to a Crusade with the Emperor Frederick, she was cruelly driven from her palace by her brother-in-law. Those whom she had aided showed nothing but coldness for her; God was to purify His Saint by harsh tribulations. She was forced to wander through the streets with her little children, a prey to hunger and cold. The bishop of Bamberg, her maternal uncle, finally forced the cruel prince to ask pardon for his ill treatment of her, but she voluntarily renounced the grandeurs of the world, and went to live in a small house she had prepared in the city of Marburgh. There she practiced the greatest austerities. She welcomed all her sufferings, and continued to be the mother of the poor, distributing all of the heritage eventually conceded to her, and converting many by her holy life. She died in 1231, at the age of twenty-four.
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![[Image: saint_clement_i_of_rome.jpg]](https://sanctoral.com/en/saints/images/saint_clement_i_of_rome.jpg)
![[Image: saint_felicity_and_her_seven_sons.jpg]](https://sanctoral.com/en/saints/images/saint_felicity_and_her_seven_sons.jpg)
![[Image: saint_felix_of_valois.jpg]](https://sanctoral.com/en/saints/images/saint_felix_of_valois.jpg)
![[Image: saint_odon_or_eudes_of_cluny.jpg]](https://sanctoral.com/en/saints/images/saint_odon_or_eudes_of_cluny.jpg)
