The Queenship of Mary

It's the end of May when we celebrate Our Lady during her
Feast of the Queenship of Mary!

Pray for us, O holy Mother of God…that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Blessed Andrew Franchi, B.C.O.P

Bl. Andrew Franchi's memorial day is today according to the Extraordinary calendar. 27 May was his day on the Ordinary calendar.

He was born in Pistoia, Italy, in 1335 and came from a noble family. He entered the Dominican order at the age of 14. He was in the order during the time of the Black Death and worked to bring back regular observance after the plague. He had served as prior in three different convents while still a young age.
As bishop of Pistoia, he was known for his preaching and austerity. He was a preacher of peace, devoted himself to the poor, and known for his devotion to the Infant Jesus, Mary, and the Three Kings.

He died 1401 and was declared Blessed by Pope Benedict XV in 1921.
He is one of the incorruptables!

Trinity Sunday

Omnipotens sempiterne Deus,
qui dedisti famulis tuis, in confessione verae fidei,
aeternae Trinitatis gloriam agnoscere,
et in potentia maiestatis adorare Unitatem:
quaesumus; ut, eiusdem fidei firmitate,
ab omnibus semper muniamur adversis.

Fr. Aidan Nichols, OP on Liturgy

Study

Thanks (said sarcastically) to one of my good friends, an Orthodox priest, a new personal phase of Fr. Aidan Nichols has entered my head.

Here's a great comment on the Liturgy he made during an interview.

Q. So you would see the Liturgy as playing a key role in divesting people of false ideas, especially in the Church?

A. Yes. It has to be Scripture and the Liturgy. Of course, the Liturgy is where Scripture, in a sense, comes most fully into its own, in the liturgical preaching and in the way in which the Liturgy is textured out of myriad biblical references.

But it has to be Liturgy that is not denatured so that it simply becomes an instrument of political correctness. Because in that case you’re losing precisely its power to challenge and transform the way people are when they arrive. If the function of the Liturgy is simply to affirm people in their secular identities or those aspects of decent living that are available through secular agencies, then I don’t see the Liturgy as having any special evangelical force. It must lift people up to something beyond their secular consciousness.

Translation of the body of our Holy Father St. Dominic

24 May is the day the Order celebrates the feast of the translation of the body of St. Dominic.

By the urging of the Saint, himself, Dominic was given a simple burial in an unadorned church tomb, being placed in a simple wooden coffin. Although it was attested that "no spices or aromatical perfumes of any kind were placed therein," the spot very soon afterward began emanating a "sweet and penetrating perfume" filled the church. Miracles also followed and continuously increased.

Despite the discouragement of St. Dominic's friar brethren, the translation of his body to a new coffin for interment in a new tomb took place 12 years after his death on 24 May. When the flagstone of his simple tomb was removed, the strong perfumed aroma filled the entire church. It was during this event that another miracle took place:

Tradition says that during the translation of the relics of Saint Dominic de Guzman 1267, when the body was exposed to view, the head was seen to turn towards Blessed John [Vercelli]. Embarrassed, John moved to another part of the church, giving his place to a cardinal. The head of Saint Dominic was seen by all to turn again toward John.

The marble tomb St. Dominic's precious body was interred is greatly adorned, including 4 carvings by Michelangelo.

One of the angel candleholders by Michelangeo at St. Dominic's tomb

MEMORARE TO ST. DOMINIC

REMEMBER, O most dear and holy Father St. Dominic, that, at the close of thy mortal career, thou didst raise thy pure hands to heaven and pray:
"Holy Father, since by thy mercy I have ever accomplished thy will, and have kept and preserved those whom thou hast given to me, now I recommend them to thee : do thou keep them, do thou preserve them." Animated with unbounded confidence in thee. O tender Father, I cast myself at thy feet, beseeching thee to plead still for thy poor helpless children, to protect us amidst the dangers of om- earthly pilgrimage, to guard and keep us. Be mindful, O great Father, of the comforting assurance thou didst make in thy last moments to thy weeping brethren, promising that after death thou wouldst assist thy children. O Father, fulfil thy word, and help us by thy prayers.

The Ark of St. Dominic in Bologna, Italy

Pentecost Sunday - Suggestions

Highly recommend this:



or this




Strongly discourage (except for entertainment)



and



Hymn to the Holy Spirit

O Fire, Spirit, Comforter, life of the life of all creation!
Holy are you, bringing thought alive in flesh.
Holy are you, anointing the lost and broken.
Holy are you, healing infected wounds.
O sacred breath, O loving fire,
O sweetness in the breast
and flooding of the heart with the fragrance of goodness.
O clearest spring in which it is seen
that God gathers in strangers and seeks the lost.
O breastplate of life and hope for the unity of all the members,
O sword-belt of honor:
Save the blessed.
Protect those who are imprisoned by the enemy.
Set them free! Divine power wants to save them.
O most mighty way, you are everywhere
—in the heights and on the earth and in all the depths.
You gather and reconcile all people.
Clouds flow from you, skies fly, stones take in moisture,
Rivers of water overflow and drench the earth in living green.
You continually teach scholars who rejoice in Wisdom's gifts.
Therefore, praise be to you!
You yourself are the sound of praise and the joy of life,
You are hope and the most powerful grace,
Giving the gift of life.

- Hildegard of Bingen (translation by Ellen Oak)

Saint Servatius

Today the Order of Preachers remembers the feast day of Saint Servatius according to the Extraordinary Calendar. He was declared protector of the order in the 14th century.

"In the fourteenth century the Church and the Order of Preachers were suffering bitter persecution from the schismatical Emperor, Lewis of Bavaria. Learning that the General Chapter was convoked to meet in his dominions , at the city of Cologne, 1330, A.D., this prince secretly plotted the death of the capitular Fathers. They had just assembled, when Saint Servatius appeared in a dream to one of their number, a very holy religious, warned him of the danger which threatened himself and his brethren , and bade them to flee to Maestricht. This they accordingly did, thus escaping the snares which had been laid for them. And though their coming to Maestricht was wholly unexpected, God disposed the hearts of the inhabitants to receive them with the utmost kindness."

Prayer

Graciously hear these our prayers, we beseech Thee, O Lord, while we offer to Thee in this soleminity of Blessed Servatius, Thy Confessor and Bishop, that as he deserved to do Thee worthy service, so, through his merits and intercession, Thou wouldst mercifully absolve us from all our sins. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Text and Prayer: A Sister of the Congregation of St. Catherine of Siena (1909). Short Lives of the Dominican Saints. London, United Kingdom: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & CO. LTD. Now in public domain.

The News That Hurts

With an intense work project, studying, defining my personal apostolate and Spring cleaning in the house, I haven't allowed myself time to post regularly. So for today, here is just some slight commentary and links of some of the recent not-so-good Catholic news that has been bugging me this past week.

Apparently, God has had some fairly stealthy directives hidden in the Bible via the Commandments and previously suppressed Church teaching. Thanks to some feel-good "Catholic" scholars, we now know that workers' unions are close to being natural law and union busting is a "mortal sin." Click here to read about it.

Continuing proof that too many of today, particularly those that claim to be Catholic, no longer have any sense of the sacred: the Rainbow Sash homosexual movement announced plans to disrupt mass this coming Pentecost Sunday.
Have your say or object to whatever you please but in the proper venue! If they actually were the deserving Catholics they claim to be, they would never disrupt the Church's most sacred rite.

One can't help but be confused by the recent public comments from a Jesuit about some of Pope Benedict XVI's words to social workers during an audience with them in Portugal.
To quote Fr. James Martin, S.J., ...he [The Pope] stated that abortion and same-sex marriage, were "some of today's most insidious and dangerous threats" to the common good seemed oddly discordant. The equation of abortion, something that clearly is about a threat to life, with same-sex marriage, which no matter how you look at it, does not mean that anyone is going to die, is bizarre.
Beyond the fact that too many contemporary Jesuits are incapable of defending the Pope (no surprise), one would expect a magazine editor of America to correctly interpret a simple statement in context of Catholic teaching. Nowhere does the Holy Father equate abortion to same-sex marriage as the same thing materially. They are mentioned as two distinct evils that are equally dangerous (and murderous) spiritually.
Edited out the article was the fact that Fr. Martin went as far as to say that the Pope's statement went against the Gospel!

It's only a personal perception but is seems the recent meeting of 800 women religious leaders in Rome was failed damage control for the recent "inquisition" of the U.S. Apostolic Visitation. They released a declaration using their best "Spirit of Vatican II" newspeak (which has nothing to do with the true Vatican II). I suggest reading the declaration and commentary over at the Acts of the Apostasy blog. You must play the optional accompanied music for the best effect!

Don't get me started on the son-of-a-lesbian-couple-attending-Catholic-school fiasco in the Archdiocese of Boston.

As it is almost impossible now to escape any mention of the recent Arizona illegal immigration law in all mass media, individuals and groups from various levels of the Church are making sure they get their two-cents in. Their opinions represent both "sides" of the law. Not matter which "side" is taken, the more extreme of either often displays their ignorance of the bill itself. Anyone who vocalizes an opinion on it should at least read it first and then speak!

Here's a topic to discuss amongst yourselves: should a lesbian that decided she could be ordained a priest, and pretended to be one, be buried in the consecrated ground of a Catholic cemetery?

Mother Seton Prays Fervently

This is my latest response to a news story. This one is in response to other commenters on "The Chronicle of Higher Education" concerning a small article about Seton Hall Univerity possibly canceling a same-sex marriage course prompted by the archbishop of Newark.

Seton Hall is the oldest DIOCESAN University in the country and is under the Archdiocese of Newark. Therefore it is under the Catholic teaching of the archbishop. The university, itself, publically self-identifies as a Catholic institution and states, "A university is Catholic in many ways: ...living Catholic values." The university is obligated to uphold Catholic teaching by its own declaration while the archbishop is doing his job as the primary teacher and sanctifier for his see.

Even if it wasn't a diocesan establishment, as a Catholic institution it requires a "professio fidei" under canon 833 of the current Canon Law. In the revised code of 1983, a "professio fidei" was extended to theologians and others who teach in faith and ethics "in any [Catholic] universities whatsoever" as well as priests, bishops, etc.

A "same-sex marriage course" at a Catholic college is not a bad thing in itself. However, if such a course is to be taught, it should be solely from the spiritual teaching of the Church.

If it were truly from an "academic perspective" or some people believe Seton Hall should adhere to their personal interpretation of a "'real' open academic institution," then the expectation should also be for a "'real' open academic" lecturer. The class professor, W. King Mott, is an openly homosexual man in a same-sex relationship; he called the Catholic Church "prima facie homophobic" and has publically stated Church teaching on marriage being between one man and one woman as "laughable." This is hardly an "open academic" situation. Sounds rather biased to me.

It's easy for modernist academics to put a chosen spin on Bible passages despite 2000 years of previous teaching descended from others much closer to the time. But let's not also forget that there was no word or concept to fully convey our current understanding of what we now call "homosexual."
There are a lot of things Jesus never mentioned! (He DID refer to the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah, though.) You would have to disregard then entire New Testament save for the four Gospels if you “cherry-pick” to only believe something because "Jesus said it."