Pope St. Clement I

One of the 70 Apostles, consecrated by St. Peter, worked with St. Paul, Church Father, one the earliest great Patristic writers, our fourth pope and witness to the historical proof of the papacy, holy martyr for the faith (c. A.D. 101)! How's that for a resume?!

Seek peace and go in pursuit of it. The eyes of the Lord rest upon the good, and His ears attend to their petition. But the frown of the Lord is upon evildoers, to extirpate the memory of them. The good man cried aloud, and the Lord heard him and delivered him from all his afflictions. Many are the plagues of the sinner, but mercy will encompass those that hope in the Lord.

--from Pope St. Clement I's Epistle to the Corinthians

The Prayer of St. Clement I

Give us the grace, Lord, to hope in Thy Name, to which all creatures owe their being. Open the eyes of our hearts to know Thee alone, the Most High in the highest heavens, whose dwelling is in the holy of holies. Thou abasest the arrogance of the proud, frustrate the designs of the godless, humble the lofty and exalt the lowly, makest wealthy and poor, Thou slayest, Thou savest and Thou bringest to life. Alone the Benefactor of spirits and God of all flesh, Thy gaze penetrates the depths, Thou observest the doings of men. Helper of those in peril, Savior of those in despair, Creator of all that draws breath, Thou causest the peoples on the earth to multiply and from them all choose those who love Thee through Jesus Christ, Thy beloved Son. Through Him Thou hast instructed us, sanctified us, honored us.

We ask Thee, O Lord, to be our supporter and our helper. To those of us who are afflicted, free us, pity the lowly, raise the fallen, show thyself to the needy, heal the sick, convert Thy wayward people, feed the hungry, deliver our captives, support the weak, encourage the faint-hearted. Let all nations know that Thou alone art God and Jesus Christ is Thy Son, and we are Thy people, the sheep of Thy flock.

Truly Thou hast established the world and revealed Thy decrees. Thou art faithful through all generations, just in judgment, admirable in strength and majesty, wise in building, prudent in establishment, goodness in everything seen, faithful to those who put their trust in Thee, and kind and merciful. Dismiss from us our iniquities, our injustices, our sins and our failings.

Do not hold the sins of Thy servants against them, but purify us by Thy truth, and direct our steps that in holiness and justice and simplicity of heart we may walk and so do what is good and pleasing in Thy sight and in the sight of our leaders.

O Lord, let the light of your face shine upon us, so that we may enjoy Thy blessings in peace, protected by Thy strong hand, and freed from all sin by Thy outstretched arm; and deliver us from those who hate us unjustly.

Grant peace and concord to us and to all mankind, even as Thou gavest it to our forefathers when they devoutly called upon Thee in faith and in truth. Thou alone art able to bestow these and even greater benefits upon us. We praise Thee through our high priest and the patron of our souls, Jesus Christ. Through Him be glory and majesty to Thee now and throughout all generations, for ever and ever.

Amen.

In Memoriam: Pope Pius XII

This day is the 51st anniversary of the death of Venerable Pope Pius XII. Pope Pius XII, while being the greatest pope still in living memory, is second only to Pope St. Pius X as the greatest pontiff of the 20th century. He was also a 3rd order Dominican!

It was he that defined the dogma of the Assumption of Mary. He wrote 41 encyclicals. He is the pope that canonized Pope St. Pius X and many other great saints, including: St. Francis Xavier (Mother) Cabrini, St. Catherine Labouré, St. Louis Marie de Montfort, St. Maria Goretti and St. Dominic Savio.

Despite selectively forgotten history and bad revisionism, during WWII he eventually became the "lonely voice crying out of the silence of a continent." (N.Y. Times, December 25, 1942, p. 10, 2-5).

Until many in the world cowardly turned on him after his death, he was considered a hero and great man, particulary by world Jewry.

The people of Israel will never forget what His Holiness and his illustrious delegates, inspired by the eternal principles of religion, which form the very foundations of true civilization, are doing for our unfortunate brothers and sisters in the most tragic hour of our history, which is living proof of Divine Providence in this world. -- Chief Rabbi Isaac Herzog of Palestine, 1945

It is understandable why the death of Pope Pius XII should have called forth expressions of sincere grief from practically all sections of American Jewry. For there probably was not a single ruler of our generation who did more to help the Jews in their hour of greatest tragedy, during the Nazi occupation of Europe, than the late Pope. -- The Jewish Post

Some sites of great interest related to Pope Piux XII are:

• The Vatican's page on Pius XII.


• Sign an online petition to for the Holy See to Beatify Pius XII here or here.


• The Catholic League's collection of Pius XII articles.

Pope John Paul I

Today is the 31st anniversary of the calling home of Pope John Paul I. Let us all remember him in our prayers!

Before his short reign, as Albino Cardinal Luciani he beautifilly defended the Rosary in a 1973 homily on the topic:

The Rosary is an impoverished prayer? What then would be a 'rich prayer'? The Rosary is a procession of Paters, the prayer taught by Jesus; of Aves, the salutation of God to the Virgin by means of the Angel; of Glorias, the praise of the Most Holy Trinity.

Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis.