Please Pray That We Can Break Ground On Our Chapel In Early Spring 2022

 

O God, My Flesh Faints For You (Psalm 63)

 

Once when Brother John was staying in the Place of Mogliano of the Custody of Fermo in the Province of the Marches...when he had proceeded as far as the Preface of the Blessed Virgin, the supernatural illumination and sweet consolation of God's love increased so much within him that when he reached the Qui pridie he could hardly endure such overwhelming sweetness. Finally, when he came to the Consecration itself and began to pronounce the words of the Consecration over the Host, he kept repeating the first of the formula - Hoc est - Hoc est - very often, and he was unable to go any further. And the reason why he could not go on was that e felt and saw the presence of Christ and of a throng of angels and saints, so that he almost fainted because of their grandeur which he felt in his soul.

St. Francis of Assisi

Little Flowers of St. Francis - 53

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Receiving The Sacraments Of The Holy Catholic Church

 

All my children and my eleven Grandchildren are all Baptized.  The four oldest Grandchildren have also received their First Communion. Finally, my two oldest Grandchildren have received their Confirmation. 

Does this make me "Rigid?"

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Begging For Stones In Monroe County, Ohio

 

Thank you to my dear friend and pastor, Fr. Tim Davison, pastor of the Catholic churches in Monroe County, Ohio, for putting this clarion call in the weekly bulletins of St. John the Baptist parish in Miltonsburg, Ohio and St. Sylvester parish in Woodsfield, Ohio. 

Also, a special "Thank You" goes out to all the Catholics of Monroe County, Ohio who have donated nearly 600  stones for the building of this Portiuncula (Little Portion) Chapel.

God bless each and every one of you!

Fra Chris, F.L.A.

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USCCB Tweet Blasted

 

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Kiss Me With The Kisses Of Your Mouth (Canticle of Canticle)

 

"Kiss me with the kisses of Your mouth" [Canticle 1:2] The kiss is the ultimate of intimacy between two individuals. In the Canticles Yahweh literally and intimately becomes one with Israel because God thirsts for intimacy with each and every one of us, even when we are steeped in sin. Likewise, intimacy with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, takes place on the Cross, which becomes our bridal chamber where total union takes place within the intimacy of suffering. 

The bible does not say, "kiss me with the kisses of your hand." 

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THE INCENSING OF THE OFFERINGS AT HIGH MASS

 

The incense symbolizes our prayer, whose source is in the love of God, the divine fire that our Lord came to cast upon the earth.

"Accendat in nobis Dominus ignem sui amoris, et flammarm aeternae caritatis. Amen."

(English Translation: May the Lord enkindle within us the fire of His love, and the flames of everlasting charity. Amen.)

Afterwards the Celebrant, clergy, and people are incensed.

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THE CATHOLIC MASS

 by 

BISHOP ATHANASIUS SCHNEIDER

I just received my book and I am going to order additional copies for all my friends. 

Note: the photo on the cover is St. Paul's Cathedral in Munster, Westfalia taken in 1946, immediately following World War II. I was stationed in the Army Intelligence in Münster from 1969 to 1970. At that same time, a priest by the name of Father Joseph Ratzinger was a professor of Theology at the University of Münster (Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster). I wish I had met him back then.

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Fly To The Closet Of Thy Heart

 

Enter, like Moses, into the tabernacle, to consult the Lord, thou shalt sometimes hear the divine answer and come out instructed in many things, present and to come.

For Moses always had recourse to the tabernacle, for the deciding of all doubts and questions, and fled to the help of prayer against the dangers and wickedness of men.

So must thou in like manner fly to the closet of they heart, and there most earnestly implore the divine assistance. (Matthew 6:6)

THE IMITATION OF CHRIST

Thomas A' Kempis

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How To Conduct Ourselves In Front Of Unbelievers

 

The brothers can conduct themselves among unbelievers spiritually in two ways. One way is to avoid quarrels or disputes and be subject to every human creature for God's sake (1 Peter 2:13), so bearing witness in the fact that they are Christians. Another way is to proclaim the word of God openly, when they see that is God's will, calling on their hearers to believe in God almighty, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the Creator of all, and in the Son, the Redeemer and Savior, that they may be baptized and become Christians, because unless a man be born again of water, and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God (John 3:5).

Saint Francis of Assisi

The Rule of 1221

Chapter 16

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The Conversion Of A Soldier

 

There was a certain strong soldier who had won many victories and later became a Friar Minor. And when soldiers laughed at him because he had joined such an Order rather then the Templars or a similar Order where he could do much good and still fight battles, he replied: "I tell you that when I feel thirst, hunger, cold, and such things, the impulse of pride and concupiscence and such still attacks me. How much worse would it be if I saw my feet shod in armor and I was on a handsome horse and so on!" And he added: "So far I was strong in fighting others - from now on I want to be strong fighting myself!"

Thanks be to God.

Saint Francis of Assisi

Little Flowers of St. Francis

Part 3:7

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January 10 Feast Day Of St. Gregory Of Nyssa

 

The son of two saints, Basil and Emmilia, young Gregory was raised by his older brother, Saint Basil the Great, and his sister, Macrina, in modern-day Turkey. Gregory’s success in his studies suggested great things were ahead for him. After becoming a professor of rhetoric, he was persuaded to devote his learning and efforts to the Church. By then married, Gregory went on to study for the priesthood and become ordained (this at a time when celibacy was not a matter of law for priests).

He was elected Bishop of Nyssa in 372, a period of great tension over the Arian heresy, which denied the divinity of Christ. Briefly arrested after being falsely accused of embezzling Church funds, Gregory was restored to his see in 378, an act met with great joy by his people.

It was after the death of his beloved brother Basil, that Gregory really came into his own. He wrote with great effectiveness against Arianism and other questionable doctrines, gaining a reputation as a defender of orthodoxy. He was sent on missions to counter other heresies and held a position of prominence at the Council of Constantinople. His fine reputation stayed with him for the remainder of his life, but over the centuries it gradually declined as the authorship of his writings became less and less certain. But, thanks to the work of scholars in the 20th century, his stature is once again appreciated. Indeed, Saint Gregory of Nyssa is seen not simply as a pillar of orthodoxy but as one of the great contributors to the mystical tradition in Christian spirituality and to monasticism itself.

Note: Saint Gregory of Nyssa would be considered "Rigid" by Church Fathers today.

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Why Do Franciscan Cross Their Arms When They Pray?

 

It originated from Orthodox Catholic liturgy and goes as far back as Latin Orthodoxy where one would cross themselves at various times of Holy Mass and prayer. By crossing one’s arms across one’s heart, we are crossing ourselves just as a Catholic would cross themselves for prayers. 

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Pace E Bene my brothers and sisters!

 

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Celebrating The Liturgy With The Tradition Of Our Fathers

 THIS

NOT THIS

"...the true contemplative has the highest esteem for the liturgy and is careful and exact in celebrating it, IN CONTINUITY WITH THE TRADITIONS OF OUR FATHERS."

The Cloud of Unknowing

(14th Century Roman Catholic Mystic)

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Regarding Those Who Reject The Common Doctrine Of The Church

 

(Photo of the Latin Rite Mass as it has been celebrated for over 2,000 years until just recently when it became anathema to followers of the Marxist Dominated New World Order)

"These people...are vulnerable to a pseudo-experience designed and directed by their spiritual enemy. They go so far as to rise up and blaspheme the saints, the sacraments, and the ordinances of Holy Church. Sensual-living men of the world who feel that the Church's requirements for the proper amendment of their lives are too burdensome quickly and easily follow after these heretics and fiercely support them. All this because they imagine that these heretics will lead them by a smoother path than Holy Church....In all truth they may be called the disciples of Anti-Christ."

The Cloud of Unknowing

(written by a 14th Century Roman Catholic Mystic).

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Every Single Catholic Absolutely Must Watch This

 

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Support For The Coalition For Canceled Priests

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RESPECT LIFE MASS & CANDLELIGHT ROSARY

 

January 18, 2022 @ 6:00 P.M. Holy Family Church in Steubenville Pray for the end of Abortion and Greater Respect for all Human Life

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9 Days For Life

 

January 19, 2022, Catholics across the country will join in prayer for “9 Days For Life.” It’s the annual Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children. The novena and day of prayer are a time of recollection and reparation in observation of the anniversary of Roe v. Wade—the Supreme Court decision that made abortion legal throughout the U.S. The overarching intention of the novena is that all human life will be respected. Participants can subscribe to receive the daily prayers at…. https://www.respectlife.org/9-days-for-life

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How To Show Love

 

Giving away money does not show love. Giving away love shows love. 

Fra Chris

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Every Priest Has The Gift Of Healing

 "Every priest has the gift of healing." 

Sister Briege McKenna OSC

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The Canticle Of The Creatures

 Francis began THE CANTICLE OF BROTHER SUN in the summer of 1225, at a time indeed when he was deep in suffering, but when he had already attained the mystical heights in his experience on Mount La Verna. But the joy he had experienced in that great privilege was tempered by the thought of how many men were greatly offending their Creator by misusing the creature world God had given them. "For His praise," he said, "I want to compose a new hymn about the Lord's creatures, of which we make daily use, without which we cannot live, and with which the human race greatly offends its Creator."

The first part of the Canticle, up to the verses about pardon and peace, he composed in the garden of the Poor Clare's convent at San Damiano, where he lay sick and in intense suffering for six or seven weeks. He then composed a melody for it and frequently urged his brothers to sing it when they were out preaching. The second part, consisting of the next two verses about pardon and peace, he composed a short time later in an effort to restore peace between the quarreling parties in a dispute between the civil and religious authorities of Assisi. The final verses about Sister Death Francis added shortly before his own death, after Brother Leo and Brother Angelo had sung the Canticle at his request. Celano adds that his last words were: "Welcome, my Sister Death."

St. Francis of Assisi
Omnibus of Sources

il Cantico delle Creature
(The Canticle of the Creatures - St. Francis of Assisi)

by
Angelo Branduardi

Lyrics

A te solo Buon Signore
Si confanno gloria e onore
A Te ogni laude et benedizione
A Te solo si confanno
Che laltissimo Tu sei
E nullomo degno e
Te mentovare.
Si laudato Mio Signore
Con le Tue creature
Specialmente Frate Sole
E la sua luce.
Tu ci illumini di lui
Che e bellezza e splendore
Di Te Altissimo Signore
Porta il segno.
Si laudato Mio Signore
Per sorelle Luna e Stelle
Che Tu in cielo le hai formate
Chiare e belle.
Si laudato per Frate Vento
Aria, nuvole e maltempo
Che alle Tue creature dan sostentamento.
Si laudato Mio Signore
Per sorella nostra Acqua
Ella e casta, molto utile
E preziosa.
Si laudato per Frate Foco
Che ci illumina la notte
Ed e bello, giocondo
E robusto e forte.
Si laudato Mio Signore
Per la nostra Madre Terra
Ella e che ci sostenta
E ci governa
Si laudato Mio Signore
Vari frutti lei produce
Molti fiori coloriti
E verde lerba.
Si laudato per coloro
Che perdonano per il Tuo amore
Sopportando infermite
E tribolazione
E beati sian coloro
Che cammineranno in pace
Che da Te Buon Signore
Avran corona.
Si laudato Mio Signore
Per la Morte Corporale
Che da lei nesun che vive
Pue scappare
E beati saran quelli
nella Tua volonte
che Sorella Morte
non gli fare male

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Epiphanytide

 

Either on Twelfth Night (5 January), the twelfth day of Christmastide and eve of the feast of the Epiphany, or on Epiphany Day (6 January) itself, many Christians (including Anglicans, Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians and Roman Catholics, among others) write on their doors with chalk in a pattern such as 20 ✝ C ✝ M ✝ B ✝ 21, with the numbers referring "to the calendar year (20 and 21, for instance, for this year, 2021); the crosses stand for Christ; and the letters have a two-fold significance: C, M and B are the initials for the traditional names of the Magi (Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar), but they are also an abbreviation of the Latin blessing Christus mansionem benedicat, which means, May Christ bless this house."^[2] Another form, for Three Kings day, is to mark the door with IIIK (the Roman numeral three followed by "K" for "Kings").

Chalking the door is done most commonly on Epiphany Day itself, although it can be done on any day of the Epiphany season.^[3] In some localities the chalk used to write the Epiphanytide pattern is blessed by a Christian priest or minister on Epiphany Day, then taken home to write the pattern.

The Christian custom of chalking the door has a biblical precedent as the Israelites in the Old Testament marked their doors in order to be saved from death; likewise, the Epiphanytide practice serves to protect Christian homes from evil spirits until the next Epiphany Day, at which time the custom is repeated. Families also perform this act to represent the hospitality of the Holy Family to the Magi (and all Gentiles); it thus serves as a house blessing to invite the presence of God in one's home. From the Catholic Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments:

The blessing of homes, on whose lintels are inscribed the Cross of salvation, together with the indication of the year and the initials of the three wise men (C+M+B), which can also be interpreted to mean Christus mansionem benedicat, written in blessed chalk; this custom, often accompanied by processions of children accompanied by their parents, expresses the blessing of Christ through the intercession of the three wise men and is an occasion for gathering offerings for charitable and missionary purposes.

Traditional Latin Christmas Mass

 

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1 John 4:4

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Padre Pio The Secret Of The Stigmata

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The Baby Jesus Appears To St. Francis of Assisi In Greccio, Italy

 

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Merry Christmas From The Portiuncula (next to the former Immaculate Conception Church) in Ozark, Ohio

 

My Great-Great Uncle, George Cosmos (Cose) Burkhard (Born 2 Sep 1869 and died 25 Apr 1962) along with his niece, Mary Burkhard (Born 27, April 1888 and died 14 Sep 1958) , standing in front of the Immaculate Conception Church sometime in the late 1950's. Cose and Mary were my Godparents.

The church was torn down in 1981.

We are rebuilding the church but this time we are building it just inside the Portiuncula Franciscan Hermitage and Retreat Center's property to ensure it won't be destroyed again. Also, we will be duplicating the Portiuncula Chapel that is located on the campus of the Franciscan University of Steubenville. 

Monroe County, Ohio Catholics are invited to pre-plan their funerals at their convenience. Here is ours:

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