The Coal Carried By The Seraph Cleansed The Lips Of Isaiah

 

"In the ancient Syriac Church, the rite of Communion distribution was compared to the scene of the purification of the Prophet Isaiah by the seraph In one of his sermons, St. Ephrem puts these words on Christ's lips.

"The coal carried [by the seraph] cleansed the lips of Isaiah. It is I Who, carried now to you by means of bread, have sanctified you. The tongs which the Prophet saw and which the coal was taken from the altar, were the figure of Me in the great Sacrament. Isaiah saw Me, as you see Me now extending My right hand and carrying to your mouths the living Bread. The tongs are My right hand. I take the place of the seraph. The coal is My Body. All of you are Isaiah."

DOMINUS EST - It is the Lord!

by

The Most Reverend

ATHANASIUS SCHNEIDER

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First Saturday Exposition, Latin Rosary and Latin Mass Continues Into 2023

 

On Saturday, January 7th, the First Saturday of January we will continue with our First Saturday devotions. There will be a rosary prayed in Latin at 7:30 a.m. followed by a period of meditation at 8:00 a.m. and then finally Mass at 8:30 a.m. and potluck afterwards in the basement of St. Sylvester’s Church. All are welcome to attend. Our Lady promises us that if we observe the Five First Saturdays as she has requested we will receive the grace to die in sanctifying grace. Confessions will be heard starting at 7:30 a.m. I hope everyone will have a good week as we begin 2023!! 

Yours Sincerely, 

Father Timothy Davison

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Special Epiphany Blessing Of Water

 

On Thursday, January 5th I will bless water with a special Epiphany Blessing at 4:00 p.m. The ceremony of blessing takes about 45 minutes and will be done at St. Sylvester’s Church. It will be done in Latin. If anyone is interested in having water blessed that day please bring a container of water to set on the table in front of the first pew. Salt may also be brought to be blessed. The salt can be used then for cooking or for sprinkling around the house. Both blessings include exorcisms. The Feast of the Epiphany is celebrated in the traditional calendar on January 6th but in the new calendar it is moved to Sunday, January 8th.

Yours Sincerely, 

Father Timothy Davison

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Lay Eucharistic Ministers Are Forbidden Within The Catholic Mass

 

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Inspired By Silence

 

One day, Theophilus of holy memory, the bishop of Alexandria, came to Scetis (the Upper Nile of Egypt). And the brothers who gathered said to Abba Pambo, "Say a word to the bishop so his soul may be benefited here." The old hermit replied, "If he is not inspired by my silence, he will not be inspired by my words either."

Saying From the Desert Fathers

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Your Cell Will Teach You Everything

 

In Scetis, a brother went to see Abba Moses and begged him for a word. The old man said, "Go and sit in your cell and your cell will teach you everything."

Saying From the Desert Fathers

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December 28, The Feast Of The Martyrdom Of The Holy Innocents

 

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Seized With Fear For A Morsel Of Bread

 

Our whole being should be seized with fear, the whole world should tremble and heaven rejoice, when Christ the Son of the Living God is present on the altar in the hands of the priest! What wonderful majesty! What stupendous condescension! O sublime humility! O humble sublimity! That the Lord of the whole universe, God and the Son of God, should humble himself like this under the form of a little vread, for our salvation!

Saint Francis of Assisi

LETTER TO THE GENERAL CHAPTER

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Concerning 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 than 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 stll attacks me. How much worse would it be if I saw my feet shod in armor and I was on a hadsome horse and so on!"

And he added: "So far I was strong in fighting others-from now on I want to be strong in fighting myself!"

Little Flowers of St. Francis - 17

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It Is I Who Continues To Crucify Jesus

 

"Even the devils were not solely responsible for crucifying Jesus; it was you who crucified him with them and you continue to crucify him by taking pleasure in your vices and sins."

Saint Francis of Assisi

The Admonitions

Admonition V

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The Massacre Of The Innocents

 

The Massacre of the Innocents is the incident described in the nativity narrative of the Gospel of Matthew (2:16–18) in which Herod the Great, king of Judea, orders the execution of all male children who are two years old and under in the vicinity of Bethlehem. The Catholic Church regards them as the first Christian martyrs, and their feast – Holy Innocents' Day (or the Feast of the Holy Innocents) – is celebrated on 28 December

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Those Who Only Point The Way Of Salvation To Others

 

"Those who have cared for nothing except to know and point out the way of salvation to others, and have made no effort to follow it themselves, will stand naked and empty-handed before the judgement-seat of Christ, bearing only the sheaves of confusion, shame and grief."

Saint Francis of Assisi

Mirror of Perfection - 72

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Dominus Est - Bishop Athanasius Schneider

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Dominus Est - It Is The Lord by Athanasius Schneider

 

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In The Hand Experiment

 

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Merry Christmas From The Portiuncula!

 

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Archbishop Vigano Defends Fr. Frank Pavone

 

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My Dear Fiend, Father Frank Pavone, Talks With Dr. Taylor Marshall

 

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Christmas Miracle Taking Place Now

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The Real Presence In The Eucharist

 

The Portiuncula Franciscan Hermitage and Retreat Center talks about the Real Presence in the Eucharist; the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

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The Real Presence: The Body, Blood, Soul And Divinity Of Our Lord Jesus Christ

All those are damned who see the sacrament of the Body of Christ which is consecrated on the altar in the form of bread and wine by the words of our Lord in the hands of the priest, and do not see or believe in spirit and in God that this is really the most holy Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is the Most High himself who told us, 'This is my Body and Blood of the new covenant' (Mark 14: 22-24), and, 'He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has life everlasting' (John 6:55).

Saint Francis of Assisi

Admonition I

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Father Pavone Responds to Pope Francis

 

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The Fingers That Hold God

 

Growing up in the 1950's, the priests always Consecrated the host by joining his thumb with his index finger. They prayed in this position because only the thumb and index finger of the priest handles the Body of Christ during the Mass. 

Today only one-third of all Roman Catholics believe in the Real Presence: the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of our Lord, Jesus Christ, in the Eucharist. By discontinuing this priestly hand positioning, I have begun  to question how many of our priests actually believe in the Real Presence on the altar.

Likewise:

Likewise, many lay Catholics assume the "Orans Position" that is reserved only for priests. By lay people in the pews assuming the priestly Orans Position makes us question if they think they are Co-Consecrating the Body of Christ on the altar  right along with the priest. 

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Fr. Frank Pavone A Victim Of 666

 

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Author Murray Bodo, OFM, describes St. Francis’ Christmas celebration at Greccio.

 

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The Miracle Of The Hay

 

The hay that had been placed in the manger at Greccio was kept, so that the Lord might save beasts of burden and other animals through it. And in truth it happened that many animals throughout that region, beasts of burden and others with various illnesses, were freed from their ailments after eating of this hay. Indeed, some women who had been laboring for a long time in a difficult birth delivered their children easily when some of this hay was placed upon them; and a large number of persons of both sexes, suffering from various illnesses, obtained the health sought in the same way.

Today, the place on which the manger stood is consecrated to the Lord by a church, and over the manger there is an altar dedicated to St. Francis, so that where once the animals ate the hay, now people eat to health of soul and body the flesh of the Lamb without blemish and without spot, our Lord Jesus Christ, who in highest and ineffable love gave himself to us, and lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit, God eternally glorious, forever and ever. Amen, Alleluia, Alleluia.

Celano - First Life

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Greccio

 

The good folk of Greccio, Italy came and were filled with joy as if for the first time over a whole new mystery. The woods rang with voices, the rocks echoed their festive chorus, the brothers sang their choice praises to the Lord, and the whole night seemed to leap rejoicing. The saint of God stood ecstatically before the manger, his spirit trembling with compassion and ineffable love. Then the priest celebrated the solemnity of the Eucharist over the manger and he too experienced a consolation he'd never tasted before.

Celano - First Life

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St. Francis of Assisi Made the First Christmas Creche

 

The Christmas Creche at the 

Franciscan University of Steubenville 

(adjacent to the Port)

Francis observed the birthday of the Child Jesus with inexpressible eagerness over all other feasts, saying that it was the feast of feasts, on which God, having become a tiny infant, clung to human breasts. Pictures of those infant members he kissed with thoughts filled with yearning, and his compassion for the Child flooded his heart and made in stammer wordes of sweetness after the manner of infants.

Saint Francis of Assisi

Celano, Second Life - 199

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December 14th: Feast Day of St. John of the Cross

 

Dark Night of the Soul

by 
Saint John of the Cross

1. One dark night,
fired with love's urgent longings
- ah, the sheer grace!
- I went out unseen,
my house being now all stilled.

2. In darkness, and secure,
by the secret ladder, disguised,
- ah, the sheer grace!
- in darkness and concealment,
my house being now all stilled.

3. On that glad night,
in secret, for no one saw me,
nor did I look at anything,
with no other light or guide
than the one that burned in my heart.

4. This guided me
more surely than the light of noon
to where he was awaiting me
- him I knew so well -
there in a place where no one appeared.

5. O guiding night!
O night more lovely than the dawn!
O night that has united
the Lover with his beloved,
transforming the beloved in her Lover.

6. Upon my flowering breast
which I kept wholly for him alone,
there he lay sleeping,
and I caressing him
there in a breeze from the fanning cedars.

7. When the breeze blew from the turret,
as I parted his hair,
it wounded my neck
with its gentle hand,
suspending all my senses.

8. I abandoned and forgot myself,
laying my face on my Beloved;
all things ceased; I went out from myself,
leaving my cares
forgotten among the lilies.


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Global Warming

 

There arose among us those who began to long miserably for the fleshpots of Egypt, which they had left behind; and what they had once despised with a generous heart, they now shamefully wanted. They were sad in walking in the way of the commandments of God, and they were arid of heart in following their injunctions. They grew faint under the burden, and from lack of spirit they could hardly breathe. Rarely did they feel compunction, never true sorrow. They obeyed only with murmuring. Their thoughts were carnal, their joys dissolute. Their sorrow was feigned, their speech unguarded; their laughter came too easily. Gaiety filled their countenance; their gait was without modesty; their garments were soft and delicate; carefully cut, and even more carefully sewn. Their sleep was excessive, their food too abundant, their drink intemperate. They filled the air with trifling things, silly jokes, and idle words. They told stories, changed laws, did away with duties, and devoted themselves to administer diligently human affairs. They had no care for spiritual exercises, no interest in the salvation of souls. They spoke rarely of heavenly things, and there burned scarcely at all in them the desire for eternal things.

Saint Francis of Assisi

Sacrum Commercium - 47

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Environmentalists: Lost In Slavery To A False god

 

For created things are less than the human person. They are made for you, not you for them, and so they can never satisfy you. Only I can satisfy you...These souls in one way or another have identified with the earth in their love, and so they have in fact become earth themselves...Some lose me in their slavery to creatures...And the more disordered their love in possessing, the greater is their grief in loss....They suffer because they do not have what they long for.

Catherine of Siena

If through delight in the beauty of these things

men assumed them to be gods,

let them know how much better than these is the Lord,

for the author of beauty created them...

For from the greatness and beauty of created things

comes a corresponding perception of their Creator...

and they trust in what they see,

because the things that are seen are beautiful.

Yet again, not even they are to be excused;

for if they had the power to know so much

they could investigate the world,

how did they fail to find sooner the Lord of these things?

Wisdom 13:3, 5, 7b-9

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God's Voice Rings Cold Once Again On Today's Church

 

The San Damiano Cross now hangs in the Basilica of St. Clare of Assisi in Italy

Francis was walking one day near the church of St. Damian, which had nearly fallen to ruin and was abandoned by everyone. Led by the Spirit, he went in and fell down before the crucifix in devout and humble supplication; and smitten by unusual visitations, he found himself other than he had been when he entered. While he was thus affected, something unheard of before happened to him: the painted image of Christ crucified moved its lips and spoke. Calling him by name it said, "Francis, go, repair my house, which, as you see, is falling completely to ruin." From then on compassion for the crucified was rooted in his holy soul, and, as it can be piously supposed, the stigmata of the venerable passion were deeply imprinted on his heart, though not yet upon his flesh.

Saint Francis of Assisi

Celano, Second Life

Chapter VI

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People Who Provoke Me Continually To My Face

 

I said: Here I am! Here I am!

To a nation that did not call upon my name.

I have stretched out my hands all day

to a rebellious people,

Who walk in evil paths

and follow their own thoughts,

People who provoke me

continually, to my face.

Isaiah 65: 1b-3a

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Saint Padre Pio Concerning Franciscan Aggiornamento

 Saint Padre Pio's reactions to the aggiornamento the religious orders concocted in the wake of Vatican II:

In 1966, the Father General [of the Franciscans] came to Rome prior to the special Chapter on the Constitutions in order to ask Padre Pio for his prayers and benedictions. He met Padre Pio in the cloister. "Padre, I came to recommend to your prayers the special chapter for the new Constitutions..." He had scarcely gotten the words "special Chapter"..."new Constitutions" out of his mouth when Padre Pio made a violent gesture and cried out: "That is all nothing but destructive nonsense." "But Padre, after all, there is the younger generation to take into account... the youth evolve after their own fashion... there are new demands..." "The only thing missing is mind and heart, that’s all, understanding and love." Then he proceeded to his cell, did a half-turn, and pointed his finger, saying: "We must not denature ourselves, we must not denature ourselves! At the Lord’s judgment, St. Francis will not recognize us as his sons!"

Saint Padre Pio

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When We Are the Bride, Brother, And Mother Of Christ

 

A person is the bride of Christ when their faithful soul is united with Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit; we are His brothers we do the will of His Father who is in Heaven (Matthew 12.50), and we are mothers to Him when we enthrone Him in our hearts and souls by love with a pure heart and sincere conscience, and give Him birth by doing good.

Saint Francis of Assisi
LETTER TO ALL THE FAITHFUL

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St. Francis of Assisi Built The Very First Nativity Scene in Greccio

 

What Francis did on the birthday of our Lord Jesus Christ near the little town called Greccio in the third year before his glorious death should be especially noted and recalled with reverent memory. In that place there was a certain man named John, of good reputation and an even better life, whom blessed Francis loved with a special love, for in the place where he lived he held a noble and honorable position in as much as he had trampled upon the nobility of his birth and pursued nobility of soul. Blessed Francis sent for this man, as he often did, about fifteen days before the birth of the Lord, and he said to him: "If you want us to celebrate the present feast of our Lord at Greccio, go with haste and diligently prepare what I tell you. For I wish to do something that will recall to memory the little Child who was born in Bethlehem and set before our bodily eyes in some way the inconveniences of his infant needs, how he lay in a manger, how, with an ox and an ass standing by, he lay upon the hay where he had been placed." When the good and faithful man heard these things, he ran with haste and prepared in that place all the things the saint had told him.

...The manger was prepared, the hay had been brought, the ox and the ass were led in. There simplicity was honored, poverty was exalted, humility was commended, and Greccio was made, as it were, a new Bethlehem.

Saint Francis of Assisi
Celano, First Life
CHAPTER XXX

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Fasting On Christmas

 

When the question arose about eating meat that day, since Christmas day fell on a Friday, Brother Francis replied, saying to Brother Morico, "You sin, Brother, calling the day on which the Child was born to us a day of fast. It is my wish," he said, "that even the walls should eat meat on such a day, and if they cannot, they should be smeared with meat on the outside!"

Saint Francis of Assisi
Celano, Second Life
Chapter CLI

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Pray The Rosary In Latin With Cardinal Burke

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We Are All Lepers

"We are all lepers. Even if we hide our sores under the finest clothes and lie to each other to convince ourselves that we are healthy and happy, forgetting the only real reason we should be happy that God loves us, despite the sores we hide. God loves us so much that he became one of us and was nailed naked to the cross, showing his sores to the world."

St. Francis of Assisi

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Rorate Caeli Mass

 

On Saturday, December 10th there will be a special Latin Traditional Mass offered at 7:00 a.m. at St. Sylvester’s. It is called the “rorate caeli” Mass celebrating Mary as the dawn of our salvation. The Mass is celebrated with candle light and begins when it is still dark outside. Then, as the Mass progresses and the morning sky begins to light up we are reminded that Mary brought into the world Christ Who is the Light of the world. The Mass will be sung in Latin but of course the readings will be read in English at the time of the homily. A missal is very helpful since it has all of the prayers and readings translated into English side by side with the Latin. I have a couple of new missals if anyone is interested in purchasing one. Following the Mass there will be a pot luck breakfast in the basement of St. Sylvester’s.

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