The Third Secret Of Fatima:

 

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This Was True In The Catholic Church For Over 1600 Years. Do We No Longer Believe In The Incarnation?

 

The Nicene Creed was drawn up in the General Councils of Nicea in 325 A.D. and Constantinople in 381 A.D. to condemn heretics who denied that Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost are God. For that reason, when the following words of the Creed are spoken everyone is supposed to kneel:

AND  WAS INCARNATE

BY THE HOLY GHOST

OF THE VIRGIN MARY

AND WAS MADE MAN

(Here all rise)

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HOC EST ENIM CORPUS MEUM (FOR THIS IS MY BODY)

 

After pronouncing the words of Consecration, the priest never disjoins his fingers and thumbs, except when he is to take the Host, until after washing his fingers at the ablutions after Communion.

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Anima Christi Prayer by Saint Ignatius Of Loyola (1491 - 1556)

Soul of Christ, sanctify me.

Body of Christ, same me.

Blood of Christ, inebriate me.

Water from the side of Christ, wash me.

Passion of Christ, strengthen me.

O Good Jesus, hear me.

Within your wounds, hide me.

Permit me not to be separated from you.

From the wicked foe, defend me.

At the hour of my death, call me

And bid me come to you

that with your saints I may praise you

For ever and ever.

Amen.

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“The Fingers that Hold God”: The Priestly Benefits of ‘Liturgical Digits’ (Somehow Lost With Vatican II)

 

Over a period years attending the usus antiquior prior to Vatican II, I find myself noticing more and more the lost custom of the priest holding his thumb and forefinger together from the time of the consecration until the ablutions, a practice once called ‘canonical digits’ or ‘liturgical digits.’  You seldom see this any more in the New, Modern Catholic churches. Why is that? We all need to make the time to ask our local priests that question.

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The Original Portiuncula in Assisi, Italy

 

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Saint Charbel Miracle

 

An Italian woman from Australia heard of Saint Charbel Makhlouf in Lebanon and decided she wanted to go with her Lebanese friend and son to visit his shrine, as she was suffering from cancer. She arrived in Lebanon and went to the church only to discover that everything was closed. As she and her son walked back to the car a priest was walking by. The woman asked if the church was open and he answered “How can I help you?” She explained that she had come from Australia, was suffering from terminal cancer and just wanted to receive a blessing from the priest. The priest said to her that he would give her a blessing now. She asked her son to take a picture when the priest blessed her. She thanked the priest, got back in the car and left. As they were driving back to the hotel, she, with her Lebanese friend, went through the photos on her phone, and suddenly realised that the priest in the picture was actually St Charbel himself! She got back to Australia, went to the hospital and tests confirmed that she no longer had cancer. The miracle has been documented.

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The Synod Of Synodality: The Vatican Embraces Liberation Theology

 

By Chris Dickson, F.L.A.

I am appalled by the naivete of our Church being duped into anti-Christian communism. Liberation theology is a threat to free society by its undermining of the Church and its Magisterium through attempting to redefine moral issues (changing the Gospel to support theology opposed to shaping theology as a result of the Gospel.)

Ignorance is not bliss and unless we familiarize ourselves with the dangers, then future generations will demand answers as to why we threw away our freedom in lieu of communism.

To quote Gustavo Gutierrez (the "father" of liberation theology,) "There is no evil in being subversive, struggling against the capitalist system...Liberation leads to reinterpreting the Gospel...As I have witnessed the power of Marxism to provide motivation for a life of service where none existed before, I have come to a new appreciation of this part of my own history. I cannot settle for any story of America that fails to give a central place to this vision."

Again, Roger Garaudy (one of France's foremost Marxist intellectuals) wrote, "Socialism is a traditional stage in the passage from capitalism to communism." Also, "When the established order involves such injustice that millions of men are exploited, oppressed, mutilated, and humiliated by this order, a revolution, even armed revolution, can be less costly and in the long run less 'violent' than this established disorder, which has become pure violence. Of this, incidentally, many Christians are today becoming conscious, including, for example, even priests and bishops in Latin America."

Charles E. Curran, no longer permitted by the Church to teach moral theology at Catholic universities, has stated,"Questions arise in the light of both the importance and the limitations of Scriptures. In the light of the most striking development has been the emergence of dissent within the Roman Catholic theological community from the teachings of the hierarchical magisterium on specific moral issues."

One cannot help but feel an air of approval when local archdiocesan newspapers print articles written by these people. Already we have seen a swing by our priests and educators away from the Church's doctrine of "norma normans non normata"(the Scriptures being the norm above all other norms by which all norms are taken) and are thus shown to question the Scripture's relevance in our daily lives.

Perhaps we need to seek the definition of a couple terms which seem to have taken on good and bad connotations in complete reversal of their intended meanings:

First of all, the term orthodoxy means "right praise," or consistency with the faith of the Church as embodied in Sacred Scripture, the Fathers, official teachings and the liturgy.

Liberation theology, on the other hand, is defined as a new type of theology which emphasizes the motif of liberation in both Old and New Testaments and which reinterprets all doctrines in terms of that motif. Forms of liberation theology include Latin American, black and feminist.

Jesus "liberated" all of us from the bonds of oppression. Rather than reinterpreting the Gospel, perhaps we would be better served to "live it." This idea may not be popular with some in the Church today, but by returning to the basics of our faith, we will be truly liberated through the instruction of Sacred Scriptures if only we would accept Jesus as the catalyst of our lives.

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Suffer To Be Ruled

 

"The horse is a noble and useful creature; for in his swiftest course he suffers himself to be ruled, and turned hither and thither, backwards and forwards, according to the will of the rider; so likewise should it be with the servant of God, who should suffer himself to be ruled, guided, turned and bent, according to the will of his superior; nay, of all others, for the love of Christ.

Little Flowers of St. Francis
PART FOUR
Chapter V
Of Holy Patience

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Mocking The Poor

Once blessed Francis had gone to the hermitage of the brothers near Roccabrizia to preach to the people of that region. Now, on the day of the sermon, a poor, miserable and sick man came in search of him. Blessed Francis was moved by his distress and spoke to his companion of his poverty and sickness. His companion answered him: "Brother, it is true, he is very poor, but perhaps there in no other man richer in desire in all providence than he." The saint chided him for having spoken so uncharitably, and the brother admitted his sin. Blessed Francis then said to him: "Are you willing to perform a penance I shall give you?" "Gladly," he said. "Well, take off your tunic and go throw yourself half clothed at the feet of the poor man; tell him how you have sinned against him, and ask him to pray that God may forgive you." The brother went and did what blessed Francis had prescribed...

Saint Francis of Assisi
Legend of Perugia - 89

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Happy Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi

 

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October 3rd: The Transitus of St. Francis of Assisi

 

Then he (St. Francis) asked the Brothers to read the passage of St. John's Gospel which begins: "Before the paschal feast began" (John 13:1); only a partition of flesh now separated him from his Beloved and he would listen to the beat of his voice in the Gospel phrases. All God's mysteries had been finally accomplished in him and he died quietly, praying and singing the psalm. His holy soul was freed from his body and absorbed in the abyss of eternal glory.

Saint Francis of Assisi
Bonaventure, Minor Life
Chapter VII

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"Rebuild My Church"

 

When Saint Francis heard those words from the mouth of the Lord, speaking through the San Damiano crucifix in a small, dilapidated church, he took them to mean simply rebuilding that little church outside Assisi. It was in the Portiuncula that he founded the Friars Minor; there that he clothed Clare in the religious habit and began the Order of Poor Clares; and there that Francis yearly gathered the friars in chapter to discuss the rule and renew their dedication to the Gospel life. And it was at the Portiuncula where St. Francis died in 1226.

That first tiny Portiuncula, a holy place and the center of St. Francis’ activity, will be recreated here on The Immaculate Conception Cemetery in Jerusalem, Ohio as a grace-filled haven for quiet meditation and Eucharistic Adoration. Nestled in a grove of trees visitors will be invited to “come and spend an hour with the Lord” in prayer.

This small chapel will be completed in the Fall of 2024, like St. Francis’ 13th-century original, it will become a place of adoration, conversion, and prayer. The simple beauty of the small stone structure will reverberate with the power of the Lord’s presence. The stillness, imbued with the peace of the Lord’s tender concern, will draw visitors in and focuses attention on the Eucharistic Lord.

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Building Begins In The Spring Of 2024

 

The Footer and the Floor has been poured. Now the stones go up in the Spring of 2024 and the roof goes on in the Fall of 2024.

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Dangerous Ohio Constitutional Amendment

 

Beginning Friday, September 15th, Catholics across the state of Ohio will be joining in prayer for the protection of human life and dignity and the defeat of the dangerous constitutional amendment on the Ohio ballot this November. A 54-Day Rosary Novena will be prayed from September 15th through Election Day, November 7th. Visit www.pray54ohio.org for more information.

Fra Chris

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Christ Is The Basis Of Our Catholic Faith

 

If Christ is truly the basis for our Catholic faith, then our every action must be considered with great reverence in mind. If He is not then our very existence is moot.

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St. Francis Regarding Ezekiel 3:18

Photo of the T.O.R. Sisters of Steubenville, Ohio

"I would take it to mean that you should be so on fire with life and holiness that the light of your example and the manner of your speaking would be a reproach to the wicked. So, as I understand it, your life shining and your goodness spreading like a sweet odor will proclaim to the wicked their own wickedness."

Celano - Second Life

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The Heart's Innocence

 

Photo of Fra Chris in front of the Portiuncula Hermitage in Jerusalem, Ohio holding "Sorello Chiara," (Sister Clair)

"Since spiritual joy springs from the heart's innocence and the purity of incessant prayer, these are the two virtues we need to acquire and keep."

Saint Francis of Assisi

Mirror of Perfection

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Environmentalists Are 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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The Servant Of God Must Show Joy!

 

Photo of the T.O.R. Sisters of Steubenville

If Saint Francis saw any of his companions with a sad or downcast countenance, he reproved him, saying: "If thou art grieving over thy sins, my brother, why dost thou show thy sorrow exteriorly? Let this sadness be between thee and God, and pray to him that through his mercy he may spare thee and restore to thy soul the joy of salvation, which thou hast lost through thy sins. But before me and others, show thyself always joyful, for it does not become the servant of God to manifest sadness exteriorly, nor to have a troubled countenance."

St. Francis of Assisi
Miscellaneous Writings

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Footprints In The Water

To say that the road the soul travels to God is through the sea (the Prophet Baruch) and that His footsteps are in the many waters and so unknowable is to say that the way to God is as hidden to the inner senses as would be footprints on the water of the outer senses. The traces God leaves on the souls He wants to bring to Himself are unrecognizable. Secret.

St. John of the Cross
Dark Night of the Soul
Night of the Spirit

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The Power Of Christ Compels You!

Virtus Christi urget te!

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THE FRANCISAN LAY APOSTOLATE FOLLOWS THE PERIMITIVE RULE OF 1221

Here begins the Rule of the Continent Brothers and Sisters: In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. The memorial of what is proposed for the Brothers and Sisters of Penance, living in their own homes, begun in the year of our Lord 1221, is as follows. 

CHAPTER I: DAILY LIFE 

1. The men belonging to this brotherhood shall dress in humble, undyed cloth, the price of which is not to exceed six Ravenna soldi[2] an ell[3], unless for evident and necessary cause a temporary dispensation be given. And breadth and thinness of the cloth are to be considered in said price. 

2. They shall wear their outer garments and furred coats without open throat, sewed shut or uncut but certainly laced up, not open as secular people wear them; and they shall wear their sleeves closed. 

3. The sisters in turn shall wear an outer garment and tunic made of cloth of the same price and humble quality; or at least they are to have with the outer garment a white or black underwrap or petticoat, or an ample linen gown without gathers[4], the price of an ell of which is not to exceed twelve Pisa denars.[5] As to this price, however, and the fur cloaks they wear a dispensation may be given according to the estate of the woman and the custom of the place. They are not to wear silken or dyed veils and ribbons. 

 4. And both the brothers and the sisters shall have their fur garments of lamb's wool only. They are permitted to have leather purses and belts sewed in simple fashion without silken thread, and no other kind. Also other vain adornments they shall lay aside at the bidding of the Visitor. 

 5. They are not to go to unseemly parties or to shows or dances. They shall not donate to actors[6], and shall forbid their household to donate. 

CHAPTER II: ABSTINENCE 

6. All are to abstain from meat save on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, except on account of illness or weakness, for three days at blood-letting, in traveling, or on account of a specially high feast intervening, namely, the Nativity for three days, New Year's, Epiphany, the Pasch of the Resurrection for three days, Assumption of the glorious Virgin Mary, the solemnity of All Saints and of St. Martin[7]. On the other days, when there is no fasting, they may eat cheese and eggs. But when they are with religious in their convent homes, they have leave to eat what is served to them. And except for the feeble, the ailing, and those traveling, let them be content with dinner and supper. Let the healthy be temperate in eating and drinking. 

7. Before their dinner and supper let them say the Lord's prayer once, likewise after their meal, and let them give thanks to God. Otherwise let them say three Our Fathers. 

CHAPTER III: FASTING 

8. From the Pasch of the Resurrection to the feast of All Saints they are to fast on Fridays. From the feast of All Saints until Easter they are to fast on Wednesdays and Fridays, but still observing the other fasts enjoined in general by the Church. 

9. They are to fast daily, except on account of infirmity or any other need, throughout the fast of St. Martin from after said day until Christmas, and throughout the greater fast from Carnival Sunday[8] until Easter. 

10. Sisters who are pregnant are free to refrain until their purification from the corporal observances except those regarding their dress and prayers. 

11. Those engaged in fatiguing work shall be allowed to take food three times a day from the Pasch of the Resurrection until the Dedication feast of St. Michael[9]. And when they work for others it will be allowed them to eat everything served to them, except on Fridays and on the fasts enjoined in general by the Church. CHAPTER IV: PRAYER 

12. All are daily to say the seven canonical Hours, that is: Matins[10], Prime[11], Terce[12], Sext[13], None[14], Vespers[15], and Compline[16]. The clerics are to say them after the manner of the clergy. Those who know the Psalter are to say the Deus in nomine tuo (Psalm 54) and the Beati Immaculati (Psalm 119) up to the Legem pone (Verse 33) for Prime, and the other psalms of the Hours, with the Glory Be to the Father; but when they do not attend church, they are to say for Matins the psalms the Church says or any eighteen psalms; or at least to say the Our Father as do the unlettered at any of the Hours. The others say twelve Our Fathers for Matins and for every one of the other Hours seven Our Fathers with the Glory Be to the Father after each one. And those who know the Creed and the Miserere mei Deus (Ps. 51) should say it at Prime and Compline. If they do not say that at the Hours indicated, they shall say three Our Fathers. 

13. The sick are not to say the Hours unless they wish. 

14. All are to go to Matins in the fast of St. Martin and in the great fast, unless inconvenience for persons or affairs should threaten. 

CHAPTER V: THE SACRAMENTS, OTHER MATTERS 

15. They are to make a confession of their sins three times a year and to receive Communion at Christmas, Easter, and Pentecost. They are to be reconciled with their neighbors and to restore what belongs to others. They are to make up for past tithes and pay future tithes. 

16. They are not to take up lethal weapons, or bear them about, against anybody. 

17. All are to refrain from formal oaths unless where necessity compels, in the cases excepted by the Sovereign Pontiff in his indult, that is, for peace, for the Faith, under calumny, and in bearing witness. 

18. Also in their ordinary conversations they will do their best to avoid oaths. And should anyone have sworn thoughtlessly through a slip of the tongue, as happens where there is much talking, he should the evening of the same day, when he is obliged to think over what he has done, say three Our Fathers in amends of such oaths. Let each member fortify his household to serve God. 

CHAPTER VI: SPECIAL MASS AND MEETING EACH MONTH

19. All the brothers and sisters of every city and place are to foregather every month at the time the ministers see fit, in a church which the ministers will make known, and there assist at Divine Services. 

20. And every member is to give the treasurer one ordinary denar[17]. The treasurer is to collect this money and distribute it on the advice of the ministers among the poor brothers and sisters, especially the sick and those who may have nothing for their funeral services, and thereupon among the poor; and they are to offer something of the money to the aforesaid church. 

21. And, if it be convenient at the time, they are to have some religious who is informed in the words of God to exhort them and strengthen them to persevere in their penance and in performing the works of mercy. And except for the officers, they are to remain quiet during the Mass and sermon, intent on the Office, on prayer, and on the sermon. 

CHAPTER VII: VISITING THE SICK, BURYING THE DEAD 

22. Whenever any brother or sister happens to fall ill, the ministers, if the patient let them know of it, shall in person or through others visit the patient once a week, and remind him of penance; and if they find it expedient, they are to supply him from the common fund with what he may need for the body. 

23. And if the ailing person depart from this life, it is to be published to the brothers and sisters who may be present in the city or place, so that they may gather for the funeral; and they are not to leave until the Mass has been celebrated and the body consigned to burial. Thereupon each member within eight days of the demise shall say for the soul of the deceased: a Mass, if he is a priest; fifty psalms, if he understands the Psalter, or if not, then fifty Our Fathers with the Requiem aeternam[18] at the end of each. 

24. In addition, every year, for the welfare of the brothers and sisters living and dead, each priest is to say three Masses, each member knowing the Psalter is to recite it, and the rest shall say one hundred Our Fathers with the Requiem aeternam at the end of each. 

25. All who have the right are to make their last will and make disposition of their goods within three months after their profession, lest anyone of them die intestate. 

26. As regards making peace among the brothers and sisters or non-members at odds, let what the ministers find proper be done; even, if it be expedient, upon consultation with the Lord Bishop. 

27. If contrary to their right and privileges trouble is made for the brothers and sisters by the mayors and governors of the places where they live, the ministers of the place shall do what they shall find expedient on the advice of the Lord Bishop. 

28. Let each member accept and faithfully exercise the ministry of other offices imposed on him, although anyone may retire from office after a year. 

29. When anybody wishes to enter this brotherhood, the ministers shall carefully inquire into his standing and occupation, and they shall explain to him the obligations of the brotherhood, especially that of restoring what belongs to others. And it he is content with it, let him be vested according to the prescribed way, and he must make satisfaction for his debts, paying money according to what pledged provision is given. They are to reconcile themselves with their neighbors and to pay up their tithes. 

30. After these particulars are complied with, when the year is up and he seems suitable to them, let him on the advice of some discreet brothers be received on this condition: that he promise he will all the time of his life observe everything here written, or to be written or abated on the advice of the brothers, unless on occasion there be a valid dispensation by the ministers; and that he will, when called upon by the ministers, render satisfaction as the Visitor shall ordain if he have done anything contrary to this condition. And this promise is to be put in writing then and there by a public notary. Even so nobody is to be received otherwise, unless in consideration of the estate and rank of the person it shall seem advisable to the ministers. 

31. No one is to depart from this brotherhood and from what is contained herein, except to enter a religious Order. 

32. No heretic or person in bad repute for heresy is to be received. If he is under suspicion of it, he may be admitted if otherwise fit, upon being cleared before the bishop. 

33. Married women are not to be received except with the consent and leave of their husbands. 

34. Brothers and sisters ejected form the brotherhood as incorrigible are not to be received in it again except it please the saner portion of the brothers. 

CHAPTER VIII: CORRECTION, DISPENSATION, OFFICERS 

35. The ministers of any city or place shall report public faults of the brothers and sisters to the Visitor for punishment. And if anyone proves incorrigible, after consultation with some of the discreet brothers he should be denounced to the Visitor, to be expelled by him from the brotherhood, and thereupon it should be published in the meeting. Moreover, if it is a brother, he should be denounced to the mayor or the governor. 

36. If anyone learns that a scandal is occurring relative to brothers and sisters, he shall report it to the ministers and shall have opportunity to report it to the Visitor. He need not be held to report it in the case of husband against wife. 

37. The Visitor has the power to dispense all the brothers and sisters in any of these points if he finds it advisable. 

38. When the year has passed, the ministers with the counsel of the brothers are to elect two other ministers; and a faithful treasurer, who is to provide for the need of the brothers and sisters and other poor; and messengers who at the command of the ministers are to publish what is said and done by the fraternity.

 39. In all the above mentioned points no one is to be obligated under guilt, but under penalty; yet so that if after being admonished twice by the ministers he should fail to discharge the penalty imposed or to be imposed on him by the Visitor, he shall be obligated under guilt as contumacious. 

HERE ENDS THE RULE OF THE CONTINENT. 

Author: Cardinal Hugolino dei Conti dei Segni who wrote this Rule at the request of St. Francis of Assisi, 1221

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Prophesy Of Fr. Michael Scanlan, T.O.R. In 1980

 

Fr. Michael Scanlan, TOR, 1931-2017

Father Mike was a gentle giant in the Roman Catholic Faith, and a very dear friend. It seems like just yesterday that on a warm Summer day just the two of us walked and talked about Jesus around the hills on the campus of the Franciscan University of Steubenville. Then, a couple years after that, Fr. Mike was a guest on my radio talk show. That was nearly 20 years ago and I have nothing but fond memories of the greatest leader in the Catholic Charismatic Renewal.

Fr. Michael Scanlan – Prophecy of 1980

Ralph Martin of Renewal Ministries posted another prophecy given to Fr. Michael Scanlan in 1980. For the first prophecy of Fr. Scanlan posted, click here:

 

The Lord God says, “Hear My Word: The time that has been marked by My blessings and gifts is being replaced now by the period to be marked by my judgment and purification. What I have not accomplished by blessings and gifts, I will accomplish by judgment and purification.

 

My people, My Church is desperately in need of this judgment. They have continued in an adulterous relationship with the spirit of the world. They are not only infected with sin, but they teach sin, embrace sin, dismiss sin. Their leadership has been unable to handle this. There is fragmentation, confusion, throughout the ranks. Satan goes where he will and infects whom he will. He has free access throughout my people—and I will not stand for this.

 

My people specially blessed in this renewal are more under the spirit of the world than they are under the Spirit of My baptism. They are more determined by fear of what others will think of them—fears of failure and rejection in the world, loss of respect of neighbors and superiors and those around them—than they are determined by fear of me and fear of infidelity to my word.

 

Therefore, your situation is very, very weak. Your power is so limited. You cannot be considered at this point in the center of the battle and the conflict that is going on.

 

So this time is now come upon all of you: a time of judgment and of purification. Sin will be called sin. Satan will be unmasked. Fidelity will be held up for what it is and should be. My faithful servants will be seen and will come together. They will not be many in number. It will be a difficult and a necessary time. There will be collapse, difficulties throughout the world.

 

But more to the issue, there will be purification and persecution among my people. You will have to stand for what you believe. You will have to choose between the world and me. You will have to choose what word you will follow and whom you will respect.

 

And in that choice, what has not been accomplished by the time of blessing and gifts will be accomplished. What has not been accomplished in the baptism and the flooding of gifts of my Spirit will be accomplished in a baptism of fire. The fire will move among you and it will burn out what is chaff. The fire will move among you individually, corporately, in groups, and around the world.

 

I will not tolerate the situation that is going on. I will not tolerate the mixture and the adulterous treating of gifts and graces and blessings with infidelity, sin, and prostitution. My time is now among you.

 

What you need to do is to come before Me in total submission to My Word, in total submission to My plan, in the total submission in this new hour. What you need to do is to drop the things that are your own, those things of the past. What you need to do is to see yourselves and those whom you have responsibility for in light of this hour of judgment and purification. You need to see them in that way and do for them what will best help them to stand strong and be among My faithful servants.

 

For there will be casualties. It will not be easy, but it is necessary. It is necessary that My people be, in fact, my people; that My Church be, in fact, My Church; and that My Spirit, in fact, bring forth the purity of life, the purity and fidelity to the Gospel.

 

Fr. Michael Scanlan TOR, sits in Christ the King Chapel at Franciscan University of Steubenville. Scanlan died at the age of 85 in 2017. 

 

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Communion In The Hand A Sacrilege?

 

"...take care to lose no part of It [the Body of the Lord] . Such a loss would be the mutilation of your own body. Why, if you had been given gold-dust, would you not take the utmost care to hold it fast, not letting a grain slip through your fingers, lest you be so much the poorer? How much more carefully, then, will you guard against losing so much as a crumb of that which is more precious than gold or precious stones?"

St. Cyril of Jerusalem

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The Church Prescribes The Use Of The Paten

 

The Church prescribes the use of the paten for Communion to avoid having any particles of the Sacred Host fall to the ground (see Missale Romanum, Institutioo generalis, number 118; Redemptionis episcoporum, number 93) and that the bishop wash his hands after distribution of Communion ( see Caeremoniale episcoporum, number 166). When Communion is given in the hand, not infrequently particles separate from the Host, either falling to the ground or remaining on the palm and fingers of the communicants.

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Prayer of St. Francis Before the Crucifix

 

Most High, Glorious God,

enlighten the darkness in my heart,

and give me correct FAITH,

sure HOPE and perfect CHARITY,

with understanding and knowledge, Lord,

so that I may fulfill Your true and holy command,

Amen.

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WHAT WE HAVE TAKEN WITH OUR MOUTH

Quod ore sumpsimus Comine, pura mente capiamus: et de munere temporali fiat nobis remedium sempiternum.

(Grant, O Lord, WHAT WE HAVE TAKEN WITH OUR MOUTH, we may receive with a pure mind; and that from a temporal gift it may become for us an everlasting remedy.)

Excerpts taken from The Holy Mass: 

The Communion of the Faithful

THE THANKSGIVING

The Ablutions

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Communion In The Hand Or On The Tongue? Simply Read Your Bible...

 

Saint Padre Pio receiving Communion

“But you, mortal, hear what I say to you; do not be rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you.” And he said unto me, "Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee." Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness.   So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat. He said to me, “Mortal, eat this scroll that I give you and fill your stomach with it.” Then I ate it, and in my mouth it was as sweet as honey.

Ezekiel 2:8-9, 3:2-3

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Dilati Et Implebo Illud

 

"Open wide your mouth and I will fill it."

Psalm 81:10

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Gaze At The Altar

 

Here is the quote for this week: “When St. Margaret Mary Alacoque attended Holy Mass and would gaze at the altar, she would never fail to glance at the crucifix and the lighted candles. Why? It was to impress on her mind and heart two things: that the crucifix would remind her of what Jesus had done for her; that the lighted candles recall what she must do for Jesus --- that is, sacrifice herself and be consumed for Him and for souls.” 

JESUS OUR EUCHARISTIC LOVE by Fr. Stefano Manelli

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I Am Nothing But A Cracked, Filthy Jar

I am nothing but an old, cracked, filthy, jar. How can you possibly use me, Lord? Of what value can I be to you or to anyone? I watch as Jesus dumps his life-giving water into me. Immediately all my dirt and filth is washed away. I am being purified. As the water flows like torrents into me, and although my cracks are large and leaking, the amount of water flowing into me is far greater than the amount I lose. Then just as I am completely filled, the dirt and filth flows up over the top and down into the drain. Still the water is poured...more and more. More than I can stand. An overflowing flood. It begins to pour out over me and toward God's people. They come to drink and they too become filled and they begin to overflow. They too are cracked, broken, filthy. Yet they overflow as well. They are cleansed as well. Their dirt flows over the sides and down the drain. More and more people come to drink of your sweet tasting water, Lord. We all share your life-giving water with those whom you love - those who are dying of thirst. You quench us all. O sweet, magnificent water. Refreshed. Come Holy Spirit, come!

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As Christians, We Are All To Be Crucified With Christ

 

In a vision, the soldiers gathered us all up into a large group. There was no escape. We watched in horror as one-by-one we were taken to a cross and nailed. Most of us were dressed in filthy, tattered, gray robes. A few of us were adorned in pure white robes.

Those in pure white robes began to call out, “Me! Take me! Take me next!”

Those in filthy gray robes cowered in horror at our feet. They screamed, they cried, they flailed. They did everything they could to break away from our captors.

But there was no escape for anyone. We all had to go through the crucifixion.

I wondered what my reaction was going to be. Will I be brave? Will I run up and beg them to allow me to embrace this horror or will I cower and shriek in terror?

Suddenly I looked around and we were all nailed to our crosses, both those in gray robes and those in white. I could see everyone's faces. Everyone was in agony. For some, the agony was unbearable. For others, they embraced the pain and suffering with longing and ecstatic pleasure.

Then from above, Jesus reached down to those dressed in white robes, grabbed one by one by the hand and pulled them up into heaven.The others, those who were dressed in filthy gray rags, were left hanging on their crosses until the flesh rotted off their bones. The stench of rotting flesh was overwhelming!

How can I not embrace suffering and death? How can I not long to be with my Brother, Jesus?

“Me! Take me! Take me next!”

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