Sacred Heart of Jesus

June 24, 2022 by Lena {JOYfilledfamily} Filed Under: 06 June Saints, Fr. Leonard Goffine, Sacred Heart of Jesus, The Church’s Year Leave a Comment

O Jesus, most worthy of love! I gratefully offer Thee my heart in compensation for my great unfaithfulness, and consecrate myself wholly and forever to Thy service, purposing, with Thy grace, no more to offend Thee. Amen. – An act of resignation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

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The most sacred devotion, for by it man venerates the holiest sentiments and emotions of the Heart of Jesus, by which He has sanctified the Church, glorified His Heavenly Father, and presented Himself to us as the perfect model of the most exalted sanctity.

The oldest devotion of the holy Church, which, instructed by the great St. Paul, has at all times recognized the munificence of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

The most approved devotion, for the Holy Scriptures everywhere exhort us to renew our heart by changing our lives, rendering them contrite by true penance, inflaming them with the fire of divine love, and adorning them by the exercise of all virtue. Therefore a new heart is promised on which to remodel our Heart. That Heart can be no other than the Heart of Jesus, which is given us as an example of all virtue, and which we must imitate if we wish to be saved.

The most perfect devotion, for it is the: source of all other devotions; the Heart of Jesus is that inexhaustible treasury from which the Mother of God and all the saints have drawn their graces, their life, their virtues, and all spiritual blessings. Filled from this treasury, other servants of God have instituted different devotions.

The most useful devotion, for in it we have the Fountain of Life itself before our eyes, from which we can draw directly, and increase in all virtue by adoring this divine Heart, meditating on its holy desires, and seeking to imitate it.

The devotion most pleasing to Christ, for by it we honor God, as Christ requires, in spirit and in truth, because we adore the interior power of God, seeking to please His heart.

Finally; the most necessary devotion, for its object is that we become intimately connected as members with Jesus, our Head, that we live by and according to His spirit, and have only one heart and soul with Christ. #venerablePSimonGourdan

Instruction on the Feast of the Sacred Heart, Fr. Leonard Goffine, The Church’s Year

The Introit of this day’s Mass reads:

He will have mercy according to the multitude of his mercies: for he hath not willingly afflicted nor cast off the children of men: the Lord is good to them that hope in him, to the soul that seeketh him. Alleluia, alleluia. (Lament. 3:32, 33, 35) The mercies of the Lord I will sing for ever: to generation and generation. (Ps. 88:1). Glory, etc.

COLLECT Grant, we beseech Thee, Almighty God, that we who, glorying in the most Sacred Heart of Thy beloved Son, celebrate the singular benefits of His love toward us, may rejoice equally in their operation and their fruit. Through the same, etc.

LESSON (Is. 12:16) I will give thanks to thee, O Lord, for thou art angry with me; thy wrath is turned away, and, thou hast comforted me. Behold God is my Savior, I will deal confidently, and will not fear: because the Lord is my strength and my raise, and he is become my salvation. You shall draw waters with joy out of the Savior’s fountains: and you shall say in that day: Praise ye the Lord, and call upon his name: make his works known among tie people: remember that his name is high. Sing ye to the Lord, for he hath done great things: show this forth in all the earth. Rejoice, and praise, O thou habitation of Sion: for great is he that is in the midst of thee, the Holy One of Israel.

EXPLANATION This lesson is a hymn of praise for the deliverance of the Jews from the hands of their enemies, and at the same time a prophecy of the coming redemption of mankind from sin and death through Christ. Man will then draw waters with joy, says the prophet, from the Savior’s fountains. These fountains are the graces which Jesus has gained for us on the cross, but especially, as St: Augustine says, the holy sacraments of Baptism and Communion. We should rejoice on account of these graces, particularly that the Holy One of Israel, Christ, the Son of God, dwells in the midst of Sion, that is, in the Catholic Church, in the Blessed Sacrament, to remain there to the end of the world. Oh! let us often approach this ever flowing fountain of all grace, the holy Eucharist, and let us draw with confidences consolation, help, and strength from this fountain of love.

GOSPEL (John 19:31-35) At that time, The Jews (because it was the parasceve), that the bodies might not remain upon the cross on the sabbath-day (for that was a great sabbath-day), besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. The soldiers, therefore, came, and they broke the legs of the first, and of the other that was crucified with him. But after they were come to Jesus, when they saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. But one of the soldiers with a spear opened his side, and immediately there came out blood and water. And he that saw it hath given testimony: and his testimony is true.

EXPLANATION According to the Jewish law a criminal could not be put to death, nor could the body of one who had been executed, remain in the place of execution, on the Sabbath day; it was for this reason that the Jews asked Pilate, the governor, to have the Body of Christ and those of the two thieves buried. Before this could be done, the bones of the crucified, according to the Roman law, had to be broken with iron clubs. The soldiers did so to the two thieves, who were yet alive; when they came to Jesus and found Him dead, they did not break His bones, but one of them, Longinus, opened the Savior’s side with a spear, as was foretold by the prophet.

Jesus permitted His most Sacred Heart to be opened to atone for and efface those sins of men which originate in the heart, as Christ Himself says: (Matt. 15:19) From the heart come forth evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts; false testimonies, blasphemies; also to show us the infinite love with which He has loved us from the beginning, so that lie even shed the last drop of His heart’s blood for our salvation; to make, as it were, a place of refuge in His heart for us, as St. Augustine says:

The Evangelist is very careful in his expression; he does not say, the soldiers pierced or wounded His side, but he opened it, as if to open for us the door of life, from which flow the Sacraments of the Church, without which there can be no access to the true life.” As often, then, as a temptation arises, or trouble depresses us, let us take refuge in that abode, and dwell there, until the tempest is over; as says the prophet; (Is. 2:10) Enter thou into the rock, and hide thee in the pit. Who is the rock but Christ, and what is the pit but His wound?”

The Holy Trinity

June 12, 2022 by Lena {JOYfilledfamily} Filed Under: 06 June Saints, Archbishop Lefebvre, Dom Gaspar Lefebvre, Fr. Leonard Goffine, Holy Trinity Sunday, The Church’s Year Leave a Comment

“Baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost” (Matt., 28:19)

Archbishop Lefebvre offers the follow sermon for todays feast.

A beautiful Basilica that I photoshopped due to the sacrileges we witnessed on our visit to the Mission.

“They can occupy our churches, but they are outside the true Faith.“ #stathanasius

On this day the Catholic Church observes a special feast in honour of the most profound mystery of our faith, the doctrine of the Holy Trinity.

According to this doctrine, there is only one God, but in God there are three distinct Persons, known as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In theological language this means that God is one in nature, but three in Persons.

We make no claim that we can give a clear and adequate explanation of this doctrine. It is a mystery-that is, a truth which we accept on the authority of God, but which we cannot understand. We can, indeed, understand that there is only one God. Our reason tells us that it would be a contradiction in terms to say that there is more than one God. The very idea of God indicates absolute supremacy, the possession of all perfections. If there were two Gods, neither could be absolutely perfect because neither would possess the perfections of the other.

But, how this one divine nature can be possessed by three Persons, each distinct from the other, yet each identical with the divinity is entirely above our understanding. However, this is no argument against the reasonableness of believing this doctrine. We accept the statements of our fellowmen on matters that surpass our understanding when these persons are intelligent and truthful–for example, the statements of the atomic scientists. Why then should we not accept the statement of the all-knowing and all-truthful God when He tells us that He is one God in three distinct Persons?

The doctrine of the Holy Trinity is the very foundation of Christian belief. In the early Church there were many misunderstandings about this sublime doctrine, so that most of the heresies of the first centuries were centred about this mystery. But the infallible Church pointed out the way to the truth, and hence today in our Catholic theology we have a profound and consistent teaching regarding this doctrine, enabling us to answer all the objections that are raised against it, even though we make no claim to give a positive understanding of its full significance. Catholics should try to familiarise themselves with at least a general knowledge of the Church’s theological doctrine on the Holy Trinity.

Practical Application
Whenever you make the sign of the Cross, remember you are making an act of faith in the most sublime Christian doctrine. Try to be recollected, and accompany the words with an interior act of faith that there is one God in three Divine Persons.

Oldest son serving as MC for Pentecost Sunday High Mass at the end of our #olbpilgrimage

We pray the Athanasian Creed on this Trinity Sunday. See my stories for the full Creed.

On today’s feast, I also invite you to read the Letter of St. Athanasius to his flock (included below).

St. Athanasius is often referred to as the Champion of Orthodoxy, he was undoubtedly one of the most courageous defenders of the Faith in the entire history of the Church.

He is a saint for our times!

This letter of his could have been written, in its entirety, yesterday.

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May God console you! …What saddens you …is the fact that others have occupied the churches by violence, while during this time you are on the outside. It is a fact that they have the premises─but you have the apostolic Faith.

They can occupy our churches, but they are outside the true Faith.

You remain outside the places of worship, but the Faith dwells within you. Let us consider: what is more important, the place or the Faith? The true Faith, obviously. Who has lost and who has won in this struggle-the one who keeps the premises or the one who keeps the Faith?

True, the premises are good when the apostolic Faith is preached there; they are holy if everything takes place there in a holy way …You are the ones who are happy: you who remain within the church by your faith, who hold firmly to the foundations of the Faith which has come down to you from apostolic Tradition. And if an execrable jealousy has tried to shake it on a number of occasions, it has not succeeded. They are the ones who have broken away from it in the present crisis.

No one, ever, will prevail against your faith, beloved brothers. And we believe that God will give us our churches back some day.

Thus, the more violently they try to occupy the places of worship, the more they separate themselves from the Church. They claim that they represent the Church; but in reality, they are the ones who are expelling themselves from it and going astray.

Even if Catholics faithful to Tradition are reduced to a handful, they are the ones who are the true Church of Jesus Christ. ➕

Instruction on the Feast of the Holy Trinity from Fr. Leonard Goffine.

This festival is celebrated on the Sunday after Pentecost, because as soon as the apostles were instructed and consoled by the Holy Ghost, they began to preach openly that which Christ had taught them.

Why do we celebrate this festival?

That we may openly profess our faith in the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, which is the first of Christian truths, the foundation of the Christian religion, and the most sublime of all mysteries; and that we may render thanks, to the Father for having created us, to the Son for having redeemed us, and to the Holy Ghost for having sanctified us.

In praise and honor of the most Holy Trinity, the Church sings at the Introit of this day’s Mass:

INTROIT Blessed be the holy Trinity and undivided Unity: we will give glory to him, because he hath shown his mercy to us: (Tob. 12) O Lord, our Lord, how wonderful is thy name in all the earth! (Ps. 8:1) Glory be to the Father, etc.

GOSPEL (Matt. 28:18-20) At that time Jesus said to His disciples: All power is given to me in heaven and in earth. Going, therefore; teach ye all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world.

EXPLANATION Christ being God had from all eternity the same power that His Father had; being man, He had this same power by the union of His divinity with His humanity, and on account of the infinite merits of His passion. In virtue of this power, He said to His apostles, before the ascension, that, as His Heavenly Father had sent Him, even so He sent them to all nations, without exception, to teach all that He had commanded, and to receive them, by means of baptism, into the Church; at the same time He promised to be with them to the end of the world, that is, that He would console them in suffering, strengthen them in persecution, preserve them from error, and always protect them and their successors, the bishops and priests, even unto the consummation of the world.

FEAST OF THE HOLY TRINITY

The fundamental truth on which everything in the Christian religion rests, is the dogma of the Holy Trinity from whom all comes (Epistle ROM XI. 33-36 ), and to whom all baptized in His name must return (Gospel Matt. XXVIII. 18-20).

In the course of the cycle, having called to our minds in order, God the Father, Author of creation, God the Son, Author of redemption, and God the Holy Ghost, Author of our sanctification, the Church today, before all else, recapitulates the great mystery by which we acknowledge and adore the Unity of Nature and Trinity of Persons in almighty God (Collect).

The dogma of the Holy Trinity is affirmed, in the liturgy, on every hand. It is in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost that we begin and end the Mass and Divine Office, and that we confer the Sacraments. All the Psalms end with the Gloria, the Hymns with the Doxology, and the Prayers by a conclusion in honor of the three Divine Persons. Twice during the Mass we are reminded that it is to the Holy Trinity that the Mass is being offered.

A votive Mass in honor of the Holy Trinity was composed in the seventh century, and in the eleventh century the Abbey of Cluny established the custom of using it for a feast of the Holy Trinity on this Sunday. Bishop Stephen of Liege composed its office in the tenth century. The feast was officially adopted by the Roman liturgy in 1334 at Avignon by Pope John XXII and was later promoted in rank by St. Pius X.

That we may ever be armed against all adversity, let us today, with the liturgy, make our solemn profession of faith in the Holy and Eternal Trinity and His indivisible Unity.

– Dom Gaspar Lefebvre OSB, 1945

Ember Days of Pentecost

June 8, 2022 by Lena {JOYfilledfamily} Filed Under: Ember Days, Pentecost Leave a Comment

We remain in the Octave of Pentecost, in which the Church celebrates more especially the glories of the grace of the Holy Ghost and His secret work of sanctification in the Mystical Body of Christ.

Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday in the week are the Ember Days of Pentecost.

Pope St. Leo the Great extended the Pentecost Festivities, like the Octave of Easter, through the entire week.

For many centuries, Pentecost Monday and Pentecost Tuesday were Holy Days of Obligation.

The fasting and abstinence on the Ember Days of Pentecost is unique in the Church as these are the only Ember Days celebrated without violet vestments. The Ember Days of Pentecost are meant to be a joyful fast.

Read the images below for instruction from #domprospergeuranger and the traditional observances of fasting & abstinence.

Ember & Rogation Days Explained by Fr. Ripperger

Memorial Day

May 30, 2022 by Lena {JOYfilledfamily} Filed Under: 05 May Leave a Comment

We decorate & pray on this Memorial Day — in honor of heroic sacrifice of those which nobly gave of themselves, even unto death in military service to their country. 🇺🇸 🙏🏼

May God bless the fallen soldiers in their labors on behalf of patriotism and its highest and most noble work, the preservation of our nation and its God-given freedoms.

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COMMEMORATION OF THE DEAD

Remember, O Lord, Thy servants, (name them), who have gone before us with the sign of faith and rest in the sleep of peace.

To these, O Lord, and to all who rest in Christ, grant, we pray Thee, a place of refreshment, of light, and of peace. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

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PRAYER FOR THE WAR

Our Father, Who art in Heaven: give us, we pray Thee, the courage and the strength to stamp out the threat of paganism and slavery that hangs over the world today.

Be merciful to all those who have died in the service of our country.

Console those who have lost their loved ones in the struggle.

Help our fighting men to be always clean of heart and therefore unafraid.

Soothe the wounded in battle.

Sustain the courage of those who suffer persecution for conscience’ sake.

Have pity on all who have been insulted, robbed, tortured, defiled, enslaved by their conquerors.

Grant wisdom to our leaders, civil and military, that they may most effectively direct our efforts, at home and abroad.

Teach us all to walk humbly with Thee, so that we may be worthy to conquer, and having conquered may build a peace with justice, under the Fatherhood of God.
Amen.

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FOR OUR ARMED FORCES

O God, I beg Thee, watch over those exposed to the dangers of a soldier’s, sailor’s, or airman’s life. Give them such strong faith that no human respect may ever lead them to deny it or fear to practice it. Strengthen them by Thy grace against the influence of bad examples so that, being preserved from vice and by serving Thee faithfully, they may be ready to meet death, if it should come to them on land, at sea, or in the air.

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, inspire them with sorrow for sin and grant them pardon. Mary, Immaculate Mother of God, protect them. Amen.

Prayers from Catholic Tradition

The Tradition of Rogation Days

May 23, 2022 by Lena {JOYfilledfamily} Filed Under: 05 May, Rogation Day Leave a Comment

Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of this week are Rogation Days in anticipation of Ascension Thursday.

Below are directions from Fr. Sullivan, OSB, 1952 and a few blessings from the traditional Roman Ritual.

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If our Holy Mother the Church seems to multiply her blessings over the farm home, and have few left for the city apartment, it is not because she is partial to her children in the country and forgetful of city children, but because she is a realist—like every woman. She knows that from the farm homes comes the world’s food supply.

That is why she has composed so many sacramental blessings for the farmer. That is why she has instituted the rogation days, the three days before the Feast of the Ascension of Our Lord.

But these rogation prayers and the sacramental blessings for the farmer are not for the exclusive welfare of the country people; such blessings are for the welfare of all the members of Christ’s Body on earth—for those who live in little towns and big towns—for the rosy cheeked country urchin who has the wide open fields for a playground, and for the pale little girls whose backyard is closed in by smokestacks and ugly unpainted buildings—for the farmer plowing in his field in the bright sun, and for the subway guard who seldom sees the light of day. For all members of Our Lord’s Body are dependent on one another.

If the farmer is blessed with a good harvest, the city dweller has plenty of good food; if the city dweller makes a living wage, he can buy the farmer’s food. It is this universal dependence of the members of Christ’s Body on one another that makes the blessing of the farmer a blessing also for the dwellers in the city apartments.

It is faith that traces the origin of good food beyond the corner grocery store to the wholesale dealer to the shipper—beyond the shipper to the farmers whose job it is to produce food, and beyond the farmer to God the Creator Who gives the increase to the harvest.

So it is fitting for the man or woman in the city cathedral as well as the farmer in the little rural church to pray together on rogation days: “That Thou wouldst please to give and preserve the fruits of the earth…we beseech Thee hear us.”

The litany of the Saints and the psalms sung during procession on rogation days are supplications—hence the word, rogation (from the word rogare which means to ask). During this season the faithful ask God to protect them from danger and disaster, and to bless especially the harvest so that the whole of Christ’s Body may be fed.

The rogation days are also called the days of the minor litanies, because according to the rubric of the ritual, it is customary for the pastor and his flock to go in procession through the fields of the parish changing the litany of the Saints and other prayers. There is another solemn procession through the fields on the 25th of April which is called the major litanies. This also happens to be St. Mark’s day, but there is no connection between the Evangelist’s feast and the procession.

Because most of our modern parishes are in the city and small town, and have no fields through which to march, the rogation day procession usually takes place on the parish property, or even inside the parish church itself; here at St. Meinrad’s the student-body together with the people of the parish march in solemn procession to the chapel of Our Lady of Monte Cassino a mile through the village and across the valley, chanting the litany of the Saints. There the Mass of rogation is offered by the priest in charge of the abbey farm.

The celebration of the minor and major litanies are only four days during the year when the Church solemnly asks blessings upon the harvest, but besides the rogation day blessings there are numerous sacramentals in the Roman ritual which may be used with spiritual profit by the faithful especially by the folks who live on the farm. Here are some the principal blessings which the Christian farmer may use.

Monday of Passion Week

April 4, 2022 by Lena {JOYfilledfamily} Filed Under: Holy Week, Lent, Passiontide Leave a Comment

Today, the Monday of Passion Week, we meditate on the illustrious title of the Name of Jesus.

JESUS OF NAZARETH, KING OF THE JEWS

It is a scared and powerful title which ought to be said with great reverence.

Thomas A Kempis offers the following mediation:

O Jesus of Nazareth, bright flower of the Virgin Mary; O illustrious Son of David, the Only-Begotten of the Supreme Father, write, I pray Thee, with a strong and clear hand, upon the tablets of my heart, Thy sweet and glorious Name, along with that sacred and brightly-shining Title of Thy Passion, which declared the cause of Thy death, that so I may keep it ever before my eyes, and may often read it to the praise of Thy Most Holy Name.

May that Title be the comfort of my heart in
distress, may it be my special protection when temptations assail me; may the evil spirit depart from me; may the lust of concupiscence die out within me; may the whole world have a bitter taste to me, when I think, or read of “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.”

For of a truth nothing is more sweet than Jesus, nothing more wholesome, nothing more helpful. Nothing can be brighter, nothing more pure, nothing more holy than the Nazarene.

Nothing can be more worthy of honor than the King of the Jews, nothing more powerful, nothing more exalted.

Therefore let no enemy think to withstand me. Let no plague think to touch me. Let no calamity think to crush me, so long as I humbly invoke Thy aid, O my Jesus, or call to mind Thy Passion, or dwell with heart and lips upon Thy Title “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.”

O Jesus, above all else deserving of my love, Thou art my King and my God, dear to me above everything, far above all the praise that I can give Thee.

Dear to me wert Thou in the Manger, still dearer wert Thou on the Cross.

Dearest of all art Thou, when sitting upon the Throne of Thy Kingdom. For though, in the weakness of Thy flesh, Thou didst hang upon the Cross, yet now, by the Power of God, Thou livest, and art sitting at the Right Hand of the Father, exalted above every creature forever and ever. Amen. #passionofchrist

Consecration of Russia

March 18, 2022 by Lena {JOYfilledfamily} Filed Under: Uncategorized Leave a Comment

A priest of tradition speaks clearly to refute the mixed messages and compel us to remain steadfast in prayer.

Is anyone outside of being reached by the Holy Ghost?

What did Our Lady actually ask?

What is our role?

What will it (true Consecration of Russia) lead to, usher in, and mean?

O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee!

And for those who do not have recourse to thee especially all Communists, Freemasons, and other enemies of Holy Mother Church.

Novena to St. Joseph

March 11, 2022 by Lena {JOYfilledfamily} Filed Under: 03 March Saints, Novena, St. Joseph Leave a Comment

The Novena to St. Joseph starts March 10 if you desire to pray it in union with his feastday on March 19.

*Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament — we visited Our Lord before standing for the Faith at the steps of the State Capitol*

Novena to St. Joseph

March 10-18

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V. In the Name ✠ of the Father…
R. Amen..

V. O glorious and powerful St. Joseph,
R. Thou art the faithful protector and intercessor of all who love and venerate thee. * Thou knowest that I have confidence in thee * and that, after Jesus (☨) and Mary, * I come to thee as an example for holiness, * for thou art especially close with God. * Therefore, I humbly commend myself, with all who are dear to me and all that belong to me, * to thy intercession. * I beg of thee, by thy love for Jesus (☨) and Mary, * not to abandon me during life * and to assist me at the hour of my death.

V. O glorious St. Joseph, spouse of the Immaculate Virgin,
R. Pray for me * to have a pure, humble, charitable mind, * and perfect resignation to the divine Will. * Be thou my guide, my father, and my model through life * that I may die as thou didst * in the arms of Jesus (☨) and Mary.

V. O loving St. Joseph, faithful follower of Jesus Christ (☨),
R. I raise my heart to thee * to implore thy powerful intercession in obtaining from the Divine Heart of Jesus (☨) * all the graces necessary for my spiritual and temporal welfare, * particularly the grace of a happy death, * and the special graces I now implore:

(Mention Your Intentions)

V. O Guardian of the Word Incarnate,
R. We have confidence that thy prayers on our behalf * will be graciously heard before the throne of God. Amen.

The St. Joseph Memorare

V. Remember, O most pure Spouse of the ever Virgin Mary,
R. St. Joseph, my beloved patron, * that never has it been heard * that anyone invoked thy patronage * and sought thine aid without being comforted. * Inspired by this confidence, I come to thee * and fervently commend myself to thee. * Ah, despise not my petition, dear Foster Father of our Redeemer, * but graciously accept it. * Amen.

Then say the following seven times in honor of the seven sorrows and joys of St. Joseph

V. O Glorious St. Joseph! Through thy love for Jesus Christ (☨) and for the glory of His Name,
R. Hear our prayers and obtain our petitions.

V. Jesus (☨), Mary and Joseph,
R. Assist us!

V. In the Name ✠ of the Father…
R. Amen.

RESOURCES:

Printable St. Joseph Novena

Daily Devotions to St. Joseph by St. Alphonsus Liguori

31 Day Novena to St. Joseph using Daily Devotions by St. Alphonsus Liguori

First Sunday of Lent

March 7, 2022 by Lena {JOYfilledfamily} Filed Under: Archbishop Lefebvre, First Sunday in Lent, Instagram, Lent Leave a Comment

Temptations to sin can come from three sources, the world, the flesh and the devil. Our Lord could be tempted only externally, and only by the world and the devil. These tempters could exert their influence on Him only from outside; they could not affect His mind and His will. Nevertheless, He allowed such external temptation to molest Him in order to teach us how we should act in time of temptation.

Like Him, we must resist the first impulse to sin when it makes itself felt in our soul.
It is only when we act in this manner that we can hope to escape the worst evil that can befall us in life, sin. From time to time we should remind ourselves that life is a battle between good and evil and that if we wish to avoid sin we must fight courageously.

No misfortune that can come into our lives is as great an evil as mortal sin.

Sickness, loss of fortune, disgrace in the eyes of our fellowmen, even death cannot compare to the dreadful catastrophe of defiling our souls by even one mortal sin.

We must be imbued with the spirit of Christian faith to appreciate this truth. People of the world will lightly commit mortal sin day after day, and apparently not be troubled.

*No Catholic who accepts the teaching of his Church can regard sin as anything except a terrible tragedy.*

The momentary pleasure or gratification that sin gives bears no comparison to the ruin of soul and the rejection of sanctifying grace that result from sin. Mortal sin is truly the death of the soul, for it means that the life of grace has been deliberately cast out.

One who sins mortally subjects himself to the power of the evil spirit. He has cast God from his soul and accepted Satan as his master. He has yielded to the persuasion of the devil repeating the promise which he made to Christ nineteen centuries ago, “All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.” He has refused to imitate Our Lord, whose reply to temptation was, “Begone, Satan.”

– Sermon of #archbishoplefebvre

📸my husband and I have been blessed to go further into the “desert” for silence — I tagged along with him to a work trip. 😉 But we are taking full advantage to make it a retreat within a “retreat,” Lent.

Fasting & Abstinence

March 7, 2022 by Lena {JOYfilledfamily} Filed Under: Fasting and Abstinence, Lent Leave a Comment

Here is a reminder of the traditional laws of the Fast from a priest of tradition:

In Lent, we eat 1 full meal of the day. Two small meals that do not equal one full meal.

On Fridays, we never eat MEAT!

We do not eat meat on Fridays because that is the day that Christ died. We do not eat flesh meat because that is the day that the Flesh of the Son of God was crucified.

We observe the great penances that Mother Church gives us.

Sunday is never a fast day — it is the day that Christ rose from the dead. +

Why do we fast? What guidelines do we follow?

Over the years I have shared much on this topic as we have journeyed to the traditions of the Church.

The short answer:

We fast for many reasons: to imitate Christ, for penance, and to conquer ourselves among them. And we fast out of obedience: Our Lord and His Apostles tell us to.

I follow the traditional laws of fasting of the Catholic Church (before modernizations, according to the Catholic rite 1950) as my season in life permits.

Communion fast starting at midnight, if possible, or at least three hours before Holy Mass.
On days of fast we go eat at a specific time, less than one meal (Black Fast) OR eat principal/full meal and two smaller meals (that add up to less than a full meal).
No meat or meat products are consumed on days of complete abstinence.
Eating between meals is not permitted, but liquids, including milk* and fruit juices,* may be taken any time on a fast day.
Meat may be taken at the principal meal on days of partial abstinence.

In the many years that I was not bound to fast due to pregnancy, nursing, or health (per the direction of my confessor — priest of tradition), I followed what good traditional bishops once urged the faithful:

attend daily Mass during the period of fast and abstinence
say all or part of the Divine Office or the Little Office of the BVM
pray an extra rosary
receive Holy Communion often
take part more frequently in exercises of piety
give generously to works of religion & charity
perform acts of kindness toward the sick, the aged, and the poor
practice voluntary self-denial
pray more fervently

➕

“Fasting cleanses the soul, raises the mind, subjects one’s flesh to the spirit, renders the heart contrite and humble, scatters the clouds of concupiscence, quenches the fire of lust, and kindles the true light of chastity. Enter again into yourself.” #StAugustine

“Fasting is the support of our soul: it gives us wings to ascend on high, and to enjoy the highest contemplation! […] God, like an indulgent father, offers us a cure by fasting.” #StJohnChrysostom

*I don’t eat these things in my regular diet for health reasons.

As a help in understanding the Church’s discipline of fast and abstinence, here is a summary of the requirements, both current and those in force in 1962. It has been excerpted from the Liturgical Ordo published by the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter.