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May God Grant Him Many More Years

by Filed Under: Birthday, Dad Leave a Comment

My beloved celebrated another year of life. Deo gratias!

He is a glorious husband and father who is always striving to be and do better.

He takes his duties as the head of the family very seriously – as nature imposes it on him, God wills it, and his salvation depends on it.

He honors me in the presence of all — my children, friends, strangers, and before priests. He loves me greatly and helps me to sanctify myself.

There is no doubt in my mind that he loves me as his own body, as himself. He strives after that which enables me to flourish in joy & peace.

The sweetness of his love tempers the force of his God-given authority.

His love is tender and pure, with God as its motive and end; vigilant and devoted, giving with kindness to me all that I need to live and to keep my position.

He supports me in my infirmities and defects with a tender charity, and shares in my joys and sorrows with compassion.

He serves as a means of sanctification for me, and makes it a priority to pray with me. It is by his good example, the sweetness of his virtue, and his charity, that he wins my esteem and affection and sustains me in the right path.

He works at establishing a union with me that is not just physical, but also emotional and spiritual. He constantly remembers that I need emotional support and friendship from him. I never go neglected.

He embraces his duties as a father — to make of them good and manly Christians, useful citizens, and saints for heaven.

He raises our children in the fear of God, corrects them, and seeks to settle them decently in the world.

He completes and consolidates the education which I begin as he has discerned best for our children.

His grace of authority and of strength lends extra power to his words — winning them over.

We give thanks for him everyday and most especially as we celebrate the gift of his life. May God grant him many more years!

Octave Day of All Saints

by Filed Under: 11 November Saints, All Saints Day, All Souls Day, The Church’s Year Leave a Comment

Today is the Octave Day of All Saints, the last day to receive a plenary indulgence applicable to the Poor Souls for those who have met the necessary conditions and who visit a cemetery to pray for the faithful departed. ➕

“Strangers as we are and pilgrims on the earth, let us fix our hearts and our thoughts on the day which will give to each of us a home, and restore us to Paradise.

Who, that is on a voyage, would not hasten to return to his country!

Who, that is on the way home, would not eagerly desire a favourable wind, that he might the sooner embrace his dear ones!

Parents, brothers, children, friends in multitudes impatiently await us in our heavenly fatherland; blessed crowd already secure of their own eternal happiness, they are solicitous about our salvation. What joy for them and for us, when at length we see them and they may embrace us!

How great the delight of that heavenly kingdom: no more fear of death; but eternal and supreme happiness!

Let all our earnest desires tend to this: that we may be united with the Saints, that together with them we may possess Christ.

These enthusiastic words, borrowed from St. Cyprian’s beautiful book “On Mortality,” are used by the Church in her second Nocturn; and in the third she gives us the strong language of St. Augustine, consoling the faithful, who are obliged still to remain in exile, by reminding them of the great beatitude of this earth : the beatitude of those who are persecuted and cursed by the world. To suffer gladly for Christ, is the Christian’s glory, the invisible beauty which wins for his soul the good pleasure of God, and procures him a great reward in heaven.” #domprospergueranger

Four Crowned Martyrs (11.8), orate pro nobis.

Friday in the Octave of All Saints

by Filed Under: 11 November Saints, All Souls Day Leave a Comment

Today is the Fifth Day within the Octave of All Saints.

We prayed for souls at the grave of my beloved grandmother who had 13 children, my father being number 12.

LORD God almighty, I pray Thee, by the Precious Blood which Thy divine Son shed on this day upon the wood of the Cross, especially from His most sacred hands and feet, deliver the souls in purgatory, and in particular that soul for which I am most bound to pray: that no neglect of mine may hinder it from praising Thee in Thy glory and blessing Thee forever. Amen.

Our Father
Hail Mary
De Profundis

De profundis Psalm 129

A prayer of a sinner, trusting in the mercies of God. The sixth penitential psalm.

Out of the depths I have cried unto Thee, O Lord; Lord, hear my voice.
Let Thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplication.
If Thou, O Lord, shalt mark our iniquities: O Lord, who can abide it?
For with Thee there is mercy: and by reason of Thy law I have waited on Thee, O Lord.
My soul hath waited on His word: my soul hath hoped in the Lord.
From the morning watch even unto night: let Israel hope in the Lord.
For with the Lord there is mercy: and with Him is plenteous redemption.
And He shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.

(Eternal rest or “Requiem aeternam”)
Eternal rest give to them, O Lord.
And let perpetual light shine upon them.
May they rest in peace.
Amen.

V/. Lord, hear my prayer.
R/. And let my cry come unto Thee.

Let us pray.
O God, the Creator and Redeemer of all the faithful; grant to the souls of Thy servants departed the remission of all their sins, that by our devout supplications they may obtain that pardon which they have always desired. Who livest and reignest world without end. Amen.

V/. Eternal rest give unto them, O Lord.
R/. And let perpetual light shine upon them.
V/. May they rest in peace.
R/. Amen.

Every Catholic Knows…

by Filed Under: Archbishop Vigano, Libertas, Pro-Life Leave a Comment

“Every Catholic knows that the killing of a defenseless creature in the mother’s womb is a horrendous crime; and that the most serious scandal is given to the faithful not only by Joe Biden as a convinced supporter of abortion, but also by Bergoglio himself, who is recognized as holding the authority of Supreme Pastor of the Church.

His work of demolition knows no respite before the astonished silence of the Cardinals and Bishops. The very rare exceptions of Pastors who truly have at heart the souls entrusted to them — the example of His Eminence Cardinal Burke stands out among others — are seen with hostility by the majority of their brother Bishops and by the Vatican, in a disturbing subversion of the mission of the Church of Christ, which today has been reduced to climate change, inclusive capitalism, and mass vaccination.

Bergoglio was recently recognized as “moral guide” by the Council for Inclusive Capitalism led by Lynn Forester de Rothschild, and he appointed Jeffrey David Sachs as a member of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences. Sachs is the president of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network of the United Nations, a supporter of reducing the global population and of the fight against climate change — this has nothing to do with the mission of the Papacy and ought to lead the Prelates of the Church to seriously ask themselves about Bergoglio’s mental and moral suitability for the role he holds.

I exhort the faithful, on the Feast instituted by Pius XI in honor of the social Kingship of Our Lord Jesus Christ, to beseech the Divine Majesty, asking that among the many societies afflicted by the present crisis, the Church of Christ may be the first in which Jesus Christ, Who today has been replaced by the idols of globalist ideology, returns to reign.” #archbishopvigano

Full letter from Archbishop Vigano

📸My family at a ProLife Flash Mob rally at the CA Capitol in 2011

Instruction on the Feast of All Souls

by Filed Under: 10 October Saints, All Souls Day, Fr. Leonard Goffine, The Church’s Year Leave a Comment

Today, and throughout the octave of the feast of All Souls (11.2), we will visit the cemetery and pray for souls in purgatory. Then we will go to Holy Mass.

The following is instruction on this feast from #frleonardgoffine

The Introit of this day’s Mass as of all Masses for the Dead reads:

“Eternal rest give to them, O Lord: and let perpetual light shine upon them. A hymn, O God, becometh Thee in Sion; and a vow shall be paid to Thee in Jerusalem: hear my prayer; all flesh shall come to Thee. Eternal rest give to them, O Lord: and let perpetual light shine upon them.”

The Epistle and Gospel of this day speak of the resurrection of all men and of the judgment, when every one according as he has lived, sinful and impenitent, or pure and innocent, will receive an eternally miserable or an eternally happy life. Purgatory will then end and there will be only Heaven and Hell. It remains with us to choose which of these two we shall possess.

At the Offertory of the Mass the priest prays:
O Lord Jesus Christ, King of Glory, deliver the souls of all the faithful departed from the pains of hell and from the deep pit: deliver them from the mouth of the lion, that hell may not swallow them up, and they may not fall into darkness: but may the holy standard-bearer, Michael, introduce them to the holy light: which Thou didst promise of old to Abraham and to his seed.

We offer to Thee, O Lord, sacrifices and prayers: do Thou receive them in behalf of those souls whom we commemorate this day.

Grant them, O Lord, to pass from death to that life which Thou didst promise of old to Abraham and to his seed.

We may profitably and devoutly repeat the following as often as we pass a graveyard.

V. From the gates of Hell,
R. Deliver their souls, O Lord.
V. Eternal rest give to them, O Lord,
R. And let perpetual light shine upon them.
V. May they rest in peace,
R. Amen.
V. May the souls of all the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace,
R. Amen.

Who Am I?

by Filed Under: Uncategorized Leave a Comment

My children choose their saints, aside from me having to say no repeats (of St. Michael & St. George).

Each child is also responsible for coming up with a short speech about their saint. We help them memorize their speech for the Vigil festivities. Sometimes they nail it and other times it’s an abbreviated variation at best.

They even design their costumes, for the most part. Big siblings and I are charged with the task of putting it together to their liking.

This year, my littlest one chose his beloved friend from the Bible.

Dad even attempted to give him lessons on using his weapon of choice.

Great discussions (at his level) we’re had about praying for courage, following God’s will in all seasons of our lives, not listening to what the world would have us believe, and trusting that God can do all things.

This boy of mine has loved this heroic priest since an early age. 💜➕

I was torn between the priestly duties at home and the need to serve the brave men in the military fighting in World War II. My bishop recommended me for the U.S Army Chaplain Corps. I joined the post-world war peacekeeping force and experienced firsthand the horrors of the Korean War. 

I was compelled to fight in the front lines with my troops. Due to the circumstances I offered Holy Mass on the hoods of our jeeps and prayed with my men in foxholes. I never carried a gun or fired a weapon.  One day we were ambushed by the communists, rather than retreating with the others I and a doctor stood behind to care for the dying and wounded. We became Prisoners of War.

I risked my life every day by sneaking out to find food for the other prisoners.  When the Chinese guards discovered that I had a blood clot in my leg, they moved me to the death house. There, I died, alone on May 23, 1951.

I forgave my captors and told the prisoners of the camp “Don’t worry about me, I am going to where I always wanted to go and I will pray for you!”

WHO AM I?

I was an Earl who became a knight in the Second Crusade to recover the Holy Land from the Moors.   Upon my return, I received the County of Flanders.

I forbade any of my subjects to blaspheme or take the name of God in vain. The punishment was to lose a hand or foot. 

I gave all I could to those in need.  One day, I GAVE away 7,800 loaves.

I walked every morning barefoot to the church.  I was warned that some were plotting against me.  I  answered:  “We are always surrounded by dangers, but we belong to God?” 

While I was praying before the altar, a mob rushed in and split open my head, in 1124.  

WHO AM I?

I became a priest in France in 1624.  I went to the new lands to work and share the Faith.  

I was kidnapped and held captive for over 1 year.   The natives tortured me be by fire, removed fingernails, gnawed away my fingers, and much more.  I even had to throw my finger in the woods so I wouldn’t be forced to eat it. 

I was rescued from martyrdom a number of times. And eventually, I returned home.  No one recognized me because my condition was so poor.  

The Pope gave me special permission to offer Holy Mass since my critical fingers were missing. 

I eagerly wanted to go back to the new lands in 1644. I told my friend, “I will go, but I will not return.”

Just two years later, on Oct. 18 1646, I was captured and tomahawked to death.  My head was placed on a stake as a trophy of sorts and thrown into the river.

WHO AM I?

ORATE PRO NOBIS

Twenty-Second Sunday After Pentecost

by Filed Under: Uncategorized Leave a Comment

“Render therefore to Caesar,” says our Lord, “the things that are Caesar’s”, and then He adds: “And to God the things that are God’s”

pic of one son studying his daily Catechism during the first quarter of school

This often-quoted statement means that since the soul of a man belongs to God who made it in His image, all the faculties ought to return to Him, in the sense of paying the tribute of their worship and service.

“We,” says St. Augustine, “are the coins of God stamped with His image, and God demands the return of His coins as Caesar did the return of his.”

And St. Jerome adds: “Let us give to Caesar the money which bears his inscription since we cannot do otherwise, but let us give ourselves freely and of our own accord to God, for what our soul bears is the glorious imprint of the face of a God and not the more or less majestic head of an emperor.”

Bossuet says: “This image will one day pass again through the hands and before the eyes of Jesus Christ, and some day He will look at us and say: Whose image and inscription is this? And the very depth of our being will answer: God’s. It is for Him that we were made and we must bear His stamp upon us. But what has become of the divine features which we ought to bear? Christian soul, may God’s image be in you!”

It is in this sense that we must interpret this Sunday’s Gospel (Matt. XXII. 15-21), one of the last of the ecclesiastical year and in which the Church reminds us of the end of the world.

Thus the Epistle twice speaks of the coming of Christ as nigh at hand. St. Paul prays that “He who hath begun a good work in you, will perfect it unto the day of Christ Jesus” (Epistle – Philipp. I. 6-II).

#domgasparlefebvre#twentysecondsundayafterpenecost#tridentinemass

Twenty-First Sunday After Pentecost

by Filed Under: Dom Gaspar Lefebvre, Time After Pentecost Leave a Comment

“That portion of the divine Word which we have in today’s Gospel (Matthew 18:23-35) sums up the whole Christian life in the practice of that virtue of charity which makes us treat our neighbor as almighty God has treated us.

He has forgiven us great sins; let us in turn, learn how to forgive our brethren their infinitely less important offenses against us.

The devil in his jealousy drives men to act like the wicked servant who seized by the throat one who owed him a trifling sum and cast him into prison because he could not pay at once. In the day of Judgment God will treat us as we have treated our neighbor. Of that day this Sunday’s Mass warns us in our Lord’s words:

“The kingdom of heaven is likened to a king who would take account of his servants.”

At that time of justice pure and simple, He will be merciless like us if, during this life when He is all mercy to us, we have not learned to be merciful like Him. The wicked servant was delivered to the torturers. “So,” says our Lord, “shall my heavenly Father do to you, if you forgive not every one his brother from your hearts.”

The executioners to whom we shall be delivered by our Lord in His just anger against us, will be the powers of hell from whom He has protected us on earth, but whom He will then leave to indulge their hatred against us.
It is enough to recall their rage against holy Job.

Let us be on our guard against them, the more so, that this Sunday reminds us of the time when the devils will use their power against men with greater violence, since they will soon lose it altogether.

“O Lord, Thou hast been our refuge from generation to generation; from eternity and to eternity Thou art God” (Gradual).”

#domgasparlefebvre#domlefebvre

Nameday – St. Luke

by Filed Under: Uncategorized Leave a Comment

Another nameday celebration for us!

St. Luke, ora pro nobis.

The following is practical consideration from #frweninger

“Saint Luke bore always the mortification of the Cross in his body. He was always cheerful in his work and in his sufferings; never weary or desponding.

The love of Christ, and the hope of an eternal reward made everything light and easy to him.

If you love Christ with your whole heart, and think frequently on the future recompense, I am confident that you will not become weary at your work, that you will not despond while suffering.

Therefore, in future, think often how your Lord suffered for you, and how great a reward He has promised you for your labors and sufferings.”

St. Hedwig

by Filed Under: 10 October Saints, Fr. Francis Xavier Weninger, St, Hedwig Leave a Comment

We have always sought to take advantage of all opportunities to grow in Faith, grace, and simply foster camaraderie among others desiring to live radically as the Gospel proclaims.

There is no denying that there is a newfound urgency during these times.

Reading the lives of the saints is also a necessary daily practice of ours. We cling to their wisdom and seek ways to practically apply their maxims to our lives.

Today is the feast of St. Hedwig (10.16). The following is practical consideration offered by Fr. Weninger (1876).

“We must adore the decrees of the Almighty not only in happy days, but also in those of sorrow and bereavement,” said Saint Hedwig, when God deprived her of her beloved spouse, by an early death.

Equally heroic was she, when by the will of Divine Providence, she lost her first-born son.

How do you act in similar painful circumstances?

You will never possess peace of mind, if you do not submit to the will of the Most High. And why should you not do this?

The decrees of God are all just, although they are incomprehensible. Nothing that happens to you is unknown to the Almighty, or has not been permitted by His wisdom.

All that God permits or ordains, is intended for your welfare. The true faith teaches you this.

It also teaches you that you should not, under any circumstances, oppose the will of God. Hence, there remains nothing to do, but to make a virtue of necessity, to adore humbly the decrees of Providence, to submit to them willingly, and to unite your will with that of your God.

In this manner you will be calm and contented in all adverse circumstances of life, and, at the same time, you will gather a treasure of merits for heaven.

“Make of necessity a virtue,” writes Saint James of Nisibis,” and as you cannot escape the hand of the Almighty, but must submit to so great a Lord, humble yourself voluntarily under His overwhelming power.”

📸 my girls on a day hike with Sisters from a beloved order and Father

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