What Does Your Heart Desire?

If you are not being tempted then you are not breathing.  The demons spend most of their time studying us.  Even though they are unable to read our thoughts they can learn about our weaknesses by watching and studying our every move.  Lent is a great time to acknowledge our weaknesses and work to overcome them through prayer and fasting.  Thank God for the different seasons, like lent, the Church provides for us that pushes us to grow in holiness.

It is better to know truth than pleasure.

It is better to pursue truth than to please the self.

In truth there lies the ultimate pleasure.

Please read Father Carota’s latest post on the heart being the seed of all our desires that lead us to sin and away from Jesus.

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http://www.traditionalcatholicpriest.com/2015/02/25/rend-heart-lent/

Rend Your Heart For Lent

Posted on February 25, 2015 by fc

Lent is an excellent time to watch out for what our hearts desire. Jesus says it clearly:

For where thy treasure is, there is thy heart also. Matt. 6:21

In these days of going to daily Latin Mass, praying, reading the Holy Bible, reflecting on the true condition of our soul and fasting, it is wise to watch what temptations come up.

The devil uses our weaknesses to tempt us. He watches what we like and incites those desires and passions.

He tried to incite in Jesus’ heart the desire to fill His stomach with bread when He was hungry.

He tried to get Him to avoid all suffering, especially on the cross, by inciting His ability to do miracles and to not suffer no matter what would happen by falling off the top of the Temple.

He tried to incite in Him the easy way of bringing about His Kingdom by quickly adoring the devil and then getting on with His Good Kingdom.

So what are the areas that your heart longs for? Where is your heart and treasure?

■Is it food?
■Is it sex?
■Is it dirty pictures and books?
■Is it being loved?
■Is it shopping?
■Is it alcohol?
■Is it drugs?
■Is it wanting to rest all the time?
■Is it wanting to be liked by everyone?
■Is it wanting to be affirmed?
■Is it being better than others?
■Is it wanting a lot of money so that you can be happy buying what ever you think will make you happy?
■Is it working too much to make a lot of money?
■Is it getting always your way?
■Is it vanity?
■Is it dressing sexually so that you are desired by others?
■Is it making quick money by gambling?
■Is it winning video and computer games?
■Is it watching television and soap operas to avoid living our own lives?
■Is it watching and talking about sports?
■Is it talking about others so we do not have to look at your own defects?

Jesus tells us that our evil desires, that lead into sin and away from Him is our heart.

For from the heart come forth evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false testimonies, blasphemies. Matt. 15:19

The prophet Joel reminds us that Lent is about changing the heart from which come our thoughts and then the will puts those desires into action.

Now therefore saith the Lord: Be converted to me with all your heart, in fasting, and in weeping, and in mourning. And rend your hearts, and not your garments, and turn to the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, patient and rich in mercy, and ready to repent of the evil. Who knoweth but he will return, and forgive, and leave a blessing behind him, sacrifice and libation to the Lord your God? Blow the trumpet in Sion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly, Gather together the people, sanctify the church, assemble the ancients, gather together the little ones, and them that suck at the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth from his bed, and the bride out of her bride chamber. Joel 2:12-16.

So, if this lent we can fall more in love with God and Mary, our hearts will want their love and trust their advise. It will be easier to not sin. Only then, can our hearts rest in God and Mary.

Other desires never give final rest. The transitory pleasures that our hearts desire never last. We all know this. We have experienced it a thousand times. But for some reason, we keep on falling for the same old trick of our flesh and the devil. If I just could have this sexual experience, buy this, have this person love me, eat that, go there, make more money, have that perfect job, house, spouse, children; then I will be happy forever.

So again, this lent let us watch carefully what our hearts desire. Let us redirect our desires toward God, Mary and the eternal things that fulfill and last for ever.

We are so blessed to be traditional Catholics to know this and to be encouraged to let go of passing worldly pleasures and put our hearts set on those of Heaven and God’s love

The Power of the Rosary

Below please find a beautiful story on how the rosary changed a woman’s life from grave sinner to saved sinner.  We are so lucky to be traditional Catholics that believe in the truth.  These type of stories buoy the spirit to carry one our current path.

This story appear on the America Needs Fatima website:

https://americaneedsfatima.org/The-Holy-Rosary/the-rosary-her-ladder-to-heaven.html?utm_source=sm-anf&utm_content=E.15019_Split1

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The Rosary, Her Ladder to Heaven

There was once a woman named Ellen who led a life of scandalous sin.

One day, in a tired, depressed moment, when the glamour seemed to have gone out of life, Ellen entered a church. By chance, the sermon being preached was about the beauty and power of the Rosary. Ellen was impressed.

On leaving the church, she bought a set of beads, but concealed them so no one in her circle would know.  As she prayed her beads, something wonderful began to happen. She felt such sweetness, and consolation that she could not stop reciting the Hail Marys.

By and by her wicked life loomed before her in all its horror, and, one day, she could not help but look for a priest to hear her full confession. She confessed her sins with so much feeling and contrition that the confessor was amazed.

After her confession, feeling the lightest she had ever felt, Ellen knelt before the altar of the Blessed Virgin, and recited her Rosary. Lo, and behold she heard a voice coming from the statue: “Ellen, you have already offended my Son and me so much. From now on, change your life and I will grant you a large share of graces.”

“O, Most Holy Virgin, my lady,” cried the poor sinner, “it is true that until now I have been wickedly sinful, but you can do all; help me! On my part, I abandon myself to you, and I will spend the rest of my life doing penance for my sins.”

True to her word, Ellen distributed all her goods among the poor, and began a rigorous life of mortification. Habit dies hard, so she was tormented with terrible temptations, but she always had recourse to the Blessed Mother and her Rosary, and with her help, was always victorious.

As time went on, Ellen was favored with many graces, with visions and revelations and even the gift of prophecy. Finally sickening and near death, she received visits of the Blessed Virgin and her divine Son who came to cheer and console her. And as Ellen breathed her last, her soul was seen flying toward heaven in the form of a beautiful dove.

The Rosary was her ladder to heaven.

This story was adapted from The Glories of Mary by Saint Alphonsus Liguori

Ember Wednesday of Lent – Feb 25th

Please click the link below for the 03:13 homily of Msgr. Andrew Wadsworth, Superior/Moderator of the Oratory in-Formation at Saint Thomas Apostle Church in Washington, DC on Ember Wednesday of Lent  – Feb 25^th.

https://archive.org/details/EmberWednesdayInLentFeb25th

St. Philip Neri’s Maxim of the Day:  

“A most excellent means of learning how to pray, is to acknowledge ourselves unworthy of such a benefit, and to put ourselves entirely into the hands of the Lord.”

Elias is fed by an Angel before his fast of forty days.

Another Reason to Love Holy Mother Church

The Church has it all figured out.  It is really really sad that there are so many people in the Church that want to abandon the incredible tradition it has preserved throughout the centuries.  The Church is our true home on earth, it is our harbor in the storm, it is our path to salvation.  Thank God Jesus left the Church for us miserable sinners.

Below is a great article from The Catholic Gentlemen blog about how the Church has organized Time for us.

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http://www.catholicgentleman.net/2015/02/sanctifying-time-the-catholic-meaning-of-days-and-months/

Sanctifying Time: The Catholic Meaning of Days and Months

Before I was Catholic, there were three significant days in my week: Monday was the much dreaded day school or work began; Wednesday was the hopeful hump day when most of the week was over; and Friday was the glorious final day of the week that ushered us into the weekend.

Since becoming, Catholic, however, I have gained a new appreciation for the sacredness of time. The liturgical cycle gives shape and meaning to the year, and each season brings new significance. But the liturgical year is just the beginning. Did you know Mother Church has also assigned meaning to each day and month of the year? It’s true. Let’s briefly examine the significance of each day and month.

Catholic Time

Holy Days

Sunday: The Holy Trinity – Sunday is dedicated to the Holy Trinity. This is entirely fitting as Sunday is the first day of the week and the day when we offer God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit our praise, adoration, and thanksgiving.

Monday: The Angels – Monday is the day in which we remember the angels. Angels are powerful guardians, and each of us is protected by one. Many of the saints had a great devotion to the angels in general and to their guardian angel in particular.

Tuesday: The Apostles – The Catholic Church is apostolic. That is, it is founded on the authority and teaching of the apostles, most especially that of St. Peter to whom Jesus gave the keys of his kingdom. Each bishop is a direct successor of the apostles.

Wednesday: Saint Joseph – Saint Joseph is known as the prince and chief patron of the Church. As the earthly father of Jesus, he had a special role in protecting, providing for, and instructing Jesus during his earthly life. Now that Christ is ascended into heaven, St. Joseph continues his fatherly guardianship of Christ’s body, the Church.

Thursday: The Holy Eucharist – Our Lord instituted the most holy Eucharist on a Thursday, so it is fitting that we remember this greatest of sacraments on this day. The Eucharist is the greatest gift of God to mankind, as it is nothing less than Jesus himself. What gift could be greater?

Friday: The Passion – Jesus was scourged, mocked, and crucified on a Friday. Because of this, the Church has always set aside Fridays of days of penance and sacrifice. While the U.S. sadly does not require abstinence from meat on Fridays, penance is still required in one form or another. This day should always be a day of repentance and a day in which we recall Christ’s complete self-sacrifice to save us from our sins.

Saturday: Our Lady – There are a number of theological reasons Saturdays are dedicated to Our Lady, perhaps the most significant is that on Holy Saturday, when everyone else had abandoned Christ in the tomb, she was faithful to him, confidently waiting for his resurrection on the first day of the week.

Holy Months

January: The Holy Name of Jesus – There is no name more powerful than the name of Jesus. The Catechism sums up the power of this name beautifully: “The name ‘Jesus’ contains all: God and man and the whole economy of creation and salvation. To pray ‘Jesus’ is to invoke him and to call him within us. His name is the only one that contains the presence it signifies. Jesus is the Risen One, and whoever invokes the name of Jesus is welcoming the Son of God who loved him and who gave himself up for him” (CCC #2666)

February: The Holy Family – The Holy Family is an earthly reflection of the Holy Trinity. By meditating on the Holy Family, we can learn the meaning of love, obedience, and true fatherhood and motherhood. We are also reminded that the family is the foundational unit of both society and the Church.

March: St. Joseph – St. Joseph is the icon of God the Father: silent but active and perfectly providing for the needs of all. The Church constantly invokes the protection of St. Joseph, admonishing us to ite ad Joseph, go to Joseph.

April: The Blessed Sacrament – Holy Church is the guardian of the Holy Eucharist. For two thousand years, she has guarded this treasure, administering it to the faithful and proclaiming that it is nothing less than Jesus himself. We can never be too devoted to the Blessed Sacrament or show it too much honor.

May: The Blessed Virgin Mary – Our Lady has long been associated with the beauty of flowers and the coming of spring. This is fitting because she is both beautiful and the Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the life of the world. In May, the Church remembers our glorious lady with crownings and processions in her honor.

June: The Sacred Heart of Jesus – The Sacred Heart of Jesus is the revelation of God’s immense love for us. It is often depicted as a fiery furnace, pierced and broken, but beating with love. The Sacred Heart is also a profound reminder of the humanity of our Lord, for his heart is not a mere symbol, but a true physical reality.

July: The Precious Blood – The blood of Christ saves us from sin. It is the blood of Christ that gives us the hope of heaven. St. Paul tells us that Jesus reconciled “to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross” (Col. 1:20). Without the blood of Christ shed for us, all would be lost.

August: The Immaculate Heart of Mary – The heart of Mary is a motherly heart, a heart full of love and mercy for her children. The heart of Mary is also the channel through which all the graces of God flow down to us. She is “our life, our sweetness, and our hope.”

September: The Seven Sorrows of Mary – Aside from Jesus, no human being has suffered more than our Blessed Mother. In perfect obedience to the will of God, she consented to her sons torture, humiliation, and brutal executed for our salvation. As any parent knows, watching one’s child suffer is the greatest suffering of all. She still bears the sufferings of her divine Son in her heart.

October: The Holy Rosary – The rosary is one of the most powerful weapons the Church possesses. We are constantly exhorted by saints, popes, and Our Lord and Our Lady themselves to pray this simple yet profound prayer. Accordingly, Mother Church has set aside a whole month to the promotion of this prayer.

November: The Souls in Purgatory – The souls in purgatory are suffering a great deal, and they cannot pray for themselves. They are our brothers and sisters, and as members of the body of Christ, we must pray and offer sacrifices for those who have gone before us, asking that they may rest in the light of God’s presence.

December: The Immaculate Conception – The Immaculate Conception of Mary is a profound mystery. In the Immaculate Conception, Mary was perfectly united forever to her spouse, the Holy Spirit. Their fruitful union produced a wedding of heaven and earth in the God-Man, Jesus Christ. We will meditate on these truths for all eternity.

Time is a Gift

The Church takes seriously the call to sanctify all things, even time. The Catholic significance of days and months is a profound reminder that our lives are finite, and that time should not be squandered. As the Psalmist said, “teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom” (Ps. 90:12). But more than anything, it reminds us that time is a gift from God, and with him and through him, all things are holy, and nothing is without meaning.

Children are the Silent Victims of Divorce

There is no doubt that children of divorce pay a high price in suffering because of their parent’s decisions.  One of the main reasons our society is in such trouble is because of the effects divorce has on the children.  Depression, suicide, promiscuity, drug abuse, homelessness, etc… are just a few of the consequences.  It is nearly impossible to go through a day without meeting someone who has been affected by divorce.  We need to keep praying to Mary and the Saints to help parents see the error of their ways and stay together for the sake of their kids and for the sake of society.

Father Carota’s post below sums up well how divorce is devastating to children.

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http://www.traditionalcatholicpriest.com/2015/02/21/divorce-remarrying-hurts-children/

Divorce And Remarrying Hurts Children

Posted on February 21, 2015 by fc

With the Extraordinary Synod On The Family planned for October 2015, we who respect God’s commandments, need to shout out clearly that Marriage vows are sacred and that the part these vows that says “Till Death Do Us Part” means what it says.

If the pope, cardinals, bishops and other powerful people in the Catholic Church cannot respect God’s law, then let us keep the suffering silent victims, the children from divorce families in their awareness. Here are two examples of suffering children have from divorce and adultery that I experienced just in the last few days.

My friend and her granddaughters were here at a parish dinner. The 12 year old had on short leggings and the other 9 year old had tight pants. I hesitated to talk with them about modesty because I had never met them before. But since the grandmother is part of the parish, I approached them with kindness. I told the 12 year old, with much kindness, that tights cause men to want to have sex with her and I knew that is not what she wanted. As you can imagine, it still did not go over that well. But we then begin to have a good talk.

The grandmother told me she has little influence with them because they live with her son’s ex-wife. So I asked what happened. The girls began to tell me how their dad “remarried”, had a child and moved to Texas 3 years ago to be with the “new wife’s” family. The girls told me how much they miss being with their dad.

Agreeing with their sadness, the 9 year old told me that she is full of sorrow inside and has no one to tell about it. She then began to cry. The older girl did not cry, but showed great pain too in her face when we were talking about their parents divorce and father moving away.

I told them that they need to come close to God and Our Lady to find someone with whom they can pour out their interior pain and that that is what God and Mary are here for, to help us when we have no one to turn to in our secret pains.

But I also told them that it makes me mad that they are suffering so much in silence because of the sin of their parents (divorce). I reminded them that breaking God’s rules causes suffering for everyone.

Right now there a millions and millions of silent children victims of parents who;

■only lived together, fought and separated and now share custody over the children,
■did get married, fought, divorced and now share custody and have to move from house to house every week.
■had casual sex, the woman got pregnant and the child never has a dad in his life,
■committed adultery and then went back to their spouse and left the child.

I went to bless a house and the wife told me all about the times her husband has been unfaithful to her. She talked outside so that her girls would not know that her husband is being unfaithful again and be traumatized again as had happened the first time. One of her daughters had to go through counseling to get over her dad’s unfaithfulness. The oldest son is in jail for marijuana too.

How can you protect children from emotional abuse caused by separation, divorce and infidelity of their parents?

■Only date a holy man or woman that is capable of living up to the wedding vows.
■Stay virgins until you are married in the Catholic Church “till death do us part”.
■Husbands be holy, loving, communicating, providing and faithful.
■Wives be holy, loving, communicating, disciplined and faithful.
■Remind yourselves sex and marriage is only for having children, a remedy for sexual concupiscence, and to help each other get to heaven.
■Do everything possible to live a holy married life by assisting at Holy Mass, frequent confession, prayer, reading the Holy Bible, retreats and good advice.

As compassionate Catholics we want justice for these silent children victims of adults who broke their wedding vows or never had the decency to make them before having sex.

Their is also an extremely high percent of sexual abuse of step daughters by stepdads because:

■They are already sinning by living in an adultery relationship,
■They are sexually attracted to the young women who is not their own daughter,
■The mother ignores what is happening because she also is sinning in adultery and is “in love” with this man.

Please write to the pope, your bishop and priests telling them of your personal experiences of pain that you are going through or went through from;

■being sexually abused by your stepdad,
■the trauma of your parents separation and divorce,
■having to see your parents have different sexual partners in your house,
■and having to know about your parent’s adultery.

Make your letter short and factual. They need to be reminded that there is more to compassion then to give the Sacred Body and Blood of Jesus to people living in sinful adultery relationships.

We are so blessed to be traditional Catholics and to know what marriage is all about.

Lukewarm Catholics

You will Die. Soon. Are you Ready?

Are you ready to die?  If not, you should be.  It is the only certainty about our time in this valley of tears.  What does it benefit us to be happy here to only be miserable in hell for all eternity?  Please make sure your soul is ready and prepared for death.  I bet you have a last will and testament or powers of attorney which means you have thought about death.  Well think about what is truly important about your end.

Please read the article by Dan Burke on the Certainty of Our Death.  St. Alphonsus, ora pro nobis.

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http://spiritualdirection.com/2015/02/21/certainty-of-death?utm_source=Catholic+Spiritual+Direction&utm_campaign=5c1c8507b0-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_9dd96593f8-5c1c8507b0-59851009

Certainty of Death

February 21, 2015 by Dan Burke

CERTAINTY OF DEATH
“It is appointed unto men once to die.”
Hebrews 9:27

The sentence of death has been written against all men; you are a man: you must die. “Our other goods and evils,” says St. Augustine, “are uncertain; death alone is certain.” It is uncertain whether the infant that is just born shall be poor or rich, whether he shall have good or bad health, whether he shall die in youth or in old age. But it is certain that he shall die. The stroke of death shall fall on all the nobles and monarchs of the earth. When death comes, there is no earthly power able to resist it. Fire, water, the sword, and the power of princes, may be resisted; but death cannot be resisted. “Resistitur,” says St. Augustine, “ignibus, undis, ferro, resistitur regibus; venit mors: quis ei resistit?” (cf Psalm 49]. Belluacensis relates that, at the end of his life, a certain king of France said, “Behold, with all my power, I cannot induce death to wait for me a single hour longer.” When the term of life arrives, it is not deferred a single moment. “Thou hast appointed his bounds, which cannot be passed” (Job 14:5).

Dearly beloved reader, though you should live as many years as you expect, a day shall come, and on that day an hour, which shall be the last for you. For me, who am now writing, and for you, who read this little book, has been decreed the day and the moment when I shall no longer write, and you shall no longer read. “Who is the man that shall live, and not see death?” (Psalm 89:49). The sentence has already been passed. There never has been a man so foolish as to flatter himself that he should never die. What has happened to your forefathers shall also happen to you. Of the immense numbers that lived in this country in the beginning of the last century, there is not one now living. Even the princes and monarchs of the earth have changed their country; of them nothing now remains but a marble mausoleum and an elegant epitaph, which only serve to teach us, that of the great ones of this world nothing is left but a little dust shut up within a few stones. “Tell me,” says Bernard, “where are the lovers of the world? Of them nothing has remained but ashes and worms.”

Since our souls shall be eternal, we ought to procure, not a fortune which soon ends, but one which will be everlasting. What would it profit you to be happy here (if it were possible for a soul to be happy without God), if thereafter you should be miserable for all eternity? You have had great satisfaction in the house which you have built; but remember that you must soon leave it, and must go to rot in a grave. You have obtained a dignity which raises you above others; but death will come and reduce you to an equality with the poorest peasant.

Affections and Prayers

Ah! Unhappy me, who have spent so many years only in offending thee, O God of my soul. Behold, these years are already past: death is perhaps at hand; and what do I find but pains and remorse of conscience! O that I had always served thee, O my Lord! Fool that I have been! I have lived so many years on this earth, and, instead of acquiring merits for heaven, I have loaded my soul with debts to the divine justice. Ah, my dear Redeemer, give me light and strength now to adjust my accounts. Death is perhaps not far off. I wish to prepare for that great moment, which will decide my eternal happiness or misery. I thank thee for having waited for me till now; and since thou hast given me time to repair the past, behold me, O my God; tell me what I am to do for thee. Dost thou wish me to weep over the offenses I have offered to thee? I am sorry for them, and detest them with my whole soul. Dost thou wish me to spend the remaining years and days of my life in loving thee? I desire to do so, O God; I have even hitherto frequently resolved to do it; but I have violated my promises. O my Jesus, I will be no longer ungrateful for the great graces thou hast bestowed upon me. If I do not now change my life, how shall I be able at death to hope for pardon and for paradise? Behold, I now firmly resolve to begin to serve thee in earnest. But give me strength; do not abandon me. Thou didst not abandon me when I offended thee; I therefore hope more confidently for thy aid, now that I purpose to renounce all things in order to please thee. Accept me, then, as one of thy lovers, O God, worthy of infinite love. Receive the traitor that now casts himself with sorrow at thy feet–that loves thee and asks thy mercy. I love thee, O my Jesus; I love thee with my whole heart: I love thee more than myself. Behold, I am thine; dispose of me, and of all that I possess, as thou pleasest. Give me perseverance in obeying thy commands give me thy love; and then do with me whatsoever thou wishest. Mary, my mother, my hope, my refuge, to thee I recommend myself, to thee I consign my soul; pray to Jesus for me.

Editor’s Note: This meditation is from St. Alphonsus Liguori’s “Preparation for Death” (1758).

Art: Az özvegy [Widow], József Borsos, 1853, PD-US, Wikimedia Commons.

Who is a Traditional Catholic? – by Father Carota

Father Carota’s post below sums up well what we think about the positive and lasting effects of attending the Latin Mass over the Novus Ordo mass.

Attending the Latin Mass has resulted in the following changes:  Our eyes were opened to the spiritual warfare the devil and his demons are fighting against us every single minute; we realized how we had allowed secularism and modernism to lead our (former) lives, we realized how the negative effects of sin  caused us to make bad decisions; we realized how lost we really were on our path to heaven; and most importantly, we have discovered the (once lost) timeless and priceless treasures of God’s Church.  Please start attending the nearest Latin Mass Church (even if you have to drive hours) for the benefit of your family and the world.  Save the Liturgy and Save the world.

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http://www.traditionalcatholicpriest.com/2015/02/20/traditional-catholic/

Who Is A Traditional Catholic?

Posted on February 20, 2015 by fc

As traditional Catholics, trying to be faithful to the Catholic Faith and to extend Christendom, we need to take time to reflect on what direction we should take at this very serious time in the world’s history to see what we should do.

Faces of some of the 21 Coptic Christians before they died for Jesus by the ISIS

To start with, we need to define who we are and what is our mission in this short life.

Here are 20 things that many of us Traditional Catholics have discovered and can identify with and what have made us into who we are today.

1.We are simply Catholics who have discovered the buried treasures of God.

2.It started with finding about the Mass of All Ages, (also called the Latin Mass or the Tridentine Mass), when Pope Benedict promulgated the Summorum Pontificum.

3.From this we have discovered the GREAT difference between New Mass, (Also called Novus Ordo Mass), which most of us have only know, and that of the Latin Mass.

4.We have discovered, to our great surprise, that for the first time in Catholic history the Roman Missal was drastically changed by Bugnini and the Concilium, with the support of Pope Paul VI and promulgated in 1969.

5.We have found out that the Latin Mass has been part of the Roman Rite Catholics for centuries and centuries and developed very slowly in tiny increments over these centuries from the Last Supper and the Sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross.

6.We have found out that much of the New Mass, (Canon # 2 which is almost exclusively used at all Catholic Masses), and the new rubrics were created by Bugnini and the Concilium.

7.We have found out that the protestant advisers at Vatican II were very successful in helping put together the New Mass and saying it into the vernacular.

8.We can see clearly the emphasis of the Sacrifice of Jesus on Calvary at the Latin Mass.

9.We clearly see that the emphasis in the New Mass is put on the Last Supper and “do this in remembrance” like the protestant Martin Luther desired it to be.

10.We clearly see the protestant emphasis on the congregation and the presider over the assembly versus the emphasis in the Latin Mass of the priest offering Sacrifice in Persona Christi.

11.We experience the man centered gathering at the New Mass where people come to feel good, to look at the priest they like, to do what they want, dress how they want, (sexy women dressed immodestly and men poorly dressed in shorts), talk when they want, hear the homily they want and text when they are bored. Where as in the Latin Mass, it is very quiet, most people dress well and are respectful of Jesus in the Tabernacle, kneel in prayer and women wear veils.

12.We notice people arrive early at the Latin Mass to pray and stay after to give thanks. In the Novus Ordo Mass, some people come late and leave early.

13.At the Novus Ordo Mass we hear mostly man pleasing songs, (hip hop music), with choirs showing off in front of church. Where as at the Latin Mass, the Choir is hidden up in the Choir loft just to support the Holy Latin Mass with organ music and gregorian chant or other ancient sacred hymns, (and many of the songs are in Latin).

14.Then we found out that the New Sacrament Rites of the Catholic Church have eliminated much of the very very important prayers of the Rites, (like exorcisms against the devil), and have been replace by new prayers and rubrics.

15.We see the huge difference contained in the words and rubrics of the Pre-Vatican II Sacraments and for this reason have our children receive the Sacraments in the ancient Latin Rites.

16.We experience the watered down preaching at the New Mass and the deep spiritual and practical preaching at the Latin Mass.

17.We see a lot of talk on love in the Novus Ordo Church but with very little love for saving souls from the devil purgatory or Hell. But the love from the Novus Ordo Catholics is rarely shown to us traditional Catholics, instead they hate us, persecute us and make it almost impossible to have the Sacraments in the ancient Rites that Pope Benedict allowed all Catholics to have since Summorum Pontificum in 2007.

18.We have heard a lot of talk about Ecology and Social Justice at the Novus Ordo Church, but without ever going to the root of these problems, which is personal SIN.

19.We have seen that changes in catechesis has produced the fruits of almost all of our families becoming atheist, agnostic, protestant or non-denominationals. They no longer believe in sin, hear rock or rap music, dress immodestly, live with anyone they want, have children all over the place, get abortions and have serious vices of drug abuse, alcohol abuse and pornography. And they see nothing wrong with their own sins or with homosexual sex or “marriage”.

20.We traditional Catholics believe in the 2000 years of Catholic teachings, practices and tradition. We believe sin is sin as Jesus taught. We believe in the Holy Bible as the actual authoritative Word of God. We believe in obeying the laws of God contained in our Catholic faith. We believe in Heaven, Hell, Purgatory, the devil and his demons. We believe that one mortal sin not repented of and confessed, will lead us to eternal damnation.

More or less this is what we have discovered and believe. Many of us believe that the Vatican II Council was a disaster. The New Church people believe that it is the best thing that happened in the history of the Catholic Church and want to implement it more and more or have an even more liberal Council Vatican III.

On a whole, we traditional Catholics believe that the heresies of modernism, secularism and progressivism, condemned by Pope Pius X, have caused all the problems in the Catholic Church and is very much alive and active today in almost every part of the Church’s Sacraments and hierarchy. The heresy of modernism was condemned in the encyclical Pascendi Domini Gregis by Pope Pius X Sept. 8, 1907

Examination of Conscience for Lent

From New Liturgical Movement comes a solid examination of conscience to use for your next confession.

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http://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2015/02/a-new-examination-of-conscience-for-lent.html

New Examination of Conscience for Lent
Peter Kwasniewski

As one who is generally skeptical of new things, I sympathize with any reader who might be wondering just what might be meant by a “new examination of conscience.” Aren’t the old ones just fine? Well, yes, they are fine. But, speaking personally (and perhaps due to my own faults), I have sometimes been dissatisfied with standard examinations of conscience when preparing for confession. This could be a result of an almost exclusive reliance on a Ten Commandments-based approach. It can help to have a fresh perspective on one’s sins by taking a different angle.

When I first read the Oblate statutes of the Benedictine monastery of Pluscarden (which later became the basis for the Oblate statutes of the monastery of Norcia), I was struck by the advice that we could profitably take Chapter 4 of the Holy Rule and examine our lives based on it. My pondering of this chapter led me to the (hopefully not too audacious) step of organizing its material into a little pamphlet, as an examination of conscience that might be useful in preparing for Confession. I’ve attached this below.

Why would the Holy Rule of St. Benedict work well for all of us? St. Benedict himself says that he is preparing “a little rule for beginners,” and the ages have proved that this rule of life is a school of holiness for all who incline the ear of the heart to its wisdom. Although some of its chapters don’t immediately apply to everyday life as a layman, the Holy Rule is abundantly filled with mature spiritual counsel that readily lends itself to the Christian’s battle against the world, the flesh, and the devil — a duty we must always keep in mind, especially in the holy season of Lent when the Church puts it before us quite starkly.

As Bossuet said (and as Pope Benedict XVI would surely agree): “Cette règle, c’est un précis du christianisme, un docte et mystérieux abrégé de toute la doctrine de l’Évangile, de toutes les institutions des saints Pères, de tous les conseils de perfection”: This rule is a synopsis of Christianity, a learned and mysterious abridgment of the whole doctrine of the Gospel, all the institutions of the holy fathers, and all the counsels of perfection.

An Examination of Conscience based on Chapter 4 of the Holy Rule of St. Benedict

General
 Have I neglected to love the Lord God with all my heart, all my soul, and all my strength, and my neighbor as myself? If so, in what specific ways?
 In deed or in thought, have I killed, committed adultery, stolen, coveted, or borne false witness?
 Have I failed to honor all men?
 Did I do to another what I would not have had done to me?
 Did I prefer anything to the love of Christ?

Self-Denial
 Have I been self-indulgent instead of denying myself in order to follow Christ?
 Have I pampered my body or sought after delicate living, rather than chastising my body?
 Have I neglected fasting or abstinence?
 Have I overindulged in wine or other beverages, or verged on gluttony?
 Have I been drowsy or slothful?
 Did I immerse myself in worldly affairs rather than keeping aloof from them?
 Did I fulfill the desires of the flesh rather than hating my own will?
 Have I sinned against chastity, modesty, or purity?

Charity towards Neighbor
 Have I neglected, when it was possible, to relieve the poor, clothe the naked, visit the sick, bury the dead, help in affliction, or console the sorrowing?
 Have I gratifed anger or harbored a desire of revenge?
 Have I fostered guile in my heart or made a feigned peace?
 Have I failed to utter truth from heart and mouth?
 Have I rendered evil for evil or done wrong to anyone?
 Did I feel or exhibit impatience when wronged?
 Have I hated my enemies or any man?
 Did I neglect to pray for my enemies in the love of Christ?
 Have I avoided making peace with any adversary before the setting of the sun?
 Have I fled persecution for justice’s sake?
 Have I rendered cursing for cursing, rather than a blessing?
 Have I been guilty of murmuring or detraction?
 Have I indulged in excessive talk, vain words, or unfitting laughter?
 Have I uttered evil and wicked words?
 Have I been jealous or given way to envy?
 Have I loved strife?
 Did I give in to vanity?
 Have I been proud?
 Did I fail to reverence my elders in Christ?
 Did I fail to love those who are my brothers, juniors, dependents, or pupils?
 Have I, in any other way, forsaken charity?

Seeking First God’s Kingdom
 Have I been lax in fulfilling each day the commandments of God?
 Did I neglect in my prayer the daily confessing of past sins?
 Have I faltered in putting my hope in God?
 Have I subtly or openly attributed the good that I see in myself to myself rather than to God?
 Have I run away from acknowledging the evil I have done, or tried to blame it on someone else?
 Have I delayed taking the steps necessary to amend my sins, negligences, and failings?
 Have I been remiss in smashing my evil thoughts on the rock of Christ the instant they came into my heart?
 Have I been lax in applying myself to frequent prayer or lectio divina?
 Did I fail to keep death daily before my eyes, with fear of the Day of Judgment and dread of hell?
 Have I not been desiring everlasting life with all spiritual longing?
 Have I failed to keep guard over the actions of my life by bearing in mind that God sees me everywhere?
 Have I not sought the counsel of my spiritual father when I should have done so?
 Have I hidden evil thoughts from him?
 Have I shown poor obedience to the commands of those who are placed in authority over me?
 Did I seek a reputation for holiness rather than holiness itself?
 Have I ever despaired of God’s mercy?

Tin Can – Poem by Mary Beth

Tin Can

by Mary Beth Zeleznik Artz

In the darkened wood grows a fern, its whips as light as breezes.
In a soil feeding not, cracked and mean.
A home to reject water, clutches and seizes.
From the natural world, the planting is coerced to wean.

Get close enough to feel if it plated itself with thorns,
A curious life, I was curious about it not a little.
The unrecognized left alone, meekness adorns.
The small beauty, the dirty air, and me in the middle.

So alone, alone taking in this thing of being,
Something in the tiny leaves would leave me unsettled.
Passers by invade with vacancy, no senses meant for seeing,
Invaded home, I am not sorry I meddled.

Your fronds like wings, kindly and cute,
But none can glean this from afar.
For what can be known when we walk like a brute,
Not the feeding field below nor the upward star.

To put you in that place  where you can thrive,
Suddenly an urge to take you from this ground.
But to go searching holds the chance we won’t survive,
Paradise may not be lost in the lost and found.

I begin to act still, wrap my hands around you,
And in the stillness of that instant I am lent.
I look up and see It matters not to the undisturbed sky of blue
I look back to see my choking fingers, your spine is bent.

A constant weighing of odds as this odd life weighs,
Why do we have to continually decide?
How can one be trapped, motionless by fleeing hours and days,
Begging more from the clock as we hurry our breath to subside.

Dirt under my skin as I worked this over,
And overworked my head once more.
A mind’s constant hunger is a hunter and a rover,
Within the folds you choose an answer and a score.

And in this fleeting moment of a lifetime of thought,
The fern has faded at the tutelage of my hand.
What I have learned, is that what I have taught?
All she wanted was her stake of this embittered land.

The face of beauty falling, across her imperfect lines,
Pack the dirt around her again, frantically I work.
Fight the gross weight pushing you, and read the signs,
Though death appears perfect where life does lurk.

I feel something sharp, but it also shines,
The created is supple, what is made can only hurt.
But which substance will it end up being that binds?
There on my knees, pushing down the crumbling dark earth.

The thing has pierced my flesh as I try to save a life,
A sting in an instant, then follows, a  longer flow of blood.
Pulsing out a code, forced to read what is rife,
The liquid life within blends with the dirt to make a mud.

There beneath the shine is a rusty old tin,
A jagged and buried home in which she grows.
The gleaming rim in the ground, it gashed my skin
As I balance on this greater rim, searching an explanation to expose.

And grateful for my wound, my friend to be, the fern,
Her face of beauty asks and rises tall.
Somehow, I want to thank her in turn,
She is the countenance of sadness, at rest in the restlessness of the fall.

And then in the fall, she withdraws from us and from living,
Where will she go, those months when she hides from our sight?
A mystery supreme in the thanks  and the giving,
Lucky little fern, she escapes the ballast and the blight.

A notion that cannot seem to leave me alone,
that she is somewhere, even when she goes away.
And like those that others hoard in their homes,
leaves me alone to play hide and go seek with a day.

And most hours and minutes I do not know,
this mud of blood and dirt, I do what with it?
They reap and so I sow and I sow,
Disarm my arm, the instrument of failed physics.

But now I know the friend who gives the very breath to my lungs,
And strange to learn my breath goes back to her in the thicket of the wood.
A mother doesn’t rest until she finds her young,
Our deal struck in nature is for good.

Oh so many leaves that line that spine of those long whips,
you search for your rare and dire drink, but are left as pulp.
For another planting has but one leaf on a stem that slowly sips,
your multitudes demand multitudes of breathless gulps.

But do not fear the aloneness amidst the company of your leaves,
there is friendship you have forged inside your waking slumber.
Can you observe the tireless builder who plans, lifts and heaves?,
Count your leaves and compare with His, your end number.

And even though you go unnoticed still,
You were at some time planted by someone, into that can.
A corroded container holds the whole of a moment’s perfected will,
A refusal of meaninglessness, a meeting of beauty and man.

Is it that the rate of survival is to be slow indeed?
Your ever near death on this ground to give your life it’s ever after?
The planter works not on whim, nor just the easy growing seed,
But the delicate, and the deluge of tears to water the final laughter.

Copyright 2015