Do not make mercy an excuse for sin

Do Not Say:

the Mercy of the Lord is Great.

by St. Alphonus de Liguori

I n the parable of the Good Samaritan we read, that a certain man fell into the hands of robbers, who, after having taken his money, wounded him, and left him half dead. A Samaritan who passed by, saw him, and taking pity on him, bound up his wounds, brought him to an inn, and left him to the care of the host, saying: “Take care of him.” I recall these words especially to those who, though their souls are wounded by sin, instead of attending to the care of them, continually make the wounds worse by new sins, and thus abuse the mercy of God, Who preserves their lives, that they may repent, and not be lost forever. I say to you: Brothers and sisters, take care of your souls, which are in a very bad state; have compassion on them. “Have pity on thy own soul (Eccl. xxx. 24).” Your souls are sick, and what is worse they are near the eternal death of hell; for he who abuses to excess the divine mercy, is on the point of being abandoned by the mercy of God. This shall be the subject of the present discourse.

How the Devil Fools Sinners

St. Augustine says that the devil deludes Christians in two ways “by despair and by hope.” After a person has committed sin, the enemy, by placing before his eyes the rigour of divine justice, tempts him to despair of the mercy of God. But, before the person sins, the devil by representing to him the divine mercy, labours to make him fearless of the chastisement due to sin. Hence the saint gives the following advice: “After sin, hope for mercy; before sin, fear justice.” If, after sin, you despair of God’s pardon, you offend him by a new and more grievous sin. Have recourse to His mercy, and He will pardon you. But, before sin, fear God’s justice, and trust not to His mercy; for, they who abuse the mercy of God in order to offend him, do not deserve to be treated with mercy. Abulensis says, that the man who offends justice may have recourse to mercy; but to whom can they have recourse, who offend and provoke mercy against themselves?

God never promised you tomorrow

When you intend to commit sin, who, I ask, promises you mercy from God? Certainly God does not promise it. It is the devil that promises it, that you may lose God and be damned. “Beware,” says St. John Chrysostom, “never to attend to that dog that promises thee mercy from God.”

If, beloved sinners, you have offended God up to this very moment, hope and tremble: if you desire to give up sin, and if you detest it, hope; because God promises pardon to all who repent of the evil they have done. But if you intend to continue in your sinful course, tremble lest God should stop waiting for you, but cast you into Hell.

Why God Waits for Sinners

Why does God wait for sinners? Is it that they may continue to insult Him? No; He waits for them that they may renounce sin, and that thus He may have pity on them, and forgive them. “Therefore the Lord waits, that he may have mercy on you.” (Isa. xxx. 1, 8.) But when He sees that the time which he gave them to weep over their past iniquities is spent in multiplying their sins, He begins to inflict chastisement, and He cuts them off in the state of sin, that, by dying, they may cease to offend Him. Then He calls against them the very time He had given them for repentance. “He hath called against me the time (Lam. i. 15).” “The very time,” says St. Gregory, “comes to judge.”

Delusions of Sinners

O common illusion of so many Christians who hae lost their souls! We seldom find a sinner so abandoned to despair as to say: I will damn myself. Christians sin, and endeavour to save their souls. They say: “God is merciful: I will commit this sin, and will afterwards confess it.” Behold the illusion, or rather the snare, by which Satan draws so many souls to Hell. “Commit sin,” he says, “and confess it afterwards.” But listen to what the Lord says: “And say not, the mercy of the Lord is great; He will have mercy on the multitude of my sins (Eccl. v. 6.).” Why does He tell you not to say, that the mercy of God is great? Attend to the words contained in the following verse: “For mercy and wrath come quickly from Him, and His wrath looks upon sinners (ver. 7).” The mercy of God is different from the acts of His mercy; the His mercy is infinite, the number of times that He is merciful to a particular person is finite [it would have to be finite, since we do not live forever on this earth – pjm]. God is merciful, but He is also just. St. Basil says, that sinners only consider God as merciful and ready to pardon, but not as just and prepared to inflict punishment. Of this the Lord complained one day to St. Bridget: “I am just and merciful: sinners regard Me only as merciful.” St. Basil’s words are: Bonus est Dominus sed etiam Justus, nolimus Deum ex dimidia parte cogitare.” God is just, and, being just, he must punish the ungrateful. Saint John of Avila used to say, that to bear with those who avail themselves of the mercy of God to offend Him, would not be mercy, but a lack of justice.

Mercy, as our Blessed Mother said, is promised to those who fear the Lord, and not to those who insult Him. “And His mercy is to them that fear Him” (Luke 1:50).

Some rash sinners will say: God has shown me so many mercies up to this moment; why should He not continue to treat me with the same mercy? I answer: He will show you mercy, if you wish to change your life; but if you intend to continue to offend Him, He tells you that He will take vengeance on your sins by casting you into hell. “Revenge is mine, and I will repay them in due time, that their foot may slide (Deut. 32:35).” David says, that “except you be converted,” He will “brandish His sword (Ps. 8:13).” The Lord has bent His bow, and waits for your conversion; but if you resolve not to return to Him, He will in the end cast the arrow against you, and you shall be damned. O God! there are some who will not believe that there is a hell until they fall into it. Can you, beloved Christians, complain of the mercies of God, after He has shown you so many mercies by waiting for you so long? You ought to remain always prostrate on the earth to thank Him for His mercies, saying: “The mercies of the Lord that we are not consumed (Lamen. 3:32).” Were the injuries which you offered to God committed against a brother, he would not have borne with you. God has had so much patience with you; and He now calls you again. If, after all this, He shall send you to hell, will He do you any wrong? “What is there,” He will say, “that I ought to do more for my vineyard, that I have not done to it (Isa. v. 4)?” Impious wretch! what more ought I to do for you that I have not done?

St. Bernard says, that the confidence which sinners have in God’s goodness when they commit sin, procures for them, not a blessing, but a curse from the Lord. Est infidelis fiducia solius ubique maledictionis capax, cum videlicet in spe peccamus. O deceitful hope, which sends so many Christians to hell! St. Augustine says: “Hoping so that we sin! Cursed perverse hope!”

They do not hope for the pardon of the sins of which they repent; but they hope that, though they continue to commit sin, God will have mercy upon them; and thus they make the mercy of God serve as a motive for continuing to offend Him.

Counterfeit Hope

Accursed hope! hope which is an abomination to the Lord! “And their hope is an abomination (Job xi. 20).” This hope will make God hasten the execution of His vengeance; for surely a master will not defer the punishment of servants who offend him because he is good. Sinners, as St. Augustine observes, trusting in God’s goodness, insult Him, and say: “God is good; I will do what I please.” But, alas! how many, exclaims the same St. Augustine, has this vain hope deluded! “They who have been deceived by this shadow of vain hope cannot be numbered.” St. Bernard writes, that Lucifer’s chastisement was accelerated, because, in rebellion against God, he hoped that he should not be punished for his rebellion. Ammon, the son of king Manasses, seeing that God had pardoned the sins of his father, gave himself up to a wicked life with the hope of pardon; but, for Ammon there was no mercy. St. John Chrysostom says, that Judas was lost because, trusting in the goodness of Jesus Christ, he betrayed Him.

He that sins with, the hope of pardon, saying: “I will afterwards repent, and God will pardon me:” is, according to St. Augustine, “not a penitent, but a scoffer.” The Apostle tells us that “God is not mocked (Gal. vi. 7).”

It would be a mockery of God to offend Him as often and as long as you please, and always to receive the pardon of your offences.

“For what things a man shall sow,” says St. Paul, “those also shall he reap (Ibid., ver. 8).” They who sow sins, can hope for nothing but the hatred of God and hell. “Do you despise the riches of His goodness, and patience, and long-suffering (Rom. ii. 4).” Do you, O sinner, despise the riches of the goodness, of the patience, and long-suffering of God towards you? He uses the word riches, because the mercies which God shows us, in not punishing our sins, are riches more valuable to us than all treasures. “Do you not know,” continues the Apostle, “that the goodness and kindness of God leads you to repentance?”

Behold I stand at the door and knock...

Do you not know that the Lord waits for you, and treats you with so much kindly goodness, not that you may continue to sin, but that you may weep over the offences you have offered to Him?

For, says St. Paul, if you persevere in sin and do not repent, your obstinacy and impenitence shall accumulate a treasure of wrath against the day of wrath, that is, the day on which God shall judge you. “According to your hardness and impenitent heart, you treasure up wrath, against the day of wrath, and revelation of the just judgment of God.”

After the hardness of the sinner will come his abandonment by God, Who shall say of the soul that is obstinate in sin, what he said of Babylon: “We would have cured Babylon; but she is not healed; let us forsake her (Jer. 51:9).”

And how does God abandon the sinner? He either sends him a sudden death, and cuts him off in sin, or He deprives him of the graces which would be necessary to bring him to true repentance; He leaves him with the sufficient graces with which he can, but will not, save his soul. The darkness of his understanding, the hardness of his heart, and the bad habits which he has contracted, will render his conversion morally impossible. Thus, he shall not be absolutely but morally abandoned.

“I will take away its hedge, and it shall be wasted (Isa. v. 5).” When the master of the vineyard destroys its hedges, does he not show that he abandons it? It is thus that God acts when He abandons a soul. He takes away the hedge of holy fear and remorse of conscience, and leaves the soul in darkness, and then vices crowd into the heart. “Thou hast appointed darkness, and it is night: in it shall all the beasts of the wood go about (Ps. 103:20).”

And the sinner, abandoned in an abyss of sins, will despise admonitions, excommunications, divine grace, chastisement, and Hell: he will make a joke of his own damnation. “The wicked man, when he is come into the depth of sin, contemns (Prov. 18:3).”

“Why,” asks the Prophet Jeremias, “does the way of the wicked prosper (Jer. 12:1)?” He answers: “Gather them together as sheep for a sacrifice (v. 3).” Miserable the sinner who is prosperous in this life!

The prosperity of sinners is a sign that God wishes to give them a temporal reward for some works which are morally good, but that He reserves them as victims of His justice for hell, where, like the accursed cockle, they shall be cast to burn for all eternity.
“In the time of the harvest, I will say to the reapers: Gather up the first cockle, and bind it in bundles to burn (Matt. 13:30).”

So, not to be punished in this life is the greatest of God’s chastisements on the wicked, and has been threatened against the obstinate sinner by the Prophet Isaias. “Let us have pity on the wicked, but he will not learn justice (Is 26:10).” On this passage St. Bernard says: This mercy I do not wish for: it is above all wrath.

And what greater chastisement than to be abandoned into the Lands of sin, so that, being permitted by God to fall from sin to sin, the sinner must in the end go to suffer as many hells as he has committed sins?

Add thou iniquity upon their iniquity. . . . let them be “blotted out of the book of the living” (Ps. 68:28, 29). On these words St. Robert Bellarmine writes: “There is no punishment greater than when sin is the punishment of sin.” It would be better for such a sinner to die after the first sin; because by dying under the load of so many additional iniquities, he shall suffer as many hells as he has committed sins. This is what happened to a certain comedian in Palermo, whose name was Cesare. He one day told a friend that Father La Nusa, a missionary, foretold him that God should give him twelve years to live, and that if within that time he did not change his life, he should die a bad death. Now, said he to his friend, I have travelled through so many parts of the world: I have had many attacks of sickness, one of which nearly brought me to the grave; but in this month the twelve years shall be completed, and I feel myself in better health than in any of the past years. He then invited his friend to listen to a new comedy which he had composed. But, what happened? On the 24th November, 1688, the day fixed for the comedy, as he was going on the stage, he was seized with apoplexy, and died suddenly. He expired in the arms of a female entertainer. Thus the scene of this world ended miserably for him.

We need to apply all this to ourselves.

Brothers and sisters, I ask you and urge you to give a glance at all the bygone years of your life: look at the grievous offences you have committed against God, and at the great mercies which He has shown to you, the many lights He has bestowed upon you, and the many times He has called you to a change of life.

By this sermon he has today given you a new call. He appears to me to say to you: “What is there that I ought to do to my vineyard, that I have not done to it (Is 5:4)?” What more ought I to do for you that I have not done? What do you say? What answer have you to make? Will you give yourselves to God, or will you continue to offend Him?

Think about this, says St. Augustine, that the punishment of your sins has been deferred, not remitted; “unfruitful tree! The axe has been deferred. Be not secure: you shall be cut off.” If you abuse the divine mercy, you shall be cut off; vengeance shall soon fall upon you. What are you waiting for? Do you wait till God sends you to Hell? The Lord has been hitherto silent; but He is not silent forever. When the time of vengeance shall arrive He will say: “These things you did, and I was silent. You thought unjustly that I should be like you: but I will reprove you, and set before your face (Ps. xlix. 21).” He will set before your eyes the graces which He bestowed upon you, and which you have despised: these very graces shall judge and condemn you.

Brothers and sisters, stop resisting the calls of God; tremble if the call which He gives you today may be the last call for you. Go to confession as soon as possible, and make immediately a firm resolution to change your lives. It is useless to confess your sins, if you afterwards return to your former vices.

But you will perhaps say that you have not strength to resist the temptations by which you are assailed. Listen to the words of the Apostle: “God is faithful, Who will not permit you to be tempted above that which you are able (I Cor 10:13).” God is faithful: He will not permit you to be tempted above your strength. And if of yourself you have not strength to overcome the devil, ask it from God, and He will give it to you. “Ask, and you shall receive (John 16:24).” “Praising,” said David, “I will call on the Lord, and I shall be saved from my enemies (Ps. 17:4).” And St. Paul said: “I can do all things in Him Who strengthened me (Phil. 4:13).” Of myself I can do nothing; but with the divine assistance I can do all things. Recommend yourselves to God in all temptations, and God will enable you to resist them, and you shall not fall.

A Word on the Gospel for All Saints

The SOLEMNITY of ALL the SAINTS

GOSPEL

Matthew 5:1-12a (Douai-Rheims translation)

⁵ Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down his disciples came to him. 2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:

³ “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

⁴ “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

⁵ “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

⁶ “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

⁷ “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.

⁸ “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

⁹ “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

¹⁰ “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹¹ “Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. ^12a Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven.

A help to understanding the Beatitudes is to realize that they are not so much a list of requirements, as they are a description of our Blessed Lord and Saviour. We have a living, immaculate and perfect model to imitate. And He gives us the light, strength and power to fololow Him. “For human beings it is impossible, but not for God.”

What can we do? Intensify our life of prayer and that prayer, if it is real, will lead to an ever greater, ever deeper REPENTANCE. “To know how to prayer right, is to know how to live right” said St. Augustine.

Comments on the Second Reading of the Mass for All Saints

The SOLEMNITY of ALL the SAINTS

SECOND READING

I John 3:1-3 (Douai-Rheims translation)

¹Behold what manner of charity the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called, and should be the sons of God. Therefore the world does not know us, because it knew not Him. ² Dearly beloved, we are now the sons of God; and it has not yet appeared what we shall be. We know, that, when He shall appear, we shall be like to Him: because we shall see Him as He is. ³ And every one that has this hope in Him, sanctifies himself, as He also is holy.

By the Blood of the Lamb, which has won for us the transforming grace poured out by the Holy Spirit, we have been recreated and really become children of God. We “share in the divine nature”. We are to “be merciful as our Father in Heaven is merciful”. We are “sons in the Son”, sons and daughters of God in Christ. We are “children of God through Faith.”

Holiness is –yes– first of all a grace. But we must ask for an ever greater outpouring of Charity in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. And we must cooperate. Each and all of us are called to be holy, to be holy as He is holy. Impossible? Not for God!  “O Lord, you are all powerful. Make me a saint!” (St Alphonsus).

First Reading for All Saints

The SOLEMNITY of ALL the SAINTS

FIRST READING

Revelation 7:2-4, 9-14

(Douai-Rheims translation)

²I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to damage earth and sea, ³saying, “Do not damage the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have marked the servants of our God with a seal on their foreheads.” ⁴And I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred forty-four thousand, sealed out of every tribe of the people of Israel: ⁹After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. ¹⁰They cried out in a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!” ¹¹And all the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshipped God, ¹²singing, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honour and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

¹³Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, robed in white, and where have they come from?” ¹⁴I said to him, “Sir, you are the one that knows.” Then he said to me, “These are they who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

This description of the worship of the Lamb which He receives from the Angels and Saints in glory reminds us that during the Most Holy Eucharist, Heaven descends around the altar. Thousands of angels are present. And the Bible teaches us that in general “we are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses” of the Saints. How much more true when the Divine Mysteries are celebated?

Commentary on the Introit and Prayers of the Mass of All Saints

The SOLEMNITY of ALL the SAINTS

"The glory of all the angels and saints of the triumphant Church is presented to us at one time on the feast of All Saints; rejoicing at their triumph, this feast enkindles us by their example."

Catechism of Christian Doctrine ("of St. Pius X")

ENTRANCE ANTIPHON

Gaudeamus omnes in Domino, diem festum celebrantes sub honore Sanctorum omnium, de quorum sollemnitate gaudent Angeli, et collaudant Filium Dei.

Let us all rejoice in the Lord,

as we celebrate the feast day

in honour of all the Saints,

at whose festival the Angels rejoice

and praise the Son of God.

The Angels share in the glory of the Saints in Christ. This feast is a celebration of all the children of God, known to us and unknown to us, who look on the Face of God at this very moment, and forever. It is not about the other children of God in the next life who are the souls in Purgatory. We will remember them in a special way tomorrow. Eventually they will arrive in heavenly glory too.

Some of the holy ones were, by the grace of Christ, victorious in the struggle against the world, the flesh and the devil. Others, like little children were brought without personal merit, without cooperation, but by pure mercy, into glory. Forever they all will sing the mercies of the Lord.

COLLECT

Omnipotens sempiterne Deus, qui nos omnium Sanctorum tuorum merita sub una tribuisti celebritate venerari, quaesumus, ut desideratam nobis tuae propitiationis abundantiam, multiplicatis intercessoribus, largiaris.

Almighty ever-living God,

by whose gift we venerate in one celebration

the merits of all the Saints,

bestow on us, we pray,

through the prayers of so many intercessors,

an abundance of the reconciliation with you

for which we earnestly long.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever.

We "venerate the merits of all the Saints". Since the Lord will have said to each on of them, "Well done, good and faithful servant," when He calls them to enter into the joy of their Master, we do the same. Worthy is the Lamb! and He has through the merits of His Holy Wounds, transformed and enable the saints to be worthy. It is a gift of grace. But they had to cooperate. Worthiness is an inner quality. These are the ones who loved the Lord "with all their heart, with all their soul, with all the mind and with all their strength" and loved others as Christ loved them.

We seek mercy "through the prayers of so many intercessors". This implies discrete acts of prayer and not just a state or attitude of prayer. It seems clear that when we request their prayers, this results in more prayers on their part. Our request for intercession gives joy to them, the joy of being instruments of the Mercy of God, through the Blood of the Lamb.

To put it another way, in some way the Saints and Heaven itself, depend on what we do. They can only do so much, and then the rule is applied "whoever [on earth] asks, receives". So let us plead for their intercession often!

PRAYER OVER THE OFFERINGS

Grata tibi sint, Domine, munera, quae pro cunctorum offerimus honore Sanctorum, et concede, ut, quos iam credimus de sua immortalitate securos, sentiamus de nostra salute sollicitos.

May these offerings we bring in honour of all the Saints

be pleasing to you, O Lord,

and grant that, just as we believe the Saints

to be already assured of immortality,

so we may experience their concern for our salvation.

Through Christ our Lord.

"May we experience their concern for our salvation." Does this not imply that the prayers of the Saints would sometimes have visible results in our lives. Have we not felt the graces they have obtained for us?

PREFACE OF ALL SAINTS

The glory of Jerusalem, our mother.

...Nobis enim hodie civitatem tuam tribuis celebrare, quae mater nostra est, caelestisque Ierusalem, ubi iam te in aeternum fratrum nostrorum corona collaudat. Ad quam peregrini, per fidem accedentes, alacriter festinamus, congaudentes de Ecclesiae sublimium glorificatione membrorum, qua simul fragilitati nostrae adiumenta et exempla concedis. Et ideo, cum ipsorum Angelorumque frequentia, una te magnificamus, laudis voce clamantes: Sanctus.

...today by your gift we celebrate the festival of your city,

the heavenly Jerusalem, our mother,

where the great array of our brothers and sisters

already gives you eternal praise.

Towards her, we eagerly hasten, as pilgrims advancing by faith,

rejoicing in the glory bestowed upon those exalted members of the Church

through whom you give us, in our frailty, both strength and good example.

"Through the Saints, God gives us, in our frailty, both strength and good example" Their intercession and merits obtain many mercies for us. And if we know about their lives, we learn from and are inspired, since they are "living gospels for all men to hear".

[The Communion Antiphon is a quote from today's Gospel.]

PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION

Mirabilem te, Deus, et unum Sanctum in omnibus Sanctis tuis adorantes, tuam gratiam imploramus, qua, sanctificationem in tui amoris plenitudine consummantes, ex hac mensa peregrinantium ad caelestis patriae convivium transeamus.

As we adore you, O God, who alone are holy

and wonderful in all your Saints,

we implore your grace,

so that, coming to perfect holiness in the fullness of your love,

we may pass from this pilgrim table

to the banquet of our heavenly homeland.

Through Christ our Lord.

Is this prayer not asking that we would arrive at such perfection of charity by the time of our last hour, that we would go straight to Heaven?

Homily One of the Month of Reparation, Adoration and Catechesis

Last week's homily.

(This homily is a synthesis

of some of the first questions of

the 1914 Catechismo della dottrina cristiana,

of Pope Saint Pius X.,

in some of the prefaces of the Roman Missal [Ordinary Form] )

"Who is this Lamb of God,

Who is really Present

in the Most Holy Eucharist?"

The Lord Jesus Christ

is the Only Begotten Son,

He is Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father. He is seated

at the right hand of the Father

He alone is the Holy One,

He alone is the Lord

He alone is the Most High, Jesus Christ,

With the Holy Spirit,

In the glory of God the Father.

So we have prayed already today.

Jesus Christ is God.

Jesus, with His Father and the Holy Spirit, created us.

As God, Jesus is the all perfect Being,

Creator and Lord of Heaven and Earth.

He is "all perfect", that is

every perfection is found in Him,

without defect and without limit;

Jesus Christ is infinite power,

wisdom and goodness.

Jesus is our "Creator".

He made all things out of nothing.

He is "Lord", that is, Christ our God is the absolute master, the absolute boss

and owner of all things.

The Son of God has always existed.

He always has been and always will be.

He knows all things, even our thoughts:

And in His human, Sacred Heart

are all the treasures

of wisdom and knowledge.

Christ our God can do all that He wills to do. He is the Almighty.

He God cannot do evil,

because He cannot will evil,

for He is infinite goodness.

But he tolerates evil

in order to leave us creatures free,

and he knows how to bring good

even out of evil.

Christ our Lord and God

takes care of created things

and exercises providence over them;

He preserves them in existence

and directs all of them toward their own proper purposes with infinite wisdom, goodness and justice.

He, with the Father and the Holy Spirit,

He created us to know him, to love him

and to serve him in this life,

and then to enjoy him in the next life,

in heaven.

Jesus Christ, Who will come again in glory

to judge the living and the dead, rewards the good and punishes the wicked

because He is infinite justice.

Jesus Christ is true God and true man.

He became man to save us, that is,

to redeem us from sin

and to regain heaven for us.

To save us, Jesus Christ made satisfaction

for our sins by suffering

and sacrificing himself on the cross,

and he taught us how to live

according to God.

Two thousand and twenty years ago,

Christ the Lord

assumed the lowliness of human flesh,

and fulfilled the design

formed by God long ago,

He opened for us the way to eternal salvation,

so that, when He comes again

in glory and majesty

and all is at last made manifest,

we may be gathered at His right hand.

All the oracles of the prophets foretold him,

the Virgin Mother longed for him

with love beyond all telling,

John the Baptist sang of his coming

and proclaimed his presence when he came.

In the mystery of the Word made flesh

Jesus Christ is God made visible.

He is invisible in his own divine nature,

he has appeared visibly in ours;

and begotten before all ages,

He now exists in time;

By His saving Passion

and glorious Resurrection,

the pride of the ancient foe is vanquished.

He is the true Lamb

who has taken away the sins of the world;

by dying he has destroyed our death,

and by rising, restored our life.

His Death is our ransom from death,

and in his rising the life of all has risen.

He never ceases to offer himself for us

but defends us and ever pleads our cause before the Almighty Father:

Jesus is the sacrificial Victim

who dies no more,

the Lamb, once slain, who lives for ever.

He is the Mediator between God and man,

judge of the world and Lord of hosts,

After his Resurrection

he plainly appeared to all his disciples

and was taken up to heaven in their sight,

that he might make us sharers in his divinity.

Christ is the eternal Priest and King of all creation.

September 20, a.d. 2020

How to Hand On the Faith

An Exhortation on Catechetics

to Catholic Parents and Teachers

by St. Pius X

TEACHING the catechism is instructing in the faith and morality of Jesus Christ. It gives the children of God awareness of their own origin and dignity and destiny as well as knowledge of their duties. It deposits in their heart and mind and develops in their intellects the principles and the motives of religion, of virtue and holiness in living on this earth, and hence of happiness in Heaven.

2. The teaching of the catechism is therefore the most necessary and beneficial thing for the individual, for the Church, and also for civil society. It is the fundamental teaching that stands at the base of Christian life. Where catechetical teaching is lacking or has been poorly done, the Christian life is weak and vacillating and easily becomes even weaker.

3. Since Christian parents are the first and principal educators of their own children, they must be their first and principal catechists. First catechists because it is their duty to instill into their children, as it were with their first nourishment itself, the doctrine which they themselves have received from the Church. And principal catechists, because it pertains to parents to make sure that the principal matters of faith are learned from memory inside the family.

            This must begin with the most important prayers. Parents should see to it that they are repeated every day in such a way that little by little they penetrate deeply into the souls of their children.

            In most cases parents are constrained to delegate the education of their children to other persons. But they should always recall their sacred obligation of selecting only educational institutions and teachers that know how to fulfill such a grave duty on behalf of themselves as parents, and who conscientiously desire to do so. Indifference in this matter causes the irreparable loss of so many children! What an account parents will have to render to God for this!

4. To teach Catholic doctrine effectively, it is necessary to know it well, and then it must be described and explained in a manner adapted to the capacity of the learner. But above all, since catechesis concerns a doctrine to be practiced, it is necessary that parents and teachers live it in their own lives.

5. We said, Christian doctrine must be known well: for how can one instruct another in something in which he himself is not instructed? Hence it follows that parents and teachers have the duty to review the catechism themselves, penetrating into the depths of truths. To achieve this, they should frequent the more ample explanations of doctrine which parish priests give for adults; furthermore, they should consult competent persons, and, if they can, they should read the right kind of books.

6. Furthermore, we said, they should explain the truths of the faith in a manner adapted to the capacity of the learner. This means that they should do this explaining with intelligence and love, in such a way that the children do not become disgusted or annoyed either at the teacher or at the doctrine taught. Hence one should put oneself at the child's level, using the most commonly known and simple words, revealing the meaning of what one is teaching by the use of apt examples and instances which affect also the sentiments of the child's heart. He who teaches should have the most delicate discretion and balance, in order not to tire the child. Progress should be made little by little. The teacher must be ready to repeat. He should proceed with patience and affection, having sympathy for the restlessness, the distractions, the impertinences, and other defects which are quite natural in the young. Above all the teacher should avoid that mechanical way of teaching which oppresses the spirit and leaves the matter unclear, putting only the memory into play, without enlisting the intelligence and the heart of the learner.

7. Finally, the teacher, or the parent who teaches, must live the faith and morality which he is teaching. Otherwise, how will one have courage enough to teach children a religion which one does not practice, and commandments and precepts which one darkens before their very eyes? And what fruit, in such a case, could one hope for? In fact, they will produce the contrary effect: parents will easily deprive themselves of their own authority, training their children toward indifference and even disdain toward the most necessary principles and the most sacred duties of human life.

Today’s Atmosphere of Unbelief

8. There is a special circumstance today. An atmosphere of unbelief has been created which is most harmful to the interior and spiritual life.

            This atmosphere wages war upon

                        •          any idea of a higher authority

                        •          any idea of God

                        •          any idea of revelation

                        •          any idea of the life to come

And so parents and teachers must inculcate with the greatest care the basic truths found in the first questions given in the catechism. Let them inspire in the children

                        •          the Christian concept of life

                        •          the sense of responsibility in each human act

                                    toward the Supreme Judge

                        •          Who is everywhere, knows everything

                                    and sees everything.

Let them develop in the learner, together with the holy fear of God, the love of Christ and love for the Church, a taste for charity and for solid piety. Let them cultivate in the children a love for the virtues and for Christian practices. Only thus will the formation of children be founded on the rock of supernatural convictions not to be overturned throughout their entire life, regardless of the storms that will come. Any other approach is an attempt to build the Christian formation of children on the sand of changeable ideas and mere human respect.

9. To realize all these things, parents and teachers must have a living faith and a profound conviction of the value of souls and of spiritual goods. They must have that wise love which seeks to secure above all the eternal happiness of the souls of their own dear ones. They need also a special grace in order to grasp the character of each child, finding the right way to his mind and heart. Catholic parents by virtue of the Sacrament of Matrimony properly received, have a right to the graces of their own state in life, and hence to the graces necessary for educating their children in this Christian way. Furthermore, by humble prayer they can obtain more abundant graces for this same purpose, for this is a work especially pleasing to God, that they form their children to the worship of God as obedient and devout Christians. Let them do it therefore at the cost of every sacrifice: it is the eternal salvation of the souls of their children which is at stake, as well as their own eternal salvation as parents. God will bless their faith and their love in this work of capital importance, and will repay them with the most desirable reward, that of having their children with them eternally, holy and happy, in Heaven.

The Virgin Mary and Christian Civilization

‎ ‎ ‎ The individual and social intercession  of Our Lady‎

Taken from the works of CARDINAL PIE, comments by Father Alfredo Sáenz SJ

‎ ‎In several of the sermons where the figure of Our Lady appears, Monseigneur‎ Pie of Poitiers ‎highlights her character as advocate,"mother of holy hope." The entire tradition of the Fathers and Doctors agrees that love for the Virgin Mary is a sign, the truest one, of predestination. Salvation depends on supernatural charity, and Our Lady is the mother of beautiful love, mater pulchrae dilectionis (Eccli 24, 24). By begetting Christ, she gave birth to divine love incarnate, becoming the mother of charity and of beautiful love as a general principle. But she is also a mother with respect to the particular birth of charity in the heart of each one of us human beings.‎

Social Salvation

‎ ‎The saving intercession of our Blessed Mother is not limited only to the personal level. She is also the one who will best lead the entire world to God, the one who will bring the nations back to the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ. To a society that has been mutilated and wounded for a long time, or better, beheaded, it will only be the Virgin who will obtain from the Mercy of God, that the nations and people's will recognise their true Head, Christ our Lord. ‎  Our Lady will be the best comforter or strengthener of the good in her fight for the social royalty of her Son. ‎Bishop Pie observes that weakness ‎is noticeable everywhere, in individuals, in towns, and even among Catholics themselves. It is true that the number of the wicked is enormous, much greater than in other times. However, the wicked make up a small number compared to the weak. And what is frightening is that the weakness is in the intelligences more than in the wills and the character; or better, the wills are without force, without decision, because the intelligences lack light, conviction. ‎“Our time is intended to be the time of strong ninds; history will call it the time of weak minds. '‎Pusillanimity'‎, this is exactly the right word. Souls are small, without height, without breadth, without width, without depth; they lack firmness, consistency.”‎ ‎ ‎Well, in the face of the spectacle of this multitude of cowards,‎ Pie cries out with all his soul: Sancta María, juva pusillanimes (Holy Mary, help the faint-hearted)‎, asking her to come to the aid of this world of the faint-hearted .She, who has given birth to the Word, who is the power and wisdom of God (cf. 1 Cor 1:24), will cause Christ to live by faith in our hearts (cf. Eph 3:17); and “a soul is no longer small, it is no longer narrow, it is no longer weak; it is big, it is wide, it is strong when it carries Christ in itself"‎.‎ Likewise, Pie begs Our Lady: ‎refove flebiles (revive the discouraged) , referring to the decadent Catholics . "What have we been doing for several years but sigh?" . The fight is indeed extremely arduous; the world rejoices ‎-mundus gaudebit-‎ and we groan ‎-vos autem contristabimini (Job 16,20) -; ‎hence it is more necessary than ever to have to breathe deeply so as to endure and to suffer patiently . Not in vain did Christ say: "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted" (Mt 5: 5). And none better than Our Lady to abundantly comfort those who weep in battle. ‎May she also help the unfortunate - succure ‎miseris‎ - that is, the whole world. “I know that those who invented the [naturalistic] deification of humanity do not tolerate their satisfaction and well-being being doubted. Divinity is not compatible with misery; And if the world is God, it is logical to proclaim that the world is happy. But the answer to this claim is written in the holy books: "My people, says the Lord, those who declare you blessed" , therefore, those who deify you, "those deceive you" : ‎Popule meus, qui te beatum dicunt, ipsi decipiunt (Is 3, 12)" ‎The modern world is deeply miserable, although it takes pains to affirm the contrary. The most unhappy of all are those who do not feel their unhappiness, those who strut in their helplessness. The greatest calamity of our time is that modern men "being really miserable, miserable, poor, blind, naked, boast of being rich and opulent, of being provided with everything (cf. Rev. 3, 17) [... ] Oh Mary, come to the aid of these unfortunates who are not aware of their own misery; open their eyes on themselves: miseris occuris ” .    May she finally help the surviving remains of Christendom, that is, Christian civilization: Ora pro populo (Pray for the people). In the language of the Church, Pie observes, the faithful people are not only a group of individuals, but the concert of Christian nations, the “respublica christiana” , what David had prophesied when speaking of the union between peoples and kings at the service of a single Lord: ‎In conveniendo populos in unum et reges ut serviant Domino‎. ‎("peoples and kings agreeing to serve the Lord", Ps 101, 23). Well, despite the fact that Christ is, objectively and really that King around whom the peoples and their respective kings must congregate, today there are unfaithful peoples, apostate nations, and the men of our century not only boast of having extirpated Christian society and civilization, but they try to destroy even the key to the vault, so that not even the memory of ancient Christendom remains. Faced with all this, Sancta María, ora pro populo, pray for Christendom for the remnant of the Christian world. ‎El CARDENAL PIE. Lucidez y coraje al servicio de la verdad” Padre Alfredo Sáenz S.J. Serie “Héroes y Santos”‎‎ GLADIUS Buenos Aires 2007‎‎

The Rosary is THE Weapon

Why did Saint Padre Pio say that the Rosary was THE Weapon?‎‎ ‎

‎"Satan wants to destroy this prayer [of the Rosary], but it will never happen" said Padre Pio. "It is the prayer of Her who triumphs over everyone and over everything. She is the one who taught it, just like Jesus taught us the Our Father.‎

‎

The holy Franciscan friar would often tell the story of a vivid dream that he had one time. He was leaning at the window of the friar's choir, where they prayed together the Divine Office and other prayers. He saw a very large crowd that filled the space. Padre Pio asked, "Who are you? What do you want?" and the whole crowd, with one heart and voice, in a deafening and murderous tone shouted: "The death of Padre Pio!" At this point the friar realised that those whom he thought were men, were actually demons. At these words he went into the choir to pray. And then he saw the Virgin Mary approaching. With a look of motherly kindness and a deliberate gesture she placed the rosary beads in his hands. She said to him, "With this weapon it is you who will win!" And now Padre Pio could be seen with the Rosary in his hands. Immediately he saw all the demons falling flat on the ground. After some moments this scene disappeared and he found himself at the same window. He saw a large crowd. Astonished, and a little disappointed, he said to them "What? You are not all dead?" and then he asked, "Who are you?" They replied, "We are some Christians." Relieved, Padre Pio said "You are the children and the disciples of Jesus... So come with me! Follow me and obey me! And nobody, ever, will be able to harm you." And he added, "Always hold in your hand the Weapon of Mary, and you will get, always and everywhere, you will obtain the victory over the infernal enemies."

‎‎

Anti Theological "Virtues"

LES VERTUS ANTI-THEOLOGALES L'institution maçonnique n'a pas élaboré une véritable doctrine puisqu'au contraire elle s'interdit de dogmatiser. En revanche elle a mis au point une stratégie anti-chrétienne d'une grand efficacité. Cette stratégie va consister à neutraliser les combattants de l'Eglise militante. Pour cela, elle va tuer en eux ce qui fait leur force, c'est-à-dire les vertus théologales : la foi, l'espérance, la charité. Contre la foi, la maçonnerie a inventé la Tolérance. C'est la “vertu” des gens qui nient l'existence de la vérité objective. La “Mère Loge” (car la loge exerce une réelle maternité intellectuelle) se vante de donner à ses fils tous les moyens dont ils ont besoin pour atteindre “la vérité”; mais il ne s'agit que d'une vérité relative et subjective c'est-à-dire d'une simple opinion personnelle qui restera donc essentiellement discutable. La “libre pensée” maçonnique refuse d'admettre toute vérité à priori. Elle fait du doute systématique la base de son système de réflexion ; c'est pourquoi elle a tant contribué à répandre le cartésianisme, le fameux “doute cartésien”. La maçonnerie a même réussi à convaincre les Français qu'ils sont cartésiens par nature, alors qu'au contraire le génie de notre langue, donc de notre pensée, est un génie déductif et analytique qui part du principe (a priori par conséquent) pour aboutir aux conséquences. Les Français ont le goût des principes et ils savent les formuler : là réside une des raisons de leur influence (bonne ou mauvaise) dans le monde. C'est tout le contraire de l'attitude mentale maçonnique. La discussion est l'activité principale de la loge : un adage y est inlassablement répété : de la discussion jaillit la lumière. C'est encore une fausse maxime car, de fait, jaillit non pas la lumière mais l'obstination : celui qui a défendu sa thèse n'admet plus d'en changer. La vraie lumière vient du “Père des lumières”, donc de la Révélation, et elle descend vers nous qui la recevons par le Magistère. En Maçonnerie tout l'art du Vénérable est de faire cohabiter des frères ennemis. Il n'y a pas de dogmes : la maçonnerie ne dogmatise pas : telle est la grande formule. Formule qui constitue même un symptôme : quand une quelconque publication met sa fierté à “ne pas dogmatiser”, on peut être certain qu'elle subit, de près ou de loin, l'influence maçonnique, puisqu'elle en adopte les locutions. Si les maçons ont la haine du dogme, c'est qu'ils ont la haine de l'Église. Ils sont fils spirituels de Ponce-Pilate, le Docteur sceptique, qui est leur “patron”. “Qu'est ce que la vérité” disait-il. Il l'avait devant lui et comble de l'aveuglement, il ne la reconnaissait pas. Le progrès. C'est la fausse espérance ; c'est l'espérance projetée sur la terre ; c'est le mythe de l'épanouissement sans fin de la nature ; c'est l'espoir insensé d'une félicité naturelle qui ne devrait rien à la Grâce. Ce progrès temporel doit porter à son achèvement la pyramide tronquée qui forme l'un des emblèmes des maçons ; c'est le progrès du corps mystique de l'Antéchrist qui attend de la terre sa plénitude. Nous savons très bien qu'il existe un véritable progrès. L'Église n'est pas statique ; elle est en progrès sous l'impulsion de la Grâce. Deux exemples : 1 – Le Corps mystique de N.S.J.-C. est en perpétuel progrès ; le nombre des élus va vers sa perfection ; quand les élus seront au complet le recrutement des hommes s'arrêtera. 2 – L'édifice du dogme lui aussi est en progrès, en ce sens qu'il se complète d'âge en âge ; à la fin des temps, il formera une construction spirituelle et intellectuelle à laquelle il ne manquera rien. La solidarité est l'interdépendance naturelle. Les maçons l'élèvent à la hauteur d'une vertu parce qu'elle ne réclame pas la médiation du Christ. La solidarité se passe de l'aide de Notre Seigneur. Elle engendre le socialisme qui est l'utopie de penser que, par des moyens adéquates, par le simple effet de l'interdépendance humaine, on triomphera de la pauvreté et de la souffrance. La solidarité est en opposition avec la charité chrétienne laquelle réclame l'intermédiaire de N.S.. Un verre d'eau donné au Nom de Jésus-Christ (“en Mon Nom” dit le texte évangélique) aura sa récompense dans la vie éternelle. S'il est donné au nom de la solidarité humaine, il ne recueillera qu'une récompense temporelle. La tolérance est en opposition avec la Foi. Le progrès est en opposition avec l'Espérance. La solidarité est en opposition avec la Charité. Ce sont les trois “vertus anti-théologales” qui ont cours dans le corps mystique de l'Antéchrist. Réflexions sur les ennemis et la manœuvre, Jean Vaquié, Lecture et Tradition n° 126 Juillet-Août 1987

Devotion to St. Michael the Archangel

Devotion to St. Michael the Archangel & All the Holy Angels

on the Memorial of Saint Catherine of Siena, Virgin & Doctor of the Church

for the 29th of April, and a feast of St. Peter Martyr

In the name of the Father , + and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

A Renewal of Baptismal Promises

I renounce Satan

I renounce all his works.

I renounce all his pomps? 

I renounce them.

I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was born of the Virgin Mary, suffered death and was buried, rose again from the dead, and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the flesh, and life everlasting.

This is our Faith, this is the Faith of the Church, we are proud to profess it, in Christ Jesus, who lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen. (If possible bless yourself with Holy Water)

(Partial indulgence)

A very complete Act of Faith

O my God! I firmly believe that Thou art one only God, the Creator and Sovereign Lord of Heaven and Earth, infinitely great and infinitely good: I firmly believe that in Thee, one only God, there are three Divine Persons, really distinct and equal in all things, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit: I firmly believe that God the Son, the second Person of the Most Holy Trinity, became Man; that He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, and was born of the Virgin Mary; that He suffered and died on a cross to redeem and save us; that He arose the third day from the dead; that He ascended into Heaven; that He will come at the end of the world to judge mankind; that he will reward the good with eternal happiness, and condemn the wicked to the everlasting pains of Hell. I believe these, and all other articles which the Holy Catholic Church proposes to our belief, because Thou my God, the infallible Truth, hast revealed them; and Thou hast commanded us “to hear the Church” which is the “Pillar and Ground of the Truth”. In this Faith I am firmly resolved, by Thy holy grace, to live and die. Amen.

(Partial indulgence. With ecclesiastical approval)

An Act of Faith in the Resurrection:

 

O my God, I firmly believe everything that the holy Catholic Church believes and teaches

and proclaims to be revealed by Thee. In particular, I believe that Jesus Christ Thy Son, on the third day, rose from the dead, in His physical human body, "flesh and bones", and not a ghost.

I believe that He did this by His own divine power, since He is the same one, only, true and living God as Thou art, and as the H oly Spirit is.

I believe that on the last day, by the power of Christ our God, "Who can subdue the whole universe", I will be raised from the dead, in my human body, and I will be placed by Thy Holy Angels, either at His right hand or at His left hand. Amen.

August Queen of Heaven! Sovereign Mistress of the angels! Who from the beginning have received from God the power and mission to crush the head of Satan, we humbly beseech you to send your holy Legions, that, under your command and by your power, they may pursue the evil spirits, encounter them on every side, resist their bold attacks and drive them hence into the abyss of eternal woe. Amen. (three times)

St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in the day of battle, that may not be lost in the terrible judgment, and I ask you to pray for us to the Lord our God. (three times)

St. Joseph, terror of demons, pray for us. (three times)

CHAPLET OF THE HOLY ANGELS

As we are about to pray this chaplet, we humbly beg you, O Holy Archangel, dear St. Michael, in your goodness to assist us especially at the moment of Holy Communion, by assigning to each of us an angel, from each of the nine choirs, to escort us. May we all persevere in devotion to you and receive from the Mercy of God your continual assistance and that of all the holy angels during life, and after death deliverance from purgatory for ourselves and all our loved ones. Amen.

Dear friends, Let each of us now take the time to pray in our hearts an act of contrition.

God, come to my assistance.  Lord, make haste to help me.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:

as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia.

First Salutation : By the intercession of St. Michael and the heavenly Choir of Seraphim, may it please God to make us worthy to receive into our hearts the fire of his perfect charity. Amen.

1 Our Father and 3 Hail Marys and so on after each salutation

Second Salutation : By the intercession of St. Michael and the heavenly Choir of Cherubim, may God in his good pleasure, grant us grace to abandon the ways of sin, and follow the path of Christian perfection. Amen.

Third Salutation : By the intercession of St. Michael and the sacred Choir of Thrones, may it please God to infuse into our hearts the spirit of true and sincere humility. Amen.

Fourth Salutation : By the intercession of St. Michael and the heavenly Choir of the Dominations, may it please God to grant us grace to tame our senses, and to correct our depraved passions. Amen.

Fourth Salutation : By the intercession of St. Michael and the heavenly Choir of the Dominations, may it please God to grant us grace to tame our senses, and to correct our depraved passions. Amen.

Fifth Salutation : By the intercession of St. Michael and the heavenly Choir of the Powers, may God vouchsafe to keep our souls from the wiles and temptations of the devil. Amen.

Sixth Salutation : By the intercession of St. Michael and the admirable heavenly Choir of the Virtues, may it please God to keep us from falling into temptation, and may He deliver us from evil. Amen.

Seventh Salutation : By the intercession of St. Michael and the heavenly Choir of Principalities, may it please God to fill our souls with the spirit of true and sincere obedience. Amen.

Eighth Salutation : By the intercession of St. Michael and the heavenly Choir of Archangels, may it please God to grant us the gift of perseverance in the faith, and in all good works, that we may be thereby enabled to attain the glory of paradise. Amen.

Ninth Salutation : By the intercession of St. Michael and the heavenly Choir of all the Angels, may God vouchsafe to grant us their guardianship through this mortal life, and after death a happy entrance into the everlasting glory of heaven. Amen.

In honour of St. Michael:  

Our Father...   give us this day...

In honour of St. Gabriel:  

Our Father...   give us this day...

In honour if of St. Raphael: 

Our Father...   give us this day...

In honour of own Guardian Angels: 

Our Father...   give us this day...

Michael, glorious prince, chief and champion of the heavenly Host, guardian of the souls of men, conqueror of the rebel angels, steward of the palace of God under Jesus Christ, our worthy leader, endowed with superhuman excellence and virtues: vouchsafe to free us all from every ill, who with full confidence have recourse to thee; and by thy incomparable protection enable us to make progress every day in the faithful service of our God.

Pray for us, most blessed Michael, Prince of the Church of Jesus Christ.

That we may be made worthy of His promis-es.

Let us pray.

ALMIGHTY and Eternal God, who in thine own marvellous goodness and pity, for the common salvation of man, chose the glorious Archangel Michael to be the prince of the Church: make us worthy, we pray Thee, to be delivered by his beneficent protection from all our enemies, that, at the hour of our death, none of them may approach to harm us; rather do Thou vouchsafe unto us that by the same Archangel Michael, we may be introduced into the presence of thy most high and divine majesty. Through the merits of the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Let us pray,

GOD of Heaven, God of earth, God of Angels, God of Archangels, God of Patriarchs, God of Prophets, God of Apostles, God of Martyrs, God of Confessors, God of Virgins, God who has power to give life after death and rest after work, because there is no other God than Thee and there can be no other, for Thou art the Creator of all things, visible and invisible, of whose reign there shall be no end, we humbly prostrate ourselves before Thy glorious Majesty and we beseech Thee to deliver us by Thy power from all the tyranny of the infernal spirits, from their snares, their lies and their furious wickedness; deign, O Lord, to grant us Thy powerful protection and to keep us safe and sound. We beseech Thee through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.

I will then give a blessing for all who have taken part, offering and giving this blessing to all your loved ones.

May Almighty God, the Father. + and the Son, and the Holy Spirit

bless you, protect you from all evil and bring you to everlasting life. Amen.

A Miracle of the Crown of Thorns

Bishop Beschi announces the miracle

“The Holy Thorn of Jesus has flowered.”

Taken, and translated from Corriere della Sera.

Sprouts on the fragment of the crown of Christ, in Andria, in Puglia. It has not happened since 1932. According to Monsignor Beschi: we observed the phenomenon with seriousness, prudence and competence, the sign is evident

The relic from the Crown of Thorns of Christ, the "Sacred Spine" or thorn, which is conserved at San Giovanni Bianco has sprouted.

“Dear sisters and dear brothers,

the veneration of the relic of the Holy Thorn, kept in the church and by the parish community of San Giovanni Bianco , has historically been nourished by a particular sign, called ‘flowering', which would occur on the occasion of the 25th March, solemnity of the Annunciation of Mary, coinciding with the celebration of Good Friday. With great joy I can announce that the sign has manifested itself .”

That is how the bishop of Bergamo, Monsignor Francesco Beschi, announced on March 28, 2016, that the miracle of the Holy Thorn took place in San Giovanni Bianco. It had not happened since 1932 and before that since 1598. Moreover, the same event occurred simultaneously in Andria, in Puglia, where there is the other fragment of the crown of Jesus preserved in the basilica of San Nicola di Bari.

When Good Friday is March 25

The prodigy, according to the Church, can happen when March 25, the day of the Annunciation of the Angel to Mary, therefore the moment of the Incarnation of the Son of God, coincides with Good Friday, that is, the day of the celebration of the Lord’s Death and our Redemption. The extraordinary coincidence of dates took place in 2005, but then nothing happened. This year, however, two different coloured buds have appeared on the thorn.

The Holy Thorn has flourished: “There is a miracle”

The Bishop of Bergamo continued: “The prudence, the seriousness, the skills of those to whom I have entrusted the task of observing the Relic and the evidence of the sign lead me to confirm that this has happened. The veneration of the sacred relic by the parish community of San Giovanni Bianco, the communities of the Brembana Valley, the Diocese and beyond the borders of the Diocese, is renewed in the light of this sign that leads us back to the Passion and Cross of Jesus and to what that represents for the faith of Christians and for the salvation of humanity.”

“The fact that the sign takes place in conjunction with the celebrations of the Annunciation and the Passion and Death of Jesus and his Resurrection, challenges us to consider with the mind and heart, the manifestation of God’s love which was communicated in the story of Jesus of Nazareth, in the mystery of the Incarnation and of His Passion and Death. Christians testify with their faith, with community life and with their existence that the solidarity of God with men, becomes the source of a stronger hope than all evil and death itself, because they believe that the Crucified One has risen: He is the Living One, who gives life."

Conclusion of the Bishop

"Dear sisters and dear brothers - finally concludes the bishop - I know how many have waited with faith and prayer for this sign : now it has been given to us not only to be revered, but because our eyes open on the many thorns that still pierce the head of the Lord, in the poor, in the suffering, in the forgotten, in the abandoned, in the despised and our hearts are opened so that the strength of love that draws on the supreme gesture of the love of Christ and is manifested towards all our crucified contemporaries that the ‘flowering' Holy Thorn represents in such an engaging way. I join you all in thanking the Lord for this precious sign, aware with you that keeping it means nourishing our faith in Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world day by day and witnessing to Him with the gospel transparency of our humble existences."

The Original article in Italian.