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