Collect of the Day: Trinity Sunday

The Adoration of the Trinity by Albrecht Durer, 1511

Feast of the Most Holy Trinity

Blessed be the holy Trinity, and undivided Unity: we will give glory to Him, because He hath shown His mercy to us.

(From the introit of the day's Mass, Ps. 8. 2)

From
The Liturgical Year
by Dom Guéranger, O.S.B.

On the day of Pentecost the holy apostles received, as we have seen, the grace of the Holy Ghost. In accordance with the injunction of their divine Master, they will soon start on their mission of teaching all nations, and baptizing men in the name of the holy Trinity. It was but right, then, that the solemnity which is intended to honour the mystery of one God in three Persons should immediately follow that of Pentecost, with which it has a mysterious connection. And yet, it was not until after many centuries that it was inserted in the cycle of the liturgical year, whose completion is the work of successive ages.

Every homage paid to God by the church’s liturgy has the holy Trinity as its object. Time, as well as eternity, belongs to the Trinity. The Trinity is the scope of all religion. Every day, every hour, belongs to It. The feasts instituted in memory of the mysteries of our redemption center in It. The feasts of the blessed Virgin and saints are but also many means for leading us to the praise of the God who is One in essence, and Three in Persons. The Sunday’s Office, in a very special way, gives us, each week, a most explicit expression of adoration and worship of this mystery, which is the foundation of all others, and the source of all grace.

This explains to us how it is that the Church was so long in instituting a special feast in honour of the holy Trinity. The ordinary motive for the institution of feasts did not exist in this instance. A feast is the memorial of some fact which took place at a certain time, and of which it is well to perpetuate the remembrance and the influence. How could this be applied to the mystery of the Trinity? From all eternity, before any created being existed, God liveth and reigneth, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. If a feast in honour of that mystery were to be instituted, it could only be by fixing some one day in the year, whereon the faithful would assemble for offering a more than usually solemn tribute of worship to the mystery of Unity and Trinity in the one same divine Nature.

The idea of such a feast was first conceived by some of those pious and recollected souls, who are favoured from on high with a sort of presentiment of the things which the Holy Ghost will achieve, at a future period, in the Church. So far back as the eighth century, the learned monk Alcuin had had the happy thought of composing a Mass in honour of the mystery of the blessed Trinity. It would seem that he was prompted to this by the apostle of Germany, Saint Boniface. That this composition is a beautiful one, no one will doubt that knows, from Alcuin’s writings, how full its author was of the spirit of sacred liturgy; but, after all, it was only a votive Mass, a mere help to private devotion, which no one ever thought would lead to the institution of a feast. This Mass, however, became a great favourite, and was gradually circulated through the several Churches; for instance, it was approved of for Germany by the Council of Selingenstadt, held in 1022.

In the previous century, however, a feast properly so called of holy Trinity had been introduced into one of the churches of Belgium—the very same that was to have the honour, later on, of procuring to the Church’s calendar one of the richest of its solemnities. Stephen, bishop of Liège, solemnly instituted the feast of the holy Trinity for his Church, in 920, and had an entire Office composed in honour of the mystery. The Church’s law, which now reserves to the Holy See the institution of any new feast, was not then in existence; and Riquier, Stephen’s successor in the See of Liège, kept up what his predecessor had begun.

The feast was gradually adopted. The Benedictine Order took it up from the very first. We find, for instance, in the early part of the eleventh century, that Berno, the abbot of Reichna, was doing all he could to propagate it. At Cluny, also, the feast was established at the commencement of the same century, as we learn from the Ordinarium of the that celebrated monastery, drawn up in 1091, in which we find mention of holy Trinity day as having been instituted long before.

Under the pontificate of Alexander II, who reigned from 1061 to 1073, the Church of Rome, which has frequently sanctioned the usages of particular Churches by herself adopting them, was led to pass judgment upon this new institution. In one of his decretals, the Pontiff mentions that the feast was then kept in many places; but that the church at Rome had not adopted it, for this reason: that the adorable Trinity is, every day of the year, unceasingly invoked by the repletion of the words: Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui sancto; as likewise by several formulas expressive of praise.

Meanwhile, the feast went on gaining ground, as we gather from the Micrologus; and, in the early part of the twelfth century, we have the learned abbot Rupert, who may justly be styled a doctor in liturgical science, explaining the appropriateness of that feast’s institution in these words: “Having celebrated the solemnity of the coming of the Holy Ghost, we, at once, on the Sunday next following, sing the glory of the holy Trinity; and rightly is this arrangement ordained, for, after the coming of the same holy Spirit, the faith in, and confession of, the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, immediately began to be preached, and believed, and celebrated in Baptism.”

In our own country, it was the glorious martyr, St. Thomas of Canterbury, that established the feast of holy Trinity. He introduced it into his archdiocese, in the year 1162, in memory of his having been consecrated bishop on the first Sunday after Pentecost. As regards France, we find a Council of Arles, held in 1260 under the presidency of archbishop Florentinus, solemnly decreeing, in its sixth canon, the feast of holy Trinity to be observed with an octave. The Cistercian Order, which was spread throughout Europe, had ordered it be celebrated in all its houses, as far back as the year 1230. Durandus, in his Rationale, gives us grounds for concluding that, during the thirteenth century, the majority of the Latin Churches kept this feast. Of these Churches, there were some that celebrated it, not on the first, but on the last, Sunday after Pentecost; others kept it twice: once on the Sunday next following the Pentecost solemnity, and a second time on the Sunday immediately preceding Advent.

It was evident, from all this, that the apostolic See would finally give its sanction to a practice, whose universal adoption was being prompted by Christian instinct. John XXII, who sat in the Chair of Saint Peter as early as the year 1334, completed the work by decree, wherein the Church of Rome accepted the feast of holy Trinity, and extended its observance to all Churches.

As to the motive which induced the Church, led as she is in all things by the Holy Ghost, to fix one special day in the year for the offering of a solemn homage to the blessed Trinity, whereas all our adorations, all our acts of thanksgiving, all our petitions, are ever being presented to It: such motive is to be found in the change which was being introduced, at that period, into the liturgical calendar. Up to about the year 1000, the feasts of saints marked on the general calendar, and universally kept, were very few. From that time, they began to be more numerous; and there was evidence that their number would go on increasing. The time would come, when the Sunday’s Office, which is specially consecrated to the blessed Trinity, must make way for that of the saints, as often as one of their feasts occurred on a Sunday. As a sort of compensation for this celebration of the memory of God’s servants on the very day which was sacred to the holy Trinity, it was considered right that once, at least, in the course of the year, a Sunday should be set apart for the exclusive and direct expression of the worship which the Church pays to the great God, who has vouchsafed to reveal Himself to mankind in His ineffable Unity and in His eternal Trinity.

The very essence of the Christian faith consists in the knowledge and adoration of one God in three Persons. This is the mystery whence all others flow. Our faith centers in this as in the master-truth of all it knows in this life, and as the infinite object whose vision is to form our enteral happiness; and yet, we know it only because it has pleased God to reveal Himself thus to our lowly intelligence, which, after all, can never fathom the infinite perfections of that God, who necessarily inhabiteth light inaccessible. Human reason may, of itself, come to the knowledge of the existence of God as Creator of all beings; it may, by its own innate power, form to itself an idea of His perfections by the study of His works; but the knowledge of God’s intimate Being can come to us only by means of His own gracious revelation.

It was God’s good-pleasure to make known to us His essence, in order to bring us into closer union with Himself, and to prepare us, in some way, for that face-to-face vision of Himself which He intends to give us in eternity. But His revelation is gradual: He takes mankind from brightness unto brightness, fitting it for the full knowledge and adoration of Unity in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity. During the period preceding the Incarnation of the eternal Word, God seemed intent upon inculcating the idea of His Unity, for polytheism was the infectious error of mankind; and every notion of there being a spiritual and sole cause of all things would have been effaced from the earth, had not the infinite goodness of God watched over its preservation.

Not that the old Testament Books were altogether silent on the three divine Persons, whose ineffable relations are eternal; only, the mysterious passages, which spoke of them, were not understood by the people at large; whereas, in the Christian Church, a child of seven will answer those who ask him, that, in God, the three divine Persons have but one and the same Nature, but one and the same Divinity. When the Book of Genesis tells us that God spoke in the plural, and said: “Let Us make man to Our image and likeness,” the Jew bows down and believes, but he understands not the sacred text; the Christian, on the contrary, who has been enlightened by the complete revelation of God, sees, under this expression, the three Persons acting together in the formation of man; the light of faith develops the great truth to him, and tells him that, within himself, there is a likeness to the blessed Three in One. Power, understanding, and will, are three faculties within him, and yet he himself is but one being.

In the Books of Proverbs, Wisdom, and Ecclesiasticus, Solomon speaks, in sublime language, of Him who is eternal Wisdom; he tells us—and He uses every variety of grandest expression to tell us—of the divine essence of this Wisdom, and of His being a distinct Person in the Godhead; but how few among the people of Israel could see through the veil! Isaias heard the voice of the Seraphim, as they stood around God’s throne; he heard them singing in alternate choirs, and with a joy intense because eternal, this hymn: “Holy! Holy! Holy! Is the Lord!” But who will explain to men this triple Sanctus, of which the echo is heard here below, when we mortals give praise to our Creator? So, again, in the Psalms, and the prophetic Books, a flash of light will break suddenly upon us; a brightness of some mysterious Three will dazzle us; but it passes away, and obscurity returns seemingly all the more palpable; we have but the sentiment of the divine Unity deeply impressed on our inmost soul, and we adore the Incomprehensible, the sovereign Being.

The world had to wait for the fullness of time to be completed; and then, God would send into this world His only Son, begotten of Him from all eternity. This His most merciful purpose has been carried out, and the Word made Flesh hath dwelt among us. By seeing His glory, the glory of the only-begotten Son of the Father, we have come to know that, in God, there is Father and Son. The Son’s mission to our earth, by the very revelation it gave us of Himself, taught us that God is eternally Father, for whatsoever is in God is eternal. But for this merciful revelation, which is an anticipation of the light awaiting us in the next life, our knowledge of God would have been too imperfect. It was fitting that there should be some proportion between the light of faith, and that of the vision reserved for the future; it was not enough for man to know that God is One.

So that, we now know the Father, from whom comes, as the apostle tells us, all paternity, even on earth. We know Him not only as the creative power, which has produced every being outside Himself; but, guided as it is by faith, our soul’s eye respectfully penetrates into the very essence of the Godhead, and there beholds the Father begetting a Son like unto Himself. But, in order to teach us the mystery, that Son came down upon our earth. He Himself has told us expressly that no one knoweth the Father, but the Son, and he to whom it shall please the Son to reveal Him. Glory, then, be to the Son, who has vouchsafed to show us the Father! And glory to the Father, whom the Son hath revealed unto us!

The intimate knowledge of God has come to us by the Son, whom the Father, in His love, has given to us. And this Son of God, who, in order to raise up our minds even to His own divine Nature, has clad Himself, by His Incarnation, with our human nature, has taught us that He and His Father are one; that They are one and the same Essence, in distinction of Persons. One begets, the Other is begotten, the One is named Power; the Other, Wisdom, or Intelligence. The Power cannot be without the Intelligence, nor the Intelligence without the Power, in the sovereignly perfect Being: but, both the One and the Other produce a third Term.

The Son, who had been sent by the Father, had ascended into heaven, with the human Nature which He had united to Himself for all future eternity; and lo, the Father and the son send into this world the Spirit who proceeds from Them both! It was a new Gift, and it taught man that the Lord God was in three Persons. The Spirit, the eternal link of the first two, is Will, He is Love, in the divine Essence. In God, then, is the fullness of Being, without beginning, without succession, without increase; for there is nothing which He has not. In these three eternal Terms of His uncreated Substance, is the Act, pure and infinite.

The sacred liturgy, whose object is the glorification of God and the commemoration of His works, follows, each year, the sublime phases of these manifestations, whereby the sovereign Lord has made known His whole self to mortals. Under the somber colours of Advent, we commemorated the period of expectation, during which the radiant Trinity sent forth but few of Its rays to mankind. The world, during those four thousand years, was praying heaven for a Liberator, the Messiah. That we might have the full knowledge of the prophecies which foretold Him, it was necessary that He Himself should actually come: a Child was born unto us, and then we had the key to the Scriptures. When we adored that Son, we adored also the Father, who sent Him to us in the Flesh, and with whom He is consubstantial. This Word of life, whom we have seen, whom we have heard, whom our hands have handled in the Humanity which He deigned to assume, has proved Himself to be truly a Person, a Person distinct from the Father, for One sends, and the Other is sent. In this second divine Person, we have found our Mediator, who has reunited the creation to its Creator; we have found the Redeemer of our sins, the Light of our souls, the Spouse we had so long desired.

Having passed through the mysteries which He Himself wrought, we next celebrated the descent of the holy Spirit, who had been announced as coming to perfect the work of the Son of God. We adored Him, and acknowledged Him to be distinct from the Father and the Son, who had sent Him to us with the mission of abiding with us. He manifested Himself by divine operations which are peculiarly His own, and were the object of His coming. He is the soul of the Church; He keeps her in the truth taught her by the Son. He is the source, the principle of the sanctification of our souls; and in them He wishes to make His dwelling. In a word, the mystery of the Trinity has become to us, not only a dogma made know to our mind by revelation, but, moreover, a practical truth given to us by the unheard-of munificence of the three divine Persons: the Father, who has adopted us; the Son, whose brethren and joint-heirs we are; and the Holy Ghost, who governs us, and dwells within us.

The Trinity by Lorenzo Lotto, 1523

Collect of the Day

Omnípotens sempitérne Deus, qui dedísti fámulis tuis in confessióne veræ fídei, ætérnæ Trinitátis glóriam agnóscere, et in poténtia majestátis adoráre Unitátem: quæsumus; ut ejúsdem fídei firmitáte, ab ómnibus semper muniámur advérsis. Per Dóminum nostrum Jesum Christum Fílium tuum. Qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitáte Spíritus Sancti Deus, per ómnia sæcula sæculórum. Amen.

O Almighty and everlasting God, who hast enabled Thy servants, in confessing the true Faith, to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity, and in the power of Majesty to adore its Unity: we beseech Thee, that by steadfastness in the same Faith, we may ever be defended against all adversity. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.

In the Collect, the Church asks for us firmness in the faith, whereby we confess Unity and Trinity in God. Faith is the first condition required for salvation; it is the first link of our union with God. It is with this faith that we shall conquer our enemies, and overcome all obstacles.

-Dom Guéranger, O.S.B.

The Holy Trinity by Antonio de Pereda, circa 1650

Epistle - Romans, 11. 33-36

From
The Liturgical Year
by Dom Guéranger, O.S.B.

We cannot fix our thoughts upon the divine judgments and ways, without feeling a sort of bewilderment. The eternal and the infinite dazzle our weak reason; and yet this same reason of ours acknowledges and confesses them. Now, if even the ways of God with His creatures suprass our understanding, how can we pretend to discover, of ourselves, the inmost nature of this sovereign Being? And yet, in this uncreated Essence, we do distinguish the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost from each other, and we glorify them.

This comes from the Father's having revealed Himself, by sending us His Son, the object of His eternal delight; it comes from the Father's having revealed Himself, by sending us His Son, the object of His eternal delight; it comes from the Son's showing us His own Personality, by taking our Flesh, which the Father and the Holy Ghost did not; it comes from the Holy Ghost's being sent by the Father and the Son, and fulfilling the mission He received from Them. Our mortal eye respectfully gazes upon these divine depths of truth, and our heart is touched at the thought, that it is through God's benefits to us that He has given us to know Him, and that our knowledge of what He is came through what He gave us. Let us lovingly prize this faith, and confidently wait for that happy moment, when it will make way for the eternal vision of that which we have believed here below.

The Trinity in Glory by Tiziano Vecellio, 1554

Gospel - St. Matthew, 28. 18-20

From
The Liturgical Year
by Dom Guéranger, O.S.B.

The mystery of the blessed Trinity, which was taught us by the mission of the Son of God into this world, and by the promise of the speedy sending of the holy Spirit, is announced to men by these solemn words, uttered by Jesus just before His ascension into heaven. He had said: "He that shall believe, and shall be baptized, shall be saved"; but He adds, that Baptism is to be given in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Henceforward man must not only confess the unity of God, by abjuring a plurality of gods, but he must, also, adore a Trinity of Persons in Unity of Essence. The great secret of heaven is now published through the whole world.

But, whilst humbly confessing the God whom we have been taught to know as He is in Himself, we must, likewise, pay a tribute of eternal gratitude to the ever glorious Trinity. Not only has It vouchsafed to impress Its divine image on our soul, by making her to Its own likeness; but, in the supernatural order, It has taken possession of our being, and raised it to an incalculable pitch of greatness. The Father has adopted us in His Son become Incarnate; the Word illumines our minds with His light; the Holy Ghost has chosen us for His dwelling: and this it is that is expressed by the form of holy Baptism. By those words pronounced over us, together with the pouring out of the water, the whole Trinity took possession of Its creature. We call this sublime marvel to mind as often as we invoke the three divine Persons, making upon ourselves, at the same time, the sign of the cross. When our mortal remains are carried into the house of God, there to receive the last blessings and farewell of the Church on earth, the priest will beseech the Lord "not to enter into judgment with His servant"; in order to draw down the divine mercy upon this Christian, who has gone to his eternity, he will say to the sovereign Judge that this member of the human family "was marked, whilst in this life, with the sign of the holy Trinity."

Let us respect this divine impress which we bear upon us: it is to be eternal; hell itself will not be able to blot it out. Let it, then, be our hope, our dearest title; and let us live for the glory of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen!

From the Book on the Faith, addressed to Peter by St. Fulgentius

The Faith which the holy Patriarchs and Prophets received from God before his Son was made Flesh, the Faith which the holy Apostles heard from the Lord himself present in the Flesh, the Faith which the same Apostles learnt by the teaching of the Holy Ghost not only to preach by word of mouth, but also to leave behind them in their writings for the healthful instruction of all that should come after, that Faith teacheth that the Trinity, that is to say, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, is but one God. But we could not truly call the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost a Trinity, if One and the Selfsame Person were named Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

For if as the Being of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost is One Being, so were there but One Person, then were it untrue to say that God is a Trinity. On the other hand, if, as the Persons of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are distinguished One from Another by that which is proper to Each, so were they diverse by difference of nature, then were it untrue to say that God in One. But since concerning the nature of the One True God, who is a Trinity, it is the Truth to say that God is One, and the Truth to say that God is a Trinity, therefore the True God is a Trinity in Persons, and an Unity in nature.

Through the Oneness of nature all that the Father is is in the Son and the Holy Ghost. All that the Son is is in the Father and the Holy Ghost, and all that the Holy Ghost is is in the Father and the Son. Of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, None is without Other, None is before Other, None is greater than Other, None is mightier than Other. The Father, as touching the One Divine Nature, is neither before nor greater than the Son and the Holy Ghost : neither is it possible that the Eternity and Infinity of the Son, whether as before or greater, should be before or greater than the Eternity and Infinity of the Spirit.

From the Roman Breviary

Disputation on the Holy Trinity by Andrea del Sarto, 1520

Dom Guéranger: The End of the Movable Liturgical Cycle

The Cathedral of Prato

From

The Liturgical Year

by Dom Guéranger, O.S.B.

The series of the mysteries is now complete, and the movable cycle of the liturgy has come to its close. We first passed, during Advent, the four weeks, which represented the four thousand years spent by mankind in entreating the eternal Father to send His Son. Our Emmanuel at length came down; we shared in the joys of His Birth, in the dolours of His Passion, in the glory of His Resurrection, in the triumph of His Ascension. Lastly, we have witnessed the descent of the Holy Ghost upon us, and we know that He is to abide with us to the last. Holy Church has assisted us throughout the whole of this sublime drama, which contains the work of our salvation. Her heavenly canticles, her magnificent ceremonies, have instructed us day by day, enabling us to follow and understand each feast and season. Blessed by this mother for the care wherewith she has placed all these great mysteries before us, thus giving us light and love! Blessed by the sacred liturgy, which has brought us so much consolation and encouragement! We have now to pass through the immovable portion of the cycle: we shall find sublime spiritual episodes, worthy of all our attention. Let us, then, prepare to resume our journey: let us take fresh courage in the thought that the Holy Ghost will direct our steps, and, by the sacred liturgy, of which He is the inspirer, will continue to throw open to us treasures of precept and example.

FSSP Priestly Ordinations To Be Streamed Live on LiveMass.net

I attempted to post this originally in Friday's TradNews Roundup, but the video had to be updated and re-posted to YouTube. The TradNews Roundup has been corrected, but I wanted to post it here so it gets the attention it deserves from our readers.

Christopher Ferrara on our modern social ills

The Errors of Modernism

(Special thanks to Video Sancto)

Mainte chançon ai fait: I have begun to sing about the pure Queen

A thirteenth century French chanson in honor of Our Lady

From la bele marie, performed by Anonymous 4

I have composed many songs of great filth
but if please God, I shall never again care about them.
In me there has been little
good or sense or control.
Now I think I was deceived
that it lasted so long.
My heart is certainly stirred,
for I have begun to sing
about the pure queen
by whom we are chosen
and received in great joy
and kept from burning.
She is the sweet mother of God
who cures our sorrow,
who brought us to the good place
where joy lasts forever.

Mary was very precious and beautiful,
certainly a pure and spotless maiden.
The angel was sent to her
to give her the news
that God would be fed
on the milk from her breast.
The angel was not wrong,
but very right,
who said to her: "Young lady,
hail, Mary, listen to me:
God has come to you,
for he calls you mother."
Mary lowered her eyes
when she heard the news
and then raised them
and asked St. Gabriel:

"Friend, tell how I shall give birth
or bear fruit in my body,
when I have known no man
and shall never take one.
It would be very distressing
that I cold be pregnant without a man."
"Sweet Mary, listen to me:
You will bear God for nine months,
do not be afraid."
"Friend, when you leave,
tell for God me
that I am completely his;
let the sweet king do
his will with me, I grant it.
I am his handmaid, for that is right,
and I have great joy from that."

Collect of the Day: Ember Saturday after Pentecost

Ember Saturday after Pentecost

The charity of God is poured forth in our hearts, alleluia: by His Spirit dwelling in us, alleluia, alleluia.
(From the introit of the day's Mass, Rom. 5. 5)

Mentibus nostris, qæsumus, Domine, Spiritum Sanctum benignus infunde: cujus et sapientia conditi sumus, et providntia gubernamur. Per Dominum… in unitate ejusdem…

Deign, we beseech Thee, O Lord, to pour forth into our minds, the Holy Ghost, by whose wisdom we were created, and by whose providence we are guided. Through our Lord… in the unity of the same…

Lesson – Joel, 2. 28-32

Illo nos ingne, quæsumus, Domine, Spiritus Sanctus inflammet: quem Dominus noster Jesus Christus misit in terram, et voluit vehementer accendi: Qui tecum vivit et regnat… in unitate ejusdem…

May the Holy Spirit, we beseech Thee, O Lord, enkindle in us that fire which our Lord Jesus Christ sent down upon earth, and exceedingly desire to be enkindled: who with Thee… in the unity of the same…

Lesson – Leviticus, 23. 9-11, 15-17

Deus, qui ad animarum medelam, jejunii devotione castigari corpora præcepisti: concede nobis propitius; et mente, et corpore tibi semper esse devotos. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum…

O God, who for the healing of souls hast commanded that our bodies should be chastened by fasting: in Thy mercy grant that we may be always devoted to Thee in mind and in body. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son…

Moses with the Tables of the Law by Guido Reni, circa 1624

Lesson – Deuteronomy, 26. 1-3, 7-11

Præsta, quæsumus, ominpotens Deus: ut salutaribus jejuniis eruditi, ab omnibus etiam vitiis abstinentes, propitiationem tuam facilius impetremus. Per Dominum nostrum…

Grant, we beseech Thee, O almighty God, that, disciplined by these saving fasts and abstaining from all vice, we may more readily obtain Thy favour. Through our Lord…

Lesson – Leviticus, 26. 3-12

Præsta, quæsumus, ominpotens Deus: sic nos ab epulis carnalibus abstinere; ut a vitiis irruentibus pariter jejunemus. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium tuum, qui tecum vivit…

Grant, we beseech Thee, O almighty God, that we may so abstain from bodily feasting, that we may also fast from the vices which assail us. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth…

Lesson – Daniel, 3. 47-51


The Three Young Men in the Blazing Furnace by Pieter Pietersz, 1575

Alleluia. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, the God of our fathers, and worthy to be praised for ever.

Gloria in excelsis Deo!

The Holy Trinity by Hendrick van Balen, circa 1620

Et in terra pax hominibus bonæ volutatitis.
Laudamus te. Benedicimus te. Adoramus te. Glorificamus te.
Gratias agimus tibi propter magnam gloriam tuam. Domine Deus, Rex coelestis, Deus Pater omnipotens.
Domine Fili unigenite Jesu Christe.
Domine Deus, Agnus Dei, Filius Patris. Qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis.
Qui tollis peccata mundi, suscipe deprecationem nostram.
Qui sedes ad dextreram Patris, miserere nobis. Ouoniam tu olus Sanctus. Tu solus Dominus. Tu solus Altissimus,Jesu Christe.
Cum Sancto Spiritu in gloria Dei Patris.
Amen.

Deus, qui tribus pueris mitigasti flamas ignium: concede propitius; ut nos famulos tuos non exurat flamma vitiorum. Per Dominum…

O God, who didst allay the flames of fire for the three children: in Thy mercy grant that the flame of vice may not consume us Thy servants. Through…

Epistle – Romans, 5. 1-5

O praise the Lord, all ye nations; and praise Him together, all ye people. For His mercy is confirmed upon us: and the truth of the Lord remaineth for ever.
(From the tract of the day’s Mass, Ps. 116. 1, 2)

Gospel – St. Luke, 4. 38-44

From a homily by St. Ambrose

See how long-suffering is the Lord our Saviour! His displeasure moved him not at all to desert Jewry, even though he was vexed by their guilt, and outraged by their insults. Nay, unmindful of insults, and remembering mercy only, he strove to soften their hard and unbelieving hearts, sometimes by his teaching, sometimes by freeing them from sin, sometimes by healing them. Rightly doth Luke first speak of a man who was delivered from an unclean spirit, and afterwards of the healing of a woman. For the Lord came to heal male and female both ; but that is fitly healed first which was created first ; and then must not woman be passed over, for we should remember that her first sin arose rather from permitting the serpent to deceive her than from malice in her heart.

That the Lord began to heal on the Sabbath Day sheweth in a figure how the new creation beginneth where the old ended. It sheweth, moreover, that the Son of God, who is come not to destroy the Law, but to fulfil, is not under, but above, the Law. For the world was not made by the Law, but by the Word, as it is written : By the Word of the Lord were the heavens made. Wherefore, the Law is not destroyed, but fulfilled, in the redemption of fallen man. Whence also the Apostle saith : Put off, concerning the old man, and put on the new man, which after God is created.

Rightly then doth he begin to heal on the Sabbath Day, that so he may shew himself to be the Creator. He carrieth out his works in due order and succession. Wherefore he continueth what he had already begun ; even as a workman, setting out to repair a house, beginneth not to remove that which is old from the foundations, but from the roof. Thus doth the Lord begin to lay-to his hand again, in that place whence last he left off. He beginneth with things lesser, that he may go on to things greater. Even men are able to cast out evil spirits by the Word of God. But to command the dead to rise again is for God's power alone. Perchance, also, this woman, the mother-in-law of Simon and Andrew, was a type of our nature, stricken down with the great fever of sin, and burning with unlawful lusts after divers objects. Nor would I say that the fever of passion is a lesser thing than bodily fever. Avarice and lust and luxury and ambition and anger : these be our fevers.

From the Roman Breviary

TradNews Roundup

*Did the Pope perform an exorcism? Father Gabriele Amorth says, "yes". Father Lombardi says, "no".

*The Holy Father's references to the Devil are "no rhetorical device" but a sign Pope Francis is his own kind of revolutionary. I would be much happier, and more comfortable, however, if the Holy Father were quoting from Come Rack, Come Rope.

*Five to be ordained priests for the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, June 1st. The ordination Mass will be aired live on the internet by LiveMass.Net:

*Pilgrimage of Restoration, Walsingham, England.

*The Code of Canon Law is undergoing significant revision due to the naivety of the 1970s mentality that "we are all good". There are already some pending changes ready for the Pope's approval regarding Catholics who belong to Eastern Rite Churches.

*Mr. Shawn Tribe to step down from managing the weblog, The New Liturgical Movement. Over the years I've detected an uncomfortably large bit of the same old Liturgical Movement over at NLM, but I think we are all indebted to Mr. Tribe's hard work and dedication in bringing images of the Immortal Mass alive on the internet. There's no doubt that Mr. Tribe's love for Christ's Church and Tradition, not to mention his erudition and lofty intellect, has done much to advance the art and beauty of traditional Catholicism.

*South America is boiling, and few are taking notice.

*A Youth Religious Syncretism Day has been slated as part of World Youth Day festivities.

*Obama's government swelling, Socialist, agenda may be damaged by declining trust due to scandals. The IRS scandal threatens the ability of the government to function.

*Cardinal Koch has lost the faith.

Collect of the Day: Ember Friday after Pentecost

Fast and Abstinence

Christ in Glory by Manfredino da Pistoia, circa 1280

Ember Friday after Pentecost

In Thee, O Lord, have I hoped, let me never be put to confusion: deliver me in Thy justice, and rescue me.
(From the introit of the day's Mass, Ps. 70. 1, 2)

Collect of the Day

Da, quæsumus, Ecclésiæ tuæ, miséricors Deus: ut Sancto Spíritu congregáta, hostíli nullátenus incursióne turbétur. Per Dóminum... in unitáte ejúsdem Spíritus...

O Merciful God, we beseech Thee, that Thy Church which was gathered together by the Holy Spirit, may nowise be troubled by hostile attack. Through our Lord... in the unity of the same...

Lesson - Joel, 2. 23, 24, 26, 27 / Gospel - St. Luke, 5. 17-26

From a homily by St. Ambrose

The healing of this paralytic was not unmeaning, nor its fruits limited to himself. It was for his sake that the Lord prayed before he healed him. Certainly it was not because he must needs ask the power to heal, but for example's sake. He gave a pattern to be followed, not a display of prayer on his own behalf. In the presence of the Pharisees and doctors of the Law, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judaea, and Jerusalem, many sick folk were healed, but among them is specially described the healing of this paralytic. Now, as we have said before, every sick man at the very first ought to engage his friends to offer up prayers for his recovery, that so the tottering form of our life, and the halting footsteps of our conduct, may be restored by the heavenly medicine of the healing word of prayer.

There ought also to be someone to counsel him, and to raise his mind to higher things, lest the sick body weigh down the soul with its languor. With the help of such friends he can, by means of prayer, be brought to Jesus, and (as it were) laid on the ground before his feet, so that the Lord may lift up his countenance upon him, who is thus laid low before him. Yea, the Lord doth countenance the lowly, for he hath regarded the lowliness of his handmaiden Mary. And when he saw their faith, he said unto him : Man, thy sins are forgiven thee. Great is the Lord! For the merits of some, he forgiveth the sins of others. In commending the good deeds of one, he granteth amnesty to another. Why, O man is thy fellow-citizen of nothing worth in thy sight, while before God the lowest slave hath the privilege of pleading and the power to obtain his request?

O thou that judgest, learn to forgive ; thou that art sick, learn to pray. If thou art doubtful of the pardon of thy sins, because of their grievousness, ask for intercessions. Get thee to the Church, that she may pray for thee, and that the Lord, regarding her, may grant to her pleadings what he might otherwise refuse to thine. And now, though we must not pass over the historical fact that the body of this paralytic was healed, yet let us remember also the inward cure, for his sins were forgiven. The Jews said : Who can forgive sins but God alone? And in these words they confessed the Godhead of him who forgave the sins of the paralytic, and themselves condemned their own unbelief in him whose work they acknowledged, but whose Person they denied.

From the Roman Breviary

Collect of the Day: Whit Thursday

The Adoration of the Holy Trinity by Vincente Lopez y Portana, 1792

Whit Thursday

Let God arise, and let His enemies be scattered: and let them that hate Him flee from before His face.
(From the introit of the day's Mass, Ps. 67. 2)

Collect of the Day

Deus, qui hodiérna die corda fidélium Sancti Spíritus illustratióne docuísti: da nobis in eódem Spíritu recta sápere; et de ejus semper consolatióne gaudére. Per Dóminum... in unitáte ejúsdem Spíritus Sancti Deus...

O God, who this day hast taught the hearts of the faithful by the light of the Holy Spirit, grant that by the gift of the same Spirit we may be always truly wise and ever rejoice in His consolation. Through our Lord... in the unity of the same...

St. Philip the Apostle by Albrecht Durer, 1516

Lesson - Acts, 8. 5-8 / Gospel - St. Luke, 9. 1-6

From a homily by St. Ambrose

We learn from Christ's precepts what manner of men they ought to be who preach the kingdom of God as the Gospel saith : Take nothing for your journey ; neither staves nor scrip, neither bread, neither money. Thus let the apostolic preacher (seeking no earthly help, and relying on faith) deem himself able to do all the more, as he needeth all the less. And they who wish to do so, may interpret this passage as referring to the proper interior intention, to wit : A man may be said to have laid aside the encumbrances of the body, not only by abdicating power, and despising riches, but also by truly abandoning the allurements of the flesh. And first of all, Christ gave the Apostles a general precept concerning their manner : they were to be bringers of peace ; not gadding about, but observing both the laws and ties of hospitality which were offered to them. To gad about from house to house, and to abuse the rights of hospitality, are things alien to a preacher of the kingdom of heaven.

But as the kindness of hospitality is to be met with courtesy, so also is it said : Whosoever will not receive you, when ye go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet, for a testimony against them. Hereby is taught that hospitality doth meet with a good reward ; for if, to those who receive us, we bring peace, then also it is true to say that, wheresoever there enter the feet of them that bear the Gospel, there the clouds of sinful vanities do flee away. And so it is not without reason that Matthew saith : Into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter, inquire who in it is worthy ; and there abide till ye go thence : thus avoiding any possible need of going from house to house. But no such caution is enjoined on him that giveth hospitality, lest his hospitality should be lessened by shewing partiality.

This passage, taken according to its plain meaning, instructeth us in the sacred duties of hospitality, and charmeth us with a hint of heavenly mystery. When the house is chosen, it is asked if the master thereof be worthy. Perchance this is a figure of the Church, and of her Master, Christ. What worthier house can the apostolic preacher enter than holy Church? Or what host is more to be preferred before all others than Christ, who was wont to wash the feet of his guests? Yea, he suffereth not that any whom he receiveth into his house should dwell there with unclean feet. However defiled they be from their former wanderings, he doth vouchsafe to cleanse them for the rest of their journey. From his house ought no man ever to go forth, nor change his roof for any other shelter, for unto him it is well said : Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life : and these words of thine we do believe.

From the Roman Breviary

click to enlarge

St. Anthony Dedicates His Life to God by the Master of the Osservanza, circa 1440

Why Catholics Honor Mary

Why do Catholics honor Mary? Because it’s biblical! Mary, the Mother of our Blessed Lord, is honored in the pages of the New Testament.

However, first allow me to clarify what is meant by the word “honor”. When someone is honored we usually mean to give him respect, to recognize his merit or rank. We do it all the time in our daily lives. Wives and husbands honor each other everyday. Children honor their parents. Workers honor their bosses, superiors and owners or chief officers of their corporations and businesses. Soldiers honor their commanding officers, either commissioned or uncommissioned. We honor judges and other persons placed in authority. And, of course, Christians honor God.

The latter, however, everyone will admit, is quite different from the others. According to the Ten Commandments Christians must honor both God and their parents, but obviously not in the same way. To help make this important distinction, the Church uses the Latin words, “latria” and “dulia”. Latria actually comes from the Greek word, latreia, which is sacrificial in nature and can only be offered to God. Dulia, on the other hand, is honor that is rendered to God’s creatures for possessing and sharing some God-given talent or rank.

Obviously, dulia can vary in degree according to its object. (Technically and philosophically, so does latria, but it can have only one object, so it’s a moot point.) We render more or less honor to certain persons based upon their rank (both actual and relative), duties, talents, or achievements. For example, we honor our parents to a specific degree based on their familial relationship to us. Likewise, we honor teachers to a specific degree based on their office, just as we would honor a priest or bishop or religious based on their offices, ranks and duties. We honor athletes for their achievements, and we honor those who have achieved the much greater reward of holiness and piety. To a different degree we are called to honor all people because all people are made in the image and likeness of God. Lastly, and to yet a different and lesser degree, we are called to honor all of God’s creation. Common everyday life bears this out. It is a matter of degree, and that degree is based on the person and circumstances.

Of all humans who have ever lived, Catholics render the highest degree of honor to Our Blessed Lord, Jesus Christ. This, however, is not dulia. Jesus Christ was not just a human. He was both God and man. Thus, the honor we render to the person of Our Blessed Lord is latria. Of all God’s other creatures who have ever lived, Catholics render the highest degree of honor to the Blessed Virgin Mary. This is dulia, proper, but because it is the highest degree of dulia that Catholics render it is distinguished by calling it hyper-dulia. This distinction was first expounded by St. Augustine of Hippo and St. Jerome. This does not mean that Mary was not honored before St. Augustine, but that her unique role in the faith lives of Catholics was being explained in ever greater detail by the fourth century.

But why do Catholics offer Mary, the Mother of Our Blessed Lord, the highest degree of dulia? Mary deserves this distinction because of the crucial role that she played in bringing the Promised Messiah into the world, the Messiah Who would save all men from eternal death by His one Sacrifice on Calvary’s hill. No other human before or after Mary could play such a role in human history. The Gospel of St. Luke points out the utterly unique nature of Mary’s role in man’s salvation (Lk 1:26-38). No other human being will ever equal the accomplishment of Mary’s simple yet profound statement: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to thy word” (Lk 1:38).

This fact is not lost in Scripture. The Blessed Virgin Mary was a central figure in the earliest Church: “All these were persevering with one mind in prayer with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren” (Acts 1:14). No one other than the Blessed Virgin Mary is used as a symbol of the Church (Rev 12:1-5). Mary, herself, announces in the Gospel of St. Luke that “all generations shall call me blessed” (Luke 1:69).

Why then do Catholics honor Mary? Well, because the Bible tells us that she is worthy of honor.

Objection: Mary died a long time ago. Nothing in the Bible says we should honor the dead, is there?

Answer: Leaving aside for now the truth of Mary’s miraculous assumption into heaven, to the contrary, the Bible tells that those who came before us are very much alive and worthy of our respect and honor. According to the Apocalypse of St. John: “And I heard a voice from heaven, saying to me: Write: Blessed are the dead, who die in the Lord. From henceforth now, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; for their works follow them” (Rev 14:13). The worthy works of those who have died in the Lord follows them into heaven. Those who have died in the Lord are not dead, but are alive in heaven, as Our Blessed Lord said, the Father is not the God of dead, but of the living (Mk 12:26-27). If it is fitting that we render honor to them in life, why would be unfitting somehow to render honor to them in heaven? How fitting, indeed, it is to render honor to the Blessed Virgin Mary, especially now that she reigns in heaven with Jesus our King!

Objection: I know there is something fishy here because I’ve heard Catholics say that they “worship” Mary. Are they lying or are you?

Answer: It is not inaccurate to say that one “worships” Mary if the word, worship, is used in a weak sense. The word worship is a contraction of the words “worth” and “ship”, which denotes a state of being. Worship etymologically means “a state of being worthy“. It is the object of worship that determines if the worship is latria or dulia. If the object of worship is God, then it is latria, if the object of the worship is a human being, it is dulia. This is born out by common usage. The English when addressing a magistrate at court, say “Your Worship”, and it is common to hear the word used for high ranking persons, i.e. “His Worship the Mayor”, etc.

Objection: Isn’t the distinction between latria, dulia and hyper-dulia just splitting hairs?

Answer: It’s only splitting hairs when someone disagrees with it. If there is no real difference between latria and dulia, then the Bible contradicts itself when it commands us to honor our father and mother. If the honor one has for God is essentially the same as the honor one has for one’s parents, would that not break the commandments preceding the commandment to honor our fathers and mothers? That obviously can not be the case. Jesus, no doubt, honored his mother in accordance with the commandments. By honoring the Blessed Virgin Mary we imitate Christ. This distinction is not splitting hairs; rather, it is a necessary distinction that reflects reality and helps us to imitate Christ.

If you are Catholic (and everybody ought to be):

*You must profess Mary the Mother of God (meaning, of course, that her Son, Jesus Christ was true God as well as true man), her Immaculate Conception and absolute absence of actual sin, her perpetual virginity, and her glorious Assumption into heaven.

*You ought to foster a devotion that honors Mary in imitation of Our Blessed Lord who honored her as His mother from the very moment she was conceived in St. Anne's womb.

*You ought to promote devotion to Mary as a sure means to her Son, and thus a sure means to salvation.

*You ought to pray the Angelus, Rosary, and the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary daily, as well as celebrate her feasts with loving devotion and gratitude.

Collect of the Day: Ember Wednesday after Pentecost

Fast and Partial Abstinence

Ember Wednesday after Pentecost

O God, when Thou didst go forth in the sight of Thy people, making a passage for them, dwelling among them, alleluia, the earth was moved and the heavens dropped, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
(From the introit of the day's Mass, Ps. 67, 8, 9)

Collect of the Day

Mentes nostras, quæsumus, Dómine, Paráclitus, qui a te procédit, illúminet: et indúcat in omnem, sicut tuus promísit Fílius, veritátem: Qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitáte ejúsdem Spíritus Sancti Deus...

We beseech thee, O Lord, that the Comforter which proceedeth from thee may enlighten our minds: and lead us, as thy Son hath promised, into all truth. Who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the same Holy Ghost...

Lesson - Acts, 2. 14-21 / Lesson - Acts, 5. 12-16 / Gospel - St. John, 6. 44-52

The Communion of the Apostles by Luca Signorelli, 1512

From a Homily by St. Augustine of Hippo

Think not that thou canst be drawn contrary to thine own will. Rather, we are to understand that the soul is drawn by love. And we should not fear lest an objection be brought against this Gospel-doctrine of the Holy Scriptures by those folk who concern themselves overmuch with the literal word, and undermuch with the true meaning, specially if it be concerned with divine things. Such men may say to us : How can I believe of my own free will if I be drawn? I answer: Thou art not drawn by thy will, but by pleasure. What is this, to wit, to be drawn by pleasure? Delight thou in the Lord, and he shall give thee thy heart's desire. The heart of anyone to whom the bread of heaven is sweet, doth feel this pleasure. Moreover, Virgil saith : Each man's pleasure doth draw him on. If the poet be right in this, to wit, that not necessity but pleasure, not compulsion but delight, doth drawn us on, how much more boldly may we say that unto Christ are drawn those who delight in truth? or those who delight in blessedness ; those who delight in righteousness ; those who delight in life everlasting? since all these matters of delight are to found in Christ. Do the bodily senses of man have their pleasures, and the spirit of man have none? If the spirit have no pleasure proper to it, wherefore do the Scriptures testify otherwise? for it is written : And the children of men shall put their trust under the shadow of thy wings ; they shall be satisfied with the plenteousness of thy house, and thou shalt give them drink of thy pleasures, as out of the river ; for with thee is the well of life, and in thy light shall we see light.

Give me a lover, and he will feel the truth of what I say. Give me one who is full of longing ; give me one who is hungry ; give me a wanderer in this desert of life, athirst and gasping for the fountains of the eternal fatherland ; give me such an one, and he will catch my meaning. But if I talk to a cold-hearted man, he will not. Such cold-hearted folk were they of whom it is written that they murmured among themselves. Christ saith : Whosoever the Father draweth, cometh unto me. But what is this : The Father draweth : since Christ himself draweth men unto himself? Why was he pleased to say : No man can come to me except the Father draw him? If we must needs be drawn, let us be drawn by Christ himself. For concerning one that loved him is said in the Song of Songs : Draw me ; we will run after thee, for the savour of thy good ointments. Yea, but let us consider, my brethren, precisely what he meant, and let us try to understand it as well as we can. The Father draweth to the Son all such as do believe in the Son, because they are persuaded that he hath God for his Father. For God the Father begat the Son co-equal with himself. And whosoever is persuaded that the Christ, in whom he believeth, is equal to the Father, and by virtue of this faith doth feel and ponder the same, that man is one whom the Father is drawing unto the Son.

Arius believed the Son to be a creature. The Father did not draw Arius. Whosoever believeth not that the Father is the Father by virtue of this begetting of the co-equal Son, such an one knoweth not the Father. What sayest thou, O Arius? O heretick, what sayest thou? What is thy profession? Who is the Christ? Not, saith Arius, the very God, but he whom very God hath made. Then, O Arius, the Father hath not drawn thee. For thou hast not understood the Father's dignity, inasmuch as thou hast denied that he hath a Son. Thou dost imagine a being who is not the Son. The Father draweth thee not, and thou art not drawn to the Son. For the Son is one thing, and he of whom thou speakest is another. Photinus said : Christ is a man only ; he is not God at all. Whoso doth believe thus is not one of them whom the Father draweth. But whom hath the Father drawn? The one who saith : Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. Hold out a green bough to a sheep, and by means thereof thou wilt draw the sheep after thee. Let a boy see some delicacies, and he is drawn by them. Whenever a man doth pursue, he is drawn ; drawn by the affections ; drawn by the enslavement of the heart. If earthly things which be sweet and pleasant draw such as love them, whenever they see them (shewing Virgil's saying to be true: : Each man's pleasure doth draw him on), is it false to say that Christ, whom the Father hath revealed, draweth us? What doth the soul long after more eagerly than the truth?

From the Roman Breviary

I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: the bread that I will give, is My flesh for the life of the world.

Collect of the Day: Whit Tuesday

The Decent of the Holy Ghost by Tiziano Vecellio, 1545

Whit Tuesday

Receive the most sweet gift which shall be your glory, alleluia: giving thanks to God, alleluia, who hath called you to the heavenly Kingdom, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
(From the introit of the day's Mass, 4 Esdras 2. 36, 37)

Collect of the Day

Adsit nobis, quæsumus, Dómine, virtus Spíritus Sancti: quæ et corda nostra cleménter expúrget, et ab ómnibus tueátur advérsis. Per Dóminum... in unitáte ejúsdem Spíritus Sancti...

We beseech Thee, O Lord, may the power of the Holy Ghost be ever with us; may it mercifully purify our hearts, and safeguard them from all harm. Through our Lord... in the unity of the same...

Lesson - Acts, 8. 14-17

From

The Liturgical Year

by Dom Guéranger, O.S.B.

The inhabitants of Samaria had received the word of God through the preaching of Philip the deacon. They had received, at his hands, the Sacrament of Baptism, which made them Christians. This reminds us of the dialogue between Jesus and the woman at Jacob’s well, and of the three days that He spent in the city. Their faith is rewarded: Baptism has made them children of God and members of Christ their Redeemer. But they must also receive the Holy Ghost, in the Sacrament that gives perfection to the Christian character. The deacon Philip has not power to confer it upon them: Peter and John, who are invested with episcopal authority, visit them, and complete their happiness. This event makes us think of the grace bestowed on us by the Holy Ghost, when He strengthened our souls by the Sacrament of Confirmation. Let us thank Him for this favour, which brought us into closer union with Himself, and gave us the courage needed for confessing our faith before heretics or tyrants.

Gospel - St. John, 10. 1-10

From

The Liturgical Year

by Dom Guéranger, O.S.B.

The Church’s motive for putting this passage of the Gospel before the neophytes of Pentecost was, to put them on their guard against a danger which might probably occur in after years. At present, they are the favoured sheep of the good Shepherd Jesus, represented by men to whom He Himself has given the charge to feed His lambs. These men have received their mission from Peter; and he who is with Peter, is with Jesus. But it has not infrequently happened that false shepherds have got into the fold; our Saviour calls them thieves and robbers. He tells us that He Himself is the door, through which they must pass who can claim the right to feed His sheep. Every shepherd, if he would avoid the imputation of being a robber, must have received his mission from Jesus; and this mission cannot be given save by him whom Jesus has appointed to be His vicar and representative until He Himself return.

The Holy Ghost has poured forth His divine gifts upon these new Christians; but the virtues that are in them cannot be meritorious of eternal life, unless they continue to be members of the true Church. If, instead of following the lawful pastor, they were to be so unhappy as to go after false pastors, all these virtues would become barren. They should, therefore, flee, as they would from a stranger, from any guide who has not received his mission from the Master, who alone can lead them to the pastures of life. During the past centuries, schismatical pastors have risen up from time to time: the faithful were bound to shun them. We, who are living now, should take seriously to heart the admonition here given us by our Redeemer. The Church He has founded, and which He guides by His holy Spirit, is apostolic. The mission of those pastors alone is lawful who are sent by apostolic authority; and whereas Peter lives in his successors, the successor of Peter is the source whence alone can come pastoral power. He who is with Peter, is with Christ.

From a homily by St. Augustine of Hippo

In today's Lesson the Lord hath set forth a similitude of his own flock, and of the door whereby entry is made into its fold. Sometimes pagans boast that they live good lives. But if they enter not in by the door, of what profit is that whereof they boast? To this end alone is a good life profitable, to wit, if it lead unto life eternal. For of what profit is a good life to one unto whom life eternal is not given? Wherefore, they cannot be said to live good lives, who are either so blinded as not to know, or so proud as to despise, the goal of a good life. And no man can have a true and certain hope of life eternal, unless he know the true life, which is Christ, and enter by him, who is The Door, into the sheepfold.

Such men as these often try to draw others to some kind of a good life which is not a Christian life. These are they who would fain climb up some other way, for to steal and to destroy. They are not as the Good Shepherd, who is come only to guard and to save. There have been philosophers who have treated many subtle questions of right and wrong, who have been the authors of many distinctions and definítions, who have reasoned out the keenest conclusions, who have filled many books, and have proclaimed their own wisdom with a loud mouth. These dared to say to men : Follow us ; embrace our school of thought ; and therein ye will find the secret of a happy life. But these men were not of such as enter in by The Door. They came not but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.

Concerning such teachers, what shall I say? Behold, the Pharisees themselves were wont to read the Scriptures, and in that reading they often uttered the Name of Christ. They looked for his coming, and when he came, they knew him not : They boasted that they themselves were among the Seers, that is, among the wise ones, yet they denied Christ, and entered not in by The Door. Therefore they too, when they set themselves up as leaders, lead away the sheep but for to kill and to destroy, not to free them. So much for them : now let us look to those who glory in the Name of Christ, and see whether they be all and everyone such as enter in by The Door. Some there are, and their number cannot be reckoned, who not only boast that they be among the Seers, but who would even fain appear as though they were enlightened by Christ ; and nonetheless, they are heretics.

From the Roman Breviary

Collect of the Day: Whit Monday

Pentecost by Joseph Ignaz Mildorfer, 1750

Whit Monday

He fed them with the fat of wheat, alleluia: and filled them with honey out of the rock, alleluia, alleluia.
(From the introit of the day's Mass, Ps. 80. 17)

Collect of the Day

Deus, qui Apóstolis tuis Sanctum dedísti Spíritum: concéde plebi tuæ piæ petitiónis efféctum; ut, quibus dedísti fidem, largiáris et pacem. Per Dóminum... in unitáte ejúsdem Spíritus Sancti...

O God, who gavest the Holy Ghost to Thine Apostles, grant to Thy people the fruit of their loving petition, that on those to whom Thou hast given faith, Thou mayest also bestow peace. through our Lord... in the unity of the same...

Lesson - Acts, 10. 34, 42-48

From

The Liturgical Year

by Dom Guéranger, O.S.B.

The Station for today is in the basilica of Saint Peter ad vincula. This church, which is also called, after the name of the empress who built it, the basilica of Eudoxia, possessed the precious relic of the chains (vincula) wherewith St. Peter was bound at Jerusalem by order of Herod, and at Rome by order of Nero. The faithful would be reminded, on being assembled in this church, of the fortitude wherewith apostles were endowed by the Holy Ghost, on the day of Pentecost. Peter was bound with chains, because he laboured in the service of his divine Master; he felt it an honour to be thus fettered. He that once trembled at being questioned about Jesus by a woman, rejoices, now that he has received the gift of the Holy Ghost, at being loaded with chins for Jesus’ sake. The prince of this world thought he might enchain the word of God; but no, this word is free, even under the shackles forged by a Nero.

This passage from the Acts of the Apostles, read on such a day as this, and in such a place, is most appropriate. Peter, the Vicar of Christ, is accompanied by some Jews, who have been converted to the Christian faith. In their presence, several Gentiles, who have been touched by grace, on hearing Peter preaching profess themselves believers in Jesus, the Son of God: the moment has come for the apostle to throw the Church open to the Gentile world. Knowing that the Jewish converts would be tempted to jealousy, he appeals to the prophets. What say these prophets? That all without distinction, who shall believe in Jesus, shall receive forgiveness of their sins in His Name. While Peter is thus arguing with his audience, the Holy Ghost removes every objection, by falling, as He did at Pentecost, on these humble and believing Gentiles. As soon as the Jewish converts perceive the miracle, they are astonished, and exclaim: “What! Is the grace of the Holy Ghost poured out on the Gentiles also?” Peter replies: “Who dares to refuse Baptism to these men, who have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?” And without waiting for an answer, he gives the order, as head of the Church, that Baptism be immediately conferred upon these privileged catechumens.

Nothing, then, could be more appropriate than this passage of sacred Scriptures, read in Rome, the center of the Gentile world, in a basilica dedicated to St. Peter, and in the presence of the newly baptized, who had so recently received the gifts of the Holy Ghost. We, also, have our lesson to learn from this Epistle; we must fervently thank our heavenly Father for having vouchsafed to call our ancestors to the true faith, and make us also partakers of the graces of the Holy Ghost.

The Pentecost by an unknown French goldsmith, circa 1160

Gospel - St. John, 3. 16-21

From

The Liturgical Year

by Dom Guéranger, O.S.B.

The Holy Ghost creates faith within our souls, and by faith we obtain life everlasting; for faith is not the intellect’s assent to a proposition logically demonstrated, but a virtue which proceeds from the will vivified by grace. Nowadays, faith is rare. Pride of intellect is at its height, and docility to the Church’s teachings is far from being general. A man calls himself a Christian and a Catholic, and yet he has his own views upon certain subjects, which he would very reluctantly give up, were they to be condemned by the only authority on earth which has power to guide us in what we are to hold or reject in matters pertaining to faith. He reads dangerous, sometimes even bad, books, without thinking of inquiring if the laws of the Church forbid such books. His religious instruction has been of a very meager kind, and he seems to wish it to remain so, for he takes no pains to come to a solid and perfect knowledge of his religion; the result is, that his mind is filled with the fashionable prejudices of the world he lives in, and, on more than one point, he may depend upon his having imbedded heretical notions. He is looked upon as a Catholic; he satisfies the exterior obligations of his religion, either because of his early training, or because the rest of his family do so, or because he feels more satisfied to do than to omit them: and yet—how sad it is to say it!—he is not a Catholic, for his faith is gone.

Faith is the first link that unites us to God; for, as the apostle says, he that cometh to God, must believe. It brings us to God, and keeps us there. Our Saviour here tells us that he who believeth is not judged: and the reason is, that he, whose faith is what our Gospel implies it to be, does not only assent to a doctrine, but he embraces it with his whole heart and mind; he believes it, because he wishes to love what he believes. Faith works, and is perfected, by charity; but it is itself a foretaste of charity. Therefore does our Lord promise salvation to him that believeth. This faith meets with obstacles, because of our fallen nature. As we have just been told, light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than the light. In this our age, darkness is prevalent. Even false lights are seen to rise up, and mislead thousands. We repeat it: faith—that faith which brings us to God and saves us from His judgments—is now rare. O divine Spirit, deliver us from the darkness of the times in which our lot has been cast. Humble the pride of our minds. Save us from that false religious liberty, which is one of the idols of our generation, and which keeps men from the true faith. We wish to love, and possess, and keep up within us, the glorious light: we wish to merit, by the docility and child-like simplicity of our faith, to enjoy the full cloudless vision of this divine light in heaven.

Faith by Guiseppe Angeli, circa 1754

From a homily by St. Augustine of Hippo

The Physician cometh to do all he can towards the healing of the sick. And the sick person who will not attend to the advice of the Physician bringeth on his own death. This Physician is come, as a Saviour, to the world. Why is he called the Saviour of the world, except that he came, not to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved? Hast thou no desire to be saved through him? by thine act be thou condemned. Any why do I say, Be thou condemned? Because it is written : He that believeth on him is not condemned. What then dost thou expect will be said to him that believeth not? This shall be said : He is condemned. Indeed he hath already said more than that, to wit : He that believeth not is condemned already. Though the condemnation be not yet openly pronounced, it hath nonetheless already taken place.

The Lord knoweth them that are his. He knoweth them that will continue unto the crown, and likewise he knoweth them that will continue unto the fire. He knoweth the wheat on his threshing floor, and the chaff. He knoweth the field (which is the world) with its good grain, and its tares. He that believeth not is condemned already. Why? Because he hath not believed in the Name of the only-begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation : That light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. Whose deeds, my brethren, doth the Lord find to be good? None. He findeth the works of all men to be in themselves bad. How then do we hear that some there be who do the truth, and come to the light? For it is written : He that doeth truth, cometh to the light.

But he saith : Men loved darkness rather than light. And here he maketh the great point of difference between such as love darkness, and such as come to the light. There be many who have loved their sins. Also there be many who have confessed their sins. He that confesseth, thereby denounceth his sin, and is working already with God. God denounceth thy sins, and if thou denounce them likewise, then dost thou join thyself with God in his act. The man and the sinner are, as it were, two different things. God made the man ; man made the sinner. Destroy what thou hast worked in thyself, and God will save what he hath already made. Thou art behoven to hate in thyself thine own works, and to love God's work. When thine own works begin to displease thee, then is it that thou beginnest to do well, because thou denouncest thine own evil works. The first thing to do, if thou wouldest do good works, is to acknowledge thine evil ones.

From the Roman Breviary