Fr. Eduard Perrone, "A Pastor's Descant" (Assumption Grotto News, July 10, 2016):
July usually brings a short pause in the parish activities, but, hopefully, no such pause in our ongoing efforts to live a life in Christ and continue working for the salvation of souls. This weekend brings a welcome burst of activities with Fr. Titus Kieninger of the Order of Canons Regular of the Holy Cross preaching a Day of Recollection on Mary, Mother of Mercy. There will be two conferences, one beginning at 2:00 PM and the second beginning at 3:00 PM, followed by Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament with Benediction beginning at 4:15 PM. Following this, those who have completed their formation will make their Consecration to to the Guardian Angel. Fr. Titus will be available after the Consecrations to speak with those interested in beginning the formation year which precedes the Consecration.
This weekend is also our annual Mission Sunday with a visit from Fr. Kevin Dance of the Passionists of Papua New Guinea. The Passionist congregation was founded by St. Paul of the Cross in the early 18th century with the mission to keep alive in the world the love of Jesus Crucified as seen in His Sacred Passion. Fr. Kevin will speak about the work being carried out in Oceania (north of Australia) by the Passionists. As always, do prayerfully consider how you can support the Missionary Activity of the Church spiritually and monetarily. Envelopes are provided that you may bring back next Sunday and place in the collection or you may simply include a donation designated for the Passionists in your regular contribution envelope.
There are many holy Passionist saints in the Church. It is very interesting that the Mission Appeal by the Passionist order would be here the same weekend that Fr. Titus and Sr. Maria Gemma are here for the Day of Reflection. Sr. Maria Gemma takes her name from St. Gemma Galgani, who is one of the prominent saints of the Passionist order. St. Gemma Galgani's remarkable life was a living out of a mystical union with the Suffering Christ. During her brief life, St. Gemma Galgani endured much suffering both physically and spiritually. She received many visions from Our Lord and even spoke with Jesus, the Blessed Mother, her Guardian Angel, and St. Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows. She is among those Saints who received the stigmata. Her obedience to the Lord and His Church was so absolute, that when her spiritual director ordered her to pray that the stigmata be removed, she did so at once and the stigmata disappeared. She died on Holy Saturday in 1903 and was soon canonized. She remains the patroness of religious, priests, and virtually all those who suffer in some way.
A reminder that the pro-life group Crossroads will be here next weekend. Each summer, members of Crossroads Prolife walk from Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles to Washington, D.C. witnessing to the dignity and sanctity of all human life from the moment of conception to natural death. They visit Assumption Grotto each year as the Northern Walk passes through Michigan in order to raise awareness about their cause and accept any donations that are offered. One of the major battlefields for the heart and soul of young Americans is the colleges and universities of this great nation. The anti-life forces control much of what is taught, promoted and funded on college campuses. That ideology eventually winds up becoming the law of the land through subsequent generations of politicians and judges, and, of course, voters. Please take some time to learn about this remarkable effort and support them financially and spiritually as you are able.
The 30-day preparation for the Consecration to Jesus Christ through Mary begins July 13. The preparation is not precisely a novena, but a period of preparation that precedes the Consecration on August 15. The more effort that can be put into preparation, the greater the spiritual benefit. If you haven't started the preparation to make or renew your Consecration it is not too late to begin today. Booklets are available in the Gift Shop.
As our patronal feast day approaches, we are always in need of volunteers to help with the many activities before, during and after August 15. Please contact the rectory if you are able to help.
Someone was talking about how diabolical influences have infiltrated the music industry, mentioning a few singers' names. I checked out some of their music videos and, whether the symbolism was subtle or overt, I would have to concur. The same is apparently true of large swaths of the movie and entertainment industry. This 'Black Child Production' video [see blow] starts off with some creative use of film clips to enact some of the points made by the narrator. The narrator switches from male to female about a quarter of the way through. But the real kicker comes when she begins referring to specific individuals, groups, and events in the last half of the video [advisory: some explicit sexual language]:
On the one hand, I'm not inclined to believe that the influence of the diabolical is so overt or prevalent as to involve satanic blood sacrifice rituals throughout the mainstream of the entertainment industry. On the other hand, I rather suspect that there are some quarters where well-known individuals are involved in some pretty nasty and evil business.
Actor George Clooney is talking about the night he went to Prime Minister of Italy Silvio Berlusconi’s home - infamous for lavish sex parties – and was invited to the leader’s bedroom. Berlusconi’s bashes have come to be known as “bunga bunga” parties, and Clooney says he got an invite.
I don't make a practice of spending much time in this iniquitous netherworld and its steaming cauldrons of infernal vices and luciferian plots. But I have read enough to know that it has probably infiltrated the circles in which many of our political leaders move. You have surely read about the first President Bush's induction into the Skull and Bones secret society at Yale University. Perhaps you have also read about the Clintons and their trail of dead bodies and unaccountable disappearances in the course of their political rise to power from dubious beginnings in Arkansas.
You may or may not have heard Larry Sinclair's statement before the National Press Club about his cocaine and sex trysts with Barack Obama when he was senator in Chicago, Rev. James Manning's testimony to the same, or the Washington, DC-based investigative journalist Wayne Madsen's report on Obama's involvement in a Chicago gay club called "Man's World," and the convenient deaths of three Chicago gay friends of Obama, one of whom (Donald Young, who was the openly gay choir director at Jeremiah Wright's Trinity United Church of Christ) is claimed by his mother, Norma Jean Young (who worked for Chicago's Police Dept.), to have been murdered to protect secrets of his bisexual lover who became president.
How anyone could be puzzled over Obama's policies while in office is beyond me -- his 'Iran deal', which opens the door to nuclear weapons in the hands of the most notorious promotors of anti-western terrorism in the mideast; his 'evolution' on the issue of gay rights and abandonment of DOMA (the Defense of Marriage Act) in favor of same-sex 'marriage'; his plunging our nation into debt to the point of nearly doubling the debt on the national credit card, now rocketing upwards of $20 trillion; his refusal to acknowledge Islamic terrorism while easily referring to the threat of Christian funamentalist 'terrorism'; ... the list goes on. Whatever one thinks of Dinesh D'Souza, I, for one, consider some of his claims in this short video about Obama pretty compelling, even if he doesn't plumb the spiritual dimension adequately. Americans who re-elected this man to yet a second term are fools, or ignorant, or evil.
So when I listen to NPR and hear polished pundits playing sound bites from Obama and solemnly treating them as 'politics as usual', I get the surreal feeling that I have just stepped into a scene from Last Year at Marienbad. From my point of view, what NPR considers serious reality, I consider facile fiction; and what NPR considers the fetid fever swamps of medieval fantasies about an unseen world of angels and demons, I consider seriously to be the underlying reality of our world. Even on a bad day, J.R.R. Tolkien could tell us more about what's happening in our world than NPR ever could on its best day. He, at least, understood that there are such things as the preternatural diabolical forces represented by Mordor, the corruption of Sarumen, the temptations and delusions of Boromir, and the possibility that rides on them of winning or losing everything.
"Hypocrites!" says Jesus: "You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don't know how to interpret this present time?" (Luke 12:56)
Altar server about town James Murphy brought to our attention two books written by the same author, Fr. Paul Sullivan, OP, and republished by TAN Books.
The first, How to Avoid Purgatory, is a small and brief book (39 pages), which first explains the reasons why souls are sent to Purgatory, then provides several means to escape being sent there. In addition to the usual methods one hears, namely regular Confession, Holy Communion, seeking to gain Indulgences, and offering up penances and suffering, Fr. Sullivan recommends explicitly asking God for the grace to avoid Purgatory. Being a Dominican, he also suggests joining the Third Order of St. Dominic, today commonly called the Lay Dominicans, because of the order’s history of devotion to the Holy Souls. He also argues that those who have a devotion to helping the Souls in Purgatory during their lifetime are likely to be shown mercy by God with regards to their own obligations after death.
This reviewer struggles with one aspect of the book: How many of us can honestly say that we don’t deserve at least some time in Purgatory? It’s fine to say that we want to avoid it, but are our souls truly pure enough to merit immediate admission to heaven? The Church gives us the means to do so, even via some exceptional privileges, such as the Apostolic Pardon which can be given by a priest to a person near death, so perhaps it’s not so presumptuous a grace to desire after all.
Book Review: All About the Angels
The second book, All About the Angels, is a lengthier work at 131 pages. It is a fascinating introduction to the work of the Angels among mankind. Fr. Sullivan’s stated objective in writing the book was to foster Catholics’ love for and devotion to their “best friends”, the Angels who defend and support us. Though the book was originally published in 1945, even then the author felt the Church was not doing a satisfactory job of informing the faithful about the presence and actions of the Angels.
He expounds upon the ubiquity and supreme intelligence of the Angels:
Millions and millions of angels fill the Heavens, ministering unto God, but millions and millions of angels are also here on earth, ministering unto us. They are in our midst, around us, about us, everywhere….Were it not for their ever-vigilant protection, the history of the world would be far different, far more calamitous than it has been.
Much of the book is taken up with documenting apparitions of Angels to Saints, kings, and others, in the Bible and throughout history. The author makes the point that Angels are enormously grateful for any appreciation we show them in return, presumably because they are accustomed to being ignored. They welcome prayers and petitions for help, especially our Guardian Angels. Fr. Sullivan proposes the following brief prayer as a sign of gratitude:
Dearest Angels here present, I honor and love you and give thanks to God for all the glory He has given you.
The author recommends that we periodically offer Masses, Rosaries, and Communions to thank and console the Angels. God permitted St. Gertrude to see how grateful the Angels were after she once offered her Holy Communion in honor of the nine choirs of Angels. Fr. Sullivan cautions the reader, however, that Angels cannot help people who are in a state of mortal sin.
Fr. Sullivan maintains that Angels are the ones responsible for the seemingly miraculously saves we occasionally experience from disasters large and small. Angels are also the ones who help Martyrs suffer torture with acceptance, even joy. The Angels provide the supernatural strength the Martyrs require to resist the extreme pain they might otherwise experience.
The fascinating anecdotes and logically deduced advice given in this book make it a highly recommended read. One wonders why the Angels, who are such key intercessors for us, are not mentioned more frequently in homilies, articles, and other educational materials.
First Communions at OCLMA
First Holy Communions will be held for the Oakland County Latin Mass Association at the 9:45 AM Mass on Sunday, May 1 at the Academy of the Sacred Heart Chapel in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. The faithful may gain a Plenary Indulgence by being present for a First Communion ceremony, under the usual conditions of Confession within 20 days, reception of Holy Communion, prayer for the Holy Father’s intentions, and freedom from attachment to sin. A reception will follow the Mass.
Tridentine Masses This Coming Week
Mon. 04/18 7:00 PM: Low Mass at St. Josaphat (Feria)
Tue. 04/19 7:00 PM: Low Mass at Holy Name of Mary (Votive Mass for the Unity of the Church)
[Comments? Please e-mail tridnews@detroitlatinmass.org. Previous columns are available at http://www.detroitlatinmass.org. This edition of Tridentine Community News, with minor editions, is from the St. Albertus (Detroit), Academy of the Sacred Heart (Bloomfield Hills), and St. Alphonsus and Holy Name of Mary Churches (Windsor) bulletin inserts for April 17, 2016. Hat tip to Alex Begin, author of the column.]
Peter Kreeft has a book about angels, which shares (except for the subtitle) a title with a nefarious novel by Dan Brown. It's called Angels and Demons: What Do We Really Know about Them?(Ignatius, 1995), which, I'm glad to see, is now back in print. It's written for a popular audience, but contains a great deal of classic angelology in an accessible format.
Some of it's highlights, as a reader recently pointed out, can be found on this post by Kreeft entitled, simply, "Angels."
This same reader went on to write:
Yesterday I lost a close family friend, a 94 year old widow I have known since I was... 1! She leaves a 60+ unmarried daughter, so please say a prayer on both their behalves. I thought particularly of this line:
"Angels are sentinels standing at the crossroads where life meets death. They work especially at moments of crisis, at the brink of disaster—for bodies, for souls, and for nations." [quoted from the CCC]
Kreeft in fact also quoted the CCC in this book (An appendix, I recall), and I remember, pre-conversion, feeling more than a little compelled by the ancient-sounding authenticity of the words. Say what I will about some of Schonorn's recent slippage, or Ratzinger's Modernist-intimidation complex, those guys more often than not hit a home run with the CCC. Overall it is an exceptional -- and given Roman hijinx inexplicably orthodox, LOL -- I think Angels -- most likely Gabriel for one -- were most definitely dispatched for composition intervention there as well ...!
So here are the relevant quotations from the CCC. Quite good!
332 Angels have been present since creation and throughout the history of salvation, announcing this salvation from afar or near and serving the accomplishment of the divine plan: they closed the earthly paradise; protected Lot; saved Hagar and her child; stayed Abraham's hand; communicated the law by their ministry; led the People of God; announced births and callings; and assisted the prophets, just to cite a few examples.[194] Finally, the angel Gabriel announced the birth of the Precursor and that of Jesus himself.[195]
333 From the Incarnation to the Ascension, the life of the Word incarnate is surrounded by the adoration and service of angels. When God "brings the firstborn into the world, he says: 'Let all God's angels worship him.'"[196] Their song of praise at the birth of Christ has not ceased resounding in the Church's praise: "Glory to God in the highest!"[197] They protect Jesus in his infancy, serve him in the desert, strengthen him in his agony in the garden, when he could have been saved by them from the hands of his enemies as Israel had been.[198] Again, it is the angels who "evangelize" by proclaiming the Good News of Christ's Incarnation and Resurrection.[199] They will be present at Christ's return, which they will announce, to serve at his judgement.[200]
The angels in the life of the Church
334 In the meantime, the whole life of the Church benefits from the mysterious and powerful help of angels.[201]
335 In her liturgy, the Church joins with the angels to adore the thrice-holy God. She invokes their assistance (in the Roman Canon's Supplices te rogamus. . .["Almighty God, we pray that your angel..."]; in the funeral liturgy's In Paradisum deducant te angeli. . .["May the angels lead you into Paradise. . ."]). Moreover, in the "Cherubic Hymn" of the Byzantine Liturgy, she celebrates the memory of certain angels more particularly (St. Michael, St. Gabriel, St. Raphael, and the guardian angels).
336 From infancy to death human life is surrounded by their watchful care and intercession.[202] "Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life."[203] Already here on earth the Christian life shares by faith in the blessed company of angels and men united in God.
Peter Kreeft has a book about angels, which shares (except for the subtitle) a title with a nefarious novel by Dan Brown. It's called