St. Bridget’s 7 Prayers – 12 years

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Many people have heard of 15 prayers of St. Bridget that focus on the passion of Our Lord. The prayers are said every day for one year. There are a list of 21 promises for those who say the prayers every day for one year. I have done the prayers two times, once while I was in the seminary and again as a priest. Recently, I have read that in 1954, The Congregation of the Holy Office prohibited the publication of the promises since the promises have no merit to them. However, the prayers are a very beautiful meditation on the passion of Our Lord and any meditation on Our Lord’s passion can only do good. A short time ago, I also discovered another set of prayers of St. Bridget called the 7 prayers. The prayers are to be said every day for 12 years. At the end of the 12 years, one would have honored each of the 5,480 blows and wounds of Our Lord’s body.

The seven prayers also have promises. I have read that the prayers and promises were approved by Popes Clement XII and Innocent X, but I can’t verify that. Again, even if the promises are not valid, the prayers in themselves are very beautiful and if prayed with devotion and love can only enhance a persons love for Our Lord.

I was moved to start the prayers during Adoration almost two years ago, but avoided that inspiration, so I began them on the Feast of St. Laurence, deacon and martyr this year (August 10).

I have made a little booklet that can be placed in your favorite prayer book, Bible or breviery.

The promises:

1. The soul who prays them will suffer no Purgatory.

2. The soul who prays them will be accepted among the Martyrs as though he had spilled his blood for his faith.

3. The soul who prays them can choose three others whom Jesus will then keep in a state of grace sufficient to become holy.

4. No one in the four successive generations of the soul who prays them will be lost.

5. The soul who prays them will be made conscious of his death one month in advance.

The “I personally believe, but” attitude among Catholic politicians

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How far must we go before something is done about our so called “Catholic” politicians who live a double life? I’m not talking about those who are married and running around on the side, although that is disgusting. What I am talking about is politicians who parade around proclaiming their Catholic identity and then go on to say how they love their faith, but “for me,” “I personally believe,” “I’m against fill in the blank, but would never force others to accept my beliefs.”

These people are hypocrites of the highest degree. Imagine for a moment if I worked for Apple and decided that I was going to publicly endorse Microsoft Windows. “I believe in Mac OS, but personally, I believe Windows 8 is a much better product.” You can bet any amount you want that employee would be called in and fired on the spot.

Do we really believe what we profess or have we become Catholic a la carte? I would dare to say this would not have been tolerated in times past. These politicians and Catholic liberals (I hate that word used in religious) are modernists at the best. Many young priests call them Protestants, but I hate to offend our Protestant brothers and sisters with such a vile description. Many of them are much more faithful than our “Catholic” brethren.

Today, Governor Christ Christie of New Jersey signed a bill banning reparative therapy for youths with same-sex attraction. Read on below.

From CWN:

Following California’s lead, New Jersey has enacted a ban on reparative therapy for youths with same-sex attractions.

After signing the bill, the office of Gov. Chris Christie, a Catholic (In name), issued a statement emphasizing that the governor disagrees with the Church’s teaching (What gall) on homosexuality. The statement quoted a 2011 interview in which Christie said:

‘Well my religion says it’s a sin. I mean I think, but for me (As if his opinion about Church teaching matters. Where does he get his authority? The Church get’s Her’s from Christ.), I’ve always believed (Believed? I feel. My emotions tell me. Let’s hear the facts governor, not what you believe!) that people are born with the predisposition to be homosexual. (There are no scientific facts to prove this, in fact, there are studies done by the gay community that prove the opposite.) And so I think if someone is born that way it’s very difficult to say then that’s a sin. But I understand that my Church says that, but for me personally (He obviously doesn’t.) I don’t look at someone who is homosexual as a sinner.’ (If you took the time to study what your Church teaches, you would see that She doesn’t teach that someone who has the inclination is a sinner, only someone who acts on the inclination! Is someone who is drawn to rob a bank a bank robber or someone who acts on that inclination?)
“His action on this bill is consistent with his belief that people are born gay and homosexuality is not a sin,” the statement added.

It’s obvious where this is coming from and where it is going. Mr. Christi is going to run for President and he wants to pacify the gay activists. Did he ever consider the thousands of people with same-sex attraction who live a chaste life and want to live a normal, healthy life? I doubt it, because they are the silent majority.

Here is a good link about common misconceptions about homosexuality from a scientific viewpoint. Click here.

 

Bicycle parking garage

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Leave it to the Japanese. They have the coolest ideas and greatest standards. When they make a product, you can be sure it is of the highest quality. Bicycle parking garages keep you bike safe from thieves and the changes in weather. And, its readily available any time you return.

Pope Francis to consecrate the world, will it include Russia?

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Immaculate Heart of MaryWill Pope Francis put an end to all of those who reject the consecration made by Blessed John Paul? Things seem to be getting tense once again. The relations between Russia and the USA are a bit strained once again, while China and Russia seem to be on much friendlier terms. Is now the time to name names an state Russia clearly in this consecration. Heck, if I were Pope, I would name Russia, and China, and Iran, and Syria, and Egypt and a whole list of other troubling nations.

If Our Lady desires the consecration of Russia by name, why not just do it in obedience to the Mother of God. What harm can come from doing it Our Lady’s way? “But Father, we can’t risk causing more problems. Naming Russia will cause tension with the Orthodox and with Russia and with others.” READ MY LIPS – I DON’T CARE! I’m sick and tired of politically correct people, especially politically correct careerist clerics. They are more of a danger to the Church than Russia or anyone else. Do we trust in the loving mercy of Almighty God and His Holy Mother? I shout out with Saint Faustina: “Jesus, I trust in You!”

Holy Father, you don’t seem too concerned about the politically correct careerists in the Vatican. Please consecrate Russia and put an end to all the speculation by those who say the consecration was never made.

 From Rorate Caeli

In response to the desire of Holy Father Francis, the Statue of Our Lady of the Rosary of Fatima, venerated in the Little Chapel of Apparitions, will be brought to Rome on October 12/13 to be present at the Marian Day promoted by the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization. On October 13, next to the Statue of Our Lady, Pope Francis will make the consecration of the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
[The] Marian Day is one of the great pontifical events marked down on the calendar of celebrations of the Year of Faith which will bring to Rome hundreds of movements and institutions connoted with Marian devotion.
In a letter addressed to Bishop Antonio Marto, of Leiria-Fatima, the President of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization, [Abp.] Rino Fisichella, informs that “all ecclesial entities of Marian spirituality” are invited to take part in this Marian day, a gathering which includes, on the 12th, a pilgrimage to the tomb of Apostle St. Peter and other moments of prayer and meditation and, on the 13th, a Mass presided over by Pope Francis, in St. Peter’s Square.
In that letter, [Abp.] Fisichella wrote: “The Holy Father strongly desires that the Marian Day may have present, as a special sign, one of the most significant Marian icons for Christians throughout the world and, for that reason, we thought of the beloved original Statue of Our Lady of Fatima”.
Therefore, the Statue of Our Lady will depart from the Shrine of Fatima on the morning of October 12 and return on the afternoon of October 13. Scheduled to take its place in the Little Chapel of Apparitions is the first Pilgrim Statue of Our Lady of Fatima, which is enthroned in the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary since December 8, 2003.

Anointing of the Sick for Dogs?

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Mickey & Father FinelliNow that I have your attention. Animals cannot be Baptized, nor can they receive the Anointing of the Sick or any other Sacrament. But, animals are part of God’s creation, and part of God’s plan. Everything was created by God out of His infinite wisdom and love. He made no mistakes in His work of creation. In fact, everything in creation in one way or another reflects the something of God and His beauty. When we reflect on creation, the animals and plants, they can teach us something about our relationship with Him. They are totally dependent on God’s providence “Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. (Mt 6:26)” If we only lived with trust in that same dependance on Almighty God’s care for us.

As many of you know, my dog, Mickey has indolent lymphoma. There is no Sacrament given for animals, no matter how good or gentile they are. Sacraments are for men. Each night when I go to bed, I give my dog a blessing and a cookie. I have also been praying over his lymph nodes. There are many stories of the saints curing animals out of concern for the animal and for God’s people who need the animal for their livelihood, or just have concern for their pet.

However, like God’s providential care for animals, the Church also extends Her loving care and blessings for animals. In a time when everyone has become so conscience for the environment and creation, we can also take consolation in the Church’s care. Not a care that came about because of worldly environmental concerns, but one that has always been there.

In my preferred “Book of Blessings,” known as the “Roman Ritual” of 1964, there are many blessings for creatures of all kinds. Among these blessings is a “Blessing of Sick Animals.” So, if you have a sick animal be sure you ask your priest to uses this blessing. Of course the priest can make a blessing up on the spot, but the Church’s ritual is backed by the treasury of Holy Mother Church.

3. BLESSING OF SICK ANIMALS

The priest, vested in surplice and purple stole, says:
P: Our help is in the name of the Lord.
All: Who made heaven and earth.
P: Deal not with us, Lord, as our sins deserve.
All: Nor take vengeance on us for our transgressions.
P: You, O Lord, will save both men and beasts.
All: Just as you, O God, show mercy again and again.
P: You open your hand.
All: And fill every living creature with your blessing.
P: Lord, heed my prayer.
All: And let my cry be heard by you.
P: The Lord be with you.
All: May He also be with you.

Let us pray.
God, who supplied even dumb animals to lighten man’s toil, we humbly entreat you to preserve these creatures for our use, since without them mankind cannot subsist; through Christ our Lord.
All: Amen.

Let us pray.
We humbly entreat your mercy, O Lord, praying that in your name and by the power of your blessing + these animals may be cured of the dire sickness that afflicts them. Let the devil’s power over them be utterly abolished, and do you, Lord, protect their life and health against recurrent sickness; through Christ our Lord.
All: Amen.

Let us pray.
Have pity on us, Lord, we beg you, and turn away every scourge from your faithful. Rid our beasts of the dread sickness that is destroying them, so that we who are justly punished when we go astray may feel your gracious mercy when we repent; through Christ our Lord.
All: Amen.

They are sprinkled with holy water.

iPadre #307 – The Four Last Things

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In this life we are frequently worried about temporal things. Today, we will talk about the Four Last Things, we have some feedback and another great Mary Moment with our friend Sarah Reinhard.

– “Perfect Love of God” by Charlie Catura courtesy musicalley.com
– The Color of Altar Boy Cassocks by Fr. Z

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Benedict or Francis?

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Many times in life, we need to go into the future and look back to get the full picture. It is kind of like looking at a city. When you are close up, you can only see so much, but when you fly over in an airplane, you get a much fuller picture. From the future, you can see thing that were not visible at the time and thing we may have missed because of our clouded perception of how things were.

I think this is how it will be with the third part of the third secret of Fatima, read by Cardinal Sodano in Fatima on 13 May 2000. We will have to look back after it has been accomplished or as we near it’s fulfillment.

J.M.J.

The third part of the secret revealed at the Cova da Iria-Fatima, on 13 July 1917.

I write in obedience to you, my God, who command me to do so through his Excellency the Bishop of Leiria and through your Most Holy Mother and mine.

After the two parts which I have already explained, at the left of Our Lady and a little above, we saw an Angel with a flaming sword in his left hand; flashing, it gave out flames that looked as though they would set the world on fire; but they died out in contact with the splendour that Our Lady radiated towards him from her right hand: pointing to the earth with his right hand, the Angel cried out in a loud voice: ‘Penance, Penance, Penance!’. And we saw in an immense light that is God: ‘something similar to how people appear in a mirror when they pass in front of it’ a Bishop dressed in White ‘we had the impression that it was the Holy Father’. Other Bishops, Priests, men and women Religious going up a steep mountain, at the top of which there was a big Cross of rough-hewn trunks as of a cork-tree with the bark; before reaching there the Holy Father passed through a big city half in ruins and half trembling with halting step, afflicted with pain and sorrow, he prayed for the souls of the corpses he met on his way; having reached the top of the mountain, on his knees at the foot of the big Cross he was killed by a group of soldiers who fired bullets and arrows at him, and in the same way there died one after another the other Bishops, Priests, men and women Religious, and various lay people of different ranks and positions. Beneath the two arms of the Cross there were two Angels each with a crystal aspersorium in his hand, in which they gathered up the blood of the Martyrs and with it sprinkled the souls that were making their way to God.

So, who is the “Bishop dressed in White?” He will be”a Bishop dressed in White.” The children believed it was the Pope. “We had the impression that it was the Holy Father.” Today, we have a “Bishop dressed in White,” who is the Pope emeritis – Benedict XVI, and we have Pope Francis, who keeps referring to himself as “the Bishop of Rome.” Indeed, Francis is the Bishop of Rome, but he very rarely refers to himself as the Pope or the Supreme Pontiff. He is another “Bishop dressed in White.”

So could it be one of these two men? Are either one of them the one seen by the children of Fatima in the 3rd Secret? What do you think, Benedict or Francis? It could also be another in the future. Only time will tell.

They hope Pope will change things!

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DW, a German media company published an article coinciding with World Youth Day. In the online post talks about priest shortages in rural mission areas and the “creative” ways in which priests are dealing with it. Hear is a short clip of the article.

Many Catholics (Who are these Catholics? And where are they? Are they the Catholics that don’t go to Mass and respond to a poll outside their local grocery store?) hope Pope Francis will strengthen laymen and women in church, who have been taking on responsibilities of priests (What are they doing? There are many things we priests do, that anyone can do and some things that only a validly ordained priest can do, an some things that only a priest given jurisdiction by the proper authority can do.) in some rural areas. That might trigger a revolution, (There was the Protestant Reformation, is that what they hope to achieve? If so, they have or will break communion with the Church founded by Christ.) experts say.

The Catholic Church in Latin America has a way of dealing with contradictions: Instead of discussing whether women should be allowed to be ordained to the priesthood or debating the celibate, laymen go ahead and create precedents in their religious communities. They’ve come up with new forms of church services – services without a priest. (No priest, no Jesus, plain and simple!) Hopes are high during this year’s World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro that Pope Francis will give more power to ordinary people (If he gave that power to ordinary men, they would no longer be “ordinary,” they would be priests. Wouldn’t that just frustrate the problem? They don’t want more priests, but lay people to do what priests do.) in the church: the laypersons. That would ultimately change the Catholic Church. (No, there are some things that even the Pope has no authority to change.)

Erwin Kräutler, bishop of the diocese Xingu in the Brazilian Amazon region, steers clear of tricky subjects such as women priests and celibate. Kräutler, an Austrian native who came to the Amazon region some 40 years ago, takes a more pragmatic approach: “I have 28 priests for 700,000 people in an area that’s about the size of Germany,” he said. “We started to ask ourselves: How can we enable people in the jungle, wherever they are, to take part in the Holy Communion?”

No priest around

Many laypersons have already come up with their own solution: they simply hold church services without the support of the clerics (Priest less services are not now, and never will be the Mass). They pray together (It is good for people to pray together), break the bread, administer wine, (There is a name for this. They are apostates. Simulating the Sacraments is a grave sin.) and care little about Catholic regulations, which specify that only priests are allowed to administer the sacrament of the Holy Communion. (This is such a serious crime, that it must be investigated by the Bishop. If they Bishop finds the “accusation credible” he no longer has the power to deal with the situation. It must be referred to the Congregation of the Faith.)

You can read The Procedure and Pracis of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith regarding Graviora Delicta. It deals with the procedures to be followed when someone simulates either the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist or the Sacrament of Penance. Laity who become involved in a situation like this and priests who promote or encourage it need to repent.

Read the whole article in DW here.

The Conjuring

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The Conjuring isn’t my kind of movie, and I really did not want to see it. In fact, someone asked me last night if I was going and I “no.” But my seminarian wanted to go, so we went this morning. One attraction of the movie for me was it’s location. No, not where it was filmed, but where it happened. When I found out where the incident took place in Harrisville, Rhode Island, my interest peaked. The real house, where all of this happened in the 70’s, is only a few miles from home. I don’t like movies with demons. Demonology is something that we shouldn’t play around with or become too curious about. But, since it was literally right in my back yard, I wanted to see.

The movie was well done. It wasn’t over sensationalized. The events seemed to be pretty sober. I had heard of the Warrens before. (The husband and wife that investigate demonic incidents). They are a good Catholic family. And, the film actually showed a balanced approach to demonology. Hollywood likes to take these stories and literally spin heads. There was an investigation with documentation and study of the psychological and religious life of the family. The Warrens met with a priest to discuss the findings, and the priest sought proper permissions to proceed with an exorcism.

From one website, it seems that the movie was based on the documentation of Ed & Lorraine Warren. Lorraine was an advisor in the production of the film. She also stated that most events portrayed in the movie, even the extraordinary events, are close to reality with a little embelishment.

After viewing the movie, I wanted to check out the house. It was the house I thought it was. I have passed by it on many occasions. I saw two other cars staking out the place. Another person in town told me that the current resident has a police officer keeping cars moving and people off the property.

Great movie for adults, but I wouldn’t recommend it for children. Also, this should be a warning to all. Stay clear of the occult. Don’t try to conjure the dead. Respect the devil – that means, keep your distance. Make a frequent Confession, go to Mass regularly, and devotion to the Virgin Mary. (I’m not saying that the Perrons practiced any form of the occult.) Just know your enemy, and keep your distance!

Update: Check out this site.

Conjuring house 1970's Conjuring house today