Caravaggio for A Meditation for This Day

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Entombment_of_Christ_(Caravaggio)

One of my favorite poems for today

GOOD-FRIDAY, 1613, RIDING WESTWARD.
by John Donne

LET man's soul be a sphere, and then, in this,
Th' intelligence that moves, devotion is ;
And as the other spheres, by being grown
Subject to foreign motion, lose their own,
And being by others hurried every day,
Scarce in a year their natural form obey ;
Pleasure or business, so, our souls admit
For their first mover, and are whirl'd by it.
Hence is't, that I am carried towards the west,
This day, when my soul's form bends to the East.
There I should see a Sun by rising set,
And by that setting endless day beget.
But that Christ on His cross did rise and fall,
Sin had eternally benighted all.
Yet dare I almost be glad, I do not see
That spectacle of too much weight for me.
Who sees Gods face, that is self-life, must die ;
What a death were it then to see God die ?
It made His own lieutenant, Nature, shrink,
It made His footstool crack, and the sun wink.
Could I behold those hands, which span the poles
And tune all spheres at once, pierced with those holes ?
Could I behold that endless height, which is
Zenith to us and our antipodes,
Humbled below us ? or that blood, which is
The seat of all our soul's, if not of His,
Made dirt of dust, or that flesh which was worn
By God for His apparel, ragg'd and torn ?
If on these things I durst not look, durst I
On His distressed Mother cast mine eye,
Who was God's partner here, and furnish'd thus
Half of that sacrifice which ransom'd us ?
Though these things as I ride be from mine eye,
They're present yet unto my memory,
For that looks towards them ; and Thou look'st towards me,
O Saviour, as Thou hang'st upon the tree.
I turn my back to thee but to receive
Corrections till Thy mercies bid Thee leave.
O think me worth Thine anger, punish me,
Burn off my rust, and my deformity ;
Restore Thine image, so much, by Thy grace,
That Thou mayst know me, and I'll turn my face. 

Donne, John. Poems of John Donne. vol I.
E. K. Chambers, ed.
London: Lawrence & Bullen, 1896. 172-173.

Good News on Good Friday

Late yesterday, Dr. James Dobson won an injunction against the Obama Administration’s abortion pill mandate. This brings our win-loss record to 16-1. 

http://www.alliancedefendingfreedom.org/Home/Detail/7924?referral=I0712AW1

Continuing with the Pope Emeritus

Moving towards the section on love, Benedict develops ideas which came to fruition in his encyclical on love, examined on this blog. Follow the tags under love, marriage, and socialism.

The sacred and the so-called profane, that is spirit and matter, were redeemed on the Cross. Love, as the Pope Emeritus points out, must include not only the spiritual relationship with God, but real involvement in the lives of others. Whether we are married or not, this involvement demands our time and energies in order to make love real.

Benedict notes that love means a fundamental "yes" to another person.  He quotes Pieper, a great author I taught in days past,writing that love states to another person, "it is good that you exist". This affirmation of a person's goodness and the commitment which follows indicates a moving out of one's self into love.

The existence of another person is confirmed, writes the Pope Emeritus, in love.

How wonderful for those who experience this. Some of us have not experienced the intimate love which should accompany a good marriage. Some of us have experienced love in friendship. Some have experienced love through parents.

For those who have not, this love becomes an act of faith and an act of hope. I believe God loves me, therefore, I am loved and can love, despite a lack of intimate love in my life from a human.

Christ loves us intimately. That is one of the messages of the Cross.

The Pope Emeritus notes that by saying yes to another person, one affirms one's self as well. How wonderful. The person who loves, even in unrequited love, experiences an affirmation of being, as one recognizes that love is from God.

The happiness of love, therefore, expands from this mutual affirmation. And, as Benedict points out, love, by nature, is creative. For a married couple, this creation most often is seen in the children born of the couple. But, not always is love expressed in such a way. A loving marriage may be infertile, for God's reasons, or by choice.

Such marriages then become a force of creativity for the community, for the Church, such as that of the Maritains.

All love affirms existence and is creative by nature, by the spirit. And, in this love, one wants to sacrifice, to die for the other.

I feel sadness for those who have never been open to love. They live in the shadow of grace and life.

Today, contemplating the Cross, one sees love in action.

Meditate on The Cross

Vatican on Divine Mercy Sunday Indulgence and Criteria

(One may add the Novena and chaplet which starts today.) INDULGENCES ATTACHED TO DIVINE MERCY DEVOTIONS

Apostolic Penitentiary

On 29 June, the Apostolic Penitentiary published the Decree in which the Holy Father attached a plenary and a partial indulgence to the devout observance of the Second Sunday of Easter or Divine Mercy Sunday. In an audience given to the Pro-Penitentiary Major and the Regent of the Apostolic Penitentiary on the 13 June, the Holy Father approved the content of the Decree. The Decree was published in the press on 3 August and announced by the Holy Father at the Sunday Angelus on 4 August.DECREE Indulgences attached to devotions in honour of Divine Mercy "O God, your mercy knows no bounds and the treasure of your goodness is infinite..." (Prayer after the "Te Deum" Hymn) and "O God, you reveal your almighty power above all by showing mercy and forgiveness..." (Prayer for the 26th Sunday of Ordinary Time), in these prayers Holy Mother Church humbly and faithfully sings of Divine Mercy. Indeed, God's great patience with the human race in general and with each individual person shines out in a special way when sins and moral failures are forgiven by Almighty God Himself and the guilty are readmitted in a fatherlike way to his friendship, which they deservedly lost. Duty of honouring Divine Mercy The faithful with deep spiritual affection are drawn to commemorate the mysteries of divine pardon and to celebrate them devoutly. They clearly understand the supreme benefit, indeed the duty, that the People of God have to praise Divine Mercy with special prayers and, at the same time, they realize that by gratefully performing the works required and satisfying the necessary conditions, they can obtain spiritual benefits that derive from the Treasury of the Church. "The paschal mystery is the culmination of this revealing and effecting of mercy, which is able to justify man, to restore justice in the sense of that salvific order which God willed from the beginning in man, and through man, in the world" (Encyclical Letter Dives in misericordia, n. 7). It is God's Mercy that grants supernatural sorrow and resolution to amend Indeed, Divine Mercy knows how to pardon even the most serious sins, and in doing so it moves the faithful to perceive a supernatural, not merely psychological, sorrow for their sins so that, ever with the help of divine grace, they may make a firm resolution not to sin any more. Such spiritual dispositions undeniably follow upon the forgiveness of mortal sin when the faithful fruitfully receive the sacrament of Penance or repent of their sin with an act of perfect charity and perfect contrition, with the resolution to receive the Sacrament of Penance as soon as they can. Indeed, Our Lord Jesus Christ teaches us in the parable of the Prodigal Son that the sinner must confess his misery to God saying: "Father I have sinned against heaven and against you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son" (Lk 15,18-19), realizing that this is a work of God, "for [he] was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found" (Lk 15,32). Second Sunday of Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday And so with provident pastoral sensitivity and in order to impress deeply on the souls of the faithful these precepts and teachings of the Christian faith, the Supreme Pontiff, John Paul II, moved by the consideration of the Father of Mercy, has willed that the Second Sunday of Easter be dedicated to recalling with special devotion these gifts of grace and gave this Sunday the name, "Divine Mercy Sunday" (Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Decree Misericors et miserator, 5 May 2000). The Gospel of the Second Sunday of Easter narrates the wonderful things Christ the Lord accomplished on the day of the Resurrection during his first public appearance: "On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, 'Peace be with you'. When he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad to see the Lord. Jesus said to them again, 'Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you'. And then he breathed on them, and said to them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained'" (Jn 20,19-23). Plenary Indulgence To ensure that the faithful would observe this day with intense devotion, the Supreme Pontiff himself established that this Sunday be enriched by a plenary indulgence, as will be explained below, so that the faithful might receive in great abundance the gift of the consolation of the Holy Spirit. In this way, they can foster a growing love for God and for their neighbour, and after they have obtained God's pardon, they in turn might be persuaded to show a prompt pardon to their brothers and sisters. Pardon of others who sin against us Thus the faithful will more closely conform to the spirit of the Gospel, receiving in their hearts the renewal that the Second Vatican Council explained and introduced: "Mindful of the words of the Lord: 'By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another' (Jn 13,35), Christians can yearn for nothing more ardently than to serve the men of this age with an ever growing generosity and success.... It is the Father's will that we should recognize Christ our brother in the persons of all men and love them with an effective love, in word and in deed (Pastoral Constitution, Gaudium et spes, n. 93). Three conditions for the plenary indulgence And so the Supreme Pontiff, motivated by an ardent desire to foster in Christians this devotion to Divine Mercy as much as possible in the hope of offering great spiritual fruit to the faithful, in the Audience granted on 13 June 2002, to those Responsible for the Apostolic Penitentiary, granted the following Indulgences: A plenary indulgence, granted under the usual conditions (sacramental confession, Eucharistic communion and prayer for the intentions of Supreme Pontiff) to the faithful who, on the Second Sunday of Easter or Divine Mercy Sunday, in any church or chapel, in a spirit that is completely detached from the affection for a sin, even a venial sin, take part in the prayers and devotions held in honour of Divine Mercy, or who, in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament exposed or reserved in the tabernacle, recite the Our Fatherand the Creed, adding a devout prayer to the merciful Lord Jesus (e.g. Merciful Jesus, I trust in you!"); A partial indulgence, granted to the faithful who, at least with a contrite heart, pray to the merciful Lord Jesus a legitimately approved invocation. For those who cannot go to church or the seriously ill In addition, sailors working on the vast expanse of the sea; the countless brothers and sisters, whom the disasters of war, political events, local violence and other such causes have been driven out of their homeland; the sick and those who nurse them, and all who for a just cause cannot leave their homes or who carry out an activity for the community which cannot be postponed, may obtain a plenary indulgence on Divine Mercy Sunday, if totally detesting any sin, as has been said before, and with the intention of fulfilling as soon as possible the three usual conditions, will recite the Our Father and the Creed before a devout image of Our Merciful Lord Jesus and, in addition, pray a devout invocation to the Merciful Lord Jesus (e.g. Merciful Jesus, I trust in you). If it is impossible that people do even this, on the same day they may obtain the PlenaryIndulgence if with a spiritual intention they are united with those carrying out the prescribed practice for obtaining the Indulgence in the usual way and offer to the Merciful Lord a prayer and the sufferings of their illness and the difficulties of their lives, with the resolution to accomplish as soon as possible the three conditions prescribed to obtain the plenary indulgence. Duty of priests: inform parishioners, hear confessions, lead prayers Priests who exercise pastoral ministry, especially parish priests, should inform the faithful in the most suitable way of the Church's salutary provision. They should promptly and generously be willing to hear their confessions. On Divine Mercy Sunday, after celebrating Mass or Vespers, or during devotions in honour of Divine Mercy, with the dignity that is in accord with the rite, they should lead the recitation of the prayers that have been given above. Finally, since "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy" (Mt 5,7), when they instruct their people, priests should gently encourage the faithful to practise works of charity or mercy as often as they can, following the example of, and in obeying the commandment of Jesus Christ, as is listed for the second general concession of indulgence in the "Enchiridion Indulgentiarum". This Decree has perpetual force, any provision to the contrary notwithstanding. Archbishop Luigi De Magistris,Tit. Archbishop of Nova Major Pro-Penitentiary Fr Gianfranco Girotti, O.F.M. Conv.,Regent

Continuing with Benedict

The Pope Emeritus continues in his book on faith, hope, and love, with amazing insights into love.
,
Love is an affirmation of a person's goodness. Benedict notes that through love, a person is affirmed, with a "yes" to their existence. Likewise, the person who loves, in return, is affirmed in that love. The entire world is renewed.

One the Cross, Benedict shows us that Christ affirms each one of us in our goodness and existence. He said "yes" to suffering and dying for us, and, therefore, affirms our being. The Cross is the expression of Divine Love.

Benedict notes that to have an all-accepting Christ, who is not also a judge, minimizes both love and the sacrifice on the Cross.

Affirmation is forgiveness and forgiveness leads to truth, to conversion.

As the Pope Emeritus writes, love shows us reality, the truth of ourselves.

Today, as we contemplate the Cross, let us be grateful for our personal affirmation.

For all Trads to listen to today....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FP-LUHpZET4&list=UU3x3gDTqUYy_bFZWS-U_mZQ

from a reader-

Why I miss London-my old parish-sigh.....

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.671947332872702.1073741851.140579769342797&type=1&l=da50a6fc64

Canon Law was broken in Washington DC. Where Else?

http://wdtprs.com/blog/2014/04/poll-2014-holy-thursday-foot-washing-rite-what-happened/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=catholiclisa

On Intercessory Prayer: Breaking through the permanent solitary confinement of lies.

In the book I have been sharing with you this week, The Yes of Jesus Christ, Benedict has covered the theological virtues of faith, hope, and love.

One of the most moving sections he writes concerns helping a loved one get through a darkness of addiction or pain.

The example the Pope Emeritus uses is that of chemical addiction, but the message is applicable to anyone caught in an idolatry, a falsehood, a life distorting lie.

Benedict notes that love makes it possible to accept and endure with another the death of a lie.

He notes that, "The correct pastoral approach leads to the truth, arouses love for the truth and helps people accept the pain of the truth."

I stopped reading there for a minute or two and thought, "But, what of those, whom I love, who do not want to face the truth, who have refused to walk with me through the lies to truth, through love?"

I have several people in my life whom I love dearly who have refused the truth in their lives which I have tried to bring to them. These six people are caught in lies, perhaps at first built by others into a prison, but then accepted by themselves as the way they choose to live-in their chosen prisons of lies.

I cannot change their perspective as they have rejected me. This is the position of Christ on the Cross. His Own People rejected Him.

They did not want the love and salvation He came to bring. We, too, can bring love and truth into people's lives, and the tragedy of such people turning away is part of our cross.

You can see this daily-those in our families who have left the Church and are close to the message of truth found in the Catholic Faith; those who have left the way of personal encounters with love and seek, rather, there own small worlds of fear and, sometimes hate, especially self-hatred. These people live in the permanent solitary confinement of lies.

The only thing I can do is to pray and do penance for these six people so dear to me. That is the only way I know to lead them out of the darkness of addictions and lies.

On Good Friday, after commemorating the Death of Christ, and on Holy Saturday, as we contemplate the world of the apostles without Christ, that entire day of Christ in the tomb, can we reach out and pray for those in the prisons of their souls and minds?

Christ said this, one of my favorite passages in the New Testament:

Luke 4:18-21

Douay-Rheims 

18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me. Wherefore he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor, he hath sent me to heal the contrite of heart,

19 To preach deliverance to the captives, and sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of reward.

20 And when he had folded the book, he restored it to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him.

21 And he began to say to them: This day is fulfilled this scripture in your ears

Intercessory prayer is hard work. It is the work of the Church Militant. Sometimes we cannot see the fruit of these prayers. But, there will be a resurrection, if the wills of those for whom we pray turn towards life.

Christ's death freed the captives of sin. That is one of the messages of the Harrowing of Hell. He set prisoners free, both those in hell and those on earth in their private hells of deceit.

Kyrie, elieson.

Catholics in America Do Not Get This

The national churches of the Russian Orthodox and the Greek Orthodox hate the Roman Catholic Church. If one is on the ground in the Ukraine, or a Catholic in Russia, or a Catholic in Greece, or a Catholic visiting the Holy Land, one sees this hatred daily.

Recently, a friend of mine was in the Holy Land. She was in a pilgrimage with lit candles in the Church of the Sepulcher. An Orthodox nun came up and asked if the group was Catholic. When she said "yes", the nun blew out their candles.

Watch what happens in the Ukraine to the Catholics, the Uniate Byzantines who fled so long ago from the Russia invasion in 1919.

Do not be blinded by a media which does not understand the hand-in-glove relationship of church and state in Russia.

This is serious--holocaust on the horizon?

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/04/17/jews-ordered-to-register-in-east-ukraine/7816951/

Consequences for non-compliance will result in citizenship being revoked "and you will be forced outside the country with a confiscation of property." A registration fee of $50 would be required, it said...

"The message is a message to all the people that is we're going to exert our power over you," he said. "Jews are the default scapegoat throughout history for despots to send a message to the general public: Don't step out of line."

From the pamphlet....The leaflet then described which documents Jews should provide: "ID and passport are required to register your Jewish religion, religious documents of family members, as well as documents establishing the rights to all real estate property that belongs to you, including vehicles."

Readers, registry in Nazi Germany happened before transportation to the concentration camps.

Note this, Catholics, there was genocide in the Vendee

Check out this video through here or on the link below-not the same one as posted. I had trouble posting the one I wanted....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swALctbUbpo


https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-hidden-rebellion-phase-ii

Yet Another Meditation from Caravaggio for Today

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christ_at_the_Column_(Caravaggio)

Another Meditation by Caravaggio for Today

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Flagellation_of_Christ_(Caravaggio)

Caravaggio for A Meditation Today

http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/caravbr-2.shtm

Great Confusion

The Catholic Church does not and has never accepted the idea, the rule of law concerning same-sex marriage. This idea has been rejected over and over by Rome. If leaders in a nation who are bishops speak as if the Church accepts this idea, and if lay people state such, both are wrong.

The passage of such a bill in Illinois last year led the good bishop of Springfield to hold an exorcism. See many links on that. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-11-21/news/ct-gay-marriage-excorcism-illinois-1121-20131121_1_marriage-law-exorcism-civil-marriage

Those laity and clergy who "push" for civil unions simply do not know the Church's teaching, or understand the danger of accepting rights and privileges given to same-sex couples. Sin has no rights.

The CCC is clear that all acts of homosexuality are "depraved". Therefore, civil unions cannot be considered,  as the Church would then be cooperating with evil. And, this evil is an objective evil, one judged by natural law and the laws of God.

It is of the utmost importance for the laity to form right reason on this matter. Formation of conscience is a duty for each lay Catholic.

2357 Homosexuality refers to relations between men or between women who experience an exclusive or predominant sexual attraction toward persons of the same sex. It has taken a great variety of forms through the centuries and in different cultures. Its psychological genesis remains largely unexplained. Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity,¹⁴¹ tradition has always declared that "homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered."¹⁴² They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved.

2358 The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. This inclination, which is objectively disordered, constitutes for most of them a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfill God's will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord's Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition.

2359 Homosexual persons are called to chastity. By the virtues of self-mastery that teach them inner freedom, at times by the support of disinterested friendship, by prayer and sacramental grace, they can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection

Malta Legalized Same Sex "Marriage"

http://www.dw.de/catholic-malta-legalizes-same-sex-civil-unions/a-17567045

http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2014/04/15/malta-passes-law-allowing-gay-couples-adopt

And gay couples can adopt. I am grieving over this news. So ends the great Catholic heritage of a beautiful country.

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20140414/local/same-sex-unions-approved-celebrations-in-valletta-opposition-abstains-because-of-adoptions.514992

http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2014-04-15/news/global-reaction-to-introduction-of-gay-marriage-in-malta-4637556740/

Tears for Malta.

The Coming Quiet Day: Thoughts for Parents

Holy Saturday in my house growing up was always a quiet day. We colored eggs, quietly. We cleaned the house for Easter Day, quietly. We helped get the large Easter dinner, quietly. We read and went to our rooms, quietly.

I highly suggest you do not shop, do not watch TV or use the computer, do not allow your children to be loud. Christ is in the tomb. One can plan ahead and not be running out at the last minute for things or food.

Teach your children to meditate on the Cross and the Death of Christ, so that they can appreciate the Resurrection.

Their world, after you are gone, will be ruthless towards Catholics. Train them now in the way to go.

For we are buried together with him by baptism into death; that as Christ is risen from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we also may walk in newness of life. Romans 6:4 DR