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1st Sunday of Advent

11/30/2013

Sermon by St. Leo the Pope

When the Saviour gave instruction to his disciples concerning the coming of the kingdom of God, and of the end of space and time, he was teaching his whole Church through the Apostles. By this means he is even now saying unto us: Take heed lest your hearts wax gross with an excess of meat and drink and worldly affairs. And we know, beloved, that to us this warning specially appertains. For the day of the Lord has already been proclaimed; and even if we know not its very hour, at least we know it is nigh at hand.

Wherefore let every man make himself ready against the Advent of the Lord, lest it take him unaware, whilst he is given over to gluttony or worldly affairs. For it is a matter of every-day experience, beloved, how fullness of drink dulls the mind, and how excess of eating weakeneth the will. To eat as much as one may desire is even bad for the bodily health. Wherefore desire should be withstood by temperance; or at least the gluttonous pleasure of the moment should be checked by the thought of the discomfort which followeth hard upon over-eating.

The body without the soul could not conceive desire. The body's power to enjoy cometh from the same source as its power to choose. Hence it is the duty of the soul to deny something to its subject, (to wit, to the lower nature,) and thereby keep back the outer man from things unseemly. Then will the soul be less hindered by fleshly cravings, and have leisure in the inner court of the mind to dwell on the wisdom of God. There, when the turmoil of earthly care is stilled, will the soul feed on holy thoughts, and be entertained with the expectation of everlasting joy.

Saint for Today - St Andrew

11/29/2013

The Apostle Andrew was born at Bethsaida, a town of Galilee, and was the brother of Peter. He was a disciple of John the Baptist, and heard him say of Christ, Behold the Lamb of God, whereupon he immediately followed Jesus, bringing his brother also with him. Some while after, they were both fishing in the Sea of Galilee, and the Lord Christ, going by, called them both, before any other of the Apostles, in the words, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. They made no delay, but left their nets, and followed him. After the death and Resurrection of Christ, Andrew was allotted Scythia as the province of his preaching, and, after labouring there, he went through Epirus and Thrace, where he turned vast multitudes to Christ by his teaching and miracles. Finally he went to Patras in Achaia, and there also he brought many to the knowledge of Gospel truth. Aegeas the Proconsul resisted the preaching of the Gospel, and the Apostle freely rebuked him, bidding him know that while he held himself a judge of his fellow men, he was himself hindered by devils from knowing Christ our God, the Judge of all.

Then Aegeas, being angry, answered him, Boast no more of this thy Christ. He spake words even such as thine, but they availed him not, and he was crucified by the Jews. Whereto Andrew boldly answered that Christ had given himself up to die for man's salvation; but the Proconsul blasphemously interrupted him, and bade him look to himself, and sacrifice to the gods. Then said Andrew, We have an altar, whereon day by day I offer up to God, the Almighty, the One, and the True, not the flesh of bulls nor the blood of goats, but a Lamb without spot: and when all they that believe have eaten of the Flesh thereof, the Lamb that was slain abideth whole and liveth. Then Aegeas being filled with wrath, bound the Apostle in prison. Now, the people would have delivered him, but he himself calmed the multitude, and earnestly besought them not to take away from him the crown of martyrdom, for which he longed and which was now drawing near.

Some short while after, he was brought before the judgment seat, where he extolled the mystery of the cross, and rebuked Aegeas for his ungodliness. Then Aegeas could bear with him no longer, but commanded him to be crucified, in imitation of Christ. Andrew, then, was led to the place of martyrdom, and, as soon as he came in sight of the cross, he cried out: O precious cross, made so fair and goodly by the sweet body of my Lord, how long have I desired thee! how warmly have I loved thee! how constantly have I sought thee! And, now that thou art come to me, how is my soul drawn to thee! Welcome me from amongst men, and join me anew to my Master, that as by thee he redeemed me, so by thee also he may take me unto himself. So he was fastened to the cross, whereon he hung living for two days, during which time he ceased not to preach the faith of Christ, and, finally, passed into the Presence of him the likeness of whose death he had loved so well. All the above particulars of his last sufferings were written by the Priests and Deacons of Achaia, who bear witness to them of their own knowledge. Under the Emperor Constantine the bones of the Apostle were first taken to Constantinople, whence they were afterwards brought to Amalfi. In the Pontificate of Pope Pius II, his head was carried to Rome, where it is kept in the Basilica of St. Peter.

Eleison Comments CCCXXXIII (333)

11/29/2013

FATHER RIOULT I

Why was there not an uprising amongst priests of the Society of St Pius X when their leaders' loss of grip on Catholic doctrine and subsequent betrayal of Archbishop Lefebvre's work became absolutely clear from March of last year onwards ? Fr. Olivier Rioult, trail-blazer of the "Resistance" in France, gave several good reasons last month in an interview accessible in French on pelagiusasturiensis.wordpress.com. The following summary is freely adapted from the original text:--

Basically, original sin: Once the original fight for Tradition in the 1970's and '80's had succeeded in guaranteeing the survival of the essentials of the Faith, Traditionalists sat back on their laurels to enjoy their cosy enclaves, and they settled into a comfortable routine which they are now reluctant to lose. They have lost the spirit of fighting for the Faith.

Secondly, that particular form of original sin which is liberalism: Over the last ten years Society leaders have given the lead in weakening the fight against liberalism, error and immodesty. But to cease swimming against the current is to drift backwards, and a number of SSPX priests -- by no means all -- have grown weaker in their convictions and their preaching.

Thirdly, activism: some colleagues can also let themselves be run off their feet by their priestly tasks, leaving themselves no time or inclination to read or study. Turning into mere administrators and communicators, they weaken their convictions and preaching.

Fourthly, Bishop Fellay's trickery: for years his double-talk deceived everybody except a small minority of clear-sighted souls who could absolutely not get a hearing. Only last year did his mask come off with the March "Cor Unum" and with his reply of April 14 to the three bishops. The great majority of Traditionalists he had put to sleep (as he is now doing again).

Fifthly, fear of the unknown: when the whole world around you is going mad, and you find an enclave of sanity, and then that enclave also begins to go mad, it requires unusual strength of character to face up to the reality and not prefer some illusion or other, and of illusions there are plenty ! Thus many priests realize that they are living through a drama calling for some crucifying decisions, but they lack the necessary fortitude to launch into the unknown.

And last but not least, bad leaders: of course there have always been liberals within the SSPX as within the mainstream Church, but for as long as the leaders hold firm, these can be held in check. However, when in the mainstream Church John XXIII and Paul VI favoured their liberalism, the result was a tidal wave , and now that SSPX leaders have turned liberal, liberalism is sweeping through the Society as it would never have done under good leaders, true leaders.

These reasons given by Fr Rioult are all true, but none of them are stronger than that Faith which is "our victory over the world" (I Jn.V, 4). Indeed one might say that all the reasons come down to the lack of a strong enough Faith on the part of the priests, because they are living in a world in which the grip on Truth of every soul alive has been loosened, and if Truth is not true, how can Faith be true ?

Then what is the simplest way to strengthen one's grip on Truth, as we absolutely need to do in today’s crazy circumstances ? In my opinion:--

"Watch and pray, watch and pray,
Fifteen Mysteries every day".

Kyrie eleison.

© 2011-2013 Richard N. Williamson. All Rights Reserved.

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Archbishop Lefebvre Greatest Quotes II

11/29/2013

“It appears to us much more certain that the faith taught by the Church over twenty years cannot contain error than that there is absolute certainty that the Pope really is the pope. Heresy, schism, ipso facto excommunication, and the invalidity of the election are all potential reasons why a Pope was never really the Pope or should cease to be the Pope. In such a case, clearly a very exceptional one, the Church would find herself in a situation similar to that which she experiences after the decease of a Sovereign Pontiff. For, in a word, a very serious problem presents itself to the conscience and the faith of all Catholics since the beginning of the papacy of Paul VI. How is it that a Pope, the true successor of Peter, assured of the assistance of the Holy Ghost, could preside over the destruction of the Church, the most profound and extensive in her history, in such a short space of time, something which no heresiarch has ever succeeded in doing? To this question there will one day have to be a reply.” (Archbishop Lefebvre, Declaration to Figaro, shortly after his suspension by Paul VI, August 27th, 1976)

“If our priests came to abandon the true liturgy, the true Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the true Sacraments, then it would no longer be worth while to continue. It would be suicide!

When Rome asked: “But surely you can adopt the new liturgy and continue your seminaries, that won’t make them disappear,” I answered: “Yes, it will make out seminaries disappear. They would not be able to accept the new liturgy, it would amount to introducing the poison of the conciliar spirit into the community. If others were unable to hold on, it is because they adopted this new liturgy, all of these reforms and this new spirit. As for us, if we accept the same things, we will have the same results.

This is why we must absolutely maintain our Traditional line, in spite of the appearance of disobedience and the persecutions of those who use their authority in an unjust and often illegal manner.” (Archbishop Lefebvre, Conference given during a priestly retreat Econe, September 1986)

“We must not be afraid to affirm that the current Roman authorities, since John XXIII and Paul VI, have made themselves active collaborators of international Jewish Freemasonry and of world socialism. John Paul II is above all a communist-loving politician at the service of a world communism retaining a hint of religion. He openly attacks all of the anti-communist governments and does not bring, by his travels, any Catholic revival.” (Archbishop Lefebvre, “Marcel Lefebvre: The Biography” by Bishop Tissier, pp. 602-603)

“Eminence, even if you give us everything–a bishop, some autonomy from the bishops, the 1962 liturgy, allow us to continue our seminaries–we cannot work together because we are going in different directions. You are working to dechristianize society and the Church, and we are working to Christianize them.” (Archbishop Lefebvre to Cardinal Ratzinger, 1987)

“We must not forget also the prophecies of the most holy Virgin Mary. She warned us: without the Conversion of Russia, without conversion of the world, without prayer and penance, communism shall invade the whole world. What does that mean? We know very well that the goal of the secret societies is a world government, with Masonic ideals, i.e the rights of men, equality, fraternity and liberty, understood in an anti-christian sense, against Our Lord. These ideals would be promoted by a world government, which would establish a kind of socialism for all countries and then a congress of religions, encompassing all religions, including the Catholic Religion, in the service of this world government, as the Russian Orthodox are in the service of the soviets. There would be two congresses: a universal political congress, which would control the whole world, and this Congress of religions, which would support this world government, in a mercenary way.” (Archbishop Lefebvre, sermon given at Paris on the occasion of the celebration of his 60th anniversary of ordination, November 19th, 1989)

“The pope stated on many occasions that he was in favor of modernist ideas, in favor of a compromise with the world. In his own words, it was ‘necessary to throw a bridge between the church and the secular world.’

The pope said that it was necessary to attempt humanist ideas, that it was necessary to discuss such ideas; that it was necessary to have dialogs. At this stage, it is important to state that dialogs are contrary to the doctrines of the Catholic faith. Dialogs presuppose the coming together of two equal and opposing sides; therefore, in no way could (dialog) have anything to do with the Catholic faith.

We believe and accept our faith as the only true faith in the world. All this confusion ends up in compromises, which destroy the Church’s doctrines, for the misfortune of mankind and the church alike.” (Archbishop Lefebvre, interview, 1978)

“So by way of conclusion, either we are the heirs of the Catholic Church, i.e., of Quanta Cura, of Pascendi, with all the Popes down to the Council and with the great majority of bishops prior to the Council, for the reign of Our Lord Jesus Christ and for the salvation of souls; or else we are the heirs of those who strive, even at the price at breaking with the Catholic Church and her doctrine, to acknowledge the principles of the Rights of Man, based on a veritable apostasy, in order to obtain a place as servants in the Revolutionary World Government. That is it. They will manage to get quite a good place as servants in the Revolutionary World Government because, by saying they are in favour of the Rights of Man, religious liberty, democracy and human equality, clearly they are worth being given a position as servants in the World Government.” (Archbishop Lefebvre, address to his priests at Econe, 1990)

“I do not see how one could found a seminary using the New Mass. I would not find in it the strength, even with the greatest good will. The True, Traditional Latin Mass, is the heart of the seminary, of the priest, of the Church, of the Gospel, of Our Lord. St. Pius V saw this well: the True Ancient Mass is also faith’s barrier against heresy. (Archbishop Lefebvre, November 23rd, 1972)

“The devil’s greatest victory is to have undertaken the destruction of the Church without making any martyrs.

But the Church against her past and her Tradition is not the Catholic Church; this is why being excommunicated by a liberal, ecumenical, and revolutionary Church is a matter of indifference to us.(Archbishop Lefebvre, The Biography of Marcel Lefebvre by His Excellency Bishop Bernard Tissier, Kansas City, Missouri: Angelus Press, 2004, pp. 547.)

“Ecumenism is not the Church’s mission. The Church is not ecumenical, she is missionary. The goal of the missionary Church is to convert. The goal of the ecumenical Church is to find what is true in errors and to remain at this level. It is to deny the truth of the Church. (Archbishop Lefebvre, April 14th, 1978)

“Yes, I am a rebel. Yes, I am a dissident. Yes, I am disobedient to people like those Bugninis. For they have infiltrated themselves into the Church in order to destroy it. There is no other explanation.” (Archbishop Lefebvre, Conference on the Infiltration of modernism in the Church, Montreal Canada, 1982)

“. . . .most recently, the Pope has been into the synagogue of the Jews in Rome. How can the Pope pray with the enemies of Jesus Christ? These Jews know and say and believe that they are the successors of the Jews that killed Jesus Christ, and they continue to fight against Jesus Christ everywhere in the world. At the end of the Pope’s visit, the Jews sang a “hymn” that included the line “I believe with all my heart in the coming of the Messiah,” meaning they refuse Jesus as the Messiah, and the Pope had given permission for this denial of Christ to be sung in his presence, and he listened, with head bowed!” (Archbishop Lefebvre, talk on Assisi meeting, 1986)

“We consider as null…all the post-conciliar reforms, and all the acts of Rome accomplished in this impiety.” (Archbishop Lefebvre, Joint Declaration with Bishop de Castro Mayer following Assisi, December 2, 1986)

“Two religions confront each other; we are in a dramatic situation and it is impossible to avoid a choice, but the choice is not between obedience and disobedience. What is suggested to us, what we are expressly invited to do, what we are persecuted for not doing, is to choose an appearance of obedience. But even the Holy Father cannot ask us to abandon our faith.

We therefore choose to keep it and we cannot be mistaken in clinging to what the Church has taught for two thousand years. The crisis is profound, cleverly organised and directed, and by this token one can truly believe that the master mind is not a man but Satan himself. For it is a master-stroke of Satan to get Catholics to disobey the whole of Tradition in the name of obedience [...] St. Thomas Aquinas, to whom we must always refer, goes so far in the “Summa Theologica” as to ask whether the “fraternal correction” prescribed by Our Lord can be exercised towards our superiors. After having made all the appropriate distinctions he replies: “One can exercise fraternal correction towards superiors when it is a matter of faith.” (Archbishop Lefebvre, “Open Letter to Confused Catholics”, 1986)

John Paul II “now continually diffuses the principles of a false religion, which has for its result a general apostasy.”(Archbishop Lefebvre, Preface to Giulio Tam’s Osservatore Romano 1990, contributed by the Archbishop just three weeks before his death)

“It is not for me to know when Tradition will regain its rights at Rome, but I think it is my duty to provide the means of doing that which I shall call “Operation Survival,” operation survival for Tradition. Today, this day, is Operation Survival. If I had made this deal with Rome, by continuing with the agreements we had signed, and by putting them into practice, I would have performed “Operation Suicide”. There was no choice, we must live! That is why today, by consecrating these bishops, I am convinced that I am continuing to keep Tradition alive, that is to say, the Catholic Church.” (Archbishop Lefebvre, sermon given at Consecrations of four Bishops at Econe, June 30th, 1988)

Shared from Traditional Catholic Remnant

St. Saturninus Bishop - November 29th

11/29/2013

St. Saturninus Bishop of Toulouse and Martyr November 29 A.D. 257

St. Saturninus went from Rome by the direction of pope Fabian, about the year 245, to preach the faith in Gaul, where St. Trophimus, the first bishop of Arles, had some time before gathered a plentiful harvest. In the year 250, when Decius and Gratus were consuls, St. Saturninus fixed his episcopal see at Toulouse. Fortunatus tells us, that he converted a great number of idolaters by his preaching and miracles. This is all the account we have of him till the time of his holy martyrdom.

The author of his acts, who wrote about fifty years after his death, relates, that he assembled his flock in a small church; and that the capitol, which was the chief temple in the city, lay in the way between that church and the saint's habitation. In this temple oracles were given; but the devils were struck dumb by the presence of the saint as he passed that way. The priests spied him one day going by, and seized and dragged him into the temple. declaring that he should either appease the offended deities by offering sacrifice to them, or expiate the crime with his blood. Saturninus boldly replied: "I adore one only God, and to him I am ready to offer a sacrifice of praise. Your gods are devils, and are more delighted with the sacrifice of your souls than with those of your bullocks. How can I fear them who, as you acknowledge, tremble before a Christian?"

The infidels, incensed at this reply, abused the saint with all the rage that a mad zeal could inspire, and after a great variety of indignities, tied his feet to a wild bull, which was brought thither to be sacrificed. The beast being driven from the temple, ran violently down the hill, so that the martyr's scull was broken, and his brains dashed out. His happy soul was released from the body by death, and fled to the kingdom of peace and glory, and the bull continued to drag the sacred body, and the limbs and blood were scattered on every side, till, the cord breaking, what remained of the trunk was left in the plain without the gates of the city. Two devout women laid the sacred remains on a bier, and hid them in a deep ditch, to secure them from any further insult, where they lay in "wooden coffin" till the reign of Constantine the Great. Then Hilary, bishop of Toulouse, built a small chapel over this his holy predecessor's body Sylvius, bishop of that city towards the close of the fourth century, began to build a magnificent church in honor of the martyr, which was finished and consecrated by his successor Exuperius, who, with great pomp and piety, translated the venerable relics into it. This precious treasure remains there to this day with due honor. The martyrdom of this saint probably happened in the reign of Valerian, in 257

St. Catherine Laboure - November 28th

11/27/2013

Beatified By: May 28, 1933 by Pope Pius XI
Canonized By: July 27, 1947 by Pope Pius XII

St. Catherine Laboure, virgin, was born on May 2, 1806. At an early age she entered the community of the Daughters of Charity, in Paris, France. Three times in 1830 the Virgin Mary appeared to St. Catherine Laboure, who then was a twenty-four year old novice.

On July 18, the first apparition occurred in the community's motherhouse. St. Catherine beheld a lady seated on the right side of the sanctuary. When St. Catherine approached her, the heavenly visitor told her how to act in time of trial and pointed to the altar as the source of all consolation. Promising to entrust St. Catherine with a mission which would cause her great suffering, the lady also predicted the anticlerical revolt which occurred at Paris in 1870.

On November 27, Our Lady showed St. Catherine the medal of the Immaculate Conception, now universally known as the "Miraculous Medal." She commissioned St. Catherine to have one made, and to spread devotion to this medal. At that time, only her spiritual director, Father Aladel, knew of the apparitions. Forty-five years later, St. Catherine spoke fully of the apparitions to one of her superiors. She died on December 31, 1876, and was canonized on July 27, 1947. Her feast day is November 28.

Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal

11/27/2013

Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal
by Stephen Breen

The night of July 13, 1830, 14 Rue de Bac in Paris…
It was almost midnight; Sister Catherine Labouré was asleep. She was only a novice of a few months' standing.

Almost every day of her novitiate, Sister Labouré had seen Christ visibly in the Blessed Sacrament. He appeared on Trinity Sunday crowned and in the robes of a King. At the Gospel of the Mass, the Cross was on His breast and His kingly garments fell to His feet. Sister Catherine was given to understand that this was a figure of what was about to happen to the King of France; he would be stripped of his office and power, and his scepter would pass to another.

"Sister Labouré!" A shining angel stood beside her bed! By now he was urgent and insistent. Sister Labouré was dazed.

"Come to the chapel, the Blessed Virgin Mary is waiting for you."

Sister Labouré quickly recollected herself as best she could.

"I might awaken the other Sisters if I get up."

"Do not fear, everyone is sound asleep. It is half past eleven. Come! I am waiting for you!'

Sister Catherine Labouré dressed quickly. Out through the corridors and down the halls they went, the convent lamps lighted all the way, a condition not to be explained naturally. The Chapel door was locked as usual but at the touch of the angel it swung open. The Chapel, normally dark by night, was lighted brightly as if for Midnight Mass!

Up the aisle they walked, the angel leading Sister Catherine. He stopped before the director's chair in the Sanctuary. Instinctively, Sister Catherine knelt. Nothing happened. In the strange silence of a supernatural experience, Catherine grew uneasy. The clock struck twelve.

Sister Labouré saw no one. Presently there was the sound of rustling silk, and a very beautiful and majestic Lady walked down the altar steps and seated herself in the director's chair. Sister Labouré knelt at the foot of the chair and talked with the Queen of Heaven for a long time. At first the conversation was personal: and then there was the message for the world.

"Great troubles are about to happen in France," the Queen of Heaven said. "The danger will be great. But do not be afraid. The good God and St. Vincent will take care of the Sisters of Charity and the Priests of the Mission...

"My child, the Cross of Jesus will be hated, many priests will be put to death.

"The Archbishop will die. The streets will run with blood.

"My child, the whole world will be filled with trouble and sorrow.

"My child, the good God wishes to give you a mission. Later I shall let you know what it is. You will have much to suffer. But do not be afraid.

"The days are evil. Terrible things are going to happen in France. The King's throne will be overturned. The whole world will be filled with trouble of every kind. But come to the foot of this Altar often. Here many graces will be given to everyone who asks for them. They will be given to the rich and to the poor, the great and the lowly."

The climax had been reached; the Blessed Virgin arose and left.

A few months after her first visit to Rue de Bac, Our Lady was to pay her second visit to Sister Catherine Labouré. After the first fearsome message about the turn of events in France and the world, the Blessed Virgin, as always, was to propose a remedy and preventive measures. Eight days after her first visitation, the Freemasonic July Revolutions broke out in Paris as she had prophesied, but the trouble died out almost as quickly as it had begun, and Our Lady was to prepare now for the more serious troubles that would be more than a mere passing incident. It was not even to begin the week Our Lady spoke -- it had already begun in the French Revolution the century before, but now was becoming critical. The ever widening spiral of human affairs was to evolve into something of which Our Lady went on to speak, and to end finally in days which have not as yet come. They lay beyond Fatima, beyond the two world wars. Their consummation was to see the promise of Fatima come true. In their fulfillment all the messages of Our Lady were to become one message, terminating possibly before the year 1960, when the last part of the message of Fatima was to be made known.

"My child, I have a mission to entrust to you. You will have to suffer much in the performance of it, but the thought that it will be for the glory of God will enable you to overcome all your trials. You will be opposed, but do not be afraid. Grace will be given you. Tell all that takes place within you with simplicity and confidence. You will see certain things; you will receive inspirations in prayer. Give an account of everything to him who has charge of your soul."

St. Catherine then continues: "I then asked the Blessed Virgin what was the meaning of certain things which had been shown me." She answered: "My child, the times are evil, and misfortunes are about to overwhelm France. The throne will be destroyed and the whole world convulsed by all sorts of calamities." The Blessed Virgin looked very sad as she said this. "But," she added, "come to the foot of this altar. Here graces will be poured out on all who ask for them, great or small. There will come a time when the danger will be great and it will seem that all is lost. But have confidence. You will feel that I am with you and that God and St. Vincent are protecting the Communities. Have confidence, do not be discouraged, I shall be with you." Then with tears in her eyes, Our Lady continued: "There will be victims in other Communities. There will be victims among the clergy of Paris. The Archbishop will die. My child, the Cross will be despised and trodden underfoot. Our Lord's side will be pierced anew; the streets will run with blood, and the whole world will be in sorrow."

Unknown to Catherine, these words would bridge more than a century. That the Archbishop would die in about forty years time was revealed definitely to St. Catherine, but of the final climax, we have no way of knowing whether or not Catherine fully appreciated the words she was to pass on to mankind. The Archbishop died, as the message said, in the Paris Commune -- the first Communist revolution -- which took place in France in 1871. Mary was coming to crush the head of Communism long before it inundated the world from Russia, and she closed with the germ of Fatima: "My eyes are always watching you, I shall grant you many graces. Special graces will be given to all who ask for them, but people must pray."
"You Will See Me No More..."

Saturday afternoon, November 27, 1830: the next day would be the First Sunday of Advent and the Sisters of Charity were making preparations for the coming of this great Christian Feast of the year. Sister Labouré was praying hard to know her mission, of which Our Lady had spoken on the first occasion. During her prayer she heard the same rustle of silk over St. Joseph's altar in the Chapel, and there stood the Blessed Virgin Mary clothed in white! She was standing on a globe, one foot crushing the head of a serpent on the top of the globe. In her hands she held a smaller orb, a golden one surmounted by a Cross, which represented the world. Our Lady was offering this to God, looking toward Heaven and praying for its acceptance by the Almighty. On her fingers were many rings, filled with jewels and precious stones, from which shining rays of light descended. Our Lady said to Sister Labouré:

"This orb which you see is the world, France in particular, and each person individually. I am praying for it and for everyone in the world. The rays which fall on this orb are the graces which I give to those who ask for them. But there are no rays from some of the stones. For many people fail to receive graces because they neglect to ask for them."

The Miraculous Medal (1832) After a time the small orb representing the world in Our Lady's hands vanished and she lowered her arms outstretched, and the rays glittered and glistened more brilliantly than before. Around her Queenly head appeared the luminous letters of the words: "O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee." A frame of gold appeared around the entire vision as Our Lady said, "Have a Medal struck after this model. All who wear it will receive great graces; it should be worn around the neck. Great graces will be given to those who wear it with confidence."

The apparition turned, revealing the model for the reverse side. This was a large "M", surmounted by a Cross on a bar. Below the "M" were two hearts, one encompassed with thorns, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and the other pierced with a sword, the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Encircling the whole were twelve stars bordering the golden elliptical frame. The vision disappeared.

It was repeated several times. The last time Our Lady said, "You will see me nor more, but you will hear my voice in your meditations."

This was her first official herald, the Heaven-sent insignia of the modern Age of Mary. It was to be called the "Medal of the Immaculate Conception;" the prayer inscribed on it honored Our Lady's unique privilege: "O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee." It would prepare the world for the great declaration of a quarter of a century later when Pope Pius IX would declare the great dogma of the Immaculate Conception as an article of Faith, an essential element of Catholic belief.

The Medals of the Immaculate Conception streamed from the presses by the millions. They overflowed France into the world beyond.

Not long after, there was an epidemic in France. The death rate soared and medical science was unable to cope with the crisis. People turned to the Sisters of Charity who gave them the Medal of the Immaculate Conception with the assurance that great graces would be showered upon all who would wear it with confidence, especially if it were worn around the neck. After the first cures, people demanded it excitedly. The Archbishop of Paris found it efficacious to secure the return to the Church of an archbishop nearby, who repented on his deathbed. He died in the arms of his fellow prelate. So many favors, cures, and conversions were effected through its instrumentality that its name and doctrinal significance were lost in the clamor; it became known simply as "The Miraculous Medal."

PRAYER TO OUR LADY OF THE MIRACULOUS MEDAL

Virgin Mother of God, Mary Immaculate, we unite ourselves to thee under thy title of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal. May this medal be for each one of us a sure sign of thy motherly affection for us, and a constant reminder of our filial duties to thee. While wearing it, may we be blessed by thy loving protection and preserved in the grace of thy Son. Most powerful Virgin, Mother of our Savior, keep us close to thee at every moment of our lives so that, like thee, we may live and act according to the teaching and example of thy Son. Obtain for us, thy children, the grace of a happy death, so that in union with thee, we may enjoy the happiness of Heaven forever. Amen.

November 26th - St Peter of Alexandria

11/26/2013

Peter succeeded that eminent Saint, Theonas, as Pope of Alexandria, and the glory of his holiness and teaching hath enlightened not Egypt only, but the whole Church of God. The wondrous patience wherewith he bore the roughness of the times in the persecution under Maximian Galerius caused many greatly to increase in Christian graces. He was the first who cut off Arius, then a Deacon of Alexandria, from the Communion of the faithful, on account of his leaning to the Meletian schism. He was condemned to death by Maximian, and was in prison when there came to him the two Priests Achilles and Alexander to plead for Arius, but Peter told them that Jesus had appeared to him in the night clad in a rent garment, and when he asked what was thereby signified, had said unto him: Arius hath torn my vesture, which is the Church. Also, he foretold to them that they should be Popes of Alexandria after him, and strictly commanded them never to receive Arius into Communion, because he knew him to be dead in the sight of God. That this was a true prophecy the event did shortly prove. At length in the twelfth year of his Popedom, upon the 26th day of November his head was cut off, and he went hence to receive the crown of his testimony.

Saint for Today - St. Sylvester

11/26/2013

Sylvester was born of a noble family at Osimo in Piceno, and in his childhood was a wonderful example both in regard to letters and good living. When he grew older his father sent him to Bologna to study the law, but God warned him to give himself to divinity, and he thereby incurred the wrath of his father, which he bore with complacency for ten full years. On account of his eminent graces he was elected an honorary canon of the Cathedral of Osimo, in the which dignity he ministered to the people by his prayers, his example, and his sermons.

At the funeral of a certain nobleman he perceived in an open grave the disfigured corpse of a kinsman of his own who had been very comely in his lifetime, and he said to himself, I am what he was, and what he is I shall be. Straightway after the funeral he read the words of the Lord, If any man will come after me let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. Thereupon he withdrew into the desert to seek after greater perfection, and then gave himself up to watching, praying, and fasting, very often taking no food but uncooked herbs. In order, however, to cut himself off the more from men, he moved from one place to another, and at length came to Monte Fano, which is hard by Fabriano, but was itself then absolutely uninhabited. Then he built a church in honour of the holy Father Benedict, and founded the congregation of Sylvestrians, with a rule and dress which were revealed to him in a vision by the holy Patriarch himself.

Satan envied him, strove to trouble his monks by divers terrors, and made an hostile attack by night upon the gates of his monastery, but the man of God so overcame the assault of the enemy that his monks were the more confirmed in their Institute and recognised the holiness of their father. He shone with the spirit of prophecy and other gifts. These things he always preserved by the deepest lowliness, whereby he so stirred up against him the ill-will of the devil that that evil spirit cast him headlong down the stairs of his oratory, and went near to slay him, but he was restored to soundness by the helpful gift of the Virgin. This help he remembered with an unceasing singular love toward her until the last breath of his life, the which breath he resigned to God, famous for holiness and miracles, aged almost ninety years, upon the 26th day of November, in the year of salvation 1267. The Supreme Pontiff Leo XIII extended his Office and Mass to the universal Church.

Saint for Today - St Catherine of Alexander

11/24/2013

Catherine was a noble maiden of Alexandria, who from her earliest years joined the study of the liberal arts with fervent faith, and in a short while came to such an height of holiness and learning, that when she was eighteen years of age she prevailed over the chiefest wits. When she saw many diversely tormented and haled to death by command of Maximinus, because they professed the Christian religion, she went boldly unto him and rebuked him for his savage cruelty, bringing forward likewise most sage reasons why the faith of Christ should be needful for salvation.

Maximinus marvelled at her wisdom, and bade keep her, while he gathered together the most learned men from all quarters and offered them great rewards if they would confute Catherine and bring her from believing in Christ to worship idols. But the event fell contrariwise, for many of the philosophers who had come to dispute with her were overcome by the force and skill of her reasoning, so that the love of Christ Jesus was kindled in them, and they were content even to die for his sake. Then did Maximinus strive to beguile Catherine with fair words and promises, and when he found it was lost pains, he caused her to be hided, and bruised with lead-laden whips, and so cast into prison, and neither meat nor drink given to her for the space of eleven days.

At that time Maximinus' wife and Porphyry the Captain of his host, went to the prison to see the damsel, and at her preaching believed in Jesus Christ, and were afterwards crowned with martyrdom. Then was Catherine brought out of ward, and a wheel was set, wherein were fastened many and sharp blades, so that her virgin body might thereby be most direfully cut and torn in pieces, but in a little while, as Catherine prayed, this machine was broken in pieces, at the which marvel many believed in Christ. But Maximinus was hardened in his godlessness and cruelty, and commanded to behead Catherine. She bravely offered her neck to the stroke and passed away hence to receive the twain crowns of maidenhood and martyrdom, upon the 25th day of November. Her body was marvellously laid by Angels upon Mount Sinai in Arabia.

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