Penance for Lent

This is Lent. This is part of my penance, and it should be part of yours too, for I have to share the wealth! (he evilly laughs and grins)



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9jag8KF-2s

Death

Death is not a bad thing it all. Death is a wonderful thing. The Lord takes us from our worldly misery, and after Purgatory, if we have not died in mortal sin, we shall have eternal joy in Heaven with the Lord and Saviour, and our holy Blessed Mother, the Saints and angels. When a close member of the family has died, sometimes, the son, daughter or close member to the person who has died feels grief, and often anger at God most high. Feeling anger at God for someone's death is just plain wrong, and not right at all. When someone dies young, it means that God loves them SO SO much that he wants them to be happy forever in the Kingdom of Heaven, as long as they die without mortal sin. Especially the courageous Saints and Martyrs who died young, with a love of God and his Church, and his Blessed Mother. For example, St Dominic Savio; the young apostle of St John Bosco. He suffered and sacrificed his food and daily bread so that his friends at the home could have plenty. His selflessness and love for others, his love for them even more than he loved himself. God granted him the truly wonderful and exclusive privilege of and early death, and a short length of suffering. When someone dies, always pray for their soul. Have Masses said for them, pray the Rosary, and adore Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. Help release them from Purgatory, and hopefully they are there! Remember, also, that there IS a Hell. A hell, the place that those poor soul who have died in their sin go, for eternity in suffering. The LORD is good and just, and he shall reward the good and punish the bad. The sinner may say he doesn't believe in Hell, but he shall certainly go there if he dies in mortal sin, St Anthony Mary Claret once said. People often throw out the window their belief in Hell, for the simple fact that they want to pursue their own will, instead of God's. They don't want to feel guilty for the wrong they've done, though, that's what the Sacrament of Confession is for, to firstly have your sins forgiven by God most High, and to remove the guilt, knowing that God's grace has been restored to your soul. Know, that God sees your every thought, movement and action. He hears every word and sound you murmur. We go to confession because we feel horrible about offending God most High, who has given us everything. We want him to forgive us our trespasses, which is what he does do through the Priest, who acts in persona Christi. No "reconciliation service", no "group confession", no "general absolution" can do this. Only the sacrament of Confession can.

God Bless.

Theatrical Performances.

Before I start, could I say, I owe about 70% of my traffic to the wonderful, exception, holy, orthodox people over at Cleansing Fire. Could we please a a round of applause for the good people? God Bless em!

In the US of A, the new translation of the Mass is going to be implemented next Advent, hurray for them! You hear clapping and singing in applaud for the implementation, amongst the actually-orthodox Catholics like us (shout out to you, Gen). But in Canada......the bishops haven't even bothered to tell us that it was in the making., for lack of better words. I have email Father William Burke, director of the Liturgy office, so I am expecting a response.

The other day, I attended the Mass in the vernacular, which I do, time to time. I went to a parish in an outport just next to mine. The Priest, who I know, is usually very orthodox and he "says the black, does the red". While I loved how Father was praying the mass reverently, which I scarcely see in the NO around here, the choir was horrible. Not in their singing, that was fine. The organ player was doing fantastic, and the piano player....well, whenever the organ would start playing....shortly after, like 5 seconds, you'd hear that nasty little contraption chime in with it's twists and twirls and accents which it put on the hymns. I love pianos, and piano music. I play the piano myself! But I DON'T want to hear it in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass! The organ was doing magnificent, so why, Madam Choir Director, did you through in that nasty little racket? At this Mass, there was a children's liturgy, where the Priest calls all the children up in front of the congregation, and and Ms Lad-di-daa takes them into a little room to make felt banners and stuff like that, which we all hate. They are then let out just before communion. Well, when Ms Lad-di-daa led them back to the little room they have, the choir started to sing a most wretched song, something like "Go in peace" or something like you'd hear from Cary Landry, or Marty Haugen, One of those feel-good hymns with a sentimental tune, which we all detest. I don't see what good it is to take our children from the Mass to go have play time with Ms Lad-dii-daa. Anyways, the settings of the Gloria, Sanctus, etc...were of the same nature: a sentimental tune with inclusive gender-neutral language. Though, as an upside, they sang the Kyrie Eleison in Latin! (Well, Greek, if you want to be specific). I could see that Father wasn't too enthusiastic about the choir either.

Anyways, that's another reason I have a preference of the TLM! Though, scatter time when I do go to the NO, it is simply beautiful. Especially when the Priest I talked about above says it, he is a simply holy man!

It was my Grandmother who said to me last week "When I go to Mass, I don't want to feel like I'm at a theatrical performance or having to do penance. When I go to Mass, I want beauty and the Lord!"

God Bless you!

Pray for the Pope!

I Bind Unto Myself Today

HAPPY ST. PATRICK's DAY TO YE ALL! May you have a blessed and wonderful day, and don't get too drunk :) God Bless you!

Please accept my apology for a lack of posts the past couple of months. I keep saying "Oh, I'll try to post every day" but I obviously don't. It's just that a lot of things have been going on lately, please, PLEASE forgive me! Also, please say a prayer for me!

May the Lord Bless you and Keep you! Oh Immaculate Heart of Mary, my salvation, pray for me now at my hour of need. Pray for me and for all those who now suffer from persecution and sorrow. On this day of glorious St. Patrick, I ask the of my prayers.

Oh holy and glorious St. Patrick, patron of Ireland and all the Irish, pray for us as we celebrate this day of your life! Holy St. Patrick, thou hast caused the joys of thousands. Pray for us, most holy patron and Father of the Irish!

Remember, please, don't drink and drive. Whenever you do, you put the lives of hundreds of people at risk. Don't get too drunk, and GO TO MASS. God Bless! See you tomorrow!

Lent, and some corrections of Liturgical Abuse

Today is Pancake Day! Shrove Tuesday! or if you rather....Mardi Gras. I have finished eating my pancakes for today. Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, which is the first day of Lent. Now, to remind you, tomorrow is a day of fasting and abstinence. No meat, only one meal, if you're over the ages of 13 and under 62. The ages do vary from country to country. Tomorrow is a day of repentance, as is the whole season of Lent. So tomorrow, off to confession we go. The Church teaches that Lent is a period of fasting and penance, to prepare for the coming of Our Lord and Saviour....
"Remember, O Man, that thou art Dust, and unto Dust thou shalt return"

There are various liturgical abuses which occur during the Lenten season. Well, KEEP A WATCH OUT! Does your parish remove the Holy Water? Even worse, does it replace it with something like sand, sticks, or paper? Some parishes have "praise dances" in "celebration of the coming of Our brother Jesus!! Yay". Actually, nay. Sorry, not allowed. Makes the Mass illicit. Now, lately, sort of, certain Priests "liturgical committees" and scatter Priest (of which shall remain nameless) have banned receiveing Our Lord on the tongue, well.....this is for you...coming from Inaestimabile Donum......
With regard to the manner of going to Communion, the faithful can receive it either kneeling or standing, in accordance with the norms laid down by the episcopal conference: 'When the faithful communicate kneeling, no other sign of reverence towards the Blessed Sacrament is required, since kneeling is itself a sign of adoration. When they receive Communion standing, it is strongly recommended that, coming up in procession, they should make a sign of reverence before receiving the Sacrament.'
Put that in your pipe and smoke it, I say! Hurrah! Excuse my profanity. But that's it. See you tomorrow.
P.S. This Lent I am going to post every day that I can!

Sexagesima

With last Sunday being Sexagesima, it is now 9 days until the holy season of Lent. Lent is, obviously, a very special and holy time. It is a time to repent, and ask for forgiveness, for penance. To ask God for his mercy. To pray, and fast. Lent prepares us for the resurrection of Our Lord. This is the prayer that St Ambrose of Milan wrote for lent, and it's quite beautiful.
O Lord, who hast mercy upon all,
take away from me my sins,
and mercifully kindle in me
the fire of thy Holy Spirit.
Take away from me the heart of stone,
and give me a heart of flesh,
a heart to love and adore Thee,
a heart to delight in Thee,
to follow and enjoy Thee, for Christ's sake, Amen