2005 October archive at Cornell Society for a Good Time

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Archive for October, 2005

It seems right, in this month when we are called to pray for the holy souls in purgatory (as Iosephus reminds us), to think also of our own death. With St. Alphonsus, our fond patron, we contrast the deaths of the just, with those of worldly souls:

At the deathbed of the consummate sinner, from his A Preparation for Death:

The dying man who has neglected the salvation of his soul will find thorns in everything that is presented to him - thorns in the remembrance of past amusements, rivalries overcome and pomps displayed; thorns in the friends who will visit him, and in whatever their presence shall bring before his mind; thorns in the spiritual Fathers who assist in turn; thorns in the Sacraments of Penance, the Holy Eucharist and Extreme Unction, which he must receive; thorns even in the crucifix which is placed before him. In that sacred image he will read his want of correspondence to the love of a God who died for his salvation.
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Published by iacobus October 31st, 2005 1 Comment

Mensis Novembris pro sanctis animis in purgatorio

My dear friends, we have come to the Kalends of November, anno salutis MMV, to November, the month dedicated to the Holy Souls in Purgatory. Today, November 1st, we commemorate the saints of all time in their heavenly glory, yet I am sure that these same saints will not forget to pray for the holy souls in purgatory on this day. For indeed, holy mother Church, in her wisdom, has granted a plenary indulgence, to be applied to the holy souls, on the days of November 1 to November 8 inclusive. That is, if we take the time to visit a cemetery on each of these days, we may gain a plenary indulgence, under the usual conditions, upon the completion of each prayerful visit.

The conditions for gaining this indulgence are as follows:

On all the days from November 1 through November 8 inclusive, a plenary indulgence, applicable only to the Poor Souls, is granted to those who visit a cemetery and pray, even if only mentally, for the departed.

1. Only one plenary indulgence can be gained per day.
2. It is necessary to be in a state of grace, at least by completion of the work.
3. Freedom from attachment to sin, even venial sin, is necessary; otherwise, the indulgence is partial.
4. Holy Communion must be received each time the indulgence is sought.
5. Prayers must be recited for the intentions of the Holy Father on each day the indulgence is sought.
6. A sacramental confession must be made within a week of completion of the prescribed work. Thus, one confession made during the week, made with the intention of gaining all the indulgences, suffices.

(I copied these conditions from the FSSP October newsletter and I’m actually a little uncertain about condition #4; I was under the impression that, like sacramental confession, one need approach the Eucharistic table only once during a period of a week to gain a plenary indulgence, a suitable work having been performed, on each of the days of the week. Thoughts?)

Prayers for the living and the dead are among the principle spiritual works of mercy. Do the Holy Souls deserve our attention? I can only imagine that we will greatly desire the prayers and petitions of those who remain on earth after our own deaths, for purgatory is not an easy place.

About the pain of purgatory, St. Augustine says that “this fire of Purgatory will be more severe than any pain that can be felt, seen or conceived in this world.” The Angelic Doctor writes that the pain of purgatory is twofold, the first being a pain of loss coming from the delay in seeing God and the second being the pain of corporeal fire. With regard to both, the Angel of the Schools explains, “the least pain of Purgatory surpasses the greatest pain of this life.”

Let us, therefore, not be slow in working to release these souls who so greatly desire to see God; indeed, this is the one desire of the souls in purgatory: they only wish to see God. Would that we might live now with the fervor for the Beatific Vision which we will experience in purgatory!

Now as St. Thomas points out here, the souls in purgatory are greatly desirous of our prayers and often ask for them.

Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis; + requiescant in pace. Amen.

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Published by Iosephus October 31st, 2005 8 Comments

Little Treatise of Sister Lucia about the Nature and Recitation of the Rosary

The words of Sister Lucia, one of the Fatima seers, gives the Cornell Society for a Good Time a great impetus to pray the Rosary and never to cease to draw others to this prayer:

Coimbra, December 4, 1970

Dear Maria Teresa, Continue reading

Published by Ambrosius October 31st, 2005 3 Comments

Sub Christi Regis Vexillis Militare Gloriemur

This is now the third post on the blog related to the Feast of Christ the King; call this one a commemoration of the Second Vespers of this great feast. A quick examination of Pius XI’s Quas Primas will reveal, I think, why it is ever more important to commemorate this feast with the greatest care and attention. I say “care” because, as Pius XI himself remarks, they are the sumptuous and splendid feasts which elevate men’s hearts to the contemplation of heavenly realities, the attainment of virtue, and a knowledge of Christian doctrine. And I say “attention” because the political situation in the United States is a perfect example of the errors which Pius XI warned against in 1925.

In this post, I would like to comment upon several things which I noticed in Quas Primas as I reread it tonight. The first remark regards the role and importance of feasts in the Christian life. In Quas Primas #21, Pius XI wrote: Continue reading

Published by Iosephus October 30th, 2005 1 Comment

Domine Iesu Christe, Rex gloriae!

Most sweet Jesus, Redeemer of the human race, look down upon us humbly prostrate before Thine altar (outside a church or oratory say: in Thy presence). We are Thine, and Thine we wish to be; but, to be more surely united with Thee, behold each one of us freely consecrates himself today to Thy most Sacred Heart.

Many indeed have never known Thee; many too, despising Thy precepts, have rejected Thee. Have mercy on them all, most merciful Jesus, and draw them to Thy sacred Heart. Be Thou King, O Lord, not only of the faithful who have never forsaken Thee, but also of the prodigal children who have abandoned Thee; grant that they may quickly return to Thy Father’s house lest they die of wretchedness and hunger.

Be Thou King of those who are deceived by erroneous opinions, or whom discord keeps aloof, and call them back to the harbor of truth and unity of faith, so that there may be but one flock and one Shepherd.

Be Thou King of all those who are still involved in the darkness of idolatry or of Islamism, and refuse not to draw them into the light and kingdom of God. Turn Thine eyes of mercy towards the children of the race, once Thy chosen people: of old they called down upon themselves the Blood of the Savior; may it now descend upon them a laver of redemption and of life.

Grant, O Lord, to Thy Church assurance of freedom and immunity from harm; give peace and order to all nations, and make the earth resound from pole to pole with one cry: “Praise be to the divine Heart that wrought our salvation; to it be glory and honor for ever.” Amen.

The faithful who on the Feast of our Lord Jesus Christ the King take part in an act of dedication of the human race to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, according to the above formula (See also the Encyclical Letter of Piux XI, “Quas Primas”, Dec 11, 1925), in any church, public or semi-public oratory (if they may lawfully use the latter), and in addition recite the Litany of the Sacred Heart in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament solemnly exposed, may gain:

An indulgence of 7 years;

A plenary indulgence on condition of Confession and Holy Communion.
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Published by iacobus October 30th, 2005 8 Comments

Archbishop Vincent Nichols: “Mothers no longer want their sons to be priests”

His Grace, the Archbishop of Birmingham, England, Vincent Nichols, has spent the past couple days visiting Oxford. Much like the Holy Father’s secretary, His Grace is a favorite among the fairer sex: “He is the Brad Pitt of the hierarchy with looks, charm and a Hollywood smile” said one recent news article. He makes me flustered also, but in a different way. He confirmed me at the Oxford Oratory two summers ago and gave me some memorable advice and in little conversations that day. He used to be regarded as a “liberal”, but he is now taking some things in the direction of tradition. During his tenure, he has returned the Tridentine Mass to Oxford, so that it is now not too difficult to go to the Traditional Latin Mass in Oxfordshire. This is really a big improvement as there used to be, when I first came here, no Tridentine Missae whatsoever in Oxford (except for the SSPX up in town). Now he appears as one obvious successor at Westminster and many people are openly talking about this possibility. He celebrated a beautiful sung Mass this morning at Blackfriars, the Dominican study house in Oxford, and the church was packed, even though the Mass was for a Colloquium of the Society of Saint Catherine of Siena. People follow and support him and enjoy being with him.

I think, for that reason, it’s great that we have his support for the more traditional devotions of the Church and for vocations to the priesthood. I especially like his comments on priesthood: “It’s a mistake to think that our priestly identity is something we put on, like a collar. It isn’t. Rather it’s something already written within us. It is who we are ‘from my mother’s womb’. Priestly identity is who we are, at the deepest level. It is both self-discovery and self-fulfilment.” Archbishop Nichols has been particularly emphasizing that “a renewed focus on the Blessed Sacrament” is most important, saying that those parishes with flourishing vocations have always had continual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. He has concerns, however, that the young men who seek to pursue the priestly vocation are not supported by society or by their families. He continues, “I don’t see mothers promoting vocations in the same way. These young men are coming from a context of much less certainty. . mothers no longer want their sons to be priests.”

While other dioceses in England seem to be bending over backwards to encourage lay participation in the Church, Archbishop Nichols has been warmly welcomed by more traditional folk because he appears to be heading in the direction of tradition rather than towards a compromise with the bad elements of recent years. I, too, have high hopes for him.

Published by Catharina October 29th, 2005 5 Comments

De ideologicis bracis et gunnellis sensualibus

Et mulierculae et puellae, haec legite et te pudice induere discite!

Published by Iosephus October 29th, 2005 8 Comments

Salvation is from the Jews

Hampered on Friday by things such as school work, meetings, and leading a section, I was a little slow in getting around to this one today, but oh! I was certainly going to get around to it.

Apparently, Walter Cardinal Kasper can’t get enough of the media limelight right now. He is everywhere: one moment, proclaiming progress with the Orthodox, the next, calling for Communion for those in adulterous relationships, and now, he reminds us the Church’s teaching about converting the Jews is in need of clarification. What doesn’t the good cardinal think to be in need of clarification these days?

The thing which I find most frustrating about this story is that it is, in reality, such a non-issue. Or, at the very least, theologically speaking, it is a non-issue. I understand that the Church is sensitive about covering its backside lest any charge of anti-Semitism appear remotely plausible. Further, certain prelates, including the late pontiff, think it necessary to apologize for every act of anti-Semitism committed throughout history by Catholics.

Thus far, though I have no strong feelings in this direction myself, I am fine. But how did it come about that . . . Continue reading

Published by Iosephus October 28th, 2005 25 Comments

St. Newman?

David Warren–a very good conservative columnist based in Canada and a recent convert–has some great news if it’s true. Standard provisos for rumorish sorts of things obtain, but this was published in a major Canadian newspaper this past Sunday, so it’s perhaps a bit more reliable than most:

“We learn, from some Vatican insider or other, that John Henry Newman may be beatified under the reign of the present Pope. This could be very significant, to Catholics, and beyond them, to the whole English-speaking world”

The rest can be found here

Published by Doctor Asinorum October 28th, 2005 2 Comments

Canonization Miracles

I was hoping that someone knows where to find out more about canonization miracles. I like reading about these miracles. I have not searched very thoroughly, but finding these miracles online or in print does not seem like a simple task. As an amateur (very amateur…..very very amateur) engineer, I always need some sort of evidence to back up equations that govern nature. If I read a fluid mechanics textbook that simply states that the Navier Stokes equations govern fluid flow in nature, I need more proof and must see the derivation of the equations from basic physics knowledge. The same is the case for me and the saints. If the church tells me that a person is in heaven offering my prayers to God, conforming them to God’s will, I need proof. You may call me a doubting Thomas on this (Jn 20:25), but there is loads of proof for me about Jesus doing the will of the Father in the bible. For instance, in John 8:29, he says “The one who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, because I always do what is pleasing to him.” Thus, if I pray to our Lord Jesus, he as the Son of God must conform them to the will of God for me (Rom 8:26). I am also very convinced that he is in heaven (Acts 1:11) and that he came from there (Jn 1:2).

Thus, I will pray to Jesus because I know he is in Heaven and his Holy Spirit will pray for me to the Father according to the will of the Father. St. Thomas Aquinas tells us in the Summa Theologica that the saints have obtained heavenly glory and offer our prayers in conformity with the will of God for us, if we pray to them. Thus, I can pray to these saints, if I am convinced they are in heaven. Here is where the canonization miracles come into play. If I know a saints life, I may judge that this guy or girl was holy and must be in heaven. But, it really helps if I know that through their intercession the will of God is being done through miracles. It is a greater proof for me that the person I am praying to is actually where I think he is (heaven) and is doing what I believe he is (praying to God for me).

So, this is why I am searching for canonization miracles. For proof, but also because they are really cool to read about. The other day I read that St. Juan Macias, a Dominican, interceded for a poor community in Peru by multiplying rice. That is good stuff. I want to hear more. Protestants need to hear this stuff.

Thanks,

Dominic Maria

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Published by DominicMaria October 28th, 2005 5 Comments

Prayer and Worship as Sacrifice

It is as a musician that I am most often reminded of the sacrificial nature of prayer and worship. For any one time that I perform, many times more have I have played or sung a piece of music. The vital breakthrough in understanding one must make in music — if one wishes to concentrate his musical practice to God — is that there is no wasted time that is spent in a worthy endeavor: in making a beautiful thing, in playing beautiful music, I also glorify God and play for him. In fact, it is far easier to offer perfectly one’s music — and one’s prayer — purely to God when there are no other human hearers nearby to cause distraction. It is an oblation of time, an offering of work — a sacrifice of one’s own life: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” (Romans 12:1-2) In private prayer, in making music — we offer ourselves, we place our bodies entire before the Lord. “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.” (Psalm 50:17) Thus in some sense a concert of sacred music offered before no audience is a more perfect thing than one played to a packed house — more perfect for the musicians, that is (naturally, the hearers are enabled to pray and reflect upon divine beauty in music, and it is this that ennobles the performance before other men).

Recognizing the sacrificial aspect of time spent, of time concecrated to God, removed from any other pursuit, reaches its most perfect expression in the Mass, the most perfect prayer. This reverential, anti-performance, reflective aspect is far more clearly taught and exemplified in the old rite of the Mass. The language is unknown; the prayers are inaudible to most; the form is mystical and strange. One could easily pass a lifetime of hearing Mass in the old rite and never quite know everything that goes on up at the altar. So also can a priest in the old rite go about his priestly work without so strongly feeling the pressure of performance — his words have been chosen for him, far before he was born; his actions are strictly directed; his thoughts are schooled by the private prayers proper to his station. It is God who is the clear object, for without God the Mass would be purely useless and dull. Indeed, we can see this most clearly in a private Mass or a low Mass, when the priest goes about his work almost alone. And indeed, because of this isolation, the souls who offer the Mass with the priest are also compelled — gently, naturally — to offer up their time to God: they are not entertained; they are not much even spoken to. This is the relationship among men working together at a common task: not cheerleader and team, but a team of rowers pulling in unison towards the far shore of holiness. Public participation — I will say it again — can distract us.

Let each one of us, therefore, remember that we are called to offer ourselves up to God as living sacrifices. We do not pray, primarily, to get anything out of it for ourselves. We pray because it is our station, and it is meet to offer up such a sacrifice to our God.
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Published by Ambrosius October 28th, 2005 5 Comments

Of Russet, Flame, and Gold

Driving yesterday through the hills of central Pennsylvania, through hills enchanted with Fall beauty, I recalled the following Ode composed to honor the death of Pope Pius XII, who passed out of this life 48 years ago this October 9th.

Ode on the Death of Pius the Twelfth

To every season its proper act of joy,
To every age its natural mode of grace,
Each vision its hour, each talent we employ
Its destined time and place.

I was at Amherst when this great pope died;
The northern year was wearing towards the cold;
The ancient trees were in their autumn pride
Of russet, flame, and gold.

Amherst in Massachusetts in the Fall:
I ranged the college campus to admire
Maple and beech, poplar and ash in all
Their panoply of fire;

Something that since a child I longed to see,
This miracle of the other hemisphere:
Whole forests in their annual ecstasy
Waked by the dying year.

Not budding Spring, not Summer’s green parade
Clothed in such glory these resplendent trees;
The lilies of the field were not arrayed
In riches such as these.

Nature evolves their colors as a call,
A lure which serves to fertilize the seed;
How strange, then, that the splendour of the Fall
Should serve no natural need

And, having no end in nature, yet can yield
Such exquisite natural pleasure to the eye!
Who could have guessed in summer’s green concealed
The leaf’s resolve to die?

Yet from the first spring shoots through all the year
Masked in the chlorophyll’s intenser green,
The feast of crimson was already there,
These yellows blazed unseen.

Now, in the bright October sun the clear
Translucent colors trembled overhead
And as I walked, a voice I chanced to hear
Announced: The Pope is dead!

A human voice, yet there the place became
Bethel; each bough with pentecost was crowned;
The great trunks rapt in unconsuming flame
Stood as on holy ground.

I thought of this old man whose life was past,
Who in himself and his great office stood
Against the secular tempest as a vast
Oak spans the underwood;

Who in the age of Armageddon found
A voice that caused all men to hear it plain,
The blood of Abel crying from the ground
To stay the hand of Cain;

Who found from that great task small time to spare:
– For him, and for mankind, the hour was late –
So much to snatch, to save, so much to bear
That Mary’s part must wait;

Until in his last years the change began:
A strange illumination of the heart,
Voices and visions such as mark the man
Chosen and set apart.

His death, they said, was slow, grotesque and hard,
Yet in that gross decay, until the end
Untroubled in his joy he saw the Word
Made spirit and ascend.

Those glorious woods and that triumphant death
Prompted me there to join their mysteries:
This Brother Albert, this great oak of faith,
Those fire-enchanted trees!

Seven years have passed, and still, at times, I ask
Whether in man, as in those plants, may be
A splendour, which his human virtues mask
Not given to us to see?

If to some lives at least there comes a stage
When, all the active man now left behind,
They enter on the treasure of old age,
This autumn of the mind?

Then while the heart stands still, beyond desire
The dying animal knows a strange serene:
Emerging in its ecstasy of fire
The burning soul is seen.

Who sees it? Since old age appears to men
Senility, decrepitude, disease,
What Spirit walks among us, past our ken,
As we among these trees,

Whose unknown nature blessed with keener sense
Catches its break in wonder at the sight
And feels its being flood with that immense
Epiphany of light?
— A. D. Hope

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Published by Ambrosius October 28th, 2005 7 Comments

Our Lady’s Perfect Virginity

After all the serious discussion of late on this blog about the nature of faith, whether protestants ever possess this virtue, whether they sometimes possess it, et cetera, and despite my attempts to persuade the concerned parties of what I take to be Newman’s and Aquinas’ view (I do submit myself to correction), I figured that we could do far worse than to turn to poetry for some suggestions.

Accordingly, I present this piece by a friend of a friend, Nicholas Eaton:

The Queen of Heaven did once enjoy
The birthing of a most divinized boy;
And as the prophets said She named Him God with men;
Then never gave She birth again!
But protestants, that silly bunch,
Who on Fridays will still eat meat for lunch,
Will say something to break Our Lady’s fame:
She gave birth to all Christ’s brothers, they claim.
Yet these are fools, predestin’d for hell,
And my! how Hades with their ranks does swell.
And what, may you ask, causes all their souls to rot?
Well, God gets mad when you claim His Mum did something which She did not.
Yet so they go and do persist,
And Christ our Lord gets very pissed,
Then sends them all to burn in bitter flames
And forever forgets their wretched names.
Yet you’ll do well this Holy Lent
To pray those poor fools repent,
So that they may one day in Heaven see,
Our Lady reigning in perfect Virginity.

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Published by Iosephus October 27th, 2005 13 Comments

And now, a word from our sponsors …

We’ve only been up for a few days now, but thanks to links from the following bloggers, we have already picked up a reasonable readership, opening the fruits of our humble labors to a wide audience. So it seemed appropriate to list and thank those blogs who have so kindly made known to the wider world our new blog:

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Thanks, folks!

Published by Ambrosius October 27th, 2005 1 Comment

Communion for divorced and remarried: “Not an open question.”

In my post on Monday, October 24th, I discussed the insipidity of Cardinal Kasper’s attempt, immediately after the Synod of Bishops had concluded, to call for more discussion about the policy of refusing the Holy Communion to divorced and remarrried persons. To hear this call come from Cardinal Kasper was hardly a surprise, but it was especially galling on the heals of a Synod which had reconfirmed the standing policy on this matter.

I also noted that this matter did not seem to be the sort of thing which was open, in general, to endless debate and dialogue. The principles are clear: we have the Church’s dogmatic teaching that marriage is i ndissoluble as well as the moral teaching that those with grave sin upon their consciences will only further damage themselves by the reception of the Sacrament.

Thankfully, a member of the Roman Curia had the conviction to step forward and decry Cardinal Kasper’s misjudgment. In the Italian daily La Repubblica, Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo “flatly denied that there is any uncertainty on whether divorced and remarried Catholics should receive Communion.” (You can read the story here.)

Cardinal Trujillo went on: “The Synod,” he said, “did not leave any doubt about the Church’s doctrine. This is not a case in which there is an open question.”

These remarks by Cardinal Trujillo deserve our attention not only because he is saying the right thing, but because his words are openly contradicting another member of the Roman Curia. These public disagreements are rare enough, but this one may be especially significant at a time when many expect Benedict XVI to appoint new prefects of curial offices.

My own thought . . .
about Cardinal Kasper is that he is relatively safe. He had the patronage or the ability to rise from being a bishop in Germany, where he began giving Communion to divorced and remarried persons, to a prominent position as the head of the Vatican’s ecumenical efforts. Even Cardinal Trujillo, later in the interview, called Kasper a “great theologian.” Indeed, this seems to be the general opinion of him in Rome; for a time, he was bruited as the next-in-line to Cardinal Ratzinger at the CDF.

I do not doubt that Cardinal Kasper is a great theologian; but then, so are Karl Rahner and Hans Kung great theologians. We have had too many “great theologians” for too long; what we need are some great bishops who are concerned not with theological speculation but the salvation of the souls and the sound governance of the Church. St. Athanasius and St. Charles Borromeo, orate pro nobis.