In Search of
The Authentic Life
“Pater Meus Servat Vineam”
[Edited since posting.]
Please stay tuned for Pentecost post and highlights of the month of June. Let us pray the whole Church, especially our leaders, will receive a great illumination this Pentecost by the Holy Ghost, to exercise proper discernment during this time! This thought came to me the other day as I was contemplating our current situation and what has caused it:
The Rome Life Forum Online Conference is this Wednesday, May 20th through Friday, May 22nd. The theme is “Coronavirus in the Light of Fatima: A Tragedy and a Source of Hope.” The hours are roughly 12:00-2:00. The event is free. Please see link above for registration. Guest speakers include Cardinal Burke, Bishop Athanasius Schneider, John-Henry Westen and John Smeaton, among others. Some topics are: “Fatima: Heaven’s Answer to a World in Crisis,” “Divine Judgement in Human History,” and “The Eucharist, the Greatest Treasure of the Church, in Times of Tribulation.”
This conference is hosted by LifeSiteNews and Voice of the Family. From LifeSiteNews: “Speakers will focus on whether the COVID-19….could be part of the chastisement, preceding the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, that Our Blessed Mother spoke about in Fatima in 1917.” Please see link above for full article. Let us pray for the Holy Ghost to be present at this event and enlighten the minds of many!
Please note, Nomen Christi Apostolate does not necessarily endorse all ideas which may be expressed in this conference.
From the traditional Mass of the first two Rogation Days:
He heard my voice from His holy temple, alleluia: and my cry before Him came into His ears, alleluia, alleluia.
I will love Thee, O Lord, my strength: the Lord is my firmament, my refuge and my deliverer.
Grant, we beseech Thee, O almighty God, that we, who in our affliction put our trust in Thy mercy, may ever be defended by Thy protection against all adversity.
Thou hast saved us, O Lord, from them that afflict us: and hast put them to shame that hate us. In God shall we glory all the day long: and in Thy name we will give praise for ever.
Alleluia, alleluia. Forgive us our sins, O Lord: lest the Gentiles should ever say: Where is their God? Alleluia.
I will be glad and rejoice in Thy mercy: for Thou hast regarded my humility: Thou hast saved my soul out of distresses. Alleluia.
Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock; and it shall be opened to you. For every one that asketh, receiveth; and he that seeketh, findeth; and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened, alleluia.
Notes from The Daily Missal and Liturgical Manual, Baronius Press (this is a beautiful gold-trimmed missal to give as a gift):
“Earthquakes and other calamities afflicted the diocese of Vienne in Dauphiny (France) in the fifth century, and St. Mamertus, who was bishop of that diocese, instituted a penitential procession with public supplications on the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday before Ascension Day. In 816, Pope Leo III introduced it into Rome, and soon after it became a general observance throughout the Church.
The Litany of the Saints, the psalms and prayers sung during the Procession on these days are supplications: hence the name of Rogation Days (rogare, to ask) applied to them. The object of these rogation supplications is to appease the anger of God and avert the scourges of His justice, and to pray for the harvest.
A similar function is observed on April 25th , on the feast of St. Mark, but this is of Roman origin.”
Please read carefully the excerpts above from the Mass and see how appropriate these prayers are for our current situation! I believe it is a time in the Church to bridge the old and the new and for the laity in combination with the clergy, to creatively design our own customs. This will help our children love the Faith and want to hold on to it, it the midst of a culture saturated with all kinds of seductive bells and whistles to distract them from the spiritual path. What are some ideas? Read the Mass from the missal as a family, abstain from meat, pray the Litany of the Saints, crafts with children relating to the season, etc.
What are we to learn from the Rogation Day Masses? Never to despair. God is with us. We are people of Faith and can get through even the worst this life can ever throw at us! If Holy Church is persecuted, He will, in the end, deliver us!
There is a separate Mass for the last Rogation Day this week, which is the Vigil of the Ascension….
Declare it with the voice of joy, and make this to be heard, alleluia: speak it out even to the ends of the earth: The Lord hath delivered His people, alleluia, alleluia. Shout with joy to God, all the earth, sing ye a psalm to His Name: give glory to His praise.
Marcus Aurelius
If you think its time to stay home watching “Casablanca” for the 82nd time and scrapbooking….think again! We need to be prepared from this point forward for anything and everything (but not with fear). Demand to receive confession and Holy Communion. Start lifting weights. Go hiking in the wonderful outdoors without a mask, so you are not breathing in your own carbon dioxide and depressing your immune system. Take vitamins C and D. Get plenty of seeds and plant a garden. Stockpile supplies and water (only those in good supply). Buy rural property and precious metals. Learn how to fish. Learn to meditate and increase your mental strength under stress. Throw yourself on God when you get depressed-He never disappoints! Do it now. Teach your children. Pray on it. WE GOT THIS!
Image is a promotion of the show “Doomsday Castle,” which aired in 2013. I have not seen the show, but here is some info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doomsday_Castle
Saint Apollonia was a virgin martyr and is the patron saint of dental disease. She died in the year 250 and her feast is February 12th. Many are having difficulty obtaining dental treatment during this time. If you have a dental problem and your dentist refuses to treat you, consider praying Saint Apollonia’s novena below. The whole world is suffering a very great chastisement. O God, have mercy on us all!
O Glorious Apollonia, Patron Saint of dentistry and refuge to all those suffering from diseases of the teeth, I consecrate myself to you, beseeching you to number me among your clients.
Assist me by your intercession with God in my daily work and intercede with Him to obtain for me a happy death. Pray that my heart be like yours, inflamed with the love of Jesus and Mary, through Christ our Lord.
O My God, bring me safely through temptation and strengthen me as Thou didst our own Patron Saint Apollonia, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Saint Apollonia, pray for my intention, (mention intention). Saint Apollonia, pray for us!
Say 1: Our Father… Say 1: Hail Mary… Say 1: Glory Be…
(Repeat the above for 9 consecutive days)
From https://catholicsaints.info/ :
We know that she lived in Alexandria, and that on February 9th of the year 250, during the persecution of the Christians ordered by the Emperor Decius [Apollonia was tortured and put to death]…one of the chief authorities for the history of the early Christian Church is the Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius, Bishop of Caesarea in the fourth century. If we turn to book VI, chapter 41, of this work, we shall find there a letter from Dionysius, Bishop of Alexandria, written to Fabius, Bishop of Antioch, which gives an account of the Decian persecution at Alexandria, and also tells us all we really know of Saint Apollonia….
“Then with one accord, all rushed upon the houses of the pious, and whomsoever of their neighbors they knew, they drove thither in all haste, and despoiled and plundered them, setting apart the more valuable of the articles for themselves; but the more common and wooden furniture they threw about and burnt in the roads, presenting a sight like a city taken by the enemy. They also seized that admirable virgin Apollonia, then in advanced age, and beating her jaws, they broke out all her teeth, and kindling a fire before the city, threatened to burn her alive, unless she would repeat their impious expressions. She appeared at first to shrink a little, but when suffered to go, she suddenly sprang into the fire and was consumed.”
Image courtesy flickr.com
Prayer, slightly edited, courtesy: https://novenaprayer.com/
It is the most sorrowful Holy Saturday we have ever seen in our lives. Because the sacraments have been taken from us. Our Blessed Lord is in the tomb truly, hidden from us. I went to pray on Good Friday at my church and the doors were locked. Reminds me of Don McLean’s lyrics:
A long, long time ago
I can still remember how that music
Used to make me smile
…But February made me shiver
With every paper I'd deliver
Bad news on the doorstep
…Something touched me deep inside
The day the music died
…We sang dirges in the dark
...Do you recall what was revealed
The day the music died?
...There we were all in one place
A generation lost in space
With no time left to start again
...No angel born in Hell
Could break that Satan's spell
...I saw Satan laughing with delight
...I went down to the sacred store
Where I'd heard the music years before
But the man there said the music wouldn't play
...Not a word was spoken
The church bells all were broken
Indeed, all the holy water fonts are dry. Our Catholic life wrenched from us overnight. As Our Lord said, like a “thief in the night.”
Today, many will be shouting their sins across 6 feet or out their car windows. What brought us to this hour? Even though the forces of darkness are “laughing with delight,” God’s hand is upon us. This is what it HAD to come to. The whole world should be shouting their sins in sackcloth and ashes. And those who, even THIS Easter, still believe it is all about bunnies and pretty eggs, God help them!
I know I said our focus here would be positive, but that doesn’t mean our heads can be in the sand. We must face squarely what is happening and why. Then move forward with a beautiful vision of the future we are creating together as God’s children, the Children of the Promise. So let us remain even more solemn this Holy Saturday. Let us give God our very best at this time and in the coming days, that He may look mercifully upon our world!
Addressing the Spiritual:
We spoke of one of Our Lady of Fatima’s requests last time, the Five First Saturdays. This is a sorrowful Holy Week. For the first time in our lives, we are deprived of the Body of Christ, possibly the Sacrament of Penance and all the wonderful Holy Week devotions we always took for granted. Worst, we are deprived of Holy Mass on the Solemnity of Solemnities, Easter Sunday. Let us take more seriously, another of Our Lady’s requests, daily rosary. Families are together at home. It is a beautiful opportunity to pray the rosary together this week. If a whole rosary seems too difficult for you right now, how about one decade?
Addressing the Temporal:
I spoke previously of “Stabilization Mode.” This is the action taken when an actual crisis or difficult situation transpires. We are no longer strictly in “preparedness” mode, though preparedness issues still must be addressed. We must first do whatever the immediate situation requires of us. Once that is done thoughtfully and prayerfully, we can work on more aggressive prepping to address keeping our situation stable in addition to possible fallout from the original problem. There can be a domino effect. This is not to make anyone fearful, only to be realistic. Fear is never appropriate for the children of God!
Please email me (contact button) for anything you would like to discuss or would like help with. Please allow time for my response. If you have something interesting to share, I may post it. Let’s take this journey together. Onward Christian soldiers!
The observance of the Five First Saturdays are one of the requests of Our Lady of Fatima, to obtain reparation to her Immaculate Heart. As humanity is now engulfed in a difficult and confusing situation, there has never been a more important time to respect this request of Our Blessed Mother. We know not how this will ultimately play out. We much beseech God’s mercy. Trust. Be at peace. But take this as a serious warning. Public masses are shut down. Even confession is gone in some places, which was previously unthinkable. Our Blessed Lord said:
Luke 21:36
So we, as Children of God, are at peace.
Normally the First Saturdays are observed in church. Since many are now at home, we can still fulfill this request to the best of our ability. I am sure our dear Mother will accept this. She has requested they be observed for 5 months in a row, but it is not a bad idea to perform them perpetually. Following are the activities (and the substitutions where applicable), based on the World Apostolate of Fatima’s recommendations. This is all done with the intention of making reparation to Our Lady’s Immaculate Heart and what a wonderful devotion to do with your family at home during this time!
1) Receive the Sacrament of Penance. At home: Make an intention to receive the sacrament as soon as possible. I might add, to say an Act of Contrition, trying to be sorry for the Love of God (perfect contrition), not just the fear of punishment.
2) Receive Holy Communion. At home: Make a Spiritual Act of Communion (see link below for help with this).
3) Recite the Joyful Mysteries of the Holy Rosary (some say the Sorrowful Mysteries during Lent).
4) Meditate on the Mysteries of the Rosary for 15 minutes with Our Blessed Mother. If you are unaccustomed to this devotion, this may be the most challenging aspect for you. Here are some tips: Place yourself in Our Lady’s presence (a picture or statue is very helpful). Ask her to enlighten you further on the Mysteries you just contemplated in the Rosary (I suppose you could contemplate other Mysteries as well). Let your thoughts drift. Imagine the Mysteries visually. Don’t try, just let the inspirations come to you. And they will! As you perform this exercise more, it will get easier. Your relationship with Our Mother will grow and eventually it will no longer be an “exercise,” but an intimate and wonderful conversation!
Today is a traditional feast of the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady. Our Lady of Sorrows, pray for us!
Please see the World Apostolate of Fatima’s page addressing the First Saturdays during this time. Lots of great info:
If you have not read my previous post, please do so now. Thanks……(I have not posted on the current situation till now because I felt what I had written on New Years Day really said it all). I always pray to the Holy Ghost before writing. What made me write those words on New Years Day? Impending judgement upon humanity is on my mind on a daily basis and has been for a long time. So, its not so strange that I wrote that. But it did seem to be a foreshadowing of what was about to happen. What was the main point? To be joyful! So please meditate on that for now and stay tuned for my next post.
There is much I want to say and much I feel I have to offer at this time, so my posts will now become more frequent. However, I cannot write too much right now because I am still in “stabilization mode” in the midst of this situation, its fallout and potential fallout (please note, I am avoiding any emotionally-charged or system-created language-there are reasons for this which I will be discussing). There is emotional stabilizing we all must do and also preparedness stabilizing WHICH DOES NOT INCLUDE HOARDING AT THIS TIME. It is too late to stockpile the things that are not in good supply. That is why we speak of “preparedness.” Once a situation hits, the rules change. And it has hit. Pray for guidance at this time. Many are not exercising good judgement and it is causing needless suffering.
A friend of mine had an incredible insight today. He said something to this effect: “In even the most difficult times, there is a sliver of something rare and precious to be discovered.” With God’s help, may we discover this! God bless you all and your families! CFM
There is no day in all human history, all time, all place, in which we should not rejoice and be filled with absolute joy. For we have a loving Father in Heaven, who is intimately concerned with us. We must see past suffering to the true glory of Being. We must trust. And for us Catholics, it is an insult to Christ to be anything other than joyful. We receive Him in Holy Communion, we become one with Him, the Second Person of the Most Holy Trinity on High. Yes….anything less than joy is an insult to Him.
In preparedness circles, we see where the world is going. We see the cucarachas who run the world advancing in their diabolical agenda. It is easy to become fearful, to fear the future, to long for the past. But we must not fall into that sense of despair. We must create a vision of the future which is better, joyful, functional and Godly. A vision of the Authentic Life. For the lives we are living are far from authentic in the western world. We must believe in a better day and work toward it with joy. So when we say “Happy New Year,” we should mean what we say and say it from the heart. No fear. Just a joyful vision of what we are creating. That is what Nomen Christi Apostolate is all about!
Let us not forget the 12 Days of Christmas, which extend until Epiphany. Christmas Day is only the beginning of Christmas. Let us pray for peace in the coming year, for our Holy Mother Church and our Holy Father Pope Francis.
Please stay tuned in the coming months as our vision progresses. Blessings to all on this great feast of Mary the Mother of God and the Circumcision of Our Lord!
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