The Keys to True Modesty!-Fr Burfitt-7th Sunday After Pentecost

 

Novena to Our Lady Of Good Success: starts 1/25/2017 to end 2/2/2017

Hail Mary Most Holy, Beloved Daughter of God the Father, through the intercession of Mother Mariana de Jesus Torres, grant thy good success to this request (name request).
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be...
Saint Michael, pray for us.

Hail Mary Most Holy, Admirable Mother of God the Son, through the intercession of Mother Mariana de Jesus Torres, grant the good success to this request (name request).
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be...
Saint Gabriel, pray for us.

Hail Mary Most Holy, Most Faithful Spouse of Holy Ghost, through the intercession of Mother Mariana de Jesus Torres, grant thy good success to this request (name request).
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be...
Saint Raphael, pray for us.

Hail Mary Most Holy, Temple and Sacrarium of the Most Holy Trinity, through the intercession of Mother Mariana de Jesus Torres, grant thy good success to this request (name request).
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be...
Saint Michael, St. Gabriel, St. Raphael, pray for us.

Our Lady of Good Success, thou who are the all-powerful intercessor before the Most Holy Trinity, deign to hear and answer my request - so long as it contributes to the salvation of my soul and the glory and exaltation of Holy Mother Church.Hail Holy Queen...

Ideas For Keeping Christ In Your Day

I know many of us have very hectic lives and often don't given enough time to prayer and meditation. But, there are other ways we can do this even as we handle our daily activities. I hope these help and if you have additional ideas-please share!


1. When I used to drive some of my nephews and nieces to Mass (many years ago)- I would have each one read a Proper for that Sunday while we made our way to Mass (Introit, Collect, Epistle, etc).

2. As Hubby and I drive to Mass now- we always choose a religious topic to discuss.

3. When I get ready for Mass- I will often listen to a recording of St. Alphonsus De Ligouri's sermons available on www.savethysoul.com. The sermons are about 20 minutes long and can be played in the background as you dress. You can also play the sermons when all the kids are home and are working on schoolwork/homework/chores. They may not hear every word, but something will stick!

4. I enjoy reading short works about the lives of the saints. I am currently reading a book about St. Vincent De Paul that is really age appropriate for a seven year old. It is a quick read for me but full of inspiration and that is something that I just might need while wading through deeper spiritual books.

5. Always praying when I drive from one location to another-even if it is only a decade of the Rosary. What a great way to keep Christ on your mind wherever you travel!


Anyways- I hope some of these suggestions help!

The Search for the Holy Mass

The Search for the Holy Mass

Or how the novus ordae missae transformed my life


Catholics face a problem converting people to the Faith these days. It is not as if they can

immediately point their finger at a parish and tell an individual to go talk to a priest.

Confusion reigns amongst the various churches that call themselves Catholic, whether it

is by the hands of corrupt ministers or faulty lay catechesis teachers. To send a potential

convert into the novus ordo mess is equivalent to sending a pregnant woman into an

abortion clinic.

For myself, I spent close to a year immersed in Catholic literature, much of it pre-Vatican

II. After answering every conceivable objection I could possibly surmise, I knew that the

only church I needed to be a member of was the Church. I then immediately called a

nearby parish, told them I wanted to join the Church, and was put on hold. A couple of

minutes later, a man answered the phone, and I reiterated my statement. I was told to

come back next year.

I hung up, and if it wasn’t for the fact that I knew my soul was in peril, I might have left

it at that and gone back to my non-denominational protestant sect so that I could hold

hands with the congregation and have cookies and juice for a communion meal (a

foreshadowing of things to come). Nevertheless, I was persistent---God’s Truth was there

before my eyes, and I knew I had to become a member of the Roman Catholic Church.

So, I called another parish. This time I met with success. I eventually met with one of the

priests and promptly enrolled in their program of catechesis, RCIA.

There would be no point in belaboring the fact that current catechesis in churches that

practice the novus ordo liturgy is inadequate. What I was taught was essentially that we

are all on a faith journey, we proceed at different levels, and we need to fill our life with

love. I did not so mind the notion that we should definitely allow our love for God to

transform us but, rather, was a bit nonplussed at the fact that I was not learning much of

anything in the way of Catholic doctrine. Of course, my studies had already prepared me

for what I needed to know, but it would have been nice to have something or someone

other than a book tell me what the Church actually teaches.

I was, needless to say, still enthusiastic and on fire---I was going to become Catholic.

And the heart of Catholicism, particularly in contradistinction with that of Protestantism,

is the Sacrifice of the Mass.

I began to attend Mass in earnest. Due to my own naivety, I had thought that the Mass

that I had read about was the same---the Latin Mass as codified by St. Pius V at Trent,

only rendered in the vernacular.

Attending Mass for the first time, I was more concerned with following what was going

on, rather than understand what was occurring. But after a few times of going, I realized

that what I was witnessing would be of no affront to any Protestant. Now, some would

argue that would be a good thing. But the fact that a Protestant is not alarmed at attending

a Catholic service would still not erase the difference in the approach to the Sacrament of

Holy Communion. This deeply troubled me and began to plant the seeds that would fully

flower months later.

An insatiable longing for what I simply dubbed as “liturgy” prompted my initial search

for Truth that led me to the Church. Having come back to Christ, I was sick of the chaos

around me at mainline and non-denominational Protestant churches. The need for ritual,

for something that truly invoked the spirit of God, was what I hungered for and sought.

To now find myself experiencing in what was essentially no different from a high brow

Presbyterian service was disconcerting. How one worships is how one believes.

Witnessing people grab hold of the Host in their hands, attending Mass in shorts and tube

tops, leaving early, seeing some woman up on stage reading Scripture---it absolutely

disgusted me.

However, I had accepted the authority of the Church. If this was what was to be, then so

be it. Perhaps I could pull an Erasmus and seek reform from within. Therefore, I went

back to my books and read everything I could on the Mass. I did comparison studies of

the Tridentine rite and the novus ordo. The conclusion (which, in a sense, was

predetermined) was that the former was indeed superior. It was a better way to worship

God, and it better conveyed Catholic doctrine.

The deficiencies within the novus ordo liturgy, though, made me quite irate. What had

happened to the Church that I had fallen in love with? What had happened to the Mass

that I had read so much about? Why are there all these problems within the Church

today? Such questions only drove me deeper into study and reflection. The New Mass

had wrought, in effect, damage to the Faith as a whole and to its adherents. In addition, it

was in the study of the actual act of consecration---what makes the Mass the Mass instead

of being a mere memorial meal---that the words of Christ were being truncated. The form

as established was being ripped apart, and I didn’t need a degree in sacramental theology

to know what that implied---the New Mass was not a Mass, but a mess, and it had about

as much validity as O.J. Simpson did in tracking down the “real killers”.

Much to my chagrin, I knew I had no choice but to find a way out of this mass and mess.

I did not seek to become a Catholic only to find myself a Protestant adorned with

Catholic trinkets. At my Confirmation, and what should have been the happiest day of my

life, I was disheartened. First Eucharist was bittersweet (they must have put sugar into the

cookie). I walked outside the parish sanctuary, got into my car, and never went back.

However, God does not forsake those who seek Him. During my time of trial with the

novus ordo, I received the address of a chapel not too far from me that still practiced the

Latin Mass and traditional sacraments (that is, there is an actual confession booth). The

week after I left the parish and its RCIA program, I went to the chapel. There was chant.

There was Latin. There were kneelers. And everybody received communion on the

tongue and from an actual priest.

It was, and is, heaven. The True Mass has come from God, and one cannot help but find

oneself affected by it. A great sacrilege is occurring within novus ordo halls these days,

but the beauty of the Mass continues unabated. As the new liturgy condemns itself by its

own words, or lack thereof, by its rotten fruits, and by God Himself, let us hold fast to the

ways of old, to those teachings and traditions passed down to us from the time of Christ

by His Apostles. The enemies of the Church may currently occupy most of the parish

halls, but they do not have the Faith and, thus, they cannot triumph.

Mothers, Wives, Sisters, Daughters Do You Meet This In Church and In Public?

"A dress cannot be called decent which is cut deeper than two fingers breadth under the pit of the throat; which does not cover the arms at least to the elbows; and scarcely reaches a bit beyond the knees.  Furthermore, dresses of transparent materials are improper."

The Cardinal Vicar of  Pius XI

Sometimes we all need a good reminder.

When You Just Can't Sit Down And Read....

I was talking with a lady after Mass today and we were discussing how we could continue throughout the week with Christ more and more in our thoughts and actions. I mentioned to her that I had found this website with links to various books in both written and audio format.
These books are recorded chapter to chapter so you can listen to one chapter at a time and even listen to the same chapter a few times.  I have been using books and sermons via audio; at my place of employment, when I am cooking meals, getting ready for work/Mass, or working on my monthly budget and bills.



This one is St. Bonaventure:


Here is the full link to all sorts of audiobooks and online books:


Let me know if you attempt this and how it works for you!

St. John of the Cross

"Withdraw from creatures if you desire to preserve, clear and simple in your soul the image of God. Empty your spirit and withdraw far from them and you will walk in divine lights, for God is not like creatures."

As We Near Lent

The Sum of Perfection

By: Saint John of the Cross

Forgetfulness of created things,

remembrance of the Creator,

 attention turned toward inward things,

 and loving the Beloved.

Kindness

By: Father Lovasik
Part 1
The Blessings of Kindness

" When your soul cherishes a gracious thought, it is as if God saw His own being reflected in a silent, sacred likeness. A kind thought is like the image of the Savior in your soul. God beholds it and rejoices at it and blesses your soul because your thoughts and sentiments are so much after His own Heart."

Lent and the Spirit of Sacrifice

Read Full Article Here

Whatever sacrifices we make, we must always keep in mind the way a Catholic should do penance.  We must be balanced in our approach. We should challenge ourselves and push ourselves to do a little extra.  It should be a sacrifice.  But we must also not bite off more than we can chew.  One of the most important parts of our Lenten mortification must be the ability to persevere through the entire season and if we take on too much, then human nature will all too often cause us not to cut back a little, but rather fall away from almost all the sacrifices together. Then we are back to doing just the minimum or, God forbid, no sacrifice at all.  It would be better to offer a little and persevere than to offer a lot and fail to complete our Lent.

Is The New Pope True to the Faith?

Here is the new pope celebrating a religion that rejected Christ as the Messiah... and crucified Him. Did we forget?

A mockery of the Mass....did we forget that this is the Unbloody Sacrifice of Calvary?

We must pray very hard for the pontiff... he has known nothing but Vatican II since his ordination. I pray that he is inspired by the Holy Ghost and will rid the Church of modernism.

The Beauty of a Sunday Morning

The calm of a Sunday morning as you prepare yourself for the holy sacrifice of the Mass was captured this morning How befitting on the eve of the feast day of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

How blessed I was today to hear a beautiful sermon about Our Lady who is the key to purity!

What a resonating statement to hear the priest refer to purity as respect and within the noblest of men and woman.

Spiritual Sunday: Stations of the Cross

An excerpt from the Stations of the Cross from the method of Sacred Scripture and Liturgy.



The Eleventh Station

MEDITATION: And when the came to the place called the Skull, they crucified Him there, and the robbers, one on His right hand and the other on His left, and Jesus in the centre. My people what have I done to Thee? I have exalted thee with great power, and thou hast hanged Me on the gibbet of the cross.

They have pierced my hands and my feet.
They have numbered all my bones.

Spiritual Sunday: The Cure' D' Ars

I finished my last spiritual book and have now chosen a new read. THE CURE D' ARS TODAY by George William Rutler piqued my interest and is my book of choice as I continue my spiritual progress.

Have you chosen a new spiritual book?

Spiritual Sunday: Trespass Against Us

Our parish was blessed with a visiting priest who delivered an inspiring sermon. He pointed out something very important regarding forgiving others. Our Lord gave us the Our Father and within this prayer we ask God to forgive our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. We are asking the same kind of forgiveness that we give to others who transgress us. Makes you think... doesn't it? Would you want God to forgive you the way you forgive? How can we ask mercy from God when we do not show that same mercy to others? Makes you think.....

Spiritual Sunday: Short but Sweet

We had a visiting priest this Sunday who gave a very short sermon that was quite to the point. He touched on completing our daily duties well and always for the greater glory of God. I love sermons like these dotting the calendar as a great reminder that not all of us are meant to do great things. We are, however, meant to do everything well and always for Our Lord.

Spiritual Sunday: Building or Rebuilding Devotion

Often, God will bless your soul with an almost desert like situation. One will continue to pray, but not experience the gifts from prayer (spiritual consolation). This is a test to ensure we are not spiritual/devotional merely for the "feeling" but because we know the truth and want to follow Our Lord to the glories of heaven.

To help with my own spiritual dryness; I returned to a book from my high school years.

The Blessed Eucharist: Our Greatest Treasure written by Father Michael Muller is a wonderful read that will open your heart once again to the love for Our Lord while simultaneously receiving love from Our Lord.

I have been incorporating a chapter each Sunday morning just before Mass to assist with proper preparation and reflection on Our Blessed Lord in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar.

Right On The Money

Spiritual Sunday: Healing

I haven't been singing much during Mass and I noticed that this has taken a toll on my husband. I didn't realize it, but my lack of singing (in his mind) was almost like turning my back on God. I had stopped due to the sadness over losing my choir, but never thought it would impact anyone but myself.

So, this Sunday (Good Shepherd Sunday), I swallowed my hurt and I sang for Our Lord and for my husband.