First Saturday
EMBER SATURDAY-FULL STRAWBERRY MOON
Psalm 19, Verse 10-11
10 The FEAR of the LORD is pure, enduring forever. The statutes of the LORD are true, all of them just; 11 More desirable than gold, than a hoard of purest gold, Sweeter also than honey or drippings from the comb.
Our Lord showed no fear of the money changers or the priests when He overturned the tables in holy zeal for the statutes of the Lord. Is the Holy Spirit moving you to make a real change today? Are you being called to be holier, stronger, more committed to God and better prepared for the trials and persecution of our world? Consider the message of The Holy League.[1]
The Holy League
History-Pope St. Pius V formed the original Holy League in response to the dire situation in which Christian Europe found itself in 1571. Small bands of Catholic men and remnant armies from various nations came together under the spiritual leadership of the saintly pontiff and the military leadership of Don John of Austria. By prayer and fasting, they implored the help of God’s grace, through the intercession of the Mother of God, and, by the grace of Almighty God, on October 7, 1571, at the Battle of Lepanto, the Christian fleet won a crushing victory over the OttomanTurks, saving Christendom and western civilization.
The Battle Today
At this particular moment in time, the Church finds itself in a similar situation to that of the Church in the late Sixteenth Century. However, instead of a physical enemy on the horizon, the Church and the family (the domestic Church) are threatened daily by relativism, secularism, impurity, and confusion regarding Church teaching. The battle today “is not against human forces but against the principalities and powers, the rulers of this world of darkness, the evil spirits in the heavens” (Ephesians 6: 10-12). To combat the forces of evil in today’s society, the Holy League strives to call men back to the state of grace and to transforming the culture through prayer.” The Holy League, in fidelity to its mission as a Roman Catholic solidarity movement:
·
Provides a Holy Hour format which
incorporates: Eucharistic adoration, prayer, short spiritual reflections, the
availability of the Sacrament of Confession, Benediction and fraternity;
·
Encourages consecration to the
Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and the Purest Heart
of Joseph;
·
Promotes the Precepts and
Sacraments of the Church; especially through devotion to the Most Blessed
Sacrament and the praying of the Most Holy Rosary;
·
Creates a unified front, made up
of members of the Church Militant, for spiritual combat;
· Strives to have a regular monthly Holy League Holy Hour available to men in every Roman Catholic parish.
Holy League Vision
The Vision of the Holy League is to develop a network of parish based regular monthly Holy Hours with confession and fraternity for men.
Our Mission
The Holy
League, in a Spirit of Marian Chivalry, under the patronage of Our Lady of
Guadalupe and Saint Joseph, seeks to provide opportunities for the faithful to
unite in prayer, especially monthly Eucharistic Holy Hours, for purification
from sin and predisposition to Supernatural Grace for the fuller exercise of
the threefold offices of Priest, Prophet, and King received at Baptism. The particular
prayer of the Holy League is the monthly Eucharistic Holy Hour.
First Saturday[2]
When Sister Lúcia experienced the Pontevedra apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary, she heard her promise to grant great graces, especially at the hour of death, in particular the salvation of the soul, for the believer who for Five Consecutive First Saturdays of Month (5 Saturdays in 5 months) receives Holy Communion and practices the following exercises as an Act of Reparation to the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God and Queen of Heaven:
· Sacramental confession
The confession can take place within eight days before or even after the Holy Communion is received, but the Holy Communion shall be received with dignity, in a state of Grace, keeping in mind that Jesus is physically present in the Eucharist (Transubstantiation). The Intention of making reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary may be kept to oneself; it is not necessary to notify the confessor priest.
· To receive Holy Communion
The Holy Communion has to be received within the 24 hours of the first Saturday of the Month. Attendance to Holy Mass is optional. Receiving Holy Communion as part of this devotion must be consciously intended as an Act of Reparation to the Immaculate Heart. The devotee need not tell anyone else, but keep it in mind. To avoid omitting the Intention every Saturday, the General Intention for the devotion of the Act of Reparation can be mentally or outspokenly stated before starting the First Saturdays (or in between).
If a person has a valid reason not to attend Mass (Masses not available on Saturdays, difficult mobilization, other major event), the devotee may consult a priest about receiving Communion privately or on another day with the intention of making this Communion as part of the devotion.
·
A 5-Decade Rosary
is recited
Saturday after Pentecost-Ember Day[3]
EPISTLE, Romans v. 1-5.
BRETHREN: Being justified therefore by faith, let us have peace with God,
through Our Lord Jesus Christ, by Whom also we have access through faith into
this grace, wherein we stand, and glory in the hope of the glory of the sons of
God. And not only so; but we glory also in tribulations, knowing that
tribulation worketh patience, and patience trial; and trial hope, and hope
confoundeth not: because the charity of God is poured forth in our hearts, by
the Holy Ghost Who is given to us.
GOSPEL. Luke iv. 38-44.
At that time: Jesus rising
up out of the synagogue, went into Simon’s house. And Simon s wife’s mother was
taken with a great fever, and they besought Him for her. And standing over her,
He commanded the fever, and it left her. And immediately rising, she ministered
to them. And when the sun was down, all they that had any sick with divers’
diseases, brought them to Him. But He laying His hands on every one of them,
healed them. And devils went out from many, crying out and saying: Thou art the
Son of God. And rebuking them, He suffered them not to speak, for they knew
that He was Christ. And when it was day, going out He went into a desert place,
and the multitudes sought Him, and came unto Him: and they detained Him that He
should not depart from them. To whom He said: To other cities also I must
preach the kingdom of God: for therefor am I sent. And He was preaching in the
synagogues of Galilee.
Today is the end of Paschaltide (after the office of
None).
Ember
Saturday Meditation on the Entombment[4]
And when evening was now come (because it was the Parasceve, that is, the day before the Sabbath), Joseph of Arimathea, a noble counsellor, who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God, came and went in boldly to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. But Pilate wondered that He should be already dead. And sending for the centurion, he asked him if He were already dead. And when he had understood it by the centurion, he gave the body to Joseph. And Joseph buying fine linen and taking Him down, wrapped Him up in the fine linen, and laid Him in a sepulcher which was hewed out of a rock. And he rolled a stone to the door of the sepulcher.
Liturgy of the Cloth: How the Early Church Incorporated the Shroud and Sudarium in the Mass[5]
New research suggests
that the burial cloths of Jesus have been central to the Roman liturgy for more
than a millennium, and possibly from the earliest days of the Church.
A German theologian and
friend of Benedict XVI, drawing on the writings of a ninth-century bishop,
appears to have made a historic and fascinating discovery, revealing how the
Shroud of Turin and the sudarium (the Veil of Veronica) were central to the
Roman liturgy from as far back as the Carolingian times, most probably before.
The two relics and their inclusion in those early liturgies also point to the
Real Presence. The discovery has only now come to light, after debate over the
burial cloths has intensified over the past 10 years and interest has developed
regarding their authenticity. The Register spoke recently with German journalist
Paul Badde,
who has been following the discovery closely and is an authority on the Holy Face of Manoppello, which many believe to be the true sudarium.
The
discovery was made by Klaus Berger of Heidelberg, a German theologian, an old
friend of Joseph Ratzinger and New Testament scholar, who is carrying out
detailed research on the Apocalypse of St. John. During his studies, he came
across one of the great commentators on the Apocalypse, Amalarius (775-850), a
liturgical expert from the Carolingian times. Amalarius, who used to be bishop
of Metz in France and archbishop of Trier in Germany, was a great liturgist of
the Carolingian age, whom Pope Sergius II made a cardinal. Even in those times,
he said the cloth of the altar resembled the shroud and the sudarium, found and
discovered first by the apostles Peter and John in the empty holy sepulcher the
first Easter morning. But we have an enormous gap in documented records from
the first Easter morning in Jerusalem and the moment when they first appeared
in public. We know that the sudarium appeared in 1208 in Rome in public, when
Pope Innocent III put it on public view, and the shroud appeared in 1355 for
the first time in the West in Lirey in the Champagne area of France. But we can
be sure that the two cloths have always been part of the “memory of the
liturgy,” even though their presence arrived later. Amalarius may have witnessed
seeing them there [in Constantinople], and it’s important to note
that their presence in the liturgy didn’t begin in Carolingian times, but
[they] were probably used from the very beginning. …
Where
were the cloths kept before that time?
They
were stored for many years in the East, but they were always hidden. Showing
them to the public wasn’t
a big deal in the Orthodox world. In the West, we make historical records, but
in the East, they don’t
have it that [record keeping as] much. But even in the Dark Ages, in the first
millennium, there used to be a tradition in the Roman liturgy that the cloth on
the altar had to be linen, and the altar had to be rock to be understood as a
sepulcher.
What is
the significance of altar linen — does it date back to these two priceless relics?
Yes,
from this we can understand why the altar linen, analogous to the shroud, until
1969, had to be “pure
linen”
and why the so-called corporal must always be folded in a particular way by way
of analogy with the sudarium. John says that, after Christ’s resurrection, it
was found by Peter and John in the empty tomb: “not lying with the
linen cloths but rolled up or folded (enteeligmenon in Greek) in a separate place.” That corporal is
the starched cloth, which, in the old rite, after the priest had come at the
altar in contact with the bread and wine, could only be touched by him
reverently with his thumb and forefinger.
How is
the altar significant in this?
Since
the altar linens of the liturgy are called sindon and sudarium
and theologically are in connection with the Real Presence of Jesus in his body
and blood, Berger contends that their purpose is to point to the mystery of the
Eucharist on the altar stone. There, the inanimate matter of the bread and wine
—
as the tomb of Christ in the rock in Jerusalem, which had never been used — is always
transformed into the “Bread
of Life”
and living blood of Christ. After the [Second Vatican] Council, we had the discussion:
Is the altar about Communion? Is it a table? Or is it a sacrifice? Until that
time, it was clearly a sacrifice. The altar was understood as a sepulcher,
where lifeless elements were turned into something living — flesh and blood.
That was also the tradition in the eighth century. But whether the actual
relics were seen at the altar or not, the shroud and the sudarium have been
mentioned by St. John and the liturgical tradition, not only in public, but
also been remembered as far back as the eighth and ninth centuries as something
very special, very important in the story of the Resurrection. And this we have
also to keep in mind. Very much can be said about the liturgy, and one thing is
for sure: The liturgy can also be understood as the “inner hard drive” of the sacred
memory of the Church. So, it’s
quite clear that everything Amalarius reports about it in his time has not and
cannot be invented and introduced in the liturgy in the Carolingian age. It
must be much older and points right back to the beginning of the Church, just
like the holy Eucharist itself.
Could you
explain more about how this points to the Real Presence?
The
depiction of the face of Jesus on these cloths could be understood similarly to
the so-called Mass of Pope Gregory (540-604). Gregory, I saw, appearing to him,
a bloodied Lord, directly in connection with the transformation of the
Eucharistic species. The shroud and the sudarium of Jesus would, therefore, be
understood as the direct expression and the personified Real Presence of Jesus
on the altar and would be directly related to the Eucharist as the center of
the holy Mass. In this way, they agree as biblically confirmed evidence of the
resurrection of Christ with the mystery of the Eucharistic transformation
(transubstantiation). You could, therefore, say: Instead of the vision of
Gregory, in Amalarius, there is the real, symbolic content of the altar cloths.
In both cases, it is an expression of the Real Presence of Christ. What is true
for Pope Gregory is the content of the vision, namely, the real, bodily
presence of Christ (particularly of the suffering Christ). According to
Amalarius, it would be expressed sensibly (sinnenfällig) in the liturgical altar linens. On the burial
cloths, showing the stigmata on the shroud and on the sudarium the face of
Jesus, there appeared a lasting imprint of what happened for an instant in
Gregory’s
vision.
What does
this mean for Holy Face of Manoppello?
To
me and to many, there’s
no doubt that Manoppello is the historic sudarium, also called the Veil of
Veronica. It was kept in Rome and often venerated until 1527. It is, in fact,
the very veil that had been laid on the face of the dead Lord when he was laid
to rest in the sepulcher. So, it contains the first breath of the resurrected
Christ. No wonder that nobody can explain how the image — without any
colors! —
got into the sacred veil. Now, the Easterly sudarium of Christ is coming back
into history, at the beginning of an enormous “iconic turn” caused by the
digital revolution —
not to the eyes of a chosen few anymore, but to the eyes of all men. And it
doesn’t
come back to tell the Gospel anew with more words, but to reveal the
Resurrection of the Lord from the dead with one true and unique image.
MEDITATIONS ON THE LITURGY FROM THE EXTRAORDINARY FORM
FOR EACH OF THE EMBER DAYS AFTER PENTECOST.
Written by Monsignor Martin B. Hellriegel, originally
published in the journal Orate Fratres Vol. XVIII, May 14, 1944, No. 7, pp.
299-305, later reprinted in Vine and Branches, Pio Decimo Press, 1948.
These
meditations are attached to the 1962 Extraordinary Form liturgy. The current
lectionary has different readings and prayers not specific to the Ember Days.
Prayer:
EMBER
SATURDAY AFTER PENTECOST
Station "With St. Peter
The
charity of God is poured forth in our hearts, alleluia (introit)
"At
the end of holy Mass Paschaltide comes to a close," so reads a little
rubric after today's post communion. Needless to say, this little note reminds
us not only of the fact that this blessed season is over but also of the duty
of gratitude for the inexpressibly precious gifts we have received during this
most sacred period of the Church's year.
The
merciful Father so loved us as to give us His only-begotten Son. The obedient
Son died and rose that we might have life, and have it more abundantly. And the
charity of God is poured forth into our hearts by His Spirit dwelling in us,
alleluia! "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and let all that is within me
bless His holy name!" (em>introit). We are the Father's adopted
children; we are the Son's redeemed members; we are the living temples of the
Holy Spirit, bound to Christ our Head, and bound to one another by the charity
of God, which is the Paraclete Himself. Gratias agamus Domino Deo nostro!
The
prophecy of Joel (first lesson), quoted by our station saint, Peter, on the day
of Pentecost, is fulfilled: God's Spirit is poured out upon us. Aided by the
quickening power of the Holy Spirit we call upon the name of the Lord and we
shall be saved. "Alleluia, it is the Spirit that quickened, but the flesh
profiteth nothing.
The
seven weeks, that is to say, the fifty days, have expired. The victorious Lord
led us into the land flowing with the milk and honey of His eucharistic sweetness.
Let us never forget the loving kindness of our Lord! Gladly shall we offer Him
the first fruits of our love and gratitude and shall leave them int he sight of
the Lord, adoring the Lord our God (second and third lessons).
And
now that the Lord has set up His tabernacle in the midst of us, we shall
faithfully walk in His precepts and keep His commandments, so that He
may remain our God and we His people (fourth lesson). May the divine
fire which our Lord Jesus Christ sent into our hearts never be extinguished but
burn mightily by the power of His Holy Spirit (collect).
Like
the three Babylonian youths we were wondrously saved from the fire of the
eternal furnace (fifth lesson); we are justified by faith, we have peace with
God through our Lord Jesus Christ; by whom also we have access through faith
into this grace wherein we (now) stand, possessing the hope that we are God's
glorious sons...because the charity of God is poured forth into our hearts by
the Holy Ghost, who is given to us (epistles).
We
celebrate this closing day "in the house of Peter: (station: St. Peter).
Jesus will enter this house this morning and will lay His healing hands upon
us. May He in His infinite love remove the last traces of our weakness and give
us full health. At the same time we will ask Him in all humility: Stay with us,
Lord, do not depart form us (gospel), and grant that "Thy holy
mysteries which we have celebrated (in this paschal season) may inspire us with
divine fervor, that we may delight not only in their celebration but also in
their fruits" (postcommunion).
And
so we conclude this blessed paschal season, grateful to the most Holy Trinity
for all that we have received but determined also to preserve in our souls the
divine life of our victoriously reigning Lord to whom be thanksgiving and glory
for everlasting ages. Amen. Alleluia.
Prayer Source: Orate
Fratres/Worship: A Review Devoted to the Liturgical Apostolate , The
Liturgical Press
Apostolic Exhortation[6]
Veneremur
Cernui – Down in Adoration Falling
of The Most
Reverend Thomas J. Olmsted, Bishop of Phoenix,
to Priests, Deacons, Religious and the Lay Faithful of the Diocese of Phoenix
on the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist
My beloved Brothers and
Sisters in Christ,
Part III
Loving and Adoring the
Eucharistic Lord
69. Thus far we have stirred up our
amazement at the Eucharistic mystery and have considered the nature of our
total self-gift in response. Now we turn to how we might practically live out
this mystery with greater faith and love for – as we pray at each Mass – “our
good and the good of all His holy Church”? In other words, how concretely might
we “follow the Ark” of the Eucharist into the future God has planned for us?
I. Make every Sunday the “Day of
the Lord.”
70. For many of our
contemporaries, Sunday feels like the second half of the two-day weekend. Thus,
time becomes an empty succession of days, without meaning, purpose, or
direction. The consequence of this is not neutral but in fact deeply damaging
to us. If each week has no ultimate purpose (that is, there is no day “for” the
Lord, which means a day of divine worship), then soon we believe that time,
history, and our lives are also meaningless. The result is a kind of slavery to
whatever else we think is more important than the worship of God. Without a
shared time for us all to participate in divine worship, we inevitably fall
under bondage to some good but creaturely fixation. It could be money, success,
social advancement, entertainment, education, politics, or sports, but like the
effects of endless hard labor, the result is spiritual exhaustion and
discouragement. Time is a
gift from God.
71. Therefore, the Church
teaches that Sunday is a “day of protest against the servitude of work and the
worship of money” (CCC 2172). It means Sunday is a sign of a liberated people.
In the Old Covenant, the Sabbath was a weekly experience which recalled liberation
from Egypt for worship in Jerusalem. It announced to both Israel and her
neighbors that she was no longer a slave to Egypt. In the New Covenant, Sunday
is meant to be an experience which announces and renews the freedom of the New
Passover to the world. Sunday is the time to herald to the world that we are no
longer slaves to sin and death. This day is meant to be a weekly gift from God
to His people: a day of freedom, joy, charity and peace. It is the primary day
in which God renews His covenant with us. We might say that the Risen Jesus
chose to celebrate His first Mass on Easter Sunday, the day He rose from the
dead (Lk 24:13-35). Since then, Sunday centers around the celebration of the
Mass.
72. How our world thirsts for
this sign of freedom! But this freedom is not simply freedom from but freedom
for. God commands us to “keep holy” the Sabbath (Ex. 20:8). To “keep holy”
means to set aside for divine worship. It is inadequate to think Sunday is
merely about freedom from work. Yes, it involves freedom from servile work, but
this is so that we are free to participate in the work of our Redemption.
Sharing in the work of the Son of God’s Cross and Resurrection is the work
which gives rest and refreshment. So, Sunday is a day of work because we share in
the liberating work of God in the sacred liturgy. What a cathedral is to a
place, Sunday is to the week: set aside for the “work” of divine worship.
Sunday is not about mere inactivity. In fact, the Mass is the highest form of
activity, for in it we share in the work of our salvation through our
participation in the Eucharist.
To be continued…
Which are the fruits of the Holy Ghost? They are the twelve following:
1. Charity.
2.
Joy.
3. Peace.
4. Patience.
5. Benignity.
6. Goodness.
7. Longsuffering.
8. Mildness.
9. Faith.
10. Modesty.
11.
Continency.
12.
Chastity.
These fruits
should be visible in the Christian, for thereby men shall know that the Holy
Ghost dwells in him, as the tree is known by its fruit.
Notice I have
placed the Fruits of the Holy Spirit in stairstep fashion so we may
reflect on them seeing that by concentrating on each step of our growth in the
spirit we may progress closer and closer to our heavenly Father. Today we will
be focusing on the second step which is modesty.
Catechism of the Catholic Church
PART ONE: THE PROFESSION OF FAITH
SECTION ONE-"I BELIEVE" -
"WE BELIEVE"
CHAPTER TWO GOD COMES TO MEET MAN
Article
2-THE TRANSMISSION OF DIVINE REVELATION
IN BRIEF
96 What
Christ entrusted to the apostles, they in turn handed on by their preaching and
writing, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, to all generations, until
Christ returns in glory.
97
"Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture make up a single sacred deposit of
the Word of God" (DV 10) in which, as in a mirror, the pilgrim Church
contemplates God, the source of all her riches.
98
"The Church, in her doctrine, life and worship, perpetuates and transmits
to every generation all that she herself is, all that she believes" (DV 8
# 1).
99 Thanks
to its supernatural sense of faith, the People of God as a whole never ceases
to welcome, to penetrate more deeply and to live more fully from the gift of
divine Revelation.
100 The
task of interpreting the Word of God authentically has been entrusted solely to
the Magisterium of the Church, that is, to the Pope and to the bishops in
communion with him.
Full Strawberry Moon
According
to the almanac today we are having a Full Strawberry Moon; plan to make
homemade strawberry ice cream and share with your children or grandchildren.
Teach them the value of not saying a bad word about others.
Daily
Devotions
·
Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them
in fasting: The
Pope
·
Saturday
Litany of the Hours Invoking the Aid of Mother Mary
·
Litany of the Most Precious
Blood of Jesus
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
·
Rosary
Comments
Post a Comment