A Novena for the Traditional Mass (day 6)

Glory to Thee, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
One God over all the world in every age.

In Thy mercy
grant that Thy servants
may once again freely worship Thee
in the unity of the Mass of Ages,
with St. Isidore of Seville,
with St. Bede the Venerable,
with St. Albert the Great
and with all the saints
whom Thou hast spiritually formed
through the traditional Mass.

Father in Heaven,
through Christ our Lord, we ask Thee
to pour out the grace of Thy Holy Spirit
on Thy vicar, Pope Benedict XVI,
and on Thy unworthy servants,
to conform our hearts to Thee,
so that, animated by Thy Spirit,
we may serve Thee faithfully in this life
and enter into the joy of Thy kingdom
at the end of our days.

For the Holy Father:
Our Father Who art in heaven...
Hail Mary, full of grace...
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit...

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(Today is the Feast of St. Athanasius)

“But for the searching and right understanding of the Scriptures there is need of a good life and a pure soul, and for Christian virtue to guide the mind to grasp, so far as human nature can, the truth concerning God the Word. One cannot possibly understand the teaching of the saints unless one has a pure mind and is trying to imitate their life. Anyone who wants to look at sunlight naturally wipes his eye clear first, in order to make, at any rate, some approximation to the purity of that on which he looks; and a person wishing to see a city or country goes to the place in order to do so. Similarly, anyone who wishes to understand the mind of the sacred writers must first cleanse his own life, and approach the saints by copying their deeds. Thus united to them in the fellowship of life, he will both understand the things revealed to them by God and, thenceforth escaping the peril that threatens sinners in the judgment, will receive that which is laid up for the saints in the kingdom of heaven. Of that reward it is written: 'Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath entered into the heart of man the things that God has prepared' for them that live a godly life and love the God and Father in Christ Jesus our Lord, through Whom and with Whom be to the Father Himself, with the Son Himself, in the Holy Spirit, honor and might and glory to ages of ages. Amen.”

- Saint Athanasius, On the Incarnation

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'His whole life was shaped around his defense of the divinity of Christ at a time when powerful imperial forces, and perhaps even the majority of churchmen, had fallen into the Arian Heresy. This situation is summed up in the famous saying: Athanasius contra mundum—“Athanasius against the world.” At a famous meeting at Milan between the Emperor Constantius and Pope Liberius, the Emperor had challenged the Pope: “Who are you to stand up for Athanasius against the world?”'

Tan Books has published a book about the 33 Doctors of the Church, and has put the introduction and first chapter online. To read about "The Father of Orthodoxy", click here and search for "Saint Athanasius".