Immortal, Invisible

Bless the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit

Dear friend, it is the day after your funeral. Here on earth the Church now enters into her longest season, the season after Pentecost, after the descent of the Holy Ghost onto the disciples. You enter into eternity, and I pray that Holy Ghost has descended on you as well. May God bless you forever, and let us bless Him:

Trium puerórum cantémus hymnum, quem cantábant sancti in camíno ignis, benedicéntes Dóminum.

Let us sing the hymn of the three young men, which these holy ones sang of old in the fiery furnace, giving praise to the Lord.

Benedícite ómnia ópera Dómini Dómino: laudáte et superexaltáte eum in saécula. Benedícite Angeli Dómini Dómino: benedícite cæli Dómino Benedícite aquæ omnes quae super cælos sunt Dómino: benedícite omnes virtútes Dómini Dómino. Benedícite sol et luna Dómino: benedícite stellæ cæli Dómini. Benedícite omnis imber et ros Dómino: benedícite omnes spíritus Dei Dómino. Benedícite ignis et æstus Dómino: benedícite frigus et æstus Dómino. Benedícite rores et pruína Dómino: benedícite gelu et frigus Dómino. Benedícite glácies et nives Dómino: benedícite noctes et dies Dómino. Benedícite lux et ténebræ Dómino: benedícite fúlgura et nubes Dómino. Benedícat terra Dóminum: laudet et superexáltet eum in saécula. Benedícite montes et colles Dómino: benedícite univérsa germinántia in terra Dómino. Benedícite fontes Dómino: benedícite mária et flúmina Dómino. Benedícite cete, et ómnia, quæ movéntur in aquis Dómino: benedícite omnes volúcres cæli Dómino. Benedícite omnes béstiæ et pécora Dómino: benedícite fílii hóminum Dómino. Benedícat Israël Dóminum: laudet et superexáltet eum in saécula. Benedícite sacerdótes Dómini Dómino: benedícite servi Dómini Dómino. Benedícite spíritus et ánimæ justórum Dómino: benedícite sancti et húmiles corde Dómino. Benedícite Ananía, Azária, Misaël Dó-mino: laudáte et superexaltáte eum in saécula. Benedicámus Patrem et Fílium cum sancto Spíritu: laudémus et superexaltémus eum in saécula. Benedíctus es, Dómine, in firmaménto cæli: et laudábilis, et gloriósus, et superexaltátus in saécula.

All ye works of the Lord, bless the Lord: praise and exalt Him above all for ever. O ye angels of the Lord, bless the Lord: O ye heavens, bless the Lord O all ye waters that are above the heavens, bless the Lord: O all ye powers of the Lord, bless the Lord. O ye sun and moon, bless the Lord: O ye stars of heaven, bless the Lord. O every shower and dew, bless ye the Lord: O all ye spirits of God, bless the Lord. O ye fire and heat, bless the Lord: O ye cold and heat, bless the Lord. O ye dews and hoarfrosts, bless the Lord: O ye frost and cold, bless the Lord. O ye ice and snow, bless the Lord: O ye nights and days, bless the Lord. O ye light and darkness, bless the Lord: O ye lightnings and clouds, bless the Lord. O let the earth bless the Lord: let it praise and exalt Him above all for ever. O ye mountains and hills, bless the Lord: O all ye things that spring up in the earth, bless the Lord. O ye fountains, bless the Lord: O ye seas and rivers, bless the Lord O ye whales and all that move in the waters, bless the Lord: O all ye fowls of the air, bless the Lord. O all ye beasts and cattle, bless the Lord: O ye sons of men, bless the Lord. O let Israel bless the Lord: let them praise and exalt Him above all for ever. O ye priests of the Lord, bless the Lord: O ye servants of the Lord, bless the Lord. O ye spirits and souls of the just, bless the Lord: O ye holy and humble of heart, bless the Lord. O Ananias, Azarias and Misael, bless ye the Lord: praise and exalt Him above all for ever. Let us bless the Father, and the Son, with the Holy Ghost: let us praise and exalt Him above all for ever. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, in the firmament of heaven: and worthy of praise, and glorious, and exalted above all for ever.

Trinity Sunday

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the charity of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost be with you, kind visitor. Today is the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity.

Litany of Resignation to the Will of God

Lord, have mercy on us,
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us. Jesus, hear us.
Jesus, graciously hear us.
God the Father, Who hath created me,
Hallowed be Thy will
God the Son, Who hath redeemed me,
Not my will but Thine be done.
God the Holy Ghost, Who hath offered sanctification,
Blessed be the Most Sweet Will of God.

Thou Who dost know and foresee all things,
Have mercy on us.
Thou Who dost govern and rule all things,
Have mercy on us.
Thou Who, according to Thy inscrutable designs,
dost effect all things in a wonderful manner,
Have mercy on us.
Thou Who dost permit evil in order thence to derive good
for the salvation of the elect,
Have mercy on us.

In all things and in all possible events,
Thy Holy Will be done, O my God.
In all circumstances and disgraces,
Thy Holy Will be done, O my God.
In my state and employment, etc.
In my affairs and occupations,
In all my actions,
In my health and strength,
In my body and soul,
In my life and death,
In myself and in those who belong to me,
In all men and angels,
In all creatures,
In all parts of the earth,
At all times,
For all eternity,
Although weak nature complains,
Although it costs much to self-love and sensuality,
Solely and only through love for Thee and Thy good pleasure,
Because Thou art my Creator,
Because Thou art the Supreme Lord of all things,
Because Thou art infinite perfection, therefore do I say,
with all the saints in Heaven,

With the Blessed Virgin Mary,
Thy Holy Will be done, O my God
With Jesus in the Garden of Olives,
Thy Holy Will be done, O my God

Our Father (silently).

V. May the just, most amiable will of God be done in all things.
R. May it be praised and magnified forever! Amen.

Let Us Pray

Grant me Thy grace, O Father, that perfect resignation to Thy Holy Will may be with me, and labor with me, and continue with me to the end. Grant me always to desire and will that which is most acceptable to Thee and which pleaseth Thee best. Let Thy will be mine, and let my will always follow Thine and agree perfectly with it. Let me always will and not will the same with Thee; let me not be able to will or not will anything except what Thou willest or willest not. R. Amen.

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All-holy Father of all creatures, Who permits and ordains trials in this life for our sanctification, still I pray to Thee as before, trusting in Thy goodness: mercifully spare Thy daughter R- and strengthen her, and cure her, if her cure is in accord with Thy providence. O Holy Spirit, Giver of Life, I beg Thee: in loving-kindness grant Thy gift of healing to my friend. Condescend, most holy Lord, to repair Thy temple which is her body, and to abide there, keeping R- safe from all shadow of darkness. O Blessed Savior, Love incarnate, mighty God at Whose command the storms cease and the dead arise, I implore Thee, save Thy handmaid from her affliction. Heal her as Thou healed the Canaanite's daughter and the centurion's servant, and grant that she may give thanks to Thee in Thy church and bless Thy holy Name forever. Amen.

Holy Blessed Trinity, Almighty Lord of all creation, help us in our weakness to trust in Thee, and to love Thee, and to bless Thy holy Name, now and always, through sorrow and joy, to the age of ages when sorrows will cease and joy will be perfected in Thee, from Whom all good things come.

A Novena to the Holy Ghost for Healing (Day 5)

When Mary therefore was come where Jesus was, seeing him, she fell down at his feet, and saith to him: Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.
Jesus, therefore, when he saw her weeping, and the Jews that were come with her, weeping, groaned in the spirit, and troubled himself, And said: Where have you laid him?
They say to him: Lord, come and see.
And Jesus wept.
The Jews therefore said: Behold how he loved him. But some of them said: Could not he that opened the eyes of the man born blind, have caused that this man should not die?
John 11:32-37

Our Father Who art in heaven...
Hail Mary, Full of Grace, ...
Glory be to the Father... (7 times)
Act of Consecration

Almighty and merciful Father, refuge and salvation of those who believe, I beg Thee: remember Thy daughter R-, please forgive her her sins, and heal her infirmities. O Holy Spirit, Giver of Life, I beg Thee: in loving-kindness grant Thy gift of healing to my friend. Condescend, most holy Lord, to repair Thy temple which is her body, and to abide there, keeping R- safe from all shadow of darkness. O Blessed Savior, Love incarnate, mighty God at Whose command the storms cease and the dead arise, I implore Thee, save Thy handmaid from her affliction. Heal her as Thou healed the Canaanite's daughter and the centurion's servant, and grant that she may give thanks to Thee in Thy church and bless Thy holy Name forever.

Amen.

A Novena to the Holy Ghost for Healing (Day 4)

And behold, men brought in a bed a man, who had the palsy: and they sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before him. And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in, because of the multitude, they went up upon the roof, and let him down through the tiles with his bed into the midst before Jesus.
Luke 5:18-19

Our Father Who art in heaven...
Hail Mary, Full of Grace, ...
Glory be to the Father... (7 times)
Act of Consecration

Almighty and merciful Father, refuge and salvation of those who believe, I beg Thee: remember Thy daughter R-, please forgive her her sins, and heal her infirmities. O Holy Spirit, Giver of Life, I beg Thee: in loving-kindness grant Thy gift of healing to my friend. Condescend, most holy Lord, to repair Thy temple which is her body, and to abide there, keeping R- safe from all shadow of darkness. O Blessed Savior, Love incarnate, mighty God at Whose command the storms cease and the dead arise, I implore Thee, save Thy handmaid from her affliction. Heal her as Thou healed the Canaanite's daughter and the centurion's servant, and grant that she may give thanks to Thee in Thy church and bless Thy holy Name forever.

Amen.

Trinity Sunday

All those Catholic expounders of the divine Scriptures, both Old and New, whom I have been able to read, who have written before me concerning the Trinity, Who is God, have purposed to teach, according to the Scriptures, this doctrine, that the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit intimate a divine unity of one and the same substance in an indivisible equality; and therefore that they are not three Gods, but one God: although the Father has begotten the Son, and so He who is the Father is not the Son; and the Son is begotten by the Father, and so He who is the Son is not the Father; and the Holy Spirit is neither the Father nor the Son, but only the Spirit of the Father and of the Son, Himself also co-equal with the Father and the Son, and pertaining to the unity of the Trinity. Yet not that this Trinity was born of the Virgin Mary, and crucified under Pontius Pilate, and buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven, but only the Son. Nor, again, that this Trinity descended in the form of a dove upon Jesus when He was baptized; nor that, on the day of Pentecost, after the ascension of the Lord, when there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, the same Trinity sat upon each of them with cloven tongues like as of fire, but only the Holy Spirit. Nor yet that this Trinity said from heaven, You are my Son, whether when He was baptized by John, or when the three disciples were with Him in the mount, or when the voice sounded, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again; but that it was a word of the Father only, spoken to the Son; although the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, as they are indivisible, so work indivisibly. This is also my faith, since it is the Catholic faith.

- Saint Augustine (On the Trinity, Book I, Chapter 4)

Trinity Sunday

Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord

Holy, holy, holy, Lord
God of Hosts, eternal King,
by the heavens and earth adored!
Angels and archangels sing,
chanting everlastingly
to the blessèd Trinity.

Since by Thee were all things made,
and in Thee do all things live,
be to Thee all honor paid,
praise to Thee let all things give,
singing everlastingly
to the blessèd Trinity.

Thousands, tens of thousands, stand,
spirits blest, before Thy throne,
speeding thence at Thy command,
and, when Thy behests are done,
singing everlastingly
to the blessèd Trinity.

Cherubim and seraphim
veil their faces with their wings;
eyes of angels are too dim
to behold the King of kings,
while they sing eternally
to the blessèd Trinity.

Thee apostles, prophets thee,
thee the noble martyr band,
praise with solemn jubilee;
thee, the church in every land;
singing everlastingly
to the blessèd Trinity.

Alleluia! Lord, to Thee
Father, Son and Holy Ghost,
Three in One and One in Three,
join we with the heavenly host,
singing everlastingly
to the blessèd Trinity.

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The Athanasian Creed

Propers for the Feast of the Most Holy Trinity

A Novena for the Traditional Mass (day 9)

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. Gregory the Great,
with St. Bonaventure,
and with St. Pius V,
whose memory we honor today.

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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"Upon our elevation to the Apostolic throne We gladly turned Our mind and energies, and directed all Our thoughts, to the matter of preserving incorrupt the public worship of the Church; and We have striven, with God’s help, by every means in Our power to achieve that purpose. ...

Furthermore, by these presents and by virtue of Our Apostolic authority, We give and grant in perpetuity that for the singing or reading of Mass in any church whatsoever this Missal may be followed absolutely, without any scruple of conscience or fear of incurring any penalty, judgment or censure, and may be freely and lawfully used. Nor shall bishops, administrators, canons, chaplains and other secular priests, or religious of whatsoever Order or by whatsoever title designated, be obliged to celebrate Mass otherwise than enjoined by Us."

- Pope St. Pius V, Quo Primum

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Remove not the ancient landmark
which your fathers have set.

Proverbs 22:28

A Novena for the Traditional Mass (day 8)

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. Thomas More,
with St. John Fisher,
with St. Ignatius of Loyola
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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And when He had arisen from prayer and come to His disciples, He found them sleeping for sadness, and He said to them, "Why are you sleeping? Sleep on now and take your rest. That is enough. Get up and pray that you may not enter into temptation. Behold, the hour is coming when the Son of Man will be betrayed into the hands of sinners. Get up, let us go. Behold, the one who will betray me is near at hand." [Mt 26:45-46, Mk 14:41-42]

See now, when Christ comes back to His apostles for the third time, there they are, buried in sleep, although he commanded them to bear up with Him and to stay awake and pray because of the impending danger; but Judas the traitor at the same time was so wide awake and intent on betraying the Lord that the very idea of sleep never entered his mind.

Does not this contrast between the traitor and the apostles present to us a clear and sharp mirror image (as it were), a sad and terrible view of what has happened through the ages from those times even to our own? Why do not bishops contemplate in his scene their own somnolence? Since they have succeeeded in the place of the apostles, would that they would reproduce their virtues just as eagerly as they embrace their authority and as faithfully as they display their sloth and sleepiness! For very many are sleepy and apathetic in sowing virtues among the people and maintaining the truth, while the enemies of Christ, in order to sow vices and uproot the faith (that is, insofar as they can, to seize Christ and cruelly crucify Him once again), are wide awake--so much wiser (as Christ says) are the sons of darkness in their generation than the sons of light.

Saint Thomas More, The Sadness of Christ

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(Today is the Feast of St. Monica)

Saint Monica, at whose powerful prayers Augustine was rescued from the spirit of the age and raised to heights of holiness, ora pro nobis.

A Novena for the Traditional Mass (day 7)

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. Teresa of Avila,
with St. Thérèse of Lisieux,
with St. Margaret of Hungary
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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Christ's prayer for his disciples

These things Jesus spoke: and lifting up his eyes to heaven, he said: the hour is come. Glorify Thy Son, that Thy Son may glorify Thee. As Thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he may give eternal life to all whom Thou hast given him. Now this is eternal life: That they may know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent.

I have glorified Thee on the earth; I have finished the work which Thou gavest me to do. And now glorify Thou me, O Father, with Thyself, with the glory which I had, before the world was, with Thee. I have manifested Thy name to the men whom Thou hast given me out of the world. Thine they were: and to me Thou gavest them. And they have kept Thy word.

Now they have known that all things which Thou hast given me are from Thee: Because the words which Thou gavest me, I have given to them. And they have received them and have known in very deed that I came out from Thee: and they have believed that Thou didst send me.

I pray for them. I pray not for the world, but for them whom Thou hast given me: because they are Thine. And all my things are Thine, and Thine are mine: and I am glorified in them.

And now I am not in the world, and these are in the world, and I come to Thee. Holy Father, keep them in Thy name whom Thou hast given me: that they may be one, as we also are. While I was with them, I kept them in Thy name. Those whom Thou gavest me have I kept: and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition: that the scripture may be fulfilled.

And now I come to Thee: and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy filled in themselves. I have given them Thy word, and the world hath hated them: because they are not of the world, as I also am not of the world. I pray not that Thou shouldst take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldst keep them from evil. They are not of the world, as I also am not of the world. Sanctify them in truth. Thy word is truth.

As Thou hast sent me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. And for them do I sanctify myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth. And not for them only do I pray, but for them also who through their word shall believe in me. That they all may be one, as Thou, Father, in me, and I in Thee; that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that Thou hast sent me.

And the glory which Thou hast given me, I have given to them: that, they may be one, as we also are one. I in them, and Thou in me: that they may be made perfect in one: and the world may know that Thou hast sent me and hast loved them, as Thou hast also loved me. Father, I will that where I am, they also whom Thou hast given me may be with me: that they may see my glory which Thou hast given me, because Thou hast loved me before the creation of the world.

Just Father, the world hath not known Thee: but I have known Thee. And these have known that Thou hast sent me. And I have made known Thy name to them and will make it known: that the love wherewith Thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.

John 17

Saint Philip and Saint James, chosen and blessed by the Lord, orate pro nobis.

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".

A Novena for the Traditional Mass (day 5)

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. Clare of Assisi,
with St. John Vianney,
and with St. Peregrine Laziosi,
whose memory we honor today.

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...

+++(Today is the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker)

Prayer for the Universal Indult through the intercession of St. Joseph

O Saint Joseph, foster father of Jesus, spouse of our Blessed Mother and patron of the Universal Church, grant us through thy intercession that the Holy Father will soon issue the Motu Proprio which shall permit the universal use of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass according to that venerable rite codified by Pope Pius V. May this Motu Proprio be a means of healing from the painful divisions which have been so evident in our church today. We make our prayer through thy powerful intercession with God and in the holy name of Jesus. Amen.

A Novena for the Traditional Mass (day 4)

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. Bernard of Clairvaux,
with St. John of the Cross,
and with St. Catherine of Siena,
whose memory we honor today.

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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“See, dearest daughter, in what an excellent state is the soul who receives, as she should, this Bread of Life, this Food of the Angels. By receiving this Sacrament she dwells in Me and I in her, as the fish in the sea, and the sea in the fish—thus do I dwell in the soul, and the soul in Me—the Sea Pacific. In that soul grace dwells, for, since she has received this Bread of Life in a state of grace, My grace remains in her, after the accidents of bread have been consumed. I leave you the imprint of grace, as does a seal, which, when lifted from the hot wax upon which it has been impressed, leaves behind its imprint, so the virtue of this Sacrament remains in the soul, that is to say, the heat of My Divine charity, and the clemency of the Holy Spirit. There also remains to you the wisdom of My only-begotten Son, by which the eye of your intellect has been illuminated to see and to know the doctrine of My Truth, and, together with this wisdom, you participate in My strength and power, which strengthen the soul against her sensual self-love, against the Devil, and against the world. You see then that the imprint remains, when the seal has been taken away, that is, when the material accidents of the bread, having been consumed, this True Sun has returned to Its Center, not that it was ever really separated from It, but constantly united to Me. The Abyss of My loving desire for your salvation has given you, through My dispensation and Divine Providence, coming to the help of your needs, the sweet Truth as Food in this life, where you are pilgrims and travelers, so that you may have refreshment, and not forget the benefit of the Blood. See then how straitly you are constrained and obliged to render Me love, because I love you so much, and, being the Supreme and Eternal Goodness, deserve your love.”

- St. Catherine of Siena, A Treatise of Prayer

A Novena for the Traditional Mass (day 3)

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. Dominic,
with St. Thomas Aquinas,
and with St. Peter of Verona,
whose memory we honor today.

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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From today's traditional Mass:

COLLECT.--O God, who to those that go astray dost show the light of Thy truth, that they may return to the path of justice: grant that all who are enrolled in the Christian faith, may both spurn all that is hostile to that name, and follow after what is fitting to it. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God through all ages of ages.

From today's new Mass:

I, John, had a vision of a great multitude,
which no one could count,
from every nation, race, people, and tongue.
They stood before the throne and before the Lamb,
wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands.

Then one of the elders said to me,
“These are the ones who have survived the time of great distress;
they have washed their robes
and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

“For this reason they stand before God’s throne
and worship him day and night in his temple.
The one who sits on the throne will shelter them.
They will not hunger or thirst anymore,
nor will the sun or any heat strike them.
For the Lamb who is in the center of the throne
will shepherd them
and lead them to springs of life-giving water,
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Revelation 7:9, 14b-17

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Keep us faithful and true to Thee, O Lord, through all trials great or small.

A Novena for the Traditional Mass (day 2)

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. Louis Mary de Montfort,
with St. Peter Chanel,
and with St. Paul of the Cross,
whose memory we honor today.

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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"Be constant in practicing every virtue, and especially in imitating the patience of our dear Jesus, for this is the summit of pure love. Live in such a way that all may know that you bear outwardly as well as inwardly the image of Christ crucified, the model of all gentleness and mercy. For if a man is united inwardly with the Son of the living God, he also bears his likeness outwardly by his continual practice of heroic goodness, and especially through a patience reinforced by courage, which does not complain either secretly or in public. Conceal yourselves in Jesus crucified, and hope for nothing except that all men be thoroughly converted to his will."

- Saint Paul of the Cross

A Novena for the Traditional Mass (day 1)

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. Frances of Assisi,
with St. Frances de Sales,
and with St. Peter Canisius,
whose memory we honor today.

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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"It was as if you opened to me the heart in your most sacred body. I seemed to see it directly before my eyes. You told me to drink from this fountain, inviting me, that is, to draw the waters of my salvation from your wellsprings, my Savior. I was most eager that streams of faith, hope, and love should flow into me from that source. I was thirsting for poverty, chastity, obedience. I asked to be made wholly clean by you, to be clothed by you, to be made resplendent by you.

"So, after daring to approach your most loving heart, and to plunge my thirst into it, I received a promise from you of a garment made of three parts: these were to cover my soul in its nakedness, and to belong especially to my religious profession. They were peace, love, and perseverance. Protected by this garment of salvation, I was confident that I would lack nothing but all would succeed and give you glory."

- Saint Peter Canisius

Perichoresis

I recently encountered two words that theologians use to describe the unity of the Trinity: from Greek perichoresis and from Latin circumincession. They mean the same thing, that each Person of the Blessed Trinity lives in the other two, and they act with one accord and cannot be separated from each other, yet they remain distinct Persons.

Perichoresis literally means "dancing around", although it has perhaps become a theological term of art divorced from its origins. As an occasional social dancer, I hope it is not irreverent to still see in human dance some dim reflection of the Divine life. My own dancing is typically lead-footed and clumsy, but, once in a great while, the weights fall off, and with Rebecca, my friend and dance partner, we soar. There is joy in dancing as one, a small model of the exaltation and unity of the Ever-Blessed Trinity.

Years ago I read Chance or the Dance by Thomas Howard. As I recall, it contrasted the modern view of the world as a place of random, meaningless events with an older view of the world as a great dance, wherein we each have a part. I am reminded of both views when I think of a folk dance I once attended. From inside the dances, things looked chaotic, with lots of people wheeling around and going under each other's arms (the whirling energy was a big part of the fun). But of course there was a pattern to the dancing, and one only got into trouble when one left the pattern.

With Christ Jesus as our model, we learn our part in the dance of life, moved sometimes by the Holy Spirit, but other times by the zeitgeist or by our own stubborn will. Leaving the pattern, we may step on a few toes. We may even stumble and fall. If we do, the music still goes on, and the master of the dance waits for us to resume our part, training us with infinite patience and tremendous insistence, preparing us for our part in the great eternal dance, where the life and light and joy of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit fill the souls of the blessed.

Blogger and friend, lower-right foreground, at Chicago's SummerDance

Learning to Tango

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The Council of Florence declared:
These three persons are one God, not three gods; for the three persons have one substance, one essence, one nature, one divinity, one immensity, one eternity. And everything is one where there is no distinction by relative opposition. Because of this unity, the Father is entirely in the Son and entirely in the Holy Spirit; the Son is entirely in the Father and entirely in the Holy Spirit; the Holy Spirit is entirely in the Father and entirely in the Son. None of the persons precedes any of the others in eternity, nor does any have greater immensity or greater power. From eternity, without beginning, the Son is from the Father; and from eternity and without beginning, the Holy Spirit has proceeded from the Father and the Son.' All that the Father is, and all that he has, he does not have from another, but of himself; he is the principle that has no principle. All that the Son is, and all that he has, he has from the Father; he is a principle from a principle. All that the Holy Spirit is and all that he has, he has from the Father and equally from the Son. Yet the Father and the Son are not two principles of the Holy Spirit, but one principle, just as the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit are not three principles of creation, but one principle. Therefore, the holy Roman Church condemns, disapproves, anathematizes, and declares to be separated from the body of Christ, which is the Church, all who hold any contrary opinions.

(Relative opposition, or relation, is the opposition between two terms either of which needs the other to explain it. For example, the ideas of father and son, of double and half, of knowledge and the object known.)

Trinity Sunday - The Creed of St. Athanasius

The Creed that speaks most clearly of the Most Blessed Trinity is the Athanasian Creed. Named in honor of Saint Athanasius, who defended a Trinitarian understanding of God at the Council of Nicaea, the creed is commonly thought to have actually been composed by someone else, possibly Saint Vincent of Lérins or Saint Hilary of Potiers. The Creed of Saint Athanasius is an ancient expression of fundamental truths of the Catholic Faith.

The Creed

Whosoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary that he hold the Catholic Faith. Which Faith except everyone do keep whole and undefiled, without doubt he shall perish everlastingly. And the Catholic Faith is this, that we worship one God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity. Neither confounding the Persons, nor dividing the Substance. For there is one Person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Ghost. But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Ghost is all One, the Glory Equal, the Majesty Co-Eternal. Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Ghost. The Father Uncreated, the Son Uncreated, and the Holy Ghost Uncreated. The Father Incomprehensible, the Son Incomprehensible, and the Holy Ghost Incomprehensible. The Father Eternal, the Son Eternal, and the Holy Ghost Eternal and yet they are not Three Eternals but One Eternal. As also there are not Three Uncreated, nor Three Incomprehensibles, but One Uncreated, and One Incomprehensible. So likewise the Father is Almighty, the Son Almighty, and the Holy Ghost Almighty. And yet they are not Three Almighties but One Almighty.

So the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Ghost is God. And yet they are not Three Gods, but One God. So likewise the Father is Lord, the Son Lord, and the Holy Ghost Lord. And yet not Three Lords but One Lord. For, like as we are compelled by the Christian verity to acknowledge every Person by Himself to be God and Lord, so are we forbidden by the Catholic Religion to say, there be Three Gods or Three Lords. The Father is made of none, neither created, nor begotten. The Son is of the Father alone; not made, nor created, but begotten. The Holy Ghost is of the Father, and of the Son neither made, nor created, nor begotten, but proceeding.

So there is One Father, not Three Fathers; one Son, not Three Sons; One Holy Ghost, not Three Holy Ghosts. And in this Trinity none is afore or after Other, None is greater or less than Another, but the whole Three Persons are Co-eternal together, and Co-equal. So that in all things, as is aforesaid, the Unity is Trinity, and the Trinity is Unity is to be worshipped. He therefore that will be saved, must thus think of the Trinity.

Furthermore, it is necessary to everlasting Salvation, that he also believe rightly the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. For the right Faith is, that we believe and confess, that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God and Man.

God, of the substance of the Father, begotten before the worlds; and Man, of the substance of His mother, born into the world. Perfect God and Perfect Man, of a reasonable Soul and human Flesh subsisting. Equal to the Father as touching His Godhead, and inferior to the Father as touching His Manhood. Who, although He be God and Man, yet He is not two, but One Christ. One, not by conversion of the Godhead into Flesh, but by taking of the Manhood into God. One altogether, not by confusion of substance, but by Unity of Person. For as the reasonable soul and flesh is one Man, so God and Man is one Christ. Who suffered for our salvation, descended into Hell, rose again the third day from the dead. He ascended into Heaven, He sitteth on the right hand of the Father, God Almighty, from whence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. At whose coming all men shall rise again with their bodies, and shall give account for their own works. And they that have done good shall go into life everlasting, and they that have done evil into everlasting fire. This is the Catholic Faith, which except a man believe faithfully and firmly, he cannot be saved.


(Incomprehensible: without boundaries or limits, infinite)

Gloria Patri

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, and now, and ever, and to the age of ages.
Amen.

Gloria Patri, et Fílio, et Spíritui Sancto.
Sicut erat in princípio et nunc et semper et in saécula sæculórum.
Amen.