De Montfort's Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary

Fr. John Hardon explains Pope John Paul II's emphasis on true devotion to Mary, using St. Louis de Montfort's approach.

Consecrations take place on Marian feast days, such as the Assumption which is coming up and involve a 33 day preparation period in which you read reflections, scripture and do daily prayers which increase with each day. People who want to prepare, will need to begin on July 13th. St. Louis de Montfort's preparation is found in the book below, which you can find in most Catholic bookstores, especially in advance of Marian feast days. If you can't find it locally, the folks at Aquinas & More will be glad to sell it to you (click the pic below)

St. Louis de Montfort's writing style can be difficult for some to comprehend. I highly recommend during this time to watch Fr. Corapi's talk on the Total Consecration (click that pic at the top for details). Also, it is good to find yourself a priest who is Marian. Chances are, he is consecrated - just ask. This way, as you read part of the prep and run into something that is difficult to comprehend or accept, you can discuss it in order to understand, rather than dismiss it. I say it is important to find a Marian priest because some priests are indifferent to her, or worse. All of the priests at Grotto highly recommend the Total Consecration, and for anyone discerning a vocation, it's the first thing they are told to do - to turn themselves over to Mary who will lead them to her Son. She is not the object of worship, but an avenue for grace.

Also, you will need a good confessor during this preparation time. Why? Mary cleans house. I've talked to many who encountered it during the preparation and experienced it myself. Having a confessor enables you to unload as the Holy Spirit purges the soul. If you live locally, I can tell you that Assumption Grotto is probably the confessional of Detroit with many people stopping in just for this purpose. Don't come if you are not patient though as the priests take careful time with people. The best time to come is on Saturdays when confession is between 2:30-3:30. We also have confessions before the 9:30 and 12:00 Masses, but you will not get the kind of time that you would get on Saturdays because lines are generally long and confession runs through to the Gospel. Do let the priest know that you are preparing yourself for the Total Consecration.

If you cannot get the book immediately, there is one place which has the entire consecration prep online, but don't depend on this as it is difficult to get overly reflective at a computer screen. Also, the site - Fisheaters, which is rated red at Catholic Culture for fidelity is something I prefer not to reference, even though they have many strengths, but in this case, it is the ONLY place I can find the entire consecration online. The book is thin and can be stuffed in your car, your purse, taken to work for lunchtime, etc.

Some practical tips:

• Find a time during the day that you will have a high probability of getting through the prayers. In the beginning you may only need about 10-15 minutes. Later, the Rosary is added to the daily regimen. Towards the end, with the Rosary, you will need about 30 minutes, but remember this is for 33 days and is not something you will be required to continue. But, the Rosary should follow you into your spiritual life. If you struggle with praying the Rosary, I recommend using the mysteries as they are found at the Rosary Confraternity's website because they have a scriptural reflection for each of the Hail Mary's in every mystery.



• Many people start out enthusiastically, but then fail to finish due to lack of time. You have to ask if you really need that prime-time television program, or if you need to spend all that time on the web, or doing some other activity, which is part of the purging process. It's sad when we can't find 15-30 minutes daily to give to God, our Creator, but can place ourselves in front of a TV or computer for hours daily.



• Many people start out enthusiastically, but fail to finish due to lack of motivation. There is a common misconception about prayer: If I feel good about my prayer time, then my prayers are good. If I don't get anything out of my prayer time, then my prayers are not good. This is a problem even with people and the Mass and is the result of what I call "my butterfly and me" catechesis, which was all fluff and no substance. Understand this, we do not pray for what WE GET. We pray for what WE GIVE to God - our time, and it is so much more precious to Him when you least feel like praying, or feel you are not getting anything out of it. God will often grace us with consolations or good feelings when we begin prayer to entice us. But He will then test us to see if we will remain with Him by withdrawing those consolations. Our love for God is put to the test when he pulls those consolations: Do we come for them, or out of pure love for God. The best prayer is not a prayer of petition, but one of adoration, where we love God purely for His sake, not ours. Bottom line: Your motivation should not be your own satisfaction. Rather, your motiviation should be satisfying God.



• Start your daily preparation with prayer to the Blessed Mother and to your Guardian Angel to aid you with understanding. Also ask them to give you the grace of accepting those things you do not understand, based on faith. Often times, when we submit ourselves humbly, the understanding is infused at a time we don't expect, such as while standing in line at a grocery store, or while working in the workshop. Don't hesitate to turn to Catholic forums to ask questions about what you are reading, but again - seek out sources well versed in Marian devotion.



• If you miss a day, don't give up. It is not a requirement to do all 33 days of prep in order to do the consecration. Circumstances come up, but do plan your day. If it means getting up 30 minutes earlier to get your prayers in, do so, even if it means getting to bed 30 minutes earlier. If you do miss a day, do read the reflection as it builds each day.



• It helps some people to get through the prep when they are preparing with other people. If you can't do this at your parish, start an online thread and you will find many others doing the consecration. It is a great place to dialogue about the writings of de Montfort. But, take great care that you are not spending so much time discussing the preparation, that you neglect to do it. My recommendation: Don't engage in online discussions until you have done your daily prep. Get it behind you, then enter discussions.



• Put a smile on your face no matter how tough it gets and avoid neglecting charity for the sake of getting your prayers done. Charity is the fruit of a good spiritual life. Something is not right if you are snapping at your spouse, your kids or your co-workers when you get interrupted. This is why it is important to find a quiet time to do this. Involve the family if you can, but don't force anyone. Let them know what you are doing and find a special place to pray and hopefully you won't be disturbed. But, don't brush off a friend who stops by during your prayer time or neglect something else. You are in developing new, spiritual habits through the preparation so try to find a time that you can use permanently. I personally find that it is easiest very early in the morning when phones and door bells don't ring.

I may edit this, so check back in the next day or two!


Te Deum Laudamus! Home

The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church; it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!.

US Bishop Appointments....is Detroit coming soon???

A small string of US bishop appointments has been taking place the last few days. In Detroit, with rumors indicating that Cardinal Maida's successor would be named soon (some months ago), you have to wonder if we are on the final stretch. Watching the Bollettino at the Vatican's website can be interesting.

At 6:00am local Detroit time each day, the Holy See releases various statements, such as bishop appointments (mostly in Italian). Those eventually make their way to the Vatican Information Service (VIS) in various languages, and then Zenit and other news sources communicate them.

The VIS had this posted on July 7th:

VATICAN CITY, 7 JUL 2008 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

- Appointed Msgr. Herbert A. Bevard of the clergy of the archdiocese of Philadelphia, U.S.A., pastor of St. Athanasius parish, as bishop of Saint Thomas (area 352, population 108,612, Catholics 30,000, priests 15, permanent deacons 27, religious 27), U.S.A. The bishop-elect was born in Baltimore, U.S.A. in 1947 and ordained a priest in 1972.

- Appointed Bishop William Francis Malooly, auxiliary of Baltimore, U.S.A., as bishop of Wilmington (area 13,916, population 1,270,734, Catholics 230,000, priests 214, permanent deacons 94, religious 380), U.S.A. He succeeds Bishop Michael A. Saltarelli, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

On July 9th, this:

- Appointed Bishop David L. Ricken of Cheyenne, U.S.A., as bishop of Green Bay (area 27,775, population 1,008,000, Catholics 373,000, priests 293, permanent deacons 137, religious 698), U.S.A.

Do I dare observe a pattern involving US appointments? Stay tuned!

Something else worth noting, from July 9th...

- Appointed Archbishop Angelo Amato S.D.B., secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, as prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. He succeeds Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins C.M.F., whose resignation from the same office the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

Is the CDW Next?

With Abp Amato being appointed to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, we now turn our attention to the Congregation for Divine Worship, currently headed by Cardinal Arinze, who is expected to retire. Of course, anyone interested in liturgy, wants to know who will head the CDW. Focus is heavily on Cardinal Antonio Cañizares Llovera, Archbishop of Toledo and Primate of Spain.

• Rorate: rumor of a new Prefect for CDW becoming firmer


• "Little Ratzinger" to head CDW? (NLM)

Te Deum Laudamus! Home

The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church; it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!.

More on the plight of traditional Anglicans looking to Rome

I spoke yesterday about the need to enter prayer for our Anglican brethren who were looking to Rome after it was confirmed that the Church of England would permit the ordination of female bishops.

We are going to see some rapid developments here so please do pray for all involved in this delicate process. There are as many as 1000 clerics or more who may be looking to cross over.

Further reading...

Fr. Z: Church of England bishop will lead Anglicans to Rome
CWNews: Vatican "regret" at Church of England

EDIT 6:40pm: A great post with some additional references by Fr. Tim Finigan in the UK...

There are some posts from Fr. Dwight Longenecker, a former Anglican priest of 25 years who converted to Catholicism. He sums up my reasons for several posts, and probably more to come, on this issue...

I apologize if my posts are all on Anglicanism at the moment, but truly historic things are happening, and it should be of interest to all Catholics.

• Dream
• The Future Church of England
• New Anglican News
  

Fr. Longenecker refers us to the blog of a young Anglo Catholic priest - Jeffrey Steel (ok, so 40 is still relatively young for a priest) for an insiders perspective. There are some very good posts there. Go visit De Cura Animarum

Te Deum Laudamus! Home

The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church; it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!.

Q & A: Can unborn, unbaptized babies have Catholic funeral & burial?

I have seen a various forms of the same question crop up in the comboxes of some blogposts on the recent Mass & burial with aborted babies at Assumption Grotto.

First, I am most grateful to all bloggers who responded to my request to give it the publicity it deserved. Perhaps this was my error to report that it was a Mass for the babies. This will be explained below...

I thought the question was a good one to ponder, given canon law. At the blog of Fr. Tim Finigan - a pro-life champion in the UK - a commenter by the name of Tomas, asks in a post Father made about my photostory:

Just a question Father...can unbaptized babies receive a Christian burial? God bless

Since I had seen this question before and was unsure how to respond myself, and with Fr. Perrone gone on vacation, I put the question to my parish priest who responded, as follows (emphasis mine, and comments in brackets):

1. Baptism is essential for salvation. Without it, you can’t get to heaven. This is why the Church developed the theologoumenon [a theological opinion] on Limbo for unbaptized babies and the just who were not baptized.



2. There are three ways in which baptism can take place: water, blood, and spirit (desire).



3. Catechumens who intended to be baptized but die before baptism are considered baptized by desire and receive a regular funeral. Likewise were those who died as martyrs for Christ before baptism—they were baptized in their blood. Unbaptized or unborn children of parents who intended to have them baptized could be considered to be Catechumens and, therefore, could be considered baptized by desire. This is why canon law affords them a funeral. Aborted children, however, were not likely going to be baptized and their being considered Catechumens is more remote—not impossible, just more remote.



4. Aborted babies are not in Purgatory. If they are not in Purgatory, then there is no reason for praying funeral prayers for them asking God to release them from Purgatory. (It goes without saying that neither are prayers offered for souls in heaven or hell.)



5. The Church entrusts these souls to God’s mercy with prayer. Their eternal fate is in God’s hands, but the Church’s funeral rites are not among the prayers intended for them.
   

He further adds...

The Mass intention on that Friday was for atonement for sins of abortion, not the souls of the unborn. However, since they were human beings with an eternal soul, we perform the corporal act of mercy of burying the dead. The Mass offered on that Friday was not a funeral Mass—it did not use the funeral prayers or rites in any way.

Hopefully, this clarifies not only the question, but what actually took place at Assumption Grotto on June 27th, 2008.

Te Deum Laudamus! Home

The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church; it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!.

Reuters: Church of England confirms it will ordain women as bishops...

Just a couple hours ago it was confirmed that the Church of England will ordain women as bishops. This, along with other changes in recent years, has been like smacking a bee hive.

Pray for our Anglican brethren, those who currently labor over staying with the Church of England (C of E) or turning to Rome. May they act on that grace and come home.

Damian Thompson of the UK Telegraph reports in his blog, Holy Smoke:

A couple of hours ago, the Church of England decisively severed itself from its Catholic roots. By voting to ordain women bishops without significant safeguards for traditionalists, it reasserted its identity as a Protestant Church. Whether it will be a liberal or conservative Protestant denomination remains to be seen. But any hope of unity with Rome and the Orthodox has gone forever.

Except for those with the courage to cross over on their own. There have been some very interesting developments, including secret talks between many Anglican bishops and Rome. Liberal UK Catholic bishops were by-passed altogether (I suppose the Anglicans didn't need any more namby-pamby).

Related:

• Jesus is all over the place, says Rowan (Damian Thompson) - when you read this you will understand why the C of E is looking a little.....disoriented!
• Liberal Catholic bishops kept in the dark over secret talks (Damian Thompson)
• Anglicans push "super bishops" to avoid split (The Age - AU)
• The Telegraph: Anglican bishops in secret Vatican summit (Fr. Z)
• Anglican leaders face battle over women bishops (Reuters)

Te Deum Laudamus! Home

The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church; it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!.

YouTube Video of the Mass & Burial of Aborted Babies at Grotto

Just found this on YouTube - veil-tip to Credo, Catholic Journal in Ireland. it is a 5 minute video with clips from the day at Assumption Grotto when we buried 7 aborted babies and 3 who were miscarried, with Fr. Frank Pavone and Bishop John M. Quinn.

EDIT: Unfortunately, the video disappeared shortly after I found it and posted this. There are any number of reasons why could have been pulled. Perhaps there was a mixup and it was not intended to be online yet. I found it odd that the video was not available on the Priests for Life site or on Fr. Pavone's YouTube video channel. Perhaps it will re-emerge at a later date. I strongly recommend watching Fr. Pavone's weekly program on EWTN, Defending Life (check grid for schedule in your area - in North America it is on at 10:00pm Friday nights EST).





If you have not seen the extensive photostory I did on this event at our parish, follow the link below.

Photostory of Mass & Burial of Aborted Babies at Assumption Grotto in Detroit

Te Deum Laudamus! Home

The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church; it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!.

Summorum Pontificum One Year Later - Inteview with Fr. Z on Zenit

Zenit has done a two-part inteview with Fr. Z on Summorum Pontificum, which broadened use of the 1962 Missal. Rather than go back and update a post most of you will probably not think to check back on, I'm going to isolate those two links here. This is really good reading folks and, as usual, Fr. Z does a very good job of explaining how things have all panned out, with good examples...

Summorum Pontificum One Year Later (Part 1)
Summorum Pontificum One Year Later (Part 2)

You will want to check Fr. Z's post on this for the dialogue in the comboxes which is always interesting....

ZENIT and Fr. Z: “Summorum Pontificum” One Year Later (Part 1)
ZENIT and Fr. Z: “Summorum Pontificum” One Year Later (Part 2)

While you are there, you may want to read: Stalled again: USCCB fails to pass draft translation of Proper of Seasons

Te Deum Laudamus! Home

The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church; it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!.

July 7th - Summorum Pontificum One Year Later...

It has been one year since Pope Benedict issued the motu proprio, Summorum Pontificum, which liberated what is now called, the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite (EF). The Mass uses the 1962 Missal. At Assumption Grotto, Mass is celebrated in EF (9:30am Sundays and 7:30am weekdays) and in Ordinary Form(OF), commonly called the Novus Ordo. Sometimes, you will see the EF Mass referred to as usus antiquior (ancient use). More recently, I've seen it called, "Gregorian Rite". Either way, there is only one rite - the Roman Rite, but it has two forms - ordinaryand extraordinary. The expression, "Old Mass" is often considered a bit derogatory. If you want to use the expression "Latin Mass", be sure to say Traditional Latin Mass since the ordinary form can also be celebrated in Latin (which we often call the Latin Novus Ordo).

There are some interesting articles and blog posts out there on this. Many secular news sources will say that the motu proprio was designed to bring the SSPX home. Recently, I've heard some assert that the pope wanted the ancient-use Mass bring home traditional Anglicans.

Of course, while those things may have played a role, they were not the sole purpose of bringing back the usus antiquior. I'm sure the Holy Father noticed, as others were observing, that around the world, there has been a movement towards the 1962 Missal, especially among the young. I'm convinced this is the work of the Holy Spirit and no amount of tampering by unapproving bishops will prevent it from taking it's full course. While many diocesan seminaries have barely been attracting young men, the institutions which had an indult, or permission, to celebrate the ancient-use Mass, have seen an increase. This exploded after Summorum Pontificum. Ask any young man who has applied to those institutes, such as the FSSP and the ICKSP.

What I find hopeful, are the many seminarians that are showing interest around the world. What I find disheartening are the lengths to which some seminaries and bishops will go to in an attempt to suppress interest. It can merely be in the form of responding slowly to requests or making life difficult for interested seminarians. Those who engage in this behavior are actually thwarting the work of the Holy Spirit which draws these people to this Mass. How else can you explain so many young people around the world having an interest?

There's so much more that I would like to say, but for now, would like to leave you with some other, excellent articles and commentaries by people with true expertise.

Look for updates later in the day.....

INTERVIEW WITH FR. Z ON ZENIT

Summorum Pontificum One Year Later

First, I would like to point out that Fr. Z was interviewed by Zenit to give his analysis one year later. Part One of the Interview with Fr. Z has been published Sunday, and Part Two will be published later in the day. Watch Fr. Z's blogpost on this interview for the combox dialogue which is always interesting.

Edit: Part Two of the interview is now online

ARTICLE IN CATHOLIC HERALD BY SHAWN TRIBE

Second, I would like to point you to an article which appeared in the Catholic Herald by Shawn Tribe of The New Liturgical Movement blog: In a year Pope Benedict XVI has reshaped the liturgical landscape

MORE ON THE ANGLICAN SITUATION

Damian Thompson of the UK Telegraph, in his blog, Holy Smoke, talks about, [Anglican] Bishops plan conversion to Rome, and in a more recent post reveals the troubling thought process at the top in, Jesus is all over the place, says Rowan. Let's pray that our Anglican brethren will act on the graces falling upon them and come home. Here in the US, I'm aware of several Anglican-use Catholic parishes which are very traditional in nature, such as Our Lady of Walsingham in Texas.

Te Deum Laudamus! Home

The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church; it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!

Virtuous Catholic Blogging update...

It has been a while since I have posted at Virtuous Catholic Blogging. An article appeared in Homiletic and Pastoral Review back in May that I wanted to include there and I have done so. Go see my post on Rev. Michael P. Orsi's article, Calumny in the Blogosphere at Virtuous Catholic Blogging....

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The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church; it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!.

Saint Maria Goretti - Extraordinary Virtue and a Lesson in Love

Last year I did an extensive post on Saint Maria Goretti on July 6th, her feast day. I am copying that post into this one. EWTN had a movie on her life Saturday night (see this page for more forthcoming airtimes thru July 10th). I highly recommend watching this movie, which unfortunately will not be available over internet TV, along with Fourteen Flowers of Pardon discussed below. Not only did she live a life of extraordinary virtue, especially for someone so young, but she teaches us that love can move mountains. She loved her attacker enough to forgive him before she died of the wounds sustained at his hands, and expressed desire for him to be someday be in heaven with her. Read on....

While working at home Thursday [of last year], I left EWTN on and was very much pleased with the 60 minute program, Fourteen Flowers of Pardon.

This documentary went through the virtuous life and death of St. Maria Goretti, and the many miracles worked through her.

Maria Goretti was not even twelve years old when she was viciously stabbed 14 times after refusing the advances of a 18-20 year old neighbor, Alessandro Serenelli (each resource varies on his exact age). He made two prior sexual advances without success.

The little girl had quickly built up virtue and wisdom, especially after her father died of malaria. Neighbors said she was obedient and always willing to do the most mundane of chores without complaint. She was devout, stopping in at the nearby parish to pray before the Blessed Mother on her way to the store to get things for her mother. It was on one such trip that she was approached by Alessandro. She boldly told the man who wanted to attack her virginity,

"No, it's a sin! I will not do it!"

On July 5, 1902 the little girl was mortally wounded. After getting stabbed 14 times, Maria Goretti died the next day, on July 6 after much suffering. During that time, this child of God prayed for her attacker and granted him forgiveness before she died.

Alessandro was sentenced to 30 years in prison, but was unrepentant until he saw Maria in a vision years into his incarceration, in 1910. She presented him with 14 lilies, which he said turned into white flames. Following this vision, he asked to meet with the bishop where he finally told the truth - that the little girl had never given in and that she had boldly protested his advances. This marked the beginning of one of the greatest miracles - the conversion of Alessandro Serenelli.

After serving 27 years he was released and went to the mother of Maria to seek forgiveness. Assunta Goretti said that if Maria had forgiven him, and he was forgiven before Christ, then she had nothing to hold over him. She too forgave Alessandro (both pictured at right). At one point, Assunta Goretti and Alessandro Serenelli approached the Communion rail together. He provided testimony leading to her beatification. While it is known for certain that Maria's mother was present at her canonization, accounts differ as to whether Alessandro was there or not.

Alessandro went on to eventually join a Capuchin monastery as a third order member. On his death bed in 1970 he wrote,

"I ask pardon of the world of the outrage done to the martyr Maria Goretti and to purity. I exhort everyone to keep away from immoral shows, from dangers, from occasions that can lead to sin."

There is something noteworthy here, and that is an apostolate based on Alessandro Serenelli called the Serenellians, which is dedicated to those who suffer from sexual addictions. They use his example and words to help reform their lives. Think about television today with all of the sexual content. Even the suggestive outfits worn by actresses today can make it very difficult for people to use self-control. Just going through a check-out line with cover photos on many popular magazines can be a source of temptation. Add to that the availability of porn on the web. Alessandro Serenelli nails it by saying it is necessary to "keep away" from it all. For some people, it is necessary to turn off the TV, or to stay off the internet.

There were many miracles attributed to St. Maria Goretti for her canonization. She is the youngest canonized saint ever. According to a priest-witness who was present in St. Peter's square, Pope Pius XII was moved to tears as he asked the crowd if they were ready to immitate this saint's life. The footage in the movie was spectacular, as were the many still photos of the family and people involved.

In addition to the documentary which aired yesterday, another is being broadcast today at 6:30 PM EST entitled, Love's Bravest Choice. This docudrama will last 30 minutes and you can catch it on EWTN live TV right on the internet, if you do not have cable or get it locally.

References (recently edited with additional links):

St. Maria Goretti bio at MariaGoretti.org

Alessandro Serenelli bio at MariaGoretti.org

St. Maria Goretti at Catholic-Forum

St. Maria's Messenger (Magazine for girls 10-teens)

St. Maria Goretti - a role model for youth (by Pope John Paul II)

Sermon of Pope Pius XII from St. Maria's Canonization Mass

Writings of St. Maria Goretti and of Alessandro Serenelli

St. Maria Goretti - Pray for us!

Te Deum Laudamus! Home

The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church; it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!.

Insane! Human-pig hybrid embryos given go ahead in UK

It sounds like the dark ages: Some people are sacrificed in experiments so that cures may be explored for others, as in embryonic stem-cell research. Those people being sacrificed are not considered people at all, even though, if allowed to go to full term, they would not develop into elephants, dolphins, trees, or anything else, but a human being. A human embryo is a person - an unborn person. God gives this person a soul at the moment of conception. That soul has a right to be born to follow the call: To seek God, to know Him, and to love Him with all his strength (ccc prologue, I, 1).

Read the NCBC article below after you catch the latest news on the experimental science front.

UK Telegraph: Human-pig hybrid embryos given go ahead

Jimmy Akin: When babies get their souls?

National Catholic Bioethics Center: British Parliament, Human-Animal Hybrids and Savior Siblings ****a must read!!****


Te Deum Laudamus! Home

The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church; it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!.

A Beautiful Blog to Visit: Reflections of a Paralytic

Chelsea Zimmerman stumbled onto my blogpost about the Mass & burial for aborted babies at Assumption Grotto and answered my call to make it visible with a post of her own. In checking out her post, I found a most inspirational blog overall. At 25, she has considerable wisdom to pass along.

I'm going to add Reflections of a Paralytic to my blogroll and I hope you will pay her a visit now, and continue visiting frequently for the quality of her posts. If you enjoy my site, I know you will enjoy Chelsea's. From her "about me" page...

Born and raised Catholic, I am constantly striving to deepen my faith and strengthen my relationship with Christ and the Church. I have a strong devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the rosary, enjoy spiritual reading, spending time in front of the Blessed Sacrament, frequent confession and going to daily Mass.

Go visit: Reflections of a Paralytic homepage

Chelsea's blogpost on the Mass & burial of the aborted babies


Te Deum Laudamus! Home

The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church; it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!.

Blog maintenance....

EDIT 9:07pm....well, for you regulars, what do you think of the new look? I could not get a photo header to work with the old template so I changed to a template that was more friendly in this regard. We will try this for a while. It allows me to change the pic frequently, and with ease. I'm going with a summer color theme for now (blues, white, and yellow)

You may see some changes as I look for a way to add a better looking header at the top. It may take moving to a new template altogether. It may look strange as I am working on it and trying different things.

If you are looking for the recent photostory of the Mass & burial of aborted babies at Assumption Grotto, you can get it here...

An Act of Mercy: Mass and Burial of the Unborn with Fr. Frank Pavone and Bishop John M. Quinn at Assumption Grotto

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Transalpine Redemptorists - Canonically Regularized

Deo gratias! This is fantastic news flying through cyberspace...

From the blog of the Transalpine Redemptorists, they have received word that they are in good standing, canonically (emphasis mine):

1 July, 2008
Feast of the Precious Blood

My dear friends,

I am happy to inform you that last June 18th, before Cardinal Castrillon and the members of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei in Rome, I humbly petitioned the Holy See on my own behalf and on behalf of the monastery council for our priestly suspensions to be lifted.

On June 26th I received word that the Holy See had granted our petition. All canonical censures have been lifted.

Our community now truly rejoices in undisputed and peaceful posession of Communion with the Holy See because our priests are now in canonical good standing.

We are very grateful to our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI for issuing, last July, the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum which called us to come into undisputed and peaceful Communion with him.

Now we have that undisputed communion! It is a pearl of great price; a treasure hidden in the field; a sweetness that cannot be imagined by those who have not tasted it or who have not known it, now for many years. Its value cannot be fully expressed in earthly language and therefore we hope that all traditional priests who have not yet done so, will answer Pope Benedict's call to enjoy the grace of peaceful and undisputed communion with him. Believe us, the price to pay is nothing; even all the angry voices that have shouted against us and calumniated us are as nothing when weighed in the scales against undisputed communion with the Vicar of Christ; others have died for it; what are raucous voices?

We publicly thank all those souls who have prayed for us over the last months; some of you have truly stormed heaven for us. You have kept us afloat. We are deeply grateful. Especially we thank that priest who was unknown to us, until June 16th when he wrote in fraternal support. Where did he come from? Why us? But he told us of the number of Masses, Offices, prayers and sacrifices he had personally said for us; he had also enlisted the prayers of contemplatives and Third Order societies and had a great number of people fervently praying for us with an abundance of prayers. We were amazed! Thank you Father! Thank you also to that brave person who, so kindly wrote to us to say that if he said any more prayers for us he would be floating! What wonderful people! Thank you!

Looking to the future, the next stage will be to have our community canonically erected. So please, dear friends, keep praying for us, there will be many crosses to bear; but they will be yokes sweetened by the grace of these last days.

We assure you all of our very best wishes.
Your devoted servant,

Fr. Michael Mary, C.SS.R.
Vicar General

And we must continue to pray for all of those who have found themselves in schism, or an irregular status of some kind, that they too will have undisputed communion with the Vicar of Christ.

More on this from around the net (to be updated so check back!!):

CWNews: Transalpine Redemptorists reconciled with the Holy See

Fr. Z: Transalpine Redemptorists REGULARIZED!

Te Deum Laudamus! Home

The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church; rather, it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!.

Catholic Connection covers Mass & Burial of Aborted Babies at Grotto

If you were not able to hear Teresa Tomeo in Monday and Tuesday morning's first (local Michigan) hour of Catholic Connection, you will want to hear both June 30th and July 1st. Go to the archives page and toggle it to June and choose the first hour for the 30th. Do the same for the July 1st program.

I had emailed Teresa, along with many others in Catholic media the photostory link of the Mass & burial of the aborted babies and she asked me to call in around 8:15am. She had Mary Lockwood on first, who is post-abortive and now a pro-life speaker. I was fine until I heard Mary talk about the impact of seeing that tiny coffin and I got so choked up I prayed Teresa wouldn't come to me just yet. But, as fate would have it, a few seconds later, I was on the air trying to think straight and get the lump out of my throat (I don't know how Teresa holds it together!).

After hearing about the photostory, Mary went to view them, then contacted me via email and we have shared some exchanges. Soon, she will have a website up at MaryLockwood.net. It is currently not functioning, but bookmark it and checkback later.

I didn't get to hear the national hour, but I often listen to archives of many programs on Ave Maria Radio as I'm working around the house. Internet radio and mp3's of the broadcasts are great in that you can listen anywhere in the world!

AVE MARIA RADIO BROADCAST OF MASS & BURIAL
Sunday 3:00-4:30pm Detroit time

I also got an email from Henry Root of Ave Maria Radio confirming that he is working diligently to finalize his program, Putting on the Mind of Christ, for this Sunday at 3:00 here in Detroit which will feature audio from Bishop Quinn's homily and Fr. Pavone's most powerful graveside eulogy. Tune in to one of these sources, including internet radio!!!


Te Deum Laudamus! Home

The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church; rather, it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!