A Treasure To Be Shared

Saint John Henry Newman, Victoria, BC [Estimated read: 8 minutes] If you, dear reader, are not bothered by the downward trajectory of the celebration of the Mass, or actively contribute to liturgical abuse (e.g., by disregarding the prescribed text of the Order of Mass), you might stand to benefit from reading this post. SC 22:3. Therefore no other person, even if he be a priest, may add, remove, or change anything in the liturgy on his own authority. For those who acknowledge, affirm and defend the Mass and promote its solemn celebration, this post will likely amount to preaching to the choir. Even we members of the choir can profit from a tune-up as the need arises. This is a brief meditation on the beauty of solemn liturgy, the necessity of reverence, and the truth that compels honest God-loving and God-fearing folk to worship God in the beauty of holiness. Grace We rely on God for the grace that sustains our faithful witness to His glorious Presence. We rely on His grace for the ab...

  Eucharistic Renewal As we enter Passiontide and seek to meditate more deeply upon the Lord's rescue of mankind from the darkness and death of sin, we would do well to recall the witness of those who minister(ed) in shadowed places where the Lord Jesus in distressing disguise, as Saint Teresa of Calcutta reminds us, makes His home among the lost and forgotten, those needing the light and bread, beauty and goodness of the Gospel to rescue them from despair. The place and time where all these ideas and relationships come true is in the Eucharist. Here is the pattern and the power. Here in the Offertory is the time and place to offer all that each life takes on in its special environment of poverty or wealth, of sickness or health. Here, as Charles Williams would say, is the time and place for an exchange – an exchange of my burden for yours, an exchange of our burdens for the light yoke of Christ, an exchange of sin and penitence for forgiveness. And in the Consecration of the bread...

  Blessed by Association Saint Matthew 18:20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I (Jesus) in the midst of them. Baptized Christians are continually formed by the Sacred Liturgy into the Body of Christ. In Ordinariate communities, that formation finds substantial expression in the hospitality extended to friend and stranger in the fellowship that follows Divine Worship (Mass). We lovingly speak of that fellowship as the "Eighth Sacrament", intending no diminishment of nor prejudice toward the Seven Sacraments that the Church teaches and celebrates. We merely acknowledge what the Church teaches. The Eucharist informs our habits of mind and body. With the grace of God, we dispose ourselves to the Eucharistic Lord who configures our hearts and actions to Himself, so that we may participate in the redemptive action of Jesus Christ for the salvation of souls. The dismissal that concludes the Mass reminds us that we who are eucharisted are sent to proc...

Deformation The Four Ds that frequently kidnap and imprison people are d estitution,  depression, d espair and d eath. Destitution. Here is meant moral depravity, i.e., a heart robbed of charity, a life mired in self indulgence. Hollywood values, one might say. Depression. Do not read here the malady of the spirit that afflicts someone through no fault of their own. Rather, a spiritual vacuum, the rotten fruit of destitution. An habitual state where one's life is burdened with doubt, and a mind is so clouded by or enamoured in fantasy that an appreciation of reality is practically impossible. Typically, the sin-sick person self-medicates in an attempt to find relief. Only a crisis of epic proportions might shake one enough to motivate a change away from one's investment in sinful pursuits and dead-end (and often deadly) hobbies. Despair. Hopelessness. Personal integrity is lost. Emotional and intellectual mediocrity has set in. Answerless questions persist. Man is abandoned to ...

A recent treasure hunt among Saint John Henry Newman's works revealed a profound meditation on Mary the Mystical Rose. Newman, at the summit of the excerpt presented below, after a concise exposition, affirms the truth of Mary's bodily assumption into the heaven. He asks - "Why then is she thus the hidden Rose?", and then deduces, "Plainly because that sacred body is in heaven, not on earth." Newman's writings are works of art. His profound insights and unassailable orthodoxy, his intellectual prowess and humility, educational genius and skill as a poet, his zeal for the salvation of souls as well as his constant love of Jesus Christ and His Church manifested by his personal piety and service, place him among the brightest minds and most charitable of hearts in the history of the Church. In the opinion of this witness, all of the above merits for Newman the title Doctor of the Church. Extract from Newman's Meditations and Devotions (1893) ROSA MYSTI...

The Triumph of Christianity over Paganism by Gustave Doré (1899) The world today - or perhaps more accurately the western world today - is rife with competing narratives. 'He who sets the narrative wins' could be the slogan that defines the present era. False Narrative The world is sick with toxic narratives that inflict multiplying harm. Communities are fragmented by the socio-political narratives that assert artificial socio-sexual constructs. Thank you sexual revolution.  Fraudulent policies flow from disordered hearts and minds. A fraud is a fraud is a fraud. The Father of Lies has been hard at work. Hardcore political ideologues with no healthy insight into the human condition work to undermine reason and thwart reality and commonsense. They attempt to form mindless drones devoid of the capacity to think critically and to act responsibly so that inane policies receive support. Advocates pushing for the acceptance of malignant concepts that distort human relationships and...

Do not jump to conclusions. It is all too easy to attempt to predict or define someone's intent with absolute precision. It may be that a coworker or friend or family member has earned one's judgement by habitually behaving in a way that seems to preclude change for the better. It may be that one's trust has been violated so many times that the heart is beaten and bruised to the point that mercy and forgiveness and trust seem impossible. Without God's grace, we can easily descend into a prison of mistrust and despair. As long as someone is alive, there is a possibility for that person to change - for us to change - and to offer a heart to God that becomes a home for Him in which to dwell, a heart that expands in charity toward others. Charity, by which God and neighbor are loved, is the most perfect friendship. – St. Thomas Aquinas Risk forgiveness. We may be comfortable or feel strong - or so it may seem - by holding a grudge that we imagine will give us control over ...