Spiritually Arise

He lay down and slept under a juniper tree; and behold, there was an angel touching him, and he said to him, "Arise, eat." 1 Kings 19-5

How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? Proverbs 6:9

Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour. Matthew 25:13

At times our spiritual lives become tired. Perhaps we are struggling with a particular demon, or maybe life is moving at a hectic, stressful pace. There are certainly many times when we place our spiritual lives on auto-pilot. Our prayers roll off our tongues while we are in the deer-in-the headlight mode. These are the times that we need to do something to snap us out and awaken ourselves. It may be a trip to a spiritual adviser, or perhaps a retreat. Maybe a short getaway with a good book. It is not always a bad sign if we fall off the track, it may be an indication that now is the time to engage oneself in a new experience. Many a time the Holy Spirit is using your restlessness and dryness to awaken you to an apostolic opportunity. It may be staring you in the face but you missed it. In the times when you are spiritually sleeping, pray that God may show you a new opportunity. Look back too at those times when you were running on all cylinders, perhaps you have grown lazy and are not practicing a life that is prayerfully meditating on growing closer to God. Each day creates a brand new opportunity - you can begin right now.

Father Rober Barron on Aquinas

Abandon the Road

From "The Sanctifier" by Archbishop Luis M. Martinez:
“The beatitudes are a marvelous chain of mountains of which each peak is a steppingstone in the sublime ascent that leads to God. Each one of the beatitudes, St Thomas Aquinas says, is something perfect and excellent – a summit in itself; and at the same time it is a beginning of future happiness even in this life. The beatitudes are not remote presages of the eternal fruits, like the rich, full buds that cover the trees in the springtime and foretell the wealth of the coming autumn; they are the actual first fruits that begin to appear on the branches, awaiting the opulence of maturity. They are something divine that God wills to deposit on earth. They are ‘heavenly-colored hyacinths' brilliant in the muddy water of these mortal and transitory life."

"The first step to be taken by one who wishes to attain the mountaintop is to abandon the road that leads downward. Thus, the first thing we must do if we are to reach the blessed life described in the beatitudes is to renounce, sincerely and fully, the deceptive joy of that the world offers…”

“Very few people have the courage to be happy. It is difficult to tear the heart away from the things of earth, from riches, from honors. Yet happiness is not outside us, in these things: ‘The kingdom of God is within you’ For the kingdom of God does not consist in food and drink, but in justice and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit”.

Gregorian Chant - Ave mundi spes Maria

Christ the Prisoner

The very moment is described in the Gospel of Matthew, " Those who had seized Jesus led Him away to Caiaphas, the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were gathered together." At that point Jesus was turned over and became a prisoner to those who wished to control Him. His death & resurrection would in turn bring freedom to us, from death and sin. Our journey as Christians is in some way a parallel to that. Our spiritual goal is to take Christ prisoner, not by control but by opening the locks that secure the doors to our heart. Capturing Christ brings us the freedom from the trials and tribulations of the world, not because we do not experience them but rather, we experience them with Christ. Conversely we surrender our lives and become a prisoner to Christ and the will of His Father, thus through mutual bondage we gain true freedom. It is in journeying towards our self that we discover that although we are sinful, disobedient, and unworthy, we are welcomed by Christ.

Litany of Humility

O Jesus!, meek and humble of heart, hear me. From the desire of being esteemed, (respond: Deliver me, Jesus.) From the desire of being loved, From the desire of being extolled, From the desire of being honored, From the desire of being praised, From the desire of being preferred, From the desire of being consulted, From the desire of being approved, From the fear of being humiliated, From the fear of being despised, From the fear of suffering rebukes, From the fear of being calumniated, From the fear of being forgotten, From the fear of being ridiculed, From the fear of being wronged, From the fear of being suspected, That others may be loved more than I, (respond: Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.) That others may be esteemed more than I, That in the opinion of the world, others may increase, and I may decrease, That others may be chosen and I set aside, That others may be praised and I unnoticed, That others may be preferred to me in everything, That others become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should,

The Daughters of Mary - Au Sang qu'um Dieu

A Grateful Heart

Rejoice always; pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
To begin to commence in the spiritual life one must start from a grateful heart. Our Loving Father delights in the gratitude of His children. Our life is a total gift from the Creator, every second, every breath, every tear, every joy and every experience. In His giving us our life, He is also giving us eternal life and in that hope, knowing that to follow His will leads us to a place that exceeds our imagination. A grateful heart is a generous heart for a grateful heart is like a stomach full after a delicious meal, satisfied and seeking and expecting no more . Rather desiring to share this bounty of love to others. A grateful heart feels and appreciates the little moments in life that all to often pass by unnoticed. A grateful heart sees the handiwork of God in all nature. A grateful heart desires to express the joy within it; praising and rejoicing for the goodness of the Lord. When the Magi found the Christ child after their long journey they fell on their knees and presented Him with expensive gifts. We too can fall on our knees and present to Him our gift of thanks in gratitude in everything we do. God Bless.

Father Leo Clifford Reflections on Gratitude

The Lord of the Sabbath

While Jesus was going through a field of grain on a sabbath, his disciples were picking heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands and eating them. Some Pharisees said, "Why are you doing what is unlawful on the sabbath?"Jesus said to them in reply, "Have you not read what David did when he and those who were with him were hungry?How he went into the house of God, took the bread of offering, which only the priests could lawfully eat, ate of it, and shared it with his companions."Then he said to them, "The Son of Man is lord of the sabbath." Luke 6:1-5
If you have ever worked for the government or been a member of the military you have had the experience of being bogged down in a myriad of red tape, rules and regulations. Many times the intent of the rules has long been gone, but they remain in effect counter productive to what is true. The Pharisees went by the "letter of the law" so much so that when the Creator was standing before them "in the flesh" they were blind to recognizing Him. The "law" that binds people today is more insidious and more destructive in preventing one from seeing the Truth - Jesus. That "law" is the prevailing secular attitude that what matters is the temporal and not eternal. The Creator stands before us each day in the Eucharist - The Lord of the Sabbath!

Blessed Peter Faber Prayer for Detachment

I beg of you, my Lord
to remove anything which separates
me from you, and you from me.

Remove anything that makes me unworthy
of your sight, your control, your reprehension;
of your speech and conversation,
of your benevolence and love.

Cast from me every evil
that stands in the way of my seeing you,
hearing, tasting, savoring, and touching you;
fearing and being mindful of you;
knowing, trusting, loving, and possessing you;
being conscious of your presence
and, as far as may be, enjoying you.

This is what I ask for myself
and earnestly desire from you. Amen
Blessed Peter Faber, SJ

Pope St. Gregory I "The Great"

In this picture St. Pope Gregory the Great is dictating to his monk what we, Orthodox Catholics have love so dearly "the Gregorian Chant". Chant is making a comeback especially with the latest round of young men entering the priesthood. Gregory the Great was Pope from 590 until his death in 1604. he was the first Pope to come from a monastic background. He praised the life of monks. St. Gregory's pontificate saw the development of the notion of private penance as parallel to the institution of public penance. He explicitly taught a doctrine of Purgatory where a soul destined to undergo purification after death because of certain sins, could begin its purification in this earthly life, through good works, obedience and Christian conduct, making the travails to come lighter and shorter. In letters, St. Gregory remarks that he moved the Pater Noster (Our Father) to immediately after the Roman Canon and immediately before theFraction. This position is still maintained today in the Roman Liturgy. He established the nine Kyries (a vestigial remnant of the litany which was originally at that place) at the beginning of Mass. He also reduced the role of deacons in the Roman Liturgy.

Gregory is the only Pope between the fifth and the eleventh centuries whose correspondence and writings have survived enough to form a comprehensive corpus. Some of his writings are:

• Sermons (forty on the Gospels are recognized as authentic, twenty-two on Ezekiel, two on the Song of Songs)
• Dialogues, a collection of miracles, signs, wonders, and healings including the popular life of St. Benedict
• Commentary on Job, frequently known even in English-language histories by its Latin title, Magna Moralia
• The Rule for Pastors, in which he contrasted the role of bishops as pastors of their flock with their position as nobles of the church: the definitive statement of the nature of the episcopal office
• Copies of some 854 letters have survived, out of an unknown original number recorded in Gregory's time in a register. It is known to have existed in the Vatican, its last known location, in the 9th century. It consisted of 14 papyrus rolls, now missing. Copies of letters had begun to be made, the largest batch of 686 by order ofAdrian I. The majority of the copies, dating from the 10th to the 15th century, are stored in theVatican library.

He is one of the original Doctors of the Church named so in 1298 (courtesy Wikipedia)

Panis Angelicus

The angelic bread

becomes the bread of men;

The heavenly bread

ends all prefigurations:

What wonder!

consumes the Lord

a poor and humble servant.

Triune God,

We beg of You,

that you visit us,

as we worship You.

By your ways,

lead us who seek

the light in which You dwell.

Amen.

Father Jean-Pierre De Caussade, S.J. - The Peaceful Heart

“You should remember all your life that one of the principle causes of the small progress made by certain good people is that the devil continually fills their souls with disquiet, perplexities, and troubles, which render them incapable of serious, gentle, and constant application to the practice of virtue. The great principle of the interior life lies in peace of the heart: it must be preserved with such care that the moment it is everything else should be abandoned for its re-establishment, just as when the house is on fire, one leaves everything in order to extinguish it…

This blessed peace of soul is the high road to heaven. And the reason of this is that peace and tranquility of spirit alone give the soul a great strength to achieve all that God wills, while trouble and disquiet turn the soul into a weak, languishing invalid. In that state one feels neither zest nor attraction for virtue, but, contrariwise, disgust and discouragement by which the devil never fails to profit. This is why he makes use of all his ruses to rob us of this peace on a thousand specious pretexts: at one time on pretense of examination of conscience or of sorrow for our sins, at another time on the ground that we are abusing grace and that our total lack of progress is our own fault, in short that God is about to abandon us; and by means of a hundred other dodges against which few are able to defend themselves. This is why the masters of the spiritual life give this great principle for distinguishing the true inspirations of God from those which come from the devil, namely, that the former are always gentle and peaceful and lead us to confidence and humility while the latter are agitating, unquiet, and turbulent, leading to discouragement and suspicion, or even to presumption and the following of our own will. We must, therefore, firmly reject all that does not bear this mark of peace, submission, gentleness, and confidence, the impressions as it were of God’s seal; this point is of great importance for our whole life.”

Father Jean-Pierre de Caussade, S.J +1751

Fears and Doubts

The history of salvation is a landscape dotted with men and women with fears and doubts. From the very beginning in the Garden of Eden, faith in the word of God wavered, enough to put us all on the current plan & path to Heaven's Gate. Abraham & Sarah doubted they could have a child at such at late time in their lives. Moses doubted he could be a great leader because he was not a great speaker.Thomas doubted Jesus had returned after being crucified. The Evil One loves to play with doubt. He knows that with that card he can take a person down any road. A little crack in one's faith can weaken the foundation of their spiritual life. Many great Saints doubted they were worthy of God's love, doubted they were capable of serving him. As sinners we may doubt God's mercy, or doubt that he cares or loves us because we are unworthy. Doubt can lead to fear, for when we doubt God's plan we fear, fear the unknown. Fear too, is an instrument that the devil enjoys using. Fear can be parlayed into confusion, an inability to know what's right the direction, who is what and where are you headed. One of the most important revelations that I have encountered is that the world is ordered. In fact if you truly live the life of a Catholic, living your faith, you can see that the Church, the bride of Christ is ordered. The Proverbs teaches the the "fear of the Lord" is the beginning of wisdom. God in his beauty and wisdom has ordered the universe and his plan for salvation. You and I are part of that plan, our life is in essence a mirror of that plan. Everyone experiences doubt, our path in this journey is crooked. It is through God's grace that we find our way. We can really only attain that grace by living a spiritual life. That requires Prayer, the Sacraments, Scripture, and Contemplation. Combined these gifts of our faith and you will ward of the Evil One and deter him from using your doubts and fears against you. Place your doubts and fears at the foot of the Cross. Jesus told us to when He said "For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." God Bless

The Akathist Hymn

SEVENTH CHANT

The Creator displayed a new creation to us who had come from Him: He came forth from a womb that had received no seed, and He left it intact as it had been, so that at the sight of this marvel, we would sing to her and cry out:

Hail, O Blossom of Incorruption!
Hail, O Crown of Self-mastery!
Hail, O you who shone forth as a Sign of Resurrection!
Hail, O you who displayed the Life of Angels!
Hail, Fruitful Tree from whom believers feed!
Hail, Shady Glen where many are sheltered!
Hail, O you who have born the Guide of the Lost!
Hail, Source of Life to the captives' Release!
Hail, O you who unsettled even the Just Judge!
Hail, Indulgence of many who have fallen!
Hail, O Stole for those who lack freedom to speak!
Hail, O Tenderness who exceed all desire!
Hail, O Bride and Maiden ever-pure!

[RESPONSE]: Hail, O Bride and Maiden ever-pure!

KONTAKION

Now that we have seen this strange birth, let us estrange ourselves from the world and turn our minds to heaven: indeed, it is for this that the God Most High appeared on earth as a lowly man, desiring to draw up to heaven those who cry out to Him: "Alleluia!"

[RESPONSE]: Alleluia!

EIGHTH CHANT

While fully present amid those below, the uncircumscribed Word was in no way absent from those above: for what happened was a divine condescension, and not a moving from one place to another: and it was a birth from a Virgin inspired by God, who heard these words:

Hail, O Space of the Spaceless God!
Hail, O Gate of the Sublime Mystery!
Hail, O Message unsure to men without faith!
Hail, O Glory most certain to those who believe!
Hail, O Sacred Chariot of the One above the Cherubim!
Hail, Perfect Dwelling of the One above the Seraphim!
Hail, O you who reconciled opposites!
Hail, O you who combined maidenhood and motherhood!
Hail, O you through whom Paradise was opened!
Hail, O Key to the Kingdom of Christ!
Hail, O Hope for the Ages of Bliss!
Hail, O Bride and Maiden ever-pure!

[RESPONSE]: Hail, O Bride and Maiden ever-pure!

KONTAKION

The whole order of the Angels marveled at the great work of your becoming a man: for they saw the One Inaccessible as God become a Man accessible to all, living with us and hearing us cry out: "Alleluia!"

[RESPONSE]: Alleluia!

The Least of My Brethren

May all we do, we do for the Greater Glory of God. Jesus answers the question "who are my neighbors?" Please pause from your daily lives to think about those who live in abject poverty. Pause for a moment and look into your heart, there Christ resides. Did you have breakfast today, or lunch? Maybe something special for dinner tonight? There are human beings who breath the same air we do, feel the warmth of the same sun, and the cool wet rains that we feel, and sleep under the same stars that we do. These fellow human beings created in the image of God, our loving Father, won't eat today. There bellies will cry out with hunger. Donations are down throughout the world due to global recession. If you feel it in your heart won't you please click on one of the links that follows and help out someone who is less fortunate than you and I are.

Food For The Poor - http://foodforthepoor.org/ Christian Foundation for Children and Aging -http://cfcausa.org/ And would you consider taking on the responsibility of sponsoring somebody creating a positive difference in the life of a child in poverty Children International - http://children.org/ Everything we possess comes from the generosity of God, who created us and gifted us with our life. No one's generosity can exceed that of God. Help someone eat today. God Bless.

Litany of the Saints

C. S. Lewis

The Martyrdom of John the Baptist

Blessed be the Lord,
The God of Israel;
He has come to His people and set them free.

He has raised up for us a mighty Saviour,
Born of the house of His servant David.

Through His holy prophets He promised of old
That He would save us from our enemies,
From the hands of all who hate us.

He promised to show mercy to our fathers
And to remember His holy Covenant.

This was the oath He swore to our father Abraham:
To set us free from the hands of our enemies,
Free to worship Him without fear,
Holy and righteous in His sight
All the days of our life.

You, My child shall be called
The prophet of the Most High,
For you will go before the Lord to prepare His way,
To give his people knowledge of salvation
By the forgiveness of their sins.

In the tender compassion of our Lord
The dawn from on high shall break upon us,
to shine on those who dwell in darkness
And the shadow of death,
And to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Glory to the Father,
and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning.
is now, and will be forever.

Amen.

The Akathist Hymn

FIFTH CHANT
The Sons of Chaldaea saw in the Virgin's hands the One whose hands had fashioned men: and acknowledging Him as the Master, although He had taken the form of a servant, they hastened to honor Him with their gifts and cried out to the Blessed One:

Hail, O Mother of the Star Without Setting!
Hail, O Radiance of the Mystical Day!
Hail, O you who quenched the flame of error!
Hail, O Light of those who search the Trinity!
Hail, O you who unthroned the Enemy of Men!
Hail, O you who showed forth Christ the Lord, Lover of Mankind!
Hail, O you who cleansed us from the stain of pagan worship!
Hail, O you who saved us from the mire of evil deeds!
Hail, O you who made cease the cult of fire!
Hail, O you who guide the faithful toward wisdom!
Hail, O you, Delight of all the Nations!
Hail, O Bride and Maiden ever-pure!

[RESPONSE]: Hail, O Bride and Maiden ever-pure!

KONTAKION

The Magi, become God-bearing heralds, returned to Babylon, conforming to your command, announcing You, the Christ, to all, and leaving Herod as a fool who did not know how to sing: "Alleluia!"

[RESPONSE]: Alleluia!

SIXTH CHANT

Illuminating Egypt with the Light of Truth, you cast away the darkness of error. For the idols, unable to stand your might, fell down, and those who had been delivered from them cried out to the Mother of God:

Hail, O Resurrection of mankind!
Hail, O Downfall of the Demons!
Hail, O you who crushed the error of deceit!
Hail, O you who exposed the fraud of idols!
Hail, O Sea who drowned the symbolic Pharaon!
Hail, O Rock who quenched those who thirst for Life!
Hail, O Pillar of Fire who guided those in darkness!
Hail, O Shelter of the World, wider than the clouds!
Hail, O Food who took the place of Manna!
Hail, O Handmaid of holy delight!
Hail, O Land of the promised good!
Hail, O you who flow with milk and honey!
Hail, O Bride and Maiden ever-pure!

[RESPONSE]: Hail, O Bride and Maiden ever-pure!

KONTAKION

As Simeon was about to leave the present deceitful world, You were entrusted to him as an infant, but You made Yourself known to him as the perfect God. Wherefore he marveled at your wisdom beyond words, and cried out: "Alleluia!"

[RESPONSE]: Alleluia!

St. Augustine Quotes

“Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe.”

"Pray as though everything depended on God. Work as though everything depended on you"

" Since love grows within you, so beauty grows. For love is the beauty of the soul."

"The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page"

" This is the very perfection of man is to find out his imperfections"

"There is something in humility that strangely exalts the heart"

St. Augustine on Faith

But you, beloved, who possess this faith, or who have begun now newly to have it, let it be nourished and increase in you. For as things temporal have come, so long before foretold, so will things eternal also come, which are promised. Nor let them deceive you, either the vain heathen, or the false Jews, or the deceitful heretics, or also within the Catholic (Church) itself evil Christians, enemies by so much the more hurtful, as they are the more within us. For, lest on this subject also the weak should be troubled, divine prophecy has not been silent, where in the Song of Songs the Bridegroom speaking unto the Bride, that is, Christ the Lord unto the Church, says, As a lily in the midst of thorns, so is my best Beloved in the midst of the daughters. He said not, in the midst of them that are without; but, in the midst of daughters. Whoso has ears to hear, let him hear: and while the net which is cast into the sea, and gathers together all kinds of fishes, as says the Holy Gospel, is being drawn unto the shore, that is, unto the end of the world, let him separate himself from the evil fishes, in heart, not in body; by changing evil habits, not by breaking sacred nets; lest they who now seem being approved to be mingled with the reprobate, find, not life, but punishment everlasting, when they shall begin on the shore to be separated.

Seminarians in Diocese of Baton Rouge

If you scroll to the last page of the Diocese of Baton Rouge Vocations Newsletter you can see the names of the young men on their journey to priesthood. Please pray for these young men. FYI:Please note if you click on the black rectangle with the smaller white rectangle located in the top right hand corner (actually just below this) you can toggle to full screen where you have an option of making the print larger and thus easier to read.
August 2009 Newsletter

Prayer, Persistence & Faith

St. Monica never gave up on her son St. Augustine and it is a blessing to many generations that she didn't. The lesson here for all of us is to never give up on someone you love. God's grace can find its way to even the darkest corners. If you know the story of Francis Thompson who wrote the great poem "the Hound of Heaven", he was as destitute as one could become, living in the streets, addicted to opium, yet He found God. How? Because God never stops pursuing you, never! Where do we begin? Prayer. Prayer is the foundation of trust in God. Even simple prayers are heard by God. Your prayers says to God, "I don't see you, nor hear you, nor perhaps even know you, but despite that I trust you." Prayer pleases God. He is the Abba, that Jesus describes to us. Pray for your children that they will find their way to God, because GOD WILL BE THERE! Be persistent, do not despair - that is what the Great Deceiver, the Evil One would like you to do. GOD'S LOVE IS UNFATHOMABLE! HIS MERCY KNOWS NO BOUNDARIES! Luke 18:1-17 The Parable of the Persistent Widow -Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always
pray and not give up. He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’ “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care about men, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually wear me out with her coming!’ ” And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” Finally have faith that whatever God wills for you and your loved ones in the end will be good. Show Him how much faith you have.
TODAY IS MY FATHER'S 86th BIRTHDAY - HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD, THANKS FOR EVERYTHING YOU'VE DONE FOR ME AND GOD BLESS YOU.

What Matters is Internal Not External

Jesus said "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men's bones and every kind of filth. Even so, on the outside you appear righteous, but inside you are filled with hypocrisy and evildoing."
Sometimes we look at the Pharisees as this awful group of religious men, yet they were probably the most pious Jews of Jesus' time. What Jesus is in essence saying to them is that in this New Covenant what matters is not the external but the internal. Jesus is the "new Moses". Moses wanted the Jews to be recognized as outside of the pagan world, thus they were concerned with external things, he gave them the Law and showed them how to live. Jesus in the New Covenant proclaims a New Law, not to replace the Old Law but to fulfill it. What is important to us as Catholics living in the 21st century is that internally our hearts are united with the heart of Christ who lives within us. His two fold commandment of loving God and loving neighbor transcends what was the Old Law. The external things of our faith are important but are secondary to the internal things. St. Paul clearly understands this in his letter to the Corinthians the 13th Chapter when he proclaims "If I speak in human and angelic tongues but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal. And if I have the gift of prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all faith so as to move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away everything I own, and if I hand my body over so that I may boast but do not have love, I gain nothing." Jesus says "that, where your treasure is, so will your heart be " Treasure the perfect of Love which is Christ Jesus.

The Simplicity The Scribes and Pharisees Lacked

All the works of God are founded on unity, for they are founded on Himself, who is the most awfully simple and transcendent of possible unities. He is emphatically One; and whereas He is also multiform in His attributes and His acts, as they present themselves to our minds, it follows that order and harmony must be of His very essence. To be many and distinct in His attributes, yet, after all, to be but one,—to be sanctity, justice, truth, love, power, wisdom, to be at once each of these as fully as if He were nothing but it, as if the rest were not,—this implies in the Divine Nature an infinitely sovereign and utterly incomprehensible order, which is an attribute as wonderful as any, and the result of all the others. He is an infinite law, as well as an infinite power, wisdom, and love. Moreover, the very idea of order implies the idea of the subordinate. If order exists in the Divine Attributes, they must have relations one to another, and though each is perfect in itself, it must act so as not to impair the perfection of the rest, and must seem to yield to the rest on particular occasions. Thus God's power, indeed, is infinite, but it is still subordinate to His wisdom and His justice; His justice, again, is infinite, but it, too, is subordinate to His love; and His love, in turn, is infinite, but it is subordinate to His incommunicable sanctity. There is an understanding between attribute and attribute, so that one does not interfere with the other, for each is supreme in its own sphere; and thus an infinitude of infinities, acting each in its own order, are combined together in the infinitely simple unity of God. - Venerable John Henry Newman ( from the Magnificat - Meditation of the Day August 25, 2009)

Perfect Resignation

My God, I do not know what must come to me today.
But I am certain that nothing can happen to me
that you have not foreseen, decreed, and ordained from all eternity.
That is sufficient for me.
I adore your impenetrable and eternal designs,
to which I submit all my heart.
I desire, I accept them all, and I unite my sacrifice to that of Jesus Christ, my Divine Savior.
I ask in His name and through His infinite merits,
patience in my trials, and perfect and entire submission
to all that comes to me by your good pleasure.
--St. Joseph Pignatelli, SJ

The Akathist Hymn to the Blessed Virgin Mary

The Second & Third Chant of the Beautiful Hymn to Mary

SECOND CHANT

Trying to grasp the meaning of this mystery, the Virgin asked the holy messenger: "How is it possible that a son be born from a virginal womb? Tell me." And he answered her with awe, crying out in these words:

Hail, O hidden Sense of the Ineffable Plan!
Hail, O Belief in Silence That Must Be!
Hail, O Forecast of the Marvels of Christ!
Hail, O Fountainhead of truths concerning Him!
Hail, Celestial Ladder, by whom God came down!
Hail, O Bridge leading earthly ones to heaven!
Hail, O Wonder, ever-thrilling to the angels!
Hail, O Wound, ever-hurting to the demons!
Hail, O you who gave birth to Light ineffably!
Hail, O you who told no one how it was done!
Hail, O you who surpass the wisdom of the wise!
Hail, O you who enlighten faithful minds!
Hail, O Bride and Maiden ever-pure!

[RESPONSE]: Hail, O Bride and Maiden ever-pure!

KONTAKION

When the power of the Most High overshadowed the one who had never known the nuptial bed, her fruitful womb conceived, and she became for all a delicious field: for those who wished to reap salvation by singing "ALLELUIA!"

[RESPONSE]: Alleluia!

THIRD CHANT

Pregnant with God, the Virgin hastened to Elizabeth, her unborn child rejoiced, immediately knowing her embrace. Bouncing and singing, he cried out to the Mother of God:

Hail, O Tendril whose Bud shall not wilt!
Hail, O Soil whose Fruit shall not perish!
Hail, O Tender of mankind's loving Tender!
Hail, O Gardener of the Gardener of Life!
Hail, O Earth who yielded abundant mercies!
Hail, O Table full-laden with appeasement!
Hail, for you have greened anew the pastures of delight!
Hail, for you have prepared a haven for the souls!
Hail, acceptable Incense of Prayer!
Hail, Expiation of the whole universe!
Hail, O you Favor of God to mortal men!
Hail, O you Trust of mortals before God!
Hail, O Bride and Maiden ever-pure!

[RESPONSE]: Hail, O Bride and Maiden ever-pure!

KONTAKION

Filled with a storm of contradictory thoughts, the wise Joseph was greatly disturbed: until then, he had seen you a virgin, and now he suspected you of secret guilt, all-blameless one! Learning that your conception was of the Holyl Spirit, he cried out: "Alleluia!"

[RESPONSE]: Alleluia!

St. Bartholomew the Apostle

The name "Bartholomew" appears in the New Testament only on lists of the names of The Twelve Apostles. This list normally is given as six pairs, and the third pair in each of the Synoptics is "Philip and Bartholomew "Matthew 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 16:14; and Acts 1:13.

The Gospel of John gives no list of the Twelve, but refers to more of them individually than the Synoptists. He does not name Bartholomew, but early in his account: The next day he decided to go to Galilee, and he found Philip. And Jesus said to him, "Follow me." Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the town of Andrew and Peter.Philip found Nathanael and told him, "We have found the one about whom Moses wrote in the law, and also the prophets, Jesus, son of Joseph, from Nazareth."But Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come from Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see."Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, "Here is a true Israelite. There is no duplicity in him." Nathanael said to him, "How do you know me?" Jesus answered and said to him, "Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree."Nathanael answered him, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel."Jesus answered and said to him, "Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this."And he said to him, "Amen, amen, I say to you, you will see the sky opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."

He tells of the call to discipleship of a Nathaniel who is often supposed to be the same person. The reasoning is as follows: John's Nathanael is introduced as one of the earliest followers of Jesus, and in terms which suggest that he became one of the Twelve. He is clearly not the same as Peter, Andrew, James, John, Philip, Thomas, Judas Iscariot, Judas (not Iscariot, also called Lebbaeus or Thaddeus), all of whom John names separately. He is not Matthew, whose call is described differently (Matthew 9:9). This leaves Bartholomew, James the son of Alpheus, and Simon Zelotes. Of these, Bartholomew is the leading candidate for two reasons:

(1) "Bar-tholomew" is a patronymic , meaning "son of Tolmai (or Talmai)." It is therefore likely that he had another name. (A historical novel which may not be well researched informs me that a first-century Jew would be likely to use the patronymic instead of the forename as a mark of respect in speaking to a significantly older Jew.) "Nathanael son of Tolmai" seems more likely than "Nathanael also called James (or Simon)."

(2) Nathanael is introduced in John's narrative as a friend of Philip. Since Bartholomew is paired with Philip on three of our four lists of Apostles, it seems likely that they were associated.

We have no certain information about Bartholomew's later life. Some writers, including the historian Eusebius of Caesarea (now Har Qesari, 32:30 N 34:54 E, near Sedot Yam), say that he preached in India. The majority tradition, with varying details, is that Bartholomew preached in Armenia, and was finally skinned alive and beheaded to Albanus or Albanopolis (now Derbent, 42:03 N 48:18 E) on theCaspian Sea. His emblem in art is a flaying knife. The flayed Bartholomew can be seen in Michelangelo's Sistine painting of the Last Judgment. He is holding his skin. The face on the skin is generally considered to be a self-portrait of Michelangelo.

Heart of Jesus - Gregorian

Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, graciously hear us.
God, the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us.
God, the Son, Redeemer of the World, have mercy on us.
God, the Holy Ghost, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, Son of the Eternal Father, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, formed in the womb of the Virgin Mother by the Holy Ghost, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, most worthy of all praise, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, king and center of all hearts, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, in whom are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, in whom dwelleth all the fullness of the Divinity, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, in whom the Father is well pleased, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, of whose fullness we have all received, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, desire of the everlasting hills, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, patient and rich in mercy, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, fount of life and holiness, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, propitiation for our sins, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, saturated with revilings, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, crushed for our iniquities, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, made obedient unto death, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, pierced with a lance, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, source of all consolation, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, our life and resurrection, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, our peace and reconciliation, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, victim for our sins, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, salvation of those who hope in Thee, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, hope of those who die in Thee, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, delight of all saints, have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord,
Lamb of God who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
V. Jesus, meek and humble of Heart.
R. Make our hearts like unto Thine.

The Bread of Life Resides in You

Many murmur, "This saying is hard; who can accept it?" If we approach Christianity from our own presuppositions we completely miss the fact, as Pope Benedict XVI writes, that "being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction." We are to look beyond the saying to the Say-er. This is what it means to "be subordinate to one another out of reverence for Christ." "Decide today whom you will serve"- your own ideas and preconceptions, or "the Lord." Father Peter John Cameron, O.P.
The Divine is above any thing, idea, or experience of the earthly world. By this I mean, that in a moment in which one experiences something that is insightful, resulting in joy or discovery, or revelation or even greater, true love, one has begun to move upward towards the Divine. What was lost by Original Sin is in part being regained. That is what Jesus the Bread of Life brings to us. That is why the Eucharist was in the center of life for Padre Pio. He spent very early hours of the day or still night (he got up at 2.30 am) to get ready for his daily Mass and later the rest of the day was actually another preparation for a new Eucharist the next day. Once he said that the world could do without the Sun for a while but could not exist even a single day without the Holy Mass! Give thanks when you return to your pew that God has chosen to have Christ reside in you, making you an Ark, a Temple, the Holiest of Holys. Allow His Grace to permeate every fiber of your being so that in all you do, you do for the Greater Glory of God. Then every day you are living as Christ lives. Don't murmur, don't fall for the voices of the world, hear the voice of the one who John says "In this way the love of God was revealed to us: God sent His only Son into the world so that we might have life through Him (The Eucharist). In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that He loved us and sent his son for expiation for our sins.

Salve Regina Gregorian Chant

The Akathist Hymn to the Blessed Virgin Mary Eastern Catholic Devotion

To Our Blessed Lady, The Blessed Virgin, Mary Mother of Our Lord, Our True God, and Savior, Jesus Christ!

[PRIEST]: - Blessed is Our God, Always, Now and Forevermore. Amen

[CANTOR]: - O heavenly King, Comforter, Spirit of Truth, You are everywhere present and fit all things. Treasury of Blessings,and Giver of Life, come and dwell within us, cleanse us of all stain, and save our souls, O Gracious One!

- Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy and Immortal one, have mercy on us. (Three times)

[PRIEST]: - Blessed is Our God, Always, Now and Forevermore. Amen

[CANTOR]: - O heavenly King, Comforter, Spirit of Truth, You are everywhere present and fit all things. Treasury of Blessings, and Giver of Life, come and dwell within us, cleanse us of all stain, and save our souls, O Gracious One!

- Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy and Immortal one, have mercy on us. (Three times)

[During the Easter time, CHRIST IS RISEN is substituted for "Holy God," and sung three times]

- O Most Holy Trinity, Have Mercy on us! O Lord, Cleanse us of our sins! O Master, forgive our transgressions! O Holy One, come to us and heal our infirmities for your Name's sake!

- Lord, Have Mercy. (Three times)

- Glory be to the Father + and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and forever, Amen.

- Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy Name, Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, Father +, Son, and Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever. Amen. - Let us pray to the Lord.

[Response]: Lord, have mercy!

Preamble

[Priest or Cantor:] As soon as the angel had received his command, he hastened to Joseph's house and said to the ever-virgin: "Behold, heaven was brought down to earth when the Word Himself was fully contained in you! Now that I see Him in your womb, taking a servant's form, I cry out to you in wonder: Hail, O Bride and Maiden ever-pure!"

First Chant

[PRIEST]: An Archangel was sent from heaven to greet the Mother of God, and as he saw you assuming a body at the sound of his bodiless voice, O Lord, he stood rapt in amazement and cried out to her in these words:

[The priest will sing the versicles, to each of which set the people will respond by singing "Hail, O Bride and Maiden ever-pure" after each of the praises.]

Hail, O you, through whom Joy will shine forth!
Hail, O you, through whom the curse will disappear!
Hail, O Restoration of the Fallen Adam!
Hail, O Redemption of the Tears of Eve!
Hail, O Peak above the reach of human thought!
Hail, O Depth even beyond the sight of angels!
Hail, O you who have become a Kingly Throne!
Hail, O you who carry Him Who Carries All!
Hail, O Star who manifest the Sun!
Hail, O Womb of the Divine Incarnation!
Hail, O you through whom creation is renewed!
Hail, O you through whom the Creator becomes a Babe!
Hail, O Bride and Maiden ever-pure!

[RESPONSE]: Hail, O Bride and Maiden ever-pure!

KONTAKION (Priest or Cantor)

Knowing that she was a virgin, the blessed one courageously answered the angel: "Your surprising words seem hard for my mind to accept: how can you speak of a birth that is to come from a conception without seed? And why do you cry, Alleluia?"

[RESPONSE]: Alleluia!

The Akathistos hymn is the most famous Byzantine hymn to the Virgin Mary. Devotion to the Mother of God became central to the Identity of Constantinople in the sixth century, when she was taken as the protector of the city. This hymn expresses that devotion. This is only the first of the twelve chants. It is good to experience the beautiful liturgies of our Eastern brethren.

Gregory Aymond Installed as 14th Archbishop of New Orleans