Vol 9 Issue 38 ~ Editor: Rev. Fr. Courtney Edward Krier
August 20, 2016 ~ St Bernard of Clairvaux, opn!
1. Baptism: Means of Salvation (82)
2. Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost
3. St. Jane Frances de Chantal
4. Christ in the Home (56)
5, Articles and notices
Dear Reader:
The Society of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre (SSPX) put out an article titled:The Sedevacantist Temptation (August 17, 2016). It coincides with the reality that Bergoglio is so far from being Catholic that the truth is actually forcing even Conciliarist Catholics and Society Catholics to disavow him. This article,The Sedevacantist Temptation, is an admission that the Society of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre is part of the problem: They believe that the pope can teach error regarding faith and morals to the universal church—they just don’t have to obey. This, they claim, is the middle path between those who say they have to obey (Papal Authority) conservative Vatican II adherring Catholics, and those who say Bergoglio cannot be pope (Church indefectibility and infallibility and obligation to obey papal authority) sedevacantist Catholics who understand this is the only position that gives them legitimacy in upholding the Roman Catholic Faith and Sacraments. As for the Society of Marcel Lefebvre claiming the pope can error, Vatican Council I expressed that no Pope ever taught error when teaching the Universal Church regarding Faith and Morals; and, if the Pope could lead the Church into error, the Church would not be the divine institution holding all the promises Christ bestowed on the Church which is summarized in the Church’s Infallibility, Indefectibility and Authority—therefore the Society, in this position, denies the infallibility, indefectibility and authority of the Church holding that the Church no longer possesses these attributes (though some ultra-Society members may make themselves the Church—but this act would be schismatical and, of itself, rejects Bergoglio as Pope.) In the 60’s and early 70’s Catholics who awaited Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre and the other Cardinals and bishops who pointed out the heresies of Vatican II found themselves deeply disappointed when these same clergy not only signed the decrees of Vatican II, but submitted to the Conciliar Novus Ordo Seclorum. Trying to retain membership by condemning others, the Society reveals itself of its main error. May the leaders of the Society humbly acknowledge this and recognize that only in upholding the Catholic Faith in its entirety will there be the means of exposing the Conciliar Church for what it is: A false Church.
As always, enjoy the readings and commentaries provided for your benefit. —The Editor
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Baptism
Means of Salvation
Sacrament of Baptism
Rituale Romanum
(Continued)
Commentary:
After giving instructions on how to obtain this life, the priest then breathes upon the child three times (Father, Son, and Holy Ghost). This is reminiscent of the passage of Genesis, where we read: And the Lord God formed man of the slime of the earth: and breathed into his face the breath of life, and man became a living soul (2:3). He then signs the child with the sign of Cross, admonishing the child that because of Christ’s death on the Cross the child has been ransomed—bought with the Precious Blood of Jesus or redeemed—to be a temple of God, and therefore belongs to God as this sign designates. The child no longer belongs to the dominion of Satan and is to begin the sanctification of his life, soon to be transfigured by grace. The child, as a result of original sin, was chained in slavery to the devil. Released from this slavery by the power of the Cross, the child now bears the mark of the Master. (cf. Eisenhofer, 268) At the time of Christ a large portion of the population within the Roman Empire was enslaved. They bore the mark of their master on their body. It was appropriate that those who chose to serve Christ would be marked also with the sign of their Master. Saint Paul writes to the Ephesians 1:13: In whom you also, after you had heard the word of truth, (the gospel of your salvation;) in whom also believing, you were signed with the holy Spirit of promise (1:13). Saint John speaks of the redeemed in his Apocalypse:
And I heard the number of them that were signed, an hundred forty-four thousand were signed, of every tribe of the children of Israel (7:4-8). This is seen as the fulfilment of the prophecy of Ezechiel:
And the Lord said to him: Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem: and mark Thau upon the foreheads of the men that sigh, and mourn for all the abominations that are committed in the midst thereof. And to the others he said in my hearing: Go ye after him through the city, and strike: let not your eyes spare, nor be ye moved with pity. Utterly destroy old and young, maidens, children and women: but upon whomsoever you shall see Thau, kill him not, and begin ye at my sanctuary. So they began at the ancient men who were before the house. (9:4-6)
The following commentary is found in the Challoner Douay Bible for this passage:
Mark Thau: Thau, or Tau, is the last letter in the Hebrew alphabet, and signifies a sign, or a mark; which is the reason why some translators render this place set a mark, or mark a mark without specifying what this mark was. But St. Jerome, and other interpreters, conclude it was the form of the letter Thau, which in the ancient Hebrew character, was the form of a cross.
The literal Hebrew is tav which is the Hebrew letter ת or Τ, τ in Greek, which is the same in the English: T, t: vertical and horizontal lines that cross or intersect each other perpendicularly.
The sign is made on the forehead. And, though not visible, placed there to remind the candidate it must always publicly profess its faith and never to be ashamed.
Opposed to this is that mysterious and unresolved prophecy of John: And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice: If any man shall adore the beast and his image, and receive his character in his forehead, or in his hand (Apoc. 14:9; cf. also v. 17:5).
The heart is also signed because the Law of Christ is a Law of love to distinguish the New Testament from the Old Testament, which was a Law of servitude.
The priest continues in prayer that the grace be granted through the interceding prayer of the Church who unites herself with her Spouse, Christ. This reminds the candidate that God’s unfailing grace will not be lacking.
Rituale:
For one infant
Let us pray. Prayer
GRACIOUSLY hear our entreaty, O Lord, we beseech thee, and with thine unfailing might guard thy chosen one, N., now signed with the seal of our Lord’s holy cross. Help him (her) to hold fast to this first acquaintance with thy majestic glory, that in keeping thy commandments, he (she) may deserve to attain the everlasting bliss destined for all who are born anew. Through Christ our Lord. R. Amen.
- He now lays his hand upon the head of each child; then with outstretched hand he says:
For one.
Let us pray.
Prayer
ALMIGHTY, everlasting God, Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ! Deign to regard with favor thy servant, N. (thy handmaid, N.) whom it has pleased thee to call to the beginnings of faith. Drive out from him (her) all blindness of heart. Sunder all snares of Satan which hitherto bound him (her); open to him (her) the gate of thy fatherly love, that dedicated with the seal of thy wisdom, he (she) may remain unsullied from every evil desire. And inspired by the loveliness of thy precepts, may he (she) serve thee with glad heart in thy church, advancing in perfection from day to day. Through the selfsame Christ our Lord. R. Amen.
Commentary:
As the breath symbolized the coming of the Holy Ghost, so the priest now performs the laying his hands upon the child to remind that this action (sanctification) is done through the coming of the Holy Ghost into the soul of the child, bestowing God’s love within.
This is followed by another exorcism prayer that the child be preserved from evil and receptive of grace to know, love and serve God in the Church.
If the salt has not yet been blessed with a combined exorcism and prayer—since the salt will be used also to expel the devil as an exorcism—the priest blesses it. Salt is also blessed and mixed in blessed water as a means of exorcism, but neither salt may be used for the other ceremony as in baptism it has a greater significance. The conferring of salt in baptism also symbolizes Christian truth. (Cf. Stapper, 299)
The priest then places a morsel of salt on the tongue of the child to remind the child that it is not enough to receive faith; one must live the faith, that is, Christian truth that one has received, in order to preserve it. So doing, he will be wise, symbolized also by the salt. As salt preserves food, so living one’s faith preserves the spiritual food one has received. A practical example of loss of an unused ability would be a student who was taught algebra. Sometime later that ability is lost unless the student had continued to use algebra in his or her daily life. So also faith will be lost if not lived: Faith without works is dead (James2:20). salt also makes food tasteful, savoury. So, too, the Christian ought to have a taste for the teachings and Commandments of Christ. That is true wisdom; everything else is only foolishness.
Rituale:
- The priest blesses salt, which once blessed may serve for future baptisms.
Blessing of Salt
I PURGE thee of evil, thou creature of salt, in the name of God+, the Father almighty, and in the love of Jesus+ Christ, our Lord, and by the power of the Holy+ Spirit. I exorcise thee by the living+ God, by the true+ God, by the holy+ God, by the God+ Who did provide thee in preservation of human needs, and did command that thou be consecrated by His servants for the people coming unto Faith, that in the name of the Blessed Trinity thou mayest become an outward sign of salvation, repulsing the enemy. Wherefore, we beseech thee, O Lord, our God, to sanctify+ with thy sanctifying power, to bless+ with thy benediction this creature of salt, that it may be for all who receive it a sure remedy, ever enduring within them; in the name of the selfsame Jesus Christ, our Lord, Who shall come to judge the living and the dead and the world by fire. R. Amen.
- He puts a little of the blessed salt into the mouth of the child, saying:
N., receive the salt of wisdom; may it be unto thee a sign of reconciliation unto life everlasting. R. Amen.
Priest: Peace be with thee. R. And with thy spirit.
For one
Let us pray. Prayer
GOD of our fathers, O God, thou source of all truth, humbly we implore thee to look with mercy upon this thy servant, N. (thy handmaid, N.), and no more let him (her) hunger who now tastes this first nourishment of salt. But let him (her) be enriched with heavenly food, so that he (she) may ever be inflamed with zeal, joyous in hope, constant in serving thee. We bid thee, Lord, lead him (her) to the bath where one is born anew, that in the company of thy faithful he (she) may deserve to win the everlasting reward which thou hast promised. Through Christ our Lord. R. Amen.
Commentary:
Having received the salt on the tongue followed by a prayer that God will grant what is symbolized by the reception of the salt. The greeting, Peace be to you, indicates that the person now has a place in the society of the faithful.
Soon the child will be leaving the world (outside) and entering into the kingdom of God (the Church inside). Before entering the church, the priest performs a formal exorcism over the child. Since the child now belongs to God, the Devil is reminded he has no power over the child and must depart. Would that the parents and godparents see the child never invites the devil back through sin—for turning from God to sin allows the Devil once more to enslave one. Yes, the world, the flesh and the devil are still encountered in daily living always tempting to ensnare us—but the person must resist temptation, for only then will it win the everlasting reward. The exorcism is addressed to the devil and not to the person, therefore, even if the ceremony is said in the vernacular, the Church still requires the priest to pronounce the exorcism in Latin.
The priest then signs the child with the cross to this effect of driving out the devil with the words: And this sign of the holy Cross which we trace on his/her forehead, do thou, accursed demon, never dare to violate. Through the selfsame Christ our Lord. Amen.
Christ gave His Apostles power over the wicked spirits. This power the priest has also. In Christ’s name he drives out the spirit of darkness. The sign of the cross is impressed on the forehead of the one to be baptized. Why?—The evil spirit fears the cross and flees before it; for on the cross Christ conquered Satan. (Baierl, 35)
In the adult baptism ceremony the sponsors likewise sign the candidate and why the words, “we” is still retained.
Rituale:
I cast thee out, unclean spirit, in the name of the Father+, and of the Son +, and of the Holy + Spirit. Depart and vanish from this servant (handmaid) of God, N.For it is He Who commands thee, thou doomed and accursed one, He Whose feet once trod the waves, Who reached out His saving hand to Peter when he began to sink. Therefore, accursed fiend, admit thy doom, and pay honor to Jesus Christ, His Son and to the Holy Spirit, and keep far from this servant (handmaid) of God, N. For Jesus Christ, our Lord and God has graciously called him (her) to His holy grace and blessing, indeed, to the fountain of baptism.
- Here he signs with his thumb the forehead of the child, saying:
And this sign of the holy + cross which we trace on his (her) brow, do thou, accursed demon, never dare to violate. Through the selfsame Christ our Lord.R. Amen.
(To be continued)
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Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Benedict Baur, O.S.B.
Walk in the Spirit
- We live in Christ since we have been united with Him in baptism; living in Christ has almost the same meaning to St. Paul as walking “in the Spirit.” “In this we know that we abide in Him,” says St. John, “and He in us; because He hath given us of His Spirit” (1 John 4:13). “We are Christ’s body if we live of the Spirit of Christ; only the. body of Christ lives of His Spirit” (St. Augustine). After we have received the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, we must “walk in the Spirit” (Epistle).
- “The flesh lusteth against the spirit, . . . so that you do not the things that you would. . . . [But] they that are Christ’s have crucified their flesh with the vices and concupiscences” (Epistle). They are no longer guided by the desires of their corrupt nature; they are new men, risen with Christ. Therefore they live the life of Christ and do not work “the works of the flesh, which are fornication, uncleanness, immodesty, luxury, idolatry, witchcrafts, enmities, contentions, emulations, wraths, quarrels, dissensions, envies, sects, murders, drunkenness, and revellings, and such like. . . . They who do such things shall not obtain the kingdom of God” (Epistle). The way of a Christian is of necessity the way of Christ; with Him we must fight and carry our cross. In order to help us and to live within us, He has become one with us. He came to destroy Adam’s sin and to lead the world back to God through His self-denial and death on the cross. Christ made us members of His mystical body that we might continue His self-denial and death by denying ourselves. As members of the body whose head is Christ, we become ever more closely united with Him by sharing His life and sufferings. We therefore are not allowed to do the things that we would like to do (Epistle), to which our fallen nature, concupiscence, passions, and self-love entice us. Because of the dangers arising from the flesh we must crucify the flesh with its vices and concupiscences; only then can the Spirit perfect His work within us.
We must “walk in the Spirit” of the new and supernatural life given to us in union with Christ. The Spirit lifts us above the powers of darkness and our own passions, above the desires of worldly-minded man; He never grows weary of destroying the works of the flesh within us by making the thoughts, inclinations, and intentions of our heart submissive to the working of His grace. He has been promised and sent to us by Christ to remain with us forever. By His very nature He is intent on God and His will, and urges us to be good children of the Father in heaven by trying to please Him through our actions and sacrifices, thus proving our reverence, gratefulness, and love towards Him. The Spirit urges us to strive after virtue and to devote ourselves to prayer and holy recollection; He teaches us to love Christ, poverty, obedience, self-denial, and chastity. He awakens within us the desire to become holy and zealous for the interests of God and for the salvation of souls; He therefore imparts to us love of the cross, courage to be faithful in little things, strength to live a heroic life. The fruits of His works are wonderful: “Charity, joy, peace, patience, benignity, goodness, longanimity, mildness, faith, modesty, continency, chastity” (Epistle). By these fruits we shall recognize whether or not we walk in the Spirit.
- “Walk in the spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh” (Epistle). It is most important for us that we walk in the spirit, being guided by the Spirit of Christ. As far as our works have been done in the Spirit of Christ, they are good, holy, and pleasing to God; without this Spirit they are worthless in the sight of God.
“As the living Father hath sent Me, and I live by the Father, so he that eateth Me, the same shall also live by Me” (John 6:58). This exalted promise is the great means that enables us, through the Holy Eucharist, to walk in the Spirit. “He that eateth My flesh and drinketh My blood, abideth in Me and I in him” (John 6:57). The oftener and more worthily we receive Holy Communion, the more intimately we become united with the Spirit. Our walking “in the Spirit” must be the fruit of our assistance at Mass and of our reception of Holy Communion.
PRAYER
Keep, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy Church with perpetual mercy; and because the frailty of man without Thee cannot but fall, keep us ever by Thy help from all things hurtful, and lead us to all things profitable to our salvation. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
“Seek ye first the kingdom of God”
- “No man can serve two masters. . . . You cannot serve God and mammon” (Gospel). There is no alternative: we live either for God or for mammon. A divided allegiance is impossible, for we would be divided against ourselves. “Be not solicitous therefore, saying, what shall we eat, or what shall we drink, or wherewith shall we be clothed, for after all these things do the heathens seek. . . . Seek ye therefore first the kingdom of God and His justice; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Gospel).
- “Seek ye therefore first the kingdom of God.” A Christian’s first duty is to live for God and to obey His will and commandments, that he may try to please Him before all things. God made us for Himself; He is the source of our being and the only true goal of our life. “Thou hast created us for Thyself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee” (St. Augustine). In order that we may live for God again, He sent His only-begotten Son into this world; for when through sin we had turned to the world and worldly interests, our life and our best efforts were without any real meaning; they were without God. God then sent His Son that He might lead us back to God, that we might find Him again and as His children live entirely for the Father. In order that we may serve God more perfectly, He unceasingly pours into our souls power and light; He desires to free us from attachments to the world and to the vanities of life, which are our main obstacles to fulfilling the will of the Father in heaven. Day after day He invites us to the Holy Sacrifice and gives Himself to us as the food for our souls in Holy Communion, that we may leave all things and live for the Father. He thus permeates our spirit more and more with His spirit and thoughts, making us strong to renounce faithfully and perseveringly all that is not God’s, and to live for Him alone. To live for God must be our only care; for here not merely our honor and our temporal welfare are at stake, but our fate for all eternity. To live for God, therefore, must be our one concern, compared with which all other matters and interests are of secondary importance. We cannot postpone this matter a sin…
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