On this day we celebrate the feast of Saint Catherine of Siena, only one of the two women doctors of the Church who had personified that great amount of courage in defending the See of Peter against assaults of heresy. In honour of her legacies as the saint who defied convention in the name of truth, I indicate here an account of Bl. Raymond of Capua (the saint’s biographer and spiritual director) on St. Catherine’s spiritual espousal to our Lord Jesus.

I want to Marry You in the Faith

On Shrove Tuesday, before the beginning of Lent, Christ appeared to St Catherine of Siena when she was praying in her cell and said: “You have rejected far from you and fled from all the vanities of the world, because of me. You hold all desires of the flesh with contempt, and you have chosen me as your heart’s only pleasure. That is why I have also chosen a moment to solemnly celebrate with you the wedding of your soul. As I’ve promised you, I want to marry you in the faith.”

At once, “his glorious Mother, the Virgin Mary appeared, with Saint John the Evangelist, Saint Paul the Apostle, the most holy Dominic and the prophet David. The Virgin Mother of God took the virgin’s hand in her blessed hand, and reached her fingers towards her son. She asked him if he deigned to marry Catherine in the faith. The only Son of God made a graceful gesture of assent, and presented Catherine a gold ring. With his right hand, he placed the ring on the ring finger of her right hand …”

(Catherine of Siena (1347-1380), Italian saint, Dominican tertiary, and Doctor of the Church was canonized in 1461.)

Sancta Catalina, ora pronobis.

I have been lagging behind in posting various issues of worth this whole month of April because it seems I have been confused in many things on what to write about first. It may be disheartening to note that I haven’t perfected the art of integrating a more profound means by which I could schedule things according to necessity, and thus I profess as one of my foremost struggles. Most often I find it easier to jot down my thoughts at night, especially on serious matters such as the liturgy and scripture. I merely end up too groggy, therefore a covert enticement that I put myself to slumber at once. A little despondency in the works, as I should say.

In any case, I shall make it a point to post even mere brief articles of interest starting next week… and I do pray I could accomplish such. May the Archangel Michael save me from any deterrents to this cause for an online apostolate such as this blog.

ジャマね

… I think am procrastinating anew. Or that I don’t know what to blog about first. Sometimes my indecisiveness breaks in likened unto a tide bashing a ship during squalls.

Will send another update tomorrow; but as an “assignment/homework” of sorts (such as all of you may have a glimpse beforehand of what I shall be talking about eventually), check this New Oxford Review post.

Ja mata ne.

I haven’t had my breakfast as of this writing so I think I’ll just have to save everything for later.

It isn’t easy to write whilst this soul pants for temporal satiation from physical hunger.

Indeed. To our beloved Pontiff, Pope Benedict XVI: May you fervently remain as Christ’s beacon of light in the world today, inspite of the so many threats to piety and sound doctrinal praxis.

{N.B. Sorry for not posting anything relevant, most importantly after that great feast of Easter–in the Latin Rite, of course. I have been so immersed in my demonstration teaching and interview during the past days and till now I suffer from such a withdrawal syndrome. OK. So please pray for me that I should truly move on past this melodrama… }

… when he descended into Hades after His death on the Cross.

quia et Christus semel pro peccatis mortuus est iustus pro iniustis ut nos offerret Deo mortificatus carne vivificatus autem spiritu in quo et his qui in carcere erant spiritibus veniens praedicavit qui increduli fuerant aliquando quando expectabat Dei patientia in diebus Noe cum fabricaretur arca in qua pauci id est octo animae salvae factae sunt per aquam

(Because Christ also died once for our sins, the just for the unjust: that he might offer us to God, being put to death indeed in the flesh, but enlivened in the spirit, In which also coming he preached to those spirits that were in prison: Which had been some time incredulous, when they waited for the patience of God in the days of Noe, when the ark was a building: wherein a few, that is, eight souls, were saved by water. )

1 Pet 3:18-20

Well it doesn’t pay to slack around or engage in mundane activities since, as Christians, these days are focused primarily on commemorating our redemption from perpetual condemnation. So, here’s something I want to share concerning these sacred days–courtesy of my good friend Carlos Antonio Palad of Rorate Caeli:

—

1) It is better to attend the liturgical actions of the Sacred Triduum than to go on pilgrimage to various churches. The ideal is to be able to do both, but if one must choose between attending the liturgical actions of these holiest days, and going on Visita Iglesia, the former is the better choice. The sacred liturgy is the official worship of the Church and is far superior and more pleasing to God than our private devotions, and it is through the liturgy that we enter upon the spirit of the season. If our goal in these holiest days is to be more conformed to Christ, then what better way to do so than to attend the liturgy and receive the Eucharist, by which our union to the Body of Christ is made more intense and complete?

By the way, the “Siete Palabras” is NOT a liturgical service, but a merely devotional one. If you have to choose between that and the Veneration of the Cross and Communion, please prefer the Veneration of the Cross and Communion.

2) When you go to confession and the priest does not mention the words of absolution when “absolving” you, gently but firmly insist that he recite at least the basic words of absolution (“I absolve you from your sins”). It is my personal experience that some priests use invalid formulae when giving sacramental absolution especially when there are many people, and since it is our spiritual welfare and salvation as Christ’s faithful that is endangered by this practice (which renders confession invalid), it is our duty to protest (but with charity). If the priest does not give you valid absolution, then you should repeat your confession to another priest. Remember: your eternal salvation might be at stake. God forbid that anyone who has something serious in his conscience should die after an invalid confession.

3) The Visita Iglesia is a much-misunderstood practice. It originated with Catholics visiting seven churches on Maundy Thursday to adore the Blessed Sacrament in the “altars of repose”. Traditionally, the number seven comes form the fact that, as of the year 1900, there were seven major churches in Intramuros – San Agustin (Augustinians), San Nicolas (Recoletos), San Ignacio (Jesuits), Santo Domingo (Dominicans), Nuestra Senora de Lourdes (Capuchins), San Francisco (Franciscans) and Manila Cathedral.

Obviously, the ideal time for Visita Iglesia is Maundy Thursday evening. If the Visita Iglesia is done this evening, then the focus should be on the Eucharist – after all, the Eucharist is especially placed in altars of repose during Maundy Thursday precisely so we will adore the Blessed Sacrament. If the Visita Iglesia is done on Good Friday morning (which is also possible), the Way of the Cross is more appropriate. In our devotions, let us not forget the meaning of the day and the mysteries of Christ commemorated on that day.

4) There is no substitute for fasting and abstinence on Good Friday, not even self-flagellation, rolling on the ground, having oneself literally crucified or walking in procession barefoot. God desires our obedience, not our self-willed penances. Other penances may be substituted for abstinence on the Fridays of Lent, but Good Friday is different, it and Ash Wednesday being the days of penance par excellence. Fasting means eating only one full meal a day (which itself should not equal more than one normal full meal – some people eat enough for three meals during this ‘one full meal’!), and two meals that do not equal a full meal, plus no snacks or merienda (although energy drinks, juices, coffee, chocolate and milk are fine). Abstinence means not eating meat – and that includes white meat or chicken meat (some people rationalize that meat refers only to red meat, or beef and pork).

Some people insist on snacking or eating meat because “it is so tiring to go on Visita Iglesia” during Good Friday. This rationalization begs the question: why go on “Visita Iglesia” only to use it as a reason not to practice penance? What is more important: to practice the little penance and self-denial that the Church asks us to do, or to go on “spiritual tourism”, eating and drinking to our heart’s content while hopping from one church to another?

Good Friday is a time for us to think of Christ crucified, not to use Christ as an excuse for our own little pleasures. At present, the Church requires Filipino Catholics to fast and abstain for only two days of the year. Is this too much? Is Christ so distant from our hearts that we cannot even bear to offer these little sacrifices to him? Then why even observe Holy Week? Without the spirit of penance, our Holy Week traditions are meaningless.

5) God is NOT DEAD on Good Friday and Black Saturday. When you hear someone make this claim (especially in and around Quiapo), explain to that person that Christ our God died once, but that He arose from the dead and is forever glorified in heaven. Holy water also doesn’t lose its holiness on Good Friday afternoon. If you buy amulets or practice black magic on Good Friday and Black Saturday as God won’t see your deeds because He is dead, rest assured that God knows what you are doing and will hold you to account for it.

6) Holy Saturday is not an excuse to go back to our sinful lives. Many malls and TV channels “go back to the usual programming” on this day. This is not commendable. We are supposed to be doing two things on Holy Saturday: mourn Christ, who was crucified by our sins, and prepare for the joy of Pascha (Easter). Traditionally, Catholics practiced fasting on Holy Saturday, although it is no longer required by Church law. Easter Sunday is the time for rejoicing, but so that our rejoicing with the Risen Lord will be complete, we must also seek to understand the bitterness of His Passion. For this, Holy Saturday is the perfect time.

Perhaps it does not help that since 1970, the ancient liturgical and devotional traditions of Holy Saturday have been laid aside and forgotten (even though they were never abolished by the Church). It is my prayerful hope that the day will come when such beautiful practices as Tenebrae, the “Mater Dolorosa” sermon and many others will be revived in our parishes and cathedrals to sanctify this day once more. Perhaps the “Soledad or Desolata Procession”, still practiced late at night on Good Friday in a few parishes, could be revived as well and done on Holy Saturday morning, in order to prevent Holy Saturday from turning into a vacuum of idleness.

7) The greatest and most important liturgical celebration of the Sacred Triduum, and of the entire liturgical year, is the Paschal or Easter Vigil. Please make the effort to attend every year or at least once every few years. Yes, it is very long (3-4 hours, depending on the musical settings used and the number of people baptized or confirmed), but it is truly worthwhile. After all, the season is about Christ’s triumph over death. Why observe the triumph, only to be absent from the victory celebration?

8 ) Many priests give their all during Holy Week. Please go out of your way to commend your parish priest once Holy Week is over. I know of priests who weep with joy when they see a lot of people attending the services of the Triduum – it shows just how much the Triduum means to them.

Have a blessed Holy Week Triduum to all.

I’ll be doing a couple of them perhaps later this evening then post them here. I just hope I won’t stay up too late as usual due to my work

The ever-reliable Fr. Zuhlsdorf, at last had put this up on his blog for all the world to see:

PHILIPPINES
Cardinal accused of disobeying Pope

Robert Mickens
In Rome

THE HEADof the Vatican’s Ecclesia Dei commission has reprimanded the Archbishop of Manila, Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales, for setting “unduly restrictive” conditions on use of the Tridentine Mass, [Again… update on the terms!  No one really says "Tridentine" anymore.] saying they were “in direct contradiction” to the wishes of Pope Benedict XVI.

“Your ‘Archdiocesan Guidelines’ are simply not acceptable as they stand and I ask you to reconsider them,” said the Ecclesia Dei president, Cardinal Darío Castrillón Hoyos, in a letter dated 6 March and seen by The Tablet this week. It said “guidelines allowing only a monthly Mass in a chapel of [the] Metropolitan Cathedral” were in violation of the norms established in the motu proprio, “Summorum Pontificum”, issued by the Pope in 2007 for the widespread use of the Tridentine Mass. [Get this…] Cardinal Castrillón said the papal decree was “part of the universal law of the Church” and could not be limited by the “particular law” of a diocesan bishop. [This is the part that the Pope’s enemies in this matter will really hate!] The Archdiocese of Manila ministers to more than 2.8 million Catholics.

“There is simply no legitimate reason why this [Tridentine] Mass cannot and should not be celebrated in any church or chapel of your archdiocese,” Cardinal Castrillón said in his letter to the Archbishop of Manila.

[Read closely…] He insisted that Cardinal Rosales actively promote the implementation of the motu proprio by “helping priests who are desirous to learn how to celebrate” the old rite Mass, which he said only required that the priest be “reasonably competent in Latin”, [which, as WDTPRS has been saying all along, means that the priest can pronounce the words properly.  We want more, of course, but that is the minimum.  And what is required is sufficiency, the minimum, not expertise.] and that there were faithful [no number set… and the coetus mentioned in the Motu Proprio might be very small indeed.] who wished to assist at its celebration. The Archdiocese of Manila published the Tridentine Mass guidelines on its website last year. But they were quickly removed when supporters of the old rite protested to Rome.

Rome has spoken. The PCED has spoken. And I might as well make my very own comments on these events very soon as I have lots of IT work to accomplish these days. Nonetheless, there needs be a sung Te Deum for this.

Deo Gratias.

{N.B: Original post by Fr. Zuhlsdorf here }