St Raphael (Kalinowski) of St Joseph

19 November. Read more about this inspiring Polish Carmelite saint here and here ...

St Gertrude the Great

A Prayer by St. Gertrude May my soul bless you, O Lord God my Creator, may my soul bless you. From the very core of my being may all your merciful gifts sing your praise. You generous care for your daughter has been rich in mercy; indeed it has been immeasurable, and as far as I am able I give you thanks. More at Me monk. Me meander.

Redemptive Suffering

I've just finished reading Pope John Paul's Salvifici Doloris (On the Christian Meaning of Human Suffering) but, for some reason, found it a bit unsettling and ultimately unsatisfying. Yes, lots of good stuff there but... So ... I looked elsewhere ... And, lo and behold, as though a bolt from heaven, I read the following entries in St Faustina's absolutely wonderful Diary: 342. Suffering is the greatest treasure on earth; it purifies the soul. In suffering we learn who is our true friend. 343. True love is measured by the thermometer of suffering. Jesus, I thank You for the little daily crosses, for opposition to my endeavours, for the hardships of communal life, for the misinterpretations of my intentions, for humiliations at the hands of others, for the harsh way in which we are treated, for false suspicions, for poor health and loss of strength, for self-denial, for dying to myself, for lack of recognition in everything, for the upsetting of all my plans Thank You, Jesus, for interior sufferings, for dryness of spirit, for terrors, fears and incertitudes, for the darkness and the deep interior night, for temptations and various ordeals, for torments too difficult to describe, especially for those which no one will understand, for the hour of death with its fierce struggle and all its bitterness. I thank You, Jesus, You who first drank the cup of bitterness before You gave it to me, in a much milder form. I put my lips to this cup of Your holy will. Let all be done according to Your good pleasure; let that which Your wisdom ordained before the ages be done to me. I want to drink the cup to its last drop, and not seek to know the reason why. In bitterness is my joy, in hopelessness is my trust. In You, O Lord, all is good, all is a gift of Your paternal Heart. I do not prefer consolations over bitterness or bitterness over consolations, but thank You, O Jesus, for everything! It is my delight to fix my gaze upon You, O incomprehensible God! My spirit abides in these mysterious dwelling places, and there I am at home. I know very well the dwelling place of my Spouse. I feel there is not a single drop of blood in me that does not burn with love for You. O Uncreated Beauty, whoever comes to know You once cannot love anything else. I can feel the bottomless abyss of my soul, and nothing will fill it but God Himself. I feel that I am drowned in Him like a single grain of sand in a bottomless ocean.

December 20, 1934.

Dancin' Doughboy

And on the lighter side of things, you can now design your very own dance for the Pillsbury Doughboy: Dancin' Doughboy

On the Ascension

[In the Ascension] Christ has raised the image of Adam: You are not simply dirt; you extend over all cosmic dimensions up to the heart of God. Christ's Ascension is the rehabilitation of man. ... Christ's Ascension is therefore not a spectacle for the disciples but an event in which they themselves are included. It is a sursum corda, a movement toward the above into which we are all called. It tells us that man can live toward the above, that he is capable of attaining heights. More: the altitude that alone is suited to the dimension of being human is the altitude of God himself. Man can live at this height, and only from this height do we properly understand him. The image of man has been raised up, but we have the freedom to tear it down or to let ourselves be raised. We do not understand man when we ask only where he comes from. We understand him only when we ask where he can go. Only from this height is his essence really illuminated. ... Indeed, faith does teach us the memory of the Cross and of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. But this memory is not subversive. It reminds us certainly that the image of Adam has fallen, but it reminds us above all that this image has been raised up again and that even as fallen ever remains the image of God's beloved creature. Pope Benedict XVI: Images of Hope (Ignatius Press)

Monks of Papa Stronsay

St Martin of Tours

Iste Conféssor Dómini coléntes quem pie láudant pópuli per orbem, Hac die laetus méruit suprémos laudis honóres. Qui pius, prudens, húmilis, pudícus, sóbriam duxit sine labe vitam, donec humános animávit aurae Spíritus artus. Cujus ob praestans méritum frequénter aegra quae passim jacuére membra, víribus morbi dómitis, salúti restituúntur. Noster hinc illi chorus obsequéntem cóncinit láudem celebrésque palmas, ut piis eius précibus juvémur omne per aevum. Sit salus illi, decus atque virtus qui super caeli sólio corúscans, totíus mundi sériem gubérnat, Trinus et Unus. Amen.

The Ottaviani Intervention

From the famous "Letter from Cardinals Ottaviani and Bacci to His Holiness Pope Paul VI - September 25th, 1969" pleading for the Pope not to promulgate the Novus Ordo Mass: Most Holy Father, Having carefully examined, and presented for the scrutiny of others, the Novus Ordo Missae prepared by the experts of the Consilium ad exequendam Constitutionem de Sacra Liturgia, and after lengthy prayer and reflection, we feel it to be our bounden duty in the sight of God and towards Your Holiness, to put before you the following considerations: 1. The accompanying critical study of the Novus Ordo Missae, the work of a group of theologians, liturgists and pastors of souls, shows quite clearly in spite of its brevity that if we consider the innovations implied or taken for granted which may of course be evaluated in different ways, the Novus Ordo represents, both as a whole and in its details, a striking departure from the Catholic theology of the Mass as it was formulated in Session XXII of the Council of Trent. The "canons" of the rite definitively fixed at that time provided an insurmountable barrier to any heresy directed against the integrity of the Mystery. 2. The pastoral reasons adduced to support such a grave break with tradition, even if such reasons could be regarded as holding good in the face of doctrinal considerations, do not seem to us sufficient. The innovations in the Novus Ordo and the fact that all that is of perennial value finds only a minor place, if it subsists at all, could well turn into a certainty the suspicions already prevalent, alas, in many circles, that truths which have always been believed by the Christian people, can be changed or ignored without infidelity to that sacred deposit of doctrine to which the Catholic faith is bound for ever. Recent reforms have amply demonstrated that fresh changes in the liturgy could lead to nothing but complete bewilderment on the part of the faithful who are already showing signs of restiveness and of an indubitable lessening of faith. Amongst the best of the clergy the practical result is an agonising crisis of conscience of which innumerable instances come to our notice daily. 3. We are certain that these considerations, which can only reach Your Holiness by the living voice of both shepherds and flock, cannot but find an echo in Your paternal heart, always so profoundly solicitous for the spiritual needs of the children of the Church. It has always been the case that when a law meant for the good of subjects proves to be on the contrary harmful, those subjects have the right, nay the duty of asking with filial trust for the abrogation of that law. Therefore we most earnestly beseech Your Holiness, at a time of such painful divisions and ever-increasing perils for the purity of the Faith and the unity of the church, lamented by You our common Father, not to deprive us of the possibility of continuing to have recourse to the fruitful integrity of that Missale Romanum of St. Pius V, so highly praised by Your Holiness and so deeply loved and venerated by the whole Catholic world.

Full text here...

Miracles

Br Alexis Bugnolo has an interesting essay on the nature of miracles - focussed on their use as proofs of holiness - at The Scholasticum...

A "Statement of Common Goals"

From True Restoration - "The Restoration of Christian Culture and the Kingship of Our Lord Jesus Christ" A brief summary:

1. We adhere fully to the ceremonies of the Traditional liturgy and the sacraments of the Roman Rite as they were prior to any changes of the Second Vatican Council...
2. We completely and utterly reject as inimical to our sensus Catholicus the Novus Ordo Missae of 1970...
3. We refuse to simplify the current crisis to a matter of the Liturgy. To be sure, it is a central part of the crisis, but it is not “just about the Mass.” We know that this battle is not with flesh and blood, but against evil spirits (Ephesians VI 12)...
4. We propose then, as an ideal, not as a norm, a return to the land as a physical help to our spiritual selves...
5. We demand that men be men and women be women...
6. We want to live as Catholics, purely and simply, and know that the Mass alone gives us Our Lord Jesus Christ, but without sanctifying and buttressing structures, our faith may be choked “by the weeds.” (Matthew XIII 7) We propose to restore Christian Culture and civilizations one day and one square yard at a time. We completely reject the television and recreation that stews in unreality, like excessive use of the internet or certain video media, and propose a return to modesty and dignity in dress, demeanour, and comportment...