Home Sacramentals

08 Tuesday Jun 2021

Posted by Leanevdp in Catholic Home Life, Sacramentals

We pray the rosary here in the cold winter months. Our “home altar”. Gemma just happened to be in the background of this photo. 🙂

by Father Arthur Tonne, The Big Book of Catholic Sacramentals

“Unless the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that built it.” – Psalm 126:1.
Van Meter is just a small town in Iowa, but it boasts one of the finest rural homes in the entire state. It is the home built in 1940 by Bob Feller, pitching ace of the Cleveland Indians.

Although Fire-ball Feller was only 22 years old at the time, he already had made enough money to put up a $25,000 home for his father, mother and younger sister.
The building boasts every modern convenience–electrical equipment of all kinds, ventilating and heating systems, venetian blinds, casement windows, plenty of cupboards and drawers, ceiling-high bookcases, and especially an all-metal, all-electric kitchen.

There are gadgets galore, like a floor switch to call the maid, musical chimes, and an electric eye which automatically opens the garage door when a car comes up the driveway. All these conveniences are for the physical comfort of those who live there. They make house-keeping easier. They save time and energy.

Desirable and helpful as such gadgets are, we cannot help thinking that homes would be much more precious if the same effort were taken to provide spiritual helps and spiritual equipment.

From the material standpoint the home of Bob Feller is ideal. What is needed to make a home ideal from the spiritual standpoint?

The sacramentals of the home are varied and numerous. They help make home a holy place. They are not essential, but they contribute to spiritual health and vigor. Some of these sacramentals will receive a more complete treatment on other Sundays.

How make our homes holy?
1. There are several blessings for a home. One is given on the Epiphany, one on Holy Saturday. There is a common blessing that can be given a home at any time, and another special blessing for a new home.
The common blessing includes sprinkling the rooms with holy water, offering several short Bible verses, and reciting an appropriate prayer.
The blessing for a new house begs God to grant to those who live therein “the abundance of the dew of heaven, and food of the fatness of the earth, and let their desires and their prayers find fulfillment in Thy mercy.”

2. Of the numerous blessings of individuals we will speak on other Sundays. Let me merely mention them:
a. The Church blesses an expectant mother.
b. She blesses the mother after childbirth.
c. She blesses small children.
d. She has a blessing for an older child.
e. And still another for sick children.

3. Prayers in the home are important sacramentals:
a. Family prayer is the most helpful religious practice in the home. At some time each day parents and children should pray together. Some do this right after the evening meal, right at the table or kneeling beside it.
b. Individual morning and evening prayer should be an everyday practice. Let father and mother give the example and the reminder to their children.
c. Meal prayer should never be omitted. In addition to thanking God for the food and asking His blessing upon it, the meal prayer serves as a point of pause and spiritual refreshment in a busy day. It is good for the body as well as the soul.

4. Let me mention some other family devotions:
a. The Rosary does not take too long. Try it and discover the peace and powerful helps it will bring your family.
b. There are devotions for different seasons of the year; a crib at Christmas; a May altar; Sacred Heart prayers during June.
c. Remembering the feasts of patron saints of the different members of the family in some way, however small, is an inspiring practice.
d. Some little family celebration at spiritual milestones like First Communion, Confirmation, graduation from a Catholic school, is inspiring.

5. Each member of the family should have a prayer-book and a Rosary. Best of all is a missal. Keep these in a respectable place. Both children and adults should have medals, scapulars, Sacred Heart badges, and whatever helps spiritual life at home.

6. A Catholic home is marked with religious furnishings and adornment.
a. There should be a crucifix in every bedroom at least.
b. Somewhere in every home there should be at least one picture of our Lord and of our Blessed Mother.
c. There should be holy water, and, if possible, a holy water fount which is kept clean and filled, and honored with regular, reverent use.
d. There should be blessed candles.
e. There should be all the necessary equipment if a priest is called to bring Holy Communion or to assist the dying.
f. Many homes have a little altar, which serves as the center of family prayer, the meeting place for spiritual practices like the Rosary, May devotions, and Sacred Heart devotions.

Bob Feller’s home for his parents and sister may be ideal from the physical and material standpoint. Many a home is ideal from that viewpoint. But all too many homes are poorly equipped, miserably arranged from the spiritual standpoint.

The sacramentals will help to bring the thought of God into your little kingdom of love–your home. Do make yours an ideal home by using the sacramentals of Mother Church. Amen.

“Most women I know are busy. There are times when we take on too much. I’ve been there, and I’ll venture to guess that many of you have as well. That’s when it’s time to step back and take an inventory. Sit down and decide what needs to stay and where you need to cut back. Doing this means that we must be willing to make some sacrifices whether personal or financial in order to keep faith and family as our top two priorities, in that order.” Darlene Schacht, The Good Wife’s Guide, Painting by Marina Chulovich (1956)

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The rosary, scapulars, formal prayers and blessings, holy water, incense, altar candles. . . The sacramentals of the Holy Catholic Church express the supreme beauty and goodness of Almighty God. The words and language of the blessings are beautiful; the form and art of statues and pictures inspire the best in us. The sacramentals of themselves do not save souls, but they are the means for securing heavenly help for those who use them properly. A sacramental is anything set apart or blessed by the Church to excite good thoughts and to help devotion, and thus secure grace and take away venial sin or the temporal punishment due to sin. This beautiful compendium of Catholic sacramentals contains more than 60,000 words and over 50 full color illustrations that make the time-tested sacramental traditions of the Church – many of which have been forgotten since Vatican II – readily available to every believer.

“The more things change, the more they stay the same.” Published 80 years ago, this Catholic classic focuses on the Christian family and uses as its foundation the1929 encyclical “On Christian Education of Youth” coupled with the “sense of Faith.” Addressing family topics and issues that remain as timely now as they were when the guide was first published, “The Christian Home” succinctly offers sound priestly reminders and advice in six major areas…

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The Paschal Candle

07 Wednesday Apr 2021

Posted by Leanevdp in Sacramentals, Seasons, Seasons, Feast Days, etc.

≈ 1 Comment

Mater Dei, FSSP, Dallas, TX

From The Big Book of Catholic Sacramentals by Father Arthur Tonne

“I am the light of the world. He who follows me does not walk in the darkness, but will have the light.” – St. John, 8:12.

About forty miles west and a little south of Denver, Colorado, is the famous Gray’s Peak. It is over 14,000 feet high and is part of the Rocky Mountain Range. A traveler at the turn of the century described his experience in climbing that mountain.

He and his party started out early in the morning before the sun was up. He had heard so much of the glorious gorges, the snow-capped summits, the sparkling streams, the limpid waters of Green Lake, fringed with flowers of every hue and fragrance.

On they climbed, higher and higher, but the beauties he had hoped to behold, could not be seen. Heavy clouds, hanging low over the slopes, threw blankets of mist over the valleys below. He was disappointed, weary and chilled to the bone.

Suddenly he saw a golden shaft of light pierce the clouds. Soon the sun scattered the clouds entirely, uncovering crag and chasm, unveiling lake and stream, bathing the entire valley with a golden glow. As if by magic, darkness turned to light, cold to warmth, night to day.

The life of man is something like climbing a mountain. Especially is the life of a Catholic during Lent like climbing a misty mountain. It is desolate, chilling and wearying. But when the first light of the Easter Candle casts its Holy Saturday light into the darkness of Holy Week, we begin to see the beauties of our faith, we begin to see what Christ meant when He declared: “I am the light of the world.”

The Paschal Candle represents Christ, the Light of the world. Its wax is a “mysterious virginal production” of “the cleanly bees.” It represents the virginal flesh of Christ, formed in the virginal womb of His Mother Mary. The wick symbolizes His human soul; the flame shows forth His divine nature.

In the body of the candle you will notice five grains of incense–the five wounds of our Lord, arranged in the form of a cross. The grains of incense recall the spices used to prepare His sacred body for burial.

The blessing of the Paschal Candle on Holy Saturday morning is a strikingly beautiful ceremony. After the blessing of the new fire and the procession up the aisle to the sanctuary, during which the triple candle is lighted with the triple announcement to the world: “Lumen Christi”–“The Light of Christ,” the celebrant goes to the Epistle side of the altar.

The deacon takes the book, asks and receives a blessing, and then sings the glorious “Exultet” whose opening words give the theme and spirit of its message: “Let the angelic choirs of heaven rejoice.”

Toward the end of the Preface which follows, the deacon fixes the five blessed grains of incense in the Candle in the form of a cross. After asking the heavenly Father to accept the sacrifice of this incense, the deacon lights the Paschal Candle with one of the triple candles which had been lighted from the new fire using a taper to transfer the light. Then the lamps and candles on the altar are lighted.

The deacon sings on. Here is part of his song: “We beseech Thee, therefore, O Lord, that this candle, consecrated in honor of Thy name, may continue to burn to dissipate the darkness of this night. And being accepted as a sweet savor, may it be mixed with the lights of heaven. May the morning star find its flame alive; that star, which knows no setting, that star which returning from hell or limbo, shone serenely upon mankind.”

The column of wax has become an inspiring sacramental. Standing at the Gospel side of the altar, it puts us in mind of Christ, the Light of the world. Lighted first during the early morning darkness of Holy Saturday, it represents our divine Redeemer Himself, who was dead, but is now risen to a new life, never to die again.

The forty days during which we see the Paschal Candle in the sanctuary represent the forty days our Lord remained upon this earth after His resurrection, to further instruct and inspire His apostles and followers.

It is lighted at the solemn Mass and Vespers of Easter Sunday, and on all the Sundays to the Ascension. It is not to be lighted on other days or feasts within the Easter time, unless in churches where such a custom exists.

The custom most generally followed in the United States, though by no means universal, is to have the Paschal Candle burn on Sundays during Easter time at all the Masses and at Vespers.

With the coming of Ascension Thursday we behold a simple, stirring ceremony after the Gospel of the Mass, when the server extinguishes the Paschal Candle. Christ, whom it represents, has ascended into heaven.

Seldom is this waxen pillar entirely consumed before Ascension. In the early centuries the faithful secured small portions to keep in their homes as protection against evils of soul and body. From this pious practice the Agnus Dei took its origin.

Try to be present for the blessing of the Paschal Candle on Holy Saturday morning. Follow in your missal the beautiful ceremonies with which this emblem of Christ is set up in the sanctuary. Let the Paschal Candle keep continually before your mind that Christ is the Light of the world, Christ is the Light of your life.

There is so much darkness in the world. There is so much darkness in the minds and hearts of men. There is so much darkness in our lives–darkness of ignorance, darkness of unkindness, darkness of sin. Only Christ, the true Light, can dispel that darkness.

Climbing up to God is like climbing up a difficult mountain, like climbing up Gray’s Peak. Mists of misunderstanding and doubt and sadness oppress us. In such times of darkness turn to Christ, the true Light. Amen.

Introduce your children into the family’s prayers at the earliest age possible. As often as possible, say morning and night prayers or the Rosary with your children. Train them to take part in prayers before and after meals. In time of danger or sorrow, resort to prayer as the first and most important source of help and consolation. -Fr. Lawrence G. Lovasik. The Catholic Family Handbook http://amzn.to/2r8cxGP (afflink)

Son-in-law, Mike, and granddaughter, Agnes

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The Sign of the Cross

19 Tuesday Jan 2021

Posted by Leanevdp in Sacramentals

≈ 2 Comments

From The Big Book of Catholic Sacramentals by Father Arthur Tonne

“God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.” – Galatians, 6:14

In April of 1945 American artillery in the town of Siegburg, Germany, was shelling a nearby village, in which there were about 20 German soldiers. The natives were in constant danger of being hit by bullets from either side.

Toward evening of April 12 the people persuaded the German soldiers to cease fire. Next morning the village priest carried a white flag to the American outpost to inform the commander that the German soldiers had gone and the civilian population had no desire to resist further.

Instructions were given to fly white flags from all the houses. The question uppermost in the minds of the towns-people was: How will the Americans treat us? They had heard terrible tales of cruelty on the part of the Russians.

How would these conquerors act? The Americans began a thorough search for weapons and German soldiers. Two soldiers armed with pistols came to a certain three-room home. They stopped short in the living room before a hand-carved family altar.

Into the bedroom they went, to find there a beautiful crucifix. The soldiers noticed the cross. They stopped, took off their steel helmets, changed their automatics from right hand to left, and respectfully made the sign of the cross.

As a member of the family related, the members of that household feared no longer. Yes, the sign of the cross is the salute of the true follower of Christ whether he is conqueror or conquered, whether he is German, Chinese, American or Australian. It is the countersign of the Christian.

In particular, it is the special salute of the Catholic. The sign of the cross is one of the most important and one of the most frequently used of the sacramentals. It is the sacred sign first taught to the feeble fingers of the child at its mother’s knee; it is the sacred sign traced by the faltering fingers of the dying Catholic.

From birth to death it is the holy sign, the holy ceremony that continually reminds the Catholic of the source from which all spiritual blessings come–the cross.

The two most common forms of this sacramental are the large sign of the cross made by touching the forehead, the breast, and the left and right shoulders. The cross thus covers the body–at least the most important members–the head and heart.

The smaller sign of the cross is traced upon the forehead, lips, and breast.

Why do we make the sign of the cross?

~To remind us of the Blessed Trinity–Father, Son and Holy Ghost. We repeat their names.

~To remind us that the Son of God died on a cross for all men. Before Calvary it was a sign of disgrace. Christ made it a thing of glory and power.

~To stir up our faith. It recalls that God is one and God is three; it recalls that the Second Person of the Trinity died for all men; it professes our faith; it identifies the Catholic. That is why the family of our story felt so secure, so much safer, as soon as they saw those American soldiers make the sacred sign.

~To strengthen our hope. By making this sacred sign we express the hope that through the cross all blessings will come to us.

~To kindle and feed our charity. Making this sign recalls the limitless love of Him who died upon the cross. We determine to return love for love.

The uses of this sacred sign in the Catholic Church are practically without limit:

According to many our Lord and the Apostles used it. Many affirm that our Lord blessed the Apostles with the sign of the cross on the day of His Ascension. Certainly the early Christians used it constantly.

It is used in all the public worship of our Church:

a. The sign of the cross in some form or other is made about 54 times during Holy Mass.

b. It is used frequently in the Divine Office or daily prayer of the priest. iii. It is used in all blessings bestowed by bishop and priest.

c. It is used in all the sacraments: 14 times in Baptism; 17 times in Extreme Unction. Yes, even in the semi-darkness of the confessional the priest makes the sign of the cross over you.

d. It is used in everything blessed for the service of God–altars, linens, holy water, etc.

e. It is used frequently in personal devotions:

-In the morning and evening to seek God’s help.

-Before and after prayer, against distractions.

-Before and after meals, asking God’s blessing.

-In dangers of soul, like temptation and occasions of sin.

-In dangers of body like storms, sickness, travel.

-Before our chief actions and undertakings, to make them pleasing to God and to obtain God’s help in performing them properly.

Let me quote the instructive words of St. Gaudentius: “Let the sign of the cross be continually made on the heart, on the mouth, on the forehead, at table, at the bath, in bed, coming in and going out, in joy and sadness, sitting, standing, speaking, walking–in short, in all our actions. Let us make it on our breasts and all our members, that we may be entirely covered with this invincible armor of Christians.”

An indulgence of 100 days is granted for making the sign of the cross and saying the words. An indulgence of 300 days for making the sign of the cross, with holy water.

A love and devotion toward this sacred sign is the mark of a true follower of Christ. Just as it identified those two American soldiers as genuine Catholics, so the sign of the cross will identify you. Use it frequently, use it thoughtfully, use it lovingly. It will bring you countless blessings. Amen.

ANNOUNCEMENT!

Finer Femininity is taking an extended sabbatical from Facebook.

I am on MeWe if you would like to follow me there. This platform is a lot like Facebook but respects the privacy and the free speech of the user. Here is the link to my FF MeWe Page. Each day I add tidbits to inspire you on yourjourney. Come and be a part of our community!

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Scapulars

16 Thursday Jul 2020

Posted by Leanevdp in Sacramentals

≈ 2 Comments

Happy Feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel!

From The Big Book of Catholic Sacramentals by Father Arthur Tonne

“I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, and my soul shall be joyful in my God: for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation.” – Isaias, 61:10.

On July 21, 1906, Bill Reilly, an eighteen-year old Catholic soldier, was decorated by the President of the United States. He owes his decoration to the scapular which he wore constantly.

On the night of April 10 of the previous spring the two regiments of General Wood were resting after routing a band of Filipinos. After this short rest they were to resume the march.

They were already folding their tents, when a wounded horse galloped into the camp. They examined the animal and found under the saddle a message:

“Don’t depart before daybreak; the Filipinos are lying in ambush.”

General Wood took the advice. In the morning his men found fourteen of his messengers horribly mutilated. Among them was Bill Reilly. He was still living, though unconscious. His life had been spared by the Filipinos.

Why? About his neck Reilly wore his scapular. The Catholic Filipinos out of respect for the scapular spared his life. Reilly was thus enabled to get the message through that saved the entire regiment of 2,500 Americans.

The scapular is much more important as a means of saving souls. It is a popular and powerful sacramental.

The scapular is a badge of religious membership. It consists of two pieces of cloth, one of which is worn on the breast and the other on the back. The two pieces are joined by bands or strings passing over the shoulders. The word is derived from the Latin “scapula” which means shoulder-blade.

A scapular gives its wearer a share in the merits, prayers and spiritual benefits of the group whose badge it is. In some cases it makes the wearer a sort of lay member of some great religious order.

In some religious orders like the Benedictines and Carmelites an outer or additional garment is worn. It is called a scapular. It is a long, wide piece of cloth hanging from the shoulders before and behind to the shoe tops.

In the Middle Ages devout lay people were allowed to become oblates of these orders. That meant they remained in the world but assisted in many of the monastic services and shared in the benefits of the order. As a pledge of this privilege they were permitted to wear the scapular.

With time, and for convenience, this was made smaller. Today we have the large and small scapular. The former is about 5 by 2-1/2 inches and is worn, for example, by the world-wide Third Order of St. Francis.

The small scapular is about 2 by 2-1/2 inches. The scapular of Mount Carmel is about that size.

There are many general regulations with regard to the wearing of this spiritual garment:

The scapular may be given to any Catholic, even to a baby.
It may be given in any place, even in a sick room.
It must be worn in such a way that one part hangs on the breast, the other part on the back. Over the shoulders must be bands connecting the two pieces of cloth. If worn or carried in any other way, the indulgences are not gained. It may be worn under or over all the clothing, or between the under and outer clothing.
When a person has been invested, it is not necessary to bless a new scapular in case the old one is worn out or lost. The wearer simply secures a new one and puts it on. However, one can have it blessed.
The scapular must be worn constantly to share in certain spiritual benefits. Putting it aside for a short time, like an hour or a day, will not deprive of the blessings. If put off for a longer time, one loses all the benefits during that time.

There are about sixteen approved scapulars. The more common are the white, representing the Most Holy Trinity; the red, emblematic of the Passion of our Lord; the brown or Mount Carmel scapular in honor of our Blessed Mother; the black, in honor of the Seven Sorrows of Mary; the blue of the Immaculate Conception; the brown of the Franciscan Third Order.

Aptly has the scapular been called “The Queen’s Uniform.”

If earthly kings and queens honor their deserving subjects by investing them in special orders and companies, if membership in these orders carries with it special privileges and the right to wear the distinctive badge of that group, and if that badge or uniform is respected by all the king’s men and all the queen’s women, surely it is most proper and reasonable that the glorious Queen of heaven and earth, our Blessed Mother, should have special groups of her faithful children on earth who become members officially and thus obtain the right to many spiritual privileges and the right to wear some distinctive garb.

Some idea of the favors possible can be gathered from the prayer as the priest invests with the scapular of Mount Carmel:

“Receive this blessed habit; praying the most holy Virgin that by her merits thou mayest wear it without stain; and that she may guard thee from all evil, and bring thee to life everlasting….

By the power granted me, I admit thee to the participation of all the spiritual good works, which through the gracious help of Jesus Christ are performed by the Religious of Mount Carmel….

May the Creator of heaven and earth. Almighty God, bless (cross) thee; who hath deigned to unite thee to the confraternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel.

We beseech her, in the hour of thy death, to crush the head of the old serpent; so that thou mayest in the end win the everlasting palm and crown of the heavenly inheritance. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.”

May many of you be like Bill Reilly. May you wear the Queen’s uniform–the scapular–faithfully and thoughtfully. May it be a means of many graces, the means also of the greatest grace everlasting life. Amen.

For some good FAQ’s on the scapular visit this post.

In this special month dedicated to Our Lady and her Rosary, let us keep the Blessed Mother’s statue or her picture in the living room daily decorated with fresh flowers and candles.
We can add one or the other prayer, mornings and nights, such as the “Salve Regina “or the “Memorare” or the “Magnificat.” It is traditional throughout the Catholic world to sing hymns in honor of Mary the Mother of God. -Maria von Trapp http://amzn.to/2xI9Osf (afflink)

“The one expenditure necessary for families who would grow in the love and knowledge of the Church is books. These sometimes seem to be entirely out of reach, until we reassess our values and compare how much we spend to feed the bodies, which will one day be dust, and how little to feed the minds, which will live forever. It is worth sacrificing to buy books.” –Mary Reed Newland, The Year and Our Children

Do you need some good reading suggestions? Visit My Book List….

Financial Distress? There Is an Answer…. The Infant of Prague

28 Thursday May 2020

Posted by Leanevdp in FF Tidbits, Sacramentals

≈ 4 Comments

In the following excerpt the Infant of Prague is called the Patron of Financial Distress. Yes He is…and He helps in so many other ways, too!

After 30 years of here and there wishing for a lovely statue of the Infant of Prague, hubby ran across one at an estate sale! Imagine that! And with all the colorful gowns and 2 crowns! What a find!

It is not the statue, of course, that makes this devotion possible. It is our heart’s devotion, the prayers we say to Him…AND He does especially help with finances! Who, in their married life, doesn’t need help with finances at some time or other?

Here He is watching over things for the summer on top of our covered wood stove (bottom photo is this year.) I go to Him for many things and when there is an urgent need (and I find that those come up often in a big family) I will do the 9 hour Infant of Prague Emergency Novena.

I am including that novena at the end of this post. We have so much amazing help at our fingertips….POWERFUL help! And that is why I am sharing this with you….we all need help. And many times, it can be financial…which is a true stress!

So….turn to the Infant of Prague in your needs. And if you can find a small statue somewhere (we have a smaller, very nice one that was given to us by a friend and that we use also…pictured below), spend the money on it, get it blessed and put it in a place of honor. He will take care of you!

Quote: “The more you honor me the more I shall bless you.”

Following excerpt From https://novena.com/2017/01/06/january-novena-app-situations-financial-distress-the-infant-of-prague/

Invoked against: Financial Distress
Explanation of imagery..
Crown: Jesus is King of the World
Raised right hand: blessing
Imperial Orb: The entire world is in his hand.

Honoring the Infant of Prague is a tradition that is kept in many homes throughout the world as some believe that it guarantees financial stability and abundance. There are several novenas to the Infant of Prague, one reflecting the intensity of an emergency situation, is to be done in one day’s time, the prayer said once every hour for nine hours in a row.

Devotion to Christ as a young child dressed as a king has its roots in the Carmelite order of Spain. According to tradition, in 1555, Saint Teresa of Avila gave a statue of the Christ child, dressed in actual royal robes to a noblewoman who was marrying into an aristocratic family in Bohemia.

Taking it with her to what is now the city of Prague, her daughter, the Princess Polysena inherited it. In 1623, Princess Polysenia was widowed and chose to devote the rest of her life to charitable causes.

When she saw the need that the poverty stricken Carmelite order had, she donated the statue to them, saying, “I give you my dearest possession. As long as you venerate this image, you will not lack anything.”

The monks credited this image with the immediate upturn of their fortunes. When they were forced out of their monastery due to a war in 1631, they left the statue behind and the invading army threw it in a rubbish heap.

Within seven years the Carmelites were back in their monastery in Prague, desperately attempting to rebuild it. One monk, Father Cyril, who had a particularly strong devotion to the Divine Infant found the little wax statue among the rubble. The only damage done to the statue was its crushed hands.

It was decided that the scarce funds the community had should go to more practical things than the repair of a statue. As the monks struggled to rebuild their former home and church, Father Cyril heard the words: “Have pity on me and I will have pity on you. Give me my hands and I shall give you peace.”

After the statue was repaired, the monks again displayed it in the main church. As the city of Prague suffered an epidemic, parishioners began invoking the little statue for aid. The quick answer to their prayers brought many in the surrounding region to seek help.

Gradually, the devotion spread to many other countries.

Today, the church in Prague built to hold the statue, Our Lady of Victory, is a site of pilgrimage with visitors from all over the world paying their respects to the Divine Infant.

Nine Day Novena to the Infant of Prague

O Infant Jesus, I run to You, begging You through Your Holy Mother to save me in this need (you may name it here), for I truly and firmly believe that Your Divinity can defend me. Full of trust I hope in You to obtain Your holy grace. I love You with all my heart, I am painfully sorry for my sins and on my knees I beg You, o Little Jesus, to free me from them.

My resolution is to improve and never more to offend You. Therefore, I offer myself to You, ready to suffer everything for You and to serve You faithfully. I will love my neighbour as myself from my heart for the love of You.

O Little Jesus, I adore You, o Mighty Child, I implore You, save me in this need (you can mention it here), that I may enjoy You eternally, with Mary and Joseph see You and with all the angels adore You.
Amen

You must make every effort to develop the quality of your home life. If you cherish spiritual values, you will bind together domestic ties, for, as a parent, you play a leading part in rebuilding the ideals of a nation through its home and civic life. To a large degree, you form human character. -Fr. Lawrence G. Lovasik. The Catholic Family Handbook https://amzn.to/2JY52YS (afflink)

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The Blessing of Things

24 Friday Jan 2020

Posted by Leanevdp in Sacramentals

≈ 2 Comments

From The Big Book of Sacramentals, Fr. Arthur Tonne

“And I will make them a blessing round about my hill: and I will send down the rain in its season, there shall be showers of blessings.” – Ezechiel, 34:26.

One of the most impressive and picturesque pageants of the South is the Blessing of the Shrimp Fleet, held each year at the beginning of the shrimp-seining season. (Definition of haul seine: a long net for commercial fishing one end of which is usually attached to the land and the other run around a school of fish which are then drawn ashore.)

The ceremony is held in late July or early August. Hundreds of shrimpers and oystermen who live and labor along the beautiful bayous and bays of Louisiana bring their ships to some central point for the blessing of Mother Church. Continue reading →

Churching of Women

17 Friday Jan 2020

Posted by Leanevdp in Sacramentals

≈ 9 Comments

From The Big Book of Sacramentals

“I will multiply thy sorrows, and thy conceptions: in sorrow shalt thou bring forth children.” Genesis. 3:16.

Queen Victoria of England was one day visiting some soldiers who had been wounded in South Africa. One young man, broken by shot and shell, deeply distressed her. “Is there anything, son, that I can do for you?” she asked in her motherly way.

“Nothing, Your Majesty,” answered the soldier, “unless you would thank my nurse for her kindness to me.”

The queen turned to the nurse and with tears in her eyes said warmly: “With all my heart I do want to thank you for your kindness to this poor, wounded son of mine.”

What a delicate and beautiful sense of gratitude on the part of that young man! He forgot himself. He thought only of giving pleasure and praise to the woman who was waiting on him so faithfully.

It is with an even more delicate and charming sense of gratitude and self-forgetfulness that a Catholic mother comes to church after the birth of her child to ask the blessing of the priest and to thank God for her safe delivery.

Every mother is a soldier. Like a soldier she endures heroically the discomforts of child-bearing. Like a soldier she sacrifices the unimportant for the great task that is hers. Like a soldier she goes down into the valley of suffering, even into the valley of death, ready and willing to give life itself to perform her duty.

One would think that all the gratitude should be given her. Yet, though we honor mothers for what they have done and endured, it is mother herself who realizes her debt of gratitude to Almighty God for the high honor which He has given her.

All the peoples of the world kept a memory of the sentence of suffering which God pronounced on the first mother and all mothers: “I will multiply thy sorrows, and thy conceptions; in sorrow shalt thou bring forth children.”

Among the Jews it was ceremonial law that a woman was considered unclean after childbirth, because woman had been the first to transgress the law of God. Sin came through a woman, Eve; redemption came through a woman, Mary.

Churching is an outgrowth and perfection of the Mosaic rite. However, there are essential differences.

The Jewish rite presumed legal defilement; the Catholic ceremony presumes honorable motherhood. The Jewish rite was necessary before a mother could assist at religious services; the Christian rite is an act of thanksgiving. The Jewish rite was of obligation; the Catholic ceremony does not bind even under pain of venial sin.

In a spirit of humility, and because Mary did it, Christian women of the early centuries began to ask the blessing of the priest, began to make their first visit to the altar one of thanksgiving for a safe delivery.

This blessing may be given only to those whose children were born in lawful wedlock. The Church urges, but does not oblige, mothers to receive it. The mother need not bring her child with her; many do.

The blessing may be given to those whose baby died, even without Baptism. Ordinarily the pastor or his representative has the right to give this blessing.

Churching may take place wherever Mass can be celebrated.

The woman shall kneel at the door of church, holding a lighted candle. In surplice and white stole the priest sprinkles her with holy water, and recites the twenty-third psalm. He presents her the end of his stole which hangs from his left shoulder, which she takes with her right hand.

They march up to the altar, as the priest prays: “Enter into the temple of God, adore the Son of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who has given thee fruitfulness of offspring.”

After certain verses and responses, and the Our Father, the priest offers this prayer: “Almighty, everlasting God, who through the delivery of the Blessed Virgin Mary hast changed the pains of childbirth into joy, look mercifully on this Thy handmaid, who comes in gladness to Thy temple to offer thanksgiving; and grant that, after this life, through the merits and intercession of the same Blessed Mary, she may be found worthy to attain, together with her offspring, to the joys of everlasting happiness. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.”

In the United States the priest does not generally meet the woman at the church door, but at the altar rail. He stands at the inner side of the railing to perform the ceremony. Often more than one woman is blessed at the same time.

The churching of women is done in imitation of the Blessed Virgin who presented herself in the temple for purification. Mary made an offering at that time. It is customary, though not necessary, to make one at the time of churching.

Many priests turn the money back to the mother with the words: “Get something for the baby.”

Our Blessed Mother is interested in all mothers. You mothers want to be as much like Mary as possible. Like her go to God’s temple and receive the blessing of Mother Church on yourself and your child.

What a contrast between the woman who shuns childbirth, the woman who shuns by sinful means her sublime dignity of motherhood, what a contrast between her and the woman who has her baby and then asks God to bless her joy and her privilege.

What a contrast between the woman who complains against God when He asks her to share in His powers of creation, and the woman who comes to thank God for that high honor.

You guess which of the two will be more favored of God in this life, and especially which of the two will be more favored of God in the life to come. Amen.

What is our conversation like each day, especially with the members of our family? Do we continually talk about depressing news, do we regularly voice our negative opinions about the people and situations around us? Do we talk about our own sufferings and our needs in a complaining manner? How about a different approach? Let’s talk about the positive instead. If we are talking of people, let’s make the effort to only bring up the good. Want to talk about heroes? Our grandparents, parents, ordinary folk and how they have overcome obstacles would be a good testimony to your kids. We all have stories to tell….make sure they are bringing out the best in those who are listening! – Finer Femininity 💖

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I have prepared this Lenten journal to help you to keep on track. It is to assist you in keeping focused on making Lent a special time for your family. We do not have to do great things to influence those little people. No, we must do the small things in a great way…with love and consistency…

Timeless words from the pen of Bishop Fulton J. Sheen inspire the heart and imagination as readers embark on a Lenten journey toward a better understanding of their spiritual selves. Covering the traditional themes of Lent–sin and salvation, death and Resurrection, sorrow and hope, ashes and lilies–these 50 passages and accompanying mini-prayers offer readers a practical spiritual program as a retreat from the cares and concerns of a secular world view.
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The Meaning and Beauty of Candles

09 Thursday Jan 2020

Posted by Leanevdp in Sacramentals, Seasons, Seasons, Feast Days, etc.

≈ 2 Comments

by Father Arthur Tonne, 1950’s

“It was the true light that enlightens every man who comes into the world.” St. John, 1:9.

The story of Erna Bilkau and her so-called Mystic Candles is a tragic yet triumphant one.

Born in Russia, she moved to Germany, where she married a German boy. They honeymooned in America, learning to love the land of hope and freedom. Back in Germany she was separated a few years later from her husband by the war. With her two-year-old son she fled to America.

She was making a modest living for herself and her son when he suddenly became seriously ill and passed away at the age of thirteen. The shock almost drove the mother insane.

For months she walked the streets every night, peeking with aching agony into homes where there were children. Friends tried to console her. To no avail. At last she took refuge with God. She knelt by her bed, and with folded hands asked the Almighty to assist her.

Peace and courage came with her prayer. She put up a crudely constructed altar to the memory of her dead boy, and put upon it two lighted candles. They seemed to give her new hope.

The candles, however, burned down too quickly. She recalled some secrets of candle-making learned from her father. She experimented until she developed a candle that would burn down the center and not burn the outer shell. It gave off a strange mystical glow. She called them her Mystic Candles.

A young couple across the street accepted a few of the candles and found in them the courage to make up the differences that were slowly driving them to divorce. Others wanted candles like them. Others found peace and quiet and courage in having those candles in their homes.

She was swamped with orders. A thriving business developed. In this work she found a release from her overwhelming grief.

Today thousands find inspiration and help in the Mystic Candles of Erna Bilkau, the mother who lost a son.

Inspiring as this story may be, it pales before the ageless, world-wide story of the Catholic candle, which you see glowing upon our altars, which you see in every sacrament except Confession.

Allow me to point out that the candle is one of the oldest and most widely used sacramentals in the Church. It is one of the richest religious symbols or instruments used to express spiritual ideas.

What does the candle mean? Why do we use them? The wax, produced by virgin worker bees, is a beautiful figure of the pure body of Christ, born of the Virgin Mary. The wick represents the soul of Christ; the flame represents His divinity, the fact that He was God.

The lighted candle reminds us of Christ’s gospel, the Holy Bible, which dispels the darkness of sin and ignorance; the lighted candle also stands for the Church of the living God, the pillar and ground of truth.

For the individual Christian the candle’s flame means the faith that makes us “children of the light”; its warmth and heat show us the fiery tongues of Pentecost, “which does not consume but enlightens.”

When given to the Church, candles signify Christian self-sacrifice. As the burning taper consumes itself, so the Christian should burn up his energies in serving God.

Photo of the Oxford Oratory

Light is one of the most fitting and appropriate symbols of God, who is absolutely pure light. Light is pure in itself; light penetrates long distances and into farthest corners; light moves with unbelievable speed; light awakens and nourishes life in the organic kingdom; light brightens with its brilliance all that comes within its influence.

Holy Scripture makes frequent use of this symbolic meaning:

a. The wisdom of the Son is spoken of as “the brightness of his glory.” Hebrews 1:3. b. And the psalmist exclaims: “Thou art clothed with light as with a garment.” Psalm 103:2.

Light also represents the mission of our divine Lord upon earth. The prophet Isaias (9:2) calls Christ a great light and foretells that “to them that dwelt in the region of the shadow of death light is risen.” The saintly Simeon declared that He is “a light to the revelation of the Gentiles, and the glory of Thy people Israel.” To this St. John added that Christ “was the true light that enlightens every man who comes into the world.” St. John, 1:9.

And Christ says of Himself, “I am the light of the world.” St. John, 8:12.

Lights are also symbols of respect. They are used on occasions when we wish to show more than ordinary deference to distinguished personages or to holy things. Even the pagans used lights to show honor to their gods and to prominent personages.

The Catholic Church uses blessed beeswax candles at the administration of all the sacraments that are given publicly, except Confession and in private Baptism, when only water is available.

She uses them at Mass and Benediction and in other church services like blessings and processions. She gives a lighted candle to the newly baptized with these solemn words: “Receive this burning light so as to keep thy Baptism without blame. Keep the commandments of God, so that when our Lord shall come to His nuptials thou mayest meet Him together with all the saints….”

And when that Christian is dying we place a candle in his hand.

It is not that we need their light, although in the early centuries that was their practical use, in the catacombs, in the caves and underground passages where the first Catholics had to conduct their services.

Mother Church has a higher and a deeper reason than that. She uses every possible means for raising our minds to heaven. Among the sacramentals the candle is outstanding.

We love to look at a candle and see in its soft white wax the pure flesh of our Infant Savior. We see the wick penetrating the wax, and representing the soul of Christ.

Let our candles be true spiritual inspirations to us, even more than the candles of Erna Bilkau were to her friends. Have them in your home. Use them in times peaceful and times perturbed. They represent the true light of the world. Amen.

“The difference between this child and that one is often largely a matter of what he saw in and heard from his parents. His religious response, his sense of honesty, his ability to play with other children and be unselfish toward them, his attitude toward books, his appreciation of the beautiful, his sense of what is right and what is wrong, his quick apprehending of the charming and noble, his ready reaction to music that is good, his approval of heroism and his rejection of evil and cheapness – all these things need to be established in the child’s mind by the parents, who alone can deeply and strong-rootedly establish them!” – Fr. Daniel A. Lord, 1950’s

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Why do we call Christmas songs carols? And is the Christmas tree a pagan symbol? Were there really three kings? These questions and so many others are explored in a way that is scholarly and yet delightful to read. Enjoy learning about the history of the many Christmas traditions we celebrate in this country!

Why do we wear our best clothes on Sunday? What was the Holy Ghost Hole in medieval churches? How did a Belgian nun originate the Feast of the Blessed Sacrament? Where did the Halloween mask and the jack-o’-lantern come from?

Learn the answer to these questions, as well as the history behind our traditional celebration of Thanksgiving, in this gem of a book by Father Weiser.

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Scapulars

20 Sunday Oct 2019

Posted by Leanevdp in Sacramentals

≈ 4 Comments