Stunning video of Cardinal Bergoglio on the Holy Eucharist

And I mean stunning because thus far in this pontificate, I have yet to hear anything with this level of clarity. I'm not saying now Pope Francis now doesn't hold these teachings to be true, only that his level of obfuscation has obviously lead to confusion and turmoil.  What I would give to hear this as his Holy Thursday homily.


HT Steve Skojec

St. Josemaría Escrivá, ora pro nobis!

Escrivá conceived the Mass as the "Source and summit of the Christian's interior life," a terminology which was later used by the Second Vatican Council.[16]

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Also Happy 15th Anniversary of the priesthood to a friend.

Franciscans of Christian Charity recall 1913 Annunciation Feast Flood Miracle

As we dream of warmer weather to encourage melting of snow in some areas of the country, Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity recently found an archival account of a flood in Delaware, OH in 1913. Sister Mary Paul Vollmer recounts this terrifying, yet miraculous story.

March 25, 1913

On the early morning of about 2 a.m. on March 25, 1913, the Sisters missioned at St. Mary’s Convent in Delaware, OH were awakened by the sound of mighty, rushing waters, namely, Sisters Rose, Patricia, Hortense, Cleopha, Theresa, Leocadia, Agnella and Marcella rose from their beds, found themselves groping about in darkness, as all electricity had been cut off, looked outside and saw their convent and neighboring homes surrounded by water. Later, they learned the cause. Ice blocks had jammed against a railroad bridge over the Olétangy river causing the water to back up and flood their section of the city. One of the Sisters descended the stairs leading to the first floor intending to get to the telephone to call for help but could not enter as the entire first floor was fast filling with water. The Sisters quickly dressed and knelt in a group earnestly imploring God for help to save them. Occasionally they took trips to the top of the stairs to see how far the water was progressing. To their dismay they could see it rising, step by step. As they found themselves trapped they began to prepare for death, death by drowning. Several anxious hours were spent thus, praying and imploring God’s help and that of the Blessed Mother, it being the feast day of the Annunciation.

As they continued their prayers they could hear the furniture on the first floor bang against the walls and ceiling below them. They were very much concerned about the Blessed Sacrament in repose in their chapel on the first floor. [Even facing death, beautiful!] They knew their elderly pastor Father Philip Style would not have been able to get into the building.

continue at Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity

Holy Communion to the Sick

Source

“A priest is mysterious, he lives in two worlds. He is at his best when he leads a double life, at once both human and divine. No life is more adventurous, for at every moment, like the trapeze artist, he is swinging between time and eternity.” Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen (Those Mysterious Priests)

HT Diemish

"How odd Moses must have looked, on his face, in front of shrubbery."

Fr. Eric Sternberg of St. Paul's University Catholic Center posted a recording of his homily from yesterday's 9 PM Mass for the Third Sunday of Lent: "On Detachment and the Holy Eucharist." (duration: 11'58")

An excerpt, which touches on the first reading (Moses and the burning bush):

Russian icon of the
Theotokos "Burning Bush"

How odd Moses must have looked, on his face, in front of shrubbery.

Eucharistic Monstrance
Our Lady of the Sign–Ark of Mercy,
St. Stanislaus Church, Chicago

How odd you and I must look, on our knees, for a "little piece of bread." It's silly! You can't get your head around it. Either we have faith in it—or you have to mock it! There's no other choice.

To have faith in it is to admit: I comprehend only a little; I sing, but not all the notes; I speak, but I don't know all the words; I feel, but not all the beatings of the heart. There is some that is left only for you, Lord, only for you.

My wife remarked, "I'm so glad that Bishop Morlino understood how important it is to post solid, intellectually meaty young priests on campus." I agree.

RomeReports: Cardinal Raymond Burke writes book on the Eucharist: 'Divine Love Made Flesh'

StlR: Cardinal Burke's first book connects everyday life with the Eucharist

A new booked penned by Cardinal Raymond Burke, expected to be available in the United States by late May, will shed light on a practical understanding of the core of the Catholic faith -- the Eucharist.

Drawing on the timeless teachings of Blessed John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, "Divine Love Made Flesh: The Holy Eucharist as the Sacrament of Charity," (Catholic Action, $21.95) blends theological, devotional and practical approaches to examine the beauty and power of the Eucharist as it relates to different facets of Catholic life.

The book is being published with the help of Cardinal Burke's longtime friend, Thomas McKenna, founder of Catholic Action for Faith and Family, a San Diego-based association of Catholics that strives to uphold and defend Christian values inspired by teachings of the Church. McKenna also is founder of the St. Gianna Physician's Guild, which supports Catholic physicians and health care workers in their work.

This is the first time Cardinal Burke has written a full-length book, said McKenna, adding that the idea stemmed from the thousands of articles Cardinal Burke has written over the years. Since 2008, he has served as prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura in Rome, and is archbishop emeritus of the Archdiocese of St. Louis.

Continue at St. Louis Review

6 Points on the Worthiness to Receive Communion by Cardinal Ratzinger

Listers, the following is a document from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith while it was under the watchful eye of Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI. The document is re-posted in full, and the titles have been added by SPL. Worthiness to Receive Holy Communion: General Principles by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger Prefect, Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
[Note: The following memorandum was sent by Cardinal Ratzinger to Cardinal McCarrick and was made public in the first week of July 2004.]

Personal Prudence and Objective Standards
1. Presenting oneself to receive Holy Communion should be a conscious decision, based on a reasoned judgment regarding one’s worthiness to do so, according to the Church’s objective criteria, asking such questions as: “Am I in full communion with the Catholic Church? Am I guilty of grave sin? Have I incurred a penalty (e.g. excommunication, interdict) that forbids me to receive Holy Communion? Have I prepared myself by fasting for at least an hour?” The practice of indiscriminately presenting oneself to receive Holy Communion, merely as a consequence of being present at Mass, is an abuse that must be corrected (cf. Instruction “Redemptionis Sacramentum,” nos. 81, 83).

Abortion, Euthanasia, and the Law
2. The Church teaches that abortion or euthanasia is a grave sin. The Encyclical Letter Evangelium vitae, with reference to judicial decisions or civil laws that authorize or promote abortion or euthanasia, states that there is a “grave and clear obligation to oppose them by conscientious objection. [...] In the case of an intrinsically unjust law, such as a law permitting abortion or euthanasia, it is therefore never licit to obey it, or to ‘take part in a propaganda campaign in favour of such a law or vote for it’” (no. 73). Christians have a “grave obligation of conscience not to cooperate formally in practices which, even if permitted by civil legislation, are contrary to God’s law. Indeed, from the moral standpoint, it is never licit to cooperate formally in evil. [...] This cooperation can never be justified either by invoking respect for the freedom of others or by appealing to the fact that civil law permits it or requires it” (no. 74).

continue at St. Peter's List

Wowza, what a gem, keep reading the rest of this one!

HT Kitchener Waterloo TC

Last Supper by Dagnan-Bouveret

Source

Cardinal Burke to publish "Divine Love Made Flesh" Eucharistic reflections

Pre-order: Expected release date of May 31, 2012

 

In Divine Love Made Flesh: The Holy Eucharist as the Sacrament of Charity, His Eminence Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke examines the beauty and power of the Most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist in light of the profound and elucidating teachings of Blessed Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI. Using clear and illuminating language, Cardinal Burke guides one through the teaching of the Church on this Most Holy Sacrament and its place in the life of every disciple of Jesus Christ.

Truly inspiring, this spiritual treatise on the central Mystery of our Faith links the rich theology of the Church with pastoral practice and the spiritual life. To this end, Cardinal Burke's marvelous ability to reach the layman in simple yet inspiring language is sure to engender the love of the Eucharist in the hearts of all who read it.

Catholic Word

You know, in case you were looking for an alternative to Barack Obama's Eucharistic reflections. 

GloriaTV: Cardinal Burke: Receive Communion Kneeling and on the Tongue

I wonder if there is any non-TLM parish in Wisconsin where this is allowed or encouraged. The way I ordinarily see Communion distributed makes this practice impractical or near impossible. We used to have these things called altar rails.....

Cardinal Burke Communion Kneeling and on the Tongue

St Clare of Assisi, ora pro nobis!

Source

When, in 1234, the army of Frederick II was devastating the valley of Spoleto, the soldiers, preparatory to an assault upon Assisi, scaled the walls of San Damiano by night, spreading terror among the community. Clare, calmly rising from her sick bed, and taking the ciborium from the little chapel adjoining her cell, proceeded to face the invaders at an open window against which they had already placed a ladder. It is related that, as she raised the Blessed Sacrament on high, the soldiers who were about to enter the monastery fell backward as if dazzled, and the others who were ready to follow them took flight. It is with reference to this incident that St. Clare is generally represented in art bearing a ciborium.

When, some time later, a larger force returned to storm Assisi, headed by the General Vitale di Aversa who had not been present at the first attack, Clare, gathering her daughters about her, knelt with them in earnest prayer that the town might be spared. Presently a furious storm arose, scattering the tents of the soldiers in every direction, and causing such a panic that they again took refuge in flight.

NewAdvent

St. Peter Julian Eymard, ora pro nobis!

In the providence of God, different saints are raised up by Him in different periods of history to provide the world with solutions to the deepest problems of their age. The deepest problem of the modern age is alienation from God. Call it separation from God or indifference to God; call it unawareness of God or disinterest in God. By whatever name, in so-called developed countries of the Western world, God has been replaced by Self as the focus of attention and, I would not hesitate to say, adoration.

That is why an unlikely saint like St. Peter Julian Eymard should have arisen to alert the world that the Incarnate God is in our midst in what we may casually call the Blessed Sacrament.

 -Fr John Hardon

continue at The Real Prescence

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St. Alphonsus Liguori, Doctor of the Church, ora pro nobis!

 "Know also that you will probably gain more by praying fifteen minutes before the Blessed Sacrament than by all the other spiritual exercises of the day. True, Our Lord hears our prayers anywhere, for He has made the promise, 'Ask, and you shall receive,' but He has revealed to His servants that those who visit Him in the Blessed Sacrament will obtain a more abundant measure of grace."

"Certainly amongst all devotions, after that of receiving the sacraments, that of adoring Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament holds first place, is most pleasing to God, and most useful to ourselves. Do not then, O devout soul, refuse to begin this devotion; and forsaking the conversation of men, dwell each day, from this time forward, for at least half or quarter of an hour, in some church, in the presence of Jesus Christ under the sacramental species. Taste and see how sweet is the Lord."

"The sovereigns of the earth do not always grant audience readily; on the contrary, the King of Heaven, hidden under the eucharistic veils, is ready to receive anyone…"

- St. Alphonsus Liguori

It also happens to be the 8th anniversary of Bishop Morlino’s installation as 4th bishop of Madison.

PS> Is anybody else worried Bp. Morlino might go to the vacancy in Denver?

What's the best way to receive Holy Communion?

From a reader:

There are many reasons why receiving communion on the tongue is superior. First, reception on the tongue is the universal norm. Places, such as the United States, that are allowed to receive in the hand are only allowed by an indult, which is an exception to the law, and as such, may be withdrawn at any time. In no way does this indult make communion in the hand required for anyone, but it simply allows it for those who wish to take advantage of it.

There are also some serious issues with reverence when Holy Communion is received in the hand. The Catechism of the Council of Trent explains this well (emphasis mine):

Nor should it be forgotten that Christ, whole and entire, is contained not only under either species, but also in each particle of either species. Each, says St. Augustine, receives Christ the Lord, and He is entire in each portion. He is not diminished by being given to many, but gives Himself whole and entire to each. ¹

The rest from Mr. Yanke

Those homeschoolers are crazy! :)

If you are interested in giving this a try for the first time, here's a few tips from Canterbury Tales.

HT SG

Vatican Exhibit of Eucharistic Miracles a success in Hayward, WI

From a reader:

The Vatican International Exhibit of the Eucharistic Miracles of the World was a big success here at St. Joseph Church in Hayward (June 30-July4). This also included the display of 17 relics of the saints in the Adoration chapel which were on loan to us from the Sisters of the Servants of Mary in Ladysmith. We had 600 visitors which was very encouraging.

Menominee Indian Reservation

Church procession, Menominee Indian Reservation, Keshena, Wisconsin (1915?)

Flickr; Marquette University Archives

Possible Eucharistic Miracle at St. Augustine Church, St. Paul, MN!

Above is a photo taken by Fr. Echert, pastor of Saint Augustine in South St. Paul, MN, of a consecrated host.

The host had been accidentally dropped on the ground last week during the distribution of Holy Communion at a daily Mass.

It was subsequently placed in water to dissolve so that it could be poured down the sacrarium.


Fr. Grabner, the parochial vicar, went to check on the host a few days later, on the Feast of Corpus Christi, and found that not only had it not dissolved, but that it had turned red.

Is there a natural explanation? You decide.

The Chancery has been notified.

more details along with possible scientific explanation at The Eponymous Flower

We will be following developments closely.  Always proceed with caution in these situations.  ...but if true... wow.... 

This weekend: Exhibit of the Eucharistic Miracles - Hayward, WI

Lanciano

Vatican International Exhibit of the Eucharistic Miracles of the World will be held in Hayward, WI.

 June 30th - July 4th, 2011.

St. Joseph Church
10586 N. Dakota Ave.
Hayward, Wisconsin
(715)634-2867

Click on top link for times and details.

Verso