Blessed Be God (or Lent's not that far away)

Lent is right around the corner (Oh no!  Oh wait, that's a good thing, if you're ready for it)

I'm sure you're seeing all sorts of suggestions/recommendations on other blogs but here's a recommendation for a great prayer book which would be wonderful to have even if Lent wasn't barreling down on us.

Blessed Be God by Fathers Callan and McHugh.

I got this book a week ago and I can't stop picking it up. It's small in dimension but it's a real prayer book with thin pages like missals of old so even with 700+ pages, it is still relatively light-weight.  It has daily prayers, prayers for the Day of the Week, Month of the Year, novenas, devotions, etc. They're all beautiful prayers. Most of them flow very well, there are a few which have words like 'livest and reignest' in them so those feels a little clunky when you're saying them. But the book is full of jewels of Catholic worship from long ago. It was originally published in 1959.

Beads of the Dead

Sounds ominous, eh? Well basically, it's a form of the rosary said for the Holy Souls in Purgatory.

This is from Thomas Fitzpatrick's blog, Recta Ratio which I don't visit nearly often enough.

Personal Prayer Request please

Friday was my husband's last day at his job. My job ends in two weeks. I'd appreciate any prayers you can say for us. I trust that God will take care of us (as always)!

Thanks!

Thank you Jimmy Akin!

We're Catholic! We don't need to use the Bible to justify all our beliefs...

Not all questions can be answered in a way that offers Bible verses as evidence. In fact, not all questions can be answered at all. There are many things we human simply don't know the answer to, because God hasn't told them to us, and there are also many things in life that have answers that don't involve the Bible at all, like how to solve the quadratic equation or where to find the gas station with the cheapest gas or how to make chop suey.

I think it is important to point these things out when dealing with the "Where is that in the Bible?" mentality.

It is also important to point out that, even when dealing with questions that do involve theology, we are Catholics and therefore do not need to provide answers within the confines of sola Scriptura.

As Catholics, we draw information from and our theology is shaped by not only Scripture but also Tradition, the formulations of the Magisterium, philosophy, human nature (i.e., natural law) reasoning, etc.

From Jimmy's blog entry, Prayer for the Dead

Pope Benedict, saying the Rosary in Latin?!

http://rectaratio.blogspot.com/2008_05_11_archive.html#5995393412669569253

From RectaRatio...

You Can Now Buy A 4-CD Set Of the Holy Father Reciting the Rosary In Latin
Latin was chosen because of its universality.

Now, I tried to hunt it down on the Vatican Bookstore site, without success. For now, this might have to be an item you buy only there in Rome in person.

I have made some progress with my efforts, begun last year, to say the Rosary in Latin. The only big stumbling block has been my inability to find the Latin translation for the Prayer Before the Rosary ("O Queen of the Holy Rosary, thou hast deigned to come to Fatima to reveal to the three shepherd children the treasures of grace...".).

Of course, I have the Paters, Aves, and Minor Doxologies by rote, along with the Salve Regina, and have for some years now. I still have to read the Latin for the Fatima Prayer, the Apostles' Creed, the Prayer After the Rosary, the Prayer to Saint Michael, and the Guardian Angel Prayer, as well as the actual announcements of the Mysteries.

Progress comes slow.

The Novena to Our Lady of Sorrows starts tomorrow, 9/7/07

Novena of Our Lady of Sorrows

Prayer Intentions

Please say a prayer for my friend Diane's father who was just diagnosed with stage 3 throat cancer. The doctors are saying it's treatable.

Thank you.

Trinity Sunday tomorrow

There's a wealth of information about Trinity Sunday on the website, Women for Faith and Family. Explore the whole page as they have some wonderful ideas about sharing the concept of the Trinity with your family.

Saint Patrick attempted to illustrate the "Three-in-One and One-in-Three" by using a three-leaf shamrock. At this time of year, many people have a stand of new green clover in their lawns. You might illustrate the Saint Patrick story by taking children outside to find clover so that they can see that the structure of the one leaf consists of three parts. One part cannot be removed without destroying the wholeness of the leaf.

They talk about the three Creeds, Apostles, Nicene and the Athanasian. The last one we almost never hear in church, probably because of its length but it is thought its author was possibly St Athanasia. Others believe that the Athanasian Creed may have been formulated by another Doctor of the Church, Saint Ambrose. It is also called the Quicumque, an important Trinitarian formula dating from the 4th Century, intended to address the Arian heresy which denied the two natures of Christ.

Here's the Athanasian Creed in its entirety.

Whosoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary that he hold the Catholic faith.

Which faith except everyone do keep whole and undefiled, without doubt he shall perish everlastingly.

And the Catholic faith is this, that we worship one God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity,

Neither confounding the Persons nor dividing the Substance.

For there is one Person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Ghost.

But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost is one: the glory equal, the majesty coeternal.

Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Ghost.

The Father uncreated, the Son uncreated and the Holy Ghost uncreated

The Father incomprehensible, the Son incomprehensible, and the Holy Ghost incomprehensible.

The Father eternal, the Son eternal, and the Holy Ghost eternal.

And yet they are not three Eternals, but one Eternal.

As there are not three Uncreated nor three Incomprehensibles, but one Uncreated and one Incomprehensible.

So likewise the Father is almighty, the Son almighty, and the Holy Ghost almighty.

And yet they are not three Almighties, but one Almighty.

So the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Ghost is God.

And yet they are not three Gods, but one God.

So likewise the Father is Lord, the Son Lord, and the Holy Ghost Lord.

And yet not three Lords, but one Lord.

For like as we are compelled by the Christian verity to acknowledge every Person by Himself to be God and Lord,

So are we forbidden by the Catholic religion to say, There be three Gods or three Lords.

The Father is made of none, neither created nor begotten.

The Son is of the Father alone, not made nor created, but begotten.

The Holy Ghost is of the Father and of the Son, neither made nor created nor begotten, but proceeding.

So there is one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons; one Holy Ghost, not three Holy Ghosts.

And in this Trinity none is before or after other; none is greater or less than another;

But the whole three Persons are coeternal together and coequal, so that in all things, as is aforesaid, the Unity in Trinity and the Trinity in Unity is to be worshiped.

He, therefore, that will be saved must thus think of the Trinity.

Furthermore, it is necessary to everlasting salvation that he also believe faithfully the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ.

For the right faith is that we believe and confess that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God and Man;

God of the Substance of the Father, begotten before the worlds; and Man of the substance of His mother, born in the world;

Perfect God and perfect Man, of a reasonable soul and human flesh subsisting,

Equal to the Father as touching His Godhead and inferior to the Father as touching His manhood;

Who, although He be God and Man, yet He is not two, but one Christ:

One, not by conversion of the Godhead into flesh, but by taking the manhood into God;

One altogether; not by confusion of Substance, but by unity of Person.

For as the reasonable soul and flesh is one man, so God and Man is one Christ;

Who suffered for our salvation; descended into hell; rose again the third day from the dead;

He ascended into heaven; He sitteth on the right hand of the Father, God Almighty; from whence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

At whose coming all men shall rise again with their bodies and shall give an account of their own works.

And they that have done good shall go into life everlasting; and they that have done evil, into everlasting fire.

This is the Catholic faith; which except a man believe faithfully and firmly, he cannot be saved.

President Bush at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast

President George W. Bush talks with Mother Assumpta Long after addressing the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast Friday, April 13, 2007, in Washington, D.C. "One of the reasons that I am such a strong believer in the power of our faith-based institutions is that they add something the government never can, and that is love," said the President in his remarks.

Psalm 23 (for work)

received via email (thanks Rita)...

The Lord is my real boss, and I shall not want. He gives me peace, when
chaos is all around me. He gently reminds me to pray and do all things without
murmuring and complaining.

He reminds me that he is my source and not my job. He restores my sanity
everyday and guides my decisions that I might honor him in all that I do.

Even though I face absurd amounts of e-mails, system crashes, unrealistic
deadlines, budget cutbacks, gossiping co-workers, discriminating supervisors
and an aging body that doesn't cooperate every morning,
I still will not stop--for He is with me! His presence, His peace, and His power will see me through.

He raises me up, even when they fail to promote me. He claims me as His own, even when the company threatens to let me go. His Faithfulness and love is better than any bonus check.

His retirement plan beats every 401k there is!

When it's all said and done, I'll be working for Him a whole lot longer and for that, I WILL BLESS HIS HOLY NAME.

The Motu Proprio

Father John Zuhlsdorf has a wonderful 'spiritual boquet' for the Motu Proprio.

For my part, I will do two things daily until 22 February for the softening of the hearts of those who are being obstinate in this matter or who may be causing an unreasonable delay in the issuing of the document. I will offer one decade of my daily rosary for the intention that God will soften hearts in this matter and I will say the Memorare each day for the same intention.

Father Z's blog

Let's join him!

My Prayer Journal

I went to Barnes & Noble, looking for a calendar or two but found a beautiful journal which I will use for my prayer journal. I'm hoping this will inspire me to pray more.