Prayer for the Church (from the prayers of Pope Leo XIII)

On this fateful day on which the abdication of Pope Benedict the Magnificent, Defender of the Faith, takes effect, let us all pray for the one true Church, following the Prayers after Low Mass decreed by Pope Leo XIII. The complete prayers may be found on Sancta Missa, and include this humble petition to the Lord our God:

O God, our refuge and our strength, look down with mercy upon the people who cry to Thee; and by the intercession of the glorious and immaculate Virgin Mary, Mother of God, of Saint Joseph her spouse, of the blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, and of all the saints, in Thy mercy and goodness hear our prayers for the conversion of sinners, and for the liberty and exaltation of the Holy Mother the Church. Through the same Christ Our Lord.

Amen.

And, Lord, thank You for giving us Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, Professor, Scholar, and Priest, to be Your earthly vicar Pope Benedict XVI. Viva il Papa!

“God Save the Church!” (Suggested Lyrics, to the Melody of “God Save the Queen!”)

Lord, bless Thy holy Bride,
Born from Thy wounded side,
Thy one true Church…

From Satan’s vile intent
And men of evil bent,
God save the Church!…

The Meaning of Fasting and Abstinence

We deny ourselves food that we may be filled with the Bread of Life; so that, being hungry, we may be filled with good things…

We believe in… the Communion of Saints

“Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body, which is the church, in filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions” (Colossians 1:24)

What is the communion of saints?

“Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body, which is the church, in filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions” (Colossians 1:24)

The Resurrection and the modern world

With groans too deep for words, all creation declares that the world is being made new…

The Meaning of Christian Mortification

Our devotion begins not in some distant mission country but where we are right now, in our families and communities, amidst persons who bear the image and likeness of God Himself (read more…)

Why we should baptize with beer instead of water

A Catholic DISSENT from the Pope’s prohibition of beer baptism: on exegetical, historical-critical, theological, pastoral, missiological, ecclesiological, epidemiological, semio-linguistic, scientific, phenomenological, anthropological, gender-egalitarian, epistemological, and faith-based grounds.

The contemporary-ness of Easter

With groans too deep for words, all creation declares that the world is being made new…

Fasting and abstinence during Lent (re-posted)

We deny ourselves food that we may be filled with the Bread of Life; so that, being hungry, we may be filled with good things…

We remember the Cristeros

Today, 1 January, we remember the formal beginning of the Cristero rebellion (or the Cristero war)…

Rejoicing in the Incarnation

Can we even imagine the enormity of what happened 2,000 years ago?

The martyrs of Savenay (1793)

Today marks the anniversary of the Battle of Savenay (December 23, 1793), the last major battle

So tired of Anti-Catholicism

Or, The Immaturity of the West: Will millions of Catholic deaths and the utter destruction of Catholic civilization at Protestant, Liberal, and Communist hands never suffice?

St. Charles Borromeo: The Great Reformer

When the Jacobin Revolution threatened to destroy the Church, it was Borromeo’s legacy that did most to help her survive…