Catholic Voice 22nd May 2020 Issue 291

CatholicVoice Only 0 Irel and/N I £2 UK

€/£1.5

Omnia possum in eo, qui me confortat

22 May - 4 June 2020

Issue 291

Devotion to

Devotion to

The Immaculate

The Sacred

Heart of Mary

Heart of Jesus

- page 16

- page 17

Oh Mary We Crown Thee With Blossoms Today Witnessing to the Resurrection - page 2

Is It Permissible to forbid Public Masses?- page 12

Apostolic Qualities - page 24

Please Join Us Online Monday 25th May Holy Mass & Rosary of Reparation - 7.00pm www.institute-christ-king.ie (reparation on the second anniversary of Ireland’s abortion referendum)

2 EVANGELISATION

Catholic Voice

22nd May 2020

Witnessing To The Resurrection Eanna Johnson PhD. At this season of Easter we joyfully celebrate our redemption, when Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross freed mankind from the slavery of sin and death, vanquished Satan, and opened to us the gates of Heaven.

Jesus’ Resurrection showed His victory over death, the sign that we too will rise again one day to the promise of eternal life. If Christ is not risen, then our preaching is in vain, and your faith is also in vain (1 Cor.15:14).

As well as celebrating the Resurrection we are also called to witness to it. Jesus’ Great Commission to his apostles was: Go make disciples of all nations, baptize them and teach them to observe all that I gave you (Mt.28:19-20). Witnessing to the Good News in our words and lives is a real privilege and can be joyful, but can also be challenging and painful.

While we can learn so much from the witness of countless faithful Christians over the past two millennia, the responses of the first witnesses to the Resurrection are particularly interesting. Witnesses to the Resurrection did not just happen through coincidence, but were chosen by the deliberate plan of God, as Peter told Cornelius: God raised Jesus to life and allowed him to be seen, not by the whole people but only by certain witnesses God had chosen beforehand. (Acts 10:40-41).

It is interesting to compare the very different responses of the two groups who were the first witnesses of the Resurrection. On the one hand we have the guards at the tomb and the religious leaders of the Jewish people, to whom the guards brought the news of the resurrection. On the other hand we have the faithful women who

arrived at dawn to anoint the body of Jesus and the apostles to whom the women brought the good news.

The Guards and the Jewish Leaders The guards who were keeping watch at Jesus’ tomb were the first witnesses of the Resurrection, indeed they were the only witnesses of the event itself.

After Jesus’ death on the cross, Joseph of Arimathea went to Pontius Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Pilate handed over Jesus’ body to Joseph, who wrapped it in a clean linen shroud and put it into his own new tomb (Mt.27:5760). The next day the chief priests and Pharisees went to Pilate asking that the tomb be made secure so that Jesus’ disciples could not steal away his body and claim that he had risen from the dead. Pilate replied, ‘You have a guard. Go and make the tomb as secure as you can’. So the tomb was sealed and a guard was placed on it (Mt.27:62-66).

At some time before dawn, the earth shook as an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, came and

rolled back the stone and sat upon it.

His appearance was like lightning and his robe white as snow. For fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men... Some of the guards went into the city and told the chief priests all that had happened. (Mt.28:2-4,11).

The mission of Jesus was to all of God’s Chosen People, the Jewish nation, calling on them to accept him as the Messiah promised by God, and to bring the Good News of salvation to the whole world.

Jesus had given a clear statement of his divine nature and mission to the Sanhedrin, the assembled leadership of the Jewish nation, for which he was condemned to death for blasphemy. Now, the leaders were the first to hear the news of the Resurrection, the opportunity to fulfil their destiny and lead the whole people of Israel in accepting Jesus as Messiah and Saviour, and bringing the Good News to the whole world. But they blew it, and bribed the guards to spread the ‘fake news’ that the disciples had stolen the body of Jesus.

22nd May 2020 Catholic Voice An intriguing question arises as to who were the guards at the tomb.

One option is that the guards were Roman soldiers. In this option Pilate’s words, “You have a guard”, are interpreted as ‘I am putting a detachment of my soldiers at your disposal’. However, it seems unlikely that Pilate, having washed his hands of responsibility for Jesus’ body by giving it over to Joseph of Arimathea, would take back responsibility, and risk getting blamed if anything went wrong, by allocating his own soldiers to guard the body. It also seems unlikely that Pilate would put his soldiers, the foundation of Roman power, under the command of Jewish leaders that he neither trusted nor liked.

The Women and the Apostles The next witnesses of the Resurrection were Mary Magdalen and the other faithful women who arrived early on the first Easter Sunday morning to anoint the body of Jesus. They were not there out of faith or hope, believing or even hoping that Jesus would rise from the dead, as he had promised.

They went out of love – they had accompanied Jesus during his public ministry and had taken care of him using their own money; now their love was in no way diminished by his death. Of the three great virtues – faith, hope and love – the greatest is love (1 Cor.13:13), and their love was rewarded by being the first disciple witnesses of the Resurrection.

Another option is that when Pilate said, “You have a guard”, he meant it literally, because the chief priests did have a militia, the Temple guards. In that case Pilate was simply telling the chief priests that if they wanted the tomb guarded they should go and do it themselves with their own guards. The Temple guards were Levites, the priestly tribe appointed by God to minister to and guard the Temple. Jesus described his body as the Temple (Jn.2:19-21) so it would be fitting for Levites to guard the body of Jesus, the Temple in person. Could it be that the guards at the tomb are recorded only in Matthew’s gospel, because Matthew, himself of the tribe of Levi, had inside information?

When Mary Magdalen and the others arrived at the tomb they found it empty, and were met by two angels who told them that Jesus had risen from the dead. Soon after, the faithful Mary Magdalen was the first to whom Jesus appeared in person after his resurrection.

The gospel account is not definitive on the identity of the guards at the tomb, because the New Testament uses similar generic terms for Romans, and for the militias and prison guards maintained by the Chief Priests and King Herod.

Matthew’s Gospel uses three different terms in referring to the tomb guards; one of the terms, ‘strateotes’, describes the lowest rank, and literally means ‘campers out’, which is just what the guards were doing, camping out in the open all night.

The angels told the women to bring the good news of Jesus’ resurrection to the disciples, which they did joyfully, but had to suffer rejection of their story by some, but not by Peter, whom Jesus had made leader of the Twelve. Peter, with John, immediately ran to see the empty tomb, and later that same day they too saw Jesus in person.

How different were the responses of Mary Magdalen and Peter to that of the guards and chief priests.

The chief priests had done a terrible thing in condemning Jesus to death, which they compounded by rejecting the witness of his resurrection. Mary had been delivered of seven demons, and was filled with grateful love. Peter had done a terrible thing by denying Jesus, but he repented of his sin and was also filled with love for Jesus (Jn.21:15-17). Mary and Peter had responded to God’s mercy and were open to accept the incredible witness of the resurrection. The apostles and other disciples went on to witness to the Resurrection

EVANGELISATION 3

far and wide, often at the cost of shedding their blood.

Witnessing to the Resurrection Today Christians today are called to continue the witness of the resurrection of Jesus. We are invited to emulate the faithful women and the apostles, and proclaim the truth in love with joy, no matter what it costs. Christianity is persecuted today in many countries of the world, including the shedding of blood. Contemporary secular culture in the West does not suppress Christianity with ‘dungeon, fire and sword’, but is nevertheless increasingly hostile to faith, and has ways of making it very uncomfortable for Christian witnesses. So it is not an easy time to witness to Christ, but we could find no better advice than the First Letter of Peter 3:15-16, Always have your answer ready for people who ask you the reason for the hope that you all have, but give it with courtesy and respect and with a clear conscience.

4 SAINTS

Catholic Voice

22nd May 2020

The Saints’ Attributes St. Stanislaus: The Crest and the Sword Canon Benjamin Norman I.C.K.S.P.

Saint Stanislaus, the martyred bishop of Krakow, is remembered for having manfully resisted the will of an impetuous king who attempted to trample on the rights of the Church. He was born on the 26th July 1030, and died the 8th May 1079. He was brought up in the Catholic Faith by his noble parents, Belislaus and Bogna, both renowned for their piety.

Upon his parents’ death, he gave his large inheritance to the poor. After his ordination to the priesthood, he was made a canon and the preacher of the cathedral, and eventually vicar-general of the diocese. After the bishop died Stanislaus was elected to replace him, but in humility would only accept the nomination on the explicit order of Pope Alexander II. As bishop he committed himself to the work of the diocese with tireless energy. In his sermons and addresses, he condemned the vices of all, indiscriminately. Like Our Lord, he refused to be a respecter of persons, no matter the consequences.

The saint would find his toughest struggle yet in his disagreements with the King of Poland, Boleslaw II. Though Boleslaw enjoyed a reputation as a remarkable warrior, the king now engendered much grumbling against him among the populace by his excesses of cruelty and lust. In addition, Boleslaw unfortunately had an appetite for properties rightly belonging to the Church. He laid an illegitimate claim to a land of the church, provoking the intervention of Saint Stanislaus.

The malevolent monarch did not stop there. A good number of his country’s nobles had been obliged to leave their homes to fight a war in Ruthenia, a war which proved longer than expected.

Many of these nobles hearing that their estates and their wives were being usurped by the overseers they had appointed; they began deserting to return home and set their houses in order. The king punished very cruelly both the deserting soldiers and their unfaithful wives, drawing sharp rebukes from the saintly bishop.

Stanislaus did not just criticise the king, he prayed for him unceasingly and admonished him to live a thoroughly Christian life. None of this bringing Boleslaw to repentance however, Saint Stanislaus finally excommunicated him.

This was the final straw for the vicious king. The king one day sent a group of soldiers to slay him, but these thankfully could not bring themselves to obey the horrid command. The king, losing patience, then took matters into his own hands and slayed the saint with his sword while he was offering the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

Like all martyrs, Stanislaus’ witness to the Catholic Faith and the moral conduct it requires of us all, so uncompromising that it cost him his life, is a powerful testimony for us in these difficult times. Stanislaus never lost sight of the truth that a crown of glory awaits those who, like Christ, are obedient to the will of the

Father even unto death. In all trials and persecutions which may arise, his life should be an example for us, and his intercession should be invoked.

A pious tradition has it that the saint once worked the miracle of the resurrection of Piotr, one of his faithful, after praying to God for three days and three nights, and then going in procession to his grave, dressed in his full bishop’s regalia, and bidding him rise.

Saint Stanislaus is invoked in prayer as the patron of the nation of Poland, the city of Krakow, and the moral order of society. He is therefore a very relevant saint for our times, in which so many societies are in grave moral decline. St. Stanislaus was canonised in the year of Our Lord 1253, by Pope Innocent IV at Assisi, and his feast day is traditionally celebrated on the 7th May. “O God, for Whose honour the glorious Bishop Stanislaus fell beneath the swords of wicked men; grant, we beseech Thee, that all who implore his aid may obtain the wholesome fulfillment of their prayers.

Through Our Lord Jesus Christ Thy Son, Who livest and reignest with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, forever and ever. Amen.”

We are pleased to have received many positive comments about the new magazine size of CatholicVoice.

This has been introduced to enable us to continue publishing during the current crisis.

Please let your friends and family know that Catholic Voice is available in most of the newsagents that would normally sell it across the whole of Ireland.

We hope to supply more churches when they reopen their doors and wish to thank our promoters who have been able to continue distributing despite churches being closed.

If you wish to order a postal subscription or would like to sell copies of Catholic Voice to 6 or more people please Telephone:

00353 (0)59 8627268 or email editor@catholicvoice.ie

APPEAL 5

22nd May 2020 Catholic Voice

Catholic Voice

WE STILL NEED YOUR HELP

We are heartened that many of you are supporting us in our mission to publish Catholic Voice and deliver Catholic Truth to as many faithful as possible during this challenging time.

Indeed at this time of crisis many could be welcomed back to the Church and we wish to reach out to them with Catholic Truth and educational articles.

less people out and about in the shops. This has affected the sale of Catholic Voice. Additionally, as many of our advertisers are usually promoting Catholic events we have already seen a great reduction in advertising as events are cancelled.

If you have not already donated we appeal to you to enable us to continue our work during this temporary crisis by donating whatever you can afford.

We are grateful indeed to those of you who have responded to our appeal however this pandemic crisis is ongoing with no certainty as to how long it will be before we are back to normal.

We appreciate that many of you are also financially affected at this time however if all our readers donate just €10 each it will make a huge difference to us.

We are a small, independent family apostolate that does not receive a salary from Catholic Voice. We are registered as a not for profit organisation and all our contributors donate their articles free of charge.

You can help ensure Catholic news continues to be spread when we need it most - PLEASE ACT TODAY and donate now by post, website or phone.

We usually receive income to cover our costs from the sale of the newspaper and from our advertisers however that has been severely affected by the current restrictions on Mass attendance and with HOW TO DONATE: 1. Online - Visit

www.catholicvoice.ie

click Donate

2. By Telephone call 059 8627268 - (00353 59 8627268 outside ROI) to pay by credit/debit card please leave your phone number and name and we shall return your call 3. Send a cheque or postal order (made payable to Catholic Voice) with the reply coupon to Catholic Voice, St Michael’s House, Castlemitchess South, Athy, County Kildare, Eire

With sincere thanks for your generosity, May God bless you,

Anthony and Kim Murphy

I/ We would like to donate towards the ongoing publication of Catholic Voice.

Donation enclosed. Please tick box or enter and individual amount

 €10 €25 €100 €250 €500 Other € _________ Name:

________________________________________

Address: ________________________________________ ________________________________________ ________________________________________ Phone: ________________________________________ Cheques & postal orders made payable to Catholic Voice Please send your cheque or postal order to Catholic Voice St. Michael’s House Castlemitchell South, Athy Co Kildare

6 COVID-19 & ISLAM

Catholic Voice

22nd May 2020

Pandemic and Jihad Anne Keeling Covid-19 is bringing fear, misery and death to the world in very many ways. It may well succeed in bringing the Catholic Church to its knees, not in the positive sense, as the faithful are not just locked down but also locked out.

We are urged by the media to keep busy through all manner of useful pastimes such as gardening, DIY, baking, yet all the while they don’t mention God in this time of illness, anxiety and family separation.

YouTube, WhatsApp, Facebook and Google are now our lifelines and journalists are heroes.

We have been Boxed in and it is Diabolically Clever.

A Sinn Féin senator (Fintan Warfield) at the start of the lockdown suggested in a Twitter post that people could satisfy their urges by watching pornography, among other activities. It beggars belief.

Irish society today could not be more secular if it tried.

If devout Catholics aren’t bewildered enough, a recent pronouncement from the Vatican could help. I refer to a suggestion by the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue (17th April) that Catholics join Muslims in partaking of ‘Iftar’ meals (the meals that are shared each sunset among Muslims during the Ramadan fast the Islamic season which started on the 24th of April.)

False and Dangerous Ecumenism The text declares Ramadan to be a time “of strengthening bonds with relatives and friends” and it goes on:

“Ramadan and ‘Eid al-Fitr’ thus are special occasions to foster fraternity between Christians and Muslims.”

There is no real substance to this as friendship between Muslims and Christians is not encouraged in Islam, though the Vatican may not wish to acknowledge that.

“O you who believe! Do not take the Jews and the Christians for friends; they are friends of each other; and whoever amongst you takes them for a friend, then surely he is one of them; surely Allah does not guide the unjust people.” (Quran 5:51) “Let not the believers take for friends or helpers unbelievers rather than believers: if any do that, in nothing will there be help from Allah: except by way of precaution, that ye may guard yourselves from them...” (Quran 3:28) Moreover Ramadan is a time for Muslims to strive all the more to please their Allah and one of the best ways a devout Muslim can please Allah is through jihad.

Yes, jihad can be personal spiritual growth and for most Muslims that is all, but it often means warring against the infidel which explains why Ramadan usually brings an increase in acts of violent jihad by extremist groups.

Though most Muslims may be peaceful Islam itself is not and it seeks to impose itself on the world.

The Covid-19 crisis has shone painful light on how Christianity is in tatters. Only a virile Christianity can withstand Islam.

That is certainly not the Christianity we have today where the Vatican leads the way in misleading the flock about the true nature of Islam.

How inappropriate in the current crisis of Covid-19 when our Easter worship was eclipsed and we still cannot receive the sacraments to make mealy-mouthed statements about “fraternity” during Ramadan.

Echoing the obsequious attitude to Islam propagated of late by Rome a presenter of a religious affairs radio

22nd May 2020 Catholic Voice programme in Kerry had this to say at the start of Ramadan: “I also want to wish all the blessings of the sacred time of Ramadan to the Islamic Community in Kerry.”

Ultimately, Christ is King Either the Church founded by Christ is sacred or it is not and every other religion/belief system is equivalent to it. This is what years of antiChristian sentiment has convinced us and we are now so unsure of our own faith, so unwilling to witness to it, that we effectively deny it.

It is soft apostasy. Such a lack of confidence generally does not dog the Muslim believer.

Before he was rudely interrupted by the current pandemic, Turkey’s Islamist President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was sending thousands of migrants to overrun the Greek borders and in recent days Turkish military fired weapons at Greek border protectors. On the 30th of April, Turkish cargo planes brought medical supplies to South Africa as aid for Covid-19 victims and returned with military equipment.

Tensions between Iran and the US continue with one newspaper reporting last Saturday that the two countries were “perilously close to conflict”. With the world distracted by the pandemic and the inevitable economic disaster unfolding fears are rising that further destabilisation could tip us over the edge.

We are already in hot water as the world that we knew has changed slowly but surely over the last few months into some kind of totalitarian medical dictatorship where we may be forced to observe “social distancing” to a greater or lesser degree indefinitely.

And as Christianity is being snuffed out, the Islamic call to prayer

is now starting to be broadcast publicly in cities as diverse as Aarhus in Denmark, Toronto and Ottawa in Canada, Melbourne in Australia and Minneapolis in the United States. This again is thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic wave of fraternal solidarity.

In contrast, a middle-aged couple in Milton Keynes in England, who decorated their house with the St George’s flag to celebrate his feast day, had their walls daubed with Nazi graffiti and fifty bags of dog excrement dumped in their garden.

The enemies of Christ are indeed many and multi-faceted and seek

COVID-19 & ISLAM 7 to destroy His Church, even from within. It is hard to know exactly which one will gain the upper hand, in the short term.

But we can draw comfort from the sure and certain knowledge that, ultimately, Christ is King. Praise be to Him.

8 LITURGY

Catholic Voice

22nd May 2020

Remembering PastGrace Times Forty Days Of Mary Kearns

Mary Kearns God’s New Temple

The forty days between the Resurrection of Jesus and his ascension into Heaven is a time of grace for the world because, in a liturgical sense, we are always in real time. On the Fourth Sunday of Easter those who were privileged to be present at Mass and also those who listened on-line heard the readings for the day also known as Good Shepherd Sunday.

The theme of the shepherd leading his flock to green pastures is a familiar one where Jesus is understood to be the shepherd who takes care of his sheep. This image has a long tradition in the history of the people of God, one which appears several times in the New Testament. However as we know, Psalm 22 “The Lord is my shepherd” was composed many years ago by David, King of Israel.

David was himself a shepherd so is well qualified to understand what this particular role meant.

What was expressed in the idiom of David’s time, is understood by the Church from the perspective of the New Testament.

John’s Gospel is read continuously - apart from the Feast of the Ascension when we hear the Gospel of Matthew - until after Pentecost. Then the Church enters Ordinary Time. The theme of shepherd is extended so that on the Fifth Sunday of Easter we are hearing another idiom. The “green pastures” of the 22nd Psalm are where the sheep are being led and this is what we now understand to be the House of the Lord. Through

listening to the Gospel of John we can comprehend that there is constant movement. We are on a journey, a pilgrimage.

On the Fifth Sunday of Easter, the image of the house is made more explicit. On this Sunday, the first and second readings are taken from the New Testament.

Remember we are listening to the words of two of the Lord’s close associates, Peter and John.

In the First Letter of Peter the apostle tells us that we grow into salvation; we allow ourselves to be built into a spiritual house. We are therefore different from those who do not obey the teaching of Jesus for we are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people.” Peter compares Jesus to a “living stone”. He is God’s new temple. The people of the time understood “temple” as a image foreshadowing the true House of God. But we, as well as those Peter was addressing in the first century, should also understand ourselves as stones being built into a spiritual house.

Living Stones The term “royal priesthood” should not be misunderstood. It encompasses all the baptised but is however entirely distinct from the sacramental priesthood. The Catechism explains this further: The laity, dedicated as they are to Christ and anointed by the Holy Spirit, are marvellously called and prepared so that even richer fruits of the Spirit may be produced in them. For all their works, prayers, and apostolic undertakings, family

and married life, daily work, relaxation of mind and body, if they are accomplished in the Spirit – indeed even the hardships of life if patiently born – all these become spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. In the celebration of the Eucharist these may most fittingly be offered to the Father along with the body of the Lord. And so, worshipping everywhere by their holy actions, the laity consecrate the world itself to God, everywhere offering worship by the holiness of their lives. (CCC 901) The plan God formed long ago meant that we poor sheep, would be the “living stones” of his House, offering spiritual sacrifices that God, through his Son would accept. All believers through virtue of baptism, can now participate in the salvation of the world. This is only possible because of the redemption won for us by Jesus Christ “Through him, with him and in him.”

In John’s Gospel, Jesus refers to himself as the Good Shepherd and promises to take care of the sheep entrusted to his care. Religious art has depicted this in images of Jesus, the Good Shepherd carrying a sheep over his shoulders, or we see him as a gentle pastor sitting under a tree, with a little lamb on his lap. These are appealing images showing the tenderness and compassion of Jesus. The shepherd leads his flock to the House of the Lord which is a symbol for the Kingdom of God. For us poor blundering sheep this

22nd May 2020 Catholic Voice is how we anticipate our final destination. The sheep trust the shepherd and listen to his voice. “There is no need to be afraid little flock, for it has pleased your Father to give you the kingdom.” (Lk. 12:32) Allowing Ourselves To Be Led In the present times, we Catholics are in sore need of a shepherd to take care of us and lead us to green pastures.

Scripture scholar Frances Hogan, gives a beautiful meditation on the meaning of allowing ourselves to be led: “God who sees everything knows what is best for me.

He chooses the pastureland I am to graze in. Being a stupid little sheep I would wander off anywhere I saw grass, thinking that all grass must be good. He knows differently, so he chooses the circumstances of my life very carefully, making sure that all my needs will be taken care of, and that I shall be nourished on food that leads to eternal life. Otherwise I should be in danger of being led astray, or even poisoned by false doctrines.”

There are several references to sheep and shepherds in the Gospels. In the Gospel of Mark, we read Jesus on the occasion of the multiplication of the loaves and fish, being deeply moved by compassion because the crowd was “like sheep without a shepherd”. Luke’s Gospel relates the parable of the lost sheep that is sought and found. In Matthew’s Gospel Jesus speaks of false prophets, those whose teaching is contrary to that of the Church and who are really wolves, appearing in sheep’s clothing. In the final judgement, the good and bad are identified with sheep and goats respectively.

Although it is a deep sorrow for us to be unable to feast at the table of the Lord in the Eucharist, we can nonetheless avail of the table of the Word. While we travel towards the House of the Lord we are mindful of the Good Shepherd’s care for us. He tells us that he is “the way, the truth and the life.”

Don’t Miss CatholicVoice!

We know that churches and some newsagents have closed which could mean you are having difficulty getting your copy of Catholic Voice..

Or maybe you are staying safe at home.

- Order a postal subscription for Catholic Voice to be delivered to your door Telephone: 059 8627268 or visit www.catholicvoice.ie or www.lumenfidei.ie

LITURGY 9

In the past weeks we listened to the accounts of the appearances of Jesus following his Resurrection. He appeared to Mary Magdalen and the women at the tomb. He came through the locked door of the upper room where the apostles were gathered and to two of his disciples who were walking the road to Emmaus.

When five of the apostles were fishing on the Sea of Galilee, Jesus greeted them with breakfast on the shore.

Furthermore, St. Paul later tells us that there were other appearances of the Lord which the Gospels have not recorded.

But Jesus did not stay. He did not continue in his glorified body to live with his apostles as he had before his death.

St. Thomas Aquinas in his Summa Theologica claims this was because Jesus was allowing his friends to get accustomed to his bodily absence. They would now be able to relate to him in his Eucharistic presence, as we do today and to anticipate with joy his returning at the end of time. This would be the fulfilment of time and the eternal home, the kingdom that is not of this world.

For catechesis and liturgical formation: marykeenankearns@gmail.com 087 7794687

10 LETTERS

Catholic Voice

Letters GREEN CLOUD CUCKOO-LAND Dear Editor, The Greens are planning to spend millions of Euros that we haven’t got, on a problem which doesn’t exist.

On Sep 23rd 2019, 500 scientists of international repute, submitted a document entitled “European Climate Declaration” to the UN. It stated, among other things that:“The general circulation models of climate on which international policy is at present founded are UNFIT FOR PURPOSE. Therefore, it is cruel as well as imprudent to advocate the squandering of trillions of dollars on the basis of results from such immature models.”

On Mar 9th 2020, The Center for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Change announced that it had filed a petition with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), asking it to repeal its: “Endangerment Finding for Greenhouse Gases”. The petition also presented compelling evidence that CO2 emissions and fossil energy use provide critical benefits that act to enhance health and

HANDS OFF OUR KIDS

PROTECTING PARENTAL CHOICE IN THE CLASSROOM

This CD of the compelling talk given by Charlotte McQuaid-Bruen at Catholic Voice annual conference 2019, sums up the proposed sex education to be taught across schools in Ireland in 2020. Parents, grandparents, friends, family members and clergy need to be informed about what their children are going to be subjected to.

Please help spread this talk TODAY. 4 CDs inc p&p €20

1 CD inc p&p €7.50

Complete coupon and return with cheque/postal order to The Lumen Fidei Institute, Raith, Aghamore, Ballyhaunis, Co. Mayo F35 V127 Name: ...........................................................................................

Address: ........................................................................................ ....................................................................................................... .......................................................................................................

Phone No: .....................................................................................

Please send me ______copies of the CD - ‘Hands off our Kids’ Total Enclosed: € ________ To pay by post with credit/debit card please complete: Card number: ________________________________________ Expiry Date: _________________ C.V.V._______________

22nd May 2020 Send your letters to: Letters Page, Catholic Voice, St Michael’s House, Castlemitchell South, Athy, Co Kildare or email to letters@catholicvoice.ie

welfare for humanity and the natural world. According to Dr. Idso, chairman of the centre: “Without adequate supplies of low-cost centralised energy derived from fossil fuels, few, if any, of the major technological and innovative advancements of the past two centuries that have enhanced and prolonged human life could have occurred. Additionally, without the increased CO2 emissions from fossil fuel use over the past two centuries, Earth’s terrestrial biosphere would be nowhere near as vigorous or productive as it is today. Rather, it would be devoid of the growth-enhancing, water-saving and stress-alleviating benefits it has reaped in managed and unmanaged ecosystems from rising levels of atmospheric CO2 since the Industrial Revolution began.”

Why is it that the UN and the world’s media, feted Greta Thunberg, but ignored 500 scientists.

Why is it that the Greens and their fellow travellers, continue to promote the hype of vested interests while ignoring scientific facts.

There is something rotten in the area of anthropogenic global warming.

Steve Mcgarry, Bishopstown, Cork.

SAVING LIVES? Dear Editor, Recent commentators, notably Douglas Murray (Spectator) and the historian Tom Holland, have asked the question: That in the light of the current adulation towards Britain’s NHS, has it become a de facto secular church?

With the weekly clapping of hands on a Thursday together with the politicos and the great and the good outgoing each other in lavishing praise, it would appear that this observation is correct.

However, with the chant of “save lives; save the NHS” a darker aspect needs challenging. With the same health service having an alliance with, and a near reliance upon the culture of Death apparatus, it seems that calling to save lives verges on the hypocritical. That abortions are continuing both as medical and chemical operations, shows how wrong our attitudes towards those who run this venerable seventy five year old institution are!

Instead of claps, prayers must be offered for their salvation and a return to the classical purity of the Hippocratic Oath, in which the unborn were protected. Until this is changed, the current adulation for the NHS could be viewed as making the ‘Charge of the Light Brigade’, somehow look like a sensible military exercise!

Fr John McCallion M.Phil cc, Coalisland, Co Tyrone.

22nd May 2020

FATIMA 11

Catholic Voice

The Angel Of Portugal In Fatima In 1915, and again in 1916, the three children of Fatima, Lucia de Jesús dos Santos, and her two cousins Jacinta and Francisco Marto, were visited by the angel of Portugal.

The significance of these heavenly visits can be properly measured by looking at some of the angelic visits recorded in Holy Scripture. The birth of John the Baptist, is preceded and foretold by the visit of the Angel Gabriel to Zechariah. The birth of Jesus Christ is preceded by the visit of the Angel Gabriel to Our Lady.

St Joseph was visited by an angel when he was unsure of what to do regarding his role in the life of Our Lady. Angels came and ministered to Jesus Christ after His temptation in the wilderness. Angelic visits are often the precursors of great happenings in our world.

In Portugal in 1916, the angel asked the three children to pray with him and he taught the three children some prayers to recite.

“Fear not! I am the Angel of Peace.

Pray with me!”

The Angel knelt on the ground and bowed very low. By some inspiration, the children imitated the angel and repeated the words they heard him pronounce: “My God, I believe, I adore, I hope, and I love Thee. I ask pardon for all those who do not believe in Thee, do not adore Thee, do not hope in Thee, do not love Thee.”

Some time after this the angel appeared and found that the children were not praying he said to them.

“What are you doing? Pray! Pray a great deal! The hearts of Jesus and Mary have designs of mercy for

you! Offer prayers and sacrifices unceasingly to the Most High!”

Lucia asked “But how are we to sacrifice ourselves?” to which the angel responded, “Offer up everything within your power as a sacrifice to the Lord in an act of reparation for the sins by which He is offended; and of supplication for the conversion of sinners. Thus invoke peace upon your country. I am her Guardian Angel; the Angel of Portugal.

Above all, accept and bear with submission the sufferings that the Lord may send you.”

Sacrament giving the children and the whole world an example of the reverence that is due to God truly present in the Most Holy Eucharist.

The angel’s visits were a precursor to Our Lady’s visits to the three children.

From this we learn of God’s desires for our prayers and sacrifices. They serve to make reparation for the sins which offend God and they assist in the conversion of sinners.

On another occasion the angel brought Holy Communion to the children under both species. The Angel, who is of a higher order of being than man, prostrated himself before the exposed Blessed

Saint Jacinta Marto and her cousin Lucia de Jesús dos Santos

12 CHURCH MATTERS

Catholic Voice

22nd May 2020

Is It Permissible To Forbid The Public Celebration of Holy Mass?

John Lacken Let us pause for a moment to offer up one Hail Mary for our bishops praying that they will work tirelessly to restore access to the sacraments to Christ’s faithful.

Now that moves are afoot to start lifting the draconian restrictions that have been placed upon us, let us also remember to pray that our bishops will begin the serious reform that is necessary of our Catholic schools. In a way, it has been a small blessing that the children have not been at school for some time. Please God this will have helped them to begin detaching from the false propaganda that some individuals and organisations are pushing into our schools in order to steer children’s thinking away from the infallible teachings of the Catholic Church.

Regarding access to the sacraments, I was speaking with a moral theologian friend recently. He told me that he is writing a memorandum to the bishops regarding the closure of our churches. He said that no bishop has the right to deny the faithful access to the Churches or to the sacraments and that it is certainly possible to provide such access whilst taking reasonable measures to protect people from a contagious disease. He explained the reason for this memorandum to the bishops as follows’ “It is not a matter of accusing, much less condemning [the bishops] for their decisions. God knows they had to decide quickly and under a lot of pressure. It is more so that, when it happens again, they are

ready to make it clear that the sacraments are essential. It is not possible to equate them with going to the theatre. It is all too easy to point to historical incidents, the gravity of which is largely unknown to us. The experience of the past few months should equip us for the future so that we can keep the churches open.”

Now that the State has seen that it can force compliance with its decrees upon the Catholic Church and that the hierarchy have shown themselves almost too willing to comply with the draconian directives, the State will be back again with other coercive directives against the Catholic Church.

Already the once ‘catholic’ marriage guidance agency ACCORD, now accepts sinful same-sex relationships and is willing to counsel those who live in these sinful situations without telling them to convert and to turn away from their sins. In the April 23rd 2020, edition of the ‘Kerry’s Eye’ newspaper, which claims to be “the largest circulation newspaper in Kerry”, Jimmy O’Donnell, ACCORD administrator for Kerry Accord said: “Any relationships can go through difficulties. We want people to know if they are facing difficulties in any relationship, marriage, same-sex partnerships, or other family members, we are here to listen.”

“We now look at relationships of all types and offer a non-judgemental,

free and fully confidential service to anyone who needs it.” (Jimmy O’Donnell – ACCORD – Kerry’s Eye, April 23rd, 2020.)

We have also seen that the LGBT agenda is being promoted shamelessly in many Catholic schools around the country under pressure from the secular state, and now, it is the secular state which deciding when Catholics will be allowed, by the State, to attend the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass again.

This situation does not bode well for our country.

I was interested to see that Cardinal Gerhard Muller has said something similar regarding the closure of our churches in an interview with the Italian Catholic online journal ‘La Nuova Bussola Quotidiana’ – The New Daily Compass. Asked about the additional sufferings apart from the virus whereby faithful Catholics are denied access to the sacraments, Cardinal Muller replied.

“This is very serious, it’s the secularist thought which has made its way into the Church. It is one thing to take precautionary measures to minimise the risks of contagion, it is another to ban the liturgy. The Church is not a client of the state, and no bishop has the right to ban the Eucharist in this way. Moreover, we have witnessed priests being punished by their bishops for celebrating mass for only a few persons, this means they conceive themselves as state officials. But our supreme pastor is Jesus Christ, not Giuseppe Conte

22nd May 2020 Catholic Voice

CHURCH MATTERS 13

(the Italian Prime Minister) or any other head of state. The state has its task, but the church has its own.” (Cardinal Gerhard Muller – interview excerpt) Cardinal Muller also made an intriguing reference to the recent Amazonian Synod.

“Just think of those who before and during the Synod on the Amazon said forcefully that indigenous peoples absolutely needed the Eucharist and for this it was necessary to ordain married men as priests. Now the same people shamelessly argue the exact opposite, that we do not need the Eucharist. They reason like Protestants, ignoring that the central point of controversy since the beginning of the Protestant Reformation, is the Eucharist.”

(Cardinal Gerhard Muller – interview excerpt) What the Covid-19 pandemic, if it is indeed such, is clearly showing to those who have eyes to see, is the weakened state of the hierarchical element of the Catholic Church.

We have had at least one bishop who used social media to publicly criticise those faithful who still desire to attend the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and who asked priests if this would be possible through house Masses, as being ‘selfish’.

It has also been said that the closure of our churches is prolife, the implication being that those faithful Catholics who seek the restoration of the public celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass ahead of government directives but with due regard for the safety of those who attend in these times, are somehow not pro-life. To have such disparaging remarks made against faithful Catholics by bishops on social media platforms, is scandalous,

Bishop Athanasius Schneider Celebrates Mass in Pittsburgh (Image courtesy Institute of Christ the King) especially when one considers the true nature of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and what it is that these faithful Catholics truly desire, communion with Jesus Christ as Jesus Christ Himself desires and for which purpose He instituted the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

Social Media platforms are not suitable venues for discussing matters of such importance and of such a serious theological nature.

The tendency is to drift into ‘straw

man’ arguments, which denigrate positions which are not a true reflection of the thoughts of those being opposed in the discussion.

Social Media platforms are best avoided in these cases.

Would those who condemn today’s Catholics who wish to return to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass ahead of the lifting of government restrictions, also condemn those who risked their lives and the lives of others to attend the Holy Sacrifice

14 CHURCH MATTERS of the Mass at the Mass Rocks, during the penal restrictions? Were these penal Catholics anti-life?

Would they condemn the priests of penal times who put the lives of their congregations at risk by celebrating those Masses at the rocks?

Of course, Catholics must give due regard to protecting the health of their fellow Catholics, but not at the expense of our spiritual wellbeing and our spiritual health. If it is possible to have a small funeral with social distancing, then it is possible to celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass with a few, socially distanced faithful present. It is also possible to hear confessions and to distribute Holy Communion ‘extra Missam’ whilst still adhering to the social distancing norms. I know, because I have been receiving Holy Communion and going to confession for the last three weeks without putting anyone at risk of getting Covid-19.

I also know of at least two priests in Ireland, who continue to offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in Church with a few of the faithful present. There may be more priests doing this but, like the Masses

Catholic Voice

at the Mass Rocks of old, these priests must be careful lest they be reported to the State authorities or to their bishops, either of whom might seek to prevent them from giving some faithful Catholics the opportunity to worship and adore God as He Himself desires to be worshipped and adored. The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass comes to us from Jesus Christ as the preferred form of worship man should offer to Almighty God. There seems to be a total concentration on protecting natural life, whilst the supernatural life of Catholics has been largely set to one side. Whilst this may, up to a certain point, be acceptable for the secular state, it is not acceptable for bishops to deny access to the sacraments to faithful Catholics.

There are unexpected blessings.

One of these, as mentioned above, is that our schools are closed.

Another, is that it now looks certain that the travesties which have been permitted at the annual Knock Novena, will not go ahead this year. It is doubtful that Knock

22nd May 2020 will be permitted by the State to allow the usual gatherings of more than 5,000 people to happen. They could of course host the Novena as an online event, but it is interesting, that when faithful Catholics contacted the parish priest in Knock and the Archbishop of Tuam to object to the scandalous happenings at previous Novenas, they were dismissed. In a strange way, their prayers have been answered by God, not through His Divine Will, but through His permissive Will.

Ireland’s National Catholic Shrine is closed. All the churches there; the parish church; the basilica; the adoration chapel and the confession chapel; are closed. No one is permitted to enter these sacred spaces to adore Jesus Christ truly present in the tabernacle at Ireland’s National Catholic Shrine. This is a very telling reflection on the state of Catholicism in Ireland today and it bears out much of what has been written in Catholic Voice over the years.

Ancient Mass Rock - Achill Island Photo by ‘Night of the Big Wind’ - wikimedia

22nd May 2020

Catholic Voice

CHURCH MATTERS 15

What Should the Response of Lay Catholics Be? It is important for lay Catholics to seek to read the signs of our times.

The Catholic Church has been put under siege by satan. This siege prevents most of the lay Catholics right across the world from accessing the essential sacraments of confession and of Holy Communion. Confession restores life to those who are dead in their sins. Holy Communion nourishes our souls. In many countries dying Catholics are prevented from receiving the sacrament of ‘extreme unction’ and the apostolic pardon, which frees them from all temporal punishment due to their sins as they approach their particular judgement with Jesus Christ.

But Catholics must remember that God permits this abuse of our freedom to worship, just as God permitted man to crucify Jesus Christ, the second person of the Blessed Trinity. God’s ways are not the ways of men.

“And Peter taking him, began to rebuke him, saying: Lord, be it far from thee, this shall not be unto thee. Who turning, said to Peter: Go behind me, Satan, thou art a scandal unto me: because thou savourest not the things that are of God, but the things that are of men.

Then Jesus said to his disciples: If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For he that will save his life, shall lose it: and he that shall lose his life for my sake, shall find it. For what doth it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his own soul?

Or what exchange shall a man give for his soul?” (Matthew 16:22-26) The words of Christ about ‘he that will save his life’ have a particular resonance in these times

Bishop Athanasius Schneider Distributes Holy Communion (Image courtesy Institute of Christ the King) of Covid-19. Catholics must also take cognisance of Chapter 24 of St Matthew’s Gospel where Jesus warns us about the rise of the false Christs and the false prophets.

If therefore they shall say to you: Behold he is in the desert, go ye not out: Behold he is in the closets, believe it not. For as lightning cometh out of the east, and appeareth even into the west: so shall the coming of the Son of man be.” (Matthew 24:24-27)

If lay Catholics are wondering what is the correct response in these dark and strange times through which we are living, I suggest that they should re-examine the messages God has sent to us through St Margaret Mary Alacoque, concerning devotion to His Most Sacred Heart. I would also suggest, whilst avoiding the controversies without dismissing them, that we look again to what we know definitively of the messages given to the three children of Fatima; Jacinta, Francisco and Lucia. They were visited by an Angel, and Our Lady gave them certain instructions as to her desires and also concerning devotion to her Immaculate Heart and Our Lord’s desire to promote this devotion alongside devotion to His Most Sacred Heart.

We should not become apocalyptic in our vision, forwarding every warning we hear across social media, because Jesus, speaking of the end of time also tells us in Matthew 24:

We have included some of this information in the two centre pages of this edition of Catholic Voice and our latest Lumen Fidei newsletter will also address this most important topic.

“But of that day and hour no one knoweth, not the angels of heaven, but the Father alone.” (Matthew 24:36)

May God bless you

“For there shall arise false Christs and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders, insomuch as to deceive (if possible) even the elect. Behold I have told it to you, beforehand.

16 DEVOTIONS

Catholic Voice

22nd May 2020

IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY Our Lady of Fatima

Our Lady first appeared to the three children of Fatima, Lucia de Jesús dos Santos, and her two cousins Jacinta and Francisco Marto, who were aged 10, 8 and 7 respectively, on May 13th 1917. At this first visit, in answer to some questions from the children, Our Lady confirmed the doctrine of Purgatory when she told them that their friend Amelia who had died was still in Purgatory. Our Lady then asked the three children the following question.

“Do you want to offer yourselves to God to endure all the sufferings that He may choose to send you, as an act of reparation for the sins by which He is offended and as a supplication for the conversion of sinners?”

Our Lady confirms the primary purpose of prayer and sacrifice.

- To make reparation to God for man’s offences against Him - and for the conversion of sinners, that is, for the salvation of souls.

The second time Our Lady appeared to the children, June 13th 1917, she asked them to pray the Rosary every day and gave them an additional prayer to say at the end of each decade.

“O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of Hell, lead all souls to Heaven, especially those most in need.”

On this occasion Our Lady first mentions the devotion to her Immaculate Heart. This was after she told Lucia that Jacinta and Francisco would go to Heaven soon but that she Lucia, would have to wait for some time.

“I will take Jacinta and Francisco soon. You, however, are to stay here a longer time. Jesus wants to use you to make Me known and loved. He wants to establish the Devotion to My Immaculate Heart in the world. I promise salvation to those who embrace it and their souls will be loved by God as flowers placed by Myself to adorn His throne.”

The Vision Of Hell

On 13th June 1917, Our Lady again appeared to the three children. She told them the benefits of praying the Rosary daily.

“Continue to say the Rosary every day in honour of Our Lady of the Rosary to obtain peace for the world and the end of the war; for only She can help you.”

Our Lady then taught the children another prayer to say as they made their sacrifices.

“Sacrifice yourselves for sinners; and say often, especially when you make some sacrifice: ‘O my Jesus, it is for love of Thee, for the conversion of sinners and in reparation for sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary I offer this sacrifice to Thee.’”

Our Lady then opened her hands and the three young children were shown a vision of Hell where the souls of poor sinners go. Our Lady then prophesied about the second world war.

“To forestall this, I shall come to ask for the Consecration of Russia to My Immaculate Heart and the Communion of Reparation on the First Saturdays.

“If they heed My requests, Russia will be converted, and there will be peace. If not, she shall spread her errors throughout the world, promoting wars and persecutions of the Church; the good will be martyred, the Holy Father will have much to suffer, various nations will be annihilated; in the end, My Immaculate Heart shall triumph. The Holy Father will consecrate Russia to Me, which will be converted, and some time of peace will be given to the world.”

This very brief synopsis of the first three visions of Fatima, clearly shows us the importance of the Rosary and of the devotion to The Immaculate Heart of Mary, especially for peace and for the conversion of sinners.

22nd May 2020

DEVOTIONS 17

Catholic Voice

MOST SACRED HEART OF JESUS St Margaret Mary Alacoque

In his book, ‘Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus’, Father John Croiset, who was a spiritual director to St Margaret Mary in her later years, tells us the purpose of the Sacred Heart Devotion.

“The particular object of this devotion is the immense love of the Son of God, which has induced Him to die for us, and to give Himself wholly to us in the Adorable Sacrament of the Altar, and this, although He foresaw all the ingratitude and outrages which He was to meet with in this state of a victim immolated till the end of ages; preferring rather to expose himself daily to the insults and contempt of mankind, than to fail in showing us, by the greatest of all wonders, to what an excess He loves us.”

St Margaret Mary was born in France on the feast of St. Mary Magdalen, July 22nd, 1647.

She was baptized on the 25th, July, in the parish church of Verosvre. Her father died when she was eight years old and her family went through some very tough times. She made her first Holy Communion when she was ten years old. She also endured much sickness and bad health in her early years. She learned to suffer early on in life and offered it all to God. She had a deep devotion to Our Lady and the Rosary from a young age.

In 1671, St Margaret Mary joined the Visitation sisters at the convent of Paray-Le-Monial in eastern France. As she entered the convent for the first time, she heard Our Lord speak to her interiorly. “Here I wish thee to remain” She was twenty four years old and it was in this convent that Our Lord revealed to her His desire for and the great promises for those who embraced this devotion to His Sacred Heart.

This was no coincidence. The founder, St Francis de Sales, once wrote to St Jean de Chantal.

“The other day, considering in prayer the open side of our Lord, and seeing His Heart, it seemed good to me that our hearts should surround His Heart, and render it homage as the sovereign King of hearts.”

The Sacred Heart Devotion

Throughout St Margaret’s life in the convent, she was given a share in Christ’s suffering which she understood to be the result of the sins of man which needed to be appeased and which were visited on just souls in order to save sinners.

In 1674, Our Lord began to let St Margaret Mary know what he wanted of her and in 1675 Our Lord showed her His heart saying.

“Behold this Heart, which has loved men so much that it has spared nothing to testify that love. In return, I receive from the greater number only ingratitude, contempt, sacrilege and coldness, in this Sacrament of My love. But what I feel most keenly is, that even hearts consecrated to Me treat Me thus. Hence, I desire that the first Friday after the Octave of the Blessed Sacrament shall be set apart as a particular festival in honor of My Heart, to make reparation for all these indignities offered to it, and as a day of communion to atone for the unworthy treatment it has received when exposed on the altars. I promise that My Heart shall be dilated to shed profusely the influences of Divine Love upon those who render it this honor, and lead others to do the same.”

Meanwhile on 10th December 1925, Our Lady again spoke to Sr Lucia.

“My daughter, look at My Heart encircled with the thorns with which ungrateful men pierce It at every moment by their blasphemies and ingratitude.

Do you at least try to console Me and announce in My name that I promise to assist at the hour of death with the graces necessary for salvation all those who, on the first Saturday of five consecutive months, go to Confession and receive Holy Communion, recite the Rosary and keep Me company for a quarter of an hour while meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary with the intention of making reparation to Me.” Our Lord and Our Lady greatly desire us to practice the devotions to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary for the salvation of souls.

18 SALVATION OF SOULS

Catholic Voice

22nd May 2020

A Life Freely Lived Sr Anne Marie Walsh S.O.L.T. From the perspective of eternity, there is really only one urgency: the salvation of souls.

Birthing souls into eternal life is a labor that is perhaps the most hidden, yet, most valuable labour of all. This is not the kind of work many people ever think of or even consciously involve themselves in.

Yet when the weight of what is at stake is felt, and an eternity of either endless happiness or endless torment is understood within the depths of a soul, great hearts are moved in the likeness of Jesus’ own heart to do whatever they can to keep even one soul from being lost.

A century ago, a group of men called the One-Way Missionaries, freely chose to serve that urgency by purchasing one-way tickets to remote parts of the earth where the Gospel had not yet been proclaimed, or where the Good News was treated with life-threatening hostility.

Those who volunteered to go did not expect to return, and most of them didn’t. They packed their belongings into a coffin meant for their burial and set off to strange lands, willing to pay the highest price so that their forgotten brothers and sisters might know the surpassing greatness of Him Who calls us out of the darkness and into His marvellous light. (1 Peter 2:9) One of the most famous One-Way Missionaries was a Scotsman named A. W. Milne, who volunteered to go to the New Hebrides in the South Pacific to live among tribal headhunters. He knew when he left that these tribes had already killed every missionary sent before him.

And yet, something must have stirred Milne’s heart with graces of Divine appointment and courage.

He must have been able to utter the words of St. Paul about himself: “I no longer live, but Christ within me lives.” When that happens, the fire of Christ’s passion for souls takes over and drives a person to go where they would never go otherwise.

Milne was the right missionary for the right time and place. He lived among the tribal peoples for 35 years, and when he died, the people buried him in the centre of the village and marked his grave with the following epitaph: “When He Came There Was No Light. When He Left There Was No Darkness.”

What sentence would capture the story of our lives and reveal the level of our involvement with things that really matter? Can we win souls for Christ if every difficulty, every setback, every fierce battle causes

Requiem Mass for the Holy Souls With Absolution at the Catafalque Photo: Latin Mass Belfast

us to whimper, to complain, to become discouraged, to crumble?

Doesn’t the enemy like to see soldiers who run, who hide, who desert because they don’t believe the battle is worth the blessings it will obtain?

If the highest currency in the economy of Redemption is love freely willing to lay down its life for a brother or sister in danger of being lost eternally, how rich are we really? And how free are we really if we can’t make the sign of the Cross in public or pray at a restaurant before eating because of what other people might think? Selfinterest doesn’t get us far in eternity.

“Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses it will save it.” (Lk 17:33) Wrong choices lead to unhappy endings not just for ourselves but also for those that follow us.

On the bright side, it is possible to bring many souls to eternal happiness simply by loving them as best you can. A smile that

22nd May 2020 Catholic Voice pierces through the oppressive fog of loneliness, a friendly inquiry, a genuine assist in difficulty, a nonjudging, concerned presence; these can be life-changing moments for people because they break through the dismal experiences life has taught them to expect, and stir hope, giving signs that life has better possibilities. Loving like this is not always easy. It can involve real sacrifice. But sacrifice is love in action and proof of its authenticity.

The real mission of Christ, of the Church, of ourselves, is not necessarily somewhere far away in a foreign land. Some will be called to foreign lands. But even for them, the real mission, as Pope Francis says, is the human person. “Today... every dimension of the human being is mission territory, awaiting the announcement of the Gospel.”

Christ’s mission is all around us.

A soul that becomes able to completely lay down its life for others, in whatever form that takes, walks straight into heaven at the end of this life. Nothing holds it back or weighs it down. It goes immediately to its source in the Heart of God because it has already tasted and drunk freely of this lifegiving love in its own life. This love is what changes the world and secures beatitude for all those who come in contact with it and receive it into themselves.

The Church and her mission of salvation will never lose relevance and will never be conquered.

We either fight with her and for her through every storm no matter how severe or frightening, or we abandon her and ensure our own demise.

Jesus doesn’t ask us to spread the kingdom and fight for our brothers and sisters only if things are easy

LIBERALISM IS A SIN

SALVATION OF SOULS 19 and perfect. He asks us to fight and stay faithful precisely because they aren’t. He will do the rest.

Questions for Reflection 1. What determines my life?

Success? Other people’s opinions?

God’s Law? Self- Image?

2. Can I still be genuinely free even in the midst of illness or suffering?

3. How do I lay down my life for others? Where am I not really free in my life?

4. How have I experienced God’s call to mission in my life?

Sr Anne Marie Walsh is an American sister in the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity. This article is taken from her recent publication Gathering the Light: Treasures Out of the Darkness. It is published by www.goodbooksmedia.com and is available also on-line via Book Depository.

CATECHISM ON MODERNISM

the Catholic hierarchy.

On the 8th September 1907, His Holiness Pope Pius X, issued the Encyclical ‘Pascendi Dominici Gregis’ which translates as “Feeding the Lord’s Flock”. Pope Pius X was aware that the Catholic Church had been infiltrated by modernists who were seeking to undermine her doctrines from within.

Father J. B. Lemius, produced this ‘Catechism on Modernism’ in the familiar question and answer format of the time, in order to make the teachings of the Encyclical more accessible to ordinary Catholics and by way of explaining in a clear and concise manner the reasons why the Encyclical was published.

Paperback

Paperback

€/£13.50 inc p&p

€/£13.50 inc p&p

Published by

Published by

Lumen Fidei Press

Lumen Fidei Press

Don Félix Sardà y Salvany: – was born on May 21, 1844 in Sabadell, Catalonia, Spain. He was a Catholic priest and writer who wrote against Liberalism which he considered a grave sin. He was the editor of the weekly Spanish Catholic magazine ‘La Revista Popular’ for over forty years. He died on January 2, 1916 at the age of 71. This book, Liberalism is a Sin, is particularly relevant to the

times we live in today where Liberalism permeates every aspect of our society and has deeply infiltrated the thinking of many of

To Order please telephone 059 8627268 ROI 00353 598627268 Outside ROI Alternatively, Order Online @ www.lumenfidei.ie/shop

20 SPEAKING OUT

Catholic Voice

22nd May 2020

Bats In The Bernini Belfries Christopher Monckton of Brenchley

Well, actually, the twin bell towers on the principal front of St Peter’s Basilica are not by Bernini: his design failed, through no fault of his own, and was eventually rejected.

But the Pope – perhaps influenced by the news that the Chinese say their virus originated in bats that infected live animals for sale at the Huanan “seafood” market in Wuhan – has been preaching and Tweeting about bats. Yes, folks, bats.

During a recent sermon, the Pope said: “The light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil. Jesus also takes this from the light. There are people – even us too, many times – who cannot live in the light because we are accustomed to darkness. The light stuns them; they can’t see. They are human bats: they only know how to move about in the night.”

Later in the same sermon: “And in the day-to-day, in the daily question we can ask ourselves: Do I walk in the light or do I walk in the darkness? Am I a child of God or do I end up being a poor bat?”

The Pope was so pleased with the batty bat analogy that he Tweeted about it the same day: When we are in a state of sin, we are like “human bats” who can move about only at night. We find it easier to live in darkness because the light reveals to us what we do not want to see. But then our eyes grow accustomed to darkness and we no longer recognize the light.

However, the Pope has been silent about the battiness of the Walt Disney empire, which has decided, for some reason, to promote and parade various forms of sexual deviancy in its films for children.

My generation was allowed an

innocent childhood, but not today’s little ones.

Just before the Chinese-virus lock-down, campaigners against the pollution of children’s movies with such disturbing propaganda attended Disney’s shareholders’ meeting and asked the chief executive, one Chapek, what message he had for the 700,000 people who had signed a petition asking Disney to keep its films and theme parks family-friendly and not host such events as “Gloom Pride”.

Chapek failed to answer that one.

Instead, Disney confirmed that they wanted to “increase their commitment in this area” – as fine an instance of Newspeak as you will find.

And that means shareholders in Disney had better dump the stock while the going’s good, because, as the unspeakable BBC discovered when they tried to make the children’s programme ‘Dr Who’ politically correct, kids don’t like to be preached to. The latest

incarnation of Dr Who – a woman, natch – has flat-lined in the ratings, getting smaller audiences than just about all of the dozen male Doctors who preceded her.

The opening weekend of ‘Onward’, Disney/Pixar’s latest film theoretically intended to amuse children, confirms that ordinary people are fed up to the back teeth with relentless hardLeft propaganda dolled up as entertainment for children.

Based on the opening, which took place before the Chinese-virus lock-down could do any damage to ticket sales, Onward is – gloriously – a whale of a flop. The most likely explanation is that it is first Disney film to feature an openly homosexual character. Rightly, the film has been banned in four countries and shunned everywhere else.

When Onward bombed, Disney’s share price nosedived. And that’s the way to any corporation’s heart.

Disney has just learned the hard way that if you’re in the business of

22nd May 2020 entertainment for all the family and you serve up gruesome, predatory, hard-Left sexual ideology instead, you’ll go deservedly bust.

Now that parents cannot trust the Disney brand to be child-friendly, they will vote with their feet and their pennies and stay away, and an empire once founded on its appeal to the little ones will fade into the fog of history, remembered fondly for the unassuming but reliable morality that – though the sullen, thuggish Chapek has not learned the lesson in time – was Disney’s most priceless asset.

What this heartening story of gross corporate misjudgement and consequent financial failure demonstrates is that the traditional, Christian family is still – as it will always be – a force to be reckoned with. And this is where the Church comes in. She is Holy-Family friendly. Instead of maundering on about bats or Nature punishing us with the Chinese virus because of climate change, His Holiness should cease to espouse the Communism that gave us the virus and, in all his future sermons, adhere firmly and without any more deviations to his ‘missio canonica’, which is to preach the Gospel, the whole Gospel and nothing but the Gospel.

If I were Pope, I should be speaking out on behalf of the people of Tibet, whose remote and beautiful but defenceless theocracy was invaded and brutally occupied 70 years ago by Chinese Communists who coveted its great mineral wealth.

The West, as usual, did nothing and still does nothing.

I should be speaking out on behalf of the people of Taiwan, where the legitimate Chinese Government resides. That Government has been perhaps the most successful in the world in handling the Chinese virus, but China’s increasing military aggressiveness and the weakening

Catholic Voice

SPEAKING OUT 21

of the West’s will suggests that Taiwan will not remain free for much longer.

itself rightly regarded by the International Criminal Court as a crime against humanity.

I should be speaking out on behalf of the millions of Muslim Uighurs imprisoned without trial or justification in the 21stcentury Gulag Archipelago of concentration camps in the far west of China, where they are “reeducated”.

I should be speaking out on behalf of the thousands of Chinese citizens who have had their organs harvested from their living bodies so as to artificially extend the worthless lives of senior officials of the Communist Party.

I should be speaking out on behalf of the Falun Gong, a generally harmless if misguided sect ruthlessly suppressed by the Chinese Communist Party.

I should be speaking out on behalf of the numerous victims of China’s crimes against humanity both inside and outside China. Every death from the Chinese virus is the direct responsibility of the Communist Party.

I should be speaking out on behalf of those, like the late Dr Li Wenliang, rightly chosen by Forbes magazine as the face of 2019, who tried to get the message out and warn the world but was arrested and threatened, or like the seven other doctors whom the regime has made to disappear altogether.

Each such disappearance is in

I should be speaking out on behalf of families and children everywhere, in condemnation of Disney and too many others who menace family life by promoting Communist sexual ideology that – though you would not know this from recent statements by some illinstructed bishops – is directly and gravely contrary to the teachings of Holy Mother Church.

It may be that I have somehow missed His Holiness’ speeches on behalf of these and countless others who suffer and die every hour under the oppression of the most calculatedly evil ideology ever invented. If so, gentle reader, no doubt you will enlighten me. The silence of St Thomas More thundered throughout Christendom. The silence of the Supreme Pontiff is as the squeak of a – well, of a bat.

Disney - Children’s Entertainment or Child Corruption?

22 FATIMA

Catholic Voice

22nd May 2020

The Miracle Of Fatima - October 13th, 1917 As Recorded in ‘The True Story of Fatima’ Fr John de Marchi I.M.C. As Our Lady took leave of the children, She opened Her hands which emitted a flood of light. While She was rising, She pointed towards the sun, and the light gleaming from Her hands brightened the sun itself.

“There She goes; there She goes!” shouted Lucia, without for a moment taking her eyes from the beautiful Queen of Heaven. Lucia did not afterwards remember having said these words, though Francisco and Jacinta and many others distinctly heard her.

Lucia said later that she had no recollection of it. “I was not even aware of the presence of the people. My purpose was not to call the attention of the people to it; I did it, carried away by an interior movement which impelled me to it.”

The echo of Lucia’s shout came back in a huge, immense cry of wonder and astonishment from the multitude. It was at this precise moment that the clouds were quickly dispersed and the sky was clear.

The sun was now pale as the moon.

To the left of the sun, Saint Joseph appeared holding in his left arm the Child Jesus. Saint Joseph emerged from the bright clouds only to his chest, sufficient to allow him to raise his right hand and make, together with the Child Jesus, the Sign of the Cross three times over the world. As Saint Joseph did this, Our Lady stood in all Her brilliancy to the right of the sun, dressed in the blue and white robes of Our Lady of the Rosary.

Meanwhile, Francisco and Jacinta were bathed in the marvelous colors and signs of the sun, and Lucia was privileged to gaze upon

Our Lord dressed in red as the Divine Redeemer, blessing the world, as Our Lady had foretold.

Like Saint Joseph, He was seen only from His chest up. Beside Him stood Our Lady, dressed now in the purple robes of Our Lady of Sorrows, but without the sword.

Finally, the Blessed Virgin appeared again to Lucia in all Her ethereal brightness, clothed in the simple brown robes of Mount Carmel.

As the children stared enraptured by these most beautiful heavenly visions, the countless thousands of people were amazed and overpowered by other miracles in the skies.

The sun had taken on an extraordinary color. The words of eyewitnesses best describe these stupendous signs. “We could look at the sun with ease,” Ti Marto testified; “it did not bother at all.

It seemed to be continually fading and glowing in one fashion, then another. It threw shafts of light one way and another, painting everything in different colors, the people, the trees, the earth, even the air. But the greatest proof of the miracle was the fact that the sun did not bother the eyes.”

‘The Miracle of the Sun’ Published in ‘O Seculo’ a secular newspaper, 1917

A man like Ti Marto who spent all of his days in the open fields with his flocks and tended his garden under the hot sun of the Portuguese hills, marveled at this fact. “Everybody stood still and quiet, gazing at the sun,” he went on. “At a certain point, the sun stopped its play of light and then started dancing.

22nd May 2020 Catholic Voice It stopped once more and again started dancing until it seemed to loosen itself from the skies and fall upon the people. It was a moment of terrible suspense.”

Maria da Capelinha gave the author her impressions of this tremendous miracle.

“The sun cast different colors, yellow, blue and white. It trembled constantly. It looked like a revolving ball of fire falling upon the people.”

As the sun hurled itself towards the earth in a mighty zigzag motion, the multitude cried out in terror, “Ai Jesus, we are all going to die here; Ai Jesus, we are all going to die here.” Some begged for mercy, “Our Lady save us”; many others made acts of contrition. One lady was even confessing her sins aloud.

At last the sun swerved back to its orbit and rested in the sky.

“Everyone gave a sigh of relief; we were still alive, and the miracle promised by the children had come to pass.”

Our Lord, already so much offended by the sins of mankind and particularly by the mistreatment of the children by the officials of the county, could easily have destroyed the world on that eventful day.

However, Our Lord did not come to destroy, but to save. He saved the world that day through the blessing of good Saint Joseph and the love of the Immaculate Heart of Mary for Her children on earth.

Our Lord would have stopped the great World War then raging and given peace to the world through

FATIMA 23 Saint Joseph, Jacinta later declared, if the children had not been arrested and taken to Ourém. “What you do to these My least brethren,” warns Our Lord, “you do to Me.” The miracle had come to pass at the hour and day designated by Our Lady. No one was disappointed, no one but Our Lady, perhaps, Who had said the miracle would have been much greater if the children had not been so mistreated. Many thousands of people in the Cova da Iria and in neighboring villages witnessed the overwhelming signs.

Their reports are of intense interest. There are slight variations in their descriptions of the events, though all agreed it was the most tremendous, the most aweinspiring sight they ever witnessed.

24 APOSTOLIC QUALITIES

Catholic Voice

22nd May 2020

Four Qualities Manifest

By The Apostles Just After Pentecost Monsignor Charles Pope

It is worthwhile to look back at a text that was read on Saturday (Saturday of the Octave of Easter). It is from Acts and sets forth a picture of courage and holy boldness that is too little evident in many Catholics.

Let’s look at the passage, which takes place just after the healing of the paralysed man at the gate called beautiful. And then let’s reflect on four qualities that the Apostles Peter and John manifest: Now when [the Sanhedrin] saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognised that they had been with Jesus. But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition.

But when they had commanded them to leave the council, they conferred with one another, saying, “What shall we do with these men?

For that a notable sign has been performed through them is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.”

So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.”

And when they had further threatened them, they let them go,

Conspiracy of the Jews - James Tissot (1836 - 1902) - Brooklyn Museum finding no way to punish them, because of the people, for all were praising God for what had happened. (Acts 4:13-21).

Their Authority The text opens with a reference to the “boldness” of Peter and John to the fact that the religious authorities are “astonished.” How could such uneducated and common men speak and act this way?

The Greek word translated here as “boldness” is Παρρησία (parresía or parrhēsía) from pás, “all” + rhēsis, meaning “a proverb or statement quoted with resolve.”

In other words, parresía means to speak with confidence and exhibit strong resolve; it means to speak plainly, publicly, or effectively. It is from the root rhēsis that the term rhetoric comes. Rhetoric is the art of effective or persuasive speaking and in its more technical sense usually requires training in logic and poise.

Thus, the boldness described in this passage shows the transformation that the resurrection and Pentecost have effected. Prior to Pentecost, the Apostles, though often zealous and willing to make sacrifices to follow Jesus, were also slow to understand and often confused.

Beginning with Easter Sunday (e.g., Luke 24:32,45) and most likely throughout the forty days before ascending, the Lord instructed and formed the Apostles in the Gospel.

It would take Pentecost, however, to fully quicken their minds and confirm their hearts. Jesus had said, “I still have much to tell you, but you cannot yet bear to hear it.

However, when the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth” (John 16:12-13). Elsewhere, He added, “All this I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and will

22nd May 2020 Catholic Voice remind you of everything I have told you” (John 14:25-26).

Prior to Pentecost, the Apostles and disciples gathered in fear, behind locked doors. Afterwards, though, they go about with the boldness described here. The religious leaders are “astonished” and marvel that such common and unlearned men can have such a sweeping command of their topic, and such serene courage. Peter and John have healed a man who had been lame for forty years, a man they knew was lame and had seen in the temple. The religious leaders cannot explain it; further, the usual threats do not seem to have the desired effect on them.

Yes, Peter and John are bold, confident, and unafraid. They are manifesting the gift that the Lord promised when he said, “On account of My name, they will deliver you to the synagogues and prisons, and they will bring you before kings and governors. This will be your opportunity to serve as witnesses. So make up your mind not to worry beforehand how to defend yourselves. For I will give

APOSTOLIC QUALITIES 25

you speech and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict” (Luke 21:1215).

Such a change in these men, especially Peter! It is clear that the Lord has gifted them just as He promised. Their boldness is God’s grace. May that grace reach Church leaders today, both clergy and lay.

Holy boldness such as this is needed more than ever.

Their Association The text says that the Sanhedrin recognised that they had been with Jesus. What a magnificent line. While this may have meant they recalled that these men had accompanied Jesus, for the reader the expression has far more depth.

Peter and John, by their transformed lives, are manifesting that they have been with Jesus. They are showing forth the fruit of a life-changing, transformative relationship with Jesus Christ. Yes, these men have been with Jesus; it is obvious!

How about you and me? Would someone be able to look at us and

St John the Evangelist - Knock conclude that we have been with Jesus? Is this not a description of what should be the normal Christian life? Is your association with Jesus Christ obvious to others? It ought to be.

It is, of course, a sad reality that most Christians are content to hide out or to blend in with the culture.

They are undercover Christians, secret-agent saints, and frozen chosen. There’s no real fire to attract attention, no bold proclamations or visible signs of spiritual life. Few would ever conclude that they had been with Jesus.

Where are we on the light spectrum? Is the Light of Christ in us visible (Matthew 5:14)? Do we bear the brand marks of Jesus (Galatians 6:17)? Do we love our enemies (Matthew 5:44)? Do we shine like the stars in the midst of a twisted and depraved generation (Philippians 2:15)?

Statue of St Peter - Vatican

Their Arresting Ability Although Saints Peter and John have been arrested, they have, in effect, turned the tables and arrested the Sanhedrin. As remarked above, Peter and John do not seem cowed

26 APOSTOLIC QUALITIES by the usual threats and their arguments are not easily set aside, for they speak with sincerity and authority. Further, the crowds are amazed and the leaders themselves cannot explain how a man, known by them to have been lame for forty years, now walks and even dances!

They don’t really know what to do.

They are arrested by the winsome and courageous witness before them.

True holiness can have this effect, at least in certain conditions.

St. Teresa of Calcutta was like this. Though many did not share her faith, even enemies of the faith admired her. This was not because she was a people pleaser; in fact, just the opposite. She had a boldness to scold even the most powerful, but a love that could not be denied. Her reflection of the glory of Christ arrested one and all.

This is perhaps one of the rarest gifts of all, yet still one to seek, so that at least some in every age have a holiness and a goodness that is arresting in its purity.

Catholic Voice Their Assertiveness To be appropriately assertive is to get one’s needs met without trampling others. And what is the greatest need of any saint?

To proclaim Christ and Him crucified and risen. Thus, when Peter and John are warned to stop proclaiming the name of Jesus, they assert their need and right to continue doing so.

However, they do so without disrespecting the leaders before them. They do not shout, “We won’t listen to you!” They do not personally disrespect them at all.

Rather, they commend themselves to the conscience of these leaders as a way of respectfully declining a command they cannot follow: “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.”

In other words, they say, “Brothers, Elders, would you not agree that a man must obey God before obeying any man? Do what you must do.

Make your judgments. But we

PLEASE JOIN US

The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass

Will be offered in reparation for Ireland’s unborn children who have been killed by abortion.

The Holy Mass will be live streamed from

Sacred Heart Church - Limerick On Monday 25th May @ 7.00pm www.institute-christ-king.ie Holy Mass will be followed by a Rosary of Reparation beseeching Our Lady to intercede for Ireland to turn the hearts of the Irish Nation back to Almighty God.

This is the 2nd Anniversary of Ireland’s abortion referendum.

22nd May 2020 must obey the Lord and speak of Jesus until our last breath.”

They are respectful but clear. They assert themselves and their mission but do not attack and trample the reputations or lawful authority of those in the community or state.

They cannot cooperate in an evil directive, but they do not attack or stage an attempted overthrow of power.

They stand before their opponents and look them in the eye. They will not flee or yield to fear, but neither will they become like them in arrogance and unrighteous demands.

This is a good model for us who are entering into increasingly difficult days, in which the pressures made upon us by the culture and the government may require that we refuse to cooperate with evil demands. Our goal is not to humiliate and overcome our opponents, but to convert them; and if not them then the culture around us. As St. Paul says, We do not use deception, neither do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God (2 Cor 4:2).

So here is a model for us and a set of challenges. We are to manifest a bold and sincere confidence in the Gospel we proclaim, because we have met Jesus and are being transformed into His likeness.

Indeed, we should ask and strive for that rare holiness that is arresting in its purity but also assertively announces Christ Jesus without compromise or hypocrisy.

Help us, Lord!

22nd May 2020 Catholic Voice

DEVOTIONS 27

THE FIVE FIRST SATURDAYS DEVOTION On 13th July 1917, Our Lady appeared to the three children of Fatima for the third time. It was during this apparition that the children were entrusted with secrets and were shown a vision of Hell. After the vision of Hell, which terrified the children, Our Lady told them: “You have seen Hell - where the souls of poor sinners go. To save them God wills to establish throughout the world the devotion to My Immaculate Heart.

“If people will do what I tell you, many souls will be saved, and there will be peace. The war is going to end.

“But if they do not stop offending God, another and worse war will break out in the reign of Pius XI...

“To forestall this, I shall come to ask for the Consecration of Russia to My Immaculate Heart and the Communion of Reparation on the First Saturdays.”

On Thursday December 10th, 1925, Our Lady appeared to Sr. Lucia with the child Jesus.

The Child Jesus spoke first to Lucia: “Have pity on the Heart of your Most Holy Mother. It is covered with the thorns with which ungrateful men pierce It at every moment, and there is no one to remove them with an act of reparation.”

Then Our Lady said to Lucia:

“My daughter, look at My Heart encircled with the thorns with which ungrateful men pierce It at every moment by their blasphemies and ingratitude. Do you at least try to console Me and announce in My name that I promise to assist at the hour of death with the graces necessary for salvation all those who, on the first Saturday of five consecutive months, go to Confession and receive Holy Communion, recite the Rosary and keep Me company for a quarter of an hour while meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary with the intention of making reparation to Me.” On the night of May 29th - 30th.

Our Lord revealed to Sr Lucia the reason for the First Saturday devotion.

“My daughter, the reason [for the Five First Saturdays] is simple.

There are five types of offenses and blasphemies committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary:

Blasphemies against Immaculate Conception.

the

Blasphemies against Perpetual Virginity.

Her

Blasphemies against Her Divine Maternity, refusing at the same time to recognize Her as the Mother of men.

The blasphemies of those who publicly seek to sow in the hearts of children indifference or scorn, or even hatred of the Immaculate Mother.

The offenses of those who outrage Her directly in Her holy images.

“Here, My daughter, is the reason why the Immaculate Heart of Mary inspired Me to ask for this little act of reparation... and in consideration of it, to move My mercy to pardon souls who have had the misfortune of offending Her. As for you, always seek by your prayers and sacrifices to move My mercy to pity for these poor souls.”

28 THE LITURGICAL YEAR

Catholic Voice

22nd May 2020

Practice During Paschaltide From The Liturgical Year In these strange times, when Catholics around the world are being prevented from receiving the sacraments, there is a real danger, if we are not careful, that we may lose the joy that should be ours during this most Holy season of the Catholic Liturgical Year. The following excerpts from Dom Prosper Gueranger’s ‘The Liturgical Year’ ,remind us to foster the spiritual joy of Eastertide in our hearts.

“The practice for this holy season mainly consists in the spiritual joy which it should produce in every soul that is risen with Jesus. This joy is a foretaste of eternal happiness, and the Christian ought to consider it a duty to keep it up within him, by ardently seeking after that life which is in our divine Head, and by carefully shunning sin which causes death. During the last nine weeks we have mourned for our sins and done penance for them; we have followed Jesus to Calvary; but now, our holy Mother the Church is urgent in bidding us rejoice. She herself has laid aside all sorrow; the voice of her weeping is changed into the song of a delighted Spouse.

In order that she might impart this joy to all her children, she has taken their weakness into account. After reminding them of the necessity of expiation, she gave them forty days wherein to do penance; and then, removing the restraint of Lenten mortification, she brings us to Easter as to a land where there is nothing but gladness, light, life, joy, calm, and the sweet hope of immortality.

Thus does she produce, in those of her children who have no elevation of soul, sentiments in harmony with the great feast, such as the most perfect feel; and by this means all,

by Dom Prosper Gueranger both fervent and tepid, unite their voices in one same hymn of praise to Our risen Jesus.

The great liturgist of the twelfth century, Rupert, Abbot of Deutz, thus speaks of the pious artifice used by the Church to infuse the spirit of Easter into all: ‘There are certain carnal minds that seem unable to open their eyes to spiritual things, unless roused by some unusual excitement; and for this reason the Church makes use of such means.

Thus, the Lenten fast, which we offer up to God as our yearly tithe, goes on till the most sacred night of Easter; then follow fifty days without so much as one single fast.

Hence it happens, that while the body is being mortified, and is to continue to be so till Easter Night, that holy night is eagerly looked forward to even by the carnalminded; they long for it to come; and, meanwhile, they carefully count each of the forty days, as a wearied traveller does the miles.

Thus, the sacred solemnity is sweet to all, and dear to all, and desired by all, as light is to them that walk in darkness, as a fount of living water is to them that thirst, and as “ a tent which the Lord hath pitched” for wearied wayfarers.’

What a happy time was that when, as St Bernard expresses it, there was not one in the whole Christian army that neglected his Easter duty, and when all, both just and sinners, walked together in the path of the Lenten observances! Alas! those days are gone, and Easter has not the same effect on the people of our generation! The reason is that a love of ease and a false conscience lead so many Christians to treat the law of Lent with as much indifference as if there were no such law existing.

Dom Prosper Gueranger Hence, Easter comes upon them as a feast - it may be as a great feast - but that is all; they experience little of that thrilling joy which fills the heart of the Church during this season, and which she evinces in everything she does. And if this be their case even on the glorious day itself, how can it be expected that they should keep up, for the whole fifty, the spirit of gladness, which is the very essence of Easter? They have not observed the fast, or the abstinence, of Lent: the mitigated form in which the Church now presents them to her children, in consideration of their weakness, was too severe for them! They sought, or they took, a total dispensation from this law of Lenten mortification, and without regret or remorse.

The Alleluia returns, and it finds no response in their souls: how could it? Penance has not done its work of purification: it has not spiritualised them; how, then, could they follow their risen Jesus, whose life is henceforth more of heaven than of earth?

22nd May 2020 Catholic Voice But these reflections are too sad for such a season as this: let us beseech our risen Jesus to enlighten these souls with the rays of his victory over the world and the flesh, and to raise them up to himself. No, nothing must now distract us from joy. ‘Can the children of the Bridegroom mourn, as long as the Bridegroom is with them?’ Jesus is to be with us for forty days; he is to suffer no more, and die no more; let our feelings be in keeping with his now endless glory and bliss.

True, he is to leave us, he is to ascend to the right hand of his Father; but he will not leave us orphans; he will send us the divine Comforter, who will abide with us for ever. These sweet and consoling words must be our Easter text: ‘The children of the Bridegroom cannot mourn, as long as the Bridegroom is with them.’

They are the key to the whole Liturgy of this holy season. We must have them ever before us, and we shall find by experience that the joy of Easter is as salutary as the contrition and penance of Lent. Jesus on the cross, and Jesus in the Resurrection, it is ever the same Jesus; but what he wants from us now is that we should keep near him, in company with his blessed Mother, his disciples, and Magdalen, who are in ecstasies of delight at his triumph, and have forgotten the sad days of his Passion.

which is never to have an end, and of which these happy ones of earth are a mere foretaste. Nor is this all.

Listen to the Church. In one of her prayers she reveals to us the great secret, how we may perpetuate our Easters even here in our banishment-’ Grant to thy servants, O God, that they may keep up, by their manner of living, the Mystery they have received by believing!

So, then, the Mystery of Easter is to be ever visible on this earth; our risen Jesus ascends to heaven, but he leaves upon us the impress of his Resurrection, and we must retain it within us until he again visits us.

And how could it be that we should not retain this divine impress within us? Are not all the mysteries of our divine Master ours also? From his very first coming in the Flesh, he has made us sharers in everything he has done. He was born in Bethlehem: we were born together with him. He was crucified: our ‘old man was crucified with him.”

He was buried: ‘we were buried with him.’ And therefore, when he rose from the grave, we also received the grace that we should’ walk in the newness of life.”

THE LITURGICAL YEAR 29 Christ rising again from the dead. dieth now no more; death shall no more have dominion over him: for in that he died to sin, (that is, for sin.) he died once; but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.’ He is our head, and we are his members: we share in what is his.

To die again by sin would be to renounce him, to separate ourselves from him, to forfeit that Death and Resurrection of his which he mercifully willed should be ours.

Let us, therefore, preserve within us that life, which is the life of our Jesus, and which yet belongs to us as our own treasure; for he won it by conquering death, and then gave it to us, with all his other merits.

You, then, who before Easter were sinners, but have now returned to the life of grace, see that you die no more; let your actions bespeak your resurrection. And you to whom the Paschal solemnity has brought growth in grace, show this increase of more abundant life by your principles and your conduct. ‘Tis thus all will (walk in the newness of life.’

With this, for the present, we take Such is the teaching of the Apostle, leave of the lessons taught us by the who thus continues: ‘We know that Resurrection of Jesus.

But this Easter of ours will have an end; the bright vision of our risen Jesus will pass away; and all that will be left to us is the recollection of his ineffable glory, and of the wonderful familiarity wherewith he treated us. What shall we do, when he who Was our very life and light leaves us and ascends to heaven?

Be of good heart, Christians! you must look forward to another Easter. Each year will give you a repetition of what you now enjoy.

Easter will follow Easter, and bring you at last to that Easter in heaven

Cardinal Burke - Sacred Heart Church, Limerick - Photo Stephen Tyrell

30 FATIMA

Catholic Voice

22nd May 2020

Prayers From Fatima The Angel of Portugal taught two prayers to the children of Fatima during his visits of 1916.

Our Lady also taught the children the importance and the power of the Rosary.

“My God, I believe, I adore, I hope and I love Thee.

I beg pardon for all those that do not believe, do not adore, do not hope and do not love Thee. Amen.”

“Say the Rosary every day to bring peace to the world and the end of the war.”

“O Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Ghost, I adore Thee profoundly. I offer Thee the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges and indifferences by which He is offended. By the infinite merits of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary I beg the conversion of poor sinners. Amen.

Our Lady also taught the children some prayers during her visits in 1917.

During the First Apparition of 1917.

“O Most Holy Trinity, I adore Thee! My God, my God, I love Thee in the Most Blessed Sacrament. Amen.”

During the Second Apparition Our Lady said.

“Say the Rosary, inserting between the mysteries the following ejaculation.”

“O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to Heaven, especially those most in need of Thy mercy. Amen.”

During the Third Apparition Our Lady once again stressed the importance of the Rosary.

“Continue to say the Rosary every day in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary to obtain peace for the world and the end of the war; for only She can help you.”

During this apparition, before showing the children the vision of Hell, and speaking about her desire for the consecration of Russia, Our Lady taught the children a prayer to say when offering up their sacrifices.

“O my Jesus, it is for love of Thee, for the conversion of sinners and in reparation for sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary I offer this sacrifice to Thee.”

During the Sixth Apparition, just before the great miracle, Our Lady warned: “People must amend their lives and ask pardon for their sins.”

Then growing sadder: “They must not offend Our Lord any more for He is already too much offended.”

In 1931, while Sr Lucia was in Rianjo in Spain, she had an interior locution of a Prayer for the Conversion of Russia and other nations from Our Lord.

St Francisco Marto

“Sweet Heart of Mary, be the salvation of Russia, Spain, Portugal, Europe and the whole world. At other times say: By Thy pure and Immaculate Conception, O Mary, obtain for me the conversion of Russia, Spain, Portugal, Europe and the whole world.”

22nd May 2020 Catholic Voice CLASSIFIEDS 31

CLASSIFIEDS

TELEPHONE 00353 59 8627268

EVENTS

CONTACTS

FR. JOSEPH K BILL 5 DAY SILENT HEALING RETREAT given by Fr. Anthony Saji VC. 2 November - 6 November 2020 at St. Mary’s, Knock 094-9388156. €75 Reg. fee. Rosín: Organiser 074-9363336. Siobhán: retreatant/ testimony 085-2894382 (7pm - 8pm).

BUY CATHOLIC VOICE FOR A FRIEND

Keep up to date with

CatholicVoice

news and articles via The Lumen Fidei website www.lumenfidei.ie

Order an extra copy of Catholic Voice with your postal subscription for just €40 a year

The Lumen Fidei Institute

1 copy delivered to your home or business

Next issue of

Ireland is €75

CatholicVoice

CatholicVoice

On sale in churches, newsagents & bookshops from

Editor: Anthony Murphy editor@catholicvoice.ie

5 June 2020

2 copies for €115 Complete the subscription form in this issue of Catholic Voice or call

Telephone: 059 8627268 ROI 00353 59 8627268 Outside ROI

059 8627268

Visit our all-new website today!

Mass Cards

Enrollment Books

All Occasion Gifts

It’s now easier than ever to have Mass cards, enrolment books & religious gifts delivered directly to your door.

Web: www.mscmissions.ie Email: info@mscmissions.ie Tel: +353 (0)21 4545704

32 ADVERT

r

of fo yourself Buy for . d n ie fr a

Catholic Voice

22nd May 2020

C AT H O L I C R E A D I N G BOOKS FOR €£5 OR LESS!

DON’T GO TO HELL Catholic Church Teaching on Hell

THE CHURCH IN OUR TIMES

SCIENCE SAYS NO

In this book, Dr. van den Aardweg debunks many of the myths created by the global homosexualist movement. The argument for gay “marriage” is exposed as a deception in this ground breaking book. For many years the public has been indoctrinated with unfounded assertions which in fact are no more than modern fairy tales sold as science. In other words, as regards homosexuality, people hear and read mostly lies. The book explains why the deception is possible and shows why no assertion of the gay ideology has been scientifically validated.

This book contains three essays, one in question & answer format, from a time when pastors were more direct and ‘plain speaking’ in presenting the Truth of Catholic doctrine to their flocks.

They were primarily concerned with the salvation of the souls entrusted to their care rather than being overly concerned about whether or not their flocks would find these Truths offensive or difficult.

They sought the Praise and Glory of God, and not the praise of men.

is a series of reflections on topical issues concerning the Catholic Church and the practice of the faith ranging from ‘Faith and Culture’, to ‘GLBT – New thinking’, to ‘Purgatory and Remembrance’. Fr Hahesy’s style is conversational and he weaves through the various topics all the while pointing to the soul’s need for God. “The daily prayers at the end of this book, will ensure the salvation of our soul and a happier life here. Please believe me. It does not seem much to ask for such a great reward. To know and love God is the ultimate good whether people know this or not, accept it or not.”

€/£6 including p&p Ireland €/£7.50 including p&p outside Ireland

€/£9 including p&p Ireland €/£11 including p&p outside Ireland

€/£8 including p&p Ireland €/£9.50 including p&p outside Ireland

SIN AND ITS CONSEQUENCES

THE PRIEST AS SPIRITUAL FATHER

EGO EIMI - IT IS I

“May the present book of Rev. Fr. de Malleray FSSP, a beautiful and impressive “paper shrine to the Most Holy Eucharist”, have a wide diffusion and be a practical spiritual aid in order to renew the Catholic Faith, the Catholic Love and the Catholic Worship of the Sacrament of the Most Holy Eucharist.” + Athanasius Schneider.

“This highly readable, informative, and edifying treatise on the Holy Eucharist will enrich the understanding and devotion of Catholics regardless of their prior knowledge of the subject: I recommend it wholeheartedly.” Dr Joseph Shaw PhD,

This really is a fantastic book which presents Catholic teaching on sin in a simple, clear and precise way. You will learn about the nature of sin, about the different kinds of sin, mortal and venial, formal and material sins.

This 52 page booklet is written by Father David Marsden SCJ who has spent the past seven years as clinical psychologist in a national Catholic Seminary.

The 5 chapters detail a defence of why the Catholic church teaches that men with homosexual tendencies are unsuitable for priesthood.

Oxf, Chairman of The Latin Mass Society.

The book also teaches us about sins of omission. After discussing sin, the book then speaks of the great graces offered to us in the sacrament of confession, it teaches us about temptations, about Christ’s suffering and death on the cross, and then it finishes with a very hope filled chapter on the joys of the resurrection.

€/£8 including p&p Ireland €/£11 including p&p outside Ireland

€/£9 including p&p Ireland €/£11 including p&p outside Ireland

€/£5 including p&p Ireland €/£6.50 including p&p outside Ireland

We encourage you to spread booklets to help educate the faithful.

Send completed form with Credit/Debit Card Number: __________________________________________________ cheque/postal order made payable to Catholic Voice or Expiry Date: _______________________________ C.V.V. _______________ with credit/debit card details Total Enclosed: €/£__________________________ to: Name: _________________________________________________________________ Catholic Voice, St Michael’s House, Castlemitchell South, Address: _________________________________________________________________ Athy, Co Kildare, Ireland _________________________________________________________________ or telephone 059 8627268 (00353 59862726 8 from _________________________________________________________________ outside Ireland) Post Code: __________________________________ Please allow 14 working days Daytime Tel: ________________________________ for delivery.

Book Title/s: ______________________________________________________________

Published by: Catholic Voice Newspapers, St Michael’s House, Castlemitchell South, Athy, County Kildare. Tel 059-8627268 ROI / 00353 - 59 -8627268 Publisher: Anthony Murphy.

Layout by: Lumen Fidei