Catholic Voice 25th September 2020 Issue 300

CatholicVoice Omnia possum in eo, qui me confortat

25 September - 8 October 2020

Issue 300

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“Behold This Heart which has so loved men that It has spared nothing, even to the point of spending Itself and being consumed to prove Its love to them. And in return, I receive from most men only ingratitude because of their irreverence and sacrileges and the coldness and scorn they have for Me in this Sacrament of love.

But what offends me most is that hearts consecrated to Me act in this way. Do thou at least console Me by supplying for their ingratitude, as far as thou art able.”

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2 EDITORIAL

Catholic Voice

25th September 2020

“We Cannot Live As Christians Without Participating In The Sacrifice Of The Cross” development. In the liturgy, an experience of sacredness, holiness and transfiguring beauty, the harmony of eternal beatitude is anticipated: care should therefore be taken for the dignity of the places, of the sacred furnishings, of the celebratory methods, according to the authoritative indication of the Vatican Council II: “The rites shine with noble simplicity” (Sacrosanctum Concilium, 34).

Anthony Murphy On Saturday 12th September, Cardinal Robert Sarah issued a letter from the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments to the bishops’ conferences of the world urging them to facilitate the participation of the faithful in the liturgical life of the church.

We welcome this letter and we urge our bishops to take the necessary steps to ensure that as many of the faithful as possible can return to Sunday Mass with a minimum of restrictions being placed on them.

Cardinal Sarah noted that: “The participation of the faithful in celebrations should be facilitated, but without improvised ritual experiments and in full compliance with the norms contained in the liturgical books that regulate their

CatholicVoice

Editor: Anthony Murphy editor@catholicvoice.ie Telephone: 059 8627268 ROI 00353 59 8627268 Outside ROI Keep up to date with news and articles via The Lumen Fidei website www.lumenfidei.ie

One could question whether the use of builders tape to close off seats in our churches and the use of Government and Department of Health notices is in keeping with the dignity of God’s house.

The letter notes that “Liturgical norms are not matters on which civil authorities can legislate, but only the competent ecclesiastical authorities” (cf. Sacrosanctum Concilium, 22).

Another point of note from Cardinal Sarah’s letter, especially for Catholics who only receive Holy Communion on the tongue, says: “The faithful should be recognized as having the right to receive the Body of Christ and to adore the Lord present in the Eucharist in the manner provided, without limitations that even go beyond what is provided for by the hygiene rules issued by public authorities or by the Bishops.”

The norm for receiving Holy Communion in the Catholic Church in on the tongue whilst kneeling and Cardinal Sarah makes the point that, ‘A sure principle for not making mistakes is obedience. Obedience to the norms of the Church...’

As has been pointed out in this paper, our bishops are acting contrary to the norms of the Catholic Church when they mandate that Holy Communion may only be received on the hand. This letter tells the bishops that they should not do this.

The Cardinal also addresses the issue of ‘virtual’ Masses.

“Although the media carry out an appreciated service to the sick and those who are unable to go to church, and have provided a great service in the transmission of the Holy Mass in the time when there was no possibility of celebrating in community, no transmission is equivalent to personal participation or can replace it.

Indeed, these transmissions, by themselves, risk distancing us from a personal and intimate encounter with the incarnate God who gave himself to us not in a virtual way, but really, saying: “Whoever eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood remains in Me and I in him “(Jn 6:56). This physical contact with the Lord is vital, indispensable, irreplaceable.

Once the measures concretely practicable to minimize the spread of the virus have been identified and adopted, it is necessary that everyone resume their place in the assembly of the brothers, rediscover the irreplaceable preciousness and beauty of the celebration, recall and attract with the contagion of the enthusiasm brothers and sisters discouraged, afraid, absent or distracted for too long.”

Let us pray that our bishops will heed this letter and will take the necessary steps so that Irish Catholics can return to normal adoration and worship as soon as possible.

25th September 2020 Catholic Voice

LIVING IN FEAR 3

Living In Fear Forever Is No Life At All Prof Ray Kinsella

The re-opening of schools has brought the illusion of normality to our country. After all, what’s better and more normal than seeing little ones and older children return to the business of books and school bags, lunches and learning, dropoffs and pick-ups. Families are the hinge of a healthy society, the pivot of a robust economy. And their relationship with school should be a positive and one.

By this measure, the “reopening” is an illusion. There is a sense of ‘gratitude’ to government, part of a growing culture of dependency which is unhealthy. Children are returning to an experience of school radically different to anything that this, and preceding, generations have known and with more to come.

Children, of course, “get on with it”. But that is not an option for parents in a functioning democracy.

The longer-term impact of ‘social distancing’ of school as a “No Go” zone for parents and grandparents and all the rest of what seems to be made up as we go along, is not something that should be passively accepted. Clever - and expensive slogans are no substitute for facts and truth.

All of this is a microcosm of Irish society. We have lurched from one policy mind-set to another: from open airports to regional lock-downs. Impositions on the Hospitality industry are a curious mix of the inexplicable and the faintly sinister. Perhaps the reopening of schools and rhythm of family life will, in their own way, break through to the surreal state of a ‘frozen’ country– and world.

We should rigorously question these things. Yet to do so is, in the

culture of fear that now pervades our country, problematic. Enough for you and I to repeat the truism of the generosity of our health care professionals – nurses and medics that, not so long ago, were sold short by, and in dispute with, the very same political orthodoxy.

In other words, wear your mask regardless of the evidence of its clinical efficacy to show some ‘solidarity’. It’s not healthy.

Propaganda of any kind whether to ‘nudge’ or to ‘guilt’ or to manipulate people – is unhealthy. It deflects away from reason, common sense and from a reflective analysis of risk, as opposed to the uncertainty which is an intrinsic part of our world.

All of this is unfolding against the backdrop of a political stasis where two jaded parties, emphatically

4 LIVING IN FEAR

Catholic Voice

rejected by voters six months ago, have “done a deal” — think about it – to stay in power with a small economically naive minority party, in a “Programme for Government” that’s wired to the moon.

The children who entered the school gates this week will – all unbeknownst to them, and thank God for that – bear the burden of care of an economy now on life support, and with an uncertain prognosis. Its tough for many of the businesses that have reopened and respect to them. But consider for a moment the ones that are in limbo — the closed shops in the heartland of Ireland and those businesses who, whether they know it or not, are among the billion euro write-downs already provided for by the banks.

The domestic, as well as the global, impact of Covid-19, both short and medium term, come on top of the knockon effects of a post Brexit trade regime whose final impact alone on the economy, and especially the social economy, would be matter enough for real concern.

This generation is bequeathing to the students in our Universities and the children in our schools a debtburdened Irish economy: an economy dependent for the moment on the printing presses of the ECB, the Boards of multinationals driven by corporate capitalism and on a reactive and increasingly dictatorial EU. The true impact of unemployment and of the burden of debt repayment will not be fully apparent until next

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25th September 2020

year. The hope for young adults and school goers is that the scale of the impact will be mitigated by the EU’s €750 billion EU Recovery Fund and its 7 year Budget.

I wouldn’t be too sure. They were late in the day. Much damage had been done by a failure of EU institutions to control, much less manage, the early stages of the pandemic — and individual countries took (back) responsibility for responding to an event for which, as Bloomberg have pointed out, the EU was “woefully unprepared”.

The scale of the challenges confronting Ireland within a troubled EU, with a leadership that can best be described as beige, are formidable. Ireland is peripheral. Its also uniquely impacted by Brexit. Then there’s the burden of its present borrowing and national debt.

At the same time, there’s the enormous increase, post Brexit, in Ireland’s absolute and relative net contribution to the EU actual euros and contingent liabilities. These wholly disproportionate net transfers from Ireland to the EU are at the cost of urgently needed social and infrastructural expenditures here at home.

Neither have they been properly discussed.

This means that Ireland has manoeuvred itself between a rock and a (very) hard place. Bear in mind that the EU is now being ruled by the Strong and by the Frugal.

Meanwhile we are being ruled by a coalition that between them were responsible for a boom and a crash and for all the debacle that the National Children’s Hospital stands for. Our future and the future of our children is in the hands of “multi-cultural progressives” who lack either knowledge of, or respect, for history.

They have not acquainted themselves, or forgotten, Vaclav Havel’s parable of the Greengrocer. They will likely not be around when the strains on our social economy become too great. But the children who have returned to school last will be.

The message is: families are what our lives are about.

Not politics, which will always play you false. Not the EU, which marches to a different heartbeat. Family.

The ethos and governance of our schools is of special importance to families : its where the work of parents in the formation of children in faith values, and in the virtues that bind a healthy society together, are reinforced. It is an ethos that must be protected. Parents cannot look to government or their TD to do this for them, this Government are in a different ‘space’ to them.

More than ever before, families need to embed in their children independence from the state and the selfreliance which is part of the Germanic culture and is a part of Ireland’s farming heritage.

Parents need to reflect quietly on how to strength their resilience, their preparedness, in mitigating the consequence of what is unfolding in our suddenly strange new world.

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6 LIVES OF THE SAINTS

Catholic Voice

25th September 2020

The Saints’ Attributes Saint Nicholas of Tolentino: The Lily and the Bread Canon Benjamin Norman I.C.K.S.P.

Saint Nicholas of Tolentino was born at San Angelo, near the town of Fermo, in Italy’s central region in the year of Our Lord 1246, to pious parents who lived a quiet life on modest means. His birth was an answer to the prayers of his holy mother. Throughout Nicholas’ life, he was marked by a Christ-like meekness and a love for holy virginity.

One day he heard a sermon by an Augustinian hermit on this text from the first epistle of St. John: “Do not love the world, nor the things of the world, for the world and the concupiscence thereof passeth away” (1 John 2;1517). He immediately felt a call to the religious life, and he requested admission to the Augustinian order.

Unlike so many parents of those with genuine religious vocations in our age, Nicholas’ parents gave a willing and joyful consent to their son’s desire. He entered the order and made his profession of vows before reaching the age of nineteen. He was ordained a priest at the age of twenty-five and spent his priesthood in selfless

service to his flock, with a particular attention to the poor and to prisoners. His preaching was adorned with marvellous results of conversion among his auditors, most of all at Tolentino, where he spent the last thirty years of his life, preaching almost daily. His later years offered him the trial of frequent sickness; he nevertheless continued his penances and mortifications almost until his dying breath.

This saint was known during his life as a wonderworker. Once after a prolonged fast he received a vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Augustine. They instructed him to eat a portion of bread bearing the mark of the Cross, and which had been dipped in water.

Upon doing so he was immediately made stronger. He then began a custom of distributing bread to the sick, while praying to the Blessed Mother. The result was often the curing of those afflicted with illness. This is the origin of the Augustinian custom of blessing and distributing “Saint Nicholas Bread”.

There are many pious traditions and legends attributed to Saint Nicholas of Tolentino. According to one, he once underwent the trial of being beaten with a stick by the Devil; the stick was afterwards displayed for years in his church. In another, Nicholas, who always abstained from meat, was served a roasted fowl, over which he made the Sign of the Cross, causing it to fly out a window nearby.

Nine seafarers whose ship was capsizing in a storm once implored Nicholas’ aid from Heaven, and he appeared in the sky clothed in the black habit of the Augustinians. His body radiated a golden light, and he held a lily in his left hand. With his right, he quelled the violent waves. An apparition of the saint, it is said, once saved the burning palace of the Doge of Venice by casting a piece of blessed bread on the fire. It is also said that he resurrected over one hundred dead children.

Nicholas received a number of heavenly visions, including visions of Purgatory. Prayer for the souls in Purgatory was the most prominent aspect of his spirituality. As a result, he is now one of the main patrons of the Holy Souls, and was proclaimed their patron in 1884 by Pope Leo XIII. He is particularly invoked on their behalf during Lent and the month of November. In many Augustinian churches, weekly

25th September 2020

LIVES OF THE SAINTS 7

Catholic Voice

devotions to Saint Nicholas are offered on behalf of the Holy Souls.

The 2nd November, All Souls’ Day, is especially honoured by those who have a devotion to this saint.

He is also the patron of animals, infant children, sailors, the dying, and many cities and dioceses throughout the world.

One of the more poignant lessons of this saint’s life is perhaps the example of his parents’ role in his vocation. Their attitude was one of generous encouragement, which far too often is not the case among contemporary Catholic parents when their child mentions an interest in a religious vocation.

The salutary influence of parents can have a decisive effect on their child’s adherence to the will of God, and ultimately on the salvation of many souls.

In artistic representations, Saint Nicholas of Tolentino is frequently depicted in the black habit of the Augustinian Hermits. These often include a star above him or on his breast, a lily flower or several lilies in a small bunch, or a crucifix garlanded with lilies which he is holding. The lily flower is of course a reference to the spotless purity he enjoyed in this life, as with depictions of similar saints, Saint Aloysius Gonzaga for instance.

Sometimes, instead of the lily, he holds a vial filled with money or bread, in recollection both of his generosity to the poor and the miraculous bread which once restored his strength.

He died in the year 1306, on the 10th September; the date on which his feast day is traditionally celebrated.

He was raised to the glory of the altars by Pope Eugene IV in 1446.

Saint Nicholas’ tomb is located in Tolentino and is still venerated to this day. The saint’s mortal remains are preserved at his shrine in the basilica named in his honour, in the city of Tolentino.

Prayer: “Stand by us, O Lord, while we commemorate Blessed Nicholas, Thy Confessor, and humbly pray: that by his merits this Thy friend may assist us who dare not rely on our own. Through Christ Our Lord, amen.”

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8 EVANGELISATION

Catholic Voice

25th September 2020

The Holy Sacrifice Of The Mass Fr Martin von Cochem O.S.F.

The Holy Mass is called in Latin ‘sacrificium’, a sacrifice, by which word a thing far greater and higher than an offering is signified. A sacrifice, in its full and proper signification, is an offering external to ourselves, made to the most high God and consecrated or hallowed in a solemn manner, by a lawfully appointed and duly qualified minister of the Church, to recognize and testify to the supreme dominion of Almighty God over all creatures.

From this definition, it will be seen that a sacrifice is much more than a simple offering. It represents a lofty and sublime act of worship, due to the infinite God alone, and not to any creature.

That this solemn sacrifice may be offered to none other but God alone is proved by St. Augustine from the universal custom of all nations.

Who, he says, has ever been found to assert that sacrifice should be offered to anyone save the true God only, or to such false deities as are wrongfully held to be the true God? And in another place he says: The devil would not require sacrifices from his votaries if he did not know this to be a prerogative of the divinity. Many of the great

and powerful ones of the earth have arrogated to themselves other acts of homage which are of right paid to God alone, but few indeed have presumed to command that sacrifice should be offered to them.

Those who did this desired to be regarded as gods. Hence it may be seen that the offering of sacrifice is an act of divine worship, which it is not fitting to pay to men, to the Saints or to the Angels, but to God alone.

No sensible man could imagine that Christ, who ordained everything in His Church in the most perfect manner, should have omitted this highest act of worship and left it wanting in so all-important a matter.

Were it so, the Christian religion would be inferior to Judaism, for the sacrifices of the Old Testament were so glorious that heathens of distinction came from distant lands to assist at them, and some heathen kings, as we read in II Machabees (3:3), even paid out of their revenues the charges belonging to the ministry.

The Holy Catholic Church, in the Ecumenical Council of Trent, teaches us what manner of sacrifice

or sacred oblation Christ has given to and ordained in His Church: “For as much as under the former Testament, according to the testimony of the Apostle Paul, there was no perfection because of the weakness of the Levitical priesthood (Heb. 7:11, 18), there was need ­— God, the Father of mercies, so ordaining — that another priest should arise according to the order of Melchisedech, Our Lord Jesus Christ, who might consummate and lead to what is perfect as many as were to be sanctified. He, therefore, our God and Lord, though He was about to offer Himself once on the altar of the Cross unto God the Father by means of His death, there to operate an eternal redemption, nevertheless, because that His priesthood was not to be extinguished by His death, in the Last Supper on the night in which He was betrayed — that He might leave to His own beloved spouse, the Church, a visible sacrifice, such as the nature of man requires, whereby that Bloody Sacrifice, once to be accomplished on the Cross, might be represented and the memory thereof remain even unto the End of the World and its salutary virtue be applied to the remission of those sins which we daily commit — declaring Himself constituted a priest forever according to the order of Melchisedech, He offered up to God the Father His own Body and Blood under the species of bread and wine; and under the symbols of those same things He delivered His own Body and Blood to be received by His Apostles, whom He then constituted priests of the New Testament, and by those words,‘Do this for a commemoration of Me’ (Luke 22:19), He commanded them and their successors in the priesthood to offer them,even as the Catholic Church has always understood and taught.”

Extract from ‘The Incredible Catholic Mass’ Fr Martin von Cochem O.S.F.

25th September 2020 Catholic Voice

PRO-LIFE WORK 9

Job Vacancies

Expanding Pregnancy Support Outreach Service!

HUMAN LIFE INTERNATIONAL (IRELAND) is seeking part-time staff to work with our Ask Majella Pregnancy Support Service at different locations across Ireland – North and South. We are opening new centres and expanding existing ones. Are you passionate about helping women who need support during their pregnancies? The situation is critical and we are responding to the challenge.

Pregnancy Care Personnel Positions - Republic Of Ireland Centre Coordinators:

5-10 hours per week. 3 positions available, 1 per location listed below. See job description below.

Centre Nurses Or Centre Sonographers.

5-10 hours per week. 3 positions available – one per location listed below.

Locations:

Limerick City Centre, Drogheda Town Centre, Co. Louth and in Co. Wexford or County Kilkenny.

Pregnancy Care Personnel Positions - Northern Ireland

Client Advocate. (5-10 hours per week). - Location: yet to be confirmed but based in Northern Ireland.

Applicants who are passionate about the lives of the unborn and their mothers are encouraged to apply for these paid posts or other voluntary positions.

JOB DESCRIPTIONS Centre Coordinator: This role encompasses the management and overseeing of a team of staff, volunteers and of the centre itself. This role will also entail meeting with clients who schedule appointments at the centre and promotion of the service.

Centre Nurse Or Centre Sonographer: Trained sonographers or registered nurses are encouraged to apply. A key role is the performing of limited obstetrical ultrasounds. Applicants must either have a relevant qualification in this field or be willing to be trained.

Client Advocate: This role will entail meeting with clients through scheduled appointments to provide supportive information to clients on their pregnancy.

As well as technical skills, these posts will require an ability for unequivocal articulation, representation and advancement of magisterial Catholic Church teaching in life, faith and family issues. Please note that HLI (Ireland) has other administrative and volunteer vacancies. *We are also seeking to rent low-cost suitable office premises for our work.

Closing date for applications: 12th of October 2020 Send C.V. to Catherine Leigh, Human Life International (Ireland), Guadalupe Centre, Main Street, Knock, Co. Mayo.

Email: catherine@humanlife.ie. Tel: (ROI) 094-937 5993 or (NI) 00353 94 9375993 - Charity CHY 11138

10 LETTERS

Catholic Voice

Letters

25th September 2020 Send your letters to: Letters Page, Catholic Voice, St Michael’s House, Castlemitchell South, Athy, Co Kildare or email to letters@catholicvoice.ie

Dear Editor,

The Cloak

Taking into account many people had leprosy 2000 years ago, the Gospel of Matthew tells us: “Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, “Why do your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat.” (Matthew 15:1-2) Jesus replied “You hypocrites!

Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: ‘This people honors me with their lips, But their heart is far from me; In vain do they worship me, Teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.’”

The precepts of men are basically all we have been taught for the past number of years.

Manuscript Showing Leper With Bell - Wellcome Collection

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The Gospel of Luke tells us, the Pharisee was surprised to see Jesus did not first wash his hands before dinner.

But the Lord said to him. “Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of extortion and wickedness.” (Luke 11:39) Then a teacher of the law spoke up and said. “Master, in saying these things, thou reproachest us also.” (Luke 11:45) (The teachers of the law, were obviously equivalent to some of today’s snowflake Church teachers and leaders, however, Jesus couldn’t have cared less who he offended or how much they were offended, as He went on to say). “Woe to you, also teachers of the law.

For you load on people unbearable burdens, while you yourselves do not move a finger to lift them”.(Luke 11:46) At this stage we all get it in relation to Covid 19, which has a 99% plus recovery rate, however, have some teachers of the law within the Catholic Church brought us back 2000 years or more, to a time when it was more important to wash hands than to wash souls?

Have some Pharisees within the Church more respect and reverence for sin and a flu virus than they have for Jesus in Holy Communion?

Why don’t parish councils go full circle, if anyone catches a cough over the next couple of months, issue them with a bell to ring, and order them to shout “unclean”?

John Donohoe, Cork.

25th September 2020

LETTERS 11

Catholic Voice

Letters Speaking Up For The Unborn Dear Editor, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin gave a homily on intolerance in society; the reason for this seems to have been an incident where a woman ended up in the canal after an altercation with some young men.

Yet Dr Martin has never spoken of the intolerance towards babies in the womb.

Ireland has gone so far away from God, that a senior cleric can use the

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

Mass to sympathise with a woman ending up in the canal, yet is completely silent about the butchery of thousands of Irish babies, made in the image and likeness of God, babies who are torn limb from limb and are then dis-posed of, as if they were rubbish.

O Mary Conceived without sin pray for our bishops.

David Kelly, Dublin.

Catholic Voice Update Dear Reader, Since March when the pandemic first affected the publication of Catholic Voice we have been grateful for the support received to enable us to continue publishing.

As a not for profit organisation our income is from advertising, publication sales and donations. Both of the former have been seriously reduced for almost 6 months now due to the restrictions and closures of churches and therefore we are relying more heavily on your financial and prayerful support.

Many of you have kindly donated to Catholic Voice and we are most grateful however if you are in a position to send a further donation it would be most appreciated.

You are assured of our ongoing commitment to publish and spread Catholic truth.

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12 “WHY ARE YOU FEARFUL”

Catholic Voice

25th September 2020

“Why Are You Fearful, O Ye Of Little Faith?”

John Lacken

We must continue to pray for our bishops in the hope that they will once again stand strong in proclaiming the Truths of our Catholic Faith and stop giving in to the fake fear-mongering that is being deployed by our government.

Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum. Benedicta tu in mulieribus, et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Iesus. Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc et in hora mortis nostrae. Amen The other day I stopped off in Knock and decided to go and say a Pater, an Ave and a Gloria in the parish church. Sometimes I also apologise to Jesus in the tabernacle on account of the disrespect that is being shown to Him in the way His houses of prayer are being desecrated.

In Knock, as in most Catholic churches in Ireland, they have taken away one of the means for combating disease, for remitting venial sin and which also acts as a defence against demons. Of course I am speaking of the powerful sacramental Holy Water. It is not a coincidence that Holy Water is used in the Catholic Rite of Exorcism.

This sacramental has now been replaced by the new government ‘sacramental’ hand sanitiser which does not cure any disease, does not remit venial sins and has no effect on demons.

As I went to enter the church I noticed once again the presence of a security guard in full uniform wearing a face mask. I have often wondered why a security guard is needed at a Catholic church. I was about to find out.

There was a notice on the church door which stated that the maximum capacity of the church was 50 people. In a light hearted way I pointed out to the security guard that this notice was factually incorrect as way more that 50 people could fit in the church. I then went to enter the church.

The security guard told me to sanitise my already clean hands.

I told him that I would prefer not to, to which he replied that if I did not sanitise my hands then I could not enter the church. Incredulously I asked him if he was really going to prevent me from talking to Jesus because I would not sanitise my hands. He blocked the doorway with his body.

I asked him for his name which he refused to tell me and then I took out my phone to photograph him but he turned his back still blocking the doorway.

I then left and entered the church by the side door which is now reserved for those who wish to exit.

I was just inside the door when the security guard once again blocked my way and told me that I could not enter the church if I did not sanitise my hands.

At this stage I knelt down and asked him if he was going to put me out of God’s house. He began walking away and said that he did not know why I was coming into the church.

I told him that I was coming in to pray. When he was gone back to the main door I walked to the front seat and with a fast beating heart I said my Pater, Ave and Gloria.

On leaving the church, I again approached the security guard who

told me that he did not want to get into an argument with me. I said that I just wanted to ask him a question which was, ‘would you have asked the woman who was healed by touching Jesus’s cloak to sanitise her hands before approaching Jesus?’

I hesitated before writing of this incident because I do not want people to think that I was deliberately being confrontational.

I was not. I simply wanted to go into Knock parish church, as I have done on many occasions recently, to say a few prayers. I was not expecting to be challenged and blocked by a security guard.

This is the growing new reality facing Catholics in Ireland. Our worship and our adoration of God are being policed to make sure that we comply with unnecessary government directives.

The new rule for Knock shrine is ‘come to Jesus all you who are burdened and are weary provided you have no covid-19 like symptoms, provided you cover your face before God and provided you sanitise your hands whether or not they are already clean’.

I contacted both Knock shrine and the archbishop’s office to make a formal complaint. The priest I spoke to at the bishop’s office mocked me when I told him that I would also make a formal complaint in writing saying ‘I’m sure you will, I’m sure you will’.

The lady I spoke to at the shrine office was very polite and she agreed with me that the messages being given out at Knock are contradictory.

25th September 2020

Catholic Voice

“WHY ARE YOU FEARFUL” 13

In the Gospel we read that thousands of people, many of them sick, came or were brought to Jesus and many people were healed. Now we are telling sick people to stay away from Jesus, the Divine Physician, because approaching Jesus in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is dangerous on account of a virus that has directly led to the deaths of very few people but is relatively mild for most people who contract it.

Compare this to Jesus’ reaction to the leper from chapter eight of St Matthew’s Gospel.

“And when he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him: And behold a leper came and adored him, saying: Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.

And Jesus stretching forth his hand, touched him, saying: I will, be thou made clean. And forthwith his leprosy was cleansed.”

(Matthew 8: 1-3) Notice that Jesus touched the leper!

He didn’t social distance or tell him to stay two metres away from him.

There was no sanitising of hands or wearing face masks. It is Jesus who is truly present, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity in our Tabernacles.

Jesus, who touched the leper, comes to us in Holy Communion.

of obligation, the Feast of the Assumption on 15th August, Knock shrine was closed to the public and security guards were deployed to keep faithful Catholics off shrine grounds.

What these situations show very clearly, is a lack of faith in the Real Presence of Jesus in Holy Communion and reserved in our tabernacles. Our Lord’s words to the disciples in the boat at the time of the storm apply to many of our bishops and priests today.

“And Jesus saith to them: Why are you fearful, O ye of little faith?”

(Matthew 8:26)

Today our bishops are banishing the sick from approaching Jesus and are leaving them at the mercy of our government whose disastrous policies in the nursing homes have resulted in many old people dying prematurely. Many of our old people are dying alone, without family and without the last rites because many priests either will not or are forbidden from entering the nursing homes.

As Catholics we must be very careful that our behaviour in response to these sacrilegious acts is worthy of the name Catholic.

On one of Our Lady’s major feasts, which is also a Holy Day

Our priests and our bishops, by reason of their ordination, are men

I have seen videos of a young Catholic man shouting at both a bishop and a priest. Whilst I understand his frustration and I sympathise with the hurt he is feeling, this disrespectful behaviour needs to stop.

consecrated to the service of God. They are sacred persons. Any disrespectful act committed against a priest or a bishop is a sacrilegious act. We undermine our Catholic cause if we object to sacrilegious acts on the part of a priest or a bishop and in the process we are guilty of sacrilege ourselves.

But our Catholic people have not been properly catechised. They see that our Catholic Church is under attack and they resort to sometimes wrongful political action in her defence. The intentions may be good but some of the actions are immoral.

If you want to know what to do in these situations, take a look at Our Lady at the time of the greatest sacrilege ever committed in the history of mankind - the Crucifixion. She is not there with a banner that says ‘Down With The Roman Empire’ or ‘Pontius Pilate Must Go’.

She is there with St John, St Mary Magdalene and Mary the wife of Cleophus, bearing silent witness to her Son Jesus who is being glorified on the Cross and Who in turn is glorifying His Heavenly Father.

14 “WHY ARE YOU FEARFUL”

Catholic Voice

25th September 2020

“Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.” (John 17:1-5) Catholics are not called to protest, we are called to bear witness to the Truth that is Jesus Christ and to bear witness to His Catholic Church. Those who see us should be encouraged by our behaviour to take an interest in the Catholic Faith and to come to Jesus Christ in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the other sacraments. Our joy on account of our Catholic Faith should be contagious especially in these difficult times.

As Catholics we do need to be aware of and to resist government tyranny by witnessing to the Truth. We need to be aware that governments are now targeting children with sexual propaganda and with covid-19 propaganda in order to create subservience to the state in the next generation. As one author recently noted, children’s books are now being used to ‘indoctrinate the next generation’ into the ideological mindset of those who support the LGBT ideology, abortion and other liberal anti-Catholic ideas.

The compulsory wearing of face masks in schools by those young people who are least at risk from the mostly ‘non-deadly’ covid-19 virus, is a form of both physical and psychological oppression and constitutes abuse.

Jesus tells us that the Truth will set us free. This does not mean that we will have trouble free lives.

St. Jean-Gabriel Perboyre (1802 - 1840) Strangled on a Cross for Preaching the Catholic Faith in China Take a look at the picture of St on a cross after much torture. Here Jean-Gabriel Perboyre, a French is a prayer that he composed. missionary priest of the Vincentian order, who asked to be allowed O my Divine Saviour, to go to China to evangelise the Transform me into Yourself.

Chinese in the 1800s.

May my hands be the hands of Jesus.

Grant that every faculty of my body

St Jean-Gabriel Perboyre, like all of May serve only to glorify You. our Holy Martyrs, was a free man.

He lived free, in the Truth of Jesus Above all, Christ and His Catholic Church. He Transform my soul and all its powers was opposed by government, but he So that my memory, will and affection quietly resisted without protest and May be the memory, will and continued to preach the Gospel. He affections Of Jesus. was put to death by being strangled

25th September 2020 I pray You To destroy in me All that is not of You. Grant that I may live But in You, by You and for You, So that I may truly say, With St. Paul, “I live - now not I But Christ lives in me”.

St Jean-Gabriel Perboyre

It is not easy to be a Catholic in modern day Ireland, where the persecution of the Catholic Church has taken on a deceptively benign appearance which is destroying the Catholic Faith of many under the claim of seeking to protect us from harm. The innocence and faith of our children are being destroyed under the guise of protecting our children from unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.

Our children are being indoctrinated into accepting immoral lifestyles which are deeply offensive to Jesus Christ in the name of promoting equality and diversity. The aim of all of these

“WHY ARE YOU FEARFUL” 15

Catholic Voice policies is to tear down the Christian foundation of western society in order to replace it with an ideological agenda which seeks to significantly reduce the human population on earth in order to satisfy the delusional cravings of the world’s richest men.

Irish government ministers are puppets at the hands of these wealthy autocrats.

They borrow money from the international money lenders and these borrowings come with pre-conditions which dictate the terms, conditions and policies our government must adopt with regard to covid-19.

An example of this can be seen in our Taoiseach’s response to the Phil Hogan debacle. He said that Phil Hogan was obliged to self-isolate even though he tested negative for Covid-19. No main-stream journalists asked Micheál Martin why a man who does not have the virus must self isolate? No mainstream journalists have asked how having a meal in a pub which costs nine Euros as opposed to a meal which

LIBERALISM IS A SIN

costs five Euros provides greater protection from the virus? No mainstream journalists have asked how having seven people in a private home is more dangerous than having six people in the same home?

We are being played for fools and we are being manipulated and suppressed by a cabal of billionaire globalists who think that there are too many of us alive. These globalists now have incredible power over many aspects of our lives but like St Jean-Gabriele Perboyre, we must continue to quietly and confidently bear witness to and live out our Catholic Faith.

Parents must make sure that their children are properly catechised so that they too will know how to resist and will know how to allow Christ to live in them. Let not our Lord’s words to the disciples in the boat be spoken to us. Let us dismiss fear and let us walk in the light of Faith as true sons and daughters of our beloved Catholic Church.

CATECHISM

the Catholic hierarchy.

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.

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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

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16 THE BLACK MADONNA

Catholic Voice

25th September 2020

A Polish Pilgrimage At the end of July this year, I was privileged to be a part of a pilgrimage for young people, which took place in Poland. For over two weeks we travelled around Poland, staying in the localities of various shrines and holy places. One place which particularly stood out to me, for many reasons, was Czestochowa. One reason, of course, was the fascinating history of the icon of the Black Madonna.

Tradition says that the icon was painted by Saint Luke, and discovered by Saint Helen. She presented it to her son, Constantine, and it was kept in Constantinople. When the city was besieged by Saracens the people brought the image out in procession around the city and the attackers fled in fear. The image eventually made its way to Poland from Constantinople and was placed in the house of Prince Ladislaus.

While there, the image was pierced by an arrow during an attack from Tartars. The arrow left a scar on the painting which several artists tried to fix; every attempt was unsuccessful as the paint simply would not stay.

Prince Ladislaus, wishing to protect the image from further attacks, decided to bring it to his birthplace. While passing through Czestochowa on his way there the horses conveying the image stopped and refused to go any further. This was seen to be the Will of God and so the icon was placed in the church at Jasna Góra in 1382.

The Pauline Fathers were entrusted with the guardianship of the icon, and the church and monastery were given over to their care. In 1430 the monastery was plundered by Hussites. When they placed the icon in their cart along with the other goods they had stolen, the horses would not budge. In anger the Hussites flung the image from the cart, breaking it into three pieces.

One of them slashed the image twice with his sword, but as he attempted to strike it a third time he was struck dead. Once again the image was permanently

scarred, and efforts to repair it failed. In 1920 Our Lady of Czestochowa again showed her power in what is known as the miracle of the Vistula. When the Russians gathered at the Vistula river preparing to invade Warsaw, the Polish people prayed to Our Lady and the next day, the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, the Russian armies withdrew when the image of the Black Madonna appeared in the clouds.

While our group was staying nearby, we arose one morning at 4:30 to walk out to the shrine to witness the unveiling of the miraculous icon, which takes place every morning at 6. The church was fairly crowded, even at this early hour, and we huddled together on our knees on the cold stone floor as I strained my ears trying to catch any familiar-sounding word in all the Polish prayers and hymns being recited.

At length the prayers faded out and drum rolls began to fade in; a feeling of exhilaration swept over me as trumpets began to blare and the ornate gold covering slid up to reveal Our Lady of Czestochowa in all her glory. This ritual, which was entirely new to me, struck me as a very touching proof of the people’s great love for Our Lady and I soon learned that it is carried on daily in many Polish shrines, big and small. Then every evening the people bid our Blessed Mother “goodnight!” with a similar ceremony, and the image is veiled once again.

There are many other beautiful shows of devotion visible at the shrine besides these ceremonies. There is the lovely custom of pilgrims walking around Our Lady’s chapel on their knees. One can observe a constant stream of them, people of all ages, humbly circling the chapel. Then there are the gorgeous “dresses” which adorn the icon. They have been gifted to Our Lady on different occasions, sometimes to commemorate an important event of the past.

There is a museum where some of the dresses are on display. Unfortunately, I was only able to see one,

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Catholic Voice

THE BLACK MADONNA 17

Our Lady of Częstochowa which is located in the treasury. This one was made for the 600th anniversary of the icon’s presence in Jasna Góra. It is beautifully and intricately hand embroidered with gold thread. It has rich jewellery sewn on it such as brooches, rings and earrings.

Another very striking feature in the basilica is the Golgotha of Jasna Góra, which is a modern depiction of the Way of the Cross. Glancing briefly over the paintings one would think they simply showed Christ suffering His Passion alongside the people of Poland throughout their tough history.

While this is certainly part of it, upon further inspection one finds that this is also Christ being rejected in the world. The artist, Jerzy Duda Gracz, said of it: “This Golgotha is present today, now and here, in the Catholic Poland.”

The very first image shows a blindfolded cardinal taking the place of Pilate and being offered the basin of water to wash his hands of responsibility.

Jesus’s first fall is in front of a group of people celebrating. Very few of them look His way; the only creature who appears sympathetic towards Him is a dog.

of a concentration camp inmate. While many of the paintings, understandably, are full of desolation, there is also great hope and consolation in them.

Jesus meets His mother in countless images held up by devout women. He passes in front of a Eucharistic procession, and the rays of the monstrance behind Him serve as a halo. His path is strewn with rose petals, and the canopy for the Blessed Sacrament is over His head.

In another image He is comforted by His saints, as Mother Teresa cleans the blood from His Holy Face. A nun tends to the sick in the background, a beautiful parallel which brings to mind Christ’s words, “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.” Upon the Cross He is surrounded by a great multitude of saints, including Pope John Paul II, Cardinal Wyszynski, Father Maximillian Kolbe, and Sister Faustina Kowalska.

Our Lady of Czestochowa is also included in the Stations in an incredibly unique manner.

The foremost of the images held up by the women is that of the Black Madonna.

The second time He falls He lies on the Another station on the via crucis shows ground alongside the bodies the icon of Our Lady in Interior Jasna Gora Basilica Hans-Jörg Gemeinholzer of children killed by abortion; the background along with around Him are more children the shadowy outline of the whose innocence and freedom have been stolen from Basilica of Jasna Gora. them. He carries on, past more of His people in pain; an old woman kneels before Him praying her rosary and The icon is also shown at the foot of the cross amidst He raises a feeble hand in blessing. the other saints and at the station where Jesus is taken down from the cross the icon is placed in such a way His third fall is before a group of bishops, some of that Our Lady’s hand is supporting His body. whom seem indifferent to Him, others look deeply sorrowful. One even hides his face in his hands. At the This article was contributed by Noemi Lacken who Crucifixion Jesus is surrounded by mourners, among travelled with the Saint Andrew Community from them a cardinal, and a man wearing the striped uniform Scotland on a two week pilgrimage across Poland.

18 CATHOLICS FOR TRUMP

Catholic Voice

25th September 2020

Biden – The Sleepy Following The Woke To Nowhere Christopher Monckton of Brenchley

Mr Biden, the fumbling old-age pensioner cowering in his basement and following the woke to nowhere, is incapable of stringing two sentences together without tripping over his verbal shoelaces. The latest in a stream of gaffes is his dithering statement that President Trump, his election opponent, has been “stroking the flames” in the Communist-run cities now terrorized by brutal Antifa fascists and the trained Marxists of the “Black Lives Matter” revolutionary terrorist faction who specialize in the manufacture of hatreds and the exploitation of racial divisions.

I once asked Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin, who holds the largest majority in the House, why the Republicans had failed to do anything about Mr Obama’s bogus Hawaiian birth certificate, which the Sheriff of Phoenix, Arizona, had investigated in depth and declared to be a poor and hasty forgery. The Congressman replied, “If we lose Obama, we get Biden.”

Until very recently, it looked as though America was going to get Biden anyway. The man who is described affectionately by his opponent, President Trump, as “Sleepy Joe”, was tipped by the opinion polls to win because he was not Donald Trump.

Just at the moment, that outcome is not quite as sure as it was. At first, American corporations fell over themselves in their anxiety to take the knee in obeisance to revolutionary Marxism. But then the revolutionary Marxists began smashing up their shopfronts and looting their stores.

Corporate America, craven though it has always been in the face of the hate-filled Left, is now hastily rethinking its careless support for an organisation led by an agitator who has publicly described herself as a “trained Marxist”.

Christians should – and, in their millions, will – vote for Donald Trump. The five pillars of Western civilisation that the Communist Left

and their oleaginous mouthpieces in the openly Communist Marxstream media hate and fear are Christianity, the family, the law, democracy and freedom.

Donald Trump stands for all five.

Very few “Democrat” politicians would be seen with a Bible in their hands. The President has spoken up for Christianity. And he has made the White House a family business.

Six of his family spoke at the Republican Convention last week.

His son-in-law, Jared Kushner, brokered the historic deal between Abu Dhabi and Israel that is the first real breakthrough in the ArabIsraeli peace process for decades.

The President stands for law and order – and it is his open support for the police, even when the recent murderous misconduct of some of them has made them unpopular, that is now working strongly in his favour in the polls. The people are tired of the Communist rioters and looters, and horrified at the failure of “Democrat” city mayors to take action against them, and they will vote for Mr Trump to ensure that the men of violence do not bring democracy and freedom to an end.

Mr Trump has been more outspoken in open opposition to abortion than the Pope himself. He and his party believe strongly in the Christian disposition established by the Founding Fathers of the United States, whose declaration of independence began thus: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness …”. Life, then, is the

25th September 2020

first right of every American – and it is the first right that every aborted American is denied.

The far-Left media in the United States have repeatedly speculated on whether President Trump would be willing to leave office if defeated this November. However, given the growing intolerance evident among the hate-filled Communists now rioting, looting and burning their way through city centres, the more appropriate question is whether the far Left would be willing to accept a second humiliating defeat at the hands of a man whom they have continually underestimated.

It cannot be too plainly stated: it is the duty of every Catholic voter in the United States to vote for Donald Trump. By now the President’s faults are well known – the news media have seen to that.

Even before he had taken office, the “Democrats” were working on plans – which humiliatingly failed – to unseat him by pretending that he had only won the 2016 General Election with the unlawful support of Russia. Next, the “Democrats” tried to impeach Mr Trump, and failed again. Now, they are using the tax authorities as their proxies, and are demanding eight years of his tax accounts so that they go on a

Catholic Voice

CATHOLICS FOR TRUMP 19

fishing expedition to see if they can What is all too apparent is that the “Democrats”, as usual, find anything illegal in them. have no constructive platform.

The divide between Communist For Marxism is by its nature and free market, “Democrat” and nihilistic. Communism is all about democrat, pro-death and pro- destruction, not about construction, life, anti-free-speech and pro- levelling down, not levelling up, free-speech, pro-Christian and keeping the poor poor so that they will vote Communist rather than viscerally anti-Christian, has never letting the poor become rich so that been starker. The Republicans, who they will vote Republican. are habitually lazy, have allowed what Gramsci called the “long One of the few policy march through the institutions” announcements by Sleepy Joe’s to continue unhindered. Schools team is that $5 trillion will be spent and universities are now under the on a Canute-like programme to control of ruthless Commissars. The make global warming go away, just young generation is told nothing like that. The “net-zero-emissions” of the hundreds of millions whom plan would wipe out the entire coal, Communism has killed. Instead, oil, gas, electricity-generation and pupils and students are taught the motor industries, to name but a few: mantras of hatred and the rhetoric but over the next 30 years it would reduce global temperature – by less of anti-capitalism. than 0.002 degrees. And it would One of the many sadnesses about cost 10-100 times Biden’s estimate. this deeply divisive election is It matters – or ought to matter – to Christians everywhere that that there is not really any national the “Democrats” as at present conversation about policy. So deep, constituted should be kept out of so wide, so unbridgeable is the office for a generation, for only then abyss between the Communists with will they learn that the hatred that is whom Mr Biden enthusiastically their stock-in-trade is not a sound aligns himself and the libertarians basis for policymaking. The best who believe in the traditional values of all political slogans – the very of the Founding Fathers that no antithesis of everything that the far meaningful conversation between Left advocate today – has just three words: Thou Shalt Love. the two sides is possible.

20 THE WATCHMEN

Catholic Voice

25th September 2020

WATCHMEN OF THE MORNING Mary Kearns

“Dear young people, it is up to you to be the watchmen of the morning who announce the coming of the sun who is the Risen Christ!”(Pope John Paul II World Youth Day) Most Catholics learned the Faith through catechesis, whether at a Catholic school or due to parents or other committed adults. Things are different now. We can no longer presume that young Catholics are informed about the Faith although they attend Catholic schools and colleges and have been through a sacramental programme for Holy Communion and Confirmation.

The reasons are manifold but the reality as surveys have shown, is that many young people enter adult life as Catholics in name but with scant understanding of Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour and with little or no knowledge of the holy sacrifice of the Mass or of the grace of the sacraments.

Part of the problem is that young people believe that they do know the Catholic faith. They may have received a high grade in the Leaving Certificate in Religious Education but that is not at all the same thing as Faith Formation.

But youth does respond to the Faith when it is encountered with conviction and authenticity. We have seen the exuberance and joy of young people for example at World Youth Day events throughout the world.

Saint Pope John Paul II left a legacy for youth in instituting World Youth Day, and this has been faithfully continued by Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis.

Bronze Statue of a Watchman One outstanding way this can now be seen is in the movement known as Nightfever which was launched following the World Youth Day in Cologne in 2005. Some young men and women who attended this had the inspiration to keep alive its spirit and this initiative has now spread throughout the world.

The Nightfever evening is a night of prayer centred around the Blessed Sacrament exposed in city centre churches. It is primarily organised by young people who themselves have experienced the love of God and want others to also experience it.

While the aim is primarily to bring young people into the church it is also a helpful means of bringing other older people back who have perhaps not frequented a church for years. Dublin organiser Ronan Wall claims “It is great because we see people coming back to the church, who haven’t been in church for thirty years. Real burdens are lifted

and people’s hearts are touched with the encounter. It is a privilege to be working on it. There is a great team in Dublin and there are great teams across the country in the different towns and cities.”

Although many who come into the church in this way would never have planned to do so, their reaction is almost always positive.

Most who are approached agree to come inside for a few minutes, and often stay longer. This is a means of evangelisation that is entirely nonconfrontational and non-invasive.

Organisers report powerful stories of conversion.

How it is conducted is a revolutionary way of introducing people to the practice of Eucharistic Adoration.

Deacon Andy Brady of Kilmore Diocese explains how this works in the town of Cavan, which although not a city, is a lively place to be on a Saturday night. A team of

25th September 2020

Catholic Voice

young volunteers wearing highviz jackets is stationed outside St. Clare’s Church in the town centre. As people are walking past, presumably out for an evening’s entertainment in pubs, restaurants or cinemas, they are approached by one of the team and asked if they would like to step into the church for a few minutes.

Typically they are asked if they would like to pray for peace or for their families or their own intentions. They are given a candle which they can light in the church and a printed short quotation from scripture. Deacon Andy claims that nearly everyone who is invited agrees to visit the church for a short while.

Once inside they come before the presence of Jesus exposed in the Monstrance. The sanctuary area beautifully decorated and the altar is surrounded by candlelight.

The atmosphere is one of quiet reverence where the Lord is adored and honoured. People are not asked to do anything and can simply sit and pray or reflect in their own way. Sacred music is being played quietly in the background.

One or two priests are present for Confession or just to talk to if needed. Nightfever typically goes late into the night and when participants depart, their candles continue to burn on as a symbol of their concerns and thoughts.

Nightfever was founded by students in Germany following the success of World Youth Day 2005 in Cologne.

These young people believed that the spirit of WYD should not end at that time but needed to be shared with others and continued in their daily lives. Due to its initial success it then spread across Germany, Europe, and beyond. The first Nightfever in North America was

held in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 2012. Nightfever events take place in over 80 cities in Europe, North and South America, and Australia and are especially centred in Germany where it began after the 20th World Youth Day in Cologne.

In Ireland, the first Nightfever was held in April 2013 at the Carmelite church in Clarendon Street in Dublin’s city centre.

An organiser in Britain describes Nightfever as “a door opener. For those who once had faith in God we hope they will be renewed through their experience. For those who have never met Christ we hope this becomes a moment of fruitful encounter.” In large cities Nightfever events often see hundreds and even thousands of people attend.

Nightfever is a night of prayer supported by priests and pastoral councils throughout the Catholic Church. The goal is to help those far away from the Church to encounter God and to experience His love and mercy.

“We are happy and grateful that so many young people all over the world are on fire for this cause and help to provide a new access, a new

THE WATCHMEN 21 way to experience God within their cities. We owe all this to God who blesses this initiative. Worldwide, all Nightfever teams are connected in prayer. Once a year, we meet in order to get to know each other and to exchange our experiences. It is great that this is possible despite the size that our initiative has reached by now. Staying in touch, however, is crucial if we want to maintain the charisma of Nightfever and want to celebrate it in the same spirit all over the world. If you are interested in Nightfever, please contact us at info@nightfever.org.”

Saint Pope John Paul II was not slow to challenge the youth of the world when he not only invited but commissioned them to be disciples of Jesus as living witnesses.

“I did not hesitate to ask them to make a radical choice of faith and life and present them with a stupendous task: to become “morning watchmen” at the dawn of the new millennium.” (Pope John Paul II Novo Millennio Inuente, n.9) For catechesis and liturgical formation: marykeenankearns@ gmail.com 087 7794687

22 VACCINE DANGERS

Catholic Voice

25th September 2020

German Doctor: Covid-19 Vaccine ‘Could Prove To Be The Biggest Mistake’ Prof. Dr. Paul Cullen

The risk is rising of a half-finished and ineffective product causing massive damage to health.

The first vaccine was developed at the end of the 18th century by English country doctor Edward Jenner. Jenner’s success was so resounding that it remains the blueprint for all vaccination p r o g r a m s t o t h i s d a y. T h e smallpox vaccine shows the four characteristics of a good vaccine candidate.

The disease to be vaccinated against must be so serious that it justifies the vaccination of a large number of people. This is because healthy people who may never come into contact with the pathogen are vaccinated. Therefore, one must be sure that the benefits outweigh the risks with great certainty and by a large margin. If this is not the case, vaccination constitutes a bodily injury. This precautionary principle, which is expressed in the dictum ‘primum nihil nocere’ (“first, do no harm”), has been the guiding principle of all medical action for more than 2,000 years.

This sensitivity is also the reason why for a long time vaccine production was exclusively in the hands of the government.

The pathogen must also not change. If frequent mutations occur, vaccination is like shooting at a moving target with a fixed gun: you can hit the bull’s eye, but you usually miss.

Thirdly, the pathogen should occur only in humans, because its eradication is possible only if it does not find shelter in animals.

Finally, vaccination should provide long-term and comprehensive protection against the targeted disease.

Usually, the development of a new vaccine takes six to ten years. First the vaccine must be produced in cell cultures, in chicken eggs or by means of molecular biological processes. However, this production represents only a small part of the overall development. Particularly demanding is the testing, which takes place in a pre-clinical phase in the test tube and in animal experiments, followed by three clinical phases in test subjects.

In the first clinical phase, the tolerability of the vaccine is usually tested on fewer than one hundred people. Questions are answered such as: Does redness or pain occur at the injection site? Does it lead to inflammation? Are there deaths?

If the vaccine survives this phase, which lasts from weeks to months, the second phase will involve up

to 1,000 test persons to determine whether the vaccination causes an immune reaction at all. If this is the case and the vaccine does not show any serious side-effects, the third and longest test phase follows.

In most cases, 30,000 to 50,000 test persons are divided into two groups, one of whom receives the new vaccine, the other a placebo.

Both groups are then usually exposed to an infection with the target pathogen for four to six years.

After this period, it is investigated whether the vaccine group has fewer or at least milder infections than the placebo group. The longterm observation of many people also serves to detect rare, serious side-effects.

Currently, the whole world is waiting for the new vaccine against COVID. In a radio interview, Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder pondered the idea of withdrawing the license from doctors who refuse to administer vaccines like the one against COVID. Almost everything

25th September 2020

Catholic Voice

concerning the development of the vaccine against the SARS-CoV-2 virus deviates from the principles of vaccine development.

For a pathogen to be suitable as a vaccination candidate, it must pose a significant risk to everyone. However, it is becoming increasingly clear that severe COVID-19 progressions are, with few exceptions, restricted to very old people with pre-existing conditions. For the rest of the population, progressions are mild and often asymptomatic, especially in children.

In addition, the virus is extremely prone to mutation and is almost ubiquitous in the animal kingdom.

More recent data also indicate that immunogenicity of the vaccine may be difficult to achieve. Thus, it is not certain whether antibodies alone protect or whether the so-called

cell-mediated immunity is not the main focus. Also, antibody levels seem to drop rapidly after infection and are even more likely to drop after vaccination. All this makes it appear questionable whether SARS-CoV-2 is even a candidate for mass vaccination or a mass vaccination requirement.

Approximately 200 vaccine candidates against SARS-CoV-2 are currently being developed, at least ten of which are already in clinical trials. For all candidates, the fact that the test phases are being shortened, as they are, is highly problematic. It is true that time can be gained by removing bureaucratic hurdles. But more than about one year cannot be saved overall. Any shortening of the subsequent test phases is associated with a higher risk of side-effects and a poorer evaluation of efficacy. This cannot be avoided with any test procedure,

VACCINE DANGERS 23 however sophisticated, but is a biological fact.

Many of the vaccines are also problematic for other reasons — for example, the vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, which is already in the third clinical trial phase.

This vaccine, which consists of a monkey adenovirus that carries the SARS-CoV-2 spiked protein on its surface, is produced in a cell line derived from the kidneys of a child who was aborted, probably in 1972. Similar candidates, such as the vaccine candidate developed

by CanSino Biologics Inc. and the Institute of Biotechnology of the Chinese military, as well as a variant from the University of Pittsburgh, use either this renal cell line or another cell line from a child aborted in 1985.

24 VACCINE DANGERS

Catholic Voice

25th September 2020

Five other vaccines currently in clinical trials consist of messenger RNA (mRNA) molecules that are injected under the skin or into muscle tissue and absorbed by our own body cells. mRNA, a molecular cousin of DNA, is used to transmit the genetic information of DNA to the ribosome, the “assembly line of protein production” in the cell.

The mRNA in the vaccine, which is structured like the RNA in the SARS-CoV-2 virus, “captures” our cells and causes them to produce and excrete parts of the SARSCoV-2 virus. According to theory, these then trigger a protective immune reaction against the virus.

The mRNA vaccination principle, on which work has been going on for more than 20 years, sounds promising but is fraught with considerable risks. For this reason, mRNA vaccines have so far only been approved in veterinary medicine (salmon and pig), and not in humans. The main risk is the possible triggering of severe autoimmune reactions. The immune defence is directed not only against the pathogen, but also against components of one’s own body.

At that time, mRNA vaccines were developed against the lung

diseases SARS and MERS, which like COVID-19 were caused by coronaviruses. Not only did these vaccines not have long-term efficacy, but they also caused severe autoimmune reactions in the lung tissue, which is why they did not pass clinical trials.

Another candidate in clinical testing does not consist of mRNA, but of the genetic material DNA, which is injected directly into test persons.

The mode of action is similar to that of mRNA vaccines, with DNA being inserted into the information chain one step before mRNA. Therefore, the DNA vaccine carries not only the same risks as an mRNA vaccine, but also additional risks.

For example, an immune reaction may occur against the DNA itself, the effects of which are not clear.

In addition, and more importantly, there is the possibility that some of the vaccine’s DNA will integrate with our own DNA. Such insertion in the wrong place can lead to serious unintended consequences, such as cancer development.

Almost all of the vaccines currently in clinical trials are either unethical

or based on active principles whose long-term effects and effectiveness have never been tested on humans.

But in vaccine production, the devil is in the details. Despite intensive research over several decades, we still do not have a vaccine against HIV or malaria. And even the effectiveness of the annual flu vaccination is only between 10 and 30 percent. The swine flu vaccine knitted with a hot needle in 2010 proved to be a fiasco, both in terms of its side-effect profile and its effectiveness. It may not be possible to find a vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 in the end. But this result is far better than a halffinished and ineffective product causing massive damage to health for which — let’s not forget — not the vaccine-manufacturer, but the general public would have to pay.

In retrospect, such a scenario could prove to be the biggest mistake of the whole COVID episode.

The above article was first published on August 27, 2020 by German Catholic weekly newspaper Die Tagespost. Prof. Dr. Paul Cullen, the author, is president of “Doctors for Life” in Germany.

25th September 2020

GET BEHIND ME SATAN 25

Catholic Voice

‘BE GONE, SATAN’ Fr. George Rutler

The Antichrist’s chief weapon is deceit The Prince of Lies cannot lie in the presence of Christ: “I know who you are — the Holy One of God!” (Luke 4:34). And Christ, who is the truth, knows him too: “I saw Satan fall like lightning from Heaven” (Luke 10:18).

Satan does not want anyone to know him, and yet in the present discontent that afflicts our western culture, many anarchists and Marxists invoke him.

The desecration of churches and statues of saints is spreading. Twice recently, our own church has been defaced with satanic symbols — not just the customary obscenities, but invocations of the Prince of Lies.

The mystics have identified two characteristics of Satan. A Desert Father living circa A.D. 300, Abba Apollo, had a vision of him: “The Devil has no knees. He cannot kneel; he cannot adore; he cannot pray; he can only look down his nose in contempt. Being unwilling to bend the knee at the name of Jesus is the essence of evil” (cf.

Isaiah 45:23, Romans 14:11).

The other malignant quality of the Liar, as revealed to St. Martin of Tours, is that he can look as attractive as Christ, but he has no wounds.

Instead of taking our suffering upon himself, the Antichrist inflicts suffering. That is his infernal nourishment and macabre ecstasy.

Playing the Devil’s game is dangerous. He has concealed weapons, and the chief of them is deceit.

At the recent Democrat political convention, a religious sister

The Temptation of Christ - Sebastiano Ricci (1659 - 1734) in secular dress from a dying community prayed not to the Lord, but to “O Divine Spirit” in a way that would have been unobjectionable to a Hindu or an Aztec.

With concomitant vagueness, she said that an opinion on the killing of unborn life was above her “pay grade.” At the Republican convention that followed, another religious in full habit (who is a surgeon and former Army colonel), Sr. Deirdre Byrne, made clear that naming the lies of Satan was not above her pay grade as she held her “weapon of choice,” the Rosary.

The Rosary is the most effective private prayer in defying the Liar.

The greatest public prayer is the Holy Eucharist. Four years ago in France, two Islamic terrorists

sliced the throat of 85-year-old Fr. Jacques Hamel at the altar of sacrifice. His last words were: Va-t’en, Satan (“Begone, Satan”).

Christ said the same in the wilderness and on the way to His crucifixion (Mark 8:33; Matthew 16:23).

Unlike some Catholics, who shy away from mentioning the name of Christ at public gatherings lest they give offence, the evangelist Franklin Graham prayed “in the mighty name of your Son, my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.”

Christ Himself warned: “Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when He comes in His glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels” (Luke 9:26).

26 EVANGELISATION

Catholic Voice

25th September 2020

Paradoxes of Evangelization Monsignor Charles Pope

There are mysterious aspects to the growth or decline of the Church.

Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed upon the ground, and should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he knows not how.” (Mark 4:26-27).

Thus, the Lord teaches that much of the growth in the Kingdom of God is mysterious; it works “we know not how.”

Perhaps with this and other things in mind, St. Paul further developed the paradox of God’s ways of reaching the world. What we tend to think is good “marketing” does not seem to impress God. He delivers to the world a message that is not popular, but because it is of Him it wins the day. Consider this passage: “Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.

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For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

For consider your call, brethren; not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth; but God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong, God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, whom God made our wisdom, our righteousness and sanctification and redemption;

therefore, as it is written, “Let him who boasts, boast of the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:20-31).

Consider some of the paradoxical and countercultural ways in which St. Paul says that must we engage the world: The cross, not comfort – Many people today say that we should speak more tenderly. We should be more positive, less demanding, and more merciful. We should strive to be known more for what we are for than what we are against. It is said that honey attracts more than vinegar, but clearly St. Paul and the Holy Spirit don’t agree, for we are exhorted to preach “Christ crucified” even though this is an absurdity to the world. Let us not forget to manifest our joy, but even in doing so let us not neglect to embrace the paradox of the cross.

Fools more so than formally educated – Studying and learning have their place. Learn your faith

25th September 2020

EVANGELISATION 27

Catholic Voice

well and be prepared to defend it with patience and love. Parishes need to do a better job of teaching the faith to those who would spread it. However, we must not equate learning with godly wisdom. As St. Paul notes, the early Church did not draw foremost from the educated classes, but rather from the humble, the poor, and the uneducated. They won the ancient world not merely by learning, but also by joy, faith, courageous martyrdom, and simple virtue.

Apologetics but not apologies – Notice that St. Paul accepts that many in the world call us foolish.

Apologetics has its place (so that we can reach the reasonable of this world by explaining and setting forth the reasonableness of faith), but it involves explaining and defending the faith, not making apologies for it.

It is easy to make the mistake of trying to make the faith agreeable to others, watering down truths that challenge or forever delaying talking about the “hard” truths. Jesus started with the hard things. “Repent!” was His opening word. Whatever methods we choose, we cannot through endless prudence forever postpone proclaiming the whole counsel of God, in season and out of season. Some will scoff and say, “This is a hard saying who can endure it?” (John 6:60) A true apologist has not necessarily lost when someone scoffs; he has only lost when he fails to proclaim the whole faith.

Scoffers may reconsider; those who reject the truth may repent; but truth unspoken, distorted, or watered down is a total victory for Satan.

Pure more than palatable – “Marketing 101” principles would say that in order to sell our “product” we should try to make it palatable to our target audience. However, faith that is made too palatable is almost certainly not the faith at all. True evangelisation does not fit easily into the tidy categories of marketers and sociologists, who are often horrified at how “off-message” the faith can seem to the modern world. Even in the Church, many people demand that the faith be conformed to what the majority of people think. Remember, God has been at this just a little longer than marketers and publicity folks. His paradoxes have a way of winning the day when the ephemeral and fickle views of the world fade away.

Should we continue to do everything we can to spread the faith through various media, dynamic training opportunities, and trying to get the widest possible exposure? Sure! Today, at least, this is how we prepare the soil, sow the seed, and help to cultivate.

However, in humility and serenity, we must also accept that there are mysteries to what works and what does not. Growth sometimes comes out of nowhere for no discernible reason. God often surprises us with sudden

growth spurts that are hard to explain. Meanwhile, we must work as best as we can and do what seems wisest.

How about a little humility that allows paradoxical things to work (paradoxical because they do not conform to the rules of the world)? How about a little humility that is willing to listen to God? We are always asking God to bless what we do. Why not (at least occasionally) find out what God is already blessing and do that?

Paradox and mystery may well have a lot more to do with effective evangelisation than all our grand plans and glossy marketing campaigns.

Lord, we seek a miraculous catch of fish in our day and we are open to surprises. Keep us faithful to your teachings, which are “out of season” today. Help us to cast your nets faithfully and to be willing, like Peter, to cast them where you say even if it does not agree with our own instincts. And, like Peter, may we experience the astonishing miracle of a great catch that will make us fall to our knees in wonder and humility at the mystery and paradox of your work. Have mercy on us, Lord, and work—often in spite of us—to enrich your kingdom in ways “we know not how.” In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Many Christians believe God calls us to be “nice” God has called us to be “good” Good people are strong.

Good people confront evil.

Jesus Wasn’t “nice.”

He was kind and caring.

He was compassionate.

But He was unbending and Unflinching in standing for

TRUTH And it cost Him

His Life.

28 A BISHOP APOLOGISES

Catholic Voice

25th September 2020

Spanish Bishop Apologises To Spouses Refused Communion On Tongue Jeanne Smits

A Spanish Catholic who was refused Holy Communion on the tongue, together with his wife, has received a formal letter of apology from his local bishop, who confirmed that whatever sanitary recommendations are in place for the prevention of the spread of the Wuhan coronavirus, receiving the Host directly in the mouth cannot be forbidden.

The incident took place on July 26, when the lay Catholic and his wife presented themselves for Communion in the church of Saint Ignatius of the Salesians in Ciudad Real, 200 km south of Madrid. The celebrant refused to allow the couple to receive Holy Communion kneeling and on the tongue, on the grounds that COVID-19 rules say the Host should be given in the hand.

The husband wrote to the bishop of Ciudad Real, Gerardo Melgar, saying his and his wife’s rights had been violated.

The diocese answered on August 20, 2020, with a remarkably courteous letter affirming the faithful’s right to receive Communion reverently. Here is a translation of the letter: Dear Sir, in the Lord, I am pleased to acknowledge receipt of the letter addressed to His Excellency Gerardo Melgar

Viciosa, Bishop of Ciudad Real, Prior of the Military Orders of Santiago, Calatrava, Alcántara and Montesa, dated July 29, in which you make known that you consider your rights as a member of the faithful of the Church to have been violated because you and your wife were denied communion on the tongue in the Eucharist celebrated on July 26, 2020, at 10:30 am, in the Church of San Ignacio (Salesians) in Ciudad Real.

His Most Reverend Excellency has entrusted me with the task of expressing his apologies for such a situation, and has also communicated with the rector of that church so that something similar does not happen again, because although it is true that the health emergency in which we find ourselves makes it advisable that the faithful receive Communion in the hand, as a safety measure to avoid spreading Covid-19, at no time can it be forbidden to do so on the tongue, if the faithful who are to receive it so desire.

I take this opportunity to express to you the expression of my consideration and esteem in Christ.

Signed : Juan Carlos Fernández de Simón Soriano Chancellor-Secretary General of the Bishopric of Ciudad Real

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25th September 2020 Catholic Voice

This vindication of the layman’s protest — which must have been courteously worded to elicit such a response — makes very clear that the Church cannot change the rules for giving the Eucharist for whatever reason, including sanitary requirements whose objective is in itself good: preventing the spread of a contagious disease.

It is a way of recalling that the Church has rights that transcend those of the civil authorities, who are not competent to change her way of doing things, in particular with regard to the Sacraments.

Bishop Gerardo Melgar, according to the letter, personally contacted the priest who refused to give the Host on the tongue and gave him clear orders not to recommence, which means that the diocese did not merely pay lip service to the layman who asked for his rights to be respected.

It must be understood that in this case, the layman’s request was not a mere demand to his own advantage, but an affirmation of the right to show due veneration to the adorable Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Our Lord.

The letter’s insistence that the current “health emergency” would make it “advisable” to distribute Holy Communion in the hand is regrettable, in that it is not founded on scientific fact. No studies have been made justifying the decision by bishops’ conferences and individual bishops and other religious authorities to ban

A BISHOP APOLOGISES 29

Communion on the tongue in so-called application of governmental sanitary rules.

Instead, last June, 21 doctors from Austria, quoting the professional opinion of an Italian professor of medicine, gave a list of reasons showing that the reception of Holy Communion kneeling and on the tongue is “safer than hand Communion.” This is particularly the case in the Tridentine rite, which includes “barrier measures” such as requiring the priest to hold thumb and forefinger joined together from the moment he has consecrated the bread, using them only to touch the Host from then on until the moment when he once again purifies his hands.

They also noted that when the faithful kneel to receive Communion, contamination by droplets is less likely because the priest’s face is not at the same level as that of the communicant, and contamination comes mostly from sullied hands.

Dr. Didier Raoult of France is also of the opinion, following his experience with the Wuhan coronavirus, that COVID-19 is mostly spread by hand and insists that hand-washing is more effective to avoid contagion than wearing a mask.

The COVID-19 crisis is giving many bishops and priests a pretext to impose Communion in the hand. But it is clear that the imposition is unlawful.

Communion Of The Apostles - James Tissot (1836 - 1902)

30 BOOKS

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25th September 2020

STRENGTHEN YOUR FAITH DURING THIS CRISIS of for yourself . a friend

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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.”

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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.

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25th September 2020 Catholic Voice

CLASSIFIEDS From Our Lady of Fatima Do you want peace in the world?

Will you do what Our Lady tells you?

Say the Rosary every day.

Do the Five First Saturdays in honour of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Those who spread this devotion will be placed by Our Lady as flowers before the throne of Almighty God. Next issue of

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25th September 2020

“Pray the Rosary every day in order to obtain peace for the World” ...Our Lady of Fatima May 13th, 1917

“I could conquer the world if I had an army to say the Rosary” ...Blessed Pope Pius IX

“We would be mistaken to think that Fatima’s prophetic mission is complete” ...Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI Homily at Fatima, 13th May 2010 Heavenly Mother, in the name of your Son, Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, truly, really and substantially present in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar please arrange for a SuperSafe solution to the global covid-19 virus and its attendant mayhem very, very soon. Thank You xxx. EC

Dear Reader, Please join me in including His Excellency President Donald John Trump; His Holiness Pope Francis SJ; His Former-Holiness Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI; and all citizens of the “One Nation Under God” in the intentions and daily recitation of the Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary while remembering her Son, Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, truly, really and substantially present in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar.

Please note that in 1916 the United States authorities commissioned a pull-chain Rosary for military servicemen in World War I, the same year that the Angel of Peace appeared to the three visionary children of Fatima. Also, the United States of America officially entered World War 1 in April of 1917 and Our Heavenly Mother first appeared in Fatima the following month in May of 1917.

Thank You, dear Reader. May God and Our Lady Bless and Protect You. EC

Copies sent to His Excellency President Donald John Trump and His Holiness Pope Francis SJ and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI Published by: Catholic Voice Newspapers, St Michael’s House, Castlemitchell South, Athy, County Kildare. Tel 059-8627268 ROI / 00353 - 59 8627268 Publisher: Anthony Murphy.

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