Catholic Voice 17th December 2021 Issue 332

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Issue 332

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2 EDITORIAL

Catholic Voice

Anthony Murphy Dear reader, I am writing this short editorial from my sick bed having tested positive with Covid. Thanks be to God it appears to be a mild form of the virus and aside from a little fatigue and a cough I have little to complain about; please God I will have a full and speedy recovery.

I would like to thank our readers for their continued generosity with both prayers and donations which have kept us afloat in these difficult times.

Please keep them coming. We live on a financial knife edge. We rely entirely on the generosity of our readers to keep the magazine in print and to expand its readership, which is vital for its survival so that we can continue to promote the good news of the Gospel no matter how hostile modern society is towards Christianity.

In doing so you are keeping alive one of the last independent Catholic journals; we have no owner, no interest group telling us what we can or cannot publish, no censor sitting at the editor’s elbow telling him to take out ‘unwoke’ words; just a few willing hands who create the magazine every two weeks.

Thank you for donating. It is much appreciated.

I have just finished reading an interview in which Cardinal Gerhard

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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

17th December 2021

Müller calls Covid-related Sacrament restrictions ‘grave sin’ - he is right to speak out.

by the word of Jesus: “I am the Good Shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11).

The German cardinal also warned against bishops and priests who ‘offer themselves as courtiers to the rulers of this world and make themselves their propagandists.’

For the hirelings, like lords of the manor, dispose of the grace of God as they see fit. The bishops, however, as successors of the apostles, are not rulers according to the ways of the world, but ministers of the Word and ministers of the grace of Christ. Somewhat different is the observance of the reasonable rules to prevent the transmission of the disease. But this cannot be used to justify the refusal of the sacraments on principle. For the grace of eternal life must take precedence over temporal goods, he said.

Some politicians, mainstream media and Big Tech have “ruthlessly exploited” COVID-19 to promote “totalitarian thinking” that has even led to division within families, Cardinal Gerhard Müller has observed.

His eminence said that the response of some bishops and priests to close churches or deny the sacraments is a “grave sin” that goes against their “God-given authority.”

In his native Germany a small number of dioceses have been restricting Masses to the vaccinated or those recently recovered from the virus.

Such a decision, as well as closure of some churches, was “shocking proof of how far the secularisation and dechristianisation of thought has already reached the shepherds of Christ’s flock,” the cardinal said.

The Catholic Church and governments, he added, must “work towards social cohesion” and avoid divisive rhetoric that labels some as “conspiracy theorists” or “sinners against charity.”

He also said bishops and priests “must not offer themselves as courtiers to the rulers of this world and make themselves their propagandists.”

The cardinal’s comments come as various nations in Europe, along with Australia, impose strict vaccine mandates on their citizens, with the Austrian government planning to fine those who are unvaccinated €4,000 starting in February and may raise the amount to nearly €10,000.

Authorities in Greece are already imposing monthly fines of 100 euros on people over 60 years-old until they take the vaccine. In the U.S. this week, judges blocked attempts by the Biden administration to enforce vaccines on American workers.

The archdiocese of Berlin is restricting Mass only to the vaccinated or those recently recovered from Covid. The cardinal explained that this is contrary to divine law if access to the means of grace of the Church, i.e., the sacraments of Christ, are impaired or even forbidden by the state authorities.

In this situation, he said bishops should remember the example of St. Charles Borromeo and, above all, be guided

The cardinal concluded the interview saying that in times of crisis, places of worship and people’s hearts must be wide open so that people may seek refuge in God, from whom all help comes. He said that all vaccines have a limited temporal effect. No medicine or technical invention can save us from temporal and eternal death. The Bread that Jesus gives is the cure for eternal death and — without an expiration date — the food for eternal life. “Whoever eats this bread will live forever” (John 6:51). And that is why, at the beginning of the second century, the martyr-bishop Ignatius of Antioch, in his “Letter to the Church of Ephesus” (20:2), was able to call the Eucharist the “medicine of immortality.”

The cardinal issued a timely reminder that the task of bishops is to administer the Eucharist to the faithful, not to keep them away from it. Personal devotion at home and virtual co-celebration on screens cannot replace real and physical presence in the assembly of the faithful, for we are bodily and social beings. Therefore, the grace and truth of God is communicated to us through the Incarnation of his Son and is shared with us in the community of the Church. It is his Body. In the Eucharist, Christ is hidden but really present with his divinity and his humanity — in flesh and blood.

As we prepare to celebrate the birth of Our Saviour let us pray that our bishops and priests take heed of the cardinal’s words and that our sacramental life is permitted to return to normal so that we may adore and worship Our Lord and Saviour not just at Christmas but throughout the year.

Let me close by wishing you and your families a blessed and joyful Christmas and thank you once again for your generosity.

17th December 2021 Catholic Voice

ADVENT APPEAL 3

CATHOLIC VOICE ADVENT APPEAL Dear Reader As we approach the Advent season this year we especially ask you to consider Catholic Voice as a recipient of your Advent giving.

Your generosity of prayerful and financial support since the coronavirus pandemic started, has enabled us to continue spreading Catholic news and Truth. We have been able to continue reaching a wide audience of readers , not only in Ireland but in many different countries.

During this year we have all been challenged in many ways including the closing of churches and the absence of the sacraments. Many of you have become more aware that Catholic Voice is a not for profit organisation and neither we nor our contributors and promoters take a salary.

The ongoing effects of covid 19 plus the additional strain of Kim’s long rehabilitation result in our need to appeal to you again for your support of Catholic Voice so that we can continue our apostolic work into and beyond 2022.

If you are in a position to contribute financially to our Advent appeal you are assured that you are directly helping to spread our treasured Catholic faith.

Anthony Murphy 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, Castlemitchell South, Athy, Co Kildare, Eire

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4 EAGLES IN SCRIPTURE

Catholic Voice

17th December 2021

Eagles in Sacred Scripture Canon Joseph Heppelle ICKSP The Eagle, the king among the birds of the air as the lion is king among the beasts of the earth, graces more than a few pages of the Sacred Scriptures. The swiftness and height of the eagle’s flight is often referenced by the Sacred Authors. Sometimes the eagle represents sin, death and destruction. Other times he represents the love of God for his people, and the saints for God. As the eagle is the king of birds, it is not surprising that various kings and princes are compared to the eagle.

For example, David in his lament of Saul and Jonathan exclaims: “Saul and Jonathan, lovely, and comely in their life, even in death they were not divided: they were swifter than eagles, stronger than lions.” (II Kings 1:23) The eagles is swift in flight, and avid in its pursuit of prey. When prophesying the chastisements that would come upon the people of Israel for their sins, the prophets would often compare invading armies, and the kings who led them, to these attributes of the eagle.

Even Moses predicted: “The Lord will bring upon thee a nation from afar, and from the uttermost ends of the earth, like an eagle that flyeth swiftly.” (Deuteronomy 28:49) Likewise, the prophet Habacuc said: “horsemen shall come from afar, they shall fly as an eagle that maketh haste to eat.” (Habacuc 1:8) The prophet Jeremiah wrote: “Behold he [Nabuchodonosor] shall come up as a cloud, and his chariots as a tempest: his horses are swifter than eagles: woe unto us, for we are laid waste.” (Jer 4:13) After Jerusalem was destroyed by the Chaldeans, the same prophet lamented: “Our persecutors were swifter than the eagles of the air.” (Lam 4:19)

Fatima Prayer

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 Himself is offended, and through the infinite merits of His most Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of Mary I beg of Thee the conversion of poor sinners. Amen.

The eagle is not only a symbol of the chastisements brought upon the people by their sins, but sometimes a symbol of sin itself. The eagle’s tendency to build its nest in high inaccessible places, as well as the height of its flight make it a symbol of pride. The Prophet Jeremiah wrote of the Edomites: “Thy arrogance hath deceived thee...though thou shouldst make thy nest as high as an eagle, I will bring thee down from thence, saith the Lord.” (Jer 49:16) Likewise the prophet Abdias said: “Though thou be exalted as an eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars: thence will I bring thee down, saith the Lord.” (Abd 4) Sacred Scripture also shows the eagle in a positive light.

The Sacred Authors refer to the care eagles show their young, as an image of the love and care that the Good Lord has for His People. As the Lord said to Moses: “You have seen what I have done to the Egyptians, how I have carried you upon the wings of eagles, and have taken you to myself.” (Ex 19:4) In the great canticle Moses composed before he died, he again uses the image of an eagle teaching it young to fly to describe God leading His people out of Egypt: “As the eagle

17th December 2021

Catholic Voice

EAGLES IN SCRIPTURE 5

enticing her young to fly, and hovering over them, he spread his wings, and hath taken him and carried him on his shoulders.” (Dt. 32:11) The most well known use of the eagle in Sacred Scripture, though, is the image of the fourth evangelist.

The images of the evangelists are first seen in a vision of Ezechiel, who saw four cherubim which he described thus: “And as for the likeness of their faces: there was the face of a man, and the face of a lion on the right side of all the four: and the face of an ox, on the left side of all the four: and the face of an eagle over all the four.”

(Ez 1:10) Saint John has a similar vision in the Apocalypse where he sees what he calls “four living creatures” before the throne of God: “And the first living creature was like a lion: and the second living creature like a calf: and the third living creature, having the face, as it were, of a man: and the fourth living creature was like an eagle flying.” (Apoc 4:7) Tradition has identified these four ‘living creatures’ with the four evangelists. St. John is always identified with the eagle because in his Gospel he soars to the heights of spiritual contemplation. If we read and reflect prayerfully on the Gospel, it will indeed inflame our love for God and raise our souls to the spiritual heights where our Heavenly Father is calling us.

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6 CANCEL CULTURE

Catholic Voice

17th December 2021

Twitter Revives The Ducking Stool For Unwoke Witches Jane Kelly I’ve just received an email from Twitter showing a list of accusations against me, accusing me of violating Twitter rules and German law, via the ‘Network Enforcement Act’. Alarming, especially when followed by a second one. I considered a new ‘Nuremberg Defence;’ ‘I was only trying to stop people following orders.’ Happily, Twitter acquitted me on all charges. Relief!

But the complaints showed how people are now pressured to think and speak according to the orders of Woke.

Immigration barrister Colin Yeo has just published a book, Welcome to Britain, with the blurb; ‘Britain thinks of itself as a welcoming country, but the reality has always been different. Migration is viewed benevolently when hypothetical, but heaven forbid anyone should actually try to migrate here.’

I tweeted him that I don’t understand why most Islamic migrants choose Britain rather than any of the fifty

Muslim countries. I also asked for his solution to the inflatable boats leaving Calais. His answer was that he wouldn’t waste his time debating with an ‘Islamophobe.’

I know there are millions of good Muslims. In an art class after forgetting my lunch an Iranian woman offered me hers. The mostly wealthy English ladies present wouldn’t offer a crisp. I’ve had good experiences with Asians here and abroad, that doesn’t affect my question; great people; why not live among them?

His attitude also ignores the fact that the Gulf States are among the very few countries which didn’t sign the 1951 UN Convention on refugees, which recognised migrant rights and the legal obligations towards them of signatory powers.

The Arab monarchies persistently refuse to adopt any legal obligations towards refugees. Other Muslim countries do not seem keen on their co-religionists in distress; a whole girls’ football team taking refuge in Pakistan from Afghanistan, were recently put on a plane to England.

If that annoys you, according to the rules of Woke, you are a ‘Phobe.’ I was also on the criminal list for suggesting that we cannot have continuous mass migration and a welfare state. The figures won’t work out.

The NHS was designed for a homogenous forty million. The UEA once bluntly explained that they weren’t taking refugees from Syria as they didn’t want extremism, or lower living standards. I don’t think they were reported.

17th December 2021

CANCEL CULTURE 7

Catholic Voice

The next tackle was over the forbidden theme of, what about the white working class? Someone called Naveed tweeted that British Asians are excluded from higher education including medical schools.

I wrote that a friend at the National Hospital for Neurology, told me that most of the young doctors were British Asian men. She’d never encountered a white working- class male or female. It may be factual but to write it is racist.

Then there was a bit of a change, coming from a ‘collective’ called Gentle/Radical, shortlisted for the Turner Prize which was advertised with the words: ‘All the nominees work closely and continuously with communities across the breadth of the UK to inspire social change through art.

The collaborative practices also reflect the solidarity and community demonstrated in response to the pandemic.’ I suggested that it offered nothing to white workingclass people, or what was once called, ‘The general public.’

For many, especially in artists’ collectives, you cannot say that as the word ‘white’ is ‘problematic,’ against orders.

The last complaint followed a piece in the Metro newspaper which reported that 1.5 million Londoners remain unvaccinated. Most of them in Newham, Lambeth, Brent and Ealing.

The paper didn’t identify any groups of course. A recent feature on BBC Radio 4 about ‘Spiritual abuse,’ managed not to say who they were talking about.

The clue was a mention of ‘Headgear being restricted so that

women can’t go out.’ We know who is being talked about. The Newham immigrant population is 71%.

The final indictment was for saying that I was tired of Britain being traduced by people who’ve chosen to live here.

It irked me that they are threatening everyone by refusing free vaccines, unavailable to people in their countries of origin, who are desperate to get them.

As much a puzzle as why Muslims don’t want to live in Muslim countries, but expressing such conundrums veers too close to ideas which are strictly against orders.

Even suggesting foreign origins is verboten, indeed, under Woke, the word ‘foreign’ is taboo, sorry not allowed to say that either, even in referring to a ‘foreign body’ in someone’s eye.

Break them and you will find yourself in the dock shamefaced before the court of public opinion, then it’s all down to the Twitter judges and the courage of people around you, whether you get the black cap or walk free.

The

Dominicans

Preaching Truth for the Salvation of Souls

"In an age of universal deceit, speaking the Truth becomes a revolutionary act."

- George Orwell www.irishdominicanvocations.com

8 PROTECTION OF INNOCENCE

Catholic Voice

17th December 2021

The Protection of Innocence Rita Brennan - A Catholic Grandmother

Children raised in any part of Ireland are born into a most beautiful natural world but also into a western society where social thinking is confused, bombarded with various unnatural ideologies and floating on the shifting sands of ever-changing Government policies, the complete opposite of the steadfast teachings of the Catholic Church.

Many wise and experienced adults, silenced by “Equality” regulations, are living near monastic lives, hibernating in their own homes and minds, afraid of confrontation but guilty of their lack of moral courage to speak out and challenge the “fake” notions which are being translated into “fake” laws that are creating a totalitarian state.

As a grandmother, I could cocoon away in my own garden and home but one outstanding characteristic of childhood, threatened by modern education, spurs me into action.

This characteristic recognised by child psychologists, parents and the Catholic Church is the natural gift of innocence, professionally known as the “Latency Period” of child development. This is the childhood stage which precedes puberty when children are naturally unaware of the purpose of male and female, enabling them to lead carefree lives, ignorant of adult activities and free to grow, learn and play.

“This period of tranquility Must never be disturbed”

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) Viennese physician and psychologist said of the latency period that in children from about 5 years of age “sexual instincts die down and the super ego strengthens as the child acquires new social values from adult and same sex peers” (Laura E Berk, Child Development published by Pearson 9th Edition).

About adolescence, Freud wrote that “with puberty, sexual impulses reappear. Successful development during earlier stages leads to marriage, mature sexuality and child rearing.” Eric Erikson (19021994) and Piaget (1896-1980) who have influenced the science of education do not disagree with him on child development. ‘’The Truth and Meaning of Human Sexuality” (Guidelines for Education Within The Family) was published on December 8th 1995 by the Pontifical Council for the family.

It clearly recognises the years of innocence from about 5 years until puberty and emphatically states that “ ... this period of tranquillity and serenity must never be disturbed by unnecessary information about sex ... “ This set of guidelines is a useful

tool for parents rearing children in today’s liberal and confused society. The final paragraphs, 149 and 150, titled Hope and Trust “ ... urges parents to have confidence In their rights and duties regarding the education of their children, so as to go forward with wisdom and knowledge knowing that they are sustained by God’s gift. In this noble task, may parents always place their trust in God through prayer to the Holy Spirit, the gentle Paraclete and giver of all good gifts ...”

Unfortunately, many primary schools are either unaware of the latency period or choose to ignore it, and develop sex education programmes that will teach children about sex. Primary school children are many years from a sexual relationship and it is an “eclipse of reason” to teach young pupils about the adult lifestyle. However, the UN and WHO have been persuaded by a lobbying group that sex education is a necessary part of the curriculum. The WHO has published “Standards for Education in Europe” which is a framework for policy makers, education and health authorities and specialists.

17th December 2021

Catholic Voice

The fact that its first age group is 0-4 years indicates a lack of experience and understanding of babies, infants and toddlers. The standards published are not only international but they are inappropriate and amoral. As there is a vast criminal viewing of child pornography on the internet there may be an “under the radar” paedophile lobby which has infiltrated the UN and WHO. These standards could easily result in the lowering of the age of consent, frequently asked for by organisations giving contraception and abortion advice to underage children behind their parents’ back.

PROTECTION OF INNOCENCE 9

“We’ll convert your children, Happens bit by bit, Quietly and Subtly, And you will barely notice it ...”

In 2012, parents in the UK and Ireland had the right to remove children from Sex Education lessons but under the present policy on sex education it is under the discernment of the Headteacher whether the child can be removed.

So, considering the Anti-Catholic and anti-life origins of RSE and to protect the innocence of young pre-puberty children, RSE must be withdrawn from primary school. Parents, too, must fulfil their responsibilities towards their children, that is “ ... Individual formation within the family circle ... “ (TMHS para 129).

The chilling video of the “San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus” which was published on social media channels last July has been viewed by millions of individuals (adults and children) on such applications. The song itself was published to coincide with the If they require help it must be from annual gay pride festival in San someone they trust. The primary Francisco and contained the below school role is to provide a well lyrics which are to normalise and ­disciplined and happy environment, teach children about the life of Jesus embrace their lifestyle; The devotion to the Cord of St. Joseph took its rise in Belgium, in 1637, in consequence of a miraculous cure effected by the wearing of this precious girdle. During this year of Saint Joseph you may wish to wear the cord to avail of the

Christ, the 10 commandments, the lives of the saints and prepare them for the sacraments of Penance and Holy Eucharist, all the while involving parents and guardians.

Parents have the serious duty to protect the innocence of their children outside school through family prayer, good example, Sunday Mass at least, a home life full of good things and the avoidance of liberal ideas. Having involved themselves in “...The Rite of Baptism for Children” before ‘The Blessed Sacrament’ parents accept “...the responsibility of training him or her in the practice of the faith. It will be your duty to bring him or her up to keep God’s commandments as Christ taught us, by loving God and our neighbours...” and “...

Do you understand what you are undertaking?” (Rite of Baptism for child} Those at the Baptism then say “Lead him or her by a holy life to the joys of God’s Kingdom. Lord hear us...”

GRACES ATTACHED TO THE WEARING OF THE CORD. Graces precious to the piety of St. Joseph’s servants are attached to the wearing of this cord. They are: 1. St. Joseph’s special protection 2. Purity of soul; 3. The grace of chastity; The Cord 4. Final perseverance; 5. Particular assistance at the hour of death.

Of Saint Joseph

The pack containing a St. Joseph’s Cord, a prayer card, St. Joseph’s medal and an information leaflet is available now for €/£10 (inc. p&p).

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10 POVERTY - SILENCE - LOVE

Catholic Voice

17th December 2021

The Crib, The Cross And The Tabernacle Dom Pius Mary Noonan OSB

Christmas Day More than one author has pointed out the affinities between the crib, the cross, the tabernacle. This trio summarises what is most dear to us in our Catholic faith.

In each of them we contemplate a number of virtues which our blessed Saviour has portrayed for us. Let’s limit ourselves today to three of them.

Poverty: The poverty of the crib confounds us; it leaves us perplex; we do not understand. Poor, yes. But destitute?

Ignored by men, yes, but sub-human living conditions?

When we pass over to the cross, our fears at the crib are confirmed. To die deprived of friends, of clothing, of reputation, the worst of criminals. Is it possible to go further? In the tabernacle, the Lord has found a way of living even greater poverty. He is no longer free of any of his movements. He is totally at the command of the priest who calls Him down and moves Him around.

Silence: In the crib, the Eternal Word falls silent. He whose command created all things and keeps them in existence

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has not a word. We can only kneel down and adore in silence the silent Word. On the cross, the Word will speak, but with few words, words that forgive, entrust, give hope. But in the Eucharist, once again, the silence of eternity enters our world. There, in the tabernacle, whatever noise might be going on around Him, He remains in the deepest silence, and draws us to Himself.

Love: Who is not moved by a newborn babe? God comes to us defenceless, inviting us to embrace Him and to receive His love. On Calvary, His outstretched arms speak volumes about the extent of his love for us. In the tabernacle, His continual presence is a prod, a plea to let ourselves be loved and to love in return.

As we celebrate the Saviour’s birthday, let us ask Him to share with us these three virtues, to teach us to imitate His poverty, His silence, and above all His love.

Dom Pius Mary Noonan, OSB, is the Founder and Prior of, Notre Dame Priory, Colebrook, Tasmania, Australia

17th December 2021

Letters Dear Editor, Once again Christmas is upon us and like last year, I write this a brokenhearted parent. I am grieving for my child who is alive. I and my family are victims of TUSLA. My mam and dad have not seen their grandchild since 2018. It could be said that TUSLA are separating families and not re-uniting them. They are causing a Great Divide in families.

I haven’t seen my child since 2019.

I have only been allowed a few video calls in that time. This is not good for my mental health, it is not great for my child. My child has been moved several times and now lives in a town which is miles away from where I live and has also been transferred to a new school.

It’s like a nightmare that I am living through, many years of hell and hardship for myself, and the rest of my family. I have not managed

LETTERS 11

Catholic Voice

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

to have my case heard in the courts and it is over three years since I was last in court. I have to pay my own lawyer’s fees as I cannot trust state appointed lawyers.

no empathy towards us whatsoever.

It’s the Christmas season and I have not seen my child now for over two years. I long to hold my child in my arms and say “I love you”.

I long to see my child, and I think of them every day but I am at the complete mercy of TUSLA. It is completely agonising. My pain has never stopped since my child was taken from me, it never leaves you. It’s a dull aching pain around your heart. Every day is a new day for everybody but all I think about when I wake up is when will my child be home. I have suffered so many heart-breaking emotions and horrible lows. I do not know where to turn some days.

Christmas is meant to be the most wonderful time of the year. For me it is a bleak time. The silence is deafening every day not hearing my child’s voice. Oh, it is agony for me.

I feel like I am in a black tunnel and cannot get out. When I am in town and see families together, inside it makes me so sad. I bottle up my tears and let them out when I go home.

The things that keep be going are my love for my child and my family. I and my family never asked for this.

We have suffered greatly at the hands of various social workers and health care professionals. They have shown

To all the families in Ireland, please pray for the parents of the over 6,000 children who are in state care who have been taken by TUSLA. I wish every one a happy Christmas.

Name with editor.

12 CATHOLIC FAMILY TRADITIONS

Catholic Voice

17th December 2021

Establishing Catholic Family Traditions John Lacken My father was a great man for celebrating Christmas. He loved to decorate the Christmas tree and was always buying new sets of interesting lights. I remember the coloured ‘sputniks’ and the icicle lights. One year he hung Christmas tree baubles from the wooden beams that ran along the ceiling in the hallway of our house in Dublin.

He was always thinking up new ways to display the Christmas cards.

My father loved to create things, especially out of wood, and he was always working on different projects. He would get an idea in his mind and then try to bring it to life by seeing if he could make it.

I remember one time that he decided to make a Christmas crib out of a large cardboard box. He asked my mother if she had any cotton wool.

In those days every house had a roll of cotton wool that came wrapped in blue paper. My father wanted the blue paper to use on the outside of the box to create a Christmas cave with a window at the back. I am not sure what he did with the cotton wool but he covered the box in the blue paper and then painted and decorated the outside of the crib and added various bits of greenery for effect.

figure out how the wise men were clearly out beyond the confines of the box my father had used to create the crib.

Of course we children eventually worked it out. The back window was actually a small oblong mirror onto which my father had painted a window frame with a cross piece which gave the impression of four panes of glass. He installed this in a piece of cardboard and then set it at an angle inside the cave at the back.

Above the door of the cave he had glued a Christmas card on which were depicted the three wise men riding their camels. He then adjusted the angle of the mirror window, so that when you looked into the mouth of the cave, you would look through the window and see the wise men approaching from the distance.

It was one of the highlights of our Christmas that year and we delighted in showing it to our friends who called over for a visit.

When they could not figure it out we would eventually wiggle our fingers above the entrance of the cave and you would see them in the mirror at the back, thus revealing the illusion.

But the ingenious thing about this crib, and probably the idea that started my father on the project in the first place, was the back window. When you looked in at the mouth of the cave, you could see the three wise men in the distance through the back window. It was clear that they were out beyond the confines of the cardboard box.

What brought this to my mind was that I love playing Christmas music at this time of year. My father had a large collection of vinyl Christmas records and one of the most popular was Bert Kaempfert’s, ‘Christmas Wonderland’. Bert Kaempfert was a German, who introduced an electric bass guitar into his orchestra and played jazz arrangements of popular tunes.

What was not clear, was how my father had created this effect. I remember one neighbour who called over, looking into the cave, then looking at the back of the cave on the outside, then looking in again, and then looking at the outside again and waving their hand up and down at the back. They were completely baffled and could not

My father died on the 10th of December 1995. Bert Kaempfert’s Christmas Wonderland album is pure supermarket music, but every year since my father died, when I play this, I am transported back to our house in Dublin at Christmastime. I see my father in our sitting room. He is wearing his grey jumper with the diamond

patterns on the front. He has just finished putting some coal on the fire and has turned around and is looking at me. I am not sure if this is a real memory, or one of those composite memories where the brain re-arranges our memories to form an image, but I get great comfort from this happy image and from the Christmas music.

I realise that I was very blessed to be raised in a loving Catholic home where Christmas was a very special time. As the years go by, I know that many others were not as fortunate as I was, and that for many, Christmas can be a time of sorrow and of unhappy memories.

I also realise the power of music and other stimuli to evoke strong childhood memories and I realised many years ago, that I wanted to instil some of these memories in my own children. I also realised that we have a great opportunity to create specifically Catholic memories while our children are young.

Part of this journey involved the ‘big fellow’, who usually pays a visit on Christmas eve to bring presents, when everyone is asleep.

My attitude to the ‘big fellow’ has changed over the years. In our early married life, Christmas at our house was much the same as everyone else’s.

But one year, we were quite poor coming up to Christmas. I was on final notice for being late paying the phone bill and it looked like

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CATHOLIC FAMILY TRADITIONS 13

Christmas dinner would consist of minced beef and vegetables.

Getting Christmas presents for the children (we had at least six at this time) was simply not going to be possible. For a fleeting instance, the thought of going to a money lender to borrow money crossed my mind.

I didn’t want to deprive my children of what I thought were the joys of Christmas.

I decided against this option and we received a lovely letter from the ‘big fellow’ telling us that he had a very tight schedule that year and would we mind waiting until ‘little Christmas’, January 6th, for him to deliver our presents. Of course, we were happy to oblige, anything for the ‘big fellow’. What my children did not realise was that the children’s allowance was due a few days before ‘little Christmas’.

But this started me thinking on the things that are really important. I remembered one night earlier that year, when some of the children got a tummy bug. I think my wife was either pregnant or nursing a young child at the time. Anyway, late at night, we heard one of the children crying and calling out ‘Dad, Dad’.

Because of my wife’s situation, I could not play the, ‘pretend to be asleep and see if she gets up’, game, so I dragged myself out of bed and headed up the corridor just in time to see one of our children spew vomit all over the carpeted floor.

I grabbed the child and made for the bathroom and started the cleanup operation. Suddenly, I heard another child moaning and crying out. Leaving the first child half dressed, I raced to their bedroom and managed to get this one to the bathroom with mouth pointed at the toilet before the inevitable happened. Shortly thereafter, I had to go through the whole process a My God, I believe, I adore, I hope and I love Thee. I beg pardon of Thee for all those that do not believe, do not adore, do not hope and do not love Thee. Amen.

Angel to the Children of Fatima 1916

The candles prepared for our first Christmas family procession to the crib.

third time, as another child also had the tummy bug. These are the things family memories are made of.

I eventually got the children settled, cleaned up the stinking mess, and managed to get back to bed. But as I reflected on this life event later on in the run up to Christmas, I realised that the ‘big fellow’ never showed up to give me a helping hand that night. Here he was taking all the credit at Christmas for some wonderful gifts, but apart from that, he wasn’t much use.

So I made a bargain with the ‘big fellow’. He could still visit our house on Christmas eve, but he was only allowed to bring a book each for the children. The bigger gifts for the children would come from their Mom and Dad. This was proper order.

I also realised that the ‘big fellow’ had not only usurped the place of Mom and Dad, he had also usurped the place of the Christ child in our home at Christmas. This had to change, and it did change the year after I attended a five day silent retreat using the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius, in a Benedictine monastery in France. From that year on, the ‘big fellow’ was banished from our home.

But it was not enough to banish the ‘big fellow’, we needed to bring

the Christ child back to the centre of our Christmas celebrations. We needed to establish a new Lacken family, Christmas tradition.

We were fond of attending the midnight Holy Mass on Christmas Eve. After we returned from Holy Mass, each of our eight children was handed an unlit candle and told to go to Mom and Dad’s bedroom.

When we got there, our youngest child was handed the baby Jesus for the main crib in our home. In order not to cause any jealousy, the two youngest boys were also handed a baby Jesus for the other two cribs that we had.

All the lights were extinguished in the house and then I lit our large Christmas candle. My wife and I lit our candles from the Christmas candle and then each of the children lit their candles from the Christmas candle. We then processed throughout the house singing ‘away in a manger’. When we got to the main crib, my youngest daughter Noemi, placed the child Jesus in the crib. The first year we did this was Christmas 2005, and we have done it every year since then with little developments along the way.

One of those developments is, that after the baby Jesus is placed in the crib, I, as the father of the family, read the Christmas narrative from chapter two of St Luke’s Gospel.

14 CATHOLIC FAMILY TRADITIONS

Catholic Voice

17th December 2021

“And it came to pass, that in those days there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that the whole world should be enrolled.

This enrolling was first made by Cyrinus, the governor of Syria. And all went to be enrolled, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem: because he was of the house and family of David, to be enrolled with Mary his espoused wife, who was with child.

And it came to pass, that when they were there, her days were accomplished, that she should be delivered.

And she brought forth her first-born son, and wrapped him up in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were in the same country shepherds watching, and keeping the night watches over their flock.

And behold an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the brightness of God shone round about them; and they feared with a great fear. And the angel said to them: Fear not; for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, that shall be to all the people: For, this day, is born to you a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord, in the city of David. And this shall be a sign unto you. You shall find the infant wrapped in swaddling clothes, and laid in a manger.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly army, praising God, and saying: Glory to God in the highest; and on earth peace to men of good will. And it came to pass, after the angels departed from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another: Let us go over to Bethlehem, and let us see this word that is come to pass, which the Lord has showed to us.

And they came with haste; and they found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger. And seeing, they understood of the word that had been spoken to them concerning this child. And all that heard, wondered; and at those things that were told them by the shepherds.

But Mary kept all these words, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God, for all the things they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.” (Luke 2:1-20) Afterwards, we wish each other a merry Christmas and then we head to the kitchen for hot chocolate with

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mini marshmallows, we cut the Christmas cake and we chat until the wee hours of the morning. We have been joined by friends on some occasions.

One year, we travelled down to Limerick for the midnight Mass and we were very tired on arriving home, probably at around three in the morning. We went to bed without having the usual procession. However, we were all woken at around six in the morning by one of the children who insisted that we do the procession with the baby Jesus while it was still dark. I then knew that a Catholic family tradition had been established and I am looking forward to it again this year.

Another tradition from my own family was, that on Christmas eve, my father would leave the house on his own at around four o’clock in the afternoon. He would head over to the Cornelscourt shopping centre in the hope of picking up some Christmas bargains. Maybe some tinselly Christmas decorations would be reduced at the last minute, or some Christmas tree lights.

I also do this on Christmas Eve. On that fateful Christmas when we were quite poor, I happened to be in Dunnes Stores on Christmas Eve at around five in the evening.

An announcement came across the loudspeakers, “all fresh Christmas turkeys are now half price”.

Well, as you can imagine, I lost no time and charged over to the refrigerated cabinets and picked out a half price turkey. I was as proud as punch that year when I strode in the door with the Christmas turkey in hand.

We had a wonderful Christmas dinner that year after all. God is good.

I also had a tradition of making a new crib each year from scratch when the children were young, and I would involve the children in the project, getting a new crib ready for the Christmas night family procession.

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Catholic Voice

CATHOLIC FAMILY TRADITIONS 15

I would encourage Catholic families to think about establishing their own Catholic family traditions, if you have not done so already. Especially at Christmas time where, if we are not careful, the commercial aspect will overshadow Christ’s birth and Jesus will not be invited to His own birthday party.

There is still room for Christmas trees, and other decorations and even for Bert Kaempfert, In our family, he is always played when we start to decorate the Christmas tree.

I pray that when any of my own children have families, that the Christmas tradition of the youngest child processing the child Jesus to the crib will be handed down. When I am dead, I pray that the memories of these Christmas processions will live long after I am gone and who knows, maybe this tradition will last for generations to come.

May I take this opportunity to wish each and every one of you all the

Home-made Lacken Family Crib blessings of the Christmas season and I pray that the new year, 2022, will also bring abundant blessings to all of you.

I would also like to thank you for your ongoing support of Catholic

Voice and The Lumen Fidei Institute. We could not continue without your support.

May God bless you and all those you love.

John Lacken

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16 TURN TO CHRIST

Catholic Voice

17th December 2021

Neither The State Nor The Church Can Ban Catholics From Practicing Their Religion Bishop Marian Eleganti

The Church must turn to Christ anew and expect everything from Him! There will be no solution otherwise.

Where the support in the Christian faith is missing or has fallen away, fear and irrationality dominate, as can be seen. The resources of love and tolerance are quickly used up and turn into aggression and hatred. The Church is not first and foremost a servant of the state, but the Bride of Christ, the mediatrix and dispenser of His mysteries (sacraments).

She must not make sacramental life difficult and inaccessible to the faithful on the basis of purely secular exclusion criteria. After two years of COVID, it remains to be feared that the measures have done more harm than good. And there is no end in sight.

The promises have not been kept; the game-changer promised has not brought back normality as we knew it. It is certain that the so-called herd immunity of the population can no longer be achieved through vaccination.

We will have to live with the virus. Alternative, harmless ways of treatment are still being boycotted. We are about to lose our freedom and social cohesion for good. After two years of COVID, we are worse off than ever.

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The Church must stop subjecting access to Her sacraments to secular criteria that are alien to Her and exclude believers accordingly. She must not accept that many believers remain outside the door through quite arbitrary political measures, while Christ calls them all to Himself in the churches. The Church cannot negotiate with the state about conditions of admission to Her sacraments and then rigorously enforce the corresponding controls at the church portals in Her name. She is a minister of salvation, not a health policeman. Believers can decide for themselves where they go and how they protect themselves.

Everything that was visible about Jesus in this world has passed into the sacraments, wrote Leo the Great. But what would the Lord say about this behaviour of the Church?

Would He give His approval? Doubts are in order!

Many believers are affected who are in existential spiritual and physical need while Jesus is in their midst through the sacraments. From Him they expected a way out in justified faith. But we make the way to Him difficult for them.

They do not tend to challenge God, but they expect protection and blessing from Him in every situation.

If He has counted all the hairs on my head (Luke 12:7; Mt 10:30) and no sparrow falls from a branch without His will (Mt 10:29), as Jesus teaches, I may assume that even during this pandemic I am in His hands and nothing happens without His will.

This changes everything in the way I deal with the challenges involved. Even the one who observes all precautions as best as he can has no other guarantee and security than that of placing himself in God’s hands.

What would have happened if all of Christendom had intensified its sacramental life (Holy Confession; Holy Mass; Holy Communion; Adoration) instead of “winding it down”? I am convinced: She would have been heard.

What a witness to the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist that would have been! Every believer expects God’s intervention every day when he witnesses the transubstantiation of the bread into the Body of Christ through the words of the ordained priest.

Daily we hear in the scripture readings testimonies of faith and corresponding divine action based on that faith, but we no longer muster the faith that relates to divine interventions.

I recall the Israelites in the desert (cf. Num 21:4-9) who, bitten by poisonous snakes, had to look up to the copper serpent raised by Moses in an act of faith demanded by God (an allegory in view of the Lord raised from the earth, crucified and risen, cf. John 3:14f) in order to stay alive.

I recall the five barley loaves and the two fish (cf. John

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Catholic Voice

TURN TO CHRIST 17

6:9) which Jesus multiplied in order to satisfy a huge crowd so that they would not collapse from emaciation on the way home? I recall the woman with the flowing blood (Mark 5:2534) who wanted to touch the hem of Jesus’ garment because a power was coming from Him that healed all: “All the people were trying to touch him, because a power was coming from him that healed all” (Luke 6:19). Is the Holy Eucharist not the Body of Christ?

I am reminded of St. John Bosco, who promised his boys — if they were in the state of grace — that they would not be infected, even though they were caring for infected people and there was reasonably no other security than precisely that of trust in God and the promise of the (irresponsible?) saint. Somebody told me this episode only recently.

As a final example, I refer to the Bishop of Marseille who freed the city from the plague by believing the vision of a young mystic (Anne Madeleine Rémusat) and consecrating the city to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which instantly brought the end of the plague to that city.

Now we read in Mark 16:18 that Jesus promised His disciples that even deadly poison could not harm them because God decides our fate, whether we live or die. However, Jesus only ever worked His signs where people had faith in Him, at least the beginning of faith. That is why He repeats again and again: Your faith has helped you!

Where He did not find it, He left the people to their own ways and worked only a few miracles, such as in Nazareth, His hometown. Perhaps the path taken by the Church of our day actually corresponds to Her spiritual condition. The fact that the ‘sensus fidelium’ of many believers feels alienated by this in the Church gives me pause for thought as a bishop.

Those responsible in state and Church underestimate the spiritual suffering of the faithful who until now have regularly gone to the sacraments. Their faith tells them that

we are always in the hands of God and that nothing happens without His will or permission. The idea of contagion when taking communion, therefore, takes some getting used to for them, to say the least. No, they reject it. And does not faith, as small as a mustard seed, seem the most irrational thing there is, when it asks a tree to transplant itself into the sea (cf. Lk 7:5f)? Nevertheless, Jesus calls us to such a daring trust in God. And one last thing: It is said again and again that God does not punish!

Is that so? But in the mouth of the prophets and in the mouth of Jesus He does. “And in His wrath the Lord delivered him up to the smiters until He had paid the whole debt. In the same way my heavenly Father will treat you unless each one forgives his brother from the heart” (Mt 18:34f).

This does not mean that everyone who suffers does so because he has sinned (cf. John 9:1–10,21). Jesus made this clear in response to an explicit question from the disciples. I also do so at this point in my reflection.

But Jesus told another, “Look, you have been made well; sin no more,

lest something worse happen to you” (John 5:14).

This is something that today’s society should remember and be told. I spoke of this context in my video at the beginning of the pandemic without putting the word “punishment” in my mouth. For me, it is rather a banal and self-evident truth that we as humanity cannot go against God’s laws and order “with impunity” without incurring negative consequences. After all, sin — as the saying goes — brings its “wages” ipso facto, without God having to do anything.

Through faith in Jesus Christ we enter into communion with Him. He Himself testifies to our conscience that He is the truth and the life. “I was born and came into the world to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.”

(John 18:37).

Truth has a hard time in our days.

The answer to its need is Jesus Christ. The Church too must turn to Him anew and expect everything from Him! There will be no solution for them otherwise.

“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.”

(The Angel of Portugal to Fatima children 1915)

18 AFGHAN CRISIS

Catholic Voice

17th December 2021

Taliban Totalitarianism Drives The World’s Worst Humanitarian Crisis Christopher Monckton of Brenchley

In democracies, widespread abject poverty and starvation are rare, for the good and simple reason that the people won’t stand for it. It is nearly always in totalitarian regimes that humanitarian crises erupt.

The Western news media – heavily influenced by the Communist brand of totalitarianism – has chiefly concentrated its reporting of events in Afghanistan on the military consequences of the decision by Mr Biden’s far-Left carers to withdraw precipitately from the country without thought for its mere inhabitants.

The pathetically woke and accordingly inept chiefs of staff of the U.S. armed forces planned and executed the withdrawal with such stupefying incompetence that they did not even tell their in-theatre allies beforehand that they were pulling out.

They did not maintain hard-point defences around the nation’s key air bases so that they could keep the Taliban at bay until men and materiel had been safely removed. They left hundreds of Americans and thousands of Afghan collaborators behind. They also left the Taliban with $85bn in military hardware that the nitwits of the Pentagon had made no plans to extract.

The Marxstream media in the West, now so irredeemably partisan that they provide cover for the Communist-dominated care staff at the White House Sunset Home regardless of the truth, have near-totally failed to report the humanitarian disaster that has unfolded in Afghanistan as a direct result of the abject retreat of

what was once one of the world’s strongest military forces from the country.

According to the U.N. High Commission for Refugees, one of the few justifiable and necessary divisions of that generally useless body of unelected profiteers at the expense of the world’s taxpayers, there are two million displaced Afghans living in abject poverty in Iran and Pakistan. Some of these are third-generation children born in exile, so long have Islamic totalitarians been disrupting life in the country.

By late summer there was fighting in all but one of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces as desperate citizens tried to win back their freedom.

As a result of that fighting and of the Taliban’s policies, more than half a million Afghans have been internally displaced this year – most of them women and children.

There were already almost 3 million internally displaced people in Afghanistan.

Displaced civilians have reported widespread extortion and corruption in the Taliban regime. Worse, improvised explosive devices – a favourite Taliban tactic – are still being placed on major roads.

In the wake of the American retreat, starvation is now widespread.

Desperate Afghan families increasingly resort to selling their children as servants – effectively slaves and concubines – of wealthy warlords. The going rate is about 500 euros per child, enough to keep starvation at bay for a month or two.

Consider, for instance, the plight of Shukria Abdul Wahid, reported in the current issue of the London Spectator. She has two boys and seven girls. All they had to eat on one day last week was two stale pieces of flat-bread. She and her husband did not eat at all.

The gas bottle they used to boil water for tea ran out some time ago and they cannot afford to replace it, so they cannot even try to stave off hunger with a cup of tea.

17th December 2021

Catholic Voice

The children, too young to understand the dire situation caused by the Taliban’s invasion and the galloping and ignominious retreat of American forces, cry all the time and keep coming to their mother to beg for food that she cannot give them.

The entire family live in one tiny room with a concrete floor and no glass in the windows to keep out the fierce cold of the Afghan winter.

Shukria and her family, displaced to Kabul from their original home by the Taliban invasion, are now so desperate that Shukria has suggested to her husband that they will have to sell one of their daughters into an early arranged marriage with a warlord, so as to keep them from starvation and death this winter.

This agonising choice, born of desperation, is now faced by millions of Afghans. The Taliban are wholly uninterested in making any kind of social provision, for they are corrupt from top to bottom. Any money they can get goes straight into their own pockets. They are continuing their brutal crackdown on the country, settling scores with those who had supported the Americans.

The Taliban’s corruption is so severe that just about all foreign aid to Afghanistan has had to cease.

Such little aid as still trickles in finds its way not to families in desperate need but into the pockets of the warlords.

The World Food Program reports that 19 Afghan households in 20 are not eating enough to survive. Some 14 million Afghans are at immediate risk of what the international-aid bureaucracy chillingly calls “food insecurity” – in plain English, starvation. Millions will die this winter.

AFGHAN CRISIS 19

Meanwhile, the Taliban’s Chinese backers are already getting to work extracting the lithium from the vast Afghan mines, so that they can sell it to Western nations so that their citizens – fooled by overblown, Communist-driven climate-change propaganda – can feel good about “Saving The Planet” by replacing their real cars with overpriced electric buggies.

largest emitter of the gas of life – did not even bother to attend.

Nearly all the profit from the lithium in Afghanistan will go either to the Taliban or to China, which is desperate to resolve its own crippling debt crisis by cornering the global market in lithium carbonate.

Previous Popes would have explained to the faithful the dangers to life and limb inherent in any form of totalitarian rule. But the present Pope is so far silent on the issue.

The dominance of the Western news media by Communists, whose purely nihilistic ambition is to destroy the hated West, with its freedoms of election, of religion, of markets and of speech, is now costing lives in Afghanistan as well as elsewhere.

Already, China controls 70% of global output. With the addition of the Afghan lithium it will soon control 90%.

Indeed, the Vatican has spent far more time talking and issuing encyclicals and holding conferences about the non-problem of warmer worldwide weather than about the humanitarian disasters that always arise from Communist policies.

Not a word of this, of course, was spoken at the Glasgow climate gabfest, which China – the world’s

There is much here for the College of Cardinals to think about and we must pray that they do.

20 LITURGICAL MUSIC

Catholic Voice

17th December 2021

The Music We Hear At Mass Mary Kearns

As we live with the fear of perhaps another lock-down, we are probably not likely to complain about deplorable practices that have entered into the celebration of the sacred liturgy. For instance, holy water is no longer available at the entrance to the church.

However, there is actually nothing preventing us from still making the sign of the cross. As our attention is now given to sanitising hands and adjusting masks, we generally fail to remember this traditional and meaningful practice. Will it ever be revived? Will Catholic children even be told about the sign that commemorates Baptism as people make their way into Mass?

For some time liturgical celebrations have been deprived of a choir and organist leading to an increase in the practice of recorded music being used, to the extent that it has become normal.

The phenomenon of recorded music at Mass is a practice that has greatly accelerated since Covid 19 restrictions entered into the liturgy.

We should ask some questions regarding this.

The first and most obvious question is what is the music for? Some might reply that it is to give praise and glory to God, to petition him and to respond to the grace we receive from him. But how is God to be praised and so forth by something that is not actually present at all?

Recorded music cannot be said to be for the Lord because it is not alive it is nothing more than a memory of something that was once alive when it was originally performed.

In other words it is dead. Is it not obvious that in offering the Lord

something that is dead, we are offering him insult?

the effect on many can be more annoying than inspiring.

Nobody would want to do that, but a moment’s reflection will show that this is what is happening when recorded music is played in the church, especially of course during the sacred liturgy. Better by far to have priest and people sing or chant, even if not of the highest quality but carried out with sincerity.

Music that is appropriate for sacred liturgy has a special nature and the liturgy of the Church is not the place for personal preferences. Over the years several Pontiffs have written on this subject.

Recorded music is actually as absurd as chatting to friends on the phone while we are having a meal instead of actually inviting them to the meal while we fool ourselves that it is the same thing.

It is likely that the playing of recorded music in church is more for the people than for the Lord. We all understand that inspiring music can raise the heart and mind above our ordinary lives.

But what is edifying for some may not be so for others. It is a personal matter; it simply isn’t true that everyone likes semi-religious songs or popular sentimental hymns and

“Not all musical forms can be considered suitable for liturgical celebrations,” says Pope John Paul II in his Chirograph on sacred music (2003). He quotes Pope Paul VI: “If music - instrumental and vocal - does not possess at the same time the sense of prayer, dignity, and beauty, entry into the sphere of the sacred and the religious is precluded.”

It would be missing the point if we simply complained about the kind of music chosen and its suitability for the sacredness of the liturgy.

But what is the case when the music is liturgically appropriate but has been pre-recorded? What about when the music is fitting, for example, if Gregorian chant is being

17th December 2021 wafted through the church from the amplified system? The reason given is to provide an atmosphere of holiness and this is said to put people in the mood for prayer.

Our liturgical intuition is alerted when something is not right but thankfully we do not have to rely on our own judgement. If we did, we would be in trouble as others would disagree and it would seem to come down to the individual preference of the priest, the liturgy team or the choir-mistress. Some people would say that they found Mass to be more meaningful when certain music is played regardless of whether it is recorded or not. Again that misses the point entirely.

We do not have to solve this problem ourselves because as always when it comes to liturgy we just follow the mind of the Church. That is the only way we can come close to what the Lord desires.

To do otherwise is to depart from Catholic tradition. Tradition of course does not mean the way things have always been done; rather it bears witness to the unchanging nature of the action of Jesus Christ in our liturgy.

To know the mind of the Church we have to find out what she says and in regard to recorded music, there are clear instructions.

The document De Musica Sacra pre-dates the Second Vatican Council. Since it has not been superseded by other documents, its directives remain in force although at the time the document was written, technological advances were not at the level they are today.

Nonetheless the intention regarding recorded music in church is explicit: The use of automatic instruments and machines, such as the automatic organ, phonograph, radio, tape or wire recorders, and other similar machines, is absolutely forbidden

Catholic Voice in liturgical functions and private devotions whether they are held inside or outside the church even if these machines be used only to transmit sermons or sacred music, or to substitute for the singing of the choir or faithful or even just to support it. (Article 71) It might come as a surprise that even private devotions are included in this prohibition and in our endeavour to think with the mind of the Church we would have to see this as also pertaining to novenas and other pious practices and of course to Eucharistic Adoration.

Loudspeakers and microphones are to be used solely for the purpose of amplifying the living voice of the priest or anyone who according to the rubrics, is permitted to address the congregation.

Any time mechanical devices are allowed in church they must be outside liturgical celebrations.

Some instances would include times when there are processions, or when it is desirable that the people listen to voice of the Holy Father or the bishop.

Instructions regarding recording applies to the visual as well as

LITURGICAL MUSIC 21 the auditory. The same document declares that “The use of any kind of projector, and particularly movie projectors, with or without sound track is strictly forbidden in church for any reason, even if it be for a pious, religious or charitable cause.”

Further directions cover the construction or remodelling of meeting halls near the church where the preservation of silence of the sacred place should be the prime consideration. There will certainly be objections to this but it is incumbent on us to remember that in these matters it is only in honouring the mind of the Church that we are honouring the mind of Christ.

It might help to choose an example from our ordinary secular lives and consider how this would apply to Sunday worship. If we attended any kind of concert and were treated to music that was recorded instead of live, we would feel cheated and aggrieved. Why then is it acceptable to treat our Blessed Lord in this way - most particularly during and before and after Mass?

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

22 CONSCIENCE & VACCINES

Catholic Voice

17th December 2021

CONSCIENCE AND VACCINES - Part 2 Fr Ambrose Astor

Ethical considerations surrounding vaccines have been debated for some time. It is a hot subject today, as many of the COVID-19 vaccines use stem cells from aborted babies. Father Ambrose answers essential questions on this important topic.

Q. What are the conditions required to make the use of COVID-19 vaccines (and other abortion tainted products) morally permissible?

A. A careful reading of the Note reveals no less than seven conditions for the licit use of the COVID-19 vaccines: 1) there must be a grave danger that requires recourse to the vaccines; 2) there must be no other effective means of dealing with the virus; 3) there must be no ethical vaccines available; 4) the vaccines must be safe; 5) the vaccines must be effective; 6) one must voice one’s opposition to the procedure by which the vaccine was made possible; 7) vaccination must be voluntary, without coercion.

Let us examine these conditions, keeping in mind that if any one of these conditions is absent, then the recourse to these vaccines (or products) is illicit.

Condition 1 - Grave Danger - It is not hard to prove that the gravity of COVID-19 has been overstated on every continent, and lock-downs have been excessive, harmful and with little scientific basis.11 The initial fears and repressive measures have given many the impression that we were dealing with a true pandemic with the potential to wipe out all of humanity. This was a major factor in the Holy See’s decision to allow the use of the vaccines. However, it is a matter of public record that the situation is not and has never been as serious as it is made out to be. As a matter of fact, the consistent median infection fatality rate (IFR) has been a mere 0.05% in the general population globally.12 Condition 2 - Lack of Alternatives – There are many highly effective

You wouldn’t murder me And take my organs to make a vaccine.

So why is it OK to take vaccines Which were made using the organs Of my murdered unborn Brothers and Sisters?

treatment protocols of COVID-19,13 backed up by robust data, published by leading professors, doctors and scientists around the world.14 If these treatments had not been suppressed, there would have been virtually no deaths at all from the virus as evidenced by the state of Uttar Pradesh in northern India (20 million people) which has a vaccination rate of 5% and only 100 cases in total,15 compared to first world countries such as Israel with a vaccination rate of 85% and an estimated daily count of 5000 cases and 30 deaths.

Medical professionals globally are decrying the suppression of highly effective treatments in Western countries as a violation of human rights and are highlighting that the driving force behind the vaccine mandates is the profit of pharmaceutical companies.16 Condition 3 - Lack of Ethical Vaccines - A number of ethically produced vaccines are being developed. Unfortunately, almost all governments have favoured the development of those which use

foetal cell lines. There are no doubt some major financial interests here.

We must ask, however, whether a disease that has a global median survival rate of 99.95% requires a vaccine at all, particularly when much of the evidence points to excellent treatment outcomes with existing medication.

Condition 4 - Safety - Up to now, the vaccines have been demonstrably unsafe with a disproportionate risk of death from the vaccine itself. In the US alone in a period of 11 months there have been over 18,000 reported deaths and 1.6 million adverse events.17 In Australia, the deaths in 2021 attributed to vaccines have virtually equalled the deaths by COVID-19.18 In the same country, the roll-out among young adults is notably causing pericarditis/myocarditis, (inflammation of the heart that can potentially lead to heart failure and life-long dependence on medication or death) with a total of 1100 cases in 10 months.19 Previous vaccines have been withdrawn after a total of 50 deaths worldwide.

17th December 2021 Condition 5 - Efficacy of Vaccines - It is impossible to ascertain concretely at this stage the effectiveness of the vaccines given they remain entirely experimental and constitute an active clinical trial.20 However, data that has been gathered from countries like Israel shows unimpressive efficacy of the vaccines, often veiled in misleading ways when communicated to the public.21 Most recently, a study across 68 countries concludes that present vaccination is not effective in reducing COVID-19 cases and that public health measures need to be reviewed.22 Condition 6 - Public Opposition It is a sad fact that one almost never hears of any such voice being raised, especially from the Holy See and the Bishops’ Conferences. Given the enormity of the crime involved in harvesting and exploiting organs from infants, even if all the other conditions had been fulfilled, we have every right to expect from our Bishops a united, consistent and strong demand that ethical

Catholic Voice alternatives be promptly made available, and that an end be put to the trafficking of human lives.

Regarding this duty, the Pontifical Academy for Life states: ‘Doctors and fathers of families have a duty to take recourse to alternative vaccines (if they exist), putting pressure on the political authorities and health systems so that other vaccines without moral problems become available. They should take recourse, if necessary, to the use of conscientious objection with regard to the use of vaccines produced by means of cell lines of aborted human foetal origin.

Equally, they should oppose by all means (in writing, through the various associations, mass media, etc.) the vaccines which do not yet have morally acceptable alternatives, creating pressure so that alternative vaccines are prepared, which are not connected with the abortion of a human foetus, and requesting rigorous

CONSCIENCE & VACCINES 23 legal control of the pharmaceutical industry producers… In any case, there remains a moral duty to continue to fight and to employ every lawful means in order to make life difficult for the pharmaceutical industries which act unscrupulously and unethically.’

Some have also argued, quite convincingly, that the Holy See’s permission to use these vaccines has actually increased world-wide the demand for more experimentation on foetal tissue, thereby encouraging the ongoing industrialisation of human remains.

This demand is demonstrably visible in medical journals advocating the use of testing of new COVID-19 vaccines, not just on the HEK-293 cell lines, but also on ‘humanised mice’ and ‘lung only mice’.23 This term refers to laboratory mice which have organs grafted onto them from foetuses aged 2-5 months (according to the method of extraction described above).

24 CONSCIENCE & VACCINES These ‘humanised mice’ have already been extensively funded and official documents state that the foetuses, some up to 6 months gestation, were bought for $12,000 per box. Most of the purchases (for grafting onto mice) were for intact thymuses and livers which were promptly shipped - ‘fresh; on wet ice’.24 When we imagine what effect an adamant ‘No’ from the Holy See and the Bishops could have had, we are led to ask some very troubling questions about who was really behind this decision and why our hierarchy has been so culpably cowardly.

Condition 7 - No Mandates or Coercion – The draconian measures by governments globally to mandate vaccines that are still in a clinical trial are in direct contravention of international agreements and indeed of the most fundamental principles of the Natural Law. Unfortunately, many doctors themselves seem to have set aside the requirement of guaranteeing their patients the right to informed consent and the right to refuse.

There are however thousands of doctors who are protesting this and are publicly calling out the current events in the medical field as ‘crimes against humanity’25. These voices are being categorically censored.

On this topic, the Nuremberg Code (1947) stipulates that for human

Catholic Voice experimentation ‘the voluntary consent of the human subject is absolutely essential. This means that the person involved should have legal capacity to give consent; should be so situated as to be able to exercise free power of choice, without the intervention of any element of force, fraud, deceit, duress, overreaching, or other ulterior form of constraint or coercion; and should have sufficient knowledge and comprehension of the elements of the subject matter involved as to enable him to make an understanding and enlightened decision’. Any coercion to receive a vaccine not fully tested violates this code.

This is something that all health care professionals should consider very carefully, for during the Nuremberg trials, it was made clear that no one may refer a decision of conscience to any superior. When human life is at stake, each person has the grave obligation to find out the facts for himself and to obey the Natural Law at all times. It is to be feared that many of our present-day leaders, both in the state and in the Church, are guilty of complicity that may be condemned in the nottoo-distant future. History never forgets nor does it pardon this sort of crime.

Given all this, we can safely conclude that the conditions laid out by the Congregation in its Note having not been met, it is not licit to receive the presently available COVID-19 vaccines.

Q. Is then the Holy See’s position, correct?

A. The principle of material, passive, remote cooperation is wellknown in moral theology and stands up to scrutiny. It is very debatable whether or not it applies in this case.

One can certainly argue, without prejudice to the prerogatives of the Holy See, that the Note does not properly apply the principle in this case for the following five reasons: 1) it presupposes that the vaccines actually give immunity from the virus, but we know now that this is not the case;26,27 2) it does not take into account the proportionality between presumed benefits and adverse side-effects;28 3) it fails to take into consideration

17th December 2021

The below image if from a nature. com report shows human hair from an aborted baby being grown on mice

the exceptional gravity of the matter: the absolute inviolability of an innocent human body and the necessary, even if remote, connection with the gravely immoral use of another human to create the vaccine; 4) by giving its blessing to the use of the vaccine in certain cases, it has opened the door to the proliferation of foetal experimentation; 5) finally, it argues on original analysis that this was to be a pandemic of catastrophic proportions with no effective treatment - both of which have been categorically refuted. The very least one can say is that the Note requires revision.

Q. Does this mean that those who have received the vaccine have committed a mortal sin?

A. Anyone who has received a vaccine that was made possible thanks to the abuse of an innocent infant is marked in their flesh by the abuse of that infant, regardless of their intentions. This being said, even if in itself it is gravely immoral to have recourse to such vaccines, due to the social pressure and the encouragements of the hierarchy, it would seem that in most cases, moral culpability for the average lay person is diminished if not removed altogether. Those who have received the vaccine should, however, examine their conscience and ask themselves what exactly they knew at the time. If they knew nothing about the ethical issues, was this for lack of having taking

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Catholic Voice

the trouble to find out? Ignorance is sometimes culpable. However in those who have a duty to know (priests, doctors, government officials, judges…), it is always culpable. In any case, those who have already received one or more doses need to refrain from receiving any ‘boosters’.

taken the public defence of the rights of conscience in this matter, and I call upon them today to do so. “A human being must always obey the certain judgment of his conscience. If he were deliberately to act against it, he would condemn himself” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1790).

Q. So we must stand by our conscience and refuse, even if our superiors, priests or doctors encourage us to get vaccinated?

A. On the duty to obey conscience there is ample matter in the Church’s tradition. St John Henry Newman has been, in modern times, the best-known defender of the rights and duties of conscience: ‘Conscience,’ he writes ‘is not a long-sighted selfishness, nor a desire to be consistent with oneself; but it is a messenger from Him, who, both in nature and in grace, speaks to us behind a veil, and teaches and rules us by His representatives. Conscience is the aboriginal Vicar of Christ, a prophet in its informations, a monarch in its peremptoriness, a priest in its blessings and anathemas, and, even though the eternal priesthood throughout the Church could cease to be, in it the sacerdotal principle would remain and would have a sway’.29

A final word to my confrere priests and moral theologians: In the days of Paul VI and John Paul II, many in our ranks rejected their teachings on abortion and contraception in the name of a false notion of the autonomy of conscience. Today, some of them are telling us that we cannot put conscience forwards as a valid reason for refusing vaccines, but we must ‘embrace the vision of Pope Francis’. We should not be surprised that so many Catholics will have nothing to do with such rhetoric, and instead choose to follow their reason, their conscience and their ‘sensus fidei’.

The reason for this, St Bonaventure teaches, is that ‘conscience is like God’s herald and messenger; it does not command things on its own authority, but commands them as coming from God’s authority, like a herald when he proclaims the edict of the king. This is why conscience has binding force’.30

Let the brave Bishops of Kazakhstan have the final word:

This point is of such great importance that I believe it my duty to exhort everyone, especially bishops, priests, politicians and doctors, to be mindful that they are in grave spiritual danger if they use any kind of moral persuasion to encourage the reception of these vaccines, for in doing so, not only are they running the terrible risk of having deaths and injuries on their conscience, but they are also abusing the consciences of those whose rights they should be defending.

It remains gravely scandalous that to this day, very few pastors have

Many Catholics feel betrayed when they see so many of the clergy appearing to side with the agenda of a force that is actively promoting the industrialisation of the human body through desecration and murder of the innocent – either through direct complicity, wilful blindness or cowardly silence.

‘More than ever, we need the spirit of the confessors and martyrs who avoided the slightest suspicion of collaboration with the evil of their own age. Some churchmen in our day reassure the faithful by affirming that receiving a COVID-19 vaccine derived from the cell lines of an aborted child is morally licit if an alternative is not available. They justify their assertion on the basis of “material and remote cooperation” with evil.

Such affirmations are extremely anti-pastoral and counterproductive, especially when one considers the increasingly apocalyptic character of the abortion industry, and the inhuman nature of some biomedical research and embryonic technology.

Now more than ever, Catholics categorically cannot encourage and promote the sin of abortion, even in the slightest, by accepting these vaccines. Therefore, as Successors

CONSCIENCE & VACCINES 25 of the Apostles and Shepherds responsible for the eternal salvation of souls, we consider it impossible to be silent and maintain an ambiguous attitude regarding our duty to resist with “maximum of determination” (Pope John Paul II) against the “unspeakable crime” (II Vatican Council, Gaudium et Spes, 51) of abortion’.31 Father Ambrose Father Ambrose is a Catholic priest and theologian. He can be contacted at ambroseastor@protonmail.com Footnotes: 11. https://gbdeclaration.org/ 12. https://www.who.int/bulletin/online_first/ BLT.20.265892.pdf 13. https://covid19criticalcare.com/covid-19protocols/i-mask-plus-protocol/ 14. www.hcqmeta.com, www.ivmmeta.com 15. https://covid19criticalcare.com/ivermectinin-covid-19/epidemiologic-analyses-oncovid19-and-ivermectin/ 16. https://www.oraclefilms.com/tesslawrie Dr. Tess Lawrie (Former WHO advisor and founder of https://bird-group.org/) 17. www.openvaers.com 18. https://apps.tga.gov.au/PROD/DAEN/ daen-report.aspx 19. https://www.tga.gov.au/periodic/covid19-vaccine-weekly-safety-report-04-112021#section-1147 https://www.clinicaltrials. gov/ct2/show/NCT04368728.

20. The Australian Health Minister Greg Hunt actually went on record as saying, at the very time the vaccines were being rolled out: “The world is engaged in the largest clinical trial, the largest global vaccination trial ever” (Interview with David Speers, 21 February 2021).

21. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/ lanmic/article/PIIS2666-5247(21)00069-0/ fulltext 22. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/ PMC8481107 23. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/ PMC7250318/ 24. https://thefederalist.com/2021/04/15/ federal-government-caught-buying-fresh-fleshof-aborted-babies-who-could-have-survivedas-preemies/ 25. https://doctorsandscientistsdeclaration.org/original/ 26. Public Health England Data: 63% of all deaths with the Delta variant have now been in the ‘fully vaccinated’ i.e. 14 days post the second dose. Table 5 pg 19-20: https://assets.publishing. service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/ uploads/attachment_data/file/1018547/ Technical_Briefing_23_21_09_16.pdf 27. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/ laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(21)00648-4/ fulltext#seccestitle160 28. https://quadrant.org.au/opinion/publichealth/2021/10/we-cant-vaccinate-thispandemic-away/ 29. St John Henry Newman, Letter to the Duke of Norfolk.

30. St Bonaventure, On the Second Book of Sentences, dist. 39, a. 1, q. 3.

31. Declaration of 12 December 2020 signed

by Cardinal Janis Pujats, Archbishop Tomash Peta, Archbishop Jan Pawel Lenga, Bishop Athanasius Schneider and Bishop Joseph Strickland.

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Catholic Voice

17th December 2021

A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS Margaret Mary Dunn In order to stem the tide of secularism and materialism which certain opportunists inject into every Christmas season it is not necessary to go to the other extreme and assume Puritanical austerity.

Christmas ought to be merry.

We ought to be happy and light hearted. It is a feast day of great importance. Man has every reason for celebrating this day of days with all the gladness his heart can hold.

Only the worldly and the cynical say, ‘‘I’ll be glad when it is over,” or believe that Christmas is no longer anything more than a time of costly and meaningless exchange of gifts.

Christ’s birthday meaningless! Not unless we have lost sight of Eternity and the hope of everlasting love.

For Christmas is the promise of Eternity. It is God’s promise that all suffering will end, all inequalities one day be righted, all sorrows one day turned to joy.

The Christmas message of the angels brings no more hope to the rich than to the poor, to the fortunate than to the unfortunate.

God encompassed and reached every soul on that first long ago Christmas. To the poor He gave the privileged shepherds as proof of His tender, abiding love for the poor and the humble. To those blessed with the prestige of this world’s O Jesus, it is for the love of Thee, in reparation for the offenses committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and for the conversion of poor sinners [that I do this]. Amen.

Our Lady of Fatima - June 13th, 1917.

goods He gave the Three Kings that they might study their hearts and learn the way to true greatness and goodness. All of life, and all of living, is in the story of the first Christmas. It is in every Christmas, and nothing can take the true and perfect Christmas spirit from us but our own proud, unbending hearts.

We have only to imitate Mary and Joseph to find the essence of what Christmas joy should mean.

Mary and Joseph accepted Christmas as Al- mightly God saw fit to send it to them. They didn’t spoil it with vain longings for riches they did not have, or with bitterness of heart because there were those around them more abundantly blessed with the gifts of the world. Their rich friends came bringing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. They were gifts of the heart because they were offered with love. As such, Mary and Joseph accepted them gratefully and graciously.

Then they themselves went to the temple and offered their gift, two

turtle doves. It was the gift of the poor. They offered this gift without apology or shame. They were giving what they could afford.

Thus was established the pattern for all Christmas giving. Give what circumstances per- mit, give with a loving heart and unabashed spirit.

It’s pride, human vanity, and trying to put a price tag on love, which spoils the spirit of Christmas giving and makes hearts bitter instead of merry. But Christmas giving starts first of all with gifts to God. The gift of a pure conscience ,the gift of prayer, the gift of friend to friend, family to family, and Santa Claus to child.

There is nothing pious or righteous about wanting to take the joy and glamour out of Christmas. In fact, to do so would be to set the country back a hundred years or more. For Christmas was once a grim and bleak af- fair in America. That was in Puritan New England, and when Christmas was not a happy, gladsome holiday — speaking of the country as a whole — it was

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not a holy day either. When the Puritans suppressed all Christmas festivities it did not lead to greater spiritual dedication to the Nativity.

Crowds did not stream to their churches on Christmas Eve as they now do to ours. There was less brotherly love, less tolerance, less charity, less desire to understand one another than there is today when we string our streets with lights, drop coins in Santa’s kettle and fill the air with music.

What if some of this is for commercial purposes only!

Hasn’t it, nevertheless, made Christ’s birthday our most widely acclaimed and celebrated national holiday? No small thing to be grateful for in a pluralistic society with large numbers of people who have had no religious training whatsoever, and another large segment whose religious beliefs

do not accept Christianity. At least everyone knows what the Nativity is! And Christmas engenders such a great outpouring of good will that our world is definitely a better place for all of us because we are engrossed with thoughts of it. Its beauty so stirs our hearts that we are prompted to reach out beyond ourselves to the fullness of the spirit. Even the most hurried and worried do a bit of soul searching, and every year at Christmas time there is revealed to us such goodness of heart that it often wipes out misunderstandings of the past.

So what if our approach isn’t perfect? Its the nearest we come to perfection all through the year.

That men try is the really important thing. And every Chrismas brings its own miracle. Someone, somewhere, who raised his eyes to the Star of Bethlehem just for

LIBERALISM IS A SIN

Don Félix Sardà y Salvany: – was

the day, is touched by the grace of God and hence- forth makes his Christmas good will a lasting way of life. As long as this is true, there is always the hope that one Christmas Day will find all hearts united in one immense chalice of brotherly love.

Will it bring this day any closer if we become too critical and too intolerant of what others do in the way of Christmas customs and traditions? Will we really draw souls closer to Christ if we ridicule and rebuff their honest efforts to recognize Christmas within their limitations and if we make them self-conscious and defensive about the differences which separate us?

Holy Mother Church does not attempt or hope to convert the world overnight. But moves with prudence and moderation. We, of the laity, who would be apostolic

CATECHISM ON MODERNISM

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.

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

Father J. B. Lemius, produced this ‘Catechism on years. He died on January 2, 1916 at Modernism’ in the familiar the age of 71. This book, Liberalism question and answer format is a Sin, is particularly relevant to of the time, in order to make the teachings of the the times we live in today where Liberalism permeates every Encyclical more accessible to ordinary Catholics and aspect of our society and has deeply infiltrated the thinking of by way of explaining in a clear and concise manner the many of the Catholic hierarchy. reasons why the Encyclical was published.

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must also learn to temper zeal with kindness and forbearance. This applies to seeing irreverence and disrespect in every sprig of holly and mistletoe, every touch of modernity in every Santa Claus.

Instead of frowning on all the festivities which are apart from our church observances of Christmas we should acquaint ourselves with the religious significance they hold and spread a proper understanding and respect for them, for what they mean to the Christian who believes that His God and Redeemer was born on Christmas Day in Bethlehem.

For instance, every gaily ornamented Christmas tree shimmering in its pool of iridescent balls and coloured lights, and so familiar to Americans, owes its beginnings to the religious customs brought to this country by its early immigrants. The Christmas tree as we know it came from Germany. The lights on it and the lights we use in our windows are steeped in religious tradition.

The evergreen tree was originally the ‘Tree of Paradise.” It dates back to the Middle Ages and to the season of Advent, specifically, when scenes from the Bible were dramatized as pageants within the churches.

These pageants were called mystery plays. One of the

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most popular of these was the Paradise Play. It enacted the creation and fall of Adam and Eve and closed with the promise of the Redeemer to come. For this play an evergreen tree was used. From its branches apples were hung, one of which Eve would pluck and hand to Adam.

Gradually, the purity of these sacred plays was destroyed as certain abuses crept in, and Church authorities finally banned them in the 15th century.

This ban led to the private practise of having a Tree of Paradise in the home. The tree was set up on December 24th, though it was actually in veneration of Adam and Eve. On the very same day the Tree of Paradise was put up another custom was observed. One which had its roots in the ancient liturgy which represented Christ as the “Light of the World” by the symbol of a burning candle.

The Germans put this candle, or sometimes, candles, on wooden shelves which had the shape of a pyramid.

They decorated the shelves with balls, tinsel, holly twigs and usually a star on its top for the star of Bethlehem.

In the 16th century someone began the custom of combining these two — the Tree of Paradise and the Christmas candle. The wooden shelves were discarded and the star, the balls, the tinsel and the candles were transferred to the tree, which was still hung with apples. As time passed other edibles were added in the nature of candy, cookies and sugar plums. Eventually, small presents were hung on the tree as well. This is the Christmas tree as it was brought to our shores by the first Germans to immigrate, and the history of its religious background and spiritual significance.

This Christmas tree was brought into Puritan New England where all Christmas festivities were banned, where men were required to work, and children to attend school, on Christmas Day. It was set up in the homes of the first German settlers as a family observance.

At the same point in time the Irish immigrants were illuminating the night of Christmas Eve by their ancient custom of placing a blessed and lighted candle in the window to welcome the Holy Family and to invite the Christ Child to enter their hearts and homes.

With this understanding of the Christmas tree and the symbolic meaning of the lights we now use in such generous profusion it becomes perfectly clear that the need and obligation is not to discourage these practices but to try to spread a proper respect for them that their

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MERRY CHRISTMAS 29

true meaning may be known to all and kept alive for future generations.

There is a lesson to be learned from the history of these customs too. It is the lesson of patience and good example when we wish to win others to our way of thinking and doing. The way of our ancestors, who kept the Faith in their own homes and in their hearts first of all, with such steadfastness and such a degree of fervour it even melted the hearts of the stern Puritans.

Who were certainly much less disposed to religious tolerance than most people are today.

The crusade to put Christ back in Christmas was a badly needed reform, and it succeeded remarkably well because it was carried out in a manner calculated to do the most good without offending anyone. It did important things in an impersonal way, at such top level that personalities were not involved. Unfortunately, many well meaning people, wishing to participate in this splendid Catholic Action are doing so with narrowed vision. They are too quick to frown on what is harmless gaiety, and even proper merriment.

Some will always be in a position to do more than others to restore a true sense of values where needed.

But for most of us the example of a good life is the best contribution we can make. Just doing ordinary things in such a supernatural way that our lives become a testimony to the grace of God within us.

There is such a longing for peace in the world today, such a need for peace in men’s hearts that any way of life which thus casts its shadow of peace on the world will not want for followers. So if we make of life an open book of brotherly love, charity, kindness, harmonious living, good will and steadfast devotion to all that the Babe of Bethlehem taught man, then we are serving Christ and His Church in everything we do and say. He will then be in every bit of tinsel, every shining ball, every gift and every Merry Christmas friend calls to friend across the barriers of race and creed.

Published by The Catholic Information Society in 1961

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“To forestall this [the second world war], 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.

(Our Lady - Fatima July 13th 1917)

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17th December 2021

PRAYER

Prayer to The Little Flower Oh glorious St. Therese, whom Almighty God has raised up to aid and council mankind, I implore your miraculous intercession. So powerful are you in obtaining every need of body and soul, our Holy Mother Church proclaims you a “prodigy of miracles; the greatest saint of modern times.”

Now I fervently beseech you to answer my petition (mention here) and to carry out your promise of “spending Heaven doing good upon earth - letting fall from Heaven a shower of Roses.” Henceforth, dear little flower, I will fulfil your plea “to be made known everywhere” and I will never cease to lead others to Jesus through you. Amen.

Cry of the Innocent Unborn from Psalm 18

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I call on the Lord, who is worthy of praise; He saves me from my enemies.

Torrents rushed at me in a destroying flood Caught as by the cords of the grave, I was utterly helpless before the snares of death.

But I called upon the Lord in my distress, I cried to my God for help; And from his temple he heard my voice, My cry of grief reached his ears.

Then the earth reeled and rocked; The foundations of the mountains shook; They trembled at his fury From heaven the Lord thundered; The voice of the Most High resounded The beds of the seas appeared, The foundations of the world were bared at the rebuke of the Lord, At the blast of his breath.

Reaching down from above, He drew me out of the deep waters. ( Psalm 18:4-17)

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17th December 2021 Catholic Voice

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31 December 2021

(LISTED BY DIOCESE) DAILY & WEEKLY Meath: Silverstream Priory (Benedictine monks) Armagh: New Mellifont Abbey, Collon, Co. Louth Stamullen: Sunday 10.00 preceded by Terce, other days 11.00.

Every Sunday 3pm.

Meath: Church of the Nativity, Johnstown, Navan, Co. Meath Cork & Ross: Ss Peter’s & Paul’s, Cork: Sundays 12.00 noon, Sundays 1pm; First Fridays 11am; Holydays as announced.

Mon - Sat 10.00.

Ossory: St. Patrick’s, College Rd, Kilkenny; Sun 17.00.

Cork & Ross: St Mary’s, Pope’s Quay, Cork. Sundays 8:00am Raphoe: St. Patrick’s, Drumkeen, Donegal Sun 3pm. in the Dominican Rite; Down & Connor: Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Waterford: (FSSP) St. John’s Church, Parnell Street, Waterford Sunday: 8 and 11am, Mon-Fri (ex Thurs), 19:00. Thurs: 8am, City – Every Sunday 1:30pm, Mon 1:00pm, Tues – Friday Sat: 8am, 11am.

Dromore: St.Mary’s, Newry: Sundays and Holydays 9.00am.

Dublin: St. Kevin’s, Harrington Street: Sundays & non working Holy Days: 9:00, 10:00 and 11:00; (Vespers Sun 3:30pm.) Mon - Fri 08.00; Sat 09.00.

Working Holidays & 1st Fridays; 08.00 and 19.00.

Dublin: St. Joseph’s, Newtownmountkennedy Co Wicklow Sat 11:00 Elphin: Church of the Sacred Heart and St Barry, Whitehall, Tarmonbarry, Co Roscommon. Every Sunday 5pm Ferns: (FSSP) St. Alphonsus, Barntown, Co Wexford: Every Sunday 17.00 (Sung Mass 1st and 3rd Sundays), Holy days as announced.

Galway: Chapel of St. Mary’s College, St. Mary’s Road (ICKSP) Sun 15:00 Limerick: Sacred Heart, The Crescent (ICKSP) Sun 8am, 10.30am, 6pm; Mon-Weds 08.00 and 18.00; Thurs 8:00, Friday 18.00; Saturday 08.00 & 10:30 (followed by 1st Saturday devotions)

19:30 (19:00 1st Fridays) Sat 11:00am, Holydays as announced.

TWICE MONTHLY Derry: St. Columba’s , Longtower: First and Third Sunday 14:00 MONTHLY Armagh: St. Patrick’s, Dungannon, Co Tyrone: First Saturday 14.00.

Cork & Ross: St. Francis, Liberty St. Cork : First Saturday 13.00.

Derry: St. Marys, Aughabrack, Co Tyrone: Fourth Sunday 12.45 Elphin: St. John’s, Carraoe, Co Sligo ; Last Sunday Killaloe: St. Joseph ‘s, Ennis, Co Clare: First Sunday 17:30 Tuam: St. John the Baptist, (Old Parish Knock, Co Mayo; Second Sunday 17.30.

Every effort has been made to ensure this list is up to date.

Please contact The Latin Mass Society of Ireland in the event of any changes or errors.

Email: adminmass@latinmassireland.com

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32 ADVERT

Catholic Voice

17th December 2021

His mother saith to the waiters: Whatsoever He shall say to you, do ye.

(John 2:5)

Notwithstanding the posthumous liturgical Feast of the Holy Innocents, jesuit syncretism, Christ’s incarnation, and the canonically and secularly unrecognised deaths of 73 million unborn children annually, the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, be it ‘ad orientem’ or ‘versus populum’, “Jesus Christ, yesterday, and today; and the same forever.” abides as the unique ‘Mysterium Fidei’ expression as Christ Himself, in both rites, as Christ’s actual Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity and as corroborated respectively by the Eucharistic Miracle of Lanciano in Italy in 750 AD and the Eucharistic Miracle of Buenos Aires in Argentina in 1996: www.miracolieucaristici.org Please include Pope Francis in your daily 1917 Fatima Holy Rosary intentions

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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