Catholic Voice 22nd April 2022 Issue 341

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Issue 341

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2 EUCHARISTIC MIRACLES

Catholic Voice

22nd April 2022

Blessed Carlo Acutis Listed 32 Italian Eucharistic Miracles Bret Thoman

Jesus said to [Thomas], “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed” (John 20:29).

Every time we attend Mass, something wonderful occurs. In the words of the Credo of the People of God: Christ cannot be thus present in this sacrament except by the change into his Body of the reality itself of the bread and the change into his Blood of the reality itself of the wine, leaving unchanged only the properties of the bread and wine which our senses perceive.

This mysterious change is very appropriately called by the Church transubstantiation.

In other words, the Church teaches that the “substance” of the bread and wine are changed at consecration, but the “accidents” remain the same. Before and after consecration, the Body and Blood smell, look, taste and feel like the bread and wine they were before.

Ordinarily.

Sometimes, very rarely, during a Mass, the accidents of the bread and wine apparently change in some way along with the substance.

These are known as Eucharistic miracles.

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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

Blessed Carlo Acutis as a child - Photo Credit www.carloacutis.com

Blessed Carlo Acutis created a website listing Eucharistic Miracles around the world. While his list includes 32 Eucharistic Miracles for Italy, these five are the most well-known and visited.

Bolsena In lower Umbria is the ancient town of Orvieto. Conserved in the city’s ornate cathedral is the Eucharistic Miracle of Bolsena. This miracle led to the feast of Corpus Christi.

In 1263, a German priest was traveling to Rome on pilgrimage, when he stopped in Bolsena.

According to the legend, he had doubts regarding Catholic teaching on the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Just after the consecration, the host began to bleed. Flabbergasted, he suspended the Mass and went straight to Orvieto where Pope Urban IV was residing.

The pope investigated the miraculous host and bloodstained corporal (linen altar cloth) and confirmed its authenticity. He instituted a new feast in the liturgical calendar: the Solemnity of Corpus Christi.

Lanciano The Eucharistic Miracle of Lanciano, located in the region of Abruzzo, is par excellence the most well-known in the Catholic Church.

The miracle took place in the eighth century in a church administered

by Basilian monks. Similar to Bolsena, one of the priests was doubting the Real Presence. As he pronounced the consecration, the host was transformed into flesh, the wine into blood. The Body took on the form of a heart, and the Blood coagulated into five irregularlyshaped globules.

In 1970, the miracle was subjected to scientific scrutiny. The doctors concluded that the flesh was human heart tissue and the blood is human.

Both are from the same blood group, AB.

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EUCHARISTIC MIRACLES 3

Today, the relics are conserved in a Franciscan church. While it is often difficult to discern details of other Eucharistic miracles, Lanciano is unique.

Close access is possible thanks to a stairway immediately behind the relics. The flesh is preserved within a silver monstrance, the blood globules in a crystal chalice.

Siena On Aug. 14, 1730, thieves stole a silver pyx from a Franciscan church in Siena. The pyx contained 351 consecrated hosts, numerous due to the feast of the Assumption the following day. Three days later, the stolen hosts were recovered in a nearby church and returned to the Franciscan church.

The Franciscans verified the hosts were those stolen.

Five decades later, on April 14, 1780, the hosts were examined and found to be “without any alteration.”

In 1789, 1889, 1815 and 1854, more examinations were carried. During one, some non-consecrated hosts were sealed in a tin box for 10 years. When reopened, the commission found only worms and rotten fragments instead of the hosts.

In another investigation in 1914, on the initiative of Pope Pius X, the final report stated:

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4 EUCHARISTIC MIRACLES

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[The particles appeared well-preserved, without any sign of alteration or mold, nor spoiled due to alteration of woodworms or other parasites, typical of flour products.

It also declared: [The particles] constitute a singular phenomenon, abundant in relevance, which reverses the natural laws of the conservation of organic matter. This is a unique fact preserved in the annals of science.

In 1980, Pope St. John Paul II visited Siena on a pastoral visit. Upon witnessing the miracle, he exclaimed: “Here is the Presence!”

Cascia In Umbria’s Valnerina Valley, near the birth city of St. Benedict of Nursia, is Cascia. While most pilgrims go there to pay homage to St. Rita (1371-1447), beneath the basilica housing her remains is preserved another Eucharistic miracle.

In 1330, a priest was preparing to visit a dying parishioner not far from Siena. He carelessly placed a consecrated host in his prayer breviary rather than in a pyx. When he arrived at the sick man’s house, he heard his confession and granted him absolution. When he opened the breviary, he discovered the host bleeding, both pages stained with blood. One of the pages is conserved in Cascia.

22nd April 2022

Macerata The Eucharistic miracle of Macerata follows the pattern in Bolsena and Lanciano.

In 1356, a priest was celebrating Mass and had doubts as to the Real Presence. During the consecration, blood gushed forth from the consecrated host falling into the chalice, as well as onto the altar linen.

After the Mass, the priest promptly reported the event to the bishop who opened a canonical investigation.

Though the documents of the investigation are no longer preserved due to the Napoleonic suppressions, the linen is kept within the city’s cathedral.

Though no one knows the mind of God, perhaps he allows Eucharistic miracles so that, like the doubting priests and St. Thomas, we, too, may “see and believe.”

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CATHOLIC VOICE ONGOING APPEAL 5

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6 THE CONSECRATION OF RUSSIA

Catholic Voice

22nd April 2022

Why Pope Francis’ Consecration Will Draw Down A Deluge Of Graces For The Church Louis Knuffke Both before and after the consecration the Pontiff reached out in homage to tenderly touch the foot of the statue of Our Lady of Fatima.

On March 25th, at St. Peter’s Basilica, Our Lady of Fatima and her Immaculate Heart clearly won the day.

Her statue stood front and centre before the high altar, under which lay the tomb of the Prince of the Apostles.

With the consecration to the Immaculate Heart preceded by the recitation of the sorrowful mysteries of the Rosary and the annual Lenten penitential service, the mood in the basilica was certainly one of penitence.

The cloud of war had brought to men’s souls a tangible reminder of sin and its tragic consequences. A broken Church and a broken world were brought to the feet of Our Lady that day.

Some have wondered and questioned whether what was witnessed by the Church on Friday at St. Peter’s fulfilled Our Lady’s request for the consecration of Russia to her Immaculate Heart. Here are some thoughts and impressions from having witnessed the consecration in person and from hearing the impressions and hopes of

other pilgrims from different parts of the world who came to Rome for the event.

There were two things emphasised in the joining of the consecration to the Lenten penitential service: first, the need to turn away from sin, begging God’s mercy through the honest admission of our failings in a sincere, sacramental confession; second, the need to turn to Mary for her intercession for peace in the world. Indeed, war itself was clearly understood as the consequence of sin. And a fully Catholic response to the whole situation was proposed and carried out: public prayer of repentance before God, individual confession of sins, the begging of Our Lady’s intercession through the public recitation of the Rosary, and finally, a solemn consecration to Her Immaculate Heart by the Pope and bishops of the world.

Some have wondered whether the reference to “ourselves, the Church, and all humanity” invalidated, as it were, the consecration of Russia as a fulfilment of Mary’s request. A few considerations may help put this in perspective.

As has been pointed out by others, Russia, along with Ukraine (which was part of Russia when Mary asked for the consecration) was explicitly named and given preeminence by the Pontiff: “We solemnly entrust and consecrate … in a special way … Russia and Ukraine.”

In other similar liturgical ceremonies, while one thing is given preeminence, it does not prevent the inclusion of other things that are more generic. In certain religious orders, for example, it is the practice that the formula for religious vows states, “I promise a conversion of my ways… especially in poverty, consecrated celibacy, and obedience.” The conversion of ways mentioned does not invalidate the specificity of what is mentioned after. In a similar way, the mentioning of “ourselves, the Church, and all humanity” does not mean that Russia was not specifically and expressly consecrated.

Again, in solemn liturgical ceremonies, when something is done for the first time, it does not necessarily prevent the renewal of the same kind of act by others who are also present. At the Easter Vigil, for example, when catechumens are baptised, they make for the first time the solemn renunciation of sin and Satan, along with the profession of faith. Then the rest of the faithful who are present also solemnly renew their baptismal vows and professions of faith.

In like manner, when Marian consecration is made publicly in a parish or a group of the faithful, it is not uncommon that, together with those making the consecration for the first time, others who have already done so renew their consecration to Our Lady. Clearly,

22nd April 2022

Catholic Voice

THE CONSECRATION OF RUSSIA 7

the renewal of baptismal vows and the renewal of consecration to Mary by those who have already done so, does not invalidate the newly made vows of the catechumen or the consecration of new devotees of Mary.

In like manner, while the consecration of the Church and the world to the Immaculate Heart is a renewal of what previous popes have done, for those present at St. Peter’s on Friday, there is no doubt that Russia was intended and given preeminence in the consecration to Mary’s Immaculate Heart as requested at Fatima. The Pope paused and emphasised this very part of the prayer. Indeed, it was very moving to hear him pronounce these words with all the solemnity he could muster. Both before and after the consecration he reached out in homage to tenderly touch the foot of the statue of Our Lady of Fatima. The only words he added on his own to the printed text of the consecration were, “Maria, Madre.”

In his own person, dragging his left leg as he walked, the Pope seemed to exemplify the broken Church and world that he brought to Our Lady’s feet. Could things have been done more perfectly? Perhaps. But was Russia explicitly consecrated by the Pope to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, in union with the bishops throughout the world, with a day of reparation for sin? Yes, absolutely.

Emphatically, yes. And will this draw down a deluge of graces for the Church, for Russia and Ukraine, and for the world? Yes, again absolutely, yes.

We must now continue more than ever to pray the Rosary daily for peace, repent of sin, and make the five First Saturdays, as Mary asked at Fatima. But with the consecration of Russia to Her Immaculate Heart, we should also remind Our Lady of her promise of peace. At St. Peter’s Basilica, as the whole Church celebrated the first announcing of salvation to her in Nazareth, her Immaculate Heart clearly won the day. We should pray now that we see soon the triumph of her Immaculate Heart in Russia and throughout the world.

(EWTN screen grab)

What Will Bring Down The Fall Of Sin? 1. The Daily Rosary (family cenacles play a key role).

2. The Five First Saturday Devotion (See link below) 3. Obey the Ten Commandments (“Do not offend God any more, because he is already so much offended”13th Oct 1917). One of the central messages according to Sr Lucia “Calls from the Message of Fatima” Page 207 4. How do you love God? “If you love Me, you will keep My Commandments” 5. How do you offend God? By disobeying His Commandments Why the urgency can be explained with this 2-minute link https://vimeo.com/695251326 The Call to Fatima Invites each parish in the world to start The Five First Saturday Devotion 1. Starting with the Mass with family & friends (All welcome) 2. (Mass, Holy Communion, Rosary, 15-minute Meditation and Confession) 3. Men can do the Rosary in public.

4. A priest(s) can hear confession in public after the men’s public Rosary.

For more details see www.thecalltofatima.com

8 STRONG CATHOLICS

Catholic Voice

22nd April 2022

Our Times Call For Strong And Courageous Catholics Not ‘Nice’ Ones Santos O. Muñoz, Lt Col (Ret), USAF

Broadly speaking, our beloved bishops, priests and deacons, both here and abroad, either are not very effective speaking about our Blessed Lord’s bravery, strength, and masculinity, or they fear reprimand and reprisal when teaching the Truth in the same manner as Him. Featured Image I’m a cradle Catholic, Hispanic man, husband, father, and retired U.S. Air Force officer who grew up in Puerto Rico during the 1980s and graduated high school from a Catholic school.

I recently attended a local parish meeting to provide input to the Synod but didn’t know much about it and wasn’t fully prepared for the discussion.

There were around twenty people in attendance and a general agreement with the comments provided. After the meeting and much reflection on the importance of this upcoming historic event, I wanted to provide a summary of my thoughts in a more clear and succinct way since I believe there are other laypeople thinking the same way as I do. My views and experiences are not based on a particular diocese, but rather observations taken over time by attending Mass in different places around the world due to my travels during my twenty-four years of military service. I hope and pray that this will encourage other laypeople to participate and help their local parishes in this endeavour as well.

I’m deeply ashamed to admit this now, but while a student in college, I stopped going to Mass for a long period of time since I didn’t feel obligated, didn’t know the rich

history or sacred traditions of the Church, couldn’t explain or defend our Faith, and didn’t know about the real presence of our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.

People tended not to genuflect while walking in front of the tabernacle where our Blessed Lord is present, and I don’t remember a palpable reverence for, or pious worship of, God in the Eucharist. The Eucharist was treated as an object or symbol, and if you dropped it on the floor while trying to grab it with your unconsecrated hands, it wasn’t seen as a disgrace.[1] I viewed the Mass as a family custom, onus, chore, opportunity for socializing with friends and family, and vestige of my Hispanic heritage and culture.

Nevertheless, around the time I was 47 years old, I started to hear the stories of conversion into Catholicism

by Protestants, atheists, and believers of other religions. Their love for our Church’s rich history, sacred traditions, liturgy, splendour, beauty – and zeal in their apologetic work – was contagious and a force multiplier in my heart. However, the most compelling testimonies that brought me back to the fullness of the Faith were the ones related to the way they finally found the Real Presence of the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in the Eucharist and their devotion to the liturgical worship in the Traditional Latin Mass. I wasn’t

even aware that the Church had this reverent and traditional form of worship until around 2018!

As I have come to experience a deeper Faith, I have also noticed a modern emphasis on being “nice” from the pulpit combined with neglect in re-affirming with conviction the uncompromising and objective Truth in the Gospels and Church teaching.[2] This situation is very confusing to me, and it is not normal or historically accurate.

Broadly speaking, our beloved bishops, priests and deacons, both here and abroad, either are not very effective speaking about our Blessed Lord’s bravery, strength, and masculinity, or they fear reprimand and reprisal when teaching the Truth in the same manner as Him.[3] I expect and demand the same level of integrity, excellence, and sacrifice from our beloved bishops, priests and deacons in the defence of the Gospels and Church teaching, as was expected and demanded of me in the defence of our country.

I need them to rebuke intrinsic evils and fight the relentless and insidious attempts of “software updates” on our moral compass by the popular culture, technology, media, and global special interest groups.

STRONG CATHOLICS 9

22nd April 2022 Catholic Voice I need them to be present for duty, strong, vocal, fearless, faithful, disciplined, truthful, clear, consistent, and unified when addressing topics such as same sex attraction, sodomy, gender dysphoria, abortion, corruption, New Age lies, or prosperity Gospel, ecumenism that diminishes the Truth of our Faith, pornography, and other issues plaguing society.

I also hope and pray that they don’t waiver or falter when speaking about love, penance, forgiveness, mercy, the sanctity of human life from conception, the importance of the nuclear family, the sanctity of marriage, the value of hard work, the need for equality of opportunity and not equality of outcome, freedom, justice, virtues, and lastly the very clear and present danger of Satan in the world today.

Additionally, we need to keep leaders in positions of authority inside the Church and outside in the world accountable with real consequences if they betray our trust, stray from Church teaching (e.g., publicly advocating or defending abortion), betray the Gospels and/or forsake morality (e.g., the publicly known

and well documented sex abuses and scandals).

I know that everyone is broken and all of us are sinners. While our Blessed Lord walked and preached with the twelve Apostles nearly 2,000 years ago, Judas Iscariot was one of the twelve and became a traitor.[4] Now that the Church established by our Blessed Lord has more than 1.2 billion people worldwide, it is perhaps inevitable that there are more and more “wolves in sheep clothing” who place a modern or “progressive” gloss on the Gospels and Church teachings.[5] This is a fact that needs to be acknowledged, so clergy can be united, “on alert”, police each other, and elude the deceptions of the “enemy of human nature,” as St. Ignatius of Loyola called the devil.

[6] We need them to remain our consecrated shepherds so we can continue to be fed from their humble hands and re–calibrate our moral compass in accordance with “the pillar and bulwark of the Truth.”[7] Bottom Line: I fervently pray that all of our beloved Church leaders exercise their teaching authority correctly and don’t be “nice” (a

concept not found anywhere in the Bible) any longer, but rather “be strong and of good courage” (found eleven times in the Bible) for the Truth.[8] They are the shepherds of sacred traditions and the only ones that can provide us with all that we need to continue the fight against principalities and powers.

[9] They don’t have to hide the Truth but embrace and imitate Him by speaking boldly and keeping people accountable for their mistakes.

In return, I pledge to continue to love, support and pray for all of them as faithful followers of our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and His One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. Lastly, I hope this is received with the same love and charity that I used to write it.

FOOTNOTES: [1] See 1 Corinthians 11:23–32, RSV translation.

[2] See John 14:6, RSV translation.

[3] See John 6:22–70, RSV translation.

[4] See Luke 6:16, RSV translation.

[5] See Mathew 16:17–19, RSV translation.

[6] See Proverbs 27:17, RSV translation.

[7] See 1 Timothy 3:15, RSV translation.

[8] See Deuteronomy 31:6, 31:7, 31:23, Joshua 1:6, 1:9, 1:18, 10:25, 1 Chronicles 22:13, 28:20, 2 Chronicles 32:7 and Daniel 10:19, RSV translation.

[9] See Ephesians 6:12, RSV translation.

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10 AN EASTER EXHORTATION

Catholic Voice

22nd April 2022

An Easter Exhortation For Tough Times Monsignor Charles Pope

As we all know, this will be a difficult Easter for many.

The liturgical calendar shouts new life and victory over the grave, and yet throughout the world, many are hunkered down in the fear of death. Despite the Easter glow these are dark days for many who suffer through conflict, war or economic stress. But, to be sure, the first Easter was also experienced in great uncertainty and danger.

Recent readings from Scripture have this theme. The readings in daily Mass (from the Acts of the Apostles) show the joy of a poor, lame man healed by Peter and John at the Gate called Beautiful. By week’s end Peter and John were arrested for the “dangerous” act of glorifying Jesus and forced to appear before the Jewish court. More suffering and arrests would follow.

In the Office of Readings, we are reading from the First Letter of Peter, which is a kind of survival guide for those who suffer on account of Jesus. Consider these excerpts: Do not be surprised, beloved, that a trial by fire is occurring in your midst. It is a test for you, but it should not catch you off guard. Rejoice instead, in the measure that you share Christ’s sufferings. When his glory is revealed, you will rejoice exultantly. Happy are you when you are insulted for the sake of Christ, for then God’s Spirit in its glory has come to rest on you ….

The season of judgment has begun, and begun with God’s own household. If it begins this way with us, what must be the end for those who refuse obedience to the gospel of God? And if the just man is saved only with difficulty, what is to become of the godless and the sinner?

Accordingly, let those who suffer as God’s will requires continue in good deeds, and entrust their lives to a faithful Creator….

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devour. Resist him, solid in your faith, realising that the brotherhood of believers is undergoing the same sufferings throughout the world. The God of all grace, who called you to his everlasting glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish those who have suffered a little while. Dominion be his throughout the ages! Amen (1 Peter 4:12-5:14).

The ancient Church had little time for the sentimentality of Easter Bunnies and Easter egg hunts. Jesus was born to do battle and rose to show forth the victory. But a victory presupposes a battle and a struggle.

The Sequence that should be sung during the Easter Octave is as follows: Mors et vita duello, (Death and life have contended) conflixere mirando: (in a stupendous conflict) dux vitae mortuus, (The Prince of life having died) regnat vivus!

(Now reigns living).

Easter is serious business with a message that summons us to the battle with confidence. In effect the message is this: The Pentecost experience seemed to convict and encourage them and us: Enough of all this cowardice.

No more hiding out in upper rooms. Get out there like soldiers who know you are on the winning team.

Manfully engage the battle and win some souls for Christ. As in any war, there is going to be suffering.

Jesus says, In this world you shall have tribulation; but have confidence I have overcome the world (John 16:33). The Easter message is not that there is no battle, but rather that the battle is a glorious one whose outcome has already been decided. Choose sides!

Scripture says, Jesus Christ is the faithful witness, the first-born of the dead and ruler of the kings of the earth.

To Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His Blood, who has made us into a Kingdom, priests for His God and Father, to Him be glory and power forever and ever. Amen. Behold, He is coming amid the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him. All the peoples of the earth will lament Him. Yes, Amen. “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “the One who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty” (Revelation 1:5-8).

Make sure you are on the winning team. Some people foolishly choose the wrong side, thinking that winning means having power, popularity, money, and possessions — that is not victory. A team can be ahead until the final play of the game yet still lose. You already know who is going to win; present appearances mean nothing. Choose the winning team even if, for now, it means being subjected to suffering, ridicule,

22nd April 2022 Catholic Voice disapproval, and desertion. Be ready and willing to suffer for the Kingdom. The Easter message is not that there is no suffering, but that our suffering, united to Jesus’, will lead to glory and victory.

Stop acting like a loser, hiding out and being afraid to announce the truth of the gospel. Stop being so anxious about what others are saying. You may be called hateful, bigoted, misogynistic, homophobic, transphobic, backward, and uptight — anything but a child of God. Do not hate them, but keep on summoning them to join us; know that some will do so if you persevere.

Be willing to suffer for the truth and still remain joyful.

Peter and John were arrested in the first week after Pentecost; can’t we at least tolerate a raised eyebrow or some laughter at our expense? The martyrs stared down deadly threats; they endured the swords and lions of a hateful, scornful world. Must they bear the cross alone?

The Easter message is not one of cheap joy. It is about a courageous transformation that equips us to be willing to face down death in order to proclaim the truth of the gospel. Even after this plague ends, we are going to need courage and perseverance in the months and years ahead.

This fallen world has been getting darker, and a people who are used to the darkness despise the light. To those who hate the truth, the truth seems hateful; they will call themselves righteous as they expel us from the public square. They already label themselves victims at the mere utterance of moral truth. “Safe zones” have no room for us. Despite all their calls for tolerance, there will be no tolerance shown to us. Our speech and our actions will be increasingly criminalised.

So here is an Easter exhortation in tough times. But remember, Jesus is risen from the dead and He is not going away. He has won the victory and we will either gather souls with Him, or we will scatter and squander.

I will work for Him and win, or I will contend with Him and lose. I think I’ll choose Jesus!

Consider these lyrics from an old spiritual song: I told Jesus it would be alright if He changed my name I told Jesus it would be alright if He changed my name I told Jesus it would be alright if He changed my name And He told me that I would go hungry if He changed my name And He told me that I would go hungry if He changed my name Yes He told me that I would go hungry if He changed my name But I told Jesus it would be alright if He changed my name I told Jesus it would be alright if He changed my name So I told Him it would be alright and the world would hate me That I would go hungry if He changed my name.

AN EASTER EXHORTATION 11

Ressurection of Christ - Carl Heinrich Bloch (1834 – 1890)

12 THE FIVE WOUNDS

Catholic Voice

22nd April 2022

Devotion To The Five Wounds From Fish Eaters

Isaias 53:3-5: “Despised, and the most abject of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with infirmity: and His look was as it were hidden and despised, whereupon we esteemed Him not. Surely He hath borne our infirmities and carried our sorrows: and we have thought Him as it were a leper, and as one struck by God and afflicted. But He was wounded for our iniquities, He was bruised for our sins: the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and by His bruises we are healed.”

John 20:27-28: “Then He saith to Thomas: Put in thy finger hither, and see My Hands; and bring hither thy hand, and put it into My side; and be not faithless, but believing.

Thomas answered, and said to Him: My Lord, and my God.” Because of His Wounds, because His Sacred, Precious Blood was spilled, you have the opportunity to see the Face of God. That’s Christianity in a nutshell, something that every Christian knows, but too few truly ponder enough.

Of course, we Catholics have always meditated on Christ’s Passion — each Mass is a re-presentation of His Sacrifice, and, in addition, the Stations of the Cross is a standard Lenten devotion, and the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary remind us of what He went through for us.

But we also have another devotion available to us, one that helps us meditate more concretely on His sufferings: devotion to His Five Sacred Wounds.

Private revelation to St. Bridget of Sweden indicated that all the wounds Our Lord suffered added up to 5,480 [1]. She began to pray 15

The Incredulity of Saint Thomas - Caravaggio (1571 - 1610) prayers each day in honor of each of these wounds, their total after a year being 5,475; these “Fifteen Prayers of St. Bridget of Sweden” are still prayed today.

St. Francis being the first of these, his spiritual daughter, St. Clare, developed a strong devotion to the Five Wounds, as did the Benedictine St. Gertrude the Great, and others.

Likewise, in Southern Germany, it became the practice to pray 15 Our Fathers a day in honor of Christ’s wounds so that by the end of a year, 5,475 Paters were prayed.

Christ bore these Five Wounds after the Resurrection, when He allowed St. Thomas to cure his doubts by touching the wound in His side, and He bears these wounds even now, in Heaven. Aquinas gives five reasons why this is so:

The five main wounds He suffered, though — the wound in each Foot, the wound in each Hand, and the wound in His side caused by St. Longinus’s lance — are symbolic of all the wounds, and special devotion to them arose very early on.

St. John is said to have appeared to Pope Boniface II (d. A.D. 532) and revealed a special Mass— the “Golden Mass” — in honor of Christ’s Five Wounds, and it is the effect of these Five Wounds that are most often produced in the bodies of the men and women who imitate Him best — the stigmatics.

In the first place, for Christ’s own glory. For Bede says on Luke 24:40 that He kept His scars not from inability to heal them, “but to wear them as an everlasting trophy of His victory.”

Hence Augustine says: “Perhaps in that kingdom we shall see on the bodies of the Martyrs the traces of the wounds which they bore for Christ’s name: because it will not be a deformity, but a dignity in them; and a certain kind of beauty will shine in them, in the body, though not of the body.”

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Catholic Voice

THE FIVE WOUNDS 13

Secondly, to confirm the hearts of the disciples as to “the faith in His Resurrection.”

Thirdly, “that when He pleads for us with the Father, He may always show the manner of death He endured for us.” .

Fourthly, “that He may convince those redeemed in His blood, how mercifully they have been helped, as He exposes before them the traces of the same death.”

Lastly, “that in the Judgment day He may upbraid them with their just condemnation.” Hence, as Augustine says: “Christ knew why He kept the scars in His body. For, as He showed them to Thomas who would not believe except he handled and saw them, so will He show His wounds to His enemies, so that He who is the Truth may convict them, saying: ‘Behold the man whom you crucified; see the wounds you inflicted; recognize the side you pierced, since it was opened by you and for you, yet you would not enter.

Honor is shown to these Sacred Wounds in many ways — from the 5 grains of incense inserted into the Paschal Candle, to the custom of dedicating each Pater said in the body of the Dominican Rosary to one of the Five Wounds.

They are symbolized in art by the Jerusalem Cross, 5 circles on a Cross, 5 roses, the 5-pointed star.

They’re also depicted in art quite explicitly.

The 5 wounds are seen as symbolized by many things in 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 piercing of Jesus’s side by the Holy Lance of Longinus, Fresco by Fra Angelico (1395–1455) - San Marco, Florence nature, too — from the stamens of the Passion Flower, to the Sand Dollar, to the 5 seeds found in the almost perfect 5-pointed star in a cross-sectioned apple.

And there are special prayers to honor them, too.

Prayer in Honor of the Five Wounds Act of Contrition As I kneel before Thee on the cross, most loving Saviour of my soul, my conscience reproaches me with having nailed Thee to that cross with these hands of mine, as often as I have fallen into mortal sin, wearying Thee with my base ingratitude.

My God, my chief and perfect good, worthy of all my love, because Thou hast loaded me with blessings; I cannot now undo my misdeeds, as I would most willingly; but I loathe them, grieving sincerely for having offended Thee, Who art infinite goodness.

And now, kneeling at Thy feet, I try, at least, to compassionate Thee, to give Thee thanks, to ask Thee

pardon and contrition; wherefore with my heart and lips, I say: To the Wound of the Left Foot Holy wound of the left foot of my Jesus, I adore Thee; I compassionate Thee, O Jesus, for the most bitter pain which Thou didst suffer. I thank Thee for the love whereby Thou laboured to overtake me on the way to ruin, and didst bleed amid the thorns and brambles of my sins. I offer to the Eternal Father the pain and love of Thy most holy humanity, in atonement for my sins, all of which I detest with sincere and bitter contrition.

Recite one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory Be Holy Mother, pierce me through, In my heart each wound renew Of my Saviour crucified.

To the Wound of the Right Foot Holy wound of the right foot of my Jesus, I adore Thee; I compassionate Thee, O Jesus, for the most bitter pain which Thou didst suffer. I thank Thee for that love which pierced

14 THE FIVE WOUNDS

Catholic Voice

22nd April 2022

Thee with such torture and shedding of blood, in order to punish my wanderings and the guilty pleasures I have granted to my unbridled passions. I offer the Eternal Father all the pain and love of Thy most holy humanity, and I pray Thee for grace to weep over my sins with hot tears, and to enable me to persevere in the good which I have begun, without ever swerving again from my obedience to the divine commands.

Recite one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory Be Holy Mother, pierce me through, In my heart each wound renew Of my Saviour crucified.

To the Wound of the Left Hand Holy wound of the left hand of my Jesus, I adore Thee; I compassionate Thee, O Jesus, for the most bitter pain which Thou didst suffer. I thank Thee for having in Thy love spared me the scourges and eternal damnation which my sins have merited. I offer to the Eternal Father the pain and love of They most holy humanity: and I pray Thee to teach me how to turn to good account my span of life, and bring forth in it worthy fruits of penance, and to disarm the justice of God, which I have provoked.

Recite one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory 13th Century depiction of the Crucifixion showing the five wounds.

Saint Catherine’s Monastery, Sinai (Egypt) Be Holy Mother, pierce me through, In my heart each wound renew Of my Saviour crucified.

To the Wound of the Right Hand Holy wound of the right hand of my Jesus, I adore Thee; I compassionate Thee, O Jesus, for the most bitter pain which Thou didst suffer. I thank Thee for Thy graces lavished on me with such love, in spite of all my most perverse obstinacy. I offer to the Eternal Father all the pain and love of Thy most holy humanity; and I pray

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Thee to change my heart and its affections, and make me do all my actions in accordance with the will of God. Recite one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory Be Holy Mother, pierce me through, In my heart each wound renew Of my Saviour crucified.

To the Wound of the Sacred Side Holy wound in the side of my Jesus, I adore Thee; I compassionate Thee, O Jesus, for the cruel insult Thou didst suffer. I thank Thee, my Jesus, for the love which suffered Thy side and Heart to be pierced, so that the last drops of blood and water might issue forth, making my redemption to overflow. I offer to the Eternal Father this outrage, and the love of Thy most holy humanity, that my soul may enter once for all into that most loving Heart, eager and ready to receive the greatest sinners, and never more depart.

Recite one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory Be

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THE FIVE WOUNDS 15

Catholic Voice

Holy Mother, pierce me through, In my heart each wound renew Of my Saviour crucified.

There is also a Chaplet of the Five Wounds.

Chaplet of the Five Wounds

Footnote: 1 Note that the number of wounds was so great because the flagellum (picture at right) used by the Romans had from three to twelve “tails,” each tail embedded repeatedly with bone, iron, or glass intended to rip flesh. With a 12-tail flagellum, 40 strokes would give one 480 wounds if each tail only caused one wound with each stroke. In reality, though, each “tail” would cause many, many times more wounds per stroke, depending on how much bone or iron, etc., was embedded in each strap. In addition to the wounds caused by the scourge, there were the wounds caused by each thorn in the the crown of thorns. You can read about the Wounds He suffered by studying the Shroud of Turin.

This chaplet, approved by the Holy See on 11th August 1823 (coincidentally, the anniversary of St. Clare’s death), consists of five groups of five beads — each group representing one of the Five Wounds of Christ.

The first group of beads honors the Wound on His left foot; the second, the Wound on His right foot; the

third, the Wound on His left Hand; the fourth, the wound on His right Hand; and the fifth, the Wound in His Side. Sometimes a medal will be attached depicting Our Lord’s Wounds on one side, and His Sorrowful Mother on the other.

While meditating on the appropriate Wound at each group, one Gloria is said on each bead, and between the groups, an Ave is said in honor of Mary’s sorrows. The Blessing of the Beads used to count these prayers is reserved to the Passionist Order.

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There’s A Place For Us

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There’s a Place for Us Homosexuality in the Divine Plan of Redemption Jesus said to those who would stone her: “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.”

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Jesus said to the woman: “Woman, where are they that accused thee? Hath no man condemned thee?

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“Go, And Now Sin No More.”

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16 AN ODE TO MOTHERS

Catholic Voice

22nd April 2022

Pal Of My Cradle Days – An Ode To Mothers ANNE O’HARE

Infamous for the ridiculous, mothers can often be heard saying “There’s enough dirt in those ears to grow spuds,” or “Close that door. You’d think you were born in a field.” And they’re also partial to claiming the down-right-impossible: “If you fall of that wall and break your legs – don’t come running to me.” Yet, few would doubt a mother’s wellmeaning intent.

They are the ones who love us when the rest of the world doesn’t.

The ones we off load our troubles to. And the ones who fight our corner tooth and nail regardless of consequence or the incidental matter if whether we were in the right or not – because love knows no pride.

In return, we steal the ‘gold from their hair’ and ‘put the silver threads there’ as the words of that once popular song goes.

While having a baby may well be an overnight event, for many women the skill of motherhood takes time to develop and patience to nurture.

The process can often be more of a slow crawl for many.

However, the moment a mother catches herself thinking: “I hope Ketchup is a vegetable because it’s the only one my child eats,” or she begins to consider finger paint as a controlled substance – and the sobering realisation that motherhood has finally dawned.

While without much fanfare, this momentous occasion is usually 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.

coupled with hearing your own mother’s voice when you shout:

attention is not that outrageous either, is it?

“Not in your good clothes,” or when you catch yourself covering your three-year-old’s eyes during the scene in the movie, Lion King when Simba mourns the loss of his father, Mufasa… and you’re already questioning the moral standing of the person who awarded the movie classification.

The bond between a mother and her child is one of the most powerful our world can ever know. We only need to look at how much bitter anguish the Blessed Virgin Mary suffered by compassion when she cradled her only son next to her after his body was taken down from the cross on Good Friday.

Then one day you find yourself failing to criticise the way your mother reared you, and you welcome in the dawn of a new era of wisdom. Again, this happens around the same time as you find yourself repeatedly hiding in the bathroom because it’s the only place where you can grab five minutes to be alone.

We often hear that we always carry our children in our hearts but a recent study has revealed this is true on a physical level too. Sometimes science can be filled with wonder and meaning more beautiful than any poem.

You never thought you’d do it but, if another child throws up at a birthday party you just get on with eating your sandwich but if it’s your own child throwing up you catch it in your hand, if you have too, or your band new designer handbag – whatever is closest. The possibility of them needing urgent medical

It has been proven that cells from a developing baby in the womb cross the placenta, allowing the baby’s DNA to become part of the mother’s organs. These foetal cells persist within her right through to her old age. This is true even if the baby she carried didn’t live long enough to be born. The cells of that child stay with her, resonating in ways that mothers have always known intuitively throughout time. Foetal cells that you contributed to your

22nd April 2022

AN ODE TO MOTHERS 17

Catholic Voice

own mother may be found in her blood, bone marrow, skin, kidney or liver. These cells also appear to possess healing properties and can treat her when she is ill or injured.

Researchers noticed the presence of these cells in women diagnosed with illnesses such as Thyroid or Hepatitis C. In one particular case, a woman stopped treatment against medical advice. A liver biopsy showed “thousands of male cells” determined to be from a pregnancy terminated nearly 20 years earlier, seemed to naturally rush to an area where they were needed to aid her recovery.

provide protection late into life.

They can even help heal her heart.

These cells, it has been shown, carry the imprint of her child’s father and his entire family line.

They can also be shared from one pregnancy to another meaning the cells of older siblings may float within younger siblings – leaving us with plenty to ponder upon.

Isn’t it a beautiful expression of

There is also evidence that foetal cells provide some protection against certain cancers. For example, they’re much more prevalent in the breast tissue of healthy women than in those with breast cancer. Foetal cells are less common in woman who develop Alzheimer’s, suggesting they

the divine creation, proving love is the most powerful force on earth.

It is tangible proof that this family bond can melt the hardest of hearts, excuse an untidy bedroom or two or overlook the odd temper-tantrum?

Which brings us to the rest of the lyrics of that old song we talked about at the beginning. “I don’t know any way, I could ever repay, pal of my cradle days.”

“The Most Important Person on earth is a mother.

She cannot claim the honor of having built Notre Dame Cathedral. She need not. She has built something more magnificent than any cathedral -a dwelling for an immortal soul, the tiny perfection of her baby’s body. . . The angels have not been blessed with such a grace. They cannot share in God’s creative miracle to bring new saints to Heaven. Only a human mother can. Mothers are closer to God the Creator than any other creature; God joins forces with mothers in performing this act of creation. .. What on God’s good earth is more glorious than this: to be a mother?” ~ Venerable Jozsef Cardinal Mindszenty

LIBERALISM IS A SIN

Don Félix Sardà y Salvany: – was born on May 21, 1844 in Sabadell, Catalonia, Spain. He was a Catholic priest and writer who wrote against Liberalism which he considered a grave sin. He was the editor of the weekly Spanish Catholic magazine ‘La Revista Popular’ for over forty years. He died on January 2, 1916 at the age of 71. This book, Liberalism is a Sin, is particularly relevant to the times we live in today where Liberalism permeates every aspect of our society and has deeply infiltrated the thinking of many of the Catholic hierarchy.

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18 THE IMMACULATE HEART

Catholic Voice

22nd April 2022

Vlad’s War Is An Offence Against The Human Family Christopher Monckton of Brenchley

Beware all imitations! Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary is a particular charism of the original and best presentation of Christianity: Catholicism. The rededication of Russia – with the addition of the lion-hearted nation of Ukraine – to the Queen of Heaven is the Pope’s finest act.

In personally making that dedication, Pope Francis follows many of his predecessors in emphasizing that ours is the religion centred about the Holy Family, a radiant exemplar not only for our own families but also for the entire human family to follow.

It is not only the matter but the manner of the Pope’s rededication that is glorious. For he sent the Papal Almoner, Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, to Fatima to renew that dedication on the same day.

Of the many apparitions of our Lady, from Walsingham and Knock to Rue du Bac and Lourdes, the events at Fatima in 1917, as the First World War drew towards its close and the Russian Revolution inflicted Communism on the world, are the most troubling to those who do not share our Faith.

For the children of Fatima did not merely report that they had dreamed dreams and seen visions. They realized that their elders would be – to put it mildly – sceptical.

Therefore, they challenged our Lady to provide a demonstration for all to see. She smiled and obliged.

When the children told their elders the Mother of God had said that, at an appointed place, on an appointed day and at an appointed hour she would show everyone a thing or two, it was not merely a few pious and simple-minded

villagers who attended. Thousands came, including notorious antireligionists such as Emile Zola, who announced before he went that the supposed demonstration would prove to be a non-event.

Trouble was, it wasn’t. To the delight of the children, to the astonishment of all and to the enraged bafflement of the sullen sneerers and scoffers and scorners, everyone present saw the Sun leave its place in the sky and dance about in the sky. This was no mere pious, vaporous mirage; nor was it some hysterical mass hallucination. The presence of the vocal anti-believers saw to that.

The proof that Fatima was real lies not only in the testimony of the thousands of believers who were present but also in the telling silence of the opponents of Christian belief who had attended the event. They had been vocal before. They were a lot less vocal afterwards.

And that, above all, is why so many Popes have such great devotion

to Our Lady. For the watchful guardians of doctrine not merely decline to require us to believe in the events of Fatima, or in any of the other apparitions of our Lady: they require us to understand that these occurrences form no part of the depositum Fidei, in that they transpired long after the last, resounding Amen was put to the Book of Revelation.

Nevertheless, the stern theologians permit us to believe in most – though not all – of these apparitions, if we wish to do so.

In 1942, during the gloomiest period of the Second World War, when the Nazis’ Blitzkrieg seemed unstoppable and many European nations had been invaded, Pope Pius XII consecrated the whole world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Ten years later, when Hitler had at last been defeated but half of Europe remained under the brutal dictatorship of the Kremlin, he dedicated the people of Russia to her, as she had herself requested.

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Catholic Voice

In an encyclical, ‘Sacro vergente anno’, he wrote: “Just as a few years ago we consecrated the whole world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, so now, in a most particular way, we consecrate all the peoples of Russia to the same Immaculate Heart.”

In 1964, Pope St Paul VI solemnly renewed that thunderous consecration before the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council.

In 1981, Pope St John Paul II composed a prayer – Act of Dedication to Mary’s Immaculate Heart – which he uttered in the Basilica of Maria Maggiore.

Now, as the Communist regime in Russia again inflicts misery not only on her own long-suffering population but also on that of Ukraine, Pope Francis has joined his many distinguished predecessors in again asking our Lady to intercede with and for us before the Throne of God. Consider what a divinely human act that appeal for intercession is.

Every teenager given a tonguelashing or a grounding by his father for refusing to take out the trash once too often knows he can go to his mother and ask her to intervene with his father on his behalf.

The notion that we are all one family, with the Lord of Life as the Filius familas and our Lady as our Mother, is so deeply rooted in our belief that we cheerfully – and accurately – talk of the Church as the Household of the Faith.

And what will bring this latest cruel war to an end, with its cowardly bombings of theatres and hospitals sheltering innocent, non-combatant women and children by missiles sent from a safe distance, with its sudden and heart-rending exodus of

a third of the population of Ukraine, one of the fastest and most tragic such displacements in history?

The answer is to be seen not in the snortings and posturings of Western politicians who have woken up, more than somewhat late, to the realization that they have not maintained sufficiently strong armed forces to prevent such a war, nor in the earnest but largely useless summits at which our leaders futilely gibber and posture and wring their hands and weep crocodile tears, nor in their pathetic attempts at inflicting economic ruin on the Russian people in the hope that they will find some way to rise up against Mr Putin’s reign of terror. Shutting the stable door after the bird has flown never works.

Mr Putin is not in the least worried by the sanctions. As his economists had calculated, the war has put up the price of oil and gas, of precious as well as base metals, of coal and of grain, which are Russia’s chief exports. The longer the war continues – sanctions or no sanctions – the richer Russia’s regime becomes.

The answer lies in the tens of thousands of individual acts of spontaneous charity by which the people of Europe and the world have come to the aid of the suffering refugees of Ukraine.

The human family, in the face of the Kremlin’s crimes against humanity – crimes endorsed and encouraged by the unspeakable former KGB colleague of Putin who is the Russian Orthodox Patriarch – has come together to provide immediate and generous assistance to those of its members who are most in need of its help.

The contrast between the hourly atrocities of the Russian troops in Ukraine, a quarter of whom have already been killed or wounded, and the open-hearted generosity of all who have come to the aid of Ukraine and her people could not be starker.

As Virgil used to say, Omnia vincit amor. Love conquereth all. In the end, it is love – the love exemplified by our Lady, who had to watch as her Son was nailed to the Cross – that will triumph. We can be confident, in this dark hour, that our prayers to her will not go unheeded or unanswered.

20 CHURCH REVITALISATION

Catholic Voice

22nd April 2022

HOW TO REVITALISE THE CHURCH Mary Kearns

As preparation for the Church Synod, Catholics across the world are being asked for their opinion on how the Church can be revitalised.

Has it been completely forgotten that this was one of the aims of the Second Vatican Council?

It is to be lamented that the practice of the Divine Office has not become established as part of the liturgical life of a parish, as the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council had envisioned. For the most part, the celebration of the Divine Office has not fulfilled the intention of the Council.

If it had become part of the normal way the laity prayed together, not only would the psalms read at Mass be more familiar but a particular duty could be undertaken by laypeople with a desire to undertake a leadership role in the liturgy.

Morning Prayer could precede weekday as well as Sunday Mass; Holy days of obligation could be marked by Evening Prayer of the feast, with Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, even in the absence of a priest. This is normal practice in monasteries and convents but it could also happen in parishes.

While some parishes do have a few committed men and women who arrive early for Mass or remain afterwards and gather to pray Morning or Evening Prayer in unison, this is rare.

The programme for liturgical renewal undertaken by the Council not only covered revising the rites for the Mass and the sacraments, but also dealt with the daily prayer of the Church.

In ‘Liturgia Horarum’ published in 1970, the Holy Father, Paul VI

asserted that the Divine Office should become the prayer of the whole Church as it had been in ancient times, and not just the prayer of the clergy and those in religious orders.

Although lay people are not bound to celebrate the Office in its entirety every day, it is commendable that they join the praying Church at least twice daily. For this reason, the practice of saying Morning and Evening Prayer with Night Prayer was introduced to the laity by publishing the revised Office in the vernacular.

One of the benefits that came from the Second Vatican Council was the revision of the Divine Office.

This is now known as the Liturgy of the Hours and has been made more accessible to lay people who should pray together, and as far as possible with a priest. When this is done correctly, the course of the whole day and night is consecrated to the praise of God. In this way, lay people as part of the universal

Church as well as clergy and those in religious orders, can sanctify the day.

When we pray the Liturgy of the Hours, we are lifted beyond ourselves and as members of Christ’s mystical body, we offer up our prayer to the Father in union with Jesus Christ. We are beyond ourselves in the sense that our prayer is that of the Church Universal; it is the voice of the Bride addressing the Bridegroom.

The mystery of Christ, his Incarnation and Passover, which we celebrate in the Eucharist especially at the Sunday assembly, permeates and transfigures the time of each day, through the celebration of the Liturgy of the Hours. (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1174).

By this means, Jesus Christ continues his priestly work of salvation in the world. As members of his Body, we the faithful, pray to the Father with the Son. ‘Sacrosanctum Concilium’ devotes a chapter to this form of praising

22nd April 2022

CHURCH REVITALISATION 21

Catholic Voice

God which is part of the liturgical celebration of the Church. The Liturgy of the Hours “is truly the voice of the Bride herself addressed to their Bridegroom. It is the very prayer which Christ himself together with his Body addresses to the Father.” (SC 84).

The prayer of the universal Church that we now know as the Liturgy of the Hours goes back to the very earliest times. From the first century the Didache recommended that the Lord’s Prayer be recited three times each day. As the centuries progressed, the set times for prayer became more firmly established.

Although still lacking fixed prescription, the early Church Fathers recommended that people pray at regular times. In addition to praise and adoration of God, there should be added a superstructure of statutory prayers and petitions. In the words of Tertullian of Carthage (c.160-c.225): It is still good to establish a presumption that might reinforce the admonition to pray, and tear us away from our affairs for this duty as if by law, so that we might worship not less than three times per day in addition of course to our statutory prayers which without any behest are due at the coming in of daylight and night.

The very words of Christ our Lord to his apostles, gave the Church the understanding of the correlation of the Old and New Testaments in the light of the paschal mystery.

This we learn from the account of the Lord’s meeting after his resurrection with the disciples on the road to Emmaus. “Everything written about me in the Law of Moses, in the prophets and in the psalms has to be fulfilled.”

(Luke24:44) Here we have the words that led the Church to adopt the psalter.

The Constitution on the sacred liturgy describes how Jesus Christ took the psalter and made it his own, in singing praise to the Father, but in union now with all of humanity.

This work is continued through the ministry of the Church: “The Church…is ceaselessly engaged in praising the Lord and interceding for the salvation of the entire world” (SC 83) The celebration of the Eucharist is the highest act of worship offered to God. In the Liturgy of the Hours, this worship is extended to all the hours of the day. As the earth turns on its axis this prayer never stops.

Because the Church is universal, the prayer is the same throughout the world, and is continually being offered up as day follows night. The Gospel exhorts us to worship in spirit and in truth and as the Body of the risen Lord, we the people of God, are living stones gathered so that we can be built into a spiritual house.

In several of his General Audiences at the Vatican, Pope Saint John Paul led a catechesis on the psalms and canticles of the Office. His desire was “to encourage and help all to pray with the same words used by

Jesus, which have been present for thousands of years in the prayer of Israel and of the Church.”

The potential value of the laity coming together for the Liturgy of the Hours, particularly in places were daily Mass is infrequent, should be appreciated. This is a means by which the liturgical life of a parish would be deepened and brought more into line with the Church Universal. The reformed liturgical rites provide for this by making the prayer of the Church available in the vernacular and at the same time rediscovering some of the riches of early Christianity.

A parish could be revitalised by restoring the Liturgy of the Hours to their proper place as a liturgical celebration of the Christian people.

As Catholics part of our duty is to remind our priests and bishops of the teaching of the Council which sought this very thing – to revitalise the faithful but in doing so, to employ not a new programme but to look into the heart of the Church and find the answers there.

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

22 OUR LADY OF HEEDE

Catholic Voice

22nd April 2022

“The World Will Drink The Chalice Of Divine Wrath” Our Lady’s Apocalyptic Warning To Humanity Andres Jaromezuk

Our Lady of Heede Two girls from the Village of Heede in the Diocese of Osnabruck, Germany were passing near the World War I Memorial in the village cemetery on November 1, 1937 when they suddenly saw a beautiful Lady blazing with light, with a Baby in Her arms. The two Figures wore dazzling crowns on their heads.

The Lady was incredibly beautiful, and smiled kindly at the girls, who immediately believed Her to be the Mother of God with the Child Jesus in Her arms.

Over the course of what was to be a total of 100 apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary to a total of four girls, under the title of Queen of the Universe, the visionaries were entrusted with prophecies, solemn messages, and secrets, including one for the Pope.

Regarding one secret, however, She showed them visions of future catastrophes, and warned them that a horrifying event, called a “Minor Judgement”, was in store for the future. This event is the same as THE WARNING prophesied a few years later by Our Lady at Garabandal.

She urged them to pray constantly, especially the Rosary, which She said has “immeasurable power”, for the conversion of sinners, because “the world is about to drink the dregs of the Chalice of Divine Wrath.”

Despite her incredible beauty in each apparition, Our Lady’s face was often solemn, at times severe,

and on some occasions, the Blessed Virgin shed tears.

The four girls met with the usual double-edged sword of belief and skepticism among the villagers and pilgrims. But once the War was in full swing, and the Nazis heard about the events taking place in Heede, the Gestapo descended on the village, ordered the girls to quit the “superstitious nonsense”, and threw them into an insane asylum for the period of one month.

They were finally released when it was seen that their imprisonment wasn’t doing the situation any good, but was angering the villagers and especially the families of the girls.

When Our Lady finished appearing to the four girls (whose names were Anna Schulte, sisters Maria and Greta Ganseforth, and Susanna Bruns) on November 3, 1940, almost five years passed when Our Lord Jesus Christ then began to appear to Greta Ganseforth alone in 1945.

He advised her He had singled her out to become a victim soul for the conversion of obstinate sinners.

When Greta agreed to this, Our Lord gave her the Stigmata. Thus, as Victim and Stigmatist, Greta shared in the Passion of the Christ as so many had done in the centuries before her, and, upon orders from her spiritual director, kept a diary of her mystical events.

Although she saw Our Lord and her own guardian Angel regularly, from this time on, Greta did not see the Blessed Virgin again, although she did hear Her voice on numerous occasions speaking to her from a brilliant light.

Particularly noteworthy of these latter events, on one occasion, while speaking about the “Minor Judgement”, Jesus said solemnly to Greta: “For those who are not in the State of Grace (when the Minor Judgment happens) it will be FRIGHTFUL.”

“In Portugal, the dogma of the faith will always be preserved” (Our Lady - Fatima July 13th 1917)

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OUR LADY OF HEEDE 23

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On another occasion, a school dance was being prepared which apparently was going to exceed Catholic norms for modesty and decency. At the behest of Our Lord, Greta sought to have the dance cancelled, or at least modified so that it would not be a dangerous occasion of sin for the youth.

She also appealed to the parents of the students to not allow their children to attend the dance, at the express warning of Christ Himself.

Jesus said to Greta: “If they proceed with that dance, all involved will have to answer to Me at their Judgement.”

The dance was cancelled.

Devotion of both Our Lady and Our Lord at Heede was enthusiastically approved by the Bishop of Osnabruck, and this approbation

has been graciously ratified with the installation of each successive Bishop to this day.

Interestingly enough, however, the Bishops have not published a formal ruling declaring the events to be supernatural, Divine in origin, and worthy of belief, though their permissions are doubtlessly tacit approval.

Unfortunately, due to the worldwide collapse of Christianity, particularly in Europe, Heede holds little interest for the people of Germany, although pilgrims from various nations still trickle in every year.

Visionary and stigmatist Greta Ganseforth passed away in 1996, and her grave is visited by pilgrims, several of whom have claimed significant favours through the seer’s intercession.

Prayer to Our Lady of Heede Dear Lady of Heede, Queen of the Poor Souls in Purgatory, hear thou our fervent pleas for the relief of those suffering souls.

As thou art truly the loving Mother of Mercy, let the graces of thy Immaculate Heart pierce that dark prison of purification and fall as a refreshing dew upon those languishing there.

And do thou, dearest Advocate, implore thy Divine Son to allow the infinite merits of His Precious Blood to penetrate the darkness as a ray of hope and light upon the Poor Souls, especially those enrolled in the Purgatorian League, and the souls of...(insert names), through the merits of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

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24 HOLY FACE DEVOTION

Catholic Voice

22nd April 2022

The Vow Sister Mary Of St Peter Had To Take Before She Could Spread Devotion To The Holy Face Mary O’Regan

Sister Mary of St Peter was in quite a bind. It was the 25th of March, the Feast of the Annunciation and she had not completed a crucial mission that the Christ Child had solemnly sought of her. For some time, Our Lord had asked that she seek and be granted permission from her Reverend Mother to make a Perfect Act of Abandonment, essentially to make a total donation of herself to Him. Sister Mary of St Peter had not been able to take this vow because her Reverend Mother had refused her permission.

But Jesus encouraged her to petition her superior again and again ‘til she was given the go-ahead, as Sister Mary of St Peter wrote in her account, “The Holy Infant Jesus made me understand that if I really wanted my soul to belong entirely to Him, in order that He could operate all that He wished within me, it was absolutely necessary for me to ask again and obtain full and explicit consent”.

This was in France, March 1843 and you may ask as to why Our Lord wanted St Mary of St Peter as His instrument and why He needed her

The Carmelite Chapel in Tours

to make a full pledge of herself to Him - but only with her superior’s assent. Our Lord’s goal was to give Sister Mary of St Peter the devotion to His Holy Face, which she would then promote, and He first sought her to give herself entirely to Him with the backing of her superiors who were to have an integral role in bringing the devotion to His Holy Face to the masses.

On the Feast of the Annunciation, Sister Mary of St Peter used a backchannel to get permission.

Another Sister, a nun who shared the convent with Sister Mary wanted to consecrate herself to the Divine Child, and Sister Mary said she would join her. Sister Mary of St Peter had this other nun ask for permission, which was granted.

This shows that Sister Mary of St Peter did not wield much influence in her convent, but that she was clever, yet she failed Our Lord because he had wanted her to ask for permission and not use a surrogate.

This act of consecration that she made with the other sister did not satisfy Our Lord who was not pleased with her trickery, as she said, “the Divine Infant Jesus does

not like guile...in consequence of this the Divine Child now told me that I must expressly ask for this permission from my superiors anew”.

Now just her way of getting permission had displeased Him, but the Act of Consecration she used had been inadequate, because it was just an “ordinary act of consecration” and not a total abandonment of self, “the Holy Infant made me understand that if I really wanted my soul to belong entirely to Him, in order that He could operate all that He wished within me, it was absolutely necessary for me to ask again and to obtain the full and explicit consent of my superiors to make this Perfect Act of SelfSacrifice.”

As you can see, she was being refused repeatedly and yet Our Lord still asked her for it repeatedly, but He did not assure her that she would be given the necessary endorsement, only that it was absolutely crucial because as He explained to her, He needed her superiors’ support because “They were to have a large share in the Work which the Divine Saviour wanted to guild on the poor ground of my soul.” A full offering

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HOLY FACE DEVOTION 25

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of herself needed full permission from her superior.

It took from March 25 of 1843 ‘til Christmas Day for Sr Mary of St Peter to obtain permission for the Act of Perfect Abandonment. The time it took for her to get their approval mirrored the same time that Jesus was in Mary’s womb.

Interestingly, Sister obtained her superiors’ consent after she put the matter into the hands of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It had taken 9 full months of petitioning the nuns to whom she had pledged obedience.

She made the Act (you may find the exact text below) and Our Lord assured her that she belonged totally to Him, “Having made this Act to Our Lord in spite of my unworthiness, He now regarded me entirely as His own, and He went on to build in my soul His edifice to the glory of the Holy Name of God.” Our Lord then moved Sister Mary of St Peter to petition her superiors to have the devotion to His Holy Face propagated and for the prayers to be publicised. Our Lord dictated the prayers to Sister, but when they were shared among her fellow sisters in the convent at Tours, her name was not on them and the other nuns who lived with her did not know when she had written them down, that she had been Jesus’s stylo. Miracles abounded, even among the few sisters in Sister’s Carmelite convent, and one sister who had been severely ill recovered after only three days of offering the prayers of reparation to the Holy Face of Jesus.

Act Of Perfect Oblation To The Most Holy Child Jesus, According To His Will In My Regard, For The Accomplishment Of His Designs To The Glory Of The Holy Name Of God Oh, Most Holy and most amiable Child Jesus, behold the day which I have so much desired has at last arrived. Now, without fear of failing in obedience, I can with all freedom offer myself entirely to You for the accomplishment of Your designs, to whatever extent You may desire to exercise Your will and Your power over my soul. I am very unworthy, it is true, to make You this offering, but Oh Divine Child, since it seems to me that You desire this, deign to purify me, Your victim by the tears of Your Holy Infancy and by Your Most Precious Blood.

Yes, on this ever memorable night of Your august birth, my Divine Spouse, bending low before You in Your crib, I freely offer my entire being to You, through the blessed hands of Mary and of Joseph on the altar of Your heart inflamed with love, and it is there that under the protection of the angels and the saints, I make You an act of entire abandonment of myself, and I resign to You also whatever meager merits I have acquired since the day of my birth, and also of all those merits which I may acquire until the day of my dear through Your holy grace, all for the accomplishment

of Your designs and for the glory of the Holy Name of God. Oh, Divine child, You Who did say to Your holy mother when she found You in the temple of Jerusalem: “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” deign to receive me as Your disciple. Grant that from now on, I may, in union with You, be occupied only with those things that appertain to the service of Your Eternal Father, for the glory of His Holy Name.

Oh, Most Holy Child, God and man, I renounce myself, and I give myself entirely to You. Do with me and in me all that will please You for the accomplishment of Your designs. I am Your property, therefore take possession of me completely. Yes, Oh, Divine Child, with all my heart and most affectionately for Your sake doI divest myself of everything to the end of my life. Deign, therefore, in your great mercy, to clothe me with the robe of Your sacred merits which is perfumed with the sweet odor of Your virtues, so that on the day of judgment, I may receive the blessing of Your Heavenly Father.

I take as notary of this contract made with the Holy Child Jesus, our blessed father Peter of Berulle, Apostle fo the Incarnate Word, and for witnesses and protectors I take all the angels and saints of Heaven.

Sister Mary of St Peter and the Holy Family, Unworthy Carmelite.

If I may suggest that you consider doing as Sister Mary of St Peter and make the Act of Perfect Abandonment that having done so, Our Lord will bless your efforts to be devoted to His Face and your pains to introduce others to this pre-eminent devotion of our times.

If you and I wish to propagate it, we might offer the exact same prayer that Sister Mary of St Peter did which Our Lord assured her had met with His favour.

The grave of Sr Mary of St Peter in the Holy Face Oratory in Tours, France

26 HOLY COMMUNION

Catholic Voice

22nd April 2022

On The Effects Of Holy Communion Fr. Michael Müller

I am sure, dear Reader, that if you would once begin the practice of frequent Communion in order to please Our Lord, you would continue it in order to please yourself. I will now proceed to make good this assertion by showing the great and admirable effects which this Bread of the Strong produces in the soul.

First, it confers an increase of Sanctifying Grace. The life of the soul consists in its being in a state of acceptance or friendship with God, and that which renders it acceptable to God is Sanctifying Grace. This grace, which was merited for us by Our Lord Jesus Christ, is infused into the soul by the Holy Ghost through the Sacraments; but each Sacrament does not confer it in the same manner.

Baptism and Penance bestow it upon those who are entirely out of the grace of God, or in other words, who are spiritually dead; Baptism being the means appointed for those who have never been in the grace of God, and Penance for those who have lost it.

These Sacraments are therefore called Sacraments of the Dead, as being instituted for the benefit of those who are in mortal sin or dead to grace. When these Sacraments are received with the right dispositions, they truly reconcile the sinner with God, so that from being an enemy of God, he becomes His friend and an object of His complacency.

But this acceptance, though true and real, is not in the highest degree; it admits of an increase, as the Holy Scripture says: “Let him that is just be justified still; and let him that is holy be sanctified still;” and therefore God appointed the other Sacraments, the Sacraments of the Living, not only to convey special graces peculiar to each, but to impart an increase of Sanctifying Grace to those who are already in His favour.

Photo Institute of Christ the King

A rich man, when he has taken possession of a field which he wishes to convert into a garden, is not content with putting a wall around it and clearing it of the most noxious weeds and setting it in good order, but he continues to cultivate it assiduously, to fill it with the most beautiful plants and to embellish it with new and choice ornaments.

Thus Almighty God, in His love and goodness, has multiplied means by which the soul may be enriched with the graces and merits of Jesus Christ and become more and more agreeable and beautiful in His eyes.

Now among all these means, there is none greater or more powerful than the Blessed Eucharist. Each time that we receive our Saviour in Holy Communion, we participate anew in all the merits of His Redemption, of His poverty, His hidden life, His scourging and His crowning with thorns. The Holy Eucharist, then, differs from the other Sacraments in this, that while the other Sacraments bestow upon us one or another of the fruits of Christ’s merits, this gives us the grace and merits of Our Savior in their source.

The soul, therefore, receives an immense increase of Sanctifying Grace at each Communion. Dear

Christian, let us reflect upon this for a moment. It is no slight thing for a soul to be beautiful in the sight of God. That must needs be something great and precious which can render us – sinful creatures as we are – truly amiable before God. What must be the value of Sanctifying Grace, which can work such a transformation? What is it and who can declare its price?

St. Thomas tells us that the lowest degree of Sanctifying Grace is worth more than all the riches of the world. Think then, of all the riches of this world! The mines of gold, of precious stones, the forests of costly wood, and all the hidden stores of wealth, for the least of which treasures the children of this world are willing to toil and struggle and sin for a whole lifetime.

Again, consider that the lowest grace which a humble Catholic Christian receives at the rails of the sanctuary at dawn of day, before the great world is astir, outweighs all those riches. But why do I draw my comparison from the things of this world?

St. Teresa, after her death, appeared to one of her sisters in religion and told her that all the Saints

22nd April 2022

HOLY COMMUNION 27

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in Heaven, without exception, would be willing to come back to this world and to remain here till the End of Time, suffering all the miseries to which our mortal state is subject, only to gain one more degree of Sanctifying Grace and the eternal glory corresponding to it.

Nay, I even assert that all the devils in Hell would consider all the torments of their dark abode, endured for millions upon millions of ages, largely recompensed by the least degree of that grace which they had once rejected. These thoughts give us a grand and sublime idea of the value of grace; but there is another consideration that ought to raise our estimate of it still higher, namely, that God Himself, the Eternal Son of the Father, came down upon earth, was made man, suffered and died the death of the cross in order to purchase it for us.

His life is in some way the measure of its value.

Now in Holy Communion, this Sanctifying Grace is poured upon us in floods! The King of Heaven is then present in our souls, scattering profusely His benedictions and making us taste of the powers of the world to come. Oh, if any of us were to see his own soul immediately after Communion, how amazed and confounded would he not be at the sight of it. He would take it for an Angel.

St. Catherine of Siena having been asked by her confessor to describe to him the beauty of a soul in the state of grace – as it had been revealed to her – replied: “The beauty and lustre of such a soul is so great that if you were to behold it, you would be willing to endure all possible pains and sufferings for its sake.” Need we wonder, then, that the Angels loved to keep company with those saints on earth who every day with great devotion received Holy Communion, and that even the faces of those who have been ardent lovers of the Blessed Sacrament have sometimes shone with the glory with which they were filled? Does not Christ say of such

a soul: “How beautiful art thou, My beloved! How beautiful art thou.”

What great value should we then not set on this Divine Sacrament?

At each Communion, we gain more and more upon what is bad in our hearts: we bring God more and more into them, and we come nearer to that heavenly state in which they shall be altogether “without spot or wrinkle,” holy and without blemish.

Should we not, then, esteem this wonder-working Sacrament more than anything else in this world? Ought we not continually to give thanks to God for so great a blessing and, above all, show our thankfulness by receiving it frequently and devoutly? I leave it to you, O Christian soul, to answer what I have said. I will not dwell longer on this point; reflect and act accordingly. I must pass on to explain some of the other wonderful effects of this precious Sacrament.

The benefit to be derived from Holy Communion which I will notice in the second place consists in this, that we are thereby preserved from mortal sin. In like manner as the

body is continually in danger of death by reason of the law of decay which works unceasingly within us, so in like manner the life of the soul is constantly in jeopardy from that fearful proneness to sin which belongs to our fallen nature.

Accordingly, as Almighty God, in His Wisdom, has ordained natural food as the means of repairing the decay of the body and of warding off death, so has He seen fit to give us a spiritual and heavenly food to keep us from falling into mortal sin, which causes the death of the soul.

This food is the Holy Eucharist, as the Council of Trent teaches us, saying that the Sacrament of the Eucharist is “the antidote by which we are free from daily faults and preserved from mortal sins.”

And hence St. Francis de Sales compares Holy Communion to the Tree of Life which grew in the midst of the garden of Paradise, saying that “as our first parents by eating of that tree might have avoided the death of the body, so we, by feeing on this Sacrament of Life, may avoid the death of the soul.”

“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 1916)

28 GO TO CONFESSION

Catholic Voice

22nd April 2022

5 Reasons to Go to Confession (Besides Forgiveness of Sins) Todd Aglialoro

Confession is made not just to fulfil a divine command, but also to serve natural human needs . . . and it does, naturally and beautifully. When the Pharisees complained to Jesus that his disciples were picking wheat on the Sabbath against Jewish law, he replied that “the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27). As much as observing the fourth commandment was about rendering what was due to God, it was also about serving man’s needs. It was a divine ordinance that suited human nature.

We can observe something similar with the sacrament of confession, to which the Church calls us with special ardour during this Lenten time.

Confession to a priest for the forgiveness of sins is one of the classic “Catholic distinctives,” the defence of which makes up so much of the substance of Catholic apologetics. Many Protestants say confession is another Roman “work” that complicates the simple matter of salvation. Do you have sins? Just confess them directly to God. You don’t need a priest to be a go-between any more than you need Mary, the saints, a pope, or little pieces of bread.

That Jesus indeed instituted the sacrament of confession, that this institution can be proved from Scripture, that the early Christians practiced it and the Catholic

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Church duly carries it on today, are important points to explain and defend. But today, I want to reflect instead on five ways that confession, like the Sabbath, is made not just to fulfil a divine command, but also to serve natural human needs.

(1) Confession gives us a human, objective assurance of forgiveness.

“I absolve you from your sins.” Not only do the priest’s words effect God’s forgiveness — they settle on our ears and into our brains, leaving the matter beyond doubt. Most of us, when we say something to God, do not get such a tangible and immediate response. This audible affirmation that we have been forgiven gives us a boost, eliciting gratitude to God and a resolve to love and serve him better.

That the form of the sacrament is ancient, universal, and systematic — I and the priest follow the received formula, and it works — adds another layer of assurance. We don’t have to wonder if our private, internal confession to God was accurate or heartfelt enough, or if we truly have enough faith, or if we thought the right things. In confession, God gave us a simple, repeatable, ordinary way of accessing his infinite sea of mercy.

(2) Confession keeps us accountable to ourselves.

It’s not just that confessing our sins “directly to God” lacks tangible assurances. It also runs the risk of turning into a negotiation or exercise in self-justification. Well, you know why I did this, Lord . . . I only did that a couple of times, but it wasn’t serious, and besides, I was tempted . . . What so-and-so did to me was much worse . . . Thanks for understanding, Jesus. I’m glad we had this time together.

Confession cuts through such nonsense. We have to say our sins aloud, hear them echo in our own ears, know that another person has heard them. A good confessor will keep us from trying any self-serving stuff with him.

And we have to own up to how many times, and how long since the last time, and other details that we might otherwise bury in our conscience. Jesus knew human psychology better than anyone. And the ordinary means of forgiveness that he instituted is built for it.

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(3) Confession prompts us to examine our conscience.

It doesn’t take a trip to the confessional to get us to reflect on our sins and failings, someone might object.

Okay. So when was the last time you did it?

I have known a few particularly holy people who endeavoured to examine their consciences every night before bed. But for the majority of us who aren’t living saints, our visits to confession provide the needed prompt. And in our age of moral therapeutic deism, in which the sense of sin is considered an unacceptable burden on our good vibes, that forced march to selfawareness can be a spiritual remedy nearly as dramatic as absolution.

How have I done wrong, to God, neighbour, and self?

How have I failed to do good? In what areas do I need God’s grace the most? The answers to these questions are the gateway to becoming an integrated, fully alive human being. Or to use another word, a saint.

(4) Confession can be an occasion for (quick) counselling.

G. K. Chesterton famously quipped that “psychoanalysis is the confessional without the safeguards of the confessional.” He was observing, in his typical way, how many modern crazes were just inferior, washedover imitations of the sane and healthy practices of Christendom through the ages.

Now, let’s get something straight: the confessional is not the ordinary place for spiritual direction or conversation. (Anyone who has ever checked his watch from the back of a confessional line, wondering if he’ll make it, will say, “Amen.”) The old adage about the three Bs of confession—“be brief, be specific, be gone”* — holds true. And our confessor is there first and foremost to be a conduit of Christ’s pardon, not to shrink our heads.

That said, maybe we’re being too hard on ourselves, or not hard enough. Maybe our confessor has spotted a pattern in our sins and has a suggestion for breaking it. In such cases, even a routine Saturday afternoon confession can be a time for us to hear words of correction, exhortation, or encouragement that we need.

(5) Confession makes for example and solidarity.

We have seen so far that, unlike the “directly to God” approach, confession gives us an audible assurance of forgiveness; it keeps us accountable; it compels us to examine our conscience; and it can provide an opportunity for hearing good spiritual counsel. A fifth

GO TO CONFESSION 29 and final advantage that confession offers is its effect on our relationship with our fellow Christians.

Confession itself is private, of course: me and God and the priest through whom God works. Our sins, of course, are ours and only ours. Yet there is a twofold communal aspect to the sacrament, too.

The first part is the example we can show others by our confession. This may be most apparent in families, where a child seeing his parent enter the confessional, or a spouse his spouse, or a sibling his sibling, serves as an encouragement to approach the sacrament, too.

But it also works outside the family: on a college campus, for example, or in a Catholic workplace. We are emboldened, called on, maybe sometimes mildly shamed (in a good way) by the visible example of our brothers and sisters in Christ. Going “directly to God” doesn’t do this.

Neither does it make for the joyful solidarity that our shared experience of the sacrament creates. First, we wait together for our turn in the confessional, laid low by our faults, acknowledging our sinful status individually, yes, but also corporately — all other human divisions set aside. We remind ourselves and each other that, together, we need a Saviour.

Once, I spent about half an hour on a confession line, shuffling along foot by foot, maybe once or twice glancing sidelong at the man, about my age, directly behind me. Finally I went in, did what I had to do, emerged, and, raising my head, made eye contact with my fellow-confessor, seconds away from his own return to the state of grace . . . and he gave me a highfive. It was the communion of saints. *Some ancient sources have it as “Begin, be brief, be gone.”

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.

“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)

30 BOOKS

Catholic Voice

22nd April 2022

C AT H O L I C R E A D I N G . . . F o r y o u r s e l f o r a s a g i f t BUY CATHOLIC BOOKS! IRELAND’S LOYALTY TO MARY

This timeless classic written by Father Augustine charts the devotion of our forefathers to Mary from the time of St. Patrick to the present day. A truly inspiring read.

ILLUSTRATED BOOK OF MARY

FIRST HOLY COMMUNION BOOK

A beautifully illustrated book which contains many devotions and prayers to Mary. A perfect gift for all ages

This ever popular traditional activity book helps prepare children for their First Holy Communion.

Paperback 243 pages

Hardback 223 pages

A4 Paperback 37 pages

€/£14 inc p&p Ireland €/£20 inc p&p outside Ireland THE FOURTH REVOLUTION THE VATICAN REVOLUTION? In this booklet, which has a forward by Bishop Athanasius Schneider, Dr Thomas Ward, founder of the National Association of Catholic Families, looks at the history of different revolutions which comprise a wide range of attacks on the family and on the rights of parents as primary educators of their children.

€/£19 inc p&p Ireland €/£24 inc p&p outside Ireland

€/£9.95 inc p&p Ireland €/£12 inc p&p outside Ireland A CRUSADE OF PRAYER AND FASTING

Paperback 33 pages €/£3.60 inc p&p Ireland €/£4.75 inc p&p Outside Ireland

DECLARATION OF TRUTHS RELATING TO SOME OF THE MOST COMMON ERRORS IN THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH OF OUR TIME

The declaration was made in May 2019 by Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke, Janis Cardinal Pujats, Archbishop Tomash PETA, Archbishop Jan Pawel Lena and Bishop Athanasius Schneider .

Written by Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke and Bishop Athanasius Schneider in September 2019 to implore God that Error and Heresy would not pervert the forthcoming special assembly of the Synod of Bishops for the pan Amazon.

Paperback 18 pages

Paperback 13 pages

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CLASSIFIEDS 31

22nd April 2022 Catholic Voice

CLASSIFIEDS IN GRATEFUL THANKSGIVING TO ST. JOSEPH FOR HELP IN A GREAT TRIAL. TWO GRATEFUL DEVOTEES OF ST. JOSEPH. “WHATEVER YOU ASK OF ST. JOSEPH, YOU SHALL RECEIVE” ST. TERESA OF AVILA.

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32 ADVERT

Catholic Voice

22nd April 2022

Ireland’s International Eucharistic and Marian Shrine, Knock, Co Mayo THE VISION “The witnesses clearly saw the Blessed Virgin Mary dressed in white robes, her hands and eyes turned towards heaven in prayer. On her head was a gold crown and where the crown fitted the brow, a single golden rose. On her right, bowed respectfully towards her, was St. Joseph. He appeared older, his beard and hair were grey and, like Our Lady, he was barefoot.

To Our Lady’s left stood John the Evangelist vested as a bishop, wearing a small mitre. He held an open book in his left hand and in its pages the lines and letters could clearly be seen. He appeared to be preaching but no voice was heard. He stood so that his back was neither turned to the Virgin or to the Lamb that stood upon a simple plain altar.

Behind the Lamb was a Cross. The witnesses watched and prayed for over 2 hours and though they were wet, they noticed that no rain fell on upon the Apparition or on the gable.” (www.knockshrine.ie)

THE TESTIMONY OF PATRICK WALSH “My name is Patrick Walsh; I live in Ballinderrig, an English mile from the chapel at Knock. I remember well the 21st August, 1879. It was a very dark night, it was raining heavily.

About nine o’clock on that night I was going on some business through my land, and standing a distance of about half a mile from the chapel; I saw a very bright light on the southern gable end of the chapel; it appeared to me to be a large globe of golden light; I never saw, I thought, so brilliant a light before; it appeared high up in the air above and around the chapel gable and it was circular in its appearance; it was quite stationary, and it seemed to retain the same brilliancy all through.

The following day I made inquiries in order to learn if there were any lights seen in the place that night; it was only then that I heard of the vision or apparition that the people had seen.” (www.knockshrine.ie) 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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