Feast Of Corpus Christi - Thursday After Trinity Sunday - 3 June 2021

Quoted from Catholic Answers [1]:

Corpus Christi (Body of CHRIST), FEAST OF, is celebrated in the Latin Church on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday to solemnly commemorate the institution of the Holy Eucharist.

Quoted from Wikipedia [2]:

The Feast of Corpus Christi (Ecclesiastical Latin: Dies Sanctissimi Corporis et Sanguinis Domini Iesu Christi, lit. 'Day of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Jesus Christ the Lord'), also known as the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, is a Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Western Orthodox liturgical solemnity celebrating the Real Presence of the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ in the elements of the Eucharist.

Quoted from The Catholic Thing  "(Excerpted from his [Pope Benedict XVI's] General Audience of November 14, 2010)" [3]:

This morning too I would like to introduce a female figure [Saint Juliana of Liège] to you. She is little known but the Church is deeply indebted to her, not only because of the holiness of her life but also because, with her great fervor, she contributed to the institution of one of the most important solemn Liturgies of the year: Corpus Christi.

[1] https://www.catholic.com/encyclopedia/Feast-of-Corpus-Christi, without hyperlinks.

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feast_of_Corpus_Christi, without reference and hyperlinks.

[3] https://www.thecatholicthing.org/2020/06/14/saint-juliana-and-corpus-christi/

Feast Of The Queenship Of Mary - 31 May

Quoted from Fr. Z's blog [1]:

31 May is liturgically complicated.  In the traditional calendar it is the Feast of the Queenship of Mary.  In the Novus Ordo, it is the Feast of the Visitation.  Again in the Novus Ordo, Queenship of Mary is on 22 August, which in the TLM [Traditional Latin Mass] calendar is [The Feast Of The] Immaculate Heart [Of The Blessed Virgin Mary].

Quoted from The American TFP [2]:

Pope Pius XII in the Papal Encyclical Ad Caeli Reginam  proposed the traditional doctrine on the Queenship of Mary and established this feast for the Universal Church.

Blessed Pope Pius IX said of Mary’s Queenship: “Turning her maternal Heart toward us and dealing with the affair of our salvation, she is concerned with the whole human race. Constituted by the Lord Queen of Heaven and Earth, and exalted above all choirs of Angels and the ranks of Saints in Heaven, standing at the right hand of Her only begotten Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, she petitions most powerfully with Her maternal prayers, and she obtains what she seeks.”

[1] https://wdtprs.com/2021/05/31-may-marys-queenship-and-yet-more-mother-than-queen/

[2] https://www.tfp.org/the-queenship-of-mary/, without hyperlink.

The Solemnity Of The Most Holy Trinity - 30 May 2021

Selected passages on the Holy Trinity quoted from thekingjamesversionbible.com [1]:

Matthew 28:19

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

2 Corinthians 13:14

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.

Matthew 3:16-17 

And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son ...

John 14:26

But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

1 John 5:7-8

For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.

John 14:16-17

And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with ...

Passages quoted below are from Catholic Answers [2]:

Patrick of Ireland

“I bind to myself today the strong power of an invocation of the Trinity—the faith of the Trinity in unity, the Creator of the universe” (The Breastplate of St. Patrick 1 [A.D. 447]).

“[T]here is no other God, nor has there been heretofore, nor will there be hereafter, except God the Father unbegotten, without beginning, from whom is all beginning, upholding all things, as we say, and his Son Jesus Christ, whom we likewise to confess to have always been with the Father—before the world’s beginning. . . . Jesus Christ is the Lord and God in whom we believe . . . and who has poured out on us abundantly the Holy Spirit . . . whom we confess and adore as one God in the Trinity of the sacred Name” (Confession of St. Patrick 4 [A.D. 452]).

Augustine

“All the Catholic interpreters of the divine books of the Old and New Testaments whom I have been able to read, who wrote before me about the Trinity, which is God, intended to teach in accord with the Scriptures that the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit are of one and the same substance constituting a divine unity with an inseparable equality; and therefore there are not three gods but one God, although the Father begot the Son, and therefore he who is the Son is not the Father; and the Holy Spirit is neither the Father nor the Son but only the Spirit of the Father and of the Son, himself, too, coequal to the Father and to the Son and belonging to the unity of the Trinity” (The Trinity1:4:7 [A.D. 408]).

[1] https://thekingjamesversionbible.com/bible-verses-about-the-trinity#:~:text=%20Bible%20Verses%20About%20The%20Trinity%20%201,of%20the%20Lord%20Jesus%20Christ%2C%20and...%20More%20, emphasis in bold added.

[2] https://www.catholic.com/tract/the-trinity

Francis I On Ecology

Quoted in part from Vatican News [1]:

In his video message for the launch of the Laudato si’ Platform on Tuesday, Pope Francis notes that "with the Encyclical Laudato si’, promulgated in 2015, I invited all people of good will to take care of the Earth, which is our common home."

This "house that hosts us" has been suffering for a long time, from "the wounds that we cause by our predatory attitude," laments the Pope.

He highlights the fact that "the current pandemic has now brought to light in an even stronger way the cry of nature and that of the poor who suffer most the consequences, highlighting that everything is interconnected and interdependent and that our health is not separated from the health of the environment in which we live."

It is for this reason that we need "a new ecological approach," says Pope Francis. In this way we can "transform our way of dwelling in the world, our styles of life, our relationship with the resources of the Earth and, in general, our way of looking at humanity and of living life."

...

We have a great responsibility, continues the Pope, "especially with regard to the future generations."

"What world do we want to leave to our children and our young? Our selfishness, our indifference and our irresponsible ways are threatening the future of our children!" he warns.

Pope Francis then goes on to "renew" his appeal: "Let us take care of our mother Earth; let us overcome the temptation of selfishness that makes us predators of resources; let us cultivate respect for the gifts of the Earth and creation; let us inaugurate a lifestyle and a society that is finally eco-sustainable: we have the opportunity to prepare a better tomorrow for all. From God's hands we have received a garden, we cannot leave a desert to our children."

[1] https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2021-05/pope-francis-videomessage-laudato-si-platform.html

Sequence From Mass On Pentecost Sunday, And Holy Spirit's Sevenfold Gifts

Copied from The Roman Catholic Daily Missal, 1962, Angelus Press, page 669:

SEQUENCE

1.  Come, Thou Holy Ghost, come, *

And from They celestial home * Shed

a ray of light divine.

2.  Come, Thou Father of the poor, *

Come, Thou source of all our store, *

come, within our bosoms shine.

3.  Thou of Comforters the best, *

Thou the soul's delightful guest, *

Sweet refreshment here below.

4.  In our labor rest most sweet, *

Pleasant coolness in the heat, * Solace

in the midst of woe.

5.  O most blessed Light divine, * Shine

within these hearts of Thine, * And

our inmost being fill.

6.  Where Thou art not, man hath

nought, * Nothing good indeed or

thought, * Nothing free from taint of

ill.

7.  Heal our wounds, our strength re-

new, * On our dryness pour Thy dew. *

Wash the stains of guilt away.

8.  Bend the stubborn heart and will, *

Melt the frozen, warm the chill, *

Guide the steps that go astray.

9.  On Thy faithful who adore, * And

confess Thee evermore, * In Thy

sevenfold gifts descend.

10.  Give them virtue's sure reward, *

Give them They salvation, Lord, * Give

them joys that never end.

Amen. Alleluia.

The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit [1]:

1.  Wisdom: helps us judge what is important, meaningful, purposeful, etc.

2.  Understanding: to know something is different from truly understanding it.  I can know a lot of facts about someone, but that is different from truly understanding that person.    

3.  Counsel: helps us differentiate between right and wrong.

4.  Fortitude: courage and endurance.

5.  Knowledge: helps us to know God.

6.  Piety: proper reverence for God, helps us obey God out of love.

7.  Fear of the Lord: proper disdain for sin and awe of God’s goodness and love.

[1] https://www.catholic.com/qa/the-seven-gifts-of-the-holy-spirit

Pentecost Sunday - 23 May 2021

Selected paragraphs quoted from India Today [1]:

Pentecost is also called Whitsunday is celebrated on Sunday that falls on the 50th day of Easter. The name is derived from the Greek word "pentekoste" which means fiftieth as Pentecost Sunday takes place on the 50th day of Easter.

The earliest day, Pentecost Sunday took place was on May 10th (in 1818) and the latest possible date for Pentecost is June 13th (in 2038). This year the Pentecost Sunday will be observed on Sunday, May 23rd.

Quoted in part from Learn Religions [2]:

Pentecost Sunday is one of the most ancient feasts of the Church, celebrated early enough to be mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles (20:16) and Saint Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians (16:8). Pentecost is celebrated on the 50th day after Easter (if we count both Easter Sunday and Pentecost Sunday).

"In the church calendar, Pentecost is followed by ordinary time – a time of waiting and praying." [3]

[1] https://www.msn.com/en-in/news/other/when-is-pentecost-sunday-2021-everything-you-need-you-know/ar-BB1dnYnH

[2] https://www.learnreligions.com/what-is-pentecost-sunday-542478

[3] https://catholicoutlook.org/a-reflection-for-pentecost/, last sentence of the second to the last paragraph.

Quoting Francis I - Transcribed On YouTube - May 20, 2021

"The test (of politics) is the question of war.  The test of a nation's honor for me is: 'Do you produce arms for wars?  Do you make your wealth for others to kill each other?'  That's how we know whether a nation is morally sound." [1]

Narrator:  "Because of a connection problem, another of the Pope's comment was lost.  He expressed his disappointment in priests who bless weapons since they are instruments of death." [2]

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3dFLwQkH20, starting at around 1:18

[2] Ibid., starting at around 1:43.

Feast Day Of Our Lady Of Fatima - 13 May

[May 13, 2021,] marks the 104th anniversary of the apparition of Our Lady to three shepherd children in 1917 in the village of Fatima, Portugal. She appeared six times to Lucia, 9, and her cousins Francisco, 8, and his sister Jacinta, 6, between May 13, 1917 and October 13, 1917. [1]

Quoted in part from The Freeman [2]:

When our Lady appeared to the children, her 1917 messages mentioned her concerns about “the violent trials that would afflict the world by means of war, starvation, and the persecution of the Church and the Holy Father in the twentieth century if the world did not make reparation for sins. She exhorted the Church to pray and offer sacrifices to God in order that peace may come upon the world, and that the trials may be averted.”

It is of utmost urgency to note that until now, war, starvation, persecution of the Church and violent trials that Our Lady mentioned in 1917 are still present.

The pandemic is this world’s present greatest trial and challenge. Wars are still continuing in many countries and even in certain areas (see below).... Hunger, poverty, joblessness are affecting millions and the end of continuing, simultaneous crises still so remote and uncertain.

 

Selected paragraphs quoted, in no particular order, from an article dated May 13, 2021, from abc News [3]:

“It’s the same atmosphere of 2014,” Saud Abu Ramadan, a freelance journalist in Gaza City, said, referring to the bloody 7-week war that killed over 2,000 Palestinians, including hundreds of civilians, and inflicted widespread destruction on Gaza's infrastructure. “Warplanes are buzzing, and people are just trying to keep their heads down."

“This whole territory is a tiny place. It's a prison. Everywhere you go, you're a target,” al-Rayyes said by phone from a neighbor's house, where she sought refuge with her teenage sons and daughters and a few bags of clothes after the Israeli airstrike that she says came without warning.

“There is so much pain, but thank God the children have been through this before and they're strong,” said al-Rayyes, who fled her falling apartment in Gaza City. She corrected herself. “They're pretending to be strong.”

Re-quoting The Freeman  from above: "[Our Lady of Fatima] exhorted the Church to pray and offer sacrifices to God in order that peace may come upon the world, and that the trials may be averted."  What did the Church offer as sacrifices to God "in order that peace may come upon the world, and that the trials may be averted"?

Sadly, the Catholic Church is more interested in politics than anything else.  Without coming to any conclusion as to who is right or who is wrong (only God knows) "regarding the reception of Communion by prominent Catholics who promote abortion and euthanasia." [4]

Quoted from Catholics striving for holiness [5]:

For love of God, let us make sure that we are in the state of grace, that is, without any mortal sins, when we receive Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Holy Communion. Our Lord will be pleased with our Holy Communion, when our soul is clean from grave sins, which is possible only when we confess them, receive the sacramental absolution and fulfill the penance (Cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 291)

Otherwise, if we receive Our Lord without being in the state of grace, without having been absolved from our mortal sins through the Sacrament of Confession, we are committing another sin, that of sacrilege which “consists in profaning or treating unworthily the sacraments and other liturgical actions, as well as persons, things, or places consecrated to God. Sacrilege is a grave sin especially when committed against the Eucharist, for in this sacrament the true Body of Christ is made substantially present for us. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 2120” 

 

How many Catholics have actually confessed their sins and have not committed additional sins before receiving the Body of Christ in a state of grace?  Unlike public figures, they are not easily identifiable and the Church remains silent and does not care.

[1] https://www.mileschristi.org/feast-day-of-our-lady-of-fatima/

[2] https://www.philstar.com/the-freeman/opinion/2021/05/13/2097891/may-13-feast-our-lady-fatima

[3] https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/run-fear-gaza-grows-amid-conflict-israel-77662102

[4] https://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=50798

[5] https://catholicsstrivingforholiness.org/receive-holy-communion-only-when-in-the-state-of-grace/#:~:text=WE%20RECEIVE%20HOLY%20COMMUNION%20ONLY%20WHEN%20WE%20ARE,%28Cf.%20Catechism%20of%20the%20Catholic%20Church%2C%20n.%20291%29, quoted without emphasis of any kind.

The Solemnity Of The Lord's Ascension - 13 May 2021

"Ascension Day is officially celebrated on a Thursday on the 40th day of Easter (or 39 days after Easter Sunday)." [1]

Quoted in part from Catholic Culture [2]:

At first glance, the Ascension would seem to be a sad day. Christ in his human body is leaving the world for the last time. But we need to take our cues from the liturgy. This is a joyful feast; it is the fulfillment of Christ’s salvific mission. The Ascension is the final leg of the Paschal Mystery: Passion, Death, Resurrection and Ascension into heaven .... It is not until Jesus ascends and returns to His Father that His act of Redemption is completed. Our place in heaven is prepared at this feast—we will now share in Christ’s glory. 

"The observance of this feast is of great antiquity. Eusebius seems to hint at the celebration of it in the 4th century.  At the beginning of the 5th century, St. Augustine says that it is of Apostolic origin, and he speaks of it in a way that shows it was the universal observance of the Church long before his time." [3]

Passages quoted below are from Acts 1:8-11, Biblegateway (Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition) [4]:

[Y]ou shall receive the power of the Holy Ghost coming upon you, and you shall be witnesses unto me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and even to the uttermost part of the earth.

And when he had said these things, while they looked on, he was raised up: and a cloud received him out of their sight.

And while they were beholding him going up to heaven, behold two men stood by them in white garments.

Who also said: Ye men of Galilee, why stand you looking up to heaven? This Jesus who is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come, as you have seen him going into heaven.

[1] https://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/common/ascension-day#:~:text=Ascension%20Day%20is%20officially%20celebrated%20on%20a%20Thursday,is%20usually%20quiet%2C%20particularly%20in%20shops%20and%20offices.

[2] https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/solemnity-ascension-feast-who-was-thursday/

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feast_of_the_Ascension, quoted with reference and hyperlinks.

[4] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+1%3A8-11&version=DRA

Feast Day of Saint Philip and Saint James The Lesser - 11 May (Tridentine Calendar), 3 May (Reformed Calendar)

"Before the reform of the General Roman Calendar the Feast of Sts. Philip and James was celebrated on May 11." [1]

Quoted from catholicfaithpatronsaints.com [2]:

The feast day of St. James the Lesser and St. Philip is celebrated by the Church on the same day, May 3. They are both Apostles and martyrs.

St. Philip was also one of the original apostles. He was born in Bethsaida, Galilee and was a follower of John the Baptist. He was present at the multiplication of the loaves and fishes. He was also present at the Last Supper. During the Last Supper, it was Philip who asked Jesus to show them the Father. Jesus responded by teaching them about the unity of the Father and the Son. After the resurrection Philip preached in Greece and Syria. St. Philip died a martyr. He was crucified upside down at Hierapolis under the rule of Emperor Domitian.

St. Philip is the patron saint of cooks and bakers.

St. James the Lesser was one of the original twelve apostles. The title Lesser probably meant he was younger than James the Greater. James was a cousin of Jesus and brother to St. Jude Thaddeus. St James the Lesser was the first Bishop of Jerusalem. He was known for his devotion to the poor. He was beaten to death with a club while praying for his attackers.

St.James the Lesser is the patron saint of fullers and pharmacists.

 

More on Saint Philip, quoted from Catholic Culture [3]: 

The fourth Gospel gives the following detail: "The next day Jesus was about to leave for Galilee, and He found Philip. And Jesus said to him: Follow Me. Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the town of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael, and said to him: We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and the Prophets wrote, Jesus the Son of Joseph of Nazareth. And Nathanael said to him: Can anything good come out of Nazareth? Philip said to him: Come and see" (John 1:43ff) 

Still more on Saint Philip, quoted from Franciscan Media [4]:

Like the other apostles, Philip took a long time coming to realize who Jesus was. On one occasion, when Jesus saw the great multitude following him and wanted to give them food, he asked Philip where they should buy bread for the people to eat. Saint John comments, “[Jesus] said this to test him, because he himself knew what he was going to do” (Jn 6:6). Philip answered, “Two hundred days’ wages worth of food would not be enough for each of them to have a little [bit]” (Jn 6:7).

John’s story is not a put-down of Philip. It was simply necessary for these men who were to be the foundation stones of the Church to see the clear distinction between humanity’s total helplessness apart from God and the human ability to be a bearer of divine power by God’s gift.

On another occasion, we can almost hear the exasperation in Jesus’s voice. After Thomas had complained that they did not know where Jesus was going, Jesus said, “I am the way. If you know me, then you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him” (Jn 14:6a, 7). Then Philip said, “Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us” (Jn 14:8). Enough! Jesus answered, “Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (Jn 14:9a).

Possibly because Philip bore a Greek name or because he was thought to be close to Jesus, some gentile proselytes came to him and asked him to introduce them to Jesus. Philip went to Andrew, and Andrew went to Jesus. Jesus’s reply in John’s Gospel is indirect; Jesus says that now his “hour” has come, that in a short time he will give his life for Jew and gentile alike.

[1] https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2019-05-03

[2] http://catholicfaithpatronsaints.com/prayers-quips-and-quotes-st-philip-and-st-james-feast-day-may-3/, quoted without bold emphasis and hyperlinks.

[3] https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2019-05-03

[4] https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saints-philip-and-james