Wednesday, MAY 29, 2013 (may29.htm)

Day 32

On the twenty-ninth day of May the flower presented to Our Lady is the ASTER with the corresponding Virtue being GOODNESS. The Aster is named for the Greek aster which means star and the blooming herbs of the Aster with the showy daisy-like flowers blooms in the Fall, shining amongst the changing foliage which is losing its leaves. Appropriately Goodness shines through when others lose their luster. Goodness is what the Blessed Mother cherishes so much in her Divine Son's children for Goodness is the foundation of a sincere heart and a pure soul. There are but two days left this month to pray the Devotion of The Little Crown of the Twelve Stars of the Blessed Virgin Mary

click above to go to past issues over the last nine months

The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary.

R. And she conceived of the Holy Ghost.

(Hail Mary)

V. Behold the handmaid of the Lord.

R. Be it done unto me according to Thy word.

(Hail Mary)

(genuflect) V. And the Word was made flesh.

R. And dwelt among us.

(Hail Mary)

V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.

R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

V.Let us pray.

All Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts, that we to whom the Incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His resurrection. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

V. Angelus Domini nuntiavit Mariae.

R. Et concepit de Spiritu Sancto.

(Ave Maria)

V. Ecce ancilla Domini.

R. Fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum.

(Ave Maria)

(genuflect) V. Et Verbum caro factum est.

R. Et habitavit in nobis.

(Ave Maria)

V. Ora pro nobis, sancta Dei Genitrix.

R. Ut digni efficiamur promissionibus Christi.

V. Oremus.

All Gratiam tuam, quaesumus Domine, mentibus nostris infunde: ut qui, Angelo nuntiante, Christi Filii tui incarnationem cognovimus, per passionem ejus et crucem ad resurrectionis gloriam perducamur. Per eumdem Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.

The Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Lord have mercy on us,
   Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, hear us.
   Christ, graciously hear us.
God, the Father of Heaven,
   have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God,
   have mercy on us.
God, the Son, Redeemer of the world,
   have mercy on us.
God, the Holy Ghost,
   have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God,
   have mercy on us.
Holy Mary, * pray for us.
Holy Mother of God, *
Holy, Virgin of virgins, *
Mother of Christ, *
Mother of divine grace, *
Mother most pure, *
Mother most chaste, *
Mother inviolate, *
Mother undefiled, *
Mother most amiable, *
Mother most admirable, *
Mother of good counsel, *
Mother of our Creator, *
Mother of our Savior, *
Virgin most prudent, *
Virgin most venerable, *
Virgin most renowned, *
Virgin most powerful, *
Virgin most merciful, *
Virgin most faithful, *
Mirror of justice, *
Seat of wisdom, *
Cause of our joy, *
Spiritual vessel, *
Vessel of honor, *
Singular vessel of devotion, *
Mystical rose, *
Tower of David, *
Tower of ivory, *
House of gold, *
Ark of the covenant, *
Gate of Heaven, *
Morning star, *
Health of the sick, *
Refuge of sinners, *
Comforter of the afflicted, *
Help of Christians, *
Queen of angels, *
Queen of patriarchs, *
Queen of prophets, *
Queen of Apostles, *
Queen of martyrs, *
Queen of confessors, *
Queen of virgins, *
Queen of all saints, *
Queen conceived without original sin, *
Queen assumed into Heaven, *
Queen of the most holy Rosary, *
Queen of peace, *

  Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,spare us, O Lord.
  Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord.
  Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,have mercy on us.

V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.
R. That we may be worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray.

Grant unto us, Thy servants, we beseech Thee, O Lord God, at all times to enjoy health of soul and body; and by the glorious intercession of Blessed Mary, ever virgin, when freed from the sorrows of this present life, to enter into that joy which hath no end. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Fatima Prayers

My God, I believe, I adore, I trust and I love Thee; and I beg pardon for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not trust, and do not love Thee. (repeat the above 3 times then bow your head in reciting the following:)

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

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

O my Jesus, it is for love of Thee, in reparation for the offenses committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary and for the conversion of poor sinners.

Pray for the Sick

Pray for the Dearly Departed Souls

Click image above

To assist all in striving toward holiness, click on the Confessional to your right to review your transgressions through a thorough Examination of Conscience

Griff Ruby extends this series because it's necessary to ask the questions that are so obvious and yet so few are willing to ask them because they are blind to the obvious. It's kind of like the elephant in the room, but most don't see it or want to see it for fear they'll have to face the truth. There are the innocent who just overlook something because their mind is on other matters or a routine has been altered or they've been taught or indoctrinated in such a way as to miss the obvious. But the obvious is something we can no longer ignore and that is that the

Church is in the time foretold in Sacred Scripture, the time of the "abomination of desolation", the time of the Great Apostasy. To deny that is to deny the obvious. For too long now the blind have led the blind on the conciliar cliff to the edge of the abyss. Only the true priests and bishops can save them. It's time to take off the blinders and see, really see that they alone have the authority and jurisdiction necessary for the salvation of souls. A Cognitive Failure of Blindness

Thanks to Traditional Catholic Sermons we are able to bring you an eleven-minute sermon by Bishop Daniel Dolan for the feast of the holy Bishop St. Augustine of Canterbury who followed Our Lord's charge to go and preach the gospel to the whole world. Augustine was sent by Pope St. Gregory the Great to England in fulfillment of his promise to Anglo slave children that he would turn them into angels.

Sure enough Augustine with forty monks headed for the British Isles even though they were dissuaded by the French bishops. Though Augustine had doubts, he was determined after St. Gregory re-encouraged him. Sure enough, in obedience, Augustine went forward and through the grace of God and divine Providence the king converted and soon after Christianity spread throughout the land thanks to this holy bishop known as the "Apostle of England" as His Excellency relates in his sermon on being obedient with the example of St. Augustine of Canterbury

Today is Day Seven in preparation for the First Class Feast of Corpus Christi, a special day set aside for acknowledging the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, i.e., the TRUE PRESENCE, Which is possible only when a true priest confects the bread and wine in a canonized apostolic Mass of All Ages - the Traditional Latin Mass, known throughout the ages as the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and not to be confused with the newfangled man-made Novus Ordo rite which, and those who are not aware please be seated when you read this - CANNOT confect the True Presence in the Blessed Sacrament! Pray that more men, who thought they were actual priests, will realize this and contact a traditional bishop to correct this grave error. There should be a mad exodus of conservative Novus Ordo presbyters with the Public Heresy proclaimed by Mr. Bergoglio the unFrancis that all are redeemed, totally nullifying the Dogma that Outside the Church there is no Salvation (Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus). We'd all best pray harder and now is a good time with this Novena in preparation for Corpus Christi

Day 31

On the twenty-eighth day of May the flower offered to Our Lady as Queen of the May is the HONEYSUCKLE with the corresponding Virtue of CONFIDENCE IN GOD. The honeysuckle, a member of the columbine family is a sweet plant of long spurred flowers that resemble almost a trumpet like shape, trumpeting the Confidence in God. From the amazing floral display thus far in May, we can see the beauty He has created and this should spur on confidence in Him alone. Nothing, however is more beautiful to His beautiful Blessed Mother than a pure soul arrayed in grace. With only a few days left in Mary's month of May, let us not neglect the Devotion of The Little Crown of the Twelve Stars of the Blessed Virgin Mary

We offered our prayers and congratulations on Monday the blessed occasion of the twenty-fifth anniversary of ordination to the priesthood for identical twin brothers Father Dominic Radecki, CMRI and Father Francisco Radecki, CMRI. These Toledo-born brothers have been able to stretch out their Silver Jubilee with a celebration at Fr. Dominic's parish of Queen of Angels in Santa Clarita, California last Sunday on Pentecost with Fr. Francisco flying in from Michigan to be there and yesterday Fr. Dominic made sure to be at his brother's Mass to celebrate Trinity Sunday in Fr. Francisco's St. Joseph's parish in Wayne, Michigan. Besides being loyal consecrated members of the Congregation of Mary Immaculate Queen since their ordination at Mount St. Michael's on May 27, 1988, they are also the very successful authors of a landmark work that has opened the eyes of many a Catholic as to where the true Church truly exists and why every Catholic must flee the "abomination of desolation" which is the Novus Ordo. They lay out the history of the Church and the glaring heresies of the Vatican II church in their masterpiece book Tumultuous Times

How appropriate that the Radecki brothers were ordained on the feast of the holy historian St. Bede the Venerable for they followed in his footsteps in tracing the history of the Church right up to the present with their book. Yes, today is St. Bede's feast day and while the first step to sainthood is making one "venerable" the title of Saint Bede the Venerable means so much more for he was the illustrious ornament of the Anglo-Saxon Church and its very first historian. Considered the Father of English History, he was the first to date events as in the "Year of Our Lord" - Anno Domini (A.D.) and would be appalled today to hear that the Modernist secularists want to make it A.C.E. (After the Common Era)in doing away with any reference to Christ whatsoever, all part of the anti-Catholic agenda to de-Christianize America thoroughly. That is the Masonic creed which Bede would never have stood for. St. Bede was officially named a Doctor of the Church by Pope Leo XIII. Considered a Father of the Church, he was the Benedictines' jewel and is often called The Holy Historian

Thanks to Traditional Catholic Sermons we are able to bring you a six- minute sermon by Bishop Daniel Dolan for the feast of the holy priest and Doctor of the Church St. Bede the Venerable who wrote the

history of the Church in the English language and chronicled how the Anglo-Saxon culture was influenced by the Catholic Faith. He was one who counseled all to never waste time and take time to pray for we never know the time. He was so holy that he was called "venerable" before his death, thus his title to this day as His Excellency relates in his sermon on St. Bede the Venerable

Today is Day Six in preparation for the First Class Feast of Corpus Christi, a special day set aside for acknowledging the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, i.e., the TRUE PRESENCE, Which is possible only when a true priest confects the bread and wine in a canonized apostolic Mass of All Ages - the Traditional Latin Mass, known throughout the ages as the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and not to be confused with the newfangled man-made Novus Ordo rite which, and those who are not aware please be seated when you read this - CANNOT confect the True Presence in the Blessed Sacrament! Pray that more men, who thought they were actual priests, will realize this and contact a traditional bishop to correct this grave error. There should be a mad exodus of conservative Novus Ordo presbyters with the Public Heresy proclaimed by Mr. Bergoglio the unFrancis that all are redeemed, totally nullifying the Dogma that Outside the Church there is no Salvation (Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus). We'd all best pray harder and now is a good time with this Novena in preparation for Corpus Christi

Corpus Christi

Day 30

On the twenty-seventh day of May the flower offered to Our Lady as Queen of the May is the VERBENA with the corresponding Virtue of PRUDENCE. Bouquets of peachy-pink verbena, often grown in tropical and sub-tropical areas, are often mixed with the sacred boughs of laurel, olive or myrtle plants which are prized and intended to be cultivated just as the soul strives to manage itself by upholding all moral propriety and modesty, presenting itself before God as a victor over sin. How appropriate that it falls on the feast of St. Bede the Venerable for the holy monk was most prudent in documenting the history of the Church in England and establishing Christ in the annals of history with Anno Domini. With only a few days left in Mary's month of May, let us not neglect the Devotion of The Little Crown of the Twelve Stars of the Blessed Virgin Mary

John Gregory provides the commentary for Trinity Sunday from Father George Leo Haydock found in many Douay-Rheims version of the New Testament. In the short, but powerfully poignant and pertinent paragraphs from our Lord's mouth in His final assurance of His protection in today's Gospel we have all we need to debunk all Protestant argumentation for Scriptura sola or Fidei sola. Their rationalizations are heresy for the Word alone will not save you, nor will Faith alone, but rather those combined through the Sacraments for only through being in the state of Sanctifying Grace can we hope to achieve Heaven. We arrive at the sacraments through Faith and we learn Faith through the Word. Consider, if you will, a three-legged stool (ideal analogy for Trinity Sunday). If one of those legs are missing the stool cannot stand. To know Jesus is to love Him and obey Him by following all He commands. "Behold I am with you all days"

The Athanasian Creed, attributed to Saint Athanasius, also know as the Quicumque vult, was formerly recited at the office of Prime on Sundays and Trinity Sunday is the time when we renew our commitment to our Faith and the dogma Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus - "Outside the Church There is No Salvation." The Athanasian Creed is one of the four authoritative Creeds of Holy Mother Church and is not something that is an opinion but what every Roman Catholic must believe. That includes those who subscribe to Vatican II. Oh, wait, their boss just announced that such a dogma no longer exists and all are saved. If that is not blasphemous blatant heresy, then we're in more trouble than we thought. St. Athanasius must be rolling over in his grave as we see Our Lady's words at LaSalette become a reality: "Rome will lose the Faith and become the seat of the Antichrist." Yes, Francis, you have fulfilled the prophesy. God help us all! Don't believe the CONciLIAR'S words. Believe St. Athanasius and pray the Athanasian Cread

With today being Trinity Sunday, we present a feature on the Mystery of the Triune Divinity installment in a series that will resume shortly once we get into June. It is an effort to return to basics since too often we all make the holy Faith complicated, whereas in reality the truths and traditions of the Catholic Faith are quite simple. God doesn't complicate things, man does. We must take things on faith and the Blessed Trinity is the greatest Mystery there is. Yet, it is the most august of mysteries. And we know so because we proclaim this in the Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed and in all we do as Catholics in daily saying the Act of Faith, "We believe these and all the truths which the holy Catholic Church teaches, because Thou hast revealed them, Who canst neither deceive nor be deceived.". We believe in the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, The Blessed Trinity

Today on Trinity Sunday we observe Day Five in preparation for the First Class Feast of Corpus Christi, a special day set aside for acknowledging the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, i.e., the TRUE PRESENCE, Which is possible only when a true priest confects the bread and wine in a canonized apostolic Mass of All Ages - the Traditional Latin Mass, known throughout the ages as the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and not to be confused with the newfangled man-made Novus Ordo rite which, and those who are not aware please be seated when you read this - CANNOT confect the True Presence in the Blessed Sacrament! Pray that more men, who thought they were actual priests, will realize this and contact a traditional bishop to correct this grave error. There should be a mad exodus of conservative Novus Ordo presbyters with the Public Heresy proclaimed by Mr. Bergoglio the unFrancis that all are redeemed, totally nullifying the Dogma that Outside the Church there is no Salvation (Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus). We'd all best pray harder and now is a good time with this Novena in preparation for Corpus Christi

Day 29

On the twenty-sixth day of May the flower offered to Our Lady as Queen of the May is the PRIMROSE with the corresponding Virtue being LOVE OF LABOR. Interesting that the primrose would represent the love of work for it is the primrose path which represents sensual pleasure and is most often associated with the path to perdition. Conversely it is the narrow and straight path to Heaven which fosters a love of labor out of a sincere love for God and total humility. Perhaps the primrose, not actually a rose, is presented for it typifies the plentitude of multicolor flowers that are produced through tender loving care by the love of labor for it takes time and work to cultivate a garden of primroses. So also it takes time and work to cultivate virtue but the result is more colorful and splendid to the soul and to Our Lord and Our Lady than any flower, no matter how beautiful the primrose bouquets can be, made all the more beautiful with the Devotion of The Little Crown of the Twelve Stars of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Thanks to Traditional Catholic Sermons we are able to bring you an eleven minute sermon by Bishop Daniel Dolan for the feast of the holy priest St. Philip Neri, whose feast this year is superseded by Trinity Sunday. Few saints were as enthralled and in love with the Holy Trinity and the Mother of God as the holy mystic St. Philip who received visions from Heaven as he gave of himself fully to the divine will and would take hours to say holy Mass for he was in ecstasy in prayer. Yet, he always expressed how joyful he was rather than retreating as a contemplative for he was on fire with the love of God and preached the true Faith without compromise in imparting how the faithful should be as joyful as he was as His Excellency explains in his sermon on St. Philip Neri

There are many devotions we can practice throughout the day, but one of the most efficacious of these, besides the holy Rosary, is the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary which Karl D. Keller is anxious to share with all. There are various versions - long ones and short ones -

dedicated to Our Lady and it is the intention here to share the approved devotion with Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur from over a century ago with readers. Here Karl presents the the fifth hour of the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary: Sext, which means "six" and is actually the halfway point of the day at the height of the sun at noon. Every three hours an office is said and thus, despite the nomenclature of six, this is the actually known as the "Fifth Hour" and said at noon which marks 12 hours since Matins and until Matins. The sun is at its highest and, before lunch, we take time to say the Angelus and then immediately follow with the Office of Sext, the third of the four short offices called "The Little Hours" and yet it is called Sext - the Fifth Hour

Thanks to Traditional Catholic Sermons we are able to bring you an eleven minute sermon by Bishop Daniel Dolan for the feast of Pope St. Gregory VII, who was the holy monk Hildebrand. He chose the name Gregory after Pope St. Gregory the Great and set out to tackle reforms for the clergy in re-establishing celibacy and rid the Church of simony as well as taking on the biggest obstacle of his time - lay investiture in his battles with Emperor Henry IV, a life long antagonist who finally submitted to Gregory at Canossa, but three years later Henry marched into Rome and Gregory was forced to flee to the Benedictine Monastery in Monte Cassino. Though he restored respect and the dignity of the Papacy, he died in exile at Salerno, never receiving the accolades he deserved until after his death. His Excellency fills us in on today's saint Pope St. Gregory VII

Today is Day Four in preparation for the First Class Feast of Corpus Christi, a special day set aside for acknowledging the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, i.e., the TRUE PRESENCE, Which is possible only when a true priest confects the bread and wine in a canonized apostolic Mass of All Ages - the Traditional Latin Mass, known throughout the ages as the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and not to be confused with the newfangled man-made Novus Ordo rite which, and those who are not aware please be seated when you read this - CANNOT confect the True Presence in the Blessed Sacrament! Pray that more men, who thought they were actual priests, will realize this and contact a traditional bishop to correct this grave error. There should be a mad exodus of conservative Novus Ordo presbyters with the Public Heresy proclaimed by Mr. Bergoglio the unFrancis that all are redeemed, totally nullifying the Dogma that Outside the Church there is no Salvation (Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus). We'd all best pray harder and now is a good time with this Novena in preparation for Corpus Christi

Day 28

On the twenty-fifth day of May the flower offered to Our Lady as Queen of the May is the DAFFODIL with the corresponding Virtue being DEVOTION TO MARY. The lovely yellow or white daffodil signals the fullness of Spring just as Our Lady's fulfillment of God's holy Will signaled the fullness of redemption through her Divine Son. Because She is the Living Tabernacle for the Son of God, it is only natural that we show her the very same respect Christ did and shower her with prayers of intercession and with spiritual daffodils in thanksgiving for what was the true "New Springtime" the Passion, Death and Resurrection of the One Who conquered sin and death for us. One way to honor her, beside her holy Rosary, is the Devotion of The Little Crown of the Twelve Stars of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Today is the traditional feast of Mary, Help of Christians. The invocation Auxilium Christianorum (Help of Christians) originated in the sixteenth century and was added to the Litany of Loreto by His Holiness Pope St. Pius V following the victorious Battle of Lepanto. This feast was instituted for May 24 by His Holiness Pope Pius VII. Though not a feast on the universal calendar it is celebrated at various places throughout the world where, for instance Mary, Help of Christians is the patronal

feast of Australia and a double of the first class with an octave leading to the Queenship of Mary is celebrated with great splendor. This feast has also attained special celebrity since St. Don Bosco, founder of the Salesian Congregation, dedicated to Our Lady, Help of Christians, the mother church of his congregation at Turin. The Salesian Fathers have carried the devotion to their numerous establishments. Piety is synonymous with Our Lady and the saints and it is the focus today for Friday in Pentecost Week; for while Auxilium Christianorum remains a traditional feast, in America today we observe Ember Friday with the Mass Repleatur os meum

Day 27

On the twenty-fourth day of May the flower is the RED POPPY with the corresponding Virtue being FERVOR. The hairy-herbed red poppy, though coveted for its opium by those who reject its beauty and look to use it for the means of mammon, emits a milky juice that has been used for authentic medicinal purposes to heal the body. But it is the fervor of its elixir spiritually that drives the virtue of fervor to heal the soul and therein lies the true beauty of the Red Poppy offered to Our Lady in Mary's May. Only a week left to offer her a bouquet with the Devotion of The Little Crown of the Twelve Stars of the Blessed Virgin Mary

In tribute to both Tim and his dear daughter Maria we republish here what is both a tribute by Maria's father Timothy A. Duff and a reminder that, amid all the sorrow, life goes on and that we had best heed Our Lady's warning at Fatima. In this case, the good died young, but each of us will have to account for our lives. Tim graced these pages for a few years with his feature Fiat Voluntas Dei in which he wrote on The Mystical City of God among other inspirational pieces. This piece was first published on Christ or chaos a few days ago and we run it here in honor of Maria and in respect for Tim and Eileen and their family. Maria died at the tender age of 16 from Pompe Disease on Saturday, May 11 and was buried on May 14 in St. John the Baptist Cemetery in Harrison, Ohio following a Requiem Mass at St. Gertrude the Great. She had been on a feeding tube since 1999 and suffered greatly over her short lifetime in dealing with this debilitating disease that attacked her muscles and her heart, as well as her respiratory system. We extend our deepest condolences to the entire family and assure them of our prayers for the repose of the soul of Maria and her older brother Joseph, who died of the same affliction in 1993. May the Duff family and all who mourn the death of their children be consoled in the knowledge of Our Lord's loving words: "Suffer the little children to come to Me, and forbid them not: for such is the kingdom of God." Following is Tim's words on Maria: An Image of An Angel and of the Devil

Following up on part two of John Gregory's series on the Mystical Body of Christ, it is necessary now to identify who can be considered within the Church and it may not be as narrow as some might think such as Feeneyites, yet not as wide as others such as Modernists have proffered via the reforms of Vatican II. To realize who is eligible to be included in the visible Church, let us turn to the brilliant, late esteemed theologian Monsignor Joseph Clifford Fenton to guide us on not jumping to conclusions and realizing that the

wisdom imparted by the holy cardinal St. Robert Bellarmine and his masterful piece-de-resistance titled De ecclesia militante still holds true despite the dangers of Modernists and those who would venture towards that kind of thinking, in particular a Father Charles Journet who objected to St. Bellarmine's assessment. Monsignor Fenton exposes the dangers in Fr. Journet's 'Concept of the Church'. for as the esteemed theologian points out: desire and blood definitely do come into play as to membership and, therefore, passengers on the Ark of Salvation. Membership In and Visibility of the Church

We remain in the Octave Week of Pentecost, and today we focus on the Gift of Knowledge. The Lesson from the Acts describes the joy which filled the people of Samaria when the deacon Philip preached the Gospel and worked miracles among them. This joy is a gift of the Holy Ghost. If the world nowadays is more than ever before restless and eager for amusements, it shows that it has none of the joy and consolation of the divine Paraclete, for which it has become unworthy by its resistance to His grace. For today's Mass see Spiritus Domini.

Day 26

On the twenty-third day of May the flower offered to Our Lady as Queen of the May is the BLUEBELL with the corresponding Virtue being DESIRE FOR HEAVEN. The delicate bell-shaped flower which grows on many continents and belongs both to the hyacinth and columbine genus, is symbolic of the church bells that clarion souls to come to Holy Mass or to pray the Angelus, or during Paschaltide the Regina Coeli. The reason for prayer is not for socializing, but for turning our attention to God and the purpose of desiring things not of this earth, but of Heaven. The Bluebell's delicate shell chimes quietly in a whispy wind reminding us of God's call to focus on our end goal - our Desire for Heaven, possible only through adherence to all Christ has taught and established in the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church He founded. It is a magnificent flower to offer to Mary whose entire life was focused on a Desire for Heaven and bringing God's children to that same goal. What a wonderful flower to offer her during her month of May with the Devotion of The Little Crown of the Twelve Stars of the Blessed Virgin Mary

In Book Four of Chapter Forty of the Prophesies and Revelations of the holy mystic St. Bridget of Sweden, Christ assures the bride that a woman who was very sick would not die. When she did, Bridget was confused but Our Lord assured her that those who die in the temporal sense do not die in the eternal sense for one's death can indeed save one from a fate worse than death, which would be eternal damnation. It gives us

pause to contemplate on this in the aftermath of the terrible devastation in Oklahoma and, considering the total annihilation of a community, only 24 died. That is indeed providential and why suffering is part and parcel in our journey toward Heaven for Jesus tells Bridget why He makes it difficult because there is merit in a Christian death and in what way a person dies well or badly does not always indicate how one lived for the true friends of God should not be troubled if they see God's servants dying a harsh bodily death. Pray for the repose of their soul at all times for we should not assume one went straight to Heaven since Heading to Heaven is Hard

Today is Ember Wednesday within the Octave of Pentecost and the Mass bears a festival character; at one time the Ember fast was postponed for a few weeks. Pope St. Gregory VII re-established the Ember Days in their proper place, but the festal tone of the Office was retained. The contrast between today's fast and the Gospel lesson in which Jesus offers Himself as the bread of eternal life is very opportune. Man does not live by bread alone, but has an absolute need of the Word of God, without Whom this earthly existence is as a day without light, an empty pretence of life, a gloomy image of death. For today's Mass see Deus, dum egregrederis.

Day 25