St. Michael the Archangel June 24, 2010
Posted by Tantumblogo in awesomeness, General Catholic.comments closed
Ever prayed the long version of the St. Michael prayer, which was composed by the awesome Pope Leo XIII after he had a vision? Here it is:
O glorious Archangel Saint Michael, Prince of the heavenly host, be our defense in the terrible warfare which we carry on against principalities and powers, against the rulers of this world of darkness, spirits of evil. Come to the aid of man, whom God created immortal, made in His own image and likeness, and redeemed at a great price from the tyranny of the devil. Fight this day the battle of our Lord, together with the holy angels, as already thou hast fought the leader of the proud angels, Lucifer, and his apostate host, who were powerless to resist thee, nor was there place for them any longer in heaven. That cruel, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil or Satan who seduces the whole world, was cast into the abyss with his angels. Behold this primeval enemy and slayer of men has taken courage. Transformed into an angel of light, he wanders about with all the multitude of wicked spirits, invading the earth in order to blot out the Name of God and of His Christ, to seize upon, slay, and cast into eternal perdition, souls destined for the crown of eternal glory. That wicked dragon pours out. as a most impure flood, the venom of his malice on men of depraved mind and corrupt heart, the spirit of lying, of impiety, of blasphemy, and the pestilent breath of impurity, and of every vice and iniquity. These most crafty enemies have filled and inebriated with gall and bitterness the Church, the spouse of the Immaculate Lamb, and have laid impious hands on Her most sacred possessions. In the Holy Place itself, where has been set up the See of the most holy Peter and the Chair of Truth for the light of the world, they have raised the throne of their abominable impiety with the iniquitous design that when the Pastor has been struck the sheep may be scattered. Arise then, O invincible Prince, bring help against the attacks of the lost spirits to the people of God, and give them the victory. They venerate thee as their protector and patron; in thee holy Church glories as her defense against the malicious powers of hell; to thee has God entrusted the souls of men to be established in heavenly beatitude. Oh, pray to the God of peace that He may put Satan under our feet, so far conquered that he may no longer be able to hold men in captivity and harm the Church. Offer our prayers in the sight of the Most High, so that they may quickly conciliate the mercies of the Lord; and beating down the dragon, the ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, do thou again make him captive in the abyss, that he may no longer seduce the nations. Amen.
- V: Behold the Cross of the Lord; be scattered ye hostile powers.
R: The Lion of the Tribe of Juda has conquered the root of David.
V: Let Thy mercies be upon us, O Lord.
R: As we have hoped in Thee.
V: O Lord hear my prayer.
R: And let my cry come unto Thee.V: Let us pray. O God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we call upon Thy holy Name, and as suppliants, we implore Thy clemency, that by the intercession of Mary, ever Virgin, immaculate and our Mother, and of the glorious Archangel Saint Michael, Thou wouldst deign to help us against Satan and all other unclean spirits, who wander about the world for the injury of the human race and the ruin of our souls. Amen.
That’s some heavy hitting stuff. We are always engaged in spiritual warfare – so put on your armor and grab your sword and get in the fight!
This prayer is a powerful weapon against the forces of darkness. I think it would be especially useful outside abortion mills.
A warning for parents June 24, 2010
Posted by Tantumblogo in foolishness, General Catholic, Society.comments closed
Joseph Bottum, the editor of the fantastic Catholic journal First Things, tells a sad and cautionary tale about a young girl going off to college in the mountain west. The girl, a wiry cowgirl from a ranch, attended college on a rodeo scholarship. The results were not good:
There are some real championship athletes on the rodeo circuit, and she wasn’t that. But she was good enough to get a minor riding scholarship to a school off on the other side of the state, joining the rodeo team of one of those big land-grant state universities that engulf midwestern and western towns. And she lasted less than a year. Three, four, maybe five months before she dropped out and turned up at home again, pregnant.
Not pretty enough to be a real target, her youth and her innocence were attractive enough to get her seduced and abandoned. She knew enough not to have an abortion—the pro-life creed is almost the only one that kids get, anymore, even out in the rural areas—but she didn’t have the sense or the character to keep it from happening in the first place, and nobody else was looking after her. She had a single talent: She sat a horse like a dream, and she thought that the school that had recruited her because of that talent would be her ticket to education and sophistication.
College let her down.
Bottum goes on to describe how virtually all colleges, public and private, try their very best to embrace the predominant culture of many of the “elite” universities – leftist political views, excessive political correctness and multiculturalism, sexual libertinism, and a staunch rejection of traditional Christian morality. Bottum’s main point is that the modern American collegiate experience has become one that is staid, tired, predictable, and, worst, ultimately destructive to many of the values of the many of the young people who attend them. I don’t disagree, but I think his concern that colleges are letting students down through their tolerance, if not trumpeting, of widespread, unconstrained bacchanalia, is misplaced. Yes, it would be nice to expect colleges to take a greater care of the young people in their charge (a responsibility that used to be taken very seriously), but since colleges were among the first institutions to reject traditional Christian morality, and have remained in the vanguard of this cultural dimunition, it would take a true miracle to expect the culture on most college campuses to change any time soon. They are what they are, and if you intend your children to get a college education, you better plan on forming them to deal with the culture on college campuses. This applies to religious schools as much as secular ones.
My oldest daughter is 10, and I’ve already had debates, both internally and with my wife, regarding when we should start forming a morality in her that will help her to realize that the path to true happiness is not through wanton sexualization and being a target for boy’s lust, but through keeping her sexuality as a great gift for her husband, or keeping it as a gift for God through a vocation. I think we need to start soon, based on some events I won’t go into. Don’t think that a 15 minute talk on the night before your son or daughter goes off to college will suffice – to fight the omnipresent decadence of modern American culture, it will take many years of forming in your child a Christian morality. I don’t say this to be preachy, I just know how I was in college and I want my kids to have a different experience and to avoid the self-inflicted pain I endured.
Michael Voris on Pope’s Demand to Bishops June 24, 2010
Posted by Tantumblogo in awesomeness, Dallas Diocese, General Catholic.comments closed
The Pope recently stated that the many bishops around the world, as those with the great responsiblity to shepherd the flock to the Truth of Christ and to support and defend the Faith, needed to use the rod of correction more frequently to reign in those Catholics who are placing themselves in grave jeopardy by departing from the doctrine of the Faith. Michael Voris, firebrand defender of the Faith, adds to the Pope’s imperative with his own comments:
I don’t think it unfair to characterize Voris’ claims that most bishops in the United States over the past several decades have been very reticent to employ the staff of correction as being accurate. One would think there would be some happy medium, where the current licentiousness seen through the prolifieration of high profile individuals and groups who publically denounce aspects of the faith would be riened in, and with cool dispatch, but not to the point where we have public trials of heretics and burnings at the stake. The Church is harmed by the public “witness” of people like Nancy Pelosi and Joe Biden, whose high profile and public rejection of core doctrines of the Faith seems to imply that either acceptance of these doctrines is optional, or that there is some alternative magisterium that has empowered itself to define the Faith for itself. Furthermore, numerous dissident individuals and groups, nominally within the Church, cause perhaps even more extensive damage, be they “cafeteria Catholic” groups like Catholics for a Free Choice, Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, or Call to Action, or “dissident” theologians such as Charles Curran, Thomas Keating, or Hans Kung. All of these individuals and groups have specifically rejected, in print on numerous occasions, core doctrines that are defined in the Catechism as being matters that must be accepted by all Catholics. They are not subject to debate or revision. And yet, for the most part, their rejection of the Faith has gone unchallenged from their local ordinaries in virtually all cases, and in the few cases discipline has been applied, it has had to come from Rome.
Those are more or less the facts. I am sure there are those who would say I am some self-appointed arbiter of discipline in the Church. Perhaps. Leaving such criticism aside, I pray that the leadership in the Church, which bears such an awesome responsibility for the souls in their charge, will consider Pope Benedict’s words. I think there is great wisdom therein. The Pope is not just the first among equals. The Pope is the Supreme Pontiff and leader of the Church, given the authority granted to Peter by Christ when He said in Matthew, the first chronological Gospel, that “Blessed art thou Simon Bar-Jona: because flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but my Father who is in heaven. And I say to thee: That thou art Peter (Cephas), and upon this rock (cephas) I will build my church. And the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Matt 16:17-18, Douay Reims). The Pope’s words, therefore, while not spoken with all the authority of his office, deserve very special consideration, and should be followed in principle.
Sharon Lee Giganti Tonight June 24, 2010
Posted by Tantumblogo in Dallas Diocese, General Catholic, scandals, Society.comments closed
Sharon Lee Giganti, an expert on the grave dangers of New Age practices, is speaking tonight at the Frontiers of Flight Museum at Love Field. You can still get tickets here.
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