What Moe says

John-Henry Westen is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of LifeSiteNews. He and Steve Jalsevac have done tremendous work on behalf of all of us in the matters of life, family and culture. Recently, John-Henry spoke at the Bringing America Back to Life conference in Ohio. John's bio begins with "He and his wife Dianne and their eight children live in the Ottawa Valley."

I had a chuckle after reading that, as LifeSiteNews was once mocked and dismissed for being run out of some basement in the Ottawa Valley.

Well, with 60,000,000 readers; all I have to say, is, that's one heck of a basement operation!

The Toronto Star has closed its massive robotic printing plant. Newspapers around the world are doing the same and slimming down and going bankrupt. The media has changed. You don't need to read the manufactured stories and fake news that the elites want to shove down your throats.

The truth is out there, you just have to click for it and use your mind to discern.

It causes some to seethe with anger, jealousy and rage.

Just as this blog has done as the readers still keep on coming and we approach 3,600,000. Small in comparison to LifeSiteNews and OnePeterFive, to be sure, but not an embarassing or insignificant number considering it is run from a leather lazy boy in the family room.

Quod scripsi, scripsi.

Now back to those who rage and seethe; do you want to confound them even more?

Give to LifeSiteNews.

And listen to this talk by John-Henry.

John-Henry Westen | Bringing America Back to Life

Where are the Franciscan men such as John of Capistrano?

Let us pray.

O God, Who by Thy blessed servant John didst cause Thy faithful people, through the power of the most Holy Name of Jesus, to prevail against the enemies of His Cross, grant unto us, we beseech Thee, the help of the prayers of the same Thy servant that we may prevail against our ghostly enemies, and may be made worthy to receive from Thee a crown of righteousness. Through Jesus Christ, thy Son our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the same Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end.

Amen.

Let us take a look at the Reading from Matins for today in the true Roman Rite.

What would those who lead the Church think today about this politically incorrect warrior of Jesus Christ?

Painting of St. John of Capistrano commissioned by Blessed Junipero Serra

This John was born at Capistrano, in the Abruzzi. He was educated at Perugia, and became so expert in letters, both sacred and profane, that on account of his eminent knowledge of law, Ladislaus, King of Naples, set him over several cities. He was seeking in righteousness to bring the affairs of these places out of trouble into peace, when he himself was kidnapped and put in chains. From this captivity he marvellously escaped, and then professed himself a Friar Minor under the rule of Francis of Assisi. Here he went forward in the study of divinity, and had as a teacher the holy Bernardine of Sienna, of whom he was one of the most marked followers, especially in spreading abroad the honour paid to the Most Holy Name of Jesus, and to the Mother of God. The bishopric of Aquila was offered to him, but he refused it. He was chiefly known by the hardship of his self-denial, and by the writings which he published in large numbers for the reform of manners.

He devoted himself without ceasing to the preaching of the Word of God, in the which work he travelled throughout nearly all Italy, and by the power of eloquence and of miracles not a few, he recalled souls almost countless into the path of salvation. Martin V. appointed him Inquisitor to stamp out the sect of the Fraticelli. Nicolas V. appointed him Inquisitor General in Italy against Judaism and Mohammadanism, and he brought many such misbelievers to believe in Christ. He did much good work in the affairs of the Eastern Church, and at the Council of Florence, wherein he shone like a sun, he brought back the Armenians to the Catholic church. The same Pope Nicolas V., at the request of the Emperor Frederick III., sent him into Germany as Nuncio of the Apostolic See, in order that he might bring back the heretics to the Catholic faith and the minds of the princes to peace and agreement. He did a wonderful work for God's glory during the six years that he laboured in Germany and other countries, and by his teaching of the truth and the striking evidence of his miracles brought back to the bosom of the Church almost countless numbers of Hussites, Adamites, Taborites, and Jews.

It was mainly at the entreaty of John that Calistus III. proclaimed a Crusade, and John hastened about through Pannonia and other provinces, where by his words and his letters he so roused the minds of princes to that holy war, that in a short while seventy thousand Christian soldiers were enrolled. It was mainly through his advice and by his power that victory was gained at Belgrade, when one hundred and twenty thousand Turks were either slain or put to flight. The news of this victory reached Rome upon the sixth day of August, and Pope Calistus thereupon consecrated that day for ever to the solemn commemoration of the transfiguration of the Lord Christ. As John lay sick unto death at Illak, many princes came to see him, and he exhorted them to protect religion. He gave up his soul in holiness to God, (upon the 23rd day of October,) in the year of salvation 1456. God confirmed his glory by many miracles after his death, and when these had been duly proved Alexander VIII. enrolled his name with those of the saints in the year 1690, and two hundred years after his canonization Leo XIII. extended his Office and Mass to the whole Church.

A crime against Our Lord Jesus Christ

Atonement in San Antonio - why would a Catholic there go anywhere else?

In Toronto, you can find the Ordinariate at St. Thomas More parish at St. Vincent de Paul Church on Roncesvalles, Divine Worship is Sunday at 12:30.

Hymns of the Annunciation

The Office of the Annunciation

From Matins.

The God whom earth, and sea, and sky

Adore, and laud, and magnify,

Who o'er their threefold fabric reigns,

The Virgin's spotless womb contains.

The God, whose will by moon and sun

And all things in due course is done,

Is borne upon a maiden's breast,

By fullest heavenly grace possest,

How blest that mother, in whose shrine

The great artificer divine,

Whose hand contains the earth and sky,

Vouchsafed, as in his ark, to lie.

Blest, in the message Gabriel brought;

Blest, by the work the Spirit wrought;

From whom the great desire of earth

Took human flesh and human birth.

All honour, laud, and glory be,

O Jesu, Virgin-born to thee;

All glory, as is ever meet,

To Father and to Paraclete.

Amen.

From Lauds.

O glorious lady! throned on high

Above the star-illumined sky;

Thereto ordained, thy bosom lent

To thy creator nourishment

Through thy sweet offspring we receive

The bliss once lost through hapless Eve;

And heaven to mortals open lies

Now thou art portal of the skies.

Thou art the door of heaven's high King,

Light's gateway fair and glistering;

Life through a virgin is restored;

Ye ransomed nations, praise the Lord!

All honour, laud, and glory be,

O Jesu, Virgin-born, to thee;

All glory, as is ever meet,

To Father and to Paraclete.

Amen.

From Vespers.

Ave, star of ocean,

Child divine who barest,

Mother, ever-virgin,

Heaven's portal fairest.

Taking that sweet Ave

Erst by Gabriel spoken,

Eva's name reversed,

Be of peace the token.

Break the sinners' fetters,

Light to blind restoring,

All our ills dispelling,

Every boon imploring.

Show thyself a mother

In thy supplication;

He will hear who chose thee

At his incarnation.

Maid all maids excelling,

Passing meek and lowly,

Win for sinners pardon,

Make us chaste and holy.

As we onward journey

Aid our weak endeavour,

Till we gaze on Jesus

And rejoice forever.

Father, Son, and Spirit,

Three in One confessing,

Give we equal glory

Equal praise and blessing.

Amen.

The Angel Gabriel

Today is March 24. it is the Eve of the Annunciation of the Lord. There is no Mass for the Vigil of the Annunciation. We are in Lent and in the proper Rite of the Mass in the Latin Church, all Lenten days have their own liturgy. This is supplanted only by First Class Feasts, in which case there is still a Commemoration, a second Collect. Secret (Offertory Prayer or "Prayer over the Gifts"" and a Postcommunion.

Before the modernist liturgical butchers got together to destroy our religious patriomony and liturgical clock, this was the feast of St. Gabriel the Archangel. Now, Gabriel and Raphael, who also had his own day, are combined with Michael in the modernist rite on September 29.

Do you see the pattern?

We had St. Joseph, today is the Angel Gabriel and tomorrow, the Incarnation of the Lord is given to our sweet Mary at her Annunciation?

It all makes so much sense, it is all so Catholic.

Will you fight with all that is in you to bring it back?

A little bit of Christmas, in March. ...

 Chapter Hymn Verse {from the Proper of Saints}

Dan 9:21-22

Behold, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation; and he informed me, and talked with me, and said: O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding.

R. Thanks be to God.

Hymn

O Christ, Redeemer of mankind,

Thy servants here protect and spare,

Who hearest with a loving mind

The Blessed Virgin's holy prayer.

Be ever present, Angel high,

Whose name God's might doth signify;

To all the weak new strength impart,

And solace to the sad of heart.

May those glad hosts which see Thy Face,

The spirits of the heavenly home,

Away from us all evils chase,

Both past, and present, and to come.

Then purge away all unbelief,

From every land where Christians dwell,

That unto Thee, our Victor Chief,

Our thanks and praises we may tell.

The Father Unbegot we laud,

We praise the sole-begotten Son,

And Holy Spirit, with them God,

Now, and while endless ages run.

Amen.

V. An Angel stood at the Altar of the Temple.

R. Having a golden censer in his hand.

Prayer {from the Proper of Saints}

V. O Lord, hear my prayer.

R. And let my cry come unto thee.

Let us pray.

O God, Who didst choose the Archangel Gabriel from among all Thine other Angels, and send him to herald the mystery of Thine Incarnation, mercifully grant that we who keep his feast upon earth may feel his protection in heaven.

Who livest and reignest with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end.

R. Amen

O God, our Lord, having received the sacrament of Your Body and Blood, we ask of Your mercy that, as Your incarnation was made known to us by the message of Gabriel, so by his help we may reap the benefits of that same incarnation.

Who livest and reignest with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end.

R. Amen

Let the wicked be ashamed, and be brought down to hell.

Ps 30.  In te, Domine, speravi. A prayer of a just man under affliction.

[1] Unto the end, a psalm for David, in an ecstasy. [2] In thee, O Lord, have I hoped, let me never be confounded: deliver me in thy justice. [3] Bow down thy ear to me: make haste to deliver me. Be thou unto me a God, a protector, and a house of refuge, to save me. [4] For thou art my strength and my refuge; and for thy name' s sake thou wilt lead me, and nourish me. [5] Thou wilt bring me out of this snare, which they have hidden for me: for thou art my protector.

[6] Into thy hands I commend my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O Lord, the God of truth. [7] Thou hast hated them that regard vanities, to no purpose. But I have hoped in the Lord: [8] I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy. For thou hast regarded my humility, thou hast saved my soul out of distresses. [9] And thou hast not shut me up in the hands of the enemy: thou hast set my feet in a spacious place. [10] Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am afflicted: my eye is troubled with wrath, my soul, and my belly:

[11] For my life is wasted with grief: and my years in sighs. My strength is weakened through poverty and my bones are disturbed. [12] I am become a reproach among all my enemies, and very much to my neighbours; and a fear to my acquaintance. They that saw me without fled from me. [13] I am forgotten as one dead from the heart. I am become as a vessel that is destroyed. [14] For I have heard the blame of many that dwell round about. While they assembled together against me, they consulted to take away my life. [15] But I have put my trust in thee, O Lord: I said: Thou art my God.

[16] My lots are in thy hands. Deliver me out of the hands of my enemies; and from them that persecute me. [17] Make thy face to shine upon thy servant; save me in thy mercy. [18] Let me not be confounded, O Lord, for I have called upon thee. Let the wicked be ashamed, and be brought down to hell. [19] Let deceitful lips be made dumb. Which speak iniquity against the just, with pride and abuse. [20] O how great is the multitude of thy sweetness, O Lord, which thou hast hidden for them that fear thee! Which thou hast wrought for them that hope in thee, in the sight of the sons of men.

[21] Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy face, from the disturbance of men. Thou shalt protect them in thy tabernacle from the contradiction of tongues. [22] Blessed be the Lord, for he hath shewn his wonderful mercy to me in a fortified city. [23] But I said in the excess of my mind: I am cast away from before thy eyes. Therefore thou hast heard the voice of my prayer, when I cried to thee. [24] O love the Lord, all ye his saints: for the Lord will require truth, and will repay them abundantly that act proudly. [25] Do ye manfully, and let your heart be strengthened, all ye that hope in the Lord.

Don't believe it

Not for a minute.

Don't believe it for one minute.

It is not what a man says, it is what he does.

Remember that.

Know what I mean?

Rubrical reminders from Una Voce Toronto - because we're "rigid"

Posted today at www.unavocetoronto.blogspot.com

unavocetoronto@gmail.com

Let us review some terms and basic rubrics for the Traditional Latin Mass, also known in modernist circles, as the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. There is charity in truth and there is peace and unity in truth. There is no charity in silence and appeasement. It is incumbent upon those who work in the sacred liturgy to humble themselves to what the Church expects.

The commentary below is written with "referential authority." That is to say, the authority comes not from this writer but from the documents from the which the information is gleaned and condensed. The referred documents are Tra le sollecitudini, Mediator Dei, Da Musica Sacra et Sacra Liturgia and Rubricarum. The notorious Musica Sacra of 1967 is prohibited in accord with Summorum Pontificum and Universae Ecclesiae.

Read Mass or Missa Lecta

Commonly referred to as “Low” Mass, this form of Mass is more properly referred to as a “Read Mass.” This comes from its Latin name, Missa Lecta. The Mass, in history, would have always been Solemn (see below), but as parishes and villages developed away from monasteries and cathedrals; and as mendicant Orders such as Dominicans and Franciscans, journeyed to preach, priests would desire to offer the Holy Sacrifice for themselves and the souls they found on their journeys. The Missa Lecta was developed for this purpose. It is a quiet and contemplative Mass with one server only, though two can be “tolerated.” The Mass is entirely in Latin, though, in accord with the legitimate Law as prescribed by Pope Benedict XVI, in Universae Ecclesiae the Lesson(s), Epistle and Gospel may be said in the vernacular from an approved translation (at the time of 1962) from the Altar without first being read in Latin. There is normally no music permitted.

Read Mass with Music

Music is not permitted in a Read Mass except in specific circumstances and certain specific rubrics. In fact, a more proper word than permitted would be tolerated, in its classic sense. One may have an organ prelude or postlude and organ music at the Offertory or during Communion in those times of the year where organ music is not prohibited and no solo organ music is permitted in the Mass during Advent, except on Gaudete Sunday or in the season of Lent on Laetare Sunday. No solo organ music is permitted at anytime at a Requiem Mass. Organ music may be used at a Requiem Mass only to support the singing and only if absolutely necessary to even do that. Music or hymn singing may be used at a Read Mass in the following manner. A hymn may be sung as a processional and the recessional and these may be in the vernacular. A Latin hymn may be sung at the Offertory and the Communion but it may not be the text of the Proper of the Mass which must be read by the priest aloud and heard by the faithful in attendance. A hymn may be sung in the vernacular at the Offertory and Communion provided it is connected with the liturgical action. For example, the Offertory hymn could be, “See Us Lord, About Your Altar,” or, “Lord, Accept the Gifts We Offer.” At Communion, the hymn, if in the vernacular, must be a hymn to the Blessed Sacrament or be a hymn of Thanksgiving.  The Gloria and Credo cannot be sung at any Read Mass.  A Kyrie, Sanctus and Agnus Dei may be sung if they are short, for example, Mass XVI or Mass XVIII, never Mass IX or VIII the Missa de Angelis. These are two long and delay the priest. All singing must conclude so that the action of the Priest is not delayed and the audible texts are not covered by music. The Priest does not sing the Collect or Postcommunion nor any other oration, nor does he chant in any way the salutations, nor do the people respond in chant. These are only said.

Sung Mass—or Missa Canata or Solemn Mass—Missa Solemnis

All Propers must be sung, there are no exceptions. The Epistle and Gospel must be sung, there are no exceptions. All salutations and response are sung, there are no exceptions. If the priest cannot sing the melismatic tones of the Lesson, Epistle or Gospel, then he can chant them recto tono, on the same note. If the Schola cannot manage to sing the Proper chants with the melisma, then it is permissible to sing them in psalm tone, or recto tono. They can also be sung in Polyphony when considered appropriate. At the Offertory and Communion, Latin motets or hymns can also be sung, but only after the Proper Antiphon.

Requiem Mass

The musical rubrics apply to a Requiem Mass as to the degree above.

Holy Mother Church has determined the above rubrics in order to ensure the proper dignity of the Mass. When we work within the Laws of the Church, there is peace and understanding and serene contemplation of the holy actions taking place before us.

When we deviate from these for pastoral or other reasons or through pressure, we create confusion and disunity and distress and these are not from the Holy Spirit; we insert our own desires into the liturgy, where it does not belong. None of us are masters of the Liturgy of God, we are rather, its servants. We must do our work in truth and humility, we must submit to the mind of the Church and we must reject any inculturation and pastoral provision that deviates from the truth.

At no time is a guitar permitted during a Traditional Latin Mass. It's been done!

There is no evidence that Fr. Franz Gruber, S.J. ever permitted Stille Nacht on guitar at a Midnight Mass due to a broken organ. This is “fake news.”

At no time is it permitted to sing anything in the vernacular in a Sung or Solemn Mass. Processional and recessional hymns take place outside of Mass. Mass begins with the Introit and ends with the Ite.  Any reference to what occurred between the great wars in Europe in Germany, Belgium or Holland should be understood in the context of dissent and diabolical disorientation that lead to the complete upheaval of the holy liturgy.

Lest one doubt the above, be assured that every educated Catholic in proper Church music and liturgy according to its venerable tradition is aware of these rubrics and knows where to find the sources. If they are not, then they are unqualified to do the work and they need to become educated. Let those who labour for the love of true worship of the LORD in the timeless liturgy understand the need to maintain consistency, peace and serenity in the work before us. This peace and serenity can only be achieved if we work within that which we are given. By humbling ourselves to the timelessness, we will achieve peace in our work. It is when deviations occur that we bring disunity and cognitive dissonance to the holy work before us.

Una Voce Toronto

Thy mouth hath abounded with evil, and thy tongue framed deceits

Deus deorum. The coming of Christ: who prefers virtue and inward purity before the blood of victims.

Ps. 49 [1] A psalm for Asaph. The God of gods, the Lord hath spoken: and he hath called the earth. From the rising of the sun, to the going down thereof: [2] Out of Sion the loveliness of his beauty. [3] God shall come manifestly: our God shall come, and shall not keep silence. A fire shall burn before him: and a mighty tempest shall be round about him. [4] He shall call heaven from above, and the earth, to judge his people. [5] Gather ye together his saints to him: who set his covenant before sacrifices.

[6] And the heavens shall declare his justice: for God is judge. [7] Hear, O my people, and I will speak: O Israel, and I will testify to thee: I am God, thy God. [8] I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices: and thy burnt offerings are always in my sight. [9] I will not take calves out of thy house: nor he goats out of thy flocks. [10] For all the beasts of the woods are mine: the cattle on the hills, and the oxen.

[11] I know all the fowls of the air: and with me is the beauty of the field. [12] If I should be hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof. [13] Shall I eat the flesh of bullocks? or shall I drink the blood of goats? [14] Offer to God the sacrifice of praise: and pay thy vows to the most High. [15] And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.

[16] But to the sinner God hath said: Why dost thou declare my justices, and take my covenant in thy mouth? [17] Seeing thou hast hated discipline: and hast cast my words behind thee. [18] If thou didst see a thief thou didst run with him: and with adulterers thou hast been a partaker. [19] Thy mouth hath abounded with evil, and thy tongue framed deceits. [20] Sitting thou didst speak against thy brother, and didst lay a scandal against thy mother' s son:

[21] These things hast thou done, and I was silent. Thou thoughtest unjustly that I should be like to thee: but I will reprove thee, and set before thy face. [22] Understand these things, you that forget God; lest he snatch you away, and there be none to deliver you. [23] The sacrifice of praise shall glorify me: and there is the way by which I will shew him the salvation of God.

Atonement Parish in San Antonio finally home to the Ordinariate!

What wonderful news for the community at Atonement Parish in San Antonio, now fully home in the Ordinariate. After a recent action against this community and its Pastor, justice has been done!

HOUSTON — The first Pastoral Provision parish in the U.S. is coming into the Ordinariate.

Our Lady of the Atonement Catholic Church and its school, the Atonement Academy, have been transferred to the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter, effective March 21. At the direction of the Holy See, all parishes of the Pastoral Provision are to be incorporated into the Ordinariate: a special diocese for Roman Catholics who were nurtured in the Anglican tradition or whose faith has been renewed by the liturgy and evangelizing mission of the Ordinariate.

Founded in 1983 in San Antonio, Our Lady of the Atonement was a parish of a “Pastoral Provision” established by Pope John Paul II to allow for former Anglicans to form Catholic parishes within existing U.S. dioceses. With the establishment of the North American Ordinariate in 2012 and the ordination of its first bishop in 2016, the Holy See now expects all Pastoral Provision parishes in the U.S. to be integrated into the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter.

The Ordinariate expresses its deepest gratitude to the Archdiocese of San Antonio for welcoming and caring for Our Lady of the Atonement since its inception, and for the Archdiocese’s ongoing commitment to the Church’s care for the unity of Christians. Through continued collaboration in the coming months, the Archdiocese and the Ordinariate will remain dedicated to supporting the natural evolution of this Pastoral Provision parish into the Ordinariate.

Our Lady of the Atonement and its school join more than 40 Ordinariate parishes and parochial communities in North America. Ordinariate parishes celebrate Mass according to a special form of the Roman Rite, using Vatican-approved texts which for centuries nourished the faith in Anglican contexts and prompted members’ desire to join the Catholic Church.

In 2009, the apostolic constitution, Anglicanorum coetibus, authorized the creation of global “Ordinariates”: a type of diocese which could receive groups of former Anglicans directly into the Catholic Church. (There are three Ordinariates in the world: Our Lady of Walsingham in the United Kingdom; the Chair of Saint Peter in the United States and Canada; and Our Lady of the Southern Cross in Australia.)

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Media Contact: Jenny Faber, 346-247-2208 | 832-819-2686 | media@ordinariate.net

The Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter is a diocese for Roman Catholics who were nurtured in the Anglican tradition or whose faith has been renewed by the Ordinariate’s liturgy and evangelizing mission. Based in Houston, Texas, the Ordinariate has 41 Roman Catholic parishes and parochial communities across the United States and Canada and is served by more than 70 ordained Roman Catholic priests and deacons.

Hymn to St. Joseph

Archdiocese of Vancouver holding the faith on Marriage and the Holy Eucharist

With a thanks to my friend at Momentum Veritatis in Vancouver for bringing to my attention, here is a homily given by Father Pablo Santa Marta in the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Rosary in Vancouver and posted on their web page. It follows below.

Can we finally hope that something good is coming out of our Canada? 

The Bishops of Alberta and the Northwest Territories, and Archbishop Terence Prendergast, S.J., of Ottawa have all made it quite clear how Amoris Laetitia is to be understood, and it is this; those married civilly after being divorced from a valid Catholic marriage may not receive Holy Communion. If they choose, for the sake of new children, to live together, they must live in total continence, as "brother and sister." 

Now, we have this beautiful sermon preached in the Cathedral in Vancouver and hosted on its web page. 

There were solid Catholic bishops that led Vancouver and the traditional Mass exists there in diocesan and an FSSP parish. It is not a coincidence.

We will get through this confusion, the LORD will not abandon his people.

http://www.holyrosarycathedral.org/2017/03/16/communion-marriage-and-divorce/

Communion, Marriage and Divorce

Mar 16, 2017

Who can receive Holy Communion at Mass? None of us are truly worthy of such a great gift but God’s grace makes us worthy and prepares us to receive this sublime gift through which we are united to Christ and find salvation. We are reminded of this reality at Mass when we prepare for Holy Communion and say “Lord I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof, but only say the word and I shall be healed.”

When it comes to the issue of those who are divorced and remarried, some confusion arises. The following paragraphs are an attempt to give some clarity to this delicate matter and to encourage all of us to accompany those who are on the peripheries of the Church.

DIVORCED, AND NOT REMARRIED.

The Church has always upheld the dignity and vocation of Marriage as a central component of her life: “The matrimonial covenant, by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life, is by its nature ordered toward the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring; this covenant between baptized persons has been raised by Christ the Lord to the dignity of a sacrament”. (1)

However, there are instances when a couple has to divorce. Reasons may vary but usually it is for the physical and mental wellbeing, of one of the parties. When there are situations of abuse, violence, neglect, etc. separation and even divorce are a necessary step. Those people who are divorced but are not living with another person either in marriage or in cohabitation, can and should receive Holy Communion if they are not is the state of mortal sin.

THE TEACHING OF CHRIST AND THE CHURCH

“I say to you, whoever divorces his wife – unless the

marriage is unlawful – and marries another commits adultery.”

 – Mt. 19, 31 – 32

In this passage, our Lord is debating with the Pharisees on the nature of Marriage. Here Christ reiterates what he mentioned in the fifth chapter of Saint Matthew’s gospel, that divorce and remarriage are a serious sin. When we know we have committed a serious sin, we should not receive Holy Communion.

St. John Paul II in the Apostolic Letter Familiaris Consortio further reminds the faithful of this truth. Those who are divorced and remarried cannot receive Holy Communion. This is because the previous union still exists. Even though civilly it’s no longer there, in the eyes of Church it still exists.

However, those who are divorced and civilly remarried are not outside the Church. The divorced and remarried should be welcomed as an essential: part of the Catholic community. These members of the Church should share in the life of the Church.They can attend Mass, pray, and take part in the activities of the parish. The children born in these situations are central to the life and mission of the Catholic Church and should be brought up in the Faith.In the recent Papal document Amoris Laetitia, Pope Francis reiterates the teaching of Christ and of Pope John Paul II: “In no way must the Church desist from proposing the full ideal of marriage, God’s plan in all its grandeur.” (2)

However, what the Holy Father is also encouraging us to do is to have an examination of conscience and to see how we can help those who are on the peripheries, in this case, those who are divorced and civilly remarried. In some cases they feel ostracized and excluded from the life of the Church. The Holy Father is encouraging all of us, but especially priests to “accompany {the divorced and remarried} in helping them to understand their situation according to the teaching of the Church” (3)

In some cases the first marriage bond may have never existed. To this end a canonical investigation of the first marriage by a Church marriage tribunal may be appropriate, which may help to regularize the second civil union. In other cases, when the first marriage was indeed valid, the Church invites the couple in the second civil union to abstain from marital intimacy so that they may receive the sacraments.

SOME OF THE CONFUSION

In recent days, since the Synod on the Family and the publication of the Papal Exhortation Amoris Laetitia, there has been some added confusion to this matter. There are some who say that the Pope has somehow changed this teaching of Christ, which is not the case. The teachings of Christ cannot be changed or re-interpreted according to the fashions of the time. In a recent interview, Cardinal Muller, the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith says that “For us marriage is the expression of participation in the unity between Christ, the bridegroom, and the Church, his bride. This is not, as some said during the Synod, a simple vague analogy. No! This is the substance of the sacrament, and no power in heaven or on earth, neither an angel, nor the pope, nor a council, nor a law of the bishops, has the faculty to change it.” (4)

In other words, neither the Pope nor a bishop can change the teachings of Christ. The Church has always maintained this practice and teaching reminding us of the sanctity of Marriage and the importance of the Holy Eucharist. St. Paul in the First Letter to the Corinthians reminds us all look into our hearts and to see if we are indeed ready to receive Holy Communion as it’s a grave sin to receive Holy Communion when we are in the state of mortal sin. (5)

The ultimate goal of the Church is to accompany those who are hurting and feel excluded and to bring them back into the fold. To encourage them and to lead them to a worthy reception of the sacraments by which they will come to share in the life of our Saviour.

Fr. Pablo Santa Maria

______

Notes:

1. Catechism of the Catholic Church N. 1601
2. FRANCIS, Pope, Post Synodal Apostolic Exhortation, Amoris Laetitia, 2016.  N. 307.
3. Ibid, N. 300
4. http://magister.blogautore.espresso.repubblica.it/2017/02/01/il-papa-tace-ma-parla-il-cardinale-muller-che-ai-dubia-risponde-cosi/
5. I Cor. 11, 27

"False and Dangerous"

Father Gerald E. Murray, J.C.D. is a Canon Lawyer and priest of the Archdiocese of New York and Pastor there, of Holy Family parish. He is often seen with Raymond Arroyo and Dr. Robert Royal on The World Over on EWTN. He writes:

"Ready for some casuistry? Should the Catholic Church allow a man and a woman to receive the sacraments in the following case? A woman living with a married but divorced man tells him that she no longer wants to live in sin; the man threatens to kill himself, and she, following her confessor’s advice, stays with him?"

Visit his article at The Catholic Thing for the rest of this important article and understanding of what is God's law and what is "false and dangerous" theology. 

We are in a critical time in Church and world history. It has not always been like this in the Church because never before has technology existed as today where actions and words are instantly known. Even 100 years ago, no Catholic would have been aware of the daily occurrences as today.

Arm yourself for spiritual warfare. Discern carefully from those who speak the truth and those who do not.

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