That light appeared all over the sky of Western Europe and then in North America on the evening of January 25, 1938. Over a large part of the northern hemisphere "the sky was ablaze like an immense moving furnace, provoking a very strong blood-red glow. The edge of the furnace was white, as if the sun was about to come up", said a newspaper report. It lasted from about 6:30 to 9:30 pm in Europe. The "experts" said it must have been the northern lights, or an "aurora borealis", but those northern lights are caused by sun spots, of which only a minimum were recorded at that time. Also the nature of the light was quite different from that of an "aurora borealis"-on January 25, 1938 in many cities the fire engines rolled out to look for the fire, something they never do for an "aurora borealis". Lucy, by then Sister, immediately recognized in the unusual night light the warning that Our Lady had told her of 20 years before. And of course in September of 1939, the terrible Second World War began with England and France declaring war on Germany because of Hitler's invasion of Poland. Ironically, this war would result by 1945 in Poland's being betrayed soon after to the Communists, along with the large part of Eastern Europe, a huge triumph for Russia's errors, just as Our Lady had warned at Fatima if Russia were not consecrated to her Immaculate Heart.

II. The Second Secret of Fatima

Yet when the Second Secret became known, its accuracy in this respect was questioned on two grounds. Firstly, as everybody is told, it was the wicked Hitler and not "Uncle Joe" Stalin who was responsible for the start of WWII. So what sense did it make to call for the consecration of Russia and not of Germany? And secondly, the Second Secret said that "another worse war will begin in the reign of Pius XI". But Pius XI died on February 10, 1939, while the Second World War was only declared on September 3, 1939, under the reign then of Pope Pius XII, not Pius XI. Opponents of Fatima seized on these "mistakes" to discredit the Second Secret.

However, in Brother Michael of the Holy Trinity's wonderful three-volume series "The Whole Truth About Fatima", published in English as part of Fr. Nicholas Gruner's heroic efforts to get the Fatima message out to the world (I.H. Publications, Box 1028, Buffalo, NY 14205), Brother Michael answers these objections (vol. II, pp. 688-702). He shows that in reality it was Stalin who cleverly maneuvered Hitler into declaring war on the Western democracies, which means that Communist Russia was really the one to blame. Stalin calculated that once another huge fight between Germany, France and Britain had exhausted them all, then Russia would step in and take over Europe. Indeed World War II resulted in Communism taking over the Eastern half of Europe. So the real criminal who started the war could be identified as the one who finally profited from it, not Hitler but Stalin.

The second objection concerning Pius XI or XII then solves itself: the Second World War began not really with Hitler's invasion of Poland, but with the prior dealings between Hitler and Stalin culminating in the famous German-Russian Ribentrop non-aggression Pact of August 23, 1939, which by covering Hitler to the East enabled him within ten days to defy his enemies to the West. (So it turned out. War between Germany and Russia broke out only in June of 1941). Thus WWII started in secret well before it started in public, under Pius XI's reign as Our Lady said, and not under Pius XII's. It is remarkable confirmation of this explanation which appeared in the recent "All These Things" (P.O. Box 11339, Cincinnati, OH. 45211).

Many of you know of the great struggle in the 1930's between the nationalist and internationalist communists. Inside Russia, the nationalist Stalin had succeeded in ousting his former ally, the internationalist Trotsky, but the internationalists, then and now real rulers of the modern world, were plotting inside Russia to oust Stalin in turn. He discovered their plot, imprisoned their ringleaders, put them on trial in the famous show trials of the Great Purge of 1937 and 1938, and had them shot.

However, one victim who escaped death was a certain Christian Rakovsky (Christian only in name), one of the internationalists who considered Stalin had betrayed Communism by putting the interests of Russia and himself first. Rakovsky, to save his life, promised to tell Stalin secrets of great value to Stalin. Stalin who knew that Rakovsky was one of those few men who are the great rulers of the world, agreed to listen. The resulting interrogation of Rakovsky by one of Stalin's agents inside the prison was recorded by the interpreter present for the interrogation, and by him it was smuggled out of the prison. By remarkable circumstances it reached the West, where it should be far better known than it is, but of course the modern world has a thousand ways of smothering its own dirty secrets. God puts in men's hands the "Protocols of the sages of Sion" and "Rakovsky Interview", if men want to know the truth, but few do.

What Rakovsky told Stalin's agent was that as far as "they" were concerned (meaning the internationalist plotters for world control by money) he, Stalin, had betrayed the Communist Revolution in Russia. So to bring Stalin down, "they" had brought Hitler to power by giving to his Nazi party crucial financial support in the late 1920's. However, Hitler, by issuing his own money to replace their debt-money, was now liberating Germany from their control, a liberation so threatening to their world power that they were now willing to forget their feud with Stalin and join with him in crushing Hitler. So here was the deal, said Rakovsky: if Stalin would put out feelers to Hitler for a Hitler Stalin pact, to include a joint invasion and partitioning of Poland, then Stalin would get all kinds of decisive help from the USA and from other unexpected quarters, and when the Hitler-Stalin deal had produced the desirable war to crush Hitler, then Stalin could be given Europe (in the event he got half of it). But if Stalin would not put out those feelers towards Hitler, then he could expect from those same quarters to be crushed himself.

Rakovsky's interrogator required confirmation of such secret realities. Rakovsky told him to check out his truthfulness with-the USA ambassador in Moscow! This Mr. Davis duly confirmed everything Rakovsky had said. Rakovsky's life was spared. Stalin put out the feelers to Hitler, and the Ribbentrop Pact and WWII were well on their way.

Now when exactly did the Rakovsky interview take place? From midnight to 6 AM, Moscow time, in the night of Jan. 25-26, 1938, or, from 9 PM to 3 AM West European time! In other words, the beginning of that interview overlapped exactly with the end of Our Lady's warning light in the night sky!

Dear readers, God is in command. He and His Mother know exactly what they are doing. They do not expect all of us to know such details as above of the plotting of wicked men, but especially when we do know them, Heaven expects us to take the simple remedial action which it puts in the hands of all of us-the prayer of the Rosary and the five First Saturdays. We cannot see, but we must believe in, the world saving power of these simple remedies. "In that same hour, Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Ghost, and said: I confess to Thee, O Father, because Thou hast hidden these things from the wise and the prudent, and hast revealed them to little ones. Yea, Father, for so it hath seemed good in Thy sight". (Lk. X, 21)

IIa. THIRD SECRET "COMMENTARY" RAISES CONCERNS OVER "WHITEWASH"

Fort Erie, Ontario June 27 - The Fatima Center described the Vatican's interpretation of the Third Secret of Fatima as a "whitewash", in comments today by Fr. Paul Kramer, a Catholic priest at the center.

"The vision described in the text is a scene in which the Pope is shot dead by soldiers, and then bishops, priests and so forth are killed in the same way, one by one, after they have all gone through a half-ruined city. This clearly has nothing to do with Pope John Paul II not being shot dead by Ali Agca", said Fr. Kramer.

"Furthermore," Fr. Kramer continued, 'the Vatican's own official booklet containing the text of Sr. Lucia's vision demolishes the Vatican's claim, via Cardinal Ratzinger's commentary, that the secret relates only to 20th century events culminating in the 1981 assassination attempt" Fr. Kramer was referring to a letter by Sr. Lucia to the Pope on May 12, 1982, which was published in the Vatican's official booklet on the Secret. The letter, written one year less a day after the assassination attempt, states regarding the Secret: "And if we have not yet seen the complete fulfillment of the final part of this prophecy, we are going towards it little by little with great strides if we do not reject the path of sin..."

Fr. Kramer continued: "If Sr. Lucia told the Pope, a year after the attempt on his life, that the prophecy of the Secret is not yet fulfilled, and that we are going toward its fulfillment in great strides because of sin in the world, how can the Vatican possibly say that the vision in the Secret describes the assassination attempt a year earlier? Sr. Lucia made no such connection in her letter to the Pope, which does not even mention the assassination attempt. The Vatican's interpretation has no support in either the text of the vision or Sr. Lucia's understanding of the Secret as expressed in her 1982 letter to the Pope. In short, we are looking at a whitewash of the Third Secret." "There is another serious question regarding the Vatican interpretation," said Fr. Kramer. "The Vatican's official booklet notes that Sr. Lucia's memoirs containing the words of Our Lady in the first two parts of the Secret end with the crucial phrase 'In Portugal the dogma of the faith will always be preserved, etc...' That phrase just hangs there, out of all context with the previous paragraphs, leading everyone to assume that the thought would be completed in the text of the Third and final part of the Secret, following the 'etc"'.

Fr. Kramer noted that, contrary to all expectations, the text of the Third Secret contains no further words of Our Lady of Fatima. "It seems difficult to believe that the spoken words of Our Lady of Fatima end with the ambiguous "etc". Where is the rest of what Our Lady of Fatima had to say?" Fr. Kramer further noted that the Vatican's notice in 1960 regarding its decision to suppress the publication of the Secret in that year referred specifically to the decision not to reveal "the words of Our Lady" contained in the text of the Secret. "But the text of the Third Secret released yesterday contains no words of Our Lady at all. This raises a serious question in the minds of many people." Fr. Kramer added that the Vatican commentary makes no reference to the conversion of Russia predicted in the first two parts of the Secret. "The conversion of Russia is identified by Our Lady of Fatima as the very Triumph of Her Immaculate Heart, the focal point of the message of Fatima. Amazingly the Ratzinger commentary on the Triumph of Her Immaculate Heart in the Vatican booklet on the secret makes no reference whatever to the conversion of Russia to the Catholic Faith. This conversion of Russia has apparently been written out of the message of Fatima, never to be mentioned again by the Vatican. Meanwhile, the abortion rate has soared in Russia, its government is dominated by atheistic 'excommunists' and recycled KGB agents, and Russian society is falling to pieces.

Fr. Kramer drew a link between yesterday's publication of the Secret and a Vatican news conference today at which Vatican Secretary of State, Angelo Cardinal Sodano, and Mikhail Gorbachev spoke to the press regarding the memoirs of the late Secretary of State, Cardinal Casaroli, entitled "The Martyrdom of Patience: 1963 to 1989." Casaroli's memoirs defend the Secretary of State's policy of Ostpolitik or silence and non-confrontation toward communist regimes which oppress Catholics.

Fr. Kramer continued: "It seems that the Vatican's 'spin' is that Ostpolitik has brought about the supposed 'fall of communism' and that this merely political event is the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart, leading to a brave new world of brotherhood represented by people like Gorbachev. But the Gorbachev Foundation promotes reduction of the world's population through contraception and abortion. It is a disgrace that this pro-abortion, one-world government globalist was made a guest of honor at the Vatican one day after we are told about the Third Secret. This is a gross insult to the Blessed Virgin."

Fr. Kramer observed that no questions were permitted during the Gorbachev-Sordano news conference. "Whoever heard of a press conference at which the press is not allowed to ask any questions? Clearly, the Vatican press office did not wish anyone in the audience to spoil the illusion that the Message of Fatima has been fulfilled with the 'fall of communism', and that people like Gorbachev represent the promising future of mankind."

The Fatima Center will issue a more complete statement regarding the Secret within "a short time". Said Fr. Nicholas Gruner, head of the Center, "Cardinal Ratzinger said the Church is not imposing any particular interpretation of the Third Secret, but rather that he is merely offering a comment. This was a very prudent disclaimer, because the interpretation offered by the Vatican yesterday raises far more questions than it answers."

IIb. The Consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Marv has never been done as Heaven required.

The organ of the Holy See, the Osservatore Romano (no.22, 30 May 1998, p.10) published a lengthy article, in Portuguese, by Madame Emilia PaoIa PACELLI, an "orientalist, editor of the review Omnis Terra":

"In the light of Fatima, on the way towards the third millennium, Pius XII is Father, Master, and Friend of our age."

In this article, which we may legitimately regard as reflecting the Holy See's position, it is said that Pius XII "consecrated the Church and the human race to the Immaculate Heart of Mary in 1942, and ten years later, he consecrated Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary." It goes on to say:

"On 25 March 1984, Pope John Paul II in person in union with all the bishops of the world, following the example of Pius XII, once again consecrated the human race and Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, confirming the act of consecration pronounced in 1982."

In the July issue of the official organ of the sanctuary of Fatima, Voz de Fatima, p.2, Fr. F. Leite again asserts that the Consecration has already been done:

"The consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, as our Lady demanded, i.e., to be made by the Holy Father in union with all the bishops of the world, was carried out on 25 March 1984 in front of the statue of Our Lady which had been transported specially to Rome from the Chapel of the Apparitions in Fatima. In union with the Holy Father and in accordance with his express wish, the bishops of the world accompanied him in this act which was so full of significance."

"Sister Lucy has said several times that this consecration completely fulfilled the wishes of Our Lady. In a letter to Walter Noelker, she confirms this: "I have been asked if the consecration has been made in accordance with Our Lady's request My answer was yes."

And, without any embarrassment whatever, Fr. Leite concludes this article by affirming: "Now that the Consecration has been done, the conversion of Russia has begun."

So these two writers claim that the Consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary has already been carried out in the correct and due form. Madame Pacelli even goes so far as to say that it was done three times, in 1952, in 1982 and in 1984.

But is this really the case? To find out' we must examine three points:

1. Our Lady's precise request for the consecration as it was given to Sr. Lucy.

2. Whether or not the 1952, 1982, and 1984 consecrations fulfilled this request.

Finally, we must discover whether at least one of the consecrations has brought the world the two immense graces, promised by Our Lady as effects and signs of the authentic consecration, namely,

· The grace of Russia's conversion to the true Faith.

· The grace of "a certain time of peace in the world".

What kind of a Consecration did the Most Holy Virgin request of Sr. Lucy?

It was during her third apparition at Fatima on 13 July 1917, that Our Lady spoke of the "Consecration of Russia" for the first time; she indicated that this act is the sovereign and only efficacious remedy to save Christendom from very grave errors and very grave evils:

"God wishes to establish in the world devotion to My Immaculate Heart. If what I say to you is done, many souls will be saved and there will be peace. The war is going to end, but if people do not cease offending God, a worse one will break out during the reign of Pius XI. ...To prevent this, I shall come to ask for the consecration of Russia to My Immaculate Heart and the Communion of Reparation on the First Saturdays. If My requests are heeded, Russia will be converted and there will be peace; if not, she will spread her errors throughout the world, causing wars and persecution of the Church. The good will be martyred, the Holy Father will have much to suffer, various nations will be annihilated. In the end, My Immaculate Heart will triumph. The Holy Father will consecrate Russia to me, and she will be converted, and a certain period of peace will be granted to the world."

In these words Our Lady indicates very precisely, twice, the two marvelous graces attached to Russia's consecration to her Immaculate Heart.

· The grace of the conversion of Russia;

· The grace of "a certain period of peace in the world.

Furthermore, Our Lady says that she "will come" to ask for the Consecration of Russia. In fact, Our Lady came back to visit Lucy at Tuy {Spain) on 13 June 1929, to make this demand of her:

"The moment has come when God requires the Holy Father, in union with all the bishops of the world, to perform the Consecration of Russia to My Immaculate Heart, promising to save it by this means. So many are the souls condemned by God's justice for the sins they have committed against me that I am coming to demand reparation. Make sacrifices for this intention and pray."

Following this message, in two letters she wrote in May of 1930 to her confessor, Fr. Goncalves, Lucy expressed Heaven's demands in this way, closely linking the devotion of reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the Consecration of Russia:

"God promises to put an end to persecution in Russia if the Holy Father deigns to perform, and orders the bishops of the Catholic world also to perform, a solemn and public act of reparation and consecration of Russia to the Most Holy Hearts of Jesus and Mary, and if His Holiness promises, as a way of bringing this persecution to an end, to approve and recommend the practice of the devotion of reparation of the 'First Saturdays of the month".

So these words of Our Lady and these letters of Sr. Lucy give the exact form of Consecration as demanded by Heaven:

· A Consecration with Russia explicitly mentioned, not a consecration with a vague and imprecise allusion to Russia

· A Consecration made by the Holy Father in union with all the bishops of the world, which means that every bishop must organize and preside over this act of reparation and consecration in his own diocese at the same time as the Pope and in union with him, unless the Pope were to use the opportunity of an assembly of the world's bishops in Rome to do this. Sr. Lucy never excluded the possibility that the consecration could be done within the framework of an Ecumenical council, for example, although she seemed to prefer the first solution; the important thing is the moral and spiritual union of the bishops with the Pope.

· Finally there is the very great solemnity of this act, which should be done within the context of a solemn and public act of reparation and consecration, no doubt in order to make an impression on people's minds and so that the greatest possible number of people can take part.

IIc. Did the three consecrations in 1952, 1982 and 1984 fulfill all the conditions which Heaven required?

1. The consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary by Pius XII in the Apostolic Letter Sacro Veigente Anno, addressed to the peoples of Russia on 7 July 1952. The consecration of Russia was properly done, but by the Pope alone; he was not joined by all the bishops of the world, and it was performed without the requisite solemnity. In fact, this consecration was not carried out in the context of the "solemn and public act of reparation and consecration" of which Sr. Lucy had spoken, but in a kind of covert way, so to speak, in connection with an Apostolic Letter which remained unknown to many people and which was quickly forgotten by those who had learned of it. With regard to this act, Sr. Lucy wrote in one of her letters, in the summer of 1952: "Thank you also for sending the newspaper cutting of the consecration of Russia. It grieves me that it has not yet been done as Our Lady required."

2. The act of offering and consecration performed by John Paul II at Fatima, 13 May 1982. Pope John Paul himself explained what he was intending to do in this act, in the homily at the Mass he celebrated in Fatima on the morning of 13 May 1982: "To repeat what my predecessors have already done: to entrust THE WORLD to the Heart of Mary...". In fact, this act of offering and consecration in no way fulfilled the Consecration demanded by Our Lady, for several reasons:

· It was a consecration of the world; not of Russia, which was not even mentioned once!

· This act was not performed explicitly to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

· Finally, all the bishops of the world had not been required to act in union with the Pope. Sr. Lucy, furthermore, told her niece, Maria do Fetale, on Aug 11, 1982: "I am old, I am 75, and I am preparing to see God face to face. I have given all my writings to Holy Church. I shall die in peace. But if anyone wants to know my opinion, this is it: the consecration of Russia, as Our Lady demanded it, has not been done." She repeated exactly the same thing four days later, on Aug.15, to her old friend, Madame Pestana. Similarly, in what she wrote after an interview with Mgr. Portalupi, Apostolic Nuncio to Portugal on Mar.19, 1983, she said: "In the act of offering of 13 May 1982, Russia did not clearly appear as being the object of the consecration. Nor did every bishop organize in his diocese a public, solemn ceremony of the consecration of Russia. Pope John Paul II simply renewed the consecration of the world performed by Pius XII on 31 Oct 1942. We can hope for some benefits from this consecration of the world, but not for the consecration of Russia."

It is worth giving the conclusion of this text which Sr. Lucy wished to communicate to the Apostolic Nuncio, for these phrases shed light on the seer's humble simplicity and obedience:

"The consecration of Russia has not been made as Our Lady commanded it. I could not say this as I had no permission from the Holy See."

This last phrase shows that Sr. Lucy is accustomed to regard those who occupy posts of authority within the Church as God's representatives on earth; thus she considers that she owes them humble respect and complete submission. This is why it is utterly utopian to expect Sr. Lucy to one day make a big public declaration to the office that the consecration of Russia has not been made. This would be totally contrary to her sense of religious obedience. Her view is, quite simply, that she is doing her full duty by using all the opportunities she has to remind the Pope, privately but with constancy and firmness, that the consecration has not been done. She had also done this after the act of 13 May 1982, since she told the Apostolic Nuncio on 19 March1983 that everything she had said in this interview she had already written to Pope John Paul II.

3. The renewal, which took place outside St. Peter's in Rome on 25 March 1984, of the 1982 act of offering and consecration. On 8 Dec 1983, in a letter addressed to all the bishops, John Paul II had announced that he was to renew this act. He concluded: "I would be glad if you would renew this act (on 25 Mar 1984) at the same time as I do, in whatever way each of you thinks most appropriate." Very slight changes had been made to the act of 1982; but what was essential to this consecration was still missing:

a) It was a simple renewal of the consecration of the world made by Pius XII in 1942, as can be clearly seen if one reads the whole text (which, incidentally, is very confused in places!). Here are some extracts:

"...with your love, which is that of a mother and a servant of the Lord, embrace our human world which we offer and consecrate to you, lull of anxiety concerning the earthly and eternal destiny of men and of peoples"....

"We desire to unite ourselves to our Redeemer in this consecration for the world and for man "How deeply we feel the need of consecration for humanity and for the world, for our contemporary world in the unity of Christ himself!" ...

"In entrusting, 0 Mother, the world, all men and nations to you, we also entrust to you this very consecration of the world and we place it in your maternal heart." (A very confused sentence!)

b) Russia was not mentioned once in the whole text!

c) Finally, this act was not performed explicitly to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, but "to Mary", our "Mother".

Moreover, a little while after this consecration, the Pope explained to Mgr. Cordes, Vice President of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, why he had decided not to make express mention of Russia; he was afraid that his words would be interpreted by the Soviet rulers as a "provocation"!

Sr. Lucy was not deceived: three days before the consecration, on Thursday 22 March 1984, she said to Madame Pestana, who asked her: "So, Lucy, Sunday is the consecration?" Lucy signed 'No", and added, 'this consecration cannot be decisive". When she heard Fr. Kondor read the act of 25 March 1984, during a ceremony in the Coimbra Carmel in spring 1984, suddenly her face changed, as is clearly shown by the video recording (broad-cast by the Vice-Postulator's department): her interior revulsion against this "consecration" was visibly very great!

Detailed examination, therefore, of the three acts of consecration in 1952, 1982, and 1984, and the declarations of successive reactions of Sr. Lucy to these three acts, enable us to conclude as follows: the consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, as Heaven required, was never made!

III. The Five First Saturdays

On the evening of Thursday, Dec. 10, 1925, after supper in the convent, the Virgin Mary appeared to Lucy, (then 18 years old) and by her side, elevated on a luminous cloud, was the Child Jesus. The Most Holy Virgin rested her hand on Lucy's shoulder and as she did so, she showed her a Heart encircled by thorns, which she was holding in her hand.

Then the Virgin Mary said, "Look, my daughter, at my Heart, surrounded with thorns with which ungrateful men pierce Me at every moment by their blasphemies and ingratitude. You at least try to console Me and announce in My name that I promise to assist at the moment of death, with all the graces necessary for salvation, all those who, on the First Saturdays of five consecutive months shall confess, receive Holy Communion, recite five decades of the Rosary, and keep me company for fifteen minutes while meditating on the fifteen mysteries of the Rosary, with the intention of making reparation to me."

Sister Lucy explains the Reparatory

Devotion of the First Saturdays Sister Lucy took this "lovable devotion" so much to heart that she constantly returns to it in her correspondence. Unquestionably there is nothing more capable of touching our hearts than this insistence of Our Lady's messenger.

Here are some of these beautiful texts.

On Nov. 1, 1927, she writes to her sponsor for Confirmation, Dona Maria Filomena Mo-rais de Miranda:

"...I don't know if you already know about the reparatory devotion of the five Saturdays to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. As it is still recent, I would like to inspire you to practice it, because it is requested by Our Dear Heavenly Mother and Jesus has manifested a desire that it be practiced. Also, it seems to me that you would be fortunate, dear godmother, not only to know it and to give Jesus the consolation of practicing it, but also to make it known and embraced by many other persons.

"It consists in this: during five months on the first Saturday, to receive Jesus in Communion, recite a Rosary keep Our Lady company for fifteen minutes while meditating on the fifteen mysteries of the Rosary, and make a confession. This confession can be made a few days earlier, and if in this previous confession you have forgotten the (required) intention you can offer the following confession for this intention, provided that on the first Saturday you receive Holy Communion in the state of grace, with the intention of repairing for offenses against the Most Holy Virgin, and which afflict Her Immaculate Heart.

"It seems to me, dear godmother, that we are fortunate to be able to give Our Dear Heavenly Mother this proof of love, for we know that She desires it to be offered to Her. As for myself I avow that I am never so happy as when first Saturday arrives. Isn't it true that our greatest happiness is to belong entirely to Jesus and Mary and to love them, and them alone, without reserve? We see this so clearly in the lives of the saints... They were happy because they loved, and we, my dear godmother, we must seek to love as they did, not only to enjoy Jesus, which is the least important - because if we do not enjoy Him here below, we will enjoy Him up above - but to give Jesus and Mary the consolation of being loved.. and that in exchange for this love They might be able to save many souls. Adieu, my dear godmother, I embrace you in the holy Hearts of Jesus and Mary."

"Here is my way of making the meditations."

In this devotion which is so simple and so Sister Lucy writes to her mother, "It seems to me that the fifteen minutes of meditation are what might give you some difficulty. But it is quite easy." We have said that it is a question only "of keeping Our Lady company for fifteen minutes"; and it is not at all necessary to meditate on all fifteen mysteries of the Rosary, but one or two can be chosen. In a letter quoted by Fr. Martins sister Lucy writes: "Here is my 'way of making the meditations on the mysteries~ of the Rosary on the first Saturdays: First mystery, the Annunciation of the of the Angel Gabriel to Our Lady. First prelude: to imagine myself seeing and hearing the Angel greet Our Lady with these words: 'Hail Mary, full of grace. Second prelude: I ask Our Lady to infuse into my soul a profound sentiment of humility.

"1st point: I will meditate on the manner in which Heaven proclaims that the Most Holy Virgin is full of grace, blessed among all women and destined to become the Mother of God.

"2nd point: The humility' of Our Lady, recognizing Herself and declaring Herself to be the handmaid of the Lord.

"3rd point: How I must imitate Our Lady in Her humility, what are the faults of pride and arrogance through which I most often displease the Lord, and the means I must employ to avoid them, etc.

"On the second month, I make the meditation on the second joyful mystery. The third month, I make it on the third joyful mystery and so on, following the same method of meditating. When I have finished the Five First Saturdays, I begin five others and meditate on the five sorrowful mysteries, then the glorious ones, and when I have finished them I start over again with the joyful ones."

IV. Questions the Catechism Didn't Answer - By Dr. Baithasar Fischer (1957)

1. The nave of the church

When formerly, in my religious instructions to children, I came to speak of the house of God, I usually asked the question: "Tell me, children, you have heard people speaking about the nave of the church; that the pulpit stands in the main nave, the confessional in the side-nave. What do they mean?" Of course we more commonly use the words main aisle and side-ais1e, but nave and aisle here mean the same thing. But why speak of nave at all? The word "nave" literally means ship or boat That's a strange use of the word, don't you think? The church does not float on water, surely. Well, I shall tell you.

The early Christians, in speaking of the nave of the church, were thinking of Lake Gennesareth and of St. Peter's boat in which our Lord was often together with a small group of His disciples. Isn't it exactly similar in the house of God, they wished to say, that within its walls the Lord is with His followers amid the waves of world history? That is why we are so happy within this house, more so than in any other in the whole town or city; why we annually celebrate its dedication with great festivity as God's temple (if the building has been consecrated).

The Lord is actually present among us in this nave of the church as He once was with the Apostles in the boat in Lake Gennesareth. And sometimes it happens to us, as it happened to them, that strong waves rage about our boat and we turn suppliantly to our Fellow-passenger. He now too, as then, seems to be asleep. Silently and seemingly unconcerned about our needs, He dwells on the altar and in the tabernacle. I believe that if we did not know his answer in advance, we would do as the apostles did and approach Him in the raging storm, calling to Him: "Master, does it not concern You that we are perishing?"

But we do not want to be of little faith. We know that He, who ever comes to us in our boat and sails with us, though He be the most calm and seemingly unimportant of our companions, is still Lord over all storms and of all world history. At the right moment He will extend His hand and there will be "a great calm".

See how a dead piece of old picture language begins to live and breathe! Only we must have a little patience, we must stop and reflect until the light comes. It can well be imagined how the eyes of the little ones in school, still living in their picture world, brightened up at my illustrations. And more so as I explained further that in this nave or boat of the church, fish are being caught, yes, human fishes, just as our Lord told St Peter. They are caught with hooks, one at a time, and occasionally there is a jerk on the line and in the heart of the fisherman when he hears: "My last confession was so and so many years ago". With nets, too, they are caught, many at a time, with the bait of God's mighty words coming from pulpit or altar.

For these reasons we speak of the nave of the church, because in the church Our Lord really comes to us time and again and stays with us bodily as once with His disciples on the lake; and therefore we sail with Him confidently amid violent storms. Even when He appears sound asleep, we know and believe what was already said in the book of Psalms: "He neither slumbers nor sleeps who guards Israel".

2. The Twelve Crosses Along the Church Walls

Few of those, 1 am sure, who Sunday after Sunday come to a consecrated church (only such have the twelve crosses), ever notice the little crosses painted along its interior side-walls. Never have they heard a reference to this decoration, much less do they know what it is for. But on one particular Sunday of the year in such a church, the twelve crosses can hardly go unnoticed (if all is done right). I refer to the Sunday on which the solemn dedication of the church is annually celebrated. According to beautiful, ancient custom, a candle then burns before each of the crosses as a part of the festive commemoration of the day on which the bishop solemnly blessed or baptized this house of God.

It is not accidental that the candles are lit at those twelve places. For the first time they were burning there was on that blessed occasion when the bishop with cope and mitre solemnly stepped down from the altar and anointed the church walls on those very spots with holy chrism, just as a newly baptized person is anointed on the crown of his head.

During the ceremony the choir chanted hymns about the heavenly Jerusalem, how it is adorned as the Bride of the Lamb and knows not the darkness of night. If you are familiar with your Bible, you will recall where the choir found those words in the Apocalypse of St John, in the chapter describing the heavenly Jerusalem. The house of God should be a part of Heaven, a reflection and image of the heavenly City. Read through that chapter again (Ch. 21) from beginning to end, and you will see why just twelve places on God's house are anointed. For there it says of the heavenly City which the apostle saw in vision: "The wall of the city has twelve foundation stones, and on them twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb".

Now you know why the bishop anoints those twelve spots along the wall of the church, the image of the heavenly Jerusalem. They should remind us of the twelve apostles; that is why the crosses are called "Apostle crosses" and the candles "Apostle candles". All the joy that comes to us in this earthly house of God and all the happiness -- please God! -- we may one day enjoy in heaven, rest "on the foundation of the apostles", and flow from the faith which the Twelve have faithfully handed down to us from the lips of the Master and firmly sealed by their martyrdom.

Really, this significant adornment on the church walls, if we understand it correctly, is a bit of the ancient veneration for the apostles. But over and above, the crosses want to tell us something more, which our Christian brethren in the East feel more deeply than we, that every Catholic church, no matter how small or poor, is part of the eternal Jerusalem, a forecourt to Heaven.

That same chapter of the Apocalypse quoted above tells how the citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem no longer need the sun or the moon, for "the Lamb is the lamp thereof'. Isn't this more or less anticipated every time the same "Lamb" comes into our midst in a hidden form and we say to Him: "Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy on us"? But also when the holy Sacrifice is over the "Lamb" remains present on the altar, reserved in the tabernacle, a living echo of the eucharistic celebration. Hence very fittingly, during our visits to the Blessed Sacrament, the sanctuary lamp reminds us of those consoling words of the Apocalypse: 'The Lamb is the lamp thereof".

V. 3. Why Martyrs' Relics on the Altar

Have you ever witnessed the consecration of a church? Yes? Well, then, one thing you have not forgotten is that it lasted a long time. But despite its length, I am sure you felt it was well worth attending. It is indeed a magnificent ceremony, stirring in parts and inspiring throughout.

One of the highlights (remember?) was the procession that bore martyrs' relics into the new church. The vestments for this were, appropriately, red; the singing festive, triumphant Down the center aisle the procession moved, and on into the sanctuary until it reached the altar. There, in a little "sepulchre" ground into the horizontal slab (mensa), the relics were reverently interred.

That the altar should contain martyrs' relics is an ancient rule in the church. St. Ambrose, the great fourth-century bishop of Milan, knew and honored it. What led to this peculiarly Christian custom, and what is its message?

The custom is, clearly, an outgrowth of another practice that was universally followed in the early Church. On the anniversary of a martyr's death, friends and relatives accompanied by a priest came to his grave to offer a commemorative Mass. On these occasions the coffin served as altar, or in lieu of that, an altar was improvised over the remains.

You can imagine what an impression this must have made on the bystanders, the more so because of the times. Persecution was forever in progress, or threatening. The holy martyr had met his death for his faith. This was his grave. All present realized only too well that the same test might at any moment overtake each of them. The group was not very large, to avert suspicion. Often the destination was one of those subterranean burial chambers which may still be seen in the Roman catacombs, where no sun came through from the outside and one had to make his way by candlelight.

What thoughts crowded their minds as they stood encircling the holy martyr, and in union with the priest offered the holy Sacrifice from an altar over his grave! Or rather, how spoke the holy martyr to them? For, speak he did, in the silence of their hearts. "'Be imitators of me as I am of Christ"' he began, echoing the Apostle (I Cor. II: I} "As for me," he continued, "I followed the Lord Christ, even to death; and now, in recompense, I share His glory, too, the glory of His resurrection which shall appear when He comes again in power and majesty. For this I have not myself to thank; no, I thank only the Lord's boundless mercy. The same eternal crown awaits you. In the sacrifice of the Lord's death, here offered from my grave, is found the way and the pledge. Christ came to glory through death. Die with Christ daily, and never cease to die. Then shall you live with Christ and follow in His glory."

As the group returned home, the experience at the grave went with them, not soon to be forgotten. No homily from the priest had been necessary; the saint's mute exhortation was quite enough. And because the experience could so rouse and strengthen the Christian soul, one did not wish to lose the opportunity when, under Emperor Constantine, persecution came to an end and the cubicles in homes and cemeteries yielded to public edifices of worship. In fact, as the nations thronged into the Church, the memory of the martyrs became, if anything, more necessary. Accordingly, wherever possible the churches that now sprung up were erected over the site of a martyr's grave, and the altar was located above or near the sacred relics. Visitors to Rome will know what I mean. There, in the churches of St. Peter, St. Lawrence outside the Walls, St. Clement, and many others, they have seen the small crypt near the main altar, called the "Confession", a small vestibule usually glowing with vigil lights in memory of the holy martyr (s).

Naturally, not every church could be built over a martyr's grave, since in some localities none existed. But the idea was maintained. If the grave of a martyr was not available, at least one could have a martyr's relics. And this is how our custom began In solemn procession the relics of a martyr were brought from his grave to the newly erected church. The procession formed outside the church, from where it moved inside and down the aisle to the altar, just as is done today.

The why and the wherefore of relics in the altar should now be clear. The custom reaches back, if not to the earliest, still to very early times, and the reason stems from a fundamental dogma of Christianity. All Christian life is a martyrdom, or it is nothing. Every Christian must have the soul of a martyr, must immolate himself on a cross. This is the message of the relics, the message of the Mass itself. Without self-immolation, prayer and praise, however "liturgical", can become like "sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal" (I Cor. 13:1). To die with Christ, that makes the Christian Die with Christ to live with Him. So speak the holy martyrs everywhere, from their graves and from all altars.

VI. 4. The Altar Covered With White Linens

One should think that for the altar the most precious silks or gold brocade would be barely good enough. How then does it happen that the Church so strongly insists on the altar being covered with linen cloths (and three of them)?

The answer sounds quite simple, and yet many Christians no longer know what is really involved. The altar is a table, and mothers the world over have ever covered their tables with linen cloths. Why then should Mother Church not do the same with her holy table? The Christian house of God is, before all else, a second cenacle; in the center of the cenacle stands the "holy table of the Lord", covered in white.

Indeed, the altar in our church is more than just a table of the Last Supper; it also represents the rock of Calvary. It stands before us as the sacred place of Sacrifice and as the table of the sacred Banquet. Much as it reminds us in several ways of the Sacrifice (its elevated position, the crucifix, the candles, the relics), it derives its essential form not only from the Sacrifice, but also from the Banquet which flows from the Sacrifice. It is a table. To this day our Christian brethren in the East have no other word for the altar than "the holy table"; and also among us the altar plate is referred to in the Latin term of mensa, which means "table".

In former days the faithful realized more clearly than we do that the altar is a table. First of all, in those days it was covered in white before their eyes at each holy Mass (just as is done on Good Friday). But what was more important, the faithful were permitted, at least in some places, to approach the holy table and there receive from the hands of the celebrant the sacred Food and Drink of the chalice. How could they have forgotten that the altar is a table! Later on for various reasons the custom of the laity receiving Holy Communion directly from the altar was changed; in general, they were to be kept outside the sanctuary altogether. A substitute table was arranged for; we give it the unhappy name of "communion rail". Nevertheless, it represents the altar table; it is the "table of the Lord" and therefore, like the altar in former days, it is covered with a white cloth.

The most important part of the altar is, therefore, not that which rises vertically above it. "We have a beautiful altar in our church", the children say; "there are many beautiful angels on it". They think-and many adult Catholics share their false notion-that the reredos (the upright ornamental panels behind the altar) is the main thing and the mensa is merely an adjunct; for the priest needs something whereon to put the chalice! There are altars that give the impression that the architect or the pastor whose wishes were followed had a similar idea. In reality the very contrary is true. The rear panel is not essential to the altar; it can be dispensed with, as it was missing in the oldest, and is fortunately also wanting with many of our newer altars. But the mensa can never be wanting; an altar without a mensa is simply no altar.

To bring home this point to the faithful it is perhaps good that the ancient manner of celebrating holy Mass is now permitted more often by our bishops, the manner which our Holy Father makes use of regularly when offering the holy Sacrifice on the high altar of St Peter's, namely, the priest does not stand in front of the altar with his back to the people, but behind the altar, facing the people. I do not, of course, agree with those who maintain that this is the only correct way; that it is not proper for the priest to have his back turned constantly to the people who offer the Mass with him. The one at the head of a delegation appearing before a public official also has his back turned toward those who came with him, and we see nothing improper about that.

Yet I think the other way should be allowed occasionally, since it has the advantage of impressing upon us more clearly that the heavenly Lord (whom the priest represents) is come "to keep the Passover" with us, inviting us to His sacred Banquet. All of us Christians should become more conscious that it is not simply for the fulfillment of our "Sunday duty", as we so thoughtlessly use the word, but for sharing a festive banquet that we are invited. What is said or shown at this Banquet, I will listen to or look at, but I have no intention of eating. Truly, it is hard to understand how so many Catholics can behave that way Sunday after Sunday except for the one Sunday of the year on which they make their "Easter duty".

VII. 5. The Choir

Perhaps you never realized it-we are so thoughtless in the use of words - but the same word is used for the sanctuary of the church as for the elevated platform, usually at the rear of the church, reserved for the singers and the organ. And you may even hear the same word used in a third sense, when the priest announces from the pulpit that next Thursday evening the "choir" will have singing practice. Here the word "choir" no longer designates the place for the clergy or for the chanters but the body of singers themselves, as when we speak of a "men's choir" or of a "choir of angels".

Is it merely accidental that the Church uses the same word in these three different meanings? Hardly. There must be some reason behind it. We want to get to the bottom of this, and perhaps it will prove worthwhile.

Scholars explain the matter this way: the word "choir" comes from the Greek; it refers to theatre life and denotes a group that appears on the stage, speaking and singing together alongside the principal actors. In this meaning the Church in the early Middle Ages adopted the term, applying it to those who sang in common at the divine services, namely, the clergy in the sanctuary because they carried out the Mass chant insofar as it had simple melodies. For at that time already it was, unfortunately, no longer possible for the congregation to sing more than certain short responses and perhaps the Sanctus, since the people had become too unfamiliar with Latin. Soon it became customary to give the name "choir" to the place occupied by the clergy in the sanctuary.

From the beginning there always existed a small group of especially trained singers within the large choir of the clergy who rendered the more difficult chants, the so-called schola cantorum. Gradually this group became known as the "choir", and when it separated itself from its rightful place among the clergy near the altar and sought out a new one as far as possible away from it, the name "choir" went along. So the loft in the rear of the church, - this backing-up movement ended, we call to this day "choir", because the choir of singers (now entirely from the laity) is located there. Quite properly one could have stopped calling the sanctuary a "choir", but fortunately this was not done, and there remains, at least in the name, a reminder that the church choir has a connection with the altar.

At this point the answer to our inquiry seems to have an important lesson for us. Choir service in church is altar service, originally performed near the altar and by clerics in liturgical vestments. Something of that holy reverence and recollectedness which marks the choir service of young clerics should also be reflected by members of church choirs. It was desirable and certainly more correct, if it could be provided, that the singers have a place (preferably concealed) near the altar. Some modem churches have already introduced this arrangement; but where this is not possible, those who provide the singing in our churches should be keenly aware that their service is service at the altar and even from their more distant place they must take part in the action at the altar with a greater living devotion than the rest of the faithful.

VIII. 6. Folding of Hands at Divine Service

From the time of our first and happiest religious instruction at mother's knee, we took it for granted that out hands must be folded in prayer-together, finger against finger, or with fingers intertwined. And ever since our first childhood visits to church it has seemed only natural to keep our hands folded in church and during divine services. But although you have done this thousands of times, and still do it daily at morning and evening prayers, at meals and in church, I am willing to wager that you really never asked yourself why it is done.

The answer is not so simple. At divine service itself, during holy Mass, you can observe how the priest does the very opposite during the most important prayers; he extends his hands. Why then do we fold them? Our forefathers who gradually introduced the custom must have had good reasons. I believe they wanted to inscribe a very basic principle on our hearts without which there can be no prayer or divine service, the principle that if man wants to pray and share in the liturgy, he must first "recollect himself' and come to rest interiorly. Hands symbolize work, and thus also our human restlessness that is constantly pursuing us, early and late. By folding your hands you mean to say: It is quitting time, now let all be silent, the noise of work and the clamor of my restless imagination.

This basic principle you may have experienced often enough already. A mother who during the meal prayers must fuss and bustle around pots and dishes "prays" with her lips perhaps, but her heart is not wholly in it. If a flea pesters you on Sunday morning and gets you nettled, then all your praying at Mass becomes choppy; your mind strays in all directions, far from what your lips are saying. Was it not for the very purpose of obtaining rest and quiet before prayer that Our Lord said: "When you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret"?

Shut the door! Don't you feel that this is why you fold your hands, finger linked firmly to finger? Is it not as if you wanted to lock up your whole being so that nothing disturbs you when you now begin to hold conversation with the God of your heart, when you try to participate most intimately in the Sacrifice of redemption? All must be quiet about you and within you so you may hear the Lord's voice; it does not shout aloud in the streets; it is soft, silent as the growth of His flowers and the course of His stars.

Something else besides the basic principle about "quitting time" is meant when you fold your hands at prayer. There is something solemn, something noble about the picture of two human hands folded together and raised in prayer, be they the small, tender hands of a child at night prayers, or the mature and honest hands of an adult-like those immortalized by Albrecht Durer. Do you know what that is? The ancient idea associated with this gesture was that one wished to place his hands into the hands of God, as it were, in token of surrender.

Now that is man's highest nobility, to surrender himself completely and patiently into God's paternal hands. In this manner the vassal knelt before his liege lord, and still today the newly ordained priest at the close of his ordination ceremony kneels before the bishop, as if to say: Lead me wherever you wish and I will follow. Here the folded hands imply a second basic principle of prayer, Whoever desires to pray must surrender himself into God's hands; no one can lift himself to heaven by tugging at his own shoelaces. He must say: Lead me wherever You wish, and I will follow, for You are our Father. It means placing your folded hands between God's fatherly clasp; and when assisting at holy Mass you do this most perfectly in the Name of the spirit of Him who said: Father, not as I will but as Thou wilt!"

We fold our hands, therefore, at prayer and during divine services because all prayer and worship come under a double law, the law of separation and the law of self-surrender into the providential hands of a loving Father.

IX. 7. We kneel when worshipping

There are those who think that kneeling is essential to praying. Which is, of course, a bit exaggerated. The most sacred prayers the priest recites during holy Mass are said standing at the altar; and formerly the faithful also stood about him (in the canon of the Mass they are still referred to as circumstances, i.e.,, those standing about). In recent years sound thinkers have pointed out how certain prayers cannot be said properly in a kneeling position. There is something so festively joyous about them, e.g., the Gloria or the Preface, that one must pray or hear them standing.

And how about family liturgy? It is an old custom in Christian families to recite the table prayers sitting down; and if you have taken part in this you will know there is nothing irreverent about it; in fact, the action has its own special dignity when father, mother, and children take their places around the family table and before beginning the meal fold their hands in common prayer. Nowhere else can one sense so clearly what family life means. And when considering silent, interior prayer, many a person will have to admit that his most fervent and sincere prayers were not made either kneeling or sitting or standing, but when lying sick abed.

Nevertheless, it is proper that kneeling be part of Catholic worship, and that it hold a special rank among the bodily postures at divine services. Why is this so? Not out of mere custom, I am sure. There must be stronger, intrinsic reasons at work than are seen at first glance. Kneeling is the bodily expression of a spiritual attitude essential to prayer, that of humility. What the soul must do at prayer, no matter what posture is taken, that the body does when you pray kneeling; it makes itself small; it says, as it were: 0 God, I know I am as nothing before Thee. I am a poor sinner, have mercy on me!

This explains the high dignity of kneeling. What the kneeling body says, and what the soul, set mysteriously in motion by the body, says after it or should say, is the underlying sentiment of all prayer and worship, the very same Our Lord was inculcating when He held up as a model the publican and his prayer: "0 God, have mercy on me, a sinner!"

At no time should we feel more definitely conscious of our sinfulness and unworthiness than when Our Lord comes to us "bodily". Does it not say already in the Gospels about the apostles, about Peter and Thomas, that at such moments they fell down on their knees? Since earliest times, therefore, the Church insists that we bend our knees as the Lord comes in the Eucharist, and that we remain kneeling in His presence. Where Holy Communion can still be carried to the sick in a public manner (the practice is hardly possible in the United States because of the danger of irreverence to the Blessed Sacrament), it is always very impressive to see adult Catholics fall on their knees to express how small they feel before Him to whom the Church sings in the Gloria: "Thou alone art most high".

But even when there is no direct connection with Eucharistic adoration, the kneeling posture (if it is proper and respectful) exercises a wholesome, educative influence. Take another glance at family liturgy-so much depends upon it! Praying while sitting at table, as we said, is right and good; but conscientious parents will insist that their children say morning and night prayers on their knees, and not, as some do, at the breakfast table or after going to bed. All life long the child will profit by the disciplinary effects of proper posture at prayer, when the body expresses the chiefest thing in all prayer, no matter in what position it is made: 0 God, I am as nothing before Thee!

8. Striking the Breast at Divine Worship

Whenever I reflect on the Christian custom of striking one's breast, an image comes to mind which I must have seen somewhere in my childhood days. In a lonely cave a hermit is kneeling - and with a piece of rock he strikes his breast. Here can actually be seen, transferred into stark reality, what we want to indicate by our innocent gesture of striking the breast. Whoever steps before the living God with an honest upright heart loses the mask he ordinarily wears in the company of men: With painful clearness he suddenly becomes aware that he is a sinner, unworthy to appear in His all-holy Presence. The pain, boring deep into the hermit's heart, sought bodily expression. With the great saints of all ages, it expressed itself in rigorous self-discipline and penance for what we would call "little sins".

We weaklings, conscious of our great sins, want to combine with our prayers at least the symbolic act of self-discipline: striking one's breast. It is not, therefore, by mere chance that this ceremony is generally prescribed only when there is question of guilt: at the mea culpa of the Confiteor; in our cry for mercy from the depths of our sinfulness at the Agnus Dei during Mass and at the close of litanies; and when acknowledging our unworthiness before approaching the Lord's table.

Striking the breast is an insignificant sign, often carelessly performed; but like folding the hands and bending the knees, it expresses a basic attitude in prayer and Christian life, one that is seriously threatened with neglect in our modern day. There are plenty of Catholics to whom the word "sin" sounds old-fashioned. As long as they are not found guilty of some public crime, they consider themselves almost ready for canonization. Should it not make one reflect that the saints, even the most practical-minded and unemotional among them, could not do enough bewailing their sins! They realized what a terrible disorder the smallest sin involves. They felt a wholesome trembling before the judgment seat of an all-holy and all-just God. They had the strength to face themselves calmly in the mirror, without self-conceit, and to admit unreservedly the mirror's answer: we are all sinners.

I would regard it as a good thing if striking our breast would at times serve to awaken this healthy disposition of the true Christian. The publican at the rear of the temple, whom Our Lord sets before our eyes as the abiding model of genuine prayer, did not merely say: 0 God, have mercy on me. He said - and we say it after him every time we strike our breast: 0 God, have mercy on me, a sinner!

X. 9. Sign of Cross When Receiving a Blessing

It lies so deep on our Catholic blood that it happens almost naturally As often as a priest blesses us with his hand, or more so with the Blessed Sacrament, our right hand spontaneously goes to our forehead and we make the Sign of the Cross. It seems as if we want to catch the blessing and apply it to ourselves, to make it penetrate and nourish us, our thought, speech and feeling.

That we do this with the Sign of the Cross is not just accidental. Blessings are given with the Sign of the Cross to remind us that in the world of the New Testament in which we live all blessings come from the Cross; Ancient pagans believed that the hands of their priests were automatically empowered to bless, hence worthy of veneration. The hands of Christian priests are also worthy of reverence, not as if they could of themselves produce a blessing, but because they distribute the blessings flowing from the Cross and from the altar.

If you understood this, you will easily see that there is no greater or more beautiful blessing than at Holy Mass. For in the holy Sacrifice the Cross is again raised up mysteriously in our midst so that its graces may stream down upon us. The Mass is the one great blessing to which our poor human life humbly bows every day or at least on Sundays.

In this connection it always grieves me to hear people insistently expressing the desire that sacramental Benediction be given as often as possible after Mass (or even already before Mass) and that the blessed Sacrament remain exposed during Mass for their special devotion. They have not yet learned how the Mass itself is the most beautiful and most powerful Benediction.

If then we eagerly reach out for ordinary blessings with the Sign of the Cross, it is no more than right that we repeatedly invoke upon body and soul the great blessing of the Cross at Mass by means of the Sign of the Cross. Whoever has witnessed the celebration of Mass in the Eastern rite will have seen how the faithful almost continuously accompany the Sacred Act with their big Sign of the Cross (from right to left) and with bowing.

We of the West are not accustomed to such frequent repetitions, but we have been taught from childhood to make the sign of the Cross at least at the main parts of the holy Sacrifice. Thus we begin and conclude our assistance at Mass with the sign of the Cross (properly, slowly, and with devotion, I trust); the one we make with the priest when he begins the preliminary prayers at the foot of the altar, the other when he imparts the final blessing. When Our Lord comes to us for the first time with His word of blessing at the Gospel, we make the Sign of the Cross on forehead, lips and breast: all our thoughts, words and sentiments should be increasingly permeated with the message of Christ and of His Cross. When He then enters bodily into our midst at the Consecration and renews the Sacrifice of the Cross among us, there is no more appropriate response on our part to this holiest of acts than a devout Sign of the Cross.

Some pious souls may overdo it by crossing themselves and striking the breast too often, but I believe we should make the Sign of the Cross at the elevation of the Host and of the Chalice, looking up with adoring faith, as if to say: "My Lord and my God, truly present on the altar, receive me, body and soul, into the blessing of Thy death on the Cross and into the power of Thy immolation".

The most meaningful Sign of the Cross at holy Mass is that which, as I observed in certain countries, is made on the forehead, lips and breast, immediately after receiving Holy Communion. Sharing in the sacrificial Banquet is indeed the best and most efficacious way of drawing the blessing of the Cross from the altar into our body and soul. At this moment it expresses in the truest and fullest sense what we want to sign with the Sign of the Cross: 0 Lord, fill my whole being, body and soul, my thoughts, words and sentiments, with blessings from Thy Cross. Draw me ever more deeply into Thy immolation and into its guarantee of victory!

XI. 10. BURYING OUR FACE IN OUR HANDS

You need not know much about children to understand how hard it is for them to concentrate. What is impressed upon them one minute is already forgotten in the next, not that they refuse to take admonitions seriously, but that some stronger impression has already erased it. Hence it would be entirely wrong to build a child's spiritual life purely on interior convictions, for these could not go deep enough to make a lasting mark. We must build solid external forms of religion into the child, and these it will gradually fill with proper content.

Experienced educators accordingly have taught children the gesture of recollectedness, of which we here speak, after receiving Holy Communion. For they know how this gesture, so natural to the occasion, would at that moment affect the heart of the child more forcefully than any explanation or admonition. It will tell them: Now you must turn inward. Now you must direct your eyes upon the silent Divine Guest within you. Now you must avoid all distractions so that you may hold intimate conversation with Him in your heart. Of course, we cannot expect miracles of piety from such a gesture; a child is but a child.

However, we adults might sometimes be much surprised and put to shame if we could see what real Eucharistic devotion wells up in true childlike fashion behind the enclosure of those small hands. A precious instance of such interior devotion was given by a little seven-year-old in her reply to the question as to how she could pray so long behind those hands: first she told her dear Savior all the prayers she knew, and when finished with them, she told Him the story of Snow White!

Should we adults also, after receiving Holy Communion, retain this gesture learned in childhood? Certainly there are those who can be recollected without it, but as a rule I think it would also be very helpful if we too would enclose ourselves at this important and precious moment of intimate personal contact with Our Lord.

In late years one could at times hear the anxious concern expressed that such self enclosure might give rise to the false idea that Holy Communion is purely a matter between me and "my Savior". It would therefore be better, after receiving Holy Communion, to kneel erect with folded hands and uncovered face, in token of our common fellowship at the holy table.

Such reasoning would be correct, if burying one's face in one's hands had to mean a selfish seclusion from one's neighbor. This no one will maintain. I even think that only he who has learned to look upon Holy Communion as an altogether personal union with Christ will become increasingly conscious that by "growth into the Head" we also grow more closely with all the members. In this age of distractions we must be on our guard against whatever weakens Christian recollection, because to imperil recollection would endanger the very foundation of Eucharistic piety.

A Visit To Our Lady (After Holy Communion)

Mother, upon my lips today, Christ's precious blood was laid;
That blood which centuries ago, Was for my ransom paid.
And half in love and half in fear I seek for aid from thee,
Lest what I worship, wrapt in awe, Should be profaned by me.
Wilt thou vouchsafe as Portress dear, To guard my lips today?
Lessen my words of idle worth And govern all I say.
Keep back the sharp and quick retort That rise so easily.
Soften my speech with gentle art to sweetest charity.
Check thou the laugh or careless jest, That others harsh may find;
Teach me the thoughtful words of love That sooth the anxious mind.
Put far from me all proud replies, And each deceitful tone,
So that my words at length may be Faint echoes of thine own.
0 Mother, thou art mine today, By more than double right;
A soul where Christ reposed must be Most precious in thy sight.
And thou canst hardly think of me From thy dear Son apart;
Then give me from myself and sin, A refuge in thy heart.

XII. Hail Mary! 0 sweet and holy Mother, I desire to come to thee: yes, I desire to place my hand in time, my heart in thine, and to fix my looks upon thine. I yearn and want so much to live the life of piety, the treasures of which are in thee! Hail, Mary! Hail! 0 Queen and Mother of mercy, thou art my life, my sweetness, and my hope, hail to thee! A poor child of death exiled from the life of God to thee do l cry. To thee do I send up my sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears. 0 my dear Mother and Protectress, turn thine eyes of mercy towards me. Be a Mother to me: create in me that life which I cannot make for myself. Thou canst form in me this life of God, since thou art the mother of God; thou canst create it, since God has bidden thee be my Mother, and entrusted to thee all life's riches for me. 0 Mother of God, Mother of divine grace, and my own Mother, make me live by God, with God, and in God.

Full of Grace. From the first moment of her immaculate conception, Mary, preserved from every taint, was adorned with graces proportioned to her vocation; she was full of grace. And during the whole of her mortal life she was faithful to her vocation, and perpetually referred to the glory of the Most High all that she received from Him. No atom of the sacred gift was lost or tuned aside or unused. The immensity of the talents entrusted to her bore fruit in its entirety, and no sin or imperfection, no turning aside, no attachment to creatures, came to check their increase. Mary from the beginning was in a perfect state of unity, and at the highest height of sanctity. Preserved from original sin, she never had any need of purification; none of the divine gifts granted to her were swallowed up by the needs of self-stripping; hence, all went to increase the treasure of her merits, and helped to glorify and increase her in God. What a life, what merits, and what holiness!... She was full of grace. In myself; what soul-sickness swallows up the resources of life! in her, nothing is swallowed up. I allow so much of my time to pass away in unfruitfulness! She, on the other hand, made use in all its fullness of every moment God gave her.

Having thus made use of God's gifts, she can teach me how to use them. Set at the head of the way, she can show me how to get there. A perfect model of all virtues, she can raise her children. A mirror of justice, she can correct their faults. Yes, I may indeed have confidence in such a Mother! God made me her child, and I am sure that my Mother will not allow a child who wishes to love her, to be near her, and to be like her, to become too far off or too unworthy of her. The higher she is, and the more perfect she is, the better I can hope. Mothers do not like being separated from their children.

The Lord is with Thee. No one can be a mother, unless she gives life: maternity presupposes a communication of life. Mary is a Mother, and she is the Mother of God; for of her was born Jesus, who was called Christ. She gave life to Him who is the life of the world. She is thus pre-eminently the Mother of my life; for, for me to live is Christ. Christ came to be the head of the body, of which all the redeemed become members. He is the vine, I am the branch. Mary, the Mother of the Vine, is also Mother of the branches.

By the privilege of her divine motherhood, Mary's place in the divine intimacy is above that of all creatures. Angels and men, all are inferior to her; for no dignity, whether angelic or human, is comparable with the dignity of the Mother of God. The Lord is with her, and she is with the Lord in a supereminent way. And, in order to be raised to this dignity, Mary had a fullness of grace and a fullness of humility, before which the united greatness of angels and men fades away. The greatness of the Mother of God!... all the ages have echoed forth its praise, and yet have not told what it is. All the ages shall proclaim her blessedness, as she has herself foretold: and yet they will never declare it as it is. And no creature will ever tell what it is to be the Mother of God, and what were the grace and humility that made her this.

Blessed Art Thou Amongst Women. Full of grace in the incomparable privilege of her perpetual virginity, entering into the Saviour's intimacy by the still more incomparable privilege of her divine motherhood, Mary is blessed amongst women in the privilege of her human motherhood. The great benediction of womanhood is motherhood. And Mary amongst all women is the Mother, for she is the Mother of all the sanctified. It is she who is used by God for the purpose of giving supernatural life to all the elect; for He has made her the universal distributor of grace. He has made her the channel of graces distributed to angels and men. Our Father, who is in heaven, willed that all His favours should pass through the heart and hands of a mother, so that His children may have all the sweetness of family relationships.

I am of the family of God. God, who is my Father, gives me all things through Mary my Mother; and all together, both angels and men, participate in the graces of our Father and Mother. Who would dare to be discouraged, if he only understood a little the heart of his God and the heart of his Mother?

XIII. Reprinted with permission of: The Maryfaithful, P.O.Box 48, Powers Lake, ND 58773 (Nov. - Dec. '99 Issue)

The Beauty and Spirituality of the Latin Mass - by DAVID JOYCE --

It is the Mass that Cardinal Newman, the leader of the Oxford movement into the Church, said that he could attend forever, and not be tired. Father Faber, priest of the Brompton Oratory in the last century, described the Mass as the "most beautiful thing this side of Heaven," and he continued:

"It came forth out of the grand mind of the Church, and lifted us out of mind and out of self and wrapped us round in a cloud of mystical sweetness and the sublimities of a more than angelical liturgy, and purified us almost without ourselves, and charmed us with the celestial charming, so that our very senses seemed to find vision, hearing, fragrance, taste, and touch beyond what earth can give."

Father Adrian Fortescue, a great English liturgical historian, has said that the Mass of the Roman Rite is the most venerable Rite in Christendom.

Pious Popes, too, have often wondered at the majesty of the Mass. Pope Clement VII in 1604:

"Since the Most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist, by means of which Christ, Our Lord, has made us partakers of His Sacred Body, and ordained to stay with us unto the consummation of the world, is the greatest of all the Sacraments, and it is accomplished in the Holy Mass and offered to God the Father for the sins of the people, it is highly fitting that we who are in one body which is the Church, and who share of the one Body of Christ, would use in this ineffable and awe-inspiring Sacrifice the same manner of celebration and the same ceremonial observance and rite."

While in 1634, Pope Urban VII said:

"If there is anything divine among man's possessions, which might excite the envy of the citizens of Heaven (could they be swayed by such a passion), this is undoubtedly the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, by means of which men, having before their eyes, and taking into their hands the very Creator of Heaven and earth, experience, while still on earth, a certain anticipation of Heaven. How keenly, then, must mortals strive to preserve and protect this inestimable privilege with all due worship and reverence, and be ever on their guard lest their negligence offend the angels, who vie with them in eager adoration!"

The Mass! What a Treasure! Christ's very own Sacrifice on the Cross left for us wrapped in an act seeping beauty and Divine celebration. Below are described a few of its important qualities that set it apart in this day and age, that truly make it "the most beautiful thing this side of heaven."

1. The Silence of the Canon

The entire Canon of the Mass is devoid of any vocal sounds, other than one phrase, "Nobis quoque peccatoribus," where the priest strikes his breast, emphasizing his own sinfulness and unworthiness of celebrating such an unspeakably Divine action. The only sound is when the bell is rung, initially at the "Hanc igitur," as a warning bell to inform the faithful of the impending Consecration, and three times at each Consecration: when the priest genuflects before the Divine Oblation, when he raises the Divine Victim in an elevation of worship and adoration, and finally, when he genuflects again. Otherwise, complete silence.

Why this silence, when the Canon is the most important part of the Mass? Simply because of that fact. The Canon of the Mass joins the earthly sphere to the Heavenly sphere. Christ's Sacrifice was performed once for all; It can never be repeated, as It was the eternal and perfect Sacrifice to end all sacrifices. Since the Victim and the Priest was God, however, the Person of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the effects are infinite; the entire human race was redeemed wherever they lived, regardless of time or space. But the important fact is that the act Christ performed was placed within His creation, and at a particular point in time. Therefore, for the Sacrifice of the Cross to become effective universally over all time, it needed to be perpetuated through the ages by a priesthood acting in the person of Our Lord and presenting His Sacrifice anew to a new generation. This is why Christ built His Church: to bring forth the graces of the Incarnation, to prolong it and "make present" its effects to all people. The Sacrifice of the Cross and the Consecration in the Mass are timeless entities in a temporal world.

The silence, therefore, enables us to transcend our present existence and become present at the foot of the Cross Itself. Our senses, so active in the outside world, are suppressed so that our soul can touch the Divine presence of God on the altar, so that we may be lifted up with the Oblation to the altar of God Himself in Heaven, surrounded by all the hosts and angels in constant prayer and adoration. We, in effect, dip our toes into the pool of eternity, no longer limited by our earthly existence in time and space, but instead become one with Our Lord in offering ourselves to God the Father in the one perfect act of self-giving, love and adoration.

Our senses are not totally silenced, though. Through our eyes we see the Holy Victim raised up to the Father under the appearance of Bread and Wine; closing our eyes, we see the Cross above us and the angelic party beyond. With our ears we hear the ringing of the bells, confirming what we see and what we feel in our hearts. With our nostrils we smell the sweet odor of incense, floating up to heaven, accompanying the Victim to the altar of God. It is truly an entire experience of body and soul where the carpet of life is swept from underneath us, revealing the eternal reality of the Cross and truth of God's love for each of us.

Using vocal words in the Canon would defy this Divine reality; it would seemingly bring the events down to a level of speech and thought, rather than action and sacrifice. We must feel with our heart and soul the event taking place, not hear with our ears the words that enact the event. Only silence can penetrate this mystery, with our spirit lifting us above the temporal actions of the priest to the Divine and eternal reality of the High Priest, Our Lord on the Cross.

AT THE GOSPEL

2. The Orientation of the Priest

Traditionally the priest has always faced east, standing before the altar leading the people in worship and Sacrifice with Christ Our Lord to our Father in Heaven. The east is where the sun rises, a symbol of the rising of the Son of God--His Glorious Resurrection--and the direction of His eventual second coming. Standing before the altar, the symbol of the offering of the Sacrifice is clear to all, elevated slightly above the nave and the rest of the sanctuary, lifting the Sacrifice Heavenward in an act of worship and atonement.

Please note that I do not use the terminology "facing the altar" or "facing the people," because this inevitably confuses why the priest is standing before the altar and not behind it. The people who are there are following the priest along the path to eternal life. Holy Mass is not merely a meeting or an act of praise with the presider guiding the people; it is an act of sacrificial worship and a step to eternal life. We join the priest, who acts in "Persona Christi, "in offering the Sacrifice, Christ Himself, to God the Father. The entire proceedings are a spiritual affair; we leave our worldly worries behind at the doorway and enter a place of dimmed lights, hushed tones, and reverence toward the Divine Presence within. The priest leads the people in prayer and worship; they follow as his obedient flock, as a shepherd leads his sheep to green pastures and lush grass. It allows for intense prayer; the priest concentrates on the offering of the Sacrifice, the people concentrate on following him and lifting up their hearts to the Father with their Lord on the Cross. The interaction between the priest and the faithful is minimized so that the interaction between the soul of each person and God is emphasized through the sacred liturgy.

3. The Prayers at the Foot of the Altar

The job of a priest is awesome indeed. Offering any sacrifice to God is a heavy responsibility. When the Offering is also God, with God acting through his ordained ministry, the responsibility is beyond human comprehension. Suppose that when walking you turned a corner and met a priest talking to an angel, who would you greet first? The angel would be constantly in the presence of God, sinless and perfect in his praise and worship of God. The priest, however, should be greeted before the angel, due to the dignity of his vocation. In his capacity, he acts "inpersona Christi," bringing forth the graces of God's sacraments, whilst an angel merely carries messages from God; he does not act in his place.

Because of this immense responsibility, in the traditional Latin Mass the priest approaches the altar with extreme care and awareness of his own unworthiness. Once the altar pieces are in place, he positions himself at the level of the surrounding sanctuary (normally two or three steps down from the altar itself) and starts the prayers at the foot of the altar. These include Psalm 42, which pleads for God's grace. Preparing the priest for his actions on the altar, he then, without moving forward, bows low and prays the Confiteor, confessing to God- thrice--that through his own fault he has sinned exceedingly in thought, word, and deed. The server pleads to God: "May Almighty God have mercy on thee and, having forgiven thee thy sins, bring thee to life everlasting" --asking God for His forgiveness for the poor and frail priest! The Confiteor is then repeated, this time for the server and faithful present, thus signifying a deep divide between priest-hood and laity. The priest continues, with the server, in asking for God's help, and finally--after all this--ascends the steps to the altar with the prayer:

"Take away from us our iniquities, we beseech Thee, 0 Lord, that being made pure in heart, we may be worthy to enter into the Holy of Holies. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen."

These proceedings reflect the theology of the Old Testament priesthood, thus providing us with a continuation and fulfillment of that priesthood in the Person of Christ Himself and in the priests He has since ordained.

Once the Mass is over, the priest again bows low and offers the following prayer:

"May the homage of my bounden duty be pleasing to Thee, 0 Most Holy Trinity; and do Thou grant that the service which I, all unworthy, have offered in the sight of Thy Divine Majesty may be acceptable to Thee, and through Thy mercy be a propitiation for me and for all those for whom I have offered it. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen."

Thus, the priest further emphasizes his inadequacy in offering the Divine Victim, recognizing his human frailty before God and all those present. For me, this is a great expression of humility before Almighty God, who in His own infinite humility in the Incarnation, instituted the Catholic priesthood in offering up the Eucharist until the end of the age.

4. The Use of Latin

The use of Latin in the Mass is very important. Firstly, it is the language of the Roman Catholic Church. It symbolizes a real and true unity across the many countries in which the Mass is celebrated. Wherever you may enter a church in the Latin Rite, the whole proceedings will be instantly familiar to you, bringing home an immediate feeling of the universality of the Church. The Catholic Church is truly universal; not fixed to one country or culture, it transcends national boundaries by simply using the same language, symbolizing its unity in faith, authority and sources of revelation.

Secondly, Latin is a dead language. It is no longer used as a language in the streets, therefore it has stopped evolving as vernacular languages constantly do. Due to this, the meaning of the words has set in stone, and the liturgy does not need to be revised to avoid offending certain people for whom the words have taken on a different meaning. The dead language has, then, been turned into a "liturgical language" used for the liturgical celebration of the Church. This is not specific to the Latin Rite either. The Russian Orthodox Church (although separate from Rome) uses Church Slavonic and The Greek Orthodox Church uses ancient Greek. When the Church was setting up in China, the missionaries there appealed to Rome that the locals truly could not use Latin as a language, since it was so foreign to them. Subsequently, the Vatican decreed that the Church there could use ancient Chinese that was no longer in use, thus retaining its liturgical usage.

Thirdly, Latin exhibits a beauty and elegance that seemingly no vernacular tongue can match. Dietrich von Hildebrand, described by Pope Pius XII as a Doctor of the twentieth century Church, describes this feature as follows:

"Latin is in a unique position here. First, Latin grammar has an uncommon clarity, and to know it, is an incomparable training for our thinking. Secondly, Latin has a great beauty, a spiritual nobility of quite a special sort. This is also true of medieval Latin, which moreover produced works of highest poetical art and religious depth. One need only think of the Dies Irae, ascribed to Thomas of Celano, of Jacopone di Todi's Stabat Mater, of the magnificent hymns of Saint Thomas Aquinas, of the sequences of Venantius Fortunatus and many others. The role which Latin has played in history, especially in the liturgy, and the universality which it possess, give the learning of Latin quite a special place" (THE DEVASTATED VINEYARD).

Latin is not a barrier, but an invitation to the treasures of the Church, both in liturgy and in music. It cannot be seen as an obstacle to potential converts, or to the laity in general, as the personal piety of the laity, and conversions to the Church and also to the priesthood, were flourishing when the Latin Mass was the jewel in the Church's crown.

5. The Gregorian Chant

As many popular music charts have indicated recently, the Gregorian chant appeals to the soul now as much as ever. Its sublime effect on the proceedings of the Mass is never to be underestimated; it truly seems to be music from Heaven. Saint Gregory the Great, a Pope in the sixth and seventh centuries, organized the Church music and formally defined the Gregorian chant as it has been sung in the Church ever since. Pope Saint Pius X further reformed the music of the Church) making a revision "not of the text but of the music. The Vatican Gradual of 1906 contains new, or rather restored, forms of the chants sung by the celebrant, therefore to be printed in the Missal" (according to Adrian Fortescue). Furthermore, the Second Vatican Council stated that the Gregorian chant "should be given pride of place in liturgical services" (Sacrosanctum Consilium, 116). Mozart himself said that "he would gladly exchange all his music for the fame of having composed the Gregorian Preface," and Berlioz, who himself wrote a glorious Requiem, said that "nothing in music could be compared with the effect of the Gregorian Dies Irae" (Latin Mass Society, newsletter no.111, page 231).

The Gregorian chant connects with the soul, not the mind of the believer (and non-believer alike). Without any knowledge of the traditional Mass, people are somehow drawn toward the Divine Mysteries of the Church through the treasure of the Gregorian chant. I personally was at a loss in the first Latin Mass I ever attended--a Low Mass--but subsequently I attended a sung Mass with Gregorian chant, and to use a present-day saying, "I was blown away!" It has a mysterious quality that silences the senses and speaks directly to the spirit within, connects with that ever-present desire--however suppressed-that yearns for the "Unmoved Mover" Who answers all our questions and aspirations. The chant, an expression of most religions, has seemingly found its perfect setting in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass--not the concert hall or opera house--praising the merits of Our Savior before the Holy of Holies.

6. The Reception of Communion

The reception of Communion within the rubrics of the traditional Mass takes place within a sublime and prayerful world, separated from the rushed and physical world in which we live. Again, in the traditional Mass the physical actions of the Faith are downplayed so that the spiritual aspect of our existence can revel and take precedence.

Firstly, the priest receives Holy Communion at a distinctly separate time, apart from the servers and laity. He recites many beautiful prayers while consuming the Host and the Most Precious Blood, before turning his attention to the servers and faithful present. He does, for instance, have a separate "Lord, I am not worthy . . " prayer, said three times with the bell ringing. when he turns to the faithful, holding a piece of the Sacred Host toward them, he says, "Behold the Lamb of God...,"and the faithful then recite their own "Lord, I am not worthy..., "further emphasizing the different roles of priest and laity.

Secondly, when the faithful themselves receive Communion, they receive It kneeling at the altar rail, and directly onto their tongue. This is very significant. Receiving Communion whilst kneeling means that the faithful line up in a row before the sanctuary, and thus have time to prepare themselves for this most sacred of events: coming into spiritual and substantial union with Christ Himself. The communicant kneels, and whilst he waits for the priest to make his way around, he can settle himself, concentrate on the upcoming Communion with Our Lord, praying intensely.

When it is his turn, the priest says the prayer: 'May the Body of Our Lord Jesus Christ keep your soul unto life everlasting. Amen." This means, besides the beauty and the significance of the words themselves, that the priest says the word "Amen," so that the communicant need not invoke his voice to receive the King of kings, allowing a constant stream of prayer and thanksgiving to flow from soul to Savior. The communicant simply needs to expose his tongue, and his side of the proceedings is complete. Upon receiving Christ, he can continue praying for a little while, and only then does he need to return to his seat, leaving room for the next communicant. Moreover, having the priest come over to the communicant signifies that Christ comes to us, feeds us with His own Divine Life, whilst we wait kneeling and unmoving like little children totally dependent on His love, mercy and compassion. This is the message of the Gospel: to become like little children, submitting our wills to His, depending on Him totally for everything. We cannot even feed ourselves without Christ's help, and the action of Communion in the traditional manner demonstrates this in a very vivid manner.

Furthermore, receiving Communion directly on the tongue further increases the spiritual tranquility of the whole act. The priest, as above, performs the entire action in dealing with the sacred Host Itself. The danger of leaving particles of the Host on one's own hands is avoided, as well as more worrying sacrileges such as the Host's being taken away, uneaten, dropped on the floor, or even taken to Satanic gatherings. If a particle is left on the communicant's hand, however small and invisible to the eye, It is still Our Lord entire - Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. He remains fully present in the species of the Host until the Host loses the accidents of bread. Moreover, if we are allowed to directly touch the Blessed Sacrament, we may become casual or careless in Our Lord's Presence, thus giving rise to irreverence before the great Sacrament Itself. Only allowing the priest to touch the Host also in-creases our respect and reverence, not only for the Blessed Sacrament, but for the priesthood itself and all who take it upon themselves to enter it. The sacred Host is, after all the very substance of God Incarnate: Something demanding our extreme reverence and holy fear. To restrict touching It to the priesthood alone can only increase these virtues.

Newman on the Mass

I have thus covered six main qualities of the traditional Latin Mass. They are certainly not the only ones. The whole ethos of the Mass exhibits a profound belief in the doctrines of the one, true Church of Christ, especially in the Holy Sacrifice and the substantial Presence of Our Lord, Jesus Christ. The beauty and Catholicity of the Offertory prayers confirm the doctrine of the Catholic faith in the upcoming Consecration, unambiguously. The rubrics of the Mass are very strict; when we attend a Latin Mass we know what to expect--it depends on the Mass Itself not on the personalities surrounding It. The repeated genuflections of the priest before the sacred Species confirm this most Divine Presence, as do his repeated Signs of the Cross over it, before and after the Consecration. Before the Consecration these actions serve to bless and set the offering apart, after the Consecration to signify the reality of the Cross before us and Its redemptive quality. The genuflections within the Creed and the Last Gospel emphasize our belief in the profound doctrine of the Incarnation, the center of the Christian faith. The striking of the breast, during the Confiteor and the "Lord, I am not worthy..." bring in all aspects of our existence to increase our realization of our own unworthiness and the infinite love and mercy of God.

The traditional Mass is not something heard or listened to. It is a divine experience seeping with the beauty of the Faith, that touches the heart and soul of all who participate, giving a boost to the spirituality of those who immerse themselves in its mysteries. The secular world is the battleground; the Mass is the place that charges us up, puts us in touch with our divine mission, and motivates us to face the prince of this world with great courage and faith.

I conclude by completing the quotation from Cardinal Newman, who composed the following glowing praise for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, spoken by the mouth of the hero of his book, LOSS AND GAIN: "I declare, to me nothing is so consoling, so piercing, so thrilling, so overcoming as the Mass, said as it is among us. I could attend Masses forever and not be tired. It is not a mere form of words; it is a great ACTION - the greatest action that can be on earth. It is not the invocation merely, but, if I dare use the word, the evocation of the Eternal. He becomes present on the altar in Flesh and Blood, before Whom angels bow and devils tremble."

This is that awful event which is the end and is the interpretation of every part of the solemnity. Words are necessary, but as means, not ends; they are not mere addresses to the throne of grace; they are instruments of what is far higher, of consecration, of sacrifice. They hurry on, as if impatient to fulfill their mission. Quickly they go - the whole is quick; for they are all parts of one integral action. Quickly they pass, for the Lord Jesus goes with them, as He passed along the lake in the days of His Flesh, quickly calling first one and then another. Quickly they pass, because as the lightning which shineth from one part of the heaven unto the other, so is the coming of the Son of Man. Quickly they pass, for they are the words of Moses, when the Lord came down in a cloud, calling on the Name of the Lord as He passed by: 'The Lord, the Lord, merciful and gracious, long-suffering and abundant in goodness and truth.' And as Moses on the mountain, so we, too, Make haste and bow our heads to the earth, and adore.'

So we, all around, each in his place, looking out for the great Advent, 'waiting for the movement of the water,' each in his place with his own heart, with his own wants, with his own thoughts, with his own intentions, with his own prayers, separate but concordant, watching what is going on, watching its progress, uniting in its consummation; not painfully and hopelessly following a hard form of prayer from beginning to end, but like a concert of musical instruments, each differing but concurring in sweet harmony, we take our part with God's priest, supporting him, yet guided by him. There are little children there, and old men, and simple laborers, and students in seminaries, priests preparing for Mass, priests making their thanksgiving; there are innocent maidens, and there are penitent sinners; but out of these many minds rises one Eucharistic hymn, and the great Action is the measure and the scope of it.

XIV. THANKS TO ECUMENISM.

THANKS TO ECUMENISM: we have a Protestantized liturgy:

THANKS TO ECUMENISM: we have Protestantized sacraments.

THANKS TO ECUMENISM: we have more and more Catholics leaving the Faith to embrace Protestantism.

THANKS TO ECUMENISM: we have a frightening drop in conversions

THANKS TO ECUMENISM: we have Communion-in-the-hand and lay-ministers of the Eucharist, both considered sacrilegious and totally unthinkable only twenty-five years ago.

THANKS TO ECUMENISM: we have our Church leaders holding "prayer-services" with non-Catholic religions of all sorts... baptizing and canonizing the predominant heresy that "one religion is as good as another." and causing great scandal and bewilderment among the faithful.

THANKS TO ECUMENISM: we have the dilution of essential Catholic dogmas necessary for salvation.

THANKS TO ECUMENISM: the entire concept of the "Church Militant" his been practically obliterated.

THANKS TO ECUMENISM: we have the Charismatic Movement within the Church, having its roots in Protestantism and Spiritism, and always considered antithetical to Catholicism.

THANKS TO ECUMENISM: we have Protestant Ministers and Jewish Rabbis lecturing from our once Catholic pulpits and universities.

THANKS TO ECUMENISM: devotion to our Blessed Mother has been discouraged.

THANKS TO ECUMENISM: devotion to the Saints has been down-played.

THANKS TO ECUMENISM: the Rosary and many other traditional Catholic practices of piety have been falsely labeled "out-moded", clearly a trick of Satan to keep us from receiving the great graces these devotions acquired.

THANKS TO ECUMENISM: our Holy Church has become more Protestantized and secularized. along with the fact that the Protestants are as protestant as always and the secular are more secular than ever.

THANKS TO ECUMENISM: many of the beautiful statues in our Churches have been removed.

THANKS TO ECUMENISM: we have a great crisis of Faith among our priests and laity.

THANKS TO ECUMENISM: we have the "Spirit of Vatican II," an evil and deceptive spirit employed to turn the Catholic Church upside down.

THANKS TO ECUMENISM: we have the 1962 Vatican-Moscow Agreement, whereas in order to be assured that observers of the Russian Orthodox Church would attend the Second Vatican Council, an agreement was made between Rome and Moscow that the Council would contain "no explicit condemnation of Communism." This policy of "no direct condemnation of Communism" is still in force to this day. By contrast, during the reign of Pope Pius XII, any Catholic who even voted Communism in a general election was automatically excommunicated.)

THANKS TO ECUMENISM: we have replaced the Roman Catholic altar with a Protestant table.

THANKS TO ECUMENISM: we no longer have offertory prayers which stress the sacrificial nature of the Mass, but new ecumenical offertory prayers offensive to no non-Catholic, and bearing a closer resemblance to a Jewish table blessing.

THANKS TO ECUMENISM: we have removed the altar rails.

THANKS TO ECUMENISM: we now stand for Holy Communion.

THANKS TO ECUMENISM: There has been a change as to what is the Mystery of Faith, where-as in the Old Liturgy, the "Mystery of Faith" clearly referred to the Transubstantiation of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of our Lord. In the New Liturgy, however, the "Mystery of Faith" is proclaimed as "Christ has died, Christ is risen. Christ will come again"... a doctrine unlike Transubstantiation which is acceptable to Protestants. (In the new liturgy. there is actually a choice of five mysteries of Faith, all of which are a little different... is there any wonder there is now so much doctrinal confusion?)

THANKS TO ECUMENISM: the tabernacles in many of our Churches have been taken off the main altar and placed on the side. (Is the Holy Eucharist only a sideline of our Faith?)

THANKS TO ECUMENISM: we have a drastic drop in the Sacrament of Confession and the introduction of the face-to-face Reconciliation Room, by now clearly a flop!

THANKS TO ECUMENISM: we have voided the interiors of our Catholic Churches with the sense of reverence and awe, strikingly present in all Catholic Churches before Vatican II.

THANKS TO ECUMENISM: "the Church is in a state of auto-demolition" (self destruction).

THANKS TO ECUMENISM: the Catholic Church has been placed on the same footing with every false religion on the face of the earth.

THANKS TO ECUMENISM: the dogma Outside the Church there is no salvation has not only been ignored, but sometimes vehemently fought against by "Catholic" priests and theologians.

THANKS TO ECUMENISM: we are one giant step closer to a One World Church.

THANKS TO ECUMENISM: we are one giant step closer to a One World Government.

THANKS TO ECUMENISM: we have the demonic New Age Movement making inroads into the Church, manifesting itself primarily in the absurd teaching that "Jesus did not know he was God until He was baptized by John the Baptist and received the Christ consciousness."

THANKS TO ECUMENISM: we have prayer gatherings with Hindus, Buddhists, Jews, and Moslems, all who deny the Divinity of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

THANKS TO ECUMENISM: we have Diocesan bishops "lending out their cathedrals" for the installation of Protestant bishops. (i.e. Philadelphia: Archbishop Bevilacqua- Cathedral of St. Peter & Paul - April 18. l988).

THANKS TO ECUMENISM: we have the humanistic "religion of reason" infiltrating our Faith, manifesting itself in sad sermons and insipid catechisms.

THANKS TO ECUMENISM: we have widespread rejection of many Catholic teachings on Faith and Morals (If pluralism is condoned outside the Church, what then is wrong with it within the household of the Faith?).

THANKS TO ECUMENISM: we have downplayed the Social Kingship of Jesus Christ which acknowledges that all governments and all authorities ultimately receive their power of government and jurisdiction from Christ. and are therefore answerable to Him and His Divine Law.

THANKS TO ECUMENISM: the magnificent hierarchiel structure of the Church has been undermined.

THANKS TO ECUMENISM: Sunday homilies defending Catholic Truth against heretical positions are practically extinct!

THANKS TO ECUMENISM: we have practically every heresy that ever existed within the very bosom of the Church.

THANKS TO ECUMENISM: we may ask ourselves, how will our Holy Church ever be in a position to condemn new errors when it has become so buddy-buddy with the old ones?

THANKS TO ECUMENISM: we have an "emperor's new clothes" situation where fraudulent tailors have adorned the Church in the apparel of ecumenism, and there are no dignitaries to be found who will admit "the Church has been stripped naked."

THANKS TO ECUMENISM: faithful Catholics who rightly criticize the catastrophic effects of modern ecumenism are labeled "disrespectful", "dissident", "rebellious", and "disobedient".

Finally, THANKS TO ECUMENISM: we have indeed very little to be thankful for in the devastated vineyard of the Post Vatican II Church.

XV. THE GREGORIAN CALENDAR

In all Catholic countries a strange thing happened in October, 1582. The people went to bed on October 4th and woke up on October 15th! This was done in order to make the calendar accurate.

A calendar is supposed to show the number of days which are required for the earth to move around the sun. For many centuries it was thought that the earth took 365 days to go round the sun. In the time of Julius Caesar this number of days was found to be inaccurate. Thereupon, Julius Caesar established the Julian Calendar. He added an extra day every fourth year in the month of February. The year with the extra day is known as a Leap Year.

In the time of Pope Gregory XIII, (1572-1585) it was discovered that the earth went around the sun in a little less than 365 and 1/4 days. This meant that since the time of Julius Caesar the earth was ten days further around the sun than the calendar showed.

To have our calendar correct it was necessary to recover the ten days which had been lost. Pope Gregory XIII consulted with Catholic scientists. He then ordered that October 4, 1582 should be followed by October 15, 1582. With few exceptions every fourth year was to remain a Leap Year. Pope Gregory XIII thus arranged to keep our calendar scientific and accurate. Taking his name, our calendar since that time has been known as the Gregorian Calendar.

Scientists everywhere admitted the truth of the Pope's findings. The sixteenth century, however, was the time of religious revolution. Countries which wickedly broke away from the Catholic Church refused to follow the Pope, even though his scientific findings were correct.

England did not adopt the Gregorian Calendar until 1752. The Russians and the Greeks refused to make their calendars accurate until the time of the World War.

We should be proud that our present calendar begins with the birth of Our Lord. We should also be proud that the Catholic Church always has been interested in science.

Real science is truth and all truth comes from God. Pope Gregory XIII is only one of the many Popes who encouraged the study and teaching of science.

END