Thoughts & Ruminations

The Rite of Enthroning a Home to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

His Eminence Albert Cardinal Meyer, in a televised talk given on May 31, 1964, said: “The enthronement of the Sacred Heart in a home is not just a pretty ceremony once performed and then forgotten. It is a way of life. It is the official and social recognition of the loving kingship of the Heart of Jesus in a Christian family.” The Cardinal also noted that the presence of a priest is not necessary at the enthronement; that the father of the family may conduct the ceremony; but that if a priest were present he could bless the picture or statue of the Sacred Heart during the rite. The present suggested ceremony may be adapted according to circumstances, depending on whether a priest or the father of the family presides at the enthronement.

On entering the home the priest sprinkles holy water in the living room and on the members of the family, saying:

Purify me with hyssop, Lord, and I shall be clean of sin. Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Have mercy on me, God in your great kindness. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
All: As it was in the beginning, etc.
P: Our help is in the name of the Lord.
All: Who made heaven and earth.
P: Lord, heed my prayer.
All: And let my cry be heard by you.
P: The Lord be with you.
All: May He also be with you.

Let us pray. 
Hear us, holy Lord and Father, almighty everlasting God, and in your goodness send your holy angel from heaven to watch over and protect all who live in this home, to be with them and give them comfort and encouragement; through Christ our Lord. 
All: Amen.

Let us pray.
Lord Jesus Christ, as I, in all humility, enter this home, let there enter with me abiding happiness and God’s choicest blessings. Let serene joy pervade this home and charity abound here and health never fail. Let no evil spirits approach this place but drive them far away. Let your angels of peace take over and put down all wicked strife. Teach us, O Lord, to recognize the majesty of your holy name. Sanctify our humble visit and bless + what we are about to do; you who are holy, you who are kind, you who abide with the Father and the Holy Spirit forever and ever.
All: Amen.

An Early Christian Inscription on a Home

The victory is Christ’s. Begone, Satan. Our Lord Jesus Christ, God’s Son and Word, lives here. Nothing evil may come inside. Jesus Christ, King of kings and Lord of lords, in your mercy keep your eyes on this house day and night. This is the Lord’s door. Those who come through it must be just. God the holy, God the strong, God the undying, crucified for us, have mercy on us. You have our trust, Lord; may we have your mercy.

The priest then blesses the picture or statue of the Sacred Heart using the blessing of an image of our Lord. Afterward he says:

Prayer of Christ the High Priest

At that time Jesus raised His eyes to heaven and said: “Father, the hour is come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. You have given Him authority over all mankind, that He might give eternal life to all you have entrusted to Him. And this is the sum of eternal life—their knowing you, the only true God, and your ambassador Jesus Christ.

I have glorified you on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. And now, for your part, Father, glorify me in your bosom with the glory I possessed in your bosom before the world existed. I have made your name known to all men whom you singled out from the world and entrusted to me. Yours they were, and to me you have entrusted them; and they cherish your message. I am offering a prayer for them; not for the world do I pray, but for those whom you have entrusted to me; for yours they are. All that is mine is yours, and yours is mine; and they are my crowning glory. Holy Father, keep them loyal to your name which you have given me. May they be one as we are one. I have delivered to them your message; and the world hates them, because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not. I do not pray you to take them out of the world, but only to preserve them from its evil influence. The world finds nothing kin in them, just as the world finds nothing kin in me. Consecrate them to the service of the truth. Your message is truth. As you have made me your ambassador to the world, so I am making them my ambassadors to the world; and for their sake I consecrate myself, that they, in turn, may in reality be consecrated.

O Father, I will that those whom you have entrusted to me shall be at my side where I am. I want them to behold my glory, the glory you bestowed on me because you loved me before the world was founded. Just Father! The world does not know you, but I know you, and thus these men have come to know that I am your ambassador. I have made known to them your name, and will continue to make it known. May the love with which you loved me dwell in them, as I dwell in them myself.

Prayer to the Sacred Heart

Lord Jesus Christ,
We acknowledge you as King of the universe. All that has been made exists for your glory. Exercise over us your sovereign rights. We now renew the promises of our baptism; we again renounce Satan and all his works and attractions; we again promise to lead a truly Christian life. And in a very special way we undertake to bring about the triumph of your rights and the rights of your Church. Sacred Heart of Jesus, we offer you our poor actions to obtain that all men acknowledge your sacred kingly power. May the kingdom of your peace be firmly established throughout the world.
All: Amen.

Lord Jesus Christ, who, while you were subject to Mary and Joseph, sanctified family life by your unexcelled virtues; grant that we, aided by Mary and Joseph, may be inspired by the example of your holy family, and so attain the happiness of living with them in heaven. We ask this of you who live and reign forever and ever.
All: Amen.

Lastly the priest blesses the family:

May the blessing of almighty God, Father, Son, + and Holy Spirit, come upon you and remain with you forever.
All: Amen.

My Sermon for Pentecost Sunday

Contraception is a sin. There are a few very rare exceptions, but it’s a sin. Catechism of the Catholic Church, #2370. Contraception profoundly weakens the love between husband and wife.

The Church teaches it - infallibly - and yet as many as 8 out of 10 American Catholics say they don’t agree or don’t care and contracept anyway.

Marriage is a Christian vocation expressed between a man and a woman. Catechism of the Catholic Church, #1601.  It was established by God so that humanity could be fruitful and multiply.

The Church teaches it - infallibly - and yet many American Catholics speak out as if it’s a human rights issue.

The chastity of children is the responsibility of the parents until the child is an adult. Catechism of the Catholic Church, #2223. It is the duty of parents to see to the spiritual and moral formation of children and to protect them from temptation as best as possible by the practice of the virtues of denial.

The Church teaches it and yet all too many American Catholic parents are heard to say “kids will kids” or “it’s better for them to drink here than somewhere else” or “we did it when we were young.”

The Church in the United States has for the last forty years faced an identity crisis.

Do I have to do what the Church says? Do I have to give something up for Lent?

Do I have to go to Church every Sunday? Do I have to go to confession?

Is Jesus really present in the host? What if I don’t like Father?

I think I’m a spiritual person and I don’t see a problem with infidelity or fornication. I think that this or that is morally ok - and I love Jesus. Besides - a good and loving God wouldn’t send anyone to hell really.

Today’s Gospel serves as a painful thorn in our side as modern Americans. We are told by TV and Politics and even one another that we’re entitled to our own opinions and that mature people make their own decisions and that faith is in your heart. But the Feast of Pentecost couldn’t be more opposed to that idea.

The Holy Spirit is coming. He is truth and he comes from God the Father… His opinion is true and he’s not interested in other opinions.

He isn’t going to lead a discussion, he is going to guide us… Toward the truth. He isn’t going to say his own thing - he is here to tell it from the mouth of God, period. To reject the truth is to reject the Lord.

And maybe that’s where the identity crisis comes in. There isn’t any appeal. There’s not room for disagreements or other opinions. Now - the Holy Spirit doesn’t necessarily hammer down every detail of everything. But what’s morally right and wrong are clear and that’s that.

And that way of thinking is the exact opposite of what it means for me to be an American nowadays…

And so we’re in the tough spot of saying, “Am I an American Catholic - who is going to fit the truth of God into my life…” Or - am I a Catholic American - who is going to fit my life into the truth of God.”

St. John basically says it… Words don’t mean much of anything. I can say I’m Catholic all day long. But words don’t make something real or true. I can call myself a great musician, but I can’t play piano as well as some of our teenagers. I can say that I speak Spanish, but I have to ask little kids to speak slowly. In the end, the truth is the truth and nothing I say or do can change that.

This makes some of us uncomfortable. It’s made a lot of Catholics choose a new Church in the last few decades. It’s made some people in this parish angry with me. And it’s led us to today where some Catholics who outright reject central truths of the faith are figuring more and more on the national scene and still being considered Catholics…

So today - on this feast of the Holy Spirit - it’s a good time for everyone of us to take a good, hard look inside and face this very real problem head on…

“Am I creating my religion or is my religion creating me”

Come Holy Spirit, and fill the hearts of your faithful, and kindle in them the fire of Your Divine Love. Send forth Your Spirit and they shall be created, and You shall renew the face of the earth. Oh God, Who by the light of the Holy Spirit instructed the hearts of the faithful, Grant, that by the same Spirit we may be truly wise and ever rejoice in His consolation. We ask this through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

International Priests' Retreat in Ars

For those priests who may be interested… [Laity, don’t hesitate to print this an give it to your pastor\priest]

The Retreat Starts on Sun, Sept 27, 2009 at 7pm and Ends on Sat, Oct 3 at 2pm

Daily horarum

• 9am, Lauds
• 4:30pm, Adoration
• 6pm, Vespers
• Confession, Spiritual Direction, Perpetual Adoration of the MBS throughout the retreat

Talks by
The talks will be given in French, German and English and will be simulcast to retreatants over insanely cool headset things.

• Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, Archbishop of Vienna, Austria
• Cardinal Cláudio Hummes, Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy
• Cardinal André Vingt-Trois, Archbishop of Paris, France, President of the French Episcopal conference
• Cardinal Séan OʼMalley, Archbishop of Boston, USA
• Cardinal Christian Tumi, Archbishop of Douala, Cameroon
• Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, Archbishop of Lyon, France, Primate of the Gauls
• As well as a number of priests and laity.

Cost €490 + Transportation to\from

The website is http://retraitears2009.org

Words from Pius XI that ring true today...

It may be said in all truth that the Church, like Christ, goes through the centuries doing good to all. There would be today neither Socialism nor Communism if the rulers of the nations had not scorned the teachings and maternal warnings of the Church. On the bases of liberalism and laicism they wished to build other social edifices which, powerful and imposing as they seemed at first, all too soon revealed the weakness of their foundations, and today are crumbling one after another before our eyes, as everything must crumble that is not grounded on the one corner stone which is Christ Jesus.

This, Venerable Brethren, is the doctrine of the Church, which alone in the social as in all other fields can offer real light and assure salvation in the face of Communistic ideology. But this doctrine must be consistently reduced to practice in every-day life, according to the admonition of St. James the Apostle: “Be ye doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” The most urgent need of the present day is therefore the energetic and timely application of remedies which will effectively ward off the catastrophe that daily grows more threatening. We cherish the firm hope that the fanaticism with which the sons of darkness work day and night at their materialistic and atheistic propaganda will at least serve the holy purpose of stimulating the sons of light to a like and even greater zeal for the honor of the Divine Majesty. …

Even in Catholic countries there are still too many who are Catholics hardly more than in name. There are too many who fulfill more or less faithfully the more essential obligations of the religion they boast of professing, but have no desire of knowing it better, of deepening their inward conviction, and still less of bringing into conformity with the external gloss the inner splendor of a right and unsullied conscience, that recognizes and performs all its duties under the eye of God.

We know how much Our Divine Savior detested this empty pharisaic show, He Who wished that all should adore the Father “in spirit and in truth.” The Catholic who does not live really and sincerely according to the Faith he professes will not long be master of himself in these days when the winds of strife and persecution blow so fiercely, but will be swept away defenseless in this new deluge which threatens the world. And thus, while he is preparing his own ruin, he is exposing to ridicule the very name of Christian.

Pius XI, Divini Redemptoris

Wow… How’s this for those who have ‘reinvented’ the faith in their own image and preference…