April is the Month of the Holy Eucharist

April comes in with a bang this year with Holy Week. Let us observe the best Holy Week we can, so as to obtain mercy, not wrath for the world. Let us not forget the precious unborn, as they go to their own crosses, on Good Friday. And let us make ourselves deserving of the Solemnity of Solemnities, Easter Sunday. We then have the wonderful Octave of Easter, traditionally a time of great joy and feasting…for we have seen the suffering, the self-denial and the Holy Cross, leading ultimately to the ineffable Resurrection!

This month, we also celebrate the feast of Divine Mercy (Quasimodo Sunday in the trad), the Major Rogation Day and Good Shepherd Sunday in the new.

As for the month of the Holy Eucharist, what can we do to honor this greatest of heavenly gifts? We must begin to see everything through the lens of the Signs of the Times. One thing one might consider is this: Do I know anyone among friends or family who is receiving Holy Communion unworthily? If so, what can I do to defend our Blessed Lord and help this person to a greater life of holiness? Perhaps some instruction on Easter Duty, proper reception of Communion and examination of conscience, would be a good place to start. Obviously, we always proceed with prayer and discernment. We may do well to consider these words of genius…

“Let us not shun and suppress the earnest words of the calling voices, or those who are our executioners today may be our accusers once again tomorrow, because we silenced the truth.”

Father Alfred Delp, German Martyr under Hitler

Does it hurt us more to be vocal or to be silent?

Please see our LENT button to the right, which includes full meditations on the Sorrowful Mysteries, with a concluding thesis. Great wishes for a most blessed Holy Week and Easter Sunday!

Your friendly trad calendar: Month of April

Reflections on this Easter Triduum

Let us rejoice on this Easter Thursday, as we contemplate the following Psalm, which gives praise to our Heavenly Father and shows us how our present sufferings will end….Trial & Triumph!

Psalm 91

It is good to give praise to the Lord: and to sing to thy name, O most High. To shew forth thy mercy in the morning, and thy truth in the night: Upon an instrument of ten strings, upon the psaltery: with a canticle upon the harp. For thou hast given me, O Lord, a delight in thy doings: and in the works of thy hands I shall rejoice.

O Lord, how great are thy works! thy thoughts are exceeding deep. The senseless man shall not know: nor will the fool understand these things. When the wicked shall spring up as grass: and all the workers of iniquity shall appear: That they may perish for ever and ever: But thou, O Lord, art most high for evermore. For behold thy enemies, O Lord, for behold thy enemies shall perish: and all the workers of iniquity shall be scattered.

But my horn shall be exalted like that of the unicorn: and my old age in plentiful mercy. My eye also hath looked down upon my enemies: and my ear shall hear of the downfall of the malignant that rise up against me. The just shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow up like the cedar of Libanus. They that are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of the house of our God. They shall still increase in a fruitful old age: and shall be well treated, that they may shew, that the Lord our God is righteous, and there is no iniquity in him.

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GOOD FRIDAY-Last week, someone we love was planning to get the Covid mRNA “vaccine.” My husband and I were concerned, not only due to the medical considerations, but also the ethical issues regarding abortion and vaccines. Not even thinking of Holy Week, we decided to pray the Divine Mercy Novena. It was wonderful to pray this on Good Friday, uniting it to the Passion of Christ. This novena is often begun on Good Friday, to be completed just prior to the Divine Mercy feast. There is also an indulgence attached.

A number of our friends and family members have already gotten the vaccine, which is a sorrow. However, I have great consolation that through our prayers, the effects will be mitigated, as far as God wills. I am with Bishop Athanasius Schneider in saying that I will never get it, under penalty of death…for God, for the babies, for freedom…we must make ourselves worthy to inherit the earth when all is said and done.

HOLY SATURDAY-I found myself thinking about the mysterious apparition at Knock, Ireland, in 1879, on the morning of Holy Saturday and wondered why God put that in my mind. The strange thing about this vision, seen by many people, was that the figures were both silent and motionless. “Our Lady of Knock” is well-known, but many do not know that Saint Joseph, Saint John the Evangelist and even Our Lord as a Lamb with angels, also appeared. Saint John was holding a book in one hand and appeared as a bishop. Hundreds of miracles were reported in the days following the apparition. Some feel that Knock was related to the End Times, perhaps the times we are now living in. When the author of Apocalypse appears with an open book, maybe it’s time to consider we should be paying attention to the Signs of the Times!

So what does this have to do with Holy Saturday? This day is only one of 2 days in all the year, including Good Friday, when the Mass is not celebrated (except for the Easter Vigil in the evening). The altar is bare. We call to mind the dark moments when Our Blessed Lord was enclosed within the tomb. Stillness, silence, mourning. We can see a connection to the stillness and silence at Knock. There is a lot to meditate on here.

EASTER SUNDAY-Our celebrant gave a wonderful homily at the Easter Mass. He related a little-known story about the Hungarian uprising against the Soviet Union in 1956. As the tanks approached a small village on Easter, the local parish priest stood in front of them, forcing them to stop. He shouted, “Jesus is risen!” The soldiers peeked their heads up and responded, “Indeed He is risen!" They had heard this countless times as children and it was their spontaneous reaction. The smart priest had bottles of vodka waiting for them and the village was spared. (Great prepper lesson!) The question for you and me is, “Do I have that kind of courage and trust during these times, when I am called upon to defend the Truth?” It is now our turn. Something else to meditate on.

The Solemnity of Solemnities!

+++ EASTER SUNDAY +++

THE RESURRECTION OF OUR LORD & SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST

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From the Tridentine Mass:

I arose and am still with Thee, alleluia!

Thou hast laid Thy hand upon Me, alleluia; Thy knowledge is become wonderful, alleluia, alleluia!

O God, who, on this day, through Thine only-begotten Son, hast conquered death, and thrown open to us the gate of everlasting life, give effect by Thine aid to our desires, which Thou dost anticipate and inspire.

This is the day which the Lord hath made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Give praise unto the Lord, for He is good: for His mercy endureth for ever. Alleluia, alleluia!

The earth trembled and was still when God arose in judgment, alleluia!

Pour forth upon us, O Lord, the spirit of Thy love, that those whose hunger Thou hast satisfied with the Sacraments of Easter may in Thy kindness be one in heart.

(With great sorrow, we have not been satisfied with the Sacraments this Easter, Lord have mercy!)

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I woke up today very late and depressed about not being able to attend Mass. We all love the Easter Mass and the wonderful joy of celebrating it with our dear priests and friends at church. Some of my greatest memories are of the Easter Mass and the joy it instills. To have that taken away is a tremendous sadness, which we must offer up for our Church and our world.

I had forgotten that the Mass I wanted to watch (my own parish) was at a certain time, and I woke up just before it was starting. I am not so energetic in the morning. So there I was with my husband in his home office watching Mass, sitting in a chair hanging my head, in my pajamas, drinking coffee and trying to keep my dog from jumping on me. (Hmmmm in my pajamas drinking coffee? Maybe this ain’t so bad after all!) As I began to read the above words, my spirit began to lift. My pastor gave the most beautiful and appropriate homily for this sad Easter Sunday. He remarked that Christ has conquered death and we have the victory. And that we must not fear death like the world does. By the end of the Mass, I was singing the Easter “Alleluia” in my heart and my joy returned to me!

This is the wonder of Holy Mother Church and the Holy Mass! How many, even practicing Catholics, are not bothering to watch the Mass during this dreadful separation. If they would only come unto the font of living water, their spirits would be greatly uplifted!

Blessings to my readers and your families on this Easter Sunday and this coming Easter Week. How will you celebrate Easter Week this year, when we MUST start giving God our very best? Give it some thought and prayer. How about joining with me each day this week in the Rosary? Let our prayers resound to Heaven to secure mercy, not wrath for the world. And each day when we wake up, let us remember the words: “I arose and am still with Thee, alleluia!”

April is the Month of the Holy Eucharist

The Church dedicates this month to Our Lord in the Most Blessed Sacrament.  It is a time to renew our appreciation for this great privilege.  It is easy, when we receive Him every week, to begin to take this for granted.  But we must guard against this, lest the precious Body of Christ be taken from us!  How can we deepen our love and devotion to the Holy Eucharist this month?  We may receive Him more frequently, we may perform any of the many Eucharistic devotions, we may visit Him in Adoration, we may begin the Nine First Fridays Devotion (given to Saint Margaret Mary, which requires that Holy Communion is received on nine consecutive first Fridays), we may make reparation to Him for all the outrages against this great Sacrament (see prayer on Home page from the LItany of Reparation to Our Lord in the Blessed Eucharist)...just a few ideas! 

What other unique features does this month of April bring to us?  It is a month of special weeks:  the traditional Passion Week, Holy Week and the joyful Easter Week.  We celebrate 3 Doctors of the Church, 2 20th Century saints (both Italian women!) and the Major Rogation Day, a traditional day of prayer and fasting, very similar to the Ember Days, but with a different origin.

After our 40 days of penance and the contemplation of Our Lords terrible sufferings, may be all celebrate a happy and holy Easter Sunday.  What a great joy!  Isn't it wonderful to be Catholic?  Here's a sampling of this month's feasts:

4/1-First Saturday-Our Lady of Fatima requested that we observe the First Saturdays

4/2-Passion Sunday, commencing Passion Week

4/4-Saint Isidore of Seville, 636-Doctor of the Church

4/7-First Friday/Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary-say the Seven Sorrows Chaplet, it's a wonderful devotion!

4/9-Palm Sunday, commencing Holy Week/Saint Mary of Cleophas, 1st Century

4/10-Saint Ezechiel, 6th Century BC-Old Testament Patriarch

4/11-Saint Leo the Great,461-Doctor of the Church/Saint Gemma Galgani, 1903

4/12-Spy Wednesday

4/13-Holy Thursday

+++ EASTER TRIDUUM +++

4/14-Good Friday-fast and abstinence

4/15-Holy Saturday/Easter Vigil

4/16-Easter Sunday, The Solemnity of Solemnities, commencing Easter Week-Happy Easter!/Saint Bernadette, 1879

4/21-Saint Anselm, 1109 (Easter Friday is a solemnity, therefore no penance is required)

4/23-Divine Mercy Sunday-Saint Faustina, pray for us!  What a beautiful day of devotions!/Quasimodo Sunday

4/25-Saint Mark, 74/Major Rogation Day-great day to do special prayers and crafts with children relating to the season of Spring

4/26-Our Lady of Good Counsel

4/28-Saint Louis de Montfort, 1716/Saint Gianna Molla, 1962

4/29-Saint Catherine of Siena, 1380-Doctor of the Church

4/30-Saint Catherine of Siena (trad)

this blog provides both new and traditional feasts

Easter Sunday....

The Solemnity of Solemnities

The Resurrection of Our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ

O God, Who on this day, through Thine only-begotten Son, hast conquered death and thrown open to us the gate of Everlasting Life, give effect by Thine aid to our desires, which Thou dost anticipate and inspire.  Amen.

Eastertide has begun!  Wishing you and your families a very Happy Easter and Easter Week!  CFM

Image courtesy http://www.dici.org/en/multimedia/video/the-resurrection/