A Jubilee Year Meditation: The Holy Door of Your Life

This is the First Day of the Rest of Your Life!

As I contemplated my impending trip to Rome, where I will pass through the Holy Door in Saint Peter’s Basilica, opened specifically for the Jubilee Year, I realized that right now in my life, I am walking through another door.  A door of change, in several ways.  A door of newness that takes courage and discipline.  A door of challenge.  I know I am not alone.  Perhaps all Catholics this year, are called to do the same thing, whether or not they can get to Rome or another place with a Holy Door (apparently, all cathedrals have one).  It’s not the door that really matters, it’s what it symbolizes.  It’s the change it encourages in one’s life.  Holy Church invites us to cross a great threshold of holiness in this year of graces, at a time when it is most needed.

Of course, the spiritual is of greater importance than the temporal.  However, it is often mundane matters that require the analysis and discipline which leads to spiritual growth.  So we might wish to ask these types of questions:

What is my door?

What are my goals?  What must I change in my life?  How hard am I willing to work?  (Maybe it won’t require working harder, but smarter.)  What needs to shift?  What must I let go of?  What’s working in my life?  What isn’t?  What obstacles need to be removed?  What structures need to be built? 

“The world is wide, and I will not waste my life in friction when it could be turned into momentum.”

Frances Willard

3 years ago, late at night, I slipped in the doorway between my kitchen and the hallway and received a bad concussion.  It was life-changing, not only because of the physical and mental effects (some of which I still suffer from), but because of how it challenged me and was part of a spiritual transformation in my life.  Every night I walk through that same doorway on my way to bed and remember that rite of passage.  That doorway hurt me but it also mysteriously helped me. 

“And we know that to them that love God, all things work together unto good, to such as, according to his purpose, are called to be saints.”

Romans 8:28

Life has many doors…reminds me of Mary Hopkin’s beautifully haunting song, “Water, Paper and Clay.”  Water representing Baptism, paper representing the wedding day and clay, burial…universal, speaking to the deepest parts of us.  Each of these doors creates instant change.  But the kind of change we must initiate through force of the will and maintain, is difficult.  The Holy Door concept gives us the encouragement and motivation we need.  We can all traverse our own Holy Doors, whether they are actual ecclesiastical doors, or something more personal.  Holy Church during this privileged Jubilee Year beckons us all to a renaissance of the soul…a resurrection in some way resembling Our Lord’s, bringing us closer to Heaven.

Meditation on the Resurrection

From EWTN Vatican, with brief commentary and stunning photos…

Pilgrims From All Over The World Pass Through Holy Door Of St. Peter’s Basilica

From Pilgrimaps, a respectful article on the Holy Doors, including history, symbolism, and the universality of such passages across cultures (sorry about the flashing thing on this website, but it’s worth reading)…

The Holy Door:  The Meaning of Crossing the Threshold

“I am the Door. By me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and he shall go in, and go out, and shall find pastures.”

John 10:9

The Jubilee Year: There's Still Time!

Every 25 years, Holy Church celebrates a “Jubilee Year” of special graces.  This year’s theme is “Pilgrims of Hope.”  A pilgrimage is one way to obtain the plenary indulgence of this Jubilee Year.  The Year began Christmas Eve 2024, and ends formally in Rome on the feast of Epiphany, January 6th, 2026.  However, it ends locally, outside of Rome, on the feast of the Holy Family, December 28th, 2025.  The Year began with the opening of the Holy Door at Saint Peter’s Basilica and will close in the same way.  There are several Holy Doors involved in the Jubilees, which represent a spiritual passage. 

This means we still have about 4 months left!  If you have not participated, there are still several things you can do to obtain the plenary indulgence or simply to be a part of this Jubilee Year with its unique privileges.  My family and I will be going to Rome soon to perform the pilgrimage there.  So many from all over the world have gone to Rome this year and what great blessings have been obtained!  If you cannot travel, check with your diocese to see what activities are being done there or what their stipulations/holy sites are on the plenary. 

Jubilee volunteers will be continued to be needed throughout the world.

From EWTN, here is general info, a travel app, the Papal Bull Jubilee Year document and the Jubilee prayer…

Experience the 2025 Jubilee, Becoming a Pilgrim of Hope 

From United States Conference of Catholic Bishops here is:  calendars, national shrines and US pilgrimage sites, info on the US Embassy to the Holy See in Rome and the Bishops Office for US Visitors to the Vatican and more…

USCCB:  Jubilee 2025 - Pilgrims of Hope 

Here is everything you need to know about obtaining the Jubilee Plenary Indulgence… 

Decree on the Granting of Indulgence During the Ordinary Jubilee Year 2025 

Excerpt: 

“All the faithful, who are truly repentant and free from any affection for sin…who are moved by a spirit of charity and who, during the Holy Year, purified through the sacrament of penance and refreshed by Holy Communion, pray for the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff, will be able to obtain from the treasury of the Church a plenary indulgence, with remission and forgiveness of all their sins, which can be applied in suffrage to the souls in Purgatory in the following ways…” 

This document goes on to explain all the stipulations, including the 3 ways to obtain the plenary:  1)  Pilgrimage to Rome, the Holy Land or other sites  2)  Pious visits to sacred places  3)  Works of mercy and penance. 

From the Vatican… 

Vatican Jubilee Homepage 

Happy and blessed Jubilee-ing!

Note: We are not responsible for errors. We have done our best to provide the most accurate info.

September is the Month of Our Lady of Sorrows

The World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation is celebrated September 1st.  In keeping with this theme, we also celebrate Saint Hildegard of Bingen and the Stigmata of Saint Francis on the same day:  Sept 17th.  Both saints are invoked for nature, as they contributed greatly to theology referencing God’s creation.  We also have the Ember Days of Autumn on the 24th, 26th and 27th, in which we perform prayer and penance for the upcoming season.  Reading the Mass missal for the Ember Days is a wonderful way to celebrate them.  In addition, traditionally, meat was eaten at only one meal on Ember Wednesday and Saturday.  If you missed praying for the earth on the 1st, these feasts would be a great time to do so. 

There are countless devotions to Our Lady of Sorrows, the Seven Sorrows and the Sorrowful Heart of Our Lady.  We honor our Sorrowful Mother on the 15th, which gives us our theme of this month (there are 4 more Marian feasts, see below in bold).  Let us show our love and empathy for her by choosing one of these devotions to perform.  We at Nomen Christi Apostolate also contemplate the Marian Triad of the Months during these 3 months in honor of the Mother of God.  Next month is Our Lady of the Rosary, when we also honor the sanctity of life.  For this month, we may meditate on how the Immaculate Heart we celebrated last month, intertwines with the Sorrowful Heart.  They are often invoked together. 

Other notable feasts of September in both the trad and post-con calendars… 

6th-First Saturday of the Immaculate Heart

8th-Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

12th-Holy Name of Mary

14th-EXALTATION OF THE HOLY CROSS

21st-Saint Matthew, Apostle & Evangelist

24th-Our Lady of Ransom

26th-North American Martyrs

27th-Saint Vincent de Paul

29th-Saints Michael, Gabriel & Raphael, Archangels/Dedication of Saint Michael 

Homeschool Activities for September 

1)       List the 7 Sorrows of Our Lady.  Can you find where they are in Holy Scripture?

2)      Make an Autumn craft for the Ember Days, incorporating a spiritual theme.

3)      Draw a picture of the 3 archangels.

Mid-July Check-In

Just checkin in with my peeps! As always, I have several things on the burners and unfinished projects from years ago. Old work from my youth that really should be published. Work on old blogs that should be re-published. I once had a YouTube channel but we don’t need to talk about that. Don’t look for it, it’s been deleted, by myself, a long time ago. There is only so much time and as Chris Martenson keeps saying, we have already entered “The Quickening.” Who knows how much longer we will even have the internet as accessible as it is, or in the same form?

Let us pray for the Texas flood victims and for peace in the Middle East and Eastern Europe. Peace in the womb. Peace in the Church. For His Holiness Pope Leo XIV!

This past week we celebrated the feast of Saint Kateri on the 14th, who is invoked for the environment and ecology, issues which most concern us in the Catholic preparedness community. Yesterday we honored Our Lady of Mount Carmel, who instituted the habit of the Brown Scapular through Saint Simon Stock. We had a special investiture and high solemn traditional Mass on Long Island last night. Afterwards, the church had a light reception. So, my dinner was mystery hors d'oeuvres, fruit and cake that looked like Boston Cream cake, but with no Boston Cream:( (I do hope the church cooks are not reading this.) I was still hungry and got a Wendy’s large fries on the way home. Lo and behold, my stomach started hurting in the middle of the night and I went rummaging for expired Pepto Bismol tablets. Guess I need more Pepto.

Anyway, it was all more than worth it for a wonderful evening with friends and of course, a beautiful Mass. We have something very special and amazing that has recently been emerging in the traditional Catholic community on Long Island. Various special feast TLM’s are being celebrated at different churches by different priests, often with several priests. We are a nomadic bunch, as we have always been since the 80’s. We are used to it and we have learned adaptability. The group travels around to all these Masses and it is truly joyful! Let me tell you, the turnouts are incredible, with a high percentage of Latinos. I suspect the persecution of the trads in the last several years has only served to pique people’s interest (there’s no such thing as bad publicity, our enemies forgot that). I feel very blessed to be experiencing this time and place in Church history. I know it is special and rare and will not continue forever. Things will change once again, for sure. But this is where we are now, and it is wonderful.

Again, it is the month of the Precious Blood of Jesus. Let us pour ourselves out to Him, Who pours Himself out for us!

A Consoling Meditation with the Beatitudes

I’m going to be just a tad presumptuous, and consider what may have gone on in the Mind of God just before creating Adam and Eve…before placing them in the Garden for their great test…

God hesitated. He knew once He rolled this ball down the aisle, there would be no stopping it. No turning back. He knew He must let the Serpent into the beautiful, pristine Garden. He knew Eve would fail. He knew Adam would be seduced too. In His omniscience, He saw all of human history laid bare before Him. “Should I do it?”

He saw Adam and Eve’s grievous regret at what they had done. He saw Cain kill his brother Abel. He knew it would go so terribly wrong, He would have to send a great flood to destroy it all and start over…with Noah and his small family.

He saw the enslavement of His chosen people. He saw how often they would sin against Him. He saw every war against them and every war until the end of time…the sticks and stones, the arrows, the swords, the muskets, cannons, bombs from planes, bombs of mass destruction, machine guns, tanks, drones, bioweapons, propaganda and endless spiritual attacks upon the mind, the heart, the ears and the eyes.

He saw every abortion, from chemically induced to the horror of partial birth. He saw every unspeakable atrocity. Every death camp. Every martyr. Every injustice. Every child kidnapped and abused. Every sobbing mother. Every occult sacrifice. Every deception. Every unnatural offense against His perfect creation. All the tremendous suffering. Every moment of despair. Every suicide. Every laboring mother…the aged and all manner of infirmity. Every senseless accident. Every fatherless child. Every tempest, earthquake and tsunami.

And finally, He saw His only-begotten beloved Son upon the Cross. And His wailing daughter at its foot.

God saw all of this. And He said, “I will do it.” Because He knew that in the end, it would all be worth it. The good would go on to their eternal bliss with Him. And it would not be a joke of a universe. It would mean something. It would be worth it all.

And He would send His Son to tell us this. In these immortal words of the Sermon on the Mount…

“Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are the meek: for they shall possess the land.

Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice: for they shall have their fill.

Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

Blessed are the clean of heart: for they shall see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called children of God.

Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye when they shall revile you, and persecute you, and speak all that is evil against you, untruly, for my sake: Be glad and rejoice, for your reward is very great in heaven. For so they persecuted the prophets that were before you.”

Matthew 5:3

Novenas to the Sacred & Immaculate Hearts

The Novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus started yesterday (you can still do it!) and the one to the Immaculate Heart of Mary starts today. Find a novena you like. Here’s a great resource:

Pray More Novenas

The Original Novena Reminder

There’s never been a more important time!

Octave of Pentecost & the Ember Days

It is the Octave of Pentecost and also the Ember Days of Summer this week. Why not print our Pentecost prayers from the Mass in the previous post, and incorporate them into your prayers this week? You can easily combine the Octave with the prayerful Ember Days!

Ascension Thursday / Holy Ghost Novena for Pentecost

[Edited since posting.]

Here is our Ascension Rosary Meditation, written some time ago…

The Ascension of Our Lord

Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, has risen triumphantly from the dead, but the Story is not over yet.  He appeared to his Mother and the Apostles for forty days, preparing them to cross the threshold, the establishment of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth through the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.  When this task was sufficient, as the Apostles looked on, "He was raised up: and a cloud received Him out of their sight." (Acts 1:9)  The Ascension of Our Lord is paralleled only by His Coming at the End of Time, wholly unique events in human history, singular in glory, majesty and wonder.  In the Old Law, the Father condescends to come to earth, as when He speaks to Moses in the Burning Bush and the institution of the Ten Commandments.  Now the Son, establishing the New Law, rises up, showing us how real and attainable Heaven is.  Our Lord opened access to Heaven on the Holy Cross and in His Ascension, He makes the leap Himself.  He wants us to follow Him there-that was the whole purpose of His life on earth and the whole purpose of our own lives.  To ensure we get there, He creates the physical, visible bridge to Heaven, the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.

A number of the Mysteries of the Holy Rosary involve the meeting of Heaven and earth.  The Ascension, the Assumption and the Crucifixion each traverse the distance from earth to Heaven.  The Descent of the Holy Ghost, the Annunciation, the Baptism of Our Lord and the Transfiguration each involve Heaven coming down to earth.  Heaven also meets earth in the miracles and apparitions of the Church.  Lourdes is unique in that the miraculous water stays with us to this day and Fatima was unique in the witnessing of the "Miracle of the Sun" by thousands.  Our Holy Church calls down the powers of Heaven in every sacrament.  Our Lord's Ascension was His final sign that we are free to enter Heaven with Him, through the Church that could be built only upon His departure.

Heaven and earth are not just places.  They represent the relationship between God and His children.  As any parent/child relationship, it is bound to be difficult.  It’s difficult for the child to see the wisdom of the parent and it’s difficult for the parent to let the child go when it is time.  We can easily see the similarity here in how we perceive God.  But can we see how God perceives us?  As much as we love our own children and grieve over their absence, how much more does the Father love and grieve over us?  So much, that He sent His only Son to die for us.  The wrenching a parent feels when setting the child free, is only a faint hint of what the Father feels over one lost soul.  That is why He cannot leave us alone.  That is why He keeps interfering.  From the manna in the desert to the Bread of Life, He cannot bear to leave His children starving.  How much longer will He allow the innocent to spiritually starve in this corrupt culture?  The Ascension tells us there is another world He has prepared for us, that Heaven is our true home, sainthood our natural state.

Though our Blessed Lord rose away from earth on that day when the Apostles saw him lifted up to the sky, He remains with us always.  He has established His perennial Presence in the Holy Eucharist, residing in every tabernacle throughout the world.  He has built His Church, preserving all His precepts.  What more could He have done for us?  The Gospel of Saint Matthew ends with these words:  "...teach ye all nations; baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.  Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world." (Matt 28:18-20)  The angels say, "This Jesus who is taken up from you into Heaven, shall so come, as you have seen Him going into Heaven," foretelling the Second Coming at the End of Time. (Acts 1:11)  Dearest Jesus, Who ascended in glory to show me Heaven, may I always trust that Thou remain with me in this world, even in my most difficult moments.  Amen.

Here is also, our PDF Litany of the Ascension, also written previously, but just new & improved…eventually we will try to get Imprimaturs…we have consulted with a canon lawyer and internet publishing of original prayers is allowed…

+++ LITANY OF THE ASCENSION OF OUR LORD PDF +++

AND DON’T FORGET…The Pentecost Novena to the Holy Ghost starts tomorrow! Here is one version…

+++ NOVENA TO THE HOLY GHOST FOR THE SEVEN GIFTS +++

Thought for the Day

Integrity must be extremely strong when one is alone with oneself, when one is alone with one’s own thoughts and being. Because out there, all the winds and slippery streets, will tend to cause us to lose our footing.

For the Sake of His Sorrowful Passion...

Have Mercy on Us and on the Whole World!

I wanted to share something I discovered when reading the traditional Good Friday “Adoration of the Cross,” which is the third of four parts of that day’s liturgy.

There is a text shortly after the beginning of the Adoration, which reads:

O holy God! O holy strong One!

O holy immortal One, have mercy upon us.

I’m sure this is very familiar to all of you, the words of the prayer at the end of the Divine Mercy Chaplet:

Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One,

Have mercy on us and on the whole world.

Assuming Saint Faustina wrote those words, we now know where she most likely got it!

Some chaplet pamphlets will include an additional prayer from Faustina’s diary, “A Prayer for Divine Mercy.” Saying it this past week, I have been continually struck by the beauty of the last sentence:

“For Jesus is our Hope: through His merciful Heart as through an open gate,

we pass through to Heaven.”

It is fitting for this to be said during Paschal Time, as the Hebraic word “pasch” means “Passover” or “passage.” This originally referred to passing over the Red Sea. The idea of passage relates to so many facets of our Faith. There is a recurring theme of death leading to new life. Even nature sings this song, as the fallen leaves fertilize the ground for the next Spring. The sacramental life is all about various passages. The Passion, Resurrection and Ascension is all a flowing passage. It is an interwoven tapestry which gives us a lifetime of meditation upon these mysteries.