Saint Patty's Day is Coming!

My Aunt Mary Hamilton passed on to the Lord last Spring. May she rest in peace and may perpetual light shine upon her. She wrote a memoir 15 years ago, which is available at this link:

It Only Happens Now and Then

Here is the description:

“Remembrances of Mary P. Hamilton about growing up in an Irish emigrant family in Brooklyn, New York, during the 1940s and 1950s and her subsequent marriage and family life in Montclair, New Jersey.”

The title was from a poem my poet Uncle Jimmy (her husband) wrote. It is a charming book about growing up Irish Catholic and living life in the New York area. There is important history here, which I am so happy she took the time to record. Mary was always kind and elegant, with high standards. Her home was a joy to visit. If you read the book, please let me know and I would love to hear your comments.

In the back of the book, she gives her Irish Soda Bread recipe! I made it last year and it was superb, much better than store-bought. I plan to make it again on Tuesday. Aunt Mary got this recipe from her Aunt Peggy, born in Longford, Ireland, so it is traditional and authentic.  It is bready and lighter than usual soda breads, not too sweet. Here it is (note dough is sticky and a bit hard to work with, but worth the effort)…let me know if you make it!

Have a blessed Saint Patrick’s Day. Saint Patrick, ora pro nobis!

Aunt Mary Hamilton’s Irish Soda Bread PDF Printable

Thought for the Year From My Friend Chris Martenson...

“This is the year that reality intrudes.  And it’s going to hit like a freight train.”

Chris Martenson, Peak Prosperity

Click on link above for this article, posted today. Peak Prosperity is one on our highly recommended sources for news and preparedness advice.

Moral of the story: Prepare!

In This Month of Saint Joseph: A (relatively) New Prayer!

…As of 10 years ago, when I posted it on this blog…

O Saint Joseph

O Saint Joseph, Guardian of Our Lord and Our Lady, intercede for us before the Divine Majesty.  O holy and humble carpenter, pray for God's children in all our great need.  We pray this in the Name of the Christ Child, once held in your loving arms. 

Amen.

This prayer has been received well and it is about time for a PDF! Here it is…

“O Saint Joseph” PDF Printable

Here is the original post, where I explain why I wrote it: A New Prayer to Saint Joseph!

BONUS PDF…not too late to start this for the month of March…

THIRTY DAYS PRAYER TO SAINT JOSEPH

War with Iran: QatarEnergy Declares...

“Force Majeure” After Halting LNG (Liquid natural gas) Production

Quatar is the largest producer of liquefied natural gas in the world.

The Most Holy Name of Jesus, the Month of January and the Feast

[Edited since posting.]

In case you haven’t noticed, this ministry is dedicated to the Holy Name of Jesus, “Nomen Christi” in Latin. So we always encourage honor and devotion to His Name. January is dedicated to the Holy Name of Jesus. The month begins with the feast of the Circumcision in the trad, which commemorates the moment Our Lord received His Holy Name and it was also the first shedding of His Blood. On the 3rd, we celebrate the feast of this Name in the post-con calendar and in the trad it is Sunday, the 4th. Let us find devotions this month which honor and glorify His Name and always defend it from profanation!

Here are some excerpts from the feast of the Holy Name Tridentine Mass:

“In the Name of Jesus let every knee bow, of those that are in heaven, on earth, and under the earth: and let every tongue confess that the Lord Jesus Christ is in the glory of God the Father.”

“O Lord our Lord: how admirable is Thy Name in the whole earth!”

“O God, Who didst constitute Thine only-begotten Son the Savior of mankind, and didst bid Him to be called Jesus: mercifully grant, that we who venerate His holy Name on earth, may fully enjoy also the vision of Him in heaven.”

“For there is no other Name under heaven given to man, whereby we must be saved.”

“Save us, O Lord our God, and gather us from among the nations: that we may give thanks to Thy holy Name, and may glory in Thy praise.”

“Thou, O Lord, our Father and our Redeemer: from everlasting is Thy Name.”

“Alleluia, alleluia. My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord, and let all flesh bless His holy Name. Alleluia.”

“I will praise Thee, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify Thy Name for ever: for Thou, O Lord, art sweet and mild: and plenteous in mercy to all that call upon Thee, alleluia.”

“May Thy blessing, O most merciful God, by which every creature lives, sanctify, we beseech Thee, this our Sacrifice, which we offer unto Thee to the glory of the Name of Thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, that it may be well-pleasing to Thy Majesty for Thy praise, and profit us unto salvation.”

“All the nations Thou hast made shall come and adore before Thee, O Lord, and they shall glorify Thy Name: for Thou art great; and dost wonderful things: Thou art God alone. Alleluia.”

“O almighty and everlasting God, who didst create and redeem us, look graciously upon our prayer, and with a favorable and benign countenance deign to accept the Sacrifice of the saving Victim, which we have offered to Thy Majesty in honor of the Name of Thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ:

that through the infusion of Thy grace we may rejoice that our names are written in heaven, under the glorious Name of Jesus, the pledge of eternal predestination.”

3 Videos on Father Alfred Delp, the Martyr of Advent!

Fr. Alfred Delp: Advent of the Heart, 16:45 min.

This is a wonderful homily, unfortunately, it does not say who the priest is. He is incorrect about one point: he says Delp was shot in the head, in fact, he was hanged…and the very next day, the judge who sentenced him to death was killed by an Allied bomb on Berlin! Includes rare photos.

Advent Retreat Fr. Alfred Delp: First Wednesday of Advent with Cardinal Thomas Collins, 7:13 min.

Quick intro to Fr. Delp.

Resisting Fascism: Father Alfred Delp with Dr. Rudolf J. Siebert, 58 min.

Is this worth your 58 minutes? Absolutely! …If you want to really delve into details and German culture itself, which adds the whole backdrop to Delp’s life and times…from a 90 some-odd year-old German professor who was actually part of the same Catholic movement that Delp was involved with! Lots of great “inside info.” I don’t know much about Siebert and his faithfulness to authentic Catholicism. But it’s an incredible and very rare conversation about this great martyr.

More Thoughts for the Day

Holiness is not necessarily choosing the harder thing.

The internet is a school that doesn’t tell you when you’ve graduated.

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.

Thought for the Day / Yeats' Famous Poem

“The Democratic Party — like the EU’s warmonger parties — has nothing left but violence against anything that looks like nationalism and traditional values.”

James Howard Kunstler

From recent article “The Widening Gyre”

Literate and consummate writer James Howard Kunstler evokes William Butler Yeats great poem “The Second Coming” in his most recent article about the emerging chaos of geopolitics. Here’s the poem…

Turning and turning in the widening gyre

The falcon cannot hear the falconer

Things fall apart, the centre cannot hold

Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world

The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere

The ceremony of innocence is drowned

The best lack all conviction, while the worst

Are full of passionate intensity

Surely some revelation is at hand

Surely the Second Coming is at hand

The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out

When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi

Troubles my sight, somewhere in sands of the desert

A shape with lion body and the head of a man

A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun

Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it

Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds

The darkness drops again, but now I know

That twenty centuries of stony sleep

Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle

And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,

Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?

William Butler Yeats

The Second Coming

Cardinal Burke's Prayer for Pope Leo with PDF

Prayer for Pope Leo XIV

Vicar of Christ on Earth and Shepherd of the Universal Church  

O Holy Virgin Mary, Mother of the Lord of Heaven and of Earth, Our Lady of Guadalupe, guide and protect the Roman Pontiff, Pope Leo XIV. Through your intercession, may he receive in abundance the grace of the Successor of Saint Peter: the perpetual and visible source and foundation of the unity of our Bishops and of all our brothers and sisters in the Mystical Body of your Divine Son. Unite Pope Leo’s heart to your Immaculate Heart, leading him to rest his heart ever more securely in the glorious pierced Heart of Jesus, so that he may confirm us in the Catholic faith, in the worship of God in spirit and truth, and in a good and holy Christian life.

In the tumult of the present time, keep Pope Leo securely within the hollow of your mantle, in the crossing of your arms, protecting him from Satan, the father of lies, and from every evil spirit. Implore Our Lord to grant him, in particular, the wisdom and courage to be a true Shepherd of the Church throughout the world. With you, I place all my trust in Christ, the Good Shepherd, Who alone is our help and salvation. Amen.

Heart of Jesus, formed by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mother, have mercy upon us!

Our Lady of Guadalupe, Queen of the Apostles, pray for us!

Saints Peter and Paul, pray for us!

Pope Saint Leo the Great, pray for us!

By Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke

PDF Prayer for Pope Leo XIV

You can also print the prayer directly from the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe and order prayer cards. It is also available in other languages. You can get the prayer cards from their gift shop too, along with many other great things and it helps support a wonderful ministry.