Corpus Christi Thursday / Fatima Holy Hour Saturday

The wonderful trad feast of Corpus Christi is tomorrow and the new similar feast of The Most Holy Body & Blood of Christ, is this Sunday. This is joyful time for those who will now be able to receive the Holy Eucharist, but sorrowful for those who cannot. We officially cannot on Long Island. But I have been receiving from a very holy priest. I believe on faith, that I will not get ill or make anyone else ill due to my desire to receive (Jesus said, "If you shall ask me any thing in my name, that I will do”). I wear my Brown Scapular (as Our Lady of Fatima requested) and also use bottled holy water. Anyway, I don’t care if I get sick. I would most likely not die and even if I do, so what? I’ve been to confession. I will not live in fear! Our Lord said, “Ask and you shall receive.” You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Please see our post tomorrow on Corpus Christi.

The June “Fatima Family Holy Hour for the Church” is this Saturday. If you recall, we are doing this every 13th of the month, through October. There will be a printable PDF for you and your family. It is a simple program to do at home. Please come back Saturday for your print-out! Quite frankly, I have put a lot of work into this-I did the same thing on the Fatima 100th Anniversary-and have gotten a disappointing response. If you could just email one other person about this, that would be great-you can be part of the team! If you do participate, please contact us (above) and let us know. Your comments may be shared.

A Tale of Two Realities

New York City. Lots of traffic. Even now. One would think there might be at least one decent rest-stop on your way around the city, or at least, by the time you get to New Jersey, somewhere on Route 80. Nope. Tons of land where it would be very easy to place a rest-stop. With all the minutiae the states concern themselves with, has no one thought of building at least one rest-stop around the city? I gave birth some twenty-something years ago to an almost 10-pound baby. Quite frankly, my body has never been the same. Do you see where this is going? (Don’t drink Snapple when you’re pregnant and don’t eat the 12 slices of whole wheat bread per day that they tell you to.)

Earlier this week, my husband and I were on our way to visit that same baby, traveling from Long Island to New Jersey. We finally got to The Home Depot shopping center off Route 80. I have gone to the Dunkin there, but I assumed the restroom would not be open, since the Dunkins around us have kept them closed. The only other place was The Home Depot. I came upon my first encounter with the “long line to get in” situation that I have seen pictures of….a grotesque zombie apocalypse of masks, blocked-off entrances and security guards. I thought, “I’m a middle-aged lady who’s been sitting in traffic forever-surely they would have no problem with me using their facilities.” So I walked up to the guard and explained my situation. He said, “Let me ask.” He came back. “No.” I was stunned and expressed my displeasure. I checked over at Dunkin and their restroom was open. My son is going to be getting doughnuts every time we visit. He would rather have doughnuts than duct tape or siliconized acrylic sealant.

Do I really have to state the obvious? We are losing our humanity. This should concern all of us. Reminds me of Our Lord’s words:

"For if in the green wood they do these things, what shall be done in the dry?"

Luke 23:31

Almost as soon as we got through the door with the box of doughnuts, my son said, “Want to go hiking now?” He has been making good use of his time off by hiking and gardening, much to prepper-Mommy’s pleasure. He found a large wooded area nearby while geocaching, and has been exploring all the trails. He was very excited about showing us a breathtaking ravine he found. I have not hiked in years and was already a bit tired from a poor night’s sleep, but I did not want to disappoint him. It was a long-shot, but I was going to give it my best effort.

As we approached the trail, I felt like Prepper Wonder Woman, with my hiking boots, olive-green pants with tons of pockets, wad of tissues, bug spray and mini first-aid kit. It was pure adrenaline from that point on. The world disappeared behind us as the sounds of birds and running water surrounded us. I felt free, able to breath without a mask, able to walk the path of a true human being, without feeling like a criminal. It was not a quick or easy hike. First, down a rocky hill, then we had a choice between crossing a muddy creek or walking on top of a huge mysterious pipeline. I chose the muddy creek that looked like quicksand. It proved to be a cinch. I felt over-confidence and arrogance wafting through me (not very subtle foreshadowing) as I watched my poor husband and child perilously walking atop the big pipe. Then it was quite a ways down another trail to the ravine. Suddenly, a magnificent vista of hills, trees, rocks, water and frogs appeared. It was a truly magical moment with my husband and son.

I eagerly ran down to the water and splashed my hands around in it. I felt pricks go through my thin pants and suddenly my arms and legs were all itchy. So much for Prepper Wonder Woman. My first thought was, “I’m in the middle of nowhere-what if I have a severe reaction?” I calmed down and hoped for the best. I told my son to take a picture of the plant so we could identify it when we got back (actually, we should have done it right there, with the phone). It was time to go back anyway, so we headed back and within a few minutes, the itching subsided. (I still haven’t gotten around to identifying the plant-but I should-this is how you learn as a prepper!} I barely made it back-the downwards hill at the start was now an upwards hill. At the least, the experience gave me a sense of empowerment and accomplishment. At best, a pivotal moment in my life at a pivotal moment for humanity. The choice between two realities.

I see the rest of my life as a journey back to those woods.

Update

[Edited since posting.]

Please stay tuned for Pentecost post and highlights of the month of June. Let us pray the whole Church, especially our leaders, will receive a great illumination this Pentecost by the Holy Ghost, to exercise proper discernment during this time! This thought came to me the other day as I was contemplating our current situation and what has caused it:

“If we are not bridled by the Laws of God, we will be bound by the chains of man.”

2020 Rome Life Forum: "Coronavirus in Light of Fatima"

The Rome Life Forum Online Conference is this Wednesday, May 20th through Friday, May 22nd. The theme is “Coronavirus in the Light of Fatima: A Tragedy and a Source of Hope.” The hours are roughly 12:00-2:00. The event is free. Please see link above for registration. Guest speakers include Cardinal Burke, Bishop Athanasius Schneider, John-Henry Westen and John Smeaton, among others. Some topics are: “Fatima: Heaven’s Answer to a World in Crisis,” “Divine Judgement in Human History,” and “The Eucharist, the Greatest Treasure of the Church, in Times of Tribulation.”

This conference is hosted by LifeSiteNews and Voice of the Family. From LifeSiteNews: “Speakers will focus on whether the COVID-19….could be part of the chastisement, preceding the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, that Our Blessed Mother spoke about in Fatima in 1917.” Please see link above for full article. Let us pray for the Holy Ghost to be present at this event and enlighten the minds of many!

Please note, Nomen Christi Apostolate does not necessarily endorse all ideas which may be expressed in this conference.

Minor Rogation Days 18th to 20th-Never a Better Time!

From the traditional Mass of the first two Rogation Days:

Arise, O Lord, help us and deliver us for Thy Name’s sake. Alleluia.

He heard my voice from His holy temple, alleluia: and my cry before Him came into His ears, alleluia, alleluia.

I will love Thee, O Lord, my strength: the Lord is my firmament, my refuge and my deliverer.

Grant, we beseech Thee, O almighty God, that we, who in our affliction put our trust in Thy mercy, may ever be defended by Thy protection against all adversity.

Thou hast saved us, O Lord, from them that afflict us: and hast put them to shame that hate us. In God shall we glory all the day long: and in Thy name we will give praise for ever.

Alleluia, alleluia. Forgive us our sins, O Lord: lest the Gentiles should ever say: Where is their God? Alleluia.

I will be glad and rejoice in Thy mercy: for Thou hast regarded my humility: Thou hast saved my soul out of distresses. Alleluia.

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock; and it shall be opened to you. For every one that asketh, receiveth; and he that seeketh, findeth; and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened, alleluia.

Notes from The Daily Missal and Liturgical Manual, Baronius Press (this is a beautiful gold-trimmed missal to give as a gift):

“Earthquakes and other calamities afflicted the diocese of Vienne in Dauphiny (France) in the fifth century, and St. Mamertus, who was bishop of that diocese, instituted a penitential procession with public supplications on the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday before Ascension Day. In 816, Pope Leo III introduced it into Rome, and soon after it became a general observance throughout the Church.

The Litany of the Saints, the psalms and prayers sung during the Procession on these days are supplications: hence the name of Rogation Days (rogare, to ask) applied to them. The object of these rogation supplications is to appease the anger of God and avert the scourges of His justice, and to pray for the harvest.

A similar function is observed on April 25th , on the feast of St. Mark, but this is of Roman origin.”

Please read carefully the excerpts above from the Mass and see how appropriate these prayers are for our current situation! I believe it is a time in the Church to bridge the old and the new and for the laity in combination with the clergy, to creatively design our own customs. This will help our children love the Faith and want to hold on to it, it the midst of a culture saturated with all kinds of seductive bells and whistles to distract them from the spiritual path. What are some ideas? Read the Mass from the missal as a family, abstain from meat, pray the Litany of the Saints, crafts with children relating to the season, etc.

What are we to learn from the Rogation Day Masses? Never to despair. God is with us. We are people of Faith and can get through even the worst this life can ever throw at us! If Holy Church is persecuted, He will, in the end, deliver us!

There is a separate Mass for the last Rogation Day this week, which is the Vigil of the Ascension….

Declare it with the voice of joy, and make this to be heard, alleluia: speak it out even to the ends of the earth: The Lord hath delivered His people, alleluia, alleluia. Shout with joy to God, all the earth, sing ye a psalm to His Name: give glory to His praise.

WE NEED TO BECOME STRONGER NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*** Spiritually ***

*** Mentally ***

*** Physically ***

+++

“What we do now echoes in eternity.”

Marcus Aurelius

If you think its time to stay home watching “Casablanca” for the 82nd time and scrapbooking….think again! We need to be prepared from this point forward for anything and everything (but not with fear). Demand to receive confession and Holy Communion. Start lifting weights. Go hiking in the wonderful outdoors without a mask, so you are not breathing in your own carbon dioxide and depressing your immune system. Take vitamins C and D. Get plenty of seeds and plant a garden. Stockpile supplies and water (only those in good supply). Buy rural property and precious metals. Learn how to fish. Learn to meditate and increase your mental strength under stress. Throw yourself on God when you get depressed-He never disappoints! Do it now. Teach your children. Pray on it. WE GOT THIS!

Image is a promotion of the show “Doomsday Castle,” which aired in 2013. I have not seen the show, but here is some info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doomsday_Castle

Are You Having Trouble Getting Dental Treatment At This Time?

Saint Apollonia was a virgin martyr and is the patron saint of dental disease. She died in the year 250 and her feast is February 12th. Many are having difficulty obtaining dental treatment during this time. If you have a dental problem and your dentist refuses to treat you, consider praying Saint Apollonia’s novena below. The whole world is suffering a very great chastisement. O God, have mercy on us all!

Novena To Saint Apollonia

O Glorious Apollonia, Patron Saint of dentistry and refuge to all those suffering from diseases of the teeth, I consecrate myself to you, beseeching you to number me among your clients.
Assist me by your intercession with God in my daily work and intercede with Him to obtain for me a happy death. Pray that my heart be like yours, inflamed with the love of Jesus and Mary, through Christ our Lord.
O My God, bring me safely through temptation and strengthen me as Thou didst our own Patron Saint Apollonia, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Saint Apollonia, pray for my intention, (mention intention). Saint Apollonia, pray for us!
Say 1: Our Father… Say 1: Hail Mary… Say 1: Glory Be…

(Repeat the above for 9 consecutive days)

From https://catholicsaints.info/ :

We know that she lived in Alexandria, and that on February 9th of the year 250, during the persecution of the Christians ordered by the Emperor Decius [Apollonia was tortured and put to death]…one of the chief authorities for the history of the early Christian Church is the Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius, Bishop of Caesarea in the fourth century. If we turn to book VI, chapter 41, of this work, we shall find there a letter from Dionysius, Bishop of Alexandria, written to Fabius, Bishop of Antioch, which gives an account of the Decian persecution at Alexandria, and also tells us all we really know of Saint Apollonia….

“Then with one accord, all rushed upon the houses of the pious, and whomsoever of their neighbors they knew, they drove thither in all haste, and despoiled and plundered them, setting apart the more valuable of the articles for themselves; but the more common and wooden furniture they threw about and burnt in the roads, presenting a sight like a city taken by the enemy. They also seized that admirable virgin Apollonia, then in advanced age, and beating her jaws, they broke out all her teeth, and kindling a fire before the city, threatened to burn her alive, unless she would repeat their impious expressions. She appeared at first to shrink a little, but when suffered to go, she suddenly sprang into the fire and was consumed.”

Image courtesy flickr.com

Prayer, slightly edited, courtesy: https://novenaprayer.com/

+++ Holy Saturday +++ Father, Father, Why Hast Thou Forsaken Us!

It is the most sorrowful Holy Saturday we have ever seen in our lives. Because the sacraments have been taken from us. Our Blessed Lord is in the tomb truly, hidden from us. I went to pray on Good Friday at my church and the doors were locked. Reminds me of Don McLean’s lyrics:

A long, long time ago
I can still remember how that music
Used to make me smile
…But February made me shiver
With every paper I'd deliver
Bad news on the doorstep
…Something touched me deep inside
The day the music died
…We sang dirges in the dark
...Do you recall what was revealed
The day the music died?
...There we were all in one place
A generation lost in space
With no time left to start again
...No angel born in Hell
Could break that Satan's spell
...I saw Satan laughing with delight
...I went down to the sacred store
Where I'd heard the music years before
But the man there said the music wouldn't play
...Not a word was spoken
The church bells all were broken

+++

And the three men I admire most
The Father, Son and the Holy Ghost
They caught the last train for the coast
The day the music died
And they were singing

“Bye, Bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry”

+++

Indeed, all the holy water fonts are dry. Our Catholic life wrenched from us overnight. As Our Lord said, like a “thief in the night.”

Today, many will be shouting their sins across 6 feet or out their car windows. What brought us to this hour? Even though the forces of darkness are “laughing with delight,” God’s hand is upon us. This is what it HAD to come to. The whole world should be shouting their sins in sackcloth and ashes. And those who, even THIS Easter, still believe it is all about bunnies and pretty eggs, God help them!

I know I said our focus here would be positive, but that doesn’t mean our heads can be in the sand. We must face squarely what is happening and why. Then move forward with a beautiful vision of the future we are creating together as God’s children, the Children of the Promise. So let us remain even more solemn this Holy Saturday. Let us give God our very best at this time and in the coming days, that He may look mercifully upon our world!

Holy Week: Daily Rosary / "Stabilization Mode"

Addressing the Spiritual:

We spoke of one of Our Lady of Fatima’s requests last time, the Five First Saturdays. This is a sorrowful Holy Week. For the first time in our lives, we are deprived of the Body of Christ, possibly the Sacrament of Penance and all the wonderful Holy Week devotions we always took for granted. Worst, we are deprived of Holy Mass on the Solemnity of Solemnities, Easter Sunday. Let us take more seriously, another of Our Lady’s requests, daily rosary. Families are together at home. It is a beautiful opportunity to pray the rosary together this week. If a whole rosary seems too difficult for you right now, how about one decade?

Addressing the Temporal:

I spoke previously of “Stabilization Mode.” This is the action taken when an actual crisis or difficult situation transpires. We are no longer strictly in “preparedness” mode, though preparedness issues still must be addressed. We must first do whatever the immediate situation requires of us. Once that is done thoughtfully and prayerfully, we can work on more aggressive prepping to address keeping our situation stable in addition to possible fallout from the original problem. There can be a domino effect. This is not to make anyone fearful, only to be realistic. Fear is never appropriate for the children of God!

Please email me (contact button) for anything you would like to discuss or would like help with. Please allow time for my response. If you have something interesting to share, I may post it. Let’s take this journey together. Onward Christian soldiers!

First Saturdays At Home-Never More Important!

The observance of the Five First Saturdays are one of the requests of Our Lady of Fatima, to obtain reparation to her Immaculate Heart. As humanity is now engulfed in a difficult and confusing situation, there has never been a more important time to respect this request of Our Blessed Mother. We know not how this will ultimately play out. We much beseech God’s mercy. Trust. Be at peace. But take this as a serious warning. Public masses are shut down. Even confession is gone in some places, which was previously unthinkable. Our Blessed Lord said:

“Watch ye, therefore, praying at all times, that you may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that are to come, and to stand before the Son of man.”

Luke 21:36

So we, as Children of God, are at peace.

Normally the First Saturdays are observed in church. Since many are now at home, we can still fulfill this request to the best of our ability. I am sure our dear Mother will accept this. She has requested they be observed for 5 months in a row, but it is not a bad idea to perform them perpetually. Following are the activities (and the substitutions where applicable), based on the World Apostolate of Fatima’s recommendations. This is all done with the intention of making reparation to Our Lady’s Immaculate Heart and what a wonderful devotion to do with your family at home during this time!

1) Receive the Sacrament of Penance. At home: Make an intention to receive the sacrament as soon as possible. I might add, to say an Act of Contrition, trying to be sorry for the Love of God (perfect contrition), not just the fear of punishment.

2) Receive Holy Communion. At home: Make a Spiritual Act of Communion (see link below for help with this).

3) Recite the Joyful Mysteries of the Holy Rosary (some say the Sorrowful Mysteries during Lent).

4) Meditate on the Mysteries of the Rosary for 15 minutes with Our Blessed Mother. If you are unaccustomed to this devotion, this may be the most challenging aspect for you. Here are some tips: Place yourself in Our Lady’s presence (a picture or statue is very helpful). Ask her to enlighten you further on the Mysteries you just contemplated in the Rosary (I suppose you could contemplate other Mysteries as well). Let your thoughts drift. Imagine the Mysteries visually. Don’t try, just let the inspirations come to you. And they will! As you perform this exercise more, it will get easier. Your relationship with Our Mother will grow and eventually it will no longer be an “exercise,” but an intimate and wonderful conversation!

+++

Today is a traditional feast of the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady. Our Lady of Sorrows, pray for us!

Please see the World Apostolate of Fatima’s page addressing the First Saturdays during this time. Lots of great info:

https://www.bluearmy.com/first-saturday-devotion/