Pentecost Sunday-coming soon at a church near you

We're just 3 days away from Pentecost Sunday, which is the birthday of the Church. This is the day Jesus sent us the Holy Spirit-just 10 days after He ascended into Heaven-which is what we call the Feast Day of the Ascension. Until recently it was a holy day of obligation on Thursday. But in some areas of the United States, the obligation has been transferred to the nearest Sunday. In fact the diocese I live in is in one of the areas in which the Bishops voted to make the change. 

But our Bishop didn't like the change; he was outvoted. I didn't like the change either. And I now know the Bishop we had then and I are far from being the only two people who dislike the switch to Sunday. Last year Father announced that we were going to have a Mass on Ascension-that is on Thursday itself-not Sunday! He doesn't like the change to Sunday either and said "we traditionalists" don't like the switch either. 

He said if you don't like the move to the following Sunday, then either come to Thursday Mass or quit complaining. We're no longer obliged under pain of mortal sin to go on this particular Thursday but Father said we'll get extra graces for going to Ascension Mass.

I guess I kind of gotten off topic like I tend to do quite a bit.

Getting back to Pentecost, the Apostles were scared to be left alone without Jesus. They were afraid of persecution & spent the next nine days in prayer in an upper room. According to Father, it was our very first novena. Then the Holy Spirit came to the upper room and gave them all these gifts-including the gift of tongues. This allowed them to preach to people who spoke in other languages.

I can't think of a more important birthday to celebrate-the birthday of the Church-unless it's Christmas-the birthday of our Savior.

Father talked to the kids in the Confirmation class about Pentecost and the gifts of the Spirit. You receive the Holy Spirit in Baptism, but even more fully in Confirmation.  

He talked about seven gifts of the Holy Spirit which every Confirmed Catholic has. These aren't the "charisms" or charismatic gifts such as the gift of tongues or prophecy. He talked about Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel (right judgment), Fortitude (courage), Knowledge, Piety (reverence), and Fear of the Lord (wonder and awe.)

According to St. Thomas Aquinas wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and counsel direct the intellect and fortititude, piety, and fear of the Lord direct the will toward God.

Today's Great Silence

(Intro: I really like the quote "My sleep will rouse you from your sleep" in the last paragraph. It really says what Jesus died on the cross and descended into Hell for. He died to give us sinners life.  Being perfect and being God He could have chosen not to die and could have stayed out of Hell, but He did this to save us from eternal suffering.

This would have been an excellent reading for Good Friday, which was yesterday, as well as for Holy Saturday, which is today.

It reminds me of the Apostles' Creed, where it said that Jesus "descended into Hell, On the third day He rose again, ascended into Heaven.

Yesterday was the day He "was crucified, died, and was buried." And He descended into Hell. Tomorrow is Easter, and we will celebrate His Resurrection from the dead. This will be the time that He returned to Heaven and took his seat at the right hand of the Father. Easter is a favorite holiday of mine because of that-not because of the candy, baskets, bunnies, and warmer weather as much as I like them too.)

Something strange is happening -- there is a great silence on earth today, a great silence and stillness. The whole earth keeps silence because the King is asleep.

The earth trembled and is still, because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and he has raised up all who have slept ever since the world began. God has died in the flesh, and hell trembles with fear.

He has gone to search for our first parent, as for a lost sheep. Greatly desiring to visit those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, he has gone to free from sorrow the captives Adam and Eve, he who is both God and the son of Eve.

The Lord approached them bearing the cross, the weapon that had won him the victory. At the sight of him, Adam -- the first man he had created -- struck his breast in terror and cried out to everyone, "My Lord be with you all."

Christ answered him: "And with your spirit." He took him by the hand and raised him up, saying, "Awake, O sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will give you light. I am your God, who for your sake have become your son. Out of love for you and for your descendants, I now by my own authority command all who are held in bondage to come forth, all who are in darkness to be enlightened, all who are sleeping to arise. I order you, O sleeper, to awake. I did not create you to be held a prisoner in hell. Rise from the dead, for I am the life of the dead. Rise up, work of my hands, you who were created in my image. Rise, let us leave this place, for you are in me, and I am in you; together we form only one person and we cannot be separated.

"For your sake I, your God, became your son; I, the Lord, took the form of a slave; I, whose home is above the heavens, descended to the earth and beneath the earth. For your sake, for the sake of man, I became like a man without help, free among the dead. For the sake of you who left a garden, I was betrayed in a garden, and I was crucified in a garden.

"See on my face the spit I received in order to restore to you the life I once breathed into you. See there the marks of the blows I received in order to refashion your warped nature in my image. On my back see the marks of the scourging I endured to removed the burden of sin that weighs upon your back. See my hands, nailed firmly to a tree, for you who once stretched out your hand to a tree.

"I slept on the cross and a sword pierced my side for you who slept in paradise and brought forth Eve from your side. My side has healed the pain in yours. My sleep will rouse you from your sleep in hell. The sword that pierced me has sheathed the sword that was turned against you.

"Rise. Let us leave this place. The enemy led you out of the earthly paradise. I will not restore you to that paradise, but I will enthrone you in heaven. I forbade you the tree that was only a symbol of life, but see! I who am life itself am now one with you. I appointed cherubim to guard you as slaves are guarded, but now I make them worship you as God. The throne formed by cherubim awaits you, its bearers swift and eager. The bridal changer is adorned, the banquet is ready, the eternal dwelling places are prepared, the treasure houses of all good things lie open. The kingdom of heaven has been prepared for you from all eternity."

ascribed to Saint Epiphanios of Cyprus

circa 4th century

I'm a Latin Mass "Junkie"

I didn't think I'd like the Traditional Latin Mass that much-but I love it!!!

In fact, I even told the priest who says our Traditional Mass that it reminds me of the first definition I've ever heard of crack-a cocaine that you get hooked on instantly. I practically got hooked on the Traditional Latin Mass instantly and don't want to go back to the English Masses-especially on Sundays when Father is there to say Mass early Sunday morning.

In addition to regular Sunday Masses-which this "night owl" drags herself out of bed early to attend-I've been to a couple other Masses said by this same priest. One was on Ash Wednesday-not a holy day of obligation-and the other on Ascension Thursday itself-not "Ascension Sunday." Kind of reminds me of the moniker given to the vigil Masses we have in English-the "cheaters' Mass."

In our diocese we're no longer required to attend Ascension Mass on a Thursday; the obligation got moved to the closest Sunday-the one before Pentecost. But our Bishop doesn't like the idea of moving it to Sunday and neither do I. When Father announced that we'd be having a Mass for Ascension Thursday-not just "Ascension Sunday"-I was very happy. He said that "a lot of us Traditionalists" don't like this move from Thursday to Sunday. (So the Bishop and I aren't the only 2 people in this diocese who don't like this change-far from it!) Father said that if you don't like this idea either of moving Ascension to Sunday you don't have a right to complain about it if you don't go.

I saw quite a few of the people at the Thursday Mass that I see on Sundays. I was very happy to see them show up for this Mass. I think our Bishop would be very happy to see our large turnout at this Mass. And this was one more "excuse"-or opportunity-to attend a Traditional Latin Mass.

Hopefully we'll have a Traditional Latin Mass priest in our area 7 days a week sometime in the near future. But for now I'm grateful for one who comes up once a week to care for our local Latin Mass community and runs back to the other one to say Mass for them too.

I've been running a "small business" of making macrame necklaces out of embroidery floss but I haven't been selling a lot of them lately. I decided to get my own table at the parish "garage sale" and attempt to sell them as well as some old missals and a Bible I bought together in a big box on eBay. I didn't make much, but I think I made more on the missals than the necklaces at the sale. And I made at least $23 by selling them after Latin Mass. Now I get on eBay quite a bit to find more boxes full of old missals to sell them.

In fact I did win another box of old Catholic missals and similar books-but I paid almost twice as much for this shipment for half the number of books. When I talked to our choir director, I found that someone (probably one of her daughters) wanted a missal by Fr. F.X. Lasance who wrote a book I'm reading now called "A Catholic Girls' Guide."

I did find a copy of the Fr. Lasance missal on eBay and bought it for $9.99 with no charge for shipping. I just got it this past week and plan on taking it to Mass to show the choir director and the young lady who wants one. If she doesn't want it, I'll just wait for someone else who does. I love getting these old books and making them available to those who want them.

I told Father that the thing I like the most about the Traditional Mass is the big cross on his back as he faces the big altar. I've been saying it reminds me of Who the Boss really is-and it's not the celebrant. And it's also a reminder of what the "Boss" did for us-died for our sins on the cross. I've even read that the cross on the back of the outer vestment-also called a chasuble-symbolizes Jesus carrying the cross on his shoulders for us.

I used to think I was a "liberal" Catholic, but may be a Traditionalist myself; I try to adhere to the truth-not just some heresy that I wish were true.

I took a quiz on Beliefnet.com called "What Kind of Catholic Are You?" My score on that was 87% which made me either a "Rosary Catholic" or a "Traditional Catholic." I told Father how I did on this test and he said, "Congratulations!"

I do recall my late fiance, a very devout Catholic, say, "I have never heard a heresy come out of your lips." But the girlfriend he had before me believed in them he said.

In another 12 hours I will be at another Latin Mass. I hope you have a blessed Sunday!

Ad Jesum per Mariam! (To Jesus through Mary!) JMJ