Luke 1

26 And in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God into a city of Galilee, called Nazareth,

27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.

28 And the angel being come in, said unto her: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.

29 Who having heard, was troubled at his saying, and thought with herself what manner of salutation this should be.

30 And the angel said to her: Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God.

31 Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and shalt bring forth a son; and thou shalt call his name Jesus.

32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the most High; and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of David his father; and he shall reign in the house of Jacob for ever.

33 And of his kingdom there shall be no end.

34 And Mary said to the angel: How shall this be done, because I know not man?

35 And the angel answering, said to her: The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the most High shall overshadow thee. And therefore also the Holy which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

36 And behold thy cousin Elizabeth, she also hath conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her that is called barren:

37 Because no word shall be impossible with God.

38 And Mary said: Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

Happy Feast of the Annunciation!

Thanks be to God!

Doesn’t he look like Pope Pius II?

My first Papal Enclave! Nuff said!

Watch it Live Here:

What a beautiful thing it is to hold on to one’s beautiful traditions. My heart swells with joy while watching the Cardinals of my beloved Holy Roman Catholic Church file in, while traditional Latin chants and songs are sung in the background.

I cannot wait to see what the Holy Spirit has planned for us.

I know the Spirit will be with the Cardinals as they choose the next Roman Pontiff.

Oh Come, Holy Spirit!

From Rorate Caeli

Dear Brothers, 
I have convoked you to this Consistory, not only for the three canonizations, but also to communicate to you a decision of great importance for the life of the Church. After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry. I am well aware that this ministry, due to its essential spiritual nature, must be carried out not only with words and deeds, but no less with prayer and suffering. However, in today’s world, subject to so many rapid changes and shaken by questions of deep relevance for the life of faith, in order to govern the bark of Saint Peter and proclaim the Gospel, both strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last few months, has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me. For this reason, and well aware of the seriousness of this act, with full freedom I declare that I renounce the ministry of Bishop of Rome, Successor of Saint Peter, entrusted to me by the Cardinals on 19 April 2005, in such a way, that as from 28 February 2013, at 20:00 hours, the See of Rome, the See of Saint Peter, will be vacant and a Conclave to elect the new Supreme Pontiff will have to be convoked by those whose competence it is.

Dear Brothers, I thank you most sincerely for all the love and work with which you have supported me in my ministry and I ask pardon for all my defects. And now, let us entrust the Holy Church to the care of Our Supreme Pastor, Our Lord Jesus Christ, and implore his holy Mother Mary, so that she may assist the Cardinal Fathers with her maternal solicitude, in electing a new Supreme Pontiff. With regard to myself, I wish to also devotedly serve the Holy Church of God in the future through a life dedicated to prayer.

From the Vatican, 10 February 2013
BENEDICTUS PP XVI

I really don’t know how to think or feel about this.

I do know one thing, the Holy Spirit will not abandon his Church.

Let us all keep the Holy Father in prayer and may our Lord guide the conclave in choosing the next Pope.

Almighty and Eternal God, behold I come to the sacrament of Your only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. As one sick I come to the Physician of life; unclean, to the Fountain of mercy; blind, to the Light of eternal splendor; poor and needy to the Lord of heaven and earth. Therefore, I beg of You, through Your infinite mercy and generosity, heal my weakness, wash my uncleanness, give light to my blindness, enrich my poverty, and clothe my nakedness. May I thus receive the Bread of Angels, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, with such reverence and humility, contrition and devotion, purity and faith, purpose and intention, as shall aid my soul’s salvation.

Grant, I beg of You, that I may receive not only the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of our Lord, but also its full grace and power. Give me the grace, most merciful God, to receive the Body of your only Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, born of the Virgin Mary, in such a manner that I may deserve to be intimately united with His mystical Body and to be numbered among His members. Most loving Father, grant that I may behold for all eternity face to face Your beloved Son, whom now, on my pilgrimage, I am about to receive under the sacramental veil, who lives and reigns with You, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, world without end. Amen.

Beata viscera Marie virginis
cuius ad ubera rex magni nominis;
veste sub altera vim celans numinis
dictavit federa Dei et hominis
O mira novitas et novum gaudium,
matris integrita post puerperium.

Solem, quem librere, Dum purus otitur
In aura cernere visus non patitur,
cernat a latere dum repercutitur,
alvus puerpere, qua totus clauditur.
O mira novitas et novum gaudium,
matris integrita post puerperium.

Blessed flesh of the Virgin Mary,
at whose breast the king of eminent name,
concealing, under altered guise,
the force of divine nature,
has sealed a pact of God and Man.
O astonishing novelty and unaccustomed joy
of a mother still pure after childbirth.

Vision does not endure to behold in its radiance
the sun, unconcealed, as he rises forth, pure.
Let the wholly enclosed womb of the mother
behold from the side as it is reflected.
O astonishing novelty and unaccustomed joy
of a mother still pure after childbirth.

LifeNews.com posted a Pew analysis based on exit polls. The Pew Analysis found the following:

“Black Protestants also voted overwhelmingly for Obama (95%). At the other end of the political spectrum, nearly eight-in-ten white evangelical Protestants voted for Romney (79%), compared with 20% who backed Obama. Romney received as much support from evangelical voters as George W. Bush did in 2004 (79%) and more support from evangelicals than McCain did in 2008 (73%). Mormon voters were also firmly in Romney’s corner; nearly eight-in-ten Mormons (78%) voted for Romney, while 21% voted for Obama. Romney received about the same amount of support from Mormons that Bush received in 2004. (Exit poll data on Mormons was unavailable for 2000 and 2008.)”

White voters attending Protestant churches were more inclined to vote for the pro-abortion candidate.

“Among white mainline Protestants in the exit poll, 54% voted for Romney, while 44% supported Obama. This is virtually identical to the 2008 election, when 55% of white mainline Protestants voted for McCain and 44% backed Obama,” it said.

The Obama abortion–HHS mandate clearly had an impact on the Catholic vote, Pew maintained.

“White Catholics, by contrast, swung strongly in the Republican direction relative to 2008. Nearly six-in-ten white Catholics (59%) voted for Romney, up from 52% who voted for McCain in 2008. Three-quarters of Hispanic Catholics voted for Obama, and Catholics as a whole were evenly divided in 2012 (50% voted for Obama, while 48% backed Romney),” Pew noted.

Read more…

What do you all make out from this?

Here are my conclusions:

• Some progress may have made in advising white Catholics that it is not acceptable to vote for a pro-abortion candidate as 59% voted for Romney as opposed to 52% who voted for McCain.  I say “may have been” because there may have been other reasons why more voted for Romney.  Maybe they didn’t like the sound of McCain’s voice. Or maybe they fell under the charismatic spell of Obama.  hard to say.

• White evangelicals are more “schooled” by their pastors to reject someone who pushes for  anti-biblical policies. 8 in 10 voted for Romney.  Maybe.  We would have a better idea if both candidates were white. Let’s not discount the racists in blue territory.

• As religious as black and Hispanics are, they will never vote for a candidate that they feel don’t support or understand minorities.  It is amazing that Hispanics who are overwhelmingly Catholic backed Obama.

I want to focus on the last point.

It continues to surprise me to see how many folks who frequent internet boards discount things such as social issues.   It also appears that conservatives in general discount social issues.  “How could they support an abortion president?”, is the baffled cry.

It’s easier to be more focused on something that affects you personally then to think about what is far removed from you.  Religious people who don’t believe in abortion rights, will continue to pray for laws to change, while choosing the candidate that they feel will be best for the country.  Romney’s unfortunate “47%” comment didn’t help.  The fact that Mormons didn’t allow blacks into the priesthood until 1978 didn’t help.  The fact that Obama promises healthcare for millions who don’t currently have it didn’t help. The fact that Obama portrayed Romney as being against women didn’t help.

Until Republicans start to talk about social issues, blacks, hispanics and women will continue to vote for the party that “seems” to care more.

Republicans can continue to sweep that under the table or do something about it.

Let me tell you a story about a woman who used to self-describe herself as a “cool mom”. This cool mom grew up as an evangelical and later in life began to attend a much more liberal, Protestant church.

As an evangelical, she remembered wearing those little round dollies on her head only when she had to and plotted for ways to leave her dollie at home. Of course that didn’t work because anytime she was “uncovered”, some well-meaning old woman would plop a piece of tissue or napkin on her head.

In time, she just learned to grin and bear it, but when she hit her 21st birthday, she left the old-fashioned church and started attending a church where not one mantilla-covered head could be spotted. She was happy and life went on.

That woman was me.

Imagine my surprise when I converted to Catholicism, started attending the Traditional Latin Mass and found that women were wearing mantillas. Are you kidding me!

Twenty-first century, Catholic women were covering their heads with ugly, lacy material?

Now, let me pause to say that the Church, in its most recent canons, does not require that a woman covers her head, but some more traditional women still do, especially in the traditional Latin Mass.

So why did a modern woman like me start wearing a mantilla?

It wasn’t because I was pressured by my traditional parishioner friends.

It’s not because I went through a mantilla wearing phase.

Three reasons

1. They signal to my brain that I am entering sacred space. That’s right. The church space, which contains the Blessed Sacrament.

1. Mantillas humble me. They remind me that it’s not all about me.  That’s right. It’s not about my pretty braids, or the nice blush I happen to be wearing.  All that is covered up.

1. I find them quite pretty. Yes, I have to admit that I have become quite fond of Mantillas!

Now what if you fancy yourself are quite a fashionista?

You would love to wear a mantilla but they’re annoying. Plus they make you look like an old woman and don’t coordinate well with your outfit?

But some people have found a way to be both fashionable and modest.

Veils by Lily is a company that is run by a stay-at home mom, who custom-makes delicious veils.

Check out her beautiful veils…

On Sunday, November 18th, at the Church of the Holy Innocents, there will be a Day of Prayer for the Canonization of Venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen with a Reflection by Fr. Andrew Apostoli, CFR, on his Cause for Canonization at 12:00 Noon. The event will be sponsored by the Regina Coeli Council of the Knights of Columbus.

The day begins with Mass at 10:00 AM (Missale Romanum 1962), celebrated by Fr. Peter Stravinskas. Admission to Fr. Apostoli’s Reflection in the Church Hall is $10 (including refreshments). After the Reflection, there will be a Holy Hour with Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament at 2:00 PM in the Church. The day concludes with Vespers and Benediction at 3:00 PM. Please also see the attached flyer.

WHAT: Day of Prayer for the Canonization of Venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen with a Reflection by Fr. Andrew Apostoli, CFR

WHERE: The Church of the Holy Innocents in Manhattan (128 W. 37th Street)

WHEN: Sunday, November 18, 2012

10 AM: Mass (Missale Romanum 1962), Fr. Peter Stravinskas, Celebrant
12 PM: Lecture, Fr. Andrew Apostoli, Vice-Postulator
2 PM: Holy Hour & Rosary
3 PM: Vespers & Benediction

Please RSVP.

Download File

Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.

Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.

God the Father of Heaven,
Have mercy on us.

God the Son, Redeemer of the world,
Have mercy on us.

God the Holy Spirit,
Have mercy on us.

Holy Trinity, One God,
Have mercy on us.

Holy Mary, Mother of God,
Pray for us.

Saint Joseph, Patron of the Universal Church,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, model for priests,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, wise bishop,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, humble cardinal and patriarch,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, pope of peace,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, zealous teacher,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, devoted to the poor,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, consoler of the sick,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, lover of poverty,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, humble of heart,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, faithful to duty,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, heroic in the practice of all virtues,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, filled with the spirit of self-sacrifice,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who aimed to restore all things in Christ,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who brought little children to the Table of the Lord,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who counseled daily and frequent Communion for all,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who urged us to know and to love the sacred liturgy,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who sought everywhere the diffusion of Christian teaching,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who reformed the music of the Church,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who taught us the value of Catholic Action,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who consecrated the faithful to the lay apostolate,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who wished to be known as a poor pastor of souls,
Pray for us.

Saint Pius X, who answers the prayers of those who cry to thee,
Pray for us.

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
Spare us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
Graciously hear us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
Have mercy on us.

V. Pray for us, Saint Pius X,
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let Us Pray

O God, who filled the soul of Saint Pius X
with a burning charity
and called him to be the Vicar of Christ,
grant that through his intercession
we may follow in the footsteps of Jesus,
Our Divine Master;
and may our prayers to this saintly Pope
be fruitful for life
both here and hereafter,
through the same Christ Our Lord.