February 2007 Archives

The post beneath this will have a list of prayers for the First Friday devotions we’re starting this Friday. These are the prayers that I use myself, so if anyone else would like to join in, I heartily encourage them to do so.

If you prefer not to join us direclty in the First Friday devotion, or if you can't make it to Mass, then these should be considered optional. Some people prefer the Rosary as their prayer against abortion anyway, and that is entirely up to the individual. I do think, however, that the prayers below are the most appropriate given what we’re trying to accomplish.

But I do want to include a word of caution.

The First Friday of every month was designated by Christ as a special day of consecration to His Sacred Heart. His will was made known to us through his visitations of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque in the 17th Century (click here and here for references).

The object of this devotion is to strengthen us in our love of Christ, to force us to focus more on God and his way of living this life, and to make reparations for the sins and outrages committed by mankind. This is my own personal list of devotions that I use on each First Friday. The prayers are said during a period of Eucharistic Adoration, either before or after Mass. Specific to the End of Abortion, I add a private prayer at the end for God to accept my fast and my prayers for the intention of ending abortion in this country.

First Friday Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Attend the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass
Perform an Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Perform an Act of Reparation to Jesus
Perform a Litany to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Act of Consecration
O Sacred Heart of Jesus, filled with infinite love, broken by my ingratitude, pierced by my sins, yet loving me still – accept this consecration that I make to You of all that I am and all that I have. Take every faculty of my soul and body. Draw me, day by day, nearer and nearer to your Sacred Heart, and there, as I can bear the lesson, teach me Your blessed ways. Amen

Act of Reparation
O Jesus, my Savior and Redeemer, Son of the living God, behold, we kneel before Thee and offer Thee our reparation; we would make amends for all the blasphemies uttered against Thy holy name, for all the injuries done to Thee in the Blessed Sacrament, for all the irreverence shown toward Thine immaculate Virgin Mother, for all the calumnies and slanders spoken against Thy spouse, the holy Catholic and Roman Church. O Jesus, who hast said: "If you ask the Father anything in My name, He will give it to you," we pray and beseech Thee for all our brethren who are in danger of sin; shield them from every temptation to fall away from the true faith; save those who are even now standing on the brink of the abyss; to all of them give light and knowledge of the truth, courage and strength for the conflict with evil, perseverance in faith and active charity! For this do we pray, most merciful Jesus, in Thy name, unto God the Father, with whom Thou livest and reignest in the unity of the Holy Ghost world without end. Amen.

The Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

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 Ghost, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us.

Heart of Jesus, Son of the Eternal Father, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, formed in the womb of the Virgin Mother by the Holy Ghost, have mercy on us.

Heart of Jesus, united in substance with the Word of God, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, of infinite majesty, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, holy temple of God, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, tabernacle of the Most High, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, house of God and gate of heaven, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, glowing furnace of charity, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, vessel of justice and love, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, full of goodness and love, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, abyss of all virtues, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, most worthy of all praise, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, king and center of all hearts, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, in whom are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, have mercy on us.

Heart of Jesus, in whom dwelleth all the fullness of divinity, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, in whom the Father is well pleased, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, of whose fullness we have all received, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, desire of the everlasting hills, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, patient and rich in mercy, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, rich to all who invoke Thee, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, fount of life and holiness, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, propitiation for our sins, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, saturated with our infamy, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, crushed for our iniquities, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, made obedient unto death, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, pierced with a lance, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, source of all consolation, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, our life and resurrection, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, our peace and reconciliation, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, victim for our sins, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, salvation of those who hope in Thee, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, hope of those who die in Thee, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, delight of all saints, have mercy on 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.

Jesus, meek and humble of Heart.
Make our hearts like unto Thine.

Almighty and everlasting God, look upon the Heart of Thy well-beloved Son and upon the acts of praise and satisfaction which He renders unto Thee in the name of sinners; and do Thou, in Thy great goodness, grant pardon to them who seek Thy mercy, in the name of the same Thy Son, Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with Thee, world without end.

Amen

I’d like to establish a kind of working definition that we can use as we go on from here, and then extend that definition just a wee bit.

It’s been said many times that a covenant is the same thing as a contract. That’s not quite right; or rather it’s not quite complete. A contract is simply an agreement between two parties. In the ancient world, looking at a covenant as nothing more than a contract by another name misses the most critical theological component. A covenant carries a great deal more weight.

D.J. McCarthy, a scholar who studied covenants extensively and is considered a foremost authority, defines covenant this way:

Covenants were a means by which the ancient world took to extend relations beyond the natural unity of blood. – “Covenant in the Old Testament: The Present State of Inquiry.” Catholic Biblical Quarterly

It should be noted that this definition is not strictly biblical in nature, but spans the ancient world. In the ancient world, a covenant was an oath used to create an extended brotherhood between individuals or an alliance of tribes. It’s an oath of fidelity.

We Catholics see the Father, Son and Holy Spirit as a family, with Mary as the queen mother. With the use of covenants, God has gradually extended His family. God’s covenant with Noah formed a household of extended families. His covenant with Abraham formed a tribe. His covenant with Moses formed a nation. These are blood oaths in that they extend beyond the ties of blood to form something larger.

Now, here’s the interesting part for the moment. What if we extend this idea of covenant as blood oath to the modern world, and look at it from a very Catholic point of view. What’s Latin for oath? The answer is “sacramentum,” whence we get the English word – SACRAMENT.

This blood oath is repeated at every Catholic Mass when the priest says:

Take this, all of you, and drink from it: this is the cup of my blood, the blood of the new and everlasting covenant. It will be shed for you and for all so that sins may be forgiven. Do this in memory of me.

The blood oath of Christ’s everlasting covenant extends God’s family to all believers. This oath brings us mere mortals, through Christ, into God’s extended family. It’s an oath of fidelity; that our sins will be forgiven if we keep our side of the bargain. It’s not that different than what happened in Sinai, where God promised to protect and reward his people if they remain faithful

[You can Google McCarthy and get lots of people citing his work. I’m not going to link them as most are theologians discussing things at a level that is only interesting to another theologian. I’m also not qualified to argue this point, so anyone interested in going deeper can check Scott Hahn’s book A Father Who Keeps His Promises]

>sniff<

Head cold. Taking a couple of days off.

>ack<

More next week.

>gurgle<

Where we headed next?

Well, I had been working on a really swell post about de Lubac’s Catholicism, but it just simply isn’t coming together. So, given the questions I’ve received lately, I think I have a plan.

I think we should get into the marks of the Church. After all, we Catholics profess these things every Sunday. The thing is - they’re often misunderstood. They also pose a great obstacle to Protestants thinking of converting.

But first, to get there, we have to take a short side trip. We first need to consider the idea of covenant. So, my next main post will be a (hopefully) brief explanation of what a covenant is really all about. When I converted I was told that a covenant was “like a contract.” It’s more than that.

Also, I’ve just gotten a new history of the Church, and that might help answer some of Chas Hamilton’s questions about the first 400 years of apostolic succession. (Chas, I’m gonna ask you for a book deal one of these days.) I’m not an expert on this topic, so going beyond where we’ve gone already will take some study on my part.

I’ve also got a couple of questions to answer from people – I haven’t forgotten, but I haven’t had time either. Sorry. I’ll get to them.

Just thought I’d post an update and let everyone know where things stand as of today. Tomorrow may be different.

As always, feel free to e-mail with specific questions.

...to those who voted for me in the 2007 Catholic Blog Awards. It’s very much appreciated. Being up against the likes of Jimmy Akin and the Pontificator, I knew there was no hope of victory. But of the bazillion Catholic blogs out there, to be one of twenty or so nominated was quite the thrill. I’ve been blogging off-and-on for a little over three years, and this was my first nomination for anything.

Ye ole blog will wear the nominee button on the right with pride, and humbly hope to be worthy of it in the future.

Congrats to Jimmy on his (not very surprising) victory.

(P.S. I suspect that my wife voted for me after all. She’s only teasing me about having voted for Jimmy…right?)

In a few days, maybe next week, I’ll post something on the First Friday devotion relative to the anti-abortion fight. But first, I just want to take a moment to explain where the idea came from.

By Catholic bloggers of the Dallas area

Is there a phrase more infamous than “Roe versus Wade”?

The principal people involved in this most infamous legal case were from Dallas. “Roe” is a pseudonym for Dallas resident Norma McCorvey. Henry Wade was the Dallas district attorney who filed the original charges in the case.

It all began here – in our home town, where we raise our families, where we go to church, where we live, and love, and learn, and work.

We are three bloggers who also live in the Dallas area. We are deeply committed to ending abortion in this country. To that end, we have committed ourselves to the following: On each First Friday for the next eleven months, we will fast and pray for the intention of ending abortion. This will culminate at the annual Dallas March for Life in January of 2008, where we will join our bishop and the faithful of this city in marching to the courthouse where Roe was originally argued.

We ask anyone reading these words to join us. Fast and pray with us each First Friday, no matter how far removed you are from Dallas, for an end to abortion. We especially ask other Dallas area bloggers and residents to join us, at least in spirit.

We will not win this battle in the courts. We will not win this battle in the media. We will not win this battle in any earthly way. We will only win through prayer, fasting, and devotion to Christ.

It began here. Let it end here.

Jesus, we trust in you.

Mark Windsor – Rafting the Tiber
Julie Davis – Happy Catholic
Laura Hughey – ...and if not...

Joining the Battle:

Est Puzzlementem
The Summa Mamas
Catholic Pro Life Commitee

Deus meus, ex toto corde pænitet me omnium meorum peccatorum, eaque detestor, quia peccando, non solum poenas a Te iuste statutas promeritus sum, sed præsertim quia offendi Te, summum bonum, ac dignum qui super omnia diligaris. Ideo firmiter propono, adiuvante gratia Tua, de cetero me non peccaturum peccandique occasiones proximas fugiturum. Amen

O my God! I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, and I detest all my sins, because I dread the loss of heaven and the pains of hell; but most of all because they offend Thee, my God, who art all-good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace, to confess my sins, to do penance, and to amend my life.

A big announcement for ye ole blog. Maybe Friday. Maybe Monday.

Stay tuned.

…to the person/people that nominated me for Best Apologetics Blog. It was quite a surprise. I very much appreciate it, though I am quite humbled by the company in which I find myself.

Welcome to anyone finding their way here from the CyberCatholics. There’s a topics list on the right, so feel free to browse a bit. Drop me an e-mail if you have any questions.

Is there any better poster-child for what modern society can do to someone, in all its unholy excess? Is there any better example of what can happen if you loose your moral compass and give into all of life's temptations?

There are so many extremely sad elements of this story: drug abuse, sex abuse, more money than most people can imagine, perhaps even poor parenting.

Created by the media, she’ll soon be totally forgotten by those that created her.

Requiem æternam dona ei, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat ei. Requiescat in pace.

With Lent approaching, I thought I would take a moment to talk about first Confession for those in RCIA. My own experience may help here just a wee bit.

How can I nominate myself for everything under the sun when I keep getting "Access Denied" every time I try. Well, I guess I'm not trying hard enough.

Here's the link .

Which musical genius am I?

Johann Sebastian Bach

Only a hundred years after his death was he recognized as possibly the profoundest musical genius of all time.

Happens to be one of my favorites, and the only reason I'd ever consider learning a woodwind (it's a long story).

Have a go here. Hat tip to Julie D.

And, once again, Finland wins the monthly sweepstakes for non-dot com and non-dot net hits on ye ol blog:

369 - Finland
154 - Canada & Czech Republic tied
48 - Spain
40 - New Zealand

So far in February, the UK is off to a strong start, with Germany and Canada gaining.