UPDATE, UPDATE: I post my homily below the propers for the Feast of the Most Holy Rosary which I will give at today's EF Mass at the Cathedral.
I feel so bad for all those Ordinary Form Catholics who don’t have the option on a Sunday for an external Feast to supplant the normal Sunday Mass. I, though, live in both forms of the one world! Thus I am celebrating today not only the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time but also the Feast of the Most Holy Rosary! O, the joy!
October 7th is the anniversary of the glorious victory won in 1571 by the Christian forces over the Turkish fleet at Lepanto. This triumph of the Cross over the Crescent was universally attributed to the powerful intercession of the Mother of God, whom Pope St. Pius V fervently invoked with her Rosary in his hand, and to whom the prayers of all Christendom were addressed. Two years after this great favor had been obtained, Pope Gregory XIII instituted an annual feast of thanksgiving to be celebrated on the First Sunday of October in all churches where an altar in honor of the Blessed Virgin of the Rosary had been erected. From being a local festival this celebration gradually spread and became general, until Pope Leo XIII raised it to the rank of a double of the second class for the whole Church.
INTROIT
Ps. 44: 2
Let us all rejoice in the Lord, celebrating a feast in honor of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary: at whose solemnity the angels rejoice and join in praising the Son of God . (Ps. 44: 2) My heart hath uttered a good word; I speak my works to the King. v. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost, as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. Let us all rejoice...
COLLECT - God, Whose only-begotten Son, by His life, death, and resurrection hath purchased for us the rewards of eternal life: grant, we beseech Thee, that, meditating on the mysteries of the most holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise. Through the same Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who livest and reignest with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, one God. Forever and ever.
EPISTLE
Ecclusiasticus 8: 22, 24, 32, 35
Lesson from the book of Wisdom. The Lord possessed me in the beginning of His ways, before He made anything, from the beginning. I was set up from eternity, and of old, before the earth was made. The depths were not as yet, and I was already conceived Now, therefore, ye children, hear me: blessed are they that keep my ways. Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not. Blessed is the man that heareth me, and that watcheth daily at my gates; and waiteth at the posts of my doors. He that shall find me, shall find life, and shall have salvation from the Lord. Thanks be to God.
GRADUAL
Because of truth, and meekness, and justice: and thy right hand shall conduct thee wonderfully. V. Hear, O daughter, and see, and incline thine ear; for the King hath desired thy beauty.
Alleluia, alleluia. V. The solemnity of the glorious Virgin Mary, of the seed of Abraham, sprung from the tribe of Juda, of the noble line of David. Alleluia.
GOSPEL
Luke 1: 26-38
At that time, the angel Gabriel was sent from God into a city of Galilee, called Nazareth, to virgin espoused to man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David: and the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel being come in, said unto her: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. Who having heard, was troubled at his saying and thought with herself what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said to her: Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God. Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb and shalt bring forth a Son; and thou shalt call his name Jesus. 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 forever, and of His kingdom there shall be no end. And Mary said to the angel, How shall this be done, because I know not man? 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. 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; because no word shall be impossible with God. And Mary said: Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done to me according to thy word. Praise be to Christ
OFFERTORY
Ecclus. 24: 25, 39, 17
In me is all grace of the way and of the truth; in me is all hope of life and of virtue. Like a rose planted on the rivers I have borne fruit.
SECRET Grant us, we beseech Thee, O Lord, to be fittingly prepared for the offering of these gifts, and, through the mysteries of the most holy Rosary, so to meditate upon the life, passion, and glory of Thine only-begotten Son that we may become worthy of His promises. Who with Thee livest and reignest, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, Forever and ever. Amen
PREFACE (Preface of the Blessed Virgin Mary) - It is truly meet and just, right and for our salvation, that we should at all times and in all places, give thanks unto Thee, O holy Lord, Father almighty, everlasting God and that we should praise and bless, and proclaim Thee, on the Feast of the Annunciation of the Blessed Mary, ever Virgin: Who also conceived Thine only-begotten Son by the over-shadowing of the Holy Ghost, and the glory of her virginity still abiding, gave forth to the world the everlasting light, Jesus Christ our Lord. Through whom the angels praise Thy Majesty, the Dominations worship it, and the Powers stand in awe. The heavens and the heavenly hosts together with the blessed Seraphim in triumphant chorus unite to celebrate it. Together with them we entreat Thee, that Thou mayest bid our voices also to be admitted, while we say with lowly praise:
COMMUNION
Ecclus. 39: 19
Send forth flowers, as the lily, and yield a smell, and bring forth leaves in grace, and praise with canticles, and bless the Lord in His works.
POST COMMUNION -May we be assisted, we beseech Thee, O Lord, by the prayers of Thy most holy Mother, whose Rosary we celebrate, that the virtue of the mysteries we adore may be shared and the effect of the sacraments we have received may be obtained. Who livest and reignest, with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, Forever and ever. R. Amen.
MY HOMILY FOR THE FEAST OF OUR LADY OF VICTORY OF THE MOST HOLY ROSARY:
Introduction: A priest decided to skip Mass one Sunday and
head to the hills to do some bear hunting.
As he rounded the corner on a perilous twist in the trail, he and a bear
collided, sending him and his rifle tumbling down the mountainside. Before he knew it, his rifle went one way and
he went the other, landing on a rock and breaking both legs. The ferocious bear was charging at him from a
distance, and he couldn’t move. “Oh,
Lord,” the priest prayed, I’m so sorry for skipping Mass today to come out here
and hunt. Please forgive me and grant
me just one wish…please make a Christian out of that bear that’s coming at
me. Please, Lord! That very instant, the bear skidded to a
halt, fell to its knees, clasped its paws together and began to pray aloud
right at the priest’s feet: “Bless us o Lord in these thy gifts which we are
about to receive through Christ our Lord. Amen.”
Topic
Statement: True conversion to Jesus Christ, Christianity and His Church always
forms an authentic, never bogus, people of God who respect and love human life from conception until natural
death.
1.
When it comes to
love and respect for human life want to avoid being bogus or counterfeit
Christians at all costs.
A.
In the last fifteen
years or so, the treasury department issued new designs to our paper money. Its design is meant to make it more difficult
to counterfeit. There are some
counterfeit bills that come very close to the real thing, and yet they are
still bogus, they are not real. They’re worth nothing. The treasury department
will not stand behind them.
B.
One of the things
that have always distressed me as a Catholic, as a priest, as a human being, is
the fact that there are many “pro-choice” Catholics and Christians. They see nothing wrong with a mother choosing
to end her pregnancy even if they themselves would not do. They see nothing wrong with a doctor and
various clinics making money off of ending the life of an unborn child, which
by the way is the ultimate child abuse.
I am absolutely astounded when I see self-professed Christian
politicians, whether Catholic or Protestant, promote pro-choice politics which
leads to abortion on demand, or Euthanasia or something else that diminishes or
destroys life. Is this not bogus, is
this not counterfeit Christianity, is this not like the bear and his fake conversion?
2.
Our Blessed
Mother’s gift of the Holy Rosary as a weapon against those who oppose the
complete love of God and love of neighbor from that neighbor’s moment of
conception will be a sure and certain defense against the world who hates God
and the innocent.
A.
Pope Leo XIII
wrote that this simple weapon of the Holy Rosary given by the Mother of God and
conceived by the eternal Wisdom of God is far-reaching in its effects. It leads
wandering man to the Queen of Mercy, it destroys ignorance of the fundamentals
of the Faith, ignorance which is the food of heresy, and it teaches him to find
once more ‘the paths consecrated by the Blood of the Man-God, and by the tears
of His Mother.’
B.
I personally
believe that Our Lady of the Holy Rosary and the request of the Holy Father
that during the month of October, we pray the Holy Rosary daily and add at the
end of it the Memorare and the Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel, in some
mysterious way only known to Our Lady, protected our brother Catholic, Brett Kavanaugh, who
actually practices and believes his Catholic Faith from the wolves who wanted to devour his
goodness, holiness and manhood, not to mention his family life, dignity and supreme court nomination. Is it a coincidence that Justice Kavanaugh was
confirmed and sworn in as the Supreme Court Justice on the Vigil of Our Lady of
Victory of the Most Holy Rosary and the vigil of Pro-life Sunday? I think not.
It is in the plan of our Blessed Mother to protect life and to protect the
Church during these scandalous and precarious times. We need her good weapon of
peace and love and liberty and life and the legal protection of the unborn and
vulnerable.
Conclusion: Someone has once written that the Rosary, piously meditated, prepares us for
the Sacrifice of the altar, that august memorial of the mysteries which it
imprints in the heart and mind of the Christian. Why not then, pray the holy
rosary in the car as one drives to holy Mass. Pray it in thanksgiving on the
way home.
15 comments:
"I, though, live in both forms of the one world!"
Sounds like multiple personality disorder to me. But, to each, his, or his, or his own...
Yes! And if only I was Eastern Rite bi-Ritual adding yet another dimension to a multiple personality ordered person. (You know that there is no such thing as disorders, only a person's personal order, multiple orders, genders, no gender, truth, no truth as truth. Shall I go on?
Jack here...
Father, this particular “Anonymous”, having been here before with his “redoubtable” reasoning ability, loves to indulge in armchair psychologizing. That is tactic of the weak-minded in any forum, but particularly when no debate was called for by you.
No response is needed...it will only encourage the needless acrimony implicit in his baiting responses to you.
Just my take, of course, as this is your forum and your call.
Jack here again...
And BTW, I love your homily!
It’s not an external feast if it’s on the actual feast day.
"Is it a coincidence that Justice Kavanaugh was confirmed and sworn in as the Supreme Court Justice on the Vigil of Our Lady of Victory of the Most Holy Rosary and the vigil of Pro-life Sunday?"
Yes. Senator McConnell was prepared to hold the vote on any day on which he was certain that he had enough votes to approve the nomination. Senator Steve Daines let it be known he would not be present for a Saturday vote as he was walking his daughter down the aisle at her wedding.
If McConnell had needed to wait a day, he would have waited a day. If you want to thank someone for their 'miraculaous' intervention, thank McConnell.
Is it a coincidence that Pope John Paul I died on the feast of St. Wenceslaus? Or St. Pope John XXIII on the feast of Charles Lawanga and companions? Or Henry VIII on the feast of St. Thomas Aquinas? Or Hugh Hefner on the feast of Blessed Bartholomew of Vicenza?
Yep.
Fr McDonald,
Justice Kavanaugh was also sworn in on a First Saturday!
It is likely that tonight my grand daughter will be born. I think it would be nice if she is named Rose.
rcg,
Congratulations! May our Lord and Lady bless and protect her!
The Collect is, in translation, one of the best-known vernacular prayers since it is said whenever the Rosary is recited publicly. I cannot recall a time when I didn't know it by heart.
Others are 'Pour forth, we beseech thee O Lord, thy grace into our hearts ...' (after the Angelus) and 'O God, the Creator and Redeemer of all the faithful...' (Holy Souls).
These prayers are in the Collect form, a single complex sentence (and by complex I don't mean complicated!) and the English is elegant, lapidary and memorable. Cranmer maintained the form in the BCP and elementary school pupils in Victorian times would often learn the Sunday Collect by heart. In primary schools today, children are taught, as part of the literacy programme, how to read and construct complex sentences.
Yet when ICEL reintroduced the Collect form in the 2011 English translation of the Mass, there were howls of protest from the folks at PrayTell. Very strange.
At the 5 pm Mass at St. Joseph's yesterday, Fr. Wright gave an excellent homily on lust and marriage, and explained why marriage can only be between one man and one woman! Unfortunately, two people got up and left. I pray for their souls and thank God that a young priest was not afraid to preach the truth!
Marc: "It’s not an external feast if it’s on the actual feast day."
As I understand it--in accord with the FSSP ordo (and Divinum Officium)--a celebration yesterday of the Mass of Our Lady of the Rosary was permitted only as a external solemnity "by right" (1962 Rubric 358b). Because when October 7 falls on a Sunday after Pentecost, the class 2 Sunday Mass of Our Lord would otherwise take precedence over the class 2 Mass of Our Lady.
Another oddity of yesterday is that--for the same reason--those of us who pray the traditional Divine Office, but attended a Mass of Our Lady of the Rosary as an external solemnity yesterday, nevertheless properly prayed the Office of the 20th Sunday after Pentecost. Because for an external solemnity, only the Mass and not the Office is "transferred", so the class 2 Sunday office of Our Lord took precedence over the class 2 office of Our Lady.
"As I understand it--in accord with the FSSP ordo (and Divinum Officium)--a celebration yesterday of the Mass of Our Lady of the Rosary was permitted only as a external solemnity "by right" (1962 Rubric 358b). Because when October 7 falls on a Sunday after Pentecost, the class 2 Sunday Mass of Our Lord would otherwise take precedence over the class 2 Mass of Our Lady.
Another oddity of yesterday is that--for the same reason--those of us who pray the traditional Divine Office, but attended a Mass of Our Lady of the Rosary as an external solemnity yesterday, nevertheless properly prayed the Office of the 20th Sunday after Pentecost. Because for an external solemnity, only the Mass and not the Office is "transferred", so the class 2 Sunday office of Our Lord took precedence over the class 2 office of Our Lady."
And people wonder why the calendar needed serious revisions . . .
Henry, I stand corrected! It would appear that this situation was created by the 1960 rubrics, though. I went to Divinum Officium to see what happens in the earlier rubrics, and the feast takes precedence over the Sunday, both for the Mass and the Hours. The older rubrics retain the Sunday Gospel as the Last Gospel, as well. There are many reasons to move beyond the 1960 rubrics in favor of rubrics that have a more time-tested appeal.
Anyway, it seems that it was the "simplification" in the revisions that are to blame for the complication in this instance.
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