Under the "spell" of the Mass

An excerpt from a letter to his wife by John Adams, second President of the United States:

     "This afternoon, led by curiosity and good company, I strolled away to mother church, or rather grandmother church. I mean the Romish chapel. I heard a good, short moral essay upon the duty of parents to their children, founded in justice and charity, to take care of their interests, temporal and spiritual. This afternoon’s entertainment was to me most awful and affecting; the poor wretches fingering their beads, chanting Latin, not a word of which they understood; their pater nosters and ave Marias; their holy water; their crossing themselves perpetually; their bowing to the name of Jesus, whenever they hear it; their bowings, kneelings and genuflections before the altar. The dress of the priest was rich white lace. His pulpit was velvet and gold. The altar-piece was very rich, little images and crucifixes about; wax candles lighted up. But how shall I describe the picture of our Savior in a frame of marble over the altar, at full length, upon the cross in the agonies, and the blood dropping and streaming from his wounds! The music, consisting of an organ and a choir of singers, went all the afternoon except sermon time, and the assembly chanted most sweetly and exquisitely.
     Here is everything which can lay hold of the eye, ear, and imagination–everything which can charm and bewitch the simple and ignorant. I wonder how Luther ever broke the spell. Adieu."

-----

"Here is everything which can lay hold of the eye, ear, and imagination." Yes, that truly was the genius of the Old Mass!  But don't worry President Adams - thanks to the aggiornamento of Vatican II and the modernist changes that followed in its wake, we have finally updated the liturgy.  No more Latin mumbo-jumbo, no more pious hocus-pocus and chanting, no richly decorated altars. We have Protestantized the liturgy to accommodate people like you Mr. Adams, rather than the "simple and ignorant." Regarding that graphic portrait of the Crucified Christ, you will be pleased to know that we have downplayed the sacrificial nature of the Mass, emphasizing instead the communal meal aspect. You may rest assured that there is little chance that anyone will ever come under the "spell" of the new liturgy.   

John Adams excerpt thanks to Dr. William Zambrano's "Tribulation Times."  Subscribe here.

Walt Disney the man: pro-life

Every conception is immaculate because a child is involved

Although Walt Disney considered himself to be a religious person, he did not attend any church.  He had a strong belief in God, and respected the religion of others.  Once one of his employees, apparently a Catholic, asked him if he believed in the Immaculate Conception.  He answered that he believed that every conception is immaculate, since a child is involved.

He and his wife Lilly sent both of their daughters, Diane and Sharon, to Sunday school, but did not impose their religious views on them.  When Diane began to attend a Catholic school, Walt wrote to his sister Ruth that Diane seemed to enjoy it, being quite taken up with the various rituals and the catechism. She had not made up her mind on whether to be Catholic or Protestant, but Disney was not concerned about this.  He felt that his daughter was intelligent enough to decide what she wanted, and that it was her privilege to make the decision. 

During his lifetime he never made a religious film, since he did not want to mix religion with entertainment.  Churchmen were seldom portrayed in his pictures.

Based on information from Walt Disney an American Original, by Bob Thomas, 1994, New York, Disney Editions.

Serving the Holy Mass of Padre Pio

"The Mass of Padre Pio!  No one will be able to describe it.  Only one who has had the privilege of living it can understand. . . "

Fra Modestino Fucci (1917-2011) was a saintly lay brother who lived alongside Padre Pio at the Friary in San Giovanni Rotondo for many years.  He often had the privilege of serving at the traditional Latin Mass celebrated by St. Pio.   The saint's death in 1968 signified the culmination and close of a great era in the Church.  The very next year Pope Paul VI issued the missal for the Novus Ordo liturgy, almost putting an end to the Mass that made Padre Pio.  

 

Brother Modestino carefully recorded his impressions of what it was like to serve at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass celebrated by St. Pio, and they have been published in the Spring 2014 issue of the Friary's magazine, "The Voice of Padre Pio."  The following excerpts are presented, with permission, from the article "Witness to the Padre," pp. 19-20.

I would watch and observe Padre Pio closely every time, from the moment he left his cell at dawn to celebrate Mass.  I would see him in a state of suffering and anxiety.  He seemed restless.  As soon as he reached the sacristy where he put on the sacred vestments, I had the impression that already he was no longer aware of what went on around him.  

He was totally absorbed and conscious of what he was about the fulfill.  His face which was of normal color became frighteningly pale when he put on the amice.  From that moment onwards he paid no more attention to anyone.  Clothed in the sacred vestments he made his way to the altar.  Even though I walked ahead of him, I was aware that his gait became more dragging, his face sorrowful.  He seemed to stoop always more, as if, I thought, crushed beneath the weight of a gigantic invisible cross. 

Once he arrived at the altar he kissed it lovingly and his pale face became inflamed.  His cheeks would become crimson, his skin translucent so that one almost saw the flow of blood that rushed to his cheeks.  After the Confiteor, he beat his breast with hollow and heavy blows as if accusing himself of all the worst sins committed by man.  His eyes remained closed without being able to prevent big tears that disappeared into his thick beard.

At the Gospel, as he announced the Word of God, it seemed as if he fed himself with these words, tasting their infinite sweetness.  Immediately after, the colloquy between Padre Pio and the Eternal began.  This colloquy caused Padre Pio to weep abundant tears, that I saw him wipe with a big handkerchief.  Padre Pio, who had received the gift of contemplation from the Lord, entered into the abysses of the mystery of the Redemption.  The veils of that mystery having been torn by the suffering of his faith and love, all things human disappeared from his sight.  Before his gaze was God alone!

Everyone saw Padre Pio suffering.  He pronounced the liturgical prayers with  difficulty and interrupted by sobs.  The embarrassment the Padre felt at being in the presence and the searching gaze of others was enormous.  He would probably have preferred to celebrate Mass in solitude so as to be able to give free rein to his suffering and to his indescribable love.  

In those moments Padre Pio lived sensitively and really felt the Passion of the Lord.  Time went quickly, but he was outside time!  That was why his Mass lasted an hour and a half or probably more.  At the Elevation his suffering reached its height.  Watching his weeping, his sobbing, I was afraid his heart would burst, that he was about to faint from one moment to the next. God's Spirit had by now penetrated his whole body.  His soul was rapt in God.  He offered himself with Christ, victim for his brothers in exile.  

Each gesture of his denoted his relationship with God.  His heart must have burned like a volcano.  He prayed intensely for his spiritual children, for the sick, and for those who had already left this world.  Every now and then he leaned on the altar on his elbows, probably to relieve his wounded feet from the weight of his body.  I heard him repeat often through his tears: "My God! My God!" A spectacle of faith, love, suffering and emotion that reached the point of drama when the Padre raised the Host.  The sleeves of the surplice came down and his torn, bleeding hands were in the sight of all, whereas his gaze was on God!  

At Communion he seemed to calm down.  Transfigured in a passionate, ecstatic abandon, he fed on the Flesh and Blood of Jesus. How much love emanated from his face!  The people, astounded, could not but kneel before that mystical agony, to that total annihilation of himself. The incorporation, the assimilation, the fusion was total!  Padre Pio would remain as if stunned as he tasted all the divine sweetness that only Jesus in the Eucharist knows how to give. 

So the sacrifice of the Mass would be completed with a real participation of love, of suffering and blood.  And it brought about many conversions.  At the end of the Mass another suffering would devour him - that of going to the choir loft to remain alone and in silence, recollected in prayer to be able to thank Jesus.  He would remain immobile as if without life.  If someone had shaken him he would not have noticed, so absorbed was he in divine contemplation. 

The Mass of Padre Pio! No one will be able to describe it.  Only one who has had the privilege of living it can understand. . . 

 

"The Voice of Padre Pio" is a quarterly magazine published by his Friary in Italy. For Subscriptions you may  contact the Padre Pio information center nearest you HERE. 

 

Or visit the web site of the magazine directly HERE. 

 

View my four Padre Pio books and others HERE.

 

 

The "humble" Holy Grail that belonged to Padre Pio

In light of the recent articles about a purported Holy Grail in Spain, one of many throughout the world claimed to be the true one, the story about the humble "cup" possessed by St. Padre Pio seems especially relevant.  In 2003, an Italian magazine made the spectacular claim that Padre Pio possessed the Grail, and had willed it to a Capuchin priest named Padre Cristoforo, from a nearby friary.  

As you can see from the pictures below, this is a truly humble grail, something that the Teacher of Humility might have actually used at the Last Supper.  According to the article, Padre Pio wrote a letter to Padre Cristoforo, which has been authenticated.  It reads in part: "To Padre Cristoforo da Vico del Gargano, I entrust the remaining humble secrets given to me by the Christian faithful...I leave you the small Greek vase belonging to the Apostle Peter, kept a secret by me because it was a gift from God to my father and a witness of the great light, guard it for the poor faithful". 

When this article was published, I translated parts of it and reported about it on my Padre Pio web site.  It states that one of the friars who was then involved in Padre Pio's process for canonization believed that the phrase "to my father" in the letter, refers to Padre Pio's spiritual father, St. Francis of Assisi.  Thus this small vase or cup was transmitted over the centuries from St. Peter, to St. Francis, and eventually to St. Padre Pio.  Significantly, Padre Pio also mentions that this cup was "a witness of the great light."

It sounds incredible but could this little, humble cup actually be the chalice of the Grail?  Well, it might not be the main chalice, but according to the visions of Anne Catherine Emmerich, the large chalice contained within it a small cup.  Further, at the Last Supper, the Apostles consumed the Precious Blood from separate beakers, there were six of them. Emmerich's writings state that the Precious Blood that remained was placed into the small cup, and that cup was returned to its place inside the large chalice.  These relics eventually were distributed among the Apostles according to Emmerich, as reported in the fourth volume of her Life of Christ and Biblical Revelations.

 

Padre Pio's cup was recently on display in Rome along with other Padre Pio relics at a special exhibit.  The exhibit will be travelling to the USA.  It is coordinated by Alberto Festa, grandnephew of Dr. Giorgio Festa, Padre Pio's physician and author of the classic book on his stigmata.  Festa's researches have established that the cup dates from the time of Christ.  A book has also been written in conjunction with the exhibit, see link. 

That original posting from 2003 is still there on my web site at this link, with an important update about this exhibit.  In view of the letter by Padre Pio with its reference to St. Peter and veiled reference to St. Francis, the authentication of the letter and of the age of the cup, and in light of Emmerich's revelations, I conclude that there is an extremely high probability that the "humble cup" of Padre Pio was actually used on Holy Thursday, and did contain the Precious Blood consecrated by Jesus Himself. 

                                                    (from video found at this link)

 

(from video found at this link)

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If your eye causes you to sin...

Here's how St. Francis of Assisi interpreted these words of the Gospel: “And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out.” (Mark 9:46, reading for Thursday 02/27/14).

St. Francis preaches to the Muslim leader, Sultan Al-Kamil in 1219, during the Fifth Crusade. An excerpt from my book St. Francis of Assisi and the Conversion of the Muslims, TAN Books, 2007, pp. 68-69.

Al-Kamil made another attempt to test St. Francis, this time in the matter of the Gospel teachings of Christ. This incident shows that he had some familiarity with Christian doctrine, perhaps based on what had already been preached to him by Francis. The sheik confronted the friar with the words from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, recounted in the Gospel of St. Matthew:

"But I say to you not to resist evil: but if one strike thee on thy right cheek, turn to him also the   other: And if a man will contend with thee in judgment, and take away thy coat, let go thy cloak also unto him." (Matthew 5: 39-40.)

The sultan asked Francis why, in the light of this teaching of Jesus, should Crusaders be invading the lands of the Muslims? Since the passage teaches “turning the other cheek” and repaying evil with good, the sultan was contending that there was no justification for the Crusader invasions, even though he knew that the Muslims had taken the land by force from the Christians centuries earlier. 

Once again the response of Francis surprised al-Kamil. He declared that the sultan had not completely studied the Gospel, and pointed out to the king the words Jesus had spoken earlier in the same discourse:  

"And if thy right eye scandalize thee, pluck it out and cast it from thee. For it is expedient for thee that one of thy members should perish, rather than that thy whole body be cast into hell. And if thy right hand scandalize thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is expedient for thee that one of thy members should perish, rather than that thy whole body be cast into hell." (Matthew 5: 29-30.)

Francis then proceeded to impart a distinctive interpretation to these lines, by referring them to those who attempt to turn Christians away from their faith and love of God. The sultan was as dear to him as his own eye, he admitted to the potentate (11). But someone very close to us who draws us away from our religion, even if he were the “ . . . apple of our eye, must be repulsed, pulled out, expelled . . . ” so that our faith and salvation would be secure. For this reason, “ . . . it is just that Christians invade the land you inhabit . . .” since the Muslims seek to draw everyone to their own religion, and away from the worship of Christ, and blaspheme his name (12). On the other hand, he continued, if the sultan and his people ‘ . . . were to recognize, confess, and adore the Creator and Redeemer . . .” they would be beloved by all of Christendom. When Francis had finished addressing the sultan, “All the spectators were in admiration at his answers.” (13) 

11. Little Flowers, Chapter 24; p. 1354 Omnibus. 

12. Legend of Perugia, no. 37; p. 1015 Omnibus.

13.  St. Bonaventure, Major Life, Chapter 5, no. 8; p. 668 Omnibus.

 Painting by Fra Angelico.

Did St. Francis teach: preach the Gospel, use words if necessary?

Actually, he did teach this, but true to form, he did not use words to do so.

  
As others have often pointed out, there is no record that he literally said "preach the Gospel, use words if necessary" (good summary here).  Or, to paraphrase a certain famous baseball player, "He never really said everything he said."  But he did say it without words.

The following anecdote from a 13th century biography of the saint, written shortly after his death, is the most probable source of this legendary remark attributed to St. Francis.

     Of the sermon Francis preached more by example than by words.

Repeatedly asked by his vicar to preach the word of God to his daughters [Poor Clare nuns] when he stopped off for a short time at St. Damian's, Francis was finally overcome by his insistence and consented. But when the nuns had come together, according to their custom, to hear the word of God, though no less also to see their father, Francis raised his eyes to heaven, where his heart always was, and began to pray to Christ.

He then commanded ashes to be brought to him and he made a circle with them around himself on the pavement, and sprinkled the rest of them on his head. But when they waited for him to begin, and the blessed father remained standing in the circle in silence, no small astonishment arose in their hearts.

The saint then suddenly rose and to the amazement of the nuns, in place of a sermon he recited the Miserere mei Deus [Psalm 50 (51) “Have mercy on me, O God, according to thy great mercy. And according to the multitude of they tender mercies blot out my iniquity. . . ”]. When he had finished, he quickly left.

The Servants of God were so filled with contrition because of the power of this symbolic sermon that their tears flowed in abundance and they could scarcely restrain their hands from inflicting punishment on themselves. By his actions he taught them that they should regard themselves as ashes and that there was nothing in his heart concerning them but what befit this consideration.

This was the way he acted toward these holy women; his visits to them were very useful, but they were forced upon him and rare. And this was his will for all his brothers: he wanted them to serve these women in such a way for Christ, whom they serve, that like them that have wings they would always guard against the snare laid out for them.

Celano, Second Life, Chapter CLVII, no. 207.

Were Adam and Eve originally clothed in garments of light?

 
The Word of God says this of our first parents while they were in Paradise, before the fall:  “And they were both naked: to wit, Adam and his wife: and were not ashamed,” (Genesis 2:25 Douay-Rheims).

That this nakedness refers to the absence of material, physical garments is made clear in subsequent passages, after the fall:
  “And the eyes of them both were opened: and when they perceived themselves to be naked, they sewed together fig leaves, and made themselves aprons,” Genesis 3:7.
  “And the Lord God made for Adam and his wife, garments of skins, and clothed them,” Genesis 3:21.

Although they had been "naked" in Paradise in the literal sense of the word, is it possible that in a figurative sense, on another level of meaning, they were clothed in some supernatural way before the fall? The answer is yes, according to two noted mystics of the Church, who lived a century apart and came from different cultures. The revelations granted to these two mystics bear a striking correspondence. They both assert that our first parents, Adam and Eve, were originally clothed in beams and rays of light, a divine radiance.

Certainly no Catholic is required to believe in any private revelations, but if what is presented below is in fact true, it indicates just how far mankind has fallen.

Revelations to Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich of Westphalia, Germany (1774 – 1824), from her four-volume Life of Jesus Christ and Biblical Revelations. (TAN Books, or online here).  The following is from Chapter Three of the first volume.

   They were like two unspeakably noble and beautiful children, perfectly luminous. and clothed with beams of light as with a veil. From Adam's mouth I saw issuing a broad stream of glittering light, and upon his forehead was an expression of great majesty. Around his mouth played a sunbeam, but there was none around Eve's. I saw Adam's heart very much the same as in men of the present day, but his breast was surrounded by rays of light. In the middle of his heart, I saw a sparkling halo of glory. . . . .

   From the hands and feet of Adam and Eve, shot rays of light. Their hair fell in five glittering tresses, two from the temples, two behind the ears, and one from the back of the head.

. . . .

   The glittering beams on Adam's head denoted his abundant fruitfulness, his glory, his connection with other radiations. And all this shining beauty is restored to glorified souls and bodies. Our hair is the ruined, the extinct glory; and as is this hair of ours to rays of light, so is our present flesh to that of Adam before the Fall. The sunbeams around Adam's mouth bore reference to a holy posterity from God, which, had it not been for the Fall, would have been effectuated by the spoken word. Adam stretched forth his hand to Eve. They left the charming spot of Eve's creation and went through Paradise, looking at everything, rejoicing in everything. That place was the highest in Paradise. All was more radiant, more resplendent there than elsewhere.

Revelations to the Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta, Corato, Italy (1865 - 1947).
Following is an overview of the entry of 12/12/1926 of Volume 20 of Luisa's Diary, The Book of Heaven.

    Our Lord, making Himself seen by Luisa, told her that during His Passion, He felt an immense pain in the depths of His Heart, when they divided His garments and cast lots for His tunic. It was hurtful seeing this tunic used for a game, since it was the only object that He possessed that had been given to Him by His Mother.

    He was further transfixed because in those garments Adam came to His mind, still clothed in the garment of his innocence, and inseparable from the Supreme Will. At his creation, Adam was dressed with a tunic comprised of the interminable light of the Divine Will – a garment that could not be debased, divided or decomposed. It was the outer garment of innocence.

    Jesus explained to Luisa that in creating man, He placed him in the sun of the Divine Will. This was a garment of shining light, whose rays covered his body in a way that honored him and rendered him beautiful. To say that Adam was truly naked prior to sinning is simply not correct. Since all that God created was adorned and covered, should not man, the jewel of Creation, have been adorned in the most beautiful way? It was appropriate that he possessed the garment of the light of the sun of the Divine Volition. Since he was adorned with this garment of light, he had no need of material garments in order to cover himself.

     But in Eden, Adam divided and gambled away his garments of innocence, the clothing of the Divine Will. As Adam withdrew from the Divine Will, the light from his body and soul withdrew, and he lost his vesture of divine radiance. Realizing he was no longer surrounded by light, he felt nude and ashamed, and made use of material things to cover himself.

    In seeing from the Cross His own garment divided and lots being cast for His tunic, that which Adam did at Eden was repeated before His eyes. His pain, upon seeing this, brought forth a lament. How many creatures, doing their own will, make a game of the Divine Will, and how many times do they divide the garment of innocence with their passions?

    Subsequent to His immense sorrow at seeing His own garments divided and cast for lots, He did not take on other garments upon His Resurrection. Instead His Humanity was dressed with the shining garment of the sun of the Supreme Will. Then, clothed in these regal garments, He presented Himself to His Celestial Father, and opened heaven to all the redeemed. The Divine Will, while it is life, is also man's true garment of Creation.

    Upon hearing this, Luisa asked Jesus why He and His Mother, who also possessed the Divine Will, did not appear clothed in its light while on earth? The Lord explained that His Humanity was to represent fallen Adam, and not innocent Adam. Besides, if they were dressed in the light of the Divine Fiat, who would have dared to even go near them? At the time of His Passion, who would have dared touch Him? But when He rose from death, then He represented the new Adam, and He suspended the miracle which had kept the divine light hidden from His Humanity. Dressed in the purest light of this regal and dazzling garment, He entered into the Fatherland, in order to allow anyone that followed Him to also enter (12/12/1926).

The above overview of Luisa's revelation written that day, will be included in my third volume of The Life of Luisa Piccarreta, Journeys in the Divine Will.

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