SAINT AGNES CATHEDRAL 533 South Jefferson Springfield, MO 65806
EXTRAORDINARY FORM OF THE MASS (LATIN)
CELEBRANT: Father Jeffery Fasching
September 22, 18th Sunday after Pentecost
Epistle: 1 Cor. 1: 4-8
Gospel: Mt. 9: 1-8
Mon 23 Saint Linus * Pope & Martyr—No Latin Mass
Tue 24 Requiem Mass + John Scaria
Wed 25 Feria
Thu 26 Feria
Fri 27 SS. Cosmas * Damian * Martyrs
The next pot-luck dinner will be Sunday, October 6th following the 2:30pm Latin Mass.
It is entirely possible for one form of ritual to be more efficacious than another form. At the present time, we have two forms of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass—the Ordinary Form and the Extraordinary Form. When one form is offered with greater solemnity, it tends to be more efficacious that one that is offered with less solemnity. The solemnity gives greater glory to God. Since Jesus Christ is the King and Ruler of the universe, He deserves a greater ritual than any earthly king!
The ritual of the Holy Sacrifice is a combination of prayers and gestures. Prayer itself has governing principles that make it meritorious, and these principles can be applied to the ritual of the Mass. Saint Thomas observes that vocal prayer is done in order to render God His due and to move man’s mind and heart toward Him. Prayer is an act of the virtue of religion and we pray as God’s creatures because it is our duty.
The same principle can be applied to the ritual of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. The ritual of the Mass ought to be ordered to God and not to man, except insofar as man is served in order to serve God. In other words, God is the end of the ritual, not man. This follows the order of charity in which we love God first and then our neighbor for the sake of God. The ritual should not have man as its finality, but God. If it has man as its finality, it goes contrary to charity, which has God as its end. It will also go contrary to justice since one will not render to God through the prayers of the ritual what it due to Him.
In Christ,
Father Jeff Fasching
Prayers at the Foot of the Altar
Showing posts with label Virtue. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Virtue. Show all posts
Saturday, September 21, 2013
Monday, March 21, 2011
The Way of the Cross
"Depart from me, you accursed ones, into the everlasting fire" (Matt. 25:41). We must take up our Cross in this life and follow Christ if we wish to gain eternal life. For many, however, this saying seems hard. If we follow Christ willingly now we will not fear His second coming as our judge. If we willingly embrace our Cross now we will be able to draw near to Christ the judge with great trust.
Embracing the Cross means salvation. Embracing the Cross means life. Embracing the Cross means protection from our enemies. Strength of mind, joy and peace of spirit, virtue and holiness of life all come from embracing the Cross.
Take up your Cross and follow Christ in order to win eternal life. There is no other way.
Sincerely in Christ,
Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching
Embracing the Cross means salvation. Embracing the Cross means life. Embracing the Cross means protection from our enemies. Strength of mind, joy and peace of spirit, virtue and holiness of life all come from embracing the Cross.
Take up your Cross and follow Christ in order to win eternal life. There is no other way.
Sincerely in Christ,
Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Charity II
We cannot work out our salvation without charity! When we have charity all the other virtues come with it. Charity purifies and sanctifies our actions. Charity perfects the soul. Saint Paul says in his epistle: “Brethren, If I speak with the tongues of men and of Angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. And if I should have prophecy, and should know all mysteries and all knowledge: and if I should have all faith so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And if I should distribute all my goods to feed the poor, and if I should deliver my body to be burned and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.”
In Christ,
Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching
In Christ,
Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Charity
What is Charity? It is a theological virtue that God infuses into our heart by which we learn to love God with our whole heart and our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God. We should pray every day that we learn to love God above all things, even ourselves. To love God above all things means to be willing to lose fortune, good name, parents, friends children, husband, wife, and even our own life, than to lose God by committing a mortal sin.
Saint Augustine says that to love God perfectly means to love Him without measure, even if there were no heaven to hope for or no hell to fear. Saint Paul knew all too well that to really love God means that neither sufferings, persecutions, contempt, life, or death are capable of taking this love away from us. We owe this kind of love to God.
Those who possess Charity do not strive to accumulate the goods of this world. The things of this world are nothing to them. They realize that those who cling to this world’s goods are unhappy people. They strive constantly to atone for their sins through good works. They are kind to everybody.
When we meditate upon the second mystery of the Holy Rosary, we ask God for a spirit of Charity.
Sincerely in Christ,
Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching
Saint Augustine says that to love God perfectly means to love Him without measure, even if there were no heaven to hope for or no hell to fear. Saint Paul knew all too well that to really love God means that neither sufferings, persecutions, contempt, life, or death are capable of taking this love away from us. We owe this kind of love to God.
Those who possess Charity do not strive to accumulate the goods of this world. The things of this world are nothing to them. They realize that those who cling to this world’s goods are unhappy people. They strive constantly to atone for their sins through good works. They are kind to everybody.
When we meditate upon the second mystery of the Holy Rosary, we ask God for a spirit of Charity.
Sincerely in Christ,
Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Purity
Purity is living a life free from immorality, which is unlawful or improper sexual relations. God commands us to live pure lives. Like the other virtures, purity can always be attained by those who desire it. "Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body" (1 Cor 6:18). "But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints" (Eph. 5:3).
Jesus commanded purity of thought when he said, "Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart" (Matthew 5:27-28).
Purity makes us like God. Purity is associated with holiness. Holiness is something that God demands of us. We are called to be conformed to God's image and to thus be pure in thought and deed. God never requires from a person what he is incapable of achieving. Since He calls us all to embrace purity, there is no excuse for not living it out.
When we meditate upon the Sorrowful Scourging at the Pillar, purity is the virtue we beg God for. Let us always pray that we live pure lives.
Sincerely in Christ,
Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching
Jesus commanded purity of thought when he said, "Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart" (Matthew 5:27-28).
Purity makes us like God. Purity is associated with holiness. Holiness is something that God demands of us. We are called to be conformed to God's image and to thus be pure in thought and deed. God never requires from a person what he is incapable of achieving. Since He calls us all to embrace purity, there is no excuse for not living it out.
When we meditate upon the Sorrowful Scourging at the Pillar, purity is the virtue we beg God for. Let us always pray that we live pure lives.
Sincerely in Christ,
Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
The Birth of Mary
From a Sermon by Saint Thomas of Villanova, Bishop:
"For a long time I have wondered and been at a loss to understand why the evangelists should have spoken at such length about John the Baptist and the other apostles, and yet told us so little about the Virgin Mary, who in life and distinction excels them all. Being at a loss, as I say, to understand this, all I can think is that it pleased the Holy Spirit that it should be so. It was by the providence of the Holy Spirit that the evangelists kept silent, because the glory of the Virgin, as we read in the psalms, was all within, and could more truly be thought of than described. The outline of her life: that Jesus was born of her, is enough to tell her whole story. What more do you seek for in the Virgin? It is enough for you that she is the Mother of God. What beauty, I ask you, what virtue, what perfection, what grace, what glory does not belong to the Mother of God?"
In Christ,
Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching
"For a long time I have wondered and been at a loss to understand why the evangelists should have spoken at such length about John the Baptist and the other apostles, and yet told us so little about the Virgin Mary, who in life and distinction excels them all. Being at a loss, as I say, to understand this, all I can think is that it pleased the Holy Spirit that it should be so. It was by the providence of the Holy Spirit that the evangelists kept silent, because the glory of the Virgin, as we read in the psalms, was all within, and could more truly be thought of than described. The outline of her life: that Jesus was born of her, is enough to tell her whole story. What more do you seek for in the Virgin? It is enough for you that she is the Mother of God. What beauty, I ask you, what virtue, what perfection, what grace, what glory does not belong to the Mother of God?"
In Christ,
Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching
Monday, November 22, 2010
Salvation
Saint Peter exhorts us to embrace virtue. We have been invested with a divine power by virtue of our baptism. We therefore have everything necessary for living a life of genuine piety. This is part of our two-fold responsibility toward our Creator. Through the knowledge of Christ Himself who has called us to be His own, we have the strength to fulfill our responsibility.
Saint Peter says we must embrace virtue with a lively faith. Since we have left a world corrupted by lust to become sharers in the divine nature, we must practice self-control. Self control leads to perseverance. Perseverance leads to piety. Piety in turn leads to charity. Charity leads to love.
We thus fulfill the second part of our duty toward God, namely to love. Saint Peter says that these qualities bear fruit in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. If we lack these qualities we possess a spiritual blindness.
In Christ,
Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching
Saint Peter says we must embrace virtue with a lively faith. Since we have left a world corrupted by lust to become sharers in the divine nature, we must practice self-control. Self control leads to perseverance. Perseverance leads to piety. Piety in turn leads to charity. Charity leads to love.
We thus fulfill the second part of our duty toward God, namely to love. Saint Peter says that these qualities bear fruit in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. If we lack these qualities we possess a spiritual blindness.
In Christ,
Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching
Saturday, October 23, 2010
The Priest Continued
Christ has said: "You are the salt of the earth. But what if salt goes flat? How can you restore its flavor? Then it is good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot."
Saint John of Capistrano writes the following: "Truly the unclean, immoral cleric is trampled underfoot like worthless manure. He is saturated with the filth of vice and entangled in the chains of sin. In this condition he must be considered worthless both to himself and to others.
Presbyters who are born leaders deserve to be doubly honored, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. It is indeed a double task that worthy priests perform, that is to say, it is both exterior and interior, both temporal and spiritual, and, finally, both a passing task and an eternal one.
Even though they dwell on earth and are bound by the same necessities of nature along with all mortal creatures, at the same time they are engaged in earnest communication with the angels in heaven, so that they may be pleasing to their king and learn how to serve him. Therefore, just as the sun rises over the world in God's heaven, so clerics must let their light shine before men so that they may see their good deeds and give praise to their heavenly Father.
Your are the light of the world. Now a light does not illumine itself, but instead it diffuses its rays and shines all around upon everything that comes into its view. So it must be with the glowing lives of upright and holy clerics. By the brightness of their holiness they must bring light and serenity to all who gaze upon them. They have been placed here to care for others. Their own lives should be an example to others, showing how they must live in the house of the Lord."
In Christ,
Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching
Saint John of Capistrano writes the following: "Truly the unclean, immoral cleric is trampled underfoot like worthless manure. He is saturated with the filth of vice and entangled in the chains of sin. In this condition he must be considered worthless both to himself and to others.
Presbyters who are born leaders deserve to be doubly honored, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. It is indeed a double task that worthy priests perform, that is to say, it is both exterior and interior, both temporal and spiritual, and, finally, both a passing task and an eternal one.
Even though they dwell on earth and are bound by the same necessities of nature along with all mortal creatures, at the same time they are engaged in earnest communication with the angels in heaven, so that they may be pleasing to their king and learn how to serve him. Therefore, just as the sun rises over the world in God's heaven, so clerics must let their light shine before men so that they may see their good deeds and give praise to their heavenly Father.
Your are the light of the world. Now a light does not illumine itself, but instead it diffuses its rays and shines all around upon everything that comes into its view. So it must be with the glowing lives of upright and holy clerics. By the brightness of their holiness they must bring light and serenity to all who gaze upon them. They have been placed here to care for others. Their own lives should be an example to others, showing how they must live in the house of the Lord."
In Christ,
Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching
Monday, October 4, 2010
The Blessed Virgin Mary IV
From a sermon by Saint Thomas of Villanova, bishop:
"For a long time I have wondered and been at a loss to understand why the evangelists should have spoken at such length about John the Baptist and the other apostles, and yet told us so little about the Virgin Mary, who in life and distinction excels them all. Being at a loss, as I say, to understand this, all I can think is that it pleased the Holy Spirit that it should be so. It was by the providence of the Holy Spirit that the evangelists kept silent, because the glory of the Virgin, as we read in the psalms, was all within, and could more truly be thought of than described. The outline of her life: that Jesus was born of her, is enought to tell her whole story. What more do you seek for in the Virgin? It is enough for you that she is the Mother of God. What beauty, I ask you, what virtue, what perfection, what grace, what glory does not belong to the Mother of God?
The Holy Spirit has not described her in words, but has left her to you to picture in your own mind, so that you may understand that there was nothing she lacked of grace, perfection, or glory which could be imagined in the mind of a chaste human being, or rather that in fact she surpassed all understanding. So when she was wholly perfect, it would not have been right to describe her in part, for fear that you might think she could have lacked what had not been described. To say of the Virgin Mary only that she is the Mother of God surpasses all that can be said under God."
In Christ,
Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching
"For a long time I have wondered and been at a loss to understand why the evangelists should have spoken at such length about John the Baptist and the other apostles, and yet told us so little about the Virgin Mary, who in life and distinction excels them all. Being at a loss, as I say, to understand this, all I can think is that it pleased the Holy Spirit that it should be so. It was by the providence of the Holy Spirit that the evangelists kept silent, because the glory of the Virgin, as we read in the psalms, was all within, and could more truly be thought of than described. The outline of her life: that Jesus was born of her, is enought to tell her whole story. What more do you seek for in the Virgin? It is enough for you that she is the Mother of God. What beauty, I ask you, what virtue, what perfection, what grace, what glory does not belong to the Mother of God?
The Holy Spirit has not described her in words, but has left her to you to picture in your own mind, so that you may understand that there was nothing she lacked of grace, perfection, or glory which could be imagined in the mind of a chaste human being, or rather that in fact she surpassed all understanding. So when she was wholly perfect, it would not have been right to describe her in part, for fear that you might think she could have lacked what had not been described. To say of the Virgin Mary only that she is the Mother of God surpasses all that can be said under God."
In Christ,
Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching
Saturday, October 2, 2010
In the Image of God
God made man in His image and likeness. We are truly blessed that God has granted to us his eternal image and the likeness of His character. As long as we preserve our likeness to God, we possess a high dignity and calling. In order to be like God we must apply the virtues that God has planted in our souls.
The first commandment is to love God with all our heart, soul and mind. When we do this we renew His image within us. True love manifests itself both in word and in deed. Scripture says: "Be holy, for I am holy." God is loyal and truthful. We must always act in the same manner. If we are harsh, proud, and stubborn we are not acting in the image of God.
Gossip has destroyed many a brother. Men often revel in minding and discussing the business of others. They often take pleasure in criticizing people behind their backs. If what we have to say does not promote peace and is not spoken with a discerning tongue, we should say nothing at all.
Sincerely in Christ,
Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching
The first commandment is to love God with all our heart, soul and mind. When we do this we renew His image within us. True love manifests itself both in word and in deed. Scripture says: "Be holy, for I am holy." God is loyal and truthful. We must always act in the same manner. If we are harsh, proud, and stubborn we are not acting in the image of God.
Gossip has destroyed many a brother. Men often revel in minding and discussing the business of others. They often take pleasure in criticizing people behind their backs. If what we have to say does not promote peace and is not spoken with a discerning tongue, we should say nothing at all.
Sincerely in Christ,
Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching
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