Bulletin 110

SAINT AGNES CATHEDRAL 533 South Jefferson Springfield, MO 65806

EXTRAORDINARY FORM OF THE MASS (LATIN)

CELEBRANT Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

July 8th, 2012; 6th Sunday after Pentecost

Epistle: Rom. 6:3-11---Gospel: Mk. 8:1-9

Mass Schedule July 9th through July 13th

Monday --Feria--NO LATIN MASS

Tuesday-Seven Holy Brothers, Martyrs and SS Rufina & Secunda, Virgins & Martyrs

Wednesday-Saint Pius I, Pope & Martyr

Thursday-Saint John Gualbert, Abbot

Friday-Feria


FR FASCHING WILL BE ON RETREAT BEGINNING SATURDAY, JULY 14th. THERE WILL BE NO LATIN MASS ON SUNDAY, JULY 15TH AT 2:30PM. THERE WILL BE NO LATIN MASS JULY 16TH THROUGH JULY 20TH. THE LATIN MASS WILL RESUME ON SUNDAY, JULY 22nd AT 2:30PM.


The wonderful effects of baptism should remind us of the profound meaning of this rite which Jesus Christ Himself instituted. Baptism should remind us of the Passion of Christ as well as the future glory won for us as a result of His Passion. Baptism gives us a “new birth” and at the same time presupposes a symbolic death.

When we were baptized we were born into a new life. We were freed from the darkness of sin and entered into a new light. God removes every trace of sin in baptism and also remits the penalties that these sins incur. We are given all the graces necessary to live a good Christian life. The soul receives the mark of a Christian forever!

Christ suffered physical death. In baptism we die spiritually to the life of sin. Because of Christ’s death sin and satan no longer have power over us. However, we must exercise our own personal effort in order to remain dead to sin. God’s grace is always with us provided that we cooperate with it.

Sincerely in Christ,

Fr. Jeff Fasching

Bulletin 108

SAINT AGNES CATHEDRAL 533 South Jefferson Springfield, MO 65806

EXTRAORDINARY FORM OF THE MASS (LATIN)

CELEBRANT Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

June 24th, 2012 Nativity of Saint John the Baptist

Epistle: Is. 49: 1-3,5,6,7; Gospel: Lk. 1: 57-68

Mass Schedule June 25th through June 29th

Monday –Saint William, Abbot-NO LATIN MASS

Tuesday-SS. John & Paul, Martyrs

Wednesday-Our Lady of Perpetual Help

Thursday-Vigil of SS. Peter & Paul, Apostles

Friday-SS. Peter & Paul, Apostles

Thank you to Jim Gillett who planned and organized the Procession of the Blessed Sacrament through the streets of Springfield! Thanks to all of you who participated and were involved in making this event with the Bishop a great success!

Saint John the Baptist grew up to lead an austere life. The scriptures tell us that he lived in the desert in solitude to prepare for his ministry. When he began preaching repentance and the coming of the Christ, people flocked to him in order to listen to his words. John the Baptist was never concerned with the passing things of the world. His focus was on Christ alone and the coming of God’s kingdom. He knew his role as a pilgrim on earth. John the Baptist’s followers instinctively knew that he was a man of God.

Vatican II teaches us that Christians, on pilgrimage toward the heavenly city, should seek and savor the things which are above. This duty increases our obligation to work with all men in bringing others to Christ. A pilgrim, like John the Baptist, maintains a certain detachment with regard to the goods he meets along the way. While enjoying and making good use of whatever will help him in his journey, he does not loiter along the way to the eternal kingdom. John the Baptist always kept his focus. So it is with the Christian on the way to the eternal kingdom. As Christians, we have died with Christ in Baptism. We seek no longer the goods of this world but our hearts should be set on things that are above, where Christ reigns. Saint Paul writes to the Colossians:

If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Think of what is above, not of what is on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God (Col 3.1f).

Sincerely in Christ,

Father Jeff Fasching

Salvation in the Catholic Church

Jesus Christ speaks very clearly when He says in the Gospel that the Holy Ghost will teach all the truth. If one wishes to be fully incorporated into the Church of Christ one must embrace the entire system of the Catholic Church:

They are fully incorporated into the society of the Church who, possessing the Spirit of Christ, accept her entire system and all the means of salvation given her, and through union with her visible structure are joined to Christ, who rules her through the Supreme Pontiff and the bishops. This joining is effected by the bonds of professed faith, of the sacraments, of ecclesiastical government, and of communion. (LG 14b-366)

To be fully incorporated into the Church one must be united to it by all of the bonds, interior and exterior. The interior bonds of the Holy Ghost include sanctifying grace, faith, hope and love. The exterior bonds include the same professed faith, sacraments, government, and communion.

Pray for Christian unity.

Sincerely in Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

Celibacy

Chaste Celibacy:

Jesus proposed voluntary renunciation of marriage as a privileged way of serving the Kingdom of Heaven for those to whom this gift is granted. Those who can accept this gift should not refuse it: “Not all can accept this word (about celibacy), but only those to whom it is granted…Some have renounced marriage for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Whoever can accept this ought to accept it” (Mt 19.11f). Our divine Lord promised a hundred-fold in this life and life everlasting in the next for those who give up home, wife, and children for His sake (Mt 19.29).

Saint Paul recommended the unmarried state to those who are able to embrace it to dedicate themselves wholly to the service of God. This state frees the person from manifold anxieties and concerns so that he may be able to concentrate all his attention on what is pleasing to the Lord.

“To those not married and to widows I have this to say, it would be well if they remain as they are, even as I do, but if they cannot exercise self-control they should marry, for it is better to marry than to be on fire…If you marry, you do not sin, nor does an unmarried woman sin if she marries; but such people will experience affliction in their earthly life, and I would like to spare you that…I should like to free you from anxieties. An unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord. But a married man is anxious about the things of the world, how he may please his wife, and his is divided. An unmarried woman or a virgin is anxious about the things of the Lord, so that she may be holy in both body and spirit. A married woman, on the other hand, is anxious about the things of the world, how she may please her husband. (1 Cor 7.8-33)

In his Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris Consortio (1981) Pope John Paul II states that the Church has always defended the superiority of virginity or celibacy to marriage because of the special link this charism has with the Kingdom of God:

Virginity or celibacy, by liberating the human heart in a unique way, “so as to make it burn with greater love for God and all mankind, bears witness that the Kingdom of God and His justice is that pearl of great price which is preferred to every other value no matter how great, and hence must be sought as the only definitive value. It is for this reason that the Church throughout her history has always defended the superiority of this charism to that of marriage, by reason of the wholly singular link which it has with the Kingdom of God.

Sincerely in Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

The Evangelical Councils

All Christians in every walk of life are called to the perfection of love and to one and the same holiness: “Christians in any state or walk of life are called to the fullness of Christian life and to the perfection of love…In the various types and duties of life, one and the same is cultivated by all who are moved by the Spirit of God” (LG).

This does not mean that all members of the Church are called to the same degree of holiness-individuals differ in their gifts and response to grace-but all are called to the same kind of holiness. There is not a higher holiness reserved for priests and religious and an inferior kind reserved for housewives and farm laborers. All are called to essentially the same kind of holiness. Mary, The Mother of God, achieved the greatest holiness of any mere creature, but she was not a religious. The degree of holiness attained by each person depends on the gift of God’s grace and the cooperation of each one with that grace, whether one by a lay person, a cleric, or religious.

The evangelical counsels are so called because they are based on the teaching and example of Christ and the apostles. Therefore, if we want to attain holiness, we must embrace them. They are found in the gospels and other New Testament writings:

Poverty:

Jesus counseled a rich young man who was seeking perfection to embrace a life of poverty: “If you will be perfect, go sell all you have and give to the poor and come follow me” (Mt 19. 16-22). He surprised His disciples by His stern warning about the danger of riches, and promised manifold blessings to those who give up all things to follow Him (Mt. 19. 20-29).

By His own life Jesus shows by example what it means to live a poor life: he was born in a stable, had no place to lay His head, was stripped at His death, and was buried in another’s tomb.

Sincerely in Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

The Transfiguration

From a sermon by Saint Leo the Great, pope:

The Lord reveals His glory in the presence of chosen witnesses. His body is like that of the rest of mankind, but He makes it shine with such splendor that His face becomes like the sun in glory and His garments as white as snow.

The great reason for this transfiguration was to remove the scandal of the cross from the hearts of His disciples, and to prevent the humiliation of His voluntary suffering from disturbing the faith of those who had witnessed the surpassing glory that lay concealed.

With no less forethought He was also providing a firm foundation for the hope of holy Church. The whole body of Christ was to understand the kind of transformation that it would receive as His gift. The members of that body were to look forward to a share in that glory which first blazed out in Christ their head.

The Lord had Himself spoken of this when He foretold the splendor of His coming: “Then the just will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” Saint Paul the apostle bore witness to this same truth when he said: “I consider that the sufferings of the present time are not to be compared with the future glory that is to be revealed in us.” In another place he says: “You are dead, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.

…In the preaching of the holy Gospel all should receive a strengthening of their faith. No one should be ashamed of the cross of Christ, through which the world has been redeemed.

No one should fear to suffer for the sake of justice; no one should lose confidence in the reward that has been promised. The way to rest is through toil, the way to life is through death. Christ has taken on Himself the whole weakness of our lowly human nature. If then we are steadfast in our faith in Him and in our love for Him, we win the victory that He has won, we receive what He has promised…
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Sincerely in Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

The Catholic Church Continued

In Christ, our humanity has already entered into glory. Yet He remains with the Church. “He is continually active in the world, leading men to the Church, and through her, joining them more closely to Himself, and making them partakers of His glorious life.” He does this through the Holy Ghost and by giving us His own Body and Blood as nourishment. The Church must be deeply conscious of the continued presence of the risen Lord in her midst, especially when she gathers to pray:

Christ is always present in His Church, especially in her liturgical celebrations. He is present in the sacrifice of the Mass, not only in the person of His minister, “the same now offering, through the ministry of priests, who formerly offered Himself on the cross,” but especially under the Eucharistic species. By His power He is present in the sacraments, so that when a man baptizes it is really Christ Himself who baptizes. He is present in His word, since it is He Himself who speaks when the Holy Scriptures are read in the church. He is present, finally, when the Church prays and sings, for He promised, “Where two or three are gathered together for my sake, there am I in the midst of them” (Mt 18.20).

Sacraments are encounters with Christ!! We should also be conscious of the continued presence and activity of the risen Lord in and through the ministers He has raised up to be the representatives and instruments through whom He cares for His people. “Although guided by human shepherds, the Church’s sheep are nevertheless ceaselessly led and nourished by Christ Himself, the Good Shepherd.” This is especially true of bishops, because they “in an eminent and visible way undertake Christ’s own role as Teacher, Shepherd, and High Priest and…act in His presence.”

Priests also must be seen as “living instruments of Christ the eternal priest…; every priest in his own way represents the person of Christ Himself…” In fact, all the baptized faithful are instruments through whom Christ and the Holy Ghost continue to act for the sanctification of the world, because all are members of one mystical body in which Christ lives, and one living temple in which the Holy Ghost remains present in the world.

The Church of God on earth remains in intimate communion with those who have gone before, whether they be the suffering souls in Purgatory or the saints reigning with Christ in glory. The loving union which Christ establishes among His disciples is not broken by death, but is rather increased. Knowing that nothing unclean can appear before God (Rev 21.27); knowing also that those who are united with Christ can help one another by prayer and good works, from early times members of the Church have prayed for the faithful departed, confident that they are able to bring them help in their need “because it is “a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead that they may be loosed form sins” 2 Mach 12.46).

In Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

God's Kingdom

From a notebook On prayer by Origin, Priest:

...The kingdom of God cannot exist alongside the reign of sin. Therefore, if we wish God to reign in us, in no way should sin reign in our mortal body; rather we should mortify our members which are upon the earth and bear fruit in the Spirit. There should be in us a kind of spiritual paradise where God may walk and be our sole ruler with His Christ. In us the Lord will sit at the right hand of that spiritual power which we wish to receive. And He will sit there until all His enemies who are within us become His footstool...

Saint Leo the great writes the following:

...For the man who loves God it is sufficient to please the one he loves; and there is no greater recompense to be sought than the loving itself; for love is from God by the very fact that God Himself is love. The good and chaste soul is so happy to be filled with Him that it desires to take delight in nothing else. For what the Lord says is very true: Where your treasure is, there also will your heart be...every man's treasure is that which he desires.

In Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

Thy Kingdom Come

From a notebook on Prayer by Origen, priest:

The kingdom of God, in the words of our Lord and Savior, does not come for all to see; nor shall they say: Behold, here it is, or behold, there it is; but the kingdom of God is within us, for the word of God is very near, in our mouth and in our heart. Thus it is clear that he who prays for the coming of God's kingdom prays rightly to have it within himself, that there it may grow and bear fruit and become perfect. For God reigns in each of His holy ones. Anyone who is holy obeys the spiritual laws of God, who dwells in him as in a well-ordered city. The Father is present in the perfect soul, and with him Christ reigns, according to the words: We shall come to him and make our home with him...

Sincerely in Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

Penance Continued

Lk. 7. 36-48; The Repentant Woman:

On one occasion when Jesus was reclining at table in the home of Simon the Pharisee, He again revealed His compassion for sinners and His authority to forgive sin. A sinful woman entered and, kneeling at His feet, bathed His feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair, kissing them and anointing them with fragrant oil. Seeing that Simon was scandalized that He should let a woman like this touch Him, Jesus defended her and said to Simon, “Her many sins have been forgiven; hence, she has shown great love.” He then said to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven.” At that the fellow guests began to ask among themselves, “Who is this that He even forgives sins?”

Lk. 15. 1-35; Three Parables of Mercy:

Luke 15, which shows Jesus dining with sinners and pronouncing three parables of mercy, is the richest instruction on mercy in the entire bible. The fact the Jesus, in the context of proclaiming the good news of God’s Kingdom, dined with sinners was itself an act of great significance, especially given the cultural background of contemporary Judaism. It showed that God does not reject the sinner who will accept His offer of renewed hope and friendship. The Scribes and Pharisees criticized Jesus for sitting at table with these violators of the law. In response to their charge, Jesus tells three parables of mercy. Notice the strong theme running through each of them, of great joy in heaven over the conversion of a single sinner.

The first parable is that of a shepherd who had a hundred sheep and lost one of them. He left the ninety-nine to go in search of the one that was lost. When he had found it, he called in his neighbors and said to them: “Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.” Jesus concluded the parable with these significant words: “I tell you, there will likewise be more joy in heaven over one repentant sinner than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need to repent.”

Sincerely in Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

The Eucharist in Relation to the Individual

The Eucharist in relation to the individual: The Eucharist takes us out of our narrow individualism and enlarges our existence by uniting us intimately with God our Father and with Jesus Christ our Lord, and by making us one with the other members of God’s holy people. By nourishing us with Christ’s Body and Blood, the Eucharist increases the life of grace within us, which is already the beginning of eternal life and the pledge of future glory.

Sincerely in Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

The Eucharist in Relation to the Church

What about the Eucharist in relation to the Church? When Catholics assemble to offer sacrifice together, they show forth by sacred signs that they are a community of brothers, the family of God; not only a community but also a living body which draws its life and is made one by its union with the same Christ. By celebrating and receiving the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ together, they increase their sense of being one body with one another, of belonging to one another and of caring for one another.

Through the liturgy we are united with all members of the Church, wherever they may be; that is, with the Church Militant on earth, with the Church Suffering in Purgatory, and with the Church Triumphant in heaven. We unite our prayer with them and pray for all in need.

When we offer sacrifice in an authentic manner, we pledge ourselves to live the truth of what we celebrate by committing ourselves to love one another and spend ourselves for one another as Christ has loved us and spent Himself for us. We are called upon to imitate what we receive, and to model our lives on Him whom we receive by being ready to lay down our lives for one another as He has laid down His life for us.

Sincerely in Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

The Eucharist in Relation to Jesus Christ

Let us look at the Eucharist in relation to Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is both God and man; begotten of the Father from all eternity in His divine nature, born in time of the Virgin in our human nature. He has saved us from sin and its consequences by the sacrifice that He offered for us on the Cross. That same sacrifice is made present for us in the Eucharistic liturgy, making it possible for us to unite ourselves to it and offer ourselves to the Father in union with Christ. In the Eucharist, we eat the body of Christ and drink His blood that we may become more perfectly one with Him and live with His life.

Sincerely in Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

Definition of the Priest

A priest is a man called by God and empowered by the Holy Ghost to act in the person of Christ as co-worker of the Episcopal order in serving the needs of God’s people through the ministry of word, sacrament and pastoral leadership. In carrying out this task the priest is to be a living sacrament of Christ the Shepherd, to whom he is configured through the sacrament of Holy Orders.

Priests, as co-workers with their bishops, have as their primary duty the proclamation of the gospel to all. In this way they carry out the Lord’s command, “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature”…Priests owe it to everybody to share with them the truth of the Gospel. Therefore whether they proclaim the mystery of Christ to unbelievers, or teach the Christian faith, or explain the Church’s teaching, or treat contemporary problems in light of Christ’s teaching—in every case their role is to teach not their own wisdom, but the Word of God, and to summon all people urgently to conversion and to holiness.

Priests partake in the function of Christ the sole Mediator and thus announce the divine word to all. They exercise this sacred function most of all at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass where they act in the person of Christ and proclaim His mystery. Priests join the offering of the faithful to the sacrifice of the Head and in a movement of ascending mediation they lead the people in prayer to God. The priest does not exercise a role of mediation different from that of Christ, who is mankind’s one and all sufficient mediator. Rather, he is the instrument through whom Christ continues to exercise His mediation in the world.

Because it is joined with the Episcopal order, the office of priests shares in the authority by which Christ Himself builds up and sanctifies and rules His Body. To the degree of their authority and in the name of their bishop, priests exercise the office of Christ the Head and the Shepherd. Thus they gather God’s family together as a brotherhood of living unity, and lead it through Christ and in the Holy Ghost to God the Father. For the exercise of this ministry, as for other priestly duties, spiritual power is conferred upon them for the up building of the Church.

Sincerely in Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

Confession of Sins

The Council of Trent teaches us that the complete confession of sins was also instituted by the Lord and is by divine law necessary for all who have fallen after Baptism…For it is clear that without knowledge of the case priests could not exercise this judgment, nor could they observe equity in the imposition of penances if the penitents declared their sins only in general not specifically and in particular.

Thus it follows that all mortal sins, of which penitents after a diligent self-examination are conscious, must be recounted by them in confession, though they may be most secret and may have been committed only against the last two precepts of the Decalogue; for these sins sometimes wound souls more grievously and are more dangerous than those which are committed openly…when Christ’s faithful strive to confess all sins that occur to their memory, they undoubtedly place all of them before the divine mercy for pardon. But those who fail to do so and knowingly withhold some, place nothing before the divine goodness for remission.

One is not obliged to confess doubtful mortal sins. If, in making a confession, one deliberately conceals a mortal sin, one lies to the Holy Ghost and thereby commits a grave sacrilege. The sin of deception is more serious than one which God punishes by death itself because it is perpetrated within the sacrament. No sins are forgiven, not even those which were confessed.

The Council of Trent teaches clearly that venial sins are proper matter for the sacrament of Penance. However, they are optional or free matter. One may confess them, but is not obliged to do so. As regards venial sins, by which we are not excluded from the grace of God and into which we fall more frequently, it is right and profitable, and implies no presumption whatever, to declare them in confession, as can be seen from the practice of devout people; yet, they may be omitted without guilt and can be expiated by many other remedies, for example, through prayer, fasting, almsgiving, or other forms of penance and works of charity.

We must make an integral confession of all mortal sins according to species and approximate number. According to species means that we must confess clearly what particular kind of sin one has committed. It is not enough to say “I have committed sins of impurity and injustice.” We have to be specific. We must say I have lied, stolen, cheated, etc.

The Mission of the Holy Ghost

Re-establishment of the order of the world willed by God is the particular mission of the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost works to bring the whole world to fulfil its true purpose. God is all-powerful. His love for man is infinite. We must remember that absolutely everything comes from God and is directed toward Him.

Often the action of the Holy Ghost goes unnoticed because God does not always reveal His plans to us. Our sins and faults often get in the way of God's divine gifts. However, we believe that God is always at work in creation. Without Him we would cease to exist.

We must constantly pray to be free from sin so that the action of the Holy Ghost may be made manifest in and through us.

In Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

Peter and Paul, Apostles

This holy day exists because of the passion of the blessed apostles Peter and Paul. These two martyrs practiced what they preached. They professed the truth and died for it. Christ spoke the words to Saint Peter: "I say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church." "To you I shall give the keys of the kingdom of heaven." Peter thus represents the unity of Christ's Church.

Today we should pray for those who choose to embrace false religions. We must pray for a unity that sadly does not exist. We must pray for the holy Catholic Church. We must be grateful for this day made holy for us by the apostle's blood. Let us always embrace what they believed and never stray from the fullness of the faith.

Sincerely in Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

Unselfishness

Christ had no place to lay His head. He was born and brought up in poverty. He died upon the Cross and was buried in a borrowed tomb. How ashamed we should be to engross ourselves in the goods of this world. Our kingdom as Christians is not of this world. We have here no fixed abode. Why do we attach ourselves to things that pass away?

Seek first to extend the kingdom of Christ on earth. If we agree to be co-workers with Christ, all other things will be given to us in due time by God the Father Who is in heaven. Do good while there is still time. Give up your convenience and your rest. Christ came to serve and not be served. He left the glories of heaven to seek the lost sheep.

Let us imitate Christ in our own zeal to serve.

In Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

Holy Innocents, Martyrs

From the Office of Readings; a sermon by Saint Quodvultdeus, bishop:

A tiny child is born, who is a great king. Wise men are led to him from afar. They come to adore one who lies in a manger and yet reigns in heaven and on earth. When they tell of one who is born a king, Herod is disturbed. To save his kingdom he resolves to kill him, though if he would have faith in the child, he himself would reign in peace in this life and for ever in the life to come.

Why are you afraid, Herod, when you hear of the birth of a king? He does not come to drive you out, but to conquer the devil. But because you do not understand this you are disturbed and in a rage, and to destroy one child whom you seek, you show your cruelty in the death of so many children.

You are not restrained by the love of weeping mothers or fathers mourning the deaths of their sons, nor by the cries and sobs of the children. You destroy those who are tiny in body because fear is destroying your heart. You imagine that if you accomplish your desire you can prolong your own life, though you are seeking to kill Life himself.

Yet your throne is threatened by the source of grace--so small, yet so great--who is lying in the manger. He is using you, all unaware of it, to work out his own purposes freeing souls from captivity to the devil. He has taken up the sons of the enemy into the ranks of God's adopted children.

The children die for Christ, though they do not know it. The parents mourn for the death of martyrs. The child makes of those as yet unable to speak fit witnesses to himself. See the kind of kingdom that is his, coming as he did in order to be this kind of king. See how the deliverer is already working deliverance, the savior already working salvation.

But you, Herod, do not know this and are disturbed and furious. While you vent your fury against the child, you are already paying him homage, and do not know it.

How great a gift of grace is here! To what merits of their own do the children owe this kind of victory? They cannot speak, yet they bear witness to Christ. They cannot use their limbs to engage in battle, yet already they bear off the palm of victory.

In Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching