COME HOLY GHOST, FILL THE HEARTS OF YOUR FAITHFUL

Far too often we hear folks who claim to be Catholics, even “devout Catholics,” and nonetheless, dissent from the Church’s teachings. Can a person, for example, be pro-abortion or pro-choice and still be a Catholic in good standing? Under such circumstances, is one really practicing Catholic at all? Obviously not!.
What about politicians who claim to be Catholic, yet, are pro-abortion or pro-choice and vote in that way? Often justification from this dissenting attitude is sought in situations such as the Church's condemnation of Galileo in 1633. In other words, if the Church was wrong then, it could be wrong now.
My friends, this is pure nonsense. A study of the Galileo case, which we cannot detail here, reveals that the Church did not err doctrinally. Yes, Galileo was condemned. Yes, a few churchmen acted imprudently, as did Galileo himself. Yes, the Congregation of the Index, which made a judgment in this matter, entered the scientific field where it had no competence. But, there was no doctrinal error involved here at all. The Church’s Magisterium did not teach doctrinal error. Neither did Popes Paul V nor Urban VIII enter the discussion in any way.
Can the Magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church teach falsehoods in doctrine or morals? Absolutely not! Such a claim is utterly blasphemous. Why? The Teaching Church consists of the Holy Father, teaching the Universal Church in faith or morals. The bishops, teaching in union with the Holy Father, are part of the Church’s Magisterium. As Vatican II put it, they teach with infallibility when they teach, “with Peter and under Peter.”
When the Church proclaims and defends the Sacred Deposit of Faith, which includes the Natural Law, she teaches in the Name of Jesus Christ and under the guide of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the Catholic Church cannot teach error.
This is precisely the point of today's Solemnity of Pentecost. At the Last Supper Our Divine Savior promised that He would send the Holy Spirit. "I tell you the sober truth. It is much better for you that I go. If I fail to go, the Paraclete will not come to you, whereas if I go, I will send him to you - - - When he comes, being the Spirit of Truth, he will maintain you in all truth" (John 16: 7, 13).
Our Blessed Lord founded the Catholic Church to carry on His work of Redemption until He comes again in glory. The Church's mission is the salvation and the sanctification of souls. Saint Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, insists that disciples of Jesus must have the "obedience of faith"(Romans 1:5). The recently published Compendium of the Catechism, question 25, affirms this very idea: “Sustained by divine grace, we (Christ’s Faithful) respond to God (His Divine Revelation) with the obedience of faith, which means the full surrender of ourselves to God and the acceptance of His truth, as it is guaranteed by the One who is Truth itself.”
If we render this "obedience of faith" to the faith and moral teachings of the Catholic Church we have the "sure hope" of eternal life. How can God demand that we obey false teachings? Thus we know we follow the truth when we render the “obedience of faith,” to the Teaching Church.
Jesus Christ is the Way, the Life and the Truth. He is the Son of God and therefore He cannot teach error. The Holy Spirit is the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity and cannot teach error. As the First Vatican Council taught, God can neither deceive nor be deceived. To claim that the Holy Spirit would allow the Church to fall into error as it unfolds the Deposit of Faith is nothing short of blasphemy. One is not free to make God a liar!
Do not be deceived by those that would lead us astray from the teachings of the Catholic Church. Saint Paul denounced these deceivers to Saint Timothy: “They oppose the truth (and) with perverted minds (they) falsify the faith - - - Stay away from them" (2 Timothy 3: 5, 8).

Father Richard J. Rego, S.T.L

CLAP YOUR HANDS! SHOUT UNTO GOD!

Men of Galilee, we read in the Introit, “why do you stand looking in the sky? The Lord will return, just as you have seen Him ascend, alleluia.” The liturgy for the Solemnity of the Ascension reverberates with the exultation expressed in the 42nd Psalm: “o clap your hands all you nations: shout unto God with the voice of exultation.”

Nothing saddens the human heart more than the death of a loved one. Our pain becomes especially intense at the end of the cemetery prayers. We leave our love ones never to see them again with human eyes. These sentiments, however, are not the ones expressed by the liturgy at the Lord’s Ascension. Rather, the Church rejoices! Why do we rejoice? The Epistle reading from the Acts of the Apostles tells us clearly in the words of the “two men dressed in white.” Undoubtedly Angels, the men said: “This Jesus, Who is taken up from you into heaven, shall return just as you have seen Him going into heaven.”

Christ lives with us through His Mystical Body, the Holy, Roman Catholic and Apostolic Church. The Church, as the Second Vatican Council teaches, is the Sacrament of our Salvation. Through the saving mystery of the Church, everyone has all of the means necessary to attain eternal life. We have the Priesthood, the Mass, the Sacraments, and the truth of Catholic faith and morality.

At the last Supper, Our Blessed Lord said: “Do not be troubled. Have faith in God and have faith in me. In my Father’s house there are many mansions; otherwise, how could I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?” Yes! There is a “Mansion” prepared for each of us in heaven!

Saint Augustine expresses the Church’s joy at Our Lord’s Ascension along with an admonition: “Our Savior has ascended into heaven, beloved brethren, but let us not on that account be troubled here on earth. If our minds are there, we still have peace here. So let us ascend spiritually with Christ that when His promised day will come, we will follow Him also with our bodies. We must not forget, brethren, that neither pride, nor avarice, nor impurity ascends with Christ; none of our vices will ascend with our Healer. Therefore, if we desire to follow Him, we must necessarily part with our sins and vices. For all such things hold us bound to earth as with fetters.”

The Catholic mind has a healthy longing for heaven. This is not a morbid death wish! Rather, it is a lively desire to be with Our Lord in heaven. Heaven is our final destination and, as Vatican II teaches, we are on our pilgrim journey to be with Christ, Our Lord, for all eternity. Again we recall the words of Saint Augustine in his Confessions: “Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord. Thus, our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee.”

Jesus said: “I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you and your hearts will rejoice.” Indeed, we are not orphans. Think of what God has done for us! Jesus, the Son of God, is our divine Brother. Our Lord has given us His own dear mother to be our own. Every Catholic can point to Mary and say: “There is my Mother! My Blessed Mother in heaven! Our good mother, with Saint Joseph at her side, waits to greet us in the kingdom of Heaven. There Jesus, her divine Son, has prepared a “Mansion” for us!

Father Richard J. Rego, S.T.L.

MAY! THE MONTH OF MARY

May! Mary! Motherhood! May! The Month of Mary! The Month of Mothers! Mary is the Mother of God and Our Blessed Mother! See what God has done for us. Each of us can call Mary, Mother!

Invigorated by the fresh, crisp air of another spring, we sense a renewed appreciation of the gift of life. Life is God’s first gift to us. Human life begins at conception and develops deep within the body of a mother, close to her heart. God has a special love for mothers. Jesus, the Son of God, was born of a mother. During this month of May, let our Catholic hearts rejoice in Mary.

Our Blessed Lady has many titles, a whole litany of titles. She is the Queen of Heaven and Earth, Queen of Angels, Mystical Rose, Refuge of Sinners, Gate of Heaven and all of the wonderful titles listed in her litany. The title dearest to her heart, however, is - - - Mother! This precisely how she wants us to address her: Mother!

Mary’s motherhood is rich in meaning for she played a unique role in our redemption. This work was referred to in Gen. 3:15 when the Father promised to send the Redeemer. Through Jesus, she would crush the head of the serpent. Mary is the Virgin Mother foretold by Isaiah. At the appointed time, Saint Luke tells us that the Angel Gabriel asked her if she would give the Redeemer a human Body.

In pride and disobedience Eve had said “No” to God and “Yes” to the angel of darkness. Mary would be the New Eve. In humility and obedience, she said, “Yes” to God’s messenger, the Archangel Gabriel. “Behold the handmaid of the Lord. Be it done unto me according to thy word.” At that instant, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity became Man in Mary’s womb by the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ is the promised Messiah who would atone for the sins and guilt of mankind. Mary’s “Fiat” set our redemption in motion and our Divine Redeemer took on human flesh!

Adam, in pride and disobedience, turned from God. Jesus, the New Adam, in humility and obedience, became Man. He is the Sacrificial Lamb, Who would take upon Himself the sins of the world. By His death and resurrection we are freed from the bondage of Satan, the slavery to sin and the punishment of eternal death.

At the Presentation, Simeon warned, “Your own soul a sword shall pierce” (Luke 2:35). Our Lady had no illusions. She knew that she would be uniquely linked with the Messianic mission of her Son. The Cross of Calvary became crystal clear to her.

Our Blessed Mother was with Our Savior during those thirty years of preparation for His mission on the Cross of Calvary. She was with Him during His public life. She stood at the foot of the Cross in full knowledge that our Redemption was taking place. Jesus is the Redeemer. Mary is the Co- Redemptrix, as recent popes have stressed. During this Month of May, let us grow in love and devotion to Our Blessed Mother through Rosaries, litanies and Marian devotions. Holy Mary, Mother of God, Pray for us, our Latin Mass Community, our families, and our friends. Pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Father Richard J. Rego, S.T.L.

SING A NEW SONG TO THE LORD

With unrelenting repetition, the 97th Psalm permeates the Easter liturgies. As we approach Pentecost Sunday and the coming of the Holy Spirit, the Introit for the Fourth Sunday after Easter again repeats the refrain: “Sing a new song to the Lord, Alleluia. He has revealed His justice in the sight of the Gentiles.”

Jesus is the Light of the World Who came to separate us from the darkness of sin. Jesus, the Great High Priest, washes us clean from sin in the cleansing waters of Baptism. Being born again in Christ Jesus, the “new song” that we must sing is a life of grace and the practice of the Christian virtues. The new song that we sing is Catholic faith.

Left to our own resources, we could never succeed. Thus, the Lord Jesus gives us the means to attain the “Universal Call to Holiness,” as Vatican II calls it. That means is indeed none other than the holy, Roman Catholic Church.

In Baptism we are cleansed from sin and incorporated into the Mystical Body of Christ, which is the Church. It is the Church that we find the Priesthood of Jesus Christ that brings us the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the Sacraments. Through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, we have the infallible guidance of the Holy Father and the Bishops and Priests in union with him. We know with infallible certitude, that the faith and moral teachings of the Church are transmitted to us, in truth.

Saint James sums it up in the Epistle: “For of (the Father’s) own will, He has begotten us by the word of truth so that we might be some new beginning of His creature.” Saint James tells us to be swift to hear and slow to anger. Cast away impure actions and all wickedness, he exhorts us, and with “meekness receive the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.”
Saint James the Less, as He is called, was the Apostle who was greatly to be admired. He was the “cousin” of the Lord and the first bishop of Jerusalem. Due to his endless hours of prayer, his knees became calloused “like a camel’s hoof.” The style of his epistle is simple, straight to the point and eminently practical.

Saint James begins by exhorting his flock to practice the virtue of patience. “Esteem it in all joy, my brethren, when you fall into various trials, knowing that the trying of your faith begets patience. Let patience have its perfect work that you may be perfect and entire, lacking nothing.”
Each of us could reap great spiritual growth by heeding the words of Saint James. A few, calloused knees, might also be of great help.

Father Richard J. Rego, S.T.L.

SING A NEW SONG TO THE LORD

With unrelenting repetition, the 97th Psalm permeates the Easter liturgies. As we approach Pentecost Sunday and the coming of the Holy Spirit, the Introit for the Fourth Sunday after Easter again repeats the refrain: “Sing a new song to the Lord, Alleluia. He has revealed His justice in the sight of the Gentiles.”
Jesus is the Light of the World Who came to separate us from the darkness of sin. Jesus, the Great High Priest, washes us clean from sin in the cleansing waters of Baptism. Being born again in Christ Jesus, the “new song” that we must sing is a life of grace and the practice of the Christian virtues. Yet, left to our own resources, we could never succeed. Thus, the Lord Jesus gives us the means to attain the “Universal Call to Holiness,” as Vatican II calls it. That means is none other than the holy, Roman Catholic Church.
In Baptism we are cleansed from sin and incorporated into the Mystical Body of Christ, which is the Church. It is the Church that we find the Priesthood of Jesus Christ that brings us the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the Sacraments. Through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, we have the infallible guidance of the Holy Father and the Bishops and Priests in union with him. We know with infallible certitude, that the faith and moral teachings of the Church are transmitted to us, in truth.
Saint James sums it up in the Epistle: “For of (the Father’s) own will, He has begotten us by the word of truth so that we might be some new beginning of His creature.” Saint James tells us to be swift to hear and slow to anger. Cast away impure actions and all wickedness, he exhorts us, and with “meekness receive the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.”
Saint James the Less, as He is called was Apostle who was greatly to be admired. He was the “cousin” of the Lord and the first bishop of Jerusalem. Due to his endless hours of prayer, his knees became calloused “like a camel’s hoof.” The style of his epistle is simple, straight to the point and eminently practical.
Saint James begins by exhorting his flock to practice the virtue of Patience. “Esteem it in all joy, my brethren, when you fall into various trials, knowing that the trying of your faith begets patience. Let patience have its perfect work that you may be perfect and entire, lacking nothing.”
Each of us could reap great spiritual growth by heeding the words of Saint James. A few, calloused knees, might also be of great help.

Father Richard J. Rego, S.T.L.

JUBILATE DEO

“Shout with joy to God, all the earth, alleluia: sing ye a psalm to His Name, alleluia, give glory to His praise, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!” In the Introit of today’s Holy Mass, the Church continues to bask in the glory and joy of the Resurrection.
Acknowledging that we are a Church of repentant sinners, we pray in the Collect: “O God, Who to those who go doth astray show the light of Thy truth, that they may return to the path of justice: grant that all who are enrolled in the Christian Faith may spurn all that is hostile to your Name and follow only that which is fitting to it.” Filled with Easter joy, we must pray also for those who have not repented from their sins.
Lest we become presumptuous, Saint Peter reminds us in the Epistle to be faithful to our Baptismal Promises: “Refrain from carnal desires which war against the soul.” The first Pope teaches us that in this world we are, “strangers and pilgrims.” In other words, like Our Divine Savior, our kingdom is not of this world. Two thousand years later, the Second Vatican Council repeats the same exhortation, reminding Christ faithful that we are in the world, “but not of the world.”
During these Easter liturgies, three symbols recur to remind us that we are not from here. Rather, we are, as Saint Paul said, “citizens of heaven.” The symbols are light, water and canticle.
1) Light! On Holy Saturday Night, the deacon carries the Easter Candle, lit from the Easter fire, into a darkened Church. “Lumen Christi,” is sung three times. Christ is the Light. Jesus Christ alone is the Light of the World. Every time we look upon the Easter Candle, we see the Light of Christ shinning to separate the darkness of sin from the Lumen Christi.
2) Water! The Waters of baptism! We have been born again and washed clean in the waters of baptism. Like Christ Crucified on the Cross of Calvary, we have died. Through Him, we have died to sin. By the waters of baptism, which flow from the side of Christ, we are re-born to a life of virtue. After the homily of the Easter Mass, we re-new our Baptismal Promises. We repeat our rejection of: “Sin, Satan and all his empty promises.”
3) Canticle! Again and again during the Easter Liturgies, the Church prays the 95th Psalm: “Cantate Domino, canticum novum - - - Sing a new song to the Lord. Sing out to the Lord all the earth.” What is this new song that we sing out? Is it a new hymn that the Church or some great composer has given us? No! Rather, as Saint Augustine tells us, it is the new life that now we must live in Christ Jesus. Having seen the light, we have proclaimed the Lumen Christi. Then we have been washed clean in the waters of Baptism. Each day of our new lives we sing out: “Cantate Domino, canticum novum - - - sing a new song to the Lord. Sing out to the Lord all the earth.”
On Christmas, we sing with the Heavenly Host, “Joy to the World,’ because Christ is born. On Easter Sunday, we sing joy to the Lord. He offered Himself up to the Father on the Cross of Calvary. But, He has risen as He said He would. Resurrexit sicut dixit! Jubilato Deo! Jubilato!

Father Richard J. Rego, S.T.L.