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MyCatholicSource.com Newsletter - June, 2011
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IN THIS ISSUE:
* Greetings
* MCS News & Notes
* The Month of June: Dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
* Hell as Proof of God's Love
* Liturgical Feasts in June
* Resources For Selected June Feasts
* 'Catholic Trivia'
* Defending the Faith: "Apologetics Brief" - Do You Believe There Will be a 'Rapture'?
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Dear Friend,
Greetings to you during this busy month of June. Included in the Catholic calendar this month are the following...
Vigil of the Ascension / Rogation Day - 6/1/11
Ascension Thursday - 6/2/11
Pentecost Sunday - 6/12/11
Ember Days - 6/15, 6/17, 6/18
Trinity Sunday - 6/19/11
Corpus Christi - 6/23/11
Also, some special plenary indulgences may be available in June (e.g. on 6/12, 6/23, 6/29).
Please see below for some resources for selected June feasts.
We hope you have a blessed, safe & joyous month of June.
Best wishes to you for God's blessings,
Your Friends at MyCatholicSource.com
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Prayer of St. John Eudes to the Sacred Heart of Jesus: "O Heart all lovable and all loving of my Savior, be the Heart of my heart, the soul of my soul, the spirit of my spirit, the life of my life and the sole principle of all my thoughts, words and actions, of all the faculties of my soul, and of all my senses, both interior and exterior. Amen."
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MCS News & Notes
* New: We've added some new web polls, so please cast your vote today! Note that web polls can be found on various news pages throughout this site. The polls rotate so you may see a different poll each time you visit. For our web poll archive, please visit http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/cmno/pl/poll_archive_1.htm
* Update: We have temporarily suspended our site beautification efforts in order to dedicate more time to the project we mentioned last month. We hope we may be able to resume these efforts sometime later this year.
* As you may be aware, the anticipated motu proprio clarification ('Instruction') was issued last month by the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei. For highlights from the 'Instruction On The Application Of The Apostolic Letter Summorum Pontificum' (Universae Ecclesiae), please see our Latin Mass update page at http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/cg/latin_mass_and_catholic_tradition/latin_mass_updates_7-07_and_later.htm (scroll to bottom of page for link)
* With June may come weddings & (unfortunately) also a general increase in immodest dress. For wedding information, please try the Catholic Wedding Topic Page at http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/tp/topic_page-catholic_wedding.htm . If you would like more information on the sacrament of holy matrimony, please visit http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/tp/topic_page-catholic_marriage.htm . For information on modest / immodest dress, please visit http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pc/catholic_life/modesty_dress.htm . Note that this page includes a link to a free flier that can be printed.
* Reminder: Don't forget your priest this Father's Day (6/19 in the U.S.). [Note: For priest-themed quotes such as: "Our parents begot us by blood and the will of the flesh, but priests make us children of God; blessed regeneration, true freedom, and adoption according to grace." (St. John Chrysostom, Doctor of the Church), see the Reflections links appearing on the Priest Topic Page at http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/tp/topic_page-priest.htm ]
* Reminder: For information on plenary indulgences that may be available in June (e.g. 6/12, 6/23, 6/29), please visit http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/cg/indulgences.htm
* Will you or a loved one be traveling this year? Did you know there are a number of patron saints for travelers? For a listing of patron saints for travelers, visit http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pc/saints/patron_saints.htm (tip: search by category 'Hobbies & Travel', or search for patronage 'travel', 'journey', etc.). Also, for prayers for travelers & motorists, visit http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pr/prayers_and_hymns_for_certain_persons.htm
* We experienced technical problems with our equipment last month that prevented us from accessing our server for several days. The technical problems were limited to our own equipment and therefore did not affect our server directly. We wanted to take this opportunity, however, to remind visitors to check our blog at www.MyCatholicSource.com/Blog for status updates during times when our server is inaccessible or if there are unexpected delays / technical problems / etc. with our site.
* Reminder: Our Third Annual Rosary Week is scheduled for 10/24/11 - 10/30/11. Please plan to join fellow Catholics in praying the rosary each day that week for the indicated intentions. We hope to have a sign up sheet available shortly.
* Please see our Notices page at http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/cg/notices.htm for dates of anticipated service delays through August 2011
* Help keep us online! You can donate from $1 at http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/cg/donate.htm [note that we do NOT sell donor information to third parties and we do NOT contact you about your donation unless it is necessary (e.g. processing problems)]. Or, to shop at Amazon.com in support of MyCatholicSource.com, please use this link: http://www.amazon.com/?&tag=mycathcom-20 . You can shop here for books, household & office products, Catholic items, electronics, and much more. Already shop at Amazon.com? It doesn't cost any extra to shop at Amazon using this link, yet we can benefit from your purchases. Thank you for your much needed support!
* Reminder: To help ensure delivery of your newsletter, please put our e-mail address in your 'trusted senders' list - or use other applicable options your e-mail provider may offer to let them know that our e-mail is wanted. Thank you.
* Please visit the "Notices" page for timely news and other important information regarding MyCatholicSource.com - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/cg/notices.htm
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The Month of June: Dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
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"We do not hesitate to declare that devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is the most effective school of the love of God; the love of God, We say, which must be the foundation on which to build up the kingdom of God in the hearts of individuals, families, and nations" (Pope Pius XII)
"Is not a summary of all our religion and moreover, a guide to a more perfect life contained in this one devotion [to the Sacred Heart of Jesus]? Indeed, it more easily leads our minds to know Christ the Lord intimately and more effectively turns our heads to love Him more ardently and to imitate Him more perfectly." (Pope Pius XI)
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Related Resources...
* Sacred Heart of Jesus (Topic Page) - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/tp/topic_page-Sacred_Heart.htm
* Sacred Heart of Jesus (Reflections) - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/qt/prayers_and_devotions_reflections_Sacred_Heart_of_Jesus.htm
* Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus (Incl. 'Sacred Heart Promises') - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pc/prayers_and_devotions/Sacred_Heart_of_Jesus.htm
* Sacred Heart of Jesus / Prayers - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pr/prayers_and_hymns_Jesus.htm
* Litany of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pr/prayers_and_hymns_litanies.htm
* Annum Sacrum: On Consecration To The Sacred Heart, Pope Leo XIII - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pd/annum_sacrum.htm
* Caritate Christi Compulsi: On Reparation To The Sacred Heart, Pope Pius XI - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pd/caritate_christi_compulsi.htm
* Haurietis Aquas: On Devotion To The Sacred Heart, Pope Pius XII - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pd/haurietis_aquas.htm
* Miserentissimus Redemptor: On Reparation To The Sacred Heart, Pope Pius XI - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pd/miserentissimus_redemptor.htm
* Sacred Heart of Jesus (Coloring Page) [shaded] - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pca/coloring_book_Sacred_Heart.htm
Also Try: Jesus (Topic Page) - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/tp/topic_page-Jesus.htm
Looking For Something Else? Try Our Various Indexes For 15,000+ Entries - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/help.htm
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"It is altogether impossible to enumerate the heavenly gifts which devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus has poured out on the souls of the faithful, purifying them, offering them heavenly strength, rousing them to the attainment of all virtues." (Pope Pius XII)
"In truth if the arguments brought forward which form the foundation for the devotion to the pierced Heart of Jesus are duly pondered, it is surely clear that there is no question here of some ordinary form of piety which anyone at his own whim may treat as of little consequence or set aside as inferior to others, but of a religious practice which helps very much towards the attaining of Christian perfection." (Pope Pius XII)
"[T]here is no doubt that Christians in paying homage to the Sacred Heart of the Redeemer are fulfilling a serious part of their obligations in their service of God and, at the same time, they are surrendering themselves to their Creator and Redeemer with regard to both the affections of the heart and the external activities of their life; in this way, they are obeying that divine commandment: 'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind, and with thy whole strength.' Besides, they have the firm conviction that they are moved to honor God not primarily for their own advantage in what concerns soul and body in this life and in the next, but for the sake of God's goodness they strive to render Him their homage, to give Him back love for love, to adore Him and offer Him due thanks." (Pope Pius XII)
Daily Prayer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus: Sacred Heart of Jesus, today I wish to live in You, in Your grace, in which I desire at all costs to persevere. Keep me from sin and strengthen my will by helping me to keep watch over my senses, my imagination, and my heart. Help me to correct my faults which are the source of sin. I beg you to do this, O Jesus, through Mary, Your Immaculate Mother.
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Hell as Proof of God's Love
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The following excerpt is from a nineteenth century publication describing itself as "A Catholic Magazine and Review". The author's name was not located on the publication, nor was there any indication of ecclesiastical approval for the work. [Please Note: We have made several changes to the text below (e.g. shortening, punctuation & spelling changes, a couple of slight wording changes, combining paragraphs)]
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There still remains the task of proving what at first sight seems the strangest paradox of all, but when fairly faced, when examined under the steady light of reason, not under the confusing glare of a picturesque sentimentalism, not only ceases to be a paradox, but subsides into little more than a truism. I have to show that the existence of Hell, so far from being an evil for man, is an actual good; so far from justifying us in accusing God of cruelty, hardheartedness, want of mercy and love, is really a fresh proof not only of His justice but also of His love to man; so far from being an argument against the goodness of God, is really a fresh manifestation of His boundless love.
I have already pointed out why it is that sin is the greatest of all evils, and in some sense an infinite evil. Once more I must ask my readers to turn their thoughts to the boundless intensity and immensity of the evil it involves. It is an outrage, insult, contempt, for an Infinite God; it is the basest ingratitude to the noblest of Benefactors; it is an insolent tearing away from God, so far as man can, the Divine glory which surrounds His Godhead; it is an open violation under the very eyes of the Legislator of the law which He laid down primarily for His own glory; it is a voluntary preference of some filthy or worthless bauble for the Lord of Heaven and Earth; it is an upsetting to the best of our ability of the order of God's universe; it is a desertion from the standard of our King to enlist in the ranks of His bitterest foe; it is a deliberate separation of ourselves from that which we know in our hearts to be the fount of all good; it is a deliberate revolt from the Sovereign who has not one, but a thousand claims on our obedience; it is a robbing God of that which is His under a title of ownership which includes and surpasses all human titles; it constitutes us not only rebels and outcasts, but enemies of God, hating Him; madmen, whose reason has gone astray; criminals, whose crimes no punishment can expiate; murderers of our own soul's life, who must pay the dread penalty of the outraged law. All this it is and much more, and those most capable of judging, those whose intellect and holiness have constituted them the intellectual and moral princes of God's Church, have ever acknowledged this almost infinite guilt of sin. "The Catholic Church," says Cardinal Newman, "holds it better for the sun and moon to drop from Heaven, for the earth to fail, and all the many millions on it to die of starvation in the extremest agony as far as temporal affliction goes, than that one soul, I will not say should be lost, but should commit one venial sin, should tell one willful untruth, or steal one poor farthing without excuse!" "If I had the choice," says St . Anselm, "of entering Hell pure and innocent, or Heaven with the stain of sin upon me, I would choose the former."
Sin then is, practically speaking, the only evil in the world worth the name. All other evils are limited; sin is unlimited in its guilt, hideousness, and disastrous consequences. All other evils have their good side; sin alone has nothing to be said for it. All other evils belong to the physical order; sin alone ravages with its poisonous tooth the true life of man. All other evils are in the power of God - one word and they are gone; sin He has, by His gift of free will to man, put out of His own power, so that He is in a sense the victim of sin. All other evils are evils of suffering; sin alone is an evil of acting. All other evils call for pity and compassion; sin alone calls for genuine, unmixed, unmitigated hatred. Blot out sin, and all evil at once disappears from the world of rational intelligences. It is the root, source, spring, cause, fountain of all the rest; what Holy Scripture says of the manna, that it had in itself every kind of sweetness (omne delectamentum in se habentem), we may reverse and apply to sin. Sin has in itself all bitterness, all grief, all sorrow, all misery, all pain, all anguish, all agony - all these it gathers together, multiplies a thousandfold, intensifies and immensifies, and adds to them all besides a fresh bitterness of its own, compared with which all their bitterness and all their pain is but a jest. Such being sin, it is manifest that the greatest favor God can do to man is to supply him with an efficient preventive from sin, at any cost to provide for him effective means of escaping from the deadly plague of sin... If God loves man with an immeasurable, incalculable love, all His Divine energies (to speak once again 'more humano') will be directed to keeping the monster at a distance, or rather to providing weapons of defense against his assaults. Every other evil He will scarce reck of, if only He can save the child of His love from this evil of evils, this only evil worth the name. He cannot force his free will; He cannot take from him that precious perilous gift, which is the steppingstone to an eternity of bliss; He cannot, under the existing constitution of things, hinder the perverse rebel from rebellion, if so he choose to rebel. But at least He can warn him with a warning so terrible that one would have thought that none, unless bereft entirely of reason's guiding light, would have disregarded the threatening danger. He can put before him consequences of sin so awful, so ghastly, so appalling, that if the rebellious creature does not hate and shrink from it by reason of its inherent foulness, he will at least avoid it when he sees the terminus to which it leads. What greater mercy could God show to man than thus to put before him such an overpowering inducement to the avoidance of sin? In order to save him from that evil of evils, the only evil which corrupts and destroys all that is beautiful and precious in human nature, He warns him gently, kindly, patiently, that if he values his happiness here or hereafter, if he would not be cast into the blackness of darkness, where the worm dies not and the fire is not quenched; if he wishes to be saved from an eternal habitation in torments so awful that the greatest agonies of earth are but a trifle in comparison, he must flee from this devouring monster, this foul fiend, this filthy, loathsome, hideous, detestable demon of sin.
God might have revealed but little of the consequences of sin. He might (and none could have impugned His justice) have simply warned us that the result of sin was an eternal separation from Himself, with all that such separation might involve. He might have left us in the dark about the physical agony, the racking pain, the anguish of the searching fire, and have told us simply that he who sins must suffer. Man would have had no cause to complain. Right reason, which tells us that sin is the greatest of all evils, would have furnished motives enough for avoiding it, without the additional motive of the fear of unending agony, which after all adds nothing in the way of evil to the evil of sin. But God, in His mercy to our weak human nature, has given us a glimpse into the world unseen enough to terrify the boldest sinner, to make the most hardened quail at the thought of the wrath to come. He has furnished us with a picture, the vivid details of which are a strong, to some the strongest, motive for flying from the pursuit of sinful pleasure or for a brave struggle against the force of temptation. And the most effective feature in the picture of Hell is its eternity - for ever and ever, for ever and ever. Protract it as you like - let it last for millions and billions of ages - yet if once you let the sinner think or hope that that long suffering will be succeeded by an eternity of happiness (or even by an annihilation or absorption into the Deity), you have robbed Hell of its chief terror, you have opened the door to the sinner seeking some excuse for his sin.
It is therefore a mercy to the sinner that Hell is eternal. It furnishes him with an overwhelming motive, supposing all others fail, for following virtue and eschewing vice - a motive not only overwhelming, but with the mass of men more efficacious than any other, if clearly and faithfully put before them. Ask the Catholic priest who is preaching in some crowded city where sin and vice run riot, what sermon brings most sinners to repentance, what topic has most power to turn away the hardened profligate from sin, and I believe that he will tell you that continually recurring experience proves that it is the sermon on Hell, the description of the awful torments of the physical anguish of that dread prisonhouse. It is a sad fact for poor human nature, but the love of God has not half the influence over men's hearts - even the story of the Prodigal, with all its touching beauty - of Magdalen's conversion, with the hope that it kindles in the hearts even of the most abandoned - has scarce the power to move the hearts of ordinary, ignorant men that has the picture of an eternal Hell, with its eternal agony and its eternal despair.
Do not tell me, O lover of mercy falsely so called, that the thought of an eternal Hell drives men to despair. I do not deny that it might do so if no hand were held out to save, if no city of refuge were to open its portals to him who is haunted by the spectre of his sin. I do not deny that it does (though always through their own fault) drive men to despair where there is no tribunal of mercy ready at hand for the awakened conscience, or where such a tribunal has no fire from Heaven kindling the heart of the penitent and quickening the tongue of God's appointed minister. But if you assert that the Catholic doctrine of eternal punishment as taught from Catholic pulpits has ever driven to despair any except those who have deliberately hardened their hearts against God, you are forging a false hypothesis in order that man may sin without fear of eternal vengeance. Tell me that he who warns a drowning man of his danger, while at the same time he holds out the hand to save, is driving him to despair by reminding him of his peril, and I will allow that the voice which warns the sinner of an eternal Hell, while at the same time it offers him the mercy of a merciful God, is guilty of a like cruelty. Tell me that it is a mercy to him who is far beyond his depth, drifting unconsciously far away from the shore, and who in a few moments will sink, never to rise again, beneath the dark waters, if we encourage him to an eternal hope, and tell him that perhaps it may be after a time that he will find a footing, and I will confess that you are true advocates of mercy. But who shall reckon the mischief done by encouraging a false hope, by deluding the poor, sinking, struggling sinner into the belief that the bottomless abyss is at most but a place of temporary purgation, whence he will pass, renewed and free from sin, into the fruition of the immediate presence of God, or at least into the peaceful unconsciousness of an eternal sleep?
Thus endless punishment is God's remedy against sin. It is not purely vindictive: it does not merely avenge the outraged majesty of law: it is deterrent and in a sense corrective also, since the prospect of it is a powerful agent in the reformation of many a sinner... If the law of justice enacts the final penalty primarily as an exhibition of justice, such exhibition is from the very nature of the thing inseparably united to some benefit accruing to men. If the flames of burning fire rain down upon the cities of the plain, it is that future ages may learn from its consequences the hideous foulness of sin. If the rebels against God's representatives go down alive into the cleaving earth, it is to teach those who in proud independence cast off the gentle yoke of the Most High, what sort of fate awaits them. If the returning waters swallow up the persecutors of the children of God, it is to warn the modern despot who stretches out his hand against the Church, what he may expect from [the Lord] God. All these calamities, vindictive in respect of those immediately visited by them, were prospectively deterrent. Hell cannot be prospectively deterrent, but we may call it retrospectively deterrent; it casts its image back in the tradition of unending agony which reason confirms and establishes. When the sensational advocates of mercy seek to persuade men that this image is but a shadow, a mere empty phantom dressed up by dogmatic theology to frighten those who are so foolish as to be alarmed at its terrors, it is they who introduce into the world by a curious nemesis, the very monster against which they protest. They rob the thought of endless punishment of its beneficial, salutary, effective power, and so far as they are concerned reduce it to the level of a purely vindictive punishment.
To sum up my argument in a word: the hatred of evil is necessarily included in the love of good. God, therefore, in punishing moral evil eternally is manifesting one side of His eternal love of good. He is at the same time performing an act of mercy to man, for He who saves from moral evil by showing the consequences, however painful, attaching to it, is a benefactor to those who have thus an efficacious and urgent motive for dreading and avoiding it.
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For more reflections, please go to http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/qt/reflections_categorized.htm
For more concerning the topic of hell, please visit http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/tp/topic_page-hell.htm
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Liturgical Feasts in June
The following is a listing of all liturgical feast dates for June as they appear at http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pc/saints/feasts.htm
Note: (T) = Traditional, (N) = New (Novus Ordo)
Reminder: Feasts may be superseded / transferred / etc.
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June 1 - St. Justin Martyr (N)
June 2 - St. Erasmus (T)
June 2 - Sts. Marcellinus & Peter (T)
June 2 - Sts. Marcellinus & Peter (N)
June 3 - St. Charles Lwanga & companions (N)
June 4 - St. Francis Caracciolo (T)
June 5 - St. Boniface (T)
June 5 - St. Boniface (N)
June 6 - St. Norbert (T)
June 6 - St. Norbert (N)
June 9 - St. Columba (T)
June 9 - Sts. Primus & Felician (T)
June 9 - St. Ephrem of Syria (N)
June 10 - St. Margaret of Scotland (T)
June 11 - St. Barnabas, apostle (T)
June 11 - St. Barnabas, apostle (N)
June 12 - St. John of San Facondo (T)
June 12 - Sts. Basilides, Cyrinus, Nabor & Nazarius (T)
June 13 - St. Anthony of Padua (T)
June 13 - St. Anthony of Padua (N)
June 14 - St. Basil the Great (T)
June 15 - St. Vitus, Modestus & Crescentia (T)
June 16 - St. John Francis Regis (T)
June 18 - St. Ephrem the Syrian (T)
June 18 - Sts. Mark & Marcellianus (T)
June 19 - St. Juliana Falconieri (T)
June 19 - Sts. Gervase & Protase (T)
June 19 - St. Romuald (N)
June 20 - St. Silverius, pope (T)
June 21 - St. Aloysius Gonzaga (T)
June 21 - St. Aloysius Gonzaga (N)
June 22 - St. Paulinus of Nola (T)
June 22 - St. John Fisher (N)
June 22 - St. Paulinus of Nola (N)
June 22 - St. Thomas More (N)
June 23 - Vigil of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist (T)
June 24 - Nativity of St. John the Baptist (T)
June 24 - Nativity of St. John the Baptist (N)
June 25 - St. William (T)
June 26 - Sts. John & Paul (T)
June 27 - Our Lady of Perpetual Succor (Perpetual Help) (T)
June 27 - St. Cyril of Alexandria (N)
June 28 - St. Irenaeus of Lyons (T)
June 28 - St. Irenaeus of Lyons (N)
June 29 - Sts. Peter & Paul, apostles (T)
June 29 - Sts. Peter & Paul, apostles (N)
June 30 - St. Paul, apostle (T)
June 30 - St. Peter (T)
June 30 - First Martyrs of the Church of Rome (N)
Please Note: Above may exclude moveable feasts. For moveable feasts, see below & try here: http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pc/latin_mass_and_tradition/traditional_liturgical_calendar.htm . For other feasts, try the MCS Daily Digest each day at http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/cg/mcs_daily_digest.asp
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Also...
6/1/11 - Vigil of the Ascension, Rogation Day (T)
6/2/11 - Ascension of Our Lord [Holy Day of Obligation, unless transferred (contact your diocese for info.)]
6/12/11 - Pentecost Sunday
6/15/11 - Ember Wednesday after Pentecost (T)
6/17/11 - Ember Friday after Pentecost (T)
6/18/11 - Ember Saturday after Pentecost (T)
6/19/11 - Trinity Sunday
6/23/11 - Corpus Christi
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Resources For Selected June Feasts
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* Ascension (Definition) - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pc/catholic_basics/catholic_basics_definitions.htm
* Ascension (Prophecies) - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pcs/biblical_prophecies_ascension_pentecost.htm
* On Our Lord's Passion, Death, Resurrection, and Ascension (Selections From the Baltimore Catechism, Lesson: 08) - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/cd/catechism_selections_search_lsn.asp
* Prayer for the Ascension - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pr/prayers_and_hymns_for_certain_occasions_times.htm
* Ascension Thursday / Holy Days of Obligation - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pc/catholic_basics/catholic_basics_holy_days_of_obligation.htm
* Ascension (Coloring Pages) - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pc/catholic_activities/catholic_fun_coloring_activities.htm
* Jesus (Topic Page) - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/tp/topic_page-Jesus.htm
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* Pentecost (Definition) - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pc/catholic_basics/catholic_basics_definitions.htm
* Pentecost (Prophecies) - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pcs/biblical_prophecies_ascension_pentecost.htm
* On the Holy Ghost and His Descent Upon the Apostles (Selections From the Baltimore Catechism, Lesson: 09) - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/cd/catechism_selections_search_lsn.asp
* Prayers for Pentecost (Incl. Links for Veni Creator Spiritus & Veni Sancte Spiritus) - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pr/prayers_and_hymns_for_certain_occasions_times.htm
* Novena to the Holy Spirit (Friday After Ascension to Vigil of Pentecost) - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pr/prayers_and_hymns_novenas.htm
* Fasting / Vigil of Pentecost - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pc/latin_mass_and_tradition/traditional_prayers_and_practices.htm
* Divinum Illud Munus: On The Holy Spirit, Pope Leo XIII - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pd/divinum_illud_munus.htm
* Holy Spirit (Topic Page) - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/tp/topic_page-Holy_Spirit.htm
* Gifts & Fruits of the Holy Spirit (Crossword Puzzle) - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pca/crossword_puzzle_gifts_fruits_Holy_Spirit.html
* Gifts & Fruits of the Holy Spirit (Word Search) - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pca/word_search_gifts_fruits_Holy_Spirit.htm
Reminder: For plenary indulgence info. for the Solemnity of Pentecost, visit http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/cg/indulgences.htm
+ TRINITY SUNDAY +
* The Holy Trinity (Topic Page) - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/tp/topic_page-Trinity.htm
* The Holy Trinity (Reflections) - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/qt/catholic_basics_reflections_Holy_Trinity.htm
* On the Unity and Trinity of God (Selections From the Baltimore Catechism, Lesson: 03) - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/cd/catechism_selections_search_lsn.asp
* The Holy Trinity (Apologetics) - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/nc/non_catholics__The_Trinity.htm
* The Holy Trinity (Topical Scripture) - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pcs/pcst/topical_scripture_T10.htm
Note: For prayers to the Holy Trinity, try the prayers g-h index (scroll to "Holy Trinity") - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pr/prayers_and_hymns_alpha_g_h.htm
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* Holy Eucharist / Holy Communion (Topic Page) - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/tp/topic_page-Holy_Communion.htm
* The Holy Eucharist / Mass - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pc/sacraments/Holy_Eucharist.htm
* Holy Eucharist / Mass (Reflections) - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/qt/sacraments_reflections_Holy_Eucharist.htm
* The Catechism of the Council of Trent on the Holy Eucharist - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pc/sacraments/catechism_of_the_council_of_trent_Holy_Eucharist.htm
* Mass / Holy Eucharist (Prayers) - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pr/prayers_and_hymns_Mass_Holy_Eucharist.htm
* Holy Eucharist / Mass (Apologetics) - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/nc/non_catholics__Eucharist_Mass.htm
* Mirae Caritatis: On The Holy Eucharist, Pope Leo XIII - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pd/mirae_caritatis.htm
* Holy Eucharist (Word Search) - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pca/word_search_Holy_Eucharist.htm
* Holy Eucharist (Crossword Puzzle) - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pca/crossword_puzzle_Holy_Eucharist.html
* Communion in the Hand: Why Not? - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pc/sacraments/communion_in_the_hand__why_not.htm
* Communion Under Both Species: Is it Required? - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pc/sacraments/communion_under_both_species__is_it_required.htm
* Lay 'Eucharistic Ministers': Why Not? - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pc/sacraments/lay_ministers__why_not.htm
* Sacraments (Topic Page) - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/tp/topic_page-catholic_sacraments.htm
* Kneeling / Genuflecting (Topic Page) - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/tp/topic_page-kneeling_genuflecting.htm
* Denial of Holy Communion to Public Sinners Under Canon 915 - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/tp/topic_page-Holy_Communion.htm
Reminder: For plenary indulgence info. for the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, visit http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/cg/indulgences.htm
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Looking For Something Else? Try Our Various Indexes For 15,000+ Entries - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/help.htm
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'Catholic Trivia'
1. What is another term for Pentecost Sunday?
2. What does the Council of Trent say concerning those who say baptism is only optional for, and not necessary for, salvation?
3. What does Ablution refer to?
4. What does Chi Rho refer to?
5. Are children given to parents as presents?
6. What is the Ostensorium?
7. Which persons "render the death of Jesus Christ useless in their regard"?
8. What part of the 1917 Code of Canon Law lists the primary purpose of marriage?
9. What are some practices associated with devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus?
10. Where in Scripture are we told to worship the Lord in holy attire?
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Answers:
1. Whit-Sunday (or Whitsunday)
2. The Council of Trent states: "If anyone says that baptism is optional, that is, not necessary for salvation: let him be anathema."
3. "The washing of the thumbs and index-fingers of the [priest] at Mass after [Holy Communion], in order to remove any particles of the Blessed Sacrament that may be adhering thereto." (Catholic Dictionary)
4. Abbreviation for Christ, based on first two letters of Christ in Greek, Chi (X) & Rho (P). Note: For symbols, please visit http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pc/catholic_basics/catholic_basics_symbols.htm
5. "Children have not been given to parents as a present, which they may dispose of as they please, but as a trust, for which, if lost through their negligence, they must render an account to God." (St. Alphonsus Liguori, Doctor of the Church)
6. "The Ostensorium or Monstrance is the beautiful wheel-like vessel in which the Blessed Sacrament is exposed and kept during Benediction." (Baltimore Catechism)
7. "[I]t is not enough for our salvation that Jesus Christ has died for us; it is also necessary that the fruit of His Passion and death be applied to each one of us, which is accomplished especially by means of the Sacraments instituted for this end by Jesus Christ Himself; and as many either do not receive the Sacraments at all, or do not receive them well, they thus render the death of Jesus Christ useless in their regard." (Catechism of Pope St. Pius X)
8. 1917 Can. 1013 § 1: "The primary end of marriage is the procreation and education of children; the secondary [end] is mutual support and a remedy for concupiscence."
9. Some practices include: Veneration of the Sacred Heart image; Consecration / enthronement of one's home / self to the Sacred Heart of Jesus; Acts of reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus; Wearing / carrying of the Sacred Heart badge; Completing the Nine First Friday's Devotion
10. 1 Chron. 16:29-30: "Give to the LORD the glory due his name! Bring gifts, and enter his presence; worship the LORD in holy attire. Tremble before him, all the earth; he has made the world firm, not to be moved." [Note: Vulgate reads "date Domino gloriam nomini eius levate sacrificium et venite in conspectu eius et adorate Dominum in decore sancto" (1 Paral. 16:29)]
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For more information concerning the topics above, try our General A-Z Index at http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/help.htm
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Defending the Faith: "Apologetics Brief" - Do You Believe There Will be a 'Rapture'?
It is good for Catholics to be able to defend their faith against attacks (or even simple questions) from those outside the Church. We therefore hope you may find the following "apologetics brief" helpful.
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Note: Text below is taken from http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/nc/non_catholics__misc.htm
The following may be used as discussion points when discoursing with those outside the Church (or even among Catholics).
Topic: Do You Believe There Will be a 'Rapture'? (Note: Topic is directed at certain Protestants)
Consider:
* Do you think the following Scripture passages prove the 'rapture' theory?
Mt. 24:36-44: "But of that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. For as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. In (those) days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day that Noah entered the ark. They did not know until the flood came and carried them all away. So will it be (also) at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be out in the field; one will be taken, and one will be left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken, and one will be left. Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come. Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour of night when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken into. So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come."
Lk. 17:22-35: Then he said to his disciples, "The days will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it. There will be those who will say to you, 'Look, there he is,' (or) 'Look, here he is.' Do not go off, do not run in pursuit. For just as lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be (in his day). But first he must suffer greatly and be rejected by this generation. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the days of the Son of Man; they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage up to the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Similarly, as it was in the days of Lot: they were eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, building; on the day when Lot left Sodom, fire and brimstone rained from the sky to destroy them all. So it will be on the day the Son of Man is revealed. On that day, a person who is on the housetop and whose belongings are in the house must not go down to get them, and likewise a person in the field must not return to what was left behind. Remember the wife of Lot. Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses it will save it. I tell you, on that night there will be two people in one bed; one will be taken, the other left. And there will be two women grinding meal together; one will be taken, the other left."
1 Thes. 4:13-18: We do not want you to be unaware, brothers, about those who have fallen asleep, so that you may not grieve like the rest, who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose, so too will God, through Jesus, bring with him those who have fallen asleep. Indeed, we tell you this, on the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will surely not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself, with a word of command, with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God, will come down from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore, console one another with these words.
If so, can you not see that...
-- Those who are "left" are the ones who are damned. They will not get another chance as Christ never promised a third coming. This may be made even more clear by the fact that the time is compared to that of Noah's. Remember that those who were left in Noah's time all perished - they did NOT get a second chance.
-- The coming of Christ will not be silent and invisible, but will be announced by a trumpet blast (Mt. 24:31, 1 Cor. 15:52, 1 Thes. 4:16) and "lightning flashes" will light up the sky "from one side to the other" (cf. Mt. 24:27, Lk. 17:24). Scripture is quite clear that people will "see" the coming of Christ (cf. Mk. 13:26, Lk. 21:27, Rv. 1:7).
* How can you refute the charge that the 'rapture' is escapism? If certain persons think they will be "raptured" to heaven, they will not feel they need to work or try or fight (referring here to a spiritual 'combat')... They think they will simply be immune from the time of tribulation and escape judgment... And those to be 'left behind' will find in this (false) theory hope for a second chance - when there will be, in reality, NO further chances at that time.
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Note: For more information on Jesus' second coming, try here - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/tp/topic_page-resurrection.htm
For more apologetics resources, please visit http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/non-catholics.htm
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"Behold, I am coming soon. I bring with me the recompense I will give to each according to his deeds. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end." (Rv. 22:12-13)
"In vain, then do we attempt to compute definitely the years that may remain to this world, when we may hear from the mouth of Truth Himself that it is not for us to know this." (St. Augustine, Doctor of the Church)
"Wherein He shows that His second coming shall be not in lowliness as His first, but in glory; and therefore it is folly to seek in places little and obscure for Him who is the Light of the whole world." (St. Jerome, Doctor of the Church)
"When the Almighty Creator shall appear in the form of the Son of man, so scarce will the elect be, that not so much the cries of the faithful as the torpor of the others will hasten the world's fall." (St. Bede the Venerable, Doctor of the Church)
"For the Only-begotten Son of God, when He came to save the world, wished to be in secret, that He might bear the cross for us. But His second coming shall not be in secret, but terrible and open. For He shall descend in the glory of God the Father, with the Angels attending Him, to judge the world in righteousness." (St. Cyril, Doctor of the Church)
"Among the signs which He gives of His second coming He certifies them concerning the place, and the deceivers. For it shall not be then as at His former coming, when He appeared in Bethlehem, in a corner of the world, unknown of any; but He shall come openly so as not to need any to announce His approach, wherefore, If any man shall say to you, Lo, here is Christ, or there, believe not." (St. John Chrysostom, Doctor of the Church)
"[T]he details mentioned in the Gospels and Epistles in connection with the last advent are not sufficient to enable us to determine the time of the judgment, for the trials that are foretold as announcing the proximity of Christ's coming occurred even at the time of the Early Church, in a degree sometimes more sometimes less marked; so that even the days of the apostles were called the last days (Acts 2:17) when Peter expounded the saying of Joel 2:28, 'It shall come to pass in the last days,' etc., as referring to that time. Yet it was already a long time since then: and sometimes there were more and sometimes less afflictions in the Church. Consequently it is impossible to decide after how long a time it will take place, nor fix the month, year, century, or thousand years as Augustine says in the same book (Ep. 199 ad Hesychius). And even if we are to believe that at the end these calamities will be more frequent, it is impossible to fix what amount of such calamities will immediately precede the judgment day or the coming of Antichrist, since even at the time of the Early Church persecutions were so bitter, and the corruptions of error were so numerous, that some looked forward to the coming of Antichrist as being near or imminent" (St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church and "greatest theologian in the history of the Church")
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In Closing...
"Then Jesus approached and said to them, 'All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.'" (Mt. 28:18-20)
"When so many evils meet Our gaze - such as cause sharp conflict among individuals, families, nations and the whole world, particularly today more than at any other time - where are We to seek a remedy, venerable brethren? Can a form of devotion surpassing that to the most Sacred Heart of Jesus be found, which corresponds better to the essential character of the Catholic faith, which is more capable of assisting the present-day needs of the Church and the human race? What religious practice is more excellent, more attractive, more salutary than this, since the devotion in question is entirely directed towards the love of God itself?" (Pope Pius XII, "Haurietis Aquas", 1956)
Thee be praise, to Thee be glory, to Thee be thanksgiving through endless ages, O Blessed Trinity. (Aspiration)
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