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“With the Encyclical Letter Divini Redemptoris, on atheistic communism and Christian social doctrine, Pope Pius XI offered a systematic criticism of communism, describing it as “intrinsically perverse,” and indicated that the principal means for correcting the evils perpetrated by it could be found in the renewal of Christian life, the practice of evangelical charity, the fulfillment of the duties of justice at both the interpersonal and social levels in relation to the common good, and the institutionalization of professional and interprofessional groups.”

—Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church 92

For each day Fri, Dec 24 - Sat, Jan 1, please pray at least one decade the rosary, concluding with the prayer for persecuted Christians.

NOVENA PRAYER

There is a growing phenomenon of bishops mandating the COVID vaccines imitating mandates in the secular realm. What to make of this? The official position of the Church via the Sacred Congregation of the Faith is that taking this vaccine should be voluntary and not coerced. This position was approved by the Pope so that a real argument can be made that those bishops mandating the vaccines are issuing illicit decrees and need not be followed. Here’s what the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith says:

After the devil had seduced Adam and Eve, God cursed the evil spirit and prophesied, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, between your seed and her seed.” The woman is Mary. Her seed is Christ. Ever since Eden there has been a deadly conflict between the followers of Christ and the followers of Satan. Not to know this is not to understand the most fundamental warfare that’s been going on since the dawn of human history.

From the homily of Cardinal Ivan Dias, legate of the Holy Father for the opening of the celebrations of the beginning of the Jubilee of the 150th anniversary of the Apparitions of Blessed Virgin Mary at Lourdes, delivered (December 8, 2007):

... After her apparitions at Lourdes, the Holy Virgin has not ceased to manifest her great maternal concerns for the fate of mankind in her several apparitions worldwide.

Sometimes a question arises with respect to the translation of the Angel Gabriel’s words at the Annunciation: why do some Bibles say Rejoice O highly favored daughter instead of Hail full of grace in reporting the words of the angel Gabriel at the annunciation. A number of years ago, the New American Bible translation was revised and the current translation says Hail full of grace because it is a superior translation of the Greek word used in St. Luke’s Gospel.

The life of the first Christians and their witness to the world make known to us their quality and their character. Their norm of conduct was not to take the easy way out, or opt for the more comfortable line or the more popular decision but rather did they seek to fulfill completely the will of God. They ignored the danger of death… they forgot how few they were, they never noticed how many were against them or the power or strength or wisdom of their enemies. Their power was greater than all of that: theirs was the power of him who had died on the Cross and risen again.[i] They had their gaze riveted on Christ, who gave his life for all men. They were not seeking their own personal glory, nor the applause of their fellow citizens. They always acted with a right intention, because they had their eyes fixed on the Lord. That is what allows St. Stephen to say at the moment of his martyrdom: Lord do not take their sin into account…[ii]

In the news there has been the issue of the President actively supporting abortion and promoting it while claiming to be a good Catholic and whether he should be denied Communion? Years ago (2006) however there was a so-called "statement of principles" by 55 Catholic Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives. The signatories of the letter stated that "we seek the Church's guidance and assistance but believe also in the primacy of conscience."

There was a recent article in Inside the Vatican September-October 2021 wherein the author John Byron Kuhner raises the question how does language operate in the liturgy? He then asks the provocative question: why wouldn’t we want our prayers and Mass in the mother tongue instead of Latin? In answering this question he raises the notion not simply of language but what’s called hieratic or sacred language. A couple of bullet points from his essay:

(This past November 11 we celebrated Veteran’s Day which is also the feast of St. Martin of Tours a former soldier who left the army to follow Christ. Here an edited version of the essay by Matthew Plese. For the full essay go to onepeterfive.com)

…Armistice Day is kept in honor of the ending of World War I which concluded on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. In 1954, the United States amended the holiday to include a remembrance of all the living and the dead of the nation’s veterans. And the name was subsequently changed to Veteran’s Day on June 1, 1954.

I. The Particular Judgment

1021 Death puts an end to human life as the time open to either accepting or rejecting the divine grace manifested in Christ The New Testament speaks of judgment primarily in its aspect of the final encounter with Christ in his second coming, but also repeatedly affirms that each will be rewarded immediately after death in accordance with his works and faith. The parable of the poor man Lazarus and the words of Christ on the cross to the good thief, as well as other New Testament texts speak of a final destiny of the soul - a destiny which can be different for some and for others

In the history of the Church there have been associations of the faithful called Purgatorial Societies. Purgatorial societies are Catholic associations or confraternities which aim to assist souls in purgatory to get to heaven. One of the crises following the Second Vatican Council was ceasing to preach and teach the doctrine of the Church about souls in Purgatory and clergy and people starting placing the deceased at funerals in heaven, which is really Protestant doctrine.