Was Saint Paul a Celibate Catholic Priest?

The Protestant Reformers claimed Saint Paul as their own. For Luther and Calvin, Paul was merely a preacher and minister with the title "Apostle." The Protestants claimed that Paul taught salvation by faith alone, scripture alone, that the sacraments were not infallibly operable, that the Eucharist was not a propitiatory sacrifice, that celibacy was an abuse, and that the sacerdotal priesthood was a false invention of the Catholic Church.

And yet when we read the pages of Saint Paul's epistles, we find a man who spoke of losing the grace salvation ("you have fallen from grace" Gal 5:4). We find a man who's sacramental theology is as realist as it gets. His discussions of the Eucharist involve discerning the Lord's body and he uses sacrificial language at least twice when discussing the Eucharist. Notably, the most obvious and powerful exhortation to celibacy is found in his 1 Corinthians. He even refers to himself as a priest (Rom 15:16 - see the Greek if you have a Protestant translation).

All this shows that Saint Paul was a celibate Catholic priest. He even called himself "Father" a number of times. For example:

“For if you have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet not many fathers. For in Christ Jesus, by the gospel, I have begotten you.” (1 Corinthians 4:15, D-R)

Saint Paul was a celibate Catholic padre and he knew it. Today as we remember and venerate Saint Paul and Saint Peter we should reflect on how the Catholic priesthood was lived by these two great Apostles. They spent themselves entirely for the sake of Christ and His Church.

If you click on the triangle below, there is a 27 minute talk I gave on "Saint Paul Was a Catholic Priest" in mp3 format.

Click on the triangular “play” button above. 27 minutes.


There are 9 other talks on Saint Paul available here: www.PaulisCatholic.com

Subscribe to “PaulCast” via iTunes | Subscribe to RSS feed | Download the mp3 file directly by right clicking

Liturgical Note on the Feast of SS Peter and Paul

On the vigil in the Divine Office of Saints Peter and Paul (June 28th), the last lesson with the homily on the Gospel was sung by the Pope himself as the representative of Christ and Peter.

At one time the celebration of this special Roman feast was celebrated by monastics at the Baslica of Saint Paul outside the Walls. The lay people of Rome celebrated at the Basilica of Saint Peter's at the Vatican.

From FX Lasance's New Roman Missal.

Do you enjoy reading Canterbury Tales by Taylor Marshall? Make it easier to receive daily posts. It's free. Please click here to sign up by Feed or here to sign up by Email. Please also explore Taylor's books about Catholicism at amazon.com.

The Interesting History of Our Lady of Perpetual Help

Our Lady of Perpetual Help (or of Perpetual Succour) is a Byzantine icon from the late middle ages and has resided in Rome since the late 1400s. The Eastern Catholics call it "Holy Theotokos of the Passion."

The image depicts the Blessed Virgin Mary wearing a blue mantle and veil. On the left side is the Archangel Michael, carrying the lance and sponge of the crucifixion of Jesus. On the right is the Archangel Gabriel carrying the cross and nails. The Christchild rests in her arms and looks intently at the cross.

Tradition states that the icon memorializes an occasion in which the young Christ awoke from a dream in which He saw the instruments of His passion. Mary comforted Him, but remained solemn since she knew that that the dream was a portent of her Son's future passion. The icon brilliantly captures both the reality of the incarnation and the reality of the crucifixion of Christ in one single image that mystically links the events to Mary - who was present for each.

The icon was brought to Rome by a pious merchant, who desired that the picture should be exposed in a church for public veneration. It was exposed in the church of San Matteo, Via Merulana, between St. Mary Major and St. John Lateran.

The rascally French invaded Rome in 1812 and destroyed the church - and the icon disappeared.

In 1865, the icon was rediscovered to the joy of many. Pope Pius IX as a boy had prayed before the icon in the church of San Matteo before it was lost during the French invasion. Pius IX took great interest when the icon was finally rediscovered - since he had been especially devoted to it. He subsequently approved a liturgical feast in commemoration of the icon. The Redemptorists especially revered the image for its profound spiritual meaning.

Today it is one of the most popular images of Our Lady and it is one of the few images that is universally revered in every rite of the Catholic Church - East to West.

Feast Day: June 27

Do you enjoy reading Canterbury Tales by Taylor Marshall? Make it easier to receive daily posts. It's free. Please click here to sign up by Feed or here to sign up by Email. Please also explore Taylor's books about Catholicism at amazon.com.

Saints John and Paul - Martyrs for Our Time in History

Saints John and Paul were martyred at Rome on 26 June under the Emperor Julian the Apostate (AD 361–3). Their two names are included in the Roman Canon of the Holy Mass.

Today's two martyrs were provosts of Constance who was the daughter of Constantine the Great. They had received a vast inheritance from Constance and were very wealthy. SS. John and Paul became famous in Rome as they used this fortune for the relief of the poor.

The Emperor Julian the Apostate coveted these riches. This wicked emperor commanded SS. John and Paul to serve him as they had once served Constantine and his son.

Then they said to him: "When the glorious Constantine and Constant his son glorified them to be Christian, we would well serve them, but since thou hast forsaken thy religion full of virtues, we be departed from thee, and we will no more serve thee."

Julian then said to them: "If ye do not my will within ten days with your agreement, ye shall do it after against your will."

The saints said to him: "Think ye as though now the ten days were gone, and do this day that which thou purposes to do then."

Then John and Paul during these ten days emended to prayer and to alms on the tenth day, Terentian was sent to them, who said to them: "Our lord Julian hath sent me to you, that ye should honour the image of Jupiter, which we to you, or else ye must die."

Then they said to him: "If Julian be thy lord have thou peace with him, we have none other Lord but Jesu Christ."

They refused to deny the Savior. Julian ordered that the two men be decapitated secretly by Terentianus in their house on the Caelian Hill. Next, a rumor was spread abroad that the two men fled the city.

An evil demon entered into the son of Terentian and he began to cry in that house that he was burnt of the devil. When Terentian saw this, he knowledged his sin, became a Christian, and put in writing the passion of these two holy saints. His son was delivered of the devil.

Byzantius, a Roman senator, and Saint Pammachius, his son, transformed the home of Sts John and Paul into a Christian church.

The rooms on the ground-floor of the house of SS. John and Paul were rediscovered under the Basilica of Santi Giovanni e Paolo in Rome. They are decorated with frescoes, while the original tomb of SS. John and Paul is covered with paintings of which the martyrs are the subject. See the photo above.

Their feast is kept on 26 June. Great and powerful martyrs for Christ.

SS. John and Paul, pray for us.

Do you enjoy reading Canterbury Tales by Taylor Marshall? Make it easier to receive daily posts. It's free. Please click here to sign up by Feed or here to sign up by Email. Please also explore Taylor's books about Catholicism at amazon.com.

Who Were the Maccabees?

The "Maccabees," or more properly the Hasmoneans, were a Jewish priestly family that led the just rebellion against the Greco-Syrians under Antiochus IV Epiphanes in the second century before Christ.

The Maccabees were led by Mathathias and then by his third son Judas "Maccabeus." The nickname comes from the Aramaic maccaba meaning "hammer." So his name was "Judas the Hammer." The nickname "Maccaba" was extended to the entire family and descendants of Mathathias. The nickname, no doubt, refers to Judas' "hammering" of the enemies of God in battle. The true patronymic of the family was Hasmonean.

In 1 Maccabees, the pagan Antiochus forbids the practice of the Old Testament - no circumcision, sacrifice, Passover, or reading of Scripture. Moreover, the Jews are required to eat pork and worship the Greek gods. 

Mathathias Hasmonean sparks a revolt by slaying a Jew who worshipped a pagan idol. He and his five sons then fled into the dessert where they assemble an army dedicated to God. Mathathias dies and his son Judas Maccabeus organizes a guerrilla war against their Greek persecutors. 

Judas Maccabeus and his soldiers miraculously gain the upper hand against the sophisticated Greek occupiers. Finally, they recapture Jerusalem, destroy the Greek idols, cleanse the temple and have it rededicated to the true worship of God. 

The Jewish festival of Hanukkah commemorates the re-dedication of the temple following Judas Maccabeus' victory over the Greeks. According to tradition, the victorious Jews could only find a small amount of oil that had remained kosher by virtue of a seal. Although it only contained enough oil to sustain the temple menorah for one day, it miraculously endured for eight days, by which time further oil could be procured - this is the origin of the eight days of Hanukkah.

If you want to introduce young people to an exciting book of the Old Testament, start them off on 1 Maccabees. It's a great read.

Do you enjoy reading Canterbury Tales by Taylor Marshall? Make it easier to receive daily posts. It's free. Please click here to sign up by Feed or here to sign up by Email. Please also explore Taylor's books about Catholicism at amazon.com.

The Parallel between St John Fisher and St John the Baptist

Saint John Fisher - the English John the Baptist

Saint John Fisher was born in Beverley, Yorkshire, England in 1469, the eldest son of Robert Fisher, a modestly prosperous merchant of Beverley, and Agnes Fisher. He was named after Saint John the Baptist.

He was the only bishop in England who faithfully defended the Pope against the adulterous tyranny of King Henry VIII. All the other English bishops apostatized. John Fisher, even more valiantly than Thomas More, defended the valid marriage of Henry to Catherine of Aragon and vehemently opposed Henry VIII's assumption of the title "Supreme Head" of the English Church.

As early as 1530 Saint John Fisher began to preach that he was willing to die like Saint John the Baptist in defense of the sacrament of matrimony. You'll remember that John the Baptist received martyrdom for protesting King Herod Antipas' adulterous marriage to Herodias.

Henry VIII was the new Herod

Ann Boleyn was the new Herodias

John Fisher was the new John the Baptist

When John Fisher was convicted of "treason" he was, of course, sentenced to death. Henry, as Head of the Church" had already defrocked John Fisher and deposed him of his bishopric. Pope Paul III responded by naming John Fisher as a cardinal of the Catholic church. This infuriated Henry VIII who said that the Bishop of Rome did not need to send the cardinal's hat to Fisher - Henry would instead send the Fisher's decapitated head to Rome!

Accounts say that Fisher was sentenced to die on June 23 or 24. However, June 23 is the vigil of St John the Baptist and the 24th is the feast of Saint John the Baptist. Englishmen began to snicker at the irony. John Fisher truly was a new Saint John the Baptist and would even share a feast day with him.

Henry VIII panicked and had the sentence moved up to June 22 so that the parallel would not be obvious. This is the day of Fisher's glorious death for the sake of Christ.

Saint John Fisher is a saint of our time. He is the only cardinal who was also a martyr. Moreover, he died defending the liberty of the Pope and the sanctity of Holy Matrimony. What better saint for our time!

Saint John Fisher, pray for us.

Do you enjoy reading Canterbury Tales by Taylor Marshall? Make it easier to receive daily posts. It's free. Please click here to sign up by Feed or here to sign up by Email. Please also explore Taylor's books about Catholicism at amazon.com.

Meet the Man Who Chipped Off Mary's Nose from Michaelangelo's Pieta (He also claimed to be Jesus Christ in the flesh!)

Laszlo Toth Being Subdued after Vandalizing the Pieta in 1972

Laszlo Toth, a Hungarian-born Australian geologist, infamously vandalised Michelangelo's Pietà statue on 21 May 1972. Toth, swinging his geologist's hammer, shouted, "I am Jesus Christ risen from the dead!!!" as he landed 15 blows on the priceless statue. He broke of her left elbow, nose, and one of her eyelids.

American sculptor Bob Cassilly ran forward pulled Toth away from the Pietà.

Regrettably, tourists immediately grabbed the pieces of marble that scattered under Toth's hammer. Some pieces were returned to the Vatican, but many were not, including Mary's nose, which had to be reconstructed from a block of marble cut out of her back.

After the attack, the work was painstakingly restored and returned to its place in St. Peter's Basilica. Michaelangelo's masterpiece is now protected by a bullet-proof acrylic glass panel.

Toth was not charged with the crime in view of his apparent insanity. On 29 January 1973, he was committed to an Italian psychiatric hospital. He was released on 9 February 1975, and was immediately deported to Australia. He resides in a nursing home in Strathfield, NSW, Australia.

I don't know what's more disturbing - his attack on Christendom's most famous image of Jesus and Mary or his claim: "I am Jesus Christ risen from the dead!!!"

Do you enjoy reading Canterbury Tales by Taylor Marshall? Make it easier to receive daily posts. It's free. Please click here to sign up by Feed or here to sign up by Email. Please also explore Taylor's books about Catholicism at amazon.com.

The Dress Code for the Vatican - Should it be Universal?

Below is the modesty Dress Code enforced for entry into Saint Peter's Basilica.

The dress code forbids:

• hats for lay men inside the basilica
• shorts/skirts above the knees
• sleeveless shirts
• shirts exposing the navel
• shirts for women that expose cleavage
• shirts which contain profanity
• excessive jewelry
• The use of mobile phones is also prohibited, as is smoking.

In my lowly layman's opinion, this same dress code should be printed out and posted on the door of every Catholic Church on earth...the immodest clothing displayed on Sunday mornings is over the limit.

The sad thing is that people (especially mothers) used to have a cultured sense of decency. Nowadays this has been lost so that grown men and women see nothing wrong with entering a church half clad. The solution is not to judge and shame others but to bring about a re-education on what is modest and appropriate.

I appreciate your balanced and carefully weighed thoughts on this matter.

PS: Our Lady's words at Fatima in 1917: "Certain styles and fashions are being introduced which gravely offend My Divine Son."

Do you enjoy reading Canterbury Tales by Taylor Marshall? Make it easier to receive daily posts. It's free. Please click here to sign up by Feed or here to sign up by Email. Please also explore Taylor's books about Catholicism at amazon.com.

Why is Mary the Mystical Rose?

The Biblical Rose of Sharon, mentioned in Canticles 2:1

The Litany of Loretto invokes our Immaculate and Blessed Virgin Mary as the Rosa Mystica or "Mystical Rose." What is meant by this phrase?

In the inspired Canticle of Canticles, the Holy Ghost refers to His bride as the "enclosed garden" of God. This image describes Mary's virginity ("enclosed") and that she herself is the new garden of Eden - the place where God Himself dwells.

The Canticle also says of her, "I am the Rose of Sharon, and the Lily of the valleys" (Cant. 2:1). The biblical "rose of sharon" is cultivated Asian shrub or small tree (Hibiscus syriacus) having showy bell-shaped rose, purple, or white flowers.

Saint Bernard of Clarivaux states that purple signifies humility and white signifies purity.

The most beautiful meditation on Our Lady as Rosa Mystica is found in the writings of Saint Brigid. "The rose," Mary told Saint Brigid, "gives a fragrant odor; it is beautiful to the sight, and tender to the touch, and yet it grows among thorns, inimical to the beauty and tenderness. So may also those who are mild, patient, beautiful in virtue, be put to a test among adversaries. And as the thorn, on the other hand, guards, so do wicked surroundings protect the just against sin by demonstrating to them the destructiveness of sin."

Saint Brigid says: "The Virgin may suitably be called a blooming rose. Just as the gentle rose is placed among thorns, So this gentle Virgin was surrounded by sorrow."

Holy Mary, Mystical Rose, pray for us.

Do you enjoy reading Canterbury Tales by Taylor Marshall? Make it easier to receive daily posts. It's free. Please click here to sign up by Feed or here to sign up by Email. Please also explore Taylor's books about Catholicism at amazon.com.

Sacred Heart Indulgence Available Today

Hood tip to Father Pio Maria Hoffman, CFR for sending this along:

"A plenary indulgence is granted to the faithful who, on the solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, publicly recite the act of reparation (Iesu dulcissime); a partial indulgence is granted for its use in other circumstances."

Iesu dulcissime

Most sweet Jesus, whose overflowing charity for men is requited by so much forgetfulness, negligence, and contempt, behold us prostrate before you, eager to repair by a special act of homage the cruel indifference and injuries to which your loving Heart is everywhere subjected.

Mindful alas! that we ourselves have had a share in such great indignities, which we now deplore from the depths of our hearts, we humbly ask your pardon and declare our readiness to atone by voluntary expiation, not only for our own personal offenses, but also for the sins of those who, straying far from the path of salvation, refuse in their obstinate infidelity to follow you, their Shepherd and Leader, or, renouncing the promises of their Baptism, have cast off the sweet yoke of your law.

We are now resolved to expiate each and every deplorable outrage committed against you; we are determined to make amends for the manifold offenses against Christian modesty in indecent dress and behavior, for all the foul seductions laid to ensnare the feet of the innocent, for the frequent violations of Sundays and holydays and for the shocking blasphemies uttered against you and your Saints. We wish also to make amends for the insults to which your Vicar on earth and your priests are subjected, for the profanation, by conscious neglect or terrible acts of sacrilege, of the very Sacrament of your divine love, and lastly for the public crimes of nations who resist the rights and teaching authority of the Church which you have founded.

Would that we were able to wash away such abominations with our blood. We now offer, in reparation for these violations of your divine honor, the satisfaction you once made to your Eternal Father on the cross and which you continue to renew daily on our altars; we offer it in union with the acts of atonement of your Virgin Mother and all the saints and of the pious faithful on earth; and we sincerely promise to make recompense, as far as we can with the help of your grace, for all neglect of your great love and for the sins we and others have committed in the past. Henceforth, we will live a life of unswerving faith, of purity of conduct, of perfect observance of the precepts of the Gospel and especially that of charity. We promise to the best of our power to prevent others from offending you and to bring as many as possible to follow you.

O loving Jesus, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mother, our model in reparation, deign to receive the voluntary offering we make of this act of expiation; and by the crowning gift of perseverance keep us faithful unto death in our duty and the allegiance we owe to you, that we may all one day come to that happy home, where with the Father and the Holy Spirit you live and reign, for ever and ever. Amen.

The litany of the Sacred Heart has a partial indulgence attached to it.

Lord, have mercy                Lord, have mercy.

Christ, have mercy              Christ have mercy.

Lord, have mercy                Lord, have mercy.

Christ, hear us      Christ, hear us.

Christ, graciously hear us.                 Christ, graciously hear us.

God the Father of Heaven,                have mercy on us.

God the Son, Redeemer of the world,             …

God, the Holy Spirit,

Holy Trinity, One God, 

Heart of Jesus, Son of the Eternal Father,     …

Heart of Jesus, formed by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mother,          …

Heart of Jesus, substantially united to the Word of God,             …

Heart of Jesus, of Infinite Majesty,   …

Heart of Jesus, Sacred Temple of God,         …

Heart of Jesus, Tabernacle of the Most High,               …

Heart of Jesus, House of God and Gate of Heaven,    …

Heart of Jesus, burning furnace of charity,    …

Heart of Jesus, abode of justice and love,     …

Heart of Jesus, full of goodness and love,     …

Heart of Jesus, abyss of all virtues,                 …

Heart of Jesus, most worthy of all praise,      …

Heart of Jesus, king and center of all hearts,                …

Heart of Jesus, in whom are all treasures of wisdom and knowledge,    …

Heart of Jesus, in whom dwells the fullness of divinity,              …

Heart of Jesus, in whom the Father was well pleased,               …

Heart of Jesus, of whose fullness we have all received,            …

Heart of Jesus, desire of the everlasting hills,               …

Heart of Jesus, patient and most merciful,    …

Heart of Jesus, enriching all who invoke Thee,            …

Heart of Jesus, fountain of life and holiness,                …

Heart of Jesus, propitiation for our sins,         …

Heart of Jesus, loaded down with opprobrium,            …

Heart of Jesus, bruised for our offenses,       …

Heart of Jesus, obedient to death,   …

Heart of Jesus, pierced with a lance,              …

Heart of Jesus, source of all consolation,      …

Heart of Jesus, our life and resurrection,       …

Heart of Jesus, our peace and our reconciliation,        …

Heart of Jesus, victim for our sins    …

Heart of Jesus, salvation of those who trust in Thee,   …

Heart of Jesus, hope of those who die in Thee,            …

Heart of Jesus, delight of all the Saints,         …

Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world,                 spare us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world,                 graciously hear us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world,                 have mercy on us, O Lord.

V. Jesus, meek and humble of heart.             Make our hearts like unto thine.

Let us pray;

Almighty and eternal God, look upon the Heart of Thy most beloved Son and upon the praises and satisfaction which He offers Thee in the name of sinners; and to those who implore Thy mercy, in Thy great goodness, grant forgiveness in the name of the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who livest and reignest with Thee forever and ever. Amen.

Why Devotion to the Sacred HEART of Jesus?

Why do Catholics have devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus? I call this "cordial devotion" (from the Latin cor, cordis meaning "heart"). English words such as "cordially" mean "heartfelt," and our word "core" meaning "center" also comes from this Latin word.

What Did the Heart Signify to the Jews?

The human heart is considered to be the symbolic center of the person and as such is signifies the will. When we are excited or scared our heartbeat rises. In times of stress or sorrow, we can feel a pain in our chest.

In the Old Testament and in Hebrew idiom, the "heart" (Hebrew: leb) is often used as a synonym for the "soul." For example:

“My heart is troubled, my strength hath left me, and the light of my eyes itself is not with me.” (Psalm 37:11, D-R)

In fact, most languages parallel this usage. Now don't think that ancient people were entirely ignorant of human anatomy. They new full well that the heart was a vital organ responsible for human animation. For example:

“But early in the morning, when Nabal had digested his wine, his wife told him these words, and his heart died within him, and he became as a stone.” (1 Samuel 25:37, D-R)

In Hebrew, the heart also signifies the human conscience. For example, the heart “smites” David (2 Sam 24:5). Likewise in the New Testament, as in 1 Jn 3:20, where the Apostle speaks about “whenever our hearts condemn us." Thus, the heart functions as the seat of the moral life. This is why the Bible is so fond of the phrase "pure of heart" (Hebrew: bar lebab). Moreover, the natural law is "written on our hearts" (Rom 2:15).

Is the Sacred Heart Devotion Biblical?

No doubt, Protestants sometimes take objection to "heart devotion" saying that it is odd to have devotion for a "body part" of Christ our Lord

How do we respond?

The Heart of God in the Old and New Testaments

The theme of "God's heart" emerges in First Temple Judaism, particularly with the advent of King David - the royal type of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Although the Jews did not believe that God had a human body, the Scriptures speak as if God had a heart. For example, God seeks holy ones who “seek after his own heart” (1 Sam 13:14).

Likewise, God wants priests who seek the heart of God:

“I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who shall do according to what is in my heart and in my mind” (1 Sam 2:35). Sin wounds the heart of God (Lam. 3:33). God's heart is also depicted in Hosea 11:8 “my heart recoils within me.”

H.W. Wolff explains, “God’s heart, his free resolve of love, turns against his decision of anger. So Hosea promised that decision in the heart of God which has been sealed for all nations in Jesus Christ.”{1}

The fact that God was made man in our Lord Jesus Christ fulfills the Old Testament expectation for that tender heart of God toward mankind. No longer is the "heart of God" an anthropomorphic analogy. In Christ, the heart of God lovingly beats for us.

Thus, devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is truly devotion to the Divine Mercy of God. This is why images of the Divine Mercy reveal blood and water flowing from His Sacred Heart. Likewise, devotion to the Immaculate Heart reveals how Mary the Mother of God is also the Mother of Mercy and that her heart is perfectly united to the merciful mission of her Divine Son. As the New Adam and New Even, the hearts of Jesus and Mary reveal the redemptive love of God for each of us. This is why God is intent in inspire devotion to the Holy Hearts of Jesus and Mary. This is why the message of the Immaculate Heart stands at the center of the messages of Our Lady of Fatima.

When Christ was crucified and the spear pierced his Sacred Heart on the cross, so also a sword pierced Mary's Immaculate Heart. This twin piercing is the hope of all Christians in the last ages. My guess is that this is why there is an increase in devotion and awareness toward the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heart of Mary. The greatest devotion in this regard is First Friday Mass in honor of the Sacred Heart and First Saturday Mass in honor of the Immaculate Heart.

Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy us.

PS: Canterbury Tales blog is solemnly consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary (scroll down to see it).

{1} H. W. Wolff, Anthropology of the OT (Engtr 1974), p. 58.

Do you enjoy reading Canterbury Tales by Taylor Marshall? Make it easier to receive daily posts. It's free. Please click here to sign up by Feed or here to sign up by Email. Please also explore Taylor's books about Catholicism at amazon.com.

What King Henry VIII can teach us about the HHS-Bishops Controversy

Here in America, there is a growing awareness that our government at the federal level is seeking to dislodge  the last remnants the Catholic Church's influence by means of federal regulation of medical care. Most recently the Health and Human Services (HHS) controversy has revealed that the government is hitting the American bishops where it hurts most: the moral issues of contraception and abortion.

The HHS controversy is frequently hailed as a "religious liberty" crisis, but it's more profound than that. The Obama administration knows that American Catholics by and large do not submit to the Catholic teaching regarding contraception. This is the weak underbelly of American Catholicism and the powers at large have honed in on this sad reality.

This is not the first time that the government has exploited sexual sins to foster confusion, anger, heresy, and worst of all, schism. King Henry VIII of England also attempted to break the influence of the Catholic Church in his nation. Like the current administration, Henry VIII began by restricting the activity of the clergy. First, Henry VIII pressed the bishops into a compromise, next he made it illegal for tithes and ecclesiastical judgments to leave England - for example annulments and controversies over succession and wills could not be referred to Rome any longer. While not officially creating a schism at this point, Henry VIII practically separated the bishops of England from Rome.

The next step was for Henry VIII to request the title "Protector and Supreme Head of the English Church." Although compromised, the bishops rightly refused and Bishop Saint John Fisher led the charge. Then Henry VIII asked for the title, "Protector and Supreme Head of the English Church - quantum per legem Dei licet - so far as the law of God permits." The "so far as the law of God permits" addition alleviated the consciences of the bishops. The bullied bishops submitted in 1531 and against the wishes of the Pope granted the title to Henry VIII. The clarification "so far as the law of God permits" was, of course, quickly forgotten.

Four years later all the bishops except for Saint John Fisher capitulated. Saint John Fisher and Saint Thomas More's heads were on pikes over the the river. Mother Church lost England...

What can we learn? Civil persecution starts slow and subtle. It's built on small, tiny compromises. The bishops in the time of King Henry VIII were neither malicious nor fools. Almost all to a man had studied at either Cambridge or Oxford. The Chancellor was a genius, revered diplomat, and a saint. England at this time was renowned throughout Europe for its devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Pilgrimages, daily Mass attendance, church buildings were at a high, according to historians.

What happened? The king wanted something and he would stop at nothing. He worked slowly and perseveringly. Henry VIII did not attack the Church outright. He waited year after year.

This HHS controversy in America is not really about religious liberty. They want us to think that. The HHS mandate is the beginning of many subtle attacks against the Catholic Church in America. The HHS mandate is designed to remove the Catholic Church from the public realm of medicine (and hence medical ethics) and eventually divide the Church over "reproductive rights" or "contraception."

Something similar may likely happen in the realm of education in the coming years - perhaps a mandate that Catholic schools must submit to a "lifestyle diversity agreement" in order to retain their accreditation and ability to receive government loans. Catholic colleges are another huge weak spot in the landscape of Catholic America. You can be sure that the devil has plans there, too.

What do we do about it? We must be humble about everything. "God resists the proud" (Jas 4:6). God resists the proud even when they are magisterial Catholics who attend daily Mass and tithe. Pride comes before the fall. If we our proud, God will resist us even when we are right.

We must pray for our bishops. They are already uniting against the threat. They need prayers. We have no idea as to the difficulty and stress they are under. We cannot complain or judge. Again, we must be like their humble children. We can piously aid them and pray for them. That is what Christ expects from us. 

We pray the Rosary daily. Most of all, we try to attend the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Saint John Vianney once said, "All good works taken together cannot equal the value of one Holy Mass, because they are the works of men, but the Mass is the work of God."

Saint John Fisher, the nemesis of King Henry VIII, once shared with a Carthusian that he wished that he had not spent so much time writing theological works defending the Catholic Church, but had instead used that time for prayer. "Prayer would have done more good and was of more merit."

As lay people, our ingenuity won't accomplish much. Instead, humble prayers will break the snares of the devil.

Saint John Fisher and all holy martyrs, pray for us.

Do you enjoy reading Canterbury Tales by Taylor Marshall? Make it easier to receive daily posts. It's free. Please click here to sign up by Feed or here to sign up by Email. Please also explore Taylor's books about Catholicism at amazon.com.

Are Christ's Veins, Teeth, and Fingers in the Holy Eucharist? St Thomas Aquinas answers

Are Christ's veins, nerves, teeth, and fingers in the Most Holy Eucharist?

Yes, indeed. The whole Christ is contained in the Blessed Sacrament, body, blood, soul, and divinity. In the Summa theologiae III q. 76, a. 1, Saint Thomas Aquinas addresses this question. He first examines an objection which would wrongly conclude that Christ excluded his bones, nerves, etc. from the Eucharist when He proclaimed: "My flesh is meat indeed, and My blood is drink indeed."

Saint Thomas cleverly answered this objection:

By the power of the sacrament there is contained under it, as to the species of the bread, not only the flesh, but the entire body of Christ, that is, the bones the nerves, and the like. And this is apparent from the form of this sacrament, wherein it is not said: "This is My flesh," but "This is My body." Accordingly, when our Lord said (John 6:56): "My flesh is meat indeed," there the word flesh is put for the entire body, because according to human custom it seems to be more adapted for eating, as men commonly are fed on the flesh of animals, but not on the bones or the like. (Summa theologiae III q. 76, a. 1, ad 2.)

That sums it up. The whole Christ is hidden from our senses in the consecrated species. He's really there. What a profound mystery.

We should visit Him more often in the tabernacles of His Holy Church.

Do you enjoy reading Canterbury Tales by Taylor Marshall? Make it easier to receive daily posts. It's free. Please click here to sign up by Feed or here to sign up by Email. Please also explore Taylor's books about Catholicism at amazon.com.

Stunning Photo: Pope Benedict XVI with Our Lord Jesus Christ

This photo is simply stunning. It's my favorite photo of our Holy Father. Happy Feast of Corpus Christi!

Tantum Ergo by St Thomas Aquinas

Tantum ergo Sacramentum veneremur cernui: et antiquum documentum novo cedat ritui: praestet fides supplementum sensuum defectui. Genitori, Genitoque laus et iubilatio, salus, honor, virtus quoque sit et benedictio: procedenti ab utroque compar sit laudatio. Amen.

Down in adoration falling, Lo! the sacred Host we hail; Lo! o'er ancient forms departing, newer rites of grace prevail; faith for all defects supplying, where the feeble sense fail. To the everlasting Father, and the Son who reigns on high, with the Holy Ghost proceeding forth from Each eternally, be salvation, honor, blessing, might and endless majesty. Amen.

Do you enjoy reading Canterbury Tales by Taylor Marshall? Make it easier to receive daily posts. It's free. Please click here to sign up by Feed or here to sign up by Email. Please also explore Taylor's books about Catholicism at amazon.com.

Saint Linus: A Martyr Pope Concerned about Chapel Veils

Saint Linus, the Pope after Saint Peter

The following is excerpted from Taylor Marshall's forthcoming book The Eternal City - Rome and the Origins of Catholic Christianity:

Saint Linus is listed by all ancient documents as direct successor of Saint Peter in Rome. Saint Irenaeus, writing about the year AD 180, recorded that: “The blessed Apostles, then, having founded and built up the Church, committed into the hands of Linus the office of of the episcopate.” Saint Jerome wrote that Linus “was the first after Peter to be in charge of the Roman Church.” Moreover, the historian Eusebius tells us that Linus “was the first to receive the episcopate of the Church at Rome after the martyrdom of Paul and Peter.” The Liberian Catalogue and the Liber Pontificalis confirm the same order of succession.

The Liber Pontificalis preserves an interesting detail. It describes how Saint Peter consecrated two bishops—Linus and Anacletus—to assist him in the governing of the Church in Rome. Peter did this, says the Liber Pontificalis, so as to be free to pray and preach. The same source states that Peter appointed Clement to oversee the universal needs of the Church throughout the world. The governing structure of the Church in Rome before the martyrdom of Saint Peter looked like this:

Peter

(Pope)

Linus & Anacletus

(Auxiliary Bishops in Rome)

Clement

(Papal Secretary, Bishop?)

Roman Presbyters

Roman Deacons

It would be natural that the three men trusted and directly appointed by Saint Peter (Linus, Anacletus, and Clement) would succeed Saint Peter as the chief bishops of Rome in succession. This governing structure of Saint Peter’s might also explain a statement of Saint Jerome which reads that Clement “was the fourth bishop of Rome,” but that “most the Latins think that Clement was second after the Apostle.”

Linus, it would seem, was chief among these men and the most well known. That Linus was a prominent Christian in Rome is clear from the testimony of Sacred Scripture. Saint Paul mentioned Saint Linus as being in Rome in the late 60s just before the martyrdom of Saints Peter and Paul. The Apostle wrote to Saint Timothy saying: “Make haste to come before winter. Eubulus and Pudens and Linus and Claudia and all the brethren, salute thee” (2 Tim 4:21). In this final epistle of Saint Paul before martyrdom, the apostle includes the names of those prominent in the Roman Church—Linus being one of them. Why would Linus be well known?

There are only two things that we know about Pope Saint Linus. First, there is an immemorial tradition that Pope Linus decreed that all Christian women should veil their heads when inside a church.

Now I praise you, brethren, that in all things you are mindful of me and keep my ordinances as I have delivered them to you. But I would have you know that the head of every man is Christ: and the head of the woman is the man: and the head of Christ is God. Every man praying or prophesying with his head covered disgraceth his head. But every woman praying or prophesying with her head not covered disgraceth her head: for it is all one as if she were shaven. For if a woman be not covered, let her be shorn. But if it be a shame to a woman to be shorn or made bald, let her cover her head. The man indeed ought not to cover his head: because he is the image and glory of God. But the woman is the glory of the man. For the man is not of the woman: but the woman of the man. For the man was not created for the woman: but the woman for the man. Therefore ought the woman to have a power over her head, because of the angels. But yet neither is the man without the woman, nor the woman without the man, in the Lord. For as the woman is of the man, so also is the man by the woman: but all things of God. You yourselves judge. Doth it become a woman to pray unto God uncovered? Doth not even nature itself teach you that a man indeed, if he nourish his hair, it is a shame unto him? But if a woman nourish her hair, it is a glory to her; for her hair is given to her for a covering.” (1 Corinthians 11:2–15)

No doubt, Pope Saint Linus was merely reiterating what Saint Paul had taught before him about chapel veils. 

The second thing we know about Pope Saint Linus was that he was a martyr like Peter before him.

He is commemorated in the Roman Canon of the Mass as a martyr of the primitive Church along with Pope Saint Anacletus (Cletus) and Pope Saint Clement:

Having communion with and venerating the memory, first, of the glorious Mary ever virgin Mother of our God and Lord Jesus Christ, likewise of Thy blessed Apostles and Martyrs: Peter and Paul, Andrew James, John, Thomas, James, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Simon, and Thaddeus, Linus, Cletus, Clement, Sixtus, Cornelius, Cyprian, Lawrence, Chrysogonus, John and Paul, Cosmas and Damian, and of all Thy saints, for the sake of whose merits and prayers do Thou grant that in all things we may be defended by the help of Thy protection. Through the same Christ our Lord.

The Roman Martyrology marks martyrdom of Pope Saint Linus as having occurred on September 23rd:

At Rome, St. Linus, pope and martyr, who governed the Roman Church next after the blessed apostle Peter. He was crowned with martyrdom and was buried on the Vatican Hill beside the same Apostle.

A sarcophagus discovered in Saint Peter's Basilica in 1615 inscribed with the letters LINVS, and was once believed be Linus’s tomb. However, some archeologists doubt whether the tomb is that of Linus, since the inscription might merely be the last five letters of a longer Roman name such as Marcellinus or Aquilinus. Nevertheless, it is perfectly reasonable to hold that a body buried next to Saint Peter with the inscription LINVS is in fact be the historical Pope Saint Linus.

Do you enjoy reading Canterbury Tales by Taylor Marshall? Make it easier to receive daily posts. It's free. Please click here to sign up by Feed or here to sign up by Email. Please also explore Taylor's books about Catholicism at amazon.com.

Special Corpus Christi Plenary Indulgence This Week

Indulgences are a great gift of the Pope to all Catholics. We should try to gain a plenary indulgence every day of the year. If we cannot meet the usual requirements for a plenary indulgence, we should at least attempt to gain partial indulgences throughout the day. In Latin indulgentia, simple means "pardon" and it refers to the pardon of our temporal punishment due to our sins (eternal punishment or "punishment in hell" is remitted by way of baptism and the sacrament of penance). In brief, an indulgence lessons our debt toward sanctity in purgatory.

A special plenary indulgence is available for Corpus Christi:

Grant #7.1.3

Eucharistic Adoration and Procession

Plenary indulgence

The faithful who piously participate in solemn Eucharistic procession, either inside or outside of a Church, especially on the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, may receive a plenary indulgence.

A partial indulgence is granted for visiting the Blessed Sacrament for adoration or for offering any approved prayer to Jesus present in the Blessed Sacrament.

Requirements for obtaining a plenary indulgence:

• Do the work while in a state of grace,
• Receive Sacramental confession within 20 days of the work (several plenary indulgences may be earned per reception),
• Receive Eucharistic communion (one plenary indulgence may be earned perreception),
• Pray for the pope's intentions (Our Father and Hail Mary, or other appropriate prayer, is sufficient),
• Have no attachment to sin (even venial) - i.e., it is sufficient that the Christian makes an act of the will to love God and despise sin.

Requirements for a partial indulgence: The work must be done while in a state of grace and with the general intention of earning an indulgence.

Notes:

• Only baptized persons in a state of grace who generally intend to do so may earn indulgences.
• Indulgences cannot be applied to the living, but only to the one doing the work or to the dead.
• Only one plenary indulgence per day can be earned (except for prayer at the hour of one's own death).
• Several partial indulgences can be earned during the same day.
• If only part of a work with plenary indulgence attached is completed, a partial indulgence still obtains.
• If the penance assigned in confession has indulgences attached, the one work can satisfy both penance and indulgence.
• Confessors may commute the work or the conditions if the penitent cannot perform them due to legitimate obstacles.
• In groups, indulgenced prayer must be recited by at least one member while the others at least mentally follow the prayer.
• If speech/hearing impairments make recitation impossible, mental expression or reading of the prayer is sufficient.
• For an indulgence attached to a particular day requiring a church visit, the day begins at noon the day before and ends at midnight.

HT: Father Thomas Longua, FSSP

Do you enjoy reading Canterbury Tales by Taylor Marshall? Make it easier to receive daily posts. It's free. Please click here to sign up by Feed or here to sign up by Email. Please also explore Taylor's books about Catholicism at amazon.com.

Vatican City Has the Highest Crime Rate in the World - Why?

Vatican City, the small sovereign nation of the Pope in Rome has a higher crime rate than any other nation of the world - and that's saying something since it is populated by the Holy Father, Cardinals, and nuns!

Vatican City has a reported 1.5 crimes per citizen. However, it is not the nuns and cardinals committing the crimes. Vatican City experiences an extremely high rate of crime on account of the fact that it is swarming with awestruck tourists and opportunist pickpockets. Due to its low population and high rate of theft, it has the highest crime rate.

HT: Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer of Papa Stronsay for this interesting fact. Their "Catholic Newspaper" is the best printed periodical on the planet earth. Subscribe to it ASAP by clicking here.

By the way, when I was once at the Vatican I left my camera at the security check point. When I went back for the camera it was gone. A security agent led me away from the Vatican a few blocks and then into an unmarked building. We went up some stairs and there I was in a secret security room with video monitors. My camera was there and it was returned to me. 

As a I left and walked by St Anne's Gate a black car drove up and the Pope Benedict XVI got out of it. I hollered "Viva Papa!" and he waved at me. True story. If I hadn't lost my camera, that would have never happened. I was still an Anglican at the time. Perhaps Christ allowed me to see His Vicar that one time to push me over the edge.

Do you enjoy reading Canterbury Tales by Taylor Marshall? Make it easier to receive daily posts. It's free. Please click here to sign up by Feed or here to sign up by Email. Please also explore Taylor's books about Catholicism at amazon.com.