Holy Herbs

Our family has become very interest in the growing of herbs for medicinal purposes.  One of us is actually doing their diploma on this subject.  Our garden is like a jungle which the hens absolutely love, but just when we were about to take the strimmer to all those awful weeds here don't we just find out that they are not weeds.  No.  These are God's healing gifts to us.

I have counted 33 times where herbs are mentioned in the Bible.
Genesis 1:29  And God said:  Behold I have given you every herb bearing seed upon the earth ... to be your meat.   


2 Machabees 5:27

But Judas Machabeus, who was the tenth, had withdrawn himself into a desert place, and there lived amongst wild beasts in the mountains with his company: and they continued feeding on herbs, that they might not be partakers of the pollution.



Lady's Bedstraw (Galium verum)
Light green sprawling fluffy herb with clusters of airy yellow flowers. Our Lady is said to have prepared the Christ child's bed with this herb. Thereafter it was known as Our Lady’s Bedstraw, and the formerly white flower-heads turned to a golden hue. “And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger... Colonials would also stuff pillows with Lady's Bedstraw to induces sleep with the honey-like vapors. 



Below is a recepe for Our Lady's Teacakes which I copied from a lovely site which is truely traditional catholic, a safe site with a lot of very interesting stuff - please go see it - I know you will be impressed:  http://the-pious-spinster.blogspot.com 


Our Lady's Teacake (Makes one 9" round cake)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup golden raisins
1 cup milk
1 tb. finely chopped fresh rosemary or 1-1/2 tsp. dried rosemary
2 eggs
4 tb. butter or 1/4 cup extra light olive oil
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
Optional: 1/2 tsp. salt

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease the pan.
Combine the raisins, milk, and rosemary in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Cook gently for two minutes, then set aside to cool.
Beat the eggs in a large bowl until they are frothy, then stir in the butter and sugar. Mix well.
Stir and toss together the flour and baking powder (also the salt if you are using salt). Mix well, then add to the egg mixture and beat until the batter is smooth. It will be very stiff.
Add the cooled rosemary mixture and beat again until the batter is smooth.
Pour into the prepared pan and bake for about 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
Remove from the oven, and cool in the baking pan for 10 minutes, then turn onto a rack to finish cooling completely.

To serve: Garnish with sprigs of fresh rosemary, if available.

Our Lady's Teacake (Makes one 9" round cake)

Now since we intend to do some herb growing and don't want to offend the hens we have decided to opt for raised beds and have found a great site here in Ireland where they can be ordered:   http://www.patchworkveg.com 










www.patchworkveg.com

A key to Heaven

After Father Paul Biére gave his sermon on humility today.  I stayed after Mass to read my humility prayer and then thought I put it up here: 
O Jesus! meek and humble of heart, Hear me.
From the desire of being esteemed, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being loved, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being extolled, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being honored, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being praised, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being preferred to others, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being consulted, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being approved, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being humiliated, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being despised, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of suffering rebukes, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being calumniated, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being forgotten, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being ridiculed, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being wronged, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being suspected, Deliver me, Jesus.
That others may be loved more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be esteemed more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That in the opinion of the world others may increase and I may decrease,Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be chosen and I set aside, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be praised and I unnoticed, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be preferred to me in everything, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

Search The Bible

Here is the link for the Douay Rheims Catholic Bible.

http://drbo.org/

BY ROYAL COMMAND of THE MOST HIGH GOD

Overcoming the Ego and Narcism   

Under no circmstances are you to use, write or think the words:

“I AM”

“IAM” is God’s name and therefore should not be used by mankind to describe himself.

“I am lonely;  I am tired;  I am hungry; I am happy; I am sad.,  should not be used.  Neither should 
“I am a success; or  I am a failure.” 

You are never any of these things.  

You can say,  I feel tired,  I feel lonely, 

The one and only exception to this rule is:

“I am made in the image and likeness of God.   That is - I AM a Spiritual being with Memory Intellect and Will”  This is the only Truth that we can hold to, when we try to describe ourselves. 

When describing an action you are about to perform it is preferable to say,  

“I will be going to Cork.  or I will drive up to Cork. or  I will go today to see a friend etc..”  

Because all action is powered by God Himself then it is ok to use:  

“I am reading a book.  or  I am washing my clothes or I am going to pray the Rosary now,  I am going to Mass”  You see the I am in this case is followed by a verb and therefore is about an action as part of God’s creating power.  At all times this must be acknowledged silently or as a continuation of your Morning Offering or as my grandmother would have said, “Thanks be to God.”  

That is - all actions are acknowledged as done in, and through, the will of God. 

Now you need to read this two or three times.  You need to make a total commitment to dropping the great “I AM”  from your vocabulary when describing yourself.

Remember:  If you find yourself thinking:  “I am a success or I am a failure”  stop and apologise to God.  Simply say, “I am made in Your image and likeness, in You, I live, I move and have my being.”

brought to you by a humble servant


"I am a success"  - this is a prideful statement and is therefore a grievous sin against God.

"I am a failure"  - this leads to despair.  Remember, faith, hope and charity.  Despair is the loss of hope - a very grievous sin against God and humanity.  It can also lead to murder of the self, with no time or opportunity, to ask forgiveness (either of God or man)  for taking a life.

Sermon: Forth Sunday after Pentecost. by Father Fabrice Loschi.

This is the remains of the Temple to Pan the god of shepherds

Sunday 20th June: 2010 Forth Sunday after Pentecost. (Vestments White.)  

Sermon by Father Fabrice Loschi, who kindly drove from Athlone to say Holy Mass for us.

Holy Gospel according to St Luke, V 1-11  “The Church is here represented by Peter’s boat.  In the ship of the Church of Jesus beaten by the waves and tempest of the world, let us put our trust in God.”

Father Loschi encouraged us not to loose hope because of the present crises of the Church.  He supported his entreaty by explaining how God had chosen Saint Peter even before he was born to lead His Church.  Father constantly throughout his sermon relayed this insight back to our own lives asking us to realise that God had also chosen us and placed us in the perfect place for us, to carry out the purpose of our lives in Him.  Father reminded us that papal infallibility would maintain the true teachings of the Church.

Father explained how well chosen was the place that Jesus called Peter to become the leader of His Church on earth. This great event took place at Caesarea Philippi where the great temple to Pan the pagan god of Shepherds was hewn into a massive rock.  The apostles would have been very aware of the significance of this.  “Feed my sheep.” Jesus had told them, for He was the true Shepherd. (Matthew 16 v 13-20 and Mark 8 v27 - 30)   

Father Loschi described Peter the person.  A man born in Bethesda, a town on an important trade route that people of every language, nationality and creed passed through.  Peter would, said Father, have been educated in the school recently discovered during an Archeological dig in the area.  Peter was a man who owned his own boat and had a crew over which he was the boss.  Peter already had leadership skills in his everyday life, and Jesus knowing this organised the miracle of the great draught of fishes on Peter's boat.  After which, Jesus said, “Fear not, from hencefoth thou shalt catch men.” 

It had been near Peter’s birthplace, Bethesda, that Jesus had fed the 5,000.  

Father made an interesting observation.  He explained to the faithful that as they fished in the deep sea that day the fishermen had used nets, as opposed to hooks.  Hooks hurt and maim the fish, while nets gather great numbers of fish without pain.  The Gospel of Christ is one of love and does not use aggression to gather men into the Church.   

Father pointed out how Divine Providence chose and prepared Peter exactly where he was and how he was.  Divine Providence does the same with us.  

Divine Providence placed us where we are to bloom united with Jesus Christ:

Day after day, hour after hour, minute by minute.  

Father encouraged us to accept where God has placed us.  He reminded us of humility in accepting the will of God in our lives.  

Father advised us to ask Saint Peter during this Mass to help us to better understand our own personal mission.

Father Loschi did not forget to remind us of the grave consequences of ignoring this special message in today’s Gospel.  He recalled for us how Jesus had warned:

“Woe to you Bethsaida...."  Jesus spoke of the great graces the townsfolk had received.  He reminded them of the miracles done there - Jesus spoke of doing penance for sin.  He warned Bethesda that woe to thee, Bethsaida: for if in Tyre and Sidon had been wrought the miracles that have been wrought in you, they had long ago done penance in sackcloth and ashes.

Occasions of Sin

An Occasion of Sin

Summer is here and we, in this northern hemisphere, long for blue skies and sunshine after long dreary winters that leave us depleted of gayety and joy.  Who can blame us for wanting to feel the fresh sunlight on as much of our skin as possible?  

And yet I hear so many of my women friends lament the coming of the hot weather. They look at each other in consternation as they agree that the young people will offend God as they walk the streets immodestly dressed.  Just before she died, Little Jacinta in 1917 prophesied that there would come to the world many fashions that would deeply offend God. 

But didn’t God make our skin, we might argue, how could He be offended by seeing more of it?  The problem is that being immodestly dressed we become what Holy Mother Church describes as, “An occasion to sin to others.”  

As women, we become an occasion of sin to others when we wear provocative clothing.  The latest fashion of tops that expose the cleavage is “an occasion of sin” to men.  As are tight jeans, that expose the contours of the genital area and bottom.  Looking at women dressed in this way men easily lust after them.  

Not your problem?  Think again!  Remember what Jesus said.  Jesus acknowledged that temptation must come but he warned: “woe to the one who causes it to come to others.” 

My dear sisters, pity the souls of men.  So many are going to hell.  I recall walking along a street with a male friend.  We approached a lovely young women wearing shorts and sitting sunning herself.  Unknown to her, she was sitting in such a way that her skimpy shorts revealed all.  My male friend confided to me, “You know it is very hard for a man not to have sexual thoughts when they see something like that.”

What did Jesus also warn:  “He who lusts after a women has already sinned with her in his heart!”  Do you think these men who lust after us will stand alone, in their sin, before the judgement seat of God?  I think not.  No. Just as Adam shifted the blame to Eve, so too, will every man on Judgement Day point to us and say - “But she tempted me Lord.”   

Death of Decorum!

This little lady is dressed with decorum and she is carrying her Rosary Beads.  She is hope, for the future of mankind.  

When Jesus foretold the coming chastisement He said that nearly all the people on earth would be killed.  But, said Jesus, God would stop short of ending mankind - "For the sake of the elect." 


Our enemies - Satan the enemy of mankind and his armies are hard at work day and night while we Catholics slumber.   


LOOK AT THIS:
When I type "Our Lady" or even the word "lady" as a word on its own, this is the warning message I get on my imac computer:


Gender - specific expression.  Consider ommitting this word or replacing it with ‘woman’,  ‘person‘  or  ‘individual’. 

Why?  Well here is the reason.  If I describe a collogue to you as a "real lady,"  you will conjure up in your mind a genteel woman of refinement.  However if enough people follow the computers advise and omit this word, very quickly the word will cease to have a meaning in the human mind.  When we call the Mother of Jesus, "Our Lady" it conjures up a picture of a 'ladylike' woman.  When we wish to imitate Her goodness and purity we have a prototype of what a lady really is.
My dictionary says of the word 'ladylike':
"genteel, polite, refined, well-bred,cultivated, polished, decorous, proper, respectable, seemly, well mannered, cultured, sophisticated, elegant, modest; feminine,womanly."
Can you imagine calling Our Lady, Our Woman!  How coarse that would be.  My dictionary tells me that the opposite of ladylike is - 'coarse'.  
Never forget Liberals are coarse people who who are offended by anything moving towards the 'holy' or the good.  In fact in the circles in which I work should I describe the above child as 'good'  those around me would be horror struck and they would demand to know what I meant by it.  They would want the word substantiated.  You see they don't know what it means any more.

Our History in Chinese

天主教 中國聖沙勿略協會 本網站的目的是向中外華人灌輸真正的羅馬天主教教義 教會現今所面對的危機 歷史簡介: 時代主義滲入天主教 Short History of the Crisis in the Catholic Church,  "The Infiltration of Modernism in the Catholic Church" Please pray for our Missionary Priests  In September, police in China arrested Bishop Tommaso Zeng  Jingmu of the underground Catholic Church - who has spent 32 of his  80 years in prison - along with his auxiliary, Bishop Deng Hui, and a priest.  On 26 August, another Chinese bishop faithful to the Pope, Bishop  Jiang Ming Yuan, was also arrested. It was all part of the Chinese  Government's on-going campaign to eliminate the underground Church. China Still Martyrs Christians Chinese Martyr 34 yr Old Jiang Zongxiu Killed by Public Security Bureau - Report 7/28/05 See our China page 時代主義滲入天主教會 簡略的歷史

Missed Latin Mass?

If you have missed your usual Sunday Tradentine Latin Mass then go to 'pages' - 'Sunday Sermons'  and read us on the one you have missed.

The above photograph is one I took at the SSPX Mass in Lourdes.

One Million Rosarys

How many recognise the picture below.  We who attend the SSPX Latin Mass in Cork will know this is the statue at the back of the Church of Our Lady of The Rosary, in Shanikiel, Cork City.  I had this picture made into a postcard with the words:  "Queen of All Nations, who is the Mother of God, Mary most Holy."  And "When wicked men blaspheme thee, I'll love and bless thy name."  It is in reparation for the insults to Our Lady by the term - "lady of all nations who once was mary"  
If anyone would like copies for free just let me know - but you must promise to leave them in churches especially where the picture of "barbie"  is on show.

As you all know we have been praying "many, many Rosaries" to support the popes consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.  This of course is in order to claim the triumph of the Immaculate Heart.  


Three questions we want an answer to:
First - how many Rosaries did we collect?
Second - when will the pope carry out Our Lady's intention?
Third - when will we see the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary?


The answer to the first is easy enough:
At present, there is only a provisional count, as all the results have not yet been tallied. However, DICI is delighted to announce that the goal of 12 million rosaries, which were to form a crown of 12 stars for Mary, Queen of Heaven, has been surpassed by far, since more than 18 million Rosaries have already been reported. Among the districts that sent in their results, we should note the generosity of the United States (5,351,500), Africa (2,815,350), Asia (2,538,200), and France (2,529,670). Next come Canada (717,000), Germany (680,000), South America (536,480), Switzerland (411,000), Australia (402,000), Mexico (332,800), Italy (215,000), Ireland (136,190)….


The Answer to the second is very much according to the will of God.  Remember Pharaoh and how God hardened his heart? 
For the answer to the third - read the post for Father Paul's sermon on the Sunday within the octave of the Ascension. 

Protestants and Our Lady

A Protestant convert Scot Montgomery, as a guest columnist for The Remnant, has written a hard hitting article on the unlikelihood of Protestants accepting Our Lady.

I was particularly interested in this article as I had occasion to remonstrate with a Catholic friend who had been 'protestantised' to the extent that she would not longer pray to Our Lady.   Ending my argument with this friend I recall saying; "I only know that Satan hates Her"  I could see it had a profound effect on her and she later acquired a statue of Our Lady and began praying the Rosary.
Scott Montgomery explains: "If the time ever comes when the Protestant cleric begins to seriously consider that he is wrong, he is not going to seek the truth by engaging in endless public dialogue.  Rather, like Cardinal Newman, he is going to lock himself away in his study and very privately and prayerfully begin to work out his salvation.  This will allow the Holy Ghost to bring about a sincere change of heart and set the stage for a complete return to the Catholic Faith."
Scott  completes his article with a couple of passages from Saint Louis Marie Grignion De Montfort's book, "The Necessity of the Blessed Virgin"
Scott Montgomery must have had a very powerful conversion - obviously a prayerful one.  A little piece from the heart of De Montfort:
"Inasmuch as grace perfects nature, and glory perfects grace, it is certain that our Lord is still, in Heaven, as much the Son of Mary as He was on earth; and that, consequently, He has retained the obedience and submission of the most perfect Child toward the best of all mothers.  But we must take great pains not to conceive this dependance as any abasement or imperfection in Jesus Christ.  For Mary is infinitely below her Son, who is God, and therefore she does not command Him as a mother here below would command her child who is below her....she asks nothing, wishes nothing, does nothing contrary to the eternal and immutable will of God...."
http://www.remnantnewspaper.com/
 

See How Its Done! How To Separate Church and State.

By MALTA HUMANIST ASSOCIATION - PRESS RELEASE
Added: Tuesday, 20 April 2010 at 11:00 PM

The Malta Humanist Association (MHA), a new organisation aimed at representing Maltese secular humanists and promoting the principles of secular humanism, was launched on 7 April 2010 at Europe House in Valletta.

Apart from the broader aims listed above, MHA will work towards a number of short-, medium- and long-term goals. These include: 

1.   Abrogating (repeal or do away with) Article 2 of the Constitution of Malta, which states that "€˜The religion of Malta is the Roman Catholic and Apostolic Religion"€. 

2.  Working towards a complete and real separation between Church and State.

3.   To combat any discrimination against non-believers, conscious or unconscious, as the need arises.

4.   To help promote a system of values based upon humanist, scientific and rationalist principles. 

My Comment:

Humanism is a  system of thought that rejects religious beliefs and centers on humans and their values, capacities, and worth. 

This may sound good to those who are not keen on religion.  But what these people don’t realise is that when you centre on the worth of human beings - who decides their worth?  Remember Hitler judged the worth of Jews and his whole nation followed him. And then they proceeded to murder them.  Who decides the worth of the tiny unborn child in its mother’s womb?  What if it isn’t worth anything to anyone - does it then get butchered by the abortionist?  I think you’ll find it does.  And what of the epidemic proportions of those dying by their own hand.  Why?  Because they decide, for whatever reason that life wasn’t worth living.  Humanists, as parents, anguish how their children can be bullied in school to the point of their suicide.  Well you see their class mates deemed them worthless.  The words of Jesus Christ, "Do onto others as you would have them do onto you." are never taught now in religion classes in school.   

What are you worth to these Humanists?  They have no God, no spirituality, noting but the material, and how much is that worth?  The answer is easy - watch the hair dye ads on television and they will tell you “Your worth it!”  What! that's all I'm worth the price of a box of hair dye!

What if the humanist decides that the capacity of the disabled person renders his life worthless?  Answer: Euthanasia of course.  

Father Paul Biére Teaches The Catholic Faith

Father pointed out that while Jesus told us to ask God for all our needs in prayer, modern man thought he could do without God.  Explaining that God thinks of us always, Father warned us that we must think of God every moment of our lives. That we must give Him honor, glory and praise. Everything else in our lives is secondary to this.  Everyday we must work on our relationship with God,  When we begin the day with our “Morning Offering” we offer all our works, joys, and sufferings to God.  It was terrifying to think, he said, of the millions of people who are living without God.

        Father explained that man’s intelligence made him aware of the presence of a soul within every human being.  Aristotle the great philosopher, who did not know God, but with his own thinking intelligence realised that each man had an immortal soul.  Father went on to lament that the greatest evil today is Religious Ignorance.  Father warned that we must study our Catechism, this he said, was not a choice, but a duty, an obligation.  We must learn about the four cardinal virtues, the three theological virtues, the six precepts of the Church, the commandments.  

    It was a bit scary when Father warned us that we needed to feed our souls,  that while the body will go to corruption our soul will live on for ever.    

    Explaining that the Mass was the greatest prayer of all he described it as vocal prayer where we prayed with both the body and the soul as apposed to meditation which was interior prayer.  Father reminded us that we must be very attentive at Mass.  We need to follow the priest who is ‘altar Christus’ (another Christ) in all he is doing on the altar.

        Father went on to give a nice little description of prayer being the philosopher’s stone, which turned the baseness of our lives in the gold of God’s love and grace.

    All this sound teaching Father Biérer delivered with love and care for his flock.

Can we ever thank God enough for the sound teaching we get at an SSPX sermon.  

    

Father Paul Biére reminds us of Our Lady’s love for Jesus

Last Sunday, during his sermon Father Biérer mentioned Our Lady and something he said made such a lot of sense.   Father said that we should try to be as much like Our Lady as possible.  Then he described her relationship with Jesus.  Father said that Our Lady was totally interested in Her son.  Everything she did, thought or said was directed towards Him and for Him.  And this is how we should be. 

     Suddenly I realised that as a mother I am totally ‘locked in’ to my children.  When I am involved with them, I see nothing else, hear nothing else, nothing else interests me.  Our Lady must have felt that way about Her son Jesus.  But what a son!  Imagine being ‘locked in’ to God.  Imagine loving Him like that.  Listening to His every word.  Caring so much about what He thought.  Caring for His needs.  Can you imagine what it was like to wash Jesus clothes.  I wonder how often She hugged and kissed them.  

    We are encouraged to love Jesus like a brother, a friend, our God.  But what if we loved Him as our child?  As a grown up child.  How would we feel then  when we meditated on His crucifixion?  Perhaps we would feel that sword through our own heart.