REPOST: The Nine First Fridays of Reparation to Christ’s Sacred Heart

(Originally posted May 28, 2013)

Hello Everyone.

This post is a bit special to me, as I am going to write about a devotion topic that I have participated in and has since held a place in my prayer life: The Sacred Heart of Jesus. More specifically, this post will be devoted to the practice of the First Fridays. This post is even more relevant, as Friday June 7, 2013 is the feast day devoted to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in both the Extraordinary and Ordinary Form liturgical calendars.

I will begin with some introduction and some history behind the devotion, and then will go through what is necessary to do the devotion and the indulgences/promises attached to the devotion.

Introduction: The Sacred Heart of Jesus and History behind the Devotion

What is the Sacred Heart of Jesus? It is commonly depicted as Jesus' literal heart, however it has the addition of two key components: The crown of thorns that is around the top perimeter of his heart, as well as a cross, the one he was crucified on, atop his heart. (This is not to be confused with the Immaculate Heart of Mary which usually has flowers around it and seven swords in it, representing the Seven Sorrows of Mary.)  Flames often surround the cross of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and some depictions also include a diagonal laceration, from being impaled by the spear of the Roman soldier ``Longinus?``, where out came blood and water from the wound. Here's an example:

Source unknown. 

While yes it is depicted as his literal heart of his incarnate body, it has more meaning than being his circulatory organ.

Theological History
Christ himself in the Gospel of John 7:37-39 says this: "And on the last and great day of the festivity, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, 'If any man thirst, let him come to Me, and let him drink that believeth in Me. As the Scripture saith: Out of his heart there shall flow rivers of living waters.' Now this He said of the Spirit which they should receive who believed in Him."(3). This was made all the more prominent and came true literally when the Roman soldier ("Longinus"???) pierced the side of Christ with his spear, and out poured out blood and water from the wound. Whether it pierced Jesus' actual organ of the heart, it is uncertain.

As is commonly used in literature and poetry, the heart is the organ associated with the deepest of emotions, especially that of love. In the pre-Vatican II encyclical, Haurietas Aquas, by Pius XII, which is devoted to the Sacred Heart, he describes to us more deeply what the Sacred Heart of Jesus is about and why veneration and devotion is to be rightly given:

" .... Holy Writ declares that between divine charity, which must burn in the souls of Christians, and the Holy Spirit, Who is certainly Love Itself, there exists the closest bond, which clearly shows all of us, venerable brethren, the intimate nature of that worship which must be paid to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ. If we consider its special nature it is beyond question that this devotion is an act of religion of high order; it demands of us a complete and unreserved determination to devote and consecrate ourselves to the love of the divine Redeemer, Whose wounded Heart is its living token and symbol. It is equally clear, but at a higher level, that this same devotion provides us with a most powerful means of repaying the divine Lord by our own. (6, H.A.) ...."

".... The other reason which refers in a particular manner to the Heart of the divine Redeemer, and likewise demands in a special way that the highest form of worship be paid to it, arises from the fact that His Heart, more than all the other members of His body, is the natural sign and symbol of His boundless love for the human race. "There is in the Sacred Heart," as Our predecessor of immortal memory, Leo XIII, pointed out, "the symbol and express image of the infinite love of Jesus Christ which moves us to love in return ...."(16)"
(22, H.A.)

And so, the Sacred Heart of Jesus ...

" .... 55. is a symbol of that divine love which He shares with the Father and the Holy Spirit but which He, the Word made flesh, alone manifests through a weak and perishable body, since "in Him dwells the fullness of the Godhead bodily."(52) 56. It is, besides, the symbol of that burning love which, infused into His soul, enriches the human will of Christ and enlightens and governs its acts by the most perfect knowledge derived both from the beatific vision and that which is directly infused.(53) 57. And finally - and this in a more natural and direct way - it is the symbol also of sensible love, since the body of Jesus Christ, formed by the Holy Spirit, in the womb of the Virgin Mary, possesses full powers of feelings and perception, in fact, more so than any other human body (54) .... " (55-57, H.A.)

Devotional History
The actual devotion of the Sacred heart that is practiced, originates with Saint Mary Margaret Alacoque in the late 1600's. From 1673-1675, the saint received a series of visions of our Lord, revealing to her his Sacred Heart. Jesus asked her in these visions to spread devotion of his Heart throughout the whole church, as reparation for sins and offenses against our Lord. (8, First Fridays and First Saturdays)

At the center of the revelations are twelve promises, made to her by Jesus. For those who consecrate themselves and make reparation to His Sacred Heart:

1. He will give them all the graces necessary in their state of life.
2. He will establish peace in their homes.
3. He will comfort them in all their afflictions.
4. He will be their secure refuge during life, and above all, in death.
5. He will bestow abundant blessings upon all their undertakings.
6. Sinners will find in His Heart the source and infinite ocean of mercy.
7. Lukewarm souls shall become fervent.
8. Fervent souls shall quickly mount to high perfection.
9. He will bless every place in which an image of His Heart is exposed and honoured. (I have provided one above, though there are paper, gold-painted cross cards that seem to be popular for this purpose.)
10. He will give to priests the gift of touching the most hardened hearts.
11. Those who shall promote this devotion shall have their names written in His Heart.
12. In the excessive mercy of His heart, that His all-powerful love will grant to all those who receive Holy communion on the First Fridays in nine consecutive months the grace of final perseverance; they shall not die in His disgrace, nor without receiving the sacraments. His divine Heart shall be their safe refuge in this last moment.

Of course, these promises are also bestowed onto the faithful who engage in this practice, not just St. Mary.

The Devotion of the Sacred Heart

1. The actual devotion of the sacred heart consists of going to Mass on the First Friday of the month for nine consecutive months, and receiving the Eucharist in the state of sanctifying grace. You MUST do this consecutively for nine months, without any break in the practice. I have found no document, be it in Church Law, Catechism, Papal/Vatican writings, nor writings from trusted Catholic sources that allow for such an interruption other wise, even for valid and legitimate reasons. Not even a priests' dispensation can allow for a valid break.Communion MUST be received on this particular day of the Month. The practice cannot be delegated to another day.

2. They must be done in honour of His Sacred Heart, and thus one must practice devotion to the Heart and have a great love for Christ.

3. Note: This devotion will not dispense you from obligations or from exercising vigilance necessary for leading a good life and overcoming temptation. You will however be bestowed graced to carry out obligations and persevere to the end.

In addition, associated with the devotion is Eucharistic Adoration before or after the Mass. Unfortunately, when it is done after, those parishes that do this tend to schedule confession then, not before the Mass, which deprives people from the ability to receive the Eucharist in the state of grace and perform the devotion. You absolutely cannot receive the Eucharist in the state of Mortal Sin, so you deprive the faithful of the ability to do this practice. Any clergy reading my blog, PLEASE do confession before the Mass, be it with or without Adoration!

Regardless, the beauty of having Eucharistic Adoration attached to this devotion, is that one can receive additional indulgences, which when obtained, remit the temporal effects of sins. A half hour of Eucharistic Adoration minimum, qualifies for the indulgent act. Better yet if one removes themselves from sin completely, the indulgence is plenary, or full.

Indulgences are obtained when one receives confession and communion within 8 days of the indulgent act, prays for the intentions of the Holy Father (which can be at minimum one of the Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory be), and removes oneself from attachment to all sin. An analogy I use is that sin is like a sticky snail. When we go to confession, we take the snail from his shell and boot him off your skin. However, that shell is taking up space on you. Think of that shell is the time in purgatory one will need to spend to become purified in such a state to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Indulgences remove the temporal effects of sin, that is, that shell is now removed from your body, and thus the complete effects of sin are removed from you, though how many and how much time is reduced is unknown.

Finally, while this is not a mandatory part of the devotion, there are also associated with the Sacred Heart of Jesus the Acts of Consecration and Reparation to the Sacred Heart. They are as follows:.

Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart
O Sacred Heart of Jesus, to Thee I consecrate and offer up my person and my life, my actions, trials, and sufferings, that my entire being may henceforth only be employed in loving, honoring and glorifying Thee. This is my irrevocable will, to belong entirely to Thee, and to do all for Thy love, renouncing with my whole heart all that can displease Thee.

I take Thee, O Sacred Heart, for the sole object of my love, the protection of my life, the pledge of my salvation, the remedy of my frailty and inconstancy, the reparation for all the defects of my life, and my secure refuge at the hour of my death. Be Thou, O Most Merciful Heart, my justification before God Thy Father, and screen me from His anger which I have so justly merited. I fear all from my own weakness and malice, but placing my entire confidence in Thee, O Heart of Love, I hope all from Thine infinite Goodness. Annihilate in me all that can displease or resist Thee. Imprint Thy pure love so deeply in my heart that I may never forget Thee or be separated from Thee.
 I beseech Thee, through Thine infinite Goodness, grant that my name be engraved upon Thy Heart, for in this I place all my happiness and all my glory, to live and to die as one of Thy devoted servants.

Amen.

Act of Reparation to the Sacred Heart

O sweet Jesus, Whose overflowing charity for me is requited by so much forgetfulness, negligence and contempt, behold us prostrate before Your alter (in Your presence) eager to repair by a special act of homage the cruel indifference and injuries, to which Your loving Heart is everywhere subject.

 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 for from the path of salvation, refuse in their obstinate infidelity to follow You, their Shepherd and Leader, or, renouncing the vows 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 unbecoming dress and behavior, for all the foul seductions laid to ensnare the feet of the innocent, for the frequent violations of Sundays and holidays, and 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 priest 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, O divine Jesus, 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 renews 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 unwavering 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 other from offending You and to bring as many as possible to follow You.

 O loving Jesus, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, our model in reparation, deign to receive the voluntary offering we make of this act of expiation; and by the crowing gift of perseverance keep us faithful unto death in our duty and the allegiance we owe to You, so that we may one day come to that happy home, where You with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, God, world without end. Amen.

Summary:
Therefore, to do this devotion to the Sacred Heart, you must do the following:
1. Be in the state of Sanctifying grace to receive the Eucharist worthily on First Friday. So go to confession, especially if you have one or more Mortal Sins on your soul. Without true repentance and ceasing of the situation, you will obviously not be able to receive the Eucharist in certain situations (e.g. co-habitation, 2nd marriage if 1st was not annulled, masturbation with/without pornography ...)

2. You must attend Mass on First Friday and receive the Eucharist in the state of sanctifying grace, for 9 consecutive months, with no break in between occasions. 

3. For the promises to be fulfilled, you must be promoting devotion to the Sacred Heart, whether it be by taking about the devotion, generally why you love the Sacred Heart of the lord, prayer to the Sacred Heart, etc.

In addition to these conditions,
3. You may also attend , and should, the Eucharistic Adoration that comes before and after the Mass. Under the usual conditions of Confession, Communion, and prayers for the intentions of the Holy Father (at minimum 1x Our Father, 1x Hail Mary, and 1x Glory be, or a specific prayer for His intentions), PLUS a minimum of 1/2 hour of adoration in front of the Blessed Sacrament, you will gain an indulgence aside from the usual benefits and graces.

4. While it is not absolutely necessary according to numerous sources, some recommend the addition of the Act of Reparation and Consecration to the Sacred Heart to be said during those First Friday sessions. I say, do it.

Pax Tibi Christi, Julian Barkin.

Works Cited
Pius XII. Encyclical of Pope Pius XII Haurietas Aquas On the Devotion to the Sacred Heart. May 15, 1956. [http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/pius_xii/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xii_enc_15051956_haurietis-aquas_en.html]. Retrieved 2013 May 28.

Catholic Truth Society. First Fridays and First Saturdays The Devotions Explained. Catholic Truth Society: London, UK. 2008. 

REPOST: Information for the Feast of the Epiphany Jan 6 in the EF Calendar (2nd Sunday after New Years in O.F.)

REPOSTED FROM Jan 6, 2013 (http://torontotlmserving.blogspot.ca/2013/01/blessed-chalk-facts-about-feast-of.html) with slight changes for this year of 2017:

FYI .... Missa Canata/Sung High Mass for Epiphany @ 0930h/am tomorrow, Jan 6, 2017, with blessing of Epiphany Holy Water in the EF at 0915h/am in Mississauga (Toronto proper), at Carmel Heights Retirement Home chapel. Celebrant is veteran priest to the EF Mass in Toronto, Fr. Russell Asch. 

Hello Everyone,

I decided for this Sunday's liturgical feast, that of the Epiphany, because both the Ordinary and the Extraordiary Forms' calendars are in rare sync, and there are some fun and family-freindy Traditional Catholic practices associated with this feast day (that in my opinion SHOULD be resurrected by Catholic families everywhere), I bring to you some information on this feast day, including the traditions herein in the Church.

The information I bring to you, comes from a word document I created for myself that is for my info, but also for my future children someday to teach them about major liturgical calendar days of the year. Here I share with you one portion: That of the Feast of the Epiphany:

Feast of the Epiphany

When? – Usually January 6 in both forms, however in the Novus Ordo it is usually moved to the Sunday near it after Christmas.

What? – From Crossroads Initiative of Dr. Marcellino D’Ambrosio: “The Solemn feast of the Epiphany of the Lord, traditionally occurs on January 6 following the twelve days of Christmas.  Epiphany commemorates three scriptural events: the visit of the Magi to the stable of Bethlehem following the nativity of Jesus, Christ's Baptism in the Jordan, and his first miracle at the wedding feast at Cana.  This Epiphany article focuses on the significance of the Magi or three wise men who follow the star in search of the King of kings.”

Also from Archbishop Terrence Prendergast of the Diocese of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: “The Epiphany celebrates the peoples of the world coming to know God's Son as their Saviour. In the words of Ephesians concerning Jesus' death and resurrection, thereby 'the Gentiles have become fellow heirs [with believing Jews], members of the same body [the Church, Christ's Body], and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel'.”

From the 1962 Baronius Press Missal:

“The word “epiphany” means “manifestation.” The Church in the Mass, commemorates a triple manifestation of Christ: to the Magi, that is, to the Gentiles; in His Baptism, when the Voice from "Heaven declared: “This is My Beloved Son”; and in the miracle of changing the water into wine at Cana.”

Source: January 6, The Epiphany of Our Lord. The Daily Missal and Liturgical Missal with Vespers For Sundays and Feasts From the Editio Typica of the Roman Missal and Breviary, 1962 With Supplements Containing The Additional Masses for Englang and Wales, Scotland, United States and Australasia. Summorum Pontificum Edition. Baronius Press: London. 2009. p.237.

Notes:

1. It is this part of the season of Advent liturgically where we are introduced to the “Wise Men/Kings” in the readings. People think the wise men are associated with Christmas. They are in the SEASON of Advent or more traditionally known as the Octave of Christmas, but not Christmas (the Feast of the Nativity) itself.

2. This is a HOLY DAY OF OBLIGATION according to the Catechism. In other parts of the world this feast day might be transferred to the previous Sunday before the 6^th. Regardless, the Catholic obligation to Mass must be obeyed, Sunday or not:

The Sunday Eucharist

2177 The Sunday celebration of the Lord’s Day and his Eucharist is at the heart of the Church’s life. “Sunday is the day on which the paschal mystery is celebrated in light of the apostolic tradition and is to be observed as the foremost holy day of obligation in the universal Church.”¹¹⁰

“Also to be observed are the day of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Epiphany, the Ascension of Christ, the feast of the Body and Blood of Christi, the feast of Mary the Mother of God, her Immaculate Conception, her Assumption, the feast of Saint Joseph, the feast of the Apostles Saints Peter and Paul, and the feast of All Saints.”¹¹¹

Sources:

SCRIPTURAL PASSAGES:

Extraordinary Form

Isaiah 60:1-6 and Matthew 2:1-12

Novus Ordo

Also Isaiah 60:1-6, Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6 and Matthew 2:1-12. No change from the EF except for the addition of a 2^nd reading for the NO liturgy.

Benedict XVI, Pope. Homily of His Holiness Benedict XVI Vatican Basilica Thursday Jan 6, 2010. Online. Available: [http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/homilies/2011/documents/hf_ben-xvi_hom_20110106_epifania_en.html]. 14 Jan 2010.

http://www.crossroadsinitiative.com/library_article/371/Feast_of_Epiphany.html 

http://archbishopterry.blogspot.com/2011/01/manifestation-of-lord-to-nations.html

TRADITIONAL CATHOLIC EPIPHANY TRADITION FOR FAMILY

Blessed Chalk Writing with Epiphany Holy Water blessing - http://www.churchyear.net/epiphany.html -  

"Various customs have developed around Epiphany. In the East, there is a solemn blessing of water. In the West, in the Middle Ages, houses were blessed on Epiphany. Holy water was sprinkled in each room. The whole family was involved. The father led the procession with a shovel of charcoal on which he burned incense and the oldest son had the bowl of holy water. The rest of the family followed along saying the rosary and/or singing hymns. While the father and oldest son were incensing and blessing the house, the youngest child carried a plate of chalk. The chalk had been blessed with a special blessing after morning Mass. The father took the blessed chalk and wrote over every room that led outside: 20 + C + M + B + 08 which stands for "Anno Domini 2008 -- Caspar, Melchior, Balthasar" and means "The three Holy Kings, Caspar, Melchior, Balthasar, in the year of Our Lord, 2008" or whatever the year may be. The letters C, M, and B are also thought to stand for Christus mansionem benedicat, meaning "Christ bless this home." This tradition of blessing the doorways symbolizes the family's commitment to welcome Christ into their homes on a daily basis through the year."

So guess what? It's not just a "Middle Ages" tradition to be left back in the 1400's, you can do this beautiful family tradition as well! My [former] serving ally Robin provided this photo on our Latin Mass associated facebook group so I hope he does not mind me posting this here. Here is the picture with instructions as to what the priest or the head of the household (Father usually speaking) is to do with the blessed chalk and Epiphany holy water, though note one correction: The number at the end should be 13 17 to mark the year as 2013 2017:

Now you may be asking what to do about how to get that chalk blessed? Well, Domincan Priest Dom Mark Kirby  at Vultus Christi - http://vultus.stblogs.org/2013/01/epiphany-blessing-of-chalk-and.html - Provides us with the appropriate prayer in English that a priest should use to bless the chalk:

Blessing of Chalk
V. Our help is the name of the Lord.
R. Who made heaven and earth.
V. The Lord be with you.
R. And with thy spirit.
Let us pray.
Bless, O Lord God, this creature chalk
to render it helpful to Thy people.
Grant that they who use it in faith
and with it inscribe upon the doors of their homes
the names of Thy saints, Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar,
may through their merits and intercession
enjoy health of body and protection of soul.
Through Christ our Lord.
And the chalk is sprinkled with Holy Water.

Do note there are the special prayers/blessings in Latin that your EF priest/parish will use from the Rituale Romanum 1962 (see the link below), and for sure you can count on those blessings! So do to try to go to an EF priest/parish for those items (Epiphany Holy Water and the Chalk) if possible. However, do not hesitate if all you can get is Novus Ordo chalk/holy water and blessings from Novus Ordo priests.

By the way, a note on the Epiphany Holy Water. This is likely difficult to obtain and you may have to settle for regular holy water. This special type of Holy Water needs to be blessed the eve before the Epiphany and has its own special blessing/prayers. See here - http://www.sanctamissa.org/en/resources/books-1962/rituale-romanum/48-blessings-for-special-days-and-feasts.html

Regardless, have fun and make this a Catholic Tradition your family will uphold every year. If Christ blesses me with marriage and a family, I will certainly want to do this. Pax, Julian. 

Highlight: "Traditional Catholic" Rant of the Day, Courtesy of Terry of Abbey Roads

Hello Everyone,

May the Lord bless you on this, boring old, sickly green, 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time in the "nervous disorder" ..... (High tradmaster stares angrily at me with his lawyer, and his counsel points to a legal paper .... gulp!) .... AHEM! Sorry, I meant the Septugesima Sunday of the year of 2016. For a minute there, the "Spirit" of Vatican II possessed me, Ha Ha Ha!

Anyways, moving on, it seems that we are all in a state of gloom and despair, my Traddie brethen. Many of you seemingly want to abandon Holy Mother Church because our most "fluffiest pope evuh" to quote Trad Hero Fr. Z, has decided that in his whole mercy thing, to make a change to Church Law. He gave that "nice" executive order to Cardinal Robert Sarah of the Congregation of Divine Worship, that the foot-washing para-liturgy (bull excrement, it's not part of the TRUE liturgy) in the Holy Triduum for the Nervous Disorder, be open to all believers, including, women.

GASP!!!! What diabolical-ness!!!! Women in the Sanctuary again!!! Blech!! As if female altar servers and those extra, unnecessary Communion defilers with soiled and unconsecrated hands were not enough!!!

But fear not, my "Neo-Pelagian" friends!!! For I bring you good cheer!!! A young man, by the name of Terry at the blog "Abbey Roads" has turned totally Trad today!!!! Turns out he is a police officer of the Catholic Church liturgical police force!!! Today he gives us his report while on his usual rounds among his confreres at the March For Life!!! And boy did he rake in those sin tickets!!!!

So many liturgical abuses were caught by our dutiful officer!!! Hurrah, finally someone is enforcing Church law and bringing those violators of Christ to justice!!! Now if only he could arrest Justin Trudeau for heresy and declare him excommunicated in a Church court of law, ha ha ha!!!

Anyways, my Traddie brethen, for your hope and joy, here is officer Nelson's report:
http://abbey-roads.blogspot.ca/2016/01/snowy-novus-ordo-mass-on-turnpike.html

So remember my friends, there is always hope. Keep up the good work, only attend the Latin Mass because of examples like above, and we will win in the end, since the rest of the Church embraces sterility and banal on the spot products that pass for "worship."

Pax Tibi Christi, fratres et sorores. Julius Alexandrius Barkinius. Ianuarius viginti quattuor, MMXVI.

Simple Novus Ordo Catholics is an Insult to the Body of Christ and the Majority of Catholics Worldwide!

Hello Everyone,

Unfortunately, there will be no Part II to the Dave Armstrong posting I did. The apologist contacted me and thanked me for my efforts, but no more will be needed on the matters at hand.

Sure. Glad to serve the Catholic Church and you, SIR!

However, there is one thing that bothered me on the attack from Mr. Armstrong, and it really did bother me because I felt it was quite heretical, not to mention blatanly offensive to the Church at Large, the majority of believers who attend Mass in the Roman Rite (the majority of the Catholic Church), and embarasses once more those of us who participate in any way, even occasionaly, the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite/Latin Mass.

In the attacks on Mr. Armstrong, the following statement was said by his assailant, which I will not link to, to prevent you from being exposed to spiritual evil and possible corruption of your souls, and that they deserve no more web hits feeding their Internet Troll-ism:

"As for my "bombastic" comments, they are reserved for those who undermine the faith, not the simple "Novus Ordo Catholic" which you will never find on this blog."

WHAT THE HECK? "SIMPLE" NOVUS ORDO CATHOLICS??????

This comment has a number of sick problems with it. I'll start with the theological/heretical problems with this statement, and then I will tackle it common sense, which I think might be the more powerful evidence that this statement is quite asinine. 

Theological, Basic

This is foolish, even on a basic level. When Christ got together his Apostles, the 12 ordinary men from all walks of life, Christ did not summon only the elite and the wealthy to spread the Gospel and build his Church. If he wanted to turn to those who were the "elite" and/or with the most forceful and literal interpretation and knowledge of religious laws among the Jews, he would have taken 12 of the following: The Sanhedrin or other high/chief priests. Rabbis. Rich and wealthy in biblical times in Jerusalem. Popular scribes.

Jesus did NOT practice a spiritual elitism in his choice of people to carry out his mission. If he didn't want "simple" Jews, those who weren't the tops at practicing the law including the 613 Mitzvahs, he would have picked people from the above groups mentioned.

But he did not. He picked 12 ordinary men of the day and age, with the most wealthy or privileged being Matthew the Tax Collector, as in that time, as is this day and age, government jobs usually mean security and a fairly decent wage. Not to mention that Matthew, being the tax collector, got to take money from other people according to the Roman government's dictatum! But even Matthew wasn't "elite" or popular. In fact, as a tax collector, he was despicable to the common citizen because of his association with the Roman Empire as the guy who steals your hard earned money, only to give it to a corrupt and merciless government.

Christ clearly, even in his picking of his 12 Apostles, clearly shows that he did not want his Church to be one of popular prestige, nor that he only wanted perfect practitioners of the law to head it and demand the same rigoristic, non-merciful rendering of God's order and law to be part of his Church. That rendering, by the way, is purely how humans interpret the carrying out of the law, not necessarily the law in and of itself.

Theological, Advanced. Statement has Possible Traces of Heresy

The statements, also commits comments of a pseudo-Gnostic nautre. Gnosticism, of which the Church has condemned Gnosticism always in its history as heresy, is defined as by Wikipedia:

"Gnosticism (from Ancient Greek: γνωστικός gnostikos, "having knowledge", from γνῶσις gnōsis, knowledge) is a modern term categorizing a collection of ancient religions whose adherents shunned the material world – which they viewed as created by the demiurge – and embraced the spiritual world.[1] Gnostic ideas influenced many ancient religions[2] that teach that gnosis (variously interpreted as knowledge, enlightenment, salvation, emancipation or 'oneness with God') may be reached by practicing philanthropy to the point of personal poverty, sexual abstinence (as far as possible for hearers, entirely for initiates) and diligently searching for wisdom by helping others .... In Gnosticism, the world of the demiurge is represented by the underworld, which is associated with matter, flesh, time and, more particularly, an imperfect, ephemeral world. The world of God is represented by the upper world and is associated with the soul and perfection. The world of God is eternal and not part of the physical. It is impalpable and timeless"

While people do not formally call themselves, "gnostic" in their religious denomination on censuses taken by governments, it is entirely possible for people to subscribe to its heretical ideas, including pseudo-forms such as the idea expressed in the sentiment above. In this statement, it is a blend of both Gnosticism, as well as Puritanism/Jansenism.

Applied to the statement above, the Novus Ordo Church is what is the demigurge,  associated with improprieties in form, in the priest's demeanor, supposed poor theological education and lack of proper formation, and the majority of the laity as a whole being hypocrites to the Scriptures. The Novus Ordo Church, in the mind of bloggers and other Radical Traditionalists, is the demigurge, associated with only a face value love of Jesus.

Where the Pharisicm/Jansenism comes in, is that in the Catholic Church, is that in Pharicism/Jansenism, there is a high strictness for criteria of worshiping the Lord, according to specific ritual, law etc. as placed on papers, in definitions, etc. with no other interpretation but the most strictest.

Further, Jansenism as applied in the Catholic Church, was more of a practical level, denying Sacraments in combination with a lack of mercy and forgiveness, but also implying a denial of freely received and used grace, including free will. Today, these neo-Jansenists apply that theology in new ways with the Latin Mass and Roman Rite, whereby only the Latin Mass is "TRUE" Catholic Worship with true grace and true sacramental gifts, and where the TRUE Catholic faith is. The Novus Ordo, and the people within it are receiving a "bastardized" form of the faith, where the True Church is nearly all but absent.

How to we tie this all back into the statement from the attack on Dave Armstrong? Well, due to a misconstrued understranding of true Catholic tradition, the statement commits a fallacy in stating that the Novus Ordo, essentially, is a second class form of the Mass, and everyone involved is not a true believer, or are hypocrites. Thus, the only true form of the Mass in the Latin Rite is the Extraordinary Form, 'untouched by heresy and the Devil', and only those who attend this form of the rite, and believe everything that the neo-Jansenists and other "True remnants of the Catholic faith", the priests who serve it, are true sons of Christ, who are sacramentally nourished.

One could also argue that such a statement and the behaviour underlying the statement, even dovetails along the line of other schismatic groups in Church history, such as the Donatists.

The Killer .... Common Sense and the Statement Above Insults Normal Novus Ordo Catholics!
So, you may think I, beacause I am not of Holy Orders, or have umpteen theological degrees, have utter hogwash. Well, then, in preparation for a response of denial of my arguments, I decided to see just how offensive this statement is to those "simple" Novus Ordo Catholics.

Taking a poll of my friends on Facebook, I asked what they felt about this statement, positive or negative, or neutral. I received a good half to full dozen responses at this time, all from differrent perspectives. but also, one could say, different levels of Catholic education and involvement in the Church. Of the responses, I shall post the most prominent of the responses that illustrate the hatred and contempt (and even, possible heresy) of the comment. Two actually go together. All contributors names have been withheld to prevent Facebook stalking.

The first, from "Joan":
" XXXXXXXXX Yeah, kinda rubbed the wrong way by this. Someone who is Catholic, and therefore abides by Jesus' teachings, is telling others not to come to his/her blog because his/her profound statements are for people who think like him/her only. Doesn't that run contrary to the whole point of Jesus' teachings? What if He'd said at the beginning of a parable that it was only for those who were already following Him, or who agreed with what He'd taught in a previous lesson, or whatever, and everyone else should go away? I mean, of course it's this person's right to say and do as he/she sees fit, but I don't know, it doesn't seem very...Catholic."

What I love about this statement is it is quite common sensical, and even just on common sense alone, the argument is nearly blown away, and the hypocrisy and LACK of Christ`s example is present.

Next, someone, ``Augustine,`` a recent graduate of a Catholic-run theology School in Toronto, with a Masters in either Theology/Divinity, adds onto Joan's comments with this:

" XXXXXXXXXX [Joan] has already said what needs to be said but as a theologian I feel the need to point out that this person is dangerously close to denying that the NO sacraments are just as efficacious as the VO ones."

Ouch! Clearly this graduate, who has the proper credentials of study in Catholic Theology, is supporting what Joan has said, and adding a wealth more. Further, he support what I have said in my advanced section with this statement coming close to, if not containing, heresy. Mind you, I am not surprised at this heresy in a way, as the Society of St. Pius X speaks in a similar manner about the Novus Ordo, with firm detestment, and even statements in past such as it being "evil" which convey the same heretical message.

Finally, I will display some commentary from a devout, woman, "Theresa" who has attended the Latin Mass, though mainly attends the Novus Ordo. Despite not being a theologian, a Catholic teacher, or a lay minister of any sorts, her statement is full of knowledge, Truth of the Faith, and is powerful:

" The Catholic church, in it's truest meaning is an Universal Church, It includes everyone. The Magisterium permits either form of Mass and adherents to either form were extolled not to hold the other form in contempt. His statement belies both the universality of his Church and the acceptance of both forms."

Whoa. This one blew me away. This is quite a catechesis indeed!!! Universal, is one of the 4 marks of the Church, meaning Christ meant it for everyone. This is something basic that I've taught to confirmandi in past, and is key. Christ meant salvation for everyone, not just a select few.

Further, the Magisterium is the authority of the Church on matters of the Faith, including its deposit of dogmas/doctrines (what must be believed by all Members of the Church, even if struggling with the concepts,) and the lessons of Christ and the Moral Truth. Yes, this is true, and even in Trad Hero, Benedict Emeritus XVI's Summorum Pontificum, he reiterates this concept of NOT bashing the other form of the Roman Rite, from either side.

Finally, that last statement ..... it's clear as day. This Mark of the Church, universality, is being denied in the statement, and the statement is also tratorious to the author's causes, and one of his Latin Mass heroes, Benedict XVI, who "freed" (though the Latin Mass was never legally/formally banned), the Latin Mass.

............................................................................

This just had to be countered. Offensive to the Church, as proven here by fellow `simple`` Catholics who attend the Novus Ordo Mass, and even heretical, I, Julian at Servimus Unum Deum, could not allow this to stand and with the help of my friends, I must "apologize", as in engage in Apologetics, against this statement, sadly even against my own Sibling in Christ.

All of us, have the duty, as a spiritual work of Mercy, as well as Practicing Roman Catholics, to instruct those needing counsel on matters of THE Faith, but as well to be proud and defend our truly universal, One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.

Pax Tibi Christi, Julian.

Pro Apologia for Dave Armstrong, Professional Catholic Apologist, Part 1

BAAAAD To the Bone. Catholicism's Heavy Metal Gunslinger of Apologetics .... Dave Armstong!!! Source: http://speakerpedia.com/speakers/dave-armstrong

EDITOR'S NOTE: Due to starting the draft of this posting on an Iphone, and not doing what was necessary to fix things, the text displays itself all weird. I'll have to rewrite 

this post to fix the weird error later. 

Hello Everyone,

If you wonder why Catholic Traditonalism, never mind even in general the Catholic Faith is 
not spreading, it is because of sick, vile hypocrisy. Catholics, who are full of zest and vigor, and a sound knowledge of the Church's teachings, are misapplying their efforts into sinful 
stabs of Satanic action (e.g. gossip, misinformation) against other faithful Catholics, twisting truths into mis-truths, while trying to tell people about our faith and the awesomeness of our Catholic Liturgy. 

Who are the stabbers and the hypocrites? If you thought it's those dreaded "neo-cons" or 
"neo-traditionalists" ... You are being misled by the wrong kind of Catholic social media. The truth is, it is Radicals Misrepresenting Traditionalists who are the ones doing this stabbing. 

Some of the most prolific examples, comes from blogs and "news sites" such as Rorate 
Caeli, PrayTell blog, Mundabor, etc. Every day is virtually another story that paints Pope 
Francis, many cardinals and bishops who are not Cardinals Burke or Athanasius Schneider, etc. as the Devil's servants from within. Other individual bloggers add to the fray in a 
likewise, similar manner, projecting their true inner hate for Jesus' Church, oddly 
abnormal, even OCD-like obession (no offense to truly diagnosed OCD sufferers reading 
this, you are not THESE RMTs, and any overlap is entirely coincidental if you are a true 
case,) with Church liturgy and Tradtionalism, and/or untreated spiritual and mental wounds, 
in the form of calumnious and slanderous posts. They are not fraternal correction, they are 
hate crimes. 

Recently, I had the displeasure of being informed of a hate piece targeting a well-known 
Catholic apologist who've I've frequently featured here on Servimus by the name of 
Dave Armstrong. Dave's analysis of the sad situation of the poisoning of Traditional 
Catholicism by these individuals (e.g. as in this "Penses" piece) and groups who supposedly"love" the Church enough to commit evil to achieve good (ignoring St Thomas Aquinas,) is 
excellent and highly recommended reading, aside from the plethora of work he has done 
with other areas of Church apologetics and TRUE Church ecumenism. Such reading can 
be found in his blog postings, as well as in his two major books on Radical Traditionalists, inboth hard copy and e-reader formats. 

I will not link to the blog post attacking Dave, under the axiom of "Don't feed the Trolls." in 
Internet lingo. Web hits feed the trolls. The blog also does not deserve any more hits or 
exposure to gain access to innocent, Catholic souls, young and old alike, but especially 
young, "wired" ones. However, a blog search with Dave Armstrong might yield you the hate piece. Sadly it is when works like this are made public, and lies are spread, the New 
Evangelization is halted further in the church and further division is maintained or enhanced.

So, allow me to dispel these calumnies of Mr Armstrong in a pro apologia defense, where 
"the pot has called the kettle black," with some assistance from Mr. Armstrong as he has 
already taken this assassin's claims apart with factual information.  

The first major calumny is to attack Mr Armstrong in his profession as a Full Time 
"professional" Catholic apologist, that is it a self-appointed, claim. Now, we need to break 
down the attacks in this claim to show you the calumnies and retractions within, as well as 
hypocrisies. 

1a. Lay Apologist Status - Detraction combined with Selective Preference

First, the claim of being a ``self-appointed`` lay apologist must be examined. Here at the 
least the sin of detraction has been committed. What will be examined is how the claim is 
used in a detracting way, despite "truths," but also that based on his work, a "Catholic" 
curriculum vitae, the blog cannot make any claim about his status in this manner. 
Also, it can be argued that the blog post is implying in its attack, that one cannot bear a 
written or verbal status or title of work in the Church if it is non-official, or not pertaining to 
ordained clerics. 

Yes, it's true that in terms of employment or ministry, Mr. Armstrong is not formally 
employed in a company or institution that specializes in apologetics, with an annual salary of x dollars/yr. He would be ``self-employed,`` as per other professions, such as trades. If you are not providing service to someone, or people are not buying your products, you don`t 
make money. It is also true that his diocese, does not have a formal position of a "Lay 
apologist for the archdiocese of X, USA" that Mr. Armstrong can apply to, and smack on a 
business card. 

To tear apart this attack on his ``job`` we need to look at various apostolates and other 
church ministries/apostolates that other lay people do, without full compensation or salary, 
or no compensation at all. Within the Catholic Church, many laypeople, and even clerics, 
perform apostolate/missionary work that are full time hours, such as a parish assistant (not 
formally paid associate), and even duties a Deacon does, would qualify for this "Full-time" 
status, or perhaps a lay head of an intensive ministry (e.g. Catechesis of confirmandi in a 
multi-week program). These parish volunteers and Deacons are "full time" in terms of their 
quantity of hours of work, but more so, they are devoted in time and energy to their 
missionary work/apostolate in the Church. 

Does the Church acknowledge such work as, work per se, or that it is valuable? Yes it does.It even encourages it. One can especially see Mr. Armstrong's work as a lay apologist as 
exactly part of the Church's missionary spirit, vital to the New Evangelization, and also
allowable as She recognizes that with time, or change within a community, the Church must be able to meet new challenges and demands. A lay apologist is doing exactly that in this 
post-Vatican II/1962 environment. From the Vatican II Apostolic Decree, Ad Gentes, "On the Missionary Activity of the Church:"

" ...."Missions" is the term usually given to those particular undertakings by which the 
heralds of the Gospel, sent out by the Church and going forth into the whole world, carry outthe task of preaching the Gospel and planting the Church among peoples or groups who do not yet believe in Christ. These undertakings are brought to completion by missionary 
activity and are mostly exercised in certain territories recognized by the Holy See. 
The proper purpose of this missionary activity is evangelization .... Moreover, the groups among which the Church dwells are often radically changed, for one reason or other, so that an entirely new set of circumstances may arise. " (AG, 6)

And what of course are these new conditions? Well, if you want to follow the narrative of the Radical Traditionalists that Vatican II nearly killed vocations of the priesthood as well as the orthodoxy and quality of seminary formation, we have a crisis of vocations, and not enough orthodox priests to effectively carry out the "Old Style/Old Concept" of evangelization as 
above in AG 6, and even the "New Evangelization." 

And ironically, here is Vatican II acknowledging a new approach and need for evangelization and more lay involvement, yet the RMTs say Vatican II caused the crisis in the first place: 

" ....Therefore, let the missionaries, God's coworkers, ( cf. 1 Cor. 3:9), raise up 
congregations of the faithful such that, walking worthy of the vocation to which they have been called (cf. Eph. 4:1), they may exercise the priestly, prophetic, and royal 
office which God has entrusted to them .... To obtain all these things, the most important and therefore worthy of special attention are the Christian laity: namely, 
those who have been incorporated into Christ and live in the world. For it is up to them, imbued with the spirit of Christ, to be a leaven working on the temporal order from within, to dispose it always in accordance with Christ.(16) .... Now, in order to plant the Church and to make the Christian community grow, various ministries are needed, which are raised up by divine calling from the midst of 
the faithful congregation, and are to be carefully fostered and tended to by all. Among these are the offices of priests, of deacons, and of catechists, and Catholic action. Religious men and women likewise, by their prayers and by their active 
work, play an indispensable role in rooting and strengthening the Kingdom of Christ in souls,and in causing it to be spread." (AG, 15)

So in attacking Mr. Armstrong's position as a "lay apologist," on a broad basis it can be said 
that any type of missionary/apostolate work without compensation is not an official position one can say they do, and invaluable to the service of the Church, contrary to the above in 
Ad Gentes. 

Even if the implication was not intended by the blog post, detracting his lay apologetics 
position is an ad hominem attack, a foolish one when you consider the examples of other 
full-time apostolate work by lay people/clerics in the church without a formal requirement for secular/religious, post-secondary degrees and/or formal job postings. Furthermore, 
the attack is contradictory to the aims and goals of the Church in how the laity 
are to participate in Her missionary work and what Holy Mother Church encourages her 
adopted sons and daughters of Christ to do in being Hearlds of the Gospel. 

Having stated what I have above in the context of formal employment vs. voluntary work in 
the Church, it is also an ironic attack in a way, as the poster on the blog is involved in an 
apostolate/ministry centering around the Latin Mass that requires work, organization, 
training of involved members, (e.g. serving, schola cantorum, executive roles, priest 
training,) including the holding of an annual general meeting. The primary focus of the blog author is cantoring. The author is also a lay cantor at a parish for their Saturday vigil Mass 
weekly. All the activities, qualify quantitatively as a "Full-time" career of sorts, yet the 
author's positions are not formally titled or compensated, that of ``cantor`` nor head of their 
lay ministry. In addition, the blog author spends many hours blogging, in their ``journalism.`` 

However, the blog author, then, according to their logic, should not be publicly calling 
them self by any title that isn't formally part of ordained ministry or formal, employed work. 
That means the author should not be calling themselves a cantor, or a journalist, or 
whatever else they claims to be in their blog posts, as that is public, just the same as 

Mr. Armstrong. 

1b. Lay Apologist Status - Discrediting the Work, Training, and even the Mentorship of Mr. 
Armstrong. 

What I will state is factual, that the attack on Mr. Armstrong's position totally discredits 
the work, training, and formation of Mr. Armstrong. In fact, the training, experience, and 
body of work proves the opposite of the claim, that Mr. Armstrong in fact merits the title of 
lay apologist, and is perfectly justified to use it publicly. 

I will allow Mr. Armstrong`s factual information to speak for itself, that he has, quantitatively, and qualitatively, the combined practical experience, mentorship, and body of work 
equivalent to that or exceeding a post doctoral student (Ph.D) in the field of apologetics:

`` "self-appointed" huh? This is one of the favorite lines of "usual suspect" 
slanderers. Let's see, for starters, I have twenty officially published books 
with six different publishers, including most of the largest Catholic ones 
(including four bestsellers in the field). My first book has a Foreword by 
Servant of God, Fr. John A. Hardon, SJ, who was Blessed Mother Teresa's catechistand a close adviser to Blessed Pope Paul VI. My second book has a Foreword by 
Dr. Scott Hahn. I've been endorsed by virtually all of the leading apologists, 
have been interviewed on Catholic radio over 20 times, including twice on 
"Catholic Answers Live". I have Imprimaturs, including from my own bishop, 
a column every other week for "The Michigan Catholic," worked for The Coming Home Network for three years, but I am merely self-appointed and not even entitled to use the title "apologist"to describe myself. What the heck am I, then? I've made my living by writing apologetics these past 14 years. Oh, I forgot: I'm just one "of these sorts." That's what I'll put on my tax form, for occupation]

[Note: this guy favorably cites Fr. Hardon in articles dated 9-20-14, 1-17-14 (inthe title), 1-4-13, Fr. Hardon loved my work and called it "very Catholic." 
I studied with him for many months in 1990-1992. He received me into the Church and baptized my first two sons ``]"

Not to mention, on top of that, his formator, sponsor, and clearly his "supervisor" as it would be for a Masters/Doctoral student, was Fr. John Hardon, SJ. Hardon is widely acclaimed by good and Radicals Misrepresenting Traditionalism as a holy priest and orthodox, and one ofthe few good Jesuits left they would cite if asked. 

Mr. Armstrong clearly received proper theological, and practical formation by Fr. Hardon, 
who brought him into the Church. Then again, Radicals Misrepresenting Traditionalists 
already have an axe to grind with Dave, being a convert. They are seen as "spies" for the 
enemy, despite their conversion, who never truly give up their old ways. Do not believe the RMTs at face value when they deny this. 

Further, just look at the quantity of work, produced, published, created, and endorsed. Whenyou look at all that, that at the very least is quantitatively equivalent in man hours and work 
produced, to that of a post doctoral degree. Qualitatively speaking, it is clear that his 
formation if anything, even rivals or superceeds that of our modern seminary system, of 
which also, Radical Traditionalists love to bash for churning out "modernist" priests. 

For the blog author to discredit all this experience, betrays the time, energy, and the 
dedication that Mr. Armstrong has done in devoting his life to. He even has stated outright, 
this IS how he has made a living, and might I add in the process he has done so while 
having his larger family of more than two children home schooled AND participating in the 
life of the Church via his Ordinary parish under the archdiocese, one blessed with both the 
Extraordinary Form, and the rarer Latin Novus Ordo liturgy. 

The blog author, certainly does not have equivalent, nor superior experience, quantitatively, and qualitatively in a field as apologetics, to make such a claim. Further, the same can be 
applied to the blogger's past experience in the field of choir-mastering or his blogging, that 
because it is: a)  not based on formalized education, but rather years of practical experienceobtained from a combination of secular/religious experience, b) nor attached to a holy order, c) nor that the author possesses any formal post secondary education, period, and d) not 
part of formal paid work as implied in 1a (of which, as Dave has admitted, HE HAS DONE 
TO MAKE ENDS MEET) the blogger should not claim then, to be a choir master nor any 
position within the Catholic Church, regardless of "practical" experience. Clearly, to the 
author, practical experience does not merit the status of an individual. 

An secular side note, in the working world, is that one can obtain all the degrees, even 
doctorates or multiple degrees, in their post-secondary education, but employers refuse to 
look at them over those with practical experience. Formalized education is clearly not 
everything for work, and thus students, after degrees are going back to colleges for that 
practical experience and entry level job, to enter the workforce. 

Summary of 1a and 1b: My main points are such. The blogger's claim of the foolishness of Dave calling himself as a lay apologist, is asinine. In making the claim, it is an ad hominem attack on Dave. The blogger makes at least a broad claim that ministry in the Church, 
unless formalized or attached to religious orders, cannot be formally recognized through 
usage of a title to describe one's apostolate or ministry. Even if not part of the claim, it still 
singles out Dave's work as an apologist as fake and that he cannot use the title, 
"lay apologist", compared to others with "full-time" ministry in the Church and volunteers 
such as the bloggers and other lay ministers who can. Furthermore, it is an insult to the late Fr. John Hardon, SJ, and to the training, experience, and quantitative volume of work to be simply dismissed by the author. If anything, even at the least quantitatively, Mr. Armstrong 
has the equivalent and even more, of one or multiple Ph.D's in the field of both theoretical 
and practical apologetics, to rightfully deserve the title "lay apologist," even if no formal 
position with compensation exists in his diocese or in his parish. Dave also has used his 
field as a full, and at times a partial means, to provide for his family. Finally, the author's 
statement of claim contains an additional hypocrisy when attacking Mr. Armstrong, in that 
they discredit themselves as a cantor and journalist, or whatever ministry position/title they 
are, because they lack a formal education in their fields of practice, and their training 
was not under an official institution of the Church or a university/college/formal work 
experience. 

Logic is clearly lacking here in the attacks on Mr. Armstrong. 

I will follow up with a second post, attacking the claim that Mr. Armstrong`s respect for 
Traditional Catholicism is false in his apologetics work.  

Due to past history that the author and his adherents/loyal fans commit verbal/written 
harassment against  those who dare to say anything even remotely intelligent and insightful,
properly debated or analyzed, when it comes to their arguments, or the 
``establishment`` of what Radicals Misrepresenting Traditionalism THINK is Traditional 
Catholicism, (Not to mention anyone who is an anathema or gentile in their eyes, clerical or 
laity, young or old, even the Holy Father,) the combox is closed. 

Pax.

Returning to St. James Catholic Church!!! The 1st Saturday Vigil Latin Novus Ordo Masses Have Resumed!!!!

Hello Everyone,

I have great liturgical news in our Archdiocese of Toronto!

Some of you may remember I have been promoting a non-Tridentine/1962 Mass effort in the Archdiocese of Toronto. The effort is a Latin Novus Ordo being held on the 1st Saturday vigil in the Novus Ordo of every month, at St. James Catholic Church in Toronto, excluding the summer months.

This series of initiatives is spearheaded by the pastor of St. James Catholic Church in Toronto, Fr. Ignacio Pinedo. Inspired by the works of the Oratorians of St. Phillip Neri (who hold the Latin Mass in Toronto at their two associated parishes), he started doing this once a month Novus Ordo in Latin. THIS, is truly what should have been widespread in parishes in the wake of Vatican II, and TRULY carries out all the liturgical goals of the Ecumenical Council.

The last post I did for the initiative was for their June 2015 offering. The posting is linked here. I also did a posting for their April 2015 offering, whereby I took photos of the parish and discussed my visit in March 2015 to attend this type of Mass I promote here on S.U.D.

I am proud to say that once again, with enough popular demand, St. James is doing the offerings again for the 2015-2016 year.

If you turn your attention to the Archdiocesan website, the offerings was listed as such for their Saturday, October 3rd offering:

Latin Mass Revisited

Saturday, October 3, 2015 5:00 pm to Saturday, October 3, 2015 7:00 pm

First Saturday of every month (Sept. to June) – 5 p.m.

St. James Parish
728 Annette St., Toronto

Rediscover the beauty of the solemn Latin Mass in this modern Eucharistic celebration. We will be celebrating the Mass using the original Latin text of the Third Typical Edition of the Roman Missal. (Note: this is not the Tridentine form of the Mass.)

Side-by-side Latin and English Missals will be provided for those attending. A true uplifting experience that is both ancient and new, bridging past and present.

EMAIL: st.james@sympatico.ca PHONE: 416-767-6451

According to the Calendar Year, the remaining dates where this will be offered are as follows:

• Saturday, November 7, 2015
• Saturday, December 5, 2015
• Saturday January 2, 2016
• Saturday, February 6. 2016
• Saturday March 5, 2016
• Saturday April 2, 2016
• Saturday May 7, 2016
• Saturday June 4, 2016

Currently, St. James' next offering of the Latin Novus Ordo is coming up as follows:

Saturday June 4, 2016 (LATIN NOVUS ORDO) - Saturday Vigil, Liturgy for 10th Sunday in Ordinary Time in the Novus Ordo Calendar. 

St. James Roman Catholic Church - LATIN NOVUS ORDO, 

• Location: St. James Roman Catholic Church
• Address: 728 Annette St., Toronto, Ontario, CANGoogle Maps: https://plus.google.com/105912210603375556435/about?gl=ca&hl=en
• Time: CONFESSIONS 4pm EST
• MASS TIME IS 5:00 p.m. EST
• Contact info: 416 767 6451 or st.james@sympatico.ca

I do hope that, if you are as excited and appreciative about the history of our Church, seek spiritual nourishment, and a welcoming parish with people who are true, practicing Catholics, you will take advantage of this offering in the city, even foregoing your usual parish's offerings, just for this once a month visit.

Remember, the Church's mission, its New Evangelization, with the Reform of the Reform, can only be successful when you, the laity, become a vital part of it. Fr. Pinedo is only one priest, one man. We are many and outnumber him many times. The Church you seek and desire at the practical, everyday level, can only be obtained when you take an active part in correcting that which has gone astray, and promoting the True liturgical, and objective Faith of the Catholic Church. 

I hope you will take advantage of this opportunity.

Pax Tibi Christi, Julian Barkin.

Updated: Friday March 3, 2016

Highlight: Reflection in Sunday Bulletin for May 22, 2015 from Fr. Peter Jae Choi of St. Andre Bessette, Maple, Ontario

Hello Everyone.

Now THIS is a great reflection I found online, and this is coming from a Novus Ordo priest who is starting up a community in Vaughan, Ontario!

Source:

PAX! Julian.

What does being Catholic mean?

By Webmaster on May 22, 2015

I am sure you’ve heard of the term “Cafeteria Catholic.”

This term captures the essence of our modern day spirituality, picking-and-choosing only the things we want while rejecting the rest, exactly the same way we walk through the cafeteria picking-and-choosing what we want to eat on our plate.

Ability to customize is the latest fad; we customize our home, our bathrooms and kitchens, our cars, and pretty much every product we buy…AND even relationships! I’ve been told that there are online dating sites that can customize your search to the level of education, race, ethnicity, personality, height, weight, eye and hair colour….and the list goes on.

And much to our dismay, this mentality has even invaded how we relate to God: If we are not happy with or if we are uncomfortable with our religion, we can customize it to our beliefs and desires.
But wait…if we do that, are we not guilty of creating our own God and our own religion?
The whole point of religion for us Catholics is that we believe that God founded the Church to re-bind (re-ligare in latin) our broken relationships. And the only way we can allow God to re-bind our broken relationships, as He has done so many times as evidenced in the Bible, is for us to follow His Commandments and His ways.

When we do an “I did it my way” like Adam and Eve, we end up damaging our relationships.



Before the ordination to the Priesthood, I had to go through a ceremony during mass at the Seminary called the “Rite of Admission to Candidacy for Holy Orders.” In it, I made it known that I believe in the faith as revealed by God and handed down by the Apostles. Our faith is not about inventing, but about preserving and being faithful to what has been revealed by God.

I was surprised and disappointed at the announcement of the former Catholic apologist and TV personality, Michael Coren leaving the Catholic Church. Moving to and fro from Atheism to Catholicism, and from Catholicism to Evangelical Christian, and from Evangelical Christian back to Catholicism, and from Catholicism to Anglicanism. All I can say is “Confused?”

Didn’t Jesus say, “Come, follow me”? Yes, He did. He didn’t say, “Go and do whatever you choose, and I will follow your suit.” In this day and age of confusion and cafeteriaism, what we need is solid stability. We need something that doesn’t change. If you are looking for a timeless truth, look to Catholicism! God’s love for us, His ways, and His Commandments, these do not change.

HIGHLIGHT: Whoa!!! Pope Francis Asks us to Wage War on Satan??? NO WAY!!!!

Taken from http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-at-angelus-lent-is-a-time-of-battle-against-e. My emphases in bold.

Pope at Angelus: Lent is a time of battle against evil

91

 

1578

  Print

2015-02-22 Vatican Radio
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis said Lent is a time where we struggle against the temptations of Satan and worldliness.  His words came at his Sunday Angelus address at the end of which he announced the distribution of 50,000 free copies of a pocket-sized booklet called “Safeguard your Heart” containing reflections on Jesus’ teachings.  Many of those distributing the booklets to the pilgrims present in St Peter’s Square were homeless people.
Listen to this report by Susy Hodges: 
In his Angelus address the Pope recalled how Jesus went into the solitude of the wilderness for 40 days where he successfully overcame temptations in “a hand-to-hand combat” with Satan. And through his victory over Satan, he said, “we have all triumphed but we need to protect this victory in our daily lives.”  

He went on to explain how in the wilderness we can listen to God’s voice and that of the tempter. And we listen to God’s voice through his words and that why it’s important to read the Holy Scriptures because otherwise we’re unable to resist the lure of the evil one.  The Pope said it was for this reason that he wanted to renew his advice to the faithful to read the Gospel every day and reflect on its meaning, even for just 10 minutes and carry around a copy in one’s pocket or bag every day. The Lenten wilderness, he continued, “helps us to say ‘no’ to worldliness, to “idols”, it helps us to make courageous choices in line with the Gospel and to strengthen our solidarity with our brothers and sisters.”

He concluded by reminding those present that he and other members of the Roman Curia would be beginning their spiritual retreat later on Sunday.  Pray for us, he urged, so that in this “wilderness” of the spiritual exercises "we can hear Jesus’ voice and also correct the many defects that we all have and thereby overcome the temptations that attack us every day.”

In his address following the recitation of the Angelus, Pope Francis announced a personal initiative of his which was the distribution of 50,000 free copies of a small booklet to those present in St Peter’s Square.  Holding up the pocket-sized booklet which is entitled “Safeguard your Heart,” the Pope explained that it contains several key “teachings of Jesus and the essential tenets of our faith.” These included, he said, "the seven sacraments, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the 10 commandments, the virtues and works of charity."

Pope Francis said a group of  volunteers, including many homeless people, were distributing it to the pilgrims present in St. Peter’s Square.  He urged everybody to take a copy of the booklet and carry it around with them to help in their conversion and spiritual growth which always comes from the heart. It’s there, he stressed, that we play out the daily choice “between good and evil, between worldliness and the Gospel, between indifference and sharing.” “Humanity needs justice, peace and love and we can have this only by returning with our hearts towards God who is the source of all this.” 
(from Vatican Radio)

NO way ..... Considering all the anger and hatred directed towards the Vatican right now in the "Traditional Catholic" blogosphere, it is great to see that Pope Francis truly knows what's important right now in the liturgical season of Lent. Why are we NOT concentrating on the season and what he is saying? Wait maybe the Pope answered my own question, as the Pope has spoken. Where do I get one of those booklets???

Pax, Julian. 

Traditional and Orthodox Catholics of Toronto! Now's Your Chance! Give the Church Strength She Needs for Synod 2015

Hello Everyone,

While cruising the Archdiocese of Toronto's website looking at certain pages for information, I found an interesting link on its front page:

http://www.archtoronto.org/synod/index.html#feedback

What! Unlike the Extraordinary Synod where the Office of the Archdiocese of Toronto decided that feedback was only to be obtained from clergy upon order from the CCCB, His Eminence has decided that we deserve to share in giving our utmost advice on issues for the 2015 Synod in Rome! Here's the full text from the website of the invitation:

A MESSAGE FROM THOMAS CARDINAL COLLINS:

Later this year, the Holy Father will be holding an Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on The vocation and the mission of the family in the Church and in the contemporary world. The synod will take place at the Vatican and will be attended by bishops from around the world. 

The Lineamenta is a document which outlines issues that need to be considered in order to help prepare the working document that will be used by the synod. In order to facilitate discussion, a list of questions has been provided with the Lineamenta. 

As part of this official consultative process, Catholics are invited to share their reflections on topics highlighted in the Lineamenta. As this is an extensive document that covers diverse subject matter, it is recommended that respondents consider selecting perhaps three areas or specific questions to provide informed commentary or insights. A concise response would be appreciated. A synthesis of responses will be sent to the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops who will then forward the information gathered from across Canada to the Vatican in preparation for the Synod later this year.

All responses to the Lineamenta must be received no later than Monday, February 16, 2015. Responses can be sent either by e-mail to communications@archtoronto.org or by mail to the Office of Public Relations & Communications, 1155 Yonge St., Toronto, ON M4T 1W2.

Thank you in advance for your feedback on these important topics. 

So basically, you pick some focus areas from the Lineamenta, or the questions from the CCCB summary that is part of the website and answer them (3 broader areas or a specific question) and send them to the e-mail to the Archdiocese's communications office. It's that simple! Here are the Lineamenta AND the CCCB summary links:

http://www.archtoronto.org/synod/lineamenta.pdf

http://www.archtoronto.org/synod/questions_lineamenta.pdf (The so called "questions" seem to be the ones in this document)

A priest friend of mine has already alerted me to this as well. And I do appreciate it. See folks, a lot of the time, it's the active, loudmouthed liberals and "change people" that write to chanceries and to the Vatican with their groups in these kinds of things. When it comes to the Traditional side of things, it tends to be letters of shame, detraction, so and so did X wrong in the liturgy, excommunicate people like Michael Coren (just couldn't resist, ha ha ha!) ... and you wonder why no one in the hierarchy of the Church wants to listen to the Traditional Catholics. 

Well, let this be your chance to actually shine and show the Church what is needed with regards to this synod. Please follow the website's instructions and submit your feedback to the office, no later than Mon, Feb 16, 2015. You have almost a month. That should give you time to formulate an articulate, clever response that can benefit His Eminence when he must submit his information to the CCCB. 

Look, I get it that people in the know view the CCCB as some Liberal dark cloud blah blah blah usual Radicals Misrepresenting Traditionalist garbage. But look, if YOU and many other Traditional Orthodox Catholics do NOT write to His Eminence, it will be the liberals and those who are not sufficiently educated (or manipulated by the Culture in their weak formation of Faith) who will write to Him, and then what will he have to present to the CCCB? HE WANTS YOUR HELP!!! YOU KNOW HE'S MORE OF A ROLE MODEL VS OTHER BISHOPS AND CARDINALS TODAY!!!! YOU MUST put your feelings aside, and assist him! 

I am certainly one Glad Trad that will be assisting His Eminence and the whole of the Church by doing this in my spare time, and I implore you to do the same. "Evil triumphs when good men do nothing" was the expression, Well, how about good men and women do something for a change and actually assist the Church by showing them that even in Canada, we don't want radical pastoral change to make Church doctrine/dogma moot in areas of Family and Life! At its absolute worst ... at least you did your part and tried and fought for Her Holy Mother Church. 

Let's do this for His Eminence, for His Holiness, and for the Church! For the Family and Life!

Pax Tibi Christi, Julian Barkin. 

2 Weeks of Blogging Despair: Embarrasment from the Radical Catholic Reactionaries over ++Burke and ++Dolan

Hello Everyone,

I realize that this is a lengthy post. Bear with me though. It needs the length as this is 2 weeks worth of observation and reflection.  

These past two weeks have been a sad and woeful one on the Catholic blog-o-sphere. This has been one of the worst periods of recent, where it feels like there is no hope living as a Catholic. The players who are directly responsible for carrying out the sin of despair are powerful men in esteemed positions of authority, who are not speaking with the Mind of the Church, despite the responsibility given to them by our Lord. Are you thinking what I am thinking, or whom I am directly referring to?

Perhaps I should explain further, by discussing what I have been witnessing on the Catholic blog-o-sphere. The situations that have been of critical (as well as hateful) discussion these past two weeks, are in regards to two cardinals, on opposite sides of the theo-political spectrum. They are Cardinal Timothy Dolan of the Archdiocese of New York, who’s what we could call “pastoral”, while at the other end, the “spiritual” end, is Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke, possibly soon to be ex-prefect of the Apostolic Signatura in Rome.

Summary of the Major Events

Dolan’s criticism, and fury amongst the Traditionalists Behaving Badly (my term by the way that I created, like Dave Armstrong with Radical Catholic Reactionary, to purposely ostracize the Traditionalists who are disobedient and hateful to and within Holy Mother Church, from the good, loyal traditionalists who don't do what they do,) deal with the fact the jolly Cardinal is MC for the upcoming St. Patrick’s parade in New York in 2015. The parade is now letting in pro-gay groups. Dolan's acceptance of the "honour" is being seen as an OK for being gay in the Church. Further, the TBBs are likely thinking of him as the Devil’s minion, for wanting to close down Holy Innocents Catholic Church in NYC, the U.S.A base of operations for valiant Glad Trad hero, Fr. John Zuhlsdorf of WDTPRS. The critics are also implying that the only reason Dolan extended the possible merger/closing of H.I is because too much bad press got out about him, despite his response, so he's saving face for himself and the office of the Archdiocese of New York.

At the other end of things, Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke is likely being re-assigned to another office of the Church, a superior of sorts of the Knights of Malta, based in Rome. This move by Pope Francis is being seen by the TBBs as a “demotion” and part of a conspiracy theory of Pope Francis’ and company’s hate for anything dealing with that trad hero, Benedict XVI. They are also attributing this demotion to the fact that ++Burke and other traditional bishops and Jesuits wrote a book defending the traditional teachings of the Church on marriage and the family, in contradiction to the violation of Church teaching in the “tolerated but not acceptable” position of ++Kasper on non-annulled Catholics receiving communion. In addition, ++Kasper is getting a “ringmaster’s stage” for the upcoming Extraordinary Synod of the Family. The worst of the rumour mill at Rorate Caeli, even says that Francis was royally pissed off at this book, and even scolded ++Muller of the Congregation for Doctrine of the Faith not to promote the book … if you believe the worst PR site for radical traditionalism who’s one step away from sedevacantism that is. 

So, what am I getting at?

With the summary of the main events, it seems as if our appointed leaders in the Catholic world are failing us. The disgusting liberal clergy who are wolves in sheep’s clothing are heroes, the good Cardinals are being destroyed by the Spirit of Vatican II clergy including our Pope of Mercy, and St. Anna Catharine of Emerich’s prophecy is coming true right? Well the leadership of the Church certainly has failed …. But surprise! It’s not entirely the clergy. 

I am talking about those of us laity charged with the full participation of Christ’s priesthood, prophecy, and kingship.

The laity who are being leaders, fighting what they think is their quest to maintain the Church’s order and governance, have done the greatest disservice these past two weeks for the Church. THEY DO NOT, IN ANY WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM, HAVE VESTED AUTHORITY TO DICTATE OR ENFORCE THE CHURCH’s LAWS OR TEACHINGS. If they say they do, they are liars and only have the privileges every ordinary Catholic has, albeit at the service and mercy to the clergy and Canon Law (including choice to wield said law.) Many of them, are laypeople, with nothing more than an acumen to see black wherever there is white, and no good of the Church. 

Now, by no means am I wearing rose coloured glasses and saying "all is well", but they have crossed a line between critical evaluation and fraternal correction, into the Devil’s camp using his weapons of slander, calumny, and detraction. They have also aided in committing the sin of despair, sister to the deadly Sloth.

Despair

If anything, the bloggers have allowed for the fruition of the sin of despair amongst what they say. What is the sin of despair? The Sin of Despair is, as per Catholic Catechism of the Catholic Church 2091, ".... By despair, man ceases to hope for his personal salvation from God, for help in attaining it or for the forgiveness of his sins. Despair is contrary to God's goodness, to his justice - for the Lord is faithful to his promises - and to his mercy."

What the bloggers have been reporting constantly, with hatred/anger, pride (also deadly sins, evidenced in their writing), actually detracts from Holy Mother Church’s mission of evangelizing and the salvation of souls. People want to be saved or seek internally salvation, or being “happy.” Every person’s reason for existence, a la Baltimore Catechism #1 is to know, love, and serve God all their lives. The Church is that spiritual and physical means by which in His Eternal Sacrifice on the Cross, Christ gave us, so that we could be with Him in Heaven. All that these bloggers have done is contravened the Holy Father’s “mission of mercy” and have shown that the Church is another institution with corrupt people in it via their coverage. To show that there is nothing but corruption in the Church and no means of salvation via their blogging coverage is exactly causing despair, a loss of any hope in the Church because of the institutional problems (and false boogeymen) within it. 

  

Let's continue. As traditional Catholics, one would know a number of lists that is nearly forgotten and not taught by current “Catholic” teachers and clergy. One of these lists is The Nine Ways of Being An Accessory to Another's Sin. Allow me to refresh your memory with the list:

1. By Counsel
2. By Command
3. By Consent
4. By Provocation
5. By Praise or Flattery
6. By Concealment
7. By Partaking
8. By Silence
9. By Defense of the ill done

This list, by the way, is in the little red missal books you Latin Mass attendees see at most chapels, churches, and lay-organized Masses. 

If you notice, some of the ways of assisting in committing sin are blatantly being committed by these members on the Net, which I`ve highlighted:

Partaking: Between the quantity and slanderous and calumnous nature of the postings, this is clear provocation of sin, division, and the like amongst members of the Church. This is even more so when these attacks directly concern the Holy Father. Might I also remind you that the Holy Father himself equated gossip and calumny as the devil's works? Those "works" would obviously be sins of grave Matter. The devil's works are no laughing matter. They are always serious business. 

Provocation: The provocation of what they have done is on numerous levels: 1) Vs. the clergy and establishment in place, to anger them, and drive those targets to sin further themselves, 2) Amongst their fellow Traditionalists, by once again embarrassing them and can prompt further persecution. 3) Others, that is, it provokes others to experience the sin of despair. 

Defense of the Ill Done: And how do they justify their actions? They continue to say they will not stop in attacking the Holy Father, will not stop attacking others, and will not stop harming the faithful spiritually. Their defense of their sins committed is that it's all for the Good of the Holy Church, when it's pure bullying, harassment, and hatred dressed up as religion. 

Whether it is in disparaging the Jesuits, the Holy, Father, or Cardinals, this is blatant Pharisee-ism at its worst. In doing the disservice, those leaders on the Catholic blogosphere are leaving us with only one question: Why would anyone in their right mind want to be part of the Church when it is no different from its secular counterparts of schools, government, workplaces, etc.?

Furthermore, people like myself, who actually care about Traditional Catholicism, can only leave shaking our heads in disgust. We want to have a vibrant and happy life with traditional Catholicism as part of the beautiful fabric of worship and liturgical rites in the Church, not the sole be all and end all that is enforced upon everyone! When these leaders embarrass us, misrepresent ALL CATHOLICS, say cruel barbs at our priests and clergy, and fellow Glad Trads and Catholics alike, either we desire to depart from our sinful siblings by having nothing to do with the Latin Mass, or worse, we put our heads in the sand and sin by omission when those significant few do their dastardly deeds, because we fear the “big bad bishops” will take away our Mass in violation of Church Law. Better to continue going to the Latin Mass every Sunday and not say anything right? Both approaches do nothing to increase participation and/or respect for the Latin Mass and Traditional Catholicism. Yet it's all because of a few spiritually misguided souls who just haven't found the proper means to say, "Hey! The Church is awesome! Even though our leaders do sin, there is STILL Spiritual salvation here!" 

I, myself, became quite disparaged about the Church this week, thanks to my sad “brothers and sisters” of Christ. It affected my disposition with my relationships and made me question if there is anything positive in the Church when we are all mucking it up, bloggers included. Thankfully, Christ in Matthew 16:18 promised us Hell would not prevail!

My Appeal

To those specific bloggers, you are making Traditional Catholicism a hateful place to be, and all your Catholic brothers and sisters and clergy will want none of it! Even your closer friends and clergy, can only stand so much, and will be forced in their fidelity to the Lord, to part ways for their souls. Do you care about the actions and influence that you wield on your fellow Catholics? You do want more people to discover the Latin Mass and become traditional Catholics right? Have you heard the expression, “you attract more flies with honey than vinegar?” 

Listen, I get that we have collectively “became awake” to politics and how we were not taught the truths of the faith in light of the institutional, NOT "TRUE", Church’s adoption of the “Spirit of Vatican II” a.k.a. pastoring gone wrong as extreme liberalism, misinterpreting the Vatican II documents. I also understand that some of you are war survivors, carrying around battle wounds that have never been fully healed deep within. There is scar tissue, but it's only a patch that easily opens with the slightest provocation. 

But does bearing your scars mean we are to wage war against the Church and smear every clergy member and layperson who does not practice the doctrine and laws perfectly, even at the cost of your eternal salvation when you go too far, too deep in your conquest? 

I can only end with saying this in necessity. While you have used this in past against me in anger and hatred, or others just like me on the blog-o-sphere not in your "camp," I must appeal to you in earnest. Please, for your spiritual health and others, seek the help of those who can assist you and give you spiritual mercy. What good has airing our all this on the Internet done for your spiritual health? Do you feel any better after? Has the institutional Church around you, or in a large scale, "changed" in any way from your actions? Please refrain from causing sin and grave spiritual harm to yourselves, and those others you associate with. Find a proper, Biblical, and truly, Theological way to love your brother with True fraternal, Catholic charity, according to the virtues (theological, cardinal, others) without resorting to the Devil’s trickery.

If you do not have counselling, please do seek a good and noble priest (preferably), or other orthodox Catholic who can help you with your issues. I do not mean simply a “yes man” who agrees 100% with your ideas and thoughts. I mean someone who can honestly acknowledge your concerns, your hurts, your pains, and assist you in fully seeking and obtaining Christ’s Love and mercy. This might even challenge you, or contradict your thoughts now, but that person will do so in order you to come to a deeper relationship with Christ, and lead a more true, Catholic life. 

Final Words

If anything, it shows that Pope Francis’ mission of mercy is more pertinent than ever, as even Christ’s “best soldiers” of the Church Militant, are badly wounded and their armor in need of major black-smithing to repair the damage.

Finally, allow me to end off with a pertinent link from "Neo-Trad" (a.k.a. Orthodox Good Guy) Mark Shea who succinctly shares to a degree my feelings and concerns, in an excellent interview about the changing face of Catholic Internet blogging:

 http://americamagazine.org/content/all-things/blogging-pope-francis-interview-mark-shea

Everyone, I know that things are rocky right now, but we have to do better than this. As Fr. Z says, Benedict XVI gave us the tools we need. It’s time to get the training wheels off the bicycle and ride with it!

Pax Tibi Christi, Julian Barkin.

P.S. I haven't forgotten about SINE, or my Latin Mass Serving Posts. Give me a break here as I got a significant lady in my life, a Mon-Fri job, and 3-7 other things on the go I gotta worry about, plus being stressed out at the end of the day needing to unwind. You try it and let me know if you do better. I'd like to know your strategies.