FEBRUARY 18: ASH WEDNESDAY, A DAY OF SEVERE FASTING AND ABSTINENCE

(This post will be maintained Tuesday and Wednesday)

It is a day of fasting and abstinence:

Fasting is obligatory from the age of eighteen to fifty-nine, inclusive.

Abstinence is obligatory from the age of fourteen (although it is advisable to begin at age seven, as was the custom in the past).

Fasting consists of eating only one full meal a day. A light snack in the morning and a light supper in the evening are also permitted, consisting of a very light meal (significantly less than usual). No other food should be eaten between meals. Plain liquids or liquids to quench thirst may be consumed at any time (for example: water, beer, wine, coffee with a little sugar, etc.). Broths, milk, and other beverages that serve as food should not be consumed between meals.

Abstinence prohibits eating meat and meat broth from land animals or birds (beef, mutton, pork, chicken, quail, birds, etc.) for 24 hours a day. Fish and shellfish (aquatic animals) are permitted. In some regions, there is a widespread misconception that chicken or chicken broth is allowed, but this is not the case.

Those not bound to fast are not exempt from all mortification, because no one is dispensed from the general obligation to do penance, and thus they must mortify themselves in other ways according to their ability.

Ash Wednesday and Good Friday impose a serious obligation to fast and abstain. On the other Fridays of Lent, only abstinence is required.  On the other Fridays of the year that are not during Lent, abstinence should also be observed, as explained in the following post: CLICK HERE: https://www.catolicidad.com/2012/11/obliga-la-abstinencia-todos-los-viernes.html?m=1

* Let us remember that, according to the Commandments of the Holy Church, annual Confession is obligatory during Lent, as is receiving Holy Communion (in a state of grace, after confession) at Easter.

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ASH WEDNESDAY: THE BEGINNING OF LENT

Authors: Tere Fernández and Luis Gutiérrez

The imposition of ashes reminds us that our life on earth is fleeting and that our true life is in Heaven.

Lent begins with Ash Wednesday and is a time of prayer, penance, and fasting.  Forty days that the Church sets aside for the conversion of the heart.

Origin of the custom

In ancient times, the Jews used to cover themselves with ashes when they made a sacrifice, and the Ninevites also used ashes as a sign of their desire to turn from their sinful lives to a life with God.

In the early centuries of the Church, those who wished to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation on Holy Thursday would put ashes on their heads and appear before the community dressed in a penitential garment. This represented their desire to convert.

In 384 AD, Lent acquired a penitential meaning for all Christians, and since the 11th century, the Church of Rome has customarily used ashes at the beginning of the 40 days of penance and conversion.

The ashes used are obtained by burning the palms used on Palm Sunday of the previous year. This reminds us that what was once a sign of glory is soon reduced to nothing.

The Lenten season was also used to prepare those who would receive Baptism on Easter night, imitating Christ's 40 days of fasting.

The imposition of ashes is a custom that reminds us that one day we will die and that our bodies will turn to dust. It teaches us that all the material things we have here will end. However, all the good we have in our souls we will take with us into eternity. At the end of our lives, we will only take with us what we have done for God and for our fellow human beings.

When the priest places the ashes on us, we should have an attitude of wanting to improve ourselves, of wanting to be friends with God. Ashes are imposed on both children and adults.

Source: Catholic.net

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FROM THE CATECHISM OF SAINT PIUS X:

39. Why is the first day of Lent called Ash Wednesday? - The first day of Lent is called Ash Wednesday because on this day the Church places holy ashes on the heads of the faithful.

40. Why does the Church impose holy ashes at the beginning of Lent? - At the beginning of Lent, the Church customarily imposes holy ashes to remind us that we are made of dust, and to dust we shall return at death. Thus, we humble ourselves and do penance for our sins while we still have time.

41. With what disposition should we receive holy ashes? - We should receive holy ashes with a contrite and humble heart, and with the holy resolution to spend Lent in works of penance.

42. What must we do to observe Lent well according to the Church's teaching? - To observe Lent well according to the Church's teaching, we must do four things: 1st, strictly observe fasting and abstinence, and mortify ourselves not only in illicit and dangerous things, but also, as far as we can, in licit things, such as moderating our recreational activities; 2nd, devote ourselves to prayer and give alms and perform other works of Christian piety for our neighbor more than usual; 3rd, listen to the word of God, not out of habit or curiosity, but with a desire to put into practice the truths we hear; 4th, diligently prepare ourselves for confession so that we may make fasting more meritorious and be better disposed to Easter Communion.

THE CRISTERO MOVEMENT WAS NOT IN VAIN: HIS HOLINESS PIUS XII

RADIO MESSAGE FROM HIS HOLINESS PIUS XII TO THE MEXICAN FAITHFUL ON THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE CANONICAL CORONATION OF OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE

Friday, October 12, 1945

Venerable Brothers and beloved children, gathered around Our Most Worthy Cardinal Legate, to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the canonical coronation of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

More than three centuries had passed since the day the sweet Mother of Tepeyac began to receive the homage of the Catholics of Mexico and all of America, on the throne she herself had chosen; you held her in the center of your hearts and for this reason you had repeatedly proclaimed her your Lady and Patroness;  You had first dedicated a hermitage to her, then a chapel, then a temple, and finally a magnificent Basilica; Mexican voices acclaimed her continually, and the cry never ceased: Noble Indian woman, Mother of God; Noble Indian woman, our Mother. But your piety was still not satisfied; you wanted to see her crowned, as befitted a sovereign. She was your Queen, and the Queen had to be crowned!

And finally, your wish was fulfilled. Fifty years ago today—the chronicles recall—the newly restored Basilica was a blazing hot; tens of thousands of pilgrims thronged its spacious naves and spilled out into the surrounding area; almost forty bishops bowed reverently in the sanctuary; the cheers, hymns, and prayers reached heaven.  And when the golden crown shone upon that angelic brow, the cry, barely contained until then, finally burst forth from every heart and every mouth: “Long live the Virgin of Guadalupe, Empress of America and Queen of Mexico!” The spectacle was so beautiful, it seemed like a sweet dream. In reality, it was nothing more than the conscious and serene triumph of your love and your faith.

A most fitting tribute. For who could ignore what that nation owed to that Lady? Who could fail to remember the crucial role She had played in their vocation to the true Church, in their preservation within the practice and purity of a faith that had been like the crucible in which their young and powerful nation had been forged?

The Blessed Virgin was the providential instrument, chosen by the designs of the Heavenly Father, to give and present His precious Son to the world; to be Mother and Queen of the Apostles, who were to spread His doctrine everywhere;  to always crush heresies, and even to intervene miraculously at all times, wherever necessary for the establishment, consolidation, and defense of the holy Catholic faith. “Through Her,” says a great devotee of Mary, “the Holy Cross is celebrated and adored throughout the universe…; through Her every creature, imprisoned in the errors of idolatry, is led to the knowledge of the truth;… through Her the Apostles preached salvation to the nations” [1].

And so it happened, when God’s appointed time struck for the vast regions of Anáhuac. They had barely opened themselves to the world when, on the shores of Lake Texcoco, the miracle blossomed. On the tilma of poor Juan Diego—as tradition relates—brushes not of this world painted a most sweet image, which the corrosive work of the centuries would miraculously preserve.  The kind young maiden asked for a seat from which to "show and give all her love and compassion, help and defense... to all the inhabitants of that land and to all others who invoked her and trusted in her." From that historic moment, total evangelization was accomplished. And, what is more, a banner was raised, a fortress erected, against which the fury of all storms would break; one of the fundamental pillars of faith in Mexico and throughout the Americas was firmly established. As if the Cross, which, on this very day, across the turbulent waves, the fragile Spanish caravels had carried to the new continent, had been entrusted to the frail hands of that young woman, so that she might carry it triumphantly throughout those lands, plant it everywhere, and then retire to her rocky castle, overlooking ancient Tenochtitlán, to reign from there over the entire new world and watch over its faith;  "For, to use the felicitous expressions of one of your poets, she knows that such a daughter—proclaiming her Queen—faithfully preserves the deposit of faith that saves the world."

Today, beloved American congressmen, Our thoughts, with flight swifter and more certain than the waves that carry Our voice to you, place Us in your midst; and once again Our spirit is comforted by admiring your countless numbers, your boundless enthusiasm: by seeing that at this moment more than fifty Archbishops and Bishops represent there, in your midst, the faith of all the peoples of America; by receiving, in the person of Our Legate, the magnificent testimonies of your filial devotion, which are already known to Us. And by verifying that the center of all these fervors continues to be your Exalted Patroness, by seeing, almost with Our own eyes, that you continue to acclaim the Virgin of Guadalupe as your Mother and your Queen, We raise Our eyes to Heaven and give thanks to the Author of all good, because in this love and in this fidelity we wish to see the guarantee of the preservation of your faith.

For her sake, Mexican Catholics, your brothers and your parents were victims of persecution, and to defend her they faced death without hesitation, with the double cry of “Long live Christ the King! Long live the Virgin of Guadalupe!” Today, the conditions of the Church and of Religion in your homeland have improved remarkably, demonstrating that that invocation and that steadfastness were not in vain. But it is up to you, to you and to all American Catholics, to remain firm in your position, aware of your rights, with your heads always held high before the enemies of today and always: those who do not want Mary because they do not want Jesus, those who would like to sideline or ignore Jesus, thus robbing Mary of the most precious of her titles. Faced with their rebellion, your fidelity. May the dark-skinned Virgin of Tepeyac, the Empress of America and Queen of Mexico, not have to weep for desertions. May she, as she was yesterday, also be proud of her children tomorrow.

Your Congress, gathering thousands of signatures, has acclaimed her as "Sedes sapientiae," the throne of wisdom. Do not forget, Catholics of Mexico and all of America: true wisdom is that which she gave us, that which she teaches us in the name of Incarnate Wisdom. "Hail, most abundant fountain from which flow the streams of divine wisdom, repelling with the purest and clearest waters of orthodoxy the turbulent waves of error![2] Hail, O Virgin of Guadalupe! We, to whom the admirable disposition of Divine Providence entrusted, without regard for Our unworthiness, the sacred treasure of divine wisdom on earth, for the salvation of all souls, today place anew upon your brow the crown, which forever places under your powerful patronage the purity and integrity of the holy faith in Mexico and throughout the American continent."  Because we are certain that as long as You are recognized as Queen and as Mother, America and Mexico have been saved.

Let the Apostolic Blessing, which we wholeheartedly give you, be a pledge of these Our desires at this present time.

* AAS 37 (1945) 264-267

[1] St. Cyril Alexis, Hom. 4 ex diversis: MIGNE, PG, 77, 991.

[2] St. Germain Const., Sermon 1 in SS Deip. Praesent., n. 14: MIGNE, PG, 48, 305-306.

THE MEXICAN TEENAGER WHO GAVE HIS LIFE FOR CHRIST ON FEBRUARY 10, 1928

José Luis Sánchez del Río (1913–1928) was a young Mexican teenager and martyr of the Cristero War, a religious conflict that occurred during the persecution of Catholics by the Mexican government between 1926 and 1929.

He was born on March 28, 1913, in Sahuayo, Michoacán, into a Catholic family. From a young age, he showed a deep faith and admiration for those who defended religious freedom during the persecution of the Church in the country.

At the age of 13, he asked to join the Cristero forces, not as a combatant, but as an assistant, caring for horses and helping with basic tasks. He was captured by government troops in 1928 after a confrontation.

During his captivity, he was pressured to renounce his faith.  According to surviving accounts, he repeatedly refused. Finally, after being cruelly tortured, he was executed on February 10, 1928, in his hometown of Sahuayo. Tradition recounts that his last words were: “Long live Christ the King!”

Decades later, his story began to spread widely. He was canonized on October 16, 2016.

Today he is considered a symbol of religious fidelity and youthful courage, especially in Mexico, and his feast day is celebrated on February 10.

THE GREAT POWER OF THE HOLY ROSARY

 

IT IS NECESSARY TO BE WHOLLY GOD'S.

I. The means we must employ to be totally the Lord's is detachment from the world. If your position does not allow you to share your possessions with the poor, at least detach your heart from riches and worldly vanities. You cannot serve two masters at once; you cannot be both God's and the world's at the same time. Choose, of these two paths, the one that is more advantageous to you. Is it necessary to think too much when it comes to giving yourself to You, O my God?

II. Consider the rewards the world bestows on those who serve it. Solomon was showered with all the goods of the earth, and yet he declared that everything is vanity. Ask yourself: Is it not true that you are already dissatisfied with the goods of the world as soon as you possess them; that your spirit has never been fully content and that something has always been lacking in your happiness?  Deceitful world, why do you promise us so many things you cannot give?

III. If you truly wish to confess the truth, you will agree with me that you have never been happier or more content than after performing some act of virtue. If Jesus Christ rewards you so generously in this world, what will He not reserve for you in the next? If the pleasures the devil offers are tinged with such bitterness, what torments await you! Surrender yourself to God, and you will see that there is no pleasure comparable to that which is found in the service of this most loving Lord.

FEBRUARY 2: THE PURIFICATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN AND THE PRESENTATION OF THE CHILD JESUS ​​IN THE TEMPLE

Adorn, Zion, your dwelling, and receive Christ the King; embrace Mary, who is the heavenly gate, for she brings the King of glory, of the new light. The Virgin pauses, holding in her hands the Son conceived before the dawn; and Simeon, taking him in his arms, proclaims to the nations that he is the Lord of life and death, and the Savior of the world.

January 31: Saint John Bosco