Category: Spirituality

If someone were to ask me to briefly summarize one of the most unsettling problems in the Catholic Church today, I might be inclined to point to this day, the Feast of All Souls, and note three things: (1) That All Souls Day can be, and this year was, widely celebrated on a Sunday; (2) That priests are neither expected nor encouraged to trinate on the feast (i.e., celebrate three Masses); and (3) The disappearance of the privileged altar. The Ecclesia Militans has abandoned the Ecclesia Penitens. This makes quite a bit of sense in a day and age when we’re told to “dare to hope” about the final destination of all souls, including those who have departed and/or wage war against Christ’s Holy Church.

Let me be clear: The holy souls in Purgatory need our help now more than ever. If we do not abandon them, they will not abandon us when they gain their reward in Heaven. For the remainder of this week, consider dedicating yourself spiritually to gaining a plenary indulgence for a soul still suffering. Consider, too, remembering the most forgotten souls in Purgatory when reciting the Rosary and offer your intention at Mass for their speedy delivery into the arms of our Holy Mother. And if you can, make time to recite the Officium Defunctorum as well. All of these acts, plus the innumerable prayers and petitions given to us by Holy Mother Church, are powerful aids to the holy souls and to ourselves as well.

It’s taken some time for me to transfer information and posts from the old Opus Publicum onto here, but I am (slowly) trying to rectify that. One new link to the “Sites of Interest” section that I want to highlight is Noah Moerbeek’s apostolate, Alleluia Audiobooks. Catholics (and Orthodox!) — East and West — can find a treasure trove of free spiritual and catechetical materials to listen to at their convenience. Whose words would you rather have filling your car during a long commute? St. John Chrysostom’s or Terry Gross’s?

Allow me to take a moment away from “Synod Talk” to wish all of you a blessed Feast of St. Gerhard Majella, a lay brother of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (Redemptorists) and the patron saint of mothers and expectant mothers. While the General Roman Calendar assigns St. Hedwig to October 16, the Redemptorists traditionally celebrated this day as a II Class Feast for St. Gerard. Further information about the life of St. Gerard, along with special prayers and devotions to him, is available online here.

The Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer (Transalpine Redemptorists) on Papa Stronsay have relics of St. Gerard which they make available to mothers in distress or those who have difficulty conceiving. More information on how you can acquire a relic for yourself or a friend is available from the Sons’ website here.

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Tomorrow is the feast day of Blessed Gaspar Stangassinger, a 19th C. Redemptorist Father who dedicated his brief life to teaching and service. While I have gotten away from it on this iteration of Opus Publicum, I do plan to add more edifying content (even if only links) in line with the Redemptorist tradition. I suspect we could all stand to take a moment of our busy lives tomorrow and reflect on the following quote from Blessed Gaspar: “That which is important for me . . . are the simple eternal truths: the Incarnation, the Redemption and the Holy Eucharist.”

I want to wish all readers of this blog a blessed feast of St. Alphonsus Ligouri, founder of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (Redemptorists). For those following the Novus Ordo calendar, his feast day is today. For those who follow the vetus ordo, his feast is tomorrow (August 2). If you haven’t done so already, consider reading both his The Glories of Mary and Preparation for Death; they are among some of the greatest spiritual works in the history of the Catholic Church. It remains a great shame that most of the English-language volumes of his complete ascetical works are now long out of print, though used copies are readily available. Just be careful which translations you go for, as this helpful blog posts notes. Besides being a great Doctor of the Church, St. Alphonsus spent his life working tirelessly for the salvation of souls. His writings still serve as a guiding light through these dark times when we are so often tempted to set our hearts on worldly things instead of our minds on eternity and our last end. The following text is a summary of his life taken from the pre-1962 Breviarium Romanum.