Volume II/Issue 38/June 2019

He Must Increase

The principles of the spiritual life are actually quite simple. Some complicate things in order to find a way around giving themselves completely over into God's hands. Saint John the Baptist said of Jesus Christ: "He must increase, but I must decrease." (John 3:30) And this is the basic principle of the spiritual life, all Thee, O Lord, and no me. Saint Paul says: "For if any man think himself to be some thing, whereas he is nothing, he deceiveth himself."

At the end of the second chapter of Second Corinthians on into the beginning of the next chapter, Saint Paul describes three types of people: "For what man knoweth the things of a man, but the spirit of a man that is in him? So the things also that are of God no man knoweth, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of this world, but the Spirit that is of God; that we may know the things that are given us from God. Which things also we speak, not in the learned words of human wisdom; but in the doctrine of the Spirit, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the sensual man 1 perceiveth not these things that are of the Spirit of God; for it is foolishness to him, and he cannot understand, because it is spiritually examined. But the spiritual man judgeth all things; and he himself is judged of no man. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that we may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ. And I, brethren, could not speak to you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal. As unto little ones in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, not meat; for you were not able as yet. But neither indeed are you now able; for you are yet carnal. For, whereas there is among you envying and contention, are you not carnal, and walk according to man? For while one saith, I indeed am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollo; are you not men? What then is Apollo, and what is Paul? The ministers of him whom you have believed; and to every one as the Lord hath given."

The Douay-Rheims has a footnote describing the first type of person: ""The sensual man":

The sensual man is either he who is taken up with sensual pleasures, with carnal and worldly affections; or he who measureth divine mysteries by natural reason, sense, and human wisdom only. Now such a man has little or no notion of the things of God. Whereas the spiritual man is he who, in the mysteries of religion, takes not human sense for his guide: but submits his judgment to the decisions of the church, which he is commanded to hear and obey. For Christ hath promised to remain to the end of the world with his church, and to direct her in all things by the Spirit of truth."

At the other end of the spectrum is the spiritual person, which is who we should be.

Notice that the spiritual person is ready for the meat, which means he is well versed in spiritual principles. The Psalmist tells us (Psalms 1:2): "But his will is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he shall meditate day and night." And Saint Paul: "pray without ceasing." (I Thessalonians 5:17) In addition to their hour of prayer every day, the spiritual man stays with God as much as duty will allow. His thoughts always turn to the things of God rather than the things of earth, which the sensual man focuses on.

Now let us turn to the carnal man. And this is many of us want to remain, carnal with one foot still in the world and the other in heavenly things. Notice that Saint Paul cannot feed the carnal meat. Like little babies, we are only ready for milk. If we look at our lives honestly, we will realize that we are still on the bottle spiritually, because we are still carnal. Saint Paul tells us further: "For whereas for the time you ought to be masters, you have need to be taught again what are the first elements of the words of God: and you are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that is a partaker of milk, is unskillful in the word of justice: for he is a little child. But strong meat is for the perfect; for them who by custom have their senses exercised to the discerning of good and evil." (Hebrews 5:12-14)

We should be perfect, that is perfectly conformed to and united to the holy will of God. Jesus is quite clear on this point: "Be you therefore perfect, as also your heavenly Father is perfect." (Matthew 5:48) This is our goal, and we are standing in the way, which is why we must decrease, so that Jesus may increase in our lives.

And it is very important that we get serious about becoming truly spiritual, because only the spiritual can understand the truth. The carnal may get some idea, but they cannot grasp spiritual things. Their mind is clouded with earthly things.

In the November 2018 Olive Tree we considered an Act of Submission to the Will of God. https://www.vaticaninexile.com/november_2018_olive_tree.php This is a good place to begin our spiritual journey by turning our lives completely over to Almighty God, as we are reminded several places in Scripture to give Him our whole mind, body, soul and strength. We can not hold anything back from Almighty God. As they say, we must go all in.

Let us remember, He must increase and I must decrease.

1 "The sensual man": The sensual man is either he who is taken up with sensual pleasures, with carnal and worldly affections; or he who measureth divine mysteries by natural reason, sense, and human wisdom only. Now such a man has little or no notion of the things of God. Whereas the spiritual man is he who, in the mysteries of religion, takes not human sense for his guide: but submits his judgment to the decisions of the church, which he is commanded to hear and obey. For Christ hath promised to remain to the end of the world with his church, and to direct her in all things by the Spirit of truth.

The Funny Pharmacy

A joyful mind maketh age flourishing: a sorrowful spirit drieth up the bones. - Proverbs 17:22 

 

 

The Pope Speaks: June 2019

The Great Apathy

"Let no man deceive you by any means, for unless there come a revolt first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition, Who opposeth, and is lifted up above all that is called God, or that is worshipped, so that he sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself as if he were God." (II Thessalonians 2:3-4) The Douay-Rhiems has a footnote on the revolt:

"A revolt": This revolt, or falling off, is generally understood, by the ancient fathers, of a revolt from the Roman empire, which was first to be destroyed, before the coming of Antichrist. It may, perhaps, be understood also of a revolt of many nations from the Catholic Church; which has, in part, happened already, by means of Mahomet, Luther, &c., and it may be supposed, will be more general in the days of the Antichrist."

Some call the revolt the Great Apostasy from the Greek word, which is translated as revolt. Islam is a form of apostasy. Mohammed was inspired by a Nestorian (heretical) monk in part, when he merged Judaism, Christianity and his own ideas to found his own religion, much as Joseph Smith was to do centuries later in forming the Mormon heresy. Apostasy means a falling away from the Faith.

From 1962 to 1965 a council was held, which Angelo Roncalli, the second Antipope John XXIII in history, which he called the Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican. (More commonly known as Vatican II) However it defined the doctrines of a new sect, called the Conciliar Church, which Roncalli governed from 1958 until 1963 and was followed by John the Baptist Montini, Paul VI. Some consider that Vatican II and its perfidious spirit, which led to a revision of the essential rights of the Sacraments as well as the spreading of many heresies was the Great Apostasy. The spirit of Vatican II is that truth is not unchangeable, but changeable. Thus what was condemned as false in the nineteenth century, a hundred years later became truth, as Joseph Ratzinger (Benedict XVI) would call Vatican II a counter-syllabus, meaning it over turned the Syllabus of Errors.

The question arises, has the son of perdition, the Antichrist, arisen. Some considered John the Baptist Montini as the Antichrist, but considering his name, he was more like a forerunner to Antichrist, preparing a church to receive Antichrist, as John the Baptist was the forerunner of Jesus Christ.

Since the Antichrist hasn't come, but things appear to be coming into place for his advent, where are we now?

In the 1960's until the late 1970's, people began to see through the Conciliar Church and to leave it. Some left Catholicism entirely, while others formed what eventually would be called the Traditionalist movement. The Great Apostasy mutated into what a priest friend calls the Great Apathy. Everyone found a comfortable pew by the end of the 1970's to sit in and attend Mass. We have become complacent with the status quo and the Conciliar Church and the Traditionalist Movement has become acceptable to the world. Instead of the Church Militant on fire with the love of God, we have become the Church Comfortable and become the religious equivalent of a couch potato, a pew potato.

Jesus warned of these times: "And because iniquity hath abounded, the charity of many shall grow cold." (Matthew 24:12) Charity is the love of God and the love of our neighbor for the love of God. Do we have charity? We need to reread the thirteenth chapter of First Corinthians on the virtue of charity. Do we have all of those marks?

The prophet Amos (8:11) tells us of these times: "Behold the days come, saith the Lord, and I will send forth a famine into the land: not a famine of bread, nor a thirst of water, but of hearing the word of the Lord." Are we here out of curiosity or are we here to hear the Word of God? Are we ready to take what is preached here to heart and change our lives from a sensual life to a spiritual one? Or will we remain apathetic?

 

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Saints from East and West

Saints whose feasts are celebrated this month

June 15 (Byzantine) - The Holy Prophet Amos

The Holy Prophet Amos, third of the Twelve Lesser Prophets, lived during the eighth century before the Birth of Christ. At this time the Hebrew nation was divided into two kingdoms: the Judean and the Israelite. The Judean king Hosiah ruled in Jerusalem, but the ten separated Israelite tribes were ruled by Jeroboam II, an idol-worshipper. At Bethel he set up an idol in the form of a golden calf, which they worshipped, having rejected the True God of the Israelites.

The Prophet Amos was a Judean, native to the city of Thekui. Simple and untaught, but strongly fervent of faith and zealous for the glory of the True God, the shepherd was chosen by the Lord for prophetic service and sent to the Israelite kingdom for the purpose of denouncing the impiety of King Jeroboam, and the Israelites for falling away from God. The prophet predicted for them a great misfortune, which would befall the Israelite kingdom, and the pagan nations surrounding it, for their impiety.

Because of his denunciations, the Prophet Amos repeatedly suffered beatings and torture. But he again returned to Bethel, and threatening inevitable misfortunes, he continued to call the Israelites to repentance. The pagan priest Amasiah of the idolatrous temple in particular hated the prophet. The prophet predicted for him and all his household a speedy destruction and for this he was subjected to a beating. The son of Amasiah, Hosiah, struck the saint on the head with a club and seriously wounded him. The Prophet Amos, still alive, reached his native village and there he died in about the year 787 before the Birth of Christ.

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June 25 - Saint William of Vercelli, Abbot of Montevergine

The founder of the religious congregation known as the Hermits of Monte Vergine came of a Piedmontese family and was born at Vercelli in 1085. After the death of his parents, whom he lost in infancy, he was kindly cared for by relations, but at the age of fourteen he abandoned his home and set out as a poor pilgrim for Compostela in Spain. Not satisfied with the hardships such a journey entailed, he had two iron bands fastened round his body. How long William remained in Spain is not recorded. We hear of him next in 1106, when he was at Melfi in the Italian Basilicata, and then at Monte Solicoli, on the slopes of which he remained for two years, leading a penitential life with a hermit. To this period belongs Saint William's first miracle, the restoration of sight to a blind man. The cure made him famous, and to avoid being acclaimed as a wonder-worker he left the neighbourhood to stay with Saint John of Matera. They were kindred spirits and became close friends. It was Saint William's intention to proceed on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and he would not allow himself to be deterred by John's assurance that God had other work for him to do. He actually started, but he had not got far when he was attacked by robbers. He took this as a sign that John was right, and relinquished his journey.

He now betook himself to a height between Nola and Benevento, which was then called Monte Virgiliano - possibly after the great Virgil, who is said to have sojourned there. At first William attempted to live there as a hermit, but he was soon joined by would-be disciples, both priests and laymen. He formed them into a community and from the church which he built in 1124, under the name of our Lady, the mountain has derived its present name of Monte Vergine. The rule he instituted was most austere: no wine, meat, or dairy produce was allowed, and on three days of the week only vegetables and dry bread. After the first fervour had cooled, murmurs arose and there was a general demand for relaxation. William had no desire to constrain the malcontents, though for himself any relaxation seemed unthinkable. He therefore chose a prior to rule the community, and then departed with five faithful followers. With Saint John of Matera, who now joined him, he made a second settlement at Monte Laceno, in Apulia. Here, however, the barrenness of the soil, the exposed position, and the high altitude made life a misery to all but the most hardy, and even they could with difficulty hold out through the winter. Saint John had more than once urged removal, when a fire which destroyed their huts compelled them to descend into the valley. There the two holy men parted: John to go east and found one monastery at Pulsano on Monte Gargano, and William to found another on Monte Cognato in the Basilicata.

When that community was well established, Saint William treated it as he had treated the monastery at Monte Vergine - he gave it a prior and left it to govern itself. At Conza, in Apulia, he founded a monastery for men, and at Guglietto, near Nusco, he established two communities, one of men and the other of women. King Roger II of Naples afterwards drew him to Salerno, in order that he might have the benefit of his counsel and help. Saint William's beneficent influence over the monarch was, however, resented by some of the courtiers who lost no opportunity of discrediting and decrying him as a hypocrite and a humbug. With the knowledge of the king, they set a trap by sending to him, on some specious excuse, a woman of loose life, charged with the task of luring him to sin. William received her in a room at one end of which a great fire was burning; and as soon as she began to exercise her blandishments he walked away to the fireplace, parted the glowing coals with his bare hands, and then stretched himself down at full length in the space he had cleared, inviting her to lie down with him. Her horror was only exceeded by her amazement, when he presently arose, completely unharmed. The miracle led to her conversion: she gave up her life of sin and took the veil in the convent of Venosa. As for King Roger, he continued to patronize William's foundations, and endowed other houses which he placed under the saint's control.

Saint William died at Guglietto on June 25, 1142. He left no written constitutions, but a code of regulations bringing the order into conformity with the Benedictine rule was drawn up by the third abbot general, Robert. The only monastery of William's foundation which exists at the present day is that of Monte Vergine. It now belongs to the Benedictine congregation of Subiaco, and has a much venerated picture of our Lady of Constantinople, to which pilgrimages are frequently made.

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Books to feed your faith!

Brother Constantine's Greek Salad 

Brother Constantine's salad is always a hit, especially in summer when fresh produce is abundant.

If you can't find Greek olives, canned black olives make an acceptable substitute.

"This is an incredibly good Greek salad recipe, nice and tangy and even better in the summer when you use fresh vegetables!"

Ingredients
1 head romaine lettuce- rinsed, dried and chopped
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 large tomatoes, chopped
1 cucumber, sliced
6 ounces pitted Greek olives
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
6 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 lemon, juiced
ground black pepper to taste

Directions
1. In a large salad bowl, combine the Romaine, onion, olives, bell peppers, tomatoes, cucumber and cheese.

2. Whisk together the olive oil, oregano, lemon juice and black pepper. Pour dressing over salad, toss and serve. 

 

Father Vasiliy's Caraway Rye Bread

A delightful and substantial loaf for any time of the year. It is a great accompaniment to cold vegetable dishes for your summertime table.

Ingredients
2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
2 cups warm water (110 degrees to 115 degrees), divided
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon caraway seed
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 teaspoons salt
2 1/2 cups rye flour
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided

Directions
In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup warm water. Add brown sugar, caraway, oil, salt and remaining water; mix well. Stir in rye flour and 1 cup all-purpose flour; beat until smooth. Add enough remaining all-purpose flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch dough down; divide in half. Shape each half into a ball; place in two greased 8-in. round cake pans. Flatten balls to a 6-in. diameter. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes. Bake at 375 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.

Video sermons and instructions: Timeless timely truths for living the Faith

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Pentecost 2011

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Pentecost, 2013.

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Trinity Sunday, 2013.

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5th Sunday after Easter 2019 - Why Pray?

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VIE CATHOLIC RADIO EVENTS FOR JUNE

 

Catechism Catch-Up  

Can A Person Forgive Themselves?

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You Really Can't Forgive Yourself

Living Catholic:

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How To Gain A Clear Conscience When We Have Offended Someone Part 2