Saint George slays the Dragon
Hurry and come, all you neighboring peoples, assemble there! Bring down, LORD, your warriors! Joel 4:11
I want to begin this post with a confession. This isn’t something I am proud of, but I feel it is a story I must tell because of the clarity of mission it gave to me.
Like all of you out there I have had many struggles in the past few weeks. For me, the struggles are not about the virus, though I believe in prudence when it comes to dealing with that. Satan is always looking for the weak spot in your defenses, so if you have no anxiety about a virus, he looks for another opening. Satan is relentless in trying to convince a person of all their failures. I was being attacked relentlessly with the thought that I had not done enough to prepare my family for the times we are in. I kept questioning whether my children and even my spouse, had souls prepared for this time, perhaps expecting a level of spiritual maturity that took me a lifetime to achieve and that I myself am still working on.
I have been blessed to have many of the churches in my area open for prayer, some of them doing daily adoration and confession while still following all of the safety parameters laid out by the state. I went to adoration and noticed the church had a new Monstrance and the top of the Monstrance has a crown, a Royal Crown, fit for a King.
I began my prayer, like I sometimes do, questioning God. I was asking him about my family and their preparedness, and this is where I did something I am not proud of. I told God that I should have spent all my time in prayer for my family and not been praying so much for Priests. (I was having a weak moment y’all).
I can only describe what happened next as a gift of the Holy Spirit. It’s the one we never really talk about. Fear of the Lord. All I can say is that as I looked at that Monstrance, the interior image in my head was of the Lord sitting in His throne, with all of His glory, His regal head adorned with a glorious crown, and when I said that, He stood up out of His throne and towered over me. Fear overcame me. I could feel His wrath at my statement. I felt about an inch tall. He called me Susanna, which felt like when a parent uses your two names and you know you’re in trouble, only it wasn’t my two names, it was the Latin version of my name. The words that came out of His mouth were, “How dare you.” He went on to explain to me that when the God of the Universe asks you to do something, in this case, pray for Priests, and you do it in obedience, that how dare I think He wouldn’t take care of my family. He explained that prayers for Priests are so essential to the domestic church that I cannot possibly understand the enormity of their efficacy. I apologized to God and he forgave me. And it gave me clarity of mission. We must pray for our Priests like we never have before.
In the days that followed the Lord kept speaking to me about the abuse in the Liturgy, but also about angels. These angels are here to help us do the will of God, and to protect us, and to give glory to God. I kept getting an image in my head of Seraphim surrounding Priests at the altar with a wall of fire. This wall of fire keeps the demonic away from trying to attack the the Priests who bring us the sacrifice. But when abuse in the Liturgy takes place, the defenses are weakened. It became apparent to me how we need to pray for our Priests in order that their hearts, and ours, have reverence and awe for the Lord and what is taking place on the altar. I wrote a prayer as a result.
Prayer of Protection of the Mass and Priests
O Lord Jesus in this time of tribulation send Seraphim to surround the Priests at the altar with the Fire of God’s love which no demon can penetrate.
Protect and guard our Priests who bring us this sacrifice. Let no abuse enter the Eucharistic Sacrifice.
Send legions of angels to help each Priest to do your will.
Ignite their hearts with the flame of love through the faith of the believers they serve, each part of the Mystical Body in union with the will of the Father.
Lift doubt from their hearts and pour the gift of faith over them dispelling unbelief.
Place a fortress around all Priests protecting them from death, pestilence, plague, persecution, ridicule, calumny and false accusation.
Make transparent all sin so that it may be purified and only perfect love remains.
Save us Lord, your church.
Purify us Lord, your bride.
Raise up leaders who walk in your authority.
Cleanse us Lord.
We ask for your mercy.
We trust in you.
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
This is how we walk the path of the Spiritual Warrior. Though I was ashamed at my questioning of God, I am not upset that I was rebuked by Him. It was a mercy and a needed discipline. It refocused me on how to fight the demonic intelligently. My false expectations and worldly way of thinking pointed out by the Almighty Himself. When we are obedient to His will and what He asks us to do, blessings pour out exponentially. I will never question him about praying for Priests again.
There is one other thing I want to address in this post; and that is spiritual jealousy. Of late, with talk of perhaps having small Masses with 5 people or less. I have seen many people lamenting and complaining about who will get to receive Our Lord. Of course, all of us miss Him, and I as much as anyone else want desperately to receive Him. But in these conversations I have seen poison arrows flung at those who have been able to receive at times, and tons of worry about favoritism. I have heard some say they would abstain from receiving in solidarity with others who cannot. Let me tell you something, worrying about favoritism is a worldly worry and taps into Pride. God wants our union with Him and the Eucharist is the place where grace comes for exactly that. If ONE faithful person is able to receive in reverence and in a state of grace it pours extensive grace over the rest of us. If that one person receives and offers it for all of us who cannot that is way more powerful than abstaining and praying for us because Christ’s full presence is in that act. Envy is an insidious sin. I will rejoice over anyone is allowed to receive and strengthen the rest of us. Please do not fall prey to spiritual envy.
Be blessed. Stay Safe.
I hope you had a beautiful Divine Mercy Sunday. If you feel inclined, here is my talk from last year on Divine Mercy.
Veil of Veronica 
I would like your take on a concern of mine once communion begins to be administered again. I have always received on the tongue, and all of this experience of deprivation from the Eucharist, plus Dan Burke’s talk about how he thinks sacrilege and lack of reverence are one aspect of what brought about the correction from God that is this deprivation, only reinforce that. If priests (and/or lay attendees) advise or request or even demand just receiving by hand, is it better for me then to abstain than to receive that way, even though the Church permits reception by hand and so it can’t actually be innately sinful? This concerns me a lot and I would like to think it through beforehand.
I think personally for me I would still receive as reverently as possible on my knees – taking care not to let any particles of Our Lord fall by paying close attention to my hands, probably not picking up the host and putting it in my mouth – but instead placing my tongue directly on the host in my hands. The church has said reception in the hands is licit so it would not, in my opinion be sinful, for if it were then the authority is culpable for that sin, not us. We cannot control the leadership and so for our own part we must be as reverent as we can be. And we must be at peace. Personally if I have confessed my sins and have the opportunity to receive our Lord, I would, for it is in His real presence the grace flows exponentially. Let’s hope this does not happen.
Amen!
Susan,
CHRIST HAS RISEN! TRULY, HE HAS RISEN!
Regarding liturgical abuse that you discussed in this post and the last post. There are a couple of reasons for this
1.) The limited nature of the rubrics found in the 1969 and its successor missals The GIRM is at times deliberately vague.
2.) The breakdown in reverence – I remember the tales of the infamous pizza mass in New Jersey (Pizza and beer, the lord is here) in the early 1980s that every OFM of the Holy Name Province knew of it in the mid 1980s – it was a scandal!
3.) When I seriously thought of being a Franciscan in the early 1990s, one of the turn offs was that when we went for the pre-novitiate program, genuflecting to the tabernacle where our Eucharistic Lord was actively discourage. We were told we were bowing to the altar was ok, but not genuflecting to our Lord. One of my friends brought up Francis’s Letter to the Clergy regarding liturgical reverence and he was shown the door.
4.)The lies – When they moved the tabernacle at St. Bonaventure’s church in Allegany NY in the late 1980s to the side and tore down the old high altar, I asked why it was down. I was told it was required by Vatican II. When I later read the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (CSL), as it was then called, I was surprised not to find it. Then I found that so many abuses that I had been told , or read, were called for by Vatican II, such as eucharistic ministers and clown masses had been called for by the Council. Of course, one you realize you have been lied to, the credibility of the liars disappears.
5. The instability of the Novus ordo, or the fact that is seems to be constantly changing and mutating since its inception. The Novus Ordo of today is not the Novus Ordo of 1973, for example. In 1973, there was still communion on the tongue, received kneeling at an altar rail in most places. Altar boys (only boys) still work cassocks and surplices. There was no stupid entrance procession (they historically only happened in Cathedrals or where there were canons, or monasteries) not your local parish!), instead you rang the bell, processed out of the sacristy, knelt before the altar (as in the 1965 missal) and then went tot he steps of the altar or kneelers by the altar.
6.) The abuse of archeologism in violation of Pius XII’s Mediator Dei – there was no reason to remove the exorcism prayers in baptism – these were not changes called for by the Council. They argued, “but, but baptism itself is an exorcism!” Well, yes and no. If the Council was consistent, they would have demanded that all of the baptismal rites be simplified – which they dare not do because of the Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox.
7.) The use of B.O.B., that is, the Book of Blessings, so beloved of the impious Bishop Donald Trautman. In that book, the blessings, as Father Z has discussed, are mainly invocatory blessings, not consecratory blessing. In other words, a book of happy wishes but not true holiness. Father Z’s best example is the whole issue of holy water.
Sue, in a sense the above complaints are fluff – if we truly loved Christ, we would never have done this. At most, they would have allowed the old mass and sacraments into the vernacular and expanded the traditional lectionary – that is all.
I will give you another comment regarding angels and the liturgy in a bit.
Thanks for the background James. I don’t really know a lot of it so this helps.
Thank you for this, I needed to hear it. And your prayer for priests gives me a plan of action. So much appreciated. I want to make sure you know how much you help us. Much love your way!
Thank you and God Bless you.
Sue,
In the 1962 Roman missal you had three mentions of angels:
1.) From the Offertory:
MAY the Lord, by the intercession of blessed Michael the Archangel, who standeth at the right side of the altar of incense, and of all His Elect, vouchsafe to bless this incense and receive it as an odour of sweetness: through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. *** This, like most of the old and beautiful offertory, was stricken and is not found in the much truncated Novus Ordo Offertory.
2.) The preface:
So that in confessing the true and eternal Godhead, we should adore distinction in persons, unity in essence, and equality in Majesty: Which the Angels and Archangels, the Cherubim also and Seraphim do praise nor cease to cry out in one voice: (the Sanctus).
In the 1975 translation, the references to angels was abbreviated, but in the 2011 translation, the references to angels is now fully translated, so this still exists.
3.) From the Roman Canon: HUMBLY we beseech Thee, almighty God, to command that these our offerings be carried by the hands of Thy holy Angel to Thine Altar on high, in the sight of Thy divine Majesty, so that those of us who shall receive the most sacred Body and Blood of Thy Son by partaking thereof from this Altar may be filled with every grace and heavenly blessing. Through Christ our Lord. Amen *** This is still there, but as the Canon is so rarely used, it is almost never heard by the laity.
None of the other anaphoras (Eucharistic prayers) speak of angels in this fashion.
In the old liturgy, much as in the Byzantine liturgy, the presence of angels is manifest and their role is acknowledged.
Now, compare the Novus Ordo to another ancient prayer, that of St. Basil:
Prayer of the Entry
Priest: O Master, Lord our God, who hast appointed in the heavens ranks and hosts of angels and archangels unto the service of Thy glory: With our entry do Thou cause the entry of the holy angels, serving and glorifying Thy goodness with us . . .
The Trisagion prayer of the priest:
The Prayer of the Trisagion Hymn Priest: O Holy God, Who restest in the saints, Who art praised with the thrice-holy hymn by the Seraphim, and art glorified by the Cherubim, and art worshiped by all the heavenly hosts, . . .
Prayer of the Cherubic Hymn of the priest:
. . . Thou alone, O Lord our God, dost rule over those in heaven and those on earth, art borne upon the throne of the Cherubim, art Lord of the Seraphim and King of Israel, Thou alone art holy and restest in the saints. . . .
Preface of the anaphora of St. Basil:
. . . For Angels, Archangels, Thrones, Dominions, Principalities, Authorities, Powers, and the many-eyed Cherubim, do praise Thee; before Thee stand round about the six winged Seraphim, with two they cover their faces, with two their feet, and with two they fly, continually crying one to another with never silent doxologies: (the Sanctus)
Sue, Angels are there with the priest. And, to the right of every priest is St. Michael. Behind every priest is our Lady.
I know the angels are there. I never knew all these prayers existed before. Why in the world did we get rid of them? One thing the Lord presses upon me is that all of these angels are at our disposal to help us – if only we would ask…
Apparently we used to.
When I serve at the altar to the right of the priest as a subdeacon in St. Mary’s Byzantine Ruthenian Catholic Church, I am aware that St. Michael is next to me when I hand the priest the censer. When we begin the preface and then the anaphora, I am in awe when I hear these words (another translation):
You are praised by angels, archangels, thrones, dominions, principalities, authorities, powers, many-eyed Cherubim; and round about You stand the six-winged Seraphim, who with two wings cover their faces, with two wings cover their feet, and with two wings they fly round about, crying one to another, with unceasing voices and ever-resounding praises.
No, how often do you hear about the Cherubim having many eyes or the seraphim having six wings, and the citation from Isaiah? You want to be in a state of spiritual purity to serve at the altar when you are amidst such glory. You do not want to embarrass your Guardian Angel.
Remember the Veil Removed Video?: https://theveilremoved.com/watch/ IT gives one some idea about the angels at mass.
Why did they get rid of those prayers from the Roman Missal? On the specious grounds that they were useless repetitions, or that they obscured the liturgy, or that they were not part of the primitive liturgy. The excuses do not hold water, nor were they ever actually called for by the CSL. And, how rude to the angels! They are our friends, full of love!
In any event, Sue, my prayers are with you and yours.
Thank you James
When I first read the prayers of my husband’s 1954 St. Andrew’s Missal I wondered why all these beautiful prayers were removed in the new Mass. And also in all the the rites, baptism, Holy orders, etc. And also in the blessings of sacramentals. The Lord opened my eyes to the question of why this was done after about three years of research and in 2013 I walked into a Latin Mass offered by the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest and knew I was home and have never looked back. God bless.
God Bless you too.
Thanks for posting ! When we came to our little church in Newfoundland, there was no tabernacle in the church. The Eucharist was kept in a cupboard.
My husband and I designed, and had fabricated , a tabernacle for the church. Even I, as a convert, knew that a tabernacle is necessary in every Catholic Church. 🤗
wow!
Yes, that was my sentiment too. 🤗
Susan,
I just want to thank you for your courage and vulnerability to share with us what the Lord shares with you in prayer. I have been reading your blog for a few years now and consider what I learn here to be one of the great graces in my spiritual life. From your blog, I learned about asking the Holy Spirit to show me who I need to forgive. And it worked! Also I learned to ask the Holy Spirit to show me where I need to be purified, and He is showing me! There are many other examples I could share. I guess I will just leave it at this: I simply wanted to let you know that your words are helping. Sometimes if people don’t share, we don’t know so I wanted to say thank you and encourage you to keep sharing! God bless you!
Thank you so much and God Bless you.
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