Merry Christmas

Hail and blessed be the hour and the moment in which the Son of God was born, of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, and in piercing cold.

In that hour, vouchsafe O my God to hear my prayer and grant my desires, through the merits of our Savior Jesus Christ and of his Blessed Mother.

Amen.

From the Saint Andrew novena

Little Lightning Bug

Summer is here! If the calendar didn't prove it, everything around us does: the early morning and late evening daylight, the ever-increasing outdoor temperatures (and the constantly running AC), the kids out of school, the early garden harvest (sweet peas!) and one of my favorite things: lightning bugs.

Five years ago in early June and in this same blog space, I wrote the following: 

Lightning Bugs 

As a transplant to the Midwest I was in my mid-30s before I saw my first lightning bug. (For all the Pacific Northwest has to offer, it is not a home to lightning bugs!) I've been here 10 years now, and I still thrill to see these slow-fliers for a few weeks each May and June.

On a warm evening as the boys chase them, catch them, and marvel at their little twinkling lights, I can't help but think that perhaps that is precisely why God made lightning bugs: simply for the wonderment and delight of every child...... and every child within the adult who still marvels too.

Our boys are now 12 and 14 years old and not so interested in chasing and catching the little fellas anymore, but we all still enjoy getting a glimpse of their lights and following them as they take their time twinkling about our back yard. 

My good friend, LongSkirts, wrote the following poem about lightning bugs. I love this poem when she posts it each year about this time:

LITTLE

LIGHTNING

BUG

Little lightning bug

O, fellow

Where'd you get

That torch so yellow

Flicking off

Then flicking on

Right above our

Front yard lawn

Giving children

Merry-mirth

Acolytes

Upon this earth

Keeping lit

Your votive flame

Compline's call

To praise His name

* * *

God Bless You!

Requiem Mass for FSSP priest at St. Marys Assumption

A requiem Mass for Reverend Father Kenneth Walker, FSSP, who was murdered in Arizona last week, will be held at St Mary's Assumption Catholic Church, 1126 Dolman St. St. Louis,  at 11:15 am tomorrow, June16th.  All are welcome.

Father's Day poem for our Priests

Give thanks to God for our Holy Priests who sacrifice for the salvation of our souls and bring us the Holy Sacraments.  From 'A Father's Day Poem for Priests'

catholictradition.org

I thank thee Father (gratitude for our priests)

The Lord hath sworn, and he will not repent: Thou art a priest forever according to the order of Melchisedech. (Ps. 109:4; Heb. 5:6)

I thank thee Father
for all
thou hast done:
for giving us
God’s only Son;
for all the Sacrifices
thou dost make;
for consecrating
the bread we take

I thank thee Father
for the sacraments:
Baptism,
Communion,
and Penance
for helping us
to sanctify
our souls’ hunger
to satisfy

I thank thee Father
for thine obedience
for being our shepherd
for thy guidance
for leading us
into pastures green
for lifting our hearts
to things unseen

I thank thee Father
for thy vocation
for spreading
the Gospel
to every nation
for giving thy life
that we might live
I thank thee Father
for all thou dost give

I thank thee Father
for thy selflessness
for all the ways
thou dost bless
our lives
amidst the world’s
wretchedness
for giving thine all
and nothing less

I thank thee Father
for thy guiding light
amidst a world
in dark of night
like our Lord
for shining bright
for being the King’s
trustworthy knight

I thank thee Father
for being there
in times of joy,
or in despair
for thy words
of counsel
and consolation
I thank thee Father
for thy vocation

Amen.  Happy Father's day to our beloved, good and holy priests who bring us the sacraments and guide our paths towards salvation.  Deo Gratias!

Seven New Priests

Today seven deacons of the Society of Saint Pius X were ordained to the priesthood, and five subdeacons were ordained deacons at Saint Thomas Aquinas Seminary in Winona, MN.  They are:

REV. MR. CHARLES DEISTER

of Kansas City, Missouri

REV. MR. THOMAS DUNCAN

of Tyrone, New Mexico

REV. MR. PETER FORTIN

of Spotsylvania, Virginia

REV. MR. MATTHEW STAFKI

of Oak Grove, Minnesota

REV. MR. ISAAC DELMANOWSKI

of Glendale, Arizona

REV. MR. ANDREW FERRELLI

of Syracuse, New York

REV. MR. JOSEPH HAYNOS

of Post Falls, Idaho

A blessing for the Church.  

Keep these new Priests in your prayers.

The First Mass schedule can be found here.

QHR Graduation and Awards Ceremony

May God continue to bless His Holy Church with well formed young Catholic boys and girls.

" [Priests', teachers', and staff members'] efforts to form solid Catholic students should not be taken for granted, and are certainly not in vain ... The opportunity to go to Holy Mass almost every day, the priests in cassocks teaching and governing the students here, and Catholic teachers, all make the Academy a healthy, Catholic way to high school, steering students the right way to graduation. If a family was searching for a school that had a traditional Catholic environment enveloping it, they should choose Queen of the Holy Rosary Academy."  - from the Valedictorian speech.

Congratulations, Newly Confirmed!

"Now, when the apostles, who were in Jerusalem, had heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John. Who, when they were come, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Ghost. For he was not as yet come upon any of them: but they were only baptized in the Name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid their hands upon them: and they received the Holy Ghost.

- Acts 8:14-17

"And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God: whereby you are sealed unto the day of redemption."  

- Ephesians 4:30