Shared Summary from Father Martins

2018: The Year from Hell for the Catholic Church

By Fr. Carlos Martins, Treasures of the Church:

This is a good summary of the debacle that was 2018 for the Catholic Church. I say this even though it is written by the Religion Editor of CNN. Actually, things are even worse than what he says. The article did not include the high number of priests that were removed from ministry after being credibly accused of committing abuse.

Reading through this summary is like watching a train wreck in slow motion.

To me, the only bright spot in the year was Archbishop Viganò. He was the only one screaming, “Fire!,” as the building was burning. It took him to expose the filth.

Notice how it’s been months since any confusing statements have been issued by Vatican officials? You know, bone-headed comments that lack reason, or logic, or that appear to challenge the basic content of the Divine and Catholic Faith? And notice how no one in the Holy See dares to say any longer, “Everything is O.k. It’s all under control. We are taking care of things. Don’t worry.”? The reason why, friends, is because Archbishop Viganò is immensely feared. No one knows what else he knows. And no one knows what he is capable of doing with it. That’s why. That is the only reason why. An idiotic comment today could mean 10,000 news cameras in the speaker’s face tomorrow, should Viganò open his mouth.

It does not take a genius to conclude that Archbishop Viganò IS the wrath of God. What he exposed hurts like hell. But I am so thankful he exposed it. He had the courage and will to speak and act for the truth when so many Vatican officials–many who will probably never see heaven–were silent. Archbishop Viganò brought us the hurt that heals. “Come, let us return to the Lord; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up” (Hosea 6:1).

Doubtless, there are some of you who will criticize my affirmation of Archbishop Viganò. You will call him a traitor and a vigilante. And you will have some choice words for me too (you always have in the past). Let me save you the trouble. I am not interested in your comments. I wear a collar around my neck. I do so because I gave my life for the Church. My gift to Her was my life. Whole and entire. My commitment to the Church included surrendering my freedom, my time, my right to marriage and a family, my professional career, and my wealth. My concern for Her is not a passing interest. It is my life. It is deeply personal. So personal that only another person with a collar around his neck can understand.

But, there is one thing that I did not surrender when I became a priest: my integrity. I refuse to stand politely silent and watch the damned crucify the Lord anew by raping His Church. I married the Church. An attack against Her, is an attack against me.

Thus, when scoundrels who also wear collars abuse children, prey upon seminarians, form “gay mafias” that control who is promoted to the episcopacy, stand silent while a serial predator is promoted to the rank of Cardinal, pay-off their boyfriends with the Church’s money, bankrupt dioceses, make the civil authorities believe the Church can no longer be trusted to police itself, I will always stand next to the man who is exposing the serpent. The clerical sex abuse problem has been a long time in the making. If the current structure could be trusted, then we wouldn’t be here. Period.

It is your right to disagree with this. But if you do, rather than criticize me, please go do something productive, like evangelize and convert McCarrick.

Consecration of the Altar & Liturgy at Holy Virgin Protection Church

Interesting. This is the Russian Orthodox Church's ceremony to consecrate an altar.  The altar is washed with wine and rose water.  It is sprinkled with Holy Water and anointed with Holy Chrism.

Paul Can't Walk on Water

As stupid, irreverent and blasphemous, the "Dancing with Jesus" figurine is, I see God's hand in it. What would He think of it?  Well, He's a big boy; He can take care of Himself.

The stories before the dance moves are good, except for the first story, "The Water Walk."  The scripture story is in all the Gospels except Luke: Mark 6: 45-52, Matthew 14: 22-34, John 6: 15-21.  I will copy the story and you tell me what's wrong with it.

The Water Walk

Make waves without making a splash.

Inspiration: One day the Apostles took a boat across the Sea of Galilee to meet Jesus, who was already on the other side, but waves threatened to swamp them.  Just then they spotted Jesus approaching from the opposite shore--by walking on the water.  The disciple Paul, displaying truly extraordinary intestinal fortitude, reportedly climbed out of the boat and started toward the Master.  It worked for a while, until Paul lost his nerve and began to sink, forcing the Savior to save him.  ...

What's wrong with this story?

God Turns Negative Into Positive

Along with my "Dancing Jesus" came a little booklet of instructions explaining how to dance.

The table of contents lists these dances:

The Water Walk

The Carpenter Clog

The Temptation Tango

The Temple Slam

The Lazarus Lurch

The Judas Hustle

The Cheek Turn

The Last Supper Stomp

The Pilate Shuffle

The Ascension Swing

My initial feelings were offensive disgust.  I perceived that the figurine was trivializing something sacred, yet I couldn't react in any way that suggested repulsion because the "Dancing Jesus" figurine was a gift from my four-year-old granddaughter.  And the look on her face when she gave the present was pure proud pleasure.  She thought she was giving me the best present, ever.

So she asked to dance.  She thought the Temple Slam sounded like fun so we followed the directions: 

Shake your moneymaker at the moneychangers.

Inspiration: When Jesus visited the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, he found it overrun with everything from moneychangers to merchants and livestock dealers.  But not for long.  In the New Testament's only example of messianic butt-kicking, Jesus chased them away with an improvised whip.  Commemorate the one-and-only time the Prince of Peace morphed into a man of action with these moves designed to clear the dance floor of moneygrubbers, blasphemers, and wallflowers.

FOLLOW THE MASTER

1. Make sure your partner is ready, willing, and well-padded.  This is a rough freeform romp.
2. Once the music starts, look surprised and angry.  Hey, there's a guy exchanging drachma for shekels!  Get him!
3. Flail your arms and pogo around the dance floor.                                                                     
4. Fashion a pretend "whip" and start slinging it.  If you've got one, feel free to use a scarf or belt.  Take that, moneychangers!
5. Tip over some pretend tables! (Caution: Do not, no matter how much you're feeling it, tip over real tables.  This could earn you a very un-Jesus like ejection from the club.)

At the end of the song, do a couple of victorious chest bumps with your partner.  Temple cleansed!  Mission accomplished!

Well.  I realized this was a unique way of teaching Matthew 21: 12-13.  My four-year-old now knows the story of Jesus cleansing the temple.  She had fun; I enjoyed it, in spite of myself.  

Irreverent, funny, or just Stupid?

My four-year-old granddaughter gave me a "Dancing with Jesus" figurine.  See it bends in the middle; there's a spring separating the top from the bottom.

I was appalled!  But she is only four years old and didn't buy it to mock Jesus or trivialize Him in any way.  She bought her grandmother a figurine of her hero.  In fact, she asked me a question when I opened it that led me to think that her parents tried to discourage her from purchasing it and presenting it to me as a gift.  She said, "You like Him, right?"

So she must have insisted on getting "Dancing with Jesus" because Grandma loves Him.

The figurine is irreverent and stupid, but the thought behind purchasing it as a present is a beautiful gift.  

Prison as a Prep School

This morning I was reading a letter from St. Cyprian (Ep. 6, 1-2; CSEL 3, 480-482) and this

paragraph caught my eye:

How blessed is the prison honored by your presence, how blessed the prison that sends men of God to heaven!  

Not all prisons, only those which recognize God, honor Him, and work towards their personal salvation to live with Him in eternity.  For example, the Lay Dominican chapters inside prisons.  Presently, there are three: MCI Norfolk, Huntsville, Texas, and one in Belgium.

Certainly, God is in MCI Norfolk.  In fact, I can just picture Jesus returning in the little, poor, interdenominational chapel in the CSD building.  That is exactly where our Redeemer who was born in a stable would return.  It's just His style.

However, St. Cyprian was speaking of his imprisonment during the reign of Emperor Valerian.  An edict of persecution was issued against anyone who refused to sacrifice to the pagan deities.

Well, you know why bishops wear red.

The Bishop's exchange was public and preserved:

Galerius Maximus: "Are you Thascius Cyprianus?" Cyprian: "I am." Galerius: "The most sacred Emperors have commanded you to conform to the Roman rites." Cyprian: "I refuse." Galerius: "Take heed for yourself." Cyprian: "Do as you are bid; in so clear a case I may not take heed." Galerius, after briefly conferring with his judicial council, with much reluctance pronounced the following sentence: "You have long lived an irreligious life, and have drawn together a number of men bound by an unlawful association, and professed yourself an open enemy to the gods and the religion of Rome; and the pious, most sacred and august Emperors ... have endeavoured in vain to bring you back to conformity with their religious observances; whereas therefore you have been apprehended as principal and ringleader in these infamous crimes, you shall be made an example to those whom you have wickedly associated with you; the authority of law shall be ratified in your blood." He then read the sentence of the court from a written tablet: "It is the sentence of this court that Thascius Cyprianus be executed with the sword."
 Cyprian: "Thanks be to God.”


Galerius Maximus is the proconsul.  Cyprian responds "Thanks be to God."  when he learns he will be martyred.  And so Cyprian's prison was preparation to send him to heaven.

Thanks be to God.

MEN !!!!

No, I don't want to do Lectio Divina. I want God to listen, not talk. 

 I'm pissed. (Excuse the language but Thesaurus doesn't have a synonym for "pissed.")  In Morning Prayer, the reading is from Acts 6: 2b-5a:

"It is not right for us to neglect the word of God in order to wait on tables.  Look around your own number, brothers, for seven men acknowledged to be deeply spiritual and prudent, and we shall appoint them to this task.  This will permit us to concentrate on prayer and the ministry of the world."  The proposal was unanimously accepted by the community.

This reading is what set me off.  You can tell men wrote this.  Why does it have to be either, or? Why can't it be both, and?  I'll tell you why.  Because these apostles were men and the writers were men, that's why.  Men have one track minds.  Women wait on their families all the time while doing other tasks!  If the apostles were incapable of waiting on tables and evangelizing why didn't they take turns preaching and serving others?

Note that the requirement for serving was seven spiritual and prudent men. Weren't the apostles spiritual?  Were they foolish?  So whom did they assign the task of serving?  If the servers were spiritual why weren't they evangelizing?  If one can wait on tables then one can preach to others; that's a people skill.

Grrrrrr.

What about witnessing?

The apostles should have given us a good example of serving others by waiting on tables AND preaching the Word.  Jesus gave them the example of washing feet; did they pick seven others to do that task so they could concentrate on prayer?  How did they define ministry?

And don't get me started on Martha and Mary!  That was written by men, too--obviously.

Chinese Christmas

This fun poster making the rounds on Facebook is truer than you think.  My family hardly ever eats at a Chinese restaurant, except for Christmas Eve.  It's a tradition that my son-in-law buys Chinese food for the family, who have gathered at his home on Christmas Eve.  It's his treat; his Christmas present to us all.

Another memory is of our first Christmas together.  The first year of our marriage the families were vying over who should have the newlyweds over for the celebrations of Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Hubby and I decided we'd go to one side of the family for Thanksgiving and the other side for Christmas.  

So I went to my family's for Thanksgiving.  Then we waited to be invited to hubby's side.  We waited.  We waited.  No one invited us.  Later, we learned that they assumed that we went to my family's again.

Anyway, we thought hubby's side of the family were miffed because we went to my family's for Thanksgiving.  Oh well.  We decided we'd celebrate Christmas by eating at a restaurant. The problem is, the restaurants were closed.  The only restaurants opened were Chinese.  We had no choice.

Let me tell you, however, we had a wonderful time.  The Chinese restaurant rocked!  The mood was celebratory.  We partied with the Chinese, Jews, and lonely Christians--God's people.  May God bless them all.

Point Of Grace - Not That Far From Bethlehem

ERO CRAS

The O Antiphons are rich with meaning and make a truly wonderful Catholic tradition! All you do is sing or pray them.  Singing is praying, btw.

Why they are called the “O Antiphons”?

Each night for the octave (8 days) before Christmas, we ask Christ to come, and call him by a different name. Each of these names starts with “O”, such as “O Come O Come Emmanuel”. An antiphon is a liturgical composition, and they are traditionally sung. Therefore, they are called the O Antiphons.

When do the O Antiphons start?

The O Antiphons start on Dec 17 and run through Dec 24. This time is known as the “second part of Advent” or “The Golden Nights.” The O Antiphons are taken from the Liturgy of the Hours (specifically, evening prayers, or “vespers”). So because they are traditionally said in the evening, there is not one for Dec 24 because the evening on Christmas Eve is already the vigil of Christmas, so we are no longer waiting.

What do the O Antiphons mean?

The O Antiphons get across 2 messages: each one highlights a different title for the Messiah (listed below), and each one refers to the prophecy of the Messiah from Isaiah.

§  Dec 17: O Sapientia (Wisdom)

§  Dec 18: O Adonai (Lord and Ruler)

§  Dec 19: O Radix Jesse (Root of Jesse)

§  Dec 20: O Clavis David (Key of David)

§  Dec 21: O Oriens (Dawn of the East)

§  Dec 22: O Rex Gentium (King of the Gentiles)

§  Dec 23: O Emmanuel (God With Us)

§   

What’s with the “ERO CRAS”?

If you take the first letter of each name and write them backwards, you get “ERO CRAS.” This means “Tomorrow, I will Come” in Latin. So that’s why you see that written in a lot of places with the O Antiphons.

Micah's Oracle

LECTIO:

Reading 1MI 5:1-4A

Thus says the LORD:
You, Bethlehem-Ephrathah
too small to be among the clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me
one who is to be ruler in Israel;
whose origin is from of old,
from ancient times.
Therefore the Lord will give them up, until the time    
when she who is to give birth has borne,
and the rest of his kindred shall return
to the children of Israel.
He shall stand firm and shepherd his flock
by the strength of the LORD,
in the majestic name of the LORD, his God;
and they shall remain, for now his greatness
shall reach to the ends of the earth;
he shall be peace.

STUDIUM:

Micah has significance to us Christians.  Micah 5: 2-4, announces a righteous shepherd who will come out of Bethlehem-Ephrathath, which is just Bethlehem.  And He will rule as God.  The Gospel of Matthew quotes Micah (Matt. 2:6) in support that Jesus was born in Bethlehem.  

MEDITATIO:

I see how great Jesus is from this oracle proclaimed by Micah.  And He shall be peace, not a conquering hero.  So different than what is expected.

ORATIO:

Lord, Prince of Peace, see how your flock is scattered in terror.  You are needed as the Good Shepherd.  We await Your Coming.

CONTEMPLATIO:

Come Lord, Jesus.

Goya Coca

It’s a Christmas party in Spanish class. My task was to bring a non-alcoholic drink.  Just before class, I went to the store                                                                                               and looked at the various products.

I wanted something obviously Spanish and not something we drink all the time.  So coconut water was not a choice.  I almost purchased coconut milk but I thought coconut cream would be richer.  That's the reason I bought Goya Coco.

However, I was very disappointed when I opened the can and instead of a liquid, it was a solid.  I tasted it and it's very sweet.  

I'll have to look up some recipes using coconut cream.  I imagine you could use it like you use marshmallow.

BTW, no one in Spanish class thought it was funny.  We had nothing to drink.

And You Thought Hockey was a Game The One True Faith · Post

Hockey is a character in the novel, Beartown by Frederik Backman.  And it's more than that.  It's a philosophy, theology, and science.  It's life.

Beartown is the name of a small, sleepy suburb, next to the town of Hed.  They're separated by a forest.  It's a hockey community.  And I live there, now.  My town is a hockey town, my family is in that book.  My husband played and coached.  My son played and still does in his thirties.  My two son-in-laws played and still do.  One of them is a hockey coach.  So my frame of reference lives in this book.

The story is about the kids in the game and everyone is in the game.  Beartown's soul is the game.  Emotions run high and so do the readers. The team's best player fails everyone.  The General Manager's daughter and her friend center the action.  They ice the game.  Some of the old guard stand and lead opinions.  It's tense.

Characters change; well, they're teenagers so of course they change and grow.  But the adults struggle with their values, too.  Everyone evolves.  There are some good quotes:

“Religion is something between you and other people; it’s full of interpretations and theories and opinions. But faith . . . that’s just between you and God.”   And hockey is a faith.

That's one of my favorites.  

Here's another.  There are no atheists in the last period of the game and your losing.  But I already knew that one.

Jordi's Witness

Here's a witness (re)conversion story from my favorite Lay Dominican Postulant about St. John of the Cross. 

"Con la autoridad del Sumo Pontífice Gregorio XIII..."
With these words San Juan de la Cruz hears his prison sentence pronounced. Around him, Tostado, Maldonado and other unkind faces glare at him with no sign of Christ in their rotten hearts. The only loving face he sees when he closes his eyes is the image of Jesus and his last visit with Teresa de Cepeda, that wonderful woman who sang so beautifully, even when she was feeling ill, who understood him and could hold intelligent conversations with him better than any man, about real things, not material things.

Saint John of the Cross was the first saint I reached out to in my first dark night of the soul in Denver, Colorado. The elders at the Denver Church of Christ, a Fundamentalist Born-Again non-denominational church that I had served for months, deemed my views heretical and when they found me with my friend Leete, also a Born-Again Christian, but from a different Fundamentalist Church that allowed musical instruments in worship, they condemned me to house imprisonment and corrective instruction under the tutelage of a kind man who explained how worried he was for my soul.

It was the day I found Sanctuary at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception and Erin, who was going through her own dark night herself. We felt like St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross, and we found sanctuary at the Altar of Peace and answers from a Priest who never made an appearance in the news for all his good deeds, and never will. The news doesn't care for such priests, for the news and the false Christians all serve the same false god of nationalism, pharisaical rules devoid of spirit, and hate.

I returned to my Catholic faith that day, and gained a female friend who wanted nothing more from me than my friendship, and that can be just as beautiful as any other road.

We Meet the Author

The Intergenerational Book Club met today to discuss Guitar Notes by Mary Amato.  The time flew by.  We had a bingo game as an icebreaker.  We had to walk around the room and talk to each other in order to find people to satisfy a square on the bingo card: are you left-handed, have you been to Paris, can you whistle a song, etc.

We also had food, with pomegranates prevalent because they were important in the story.  While eating we conversed with the author, who was on live via video chat.

Mary Amato is a wonderful, fun, and open person.  She told us how she goes about writing.  Her method is more or less cloud gathering. She takes large easel size paper and writes her characters on different sections of the paper.  Then her ideas that go with the characters are written around the character.  That's what works for her.

It is not unusual for her to make 40 revisions, or to scrap an entire book.  She sometimes writes two stories at once.  Her work schedule usually is set but if the spirit moves her, she'll stop writing and grab an instrument for a break or write a song.  But she is a disciplined perfectionist, like Lyla, the character in Guitar Notes.

That was one of the questions we asked; "are the characters based on real people?"  The answer was mostly "no."  Although Lyla had that one trait of perfectionism.

The interviewing with the author flew by.  All too soon, Mary Amato said, "just one more question."  I think the author had a good time with us.  I know we all did.  It was great fun.

Personally, I enjoyed the book.  I thought the telling of the story was unique.  Mary Amato told the story through messages passed between two people, Tripp and Lyla.  So there were two points of view.  The characterization was well drawn.  Tripp and Lyla were real typical teens.  The storyline appealed to all ages.  We, seniors, were once teens and parents so we could identify.  The teens are living the same story, presently.  The book was a hit.

Walking the Line.

http://www.op.org/en/content/dominican-month-peace-0?fbclid=IwAR3xkkG7q-GFat_PSj8bXoTrEhZVcqC3Xbxuat7jOUUh_wLLhP438-y5tG8  this is a link to an article on  FACEBOOK  by the Dominican Sisters Looking to the Future.  There's a picture of a labyrinth created by the nuns asking people who walk it to pray for peace.

The one time I walked a labyrinth I forgot to pray. I was focused on walking on the path.  I was afraid I'd step over the lines.  It was only when I got to the center and was kneeling and praying that I noticed that the muffled voices I was hearing were prayers, from the labyrinth walkers.

Damn!  I missed the opportunity.  What a dummy!

Icicles

Silver Filigree   Elinor Wylie

The icicles wreathing    On trees in festoon Swing, swayed to our breathing:    They’re made of the moon. She’s a pale, waxen taper;    And these seem to drip Transparent as paper    From the flame of her tip. Molten, smoking a little,    Into crystal they pass; Falling, freezing, to brittle    And delicate glass. Each a sharp-pointed flower,    Each a brief stalactite Which hangs for an hour    In the blue cave of night.

Today is Gonna Rock

Waking an hour earlier I had a little more time than usual.  Time to pray.  Time to enjoy a leisurely mug of coffee.  It's this cup of coffee (an early Christmas present--a mug with my name on it.) that initiated this post.  I've been using the same brand of sugar packets for years and only this morning, this relaxed morning, that I noticed that each packet has a saying on it.  What caught my eye was, "Today is gonna Rock."

Mmmm.  Why does it say that?  Does each one have a prediction?  I looked at another: "Believe in yourself."

I looked at a couple of more packets:

"Old friends are the best friends."       "Have a grateful heart."

Ha!  Can you believe this?  My sugar is speaking to me!  Today is gonna rock!

Hiking

gentle caring people

Hiking
by
Mary Connor

Walking in the woods
Means being in the moment
Surrounded by trees
The trails, mushrooms
Birds making their unique calls.


Being in the woods
With gentle caring people
Brings warmth to the soul
And a smile to the face
Our leader with the wonderful smile
Says go right or left.
As we go up hills
And down and around back to our starting point.

Intergenerational Book

The Intergenerational Book Club has called a meeting for next week.  This is a book discussion between high schoolers and senior citizens.  The book is Guitar Notes by Mary Amato.

It is a diary-type format.  But not as organized.  It started with a note from a cello player to a guitar player to pick up and dispose of his trash because he just left it on the music stand.  He responded with a snarky response of his own and the note passing took off.

He's a loner and she's stressed out.  He finds a friend and she learns to chill.  Before Lyla met Tripp her cello playing was mechanically excellent but had no soul.  Tripp helps her.  She helps him get better grades.

At first, I thought reading this "young adult" book was going to be a chore.  It was the opposite.  In fact, it was refreshing to read a book about love which had no sex.  It's a tale of true friendship.  The guitar diagrams were Greek to me but the song lyrics were good poetry.  And at the end of the book is a scan icon which I scanned and was able to hear all the songs!  Very different.  Very clever.  Very good!

At the meeting, we are going to meet the author.  I'll tell you all about it, next week!

Straggling

Lectio:

Second Sunday of Advent
Year C

Reading 1BAR 5:1-9

Jerusalem, take off your robe of mourning and misery;
put on the splendor of glory from God forever:
wrapped in the cloak of justice from God,
bear on your head the mitre
that displays the glory of the eternal name.
For God will show all the earth your splendor:
you will be named by God forever
the peace of justice, the glory of God’s worship.

Up, Jerusalem! stand upon the heights;
look to the east and see your children
gathered from the east and the west
at the word of the Holy One,
rejoicing that they are remembered by God.
Led away on foot by their enemies they left you:
but God will bring them back to you
borne aloft in glory as on royal thrones.
For God has commanded
that every lofty mountain be made low,
and that the age-old depths and gorges
be filled to level ground,
that Israel may advance secure in the glory of God.
The forests and every fragrant kind of tree
have overshadowed Israel at God’s command;
for God is leading Israel in joy
by the light of his glory,
with his mercy and justice for company..

Studium:

The Hebrews are in exile in Babylon.  The prophet, Baruch consoles the people with encouragement and hope with news of returning to a restored Jerusalem.  Jerusalem is a sign for God's people.  Heaven on earth because the city will take off her robe of misery and put on a new identity with a diadem of diamonds.

Meditatio:

Is it proper, Lord, to compare my heart to the exiled Hebrews?  My heart is filled with worldly things and concerns: money, appearance, worry, emotional angst, etc.  But I can work on turning towards Jerusalem, the place where heavenly things are promised.  I have heard it promised by Baruch that peace is living with God and glory is given to those who seek mercy.  That's where I am headed.

Oratio:

Lord, I am beginning to see your directions more clearly.  Guide me along the way.  Take my hand when I veer off the path and even push me along the way when I wander away.  

Contemplatio: 

Stay with me, Lord.

Lonesome Dove

When I was working the book sale at the local library, a fellow worker and friend, threw me the book, Lonesome Dove, by Larry McMurtry.  "You will love this."  I looked at it.  It was huge and had a cowboy on the cover.  I raised an eyebrow.  "Trust me," he said. 

I am so glad I did because I do love it.  I have never read a western in my life.  I don't think I will again unless it's by Larry McMurtry.  I think it will be an excellent read for a book club because it will be so different than their usual recommended titles. I bet they've never read a western.

The descriptions and characterization are drawn so exquisitely that I can picture them.  I couldn't wait to continue to get back to the story every time I had to put the book down.  I grew up watching westerns and Lonesome Dove brought back some cherished memories.  Although my childish memories of cattle drives were nothing like the one in this book, from Texas to Montana.

And the ordeal that Lorie suffered will forever haunt me. 

Leonine Prayers

The Leonine Prayers are prayers that were said after Mass from 1884-1964.  Pope Leo aak that these prayers be said, that's why they're called Leonine, after the pope's name.  Legend has it that Pope Leo had a vision where the evil one gave battle to the church.  It gave the pope quite a fright, hence he composed prayers to be said after Mass. 

And for some unknown reason, I feel moved to pray the original prayer to St. Michael the Archangel.
I'm worried because I don't know why I feel that way.  But I will pray it.  Why not?  It wouldn't harm anything. And I also feel that I have to stand up (not kneel) to pray it.

Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel

One day, after celebrating Mass, the aged Pope Leo XIII was in conference with the Cardinals when suddenly he sank to the floor in a deep swoon. Physicians who hastened to his side could find no trace of his pulse and feared that he had expired. However, after a short interval the Holy Father regained consciousness and exclaimed with great emotion: "Oh, what a horrible picture I have been permitted to see!" He had been shown a vision of evil spirits who had been released from Hell and their efforts to destroy the Church. But in the midst of the horror the archangel St. Michael appeared and cast Satan and his legions into the abyss of hell. Soon afterward Pope Leo XIII composed the following prayer to Saint Michael, which is the original version: Original - Prayer to St. Michael “O Glorious Prince of the heavenly host, St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in the battle and in the terrible warfare that we are waging against the principalities and powers, against the rulers of this world of darkness, against the evil spirits. Come to the aid of man, whom Almighty God created immortal, made in His own image and likeness, and redeemed at a great price from the tyranny of Satan. “Fight this day the battle of the Lord, together with the holy angels, as already thou hast fought the leader of the proud angels, Lucifer, and his apostate host, who were powerless to resist thee, nor was there place for them any longer in Heaven. That cruel, ancient serpent, who is called the devil or Satan who seduces the whole world, was cast into the abyss with his angels. Behold, this primeval enemy and slayer of men has taken courage. Transformed into an angel of light, he wanders about with all the multitude of wicked spirits, invading the earth in order to blot out the name of God and of His Christ, to seize upon, slay and cast into eternal perdition souls destined for the crown of eternal glory. This wicked dragon pours out, as a most impure flood, the venom of his malice on men of depraved mind and corrupt heart, the spirit of lying, of impiety, of blasphemy, and the pestilent breath of impurity, and of every vice and iniquity. “These most crafty enemies have filled and inebriated with gall and bitterness the Church, the spouse of the immaculate Lamb, and have laid impious hands on her most sacred possessions. In the Holy Place itself, where the See of Holy Peter and the Chair of Truth has been set up as the light of the world, they have raised the throne of their abominable impiety, with the iniquitous design that when the Pastor has been struck, the sheep may be scattered. “Arise then, O invincible Prince, bring help against the attacks of the lost spirits to the people of God, and give them the victory. They venerate thee as their protector and patron; in thee holy Church glories as her defense against the malicious power of hell; to thee has God entrusted the souls of men to be established in heavenly beatitude. Oh, pray to the God of peace that He may put Satan under our feet, so far conquered that he may no longer be able to hold men in captivity and harm the Church. Offer our prayers in the sight of the Most High, so that they may quickly find mercy in the sight of the Lord; and vanquishing the dragon, the ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, do thou again make him captive in the abyss, that he may no longer seduce the nations. Amen. V. Behold the Cross of the Lord; be scattered ye hostile powers. R. The Lion of the tribe of Judah has conquered, the root of David. V. Let Thy mercies be upon us, O Lord. R. As we have hoped in Thee. V. O Lord, hear my prayer. R. And let my cry come unto Thee. Let us pray. O God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we call upon Thy holy Name, and as supplicants, we implore Thy clemency, that by the intercession of Mary, ever Virgin Immaculate and our Mother, and of the glorious St. Michael the Archangel, Thou wouldst deign to help us against Satan and all the other unclean spirits who wander about the world for the injury of the human race and the ruin of souls. Amen.”

Bless with Holy Water.