Sunday, March 3, 2019
1638-1642: Thoughts About Undeclared Federal Agents from Lincoln County Watch
By Anna Von Reitz
Federal Agents have a moral and
legal responsibility to disclose themselves for what they are when
directly questioned. It arises from law forbidding entrapment, trespass,
and other crimes.
Sometimes called a Bevins
Declaration, you can put these Moles between a rock and a hard place
simply by making a statement at the beginning of your actual Assembly
meetings and calls to the effect:
"Anyone here still claiming any form of US Citizenship or employment
with any Federal Agency is now -- for the next segment of the call
(meeting, etc., ) invited to either declare your presence and business
here, or directed to leave the Assembly at this time."
This allows the Assembly to have open calls and meetings where more
people can be educated and assisted, but then also to close meetings and
teleconferences to Federal Agents.
If Federal Agents fail to declare themselves and stay after they have
been invited to leave, they have broken the law and anything they obtain
as a result of acting in a clandestine fashion is tainted by fraud and
inadmissible in court.
This can also help ferret out people in leadership positions who shouldn't be there.
The man actually responsible for the incarceration of the Colorado Nine
was a Federal Insurance Agent named Michael R. Hamilton. At least, that
is the name he used to do his dirty work.
He basically encouraged them to believe things that aren't true but which are incorrect "common knowledge".
So they believed that they were "US Citizens".
They believed that they were owed all the constitutional guarantees----while claiming to be US Citizens.
They believed that the "STATE OF COLORADO COURT" was their court and had to answer to their Grand Jury.
And none of those things are true. When I told them they were wrong and
that none of these things were true, Michael R. Hamilton puffed out his
chest and basically said, "Ignore her! She's just a woman!"
Michael R. Hamilton stood in the background and encouraged them to
assume things they had assumed all their lives---- wrong things, as it
happens---- and egged them on.
When it came time for the arrests, Michael R. Hamilton was nowhere to be found.
I wonder how much grief and loss could have been spared, if the
organizers of the Colorado Assembly had simply made that little Bevins
Declaration part of their ritual?
How much could have been spared if the men involved had been less "sure of what they didn't know"?
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Actual Reader Response From Colorado -- The Truth Again
By Anna Von Reitz
Here's just one of several "sympathy messages" I have received from
those who lived through the lead-up to the arrest of the Colorado Nine,
from people who remember the actual facts. Read on:
____________________
i read the recent NESARA article. I am furious.
The more i read. the more i knew it was wrong.
i, myself, sat in on many of the Colorado calls. Ranting to my husband
the whole time about them playing lawyer....almost couldn't bear it. I
wanted to know more and i was not comfortable with how they were
proceeding. I am having the same concerns with the current group.
However: the majority of the group has
publicly recorded their political status and paperwork. Seems the order
of the day is to just quickly skim some information and avoid the
majority.
I know that they were counting on their oath and allegiance to an
assembly with the autographed stamps for insurance to show they were no
longer a part of the U.S.
i followed the whole situation. You have been right on.
I do not recall any statement of political status.
I do know myself, first hand, that what is written about the "Colorado
nine" is not accurate. I have no idea where they claim to get the
information from.
I too have been questioning who is Destry? What is his position with his
assembly? Why is everyone hanging on his every word? I still don't
know. I asked my husband and he doesn't know either. I will not blindly
be jumping in with his recommendations.
I know that you have praised the Michigan assembly in the past......but
that was before Destry some how floated to the top, before Destry told
others that they did not need to do paperwork.....and then before the
rest started to follow. Did Michigan members ever correct political
status in the past? i don't know that either.
I see that your presentations are organized, precise, consistent and
always give me phrases, terms, or citation of authorities that i can
always look up and read for myself.
When i hear some people talk, i know they have not really read what you said. I have seen myself, so much taken out of context.
Steaming here in Colorado....
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Special Note to The Seven Grumpy Old Men
By Anna Von Reitz
You have a situation where otherwise sane people actually think that 430
followed by three hundred zeroes is a number of "dollars".
Only if you count the number of Hydrogen Ions in the Universe as "dollars".
Obviously, all this crazy stuff has to end. So let it end with a simple thought:
Lawful money belongs to Lawful Persons, that is, to People.
We, the People, those actually standing on the land jurisdiction States,
operating our States of the Union and our Federation of States known as
The United States of America, are the only ones having the provenance,
records, and standing to claim the assets owed to this country.
We are here, with all the appropriate claims in place.
No cops and robbers. No Wolfgang Strucks. No Ernest Rautschilds. No Chinese Elders.
Just plain old Americans who know the history and have their heads screwed on.
Now, if you step back and think about it, isn't that a relief?
And something to smile about?
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Basic Nomenclature
By Anna Von Reitz
So lets review basics and get everyone on the same page.
There are exactly (3) three names associated with our country:
1. The United States -- a Union of soil jurisdiction republican states.
2. The United States of America -- a Federation of land jurisdiction States.
3. and the States of America - a Confederation of inchoate States of States.
Please notice that the definite
article "The" is part of the Proper Name of both "The United States" and
"The United States of America", but is not part the name of the "States
of America".
Note that these Proper Names are
always in Upper and Lower Case. This is how they are officially
"styled" and any other variation is not allowed when referencing our
country and our states, however, also note that there have been
commercial corporations infringing on these names for many years, and
they have used and abused these names and applied them to commercial
corporations.
Thus we have Interlopers calling
themselves "The United States of America" [Incorporated] and "The United
States" [Incorporated] and even things like the "US Corp" and "USA,
Inc." and so on, that have little or nothing to do with our actual
government. Some of these entities are governmental service providers.
Some are not.
This means that when people start
talking about "the US" and about "America" in loose terms, you always
have to stop and ask yourself---- which entity are they talking about?
Our actual Union of states or our Federation of States or some
go-lightly foreign commercial corporation infringing on our Good Names?
Please note that both The United
States (soil) and The United States of America (land) are populated by
living people called "Natural Persons" and by "Lawful Persons" on the
land. These are all unincorporated entities, too.
Your Proper Name, the one your
parents gave you, which is also known as a Trade Name or Given Name, is a
"Lawful Person" when you stand on the land, but is converted into a
"Legal Person" when you stand on the sea.
This distinction is very important.
If you stand on the land, you are
recognizable as an American State Citizen and as a Lawful Person owed
all the guarantees of the Constitution, including safe passage when you
venture out into the wide world of international trade and commerce.
If you stand on the sea, you can be
mistaken for a "stateless" Legal Person, from one of the inchoate
"States of States" mentioned above, and known as either a "United States
Citizen" or a "Citizen of the United States". Such citizens have
never been in receipt of any constitutionally protected rights or
guarantees. These "US Citizens" and "Citizens of the United States" are
not part of the "People" while in Federal Service.
The United States and The United
States of America are both unincorporated organizations, called
Corporate Persons. They are not incorporated, but they are not
sovereign entities, either. Instead, they are Agencies for the
sovereign governments of the people (Natural Persons) on the soil and
the People (Lawful Persons) on the land.
The United States serves the living
people and their republican soil jurisdiction states of the Union. The
Texas Republic, for example, is their sovereign domestic realm.
Notice the small "s" on "state" in this context. Notice that "The" is
part of the Proper Name of "The Texas Republic".
Notice that "The Texas Republic"
(soil) is different from "The Republic of Texas" (surface water) and
that these same conventions apply to all the other state republics which
operate under similarly styled Proper Names and Conventions.
The United States of America serves
the Lawful Persons and their Federation of international land
jurisdiction States in the same way. Texas is the State representing
Texans in this jurisdiction of the law. Notice that "Texas" is just
"Texas" --- no "the", "The", no "State of" --- just Texas is the name of
this State of the Union.
All the member States of The United
States of America Federation are also very simply named: Wisconsin,
Maine, Florida, New Hampshire....
These are the States that we are presently engaged in assembling.
These States are populated by Lawful
Persons known as either American State Nationals or American State
Citizens, as for example, Wisconsin State Nationals or Ohio State
Citizens.
American State Nationals owe no
service to any government. They are Private Lawful Persons. So long as
they don't cause any harm to others or their property, they are free as
birds.
American State Citizens have
voluntarily agreed to serve their State in some capacity or Office, this
may be as simple as signing up for Jury Duty, or joining the State
Militia, or it may involve an elected Office, or it may involve being
hired to perform a job under the auspices of the State. They are Public
Lawful Persons. They enforce the Public Law, including the
Constitutions.
In either case, Lawful Persons are members of the People and owed all the guarantees of the Federal Constitutions.
And now we come to the Third Branch
of the American Government, which is organized and chartered by the
People of the States: the States of America Confederation, first
organized as of March 1, 1781.
Here we find "States of States" ---- not States..
"States of States" are chartered and
incorporated entities created by States, thus were have "The State of
Georgia" and "The State of New Hampshire", which are two of the original
Confederated States, belonging to Georgia and New Hampshire,
respectively.
These States of States are commercial corporations chartered by the States.
Any time you see the word
"Confederate" we are talking about "States of States". In fact, all the
entities involved in the Civil War were "Confederate States" ----
meaning States of States, regardless of whether they were "North" or
"South".
States of States, unlike actual
States, are not physically defined. They have no borders or specific
location in space. They are called "inchoate" or "incomplete States" as
a result.
These entities function in the airy realm of Global Commerce, which is business between two or more incorporated entities.
So the Pecking Order in the American Government goes like this:
The living people own the republican
soil jurisdiction states operated as State Republics, for example, The
Texas Republic and The Republic of Texas.
Their Union of republican states
doing business as The United States [Unincorporated} holds the land
jurisdiction States and their Federation of States, The United States of
America [Unincorporated], which the living people operate as Lawful
Persons.
And the member States of The United
States of America charter, own, and operate the Confederation of States
of States. Texas owns The State of Texas, and New Hampshire owns The
State of New Hampshire, for example, as businesses engaged in global
commerce.
Remember this very important fact:
"commerce" is business between two or more incorporated entities.
Everything else is either domestic (in-state) trade or International
Trade, which includes business between incorporated and corporate
entities.
The original States of States which
formed the primary part of the Federal Government --- the Federal
Branch of the Federal Government --- were mothballed after the Civil
War, pending "Reconstruction" that never took place.
The actual States of the Union have
to be assembled in order for the Federal States of States to be
reconstructed and brought out of the mothballs.
This is because only the States and People have the authority and power to charter their own States of States.
And this is necessary because
without our own Federal States of States, the Federal Government cannot
function as it is meant to function and foreign interests are able to
commandeer our business functions.
We have been limping along using
Territorial States of States and even Municipal STATES OF STATES, but
what really needs to happen is for the States and People of this country
to get organized and take care of their own vastly overdue business.
So that's what we are doing, and of
course, all those who have benefited from our failure to do this
earlier, are aghast and trying to stop us and co-opt us and do
everything they can to undermine and discredit our efforts and to keep
the People from reconstructing their Federal States of States.
But the stubborn facts remain:
The republican states (people) own
the Federation States and the (People/Lawful Persons) own the
Confederation of States of States (Legal Persons--- including all
Federal Persons.).
The republican states (people) taken
together are our National Government, the Federation States taken
together are our International Government, and our Confederation States
of States taken together are meant to operate our interests in the
global realm of commerce.
Please note that only Lawful Persons
can operate in the realm of Lawful Money (gold and silver) and only
Legal Persons can operate in the realm of Commercial Script.
The dearth of American State
Citizens consciously operating as Lawful Persons --- that is, People who
are willing and able to operate in their birthright political capacity
--- is causing problems not only for us, but for the whole world.
Without Lawful Persons we can't
operate our Lawful States and without Lawful States we can't incorporate
new "States of States" or reconstruct the old ones.
The sooner we face these facts and get our heads screwed on and our house in order, the better.
The United States = National = State Republics = the Union
The United States of America = International = States of the Union = the Federation of States
the States of America = Global = Federal States of States = the Confederation of States of States.
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Liars, Liars, Pants on Fire. Good-bye, MGJA
By Anna Von Reitz
Every suffering has a silver lining.
I can now say with certainty that
BeforeItsNews and NesaraNews are Controlled Opposition websites and
nothing you read there should be trusted.
And here's the Proof that they are Liars:
www.annavonreitz.com scroll down to Article 485
"An End of My Association With Bruce Doucette and Michael R. Hamilton"
This article was written several
weeks prior to the actions that put the Colorado Nine in prison. It
explains exactly what I told them and why I would not support them in
the action that led to their imprisonment.
Far from being the cause of their misery, I tried to save them.
I warned them what would happen and begged them not to do what they proposed and I told them why.
And they would not listen.
So now I am doing the same thing
with the Michigan General Jural Assembly and drawing a line between what
they are doing and what I am doing--- for the same reasons I separated
myself and my followers from the Colorado Nine.
It was Michael R. Hamilton, an insurance company shill working for UN-DOD, that set up Bruce Doucette and the others. Not me.
And besides my own words locked in
the timeline on my website there are plenty of eye-witnesses to what
went on in Colorado and to what I said and did, and they are outraged by
these lies against me.
The Truth will out.
Anyone who doesn't understand
jurisdiction and who doesn't make the effort to declare their identity
and birthright political status runs the same risk as the Colorado
Nine.
And that is what Destry and these other Jokers want you to do.
Stay there like defenseless sitting ducks ripe to be railroaded and arrested.
That's what these guys get paid
for-- to mislead you and lie to you and set you up, to make sure that
your efforts go nowhere and to make use of your efforts to their own
undisclosed ends.
In this case, they are trying to set
up another round of the same old fraud and set up a foreign commercial
corporation merely calling itself "MICHIGAN"--- not the actual State of
the Union that all of you have assumed you were working to rebuild.
The only "Sting" going on is theirs.
But it's not going to wash.
I already showed you the Registered Agents set up to work their vicious fraud scheme.
And guess what? It's the same parent
company group out of Nevada -- the same corrupt Generals who are trying
to pull off the Zim and Iraqi Dinar scams and sell you their French
version of Le Republique -- the French Rothschilds and their Flunkies in
Uniform are behind all this.
Everything they said about me is
instead true about them. Just like I have always told you-- the pot
always calls the kettle black, they always accuse their enemy of doing
what they are doing. Always. Predictably.
They are trying to get rich by
robbing other countries and working currency scams. They are working
for NWO-UN-DOD "Special Ops". They are working to co-opt what you have
spent your time building to convert it into a foreign commercial
corporation.
And God forbid that you take my
advice and come home to the land and soil of your actual State of the
Union and claim your protections and guarantees and assets--- because
then they won't be able to arrest and Railroad you like they did to
Bruce Doucette and the others.
Wake up, America. There are people
here among us who look like Americans and talk like Americans--- but
they aren't acting in the capacity of Americans.
They are acting as employees of
"Federal" commercial corporations--- "United States Citizens" and
"Citizens of the United States". Their allegiance is to foreign
powers-- the Queen and the Pope.
And many of them have no scruples
and deserve no credibility. They think that their "job" is to enslave us
and keep us in line. The fact that we are their actual employers
doesn't cross their pig-like minds.
So put them to the test. It's simple enough.
Will they declare themselves to be American State Citizens? Yes or no?
If no, whatever they are doing does
not involve you and your State. They are not Texans. They are not
Coloradans. They are not Wisconsinites. They are "US Citizens" instead.
You can be sure that if "US
Citizens" are involved and they will not leave that status once it is
explained to them---It's some kind of commercial corporation scam.
Shake the dust from your feet and jog trot away.
I am.
I was right about the Colorado Nine
and I am right about the direction the Michigan--- or should I say,
MICHIGAN-- General Jural Assembly is headed, too.
If the rats can't get us to dig our
own graves by setting up Assemblies they can co-opt they will fall back
and tell some more lies.
They will say that all the people
associated with National Assembly are in insurrection. And they can make
that claim against any "US Citizen" involved in forming any kind of
State because it's not legal for actual "US Citizens" to assemble.
Remember--US Citizens have never had any rights under the Constitution. That includes having no right to assemble.
I invite those of you who want to
act as Lawful Persons and restore your actual States of the Union --and
do so safely--come with me.
I have done my duty and warned everyone. Again.
This is my Public Notice that I am
not associated with the National Assembly promoted by Destry Payne and
the Michigan General Jural Assembly.
We will be launching a new country-wide teleconference and video series soon for The American States Assembly.
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Quinquagesima Sunday
Rev. Fr. Leonard Goffine's
The Church's Year
The Church's Year
The Introit of this day's Mass is the sigh of an afflicted soul confiding in God:
INTROIT Be
thou unto me a God, a protector, and a place of refuge, to save me: for
thou art my strength and my refuge: and for thy name's sake thou wilt
be my leader, and wilt nourish me. (Fs. XXX. 3. 4.) In thee , O Lord, I
have hoped, let me never be confounded: deliver me in thy justice, and
set me free. (Ps. XXX. 2.)
COLLECT O Lord, we beseech Thee, graciously hear our prayers, and unloosing the bonds of our sins, guard us from all adversity. Through
our Lord Jesus Christ Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee, in
the Unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end, Amen.
EPISTLE (I.
Cor. XIII. 1-13.) Brethren, if I speak with the tongues of men and of
angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass or a
tinkling cymbal. And if I should have prophecy, and know all mysteries
and all knowledge, and if I should have all faith, so that I could
remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And if I should
distribute all my goods to feed the poor, and if I should deliver my
body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.
Charity is patient, is kind: charity envieth not; dealeth not
perversely; is not puffed up; is not ambitious; seeketh not her own; is
not provoked to anger; thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but
rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth
all things, endureth all things. Charity never falleth away: whether
prophecies shall be made void, or tongues shall cease, or knowledge
shall be destroyed. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part: but
when that which is perfect is come, that which is in part shall be done
away. When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I
thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away the things of a
child. We see now through a glass in a dark manner; but then face to
face. Now I know in part; but then I shall know even as I am known. And
now there remain faith, hope, charity, these three: but the greatest of
these is charity.
EXPLANATION In
this epistle St. Paul speaks of the necessity, the excellence and the
nature of true charity. He says that all natural and supernatural gifts,
all good works, even martyrdom, cannot save us if we have not charity;
because love alone can render our works pleasing to God. Without
charity, therefore, though ever so many prayers be recited, fasts
observed , and good deeds performed, nothing will be acceptable to God,
or merit eternal life. Strive then, O Christian soul, to lead a pious
life in love, and to remain always in the state of grace.
Can faith alone, as the so-called Reformers assert, render man just and save him?
Faith
alone, however strong, though it could move mountains, without love,
that is, without good works performed for love of God and our neighbor,
can never justify or save us. For, when St. Paul says, that man is
justified by faith without works, (Rom. III. 28.; XI: 6.; Eph. II. 8.
9.) he means to refer to those works which were performed by command of
the law of Moses, and which, as they were external and without true
charity, were of no avail; he did not refer to those works which are
performed in a state of grace with a lively, love-inspired faith.
Therefore the same Apostle writes to the Galatians: (Gal. V. 6.) Faith
only availeth which worketh by charity; to Titus: (Tit. III. 8.) It is a
faithful saying: and these things I will have thee affirm constantly:
that they who believe in God, may be careful to excel in good works.
These things are good and profitable unto men; and he exhorts the
Colossians (Colos. I. 10.) to be fruitful in every good work. St. James
confirms the same by saying: (James II. 17-24.) So faith if it have not
works, is dead in itself; by works man is justified and not by faith
only. That this is the true doctrine of Christ is evident from His own
words, when He says: "Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit,
shall be cut down and shall be cast into the fire." (Matt. VII. 19.) At
the day of judgment Christ will demand good works from all men, (Matt.
XXV. 35.) and will not judge them only according to their faith, but by
their good works, which true faith must always produce. (Apoc. XX. 12.)
Would Christ and His apostles demand good works, if faith alone be
sufficient? "The devil's also believe and tremble," (James II. 19.) they
believe, but they are not saved, and their faith but increases their
torments. Therefore, the assertion that faith without good works is
sufficient for justification and salvation, is plainly against the
doctrine of Christ and His Church, and must of necessity lead man to
vice and misery, as shown by the history of the unhappy separation of
the sixteenth century
Are good works available which are performed in the state of mortal sin ?
Good works
performed while in a state of mortal sin avail nothing in regard to
eternal life, writes St. Lawrence Justinian, but aid in moderating the
punishment imposed for disobedience and the transgression of God's
commandments. They bring temporal goods, such as honor, long life,
health, earthly happiness, etc.; they prevent us from falling deeper
into sin, and prepare the heart for the reception of grace; so the pious
Person writes: "Do as much good as you can, even though in the state of
mortal sin, that God may give light to your heart."
ASPIRATION O
God of love, pour the spirit of true charity into my heart that,
according to the spirit of St. Paul, I may endeavor to be always in a
state of grace; that all my works may be pleasing to Thee, and
meritorious for me.
GOSPEL (Luke
XVIII. 31-43.) At that time, Jesus took unto him the twelve, and said
to them Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things shall be
accomplished which were written by the prophets concerning the Son of
Man. For he shall be delivered to the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and
scourged, and spit upon; and after they have scourged him, they will
put him to death; and the third day he shall rise again. And they
understood none of these things, and this word was hid from them, and
they understood not the things that were said. Now it came to pass, when
he drew nigh to Jericho, that a certain blind man sat by the way-side,
begging. And when he heard the multitude passing by, he asked what this
meant. And they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. And he
cried out, saying: Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me. And they that
went before rebuked him, that he should hold his peace. But he cried out
much more: Son of David, have mercy on me. And Jesus standing,
commanded him to be brought unto him. And when he was come near, he
asked him, saying: What wilt thou that I do to thee? But he said: Lord,
that I may see. And Jesus said to him: Receive thy sight; thy faith hath
made thee whole. And immediately he saw, and followed him, glorifying
God: and all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.
Why did Christ so often foretell His passion to His disciples?
Because He
wanted to show how great was His desire to suffer for us, for we speak
often of that which we crave; and because He wished His disciples when
they should see Him treated as a criminal and martyred, not to think
evil of Him, or imagine themselves deceived, but remember that He had
foretold all minutely that all happened of His own will.
Did not the disciples understand anything of what He predicted in regard to His future sufferings?
They may,
certainly, have well understood He was to suffer, for which reason Peter
tried to dissuade Him from it; (Matt. XVI. 22.) but they did not
comprehend why or for what He would suffer, or how He would rise again.
All this the Holy Ghost gave them to understand, after it had come to
pass. (John XIV. 26.) The light of the Holy Ghost is of so much value,
that without it even the clearest doctrines of faith are not understood.
Why does Christ so often call Himself the Son of Man?
He wished
to show, in the Jewish way of speaking, He was also man, a descendant of
Adam, and that we should be humble, and not seek or desire high titles.
Why did the blind man call Christ the Son of David?
Because,
like all the Jews, he believed that the Messiah, according to humanity,
would be of the house of David, as was promised. (Ps. CXXXI. 11.)
Why did Christ ask the blind man: What wilt thou that I do to thee?
This He
asked, not because He was unaware of the blind man's wish, but to enable
him the better to prove his faith and hope that through Christ he would
receive his sight; and to teach us how willing He is to help us, and
how it pleases Him if we confidingly place our wants before Him. We
should learn from this blind man, who would not be restrained by the
passing crowd in his ardent and reiterated request, not to pay
attention, in the work we have commenced, to human respect, or human
judgment, but to persevere, and not allow ourselves to be led astray by
the world's mockery or contempt. We should also learn to be grateful to
God, and faithfully cling to Him, if He has once opened the eyes of our
mind, and healed our spiritual blindness, which is far more deplorable
than physical blindness, for nothing can be more miserable than not to
see and understand God, not to know what is necessary for our salvation,
and what is pernicious.
Why is this gospel read on this Sunday?
The Church
wishes to remind us of the painful passion and death of Jesus, and to
move us by the contemplation of those mysteries to avoid and despise the
wicked, heathenish amusements of carnival, sinful pleasures which she
has always condemned, because they come from dark paganism, and, to
avert the people from them, commands that during the three days of
carnival the Blessed Sacrament shall be exposed for public adoration,
sermons given, and the faithful exhorted to have recourse at this time
to the Sacraments of Penance and the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar,
with the reception of which Pope Clement XIII. (Breve, 23. June 1765)
connected a plenary indulgence. A true Catholic will conform to the
desire of his holy Church, considering the words which St. Augustine spoke,
at this time, to the faithful, "The heathens (as also the wordly people
of our days) shout songs of love and merriment, but you should delight
in the preaching of the word of God; they rush to the dramatic plays,
but you should hasten to Church; they are intoxicated, but you should
fast and be sober."
PRAYER O
most benign Jesus! who didst so desire to suffer for us, grant, that we
may willingly suffer for love of Thee; that we may hate and flee from
the detestable pleasures of the world and the flesh, and practice
penance and mortification, that by so doing we may merit to be released
from our spiritual blindness to love Thee more and more ardently, and
finally possess Thee forever.
INSTRUCTION ON LENT
Who instituted Lent?
According
to the fathers of the Church, Justin and Irenaeus, the fast before
Easter was instituted and sanctified by Christ Himself; according to the
saints Leo and Jerome, the holy apostles ordained it given by Jesus.
Why has the Church instituted this fast forty days before Easter?
To imitate
Christ who fasted forty days; to participate in His merits and
sufferings; to subject our flesh by voluntary mortification to the
spirit, and to mortify our evil desires as did St. Paul; (Col. I. 24.)
to enable us to lead a pure life, and thus prepare for the holy festival
of Easter, and the reception of the divine Lamb, Jesus: and, finally,
to render God satisfaction for our sins, and do penance, as Pope Gregory
says, for the sins of one whole year by one short fast, lasting only
the tenth part of a year.
Was the fast of Lent observed in early times as in the present?
Yes, but
more strictly; for the people of the early ages not only abstained from
meat, but also from all that which is connected with it, such as eggs,
butter, cheese, etc., even from wine and fish, although this was not the
general command of the Church; they fasted all day, and only ate in the
evening after vespers, in remembrance of which, vespers are now said
before dinner-time, because the Church, as a kind mother, now permits
the supper to be changed into a dinner, and also allows something to be
taken in the evening, that the body may not be too much weakened, and
become unfit for labor.
How much
does this ancient custom put to shame the Christians of to-day who think
the fast in our times too severe! "But," asks St. Ambrose, "what sort
of Christians are they? Christ, who never sinned fasted for our sins,
and we will not fast for our own great and numerous offences?"
How should the holy season of Lent be spent?
As
according to the teaching of St. Leo, the main thing in fasting is not
that the body be deprived of food, but that the mind at the same time be
withdrawn from wickedness, we should endeavor during Lent, not only to
be temperate in eating and drinking, but especially to lead a modest
life, sanctifying the days by persevering prayer and devoutly attending
church.
PRAYER AT THE BEGINNING OF LENT
Almighty
God! I unite myself at the beginning of this holy season of penance with
the Church militant, endeavoring to make these days of real sorrow for
my sins and crucifixion of the sensual man. O Lord Jesus! in union with
Thy fasting and passion, I offer Thee my fasting in obedience to the
Church, for Thy honor, and in thanksgiving for the many favors I have
received, in satisfaction for my sins and the sins of others, and that I
may receive the grace to avoid such and such a sin, N. N. and to
practice such and such a virtue, N. N.
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