Roman Catholic Blogger

Extract from the Pieta
Prayer Book (Our Lord's Revelation to Mutter Vogel).

"One should NEVER attack a priest, even when he's in error, rather one should pray and do penance that I'll grant him My grace again. He alone fully represents Me, even when he doesn't live after My example!

"When a Priest falls we should extend him a helping hand through prayer and not through attacks! I myself will be his judge, no one but I! Whoever voices judgment over a priest has voiced it over me; child, never let a Priest be attacked, take up his defense. Child, never judge your confessor, rather pray much for him and offer every Thursday, through the hands of My Blessed Mother, Holy Communion (for Him). Never again accept an out-of-the-way word about a priest, and speak no unkind word (about them). Even it were TRUE! Every Priest is My vicar and My Heart will be sickened and insulted because of it~ If you hear a judgment (against a Priest) pray a Hail Mary."

"If you see a Priest who celebrates the Holy Mass unworthily then say nothing about him, rather tell it to Me alone! I stand beside Him on the altar! Oh pray much for my priests, that they'll love purity above all, that they'll celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass with pure hands and heart. Certainly the Holy Sacrifice is one and the same even when it's celebrated by an unworthy priest, but the graces called down upon the people is not the same!"

The Feast of St. Joseph honors the foster-father of Jesus, St. Joseph. He is the patron saint of fathers, families, workers, and the Church. His main feast falls on March 19.

Happy Father's Day!

Matt Talbot was born May 1856 in Dublin Ireland. He was one of twelve children, six of whom lived to adulthood. His father was a heavy drinker and, as a result, the family grew up in poverty. Typical of his era, Matt spent just one year at school. There was no compulsory education and he was unable to read or write. He entered the workforce at age twelve, employed by E & J Burke, a firm which bottled beer. His drinking began with taking the dregs from the bottom of bottles, which had been returned. Within two years, he graduated to whiskey and by the time he was sixteen, he came home drunk regularly.

By the time he was in his twenties, he spent all his wages and spare time in O'Meara's Pub. As far as the neighbors in that area of Dublin were concerned, Matt Talbot was a habitual drunk. Today with our understanding of the illness of alcoholism there is little doubt that he was already a chronic alcoholic.

Drink had become Matt's only interest in life. When his wages were spent, he borrowed and scrounged for money. He pawned his clothes and boots. He supplemented his wages by doing extra work after hours. Among other things he minded horses outside a tavern, while the owners enjoyed themselves inside. The tips he received bought him more drink.

He became a thief, once stealing a fiddle from a blind man. On Saturday he would come home with just a shilling from his wages for his mother. His life had become unmanageable. His drinking companions had several hobbies: swimming, playing cards, and girl friends. Matt had only one —alcoholic drink.

By the time he was twenty-eight, he was well on the road to self-destruction, when a traumatic incident changed his life. On a Saturday morning in 1884, he waited outside O'Meara's without a penny in his pocket. He had been unemployed that week. His problem, he told himself, would be quickly solved. When he had money, he shared it generously with his drinking friends. Therefore, he reasoned, they would not reject him in his misfortune.

But they did. One by one, they passed him. Some greeted him; others ignored him. Perhaps he had scrounged money from them too often, but they left him standing on the corner. Matt Talbot was stunned and shocked. Years later, he said that he was "cut to the heart." But, it was a moment of grace. After some time thinking about his problem, he realized that he was totally enslaved to drink. He made his way home slowly. His mother was preparing the mid-day meal when he arrived.

In nineteenth century Ireland it was common for someone who wished to stop drinking to take a solemn pledge before a priest to abstain for a period of time. Mrs. Talbot could not believe her eyes when Matt came home sober on that fateful Saturday morning. "Ma, I'm going to take the pledge for life," he said. He headed off to a nearby seminary where the priest persuaded him that he should take the pledge for ninety days only.

Those three months were sheer hell. We understand today the withdrawal symptoms of addiction, but in 1884 Matt Talbot had no one to share his suffering — the hallucination, the depression and nausea. But he had an iron will, a rock-like stubbornness that stood him well down through the years. "I know that I will drink again when the three months are up," he would remark to his mother.

To fill in the time he used to spend in O'Meara's, Matt went for a walk every evening after work. During one of those walks his resolution almost broke. He passed Bushe's Public House about a mile from his home just as it opened. He caught the strong smell of beer and saw the crowded bar. The barman was busy serving the local men, and he paid little attention to this stranger waiting at the counter. Matt felt humiliated for the second time within a few weeks. Deeply hurt, he stormed out of the bar down the street and into a Jesuit Church. That evening he made another resolution, never to carry money with him. He kept that resolution for the rest of his life.

Dropping into a Church to rest during his walks became a habit. Matt was neither fit nor religious-minded. He grew tired quickly and since he could not rest in a Tavern or sit down on a public street, a church provided the haven he sought. Gradually he began to pray, to ask God to help him.

To find the strength to remain sober he decided to attend Mass every morning before work and to receive Holy Communion. This was very unusual in the 1880's when the average good layman went to Mass just on Sunday and received Holy Communion only at Easter and Christmas. At the end of three months, Matt took the pledge to abstain from alcohol for six months and finally took it for life.

Matt Talbot now turned all his effort to increasing his union with God and developing his life of prayer. The strict ascetical life of the early Irish monks attracted him. Their love of prayer with the emphasis on penance and humility, and manual labour dedicated to God, appealed to him. He turned to a Jesuit Father, Father James Welshe to help him.

His austere daily program may shock us today in an affluent society that demands comfort. He allowed himself just four or five hours sleep at night and arose about 5 a.m. to prepare for early Mass. Then he would return home for breakfast. Afterwards he would set off for work in the lumberyard of T. & C. Martin. He was a conscientious worker. Many years later, one of his former foremen described him as "the best worker in Dublin" who was often chosen to set the pace for others. But at a time when Dublin labourers were often exploited, he was not a "bosses" man. He had learned to read and write and was quite ready to discuss the rights of workers.

Since he was a member of many religious associations, he attended a meeting almost every evening. When he came home about 9 p.m. or 10 p.m., it was time for his spiritual reading. His spiritual reading ended about I a.m., and he retired for four hours rest before beginning his daily routine again. He did not go to work on Sunday but went to one of the City Churches and would kneel in an obscure corner from the first mass at 6 a.m. until mid-day.

Despite his austerities, Matt was a small tough man — "as strong as a little horse", according to a fellow worker. He had an iron will and a constitution to match. Neither the other workers in T. & C. Martin's, nor the fellow dockers on Dublin's waterfront had an idea that he was leading a life modelled on the early Irish monks. He was a happy little man, although more silent than others. "Matt smiled at everything except a dirty joke," a friend remarked. But many workers knew about his generosity. Matt lent them money to buy clothes or shoes for their children or to pay overdue rent.

Matt Talbot died suddenly from a heart attack in Granby Lane on the way to Mass on Sunday, June 7th, 1925. He was buried in what was virtually a pauper's grave in Glasnevin Cemetery a few days later.

The story of his life came to light because when his body was undressed, three chains were discovered wrapped around it. Inquiries disclosed that he practiced a devotion known as the slavery to Mary. The underlying idea was that a person who considered himself a spiritual slave to the Mother of God would remain close to her and to Jesus, her son. The devotion included wearing one fine, loose chain. It was typical of Matt Talbot to wear three.

In 1975 the Holy See conferred the title "Venerable" on him, which means that from a purely human point of view, Matt Talbot has the qualifications of a Saint. If this Opinion is confirmed by the Miracles required by Canon Law, he will be canonized.

The Golden Arrow prayer was dictated by Jesus to Sr. Marie of St Peter and of the Holy Family, a Carmelite nun of Tours, in 1843. It is an Act of Praise and Reparation for Blasphemy. It is also a reparation for the profanation of Sunday and the Holy Days of Obligation.

Prayers of reparation are recited with the intent to repair the sins of others, e.g. when the name of Jesus Christ is taken in vain, for the repair of the sin of blasphemy or the insults against and sufferings of Jesus in Calvary. Pope John Paul II referred to reparation as the “unceasing effort to stand beside the endless crosses on which the Son of God continues to be crucified”

Jesus said: “This Golden Arrow will wound My Heart delightfully, and heal the wounds inflicted by blasphemy.”

The Golden Arrow Prayer

May the most holy, most sacred, most adorable,
most incomprehensible and ineffable Name of God
be forever praised, blessed, loved, adored
and glorified in Heaven, on earth,
and under the earth,
by all the creatures of God,
and by the Sacred Heart of Our Lord Jesus Christ,
in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar.

O sweet Jesus, Whose overflowing charity for me is requited by so much forgetfulness, negligence and contempt, behold us prostrate before Your alter (in Your presence) eager to repair by a special act of homage the cruel indifference and injuries, to which Your loving Heart is everywhere subject.

Mindful alas, that we ourselves have had a share in such great indignities, which we now deplore from the depths of our hearts, we humbly ask Your pardon and declare our readiness to atone by voluntary expiation not only for our own personal offenses, but also for the sins of those, who, straying far from the path of salvation, refuse in their obstinate infidelity to follow You, their Shepherd and Leader, or, renouncing the vows of their baptism, have cast off the sweet yoke of Your Law. We are now resolved to expiate each and every deplorable outrage committed against You; we are determined to make amends for the manifold offenses against Christian modesty in unbecoming dress and behavior, for all the foul seductions laid to ensnare the feet of the innocent, for the frequent violations of Sundays and holy days, and the shocking blasphemies uttered against You and Your Saints. We wish also to make amends for the insults to which Your Vicar on earth and Your priests are subjected, for the profanation, by conscious neglect or terrible acts of sacrilege, of the very Sacrament of Your Divine Love; and lastly for the public crimes of nations who resist the rights and teaching authority of the Church which You have founded. Would, O divine Jesus, we were able to wash away such abominations with our blood. We now offer, in reparation for these violations of Your divine honor, the satisfaction You once made to Your eternal Father on the cross and which You continue to renews daily on our altars; we offer it in union with the acts of atonement of Your Virgin Mother and all the Saints and of the pious faithful on earth; and we sincerely promise to make recompense, as far as we can with the help of Your grace, for all neglect of Your great love and for the sins we and others have committed in the past. Henceforth we will live a life of unwavering faith, of purity of conduct, of perfect observance of the precepts of the gospel and especially that of charity. We promise to the best of our power to prevent others from offending You and to bring as many as possible to follow You.

O loving Jesus, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, our model in reparation, deign to receive the voluntary offering we make of this act of expiation; and by the crowing gift of perseverance keep us faithful unto death in our duty and the allegiance we owe to You, so that we may one day come to that happy home, where You with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, God, world without end. Amen.

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O Blessed Virgin, Mother of God, look down in mercy from heaven, where thou art enthroned as Queen, upon me, a miserable sinner, thine unworthy servant. Although I know full well my own unworthiness, yet in order to atone for the offenses that are done to thee by impious and blasphemous tongues, from the depths of my heart I praise and extol thee as the purest, the fairest, the holiest creature of all God's handiwork.
I bless thy holy name, I praise thine exalted privilege of being truly Mother of God, ever virgin, conceived without stain of sin, co-redemptrix of the human race. I bless the Eternal Father who chose thee in an especial way for His daughter; I bless the Word Incarnate who took upon Himself our nature in thy bosom and so made thee His Mother; I bless the Holy Spirit who took thee as His bride. All honor, praise and thanksgiving to the ever-blessed Trinity, who predestined thee and loved thee so exceedingly from all eternity as to exalt thee above all creatures to the most sublime heights.
O Virgin, holy and merciful, obtain for all who offend thee the grace of repentance, and graciously accept this poor act of homage from me thy servant, obtaining likewise for me from thy divine Son the pardon and remission of all my sins. Amen.