by Rev. Cav. William Rock, FSSP, SMOCSG

In Southern Italy and in the Italian diaspora, there is a tradition of wearing habits based on the usual appearance of a saint (abitini; abitinu in Sicilian; habitus or vestes in Latin).  In many cases, the habit chosen is that of a local patron(ess), but it could also simply be that of a saint chosen out of personal or familial devotion.  There is also variety as to the when and the why a habit is worn.  In some cases, one might vest as a saint on his or her feast day solely out of devotion.  In other cases, the vestiture is worn as the fulfillment of a vow (votive or ex voto).  It is common in Southern Italy to “bargain” with the saints.  In this case, the bargainer vows the wearing of the habit of the saint if the saint obtains, by his or her intercession, the intention of the bargainer.  It could be that the bargainer himself vows to wear the habit, which is commonly done yearly on the saint’s feast day, but it could also be the case that it is to be worn daily, or it could be that the bargainer vows that another will wear it.  An example of the latter is that parents would promise that a mortally sick child, if he recover through the intercession of the saint, would wear the saint’s habit daily until his first Holy Communion.  The child himself may decide to continue wearing the habit afterwards, either daily or on the feast day, out of devotion and as a continued thanksgiving.  By way of illustration, with regards to the promise to personally wear it, a mother may vow to wear the habit yearly on the appropriate feast day (or even every day for the rest of her life) if her son, through the intercession of the saint, return safe from war.  There are even cases where the vow is continued by descendants after the death or incapacity of the one originally obligated out of gratitude towards the saint.¹

Lest those who practice what has been thus far described be accused of impiety or something bordering on superstition or paganism, it ought to be pointed out that this “bargaining” is more properly, and technically, the making of a conditional, suspensive vow, “that is to say, [a vow which makes] the commencement of the obligation depend on the happening or the not happening of some future uncertain event; for instance, the words, ‘If I recover my health’, make the obligation commence upon the recovery.”² In a conditional, suspensive vow, then, one would only fall under the obligation of the vow (such as the wearing of a habit ex voto) if the condition placed on the vow is fulfilled by the other party invoked, be that party either God Himself or one of the saints.  Regarding specifically vows to the saints, “God is well pleased with the honour paid to His saints, and they rejoice at the glory given to God.  We may then confirm by a vow the promise made to a saint, and likewise we may honour a saint by a vow made to God, as for instance, to erect in memory of some saint a temple for Divine worship”³ or, as in the case under consideration here, to wear a votive habit.

The making of such conditional, suspensive vows have a foundation in Sacred Scripture where, for instance, Anna “made a vow, saying: O Lord of hosts, if thou wilt look down, and wilt be mindful of me, and not forget thy handmaid, and wilt give to thy servant a manchild: I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head” (1 King [Samuel] 1:11).  Anna here is making a conditional, suspensive vow.  If God will remove her barrenness, then she will dedicate the first male child she may have to the service of the Tabernacle.  God granted her request, and she gave birth to the Prophet Samuel (1:20).  Once Samuel was weaned, but still “very young” (1:24), the child, in fulfilment of the vow made by his mother, was offered to the High Priest and lived and served with him at the Tabernacle (2:11).  Samuel, even though he was a child, was vested as a priest, wearing a vestment made for him by his mother (2:19-20; Samuel himself was of the Tribe of Levi according to the genealogies in the First Book of Chronicles).  In all this, not only is there an example of a conditional, suspensive vow, but one in which the obligation is shared both by the one making the vow and her child, just as can be the case in the wearing of a habit ex voto.

While the wearing of habits ex voto or out of devotion is a great example of folk religious practice (and an expression of how thin the veil is between the here and the hereafter, how close and real the saints are in the spirituality of Southern Italians), it is not without liturgical support.  An edition of the Franciscan Ritual contains a quite elaborate ceremony for the clothing of boys or girls in votive habits (Ritus induendi pueros vel puellas habitu ex voto) and an edition of the Dominican Ritual has an equally complex ceremony for vesting children in the Dominican habit, either out of devotion or in the fulfillment of a vow (Ritus induendi puerum, vel puellam, ex devotione, vel voto habitu Ordinis Nostri).  The traditional Roman Ritual, for its part, contains two comparatively simple blessings.  The first is the blessing of a habit (vestis) in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary:

℣. Our help is in the Name of the Lord.
℟. Who made heaven and earth.

℣. The Lord be with you.
℟. And with your spirit.

Let us pray.
O Lord, bless ✠ this habit which is to be worn in honor of the blessed Virgin Mary, and under her patronage; and grant that he (she) who is to wear it may obtain health in body and protection in soul; through Christ our Lord.

℟. Amen.

The habit is sprinkled with holy water.⁴

The second blessing is for a habit to be worn in honor of the blessed Virgin Mary or of any canonized saint:

℣. Our help is in the Name of the Lord.
℟. Who made heaven and earth.

℣. The Lord be with you.
℟. And with your spirit.

Let us pray.
O Lord Jesus Christ, Who in becoming man for our salvation deigned to assume our vesture of flesh, bless ✠ this habit with a holy benediction, for Your servant is to wear it in thanksgiving to You, with all devotion and a holy intention, and in veneration of the blessed Virgin Mary (or of St. N.).  Pour out on him (her), we pray, Your holy blessing, ✠ so that when he (she) first puts on this garb, which is like that of a religious, he (she) may obtain, through the prayers of the blessed Virgin Mary (or of St. N.), Your grace to protect him (her) from every evil of mind or body.  We ask this of You who live and reign forever and ever.

℟. Amen.

The habit is sprinkled with holy water.⁵

As I am winding things up, I would be remiss if I did not strongly advise that the making of a vow or religious promise should generally only be done after receiving permission from a priest, preferably one’s pastor or regular confessor/spiritual advisor.  Besides, when the practice under discussion in this article is done today, it is generally done devotionally not promissorily.  Now, that being said, while it would be wonderful to see the wearing of votive habits become more common, after all there is a basis for it in the Ritual, I understand that the wearing of a votive habit will not resonate with everyone.  But, if the wearing of a votive habit is something that you or yours, dear reader, are interested in, please discuss it with your pastor or regular confessor/spiritual advisor.

Rev. Cav. William Rock, FSSP, SMOCSG  was ordained in the fall of 2019 and invested as an Ecclesiastical Knight of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of St. George in the summer of 2025.  He is currently assigned to St. Stanislaus Parish in Nashua, NH.

In support of the causes of Blessed Maria Cristina, Queen, and Servant of God Francesco II, King 

1. The information for this paragraph was supplied by Mr. Patrick A. O’Boyle, Esq., SMOCSG and Mr. Brendan Young, SMOCSG.  Thanks are owed to them for this.  It is also worth noting that there were/are other such ex voto practices.  Here, however, ex voto is more expansive in meaning than that used in the main article and could mean anything given or done either to obtain the favor of God or a saint, or in thanksgiving for a favor received, with or without an accompanying vow or promise, or something given or done simply out of devotion.  For example, some walk barefoot in the saint’s feast day procession while others carry customary votives on their heads, which could range from piles of candles (e.g. the cinte/Italian candle-houses associated with the Madonna del Sacro Monte near Novi Velia, Salerno) to banners of laurel branches upon which hang products of the season (rabbits, hares, seasonal fruit) along with colored handkerchiefs (the promittiti u lauru of Cerami, Sicily for the Madonna della Lavina).  If someone were healed, wax, or even metal (sterling silver), shaped into the healed body part could be offered.  Metal ex votos in various sizes and designs (e.g., houses, newborn babies) are also common as well as ex voto paintings.  It was also customary in Southern Italy, and afterwards in the diaspora, to offer jewelry (e.g., wedding rings, earrings, watches, necklaces, strings of peals, military medals, etc.) to adorn images of saints (attached by metal loops and the like) or (less common) frames carried in a saint’s procession.  When not in use, the jewelry would be kept in a safe place until needed.  After its introduction in the 1870s, paper currency was used in this manner as well. Additional information can be found in the old Catholic Enyclopedia article “Votive Offerings” and in the first chapter of Robert A. Orsi’s The Madonna of 115th Street.
2. Old Catholic Encyclopedia, s. v. Vows.
3. Ibid.
4. Rituale Romanum [1957], Titulus IX – Caput 8, 13; English adapted from the Weller translation provided online by EWTN (2, VII, 20).
5. Rituale Romanum [1957], Titulus IX – Caput 8, 14; English adapted from the Weller translation provided online by EWTN (2, VII, 21).

“I Love Jesus Christ and that is why I am on fire with the desire to give Him souls, first of all my own, and then an incalculable number of others.”
—Saint Alphonsus Liguori

The National Shrine of Saint Alphonsus Liguori in Baltimore is preparing to celebrate its patronal feast day on August 2nd! And again this year, we are offering a novena of Masses and a Procession for the return of lost sheep. Saint Alphonsus was given by God a particular zeal and a special grace for the conversion of souls. As the patron saint of arthritis and the ailments afflicting the connective tissues in the body, we see also his gift as Doctor of the Church to aid the afflictions of the Mystical Body.

In honor of our blessed patron, Saint Alphonsus, and as we prepare for our Novena of Masses begging our Lord for the graces necessary for all those lost sheep who are not in the fold of the Catholic Church or who have grown cold in their love for God, we offer this meditation by Saint Alphonsus. It is taken from his Way of Salvation and is entitled, “On the joy of Jesus Christ at finding the lost sheep.”

“Our blessed Savior says of himself, in Saint Luke (c. 15), that He is the affectionate shepherd, who, having lost one of His hundred sheep, leaves the ninety-nine in the desert, and goes in search of the one that is lost; and finding it, receives it with joy, takes it on His shoulders, and returning home calls together his neighbors to rejoice with Him, saying, Rejoice with me, because I have found My sheep that was lost. O divine shepherd! I have been that lost sheep, but Thou hast sought me until, as I hope, Thou hast found me. Thou hast found me and I have found Thee. How shall I ever again stray away from Thee, my beloved Lord? And yet such a misfortune may happen to me. Oh, permit it not; never suffer me, O Jesus! to leave Thee and to lose Thee again.

“But why, O Jesus! dost Thou call together Thy friends to rejoice with Thee for having found the lost sheep? Shouldst Thou not rather bid them rejoice with the lost sheep for having again found Thee, its God? But so great is Thy love for my poor soul that Thou esteemest it Thy happiness to have found it! My dearest Redeemer, since Thou hast found me, bind me to Thee with the blessed bonds of Thy holy love, that I may always love Thee and may nevermore depart from Thee.

“God, says the prophet, no sooner hears the voice of the penitent sinner crying to Him for mercy, than He immediately answers and forgives Him. At the voice of thy cry, as soon as He shall hear, He will answer thee. Behold me then at Thy sacred feet, O God! grieved from the bottom of my heart for having so often offended Thee, and craving Thy compassion and pardon. I can no longer endure to behold myself at a distance from Thee and deprived of Thy love. Thou art infinite goodness, and most worthy of infinite love. If hitherto I have despised Thy grace, I now value it above all the kingdoms of the earth. And because I have offended Thee, I beseech Thee to avenge thyself upon me, not indeed by casting me away from Thy face, but by giving me such a sorrow for my sins as may cause me to lament my guilt before Thee, all the days of my life. Lord, I love Thee with my whole heart, and as I cannot trust that I shall continue faithful to Thy love, be Thou my help and my succour. And do thou, O holy Virgin! help me with thy holy intercession.”

With confidence we can call on Saint Alphonsus’s powerful intercession for nothing less than the complete and total conversion of our own souls, as he was wont to beg us to accomplish, and for the conversion of others, too. You are invited to visit the Shrine’s website to enroll your intentions in the Mass Novena that begins Saturday, August 2nd.

You are also invited to join us live online for a preached novena leading up to our parish feast day. Beginning with Mass on Thursday, 24 July, daily broadcasts of Mass and its sermon are available on our YouTube channel. See the Shrine’s website for more details, links, and the schedule:

https://stalphonsusbalt.org/return

by Fr. William Rock, FSSP

In the beginning of April 2025, I was contacted concerning how to properly decline a Latin title of Our Lady for use in the blessing of a processional banner.  I had never heard of this blessing before and, after providing feedback about the Latin, asked where the blessing is found.  It turns out that the blessing is contained in the standard Roman Ritual.  On the following Holy Thursday, as the parish was preparing for the evening’s liturgy, I was asked if the organizational banners which would be used in the Eucharistic procession should be blessed/if I was willing to bless them.  I jumped at the chance to use the blessing about which I had recently learned.  The hand of Providence, perhaps, can be seen in all of this.

The following is a translation of the blessing of a processional banner for any congregation:

℣. Our help is in the Name of the Lord.
℟. Who made heaven and earth.

℣. The Lord be with you.
℟. And with your spirit.

Let us pray.
Lord Jesus Christ, Whose Church is like a well ordered battle-array, bless ✠ this banner; and grant that all who fight under this standard for Your sake, O Lord God, may by the prayers of Blessed N. overcome their visible and invisible enemies in this life, and after this victory come as conquerors to the kingdom of heaven. We ask this through You, Jesus Christ, Who live and reign with God the Father and the Holy Ghost forever and ever.

℟. Amen.

The banner is sprinkled with holy water.¹

It was very common in the past for different congregations (be they societies, confraternities, sodalities, guilds, religious associations, Tertiaries, and the like) to have their own processional banners upon which was emblazoned the image of their respective heavenly patron or patroness.  It would be this patron or patroness who would be named while the blessing was being imparted.  Even today, these banners can lead members of their respective congregations during the various processions of the year, such as on the Purification, Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, the Rogation Days, Corpus Christi, and any local processions.  In these processions, the banners and members, in their dress and insignia, precede the processional cross,² though the laity usually follow behind the sacred ministers.  When not in use, the banners may be displayed near a shrine or side altar in the local church dedicated to their patron or patroness, if one be present.

Both in the title and the text, the Latin for banner is “vexillum,” the same word applied to the Cross in the famous processional hymn of Venantius Fortunatus, Bishop of Poitiers, [† c. A.D. 600], the Vexilla regis prodeunt, sung during Passiontide, and also in the Secrets of the Masses of the Finding (3 May) and Exaltation (14 September) of the True Cross and in the Collect of the Votive Mass of the Holy Cross (outside of Paschaltide).  While the word can be translated simply as “banner,” it should be understood that “the vexillum was the old Roman cavalry standard, which, after Constantine, was surmounted by a Cross instead of by the Roman eagle.”³  The specific use of this word, and its application to a processional banner, explains the militaristic tone of the blessing which begins by implying that the Church here below is a Church Militant.

The members of the congregation, as the blessing explains, are expected to fight against their visible and invisible enemies, that is, against the false maxims of this fallen world, against the sinful concupiscence of the flesh, and against the snares and traps of the devil and his fallen angels, using the weapons of prayer, fasting, and almsdeeds. By so doing, aided by the intercession of their heavenly patron(ess), it is hoped that they will receive an eternal reward as victors and conquerors.

In conclusion, dear reader, if your parish has congregational banners, it might be worthwhile for the leads of the different organizations to arrange to have them blessed if they are not so already and to promote their use, and the attendance of the members, at the various processions of the year.  If your parish congregations do not have such banners, perhaps this article will serve as the impetus for their procuring of them.

Fr. William Rock, FSSP was ordained in the fall of 2019 and is currently assigned to St. Stanislaus Parish in Nashua, NH.

In support of the causes of Blessed Maria Cristina, Queen, and Servant of God Francesco II, King 

1. Rituale Romanum [1957], Titulus IX – Caput 8, 3; English adapted from the Weller translation provided online by EWTN (2, VII, 24).
2. Britt, Matthew. The Hymns of The Breviary and Missal. (New York: Benziger Brothers, 1936), p. 124.
3. Fortescue, A., O’Connell, J.B., & Reid, A. The Ceremonies of the Roman Rite Described (15th ed). (New York: Burn & Oates, 2009), p. 390, n. 42.

by Fr. William Rock, FSSP

On the Feast of Pentecost, the Church celebrates the descent of the Holy Ghost on the Apostles and Disciples following the Lord’s Ascension.  While this is an extremely important moment in the Church’s history, it ought to be noted that this is not the first visible mission of the Holy Ghost, but the fourth.

To begin with, a visible mission (Latin: missio, “sending”) of a Divine Person is a sensible manifestation which expresses the supremely important spiritual realities being brought about outside of the Divinity by a Divine Person Who was sent by another Divine Person (or Persons) in a manner which is able to be known by man, whose knowledge begins with his senses.  With respect to the Holy Ghost, these missions were “directed to Christ, to the apostles, and to some of the early saints on whom the Church was in a way founded” (S.T. I, q. 43, a. 7, ad 6).

In the first place there was the visible mission of the Holy Ghost in the form of a dove at the Lord’s baptism (Matt 3:13-17; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-22).  As St. Thomas explains in his theological Summa: the form of a dove, “a fruitful animal…show[s] forth in Christ the authority of the giver of grace by spiritual regeneration; hence the Father’s voice spoke, This is My beloved Son (Matt 3:17), that others might be regenerated to the likeness of the only Begotten.”

The second visible mission of the Holy Ghost was in the form of the bright cloud at the Lord’s transfiguration (Matt 17:1-13; Mark 9:1-7; Luke 9:28-36).  According to St. Thomas, this manifestation in the form of a bright cloud represented “the exuberance of doctrine; and hence it was said, Hear ye Him (Matt 17:5).”

On the evening of the Resurrection, the Risen Lord breathed on the Apostles and said to them “Receive ye the Holy Ghost” (John 20:22). This is the third visible mission.  The fourth visible mission, as was mentioned, occurred at Pentecost and was manifested by the sound of a mighty wind and by tongues of fire (Acts 2:2-3).  St. Thomas explains these missions as follows: “To the apostles the mission was directed in the form of breathing to show forth the power of their ministry in the dispensation of the sacraments; and hence it was said, Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven (John 20:23): and again under the sign of fiery tongues to show forth the office of teaching; whence it is said that, they began to speak with diverse tongues (Acts 2:4).”

It should be noted that the visible mission of the Holy Ghost at Pentecost is unique in that it is the only time the Holy Ghost had a visible mission without a manifestation of either of the other two Divine Persons.  At the Baptism and Transfiguration, all three Divine Persons were manifested.  On the day of the Resurrection, the Son was also manifested.  The visible manifestation of the Holy Ghost alone at Pentecost indicates the beginning of a new era, the era of the Church, which the Holy Ghost guides as history unfolds.

In the last two visible missions, the Holy Ghost manifests that what had been indicated previously with regards to the Son has been entrusted to the Apostles.  There is a connection between Christ’s Baptism and the Breathing of the Holy Ghost in that the former shows Christ as the “giver of grace” and the pattern of the regenerated Faithful, while the latter shows the entrusting to the Apostles of the Sacraments which are the primary means by which Christ gives grace and conforms the Faithful to Himself.  There is also a connection between the Transfiguration and Pentecost in that the former expresses that Christ is teaching a divine doctrine, and the latter expresses that the Apostles were entrusted with a teaching office to preach the same doctrine.  These connections show that the Apostles, and, by extension, their successors, were empowered by the Holy Ghost to continue the work of Christ, teaching and sanctifying in the world with divine power.  But this also means that the second two visible missions of the Holy Ghost cannot be fully understood without referencing the first two.

Fr. William Rock, FSSP was ordained in the fall of 2019 and is currently assigned to St. Stanislaus Parish in Nashua, NH.

In support of the causes of Blessed Maria Cristina, Queen, and Servant of God Francesco II, King 

by Fr. William Rock, FSSP

During the days between Our Lord’s Ascension and the coming of the Holy Ghost on Pentecost, St. Peter, as the head of the Church, oversaw the election of St. Matthias to replace Judas.  This event is recorded in the Acts of the Apostles (1:15-16, 20-26):

In those days Peter rising up in the midst of the brethren, said (now the number of persons together was about an hundred and twenty): Men, brethren, the scripture must needs be fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost spoke before by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who was the leader of them that apprehended Jesus…For it is written in the book of Psalms: Let their habitation become desolate, and let there be none to dwell therein. And his bishopric let another take.  Wherefore of these men who have companied with us, all the time that the Lord Jesus came in and went out among us, beginning from the baptism of John, until the day wherein He was taken up from us, one of these must be made a witness with us of His resurrection.  And they appointed two, Joseph, called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. And praying, they said: Thou, Lord, Who knowest the heart of all men, shew whether of these two Thou hast chosen, to take the place of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas hath by transgression fallen, that he might go to his own place. And they gave them lot, and the lot fell upon Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

After reading this account, the question can be raised, why was it that the Apostles needed to be restored to 12?  There are several answers which can be given.

The most immediate answer is because the Apostles were to be the foundation of the New Israel just as the 12 sons of Jacob were the foundation of the Old Israel.  The Sons of Jacob, the 12 Patriarchs, were the fathers of all the Israelites, and the Apostles were to be the spiritual fathers of all Christians.  Therefore, it was fitting that the number of Apostles be 12 when the Church, the New Israel, manifested herself to the world.

There being 12 Apostles also shows a conformity between the Old Law and the New Law.¹  Some early heretics tried to set the Old Law against the New, even saying the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament were two different Gods.  But having the foundation of both Testaments be 12 – 12 Sons of Jacob and 12 Apostles – shows their conformity.

In considering these two reasons, it is important to keep in mind that the 12 Patriarchs were a type, a foreshadowing, of the Apostles.  God had in mind the 12 Apostles when He established the 12 Patriarchs, not that He made there be 12 Apostles because there were, by chance, 12 Patriarchs.

But why did God choose that there should be 12, not more nor fewer?

In the first place, it should be understood that 12 is considered a complete count.  We are accustomed to counting on our fingers and thumbs to 10 with each digit being used for one count.  Once 10 is reached, all digits have been used, and thus 10 is considered a complete count.  In other cultures, such as the Babylonians, the thumb on one hand was used to count the portions of the fingers on the same hand while the digits on the other hand were used to keep track of how many times all of the portions were counted.  Each finger had three portions: hand to first knuckle, first knuckle to second knuckle, and second knuckle to end.  One pass through all of the portions gave a count of 12, thus making 12, and then 60 (=12*5), a complete count.²

Another explanation is that the Apostles were sent to preach the Three Persons of the Holy Trinity, represented by the number 3, to the four corners of the world, which can thus be represented by the number 4.  12, then, as it is the product of 3 and 4, represents the preaching of the Holy Trinity to the whole world.  This fulfills the Lord’s Command heard in the Gospel of the Ascension: “Go ye into the whole world and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15).  That this was fulfilled is expressed by St. Paul in his letter to the Romans (10:18), where he quotes from the Book of Psalms.  A fuller quotation from the Psalm reads thus: “there are no speeches nor languages, where their voices are not heard. Their sound hath gone forth into all the earth: and their words unto the ends of the world” (18:4-5).

12 also signifies a high perfection because it is 6 doubled.  6 is, according to St. Thomas Aquinas,³ a perfect number as it is the sum of its parts.  What parts?  Its Triangular parts.  6 is the third of what are called by modern mathematicians “Triangular Numbers,” which were previously encountered in an article on the Holy Rosary.  These numbers can be visualized by using beads laid out to form a growing triangle.  The number of beads which form a complete row of the growing triangle, thus forming a complete triangle, and which number is also equal to the sum of the count of rows (their “Triangular parts”), are Triangular Numbers (see accompanying image).  These Triangular Numbers have a certain perfection, according to St. Thomas, exactly because they can be produced by summing their parts, that is, by summing the count of rows of their bead triangles.

Returning to the number 6, it can be seen that it is a Triangular Number as 6 beads can be used to form a full triangle.  Its Triangular parts are found from the count of the number of rows of beads in a six-bead triangle.  As a six-bead triangle has three rows, 1, 2, and 3 are found to be the Triangular parts of 6 with 6 itself being the sum of these parts (6=1+2+3).  As this is the case, 6 is, according to St. Thomas, a perfect number.  6 is also formed by the product of its Triangular parts, 1*2*3=6.  6, then, is perfect in two ways as it can be reached by the addition and the product of its Triangular parts.  Since 12 is twice 6 (6*2=12), 12 is double perfection of the perfection of 6.  Now, the foundation of Christ’s Church must have a certain perfection, for, as it says in the Book of Deuteronomy (32:4), “the works of God are perfect.”  Therefore, it is fitting that the number of the Apostles expresses this perfection as they are the foundation of the Church, for, as St. Paul wrote to the Ephesians (Eph2:20), the Church is “built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone.”

It was fitting, then, that the number of the Apostles be returned to 12 before the public manifestation of the Church on Pentecost in order to show that they were the foundation of the New Israel and that the New Law is in continuity with the Old Law by the Apostles fulfilling their type of the 12 Patriarchs, the Sons of Jacob, to express that the Apostles were a full count, that they were tasked with the preaching of the Holy Trinity to the whole world, and to communicate the high perfection of the Church.  May these thoughts accompany us during these days between the feast of the Ascension and Pentecost and help to make them fruitful.

Fr. William Rock, FSSP was ordained in the fall of 2019 and is currently assigned to St. Stanislaus Parish in Nashua, NH.

In support of the causes of Blessed Maria Cristina, Queen, and Servant of God Francesco II, King 

1. St. Thomas’ Commentary on Matthew, 10.1 (810).
2. How 10 Fingers Became 12 Hours | EarthDate.
3. St. Thomas’ Commentary on Matthew, 10.1 (810).

by Fr. William Rock, FSSP

St. Luke gives us two accounts of the Ascension, one at the beginning of Acts (1:1-11), which is read on the Feast of the Ascension as the Epistle, and another at the end of his Gospel (24:36-53).  In the shorter version given in his Gospel, St. Luke relates something which is not recorded in the longer version given in Acts or in St. Mark’s account (16:14-20), which is read as the Gospel on the Ascension.  In his Gospel account, St. Luke states that Our Lord ascended from or near the town of Bethany (Bethania) on Mount Olivet – “And He led them out as far as Bethania: and lifting up His hands, He blessed them.  And it came to pass, whilst He blessed them, He departed from them and was carried up to heaven” (Luke 24:50-51).

As stated, Bethany was located to the east of Jerusalem, on Mount Olivet.  It was here that Our Lord received hospitality in the house of Martha and Mary during his public ministry (see, for example, John 11:1), especially during the week of His Passion, as He would retire to Bethany in the evenings after teaching in the holy city (see Mark 11).

At least as far back as the ecclesiastical writer Origen, who died around the year A.D. 253, “Bethany” was interpreted to mean “House of Obedience.”¹  “Beth” means “house” and is found in other placenames, such as in “Bethlehem,” “House of Bread.”  While this meaning might not be accepted by modern scholars,² the Christian tradition of understanding Bethany to mean “House of Obedience” is very ancient and much fruit has been gathered from reflecting on this.

To begin with, Our Lord came into this world to undo disobedience.  In the first place, this is the disobedience of Adam who, in eating the forbidden fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, brought sin to the human race.  As St. Paul wrote to the Romans: “by the disobedience of one man, many were made sinners” (Rom 5:19).  But Our Lord also came due to the disobedience found in the sins of all, for, as St. Augustine wrote, sin is a “thought, word, or deed contrary to the eternal law,”³ and thus all sin can be seen as disobedience to God’s Law.  Our Lord counteracted all this disobedience through obedience to His Father and it is by this obedience that men are able to be justified before God – “by the obedience of one, many shall be made just” as St. Paul continues.

It was fitting then, that Our Lord should begin this undoing of disobedience at Bethany, the House of Obedience.⁴  For not only did Our Lord reside in Bethany during Holy Week, but it was the anointing at Bethany before His Triumphal entry which marks the start of His Passion as witnessed by the Matthean and Marcian Passion accounts as they were read in Holy Week before the changes made under Pope Pius XII in the 1950s.

Not only does Christ’s obedience justify sinners, but it also brought Him glory, for, as St. Paul wrote to the Philippians, Christ “humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death, even to the death of the cross.  For which cause, God also hath exalted Him and hath given Him a name which is above all names” (Php 2:8-9).  Our Lord was exalted in His Resurrection, Ascension, and His being seated at the right hand of the Father.  It was fitting, then, that He should ascend from the House of Obedience for it was His obedience which led to His exaltation.

Other interpreters, such as the Venerable Bede (d. A.D. 735), also see in Bethany, the House of Obedience, a type or pattern for the Church⁵ for the Church is called to be obedient to the Lord’s command to the Apostles: “Go ye into the whole world and preach the gospel to every creature….teach ye all nations: baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.  Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” (Mark 16:15; Matt 28:19-20).  The Church is most herself when she is obedient to Our Lord’s commission, working for the greater external glory of God and the salvation of souls.

The faithful, if they wish to follow Our Lord to Heaven, must be in Bethany, in the House of Obedience, that is, in the Church.  They are also called to be in “obedience to the faith” (Rom 1:5) and be among those who have “obeyed from the heart unto that form of doctrine into which [they] have been delivered” (Rom 6:17).  Holding articles of the Faith to be true is not the same as accepting things as true which can be experienced by the senses or determined philosophically.  The truths of the Faith are mysteries; that is, they are above but not contrary to unaided natural reason.  To accept these mysteries of the Faith as true – things such as the Holy Trinity, the Incarnation, the Passion, Death, Resurrection, and Ascension of the Son, the Church, and the Sacraments – an act of the will is needed because the truth of these mysteries is not readily apparent to the intellect.  This act of the will in believing is also a form of obedience for, as St. Thomas wrote in his Commentary on Romans (1:5), “obedience finds its scope in things we can do voluntarily; in matters of faith, since they are above reason, we consent voluntarily.  For no one believes unless he wills to, as Augustine says.”  Thus, as Origen wrote, “every man who is obedient to the word of God is Bethany, and Christ abides in him.”⁶

Fr. William Rock, FSSP was ordained in the fall of 2019 and is currently assigned to St. Stanislaus Parish in Nashua, NH.

In support of the causes of Blessed Maria Cristina, Queen, and Servant of God Francesco II, King 

1. As quoted in St. Thomas’ Catena Aurea, Luke, 19.3.
2. See, for example, Old Catholic Encyclopedia, s.v. “Bethany.”
3. Reply to Faustus XXII.27.
4. See the Venerable Bede as quoted in St. Thomas’ Catena Aurea, Luke 24.7
5. Ibid.
6. As quoted in St. Thomas’ Catena Aurae, Matthew 21.3.

Join us on Wednesday, May 28th as we celebrate the ordination of five Our Lady of Guadalupe seminarians to the sacred priesthood!

The ceremony begins at 10 AM Central time and will be livestreamed here:

https://www.youtube.com/@olgsbasketball1870/streams

May God bless and keep the ordinandi!

Fribourg, May 9, 2025

“Pax Vobis”

Deeply heartened by these first words of Leo XIV in echoing the Good Shepherd in these days after the Resurrection, we ardently join the Holy Father in his intentions for peace within the world and within the Church.  We assure him of our fervent prayers by invoking in particular our own Patron, St. Peter, Prince of the Apostles.

Tu es Petrus, et super hanc petram ædificabo ecclesiam meam

Oremus pro pontifice nostro, Leone, Dominus conservet eum, et vivificet eum, et beatum faciat eum in terra, et non tradat eum in animam inimicorum eius.

Source: fssp.org.

Fribourg, April 21, 2025

Having learned of the passing from this world of Pope Francis today, April 21, 2025, the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter is ardently praying for the repose of his soul. As the Servant of the Servants of God, he often humbly asked to be remembered in the prayers of those who met him.  We are indebted to him for being a Father toward our Fraternity, in particular by his decree of February 11, 2022, clearly reaffirming the practice and charism that the Fraternity has had from its foundation.

Requiem Masses with the absolution will be celebrated in the apostolates entrusted to the Fraternity in order to “pray to God that through the Sacrifice offered for the soul of his servant, he may be admitted into the celestial kingdom in the company of all the saints.” (Requiem Mass for a Sovereign Pontiff)

Source : www.fssp.org

by Fr. William Rock, FSSP

In February of A.D. 2025, the New Liturgical Movement blog published an article in four parts entitled “The Antiquity and Universality of Fore-Lent” by Mr. Henri de Villiers (part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4).  In the first and fourth parts, Mr. de Villiers explains:

The reminder of human fragility, meditation on the last things, and consequently, prayer for the dead, are recurrent elements of this liturgical season.

Just as the liturgy of Fore-Lent reminds us of our mortal condition fallen though [sic] sin, this period has also become in many liturgical traditions a privileged time to pray for the dead.

In the Armenian Rite, the Thursday of Quinquagesima (the last before the beginning of Lent) is dedicated to the commemoration of all the faithful departed. The same holds true for the Saturday before the Sunday of the Last Judgment in the Byzantine Rite; this is attested in the Typikon of the Great Church in the 9th or 10th century, the most important document describing the arrangement of services at Hagia Sophia. The Assyro-Chaldean rite has a similar observance on the Friday of the second week before Lent.

Among the Maronites, the three Sundays of Fore-Lent are dedicated to the commemoration of the dead, the first to deceased priests, the second to the “just and righteous”, the last to all the faithful departed. The arrangement of the season among the Syrian Jacobites is undoubtedly the more primitive: the fast of the Ninevites from Monday to Friday of Septuagesima week, the Sunday of prayer for deceased priests on Sexagesima, and for all the faithful departed on Quinquagesima.

So far as I am aware, it was never the practice of the Roman church to pray for the dead during the season of Septuagesima (the Roman Fore-Lent) and, supportingly, Mr. de Villiers does not give a Roman example of such a practice in his exposition.  There is, however, the tradition of praying for the dead (and living), motivated, in all likelihood, by the same above-mentioned considerations, in the seasonal orations for the first four weeks of Lent.¹  Seasonal orations are two sets of three prayers assigned for specific liturgical seasons which are to be added after the prayers of the Mass on days observed as semi-doubles or simples.² The inclusion of additional oration sets beyond that of the Mass being celebrated “became a feature of the Carolingian liturgy,” that is, the liturgy as celebrated during the Carolingian era within the Carolingian Empire (A.D. 800–887), and “reached Rome about the 12th century.”³  A systemization of assigning prayer sets to the different liturgical seasons is attested to by the Tridentine Missal promulgated by Pope Pius V.  These seasonal orations remained in the Roman Missal until the changes made under Pope Pius XII in the 1950s.  After these changes, these sets of prayers are still present in the Missal and can be used ad libitum by the celebrant according to the rubrics, but seasonal orations as such are no longer assigned.  Relative to the discussion here, it is the second set of seasonal orations for the season of Lent that contains the previously mentioned prayers for the living and dead (pro vivis et defunctis).  It should be noted that these prayers for the living and dead are not used as seasonal orations at any other time of the year.

The translations of these prayers are as follows:

Collect (opening prayer): O almighty and eternal God, Who hast dominion over the living and the dead, and art merciful to all Whom Thou knowest will be Thine by faith and good works: we humbly beseech Thee, that they, for whom we have proposed to offer our prayers, whether this world still retains them in the flesh, or the next world hath already received them divested of their bodies, may, by the clemency of Thine own goodness, and the intercession of Thy Saints, obtain pardon and full remission of their sins. Through, etc.

Secret (prayer over the oblations): O God, to Whom alone is known the number of Thine elect to be placed in eternal bliss: grant, we beseech Thee, by the intercession of all Thy Saints, that the book of predestination may contain the names of all those for whom we have undertaken to pray, as well as those of all the faithful. Through, etc.

Postcommunion (closing prayer): May the mysteries we have received, purify us, we beseech Thee, O almighty and merciful God; and grant by the intercession of all Thy Saints, that this Thy Sacrament may not increase our guilt to punishment, but be a means of obtaining pardon in order to salvation. May it wash away sin, strengthen our frailty, secure us against the dangers of the world; and procure forgiveness for all the faithful, both living and dead. Through, etc.⁴

It is worth noting that there is an invoking of the intercession of the Saints, a staple of Catholic practice, in all three orations.  The Collect notably expresses the Catholic belief that both faith and meritorious good works (divinized/supernaturalized/elevated good works performed in a state of grace and animated by the Infused Virtues) are necessary for salvation.  Also of interest is the petition in the Postcommunion that Holy Communion was received by all worthily so that it will be for their benefit as a Sacrament and not their detriment as a sacrilege.  Another interesting feature is the presence in the Collect and Secret of references to God’s foreknowledge of the saved and predestination, both great mysteries.

These Lenten prayers for the living and dead rang in the ears of our Catholic forefathers for many centuries and helped shape the way they understood Lent.  May these translations and short comments similarly help you, dear reader.

Fr. William Rock, FSSP was ordained in the fall of 2019 and is currently assigned to St. Stanislaus Parish in Nashua, NH.

In support of the causes of Blessed Maria Cristina, Queen, and Servant of God Francesco II, King 

1. There are indications in the Roman liturgy that sin and death, and by extension the other Last Things, are themes of the season of Lent in the Roman Tradition.  One of the most striking is the formula for the imposition of Ashes at the start of Lent – “Remember man, that thou art dust, and into dust thou shalt return.”
2. In some seasons there would be a choice for the prayers of the third set.  Also, there could be cases where only one of the two possible seasonal prayers would be said, such as if there be a commemoration.
3. King, Archdale A. Liturgy of the Roman Church. (London: Longmans, Green, and Co Ltd, 1957), p. 244.
4. Guéranger, Prosper. The Liturgical Year, vol. 4 (Septuagesima). Trans. Shepherd, Laurence. (Fitzwilliam: Loreto Publications, 2000), pp. 211, 216-217, 218.