St. Pius V (Latin: Pius PP. V, Italian: Pio V; 17 January 1504 – 1 May 1572), born Antonio Ghislieri (from 1518 called Michele Ghislieri, O.P.), was Pope from 1566 to 1572 and is a saint of the Catholic Church.[1] He is chiefly notable for his role in the Council of Trent, the Counter-Reformation, and the standardization of theRoman rite within the Latin Church. Pius V declared Thomas Aquinas a Doctor of the Church and patronized prominent sacred music composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina.
As a cardinal, Ghislieri gained a reputation for putting orthodoxy before personalities, prosecuting eight French bishops for heresy. He also stood firm against nepotism, rebuking his predecessor Pope Pius IV to his face when he wanted to make a 13-year old member of his family a cardinal and subsidise a nephew from the Papal treasury.
In affairs of state, Pius V excommunicated Elizabeth I of England for schism and persecutions of English Catholics during her reign. He also arranged the formation of the Holy League, an alliance of Catholic states. Although outnumbered, the Holy League famously defeated the Ottoman Empire, which had threatened to overrun Europe, at the Battle of Lepanto. This victory Pius V attributed to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary and instituted the feast of Our Lady of Victory.
"Open the eye of your
intellect, and gaze into Me, and you shall see the beauty of My rational creature. And
look at those creatures who, among the beauties which I have given to the soul,
creating her in My image and similitude, are clothed with the nuptial garment (that
is, the garment of love), adorned with many virtues, by which they are united with
Me through love. And yet I tell you, if you should ask Me, who these are, I should
reply" (said the sweet and amorous Word of God) "they are another Myself,
inasmuch as they have lost and denied their own will, and are clothed with Mine,
are united to Mine, are conformed to Mine."
INTROIT HAIL HOLY Mother, who in childbirth didst bring forth the King Who ruleth heaven and earth world without end. Alleluia, alleluia. My heart hath uttered a good word; I speak my works to the King. V. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. COLLECT GRANT US, Thy servants, O Lord God, we beseech Thee, to enjoy continual health of mind and body, and, by the glorious intercession of blessed Mary, ever a virgin, to be delivered from present sorrow and partake of the fullness of eternal joy. 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 FROM THE BEGINNIN, and before the world, was I created, and unto the world to come I shall not cease to be; and in the holy dwelling-place I have ministered before Him. And so was I established in Sion, and in the holy city likewise I rested, and my power was in Jerusalem. And I took root in an honourable people, and in the portion of my God His inheritance, and my abode is in the full assembly of the saints. GRADUAL BLESSED and venerable art thou, O Virgin Mary, who, without spot, wast found the Mother of the Saviour. V.Virgin Mother of God, He Whom the whole world containeth not, being made man, shut Himself in thy womb. TRACT REJOICE, O Virgin Mary, for alone thou hast put an end to all heresies. V. Thou that didst believe the words of the archangel Gabriel. V. Still a virgin, thou didst bring forth God and man, and after childbirth thou didst remain an inviolate virgin. V. Mother of God, intercede for us. GOSPEL (PASCHALTIDE)
AT THAT time, there stood by the cross of Jesus, His mother, and His mother's sister Mary of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalen. When Jesus therefore had seen His mother and the disciple standing, whom He had loved, He said to His mother, Woman, behold thy son.After that He saith to the disciple, Behold thy mother. And from that hour the disciple took her to his own.
OFFERTORY
HAIL, MARY, full of grace; the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. Alleluia.
SECRET BY THY CLEMENCY, O Lord, and the intercession of blessed Mary, ever a virgin, may this oblation profit us unto eternal and also present well being and peace. 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. PREFACE IT IS TRULY meet and just, right and availing unto salvation, that we should at all times and in all places give thanks to thee, O holy Lord, Father almighty, everlasting God: and in veneration of the blessed Mary, ever a virgin, should praise and bless and proclaim Thee. For she conceived Thine only-begotten Son by the overshadowing of the Holy Ghost; and losing not the glory of her virginity, gave to the world the everlasting light, Jesus Christ our Lord.Through whom the angels praise thy majesty, the dominions worship it, and the powers are in awe. The heavens and the heavenly hosts, and the blessed seraphim join together in celebrating their joy. With these we pray Thee join our own voices also, while we say with lowly praise: Holy, Holy, Holy... COMMUNION BLESSED is the womb of the Virgin Mary, which bore the Son of the eternal Father. POST COMMUNION HAVING RECEIVED the aids of our everlasting salvation, O Lord, we beseech Thee, grant us to be everywhere protected by the patronage of blessed Mary, ever a virgin, in veneration of whom we have made these offerings to Thy majesty. 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.
Listen to my homily for the second Mass in preparation for the Feast of Our Lady of Good Counsel in our parish, at Hythe, Kent, UK on the Feast day of St Mark, 2013:
Don't judge me. How many times have you heard this?
It is a fascinating phenomenon that the more a person or a culture strays from right conscience, from the law that is written on every human heart and is perceptible to anyone of good will, the more guilty they feel, and the more quickly they will cry out, "Don't judge me!"
When I walk down the street dressed in my religious garb it is quite common for me to get this exact look, as if by representing Jesus Christ on the street I was already manifesting a judgment on this generation. It is not uncommon for some to scurry away as if at the sight of a religious priest the moral cops had just come for a bust.
Because we live in a faithless generation it is generation hypersensitive to judgment, kind of like someone whose eyes are really sensitive to light who has to cover their eyes when it shines out.
In the Gospel for today, Jesus explains why faithlessness brings about a guilty conscience. "Whoever rejects me and does not accept my words has something to judge him: the word that I spoke."
Yet, Jesus "did not come to condemn the world but to save the world." Faith is a decision. It is a moral decision. If you choose to reject what you know is right, to believe in Jesus Christ, you sin. If you chose to believe him, you do a good and holy thing.
The Second Vatican Council teaches this in the beautiful document on conscience, Dignitatis Humanae, the Declaration on Religious Freedom.
"All men are bound by a moral obligation to seek the truth, especially religious truth. They are also bound to adhere to the truth, once it is known, and to order their whole lives in accord with the demands of truth." (Dignitatis Humanae 2)
Let me repeat, Vatican II says that it is a sin to not believe in Christ if he reveals himself to you. It does not say, you can believe what ever you damn well please. Here I would like to point out that the word "damn" is a descriptive adjective, for by believing something to be false that you know very well to be true you commit a sin and therefore incur damnation.
Vatican II teaching on conscience basically rephrases Jesus' teaching from today's Gospel:
1. Jesus came to save us, but if we reject him we reject the salvation he offers.
2. We are free to accept or reject him
3. We are bound in conscience to accept him once he reveals himself to us.
4. He has not been revealed to us if the witness - the person or culture or congregation - who is proclaiming Christ is not living a Christian life and therefore we are still not responsible for accepting him.
5. If we respect people's consciences, we will live our faith that Christ may be revealed to them and that they might be saved.
6. Catholics have a special moral obligation therefore to preach the truth both in word and in deed.
7. "In order to be faithful to the divine command, 'teach all nations' (Matt. 28:19-20), the Catholic Church must work with all urgency and concern 'that the word of God be spread abroad and glorified' (2 Thess. 3:1)." (Dignitatis Humanae 14)
The first reading for today, where St Paul and St Barnabas were set apart for the preaching of the Gospel has not at all been outdated. In this faithless generation, there is a terrible urgency for missionaries to go out, not just to people who have never heard of Christ, but to to people who have never seen real witnesses of Him.
May Our Lady, star of the New Evangelization, pray that new saints of our times may go forth to proclaim the saving truth of the Gospel.
I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy; I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.
Listen to my homily for Monday, the 4th Week of Easter:
I am the flower of the field, and the lily of the valleys. As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters. As the apple tree among the trees of the woods, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow, whom I desired: and his fruit was sweet to my palate. He brought me into the cellar of wine, he set in order charity in me. Stay me up with flowers, compass me about with apples: because I languish with love.
His left hand is under my head, and his right hand shall embrace me. I adjure you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and the harts of the, fields, that you stir not up, nor make the beloved to awake, till she please. The voice of my beloved, behold he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping over the hills. My beloved is like a roe, or a young hart. Behold he standeth behind our wall, looking through the windows, looking through the lattices. Behold my beloved speaketh to me: Arise, make haste, my love, my dove, my beautiful one, and come.
For winter is now past, the rain is over and gone. The flowers have appeared in our land, the time of pruning is come: the voice of the turtle is heard in our land: The fig tree hath put forth her green figs: the vines in flower yield their sweet smell. Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come: My dove in the clefts of the rock, in the hollow places of the wall, shew me thy face, let thy voice sound in my ears: for thy voice is sweet, and thy face comely. Catch us the little foxes that destroy the vines: for our vineyard hath flourished.
My beloved to me, and I to him who feedeth among the lilies, Till the day break, and the shadows retire. Return: be like, my beloved, to a roe, or to a young hart upon the mountains of Bether.
Gospel Luke 1:26-38
And in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God into a city of Galilee, called Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin' s name was Mary. And the angel being come in, said unto her: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. Who having heard, was troubled at his saying, and thought with herself what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said to her: Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God.
Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and shalt bring forth a son; and thou shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the most High; and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of David his father; and he shall reign in the house of Jacob for ever. And of his kingdom there shall be no end. And Mary said to the angel: How shall this be done, because I know not man? And the angel answering, said to her: The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the most High shall overshadow thee. And therefore also the Holy which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
And behold thy cousin Elizabeth, she also hath conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her that is called barren: Because no word shall be impossible with God. And Mary said: Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.
Concerning the Feast of Mercy Jesus said to St Faustina:
Whoever approaches the Fountain of Life on this day will be granted complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. (Diary300)
I want the image solemnly blessed on the first Sunday after Easter, and I want it to be venerated publicly so that every soul may know about it. (Diary341)
This Feast emerged from the very depths of My mercy, and it is confirmed in the vast depths of my tender mercies. (Diary420
On one occasion, I heard these words: My daughter, tell the whole world about My Inconceivable mercy. I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. On that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My mercy.The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment.*[our emphasis] On that day all the divine floodgates through which grace flow are opened. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet. My mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or of angel, will be able to fathom it throughout all eternity. Everything that exists has come forth from the very depths of My most tender mercy. Every soul in its relation to Me will I contemplate My love and mercy throughout eternity. The Feast of Mercy emerged from My very depths of tenderness. It is My desire that it be solemnly celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter. Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the Fount of My Mercy. (Diary699)
Yes, the first Sunday after Easter is the Feast of Mercy, but there must also be deeds of mercy, which are to arise out of love for Me. You are to show mercy to our neighbors always and everywhere. You must not shrink from this or try to absolve yourself from it. (Diary742)
I want to grant complete pardon to the souls that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion on the Feast of My mercy. (Diary1109)
