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Carrying the Cross
Life has many sorrows, but there is only
one tragedy—the loss of one’s immortal soul. Everyone
must encounter some physical and emotional pain, even
babies. Since we cannot avoid suffering, we must learn to
make it work for our spiritual welfare. According to
God’s plan, suffering, if offered up to Him in conformity
to His will, can serve to sanctify us and save many
souls. Even the suffering that arises from sin: shame,
guilt, punishment, and fear of discovery, can lead to
humility, contrition, repentance, amendment of life, and a
deeper love of God.
Mary Lewis Coakley has written: “When Christ walked the
roads of Judea, He performed His miracles not so much that
sick bodies might be given health, but that sick souls
might find spiritual life through recognizing Him as their
Savior. In His eyes, a physical infirmity, borne for
thirty or fifty years, is infinitely less sad than a
spiritual infirmity borne for the same number of earthly
years and likewise carried into... [eternity.] We have
His own words stating explicitly: ‘...it is better for
thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to
go into Hell.’” (Fitting God into the Picture, p. 166.)
“Of the thousands of pilgrims who flock to Lourdes,
comparatively few are cured of bodily diseases, but all
those with open hearts receive His grace and peace. The
evident miracles which dazzle the crowd are not more
marvelous than the hidden miracle which changes a cold
cynic into an enthusiast welcoming his cross and glowing
with love for God and... [neighbor.]” (Coakley, 167.)
God permits suffering for many reasons. Many souls have
grown in virtue through patient endurance of the
injustice, selfishness, and greed of others. In many
cases, the brave endurance of suffering has destroyed
barriers to union with God and weakened our strong
inclination to evil. Just as people willingly endure a
painful operation in order to cure a serious medical
problem, we can draw good from carrying our cross, not for
itself, but for its effectiveness to sanctify our soul.
“For this job, a merciful God has provided the necessary
scalpel, or the indispensable medicine—suffering.”
(Coakley, 153.)
Our response to suffering will determine if it will serve
as a blessing or a curse for us, whether it will make us
better or bitter. If we have the right dispositions, any
suffering, even the most trivial, such as bad weather and
heavy traffic, can benefit our immortal soul. “The fact
that God’s permits a suffering is evidence of its
potentiality for good, but the actual performance rests
with us. The classic proof of this point is, of course,
the story of the two thieves crucified beside Our Lord.
One blasphemed and [cursed] God: his torment was a
gruesome execution. The other accepted his pain as a just
punishment and asked God’s forgiveness: he was promised
Paradise.” (Coakley, 154.)
Suffering can indicate to our distracted minds those
things that are essential for our salvation and detach us
from things that are sinful, dangerous, harmful, and
worthless. When we depart from the path to Heaven through
selfishness, pride, lust, vanity or greed, God sometimes
permits suffering in our life to bring us back on track.
In addition, since we are all guilty of many sins, it can
serve to atone for the temporal punishment due to our
sins, causing us to avoid the terrible pains of Purgatory
altogether.
One of the greatest lessons taught to us by Christ is the
patient endurance of suffering. Although we should
attempt to fix the problems we can, there will be many
problems that cannot be solved. In such cases we should
pray, offer them up for the love of God, and bravely
accept our pain as we say, “Thy will be done.”
Sadly, countless discontented souls never pray to God for
assistance to carry their cross, but instead complain,
become angry and bitter, make others miserable, and some
even resort to suicide. However, when we turn to prayer,
God either takes the cross away or makes us stronger. If
God has given us a cross, it is precisely the one we
should have, carefully fashioned for our shoulders. Each
cross is custom-made by an all-loving and merciful God.
He always gives us the graces we need, especially when we
turn to Him. As a result, we do not suffer alone for God
bears some of the load and strengthens our weakness.
When we fight our suffering, we turn away from God. This
course doubles our pain and makes our cross nearly
impossible to bear. How many people have been crushed by
their problems simply because they tried to bear them
without God’s helping hand. How much better it is for us
to turn to God and put the whole situation in His hands,
asking Him for guidance to solve it in the manner that He
deems best.
Fr. Gerald Vann, O.P. stated, “We sometimes think of the
saints as though they lived in a world very remote from
ours, as though they were free from our struggles and
tensions and fears, as though they were able to give up
home and friends, yes and life too, without a struggle...
without any heartbreak. How wrong we are!”
“‘Father, if Thou art willing, remove this cup from Me...
And His sweat became as drops of blood running down upon
the ground. Father, if it be possible...’ Whatever else
holiness may mean, it cannot mean that we are expected to
take every pain, every sorrow, as though it were no pain
or sorrow at all. ‘My soul is sorrowful even unto
death...’ Nevertheless, He goes on, ‘Not my will but
Thine be done.’ We say it so often: if we could say it
without any reservations, wholeheartedly, we should be
saints.”
“A saint can fear his destiny and want to escape it; he
can pray to be released from it; he can be heartbroken
because of it; but because he is a saint he puts all his
fears and his prayers and his sorrows into God’s hands:
‘Not My will but Thine be done.’ And it is by doing that
that he becomes a perfect instrument for God’s purposes,
becomes filled with power that can help to save and heal
the world.”
(Gerald Vann, O.P., The Pain of Christ and the Sorrow of
God, pp. 8-9
According to Mary Lewis Coakley, “When we leave all in
God’s hands, He, in His mysterious way, can bring good
from evil. He can reach the human heart and effect a
change there. Maybe He will use us as an instrument, and
our part is to dispose ourselves to follow the promptings
of His grace.
However, if no help seems to come, we should not be
discouraged. Often a situation must grow worse before it
can become better, for perhaps the persons involved need
the jolt of hitting hard bottom before they will recognize
the need of climbing upward. God’s ways are inexplicable
to us. We must walk by faith.”
“If we can live through the dark, dark period when no hope
whatever is seen, trusting in His guiding hand on the
helm, then we emerge into a flood of golden light, more
wonderful than our wildest dreams had dared to picture.
If we can hold on just a little longer when every last
ounce of endurance seems spent, we find that God has
brought us suddenly to the finish line of victory... If
we can fight off the weariness and brace ourselves against
the slump of surrender, when... defeat seem[s] inevitable,
then God crowns our struggles with overwhelming, glorious
triumph.” (Coakley, 160-161.)
I’ll close with a story about a girl who had everything,
“beauty, talent, wealth, social position, and a devoted,
loving family. Then one day she was suddenly struck down
by the dread disease of poliomyelitis, or infantile
paralysis. For years on end, she suffered and underwent
the tedious treatments prescribed by specialists until at
last she recovered.
“Then, to the astonishment of her family and friends, she
refused to return... [to her worldly life;] instead she
entered a Carmelite convent... She avows that her years
of suffering were a wonderful gift from God. They gave
her time to think; they gave her strength and patience;
and they won for her the grace of His... [loving] call,
His offer that she be... [a] bride [of Christ] in
Carmel.” (Coakley, 161-162.)
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Queen of
Angels Catholic Church in Santa Clarita,
California, is much like any Catholic church you
might have attended before the Second Vatican
Council occurred in the 1960's. This Council,
supposedly intended to bring about a genuine
spiritual renewal in the living of our Faith,
inaugurated liturgical changes that broke
drastically from the Church's sacred liturgy and
traditions of nearly 2,000 years. It
is because of these changes and the resultant
universal loss of faith among so many bishops,
priests, nuns and laity, that Queen of Angels
and chapels like this one are drawing more and
more interest from concerned Catholics all over
the world.
The pastor of Queen of Angels is Father Dominic
Radecki, CMRI, a priest belonging to the religious
Congregation of Mary Immaculate Queen . The bishop
and priests of the Congregation of Mary Immaculate
Queen (CMRI) offer only the Tridentine Latin Mass
in all the churches and chapels they serve.
Remaining faithful to all of the Church's
venerable teachings and traditions, Queen
of Angels Church reflects the stability and
endurance of truths and doctrines that will
never change with the times.
The faithful receive Holy Communion on their
tongues as they kneel at the communion rail in
humble adoration of the Real Presence of God.
Ladies wear head coverings and modest clothing out
of respect. The reverent silence in the House of
God indicates a living faith in Christ Who dwells
in the tabernacle.
We have a full schedule of activities at our
church. The Sacraments are administered exactly
the way they were before Vatican II: Baptism,
Confirmation, Penance, the Holy Eucharist,
Matrimony and Extreme Unction. Parish
organizations who attend Queen of Angels, ranging
from basic catechism instruction for the youth and
converts to the Faith, to our Confraternity of
Christian Mothers. For those who wish to lead a
more dedicated spiritual life, we have the
Confraternity of Mary Immaculate Queen. We invite
you to check out all of our parish activities on
this website.
We at Queen of Angels welcome visitors to our
parish at anytime of the year, but especially at
Christmas and Easter. Although the number of
parishioners has outgrown our small church,
newcomers are always welcome.
Each of our parishioners adds something unique to
the family atmosphere we think is very special
here at our church. Come and see it for yourself!
If you have not been to a Latin Mass in many
years, if you have never been to one at all, you
will be pleasantly surprised at what you find at
Queen of Angels. You will feel as if you have come
home, as indeed you have.
Queen of Angels Catholic Church
Prayer to the August Queen of Heaven
August Queen of Heaven, Sovereign
Mistress of the Angels, who didst receive from the
beginning the mission and the power to crush the
serpent's head, we beseech thee to send thy holy
angels, that under thy command and by thy power
they may pursue the evil spirits, encounter them
on every side, resist their bold attacks, and
drive them hence into the abyss of woe.
Most holy Mother, send thy angels to defend us and
to drive the cruel enemy from us.
All ye holy Angels and Archangels, keep and defend
us. Amen
O good and tender Mother Thou shalt ever be our
love and our hope.
Holy Angels and Archangels, keep and defend us.
Amen
Novena of Confidence
to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
(for family relations that have fallen away)
O Lord Jesus Christ, to Thy Most
Sacred Heart I confide this intention (silently
mention here the names you are praying for). Only
look upon me, then do what Thy Heart inspires. Let
Thy Sacred Heart decide. I count on it. I trust in
it. I throw myself on its mercy, Lord Jesus! Thou
wilt not fail me.
Sacred Heart of Jesus, I trust in Thee.
Sacred Heart of Jesus, I believe in Thy love for
me.
Sacred Heart of Jesus, Thy
Kingdom come!
O Sacred Heart of Jesus, I have asked Thee for
many favors, but I earnestly implore this one.
Take it, place it in Thy open, broken Heart, and
when the Eternal Father looks upon it, covered
with Thy Precious Blood, He will not refuse it.s
It will no longer be my prayer but Thine, O Sacred
Heart of Jesus. O Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place
my trust in Thee. Let me never be confounded.
Amen.
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The following true story explains this well.
The university professor challenged his students
with this question. “Did God create everything
that exists?”
A student bravely replied, “Yes, he did!” “God
created everything?” the professor asked. “Yes,”
the student replied. The professor answered, “If
God created everything, then God created evil
since evil exists, and according to the principle
that our works define who we are, then God is
evil.”
The student became quiet before such an answer.
The professor was quite pleased with himself and
boasted to the students that he had proven once
more that the Christian faith was a myth. At that
point, another student raised his hand and said,
“Can I ask you a question professor?” “Of
course,” replied the professor.
The student stood up and asked, “Professor does
cold exist?” “What kind of question is this? Of
course it exists. Have you never been cold?”
The students snickered at the young man’s
question. The young man replied, “In fact sir,
cold does not exist. According to the laws of
physics, what we consider cold is in reality the
absence of heat. Absolute zero (-460 degrees F)
is the total absence of heat; all matter becomes
inert and incapable of reaction at that
temperature. Cold does not exist. We have
created this word to describe “the absence of
heat.”
The student continued. “Professor, does darkness
exist?” The professor responded, “Of course it
does.”
The student replied, “Once again you are wrong
sir, darkness does not exist either. Darkness is
in reality the absence of light. You cannot
measure darkness. A simple ray of light can break
into a world of darkness and illuminate it. How
can you know how dark a certain space is? You
measure the amount of light present. Isn’t this
correct? Darkness is a term used by man to
describe what happens when there is no light
present.”
Finally the young man asked the professor. “Sir,
does evil exist?” Now uncertain, the professor
responded, “Of course! We see it every day.
It is in the daily example of man’s inhumanity to
man. It is in the multitude of crime and violence
everywhere in the world. These manifestations are
nothing else but evil.”
To this, the student replied, “Evil does not exist
sir, or at least it does not exist in itself.
Evil is simply the absence of God. It is just
like darkness and cold, a word that man has
created to describe the absence of God. God did
not create evil. Evil is not like faith, or love
that exist just as does light and heat. Evil is
the result of what happens when man does not have
God’s love present in his heart. It’s like the
cold that comes when there is no heat or the
darkness that comes when there is no light.” The
professor sat down.
The young man’s name – Albert Einstein.
May Crowning
Queen of Angels Easter
Queen of Angels Altar
Queen of Angels May Procession
May Crowning
Prayer
The time may be delayed, the
manner may be unexpected, but the answer is sure
to come.
Not a tear of sacred sorrow, not a breath of holy
desire poured out to God will ever be lost, but in
God's own time and way will be wafted back again
in clouds of mercy and fall in showers of
blessings on you and on those for whom you pray.
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General Information
Baptisms: One
parent and the sponsors must be practicing
Catholics who attend only the Traditional Latin
Mass. Call the pastor to make arrangements.
Confessions:
Sundays - one hour before Mass.
Weekdays - 10 minutes before Mass.
1st Friday and 1st Saturday -
during the Rosary.
Communion for the Sick:
Inform Father if you are unable to attend
Mass and wish to receive Holy Communion and/or
Extreme Unction.
Marriages
For registered members of Queen of Angels
parish only. Please contact the rectory at least
six months prior to the wedding date for marriage
instructions.
Mass Intentions:
If you would like to have Holy Mass
offered for your intention, please use the
envelopes provided in the back of the church. The
customary offering is $25.00. Mass requests are
honored in the order in which they are received.
If you wish a Mass offered on a particular day, it
must be submitted at least a month in advance.
Mass requests for special days will be honored
when possible.
First Holy Communion Classes:
Classes are held every Sunday at 12:30
PM.
Prayers For Rain
O God, in Whom we live, move and
have our being, grant us seasonable rain, so that
our temporal needs being sufficiently supplied, we
may seek with greater confidence after things
eternal.
Be appeased, we beseech Thee, O Lord, by the gifts
which we offer, and garnt us in season the
blessing of sufficient rain.
Grant us, we beseech Thee, O Lord, beneficial rain
and deign to pour out showers from Heaven upon the
parched face of the earth. 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
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