Holy Saturday: descendit ad infernos

Adapted from a post on APRIL 11, 2020

It is a great blessing to meditate on Hell, where the souls of poor sinners go. Our Lord went there on this day to rescue the souls of the righteous, who were waiting in Limbo (not the place of eternal damnation, but a section of Hell nonetheless) for the redemptive act of Good Friday to take place.

The imagery of Hell is meant to be used as a tool; a deterrent. The actual horror of being separated from God, forever, by our own free choice, is something our intellect can barely grasp. The physical torments are but a proxy for the never ending sense of loss, and the pain of having made that personal choice, despite knowing better. Developing your relationship with Jesus Christ is the key to making right choices. He has told you what is important to Him, what hurts Him, and what He expects from you. He wants you to be with Him forever.

“For God hath not appointed us unto wrath, but unto the purchasing of salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, Who died for us; that, whether we watch or sleep, we may live together with him.” 1 Thes 5:9-10

Credo in Deum Patrem omnipotentem, Creatorem caeli et terrae,
et in Iesum Christum, Filium Eius unicum, Dominum nostrum,
qui conceptus est de Spiritu Sancto, natus ex Maria Virgine,
passus sub Pontio Pilato, crucifixus, mortuus, et sepultus,
descendit ad infernos, tertia die resurrexit a mortuis,
ascendit ad caelos, sedet ad dexteram Dei Patris omnipotentis,
inde venturus est iudicare vivos et mortuos.
Credo in Spiritum Sanctum,
sanctam Ecclesiam catholicam, sanctorum communionem,
remissionem peccatorum,
carnis resurrectionem,
vitam aeternam.
Amen.

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth;
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord;
Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried.
He descended into hell; On the third day He rose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.
From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Ghost,
the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting.
Amen

This is the Apostles’ Creed. It’s most commonly recited during the Rosary. Pious legend has it that each of the apostles contributed one the twelve articles of faith (represented by the twelve lines the creed is broken into). On the first Holy Saturday, the day Jesus descended into Hell, a real actual place, to rescue the just souls who had been waiting there in limbo for the coming of our Lord. Although they had died free from mortal sin, the gates of Heaven could not be opened to them without the redeeming sacrifice of the cross. So the day after the Crucifixion, Jesus went to free them.

Except, that’s not exactly accurate. To say that the gates of Heaven “could not” be opened prior to Christ’s redeeming sacrifice would be to place limits on God’s omnipotence. Time is a construct, and God is not bound by it. If He had so desired, He could have retroactively applied the merits of the cross to the righteous souls at the time of their earthly death, but He chose not to. Instead, He reserved the job to Himself to apply it “in person.”

Go ahead and picture yourself in the scene. Meditate on how hard it must have been for the righteous of antiquity to die in the state of grace, without ever knowing Christ. Think about how much easier we have it, with access to the fullness of Truth, the Barque, the Eucharist, the example of the saints. If the elect among the ancients could make it to the finish line, shouldn’t it be easy for us?

And yet.

The event has been stunningly depicted in iconography through the ages. Much of it is pretty graphic in terms of the furnishings of the place, and demons certainly do come in a variety of shapes and sizes. I’m reproducing a few tame examples here. Blessed Triduum to all.

h/t Deacon John at https://tridentine-mass.blogspot.com/

THE SEVEN LAST WORDS OF JESUS CHRIST FROM THE CROSS
(The 7 last words of Jesus Christ on Calvary as recorded by the Four Gospels provided here in English and Latin)

The Seven Last “Words” of Jesus Christ from the cross are actually 7 short phrases that Jesus uttered on Calvary. To find all of the seven last words of Jesus Christ, one must read all the gospels since none of the evangelists records all 7 last words. The sayings would have been originally uttered by Jesus in the Aramaic language, but only one of the last seven words of Jesus is preserved for us in the original Aramaic, namely “Eli, Eli, lama sabacthani” or “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me,” which is actually a direct quote of the opening verse of Psalm 22. The rest of the seven last words of Jesus are found in the gospels after having been translated into Greek by the four Evangelists. We reproduce them here in Latin as well as English, since the Latin version of the Seven Last Words of Christ has been used so extensively in sacred music, notably by composers such as Franz Josef Hayden. For centuries these seven last words of Jesus have been also used as meditation points for spiritual conferences, retreats, and Lenten missions. They are particularly wonderful to use for prayer during Holy Week, especially on Good Friday. For more food for prayer during Lent and Holy Week, visit the Lenten/Holy Week on-line resource library of the Crossroads Initiative.

1. “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.” Lk. 23: 34 Pater, dimitte illis, quia nesciunt, quid faciunt.

2. “This day thou shalt be with me in Paradise.” Hodie mecum eris in Paradiso. Lk. 23: 43

3. “Woman, behold thy son.” Mulier, ecce filius tuus. Jn. 19: 26-7

4. “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?” Deus meus, Deus meus, utquid dereliquisti me? Mk. 15: 34 (Mt. 27: 46)

5. “I thirst.” Sitio. Jn. 19: 28.

6. “It is finished.” Consummatum est. Jn 19: 30

7. “Into thine hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.” In manus tuas, Domine, commendo spiritum meum. Lk. 23:46

(From the Raccolta 1900)

Begin by an act of contrition.

Whilst I lie prostrate before Thee crucified, most loving Saviour of my soul, my conscience tells me it was I that nailed Thee to the cross with these hands of mine, as often as I fell into mortal sin, wearying Thee with my monstrous ingratitude. My God, my chief and perfect good, worthy of all my love, because Thou hast ever loaded me with blessings: my wretched deeds I cannot now undo, as fain I would; but I loathe and hate them, grieving from the bottom of my heart that I have offended Thee, goodness infinite! Now, kneeling at Thy feet, I try at least to compassionate Thee, to give Thee thanks, to ask Thee for pardon and for the grace of repentance: wherefore, with heart and lips, I say:

To the Wound in the Left Foot.

Holy wound in the left foot of my Jesus! I adore thee. I compassionate Thee, my Jesus, for the bitter pain that thou didst suffer. I thank Thee for the love with which Thou didst labor to overtake me on the way to ruin; for me Thou didst bleed, in seeking me amid the thorns and brambles of my sins: I offer to the eternal Father the pain and love of Thy most holy humanity, in atonement for my sins, all of which, with deep and bitter sorrow, I detest.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father.

Holy mother, pierce me through,
In my heart each wound renew
Of my Saviour crucified.

To the Wound in the Right Foot.

Holy wound in the right foot of my Jesus! I adore thee. My Jesus, I compassionate Thee for the bitter pain which thou didst endure. I thank Thee for the love which pierced Thee with such cruel anguish, which made Thee shed Thy blood in punishment for my wanderings, and for the guilty pleasure I have granted to my unbridled passions. I offer to the eternal Father all the pain and love of Thy most holy humanity, and I pray Thee, give me grace to weep over my wanderings with hot tears, and to abide in the good I have begun, never more swerving from my obedience to the divine commands.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father.

Holy mother, pierce me through,
In my heart each wound renew
Of my Saviour crucified.

To the Wound in the Left Hand

Holy wound in the left hand of my Jesus! I adore thee. My Jesus, I compassionate Thee for the bitter pain thou didst endure. I thank thee for having spared me the uplifted rod and the eternal damnation which for my sins I merited. I offer to the eternal Father all the pain and love of Thy most holy humanity, and, I pray Thee, teach me to profit by my little span of life, and bring forth in it fruits of penance, and so disarm Thy divine and just anger.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father.

Holy mother, pierce me through,
In my heart each wound renew
Of my Saviour crucified.

To the Wound in the Right Hand

Holy wound in the right hand of my Jesus! I adore thee. My Jesus, I compassionate Thee for the bitter pains Thou didst endure. I thank Thee for Thy graces lavished on me with such love, in spite of my wretched waywardness. I offer to the eternal Father all the pain and love of Thy most holy humanity, and, I pray Thee, change my heart and its affections, and make me do all my works in accordance with Thy divine good pleasure.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father.

Holy mother, pierce me through,
In my heart each wound renew
Of my Saviour crucified.

To the Wound in the Sacred Side.

Holy wound in the side of my Jesus! I adore Thee. My Jesus, I compassionate Thee in the cruel insults which Thou didst suffer. I thank Thee for the love whereby Thou didst let them cleave Thy breast and heart, that so the last drops of blood and water might issue forth, and my redemption overflow. I offer to the eternal Father this outrage, and the love of Thy most holy humanity, that into that most loving heart, eager and ready to receive the greatest sinners, my poor soul may enter once for all, and never more depart.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father.

Holy mother, pierce me through,
In my heart each wound renew
Of my Saviour crucified.

Promises of Our Lord Given to St. Gertrude for those Who Honor His Holy Wounds:

One day as St. Gertrude was completing her prayers and salutations in honor of the Wounds of the Savior, her compassion was rewarded by a vision of Our Lord, on whose Wounds rested golden roses. Our Lord said to her: “Behold, I will appear to you in this refulgent form at the hour of your death, and I will cover all your sins, and adorn you with a glory like that with which you have adorned My Wounds by your salutations. All who do so shall receive the like favor.” It was also revealed to St. Gertrude that reading and meditating on the Passion are far more useful and efficacious than all other spiritual exercises. As those who handle flour cannot avoid contracting some of the flour’s powdery substance, so no one, however imperfect his devotion may be, can occupy his mind with the Passion of Our Lord without receiving some benefit therefrom. And, however cold and lukewarm our devotion, Our Lord will look upon us with greater long-suffering and mercy if we never omit the memory of His Passion.

The deathvaxx is free and available to anyone in Arizona who wants it. There are no age or eligibility restrictions. And yet…

Vaxx injections peaked three weeks ago, on 12 March, and have since been declining.

Arizona is 100% open. No restrictions on anything. All local mask mandates have been made illegal. And yet…

But in the states with Leftist leadership, mass vaxx compliance, universal masking, restrictions on all activities, something else seems to be going on…

At some point will someone admit the masks don’t work, and are probably causing additional sickness among those forced to wear them for long periods? Is the vaxx really a vaccine, or is it useless, or does it cause additional sickness? Or are these numbers not really true, they don’t really measure sickness after all? Pick a lie and stick with it, already.

Are the proles ready for lockdown #3?

“The federal government has failed Arizona”: Arizona senators call for immediate border change

By BRIANA WHITNEY

GILA BEND, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) – Arizona’s U.S. senators said Washington needs to do something about the border crisis now. While they’re trying to help, they said this ultimately should be up to the feds to fix, not the states.

In speaking with Sen. Mark Kelly Wednesday, it’s clear he’s frustrated. Both he and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema had to step in to help out the tiny town of Gila Bend, and they said enough is enough.

“The federal government has failed Arizona on this. Washington needs to do a better job,” said Kelly.

Sen. Kelly wants a solution to the border and migrant issue that’s now affecting Arizona towns like Gila Bend.

“This shouldn’t be on them. This is the federal government’s responsibility, not the responsibility of communities across our state,” Kelly said.

 Border Patrol releases video showing toddlers, aged 3 and 5, dumped over border fence

Border patrol has dropped off migrants by the busload in the tiny town, a town that has no resources for them. Both Sinema and Kelly helped divert buses. Kelly had to find a last-minute solution just this past Friday.

“We arranged for an NGO (non-governmental organization) to pick up those folks and take them to a center in Phoenix that’s equipped to handle this,” he said.

Gila Bend declares ‘state of emergency’ as CBP continues to drop loads of migrants in town

“To drop people in basically the middle of nowhere, it’s 30 miles to the next type of town, and that’s 30 miles of open desert,” said Mayor Riggs.

Sen. Sinema spoke to Arizona’s Family about the crisis, talking about her conversation with Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas.

“I specifically asked him to send direct support to border communities to help them as they’re facing these challenges. He committed he would work directly with those communities, and I intend to hold him accountable to his commitment,” Sen. Sinema said.

 CBP deploying more agents to US-Mexico border amid influx of migrants

Kelly said he’s spoken to President Joe Biden and Homeland Security trying to come up with workable solutions and said his office is committed to staying on the federal government until something changes.

In addition, the mutually vaxxed must also mask up and keep distanced “as far away as possible.”

So, does the vaxx enhance transmission between mutually vaxxed people? Will someone just explain how all this works?

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/boston-archdiocese-mandates-that-only-vaccinated-can-serve-at-altar

Shock, Disgust as Reporters Finally See Migrant Conditions

https://catholicvote.org/shock-disgust-as-reporters-finally-see-migrant-conditions/

CV NEWS FEED // Many are expressing disgust and anger at the Biden administration after a pool of journalists were finally allowed to tour and report on a migrant facility in Texas Tuesday.

“Reporters toured the temporary border facility in Donna, TX today,” reported CBS’s Nicole Sganga on Twitter. “The Biden admin allowed pooled coverage for the first time. We saw a ‘pod’ designed for 32 migrant children under CDC guidelines now holding 615. The facility is at 1700% pandemic capacity.”

In a series of tweets, Sganga went on to reveal that the conditions in which migrants — including children — are being held are far more inhumane than the Biden administration would have the public believe.

Officials are keeping unaccompanied children as young as four months old in a “recreational area” day and night, Sganga reported, “because there’s no just room for them in the dormitory areas.”

“The outdoor recreational area is being used to stage COVID testing before unaccompanied migrant children are transferred to HHS facilities,” Sganga continued. “We counted more than 50 COVID positive (and largely asymptomatic) kids waiting for their quarantined bus right next to a soccer game.”

Over 2,000 migrants “have been here for over the legal limit of 72 hours,” Sganga wrote, referring only to the one temporary processing facility she visited. Officials said that “more than 1200 migrants are processed and waiting to be transferred to HHS facilities,” she added, but “HHS has nowhere to put them.”

“At least 39 unaccompanied migrant children have been in the temporary processing facility for more than 15 DAYS, Acting Executive Officer for RGV Operational Programs Division, Oscar Escamilla, told reporters,” Sganga reported. “The legal limit is 72 hours.”

A U.S. Customs and Border Patrol official told reporters that the agency expects over one million “encounters” of migrants at the Southern border this year.

Sganga also reported that the facility is operating more than 250% over budget. “It should cost $6 million per month for @CBP to run the facility at its 250-person capacity. It’s so overcrowded that it costs $16 million per month.”

https://americanprinciplesproject.org/media/kristi-noem-effectively-kills-legislation-protect-girls-sports/

Today, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem (R) declined to certify legislation to protect girls’ sports after it was sent back to her by the state legislature which earlier in the day rejected her “style and form” revisions by a 67-2 vote. Her lack of action effectively ensures the bill will not become law.

In response, Terry Schilling, president of American Principles Project (APP), released the following statement condemning Noem’s decision:

“For over a week since she first announced her ‘style and form’ veto, Gov. Noem has been trying to present herself, against all evidence, as a champion for female athletes. She’s held a press conference and launched a website in an attempt to reposition herself as a leader in defending Title IX, despite never having spoken out on the issue before. And she’s repeatedly stated that she would support legislation to protect girls’ sports, as long as a few supposedly small tweaks were made.

“Of course, those tweaks weren’t small — they fundamentally subverted the entire bill. And when the state legislature rightly rejected Noem’s changes, 67-2, she was left with a final choice: back up her claim to be a defender of girl athletes by signing the bill or complete her capitulation to the woke NCAA and activist business interests by letting it die. Unfortunately, she chose the latter, making her the only Republican governor to date to refuse to sign legislation protecting girls’ sport when given the opportunity. So much for leading a coalition.

“There should now be no illusion as to the kind of leader Kristi Noem is. In this past week, voters in her state and nationwide have seen her surrender to the left, engage in political theater to distract from that surrender, and now refuse to change course despite being called out for it. This failure to stand up when it mattered most will define Noem for the rest of her career and will certainly haunt her should she decide to run for any office in the future. Conservatives will not forget it.”

Well, that didn’t take long. Less than a week ago, I took heavy flack in the combox for writing this:

The sacraments are going to be denied to Novus Ordo Catholics who refuse to be “vaccinated.” It couldn’t be more clear.

And yet…

WAR: San Diego Bishop McElroy is coming for all those opposed to the deathvaxx

Originally posted on MARCH 23, 2021

When I first saw this, I questioned whether it was real.

Not only is it real, but apparently it was read out from every pulpit in the diocese last Sunday.

The sacraments are going to be denied to Novus Ordo Catholics who refuse to be “vaccinated.” It couldn’t be more clear.