Here is the Oath Against Modernism, set forth by Pope Pius X, in 1910.  Are you willing to take such an oath before God?

I . . . . firmly embrace and accept each and every definition that has been set forth and declared by the unerring teaching authority of the Church, especially those principal truths which are directly opposed to the errors of this day. And first of all, I profess that God, the origin and end of all things, can be known with certainty by the natural light of reason from the created world (see Rom. 1:19), that is, from the visible works of creation, as a cause from its effects, and that, therefore, his existence can also be demonstrated. . .. [CONTINUE BY CLICKING ON THE LINK BELOW:]

LINK

If you have been following the controversy involving the origins and matters involving the Pandemic, please click on the following LINK to the Children Health Defense website, from Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.'s interview of Jeffrey Sachs, Ph.D., chair of the COVID-19 Commission, also a member of the Pontifial Academy of Social Sciences.  This is a full-throated reversal of Dr. Sachs opinion as to the origin of the Covid-19 as engineered in a Lab at Wuhan.  It is worth your time to watch. 

LINK

Letter of St. Thomas to a student about the Method of Study:

     Because you have asked me, John, my dearest friend in Christ, how you should study to amass the treasure of knowledge, such is the advice I give to you.
      You should choose to enter not immediately into the ocean depths, but rather through small streams, for one should reach more difficult matters by going through the easier ones first. This is, therefore, my admonition and your instruction.
          -- I bid you be slow to speak and slow to approach the [“chatroom"] parlor.
          -- Embrace purity of conscience.  Do not fail to have time for prayer.
         -- You should frequently choose your own room if you wish to be led into the wine cellar.
         -- Present yourself as amiable to all. Do not look for deep, hidden meanings in the deeds of others. To no one should you show yourself to be too familiar, because too much familiarity gives birth to contempt and provides from its eagerness the raw material for backsliding. You should in no way involve yourself concerning the words and deeds of worldly people.
         -- Above all else you should flee from common conversation. You should not fail to imitate the steps of the saints and all good people.
        -- You should not consider the source from which you hear something, but whatever good is spoken, commit it to memory.
         -- Those things that you read and hear, make sure that you understand them. Make yourself certain about doubtful matters and make it your business to shelve in the bookcase of your mind whatever you can, as if desiring to fill a vase.
         -- Do not seek the matters that are above you.
 
     Following those well-known paths, you will bring forth and produce, as long as you have life, branches and fruits useful in the vineyard of the Lord of Hosts. If you eagerly follow these points, you will be able to attain that which you are striving after.
 

     The Dominican Life, by Ferdinand Joret, O.P. (1937).  A book about the Lay Dominicans, also identified as the Lay Fraternities or Third Order of St. Dominic. The objective of the Third Order is Holiness, as it states in the book of Matthew: "Be you therefore perfect, as also your heavenly Father is perfect" (Matthew 5:48). Also in Vatican II: In Lumen Gentium, para. 40, it calls the Laity to Holiness:

"...all the faithful of Christ of whatever rank or status, are called to the fullness of the Christian life and to the perfection of charity; ...They must follow in His footsteps and conform themselves to His image seeking the will of the Father in all things. They must devote themselves with all their being to the glory of God and the service of their neighbor." 

    The book is an introduction to postulants and novices, as well as the professed, on the life of a Third Order Dominican.  It comes highly recommended.  Click on the title above for a link to the book on this website.  The book can also be purchased online. Below is from the introduction to the book, calling Dominicans to holiness and perfection: 

SECTION I:  THE AIM OF THE THIRD ORDER

1. TO LEAD TO PERFECTION

Canon Law commends those of the faithful who join the associations which the Church has either founded or approved (Canon 684).
            These associations are of different kinds, according to the object which they have in view.  If they have instituted to further particular pious practices or works of charity they are generally described as “pious associations” or “sodalities” and some of them entitled to call themselves “confraternities” (Canon 707).  So we get such organizations as the Association for the Propagation of the Faith, the Confraternities of the Rosary and of the Blessed Sacrament.
            Above these associations, in a completely separate category, the Church places the secular Third Orders.  “Secular Tertiaries,” she states, are those faithful who, living in the world under the direction of a religious order and according to its spirit, striver to attain to Christian perfection in the secular life through following rules approved for them by the Holy See” (Canon 702).
            The difference is obvious at once. In this case it is no longer simply a question of devoting oneself to some charitable or pious work—of furthering by alms and prayers the propagation of the Faith, of reciting the rosary once a week, of adoring the Blessed Sacrament at certain times.  These are all laudable works in which a Tertiary [Lay Dominican] also may take part, but the motive for his entrance into a third Order is desire for perfection.  He hopes by that means to strive more effectually to attain to Christian perfection.
            A person remains in the world.  One day, maybe, he will be able to leave it to enter a religious order where the attainment of Christian perfection will be made easier for him: that is his aspiration.   Possibly, however, hindrances of some sort, such as chronic ill-health or “insuperable obligations,” will definitely and finally preclude him from every realizing his ambition.
            Sometimes that aspirations is wholly lacking, and all that is desired is to be attached to some special Order, to follow its direction and to imbibe its spirit whilst continuing to lead a secular life in the world.  Candidates for a third order may, and indeed do, differ widely in these and many other  respects, but they must be at one in regarding it as their chief object in life to become perfect.
            The Rule of the Brothers and Sisters of the secular third Order of St. Dominic, sets forth that aime in the very first paragraph.  It returns to it with more detail in the second. “The object of the third Order is the sanctification of its members or the practice of a more perfect form of Christian life.”  Before anyone can be admitted into a Fraternity or Chapter, it must be proved and established “in the prudent judgment of the Director [Religious Assistant]” that the postulant is sincerely desirous of striving after perfection (II.8).
            If, however, it should come to pass that someone is admitted into the third Order for some less worthy reason, in a waive of enthusiasm or under the  influence of a feeling of sympathy, all hope is not lost for him and those who have charge of his soul.  Such souls may derive encouragement from what St. Catherine of Siena writes in her Decalogue [(Ch. CLVIII)] about those who have thus entered religion.
            “The important point,” she remarks, “is for them to practice virtue and to persevere until death in so doing. (Yes, what is important is not so much to begin well as to end well.) … Not a few there are who have presented themselves after having kept the commandments perfectly, but who have subsequently looked back or have remained in the Order without advancing in the way of perfection.  The circumstances or the dispositions with which they took passage in the ship are prepared and will by Me who have called them in divers ways.” (God is speaking.) “But it is not from these preliminary conditions, be it said once more, that one can judge of their perfection: that depends entirely upon the interior spirit with which they persevere in real obedience, once they are within the Order.”
            We are, all of us, very imperfect beings, lacking in many things, and we are confronted with the life-long task of completing and perfecting ourselves.
            Exterior works, such as discovery and development of the world about us by means of the sciences, the arts and crafts, are all very well.  It is also good for us to understand, maintain and improve that physical matter which is so closely joined to us as to form one body with us: our health is important.  Sports may be encouraged and the laws of hygiene should always be respected.  But before any of these things, I am entrusted by God with the paramount duty of developing myself morally, and of bringing to its appointed end the being that I intrinsically am, my own true self.  By constant and progressive effort I ought to be fashioning myself “in such wise that at length eternity may change me into myself.” 
            This, then is to be my aim, my only aim, to become perfect and eventually to blossom forth into that which I am at present only a germ.  Left in the hands of my own counsel with his object in view, I have it in my own power to deviate from any right course.  If I do so, I shall be nothing but a failure: I shall have failed to fulfil my destiny.
            God conceived my being and set it in the world willing that it should fulfil itself, that is should even surpass itself in supernatural beauty.  Reason and grace, whereby I personally participate in the idea and will of my Creator, urge me to realize this perfection in spite of all opposing tendencies which tempt me to evil.  The deep voice of my conscience enjoins what is right.  Be what you are!
            We shall see presently what it is that constitutes this perfection; but for the moment let us grasp the only great principle which underlies and dominates everything in our Tertiary life, as indeed in every truly moral life.
            It is not a matter of adding other practices to those we already have, and of making out for ourselves a list of meticulous observances.  No, dear Brothers and Sisters, of the Third Order, what is all-important is to gain a clearer and stronger conception of our final goal, to have a greater anxiety for perfection.
 

"I think I am a better scientist bcause my faith is grounded in the Catholic Church."  Karin Oberg, Ph.D., Harvard University.  Go to www.aquinas101.com

On Saturday, October 16, 2021, at the Chapter's 2021 Colloquium at St. Paul's Catholic Student Center in Boise, the Chapter joyfully received and professed the following members: From L to R:  Tom Lester; Andrew Bartel; Bonnie Keenan; Brendan Earle; Emily Gossard; Fr. Brian Mullady, O.P.; Alexandra Johnson; Katherine Lockyer; Fr. Anselm Ramelow, O.P.; and (seated) David Charnock.  Not pictured:  Joanne Baker; Joseph Rekiere; and Brian Walker. 

The Chapter's Religious Assistant, is Fr. Peter Do, O.P.,, Prior, Holy Rosary Parish, Portland Oregon.

From our friends in Coeur d'Alene-- A question on dancing.

Defending our Faith with the Truth

By Father Dennis M. Gordon, FSSP

The Church's position on dancing

Believe it or not, the Church does have an official posi- tion on it; it even addresses America by name in a decree on the issue, and you can still find it today on the Vatican's website. On March 31, 1916 a decree of the Vatican (the Sacred Consisto- rial Congregation, with the approval of Pope Benedict XV), de- creed as follows:

"In the century just passed, in the states of North America, the custom began whereby Catholic families would gather at dances... The reason and justification for this was given that Catholics might get to know each other and be united more inti- mately in the bonds of charity and love, and at the same time they would serve as a fundraiser for some pious works." The decree went on to say that "all priests... and other clerics (that means seminarians) are absolutely forbidden from pro- moting and supporting dances, even if they are held to aid pious works or for some other holy purpose. Moreover, all clerics (that is, priests and tonsured seminarians) are forbidden to attend such dances, should they be given by lay people." A.A.S., 8 (1916), p. 147-149 (https://www.vatican.va/archive/ aas/documents/AAS-08-1916-ocr.pdf, accessed August 5, 2022)

A year after this decree came out, an American bishop pushed the issue by asking the Vatican: "Are dances given in the daytime, or at night but not protracted to a late hour, or not accompanied by a dinner, but conducted in the manner commonly called a picnic, included in the condemnation of March 31, 1916?" The reply, dated December 10, 1917, and again approved by the Pope himself, stated that yes, such dances, even if done during the daytime or at a picnic are indeed includ- ed in the Vatican's condemnation; and this reply of December 10, 1917 repeated that clerics are forbidden from promoting or encouraging them, if they are held by others anyway. As a re- sult, all priests are forbidden from promoting or supporting dances, even if it is a church fundraiser, in the daytime or at a picnic, and priests and seminarians are forbidden to attend them if they are promoted by others. In other words, even under those circumstances, dances cannot be supported by the Church [AAS, X (1918), 17 https://www.vatican.va/archive/aas/documents/ AAS-10-1918-ocr.pdf, accessed August 5, 2022)].

Notice that this is the Vatican's condemnation. Some people have spread a lie by saying "That's just Father Gordon's opinion." You may find priests that have a different opinion from what the Vatican, in 1916 and again in 1917, condemned, but this issue isn't about a particular priest imposing his own idea of what is moral and foisting it on his (or another priest's...) parish: The Pope in 1917 wouldn't forbid priests from supporting dances if there were not moral issues with them.

Now, what is the moral issue here? The moral problem is with unmarried young men and women dancing to- gether, because of the accompanying temptations of impurity, though the Vatican decree did not even make this stipulation. Married couples dancing with their own spouses is not a moral issue, but the unmarried don't have a right to that kind of con- tact, and morally cannot have a part in dances. Cultural dancing where it is more of an art, so long as it is lacking any ro- mantic implication (such as Irish step-dancing), modesty being observed, is not what is being prohibited here – that kind of cultural dancing is not forbidden. The issue is the implicit romantic implication of dances, including swing dances. If you don't think there is a romantic implication in dances, try to pic- ture a priest dancing with a woman: it's uncomfortable to think about that scenario because there is an implicit romantic implication in dances.

Many sins begin with an image in the imagination – bad thoughts. When there is also a physical image before the eyes, sin is even more likely. And when one can touch and han- dle that physical image, sin is very likely. This is what happens at dances.

Are there decrees against the laity partaking in dances? The Council of Laodicea, Council of Toledo, Sixth Council of Constantinople, Council of Trullo, Council of Rome, and the Council of Trent spoke out against dances. In the U.S., the First 3 Councils of Baltimore and the 10th Council all protest- ed against dances.

St John Vianney said this: "There is not a commandment of God which dancing does not cause men to break... Mothers may indeed say: 'Oh, I keep an eye on my daughters.' You keep an eye on their dress; you cannot keep guard over their heart. Go, you wicked parents, go down to hell where the wrath of God awaits you, because of your conduct when you gave free scope to your children; go! It will not be long before they join you, seeing that you have shown them the way so well... Then you will see whether your pastor was right in forbidding those hell- ish amusements... the dance... is the rope by which the devil drags the greatest number of souls into the abyss of hell." The following is an excerpt from the priest who wrote the definitive work on the Life of St John Vianney, drawn from the notes used in his canonization: "On certain points M. Vianney may have been less exacting with strangers than with his own people, but as regards dancing he was ever absolutely unyielding... He nev- er wavered. He would not allow anyone to take part in society dances, even in the role of a simple spectator. All his life M. Vianney remained steadfast in his attitude towards dancing... He said to the parents, "You must answer for their souls as you will answer for your own... what I do know is that if your children lose their souls whilst they are as yet under your care, it is to be feared that your lack of watchfulness may be the cause of your own damnation." (pp. 150-151). St John went so far as to have an altar in honor of St John the Baptist built in his church with the inscription over the altar: 'His head was the price of a dance.'

Is there anything in Scripture about dancing? Ecclesiasticus 9:4 says, "Use not much the company of her that is a dancer, and do not listen to her."

"Oh, but Father, I can find other traditional priests who support dancing – at least swing dancing." Here is a list of traditional priests who did not support dances: St Frances de Sales, St Augustine, St Ambrose, St Ephrem, St Basil, St Peter Chrysologus, St John Chrysostom, St Charles Borromeo, St Rob- ert Bellarmine, St Anthony Mary Claret, Pope Benedict XIV, St. John Vianney to name just a few. (Any families that support dances had better not dress like any of those Saints at the next All Saints Party.) These priests & doctors of the Church even opposed dances that were more modest than swing dances, be- cause the phenomena of men and women dancing together in any bodily contact was virtually unheard of before the 17th Cen- tury. The same Council that gave us the Baltimore Catechism which so many traditional Catholics use condemned the holding of dances. It said the following: "We command therefore that priests take care to completely remove that abuse whereby feasts are planned with dances to promote pi- ous works." 

[A] person might ask, just as the people of Ars, France, might have asked, "Father, there are so many issues out there, why are you picking this one? We are trying not to lose our chil dren by being too severe." Let's remember that the people in St John Vianney's time were just as godless as our society today (people were not getting married... they missed Mass, worked on Sundays, blasphemed and drunkenness was common. There was even the widespread worshipping of a false 'goddess of reason, yet he still took up this campaign against danc- ing: anything that broke down the physical barriers between the unmarried he opposed. If the parents in St John Vianney's parish couldn't understand why he took up this issue, they should have kept in mind that the only person's confession they had ever heard was their own. St John Vianney, however, heard things in confession that the children would never tell their parents, and he knew what made them sin. If St John Vianney had drawn the line at pornography instead of dances, his parish would have been lost.

If we have to worry that we'll lose our children if we have them follow Catholic morality, we may have already lost – and we'll lose our own soul in the process by compromising out of fear. How will you answer before God on this issue?

(2)  The sweet discipline and mercy of Christ.

As the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, Our Lord’s words should be recalled, “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him[.]”  (John 6:56). The Holy Scriptures say each person should be well disposed to received Holy Communion, having examined their respective conscience before receiving Communion. (1 Cor 11:27-28).  When received unworthily, as in a state of mortal sin, one places himself under judgment, which is a type of discipline to avoid the second death. (1 Cor. 11:29-32).  When a person receives Holy Communion unworthily yet whose deadly sins arise from acts or statements that lead to scandal in the public domain—especially about the lives and innocence of children (Mark 9:42)—that person too is under Christ’s discipline of judgment that Scriptures note in chapter 11 of First Corinthians.
            Yet, what does this sober scriptural admonition tell us of the Holy Eucharist: of the excellence of Christ, of His True Presence and the banquet of divine nourishment.  It is not the consumption of any earthly matter, but the food that leads to eternal life.  This nourishment purges our sins and immerses our souls in the love and virtue with every spiritual gift.  Behold, He remains with us to the end of time: in the tabernacle, in Adoration, and in the reception of the Holy Sacrament of the Altar.  This is not the food of the world with its charms that evade the truth, but the food of Heaven.
            St. Thomas Aquinas reminds us that “the delicacy of this sacrament in which spiritual sweetness is tasted in its very source, in which is brought to mind the remembrance of that all-excelling charity which Christ showed in his Sacred Passion[.]” 
            It is upon this Eucharistic mystery that His True Presence, the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ, is a memorial that reminds each person to live life truly and experience Christ, now and at the time of our own death.  It is the proof that our destiny is Heaven as we are the sons and daughters of God the Father, which enables us to cry in prayer, “Abba, Father.” (Romans 8). 
            The Holy Mass is truly a blessing, giving us a part in the day of the Lord’s visitation—our salvation—if each one of us but captures the opportunity and runs the race of salvation in this life, to win eternal life in the next. (Hebrews 12:1).
            As a Dominican, in the light and tradition of our holy father, St. Dominic, we are called to live on the road to Holiness; so, let’s join in the Eucharistic life with Jesus Christ, regularly attending Reconciliation, be present with Him at Adoration, and receiving Holy Communion, so as to live our life joyfully in Him, with Him, and through Him.
Mr. John C. Keenan, OP
June 14, 2022

Members of the Blessed Margaret of Castello Chapter in Idaho, welcome you to the Chapter's website, dominicanidaho.org.  The Chapter meets on the 3rd Saturday of each month at St. Mark's Catholic Church in Boise, Idaho at 10:00 o'clock a.m., with prayer, discussion and fellowship.  The Members are committed to the practice and holiness of the Rule of St. Dominic for the Laity.

You are welcome to attend.  Check our calendar not only for the monthly meetings but periodic events, such as its annual Magdalene Retreat, held on or near the Feast of St. Mary Magdalene, celebrated on the 22nd of July of each year.  In addition, we will notify other events such as Chapter encore, visits by the Friars, and other key Dominican events.

The Chapter is known as the Third Order of St. Dominic, Inc., a 501(c)(3) tax exempt Idaho nonprofit corporation; in affiliation with, and under the authority of, the Most Holy Name of Jesus Province of the Dominican Friars in the western United States of America.
 

May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you and be with you all the days of your life.   Would you like more information via email?  Click on the following link: REGISTER

1.  The Dominican Life, by Ferdinand Joret, O.P..  A book about the Lay Dominicans, also known as the Third Order of St. Dominic.  
2.  Private Property and the Common Good: Why the Road to Universal Destination Travels through Private Ownership, by Rev. Fr. Bradley T. Elliott, O.P.
3.  Open Letter to Fr. Wojciech Gołaski re: SSPX, by Andrew Bartel (Resources -> Chapter Member's Anthology) (Also see this LINK (Catholic World Report).
4. The First Four Principles (of Science) (from Metaphysics by Dr. Dennis McInerny).   LINK (Formation -> Study)
5.  Exorcism Prayer Against Satan (Public Use by Priest or Private Home Use).  Pope Leo XIII.  LINK (ABOUT/PRAYER -> Prayer)
6.  Biblical: The Divinity of the Trinity -- by Fr. Dennis Gordon, FSSP  LINK  (Formation -> Study)
7.  Catholic Bible Versions  LINK  (Formation -> Bible Study)
8.  PRAYER.  Divinum Officium Ribris 1960 (Divine Office)
9.  PRAYER:  Litany of St. Margaret of Castello
10.  PRAYER:  St. John Paul Society -- Rosary Meditation
11.  RESOURCES:: Chapter Members' Compendium:: "Global Activism as the Chapter Apostolate?" or "The Encounter of Bartimeus" or "St. Dominic Was Known for his Humility."

[Dated: May 29, 1537]