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Monday, May 31, 2021

WHAT IS IN THESE SO CALLED "VACCINES"

https://www.bitchute.com/video/DENXJQgmfOtv/

I do not know who the speaker is in this 5 minute video, but he presents a lot of interesting facts and places where one can go to learn more information. You are free to completely ignore what he has to say, but you at least should go listen because he appears to know what he is talking about.


THINK


Additional Issues for The International Court of Justice -- Blood Money 24 -- Other Kinds of Blood Money

 By Anna Von Reitz

We are admittedly unable to determine who first came up with the idea of using the vast cave systems that naturally occur in the Philippines, Southeast Asia, and Indonesia for the purpose of storing gold, we can only attest that this happened in the distant past, and was in full operation during the Roman Empire.
Along with the gold storage came gold-related businesses---banking, smelting, hallmarking, assaying, jewelry, shipping, security services, and so on, which flourished, and along with the gold trade came the jewels trade. Jewels from India, Burma, Thailand, and Africa found their way to the Filipino and Indonesian gold storage and processing centers.
Thus, we are talking about a highly complex, interlocking, well-established industry that has been functioning for centuries prior to this, and which is central to the world's storage of gold and use of gold for all sorts of purposes-- as a commodity standard, as a means of international exchange, as an industrial material, as collateral for credit, and as the raw material to create fine jewelry.
These facts which are not generally well-known in the western world account for the involvement of such personalities as Ferdinand Marcos and President Sukarno in the history of our money.
The official story that everyone is trying to sell is that in the final days of the Communist Chinese takeover of China, the Nationalist Chinese Government supported by the never-really-identified Dragon Family, sent seven warships laden with Chinese gold to America and placed it on deposit for safekeeping.
That part of the story is true enough, at least insofar as the fact that a large amount of Chinese-owned gold was placed on deposit in certain US Banks, most particularly the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. This same gold was the subject of a 2011 court suit brought by Mr. Neil Keenan, on behalf of the current Chinese Government.
It seems that the New York Fed never paid the interest owed on the Chinese gold deposit, and the Chinese Government wanted at least some reasonable accommodation for payment of interest and recognition of the debt.
Instead of agreeing to that, the New York Fed used the excuse that the original depositor, the Nationalist Chinese Government, no longer existed and had no representation, and so all the Chinese gold on deposit was "abandoned" property and had been used to create the Global Collateral Accounts, to be used for humanitarian development projects worldwide.
The Chinese were not impressed with this theft-by-any-other-name, and neither were we. The central fact that this gold ultimately belongs to the Chinese people regardless of the government in charge, got glossed over with legalistic arguments and technicalities, with the effect that nothing good has come of it. The so-called Global Collateral Accounts have not been used for philanthropy and the gold has not been returned to the owners.
As interesting as this situation is, and the Robinhood-style public benefit scheme resulting from it, let us observe that seven warships of gold is just a drop in the bucket compared to actual world gold reserves, and all the attention focused on this political and moral stand-off is a red herring akin to the attention focused on "budgeted" money squabbles versus all the "non-budgeted" money that corporate governments commandeer, rat-hole, slush fund, and otherwise hide from public view.
So let's dispense with tales about the lost Chinese gold, and the mythic Dragon Family, and the Global Collateral Accounts, and that whole storyline---- it's a distraction from what is actually important.
Gold is a peculiar substance. It has, in effect, its own DNA. The ultimate provenance of any lump of gold on Earth can be determined with a high degree of accuracy, and when you use this natural "Source Code", it turns out that the vast bulk of all the gold in the world comes from the Americas--- North and South, and from Africa, too.
If the bulk of gold on Earth truly belongs to anyone, it belongs to the native people who were the original owners of it, the same native people who were enslaved and forced to labor in both gold and silver mines with a shocking loss of life. It's estimated that on average, twenty Native Americans died to extract one ounce of silver. Nobody knows how many Africans similarly perished.
Think about what makes these metals so very precious and you will find yet another meaning for the phrase "blood money" and perhaps even develop a healthy abhorrence for all the pretty little coins stamped with the faces of evil men and the emblems of evil institutions.
In the 1850's The United States of America was caught up in the trade of gold and silver like every other nation on Earth, and naturally, it had its stockpiles of both gold and silver as a requirement of that trade. After the Civil War, under the auspices of what we call "The Scottish Interloper" --- a Scottish commercial corporation doing business as The United States of America, Incorporated --- our gold was quietly shipped to the Philippines for "safekeeping".
The U.S. Navy was responsible for the transport. Both the shipping certificates from the United States and the receipts for the flats from the Philippines still exist. At about the same time that this was going on, the Territorial U.S. Congress arranged to buy the landmass of the Philippine Islands using our money to do it. Those records also remain.
There was nothing so remarkable about this in terms of worldwide practices-- literally miles of caves in the Philippines were already being used for the purpose of gold storage and had been used for that purpose for centuries. What is remarkable about it is that the American People were kept completely in the dark about this transport and emptying of their coffers.
Our gold was cashiered away in the Philippines without our knowledge or consent under the presumptions and provisions of Abraham Lincoln's General Order 100, the first ever Executive Order, issued in March of 1863. This Executive Order was issued in Lincoln's capacity as Commander-in-Chief and is otherwise known as the Lieber Code, which has since morphed into the Hague Conventions.
Among other things, the Lieber Code made the U.S. Army responsible for safeguarding our money.
Fifty years later, in the throes of yet another banker-created catastrophe, the U.S. Congress passed a little-noted Act creating an "independent government for the Philippines" in 1934. This was done so that the newly "independent" Government of the Philippines could act as the Trustee for our gold reserves stored in the Philippines.
And that is how Ferdinand Marcos and President Sukarno and all the rest of these men got involved in our business and in making decisions about our gold.
Please bear in mind that the landmass of the Philippines still belongs to The United States of America, independent government or not.
It is against this backdrop that the invasion of the Philippines by the Japanese in World War II must be viewed. Douglas MacArthur presided over the worst military defeat in our country's history, mainly because the Philippines had been a sacred cow for generations, similar to Switzerland, because of its role as a gold storage facility for many other nations. Nobody expected the Japanese to attack it.
When they did, the Japanese seized the gold horde, including the gold belonging to The United States of America, and quickly began transporting the gold back to Japan and throughout Polynesia and the Asian Subcontinent. It was at this point that our gold and the gold of many other nations was dubbed "Yamashita's Gold" --- named after the Japanese General who plundered the gold horde during the Second World War.
Of course, the Japanese knew the gold horde was there. They had significant quantities of their own gold stored in the Philippines and in Indonesia and even the Middle East. There is even some indication that the heist was an inside job, actually planned by the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Administration and the British OSS. The seizure of the gold in the Philippines by the Japanese provided a handy excuse to siphon off and "disappear" other gold reserves. They could claim that the Japanese took it, whereabouts unknown.
All this double-dealing and deceit and collusion with the enemy was eventually paid back, but it would be ten long years before things were more or less recouped and back in place in the Philippines.
President Kennedy went to the Philippines shortly before his death to discuss the recouped American gold reserves still stored in the Philippines and still standing under the Trusteeship of the Government of the Philippines. The plan endorsed by both Kennedy and Sukarno was to use the gold horde as the collateral backing a new gold-backed U.S. Treasury Note.
All this history is discussed in a veiled way throughout the Green Hilton Agreement and the Bilateral Minefields Agreement, but has never once been brought forward to the American people and the actual Federation of States to whom the gold belongs and to whom the landmass of the Philippines belongs.
Obviously, we need to be at the table when the other nations discuss the idea that our government is "absent" and "in interregnum" and that, at least potentially, there is an excuse to claim that our gold reserves stored throughout the world are "abandoned" ---- similar to the New York Fed's excuses to the Chinese Government.
This is to fully inform you members of The International Court of Justice, the Vatican Chancery Court, the Court of the Lord High Steward, the banks, and everyone else, that we are indeed present and holding everyone to account, including the Pope, the Queen, and the Lord Mayor of London, the U.S. Army, the U.S. Navy, and all Officers attached to the USA, Inc., the US, INC., the UN CORP, and the United Nations organization.
Not only are our gold and silver reserves not abandoned, they are explicitly claimed by us under two strong attachments and as part of our international notices, claims, and assignments:
First, the bulk of the gold and silver under discussion derives from North and South America --as demonstrated by its molecular DNA-- and was mined via the slave labor of indigenous people in our country, and other countries within our Hemisphere. Even if the end product was claimed as spoils of war and transported throughout the world by the Spanish, the labor and the sacrifices of our indigenous civilian population are owed.
Second, as our country acquired massive gold and silver reserves, both, as a result of being a producer of gold and silver and in the process of international trade, The United States of America is owed the return and control of all those gold and silver reserves cashiered in the Philippines and distributed throughout the world under the auspices of the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy acting "on our behalf" since 1863.
It's more than past time for those resources to return to civilian control and for all pretensions and excuses of war and legalistic arguments to cease.
It is also time to set aside all disposal agreements entered into on our behalf by the Kings and Queens, Popes, and Lord Mayors, who merely assumed emergency powers that were never granted and that are mere legal presumptions standing in the way of the truth.
The truth is that all powers delegated to the original Confederation of States and the States of America -- also known as the Federal Republic -- returned to the Delegators of those powers upon the first disability of these instrumentalities to perform. This happened by Operation of Law, and no formal action on our parts was ever required to receive back our own powers.
The further truth is that the other Principals involved in this debacle acted in Gross Breach of Trust and Commercial Services Contract, trespassed on our land and soil as our Employees, commandeered assets and custodial powers never granted to them, failed their due diligence and duty to support our actual Government in time of need, and there can be no excuse for this circumstance.
These guilty Principals and their Undeclared Foreign Agents have continued to sail under our flags and seals, to charge us for their services, and to exercise our delegated powers while acting as privateers and pirates against our interests. They have impersonated us, committed barratry against us, acted under color of law for over 150 years, pillaged and plundered our resources---including our gold and silver--- press-ganged and conscripted our people as cheap mercenaries, engaged in war for profit schemes in our names, and by our estimation, have broken almost every major international law and convention on Earth.
We have asked the Popes to permanently liquidate the Municipal Corporations used as the instrumentalities for this fraud and abuse, and to deprive those responsible of any further privilege to form new commercial corporations. Without these measures, the same old game continues like a revolving door, with one corporation being bankrupted or liquidated, and another similarly named entity being created by the same guilty parties to perform as purported Successors to the same contracts and duties that they have violated before.
Right now, "President" Joe Biden is attempting to pull this same sleight of hand again, and to present a new Municipal Corporation as the Successor to the bankrupted UNITED STATES entity. We have served Notice to his would-be administration, to the Public, to the International Community, and now, to the High Courts that Mr. Biden and his Corporation don't have a contract with us. This in no way impairs our constitutional contracts with the other Principals, nor does it change their obligation to us.
This circumstance simply means that we are not assuming a Successor contract with the new Municipal Corporations; we are doing this explicitly, for Cause, and in the sight of the True God.

We wish for our natural resources, our historical assets including our gold and silver, our employees, and our natural prerogatives as sovereign powers to be returned to our peaceful civilian government's control and for all pretensions of war and emergency and military occupation to immediately cease.

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Sunday, May 30, 2021

Doctors Around the World Issue Dire WARNING: DO NOT GET THE COVID VACCINE!!

 https://healthimpactnews.com/2020/doctors-around-the-world-issue-dire-warning-do-not-get-the-covid-vaccine/

Dear Everyone Regarding The "Shit Storm"

 By Anna Von Reitz

There was never any reason for a second Declaration of Independence. The first one did a masterful job and it still stands today.
Any presumption otherwise was brought forward because of a false claim made by agents of the central banks, and so, Teri and others joined together to reply to the nonsense being pushed by the bankers who were at that time trying to claim that our Government no longer existed and all our assets were subject to "claim on abandonment" by the Creditors of the US CORP. They returned their answer exactly as Teri Hinkle describes; I was present and heard the debates and the acrimony with Tim Turner and RuSA over the whole thing.
And I was shaking my head through the whole thing, too.
U.S. Citizens can't speak for Americans--- even if they were born and raised in America, their registered political status prevents them from having lawful standing under international law. At most they have a limited legal custodial interest in specific properties.
The actual issue was decided many years prior to the flap in 2012, and all that was really necessary was to remind the High Courts of that fact.
Which we did.
What nobody grasped then, and what you are still failing to grasp now, is that the Constitutions are still intact, The Declaration of Independence (original) is still intact, even The Articles of Confederation are still intact.
What has changed is your own political status. You have been registered as a Brit, and as a Brit, you have no rights as an American.
It's like when you are sitting still in an automatic car wash and it seems that your car is moving when it's not.
You all assume that you are Americans and counted as Americans because you were born here, but shortly after you were born, you were "seized upon" and unlawfully converted via the birth registration process into a "U.S. Citizen" --- a dependent of the British Territorial Government.
So nothing that you have ever done and nothing that you are doing with your "Jural Handbooks" and your "Nation States Project" or anything else has ever had the actual desired effect.
British Territorial Subjects can natter all day long and still never have any legal or lawful standing with respect to our land and soil jurisdiction--and never had anything but limited and enumerated delegated powers at sea.
The "Shitstorm" has come and gone. The actual work was accomplished despite all the handicaps. It's over.

We won.

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Dear Mr. Putin -- Acknowledging the Security Council Debate

 By Anna Von Reitz

We were touched but also dismayed by recent reports that the Security Council was discussing our situation and that you, Mr. Putin, were even suggesting armed intervention.
Our unincorporated Federation of States has several venerable international treaties with Russia, which have always been upheld by both sides, and which cannot be removed absent a new treaty with our Federation.
These mutual assistance treaties do in fact require Russia to act on our behalf in the event that we are unable to bulwark our own efforts or held to such a disadvantage that our national sovereignty is imperiled. We thank you, and we remember those several occasions when Russia alone among the nations came to our assistance. We are not ungrateful.
It is in fact the existence of these treaties and bonds which have lasted through multiple generations that have been the focus of evil men seeking to demonize Russia for befriending the American Government and holding "the US" in well-earned suspicion.
The entire Russian Collusion witch hunt brewed up against Donald Trump is only the most recent chapter of a long history of British guile and efforts to palm off blame for its own collusion with China. We understand.
We acknowledge the debate in the Security Council and also acknowledge the treaty obligations underlying it; however, our national sovereignty has weathered the worst threats against it, and though there are numerous issues yet to be resolved, we feel confident and competent overall to resolve these under our own steam.
We have chartered the largest International Trade Bank in a hundred years, and recalling the proper structure for the banks, we have also chartered a wholly-owned subsidiary commercial bank for it. Both stand under our Public International Law. As these measures bear fruit and sanity returns to the world under a new banking paradigm, we believe that all nations will benefit ---including Russia.
Any armed intervention at this point would only serve to bulwark and assist the network of international criminal interests collectively known as "the Cabal" ---and having suffered the slings and arrows of this institutionalized crime syndicate as much as any other nation, we doubt that Russia would desire that outcome.
There are so many better things to do and to think about.
Rather, we, the Americans, feel that it would be best to bring political pressure to bear on the Bank of International Settlements to delay enforcement of its Basel 3 provisions long enough to deploy the International Trade Bank safety net that will be needed to avoid widespread genocide due to disruption of commodity supply lines and lack of cash-value currency.
The more fanatical elements may not be pleased by our actions, but the vast bulk of the living people and their national governments will be happy--and safe, prosperous, and at peace.
The bad ideas of the past must not be allowed to intrude upon the future, Mr. Putin. So far as we are concerned, the bankers have sung their last refrain, and a new banking system is on the way. This, among many other positive developments, is no cause for fear or violence.

It's time to celebrate instead

by: Anna Maria Riezinger, Fiduciary
The United States of America

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What's the Purpose of a State Assembly?

 By Anna Von Reitz

Today I was asked, "What's the real purpose and role of a State Assembly? There are already at least two District Assemblies in place. Why do we need another assembly?"
Short answer --- there are fundamental differences between a State Assembly and any form of District Assembly.
They operate in different jurisdictions.
They represent different populations.
They serve different purposes.
The purpose of a State Assembly is to protect the people who live within the borders of their State, to protect the assets of those people, and preserve their birthright as Americans. The further purpose of a State Assembly is to uphold and enforce the Public Law --- including enforcement of the Federal Constitutions.
State Assemblies are supposed to make all major decisions about State-owned property and resources, to form the fundamental nexus of the American Government in international jurisdiction, to educate new generations of Americans about their own history and government, and do all the other things necessary to preserve our government of, for, and by the living people of this country, complete with its bottom-up power structure, and it's daunting responsibility to self-govern.
Now, actual, properly defined, and fully functioning State Assemblies haven't been in Session for a long time. As a result, some of their responsibilities have been shuffled off and undertaken by District Assemblies acting as custodians of State Trusts---- but District Assemblies are not really empowered to act in these capacities, and it is our responsibility to carry our own water.
As you look around, you will see that our courthouses (for example) are occupied by foreign courts --- federally-connected courts of strictly limited jurisdiction, allowed to exist on our shores by constitutional contract. Our State Courts are supposed to be occupying our court buildings, but are nowhere to be found.
As this example demonstrates, it isn't that the foreign courts are prohibited, but they shouldn't be the primary occupants of our court buildings. Everything is upside down. The guests are acting "as" the landlords, and the landlords are acting as the guests.
Our Courts simply haven't been in Session, because our State Assemblies haven't been in Session, and they haven't been in Session for so long that our employees have forgotten who we are and what our role is.
It's up to us to remind them. And ourselves, if necessary.
When you encounter a "District Assembly" the first question in your mind should be --- what kind of district? A Military (Territorial) District? A Municipal District? Some other outpost of the District of Columbia?
These are foreign entities. They are not part of our State and are not pretending to be. Like the foreign federally connected courts of limited jurisdiction called "District Courts" and "State of State Courts", the district employees and dependents are allowed to be here among us, by contract, but their assemblies are not our assemblies.
They have no responsibility to preserve the American birthright for us, and they equally have no obligation to uphold our Public Law for us. They have to adhere to the Public Policies and Codes, Rules, Regulations, and Statutes of the foreign corporations that employ them, but this is private law, not Public Law.
As Mack and Prinz v. USA, Inc., makes abundantly clear, enforcement of the Constitutions is entirely a matter of personal choice and "discretion" for district employees and franchisees who subjugate themselves to foreign private law.
Enforcement of the Constitutions instead falls to us, the members of the State Assembly, and particularly to State Citizens.
So, if you are wondering why your constitutional guarantees aren't being honored, search no farther. It's because your State Assemblies haven't been in Session and your State Courts haven't been in Session, either. The State Citizens and State Assemblies who are Parties to the Constitutions have been "absent" --- "missing" --- "in interregnum" --- "presumed dead" --- "lost at sea".
All this confusion, all this corruption, all this flat-footed enforcement of foreign law on Americans, all the craziness--- is because you, Joe Q., haven't been doing your Public Duty and we as Americans haven't booted up our properly declared and constituted State Assemblies into Session since the 1860's.
So what is the purpose of a State Assembly? To operate the American Government, to enforce the Constitutions, to uphold the Public Law, to preserve the birthrights of each and every American. We hold the Public Power and the Public Duty, but it has seldom been exercised in the past hundred years.

And that, people, is the biggest problem with this country. Too many of us have forgotten who we are and what our duty is and what the purpose of a State Assembly is.

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Everyone vaccinated for covid will DIE, warns French virologist

 https://www.naturalnews.com/2021-05-25-everyone-vaccinated-will-die-within-two-years.html

Feast of the Holy Trinity

 Rev. Fr. Leonard Goffine's

The Church's Year

This festival is celebrated on the Sunday after Pentecost, because as soon as the apostles were instructed and consoled by the Holy Ghost, they began to preach openly that which Christ had taught them.

Why do we celebrate this festival?

That we may openly profess our faith in the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, which is the first of Christian truths, the foundation of the Christian religion, and the most sublime of all mysteries; and that we may render thanks, to the Father for having created us, to the Son for having redeemed us, and to the Holy Ghost for having sanctified us.

In praise and honor of the most Holy Trinity, the Church sings at the Introit of this day's Mass:

INTROIT Blessed be the holy Trinity and undivided Unity: we will give glory to him, because he hath shown his mercy to us: (Tob. XII.) O Lord, our Lord, how wonderful is thy name in all the earth! (Ps. VIII. 1.) 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 Almighty, everlasting God, who hast granted to Thy servants, in the confession of the true faith, to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity, and in the power of Thy, majesty, to adore the Unity: grant that, by steadfastness in the same faith, we may ever be defended from all adversities. 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 (ROM XI. 33-36.) O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and of the knowledge of God! How incomprehensible are his judgments, and how unsearchable his ways! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? Or who hath been his counsellor? Or who hath first given to him, and recompense shall be made him? For of him, and by him, and in him, are all things: to him be glory forever. Amen.

EXPLANATION St. Paul's exclamations, in this epistle, are caused by the inscrutable judgment of God in rejecting the Jews and calling the Gentiles. The Church makes use of these words to express her admiration for the incomprehensible mystery of the most Holy Trinity, which surpasses our understanding, and yet is the worthy object of our faith, hope and love. Although neither angels nor men can fathom this mystery, it cannot be difficult for the sound human intellect to believe it, since it is indubitably and evidently revealed by God, and we, in many natural and human things, accept for true and certain much that we cannot comprehend. Let us submit our intellect, there fore, and yield ourselves up to faith; as there was indeed a time when men were martyred, when even persons of all ages and conditions preferred to die rather than to abandon this faith, so let us rather wait until our faith is changed to contemplation, until we see the Triune God, face to face, as He is, and in the sight of that countenance become eternally happy. Thither should all our hopes, wishes,' and desires be directed, and we should cease all fruitless investigations, endeavoring by humble faith and active love, to prove worthy of the beatific vision; for if we do not love Him who is our all, our last end and aim, and lovingly desire Him, we will have to hope of one day possessing Him.

ASPIRATION O incomprehensible, Triune God! O Abyss of wisdom, power, and goodness! To Thee all glory and adoration! In Thee I lose myself; I cannot contain Thee, do Thou, contain me. I believe in Thee, though I cannot comprehend Thee; do Thou increase my faith; I hope in. Thee, for Thou art the source of all good; do Thou enliven my hope; I love Thee, because Thou art worthy, of all love; do Thou inflame ever more my love, that in Thy love I may live and die. Amen.

Feast of the Holy TrinityGOSPEL (Matt. XXVIII. 18-20.) At that time Jesus said to His disciples: All power is given to me in heaven and in earth. Going, therefore; 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. And behold, I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world.

EXPLANATION Christ being God had from all eternity the same power that His Father had; being man, He had this same power by the union of His divinity with His humanity, and on account of the infinite merits of His passion. In virtue of this power, He said to His apostles, before the ascension, that, as His Heavenly Father had sent Him, even so He sent them to all nations, without exception, to teach all that He had commanded, and to receive them, by means of baptism, into the Church; at the same time He promised to be with them to the end of the world, that is, that He would console them in suffering, strengthen them in persecution, preserve them from error, and always protect them and their successors, the bishops and priests, even unto the consummation of the world.

(See Instruction on the doctrine of the infallibility of the Church for the first Sunday after Easter. http://www.calefactory.org/books/goffine/easter01.htm)

ASPIRATION Be with us, O Lord, for without Thee our pastors cannot produce fruit, nor their hearers profit anything from their words. Be with us always, for we always need Thy help. All power is given to Thee, Thou hast then the right to command, and we are bound to obey Thy commands which by Thy Church Thou hast made known to us. This we have promised in baptism, and now before Thee we renew those vows. Grant now that those promises which without Thee we could not have made, and without Thee cannot keep, may be fulfilled in our actions. Leave us not to ourselves, but be Thou with us, and make us obedient to Thee, that by cheerful submission to Thee we may receive happiness.

INSTRUCTION ON THE HOLY SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM

Going, therefore, teach ye all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost (Matt. XXVIII. 19.)

Is baptism a Sacrament?

Yes because in it the baptized person receives the grace of God by means of an external sign, instituted by Christ.

What is this external sign?

The immersion, or the pouring of water, accompanied by the words: "I baptize thee in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy ghost:"

What does the baptismal grace effect?

It removes original and actual sin; causing ,man to be spiritually born again, made a new creature, a child of God, and joint heir with Christ.

How many kinds of baptism are there?

There are three kinds: The baptism of desire, which consists in a heartfelt desire for the baptism of water, joined with a perfect love of God, or a perfect sorrow for sins committed, and with the purpose to obey all God's commands; the baptism of blood, which is received by those who suffer martyrdom for the true faith, without having received the baptism of water; the baptism of water, which is the Sacrament of Baptism.

What do the deferent ceremonies of this Sacrament signify?

They are the external signs of the effects which baptism produces inwardly upon the soul, and should impress us with deep reverence for this Sacrament.

Why is it customary to have a godfather or godmother?

That there may be a witness that the child has received baptism; that in case of the death of the parents, the sponsors may assume their place, and have the child instructed in the truths of religion. St. Augustine speaking of the duties of sponsors, very beautifully says: "They should use all care, often to admonish in true love their godchildren that they may strive to lead a pure life; they should warn them against all detraction, all improper songs, and keep them from pride, envy, anger, and revenge; they should watch over them that they may preserve the Catholic faith, attend the church services, listen to the word of God, and obey their parents and their pastors." Sponsors must therefore be true believers, and of unquestionable morality. No one, unless a Catholic can be chosen for a sponsor, because one who is not a Catholic would not instruct the child in the Catholic faith, or see that others do it; but would be more likely, as experience shows, to draw the child over to error.

What results from this sponsorship?

In baptism, as in confirmation, a spiritual affinity originates between, the sponsors, the one who baptizes or confirms, with the one baptized or confirmed, and with the parents, so that, by a decision of the Church a godfather or godmother cannot contract marriage with any of these parties, unless the impediment is removed by dispensation, that is, by a special permission received from a spiritual superior. But the sponsors have no spiritual relationship to each other.

Why has the Church instituted this spiritual relation?

From reverence for these holy Sacraments, and that by this spiritual bond the sponsors may be more closely connected with their godchildren, and be incited earnestly to discharge their obligation.

Why must the person to be baptized wait at the entrance of the church?

To indicate that until he has thrown off the yoke of sin, and submitted to Christ, and His authority, he is unworthy to enter, because baptism is the door of God's grace, to the kingdom of heaven, and the communion of saints.

Why does the person receive a saint's name?

That by this name he may be enrolled, through baptism, into the number of Christians whom St. Paul calls saints; that he may have a patron and intercessor, and that the saint, whose name he bears, may be his model and example, by which he may regulate his own life.

Why does the priest breathe in the face of the one to be baptized?

In imitation of Christ who breathed on His apostles when He gave them the Holy Ghost. (John XX. 22.) St. Chrysostom says that in baptism supernatural life is given to the soul as God imparted natural life to Adam by breathing on him.

Why does the priest impose his hand so many times upon the head of the person to be baptized?

To show that he is now the property of God and is under His protection.

What do the many exorcisms signify?

That the evil spirit who previous to baptism holds the person in bondage is now commanded in the name of God to depart, that a dwelling place may be prepared for the Holy Ghost.

Why is the person so often signed with the sign of the cross?

To signify that through the power of Christ's merits and of His death on the cross, baptism washes away original sin; that the person is to be henceforth a follower of Christ the Crucified, and as such must fight valiantly under the banner of the cross, against the enemies of his salvation, and must follow Christ on the way of the cross even unto death.

What does the salt signify which is put into the person's mouth?

It is an emblem of Christian wisdom and of preservation from the corruption of sin.

Why are his ears and nose touched with spittle?

That as Christ put spittle on the eyes. of the man born blind, thus restoring his sight, so by baptism, the spiritual blindness of the soul is removed, and his mind receives light to behold heavenly wisdom. Also, as St. Ambrose says, the candidate is thus instructed to open his ears to priestly, admonitions, and become a sweet odor of Christ.

Why does the priest ask: "Dust thou renounce the devil; and all his works, and all his pomps?"

That the Christian may know that his vocation requires him to renounce and combat the devil, his works, suggestions and pomps. Thus St. Ambrose very beautifully addresses a person just baptized: "When the priest asked: `Dust thou renounce the devil and all his works,' what didst thou reply? `I renounce them.' `Dost thou renounce the world, its lusts and its pomps?' `I renounce them.' Think of these promises, and let them never depart from thy mind. Thou hast given thy hand writing to the priest,, who stands for Christ; when thou hast given thy note to a man, and thou art bound to him. Now thy word is not on earth but preserved in heaven; say not thou knowest nothing of this promise; this exculpates thee no better than the excuse of a soldier who in time of battle should say he knew not that by becoming a soldier he would have to fight."

Why is the person anointed on the shoulder and breast with holy oil?

As SS. Ambrose and Chrysostom explain this is done to strengthen him to fight bravely for Christ; as the combatants of old anointed themselves with oil before they entered the arena, so is he anointed, on the breast, that he may gain courage and force, bravely to combat the world, the flesh, and the devil, and on the shoulder, that he may be strong to bear constantly and untiringly, the yoke of Christ's commands, and pursue the toilsome course of life in unwavering. fidelity to God and His holy law.

Why are, the Lord's Prayer, and the Apostles' Creed said at baptism?

That, when the child is a grown person an acknowledgment of faith may by this means be made in the face of the Church; when children are baptized, these prayers are said by the sponsors who are thus reminded to see that their godchildren are well instructed in these as in all other Christian truths.

Why does the priest expressly ask the person if he will be baptized?

Because as man, through Adam, of his own free will obeyed the devil, so now when he would be received among the number of Christ's children, he must, to obtain salvation, of his own free will obey the precepts of God.

Why is water poured three times upon the person's head?

This is done, as St. Gregory the Great writes, in token that man after this thrice-repeated ablution rises from the death of sin, as Christ, after His three days' burial, rose from the dead. (Rom. VI. 4.5.) In early times the candidate for baptism was immersed three times in the water. For many 'reasons this custom has been abolished.

Why is the person anointed on the top of the head with chrism?

This anointing is, so to speak, the crown of the young Christian. As in the Old Law the kings were anointed, (I Kings X. 1.) as Jesus is the Anointed One, and as the Apostle St. Peter calls the Christians a chosen race, a kingly priesthood, a holy people, (I Peter II. 9.) so the baptized by means of this unction is embodied in Christ, the Anointed One, and participates in His priesthood and kingly dignity. What an exalted position is the Christian's! He is the anointed one of the Lord, and in a spiritual sense a priest, because he constantly brings himself to the Lord God as a pleasing sacrifice in prayer, mortification, &c. He is king when he rules over his inclinations, submits them to reason, and reason to the Lord. Besides this he is king by the claims which, through baptism, he possesses to the kingdom of heaven. Through the chrism he becomes the blessed temple of the Holy Ghost, the sacred vessel which in time, through communion, will contain the precious body and blood of Christ. How does he desecrate this temple when, by grievous sin, he tramples this exalted dignity under his feet and. stains the temple of the Holy Ghost, his soul!

What does the white robe signify?

The holy Fathers teach that this represents the glory to which by baptism we are born again; the purity and beauty with which the soul, having been washed from sin in the Sacrament of baptism, is adorned, and the innocence which the baptized should preserve through his whole life.

Why is a lighted candle placed in his hand?

It is an emblem of the Christian doctrine which preserves the baptized from the darkness of error, ignorance, and sin, illumines his understanding, and leads him safely in the way of virtue; it represents the flame of love for God and our neighbor which the baptized should henceforth continually carry, like the five prudent virgins, (Matt. XXV. 13.) on the path to meet the Lord, that when his life is ended he may be admitted to the eternal wedding feast; it signifies also the light of good example which he should keep ever burning.

Who is the minister of this sacrament?

The ordinary minister is the priest of the Church; but in case of necessity any layman or woman, even the father or mother can baptize. Parents, however, should not baptize their own child unless no other Catholic can be procured. The reason why lay persons are permitted to baptize is that no one may be deprived of salvation.

What must be observed particularly in private baptism?

The person who baptizes must be careful to use only natural water, which must be poured on the child's head saying at the same time the words: I baptize thee in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; having at the same time the intention of baptizing as the Church does, in the manner required by Christ.

INSTRUCTION ON THE RENEWAL OF BAPTISMAL VOWS

All the graces and dignities which we receive in baptism, God secures to us for the future, only on condition that we keep our baptismal vows. Every Christian in baptism makes a bond with God through the mediation of Christ who has sealed it with His blood. This bond consists, on man's part, in the promise to renounce forever the devil, all his works and all his pomps, that is, constantly to suppress the threefold lust of the eyes, the flesh and the pride of life, by which the devil leads us to sin, and to believe all that God has revealed, and all that His holy Church proposes to our belief, and diligently and properly to make use of all the means of salvation. On the part of God this bond consists in cleansing us from all sin, in bestowing the gifts of the Holy Ghost, in adopting us as His children, and. in the assurance to the inheritance of heaven. This bond will never be broken by God who is infinitely true and faithful, but it is often violated by weak and fickle man. In compliance with the desire of the Church we should often reflect upon it, and from time to time renew it in the sight of God. This should be done particularly before receiving the holy Sacrament of Confirmation, before first Communion, on the vigils of Easter and Pentecost, at the blessing of baptismal water, on the anniversaries of our baptism and confirmation, before making any solemn vow, before entering into matrimony and when in danger of death. This renewal of baptismal vows can be made in the following manner: Placing ourselves in the presence of God, we kneel down, fold our hands, and say with fervent devotion:

I believe in God the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was born and suffered for us.

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.

I renounce the devil; all his works and all his pomps.

Christ Jesus ! With Thee I am united, to Thee alone I cling, Thee only will I follow, for Thee I desire to live and die. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

DOCTRINE ON THE HOLY TRINITY

What is God?

GOD is the most perfect being, the highest, best Good, who exists, from all eternity, by whom heaven and earth are created, and from whom all things derive and hold life and existence, for of Him, and by Him, and in Him are all things. (Rom. XI. 36.)

What is the Blessed Trinity?

The Blessed Trinity is this one God who is one in nature and threefold in person, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.

Is each of these three persons God?

Yes, because each of them has the divine nature and substance.

Are they not three Gods?

No, because all three of these persons have one and the same divine nature and substance.

Is any one of these three persons older, mightier, or greater than the other?

By, no means, they are all three from eternity entirely equal to each .other in divine omnipotence greatness and majesty, and must, therefore, be equally adored and venerated.

Ought one to give himself up to the investigation of the most Blessed Trinity?

No; "For," says the saintly Bishop Martin, "the mystery of the Trinity cannot be comprehended by the human intellect, no one however eloquent can exhaust it; if entire books were written about it, so that the whole world were filled with them, yet the unspeakable wisdom of God would not be expressed. God who is indescribable, can in no way be described. When the human mind ceases to speak of Him, then it but begins to speak." Therefore the true Christian throws his intellect under the feet of faith, not seeking to understand that which the human mind can as little comprehend, as a tiny hole in the sand can contain the immeasurable sea. An humble and active faith will make us worthy some day in the other world, to see with ' the greatest bliss this mystery as it is, for in this consists eternal life, that by a pious life we may glorify and know the only true God, Christ Jesus His Son, and the Holy Ghost.