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The following is a treatise on mental prayer, in the tradition of Ignatian spirituality. While all Catholic spiritualities agree on the essential elements of mental prayer, each has its own emphases and particular means at achieving it. The Jesuits particularly emphasize discipline, prior preparation, and firm resolutions in the context of mental prayer. A brief introduction to the life of Fr. Rodriguez is given before presenting the fifth treatise of his very famous Practice of Christian & Religious Perfection. This work is quite long (sixty-two pages on standard paper); a briefer introduction to mental prayer is available on the Catholic Prayers page, under Daily Prayers. A printable version of this page is available here. THE LIFE OF ALPHONSUS RODRIGUEZ The celebrated father, Alphonsus Rodriguez, to whom all devout Christians, as well as the members of the different religious orders of the church, are so deeply indebted for the rich treasures which he has bequeathed to them in his ascetic writings, was born at Valladolid, in Spain. He commenced his studies at Salamanca; and there, after having attained his degree in the School of Philosophy, he was moved by the apostolic preaching of Fr. John Ramirez, of the Society of Jesus,

  Our annual Chesterton Event will take place on Saturday, October 10, starting at 5 pm. For the 800th anniversary of the death of St. Francis of Assisi, Dale Ahlquist and Joseph Pearce discuss the Little Poor Man, how Chesterton viewed his humility, asceticism, love for the Faith, creation as a light in the dark times of the Middle Ages, and how we can emulate his life today. The schedule for the evening is as follows:   Ticket sales begin this Sunday, September 20, and continue until Sunday, October 4 (last day of sales), at a booth in the courtyard. Tickets are $25 per person. We hope to see you there!

  The Order of Penitent Knights of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Most Sorrowful Mother of God (Knights Penitent) is an organization of Catholic men at St. Stephen the First Martyr. They are comprised of men from all walks of life, who feel called to a greater level of sacrifice, service, and prayer in service of Holy Mother Church and the salvation of souls.   They are bound together by three aims: first, to atone and make reparation for our sins and those of the whole world; second, to pray, meditate, and engage in good works for the conversion of sinners; and third, to seek advancement of the interior life through the purgative, illuminative, and unitive ways.   They acknowledge that in our modern age, Our Lord is calling men to unite their will to his own, to embrace sacrifice and suffering, and to defend the Catholic Faith with resolute belief and supernatural hope.   Inquiries may be directed to Alex Townsend or Mike Solton (contact details in the bulletin). The Knights Penitent are initiating new members next Sunday, September 20, after the High Mass.

  I am in the process of editing, reformatting, and re-publishing the devotional materials used by the parish. The first of these – prayers after Mass for First Friday and First Saturday – should arrive early next week. I have used a laminated solution this time, to make sure the cards stay in good working condition for as long as possible. If this proves to be a good solution, I will begin ordering the other cards and booklets (including for Our Lady of Perpetual Help, which we have been short on for some time).   On the occasion of these orders, I am introducing a short prayer of reparation after Masses on First Saturdays. This prayer will provide a parallel to the act of reparation made to the Sacred Heart on First Fridays.

  On September 11, the St. Stephen’s Youth Group will resume. It meets twice a month during the academic year, generally on second and fourth Friday, in the evening. Its primary purpose is the continuing Catholic education of high school students in our parish. The secondary purpose of the group is to help the youth form and keep good Catholic friendships amongst one another. The group assists at the evening Mass, afterwards moving to one of the classrooms for a short meal and social time. Then one of the priests, usually Fr Curtis, gives a conference, somewhere between thirty and sixty minutes. Finally, the members enjoy a common activity.      6:00 PM           Mass      7:00 PM           Dinner, Conference, & Activity      9:30 PM           Departure   Several times during the course of the year, the members go off campus (usually on a Saturday). Previous examples include ice skating, bowling, and hiking.   The Youth Group is available to St. Stephen’s parishioners from the age of fourteen to eighteen. Non-parishioners are welcome at the discretion of the pastor. Thirteen year olds can begin to attend at the start of the academic year in which their birthday falls (i.e. a thirteen year old

North American Province Plenary Meeting   This week, from Monday to Friday, Fr. Franco and Fr. Lopez will be away from the parish attending a plenary meeting in New York. The Mass and confession schedule will remain unchanged, but I do ask parishioners to bear in mind that we will be very understaffed. Altar Guild   We currently have 111 young men involved in the Altar Guild. If you have a son interested in the Guild, you can acquire a registration from the bookstore, or contact Mike Solton (916-832-2859) directly.   The Altar Guild Minor is available for boys under the age of ten, who have received their First Holy Communion.   The Altar Guild Major is available for boys ages ten to eighteen.   During the academic year, members of both Guilds are obliged to meet on the third Saturday of every month, starting with the 8:30 am Mass, with training after Mass, followed by lunch and recreation. In addition, members are assigned to teams that are given responsibility for High Masses on a rotating basis; members are also highly encouraged to volunteer to serve regularly at weekly Low Masses (e.g., every Tuesday at the 7 am).   Fr.

  As several of these were only recently announced, I want to call your attention particularly to them. Parish Hall Chant Workshop   This Saturday! Join us on Saturday, August 22, from 9:30 am to noon, in the parish hall. Our parish music director, Keven Smith, will teach some of the ordinary chants and hymns of our Catholic patrimony so that you’ll be better prepared to sing along at sung Masses. Keven will also help you read Gregorian notation and cover the basics of healthy singing technique. We will then sing the 12 pm Mass together for the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.   I asked Keven to host this longer, one-day workshop as an alternative to the weekly Sunday workshops we tried last summer. Cristeros Conference   On Saturday, August 29 (Spanish at 9:30 am; English at 10:45 am), Fr. Javier Olivera Ravasi will give a one hour conference on the Cristero War. Fr. Ravasi is an Argentine Catholic priest, historian, author, and international speaker. He holds doctorates in Philosophy and History, specializing in the Cristero War; his doctoral dissertation in History focused specifically on the Cristiada. He is the author of “La Contrarrevolución Cristera” and founder

  In order to reach one of the priests for anything of a serious nature (e.g. setting up a meeting, seeking counsel, starting marriage preparation, establishing a day and time for the Baptism of a child), it is most effective to send an e-mail to one of us, using the e-mails listed in the bulletin.   Speaking personally, there are about ten different ways to reach me, between the various phone numbers, e-mails, texting apps, and physical mailboxes. It is a challenge to stay on top of all of these services every day. With texting (and Signal) in particular, it sometimes happens that I receive a text and read it, but cannot respond immediately. In short order, the text gets buried under a series of newer messages (I receive on average about two hundred Signal notifications every day), with nothing to flag the fact that it remains unresolved. I do try to navigate back through text logs a couple times a week to try and prevent things from falling through the cracks, but it is not an infallible process. (This is not to say that there is no place for texting: Signal is fine for sending a relatively unimportant message,