Novena to
Our Lady of Lourdes

Prayer

Be blessed, O most pure Virgin, for having vouchsafed to manifest your shining with life, sweetness and beauty, in the Grotto of Lourdes, saying to the child, St. Bernadette: "I am the Immaculate Conception." A thousand times we congratulate you upon your Immaculate Conception. And now, O ever Immaculate Virgin, Mother of mercy, Health of the sick, Refuge of sinners, Comforter of the afflicted, you know our wants, our troubles, our sufferings deign to cast upon us a look of mercy.  By appearing in the Grotto of Lourdes, you were pleased to make it a privileged sanctuary, whence you dispense your favors, and already many have obtained the cure of their infirmities, both spiritual and physical. We come, therefore, with the most unbounded confidence to implore your maternal intercession. Obtain for us, O loving Mother, the granting of our request.

  (state your request)

 Through gratitude for your favors, we will endeavor to imitate your virtues, that we may one day share your glory.

Our Lady of Lourdes, Mother of Christ, you had influence with your divine son while upon earth. You have the same influence now in Heaven. Pray for us; obtain for us from your Divine Son our special requests if it be the Divine Will. Amen. 

Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.

Saint Bernadette, pray for us.

NINE DAY NOVENA TO OUR LADY OF LOURDES
Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6 Day 7 Day 8 Day 9

DAY ONE

O Mary Immaculate, Our Lady of Lourdes, virgin and mother, queen of heaven, chosen from all eternity to be the Mother of the Eternal Word and in virtue of this title preserved from original sin, we kneel before you as did little Bernadette at Lourdes and pray with childlike trust in you that as we contemplate your glorious appearance at Lourdes, you will look with mercy on our present petition and secure for us a favorable answer to the request for which we are making this novena.

(make your request)O Brilliant star of purity, Mary Immaculate, Our Lady of Lourdes, glorious in your assumption, triumphant in your coronation, show unto us the mercy of the Mother of God, Virgin Mary, Queen and Mother, be our comfort, hope, strength, and consolation. Amen.

Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.

Saint Bernadette, pray for us.

DAY TWO

Be blessed, O most pure Virgin, for having vouchsafed to manifest yourself shining with light, sweetness and beauty, in the Grotto of Lourdes, saying to the child Saint Bernadette: "I am the Immaculate Conception!" O Mary Immaculate, inflame our hearts with one ray of the burning love of your pure heart Let them be consumed with love for Jesus and for you, in order that we may merit one day to enjoy your glorious eternity. O dispenser of His graces here below, take into your keeping and present to your Divine Son the petition for which we are making this novena.

(make your request)O Brilliant star of purity, Mary Immaculate, Our Lady of Lourdes, glorious in your  assumption, triumphant in your coronation, show unto us the mercy of the Mother of God, Virgin Mary, Queen and Mother, be our comfort, hope, strength, and consolation. Amen.

Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.

Saint Bernadette, pray for us.

DAY THREE

"You are all fair, O Mary, and there is in you no stain of original sin." O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee. O brilliant star of sanctity, as on that lovely day, upon a rough rock in Lourdes you spoke to the child Bernadette and a fountain broke from the plain earth and miracles happened and the great shrine of Lourdes began, so now I beseech you to hear our fervent prayer and do, we beseech you, grant us the petition we now so earnestly seek. (make your request)O Brilliant star of purity, Mary Immaculate, Our Lady of Lourdes, glorious  in your assumption, triumphant in your coronation, show unto us the mercy of the Mother of God, Virgin Mary, Queen and Mother, be our comfort, hope, strength, and consolation. Amen.

Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.

Saint Bernadette, pray for us.

DAY FOUR

O Immaculate Queen of Heaven, we your wayward, erring children, join our unworthy prayers of praise and thanksgiving to those of the angels and saints and your own-the One, Holy, and Undivided Trinity may be glorified in heaven and on earth. Our Lady of Lourdes, as you looked down with love and mercy upon Bernadette as she prayed her rosary in the grotto, look down now, we beseech you, with love and mercy upon us. From the abundance of graces granted you by your Divine Son, sweet Mother of God, give to each of us all that your motherly heart sees we need and at this moment look with special favor on the grace we seek in this novena. (make your request)O Brilliant star of purity, Mary Immaculate, Our Lady of Lourdes, glorious in your  assumption, triumphant in your coronation, show unto us the mercy of the Mother of God, Virgin Mary, Queen and Mother, be our comfort, hope, strength, and consolation. Amen.

Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.

Saint Bernadette, pray for us.

DAY FIVE

O Mary Immaculate, Mother of God and our mother, from the heights of your dignity look down mercifully upon us while we, full of confidence in your unbounded goodness and confident that your Divine Son will look favorably upon any request you make of Him in our behalf, we beseech you to come to our aid and secure for us the favor we seek in this novena.(make your request)O Brilliant star of purity, Mary Immaculate, Our Lady of Lourdes, glorious in your  assumption, triumphant in your coronation, show unto us the mercy of the Mother of God, Virgin Mary, Queen and Mother, be our comfort, hope, strength, and consolation. Amen.

Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.

Saint Bernadette, pray for us.

DAY SIX

O glorious Mother of God, so powerful under your special title of Our Lady of Lourdes, to you we raise our hearts and hands to implore your powerful intercession in obtaining from the gracious Heart of Jesus all the helps and graces necessary for our spiritual and temporal welfare and for the special favor we so earnestly seek in this novena.

(make your request)O Lady of Bernadette, with the stars of heaven in your hair and the roses of earth at your feet, look with compassion upon us today as you did so long ago on Bernadette in the Grotto of Lourdes.

O Brilliant star of purity, Mary Immaculate, Our Lady of Lourdes, glorious  in your assumption, triumphant in your coronation, show unto us the mercy of the Mother of God, Virgin Mary, Queen and Mother, be our comfort, hope, strength, and consolation. Amen.

Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.

Saint Bernadette, pray for us.

DAY SEVEN

O Almighty God, who by the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary did prepare a worthy dwelling place for your Son, we humbly beseech you that as we contemplate the apparition of Our Lady in the Grotto of Lourdes, we may be blessed with health of mind and body.  O most gracious Mother Mary, beloved Mother of Our Lord and Redeemer, look with favor upon us as you did that day on Bernadette and intercede with him for us that the favor we now so earnestly seek may be granted to us. (make your request)O Brilliant star of purity, Mary Immaculate, Our Lady of Lourdes, glorious in your  assumption, triumphant in your coronation, show unto us the mercy of the Mother of God, Virgin Mary, Queen and Mother, be our comfort, hope, strength, and consolation. Amen

Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.

Saint Bernadette, pray for us.

DAY EIGHT

O Immaculate Mother of God, from heaven itself you came to appear to the little Bernadette in the rough Grotto of Lourdes! And as Bernadette knelt at your feet and the miraculous  spring burst forth and as multitudes have knelt ever since before your shrine, O Mother of God, we kneel before you today to ask that in your mercy you plead with your Divine Son to grant the special favor we seek in this novena.

(make your request)O Brilliant star of purity, Mary Immaculate, Our Lady of Lourdes, glorious in your assumption, triumphant in your coronation, show unto us the mercy of the Mother of God, Virgin Mary, Queen and Mother, be our comfort, hope, strength, and consolation. Amen.

Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.

Saint Bernadette, pray for us.

DAY NINE

O glorious Mother of God, to you we raise our hearts and hands to implore your powerful intercession in obtaining from the benign Heart of Jesus all the graces necessary for our spiritual and temporal welfare, particularly for the grace of a happy death. O Mother of our Divine Lord, as we conclude this novena for the special favor we seek at this time. (make your request here) We feel animated with confidence that your prayers in our behalf will be graciously heard. O Mother of My Lord, through the love you bear to Jesus Christ and for the glory of His Name, hear our prayers and obtain our petitions.O Brilliant star of purity, Mary Immaculate, Our Lady of Lourdes, glorious in your  assumption, triumphant in your coronation, show unto us the mercy of the Mother of God, Virgin Mary, Queen and Mother, be our comfort, hope, strength, and consolation. Amen.

Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.

Saint Bernadette, pray for us.

A CHRISTIAN RESPONSE TO LOSS

Loss and the suffering associated with it rains down upon us in many forms from virtually the first moment of our births. As a child, we play simple board games and lose half or most or some of the time. We experience injustice, illness, pain, the passing of loved ones (even the young), and family strife. Even siblings can be mean, selfish, nasty, and inconsiderate of each other. Parents routinely lose sleep for the sake of their children and spend entire days fatigued as a result. Virtually all of us lose our jobs or incomes at some point, experiencing material privation. Even the very act of aging, day by day, is a gradual loss of vitality, causing melancholy, bitterness, or useless vanity.

"Days turn to minutes and minutes to memories. Life sweeps away the dreams that we have planned." (John Mellancamp)

Ah, the loss of dreams! Unfulfilled dreams of having professional success, or of finding a spouse, or of having children--these are among the worst losses. Or, having achieved worldly success, we realize too late that our earlier, empty sacrifice of time could have been better spent in prayer and with family.

Two common human reactions to the injustice of loss are anger and despair, in all their degrees and categories. Frustrated, parents give up on reigning in their child's sinful behavior, and thus neglect them. Embittered and humiliated, the formerly hardworking man might become lazy and withdrawn over the years. The Church has long taught that anger is actually a legitimate emotional reaction to injustice. But that does not mean we should be slaves to this emotion. Adults who give in to the anger that arises from mistreatment at the hands of others will become malicious, sullen, and vindictive.

Faith in Jesus in conjunction with our humble acceptance of loss, just or unjust, in all things great and small, is the only mature Christian response. (We are referring here to our internal spiritual response. Injustice often requires us to take steps in our practical actions to correct injustices, or, to make prudential decisions to address the loss--that is, if your child breaks his arm, you must take him to a doctor.) Our faith that God will restore all things (even if only in heaven after our death) opens the door in our soul for hope. We beg you, do not let that word, hope, slide by your mind. Hope is a supernatural virtue, a gift that flows from faith--a powerful reality available from God in matters of loss. When was the last time you felt the awesome power of supernatural hope?

These might sound like lofty and idealistic words, but you will experience (or witness) some kind of loss today, or this week, perhaps in a small matter. When this happens, attempt to examine your internal emotional and spiritual reaction. Then, make an act of faith--tell God that you believe in Him, and that you believe He can and will restore the loss, and remind yourself that God often uses loss (if we accept it correctly) to teach us something, or to prepare the path to some future greater good that is unfathomable at the current moment. After your act of acceptance and faith, make sure your internal spiritual radio is tuned into Channel Hope. Discern hope, feel hope, wait for hope. It will come. If you react this way often enough, hope will begin to shine through your eyes. People will turn to you in times of loss to see and feel the reality of hope in your eyes. In other words, when people see you, they will see ... a saint.

A timely message from Catholic City.
http://www.catholicity.com/

St. John Bosco ... Jan 31st

On January 31, the Church honors the Memorial of St. John Bosco - Friend of the Youth. He was called, Apostle of Youth, because, he dedicated his life to the young people by organizing youth clubs, hostels, and boarding schools where he taught them. He founded the Salesian Society for the boys in 1854, which was named St. Francis de Sales. In 1872, he also founded the Salesian Sisters called Daughters of Mary, Help of Christians to work for girls.

St. John Bosco had no formal system or theory of education. His methods centered on persuasion, authentic religiosity, and love for young people. He was an enlightened educator and innovator. The educational philosophy of John Bosco can be condensed in three words: Reason, Religion, and Loving Kindness. The basic principle of his system was a deep understanding and love for young people and their problems.

Prayer to

St. John Bosco

Lord, you called John Bosco to be a teacher and father to the young. Fill us with love like his. May we give ourselves completely to your service and to the salvation of humankind. We ask this through Christ our Lord, Amen.

About St. John Bosco
Vision of St. John Bosco
St. John Bosco Biography
St. John Bosco Oratory Project
St. John Bosco Dreams
St. John Bosco on Resurrection
Novena in Honor of St. John Bosco
Novena to St. John Bosco

The Big Lie Continues

The Big Lie Continues
By George J. Marlin

We hear a little about Muslim persecution of Christians these days, though not much. But is anyone aware of the much larger and continuing evil presence that violates the rights and very lives of Catholics and other believers in our world? It’s called Communism, and in China, Vietnam, Cuba, and a gaggle of wannabe Marxist dictatorships, this murderous ideology continues to generate high body counts and gulags for the Christians of the world while the mainstream media and prominent intellectuals hardly seem to notice.

There is ample precedent for this lack of interest going back even before the fall of the Berlin Wall and the dissolution of Communism in Eastern Europe. Throughout the twentieth century, the progressive intelligentsia was sympathetic to the idea that Marxist-controlled states would eventually give birth to an international utopian community. To maintain this view, they defended, denied, or overlooked the crimes against humanity committed by Lenin, Stalin, Mao, Castro, Pol Pot, and their henchmen.

Even as the very foundations of the Iron Curtain were crumbling in the late 1980s, many leftist thinkers continued to promote Communist “truth.” For instance, one year before the fall of the Berlin Wall, America’s oldest left-wing journal, The Nation, refusing to face the harsh facts about the Soviet totalitarian menace, toed the party line by condemning the Center for Democracy, created by U.S. citizens, to aid the only independent publication in the U.S.S.R., Glasnost.

One European who had the courage to expose the lies was the late French philosopher-journalist Jean-Francois Revel (1924-2006). This World War II resistance fighter and Social Democrat fearlessly fought the ideological bullies of his time. For him, they functioned “as a machine to destroy information even at the price of making assertions in clear contradiction of the evidence.” And they still do. As Paul Valery, a French poet, once observed, “everything changes but the avant-garde.”

Revel swam against the French intellectual tide by arguing that evil is inherent in Communism’s DNA. History, he believed, proved that as a governing system, it was never economically viable and retarded social justice: “Incarceration camps and prisons, show trials, murderous purges and deliberately induced famines have accompanied each and every Communist regime from beginning to end, without exception.”

The global left, of course, despised Revel. In a series of trenchant works, The Totalitarian Temptation (1976), How Democracies Perish (1983), The Flight From Truth (1991), and Anti-Americanism (2003), Revel assaulted those “who openly and on principle allow the annihilation of whole masses of humanity. . .to secure the realization of the Communist ideal.” He denounced leftists who, in the name of progress, yielded to the totalitarian temptation and became accomplices to political crimes.

In Last Exit to Utopia, a book of his just translated and published posthumously, Revel gives socialist apologists his last dig. Revel makes the case that many leftist intellectuals have been in a state of denial since the death of the Soviet leviathan. They cannot admit they were intellectually wrong or morally compromised. Communism, they still insist, was an engine of social justice that and had good intentions. Genuine Communists tried to create a good society that would save the masses from “enslavement to consumerism.” Revel calls this behavior “voluntary blindness;” ideologues ignoring or deforming truth to rationalize their apriori schemes.

To maintain the fiction and to take the spotlight off their short-comings these leftists have aggressively pursued a “take no prisoners” offensive strategy. The root of all evil they insist is “savage capitalism” and the devils who promote this depraved system are Americans. Critics of Communist regimes are “simplistic” and “obsessive” mean-spirited right-wing reactionaries or just plain old fascists.

Scholarly works that document Communist oppression are dismissed as “nostalgia for the Cold War.” “Why drag out that old stuff” is the typical reaction from the leftist chorus. “Haven’t we heard it all before? Let’s move on.” American leftist elites employed this approach in their failed attempt to stop the acclaimed Yale University Press Annals of Communism series which publishes previously inaccessible documents from Soviet state and party archives.

The most vicious outcry was against the 800-page compendium detailing the crimes of Communist regimes worldwide, The Black Book of Communism: Crimes, Terror, Repression. Furious leftists used every vicious tactic to discredit the findings of the five French authors that over 100-million people were murdered for belonging to political parties, churches, or some hated social class. Critics pressured and intimidated the contributors—even threatening to get them fired from their academic posts—if they did not recant.

One delusional protester, the Marxist Jacques Rossi, who actually served time in the Gulag, defended the prison system claiming these Soviet camps were fine institutions that “served as a laboratory for the Soviet regime in order to create an ideal society: to compel obedience and indoctrinate.”

Revel boldly rejected these cover-ups. Western ideologues, he declared, “may have no blood on their hands; but their pens are dripping with it.” Contrary to their claims, totalitarian states, unlike capitalist democracies, must commit crimes to survive. Recent actions by remaining Marxist regimes confirm his thesis: North Korea’s Communist masters have systematically starved over 3 million of their people. In Tibet 1.2 million people—20 percent of the total population—have been eliminated under China’s occupation of that nation. And in China itself, the regime has set up a subservient Patriotic Catholic Church to keep Catholics from following the real Church with its head in the Vatican.

Communism writes Revel “promises abundance and engenders misery; promises liberty and imposes servitude. . .promises respect for human life and then perpetuates mass executions; promises the creation of a ‘new man,’ but instead fossilizes him.” Yet, by using “evil in the name of good” Revel observes, this failed experiment tragically continues to attract “angelic accomplices, in the name of ideals they have shamelessly trampled underfoot.”


George J. Marlin is an editor of The Quotable Fulton Sheen

The USA Chaplet -FINISHED!

The USA Chaplet

I have prayed and deliberated much regarding this chaplet. I have spoken to my confessor who found no immediate fault with this effort and suggested I pass it on to some others for opinions/suggestion, etc.. It has been in the works for some months now and just today (1/15/10), after fervent prayer, it all just seemed to fall in place. My heart has been heavy with the "CHANGE" in the USA and the many "Catholics" that have fallen away. This is the product of my daily prayers for these things. The prayers in quotes below are original and the first one came a few months ago. It seemed to just flow from my lips as if I was saying the Our Father or Hail Mary. As each came to me, I wrote them down and prayed about how to formulate this if it was God's Will to be disbursed. The colors, number of prayers, both original and familiar just all came together this morning, along with the Concluding prayer which was a surprise to me.
I have made this page for it to better explain the meaning and how to pray it being it's the first one in the world.
It has been sent around to various persons, organizations and my local Diocese ... may God's Will be done as I await the outcome.
May it please Our Glorious Triune God and Our Blessed Mother.

http://battlebeads.com/usa2.html

New Chaplet

I am creating a brand new chaplet. In light of recent political 'changes' and many questionable decisions on what's best for OUR country, these words kept coming to me over and over. The first time it was as if I'd said it all my life like the Hail Mary or Our Father. I feel strongly that I am supposed to share this with folks and perhaps if many can start praying daily, we may beg God's Mercy on our land. When my confessor came last, he saw no problems with it and suggested that I forward it to EWTN for any comments. I'm putting the final touches on it now and thought it would be nice to actually make one up so a picture might be sent with it, so that's what I'll do today. Please pray that there will be no pride in this and that it only give honor and glory to God ... thank you.

St. Gregory of Nyssa

St. Gregory of Nyssa ( 330-395)

His family must have been a great inspiration for this Saint was born the son of two Saints, Saints Basil and Emmilia. He was also raised by his brother, St. Basil the Great. He was a smart boy and excelled at his studies. He became a professor of rhetoric but would pursue theology. He became a priest and was elected Bishop of Nyssa. He was a defender of the faith against the Arianism and other heresies that were spreading through the early church. His work gained him a seat on the Council of Constantinople. He was a universalist and was one of the first theologians to argue for and defend the infinity of God. He taught that spiritual growth had three stages. It began with darkness or ignorance, which was overcome by illumination which lead to a final contemplation of God, who in essence (ousia) cannot be comprehended. St. Gregory of Nyssa, his brother St Basil the Great (Bishop of Caesarea) and Gregory of Nazianzus (Patriarch of Constantinople) are known as the Cappadocian Fathers. Their theological goal was to establish a Christian philosophy superior to ancient Greek philosophy.

This week pray a Rosary in his honor, his feast day is January 10th.

Daily Pilgrimage to Purgatory

Preparation Prayer

O St. Margaret Mary, whom the Lord has chosen to reveal to the whole world all the treasures hidden in His merciful Heart of Love! O thou, who hast heard how the Poor Souls in Purgatory begged for this new remedy, the devotion to the Sacred Heart, which relieves them so effectively of their torments! O thou, who hast set free so many of these poor prisoners by practicing this devotion: obtain for us the grace to make this Pilgrimage worthily in the company of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Amen.

I unite all my intentions with all the faithful, who make this pilgrimage daily.

Consecration of the Day

Divine Heart of Jesus, in making this pilgrimage with Thee as my Companion, I consecrate to Thee all my thoughts, words and actions of the entire day. I pray Thee to unite my small merits with Thine and to apply them to the Poor Souls, especially the soul of Thy servant (s), N. N.

Likewise do I entreat you, holy souls, to help me obtain the grace to persevere in love and loyalty toward the Sacred Heart, by submitting readily and without complaint to whatever designs He may have in my regard.

Offering

Eternal Father, we offer Thee the Blood, Passion and Death of Jesus Christ, and the sorrows of the most holy Mary and St. Joseph, in payment for our sins, in suffrage for the holy souls in Purgatory, for the wants of our Holy Mother the Church, and for the conversion of sinners. Amen.

Ejaculations

"May the Sacred Heart of Jesus be loved everywhere."

"Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, pray for us."

"St. Joseph, model and patron of those who love the Sacred Heart, pray for us."

Preparatory Meditation

Let us for a moment, in company with the Sacred Heart, descend in spirit into the consuming flames of Purgatory.

How many of these souls are beginning their painful imprisonment this very moment! How many of them have been there for a long time and shall be there for a longer time to come! And what a holy legion, almost entirely purified and cleansed at the present moment, shall rise to heaven this very day!

How happy the Poor Souls are! They have escaped hell forever. They are certain to obtain eternal happiness. They are friends of God; they are saved.

And yet, how miserable they are at the same time. They must still suffer temporal punishment for the sins which have been already forgiven them. The gates of the heavenly fatherland are still closed to them; they are sentenced to expiating fire.

Behold them in their present plight! Listen to their lamentations! Speak to them a word of friendship and sympathy, and hasten to their assistance!

De Profundis

Psalm 129

Out of the depths I have cried unto Thee, O Lord, Lord hear my voice.

Let Thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplication.

If Thou, O Lord, shalt mark our iniquities, O Lord, who can abide it?

For with Thee there is mercy; and by reason of Thy law I have waited on Thee, O Lord.

My soul hath waited on His word; my soul hath hoped in the Lord.

From the morning watch even unto the night, let Israel hope in the Lord.

For with the Lord there is mercy; and with Him is plenteous redemption.

And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.

V. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord.

R. And let perpetual light shine upon them.


Sunday

Regret: Wasted time.

Pious Exercises

Resolution: To assist the souls of priest, religious, and all those in Purgatory who have been faithful to this devotion all their lives. I also recommend myself to those who are entering heaven at this moment.

Thought for the Day: The sufferings of the souls in Purgatory are so great that a single day appears to them like a thousand years.

Exercise: Ejaculations in honor of the divine Heart for the comfort and consolation of the poor souls.

Special Intention: Implore the divine Heart of Jesus to grant relief to the most forsaken soul in Purgatory.

Motive: The greater the abandonment of a soul, the greater will be its gratitude towards you, It will obtain for you the privilege never to be forsaken by God through the withdrawal of His grace, and never to abandon Him by committing sin.

Prayer

O Lord God Almighty, I pray Thee, by the Precious Blood which Thy divine Son Jesus shed in the garden, deliver the souls in Purgatory and especially that soul which is most destitute of spiritual aid; and vouchsafe to bring it to Thy glory, there to praise and bless Thee forever. Amen.

Our Father . . . Hail Mary

Ejaculation

Sweet Heart of Jesus, make me love Thee ever more and more.

Monday

Regret: Extravagance in the use of earthly possessions.

Pious Exercises

Resolution: To assist the souls of the faithful departed from all parts of Europe. I also recommend myself to those who are entering heaven at this moment.

Thought for the Day: "The gates of heaven are opened by alms." (St. John Chrys. hom. 32 in Ep. ad Heb.)

Exercise: Give an alms for the propagation of the devotion to the divine Heart of Jesus.

Special Intention: Pray for the soul nearest to heaven.

Motive: The closer the soul is to the end of its sufferings, the more ardently will it long for union with the Sacred Heart. Remove, therefore, the obstacles still in its way. In return, it will obtain for you the grace to sever the ties which now prevent you from giving yourself entirely to God.

Prayer

O Lord God Almighty, I pray Thee, by the Precious Blood which Thy divine Son Jesus shed in His cruel scourging, deliver the souls in Purgatory and that soul especially which is nearest to its entrance into Thy glory; that so it may forthwith begin to praise and bless Thee forever. Amen.

Our Father . . . Hail Mary

Ejaculation

Sweet Heart of Mary, be my salvation!

Tuesday

Regret: Neglect of so many splendid graces.

Pious Exercises

Resolution: To assist the souls of the faithful departed from all parts of Asia, particularly from Palestine and from countries infested with idolatry, schism and heresy. I also recommend myself to those who are entering heaven at this moment.

Thought for the Day: "The benefit of a single grace is greater than all the material value of the whole world." (St. Thomas 1, 2, P, 113a IX ad.2)

Exercise: Offer the Poor Souls, by way of suffrage, the benefit of some indulgence gained by prayers or some devotional exercise in honor of the divine Heart of Jesus.

Special Intention: Pray for the soul in Purgatory which is farthest from eternal rest.

Motive: Let yourself be moved by the abandonment, resignation and humility with which that soul bears its long suffering; it will be grateful to you. Happy will you be, if it obtains for you the virtue of humility in this world, so that you may be exalted in the next.

Prayer

O Lord God Almighty, I pray Thee, by the Precious Blood which Thy divine Son Jesus shed in the bitter crowning with thorns, deliver the souls in Purgatory and in particular that soul which would be the last to depart out of this place of suffering, that it might not tarry so long before it comes to praise and bless Thee forever. Amen.

Our Father . . . Hail Mary

Ejaculation

Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Precious Blood of Jesus Christ in satisfaction for my sins and in supplication for the Holy Souls in Purgatory, and for the needs of the Holy Church.

Wednesday

Regret: The evil which I have done.

Pious Exercises

Resolution: To assist the souls of the faithful departed from Africa, particularly from those countries in Africa which were formerly Catholic, and are now returning to our holy Faith. I also recommend myself to those who are entering heaven at this moment.

Thought for the Day: "What doth it profit a man, if he gain the whole world and suffer the loss of his own soul?" (Math. 16,25)

Exercise: Make an act of contrition in union with the souls in Purgatory, before a picture of the Sacred Heart.

Special Intention: Pray for the soul richest in merits.

Motive: The more exalted a soul is in heaven, the more effective will be its request for true love of God for you, without which there is no real merit.

Prayer

O Lord God Almighty, I pray Thee, by the Precious Blood which Thy divine Son Jesus shed in the streets of Jerusalem, when He carried the Cross upon His sacred shoulders, deliver the souls in Purgatory and especially that soul which is richest in merits before Thee, that so, in that throne of glory which awaits it, it may magnify Thee and bless Thee forever. Amen.

Our Father . . . Hail Mary

Ejaculation

Jesus, Mary, Joseph, I give you my heart and my soul.

Jesus, Mary, Joseph, assist me in my last agony.

Jesus, Mary, Joseph, may I breathe forth my soul in peace with you.

Thursday

Regret: The scandal which I have given.

Pious Exercises

Resolution: To assist the souls of the faithful departed from North and South America, especially those of my native town. I also recommend myself to those who are entering heaven at this moment.

Thought for the Day: "The Son of man will render to everyone according to his works." (Math. 16,27 )

Exercise: Give someone a picture or book treating of the Sacred Heart.

Special Intention: Pray for the soul which had the greatest devotion to the Most Blessed Sacrament.

Motive: That soul will obtain for you the grace to receive Holy Communion worthily at the hour of death as a pledge of your eternal salvation.

Prayer

O Lord God Almighty, I pray Thee, by the Precious Blood of Thy divine Son Jesus, which He gave with His own hands upon the eve of His Passion to His beloved Apostles to be their food and drink, and which He left to His whole Church to be a perpetual sacrifice and life-giving food of His own faithful people, deliver the souls in Purgatory and especially that one which was most devoted to this mystery of infinite love, that it may with Thy same divine Son, and with Thy Holy Spirit, ever praise Thee for Thy love therein in eternal glory. Amen.

Our Father . . . Hail Mary

Ejaculation

My Jesus! Mercy!

Friday

Regret: My neglect of acts of mortification.

Pious Exercises

Resolution:To assist the souls of the faithful departed from the far distant countries of Oceania, particularly from the most difficult, severely tried Catholic mission districts. I also recommend myself to those who are entering heaven at this moment.

Thought for the Day: "Bring forth therefore worthy fruits of penance." (Luke 3, 8)

Exercise: Offer to the Sacred Heart a little act of mortification for the relief of the suffering souls in Purgatory.

Special Intention: Pray for the souls for which you are most bound to pray.

Motive: If you are indebted to these souls by an obligation of justice, do not postpone it, because this may call down the wrath of God upon yourself.

Prayer

O Lord God Almighty, I pray Thee, by the Precious Blood which Thy divine Son Jesus shed on this day upon the wood of the Cross, especially from His most sacred hands and feet, deliver the souls in Purgatory and in particular that soul for which I am most bound to pray; that no neglect of mine may hinder it from praising and blessing Thee forever. Amen.

Our Father . . . Hail Mary

Ejaculation

Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart like unto Thine.

Saturday

Regret: The little amount of charity I have shown the Poor Souls in my life on earth.

Pious Exercises

Resolution: To assist the souls of the faithful departed from the mission fields of Melanesia and Mikronesia. (New Ireland, New Britain, the Solomon, Gilbert and Marshall Islands and New Guinea) I also recommend myself to those who are entering heaven at this moment.

Thought for the Day: Thus spoke the guilt-burdened brothers of innocent Joseph one to another: " We deserve to suffer these things, because we have sinned against our brother, seeing the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore, is this affliction come upon us. " (Gen. 42, 21)

Exercise: Spread, as much as possible, the devotion "Daily Pilgrimage to Purgatory".

Special Intention: Pray for the soul which had the greatest devotion to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart.

Motive: In doing so you cause the Mother of God great delight; she will obtain for you, through the intercession of this soul, the grace of a true devotion to the Sacred Heart.

Prayer

O Lord God Almighty, I beseech Thee, by the Precious Blood which gushed forth from the side of The Divine Son Jesus, in the sight of, and to the extreme pain of His most holy Mother, deliver the souls in Purgatory and especially that soul which was the most devout to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart and Queen of Heaven; that it may soon attain unto Thy glory, there to praise Thee in her, and her in Thee, world without end. Amen.

Our Father . . . Hail Mary

Ejaculation

Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, pray for us.

The Heroic Act of Charity

In Favor of the Poor Souls in Purgatory

O my God, in union with the merits of Jesus and Mary, I offer Thee for the souls in Purgatory, all my satisfactory works, as well as those which may be applied to me by others during my life, and after my death. And, so as to be more agreeable to the divine Heart of Jesus and more helpful to the departed, I place them all in the hands of the merciful Virgin Mary.

Invocations

We beseech Thee, O Lord, help the souls detained in the fire of Purgatory, whom Thou hast redeemed with Thy precious Blood.

Dear Lord, grant them (him/her) eternal rest.

Our Lady of Guadalupe

Our Lady of Guadalupe - December 12th

In 1531, a poor Indian, who had been baptized Juan Diego, was walking through the Mexican countryside to attend mass in honor of Our Lady. He heard beautiful music and saw a radiant cloud. In it appeared a beautiful Lady. She spoke in his native language and wore native dress. She sent him to the Bishop to tell him to build a chapel on that spot. The Bishop asked for a sign from the Lady. Juan was going to visit her but his uncle became seriously ill so he tried to avoid her. But he had to use the same path to see his uncle. She appeared to him again and told him his uncle would be cured and to cut some roses that were growing on the top of the hill. This was a cold December day. He did as she requested and brought the roses to the Bishop wrapped in his tilma (cape). When the Bishop opened the tilma, there was a magnificent picture of the Blessed Virgin Mary. When St. Juan Diego next saw his uncle, he had been completed cured as the Lady had said. Until this time few natives had converted to Catholicism, within a few years millions had. Our Lady of Guadalupe is the Patron of the Americas and Her shine is one of the most visited.

This week pray a Rosary in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe, her feast day is December 12th.

The Story of Our Lady of Guadalupe

In Mexico in 1531, God permitted Our Lady to appear to a recently converted Aztec Indian named Juan Diego. To him was given arguably the greatest treasure in the church - the tilma of Our Lady of Guadalupe, a true image of Mary the Mother of Jesus, when she was with child.

When Juan Diego first saw the Blessed Mother, he was a 57 year old widower and she seemed to him to be about 18. She appeared to him 4 times, and once to his uncle Juan Bernadino, who was cured of his sickness. When first Juan saw her it was at the foot of the Tepeyac Hill (in what is now Mexico City). She was in a brilliant light, and called to him softly. She told him that she was the ever Virgin, Holy Mary, Mother of the True God who is the Author of Life, the Creator of all things, the Lord of Heaven and Earth, present everywhere. Her purpose in coming was to ask Juan Diego to tell the bishop that she wished a sanctuary to be erected in that place where she would be honoured.

"Here I will show myself as a loving Mother to you and to all those born in these lands, and to all those who love me and trust in me, for I am your loving mother."

When the Spanish bishop asked for a sign to prove Juan Diego's story, Our Lady gave Castille roses, which she herself arranged in the Indian's cloak or 'tilma', telling Juan to show them to no-one but the bishop. When he did so, the roses cascaded forth, revealing on the tilma a miraculous image of Our Lady as she had shown herself to Juan Diego.

Scientists from the NASA Research Centre have carried out extensive tests on the fabric and image and have discovered no scientific explanation, since the picture is neither painted, dyed or woven. It is made from the fibres of the maguey cactus and it has not been treated with sizing, a fabric of which the ordinary life span is 20 years. Enlargements were made and it was discovered that the reflection of the bishop looking in astonishment could clearly be seen in the pupil of Our Lady's eyes (more information below). This hidden miracle has been kept for the 20th century, an age where there is so little faith.

The name Guadalupe comes from an ancient shrine of Our Lady in Spain. The bishop was unable to understand the Indian name of Tecoatlexpeuh, which means "she who crushes the head of the serpent", and thought it sounded like 'de Guadalupe', by which name it has been known ever since. Within 7 years of the apparitions, 9,000,000 Indians had converted to Christianity from their pagan Aztec religion. It is the greatest outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the history of the Church.

To the Indians the picture told the great truths of Christianity. Mary is robed with the sun and is standing on the moon. The Aztecs offered human sacrifices on a massive scale so as 'to keep the natural order in creation'. She is wearing the dress of an Aztec princess, and the black sash at her waist indicates that she is pregnant. When the image was crowned by the Papal Envoy on 12th December 1981, to celebrate the 450th anniversary of the feast of the roses, a great light shone forth from her womb over the whole congregation in the Basilica. This miracle lasted for 20 minutes, could be seen by all present, and was visible even on television. Our Lady is supported by her Guardian Angel, Saint Michael. Together they brought to an end the practice of human sacrifice by the Aztecs, and together, by the power of God, they will bring to an end the killing by abortion of unborn babies in our own times.

The figure of Our Lady is 4'11" high. It is unutterably beautiful and deeply compelling. Her hands are joined in prayer. Our Lady of Guadalupe is silent and humble, but her words to Juan Diego are a comfort for us all:

"...Know for certain that I am the perfect and perpetual Virgin Mary, Mother of the True God...here I will show and offer all my love, my compassion and protection to the people. I am your merciful Mother, the Mother of all who love me, of those who cry to me, of those who have confidence in me. Here I will hear their weeping and their sorrows...their necessities and misfortunes..Listen and let it penetrate your heart...

Do not be troubled or weighed down with grief. Do not fear any illness or vexation, anxiety or pain. Am I not here who am your Mother? Are you not under my shadow and my protection? Am I not your fountain of life? Are you not in the fold of my mantle? In the crossing of my arms? Is there anything else you need?"

Discoveries about the tilma of the Virgin of Guadalupe

Empress of America
Would you like to read something that will not only surprise you, but might change your way of thinking forever.....? Then read what science has discovered about the tilma of the Virgin of Guadalupe:
1. Ophthalmalgic studies made on the eyes of Mary detected that when the eye is exposed to light, the retina contracts, and when the light is withdrawn, it returns to a dilated state, just as happens with a living eye.
2. The temperature of Juan Diego's tilma, made of a material that comes from fibers of the maguey cactus, maintains a constant temperature of 98.6 degrees, the same as that of a living human body.
3. One of the doctors who analyzed the tilma placed his stethoscope below the black band at Mary's waist, and heard rhythmic beats at 115 pulses per minute, the same as that of a baby in the maternal womb.
4. No sign of paint has been discovered on the tilma. From a distance of 3-4 inches from the image, one can see only the maguey cactus fibers of the material: the colors disappear. Scientific studies have not been able to discover the origin of the coloration, nor the way the image was painted. They cannot detect vestiges of brush strokes or any other known painting technique. NASA scientists confirm that the paint material does not belong to any known element on earth.
5. When the material was examined under a laser ray, it was shown that there is no coloration on the front or the back of the cloth, and that the colors hover at a distance of 3/10th of a millimeter (1/100th of an inch) over the cloth, without touching it. The colors actually float above the surface of the tilma. Isn't that amazing?
6. The rough material of the tilma has a lifespan of no more than 20-30 years. Several centuries ago, a replica of the image was painted on an identical piece of maguey cloth and it disintegrated after several decades. Nonetheless, during the almost 500 years of the miracle, the cloth with the image of Mary remains as strong as it was on the first day. Science cannot explain why the material has not disintegrated.
7. In the year 1791, muriatic acid accidentally spilled on the upper right side of the tilma. During the period of 30 days, without any special treatment, the affected fabric re-constituted itself miraculously.

8. The stars that appear on the mantle of Mary reflect the exact configuration of positions that could be seen in the sky of Mexico on the day the miracle happened.
On the right side of the Virgin's mantle, the southern constellations are indicated:
At the top are 4 stars that form part of the Orphiuchus constellation.
Below it to the left, we find Libra, and to its right, at what seems an arrow point, is the beginning of Scorpio.
In the middle are the constellations of Lupus and, to its left, an end point of Hydra.
Further down, we can clearly see the Southern Cross: above it appears the slightly inclined square of the Centaurus constellation.

On the left side of the Virgin's mantle we see the northern constellations:
At her shoulder, a fragment of the stars of the Herdsman constellation; below it and to the left is the Great Bear. To its right is Berenice's Hair; below it, Hunting Dogs, and to its left, the Thuban, which is the brightest star of the Draco constellation.
Below the 2 parallel stars (which still form part of the Big Bear) we find stars from another pair of constellations: the Auriga and, at the bottom, 3 stars of Taurus.
Thus, in their totality and proper places, the 46 most brilliant stars that can be seen on the horizon of the Valley of Mexico are identified.
9. In the year 1921, a man concealed a high power bomb in a flower arrangement and placed it at the feet of the tilma. The explosion destroyed everything around it, except for the tilma which remained intact.

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10. Scientists discovered that the eyes of Mary have the 3 refractive characteristics of a human eye.
11. In the eyes of Mary (only about 1/3rd inch in size), miniscule human figures were discovered that no artist could have painted. The same scene is repeated in each eye.
Using digital technology, the images in the eyes were enlarged many times, revealing that each eye reflected the figure of the Indian Juan Diego opening his tilma in front of Bishop Zumarraga. Do you know the size of this scene? One fourth of a millimeter (1/100th of an inch).

It is evident that all these unexplainable things were given to us for a reason:
To catch our attention. Have they caught yours?
To close, let us look at 3 surprising facts:
1. In the Indian language, 'Guadalupe' means to "crush the head of the serpent." It properly refers to Genesis 3:15 - Mary, the conqueror of evil.
2. The image also depicts a detail from Apocalypse 12: "And a great sign appeared in Heaven: a woman clothed with the sun and the moon under her feet."
3. The Virgin wears a black band at her waist, which symbolizes pregnancy, to indicate that God wanted Jesus to be born in the 3 Americas, in the heart of each American. "While I live I will praise the Lod: I will sing praise unto my God while I have any being" (Ps 146:2)

The Virgin will be with you always, whenever you need her - she will never abandon you

This presentation has the single purpose of demonstrating this to you.
- you will always be Mary's special son or daughter.
Never forget the words Mary spoke to Juan Diego:
"My little child, the smallest of all, let nothing afflict you.
Do you not know that you are in my lap?
Am I not here, I, who am your mother?"

For more info about this presentation put together by Andre Fernando Garcia, click here.
For JPII's prayer to Our Lady of Guadalupe - on his 1st foreign trip as Pope, in 1979 to Mexico, click here.

Return to our ROOTS

I am SO very happy to have read this morning that next year the Mass will basically return to the pre-Vatican II form! I wasn't sure I'd live to see this. I was so happy, I cried tears of joy! I remember when it changed in the 60's ... my dear Father said, as did many others, that it took away the mystery of the Mass. Not only did it go from Latin to English, but many of the words were changed as well. Many Parishes have now returned to the Latin Vulgate versions, but now even the words are back. For example .. a point of contention was in the Consecration. The way it always was, which it has now returned to, states: "TAKE THIS, ALL OF YOU, AND DRINK FROM IT: FOR THIS IS THE CHALICE OF MY BLOOD, THE BLOOD OF THE NEW AND ETERNAL COVENANT; WHICH WILL BE POURED OUT FOR YOU AND FOR MANY FOR THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS. DO THIS IN MEMORY OF ME." This as we know was changed to: "TAKE THIS, ALL OF YOU, AND DRINK FROM IT: THIS IS THE CUP OF MY BLOOD, THE BLOOD OF THE NEW AND EVERLASTING COVENANT. IT WILL BE SHED FOR YOU AND FOR ALL SO THAT SINS MAY BE FORGIVEN. DO THIS IN MEMORY OF ME."
Certainly ALL people are offered salvation, but NOT ALL will accept.
This IS a wonderful day indeed and I for one, just can't wait to actually see and hear these wonderful changes that have been long overdue.
I noticed too that mention of SIN and MERCY are more pronounced which is very good too ... we were well on the way to forgetting about those things. Hopefully now, Confession will make a comeback as well :)
My other joy would be to bring the Tabernacle back to the main focus of the Altar as It should be and to have the priest face the altar again instead of the people ... but for now, I'm happy with this ... Praise God!
:)