Novena to Our Lady of the Atonement - begins June 30th - July 8th

To take part in the Novena:

On each day, if possible, assist at Holy Mass, and go to Confession and Communion at least once during the Novena.

The following prayers are recommended to be said daily:

One decade of the Rosary
(One Our Father, ten Hail Marys, one Glory be.)

Memorare of St. Bernard
Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thy intercession, was left unaided.  Inspired with this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother. To thee do I come; before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy, hear and answer me. Amen.

The Three-Fold Salutation
We salute thee, Holy Mary, Daughter of God the Father, and entreat thee to obtain for us a devotion like thine own to the most sweet Will of God.

We salute thee, Virgin Mother of God the Son, and entreat thee to obtain for us such union with the Sacred Heart of Jesus, that our own hearts may burn with love for God and an ardent zeal for the salvation of souls.

We salute thee, Immaculate Spouse of God the Holy Ghost, and entreat thee to obtain for us such yielding of ourselves to the Blessed Spirit, that He may, in all things, direct and rule our hearts, and that we may never grieve Him in thought, word, or deed.

The Litany
Lord have mercy upon us.
Christ have mercy upon us.
Lord, have mercy upon us. Christ hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.

God, the Father of Heaven,
have mercy upon us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world,
have mercy upon us.
God, the Holy Ghost,
have mercy upon us.
Holy Trinity, one God,
have mercy upon us.

Our Lady of the Atonement, Daughter of God the Father,
pray for us.
Our Lady of the Atonement, Mother of God the Son,
pray for us.
Our Lady of the Atonement, Spouse of God the Holy Ghost,
pray for us.
Our Lady of the Atonement, standing by the Cross,
pray for us.
Our Lady of the Atonement, given to us as a Mother,
pray for us.
Our Lady of the Atonement, our Mediatrix,
pray for us.
Our Lady of the Atonement, firm Hope,
pray for us.
Our Lady of the Atonement, sure Refuge,
pray for us.
Our Lady of the Atonement, Mother of Divine Love,
pray for us.
Our Lady of the Atonement, Shepherdess of the wandering sheep,
pray for us.
Our Lady of the Atonement, pillar of Unity,
pray for us.
Our Lady of the Atonement, Mother of Conversions,
pray for us.
Our Lady of the Atonement, Mother of the outcast,
pray for us.
Our Lady of the Atonement, Star of the pagans,
pray for us.
Our Lady of the Atonement, Mother of missionaries,
pray for us.
Our Lady of the Atonement, Mother most sorrowful,
pray for us.
Our Lady of the Atonement, Lily of Israel,
pray for us.
Our Lady of the Atonement, Model of resignation,
pray for us.
Our Lady of the Atonement, Haven of peace,
pray for us.
Our Lady of the Atonement, Comfort of the afflicted,
pray for us.
Our Lady of the Atonement, Guide of the doubtful,
pray for us.
Our Lady of the Atonement, Welcomer of the pilgrims,
pray for us.
Our Lady of the Atonement, Handmaid of the Father,
pray for us.
Our Lady of the Atonement, Mirror of the Son,
pray for us.
Our Lady of the Atonement, Queen of the Precious Blood,
pray for us.
Our Lady of the Atonement, true Model,
pray for us.
Our Lady of the Atonement, strong Protectress,
pray for us.
Our Lady of the Atonement, hailed by the Archangel Gabriel,
pray for us.
Our Lady of the Atonement, Splendor of Heaven,
pray for us.
Our Lady of the Atonement, Delight of the Saints,
pray for us.
Our Lady of the Atonement, Strength of the weak,
pray for us.
Our Lady of the Atonement, Comfort of the dying,
pray for us.
Our Lady of the Atonement, triumphant with Jesus,
pray for us.
Our Lady of the Atonement, Queen of the Universe,
pray for us.
Our Lady of the Atonement, Queen of the Children of the Atonement,
pray for us.

Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world,
Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world,
Graciously hear us, O Lord
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world,
Have mercy upon us.

Pray for us, O Blessed Mother;
That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray. O God, who didst deign that we, thy children, should invoke our Mother Mary under the title of Our Lady of the Atonement; grant that through her powerful intercession we may obtain the fullness of thy blessings; through thy Son our Savior Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost ever, one God, world without end. Amen.

Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul - June 29

Saints Peter and Paul’s Story

Peter (d. 64?) Saint Mark ends the first half of his Gospel with a triumphant climax. He has recorded doubt, misunderstanding, and the opposition of many to Jesus. Now Peter makes his great confession of faith: “You are the Messiah” (Mark 8:29b). It was one of the many glorious moments in Peter’s life, beginning with the day he was called from his nets along the Sea of Galilee to become a fisher of men for Jesus.

The New Testament clearly shows Peter as the leader of the apostles, chosen by Jesus to have a special relationship with him. With James and John he was privileged to witness the Transfiguration, the raising of a dead child to life, and the agony in Gethsemane. His mother-in-law was cured by Jesus. He was sent with John to prepare for the last Passover before Jesus’ death. His name is first on every list of apostles.

And to Peter only did Jesus say, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:17b-19).

But the Gospels prove their own trustworthiness by the unflattering details they include about Peter. He clearly had no public relations person. It is a great comfort for ordinary mortals to know that Peter also has his human weakness, even in the presence of Jesus.

He generously gave up all things, yet he can ask in childish self-regard, “What are we going to get for all this?” (see Matthew 19:27). He receives the full force of Christ’s anger when he objects to the idea of a suffering Messiah: “Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do” (Matthew 16:23b).

Peter is willing to accept Jesus’ doctrine of forgiveness, but suggests a limit of seven times. He walks on the water in faith, but sinks in doubt. He refuses to let Jesus wash his feet, then wants his whole body cleansed. He swears at the Last Supper that he will never deny Jesus, and then swears to a servant maid that he has never known the man. He loyally resists the first attempt to arrest Jesus by cutting off Malchus’ ear, but in the end he runs away with the others. In the depth of his sorrow, Jesus looks on him and forgives him, and he goes out and sheds bitter tears. The Risen Jesus told Peter to feed his lambs and his sheep (John 21:15-17).

Paul (d. 64?) If the most well-known preacher today suddenly began preaching that the United States should adopt Marxism and not rely on the Constitution, the angry reaction would help us understand Paul’s life when he started preaching that Christ alone can save us. He had been the most pharisaic of Pharisees, the most legalistic of Mosaic lawyers. Now he suddenly appears to other Jews as a heretical welcomer of Gentiles, a traitor and apostate.

Paul’s central conviction was simple and absolute: Only God can save humanity. No human effort—even the most scrupulous observance of law—can create a human good which we can bring to God as reparation for sin and payment for grace. To be saved from itself, from sin, from the devil, and from death, humanity must open itself completely to the saving power of Jesus.

Paul never lost his love for his Jewish family, though he carried on a lifelong debate with them about the uselessness of the Law without Christ. He reminded the Gentiles that they were grafted on the parent stock of the Jews, who were still God’s chosen people, the children of the promise.

Reflection

We would probably go to confession to Peter sooner than to any of the other apostles. He is perhaps a more striking example of the simple fact of holiness. Jesus says to us as he said, in effect, to Peter: “It is not you who have chosen me, but I who have chosen you. Peter, it is not human wisdom that makes it possible for you to believe, but my Father’s revelation. I, not you, build my Church.” Paul’s experience of the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus was the driving force that made him one of the most zealous, dynamic, and courageous ambassadors of Christ the Church has ever had. But persecution, humiliation, and weakness became his day-by-day carrying of the cross, material for further transformation. The dying Christ was in him; the living Christ was his life.