Christ the King Novena 11/11-12/7

Novena to Christ the King
Recite One Our Father, One Hail Mary and One Glory Be per day followed by the Novena Prayer:

O Lord our God, You alone are the Most Holy King and Ruler of all nations. We pray to You, Lord, in the great expectation of receiving from You, O Divine King, mercy, peace, justice and all good things. Protect, O Lord our King, our families and the land of our birth. Guard us we pray Most Faithful One. Protect us from our enemies and from Your Just Judgment Forgive us, O Sovereign King, our sins against you. Jesus, You are a King of Mercy. We have deserved Your Just Judgment Have mercy on us, Lord, and forgive us. We trust in Your Great Mercy. O most awe-inspiring King, we bow before You and pray; May Your Reign, Your Kingdom, be recognized on earth. Amen.

All Souls Day November 2nd

All Souls Day is a holy day set aside for honoring the dead. The day is primarily celebrated in the Catholic Church, but it is also celebrated in the Eastern Orthodox Church and a few other denominations of Christianity. The Anglican church is the largest protestant church to celebrate the holy day. Most protestant denominations do not recognize the holiday and disagree with the theology behind it.
According to Catholic belief, the soul of a person who dies can go to one of three places. The first is heaven, where a person who dies in a state of perfect grace and communion with God goes. The second is hell, where those who die in a state of mortal sin are naturally condemned by their choice. The intermediate option is purgatory, which is thought to be where most people, free of mortal sin, but still in a state of lesser (venial) sin, must go.

Purgatory is necessary so that souls can be cleansed and perfected before they enter into heaven. There is scriptural basis for this belief. The primary reference is in 2 Maccabees, 12:26 and 12:32. "Turning to supplication, they prayed that the sinful deed might be fully blotted out... Thus made atonement for the dead that they might be free from sin."
Additional references are found in Zechariah, Sirach, and the Gospel of Matthew. Jewish tradition also reinforces this belief as well as the tradition and teaching of the Church, which has been affirmed throughout history.
Consistent with these teachings and traditions, Catholics believe that through the prayers of the faithful on Earth, the dead are cleansed of their sins so they may enter into heaven.
The belief in purgatory has not been without controversy. Certainly, some flagrant abuses of the doctrine were used to raise money for the Church during the renaissance. Famously, Martin Luther argued with the monk, Johan Tetzel, over the sale of indulgences. Indulgences were sold as spiritual pardons to the poor and applied to the souls of the dead (or the living) to get people into heaven. The abuse of indulgences and the blatant, sometimes fraudulent practice of selling indulgences for money, led to Luther's protest.
When Martin Luther translated the Bible into German, he omitted the seven books of the canon which refer to prayers for the dead. He then introduced the heretical belief that people are simply saved, or not, and argued that there is no need to pray for the dead to get them into heaven.
The Church reeled from Luther's accusation, and reformed its practice of selling indulgences. However, it reemphasized the Biblical and traditional practice of praying for the departed and the importance of such prayers.
All Souls Day is celebrated in much of the western world on November 2. Other rites have their own celebrations. The Eastern Orthodox Church has several such days throughout the year, mostly on Saturdays. All Souls Day is not a holy day of obligation. It should not be confused with All Saints' Day, which is a holy day of obligation.
Many cultures also mark the day differently. In North America, Americans may say extra prayers or light candles for the departed. In parts of Latin America, families visit the graves of their ancestors and sometimes leave food offerings for the departed.

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More about All Souls' Day from Wikipedia

All Souls' Day commemorates the faithful departed. In Western Christianity, this day is observed principally in the Catholic Church, although some churches of the Anglican Communion and the Old Catholic Churches also celebrate it. The Eastern Orthodox churches observe several All Souls' Days during the year. The Roman Catholic celebration is associated with the doctrine that the souls of the faithful who at death have not been cleansed from the temporal punishment due to venial sins and from attachment to mortal sins cannot immediately attain the beatific vision in heaven, and that they may be helped to do so by prayer and by the sacrifice of the Mass (see Purgatory).^[1] In other words, when they died, they had not yet attained full sanctification and moral perfection, a requirement for entrance into Heaven. This sanctification is carried out posthumously in Purgatory.
The official name of the celebration in the Roman Rite liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church is "The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed".^[1]
Another popular name in English is Feast of All Souls. In some other languages the celebration, not necessarily on the same date, is known as Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos or de los Difuntos in Spanish-speaking countries; halottak napja in Hungary; Yom el Maouta in Lebanon, Israel and Syria).
The Western celebration of All Souls' Day is on 2 November and follows All Saints' Day, which commemorates the departed who have attained the beatific vision. If 2 November falls on a Sunday, the Mass is of All Souls, but the Office is that of the Sunday. However, Morning and Evening Prayer (Lauds and Vespers) for the Dead, in which the people participate, may be said. In pre-1969 calendars, which some still follow, and in the Anglican Communion, All Souls Day is instead transferred, whenever 2 November falls on a Sunday, to the next day, 3 November, as in 2008.
The Eastern Orthodox Church dedicates several days throughout the year to the dead, mostly on Saturdays, because of Jesus' resting in the tomb on Saturday.

The Western celebration

All Souls' Day procession, Tucson, Arizona, 2008

Historically, the Western tradition identifies the general custom of praying for the dead dating as far back as 2 Maccabees 12:42-46. The custom of setting apart a special day for intercession for certain of the faithful on November 2 was first established by St. Odilo of Cluny (d. 1048) at his abbey of Cluny in 998.^[2] From Cluny the custom spread to the other houses of the Cluniac order, which became the largest and most extensive network of monasteries in Europe. The celebration was soon adopted in several dioceses in France, and spread throughout the Western Church. It was accepted in Rome only in the fourteenth century. While 2 November remained the liturgical celebration, in time the entire month of November became associated in the Western Catholic tradition with prayer for the departed; lists of names of those to be remembered being placed in the proximity of the altar on which the sacrifice of the mass is offered.^[3]
The legend connected with its foundation is given by Peter Damiani in his Life of St Odilo: a pilgrim returning from the Holy Land was cast by a storm on a desolate island. A hermit living there told him that amid the rocks was a chasm communicating with purgatory, from which perpetually rose the groans of tortured souls. The hermit also claimed he had heard the demons complaining of the efficacy of the prayers of the faithful, and especially the monks of Cluny, in rescuing their victims. Upon returning home, the pilgrim hastened to inform the abbot of Cluny, who then set 2 November as a day of intercession on the part of his community for all the souls in Purgatory.

Eastern-Rite Catholics and the Eastern Orthodox churches

Among Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Christians, there are several All Souls' Days during the year. Most of these fall on Saturday, since Jesus lay in the Tomb on Holy Saturday. These are referred to as Soul Saturdays. They occur on the following occasions:

• The Saturday of Meatfare Week (the second Saturday before Great Lent).the day before the Sunday of the Last Judgement
• The second Saturday of Great Lent
• The third Saturday of Great Lent
• The fourth Saturday of Great Lent
• Radonitsa (Monday or Tuesday after Thomas Sunday)
• The Saturday before Pentecost
• Demetrius Saturday (the Saturday before the feast of Saint Demetrius of Thessaloniki.26 October) (In the Bulgarian Orthodox Church there is a commemoration of the dead on the Saturday before the feast of Saint Michael the Archangel.8 November, instead of the Demetrius Soul Saturday)

(In the Serbian Orthodox Church there is also a commemoration of the dead on the Saturday closest to the Conception of St. John the Baptist.23 September)
Saturdays throughout the year are devoted to general prayer for the departed, unless some greater feast or saint's commemoration occurs.

Protestantism and Roman Catholic Church

At the Reformation the celebration of All Souls' Day was fused with All Saints' Day in the Anglican Church, though it was renewed individually in certain churches in connection with the Catholic Revival of the 19th century. The observance was restored with the publication of the 1980 Alternative Service Book, and it features in Common Worship as a Lesser Festival called "Commemoration of the Faithful Departed (All Souls' Day)".

Among continental Protestants its tradition has been more tenaciously maintained. Even Luther's influence was not sufficient to abolish its celebration in Saxony during his lifetime; and, though its ecclesiastical sanction soon lapsed even in the Lutheran Church, its memory survives strongly in popular custom. Just as it is the custom of French people, of all ranks and creeds, to decorate the graves of their dead on the jour des morts, so German ^[3] and Polish people stream to the graveyards once a year with offerings of flowers and special grave lights (see the picture), and among Czech people the custom of visiting and tidying graves of relatives on the day is quite common even among atheists. In North America, however, most Protestant acknowledgment of the holiday is generally secular, celebrated in the form of Halloween festivities.

Folklore

The origins of All Souls' Day in European folklore and folk belief are related to customs of ancestor veneration^{[citation needed]} practised worldwide, through events such as the Chinese Ghost Festival, the Japanese Bon Festival, or the Mexican Day of the Dead. The Roman custom was that of the Lemuria.
In Tirol, cakes are left for them on the table and the room kept warm for their comfort. In Brittany, people flock to the cemeteries at nightfall to kneel, bareheaded, at the graves of their loved ones, and to anoint the hollow of the tombstone with holy water or to pour libations of milk on it. At bedtime, the supper is left on the table for the souls.
In Bolivia, many people believe that the dead eat the food that is left out for them. In Brazil people attend a mass or visit the cemetery taking flowers to decorate their relatives' grave, but no food is involved.

Saint Jude Thaddeus - October 28th

Often called “The Miraculous Saint”, Saint Jude is the patron saint of "lost causes" and "cases despaired
of " , when all other avenues are closed, he is the one to call upon, and his help often comes at the last moment. He is one whose aid is sought when all hope is lost, especially in grave health matters and life-and-death situations.

Saint Jude Thaddeus was closely associated with our Lord by blood relationship through Saints Joachim and Anne, the parents of the Blessed Virgin. A grand-nephew of these two saints, he is at once a nephew of Mary and Joseph, which places him in the relationship of cousin of our Lord. Saint Jude is known mainly as the author of the New Testament Epistle of Jude He heartens Christians to remain steadfast in the faith and foretells that false teachers, leading wicked lives and ridiculing religion, will arise, but that they will be punished. He likewise encourages Christians to build a spiritual edifice by living lives founded upon faith, love of God, hope, and prayer. He inspires the practice of love of neighbor; he urges Christians to endeavor to convert the heretics by the virtues of their lives.

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Prayer in Great Affliction

St. Jude Thaddeus, relative of Jesus Christ, glorious Apostle and martyr, renowned for your virtues and miracles, faithful and
prompt intercessor of all who honor you and trust in you! You are a powerful patron and helper in great afflictions. I entreat you from the depths of my heart; come to my aid with your powerful intercession, for you have received from God the privilege to assist with your visible help those who almost despair of all hope. Look down upon me. Time and again I find myself discouraged and depressed by the troubles I must face. I know that others around me have burdens as heavy or heavier than mine but I sometimes come close to despairing that I will be able to continue carrying mine. Overwhelmed by these thoughts, I ask your help.
Do not forsake me in my sadness. Hasten to my aid. I will be grateful to you all my life and will honor you as my special patron. I will thank God for the graces bestowed upon you, and will encourage honor to you to best of my ability. Amen.

Let Us Pray

Glorious Apostle and martyr, St. Jude Thaddeus, whose life and accomplishments we celebrate and who used your gifts and talents to bring Christ's love to many people, pray for us today that the love of Christ in our lives may increase. Pray that we may renounce every sinful habit and refrain from all selfish actions. May we always know your intercession in danger and difficulty, and may we safely reach heaven to adore with you the most Holy Trinity, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, forever and ever. Amen.

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PRAYER TO ST. JUDE

O, Great Saint Jude
Whose traitor-sounding name
By man's perceptions crude
Confused is with the obloquy and blame
Of him who to our gain and his disaster
Betrayed so kind a Master;
We, seeing more clear, concede thee what was thine;
The glory of a place beside that board
Whereon, awaiting their predestined hour
Of bowing to all-Good, all-Love, all-Power,
Lay bread and wine
Before that Host adored
Through whom our hope and our salvation came;
Thy kinsman, and our Lord.
O, thou, the sad day done,
Taking the homeward road
To thine obscure abode
In the long shadows of the setting sun,
To meet the frightened crowd
Sobbing aloud,
With thine Aunt Mary silent in their midst,
Leaning upon
The faithful arm of John;
Saint Jude, who didst
Join them in unbelief
And utter agony of grief,
And in a voice of pain and terror cried:
"Saw'st thou--and thou--
Saws't thou indeed my Cousin crucified?"
O, by the memory of that hour of birth
Wherein Heaven's door opened to us of earth,
Befriend--befriend us now!

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St. Anthony Mary Claret

St. Anthony Mary Claret CLARETIAN ARCHBISHOP AND FOUNDER - Patron of Weavers, Savings, and Publishers
Born: December 23, 1807, Sallent - Died: October 24, 1870, Fontfroide - Canonized: May 7, 1950 by Pope Pius XII

The founder of the Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Anthony Mary Claret died in the Cistercian monastery at Fontfroide in France on this date in 1870. He was canonized in 1950 and listed in the Roman Calendar in 1960. Anthony was born at Salent in the Diocese of Vich in Catalonia, Spain, in the year in which Napoleon invaded Spain. He was trained for manual labor, since his father was a weaver, but in 1829 he entered the seminary at Vich. Ordained to the priesthood in 1835, he was assigned as pastor in his home parish. Later he went to Rome to work for the Propagation of the Faith. He also entered the novitiate of the Jesuits but had to leave because of ill health, so he returned to Spain and was assigned as pastor of a parish. His apostolate consisted of rural preaching, conferences for the clergy and publications (he wrote more than 150 books). Because of his successful apostolate he aroused the animosity of some of the clergy and as a result he left Catalonia for the Canary Islands (1848).

After a year he returned to Catalonia and resumed his preaching apostolate.In 1849 Anthony gathered together five priests who formed the basis of the Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (popularly known as Claretians). At the suggestion of the Queen of Spain, Isabella II, Anthony was named archbishop of Santiago, Cuba (1850). For the next seven years he made pastoral visitations, preached against the slavery of the Negroes, and regularized numerous marriages. As a result of his activity he was frequently threatened with death and on one occasion an attempt was actually made on his life. In 1857 he was recalled to Spain as confessor to the queen. In this way he was able to exert some influence in the naming of bishops, set up a center of ecclesiastical studies at the Escorial, and work towards the recognition of religious orders in Spain. In 1869 he was in Rome, preparing for the First Vatican Council. He followed Isabella II into exile and at the insistence of the Spanish ambassador, was placed under house arrest in the Cistercian monastery at FontFroide, where he died at the age of 63. His remains were ultimately returned to Vich.

SOURCE: The Catholic Encyclopedia
More info here: Our Lady of the Rosary Library

Immaculate Conception

“We declare, we pronounce, and we define that the doctrine which holds that the most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instance of her conception, by a singular privilege and grace granted by Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin, is a doctrine revealed by God and therefore to be believed firmly and constantly by all the faithful.”

The 8th of December is an important day - the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. It is also the day on which in 1947 Our Blessed Mother gave us the Hour of Grace.

Our Lady said as follows when she appeared to Sister Pierina in a little church in Montichiari, Italy: "It is my wish that every year, on 8th December, at noon, the HOUR OF GRACE FOR THE WORLD be celebrated. Many divine and bodily graces will be received through this devotion. Our Lord, my Divine Son Jesus, will send His overflowing mercy if good people will pray continuously for their sinful brother.... it is my wish that the HOUR OF GRACE FOR THE WORLD be made known and spread throughout the world. If anyone is unable to visit his church, yet will pray at home, he will also receive graces through me.... will find a secure heavenly ladder and receive protection and grace through my motherly heart."

THE REQUEST OF OUR BLESSED MOTHER FOR THE HOUR OF GRACE:

Our Lady promised she will hear any prayer we make at this time.

1. Day and time of the Hour of Grace: December 8th, Feast of the Immaculate Conception, to be started at 12:00 noon and continuing until 1:00 p.m. for one full hour of prayer.

2. During this hour, the person making the Hour of Grace either at home or at church must put away all distractions (do not answer the telephones, or answer any doors, or do anything but totally concentrate on your union with God during this special Hour of Grace).

3. Begin the Hour of Grace by praying three times the 51st Psalm with out-stretched arms. (Psalm 51 appears below).

4. The rest of the Hour of Grace may be spent in silent communication with God meditating upon the Passion of Jesus, saying the Holy Rosary, praising God in your own way, or by using favourite prayers, singing hymns, meditating upon other psalms, etc.



Psalm 51

1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your unfailing Love; according to Your great Compassion blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.
4 Against You, You only, have I sinned and done what is evil in Your Sight; so You are right in Your verdict and justified when You judge.
5 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
6 Yet You desired faithfulness even in the womb; You taught me wisdom in that secret place.
7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones You have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide Your Face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.
10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from Your Presence or take Your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of Your Salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
13 Then I will teach transgressors Your Ways, so that sinners will turn back to You.
14 Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, You who are God my Savior, and my tongue will sing of Your righteousness.
15 Open my lips, Lord, and my mouth will declare Your praise.
16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; You do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
17 My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart You, God, will not despise.
18 May it please You to prosper Zion, to build up the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then You will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous, in burnt offerings offered whole; then bulls will be offered on Your altar.

Chaplet of Unity ... Important - Please add to daily prayers!

The Chaplet of Unity from Jesus, King of All Nations
Don't miss Jesus' Words and Promises following the Chaplet

THE CHAPLET OF UNITY

The Chaplet is recited on ordinary rosary beads. Groups may divide the recitation between Leader (L) and Responders (R). If you are alone, recite both parts.

Recite on the large bead before each of the five decades:

L - God our Heavenly Father, through Your Son Jesus, our Victim-High Priest, True Prophet, and Sovereign King,
R - Pour forth the power of Your Holy Spirit upon us and open our hearts. In Your great mercy, through the Motherly mediation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, our Queen, forgive our sinfulness, heal our brokenness, and renew our hearts
in the Faith, and Peace, and Love, and Joy of Your Kingdom, that we may be one in You.

Recite on the ten small beads of each of the five decades:

L - In Your great mercy,
R - Forgive our sinfulness, heal our brokenness, and renew our hearts, that we may be one in You.

Conclude in unison with:

Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one God!
O Jesus, King of All Nations, may Your Reign be recognized on earth!
Mary, our Mother and Mediatrix of All Graces, pray and intercede for us, your children!
St. Michael, great prince and guardian of your people, come with the holy angels and saints and protect us!

PROMISES

Jesus spoke these words and promises to His servant's spiritual mother concerning the Chaplet of Unity:

"Pray this Chaplet of Unity under My Sovereign Kingship to the Father in My Name, as Jesus, King of All Nations. Through My

Mother's prayerful mediation and intercession to Me, I will ask the Father to pour out with abundant newness and to magnify the anointing power of the Holy Spirit upon My Church under the Holy Father, upon nations of all peoples, and upon all individual souls whom I love. This Chaplet will be a special fountain, whereby souls can come to refresh and renew themselves and to drink from the waters of My Merciful Healing Love which I will pour out on them as they pray."

"Pray My Chaplet of Unity for the suffering souls in Purgatory. They especially need the healing of My merciful graces for they cannot pray for themselves. Many will be progressively healed and I tell you multitudes released!"

"I promise to give this Chaplet of Unity great power over My wounded Sacred Heart when prayed with faith and confidence to heal the brokenness of My people's lives caused by so much sin, selfishness, error, division and disunity. Pray this Chaplet for repentance and forgiveness to open and reconcile your hearts to Mine, that you may receive My Word, and act upon My Will for you. Confession, Confession, Confession, My children! Confess your sins to Me through My priests that I may cover you with My Mercy. Pray this Chaplet that a renewal of your hearts and minds by the Holy Spirit will lead to a daily conversion in Faith, Peace, Love, and Joy within your souls.
I promise you 'My Peace, My Divine Presence within your souls,' which the worldly-minded cannot and does not understand! My Peace knows no bounds or limits! By imploring Me in this manner, you will turn away from sin and its destructive effects, and toward a continual greater and greater abundance of graces from Me in My Mercy."

"Yes, in this devotion to Me as Jesus, King of All Nations, entreat My Kingly Heart with the prayer of this Chaplet of Unity that I Myself, your sovereign Lord Jesus Christ, have given you! Pray and ask for the spiritual wholeness and healing of your own souls, for the union of your own will with God's Will, for the healing of your families, friends, enemies, relationships, Religious Orders, communities (of all kinds), countries, nations, the world, and unity within My Church under the Holy Father! I shall grant many spiritual, physical, emotional, and psychological healings for those who pray this prayer if it is beneficial to their salvation according to My Most Holy Will! Unity and oneness in Spirit was My own prayer for all mankind and My Church as My own last testament before I gave My life as Savior of all mankind! As I Am one with My Father and the Holy Spirit, My Will is that all mankind be one in Me, so that one Faith, one Fold, and one Shepherd will be gathered together under My Sovereign Kingship as LORD."

"Yes, My beloved, by praying this Chaplet I have had you labor for, and have taught you, you will replace My great sorrow with Infinite JOY! Your life imitates My Mother who labors in My Grace by the power of the Holy Spirit to form, give birth, mature, help, reconcile and mediate to Me, your God, souls and nations of souls, to obtain the extension of My Reign in the hearts of My people, and thus I shall unite all mankind, even unto the end of time, under My Divine Reign of Kingship. Those special souls who honor Me in this devotion will do the same, and to them I promise to grant My Kingly Blessings!"

"I, Jesus, Son of the Most High God, Who AM Sovereign LORD, promise to hold out to the souls who pray My Chaplet of Unity the Scepter of My Kingship and grant them mercy, pardon, and protection in times of severe weather and plagues. I extend this promise not only for yourselves, but also for individuals for whom you pray. No, My beloved, sin and the evils committed by mankind are too great. No longer will I spare My judgment to correct the conscience of mankind as a whole. But this devotion and Chaplet prayed with repentance, confidence, and love, will heal, save, and unite souls to My Mercy who otherwise would be lost. Any harm or danger, spiritual or physical, whether it be to soul, mind, or body, will I protect these souls against, and clothe them over with My own mantle of Kingly Mercy. To this I add the promise of the assistance of My Most Holy Mother's mediation on their behalf. Even if you die, you shall not be lost, for you shall know salvation and union with Me in the Kingdom of My Father where we reign with the Holy Spirit, eternally the Divine Trinity, One God."

"Behold, I will close their wounds and give them health, and reveal to them the prayer of peace and truth" (Jer 33:6).

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Jesus, King of All Nations Devotion 144 Sheldon Road St. Albans,
Vermont
05478 (802) 524-1300

Missionary Image Catalog www.ourladyofguadalupe.org/jesuscatalog.html

Nihil Obstat: Rev. Edward Santana, J.C.D. Canonist Enrique Hernandez Rivera, D.D. Bishop of Caguas, Puerto Rico August 15, 1993

The Novena of Chaplets of Unity
Jesus told His servant's spiritual mother, "Make a Novena to Me of the Chaplet of Unity and I will powerfully and expediently answer your prayers according to My Sovereign and Most Holy Will!"

The faithful can accomplish this by choosing to repeat praying the Chaplet of Unity nine (9) times in succession. This can be done at one time, hourly or daily. "For the measure you measure with will be measured back to you"
(Lk 6:38).

Special!! Divine Mercy Chaplet - ONLY $12!!!

YEAR OF MERCY SPECIAL till 11/20/16

I had wanted to do this since the Doors of Mercy opened last December, but between the household medical emergencies and the routine daily emergencies - especially in the last 6 months, just never got to it. As I type this, I'm still wearing a wrist brace for carpel tunnel. At night I must wear the ones with the splints. Anyway. I want to offer this Divine Mercy Chaplet for just $12 during this Jubilee year of Mercy. Please, no more than 3 per order!
(And if you order 3, they're just $10 each!) Regular price $20

Click for larger image

Now, the Traditional color is of course, red. But I also have an abundance of blue crackles which I am willing to substitute if you desire, but you MUST mention this when ordering or in the PayPal instructions or email me. The cord and the bead color are the only substitutions at this special price!

I hope we can all let our lights shine brightly among all we know and even those we don't know! The world is so full of evil and injustice, we MUST NOT let this Year of Mercy go by without availing ourselves of Christ's MERCY! I personally don't think it's coincidence that next year is the centennial of our Lady of Fatima and the Pope issues this Jubilee Year of Mercy with special HOLY DOORS in every Diocese. GO TO CONFESSION, stay in the state of grace .. it's VERY VERY important now. This really could be the time that brings the triumph of our Lady's Immaculate Heart. Don't toss eternal bliss away for a few bells and whistles in a place that is passing before our eyes! If you don't know your Faith that well ... take the time to LEARN .... most people devote more time to planning a vacation than their eternity :-(  And eternity is an awfully long to to lament over what could have been easily prevented! PRAY ABOUT IT ... PRAY MORE ANYWAY AND DO PENANCE .... MAY ALL BE SAVED AND NONE BE LOST!!

THE DIVINE ANTIDOTE: THE FLAME OF LOVE GRACE, THE TRIUMPH OF THE MOTHER OF GOD AND THE NEW PENTECOST

God in His infinite Mercy has drawn you to know, understand, implement and live His Spiritual Plan for His Church, for you, and for every other person in the world at this time in salvation history, who will cooperate with God’s Divine Mercy!  This Plan is growing in urgency as Satan’s dominance shows itself as never before in the world as many people now routinely “call evil good and good evil” or do not speak out publicly against such evil.  Pope Benedict XVI has recognized the evil state of the world in many pronouncements as well as the travails of the Church, even referring to the Church as “a boat about to sink”; but he has imploringly prayed that the Triumph of Mary and her Immaculate Heart will occur by the 100^th anniversary of Fatima in 2017 and for the resultant “era of peace” that will be granted to the world.  Pope St. John Paul II has prophesized that this Triumph will cause the New Pentecost and a “New and Divine Holiness” for those who desire and cooperate with God’s extraordinary outpouring of Grace in order to “make Christ the Heart of the world”.
The successors of Peter, our Popes, have been diligently urging us to know and understand that the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary causes the New Pentecost.  The New Pentecost is the reign of the Holy Spirit in the world, which causes the “New & Divine Holiness” in the souls of those who desire it and are properly disposed to receive this very Special Grace.

This period of time has been ordained by God and was proclaimed by David in Psalm 104, Verse 30: “When you send forth your breath (Spirit), they are created, and You renew the face of the earth.”
Virtually every Pope in the last 100 years has prayed expectantly for this period of time on earth.  Pope Francis in May of 2013 wrote:  “Today’s Liturgy of Pentecost is a great prayer which the Church, in union with Jesus, raises up to the Father, asking Him to renew the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.  Today too, the Church in union with Mary cries out, Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful, enkindle in us the fire of Your Love.”  In May of 2007, Pope Benedict XVI wrote, “Today, it is Mary who leads our meditation; it is she who teaches us to pray.  It is she who shows us the way to open our minds and hearts to the power of the Holy Spirit, who comes to fill the whole world.”  (Note, where underlining is used, I have added it for emphasis).

In October of 1992, Pope John Paul II addressed the Bishops of Latin America with this prayer: “Be open to Christ, welcome the Spirit, so that a new Pentecost may take place in every community… a new humanity, a joyful one, will arise in your midst.”

In May of 1975, Pope Paul VI stated: “One must also recognize a prophetic intuition on the part of our predecessor John XXIII, who envisioned a kind of new Pentecost as a fruit of the Council.  We too have wished to place ourselves in the same perspective and in the same attitude of expectation.”

The famous words of Pope John XXIII at the opening of the Council were: “Renew your wonder in this our day, as by a new Pentecost.  Grant to your Church that, being of one mind and steadfast in prayer with Mary, the Mother of Jesus… it may advance the reign of our Divine Saviour, the reign of truth and justice, the reign of love and peace.  Amen”
And let us not think that this began only at the time of the Council, for in fact many Popes prior to this prayed for it as well.  Pope Leo XIII stated: “May Mary continue to strengthen our prayers with her suffrages, that in the midst of all the stress and trouble of the nations, those Divine prodigies may be happily revived by the Holy Spirit, which were foretold to David: Send forth thy Spirit, and thou shalt renew the face of the earth.”

In addition to the successors of Peter, we have the great Saint and proposed Doctor of the Church, St. Louis de Montfort, in his Prayer for Missionaries:
“When will it happen, this fiery deluge of pure love with which you are to set the whole world ablaze and which is to come, so gently yet so forcefully, that all nations…will be caught up in its flames and be converted?  When you breathe your Spirit into them, they are restored and the fire of the earth is renewed.  Send this all-consuming Spirit upon the earth to create priests who burn with this same fire and whose ministry will renew the face of the earth and reform your Church.”
God’s Mother has been sent by God many times to earth to warn and to teach us what is important for us to know at this time in salvation history.  As Our Lady of All Nations (confirmed by the local ordinary to be of supernatural origin), she stated on numerous occasions in Messages 48 – 56 that there will be a New Pentecost and she will cause it to happen through the power God has given to her, and through our assistance by praying a very specific prayer:
“Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Father, send now Your Spirit over the earth.  Let the Holy Spirit live in the hearts of all nations, that they may be preserved from degeneration, disaster and war.  May the Lady of All Nations, the Blessed Mother, Mary, be our advocate! Amen.”  It is critically important that all of us say this prayer every day … many times a day if possible!

Here is a sampling of the many Messages where our Mother, as Our Lady of All Nations, confirms the coming New Pentecost:
“Satan is not yet expelled.  The Lady of All Nations may now come in order to expel Satan. She comes to announce the Holy Spirit…She will defeat Satan, as has been foretold…
The world is not saved by force, the world will be saved by the Spirit…I assure you that the world will change.  Say my prayer then nations, that the Holy Spirit will really and truly come…This is the great favor that Mary, the Lady of All Nations, is allowed to bestow on the world.  In her name, ask the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, who will come now more fully than ever.”
In recent Messages, our Lord and His Mother tell Elizabeth Kindelmann of Budapest, Hungary that the New Pentecost is indeed a reality and will be caused by the constant imploring of our dear Mother, who has obtained the “greatest grace” given to mankind, since our Lord was born, died and left us the Church and the Sacraments!
This Message continued in a Spiritual Diary much like St. Faustina’s Diary, was fully approved by Cardinal Peter Erdo, who is the presiding ordinary and Archbishop of Budapest, Hungary.  This is even more extraordinary in that Cardinal Erdo is the Head of the European Bishops’ Conferences.  The messages were originally approved by Cardinal Bernadino Ruiz of Ecuador and about 6 other Bishops in the world, but the local ordinary (Cardinal Erdo), took more time to conduct a detailed, lengthy commission to study the Messages and approved them in 2009.

Elizabeth Kindelmann was a very poor mother of six, who was widowed at the age of 32.  Yes, widowed at 32 with six children and no means of support, but God provided and had a great plan for her.
Elizabeth writes in the spiritual Diary, “Our Lord spoke to me at length about the time of grace and the Spirit of Love quite comparable to the First Pentecost flooding the earth with its power.  All that is the effusion of the effect of Grace of the Blessed Virgin’s Flame of Love.  The earth has been covered in darkness, because of the lack of faith in the soul of humanity, and therefore will experience a great jolt.  This jolt, by the power of Faith, will create a new world.  Through the Flame of Love of the Blessed Virgin, Faith will take root in souls, and the face of the earth will be renewed because nothing like this happened since the Word became flesh.  The renewal of the earth, although flooded with sufferings, will come about by the power of the intercession of the Blessed Virgin.”
Our Lady at Akita, Japan (confirmed as supernatural in origin by Bishop John Ito and approved further by Pope Benedict), also confirmed that incredible sufferings will come upon the world “if men do not repent and better themselves”, and “the thought of the loss of so many souls is the cause of my sadness.”  However, our dear Mother also made this great promise:  “Whoever entrusts themselves to me will be saved.”
Our Lady of Quito, Ecuador (also approved as supernatural in origin) further confirmed the sequence of events to come, as well as the courage and perseverance of those souls (hopefully all reading this) who are being called upon to help God and His Mother right now:  “In order to free men from bondage to these heresies (which will prevail in the 20^th century), those chosen by my Holy Son to effect the restoration will need great strength of will, constancy, valor and confidence in God.  To test this Faith and Confidence of the just, there will be occasions where all will seem to be lost and paralyzed.  This, then, will be the happy beginning of the complete restoration.”
The great Marian Saint, St. Louis de Montfort, prophesized the exact same truth:  “Is it not true that Your will must be done on earth as it is in Heaven? Is it not true that Your Kingdom must come?  Did you not give to some souls, dear to You, a vision of the future renewal of the Church?  Are not the Jews to be converted to the truth and is this not what the Church is waiting for?  All the Blessed in Heaven cry out for Justice to be done, and the faithful on earth join in with them and cry out: “Amen, come Lord.”  All creatures, even the most insensitive, lie groaning under the burden of Babylon’s countless sins and plead with you to come and renew all things; we know well, that the whole creation is groaning…”
St. Louis de Montfort, who has been proposed as a Doctor of the Church for his incredible teaching and influence on the Church, prophesized the coming Triumph of Mary, which ushers in the New Pentecost.  “But Mary’s power over the evil spirits will especially shine forth in the latter times, when Satan will lie in wait for her heel, that is for her humble servants and her poor children whom she will rouse to fight against him.  They will be rich in God’s graces, which will be abundantly bestowed on them by Mary.  They will be great and exalted before God in holiness.  They will be superior to all creatures by their great zeal and so strongly will they be imparted by divine assistance that in union with Mary, they will crush the head of Satan with their heel, that is their humility, and bring victory to Jesus Christ.”
St. Louis de Montfort gives the specific chronology that perfectly accords to the Gospel, and demonstrates the reality of the new Pentecost:  “The reign attributed to God the Father lasted until the Flood and ended in a deluge of water.  The reign of Jesus Christ ended in a deluge of blood, but your reign, Spirit of the Father and Son, is still un-ended and will come to a close with a deluge of fire, love and justice.  When will it happen, this fiery deluge of pure love with which you are to set the whole world ablaze and which is to come, so gently yet so forcefully, that all Nations, Muslims, idolaters and even Jews, will be caught up in its flames and be converted?  None can shield himself from the heat it gives, so let its flames rise. Rather, let this Divine Fire which Jesus Christ came to bring on earth be enkindled before the all-consuming fire of your anger comes down and reduces the whole world to ashes.”

St. Louis de Montfort tells us precisely what we must do:  “As all perfection consists in our being conformed, united and consecrated to Jesus, it naturally follows that the most perfect of all devotions is that which conforms, unites and consecrates us most completely to Jesus.  Now of all God’s creatures, Mary is the most conformed to Jesus.  It therefore follows that of all devotions, devotion to her makes for the most effective consecration and conformity to Him.  The more one is consecrated to Mary, the more one is consecrated to Jesus.  That is why perfect consecration to Jesus is but a perfect and complete consecration of oneself to the Blessed Virgin, which is the devotion I teach; or in other words, it is the perfect renewal of the vows and promises of Holy Baptism.”
Our great Saint then describes what this exceptional grace does in souls who are completely devoted to Mary: “Almighty God and His Holy Mother are to raise up great saints who will surpass in holiness most other saints as much as the cedars of Lebanon tower above the little shrubs.  Such are the great men to come.  By the Will of God, Mary is to prepare them to extend His Rule over the impious and the unbelievers.”  He goes on to state: “My dear friend, when will that happy time come, that age of Mary, when many souls chosen by Mary are given her by the Most High God, will hide themselves completely in the depths of her soul, becoming living copies of her, loving and glorying Jesus?  That day will dawn only when the devotion I teach is understood and put into practice.  Lord, that Your Kingdom may come, may the reign of Mary come.”

So, we can see the perfect conformity of what the Holy Spirit inspired St. Louis de Montfort to write.  (Montfort states that he is the one that “the Holy Spirit made use of to write it”), with what the Popes have written with regard to the Triumph of Mary and the New Pentecost.
Our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, gave us his gift of knowledge as to what the essence of the Consecration to Mary’s Immaculate Heart is on May 13, 2010 in Fatima:  “Our Blessed Mother came from Heaven, offering to implant in the hearts of all those who trust in her, the Love of God burning in her own heart… May the seven years which separate us from the Centenary of the Apparitions hasten the fulfillment of the prophecy of the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, to the glory of the Most Holy Trinity.”
Pope Benedict XVI also instructed us on the ultimate purpose of what Our Lady came to remind us of: our duty to sacrifice and suffer in union with our Lord’s sacrifices and sufferings for the salvation of souls, who depend upon our cooperation in God’s redeeming Love.  Benedict XVI states: “In Sacred Scripture, we often find that God seeks righteous men and women in order to save the city of men, and He does the same here in Fatima, when Our Lady asks: “Do you want to offer yourselves to God, to endure all the sufferings which He will send you, in an act of reparation for the sins by which He is offended and of supplication for the conversion of sinners?”
Pope Paul VI also explained the solution that God had specifically given to Mary for the Church at Fatima: “God wills to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart.  In a letter on the “Occasion of the International Marian Congress” of May 13, 1975, Pope Paul VI wrote: “At the present time, so critical for the Church and the destiny of mankind, when the interior renewal of Christians and their reconciliation with God and each other are an absolute necessity if the Church is to ‘Exist in Christ as a sacrament or sign, and an instrument of intimate union with God and of the unity of the whole human race’, the faithful must cultivate an outstanding devotion to the Spirit as the supreme source of love, unity and peace.  At that same time, however, and in harmony with this first devotion which draws ever new strength from the fire of the Divine Love, the faithful should also be deeply devoted to the great Mother of God, who is Mother of the Church and incomparable model of love for God and our brothers.”

So, our dear Lord and His Mother have again reminded the Church and each of its members, through St. Pope John Paul II, that: “When victory is won, it will be a victory through Mary.”  Now, here in the period leading up to the 100 year anniversary of Fatima (2015 – 2017), we have Our Lord and His dear Mother urging us to accept an extraordinary Grace for “interior renewal” and this “reconciliation with God and each other”: which is the Grace of the Flame of Love of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.  In fact, God calls it the “Greatest Grace” given to mankind since His Incarnation, Death, Resurrection and leaving us the Church and the Sacraments.
Cardinal Erdo had this to say about it upon approving the Messages:  “Sometimes human frailty and human history produce an obstacle (to the Mission of Christ).  However, at a given moment of history, there appears in the Church something beautiful, a new possibility for the Church.  I believe this is true of the “Flame of Love Movement… the entire Church receives this … as a gift from God.”
So, what is the Flame of Love of the Immaculate Heart of Mary?  This Greatest Grace is an act of God’s Divine Mercy, that God has given through His Mother’s Immaculate Heart.  Our Lady confirmed that her Flame of Love is “Jesus Christ Himself.”  She gave this Gift to Elizabeth Kindelmann on April 20, 1962 (Good Friday).  Mary stated: “I place a beam of light in your hands; it is the Flame of Love of my Heart.  Add your love to this Flame and pass it on to others, my little one… This is the miracle becoming the blaze whose dazzling light will blind Satan.  This is the fire of love of union, which I obtained through the merits of the wounds of my Divine Son.”
Ultimately, this grace allows one to accept personally and then zealously spread God’s Divine Mercy: to save our soul and cooperate in the salvation of many other souls!   Our Lord told Elizabeth: “Let your whole life be a burning desire to take part in My work of Redemption through prayer, sacrifice, (especially fasting) and desire.”  Our Lord told her to always “unite your sufferings totally with Mine.  Then your merits will grow greatly and they will move My redemptive work ahead.”

Our Lord continued on how we are to help Him save countless souls by appealing to His Mother’s Flame of Love:  “I would suffer death on the cross again for each soul, even suffering a thousand times more since there is no hope for a damned soul. Prevent this!  With your burning desire, save souls!… Do you really know what desire is?  It is a marvelous and delicate instrument that even the most helpless man can use as a miraculous instrument to save souls.  The key point is that one should unite his desire with My Precious Blood exuding from My side.  Increase your desire with all your might, My little one, to save as many souls as possible…set the earth ablaze with your burning desires…an uninterrupted desire for salvation of souls always filled My Heart… Give yourselves to the work (of reparation).  If you do nothing, you abandon the earth to Satan and to sin.  How can I wake you up?  Open your eyes and see this deadly danger (Satan) that claims victims all around you and which threatens even your own souls.”

Our Mother explained to Elizabeth how her Immaculate Heart will triumph:  “My love that is spreading will overcome the satanic hatred that contaminates the world, so that the greatest number of souls is saved from damnation.  I am confirming there has never been anything like this before.  This is my greatest miracle ever that I am accomplishing for all.”
Mary has asked all of us (and Cardinal Peter Erdo has approved this as well) to add a special petition to the Hail Mary prayer in order to help accomplish this great blinding of Satan and the subsequent era of peace with the outpouring of the New Pentecost.  She stated to Elizabeth: “When you say the prayer that honors me, the Hail Mary, include this petition: “Hail Mary, full of grace… Pray for us sinners, spread the effect of grace of thy Flame of Love over all humanity, now and at the hour of our death. Amen”
Our Lord then explained to Elizabeth:  “It is exclusively thanks to the efficacious pleas of the Most Holy Virgin that the Most Holy Trinity granted the effusion of the Flame of Love.  By it, ask in the prayer with which you greet My Most Holy Mother: “Spread the effect of grace of thy Flame of Love over all humanity, now and at the hour of death. Amen.”
Our Lord, knowing our natural skepticism to change, especially in adding a petition to the Hail Mary, anticipates the question “why”?  Our Lord states to Elizabeth: “So that, by its effect, humanity is converted.”
At its core, the Flame of Love is not a devotion, but a way of life.  Yes, there are promises, prayers and specific sacrifices asked of us, such as fasting on bread and water for 6 meals a week (see www.FLAMEOFLOVE.US/PROMISES) but all of the spiritual exercises are designed with one purpose: to assist Our Lord and His dear Mother in saving as many souls as Divine Mercy will allow, since so many souls are in danger of being lost forever!
St. Therese of Lisieux was also gifted with this understanding of being a victim of Merciful Love: “… in order that Love be fully satisfied, it is necessary that Love lower Itself to nothingness and transform this nothingness into fire… Jesus, I am too little to perform great actions, and my own folly is this: to trust that Your love will accept me as a victim.”

SO WHAT MUST I DO?
In order to obtain any major grace, one must be properly disposed: be in a state of grace (free of serious sin), be aware of the grace (a sharing in Divine Life) and truly desire to have it and to benefit from it.
Thus, a Catholic should endeavor to read and learn about this Extraordinary Grace, which God is offering through His Mother (a free book can be obtained at  www.FLAMEOFLOVE.US)  and then pray to increase one’s desire to obtain it and make use of it to draw closer to Christ through Mary to the maximum point one can achieve in this life.
God is Confirming What He Has Given to St. Louis de Montfort, Sister Lucia and the Popes
Our Lady told Sister Lucia at Fatima that: “God wills to establish devotion to His Mother’s Immaculate Heart, and promises salvation to those who embrace it.”  What God has done through Elizabeth Kindelmann with the Great Grace of the Flame of Love of the Immaculate Heart of Mary can rightly be called a continuation of the Fatima Message and a confirmation that it will be fulfilled.
St. Louis de Montfort summarizes God’s plan brilliantly: “If it is certain that the knowledge and the kingdom of Jesus Christ must come into the world, it can only be as a necessary consequence of the knowledge and reign of Mary.  She who first gave Him to the world, will establish His Kingdom in the world … Mary’s power over the evil spirits will especially shine forth in the latter times, when Satan will lie in wait for her heel, that is for her humble servants and poor children, whom she will rouse to fight against him.”
Our Lady encourages us through Elizabeth Kindelmann: “I grant all the grace to see the results of their labors on behalf of my Flame of Love in each soul, in your country, and in the entire world.  You, who are laboring and making sacrifices for the prompt outpouring of my Flame of Love, you will see it.”
Our Lord tells us through Elizabeth Kindelmann that once you have accepted the “Greatest Grace” He wishes to pour out on you, that you must go well beyond your current prayer life and effort: “Reach beyond your limits… every parish must urgently organize communities of prayer of atonement, blessing one another with the sign of the Cross… the petition is urgent.  There is no time for delays.  Let the faithful together with the priests satisfy our petition in a great spiritual oneness.”
So, the question now before us is this: will we be completely devoted to Mary’s Immaculate Heart as God wills of us?  Will we do what He asks?  This is the right spiritual step to prepare, not only for the coming storm, but for each moment of our life here and for all eternity.

What Are the Specific Actions and Loving Exercises?
So, what are the specific actions and the intensified efforts now requested in order for us to claim objectively that we are completely devoted to the Immaculate Heart of Mary?  They are as follows:

1. Make, renew and live daily your Consecration to Jesus through Mary (www.MYCONSECRATION.ORG)
2. Pray the Rosary daily with the Flame of Love Petition
3. Continue to make the First Saturdays of Reparation every month
4. Wear the Brown Scapular and Miraculous Medal
5. Offer your daily duty with and through Mary for souls
6. Join or start a Flame of Love prayer group (which prays the Rosary and reads from the Diary)
7. Fast for 6 meals a week on bread and water for souls (explained in the Diary)
8. Make night vigils of reparation for souls (explained in the Diary)

If you are only doing one or several of these exercises of love, do not be concerned nor disheartened.  Simply pray: “Lord, I want to love our Mother as You do; Mary, I want to love Jesus as you do.  Mary, I beg through the Flame of Love of your Immaculate Heart that you will reorient my time to increase my number of loving exercises, so I may quickly grow in love for the Holy Trinity, and that you will cause me to know and desire that love requires sacrifice as you and Jesus constantly sacrificed for us.  May the Holy Spirit completely fill my soul with the Seven Gifts, and may these be the Gifts I desire from this day forward, which will allow me to desire and obtain the Greatest Gift of Holiness, so I may live completely with the Will of God as you did, through the Flame of Love of your Immaculate Heart!  Fiat!”
To obtain a low cost  Flame of Love book, go to www.FLAMEOFLOVE.US and click on the Order Now button on the right side of the page below the picture of Our Lady. (Larger orders may be placed by emailing rmooney@myconsecration.org).  You may also sign up to follow a blog devoted to God’s Spiritual Plan of Devotion to His Mother’s Immaculate Heart, including all aspects of understanding the Great Grace of the Flame of Love and the “New & Divine Holiness”, at www.DIVINEANTIDOTE.WORDPRESS.COM

Anthony J. Mullen is the National Director for the United States of America for The International Movement of The Flame of Love of The Immaculate Heart of Mary.  The International Private Association of The Faithful required a nomination for this position by his Bishop, who also gave the Imprimatur to the English edition of the Simplified Version of The Spiritual Diary of Elizabeth Kindelmann.  He is also the Chairman of www.MYCONSECRATION.ORG, which has helped over 800,000 souls make their Consecration to Jesus through Mary.  Mr. Mullen is asking all Apostolates and Prayer Groups to seek unity under Our Mother’s Queenship as the Flame of Love to carry out God’s Plan of Salvation and Holiness by accepting and helping to spread to all this Great Grace, which God is His Infinite Mercy wishes to pout out upon all.

St. Boniface - June 5

Boniface, known as the apostle of the Germans and the Patron Saint of Germany, was an English Benedictine monk who gave up being elected abbot to devote his life to the conversion of the Germanic tribes. Two characteristics stand out: his Christian orthodoxy and his fidelity to the pope of Rome.

How absolutely necessary this orthodoxy and fidelity were is borne out by the conditions he found on his first missionary journey in 719 at the request of Pope Gregory II. Paganism was a way of life. What Christianity he did find had either lapsed into paganism or was mixed with error. The clergy were mainly responsible for these latter conditions since they were in many instances uneducated, lax and questionably obedient to their bishops. In particular instances their very ordination was questionable.

These are the conditions that Boniface was to report in 722 on his first return visit to Rome. The Holy Father instructed him to reform the German Church. The pope sent letters of recommendation to religious and civil leaders. Boniface later admitted that his work would have been unsuccessful, from a human viewpoint, without a letter of safe-conduct from Charles Martel, the powerful Frankish ruler, grandfather of Charlemagne. Boniface was finally made a regional bishop and authorized to organize the whole German Church. He was eminently successful.

In the Frankish kingdom, he met great problems because of lay interference in bishops’ elections, the worldliness of the clergy and lack of papal control.

During a final mission to the Frisians, he and 53 companions were massacred while he was preparing converts for Confirmation.

In order to restore the Germanic Church to its fidelity to Rome and to convert the pagans, he had been guided by two principles. The first was to restore the obedience of the clergy to their bishops in union with the pope of Rome. The second was the establishment of many houses of prayer which took the form of Benedictine monasteries. A great number of Anglo-Saxon monks and nuns followed him to the continent. He introduced Benedictine nuns to the active apostolate of education.

Boniface literally struck a blow for Christianity in his attempt to destroy pagan superstitions. On a day previously announced, in the presence of a tense crowd, he attacked with an ax Donar's sacred oak on Mount Gudenburg. The huge tree crashed, splitting into four parts. The people waited for the gods to strike Boniface dead—then realized their gods were powerless, nonexistent. He used planks from the tree to build a chapel.

Boniface bears out the Christian rule: To follow Christ is to follow the way of the cross. For Boniface, it was not only physical suffering or death, but the painful, thankless, bewildering task of Church reform. Missionary glory is often thought of in terms of bringing new persons to Christ. It seems—but is not—less glorious to heal the household of the faith.

How Saint Philip Neri Anticipated Pope Francis by 500 Years

Bringing the Church "outside" both figuratively and literally, the Apostle of Rome and his Oratorians seem perfectly suited to today's Franciscan task
For most Catholics, the narrative about Saint Philip Neri is a bit vague; he seems less well-known than the other vibrant

reformer saints of the sixteenth century. “Philip Neri?” People will say, “Oh, yeah, he was the cheerful saint, loved to laugh,” and usually that’s all they know.
It’s true that Philip was cheerful. Saint Teresa of Avila — born, like Philip, in 1515 — would have loved him because he was certainly not one of those “sad-faced saints” she dreaded. Rather, Philip Neri was that rare creature, “a man in full,” with all the paradoxes contained therein. He was a scholar; he was a prankster. He was a serious confessor but not “tightly wound.” He once walked into a party held in his honor with half of his beard shaved off, because he didn’t want to be seen as too special. He didn’t fall into the trap of believing his own hype. Read his maxims and sayings, (or watch this splendid film about him) and you understand that Philip Neri was a serious Christian, a serious reformer, a serious (Avila-level) mystic.

If he was all that, and humorous besides, why doesn’t he loom larger in our Catholic culture, right up there with Teresa, and Charles Borromeo, Francis Xavier and his good friend Ignatius of Loyola?

Well, possibly because of his humor. Just as humorous films are rarely honored with awards because “serious” artists find them frivolous, it’s possible that Philip Neri’s fun reputation makes him a “lightweight” in the minds of some. Not, however, in the highly serious mind of Bl. John Henry Newman, the first English-speaking Oratorian, who wrote prayers and litanies to Philip, nor in the minds of the US Special Forces who take him for their patron, explaining, “Philip Neri embodied the traits of the ideal Special Forces Soldier, Selfless, Superb Teacher, and Inspirational Leader.”

All true. At a time when many churchmen were dissolute or finding privilege in their priesthood, he was ministering to the sick and to people living in the filthy streets of Rome. He was also doing something else: he was urging them to come into the parish churches, not just to participate at Mass, or receive the sacraments, but to attend discussions and debates and musical concerts and to watch plays, or be read to from fine writers. And then, in good weather (or sometimes in the drizzle) he would invite the people in church and the people in the streets to take long walks with him, during which there would be talking and joking and singing, and church-visits, and Holy Mass or devotions, and then a meal shared, al fresco, under the trees, with everyone contributing what they had, like the first church pot-luck picnic. The Seven Churches of Rome Pilgrimage? Yeah, that was Philips doing. So was the Forty Hours Devotion. He was a Catholic Innovator.

Like Pope Francis, Philip Neri was accessible, pastoral, human, humane, humble, self-possessed, compassionate, firm; dead

serious when seriousness was required, but easygoing when it was not. But it is within the creation of his Oratory that he seems to have fully anticipated Francis by 500 years.

While long-admiring Philip I didn’t “get” Oratory — or what Francis meant when he talked about the Church “going outside” — until I participated in a discussion panel at the Oratory Church of Saint Boniface, in Brooklyn. There I found a Novus Ordo Mass prayed reverently and beautifully and I finally saw what it is that Philip created in the Oratory.

After Mass, while people partook of a plentiful “pot luck” breakfast, the Presence was reverently (and discreetly) reposed elsewhere and the Oratory became that place of talk and gathering and mind-meeting that Philip intended, and what Francis calls us to, today: a parish church that steps outside and brings people in, meeting for the simple sake of community and Christ, making everyone feel like they really do have a place in the church and in the pew, and then leaving room for the Holy Spirit to work things to God’s purposes, an idea in which Philip endorsed completely, saying “All of God’s purposes are to the good; although we may not always understand this we can trust in it.”

Within the Oratory, everyone is welcome; discussion is open and respectful and ever with a mind toward better knowing Christ. It is evangelism that speaks its mind and allows another mind to speak back, and — as Rumer Godden would say — “mind on mind kindles warmth.” When you step outside, you want to bring that warmth, that sense of brotherhood and charity, out into the streets with you.

Perhaps that’s why in England they are talking about “the unstoppable rise of the Oratorians” in the midst of this cold, polarized world.

A cheerful saint? Yes. A leader strong enough to inspire the manly men of the Special Forces Association? Check. A saint the whole Church could stand to know better, especially during this pontificate? Oh, indeed.

And when Father Roger Landry longs to call Philip the official “Patron of the New Evangelization”, we concur.
He is the patron of Aleteia’s English edition.
by: Elizabeth Scalia -

Editor-in-Chief of the English Edition of Aleteia

Elizabeth Scalia is Editor-in-Chief of the English Edition of Aleteia - See more at: http://aleteia.org/2016/05/26/how-saint-philip-neri-anticipated-pope-francis-by-500-years/#sthash.kAo7Xhew.dpuf

Elizabeth Scalia is Editor-in-Chief of the English Edition of Aleteia - See more at: http://aleteia.org/2016/05/26/how-saint-philip-neri-anticipated-pope-francis-by-500-years/#sthash.kAo7Xhew.dpuf

Elizabeth Scalia is Editor-in-Chief of the English Edition of Aleteia - See more at: http://aleteia.org/2016/05/26/how-saint-philip-neri-anticipated-pope-francis-by-500-years/#sthash.kAo7Xhew.dpuf

Elizabeth Scalia is Editor-in-Chief of the English Edition of Aleteia - See more at: http://aleteia.org/2016/05/26/how-saint-philip-neri-anticipated-pope-francis-by-500-years/#sthash.kAo7Xhew.dpuf

Elizabeth Scalia

Elizabeth Scalia is Editor-in-Chief of the English Edition of Aleteia

- See more at: http://aleteia.org/2016/05/26/how-saint-philip-neri-anticipated-pope-francis-by-500-years/#sthash.kAo7Xhew.dpuf

Elizabeth Scalia is Editor-in-Chief of the English Edition of Aleteia - See more at: http://aleteia.org/2016/05/26/how-saint-philip-neri-anticipated-pope-francis-by-500-years/#sthash.kAo7Xhew.dpuf

Saint Philip Neri, pray for us!

Elizabeth Scalia

Elizabeth Scalia is Editor-in-Chief of the English Edition of Aleteia

Saint Philip Neri, pray for us!

by: Elizabeth Scalia
Elizabeth Scalia is Editor-in-Chief of the English Edition of Aleteia

Blessed Imelda Lambertini Feast Day May 13th

Blessed Imelda was born in Bologna, Italy about 1322, of the family of the Lambertini’s - a family name distinguished for both the nobility and piety of its members. For many ages, the Lambertini name held a certain distinction and notoriety. In fact, one of this illustrious line became the great Pope, Benedict XIV.

It was into this lineage that Imelda was born. In baptism, she was called Magdalen. From her earliest years, she eagerly listened to the holy stories and religious instruction that her parents gave her. Both her parents were very pious. Her father was a rich, brave, and powerful nobleman, who filled several important posts and was remarkable for his charity to the poor, especially to the religious orders dependent upon alms. His wife, Castora, was worthy of him. She had a particular devotion to pray for the souls in Purgatory, and for their relief she made many charitable donations to monasteries and churches.

It was amidst these sentiments, that Magdalen grew. Giving herself to a life of devotion, she made a little oratory for herself, where she loved to recite the Psalms and other prayers. In everything she did, she tried to put the thought of the Child Jesus uppermost in her mind. How would Jesus, the Son of Mary, pray? How would He work? How would He do whatever His blessed Mother and dear St. Joseph wanted Him to do? These were the questions that occupied her thoughts, and she strove to imitate Jesus in all things. By this means she grew in wisdom and grace before God and men.

Some people tried to make her vain about her dress, or her beauty, or the riches of her family. Little Magdalen took no interest in such topics. The simpler her attire, the better she liked it. She thought, too, that by having fewer and plainer clothes she would have more to give to the poor. Her parents, being charitable and generous themselves, taught their little girl to make sacrifices, so she could give more to the poor and distressed. Her prettiest toys were joyfully carried to poor children, especially to the sick, with whom she loved to talk and visit. She would tell them the stories she had learned about Jesus: about Bethlehem, where He was born; Nazareth, where He worked in St. Joseph's carpenter shop; and Calvary where Our Savior died on a Cross to save us.

So by the time she was about nine years old, this devout little girl had a great wish to live in a religious house. This child had clear and fixed ideas about her future. She realized that nothing on earth can be compared to a happy eternity, and that the only important thing in this life is to save one's soul. She also understood how different the spirit of the world is from that of God. Her heart yearned for a safe haven where she might renounce the world and belong entirely to Jesus Christ. She therefore begged her parents to place her in some convent. Her parents willingly granted her desire, and asked the Dominican nuns at the convent of St. Mary Magdalen, in Valdepietra, near Bologna, to receive their daughter Magdalen.

Now in those days, it was a common thing to allow children who were preparing to become a Religious, or who had that desire in their hearts, to put on a habit that was similar to those worn by the nuns in the convent. And while the religious of Valdipietra received little Magdalen with joy, she seemed a little too young to wear the habit. They could not, however, resist her pleadings, and decided, notwithstanding her youth, to let her be clothed in the holy habit of the Dominicans.

Imagine the little girl’s satisfaction and joy when, in 1331, she found herself robed as a Spouse of Christ, and heard herself addressed as Sister Imelda. The religious habit did not bind for the future; and there could be no profession of vows until she was much older. But the Divine Lover of souls, Who had set His seal upon this beloved child, heard her heart's vows of love, and bound her to Himself by ties that were never to be broken. Imelda now belonged to Jesus.

We are told that Imelda was, at this time, remarkably tall for her age, fragile and delicate, and fair as an angel to behold. The young Saint threw herself heart and soul into the new life which had opened before her. This nine year old set herself to practice the austere Rule with loving fidelity, devoting herself to the exercise of prayer and penance. As her great love for Jesus grew and was purified by her sufferings, her fervor to obey the rules of their Order rendered her a model even to the oldest and most saintly of the Community. She erected a little Calvary in the most remote part of the garden, and there she loved to retire, in order to meditate undisturbed on the sufferings and death of her Divine Spouse.

But above all else, the devotion of her heart was to Jesus hidden in the Sacrament of His love. With every fiber of her being and all the ardor of her soul did she long for the happy day when Our Lord would unite her to Himself in Holy Communion. “Tell me,” she often said to her religious sisters, “how is it possible to receive Jesus into one's heart and not to die?”

This great and deep love for the Blessed Sacrament caused Imelda to burn with desire to be united to her Eucharistic Lord. When others knelt before the altar to receive Holy Communion, tears filled her eyes and rolled slowly down her cheeks. “When, oh when will He come also to me?" she murmured. The nuns knew of this longing in her heart. They knew, too, her purity and piety. Yet in that country, First Communion was only for those fourteen years or older, and they could do nothing to help Imelda. They encouraged her to persevere in her love and to pray while she waited. The little girl tried to bear the pain this caused her. At holy Mass, she thought of the sufferings of Jesus, and begged Him to help her to carry this heavy cross of being kept away from Him.

To some, it may have seemed that Jesus was ignoring the pleadings of this tender loving soul but, in reality, He was merely purifying her love and her soul by these sufferings which He permitted her to endure. God only sends us crosses if we can benefit by them; if we don’t waste them. By patiently offering up her sufferings to Our Lord and humbly accepting His Holy will, she was meriting a higher place forever in Heaven and therefore a tremendous increase in her eternal beatitude.

And in reality, Imelda’s heart was not the only one that burned, with ever increasing intensity, for union. As her soul became more increasingly beautiful to God, His Own desire to be one thing with her became increasingly more difficult to restrain. Finally, He could wait no longer.

It was May 12, 1333 and Imelda was around 11 years old. The two years which she had now spent in the religious life and the approach of the great feast of the Ascension only intensified her longing for the Blessed Sacrament. But while all the nuns approached the Holy Table, she alone knelt apart in a corner of the Choir, pouring forth her acts of fervent desire, and weeping bitterly because she was not allowed to share their happiness. And when Mass was over, and the priest had left the altar, the Community dispersed to discharge their various duties. Yet, in the dimly lit Choir, Imelda knelt on, absorbed in prayer.

Suddenly, the nuns smelt a heavenly fragrance filling the convent grounds. Following its aroma, they made their way back to the Choir, where a wondrous sight met their eyes. A radiant Host was suspended in the air above Imelda’s head. Her Heavenly Bridegroom had heard her prayer.

The astonished nuns immediately summoned the chaplain to the spot. He came in his sacred vestments, with the paten in his hand, and knelt in wondering adoration, awaiting some further manifestation of the Divine will. Then the Host gently descended upon the paten. The priest understood, and gave the Blessed Eucharist to the long-awaiting girl. The transport of love, joy, and gratitude was too great for the weak bodily frame; the happy child closed her eyes, and, in the kiss of the Lord, breathed forth her pure soul to go and make endless thanksgiving in Heaven.

She had died from love, and her happy soul was with Jesus for ever.

Imelda was beatified by Leo XlI., 1826, and Pope Pius X named her Protectress of First Holy Communicants. Confraternities in her honor have been established in several places. During the movement to have her canonized in 1900 (still incomplete as of yet), her body was exhumed. Imelda's body was found to be incorrupt; meaning that without any ointment or preservative, her body hasn't decayed at all since the 1300's. It still appears as though she were still alive, only sleeping. Blessed Imelda’s beautifully incorrupt body can still be seen in the Church of St. Sigismund (Sigismundo).

We should pray for her to obtain for us that love which burned so brightly in her heart. She should especially be invoked by those who are preparing to receive Our Lord in Holy Communion. Though we may perhaps not die, as Imelda did, in that moment of joy when Jesus rests within our hearts, we should desire to live completely for our most dear Lord. May our hearts ever more glow with true love, and longing, to receive Jesus. May He may dwell within us always - never, never to be driven out by indifference or by sin.

PRAYER

O Lord Jesus Christ, who, wounding the Blessed Virgin Imelda with the fire of Thy love, and miraculously feeding her with the Immaculate Host, didst receive her into heaven, grant us, through her intercession, to approach the Holy Table with the same fervor of charity, that we may long to be with Thee, and deserve to be with Thee, who livest and reignest for ever and ever. Amen.

Novena to St. Rita 5/13-5/21

Say the following prayer once a day for 9 days, beginning on May 13 and ending on May 21, the eve of the Feast of St. Rita. St. Rita is the patron saint against: abuse, infertility, loneliness, sickness, and hopeless and impossible causes.

O holy protectress of those who art in greatest need, thou who shineth as a star of hope in the midst of darkness, blessed Saint Rita, bright mirror of God's grace, in patience and fortitude thou art a model of all the states in life. I unite my will with the Will of God through the merits of my Savior Jesus Christ, and in particular through His patient wearing of the crown of thorns, which with tender devotion thou didst daily contemplate. Through the merits of the holy Virgin Mary and thine own graces and virtues, I ask thee to obtain my earnest petition, provided it be for the greater glory of God and my own sanctification. Guide and purify my intention, O holy protectress and advocate, so that I may obtain the pardon of all my sins and the grace to persevere daily, as thou didst in walking with courage, generosity, and fidelity down the path of life. (Mention your intentions here)
Saint Rita, advocate of the impossible, pray for us.
Saint Rita, advocate of the helpless, pray for us.
Recite the Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be three times.

Prayer for Saint Rita's Intercession

(Patroness of Impossible Causes)

O glorious St. Rita, your pleadings before the divine Crucifix have been known to grant favors that many would call the impossible. Lovely St. Rita, so humble, so pure, so devoted in your love for thy crucified Jesus, speak on my behalf for my petition which seems so impossible from my humbled position. (Here mention your request ). Be propitious, O glorious St. Rita, to my petition, showing thy power with God on behalf of thy supplicant. Be lavish to me, as thou has been in so many wonderful cases for the greater glory of God. I promise, dear St. Rita, if my petition is granted, to glorify thee, by making known thy favor, to bless and sing thy praises forever. Relying then upon thy merits and power before the Sacred Heart of Jesus I pray. Amen.