St. Pio Novena

Novena to Padré Pio of Pietrelcina

(combined with the Sacred Heart Novena)

1ST DAY
Beloved St. Pio of Pietrelcina, you have had the signs of the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ on your body. You have carried this stigmata for everyone, enduring both the physical and mental sufferings that racked your soul and body in a continual sacrifice. We beg you to pray for us, so that we will be able to accept both the little and the larger crosses we too must bear during our life on earth and to offer these sufferings to God, assuring us a place with him in Eternal Life.

“It is to your advantage to commit yourself to the sufferings that Jesus will send to you. Jesus cannot tolerate seeing you afflicted and he will come to you and comfort you, blessing you with many graces for your soul”. Padre Pio

1. O my Jesus, You have said: "Truly I say to you, ask and it will be given you, seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened to you". Behold I knock, I seek and ask for the grace of (name your request)

O most holy Heart of Jesus, fountain of every blessing, I adore Thee, I love Thee and with a lively sorrow for my sins, I offer Thee this poor heart of mine. Make me humble, patient, pure and wholly obedient to Thy will. Grant, good Jesus, that I may live in Thee and for Thee. Protect me in the midst of danger; comfort me in my afflictions; give me health of body, assistance in my temporal needs, Thy blessing on all that I do, and the grace of a holy death. Within Thy Heart I place my every care. In every need let me come to Thee with humble trust saying, Heart of Jesus help me.

Say the: Our Father - Hail Mary - Glory be to the Father


Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in You.



2nd DAY

Saint Pio of Pietrelcina, together with Our Lord Jesus Christ, you’ve been able to withstand the temptations of the Devil. You suffered the beatings and the oppression of the demon of hell, who wanted to have you abandon your journey of holiness. We beg you to pray for us so that, with your help and the help of all of the Heavenly Kingdom, we will be able to find the strength to set sin aside and to persevere in our faith until the day of our death.

“Have courage and do not fear the assaults of the Devil. Remember this forever; it is a healthy sign if the devil shouts and roars around your conscience, since this shows that he is not inside your will”. Padre Pio

2. O my Jesus, You have said: "Truly I say to you, if you ask anything of My Father in My Name, He will give it to you." Behold in Your Name I ask the Father for the grace of (name your request).

O most holy Heart of Jesus, fountain of every blessing, I adore Thee, I love Thee and with a lively sorrow for my sins, I offer Thee this poor heart of mine. Make me humble, patient, pure and wholly obedient to Thy will. Grant, good Jesus, that I may live in Thee and for Thee. Protect me in the midst of danger; comfort me in my afflictions; give me health of body, assistance in my temporal needs, Thy blessing on all that I do, and the grace of a holy death. Within Thy Heart I place my every care. In every need let me come to Thee with humble trust saying, Heart of Jesus help me.

Say the: Our Father - Hail Mary - Glory be to the Father


Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in You.



3rd DAY

Virtuous St. Pio of Pietrelcina, you love Our Holy Mother very much and have received daily graces and consolations from her. Please, we beg you to pray to the Holy Mother for us. Place in her hands the sorrow for our sins and our prayers of reparation, so that, as at Cana of Galilee, her Son says ‘yes’ to His Mother and our name may be written in the Book of Eternal Life.

“Mary has to be the star that illuminates your path and she will show you the secure way to go to the Celestial Father. She will be an anchor to which you must cling in the hour of temptation”. Padre Pio

3. O my Jesus, You have said: "Truly I say to you, heaven and earth will pass away but My words will not pass away." Encouraged by Your infallible words I now ask for the grace of (name your request)

O most holy Heart of Jesus, fountain of every blessing, I adore Thee, I love Thee and with a lively sorrow for my sins, I offer Thee this poor heart of mine. Make me humble, patient, pure and wholly obedient to Thy will. Grant, good Jesus, that I may live in Thee and for Thee. Protect me in the midst of danger; comfort me in my afflictions; give me health of body, assistance in my temporal needs, Thy blessing on all that I do, and the grace of a holy death. Within Thy Heart I place my every care. In every need let me come to Thee with humble trust saying, Heart of Jesus help me.

Say the: Our Father - Hail Mary - Glory be to the Father

Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in You.


4th DAY

Chaste St. Pio of Pietrelcina, you loved your Guardian Angel, who served you well as your guide and as a defender and messenger. The Angels brought the prayers of your spiritual children to you. We beg you to pray for us, so that we may learn to call on our Guardian Angel who is always ready to guide us to what is good and to avoid falling into sinful actions.

“Invoke your Guardian Angel, who will enlighten you and guide you. God has given him to you for your protection, therefore, you should use him accordingly”. Padre Pio

1. O my Jesus, You have said: "Truly I say to you, ask and it will be given you, seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened to you". Behold I knock, I seek and ask for the grace of (name your request)

O most holy Heart of Jesus, fountain of every blessing, I adore Thee, I love Thee and with a lively sorrow for my sins, I offer Thee this poor heart of mine. Make me humble, patient, pure and wholly obedient to Thy will. Grant, good Jesus, that I may live in Thee and for Thee. Protect me in the midst of danger; comfort me in my afflictions; give me health of body, assistance in my temporal needs, Thy blessing on all that I do, and the grace of a holy death. Within Thy Heart I place my every care. In every need let me come to Thee with humble trust saying, Heart of Jesus help me.

Say the: Our Father - Hail Mary - Glory be to the Father

Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in You.


5th DAY

Prudent St. Pio of Pietrelcina, you have had a great devotion for the Souls in Purgatory for whom you have offered yourself as a victim to remit their punishments. Please pray for us and ask God to send us the same interest, compassion and love that you have for these souls. In this way, we will also contribute to reducing their suffering and, with our sacrifices and prayers, win for them their necessary Indulgences.

“My God, I beg you; let me bear the punishments that have been prepared for sinners and the souls in Purgatory. Multiply these punishments for me, so that you may forgive and save the sinners and free their souls from purgatory”. Padre Pio

2. O my Jesus, You have said: "Truly I say to you, if you ask anything of My Father in My Name, He will give it to you." Behold in Your Name I ask the Father for the grace of (name your request).

O most holy Heart of Jesus, fountain of every blessing, I adore Thee, I love Thee and with a lively sorrow for my sins, I offer Thee this poor heart of mine. Make me humble, patient, pure and wholly obedient to Thy will. Grant, good Jesus, that I may live in Thee and for Thee. Protect me in the midst of danger; comfort me in my afflictions; give me health of body, assistance in my temporal needs, Thy blessing on all that I do, and the grace of a holy death. Within Thy Heart I place my every care. In every need let me come to Thee with humble trust saying, Heart of Jesus help me.

Say the: Our Father - Hail Mary - Glory be to the Father

Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in You.



6th DAY

Obedient St. Pio of Pietrelcina, you have loved the sick more than yourself, because you were able to see Jesus in them. You have performed many miracles by healing patients in the name of Jesus and thereby giving them peace of mind. We beg you to pray for us, so that sick patients, through the intercession of Mary, can be healed and their bodies restored so that they may benefit from the Holy Spirit and, therefore, thank and praise God forever.

“If I knew that a person was afflicted in his mind, body or soul, I would beg God to set him free of his affliction. I would gladly accept the transfer of his affliction to myself, so that he may be saved, and I would ask that he benefit from the fruits of these sufferings... if the Lord would allow me to do it”. Padre Pio

3. O my Jesus, You have said: "Truly I say to you, heaven and earth will pass away but My words will not pass away." Encouraged by Your infallible words I now ask for the grace of (name your request)

O most holy Heart of Jesus, fountain of every blessing, I adore Thee, I love Thee and with a lively sorrow for my sins, I offer Thee this poor heart of mine. Make me humble, patient, pure and wholly obedient to Thy will. Grant, good Jesus, that I may live in Thee and for Thee. Protect me in the midst of danger; comfort me in my afflictions; give me health of body, assistance in my temporal needs, Thy blessing on all that I do, and the grace of a holy death. Within Thy Heart I place my every care. In every need let me come to Thee with humble trust saying, Heart of Jesus help me.

Say the: Our Father - Hail Mary - Glory be to the Father

Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in You.


7th DAY

Blessed St. Pio of Pietrelcina, you have worked in “God’s Plan for Salvation”, by offering your sufferings to free sinners from the chains of the Devil. We beg you to pray for us, so that unbelievers will be converted to the faith, that all sinners will repent in their hearts and that those with lukewarm hearts will find renewed enthusiasm for a Christian life. Finally, pray for all those who are faithful, so that they will persevere on their way to salvation.

“ If the people of the World could only see the beauty of ones soul when it is in the grace of God, all sinners and unbelievers of this world would be instantly converted”. Padre Pio

1. O my Jesus, You have said: "Truly I say to you, ask and it will be given you, seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened to you". Behold I knock, I seek and ask for the grace of (name your request)

O most holy Heart of Jesus, fountain of every blessing, I adore Thee, I love Thee and with a lively sorrow for my sins, I offer Thee this poor heart of mine. Make me humble, patient, pure and wholly obedient to Thy will. Grant, good Jesus, that I may live in Thee and for Thee. Protect me in the midst of danger; comfort me in my afflictions; give me health of body, assistance in my temporal needs, Thy blessing on all that I do, and the grace of a holy death. Within Thy Heart I place my every care. In every need let me come to Thee with humble trust saying, Heart of Jesus help me.

Say the: Our Father - Hail Mary - Glory be to the Father

Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in You.


8th DAY

Pure St. Pio of Pietrelcina, you experienced great love for your spiritual children and have helped them by purchasing them for Christ with the giving of your blood. Please grant us, who have not met you personally, the opportunity to be considered your spiritual children. In this way, with your protection, guidance and strength, you will obtain for us a special blessing from God, so that we may meet Him on the day of our death at the gates of Heaven.

“It would be most fulfilling, if God would grant me just one wish (if it were possible); that He would say, “Enter Heaven!” This is my one true wish; “That God would take me to Heaven at the same time that the last of my children and the last of the people who submitted to my priestly care have entered”. Padre Pio

2. O my Jesus, You have said: "Truly I say to you, if you ask anything of My Father in My Name, He will give it to you." Behold in Your Name I ask the Father for the grace of (name your request).

O most holy Heart of Jesus, fountain of every blessing, I adore Thee, I love Thee and with a lively sorrow for my sins, I offer Thee this poor heart of mine. Make me humble, patient, pure and wholly obedient to Thy will. Grant, good Jesus, that I may live in Thee and for Thee. Protect me in the midst of danger; comfort me in my afflictions; give me health of body, assistance in my temporal needs, Thy blessing on all that I do, and the grace of a holy death. Within Thy Heart I place my every care. In every need let me come to Thee with humble trust saying, Heart of Jesus help me.

Say the: Our Father - Hail Mary - Glory be to the Father

Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in You.


9th DAY

Humble St. Pio of Pietrelcina, you who loved the Roman Catholic Church, pray for us. May the Master send workers to the harvest and give them the strength and knowledge needed to be children of God. Pray that Our Holy Lady will unite Christian people everywhere, comforting all of them in one great house of the Lord, the lighthouse of our salvation in the storm of life... just as a lighthouse is a beacon for safe return when there is a storm at sea.


“You must always keep yourself on the straight and narrow path in the Holy Catholic Church because She is the only Bride of Christ and can bring you peace. She alone possesses Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, who is the true Prince of Peace”. Padre Pio

3. O my Jesus, You have said: "Truly I say to you, heaven and earth will pass away but My words will not pass away." Encouraged by Your infallible words I now ask for the grace of (name your request)

O most holy Heart of Jesus, fountain of every blessing, I adore Thee, I love Thee and with a lively sorrow for my sins, I offer Thee this poor heart of mine. Make me humble, patient, pure and wholly obedient to Thy will. Grant, good Jesus, that I may live in Thee and for Thee. Protect me in the midst of danger; comfort me in my afflictions; give me health of body, assistance in my temporal needs, Thy blessing on all that I do, and the grace of a holy death. Within Thy Heart I place my every care. In every need let me come to Thee with humble trust saying, Heart of Jesus help me.

Say the: Our Father - Hail Mary - Glory be to the Father

Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in You.

Say the Hail Holy Queen

That All Be One .....

Church of England in crisis as five bishops defect to Rome
Five bishops are to resign from the Church of England to lead the defection of hundreds of Anglicans to Rome, The Daily Telegraph has learned.

By Tim Ross, Religious Affairs Editor
Published: 7:00AM GMT 08 Nov 2010

Dr Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury Photo: DAVID ROSE

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, is expected to announce the resignations as parishes across the country meet to discuss the Pope’s offer to accommodate disaffected Anglicans within the Roman Catholic Church.

Senior Catholics are finalising plans for a new group for Anglican converts who cannot accept women bishops and a detailed timetable for its formation could be announced as early as next week.

The defections have been triggered by a vote at the General Synod of the Church of England in July to support divisive plans for women to be ordained as bishops in England for the first time.

A compromise plan, backed by Dr Williams, was rejected, leaving many opponents of women’s ordination with no option but to consider leaving the Church.
Pope Benedict XVI announced last year that he would create a new body, known as the English Ordinariate, for Church of England traditionalists who wish to switch allegiance to Rome while retaining some of their Anglican traditions.
Lambeth Palace is expected to confirm the resignations of the Bishop of Fulham, the Rt Rev John Broadhurst; the Bishop of Richborough, the Rt Rev Keith Newton; the Bishop of Ebbsfleet, the Rt Rev Andrew Burnham; and two retired bishops, the Rt Rev Edwin Barnes, honorary assistant bishop of Winchester, and the Rt Rev David Silk, honorary assistant bishop of Exeter.
The five are said to be “dismayed” at the liberal reforms to the Church in recent decades and intend to join the Ordinariate in pursuit of “unity” with Rome when the new body is established next year.
They will cease pastoral work, which includes the oversight of Anglican parishes that are opposed to women priests, as soon as their resignations are announced, although they will remain officially in post until the end of December.
Sources on both sides expect about 25 groups, each typically containing approximately 20 converts, to follow the path to Rome.

The estimates suggest up to 500 individuals will join the Ordinariate in the first wave, with more expected to follow once it has become established.
Church wardens are arranging meetings to discuss the move in parishes across England. St Peter’s in Folkestone, in the Archbishop of Canterbury’s own diocese, became the first parish to declare publicly that it intended to join the Ordinariate last month.
Holy Trinity church in Reading is expected to make a decision on whether to follow in the next few weeks. Meetings are also planned at St John the Baptist church in Sevenoaks, Kent, and Holy Trinity, Winchmore Hill, in north London.
Fr David Elliott, parish priest at Holy Trinity in Reading, said many traditional Anglo-Catholics felt “squeezed” by liberal reforms in the Church of England.
“For congregations like this it is a big moment in their history,” he said. “These decisions aren’t made lightly. I haven’t resigned but I don’t see that there can be a future for Catholics within the Church of England.
“My own future I think does lie in the Roman Catholic Church but I can’t say when that will be. Obviously I have got to weigh up my responsibilities to the congregation.”

Pope Says Priests Should Lead Church's Reform

REMEMBERING PASTORS. Pope Benedict XVI waves as he leaves after celebrating Mass Nov. 4 in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican for cardinals and bishops who died in the past year. In his homily, the Pope said that the Christian focus on heaven is to be balanced with fully carrying out one's responsibilities with a healthy detachment and adequate rest.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Personal conversion and purification, especially for priests, are critical steps in the process of true and credible reform of the Church, Pope Benedict XVI said.
The Church community today is experiencing “trials and suffering, and it shows the need for purification and reform,” he said.

The Pope made his remarks in a written message on the occasion of the 400th anniversary of the Nov. 1 canonization of St. Charles Borromeo. A copy of the message, addressed to Cardinal Dionigi Tettamanzi of Milan, was released to journalists Nov. 4, the feast of St. Charles.
Pope Benedict recalled how St. Charles, who was archbishop of Milan, was a major influence in the Church’s Counter-Reformation movement.
At the time, the Church community suffered from major divisions, “doctrinal confusions, faith and customs whose purity was clouded, and the bad example of various sacred ministers,” he said.

“St. Charles did not limit himself to deploring or condemning” the problems or just hoping for others to change, he said. Rather, he began by reforming his own life, relinquishing all wealth and comfort and filling his life with prayer, penance and dedication to his flock, said the Pope.
“He knew that a serious and credible reform had to begin with the pastors” if it was to have truly beneficial and lasting effects on the people of God, said Pope Benedict.
At every moment in history, the most fundamental and urgent task of the Church is for every member to convert and get closer to God, he said.

St. Charles Borromeo is an appropriate example of someone who, through personal and communal conversion, was able to “transform hearts” through the power of prayer and penance.
The Pope urged all priests and deacons to turn their lives into “a courageous journey toward sainthood and to not fear the exhilaration of Christ’s trusting love.”

by CAROL GLATZ (CNS)

Barcelona, Spain (CNN) -- Pope Benedict XVI defended religion from critics Sunday as he dedicated the Sagrada Familia church, a still-unfinished emblem of the Spanish city of Barcelona.
"This is the great task before us: to show everyone that God is a God of peace not of violence, of freedom not of coercion, of harmony not of discord," he said.
And he pushed back against what he sees as increasing secularism in the world, saying, "I consider that the dedication of this church of the Sagrada Familia is an event of great importance, at a time in which man claims to be able to build his life without God, as if God had nothing to say to him."
He also defended the traditional family, after Spain's Socialist government legalized same-sex marriage.
"The generous and indissoluble love of a man and a woman is the effective context and foundation of human life in its gestation, birth, growth and natural end," he said.
Spain's King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia were in the full-to-overflowing church as the pope poured oil on the altar and rubbed it in with his hand, then swung incense over it.

He was surrounded by four rows of priests in white robes and pointed white hats, their mitres the same shape as the pope's own headdress, as he honored the architect of the church.
He praised Antoni Gaudi for "overcoming the division between human consciousness and Christian consciousness, between living in this temporal world and being open to eternal life" in designing the church.
"Gaudi did this not with words but with stones, lines, planes and points. Indeed, beauty is one of mankind's greatest needs," Benedict said, speaking in Spanish.
"Beauty also reveals God because, like him, a work of beauty is pure gratuity; it calls us to freedom and draws us away from selfishness," he said.
The pope is on his second visit to Spain, a historically Catholic country where he considers the traditional religion to be under threat.
A recent government survey showed just 74 percent of Spaniards still consider themselves Catholics, and only two in 10 regularly attend mass. The Vatican officially considers Spain to be more than 92 percent Catholic.
The Sagrada Familia itself was full for the Mass led by the pope, but the overflow area was not.
The country has largely been spared the sex abuse scandals that have rocked the church in much of the rest of western Europe.
Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, a Socialist, is out of the country on an unannounced visit to Afghanistan. He is due to meet the pope briefly at Barcelona's airport at the end of Benedict's visit. Deputy Prime Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba greeted the pope Saturday in Santiago de Compostela, the first stop of his two-day visit.
Santiago de Compostela, in Spain's northwestern tip, has been an important pilgrimage site for centuries.

The cathedral there was built 900 years ago atop what is said to be the tomb of St. James, an apostle of Jesus. After praying there, the pope presided over Eucharist in the square outside, to celebrate the city's jubilee year.
"I come as a pilgrim on this Compostelean Saint Year ... I want to join to that long line of men and women that all over the centuries had come to [Santiago de] Compostela from different places on the peninsula and Europe," the pontiff said at the airport earlier in the day.
Saturday night, the pope headed all the way across Spain to Barcelona, the Catalan city on the Mediterranean.
The Sagrada Familia, or "holy family," church, is still being built after more than 100 years.
Gaudi, a Catalan architect, only lived to see one tower and most of one facade finished by the time he died in 1926.
"The interior space of the church, the sacred space of the church, is finished, and for that, the pope comes here to consecrate the church," said Jordi Fauli, the deputy architect.
Gaudi planned the church to have 18 towers -- 12 for the apostles, four for the evangelists, one for the Virgin Mary and the tallest for Jesus.
Only eight are finished.

Fauli said the privately-financed work may be done by 2026, on the 100th anniversary of Gaudi's death.

Asked once why it was taking so long to finish the Sagrada Familia, Gaudi replied, according to his assistants, "My client -- meaning God -- is not in a hurry."

CNN's Al Goodman contributed to this report.

Father Corapi: Only The Humble See Truth!

Humility Is The Absolute Prerequisite For The Clear 

Resonant Revelation Of Truth

“Jesus [Truth] was born in a humble stable, into a poor family. Simple shepherds were the first witnesses to [the birth of Truth]. In this poverty Heaven’s glory was made manifest….”
“To become a child in relation to God is the condition for entering the Kingdom. For this we must humble ourselves and become little. Even more: To become “children of God” [children of Truth] we must be “born from above” or “born of God.” Only when Christ [the Truth] is formed in us will the mystery of Christmas be fulfilled in us. Christmas is the mystery of the “marvelous exchange”
“Oh marvelous exchange! Man’s Creator [the Truth] has become man, born of the Virgin. We have been made sharers in the divinity of Christ [the Truth] who humbled himself to share in our humanity.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church #525-526; emphasis author’s)
As we once again approach the beautiful time of Christmas, we see in the pure light of the Holy Spirit various facets of the same brilliant gem of God’s mystery. One of these is that Jesus, the Father’s eternal and only Word, became flesh and dwelt among us. Jesus himself told us that He is the Truth (Way, Truth, and Life). Hence, in a mysterious way we behold the manifestation or birth of truth in a poor cave in Bethlehem.
It is of enormous importance to realize that the birth of eternal Truth took place in the most humble and poor of circumstances. Humility is the absolute prerequisite for the clear and resonant revelation of Truth. If we do not humble ourselves, realizing that we are nothing without God, we have no chance to recognize and comprehend the Truth, much less become one with It (Him). No amount of money can buy the gift, no greatness of intellect can grasp that which is beyond the grasp of creatures. Only in the humble circumstances of littleness and poverty of spirit can we ever recognize the One who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. May He bless you this Christmas wand all the days of your life with every spiritual and temporal blessing that you could ever imagine or hope for.
In the Light Who is Jesus, the Truth
Fr. John Corapi, SOLT

What Is The Fastest Way For Jesus To Find You?

Posted: 02 Nov 2010 04:07 PM PDT Fr. Mark Bozada – What Can You Learn From Zacchaeus? My Dear People, Zacchaeus was a known sinner in Jesus’ day. He was a chief tax collector who embezzled money from his peers. Since he worked for the Roman government collecting taxes, he was greatly despised by his contemporaries. When Jesus came to eat at the home of Zaccheaus, the crowd began to grumble, “Who is this Jesus who dines with public sinners?” In response, Zaccheaus does not become defensive, but rather he is repentant. “I shall repay what I owe four times over the amount.” Jesus’ Divine Mercy had touched Zaccheaus’s heart to the core. No longer was he measuring affection in terms of wealth, but in Our Lord’s forgiveness. How we can learn from Zaccheaus’s conversion! “Jesus declares that salvation has come to this descendant of Abraham.” For the Son of Man has come to save what was lost. We need to be found by Jesus, for like Zaccheaus, we too were once lost. Now we are “found.” There is no faster way to “be found” by Jesus except in the confessional.   Please make confession regular in your own lives. Jesus waits for us there. Entrusting you to the care of Our Lady, Fr. Mark Bozada May we joyfully share the abundant gifts God has given to us with others.

The Authentic Catholic Vote

There is NO COMPROMISE with Evil for a CATHOLIC!

THE FLAME OF LOVE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

The devotion to the Flame of Love of the Immaculate Heart of Mary has its origin in the apparitions and revelations made by the Lord Jesus and the Virgin Mary to Elizabeth Kindelmann, a Hungarian mother of six, between the years 1961 and 1981. Elizabeth died on April 11, 1985. It's through her that the Virgin Mary has put into our hands a new means: The Flame of Love of her Immaculate Heart.

The Flame of Love is a pressing invitation and a gift of an exceptional significance that the Lord Jesus and the Virgin Mary gives to our particularly troubled time. It is a pressing invitation, because Satan is playing havoc with the souls he is luring to follow him in great number; and a gift of an exceptional significance, because such a flood of graces has never yet been given since the Word became Flesh, as the Virgin Mary asserted to Elizabeth.

Through the Flame of Love of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, the Lord Jesus invites us to take part in his work of salvation by saving the souls, and the Virgin Mary asks us to take part in the blinding of Satan, source of all evil, in order to prevent him from harming the souls. Therefore, saving souls by blinding Satan, that is the goal that the Flame of Love wants to achieve through each one of us. Jesus said to Elizabeth: “ My dear soul, wish me many souls! This is my only prayer: souls! Oh, the souls! How I languish for them! Oh, how I suffer because of the indifference of the souls! ”

The Blessed Virgin Mary urges all of us to do all that we can so that the Flame of Love is spread in the whole world. She said to Elizabeth: “ This Flame full of graces of my Immaculate Heart that I give you must go from heart to heart. It will be the great miracle whose light will blind Satan. ” The Blessed Virgin Mary also said: “ I want the Flame of Love of my Immaculate Heart to be known everywhere, just

Mary rescuing souls from purgatory.

like my name is known all over the world. ”

The Virgin Mary needs apostles to spread the devotion to the Flame of Love of her Heart in the world, and she calls upon each one of us. She says: “ Each person who receives this message (that of the Flame of Love) must accept it as an invitation and none of you should take offense or turn away. ”

But she also warns us: “ You can make known my Flame of Love only by word of mouth... You do not have the right to remain silent, neither through cowardice, nor by pride or negligence or fear of a sacrifice... So take the first step for once! Could I finally see a sign of your goodwill? It is only the first step that costs, believe me! That, you must do it! I urge you! ” The Virgin Mary adds: “ You must endeavor to take part in the blindness of Satan... Do not tolerate any delay, because Satan will be blinded insofar as you collaborate in it... Do not prolong this time of preparation! Do not linger passively before answering my holy requests! ”

    "I, the beautiful ray of the morning dawn, I am blinding Satan."
    (Words of the Virgin Mary on May 19, 1963)

Jesus says to us: “ We give you the force and courage to take the first steps, but
you should not delay the implementation of my Will or dismiss it with the back of the hand... Surpass yourselves! Consider the Magi who made a superhuman sacrifice! ”

In fact, we should not be surprised before this insistence to pray and to make known the Flame of Love, when we know that the Hearts of Jesus and Mary suffer terribly from the loss of so many of their children.

Elizabeth once asked: " What is the Flame of Love? " Jesus answered: “ The Flame of Love of my Mother is for you what the arch was for Noah! ” And the Virgin Mary added: “ The Flame of Love of my Immaculate Heart is Jesus-Christ Himself! ”

Unquestionably, we should be grateful for a gift of this magnitude from our Heavenly Mother. To attempt even a minimal comprehension of the significance of this gesture on the human plane is futile. Hence, the times call for us to fall on our knees and seek her solicitude with faith.

Chaplet of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
(can be said with an ordinary rosary).

The Sign of the Cross is made five times in veneration of the Savior's five Holy Wounds.

On the Our Father [Pater] beads:
Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, Pray for those who seek refuge in you.

On the Hail Mary [Ave] beads:
Holy Mother, save us through your Immaculate Heart's flame of love.

At the end, the Glory Be to the Father is repeated three times.

(Also known as the Flame of Love Chaplet)

Cardinal Burke on Voting and Abortion

Pope calls on world community to help end savage violence in Iraq

Men embrace as they mourn outside the Syrian Catholic cathedral in Baghdad Nov. 1. Dozens of hostages and police were killed when security forces raided the cathedral Sunday to free worshippers being held by gunmen wearing explosives. (CNS/Reuters) By Carol Glatz
Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- A deadly militant siege of a Catholic cathedral in Baghdad, Iraq, was a "savage" act of "absurd violence," Pope Benedict XVI said.

The pope urged international and national authorities and all people of good will to work together to end the "heinous episodes of violence that continue to ravage the people of the Middle East."

"In a very grave attack on the Syrian Catholic cathedral of Baghdad, dozens of people were killed and injured, among them two priests and a group of faithful gathered for Sunday Mass," the pope said of the Oct. 31 incident.

"I pray for the victims of this absurd violence, which is even more savage because it struck defenseless people, gathered in God's house, which is a house of love and reconciliation," he said after praying the Angelus with pilgrims in St. Peter's Square Nov. 1, the feast of All Saints.

He expressed his closeness to Iraqi Christians, who have suffered another attack in their homeland, and he encouraged the nation's priests and lay faithful "to be strong and steady in hope."

Pope Benedict renewed his urgent call for peace in the Middle East.

While peace may be a gift of God, "it is also the result of efforts by people of good will and national and international institutions," he said.

"May everyone unite their efforts so as to end all violence," he said.

Armed militants wearing explosives stormed the cathedral Oct. 31 while an estimated 100 faithful were celebrating evening Mass, news reports said.

The terrorists first set off a car bomb across the street in front of the Baghdad Stock Exchange, which left at least two people dead. Then they stormed the church, killing another two people, according to reports.

The militants, who said they were part of the Islamic State of Iraq -- a group with suspected ties to al-Qaida -- held parishioners and priests hostage in the hopes of leveraging the release of prisoners from their network.

The terrorists demanded prisoners linked to al-Qaida be set free from detention in Iraq and Egypt and they threatened to blow up the church if military forces attempted to break the siege, according to Italian state media RAI.

Iraqi security forces ringed the church and U.S. military flew overhead in helicopters.

After a standoff that lasted hours, Iraqi forces stormed the cathedral and the ensuing firefight and a series of explosions left a large number of people dead and injured.

The Associated Press reported Nov. 1 that at least 39 people were killed, which included hostages, Iraqi security forces and suspected militants. Other agencies were reporting 52 people dead and 56 people wounded.

One report said Iraqi church sources included three young priests among those dead. Chaldean Auxiliary Bishop Shlemon Warduni of Baghdad told Vatican Radio Oct. 31 that at least one child was killed in the incident.

During the siege, he asked people to pray that God would give the hostage-takers the grace to take into consideration the women, children and all the innocent who were threatened by their actions.

Vatican spokesman Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi told reporters at the time of the siege that "it's a very sad situation, which confirms the difficult situation in which Christians live in the country."

"Christians live with great insecurity and we express our solidarity with them," he said.

Iraqi bishops had just participated in a special Synod of Bishops Oct. 10-24 with the pope at the Vatican; the synod drew attention to the challenges facing Christians in the Middle East.

During the synod, Iraqi bishops said kidnappings for ransom, bombings of churches and other Christian buildings and a general lack of security have made life so precarious for the vulnerable Christian community that about half have left their homeland for safer destinations in the past seven years.

At least one bishop raised the question of systematic attacks as part of a "plan" to drive all Christians from the Middle East.

The cathedral and four other churches were the target of a string of bombings Aug. 1, 2004, when parishioners were leaving Sunday Mass; 15 people were killed in those attacks.