ANNOUNCING a NOVENA to ST PIUS of PIETRELCINA/St Padre Pio –
Beginning Thursday 14 September
“I want only to be a poor friar who prays… Pray, hope and don’t worry. Worry is useless. God is merciful and will hear your prayer… Prayer is the best weapon we have; it is the key to God’s heart…”
DAY EIGHT – NOVENA in honour of the EXALTATION of the HOLY CROSS – 12 September
Death is Vanquished
Lord Jesus, you broke the power of death through the cross.
You are the first born from the dead.
Teach us then to accept our fears, pains and sufferings,
uniting them to your passion and death on the cross.
Give us the grace to believe that You always draw good from evil.
You are a powerful God because even in our most frightening times,
even in our gravest suffering, even death itself,
You have gone before to vanquish all!
DAILY PRAYER:
Dear Lord Jesus
Who because of Your burning love for us willed to be crucified
and to shed Your Most Precious Blood for the redemption
and salvation of our souls,
to bear the sins of all the history of humanity,
from Adam to the end of time.
look down upon us and grant the petition we ask
…………….( mention your intention)
We trust completely in Your Mercy.
Cleanse us from sin by Your Grace,
sanctify our work,
give us and all those who are dear to us,
our daily bread, lighten the burden of our sufferings,
bless our families,
and grant to the nations, so sorely afflicted,
Your Peace, which is the only true peace,
so that by obeying Your Commandments
we may come at last to the glory of Heaven.
O Cross, you are the glorious sign of victory.
Through your power may we share
in the triumph of Christ Jesus. Amen
Glory Be. (3x)
Thought for the Day – 12 September – Feast of the Most Holy Name of Mary
“The Virgin Mother is constantly present
on this journey of faith of the People of God toward the Light….
All her earthly life was a “pilgrimage of faith”.
For like us, she walked in the shadows and hoped for things unseen.
She knew the contradictions of our earthly life.
She was promised that her Son would be given David’s throne
but, at His birth, there was no room even at the inn.
Mary still believed.
The angel said her child would be called the Son of God
but, she would see Him slandered, betrayed, condemned and left to die as a thief on the Cross.
Even yet, Mary “trusted that the Lord’s words to her would be fulfilled (Luke 1:45)
and that “nothing is impossible wiuth God.” (Luke 1:37)
This woman of faith, Mary of Nazareth, the Mother of God,
has been given to us as a model in our pilgrimage of faith.
From Mary, we learn to surrender to God’s Will in all things.
I entrust you all to Mary, most holy, our Mother in heaven,
the Star of the Sea of our life..pray to her every day..!
Give your hand to Mary most holy, so that she may lead
you to receive Jesus.”
St John Paul (Ingenamenti, 6 October 1979)
Blessed Virgin Mary, Star of the Sea, Holy One, our Queen our Mother, Pray for us!
Quote/s of the Day – 12 September – Blessed Feast of the Holy Name of Mary!
“Mary means Star of the sea, for as mariners are guided to port by the ocean star, so Christians attain to glory through Mary’s maternal intercession.”
“God the Father gathered all the waters together and called them the seas or maria [Latin, seas]. He gathered all His grace together and called it Mary or Maria . . . This immense treasury is none other than Mary whom the saints call the ‘treasury of the Lord.’ From her fullness all men are made rich.”
“Look to the star of the sea, call upon Mary … in danger, in distress, in doubt, think of Mary, call upon Mary. May her name never be far from your lips, or far from your heart … If you follow her, you will not stray; if you pray to her, you will not despair; if you turn your thoughts to her, you will not err. If she holds you, you will not fall; if she protects you, you need not fear; if she is your guide, you will not tire; if she is gracious to you, you will surely reach your destination.”
One Minute Reflection – 12 September – The Feast of the Most Holy Name of Mary
When the appointed time came, God sent His Son, born of a woman.….Galatians 4:4
REFLECTION – “This most holy, sweet and worthy name was eminently fitted to so holy, sweet and worthy a virgin. For Mary means a bitter sea, star of the sea, the illuminated or illuminatrix. Mary is interpreted Lady. Mary is a bitter sea to the demons; to men she is the Star of the sea; to the Angels she is illuminatrix and to all creatures she is Lady.” … St Bonaventure (1217-1274) Seraphic Doctor
PRAYER – Heavenly Father, assist us at all times to obtain a spirit of worthy penance, for our sins and that of all the world. To the invocation of Your Divine Son, Jesus, we call on the intercession of His holy Mother to aid us on our pilgrimage. With great affection and confidence, we honour the Holy Hearts and invoke the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, to be our constant source of pure assistance and succour. Blessed Virgin, Most Holy Mother, pray for us. Amen
Our Morning Offering – 12 September – Feast of the Most Holy Name of Mary
(Hail Mary, the Angelic Salutation)
Whenever I say Hail Mary
By Bl Alan de la Roche (1428-1475)
Whenever I say Hail Mary
The court of heaven rejoices
And the earth is lost in wonderment
And I despise the world
And my heart is brim full
Of the love of God.
When I say Hail Mary;
All my fears wilt and die
And my passions are quelled.
If I say Hail Mary;
Devotion grows within me
And sorrow for sin awakens.
When I say Hail Mary
Hope is made strong
In my breast
And the dew of consolation
Falls on my soul
More and more
Because I say Hail Mary.
And my spirit rejoices
And sorrow fades away
When I say
Hail Mary.
Blessed Memorial of the Most Holy Name of Mary – 12 September
On this day dedicated to the Holy Name of Mary let us repeat that wonderful prayer of Saint Bernard, responding to Pope Benedict XVI’s invitation to “invite everyone to become a trusting child before Mary, even as the Son of God did. Saint Bernard says and we say with him: ‘Look to the star of the sea, call upon Mary … in danger, in distress, in doubt, think of Mary, call upon Mary. May her name never be far from your lips, or far from your heart … If you follow her, you will not stray; if you pray to her, you will not despair; if you turn your thoughts to her, you will not err. If she holds you, you will not fall; if she protects you, you need not fear; if she is your guide, you will not tire; if she is gracious to you, you will surely reach your destination”’ (Pope Benedict XVI, address at Heiligenkreuz Abbey, September 9, 2007).
Most Holy Name of Mary:
In accordance with Jewish custom our Lady’s parents named her eight days after her birth and were inspired to call her Mary. The feast of the Holy Name of Mary therefore follows that of her Birthday, as the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus follows Christmas. The feast originated in Spain and was approved by the Holy See in 1513; Innocent XI extended its observance to the whole Church in 1683 in thanksgiving to our Lady for the victory on September 12, 1683 by John Sobieski, king of Poland, over the Turks, who were besieging Vienna and threatening the West. This day was commemorated in Vienna by creating a new kind of pastry and shaping it in the form of the Turkish half-moon. It was eaten along with coffee which was part of the booty from the Turks (this is the origin of the of the croissant).
The ancient Onomastica Sacra have preserved the meanings ascribed to Mary’s name by the early Christian writers and perpetuated by the Greek Fathers. “Bitter Sea,” “Myrrh of the Sea,” “The Light Giver,” “The Enlightened One,” “Lady,” “Seal of the Lord” and “Mother of the Lord” are the principal interpretations. These etymologies suppose that the Hebrew form of the name is Maryãm, not Miryãm. From the time of St Jerome until the 16th century, preferred interpretations of Mary’s name in the West were “Lady,” “Bitter Sea,” “The Light Giver,” and especially “Star of the Sea.” tella Maris was by far the favoured interpretation. The revival of Hebraic studies, which accompanied the Renaissance, led to a more critical appraisal of the meanings assigned to Our Lady’s name. Miryãm has all the appearance of a genuine Hebrew name and no solid reason has been discovered to warrant rejecting the Semitic origin of the word. The Hebrew name of Mary, Miryãm, (in Latin Domina) means lady or sovereign; this Mary is in virtue of her Son’s sovereign authority as Lord of the World. We call Mary our Lady as we call Jesus our Lord and when we pronounce her name we affirm her power, implore her aid and place ourselves under her protection.
“Therefore a certain Star has risen for us today: Our Lady, Saint Mary. Her name means Star of the sea; no doubt the Star of this sea which is the world. Therefore, we ought to lift up our eyes to this Star that has appeared on earth today in order that she may lead us, in order that she may enlighten us, in order that she may show us these steps so that we shall know them, in order that she may help us so that we may be able to ascend. And therefore it is a beautiful thing that Mary is placed in this stairway of which we are speaking, there where we must begin to climb. As the Evangelist says, Jacob begot Joseph, the husband of Mary, so immediately at the very moment of our conversion she appears to us and receives us into her care and enlightens us in her light and accompanies us along this laborious path.” – St Aelred (110-1167).
Most Holy Name of Mary (Optional Memorial): Feast of the entire Latin Church. It was first observed at Cuenca, Spain in 1513, then extended to the universal Church and assigned to its present place and rank by Pope Innocent XI in 1683 in thanksgiving to God and the Blessed Virgin for the liberation of Vienna, France and the signal victory over the Turks on 12 September 1683. It is the titular feast of the Society of Mary (Marianists) and of the Congregation of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate.
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St Ailbe
Bl Apolinar Franco
St Autonomous
St Curonotus
St Dominic Magoshichi
St Eanswida
St Francis of Saint Bonaventure
St Franciscus Ch’oe Kyong-Hwan
St Guy of Anderlecht
St Juventius of Pavia
St Mancius of Saint Thomas
St Paul of Saint Clare
Bl Pierre-Sulpice-Christophe Faverge
St Sacerdos of Lyon
St Silvinus of Verona
St Tomás de Zumárraga Lazcano
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Martyrs of Alexandria – 6 saints: A group of Christians martyred in the persecutions of Diocletian. We know little more than their names – Hieronides, Leontius, Sarapion, Seleusius, Straton and Valerian. They were drowned c 300 at Alexandria, Egypt.
Martyrs of Phrygia – 3 saints: Three Christians who were martyred for destroying pagan idols. We know little more than their names – Macedonius, Tatian and Theodolus. They were burned to death in 362 in Phrygia (modern Turkey).
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• Blessed Fortunato Arias Sánchez
• Blessed Francisco Maqueda López
• Blessed Jaume Puigferrer Mora
• Blessed Josep Plana Rebugent
• Blessed Julián Delgado Díez
AnaStpaul 
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