Posted in CHRIST the KING, MORNING Prayers, NOVENAS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY

NOVENA TO CHRIST KING in preparation for the Liturgical Feast of Jesus Christ, King of the Universe Written by Prince Cardinal Adam Stefan Sapieha, Archbishop of Krakow

NOVENA TO CHRIST KING
in preparation for the Liturgical Feast
of Jesus Christ, King of the Universe
Written by Prince Cardinal Adam Stefan Sapieha, Archbishop of Krakow

Day Eight
With the Followers of Christ

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Thy faithful and enkindle in them the fire of Thy love.

Hebrew 7:26
It was fitting that we should have such a high priest: holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, higher than the heavens.

The priest always and in an unchangeable way, finds the source of his identity in Christ the Priest.   It is not the world which determines his status, as though it depended on changing needs or ideas about social roles.   The priest is marked with the seal of the Priesthood of Christ, in order to share in His function as the one Mediator and Redeemer.
So, because of this fundamental bond, there opens before the priest the immense field of the service of souls, for their salvation in Christ and in the Church.   This service must be completely inspired by love of souls in imitation of Christ, who gives His life for them.   It is God’s wish that all people should be saved and that none of the little ones should be lost.  “The priest must always be ready to respond to the needs of souls,” said the Curé of Ars. “He is not for Himself, He is for you.”
The priest is for the laity:  he animates them and supports them in the exercise of the common-priesthood of the baptised — so well illustrated by the Second Vatican Council — which consists in their making their fives a spiritual offering, in witnessing to the Christian spirit in the family, in taking charge of the temporal sphere and sharing in the evangelisation of their brethren.   But the service of the priest belongs to another order.
He is ordained to act in the name of Christ the Head, to bring people into the new life made accessible by Christ, to dispense to them the mysteries . . . St Pope John Paul II, Letter to priests for Holy Thursday in 1986, 10

Prayer:   God, King of heaven and earth! Jesus Christ hath established the sacred priesthood to enable spiritual sacrifice, for the greater honour and glory of Your Name and for the Redemption of all believers.   We come to You with great reverence and humility and, learning to love like Jesus, Our Lord and King, we commend to You, O Lord, all those whom He loved until the end.   O Christ, we implore You to behold Your chosen ones today in Your mercy.   It is them who guide souls to Salvation;  may You show Your love to them and grant them the light of the Holy Spirit.   Fortify them by Your power,
support them through the fidelity of their congregations and protect them from all evil. You who lives and reigns world without end. Amen

Prayer to Jesus Christ King of the Universe
by Adam Stefan Cardinal Sapieha (1927)

O Jesus, Lord of our hearts and immortal King of centuries, we hereby solemnly swear to You to stand faithfully by Your throne and by You.   We swear never to blemish Your standard with unbelief, sectarianism or any other apostasy. We vow to You to persevere in the holy Catholic faith until we die.
May our posterity engrave it on our tombstones that we were never embarrassed because of our faith in You, Jesus the King and Your Gospel.   May You reign in our hearts through grace.   May You reign in our families through family virtues.   May You reign in our schools through genuine Catholic upbringing.
May You reign in our society through justice and concord.   May You reign everywhere, always and forever.   May Your standard be a guide for us all, may Your Kingdom extend to every corner of the earth! Amen

Let us pray:   Almighty God, the powerful King of all creation, we humbly beseech You to send the hosts of angels for our protection so that we may serve You with devotion, with no hindrance and in peace.   We beseech You through Jesus Christ, Our Lord. AmenDAY EIGHT - NOVENA CHRIST THE KING - 24 NOV

Posted in MORNING Prayers, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, SAINT of the DAY

Our Morning Offering – 24 November

Our Morning Offering – 24 November – The Memorial of St Andrew Dung-Lac and Companions/The Martyrs of Vietnam

By Your Holy Cross – An 11th Century Catholic Prayer

Lord Jesus Christ
For the sake of Your Holy Cross,
Be with me to shield me.

Lord Jesus Christ,
By the memory of Your Blessed Cross,
Be within to strengthen me.

Lord Jesus Christ,
For Your Glorious Cross,
Go before me to direct my steps.

Lord Jesus Christ,
For Your Noble Cross,
Be You in me to lead me to Your kingdom.
Amenby-your-holy-cross-11th-century-prayer-23-nov-2017

Posted in SAINT of the DAY

Memorials of the Saints – 24 November

St Andrew Dung-Lac and Companions – Martyrs of Vietnam – (Memorial) – 117 saints and beati:   Between the arrival of the first Portuguese missionary in 1533, through the Dominicans and then the Jesuit missions of the 17th century, the politically inspired persecutions of the 19th century, and the Communist-led terrors of the twentieth, there have been many thousands of Catholics and other Christians murdered for their faith in Vietnam.   Some were priests, some nuns or brothers, some lay people; some were foreign missionaries but most were native Vietnamese killed by their own government and countrymen.

Record keeping being what it was, and because the government did not care to keep track of the people it murdered, we have no information on the vast bulk of the victims. In 1988, Pope John Paul II recognized over a hundred of them, including some whose Causes we do have, and in commemoration of those we do not.   They are collectively known as the Martyrs of Vietnam (or Tonkin or Annam or the other older names of that country).

They include –
• Blessed Andrew the Catechist • Saint Agnes De • Saint Anrê Tran An Dung • Saint Anrê Tran Van Trông • Saint Anrê Tuong • Saint Antôn Nguyen Ðích • Saint Antôn Nguyen Huu Quynh • Saint Augustine Moi Van Nguyen • Saint Augustine Schoffler • Saint Augustinô Nguyen Van Moi • Saint Augustinô Phan Viet Huy • Saint Bênadô Võ Van Duê • Saint Clemente Ignacio Delgado Cebrián • Saint Daminh Ninh • Saint Domingo Henares de Zafra Cubero • Saint Dominic Uy Van Bui • Saint Ðaminh Bùi Van Úy • Saint Ðaminh Ðinh Ðat • Saint Ðaminh Huyen • Saint Ðaminh Mau • Saint Ðaminh Nguyen • Saint Ðaminh Nguyen Ðuc Mao • Saint Ðaminh Nguyen Van Hanh • Saint Ðaminh Nguyen Van Xuyên • Saint Ðaminh Pham Trong Kham • Saint Ðaminh Toai • Saint Ðaminh Trach Ðoài • Saint Ðaminh Tuoc • Saint Emanuele Lê Van Phung • Saint Emmanuel Nguyen Van Trieu • Saint Etienne-Théodore Cuenot • Saint Francesc Gil de Federich de Sans • Saint Francis Trung Von Tran • Saint Francis Xavier Can Nguyen • Saint François Jaccard • Saint François-Isidore Gagelin • Saint Giacôbê Ðo Mai Nam • Saint Gioan Ðat • Saint Gioan Ðoàn Trinh Hoan • Saint Giuse Ðang Van Viên • Saint Giuse Hoàng Luong Canh • Saint Giuse Nguyen Duy Khang • Saint Giuse Nguyen Ðình Nghi • Saint Giuse Nguyen Ðình Uyen • Saint Giuse Pham Trong Ta • Saint Jacinto Castañeda Puchasóns • Saint Jean-Charles Cornay • Saint Jean-Théophane Vénard • Saint John Baptist Con • Saint John-Louis Bonnard • Saint José Fernández de Ventosa • Saint José María Díaz Sanjurjo • Saint José Melchór García-Sampedro Suárez • Saint Joseph Marchand • Saint Luca Pham Trong Thìn • Saint Martinô Ta Ðuc Thinh • Saint Martinô Tho • Saint Mateo Alonso de Leciñana • Saint Matthêô Nguyen Van Ðac Phuong • Saint Micae Nguyen Huy My • Saint Nicolas Bùi Ðuc The • Saint Nicolas Bùi Ðuc The • Saint Pere Josep Almató Ribera Auras • Saint Phanxicô Ðo Van Chieu • Saint Phanxicô Xaviê Can • Saint Phanxicô Xaviê Hà Trong Mau • Saint Phaolô Hanh • Saint Phaolô Lê Bao Tinh • Saint Phaolô Nguyen Ngân • Saint Phaolô Nguyen Van My • Saint Phaolô Vu Van Duong • Saint Phêrô Dung • Saint Phêrô Ða • Saint Pherô Ðoàn Van Vân • Saint Phêrô Khan • Saint Phêrô Lê Tùy • Saint Phêrô Nguyen Bá Tuan • Saint Phêrô Nguyen Khac Tu • Saint Phêrô Nguyen Van Luu • Saint Phêrô Nguyen Van Tu • Saint Phêrô Thuan • Saint Phêrô Truong Van Ðuong • Saint Phêrô Truong Van Thi • Saint Phêrô Võ Ðang Khoa • Saint Phêrô Võ Ðang Khoa • Saint Phêrô Vu Van Truat • Saint Pierre Rose Ursule Dumoulin Borie • Saint Pierre-François Néron • Saint Stêphanô Nguyen Van Vinh • Saint Tôma Ðinh Viet Du • Saint Tôma Nguyen Van Ðe • Saint Tôma Toán • Saint Tôma Tran Van Thien • Saint Valentin Faustino Berri Ochoa • Saint Vihn Son Ðo Yen • Saint Vincent Liêm • Saint Vinh Son Nguyen The Ðiem • Saint Vinh Son Tuong • Saint Vinh-Son Duong •
They were martyred in various ways and in various locations in Vietnam and Canonised on 19 June 1988 by St Pope John Paul II.ST ANDREW DUNG-LACmartyrs-of-vietnam

St Albert of Louvain
St Alexander of Corinth
St Balsamus of Cava
St Bieuzy of Brittany
St Chrysogonus
St Colman of Cloyne
Bl Conrad of Frisach
St Crescentian of Rome
St Eanfleda of Whitby
St Felicissimus of Perugia
St Félix Alonso Muñiz
St Firmina of Amelia
St Flora of Cordoba
St Francisco Borrás Román
St Hitto of Saint-Gall
St Kenan of Damleag
St Leopardinus of Vivaris
Bl Maria Anna Sala
St Marinus of Maurienne
St Mary of Cordoba
St Phêrô Võ Ðang Khoa
St Pierre Rose Ursule Dumoulin Borie
St Portianus of Miranda
St Protasius of Milan
St Romanus of Le Mans
St Vinh-son Nguyen The Ðiem

Martyred in the Spanish Civil War – Martyred Carmelite Sisters of Valencia – 12 beati:
• Blessed Antonia Gosens Sáez De Ibarra
• Blessed Cándida Cayuso González
• Blessed Clara Ezcurra Urrutia
• Blessed Concepción Rodríguez Fernández
• Blessed Daría Campillo Paniagua
• Blessed Erundina Colino Vega
• Blessed Feliciana de Uribe Orbe
• Blessed Félix Alonso Muñiz
• Blessed Francisco Borrás Román
• Blessed Justa Maiza Goicoechea
• Blessed María Concepción Odriozola Zabalía
• Blessed María Consuelo Cuñado González
• Blessed Niceta Plaja Xifra
• Blessed Paula Isla Alonso