Our Morning Offering – 14 September – Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross
Prayer In Honour of the Holy Cross
Third Prayer from the Seven Penitential Psalms Devotion
Almighty God,
Lord Jesus Christ,
who, for our sake, stretched out
Your pure hands on the Cross
and redeemed us with
Your precious Blood,
grant me to feel and understand
that I may have true repentance
and great perseverance,
all the days of my life.
Your reign is a reign for all ages.
Amen
The Seven Sorrows Novena
By St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787)
Most Zealous Doctor
Day Seven – The Seventh Sorrow
Jesus is Placed in the Tomb
Opening Prayer
V/. O God +, come to my assistance
R/. O Lord, make haste to help me.
Gloria Patri …
Reflection (St Alphonsus de Liguori)
Meditation:
Hastily the Body is wrapped in a clean linen cloth. Nicodemus has brought myrrh and aloes and the Body is bound in the Shroud with them. Nearby is a new tomb, belonging to Joseph of Arimathea and there they lay Jesus. Mary and John and the holy women follow them and watch as the great stone to the sepulchre is rolled. It is the end.
I grieve for thee, O Mary most sorrowful,
for the pangs that wrenched
thy most loving heart at the burial of Jesus.
Dear Mother,
by thy heart sunk in the bitterness of desolation,
obtain for me the virtue of diligence
and the gift of wisdom.
And this my special intention
……………………. (mention your intention)
Amen
Ave Maria …
Prayer of St Alphonsus:
My afflicted Mother,
I will not leave thee alone to weep;
no, I wish to keep thee company with my tears.
This grace I ask of thee to-day –
obtain for me a continual remembrance
of the passion of Jesus
and of thine also
and a tender devotion to them,
that all the remaining days of my life,
may be spent in weeping for thy sorrows, O my Mother
and for those of my Redeemer,
I hope that these dolors
will give me the confidence and strength
not to despair at the hour of my death,
at the sight of the offences
I have committed against my Lord.
By these must I obtain pardon,
perseverance, paradise,
where I hope to rejoice with thee
and sing the infinite mercy of my God
through all eternity –
thus I hope, thus may it be.
Amen, amen.
The Seven Sorrows Novena
By St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787)
Most Zealous Doctor
Day Six – The Sixth Sorrow
Mary Receives Jesus
Opening Prayer
V/. O God +, come to my assistance
R/. O Lord, make haste to help me.
Gloria Patri …
Reflection (St Alphonsus de Liguori)
Meditation:
It is over. Dark clouds have appeared in the sky and upon the world. Jesus is dead. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus take down the Body from the Cross. and Mary receives It in her arms. She is filled with a sadness that no human heart has known. This is her Son. Once she had cradled Him in her arms. listened to His voice, watched Him working at the carpenter’s bench. Now He is dead. She does not weep, her grief is too great for tears.
I grieve for thee, O Mary most sorrowful,
in the wounding of thy compassionate heart,
when the side of Jesus was struck by the lance
and His Heart was pierced
before His Body was removed from the Cross.
Dear Mother, by thy heart thus transfixed,
obtain for me the virtue of fraternal charity
and the gift of understanding.
And this my special intention
……………………. (mention your intention)
Amen
Ave Maria …
Prayer of St Alphonsus:
O afflicted Virgin!
O soul, great in virtues and great also in sorrows!
for both arise from that great fire of love thou hast for God;
thou “whose heart can love nothing but God;
O Mother, have pity on me,
for I have not loved God
and I have so much offended Him.
Thy sorrows give me great confidence to hope for pardon.
But this is not enough;
I wish to love my Lord
and who can better obtain this for me than thou,
thou who art the Mother of Fair Love?
O Mary, thou dost console all,
comfort me also.
Amen
The Seven Sorrows Novena
By St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787)
Most Zealous Doctor
Day Five – The Fifth Sorrow
Jesus Dies on the Cross
Opening Prayer
V/. O God +, come to my assistance
R/. O Lord, make haste to help me.
Gloria Patri …
Reflection (St Alphonsus de Liguori)
Meditation:
With John, Mary stands at the foot of the Cross. “A sword shall pierce thy soul,” Simeon told her. Truly her heart is pierced with sorrow. Her beloved Son is dying and she shares in His suffering. She does not ask God to take away this agony. She is His Mother, so close to Him that His pain is hers, too. And now He speaks from the Cross: “Woman, behold thy son.” Jesus give His Mother to John, and to us. For all eternity she is our Mother.
I grieve for thee O Mary, most sorrowful,
in the martyrdom which thy generous heart endured
in standing near Jesus in His agony.
Dear Mother, by thy afflicted heart,
obtain for me the virtue of temperance
and the gift of counsel.
And this my special intention
……………………. (mention your intention)
Amen
Ave Maria …
Prayer of St Alphonsus:
O Mother, the most afflicted of all mothers,
thy Son, then, is dead;
thy Son so amiable
and who loved thee so much!
Weep, for thou hast reason to weep.
Who can ever console thee?
Nothing can console thee
but the thought that Jesus,
by His death, hath conquered hell,
hath opened paradise which was closed to men
and hath gained so many souls.
From that throne of the Cross
He was to reign over so many hearts,
which, conquered by His love,
would serve Him with love.
Do not disdain, O my Mother,
to keep me near to weep with thee,
for I have more reason than thou to weep
for the offences that I have committed against thy Son.
O, Mother of mercy,
I hope for pardon and my eternal salvation,
first through the death of my Redeemer
and then through the merits of thy dolors.
Amen
One Minute Reflection – 11 September – “Month of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary” – Friday of the Twenty Third week in Ordinary Time, Readings: 1 Corinthians 9:16-19, 22b-27, Psalms 84:3, 4, 5-6, 12, Luke 6:39-42
“You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye and then you will see clearly, to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye.” … Luke 6:42
REFLECTION – “The Lord in this passage warns us against rash and unjust judgement. He wants us to act with a heart that is single and intent on God alone. Because there are many things about which, it would be rash to pass judgement, since we do not know with what kind of a heart they are done. For the most part, those who readily judge and condemn, are those who love to find fault and to condemn rather than to reprove and correct – and this is the vice of pride or envy. (…)
So if, for instance, someone sins through anger, you would reprove him through hatred. There is as much difference between anger and hatred, as there is between a speck and a beam. For hatred is an inveterate anger which, in time, has come to such a pitch that it may aptly be called a beam. Even though you are angry with someone, you may nevertheless wish them to amend. But if you hate someone, you cannot wish them to change for the better (…) First rid yourself of hatred, and then you will immediately be able to correct the person you love.” … St Augustine (354-430) Father and Doctor of Grace – Commentary on the Sermon on the Mount, 19,63
PRAYER – Lord God, in Your wisdom, You created us, in love. By Your providence, You rule us, in love. Penetrate our inmost being with the holy light of Your Son. Penetrate our hearts with the overwhelming love for Your love, so that we may weep in consolation. May the Light that is Jesus Christ our Lord, enlighten our hearts that we may see clearly the way we should tread. May the prayers of Your holy Angels, Martyrs, Saints and our Sorrowful Martyr Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, be our guiding inspiration. Through Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, God forever amen.
The Seven Sorrows Novena
By St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787)
Most Zealous Doctor
Day Four – The Fourth Sorrow
Mary Meets Jesus on the Way to Calvary
Opening Prayer
V/. O God +, come to my assistance
R/. O Lord, make haste to help me.
Gloria Patri …
Reflection (St Alphonsus de Liguori)
Meditation:
Mary has known fear and sorrow but none so great, as seeing her beloved Son stumbling under the weight of the Cross. She hears the jeering shouts from the crowd and has no power to help Him. Pity and love are in her eyes as she gazes at His blood-stained face. To many around her, He is no better than a criminal and her heart is breaking as she follows Him to Calvary or Golgotha.
I grieve for thee, O Mary most sorrowful
in the consternation of thy heart
at meeting Jesus as he carried His Cross.
Dear Mother,
by thy heart so troubled,
obtain for me the virtue of patience
and the gift of fortitude.
And this my special intention
……………………. (mention your intention)
Amen
Ave Maria …
Prayer of St Alphonsus:
My sorrowful Mother,
by the merit of that grief
which thou did feel
at seeing thy beloved Jesus led to death,
obtain for me the grace also to bear with patience,
those crosses which God sends me.
Happy me, if I also shall know
how to accompany thee with my cross until death.
Thou and Jesus, both innocent,
have borne a heavy cross
and shall I a sinner,
who have merited hell, refuse mine?
O, Immaculate Virgin,
I hope that thou will help me
to bear my crosses with patience.
Amen
The Seven Sorrows Novena
By St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787)
Most Zealous Doctor
Day Three – The Third Sorrow
The Loss of the Child Jesus in the Temple
Opening Prayer
V/. O God +, come to my assistance
R/. O Lord, make haste to help me.
Gloria Patri …
Reflection (St Alphonsus de Liguori)
Meditation:
When Jesus is twelve, He is taken to Jerusalem for the Feast of Passover. On the return journey Joseph and Mary find at the end of the first day that Jesus is not with them. Racked with anxiety, they search for Him. Nobody in the streets, not even the beggars, can tell them where He is. Not till the third day do they find Him, in the Temple.
I grieve for thee, O Mary most sorrowful,
in those anxieties which tried thy troubled heart
at the loss of thy dear Jesus.
Dear Mother,
by thy heart so full of anguish,
obtain for me the virtue of chastity
and the gift of knowledge.
And this my special intention
……………………. (mention your intention)
Amen
Ave Maria …
Prayer of St Alphonsus:
O blessed Virgin,
why art thou afflicted, seeking thy lost Son?
Is it because thou dost not know where He is?
But dost thou not know that He is in thy heart?
Dost thou not see that He is feeding among the lilies?
Thou, thyself have said it:
“My beloved to me and I to Him who feeds among the lilies.”
These, thy humble, pure and holy thoughts and affections,
are all lilies, that invite the divine spouse to dwell with thee.
O Mary, do thou sigh after Jesus,
thou who loves none but Jesus?
Leave sighing to me and so many other sinners
who do not love Him
and who have lost Him by offending Him.
My most amiable Mother,
if through my fault thy Son has not yet returned to my soul,
will thou obtain for me, that I may find Him.
I know well, that He allows himself to be found by all who seek Him:
The Lord is good to the soul that seeks him: ”
Bonus est Dominus . . . animse quaerenti ilium.”
Make me to seek Him as I ought to seek Him.
Thou art the gate through which all find Jesus;
through thou, I too hope to find Him.
Amen
The Seven Sorrows Novena
By St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787)
Most Zealous Doctor
Day Two – The Second Sorrow
The Flight into Egypt
Opening Prayer
V/. O God +, come to my assistance
R/. O Lord, make haste to help me.
Gloria Patri …
Reflection (St Alphonsus de Liguori)
Meditation:
Soon the sword of sorrow strikes. Herod the King seeks to kill the Child. Warned in sleep by an angel, Joseph takes Jesus and His Mother Mary, setting out for Egypt, where they lived in obscurity and poverty until it was safe to return to Nazareth.
I grieve for thee, O Mary most sorrowful,
in the anguish of thy most affectionate heart
during the flight into Egypt
and thy sojourn there.
Dear Mother,
by thy heart so troubled,
obtain for me the virtue of generosity,
especially toward the poor
and the gift of piety.
And this my special intention
……………………. (mention your intention)
Amen
Ave Maria …
Prayer of St Alphonsus:
Then, O Mary,
even after thy Son hath died
by the hands of men
who persecuted Him unto death,
have not these ungrateful men
yet ceased from persecuting Him
with their sins
and continuing to afflict thee, O Mother of Sorrows?
And I also, O God, have been one of these.
O, my most sweet Mother,
obtain for me tears to weep for such ingratitude.
And then, by the sufferings thou didst experience
in the journey to Egypt,
assist me in the journey
that I am making to eternity,
that at length I may go to unite with thee
in loving my persecuted Saviour,
in the country of the blessed.
Amen
The Seven Sorrows Novena
By St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787)
Most Zealous Doctor
Day One
The First Sorrow – The Prophecy of Simeon
Opening Prayer
V/. O God +, come to my assistance
R/. O Lord, make haste to help me.
Gloria Patri …
Reflection (St Alphonsus de Liguori)
Meditation:
Sorrow as sharp as a sword shall pierce Mary’s heart because of her Child. Mary is in the Temple, having come with Joseph to present the Child to God . They meet Simeon, the holy man and Anna, the prophetess. Simeon takes the Baby in his arms, saying he will now die in peace because he has seen Christ, then he foretells the sorrow to come.
I grieve for thee, O Mary most sorrowful,
in the affliction of thy tender heart
at the prophecy of the holy and aged Simeon.
Dear Mother, by thy heart so afflicted,
obtain for me the virtue of humility
and the gift of the holy fear of God.
And this my special intention
……………………. (mention your intention)
Amen
Ave Maria …
Prayer of St Alphonsus:
O my blessed Mother,
not one sword only
but as many swords,
as I have committed sins,
have I added to those seven in thy heart.
O, my Lady,
thy sorrows are not due to thee who art innocent
but to me who am guilty.
But since thou hast wished to suffer so much for me,
O, by thy merits,
obtain for me great sorrow for my sins
and patience under the trials of this life,
which will always be light,
in comparison with my demerits,
for I have often merited hell.
Amen
Our Morning Offering – 5 September – “Month of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary”and a Marian Saturday – Saturday of the Twenty Second week in Ordinary Time
Prayer to our Lady of Sorrows
By St Bonaventure (1217-1274)
Doctor of the Church
O most holy Virgin,
Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ,
by the overwhelming grief you experienced
when you witnessed the Martyrdom,
the Crucifixion
and the Death,
of your Divine Son,
look upon me with eyes of compassion
and awaken in my heart a tender
commiseration for those sufferings,
as well as a sincere detestation of my sins,
in order that,
being disengaged from all undue affection
for the passing joys of this earth,
I may sigh after the eternal Jerusalem
and that henceforward, all my thoughts
and all my actions, may be directed
towards this one most desirable object,
the honour, glory and love
to our Divine Lord Jesus,
and to you,
the Holy and Immaculate
Mother of God.
Amen
Novena in Preparation for the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Day Four
O Chosen One among the daughters of Adam,
admirable Mary,
the Redeemer promised to mankind
from the beginning of the world,
takes delight in your birth,
for He sees the one who is destined
to become the Co-redemptress of souls
by uniting her tears
to the Blood shed on the Cross
to save mankind.
Dearest Mother,
please pray for me and for these my intentions…
…………………….. (State your intentions)
Hail Mary…
Prayer:
Your Nativity, O Virgin Mother of God,
was the herald of joy to the whole world;
since from you arose the Sun of Justice,
Christ our God, who, destroying the curse,
bestowed the blessing
and confounding death,
rewarded us with life everlasting.
V. Let us celebrate with joy the birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
R. That she may intercede for us with Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Let us pray:
Grant to us your servants,
we beseech you, O Lord,
the gift of Your heavenly grace,
that as our salvation was begun
in the child-bearing of the Blessed Virgin,
so from this solemn festival of her Nativity
may we obtain an increase of peace.
Through Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen
September – Month of The Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary
In 1668, a separate feast of the Seven Sorrows of Mary, celebrated on the third Sunday in September, was granted to the Servites.
Pope Pius VII introduced it into the General Roman Calendar in 1814.
In 1913, Pope Pius X, in view of his reform giving precedence to Sundays over ordinary feasts, moved this feast to 15 September the day after the Feast of the Cross.
It is still observed on this date.
The Seven Sorrows of
the Blessed Virgin Mary
Our Lady of Sorrows is the Patron of:
people named Dolores, Dolorita, Lola and Pia.
Poland: the icon Our Lady of Sorrows, Queen and Patroness of Poland (see also: Patron saints of Poland § Primary) was canonically crowned by Pope Paul VI on 15 August 1967.
Malta: on Friday of Sorrows, almost all parishes in Malta hold devotional penitentiary processions with a life-size statue of Our Lady of Sorrows through the streets of the parish.
Slovakia: 15 September is also a national public holiday
the Congregation of Holy Cross
Order of the Servants of Mary
Mola di Bari and the Molise region of Italy
Nuestra Señora de la Soledad de Porta Vaga, Queen and Patroness of the City and Province of Cavite, Philippines
Mississippi, United States
Dolores, Abra, Philippines
Lanzarote, Canary Islands
Mater Dolorosa (Berlin-Lankwitz)
Pinabacdao, Samar, Philippines
Jia-an, Jiabong, Samar, Philippines
Ronda, Cebu, Philippines
Tanawan, Bustos, Bulacan, Philippines
Our Morning Offering – 1 September – “Month of the Seven Sorrows of Mary” – Tuesday of the Twenty Second week in Ordinary Time
As we enter the Month of our Sorrowful Mother, let us unite ourselves to her and offer her our meagre consolation.
O Sorrowful Virgin,
Give Me thy Sorrows!
By St Bonaventure (1217-1274)
Seraphic Doctor
O sorrowful Virgin,
unite me at least
to the humiliations and wounds of thy Son,
so that both He and thee,
may find comfort,
in having someone sharing thy sufferings.
Oh, how happy I would be if I could do this!
For is there perhaps anything
greater,
sweeter,
or more advantageous for a person?
Why dost thou not grant me what I ask?
If I have offended thee,
be just and pierce my heart.
If I have been faithful to thee,
leave me not without a reward:
give me thy sorrows!
Amen
Our Morning Offering – 31 August – The last day of the Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary – Monday of the Twenty Second week in Ordinary Time
Deign, O Immaculate Virgin
By St Paschasius Radbertus (785–865)
Deign, O Immaculate Virgin,
Mother most pure,
to accept the loving cry of praise
which we send up to you
from the depths of our hearts.
Though they can but add little to your glory,
O Queen of Angels,
you do not despise, in your love,
the praises of the humble
and the poor.
Cast down upon us a glance of mercy,
O most glorious Queen,
graciously receive our petitions.
Through your immaculate purity of body and mind,
which rendered you so pleasing to God,
inspire us with a love of innocence and purity.
Teach us to guard carefully the gifts of grace,
striving ever after sanctity, so that,
being made like the image of your beauty,
we may be worthy to become the sharers
of your eternal happiness.
Amen
St Paschasius Radbertus was a Theologian and the Benedictine Abbot of Corbie.
Read about him here: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2019/04/26/saint-of-the-day-26-april-saint-paschasius-radbertus-785-865/
Our Morning Offering – 29 August – “Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary” – Memorial of the Passion of St John the Baptist
To You We Cry, O Queen of Mercy!
By St Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153)
Doctor Mellifluus (Mellifluous Doctor)
To you we cry,
O Queen of Mercy!
Return, that we may
behold you dispensing favours,
bestowing remedies,
giving strength.
Ah, tender Mother!
Tell your all-powerful Son
that we have no more wine.
We are thirsty after the wine of His love,
of that marvelous wine
that fills souls with a holy inebriation,
inflames them,
and gives them the strength to despise
the things of this world
and to seek with ardour heavenly goods.
Amen
Our Morning Offering – 13 August – “Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary” – Thursday of the Nineteenth week in Ordinary Time and the Feast of Our Lady, Refuge of Sinners
Shelter Me Under Your Mantle
Refuge of Sinners
By St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787)
Most Zealous Doctor
Most holy Virgin Immaculate, my Mother Mary,
to you who are the Mother of my Lord,
the Queen of the Universe, the Advocate,
the hope, the refuge of sinners,
I, who am the most miserable of all sinners,
have recourse this day.
I venerate you, great Queen
and I thank you for the many graces
you have bestowed upon me even unto this day,
in particular for having delivered me from the hell
which I have so often served by my sins.
I love you, my dearest Lady
and because of that love,
I promise to serve you willingly forever
and to do what I can,
to make you loved by others also.
I place in you all my hopes for salvation,
accept me as your servant
and shelter me under your mantle,
you who are the Mother of Mercy.
And since you are so powerful with God,
deliver me from all temptations,
or at least obtain for me the strength
to overcome them until death.
From you I implore a true love for Jesus Christ.
Through you I hope to die a holy death.
My dear Mother, by your love for Almighty God,
I pray you to assist me always
but most of all, at the last moment of my life.
Forsake me not then,
until you shall see me safe in heaven,
there to bless you
and sing of your mercies through all eternity.
Such is my hope.
Amen
Our Morning Offering – 10 August – “Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary” – Feast of Saint Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr
O Mary, my Queen
By St Louis de Montfort (1673-1716)
O Mary, my Queen,
I cast myself into the arms of your mercy.
I place my soul and body
in your blessed care
and under your special protection
from this world.
I entrust to you
all my hopes and consolations,
all my anguish and misery,
my life and the end of my life.
Through your most holy intercession
and through your merits,
grant that all my works
may be directed and carried out
in accord with your will
and the will of your divine Son.
Amen
Our Morning Offering –8 August – “Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary” – Saturday of the Eighteenth week in Ordinary Time
Mary Our Strength
By Venerable Pope Pius XII (1876-1958)
(Pontiff 1939-1958)
O Virgin, fair as the moon,
delight of the angels and saints in heaven,
grant that we may become like you
and that our souls may receive a ray of your beauty,
which does not decline with the years
but shines forth into eternity.
O Mary, sun of heaven,
restore life where there is death
and enlighten spirits, where there is darkness.
Turn your countenance to your children
and radiate on us your light and your fervour.
O Mary, powerful as an army,
grant victory to our ranks.
We are very weak
and our enemy rages with uttermost conceit.
But under your banner
we are confident of overcoming him. ….
Save us, O Mary,
fair as the moon,
bright as the sun,
awe-inspiring as an army set in battle array
and sustained not by hatred
but by the ardour of love.
Amen
Our Morning Offering – 7 August – “Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary” – Friday of the Eighteenth week in Ordinary Time
O Immaculate Heart of Mary,
Heart of Love and Mercy
O Most Blessed Mother,
heart of love,
heart of mercy,
ever listening, caring, consoling,
hear our prayer.
As your children,
we implore your intercession
with Jesus your Son.
Receive with understanding
and compassion
the petitions we place before you today,
especially those so deep in our heart.
We are comforted in knowing
your heart is ever open
to those who ask for your prayer.
We trust to your gentle care and intercession,
those whom we love
and those who are sick or lonely or hurting.
Help all of us, Holy Mother,
to bear our burdens in this life
until we may share eternal life
and peace with God forever.
Amen
“This Virgin Mother of the Only begotten of God is called Mary,
worthy of God, Immaculate of the Immaculate, one of the one.”
Historically, devotion to Mary Most Holy in the form of her Immaculate Heart first occurs in the thirteenth century with St Mechtilde, St Gertrude, St Bernardine of Siena and others. In the seventeenth century, St Francis de Sales was an exponent of this devotion. But it was St John Eudes the great apostle of the Immaculate Heart (1601-1680), who gave the decisive impulse to the practice.
In the same century, the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus came back to light through St Margaret Mary Alacoque and her confessor, St Claude de La Colombiere. As the devotion to the Sacred Heart spread, so did the devotion to the Immaculate Heart. Both St Margaret Mary and St Claude, were deeply dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary as well.
Beginning with Pope Pius VI, several popes incrementally spread the devotion but in 1944 Pope Pius XII extended it to the whole Church, fixing the Feast Celebration on 22 August. Today, the feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary is celebrated on the Saturday following the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which is movable, always observed on a Friday, nineteen days after Pentecost Sunday.
The Physical Heart, Symbol of the Spiritual Heart
The Fathers of the Church consider that when, from the Cross, Our Lord Jesus made the Blessed Lady, the mother of St John and thus He appointed her the mother of all men.
Thus, Mary’s heart is the physical symbol of her boundless love for God and humankind. But Our Lady’s physical heart is also the symbol of her spiritual heart. Thus, in the Immaculate Heart of Mary we also honour her inner life, her virtues, her perfect purity, her boundless humility, her affections and her sorrow.
Poignant in Catholic tradition is the representation of Mary’s heart pierced by a sword, symbol of her immense sorrow at witnessing and willing her Son’s passion and death for the salvation of our souls.
Fatima and the Immaculate Heart of Mary
–The Five First Saturdays Devotion
In the second apparition of Fatima, Our Lady showed the seers, Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta, her heart encircled by thorns. Later, on 10 December 1925, in a private apparition to Sister Lucia, she asked for the devotion of reparation of the Five First Saturdays.
The Blessed Mother appeared alongside the Child Jesus who stood over a luminous cloud. Our Lady rested one hand on the Child’s shoulder while she held on the other hand a heart pierced with thorns.
The Child said,
“Have pity on the Heart of your Most Holy Mother which is covered with thorns with which ungrateful men pierce it at every moment with no-one to extract them with an act of reparation.
I want My Church to…put the devotion
to this Immaculate Heart
beside the devotion to
My Sacred Heart.”
“Look, my daughter, My Heart surrounded with thorns with which ungrateful men pierce me at every moment with blasphemies and ingratitude. You, at least, make sure to console me and announce that all those who for five months, on the first Saturdays, go to Confession, receive Communion, say five decades of the Rosary and keep me company for 15 minutes meditating on the Mysteries of the Rosary, with the purpose of making reparation to Me, I promise to assist them at the hour of death with all the graces necessary for the salvation of their souls.”
Our Lady assured Lúcia:
“My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge
and the way that will lead you to God.”
Thus, if we devote ourselves to her Immaculate Heart,
Mary will lead us to her Son, Jesus Christ
and we will be on the way to Heaven.
“…Let us continue
Immaculate Mary’s mission.
All is included in it.
May [we].. follow her example
and be the handmaid of the Lord
in everything,
everywhere
and always.”
Our Morning Offering – 24 July – “Month of the Most Precious Blood” – Friday of the Sixteenth week in Ordinary Time
Your Blood, The Fire of Love!
By St Catherine of Siena (1347-1380)
O sweet Jesus, my Love,
to strengthen my soul
and to rescue it from the weakness
into which it has fallen,
You have built a wall around it
and have mixed the mortar with Your blood,
confirming my soul and uniting it
to the sweet will and charity of God!
Just as lime mixed with water
is placed between stones to cement them together,
so You, O God, have placed between
Your creature and Yourself,
the Blood of Your only-begotten Son,
cemented with the divine lime
of the fire of ardent charity,
in such a way that there is no Blood
without fire, nor fire without Blood.
Your Blood was shed, O Christ, by the fire of love!
Amen
Our Morning Offering – 23 July – “Month of the Most Precious Blood” – Thursday of the Sixteenth week in Ordinary Time
May We Confess Your Name to the End
By St Cyprian of Carthage (200-258)
Bishop and Martyr
Father of the Church
Good God,
may we confess Your Name to the end.
May we emerge unmarked
and glorious from the traps
and darkness of this world.
As You have bound us together
by charity and peace
and as together
we have persevered under persecution,
so may we also rejoice together
in Your heavenly kingdom.
Amen
Thought for the Day – 21 July – “Month of the Most Precious Blood” – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
“The way of the Cross is the only road that leads to Heaven.
Consequently, a man who refuses to take this road cannot reach Heaven.
If there were another way, Jesus would have told us about it.
Instead, He insisted that if anyone wished to go after Him, he would have to deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow Him (Lk 9:23).
Our Lord did more than preach this way to us, for He gave us an example of the manner in which to follow it.
Jesus could have redeemed us by a single act of His human-divine will, simply by offering Himself to the Eternal Father in expiation of our sins.
But He chose to carry the weight of the Cross, to climb the Hill of Calvary and, to die in agony.
We must ascend our own Calvary, if we wish to imitate and follow Jesus.
Our divine Redeemer fulfilled perfectly, in His Passion, all the works of perfection which He had preached in the Gospel.
Let the Passion of Christ be our rule of life.
Let us be glad, when we seem to be more like Him and sorrowful, whenever we seem to be departing from the example which He set us.
Suffering should be a source of consolation for us, for it makes us more like Jesus, as long as we endure it with resignation and with love.”
Sunday Reflection – 19 July – “Month of the Most Precious Blood” – The Sixteenth Sunday of the Year in Ordinary Time
“If Christians continue abandoning Jesus Christ in His temple, will not the Heavenly Father withdraw from them, His Beloved Son, Whom they thus despise?
Has He not already so withdrawn Him from many kings and peoples, now bewailing their lot sitting in the very shadow of death?To ward off this greatest of all calamities, let faithful souls arise and unite! Let them become adorers in spirit and in truth of Jesus Christ in the Most Blessed Sacrament!
Let them form a guard of honour around the Sovereign of Kings.
And a devoted court around the God of love.”
Our Morning Offering – 19 July – “Month of the Most Precious Blood” – The Sixteenth Sunday of the Year in Ordinary Time
Sweet Sacrament, We Thee Adore
I see upon the Altar placed
The Victim of the greatest love.
Let all the earth below adore
and join the heavenly choirs above:
Sweet Sacrament, we Thee adore,
Oh! make us love Thee more and more.
Jesus! dear Shepherd of the flock,
that crowds in love, about Thy feet,
Our voices yearn to praise Thee, Lord
and joyfully Thy presence greet:
Sweet Sacrament, we Thee adore,
Oh! make us love Thee more and more.
O Precious Blood of Jesus,
cleanse my soul from every stain!
Most pure Heart of Jesus, purify me!
Most humble Heart of Jesus,
teach me Thy humility!
Sweet Heart of Jesus,
communicate to me Thy gentleness and patience!
Most merciful Heart of Jesus,
have mercy on me!
Most loving Heart of Jesus,
inflame my heart with love of Thee!
Amen
Our Morning Offering – 17 July – “Month of the Most Precious Blood” – Friday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Prayer for the Gift of Prayer
By St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787)
Doctor of the Church
O Incarnate Word,
You have given Your Blood and Your Life
to confer on our prayers that power by which,
according to Your promise,
they obtain for us all that we ask.
And we, O God,
are so careless of our salvation,
that we will not even ask You for the graces
that we must have, if we should be saved!
In prayer You have given us the key
of all Your Divine treasures
and we, rather than pray,
choose to remain in our misery.
Alas! O Lord, enlighten us,
and make us know the value of prayers,
offered in Your name and by Your merits,
in the eyes of Your Eternal Father.
Amen
One Minute Reflection – 16 July – “Month of the Most Precious Blood” – Thursday of the Fifteenth week in Ordinary Time, Year A, Readings: Isaiah 26:7-9, 12, 16-19, Psalm 102:13-21, Matthew 11:28-30 and the Memorial of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and of Blessed Ceslaus Odrowaz OP (c 1184– 1242) (Brother of St Hyacinth)
“Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart and you will find rest for yourselves…” … Matthew 11:29
REFLECTION – “Dearest sister in Jesus. I, Catherine, servant of the servants of Jesus, write to you in His Precious Blood, wishing only that you feed yourself with God’s love and nourish yourself with it, as at a mother’s breast. Nobody, in fact, can live without this milk!
Who possesses God’s love, finds so much joy that every bitterness transforms itself into sweetness and that every great weight becomes light. One must not be astonished because living in charity you live in God – “God is love and he who abides in love, abides in God and God abides in him”(1 John 4:16)
Thus, living in God, you can have no bitterness because God is delight, gentleness and never-ending joy!
This is why God’s friends are always happy! Even if we are sick, poor, grieved, troubled, persecuted, we are always joyful.
… We do not seek joy elsewhere than in Jesus and we avoid any glory which is not that of the Cross.
Embrace, then, Jesus crucified, raising to Him the eyes of your desire! Consider His burning love for you, which made Jesus pour out His blood from every part of His body!
Embrace Jesus crucified, loving and beloved and in Him you will find true life because He is God made man. Let your heart and your soul burn with the fire of love drawn from Jesus on the Cross!
You must, then, become love, looking at God’s love who loved you so much not because He had any obligation towards you but out of pure gift, urged only by His ineffable love.
You will have no other desire than to follow Jesus! As if you were drunken with Love, it will no longer matter whether you are alone or in company – do not think about many things but only about finding Jesus and following Him!
Run, Bartolomea, do not stay asleep, because time flies and does not wait one moment!
Dwell in God’s sweet love.
Sweet Jesus, Jesus love.” … St Catherine of Sienna (1347-1380) – Doctor of the Church – From the “Letters” (letter no. 165 to Bartolomea, wife of Salviato of Lucca).
PRAYER – “Holy God, our Father, we turn to You in confidence as children and pray, give us meekness of heart, make us “poor in spirit” that we may recognise that we are not self-sufficient, that we are unable to build our lives on our own but need You, we need to encounter You, to listen to You, to speak to You. Help us to understand that we need Your gift, Your wisdom, which is Jesus Himself, in order to do the Your will in our lives and thus to find rest in the hardships of our journey.” Hear the prayers we request of the Mother of our Jesus Crucified and our Mother, Our Lady of Carmel, dear Lord and holy God, which we pray through Christ, our Light, in the Holy Spirit, one God for all eternity, amen. … Pope Benedict XVI, General Audience, 7 December 2011
Quote/s of the Day – 15 July – The Memorial of St Bonaventure (1221-1274) Doctor of the Church
“Bonaventure so united holiness and theological knowledge that he rose to the heights of mysticism, while remaining a very active preacher and teacher, one beloved by all who met him. To know him was to love him; to read him is still for us today to meet a true Franciscan and a gentleman.”
“If you learn everything, except Christ, you learn nothing.
If you learn nothing, except Christ, you learn everything.”
“When we pray,
the voice of the heart must be heard,
more than the proceedings,
from the mouth.”
“Men do not fear a powerful hostile army,
as the powers of hell,
fear the name and protection of Mary.”
“If you do not know
your own dignity and condition,
you cannot value anything
at its proper worth.”
“In everything,
whether it is a thing sensed,
or a thing known,
God Himself is hidden within.”
More here:
https://anastpaul.com/2019/07/15/quote-s-of-the-day-15-july-the-wisdom-of-st-bonaventure/
One Minute Reflection – 14 July – “Month of the Most Precious Blood” = Tuesday of the Fifteenth week in Ordinary Time, Readings: Isaiah 7:1-9, Psalm 48:2-8, Matthew 11:20-24 and the Memorial of St Francisco Solanus y Jiménez OFM (1549 – 1610) Priest – “The Wonder Worker of the New World” and St Camillus de Lellis MI (1550-1614) “The Giant of Charity”
“But I tell you that it shall be more tolerable on the day of judgement for the land of Sodom than for you.”… Matthew 11:24
REFLECTION – “Let us fix our thoughts on the blood of Christ and reflect how precious that blood is in God’s eyes, inasmuch as its outpouring for our salvation, has opened the grace of repentance to all mankind.
For we have only to survey the generations of the past, to see, that in everyone of them, the Lord has offered the chance of repentance to any, who were willing to turn to Him. When Noah preached repentance, those who gave heed to him were saved. When, after Jonah had proclaimed destruction to the people of Niniveh, they repented of their sins and made atonement to God with prayers and supplications, they obtained their salvation, notwithstanding, that they were strangers and aliens to Him.
All those, who were ministers of the grace of God, have spoken, through the Holy Spirit, of repentance.
The very Lord of all, Himself has spoken of it and even with an oath – By my life, the Lord declares, it is not the sinner’s death that I desire, so much as his repentance and, he adds, this gracious pronouncement, Repent, O house of Israel and turn from your wickedness. Say to the children of my people, though your sins may stretch from earth to heaven and though they may be redder than scarlet and blacker than sackcloth, yet if you turn wholeheartedly to me and say ‘Father’, I will listen to you as I would to a people that was holy.
Thus, by His own almighty will, He has confirmed his desire that repentance should be open to everyone of His beloved.
Let us bow, then, to that sovereign and glorious will. Let us entreat His mercy and goodness, casting ourselves upon His compassion and wasting no more energy in quarrels and a rivalry which only ends in death.” … St Pope Clement I (c 35-99) – From his Letter to the Corinthians (Chs 7, 4-8, 3; 8, 5-9, 1; 13, 1-4; 19, 2)
PRAYER – God our Father, we are Your children and You have set us aside to come home to You by the light of the way of Your divine Son. Fill us with knowledge of our need to turn to You in sorrow and repentance, that we may one day attain our final home with You. Grant we pray, that by the intercession of Saints Francisco Solanus and Camillus de Lellis, we may too become lights announcing Your love to all around us. We make our prayer through our Lord Jesus with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 14 July – “Month of the Precious Blood” – Tuesday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
An Old Morning Prayer – Excerpt
From The Blossoms of the Cross — 1894
The Sisters of St Joseph
I rise In God’s strength,
In God’s power,
In the Agony of Christ,
In the Cross of Christ,
In Christ’s Precious Blood,
These will sustain me against my enemies,
visible and invisible.
I rise in the blessing of Christ
which my dearest Jesus left to the whole world.
Protect me, All-Holy Trinity,
God the Father, Who created me,
God, the Son, Who redeemed me in His Precious Blood,
God, the Holy Ghost, Who sanctified me in Holy Baptism.
God, the Father, I give myself to Thee!
God, the Son, I commend myself to Thee!
God, the Holy Ghost, teach me!
Mary, Mother of God, assist me!
All you Saints of God, pray for me!
All you Holy Angels, protect me!
The Cross of Christ preserve me!
Amen
AnaStpaul 
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