Category: CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH

Posted in CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, DOCTORS of the Church, MARIAN DEVOTIONS, MARIAN PRAYERS, MARIAN QUOTES, MARIAN TITLES, Our MORNING Offering, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, SAINT of the DAY, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Our Morning Offering – 28 September – The Memorial of St Simón de Rojas O.SS. (1552-1624) known as “Father Ave Maria” and the “Apostle of the Ave Maria”

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Our Morning Offering – 28 September – The Memorial of St Simón de Rojas O.SS. (1552-1624) known as “Father Ave Maria” and the “Apostle of the Ave Maria”

The Hail Mary/Ave Maria

Hail Mary, full of grace,
the Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou amongst women,
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.

Áve María, grátia pléna,
Dóminus técum.
Benedícta tū in muliéribus,
et benedíctus frúctus véntris túi, Iésus.
Sáncta María, Máter Déi,
óra pro nóbis peccatóribus,
nunc et in hóra mórtis nóstrae. Ámen.hail mary and ave maria -28 september 2018 st simon de rojas Fr ave Maria - no 2

Our petitionary payer to the Holy Mother of God, was commonly added to the prayers of the Church, around the time of the Council of Trent.   The Dutch Jesuit, St Petrus Canisius (1521-1597) Doctor of the Church, is credited with adding in 1555 in his Catechism the sentence:

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death,
amen.

Eleven years later, the sentence was included in the Catechism of the Council of Trent of 1566. The “Catechism of the Council of Trent” says that to the first part of the Hail Mary, by which “we render to God the highest praise and return Him most gracious thanks, because He has bestowed all His heavenly gifts on the most holy Virgin … the Church of God has wisely added prayers and an invocation addressed to the most holy Mother of God … we should earnestly implore her help and assistance, for that she possesses exalted merits with God and that she is most desirous to assist us by her prayers, no one can doubt without impiety and wickedness.”

The Hail Mary is the central part of the Angelus, a devotion generally recited thrice daily by Catholics, at 06.00, 12.00 and 18.00.
On account of its connection with the Angelus, the Ave Maria was often inscribed on bells.

The Hail Mary is the essential element of the Rosary, of course, for those followers who are not yet Catholics:

The Rosary consists traditionally of three sets of five Mysteries, each mystery consisting of one “decade” or ten Ave Marias.   The 150 Ave Marias of the Rosary thus echo the 150 psalms.   These meditate upon events of Jesus’ life during his childhood (Joyful Mysteries), Passion (Sorrowful Mysteries), and from his Resurrection onwards (Glorious Mysteries).   Another set, the Luminous Mysteries, is of comparatively recent origin, having been proposed by St Pope John Paul II in 2002.

Each of these Mysteries is prayed as a decade (a unit of ten), consisting of one Our Father (Pater Noster or The Lord’s Prayer), ten Hail Marys, and one ‘Glory Be’ (Gloria Patri) (Doxology) and the Fatima Prayer “O My Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of Hell and lead all souls to Heaven, especially those in most need of Thy mercy.”
The restatement of the prayers locks one into fixed language, having the effect of freeing the conscious mind so that the recitation may come more from the heart and not the head.
Pope Paul V (1550-1621) said that “the Rosary is a treasure of graces … Even for those souls who pray without meditating, the simple act of taking the beads in hand to pray is already a remembrance of God – of the supernatural”.

Posted in CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, DOCTORS of the Church, JESUIT SJ, Our MORNING Offering, SAINT of the DAY

Our Morning Offering/s – 17 September – The Memorial of St Robert Bellarmine SJ (1542-1621) and St Hildegard von Bingen OSB (1098-1179) both Doctors of the Church

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Our Morning Offering/s – 17 September – The Memorial of St Robert Bellarmine SJ (1542-1621) and St Hildegard von Bingen OSB (1098-1179) both Doctors of the Church

Holy Spirit, Giver of Life
By St Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179) Doctor of the Church

Holy Spirit,
giving of life to all life,
moving all creatures,
root of all things,
washing them clean,
wiping out their mistakes,
healing their wounds,
You are our true life,
luminous, wonderful,
awakening the heart
from its ancient sleep.
Amenholy spirit giving of life to all life - st hildegard von bingen 17 sept 2018

Act of Contrition
By St Robert Bellarmine (1542-1621) Doctor of the Church

O my God,
I am exceedingly grieved for having offended thee
and with my whole heart
I repent of the sins I have committed.
I hate and abhor them above every other evil,
not only because, by so sinning,
I have lost heaven and deserved hell
but still more, because I have offended thee,
O infinite Goodness,
who are worthy to be loved above all things.
I most firmly resolve,
by the assistance of thy grace,
never more to offend thee for the time to come
and to avoid those occasions
which might lead me into sin.
Amen

Note:  It is little known that St Robert is the Author of this, one of our most widely used prayersact of contrition written by st robert bellarmine o m god, I am exceedingly grieved - 17 sept 2018

Posted in CATHOLIC DEVOTIONS of the Month, CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, HYMNS, MARIAN DEVOTIONS, MARIAN POETRY, MARIAN PRAYERS, MARIAN TITLES, MATER DOLOROSA - Mother of SORROWS, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the CHURCH

Our Morning Offering – 15 September – STABAT MATER

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Our Morning Offering – 15 September – The Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows

STABAT MATER

At the cross her station keeping,
Stood the mournful Mother weeping,
Close to Jesus to the last.
Through her heart, His sorrow sharing,
All His bitter anguish bearing,
Now at length the sword had passed.

Oh, how sad and sore distressed
Was that Mother highly blest,
Of the sole begotten One!
Christ above in torment hangs.
She beneath beholds the pangs
Of her dying glorious Son.

Is there one who would not weep,
Whelmed in miseries so deep,
Christ’s dear Mother to behold?
Can the human heart refrain
From partaking in her pain,
In that Mother’s pain untold?

Bruised, derided, cursed, defiled,
She beheld her tender Child,
All with bloody scourges rent.
For the sins of His own nation,
Saw Him hang in desolation
Till His spirit forth He sent.

O thou Mother: fount of love!
Touch my spirit from above,
Make my heart with thine accord.
Make me feel as thou hast felt;
Make my soul to glow and melt
With the love of Christ my Lord.

Holy Mother, pierce me through;
In my heart each wound renew
Of my Savior crucified.
Let me share with thee His pain,
Who for all my sins was slain,
Who for me in torment died.

Let me mingle tears with thee,
Mourning Him who mourned for me,
All the days that I may live.
By the Cross with thee to stay;
There with thee to weep and pray,
Is all I ask of thee to give.

Virgin of all virgins best,
Listen to my fond request:
Let me share thy grief divine.
Let me to my latest breath,
In my body bear the death
Of that dying Son of thine.

Wounded with His every wound,
Steep my soul till it hath swooned
In His very blood away.
Be to me, O Virgin, nigh,
Lest in flames I burn and die,
In His awful Judgment day.

Christ, when Thou shalt call me hence,
Be Thy Mother my defense,
Be Thy Cross my victory.
While my body here decays,
May my soul Thy goodness praise,
Safe in Paradise with Thee.
Amen

Note:  This text of the Stabat Mater is one of over 60 translations of this famous Latin hymn that can also be recited in prayer. It is often used when praying the Stations of the Cross. The original Latin text of the Stabat Mater has also been set to music by such composers as Haydn, Rossini, and Poulenc.stabat-mater-as-a-prayer-15-sept-20181 (1).jpg

Posted in CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, DOCTORS of the Church, MARIAN DEVOTIONS, MARIAN PRAYERS, MARIAN QUOTES, MARIAN TITLES, MORNING Prayers, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Thought for the Day – 4 September – The Feast of Our Lady of Consolation

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Thought for the Day – 4 September – The Feast of Our Lady of Consolation

The tradition of praying to the Mother of God for the gift of consolation dates back to the early centuries.   The first written evidence of prayer to the Mother of God, Mary, the Theotokos, is written in Greek on a scrap of Egyptian papyrus dating from between 300-540.   In that prayer, she is invoked as the compassionate one:

“Beneath the shelter of your tender compassion we fly for refuge, Mother of God.
Do not overlook our supplications in adversity but deliver us out of danger”

This prayer makes clear, a vivid faith in Mary’s consoling role.

To our Lord and our God, Jesus Christ, we pray for a greater love of His Mother and to our Blessed Mother, Our Lady of Consolation, we lift our prayers for patience, for support and for comfort in our times of confusion, fear and anxiety.   Pray for us, Our Lady of Consolation!

“The Church calls Mary the “Queen of Mercy”
because we believe she opens the abyss of God’s mercy
to whomever she wills, when she wills and as she wills.
No sinner — no matter how great —
who has Mary as protector, is ever lost.”

St Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) – Doctor of the Church

the church calls mary the queen of mercy - st bernard - 4 sept 2018

Prayer to Our Lady of Consolation

O Mary Immaculate, our Mother and Consolation,
I take refuge in your most loving heart
with all the confidence of which I am capable;
you shall be the dearest object
of my love and veneration.
To you, who are the dispenser
of the treasures of Heaven,
I shall always have recourse,
in my sorrows to have peace,
in my doubts to have light,
in my dangers to be defended,
in all my needs to obtain your assistance.
Be therefore my refuge,
my strength,
my consolation, O Mary the Consoler!
At the hour of my death,
graciously receive the last sighs of my heart
and obtain for me a place in your heavenly home,
where all hearts shall praise with one accord
the adorable Heart of Jesus forevermore,
and your most lovable heart, O Mary.
Our tender Mother, Comforter of the afflicted,
pray for us who have recourse to thee.
Grant also peace and holiness to the Church,
through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord.
Amenprayer top our lady of consolation - 4 september 2018

Mary, our Consolation and our Comforter, Pray for us!

Pope Benedict on Our Lady of Consolation here: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/09/04/thought-for-the-day-4-september-the-feast-of-our-lady-of-consolation/mary-our-consolation-pray-for-us- 4 sept 2017

 

Posted in CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, MORNING Prayers, PAPAL MESSAGES, PAPAL PRAYERS, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, PRAYERS of the CHURCH

The Holy Father’s Prayer Intention for September

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The Holy Father’s
Prayer Intention for September

Universal:
Young People in Africa

That young people in Africa may have access
to education and work in their own countries.

the holy father's prayer intention sept 2018 = 1 sept 2018

Posted in CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, MORNING Prayers, PRAYERS for CANONISATION, PRAYERS for VARIOUS NEEDS, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, SAINT of the DAY

The Memorial of Blessed Dominic Barberi of the Mother of God C.P. (1792-1849) Apostle of England, Prayer for his Cause of Canonisation

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The Memorial of Blessed Dominic Barberi of the Mother of God C.P. (1792-1849) Apostle of England, Prayer for his Cause of Canonisation

As we celebrate the Memorial of Blessed Dominic Barberi, he who converted so many to the bosom of the Church in England, let us pray for his Canonisation and for that of his greatest convert, Blessed Cardinal John Henry Newman (1801-1890), these two, forever linked in history.

Prayer for the Cause of Canonisation
of Blessed Dominic Barberi (1792-1849)

O God,
Who so lovingly raised Blessed Dominic
to the heights of holiness, learning and apostolic zeal
and made him a powerful minister of Your mercy,
listen to our humble request.
We pray that You will, in Your goodness,
grant a miracle, we pray, through the intercession of Blessed Dominic,
so that the Church may honour him on earth
and that many more will come to know and invoke
the help of this faithful servant of the Church.
We ask this through Christ Our Lord.
Amen
Mary, Mother of Holy Hope, pray for us
Blessed Dominic Barberi, pray for us.o god who so lovingly raised - prayer for the canonisation of bl dominic barberi - 27 aug 2018

PRAYER FOR CANONISATION of Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)

God our Father,
You granted to Your servant,
Blessed John Henry Newman,
wonderful gifts of nature and of grace,
that he should be a spiritual light
in the darkness of this world,
an eloquent herald of the Gospel
and a devoted servant of the one Church of Christ.
With confidence in his heavenly intercession,
we make the petition for his Canonisation.
For his insight into the mysteries of the kingdom,
his zealous defence of the teachings of the Church
and his priestly love for each of your children,
we pray that he may soon be numbered among the Saints.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen

Nihil Obstat: Fr Pat McKinney S.T.L.

Imprimatur: + Bernard Longley, Archbishop of Birmingham

30th March 2010pray-for-the-canonisation-bl-john-henry-9-oct-2017

Posted in CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, EUCHARISTIC Adoration, MORNING Prayers, POETRY, PRAYERS for PRIESTS, PRAYERS for VARIOUS NEEDS

Second Thoughts for the Day – 26 August – Pray for our Priests

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Second Thoughts for the Day – 26 August – 21st Sunday of the Year in Ordinary Time, Year B – Today’s Gospel: John 6:60–69

May we offer our Sunday Communion for all the Priests of the World, who bring us the Sacrament which gives us life.

O my beloved Jesus,
Son of the Father and His Eternal High Priest,
offering Yourself to Him perpetually in the sanctuary of heaven
and here in the Sacrament of Your Redeeming Love,
I adore You.

I praise You that here I find Your Eucharistic Heart,
open, ever-beating with love,
and covering with a flood of Blood and of Water
those who draw near to You in this Sacrament.

I praise You that here I behold Your Eucharistic Face,
filling the shadows of this world with Your deifying light,
and shining into the hearts of those who approach You
in faith, in hope and in love.

I pray to You for Your priests,
without whom this valley of tears would be
devoid of the Holy Sacrifice of the Altar,
without the adorable mysteries of Your life-giving Body and Blood,
and without Your abiding real presence in the tabernacles of the world.

Sanctify Your priests, O Jesus!
Wash them in the Blood and Water gushing at every moment
from Your Sacred Side
Heal them in the light of Your Eucharistic Face and,
to do this, draw them all into Your sacramental presence.

Let Your tabernacles magnetise their souls,
and the desire to abide before Your Eucharistic Face
hold sway over their hearts.
Let Your Sacred Body exposed in the monstrance
exercise over them the most compelling of all attractions.

Look today upon those priests who, for whatever reason,
have forgotten the way to Your tabernacles
and rarely, if ever, stop all else
to rest their tired bodies and still their minds
before Your Eucharistic Face,
and to adore You simply because . . . You are there.

Save Your priests in danger of falling into sin,
and lift those who have fallen,
so that, having confessed their faults and received absolution,
they may return to Your altar and to the joy of their youth.

Let not one of Your priests remain outside the radiance of Your Eucharistic Face.
Draw them all out of this world’s darkness
into Your wonderful light,
that with the psalmist they might say not once,
but again and again:
“Look to Him and be radiant
and on your faces there will be no trace of shame.”
Amen.

I pray especially for my own Priest, Fr Enrico Parry and Catholic Priest Media – https://catholicpriestmedia.com/pray for our priests - i pray to you for your priests - 26 aug 2018sanctify your priests o jesus - 26 aug 2018 pray for our priests

Posted in CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, DOCTORS of the Church, MARIAN PRAYERS, NOVENAS, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Our Morning Offering – 20 August – The Memorial of St Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) “Doctor of Light”

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Our Morning Offering – 20 August – The Memorial of St Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) “Doctor of Light”

On the Feast Day of St Bernard, can we do better than call on our Mother?

The Memorare
By St Bernard (1090-1153) “Doctor of Light”

REMEMBER,
O most gracious Virgin Mary,
that never was it known
that anyone who fled
to thy protection,
implored thy help,
or sought thy intercession
was left unaided.
Inspired by this confidence,
I fly unto thee,
O Virgin of virgins,
my Mother;
to thee do I come,
before thee I stand,
sinful and sorrowful.
O Mother of the Word Incarnate,
despise not my petitions
but in thy mercy
hear and answer me.
Amen.

(The “Urgent” or “Emergency” Novena you will recall, is 9 times the Memorare)the-memorare-st-bernard1-20 aug 2018

Posted in CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, MORNING Prayers, PAPAL SERMONS, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, QUOTES on MARRIAGE, MARRIED LOVE, QUOTES on TRUTH, The WORD

One Minute Reflection 17 August – Friday of the Nineteenth week in Ordinary Time, Year B – Today’s Gospel: Matthew 19:3–12

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One Minute Reflection 17 August – Friday of the Nineteenth week in Ordinary Time, Year B – Today’s Gospel:  Matthew 19:3–12

“‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife and the two shall become one flesh’?   So they are no longer two but one flesh.”…Matthew 19:5-6

REFLECTION – “Jesus responds with the overwhelming truth, the blunt truth — this is the truth! — of fullness, always.   And Jesus never negotiates the truth.   And this small group of enlightened theologians always negotiated truth, reducing it to a case study.   Jesus, on the contrary, does not negotiate truth – this is the truth about marriage and there is no other…Pope Francis (Santa Marta, May 20, 2016)matthew 19 5 for this reason a man leaves - jesus responds with the truth - pope francis - 17 aug 2018

PRAYER – Lord our God,
creator of the universe and all living things,
You made man and woman in your own likeness (Gn 1:27)
and gave them loving hearts
with which to participate in Your work of love.
You willed that in this church today
the lives of your servants, N….. and N….., should be united,
and now You will that they may make their home together,
may seek to love each other more and more each day
and follow Christ’s example in His love for others
even to death on the cross.
Bless, strengthen and protect the love of these newlyweds;
may their love sustain their fidelity to each other,
bringing them happiness and enabling them to find in Christ
the joy of complete self-giving to the one they love.
May their love, like Yours, O Lord,
become a source of life;
may it make them ever attentive to the needs of their neighbours;
and may their home be open to all in need.
Supported by their love and the love of Christ,
may they play an active part
in building up a more just and fraternal world
and thus be faithful to their human and christian vocation.
Amen…The Roman Missal – Rite of marriage : Nuptial Blessing 5nuptial blessing 5 excerpt - 17 aug 2018

Posted in BREVIARY Prayers, CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, HYMNS, Our MORNING Offering, PRAYERS of the CHURCH

Our Morning Offering – 13 August

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Our Morning Offering – 13 August – Monday of the Nineteenth week in Ordinary Time, B

The Day is Filled with Splendour, is a hymn written by the Benedictine Nuns of Stanbrook Abbey. It is sung during Morning Prayer in the Divine Office. It is set to the hymn tune: Paderborn, first published in the Katholische Kirchengesänge of 1616.   Psalter Week 3.

The Day is Filled with Splendour

The day is filled with splendour
When God brings light from light,
And all renewed creation
Rejoices in His sight. —
The Father gives His children
The wonder of the world
In which His power and glory
Like banners are unfurled. —
With every living creature,
Awaking with the day,
We turn to God our Father,
Lift up our hearts and pray: —
O Father, Son and Spirit,
Your grace and mercy send,
That we may live to praise You
Today and to the end.the day is filled with splendour - 13 august 2018 - breviary hymn psalter week 3

Posted in BREVIARY Prayers, CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, HYMNS, MORNING Prayers, SAINT of the DAY, The TRANSFIGURATION

Our Morning Offering – 6 August – Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord

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Our Morning Offering – 6 August – Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord

Breviary Lauds Hymn
Feast of the Transfiguration

More ancient than the primal world
And older than the morning star,
Before the first things took their shape,
Creator of them all, You are.

Your image is the Lord of life,
Your Son from all eternity,
All that must perish, He restores,
In Him, all reconciled will be.

Transfigured Christ, believed and loved,
In You our only hope has been.
Grant us, in Your unfathomed love,
Those things no eye has ever seen.

O Father, Son and Spirit blest,
With hearts transfigured by Your grace,
May we Your matchless splendour praise
And see the glory of Your face.breviary lauds hymn for the transfiguration - 6 august 2018

Posted in CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, MORNING Prayers, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS

Our Morning Offering – 5 August – Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

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Our Morning Offering – 5 August – Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

Act of Love before Holy Mass

O my God,
I love You with all my heart,
with all my soul, with all my strength
and with no other desire
than to be inseparably united to You.
It is through Your Divine Son
that this union is about to be realised within me.
In the eternal food I will receive,
I long to identify myself with Him,
that it will no longer be myself but He,
who lives in me
and when I have received Jesus within myself,
then I shall love and be loved by You,
in that same measure,
in which I am united to Him.
Hasten then, to give me Your Divine Son,
at the hands of Your priest,
that through Jesus,
I may unite myself forever to You,
O God the Father,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit.
Amenact of love before holy mass - 5 aug 2018

Posted in CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, DOCTORS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, SAINT of the DAY, STATIONS of the CROSS

Thought for the Day – 1 August – The Memorial of (1696-1787) Doctor of the Church ST ALPHONSUS DE LIGUORI – REACHING THE PEOPLE

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Thought for the Day – 1 August – The Memorial of (1696-1787) Doctor of the Church
ST ALPHONSUS DE LIGUORI – REACHING THE PEOPLE

With thanks to the C.Ss.R. Baltimore Province

St Alphonsus was a brilliant, articulate, pragmatic preacher.   He knew how to reach ordinary people who had limited education and very real needs.   They followed this gifted preacher from church to church and town to town to hear him preach the message of hope in Christ for all people.

Three great images, basic to the Christian faith, formed the heart of Alphonsus’ preaching and teaching — Jesus an infant in the crib, Jesus crucified on the Cross, and Jesus vibrantly alive and filled with love for all in the Eucharist.   To this he added the image of Mary, the Mother of the Redeemer.   When other theologians were opposed to devotion to Mary, Alphonsus invoked her:  “Hail Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness, and our hope.”

Alphonsus appreciated how the poor and working class people expressed their realities through song.   A gifted musician and composer, he wrote many popular hymns and taught them to the people in parish missions.   His compositions continue to be sung around the world and have never lost their charm and popularity.   Redemptorists today still follow the cue of their founder.   Their message, announcing the abundance of God’s love, is enriched by the spiritual songs they sing in their community and with the people of God.

Alphonsus wrote for the people.   Many turned to his spiritual writing, for he wrote in a way that was understandable to anyone with a basic education.   On winter evenings in his time, the people in the villages often gathered around a fire in someone’s home. Someone read stories about the Gospels or the lives of the saints, things that nourished their faith and helped them to pray.   Alphonsus’ works were frequent choices and they remain so still, his works are a fountain of holiness.  Which of us has not, in our home poarishes all over the world, prayed his Stations of the Cross?   They will always be one of the treasures of the Church.    http://immaculateheartbalornock.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Stations-of-the-Cross-Booklet.pdf

St Alphonsus, Pray for us!st alphonsus liguori pray for us 1 august 2018

Posted in CATHOLIC DEVOTIONS of the Month, CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, MORNING Prayers, PAPAL MESSAGES, PAPAL PRAYERS, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, THE HOLY FAMILY - FAMILIAE SANCTAE

The Holy Father’s Prayer Intention for AUGUST 2018

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The Holy Father’s Prayer Intention
for AUGUST 2018

Universal:  The Treasure of Families

That any far-reaching decisions

of economists and politicians

may protect the family as one

of the treasures of humanity.the holy father's prayer intention for august 2018 - the treasure of families - 1 aug 2018.jpg

“The family is the foundation of co-existence
and a remedy against social fragmentation.
Children have a right to grow up in a family,
with a father and a mother,
capable of creating a suitable environment,
for the child’s development and emotional maturity.”

Pope Francis, Humanum Conference, November 17, 2014

Pope Francis Prayer for the Family

Jesus, Mary and Joseph,
in you we contemplate
the splendour of true love,
to you we turn with trust.
Holy Family of Nazareth,
grant that our families too
may be places of communion and prayer,
authentic schools of the Gospel
and small domestic Churches.
Holy Family of Nazareth,
may families never again
experience violence, rejection and division.
May all who have been hurt or scandalised
find ready comfort and healing.
Holy Family of Nazareth,
make us once more mindful
of the sacredness
and inviolability of the family,
and its beauty in God’s plan.
Jesus, true God and true man,
graciously hear our prayer.
Mary and Joseph,
co-operators with God’s plan,
pray for us.
Amen!

(composed for the Synod on the Family and therefore, slightly adapted)prayer for the family by pope francis - 1 aug 2018

Posted in CATHOLIC DEVOTIONS of the Month, CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, DEVOTIO, MARIAN DEVOTIONS, MARIAN PRAYERS, MARIAN QUOTES, MARIAN TITLES, MORNING Prayers, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Devotion for August – The Immaculate Heart of Mary

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Devotion for August

The Immaculate Heart of Mary

The history of the devotion to the Heart of Mary is connected on many points with that to the Heart of Jesus;  nevertheless, it has its own history which, although very simple, is not devoid of interest.   The attention of Christians was early attracted by the love and virtues of the Heart of Mary.   The Gospel itself invited this attention with exquisite discretion and delicacy.   What was first excited was compassion for the Virgin Mother. It was, so to speak, at the foot of the Cross that the Christian heart first made the acquaintance of the Heart of Mary.   Simeon’s prophecy paved the way and furnished the devotion with one of its favourite formulae and most popular representations: the heart pierced with a sword.   But Mary was not merely passive at the foot of the Cross;  “she cooperated through charity”, as St Augustine says, “in the work of our redemption”.

Another Scriptural passage to help in bringing out the devotion was the twice-repeated saying of St Luke, that Mary kept all the sayings and doings of Jesus in her heart, that there she might ponder over them and live by them.   Some of the Fathers also throw light upon the psychology of the Virgin, for instance, S. Ambrose, when in his commentary on St Luke, he holds Mary up as the ideal of virginity and St Ephrem, when he so poetically sings of the coming of the Magi and the welcome accorded them by the humble Mother.

In the New Testament Elizabeth proclaims Mary blessed because she has believed the words of the angel ,the Magnificat is an expression of her humility and in answering the woman of the people, who in order to exalt the Son proclaimed the Mother blessed, did not Jesus himself say:  “Blessed rather are they that hear the word of God and keep it”, thus in a manner inviting us to seek in Mary that which had so endeared her to God and caused her to be selected as the Mother of Jesus?   The Fathers understood His meaning and found in these words a new reason for praising Mary.   St Leo says that through faith and love, she conceived her Son spiritually, even before receiving Him into her womb and St Augustine tells us, that she was more blessed in having borne Christ in her heart, than in having conceived Him in the flesh.

August has 2 Marian Feast Days, 15 August, The Assumption and 22 August, The Queenship of Mary.   The Feast of the Immaculate or Most Pure Heart of Mary is celebrated throughout the Church, in different countries and religious communities on different days. (http://www.traditionalcatholicpriest.com/2015/08/21/feast-of-the-immaculate-heart-of-mary-august-22nd/)devotion-for-august-the-immaculate-heart-of-mary-1 august 2017.jpg

Daily Prayer for August
for the Intercession of
the Immaculate Heart of Mary

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 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, our Father forever.
Amendaily prayer for august for the intercession of the imm heart of mary - o most blessed mother, heart of love, heart of mercy - 1 august 2018

Posted in CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, DOCTORS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, PRAYERS for VARIOUS NEEDS, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, PRAYERS to the SAINTS, Uncategorized

Thought for the Day – 25 July – The Memorial of St Christopher (died c 251) One of the Fourteen Holy Helpers

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 25 July – The Memorial of St Christopher (died c 251) One of the Fourteen Holy Helpersfourteen-holy-helpers-94abfebd-a22d-4068-8082-f47cdecef31-resize-750fourteen-holy-helpers-8d56c60e-abf4-4a22-b615-9fee194d603-resize-750

The Fourteen “Auxiliary Saints” or “Holy Helpers” are a group of saints invoked because they have been efficacious in assisting in trials and sufferings.   Each saint has a separate feast or memorial day and the group was collectively venerated on 8 August until the 1969 reform of the Roman calendar, when the feast was dropped.   These saints were often represented together.   Popular devotion to these saints often began in some monastery that held their relics.   All of the saints except Giles were martyrs.   Devotion to some of the saints, such as St George, St Margaret, St Christopher, St Barbara and St Catherine became so widespread that customs and festivals still are popular today.

The Fourteen Holy Helpers are invoked as a group mainly because of the Black Plague which devastated Europe from 1346 to 1349.   Among its symptoms were the black tongue, a parched throat, violent headache, fever and boils on the abdomen.   The victims were attacked without warning, robbing them of their reason and killed within a few hours;  many died without the last Sacraments.   No one was immune and the disease wreaked havoc in villages and family circles.   The epidemic appeared incurable. The pious turned to Heaven, begging the intervention of the saints, praying to be spared or cured.   Each of these fourteen saints had been efficacious in interceding in some aspect for the stricken during the Black Plague.   The dates are the traditional feast days; not all the saints are on the Universal Roman Calendar.the fourteen holy helpers - infographic - from wikepeida my image - 25 july 2018Fourteen Holy Helpers

14Nothelfer

The Basilica of the Fourteen Holy Helpers (also Basilika Vierzehnheiligen) is a church located near the town of Bad Staffelstein near Bamberg, in Bavaria, southern Germany. The late Baroque-Rococo basilica, designed by Balthasar Neumann, was constructed between 1743 and 1772.

Vierzehnheiligen

800px-Vierzehnheiligen-Basilika3-Asio
The altar depicts statues of the Fourteen Holy Helpers.

The Legend of Building the Basilica
On 24 September 1445, Hermann Leicht, the young shepherd of a nearby Franciscan monastery, saw a crying child in a field that belonged to the nearby Cistercian monastery of Langheim  . As he bent down to pick up the child, it abruptly disappeared.   A short time later, the child reappeared in the same spot.   This time, two candles were burning next to it.   In June 1446, the Leicht saw the child a third time.   This time, the child bore a red cross on its chest and was accompanied by thirteen other children.   The child said: “We are the fourteen helpers and wish to erect a chapel here, where we can rest.   If you will be our servant, we will be yours!”   Shortly after, Leicht saw two burning candles descending to this spot.   It is alleged that miraculous healings soon began, through the intervention of the fourteen saints.

The Cistercian brothers to whom the land belonged erected a chapel, which immediately attracted pilgrims.   An altar was consecrated as early as 1448.   Pilgrimages to the Vierzehnheiligen continue to the present day between May and October.Holy Helpers triptych - anon

One of the most famous group depictions of the “Fourteen Saints” is a 1503 altarpiece by Matthias Grünewald for the monastery in Lichtenfels in Upper Franconia, unfortunately, I cannot find a complete image of this, below are Panels one and two.

The “fourteen angels” of the lost children’s prayer in the Composer, Engelbert Humperdinck’s (1854-1921) fairy opera, ‘Hansel and Gretel’, are the Fourteen Holy Helpers.   The English words are familiar and very beautiful:

When at night I go to sleep,
Fourteen angels watch do keep,
Two my head are guarding,
Two my feet are guiding;
Two upon my right hand,
Two upon my left hand.
Two who warmly cover
Two who o’er me hover,
Two to whom ’tis given
To guide my steps to heaven.

I will pray daily, to the Fourteen Holy Helpers, to Pray for us all, for the world is indeed suffering from a ‘Plague’ of a new kind!

Prayer to the Fourteen Holy Helpers
By St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787) Doctor of the Church

Great princes of heaven, Holy Helpers,
who sacrificed to God all your earthly possessions,
wealth, preferment and even life
and who now are crowned in heaven
in the secure enjoyment of eternal bliss and glory;
have compassion on me,
a poor sinner in this vale of tears
and obtain for me from God,
for Whom you gave up all things
and Who loves you as His servants,
the strength to bear patiently all the trials of this life,
to overcome all temptations
and to persevere in God’s service to the end,
that one day I too may be received into your company,
to praise and glorify Him, the supreme Lord,
Whose beatific vision you enjoy
and Whom you praise and glorify forever.
Amenprayer to the 14 holy helpers by st alphonsus - 25 july 2018

14 holy helpers - pay for us - 25 july 2018

 

Posted in CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, MORNING Prayers, SAINT of the DAY

Our Morning Offering – 25 July – The Memorial of St Christopher (died c 251)

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Our Morning Offering – 25 July – The Memorial of St Christopher (died c 251)

The Christopher Prayer

Father, grant that we may be,
bearers of Christ Jesus, Your Son.
Allow us to fill with Your light
the world around us.
Strengthen us by Your Holy Spirit
to carry out our mission
of living and following
the path of Jesus, our Lord.
Help us to understand,
that by Your grace
our gifts are Your blessings,
to be shared with others.
Fill us with Your Spirit of love
to give glory to You
in loving all
and preaching by our love.
Nourish in us the desire
to go forth
as the bearers of Your Son
fearless and gentle,
loving and merciful.
Make us true Christ bearers,
that in seeing us
only He is visible.
Amenthe christopher prayer - written by me - 25 july 2018

Posted in CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, MORNING Prayers, PRAYERS for PRIESTS, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES of the SAINTS, QUOTES on the PRIESTHOOD

Thought for the Day – – 18 July – The Holy Father’s Prayer Intention for July “Pray for our Priests and their Pastoral Ministry”

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Thought for the Day – – 18 July – The Holy Father’s Prayer Intention for July “Pray for our Priests and their Pastoral Ministry”

What joy did the Apostles feel after the Resurrection of Our Lord, at seeing the Master whom they had loved so much!
The priest must feel the same joy, at seeing Our Lord whom he holds in his hands.
Great value is attached to objects which have been laid in the drinking cup of the Blessed Virgin and of the Child Jesus, at Loretto.
But the fingers of the priest, that have touched the adorable Flesh of Jesus Christ, that have been plunged into the chalice which contained His Blood, into the pyx where His Body has lain, are they not still more precious?

The priesthood is the love of the Heart of Jesus.   

When you see the priest, think of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

St John Vianney (1786-1859) Patron of Priests

Prayer for Priests
By St John Vianney

God, please give to Your Church today
many more priests after Your own heart.
May they be worthy representatives
of Christ the Good Shepherd.
May they wholeheartedly devote themselves
to prayer and penance;
be examples of humility and poverty;
shining models of holiness;
tireless and powerful preachers
of the Word of God;
zealous dispensers of Your grace
in the sacraments.
May their loving devotion to Your Son,
Jesus in the Eucharist
and to Mary His Mother,
be the twin fountains of fruitfulness
for their ministry.
Amenprayer for priests by st john vianney - no 3 - 18 july 2018

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Quote/s of the Day – 18 July – The Holy Father’s Prayer Intention for July “Pray for our Priests and their Pastoral Ministry”

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Quote/s of the Day – 18 July – The Holy Father’s Prayer Intention for July “Pray for our Priests and their Pastoral Ministry”holy fathers prayer intention for july 2018 - 1 july 2018

“He made them,
the vicars of His love.

St Ambrose (340-397)

Father & Doctor of the Churchhe made them the vicars of his love - st ambrose - 18 july 2018

“The power of the priest,
is the power of the divine person,
for the transubstantiation of the bread,
requires as much power,
as the creation of the world.”

St Bernardine of Siena (1380-1444)the power of the priest - st bernardine -2018

“St Bernard tells us that everything has come to us through Mary
and we may also say that everything has come to us through the priest,
yes, all happiness, all graces, all heavenly gifts.
If we had not the Sacrament of Orders, we should not have Our Lord.
Who placed Him there, in that tabernacle?
It was the priest.
Who was it that received your soul, on its entrance into life?
The priest.
Who nourishes it, to give it strength to make its pilgrimage?
The priest.
Who will prepare it to appear before God, by washing that soul,
for the last time, in the blood of Jesus Christ?
The priest – always the priest.
And if that soul comes to the point of death, who will raise it up,
who will restore it to calmness and peace?
Again the priest.
You cannot recall one single blessing from God,
without finding, side by side with this recollection,
the image of the priest.”st bernard tells us that all things - st john vianney on the priesthood - 18 july 2018

“If I were to meet a priest and an angel,
I should salute the priest before I saluted the angel.
The latter is the friend of God
but the priest holds His place.”

St John Vianney (1786-1859) Patron of Priestsif i were to meet a priest - st john vianney - 18 july 2018

“Day after day, it is necessary to learn,
that I do not possess my life for myself.
Day by day, I must learn to abandon myself,
to keep myself available for whatever He, the Lord,
needs of me at a given moment,
even if other things seem more appealing
and more important to me,
this means giving life, not taking it.”

Pope Benedict XVIday after day it is necessary to learn - pope benedict on the priesthood - 18 july 2018

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Our Morning Offering – 6 July – The Memorial of St Maria Goretti (1890-1902)

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Our Morning Offering – 6 July – The Memorial of St Maria Goretti (1890-1902)

Official Prayer
for the intercession of
St Maria Goretti

O Saint Maria Goretti you,
strengthened by God’s grace,
did not hesitate,
even at the age of twelve,
to shed your blood
and sacrifice life itself,
to defend your virginal purity,
look graciously on
the unhappy human race
which has strayed
far from the path
of eternal salvation.
Teach us all and especially youth,
with what courage and promptitude,
we should flee, for the love of Jesus,
anything that could offend Him
or stain our souls with sin.
Obtain for us from our Lord,
victory in temptation,
comfort in the sorrows of life
and the grace
which we earnestly beg of you
…………………… (your intention)
and may we one day,
enjoy with you,
the imperishable glory of Heaven.
Amenofficial prayer for the intercession of st maria goretti - 6 july 2018 - her memorial

Posted in CATHOLIC DEVOTIONS of the Month, CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, MORNING Prayers

The Holy Father’s Prayer Intention for July 2018

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The Holy Father’s Prayer Intention
for July 2018

Priests and their Pastoral Ministry

That priests, who experience fatigue and loneliness

in their pastoral work, may find help

and comfort in their intimacy with the Lord

and in their friendship with their brother priests.prayer intentions july 2018 - priest and their pastoral ministry - 1 july 2018

Posted in BREVIARY Prayers, CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, FATHERS of the Church, MORNING Prayers, SAINT of the DAY, The WORD

Thought for the Day – 24 June – The Solemnity of the Nativity of St John the Baptist, B

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Thought for the Day – 24 June – The Solemnity of the Nativity of St John the Baptist, B

John challenges us Christians to the fundamental attitude of Christianity—total dependence on the Father, in Christ.   Except for the Mother of God, no one had a higher function in the unfolding of salvation.   Yet the least in the kingdom, Jesus said, is greater than he, for the pure gift that the Father gives.   The attractiveness as well as the austerity of John, his fierce courage in denouncing evil—all stem from his fundamental and total placing of his life within the will of God.

The Benedictus, below, is prayed every morning in the Breviary and so, the Church remembers this “forerunner of Jesus” at the beginning of every day.   The opening words of this Canticle are the source of its Latin title, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel”.

What does it mean for Catholics, that we sing this song about John the Baptists at the start of every new day?   After having been “silenced” by sleep throughout the night, God opens our mouths and one of the first things we do, is to sing this blessing of God, whose dawn breaks forth to shine on us and guide our way to peace.

In the Benedictus, we join ourselves to the mission of St John the Baptist, who came to prepare a way for the Lord by being a witness of God’s salvation, living a simple and penitential life and calling others to do the same.   Our work each day, then, is to use our voice – like Zechariah and his son – and the witness of our lives, to make God’s presence known wherever we go and to whom whomever we encounter.

Ant. The mouth of Zechariah was opened and he spoke this prophecy:  Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel.

The Benedictus – Canticle of Zechariah
Luke 1:68-79
The Messiah and His forerunner

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;
He has visited His people and redeemed them.

He has raised up for us a mighty saviour,
in the house of David, His servant,
as He promised by the lips of holy men,
those who were His prophets of old.

A Saviour who would free us from our foes,
from the hands of all who us.
So His love for our fathers is fulfilled
and His holy covenant remembered.

He swore to our father Abraham, our father, to grant us,
that free from fear and saved from the hands of our foes.
we might worship Him in justice and holiness
all the days of our lives, in His Presence.

As for you, little child,
you shall be called the prophet of God, the Most High.
You shall go ahead of the Lord
to prepare His ways before Him,

to make known to His people their salvation,
through forgiveness of all their sins,
the loving kindness of the heart of our God,
who visits us like the dawn from on high.

He will give light to those in darkness,
those who dwell in the shadow of death,
and to guide us into the way of peace.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and will be for ever. Amen

Ant. The mouth of Zechariah was opened and he spoke this prophecy:  Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel.the benedictus - the birth of john the baptist - 24 june 2018 - from my lit of the hours

Posted in CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, MARIAN DEVOTIONS, MARIAN PRAYERS, MARIAN TITLES, MORNING Prayers, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, SACRED and IMMACULATE HEARTS, The BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Our Morning Offering – 9 June – The Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

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Our Morning Offering – 9 June – The Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Prayer to the Two Holy Hearts of Jesus and Mary

O Heart of Jesus pierced for our sins
and giving us Your Mother on Calvary!
O Heart of Mary pierced by sorrow
and sharing in the sufferings of your divine Son
for our redemption!
O sacred union of these Two Hearts!
Praised be the God of Love who united them together!
May we unite our hearts and every heart
so that all hearts may live in unity and in imitation
of that sacred unity which exists in these Two Hearts.
Triumph, O Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary!
Reign, O Most Sacred Heart of Jesus!
– in our hearts, in our homes and families,
in the hearts of those who as yet do not know You
and in all nations of the world.
Establish in the hearts of all mankind the sovereign triumph
and reign of your Two Hearts so that the earth may resound
from pole to pole with one cry:
Blessed forever be the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
and the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary!
Obtain for me a greater purity of heart
and a fervent love of the spiritual life.
May all my actions be done for the greater glory of God
in unions with the divine heart of Jesus
and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Hear and answer our prayers and intentions
according to Your most merciful will.
Amenprayer-to-the-two-hearts-of-jesus-and-mary.24 june 2017

Posted in CATHOLIC DEVOTIONS of the Month, CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, MORNING Prayers, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, PRAYERS for PRIESTS, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, QUOTES - J R R Tolkien and MORE, QUOTES of the SAINTS, SACRED and IMMACULATE HEARTS

Thought for the Day — 8 June – The Solemnity of The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and The World Day for the Sanctification of Priests

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Thought for the Day — 8 June – The Solemnity of The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and The World Day for the Sanctification of Priests

The World Day for the Sanctification of Priests 2002 takes its inspiration from the theme of John Paul II’s Letters to Priests for Holy Thursday 2000, 2001, and 2002.   Below is an excerpt from the Congregation of the Clergy to all our Priests all over the world.

From St John Chrysostom (347-407)  Father & Doctor

“These are really the ones who are in charge of spiritual travail and responsible for the birth which comes through baptism.   Through them we put on Christ and are buried in union with the Son of God and become members, obedient to our blessed Head (cf. Rom 6,1; Gal 3,27).   For that reason they should not only be more justly feared than rulers and kings but also, be more honoured, than our parents.   For our parents generated us of blood and the will of the flesh (cf. Jn 1,13) but the priests are the authors of our birth from God, even that blessed regeneration which is true freedom and adopted sonship according to grace” (cf. St John Chrysostom, De sacerdotio, III, 6, PG 48, 643-644).

From St Anthony of Padua  (1195-1231) Evangelical Doctor

“Our altar of gold is the Heart of Christ.   We must enter into the Holy of Holies, which is this same Heart of Jesus and gather up the riches of His love” (St Anthony of Padua).

From St John of Avila (1500-1569) Doctor of the Church

“If the Jewish High priest carried the names of the twelve tribes of Israel written on his shoulders and on his breast, how much more Christ, our High Priest, carries our names written on His Heart” (St John of Avila).

From the holy Curé of Ars (1786-1859) Patron of Priests

“The Priesthood is the love of the heart of Jesus” (CCC, n. 1589—St John Vianney, quoted in B. Nodet, Jean-Marie Vianney, Curé d’Ars, 100).

“The priest is not a priest for himself.   He does not give absolution to himself.   He does not administer the sacraments to himself.   He does not exist for himself, he exists for you” (Curé of Ars: Monnin II 453).

From St Pope John XXIII (1881-1963)

“Today everything which concerns the Sacred Heart of Jesus has become familiar and doubly dear to me.   My life seems destined to be spent in the light shining from the tabernacle and it is to the Heart of Jesus that I must look for a solution to all my troubles. I feel I would be ready to shed my blood for the cause of the Sacred Heart.   My fondest wish is to be able to do something for that precious object of my love.

“At times the thought of my arrogance, of my unbelievable self-love and of my great unworthiness alarms and dismays me and robs me of my courage but I soon find reason for comfort, in the words spoken by Jesus to Blessed Margaret Mary Alacoque:  ‘I have chosen you to reveal the marvels of my heart, because you are such an abyss of ignorance and insufficiency’.

“Ah! I wish to serve the Sacred Heart of Jesus, today and always.   I want my devotion to His Heart to be the measure of all my spiritual progress.   I desire to do everything in intimate union with the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.

“My greatest joy will be to seek and find comfort only in that Heart which is the source of all consolation.   I am determined to give myself no peace until I can truly say, I am absorbed into the Heart of Jesus”   (Bl. John XXIII, Journal of a Soul, [“During the retreat in preparation for the ordination to the diaconate, 9-18 December 1903”], pp. 208-209, New English Library: London, 1966).

Prayer for Priests

O Jesus, eternal High Priest, who, in an incomparable love for men,
allowed Catholic priesthood to issue from Your Sacred Heart,
deign to continue to pour out on Your priest,
the life-giving streams of Infinite Love.
Live in them, transform them into Yourself;
Render them by Your grace instruments of Your Mercy;
Act in them and through them
and grant that they may perform in Your Name
and by the strength of Your Spirit,
the works which You Yourself
accomplished for the salvation of this world.
Divine Redeemer of souls,
see how great is the multitude of those,
who still sleep in the darkness of error;
count the number of those unfaithful sheep,
who are walking on the edge of an abyss;
consider the crowds of the poor, the hungry,
the ignorant and the weak,
who are groaning in their state of abandonment.
Return to us again, dear Sacred Heart of Jesus,
live again in very truth in them;
act through them and pass again through this world
teaching, pardoning, consoling, offering sacrifice,
renewing the Bonds of Love
between the Heart of God and the hearts of men.
We pray through the intercession
of Mary, Mother of all hearts.
Amenprayer for priests - 8 june 2018 - sacred heart.jpg

 

Posted in CATHOLIC DEVOTIONS of the Month, CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, CONSECRATION Prayers, FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, MORNING Prayers, PAPAL PRAYERS, SACRED and IMMACULATE HEARTS, Uncategorized

Our Morning Offering – 8 June – The Solemnity of The Most Sacred Heart

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Our Morning Offering – 8 June – The Solemnity of The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

Prayer of Consecration to The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
By Pope Leo XIII (1810-1903)

Most sweet Jesus,
Redeemer of the human race,
look down upon us,
humbly prostrate before Your altar.
We are Yours and Yours we wish to be
but to be more surely united with You,
behold, each one of us,
freely consecrates himself today
to Your most sacred heart.
Many, indeed, have never known You, many too,
despising your precepts, have rejected You.
Have mercy on them all, most merciful Jesus
and draw them to Your sacred heart.
Be You king, O Lord, not only of the faithful
who have never forsaken You
but also of the prodigal children who have abandoned You;
grant that they may quickly return to their father’s house,
lest they die of wretchedness and hunger.
Be You king, of those who are deceived
by erroneous opinions,
or whom discord keeps aloof
and call them back to the harbour of truth and unity of faith,
so that soon there may be but one flock and one shepherd.
Be you king also, of all those who sit
in the ancient superstition of the Gentiles
and refuse not You to deliver them out of darkness
into the light and kingdom of God.
Grant, O Lord, to Your Church,
assurance of freedom and immunity from harm;
give peace and order to all nations
and make the earth resound from pole to pole with one cry:
Praise to the divine heart that wrought our salvation;
to it be glory and honour forever.
Amen.

and

Daily Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Sacred Heart of Jesus,
filled with infinite love,
broken by my ingratitude,
pierced by my sins,
yet loving me still,
accept the consecration that I make to You,
of all that I am and all that I have.
Take every faculty of my soul and body,
and draw me, day by day,
nearer and nearer to Your Sacred Side,
and there, as I can bear the lesson,
teach me Your blessed ways.
Amendaily consecration to the sacred heart of jesus - 8 june 2018

Posted in CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, MORNING Prayers, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, The MOST HOLY & BLESSED TRINITY

Our Morning Offering – 6 June – Wednesday of the Ninth Week of Ordinary Time, Year B

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Our Morning Offering – 6 June – Wednesday of the Ninth Week of Ordinary Time, Year B

Excerpt of the Lorica
St Patrick (c 385-461)

I arise today
Through God’s strength
to pilot me;
God’s might to uphold me,
God’s wisdom to guide me,
God’s eye to look before me,
God’s ear to hear me,
God’s word to speak for me,
God’s hand to guard me,
God’s way to lie before me,
God’s shield to protect me,
God’s hosts to save me
From snares of the devil,
From temptations of vices,
From every one who desires me ill,
Afar and anear,
Alone or in a mulitude.
I arise today
Through a mighty strength,
the invocation of the Trinity,
Through a belief in the Threeness,
Through a confession of the Oneness
Of the Creator of creation,
Amenexcerpt of the lorica - st patrick - i arise today through God's strength - 6 june 2017

It is believed that St Patrick composed the prayer in 433, before he was about to convert High King of Ireland Lóegaire mac Néill.   It is called a “lorica,” which literally means “deer leap” but is usually translated as “breastplate” and is a prayer of one who is going into battle, a prayer for protection.   In this case, it was a spiritual battle against the paganism and evil spirits of the Emerald Isle.

Posted in CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, MORNING Prayers, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, PRAYERS of the SAINTS

Our Morning Offering – 4 June – Ninth Week in Ordinary Time, Year B

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 4 June – Ninth Week in Ordinary Time, Year B

Excerpt from St Patrick’s Breastplate

Christ be near, at either hand,
Christ behind, before me stand;
Christ with me, where’er I go,
Christ around, above, below.

Christ be in my heart and mind,
Christ within my soul enshrined;
Christ control, my wayward heart;
Christ abide and ne’er depart.

Christ my life and only way,
Christ my lantern, night and day;
Christ be my unchanging friend,
guide and shepherd to the end.christ be near at either hand - 4 june 2018

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Sunday Reflection – 3 June 2018 – The Solemnity of Corpus Christi

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Sunday Reflection – 3 June 2018 – The Solemnity of Corpus Christi

There is a claim that the Adoro Te Devote, our morning offering today, was the prayer that St Thomas Aquinas addressed to Christ as he was dying.   The claim remains doubtful, (in the sense that it is a highly intricate prayer and it would be difficult to write whilst very ill) but the account that his biographer, William of Tocco, gives of the holy Doctor’s last moments of life is, in itself, an extraordinary testimony of Eucharistic devotion and reveals the source of the doctrine that, directly or indirectly, inspired the most beautiful Eucharistic texts of the Latin Church, including the Adoro Te Devote.

“Feeling his strength failing and sensing the nearness of his departure from this world, the holy Doctor, with great devotion, requested the viaticum of the Christian pilgrimage, the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ.
After the abbot and the monks had brought the Eucharist to him, he prostrated himself on the ground, weak in body but strong in spirit and went, with tears, to meet his Lord.
Then, in the presence of the Sacrament of the Body of Christ, as is the custom with every Christian at the moment of death, he was asked if he believed that in that consecrated host was the true Son of God, born of the womb of the Virgin, suspended from the scaffold of the Cross, who died and rose for us on the third day. With a free voice and great devotion, mingled with tears, he replied:
“I truly believe and hold as certain that He is true God and true man, Son of God and of the Virgin Mother and I believe with my heart and profess with my lips, that which the priest has asked me of this most Holy Sacrament.”
And after some words of devotion (at this point it is believed St Thomas quoted the Adoro), receiving the Sacrament, he exclaimed:
“I receive You, price of the Redemption of my soul, for love of which I have studied, watched and worked, I have preached and taught You, I have said nothing against You nor am I obstinate in my opinion, if in some part I have spoken poorly of this Sacrament, I submit all to the correction of the Holy Roman Church, in who obedience, I pass from this life.”

May we also, at the end of life, be able to say the same as St Thomas Aquinas!

Let us be transported to the same climate of expectation and joyful hope as we feel in the Adoro Te Devote with these last words of the Lauda Sion, the Eucharistic hymn/sequence also written by St Thomas Aquinas. (Fr Raneiro Cantalamessa O.F.M. “This is My Body”)

Source of all we have or know,
feed and lead us here below.
Grant that with Your saints above,
Sitting at the feast of love,
We may see You face to face.

Amen Alleluia!

Lord Jesus Christ, in the Most Blessed Sacrament, we Adore and Love You!lauda sion - lord jesus christ in the most blessed sacrament - corpus christi - 3 june 2018 - sunday reflection

St Thomas Aquinas, Pray for us!st thomas aquinas pray for us - corpus christi - 3 june 2018

Posted in CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, DOCTORS of the Church, FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, HYMNS, JESUIT SJ, MORNING Prayers, PRAYERS of the CHURCH, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, The HOLY EUCHARIST / The HOLY MASS

Our Morning Offering – 3 June 2018 – The Solemnity of Corpus Christi

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Our Morning Offering – 3 June 2018 – The Solemnity of Corpus Christi

Adoro te devote
By St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) Doctor of the Church
Trans. Fr Gerard Manley Hopkins S.J. (1844-1889)

Godhead here in hiding, whom I do adore,
Masked by these bare shadows, shape and nothing more,
See, Lord, at thy service low lies here a heart
Lost, all lost in wonder at the God thou art.

Seeing, touching, tasting are in thee deceived:
How says trusty hearing? that shall be believed;
What God’s Son has told me, take for truth I do;
Truth himself speaks truly or there’s nothing true.

On the cross thy godhead made no sign to men,
Here thy very manhood steals from human ken:
Both are my confession, both are my belief,
And I pray the prayer of the dying thief.

I am not like Thomas, wounds I cannot see,
But can plainly call thee Lord and God as he;
Let me to a deeper faith daily nearer move,
Daily make me harder hope and dearer love.

O thou our reminder of Christ crucified,
Living Bread, the life of us for whom he died,
Lend this life to me then: feed and feast my mind,
There be thou the sweetness man was meant to find.

Bring the tender tale true of the Pelican;
Bathe me, Jesu Lord, in what thy bosom ran—
Blood whereof a single drop has power to win
All the world forgiveness of its world of sin.

Jesu, whom I look at shrouded here below,
I beseech thee send me what I thirst for so,
Some day to gaze on thee face to face in light
And be blest for ever with thy glory’s sight.
Amenadoro te devote - st thomas aquinas - corpus christi - 3 june 2018.jpg

Original Latin

Adoro te devote, latens Deitas,
Quæ sub his figuris vere latitas;
Tibi se cor meum totum subjicit,
Quia te contemplans totum deficit.

Visus, tactus, gustus in te fallitur,
Sed auditu solo tuto creditur.
Credo quidquid dixit Dei Filius;
Nil hoc verbo veritátis verius.

In cruce latebat sola Deitas,
At hic latet simul et Humanitas,
Ambo tamen credens atque confitens,
Peto quod petivit latro pœnitens.

Plagas, sicut Thomas, non intueor:
Deum tamen meum te confiteor.
Fac me tibi semper magis credere,
In te spem habere, te diligere.

O memoriale mortis Domini,
Panis vivus, vitam præstans homini,
Præsta meæ menti de te vívere,
Et te illi semper dulce sapere.

Pie Pelicane, Jesu Domine,
Me immundum munda tuo sanguine:
Cujus una stilla salvum facere
Totum mundum quit ab omni scelere.

Jesu, quem velatum nunc aspicio,
Oro, fiat illud quod tam sitio:
Ut te revelata cernens facie,
Visu sim beátus tuæ gloriæ.
Amen

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The Solemnity of The Body and Blood of Christ “Corpus Christi” – 3 June

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The Solemnity of The Body and Blood of Christ “Corpus Christi” – 3 June

Happy Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, our Lord and God!  What a Gift we celebrate today!

The Eucharist is the source and summit of the whole Christian life.   The feast of Corpus Christi is a celebration of Christ’s Real Presence in the Eucharist.   It parallels the celebration on Holy Thursday in commemoration of the institution of this Aacrament. When the Eucharist is carried through the streets in solemn procession, the Christian people give public witness of their faith and devotion toward the Sacrament of the Eucharist

In 1246, Bishop Robert de Thorete of the Belgian diocese of Liège, at the suggestion of St Juliana of Mont Cornillon (also in Belgium), convened a synod and instituted the celebration of the feast.

From Liège, the celebration began to spread and, on 8 September 1264, Pope Urban IV issued the papal bull “Transiturus,” which established the Feast of Corpus Christi as a universal feast of the Church, to be celebrated on the Thursday following Trinity Sunday.

At the request of Pope Urban IV, St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274), Doctor of the Church, composed the office, the official prayers of the Churc, for the feast.   This office is widely considered one of the most beautiful in the traditional Roman Breviary and it is the source of the famous Eucharistic hymns Pange Lingua Gloriosi and Tantum Ergo Sacramentum.

The feast is also celebrated with a Eucharistic procession, in which the Sacred Host is carried throughout the town, accompanied by hymns and litanies.   There the Eucharistic Lord, held in the monstrance by the priest, is escorted by candles, canopies, incense, choirs, altar servers, and worshipers.   The faithful venerate the Body of Christ as the procession passed by, with Benediction celebrated along the way.

The feast of Corpus Christi is one time when our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament is exposed not just to faithful Catholics but to all the world.   This is a time when Catholics can show their love for Christ in the Real Presence by honouring Him in a very public way.   It is also a wonderful way in which we can show our love for our neighbors by bringing Our Lord and Savior closer to them.   So many conversions are a result of Eucharistic Adoration experienced from inside the Church.   How many more there would be if we could reach those who only drive by the church in worldly pursuits.

“Corpus Christi reminds us first of all of this:, that being Christian means coming together from all parts of the world to be in the presence of the one Lord and to become one with him and in him.
The second constitutive aspect, is walking with the Lord. ,This is the reality manifested by the procession that we shall experience together after Holy Mass, almost as if it were naturally prolonged by moving behind the One who is the Way, the Journey. With the gift of Himself in the Eucharist, the Lord Jesus sets us free from our “paralyses”, He helps us up and enables us to “proceed “, that is, He makes us take a step ahead and then another step and thus sets us going with the power of the Bread of Life.”

Pope Benedict XVI, Corpus Christ 2008

Throughout our lives, if we were raised Catholic, we were taught reverence for the Eucharist.    But “reverence” is not enough.  Most Catholics reverence the Eucharist, meaning, we genuflect, kneel and treat the Sacred Host with respect.    But it’s important to ponder a question in your heart.    Do you believe the Eucharist is God Almighty, the Saviour of the world, the second Person of the Most Holy Trinity?  Do you believe deeply enough to have your heart moved with love and profound devotion every time you are before our divine Lord present before us under the veil of the Eucharist?   When you kneel do you fall down prostrate in your heart, loving God with your whole being?5 - Adoration of the Eucharist, by Jeronimo Jacinto Espinosa, 1650

Perhaps this sounds like it’s a bit excessive.  Perhaps simple reverence and respect is enough for you.   But it’s not.   Since the Eucharist is God Almighty, we must see Him there with the eyes of faith in our soul.   We must profoundly adore Him as the angels do in Heaven.   We must cry out, “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty.”  We must be moved to the deepest of worship as we enter into His divine presence.

Ponder the depth of your faith in the Eucharist today and strive to renew it, worshiping God as one who believes with your whole being.

I devoutly adore You, O hidden Deity, truly hidden beneath these appearances.  My whole heart submits to You and in contemplating You, it surrenders itself completely.  Sight, touch, taste are all deceived in their judgement of You but hearing suffices firmly to believe.  Jesus, I trust in You.