Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort’s Total Consecration to Jesus Through Mary
– Day Two 18 October
Readings and Prayers
12 Day Preparation
Day 2 of 33
Matthew 5:48, 6:1-15
Be you therefore perfect, as also your heavenly Father is perfect…Take heed that you do not your justice before men, to be seen by them, otherwise you shall not have a reward of your Father who is in heaven. Therefore, when you give an almsdeed, sound not a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be honoured by men. Amen I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, let not your left hand know what your right hand is doing. That your alms may be in secret and your Father who sees in secret will repay you. And when you pray, you shall not be as the hypocrites, that love to stand and pray in the synagogues and corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Amen I say to you, they have received their reward. But you when you shall pray, enter into your chamber and having shut the door, pray to your Father in secret and your Father who sees in secret will repay you. And when you are praying, speak not much, as the heathens. For they think that in their much speaking they may be heard. Be not you, therefore, like to them, for your Father knows what is needful for you, before you ask him. Thus, therefore, shall you pray:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation. But deliver us from evil. Amen.
For if you will forgive men their offences, your heavenly Father will forgive you also your offences. But if you will not forgive men, neither will your Father forgive you your offences.
Recite: Veni Creator, Ave Maris Stella, Magnificat and Glory Be
(See HERE: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2018/10/17/saint-louis-marie-de-montforts-total-consecration-to-jesus-through-mary-day-one-17-october/ )
Our Morning Offering – 18 October – Feast of St Luke
Ave Maris Stella
Hail, O Star of the ocean,
God’s own Mother blest,
ever sinless Virgin,
gate of heav’nly rest.
Taking that sweet Ave,
which from Gabriel came,
peace confirm within us,
changing Eve’s name.
Break the sinners’ fetters,
make our blindness day,
Chase all evils from us,
for all blessings pray.
Show thyself a Mother,
may the Word divine
born for us thine Infant
hear our prayers through thine.
Virgin all excelling,
mildest of the mild,
free from guilt preserve us
meek and undefiled.
Keep our life all spotless,
make our way secure
till we find in Jesus,
joy for evermore.
Praise to God the Father,
honour to the Son,
in the Holy Spirit,
be the glory one.
Amen
October – The Month of the Holy Rosary Message from Pope Francis
Below is the complete and entire Message issued by the Holy See Press Office on 29 September 2018.
Holy See Press Office Communiqué, 29.09.2018
The Holy Father has decided to invite all the faithful, of all the world, to pray the Holy Rosary every day, during the entire Marian month of October and thus to join in communion and in penitence, as the people of God, in asking the Holy Mother of God and Saint Michael Archangel to protect the Church from the devil, who always seeks to separate us from God and from each other.
In recent days, before his departure for the Baltic States, the Holy Father met with Fr Fréderic Fornos, S.J., international director of Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network and asked him to spread this appeal to all the faithful throughout the world, inviting them to conclude the recitation of the Rosary with the ancient invocation “Sub tuum praesídium” and with the prayer to Saint Michael Archangel that he protect us and help us in the struggle against evil (cf. Revelation 12, 7-12).
The prayer – the Pontiff affirmed a few days ago, on 11 September, in a homily at Santa Marta, citing the first chapter of the Book of Job – is the weapon against the Great Accuser who “goes around the world seeking to accuse”. Only prayer can defeat him . The Russian mystics and the great saints of all the traditions advised, in moments of spiritual turbulence, to shelter beneath the mantle of the Holy Mother of God pronouncing the invocation “Sub tuum praesídium”.
The invocation “Sub tuum praesídium” is recited as follows:
“Sub tuum praesídium confúgimus,
sancta Dei Génetrix;
nostras deprecatiónes ne despícias in necessitátibus,
sed a perículis cunctis líbera nos semper,
Virgo gloriósa et benedícta”.
We fly to Thy protection, O Holy Mother of God. Do not despise our petitions in our necessities but deliver us always from all dangers, O Glorious and Blessed Virgin.
With this request for intercession the Holy Father asks the faithful of all the world to pray that the Holy Mother of God place the Church beneath her protective mantle – to preserve her from the attacks by the devil, the great accuser and at the same time to make her more aware of the faults, the errors and the abuses committed in the present and in the past and committed to combating without any hesitation, so that evil may not prevail.
The Holy Father has also asked that the recitation of the Holy Rosary during the month of October conclude with the prayer written by Pope Leo XIII:
“Sancte Míchael Archángele, defénde nos in próelio;
contra nequítiam et insídias diáboli esto praesídium.
Imperet illi Deus, súpplices deprecámur,
tuque, Prínceps milítiae caeléstis,
Sátanam aliósque spíritus malígnos,
qui ad perditiónem animárum pervagántur in mundo,
divína virtúte, in inférnum detrúde. Amen”.
Saint Michael Archangel, defend us in battle, be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil, may God rebuke him, we humbly pray and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God, cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits, who prowl throughout the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen
Note: In recent weeks the bishops of several dioceses, across the world, have encouraged the praying of the Saint Michael Prayer after Mass – as we used to do. And I would add, Alleluia!
There are 5 Marian Months, which Holy Mother Church, has given the faithful. They are: May – the Month of Mary, August – the Month of the Immaculate Heart, September – the Month of the Sorrowful Mother, October – the Month of the Holy Rosary and December – the Month of the Immaculate Conception. For devotion to Mary leads us to her Son, in our Mother Mary we find the image of the Church, the mercy of motherhood.
On 7 October the Church celebrates the feast day of Mary, Queen of the Holy Rosary. This feast was established by Pope Saint Pius V on the anniversary of the victory at Lepanto on 7 October 1571. The naval victory was attributed to the Virgin Mary whose intercession was entreated through the recitation of the Holy Rosary.
The Church then proceeded to dedicate the entire month of October to the Holy Rosary so that individuals, families and communities would pray the Holy Rosary, on a daily basis for peace in the world. “Not only do we earnestly exhort all Christians to give themselves to the recital of the pious devotion of the Rosary publicly, or privately in their own house and family and that unceasingly but we also desire that the whole of the month of October … should be consecrated to the Holy Queen of the Rosary” (Excerpt from the Encyclical of Pope Leo XIII, On Devotion of the Rosary, 1 September 1883).
The Holy Rosary and the Saints:
“The experience of the Saints bears witness to it – this popular Marian prayer, the Holy Rosary, is a precious spiritual means to grow in intimacy with Jesus and to learn at the school of the Blessed Virgin always to fulfil the divine will. To be apostles of the Rosary… it is necessary to experience personally the beauty and depth of this prayer which is simple and accessible to everyone. It is first of all necessary to let the Blessed Virgin take one by the hand to contemplate the Face of Christ, a joyful, luminous, sorrowful and glorious Face. Those who, like Mary and with her, cherish and ponder the mysteries of Jesus assiduously, increasingly assimilate His sentiments and are conformed to Him.”– Excerpt from the Meditation of Pope Benedict XVI, On the Recitation of the Holy Rosary,19 October 2008.
Our Morning Offering – 29 September – The Feast of Sts Michael, Gabriel and Raphael
Prayer to St Michael
St Michael the Archangel,
defend us in battle,
be our defense against the wickedness
and snares of the devil.
May God rebuke him we humbly pray
and do thou o’ prince of the Heavenly Host,
by the power of God,
cast into hell, satan and all the evil spirits
who prowl throughout the world,
seeking the ruin of souls.
Amen
Prayer to St Gabriel
O God, who from among all Your angels
chose the Archangel Gabriel
to announce the mystery of the Incarnation,
mercifully grant that we who solemnly
remember him on earth,
may feel the benefit of his patronage in heaven,
with Jesus who lives and reigns forever and ever.
Amen
Prayer to the Archangel Raphael
Glorious Archangel St Raphael,
great prince of the heavenly court,
you are illustrious for your gifts of wisdom and grace.
You are a guide of those who journey by land or sea or air,
consoler of the afflicted and refuge of sinners.
I beg you, assist me in all my needs
and in all the sufferings of this life,
as once you helped the young Tobias on his travels.
Because you are the “medicine of God”,
I humbly pray you to heal the many infirmities of my soul
and the ills that afflict my body.
I especially ask of you the great grace of purity
to prepare me to be the temple of the Holy Spirit.
Amen
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.
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”.
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.
Amen
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 prayers
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.
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
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. Amen
Mary, our Consolation and our Comforter, Pray for us!
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.
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
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.
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)
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)
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 5
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.
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.
Amen
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
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 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)
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.
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.
Amen
Thought for the Day – 25 July – The Memorial of St Christopher (died c 251) One of the Fourteen Holy Helpers
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 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.
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.
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.
Amen
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.
Amen
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.
Amen
Quote/s of the Day – 18 July – The Holy Father’s Prayer Intention for July “Pray for our Priests and their Pastoral Ministry”
“He made them, the vicars of His love.
St Ambrose (340-397)
Father & Doctor of the Church
“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)
“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.”
“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 Priests
“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.”
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.
Amen
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.
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.
Amen
AnaStpaul 
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