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
Thought for the Day – 22 August – The Memorial of The Queenship of Mary, Holy Mother of God – Today’s Gospel: Luke 1:26–38
As St Paul suggests in Romans 8:28–30, God has predestined human beings from all eternity to share the image of his Son. All the more was Mary predestined to be the mother of Jesus. As Jesus was to be king of all creation, Mary, in dependence on Jesus, was to be queen. All other titles to queenship derive from this eternal intention of God. As Jesus exercised his kingship on earth by serving his Father and his fellow human beings, so did Mary exercise her queenship. As the glorified Jesus remains with us as our king till the end of time (Matthew 28:20), so does Mary, who was assumed into heaven and crowned queen of heaven and earth.
In the fourth century St Ephrem called Mary “Lady” and “Queen.” Later Church fathers and doctors continued to use the title. Hymns of the 11th to 13th centuries address Mary as queen: “Hail, Holy Queen,” “Hail, Queen of Heaven,” “Queen of Heaven.” The Dominican rosary and the Franciscan crown as well as numerous invocations in Mary’s litany celebrate her queenship.
The feast is a logical follow-up to the Assumption and is now celebrated on the octave day of that feast. In his 1954 encyclical To the Queen of Heaven, Pius XII points out that Mary deserves the title because she is Mother of God because she is closely associated as the New Eve with Jesus’ redemptive work because of her preeminent perfection and because of her intercessory power. (Fr Don Miller OFM) “Just as Mary surpassed in grace all others on earth, so also in heaven is her glory unique. If eye has not seen or ear heard or the human heart conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him (1 Corinthians 2:9), who can express what He has prepared for the woman who gave Him birth and who loved Him, as everyone knows, more than anyone else?” (St Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) – Doctor of Light – Mellifluous Doctor)
Mary Queen of Heaven and Earth,
Pray for your children!
Your eyes opened to a new kind of light Wide pools that gaze with merciful love upon the world Your sword-pierced heart, immaculate,
Strong-walled as a cathedral
In the holy city of God.
Angels surround your throne Holy Blessed Virgin, Mother of God Star-crowned Queen of heaven and Queen of angels
We, though sinners, are yours, Every tribe on earth, every race Beckoned to enclosure In deep mantle-folds of grace.
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
Our Morning Offering – 4 August – The Memorial of St John Vianney (1786-1859)
St John Vianney’s prayer which is quoted in the CCC
I Love You, O My God By St John Vianney (1786-1859)
I love You,
O my God
and my only desire is to love You
until the last breath of my life.
I love You,
O my infinitely lovable God,
and I would rather die loving You,
than live without loving You.
I love You, Lord
and the only grace I ask,
is to love You eternally
My God,
if my tongue cannot say
in every moment that I love You,
I want my heart to repeat it to You
as often as I draw breath.
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 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 – 22 July – Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B
You are Here for me, Lord Jesus Eucharistic Prayer
You are here for me, Lord Jesus
and I am here for You.
You have made Yourself all mine,
and I would make myself all Yours.
You are all attentive to me,
and I would be all attentive to You.
You have turned Your Face toward me,
and I would hold my face turned toward You.
Love of me has pierced Your Heart;
would that love of You would pierce my heart.
You humble Yourself even to seek my company;
how can I not seek Your company
Why have You done all
in Your power to be present to me?
But I love You Lord,
Stay with me!
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
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
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
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. Amen
8 June – Blessed and Holy Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus – (Friday after the Second Sunday after Pentecost) and The World Day of Prayer for the Sanctification of Priests.
Excerpt from ENCYCLICAL of Pope Pius XII HAURIETIS AQUAS – on DEVOTION TO The SACRED HEART
15 May 1956
Venerable Brethren: Health and Apostolic Benediction.
1. “You shall draw waters with joy out of the Saviour’s fountain.” These words by which the prophet Isaias, using highly significant imagery, foretold the manifold and abundant gifts of God which the Christian era was to bring forth, come naturally to Our mind when We reflect on the centenary of that year when Our predecessor of immortal memory, Pius IX, gladly yielding to the prayers from the whole Catholic world, ordered the celebration of the feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus in the Universal Church.
2. It is altogether impossible to enumerate the heavenly gifts which devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus has poured out on the souls of the faithful, purifying them, offering them heavenly strength, rousing them to the attainment of all virtues. Therefore, recalling those wise words of the Apostle S. James, “Every best gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of Lights,” We are perfectly justified in seeing in this same devotion, which flourishes with increasing fervour throughout the world, a gift without price, which our divine Saviour the Incarnate Word, as the one Mediator of grace and truth between the heavenly Father and the human race imparted to the Church, His mystical Spouse, in recent centuries when she had to endure such trials and surmount so many difficulties.
3. The Church, rejoicing in this inestimable gift, can show forth a more ardent love of her divine Founder and can, in a more generous and effective manner, respond to that invitation which St John the Evangelist relates as having come from Christ Himself: “And on the last and great day of the festivity, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, ‘If any man thirst, let him come to Me and let him drink that believeth in Me. As the Scripture saith: Out of his heart there shall flow rivers of living waters.’ Now this He said of the Spirit which they should receive who believed in Him.”
8. The Church has always valued and still does, the devotion to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus so highly, that she provides for the spread of it among Christian peoples everywhere and by every means. At the same time she uses every effort to protect it against the charges of so-called “naturalism” and “sentimentalism.” In spite of this it is much to be regretted that, both in the past and in our own times, this most noble devotion does not find a place of honour and esteem among certain Christians and, even occasionally, not among those who profess themselves moved by zeal for the Catholic religion and the attainment of holiness.
17. Through the years of Our pontificate–years filled not only with bitter hardships but also with ineffable consolations, these effects have not diminished in number or power or beauty but, on the contrary, have increased. Indeed, happily there has begun a variety of projects which are conducive to a rekindling of this devotion. We refer to the formation of cultural associations for the advancement of religion and of charitable works, publications setting forth the true historical, ascetical and mystical doctrine concerning this entire subject, pious works of atonement and, in particular, those manifestations of most ardent piety which the Apostleship of Prayer has brought about, under whose auspices and direction local gatherings – families, colleges, institutions – and sometimes nations have been consecrated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. To all these We have offered paternal congratulations on many occasions, whether in letters written on the subject, in personal addresses, or even in messages delivered over the radio.
18. Therefore when We perceive so fruitful an abundance of healing waters, that is, heavenly gifts of divine love, issuing from the Sacred Heart of our Redeemer, spreading among countless children of the Catholic Church by the inspiration and action of the divine Spirit, We can only exhort you, venerable brethren, with fatherly affection to join Us in giving tribute of praise and heartfelt thanks to God, the Giver of all good gifts. We make Our own these words of the Apostle of the Gentiles: “Now to Him Who is able to do all things more abundantly than we desire or understand, according to the power that worketh in us, to Him be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus unto all generations world without end. Amen.”
And the Twelve Promises here: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/06/23/friday-23-june-2017-blessed-and-holy-solemnity-of-the-most-sacred-heart-of-jesus-friday-after-the-second-sunday-after-pentecost/
The World Day of Prayer for the Sanctification of Priests
This celebration offers an opportunity to lift up our priests in prayer and thanksgiving, asking God, that they might continually rediscover the gift of their ordination and experience the joy of the mission entrusted to them, while always growing in sanctity.
Let us Pray:
“Our Father for Priests”
Our Father who art in heaven,
Give us priests according to Your Heart.
That Thy name be hallowed,
Give us priests according to Your Heart.
That Thy kingdom come,
Give us priests according to Your Heart.
That Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,
Give us priests according to Your Heart.
To give us each day the Bread of life,
Give us priests according to Your Heart.
To forgive us our trespasses,
Give us priests according to Your Heart.
That we be not led into temptation,
Give us priests according to Your Heart.
And deliver us
And all of Your priests from evil. Amen.
(Anonymous)
Issued by the Congregation for the Clergy (vatican.va)
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,
Amen
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.
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!
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.
Amen
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
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?
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.
Thought for the Day – 31 May – The Last Day of Mary’s Month and the Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary from St Bede the Venerable
Writing in the early 8th century, St Bede explains why the Magnificat, Mary’s prayer on the occasion of her Visitation of Elizabeth, is used daily in the liturgy of the hours (a.k.a the divine office) for Vespers or evening prayer. With Mary’s soul, our souls magnify the Lord and rejoice in God our Saviour.
My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my saviour.
With these words Mary first acknowledges the special gifts she has been given. Then she recalls God’s universal favours, bestowed unceasingly on the human race.
REJOICE IN GOD’S GREATNESS
When a man devotes all his thoughts to the praise and service of the Lord, he proclaims God’s greatness. His observance of God’s commands, moreover, shows that he has God’s power and greatness always at heart. His spirit rejoices in God his saviour and delights in the mere recollection of his creator who gives him hope for eternal salvation.
These words are offered for all God’s creations but especially for the Mother of God. She alone was chosen and she burned with spiritual love for the son she so joyously conceived. Above all other saints, she alone could truly rejoice in Jesus, her saviour, for she knew that He, who was the source of eternal salvation, would be born in time in her body, in one person both her own son and her Lord.
HOLY IS HIS NAME For the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.
Mary attributes nothing to her own merits. She refers all her greatness to the gift of the one whose essence is power and whose nature is greatness, for He fills with greatness and strength the small and the weak who believe in Him.
She did well to add: and holy is his name, to warn those who heard and indeed all who would receive His words, that they must believe and call upon His name. For they too could share in everlasting holiness and true salvation, according to the words of the prophet – and it will come to pass, that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. This is the name she spoke of earlier – and my spirit rejoices in God my saviour.
VESPERS & THE MAGNIFICAT: AN EVENING CANTICLE
Therefore it is an excellent and fruitful custom of holy Church that we should sing Mary’s hymn at the time of evening prayer. By meditating upon the incarnation, our devotion is kindled and by remembering the example of God’s Mother, we are encouraged to lead a life of virtue. Such virtues are best achieved in the evening. We are weary after the day’s work and worn out by our distractions. The time for rest is near and our minds are ready for contemplation.
The great canticle by the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Magnificat, proclaimed by Mary during her Visitation to St Elizabeth, is celebrated and explained in this excerpt from a homily by Saint Bede the Venerable (Lib 1,4:CCL 122, 25-26, 30) which is used in the Roman Catholic Liturgy’s Divine Office of Readings for the Feast of the Visitation, 31 May, with the accompanying biblical reading being from Song of Songs 2:8-14 and 8:6-7. With Mary’s soul, we proclaim the greatness of the Lord and rejoice in God, her Saviour and ours, each evening in Vespers prayer.
St Bede the Venerable (673-735) Father & Doctor of the Church
One Minute Marian Reflection – 31 May – The Last Day of Mary’s Month and the Feast of the Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
And Mary said, “My soul glorifies the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God, my Saviour”…Luke 1:46
REFLECTION – “THE VISITATION: MARY SINGS OF THE LOVE OF GOD – “God is interested in even the smallest events in the lives of His creatures – in your affairs and mine — and He calls each of us by name. This certainty that the faith gives, enables us to look at everything in a new light. And everything, while remaining exactly the same, becomes different, because it is an expression of God’s love. Our life is turned into a continuous prayer, we find ourselves with good humour and a peace that never ends and everything we do is an act of thanksgiving, running through all our day. ‘My soul magnifies the Lord,’ Mary sang, ‘and my spirit rejoices in God, my Saviour.'” …St Josemaría Escrivá (1902-1975) – “To Jesus through Mary,” Christ is Passing By, 144 Let us offer to our Mother today: The Holy Rosary said with concentration and affection.
PRAYER – Almighty, ever-living God, You inspired the Blessed Virgin Mary, when she carrying Your Son, to visit Elizabeth. Grant that, always docile to the voice of the Holy Spirit, we may, together with our Lady, glorify Your Name and offer You our constant praise and thanksgiving. Through Christ, our Lord, with You and the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 31 May – The Last Day of Mary’s Month and the Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
The Magnificat, is Mary’s great gift to scripture, one of its most beautiful prayers. It is prayed every evening in the Liturgy of the Hours by millions around the world. With that, Mary’s great acclamation becomes the Church’s.
The Magnificat The Canticle of Mary Luke 1:46-55
My soul glorifies the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God, my Saviour
He looks on His servant in her lowliness
Henceforth all ages will call me blessed:
The Almighty works marvels for me,
holy is his Name!
His mercy is from age to age,
on those who fear Him.
He puts forth His arm in strength
and scatters the proud-hearted.
He casts the mighty from their thrones
and raises the lowly.
He fills the starving with good things,
sends the rich away empty.
He protects Israel, His servant,
remembering His mercy,
the mercy promised to our fathers,
to Abraham and his sons forever.
Excerpt (18) from the Apostolic Exhortation “Marialis Cultus”
Blessed Pope Paul VI – 2 February 1974
“18. Mary is also the Virgin in prayer. She appears as such in the visit to the mother of the precursor, when she pours out her soul in expressions glorifying God and expressions of humility, faith and hope. This prayer is the Magnificat (cf. Lk. 1:46-55), Mary’s prayer par excellence, the song of the messianic times in which there mingles the joy of the ancient and the new Israel. As St Irenaeus seems to suggest, it is in Mary’s canticle, that there was heard once more, the rejoicing of Abraham who foresaw the Messiah (cf. Jn. 8:56)(48) and there rang out in prophetic anticipation the voice of the Church: “In her exultation Mary prophetically declared in the name of the Church: ‘My soul proclaims the glory of the Lord….'”
And in fact Mary’s hymn has spread far and wide and has become the prayer of the whole Church in all ages.”
Wishing you all a Blessed and Holy Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity – Trinity Sunday – 27 May 2018
HISTORY AND LITURGY
ORIGIN — The greatest dogma of the Christian faith is the mystery of the Holy Trinity. (Mystery, in this connection, means a supernatural fact revealed by God which in itself transcends the natural power of human reasoning.) During the first thousand years of Christianity there was no special feast celebrated in honour of this mystery but, as Pope Alexander II (1073) declared, every day of the liturgical year was devoted to the honour and adoration of the Sacred Trinity.
However, to counteract the Arian heresy, which denied the fullness of divinity to the Son, a special Mass text in honour of the Holy Trinity was introduced and incorporated in the Roman liturgical books. This Mass was not assigned for a definite day but could be used on certain Sundays according to the private devotion of each priest. (Such Mass texts which are not prescribed but open to choice on certain days are now known as “votive Masses.”) From the ninth century on, various bishops of the Frankish kingdoms promoted in their own dioceses a special feast of the Holy Trinity, usually on the Sunday after Pentecost. They used a Mass text that Abbot Alcuin (804) is said to have composed.
Thus the custom of observing a special feast in honour of the Trinity became increasingly popular in the northern countries of Europe. Several synods prescribed it for their respective territories in France, Germany, England and The Netherlands. In the thirteenth centur, the orders of the Benedictines and Cistercians adopted the annual celebration of the feast. It was kept on different Sundays in different places, until in 1334 Pope John XXII accepted the festival into the official calendar of the Western Church and ordered that henceforth it should be held everywhere on the Sunday after Pentecost.
A new Mass text was written and published. It is interesting to note that the beautiful Preface of the Trinity as read today is the same one that appeared in the first text of the Sacramentary of Saint Pope Gregory the Great (540-604) Father and Doctor of the Church. Most of the other prayers are of later origin. The Divine Office in its present form, was arranged under Pope Saint Pius V (1572). It is one of the most sublime offices of the breviary.
The Feast of the Holy Trinity, now belongs among the great annual festivals of Christianity. Although it is not observed with additional liturgical services outside the Mass, its celebration quickly took root in the hearts and minds of the faithful and in all countries of Europe popular traditions are closely associated with this feast.
SIGN OF THE CROSS — The making of the sign of the cross, which professes faith both in the redemption of Christ and in the Trinity, was practised from the earliest centuries. Saint Augustine (431) mentioned and described it many times in his sermons and letters. In those days Christians made the sign of the cross (Redemption) with three fingers (Trinity) on their foreheads. The words (“In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost”) were added later. Almost two hundred years before Augustine, in the third century, Tertullian had already reported this touching and beautiful early Christian practice:
“In all our undertakings — when we enter a place or leave it; before we dress; before we bathe; when we take our meals; when we light the lamps in the evening; before we retire at night; when we sit down to read; before each new task — we trace the sign of the cross on our foreheads.” Tertullian (160-220)
DOXOLOGY — The ancient Christian doxology (prayer of praise) “Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost” was used in the Oriental Church. The second part (“as it was in the beginning…”) seems to have been added at the time of Emperor Constantine. During the fifth century this beautiful short prayer came into the Western Church and spread very quickly. Since then it has been in constant use in both liturgical and private devotions. Finally, the Council of Narbonne (589) prescribed that it should be added after every psalm and hymn in the Divine Office. It is an ancient tradition that in poetical hymns of the liturgy the Gloria Patri is rendered in a paraphrase (free version) within the last stanza.
EASTERN RITES — The churches of the Byzantine Rite do not celebrate the Feast of the Holy Trinity. Instead, they observe the Sunday after Pentecost as the Feast of All Saints (Kyriake Ton Hagion Panton). The official calendar of the Greek Church announces this feast with the interesting words “Today, on the first Sunday after Pentecost, we celebrate the festive day of all Saints everywhere in the world: in Asia, Lybia, in northern and eastern Europe.” As may be seen from the territories mentioned, the term “whole world” applies only to the countries of that rite. The Uniate Armenians keep the Feast of the Holy Trinity on the same day as the Latin Church.
FOLKLORE
SYMBOLS — During the first centuries of the Christian era the Holy Trinity was sometimes represented in paintings by three young men of identical shape and looks. By the sixth century, however, it had become an accepted practice that only the Father and Son should be shown in human form; the Holy Spirit is represented by the figure of a dove.
In medieval times there were many imaginative and symbolic pictures, as well as designs, to indicate the great mystery of the faith. The Church has not officially accepted any of them, has tolerated some, forbidden others. One of the best-known symbols of this kind is the trefoil (shamrock). A second plant to which this symbolism is attached is the pansy (viola tricolor), which even today is called “Trinity flower” in many parts of Europe. In Puerto Rico a delicately perfumed white flower with three petals is called Trinitaria. Another symbol is the figure of a triangle (Trinity) surrounded by rays (divinity) with the picture of an eye inside the triangle (omniscience and providence). This design became very popular and may be found all over Europe in homes, on wayside shrines and even in churches. An interesting version of this symbol may be seen in the Great Seal of the United States (reproduced on every one-dollar bill).
Centuries ago, architecture made use of many and sometimes strange, symbols to indicate the Trinity, like three animals (hares, stags, birds) in a circle, or three interlocked rings, or a candle with three flames. Some churches display an architectural number symbolism in honour of the Trinity. One of the most remarkable examples of this kind is the Holy Trinity Church of Stadl-Paura, Austria, built in 1722 – see below. It has three aisles, three towers, three doors, three windows on either side, three altars, three bells, and three rows of pews.
SHRINES AND COLUMNS — From the fourteenth century on, the Holy Trinity was generally invoked for help against the dreaded epidemics of the Black Death. Hundreds of Trinity churches in Europe owe their existence to public vows made in time of pestilence and cholera. In subsequent ravages of those terrible diseases, these churches became much-frequented pilgrim shrines. Later, during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, public columns in honour of the Holy Trinity were placed in the main squares of cities and towns in central Europe. Sculptured in marble or granite, they carry the traditional image of the Trinity and statues of the saints who were patrons against epidemics. Many of these columns are outstanding examples of late baroque art. The city of Vienna alone has eleven such Trinity columns which were erected during the epidemics of 1679 and 1713.
Plague Column, Vienna, AustriaThe Holy Trinity Column, Olomouc, Czech Republic, a World Heritage Site
POPULAR CELEBRATION — During the late Middle Ages and up to the eighteenth century, the Feast of the Holy Trinity was celebrated with popular manifestations of solemnity, special honour and joy. As an example may serve the festival at the Trinity column of downtown Vienna, in 1680, where the famous Augustinian preacher Abraham a Santa Clara (1709) delivered a sermon before many thousands in the festively decorated square. At the end he appealed to the choir band to express with their instruments the honour, adoration and gratitude of all to the Holy Trinity, “upon which the whole group of many trumpets and kettle-drums right joyfully broke out in a ringing fanfare.”
A proof of the great devotion to the Trinity was the Holy Trinity Confraternities, which flourished to such a degree during the seventeenth century that they surpassed most of the other similar organisations both in the number of local groups and in membership…
Handbook of Christian Feasts and Customs by Francis X. Weiser, S.J., Harcourt, Brace and Company, New York, 1958.
COLLECT PRAYER
God our Father, who by sending into the world the Word of truth and the Spirit of sanctification made known to the human race your wondrous mystery, grant us, we pray, that in profession the true faith, we may acknowledge the Trinity of eternal glory and adore your Unity, powerful in majesty. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Glory and honour be to God in the Unity of the Trinity; to the Father and to the Son with the Holy Spirit, forever and ever.
Follower of Artus Wolffort, 17th century.Master of the Lille Adoration, 1530s.Ribera, c. 1635.El Greco, 1577-79.
SCRIPTURAL READING While meeting with them, He enjoined them not to depart from Jerusalem, but wait for “the promise of the Father about which you have heard me speak; for John baptized you with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim…(Acts 1:4-5, 2:3-4)
MEDITATION “It is best for you that I go away, because if I do not go, the Helper will not come to you. But if I do go away, then I will send Him to you. And when He comes, He will prove to the people that they were wrong about sin and about what is right and about God’s judgement. They are wrong about sin because they did not believe in Me; they are wrong about what is right because I am going to the Father.”…(Jn. 16:7-8)
PRAYER
Come, Holy Spirit, we need You.
Come, Holy Spirit, we pray.
Come with Your strength and Your power,
come with Your loving care.
Come like a spring in the desert,
come to the weary of soul.
Let Your sweet healing power,
come in Your powerful way!
Come, Holy Spirit, we love You.
Come, Holy Spirit, we plead;
make us holy as Our Father.
Guide us in our pilgrim way,
for without You no fruits will be gathered,
with You all things come true.
Eternal Holy Spirit, in Your mercy,
please grant my special petition:
…………………….(mention your petition)
Most Holy Trinity, Godhead indivisible,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
our first beginning and our last end,
You have made us after Your own image and likeness.
Grant that all the thoughts of my mind,
all the words of my mouth,
all the affections of my heart
and all my actions be always conformed to Your holy Will.
After having seen You here below in Your manifestations and by faith,
may I come at last to see You face to face,
in the perfect possession of You forever in heaven.
Amen
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, amen.
DAY FOUR GOD THE CREATOR (Father) “In the beginning, when God created the universe”
SCRIPTURAL READING
In the beginning, when God created the Heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless wasteland and darkness covered the abyss, while the mighty wind swept over the waters.
Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw how good the light was. God then separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” Thus evening came, and the morning followed – the first day.
Then God said: “Let there be a dome in the middle of the waters, to separate one body of water from another.” And so it happened: God made the dome, and it separated the water above the dome from the water below it. God called the dome “the sky.” Evening came, and morning followed – the second day.
Then God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered into a single basin, so that the dry land may appear.” And so it happened: the water under the sky was gathered into a basin, and the land appeared…Genesis 1:1-9
MEDITATION “And so the whole universe was completed. By the seventh day, God finished what He had been doing and stopped working. He blessed the seventh day and set it apart as special, because by that day He had completed His creation and stopped working and that is how the universe was created.” ...Genesis 2:1-4
PRAYER
God Eternal Father,
bless me through the love,
with which You have begotten Your only Son
from all eternity and shared with Him,
the fullness of Your Divinity.
Bless me through the love, which has adopted us as children
and made us partakers, of the treasures of Your Divinity.
Bless me through the love, which sent us Your Son
and the Holy Spirit to work the miracles of Your power
and mercy in us.
Grant that I may always revere and honour You
as my great God
and love You with my whole heart
as the best of fathers.
Eternal Father, please grant my petition:
…………………….(mention your petition)
Godhead indivisible, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
our first beginning and our last end,
You have made us after Your own image and likeness.
Grant that all the thoughts of my mind,
all the words of my mouth,
all the affections of my heart
and all my action, be always conformed to Your holy Will.
After having seen You here below in Your manifestations
and by faith, may I come at last,
to see You face to face,
in the perfect possession of You
forever in heaven. Amen.
Moses said: “The Lord, the lord, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity, continuing His kindness for a thousand generation, and forgiving wickedness and crime and sin; yet not declaring the guilty, guiltless, but punishing children and grandchildren to the third and fourth generation for their fathers’ wickedness!” (Ex. 34, 6-7)
AnaStpaul 
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