Our Morning Offering – 26 February – “The Month of the Most Holy and Blessed Trinity”
Omnipotentia Patris
Unknown Author
O Omnipotence of the Father,
help my frailty
and save me from the depths of misery.
O Wisdom of the Son,
direct all my thoughts,
my words and my deeds.
O Love of the Holy Ghost,
be the source of all the actions of my mind,
that they may always be conformed
to God’s good pleasure.
Amen
Thought for the Day – 25 February – The Spiritual Combat (1589) – Dom Lorenzo Scupoli OSM (c1530-1610)
“None shall be crowned who has not fought well.” 2 Tim 2: 5
“+++ When reading, behold your Lord in the words and receive them as from His Divine Lips!
+++ When you look upon the Holy Cross, consider that it is the Standard of your warfare – that, by forsaking it, you will fall into the hands of cruel enemies but that, by following it, you will enter Heaven laden with glorious spoils.
++ + When you see the dear image of the Blessed Virgin Mary, let your heart turn to her ,who reigns in Paradise, thanking her that she was ever ready to do the will of God that, she brought forth and nourished the Redeemer of the world and,that her favour and assistance, never fail us in our spiritual conflict.
+++ The images of the Saints represent to you, so many champions, who, having courageously run their course, have opened a way for you, wherein, if you will press onward, you also shall, with them, be crowned with immortal glory.
+++ When you see a Church, you may, amid other devout reflections, consider that your soul is the temple of God and, therefore, to be kept pure and spotless as His dwelling-place.
+++ When you hear the triple sound of the Angelus [even if these days, the sound is only in your heart and mind] make the following brief meditations, in conformity with the words which are said before each recitation of the Ave Maria.
At the first stroke of the bell, thank God for that embassy from Heaven to
earth which was the beginning of our salvation.
At the second, rejoice with the Blessed Mary at the sublime dignity to which she was exalted by her singular and most profound humility.
At the third, adore, together with the most Blessed Mother and the Angel Gabriel, the Divine Child just now conceived and forget not, reverently, to bow your head at each signal, especially the last, even to genuflect if possible!
These meditations will serve for all seasons.”
Our Morning Offering – 25 February – “The Month of the Most Holy and Blessed Trinity” – The Second Sunday in Lent
The Golden Arrow
This prayer was revealed by Jesus Himself to a Carmelite Nun of Tours in 1843 as a Reparation for Blasphemy. “This Golden Arrow will wound My Heart delightfully” He said “and heal the wounds, inflicted by blasphemy.”
May the Most Holy,
Most Sacred,
Most Adorable,
Most Mysterious
and Unutterable Name of God
be always praised,
blessed, loved, adored
and glorified in Heaven.
on earth and under the earth,
by all the creatures of God
and by the Sacred Heart
of our Lord Jesus Christ
in the most Holy Sacrament
of the Altar.
Amen
Our Morning Offering – 24 February – Feast of St Matthias, Apostle and Martyr
Exsultet Orbis!
Let the World Rejoice!
Unknown Author
Now let the earth with joy resound,
And Heaven the chant re-echo round;
Nor Heaven nor earth too high can raise
The great Apostles’ glorious praise.
O ye who, throned in glory dread,
Shall judge the living and the dead,
Lights of the world forever more!
To you the suppliant prayer we pour.
Ye close the Sacred Gates on high.
At your command apart they fly.
O loose for us the guilty chain
We strive to break and strive in vain.
Sickness and health your voice obey,
At your command they go or stay.
From sin’s disease our souls restore;
In good confirm us more and more.
So when the world is at its end.
And Christ to Judgment shall descend,
May we be called, those joys to see
Prepared from all eternity.
Praise to the Father, with the Son,
And Holy Spirit, Three in One;
As ever was in ages past
And so shall be while ages last.
Amen
(Roman Breviary for the Common of Apostles)
An Office Hymn that was traditionally prescribed for Vespers and Lauds on the Feasts of Apostles and Evangelists outside Easter time.
The Hymn is found as early as the 10th Century in a Hymnal of Moissac Abbey.
Our Morning Offering – 17 February – The First Sunday of Lent
Ex More Docti Mystico
The Fast, As Taught by Holy Lore
By St Gregory the Great (540-604)
Pope, Father, Doctor of the Church
Trans. John Mason Neale
The fast, as taught by holy lore,
We keep in solemn course once more.
The fast to all men known and bound
In forty days of yearly round.
The law and seers that were of old
In divers ways this Lent foretold,
Which Christ, all seasons’ King and Guide,
In after ages sanctified.
More sparing, therefore, let us make
The words we speak, the good we take,
Our sleep and mirth – and closer barred
Be every sense in holy guard.
Avoid the evil thoughts that roll
Like water o’er the heedless soul;
Nor let the foe occasion find
Our souls in slavery to bind.
In prayer together let us fall,
And cry for mercy, one and all,
And weep before the Judge’s Feet,
And His avenging wrath entreat.
The grace have we offended sore,
By sins, O God, which we deplore;
But pour upon us, from on high,
O pardoning One, Thy clemency.
Remember Thou, though frail we be,
That yet Thine handiwork are we;
Nor let the honour of Thy Name
Be by another put to shame.
Forgive the sin that we have wrought;
Increase the good that we have sought
That we at length, our wanderings o’er,
May please Thee here and evermore.
Grant, O Thou Blessed Trinity,
Grant, O Essential Unity,
That this our fast of forty days
May work our profit and Thy praise.
There are twelve translations of this lovely Lenten Hymn.
This one by L M Neale
Liturgical Use: Matins Hymn on Sundays
and week-days during Lent.
Our Morning Offering – 10 February
Ave Regina Caelorum
Queen of Heaven Enthroned
Hail, O Queen of Heaven enthroned.
Hail, by Angels mistress owned.
Root of Jesse, Gate of Morn
Whence the world’s true Light was born,
Glorious Virgin, Joy to thee,
Loveliest whom in Heaven they see;
Fairest thou, where all are fair,
Plead with Christ, our souls to spare.
V. Vouchsafe that I may praise thee,
O sacred Virgin.
R. Give me strength against thine enemies.
Let us pray:
We beseech thee, O Lord,
mercifully to assist our infirmity,
that like, as we do now
commemorate the Blessed Mary
Ever-Virgin, Mother of God;
so by the help of her intercession
we may die to our former sins
and rise again to newness of life.
Through the same Christ our Lord.
Amen
“Ave Regina caelorum” is one of the Marian antiphons said or sung in the Liturgy of the Hours at the close of compline. In the Roman Breviary as revised by Pope Pius V in 1569 it was assigned for this use from compline of 2 February until compline of Wednesday of Holy Week.
The original author is unknown – it has been found in a manuscript from the twelfth-century.
It has been set to music by various composers including Hyden and many others.
Our Morning Offering – 7 February – “The Month of the Most Holy and Blessed Trinity”
Lord, for Tomorrow and its Needs
By Sister Mary Xavier (1877)
Lord, for tomorrow and its needs
I do not pray;
keep me, my God, from stain of sin,
just for today.
Let me both diligently work
and duly pray;
let me be kind in word and deed,
just for today.
Let me no wrong or idle word
unthinking say;
set Thou a seal upon my lips,
just for today.
And if today my tide of life
should ebb away,
give me Thy Sacraments Divine,
sweet Lord, today.
So, for tomorrow and its needs
I do not pray
but keep me, guide me, love me, Lord,
just for today.
Amen
Our Morning Offering – 6 February –St Titus (Died c96) Bishop, Confessor
O Fathers of Our Ancient Faith
O Fathers of our ancient faith,
With all the heav’n, we sing your fame
Whose sound went forth in all the earth
To tell of Christ and bless His Name.
You took the Gospel to the poor,
The Word of God alight in you,
Which in our day is told again,
That timeless Word, forever new.
You told of God, Who died for us
And out of death triumphant rose,
Who gave the Truth which made us free
and changeless through the ages goes.
Praise Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
Whose gift is faith that never dies,
A light in darkness now, until
The Day-Star in our hearts arise.
O Fathers of Our Ancient Faith is written by the Benedictine Nuns of Stanbrook Abbey. In the Divine Office it is sung at Morning Prayer in the Common of Apostles. It is set to the anonymous tune associated with the 7th Century Latin Hymn, Creator Alme Siderum.
Our Morning Offering – 3 February – “The Month of the Most Holy and Blessed Trinity” –
O SANCTISSIMA~
O MOST HOLY!
Indulgenced Prayer
to the Most Holy Trinity
O Most Holy Trinity,
I adore Thee,
Who art dwelling,
by Thy grace,
within my soul.
O Most Holy Trinity,
Who art dwelling,
by Thy grace,
within my soul,
make me love Thee,
more and more.
O Most Holy Trinity,
Who art dwelling,
by Thy grace,
within my soul,
sanctify me more and more.
Abide with me,
O Lord, be Thou my true joy.
Amen
Our Morning Offering – 6 January – The Epiphany of the Lord
Bethlehem! of Noblest Cities
By Prudentius, Aurelius Clemens (c348-c413)
Trans. Fr Edward Caswell c.Orat. (1814–1878)
Bethlehem! of noblest cities
None can once with thee compare;
Thou alone the Lord from Heaven
Didst for us Incarnate bear.
Fairer than the sun at morning
Was the Star that told His Birth;
To the lands their God announcing,
Hid beneath a form of earth.
By its lambent beauty guided,
See, the Eastern Kings appear;
See them bend, their gifts to offer,
Gifts of incense, gold and myrrh.
Offerings of mystic meaning;
Incense doth the God disclose;
Gold a Royal Child proclaimeth;
Myrrh a future Tomb foreshows.
Holy Jesus! in Thy brightness
to the gentile world displayed!
With the Father and the Spirit,
Endless praise to Thee be paid!
Amen! Amen!
Our Morning Offering – 5 January – “The Month of the Most Holy Name of Jesus and of the Holy Family” – The Vigil of the Epiphany of Our Lord
The Eastern Kings the Star Have Seen!
Unknown Author
The Eastern Kings the Star have seen,
They hasten on their way;
Long time they’ve watched and waiting been
The dawning of that Day:
The dawning of the Day of grace,
The gleam of Jacob’s Star,
The Virgin’s Child of Jesse’s race
Whom Prophets saw afar.
Glory give to God on high!
And now they open treasures rare
Which Indian silks enfold,
Of Myrrh which sweetly scents the air,
Of Frankincense and gold.
Their kingly heads they meekly bow
The cradled Babe before,
Their God confess, and kneeling low
In humble faith adore.
Glory give to God on high!
With them I come to greet my King,
Yet not with them to part;
No Gold, no Frankincense I bring,
I offer Him my heart.
With Him to live, with Him to die,
Who by His lowly birth,
Gave glory to our God on high
And peace to men on earth.
Glory give to God on high!
Amen!
Our Morning Offering – 3 January – “The Month of the Most Holy Name of Jesus and of the Holy Family”
Jesu Dulcis Memoria
By St Bernard (1090-1153)
Father and Mellifluous Doctor
Trans Fr Edward Caswell C.Orat. (1814-1878)
Jesu, the very thought of Thee
with sweetness fills my breast,
But sweeter far Thy Face to see
and in Thy Presence rest.
Nor voice can sing nor heart can frame,
Nor can the memory find
a sweeter sound than Jesus’ Name,
O Saviour of mankind.
O hope of every contrite heart,
O joy of all the meek
to those who fall, how kind Thou art,
how good to those who seek!
But what to those who find?
Ah this nor tongue nor pen can show,
the love of Jesus, what it is, none
but His loved ones know.
Jesus our only joy be Thou
as Thou our prize wilt be.
Jesus, be Thou our glory now
and through eternity.
Amen
Jesu, Dulcis Memoria is a celebrated 12th Century prayer/hymn by St Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) Doctor Mellifluous. The entire Hymn has some 42 to 53 stanzas. Parts of this Hymn are used for the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus.
Our Morning Offering – 25 December – The Nativity of Our Lord, Christmas Day!
Adeste Fidelis
O Come, All Ye Faithful!
By John Francis Wade (c1711-1786)
Composer, Hymnist, Professor of Music at the Douay Seminary
O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant,
O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem!
Come and behold Him, born the King of Angels!
Refrain:
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him, Christ, the Lord!
God of God, Light of Light,
Lo, He abhors not the virgin’s womb;
Very God, begotten, not created.
[Refrain]
Sing, Choirs of Angels; sing in exultation;
sing, all ye citizens of heav’n above!
Glory to God, all glory in the highest!
[Refrain]
Yea, Lord, we greet Thee, born this happy morning;
Jesus, to Thee be all glory giv’n!
Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing!
[Refrain]
John Francis Wade (1711 or 1712-1786) is now generally recognised as both Author and Composer of the hymn “Adeste fideles,” originally written in Latin in four stanzas.
The earliest manuscript signed by Wade is dated about 1743. By the early 19th Century, however, four additional stanzas had been added by other writers.
A Roman Catholic, Wade apparently moved to France because of discrimination against Roman Catholics in 18th Century England—especially so. after the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745.
He taught music at an English college in Douay and hand copied and sold Chant music for use in the Chapels of wealthy families. Wade’s copied manuscripts were published as Cantus Diversi pro Dominicis et Festis per annum (1751)
The Translator is Father Frederick Oakeley (1802-1880), ex Anglican minister, in 1845, he became a Catholic and a Priest and Canon of the Diocese of Westminister.
His publications are numerous, and some of them have considerable value.
Our Morning Offering – 24 December – The Vigil of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ
Veni Redemptor Gentium
Saviour of the Nations, Come!
By St Ambrose (340-397)
Father and Doctor of the Church
Saviour of the nations, come!
Virgin’s Son, here make Thy home!
Marvel now, O Heaven and earth,
That the Lord chose such a birth.
Not by human flesh and blood;
By the Spirit of our God
Was the Word of God made flesh,
Woman’s offspring, pure and fresh.
Wondrous birth! O wondrous Child
Of the Virgin undefiled!
Though by all the world disowned,
Still to be in Heaven enthroned.
From the Father forth He came
And returneth to the same,
Captive leading death and hell
High the song of triumph swell!
Thou, the Father’s only Son,
Hast over sin the victory won.
Boundless shall Thy Kingdom be;
When shall we its glories see?
Brightly doth Thy manger shine,
Glorious is its Light Divine.
Let not sin o’ercloud this Light;
Ever be our faith thus bright.
Praise to God the Father sing,
Praise to God the Son, our King,
Praise to God the Spirit be
Ever and eternally.
Amen!
Our Morning Offering – 23 December – “The Month of the Divine Infancy and the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary” – Ember Saturday
Magnis Prophetæ Vocibus
With Mighty Voice the Prophets Cry
Unknown Author
With mighty voice the prophets cry
that Christ the Lord is drawing nigh;
rejoicing, they foresee the grace
by which He saves us and redeems.
And so our morning sun shines forth,
our hearts ablaze with radiant joy;
we hear the faithful voice resound,
precursor of God’s glorious gift.
At that first Advent, Christ our God
came forth not to condemn the world,
but came to cleanse our gaping wound,
to seek and save what had been lost.
Christ’s Second Coming warns us all
that He is standing at the gates,
to give to saints their glorious crowns
and open wide the heav’nly realm.
Eternal light is now foretold,
the saving star is shining forth,
its radiant splendour summons us
and calls us to the heav’nly court.
Christ Jesus, Thou alone we seek
to see Thee face to face as God;
may this unending vision be
an everlasting hymn of praise.
Amen.
Our Morning Offering – 22 December – “The Month of the Divine Infancy and the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary” – The Third Week of Advent
Hark, a Herald Voice Is Sounding
Vox Clare
Unknown Author – 5th or 6th Century
Trans: Fr Edward Caswall C.Orat. (1814-1878)
Hark! A herald voice is sounding!
“Christ is near,” we hear it say.
Cast away the works of darkness,
all you children of the day!”
2 See, the Lamb, so long expected,
comes with pardon down from Heav’n.
Let us haste, with tears of sorrow,
one and all, to be forgiv’n.
3 So, when next He comes in glory
and the world is wrapped in fear,
He will shield us with His mercy
and with words of love draw near.
4 Honour, glory, might, dominion
to the Father and the Son
with the everlasting Spirit
while eternal ages run!
Amen
Our Morning Offering – 21 December – “The Month of the Divine Infancy and the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary” – Feast of St Thomas, Apostle
Exsultet Orbis!
Let the World Rejoice!
Unknown Author
Now let the earth with joy resound,
And Heaven the chant re-echo round;
Nor Heaven nor earth too high can raise
The great Apostles’ glorious praise.
O ye who, throned in glory dread,
Shall judge the living and the dead,
Lights of the world forever more!
To you the suppliant prayer we pour.
Ye close the Sacred Gates on high.
At your command apart they fly.
O loose for us the guilty chain
We strive to break and strive in vain.
Sickness and health your voice obey,
At your command they go or stay.
From sin’s disease our souls restore;
In good confirm us more and more.
So when the world is at its end.
And Christ to Judgment shall descend,
May we be called, those joys to see
Prepared from all eternity.
Praise to the Father, with the Son,
And Holy Spirit, Three in One;
As ever was in ages past
And so shall be while ages last.
Amen
(Roman Breviary for the Common of Apostles)
An Office Hymn that was traditionally prescribed for Vespers and Lauds on the Feasts of Apostles and Evangelists outside Easter time. The Hymn is found as early as the tenth century in a hymnal of Moissac Abbey.
“It is, therefore, a holy and wholesome thought
to pray for the dead that they may be loosed from sins.“
2 Machabees 12:46
The faithful who recite prayers or perform other devout exercises in supplication for the faithful departed during the Month of November, may gain:
An Indulgence of 3 years once a day, on each day of the Month.
A Plenary Indulgence on the usual conditions, if they perform these devotions DAILY for the ENTIRE Month of November.
The De Profundis and Requiem aeternam, of themselves, attract a further 100 days Partial Indulgence.
A prayer of a sinner, trusting in the mercies of God.
The Sixth Penitential Psalm.
Out of the depths I have cried to Thee, O Lord:
Lord, hear my voice.
Let Thine ears be attentive
to the voice of my supplication.
If thou, O Lord, wilt mark iniquities:
Lord, who shall stand it.
For with Thee there is merciful forgiveness
and because of Thy law,
I have waited for Thee, O Lord.
My soul hath waited on His word:
my soul hath hoped in the Lord.
From the morning watch, even until night,
let Israel hope in the Lord.
For with the Lord there is mercy
and with Him plenteous redemption.
And He shall redeem Israel from all its iniquities.
(Eternal rest or “Requiem aeternam”)
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord.
And may perpetual light shine upon them.
May they rest in peace.
Amen.
(Indulgence of 100 Days)
*Psalm 129 in Douay Rheims
Pope Clement XII. was the first who, in order to move the piety of Christians to pray for the souls in Purgatory, granted, by a Brief of 4 August 1736, Coelestes Ecclesiae thesauros –
i. The Indulgence of 100 days to all the faithful, everytime that, at the sound of the bell, at the first hour after the evening Ave Maria, they say devoutly, on their knees the psalm De profundis, with a Requiem aAternamat the end of, it.
(The evening Ave Maria in Rome varies with the season; it is commonly taken as 6 o’clock.)
ii. A Plenary Indulgence to those who perform this pious exercise, for a year, at the hour appointed, once in the year, on any one day, after Confession and Communion. Those who do not know by heart the De Profundis, may gain these Indulgences by saying, in the way already mentioned for the De profundis, one Pater Noster and one Ave Maria, with the Requiem Aeternam.
Observe also, that the aforesaid Clement XII. declared, on 12 December 1736, that these Indulgences might be gained by saying the De Profundis etc, as above, although, according to the custom of a particular Church or place, the “signal for the dead,” as it is called, be given by the sound of the bell either before, or after one hour after the evening Ave Maria.
Pope Pius VI, by a Rescript of 18 March 1781, granted the above-named Indulgences to all the faithful, who should chance to dwell in any place where no bell for the dead is sounded and who, shall say the De Profundis or Pater Noster, as aforesaid, about the time specified above.
Thought for the Day – 29 October – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
“These expressions of confidence in Mary’s powerful intercession, should not lead us astray, however.
They hold good with absolute certainty, only for those who have true devotion to Mary.
Even if they are sinners, such clients of Mary, must have at least the good intention of changing their lives and never offending God again.
Sin and sincere devotion to Our Lady, cannot co-exist!
“Relinquish every intention of sinning.” St Gregory VII wrote to the Princess Matilde, “and you will find Mary more eager to help you than any earthly mother” (Lib 1, Ep 47).
We should ask, furthermore, for spiritual favours first of all.
Later we can ask for temporal favours, if they are to our spiritual advantage.
Finally, if we are to have a true devotion to Mary, we must love and imitate her. as well as pray to her.
Anyone who sincerely tries to do all this, is certain of salvation!”
PART ONE HERE:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/10/29/thought-for-the-day-25-october-mary-our-hope-our-life-our-sweetness-and-our-hope/
Our Morning Offering – 28 October – Feast of Saints Simon and Jude, Apostles
Exsultet Orbis!
Let the World Rejoice!
Unknown Author
Now let the earth with joy resound,
And Heaven the chant re-echo round;
Nor Heaven nor earth too high can raise
The great Apostles’ glorious praise.
O ye who, throned in glory dread,
Shall judge the living and the dead,
Lights of the world forever more!
To you the suppliant prayer we pour.
Ye close the Sacred Gates on high.
At your command apart they fly.
O loose for us the guilty chain
We strive to break and strive in vain.
Sickness and health your voice obey,
At your command they go or stay.
From sin’s disease our souls restore;
In good confirm us more and more.
So when the world is at its end.
And Christ to Judgment shall descend,
May we be called, those joys to see
Prepared from all eternity.
Praise to the Father, with the Son,
And Holy Spirit, Three in One;
As ever was in ages past
And so shall be while ages last.
Amen
(Roman Breviary for the Common of Apostles)
An Office Hymn that was traditionally prescribed for Vespers and Lauds on the Feasts of Apostles and Evangelists outside Easter time. The Hymn is found as early as the tenth century in a hymnal of Moissac Abbey.
Thought for the Day – 27 October – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
“The Angel’s greeting was later completed by the salavation of St Elizabeth.
As soon as Elizabeth saw the Blessed Virgin coming to visit her, she cried out in humble veneratin: “Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb!” (Lk 1:42).
In the first part of the Hail Mary, then, we pay her the words of the Gospel, the highest tributes ever accorded to any human creature, proclaiming her to be full of grace, blessed among women and Mother of the Redeemer.
The second part, which was later added by the Church, (composed and proposed by St Peter Canisius 1521-1597) Doctor of the Church), is a heartfelt supplication addressed to Mary as the Mother of God and our Mother.
“Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death, amen.”
It would be hard to find a more touching plea.
We ask our heavenly Mother to intercede for us now – because we have such great need of her assistance in this vale of tears and temptations.
May she be always by our side, to shelter us beneath her mantle!”
PART ONE HERE:
https://anastpaul.com/2020/10/26/thought-for-the-day-25-october-hail-mary/
Our Morning Offering – 24 October – “The Month of the Most Holy Rosary and of the Angels” – Feast of St Raphael the Archangel
Placare, Christe, Servulis (Nobis)
Christ, Thy Servants’ Wanderings Spare
Words: Unknown Author,
Roman Breviary (Divino Afflatu), 1911
Christ, Thy servants’ wanderings spare;
For whom Thy Maiden-Mother’s prayer
Beseech at Thy throne of grace
Mercy before the Father’s face.
Be near us, Angel from on high,
Whose name God’s might doth signify;
Strengthen the weak with ceaseless ward
And to the sad thine help afford.
Ye ninefold ranks of Angel-choirs,
Whose order for our help conspires,
All past and present ills dispel,
From future danger guard us well.
Drive far away in shamed disgrace
From Christian lands, the faithless race
That so the rule One Shepherd hold
Over one flock, one single fold.
To God the Father, praise be done,
Who hath redeemed us through His Son,
Anoints us by the Holy Ghost
And guards us by the Angel-host.
Amen.
This is the Hymn for Lauds on the Feast of St. Raphael the Archangel.
Tune: Unknown
Meter: 88.88
Our Morning Offering – 23 October – “The Month of the Most Holy Rosary and of the Angels” – Monday: a day of veneration of the Holy Angels
Angel of God,
My Guardian Dear
Angel of God, my Guardian dear,
to whom God’s love commits me here,
ever this day (or night) be at my side,
to light and guard,
to rule and guide.
Amen.
O Angel of God!
O Angel of God,
whom God
hath appointed to be my Guardian,
enlighten and protect,
direct and govern me.
Amen.
(Indulgence of one hundred days each time.
Plenary once a month if said daily)
Our Morning Offering – 18 October – The Feast of St Luke, the Evangelist
Holy and Learned, Great Saint Luke
Prayer/Hymn in Honour of St Luke
“Plausibus Luca canimus”
Trans the Benedictines of
Saint Cecilia’s Abbey, Ryde, UK
Holy and learned, great Saint Luke,
we praise you,
Closely you followed in the steps of Jesus,
As supreme witness to His life and teaching
Shedding your life-blood.
Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit,
You left in writing, for all time to study
Stories unrivalled for their depth and beauty,
Christ’s love revealing.
Yours are the records
which we read with pleasure
Of the beginning of the Church so fervent,
Under the impulse of the true and living
Spirit of Jesus.
Paul’s earnest helper, sharer in his travels,
Zealous as he was, with a heart as loving,
Make our souls also steadfast and devoted
To the Lord Jesus.
Tender physician, use your gift of healing,
Comfort our weakness with a faith unswerving,
So that rejoicing, we may praise forever
God the Almighty.
Amen
Our Morning Offering – 13 October – “The Month of the Most Holy Rosary and of the Angels” – Our Lady of Fatima: The Sixth & Final Apparition
Prayers of the Angel of Peace of Fatima
(Given to the three children by the Angel
who preceded Our Lady’s first appearance to them.)
I.
My God,
I believe, I adore,
I hope and love Thee.
I ask pardon for those
who do not believe,
who do not adore,
who have no hope
and who do not love Thee.
II.
Most Holy Trinity,
Father, Son and Holy Ghost,
I offer to Thee,
while I adore them –
the Most Precious
Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity
of our Lord Jesus Christ,
present in all the Tabernacles
throughout the world,
in reparation for the outrages
by which He is Himself, offended.
By the Infinite Merits
of His Sacred Heart
and by the intercession
of the Immaculate Heart of Mary,
I beg of Thee,
the conversion of sinners.
One day in the spring of 1916, when three little children, Lucia dos Santos, aged ten and her little cousins, Francisco Marto, aged nine,and his little sister Jacinta, only seven years old, were tending sheep near the village of Fatima, Portugal, the appearance of an oval of light, of unusual brilliance, startled them.
The dazzling light seemed to advance, from the end of the field toward the cave, in which the young shepherds had sought shelter.
In the midst of this light they beheld a young man who announced himself as the Angel of Peace.
He taught the little seers a new prayer and then vanished.
A few months later, the Angel of Peace made his second appearance and urged the children to offer up sacrifices and prayers at all times.
Upon asking what was meant by “sacrifice,” they were told to offer everything in reparation to God, for the sins by which He is offended and, as a petition for the conversion of sinners.
“Thus you will bring peace to our country,” was the Angel’s promise.
At this last saying, the children were baffled.
Reading their thoughts, the Angel revealed that he was the Guardian Angel of Portugal.
In the Autumn of the same year, the Angel appeared a third time.
He carried a host in his right hand extended over a Ciborium which he held with the left hand.
Again the Angel taught the children a beautiful prayer and before parting distributed Holy Communion to the three little ones.
Our Morning Offering – 2 October – “The Month of the Most Holy Rosary and of the Angels”
Custodes Hominum Psallimus Angelos
Praise We the Guardian Angels of Men
By St Robert Bellarmine SJ (1542-1621)
Archbishop of Capua, Theologian
Doctor of the Church
Angel-guardians of men,
spirits and powers we sing,
Whom our Father hath sent,
aids to our weakly frame,
Heavenly friends and guides,
help from on high to bring,
Lest we fail through the foeman’s wile.
He, the spoiler of souls,
Angel-traitor of old,
Cast in merited wrath
out of his honoured place,
Burns with envy and hate,
seeking their souls to gain
Whom God’s mercy invites to Heaven.
Therefore, come to our help,
watchful ward of our lives:
Turn aside from the land,
God to thy care confides
Sickness and woe of soul,
yea and what else of ill
Peace of heart to its folk denies.
Now to the Holy Three
praise evermore resound:
Under Whose Hand Divine
resteth the triple world
Governed in wondrous wise,
glory be Theirs and Might
While the ages unending run.
Amen
This Hymn by St Robert Bellarmine,was added to the Roman Breviary in 1608, by command of Pope Paul V. It is for Vespers in the Office for “the Holy Guardian Angels. Double of the second class, 2 October.”
Our Morning Offering – 1 October – “The Month of the Most Holy Rosary and of the Angels”
Queen of the Holy Rosary,
Our Lady of Pompeii
(Portion)
O blessed Rosary of Mary,
Sweet chain which unites us to God,
Bond of Love, which connects us with the Angels,
Tower of Safety against the assaults of hell,
Sure Harbour in the universal shipwreck,
never more shall we part with thee;
thou shall be our comfort in the hour of agony:
to thee, the last kiss of our life
and the last word of our dying lips,
shall be thy sweet name –
Queen of the Rosary of Valle di Pompeii.
Mother dear, only refuge of sinners,
supreme comforter of the afflicted,
blessed be thy name,
now and forever, on earth and in heaven.
Amen.
Hail Queen, Mother of mercy:
℣ Vouchsafe that I may praise thee, o sacred Virgin.
℟ Give me strength against thy enemies.
℣ Pray for us, Queen of the most holy Rosary
℟ That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
This Prayer has been approved by the Congregation of Rites and Pope Leo XIII has granted an Indulgence of Seven Years and Seven Quarantines to those who devoutly recite it on 8 May or on the first Sunday in October.
(Rescript of 18 June 1887)
Our Morning Offering – 10 August – St Lawrence (Died 258) “Keeper of the Treasures of he Church,” Martyr, Archdeacon.
Holy Deacon Martyr, St Lawrence!
Unknown Author
Holy Deacon! by thy yearning
For the Martyr’s glorious crown;
By thy tortures, by thy burning,
By thy death of bright renown;
When the world and flesh and devil
Tempt our souls to sin and evil,
Dear Saint Lawrence, pray for us!
By the love that thou didst ever
To thy Pontiff-Father bear,
Pray that no base act may sever
Us from Peter’s loving care!
But when men would once more lead us
Into bonds from which Christ freed us,
Dear Saint Lawrence, pray for us!
By the Pontiff’s words of warning,
Bidding all thy sorrows cease,
Words foretelling bitter mourning
Leading unto lasting peace!
That to Jesus in our sadness
We may look for help and gladness,
Dear Saint Lawrence, pray for us!
By thy love, which knew no measure,
For the needy and the old,
Giving them the Church’s treasure
Dearer they than gems and gold!
Teaching us that alms well given
Are but treasures stored in Heaven,
Dear Saint Lawrence, pray for us!
By thy fervent love for Jesus,
By thy strong and constant faith,
Of our sinful burdens ease us!
Help us at the hour of death!
When the fears of death confound us
When the cleansing fires surround us!
Dear Saint Lawrence, pray for us!
Our Morning Offering – 1 July – “The Feast and Month of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus”
Salvete Christi vulnera
Hail, Holy Wounds of Jesus, Hail!
Anonymous Latin Hymn, 17th Century
Hail, holy Wounds of Jesus, hail,
Sweet pledges of the saving Rood,
Whence flow the streams that never fail,
The purple streams of His dear Blood.
Brighter than brightest stars ye show,
Than sweetest rose your scent more rare,
No Indian gem may match Your glow,
No honeys taste with Yours compare.
Portals ye are to that dear home
Wherein our wearied souls may hide,
Whereto no angry foe can come,
The Heart of Jesus crucified.
What countless stripes our Jesus bore,
All naked left in Pilates hall!
From His torn flesh flow red a shower
Did round His sacred person fall!
His beauteous brow, oh, shame and grief,
By the sharp thorny crown is riven;
Through hands and feet, without relief,
The cruel nails are rudely driven.
But when for our poor sakes He died,
A willing Priest by love subdued,
The soldiers lance transfixed His side,
Forth flowed the Water and the Blood.
In full atonement of our guilt,
Careless of self, the Saviour trod
Een till His Hearts best Blood was spilt
The wine-press of the wrath of God.
Come, bathe you in the healing flood,
All ye who mourn, by sin opprest;
Your only hope is Jesus Blood,
His Sacred Heart your only rest.
All praise to Him, the Eternal Son,
At Gods right hand enthroned above,
Whose Blood our full redemption won,
Whose Spirit seals the gift of love.
Office Hymn at Lauds on the Feast of the Most Precious Blood. (The Hymn is also used for Lauds on the Friday after the Fourth Sunday in Lent, for the Office of the Instruments of the Passion.)
Translated by – Henry Nutcombe Oxenham (1829-1888) for whom I find little information.
Our Morning Offering – 28 June – Angelus Domini nuntiavit Mariæ / The institution of the Angelus on 28-29 June 1456 by Pope Callistus III.
Pope Innocent XI, after the victorius battle of Vienna in 1683, requested the whole Christian world to recite the Angelus for peace.
Let us renew this pious practice if we have become lax in our devotion and let us pray the Angelus, for the protection of the Church in our own times, from the many menaces, on all fronts, internally and exteriorly facing the Faith, the world and the whole existence of the Catholic Church.
The Angelus
6.00a.m. + 12.00Noon + 6.00p.m.
V. The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary.
R. And she conceived of the Holy Ghost.
Hail Mary, full of grace,
The Lord is with Thee;
Blessed art thou among 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
V. Behold the handmaid of the Lord.
R. Be it done unto me according to thy word.
Hail Mary, etc.
V. And the Word was made Flesh.
R. And dwelt among us.
Hail Mary, etc.
V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.
R. That we may be made worthy
of the promises of Christ.
LET US PRAY:
Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord,
Thy grace into our hearts
that we to whom the Incarnation
of Christ Thy Son was made known
by the message of an Angel,
may by His Passion and Cross
be brought to the glory of His Resurrection.
Through the same Christ Our Lord.
Amen
AnaStpaul 
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