12/08/2008

Prayer For Religious Vocations

R. O Lord, grant us priests!
V. O Lord, grant us priests!
R. O Lord, grant us holy priests!
V. O Lord, grant us holy priests!
R. O Lord, grant us many holy priests!
V. O Lord, grant us many holy priests!
R. O Lord, grant us many holy religious vocations!
V. O Lord, grant us many holy religious vocations!

PRAYER FOR VOCATIONS

PRAYER FOR VOCATIONS

O God, Who wills not the death of the sinner but rather that he be converted and live, grant, we beseech Thee through the intercession of the Bless Mary, ever Virgin and all the saints, an increase of laborers for Thy Church, fellow laborers with Christ to spend and consume themselves for souls through the same Jesus Christ Thy son Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost world without end. Amen.

Imprimatur:
+Loras R. Lane, D.D., Bishop of Rockford
February 17, 1959

9/30/2008

Ave verum Corpus

Ave verum Corpus

Latin
Ave verum Corpus natum
de Maria Virgine:
Vere passum, immolatumin
Cruce pro homine.

Cuius latus perforatum
fluxit aqua et sanguine:
Esto nobis praegustatum
mortis in examine.

O Iesu dulcis!
O Iesu pie!
O Iesu fili Mariae.

English
Hail, true body,
born of the Virgin Mary:
Truly suffered,
died on the cross for mankind:

From who pierced side
flowed water and blood!
Be for us a foretaste
of death in the last hour!

O gentle Jesus!
O holy Jesus!
O Jesus, Son of Mary!

9/25/2008

Prayer given to St. Gertrude the Great by Our Lord

Prayer given to St. Gertrude the Great by Our Lord

Our Lord told St. Gertrude the GREAT that the following prayer would release 1000 souls from Purgatory each time it is said. The prayer was extended to include living sinners as well:

"Eternal Father, I offer Thee the most precious blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the holy souls in Purgatory for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen."

To learn more about St. Gertrude, go to:
http://thesaintsstories.blogspot.com/2008/08/st-gertrude-great.html

9/16/2008

The Feast of the Holy Trinity



The Feast of the Holy Trinity
Trinity Sunday/First Sunday after Pentecost
Taken from, “Divine Intimacy,” by Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, O.C.D., pp. 585-587.

PRESENCE OF GOD – “I return thanks to You, O God, one and true Trinity, one sovereign divinity, holy and indivisible unity. (RB)”.

MEDITATION

1. From Advent until today, the Church has had us consider the magnificent manifestations of God’s mercy toward men: the Incarnation, the Redemption, Pentecost. Now she directs our attention to the source of these gifts, the most Holy Trinity, from whom everything proceeds. Spontaneously, there rises to our lips the hymn of gratitude expressed in the Introit of the Mass: “Blessed be the Holy Trinity and undivided Unity; we will give glory to Him, because He has shown His mercy to us”: the mercy of God the Father, “who so loved the world that He gave it His only-begotten Son” (cf. Fn 3, 16); the mercy of God the Son, who to redeem us became incarnate and died on the Cross; the mercy of the Holy Spirit, who deigned to come down into our hearts to communicate to us the charity of God and to make us participate in the divine life. The Church has very fittingly included in the Office for today the beautiful antiphon inspired by St. Paul: “Caritas Pater est, gratia Filius, communicatio Spiritus Sanctus, O beta Trinitas!”; the Father is charity, the Son is grace and the Holy Spirit is communication: applying this, the charity of the Father and the grace of the Son are communicated to us by the Holy Spirit, who diffuses them in our heart. The marvelous work of the Trinity in our souls could not be better synthesized. Today’s Office and Mass form a veritable paean of praise and gratitude to the Blessed Trinity; they are a prolonged Gloria Patri and Te Deum. These two hymns-one a succinct epitome, and the other a majestic alternation of praises-are truly the hymns for today, intended to awaken in our hearts a deep echo of praise, thanksgiving, and adoration.

2. Today’s feast draws us to praise and glorify the three Persons of the Blessed Trinity, not only because of the great mercy They have shown to men, but also and especially in Themselves and for Themselves: first, by reason of Their supreme essence which had no beginning and will never have an end; next, because of Their infinite perfections, Their majesty, essential beauty and goodness. Equally worthy of our adoration is the sublime fruitfulness of life by which the Father continually generates the Word, while from the Father and the Word proceeds from the Holy Spirit. The Father is not prior to, or greater to the Word; nor are the Father and the Word prior to or greater than the Holy Spirit. The three divine Persons are all co-eternal and equal among Themselves: the divinity and all the divine perfections and attributes are one and the same in the Father, in the Son, and in the Holy Spirit. What can man say in the presence of such a sublime mystery? What can he understand of it? Nothing! Yet what has been revealed to us is certain, because the Son of God Himself, “who is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him” (Fn 1, 18). But the mystery is so sublime and it so exceeds our understanding, that we can only bow our heads and adore in silence. “O the depth of the riches of the wisdom of the knowledge of God! How incomprehensible are His judgments, and how unsearchable His ways!” exclaims St. Paul in today’s Epistle (Rom 11, 33-36). He who, having been “caught up into paradise,” could neither know nor say anything except that he had "heard secret words which it is not granted to man to utter” (2 Cor 12, 2-4). In the presence of the unspeakable mystery of the Trinity the highest praise is silence, the silence of the soul that adores, knowing that it is incapable of praising or glorifying the divine Majesty worthily.

Feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus


Feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

Friday following the Second Sunday After Pentecost

Taken from, “Divine Intimacy,” by Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, O.C.D., pp.622-623


PRESENSE OF GOD – O Jesus, grant that I may penetrate the secrets hidden in Your divine Heart.


MEDITATION


1. After we have contemplated the Eucharist, a gift crowning all the gifts of the love of Jesus for men, the Church invites us to give direct consideration to the love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the source and cause of all His gifts. We may call the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus the feast of His love for us. “Behold this Heart which has so loved men,” Jesus said to St. Margaret Mary; “Behold this Heart which has so loved men,” the Church repeats to us today, showing us that it is truly “in the Heart of Christ, wounded by our sins, that God had deigned to give us the infinite treasures of His love” (cf. Collect). Today’s liturgy inspired with this thought, reviews the immense benefits we owe to the love of Christ and sings a hymn in praise of His love. “Cogitationes cordis ejus,” chants the Introit of the Mass: “The thoughts of His Heart” – the Heart of Jesus – “are to all generations: to deliver them from death, to feed them in time of famine”. The Heart of Jesus is always in search of souls to save, to free from the snares of sin, to wash in His Blood, to feed with His Body. The Heart of Jesus is always living in the Eucharist to satisfy the hunger of all who long for Him, to welcome and console all those who, disillusioned by the vicissitudes of life, take refuge in Him, seeking peace and refreshment. Jesus Himself in our support of the hard road of life. “Take up My yoke upon you and learn of Me, because I am meek and humble of heart, and you shall find rest for your souls, Alleluia.” It is impossible to eliminate sorrow from our life; yet if we live for Jesus we can suffer in peace and find in the Heart of Jesus repose for our weary soul.


2. Today’s Gospel and Epistle lead us to consider the Sacred Heart of Jesus even more directly. The Gospel (Fn 19, 31-37) shows us His Heart pierced with a lance: “One of the soldiers opened His side with a spear,” and St. Augustine offers this comment: “The Evangelist says...opened, to show us that thereby the door of life was thrown open, through which the Sacraments of the Church flow forth”. From the pierced Heart of Christ, symbol of the love which immolated Him on the Cross for us, came forth the Sacraments, represented by the water and the Blood flowing from the wound, and it is through these Sacraments that we receive the life of grace. Yes, it is eminently true to say that the Heart of Jesus was opened to bring us into life. Jesus once said, “Narrow is the gate...that leadeth to life” (Mt. 7, 14); but if we understand this gate to be the wound in His Heart, we can say that no gate could open to us with greater welcome.


St. Paul, in his beautiful Epistle (Eph 3, 8-19), urges us to penetrate further into the Heart of Jesus to contemplate His “unsearchable riches” and to enter into “the mystery which hath been hidden from the eternity of God”. This is the mystery of infinite, divine love which has gone before us from all eternity and was revealed to us by the Word made flesh; it is the mystery of the love which willed to redeem us and sanctify us in Christ “in whom we have...[free] access to God”.


Again Jesus presents Himself as the door which leads to salvation. “I am the door. By Me if any man enter in he shall be saved.” (Fn 10, 9). This door is His Heart, which, wounded for us, has brought us into life. By love alone can we penetrate this mystery of infinite love, but not any kind of love will suffice. As St. Paul says, we must “be rooted and founded in charity”. Only thus shall we be able “to know...the charity of Christ which surpasseth all knowledge, that [we] may be filled unto all the fullness of God”.

The Magnificat

The Magnificat

Latin
1. Magnificat * anima mea Dominum.
2. Et exsultavit spiritus meus * in Deo salutari meo.
3. Quia respexit humilitatem ancillae suae: * ecce enim ex hoc beatam me dicent omnes generationes.
4. Quia fecit mihi magna qui potens est: et sanctum nomen ejus.
5. Et misericordia ejus a progenie in progenies * timentibus eum.
6. Fecit potentiam in brachio suo * dispersit superbos mente cordis sui.
7. Deposuit potentes de sede, * et exaltavit humiles.
8. Esurientes implevit bonis: * et divites dimisit inanes.
9. Suscepit Israel puerum suum, recordatus misericordiae suae.
10. Sicut locutus est ad patres nostros * Abraham at semini eius in saecula.
11. Gloria Patri, et Filio, * et Spiritui Sancto.
12. Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, * et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.

English
1. My soul doth magnify the Lord.
2. And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
3. Because he hath regarded the humility of his handmaid: for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
4. Because he that is mighty hath done great things to me: and holy is his name.
5. And his mercy is from generation unto generations, to them that fear him.
6. He hath shewed might in his arm: he hath scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart.
7. He hath put down the mighty from their seat and hath exalted the humble.
8. He hath filled the hungry with good things: and the rich he hath sent empty away.
9. He hath received Israel his servant, being mindful of his mercy.
10. As he spoke to our fathers: to Abraham and to his seed for ever.
11. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
12. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

O Bone Jesu!

O Bone Jesu!

O Bone Jesu miserere nobis
Quia tu creasti nos tu redemisti nos
Sanguine tuo pretiosissime

By The Blood That Flowed From Thee

By The Blood That Flowed From Thee

By the Blood that flowed from Thee
In Thy bitter agony By the scourge
so meekly borne By Thy purple robe of scorn
Chorus
Jesus Savior hear our cry
Thou wert suff'ring once as we
Hear the loving litany
We Thy children sing to Thee
By the thorns that crowned Thy Head
By Thy scepter of a reed
By the scourge so meekly borne
Weighed beneath Thy cross of woe

Stabat Mater

Stabat Mater

Stabat Mater dolorosa
Justa crucem lacrimosa
Sum pendebat Filius
Cujus animam gementem
Contristatem et dolentem
Per transivit gladius
O quam tristis et afflicta
Fuit illa benedicta
Mater Unigeniti

At The Cross Her Station Keeping

At the Cross her station keeping
Stood the mournful Mother weeping
Close to Jesus to the last
Through her heart His sorrow sharing
All His bitter anguish bearing
Now at length the sword has passed
O that blessed one grief laden
Blessed Mother, Blessed Maiden
Mother of the All blest one.

Veni Jesu Amormi

Veni Jesu Amormi (Latin of Jesus, Jesus, Come to Me)

Veni Jesu Amormi,
Veni Veni Veni amor Jesu
Veni, Jesu, Amormi, Veni, O Amormi
Veni, Jesu, Amormi,
Veni, Jesu, Amormi,
Veni Jesu, Amormi,
Veni, Veni, O Amormi,
Veni, Amormi,
Veni, Amormi

Jesus, Jesus, Come to Me (English for Veni Jesu Amormi)

Jesus, Jesus, come to me
All my longing is for Thee
Of all friends the best Thou art
Make of me Thy counterpart
Jesus I live for Thee
Jesus I die for Thee
I belong to Thee
Forever in life and death

Soul of my Savior

Soul of my Savior

Soul of my Savior sanctify my breast,
Body of Christ, be thou my saving guest,
Blood of my Savior, bathe me in thy tide,
wash me with waters gushing from thy side.

Strength and protection may thy passion be,
O blessed Jesus, hear and answer me;
deep in thy wounds, Lord, hide and shelter me,
so shall I never, never part from thee.

Guard and defend me from the foe malign,
in death's dread moments make me only thine;
call me and bid me come to thee on high
where I may praise thee with thy saints for ay.

Sanctify me wholly

Sanctify me wholly

Sanctify me wholly,
Soul of Christ adored;
Be my sure salvation,
Body of the Lord;
Fill my yearning spirit,
O Thou Blood unpriced:
Wash me, Sacred Water from the side of Christ.

2. Passion of my Savior,
be my strength in need;
Good and gracious Jesus,
to my prayer give heed.
In Thy wounds most precious,
let me refuge find:
All the envious power
of the foeman bind.

3. At death's final hourcall me to Thy face;
Bid me stand beside Thee
in the heav'nly place:
There with saints and angels
I shall sing to Thee
Through the countless ages
of eternity.

Regina Caeli Jubila

Regina Caeli Jubila

Latin
1. Regina caeli, jubila,
Gaude Maria!
Jam pulsa cedunt nubila,
Alleluia! Laetare, O Maria!

2. Quem digna terris gignere,
Gaude Maria!
Vivus resurgit funere,
Alleluia! Laetare, O Maria!

3. Sunt fracta mortis spicula,
Gaude Maria!
Jesu jacet mors subdita,
Alleluia! Laetare, O Maria!

4. Acerbitas solatium,
Gaude Maria!
Luctus redonat gaudium,
Alleluia! Laetare, O Maria!

Be joyful, Mary, heav'nly queen,
Gaude, Maria:
Your Son who died was living seen,
Alleluia, Laetare, O Maria!

The Son you bore by heaven's grace,
Gaude, Maria:
Did all our guilt and sin efface,
Alleluia, Laetare, O Maria!

English
The Lord is risen from the dead,
Gaude, Maria:
He rose with might as he had said,
Alleluia, Laetare, O Maria!

Then pray to God, O Virgin fair,
Gaude, Maria:
That He our souls to heaven bear.
Alleluia! Laetare, O Maria!

Alternate versions:

Be joyful, Mary, heav’nly Queen,
Be joyful, Mary!
Your grief is changed to joy serene,
Alleluia! Rejoice, rejoice, O Mary!

The Son you bore by heaven's grace,
Be joyful, Mary!
Did by His death our guilt erase.
Alleluia! Rejoice, rejoice, O Mary!

The Lord has risen from the dead,
Be joyful, Mary!
He rose in glory as He said.
Alleluia! Rejoice, rejoice, O Mary!

Then pray to God, O Virgin fair,
Be joyful, Mary!
That He our souls to heaven bear.
Alleluia! Rejoice, rejoice, O Mary!


1. Rejoice, O Mary, heav'nly Queen,
Rejoice O Mary!
Now clouds give way to Sunlight's beams,
Alleluia, Rejoice, rejoice, O Mary!

2. The Offspring of thy Virgin womb,
Rejoice O Mary!
Is risen from the virgin tomb,
Alleluia, Rejoice, rejoice, O Mary!

3. Death's arrows keen are snapp'd in twain,
Rejoice O Mary!
At Jesus' feet death lieth slain,
Alleluia, Rejoice, rejoice, O Mary!

4. Though bitterness endure a night,
Rejoice O Mary!It giveth joy with morning light,
Alleluia, Rejoice, rejoice, O Mary!

Immaculate Mary

Immaculate Mary

Immaculate Mary, thy praises we sing;
Who reignest in splendor with Jesus our King.
Ave, ave, ave, Maria! Ave, ave, Maria!

In heaven, the blessed thy glory proclaim;
On earth we, thy children, invoke thy fair name.
Ave, ave, ave, Maria! Ave, ave, Maria!

We pray for God's glory; may His kingdom come;
We pray for His vicar, our father, and Rome.
Ave, ave, ave, Maria! Ave, ave, Maria!

We pray for our Mother, the Church upon earth,
And bless, dearest Lady, the land of our birth.
Ave, ave, ave, Maria! Ave, ave, Maria!

Ave Maria

Ave Maria

Latin
Ave Maria, gratia plena,
Dominus tecum,
benedicta tu in mulieribus,
et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Iesus.
Sancta Maria, Mater Dei,
ora pro nobis peccatoribus,
nunc et in hora mortis nostrae.
Amen.

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

Pange Lingua

Pange Lingua

Latin
1. Pange lingua gloriosi
Corporis mysterium,
Sanguinisque pretiosi,
Quem in mundi pretium
Fructus ventris generosi,
Rex effudit gentium.

2. Nobis datus, nobis natus
Ex intacta Virgine
Et in mundo conversatus,
Sparso verbi semine,
Sui moras incolatus
Miro clausit ordine.

3. In supremae nocte coenae
Recumbens cum fratribus,
Observata lege plene
Cibis in legalibus,
Cibum turbae duodenae
Se dat suis manibus

4. Verbum caro, panem verum
Verbo carnem efficit:
Fitque sanguis Christi merum,
Et si sensus deficit,
Ad firmandum cor sincerum
Sola fides sufficit.

5. Tantum ergo Sacramentum
Veneremur cernui:
Et antiquum documentum
Novo cedat ritui:
Praestet fides supplementum
Sensuum defectui.

6. Genitori, Genitoque
Laus et iubilatio,
Salus, honor, virtus quoque
Sit et benedictio:
Procedenti ab utroque
Compar sit laudatio.
Amen.

V. Panem de caelo praestitisti eis.
R. Omne delectamentum in se habentem.

Oremus:
Deus, qui nobis sub sacramento mirabili, passionis tuae memoriam reliquisti: tribue, quaesumus, ita nos corporis et sanguinis tui sacra mysteria venerari, ut redemptionis tuae fructum in nobis iugiter sentiamus. Qui vivis et regnas in saecula saeculorum.
R. Amen.

English
Of the glorious Body telling,
O my tongue, its mysteries sing,
And the Blood, all price excelling,
Which the world's eternal King,
In a noble womb once dwelling
Shed for the world's ransoming.

Given for us, descending,
Of a Virgin to proceed,
Man with man in converse blending,
Scattered he the Gospel seed,
Till his sojourn drew to ending,
Which he closed in wondrous deed.

At the last great Supper lying
Circled by his brethren's band,
Meekly with the law complying,
First he finished its command
Then, immortal Food supplying,
Gave himself with his own hand.

Word made Flesh, by word he maketh
Very bread his Flesh to be;
Man in wine Christ's Blood partaketh:
And if senses fail to see,
Faith alone the true heart waketh
To behold the mystery.

Therefore we, before him bending,
This great Sacrament revere;
Types and shadows have their ending,
For the newer rite is here;
Faith, our outward sense befriending,
Makes the inward vision clear.

Glory let us give, and blessing
To the Father and the Son;
Honour, might, and praise addressing,
While eternal ages run;
Ever too his love confessing,
Who, from both, with both is one.
Amen.

R. Thou hast given them bread from heaven.
V. Having within it all sweetness.

Let us pray:
O God, who in this wonderful Sacrament left us a memorial of Thy Passion: grant, we implore Thee, that we may so venerate the sacred mysteries of Thy Body and Blood, as always to be conscious of the fruit of Thy Redemption. Thou who livest and reignest forever and ever.
R. Amen.

O Sacred Head, Surrounded

O Sacred Head, Surrounded

O Sacred Head, surrounded
by crown of piercing thorn!
O bleeding Head, so wounded,
reviled and put to scorn!
Our sins have marred the glory
of Thy most Holy Face,
yet angel hosts adore Thee
and tremble as they gaze

I see Thy strength and vigor
all fading in the strife,
and death with cruel rigor,
bereaving Thee of life;
O agony and dying!
O love to sinners free!
Jesus, all grace supplying,
O turn Thy face on me.

In this Thy bitter passion,
Good Shepherd, think of me
with Thy most sweet compassion,
unworthy though I be:
beneath Thy cross abiding
for ever would I rest,
in Thy dear love confiding,
and with Thy presence blest.

But death too is my ending;
In that dread hour of need,
My friendless cause befriending,
Lord, to my rescue speed:
Thyself, O Jesus, trace me,
Right passage to the grave,
And from Thy cross embrace me,
With arms outstretched to save.

O Jesu

O Jesu

O Jesu, ego amo Te,
Nam prior Tu amasti me,
En libertate privo me,
Ut vinctus sponte sequar Te.

2. O Jesu, in Te confido,
quia Tu redemisti me,
En totum Tibi trado me,
Ut solus regnes super me.

O Esca Viatorum

O Esca Viatorum

O esca viatorum,
O panis angelorum,
O manna coelitum,
Esurientes ciba,
Dulcedine non priva
Corda quaerentium,
Corda quaerentium.

2. O lympha, fons amoris,
Qui puro Salvatoris
E corde profluis
Te sitientes pota,
Haec sola nostra vota,
His una sufficis,
His una sufficis.

3. O Jesu, Tuum vultum,
Quem colimus occultum
Sub panis specie,
Fac, ut remoto velo
Post libera in caelo
Cernamus facie,
Cernamus facie.

Jesus, my Lord, my God, my all!

Jesus, my Lord, my God, my all!

Jesus, my Lord, my God, my all!
How can I love Thee as I ought?
And how revere this wondrous gift,
So far surpassing hope or thought?

Refrain:
Sweet Sacrament, we Thee adore!
Oh, make us love Thee more and more.
Oh, make us love Thee more and more.

2. Had I but Mary's sinless heart
With which to love Thee, dearest King,
Oh, with what ever fervent praise,
Thy goodness, Jesus, would I sing!
Refrain

3. Thy Body, Soul and Godhead, all!
O mystery of love divine!
I cannot compass all I have,
For all Thou hast and art is mine!
Refrain

4. Sound, then, His praises higher still,
And come, ye angels, to our aid;
For this is God, the very God
Who hath both men and angels made!

Refrain

Efficacious Novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus (9 days)


Efficacious Novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus (9 days)


I. O my Jesus, You have said: “Truly I say to you, ask and you will receive, seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened to you.”Behold I knock; I seek and ask for the grace of...(Here name your request)

Our Father... Hail Mary... Glory Be to the Father...

Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in you.


II. O my Jesus, You have said: “Truly I say to you, if you ask anything of the Father in My Name, He will give it to you.”Behold, in Your Name, I ask the Father for the grace of...(Here name your request)

Our Father... Hail Mary... Glory Be to the Father...

Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in you.


III. O my Jesus, You have said: “Truly I say to you, heaven and earth will pass away but My words will not pass away.”Encouraged by Your infallible words I now ask for the grace of...(Here name your request)

Our Father... Hail Mary... Glory Be to the Father...

Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in you.


O Sacred Heart of Jesus, for whom it is impossible not to have compassion on the afflicted, have pity on us miserable sinners and grant us the grace which we ask of You, through the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, Your tender Mother and ours.


Say the “Hail, Holy Queen” and add:

St. Joseph, foster father of Jesus, pray for us.


-St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

LITANY OF THE MOST SACRED HEART OF JESUS


LITANY OF THE MOST SACRED HEART OF JESUS


An indulgence of 7 years. A plenary indulgence once a month under the usual conditions, if the entire Litany with its versicle and prayer is recited daily for a month.


Responses are in Italics


Lord, have mercy on us.

Christ, have mercy on us.

Lord, have mercy on us.

Christ, hear us.

Christ, graciously hear us.

God the Father of Heaven, Have mercy on us.

God the Son, Redeemer of the world, Have mercy on us.

God the Holy Ghost, Have mercy on us.

Holy Trinity, One God, Have mercy on us.

Heart of Jesus, Son of the Eternal Father, Have mercy on us*

Heart of Jesus, formed by the Holy Ghost in the womb of the Virgin Mother, *

Heart of Jesus, substantially united to the Word of God, *

Heart of Jesus, of Infinite Majesty, *

Heart of Jesus, Sacred Temple of God, *

Heart of Jesus, Tabernacle of the Most High, *

Heart of Jesus, House of God and Gate of Heaven, *

Heart of Jesus, burning furnace of charity, *

Heart of Jesus, abode of justice and love, *

Heart of Jesus, full of goodness and love, *

Heart of Jesus, abyss of all virtues, *

Heart of Jesus, most worthy of all praise, *

Heart of Jesus, king and center of all hearts, *

Heart of Jesus, in Whom are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, *

Heart of Jesus, in Whom dwells the fullness of divinity, *

Heart of Jesus, in Whom the Father was well pleased, *

Heart of Jesus, of Whose fullness we have all received, *

Heart of Jesus, desire of the everlasting hills, *

Heart of Jesus, patient and most merciful, *

Heart of Jesus, enriching all who invoke Thee, *

Heart of Jesus, fountain of life and holiness, *

Heart of Jesus, propitiation for our sins, *

Heart of Jesus, loaded down with opprobrium, *

Heart of Jesus, bruised for our ofeenses, *

Heart of Jesus, obedient to death, *

Heart of Jesus, pierced with a lance, *

Heart of Jesus, source of all consolation, *

Heart of Jesus, our life and resurrection, *

Heart of Jesus, our peace and reconciliation, *

Heart of Jesus, victim for our sins, *

Heart of Jesus, salvation of those who trust in Thee, *

Heart of Jesus, hope of those who die in Thee, *

Heart of Jesus, delight of all the Saints, *


Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Spare us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Graciously hear us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Have mercy on us.


V. Jesus meek and humble of heart.

R. Make our hearts like to Thine.


Let us Pray


ALMIGHTY and eternal God, look upon the Heart of Thine most beloved Son and upon the praises and satisfaction which He offer Thee in the name of sinners; and to those who implore Thy mercy, of Thy great goodness, grant forgiveness in the name of the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who with Thee lives and reigns, world without end. Amen.

LITANY OF THE MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD OF JESUS


"For this is the Chalice of My Blood of the new and eternal covenant: the mystery of faith: which shall be shed for you and for many unto the forgiveness of sins." - Words of consecration of the wine into the Precious Blood of Jesus Christ. Taken from St. Joseph's Daily Missal.


LITANY OF THE MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD OF JESUS


An indulgence of 7 years. A plenary indulgence once a month under the usual conditions, if the entire Litany is recited daily for a month.

Responses are in Italics


Lord, have mercy on us.

Christ, have mercy on us.

Lord, have mercy on us.

Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.

God the Father of Heaven, Have mercy on us.

God the Son, Redeemer of the world, Have mercy on us.

God the Holy Spirit, Have mercy on us.

Holy Trinity, One God, Have mercy on us.

Blood of Christ, only-begotten Son of the Eternal Father, Save us.

Blood of Christ, Incarnate Word of God, Save us.

Blood of Christ, of the New and Eternal Testament, Save us.

Blood of Christ, falling upon the earth in the Agony, Save us.

Blood of Christ, shed profusely in the Scourging, Save us.

Blood of Christ, flowing forth in the Crowning with Thorns, Save us.

Blood of Christ, poured out on the Cross, Save us.

Blood of Christ, Price of our salvation, Save us.

Blood of Christ, without which there is no forgiveness, Save us.

Blood of Christ, Eucharistic drink and refreshment of souls, Save us.

Blood of Christ, river of mercy, Save us.

Blood of Christ, Victor over demons, Save us.

Blood of Christ, Courage of martyrs, Save us.

Blood of Christ, Strength of confessors, Save us.

Blood of Christ, bringing forth virgins, Save us.

Blood of Christ, Help of those in peril, Save us.

Blood of Christ, Relief of the burdened, Save us.

Blood of Christ, Solace in sorrow, Save us.

Blood of Christ, Hope of the penitent, Save us.

Blood of Christ, Consolation of the dying, Save us.

Blood of Christ, Peace and Tenderness of hearts, Save us.

Blood of Christ, Pledge of Eternal Life, Save us.

Blood of Christ, freeing souls from Purgatory, Save us.

Blood of Christ, most worthy of all glory and honor, Save us.


Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Spare us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Graciously hear us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Have mercy on us.


V. Thou hast redeemed us, O Lord, in Thy Blood,

R. And made of us a kingdom for our God.


Let Us Pray

ALMIGHTY and Eternal God, Thou hast appointed Thine only-begotten Son the Redeemer of the world, and willed to be appeased by His Blood. Grant, we beseech Thee, that we may worthily adore this Price of our salvation, and through its power be safeguarded from the evils of this present life, so that we may rejoice in its fruits forever in Heaven. Through the same Christ Our Lord. Amen.

The Circumcision of Our Lord (Prophecy of Simeon)

The Circumcision of Our Lord – January 1st
(Prophecy of Simeon-First of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary)

"Behold, this child is destined for the fall and for the rise of many in Israel, and for a sign that shall be contridicted. And thy own soul a sword shall pierce, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed." - Luke 2:34-35


On the eight day after His birth, Jesus was brought to the temple by Mary and Joseph to be circumcised. Circumcision was a painful religious ceremony performed on Jewish boys eight days after they were born. On that day they also received their name, and they became members of God’s Chosen People. St. Luke tells us: “And after eight days were accomplished, that the Child should be circumcised, His name was called Jesus, which was called by the Angel, before He was conceived in the womb.” The holy name of Jesus means “Savior,” and it is the sweetest and most powerful name.


Mary was not bound to bring Jesus to the temple, but out of her great love and respect for the Law of Moses, she did.


Jesus shed the first drops of His blood for our salvation in His circumcision. In His great love for us, He came on this earth to save us from our sins and show us the way to Heaven and happiness.


When we are told to do something hard today, let us think of how Jesus and Mary obeyed. Then we will do it well for love of Jesus, and it will bring us a great reward in Heaven.

Vidi Aquam

Vidi Aquam

Latin
Vidi aquam egredientem de templo,
a latere dextro, alleluia:
et omnes, ad quos pervenit aqua ista,
salvi facti sunt, et dicent, alleluia, alleluia.

V. Confitemini Domino quoniam bonus:
R. Quoniam in saeculum misericordia eius.

V. Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto:
R. Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper,
et in saecula sæculorum. Amen.

English
I saw water coming forth from the temple
on the right side, alleluia:
and all those to whom this water came
were saved, and shall say, alleluia, alleluia.

V. Give praise to the Lord, for He is good:
R. For His mercy endureth forever.

V. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost:
R. As it was in the beginning, is now,and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Panis Angelicus

Panis Angelicus

Latin
Panis angelicus
fit panis hominum;
Dat panis caelicus
figuris terminum:
O res mirabilis!
manducat Dominum Pauper,
servus, et humilis.
Te trina Deitas
unaque poscimus:
Sic nos tu visita,
sicut te colimus;
Per tuas semitas
duc nos quo tendimus,
Ad lucem quam inhabitas.
Amen.

English
Bread of Angels,
made the bread of men;
The Bread of heavenputs
an end to all symbols:
A thing wonderful!
The Lord becomes our food:
poor, a servant, and humble.
We beseech Thee, God
head One in Three
That Thou wilt visit us,
as we worship Thee,
lead us through Thy ways,
We who wish to reach the light
in which Thou dwellest.
Amen.

Adoro Te Devote

Adoro Te Devote

Latin
1. Adoro te devote, latens Deitas,
Quae sub his figuris vere latitas;
Tibi se cor meum totum subiicit,
Quia te contemplans, totum deficit.

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

3. In Cruce latebat sola Deitas.
At hic latet simul et humanitas:
Ambo tamen credens, atque confitens,
Peto quod petivit latro paenitens.

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

5. O memoriale mortis Domini,
Panis vivus vitam praestans homini:
Praesta meae menti de te vivere,
Et te illi semper dulce sapere.

6. Pie pellicane Iesu Domine,
Me immundum munda tuo Sanguine:
Cuius una stilla salvum facere
Totum mundum quit ab omni scelere.

7. Iesu, quem velatum nunc aspicio,
Oro, fiat illud, quod tam sitio,
Ut te revelata cernens facie,
Visu sim beatus tuae gloriae.
Amen.

English
1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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.

Jesu Dulcis Memoria

Jesu Dulcis Memoria

English
1. Jesus, the very thought of Thee,
With sweetness fills my breast;
But sweeter far Thy Face to see
And in Thy presence rest.

2. Nor voice can sing,
nor heart can frame,
Nor can the memory find
A sweeter sound than Thy blest Name,
O Saviour of mankind!

3. 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.

4. My tongue and words cannot express,
Their usefulness is low
But having felt is to believe,
sweet Jesus' love to know.

5. Jesus, our only joy be Thou,
As Thou our prize wilt be;
O Jesus, be our glory now
And through eternity.
Amen.

Latin
1. Jesu, dulcis memoria,
Dans vera cordis gaudia:
Sed super mel et omnia
Ejus dulcis praesentia.

2. Nil canitur suavius,
Nil auditur jucundius,
Nil cogitatur dulcius,
Quam Jesus Dei Filius.

3. Jesu, spes paenitentibus,
Quam pius es petentibus!
Quam bonus te quaerentibus!
Sed quid invenientibus?
4. Nec lingua valet dicere,
Nec littera exprimere:
Expertus potest credere,
Quid sit Jesum diligere.

5. Sis, Jesu, nostrum gaudium,
Qui es futurus praemium
Sit nostra in te gloria,
Per cuncta semper saecula.
Amen.

Ecce Panis Angelorum

Ecce Panis Angelorum

Latin
1. Ecce Panis Angelorum,
Factus cibus viatorum
Vere panis filiorum,
Non mittendus canibus.

2. In figuris praesignatur,
Cum Isaac immolatur,
Agnus Paschae deputatur,
Datur manna patribus.

3. Bone pastor, panis vere,
Jesu, nostri miserere:
Tu nos pasce, nos tuere,
Tu nos bona fac videre
In terra viventium.

4. Tu qui cuncta scis et vales,
Qui nos pascis hic mortales:
Tuos ibi commensales,
Coheredes et sodales
Fac sanctorum civium.
Amen.

English
1. Behold the Bread of Angels,
made the Food of wayfarers,
Truly the bread of children,
not to be given to the dogs.

2. Presignified by figure,
When Isaac was immolated,
the Paschal Lamb was commanded,
Manna was given to the fathers.

3. Good shepherd, true Bread,
Jesus, have mercy on us:
Feed us, protect us,
Make us to see good things
in the land of the living.

4. Thou who knowest and willest all things,
Who feeds us mortals by This:
Make thine own to be partakers of,
coheirs and citizens in
that holy City of Saints.
Amen.

Adoremus in Aeternum

Adoremus in Aeternum

English
We will adore for eternity the most holy Sacrament.
Praise the Lord, all ye nations: praise Him all ye peoples.

Because his mercy is confirmed upon us:and the truth of the Lord remains forever.
Adoremus...

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost: As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Adoremus...

Latin
Adoremus in aeternum sanctissimum Sacramentum.Laudate Dominum omnes gentes: laudate eum omnes populi.

Quoniam confirmata est super nos misericordia ejus: et veritas Domini manet in aeternum.
Adoremus...

Gloria Patri, Filio, et Spiritui Sancto: Sicut erat in principio, et nunc et semper, et in saecula sæculorum. Amen.
Adoremus...

Benedictus Es

Benedictus Es

English
1. Blessed art Thou, the Lord God of our fathers. And glorious and to be praised for all ages.
2. And blessed is the name of Thy glory, which is holy. And glorious and to be praised for all ages.
3. Blessed art Thou in the holy temple of Thy glory. And glorious and to be praised for all ages.
4. Blessed art Thou on the holy throne of Thy kingdom. And glorious and to be praised for all ages.
5. Blessed art Thou upon the sceptre of Thy divinity. And glorious and to be praised for all ages.

Latin
1. Benedictus es Domine Deus patrum nostrorum. Et laudabilis et gloriosus in saecula.
2. Et benedictum nomen gloriae tuae, quod es sanctum. Et laudabile et gloriosum in saecula.
3. Benedictus es in templo sancto gloriae tuae. Et laudabilis et gloriosus in saecula.
4. Benedictus es super thronum sanctum regni tui. Et laudabilis et gloriosus in saecula.
5. Benedictus es super sceptrum divinitatis tuae. Et laudabilis et gloriosus in saecula.

9/15/2008

THE NICENE CREED

THE NICENE CREED
I Believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only-Begotten Son of God. Born of the Father before all ages. God of God; Light of Light; true God of true God. Begotten not made; of one being with the Father; by Whom all things were made. Who for us men, and for our salvation came down from heaven. And was made flesh by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary: AND WAS MADE MAN. He was also crucified for us, suffered under Pontius Pilate and was buried. And on the third day He rose again according to the Scriptures. And ascending into heaven, He sitteth at the right hand of the Father. And He shall come again in glory to judge the living and the dead; and of His kingdom there shall be no end. And I believe in the Holy Ghost, Lord and Giver of life, Who proceeds from the Father and the Son. Who together with the Father and the Son is no less adored, and glorified: Who spoke by the Prophets. And I believe in One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. I confess one Baptism for the remission of sins. And I look for the resurrection of the dead. And the life of the world to come. Amen.

A Spiritual Communion


A Spiritual Communion


Dear Jesus, I believe that Thou art truly present in the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar. I desire to receive sacramentally but cannot now do so. Please come to me least spiritually. I embrace Thee as being already there and unite myself entirely to Thee. Permit never to be separated from Thee, my Jesus. Amen.

Angel's Prayer


Angel's Prayer
With the Blessed Sacrament suspended in the air, the angel at Fatima prostrated himself, and recited this prayer:

O Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, I adore Thee profoundly. I offer Thee the most preious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges and indifference by which He is offended. By the infinite merits of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. I beg the conversion of poor sinners.

A Prayer for Priests


A Prayer for Priests
O Jesus, Eternal Priest, keep all Thy priests within the shelter of Thy Sacred Heart, where none may harm them.
Keep unstained their anointed hands which daily touch Thy Sacred Body.
Keep unsullied their lips purpled with Thy Precious Blood.
Keep pure and unearthly their hearts sealed with the sublime marks of Thy glorious priesthood.
Let Thy holy love surround them and shield them from the world’s contagion.
Bless their labors with abundant fruit, and may the souls to whom they have ministered be here below their joy and consolation and in Heaven their beautiful and everlasting crown. Amen.

O Mary, Queen of the clergy, pray for us; obtain for us a number of holy priests.


ANIMA CHRISTI
Soul of Christ, sanctify me;

Body of Christ, save me;

Blood of Christ, inebriate me;

Water from the side of Christ, wash me.

Passion of Christ, strengthen me;

O good Jesus, hear me;

Within Thy wounds hide me;

Suffer me not to be separated from Thee.

From the malignant enemy defend me;

In the hour of my death, call me,

And bid me come to Thee,

That, with Thy Saints, I may praise Thee

Forever and ever. Amen.

ANIMA CHRISTI

ANIMA CHRISTI

Soul of Christ, sanctify me;
Body of Christ, save me;
Blood of Christ, inebriate me;
Water from the side of Christ, wash me.
Passion of Christ, strengthen me;
O good Jesus, hear me;
Within Thy wounds hide me;
Suffer me not to be separated from Thee.
From the malignant enemy defend me;
In the hour of my death, call me,
And bid me come to Thee,
That, with Thy Saints, I may praise Thee
Forever and ever. Amen.

Precious Blood Prayer

Precious Blood Prayer
by St. Catherine of Sienna
Precious Blood Ocean of Divine Mercy, flow upon us
Precious Blood Most Pure Offering, procure us every grace
Precious Blood Hope and Refuge of sinners, atone for us
Precious Blood Delight of holy souls, draw us! Amen.

The Seven Sorrows of the Mother of God

The Seven Sorrows
of the
Mother of God


V. Incline unto my aid, O God!
R. O Lord, make haste to help me!



One Glory Be.


1. The Prophecy of Simeon


I compassionate thee, O Sorrowful Mother Mary, on account of that grief suffered by thy tender heart at the prophecy of the aged Holy Simeon. O dearest Mother, through this thy afflicted heart, implore for me the virtue of humility and the Gift of the Fear of God. One Hail Mary.

2. The Flight into Egypt


I compassionate thee, O sorrowful Mother Mary, on account of those distressing fears which thy affectionate heart endured on the flight to Egypt and during thy sojourn there. O dearest Mother, through this thy anxious heart implore for me the virtue of generosity, particularly for the poor, and the Gift of Piety. One Hail Mary.

3. The loss of the Child Jesus in the temple

I compassionate thee, O sorrowful Mother Mary, on account of that anxiety which thy worried heart endured in the loss of thy beloved Child Jesus. O dearest Mother, through this thy exceedingly troubled heart, implore for me the virtue of chastity and the Gift of Knowledge. One Hail Mary.

4. The meeting of Jesus and Mary on the Way of the Cross

I compassionate the, O sorrowful Mother Mary, on account of that horror with thy mother's heart was stricken when meeting Jesus bearing the Cross. O dearest Mother, through this thy exceedingly oppressed heart, implore for me the virtue of patience and the Gift of Fortitude. One Hail Mary.

5. The Crucifixion

I compassionate thee, O sorrowful Mother Mary, on account of that martyrdom which tortured thy magnanimous heart at the death-agony of Jesus. O dearest Mother, through this thy martyred heart, implore for me the virtue of temperance and the Gift of Counsel. One Hail Mary.

6. The taking down of the Body of Jesus from the Cross

I compassionate thee, O sorrowful Mother Mary, on account of the anguish inflicted upon thy tender heart by the thrust of the lance that opened the side of Jesus and pierced His Most Adorable Heart. O dearest Mother, through this vicarious transfixion of thy own heart, implore for me the virtue of brotherly love and the Gift of Understanding. One Hail Mary.

7. The burial of Jesus

I compassionate thee, O sorrowful Mother Mary, on account of that agony of soul, which racked thy most loving heart at the burial of Jesus. O dearest Mother, through this extreme torment that filled thy burdened heart, implore for me the virtue of zeal and the Gift of Wisdom. One Hail Mary.


V. Pray for us, O Virgin Most Sorrowful!
R. That we may be worthy of the promises of Christ.



Let us Pray. O Lord Jesus Christ, we beseech thee that the Most Blessed Virgin Mary, whose soul was pierced by the Sword of Sorrow in the hour of Thy Passion, may be our advocate at the throne of Thy Mercy, now, and at the hour of our death. Through Thee, Jesus Christ, Redeemer of the World, Who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, world without end. Amen.



Promises



The following are the seven graces promised by the Blessed Virgin Mary to souls who honor her daily by saying seven Hail Mary's and meditating on her tears and sorrows. This devotion was passed on to us by Saint Bridget.



1. I will grant peace to their families.



2. They will be enlightened about the divine mysteries.



3. I will console them in their pains and I will accompany them in their work.



4. I will give them as much as they ask for as long as it does not oppose the Adorable Will of my Divine son or the sanctification of their souls.



5. I will defend them in their spiritual battles with the infernal enemy and I will protect them at every instant of their lives.



6. I will visibly help them at the moment of their death; they will see the face of their mother.



7. I have obtained (this Grace) from my Divine Son, that those who propagate this devotion to my tears and sorrows, will be taken directly from this earthly life to eternal happiness since all their sins will be forgiven and my Son will be their eternal consolation and joy.

Feast of the Most Precious Blood


Feast of the Most Precious Blood - July 1st
(The following is taken from Dom Prosper Guéranger's entry in The Liturgical Year for July 1, in Volume XII of the 1983 Marian House edition of the English translation by the Benedictines of Stanbrook.)

John the Baptist has pointed out the Lamb, Peter has firmly established his throne, Paul has prepared the bride; their joint work, admirable in its unity, at once suggests the reason for their feasts occurring almost simultaneously in the cycle. The alliance being now secured, all three fall into shade; whilst the bride herself, raised up by them to such loftly heights, appears alone before us, holding in her hands the sacred cup of the nuptial-feast."
"This gives the key of today's solemnity, revealing how its appearance in the heavens of the holy liturgy at this particular season is replete with mystery. The Church, it is true, has already made known to the sons of the new covenant, in a much more solemn matter, the price of the Blood that redeemed them, its nutritive strength, and the adorng homage is its due. On Good Friday, earth and heaven beheld all sin drowned in the saving stream, whose eternal flood-gates at last gave way beneath the combined effort of man's violence and of the love of the divine Heart. The festival of Corpus Christi witnessed our prostrate worship before the altars whereon is perpetuated the Sacrifice of Calvary, and where the outpouring of the precious Blood affords drink to the humblest little ones, as well as to the mightiest potentates of earth, lowly bowed in adoration before it."

"How is it, then, that holy Church is now inviting all Christians to hail, in a particular manner, the stream of life ever gushing from the sacred fount? What else can this mean, but that the preceding solemnities have by no means exhausted the mystery? The peace which this Blood has made to reign in the high places as well as in the low; the impetus of its wave bearing back the sons of Adam from the yawning gulf, purified, renewed, and dazzling white in the radiance of their heavenly apparel; the sacred Table outspread before them on the waters' brink, and the chalice brimful of inebriation - all this preparation and display would be objectless, all these splendours would be incomprehensible, if man were not brought to see therein the wooings of a love that could never endure its advances to be outdone by the pretensions of any other. Therefore, the Blood of Jesus is set before our eyes at this moment as the Blood of the Testament; the pledge of the alliance proposed to us by God [Exodus 24: 8; Hebrews 9: 20]' the dower stipulated by eternal Wisdom for this divine union to which He is inviting all men, and its consummation in our soul which is being urged forward with such vehemence by the Holy Ghost."

"'Having therefore, brethren, a confidence in entering into the Holies by the Blood of Christ,' says the apostle, 'a new and living way which He hath dedicated for through the veil - that is to say, His flesh - let us draw near with a pure heart in fullness of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with clean water, let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He is faithful that hath promised. Let us consider one another to provoke unto charity and to good works [Hebrews 10: 19-24]. And may the God of peace who brought again from the dead the great Pastor of the sheep, our Lord Jesus Christ, in the Blood of the everlasting Testament, fit you in all goodness, that you may do His will: doing in you that which is well-pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom is glory forever and ever. Amen! [Hebrews 13: 20,21].'"

"Nor must we omit to mention here, that this feast is a monument of one of the most brilliant victories of holy Church in our own age. [Blessed Pope] Pius IX had been driven out from Rome in [November] 1848 by the triumphant revolution; but the following year, just about this season, his power was re-established. Under the aegis of the apostles on June 28 and the two following days, the eldest daughter of the Church [a former nickname for France], faithful to her past glories, swept the ramparts of the eternal city; and on July 2, Mary's festival [the feast of the Visitation on the traditional calendar], the victory was completed. Not long after this, a twofold decree notified to the city and the world the Pontiff's gratitude and the way in which he intended to perpetuate, in the sacred liturgy, the memory of these events."

Feast of Corpus Christi


Feast of Corpus Christi

Thursday after the Feast of the Holy Trinity

Taken from, “Divine Intimacy,” by Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, O.C.D., pp. 599-600.


PRESENSE OF GOD – “The eternal tide flows hid in living bread. That with its heavenly life too be fed...” (J.C. Poems).


MEDITATION


1. We have gone, step by step, in the course of the liturgical year, from the consideration of the mysteries of the life of Jesus to the contemplation of the Blessed Trinity, whose feast we celebrated last Sunday. Jesus, our Mediator, our Way, has taken us by the hand and led us to the Trinity; and today is seems as though the three Persons Themselves wish to take us back to Jesus, considered in His Eucharist. “No man cometh to the Father but by Me” (Fn 14, 6), Jesus said, and He added, “No man can come to Me except the Father...draw him” (ibid. 6, 44). This is the journey of the Christian soul: from Jesus to the Father, to the Trinity; from the Trinity, from the Father, to Jesus. Jesus brings us to the Father, the Father draws us to Jesus. A Christian cannot do without Christ; He is, in the strictest sense of the word, our Pontiff, the great Bridge-builder who has spanned the abyss between God and us. At the end of the liturgical cycle in which we commemorate the mysteries of the Savior, the Church, who like a good Mother knows that our spiritual life cannot subsist without Jesus, leads us to Him, really and truly present in the Most Holy Sacrament of the altar. The solemnity of the Corpus Domini is not just the simple memorial of an historical event which took place almost two thousand years ago at the Last Supper; rather, it recalls us to the ever-present reality of Jesus always living in our midst. We can say, in truth, that He has not “left us orphans,” but has willed to remain permanently with us, in the integrity of His Person in the fullness of His humanity and His divinity. “There is no other nation so great,” the Divine Office enthusiastically sings, “as to have its gods so near as our God is present to us” (RB). In the Eucharist, Jesus is really Emmanuel, God with us.


2. The Eucharist is not only Jesus actually living among us, but it is Jesus become our Food. This is the chief aspect under which today’s liturgy presents the mystery to us; there is no part of the Mass which does not treat of it directly, or which does not, at least, make some allusion to it. The Introit refers to it when it mentions the wheat and honey with which God once fed the Hebrews in the desert, a miraculous food, and yet a very poor representation of the living, life-giving Bread of the Eucharist. The Epistle (1 Cor 11, 23-29) speaks of it, recalling the institution of this Sacrament, when Jesus “took bread, and giving thanks, broke, and said, ‘Take ye, and eat; this is My Body’”; the Gradual chants, “’The eyes of all hope in You, O Lord, and You give them meat in due season”. The very beautiful Sequence, Lauda Sion, celebrates it at length, and the Gospel (Fn 6, 56-59), echoing the Alleluia, cites the most significant passage in the discourse when Jesus Himself announced the Eucharist. “My Flesh is meat indeed, and My Blood is drink indeed”. The Communion Hymn repeats a sentence of the Epistle, and reminds us that we receive the Body of the Lord worthily. Finally, the Postcommunion tells us that Eucharistic Communion is the pledge of eternal communion, in heaven. But in order to have a better understanding of the immense value of the Eucharist, we must go back to the very words of Jesus, most opportunely recalled in the Gospel of the day, “He that eateth My Flesh and drinketh My Blood, abideth in Me and I in him”. Jesus made Himself our food in order to assimilate us to Himself, to make us live in His life, to make us live in Him, as He Himself lives in His Father. The Eucharist is truly the most convincing proof that God calls us and pleads with us to come to intimate union with Himself.

The Blessed Eucharist

The Blessed Eucharist
Our Greatest Treasure
by
Fr. Michale Muller, C.S.S.R.


In "The Blessed Eucharist," Father Michael Muller describes how Christ's love for us moved Him to create this most beautiful Sacrament. He explains why Our Lord veils Himself in the appearance of bread - a garment so humble He is little known, little loved even neglected and insulted. Fr. Muller helps the reader discover what a treasure the Sacrament is, sharing countless compelling accounts of miracles involving the Eucharist, quotations from Scripture and the Saints reflecting the virtues that can be obtained from Communion worthily received and the consequences of an unworthy reception of Our Lord. He instructs the reader on how to best prepare for receiving the Sacrament, and how to properly offer thanksgiving afterwards. "The Blessed Eucharist" awakens a deeper awareness of the incredible gift that God has given us in His Presence in the Eucharist, allowing us to embrace all the wondrous fruits this Sacrament has to offer.






Note from The Saint's Administrator:
This book is so beautiful! This is such a wonderful work that I recommend it to all who wish to increase their devotion to Our Blessed Lord in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Alter and who wish to know Him better in the Most Blessed Eucharist! This book made me realized how much lack of devotion there is in myself and in the world towards our Savior as He is in the Eucharist. Fr. Muller really helps us to see Our Lord therein and to increase our love for Him in this Holy Sacrament. We forget how much is in the tiny piece of consecrated Host. We forget that it is Our Lord-Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity-and that it isn't just a piece of bread. Think of what we have, we receive Our Lord Jesus Christ, the real gold, the real food on earth for our souls. The only Article (before the Rosary) that can release souls from Purgatory and Who can give us all that we ask for (as long as it is good for our souls). This Sacrament was the sanctification of the Saints and conversion of many souls.



So, I highly recommend this book!



God bless!



Rita, The Saint's Administrator
http://TheSaintsStories.blogspot.com/