Wednesday, August 26, 2020

 

DAY 12 - MOTHER OF GOOD COUNSEL, PRAY THAT WE RECEIVE THE GIFT OF FORTITUDE!

GOD'S WORD

"The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" (Psalm 27:1)

"When I am afraid, I will trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me?" (Psalm 56:3-4)

"For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, 'Abba, Father.'" (Romans 8:15)

"Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong." (1 Corinthians 16:13)

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline." (2 Timothy 1:7)

"There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love." (1 John 4:18)

HEROES' WORDS

"The principal act of courage is to endure and withstand dangers doggedly rather than to attack them" -St. Thomas Aquinas

MEDITATION

The Gift of Fortitude: One of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit; it gives a person a special strength of will. This gift confers an extraordinary readiness to undergo trials for love of God or in fulfillment of the divine will; unusual courage to bear difficulties even for many years; firmness in carrying arduous tasks to their completion; perseverance in a lifetime fidelity to one's vocation in spite of heavy trials or disappointments sent by God; and gladness in being privileged to suffer persecution or humiliation in union with Christ and for the sake of his name. (Fr. John Hardon, Modern Catholic Dictionary)

PRAY A ROSARY

Choose either:

1. Rosary of the Day: Glorious Mysteries
2. Traditional 54 Day Rotation: Glorious Mysteries

PRAYERS FOR TRADITIONAL 54 DAY NOVENA

THE GLORIOUS MYSTERIES OF THE HOLY ROSARY

Prayer before the recitation: Sign of the cross. Hail Mary.

In petition (first 27 days): Hail, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, my Mother Mary, hail! At thy feet I humbly kneel to offer thee a Crown of Roses, full-blown white roses, tinged with the red of the passion, to remind thee of thy glories, fruits of the sufferings of thy Son and thee, each rose recalling to thee a holy mystery, each 10 bound together with my petition for a particular grace. O Holy Queen, dispenser of God's graces, and Mother of all who invoke thee! Thou canst not look upon my gift and fail to see its binding. As thou receivest my gift, so wilt thou receive my petition; from thy bounty thou wilt give me the favor I so earnestly and trustingly seek. I despair of nothing that I ask of thee. Show thyself my Mother!

In thanksgiving (last 27 days):Hail, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, my Mother Mary, hail! At thy feet I gratefully kneel to offer thee a Crown of Roses full blown white roses, tinged with the red of the passion, to remind thee of thy glories, fruits of the sufferings of thy Son and thee each rose recalling to thee a holy mystery; each ten bound together with my petition for a particular grace. O Holy Queen, dispenser of God s graces, and Mother of all who invoke thee! thou canst not look upon my gift and fail to see its binding. As thou receivest my gift, so wilt thou receive my thanksgiving; from thy bounty thou hast given me the favor I so earnestly and trustingly sought. I despaired not of what I asked of thee, and thou hast truly shown thyself my Mother.

Say: The Apostles' Creed, Our Father, 3 Hail Marys, Glory Be.

For each of the following Mysteries, say: Our Father, 10 Hail Marys, Glory Be.

The Resurrection - Our Father, 10 Hail Marys, Glory Be.

Concluding Prayer: I bind these full-blown roses with a petition for the virtue of faith and humbly lay this bouquet at thy feet.

The Ascension - Our Father, 10 Hail Marys, Glory Be.

Concluding Prayer: I bind these full-blown roses with a petition for the virtue of hope and humbly lay this bouquet at thy feet.

The Descent of the Holy Spirit - Our Father, 10 Hail Marys, Glory Be.

Concluding Prayer: I bind these full-blown roses with a petition for the virtue of charity and humbly lay this bouquet at thy feet.

The Assumption of Mary - Our Father, 10 Hail Marys, Glory Be.

Concluding Prayer: I bind these full-blown roses with a petition for the virtue of union with Christ and humbly lay this bouquet at thy feet.

The Coronation of the Blessed Mother - Our Father, 10 Hail Marys, Glory Be.

Concluding Prayer: I bind these full-blown roses with a petition for the virtue of union with thee and humbly lay this bouquet at thy feet.

Say: The Hail Holy Queen.

Spiritual Communion: My Jesus, I believe that You are present in the Most Holy Sacrament. I love You above all things, and I desire to receive You into my soul. Since I cannot at this moment receive You sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace You as if You were already there and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You. Amen.

In petition (first 27 days): Sweet Mother Mary, I offer thee this spiritual communion to bind my bouquets in a wreath to place upon thy brow. O my Mother! Look with favor upon my gift, and in thy love obtain for me (specify request, see below). Hail Mary ...

In thanksgiving (last 27 days): Sweet Mother Mary, I offer thee this Spiritual Communion to bind my bouquets in a wreath to place upon thy brow in thanksgiving for (specify request, see below) which thou in thy love hast obtained for me. Hail, Mary, etc.

PETITION: For the protection and provision for the USA and the world. Mary, Queen of Peace, pray for us!

 

All of the daily Novena Prayers and Reflections are also posted at usgraceforce.com

Spanish language Novena prayers and reflections are available at https://rosarycoasttocoast.com/nfon-espanol/.

Those who would like to pray with others via The Telephone Rosary, call 1-951-799-9866 daily at 6 pm Eastern.

OUR LADY OF CZESTOCHOWA

 Psalm 128, Verse 1-4:

¹ Blessed are all who FEAR the LORD, and who walk in his ways. ² What your hands provide you will enjoy; you will be blessed and prosper: ³ Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your home, your children like young olive plants around your table.⁴ Just so will the man be blessed who FEARS the LORD.

 

Those who fear the Lord work to not react to their feelings but act from the principle of God’s unconditional love to empower others even at personal cost. They practice the three cardinal virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity. The act of blessing works both ways and bless’ all; both those who receive and those who give.

 

This psalm is a statement that the ever-reliable God will bless the reverent. God’s blessing is concrete: satisfaction and prosperity, a fertile spouse and abundant children. The perspective is that of the adult male, ordinarily the ruler and representative of the household to the community. The last verses extend the blessing to all the people for generations to come.[1]

 

Our Lady of Czestochowa (The Black Madonna)[2]

 

While stationed in the Army I was responsible for the security and protection of ammunition depots which for the most part was protected by the Polish Labor Service. Interacting with men who always professed great devotion to Our Lady of Czestochowa.

The image of Our Lady of Czestochowa, also known as the Black Madonna, was traditionally believed to have been painted by St. Luke the Evangelist on a cypress wood panel from a table used by the Holy Family in Nazareth. It was said to have been brought from Jerusalem by St. Helen and was enshrined in Constantinople for 500 years. It was given to a Greek princess married to a Ruthenian nobleman and it was housed in the royal palace at Belz in the Ukraine for the next 600 years. Art historians believe it is a Byzantine icon of the Hodigitria type dating from the 6th - 9th Century. The image was brought to Poland in 1382 by Ladislaus of Opole who rescued the painting from Belz while escaping an attack by the Tartars who had damaged the painting with an arrow. On his way to Silesia, Ladislaus stopped to rest in the town of Czestochowa near the church on Jasna Góra (Bright Hill). He believed that it was Our Lady’s desire for her image to remain in Czestochowa so he left the image at the church and invited the Pauline monks from Hungary to be its guardians.

On April 14, 1430, robbers, sometimes associated with the Hussites of Bohemia, looted the monastery and made three slashes on the face of Our Lady in an attempt to remove valuable stones, finally smashing the image into three pieces. In order to repair the icon, the original paint was removed, and the icon was repainted. Although the icon was restored, the slashes in Our Lady’s face remain visible today.

The image of Our Lady of Czestochowa is associated with several miraculous events. One of the most spectacular occurred in 1655 during the height of the Protestant Revolution. The Swedish Lutheran army invaded Poland winning victories over the city after city including Cracow and Warsaw. The Polish King fled the country. When the Swedish army came to Jasna Góra hoping to plunder the sacred site, the monks refused to surrender although they were greatly outnumbered. The following account is from the Polish historian Norman Davies as quoted in Warren Carroll’s series on Christianity.

“When negotiations brought no result, the Swedes began a violent bombardment of the walls. Then, in order to spread fear among the defenders, they started to hurl blazing firebrands, setting the monastery’s barn alight together with a great quantity of corn. Next, all around the monastery, they set up a camp with wooden palisades and gun emplacements…But their attack had little effect. The walls were banked with earth on the inside, and only the cannon displaced a few bricks. Before long, the defenders opened fire in reply. The aim of their gunners was so accurate that after three hours the Swedes were obliged to pull back with great loss. Meanwhile, the inhabitants of houses adjacent to the monastery, where the enemy had found shelter, set their homes on fire, not counting the cost. The Swedes renewed their attack on the 19th of November, the day of the Transfiguration of the Virgin…the official printed a description of this siege, which records that bullets and missiles fell so thick on the church and tower that they seemed to be in flames. But…the cannon balls bounced off the walls and tiles or flew over the church roof, causing no damage….Muller (the Swedish commander) was most angered by the monks, who would climb to the top of the tower and in full choir pour down pious hymns on his soldiers…Jasna Góra was not saved by men…A thick mist screened the monastery from attack…Muller himself saw a Lady in a shining robe on the walls, priming the cannon and tossing shells back in the direction from which they came…He (General Muller) launched this last attack on Christmas Day, firing off all his guns in one salvo, and sending his entire army to storm the walls…But at that very moment, he suffered a fatal accident. He was eating breakfast in a fairly distant house, and cursing Jasna Góra with blasphemies, when suddenly an iron shot penetrated the wall, knocked down all the plates, bottles and glasses from the table, scattered the guests, and struck him in the arm…At last, in the night before St. Stephen’s Day, the Swedes started to drag the guns from their emplacements, to collect their equipment, and to direct their wagons in the direction of Klobuck…Of course, no heretic will believe that cannon balls were repulsed from the walls of Jasna Góra by supernatural means…but all that I have described is true.”

The victory of Our Lady of Czestochowa at Jasna Góra turned the tide of the war. In 1656, the Polish King Jan Casimir proclaimed the Mother of God the “Queen of the Polish Crown” and the shrine at Jasna Góra, the “Mount of Victory” and the spiritual capital of Poland. In recognition of the miraculous image, Pope Clement XI donated a crown to be placed on the image in 1717. Thieves stole the bejeweled crown in 1909. Pope St. Pius X replaced the 1717 crown with a crown of gold.

Our Lady intervened again in 1920 when the Russian army was about to invade Warsaw. As they were about to cross the Vistula River on September 15th, the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, the image of Our Lady of Czestochowa appeared in the clouds over Warsaw and the Russian Army retreated. Shortly after this Miracle of the Vistula, in 1925, Pope Pius XI designated May 3rd as the feast day of Our Lady of Czestochowa.

After the liberation of Poland from Nazi occupation, 1.5 million people gathered at Jasna Góra in 1945 to rededicate the nation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Pope John Paul II visited the image of Our Lady of Czestochowa four times during his pontificate. Our Lady’s intercession is credited with the liberation of Poland from Communist rule.

The holy painting enshrined at Czestochowa has been a lighthouse of hope during centuries of hardship and defeat. Today, the Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa attracts millions of who love and honor Our Lady’s intercession.

Things to Do:

• Make a virtual visit to the National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa
• Read A Brief History of the Image of Czestochowa
• Read Who is 'the Black Madonna' and why is she so important?
• Listen to this sermon on the story of Our Lady Czestochowa

Every Wednesday is Dedicated to St. Joseph

The Italian culture has always had a close association with St. Joseph perhaps you could make Wednesdays centered around Jesus’s Papa. Plan an Italian dinner of pizza or spaghetti after attending Mass as most parishes have a Wednesday evening Mass. You could even do carry out to help restaurants. If you are adventurous you could do the Universal Man Plan: St. Joseph style. Make the evening a family night perhaps it could be a game night. Whatever you do make the day special.

·         Do the St. Joseph Universal Man Plan.

·         Do Day 1 of the Consecration to St. Joseph.

 

Daily Devotions

·         Litany of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus

·         Offering to the sacred heart of Jesus

·         Make reparations to the Holy Face

·         Drops of Christ’s Blood

·         Rosary

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[1]http://usccb.org/bible/psalms/128

[2]https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2019-08-26