This blog is based on references in the Bible to fear. God wills that we “BE NOT AFRAID”. Many theologians state that the eighth deadly sin is fear. It is fear and its natural animal reaction to fight or flight that is the root cause of our failings to create a Kingdom of God on earth. By “the power of the Holy Spirit” we can be witnesses and “communicators” of a new and redeemed humanity “even to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:7 8). This blog is dedicated to Mary the Mother of God.
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Tuesday, November 10, 2020
DAY 2 - HOLY MOTHER OF GOD, PRAY THAT WE RECEIVE THE VIRTUE OF FAITH!
GOD'S WORD
"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." (Hebrews 11:1)
HEROES' WORDS
"To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible." -Attributed to St. Thomas Aquinas
MEDITATION
The theological virtues are the foundation of Christian moral activity; they animate it and give it its special character. They inform and give life to all the moral virtues. They are infused by God into the souls of the faithful to make them capable of acting as his children and of meriting eternal life. They are the pledge of the presence and action of the Holy Spirit in the faculties of the human being. There are three theological virtues: faith, hope, and charity (CCC 1813). Faith is the theological virtue by which we believe in God and believe all that he has said and revealed to us, and that Holy Church proposes for our belief, because he is truth itself.
By faith "man freely commits his entire self to God." For this reason the believer seeks to know and do God's will. "The righteous shall live by faith." Living faith "work[s] through charity" (CCC 1814). "Our faith must be complete. We completely submit our intellect and will to God. Our faith therefore illuminates our daily life. Our fallen race inherits from its first parents a propensity to sin, but our constant objective must be to live as Holy Mother Church teaches. We seek to live by the theological and cardinal virtues. We consciously avoid the seven capital sins. We go to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass every day if possible, or every Sunday at minimum. We go to Confession every month if possible. We do all this because we have faith that the Catholic Church has Christ's authority to teach us how to prepare for heaven."
PRAY A ROSARY
Choose either:
Rosary of the Day: Sorrowful Mysteries
Traditional 54 Day Rotation: Sorrowful Mysteries
PRAYERS FOR TRADITIONAL 54 DAY NOVENA
THE SORROWFUL 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, blood red roses to remind thee of the passion of thy divine Son, with Whom thou didst so fully partake of its bitterness, 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 blood red roses to remind thee of the passion of thy divine Son, with Whom thou didst so fully partake of its bitterness 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.
The Agony in the Garden - Our Father, 10 Hail Marys, Glory Be.
Concluding Prayer: I bind these blood red roses with a petition for the virtue of resignation to the will of God and humbly lay this bouquet at thy feet.
The Scourging at the Pillar - Our Father, 10 Hail Marys, Glory Be.
Concluding Prayer: I bind these blood red roses with a petition for the virtue of mortification and humbly lay this bouquet at thy feet.
The Crowning with Thorns - Our Father, 10 Hail Marys, Glory Be.
Concluding Prayer: I bind these blood red roses with a petition for the virtue of humility and humbly lay this bouquet at thy feet.
The Carrying of the Cross - Our Father, 10 Hail Marys, Glory Be.
Concluding Prayer: I bind these blood red roses with a petition for the virtue of patience in adversity and humbly lay this bouquet at thy feet.
The Crucifixion - Our Father, 10 Hail Marys, Glory Be.
Concluding Prayer: I bind these blood red roses with a petition for the virtue of love of our enemies 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: May truth be revealed, and may America and the Catholic Church become strong in God's power. - Ephesians 6:10
All of the daily Novena Prayers and Reflections are also posted at usgraceforce.com
19 For while your obedience is known
to all, so that I rejoice over you, I want you to be wise as to what is good,
and simple as to what is evil;20 then the God of PEACE will
quickly crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our
Lord Jesus be with you.
Not fear but
revere!This is Holy fear which
acknowledges, He that is, and that we exist in and through Him by the saving
grace of Christ and the action of the Holy Spirit. The opposite of revere is to
despise. There are many in our country and world who despise the Lord. How did
this come about? According to the US Army Leadership manual[1]
followers tend to ask two questions:1)
Is the leader powerful? 2) Does he care about me?
To
get to Holy fear we must know that God has power (thus acting accordingly by
following his commandments) and know that He cares about us. To not do this we
will fear, tolerate or despise our Lord but if we acknowledge His power and His
love we will have reverence and according to the second part of this verse,
“Glory will dwell in our land.”
When we know that in truth that God does care about us and that He has
real power over us we trust and respect Him and are at peace!
The national votive shrine of our lady of prompt succor
serves God and all God’s people as the center of devotion to the Mother of
Jesus under the title of Our Lady of Prompt Succor—Our Lady of Quick
Help. The Shrine is a place of pilgrimage, worship and prayer. It
welcomes all who try to live in faith and love, with a special commitment to
those whose hope and trust in Mary lead them to seek her motherly care and
consolation. Since 1727, long before her statue arrived on November 10th,1810
and was enshrined in the Ursuline Convent Chapel in the French Quarter,
devotion to Notre Dame de Prompt Secours had spread among the Ursuline
Sisters, their students and the women and men of New Orleans. Prayers for
deliverance from wars, fire, pestilence, disease, storms, despair and
hopelessness were made to Our Lady of Prompt Succor. In 1815, in gratitude for
the miracle of America's victory over the British in the Battle of New Orleans,
the Ursulines, along with Bishop Louis Du Bourg, made a promise to celebrate a
Mass of Thanksgiving each year on the feast day of Our Lady of Prompt
Succor, January 8. In 2015, that promise was observed for the
200 time! In 1895, the statue, gilded in gold, was crowned by Decree of
His Holiness, Pope Leo XIII; and in 1928, the Holy See approved and confirmed
the naming of Our Lady of Prompt Succor as the Principal Patroness of the City
of New Orleans and of the State of Louisiana. Standing in the central niche
over the main altar on State Street, she welcomes all who come to honor her, to
thank her for intercession, and to pray for her help and protection, not only
from global wars and devastating storms, but, also, in overcoming greater
enemies…poverty, illness, ignorance, racism and violence.
“The hour is coming, in fact has come, when the
vocation of woman is being acknowledged in its fullness, the hour in which
women acquire in the world an influence, an effect, and a power never hitherto
achieved. That is why, at this moment when the human race is undergoing so deep
a transformation, women impregnated with a spirit of the Gospel can do so much
to aid humanity in not falling.” (Closing speeches Vatican Council II,
12/8/65).
Mother Mary is a perfect role model for all women, of
course, but for women who work in particular. According to St. Louis de
Montfort, Mary has principle virtues, which when practiced help to lead us to
her Son and create a home and world that celebrates the greatness of the Lord.
·Profound Humility: Are you focused
on others more than yourself? Do you recognize the work of the team, or are you
taking credit for the work? Do you care who gets the credit? Does this impact
the way you treat others?
·Ardent Charity: How can you
demonstrate great love at work? This is not the same love as a spousal love, of
course. How do you approach your employees? Your supervisors? Your clients?
Your customers? Is your approach focused on valuing a relationship more than a
material good? Are you able to articulate information and ideas in a mutually
respectful way?
·Angelic Sweetness: Is your approach
nurturing and relational? Do you avoid calumniation of fellow co-workers and supervisors?
Even when difficult, do you respond to others at work by extending grace and
mercy?
·Heroic Patience: Do you really
listen at work? Are you able to rise above a situation in order to assist
others as they learn new tasks? Do you hold your temper or judgment about your
supervisor when you disagree with them? Are you willing in your attitude to
seek understanding of others, even when it is difficult?
·Divine Wisdom: Recalling your
baptism, and especially your confirmation, do you recall and use the gifts of
the Holy Spirit in your work decisions? Do you pray for guidance? Do you seek
Biblical and Church tradition answers and solutions? Do you show gratitude to
God when you recognize divine wisdom at work?
Mary’s virtues bring us to a very feminine leadership
style: one steeped in relationship building, not shying away from truth or
faith, but approaching others in grace. When practiced at work, these virtues
of Our Lady can lead us to Holiness and a fulfilled leadership at the job.
THE
word Purgatory is sometimes taken to mean a place, sometimes as an intermediate
state between Hell and Heaven. It is, properly speaking, the condition of souls
which, at the moment of death, are in the state of grace, but which have not
completely expiated their faults, nor attained the degree of purity necessary
to enjoy the vision of God. Purgatory is, then, a transitory state which
terminates in a life of everlasting happiness. It is not a trial by which merit
may be gained or lost, but a state of atonement and expiation. The soul has
arrived at the term of its earthly career; that life was a time of trial, a
time of merit for the soul, a time of mercy on the part of God. This time once
expired, nothing but justice is to be expected from God, whilst the soul can
neither gain nor lose merit. She remains in the state in which death found her;
and since it found her in the state of sanctifying grace, she is certain of never forfeiting that happy state, and
of arriving at the eternal possession of God. Nevertheless, since she is
burdened with certain debts of temporal punishment, she must satisfy Divine Justice by enduring this punishment in its
entire rigor. Such is the significance of the word Purgatory, and the condition
of the souls which are there. On this subject the Church proposes two truths
clearly defined as dogmas of faith: first, that there is a Purgatory; second
that the souls which are in Purgatory may be assisted by the suffrages of the
faithful, especially by the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
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