DAY 36 - MARY, COMFORTER OF THE AFFLICTED, PRAY FOR US
SUPERIOR IDEAL
Among the ways we have just let Coach Vince Lombardi inspire us, let's focus on the most important one: He went to Mass and received Communion every day of his life. Pope John Paul II said the Holy Eucharist "contains the Church's entire spiritual wealth: Christ Himself."
Precisely during a time when our culture was becoming disconnected from their True Source, Vince Lombardi remained firmly and wholly connected to his. No matter what Lombardi dedicated himself to, he never abandoned his true self as a child of God and devoted disciple of Jesus Christ. More than anything, he understood the necessity of receiving God's Divine Life, as he brought himself, daily, to the altar of our Lord to receive him - body, blood, soul, and divinity - as the real source of power in his life. This was where his energy, his very life came from. Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen once said, "As a man must be born before he can begin to lead his physical life, so he must be born to lead a Divine Life. That birth occurs in the Sacrament of Baptism. To survive, he must be nourished by Divine Life; that is done in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist."
There is no other authentic way to strive for perfection. Lombardi recognized this as the superior ideal that must never be abandoned, but interwoven into all of our pursuits, whether it is as a businessman or parent or professor or coach.
Vince Lombardi lived profoundly by God at the exact time our culture was unraveling and when it was all too easy to abandon God (as it continues to be today). How easy it was (and is) for so many to follow the crowd through the wide gate (Mt 7:13) of the many fads and trends of immorality, self-gratification, and anti-authority in the 1960s and up to today. Lombardi is yet another reminder that the real heroes of every age are those brave souls who courageously accept the challenge of integrity by ignoring the trends of their times while remaining true to themselves, even if it means being a signum cui contradicetur, a sign of contradiction, in the world (Lk 2:34). (Excerpt from Church Militant Field Manual).
PRAY A ROSARY
Choose either:
Rosary of the Day: Joyful Mysteries
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 bast 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: May truth be revealed, and may America and the Catholic Church become strong in God's power. - Ephesians 6:10
Please consider adding these prayers, until the election is called (more information HERE):
Fr. Ripperger's Recommended Prayers for
Breaking Oppression and Sending Back Evil
Until the Election is Called
Consecration of One's Exterior Goods to the Blessed Virgin Mary
(This prayer is particularly useful for breaking various forms of oppression. By relinquishing what belongs to us into the hands of the Blessed Virgin, Satan cannot touch them. This is a strong prayer of protection on you and yours):
I; (Name), a faithless sinner, renew and ratify today in thy hands the vows of my Baptism; I renounce forever Satan, his pomps and works; and I give myself entirely to Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Wisdom, to carry my cross after Him all the days of my life, and to be more faithful to Him than I have ever been before. In the presence of all the heavenly court, I choose thee, O Mary, this day for my Mother and Mistress. Knowing that I have received rights over all my exterior goods by the promulgation of the Natural Law by the Divine Author, I deliver and consecrate to thee, as thy slave, all of my exterior goods, past, present and future; I relinquish into thy hands, my Heavenly Mother, all rights over my exterior goods, including our President, the fairness, honesty and accuracy of the outcome of the election, and our country and I retain for myself no right of disposing the goods that come to me but leave to thee the entire and full right of disposing of all that belongs to me, without exception, according to thy good pleasure, for the greater glory of God in time and in eternity. As I now interiorly relinquish what belongs to me exteriorly into thy hands, I entrust to thee the protection of those exterior goods against the evil one, so that, knowing that they now belong to thee, he cannot touch them. Receive, O good and pious Virgin, this little offering of what little is, in honor of, and in union with, that subjection which the Eternal Wisdom deigned to have to Thy maternity; in homage to the power which both of You have over this poor sinner, and in thanksgiving for the privileges with which the Holy Trinity has favored thee. Trusting in the providential care of God the Father and thy maternal care, I have full confidence that thou wilst take care of me as to the necessities of this life and will not leave me forsaken. God the Father, increase my trust in Thy Son's Mother; Our Lady of Fair Love, give me perfect confidence in the providence of Thy Son. Amen.
Sending Evil Back
(Fr. Chad Ripperger comments that the following prayer may appear harsh, in that it seems to seek evil befall on another, yet it is meant to expose evil and to teach that evil does not win. And, in fact, choosing evil will, eventually, lead to bad repercussions)
Jesus and Mary, I ask that if it be Your Holy Will, that any curses or evil sent against the President or the election process be sent back from whence they came.
All of the daily Novena Prayers and Reflections are also posted at usgraceforce.com
Those who would like to pray with others via The Telephone Rosary, call 1-951-799-9866 daily at 6 pm Eastern.
Monday of the Third Week in Advent
St. john of the
cross-roast chestnuts day
1
Corinthians, Chapter 2, Verse 9-10
9 But as it is written:
“What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and what has not entered the
human heart, what God has prepared for those who LOVE him,”10 this God has revealed to us through
the Spirit.
The world can never recognize the
wisdom of the cross. The other day while sitting in my church for mass it was
revealed to me the wisdom of the cross. As the Eucharistic celebration was
being conducted, I was admiring our church and as I gazed on the altar I notice
we had the cross which represented Christ dead for our sins. Behind the cross
lit up with the sun waning was the stained glass of Christ ascending to the
Father. I asked interiorly where the representation of Christ resurrected is?
Then almost immediately an interior voice stated, “You are the representation
of Christ resurrected.” At first, I withdrew from the idea, sinner that I am.
Then I knew that this was the divine wisdom that we physically and spiritually
become the resurrected Christ to our families, neighbors, our friends and even
dare I say our enemies. May God’s will and wisdom be done!
Amoris Lætitia[1]Passionate love, God loves the joy of his children (147-149)
Pope Benedict
XVI summed up joy of the church which families conformed in love should mirror “Doesn’t
the Church, with all her commandments and prohibitions, turn to bitterness the
most precious thing in life? Doesn’t she blow the whistle just when the joy
which is the Creator’s gift offers us a happiness which is itself a certain
foretaste of the Divine?” He responded that, although there have been
exaggerations and deviant forms of asceticism in Christianity, the Church’s
official teaching, in fidelity to the Scriptures, did not reject “eros as
such, but rather declared war on a warped and destructive form of it, because
this counterfeit divinization of eros… actually strips it of divine
dignity and dehumanizes it.”
Training
in the areas of emotion and instinct is necessary, and at times this requires
setting limits. Excess, lack of control or obsession with a single form of
pleasure can end up weakening and tainting that very pleasure and damaging
family life. A person can certainly channel his passions in a beautiful and
healthy way, increasingly pointing them towards altruism and an integrated self-fulfillment
that can only enrich interpersonal relationships in the heart of the family.
This does not mean renouncing moments of intense enjoyment, but rather
integrating them with other moments of generous commitment, patient hope, inevitable
weariness and struggle to achieve an ideal. Family life is all this and it
deserves to be lived to the fullest. Some currents of spirituality teach that
desire has to be eliminated as a path to liberation from pain. Yet we believe
that God loves the enjoyment felt by
human beings: he created us and “richly furnishes us with everything to enjoy”
(1 Tim 6:17). Let us be glad when with great love he tells us: “My son,
treat yourself well…Do not deprive yourself of a happy day” (Sir 14:11-14).
Married couples likewise respond to God’s will when they take up the biblical
injunction: “Be joyful in the day of prosperity” (Ec 7:14). What is important is to have the freedom to
realize that pleasure can find different expressions at different times of
life, in accordance with the needs of mutual love. In this sense, we can
appreciate the teachings of some Eastern masters who urge us to expand our
consciousness, lest we be imprisoned by one limited experience that can blind
us. This expansion of consciousness is not the denial or destruction of desire
so much as it’s broadening and perfection.
Read: St.
John of the Cross, who we honor today, was known for his deep spirituality
and compassion.
Reflect: "We
must dig deeply in Christ. He is like a rich mine with many pockets containing
treasures: however deep we dig we will never find their end or their limit.
Indeed, in every pocket new seams of fresh riches are discovered on all
sides." —St. John of the Cross
Act: Brainstorm
ideas for how you can live out your call to "imbue every area of social
life with the spirit of the Gospel" as an active citizen. For ideas, visit
the Faithful Citizenship website.
In the chill of December,
there’s one warming treat that is especially popular across the world to keep
the cold away. Roasted chestnuts are often seen this time of year being cooked
by street vendors, and the earthy, spicy scent is more than enough to get
anyone into the Christmas spirit. On the 14th of December, it’s time to honor
the humble chestnut. Or specifically, mark the time-honored tradition of
roasting chestnuts round about the season of good cheer. Roast Chestnut’s day
is a relatively new day in the calendar, but the practice of roasting chestnuts
has been around for donkey’s years. Although it’s hard to pinpoint exactly when
they started to become so popular, historians pencil the 16th century in as
being a turning point, when the nuts would be sold by street vendors to anyone
wanting a quick and warming snack. It has also long been a tradition in
Portugal to eat them roasted on Saint Martin’s Day, and in Tuscany on Saint
Simon’s Day. When chestnuts are carefully roasted, the natural sweetness of the
nut is revealed. This makes them an ideal snack if you want something to stave
off a sweet tooth that also happens to be quite nutritious, chestnuts being
comparatively low in calories and being a good source of fibre. They are also
very rich in vitamin C, which may come as a surprise to you. Although they are
technically nuts, they taste very unlike other nuts – the sweet, earthy
taste is certainly worth a try if you’ve never had one before – and Roast
Chestnuts Day is the perfect time to try that first one. Chestnuts are often
roasted on a grill, which helps to remove their bitter, shiny skins, but you
can make them at home using your conventional kitchen oven. All you need to do
is cut a cross into each nut, put them on a roasting tin and bake them until
the skins open. They are eaten after peeling away that tough, shiny skin.
How to Celebrate Roast Chestnuts
Day
·It’s
so, so easy to make roast chestnuts, so why not roast up a batch for yourself
on the 14th December? Have them as a snack on their own, add them to stuffing
or pair them with roasted beef.
·And
you’ll be able to find them in most supermarkets during the festive season, so
you won’t have to go foraging for them in the woods!
From LatinAlcyone, daughter of Aeolus and wife of Ceyx. When her
husband died in a shipwreck, Alcyone threw herself into the sea
whereupon the gods transformed them both into halcyon birds (kingfishers). When Alcyone made her nest on the beach, waves threatened to
destroy it. Aeolus restrained his winds and kept them calm during seven
days in each year, so she could lay her eggs. These became known as the
"halcyon days," when storms do not occur. Today, the term is used to
denote a past period that is being remembered for being happy and/or
successful.
Today reflect on seven successes or happy times of the
year then pick one to thank Our Lord for and offer to Our Lord an appropriate
gift for it for his birth!
A special devotion that can be performed during Advent to
prepare for the coming of the Infant Savior. It can be adapted for adults
and/or children and applied as is appropriate to your state in life.
·4th day, December 14th: THE ROOF—Self-denial
Today we must practice self-denial in everything great or small. We must
therefore do the very things from which nature shrinks, and if opportunity permits,
abstain from some amusement in whatever way it presents itself. No TV today
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