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.
Tuesday, December 22, 2020
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DAY 44 - MARY, QUEEN OF ALL SAINTS, PRAY FOR US
"CAN'T QUIT - WON'T FAIL - PUT ME IN THE FIGHT!"
The Soldier's Creed of the United States Army states: "I am disciplined, physically and mentally tough, trained and proficient in my warrior tasks and drills." Former Navy SEAL Eric Greitens said: "One of the things that makes a warrior into a warrior is that they are dedicated to developing their strength in service to others."
Whether it's a Navy SEAL or a saint, we admire those who put it all on the line - go "all in!" - those who are totally dedicated to the mission. In the military, this dedication is revealed in the Warrior Ethos, four simple lines embedded in the Soldier's Creed:
I will always place the mission first.
I will never accept defeat.
I will never quit.
I will never leave a fallen comrade.
Sustained and developed through discipline, commitment, and pride, these four lines motivate every soldier to persevere and, ultimately, to refuse defeat. What would happen if we dedicated ourselves to the training and mission of Jesus Christ with the same intensity Eric Greitens and his comrades dedicated themselves to the "Warrior Ethos" and to their training to become Navy SEALs? What is keeping us from becoming, in essence, SEALS for Christ?
We must learn the special operations (special ops) techniques and procedures for search and rescue missions of fallen comrades (those who have become weak in their faith). Although rarely wielded by the Catholics today, this supernatural strength and these techniques are truly authentic gifts of the Church that are field-tested and battle-hardened. We must commit ourselves to their restoration if we ever hope to stem the tide of evil and rescue our lost loved ones who may be destined for eternal damnation. (Excerpt from Church Militant Field Manual).
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
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.
Tuesday in the Fourth Week of Advent
Acts,
Chapter 11, Verse 23-24
23 When he arrived and saw the grace of
God, he rejoiced and encouraged them all to remain FAITHFUL to the Lord in firmness of heart, 24
for he was a good man,
filled with the Holy Spirit and FAITH.
And a large number of people was added to the Lord.
The church grows because of the grace
of God established a principle that Christ accepts all whether gentile or Jew
as long as they remain faithful to the beatitudes and the teachings of the
church with a firmness of heart. Antioch and Syria were the seedbed of the
saints and martyrs in this time as it is now. Be firm.
Every Christmas although the same in many ways is
always new for each Christmas expresses a hope learned from a lifetime of
praising God. For every Christmas if we open our eyes to truth, we will see the
handiwork of God; the rock of our salvation. Perhaps in these final days of
anticipation it would do us well to reflect on the virtues of Mary Christ’s
very own mother and in these final days in some way reflect them in our own
lives.
Mary
carried Jesus in her womb with great patience. As a child I remember Christmas
was always a great strain on my patience. Can you imagine the strain on this
poor young girl from Nazareth? She of course could not have done this without
first having the virtues of humility, generosity, and a chase heart which led
her to have great patience.
Patience the courage of a serene soul
This world being a place of merit is
rightly called a valley of tears; for we are all placed in it to suffer, that
we may, by patience, gain our own souls unto life eternal, as our Lord
Himself says, In your patience you
shall possess your souls. [Luke 21 19] God gave us the Blessed Virgin Mary as a model of
all virtues, but more especially as an example of patience. St. Francis
de Sales, amongst other things, remarks, that it was precisely for this reason
that at the marriage-feast of Cana Jesus Christ gave the Blessed Virgin an
answer, by which He seemed to value her prayers but little: Woman, what is that to thee and to Me? [John 2:4]
And He did this that He might give us
the example of the patience of His most holy Mother. But what need have we to
seek for instances of this virtue? Mary's whole life was a continual exercise
of her patience; for, as the Angel revealed to St. Bridget, "as a
rose grows up amongst thorns, so did the Blessed Virgin grow up amongst
tribulations." Compassion alone for the Redeemer's sufferings sufficed to
make her a martyr of patience. Hence St. Bonaventure says, "that a
crucified Mother conceived a crucified Son." In speaking of her dolor’s,
we have already considered how much she suffered, both in her journey to Egypt,
and during her residence there, as also during the time she lived with her Son
in the house at Nazareth. What Mary endured when present at the death of Jesus
on Calvary is alone sufficient to show us how constant and sublime was her
patience: There stood by the Cross of Jesus His
Mother.
Then it was that precisely by the merit
of her patience, as Blessed Albert the Great says, she brought us forth to the
life of grace." If we, then, wish to be the children of Mary, we must
endeavor to imitate her in her patience: "For what," says St.
Cyprian, "can enrich us with greater merit in this life, and greater glory
in the next, than the patient enduring of sufferings?" God said, by the
prophet Osee, I will hedge up thy
way with thorns. [2:6] To this St. Gregory adds, that "the way of the elect
is hedged with thorns." As a hedge of thorns protects a vineyard, so does
God protect His servants from the danger of attaching themselves to the earth,
by encompassing them with tribulations.
Therefore St. Cyprian concludes that it
is patience that delivers us from sin and from Hell. It is also patience that
makes Saints: Patience hath a
perfect work, [James 1:4] bearing in peace, not only the crosses which come
immediately from God, such as sickness, poverty, but also those which come from
men---persecutions, injuries, and the rest. St. John saw all the Saints bearing
palm branches---the emblem of martyrdom---in their hands; After this I saw a
great multitude, and palms were in their hands; [Apoc. 7:9] thereby denoting
that all adults who are saved must be martyrs, either by shedding their blood
for Christ or by patience.
Happiness is being patient with yourself
Happiness is a choice; just as love is a
choice. We either decide to be happy or we do not. No amount of money or
material things will bring us joy, no amount of pleasure or power either. Mary
knew that true happiness comes from God’s mercy.
That is a choice too. God’s mercy is given
to those who fear Him and then in turn honor the gift of love. We in order to
accept the gift of mercy must be open to receive. We make a choice. It is funny
Mary’s whose name means bitterness was just the opposite. She emptied herself
to be filled to the brim with God’s love and within three days we commemorate
that she gave birth to Christ our redeemer. I imagine she pondered on this day
ages ago as she felt His movement within her that his mercy is overpowering.
Let us empty ourselves of all our bitterness and resentments asking Mary to
pray for us as we do. Let us in these remaining days before Christmas do all we
can to prepare for our Lord Jesus. Let us receive God’s mercy through the
sacraments which He has established through His Apostle’s down through the ages
to us today.
If you have not gone to confession-do.
Receive His mercy. Receive the Eucharist be made whole and prepare for his
birth. Give mercy in return to any you have offended, pray and do-good works
toward those who have offended you. In this way we emulate our God whose power
is perfected in mercy.
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.
·12th day, December 22nd: ST.
JOSEPH—Obedience Today you
must try to please the Divine Infant by cheerful, and very prompt obedience. Be
obedient for the love of Jesus in great and little things or in easy ones. Do
nothing without permission.
Evening
Antiphon
Come,
and deliver man, whom You formed out of the dust of the earth.
O King of the Gentiles and their
desired One, the Cornerstone that makes both one; Come, and deliver man, whom
You formed out of the dust of the earth.
Daily
Devotions/Practices
·Jesse Tree ornament: Jesus is King of the
Gentiles: Psalm 2:7-8; Ephesians 2:14-20 Symbols: crown, scepter
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Eat Something with Spinach today OUR LADY OF MOUNT CARMEL Isaiah, Chapter 7, Verse 3-6 3 Then the LORD said to Isaiah: Go out to meet Ahaz, you and your son Shear-jashub, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool, on the highway to the fuller’s field, 4 and say to him: Take care you remain calm and do not fear ; do not let your courage fail before these two stumps of smoldering brands, the blazing anger of Rezin and the Arameans and of the son of Remaliah— 5 because Aram, with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has planned evil against you. They say, 6 “Let us go up against Judah, tear it apart, make it our own by force, and appoint the son of Tabeel king there . These verses contain a series of oracles and narratives, all closely related to the Syro-Ephraimite war of 735–732 B.C. Several passages feature three children whose symbolic names refer to the Lord’s purposes: Shear-jashub, Emmanuel, and Maher-shalal-hash-baz. Judah and its Davidic dynasty should trust Go
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Auxilium Christianorum - Praying for Persecuted Priests Monday, May 24 is the Feast of Mary Mother of the Church. It is also the Feast of Mary Help of Christians (Auxilium Christianorum). Please consider joining this Auxilium Christianorum family to pray daily for our holy and courageous persecuted priests. The Church teaches us that it is divided into the Church Triumphant (which includes the members of the Church in heaven), the Church Suffering (this includes the members of the Church in purgatory), and the Church Militant (this refers to those members of the Church who are alive in this world). Because we are part of the Church Militant, we are in a spiritual warfare and this spiritual warfare requires that we recognize, as Saint Paul teaches us "For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood; but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places." ( Ephesians 6:12 ) The me
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