PADRE PIO'S SACRED HEART NOVENA PRAYER
PRAYER TO MARY, THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, PATRONESS OF THE UNITED STATES
who chose Mary as the fairest of your daughters; Holy Spirit, who chose Mary as your Spouse;
God the Son, who chose Mary as your Mother,
in union with Mary we adore your majesty
and acknowledge your supreme, eternal dominion and authority.
we put the United States of America
into the hands of Mary Immaculate
in order that she may present the country to you. Through her we wish to thank you
for the great resources of this land
and for the freedom which has been its heritage.
have mercy on the Catholic Church in America. Grant us peace. Have mercy on our president
and on all the officers of our government.
Grant us a fruitful economy,
born of justice and charity.
Have mercy on capital and industry and labor. Protect the family life of the nation.
Guard the precious gift of many religious vocations. Through the intercession of our Mother,
have mercy on the sick, the tempted, sinners
- on all who are in need.
- The Padre Pio Power Prayer - Sacred Heart Novena Prayer
- The Morning Offering
- The St. Michael Prayer
- The Act of Contrition
First Wednesday
Ishbaal
was no longer able to say a word to Abner, he FEARED him so.
This
is a twisted tale of the leaders of Israel that are being divided in loyalties
to either David or the son of Saul “Ishbaal”. Money, Power, Sex and Violence
are involved. Hmmm sounds like this could be America. Do not trust in these
things but in He that is.
Aspire to live a tranquil life, to
mind your own affairs, and to work with your [own] hands, as we instructed you,
that you may conduct yourselves
properly toward outsiders and not depend on anyone.
1 Thessaonians 4:11-12
Ishbaal[1] was one of the four sons of King
Saul, born c. 1047 BC. He was chosen as the second king over the Kingdom of Israel, which then
consisted of all the twelve tribes of the Israelites, after the death of his
father and three brothers at the Battle of Mount Gilboa. He was proclaimed king
over Israel by Abner,
the captain of Saul's army after his father and brothers were slain in the battle
of Gilboa. He was 40 years old at this time and reigned for two years. Upon the
death of King Saul, the tribe of Judah seceded from the rule of the House of
Saul by proclaiming David as its king, and war ensued. David's faction
eventually prevailed, but the war did not come to a close until Abner joined
David.
Ishbaal and Abner Quarrel[2]
During
the war between the house of Saul and the house of David, Abner was gaining
power in the house of Saul. Now Saul had had a concubine, Rizpah, the daughter
of Aiah. And Ishbaal, son of Saul, said to Abner, “Why have you slept with my
father’s concubine?” Enraged at the words of Ishbaal, Abner
said, “Am I a dog’s head from Judah? As of today, I have been loyal to the
house of Saul your father, to his brothers and his friends, and I have kept you
out of David’s clutches; and today you charge me with a crime involving a
woman! May God do thus to Abner, and more, if I do not carry out for David what
the Lord swore to him—that is, take away
the kingdom from the house of Saul and establish the throne of David over
Israel as well as Judah, from Dan to Beer-sheba.” Ishbaal was no longer able to
say a word to Abner, he feared him so.
Apostolic Exhortation[3]
Veneremur
Cernui – Down in Adoration Falling
of The Most Reverend Thomas J. Olmsted, Bishop of
Phoenix,
to Priests, Deacons, Religious and the Lay Faithful of the Diocese of Phoenix
on the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist
My
beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Part II
II. Faith perceives what our
senses fail to grasp
49. Yet, faith can penetrate through
the veil of our senses to help us see that every Holy Mass is truly an
encounter with Jesus Christ. When Scripture is proclaimed and preached, it is
Christ Himself who is speaking. To receive all these benefits and transforming
effects of Holy Communion, faith is the first essential requirement.
50. In the Discourse on the Bread of
Life in Chapter 6 of the Gospel of Saint John, many of the disciples reacted to
Jesus’ claim by saying, “this teaching is difficult. Who can accept it?” After
Jesus watched most of His disciples abandon Him, He turned to the Twelve
apostles and asked, “Do you also want to leave?” Peter responded with faith,
“Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to
believe and know that you are the Holy One of God” (Jn 6:68). This teaching was
not any easier for Peter. It would only become fathomable a year later for
Peter and the other Apostles during the Last Supper when Jesus would take bread
and wine into His hands, and totally change them into Himself as He said, “This
is my body: take and eat,” and “This is the chalice of my blood: take and
drink.” Peter knew that Jesus had the words of eternal life. He put his whole
faith in Jesus’ words. He believed in Jesus’ difficult teaching on the
Eucharist precisely because he believed in his Lord and God, basing his entire
existence in the words of Jesus.
51. Today, in our own particular
situation and circumstance, Jesus also turns to us and asks the same question:
“Do you also want to leave?”. Like the disciples in Capernaum, many in our
times have wandered spiritually away from Jesus in the Eucharist. Many
Catholics have wandered away from the practice of Sunday Mass, focusing more on
work, sports, sleep, or entertainment rather than the Lord. There are also those
who are physically there but not with their faith. They may come to Mass but do
not receive Jesus with faith, love, and reverence because they think that they
are only receiving a symbol rather than God Himself who died for them. There
are those who physically come to Mass, but their hearts cannot wait to leave
Jesus’ presence. Indeed, the Eucharist is hard to believe! Thus, it is
important for us to have patience and compassion for those whose faith is weak.
Nevertheless, the call to faith is urgent.
To be continued…
Thursdays are Special[4]
Tomorrow is the Traditional
Feast of Corpus Christi
The Feast of Corpus Christi (Ecclesiastical Latin:
Dies Sanctissimi Corporis et Sanguinis Domini Iesu Christi, lit. 'Day of the
Most Holy Body and Blood of Jesus Christ the Lord'), also known as the
Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, is a Roman Catholic,
Anglican, and Western Orthodox liturgical solemnity celebrating the Real
Presence of the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ in the
elements of the Eucharist. Two months earlier, the institution of the Eucharist
at the Last Supper is observed on Maundy Thursday in a sombre atmosphere
leading to Good Friday. The liturgy on that day also commemorates Christ's
washing of the disciples' feet, the institution of the priesthood and the agony
in the Garden of Gethsemane.
The feast of Corpus Christi was proposed by Saint
Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church, to Pope Urban IV, in order to create a
feast focused solely on the Holy Eucharist, emphasizing the joy of the
Eucharist being the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ. Having
recognized the authenticity of the Eucharistic Miracle of Bolsena on input of
Aquinas, in 1264, the pontiff, then living in Orvieto, established the feast of
Corpus Christi as a Solemnity and extended it to the whole Roman Catholic
Church.
The feast is liturgically celebrated on the Thursday
after Trinity Sunday or, "where the Solemnity of The Most Holy Body and
Blood of Christ is not a holy day of obligation, it is assigned to the Sunday
after the Most Holy Trinity as its proper day".
At the end of Holy Mass, there is often a procession
of the Blessed Sacrament, generally displayed in a monstrance. The procession
is followed by Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. A notable Eucharistic
procession is that presided over by the Pope each year in Rome, where it begins
at the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran and passes to the Basilica of Saint
Mary Major, where it concludes with Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.
The celebration of the feast was suppressed in
Protestant churches during the Reformation for theological reasons: outside
Lutheranism, which maintained the confession of the Real Presence, many
Protestants denied the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist other than as a
merely symbolic or spiritual presence. Today, most Protestant denominations do
not recognize the feast day. The Church of England abolished it in 1548 as the
English Reformation progressed, but later reintroduced it. Most Anglican
churches now observe Corpus Christi, sometimes under the name
"Thanksgiving for Holy Communion".
A Eucharistic miracle
inspired the Feast of Corpus Christi[5]
Q: I recently learned that the feast of Corpus
Christi was inspired by a Eucharistic miracle. Can you please give more details
about this? — A reader in Springfield
A: In the year 1263, a German priest, Peter of
Prague, stopped at the town of Bolsena, north of Rome, while he was on a
pilgrimage to Rome. Records indicate that Peter was a good, pious priest who
strived for holiness. He was troubled by the apathy of many of the faithful;
clerical immorality and laxity; and a lack of reverence at Mass. Worse, he was
afflicted with doubt about the holy Eucharist. Like those in the Gospel, he
asked himself, “How could this be? How can Jesus share with us His Body and
Blood?” He agonized over whether at the words of consecration the bread and
wine became the Body and Blood of Our Savior and whether Christ actually was
present in the consecrated host. He knew well that the church believed and
taught that the bread and wine were transformed into the Body and Blood of Our
Lord at the consecration during the holy sacrifice of the Mass. Moreover, the
Fourth Lateran Council in 1215 had solemnly used the word “transubstantiation.”
Yet, he had trouble believing and prayed that the Lord would increase his
faith.
Father Peter placed the host in the corporal and
then wrapped both in another linen. Arriving at Orvieto, Peter told the Holy
Father what had happened. Urban IV then ordered an investigation. After all of
the facts had been ascertained, the Holy Father declared a miracle had
occurred. He ordered the relics to be brought to the Cathedral of Orvieto,
which they were with a procession of great pomp and ceremony. The pope met the
procession, and the relics were placed in the cathedral, where they are still
be venerated today.
One year later, in1264, Pope Urban IV instituted the
feast of Corpus Christi, a special feast day to recognize and to promote the
great gift of the Blessed Sacrament. He commissioned St. Thomas Aquinas to
compose a Mass and an office for the Liturgy of the Hours honoring the holy
Eucharist. St. Thomas Aquinas also composed the beautiful Eucharistic hymns
“Panis Angelicus,” “Pange Lingua,” “O Salutaris Hostia” and “Tantum Ergo.”
Today, at the Church of St. Christina in Bolsena,
one finds the altar where the miracle took place, and the blood-stained stones
of the miracle are preserved. The Cathedral of Orvieto possesses the
blood-stained corporal as well as fragments of the miraculous host.
In 1964, to commemorate the 700th anniversary of the
institution of the feast of Corpus Christi, Pope Paul VI celebrated the holy
sacrifice of the Mass at the altar where the holy corporal is kept in the
Cathedral of Orvieto. Then in 1976, Pope Paul VI visited Bolsena and spoke from
there via television to the 41st International Eucharistic Congress meeting in
Philadelphia, whose theme was “Jesus the Bread of Life.” In his address, the
Holy Father said the holy Eucharist is “a mystery, great and inexhaustible.”
How true, indeed.
First Wednesday[6]
Our Heavenly Father desires all three hearts of Jesus, Mary and Joseph to be honored. And so along with devotion to Jesus on First Fridays, and to Mary on First Saturdays, Our Father longs for us to add devotion to St. Joseph on each First Wednesday of the month.
"The Sacred Hearts of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph have been chosen by the Most Holy Trinity to bring peace to the world." It is at God's request that "special love and honor be given to them" to help us "imitate" their love and their lives, as well as "offer reparation" for the sins committed against them and their love.
The St. Joseph First Wednesday devotion is:
1. Pray the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary - remembering St. Joseph's love, his life, his role and his sufferings
2. Receive Holy Communion - in union with the love St. Joseph had for Jesus the first time and each time he held him - his son, his God and Savior - in his arms.
In the approved
apparitions of Our Lady of America, St. Joseph revealed:
·
"I
am the protector of the Church and the home, as I was the protector of Christ
and his Mother while I lived upon earth. Jesus and Mary desire that my pure heart,
so long hidden and unknown, be now honored in a special way.
·
Let my
children honor my most pure heart in a special manner on the First Wednesday of
the month by reciting the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary in memory of my life
with Jesus and Mary and the love I bore them, the sorrow I suffered with
them.
·
Let them
receive Holy Communion in union with the love with which I received the Savior
for the first time and each time I held Him in my arms.
·
Those
who honor me in this way will be consoled by my presence at their death, and I
myself will conduct them safely into the presence of Jesus and Mary."
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.
·
Devotion to the 7 Joys and Sorrows of St.
Joseph
·
Do the St.
Joseph Universal Man Plan.
Daily
Devotions
·
Litany of the Most
Precious Blood of Jesus
·
Total Consecration
to St. Joseph Day 4
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
Comments
Post a Comment