This Marian feast originated from the victory at Lepanto (1571) of the combined Christian fleet over the forces of the Turks, thus arresting the Turkish occupation of Europe. This favor was attributed by Pope St Pius V to recitation of the Holy Rosary. (Fr James Socias, ‘et al’ [Eds], “Daily Roman Missal”, 1989, p1663)
The Holy Rosary: Participation in Mary’s Meditations
The Annunciation revealed that the time has come for accomplishing the promises in the “Book of Genesis”. The mystery of the Redemption is about to be accomplished.
The message greets “the woman”, Mary of Nazareth. It greets her in consideration of the “stock” which she must receive from God himself: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. ... You shall conceive and bear a son and give him the Name Jesus.”
Really ‘decisive words’. The angel’s greeting to Mary constitutes the beginning of God’s greatest works in the story of man and the world. This greeting opens up near prospects of redemption. ... The archangel’s words put her before an inscrutable divine mystery. Moreover, they involved her in the orbit of that mystery.
This needs to be meditated on again and again; and ever more deeply. It has the power of filling not only life but also eternity. The angel’s greeting is dear to all of us. Let us, therefore, try to participate in Mary’s meditations. Let us try to do so above all when we recite the Rosary.
Ref: Cf “Prayers and Devotions from Pope John Paul II”, 1984, p352
‘La Naval de Manila’
In 1646, the Dutch fleet was sailing across the China Sea, bent on capturing Manila. Two Spanish galleons to defend the city were both on dry dock. One had a hole on its side, below the waterline, as big as a church door.
The admiral of the fleet stood on the steps of ‘Santo Domingo’ Church in Intramuros and presented the problem to the people on Sunday morning. He pleaded passionately for help. No one was repairing the galleons because the sailors and workmen had not been paid for six months.
The effect was magnificent! The sailors and workmen went back to the galleons, knowing that they would not be paid. The merchants gave all the needed materials, free. The women cooked for the workers. The men labored day and night, while the citizens of the city carried the statue of the Virgin through the streets begging Mary to help them.
The men got the galleons into the sea. Against all odds, they defeated the Dutch. Then they held a procession through the streets, laughing and crying, convinced it was a miracle. The galleon ‘Rosario’ did the most to defeat the Dutch. The other vessel was the ‘Encarnacion’ which carried the image of ‘Our Lady of Antipolo’ to Acapulco and back to Manila.
Ref: James B Reuter, SJ, “At 3:00 A.M.”, 1986, pp246-7
The origin of the Rosary
The year 1208 was a time of great trouble especially in southern France, where the Albigensian heresy spread death and desolation. After many vain attempts to extinguish it, St Dominic was sent to the country of heretics. The saint put all his trust in our Lady’s protection, invoking her day and night in unceasing prayers and harsh penances.
His prayers were heard. She appeared to him [on 1214 in Toulouse, France (St Louis de Montfort, “The Secret of the Rosary”, 1954, p18)] and taught him the devotion now called the Rosary, promising great and lasting results from its preaching.
More than 100,000 heretics abjured their errors. The conversion of an immense number of notorious sinners testified to the power of this method of prayer which eventually the whole Church adopted. The Sovereign Pontiffs enriched it with many indulgences and proclaimed October 7th for its celebration. The feast is well-fitted:
First, to strengthen and support the Church in proportion to dangers which threaten it; second, to make us feel the truth of: ‘God wishes that we should have everything through Mary’ (St Bernard); and third, to increase our confidence in Our Lady and our devotion to the Rosary.
The Rosary comes to us directly from the hand of the Mother of God. It is composed of the fifteen decades of the ‘Ave, Maria’ (‘Hail, Mary’), like the one-hundred and fifty psalms of the Canonical Office.
Each decade is prefaced by a ‘Pater Noster’ (‘Our Father’) and a consideration of a mystery in our Lord’s life. The whole fifteen decades remind us of our duty to Him; of everything needed for the highest perfection.
Are we fully convinced of the beauty and excellence of this devotion, at least a third of which we pray daily? Meditation on the mysteries bring the most benefits.
Many complain that it is most difficult to pray the Rosary with devotion, ie, without continual distractions.
A reason is the constant repetition, although the two prayers which compose it are the best in the world. Probably, because there is nothing to fix the eye and arrest the attention.
To overcome this difficulty, bring the subject of each mystery before us as vividly as we can, and keep our mind’s eye fixed on it during the whole decade. Thus, even should our attention wander from the words or their meaning, it will at least rest upon the adorable Person of our Lord which, by doing so, is prayer.
Ref: Cf “Practical Meditations” by a Father of the Society of Jesus, 1964, pp629-31
Meditations on the Litany of Loreto
‘Mother undefiled’ -- Mary was that spotless woman who always appeared beautiful in the eyes of God: “Thou art all fair, O my love, and there is not a spot in thee.” (Cant 4:7) Hence, as she is called by St Ephrem, ‘Hail, peacemaker of the whole world!’
Thus, Mary being destined of peace between God and men, our Lord preserved her from every stain.
My Immaculate Queen, fair dove, and the beloved of God, disdain not to cast your eyes on the many stains and wounds of my soul: see me, and pity me. God, who loves you so much, denies you nothing; and you know not how to refuse those who have recourse to you. O Mary, to thee I have recourse; pity me.
‘Mother inviolate, pray for us.’
Ref: “The Glories of Mary.” In “Documentation Service”, V:320
• Festival of the Rosary, instituted by Pope Gregory XIII in the year 1573, in consequence of the celebrated victory of Lepanto, gained by the Christians over the Turks. — Joseph Stephan., Tract, de Indulg, Rosarii. (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; www.bethlehemobserver.com)
• Feast of the Rosary, instituted by Pope Gregory XIII (1573). (www/divinewill.org/feastsofourlady.html); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html)
• Feast of the Most Holy Rosary. (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html)
• Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary (celebrated universally; instituted by Pope Pius V) 1571. (www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/calendar/index.html); (http://www/mariedenazareth.com)
• Our Lady of the Rosary – Queen of Guatemala. (www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/calendar/index.html)
• Our Lady of Victory / Our Lady of the Rosary / Feast of the Most Holy Rosary. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm)
On October 7, 1571, Western Christian navies, under Admiral Don John of Austria, wiped out a huge Ottoman naval invasion force in the Battle of Lepanto, near Greece. Christian forces were carrying a replica of the Guadalupe painting, and praying the Rosary. Thousands of Christian galley slaves were freed from the Turks. The battle was one of the most important in the West's struggle to resist Islamic imperialism, and the first major Turkish naval defeat.
Volunteers from all over the West had joined to repel the catastrophic threat of invasion. Pope Pius V declared October 7 as feast day of Our Lady of Victory. In 1573, Pope Gregory XIII changed the feast to "Our Lady of the Rosary" authorizing celebration in churches with an altar dedicated to the Rosary. The feast was extended to all of Spain in 1671 by Pope Clement X.
On August 6, 1716, Prince Eugene of Savoy defeated a much larger invading Ottoman army at Peterwardein, Hungary. The victory set the stage for reconquest of Hungary from the Turks. In gratitude, Pope Clement XI ordered that the Feast of the Rosary be celebrated world-wide. Popes Benedict XIII and Leo XIII further elevated the feast to "double, 2nd class". (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm)
• Our Lady of Chiquinquira – Queen of Colombia. (www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/calendar/index.html)
• "Remember Lepanto!"-- article by Robert McMullen. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm)
Friday, October 7, 2011
6 October 2011: Memorial -- St Josemaria Escrivá, priest
Founder of ‘Opus Dei’, a way of sanctification in daily work and fulfilment of the ordinary duties of a Christian. Canonized by Pope John Paul II on this date in 2002, in Rome [attended by about one-half million people]. (www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paulii/homilies/2002/documents)
St Bruno, priest
St Bruno, born (1035) at Cologne, Germany of noble and wealthy parents, was destined to transplant into Europe the life of the ancient solitary contemplatives of the Thebald. God led him to the execution of his designs by giving him a great love of solitude, penance, and contemplation. Of his intimate friends, six in the end shared his desire for a solitary life.
On 1084, having resigned his canonry and the chair of theology which he held at Rheims, Bruno presented himself with his friends before the Bishop of Grenoble. The latter, who had been told by God in a vision what to do, led them into the Chartreuse, a rocky desert covered most part of the year with snow and thick fog.
There, isolated from every human being (they were twenty kilometers from Grenoble), they built an oratory and little cells a short distance apart and began a life of penance, prayer, and contemplation.
Such was the origin of the Carthusian order which has since obtained a world-wide renown. After ten centuries, this order still exists where it was first founded. Bruno and his companions would possibly have remained unknown to the world were it not for a circumstance God in his Providence brought about for furtherance of his designs.
Pope Urban II, who at Rheims had been a disciple of St Bruno, summoned him to Rome to ask his advice on a certain matter. The six original members of the community followed him, and all were received by the Sovereign Pontiff in the kindest manner.
Their way of life was approved, and a large piece of ground allotted to them within the walls. There they founded a second Chartreuse, which became the mother of many others. The most famous house in Italy was ‘della Torre’ in the wilds of Calabria, to which St Bruno retired, and there died on October 6, 1101.
The Carthusian is the only ancient order that has not been reformed, a sign of a special Providence over the order. It is further explained by their mode of life differing from that of every other order in complete separation from the world, each living in his own separate cell.
They also observe a perpetual fast, silence, and abstinence; even when sick. The hair-shirt is always worn. They spend half of every day and night in the choir. Men who live like this are not likely to become lax.
Ref: Cf “Practical Meditations” by a Father of the Society of Jesus, 1964, pp 640-42
A Heart Guarded
I should like you to listen to that great saint of the Church, Augustine, acknowledging the happy experience of his heart and his clear mind: ‘You made us, Lord, for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.’
This saint, I am sure you know, looked everywhere to quench his thirst for truth and love. After many sad experiences his great and noble soul let out that cry I have just transcribed; it is a genuine confession. This brilliant and generous man was looking for happiness and peace; his search was in vain until he found everything when he found God.
All of us experience this restlessness and we need to quell it. Until he does quell this restlessness, until he fills this emptiness, a man’s heart yearns, suffers and searches. Every man’s life is the story of a pilgrim, a man making his way in search of happiness. Everyone, some consciously and others (the majority) unconsciously, is looking for God.
I would like to remind you of a very simple truth, a truth which is basic to everything we have been considering. Man’s heart, everyone’s heart, even the heart of the soul dedicated to God, has been created for happiness and not for mortification; for possession and not for renunciation.
And this need for happiness and for possession is something wonderful; it is a real need, ‘now’; it is something beautiful which expresses itself now, before we enter into Paradise. If the human heart has been created for happiness -- a happiness which begins here below, on earth, and which is to be found only in God, you have to admit that the path to it can be none other than ‘the guard of the heart’.
Ref: Salvatore Canals, “Jesus as friend”, 1981, pp25-6
The 15 Promises of Mary:
6. The soul which recommends itself to me by the recitation of the rosary, shall not perish.
7. I shall deliver from purgatory those who have been devoted to the rosary.
Ref: In Rev Joseph A Viano, SSP, “Two Months with Mary”, 1984, p73
Meditations on the Litany of Loreto
‘Mother most pure’ -- This Virgin Mother, all fair and pure, renders all her servants pure and chaste. St Ambrose writes, that when Mary was on earth her presence alone inspired all those who looked at her with a love of purity. She was called “As the lily amongst thorns, so is my love among the daughters” (Cant 2:2).
‘All other virgins’, says Denis the Carthusian, ‘were thorns either to themselves or to others; but the Blessed Virgin was so neither to herself nor to others, for she inspired all upon whom she looked with pure and holy affections’.
Frigenius, the biographer of St Thomas Aquinas, relates an ordinary saying of the saint, that ‘even the images of this chaste turtle-dove extinguish sensual desires in those who look at them with devotion’.
The Venerable John D’Avila says, ‘that many who were tempted against purity had preserved themselves chaste by devotion to our Blessed Lady’. Especially powerful is the name of Mary in conquering all temptations!
O most pure Mary, deliver me from it. Grant that in my temptations I may always have recourse to thee, and invoke thee as long as the temptation lasts.
Ref: “The Glories of Mary”. In “Documentation Service”, V:319-20
• Our Lady “de la Plebe”, in the marshes of Venice, built in the year 1480. (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; www.bethlehemobserver.com)
• Our Lady “de la Plebe”, Venice (1480). (www/divinewill.org/feastsofourlady.html); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html); (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html); (www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/calendar/index.html)
• “Madonna della Plebe”. Venice, Italy. 1480. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm)
• Our Lady of All Help. 1640. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm); (www/divinewill.org/feastsofourlady.html); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html); (www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/calendar/index.html)
• Our Lady of Good Remedy. (France, 1640). (www/mariedenazareth.com)
St Bruno, priest
St Bruno, born (1035) at Cologne, Germany of noble and wealthy parents, was destined to transplant into Europe the life of the ancient solitary contemplatives of the Thebald. God led him to the execution of his designs by giving him a great love of solitude, penance, and contemplation. Of his intimate friends, six in the end shared his desire for a solitary life.
On 1084, having resigned his canonry and the chair of theology which he held at Rheims, Bruno presented himself with his friends before the Bishop of Grenoble. The latter, who had been told by God in a vision what to do, led them into the Chartreuse, a rocky desert covered most part of the year with snow and thick fog.
There, isolated from every human being (they were twenty kilometers from Grenoble), they built an oratory and little cells a short distance apart and began a life of penance, prayer, and contemplation.
Such was the origin of the Carthusian order which has since obtained a world-wide renown. After ten centuries, this order still exists where it was first founded. Bruno and his companions would possibly have remained unknown to the world were it not for a circumstance God in his Providence brought about for furtherance of his designs.
Pope Urban II, who at Rheims had been a disciple of St Bruno, summoned him to Rome to ask his advice on a certain matter. The six original members of the community followed him, and all were received by the Sovereign Pontiff in the kindest manner.
Their way of life was approved, and a large piece of ground allotted to them within the walls. There they founded a second Chartreuse, which became the mother of many others. The most famous house in Italy was ‘della Torre’ in the wilds of Calabria, to which St Bruno retired, and there died on October 6, 1101.
The Carthusian is the only ancient order that has not been reformed, a sign of a special Providence over the order. It is further explained by their mode of life differing from that of every other order in complete separation from the world, each living in his own separate cell.
They also observe a perpetual fast, silence, and abstinence; even when sick. The hair-shirt is always worn. They spend half of every day and night in the choir. Men who live like this are not likely to become lax.
Ref: Cf “Practical Meditations” by a Father of the Society of Jesus, 1964, pp 640-42
A Heart Guarded
I should like you to listen to that great saint of the Church, Augustine, acknowledging the happy experience of his heart and his clear mind: ‘You made us, Lord, for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.’
This saint, I am sure you know, looked everywhere to quench his thirst for truth and love. After many sad experiences his great and noble soul let out that cry I have just transcribed; it is a genuine confession. This brilliant and generous man was looking for happiness and peace; his search was in vain until he found everything when he found God.
All of us experience this restlessness and we need to quell it. Until he does quell this restlessness, until he fills this emptiness, a man’s heart yearns, suffers and searches. Every man’s life is the story of a pilgrim, a man making his way in search of happiness. Everyone, some consciously and others (the majority) unconsciously, is looking for God.
I would like to remind you of a very simple truth, a truth which is basic to everything we have been considering. Man’s heart, everyone’s heart, even the heart of the soul dedicated to God, has been created for happiness and not for mortification; for possession and not for renunciation.
And this need for happiness and for possession is something wonderful; it is a real need, ‘now’; it is something beautiful which expresses itself now, before we enter into Paradise. If the human heart has been created for happiness -- a happiness which begins here below, on earth, and which is to be found only in God, you have to admit that the path to it can be none other than ‘the guard of the heart’.
Ref: Salvatore Canals, “Jesus as friend”, 1981, pp25-6
The 15 Promises of Mary:
6. The soul which recommends itself to me by the recitation of the rosary, shall not perish.
7. I shall deliver from purgatory those who have been devoted to the rosary.
Ref: In Rev Joseph A Viano, SSP, “Two Months with Mary”, 1984, p73
Meditations on the Litany of Loreto
‘Mother most pure’ -- This Virgin Mother, all fair and pure, renders all her servants pure and chaste. St Ambrose writes, that when Mary was on earth her presence alone inspired all those who looked at her with a love of purity. She was called “As the lily amongst thorns, so is my love among the daughters” (Cant 2:2).
‘All other virgins’, says Denis the Carthusian, ‘were thorns either to themselves or to others; but the Blessed Virgin was so neither to herself nor to others, for she inspired all upon whom she looked with pure and holy affections’.
Frigenius, the biographer of St Thomas Aquinas, relates an ordinary saying of the saint, that ‘even the images of this chaste turtle-dove extinguish sensual desires in those who look at them with devotion’.
The Venerable John D’Avila says, ‘that many who were tempted against purity had preserved themselves chaste by devotion to our Blessed Lady’. Especially powerful is the name of Mary in conquering all temptations!
O most pure Mary, deliver me from it. Grant that in my temptations I may always have recourse to thee, and invoke thee as long as the temptation lasts.
Ref: “The Glories of Mary”. In “Documentation Service”, V:319-20
• Our Lady “de la Plebe”, in the marshes of Venice, built in the year 1480. (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; www.bethlehemobserver.com)
• Our Lady “de la Plebe”, Venice (1480). (www/divinewill.org/feastsofourlady.html); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html); (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html); (www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/calendar/index.html)
• “Madonna della Plebe”. Venice, Italy. 1480. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm)
• Our Lady of All Help. 1640. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm); (www/divinewill.org/feastsofourlady.html); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html); (www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/calendar/index.html)
• Our Lady of Good Remedy. (France, 1640). (www/mariedenazareth.com)
5 October 2011: Charity is brotherly love
The parable of the good Samaritan inspires us of this great duty which should be the charm of our life. What motives dispose us for cultivating this virtue?
The first motive is our Lord’s precept, “This is my commandment, that you love one another, as I have loved you.” (Jn 13:34) He wishes charity to distinguish his true disciples. “By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one for another.” (Jn 13:35)
We have one common Father who is in heaven. We are brothers, seated at the same table, walking the same road by the observance of the same norms. In consequence of our frequent communions, the same blood flows in our veins -- the Blood of Christ.
Close attention to these motives will increase our love for charity. So, too will our desire to faithfully observe the conditions wherein alone it can exist -- a) not only to patiently bear the faults of others, but even excuse or overlook them; and b) readily forgive and forget injuries done to us, attributing them to thoughtlessness instead of a personal matter.
No one should ever hear us say, ‘I keep out of the way of such, or else I should lose my temper -- I can’t get on with him; or, I try to be on good terms with all, but if any of them offend me, I take care to let him know it, for his own sake.’ This is not the language of charity but of the world.
‘Our Lord’s example’ is the second motive. His whole life was one act of love. He lived doing good to all, without complaining of the ingratitude he received in return. He took unto himself all our sorrows to console them, all our sins to expiate them. He died the martyr of love after a life of sacrifice, finding excuses even for his executioners: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (Lk 23:34)
Let us be ready, as Jesus did, to sacrifice our comfort, and, if need be, our health, even our life, for others. Let us at least watch ourselves, abstain from anything which could hurt or vex another, and become all things to all men.
We know that some things give offence, alter them. Our jokes often hurt, stop making them. Be particularly watchful on days when bodily pains make us cross.
‘Our Lord’s promises and threats’ make up the third motive. The sentence he will pronounce at the last day will depend mainly upon our charity. “Come, you blessed of my Father; I was hungry, and you gave me food.” (Mt 25:35)
On the other hand, “Depart from me, you condemned; I was hungry, and you gave me no food ...” (Mt 25:41-42).
To excel in charity is for our immense interest, and a good defense against our self-love.
Ref: Cf “Practical Meditations” by a Father of the Society of Jesus, 1964, pp623-5
To do everything for love
Charity alone makes the Christian. In the supernatural order, an act is good, ie, in accordance with what the life of God demands, when in and by that action we look for God and love him. The motive of this action is the love of God for his own sake; the inner energy which impels it is charity.
Every act carried out for love of God is supernaturally good and directs us towards eternal life. On the contrary, an act which has the purely human motive of satisfying nature (whether spiritual or sensible) has no supernatural value and does not direct us towards eternal life.
The only thing which matters is this fundamental directing of our will, by which we open and give ourselves, or else shut ourselves up, refusing the gift of God. The value of our actions, from the Christian point of view, derives from the strength of the love which inspires them. This is independent of their greater or lesser human or natural value, of our greater or lesser talents and natural gifts.
The simplest everyday action, the commonest act of the most ordinary life, to eat, drink, sleep, cook, wash, if its motive is the love or God for himself, has a supernatural value which makes us merit eternal life and directs us towards it.
On the contrary, the most heroic action, the most ingenious, extraordinary or wonderful in the natural human order, whose motive is, however, not the love of God, is worthless supernaturally speaking, despite its human value. It has no merit for eternal life, and has no relation to the aim of our life.
On the other hand, the most miserable of men, devoid of all natural talent and even of human virtues, a ‘good for nothing’, a human pariah, a being tainted by heredity, fettered by his education and environment, rejected and despised by men, can live the very life of God within himself -- and can advance towards eternal life if, at the bottom of his heart, hidden from the eyes of all and visible to God only, there is an answer of love to the inner promptings of God’s grace at work in every human being.
In such a man there is an emptiness hollowed out for God and for his grace, a deep inner yearning of love. This is why Christ tells us that the publicans and the harlots will enter God’s kingdom before the self-satisfied ‘just’ (cf Mt 21:31). So we can never judge others, because we see only their outward action, and only God reads their heart and the deep motives of its decisions.
Ref: Jean Daujat, “Faith Applied”, 1984, pp30-31
The 15 Promises of Mary:
5. The rosary will cause virtue and good works to flourish; it will obtain for souls the abundant mercy of God; it will withdraw the hearts of men from the love of the world and its vanities, and will lift them to the desire of eternal things. Oh, that souls would sanctify themselves by this means.
Ref: In Rev Joseph A Viano, SSP, “Two Months with Mary”, 1984, p73
Meditations on the Litany of Loreto
‘Mother of Divine Grace’ -- St Anselm calls Mary ‘the Mother of all graces’; and Blessed Raymond Jordano, ‘The treasurer of divine grace’. Hence St Bernardine of Sienna writes, ‘all the gifts and graces that we receive from God are dispensed by the hands of Mary, to whom, when, and as she pleases’.
Then, my Queen, if I love you, I no longer shall be poor. After God, I love you above all things; do obtain for me greater tenderness and love for thy goodness. St Bonaventure tells me that all who will are saved.
Ref: “The Glories of Mary”. In “Documentation Service”, V:319
• Our Lady of Buch, in the Pine Mountains, in Guienne. The sea cast this image upon the sands, while St Thomas, of the order of St Francis, was praying in behalf of two vessels which he saw in danger of perishing. He respectfully received this image and deposited it in this place, in a small chapel which he built there. — Florimond Raymon, Histoiro des Heresies, liv. i. (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; www.bethlehemobserver.com)
• Our Lady of Buch (in the Pine Mountains in Guienne, France). (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html); (www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/calendar/index.html); www/divinewill.org/feastsofourlady.html
• Saint Mary’s of Jersey, consecrated in the year 1320, in the English Channel. — Chartrier de Coutances, called Le Livre Noir. (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; www.bethlehemobserver.com)
• Our Lady pf Zapopan. (Mexico). (www/mariedenazareth.com)
The first motive is our Lord’s precept, “This is my commandment, that you love one another, as I have loved you.” (Jn 13:34) He wishes charity to distinguish his true disciples. “By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one for another.” (Jn 13:35)
We have one common Father who is in heaven. We are brothers, seated at the same table, walking the same road by the observance of the same norms. In consequence of our frequent communions, the same blood flows in our veins -- the Blood of Christ.
Close attention to these motives will increase our love for charity. So, too will our desire to faithfully observe the conditions wherein alone it can exist -- a) not only to patiently bear the faults of others, but even excuse or overlook them; and b) readily forgive and forget injuries done to us, attributing them to thoughtlessness instead of a personal matter.
No one should ever hear us say, ‘I keep out of the way of such, or else I should lose my temper -- I can’t get on with him; or, I try to be on good terms with all, but if any of them offend me, I take care to let him know it, for his own sake.’ This is not the language of charity but of the world.
‘Our Lord’s example’ is the second motive. His whole life was one act of love. He lived doing good to all, without complaining of the ingratitude he received in return. He took unto himself all our sorrows to console them, all our sins to expiate them. He died the martyr of love after a life of sacrifice, finding excuses even for his executioners: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (Lk 23:34)
Let us be ready, as Jesus did, to sacrifice our comfort, and, if need be, our health, even our life, for others. Let us at least watch ourselves, abstain from anything which could hurt or vex another, and become all things to all men.
We know that some things give offence, alter them. Our jokes often hurt, stop making them. Be particularly watchful on days when bodily pains make us cross.
‘Our Lord’s promises and threats’ make up the third motive. The sentence he will pronounce at the last day will depend mainly upon our charity. “Come, you blessed of my Father; I was hungry, and you gave me food.” (Mt 25:35)
On the other hand, “Depart from me, you condemned; I was hungry, and you gave me no food ...” (Mt 25:41-42).
To excel in charity is for our immense interest, and a good defense against our self-love.
Ref: Cf “Practical Meditations” by a Father of the Society of Jesus, 1964, pp623-5
To do everything for love
Charity alone makes the Christian. In the supernatural order, an act is good, ie, in accordance with what the life of God demands, when in and by that action we look for God and love him. The motive of this action is the love of God for his own sake; the inner energy which impels it is charity.
Every act carried out for love of God is supernaturally good and directs us towards eternal life. On the contrary, an act which has the purely human motive of satisfying nature (whether spiritual or sensible) has no supernatural value and does not direct us towards eternal life.
The only thing which matters is this fundamental directing of our will, by which we open and give ourselves, or else shut ourselves up, refusing the gift of God. The value of our actions, from the Christian point of view, derives from the strength of the love which inspires them. This is independent of their greater or lesser human or natural value, of our greater or lesser talents and natural gifts.
The simplest everyday action, the commonest act of the most ordinary life, to eat, drink, sleep, cook, wash, if its motive is the love or God for himself, has a supernatural value which makes us merit eternal life and directs us towards it.
On the contrary, the most heroic action, the most ingenious, extraordinary or wonderful in the natural human order, whose motive is, however, not the love of God, is worthless supernaturally speaking, despite its human value. It has no merit for eternal life, and has no relation to the aim of our life.
On the other hand, the most miserable of men, devoid of all natural talent and even of human virtues, a ‘good for nothing’, a human pariah, a being tainted by heredity, fettered by his education and environment, rejected and despised by men, can live the very life of God within himself -- and can advance towards eternal life if, at the bottom of his heart, hidden from the eyes of all and visible to God only, there is an answer of love to the inner promptings of God’s grace at work in every human being.
In such a man there is an emptiness hollowed out for God and for his grace, a deep inner yearning of love. This is why Christ tells us that the publicans and the harlots will enter God’s kingdom before the self-satisfied ‘just’ (cf Mt 21:31). So we can never judge others, because we see only their outward action, and only God reads their heart and the deep motives of its decisions.
Ref: Jean Daujat, “Faith Applied”, 1984, pp30-31
The 15 Promises of Mary:
5. The rosary will cause virtue and good works to flourish; it will obtain for souls the abundant mercy of God; it will withdraw the hearts of men from the love of the world and its vanities, and will lift them to the desire of eternal things. Oh, that souls would sanctify themselves by this means.
Ref: In Rev Joseph A Viano, SSP, “Two Months with Mary”, 1984, p73
Meditations on the Litany of Loreto
‘Mother of Divine Grace’ -- St Anselm calls Mary ‘the Mother of all graces’; and Blessed Raymond Jordano, ‘The treasurer of divine grace’. Hence St Bernardine of Sienna writes, ‘all the gifts and graces that we receive from God are dispensed by the hands of Mary, to whom, when, and as she pleases’.
Then, my Queen, if I love you, I no longer shall be poor. After God, I love you above all things; do obtain for me greater tenderness and love for thy goodness. St Bonaventure tells me that all who will are saved.
Ref: “The Glories of Mary”. In “Documentation Service”, V:319
• Our Lady of Buch, in the Pine Mountains, in Guienne. The sea cast this image upon the sands, while St Thomas, of the order of St Francis, was praying in behalf of two vessels which he saw in danger of perishing. He respectfully received this image and deposited it in this place, in a small chapel which he built there. — Florimond Raymon, Histoiro des Heresies, liv. i. (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; www.bethlehemobserver.com)
• Our Lady of Buch (in the Pine Mountains in Guienne, France). (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html); (www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/calendar/index.html); www/divinewill.org/feastsofourlady.html
• Saint Mary’s of Jersey, consecrated in the year 1320, in the English Channel. — Chartrier de Coutances, called Le Livre Noir. (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; www.bethlehemobserver.com)
• Our Lady pf Zapopan. (Mexico). (www/mariedenazareth.com)
4 October 2011: Memorial -- St Francis of Assisi
He lived and preached a life of poverty and love of God to all. Founded the religious ‘Order of the Franciscans’; with St Clare, the ‘Order of the Poor Clares’ and the Third Order for lay people. (Fr James Socias, ‘et al’ [Eds], “Daily Roman Missal”, 1989, p1661)
The Great Saint of Assisi
St Francis! We all know what the birth of the great Saint of Assisi has meant for mankind!
With him, Dante said, “a sun was born to the world”. There are many reasons why he exerted and goes on exerting a marked fascination in the Church, and outside her as well: his was an optimistic vision of the whole of creation as the epiphany of God and the homeland of Christ, whom he celebrated in his very well known “Canticle of Creatures”; he chose poverty as the expression of his whole life, and called it “My Lady -- Madonna”, the term used by knights to their ladies and by Christians to the Mother of God.
But supporting it was an integrally practiced theological virtue. He rarely calls it by name, because it became his state of mind and made him concentrate everything on God, made him expect everything from Him, made him happy not to possess anything but from Him.
He expressed this state of mind in passionate tones in the “Chartula”, the “Little Charter” which he gave to Friar Leo on Mount La Vena: “Thou art the good, very good, the supreme good, Lord, living and true ... Thou art our hope.” Yes, because true hope, this gift of the Spirit which does not disappoint (cf Rom 5:5) derives from a unique certainty that “the Son of God ... loved me and gave himself for me.” (Gal 2:20)
Recovery of this certainty is urgent for the world of today, furrowed by so many disquiets, which are like an assault upon the hope brought by Christ to all: “Take courage! I have overcome the world.” (Jn 16:33)
Ref: Cf “Prayers and Devotions from Pope John Paul II”, pp348-9
The poverty of St Francis
We might say that St Francis practised evangelical poverty to extreme. He was about twenty-five years old when his father made him renounce in the presence of the Bishop of Assisi his whole patrimony. He had been profuse in almsgiving, and had offered to rebuild the Church of St Damian, which was in ruins.
Francis signed the deed without a word. He even laid his clothes at his father’s feet, and took his leave, saying that henceforth, he would have no other means of support other than God and his Providence. From that time he lived on alms, clothed in a shepherd’s cloak, and sheltered by the ruins of St Damian.
But one day, hearing these words read in the Mass, “Take no gold, or silver, or money in your belts; ... or two coats, or shoes, or a staff” (Mt 10:9-10). He thought he still had too much. Throwing away his shoes and staff, he substituted a rope for his leather girdle; and preached repentance.
God deigned to reward so generous a sacrifice by conferring upon the saint extraordinary favors. His voice was irresistible, and disciples were drawn to him in crowds. He formed them into a religious body.
Three years later they had sixty convents, built and supported wholly by contributions of the people. So was the poverty of St Francis made rich.
Let us, like St Francis, look upon poverty as the headstone of religion, the root of perfection. Let us love it as a mother. Let it be our glory, not our shame. Let us carefully fulfil its every precept.
Think of his marvelous humility. When he was nothing more than the merchant’s son at Assisi, unknown to the world he was great in his own esteem, greedy of notice, prompt to avenge an insult.
As Superior-General of 12,000 religious, admired and praised by all, he was humble, nothing in his own eyes, unworthy to be raised to the priesthood, wishing only to be forgotten, scoffed at for the sake of God.
What brought about this wonderful change? The light which God gave and showed him that everything good and beautiful in the world or in ourselves comes from, and belongs to, God. To us, contempt. What we own is original sin, inclination to evil, inability to perform a single supernatural act.
We know this well enough. It has all been explained to us. How is it, then, that it does not affect us like it did St Francis? Why are we not humble like him?
Because we meditate on these truths superficially, and soon forget them? If we had them always before our eyes, we, too would make rapid progress in all virtue which is rooted in humility; and obtain special graces and favors. God always gives himself to the humble.
Let us unite ourself then, on his feast day, to his great family, which eight centuries of persecution have not been able to crush, but still remains in all its vigor with a home in every land. Beg the saint to get us, not his ecstasies, not his stigmata, not his gift of miracles; but his love of poverty, his humility.
Ref: Cf “Practical Meditations” by a Father of the Society of Jesus, 1964, pp636-8
Friar Leo
A pious legend about Friar Leo, a Third Order Franciscan and close follower of St Francis reflects the help of the Blessed Virgin in our sanctity and salvation. He had a vision of the Day of Judgment. He saw an open window in heaven where Jesus and St Francis let down a red ladder with steps so widely spread apart that it was impossible to climb. Many attempted to climb but few succeeded.
Another window then opened, this time the Blessed Virgin was in their company. They let down another ladder. It was white with steps considerably closer together. People began to climb with great jubilation, one after another. Whenever any one began to falter, Our Lady would call him by his name and offer her encouragement. She would send an angel to lend a hand to the one having difficulties. Eventually, all of them who made an effort managed to get up the ladder, one after the other.
Ref: Cf “Vita Fratris Leonis” in “Anacleta Franciscana”, III, I. In F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 7:332
• Our Lady of Vaussivieres, on the mountains of Auvergne, near “Mont d’Or”, where there is an image which has remained miraculously from the ruins of Vaussivieres, which was destroyed by the English about the year 1374. This image having been transferred to the Church of Besse, was found again in its former place. — Duchene, c. 9. (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; www.bethlehemobserver.com)
• Our Lady of Vaussivières near Mt. d’Or, Auvergne, France. 1374. (www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/calendar/index.html); (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html); (http://www/mariedenazareth.com); (www/divinewill.org/feastsofourlady.html); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html)
• Saint Mary of the Angels. (http://www/mariedenazareth.com)
The Great Saint of Assisi
St Francis! We all know what the birth of the great Saint of Assisi has meant for mankind!
With him, Dante said, “a sun was born to the world”. There are many reasons why he exerted and goes on exerting a marked fascination in the Church, and outside her as well: his was an optimistic vision of the whole of creation as the epiphany of God and the homeland of Christ, whom he celebrated in his very well known “Canticle of Creatures”; he chose poverty as the expression of his whole life, and called it “My Lady -- Madonna”, the term used by knights to their ladies and by Christians to the Mother of God.
But supporting it was an integrally practiced theological virtue. He rarely calls it by name, because it became his state of mind and made him concentrate everything on God, made him expect everything from Him, made him happy not to possess anything but from Him.
He expressed this state of mind in passionate tones in the “Chartula”, the “Little Charter” which he gave to Friar Leo on Mount La Vena: “Thou art the good, very good, the supreme good, Lord, living and true ... Thou art our hope.” Yes, because true hope, this gift of the Spirit which does not disappoint (cf Rom 5:5) derives from a unique certainty that “the Son of God ... loved me and gave himself for me.” (Gal 2:20)
Recovery of this certainty is urgent for the world of today, furrowed by so many disquiets, which are like an assault upon the hope brought by Christ to all: “Take courage! I have overcome the world.” (Jn 16:33)
Ref: Cf “Prayers and Devotions from Pope John Paul II”, pp348-9
The poverty of St Francis
We might say that St Francis practised evangelical poverty to extreme. He was about twenty-five years old when his father made him renounce in the presence of the Bishop of Assisi his whole patrimony. He had been profuse in almsgiving, and had offered to rebuild the Church of St Damian, which was in ruins.
Francis signed the deed without a word. He even laid his clothes at his father’s feet, and took his leave, saying that henceforth, he would have no other means of support other than God and his Providence. From that time he lived on alms, clothed in a shepherd’s cloak, and sheltered by the ruins of St Damian.
But one day, hearing these words read in the Mass, “Take no gold, or silver, or money in your belts; ... or two coats, or shoes, or a staff” (Mt 10:9-10). He thought he still had too much. Throwing away his shoes and staff, he substituted a rope for his leather girdle; and preached repentance.
God deigned to reward so generous a sacrifice by conferring upon the saint extraordinary favors. His voice was irresistible, and disciples were drawn to him in crowds. He formed them into a religious body.
Three years later they had sixty convents, built and supported wholly by contributions of the people. So was the poverty of St Francis made rich.
Let us, like St Francis, look upon poverty as the headstone of religion, the root of perfection. Let us love it as a mother. Let it be our glory, not our shame. Let us carefully fulfil its every precept.
Think of his marvelous humility. When he was nothing more than the merchant’s son at Assisi, unknown to the world he was great in his own esteem, greedy of notice, prompt to avenge an insult.
As Superior-General of 12,000 religious, admired and praised by all, he was humble, nothing in his own eyes, unworthy to be raised to the priesthood, wishing only to be forgotten, scoffed at for the sake of God.
What brought about this wonderful change? The light which God gave and showed him that everything good and beautiful in the world or in ourselves comes from, and belongs to, God. To us, contempt. What we own is original sin, inclination to evil, inability to perform a single supernatural act.
We know this well enough. It has all been explained to us. How is it, then, that it does not affect us like it did St Francis? Why are we not humble like him?
Because we meditate on these truths superficially, and soon forget them? If we had them always before our eyes, we, too would make rapid progress in all virtue which is rooted in humility; and obtain special graces and favors. God always gives himself to the humble.
Let us unite ourself then, on his feast day, to his great family, which eight centuries of persecution have not been able to crush, but still remains in all its vigor with a home in every land. Beg the saint to get us, not his ecstasies, not his stigmata, not his gift of miracles; but his love of poverty, his humility.
Ref: Cf “Practical Meditations” by a Father of the Society of Jesus, 1964, pp636-8
Friar Leo
A pious legend about Friar Leo, a Third Order Franciscan and close follower of St Francis reflects the help of the Blessed Virgin in our sanctity and salvation. He had a vision of the Day of Judgment. He saw an open window in heaven where Jesus and St Francis let down a red ladder with steps so widely spread apart that it was impossible to climb. Many attempted to climb but few succeeded.
Another window then opened, this time the Blessed Virgin was in their company. They let down another ladder. It was white with steps considerably closer together. People began to climb with great jubilation, one after another. Whenever any one began to falter, Our Lady would call him by his name and offer her encouragement. She would send an angel to lend a hand to the one having difficulties. Eventually, all of them who made an effort managed to get up the ladder, one after the other.
Ref: Cf “Vita Fratris Leonis” in “Anacleta Franciscana”, III, I. In F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 7:332
• Our Lady of Vaussivieres, on the mountains of Auvergne, near “Mont d’Or”, where there is an image which has remained miraculously from the ruins of Vaussivieres, which was destroyed by the English about the year 1374. This image having been transferred to the Church of Besse, was found again in its former place. — Duchene, c. 9. (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; www.bethlehemobserver.com)
• Our Lady of Vaussivières near Mt. d’Or, Auvergne, France. 1374. (www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/calendar/index.html); (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html); (http://www/mariedenazareth.com); (www/divinewill.org/feastsofourlady.html); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html)
• Saint Mary of the Angels. (http://www/mariedenazareth.com)
3 October 2011: Doing to one of the least
The mystical meaning which many Fathers attach to this parable, and which our Lord may have intended, is easy to discover. All mankind, fallen and bruised by the sin of Adam, raised up again, and finally cured by the Word made flesh, the Redeemer of the world.
In a more restricted sense, it is the sinner and his Saviour. All that happened to the unfortunate traveller who was robbed has its counterpart in the soul which falls, through mortal sin, into the devil’s power.
It lost everything -- its innocence, sanctifying grace, supernatural beauty which made it like the angels, its rights of divine adoption, of all its merits. It is covered besides with hideous wounds which sin has made in it. In short, having only faith without charity, it is half-dead.
Wretched I should be, if in my life I have committed even one mortal sin. Wretched, when I think of the state to which I brought mself, and in which I lived for weeks and months. Doubly wretched, in that I blinded myself to my misery, and perhaps even delighted in it.
Where should I be now, if death had surprised me then? But how did this misfortune come on me? I went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. That is, because in thought and in affection I went far away from God, from heaven, from my last end; to seek earthly goods and worldly pleasures. How I should tremble, then, for my perseverance, lest I fall into the snares the devil always sets for me.
In the good Samaritan behold the figure of Jesus, our Saviour. The Jew left half-dead was, in the eyes of the Samaritan, a stranger, a natural enemy. Moreover, a wretch reduced to a loathsome condition. Yet, on seeing him, was touched with compassion, dismounts, and succors him.
We, by sin, have become loathsome in the eyes of the Son of God. Yet, seeing our misery, he is touched with compassion, comes down from heaven, becomes our neighbor through the Incarnation, and rescues us.
All that the good Samaritan did to console and cure the traveller is but a faint image of what Christ has done for us. He poured over the wounds of our soul the wine of penitence and the oil of sanctifying grace, and he has closed them with the balm of his Precious Blood.
Then he laid us, not on a beast of burden; but upon his own shoulders, like the Good Shepherd. He carried us, not into an inn but to a house of his own; charged another with our welfare. He directed that all our wants, bodily and spiritual, should be supplied until he should return to bring us into the palace of his glory.
If we could not help feeling love and admiration for the good Samaritan in the parable, how much more should we feel for the True Samaritan who daily shows himself so good, so generous towards us! How can we show our love and gratitude?
By fervor in serving him, obedience to whoever represents him; eagerness to assist the poor in whom he lives and suffers: “I was hungry, and you gave me to eat; ... As long as you did it to one of these my least brethren, you did it to me.” (Mt 25:35-6, 40)
Ref: Cf “Practical Meditations” by a Father of the Society of Jesus, 1964, pp621-3
The Holy Rosary, Prayer of the Redeemed
This month of October is traditionally dedicated to the Holy Rosary. In this month, therefore, I wish to consecrate the Angelus thought to the prayer so dear to the hearts of Catholics, so beloved by me and so much recommended by the popes, my predecessors.
The Rosary also takes on fresh perspectives and is charged with stronger and vaster intentions than in the past. It is not a question now of asking for great victories, as at Lepanto and Vienna; rather is it a question of asking Mary to provide us with valorous fighters against the spirit of error and evil, with the arms of the Gospel, ie, the Cross and God’s Word.
The Rosary prayer is man’s prayer for man. It is the prayer of human solidarity, the collegial prayer of the redeemed, reflecting the spirit and intent of the first of the Redeemed, Mary, Mother and Image of the Church. It is a prayer for all the people of the world and of history, living and dead, called to be the Body of Christ with us; and to become heirs together with Him of the glory of the Father.
When we consider the spiritual directions suggested by the Rosary, which is a simple, evangelical prayer, we find the same intentions which St Cyprian noted in the ‘Our Father’: “The Lord, master of peace and unity, did not will that we should pray individually alone. In fact, we do not say, ‘My Father, who art in heaven’. Nor do we say, ‘Give me my daily bread’. Our prayer is for all; so that, when we pray, we should not do so for one only but for the whole people, so that with all the people we are one thing.”
Ref: Cf “Prayers and Devotions from Pope John Paul II”, pp350-51
The 15 Promises of Mary:
2. I promise my special protection and the greatest graces to all who shall recite the rosary.
3. The rosary shall be a powerful armour against hell; it will destroy vice, decrease sin, and defeat heresies.
4. Whoever shall have a true devotion for the rosary shall not die without the sacraments of the Church.
Ref: In Rev Joseph A Viano, SSP, “Two Months with Mary”, 1984, p73
Meditations on the Litany of Loreto
‘Holy Mother of God’ -- If the prayers of the saints are very powerful with God, how great must be the power of those of Mary! The former are prayers of servants, the latter those of a mother having the force of a command with Jesus Christ. Hence, it is impossible for the Son not to grant a grace for which the Mother asks.
St Bernard therefore, exhorts us to ask for every grace which we desire from God through Mary. ‘Let us seek for grace, and seek it by Mary.’ And why? ‘Because she is a mother, and is always graciously heard.’
Ref: “The Glories of Mary”. In “Documentation Service”, V:319
Charity -- “Charity consists not so much in giving as in understanding. That’s why you should seek an excuse for your neighbor -- there are always excuses -- if yours is the duty to judge.” (cf St Josemaria Escrivá, “The Way”, 463)
• Our Lady of “La Place”, at Rome. This image having fallen into a well at the house of Cardinal Copocias, in the year 1250, the water swelled up miraculously, and cast out the image, which the cardinal placed in his chapel. But Pope Innocent IV obliged him to build another on the very spot where the miracle had occurred. This chapel having been given to the Servites, they have erected a fine church, in which the well is enclosed. — Triple Couronne, n. 100. (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; www.bethlehemobserver.com)
• Our Lady of the Place. Rome. 1250. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm); (www/divinewill.org/feastsofourlady.html); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html); (www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/calendar/index.html); (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html)
• Our Lady of Graces. (Italy, 1697). (www/mariedenazareth.com)
In a more restricted sense, it is the sinner and his Saviour. All that happened to the unfortunate traveller who was robbed has its counterpart in the soul which falls, through mortal sin, into the devil’s power.
It lost everything -- its innocence, sanctifying grace, supernatural beauty which made it like the angels, its rights of divine adoption, of all its merits. It is covered besides with hideous wounds which sin has made in it. In short, having only faith without charity, it is half-dead.
Wretched I should be, if in my life I have committed even one mortal sin. Wretched, when I think of the state to which I brought mself, and in which I lived for weeks and months. Doubly wretched, in that I blinded myself to my misery, and perhaps even delighted in it.
Where should I be now, if death had surprised me then? But how did this misfortune come on me? I went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. That is, because in thought and in affection I went far away from God, from heaven, from my last end; to seek earthly goods and worldly pleasures. How I should tremble, then, for my perseverance, lest I fall into the snares the devil always sets for me.
In the good Samaritan behold the figure of Jesus, our Saviour. The Jew left half-dead was, in the eyes of the Samaritan, a stranger, a natural enemy. Moreover, a wretch reduced to a loathsome condition. Yet, on seeing him, was touched with compassion, dismounts, and succors him.
We, by sin, have become loathsome in the eyes of the Son of God. Yet, seeing our misery, he is touched with compassion, comes down from heaven, becomes our neighbor through the Incarnation, and rescues us.
All that the good Samaritan did to console and cure the traveller is but a faint image of what Christ has done for us. He poured over the wounds of our soul the wine of penitence and the oil of sanctifying grace, and he has closed them with the balm of his Precious Blood.
Then he laid us, not on a beast of burden; but upon his own shoulders, like the Good Shepherd. He carried us, not into an inn but to a house of his own; charged another with our welfare. He directed that all our wants, bodily and spiritual, should be supplied until he should return to bring us into the palace of his glory.
If we could not help feeling love and admiration for the good Samaritan in the parable, how much more should we feel for the True Samaritan who daily shows himself so good, so generous towards us! How can we show our love and gratitude?
By fervor in serving him, obedience to whoever represents him; eagerness to assist the poor in whom he lives and suffers: “I was hungry, and you gave me to eat; ... As long as you did it to one of these my least brethren, you did it to me.” (Mt 25:35-6, 40)
Ref: Cf “Practical Meditations” by a Father of the Society of Jesus, 1964, pp621-3
The Holy Rosary, Prayer of the Redeemed
This month of October is traditionally dedicated to the Holy Rosary. In this month, therefore, I wish to consecrate the Angelus thought to the prayer so dear to the hearts of Catholics, so beloved by me and so much recommended by the popes, my predecessors.
The Rosary also takes on fresh perspectives and is charged with stronger and vaster intentions than in the past. It is not a question now of asking for great victories, as at Lepanto and Vienna; rather is it a question of asking Mary to provide us with valorous fighters against the spirit of error and evil, with the arms of the Gospel, ie, the Cross and God’s Word.
The Rosary prayer is man’s prayer for man. It is the prayer of human solidarity, the collegial prayer of the redeemed, reflecting the spirit and intent of the first of the Redeemed, Mary, Mother and Image of the Church. It is a prayer for all the people of the world and of history, living and dead, called to be the Body of Christ with us; and to become heirs together with Him of the glory of the Father.
When we consider the spiritual directions suggested by the Rosary, which is a simple, evangelical prayer, we find the same intentions which St Cyprian noted in the ‘Our Father’: “The Lord, master of peace and unity, did not will that we should pray individually alone. In fact, we do not say, ‘My Father, who art in heaven’. Nor do we say, ‘Give me my daily bread’. Our prayer is for all; so that, when we pray, we should not do so for one only but for the whole people, so that with all the people we are one thing.”
Ref: Cf “Prayers and Devotions from Pope John Paul II”, pp350-51
The 15 Promises of Mary:
2. I promise my special protection and the greatest graces to all who shall recite the rosary.
3. The rosary shall be a powerful armour against hell; it will destroy vice, decrease sin, and defeat heresies.
4. Whoever shall have a true devotion for the rosary shall not die without the sacraments of the Church.
Ref: In Rev Joseph A Viano, SSP, “Two Months with Mary”, 1984, p73
Meditations on the Litany of Loreto
‘Holy Mother of God’ -- If the prayers of the saints are very powerful with God, how great must be the power of those of Mary! The former are prayers of servants, the latter those of a mother having the force of a command with Jesus Christ. Hence, it is impossible for the Son not to grant a grace for which the Mother asks.
St Bernard therefore, exhorts us to ask for every grace which we desire from God through Mary. ‘Let us seek for grace, and seek it by Mary.’ And why? ‘Because she is a mother, and is always graciously heard.’
Ref: “The Glories of Mary”. In “Documentation Service”, V:319
Charity -- “Charity consists not so much in giving as in understanding. That’s why you should seek an excuse for your neighbor -- there are always excuses -- if yours is the duty to judge.” (cf St Josemaria Escrivá, “The Way”, 463)
• Our Lady of “La Place”, at Rome. This image having fallen into a well at the house of Cardinal Copocias, in the year 1250, the water swelled up miraculously, and cast out the image, which the cardinal placed in his chapel. But Pope Innocent IV obliged him to build another on the very spot where the miracle had occurred. This chapel having been given to the Servites, they have erected a fine church, in which the well is enclosed. — Triple Couronne, n. 100. (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; www.bethlehemobserver.com)
• Our Lady of the Place. Rome. 1250. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm); (www/divinewill.org/feastsofourlady.html); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html); (www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/calendar/index.html); (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html)
• Our Lady of Graces. (Italy, 1697). (www/mariedenazareth.com)
2 October 2011: Memorial -- The Holy Guardian Angels
Scripture is full of stories of angels coming to help patriarchs. Each person has his own Guardian Angel. As God’s messengers, their mission is to take care of us, protect our way on earth, and share with Christians the apostolic zeal to get souls closer to God. An angel liberated St Peter from jail. Our Lord spoke of angels of children who constantly behold his Heavenly Father’s face. Our Guardian Angels are our friends. (Fr James Socias, ‘et al’ [Eds], “Daily Roman Missal”, 1989, p1658)
Our Guardian Angels: Their dignity and services
Among the most precious gifts of God’s mercy to men is that communion which he has established between us and the holy angels. God’s order to these blessed spirits is to take care of each of us. They are pure spirits created after the image of God, endowed with beauty, power, agility, and intelligence, beyond all human conception.
This angel is day and night by my side. I believe this truth, but I hardly ever think of it. What consolation it would be in telling him all my troubles and anxieties; asking for counsel, strength, courage in my doubts, sufferings, and temptations!
The ardent faith and tender devotion of many saints towards their guardian angels obtained for them the grace of seeing and conversing familiarly with him, eg, St Camillus, St Frances of Rome, and St Rose of Lima.
“He will give his angels charge over you, to guard you in all your ways.” (Ps 91:11) In obedience, our guardian angel first, watches with tender care over the preservation of our body, health, and life from so many dangers; second, takes still greater care of our immortal soul and our spiritual interests.
He teaches us, brings good thoughts to our minds, and shows us the snares laid for us. He encourages and sustains us in the spiritual combat, secretly reproves us for our faults, and draws us by gentle inspirations to perform our duties; third, does for us what Raphael did for young Tobias: guides us through the dangers of life; and fourth, assists us especially at the hour of death.
What are our obligations towards our guardian angels? St Bernard mentions three in particular:
First, respect for his presence, devotion or gratitude for his charity, confidence in his vigilance. How can we fulfil them?
We can and ought to testify first, our ‘respect’, by acting in his sight, especially when we are alone, as if we were in the company of some great person. This thought will help us do so: ‘One day my angel will bear witness for or against me of what I am doing at this moment.’
Second, our ‘devotion’ or gratitude, by being very docile to his inspirations, thanking him ‘every night’ for what he has done for us.
Third, our ‘confidence’, that by consulting and invoking him in all our doubts and wants, it will never be in vain.
Ref: Cf “Practical Meditations” by a Father of the Society of Jesus, 1964, pp561-3
Angels
God “makes his angels, spirits, and His ministers a flame of fire”. (Heb 1:7) The angels, all created in sanctifying grace, also at the beginning of time, are pure spirits. The Scripture says their number was a countless multitude; and nine different choirs or hierarchical orders are mentioned: Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones, Dominions, Virtues, Powers, Principalities, Archangels, Angels. At times, they appeared in corporeal form. Their gifts are most eminent.
“Great is the dignity of human souls, that each one has from the dawn of its nativity an angel assigned for its custody.” (St Jerome) Our Guardian Angel prays for us, protects us from evil, and encourages us to be good. Our Lord said: “See that you despise not one of these little children; for I say to you, their Angels in heaven always see the face of My Father who is in heaven.” (Mt 18:10)
Ref: Cf Jesus Maria Cavanna, CM, “Basic Christian Doctrine”, p41
Holiness in the middle of the world
On this day in 1928, God finally made St Josemaria Escrivá see His Will. For many years he had been asking for this light. A clear, unmistakable call, it fully confirmed the ‘intimations’ he had felt in his heart from his youth. It all happened in a simple, deep and unexpected way; in ‘God’s style’.
He was on retreat in the Central House of the Vincentian Fathers in Madrid. As he reread some notes in which he had written inspirations he had received from God over the previous ten years, ‘he saw’ with utter clarity, the mission God was entrusting to him: to open a path to holiness in the middle of the world through daily work and one’s ordinary duties.
From that day, he knew absolutely that this was the task to which he had to devote his whole life; what he had been praying for since his adolescent years. He had ‘seen’ it while the bells of the nearby Church of Our Lady of the Angels were ringing out. [‘To see’ was the verb he always used to describe this decisive moment.]
During his seminary days, he had a statuette of Our Lady of the Pillar; on the base he carved the aspiration: ‘Domina, ut sit’ (Lady, let it be) he had been saying for years. His theme never varied: How to fulfil God’s Will. But, what was that Will? What did God want of him? What was the ‘thing’ he had ‘intimations’ of in his soul? He did not know. ‘Domine, ut videam!’ (Lord, let me see!) he pleaded ceaselessly. ‘Ut sit! Ut sit!’ “May that, which You want [but] I do not know, come about.”
Ref: “St Josemaria Escrivá: Founder of Opus Dei”, 21, 26-8
Meditations on the Litany of Loreto
‘Holy Mary’ -- The name of Mary is a name of salvation. This came from heaven: hence St Epiphanius says it was not given by her parents, but was imposed on her by the express will of God. Therefore, after the name of Jesus, the name of Mary is above every other name; for God has filled it with grace and sweetness, that every blessing may be obtained by him who names it.
My Lady, had I always invoked thee in my temptations, I should not have fallen. For the future I will never cease to invoke thee, saying: ‘Mary, help me; Mary, succor me.’ Do obtain for me the grace always to invoke thee in time of spiritual danger.
Ref: “The Glories of Mary”. In “Documentation Service”, V:318
• Our Lady of the Assumption, at Naples, built by the canonesses regular of St Augustine, out of gratitude for the favour which the Mother of God did them, by warning them to leave a house which fell down as soon as they were gone out of it. — Triple Couronne, n. 42. (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; www.bethlehemobserver.com)
• Our Lady of the Assumption, Naples, Italy. 11th Century. (www/divinewill.org/feastsofourlady.html); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html); (www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/calendar/index.html); (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html)
• Our Lady of the Assumption (also known as “Vergine Assunta”). Chapel in the abbey of Montecassino. Basilica in Trieste. Cathedral in Tlaxcala, "mushroom capital of Mexico". Featured on the Acadian flag. Coat of Arms of state of Aguascalientes, Mexico. Patroness of confraternity of prayer for reunification of Catholic and eastern churches; of the Acadian and Cajun people; of the Church in Tobago; of Óbidos, Portugal. Devotion of Italian immigrants in Perth, Australia. Namesake of Asunción, Paraguay (full name, "Nuestra Señora de la Asunción"), and of numerous churches and schools, and the Assumptionist religious order. (Note: Assumption itself is celebrated on August 15.) (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm)
• Patronage of Our Lady. Moveable feast -- A day in October or November. (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html); (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm)
• “Notre Dame du Cap”. Moveable feast -- First Sunday in October. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm)
• “Notre Dame du Cap” / “Cap de Madeleine”, Canada. Moveable feast -- First Sunday in October. (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html); (www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/calendar/index.html)
• “Cap de Madelaine”, Canada. National shrine. History. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm)
• Mary, Queen of Angels. (www/mariedenazareth.com)
Our Guardian Angels: Their dignity and services
Among the most precious gifts of God’s mercy to men is that communion which he has established between us and the holy angels. God’s order to these blessed spirits is to take care of each of us. They are pure spirits created after the image of God, endowed with beauty, power, agility, and intelligence, beyond all human conception.
This angel is day and night by my side. I believe this truth, but I hardly ever think of it. What consolation it would be in telling him all my troubles and anxieties; asking for counsel, strength, courage in my doubts, sufferings, and temptations!
The ardent faith and tender devotion of many saints towards their guardian angels obtained for them the grace of seeing and conversing familiarly with him, eg, St Camillus, St Frances of Rome, and St Rose of Lima.
“He will give his angels charge over you, to guard you in all your ways.” (Ps 91:11) In obedience, our guardian angel first, watches with tender care over the preservation of our body, health, and life from so many dangers; second, takes still greater care of our immortal soul and our spiritual interests.
He teaches us, brings good thoughts to our minds, and shows us the snares laid for us. He encourages and sustains us in the spiritual combat, secretly reproves us for our faults, and draws us by gentle inspirations to perform our duties; third, does for us what Raphael did for young Tobias: guides us through the dangers of life; and fourth, assists us especially at the hour of death.
What are our obligations towards our guardian angels? St Bernard mentions three in particular:
First, respect for his presence, devotion or gratitude for his charity, confidence in his vigilance. How can we fulfil them?
We can and ought to testify first, our ‘respect’, by acting in his sight, especially when we are alone, as if we were in the company of some great person. This thought will help us do so: ‘One day my angel will bear witness for or against me of what I am doing at this moment.’
Second, our ‘devotion’ or gratitude, by being very docile to his inspirations, thanking him ‘every night’ for what he has done for us.
Third, our ‘confidence’, that by consulting and invoking him in all our doubts and wants, it will never be in vain.
Ref: Cf “Practical Meditations” by a Father of the Society of Jesus, 1964, pp561-3
Angels
God “makes his angels, spirits, and His ministers a flame of fire”. (Heb 1:7) The angels, all created in sanctifying grace, also at the beginning of time, are pure spirits. The Scripture says their number was a countless multitude; and nine different choirs or hierarchical orders are mentioned: Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones, Dominions, Virtues, Powers, Principalities, Archangels, Angels. At times, they appeared in corporeal form. Their gifts are most eminent.
“Great is the dignity of human souls, that each one has from the dawn of its nativity an angel assigned for its custody.” (St Jerome) Our Guardian Angel prays for us, protects us from evil, and encourages us to be good. Our Lord said: “See that you despise not one of these little children; for I say to you, their Angels in heaven always see the face of My Father who is in heaven.” (Mt 18:10)
Ref: Cf Jesus Maria Cavanna, CM, “Basic Christian Doctrine”, p41
Holiness in the middle of the world
On this day in 1928, God finally made St Josemaria Escrivá see His Will. For many years he had been asking for this light. A clear, unmistakable call, it fully confirmed the ‘intimations’ he had felt in his heart from his youth. It all happened in a simple, deep and unexpected way; in ‘God’s style’.
He was on retreat in the Central House of the Vincentian Fathers in Madrid. As he reread some notes in which he had written inspirations he had received from God over the previous ten years, ‘he saw’ with utter clarity, the mission God was entrusting to him: to open a path to holiness in the middle of the world through daily work and one’s ordinary duties.
From that day, he knew absolutely that this was the task to which he had to devote his whole life; what he had been praying for since his adolescent years. He had ‘seen’ it while the bells of the nearby Church of Our Lady of the Angels were ringing out. [‘To see’ was the verb he always used to describe this decisive moment.]
During his seminary days, he had a statuette of Our Lady of the Pillar; on the base he carved the aspiration: ‘Domina, ut sit’ (Lady, let it be) he had been saying for years. His theme never varied: How to fulfil God’s Will. But, what was that Will? What did God want of him? What was the ‘thing’ he had ‘intimations’ of in his soul? He did not know. ‘Domine, ut videam!’ (Lord, let me see!) he pleaded ceaselessly. ‘Ut sit! Ut sit!’ “May that, which You want [but] I do not know, come about.”
Ref: “St Josemaria Escrivá: Founder of Opus Dei”, 21, 26-8
Meditations on the Litany of Loreto
‘Holy Mary’ -- The name of Mary is a name of salvation. This came from heaven: hence St Epiphanius says it was not given by her parents, but was imposed on her by the express will of God. Therefore, after the name of Jesus, the name of Mary is above every other name; for God has filled it with grace and sweetness, that every blessing may be obtained by him who names it.
My Lady, had I always invoked thee in my temptations, I should not have fallen. For the future I will never cease to invoke thee, saying: ‘Mary, help me; Mary, succor me.’ Do obtain for me the grace always to invoke thee in time of spiritual danger.
Ref: “The Glories of Mary”. In “Documentation Service”, V:318
• Our Lady of the Assumption, at Naples, built by the canonesses regular of St Augustine, out of gratitude for the favour which the Mother of God did them, by warning them to leave a house which fell down as soon as they were gone out of it. — Triple Couronne, n. 42. (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; www.bethlehemobserver.com)
• Our Lady of the Assumption, Naples, Italy. 11th Century. (www/divinewill.org/feastsofourlady.html); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html); (www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/calendar/index.html); (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html)
• Our Lady of the Assumption (also known as “Vergine Assunta”). Chapel in the abbey of Montecassino. Basilica in Trieste. Cathedral in Tlaxcala, "mushroom capital of Mexico". Featured on the Acadian flag. Coat of Arms of state of Aguascalientes, Mexico. Patroness of confraternity of prayer for reunification of Catholic and eastern churches; of the Acadian and Cajun people; of the Church in Tobago; of Óbidos, Portugal. Devotion of Italian immigrants in Perth, Australia. Namesake of Asunción, Paraguay (full name, "Nuestra Señora de la Asunción"), and of numerous churches and schools, and the Assumptionist religious order. (Note: Assumption itself is celebrated on August 15.) (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm)
• Patronage of Our Lady. Moveable feast -- A day in October or November. (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html); (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm)
• “Notre Dame du Cap”. Moveable feast -- First Sunday in October. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm)
• “Notre Dame du Cap” / “Cap de Madeleine”, Canada. Moveable feast -- First Sunday in October. (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html); (www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/calendar/index.html)
• “Cap de Madelaine”, Canada. National shrine. History. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm)
• Mary, Queen of Angels. (www/mariedenazareth.com)
1 October 2011: Memorial -- St Therese of the Child Jesus
‘The Little Flower’, Virgin and Doctor of the Church
Outstanding for her humility, simplicity, and confidence in God, she offered her life for the salvation of souls and for the Church. Universal Patroness of the missions. (Fr James Socias, ‘et al’ [Eds], “Daily Roman Missal”, 1989, p1657)
St Therese of the Child Jesus
A spirit ... makes us cry out “Abba! Father!” It would perhaps be difficult to find words more incisive, and at the same time more gripping, to describe the particular charisma of Thérèse Martin, that which constituted the quite special gift of her heart and became a particular gift to the Church through her heart. A gift marvellous in its simplicity, a universal and at the same time unique gift.
It may be said with conviction of Theresa of Lisieux that the Holy Spirit permitted her heart to reveal the fundamental mystery, the reality of the Gospel, directly to the people of our time. The “little way” is the way of the “holy childhood”. There is something unique to this way -- the genius of St Theresa of Lisieux.
This most fundamental and most universal truth was in a certain sense rediscovered through the interior experience of her heart and the form which her whole life took, a life of only twenty-four years. She felt behind her the memory of a child “trusting” even to heroism and consequently, “free” even to heroism.
In her Carmel, Theresa felt especially united to all the Church’s missions and missionaries throughout the world. She felt herself to be “missionary”. She has been proclaimed patroness of the missions by the Church.
‘Abba! Father!’ Thanks to her, the whole Church has found again all the simplicity and all the freshness of that cry, which has its origin and source in the heart of Christ himself.
Ref: Cf “Prayers and Devotions from Pope John Paul II”, 1984, p345
‘And who is my neighbor?’
In answering this question Jesus intended to expose the selfish teaching of the doctors of the synagogue. They recognized as neighbors only their own citizens who were just, a title which they brought to themselves. Jesus replied:
“A man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell among robbers. They stripped him, beat him, and went off, leaving him half-dead. By chance a priest was going down that road, and saw the man, but passed by on the other side. A Levite, too saw him, and passed by the other side.” (cf Lk 10:30-32)
Jesus wants to show through this parable the charity wanting among the priests and Levites. How consoling to compare this situation to the infinite charity of our priests; and the laity nobly second their efforts.
Jesus contrasts the miserable selfishness of the priest and Levite to the noble generosity of a Samaritan, whom the Jews would not recognize as a neighbor.
“But a certain Samaritan came near ... seeing him, was moved to pity. He went to him, dressed his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own beast, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver pieces, gave them to the innkeeper and said: ‘Look after him; if there is any further expense I will repay you on my way back’.” (Lk 10:33-5)
Jesus evidently wished us to understand that--
First, we should look upon all, without exception, as our neighbors, even though they may be of a different nation or religion, as were the Jews and Samaritans;
Second, the only charity which is worth having is that which shows itself by deeds; and
Third, the simple, when their hearts are right, understand their duty better than learned men who are proud. A Samaritan set an example to a Jew, a layman, and a priest.
Jesus then asked the lawyer, “‘Which of these three, do you think, made himself neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers?’ He said, ‘The one who had mercy on him’. Jesus replied, ‘Go and do the same’.” (cf Lk 10:36-7)
Jesus tells us that our charity, like the Samaritan’s, should be active and generous. That we should exercise it at the expense of our personal comfort, health, even our life, if our neighbor’s salvation requires it.
Ref: Cf “Practical Meditations” by a Father of the Society of Jesus, 1964, pp618-21
The Fifteen Promises of Mary
to Christians Who Recite the Rosary:
1. Whoever shall faithfully serve me by recitation of the rosary, shall receive the signal graces.
Ref: Attributed to St Dominic from the writings of Blessed Alan de la Roche, OP. (In Rev J A Viano, SSP, “Two Months with Mary”, p73)
Meditations on the Litany of Loreto
‘Holy Mary, pray for us’ -- Since, in the Litany of our Blessed Lady, the Church teaches us to ask this good Mother so many times to pray for us, it will be well before meditation upon her titles, to consider the great power which her prayers have with God.
Blessed is that person for whom Mary prays. Jesus rejoices when his most Beloved Mother prays to him, that he may have the pleasure of granting her all she asks.
St Bernard says, ‘To be heard by the Son is to be graciously heard. Mary has only to speak, and her Son grants her all that she asks. Let us, therefore, pray to this divine Mother, without ceasing, if we wish to secure our eternal salvation ...’
Ref: “The Glories of Mary”. In “Documentation Service”, V:318
Mary Our Mother
“Predestined from eternity by that decree of Divine Providence which determined the Incarnation of the Word to be the Mother of God, the Blessed Virgin was on this earth the virgin Mother of the Redeemer, and above all others and in a singular way, the generous associate and humble handmaid of the Lord. She conceived, brought forth, and nourished Christ, she presented Him to the Father in the temple; and was united with him by compassion as he died on the Cross.
"In this singular way she cooperated by her obedience, faith, hope and burning charity in the work of the Savior in giving back supernatural life to souls. Wherefore she is our mother in the order of grace.”
Ref: Second Vatican Council, “Constitution on the Church”, n.61
• Foundation of the Abbey “de la Couronne”, of the order of St Augustine, in the diocese of Angouleme, under the title of Our Lady, by Lambert, who was its first abbot, in the year 1122. — Gallia Christiana, t. iv. (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; www.bethlehemobserver.com)
• Foundation of the Abbey “de la Couronne”, Angouleme (1122). (www/divinewill.org/feastsofourlady.html); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html)
• Foundation of Couronne Abbey in Mary’s honor. Angouleme 1122. (www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/calendar/index.html)
• Foundation of the Crown Abbey in Mary's honor, 1122. (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html)
• Our Lady, Queen and Protectress of Nigeria. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm)
• Our Lady of Prokov (The Protectress of the Byzantine Slavonic Church). (http://www/mariedenazareth.com)
• Holy Protection of the Mother of God. History of this feast in Byzantine Catholic Church. Orthodox liturgy. In 911 AD, when Constantinople was besieged, St Andrew of Constantinople saw Mary, John the Baptist, and John the Theologian enter a church in Constantinople. "She spread her cloak over the congregation as symbol of protection, and city was spared." (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm)
• Holy Protection of the Mother of God. (www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/calendar/index.html)
Outstanding for her humility, simplicity, and confidence in God, she offered her life for the salvation of souls and for the Church. Universal Patroness of the missions. (Fr James Socias, ‘et al’ [Eds], “Daily Roman Missal”, 1989, p1657)
St Therese of the Child Jesus
A spirit ... makes us cry out “Abba! Father!” It would perhaps be difficult to find words more incisive, and at the same time more gripping, to describe the particular charisma of Thérèse Martin, that which constituted the quite special gift of her heart and became a particular gift to the Church through her heart. A gift marvellous in its simplicity, a universal and at the same time unique gift.
It may be said with conviction of Theresa of Lisieux that the Holy Spirit permitted her heart to reveal the fundamental mystery, the reality of the Gospel, directly to the people of our time. The “little way” is the way of the “holy childhood”. There is something unique to this way -- the genius of St Theresa of Lisieux.
This most fundamental and most universal truth was in a certain sense rediscovered through the interior experience of her heart and the form which her whole life took, a life of only twenty-four years. She felt behind her the memory of a child “trusting” even to heroism and consequently, “free” even to heroism.
In her Carmel, Theresa felt especially united to all the Church’s missions and missionaries throughout the world. She felt herself to be “missionary”. She has been proclaimed patroness of the missions by the Church.
‘Abba! Father!’ Thanks to her, the whole Church has found again all the simplicity and all the freshness of that cry, which has its origin and source in the heart of Christ himself.
Ref: Cf “Prayers and Devotions from Pope John Paul II”, 1984, p345
‘And who is my neighbor?’
In answering this question Jesus intended to expose the selfish teaching of the doctors of the synagogue. They recognized as neighbors only their own citizens who were just, a title which they brought to themselves. Jesus replied:
“A man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell among robbers. They stripped him, beat him, and went off, leaving him half-dead. By chance a priest was going down that road, and saw the man, but passed by on the other side. A Levite, too saw him, and passed by the other side.” (cf Lk 10:30-32)
Jesus wants to show through this parable the charity wanting among the priests and Levites. How consoling to compare this situation to the infinite charity of our priests; and the laity nobly second their efforts.
Jesus contrasts the miserable selfishness of the priest and Levite to the noble generosity of a Samaritan, whom the Jews would not recognize as a neighbor.
“But a certain Samaritan came near ... seeing him, was moved to pity. He went to him, dressed his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own beast, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver pieces, gave them to the innkeeper and said: ‘Look after him; if there is any further expense I will repay you on my way back’.” (Lk 10:33-5)
Jesus evidently wished us to understand that--
First, we should look upon all, without exception, as our neighbors, even though they may be of a different nation or religion, as were the Jews and Samaritans;
Second, the only charity which is worth having is that which shows itself by deeds; and
Third, the simple, when their hearts are right, understand their duty better than learned men who are proud. A Samaritan set an example to a Jew, a layman, and a priest.
Jesus then asked the lawyer, “‘Which of these three, do you think, made himself neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers?’ He said, ‘The one who had mercy on him’. Jesus replied, ‘Go and do the same’.” (cf Lk 10:36-7)
Jesus tells us that our charity, like the Samaritan’s, should be active and generous. That we should exercise it at the expense of our personal comfort, health, even our life, if our neighbor’s salvation requires it.
Ref: Cf “Practical Meditations” by a Father of the Society of Jesus, 1964, pp618-21
The Fifteen Promises of Mary
to Christians Who Recite the Rosary:
1. Whoever shall faithfully serve me by recitation of the rosary, shall receive the signal graces.
Ref: Attributed to St Dominic from the writings of Blessed Alan de la Roche, OP. (In Rev J A Viano, SSP, “Two Months with Mary”, p73)
Meditations on the Litany of Loreto
‘Holy Mary, pray for us’ -- Since, in the Litany of our Blessed Lady, the Church teaches us to ask this good Mother so many times to pray for us, it will be well before meditation upon her titles, to consider the great power which her prayers have with God.
Blessed is that person for whom Mary prays. Jesus rejoices when his most Beloved Mother prays to him, that he may have the pleasure of granting her all she asks.
St Bernard says, ‘To be heard by the Son is to be graciously heard. Mary has only to speak, and her Son grants her all that she asks. Let us, therefore, pray to this divine Mother, without ceasing, if we wish to secure our eternal salvation ...’
Ref: “The Glories of Mary”. In “Documentation Service”, V:318
Mary Our Mother
“Predestined from eternity by that decree of Divine Providence which determined the Incarnation of the Word to be the Mother of God, the Blessed Virgin was on this earth the virgin Mother of the Redeemer, and above all others and in a singular way, the generous associate and humble handmaid of the Lord. She conceived, brought forth, and nourished Christ, she presented Him to the Father in the temple; and was united with him by compassion as he died on the Cross.
"In this singular way she cooperated by her obedience, faith, hope and burning charity in the work of the Savior in giving back supernatural life to souls. Wherefore she is our mother in the order of grace.”
Ref: Second Vatican Council, “Constitution on the Church”, n.61
• Foundation of the Abbey “de la Couronne”, of the order of St Augustine, in the diocese of Angouleme, under the title of Our Lady, by Lambert, who was its first abbot, in the year 1122. — Gallia Christiana, t. iv. (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; www.bethlehemobserver.com)
• Foundation of the Abbey “de la Couronne”, Angouleme (1122). (www/divinewill.org/feastsofourlady.html); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html)
• Foundation of Couronne Abbey in Mary’s honor. Angouleme 1122. (www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/calendar/index.html)
• Foundation of the Crown Abbey in Mary's honor, 1122. (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html)
• Our Lady, Queen and Protectress of Nigeria. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm)
• Our Lady of Prokov (The Protectress of the Byzantine Slavonic Church). (http://www/mariedenazareth.com)
• Holy Protection of the Mother of God. History of this feast in Byzantine Catholic Church. Orthodox liturgy. In 911 AD, when Constantinople was besieged, St Andrew of Constantinople saw Mary, John the Baptist, and John the Theologian enter a church in Constantinople. "She spread her cloak over the congregation as symbol of protection, and city was spared." (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm)
• Holy Protection of the Mother of God. (www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/calendar/index.html)
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