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| The Liturgical Year: January 12th - Seventh Day in the Octave of the Epiphany |
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Posted by: Stone - 01-12-2021, 06:36 AM - Forum: Christmas
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January 12 – Seventh Day within the Octave of the Epiphany
Taken from The Liturgical Year by Dom Prosper Gueranger (1841-1875)
Having laid their offerings at the feet of Jesus as a sign of the alliance they had, in the name of all mankind, contracted with him, and laden with his graces and blessings, the Magi take their leave of the Divine Babe; for such was his will. They take their departure from Bethlehem, and the rest of the world seems a wilderness to them. Oh! if they might be permitted to fix their abode near the newborn King and his incomparable Mother!—but no; God’s plan for the salvation of the world requires that everything savoring of human pomp and glory should be far from Him who had come to take upon himself all our miseries.
Besides, they are to be the first messengers of the Gospel; they must go and tell to the Gentiles that the Mystery of Salvation has begun, that the earth is in possession of its Savior, and that their salvation is nigh at hand. The star does not return to them; they needed it to find Jesus; but now, they have him in their hearts, and will never lose him. These three men are sent back into the midst of the Gentile world as the leaven of the Gospel which, notwithstanding its being so little, is to leaven to whole paste. (Matthew 13:33) For their sakes, God will bless the nations of the earth; from this day forward, infidelity will lose ground, and faith will progress; and when the Blood of the Lamb having been shed, Baptism shall be promulgated, the Magi shall be not merely men of desire, but perfect Christians, initiated into all the Mysteries of the Church.
The ancient tradition, which is quoted by the author of The Imperfect Work on St. Matthew, which is put in all the editions of St. John Chrysostom, and was probably written about the close of the 6th century—tells us that the three Magi were baptized by St. Thomas the Apostle, and devoted themselves to the preaching of the Gospel. But we scarcely need a tradition on such a point as this. The vocation of these three Princes could never be limited to the mere privilege of being the first among the Gentiles to visit the eternal King, who had come down from heaven to be born on this earth and show himself to his creatures; a second vocation was the consequence of the first, the vocation of preaching Jesus to men.
There are many details relating to the life and actions of the Magi after they had become Christians, which have been handed down to us; but we refrain from mentioning them as not being sufficiently ancient or important traditions to have induced the Church to give them place in her Liturgy. We would make the same observation with regard to the names assigned to them of Melchior, Gaspar, and Balthsassar; the custom of thus naming them is too modern to deserve credit; and though it might be indiscreet to deny that these were their true names, it seems very difficult to give proofs of their correctness.
The Relics of these holy Kings were translated from Persia to Constantinople, under the first Christian Emperors, and for a long time were kept in the Church of Saint Sophia. At a later period, they were translated to Milan, when Eustorgius was Bishop of that City. There they remained till the 12th century, when through the influence of the Emperor Frederic Barbarossa, they were translated to the Cathedral Church of Cologne by Reynold, Archbishop of that metropolitan See. The Relics are in a magnificent Shrine, perhaps the finest specimen now extant of medieval metallic art, and the superb Cathedral where it is religiously kept is, by its size and architectural beauty, one of the grandest Churches of the Christian world.
Thus have we followed you, O Blessed Magi! Fathers of the Gentile world! from your first setting out from the East for Bethlehem, to your return to your own country, and even to your sacred resting place, which the goodness of God has made to be in this cold West of ours. It was the love of children for their parents that made us thus cling to you. Besides, were we not ourselves in search of that dear King whom you so longed for and found? Blessed be those ardent desires of yours, blessed be your obedience to the guidance of the Star, blessed be your devotion at the Crib of Jesus, blessed be the gifts you made him, which while they were acceptable to God, were full of instruction to us! We revere you as Prophets, for you foretold the characters of the Messias by the selection of your three gifts. We honor you as Apostles, for you preached, even to Jerusalem herself, the Birth of the humble Jesus of Bethlehem, of that Jesus whom his disciples preached not till after the triumph of his Resurrection. We hail you as the Spring Flowers of the Gentile world, but Flowers which produced abundant and rich fruits, for you brought over entire nations and countless people to the service of our divine King. Watch over us, and protect the Church. Be mindful of those Eastern countries whence rises to the earth the light of day, the beautiful image of your own journey towards Bethlehem. Bless this Western world of ours, which was buried in darkness when you first saw the Star, and is now the favored portion of God’s earth, and on which the Divine Son of Justice pours forth his brightest and warmest rays. Faith has grown weak among us; re-enkindle it. Obtain of the divine mercy that the West may ever send forth her messengers of salvation to the south and north and even to that infidel East, where are laid the tents of Sem, and where the light that you gave her has been long extinguished by her apostasy. Pray for the Church of Cologne, that illustrious sister of our holiest Churches in the West; may she preserve the faith, may she defend her sacred rights and liberty; may she be that bulwark of Catholic Germany, and be ever blessed by the protection of her Three Kings, and the patronage of the glorious Ursula and her virginal army. Lastly, we beseech you, O venerable Magi! to introduce us to the Infant Jesus and his Blessed Mother; and grant us to go through these forty days which the Church consecrates to the Mystery of Christmas, with hearts burning with love for the Divine Child, and may that same love abide with us during the pilgrimage of our life on this earth.
Today, also, we will make use of the formulas employed by the several ancient Churches in honour of the Mystery of the Epiphany.
Our first selection is a hymn written by the great Fulbert of Chartres.
Hymn
‘I bring you tidings from heaven above: Christ, the Ruler of the earth, is born in Bethlehem of Juda: for thus was it foretold by the Prophet.’
Thus sing the glad choir of Angels; the same is announced by the Star, and the Eastern Kings come to offer to Jesus the worthy homage of their mystic gifts.
They offer their Frankincense to him as to their God; the Myrrh honors his sepulchre; the Gold is the token of his Kingly character.
Whilst thus worshipping One, the three offerers give three gifts to the Blessed Three.
Let us, too, sing praise to our Triune God: glory to the Father, and to his divine Son, and to the Holy Spirit, who is sent into the hearts of the faithful by the Father and the Son. Amen.
The two following Prayers are taken from the Mozarabic Breviary.
Prayer
Tu es, Domine, stella veritatis oriens ex Jacob, homoque consurgens ex Israel: et in novo sidere ostenderis Deus, et in præsepio positus Deus et homo, unus crederis Christus: propter magnam misericordiam tuam visionis tuæ nobis proroga gratiam: appareat in nobis lucis tuæ radiabile signum, quod expellat omnes tenebras vitiorum; ut qui visionis tuæ desiderio anhelamus, visionis tuæ præmio consolemur. Amen.
Thou, O Lord, art the Star of truth, that riseth out of Jacob, and the man that springeth from Israel. In the new Star thou showest thyself as God, and lying in the Crib God and Man, we confess thee to be the one Christ. In thy great mercy grant us the grace of seeing thee, and show unto us the radiant sign of thy light, whereby all the darkness of our sins may be put to flight: that so we who now languish with the desire of seeing thee, may be refreshed with the enjoyment of that blissful vision. Amen.
Prayer
Fulget, Domine, cœlum rutilum serenitate astrorum, terraque ipsa refulgenti lumine serenatur, quia apparere dignatus es mundo de habitaculo sancto tuo; sana ergo cordis nostri mœstitiam, quia ad hoc venisti, ut redimas universa: illudque nostris oculis lumen attribue, quo te purificati semper mereamur aspicere: ut qui Apparitionis tuæ gaudia lætabunda nuntiamus in gentibus, infinita tecum lætitia gaudeamus. Amen.
The heavens are shining with the clear beauty of the stars, O Lord, and the very earth is made beautiful by a shining light, because thou didst vouchsafe to appear to the world from out thy holy dwelling-place. Remove, therefore, from our hearts all sadness, for unto this end art thou come, that thou mayest make all things new. Grant also that light unto our eyes which may purify us and fit us to behold thee for ever; that thus we who preach to the nations the glad joys of thy Apparition, may be made glad with thee in infinite joy. Amen.
We take the following Sequence from the ancient Missals of the Churches of Germany.
Sequence
Our Savior is born unto us! Let us solemnly celebrate his Birthday.
To us was he given, unto us was he born, and with us has he lived, he the light and salvation of the Gentiles.
In the beginning Eve caused our death; but Jesus, by the merits of the human nature he assumed, has redeemed us.
Our first mother brought us woe; but Mary joyfully brought forth for us the fruit of life.
We neglected our heavenly Father, but he did not neglect us; he looked down upon us from heaven, and sent us his only Son.
This Jesus, though in the world, was hidden from the world; but, at length he came forth as a Bridegroom from the nuptial chamber, and made himself known.
He is the Giant foretold by the Psalmist—swift, and strong, and vanquishing our death, for he was girt with power.
He came that he might run his course, and so verify the prophecy, and the mysteries of the Law.
Jesus, thou our saving medicine, our only Peace and glory!
May all creatures give thee praise, for that thou didst so mercifully condescend to redeem us thy servants! Amen.
This beautiful canticle in honor of the Infant Jesus is from the pen of St. Ephrem, the sublime bard of the Syrian Church.
Hymn
The Hebrew maidens, who heretofore had been wont to chant the Lamentations of Jeremias in the plaintive strain of their Scriptures, now borrowed from the same holy volume joyful thoughts, and, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, sang them thus in hymns:
‘Let Eve, in Limbo, now raise up her eyes, and see this day whereon one of her race, and he the author of life, descends to raise up from death the mother of his own dear Mother. The adorable Infant crushed the head of the serpent, by whose poison Eve had perished.
‘Sara, the fair Isaac’s mother, foresaw thine Infancy, O Jesus, in her own son’s crib; the lullaby she sang over him told the mysteries of thy Childhood, which were foreshadowed and prefigured in her own child. Thus did she sing: “Sweet Babe! fruit of my prayers! I see in thee the Lord, who is hidden in thee as in his type: ’tis his receives the wishes and the prayers of pious hearts, and grants them their requests.”
‘The Nazarite Samson, the youth of exceeding strength, was a figure of thy strength, O Jesus! He tore a lion to pieces, typifying the death thou didst slay, for thou didst crush death, and from its bitter entrails didst draw forth life, whose taste would be most sweet to us.
‘Anna, too, pressed thee to her bosom in the person of Samuel the Prophet, who was twice a figure of thy ministry: firstly when he prefigured thy most just severity on the day when he slew King Agag, the figure of the devil, and cut him to pieces; secondly, by imitating thy mercy, though imperfectly, when he unceasingly shed his tears of loving and sincere compassion over the fall of Saul.’
The Menæa of the Greek Church furnish us with these beautiful stanzas in honor of the holy Mother of God.
Die xvi Januarii
O most august Queen! thou wast the untilled land that gavest us our Wheat, Jesus, the Lord and feeder of the universe; by eating this Bread we are restored to life.
Seeing our Lord made incarnate from thee, chaste Virgin! we confess thee to be in very deed the Mother of God, that didst thus become, we hesitate not to proclaim it, the cause of the regeneration of all things.
He, the Being above all beings, who was a pure spirit, took flesh to himself from thy pure blood, O Spotless Maid! and, remaining God as before, he was made Flesh, and lived among men.
Nature’s Laws were truly suspended in thee, most pure Virgin! for thou remainest a Virgin after thy delivery, as thou wast before it, for thou didst give birth to Him who is the giver of all laws, Christ.
Spotless Mother of God! heal the passions of my wretched soul: appease my mind, tossed by the attacks of my enemy as with tempests, and bring, O Virgin, peace unto my heart.
Jesus, the divine Husbandman of the world, thound thee, chaste Virgin! in the lowly valley of this earth, growing as a Rose amidst thorns. He entered thy womb, and was born of thee, refresing us with the delicious fragrance of the knowledge of divine things.
O Virgin Mary! we acknowledge thee to be the mystic candlestick, on which was placed the Light inaccessible; thereby, thou hast enlightened the minds of all the faithful, and hast put to flight the darkness of sin.
Thus do we cry out to thee in words of thankful love: Hail, most pure dwelling of spiritual Light! Hail, cause of our union with God! Hail, destroyer of the curse! Hail, O thou that didst call from their exile the children of this earth!
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| The Present Crisis of the Holy See by Cardinal Manning |
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Posted by: Elizabeth - 01-12-2021, 01:12 AM - Forum: Catholic Prophecy
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THE
PRESENT CRISIS
of
THE HOLY SEE
TESTED BY PROPHECY.
Four Lectures
BY
CARDINAL HENRY EDWARD MANNING, D.D.
LONDON :
BURNS & LAMBERT, 17 & 18 PORTMAN STREET,
AND 63 PATERNOSTER ROW ;
KNOWLES, NORFOLK ROAD, BAYSWATER.
MDCCCLXI.
1861
TO THE VERY REVEREND
JOHN HENRY NEWMAN, D.D.
OF THE congregation OF ST. PHILIP NERI
MY DEAR DR. NEWMAN,
About three years ago you kindly joined my name with your own in the dedication of your last volume of Sermons. Let me give a proof how grateful it was to me to be in any way united with you by asking you to let me join your name with mine in this unworthy return. But, as you know, xahkcea Xpvoelov is the old bargain.
You were so kind as to own me as a friend of nearly thirty years; and that tells me that we are both touching upon the time of life when men may look back and measure the path they have trod. It is no small thing to have been in an active life of much eventfulness and labour for more than a quarter of a century, and for a full generation of man. With very few exceptions, all the men who held trust and power when our friendship began have passed away, and a new generation has been born and has grown up to manhood since we entered into life.
Men are always tempted to think the times in which they live eventful and pregnant beyond other ages. But, allowing for this common infirmity, I think we shall not be far wrong in considering as exceptionally great the thirty years which, beginning with Catholic Emancipation, embrace the restoration of the Catholic Episcopate to England, and terminate with the antichristian movement of Europe against the Temporal Sovereignty of the Holy See. I may add, that to you and to me this period has another high and singular interest in the intellectual movement which sprung up chiefly at Oxford, and has made itself felt throughout our country and our times. You have been a master-builder in this work, and I a witness of its growth. You remained long in Oxford, still with all its disfigurements so dear to both of us; but I was removed to a distance, and had to work alone. Nevertheless, to you I owe a debt of gratitude for intellectual help and light, greater than to any one man of our time; and it gives me a sincere gratification now publicly to ac knowledge, though I can in no way repay, it. Among the many things which give a vivid and grave interest to this moment is the pronounced and explicit development on either side of the two great intellectual movements, the course of which we have watched so long. There was a time when those who now stand opposed as Catholics and Rationalists were apparently in close and perfect identity of conviction. But under the form of a common opinion there lay concealed, even then, the essential antagonism of two principles, the divergence of which is as wide as Divine faith or human opinion can inter pose between the minds of men.
While every year has confirmed with luminous evidence the reasons which, to you and to me, elevated the convictions of intellect into the consciousness of faith, and has revealed to us the Divine unity and endowments of the only Church of God, some of those who were at our side, or sitting at your feet, have been carried back, as by a ground-swell, into Anglicanism, Protestantism, Latitudinarianism, and rationalistic Deism. While the Divine character and sovereignty of the One Church Catholic and Roman, with the prerogatives of the Vicar of the Incarnate Word, have manifested themselves to us in an amplitude and majesty which commands the loving obedience of intellect, and heart, and will, and all the powers of our life, others we once loved well have come to find their chief claim to statesmanship in a policy which, to me, is simply the prelude of Antichrist. The Italian policy of England is without any other name. And I am amazed that the great French people, so sensitive of English preeminence, so jealous of English influence, and so justly contemptuous of the absurdities of English Protestantism, should have allowed itself to be goaded or gibed into accomplishing a policy hateful to Catholic France, and surpassing all the hopes of Protestant England. To strip the Holy See of its temporal sovereignty has been since Henry VIII. the passion of Protestant England; but it never dreamed of accomplishing its object of predilection by the hand of Catholic France. This is a surpassing achievement.
I had hardly written this sentence when I read the debate in the House of Commons on the Foreign Policy of Government. I do not think either you or I are likely to be suspected as apologists for the Neapolitan prisons, if they are as bad as ours were a few years ago; or for la torture de Naples, if there be in it a particle of truth, which I more than doubt. You and I have no fear of being thought to be lovers of despotism, or absolutism, or even of repressive government. But I think we shall both judge it to be a melancholy spectacle when we see the House of Commons led away by declamations on these topics from the laws which have created Christian Europe, and all that is precious in the English constitution, to approve a policy subversive of European society. The law of nations, public rights, established treaties, and legitimate possession, are no doubt to the modern school of statesmen null and with out meaning. They are nevertheless the realities which bind society together; and they constitute the moral tests by which the justice of a cause is to be tried. The policy which violates them is immoral ; its end is public lawlessness, and its success will be its own punishment. Now I have no deeper conviction than that this anticatholic movement, led or stimulated by England, will have its perfect success, and will reign for a time supreme; and next that, perhaps before we are in our graves, all who have partaken in it—princes, statesmen, and people—will be scourged by a universal conflict with revolution, and a European war, to which 1793 and the wars of the first empire are a faint prelude. What shames and alarms me most is to see that men, who once believed in a higher order of Christian politics, now propagate against the Holy See the doctrine of nationality, and the lawfulness of revolution, which, if applied to England, would only fail to dismember the empire because it would be put down in blood. It seems as if men had lost their light. How otherwise can we explain the blindness which cannot see that the conflict of France and Austria has weakened the Catholic society of Europe, and has given to the Protestant politics of England and Prussia a most dangerous predominance? It will not be long before a European war will wear out and waste the powers of the Christian society, including Protestant and Catholic alike, and will give a fatal predominance to the antichristian society, or revolution, which is every where preparing for the last struggle, and for its supremacy. The Catholic society of Europe weakened, the Christian society will soon in turn give way. Then comes the scourge. The conviction Ifeel that a great retribution is impending over the anticatholic movement of England, France, and Italy, is rendered all the more certain by the fact that the critical point in the whole conflict, the key of the whole, and the last success to be gained, is the dethronement of the Vicar of our Redeemer. The temporal power of the Pope, we are told, has been the great hindrance to the peace of Italy and Europe. It is this which distributes and marshals the two arrays. Qui mon mecum, contra me est. They will have their day, and the Vicar of Jesus Christ will await his time. Si moram fecerit, expecta illum ; quia veniens veniet, et non tardabit.
Meanwhile England is preparing for its own dis solution. It has headed the unbelief of Europe, and it will be devoured by its own followers. The Re formation has done its work upon it. Protestantism, like the shirt of Nessus, cleaves to the flesh of Eng land, and its day will come at last. We are told that man has some eighty-three parasites which live upon his substance. The Anglican Church in like manner gives pabulum to every heresy, and harbours within its system what the living Church of God expels and casts out. At this moment in the Established Church there exists in a formal state Sabellianism, Pelagianism, Nestorianism, Calvinism, Lutheranism, Zuinglianism, Naturalism, and Rationalism. I pass over a multitude of other less
formal heresies, and name only these because they have a definite and active existence in the Establishment, and are reproducing themselves. It is the intrinsic enmity of this congeries of heresies which directs the political power of England against the Catholic Church, and, above all, against the Holy See; and gives to England the melancholy and bad preeminence of the most anticatholic, and therefore the most antichristian, power of the world.
In the following pages I have endeavoured, but for so great a subject most insufficiently, to show that what is passing in our times is the prelude of the antichristian period of the final dethronement of Christendom, and of the restoration of society with out God in the world. But, sooner or later, so it must be. “The Son of Man indeed goeth, as it is written of Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man shall be betrayed; it were better for him if that man had not been born” (St. Matt. xxvi. 24).
May God keep us from sharing even by silence in the persecution of His Church
Believe me, my dear Dr. Newman, always affectionately yours,
H. E. MANNING.
ST. MARY's, BAYSWATER,
Easter 1861.
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| The Chaplet of the Sacred Heart of Jesus |
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Posted by: Hildegard of Bingen - 01-11-2021, 09:45 PM - Forum: In Honor of Our Lord
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Since we are not able to attend mass on the First Friday of the month, we started this devotion "THE CHAPLET OF THE SACRED HEART",
we say it every First Friday of each month.
THE CHAPLET OF THE SACRED HEART
There is only one chaplet of the Sacred Heart. The chaplet consists of 33 small beads,
6 large beads, a centerpiece, crucifix and a Sacred Heart medal. The medal bears the
Sacred Heart of Jesus on one side and the Sacred Heart of Mary on the other.
ON THE CRUCIFIX SAY:
"Soul of Christ, sanctify me!"
"Body of Christ, save me!"
"Blood of Christ, inebriate me!"
"Water from the side of Christ, wash me!"
"Passion of Christ, strengthen me!"
"O good Jesus hear me!
"Within they wounds hide me;
permit me not to be separated from Thee;
from the malignant enemy defend me;
in the hour of death, call me and bid me
come over to Thee, that with Thy saints
I may praise Thee forever and ever. Amen"
ON THE LARGE BEADS SAY:
"O Sweetest Heart of Jesus, I implore that I may
every love Thee more and more."
ON THE SMALL BEADS SAY:
"Sweet Heart of Jesus, be my love."
AT THE END OF EACH DECADE SAY:
"Sweet Heart of Mary, be my salvation."
AT THE CONCLUSION SAY:
"May the Heart of Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament be
blessed, adored and loved with grateful affection at every
moment in all the Tabernacles of the world even to the end of time. Amen."
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| Prayer of St. Pius X to St. Joseph |
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Posted by: Hildegard of Bingen - 01-11-2021, 09:41 PM - Forum: Prayers and Devotionals
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Prayer of Saint Pius X to Saint Joseph
O Glorious Saint, pattern of all who are devoted to work, obtain for me the grace.
- To work in the spirit of penance in order to atone for my sins;
- To work faithfully, putting duties before my own desires;
- To labor with gratitude and joy, considering it an honor to use and develop the talents I have received from God;
- To work with order, peace, moderation and patience, without shrinking from weariness or difficulties;
- To work with a pure intention and with detachment for self, having ever before my eyes the hour of death and the accounting I must give of time poorly spent, of talents unused, of good undone, and of empty pride in success.
All for Jesus through Mary; all in imitation of you, Holy Joseph.
Memorare to Saint Joseph
Remember, O most illustrious Patriarch Saint Joseph, on the testimony of St. Teresa, thy devoted client, never hath it been heard that anyone invoked thy protection and sought thy mediation who has not obtained relief. In this confidence, I come before thee, my loving protector, chaste spouse of Mary, foster-father of the Savior of men and dispenser of the treasures of His Sacred Heart. Despise not my earner prayer but graciously hear and obtain my petition.
Let us pray:
O God, who by the ineffable Providence didst vouchsafe to choose blessed Joseph for the spouse of thy most holy Mother; grant, we beseech thee, that he whom we venerate as our protector on earth may be our intercessor in heaven; who livest and reignest for ever and ever. Amen.
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| The Liturgical Year: January 11th - Sixth Day in the Octave of the Epiphany |
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Posted by: Stone - 01-11-2021, 08:26 PM - Forum: Christmas
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January 11 – Sixth Day within the Octave of the Epiphany
Taken from The Liturgical Year by Dom Prosper Gueranger (1841-1875)
The Magi were not satisfied with paying their adorations to the great King whom Mary presented to them. After the example of the Queen of Saba, who paid her homage to the Prince of Peace in the person of King Solomon, these three Eastern Kings opened their treasures and presented their offerings to Jesus. Our Emmanuel graciously accepted those mystic gifts and suffered them not to leave him until he had loaded them with gifts infinitely more precious than those he had vouchsafed to receive. The Magi had given him of the riches which this earth produced; Jesus repays them with heavenly gifts. He strengthened in their hearts the virtues of faith, hope, and charity; he enriched, in their persons, the Church of which they were the representatives; and the words of the Canticle of Mary were fulfilled in them: He hath filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he hath sent empty away, (Luke 1:53) for the Synagogue refused to follow them in their search after the King of the Jews.
But let us consider the gifts made by the Magi, and let us, together with the Church and the Holy Fathers, acknowledge the Mysteries expressed by them. The gifts were three in number, in order to honor the sacred number of the Persons in the divine Essence, as likewise to express the triple character of the Emmanuel. He had come, that he might be King over the whole world; it was fitting that men should offer Gold to him, for it is the emblem of sovereign power. He had come to be High Priest, and by his mediation, reconcile earth to heaven. Incense, then, was an appropriate gift, for the Priest uses it when he offers sacrifice. But thirdly, it was only by his own death that he was to obtain possession of the throne, which was prepared for his glorified Human Nature, and the perpetual Sacrifice of the Divine Lamb was to be inaugurated by this same his Death; the gift of Myrrh was expressive of the Death and Burial of an immortal Victim. The Holy Ghost, who inspired the Prophets, had guided the Magi in their selection of these three gifts. Let us listen to St. Leo, who speaking of this Mystery says with his usual eloquence:
“O admirable Faith, which leads to Knowledge the perfect Knowledge, and which was not taught in the school of earthly wisdom, but was enlightened by the Holy Ghost himself! For, whence had they learnt the supernatural beauty of their three Gifts!—they had had come straight from their own country and had not, as yet, seen Jesus nor beheld in his Infant Face the Light which directed them in the choice of their offerings? While the Star met the gaze of the bodily eye, their hearts were instructed by a stronger light—the ray of Truth. Before setting out on the fatiguing journey, they knew Him to whom were due, by Gold, the honors of a King; by Incense, the worship of God; by Myrrh, the faith in his Mortal Nature.” (Sermon the 4th, on Epiphany)
But these three gifts, which so sublimely express the three characters of the Man-God, are fraught with instruction for us. They signify three great virtues, which the Divine Infant found in the souls of the Magi, and to which he added increase by his grace. Gold signifies charity, which unites us to God; Frankincense prayer, which brings God into man’s heart; and Myrrh self-abnegation, suffering, and mortification, whereby we are delivered from the slavery of corrupt nature. Find a heart that loves God, that raises herself up to him by prayer, that understands and relishes the power of the cross—and you have in that heart the worthiest offering which can be made to God, and one which he always accepts.
We too, O Jesus! offer thee our treasure and our gifts. We confess thee to be God and Priest and Man. We beseech thee to accept the desire we have of corresponding to the love thou showest us by giving thee our love in return; we love thee, dear Savior! do thou increase our love. Receive also the gift of our Prayer, for though of itself it be tepid and poor, yet it is pleasing to thee because united with the prayer of thy Church; teach us how to make it worthy of thee and how to give it the power of obtaining what thou desirest to grant: form within us the gift of prayer, that it may unceasingly ascend up like sweet Incense in thy sight. And lastly, receive the homage of our contrite and humble hearts, and the resolution we have formed of restraining and purifying our senses by mortification and penance.
The sublime Mysteries, which we are celebrating during this holy season, have taught us the greatness of our own misery, and the immensity of thy love for us, and we feel more than ever the obligation we are under of fleeing from the world and its concupiscences, and of uniting ourselves to thee. The Star shall not have shone upon us in vain: it has brought us to thee, dear King of Bethlehem! and thou shalt be King of our hearts. What have we that we prize and hold dear, which we can hesitate to give thee in return for the sweet infinite treasure of Thyself, which thou hast given to us?
Dear Mother of our Jesus! we put these our offerings into thy hands. The gifts of the Magi were made through thee, and they were pleasing to thy Son; thou must present ours to him, and he will be pleased with them, in spite of their poverty. Our love is deficient; fill up its measure by uniting it with thine own immense love. Second our prayer by thy maternal intercession. Encourage us in our warfare against the world and the flesh. Make sure our perseverance, by obtaining for us the grace of a continual remembrance of the sweet Mysteries which we are now celebrating; pray for us, that after thine own example, we may keep all these things in our hearts. That must be a hard and depraved heart, which could offend Jesus in Bethlehem; or refuse him anything, now that he is seated on thy lap, waiting for our offering! O Mary! keep us from forgetting that we are the children of the Magi, and that Bethlehem is ever open to receive us.
Let us borrow the language of the ancient Liturgies, in order to give expression to the sentiments awakened in us by all these ineffable Mysteries. Let us begin with this Hymn on the Nativity of our Lord, left us by the saintly Bishop of Poitiers, Venantius Fortunatus.
Hymn
Let all ages acknowledge that he is come who is the reward of life. After minkind had carried the yoke of its cruel enemy, our Redemption appeared.
What Isaias foretold has been fulfilled in the Virgin; an Angel announced the mystery to her, and the Holy Ghost filled her by his power.
Mary conceived in her womb, for she believed in the word that was spoken to her: the womb of a youthful maid holds him whom the whole earth cannot contain.
Radix Jesse floruit,
The Root of Jesse has given its flower, and the Branch has borne its fruit: Mary has given birth to Jesus, and the Mother is still the spotless Virgin.
He that created the light suffers himself to be laid in a manger; he that, with the Father, made the heavens, is now wrapt by his Mother’s hand in swaddling-clothes.
He that gave to the world the ten commandments of the law, deigns, by becoming Man, to be under the bond of the law.
What the old Adam defiled, that the new Adam has purified; and what the first cast down by his pride, the second raised up again by his humility.
Light and salvation are now born to us, night is driven away, and death is vanquished: oh! come, all ye people, believe; God is born of Mary. Amen.
The Mozarabic Breviary contains the following eloquent prayer.
Prayer
O God, Son of God, the ineffable Power of the Father, who, by the rising of a new star, didst reveal thyself to the Gentiles as the King of kings, and now art seen in thy glory in that happy city above: O thou before whom the islands tremble, and the Gentile princes and nations bow in homage, and to whom all kingdoms are subject, and at whose feet all kings lay down their crowns: vouchsafe now, by thy grace, to show thyself in thy mercy to our souls, and manifest thyself by our lives: that having within us the first-fruits of the Spirit, we may ever offer thee such gifts as thereby to merit to enter, with hearts well-pleasing to thee, into the blessed Jerusalem, and by offering thee now the most pure gold of our works, we may deserve to be partakers of thy kingdom. Amen.
We take the following Sequence from the Paris Missal of 1584.
Sequence
There is sung in the highest heavens: Glory be to the new-born King, by whom peace is restored between heaven and earth.
Rightly do we keep the Birth-day of Jesus as a feast; for by his birth, the grace of the new law is born.
He, our Mediator, is given to us to be the reward of our salvation: he takes upon himself our nature, refusing only to be like us in our sin.
As a star loses nothing of its brightness by giving forth is ray; so neither does Mary suffer the loss of her purity by giving birth to her Son.
Who is the Stone cut from the mountain and not by the hand of man, if not our Jesus, who was of the line of kings,
And was born from the womb of his Virgin-Mother, after she had virginally conceived?
Let the wilderness be glad, and the desert bloom;—the rod of Jesse has flowered.
As was foretold in the Law, the Root has yielded its Branch, the Branch is Flower, and the Virgin our Savior.
The Root was the figure of David: the Branch was the type of Mary, who was born of a kingly race.
The Flower is the Child that is born unto us, well likened to a flower, by reason of his wonderful sweetness.
He, whose birth is celebrated by the heavenly spirits, is laid in a manger!
The citizens of heaven are in jubilee, whilst the Shepherds are keeping watch in the still night.
Let all creatures give forth praise for that the Virgin has given birth to her Son.
The law and the psalms harmonize with the writings of the Prophets.
The Angels and the Shepherds, the Star and the Magi, all agree in proclaiming the Birth.
The Easter Kings run to the Crib of the Babe—they are the first-fruits of the Gentiles.
O Jesus, immortal Babe! born in time because thou wouldst assume our nature, snatch us, by thy power, from this life’s woes.
After this our mortal life, or rather this living death, mercifully restore unto us that life which is immortal. Amen.
St. Ephrem, the holy Deacon of Edessa, thus continues his admirable dialogue between Mary and the Magi.
Hymn
Tell me, I beg of you as friends, how the mystery was declared to you in your country, and who it was that told you to come to me?
A star of great size appeared to us, more brilliant far than other stars; its light illumined our land, and it was an announcement to us that the King was born.
Tell not this, I pray you, in these our parts, lest the kings of the earth should hear it, and plot, in their envy, against the Child.
Fear not, O Virgin! for thy Son shall be master of all crows, and shall crush them; neither shall the envy of kings be able to hurt him.
I fear that unclean wolf Herod, lest perhaps he bring grief upon me, and draw his sword to cut from off its vine my sweet though not yet ripened Fruit.
For not Herod, for his throne shall be o’erthrown by thy Son, and his reign shall be short, and his crown shall fall from his head.
Jerusalem is a torrent of blood, and all that are good are slain; if they be known, the city will plot against my Child. I pray you, then, whisper these things, and noise them not abroad.
All blood-shedding shall be stayed, and all weapons sheathed by the hand of thy Son; Jerusalem’s sword shall be stupefied, powerless to strike, unless by his consent.
The Scribes and Pharisees of Jerusalem are skilled in secret murders, and may stir up some deadly purposes against me and the Child. Be silent, Magi, I beseech you.
Not so: the envious Scribes and Pharisees shall not have power to injure thy Child; nay, he will take away their priesthood, and put an end to their solemn feasts.
An Angel appeared to me when I conceived my Babe; he told me, as he told you, that my Child is King, and that his throne is from above, and shall never have an end.
This Angel, then, of wom thou speakest, is he that appeared to us under the figure of the star, and told us that thy Son is greater and brighter than the stars.
Lo, now I will reveal to you another secret, that you may take fresh courage: I have given birth to my Child, who is the Son of God, and yet am I a Virgin. Go forth and preach his name to the nations.
All this was taught us by the Star: it told us that his birth was beyond the course of nature, and that thy Son is above all creatures, and that he is the Son of God.
Take peace back with you to your land; may peace be in your territories; may you be the truthful messengers of the Truth on all your journey.
May the peace of thy Son, which brought us hither, lead us back safe to our country; and, when his kingdom shall be declared to the world, may he visit our land, and bless it.
May Persia rejoice at your tidings, and Assria be glad in your return; and when the kingdom of my Son shall be declared, he shall set his standard in your land.
Let us turn to this tender Mother, and sing to her this Hymn of the Greek Church,
which breathes so sweetly the unction and piety of St. Joseph the Hymnographer.
Die xv Januarii
Tossed by the troublesome attacks of my passions, as by so many storms, and buffeted by the blows of my sins as by angry billows, I lovingly fly to thy untiring protection, O Maid most worthy of all praise. Have pity on me, and save me, O ever spotless Virgin!
When the God of purity found thee, O spotless Virgin, in the lowly valleys as the Rose that breathes forth sweet fragrance, he dwelt within thee, and filled the human race with the most delicious perfume.
Turn the faculties of my soul, O most pure one, to the divine commandments of him who shone forth from thy womb, and by thy prayers deliver me from the storm of this life’s scandals.
Turn the faculties of my soul, O more pure one, to the divine commandments of him who shone forth from thy womb, and by thy prayers deliver me from the storm of this life’s scandals.
O chaste Virgin! thou didst, from thy womb, clothe with a Word equal to his Father in works and in majesty; from thee, by reason of his unspeakable mercy, did he assume our entire human nature.
O Blessed Mother! we praise thy Son, who redeemed us from the old curse. We bless thee, O blessed by God above all women, who art loved above all by him who is blessed and glorious above all.
Thou pourest forth an everflowing stream on us who have recourse to thee O Virgin-Mother! Refreshed by its plentiful grace, we praise thy Son, O purest Maid, and we extol him above all for ever.
Thy womb was made the dwelling-place of Light, whereby they saw the light that sat in darkness. Therefore do we ever praise thee with our unceasing hymns, O Mother of God, and devoutly venerate thee, the hope of our hearts.
Pope-Hyginus
The Church makes commemoration today of the holy Pope and Martyr Hyginus. He held the Apostolic Chair under the reign of Antoninus, and closed his four year Pontificate by martyrdom. We have no history of his life, but we venerate in him one of the links of that grand chain of Pontiffs which unites us, by St. Peter, to our Lord Jesus Christ. The whole weight of the government of the Church was upon his shoulders, and he was courageous and faithful in the discharge of his duties; his reign was during the age of Persecution, when to be Pope was to be a victim of tortures and death. As we have already said, he soon won his Palm and was associated in heaven with the three Magi, who had, before leaving this world, preached the gospel in Greece, the country of our Saint. Let us ask him to bless the offerings we are making to the Divine Infant of Bethlehem, and to pray for us that we may obey this sweet King, who asks us to give him not our blood by martyrdom, but our hearts by charity.
Let us honor the memory of this holy Pope, and say with the Church:
Ant. Iste Sanctus pro lege Dei sui certavit usque ad mortem, et a verbis impiorum non tinuit; fundatus enim erat supra firmam petram.
Oremus.
Infirmitatem nostram respice, omnipotens Deus, et quia pondus propriæ actionis gravat, beati Hygini Martyris tui atque Pontificis intercessio gloriosa nos protegat. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.
Ant. This Saint fought, even unto death, for the law of his God, and feared not the words of the wicked; for he was set upon a firm rock.
Let Us Pray.
Have regard, O Almighty God, to our weakness; and whereas we sink under the weight of our own doings, let the glorious intercession of blessed Hyginus, thy Martyr and Bishop, be a protection to us. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
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| Act of Confidence in God |
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Posted by: Hildegard of Bingen - 01-10-2021, 06:51 PM - Forum: In Honor of Our Lord
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ACT OF CONFIDENCE IN GOD
by St. Claude de la Combiere
My God, I am so convince that Thou keepest watch over those who hope in Thee, and that we can want for nothing when we look for all from Thee, that I am resolved in the future to live free from every care, and to turn all my anxieties over to Thee. “In the peace I find in Thee I will sleep, and I will rest: for Thou, O Lord, hast singularly settled me in the hope I have of Thy divine goodness” (Ps 4:9-10). Men may deprive me of possessions and of honor; sickness may strip me of strength and the means of serving Thee; I may even lose Thy grace by sin; but I shall never lose my hope. I shall keep it until the last moment of my life; and at that moment all the demons in Hell shall strive to tear it from me in vain. “In the peace I find in Thee I will sleep and I will rest . . . “ Others may look for happiness from their wealth or their talents; others may rest on the innocence of their life, or the severity of their penance, or the amount of their alms, or the fervor of their prayers; for Thou, O Lord, hast singularly settled me in hope.” As for me, Lord all my confidence is my confidence itself. This confidence has never deceived anyone. No one, no one has hoped in Thee, Lord, and has been confounded (Ecclus. 2:11)
I am sure, therefore, that I shall be eternally happy, since I firmly hope to be, and because it is from Thee, O God, that I hope for it. “In Thee, O Lord, have I hoped, let me never be confounded (Ps. 30:2). I know, alas I know only too well, that I am weak and unstable. I know what temptation can do against the strongest virtue. I have seen the stars of Heaven fall, and the pillars of the firmament; but that cannot frighten me. So long as I continue to hope, I shall be sheltered from all misfortune; and I am sure of hoping always, since I hope also for this unwavering hopefulness.
Finally, I am sure that I cannot hope too much in Thee, and that I cannot receive has than I have hoped for from Thee. So I hope that Thou wilt hold me safe on the steepest slopes, that Thou wilt sustain me against the most furious assaults, and that Thou wilt make my weakness triumph over my most fearful enemies. I hope that Thou wilt love me always, and that I too shall love Thee without ceasing. To carry my hope once and for all as far as it can go, I hope from Thee to possess Thee, O my Creator, in time and in Eternity. Amen.
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| Act of Love of the Holy Cure d'Ars |
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Posted by: Hildegard of Bingen - 01-10-2021, 03:24 PM - Forum: Prayers and Devotionals
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ACT OF LOVE
OF THE HOLY CURE D’ARS
I love Thee, O my God,
My only desire is to love Thee,
Until the last breath of my life.
I love Thee,
O infinitely loveable God,
And I prefer to die loving Thee,
Rather than to live for an instant without Thee.
I love Thee, O my God, and I desire only to go to
Heaven, to have the happiness of loving Thee perfectly.
I love Thee, O my God, and my only fear is to go
To hell, because one will never have the sweet solace of
Loving Thee there.
O my God, if my tongue cannot say at all times
That I love Thee, at least I want my heart
To repeat it to Thee as many times as I breathe.
Ah! Do me the grace: to suffer while loving Thee,
To love Thee while suffering, and, that when I die:
I not only will love Thee but experience it in my heart.
I beg Thee that: the closer I come to my final
End, Thou will increase and perfect my love for Thee.
Amen.
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| Jesus, Mary, I love You! Save Souls! |
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Posted by: Hildegard of Bingen - 01-10-2021, 03:22 PM - Forum: Prayers and Devotionals
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Venerable Sister Consolata Betrone (1903-1946) -Mystic and Victim Soul
“There is a beautiful supplication, a quick prayer that our Lord gave to Sister Maria [Consolata] Betrone. It says- ‘Jesus and Mary, I love You. Save souls.’ It is very simple, but oh it carries a lot of weight.” -Mother M Angelica of EWTN
Birth and early life
Sister Consolata Betrone was born in Saluzzo, Italy on April 6, 1903, and was named Pierina Lorenzina Giovanna Betrone. She was the daughter of Pietro Betrone and Giuseppina Nirino, who were the owners of a bakery in Saluzzo, who later became managers of a restaurant in Airasco (Turin). Pierina was the second of six daughters born of her father's second marriage.
Nothing in the early life and background could foretell that this young girl would become one of Jesus’ beloved victim souls. She seemed to live a normal childhood up until the age of 13 when one remarkable day our Lord cast His loving gaze upon her. It so happened that while she was hurrying to do her errands in the village when, unexpectedly, an intense prayer suddenly came forth from her heart: "My God, I love you!" and a unusual spiritual fervor overcame her. It was the beginning of her extraordinary experiences with the Lord.
On December 8 1916, which was the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, Pierina dedicated herself to the Virgin. After receiving Holy Communion, she distinctly heard within her the words
"Do you want to be Mine?"
Deeply moved by this extraordinary grace, she wept with tears of emotion, and without understanding the extent of the question, she replied “Yes” to Jesus, entrusting herself to Him.
As the weeks and months progressed, Pierina began to feel God calling her to the religious life. During the same time, and continuing for several years, she began a period of spiritual doubts, dryness and temptations, which were surely sent by the Lord to purify her soul. Our Lord first led her out into the spiritual desert in order to prepare her for her mission as victim soul.
Three failed attempts at entering the religious life
It was not until she was age 21 before she was finally able to realise the religious vocation that God was calling her to.
"Nothing attracts me about the Capuchins", she said, after three failed attempts to take the veil in “open” religious orders [ie- not cloistered], It was her confessor, Don Accomasso, who, enlightened by God as all sincere confessors are, advised her to enter the Convent of the Poor Clares (Order of Franciscan Capuchins) in Turin, Italy. This was an on April 17, 1929. After the normal period of preparation and discernment she gratefully received the Veil on February 28, 1930, taking the name of Sister Maria Consolata,
The new name, “Consolata”, chosen by young Pierina is indicative of the spiritual path and life that Jesus was calling her to, for the word “Consolata” means consoler, and it was she who soon became the consoler of the Heart of Jesus. On this very day of the Ceremony of taking the Veil, she received an inner locution from Jesus that indicated to her what His will was for her. Jesus said-
"I do not call you for more than this: an act of continual love."
And for more than 16 years of enclosed Capuchin life this “act of continual love” would be the foundation on which she concentrated all her spiritual efforts.
On April 8 1934, she took her perpetual vows, working in the convent as a humble cook, doorkeeper and cobbler. She was transferred on July 22 1939 to the new foundation of Moriondo, Moncalieri Turin, where she was also a nurse and secretary. Her exterior life was one lived out in daily sacrifices, penances and self denial, hidden to the world, in fulfilment of the tasks assigned her by her superiors. Although her exterior life was similar to her fellow religious sisters, in her interior life she was receiving exceptional and extraordinary graces from God, which unfolded unnoticed in the intimacy of her spirit. She became the confidante of Jesus and His Sacred Heart.
The confidante of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
On November 9, 1934 Sister Consolata writes:
"Jesus reveals to me the intimate sufferings of His Heart caused by the faithlessness of souls consecrated to Him". After this, she began to have a burning desire to make reparation for the sins of the world, and to lead sinners to Jesus. And thus began the intense spiritual relationship, and intimacy between Jesus and Consolata: together in love, together in pain, together to deliver a countless number of souls to the Father, who seeks them in His infinite love, mercy and compassion. After all it was the Lord Himself who told her:
"Do not think of me as a harsh God, because I am foremost the God of love!".
Jesus, Mary, I love You! Save souls!
It was then that our Lord also inspired Sister Consolata with this important universal prayer, "Jesus, Mary, I love you! Save souls!"
Remembering what Jesus had told her on the day that she took the Veil-
"I do not call you for more than this: act of continual love”, Sister Consolata began to thus repeat this one prayer, over and over again, during all her waking hours, in every form of work as she went about her daily duties. For it was Christ himself, who instructed her in the practice of what He called the “unceasing act of love” expressed in the words- "Jesus, Mary, I love you! Save souls!"
Concerning this prayer, our Lord said,
"Tell me, what more beautiful prayer do you want to offer me? ---'Jesus, Mary, I love you! Save souls!'--- Love and souls! What more beautiful prayer could you desire?’"
Her littleness and humility
Though Sister Consolata was blessed with these extraordinary interior enlightenment's by God, she remained very humble and still felt small, and she saw herself as the “even smaller one” which Saint Therese of Lisieux had referred to in her diary. This feeling of littleness that Consolata felt within her soul was confirmed by our Lord in the following words:
"I have found that still weaker soul who has abandoned herself with complete faith to My infinite mercy: it is you, Consolata, and through you I will perform marvels which will far exceed your fondest desires."
And later Jesus tells her: -‘You are to love. You are too small to climb to the summit: I will carry you on My shoulders'
Here are some of the revelations given to her by Jesus:
‘Write this down Consolata, for I demand it of you under obedience, that for one act of love from you, I would create heaven.’
‘The soul that is dearest to Me is the one who loves me the most.’
‘Transform everything that is disagreeable to you into little roses, and gather them with love, and then offer them to Me with love”
‘See Consolata, the enemy will make every effort to shake your blind faith in me. But you must never forget that I am and love to be always kind and merciful. Understand my heart Consolata; understand my love, and never permit the enemy to gain entrance into your soul, even for an instant, with a thought of a lack of confidence in Me. Believe Me, I am solely and always kind; I am solely an always like a parent to you! So, imitate the children who at every little scratch of the finger, run at once to mother to have it bandaged. You should always do the same and remember that I will always cancel out and repair your imperfections and faults, just as a mother will always bandage the child's finger, whether it is really hurt or only seems so in his imagination. And if the child were to really hurt his arm, or his head, how tenderly and affectionately would he be cared for and bandaged by the mother! Well, I do this very same thing with regard to your soul when you fall, even though I may do so in silence. Do You understand Consolata? Therefore, never, never, never have even a shadow of doubt; a lack of confidence wounds My heart to the quick, and makes Me suffer.
“Love Me and you will be happy, and the more you love Me the happier you will be. Even when you will find yourself in utter darkness, love will produce light; love will produce strength, and love will produce joy.”
“I prefer an act of love, and a Communion of love to any other gift. I thirst for love”
"I delight to work in a soul. You see, I love to do everything Myself; and from this soul I ask only that she love Me."
"You see, even in good thoughts which creep in, there is always a bit of self-love, of complacency; and it is easy to see how they will spoil the act of love. But if you will complete trust in Me, that I am attending to everything and will continue to do so, and if you will not permit even one other thought to enter, then your act of love will possess a virginal purity."
"You see, Consolata, sanctity means self-forgetfulness in everything, in thoughts, desires, words....Allow Me to do it all! I will do everything; but you should, at every moment, give Me what I ask for with much love!"
"Consolata, place no limits on your confidence in Me, then I will place no limits on My graces for you!"
"Trust always in Jesus! If you only knew how much pleasure that gives Me! Grant Me this solace to trust in Me even in the shadow of death."
‘When suffering is accepted with love, it is no longer suffering, but is changed into joy.”
"If you are in Me and we are one then you will bring forth much fruit and will become strong, for you will disappear like a drop of water in the ocean; My silence will pass into you, and My humility, My purity, My charity, My gentleness, My patience, My thirst for suffering, and My zeal for souls whom I wish to save at all costs!"
"You must think only of loving Me! I will think of everything else, even to the smallest details!"
“ ‘Jesus, Mary, I love You. Save souls’ encompasses everything, the souls in Purgatory and the souls in the Militant Church; the innocent soul and the guilty soul; the dying, the atheist, etc… Do not lose time; remember that every act of love is a soul. Of all the gifts, the best gift you can offer me is a day full of love. I desire an uninterrupted Jesus, Mary I love You, save souls! from when you get up in the morning till when you go to bed at night.”
Her holy death
In June 1939 she wrote "It is my fate to die in little pieces". In November 1944 she noted:
"For many days my soul has halted on this divine phrase - 'sacrificial victim for the Sacrificial Victim'". It is in this way that, for the peace of the world [for World War II was raging], for the dying and for the conversion of souls she many times repeated the offer of herself as the sacrifice of expiation for the sins of humanity
In the winter of 1944 her corpse-like color betrayed her. In obedience to her Superior she subjected herself to a visit from the doctor. The doctor's reply was : "This sister is not ill, she is destroyed". On September 24 1945 Sister Consolata asked for half a day of rest and she laid down. The Mother Abbess took her temperature --39° C (102.2 F)! ‘How long has she been carrying on like this?’ it was asked. On October 25, 1945 and X-ray was taken revealing damage to her lungs; thus she was officially diagnosed with tuberculosis. On November 4, 1945 she left for the sanatorium. She remained there until July 3 1946, when an ambulance returned her, in the last stages of consumption, to the Convent of Moriondo. Now, "everything was finished", except to begin a new and eternal life forever united with God in Heaven. Sister Consolata died at dawn on July 18, 1946 in the Convent of the Sacred Heart of Moriondo Moncalieri Turin, Italy.
~Servant of God Sr. Consolata Betrone, pray for us!
"Words of Love" by Father Bartholomew Gottemoller O.S.C.O. is another excellent book containing many of the revelations of our Lord as given to Sr. Consolata. It is available through Tan Books.
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| Prayers to Saint Thomas Aquinas |
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Posted by: Hildegard of Bingen - 01-10-2021, 03:12 PM - Forum: Doctors of the Church
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(Prayers taken from the "Saint Thomas Aquinas - The Story of the Dumb OX by Mary Fabyan Windeatt)
PRAYER TO SAINT THOMAS AQUINAS
BEFORE STUDY OR LECTURE
O BLESSED Thomas, Patron of Schools, obtain for us from God
an invincible faith, a burning charity, a chaste life, and true
knowledge, through Christ Our Lord. Amen.
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PRAYER TO SAINT THOMAS AQUINAS
TO OBTAIN A SPECIAL FAVOR
DEAR Saint Thomas, gentlest of saints, you loved Jesus so tenderly and wrote
so well of Him that He made you the glory of the Church and a shining star in
the Order of St. Dominic. Encouraged by your kindness and charity, I beg you
to obtain this favor that I now ask. (State your request.)
Plead my cause with your beloved Jesus, so that I may serve Him faithfully in this
life and enjoy Him forever in Heaven. Amen.
One Decade of the Rosary.
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PRAYERS OF THE ANGELIC WARFARE
Recommended to Be Said Frequently by the Members of the Society
PRAYER OF SAINT THOMAS AQUINAS
This prayer was said by St. Thomas as he lay prostrate before the cross which he
had drawn upon the wall with the burning brand after repelling the last attack
on his purity. Then the angels girded him with the cincture of perpetual chastity,
a favor which his humility concealed until the approach of death, when he revealed
to his confessor what had happened to him.
Dearest Jesus! I know well that every perfect gift, and above all others that
of chastity, depends upon the most powerful assistance of Thy Providence,
and that without Thee a creature can do nothing. Therefore, I pray Thee
to defend, with Thy grace, chastity and purity in my soul as well as in my
body. And if I have ever received through my senses any impression that
could stain my chastity and purity, do Thou, Who art the Supreme Lord
of all my powers, take it from me, that I may with an immaculate heart
advance in Thy love and service, offering myself chaste all the days of my
life on the most pure altar of Thy Divinity. Amen.
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PRAYER FOR PURITY
CHOSEN lily of innocence, purest St. Thomas! to thee who didst preserve ever fair thy
baptismal robe; to the a true angel in the flesh! to thee do I pray to Lamb, and to Mary the
Queen of Virgins, that I also, who seek to honor thee, may receive the gift of thy purity;
that thus imitating thee upon the earth, I may one day be crowned with thee, O great
guardian of my purity, amongst the angels in Paradise.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father.
V. Pray for us, St. Thomas.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let us pray.
O God, Who hast vouchsafed to defend with the blessed cincture of St. Thomas those who
are engaged in the terrible conflict of chastity! grant to us Thy suppliants, by his help,
happily to overcome in this warfare the terrible enemy of our body and soul, that being
crowned with the lily of perpetual purity, we may deserve to receive from Thee, among
the chaste bands of the angels, the palm of bliss. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
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ANOTHER PRAYER OF SAINT THOMAS
O MERCIFUL God, grant that I may eagerly desire, carefully search out, truthfully
acknowledge, and ever perfectly fulfill all things which are pleasing to Thee, to the
praise and glory of Thy Name. Amen.
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PRAYER TO SAINT THOMAS AQUINAS
PATRON OF CATHOLIC SCHOOLS
O ANGELIC Doctor, Saint Thomas, prince of theologians and model of philosophers,
bright ornament of the Christian world and light of the Church; O heavenly patron of
all Catholic schools, who didst learn wisdom without guile and dost communicate
it without envy, intercede for us with the Son of God, Wisdom Itself, that the
Spirit of Wisdom may descend upon us, and enable us to understand clearly
that which thou hast taught, and fulfill it by imitating they deeds; that we may
become partakers of that doctrine and virtue which caused thee to shine like the
sun on earth, and may at last rejoice with thee forever in their most sweet fruits
in Heaven, together praising the Divine Wisdom for all eternity. Amen.
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When putting on the cord or medal of St. Thomas Aquinas say:
GIRD me, O Lord! with the cincture of purity; and by the merits of St. Thomas
extinguish within me every evil desire, that I may remain continent and chaste until death. Amen.
PRAYER TO SAINT THOMAS AQUINAS
BEFORE STUDY
Creator of all things,
True Source of light and wisdom,
Lofty origin of all being,
Graciously let a ray of Thy brilliance
Penetrate into the darkness of my understanding
And take from me the double darkness
In which I have been born,
An obscurity of both sin and ignorance.
Give me a sharp sense of understanding,
A retentive memory,
And the ability to grasp things correctly and fundamentally.
Grant me the talent of being exact in my explanations,
And the ability to express myself with thoroughness and charm.
Point out the beginning,
Direct the progress,
And help in completion;
Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
A STUDENT'S PRAYER
(By St. Thomas Aquinas)
Come, Holy Ghost, Divine Creator,
True source of light and fountain of wisdom!
Pour forth your brilliance upon my dense intellect,
Dissipate the darkness which covers me,
That of sin and of ignorance.
Grant me a penetrating mind to understand,
A retentive memory,
Method and ease in learning,
The lucidity to comprehend,
And abundant grace in expressing myself,
Guide the beginning of my work,
Direct its progress,
And bring it to successful completion.
This I ask through Jesus Christ,
True God and true man,
Living and reigning with Thee
and the Father, forever and ever.
AMEN.
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| February 15th - Sts. Faustinus and Jovita |
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Posted by: Elizabeth - 01-10-2021, 03:00 PM - Forum: February
- Replies (1)
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Saints Faustinus and Jovita
Martyrs
(† 122)
Faustinus and Jovita were brothers, nobly born, and were zealous professors of the Christian religion, which they preached without fear in their city of Brescia in Lombardy, during the persecution of Adrian. Their remarkable zeal excited the fury of the heathens against them, and procured them a glorious death for their faith.
Faustinus, a priest, and Jovita, a deacon, were preaching the Gospel fearlessly in the region when Julian, a pagan officer, apprehended them. They were commanded to adore the sun, but replied that they adored the living God who created the sun to give light to the world. The statue before which they were standing was brilliant and surrounded with golden rays. Saint Jovita, looking at it, cried out: Yes, we adore the God reigning in heaven, who created the sun. And you, vain statue, turn black, to the shame of those who adore you! At his word, it turned black. The Emperor commanded that it be cleaned, but the pagan priests had hardly begun to touch it when it fell into ashes.
The two brothers were sent to the amphitheater to be devoured by lions, but four of those came out and lay down at their feet. They were left without food in a dark jail cell, but Angels brought them strength and joy for new combats. The flames of a huge fire respected them, and a large number of spectators were converted at the sight. Finally sentenced to decapitation, they knelt down and received the death blow. The city of Brescia honors them as its chief patrons and possesses their relics, and a very ancient church in that city bears their names.
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| February 14th - St. Valentine |
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Posted by: Elizabeth - 01-10-2021, 02:57 PM - Forum: February
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Saint Valentine
Priest and Martyr
(† 268)
Valentine was a holy priest in Rome, who assisted the martyrs during the persecution under Claudius II. His great virtue and influence became known, and he was apprehended and brought before the emperor's tribunal. Why, Valentine, do you want to be the friend of our enemies and reject our friendship? The Christian priest replied, My Lord, if you knew the gift of God, you would be happy, and your empire with you; you would reject the cult of your idols and would adore the true God and His Son Jesus Christ. One of the judges interrupted, asking the martyr what he thought of Jupiter and Mercury. That they were miserable, and spent all their lives in debauchery and crime! The judge, furious, cried, He has blasphemed against the gods and against the empire! The emperor nonetheless continued his questioning with curiosity, pleased to have this opportunity to know what Christians thought. Valentine had the courage to exhort him to do penance for the blood of Christians which he had shed. Believe in Jesus Christ, be baptized and you will be saved, and already in this life you will insure your empire's glory and the triumph of your arms. Claudius began to be convinced, and said to those in attendance, Hear the beautiful doctrine this man is teaching us! But the prefect of Rome, dissatisfied, cried out, See how this Christian is seducing our prince! Claudius, weakening, abandoned the holy priest to another judge.
This man, named Asterius, had a little girl who had been blind for two years. Hearing of Jesus Christ, the Light of the world, he asked Valentine if he could convey that light to his child. Saint Valentine placed his hand on her eyes and prayed: Lord Jesus Christ, true Light, illuminate this blind child! The child saw, and the Judge with all his family confessed Christ and received Baptism. The emperor, hearing of this, would have turned his gaze away from these conversions, but fear caused him to betray his sense of justice. With several other Christians Saint Valentine was tortured and martyred in the year 268.
This illustrious martyr has always been held in great honor in Rome, where there still exists a catacomb named for him
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| February 13th - St. Catherine of Ricci |
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Posted by: Elizabeth - 01-10-2021, 02:56 PM - Forum: February
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Saint Catherine of Ricci
Virgin
(1522-1590)
Alexandrina of Ricci was the daughter of a noble Florentine. At the age of thirteen she entered the Third Order of Saint Dominic in the monastery of Prato, taking in religion the name of Catherine, in honor of her patron and predecessor of Siena. Her special attraction was to the Passion of Christ, in which she was permitted miraculously to participate. During the Lent of 1541, being then twenty-one years of age, she had a vision of the crucifixion so heartrending that she was prostrated and confined to bed for three weeks, and was only restored on Holy Saturday, by an apparition of Saint Mary Magdalene and the risen Jesus.
During twelve years Saint Catherine passed every Friday in ecstasy. She received the sacred stigmata, the wound in the left side, and the crown of thorns. All these favors gave her continual and intense suffering, and inspired her with a loving sympathy for the yet more bitter tortures of the Holy Souls. In their behalf she offered all her prayers and penances; and her charity toward them became so famous throughout Tuscany that after every death the friends of the deceased hastened to Catherine to secure her prayers.
Saint Catherine offered many prayers, fasts, and penances for a certain great man, and thereby obtained his salvation. It was revealed to her that he was nonetheless in purgatory; and such was her love of Jesus crucified that she offered to suffer all the pains which would be inflicted on that soul. Her prayer was granted. The soul entered heaven, and for forty days Catherine suffered indescribable agonies. Her body was covered with blisters, emitting heat so great that her cell seemed on fire. Her flesh appeared as if roasted, and her tongue like red-hot iron. She remained calm and joyful, saying, I long to suffer all imaginable pains, that souls may quickly see and praise their Redeemer. She conversed with the Saints in glory, and frequently with Saint Philip Neri at Rome without ever leaving her convent at Prato. She died, amid angels' songs, in 1590.
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| The Recusant #54 - Epiphany 2021 |
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Posted by: Stone - 01-10-2021, 07:04 AM - Forum: The Recusant
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Quote:Greetings once again, fellow extremists, radicals and gulag-dodgers!
World Communism is almost upon us. Each day that passes we seem to be getting one step closer to the World Government through which the ‘Lord of the World’ will one day rule. The stakes, though still hidden from many, are nonetheless extremely high. Bear that in mind the next time someone looks at you disapprovingly for not wearing a face-muzzle in public. If only they knew. Bear in mind also, that Our Lord will, of course, have the last say. ...
Contents
•Archbishop Lefebvre: 1978 ‘Spotlight’ Interview
•DICI Interview with the SSPX Superior General (Analysis)
•Don’t Get the Vaccine!
•Novus Ordo Bishops speak out against the vaccine
•The Old SSPX spoke out against vaccines
•The New SSPX gives green light to the new vaccine
•Bishop Williamson changes his mind concerning the vaccine.
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| February 12th - The Seven Holy Servite Founders and St. Benedict of Anian |
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Posted by: Elizabeth - 01-10-2021, 12:13 AM - Forum: February
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The Seven Holy Servite Founders
(Mid 13th century)
Can you imagine seven prominent men of any large modern city banding together, leaving their homes and profession, and going into solitude for a life directly given to God? That is what happened in the cultured and prosperous city of Florence in the middle of the 13th century. At this time, the city was torn with political strife as well as by the heresy of the Cathari; morals were low and religion neglected.
On the feast of the Assumption in 1233, seven of the members of a Florentine Confraternity devoted to the Holy Mother of God were gathered in prayer under the presidency of Alessio Falconieri. The Blessed Virgin appeared to the young men and exhorted them to devote themselves to Her service, in retirement from the world. It was in 1240 that they decided to withdraw together from the city to a solitary place for prayer and the service of God. The eldest was Buonfiglio Monaldo, who became their leader. The others were Alexis Falconieri, Benedict dell'Antella, Bartholomew Amidei, Ricovero Uguccione, Gerardino Sostegni, and John Buonagiunta. Their aim was to lead a life of penance and prayer, but they soon found themselves disturbed by increasing numbers of visitors. They next retired to the deserted slopes of Monte Senario near Florence, where the Blessed Virgin appeared to them again. There the nucleus of a new Order was formed, called Servants of Mary, or Servites, in recognition of their special manner of venerating the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady.
In 1244, under the direction of Saint Peter of Verona, O.P., this small group adopted a religious habit similar to the Dominican habit, choosing to live under the rule of Saint Augustine. The new Order took a form resembling more the mendicant friars than the older monastic Orders. One of the most remarkable features of the new foundation was its wonderful growth. Even in the fourteenth century, the Order had more than one hundred convents in several nations of Europe, as well as in India and on the Island of Crete. The Rosary of the Seven Sorrows is one of their regular devotions, as is also the Via Matris, or Way of the Cross of Mary.
![[Image: saintb18.jpg]](https://catholicsaints.info/wp-content/uploads/saintb18.jpg) Saint Benedict of Anian
Abbot
(750-821)
Saint Benedict of Anian was the son of Aigulf, Governor of Languedoc, and was born about 750. In his early youth he served as cup-bearer to King Pepin and his son Charlemagne, under them enjoying great honors and possessions. Grace entered his soul at the age of twenty, and he resolved to seek the kingdom of God with his whole heart. Without relinquishing his place at court, he lived there a very mortified life for three years; then a narrow escape from drowning made him vow to leave the world, and he entered the cloister of Saint Seine, near Langres.
In reward for Saint Benedict's heroic austerities in the monastic state, God bestowed upon him the gift of tears, and inspired him with a knowledge of spiritual things. As procurator for the monastery, he was very solicitous for the wants of the brethren, and most hospitable to the poor and to guests. Declining to accept the abbacy, he built himself a little hermitage on the Anian brook, and lived some years in great solitude and poverty.
When the fame of his sanctity drew many souls to him, he was obliged to build a large abbey, and within a short time governed three hundred monks. He became the great restorer of monastic discipline throughout France and Germany. First, he drew up with immense labor a code of the rules of the first Saint Benedict, his patron, which he collated with those of the chief monastic founders, showing the uniformity of the exercises in each. He enforced by his Penitential their exact observance; secondly, he minutely regulated all matters regarding food, clothing, and every detail of life; and thirdly, by prescribing the same regime for all, he precluded jealousies and insured perfect charity. In a Provincial Council at which he was present, held in 813 under Charlemagne, it was declared that all monks of the West should adopt the rule of Saint Benedict of Anian. He died February 11, 821. |
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| Thoughts of the St. Cure of d'Ars (St. John Mary Vianney) |
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Posted by: Hildegard of Bingen - 01-09-2021, 10:33 PM - Forum: The Saints
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St. John Mary Vianney
The Cure of Ars
1786-1859
Patron of Parish Priests
THOUGHTS OF THE CURE OF D'ARS
Compiled and Arranged by W.M. B.
Booklet available from TAN Books
"We have nothing of our own but our will. It
is the only thing which God has so placed in
our own power that we can make an offering
of it to Him." - The Cure of Ars
Page 7
Oh! how I love those words said the first thing in
the morning: I will do and suffer everything this
day for the Glory of God . . . nothing for the world
or personal interest, all to please my Saviour!
- Counsel (T.)
Does our conduct correspond with our Faith?
- Sermon on the Incarnation, I.
God does not require of us extraordinary things.
- Catechism on Pride (Sp.).
A PURE soul is with God, as a child with its mother.
It caresses and embraces her, and its mother returns
all its endearments.
- Catechism on the Soul (M.).
With the name of Jesus we shall overthrow the
demons; we shall put them to flight. With is Name,
if they dare to attack us, our battles will be victories. . .
- Sermon on Temptation (Sp.).
The Saints were so completely dead to themselves
that they cared very little whether others agreed with
them or not.
- Catechism on Pride (Sp.)
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