The Prayer of the Heavenly Court

The Prayer of the Heavenly Court

One day, as St. Lutgarde earnestly besought God that He would show her the Way of Prayer that pleased Him best of all, a very beautiful prayer was infused into her, which comprised in itself the whole of the life and sufferings of Christ. And forthwith her memory retained it so accurately that she repeated it every day with the greatest devotion. The Blessed Virgin told St. Lutgarde that she herself had begged the grace of this Prayer for her. 

The Prayer, as recorded by Father Musaus, runs thus:
O, all-holy and all-merciful Redeemer, Source of all graces, and our most kind Jesus! Out of incomprehensible love for us poor children of Eve, has Thou left Thy seat on the right hand of Thy heavenly Father, and willed to clothe Thyself with our helplessness and poverty.

Nay, the more surely to win us to love Thee in return, Thou hast made Thyself helpless and poor beyond us all. No possible trouble, no possible toil, has Thou spared Thyself in order to save us from the wicked enemy, and make us the children of Thy Father in Heaven.

Bitterly do I grieve that up till now, I, a valueless and wretched worm of earth, have so little understood the excess of Thy Love, and have given Thee such poor thanks for all the hardships, pains and martyrdom Thou has borne for me. 

And therefore do I now offer up to Thee this my unworthy prayer, in honour of Thy most holy life and sufferings and death, and of every year and day and hour Thou didst spend on earth for the salvation of lost and sinful men.

And I offer Thee too, from the inmost depths of my heart, all the myriad acts of praise and love and gratitude of the nine Choirs of holy Angels, and indeed of all creatures from the first moment of their creation until now, and all the acts made by the Most Blessed Virgin Mary with the greatest possible love and devotion since her Immaculate Conception to this very day, together with those she will not cease to make through all the instants of Eternity. 

And I offer Thee these acts that I may thank Thee perfectly for All Thou has done for me:

1. For Thy choice from all Eternity of the Most Blessed Virgin MARY to be the Mother of GOD;

2. For her Immaculate Conception, and her preservation from every spot of original sin, in which all other mortals are conceived and born;

3. For the most pure nativity of Thy Immaculate Mother, which shed a light over the whole world and caused joy in Heaven;

4. For Thine own wonderful Conception by the power of the Holy Ghost in the virgin womb of Thy chosen Mother which was announced by the Archangel Gabriel;

5. For the first journey Thou didst take, hidden in the most pure womb of Thy Holy Mother, a journey over the hills to Thy cousin Elizabeth and her child John - John who, even as Thou didst, then lay hidden;

6. For Thy Holy Nativity, when Thou didst come into the world in the greatest poverty and wast born in a stable amid senseless beasts, without even a pillow on which to lay Thy Sacred Head, or clothes wherewith to warm and protect Thy tender limbs;

7. For the great honour Thou didst vouchsafe to receive from the Adoration of the Three Wise Men and from their costly symbolic gifts - gold, frankincense, and myrrh;

8. For Thy first blood-shedding at the Circumcision, which Thou didst suffer for our sakes and out of humble obedience to the Law of Moses;

9. For Thy most holy Presentation in the Temple at Jerusalem by Thy Blessed Mother, in accordance with the Law of Moses;

10. For the bitter persecution which began even with Thy tenderest years, and which drove Thee into the godless land of Egypt and kept Thee there for a long space of time;

11. For Thy most dear Mother's search for Thee, and her joyful finding of Thee amid the doctors in the Temple, after she had sought Thee for three days with bitter grief and pain;

12. For the submission Thou didst show to Mary and Joseph at Nazareth rendering them all manner of humble filial services;

13. For all Thy teaching and preaching, for Thy hard and dangerous journeys, and especially for all the fatigue and toil Thou didst undergo for our salvation;

14. For Thy most holy fast of forty days, and Thy constant, fervent prayers in the desert;

15. For Thy great and glorious miracles, worked to convince the stubborn Jews;

16. For Thine agonized prayer and bloody sweat in the garden of Gethsemane, when shuddering and sorrowful unto death, Thou wert perfectly resigned to Thy Father's Will;

17. For the false kiss with which the faithless Judas betrayed Thee and delivered Thee into the hands of wicked men;

18. For the painful bands and cruel cords of Thine infamous captors, and for their grievous dragging and pulling of Thee over stones and through water and briars;

19. For the many false accusations devised and brought against Thy most holy Person before Annas and Caiaphas, Pilate and Herod;

20. For the most painful treatment meted out to Thee when Thou wast ignominiously drawn from one unjust Judge to another;

21. For the hard and worse than blasphemous blow Thou didst receive on Thy most Holy Face from a servant of the High Priest;

22. For the copious and most painful blood-shedding when every part of Thy most holy Body was torn by the rods and scourges of the executioners;

23. For Thy nakedness, and the bitter shame Thou didst experience when most of Thy garments were torn from Thee and Thou wert thus bound to the pillar before all the crowd;

24. For the jeering, scoffing, and mock genuflections by which godless Jews ridiculed Thee to Thy holy Face;

25. For the sharp pressure on Thy sacred Head of the crown of thorns, which caused Thy Precious Blood to flow down over Thy Face;

26. For Thy piteous appearance before Pilate, who by his exclamation BEHOLD THE MAN tried to move the people to compassion;

27. For the sentence pronounced on Thee by Pilate, for the manner in which Thou wast led forth to die, and for the heavy weight of the Cross;

28. For Thy dolorous meeting with Thy sorrow-stricken Mother and the other holy women who had followed Thee on the Path to Calvary and shed tears of pity over Thee;

29. For the painful removal of most of Thy clothing to the renewal of Thy wounds, and for the merciless nailing to the wood of the Cross, as also for all the priceless words spoken on the Cross, and the final surrender of Thy Spirit;

30. For Thy glorious Resurrection on the third day after Thy sufferings, when Thou didst appear to Thy Mother, Thy Disciples and Apostles, and after that to many others;

31. For Thy wonderful Ascension into Heaven and glorious return to Thy Heavenly Father, when Thine earthly pilgrimage was ended and Thou hadst triumphed victoriously over the world and Satan;

32. For the wonderful fiery Descent of the Holy Ghost on Thy disciples and Apostles and Thy most beloved Mother on the holy Day of Pentecost;

33. For the lordly triumph Thou didst celebrate when Thou didst assume Thy beloved Mother, body and soul, into heaven;

34. For Thy festival of joy, in which were associated Father and Holy Ghost, at the exaltation of Thy most glorious Mother over all the Choirs of Angels, and at her Coronation as the Queen of Heaven;

For all these, and more especially for every beat of Thy Heart and every act of love, for all Thy thoughts and desires, for all the silent and the uttered prayers which Thou didst offer while on earth, and still dost offer in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar - for all these I tender Thee a thousand thanks, and ask Thee most humbly that Thou wouldst grant to me and to all who have commended themselves to my prayers, or for who I ought to pray, perfect contrition for our sins and a firm determination never again to offend Thy Divine Majesty, together with the grace of final perseverance. Grant that I and all men may enjoy Thy grace here, and after this toilsome life is over may be received into the company of Thine elect, and be united with them to the Source of Eternal Joy - which is none but Thou Thyself, O dearest Lord. And may we be permitted to gaze at last on Thy most holy Face, Who with the Father and the Holy Ghost livest and reignest, God, for ever and ever. Amen.

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Salutations of the Wounds of Jesus Christ

Salutations of the Wounds of Jesus Christ

When St. Gertrude had recited this prayer 5,466 times, in honor of all the Wounds of our Lord Jesus, He appeared to her in vision, having on each Wound a rose flashing with a golden splendor, and greeted her tenderly, saying: "Behold, I will appear to thee, in this refulgent form at the hour of thy death, and I will cover all thy sins, and adorn thee with a glory, like that with which thou hast adorned My Wounds by thy salutations; and all who use this or any similar devotion shall receive the like favor." In order to make up this number, and become a partaker of this promise of Christ, you may say the following prayer five times a day for three years, adding the oblation, which our Lord directed to Saint Mechtilde to repeat after each division of five. 

SALUTATIONS

Glory be to Thee, most gracious, sweetest, most benign, sovereign, transcending, effulgent, and ever peaceful Trinity, for the roseate Wounds of Jesus Christ, my chosen and only love. 

OBLATION 

(To be said alter each five repetitions.) 

O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, accept this prayer, with that surpassing love, with which Thou didst endure all the Wounds of Thy most Holy Body. Have mercy on me, and on all sinners, and on all the Faithful, living and departed. Grant them grace and mercy, remission of sins and everlasting life. Amen. 

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Saint Gertrude's Purgatory Prayer

Saint Gertrude's Purgatory Prayer

Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the masses said throughout the world today, for all the holy souls in purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen.

Our Lord told St. Gertrude the Great, that the following prayer would release 1,000 souls from Purgatory each time it is said. The prayer was extended to include living sinners which would alleviate the indebtedness accrued to them during their lives.

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The Three Hail Marys

The Three Hail Marys In Honor of the Three Great Privileges

This devotion promoted by St. Anthony of Padua, St. Leonard of Port-Maurice 

and St. Alphonsus de Liguori

Said Morning and Evening...

(1) "The First Hail Mary will be in honor of God the Father, whose omnipotence raised my soul so high above every other creature, that, after God, I have the greatest power in Heaven and on earth. Promise: In the hour of your death I will use that power of God the Father to keep any hostile power from you."

(2) "The Second Hail Mary will be in honor of God the Son, who communicated His inscrutable wisdom to me... Promise: In the hour of your death I will fill your soul with the light of that wisdom so that all the darkness of ignorance and error will be dispelled."

(3) "The Third Hail Mary will be in honor of God the Holy Ghost, who filled my soul with the sweetness of His love and tenderness and mercy. Promise: In your last hour I will then change the bitterness of death into divine sweetness and delight."

Recommended after each Hail Mary: By thy Pure and Immaculate Conception, O Mary, make my body pure and my soul holy.  

With this invocation at the end: for the morning: "O my Mother, preserve me from mortal sin during this day," for the evening: "O my Mother, preserve me from mortal sin during this night."

PROMISE: During an apparition to St. Gertrude, the Blessed Mother promised: "To any souls who faithfully prays the Three Hail Marys, I will appear at the hour of death in a spendor of beauty so extraordinary that it will fill the souls with heavenly consolation."

PRACTICE OF ST. LEONARD: St. Leonard often preached the devotion of the Three Hail Marys morning and evening in honor of Mary Immaculate, to obtain the grace of avoiding all mortal sin during the day or night. He assured his listeners: “Those who remain persistently faithful to this pious practice will most certainly receive the grace of eternal salvation.”

PRACTICE OF ST. ALPHONSUS LIGUORI: The Saint suggested that the Three Hail Marys be said kneeling and that this ejaculation should be recited after each Hail Mary: “By thy pure and Immaculate Conception, O Mary, make my body pure and my soul holy.”

The devotion of the Three Hail Marys was also promoted by Fr. John Baptist of Blois, who founded the Confraternity of the Three Hail Marys. Pope Leo XIII granted an indulgence to those who practiced the devotion and Pope Benedict XV raised the Confraternity to the rank of an Archconfraternity.

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Heaven Opened by the Practice of the Three Hail Marys

Heaven Opened by the Practice of the Three Hail Marys

One of the greatest means of salvation, and one of the surest signs of predestination, is, unquestionably, the devotion to the Most Blessed Virgin. All the holy doctors of the Church are unanimous in saying with St. Alphonsus of Liguori: "A devout servant of Mary shall never perish."

The chief thing is to persevere faithfully till death in this devotion.

Can there be an easier or a more adaptable practice for all than the recitation each day of three Hail Marys in honor of the privileges conferred by the Adorable Trinity on the Blessed Virgin?

One of the first to say the three Hail Marys and to recommend them to others was the illustrious St. Anthony of Padua. His special aim in this practice was to honor the spotless Virginity of Mary and to preserve a perfect purity of mind, heart and body in the midst of the dangers of the world. Many, like him, have felt its salutary effects.

Later on, St. Leonard of Port-Maurice, the celebrated missionary, had the three Hail Marys recited morning and evening in honor of Mary Immaculate, to obtain the grace of avoiding all mortal sins during the day or night; moreover, he promised in a special manner eternal salvation to all those who proved constantly faithful to this practice.

After the example of those two great Franciscan Saints, St. Alphonsus of Liguori adopted this pious practice and gave it his most ardent and powerful support. He counseled its use and even imposed it as a penance on those who had not adopted this good habit.

The holy Doctor exhorts, in particular, parents and confessors to watch carefully that children be faithful in reciting each day their three Hail Marys, morning and evening. Or rather, like St. Leonard of Port-Maurice, he earnestly recommends it to all, "to the devout and to sinners, to the young and old."

Even persons consecrated to God will derive from this practice much precious and salutary fruit. Numerous examples may show how agreeable the three Hail Marys are to the Divine Mother and what special graces they draw, during life and at the hour of death, on those who never omit them for a single day.

This practice has been revealed to St. Melchtilde (13th Century) with the promise of a good death, if she was faithful to it, every day.

It is written, also, in St. Gertrude’s revelations: "While this Saint sang the Hail Mary, at the matins of the Annunciation, she suddenly saw spring out from the Heart of the Father and the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, three bright flames which penetrated the Heart of the Holy Virgin." Then she heard the following words: "After the Power of the Father, the Wisdom of the Son and the merciful Tenderness of the Holy Spirit, nothing approaches the Power, the Wisdom and the merciful Tenderness of Mary."

His Holiness Benedict XV has raised the Confraternity of the Three Hail Marys to an Archconfraternity by according it precious indulgences with the power to aggregate to itself all Confraternities of the same kind, and to communicate them its own indulgences.

Practice: Recite, morning and evening, three Hail Marys in honor of the three great privileges, with this invocation at the end: for the morning: "O my Mother, preserve me from mortal sin during this day," for the evening: "O my Mother, preserve me from mortal sin during this night."

(Indulgences of 200 days granted by Leo XIII, 300 days for the members of the Archconfraternity of the Three Hail Marys by Benedict XV, and Apostolic Benediction by Pius X.)

ACT OF CONSECRATION
TO OUR LADY OF THE BLESSED TRINITY

With all my heart I praise Thee, Most Holy Virgin above all angels and saints in Paradise, Daughter of the Eternal Father, and I consecrate to Thee my soul with all its faculties. 

Hail Mary...

With all my heart I praise Thee, Most Holy Virgin above all angels and saints in Paradise, beloved Mother of the Son of God. I consecrate to Thee my body with all its senses. 

Hail Mary...

With all my heart I praise Thee, Most Holy Virgin above all angels and saints in Paradise, beloved Spouse of the Holy Ghost, I consecrate to Thee my heart, with all its affections and beseech Thee to obtain for me from the Most Holy Trinity all the graces necessary for salvation. 

Hail Mary...

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with Thee! Blessed art Thou among women and blessed is the fruit of Thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen

Imprimatur: February 7, 1963
†FRANCIS CARDINAL SPELLMAN
Archbishop of New York
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A Prayer to Christ our Savior

A Prayer to Christ our Savior

Blessed are you, my Lord Jesus Christ. You foretold your death and at the Last Supper you marvelously consecrated bread which became your precious body. And then you gave it to your apostles out of love as a memorial of your most holy passion. By washing their feet with your holy hands, you gave them a supreme example of your deep humility.

Honor be to you, my Lord Jesus Christ. Fearing your passion and death, you poured forth blood from your innocent body like sweat, and still you accomplished our redemption as you desired and gave us the clearest proof of your love for all men.

Blessed may you be, my Lord Jesus Christ. After you had been led to Caiaphas, you, the judge of all men, humbly allowed yourself to be handed over to the judgment of Pilate.

Glory be to you, my Lord Jesus Christ, for the mockery you endured when you stood clothed in purple and wearing a crown of sharp thorns. With utmost endurance you allowed vicious men to spit upon your glorious face, blindfold you and beat your cheek and neck with cruelest blows.

Praise be to you, my Lord Jesus Christ. For with the greatest patience you allowed yourself like an innocent lamb to be bound to a pillar and mercilessly scourged, and then to be brought, covered with blood, before the judgment seat of Pilate to be gazed upon by all.

Honor be to you, my Lord Jesus Christ. For after your glorious body was covered with blood, you were condemned to death on the cross, you endured the pain of carrying the cross on your sacred shoulders, and you were led with curses to the place where you were to suffer. Then stripped of your garments, you allowed yourself to be nailed to the wood of the cross.

Everlasting honor be to you, Lord Jesus Christ. You allowed your most holy mother to suffer so much, even though she had never sinned nor ever even consented to the smallest sin. Humbly you looked down upon her with your gentle loving eyes, and to comfort her you entrusted her to the faithful care of your disciple.

Eternal blessing be yours, my Lord Jesus Christ, because in your last agony you held out to all sinners the hope of pardon, when in your mercy you promised the glory of paradise to the penitent thief.

Eternal praise be to you, my Lord Jesus Christ, for the time you endured on the cross the greatest torments and sufferings for us sinners. The sharp pain of your wounds fiercely penetrated even to your blessed soul and cruelly pierced your most sacred heart till finally you sent forth your spirit in peace, bowed your head, and humbly commended yourself into the hands of God your Father, and your whole body remained cold in death.

Blessed may you be, my Lord Jesus Christ. You redeemed our souls with your precious blood and most holy death, and in your mercy you led them form exile back to eternal life.

Blessed may you be, my Lord Jesus Christ. For our salvation you allowed your side and heart to be pierced with a lance; and from that side water and your precious blood flowed out abundantly for our redemption.

Glory be to you, my Lord Jesus Christ. You allowed your blessed body to be taken down from the cross by your friends and laid in the arms of your most sorrowing mother, and you let her wrap your body in a shroud and bury it in a tomb to be guarded by soldiers.

Unending honor be to you, my Lord Jesus Christ. On the third day you rose from the dead and appeared to those you had chosen. And after forty days you ascended into heaven before the eyes of man witnesses, and there in heaven you gathered together in glory those you love, whom you had freed from hell.

Rejoicing and eternal praise be to you, my Lord Jesus Christ, who sent the Holy Spirit into the hearts of your disciples and increased the boundless love of God in their spirits.

Blessed are you and praiseworthy and glorious for ever, my Lord Jesus. You sit upon your throne in your kingdom of heaven, in the glory of your divinity, living in the most holy body you took from a virgin’s flesh. So will you appear on that last day to judge the souls of all the living and the dead; you who live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit for ever and ever. Amen.

by St. Bridget of Sweden

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The Old Has Passed Away, All Things are Made New

The Old Has Passed Away, All Things are Made New

The fulfillment of the law is Christ himself, who does not so much lead us away from the letter as lift us up to its spirit. For the law’s consummation was this, that the very lawgiver accomplished his work and changed letter into spirit, summing everything up in himself and, though subject to the law, living by grace. He subordinated the law, yet harmoniously united grace with it, not confusing the distinctive characteristics of the one with the other, but effecting the transition in a way most fitting for God. He changed whatever was burdensome, servile and oppressive into what is light and liberating, so that we should be enslaved no longer under the elemental spirits of the world, as the Apostle says, nor held fast as bond-servants under the letter of the law.

This is the highest, all-embracing benefit that Christ has bestowed on us. This is the revelation of the mystery, this is the emptying out of the divine nature, the union of God and man, and the deification of the manhood that was assumed. This radiant and manifest coming of God to men most certainly needed a joyful prelude to introduce the great gift of salvation to us. The present festival, the birth of the Mother of God, is the prelude, while the final act is the foreordained union of the Word with flesh. Today the Virgin is born, tended and formed, and prepared for her role as Mother of God, who is the universal King of the ages.

Justly then do we celebrate this mystery since it signifies for us a double grace. We are led toward the truth, and we are led away from our condition of slavery to the letter of the law. How can this be? Darkness yields before the coming of light, and grace exchanges legalism for freedom. But midway between the two stands today’s mystery, at the frontier where types and symbols give way to reality, and the old is replaced by the new.

Therefore, let all creation sing and dance and unite to make worthy contribution to the celebration of this day. Let there be one common festival for saints in heaven and men on earth. Let everything, mundane things and those above, join in festive celebration. Today this created world is raised to the dignity of a holy place for him who made all things. The creature is newly prepared to be a divine dwelling place for the Creator.

Source: The Liturgy of the Hours – Office of Readings 

From a sermon on the birth of Mary, the mother of God 
by Saint Andrew of Crete, bishop
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Rejoice In The Lord Always

Rejoice In The Lord Always

Dear brethren, God’s love is calling us to the joys of eternal happiness for the salvation of our souls. You have just listened to the reading from the Apostle in which he says: Rejoice in the Lord always. The joys of this world lead to eternal misery, but the joys that are according to the Lord’s will, bring those who persevere in them to joys that are enduring and everlasting. The Apostle therefore says: Again I say: rejoice.

He urges us to find ever increasing joy in God and in keeping his commandments. The more we try in this world to give ourselves completely to God our Lord by obeying his commands, the greater will be our happiness in the life to come, and the greater the glory tat will be ours in the presence of God.

Let your moderation be known to all men. That is to say, your holiness of life must be evident, not only in the sight of God, but also in the sight of men. It must give an example of moderation and self-control to all your contemporaries on earth and serve also as a memorial of goodness before God and men.

The Lord is near; have no anxiety. The Lord is always near to all who call upon his help with sincerity, true faith, sure hope, and perfect love. He knows what you need, even before you ask him. He is always ready to come to the aid of all his faithful servants in every need. There is no reason for us to be in a state of great anxiety when evils threaten; we must remember that God is very near us as our protector. The Lord is at hand for those who are troubled in heart, and he will save those who are downcast in spirit. The tribulations of the just are many, and the Lord will rescue them from them all. If we do our best to obey and keep his commandments, he does not delay in giving us what he has promised.

But in every prayer and entreaty let your petitions be made known to God, with thanksgiving. In time of trouble we must not grumble or be downhearted; God forbid! We must rather be patient and cheerful, giving thanks to God always in everything.

Source: The Liturgy of the Hours – Office of Readings 

From the treatise on a letter to the Philippians by Saint Ambrose, Bishop
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Water Does Not Sanctify Without the Holy Spirit

Water Does Not Sanctify Without the Holy Spirit

You were told before not to believe only what you saw. This was to prevent you from saying: Is this the great mystery that eye has not seen nor ear heard nor man’s heart conceived? I see the water I used to see every day; does this water in which I have often bathed without being sanctified really have the power to sanctify me? Learn from this that water does not sanctify without the Holy Spirit.

You have read that the three witnesses of baptism – the water, the blood and the Spirit – are one. This means that if you take away one of these the sacrament of baptism is not conferred. What is water without the cross of Christ? Only an ordinary element without sacramental effect. Again, without water there is no sacrament of rebirth. Unless a man is born again of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. The catechumen believes in the cross of the Lord with which he too is signed, but unless he is baptized in the name of the Father, and of the son and of the Holy Spirit, he cannot receive the forgiveness of sins or the gift of spiritual grace.

The Syrian Naaman bathed seven times under the old law, but you were baptized in the name of the Trinity. You proclaimed your faith in the father – recall what you did – and the Son and the Spirit. Mark the sequence of events. In proclaiming this faith you died to the world, you rose again to God, and, as though buried to sin, you were reborn to eternal life. Believe, then, that the water is not without effect.

The paralytic at the pool was waiting for someone. Who was this if not the Lord Jesus, born of a virgin? At his coming it is not a question of a shadow healing an individual, but Truth himself healing the universe. He is the one whose coming was expected, the one of whom God the father spoke when he said to John the Baptist: He on whom you see the Spirit coming down from heaven and resting, this is the one who baptizes in the Holy Spirit. He is the one witnessed to by John: I saw the Spirit coming down from heaven as a dove and resting on him. Why did the Spirit come down as a dove if not to let you see and understand that the dove sent out by holy Noah from the ark was a figure of this dove? In this way you were to recognize a type of this sacrament.

Is there any room lift for doubt? The Father speaks clearly in the Gospel: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; the Son too, above whom the Holy Spirit showed himself in the form of a dove; and also the Holy Spirit, who came down as a dove. David too speaks clearly: The voice of the Lord is above the waters; the God of glory has thundered; the Lord is above the many waters. Again, Scripture bears witness for you that fire came down from heaven in answer to Gideon’s prayers, and that when Elijah prayed, God sent fire which consumed the sacrifice.

Do not consider the merits of individuals but the office of the priests. If you do look at merits, consider the merits of Peter and also of Paul in the same way as you consider the merits of Elijah; they have handed on to us this sacrament which they received from the Lord Jesus. Visible fire was sent upon them to give them faith; in us who believe an invisible fire is at work. That visible fire was a sign, our invisible fire is for our instruction. Believe then that the Lord Jesus is present when he is invoked by the prayers of the priests. He said: Where two or three are gathered, there I am also. How much more does he give his loving presence where the Church is, where the sacraments are!

You went down into the water. Remember what you said: I believe in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Not: I believe in a greater, a lesser and a least. You are committed by this spoken understanding of yours to believe the same of the Son as of the Father, and the same of the Holy Spirit as of the Son, with this one exception: you proclaim that you must believe in the cross of the Lord Jesus alone.

Source: The Liturgy of the Hours – Office of Readings 
From the treatise on the Mysteries by Saint Ambrose, Bishop
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One Day, While I Was Hearing Confessions

One Day, While I Was Hearing Confessions

'One day, while I was hearing confessions, a man came to the confessional where I was. He was tall, handsome, dressed with some refinement and he was kind and polite. He started to confess his sins, which were of every kind: against God, against man and against the morals. All the sins were obnoxious! I was disoriented, in fact for all the sins that he told me, but I responded to him with God's Word, the example of the Church, and the morals of the Saints. But the enigmatic penitent answered me word for word, justifying his sins, always with extreme ability and politeness. He excused all the sinful actions, making them sound quite normal and natural, even comprehensible on the human level.. He continued this way with the sins that were gruesome against God, Our Lady, the Saints, always using disrespectful round-about argumentation. He kept this up even with with the foulest of sins that could be conjured in the mind of a most sinful man. The answers that he gave me with such skilled subtlety and malice surprised me. I wondered: who is he? What world does he come from? And I tried to look at him in order to read something on his face. At the same time I concentrated on every word he spoke, trying to discover any clue to his identity.. But suddenly; through a vivid, radiant and internal light I clearly recognized who he was. With a sound and imperial tone I told him: "Say long live Jesus, long live Mary!" As soon as I pronounced these sweet and powerful names, Satan instantly disappeared in a trickle of fire, leaving behind him an unbearable stench.'

St. Padre Pio

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The Power of One Hail Mary

The Power of One Hail Mary

Hail Mary, Full of Grace,
The Lord is with Thee.
Blessed art Thou among women,
and Blessed is the Fruit of Thy Womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners now,
and at the hour of death. Amen

 + + +

Millions of Catholics often say the Hail Mary. Some repeat it hastily not even thinking on the words they are saying. These following words may help some say it more thoughtfully. They can give God's Mother great joy and obtain for themselves graces that she wishes to give them.

One Hail Mary well said fills the heart of Our Lady with delight and obtains for us indescribably great graces. One Hail Mary well said gives us more graces than a thousand thoughtlessly said.

The Hail Mary is like a mine of gold that we can always take from but never exhaust. Is it hard to say the Hail Mary well? All we have to do is to know its value and understand its meaning.

St. Jerome tells us that "the truths contained in the Hail Mary are so sublime, so wonderful that no man or Angel could fully understand them."

St. Thomas Aquinas, the Prince of Theologians, "the wisest of Saints and holiest of wise men," as Leo XIII called him, preached for 40 days in Rome on the Hail Mary, filling his hearers with rapture.

Father F. Suarez, the holy and learned Jesuit, declared when dying that he would willingly give all the many learned books he wrote, all his life's labors, for the merit of one Hail Mary prayerfully and devoutly said.

St. Mechtilde, who loved our Lady very much, was one day striving to compose a beautiful prayer in her honor. Our Lady appeared to her, with the golden letters on her breast of: "Hail Mary full of grace." She said to her: "Desist, dear child, from your labor for no prayer you could possibly compose would give me the joy and delight of the Hail Mary."

A certain man found joy in saying slowly the Hail Mary. The Blessed Virgin in return appeared to him smiling and announced to him the day and hour that he should die, granting him a most holy and happy death.

After death a beautiful white lily grew from his mouth having written on its petals: "Hail Mary."

Cesarius recounts a similar incident. A humble and holy monk lived in the monastery. His poor mind and memory were so weak that he could only repeat one prayer which was the "Hail Mary." After death a tree grew over his grave and on all its leaves was written: "Hail Mary."

These beautiful legends show us how much devotion to Our Lady was valued, and the power attributed to the Hail Mary devoutly prayed.

Each time that we say the Hail Mary we are repeating the very same words with which St. Gabriel the Archangel saluted Mary on the day of the Annunciation, when she was made Mother of the Son of God.

Many graces and joys filled the soul of Mary at that moment.

Now when we say the Hail Mary we offer anew all these graces and joys to Our Lady and she accepts them with Immense delight.

In return she gives us a share in these joys.

Once Our Lord asked St. Francis Assisi to give Him something. The Saint replied: "Dear Lord, I can give You nothing for I have already given you all, all my love." Jesus smiled and said: "Francis, give Me it all again and again, it will give Me the same pleasure."

So with our dearest Mother, she accepts from us each time we say the Hail Mary the joys and delight she received from the words of St. Gabriel.

Almighty God gave His Blessed Mother all the dignity, greatness and holiness necessary to make her His own most perfect Mother. But He also gave her all the sweetness, love, tenderness and affection necessary to make her our most loving Mother. Mary is truly and really our Mother. As children when in trouble run to their mothers for help, so ought we to run at once with unbounded confidence to Mary.

St. Bernard and many Saints said that it was never, never heard at any time or in any place that Mary refused to hear the prayers of her children on earth.

Why do we not realize this most consoling truth? Why refuse the love and consolation that God's Sweet Mother is offering us?

Is it our lamentable ignorance which deprives us of such help and consolation.

To love and trust Mary is to be happy on earth now and afterwards to be happy in Heaven.

Dr. Hugh Lammer was a staunch Protestant, with strong prejudices against the Catholic Church. One day he found an explanation of the Hail Mary and read it. He was so charmed with it that he began to say it daily. Insensibly all his anti-Catholic animosity began to disappear. He became a Catholic, a holy priest and a professor of Catholic Theology in Breslau.

A priest was called to the bedside of a man who was dying in despair because of his sins. Yet he refused obstinately to go to confession. As a last recourse the priest asked him to say at least the Hail Mary after which the poor man made a sincere confession and died a holy death.

In England, a parish priest was asked to go and see a Protestant lady who was gravely ill, and who wished to become a Catholic. Asked if she had ever gone to a Catholic Church, or, if she had spoken to Catholics, or if she had read Catholic books? She replied, "No, no." All she could remember was that------when a child------she had learned from a little Catholic neighbor girl the Hail Mary, which she said every night. She was Baptized and before dying had the happiness of seeing her husband and children Baptized.

St. Gertrude tells us in her book, "Revelations" that when we thank God for the graces He has given to any Saint, we get a great share of those particular graces.

What graces, then, do we not receive when we say the Hail Mary while thanking God for all the unspeakable graces He has given His Blessed Mother?

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The Value of the Mass

The Value of the Mass

At the hour of death the Holy Masses you have heard devoutly will be your greatest consolation.

Every Mass will go with you to Judgment and will plead pardon for you.

By every Mass you can diminish the temporal punishment due to your sins, more or less, according to your fervor.

By devoutly assisting at Holy Mass you render the greatest homage possible to the Sacred Humanity of Our Lord.

Through the Holy Sacrifice, Our Lord Jesus Christ supplies for many of your negligences and omissions.

He forgives you all the venial sins which you are determined to avoid. He forgives you all your unknown sins which you never confessed. The Power of Satan over you is diminished.

By piously hearing Holy Mass you afford the Souls in Purgatory the greatest possible relief.

One Holy Mass heard during your life will be of more benefit to you than many heard for you after your death.

Through the Holy Mass you are preserved from many dangers and misfortunes which would otherwise have befallen you. You shorten your Purgatory by every Mass.

During Holy Mass you kneel amid a multitude of holy Angels, who are present at the Adorable Sacrifice with reverential awe.

Through Holy Mass you are blessed in your temporal goods and affairs.

When you hear Holy Mass devoutly, offering it to Almighty God in honor of any particular Saint or Angel thanking God for the favors bestowed on him, you afford that Saint or Angel a new degree of honor, joy and happiness, and draw his special love and protection for yourself.

Every time you assist at Holy Mass, besides other intentions, you should offer it in honor of the Saint of the day.

Source: The Pieta Prayer Booklet
Photo taken from Lawrence OP

The Hail Mary

The Hail Mary

Ave Maria! That blessed greeting of the Angel Gabriel, where we honor and greet Our Lady every day, is also grounded in the Gospel, as you have heard before, but I will tell you more, to guide your devotion more in reciting that greeting. In understanding this greeting in the manner as holy Church has ordained it to be said, it has five parts; in which may be understood specially the five joys of Our Lady, and in those five joys, five virtues that she had in them above all earthly creatures: humility, chastity, faith, hope, and charity. 

In the first part of this greeting, which consists in these two words Hail Mary, you may understand the first joy that she had in Jesus' gracious conception, of which humility was the ground, as perhaps you have heard before. As these words Hail Mary are the first and beginning of this greeting, so the feast of the Annunciation was the beginning of and ground of all others; and as humility was the beginning of Mary's joy and all mankind's, so is it the beginning and ground of all virtues. Therefore, in these first words, Hail Mary, you may with reason understand the first joy that she had in her annunciation of the conceiving of her Blessed Son Jesus, and that specially through the virtue of humility. 

In the second part, that consists in these words Full of grace, may be understood the second joy that Mary had in Jesus' birth and her joyful childbearing, in which she had sovereignly, the virtue of chastity and purity; and therefore she was specially full of grace, in that she, clean maiden and mother, bore child without sorrow, which no woman ever did but only she. 

In the third part, in these words the Lord is with thee, may be understood the third joy that she had in the glorious resurrection of her Son Jesus, specially by the virtue of steadfast faith and true belief. For from His death until that time, He dwelled only with her, by the steadfast belief that she had in Him as God, when all His Apostles and disciples were separated from Him by misbelief, and by despair that He was God. And therefore the faith of Holy Church stayed in her alone for those three days; so that in that time it might specially be said to her, Our Lord is with thee, that is to say by true faith and belief. And afterwards, at His resurrection, Our Lord is with thee was fulfilled more specially by His bodily presence, which first appeared to her. 

In the fourth part, that is in these words, Blessed art thou among women, or else, above all women, may be understood the fourth joy that she had, in the sight of her Son Jesus mightily ascending to Heaven; in which sight the hope that she had in His Godhead was fully strengthened and confirmed, seeing that which no other woman ever did, when that part which He took of her in flesh and blood was bodily born up to Heaven through power of the Godhead; and so hoping without doubt that she should follow after. Well then might it be said to her, then and now, "Blessed art thou sovereignly among women," seeing thy Son Jesus mightily to Heaven ascending. 

In the fifth part, Blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus, may be understood the last joy that she had in her blessed Son Jesus, when He took her up with Him to bliss, and there honorably crowned her Queen of Heaven everlasting. Then was her desire of love fulfilled, when, through fullness of charity, she was forever joined to her blessed Son Jesus, and He to her, and was so fed with that blessed fruit that she hungered no more; for thereby she was filled with all goodness, bliss, and joy without end. And thus briefly in the fifth part of this salutation Ave Maria, may be understood the five joys of blessed Mary, with five virtues that she had sovereignly in them, as I have now said. 

The greeting, according to the common understanding, may be said in English tongue: "Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou sovereignly among women, and ever blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus!" And as the list in this greeting specifies the five joys with the five virtues aforesaid, you may say it in short: "Hail Mary, maiden meekest, greeted by the Angel Gabriel in Jesus' gracious conception; full of grace, as mother chaste, bearing thy Son Jesus without sorrow or pain! Our Lord is with thee by true faith and belief at Jesus' joyful resurrection. Blessed art thou sovereignly among women by firm hope, seeing thy Son Jesus with power to Heaven ascending. And blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus, in everlasting bliss, through perfect charity gloriously crowning thee Queen of Heaven. Obtain for us these virtues, that for our gain we may be pleasing to thy Son Jesus and to thee. Be thou our help in all our need, and our succor at our last ending. Amen." 

By Saint Bonaventure
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