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Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 06-19-09, Solemnity, Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
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| 06-19-09
| New American Bible
Posted on 06/18/2009 8:31:45 PM PDT by Salvation
June 19, 2009
Hos 11:1, 3-4, 8c-9
Thus says the LORD:
When Israel was a child I loved him,
out of Egypt I called my son.
Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk,
who took them in my arms;
I drew them with human cords,
with bands of love;
I fostered them like one
who raises an infant to his cheeks;
Yet, though I stooped to feed my child,
they did not know that I was their healer.
My heart is overwhelmed,
my pity is stirred.
I will not give vent to my blazing anger,
I will not destroy Ephraim again;
For I am God and not a man,
the Holy One present among you;
I will not let the flames consume you.
Is 12:2-3, 4, 5-6
R. (3) You will draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation.
God indeed is my savior;
I am confident and unafraid.
My strength and my courage is the LORD,
and he has been my savior.
With joy you will draw water
at the fountain of salvation.
R. You will draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation.
Give thanks to the LORD, acclaim his name;
among the nations make known his deeds,
proclaim how exalted is his name.
R. You will draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation.
Sing praise to the LORD for his glorious achievement;
let this be known throughout all the earth.
Shout with exultation, O city of Zion,
for great in your midst
is the Holy One of Israel!
R. You will draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation.
Eph 3:8-12, 14-19
Brothers and sisters:
To me, the very least of all the holy ones, this grace was given,
to preach to the Gentiles the inscrutable riches of Christ,
and to bring to light for all what is the plan of the mystery
hidden from ages past in God who created all things,
so that the manifold wisdom of God
might now be made known through the church
to the principalities and authorities in the heavens.
This was according to the eternal purpose
that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord,
in whom we have boldness of speech
and confidence of access through faith in him.
For this reason I kneel before the Father,
from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named,
that he may grant you in accord with the riches of his glory
to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner self,
and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith;
that you, rooted and grounded in love,
may have strength to comprehend with all the holy ones
what is the breadth and length and height and depth,
and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge,
so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Jn 19:31-37
Since it was preparation day,
in order that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the sabbath,
for the sabbath day of that week was a solemn one,
the Jews asked Pilate that their legs be broken
and they be taken down.
So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first
and then of the other one who was crucified with Jesus.
But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead,
they did not break his legs,
but one soldier thrust his lance into his side,
and immediately blood and water flowed out.
An eyewitness has testified, and his testimony is true;
he knows that he is speaking the truth,
so that you also may come to believe.
For this happened so that the Scripture passage might be fulfilled:
Not a bone of it will be broken.
And again another passage says:
They will look upon him whom they have pierced.
TOPICS: Catholic; General Discusssion; Prayer; Worship
KEYWORDS: catholic; catholiclist; feasts; saints
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1
posted on
06/18/2009 8:31:46 PM PDT
by
Salvation
To: nickcarraway; Lady In Blue; NYer; ELS; Pyro7480; livius; Catholicguy; RobbyS; markomalley; ...
Alleluia Ping!
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2
posted on
06/18/2009 8:33:16 PM PDT
by
Salvation
(With God all things are possible.)
To: All
3
posted on
06/18/2009 8:34:11 PM PDT
by
Salvation
(With God all things are possible.)
To: Salvation
4
posted on
06/18/2009 8:35:20 PM PDT
by
Salvation
(With God all things are possible.)
To: All
Pray a Rosary each day for our nation.
1. Sign of the Cross: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
2. The Apostles Creed: I BELIEVE in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day He rose again. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty. From thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
3. The Lord's Prayer: OUR Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.
4. (3) Hail Mary: HAIL Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now, and in the hour of our death. Amen. (Three times)
5. Glory Be: GLORY be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
Fatima Prayer: Oh, my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to heaven, especially those in most need of your mercy.
Announce each mystery, then say 1 Our Father, 10 Hail Marys, 1 Glory Be and 1 Fatima prayer. Repeat the process with each mystery.
End with the Hail Holy Queen:
Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope! To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve! To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears! Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy towards us; and after this, our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus!
O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary! Pray for us, O holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Final step -- The Sign of the Cross
The Mysteries of the Rosary
By tradition, Catholics meditate on these Mysteries during prayers of the Rosary.
The biblical references follow each of the Mysteries below.
The Sorrowful Mysteries
(Tuesdays and Fridays)
1. The Agony in the Garden (Matthew 26:36-46, Luke 22:39-46) [Spiritual fruit - God's will be done]
2. The Scourging at the Pillar (Matthew 27:26, Mark 15:15, John 19:1) [Spiritual fruit - Mortification of the senses]
3. The Crowning with Thorns (Matthew 27:27-30, Mark 15:16-20, John 19:2) [Spiritual fruit - Reign of Christ in our heart]
4. The Carrying of the Cross (Matthew 27:31-32, Mark 15:21, Luke 23:26-32, John 19:17) [Spiritual fruit - Patient bearing of trials]
5. The Crucifixion (Matthew 27:33-56, Mark 15:22-39, Luke 23:33-49, John 19:17-37) [Spiritual fruit - Pardoning of Injuries]
5
posted on
06/18/2009 8:39:13 PM PDT
by
Salvation
(With God all things are possible.)
To: All
~ PRAYER ~
St. Michael, the Archangel, defend us in battle
Be our protection against the wickedness
and snares of the devil;
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray,
and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host,
by the power of God,
Cast into hell Satan and all evil spirits
who prowl through the world seeking the ruin of souls.
Amen
+
6
posted on
06/18/2009 8:40:13 PM PDT
by
Salvation
(With God all things are possible.)
To: All
7
posted on
06/18/2009 8:40:58 PM PDT
by
Salvation
(With God all things are possible.)
To: All
June Devotion: The Sacred Heart
Since the 16th century Catholic piety has assigned entire months to special devotions. The month of June is set apart for devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. "From among all the proofs of the infinite goodness of our Savior none stands out more prominently than the fact that, as the love of the faithful grew cold, He, Divine Love Itself, gave Himself to us to be honored by a very special devotion and that the rich treasury of the Church was thrown wide open in the interests of that devotion." These words of Pope Pius XI refer to the Sacred Heart Devotion, which in its present form dates from the revelations given to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque in 1673-75. The devotion consists in the divine worship of the human heart of Christ, which is united to His divinity and which is a symbol of His love for us. The aim of the devotion is to make our Lord king over our hearts by prompting them to return love to Him (especially through an act of consecration by which we offer to the Heart of Jesus both ourselves and all that belongs to us) and to make reparation for our ingratitude to God.
INVOCATION
O Heart of love, I put all my trust in Thee; for I fear all things from my own weakness, but I hope for all things from Thy goodness.
Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque
PRAYER TO THE SACRED HEART
Devotion to the Sacred Heart was the characteristic note of the piety of Saint Gertrude the Great (1256-1302), Benedictine nun and renowned mystic. She was, in fact, the first great exponent of devotion to the Sacred Heart. In our efforts to honor the Heart of Jesus we have this prayer as a model for our own:
Hail! O Sacred Heart of Jesus, living and quickening source of eternal life, infinite treasure of the Divinity, and burning furnace of divine love. Thou art my refuge and my sanctuary, 0 my amiable Savior. Consume my heart with that burning fire with which Thine is ever inflamed. Pour down on my soul those graces which flow from Thy love, and let my heart be so united with Thine, that our wills may be one, and mine in all things be conformed to Thine. May Thy divine will be equally the standard and rule of all my desires and of all my actions. Amen.
Saint Gertrude
FOR THE CHURCH
O most holy Heart of Jesus, shower Thy blessings in abundant measure upon Thy holy Church, upon the Supreme Pontiff and upon all the clergy; to the just grant perseverance; convert sinners; enlighten unbelievers; bless our relations, friends and benefactors; assist the dying; deliver the holy souls in purgatory; and extend over all hearts the sweet empire of Thy love. Amen.
A PRAYER OF TRUST
O God, who didst in wondrous manner reveal to the virgin, Margaret Mary, the unsearchable riches of Thy Heart, grant that loving Thee, after her example, in all things and above all things, we may in Thy Heart find our abiding home.
Roman Missal
ACT OF LOVE
Reveal Thy Sacred Heart to me, O Jesus, and show me Its attractions. Unite me to It for ever. Grant that all my aspirations and all the beats of my heart, which cease not even while I sleep, may be a testimonial to Thee of my love for Thee and may say to Thee: Yes, Lord, I am all Thine;
pledge of my allegiance to Thee rests ever in my heart will never cease to be there. Do Thou accept the slight amount of good that I do and be graciously pleased to repair all m] wrong-doing; so that I may be able to bless Thee in time and in eternity. Amen.
Cardinal Merry del Val
MEMORARE TO THE SACRED HEART
Remember, O most sweet Jesus, that no one who has had recourse to Thy Sacred Heart, implored its help, or sought it mercy was ever abandoned. Encouraged with confidence, O tenderest of hearts, we present ourselves before Thee, crushes beneath the weight of our sins. In our misery, O Sacred Hear. of Jesus, despise not our simple prayers, but mercifully grant our requests.
Prayer Source: Prayer Book, The by Reverend John P. O'Connell, M.A., S.T.D. and Jex Martin, M.A., The Catholic Press, Inc., Chicago, Illinois, 1954
Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Devotion to the Sacred Heart Today
The Biblical Foundation of Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus [Ecumenical]
Heart to Heart (Sacred Heart of Jesus Devotion) [St. Margaret Mary Alacoque]
(June) The Month of the Sacred Heart {Catholic/Orthodox Caucus]
First Friday Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus [St. Margaret Mary Alacoque]
The Heart of the World (On the Sacred Heart of Jesus) (Catholic Caucus)
The Sacred Heart Is The Holy Eucharist(Catholic Caucus)
The Origin of the Sacred Heart Badge
Importance of Devotion to the Sacred Heart
An Awesome Homily on the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus by Father Edmond Kline
Catholic Prayer and Devotion: June the Month of the Sacred Heart
Catholic Devotions: Sacred Heart of Jesus
Pope Urges Jesuits to Spread Sacred Heart Devotion
Homilies preached by Father Altier on the Feast of the Sacred Heart
Catholic Meditation and Devotion: The Sacred Heart of Jesus
Daily Recomendation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus powerful prayer!
The Sacred Heart and the Eucharist
The Love of the Sacred Heart
On the Sacred Heart - "We Adore God's Love of Humanity"
HAURIETIS AQUAS (On Devotion To The Sacred Heart) - Encyclical by Pope Pius XII
Solemnity Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heart of Mary
Sacred Heart a Feast of God's Love, Says John Paul II
The Sacred Heart of Jesus: Symbol of Combativity and the Restoration of Christendom
Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus-The Early Church, Middle Ages up to St. Margaret Mary
See this Heart
‘God Will Act and Will Reign’
About Devotion To The Sacred Heart:The Story Of Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque
Rediscover Feast of Sacred Heart, John Paul II Tells Youth
8
posted on
06/18/2009 8:43:03 PM PDT
by
Salvation
(With God all things are possible.)
To: All
Holy Father's Prayer Intentions For June 2009
General: That international attention towards the poorer countries may give rise to more concrete help, in particular to relieve them of the crushing burden of foreign debt.
Mission: That the particular Churches operating in regions marked by violence may be sustained by the love and concrete closeness of all the Catholics in the world.
9
posted on
06/18/2009 8:44:18 PM PDT
by
Salvation
(With God all things are possible.)
To: All
From: Hosea 11:1, 3-4, 8abe-9
When Israel was a child
[1] When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and out of Egypt I called my son.
[3] Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk,
I took them up in my arms;
but they did not know that I healed them.
[4] I led them with cords of compassion,
with the bands of love,
and I became to them as one
who eases the yoke on their jaws,
and I bent down to them and fed them.
[8ab] How can I give you up, O Ephraim!
How can I hand you over, O Israel!
[8e] My heart recoils within me,
my compassion grows warm and tender.
[9] I will not execute my fierce anger,
I will not again destroy Ephraim;
for I am God and not man,
the Holy One in your midst,
and I will not come to destroy.
*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:
11:1-11. The second part of the hook of Hosea ends with this very touching pas-
sage summing up, once again, the relationship between God and his people: the
Lord is faithful, whereas Israel is not; but the Lord, true to his nature (v. 9), pro-
claims that he will bless Israel once more. The Christian reader will immediately
notice in v. 1 a line that is applied to Jesus in the New Testament (Mt 2: 15).
What is new about this poem is the fact that whereas previously God’s faithful-
ness was described as being like that of a husband, here God is depicted as a
father: “God’s love for Israel is compared to a father’s love for his son (Hos 11:11).
His love for his people is stronger than a mother’s for her children. God loves his
people more than a bridegroom his beloved (Is 62:4-5); his love will he victorious
over even the worst infidelities and will extend to his most precious gift: ‘God so
loved the world that he gave his only Son’ (Jn 3:16)” (Catechism of the Catholic
Church, 219).
With the exception of v. 10, the oracle is placed on the lips of the Lord, to under-
score God’s relationship with his people. From the very first (v. 1), the Lord loved
Israel as his own son, and from the first Israel rebelled (v. 2); the Lord reared him
(v. 3), showing every sign of attention (v. 4: literally “cords of man” as distinct from
the reins used for animals), but Israel is bent on forsaking his Lord (v. 7). Then,
in a burst of anger, the Lord decides to chastise his people; they shall become
slaves once more (vv. 5-6). But this anger does not last long, because, “even
when the Lord is exasperated by the infidelity of his people and thinks of fini-
shing with it, it is still his tenderness and generous love for those who are his
own which overcomes his anger” (John Paul II, Dives in misericordia, 4).
This oracle shows the full extent of God’s paternal affection. In the opening chap-
ters God’s love for Israel was compared with the distraught, impassioned love of
a husband for his unfaithful wife; here it is depicted as a father’s love for his son:
he cannot not love him, even if the son proves ungrateful. The very thought of
abandoning Israel breaks God’s heart (cf. v. 8). What the prophet is doing here
is telling us something about God’s “psychology”: God’s love for his people, and
ultimately for every human being, exceeds human loves — parental and spousal
(these, in fact, are only partial reflections of divine love): “God is pure spirit in
which there is no place for the difference between the sexes. But the respective
‘perfections’ of a man and woman reflect something of the infinite perfection of
God: those of a mother and those of a father and husband” (Catechism of the
Catholic Church, 370).
This oracle of salvation is rounded off by the final verses. God forgives Israel;
it is only right that he should: he is God (v. 9). The wonderful thing about this
passage is that God’s forgiveness comes before Israel’s conversion: his initial
love, and the later reconciliation, are initiatives of God. Conversion (vv. 11-12)
stems from God’s prior love.
St Matthew’s Gospel (2:15) sees the prophecy in Hosea 11:1 being fulfilled in
the flight into Egypt and subsequent return: according to the evangelist, Jesus,
in his life, embodies the history of his people, and in him God fulfils his ancient
promises to renew the people of Israel.
*********************************************************************************************
Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.
10
posted on
06/18/2009 8:45:47 PM PDT
by
Salvation
(With God all things are possible.)
To: All
From: Ephesians 3:8-12, 14-19
St Paul’s Mission
[8] To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to
preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, [9] and to make all men
see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things;
that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known
to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places. [11] This was according
to the eternal purpose which he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, [12] in
whom we have boldness and confidence of access through our faith in him.
The Apostle’s Prayer
[14] For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, [15] from whom every
family in heaven and on earth is named, [16] what according to the riches of his
glory he may grant you to be strengthened with might through his Spirit in the
inner man, [17] and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you,
being rooted and grounded in love, [18] may have power to comprehend with all
the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, [19] and to
know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you maybe filled with
all the fullness of God.
*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:
1-21. Christ’s saving work on behalf of the Gentiles, calling them to be with the
Jews, living stones in the edifice of the Church, leads the Apostle once again to
overflow in prayer (vv. 14-21). But first he considers his own position and what
Christ has done in him by making him a minister or servant of the Mystery of
Christ (vv. 2-13). He witnesses to the revelation he himself has received, which
made this Mystery known to him (vv. 2-5); and he goes on to give a summary
of the Mystery, emphasizing the call of the Gentiles to the Church through the
preaching of the Gospel (v. 6); he then explains that his mission is precisely to
preach the Mystery of Christ to the Gentiles (vv. 7-13).
8. Humble abandonment to the action of God in his soul leads St Paul to regard
himself as the very lowest of Christians (cf. 1 Cor 15:9); his only credit is the
grace God has given him. This grace includes the revelation of “the Mystery” and
also the mission to proclaim it (cf. note on Phil 1:7).
He sees the gifts which Christ extends to all, the Gentiles included, as an inex-
haustible source of riches (cf. 1:18; 2:7; 3:16). In this present life no one can fully
grasp the marvels God has done (cf. Job 5:9) or plumb the depths of God’s mercy
as manifested in Jesus Christ (cf. note on Col 2:2-3).
Every generation can and should discover in the mystery of Christ “full awareness
of (man’s) dignity, of the heights to which he is raised, of the surpassing worth of
his own humanity, and of the meaning of his existence” (John Paul II, “Redemptor
Hominis”, 11). The Church’s mission is precisely this: “the revealing of Christ to
the world, helping each person to find himself in Christ, and helping the contem-
porary generations of our brothers and sisters the peoples, nations, states, man-
kind, developing countries and countries of opulence—in short, helping everyone
to get to know ‘the unsearchable riches of Christ’, since these riches are for every
individual and are everybody’s property” (”ibid.”).
9. The Apostle establishes a close parallel between God’s plan of Redemption
and the very act of creation (cf. 1 Cor 2:7; Eph 1:4). This saving design, hidden
until now, is what has been revealed by Christ; it enables us to grasp God’s infi-
nite love for men, for it shows that creation itself is part of God’s plan of salvation.
For if “all things were created” (Col 1:16) in and for and with Christ, the “Mystery”
of which he is speaking was already latent in the very creation of the world.
Hence God’s eternal plan, which envisages man’s salvation, affects the very act
of creation and includes the incarnation of the Son of God.
Pope John Paul II says this in “Redemptor Hominis”, 8: “The Redeemer of the
world! In him has been revealed in a new and more wonderful way the fundamen-
tal truth concerning creation to which the Book of Genesis gives witness when it
repeats several times, ‘God saw that it was good’ (cf. Gen 1 “passim”). The good
has its source in Wisdom and Love. In Jesus Christ the visible world which God
created for man (cf. Gen 1:26-30)—the world which, when sin entered, ‘was sub-
jected to futility’ (Rom 8:19-22)—recovers again its original link with the divine
source of Wisdom and Love.”
10-12. This text shows that the apostolic ministry of preaching has a universal,
cosmic, impact. Thanks to the Church’s preaching of “the mystery”, it is made
known not only to mankind but also to the principalities and powers of the heav-
ens. This preaching reveals the hidden, eternal plans of salvation whereby Jews
and Gentiles, by being converted to Christ, come to have an equal place in the
Church, and this fact in turn reveals the “mystery” of salvation even to the angels
(cf. 1 Pet 1 :12), who come to realize the harmony that lies in God’s various inter-
ventions in the course of history, from the Creation to the Redemption, including
the history of the people of Israel.
The “principalities” and “powers” refer to the angelic powers which, according to
Jewish belief, were the promulgators and guardians of the Law and whose mis-
sion included the government of men. But these “powers” did not know what God’s
plans were until they were carried out by Christ and his Church. In this passage St
Paul does not say anything about whether these powers are good or evil (cf. note
on 1:21). What he does re-assert, very clearly, is Christ’s supremacy over all these
powers, and the Church’s role in bringing all creation to recognize that Christ is
Lord of all. Therefore, the powers in the heavenly places no longer have any mas-
tery over the Christian: through faith in Christ he acquires the freedom of a son of
God and is able to address God confidently.
St Jerome, St Thomas and others interpret “the principalities and powers” as
being good angels, like the “thrones” and “dominions” (cf. Col 1:16) and “virtutes”
(”powers”: cf. Eph 1:21). If we add to these titles appearing in St Paul’s letters
those to be found in other books of Sacred Scripture—cherubim, seraphim, arch-
angels and angels—we get the nine angelic hierarchies known to tradition. The
names simply reflect the qualities with which angels are endowed: they are spiri-
tual beings, personal and free; they are incorporeal and because they are pure
spirits, they have intellect, will and power far in excess of man’s.
14. St Paul now continues the prayer which he interrupted in v. 1, to entreat the
Father to let Christians understand as deeply as possible the divine plan for sal-
vation implemented in Christ (vv. 16-l9).
“I bow my knees”: the Jews generally prayed standing up. Only at moments of
special solemnity did they kneel or prostrate themselves in adoration. The Apos-
tle, by introducing this almost liturgical reference, is expressing the intensity of
his prayer, and the humility which inspires it.
Bodily gestures—genuflections, bowing of the head, beating the breast, et cetera
—which accompany prayer should be sincere expressions of devotion. They allow
the entire person, body and soul, to express his love for God. “Those who love
acquire a refinement, a sensitivity of soul, that makes them notice details which
are sometimes very small but which are important because they express the love
of a passionate heart” (St. J. Escriva, “Christ Is Passing By”, 92).
15. To “take a name” from something means to derive one’s being or existence
from it, and the word translated here as “family” (”patria” in Greek) means a
grouping of individuals who are descended from a common father; it could be
translated as “paternity”, as the New Vulgate does.
The Apostle is saying that every grouping which is regarded as a family, whether
it be on earth (like the Church or the family), or in heaven (like the Church trium-
phant and the choirs of angels), takes its name and origin from God, the only
Father in the full meaning of the word. Thus, the word “Father” can be correctly
used to designate not only physical but also spiritual fatherhood.
The parenthood of married people is an outstanding example of the love of God
the Creator. They are cooperators in that love, and, in a certain sense, its inter-
preters (cf. Vatican II, “Gaudium Et Spes”, 50). Hence, “when they become
parents, spouses receive from God the gift of a new responsibility. Their parental
love is called to become for the children the visible sign of the very love of God,
‘from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named”’ (John Paul II, “Fami-
liaris Consortio”, 14).
16-17. The strengthening of the inner man through the Spirit means growth in
faith, charity and hope, which is what the Apostle prays for here (cf. vv. 16-19).
“Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen”
(Heb 11:1); it is, then, a virtue whereby the Christian in this life anticipates, im-
perfectly, the object of his hope—that perfect union with God which will take place
in heaven.
Love follows from knowledge: one cannot love someone one does not know. And
so, when goodness is known, it comes to be loved. Thus, the knowledge of God,
which faith provides, is followed by the love of God, which stems from charity.
Charity, for its part, is the basis of the Christian’s spiritual life. “The spiritual edi-
fice cannot stay standing—the same is true of a tree without roots, or a house
without a foundation, which can easily be toppled—unless it be rooted and groun-
ded in love” (St Thomas Aquinas, “Commentary on Eph, ad loc.”).
18. St Paul asks God to give Christians understanding of the “mystery of Christ”,
which essentially is the outcome of his love. In referring to the vast dimensions
of this mystery he uses an enigmatic phrase — “the breadth and length and height
and depth”. These and similar terms were used by Stoic philosophy to designate
the cosmos as a whole. Here they express the immense scale of the “mystery”
which embraces the entire plan of salvation, the actions of Christ and the activity
of the Church. St Augustine interpreted these words as referring to the cross, the
instrument of salvation which Christ used to show the full extent of his love (cf.
“De Doctrina Christiana”, 2, 41).
St Paul may indeed be trying to sum up all the richness of the “mystery” of Christ
in a graphic way—in terms of a cross whose extremities reach out in all four direc-
tions seeking to embrace the whole world. The blood which our Lord shed on the
cross brought about the Redemption, the forgiveness of sins (cf. Eph 1:7). It did
away with hostility, reconciling all men and assembling them into one body (cf.
Eph 2:15-16), the Church. Therefore the cross is an inexhaustible source of grace,
the mark of the true Christian, the instrument of salvation for all. When, through
the action of Christians, the cross of Christ is made present at all the crossroads
of the world, then is that “mystery” implemented whose purpose it is to “unite all
things in Christ” (cf. Eph 1:10).
19. Christ’s love for us is infinite; it is beyond our grasp, because it is of divine
dimensions (cf. Jn 15:9 and note on Jn 15:9-11).
Knowledge of the history of salvation and of the “mystery” of Christ is ultimately
what gives us a notion of the scale of God’s love. Therefore, it is the basis of the
Christian life: “We know and believe the love which God has for us. God is love,
and he who abides in love abides in God” (1 Jn 4:16). Eternal life will consist in
enjoying the love of God without any type of distraction. During his life on earth,
the believer receives a foretaste of this joy to the degree that he abides in the love
of Christ (cf. Jn 15:9), that is, is rooted and grounded in love (v. 17). However, this
knowledge of Christ is always very imperfect compared with that in heaven.
It is worth pointing out that the “knowledge” (”gnosis”) which St Paul is speaking
about is not simply intellectual cognition but rather a kind of knowledge which
permeates one’s whole life. It does not consist so much in knowing that God is
love as in realizing that we are personally the object, the focus, of God’s love: he
loves us one by one, as good parents love their children.
*********************************************************************************************
Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.
11
posted on
06/18/2009 8:47:37 PM PDT
by
Salvation
(With God all things are possible.)
To: All
From: John 19:31-37
Jesus’ Side Is Pierced
[31] Since it was the day of Preparation, in order to prevent the bodies from re-
maining on the cross of the sabbath (for that sabbath was a high day), the Jews
asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.
[32] So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who
had been crucified with him; [33] but when they came to Jesus and saw that he
was already dead, they did not break his legs. [34] But one of the soldiers pierced
his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. [35] He who
saw it has borne witness—his testimony is true, and he knows that he tells the
truth—that you also may believe. [36] For these things took place that the scrip-
ture might be fulfilled, “Not a bone of him shall be broken.” [37] And again another
scripture says, “They shall look on him whom they have pierced.”
*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:
31-33. Jesus dies on the Preparation day of the Passover—the Parasceve—that
is, the eve, when the paschal lambs were officially sacrificed in the Temple. By
stressing this, the evangelist implies that Christ’s sacrifice took the place of the
sacrifices of the Old Law and inaugurated the New Alliance in his blood (cf. Heb
9:12).
The Law of Moses required that the bodies should be taken down before nightfall
(Deut 21:22-23); this is why Pilate is asked to have their legs broken, to bring on
death and allow them to be buried before it gets dark, particularly since the next
day is the feast of the Passover.
On the date of Jesus’ death see “The Dates of the Life of our Lord Jesus Christ”
in the “The Navarre Bible: St. Mark”, pp. 48ff.
34. The outflow of blood and water has a natural explanation. Probably the water
was an accumulation of liquid in the lungs due to Jesus’ intense sufferings.
As on other occasions, the historical events narrated in the fourth Gospel are la-
den with meaning. St. Augustine and Christian tradition see the sacraments and
the Church itself flowing from Jesus’ open side: “Here was opened wide the door
of life, from which the sacraments of the Church have flowed out, without which
there is no entering in unto life which is true life. [...] Here the second Adam with
bowed head slept upon the cross, that thence a wife might be formed of him,
flowing from his side while he slept. O death, by which the dead come back to
life! is there anything purer than this blood, any wound more healing!” (St. Augus-
tine, “In Ioann. Evang., 120, 2).
The Second Vatican Council, for its part, teaches: “The Church—that is, the king-
dom of Christ—already present in mystery, grows visibly through the power of God
in the world. The origin and growth of the Church are symbolized by the blood and
water which flowed from the open side of the crucified Jesus” (Vatican II, “Lumen
Gentium”, 3).
“Jesus on the cross, with his heart overflowing with love for men, is such an elo-
quent commentary on the value of people and things that words only get in the
way. People, their happiness and their life, are so important that the very Son of
God gave himself to redeem and cleanse and raise them up” (St. J. Escrivá,
“Christ Is Passing By”, 165).
35. St John’s Gospel presents itself as a truthful witness of the events of our
Lord’s life and of their spiritual and doctrinal significance. From the words of John
the Baptist at the outset of Jesus’ public ministry (1:19) to the final paragraph of
the Gospel (21:24-25), everything forms part of a testimony to the sublime phe-
nomenon of the Word of Life made Man. Here the evangelist explicitly states that
he was an eyewitness (cf. also Jn 20:30-31; 1 Jn 1:1-3).
36. This question refers to the precept of the Law that no bone of the paschal
lamb should be broken (cf. Ex 12:46): again St John’s Gospel is telling us that
Jesus is the true paschal Lamb who takes away the sins of the world (cf. Jn
1:29).
37. The account of the Passion concludes with quotation from Zechariah (12:10)
foretelling the salvation resulting from the mysterious suffering and death of a
redeemer. The evangelist thereby evokes the salvation wrought by Jesus Christ
who, nailed to the Cross, has fulfilled God’s promise of redemption (cf. Jn 12:32).
Everyone who looks upon him with faith receives the effects of his Passion. Thus
the good thief, looking at Christ on the cross, recognized his kingship, placed
his truth in him and received the promise of heaven (cf. Lk 23:42-43).
In the liturgy of Good Friday the Church invites us to contemplate and adore the
cross: “Behold the wood of the Cross, on which was nailed the salvation of the
world”, and from the earliest times of the Church the Crucifix has been the sign
reminding Christians of the supreme point of Christ’s love, when he died on the
Cross and freed us from eternal death.
“Your Crucifix. — As a Christian, you should always carry your Crucifix with you.
And place it on your desk. And kiss it before going to bed and when you wake
up: and when your poor body rebels against your soul, kiss it again” (St. J. Es-
crivá, “The Way”, 302).
*********************************************************************************************
Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.
12
posted on
06/18/2009 8:48:48 PM PDT
by
Salvation
(With God all things are possible.)
To: All
Scripture readings taken from the Jerusalem Bible, published and copyright © 1966, 1967 and 1968 by Darton, Longman & Todd
Mass Readings
| First reading |
Hosea 11:1,3-4,8-9 © |
|
Listen to the word of the Lord:
When Israel was a child I loved him,
and I called my son out of Egypt.
I myself taught Ephraim to walk,
I took them in my arms;
yet they have not understood that I was the one looking after them.
I led them with reins of kindness,
with leading-strings of love.
I was like someone who lifts an infant close against his cheek;
stooping down to him I gave him his food.
Ephraim, how could I part with you?
Israel, how could I give you up?
How could I treat you like Admah,
or deal with you like Zeboiim?
My heart recoils from it,
my whole being trembles at the thought.
I will not give rein to my fierce anger,
I will not destroy Ephraim again,
for I am God, not man:
I am the Holy One in your midst
and have no wish to destroy.
|
| Psalm or canticle |
Isaiah 12:2-6 |
|
Behold, God is my salvation:
I will be confident, I will not fear;
for the Lord is my strength and my joy,
he has become my saviour.
And you will rejoice as you draw water
from the springs of salvation.
And then you will say:
“Praise the Lord and call upon his name.
Tell the peoples what he has done,
remember always the greatness of his name.
Sing to the Lord, for he has done great things:
let this be known throughout the world.
Cry out with joy and gladness, you who dwell in Zion.
Great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.”
|
| Second reading |
Ephesians 3:8-12,14-19 © |
|
I, Paul, who am less than the least of all the saints have been entrusted with this special grace, not only of proclaiming to the pagans the infinite treasure of Christ but also of explaining how the mystery is to be dispensed. Through all the ages, this has been kept hidden in God, the creator of everything. Why? So that the Sovereignties and Powers should learn only now, through the Church, how comprehensive God’s wisdom really is, exactly according to the plan which he had had from all eternity in Christ Jesus our Lord. This is why we are bold enough to approach God in complete confidence, through our faith in him; This, then, is what I pray, kneeling before the Father, from whom every family, whether spiritual or natural, takes its name:
Out of his infinite glory, may he give you the power through his Spirit for your hidden self to grow strong, so that Christ may live in your hearts through faith, and then, planted in love and built on love, you will with all the saints have strength to grasp the breadth and the length, the height and the depth; until, knowing the love of Christ, which is beyond all knowledge, you are filled with the utter fullness of God.
|
| Gospel |
John 19:31-37 © |
|
It was Preparation Day, and to prevent the bodies remaining on the cross during the sabbath – since that sabbath was a day of special solemnity – the Jews asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken away. Consequently the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with him and then of the other. When they came to Jesus, they found he was already dead, and so instead of breaking his legs one of the soldiers pierced his side with a lance; and immediately there came out blood and water. This is the evidence of one who saw it – trustworthy evidence, and he knows he speaks the truth – and he gives it so that you may believe as well. Because all this happened to fulfil the words of scripture:
Not one bone of his will be broken;
and again, in another place scripture says:
They will look on the one whom they have pierced.
|
13
posted on
06/18/2009 8:55:43 PM PDT
by
Salvation
(With God all things are possible.)
To: All
14
posted on
06/18/2009 8:58:29 PM PDT
by
Salvation
(With God all things are possible.)
To: All
Friday, June 19, 2009
The Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus |
|
|
15
posted on
06/18/2009 9:03:31 PM PDT
by
Salvation
(With God all things are possible.)
To: All
|
The Angelus
|
|
The Angel of the Lord declared to Mary:
And she conceived of the Holy Spirit.
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.
Behold the handmaid of the Lord: Be it done unto me according to Thy word.
Hail Mary . . .
And the Word was made Flesh: And dwelt among us.
Hail Mary . . .
Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let us pray:
Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts; that we, to whom the incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection, through the same Christ Our Lord.
Amen.
|
16
posted on
06/18/2009 9:04:51 PM PDT
by
Salvation
(With God all things are possible.)
To: All
Prayer for the Helpless Unborn
Heavenly Father, in Your love for us, protect against the wickedness of the devil,
those helpless little ones to whom You have given the gift of life.
Touch with pity the hearts of those women pregnant in our world today
who are not thinking of motherhood.
Help them to see that the child they carry is made in Your image
- as well as theirs - made for eternal life.
Dispel their fear and selfishness and give them true womanly hearts
to love their babies and give them birth
and all the needed care that a mother can give.
We ask this through Jesus Christ, Your Son, Our Lord,
Who lives and reigns with You and Holy Spirit,
One God, forever and ever. Amen.
17
posted on
06/18/2009 9:06:11 PM PDT
by
Salvation
(With God all things are possible.)
To: All
Office of Readings and Invitatory Psalm
Office of Readings
If this is the first Hour that you are reciting today, you should precede it with the Invitatory Psalm.
O God, come to my aid.
– O Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen. Alleluia.
A suitable hymn may be inserted at this point.
| Psalm 35 (36) |
| The sinner's wickedness; God's goodness |
|
You are the spring from which life comes; you give us the running stream of delight to drink from.
|
|
Evil whispers to the sinner in the depths of his heart:
the fear of God does not stand before his eyes.
Evil’s flattering light disguises his wickedness,
so that he does not hate it.
His words are false and deceitful,
he no longer considers how to do good.
Even when in bed he plots mischief;
he follows the wrong path; he does not hate malice.
Lord, your mercy fills the heavens,
your faithfulness rises to the sky.
Your justice is like the mountains of God,
your judgements are like the deeps of the sea.
Lord, you protect both men and beasts.
How precious is your kindness, O God!
The sons of men will take shelter under your wings;
they will eat their fill from the riches of your house,
drink all they want from the stream of your joy.
For with you is the spring of life-giving water,
in your light we see true light.
Hold out your mercy to those who know you,
offer your justice to the upright in heart.
Let me not be crushed under the heels of the proud,
nor dispossessed by the hands of sinners.
The doers of evil have fallen where they stood,
they are cast down and cannot rise.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
|
|
You are the spring from which life comes; you give us the running stream of delight to drink from.
|
| Psalm 60 (61) |
| An exile's prayer |
|
When my heart was anxious, you set me upright and firm on the rock.
|
|
Listen, O God, to my appeal:
turn, and hear my prayer.
I call to you from the ends of the earth,
for my heart is troubled.
Lead me to the rock I cannot reach!
For you are my hope,
a strong tower in the face of my enemies.
I shall live in your tent for ever,
I shall hide in the shelter of your wings:
for you, my God, have accepted my vows;
you have given me the inheritance of those who fear your name.
Add days to the life of the king:
add years, for age after age.
Let him sit always in the sight of God:
let kindness and faithfulness guard him.
This is the song I shall sing to your name,
for ever and for ever.
I shall repay my vows to you
day after day.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
|
|
When my heart was anxious, you set me upright and firm on the rock.
|
| Psalm 97 (98) |
| The Lord has brought salvation |
|
All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
|
|
Sing a new song to the Lord,
for he has worked wonders.
His right hand, his holy arm,
have brought him victory.
The Lord has shown his saving power,
and before all nations he has shown his justice.
He has remembered to show his kindness
and his faithfulness to the house of Israel.
The farthest ends of the earth
have seen the saving power of our God.
Rejoice in God, all the earth.
Break forth in triumph and song!
Sing to the Lord on the lyre,
with the lyre and with music.
With trumpets and the sound of the horn,
sound jubilation to the Lord, our king.
Let the sea resound in its fulness,
all the earth and all its inhabitants.
The rivers will clap their hands,
and the mountains will exult at the presence of the Lord,
for he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge all the world in justice,
and the peoples with fairness.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
|
|
All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
|
|
I will remember what the Lord has done.
– I will remember the wonders he has worked from the beginning.
|
| Reading |
Romans 8:28-39 © |
|
We know that by turning everything to their good God co-operates with all those who love him, with all those that he has called according to his purpose. They are the ones he chose specially long ago and intended to become true images of his Son, so that his Son might be the eldest of many brothers. He called those he intended for this; those he called he justified, and with those he justified he shared his glory.
After saying this, what can we add? With God on our side who can be against us? Since God did not spare his own Son, but gave him up to benefit us all, we may be certain, after such a gift, that he will not refuse anything he can give. Could anyone accuse those that God has chosen? When God acquits, could anyone condemn? Could Christ Jesus? No! He not only died for us – he rose from the dead, and there at God’s right hand he stands and pleads for us.
Nothing therefore can come between us and the love of Christ, even if we are troubled or worried, or being persecuted, or lacking food or clothes, or being threatened or even attacked. As scripture promised: For your sake we are being massacred daily, and reckoned as sheep for the slaughter. These are the trials through which we triumph, by the power of him who loved us.
For I am certain of this: neither death nor life, no angel, no prince, nothing that exists, nothing still to come, not any power, or height or depth, nor any created thing, can ever come between us and the love of God made visible in Christ Jesus our Lord.
|
| Reading |
St Bonaventure |
| With you is the source of life |
|
Take thought now, redeemed man, and consider how great and worthy is he who hangs on the cross for you. His death brings the dead to life, but at his passing heaven and earth are plunged into mourning and hard rocks are split asunder.
It was a divine decree that permitted one of the soldiers to open his sacred side with a lance. This was done so that the Church might be formed from the side of Christ as he slept the sleep of death on the cross, and so that the Scripture might be fulfilled: ‘They shall look on him whom they pierced’. The blood and water which poured out at that moment were the price of our salvation. Flowing from the secret abyss of our Lord’s heart as from a fountain, this stream gave the sacraments of the Church the power to confer the life of grace, while for those already living in Christ it became a spring of living water welling up to life everlasting.
Arise, then, beloved of Christ! Imitate the dove ‘that nests in a hole in the cliff’, keeping watch at the entrance ‘like the sparrow that finds a home’. There like the turtledove hide your little ones, the fruit of your chaste love. Press your lips to the fountain, ‘draw water from the wells of your Saviour; for this is the spring flowing out of the middle of paradise, dividing into four rivers’, inundating devout hearts, watering the whole earth and making it fertile.
Run with eager desire to this source of life and light, all you who are vowed to God’s service. Come, whoever you may be, and cry out to him with all the strength of your heart. “O indescribable beauty of the most high God and purest radiance of eternal light! Life that gives all life, light that is the source of every other light, preserving in everlasting splendour the myriad flames that have shone before the throne of your divinity from the dawn of time! Eternal and inaccessible fountain, clear and sweet stream flowing from a hidden spring, unseen by mortal eye! None can fathom your depths nor survey your boundaries, none can measure your breadth, nothing can sully your purity. From you flows ‘the river which gladdens the city of God’ and makes us cry out with joy and thanksgiving in hymns of praise to you, for we know by our own experience that ‘with you is the source of life, and in your light we see light’.
|
| Hymn |
Te Deum |
|
God, we praise you; Lord, we proclaim you!
You, the Father, the eternal –
all the earth venerates you.
All the angels, all the heavens, every power –
The cherubim, the seraphim –
unceasingly, they cry:
“Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts:
heaven and earth are full of the majesty of your glory!”
The glorious choir of Apostles –
The noble ranks of prophets –
The shining army of martyrs –
all praise you.
Throughout the world your holy Church proclaims you.
– Father of immeasurable majesty,
– True Son, only-begotten, worthy of worship,
– Holy Spirit, our Advocate.
You, Christ:
– You are the king of glory.
– You are the Father’s eternal Son.
– You, to free mankind, did not disdain a Virgin’s womb.
– You defeated the sharp spear of Death, and opened the kingdom of heaven to those who believe in you.
– You sit at God’s right hand, in the glory of the Father.
– You will come, so we believe, as our Judge.
And so we ask of you: give help to your servants, whom you set free at the price of your precious blood.
Number them among your chosen ones in eternal glory.
Bring your people to safety, Lord, and bless those who are your inheritance.
Rule them and lift them high for ever.
Day by day we bless you, Lord: we praise you for ever and for ever.
Of your goodness, Lord, keep us without sin for today.
Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy on us.
Let your pity, Lord, be upon us, as much as we trust in you.
In you, Lord, I trust: let me never be put to shame.
|
| Concluding Prayer |
|
Almighty God, we glory in the loving heart of your beloved Son.
As we recall the great things his love has done for us,
may we become worthy to receive overflowing grace
from his heart, the source of heaven’s gifts.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God for ever and ever.
Amen.
|
18
posted on
06/19/2009 8:28:30 AM PDT
by
Salvation
(With God all things are possible.)
To: All
The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
Solemnity
Friday following the Second Sunday after Pentecost
Saint Margaret Mary's Vision of the Sacred Heart from a tradional prayer card
History | Readings | Litany to the Sacred Heart | Pope John Paul II's Angelus Message 2002 | Pope Benedict XVI | Family Activities | Enthronement of the Sacred Heart | Haurietis Aquas | Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque
Devotion to the Sacred Heart is a wonderful historical expression of the Church's piety for Christ, her Spouse and Lord: it calls for a fundamental attitude of conversion and reparation, of love and gratitude, apostolic commitment and dedication to Christ and His saving work.Directory on Popular Piety 172 - Excerpt on Sacred Heart Devotions
"With Joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation"
Isaiah 12:3
History of the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Devotion to the Sacred Heart is a form of devotion to the person Jesus, and especially to His Love.
The Catholic Encyclopedia details a history of this devotion. It observed that from the time of Saint John and Saint Paul there has always been in the Church something like devotion to the love of God, Who so loved the world as to give it His only-begotten Son, and to the love of Jesus, Who has so loved us as to deliver Himself up for us. But, accurately speaking, this is not the devotion to the Sacred Heart, as it pays no homage to the Heart of Jesus as the symbol of His love for us. From the earliest centuries, Christ's open side and the mystery of blood and water were meditated upon, and the Church was beheld issuing from the side of Jesus, as Eve came forth from the side of Adam. But there is nothing to indicate that, during the first ten centuries, any worship was rendered the wounded Heart.
It is in the eleventh and twelfth centuries that we find the first unmistakable indications of devotion to the Sacred Heart. Through the wound in the side the wounded Heart was gradually reached , and the wound in the Heart symbolized the wound of Divine Love. In the Benedictine and Cistercian monasteries devotion arose, although it is impossible to say what where the first texts. Saint Gertrude (d. 1302) had a vision on the feast of John the Evangelist. She was resting her head near the wound in the Savior's side and hearing the beating of the Divine Heart. She asked Saint John if on the night of the Last Supper, he had felt these delightful pulsations, why he had never spoken of the fact. Saint John replied that this revelation had been reserved for subsequent ages when the world, having grown cold, would have need of it to rekindle its love.
From the thirteenth to the sixteeenth century, the devotion was practiced as a private, individual devotion of the mystical order. In the sixteenth century, the devotion took an onward step and passed from the domain of mysticism into that of Christian asceticism. It was constituted an objective devotion with prayers already formulated and special exercises of which the value was extolled and practice commended.
The devotion to the Sacred Heart developed further during the seventeenth century. Ascetic writers spoke of it, especially those of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), Alvarez de Paz, Luis de la Puente, Saint-Jure and Nouet and Father Druzbicki, small work "Meta Cordium, Cor Jesu".
The devotion was greatly increased by the visions Sister Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690), a French Visitandine nun at the convent of Paray-le-Monial. She had a vision of Christ's Heart on the feast of Saint John that was similiar to that of Saint Gertrude. Jesus permitted her to rest her head upon His Heart, and then disclosed to her the wonders of His love, telling her that He desired to make this known to mankind and to diffuse the treasures of His goodness, and that He had chosen her for this work, (probably 1673, Dec. 27). In June or July o f 1674, Sister Margaret Mary said, Jesus asked to be honored under the figure of His Heart of Flesh and asked for a devotion of expiatory love -- frequent Communion, Communion on the first Friday of each month and the observance of Holy Hours.
In another visioin, on the feast of Corpus Christi 1675, Sister Margaret Mary reported that Jesus told her, "Behold the Heart that has so loved men...instead of gratitude I receive from the greater part (of mankind) only ingratitude..." Jesus then asked for a feast of reparation on the Friday after the octave of Corpus Christi. bidding her to consult Father de la Colombiére, then superior of the small Jesuit house at Paray. He recognized the action of the Spirit of God and consecrated himself to the Sacred Heart and directed Sister Margaret Mary to write down her account and to circulate it throughout France and England. Sister Margaret Mary Alacoque was canonized in the 20th century.
(Principal source - Catholic Encyclopedia - 1913 edition, )
Twentieth Century Popes Promote Devotion to Sacred Heart
On May 25 1899, Pope Leo XIII, in his encyclical Annum Sacrum, declared that all Catholics should consecrate themselves to the Christ's Sacred Heart, and his intention to solemnly consecrate all mankind to the Sacred Heart of Jesus -- although the Pope pointed out that this would simply be giving Christ what is already His:
"[In His infinite goodness and love, He in no way objects to our giving and consecrating to Him what is already His, as if it were really our own; nay, far from refusing such an offering, He positively desires it and asks for it: "My son, give me thy heart." We are, therefore, able to be pleasing to Him by the good will and the affection of our soul. For by consecrating ourselves to Him we not only declare our open and free acknowledgment and acceptance of His authority over us, but we also testify that if what we offer as a gift were really our own, we would still offer it with our whole heart. We also beg of Him that He would vouchsafe to receive it from us, though clearly His own. Such is the efficacy of the act of which We speak, such is the meaning underlying Our words.
"And since there is in the Sacred Heart a symbol and a sensible image of the infinite love of Jesus Christ which moves us to love one another, therefore is it fit and proper that we should consecrate ourselves to His most Sacred Heart - an act which is nothing else than an offering and a binding of oneself to Jesus Christ, seeing that whatever honor, veneration and love is given to this divine Heart is really and truly given to Christ Himself. "
(To read the complete Annum Sacrum go to the Vatican Website: http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/leo_xiii/encyclicals/documents/hf_l-xiii_enc_25051899_annum-sacrum_en.html
MISERENTISSIMUS REDEMPTOR -- Encyclical of Pope Pius XI ON REPARATION TO THE SACRED HEART, May 8, 1928 Pope Pius XI (also on the Vatican Website)
On May 15, 1956 Pope Pius XII wrote The Sacred Heart Encyclical, The Doctrinal Foundations of Devotions to the Sacred Heart in Scripture, Tradition and the Liturgy.
Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus continued to grow among pious Catholics until the early 1960s, when private devotions like this fell into sharp decline. Some believed these devotions were a distraction from the Mass.
In December 2001, the Holy See issued a Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy (complete on Vatican web site) which encourages popular devotions as an authentic means of meditation on the mysteries of the Eucharist and of drawing people to a personal understanding of Christ's love and the meaning of His sacrifice. About the Sacred Heart devotion, the Directory said, in part,
"Devotion to the Sacred Heart is a wonderful historical expression of the Church's piety for Christ, her Spouse and Lord: it calls for a fundamental attitude of conversion and reparation, of love and gratitude, apostolic commitment and dedication to Christ and his saving work." (§172)
Click HERE for a Directory excerpt on this site on the Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Pope John Paul II Focuses on the Heart of Jesus
On Sunday, June 24, 2002 Pope John Paul II's address before he prayed the Angelus with the faithful in St. Peter's Square explained the devotion to the Sacred Heart as follows:
Dear Brothers and Sisters!
1. The month of June is singled out, in a particular way, for devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. To celebrate the Heart of Christ means to turn toward the profound center of the Person of the Savior, that center which the Bible identifies precisely as his Heart, seat of the love that has redeemed the world.
If the human heart represents an unfathomable mystery that only God knows, how much more sublime is the heart of Jesus, in which the life of the Word itself beats. In it, as suggested by the beautiful Litanies of the Sacred Heart that echo the Scriptures, are found all the treasures of wisdom and science and all the fullness of divinity.
In order to save man, victim of his own disobedience, God wished to give him a "new heart," faithful to his will of love (see Jeremiah 31:33; Ezekiel 36:26; Psalm 50[51]:12). This heart is the heart of Christ, the masterpiece of the Holy Spirit, which began to beat in the virginal womb of Mary and was pierced by the lance on the cross, thus becoming for all the inexhaustible source of eternal life. That Heart is now the pledge of hope for every man.
2. How necessary for contemporary humanity is the message that flows from contemplation of the heart of Christ. Where, indeed, if not from that source will it be able to attain the reserves of meekness and forgiveness necessary to heal the bitter conflicts that bloody it?
Today I would like to entrust in a special way to the merciful heart of Jesus all those who live in the Holy Land: Jews, Christians and Muslims. That Heart that, burdened with insult, never nourished sentiments of hatred and vengeance, but asked for forgiveness for his executioners, that Heart shows the only way to emerge from the spiral of violence: the way of pacification of spirits, of reciprocal understanding and reconciliation.
3. Together with the merciful heart of Christ we venerate the Immaculate Heart of Mary Most Holy, Mediatrix of grace and salvation.
We turn to her now with faith to implore for mercy and peace for the Church and the whole world.
[Translation by ZENIT]
Pope Benedict XVI
ANGELUS MESSAGE
St Peter's Square
Sunday, June 5, 2005
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Last Friday we celebrated the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, a devotion that is deeply rooted in the Christian people. In biblical language, "heart" indicates the centre of the person where his sentiments and intentions dwell. In the Heart of the Redeemer we adore God's love for humanity, his will for universal salvation, his infinite mercy.
Practicing devotion to the Sacred Heart of Christ therefore means adoring that Heart which, after having loved us to the end, was pierced by a spear and from high on the Cross poured out blood and water, an inexhaustible source of new life.
The feast of the Sacred Heart is also World Day for the Sanctification of Priests, a favorable opportunity to pray that priests will put nothing before love of Christ. Blessed Bishop Giovanni Battista Scalabrini, patron of migrants, was deeply devoted to the Heart of Christ; we commemorated the centenary of his death on June 1. He founded the men and women Missionaries of St Charles Borromeo, known as the "Scalabrinians", to proclaim the Gospel among Italian emigrants.
In recalling this great Bishop, I turn my thoughts to those who are far from their homeland and also often from their family, and I hope that on their way they will always meet friendly faces and welcoming hearts that can sustain them in the difficulties of daily life.
The heart that resembles that of Christ more than any other is without a doubt the Heart of Mary, his Immaculate Mother, and for this very reason the liturgy holds them up together for our veneration. Responding to the Virgin's invitation at Fatima, let us entrust the whole world to her Immaculate Heart, which we contemplated yesterday in a special way, so that it may experience the merciful love of God and know true peace.
From a letter May 23, 2006, from Benedict XVI to Fr. Peter-Hans Kolvenbach S.J., superior general of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), for the 50th anniversary of Pope Pius XII's Encyclical "Haurietis aquas" on devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
"Gazing at the side pierced by the lance, where shines God's boundless will for salvation, cannot then be considered as a passing form of veneration or devotion. The adoration of God's love, which found historical-devotional expression in the symbol of the pierced heart, remains irreplaceable for a living relationship with God."
ANGELUS
Saint Peter's Square
Sunday, 1st June May 2008
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
On this Sunday, which coincides with the beginning of June, I am pleased to recall that this month is traditionally dedicated to the Heart of Christ, symbol of the Christian faith, particularly dear to the people, to mystics and theologians because it expresses in a simple and authentic way the "good news" of love, compendium of the mystery of the Incarnation and Redemption. Last Friday, after the Most Holy Trinity and Corpus Christi, we celebrated the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the third and last feast following Eastertide. This sequence calls to mind a movement toward the centre: a movement of the spirit which God himself guides. In fact, from the infinite horizon of his love, God wished to enter into the limits of human history and the human condition. He took on a body and a heart. Thus, we can contemplate and encounter the infinite in the finite, the invisible and ineffable Mystery in the human Heart of Jesus, the Nazarene. In my first Encyclical on the theme of love, the point of departure was exactly "contemplating the pierced side of Christ", which John speaks of in his Gospel (cf. 19: 37; Deus Caritas Est, n. 12). And this centre of faith is also the font of hope in which we have been saved, the hope that I made the object of my second Encyclical.
Every person needs a "centre" for his own life, a source of truth and goodness to draw from in the daily events, in the different situations and in the toil of daily life. Every one of us, when he/she pauses in silence, needs to feel not only his/her own heartbeat, but deeper still, the beating of a trustworthy presence, perceptible with faith's senses and yet much more real: the presence of Christ, the heart of the world. Therefore, I invite each one of you to renew in the month of June his/her own devotion to the Heart of Christ, also using the traditional prayer of the daily offering and keeping present the intentions I have proposed for the whole Church.
Next to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the liturgy invites us to venerate the Immaculate Heart of Mary. With great confidence let us entrust ourselves to her. Once again I would like to invoke the maternal intercession of the Virgin for the populations of China and Myanmar struck by natural calamities and for those who are going through the many situations of pain, sickness, material and spiritual poverty that mark humanity's path.
Readings for the Feast of the Sacred Heart
Collect:
Lord God, give us the strength and love of the heart of Your Son
that, by becoming one with Him, we may have eternal salvation.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. +Amen.
Year A
First Reading: Deuteronomy 7:6-11
For you are a people holy to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for His own possession, out of all the peoples that are on the face of the earth. It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set His love upon you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples; but it is because the Lord loves you, and is keeping the oath which He swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love Him and keep His commandments, to a thousand generations, and requites to their face those who hate Him, by destroying them; He will not be slack with him who hates Him, He will requite him to his face. You shall therefore be careful to do the commandment, and the statutes, and the ordinances, which I command you this day.
Second Reading: 1 John 4: 7-16
Beloved, let us love one another; for love is of God, and he who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God; for God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent His only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the expiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No man has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and His love is perfected in us.
By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His own Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent His Son as the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. So we know and believe the love God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.
Gospel Reading: Matthew 11:25-30
At that time Jesus declared, "I thank Thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that Thou hast hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to babes; yea, Father, for such was Thy gracious will. All things have been delivered to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and any one to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him. Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light."
Year B
First Reading: Hosea 11:1,3-4,8-9
When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk, I took them up in my arms; but they did not know that I healed them. I led them with cords of compassion, with the bands of love, and I became to them as one, who eases the yoke on their jaws, and I bent down to them and fed them.
How can I give you up, O Ephraim! How can I hand you over, O Israel! How can I make you like Admah! How can I treat you like Zeboiim! My heart recoils within me, my compassion grows warm and tender. I will not execute my fierce anger, I will not again destroy Ephraim; for I am God and not man, the Holy One in your midst, and I will not come to destroy.
Second Reading: Ephesians 3:8-12, 14-19
To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all men see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things; that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places. This was according to the eternal purpose which he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and confidence of access through our faith in him.
For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with might through his Spirit in the inner man, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have power to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fulness of God.
Gospel Reading: John 19:31-37
Since it was the day of Preparation, in order to prevent the bodies from remaining on the cross on the sabbath (for that sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who had been crucified with Him; but when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. He who saw it has borne witness--his testimony is true, and he knows that he tells the truth--that you also may believe. For these things took place that the scripture might be fulfilled, "Not a bone of Him shall be broken." And again another scripture says, "They shall look on Him whom they have pierced."
Year C
First Reading: Ezekiel 34:11-16
"For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, I Myself will search for My sheep, and will seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out His flock when some of His sheep have been scattered abroad, so will I seek out my sheep; and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. And I will bring them out from the peoples, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the fountains, and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them with good pasture, and upon the mountain heights of Israel shall be their pasture; there they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on fat pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will make them lie down, says the Lord God. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the crippled, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will watch over; I will feed them in justice.
Second Reading: Romans 5:5-11
Hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us.
While we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Why, one will hardly die for a righteous man--though perhaps for a good man one will dare even to die. But God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we are now justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. Not only so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received our reconciliation.
Gospel Reading: Luke 15:3-7
Jesus told them this parable: "What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost.' Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
Litany to the Sacred HeartLord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
God, the Father of Heaven, Response: have mercy on us.
God, the Son, Redeemer of the world, ..
God the Holy Spirit,...
Holy Trinity, one God, ...
Heart of Jesus, Son of the eternal Father, ...
Heart of Jesus, formed by the Holy Spirit in the Virgin Mother's womb, ...
Heart of Jesus, substantially united to the Word of God, ...
Heart of Jesus, of infinite majesty, ...
Heart of Jesus, holy temple of God, ...
Heart of Jesus, tabernacle of the Most High, ...
Heart of Jesus, house of God and gate of heaven, ...
Heart of Jesus, glowing furnace of charity, ...
Heart of Jesus, vessel of justice and love, ...
Heart of Jesus, full of goodness and love, ...
Heart of Jesus, abyss of all virtues, ...
Heart of Jesus, most worthy of all praise, ...
Heart of Jesus, King and center of all hearts, ...
Heart of Jesus, wherein are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, ...
Heart of Jesus, wherein dwells all the fullness of the Godhead, ...
Heart of Jesus, in whom the Father is well pleased, ...
Heart of Jesus, of whose fullness we have all received, ...
Heart of Jesus, desire of the everlasting hills, ...
Heart of Jesus, patient and rich in mercy, ...
Heart of Jesus, rich unto all who call upon You, ...
Heart of Jesus, fount of life and holiness, ...
Heart of Jesus, propitiation for our offenses, ...
Heart of Jesus, overwhelmed with reproaches, ...
Heart of Jesus, bruised for our iniquities, ...
Heart of Jesus, obedient even unto death, ...
Heart of Jesus, pierced with a lance, ...
Heart of Jesus, source of all consolation, ...
Heart of Jesus, our life and resurrection, ...
Heart of Jesus, our peace and reconciliation, ...
Heart of Jesus, victim for our sins, ...
Heart of Jesus, salvation of those who hope in Thee, ...
Heart of Jesus, hope of those who die in Thee, ...
Heart of Jesus, delight of all saints, ...
Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
V. Jesus, meek and humble of heart,
R. Make our hearts like unto Thy Heart.
Let us pray, Almighty everlasting God, look upon the Heart of Thy dearly beloved Son, and upon the praise and satisfaction He offers Thee in the name of sinners and for those who seek Thy mercy. Be appeased, and grant us pardon in the name of Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who lives and reigns with Thee forever and ever. Amen.
Family Activities for the Feast of the Sacred Heart
1. Help the children make a small "shrine" or a table decoration with a statue or picture of the Sacred Heart. Decorate with flowers or candles. A fine family observance would be to say together the Litany of the Sacred Heart as prayers before bedtime. If the children are very small, you might abbreviate it somewhat. It would be most effective to say the Litany before an image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, either a picture or a statue.
2. Suggest that children make a list of several acts of charity and mercy, representing Jesus' love for us, and write them on cut-out hearts. Each child to might pick one of these acts to perform for a family member each day of the coming week, as a special act of unity in love with the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
3. Cut out a large paper heart of white paper, and have the children draw a picture with crayons or markers on the heart of Jesus showing His love by healing the blind and lame, or feeding the hungry, or evenof Jesus on the Cross, giving His very life for us, for our salvation. Display the hearts on the refrigerator, or tape them on the door of the children's rooms.
4. Bake a heart-shaped cake or cookies. Make the decorations simple enough so that the children can help. See Valentine Page for Heart shaped cookies. A heart-shaped cake to celebrate the Feast of the Sacred Heart would have a single candle, representing the Light of Christ.
19
posted on
06/19/2009 8:36:40 AM PDT
by
Salvation
(With God all things are possible.)
To: All
Optional Memorial: (Repressed) St.Romuald, Abbot
Saint Romuald, Abbot
Optional Memorial
June 19th
Saint Romuald (detail of Crucifixion and Saints)
Fra Angelico
1441-42
Fresco, 550 x 950 cm (full fresco)
Convento di San Marco, Florence
Saint Romuald was born in Ravenna, Italy to a family of nobility. Founder of the Camaldolese monks, he was a hermit and a reformer of the monastic custom of his time. He died after a life of prayer and rigorous penance.
Source: Daily Roman Missal, Edited by Rev. James Socías, Midwest Theological Forum, Chicago, Illinois ©2003
Collect:
Father,
through St. Romuald
You renewed the life of solitude and prayer in Your Church.
By our self-denial as we follow Christ
bring us the joy of heaven.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. +Amen.
First Reading: Philippians 3:8-14
Indeed I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as refuse, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own, based on law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and may share His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, that if possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me His own. Brethren, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Gospel Reading: Luke 14:25-33
Now great multitudes accompanied Him; and He turned and said to them, "If any one comes to Me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after Me, cannot be My disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, 'This man began to build, and was not able to finish.' Or what king, going to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and take counsel whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends an embassy and asks terms of peace. So therefore, whoever of you does not renounce all that he has cannot be My disciple.
20
posted on
06/19/2009 8:44:22 AM PDT
by
Salvation
(With God all things are possible.)
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