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Luke
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	Luke 11
27.	And it came to pass, as he spoke these things, a certain woman from the crowd, lifting up her voice, said to him: Blessed is the womb that bore thee, and the paps that gave thee suck.	Factum est autem, cum hæc diceret : extollens vocem quædam mulier de turba dixit illi : Beatus venter qui te portavit, et ubera quæ suxisti.	εγενετο δε εν τω λεγειν αυτον ταυτα επαρασα τις γυνη φωνην εκ του οχλου ειπεν αυτω μακαρια η κοιλια η βαστασασα σε και μαστοι ους εθηλασας
28.	But he said: Yea rather, blessed are they who hear the word of God, and keep it.	At ille dixit : Quinimmo beati, qui audiunt verbum Dei et custodiunt illud.	αυτος δε ειπεν μενουνγε μακαριοι οι ακουοντες τον λογον του θεου και φυλασσοντες αυτον

27. And it came to pass, as he spoke these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said to him, Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the paps which you have sucked.
28. But he said, Yes rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.

BEDE; While the Scribes and Pharisees were tempting our Lord, and uttering blasphemies against Him, a certain woman with great boldness confessed His incarnation, as it follows, And it came to pass, as he spoke these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said to him, Blessed is the womb that bore you, &c. by which she refutes both the calumnies of the rulers present, and the unbelief of future heretics. For as then by blaspheming the works of the Holy Spirit, the Jews denied the true Son of God, so in after times the heretics, by denying that the Ever virgin Mary, by the cooperating power of the Holy Spirit, ministered of the substance of her flesh to the birth of the only-begotten Son, have said, that we ought not to confess Him who was the Son of man to be truly of the same substance with the Father. But if the flesh of the Word of God, who was born according to the flesh, is declared alien to the flesh of His Virgin Mother, what cause is there why the womb which bore Him and the paps which gave Him suck are pronounced blessed? By what reasoning do they suppose Him to be nourished by her milk, from whose seed they deny Him to be conceived? Whereas according to the physicians, from one and the same fountain both streams are proved to flow. But the woman pronounces blessed not only her who was thought worthy to give birth from her body to the Word of God, but those also who have desired by the hearing of faith spiritually to conceive the same Word, and by diligence in good works, either in their own or the hearts of their neighbors, to bring it forth and nourish it; for it follows, But he said, Yes rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.

CHRYS. In this answer He sought not to disown His mother, but to show that His birth would have profited her nothing, had she not been really fruitful in works and faith. But if it Met profited Mary nothing that Christ derived His birth from her, without the inward virtue of her heart, much less will it avail us to have a virtuous father, brother, or son, while we ourselves are strangers to virtue.

BEDE; But she was the mother of God, and therefore indeed blessed, in that she was made the temporal minister of the Word becoming incarnate; yet therefore much more blessed that she remained the eternal keeper of the same ever to be beloved Word. But this expression startles the wise men of the Jews, who sought not to hear and keep the word of God, but to deny and blaspheme it.

Catena Aurea Luke 11

The Virgin and Child Enthroned (Bardi Altarpiece)

Sandro Botticelli

1484
Tempera on panel, 185 x 180 cm
Staatliche Museen, Berlin

From: 1 Chronicles 15:3-4, 15-16; 16:1-2

Enthronement of the ark in Jerusalem

[3] And David assembled all Israel at Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the Lord
to its place, which he had prepared for it. [4] And David gathered together the
sons of Aaron and the Levites. [15] And the Levites carried the ark of God upon
their shoulders with the poles, as Moses had commanded according to the word
of the Lord.

[16] David also commanded the chiefs of the Levites to appoint their brethren as
the singers who should play loudly on musical instruments, on harps and lyres
and cymbals, to raise sounds of joy.

The ark is placed in the tent

[1] And they brought the ark of God, and set it inside the tent which David had
pitched for it; and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before God. [2]
And when David had finished offering the burnt offerings and the peace offerings,
he blessed the people in the name of the Lord.

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

15:1-24. The preparations for the transfer of the ark involve leading figures in the
life of the people and in the priesthood. Firstly, David himself, who makes arran-
gements about where it will be lodged (v. 1), calls the people together (v. 3), and
gives all the necessary instructions (vv. 4, 11-12, 16); secondly, the Levites, cho-
sen to be the only ones to carry the ark (vv. 2, 12) and organize the liturgical
chant (v. 19); thirdly, the priests, particularly those appointed by David – Zadok
and Abiathar (cf. 2 Sam 8:17; 15:24-27; 17:15; 19:12), who are sanctified along
with the Levites (vv. 11, 14); and finally the entire people gathered in liturgical
assembly.

The liturgy of the Church uses much of this passage in the Mass of the Vigil of
the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, thereby teaching that Mary is the true ark
of the Covenant, the temple of God’s enduring Presence on earth. Apropos of
the Assumption, St John Damascene says, in a meaningful play on words, “To-
day, she who was the temple of the Lord is at rest in the divine temple that was
not built by human hand” (”In Assumptionem”, 2).

16:1-43. The Levites who brought the ark to Jerusalem are charged by David
himself with organizing the liturgy and its music. This definition of their role will
be a point of reference for those who succeed them, including those who were
alive when this book was written.

“To invoke, to thank and to praise the Lord” (v. 4), three essential elements of the
liturgy, are spelt out also in the psalm that follows. Invocation includes the joyful
remembrance of the wonders worked by the Lord (vv. 12, 15); thanksgiving means
acknowledging God in all his works (vv. 8, 34, 35); and praise of the Lord means
sharing in his glory, glorying in him (vv. 10, 25, 36). In Christian liturgy, as a res-
ponse of faith and love to the spiritual blessings God gives us, “the Church, uni-
ted with her Lord and ‘in the Holy Spirit (Lk 10:21), blesses the Father ‘for his in-
expressible gift (2 Cor 9:15) in her adoration, praise and thanksgiving” (”Cate-
chism of the Catholic Church”, 1083).

*********************************************************************************************
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.

From: 1 Corinthians 15:54b-57

The manner of the resurrection of the dead

[54b] [When] the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying
that is written:
“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
[55] “O death, where is thy victory?
O death, where is thy sting?”
[56] The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. [57] But thanks
be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

54-58. The chapter ends with the words of joy and thanksgiving to God for the tre-
mendous benefits bought by the death and resurrection of our Lord, benefits which
result from his victory over those enemies which had made man their slave – sin,
death and the devil. Jesus Christ, by dying on the cross – offering himself to God
the Father in atonement for all the offences of mankind – has conquered sin and
the devil, who attained power through sin. And his victory was completed by his
resurrection, which routed death. This has made it possible for his elect to be
raised in glory, and is the cause of their resurrection. “In Christ”, Bl. John Paul
II explains, “justice is done to sin at the price of his sacrifice, of his obedience
‘even to death’ (Phil 2:8). He who was without sin, ‘God made him to be sin for
our sake’ (2 Cor 5:21). Justice is also brought to bear upon death, which from the
beginning of man’s history has been allied to sin. Death has justice done to it at
the price of the death of the one who was without sin and who alone was able –
by means of his own death – to inflict death upon death (cf. 1 Cor 15:54f) […]. In
this way the cross, the Cross of Christ, in fact, makes us understand the deepest
roots of evil, which are fixed in sin and death; thus the Cross becomes an escha-
tological sign. Only in the eschatological fulfillment and definitive renewal of the
world will love conquer, in all the elect, the deepest sources of evil, bringing as its
fully mature fruit the kingdom of life and holiness and glorious immortality.

The foundation of this eschatological fulfillment is already contained in the Cross
of Christ and in his death. The fact that Christ ‘was raised the third day’ (1 Cor 15:
4) constitutes the final sign of the messianic mission, a sign that perfects the en-
tire revelation of merciful love in a world that is subject to evil. At the same time it
constitutes the sign that foretells ‘a new heaven and a new earth’ (Rev 21:1) when
God ‘will wipe away every tear from their eyes and death shall be no more, neither
shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more, for the former things have
passed away’ (Rev 21:4)” (”Dives in misericordia”, 8).

56-57 The Apostle here provides a summary of his teaching on the connections
between death, sin and the Mosaic Law, a teaching which is given in a much
more elaborate form in chaps 5-7 of his Letter to the Romans. Sin is the sting
of death in the sense that death entered the world through sin (cf. Rom 5:12) to
do harm to men. Sin, in its turn, grew as a result of and was reinforced by the
Mosaic Law: the Law did not induce people to sin but it was the occasion of in-
crease in sin in the sense that made it plainer where good lay and yet did not
provide the grace to enable man to avoid sin (cf. “Commentary on 1 Cor, ad
loc.”).

*********************************************************************************************
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.

From: Luke 11:27-28

Responding to the Word of God

[27] As He (Jesus) said this, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to
Him, “Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts that You sucked!”
[28] But He said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep
it!”

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

27-28. These words proclaim and praise the Blessed Virgin’s basic attitude of
soul. As the Second Vatican Council explains: “In the course of her Son’s prea-
ching she [Mary] received the words whereby, in extolling a Kingdom beyond the
concerns and ties of flesh and blood, He declared blessed those who heard and
kept the word of God (cf. Mark 3:35; Luke 11:27-28) as she was faithfully doing
(cf. Luke 2:19-51)” (”Lumen Gentium”, 58). Therefore, by replying in this way
Jesus is not rejecting the warm praise this good lady renders His Mother; He ac-
cepts it and goes further, explaining that Mary is blessed particularly because
she has been good and faithful in putting the word of God into practice. “It was a
complement to His Mother on her “fiat”, ‘be it done’ (Luke 1:38). She lived it sin-
cerely, unstintingly, fulfilling its every consequence, but never amid fanfare, rather
in the hidden and silent sacrifice of each day” (St. J. Escriva, “Christ Is Passing
By”, 177). See the note on Luke 1:34-38.

[Note on Luke 1:34-38 states:

34-38. Commenting on this passage Bl. John Paul II said: “’Virgo fidelis’, the faith-
ful virgin. What does this faithfulness of Mary mean? What are the dimensions of
this faithfulness? The first dimension is called search. Mary was faithful first of
all when she began, lovingly, to seek the deep sense of God’s plan in her and for
the world. ‘Quomodo fiet?’ How shall this be?, she asked the Angel of the An-
nunciation [...].”

“The second dimension of faithfulness is called reception, acceptance. The ‘quo-
modo fiet?’ is changed, on Mary’s lips, to a ‘fiat’: Let it be done, I am ready, I ac-
cept. This is the crucial moment of faithfulness, the moment in which man per-
ceives that he will never completely understand the ‘how’: that there are in God’s
plan more areas of mystery than of clarity; that is, however he may try, he will
never succeed in understanding it completely [...].”

“The third dimension of faithfulness is consistency to live in accordance with what
one believes; to adapt one’s own life to the object of one’s adherence. To accept
misunderstanding, persecutions, rather than a break between what one practises
and what one believes: this is consistency [...].”

“But all faithfulness must pass the most exacting test, that of duration. Therefore,
the fourth dimension of faithfulness is constancy. It is easy to be consistent for
a day or two. It is difficult and important to be consistent for one’s whole life. It is
easy to be consistent in the hour of enthusiasm, it is difficult to be so in the hour
of tribulation. And only a consistency that lasts throughout the whole life can be
called faithfulness. Mary’s ‘fiat’ in the Annunciation finds its fullness in the silent
‘fiat’ that she repeats at the foot of the Cross” (”Homily in Mexico City Cathedral”,
26 January 1979).]

*********************************************************************************************
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.

Readings at Mass

These readings are for the Vigil Mass on the evening before the feast:

First reading

1 Chronicles 15:3-4,15-16,16:1-2 ©

David gathered all Israel together to bring the ark of God up to the place he had prepared for it. David called together the sons of Aaron and the sons of Levi. And the Levites carried the ark of God with the shafts on their shoulders, as Moses had ordered in accordance with the word of the Lord.

David then told the heads of the Levites to assign duties for their kinsmen as cantors, with their various instruments of music, harps and lyres and cymbals, to play joyful tunes.

They brought the ark of God in and put it inside the tent that David had pitched for it; and they offered holocausts before God, and communion sacrifices. And when David had finished offering holocausts and communion sacrifices, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord.

Psalm

Psalm 131:6-7,9-10,13-14 ©

Go up, Lord, to the place of your rest, you and the ark of your strength.

At Ephrata we heard of the ark;

we found it in the plains of Yearim.

‘Let us go to the place of his dwelling;

let us go to kneel at his footstool.’

Go up, Lord, to the place of your rest, you and the ark of your strength.

Your priests shall be clothed with holiness;

your faithful shall ring out their joy.

For the sake of David your servant

do not reject your anointed.

Go up, Lord, to the place of your rest, you and the ark of your strength.

For the Lord has chosen Zion;

he has desired it for his dwelling:

‘This is my resting-place for ever;

here have I chosen to live.’

Go up, Lord, to the place of your rest, you and the ark of your strength.

Second reading

1 Corinthians 15:54-57 ©

When this perishable nature has put on imperishability, and when this mortal nature has put on immortality, then the words of scripture will come true: Death is swallowed up in victory. Death, where is your victory? Death, where is your sting? Now the sting of death is sin, and sin gets its power from the Law. So let us thank God for giving us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Gospel Acclamation

Lk11:28

Alleluia, alleluia!

Happy are those

who hear the word of God

and keep it.

Alleluia!

Gospel

Luke 11:27-28 ©

As Jesus was speaking, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said, ‘Happy the womb that bore you and the breasts you sucked!’ But he replied, ‘Still happier those who hear the word of God and keep it!’

These readings are for the day of the feast itself:

First reading

Apocalypse 11:19,12:1-6,10 ©

The sanctuary of God in heaven opened and the ark of the covenant could be seen inside it. Then came flashes of lightning, peals of thunder and an earthquake, and violent hail.

Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman, adorned with the sun, standing on the moon, and with the twelve stars on her head for a crown. She was pregnant, and in labour, crying aloud in the pangs of childbirth. Then a second sign appeared in the sky, a huge red dragon which had seven heads and ten horns, and each of the seven heads crowned with a coronet. Its tail dragged a third of the stars from the sky and dropped them to the earth, and the dragon stopped in front of the woman as she was having the child, so that he could eat it as soon as it was born from its mother. The woman brought a male child into the world, the son who was to rule all the nations with an iron sceptre, and the child was taken straight up to God and to his throne, while the woman escaped into the desert, where God had made a place of safety ready, for her to be looked after in the twelve hundred and sixty days.

Then I heard a voice shout from heaven, ‘Victory and power and empire for ever have been won by our God, and all authority for his Christ, now that the persecutor, who accused our brothers day and night before our God, has been brought down.’

Psalm

Psalm 44:10-12,16 ©

On your right stands the queen, in garments of gold.

The daughters of kings are among your loved ones.

On your right stands the queen in gold of Ophir.

Listen, O daughter, give ear to my words:

forget your own people and your father’s house.

On your right stands the queen, in garments of gold.

So will the king desire your beauty:

He is your lord, pay homage to him.

They are escorted amid gladness and joy;

they pass within the palace of the king.

On your right stands the queen, in garments of gold.

Second reading

1 Corinthians 15:20-26 ©

Christ has been raised from the dead, the first-fruits of all who have fallen asleep. Death came through one man and in the same way the resurrection of the dead has come through one man. Just as all men die in Adam, so all men will be brought to life in Christ; but all of them in their proper order: Christ as the first-fruits and then, after the coming of Christ, those who belong to him. After that will come the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, having done away with every sovereignty, authority and power. For he must be king until he has put all his enemies under his feet and the last of the enemies to be destroyed is death, for everything is to be put under his feet.

Gospel Acclamation

Alleluia, alleluia!

Mary has been taken up to heaven;

all the choirs of angels are rejoicing.

Alleluia!

Gospel

Luke 1:39-56 ©

Mary set out and went as quickly as she could to a town in the hill country of Judah. She went into Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth. Now as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leapt in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. She gave a loud cry and said, ‘Of all women you are the most blessed, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Why should I be honoured with a visit from the mother of my Lord? For the moment your greeting reached my ears, the child in my womb leapt for joy. Yes, blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.’

And Mary said:

‘My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord

and my spirit exults in God my saviour;

because he has looked upon his lowly handmaid.

Yes, from this day forward all generations will call me blessed,

for the Almighty has done great things for me.

Holy is his name,

and his mercy reaches from age to age for those who fear him.

He has shown the power of his arm,

he has routed the proud of heart.

He has pulled down princes from their thrones and exalted the lowly.

The hungry he has filled with good things, the rich sent empty away.

He has come to the help of Israel his servant, mindful of his mercy

– according to the promise he made to our ancestors –

of his mercy to Abraham and to his descendants for ever.’

Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months and then went back home.

Perpetual Novena for the Nation (Ecumenical)

Prayers for The Religion Forum (Ecumenical)

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Jesus, High Priest

We thank you, God our Father, for those who have responded to your call to priestly ministry.

Accept this prayer we offer on their behalf: Fill your priests with the sure knowledge of your love.

Open their hearts to the power and consolation of the Holy Spirit.

Lead them to new depths of union with your Son.

Increase in them profound faith in the Sacraments they celebrate as they nourish, strengthen and heal us.

Lord Jesus Christ, grant that these, your priests, may inspire us to strive for holiness by the power of their example, as men of prayer who ponder your word and follow your will.

O Mary, Mother of Christ and our mother, guard with your maternal care these chosen ones, so dear to the Heart of your Son.

Intercede for our priests, that offering the Sacrifice of your Son, they may be conformed more each day to the image of your Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Saint John Vianney, universal patron of priests, pray for us and our priests

This icon shows Jesus Christ, our eternal high priest.

The gold pelican over His heart represents self-sacrifice.

The border contains an altar and grapevines, representing the Mass, and icons of Melchizedek and St. Jean-Baptiste Vianney.

Melchizedek: king of righteousness (left icon) was priest and king of Jerusalem. He blessed Abraham and has been considered an ideal priest-king.

St. Jean-Baptiste Vianney is the patron saint of parish priests.

Pray a Rosary each day for our nation.

Pray the Rosary

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: II BELIEVE in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell; on the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty; from there 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 ever shall be, world without end. 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]

~ 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 the evil spirits
who prowl through the world seeking the ruin of souls.
Amen
+

A Prayer for our Free Nation Under God
God Save Our Country web site (prayer warriors)
Prayer Chain Request for the United States of America
Pray for Nancy Pelosi
Prayer and fasting will help defeat health care reform (Freeper Prayer Thread)
Prayer Campaign Started to Convert Pro-Abortion Catholic Politicians to Pro-Life
[Catholic Caucus] One Million Rosaries
Non-stop Rosary vigil to defeat ObamaCare

From an Obama bumper sticker on a car:

"Pray for Obama. Psalm 109:8"

PLEASE JOIN US -

Evening Prayer
Someone has said that if people really understood the full extent of the power we have available through prayer, we might be speechless.
Did you know that during WWII there was an advisor to Churchill who organized a group of people who dropped what they were doing every day at a prescribed hour for one minute to collectively pray for the safety of England, its people and peace?

There is now a group of people organizing the same thing here in America. If you would like to participate: Every evening at 9:00 PM Eastern Time (8:00 PM Central) (7:00 PM Mountain) (6:00 PM Pacific), stop whatever you are doing and spend one minute praying for the safety of the United States, our troops, our citizens, and for a return to a Godly nation. If you know anyone else who would like to participate, please pass this along. Our prayers are the most powerful asset we have. Please forward this to your praying friends.

August Devotion -- The Immaculate Heart [of Mary]

Since the 16th century Catholic piety has assigned entire months to special devotions. The month of August is traditionally dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The physical heart of Mary is venerated (and not adored as the Sacred Heart of Jesus is) because it is united to her person: and as the seat of her love (especially for her divine Son), virtue, and inner life. Such devotion is an incentive to a similar love and virtue.

This devotion has received new emphasis in this century from the visions given to Lucy Dos Santos, oldest of the visionaries of Fatima, in her convent in Tuy, in Spain, in 1925 and 1926. In the visions Our Lady asked for the practice of the Five First Saturdays to help make amends for the offenses given to her heart by the blasphemies and ingratitude of men. The practice parallels the devotion of the Nine First Fridays in honor of the Sacred Heart.

On October 31, 1942, Pope Pius XII made a solemn Act of Consecration of the Church and the whole world to the Immaculate Heart. Let us remember this devotion year-round, but particularly through the month of August.

INVOCATIONS

O heart most pure of the Blessed Virgin Mary, obtain for me from Jesus a pure and humble heart.

Sweet heart of Mary, be my salvation.

ACT OF CONSECRATION
Queen of the most holy Rosary, help of Christians, refuge of the human race, victorious in all the battles of God, we prostrate ourselves in supplication before thy throne, in the sure hope of obtaining mercy and of receiving grace and timely aid in our present calamities, not through any merits of our own, on which we do not rely, but only through the immense goodness of thy mother's heart. In thee and in thy Immaculate Heart, at this grave hour of human history, do we put our trust; to thee we consecrate ourselves, not only with all of Holy Church, which is the mystical body of thy Son Jesus, and which is suffering in so many of her members, being subjected to manifold tribulations and persecutions, but also with the whole world, torn by discords, agitated with hatred, the victim of its own iniquities. Be thou moved by the sight of such material and moral degradation, such sorrows, such anguish, so many tormented souls in danger of eternal loss! Do thou, O Mother of mercy, obtain for us from God a Christ-like reconciliation of the nations, as well as those graces which can convert the souls of men in an instant, those graces which prepare the way and make certain the long desired coming of peace on earth. O Queen of peace, pray for us, and grant peace unto the world in the truth, the justice, and the charity of Christ.

Above all, give us peace in our hearts, so that the kingdom of God may spread its borders in the tranquillity of order. Accord thy protection to unbelievers and to all those who lie within the shadow of death; cause the Sun of Truth to rise upon them; may they be enabled to join with us in repeating before the Savior of the world: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good will."

Give peace to the nations that are separated from us by error or discord, and in a special manner to those peoples who profess a singular devotion toward thee; bring them back to Christ's one fold, under the one true Shepherd. Obtain full freedom for the holy Church of God; defend her from her enemies; check the ever-increasing torrent of immorality; arouse in the faithful a love of purity, a practical Christian life, and an apostolic zeal, so that the multitude of those who serve God may increase in merit and in number.

Finally, even as the Church and all mankind were once consecrated to the Heart of thy Son Jesus, because He was for all those who put their hope in Him an inexhaustible source of victory and salvation, so in like manner do we consecrate ourselves forever to thee also and to thy Immaculate Heart, O Mother of us and Queen of the world; may thy love and patronage hasten the day when the kingdom of God shall be victorious and all the nations, at peace with God .and with one another, shall call thee blessed and intone with thee, from the rising of the sun to its going down, the everlasting "Magnificat" of glory, of love, of gratitude to the Heart of Jesus, in which alone we can find truth, life, and peace. — Pope Pius XII

IN HONOR OF THE IMMACULATE HEART
O heart of Mary, mother of God, and our mother; heart most worthy of love, in which the adorable Trinity is ever well-pleased, worthy of the veneration and love of all the angels and of all men; heart most like to the Heart of Jesus, of which thou art the perfect image; heart, full of goodness, ever compassionate toward our miseries; deign to melt our icy hearts and grant that they may be wholly changed into the likeness of the Heart of Jesus, our divine Savior. Pour into them the love of thy virtues, enkindle in them that divine fire with which thou thyself dost ever burn. In thee let Holy Church find a safe shelter; protect her and be her dearest refuge, her tower of strength, impregnable against every assault of her enemies. Be thou the way which leads to Jesus, and the channel, through which we receive all the graces needful for our salvation. Be our refuge in time of trouble, our solace in the midst of trial, our strength against temptation, our haven in persecution, our present help in every danger, and especially) at the hour of death, when all hell shall let loose against u its legions to snatch away our souls, at that dread moment; that hour so full of fear, whereon our eternity depends. An,; then most tender virgin, make us to feel the sweetness of thy motherly heart, and the might of thine intercession with Jesus, and open to us a safe refuge in that very fountain of mercy, whence we may come to praise Him with thee in paradise, world without end. Amen.

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

Sacred Heart Of Jesus

Sacred Heart Of Jesus image

Immaculate Heart of Mary

Immaculate Heart of Mary image

Blessed be the Most Loving Heart and Sweet Name of Our Lord Jesus Christ and the most glorious Virgin Mary, His Mother, in eternity and forever. Amen.

....Only the Heart of Christ who knows the depths of his Father's love could reveal to us the abyss of his mercy in so simple and beautiful a way ----From the Catechism. P:1439

From the depth of my nothingness, I prostrate myself before Thee, O Most Sacred, Divine and Adorable Heart of Jesus, to pay Thee all the homage of love, praise and adoration in my power.
Amen. - - St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

The prayer of the Church venerates and honors the Heart of Jesus just as it invokes his most holy name. It adores the incarnate Word and his Heart which, out of love for men, he allowed to be pierced by our sins. Christian prayer loves to follow the way of the cross in the Savior's steps.-- >From the Catechism. P: 2669

The Salutation to the Heart of Jesus and Mary

An Offering of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary

Novena Prayer to Sacred Heart of Jesus

Prayer to the Wounded Heart of Jesus

Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart

Meditation & Novena Prayer on the Sacred Heart

Beads to the Sacred Heart

Novena Prayer to the Immaculate Heart of Mary

A Solemn Act of Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary

The Daily Offering to the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Exaltation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Prayer to the Blessed Virgin

The Holy Heart of Mary Is, After the Heart of Jesus, the Most Exalted Throne of Divine Love
Let us recollect that God has given us the feast of the most pure Heart of the Blessed Virgin so that we may render on that day all the respect, honor and praise that we possibly can. To enkindle this spirit within us let us consider our motivating obligations.

The first is that we ought to love and honor whatever God loves and honors, and that by which He is loved and glorified. Now, after the adorable Heart of Jesus there has never been either in heaven or on earth, nor ever will be, a heart which has been so loved and honored by God, or which has given Him so much glory as that of Mary, the Mother of Jesus. Never has there been, nor will there ever be a more exalted throne of divine love. In that Heart divine love possesses its fullest empire, for it ever reigns without hindrance or interruption, and with it reign likewise all the laws of God, all the Gospel maxims and every Christian virtue.

This incomparable Heart of the Mother of our Redeemer is a glorious heaven, a Paradise of delights for the Most Holy Trinity. According to St. Paul, the hearts of the faithful are the dwelling place of our Lord Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ Himself assures us that the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost take up Their abode in the hearts of those who love God. Who, therefore, can doubt that the Most Holy Trinity has always made His home and established the reign of His glory in an admirable and ineffable manner in the virginal Heart of her who is the Daughter of the Father, the Mother of the Son, the Spouse of the Holy Ghost, who herself loves God more than all other creatures together?

How much then are we not obliged to love this exalted and most lovable Heart?

— St. John Eudes

On the Critics of Pope Francis’ Consecration to the Immaculate Heart (Catholic Caucus)
Pope consecrates world to immaculate heart of Mary
Pope at Mass: Learning from Mary to keep the Word of God
Today: Immaculate Heart of Mary [DEVOTIONAL]

The Immaculate Heart of Mary [Devotional] Catholic/Orthodox Caucus
Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary [Catholic/Orthodox Caucus]
Saturdays and the Immaculate Heart of Mary [Catholic/Orthodox Caucus]
The Brown Scapular (Catholic Caucus)
The History of Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary (Catholic Caucus)
Homilies preached by Father Robert Altier on the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
Marian Associations Unite to Celebrate Immaculate Heart
Solemnity Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heart of Mary
FEAST OF THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY, AUGUST 22ND
Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary

August 2014
Pope's Intentions
Universal: That refugees, forced by violence to abandon their homes, may find a generous welcome and the protection of their rights.
For Evangelization: That Christians in Oceania may joyfully announce the faith to all the people of that region.

Daily Gospel Commentary

The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary - Solemnity

Commentary of the day
Blessed Guerric of Igny (c.1080-1157), Cistercian abbot
1st Sermon for the Feast of the Assumption, 1-4 ; SC 202 (trans. Cistercian Fathers series)

Mary, mother of all the living

“Come, my chosen one and I will set up my throne in you” (Latin Liturgy)… “Blessed are those whom you have chosen, Lord; they shall live in your courts” (Ps 65[66],5). More than that, you will live in them, you will in them, and you will set up the throne of your kingdom in them. Of them all, Mary is the most blessed. She of all the elect was unique way chosen and singled out, for the Lord has chosen her to be his dwelling, saying: "She shall be my rest for ever and ever; here will I dwell, for I have chosen her" (Ps 131[132],14). He lived in her for nine months; he lived with her and was subject for so many more years… But now, through his dwelling in her and with her for all eternity and in a manner incomprehensible, her cup of joy overflows with the glory of the beatific vision. Outwardly he shows her the form of his glorified flesh, while within her he imprints the form of the glorifying Word…

She who is the Virgin-Mother, she who glories in having borne the Only-begotten Son of the Father, embraces that same Only-begotten of hers in all her members and so can be truly called Mother of all in whom she recognizes her Christ to have been formed, or in whom she knows he is being formed. The first Eve… is indeed called the mother of the living, but she turned out to be more precisely… the mother of the dead… And as Eve was incapable of fulfilling the vocation of her title, Mary consummated the mystery. She herself, like the Church of which she is the type, is a mother of all who are reborn to life. She is in fact the mother of the Life by which everyone lives hommes (Jn 11,25; 5,25f), and when she brought Life forth from herself she in some way brought to rebirth all those who were to live by that Life…

Thus the blessed Mother of Christ, knowing that she is the mother of all Christians by reason of this mystery, shows herself a mother by her care and loving attention… Already we really dwell in “the shadow” of the Mother “of the Most High”; we live under her protection as if “under the shadow of her wing” (Pss 90[91],1; 16[17],8). Later, in participating in her glory we shall be cherished as if in her bosom… since the King of glory has set his throne within her.