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From: 1 Corinthians 1:17-25

An Appeal for Unity (Continuation)

[17] For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with
eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

The Wisdom of the Cross

[18] For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who
are being saved it is the power of God. [19] For it is written, “I will destroy the wis-
dom of the wise, and the cleverness of the clever I will thwart.” [20] Where is the
wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God
made foolish the wisdom of the world? [21] For since, in the wisdom of God, the
world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what
we preach to save those who believe. [22] For Jews demand signs and Greeks
seek wisdom, [23] but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and
folly to Gentiles, [24] but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ
the power of God and the wisdom of God. [25] For the foolishness of God is wi-
ser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

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

17. In the first part of this verse St Paul is giving the reasons for his actions as
described in the preceding verses. The second part he uses to broach a new
subject — the huge difference between this world’s wisdom and the wisdom of
God.

“Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the Gospel”: this is a reminder
that preaching is St Paul’s main task, as it is of the other Apostles (cf. Mk 3:14).
This does not imply a belittling of Baptism: in his mandate to the Apostles to go
out into the whole world (cf. Mt 28:19-20), our Lord charged them to baptize as
well as to preach, and we know that St Paul did administer Baptism. But Bap-
tism—the sacrament of faith presupposes preaching: “faith comes from what is
heard” (Rom 10:17). St Paul concentrates on preaching, leaving it to others to
baptize and gather the fruit—a further sign of his detachment and upright inten-
tion.

In Christian catechesis, evangelization and the sacraments are interdependent.
Preaching can help people to receive the sacraments with better dispositions,
and it can make them more aware of what the sacraments are; and the graces
which the sacraments bring help them to understand the preaching they hear
and to be more docile to it. “Evangelization thus exercises its full capacity when
it achieves the most intimate relationship, or better still a permanent and unbro-
ken intercommunication, between the Word and the Sacraments. In a certain
sense it is a mistake to make a contrast between evangelization and sacramen-
talization, as is sometimes done. It is indeed true that a certain way of admini-
stering the Sacraments, without the solid support of catechesis regarding these
same Sacraments and a global catechesis, could end up by depriving them of
their effectiveness to a great extent. The role of evangelization is precisely to
educate people in the faith so as to lead each individual Christian to live the Sa-
craments as true Sacraments of faith—and not to receive them passively or apa-
thetically” (Paul VI, “Evangelii Nuntiandi”, 47).

1:18-4:21. St Paul’s writings are not an academic study of particular doctrinal
subjects, one after the other, logically arranged. The Apostle’s lively mind and the
letter-form he uses create an interweaving of profound theological ideas, practical
applications of teaching and expressions of warm, apostolic affection. In this sec-
tion of the letter St Paul discusses the causes of divisions among the Corinthian
Christians: they have failed to discover where true wisdom lies (1:18-3:3), or what
the true mission of Church ministers is (3:4-4:13). He ends this part of the letter
with some words of warning (4:14-21).

Human wisdom ought to be in line with the wisdom of God. But it has gone off
course and become “wisdom of the world”, relying only on miracles or on logic;
only grace can make a person truly wise: therefore, no Christian can boast of
obtaining wisdom by his own efforts (1:18-31). Even St Paul relied only on the
wisdom of the Cross (2:1-5).

Divine wisdom, which men are called to have a share in, is the plan of salvation
revealed by God and taught by the Holy Spirit (2:6-16); the Corinthians have not
yet attained it (3:1-3).

The Corinthians’ second shortcoming is that they fail to understand the role of
Church ministers: these are not working for themselves but for the building-up
of the whole Church; every Christian—and the entire Church—belongs to God and
Christ alone (3:4-23); Christians are not to sit in judgment over God’s ministers:
God is their judge (4:1-7). Therefore, the important thing is for Christians to be
faithful and to abound in the grace of God, even if the holders of Church office
are not very impressive (4:8-13).

18-19. The cross of Christ leads the way to true wisdom and prudence. No one
may remain indifferent to it. Some people see the message of the Cross, “the
word of the cross”, as folly: these are on the road to perdition. Others — those
who are on the road to salvation — are discovering that the Cross is “the power
of God”, because it has conquered the devil and sin. The Church has always
seen the Cross in this light: “This is the wood of the cross, on which hung the
Savior of the world” (”Roman Missal”, Good Friday liturgy).

The saints have rejoiced in this truth: “O most precious gift of the Cross! How
splendid it looks! [...] It is a tree which begets life, without causing death; which
sheds light, without casting shadows; which leads to Paradise and does not ex-
pel anyone therefrom; it is the wood which Christ ascended, as a king mounting
his chariot, to defeat the devil who had usurped the power of death, and to set
mankind free from the thrall in which the devil held it. This wood, on which the
Lord, valiant fighter in the combat, was wounded in his divine hands and feet and
side, healed the effects of sins and the wounds which the pernicious dragon had
inflicted on our nature [...]. That supreme wisdom, which, so to speak, burgeoned
on the Cross, exposed the boasts and the foolish arrogance of the wisdom of the
world” (St Theodore the Studite, “Oratio In Adorationem Crucis”).

In the Cross the words of Isaiah (29:14) quoted by St Paul are fulfilled. Simplicity
and humility are needed if one is to discover the divine wisdom of the Cross. ‘The
message of Christ’s cross”, St Thomas says, “contains something which to hu-
man wisdom seems impossible—that God should die, or that the Almighty should
give himself up into the power of violent men. It also contains things which seem
to be contrary to worldly prudence—for instance, someone being able to flee from
contradictions and yet not doing so” (”Commentary on 1 Cor, ad loc.”).

20-25. After stressing the importance of the message of the Cross, St Paul now
contrasts the wisdom of God and the wisdom of the world.

By “wisdom of the world” he means the attitude of man when he is not pursuing
his proper goal: this term “world”, which has various meanings in Sacred Scrip-
ture (cf. note on Jn 17:14-16), in St Paul has the pejorative meaning of “all sinful
men”, people estranged from God (cf. 1 Cor 1:27; 2:12; 3:19; 5:10; 11:32). This
human wisdom cannot attain knowledge of God (cf. Rom 1:19-25), either be-
cause it demands external signs or because it accepts only rational arguments.

For the Jews only signs will do—miracles which prove God’s presence (cf. Mt
12:38ff; Lk 11:29); they want to base their faith on things the senses can per-
ceive. For people with this attitude, the cross of Christ is a scandal, that is, a
stumbling block, which makes it impossible for them to gain access to divine
things, because they have in some way imposed limits as to how God may re-
veal himself and how he may not.

The Greeks — St Paul is referring to the Rationalists of his time — think that they
are the arbiters of truth, and that anything which cannot be proved by logical ar-
gument is nonsense. “For the world, that is, for the prudent of the world, their
wisdom turned into blindness; it could not lead them to see God [...]. Therefore,
since the world had become puffed up by the vanity of its dogmas, the Lord set
in place the faith whereby believers would be saved by what seemed unworthy
and foolish, so that, all human conjecture being of no avail, only the grace of God
might reveal what the human mind cannot take in” (St Leo the Great, “Fifth Nati-
vity Sermon”).

Christians, whom God has called out from among the Jews and the Gentiles, do
attain the wisdom of God, which consists in faith, “a supernatural virtue. By that
faith, with the inspiration and help of God’s grace, we believe that what he has
revealed is true—not because its intrinsic truth is seen by the natural light of rea-
son, but because of the authority of God who reveals it, who can neither deceive
nor be deceived” (Vatican I, “Dei Filius”, chap. 3). The same council goes on to
teach that faith is in conformity with reason (cf. Rom 12:1) and that, in addition
to God’s help, external signs—miracles and prophecies—and rational argument
do act as supports of faith.

21. “In the wisdom of God ...”: this has been interpreted in two ways, which com-
plement one another. Roughly, the first interpretation is this: according to God’s
most wise designs, since the world could not attain knowledge of God by its own
efforts, through philosophy, through those elaborate systems of thought the
Greeks were so proud of, God decided to save believers through the preaching of
the Cross, which to human eyes seemed foolishness, a stumbling block (v. 22).

The second interpretation, favored by many Fathers and by St Thomas Aquinas,
contrasts divine wisdom — as manifested in creation and in the Old Testament —
with human wisdom. It runs on these lines: since the world, because of its distor-
ted view of things, failed to attain knowledge of God, despite the way he manifes-
ted himself in creation (cf. Rom 1:19-20) and Sacred Scripture, God has decided
to save man in a remarkable, paradoxical way which better reflects divine wisdom
—the preaching of the Cross.

In both interpretations it is clear that the Apostle is trying to squeeze into one
expression a number of truths—that God’s salvific plans are eternal; that human
wisdom, which is capable, on its own, of discovering God through his works, has
become darkened; that the Cross is the climax of the all-wise plans of God; that
man cannot be truly wise unless he accepts “the wisdom of the cross”, no mat-
ter how paradoxical it may seem.

25. In his plan of salvation God our Lord wants to use things which to man’s mind
seem foolish and weak, so that his wisdom and power will shine out all the more.
“All that Jesus Christ did for us has been meritorious for us; it has all been ne-
cessary and advantageous to our salvation; his very weakness has been for us
no less useful than his majesty. For, if by the power of his divinity he has re-
leased us from the captivity of sin, he has also, through the weakness of his flesh,
destroyed death’s rights. As the Apostle so beautifully said, ‘the weakness of God
is stronger than men’; indeed, by this folly he has been pleased to save the world
by combating the wisdom of the world and confounding the wise; for, possessing
the nature of God and being equal to God, he abased himself, taking the form of
a servant; being rich, he became poor for love of us: being great, he became little;
being exalted, humble; he became weak, who was powerful; he suffered hunger
and thirst, he wore himself out on the roads and suffered of his own free will and
not by necessity. This type of folly, I repeat: has it not meant for us a way of wis-
dom, a model of justice and an example of holiness, as the same Apostle says:
‘The foolishness of God is wiser than men’? So true is this, that death has freed
us from death, life has freed us from error, and grace from sin” (St Bernard, “De
Laudibus Novae Militiae”, XI, 27).

*********************************************************************************************
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: Matthew 25:1-13

The Parable of the Wise and Foolish Maidens

(Jesus said to His disciples,) [1] “Then the Kingdom of Heaven shall be compared
to ten maidens who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. [2] Five of
them were foolish, and five were wise. [3] For when the foolish took their lamps,
they took no oil with them; [4] but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. [5]
As the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. [6] But at midnight
there was a cry, ‘Behold the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ [7] Then all those
maidens rose and trimmed their lamps. [8] And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give
us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ [9] But the wise replied, ‘Per-
haps there will not be enough for us and for you; go rather to the dealers and buy
for yourselves.’ [10] And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those
who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast; and the door was shut. [11]
Afterwards the other maidens came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ [12] But
he replied, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ [13] Watch therefore, for you
know neither the day nor the hour.”

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

1-46. The whole of chapter 25 is a practical application of the teaching contained
in chapter 24. With these parables of the wise and foolish virgins and of the ta-
lents, and His teaching on the Last Judgment, our Lord is again emphasizing the
need for vigilance (cf. note on Matthew 24:42). In this sense, chapter 25 makes
chapter 24 more intelligible.

1-13. The main lesson of this parable has to do with the need to be on the alert:
in practice, this means having the light of faith, which is kept alive with the oil of
charity. Jewish weddings were held in the house of the bride’s father. The virgins
are young unmarried girls, bridesmaids who are in the bride’s house waiting for
the bridegroom to arrive. The parable centers on the attitude one should adopt
up to the time when the bridegroom comes. In other words, it is not enough to
know that one is “inside” the Kingdom, the Church: one has to be on the watch
and be preparing for Christ’s coming by doing good works.

This vigilance should be continuous and unflagging, because the devil is forever
after us, prowling around “like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Pe-
ter 5:8). “Watch with the heart, watch with faith, watch with love, watch with cha-
rity, watch with good works [...]; make ready the lamps, make sure they do not
go out [...], renew them with the inner oil of an upright conscience; then shall the
Bridegroom enfold you in the embrace of His love and bring you into His banquet
room, where your lamp can never be extinguished” (St. Augustine, “Sermon”,
93).

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

Scripture readings from the Jerusalem Bible by Darton, Longman & Todd

Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: Green.

First reading
1 Corinthians 1:17-25 ©

Christ did not send me to baptise, but to preach the Good News, and not to preach that in the terms of philosophy in which the crucifixion of Christ cannot be expressed. The language of the cross may be illogical to those who are not on the way to salvation, but those of us who are on the way see it as God’s power to save. As scripture says: I shall destroy the wisdom of the wise and bring to nothing all the learning of the learned. Where are the philosophers now? Where are the scribes? Where are any of our thinkers today? Do you see now how God has shown up the foolishness of human wisdom? If it was God’s wisdom that human wisdom should not know God, it was because God wanted to save those who have faith through the foolishness of the message that we preach. And so, while the Jews demand miracles and the Greeks look for wisdom, here are we preaching a crucified Christ; to the Jews an obstacle that they cannot get over, to the pagans madness, but to those who have been called, whether they are Jews or Greeks, a Christ who is the power and the wisdom of God. For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 32:1-2,4-5,10-11 ©

The Lord fills the earth with his love.

Ring out your joy to the Lord, O you just;

for praise is fitting for loyal hearts.

Give thanks to the Lord upon the harp,

with a ten-stringed lute sing him songs.

The Lord fills the earth with his love.

For the word of the Lord is faithful

and all his works to be trusted.

The Lord loves justice and right

and fills the earth with his love.

The Lord fills the earth with his love.

He frustrates the designs of the nations,

he defeats the plans of the peoples.

His own designs shall stand for ever,

the plans of his heart from age to age.

The Lord fills the earth with his love.

Gospel Acclamation	cf.Ps129:5

Alleluia, alleluia!

My soul is waiting for the Lord,

I count on his word.

Alleluia!

Or	Lk21:36

Alleluia, alleluia!

Stay awake, praying at all times

for the strength to stand with confidence

before the Son of Man.

Alleluia!

Gospel	Matthew 25:1-13 ©

Jesus told this parable to his disciples: ‘The kingdom of heaven will be like this: Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were sensible: the foolish ones did take their lamps, but they brought no oil, whereas the sensible ones took flasks of oil as well as their lamps. The bridegroom was late, and they all grew drowsy and fell asleep. But at midnight there was a cry, “The bridegroom is here! Go out and meet him.” At this, all those bridesmaids woke up and trimmed their lamps, and the foolish ones said to the sensible ones, “Give us some of your oil: our lamps are going out.” But they replied, “There may not be enough for us and for you; you had better go to those who sell it and buy some for yourselves.” They had gone off to buy it when the bridegroom arrived. Those who were ready went in with him to the wedding hall and the door was closed. The other bridesmaids arrived later. “Lord, Lord,” they said “open the door for us.” But he replied, “I tell you solemnly, I do not know you.” So stay awake, because you do not know either the day or the hour.’

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Pray the Rosary!

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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.

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

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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, 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.

6. 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]

St. Michael the Archangel

~ 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
+

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

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 2016

Pope's Intentions

General Intention: Sports, That sports may be an opportunity for friendly encounters between peoples and may contribute to peace in the world.

Evangelization: Living the Gospel, That Christians may live the Gospel, giving witness to faith, honesty, and love of neighbor.

Daily Gospel Commentary

Friday of the Twenty-first week in Ordinary Time

Commentary of the day
Saint Theodore the Studite (759-826), monk at Constantinople
Small Catechism, no. 130 (Migne 1993, p. 279)

Every time is the right time

My brothers, there is a time for sowing and a time for harvesting, a time for peace and another for war, a time for labor and another for rest (cf. Eccl 3). But all times are right and every journey is worthwhile for the salvation of the soul, at least if we wish it to be. Therefore, let us always be moving towards the good, ready to move, full of eagerness, putting words into deeds. For, says the apostle Paul, “it is not those who hear the law who are just in the sight of God; rather, those who observe the law will be justified” (Rom 2:13)… Is this the time for spiritual warfare? Then we should fight vigorously and pursue with God’s aid the devilish thoughts that rise up inside us. If, on the other hand, it is time for spiritual harvest, we should enthusiastically gather in the crops and collet together into spiritual barns provisions for eternal life…

It is always the time for prayer, for tears, for reconciliation after a failing, always time to take the Kingdom of heaven by storm. Why delay? Why set aside till later? Why put off our improvement from day to day? “For the world in its present form is passing away” (1Cor 7:31)… Are we going to live forever?... Doesn’t the example of the ten virgins make us tremble? “The Bridegroom is coming,” says the Gospel, “go out to meet him.” And the wise virgins went out to meet him with lamps alight and went in to the wedding feast; whereas the foolish virgins, delayed by their lack of good works, cried out: “Lord, Lord, open the door for us. But he said in reply: Amen, I say to you, I do not know you” and he added: “Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” So we should stay awake and rouse the soul to soberness, compunction, holiness, purification and illumination so as to prevent death from shutting the door and no one being there to open it to us or help us.

August 26, 2016

Friday of the Twenty-First Week in Ordinary Time

Reading 1 1 Cor 1:17-25

Responsorial Psalm Ps 33:1-2, 4-5, 10-11

Alleluia Lk 21:36

Gospel Mt 25:1-13

Readings at Mass

August 2016

Pope's Intentions

General Intention: Sports, That sports may be an opportunity for friendly encounters between peoples and may contribute to peace in the world.

Evangelization: Living the Gospel, That Christians may live the Gospel, giving witness to faith, honesty, and love of neighbor.

Friday of the Twenty-first week in Ordinary Time