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White Double THE APPROACH OF THE GREAT SOLEMNITY, which will soon be shedding upon us all the splendors of heaven, seems to inspire the Church with a profound recollection. Except for the homage she must needs pay, on their own date, to the glorious Apostles Simon and Jude, only a few Feasts of simple rite break the silence of these last days of October. Our souls must be in confirmity with the dispositions of our common Mother. It will not, however, be out of keeping to give a thought to the great Archangel, honored today by many particular churches....

NOVENA IN HONOR OF ST. RAPHAEL, ARCHANGEL (Beginning October 15) (May be said in public or private. i. 300 Days each day. ii. Plenary, once during the Novena. I, II, IV. See Instructions, p. I, 1910 Raccolta.) ℣. O God, come to my assistance; ℟. O Lord, make haste to help me.     “Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost: as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. O CHRIST, Splendor of the Father, Life and Strength of the heart, in the presence of the...

White Double of the First Class THE GLORIOUS ARCHANGEL appears today at the head of the heavenly army: There was a great battle in heaven, Michael and his angels fought with the dragon, and the dragon fought and his angels. In the sixth century, the dedication of the churches of St. Michael on Monte Gargano and in the Roman Circus increased the celebrity of this day, which had however been long before consecrated by Rome to the memory of all the heavenly Virtues. The east commemorates on the sixth of September an apparition of the victorious Prince at Chone...

White Greater Double DAVID FORETOLD that the Emmanuel’s coming into this world would be greeted by the Angels, and that they would humbly adore him on his first appearing among us.We saw this prophecy fulfilled on the Night ever blessed, when Mary brought forth the Fruit of her womb. The Angelic choirs sang one of their heavenly hymns, which led the Shepherds to the Stable; we blended our songs with theirs, in homage to our Infant-God. The Resurrection of our Emmanuel was sure to be honored by the presence of these blessed Spirits, who had witnessed, with amazement and...

White Greater Double SO FAR IN THE CHURCH’S CALENDAR, we have not met with any feast in honor of the holy angels. Amidst the ineffable joys of Christmas night, we mingled our timid but glad voices with the hymns of these heavenly spirits, who sang around the crib of our Emmanuel. The very recollection brings joy to our hearts, saddened as they now are by penitential feelings and by the near approach of the mournful anniversary of our Jesus’ death. Let us, for a moment, interrupt our sadness, and keep the feast of the Archangel Gabriel. Later on, we...

White Double THE approach of the great solemnity, which will soon be shedding upon us all the splendors of heaven, seems to inspire the Church with a profound recollection. Except for the homage she must needs pay, on their own date, to the glorious Apostles Simon and Jude, only a few Feasts of simple rite break the silence of these last days of October. Our souls must be in confirmity with the dispositions of our common Mother. It will not, however, be out of keeping to give a thought to the great Archangel, honored today by many particular churches....

Read/print the novena here.

White Double of the First Class THE glorious Archangel appears today at the head of the heavenly army: There was a great battle in heaven, Michael and his angels fought with the dragon, and the dragon fought and his angels. In the sixth century, the dedication of the churches of St. Michael on Monte Gargano and in the Roman Circus increased the celebrity of this day, which had however been long before consecrated by Rome to the memory of all the heavenly Virtues. The east commemorates on the sixth of September an apparition of the victorious Prince at Chone...

President Barack Obama presents the Medal of Honor to Senior Chief Special Warfare Operator Edward Byers, U.S. Navy SEAL, in the East Room of the White House, Feb. 29, 2016. Senior Chief Byers receives the Medal of Honor for his courageous actions while serving as part of a team that rescued an American civilian being held hostage in Afghanistan on December 8-9, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)On Monday, Navy Senior Chief Edward C. Byers Jr. was awarded the Medal of Honor in a White House ceremony.The 36-year-old SEAL received the U.S. Military’s highest honor for his...

A Woman Wrapped in Silence – A Meditation for the Feast of the Annunciation By: Msgr. Charles PopeIn preparation for today’s Feast of the Annunciation I picked up Jesus of Nazareth, Vol. 3 (The Infancy Narratives)  by Pope Emeritus Benedict. I was very moved by a very brief reflection that he made on Mary as the Angel Gabriel left her. His remarks consider her faith in a very touching manner. I must say that I have always been moved, and intrigued, by the faith of the Blessed Mother, for she is “a woman wrapped in silence,” a phrase that forms the...

JERUSALEM – An ancient limestone tablet covered with a mysterious Hebrew text that features the archangel Gabriel is at the center of a new exhibit in Jerusalem, even as scholars continue to argue about what it means. The so-called Gabriel Stone, a meter (three-foot)-tall tablet said to have been found 13 years ago on the banks of the Dead Sea, features 87 lines of an unknown prophetic text dated as early as the first century BC, at the time of the Second Jewish Temple.

it will cost more than the rifle, but what the heck!

Time to Bring Back St. Michael’s Prayer by Judy Keane on December 13, 2012 ·   In his 2008 Inaugural Address, President Obama praised the tremendous sacrifices of our Founding Fathers and our hard won freedoms saying, “Our Founding Fathers faced with perils that we can scarcely imagine, they drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations.”  However, in moving forward aggressively with the HHS Mandate, it has become clear we are witnessing a U.S. President eroding those very freedoms he initially spoke so highly...

(The following is excerpted from Dom Prosper Guéranger's entry in The Liturgical Year for 29 September, in Volume XIV of the 1983 Marian House edition of the English translation by the Benedictines of Stanbrook.) The icon of St. Michael, the Archangel, in Sts. Cyril and Methodius and their Disciples Church in Sofia, Bulgaria "The glorious Archangel appears today at the head of the heavenly army: 'There was a great battle in heaven, Michael and his angels fought with the dragon, and the dragon fought and his angels' {Apoc. 12: 7). In the sixth century, the dedication of the churches of...

Who Is Like Unto God?Tomorrow we celebrate the Feast of the holy Archangels, Michael, Gabriel and Raphael. Each year, this feast gives us a golden opportunity to renew our friendship with the angels who are given for our spiritual benefit and are eager to assist us in our battle against the principalities and powers of the world of darkness. We need only to ask their assistance and their guidance on our way to heaven. Let us take a moment to reflect on the glorious prince of the heavenly host, St. Michael the Archangel, the most potent of all God’s helpers....

The Three Flames of Divine LoveEvery year on the 29th of September the Church commemorates the three angels whose names have been revealed to us in Scripture for our consolation: Michael, Gabriel and Raphael. There is a fourth angel whose name is also revealed, Lucifer, but for a different reason: to warn us clearly about all his works and empty promises. When God unmasks the identity of angelic beings in the public revelation of the Church it is because He wants us to know something about them that will assist us on the road to Heaven—or give us sufficient warning....

Archangel sculpture rises from Lichfield nave Maev Kennedy Monday February 20, 2006 Simply red ... the carving of the Archangel Gabriel recently discovered under the nave of Lichfield Cathedral. Photograph: Shelley Stratford The Archangel Gabriel, his wings still fiery with colour applied over 1200 years ago, has emerged from beneath the nave of Lichfield Cathedral. The Anglo-Saxon carved figure was found when builders, watched over by archaeologists, took up part of the floor of the nave to build a new rising platform for concerts and recitals. "None of us imagined that the project would provide a priceless gem, with the...

Lord, Keep our Troops forever in Your care Give them victory over the enemy... Grant them a safe and swift return... Bless those who mourn the lost. . FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer for all those serving their country at this time. .................................................................. .................... ........................................... U.S. Military History, Current Events and Veterans Issues Where Duty, Honor and Countryare acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated. Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans. In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should...

A long tradition identifies St. Michael the Archangel, as the leader who remained faithful to God, and cast Lucifer at God’s command. His powerful aid has always been invoked by the Church in time of emergency. The Popes have constantly called on St. Michael as the special protector of the Church whenever great evils threatened God’s people. For this reason, St. Michael is especially honored at Rome, on Monte Gargano, near Foggia, in Italy, and in France on Mont St. Michel in Normandy. In times of unusual danger, when the malice of the devil seems triumphant, St. Michael will...

<p>Mark Judelson has been writing since his high school days in New Haven, when he once skipped classes for two weeks and justified it to his parents by announcing he was writing a book.</p> <p>His parents' first reaction was uncontrolled laughter, he says. He was a white student at a largely black inner-city school at the end of the 1960s. His hometown was experiencing race riots, and Black Panther Bobby Seale was on trial there. Judelson had a story to tell, and after two years of work and revision, his book about his experiences was published. Although he went on to study forestry, he's been putting words on paper ever since. After spending time in Africa, where storytelling is the medium of the masses, he's pursued that art form while working as executive director of the Arts Council of Rockland.</p>