Posted on 08/29/2018 10:24:18 PM PDT by Salvation
KEYWORDS: catholic; mt24; ordinarytime; prayer;
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From: 1 Corinthians 1:1-9
Greeting
[2] To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus,
called to be saints together with all those who in every place call on the name of
the Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:
[3] Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thanksgiving
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Commentary:
1-9. With slight variations almost all St Paul’s letters begin in the same kind of
way: there is a greeting (vv. 1-3), which carries the name of the writer, information
on the addressee(s), and the conventional phrase; and an act of thanksgiving to
God (vv. 4-9), in which the Apostle refers to the main qualities and endowments
of the Christians to whom he is writing. By comparing his letters with other let-
ters that have come down to us from the same period, it is quite apparent that
St Paul usually begins his letters in the style of the time. Yet he does not entire-
ly follow this rigid pattern: he changes the usual opening—”Greeting!” (cf. Acts 15:
23; 23:26)—to this more personal one, which has a pronounced Christian stamp:
“Grace to you and peace.” Also, the way in which he introduces himself and de-
scribes those he is addressing tells much more than a simple “Paul to the Corin-
thians: greeting!” Even his words of thanksgiving convey tenderness and warmth
— and their tone is not merely human, for he attributes to God the virtues he prai-
ses in the faithful.
The Fathers of the Church have drawn attention to this characteristic of Paul’s
letters — the way he manages to convey a deep doctrinal message in a familiar
style, nicely suited to whomever he happens to be addressing: “A doctor”, St
John Chrysostom explains, “does not treat the patient in the same way at the
start of his illness as when he is recovering; nor does a teacher use the same
method with children as with those who need more advanced tuition. That is how
the Apostle acts: he writes as suits the needs and the times” (”Hom. On Rom”,
Prologue).
1. St Paul attaches to his name three features which identify him — his divine
calling; his office as Apostle of Jesus Christ; and the will of God, the source of
his apostolic vocation.
“Called”: this is a carefully chosen word designed to convey the vigorous and per-
sonal way God called him. He calls all men to faith, to grace, to holiness, and to
heaven (cf., e.g. Rom 1:7; 1 Cor 1:2; 1:26; 7:20; Eph 1:18). By defining himself
as “called” (cf. Rom 1:1), St Paul is very probably referring to the episode on the
road to Damascus (cf. Acts 9:1-19), when Christ changed his life, as he had ear-
lier changed the lives of the Twelve.
“Apostle of Christ Jesus”: Paul can find no stronger expression than this to de-
scribe his mission: he is forever applying this title to himself—thirty-five times by
our reckoning. This fact of his apostleship is the basis of his authority — authority
to praise, teach, admonish and correct orally and in writing. He is so totally iden-
tified with this mission that he has no other purpose than to pursue it; his life is
dedicated to this end; all his thoughts, words and actions are aimed at achieving
it. Humbly (because he once persecuted the Church: 1 Cor 15:9) and yet forth-
rightly (cf. 1 Cor 9:1-2) he puts himself on the same level as the Twelve as far as
vocation and apostleship are concerned.
“By the will of God”: the Apostle’s energy and vitality are ascribable not to him-
self but to God, who had plans for Paul ever since he was in his mother’s womb
(Gal 1: 15); so much so that later in this letter he actually says, “If I preach the
Gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me.
Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel” (1 Cor 9:16).
“Our brother, Sosthenes”: it is uncertain whether this was the same person as
the ruler of the synagogue in Corinth mentioned in Acts (18:17). The prominent
position given him here suggests that he was someone well-known to the com-
munity at Corinth, either for his ministry among them or because he often ac-
companied St Paul; he may have been the secretary, or scribe, who actually
wrote the letter down (cf. 16:21).
2. “The church of God at Corinth”: the addressee of the letter. The very grammar
of the phrase emphasizes the fact that the Church is not the totality of the local
communities: rather, each local community—here, the Christians of Corinth — re-
presents the whole Church, which is one and indivisible: “The Apostle calls it
[the community] ‘the church of God’ in order to show that unity is one of its es-
sential and necessary characteristics. The Church of God is one in its members
and forms nothing but a single Church with all the communities spread through-
out the world, for the word ‘church’ does not mean schism: it means unity, har-
mony, concord” (St John Chrysostom, “Hom on 1 Cor”, 1, “ad loc”.).
In another three brush-strokes St Paul here describes those who make up the
Church — those sanctified in Jesus Christ, those called to be saints, those who
invoke the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
“Those sanctified in Christ Jesus”: the faithful receive at Baptism the grace which
makes them a holy people (cf. Ex 19:6; 1 Pet 2:9); the participle “sanctified” im-
plies something stable, such as is the intimate union between the individual Chris-
tian and Jesus. The formula “in Christ Jesus” here refers to the fact that the bap-
tized are grafted on to Christ like branches attached to a wine (cf. Jn l5:1ff); this
link with Christ is what makes them saints, that is, sharers in God’s own holiness;
and it involves a duty to strive for moral perfection. “As those who profess any art,
even though they depart from its rules, are still called artists, so in like manner
the faithful, although offending in many things and violating the engagements to
which they had pledged themselves, are still called holy, because they have been
made the people of God and have consecrated themselves to Christ by faith and
Baptism. Hence, St Paul calls the Corinthians sanctified and holy, although it is
certain that among them there were some whom he severely rebuked as carnal,
and charged with grosser crimes” (”St Pius V Catechism”, I, 10, 15).
“Called to be saints”: through faith and Baptism “all Christians in any state or
walk of life are called to the fullness of Christian life and to the perfection of love”
(Vatican II, “Lumen Gentium”, 40).
“Those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ”: this cir-
cumlocution describes Christian believers (cf. Acts 9:14, 21; 22:16; Rom 10:12);
what makes them different from others is that they worship Jesus Christ as Lord
and God, in the same way as the faithful of the Old Covenant invoked the name
of Yahweh. To be a member of the Church of God, therefore, it is essential that
a person believe that Christ is God. “We believe in our Lord Jesus Christ, who is
the Son of God. He is the eternal Word of the Father before time began, one in
substance with the Father, “homoousios to Patri”, through whom all things were
made. He was incarnate of the Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit and
was made man. ‘Equal, therefore, to the Father according to his divinity, less
than the Father according to his humanity, his unity deriving not from some im-
possible confusion of substance but from his Person”’ (Paul Vl, “Creed of the
People of God”, 11).
3. Peace of soul, that “serenity of mind, tranquility of soul, simplicity of heart,
bond of love, union of charity” of which St Augustine spoke (”De Verb. Dom.
Serm.”, 58), originates in the friendship with God which grace brings with it; it
is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit (cf. Gal 5:22-23). This is the only true kind
of peace: “There is no true peace, just as there is no true grace, other than the
grace and peace which come from God,” St John Chrysostom teaches, “Pos-
sess this divine peace and you will have nothing to fear, even if you be threa-
tened by the direct danger, whether from men or even from the demons them-
selves; whereas see how everything is a cause of fear for the man who is at
war with God through sin” (”Hom. on 1 Cor”, 1, “ad loc”.).
4-9. After the greeting, words of thanksgiving conclude the introduction to the
letter, before St Paul begins the doctrinal part. He reminds the Corinthians that
they owe their privileged position to God. They, like all Christians, received God’s
grace in Christ, and that grace has enriched them in every way, for it causes
man to share in God’s very nature (cf. 2 Pet 1:4), raising him to an entirely new
level of existence. This transfiguration enables a person, even here, to know the
perfections of God’s inner life and to partake of that life—albeit in a limited, imper-
fect way — through the theological virtues of faith, hope and charity, which grace
brings and which elevate the mind and will to know and love God, One and Three.
St Paul teaches the need to give thanks to God and he sets us an example in
this regard. Obdurate sinners fail to acknowledge the benefits God gives them (cf.
Rom 1:21), but Christians should always base their prayer on gratitude to God (cf.
Phil 4:6). “Nothing charms God more than a heart that is grateful either on its own
account or on account of others” (Chrysostom, “Hom. on 1 Cor”, 2, “ad loc”.).
5-6. The grace of God, mentioned in the previous verse, embraces gifts, including
those to do with eloquence and knowledge. So richly does God endow the Chris-
tian that St Alphonsus exclaims: “Our wretchedness should not make us uneasy,
for in Jesus crucified we shall find all richness and all grace (cf. 1 Cor 1:5, 7). The
merits of Jesus Christ have enriched us with all the wealth of God and there is no
grace we might desire that we cannot obtain by asking for it” (”The Love of God
Reduced to Practice”, chap. 3). The Fathers interpret these gifts as meaning that
the Corinthians had such a good grasp of Christian teaching that they were able
to express it clearly: “There are those who have the gift of knowledge but not that
of speech; and there are others who have the gift of speech but not knowledge.
The faithful in general, who are uneducated, know these truths, but they cannot
clearly explain what they have in their soul. You on the other hand, St Paul says,
are different; you know these truths and you can speak about them; you are rich
in the gift of speech and in that of knowledge” (Chrysostom, “Hom. on 1 Cor”, 2,
“ad loc”.).
8-9. “The day of our Lord’: in St Paul’s writings and in the New Testament general-
ly, this refers to the day of the General Judgment when Christ will appear as Judge,
clothed in glory (cf. 2 Cor 1:14; 1 Thess 5:2).
Christians actively hope that that Day will find them “blameless” (cf. Phil 1:10; 1
Thess 3:13; 5:23); the basis for this hope is God’s faithfulness—an attitude fre-
quently applied to him in the Old Testament (cf. Deut 7:9; Is 49:7) and in St Paul’s
letters (cf. 1 Cor 10:13; 2 Cor 1:18; 1 Thess 5:24; 2 Thess 3:3; Heb 10:23): the Co-
venant which God made with the chosen people was primarily a gift and a grace,
but it also was a legal commitment. The Covenant was grounded on God’s fidelity,
which was not merely a matter of legal obligation: it involved faithful, constant love.
The God’s fidelity will finds its fullest expression in the Redemption brought about
by Jesus Christ: “If, in fact, the reality of the Redemption,” Bl. John Paul II said,
“in its human dimension, reveals the unheard-of greatness of man, “qui talem ac
tantum meruit habere Redemptorem”, at the same time “the divine dimension of
the Redemption” enables us [...] to uncover the depth of that love which does not
recoil before the extraordinary sacrifice of the Son, in order to satisfy the fidelity
of the Creator and Father towards human beings, created in his image” (”Dives In
Misericordia”, 7).
*********************************************************************************************
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 24:42-51
Vigilance. The Faithful Servant
[45] “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over
his household, to give them their food at the proper time? [46] Blessed is that
servant whom his master when he comes will find so doing. [47] Truly, I say
to you, he will set him over all his possessions. [48] But if that wicked servant
says to himself, ‘My master is delayed,’ [49] and begins to beat his fellow ser-
vants, and eats and drinks with the drunken, [50] the master of that servant
will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not
know, [51] and will punish him, and put him with the hypocrites; there men
will weep and gnash their teeth.”
*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:
42. Jesus himself draws from this revelation about the future the practical moral
that a Christian needs to be on the watch, living each day as if it were his last.
The important thing is not to be speculating about when these events will hap-
pen and what form they will take, but to live in such a way that they find us in
the state of grace.
51. “And will punish him [or, cut him in pieces]”: this can be understood as a
metaphor for “will cast him away”. “Weeping and gnashing of teeth”: the pains
of hell.
*********************************************************************************************
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.
Liturgical Colour: Green.
First reading |
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1 Corinthians 1:1-9 © |
You have been enriched in many ways in Christ |
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Responsorial Psalm |
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Psalm 144(145):2-7 © |
Gospel Acclamation | Jn15:15 |
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Or: | Mt24:42,44 |
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Gospel |
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Matthew 24:42-51 © |
He is coming at an hour you do not expect |
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Matthew | |||
English: Douay-Rheims | Latin: Vulgata Clementina | Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000) | |
Matthew 24 |
|||
42. | Watch ye therefore, because ye know not what hour your Lord will come. | Vigilate ergo, quia nescitis qua hora Dominus vester venturus sit. | γρηγορειτε ουν οτι ουκ οιδατε ποια ωρα ο κυριος υμων ερχεται |
43. | But know this ye, that if the goodman of the house knew at what hour the thief would come, he would certainly watch, and would not suffer his house to be broken open. | Illud autem scitote, quoniam si sciret paterfamilias qua hora fur venturus esset, vigilaret utique, et non sineret perfodi domum suam. | εκεινο δε γινωσκετε οτι ει ηδει ο οικοδεσποτης ποια φυλακη ο κλεπτης ερχεται εγρηγορησεν αν και ουκ αν ειασεν διορυγηναι την οικιαν αυτου |
44. | Wherefore be you also ready, because at what hour you know not the Son of man will come. | Ideo et vos estote parati : quia qua nescitis hora Filius hominis venturus est. | δια τουτο και υμεις γινεσθε ετοιμοι οτι η ωρα ου δοκειτε ο υιος του ανθρωπου ερχεται |
45. | Who, thinkest thou, is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath appointed over his family, to give them meat in season. | Quis, putas, est fidelis servus, et prudens, quem constituit dominus suus super familiam suam ut det illis cibum in tempore ? | τις αρα εστιν ο πιστος δουλος και φρονιμος ον κατεστησεν ο κυριος αυτου επι της θεραπειας αυτου του διδοναι αυτοις την τροφην εν καιρω |
46. | Blessed is that servant, whom when his lord shall come he shall find so doing. | Beatus ille servus, quem cum venerit dominus ejus, invenerit sic facientem. | μακαριος ο δουλος εκεινος ον ελθων ο κυριος αυτου ευρησει ποιουντα ουτως |
47. | Amen I say to you, he shall place him over all his goods. | Amen dico vobis, quoniam super omnia bona sua constituet eum. | αμην λεγω υμιν οτι επι πασιν τοις υπαρχουσιν αυτου καταστησει αυτον |
48. | But if that evil servant shall say in his heart: My lord is long a coming: | Si autem dixerit malus servus ille in corde suo : Moram fecit dominus meus venire : | εαν δε ειπη ο κακος δουλος εκεινος εν τη καρδια αυτου χρονιζει ο κυριος μου ελθειν |
49. | And shall begin to strike his fellow servants, and shall eat and drink with drunkards: | et cperit percutere conservos suos, manducet autem et bibat cum ebriosis : | και αρξηται τυπτειν τους συνδουλους εσθιειν δε και πινειν μετα των μεθυοντων |
50. | The lord of that servant shall come in a day that he hopeth not, and at an hour that he knoweth not: | veniet dominus servi illius in die qua non sperat, et hora qua ignorat : | ηξει ο κυριος του δουλου εκεινου εν ημερα η ου προσδοκα και εν ωρα η ου γινωσκει |
51. | And shall separate him, and appoint his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. | et dividet eum, partemque ejus ponet cum hypocritis : illic erit fletus et stridor dentium. | και διχοτομησει αυτον και το μερος αυτου μετα των υποκριτων θησει εκει εσται ο κλαυθμος και ο βρυγμος των οδοντων |
Pray for Pope Francis.
50 Boko Haram Islamic Radicals Killed; 1,000 Hostages, Women and Children, Rescued in Nigeria
Nigeria: In the Face of Ongoing Islamist Attacks, the Faith is Growing
US Promises to Help Nigeria Exterminate Boko Haram
Is This Bishop Right about the Rosary Conquering Boko Haram? [Catholic Caucus]
Why Boko Haram and ISIS Target Women
Report reveals scale of Boko Haram violence inflicted on Nigerian Catholics
Military evacuating girls, women rescued from Boko Haram
Echos of Lepanto Nigerian bishop says rosary will bring down Boko Harm
After vision of Christ, Nigerian bishop says rosary will bring down Boko Haram (Catholic Caucus)
Nigerian Bishop Says Christ Showed Him How to Beat Islamic Terror Group
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.
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 Luminous Mysteries or Mysteries of Light (Thursdays) see Rosarium Virginis Mariae
1. Jesus' Baptism in the Jordan (II Corinthians 5:21, Matthew 3:17 and parallels) [Spiritual fruit - Gratitude for the gift of Faith]
2. Jesus' self-manifestation at the wedding of Cana (John 2:1- 12) [Spiritual fruit - Fidelity]
3. Jesus' proclamation of the Kingdom of God, with His call to conversion (Mark 1:15, Mark 2:3-13; Luke 7:47- 48, John 20:22-23) [Spiritual fruit - Desire for Holiness]
4. Jesus' Transfiguration (Luke 9:35 and parallels) [Spiritual fruit - Spiritual Courage]
5. Jesus' institution of the Eucharist, as the sacramental expression of the Paschal Mystery. (Luke 24:13-35 and parallels, 1 Corinthians 11:24-25) [Spiritual fruit - Love of our Eucharistic Lord]
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
+
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 |
Immaculate Heart of Mary |
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. 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 |
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Novena Prayer to Sacred Heart of Jesus Prayer to the Wounded Heart of Jesus Act of Consecration 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 |
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
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