The Confession of St. Peter
Alexey Pismenny
Oil on canvas, 40" x 30" (102 cm x 76 cm)
2009-2011
Posted on 09/15/2018 9:59:55 PM PDT by Salvation
KEYWORDS: catholic; mk8; ordinarytime; prayer;
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From: Isaiah 50:4-9a
Third Song of the Servant of the Lord
[7] For the Lord God helps me;
therefore I have not been confounded;
therefore I have set my face like a flint,
and I know that I shall not be put to shame;
[8] he who vindicates me is near.
Who will contend with me?
Let us stand up together.
Who is my adversary?
Let him come near me.
[9] Behold, the Lord God helps me;
who will declare me guilty?
*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:
50:4-9. The second song dealt with the servant’s mission (cf. 49:6); the third song
focuses on the servant himself. The term “servant” as such does not appear here,
and therefore some commentators read the passage as being a description of a
prophet and not part of the songs. Still, the context (cf. 50:10) does suggest that
the protagonist is the servant. The poem is neatly constructed in three stanzas,
each beginning with the words, “The Lord God” (vv. 4, 5, 7), and it has a conclu-
sion containing that same wording (v. 9). The first stanza emphasizes the ser-
vant’s docility to the word of God; that is, he is not depicted as a self-taught tea-
cher with original ideas, but as an obedient disciple. The second (vv. 5-6) speaks
of the suffering that that docility has brought him, without his uttering a word of
complaint. The third (vv. 7-8) shows how determined the servant is: if he suffers
in silence, it is not out of cowardice but because God helps him and makes him
stronger than his persecutors. The conclusion (v. 9) is like the verdict of a trial:
when all is said and done, the servant will stand tall, and all his ene- mies will be
struck down.
The evangelists saw the words of this song as finding fulfillment in Jesus — es-
pecially what the song has to say about the suffering and silent fortitude of the
servant. The Gospel of John, for example, quotes Nicodemus’ acknowledgment
of Christ’s wisdom: “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God; for
no one can do these signs that you do, unless God is with him” (Jn 3:21). But
the description of the servant’s sufferings was the part that most impressed the
early Christians; that part of the song was recalled when they meditated on the
passion of Jesus and how “they spat in his face; and struck him; and some
slapped him” (Mt 26:67) and later how the Roman soldiers “spat upon him, and
took the reed and struck him on the head” (Mt 27:30; cf. also Mk 15:19; Jn 19:3).
St Paul refers to v. 9 when applying to Christ Jesus the role of intercessor on be-
half of the elect in the suit pressed constantly against them by the enemies of
the soul: “Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect?” (Rom 8:33).
St Jerome sees the servant’s docility as a reference to Christ: “His self-discipline
and wisdom enabled him to communicate to us the knowledge of the Father. And
he was obedient onto death, death on the cross; he offered his body to the blows
they struck, his shoulders to the lash; and though he was wounded on the chest
and on his face, he did not try to turn away and escape their violence” (”Commen-
tarii In Isaiam”, 50, 4). This passage is used in the liturgy of Palm Sunday (along
with Psalm 22 and St Paul’s hymn in the Letter to the Philippians 2:6-11), before
the reading of our Lord’s passion.
*********************************************************************************************
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: James 2:14-18
Faith Without Good Works Is Dead
[18] But some one will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your
faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith. [19] You
believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder.
********************************************************************************************
Commentary:
14-26. This passage forms the core of the letter. The sapiential method (often
used in the Old Testament) and pedagogical style of the passage help to engrave
the message on the readers’ minds: unless faith is accompanied by works, it is
barren, dead. This basic message, with different variances, is stated up to five
times (verses 14, 17, 18, 20, 26), in a cyclical, repetitive way.
The initial rhetorical question (verse 14) and the simple, vivid example of a person
who is content with giving good advice to someone in urgent need of the bare es-
sentials (verses 15-16), catch the disciples’ attention and predispose them to ac-
cept the core message, which is couched in the form of a sapiential maxim
(verse 17).
The narrative retains its conventional tone, with a series of questions; we are
given three examples of faith: firstly (a negative example), the faith of demons,
which is of no avail (verses 18-19); contrasting with this, the faith of Abraham,
the model and father of believers (verses 20-23); and finally, the faith of a sinner
whose actions won her salvation, Rabah, the prostitute (verses 24-25). The last
sentence once again repeats the essential idea: “faith apart from works is dead”
(verse 26).
14. This teaching is perfectly in line with that of the Master: “Not every one who
says to Me, `Lord, Lord’, shall enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but he who does
the will of My Father who is in Heaven” (Matthew 7:21).
A faith without deeds cannot obtain salvation: “Even though incorporated into the
Church, one who does not however persevere in charity is not saved. He remains
indeed in the bosom of the Church, but `in body’ not `in heart’. All children of the
Church should nevertheless remember that their exalted condition results not
from their own merits but from the grace of Christ. If they fail to respond in
thought, word, and deed to that grace, not only shall they not be saved, but they
shall be the more severely judged” (Vatican II, “Lumen Gentium”, 14).
In the Christian life, therefore, there needs to be complete consistency between
the faith we profess and the deeds we do. “Unity of life”, one of the key features
of the spirituality of Opus Dei, tries to counter the danger of people leading a dou-
ble life, “on the one hand, an inner life, a life related to God; and on the other, as
something separate and distinct, their professional, social and family lives, made
up of small earthly realities [...]. There is only one life, made of flesh and spirit.
And it is that life which has to become, in both body and soul, holy and filled with
God: we discover the invisible God in the most visible and material things” (St. J.
Escriva, “In Love with the Church”, 52).
15-16. This very graphic example is similar to that in the First Letter of St. John:
“If any one has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his
heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?” (1 John 3:17); and the
conclusion is also along the same lines: “Little children, let us not love in word
or speech but in deed and in truth” (1 John 3:18). St. Paul gives the same tea-
ching: “the Kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power” (1 Corinthians
4:20). Actions, works, measure the genuineness of the Christian life; they show
whether our faith and charity are real.
Almsgiving, for example, so often praised and recommended in Scripture (cf.,
e.g., Deuteronomy 15:11; Tobias 4:7-11; Luke 12:33; Acts 9:36; 2 Corinthians 8:
9), is very often a duty. Christ “will count a kindness done or refused to the poor
as done or refused to Himself [...]. Whoever has received from the divine bounty
a large share of temporal blessings whether they be external or material, or gifts
of the mind, has received them for the purpose of using them for the perfecting
of his own nature, and, at the same time, that he may employ them, as the ste-
ward of God’s providence, for the benefit of others” (Leo XIII, “Rerum Novarum”,
24).
17. As well as involving firm adherence to revealed truth, faith must influence a
Christian’s ordinary life and be a standard against which he measures his con-
duct. When one’s works are not in accordance with one’s beliefs, then one’s
faith is dead.
Christian teaching also describes as “dead faith” the faith of a person in mortal
sin: because he is not in the grace of God he does not have charity, which is as
it were the soul of all the other virtues. “Faith without hope and charity neither
perfectly unites a man with Christ nor makes him a living member of His body.
Therefore it is said most truly that `faith apart from works is dead’ (James 2:17ff)
and useless” (Council of Trent, “De Iustificatione”, 7).
18. The Apostle makes it crystal clear that faith without work makes no sense at
all. “The truth of faith includes not only inner belief, but also outward profession,
which is expressed not only by declaration of one’s belief, but also by the actions
by which a person shows that he has faith” (St. Thomas, “Summa Theologiae”,
II-II, q. 124, a. 5).
*********************************************************************************************
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. We encourage readers to purchase
The Navarre Bible for personal study. See Scepter Publishers for details.
Please pray for this ministry and support it through this tinyurl PayPal link:
http://tinyurl.com/7p3e2kf. For other options (check, money order, etc.)
please contact the Listowner directly.
“Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.” — St Jerome
*********************************************************************************************
Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (To the Greater Glory of God)
For: Sunday, September 13, 2015
24th Sunday in Ordinary Time
From: James 2:14-18
Faith Without Good Works Is Dead
[18] But some one will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your
faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith. [19] You
believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder.
********************************************************************************************
Commentary:
14-26. This passage forms the core of the letter. The sapiential method (often
used in the Old Testament) and pedagogical style of the passage help to engrave
the message on the readers’ minds: unless faith is accompanied by works, it is
barren, dead. This basic message, with different variances, is stated up to five
times (verses 14, 17, 18, 20, 26), in a cyclical, repetitive way.
The initial rhetorical question (verse 14) and the simple, vivid example of a person
who is content with giving good advice to someone in urgent need of the bare es-
sentials (verses 15-16), catch the disciples’ attention and predispose them to ac-
cept the core message, which is couched in the form of a sapiential maxim
(verse 17).
The narrative retains its conventional tone, with a series of questions; we are
given three examples of faith: firstly (a negative example), the faith of demons,
which is of no avail (verses 18-19); contrasting with this, the faith of Abraham,
the model and father of believers (verses 20-23); and finally, the faith of a sinner
whose actions won her salvation, Rabah, the prostitute (verses 24-25). The last
sentence once again repeats the essential idea: “faith apart from works is dead”
(verse 26).
14. This teaching is perfectly in line with that of the Master: “Not every one who
says to Me, `Lord, Lord’, shall enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but he who does
the will of My Father who is in Heaven” (Matthew 7:21).
A faith without deeds cannot obtain salvation: “Even though incorporated into the
Church, one who does not however persevere in charity is not saved. He remains
indeed in the bosom of the Church, but `in body’ not `in heart’. All children of the
Church should nevertheless remember that their exalted condition results not
from their own merits but from the grace of Christ. If they fail to respond in
thought, word, and deed to that grace, not only shall they not be saved, but they
shall be the more severely judged” (Vatican II, “Lumen Gentium”, 14).
In the Christian life, therefore, there needs to be complete consistency between
the faith we profess and the deeds we do. “Unity of life”, one of the key features
of the spirituality of Opus Dei, tries to counter the danger of people leading a dou-
ble life, “on the one hand, an inner life, a life related to God; and on the other, as
something separate and distinct, their professional, social and family lives, made
up of small earthly realities [...]. There is only one life, made of flesh and spirit.
And it is that life which has to become, in both body and soul, holy and filled with
God: we discover the invisible God in the most visible and material things” (St. J.
Escriva, “In Love with the Church”, 52).
15-16. This very graphic example is similar to that in the First Letter of St. John:
“If any one has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his
heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?” (1 John 3:17); and the
conclusion is also along the same lines: “Little children, let us not love in word
or speech but in deed and in truth” (1 John 3:18). St. Paul gives the same tea-
ching: “the Kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power” (1 Corinthians
4:20). Actions, works, measure the genuineness of the Christian life; they show
whether our faith and charity are real.
Almsgiving, for example, so often praised and recommended in Scripture (cf.,
e.g., Deuteronomy 15:11; Tobias 4:7-11; Luke 12:33; Acts 9:36; 2 Corinthians 8:
9), is very often a duty. Christ “will count a kindness done or refused to the poor
as done or refused to Himself [...]. Whoever has received from the divine bounty
a large share of temporal blessings whether they be external or material, or gifts
of the mind, has received them for the purpose of using them for the perfecting
of his own nature, and, at the same time, that he may employ them, as the ste-
ward of God’s providence, for the benefit of others” (Leo XIII, “Rerum Novarum”,
24).
17. As well as involving firm adherence to revealed truth, faith must influence a
Christian’s ordinary life and be a standard against which he measures his con-
duct. When one’s works are not in accordance with one’s beliefs, then one’s
faith is dead.
Christian teaching also describes as “dead faith” the faith of a person in mortal
sin: because he is not in the grace of God he does not have charity, which is as
it were the soul of all the other virtues. “Faith without hope and charity neither
perfectly unites a man with Christ nor makes him a living member of His body.
Therefore it is said most truly that `faith apart from works is dead’ (James 2:17ff)
and useless” (Council of Trent, “De Iustificatione”, 7).
18. The Apostle makes it crystal clear that faith without work makes no sense at
all. “The truth of faith includes not only inner belief, but also outward profession,
which is expressed not only by declaration of one’s belief, but also by the actions
by which a person shows that he has faith” (St. Thomas, “Summa Theologiae”,
II-II, q. 124, a. 5).
*********************************************************************************************
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: Mark 8:27-35
Peter’s Profession of Faith
Jesus Foretells His Passion and Resurrection. Christian Renunciation
[34] And he called to him the multitude with his disciples, and said to them, “If
any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and
follow me. [35] For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses
his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it.
*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:
29. Peter’s profession of faith is reported here in a shorter form than in Matthew
16:18-19. Peter seems to go no further than say that Jesus is the Christ, the
Messiah. Eusebius of Caesarea, in the fourth century, explains the Evangelist’s
reserve by the fact that he was the interpreter of St. Peter, who omitted from his
preaching anything which might appear to be self-praise. The Holy Spirit, when
inspiring St. Mark, wanted the Gospel to reflect the preaching of the prince of
the Apostles, leaving it to other evangelists to fill out certain important details to
do with the episode of the confession of Peter.
The sketchiness of the narrative still show Peter’s role quite clearly: he is the
first to come forward affirming the messiahship of Jesus. Our Lord’s question,
“But who do you say that I am?”, shows what Jesus is asking the Apostles for
— not an opinion, more or less favorable, but firm faith. It is St. Peter who ex-
presses this faith (cf. note on Matthew 16:13-20).
31-33. This is the first occasion when Jesus tells His disciples about the suffe-
rings and death He must undergo. He does it twice more, later on (cf. Mark 9:31
and 10:32). The Apostles are surprised, because they cannot and do not want
to understand why the Master should have to suffer and die, much less that He
should be so treated “by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes.” But
Peter, with his usual spontaneity, immediately begins to protest. And Jesus re-
plies to him using the same words as He addressed the devil when he tempted
Him (cf. Matthew 4:10); He wants to affirm, once again, that His mission is spi-
ritual, not earthly, and that therefore it cannot be understood by using mere hu-
man criteria: it is governed by God’s designs, which were that Jesus should re-
deem us through His passion and death. So too, for a Christian, suffering, united
with Christ, is also a means of salvation.
34. When Jesus said “If any man would come after me ...”, he was well aware
that in fulfilling his mission he would be brought to death on a cross; this is why
he speaks clearly about his passion (vv:31-32). The Christian life, lived as it
should be lived, with all its demands, is also a cross which one has to carry,
following Christ.
Jesus’ words, which must have seemed extreme to his listeners, indicate the
standard he requires his followers to live up to. He does not ask for short-lived
enthusiasm or occasional dedication; he asks everyone to renounce himself, to
take up his cross and follow him. For the goal he sets men is eternal life. This
whole Gospel passage has to do with man’s eternal destiny. The present life
should be evaluated in the light of this eternal life: life on earth is not definitive,
but transitory and relative; it is a means to be used to achieve definitive life in
heaven: “All that, which worries you for the moment, is of relative importance.
What is of absolute importance is that you be happy, that you be saved” (St.
J. Escriva, The Way, 297).
“There is a kind of fear around, a fear of the Cross, of our Lord’s Cross. What
has happened is that people have begun to regard as crosses all the unpleasant
things that crop up in life, and they do not know how to take them as God’s chil-
dren should, with supernatural outlook. So much so, that they are even removing
the roadside crosses set up by our forefathers. . . ! “In the Passion, the Cross
ceased to be a symbol of punishment and became instead a sign of victory. The
Cross is the emblem of the Redeemer: in quo est salus,vita et resurrectio nostra:
there lies our salvation, our life and our resurrection” (St. J. Escriva, The Way of
the Cross, II, 5).
35. “Life”: in the original text and the New Vulgate the word literally means “soul.”
But here, as in many other cases, “soul” and “life” are equivalent. The word “life”
is used, clearly, in a double sense: earthly life and eternal life, the life of man
here on earth and man’s eternal happiness in heaven. Death can put an end to
earthly life, but it cannot destroy eternal life (cf. Mt 10:28), the life which can
only be given by Him who brings the dead back to life.
Understood in this way, we can grasp the paradoxical meaning of our Lord’s
phrase: whoever wishes to save his (earthly) life will lose his (eternal) life. But
whoever loses his (earthly) life for me and the Gospel, will save his (eternal) life.
What, then, does saving one’s (earthly) life mean? It means living this life as if
here were none other — letting oneself be controlled by the lust of the flesh and
the lust of the eyes and the pride of life (cf. 1 Jn 2: 16). And losing one’s (earthly)
life means mortifying, by continuous ascetical effort, this triple concupiscence —
that is, taking up one’s cross (v. 34} — and consequently seek ing and savouring
the things that are God’s and not the things of the earth (cf. Col 3:1-2).
*********************************************************************************************
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 | Isaiah 50:5-9 © |
|---|
| I offered my back to those who struck me |
|---|
| Responsorial Psalm |
|---|
| Psalm 114(116):1-6,8-9 © |
| Second reading | James 2:14-18 © |
|---|
| If good works do not go with it, faith is quite dead |
|---|
| Gospel Acclamation | Jn14:6 |
|---|
| Or: | Ga6:14 |
|---|
| Gospel | Mark 8:27-35 © |
|---|
| The Son of Man is destined to suffer grievously |
|---|
| Mark | |||
| English: Douay-Rheims | Latin: Vulgata Clementina | Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000) | |
| Mark 8 |
|||
| 27. | And Jesus went out, and his disciples, into the towns of Caesarea Philippi. And in the way, he asked his disciples, saying to them: Whom do men say that I am? | Et egressus est Jesus, et discipuli ejus in castella Cæsareæ Philippi : et in via interrogabat discipulos suos, dicens eis : Quem me dicunt esse homines ? | και εξηλθεν ο ιησους και οι μαθηται αυτου εις τας κωμας καισαρειας της φιλιππου και εν τη οδω επηρωτα τους μαθητας αυτου λεγων αυτοις τινα με λεγουσιν οι ανθρωποι ειναι |
| 28. | Who answered him, saying: John the Baptist; but some Elias, and others as one of the prophets. | Qui responderunt illi, dicentes : Joannem Baptistam, alii Eliam, alii vero quasi unum de prophetis. | οι δε απεκριθησαν ιωαννην τον βαπτιστην και αλλοι ηλιαν αλλοι δε ενα των προφητων |
| 29. | Then he saith to them: But whom do you say that I am? Peter answering said to him: Thou art the Christ. | Tunc dicit illis : Vos vero quem me esse dicitis ? Respondens Petrus, ait ei : Tu es Christus. | και αυτος λεγει αυτοις υμεις δε τινα με λεγετε ειναι αποκριθεις δε ο πετρος λεγει αυτω συ ει ο χριστος |
| 30. | And he strictly charged them that they should not tell any man of him. | Et comminatus est eis, ne cui dicerent de illo. | και επετιμησεν αυτοις ινα μηδενι λεγωσιν περι αυτου |
| 31. | And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the ancients and by the high priests, and the scribes, and be killed: and after three days rise again. | Et cœpit docere eos quoniam oportet Filium hominis pati multa, et reprobari a senioribus, et a summis sacerdotibus et scribis, et occidi : et post tres dies resurgere. | και ηρξατο διδασκειν αυτους οτι δει τον υιον του ανθρωπου πολλα παθειν και αποδοκιμασθηναι απο των πρεσβυτερων και των αρχιερεων και των γραμματεων και αποκτανθηναι και μετα τρεις ημερας αναστηναι |
| 32. | And he spoke the word openly. And Peter taking him, began to rebuke him. | Et palam verbum loquebatur. Et apprehendens eum Petrus, cœpit increpare eum. | και παρρησια τον λογον ελαλει και προσλαβομενος αυτον ο πετρος ηρξατο επιτιμαν αυτω |
| 33. | Who turning about and seeing his disciples, threatened Peter, saying: Go behind me, Satan, because thou savorest not the things that are of God, but that are of men. | Qui conversus, et videns discipulos suos, comminatus est Petro, dicens : Vade retro me Satana, quoniam non sapis quæ Dei sunt, sed quæ sunt hominum. | ο δε επιστραφεις και ιδων τους μαθητας αυτου επετιμησεν τω πετρω λεγων υπαγε οπισω μου σατανα οτι ου φρονεις τα του θεου αλλα τα των ανθρωπων |
| 34. | And calling the multitude together with his disciples, he said to them: If any man will follow me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. | Et convocata turba cum discipulis suis, dixit eis : Si quis vult me sequi, deneget semetipsum : et tollat crucem suam, et sequatur me. | και προσκαλεσαμενος τον οχλον συν τοις μαθηταις αυτου ειπεν αυτοις οστις θελει οπισω μου ακολουθειν απαρνησασθω εαυτον και αρατω τον σταυρον αυτου και ακολουθειτω μοι |
| 35. | For whosoever will save his life, shall lose it: and whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel, shall save it. | Qui enim voluerit animam suam salvam facere, perdet eam : qui autem perdiderit animam suam propter me, et Evangelium, salvam faciet eam. | ος γαρ αν θελη την ψυχην αυτου σωσαι απολεσει αυτην ος δ αν απολεση την εαυτου ψυχην ενεκεν εμου και του ευαγγελιου ουτος σωσει αυτην |
Pray for Pope Francis.
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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 Glorious Mysteries
(Wednesdays and Sundays)
1.The Resurrection (Matthew 28:1-8, Mark 16:1-18, Luke 24:1-12, John 20:1-29) [Spiritual fruit - Faith]
2. The Ascension (Mark 16:19-20, Luke 24:50-53, Acts 1:6-11) [Spiritual fruit - Christian Hope]
3. The Descent of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-13) [Spiritual fruit - Gifts of the Holy Spirit]
4. The Assumption [Spiritual fruit - To Jesus through Mary]
5. The Coronation [Spiritual fruit - Grace of Final Perseverance]
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
+
Sea of Sorrow
Oh! on what a sea of sorrow
Was the Virgin-Mother cast,
When her eyes with tears o'erflowing
Gazed upon her Son aghast,
From the bloodstained gibbet taken,
Dying in her arms at last.
In her bitter desolation,
His sweet mouth, His bosom too,
Then His riven side beloved,
Then each hand, both wounded through,
Then His feet, with blood encrimsoned,
Her maternal tears bedew.
She, a hundred times and over,
Strains Him closely to her breast
Heart to Heart, arms arms enfolding,
Are His wounds on her impressed:
Thus, in sorrow's very kisses,
Melts her anguished soul to rest.
Oh, dear Mother! we beseech thee,
By the tears thine eyes have shed,
By the cruel death of Jesus
And His wounds' right royal red,
Make our hearts o'erflow with sorrow
From thy heart's deep fountainhead.
To the Father, Son, and Spirit,
Now we bend on equal knee:
Glory, sempiternal glory,
To the Most High Trinity;
Yea! perpetual praise and honor
Now and through all ages be.
Novena Prayer To Our Sorrowful Mother
Most Blessed and afflicted Virgin, Queen of Martyrs, who didst stand generously beneath the cross, beholding the agony of thy dying Son; by the sword of sorrow which then pierced thy soul, by the sufferings of thy sorrowful life, by the unutterable joy which now more than repays thee for them; look down with a mother's pity and tenderness, as I kneel before thee to compassionate thy sorrows, and to lay my petition with childlike confidence in thy wounded heart. I beg of thee, O my Mother, to plead continually for me with thy Son, since He can refuse thee nothing, and through the merits of His most sacred Passion and Death, together with thy own sufferings at the foot of the cross, so to touch His Sacred Heart, that I may obtain my request,
For to whom shall I fly in my wants and miseries, if not to thee, O Mother of mercy, who, having so deeply drunk the chalice of thy Son, canst most pity us poor exiles, still doomed to sigh in this vale of tears? Offer to Jesus but one drop of His Precious Blood, but one pang of His adorable Heart; remind Him that thou art our life, our sweetness, and our hope, and thou wilt obtain what I ask, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Hail Mary
Virgin Most Sorrowful, pray for us
(Seven times each)
Mary, most holy Virgin and Queen of Martyrs, accept the sincere homage of my filial affection. Into thy Heart, pierced by so many swords, do thou welcome my poor soul. Receive it as the companion of thy sorrows at the foot of the Cross, on which Jesus died for the redemption of the world. With thee, O sorrowful Virgin, I will gladly suffer all the trials, contradictions, and infirmities which it shall please Our Lord to send me. I offer them all to thee in memory of thy sorrows, so that: every thought of my mind and every beat of my heart may be an act of compassion and of love for thee. And do thou, sweet Mother, have pity on me, reconcile me to thy Divine Son, Jesus; keep me in His grace and assist me in my last agony, so that I may be able to meet thee in Heaven and sing thy glories.
Most holy Virgin and Mother, whose soul was pierced by a sword of sorrow in the Passion of thy Divine Son, and who in His glorious Resurrection wast filled with never ending joy at His triumph, obtain for us who call upon thee, so to be partakers in the adversities of Holy Church and the Sorrows of the Sovereign Pontiff, as to be found worthy to rejoice with them in the consolations for which we pray, in the charity and peace of the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
Litany of the Seven Sorrows
| Lord, have mercy on us. Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us. God, the Father of heaven, God the Son, Redeemer of the world, . God the Holy Ghost, Holy Mary, Mother of God, Holy Virgin of virgins, Mother of the Crucified, Sorrowful Mother, Mournful Mother, Sighing Mother, Afflicted Mother, Foresaken Mother, . Desolate Mother, Mother most sad, Mother set around with anguish, Mother overwhelmed by grief, Mother transfixed by a sword, Mother crucified in thy heart, Mother bereaved of thy Son, Sighing Dove, Mother of Dolors, Fount of tears, Sea of bitterness, Field of tribulation, Mass of suffering, Mirror of patience, Rock of constancy, Remedy in perplexity, Joy of the afflicted, Ark of the desolate, Refuge of the abandoned,. Shiled of the oppressed, Conqueror of the incredulous, Solace of the wretched, Medicine of the sick, Help of the faint, Strength of the weak, Protectress of those who fight, Haven of the shipwrecked, Calmer of tempests, Companion of the sorrowful, Retreat of those who groan, Terror of the treacherous, Standard-bearer of the Martyrs, Treasure of the Faithful, Light of Confessors, Pearl of Virgins, . Comfort of Widows, . Joy of all Saints, Queen of thy Servants, Holy Mary, who alone art unexampled, Pray for us, most Sorrowful Virgin, |
Christ, have mercy on us. Christ, graciously hear us. |
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| Let us pray, --- O God, in whose Passion, according to the prophecy of Simeon, a sword of grief pierced through the most sweet soul of Thy glorious Blessed Virgin Mother Mary: grant that we, who celebrate the memory of her Seven Sorrows, may obtain the happy effect of Thy Passion, Who lives and reigns world without end, Amen. |
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| The Seven Sorrows of Our Lady 1. The Prophecy of Simeon 2. The Flight into Egypt . 3. The Loss of Jesus in the Temple 4. Mary meets Jesus Carrying the Cross 5. The Crucifixion 6. Mary Receives the Dead Body of Her Son 7. The Burial of Her Son and Closing of the Tomb. |
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| Consecration to Our Lady of Sorrows Most holy Virgin and Queen of Martyrs, Mary, would that I could be in Heaven, there to contemplate the honors rendered to thee by the Most Holy Trinity and by the whole Heavenly Court! But since I am still a pilgrim in this vale of tears, receive from me, thy unworthy servant and a poor sinner, the most sincere homage and the most perfect act of vassalage a human creature can offer thee. In thy Immaculate Heart, pierced with so many swords of sorrow, I place today my poor soul forever; receive me as a partaker in thy dolors, and never suffer that I should depart from that Cross on which thy only begotten Son expired for me. With thee, O Mary, I will endure all the sufferings, contradictions, infirmities, with which it will please thy Divine Son to visit me in this life. All of them I offer to thee, in memory of the Dolors which thou didst suffer during thy life, that every thought of my mind, every beating of my heart may henceforward be an act of compassion to thy Sorrows, and of complacency for the glory thou now enjoyest in Heaven. Since then, O Dear Mother, I now compassionate thy Dolors, and rejoice in seeing thee glorified, do thou also have compassion on me, and reconcile me to thy Son Jesus, that I may become thy true and loyal son (daughter); come on my last day and assist me in my last agony, even as thou wert present at the Agony of thy Divine Son Jesus, that from this painful exile I may go to Heaven, there to be made partaker of thy glory. Amen. |
Litany of Sorrows
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Prayer To Our Lady of Sorrows, by St. Bridget
O Blessed Virgin Mary, Immaculate Mother of God, who didst endure a martyrdom of love and grief beholding the sufferings and sorrows of Jesus! Thou didst cooperate in the benefit of my redemption by thine innumerable afflictions and by offering to the Eternal Father His only begotten Son as a holocaust and victim of propitiation for my sins. I thank thee for the unspeakable love which led thee to deprive thyself of the Fruit of thy womb, Jesus, true God and true Man, to save me, a sinner. Oh, make use of the unfailing intercession of thy sorrows with the Father and the Son, that I may steadfastly amend my life and never again crucify my loving Redeemer by new sins, and that, persevering till death in His grace. I may obtain eternal life through the merits of His Cross and Passion. Amen.
Mother of love, of sorrow and of mercy, pray for us.
Saint Alphonsus Liguori's Prayer To The Mother Of Sorrows
O, my Blessed Mother, it is not one sword only with which I have pierced thy heart, but I have done so with as many as are the sins which I have committed. O, Lady, it is not to thee, who art innocent, that sufferings are due, but to me, who am guilty of so many crimes. But since thou hast been pleased to suffer so much for me, by thy merits, obtain me great sorrow for my sins, and patience under the trials of this life, which will always be light in comparison with my demerits; for I have often deserved Hell.
Amen.
Lists Every Catholic Should be Familiar With: The 7 Sorrows (Dolours) and 7 Joys of Our Lady
The Seven Dolors (Sorrows) of Mary [Catholic/Orthodox Devotional]
Apparition in Africa: Our Lady of Sorrows [Catholic/Orthodox Caucus]
Feast of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary [Catholic Caucus Devotional]
Feast of Our Lady/Mother of Sorrows
Homilies on Our Lady of Sorrows
Starkenburg:Pilgrimage to Our Lady of Sorrows Shrine
Our Mother of Sorrows
ST. ALPHONSUS LIGUORI, OF THE DOLOURS OF MARY, The Glories [Sorrows] of Mary
Our Lady of Sorrows - Sep 15
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