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
+

February Devotion: The Holy Family

Since the 16th century Catholic piety has assigned entire months to special devotions. The month of February has been primarily asociated with the Holy Family, probably due to the feast of Our Lord's presentation at the temple, celebrated on February 2. At the very outset of Christ's work on earth, God showed the world a family in which, as Pope Leo XIII teaches, "all men might behold a perfect model of domestic life, and of all virtue and holiness." The harmony, unity, and holiness which characterized this holy Family make it the model for all Christian families.

INVOCATION
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph most kind, Bless us now and in death's agony.

FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE HOLY FAMILY
Grant unto us, Lord Jesus, ever to follow the example of Thy holy Family, that in the hour of our death Thy glorious Virgin Mother together with blessed Joseph may come to meet us and we may be worthily received by Thee into everlasting dwellings: who livest and reignest world without end. Amen.
Roman Missal

CONSECRATION TO THE HOLY FAMILY
O Jesus, our most loving Redeemer, who having come to enlighten the world with Thy teaching and example, didst will to pass the greater part of Thy life in humility and subjection to Mary and Joseph in the poor home of Nazareth, thus sanctifying the Family that was to be an example for all Christian families, graciously receive our family as it dedicates and consecrates itself to Thee this day. Do Thou defend us, guard us and establish amongst us Thy holy fear, true peace, and concord in Christian love: in order that, by conforming ourselves to the divine pattern of Thy family, we may be able, all of us without exception, to attain to eternal happiness.

Mary, dear Mother of Jesus and Mother of us, by thy kindly intercession make this our humble offering acceptable in the sight of Jesus, and obtain for us His graces and blessings.

O Saint Joseph, most holy guardian of Jesus and Mary, assist us by thy prayers in all our spiritual and temporal necessities; that so we may be enabled to praise our divine Savior Jesus, together with Mary and thee, for all eternity.

Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory be, three times.

IN HONOR OF THE HOLY FAMILY
O God, heavenly Father, it was part of Thine eternal decree that Thine only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, should form a holy family with Mary, His blessed mother, and His foster father, Saint Joseph. In Nazareth home life was sanctified, and a perfect example was given to every Christian family. Grant, we beseech Thee, that we may fully comprehend and faithfully imitate the virtues of the Holy Family so that we may be united with them one day in their heavenly glory. Through the same Christ our Lord. 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

Holy Family Chaplet

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, I give you my heart.
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, be with me in my last hour.
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, may I breathe forth my soul
in peace with you.

Blessed be Jesus Christ, true God and true man.
Blessed be the great Mother of God, Mary most holy.
Blessed be St. Joseph, her most chaste spouse. Amen.

Say 3 Our Father's, 3 Hail Mary's, and 3 Glory be's.

The Holy Family Icon by Nicholas Markell

PRAYER TO
THE HOLY FAMILY
===================================================================== ================

GOD our Heavenly Father, You call all peoples to be united as one family in worshipping You as the one and true God. You willed that Your Son become man, giving Him a virgin mother and a foster father to form the Holy Family of Nazareth.

WE pray: may the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, image and model of every human family unit walk in the spirit of Nazareth and grow in the understanding of its particular mission in society and the Church. May our families be living cells of love, faithfulness and unity, thus reflecting God's covenant with humanity and Christ's redeeming love for His Church.

JESUS, Mary and Joseph protect our families from all evil; keep us, who are away from home, one in love with our dear ones.

Parent's Prayer

Jesus, Son of God, Son of Man, and Son of Mary, I thank you for the gift of life you have entrusted to my care. Help me be a parent both tender and wise, both loving and forgiving.

Mary, Holy Mother of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and our Motherly Queen of Heaven, nourish our family with your heavenly grace. Help us to remain faithful to The Most Holy Trinity, in all our sorrows and joys.

Joseph, Earthly father to our Lord God, guardian and spouse of Mary, keep our family safe from harm. Help us in all times of discouragement or anxiety.

Holy Family of Nazareth, help our family to walk in your footsteps. May we be peace-loving and peace-giving.
Amen.

Imitating the Holy Family: Four Traits that Make It Possible
[Catholic Caucus] On the Holy Family [Angelus]
Biblical Teachings on Marriage and Family. A Homily for the Feast of the Holy Family
Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph
Recovering God's Plan for Marriage and Family: A Sermon on the Feast of the Holy Family

"Why were you looking for me?" (On the Feast of The Holy Family)
U.S. Postal Service Issues Holy Family Forever Stamp
On Prayer in the Life of the Holy Family
The Holy Family - held together by Love through all their problems [Ecumenical]
Feast of the Holy Family: The Christian Family is a Domestic Church
Chesterton on "The Human Family and the Holy Family"
Joseph, Mary and Jesus: A Model Family
ADVICE TO PARENTS by Saint Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787)
The Holy Family
St. Joseph as Head of the Holy Family (Catholic/Orthodox Caucus)

Feast of the Holy Family
Feast of the Holy Family (Dom Guéranger OSB)
The Feast of the Holy Family
The Holy Family vs. The Holy Innocents: A Christmas season reflection [Catholic Caucus]
Vatican creche to place Holy Family in Joseph's carpentry workshop
The Redemption and Protection of the Family [Feast of the Holy Family]
Study Backs Tradition of Loreto House - Stones in Altar Match Those in Nazareth, It Says
Unraveling Jesus' mystery years in Egypt
Gaudi's Church of the Holy Family to be ready for worship in 2008
Imitating the Holy Family; Four Traits that Make It Possible
Lots of Graphics: Post your favorite image of the St. Mary and Child, the Holy Family...

Pope’s Intention for February

Listen to the Migrants’ Cries

We pray that the cries of our migrant brothers and sisters, victims of criminal trafficking, may be heard and considered.

Vocal prayer . . . must be accompanied by reflection. A prayer in which a person is not aware of Whom he is speaking to, what he is asking, who it is who is asking and of Whom, I don't call prayer-----however much the lips may move.

St. Teresa of Avila

The Angelus

The Angel of the Lord declared to Mary:
And she conceived of the Holy Spirit.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of
our death. Amen.

Behold the handmaid of the Lord: Be it done unto me according to Thy word.

Hail Mary . . .

And the Word was made Flesh: And dwelt among us.

Hail Mary . . .

Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray:

Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts; that we, to whom the incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection, through the same Christ Our Lord.

Amen.

"Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you" (Lk 1:28)

"Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb"
(Lk 1:42).

The Word Among Us

Meditation: James 1:12-18

6th Week in Ordinary Time

He willed to give us birth by the word of truth. (James 1:18)

Think of the excitement a husband and wife feel when a new baby arrives. Then compare it to the way God must feel about us. After all, St. James tells us that God has given us a spiritual “birth” through the power of his word (James 1:18). And that spiritual birth, which happens in Baptism, brings joy to our Father’s heart.

But despite the joy he feels at our baptism, God knows that we still have to grow in our faith—just as any human parents know that their newborn child has a long road ahead of him. And how do we keep growing? Certainly we need to keep encountering the word of truth through the sacraments. But we also need to encounter Jesus in the Scriptures.

Scripture is where we can come to know Jesus. We meet him through the Gospel stories, and as we continue to ponder these stories, our friendship with him deepens. We can imagine ourselves accompanying Jesus on his journeys, or we can picture him teaching us. The more we do this, the more Jesus becomes real to us, strengthening our faith that he is with us even now.

Scripture also forms our minds and our way of thinking. It helps us to comprehend more and more deeply who God is and all he has done for us through Christ. It also helps us adopt God’s values rather than the world’s.

Finally, Scripture is an avenue for the Holy Spirit to speak to us. We can expect that as we read, something will jump out at us—something the Lord will use to guide us, comfort us, or help us through the day.

So read the Scriptures every day and take time to reflect on what you read. Take, for example, another verse from today’s first reading: “All good giving and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights” (James 1:17). How does it make you feel? Perhaps it makes you want to thank God for your blessings. Or perhaps it makes you realize that despite whatever struggles you may be enduring, God is still in charge and he is good.

If Scripture gives you an inspiration, don’t ignore it. You never know, God could be trying to “birth” something new in your life!

“Lord, give me a deeper hunger for your word!”

Psalm 94:12-15, 18-19
Mark 8:14-21

Homily of the Day

February 18, 2020

Tuesday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

In yesterday’s Gospel narration Jesus became quite disturbed. The Pharisees were demanding an extraordinary event of some sort as a sign. The idea was that through the sign God would indicate his pleasure with what Jesus was preaching and doing. In today’s Gospel Jesus gets angry with his disciples because they don’t recognize the signs that he has already given them.

Jesus and his disciples are in a small boat crossing the lake. The apostles forgot to bring food with them and all they had was a loaf of bread. While this anxiety is at the top of their minds, Jesus, who’s concerned about more serious matters, suddenly warns them to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of Herod. So the disciples let their worries go, figuring that his talk about leaven means how they’ll get their next meal. Jesus explodes: “Can’t you get your minds off your bellies? What about the signs I gave you when twice I fed thousands with a couple of loaves and a few fish? And you’re worried about your next meal? You still don’t understand, do you?”

What Jesus is suggesting here is that the disciples (and we) look to their (and our) past experiences. Our past experiences are signs given us by God, assuring us that we are safely held in his hands. We’ve all suffered deep sorrows. Yet in the past God has always been with us, helping us to survive the pain. We’ve undergone serious illnesses and recovered. We’ve faced insoluble problems and somehow we solved them. We’ve been confronted by irresistible temptations and somehow we managed to resist them. We need to realize that God is worthy of trust and that he will continue to be
with us to the end.

Pray for Pope Francis.

Always.