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From: Revelation 11:19a; 12:1-6a, 10ab

The Sounding of the Seventh Trumpet

[19] Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his
covenant was seen within his temple.

The Woman Fleeing from the Dragon

[1] And a great portent appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the
sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve
stars; [2] she was with child and she cried out in her pangs of birth,
in anguish for delivery [3] And another portent appeared in heaven;
behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and seven
diadems upon his heads. [4] His tail swept down a third of the stars of
heaven, and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the
woman who was about to bear a child, that he might devour her child
when she brought it forth; [5] she brought forth a male child, one who
is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught
up to God and to his throne, [6] and the woman fled into the
wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God.

[10] And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and
the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ
have come.

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

19. The seer introduces the heavenly temple (the location par
excellence of God’s presence), paralleling the earlier mention of the
temple of Jerusalem (cf. 11:1-2). The opening of the temple and the
sight of the Ark of the Covenant show that the messianic era has come
to an end and God’s work of salvation has been completed. The ark was
the symbol of Israel’s election and salvation and of God’s presence in
the midst of his people. According to a Jewish tradition, reported in 2
Maccabees 2:4-8, Jeremiah placed the ark in a secret hiding place prior
to the destruction of Jerusalem, and it would be seen again when the
Messiah carne. The author of the Apocalypse uses this to assure us
that God has not forgotten his covenant: he has sealed it definitively in
heaven, where the ark is located.

Many early commentators interpreted the ark as a reference to Christ’s
sacred humanity, and St Bede explains that just as the manna was kept
in the original ark, so Christ’s divinity lies hidden in his sacred body
(cf. “Explanatio Apocalypsis”, 11, 19).

The heavenly covenant is the new and eternal one made by Jesus Christ
(cf. Mt 26:26-29 and par.) which will be revealed to all at his second
coming when the Church will triumph, as the Apocalypse goes on to
describe. The presence of the ark in the heavenly temple symbolizes the
sublimity of the messianic kingdom, which exceeds anything man could
create. “The vigilant and active expectation of the coming of the Kingdom
is also the expectation of a finally perfect justice for the living and the
dead, for people of all times and places, a justice which Jesus Christ,
installed as supreme Judge, will establish (cf. Mt 24:29-44, 46; Acts
10:42; 2 Cor 5: 10). This promise, which surpasses all human
possibilities, directly concerns our life in this world. For true justice
must include everyone; it must explain the immense load of suffering
borne by all generations. In fact, without the resurrection of the dead
and the Lord’s judgment, there is no justice in the full sense of the term.
The promise of the resurrection is freely made to meet the desire for true
justice dwelling in the human heart” (SCDF, “Libertatis Conscientia”, 60).

The thunder and lightning which accompany the appearance of the ark are
reminiscent of the way God made his presence felt on Sinai; they reveal
God’s mighty intervention (cf. Rev 4:5; 8:5) which is now accompanied
by the chastisement of the wicked, symbolized by the earthquake and
hailstones (cf. Ex 9: 13-35).

1-17. We are now introduced to the contenders in the eschatological
battles which mark the final confrontation between God and his adversary,
the devil. The author uses three portents to describe the leading figures
involved, and the war itself. The first is the woman and her offspring,
including the Messiah (12:1-2); the second is the dragon, who will later
transfer his power to the beasts (12:3); the third, the seven angels with
the seven bowls (15:1).

Three successive confrontations with the dragon are described—1) that
of the Messiah to whom the woman gives birth (12:1-6); 2) that of St
Michael and his angels (12:7-12); and 3) that of the woman and the rest
of her offspring (12:13-17) These confrontations should not be seen as
being in chronological order. They are more like three distinct pictures
placed side by side because they are closely connected: in each the
same enemy, the devil, does battle with God’s plans and with those
whom God uses to carry them out.

1-2. The mysterious figure of the woman has been interpreted ever since
the time of the Fathers of the Church as referring to the ancient people
of Israel, or the Church of Jesus Christ, or the Blessed Virgin. The text
supports all of these interpretations but in none do all the details fit. The
woman can stand for the people of Israel, for it is from that people that
the Messiah comes, and Isaiah compares Israel to “a woman with child,
who writhes and cries out in her pangs when she is near her time” (Is
26:17).

She can also stand for the Church, whose children strive to overcome
evil and to bear witness to Jesus Christ (cf. v. 17). Following this
interpretation St Gregory wrote: “The sun stands for the light of truth,
and the moon for the transitoriness of temporal things; the holy Church
is clothed like the sun because she is protected by the splendor of
supernatural truth, and she has the moon under her feet because she
is above all earthly things” (”Moralia”, 34, 12).

The passage can also refer to the Virgin Mary because it was she who
truly and historically gave birth to the Messiah, Jesus Christ our Lord
(cf. v. 5). St Bernard comments: “The sun contains permanent color
and splendor; whereas the moon’s brightness is unpredictable and
changeable, for it never stays the same. It is quite right, then, for Mary
to be depicted as clothed with the sun, for she entered the profundity
of divine wisdom much further than one can possibly conceive” (”De
B. Virgine”, 2).

In his account of the Annunciation, St Luke sees Mary as representing
the faithful remnant of Israel; the angel greets her with the greeting
given in Zephaniah 3:15 to the daughter of Zion (cf. notes on Lk 1:26-
31). St Paul in Galatians 4:4 sees a woman as the symbol of the
Church, our mother; and non-canonical Jewish literature contemporary
with the Book of Revelation quite often personifies the community as a
woman. So, the inspired text of the Apocalypse is open to interpreting
this woman as a direct reference to the Blessed Virgin who, as mother,
shares in the pain of Calvary (cf. Lk 2:35) and who was earlier
prophesied in Isaiah 7:14 as a “sign” (cf. Mt 1:22-23). At the same
time the woman can be interpreted as standing for the people of God,
the Church, whom the figure of Mary represents.

The Second Vatican Council has solemnly taught that Mary is a “type”
orsymbol of the Church, for “in the mystery of the Church, which is
itself rightly called mother and virgin, the Blessed Virgin stands out
in eminent and singular fashion as exemplar both of virgin and mother.
Through her faith and obedience she gave birth on earth to the very
Son of the Father, not through the knowledge of man but by the
overshadowing of the Holy Spirit, in the manner of a new Eve who
placed her faith, not in the serpent of old but in God’s messenger,
without wavering in doubt. The Son whom she brought forth is he whom
God placed as the first-born among many brethren (cf. Rom 8:29), that
is, the faithful, in whose generation and formation she cooperates with
a mother’s love” (Vatican II, “Lumen Gentium”, 63).

The description of the woman indicates her heavenly glory, and the
twelve stars of her victorious crown symbolize the people of God—the
twelve patriarchs (cf. Gen 37:9) and the twelve apostles. And so,
independently of the chronological aspects of the text, the Church sees
in this heavenly woman the Blessed Virgin, “taken up body and soul into
heavenly glory, when her earthly life was over, and exalted by the Lord
as Queen over all things, that she might be the more fully conformed to
her Son, the Lord of lords (cf. Rev 19:16) and conqueror of sin and
death” (”Lumen Gentium”, 59). The Blessed Virgin is indeed the great
sign, for, as St Bonaventure says, “God could have made none greater.
He could have made a greater world and a greater heaven; but not a
woman greater than his own mother” (”Speculum”, 8).

3-4. In his description of the devil (cf. v. 9), St John uses symbols taken
from the Old Testament. The dragon or serpent comes from Genesis
3:1-24, a passage which underlies all the latter half of this book. Its
red color and seven heads with seven diadems show that it is bringing
its full force to bear to wage this war. The ten horns in Daniel 7:7 stand
for the kings who are Israel’s enemies; in Daniel a horn is also
mentioned to refer to Antiochus IV Epiphanes, of whom Daniel also says
(to emphasize the greatness of Antiochus’ victories) that it cast stars
down from heaven onto the earth (cf. Dan 8:10). Satan drags other
angels along with him, as the text later recounts (Rev 12:9). All these
symbols, then, are designed to convey the enormous power of Satan.
“The devil is described as a serpent”, St Cyprian writes, “because he
moves silently and seems peaceable and comes by easy ways and is
so astute and so deceptive [...] that he tries to have night taken for day,
poison taken for medicine. So, by deceptions of this kind, he tries to
destroy truth by cunning. That is why he passes himself off as an angel
of light” (”De Unitate Ecclesiae”, I-III).

After the fall of our first parents war broke out between the serpent and
his seed and the woman and hers: “I will put enmity between you and
the woman, between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise his heel” (Gen 3:15). Jesus Christ is the woman’s
descendant who will obtain victory over the devil (cf. Mk 1:23-26; Lk
4:31-37; etc.). That is why the power of evil concentrates all his energy
on destroying Christ (cf. Mt 2:13-18) or to deflecting him from his
mission (cf. Mt 4:1-11 and par.). By relating this enmity to the
beginnings of the human race St. John paints a very vivid picture.

5. The birth of Jesus Christ brings into operation the divine plan
announced by the prophets (cf. Is 66:7) and by the Psalms (cf. Ps 2:9),
and marks the first step in ultimate victory over the devil. Jesus’ life on
earth, culminating in his passion, resurrection and ascension into
heaven, was the key factor in achieving this victory. St John emphasizes
the triumph of Christ as victor, who, as the Church confesses, “sits at
the right hand of the Father” (”Nicene- Constantinopolitan Creed”).

6. The figure of the woman reminds us of the Church, the people of God.
Israel took refuge in the wilderness to escape from Pharaoh, and the
Church does the same after the victory of Christ. The wilderness stands
for solitude and intimate union with God. In the wilderness God took
personal care of his people, setting them free from their enemies (cf. Ex
17:8-16) and nourishing them with quail and manna (cf. Ex 16:1-36). The
Church is given similar protection against the powers of hell (cf. Mt 16:18)
and Christ nourishes it with his body and his word all the while it makes
its pilgrimage through the ages; it has a hard time (like Israel in the
wilderness) but there will be an end to it: it will take one thousand two
hundred and sixty days (cf. notes on 11:3).

Although the woman, in this verse, seems to refer directly to the
Church, she also in some way stands for the particular woman who
gave birth to the Messiah, the Blessed Virgin. As no other creature has
done, Mary has enjoyed a very unique type of union with God and very
special protection from the powers of evil, death included. Thus, as the
Second Vatican Council teaches, “in the meantime [while the Church
makes its pilgrim way on earth], the Mother of Jesus in the glory which
she possesses in body and soul in heaven is the image and beginning
of the Church as it is to be perfected in the world to come. Likewise she
shines forth on earth, until the day of the Lord shall come (cf. 2 Pet
3:10), a sign of certain hope and comfort to the pilgrim people of God”
(”Lumen Gentium”, 68).

10-12. With the ascension of Christ into heaven the Kingdom of God is
established and so all those who dwell in heaven break out into a song
of joy. The devil has been deprived of his power over man in the sense
that the redemptive action of Christ and man’s faith enable man to
escape from the world of sin. The text expresses this joyful truth by
saying that there is now no place for the accuser, Satan whose name
means and whom the Old Testament teaches to be the accuser of men
before God: cf. Job 1:6-12; 2:1-10). Given what God meant creation to
be, Satan could claim as his victory anyone who, through sinning, dis-
figured the image and likeness of God that was in him. However, once
the Redemption has taken place, Satan no longer has power to do this,
for, as St John writes, “if any one does sin, we have an advocate with
the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the expiation for our
sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world” (Jn
2:1-2). Also, on ascending into heaven, Christ sent us the Holy Spirit
as “Intercessor and Advocate, especially when man, that is, mankind,
find themselves before the judgment of condemnation by that ‘accuser’
about whom the Book of Revelation says that ‘he accuses them day
and night before our God”’ (John Paul II, “Dominum Et Vivificantem”,
67).

Although Satan has lost this power to act in the world, he still has time
left, between the resurrection of our Lord and the end of history, to put
obstacles in man’s way and frustrate Christ’s action. And so he works
ever more frenetically, as he sees time run out, in his effort to distance
everyone and society itself from the plans and commandments of God.

The author of the Book of Revelation uses this celestial chant to warn
the Church of the onset of danger as the End approaches.

*********************************************************************************************
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: 1 Corinthians 15:20-27

The Basis of Our Faith (Continuation)

[20] But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of
those who have fallen asleep. [21] For as by a man came death, by a
man has come also the resurrection of the dead. [22] For as in Adam
all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. [23] But each in his
own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to
Christ. [24] Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God
the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. [25]
For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. [26] The
last enemy to be destroyed is death. [27] “For God has put all things in
subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “All things are put in
subjection under him,” it is plain that he is excepted who put all things
under him.

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

20-28. The Apostle insists on the solidarity that exists between Christ
and Christians: as members of one single body, of which Christ is the
head, they form as it were one organism (cf. Rom 6:3-11; Gal 3:28).
Therefore, once the resurrection of Christ is affirmed, the resurrection
of the just necessarily follows. Adam’s disobedience brought death for
all; Jesus, the new Adam, has merited that all should rise (cf. Rom
5:12-21). “Again, the resurrection of Christ effects for us the resurrection
of our bodies not only because it was the efficient cause of this mystery,
but also because we all ought to arise after the example of the Lord. For
with regard to the resurrection of the body we have this testimony of the
Apostle: ‘As by a man came death, by a man has come also the
resurrection of the dead’ (1 Cor 15:21). In all that God did to accomplish
the mystery of our redemption he made use of the humanity of Christ as
an effective instrument, and hence his resurrection was, as it were, an
instrument for the accomplishment of our resurrection” (”St Pius V
Catechism”, I, 6, 13).

Although St Paul here is referring only to the resurrection of the just
(v. 23), he does speak elsewhere of the resurrection of all mankind
(cf. Acts 24:15). The doctrine of the resurrection of the bodies of all
at the end of time, when Jesus will come in glory to judge everyone,
has always been part of the faith of the Church; “he [Christ] will come
at the end of the world, he will judge the living and the dead; and he
will reward all, both the lost and the elect, according to their works.
And all those will rise with their own bodies which they now have so
that they may receive according to their works, whether good or bad;
the wicked, a perpetual punishment with the devil; the good, eternal
glory with ‘Christ” (Fourth Lateran Council, “De Fide Catholica”, chap.
1).

23-28. St Paul outlines very succinctly the entire messianic and
redemptive work of Christ: by decree of the Father, Christ has been
made Lord of the universe (cf. Mt 28:18), in fulfillment of Ps 110:1 and
Ps 8:7. When it says here that “the Son himself will also be subjected
to him who put all things under him”, this must be understood as
referring to Christ in his capacity of Messiah and head of the Church;
not Christ as God, because the Son is “begotten, not created,
consubstantial with the Father” (”Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed”).

Christ’s sovereignty over all creation comes about in history, but it
will achieve its final, complete, form after the Last Judgment. The
Apostle presents that last event—a mystery to us—as a solemn act
of homage to the Father. Christ will offer all creation to his Father as
a kind of trophy, offering him the Kingdom which up to then had been
confided to his care. From that moment on, the sovereignty of God
and Christ will be absolute, they will have no enemies, no rivals; the
stage of combat will have given way to that of contemplation, as St
Augustine puts it (cf. “De Trinitate”, 1, 8).

The Parousia or second coming of Christ in glory at the end of time,
when he establishes the new heaven and the new earth (cf. Rev 21:1-2),
will mean definitive victory over the devil, over sin, suffering and death.
A Christian’s hope in this victory is not something passive: rather, it is
something that spurs him on to ensure that even in this present life
Christ’s teaching and spirit imbue all human activities. “Far from dimi-
nishing our concern to develop this earth,” Vatican II teaches, “the
expectancy of a new earth should spur us on, for it is here that the
body of a new human family grows, foreshadowing in some way the
age which is to come. That is why, although we must be careful to
distinguish earthly progress clearly from the increase of the Kingdom
of Christ, such progress is of vital concern to the Kingdom of God,
insofar as it can contribute to the better ordering of human society.

“When we have spread on earth the fruits of our nature and our enter-
prise -human dignity, brotherly communion, and freedom—according
to the command of the Lord and in his Spirit, we will find them once
again, cleansed this time from the stain of sin, illuminated and trans-
figured, when Christ presents to his Father an eternal and universal
kingdom of truth and life, a kingdom of holiness and grace, a kingdom
of justice, love and peace (”Roman Missal”, preface for the solemnity
of Christ the King). Here on earth the Kingdom is mysteriously present;
when the Lord comes it will enter into its perfection” (”Gaudium Et Spes”,
39).

24. “When he delivers the kingdom to God the Father”: this does not
quite catch the beauty of the Greek which literally means “when he
delivers the kingdom to the God and Father”. In New Testament Greek,
when the word “Theos” (God) is preceded by the definite article (”ho
Theos”) the first person of the Blessed Trinity is being referred to.

25. “He must reign”: every year, on the last Sunday of ordinary time,
the Church celebrates the solemnity of Christ the King, to acknowledge
his absolute sovereignty over all created things. On instituting this feast,
Pius XI pointed out that “He must reign in our minds, which should
assent with perfect submission and firm belief to revealed truths and
to the teachings of Christ. He must reign in our wills, which should obey
the laws and precepts of God. He must reign in our hearts, which should
spurn natural desires and love God above all things, and cleave to him
alone. He must reign in our bodies and in our members, which should
serve as instruments for the interior sanctification of our souls, or, to
use the words of the Apostle Paul, as instruments of righteousness unto
God (Rom 6:13)” (”Quas Primas”).

27. By “all things” the Apostle clearly means all created beings. In
pagan mythology, rivalry and strife occurred among the gods and some-
times led to the son of a god supplanting his father. St Paul wants to
make it quite clear that Sacred Scripture suggests nothing of that kind.
No subjection is possible among the three persons of the Blessed Trinity,
because they are one God.

*********************************************************************************************
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: Luke 1:39-56
The Visitation
________________________________________
[39] In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a city
of Judah, [40] and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.
[41] And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb;
and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit [42] and she exclaimed with a loud
cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! [43]
And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? [44]
For behold, when the voice of your greeting came to my ears, the babe in my
womb leaped for joy. [45] And blessed is she who believed that there would be
a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”
The Magnificat
________________________________________
[46] And Mary said,
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
[47] and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
[48] for He has regarded the low estate of His handmaiden.
For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed;
[49] for He who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is His name.
[50] And His mercy is on those who fear Him
from generation to generation.
[51] He has shown strength with His arm,
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts,
[52] He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
and exalted those of low degree
[53] He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich He has sent empty away.
[54] He has helped His servant Israel,
in remembrance of His mercy,
[55] as He spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his posterity for ever.”
[56] And Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her home.
*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:
39-56. We contemplate this episode of our Lady’s visit to her cousin St. Elizabeth
in the Second Joyful Mystery of the Rosary: “Joyfully keep Joseph and Mary com-
pany...and you will hear the traditions of the House of David.... We walk in haste
towards the mountains, to a town of the tribe of Judah (Luke 1:39).
“We arrive. It is the house where John the Baptist is to be born. Elizabeth grate-
fully hails the Mother of her Redeemer: Blessed are you among women, and bles-
sed is the fruit of your womb. Why should I be honored with a visit from the mother
of my Lord? (Luke 1:42-43).
“The unborn Baptist quivers...(Luke 1:41). Mary’s humility pours forth in the “Mag-
nificat”.... And you and I, who are proud—who were proud—promise to be humble”
(St. J. Escriva, “Holy Rosary”).
39. On learning from the angel that her cousin St. Elizabeth is soon to give birth
and is in need of support, our Lady in her charity hastens to her aid. She has no
regard for the difficulties this involves. Although we do not know where exactly
Elizabeth was living (it is now thought to be Ain Karim), it certainly meant a jour-
ney into the hill country which at that time would have taken four days.
From Mary’s visit to Elizabeth Christians should learn to be caring people. “If we
have this filial contact with Mary, we won’t be able to think just about ourselves
and our problems. Selfish personal problems will find no place in our mind” (St.
J. Escriva, “Christ Is Passing By,” 145)
42. St. Bede comments that Elizabeth blesses Mary using the same words as
the archangel “to show that she should be honored by angels and by men and
why she should indeed be revered above all other women” (”In Lucae Evangelium
Expositio, in loc.”).
When we say the “Hail Mary” we repeat these divine greetings, “rejoicing with
Mary at her dignity as Mother of God and praising the Lord, thanking Him for
having given us Jesus Christ through Mary” (”St. Pius X Catechism”, 333).
43. Elizabeth is moved by the Holy Spirit to call Mary “the mother of my Lord”,
thereby showing that Mary is the Mother of God.
44. Although he was conceived in sin—original sin—like other men, St. John the
Baptist was born sinless because he was sanctified in his mother’s womb by the
presence of Jesus Christ (then in Mary’s womb) and of the Blessed Virgin. On
receiving this grace of God St. John rejoices by leaping with joy in his mother’s
womb—thereby fulfilling the archangel’s prophecy (cf. Luke 1:15).
St. John Chrysostom comments on this scene of the Gospel: “See how new and
how wonderful this mystery is. He has not yet left the womb but he speaks by
leaping; he is not yet allowed to cry out but he makes himself heard by his ac-
tions [...]; he has not yet seen the light but he points out the Sun; he has not yet
been born and he is keen to act as Precursor. The Lord is present, so he cannot
contain himself or wait for nature to run its course: he wants to break out of the
prison of his other’s womb and he makes sure he witnesses to the fact that the
Savior is about to come” (”Sermo Apud Metaphr., Mense Julio”).
45. Joining the chorus of all future generations, Elizabeth, moved by the Holy
Spirit, declares the Lord’s Mother to be blessed and praises her faith. No one
ever had faith to compare with Mary’s; she is the model of the attitude a creature
should have towards its Creator—complete submission, total attachment. Through
her faith, Mary is the instrument chosen by God to bring about the Redemption;
as Mediatrix of all graces, she is associated with the redemptive work of her Son:
“This union of the Mother with the Son in the work of salvation is made manifest
from the time of Christ’s virginal conception up to His death; first when Mary, ari-
sing in haste to go to visit Elizabeth, is greeted by her as blessed because of her
belief in the promise of salvation and the Precursor leaps with joy in the womb of
his mother [...]. The Blessed Virgin advanced in her pilgrimage of faith and faith-
fully persevered in her union with her Son unto the cross, where she stood (cf.
John 19:25), in keeping with the Divine Plan, enduring with her only-begotten Son
the intensity of His suffering, associating herself with His sacrifice in her mother’s
heart, and lovingly consenting to the immolation of this Victim which was born of
her” (Vatican II, “Lumen Gentium”, 57f).
The new Latin text gives a literal rendering of the original Greek when it says
“quae credidit” (RSV “she who has believed”) as opposed to the Vulgate “quae
credidisti” (”you who have believed”) which gave more of the sense than a literal
rendering.
46-55. Mary’s “Magnificat” canticle is a poem of singular beauty. It evokes cer-
tain passages of the Old Testament with which she would ave been very familiar
(especially 1 Samuel 2:1-10).
Three stanzas may be distinguished in the canticle: in the first (verses 46-50)
Mary glorifies God for making her the Mother of the Savior, which is why future
generations will call her blessed; she shows that the Incarnation is a mysterious
expression of God’s power and holiness and mercy. In the second (verses 51-53)
she teaches us that the Lord has always had a preference for the humble, resis-
ting the proud and boastful. In the third (verses 54-55) she proclaims that God, in
keeping with His promise, has always taken care of His chosen people—and now
does them the greatest honor of all by becoming a Jew (cf. Romans 1:3).
“Our prayer can accompany and imitate this prayer of Mary. Like her, we feel the
desire to sing, to acclaim the wonders of God, so that all mankind and all crea-
tion may share our joy” (St. J. Escriva, “Christ Is Passing By”, 144).
46-47. “The first fruits of the Holy Spirit are peace and joy. And the Blessed Vir-
gin had received within herself all the grace of the Holy Spirit” (St. Basil, “In Psal-
mos Homilae”, on Psalm 32). Mary’s soul overflows in the words of the Magnificat.
God’s favors cause every humble soul to feel joy and gratitude. In the case of the
Blessed Virgin, God has bestowed more on her than on any other creature. “Vir-
gin Mother of God, He whom the heavens cannot contain, on becoming man, en-
closed Himself within your womb” (”Roman Missal”, Antiphon of the Common
of the Mass for Feasts of Our Lady). The humble Virgin of Nazareth is going to
be the Mother of God; the Creator’s omnipotence has never before manifested
itself in as complete a way as this.
48-49. Mary’s expression of humility causes St. Bede to exclaim: “It was fitting,
then, that just as death entered the world through the pride of our first parents,
the entry of Life should be manifested by the humility of Mary” (”In Lucae Evan-
gelium Expositio, in loc.”).
“How great the value of humility!—”Quia respexit humilitatem.... It is not of her
faith, nor of her charity, nor of her immaculate purity that our Mother speaks in
the house of Zachary. Her joyful hymn sings: ‘Since He has looked on my hu-
mility, all generations will call me blessed’” (St. J. Escriva, “The Way”, 598).
God rewards our Lady’s humility by mankind’s recognition of her greatness: “All
generations will call me blessed.” This prophecy is fulfilled every time someone
says the Hail Mary, and indeed she is praised on earth continually, without inter-
ruption. “From the earliest times the Blessed Virgin is honored under the title of
Mother of God, under whose protection the faithful take refuge together in prayer
in all their perils and needs. Accordingly, following the Council of Ephesus, there
was a remarkable growth in the cult of the people of God towards Mary, in vene-
ration and love, in invocation and imitation, according to her own prophetic words:
‘all generations will call me blessed, for He who is mighty has done great things
for me’” (Vatican II, “Lumen Gentium”, 66).
50. “And His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation”:
“At the very moment of the Incarnation, these words open up a new perspective
of salvation history. After the Resurrection of Christ, this perspective is new on
both the historical and the eschatological level. From that time onwards there is
a succession of new generations of individuals in the immense human family, in
ever-increasing dimensions; there is also a succession of new generations of the
people of God, marked with the sign of the Cross and of the Resurrection and
‘sealed’ with the sign of the paschal mystery of Christ, the absolute revelation
of the mercy that Mary proclaimed on the threshold of her kinswoman’s house:
“His mercy is [...] from generation to generation’ [...].
“Mary, then, is the one who has the “deepest knowledge of the mystery of God’s
mercy”. She knows its price, she knows how great it is. In this sense, we call
her the “Mother of Mercy”: Our Lady of Mercy, or Mother of Divine Mercy; in each
one of these titles there is a deep theological meaning, for they express the spe-
cial preparation of her soul, of her whole personality, so that she was able to per-
ceive, through the complex events, first of Israel, then of every individual and of
the whole of humanity, that mercy of which ‘from generation to generation’ peo-
ple become sharers according to the eternal design of the Most Holy Trinity” (Bl.
John Paul II, “Dives In Misericordia”, 9).
51. “The proud”: those who want to be regarded as superior to others, whom they
look down on. This also refers to those who, in their arrogance, seek to organize
society without reference to, or in opposition to, God’s law. Even if they seem to
do so successfully, the words of our Lady’s canticle will ultimately come true, for
God will scatter them as He did those who tried to build the Tower of Babel, thin-
king that they could reach as high as Heaven (cf. Genesis 11:4).
“When pride takes hold of a soul, it is no surprise to find it bringing along with it
a whole string of other vices—greed, self-indulgence, envy, injustice. The proud
man is always vainly striving to dethrone God, who is merciful to all His creatures,
so as to make room for himself and his ever cruel ways.
“We should beg God not to let us fall into this temptation. Pride is the worst sin
of all, and the most ridiculous.... Pride is unpleasant, even from a human point
of view. The person who rates himself better than everyone and everything is con-
stantly studying himself and looking down on other people, who in turn react by
ridiculing his foolish vanity” (St. J. Escriva, “Friends of God”, 100).
53. This form of divine providence has been experienced countless times over the
course of history. For example, God nourished the people of Israel with manna
during their forty years in the wilderness (Exodus 16:4-35); similarly His angel
brought food to Elijah (1 Kings 19:5-8), and to Daniel in the lions’ den (Daniel 14:
31-40); and the widow of Sarepta was given a supply of oil which miraculously
never ran out (1 Kings 17:8ff). So, too, the Blessed Virgin’s yearning for holiness
was fulfilled by the incarnation of the Word.
God nourished the chosen people with His Law and the preaching of His prophets,
but the rest of mankind was left hungry for His word, a hunger now satisfied by
the Incarnation. This gift of God will be accepted by the humble; the self-sufficient,
having no desire for the good things of God, will not partake of them (cf. St. Basil,
“In Psalmos Homilae”, on Psalm 33).
54. God led the people of Israel as He would a child whom He loved tenderly: “the
Lord your God bore you, as a man bears his son, in all the way that you went”
(Deuteronomy 1:31). He did so many times, using Moses, Joshua, Samuel, David,
etc., and now He gives them a definitive leader by sending the Messiah—moved by
His great mercy which takes pity on the wretchedness of Israel and of all mankind.
55. God promised the patriarchs of old that He would have mercy on mankind.
This promise He made to Adam (Genesis 3:15), Abraham (Genesis 22:18), David
(2 Samuel 7:12), etc. From all eternity God had planned and decreed that the
Word should become incarnate for the salvation of all mankind. As Christ Himself
put it, “God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in
Him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
*********************************************************************************************
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.

Readings at Mass

These readings are for the Vigil Mass on the evening before the feast:

First reading

1 Chronicles 15:3-4,15-16,16:1-2 ©

David gathered all Jerusalem to bring the ark of God up to the place he had prepared for it. David called together the sons of Aaron and the sons of Levi. And the Levites carried the ark of God with the shafts on their shoulders, as Moses had ordered in accordance with the word of the Lord.

David then told the heads of the Levites to assign duties for their kinsmen as cantors, with their various instruments of music, harps and lyres and cymbals, to play joyful tunes. They brought the ark of God in and put it inside the tent that David had pitched for it; and they offered holocausts before God, and communion sacrifices. And when David had finished offering holocausts and communion sacrifices, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord.

Psalm

Psalm 131:6-7,9-10,13-14 ©

Go up, Lord, to the place of your rest, you and the ark of your strength.

At Ephrata we heard of the ark;

we found it in the plains of Yearim.

‘Let us go to the place of his dwelling;

let us go to kneel at his footstool.’

Go up, Lord, to the place of your rest, you and the ark of your strength.

Your priests shall be clothed with holiness;

your faithful shall ring out their joy.

For the sake of David your servant

do not reject your anointed.

Go up, Lord, to the place of your rest, you and the ark of your strength.

For the Lord has chosen Zion;

he has desired it for his dwelling:

‘This is my resting-place for ever;

here have I chosen to live.’

Go up, Lord, to the place of your rest, you and the ark of your strength.

Second reading

1 Corinthians 15:54-57 ©

When this perishable nature has put on imperishability, and when this mortal nature has put on immortality, then the words of scripture will come true: Death is swallowed up in victory. Death, where is your victory? Death, where is your sting? Now the sting of death is sin, and sin gets its power from the Law. So let us thank God for giving us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Gospel Acclamation

Lk11:28

Alleluia, alleluia!

Happy are those

who hear the word of God

and keep it.

Alleluia!

Gospel

Luke 11:27-28 ©

As Jesus was speaking, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said, ‘Happy the womb that bore you and the breasts you sucked!’ But he replied, ‘Still happier those who hear the word of God and keep it!’

These readings are for the day of the feast itself:

First reading

Apocalypse 11:19,12:1-6,10 ©

The sanctuary of God in heaven opened and the ark of the covenant could be seen inside it. Then came flashes of lightning, peals of thunder and an earthquake, and violent hail.

Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman, adorned with the sun, standing on the moon, and with the twelve stars on her head for a crown. She was pregnant, and in labour, crying aloud in the pangs of childbirth. Then a second sign appeared in the sky, a huge red dragon which had seven heads and ten horns, and each of the seven heads crowned with a coronet. Its tail dragged a third of the stars from the sky and dropped them to the earth, and the dragon stopped in front of the woman as she was having the child, so that he could eat it as soon as it was born from its mother. The woman brought a male child into the world, the son who was to rule all the nations with an iron sceptre, and the child was taken straight up to God and to his throne, while the woman escaped into the desert, where God had made a place of safety ready, for her to be looked after in the twelve hundred and sixty days.

Then I heard a voice shout from heaven, ‘Victory and power and empire for ever have been won by our God, and all authority for his Christ, now that the persecutor, who accused our brothers day and night before our God, has been brought down.’

Psalm

Psalm 44:10-12,16 ©

On your right stands the queen, in garments of gold.

The daughters of kings are among your loved ones.

On your right stands the queen in gold of Ophir.

Listen, O daughter, give ear to my words:

forget your own people and your father’s house.

On your right stands the queen, in garments of gold.

So will the king desire your beauty:

He is your lord, pay homage to him.

They are escorted amid gladness and joy;

they pass within the palace of the king.

On your right stands the queen, in garments of gold.

Second reading

1 Corinthians 15:20-26 ©

Christ has been raised from the dead, the first-fruits of all who have fallen asleep. Death came through one man and in the same way the resurrection of the dead has come through one man. Just as all men die in Adam, so all men will be brought to life in Christ; but all of them in their proper order: Christ as the first-fruits and then, after the coming of Christ, those who belong to him. After that will come the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, having done away with every sovereignty, authority and power. For he must be king until he has put all his enemies under his feet and the last of the enemies to be destroyed is death, for everything is to be put under his feet.

Gospel Acclamation

Alleluia, alleluia!

Mary has been taken up to heaven;

all the choirs of angels are rejoicing.

Alleluia!

Gospel

Luke 1:39-56 ©

Mary set out at that time and went as quickly as she could to a town in the hill country of Judah. She went into Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth. Now as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leapt in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. She gave a loud cry and said, ‘Of all women you are the most blessed, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Why should I be honoured with a visit from the mother of my Lord? For the moment your greeting reached my ears, the child in my womb leapt for joy. Yes, blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.’

And Mary said:

‘My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord

and my spirit exults in God my saviour;

because he has looked upon his lowly handmaid.

Yes, from this day forward all generations will call me blessed,

for the Almighty has done great things for me.

Holy is his name,

and his mercy reaches from age to age for those who fear him.

He has shown the power of his arm,

he has routed the proud of heart.

He has pulled down princes from their thrones and exalted the lowly.

The hungry he has filled with good things, the rich sent empty away.

He has come to the help of Israel his servant, mindful of his mercy

– according to the promise he made to our ancestors –

of his mercy to Abraham and to his descendants for ever.’

Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months and then went back home.

The Light of Faith (Lumen Fidei)[Catholic Caucus]

Year of Faith: Does God Command Evil Actions in the Bible? Part II (Part I linked
Francis "Lights" Up – Pope's First Encyclical Due Friday
Pope: Homily at Mass for Evangelium Vitae Day [full text]
Adoration with Pope energizing Catholics worldwide
Parishes Worldwide Prepare for Eucharistic Adoration Hour (June 2 at 11 am ET)
Pope [Francis] at Pentecost: Newness, harmony and mission
Audience: Do not be ‘part-time’ Christians
Pope Francis: Regina caeli
Pope to welcome 70,000 youths, confirm 44 (this Sunday) [Catholic Caucus]
Pope Francis’ General Audience focused on women. Feminists aren’t going to be happy

Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio's "Letter On the Year of Faith" (Crossing Threshold of Faith)
Pope Francis – the real deal – has Audience with Cardinals
Benedict XVI's Final General Audience
On Ash Wednesday
On God As Creator of Heaven and Earth
On Abraham's Faith
On Christ As Mediator Between God and Man
On the Incarnation
On God the Almighty Father
Year of Faith: Indulgences and Places of Pilgrimage [Ecumenical]
On the Identity of Jesus

On the Faith of Mary, the Virgin Mother of Christ
Father Cantalamessa's 1st Advent Sermon (Catholic Caucus)
On The Unfolding of God's Self-Revelation
On the Beauty of God's Plan of Salvation
On Bearing Witness to the Christian Faith
On the Splendor of God's Truth
On the Knowledge of God
Archbishop Chaput says Year of Faith holds solution to relativism
Following the Truth: The Year Of Faith – 10 Things You Should Know [Catholic Caucus]
Papal Encyclical on Faith Announced

On the Desire for God
On the Ecclesial Nature of Faith
On the Nature of Faith
Catechism's benefits explained for Year of Faith (Catholic Caucus)
A Life of Faith: Papal Theologian Speaks on the Grace of Faith
ASIA/LAOS - "Year of Faith" amid the persecutions of Christians forced to become "animists"
From no faith to a mountain-top of meaning: Father John Nepil (Catholic Caucus)
Living the Year of Faith: How Pope Benedict Wants You to Begin [Catholic Caucus]
Share Your Faith in This Year of Faith: Two keys to help you do it.
On A New Series of Audiences for The Year of Faith

Pope will deliver year-long teaching series on restoring faith
Pope Benedict XVI Grants Plenary Indulgence to Faithful [Catholic Caucus]
Pope, at Marian shrine, entrusts Year of Faith, synod to Mary (Catholic Caucus)
Catholic Church Calls for Public Prayers in Offices on Fridays
Highlights in the Plan for Year of Faith: Traditional Events Will Take on Special Perspective
Catholic Church calls for public prayers in offices on Fridays
Vatican Unveils Logo for Year of Faith [Catholic Caucus]
Miami Prelate Recalls Pope's Visit to Cuba, Looks to Year of Faith [Catholic Caucus]
The World-Changing Year of Faith [Catholic Caucus]
Vatican to Issue Recommendations for Celebrating Year of Faith

Perpetual Novena for the Nation (Ecumenical)

Prayers for The Religion Forum (Ecumenical)

Jesus, High Priest

We thank you, God our Father, for those who have responded to your call to priestly ministry.

Accept this prayer we offer on their behalf: Fill your priests with the sure knowledge of your love.

Open their hearts to the power and consolation of the Holy Spirit.

Lead them to new depths of union with your Son.

Increase in them profound faith in the Sacraments they celebrate as they nourish, strengthen and heal us.

Lord Jesus Christ, grant that these, your priests, may inspire us to strive for holiness by the power of their example, as men of prayer who ponder your word and follow your will.

O Mary, Mother of Christ and our mother, guard with your maternal care these chosen ones, so dear to the Heart of your Son.

Intercede for our priests, that offering the Sacrifice of your Son, they may be conformed more each day to the image of your Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Saint John Vianney, universal patron of priests, pray for us and our priests

This icon shows Jesus Christ, our eternal high priest.

The gold pelican over His heart represents self-sacrifice.

The border contains an altar and grapevines, representing the Mass, and icons of Melchizedek and St. Jean-Baptiste Vianney.

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.

Pray a Rosary each day for our nation.

Pray the Rosary

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.

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]

~ 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
+

A Prayer for our Free Nation Under God
God Save Our Country web site (prayer warriors)
Prayer Chain Request for the United States of America
Pray for Nancy Pelosi
Prayer and fasting will help defeat health care reform (Freeper Prayer Thread)
Prayer Campaign Started to Convert Pro-Abortion Catholic Politicians to Pro-Life
[Catholic Caucus] One Million Rosaries
Non-stop Rosary vigil to defeat ObamaCare

From an Obama bumper sticker on a car:

"Pray for Obama. Psalm 109:8"

PLEASE JOIN US -

Evening Prayer
Someone has said that if people really understood the full extent of the power we have available through prayer, we might be speechless.
Did you know that during WWII there was an advisor to Churchill who organized a group of people who dropped what they were doing every day at a prescribed hour for one minute to collectively pray for the safety of England, its people and peace?

There is now a group of people organizing the same thing here in America. If you would like to participate: Every evening at 9:00 PM Eastern Time (8:00 PM Central) (7:00 PM Mountain) (6:00 PM Pacific), stop whatever you are doing and spend one minute praying for the safety of the United States, our troops, our citizens, and for a return to a Godly nation. If you know anyone else who would like to participate, please pass this along. Our prayers are the most powerful asset we have. Please forward this to your praying friends.

August Devotion -- The Immaculate Heart [of Mary]

Since the 16th century Catholic piety has assigned entire months to special devotions. The month of August is traditionally dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The physical heart of Mary is venerated (and not adored as the Sacred Heart of Jesus is) because it is united to her person: and as the seat of her love (especially for her divine Son), virtue, and inner life. Such devotion is an incentive to a similar love and virtue.

This devotion has received new emphasis in this century from the visions given to Lucy Dos Santos, oldest of the visionaries of Fatima, in her convent in Tuy, in Spain, in 1925 and 1926. In the visions Our Lady asked for the practice of the Five First Saturdays to help make amends for the offenses given to her heart by the blasphemies and ingratitude of men. The practice parallels the devotion of the Nine First Fridays in honor of the Sacred Heart.

On October 31, 1942, Pope Pius XII made a solemn Act of Consecration of the Church and the whole world to the Immaculate Heart. Let us remember this devotion year-round, but particularly through the month of August.

INVOCATIONS

O heart most pure of the Blessed Virgin Mary, obtain for me from Jesus a pure and humble heart.

Sweet heart of Mary, be my salvation.

ACT OF CONSECRATION
Queen of the most holy Rosary, help of Christians, refuge of the human race, victorious in all the battles of God, we prostrate ourselves in supplication before thy throne, in the sure hope of obtaining mercy and of receiving grace and timely aid in our present calamities, not through any merits of our own, on which we do not rely, but only through the immense goodness of thy mother's heart. In thee and in thy Immaculate Heart, at this grave hour of human history, do we put our trust; to thee we consecrate ourselves, not only with all of Holy Church, which is the mystical body of thy Son Jesus, and which is suffering in so many of her members, being subjected to manifold tribulations and persecutions, but also with the whole world, torn by discords, agitated with hatred, the victim of its own iniquities. Be thou moved by the sight of such material and moral degradation, such sorrows, such anguish, so many tormented souls in danger of eternal loss! Do thou, O Mother of mercy, obtain for us from God a Christ-like reconciliation of the nations, as well as those graces which can convert the souls of men in an instant, those graces which prepare the way and make certain the long desired coming of peace on earth. O Queen of peace, pray for us, and grant peace unto the world in the truth, the justice, and the charity of Christ.

Above all, give us peace in our hearts, so that the kingdom of God may spread its borders in the tranquillity of order. Accord thy protection to unbelievers and to all those who lie within the shadow of death; cause the Sun of Truth to rise upon them; may they be enabled to join with us in repeating before the Savior of the world: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good will."

Give peace to the nations that are separated from us by error or discord, and in a special manner to those peoples who profess a singular devotion toward thee; bring them back to Christ's one fold, under the one true Shepherd. Obtain full freedom for the holy Church of God; defend her from her enemies; check the ever-increasing torrent of immorality; arouse in the faithful a love of purity, a practical Christian life, and an apostolic zeal, so that the multitude of those who serve God may increase in merit and in number.

Finally, even as the Church and all mankind were once consecrated to the Heart of thy Son Jesus, because He was for all those who put their hope in Him an inexhaustible source of victory and salvation, so in like manner do we consecrate ourselves forever to thee also and to thy Immaculate Heart, O Mother of us and Queen of the world; may thy love and patronage hasten the day when the kingdom of God shall be victorious and all the nations, at peace with God .and with one another, shall call thee blessed and intone with thee, from the rising of the sun to its going down, the everlasting "Magnificat" of glory, of love, of gratitude to the Heart of Jesus, in which alone we can find truth, life, and peace. — Pope Pius XII

IN HONOR OF THE IMMACULATE HEART
O heart of Mary, mother of God, and our mother; heart most worthy of love, in which the adorable Trinity is ever well-pleased, worthy of the veneration and love of all the angels and of all men; heart most like to the Heart of Jesus, of which thou art the perfect image; heart, full of goodness, ever compassionate toward our miseries; deign to melt our icy hearts and grant that they may be wholly changed into the likeness of the Heart of Jesus, our divine Savior. Pour into them the love of thy virtues, enkindle in them that divine fire with which thou thyself dost ever burn. In thee let Holy Church find a safe shelter; protect her and be her dearest refuge, her tower of strength, impregnable against every assault of her enemies. Be thou the way which leads to Jesus, and the channel, through which we receive all the graces needful for our salvation. Be our refuge in time of trouble, our solace in the midst of trial, our strength against temptation, our haven in persecution, our present help in every danger, and especially) at the hour of death, when all hell shall let loose against u its legions to snatch away our souls, at that dread moment; that hour so full of fear, whereon our eternity depends. An,; then most tender virgin, make us to feel the sweetness of thy motherly heart, and the might of thine intercession with Jesus, and open to us a safe refuge in that very fountain of mercy, whence we may come to praise Him with thee in paradise, world without end. Amen.

Prayer Source: Prayer Book, The by Reverend John P. O'Connell, M.A., S.T.D. and Jex Martin, M.A., The Catholic Press, Inc., Chicago, Illinois, 1954

Sacred Heart Of Jesus

Sacred Heart Of Jesus image

Immaculate Heart of Mary

Immaculate Heart of Mary image

Blessed be the Most Loving Heart and Sweet Name of Our Lord Jesus Christ and the most glorious Virgin Mary, His Mother, in eternity and forever. Amen.

....Only the Heart of Christ who knows the depths of his Father's love could reveal to us the abyss of his mercy in so simple and beautiful a way ----From the Catechism. P:1439

From the depth of my nothingness, I prostrate myself before Thee, O Most Sacred, Divine and Adorable Heart of Jesus, to pay Thee all the homage of love, praise and adoration in my power.
Amen. - - St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

The prayer of the Church venerates and honors the Heart of Jesus just as it invokes his most holy name. It adores the incarnate Word and his Heart which, out of love for men, he allowed to be pierced by our sins. Christian prayer loves to follow the way of the cross in the Savior's steps.-- >From the Catechism. P: 2669

The Salutation to the Heart of Jesus and Mary

An Offering of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary

Novena Prayer to Sacred Heart of Jesus

Prayer to the Wounded Heart of Jesus

Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart

Meditation & Novena Prayer on the Sacred Heart

Beads to the Sacred Heart

Novena Prayer to the Immaculate Heart of Mary

A Solemn Act of Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary

The Daily Offering to the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Exaltation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Prayer to the Blessed Virgin

The Holy Heart of Mary Is, After the Heart of Jesus, the Most Exalted Throne of Divine Love
Let us recollect that God has given us the feast of the most pure Heart of the Blessed Virgin so that we may render on that day all the respect, honor and praise that we possibly can. To enkindle this spirit within us let us consider our motivating obligations.

The first is that we ought to love and honor whatever God loves and honors, and that by which He is loved and glorified. Now, after the adorable Heart of Jesus there has never been either in heaven or on earth, nor ever will be, a heart which has been so loved and honored by God, or which has given Him so much glory as that of Mary, the Mother of Jesus. Never has there been, nor will there ever be a more exalted throne of divine love. In that Heart divine love possesses its fullest empire, for it ever reigns without hindrance or interruption, and with it reign likewise all the laws of God, all the Gospel maxims and every Christian virtue.

This incomparable Heart of the Mother of our Redeemer is a glorious heaven, a Paradise of delights for the Most Holy Trinity. According to St. Paul, the hearts of the faithful are the dwelling place of our Lord Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ Himself assures us that the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost take up Their abode in the hearts of those who love God. Who, therefore, can doubt that the Most Holy Trinity has always made His home and established the reign of His glory in an admirable and ineffable manner in the virginal Heart of her who is the Daughter of the Father, the Mother of the Son, the Spouse of the Holy Ghost, who herself loves God more than all other creatures together?

How much then are we not obliged to love this exalted and most lovable Heart?

— St. John Eudes

Today: Immaculate Heart of Mary [DEVOTIONAL]

The Immaculate Heart of Mary [Devotional] Catholic/Orthodox Caucus
Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary [Catholic/Orthodox Caucus]
Saturdays and the Immaculate Heart of Mary [Catholic/Orthodox Caucus]
The Brown Scapular (Catholic Caucus)
The History of Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary (Catholic Caucus)
Homilies preached by Father Robert Altier on the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
Marian Associations Unite to Celebrate Immaculate Heart
Solemnity Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heart of Mary
FEAST OF THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY, AUGUST 22ND
Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary

August 2013
Pope's Intentions

Parents and Teachers. That parents and teachers may help the new generation to grow in upright conscience and life.

The Church in Africa. That the local Church in Africa, faithfully proclaiming the Gospel, may promote peace and justice.

Daily Gospel Commentary

The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary - Solemnity

Commentary of the day
Vatican Council II
Constitution on the Church « Lumen gentium », § 68-69 (trans. ©Libreria Vaticana editrice)

Mary, sign of certain hope and consolation for the Pilgrim People of God

The immaculate Virgin Mary, preserved from all stain of original sin, was raised up to the glory of heaven, body and soul, at the close of her life on earth and was exalted by the Lord as Queen of the universe so that she might resemble her Son, the Lord of Lords and Victor over sin and death, more perfectly,...Just as the Mother of Jesus, glorified in body and soul in heaven, is the image and beginning of the Church as it is to be perfected is the world to come, so too does she shine forth on earth, until the day of the Lord shall come (2Pt 3,10), as a sign of sure hope and solace to the people of God during its sojourn on earth.

It gives great joy and comfort to this holy and general Synod that even among the separated brethren there are some who give due honor to the Mother of our Lord and Savior, especially among the Orientals, who with devout mind and fervent impulse give honor to the Mother of God, ever virgin. The entire body of the faithful pours forth instant supplications to the Mother of God and Mother of men that she, who aided the beginnings of the Church by her prayers (Acts 1,14), may now, exalted as she is above all the angels and saints, intercede before her Son in the fellowship of all the saints, until all families of people, whether they are honored with the title of Christian or whether they still do not know the Savior, may be happily gathered together in peace and harmony into one people of God, for the glory of the Most Holy and Undivided Trinity.

Thursday, August 15, 2013
The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Solemnity)

First Reading:
Psalm:
Second Reading:
Gospel:

Revelation 11:19; 12:1-6, 10
Psalm 45:10-12, 16
1 Corinthians 15:20-27
Luke 1:39-56

I will worship towards Thy holy temple: and I will give glory to Thy name. Alleluia

-- Psalm 137:2

Friday, August 16, 2013
Weekday

First Reading:
Psalm:
Gospel:

Joshua 24:1-13
Psalm 136:1-3, 16-18, 21-22, 24
Matthew 19:3-12

My Lord and my God, take from me everything that distances me from you. My Lord and my God, give me everything that brings me closer to you. My Lord and my God, detach me from myself to give my all to you.

-- St. Nicholas of Flüe

Just A Minute (Listen)
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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.

Thank you, Salvation.

Mary, sweet Mary, pray for us!

[St. Luke, River Forest, IL]