Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Prayers to our Lady of Good Counsel for Virtue and Victor

Most Glorious Virgin, chosen by the Eternal Counsel to be the Mother of the Eternal Word made flesh, thou who art the treasurer of Divine graces, and the advocate of sinners, I, thy most unworthy servant, have recourse to thee; be thou pleased to be my guide and counselor in this vale of tears. Obtain for me through the Most Precious Blood of thy Divine Son, the forgiveness of my sins, the salvation of my soul, and the means necessary to obtain it. In like manner, obtain for Holy Mother the Church victory over her enemies, and the spread of the kingdom of Jesus Christ upon the whole earth. Amen.

Many popes have been great champions of Our Lady of Good Counsel and her image. Paul II first approved devotion to her. Popes Urban VIII, Pius IX and John XXIII all made trips to the church in Genarazzo to honor her. Pope Benedict XIV established the Pious Union of Our Lady of Good Counsel in 1753, which has included among its members the popes Pius VIII, Pius IX, Leo XIII, and Pius XII, who placed his papacy under her maternal care. He later composed this prayer to Our Lady of Good Counsel, which can be used as a novena:

O Holy Virgin, to whose feet we are led by our anxious uncertainty in our search for and attainment of what is true and good, invoking you by the sweet title of Mother of Good Counsel, we beseech you to come to our assistance, when, along the road of this life, the darkness of error and of evil conspires towards our ruin by leading our minds and our hearts astray. O Seat of Wisdom and Star of the Sea, enlighten the doubtful and the erring, that they be not seduced by the false appearances of good; render them steadfast in the face of the hostile and corrupting influences of passion and of sin. O Mother of Good Counsel, obtain for us from your Divine Son a great love of virtue, and, in the hour of uncertainty and trial, the strength to embrace the way that leads to our salvation. If your hand sustains us, we shall walk unmolested along the path indicated to us by the life and words of Jesus, our Redeemer; and having followed freely and securely, even in the midst of this world's strife, the Sun of Truth and Justice under your maternal Star, we shall come to the enjoyment of full and eternal peace with you in the haven of salvation. Amen.
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Virtual Tour of the National Basilica of the Immaculate Conception

Last week I took part in an East Coast road trip, visiting historical sites and shrines.  My travels took me to the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington DC on the campus of the Catholic University of America. Below is a virtual tour of the Basilica including the many altars in the crypt, the statues, the museum quality artifacts, and the Church.





















 

Tiara is from Paul VI and the stole was worn by John XXIII at the beginning session of Vatican II


















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Sunday, July 28, 2013
Virtual Tour: National Shrine of St. John Neumann

Please excuse the delay in recent posts as I have been traveling across much of the country this past week.  I was able to stop by the National Shrine of St. John Neumann, at which I shrine I saw the body of St. Neumann

Below is a series of photographs from that Shrine:

























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