Feastday of Our Lady, Queen Of The Apostles

During this Ascentiontide as we prepare to celebrate the descent of the Holy Ghost upon the Apostles and the Blessed Virgin Mary at Pentecost, there is a lesser-known feastday to our Lady on the Saturday after Ascension Thursday.

This is the Feastday of Our Lady, Queen of Apostles, is one of the Masses in Some Places that were a part of the Traditional Catholic Missal.  This feast day, in addition to being kept on the Saturday within the Octave of the Ascension, is kept annually on September 5th.

Excerpt from: “The Divine Life of the Most Holy Virgin”, by Ven. Mary of Agreda, pgs. 220-221:

Holy Exercises in the Supper-Room Before Pentecost: 

She [Mary] assembled them together twice a day in the Supper-room, and being commanded by St. John or St. Peter to speak, explained to them for one hour the mysteries of faith, as if she were conversing with them, rather than teaching them as their Mistress and Queen. She explained the mysteries of the Hypostatic Union and all those contained in the ineffable and divine Incarnation. After this she bade them entertain themselves for one hour longer on the counsels, promises and doctrines they had learned from their Divine Master; to consecrate another part of the day to the recital of the Pater Noster, with some psalms; and to employ the rest of the time in mental prayer. In the evening they took some slight nourishment of bread, fruits and fish; thus by prayer and fasting they prepared for the coming of the Holy Spirit. She incited them to mental prayer, teaching them its excellence and necessity, because the noblest occupation of the reasonable creature is to raise his mind above created things to meditate on the divine, and that nothing should be preferred to this holy exercise. 

By these holy lessons, the Mother of Wisdom and the Mistress of Charity enlightened the minds and inflamed the hearts of the Apostles and disciples, filling them with fervor and disposing them to receive the precious gifts of the Paraclete…

The following reflection for today is from OUR LADY'S FEASTDAYS by Rev. Lawrence G. Lovasik, S.V.D.

1. Mary, Mother of God, at Pentecost you were with the Apostles, preparing for the Holy Spirit the promised Gift of your Son. Prayer was the soul of your preparation, and the Apostles were inspired by your example. When the Holy Spirit descended, you received the richest outpouring of His graces. Your holiness was due to this Spirit of Love, to Whose guidance you abandoned yourself. All that He could give, He bestowed upon you, His Immaculate Bride. On the day of Pentecost the Apostles' worldly views about the Kingdom of God on earth were banished by the Spirit of God, and holiness replaced their imperfections, but no-taint of the slightest sin had to be removed from your virginal soul. He overshadowed you at the Annunciation and on Pentecost He made your heart a furnace of divine love.

Not only did the Holy Spirit pour into your soul a fullness of grace, but He entrusted to you, the Mother of the human family, the distribution of all grace. What was true of the effusion of the Holy Spirit on that day, is equally true of every outpouring of grace: God gives nothing to earth without causing the gift to pass through your hands.

Mary, My Mother, you always lived under the divine influence of the Holy Spirit and in the closest possible union with Him. Teach me to understand something of your love for the Holy Spirit and His love for you in keeping your soul beautiful and holy. Teach me to love Him with some of the love that glowed in your own heart so that my heart may always be His pleasing temple. Protect me from losing the Holy Spirit by sin. Make me ever attentive to His inspirations that I may grow in holiness and may merit to see this Divine Guest of my soul in the glory of His heavenly kingdom.

2. Mary, Mother of God, you are the Queen of the Apostles because you were the source of their inspiration and zeal. By your love of God and of His adopted sons, you aided the Apostles in the spread of Christ's Kingdom on earth. You could not accompany the Apostles while they fulfilled the duties of their ministry, but in silence and solitude, by the power of your prayers and the fervor of your charity, you were the master-missionary of them all.

The part that you have played in the spread of the Church and in its struggles and triumphs, clearly shows the Divine Plan in your regard. You have given to the world the Savior whom the Apostles have proclaimed. From you all missionaries have received the salvation which they bring to the nations. God has made you Queen and Protectress of the Church. You have the charge of keeping faith intact and love unimpaired in the Church founded by our Lord, and of spreading through the nations and over continents the knowledge of the Kingdom of God. Thanks to you, the grace and the sanctifying gifts of the Holy Spirit are scattered abroad over the Church and its members.

3. Mary, Queen of the Apostles, pray for the triumph of God's Kingdom upon earth. Through your powerful intercession promote the propagation of the faith. Give strength and courage to those who work for the salvation of souls as apostles of our own time so that following the example of the divine Missionary, Jesus Christ, they may labor zealously for the spread of God's Kingdom. Give them zeal that by prayer and sacrifice they may cooperate in the great work of the Redemption.
May your glorious example be imitated by countless youths and maidens who will give themselves to the Lord to carry on His work throughout the world. Increase the number of vocations to the priesthood and the religious life and awaken in many young hearts a zeal for the salvation of pagans and sinners.

Pray for more lay apostles, who in every walk of life will defend the rights of God, proclaim His Truth and preach His holy Will by word and example. Fill their hearts with the virtues of joyous zeal for God and for souls and a warm love for divine learning. Give me the same virtues in my state of life—a will inflamed with the desire that God's Will be done and a mind steeped in the knowledge of what that Will is. Give me enthusiasm and joy in the knowledge, the love and the service of the Lord.
Implore the grace of conversion for many pagans that they may come to the knowledge of the true faith and one day be united with the saints in heaven, there to love you and praise your mercy for all eternity. Bless our prayers and labors for the conversion of the world and support them by your powerful intercession with your Son, Jesus, that His Kingdom of Truth and Life, Holiness and Grace Justice. Love and Peace, may be spread among men.

Read more >>

St. Margaret of Cortona (Mass in Some Places)

While not the traditional Universal Roman Catholic Calendar, the Feast of St. Margaret of Cortona is celebrated on February 26th in the pre-1955 Traditional Catholic Missal as a "Mass in Some Places" (pro aliquibus locis). In leap years, her feastday is moved to February 27th.

St. Margaret of Cortona was born in Tuscany in 1247 AD.  Her mother died at a young age and she was raised by her step-mother who had little regard for her.  As a result, Margaret escaped at a young age and married a man from Montepulciano who still young.  She bore him a son.

After nine years, her lover was brutally and shockingly murdered.  As a result, Margaret returned to her father's house as a penitent.  Yet her father refused to accept her and her son. So she turned to the Friars Minor at Cortona where she received asylum.

Young Margaret had great difficult in progressing in virtue and overcoming the pernicious sins of the flesh.  She asked pardon for her past scandals and sought repentance; sometimes she was so severe that the Friars had to retrain her penance.

Margaret for a time earned a living by nursing the sick but eventually she gave up the profession and began to care for the poor without cost and living only on lams.  She joined the Third Order of St. Francis, and her son also joined the Franciscans a few years later.

St. Margaret advanced rapidly in prayer and was said to be in direct contact with Jesus, as exemplified by frequent ecstasies. Friar Giunta recorded some of the messages she received from God.

In 1286, Margaret was granted a charter allowing her to work for the sick poor on a permanent basis. Others joined with personal help, and some with financial assistance.

Soon thereafter, Margaret formed her group into tertiaries, and later they were given special status as a congregation which was called The Poverelle ("Poor Ones"). She also founded a hospital at Cortona and the Confraternity of Our Lady of Mercy. Some in Cortona turned on Margaret, even accusing her of illicit relations with Friar Giunta. All the while, Margaret continued to preach against vice and many, through her, returned to the Sacraments.

She showed extraordinary love for the mysteries of the Eucharist and the Passion of Jesus Christ. Divinely warned of the day and hour of her death, she died on February 22, 1297, having spent twenty-nine years performing acts of penance. She was canonized in 1728. Her body is incorruptible.

St. Margaret of Cortona, pray for us!

Source: Catholic.org

Read more >>

Betrothal of the Virgin Mary with St. Joseph (Mass in Some Places)

Today in the pre-1955 Traditional Catholic Missal is the Mass in Some Places (pro aliquibus locis) of The Betrothal of the Virgin Mary with St. Joseph.  Today is also referred to as the Espousals of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Worthy of reading and meditation today is the sermon given by His Eminence Cardinal Burke in January 2015 on the Marriage of the Virgin Mary with St Joseph.  It is available by clicking here.

The Catholic Encyclopedia entry on Devotion to St. Joseph is also worthy of consideration on this day and in particular, the passage that is bolded for today's feast:

Joseph was "a just man". This praise bestowed by the Holy Ghost, and the privilege of having been chosen by God to be the foster-father of Jesus and the Spouse of the Virgin Mother, are the foundations of the honor paid to St. Joseph by the Church. So well-grounded are these foundations that it is not a little surprising that the cult of St. Joseph was so slow in winning recognition. Foremost among the causes of this is the fact that "during the first centuries of the Church's existence, it was only the martyrs who enjoyed veneration" (Kellner). Far from being ignored or passed over in silence during the early Christian ages, St. Joseph's prerogatives were occasionally descanted upon by the Fathers; even such eulogies as cannot be attributed to the writers among whose works they found admittance bear witness that the ideas and devotion therein expressed were familiar, not only to the theologians and preachers, and must have been readily welcomed by the people. The earliest traces of public recognition of the sanctity of St. Joseph are to be found in the East. His feast, if we may trust the assertions of Papebroch, was kept by the Copts as early as the beginning of the fourth century. Nicephorus Callistus tells likewise -- on what authority we do not know -- that in the great basilica erected at Bethlehem by St. Helena, there was a gorgeous oratory dedicated to the honor of our saint. Certain it is, at all events, that the feast of "Joseph the Carpenter" is entered, on July 20, in one of the old Coptic Calendars in our possession, as also in a Synazarium of the eighth and nineth century published by Cardinal Mai (Script. Vet. Nova Coll., IV, 15 sqq.). Greek menologies of a later date at least mention St. Joseph on 25 or 26 of December, and a twofold commemoration of him along with other saints was made on the two Sundays next before and after Christmas.

In the West the name of the foster-father of Our Lord (Nutritor Domini) appears in local martyrologies of the ninth and tenth centuries, and we find in 1129, for the first time, a church dedicated to his honor at Bologna. The devotion, then merely private, as it seems, gained a great impetus owing to the influence and zeal of such saintly persons as St. Bernard, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Gertrude (d. 1310), and St. Bridget of Sweden (d. 1373). According to Benedict XIV (De Serv. Dei beatif., I, iv, n. 11; xx, n. 17), "the general opinion of the learned is that the Fathers of Carmel were the first to import from the East into the West the laudable practice of giving the fullest cultus to St. Joseph". His feast, introduced towards the end shortly afterwards, into the Dominican Calendar, gradually gained a foothold in various dioceses of Western Europe. Among the most zealous promoters of the devotion at epoch, St. Vincent Ferrer (d. 1419), Peter d'Ailly (d. 1420), St. Bernadine of Siena (d. 1444), and Jehan Charlier Gerson (d. 1429) deserve an especial mention. Gerson, who had, in 1400, composed an Office of the Espousals of Joseph particularly at the Council of Constance (1414), in promoting the public recognition of the cult of St. Joseph. Only under the pontificate of Sixtus IV (1471-84), were the efforts of these holy men rewarded by Roman Calendar (19 March). From that time the devotion acquired greater and greater popularity, the dignity of the feast keeping pace with this steady growth. At first only a festum simplex, it was soon elevated to a double rite by Innocent VIII (1484-92), declared by Gregory XV, in 1621, a festival of obligation, at the instance of the Emperors Ferdinand III and Leopold I and of King Charles II of Spain, and raised to the rank of a double of the second class by Clement XI (1700-21). Further, Benedict XIII, in 1726, inserted the name into the Litany of the Saints.

One festival in the year, however, was not deemed enough to satisfy the piety of the people. The feast of the Espousals of the Blessed Virgin and St. Joseph, so strenuously advocated by Gerson, and permitted first by Paul III to the Franciscans, then to other religious orders and individual dioceses, was, in 1725, granted to all countries that solicited it, a proper Office, compiled by the Dominican Pierto Aurato, being assigned, and the day appointed being 23 January. Nor was this all, for the reformed Order of Carmelites, into which St. Teresa had infused her great devotion to the foster-father of Jesus, chose him, in 1621, for their patron, and in 1689, were allowed to celebrate the feast of his Patronage on the third Sunday after Easter. This feast, soon, adopted throughout the Spanish Kingdom, was later on extended to all states and dioceses which asked for the privilege. No devotion, perhaps, has grown so universal, none seems to have appealed so forcibly to the heart of the Christian people, and particularly of the laboring classes, during the nineteenth century, as that of St. Joseph.

This wonderful and unprecedented increase of popularity called for a new lustre to be added to the cult of the saint. Accordingly, one of the first acts of the pontificate of Pius IX, himself singularly devoted to St. Joseph, was to extend to the whole Church the feast of the Patronage (1847), and in December, 1870, according to the wishes of the bishops and of all the faithful, he solemnly declared the Holy Patriarch Joseph, patron of the Catholic Church, and enjoined that his feast (19 March) should henceforth be celebrated as a double of the first class (but without octave, on account of Lent). Following the footsteps of their predecessor, Leo XIII and Pius X have shown an equal desire to add their own jewel to the crown of St. Joseph: the former, by permitting on certain days the reading of the votive Office of the saint; and the latter by approving, on 18 March, 1909, a litany in honor of him whose name he had received in baptism

The Catholic Encyclopedia further provides an entry specifically for this Feast:

A feast of the Latin Church. It is certain that a real matrimony was contracted by Joseph and Mary. Still Mary is called "espoused" to Joseph ("his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph", Matthew 1:18) because the matrimony was never consummated. The term spouse is applied to married people until their marriage is consummated (Colvenerius, Cal. Marian., 23 Jan.). Peter d'Ailly, chancellor of the University of Paris. (died 1420), and his famous disciple, Jean Charlier, called Gerson, were the first energetic propagators of the devotion in honour of St. Joseph. Gerson worked many years to effect the institution of a special votive feast (Thursday of ember week in Advent), the object of which should be the virginal espousal of Mary and Joseph. Gerson's friend, Henry Chicoti, canon of the cathedral chapter of Chartres, had bequeathed a certain sum for the celebration in the cathedral of this votive feast, for which Gerson had composed a proper Office. It seems that Gerson carried out the will of his friend, but tradition does not tell us on what day the feast was celebrated.

The first definite knowledge of a feast in honour of the espousals of Mary dates from 29 Aug., 1517, when with nine other Masses in honour of Mary, it was granted by Leo X to the Nuns of the Annunciation, founded by Sainte Jeanne de Valois. This feast was celebrated on 22 October as a double of the second class. Its Mass, however, honoured the Blessed Virgin exclusively; it hardly mentioned St. Joseph and therefore did not correspond to the idea of Gerson. Also purely as a feast of Mary it appears in the Missal of the Franciscans, to whom it was granted 21 Aug., 1537, for 7 March (double major). About the same time the Servites obtained the feast for 8 March. The Office of the Nativity of Mary was recited, changing the word Nativilas to Desponsatio. 

After the religious orders, among the dioceses which adopted the feast of the Espousals of Mary, Arras takes the lead. It has been kept there since 23 Jan., 1556. The first proper Office was composed by Pierre Doré, O. P. (died 1569), confessor of Duke Claude of Lorraine. This Office followed the outlines given by Gerson and commemorated both Joseph and Mary. Pierre Doré in 1546 unsuccessfully petitioned Paul III to extend the feast of the Desponsatio B. M. V. to the Universal Church. But even without the recommendation of the Apostolic See, the feast was adopted by many Churches. In Moravia it was in the sixteenth century kept on 18. July. In subsequent times Rome did not favour any further extension of the feast, but after it had been refused (1655) to the King of Spain, it was granted to the German Emperor for Austria, 27 Jan., 1678 (23. Jan.); in 1680 it was conceded to Spain, but transferred (13 July, 1682) to 26 Nov., because in Spain the feast of St. Ildephonsus or St. Raymond is kept 23. Jan. In 1680 it was extended to the entire German Empire, 1689 to the Holy Land (double, second class), 1702 to the Cistercians (20 Feb.), 1720 to Tuscany, and 1725 to the Pontifical States. In our days it is kept in nearly the entire Latin Church on 23 Jan., in the Spanish-speaking countries on 26 Nov., but it has never been extended to the Universal Church. Since Pius V abolished the Office of Pierre Doré and introduced the modern Office, it is again a feast of Mary. The commemoration of St. Joseph in Mass, Vespers, Lauds (decree 5 May, 1736) can only be made by a special privilege. 

Holweck, Frederick. "Espousals of the Blessed Virgin Mary." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 5. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. 19 Jan. 2016 .

Collect:

Bestow upon Thy servants, we beseech Thee, O Lord, the gift of Thy heavenly grace: that as the childbearing of the Blessed Virgin was the beginning of our salvation, so the solemn feast of her Espousals may bring us an increase of peace. Through our Lord.

Prayer Source: 1962 Roman Catholic Daily Missal

Read more >>

Expectation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Mass in Some Places)

“Drop down the dew from above, you heavens, and let the clouds rain the Just One! Let the earth be opened and bud forth a Savior!” (Isaiah 48:8).

Today in the pre-1955 Traditional Catholic Missal is the Mass in Some Places (pro aliquibus locis) of The Expectation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  The history of this special feast is related by the great liturgist of the modern era, Dom Prosper Guéranger in his Liturgical Year. 

THIS feast, which is now kept not only throughout the whole of Spain but in many other parts of the Catholic world, owes its origin to the bishops of the tenth Council of Toledo, in 656. These prelates thought that there was an incongruity in the ancient practice of celebrating the feast of the Annunciation on the twenty-fifth of March, inasmuch as this joyful solemnity frequently occurs at the time when the Church is intent upon the Passion of our Lord, so that it is sometimes obliged to be transferred into Easter time, with which it is out of harmony for another reason; they therefore decreed that, henceforth, in the Church of Spain there should be kept, eight days before Christmas, a solemn feast with an octave, in honour of the Annunciation, and as a preparation for the great solemnity of our Lord’s Nativity.. In course of time, however, the Church of Spain saw the necessity of returning to the practice of the Church of Rome, and of those of the whole world, which solemnize the twenty-fifth of March as the day of our Lady’s Annunciation and the Incarnation of the Son of God. But such had been, for ages, the devotion of the people for the feast of the eighteenth of December, that it was considered requisite to maintain some vestige of it. They discontinued, therefore, to celebrate the Annunciation on this day; but the faithful were requested to consider, with devotion, what must have been the sentiments of the holy Mother of God during the days immediately preceding her giving Him birth. A new feast was instituted, under the name of ‘the Expectation of the blessed Virgin’s delivery.’

This feast, which sometimes goes under the name of Our Lady of O, or the feast of O, on account of the great antiphons which are sung during these days, and, in a special manner, of that which begins O Virgo virginum (which is still used in the Vespers of the Expectation, together with the O Adonaï, the antiphon of the Advent Office), is kept with great devotion in Spain. A High Mass is sung at a very early hour each morning during the octave, at which all who are with child, whether rich or poor, consider it a duty to assist, that they may thus honour our Lady’s Maternity, and beg her blessing upon themselves. It is not to be wondered at that the holy See has approved of this pious practice being introduced into almost every other country. We find that the Church of Milan, long before Rome conceded this feast to the various dioceses of Christendom, celebrated the Office of our Lady’s Annunciation on the sixth and last Sunday of Advent, and called the whole week following the Hebdomada de Exceptato (for thus the popular expression had corrupted the word Expectato). But these details belong strictly to the archæology of liturgy, and enter not into the plan of our present work ; let us, then, return to the feast of our Lady’s Expectation, which the Church has established and sanctioned as a new means of exciting the attention of the faithful during these last days of Advent.

Most just indeed it is, O holy Mother of God, that we should unite in that ardent desire thou hadst to see Him, who had been concealed for nine months in thy chaste womb ; to know the features of this Son of the heavenly Father, who is also thine; to come to that blissful hour of His birth, which will give glory to God in the highest, and, on earth, peace to men of good-will. Yes, dear Mother, the time is fast approaching, though not fast enough to satisfy thy desires and ours. Make us redouble our attention to the great mystery; complete our preparation by thy powerful prayers for us, that when the solemn hour has come, our Jesus may find no obstacle to His entrance into our hearts.

Gregory DiPippo adds from a 2020 Facebook Page:

The feast of Our Lady's Expectation (Expectatio Partus) is a Spanish feast, which derives ultimately from the Mozarabic custom of keeping the feast of the Annunciation on Dec. 18. Even though the Mozarabic liturgy had almost completely disappeared by the early 15th century, this particular feast was evidently popular enough that they decided to insert it into the local Uses of the Roman Rite. At Badajoz, Burgos and Segovia, it was just called "the Annunciation", in Avila, Braga, Seville, and Compostela "the Commemoration of the Annunciation", at Palencia, either just "the Annunciation" or "the repeated solemnity of the Annunciation", and at Valladolid, "the festivity of St Mary before Christmas."

In many pre-Tridentine Spanish Missals, the Mass on Dec. 18 was therefore just a repetition of the Mass of March 25, sometimes with a different Collect, sometimes also with a different Secret and/or post-Communion, and often with a Sequence. In some other places, however, the Mass for the Expectation was the same one included in the supplement "pro aliquibus locis" in many editions of the Roman Missal, which is Roman Mass of Ember Wednesday "Rorate caeli", remodeled as a festive Mass by using the prayers of March 25th and adding an Alleluja.

Remember to pray the O Antiphon for December 18th today during Vespers along with the following

O Virgo Virginum:

O Virgin of virgins! How shall this be? For never was there one like thee nor will there ever be. Ye daughters of Jerusalem, why look ye wondering at me? What ye behold is a divine mystery.

Collect:

O God, Who didst will that at the message of an angel Thy word should take flesh in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary: grant that we, Thy suppliants, who believe her to be truly the Mother of God, may be helped by her intercession with Thee. Through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.

Read more >>

Saint Gregory the Illuminator

Today in the pre-1955 Traditional Catholic Missal is the Mass in Some Places (pro aliquibus locis) of Saint Gregory the Illuminator (also called Saint Gregory the Enlightener).  This feastday was set by Pope Gregory XVI in September 1837.

St. Gregory is the patron saint and first official head of the Armenian Apostolic Church. He was responsible for converting Armenia from paganism to Christianity in 301 AD.

St.Gregory the Illuminator, an Armenian nobleman, is recognized for evangelizing Armenia so rapidly that Armenia became the first nation to adopt Christianity as its state religion. St. Gregory first converted the king, Trdat III (Tiridates), and with his support, led massive “people movements” to Christ. This is the first case where a king's conversion led to the conversion of a nation. It preceded by a dozen years Constantine's edict of 313 AD whereby Christians were tolerated, but paganism was not banned, as it was in Armenia.

There are only a handful of Armenian Catholic Churches in the United States (view the full list here) - there are many more American Orthodox than Armenian Catholics.

Read more >>

Our Lady Refuge of Sinners (Mass in Some Places)

Today in some parts of the world, the Blessed Virgin Mary is honored with the title: Our Lady Refuge of Sinners.

Today in the pre-1955 Traditional Catholic Missal is the Mass in Some Places (pro aliquibus locis) of Our Lady Refuge of Sinners. 

The Refuge of Sinners Madonna is a painting by the Italian artist Luigi Crosio. It was painted in 1898 originally for the Kuenzil Brothers of Switzerland. In 1964 the Swiss province of the Schoenstatt Sisters purchased the original painting. It was then also called the Mother Thrice Admirable Madonna.

Collect Prayer:

O Almighty and merciful God, Who in the Blessed Virgin Mary hast given sinners a refuge and a help, grant us, who are protected by her, the forgiveness of all our sins and the blessings of Thy mercy. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

TAKEN FROM THE GLORIES OF MARY, CHAPTER 3, PART 2
by St. Alphonsus Liguori
Redemptorist Fathers, 1931
with Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur
There are three sources for our knowledge of and devotion to Our Lady, Refuge of Sinners:

St. John Bosco was given a vision wherein it was revealed that Our Lady is the resort of sinners and also the Lady of the Blessed Eucharist.

St. Alphonsus Liguori had a tremendous devotion to the Mother of God and suffered from scruples. He is known as the Doctor  of the Church who has promoted devotion to Our Lady as the hope or refuge of sinners and in his book, the Glories of Mary, he has several pages devoted to her as that refuge; the pages are scattered throughout, almost as a running theme within the overall theme.

There are specific devotions and feast days associated with our Lady of Refuge and or Our Lady of Confidence. The first is known as Our Lady of Montserrat [Spain]. The other is closely associated with Montserrat and Our Lady of Guadalupe and is a main devotion in Mexico. We have obtained a copy of the most famous of all of the Refuge images, that of the artist, Joseph de Paez. The image there is not quite as dark as Our Lady of Montserrat. All images of Our Lady of Refuge have her wearing the same crown as Our Lady of Confidence and also Jesus in her arms with His crown also, again just like the image of Confidence. So Our Lady must want sinners to also have confidence in her. While our Lady appears differently depending on the culture of the time, she really looks just like herself; thus, there is some resemblance in all her appearances and it is as if she is showing us all as we need to see her yet being herself physically speaking. I do not think it is a coincidence that her image as Refuge and Confidence are so similar. This presentation will focus on what St. Alphonsus instructs us regarding confidence in Mary as the refuge of sinners.

People outside the Church cannot endure our calling Mary our hope. They say that God alone is our hope, and that he curses those who put their trust in creatures according to Jeremiah the prophet in chapter 17, verse 5. They argue that since mary is a creature, she cannot be our hope. Yet, despite of this, the Church recommends that all priests and religious raise their voices every day in the name of the faithful and call mary by the sweet name of "Our Hope."

St. Thomas Aquinas says that we can place our hope in a person in two ways-----as a a principle cause and as a mediate cause. Thus, those who expect something from a king put their trust in him as their sovereign, and in his ministers or his favorite intercessors. When the favor is granted, it really comes from the king, though the favorite is the intercessor or intermediary. hence the petitioners have a right to call this intermediary through whom they received the favor, their "hope."

The King of Heaven, being infinite Goodness, desires in the highest degree to enrich us with His graces. But because confidence is a necessary condition for being heard, and because He wants to increase our confidence, He has given us His own mother as our Mother and intercessor, and granted her all power to help us. Those who put their trust in creatures alone, apart from God, as sinners are tempted to do, and who do not hesitate to outrage the Divine Majesty, just to gain the friendship and patronage of another human being, are certainly cursed by god in the sense intended by Jeremiah.

But those who place their trust in Mary, who [being the Mother of God] is able to secure grace and eternal life for them, are truly blessed and acceptable to the heart of God. he desires to see this greatest of all His creatures honored, since she honored and loved Him in this world more than all human beings and Angels together.

St. Bernard expounds the reason behind this when he says: "See the designs of God-----designs which make it possible for Him to dispense His mercy more abundantly. For, desiring to save the whole human race, He has laid the full price of redemption in Mary's hands, letting her dispense it at her pleasure."

And who needs this special intercessor and Mediatrix of all graces more, than the sinner, especially one tempted by despair? Mary does not know how to refuse compassion, she does not let the comfortless go away uncomforted, and she will persuade her Son to pardon the penitent and grieving sinner.

Read more >>

St. Benedict Joseph Labre: Patron Saint of the Homeless

According to the Catholic Calendar in place in 1954, today (April 16th) was a ferial day that also was noted as the Feast of St. Benedict Joseph Labre (Mass in Some Places).  As I have posted on several times before, the Masses in Some Places were feasts not on the universal calendar; these feastdays were specific to certain areas or even certain orders of the Church.

St. Benedict was born in 1748 in Boulogne France, the oldest of 15 siblings.  At the age of 22, St. Benedict left him for Rome to go on a pilgrimage.  By this time, he had already applied to and been denied entry into the austere Cistercian and Carthusian orders.

His pilgrimage lasted four years.  By the end of it, his clothing was nothing more than rags and his nourishment was poor as he relied on the alms of others.  He sought refuge when his health began to fail in a hospice in Rome.  He remained in Rome long after arriving at his destination.  He chose to reject all things of the earth to win the crown of glory.  He is the patron saint of the homeless.  May we do well to make the homeless aware of him by passing out to them prayer cards in his honor.

Many miracles after his death were attributed to his intercession.  Those miracles were particularly instrumental in the conversion of the John Thayer, the first American Protestant clergyman to convert to Catholicism.  Mr. Thayer was resident in Rome at the time of the saint's death

St. Benedict Joseph Labre was canonized relatively recently on December 8, 1881, by Pope Leo XIII.  But few Catholics know of him and keep this anniversary of his death on April 16th.  As such, I present the following excerpt in honor of St. Benedict Joseph Labre, so that his name may be more widely known:

He saw him last on the Friday before Holy Week, 1783, when Benedict came to make his confession as usual. He remarks that though always before Benedict had fixed the day when he would come again, this time he made no appointment. The next the priest heard of him was that he was dead, exactly a week later. 

But he was not surprised. For some months before, when once he had come to know Benedict and his way of life, he had wondered how he lived. Apart from his austerities, and his invariable choice of food that was least palatable, of late his body had begun to develop sores and ulcers. The priest had spoken to him on this last point, and had exhorted him at least to take more care of his sores, but Benedict had taken little notice. On his side, as the confessor could not but notice, and as is common with saints as death draws nearer, the love of God that was in him left him no desire to live any longer. 

It came to Wednesday in Holy Week. Among the churches which Benedict frequented none saw him more than S. Maria dei Monti, not very far from the Coliseum. In this church he usually heard mass every morning; in the neighborhood he was well known. On this day he had attended the morning services; as he went out of the door, about one in the afternoon, he was seen to fall on the steps. Neighbors ran towards him. He asked for a glass of water, but he could not lift himself up. A local butcher, who had often been kind to Benedict, offered to have him carried to his house, and Benedict agreed. They laid him on a bed, as they thought, to rest; but it soon became clear that he was dying. A priest was sent for, the Last Sacraments were administered; but Benedict was too weak to receive Viaticum. The prayers for the dying were said; at the words: "Holy Mary, pray for him," Benedict died, without a sigh or a convulsion. It was the 16th of April, 1783: Benedict was thirty-five years of age. 

And now some remarkable things happened. His confessor and first biographer writes: "Scarcely had this poor follower of Christ breathed his last when all at once the little children from the houses hard by filled the whole street with their noise, crying out with one accord: 'The Saint is dead, the Saint is dead.'—But presently after they were not only young children who published the sanctity of Benedict; all Rome soon joined in their cries, repeating the self-same words: 'A Saint is dead.' . . . Great numbers of persons who have been eminent for their holiness, and famous for their miracles, have ended the days of their mortal life in this city; but the death of none of them ever excited so rapid and lively an emotion in the midst of the people as the death of this poor beggar. This stirred a kind of universal commotion; for in the streets scarcely anything could be heard but these few words: 'There is a saint dead in Rome. Where is the house in which he has died?"' 

Nor does this description seem to have been exaggerated. Not only was it written within a year of the event, so that anyone could bear witness to its truth; but we know that scarcely was Benedict dead before two churches were contending for the privilege of possessing his body. At length it was decided that it should be given to S. Maria dei Monti, which he had most frequented; and thither, on the Wednesday night, it was carried. 

So great was the crowd that the guard of police had to be doubled; a line of soldiers accompanied the body to the church; more honor could scarcely have been paid to a royal corpse. 

From the moment that it was laid there the church was thronged with mourners; the next day, Maundy Thursday, and again throughout Good Friday, it almost lay in state during all the Holy Week services. The throng all the time went on increasing, so that the Cardinal Vicar was moved to allow the body to remain unburied for four days. People of every rank and condition gathered there; at the feet of Benedict the Beggar all were made one. They buried him in the church, close beside the altar, on Easter Sunday afternoon; when the body was placed in the coffin it was remarked that it was soft and flexible, as of one who had but just been dead. 

But the enthusiasm did not end with the funeral. Crowds continued to flock to the church, soldiers were called out to keep order. At length the expedient was tried of closing the church altogether for some days. It was of no avail; as soon as the church was reopened the crowds came again, and continued coming for two months. Nothing like it had been seen before, even in Rome; if ever anyone was declared a saint by popular acclamation it was Benedict Joseph Labre, the beggar. Then the news spread abroad. Within a year the name of Benedict was known all over Europe. Lives of him began to appear, legends began to grow, miracles, true and false, were reported from all sides; it was to secure an authentic story, among many inventions, that his confessor was called upon to write the Life that we know. 

Let us add one touching note. All this time the father and mother, brothers and sisters of Benedict were living in their home near Boulogne. For more than twelve years they had heard nothing of him; they had long since presumed that he was dead. 

Now, through these rumors, it dawned upon them very gradually that the saint of whom all the world was speaking was their son! "My son was dead, and is come to life again; he was lost, and is found." 

This excerpt is taken from the book SAINTS FOR SINNERS by Archbishop Alban Goodier, S.J. (1869-1939)

Read more >>

The Precious Blood (Friday after the Fourth Sunday in Lent)

Traditional Catholics will be familiar with the fact that the Feast of the Body of Christ (Corpus Christi) is kept on a separate date than the Feast of the Precious Blood.  The Feast of the Precious Blood is kept on July 1st.  The monthly is July is also especially dedicated to the Precious Blood Devotions.

However, there is also a Lenten Votive Mass that may be said on Friday after the 4th Sunday of Lent.  This was one of the Mass in Some Places that was part of the traditional Missal.

FEAST OF THE MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD.—For many dioceses there are two days to which the Office of the Precious Blood has been assigned, the office being in both cases the same. The reason is this: the office was at first granted to the Fathers of the Most Precious Blood only. Later, as one of the offices of the Fridays of Lent, it was assigned to the Friday after the fourth Sunday in Lent. In many dioceses these offices were adopted also by the fourth Provincial Council of Baltimore (1840). When Pius IX went into exile at Gaeta (1849) he had as his companion the saintly Don Giovanni Merlini, third superior general of the Fathers of the Most Precious Blood. Arrived at Gaeta, Merlini suggested that His Holiness make a vow to extend the feast of the Precious Blood to the entire Church, if he would again obtain possession of the papal dominions. The pope took the matter under consideration, but a few days later sent his domestic prelate Jos. Stella to Merlini with the message: "The pope does not deem it expedient to bind himself by a vow; instead His Holiness is pleased to extend the feast immediately to all Christendom". This was June 30, 1849, the day the French conquered Rome and the republicans capitulated. The thirtieth of June had been a Saturday before the first Sunday of July, wherefore the pope decreed (August 10, 1849) that henceforth every first Sunday of July should be dedicated to the Most Precious Blood.

ULRICH F. MUELLER

 

July 1st: The Precious Blood of Our Lord 1st Class Introit: Apocalypse v: 9-10 Redemisti nos, Dómine, in sánguine tuo, ex omni tribu, et lingua, et pópulo, et natióne: et fecísti nos Deo nostro regnum. [Ps. lxxxviii] Misericórdias Dómini in ætérnum cantábo: in generatiónem et generatiónem annuntiábo veritátem tuam in ore meo. Gloria Patri. Redemísti nos. Thou hast redeemed us, O Lord, in Thy blood, out of every tribe and tongue, and people and nation, and hast made us to our God a kingdom. [Ps. lxxxviii] The mercies of the Lord I will sing forever. I will show forth Thy truth with my mouth to generation and generation. Glory be.... Thou hast redeemed.... Collect: Omnípotens sempitérne Deus, qui unigénitum Fílium tuum mundi Redemptórem constituísti, ac ejus Sánguine placári voluisti: concéde quæsumus, salútis nostræ prétium (solémni cultu) ita venerári atque a præséntis vitæ malis ejus virtúte deféndi in terris; ut fructu perpétuo lætémur in cælis. Per eúmdem Dóminum. O almighty and everlasting God, who didst appoint Thine only-begotten Son the Redeemer of the world, and hast willed to be appeased by His blood; grant unto us, we beseech Thee, so to venerate (with solemn worship) the price of our redemption, and by its power be so defended against the evils of this life, that we may enjoy the fruit thereof for evermore in heaven. Through the same our Lord. Epistle: Hebrews ix: 11-15 Léctio Epístolæ beáti Pauli Apóstoli ad Hebræos: Fratres: Christus assístens póntifex futurórum bonórum, per ámplius et perféctius tabernáculum non manufác­tum, id est, non hujus creatió­nis neque per sánguinem hir­córum, aut vitulórum, sed per próprium sánguinem introívit semel in Sancta, ætérna re­demptióne invénta. Si enim sanguis hircórum et taurórum, et cinis vitulæ aspérsus, in­quinátos sanctíficat ad emun­datiónem carnis: quanto magis sanguis Christi, qui per Spíritum Sanctum semetípsum óbtulit immaculátum Deo, emmundábit consciéntiam nostram ab opéribus mórtuis, ad serviéndum Deo vivénti? Et ideo novi testiménti mediátor est: ut morte inter­cedénte, in redemptiónem eárum prævaricatiónem, quæ erant sub prióri testaménto, repromissiónem accípiant, qui vocáti sunt ætérnæ hereditátis: in Christo Jesu Dómino nostro. A reading from the Epistle of blessed Paul the Apostle to the Hebrews: Brethren: When Christ ap­peared as High Priest of the good things to come, He en­tered once for all through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is, not of this cre­ation, nor again by virtue of the blood of goats and calves, but by virtue of His own blood, into the Holies, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkled ashes of a heifer sanctify the unclean unto the cleansing of the flesh, how much more will the Blood of Christ, who through the Holy Ghost offered Him­self unblemished unto God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And that is why He is mediator of a new covenant; that whereas a death has taken place for redemption from the transgressions committed un­der the former covenant, they who have been called may have eternal inheritance according to the promise, in Christ Jesus our Lord. Gradual: 1 John v: 6,7-8 Hic est qui venit per aquam et sánguinem, Jesus Christus: non in aqua solum, sed in aqua et sánguine. Tres sunt, qui testimónium dant in cælo: Pater, Verbum, et Spíritus sanctus; et hi tres unum sunt. Et tres sunt, qui testimónium dant in terra: Spíritus. aqua, et sanguis; et he tres unum sunt. This is he that came by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. There are three in heaven who give testimony: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost; and these three are one. And there are three that give testimony on earth: the Spirit, the water and the blood; and these three are one. Alleluia, Allelúja. Si testimónium hóminum accípimus, testimónium Dei majus est. Allelúja. Alleluia, Allelúja. If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater. Allelúja. In votive Masses, after Septuagesima, the Allelúja verse is replaced by the Tract, as given below: Tract: Ephesians i: 6-8 & Romans iii: 24-25 Gratificávit nos Deus in dilécto Fílio suo, in quo habémus redemptiónem per sánguinem ejus. Remissiónem peccatórum, secúndum divítas grátiæ ejus quæ superabundávit in nobis. Justificáti gratis per grátiam ipsíus, per redemptiónem, quæ est in Christo Jesu. Quem propósuit Deus propitiatiónem per fidem in sánguine ipsíus. God hath graced us in His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption through His blood. The remission of sins, according to the riches of His grace, which hath superabounded in us. Being freely justified by His grace, through the redemption, which is in Christ Jesus. Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation, through faith in His Blood. In Paschaltide, both Gradual and Tract are replaced by the Allelúja Verse: Apocalypse v:9 & Exodus xii: 13 Alleluia, Allelúja. Dignus est Dómine, accípere librum et aperíre signácula ejus: quoniam occísus est, et redemísti nos, Deo in sánguine tuo.  Allelúja. Erit autem sanguis vobis in signum; et vidébo sánguinem, et transíbo vos: nec erit in vobis plaga dispérdens. Allelúja. Alleluia, Allelúja. Worthy art Thou, O Lord, to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: because Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God in Thy Blood.  Allelúja. And the Blood shall be to you a sign: and I shall see the blood and pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you. Allelúja. Gospel: John xix: 30-35 + Sequéntia sancti Evan­gélii secúndum Joánnem. In illo tempore: Cum accepísset Jesus acétum, dixit: «Consummátum est.»  Et inclináto cápite trádidit spíritum. Judæi ergo (quóniam Paracéve erat) ut non remanérent in cruce córpora sábbato (erat enim magnus dies ille sábbati), rogavérunt Pilátum, ut frangeréntur eórum crura, et tolleréntur. Venérunt ergo mílites: et primi quidem fregérunt crura, et altérius, qui crucifíxus est cum eo.  Ad Jesum autem cum veníssent, ut vidérunt eum jam mórtuum, non fregérunt ejus crura, sed unus mílitum láncea latus ejus apéruit, et contínuo exívit sanguis et aqua. Et qui vidit, testimónium perhibuit: et verum est testimónium ejus. Credo. + The continuation of the Holy Gospel according to John. At that time, Jesus, when He had taken the vinegar, said: "It is consummated!" And bowing His head, he gave up the ghost. The Jews, therefore, since it was the Passover, in order that the bodies might not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, besought Pilate that the legs of those crucified might be broken, and that they might be taken away. The soldiers, therefore came, and they broke the legs of the first, and of the other that was crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus; when they saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. But one of the soldiers opened His side with a lance, and immediately there came out blood and water. And he who saw it has borne witness, and his witness is true. Credo. Offertory: 1 Corinthians x: 16 Calix benedictionis, cui benedícimus, none communicátio sánguinis Christi est? Et panis, quem frángimus, nonne participátio córporis Dómini est? The chalice of benediction which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? And the bread which we break, is it not the partaking of the Body of the Lord? Secret: Per hæc divína mystéria ad novi, quæsumus, testaménti mediatórem Jesum accedámus: et super altária tua, Dómine virtútum, aspersiónem sánguinis mélius loquéntem quam Abel, innovémus. Per eúmdem Dóminum. We pray that through these divine mysteries, we may draw near to Jesus, the mediator of the New Testament: and upon Thine altars, O Lord of Hosts, may we renew the sprinkling of that blood which pleadeth better than that of Abel. Through the same Lord Jesus Christ.... Vere dignum et iustum est, æquum et salutáre, nos tibi semper et ubíque grátias ágere: Dómine, sancte Pater, omnípotens ætérne Deus: Qui salútem humáni géneris in ligno Crucis constituísti: ut unde mors oriebátur, inde vita resúrgeret: in quo ligno vincébat, in ligno quoque vincerétur: per Christum Dóminum nostrum. Per quem majestátem tuam laudant Angeli, adórant Dominatiónes, tremunt Potestátes. Cæli cælorúmque Virtútes, ac beáta Séraphim, sócia exsultatióne concélebrant. Cum quibus et nostras voces, ut admítti júbeas deprecámur, súpplici confessióne dicéntes: Preface of the Holy Cross It is truly meet and just, right and availing unto salvation, that we should in all times and in all places give thanks unto Thee, O holy Lord, Father almighty and everlasting God. Who didst set the salvation of mankind upon the tree of the Cross, so that whence came death, thence also life might rise again, and that he who overcame by the tree might also be overcome on the tree; through Christ our Lord. Through whom the angels praise Thy majesty, the dominations adore, the powers are in awe, the virtues of highest heaven and the blessed seraphim unite in blissful exultation. With them we praise Thee; grant that our voices too may blend, saying in adoring praise: Communion: Hebrews ix: 28 Christus semel oblátus est ad multórum exhauriénda peccáta: secundo sine peccáto apparébit exspectántibus se in salútem. Christ was offered once to exhaust the sins of many; the second time He shall appear without sin to them that expect Him, unto salvation. Postcommunion: Omnípotens sempitérne Deus, qui unigénitum Fílium tuum mundi Redemptórem constituísti, ac ejus Sánguine placári voluísti: concéde quaésumus, salútis nostræ prétium solémni cultu ita venerári, atquae a præséntis vitæ malus ejus virtúte deféndi in terris; ut fructu perpétuo lætémur in cælis. Per eúmdem Dóminum. We who have been admitted to the holy table, have drawn waters with joy from the fountains of the Savior. May His Blood, we beseech Thee, be within us as a fountain of water springing up unto eternal life; Thou who livest and reignest with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Ghost, one God, World without end. Amen.

Read more >>

Feast of the The Holy Shroud (Friday after the Second Sunday in Lent)

The Shroud of Turin has been subjected to a variety of scientific examinations to confirm its authenticity using scientific methods, despite the rather obvious conclusion that the intricacy and detail on the Shroud could not have been merely created by antiquated Medieval technology. In fact, the Turin Center of Colorado has demonstrated that the fold marks found on the Shroud indicate it once resided in Constantinople in the 10th-11th centuries, in contrast to those who claim that the shroud was a 14th-century forgery.   Such a claim corroborates historians who maintain that the Lord's burial cloth was in the possession of Byzantine emperors before the Sack of Constantinople in 1204 AD. 

The Holy See remained silent on the Shroud until the middle of the 20th century when, in 1940, Sister Maria Pierina De Micheli obtained authorization from Archdiocese of Milan to produce the Holy Face Medal with the image of the Holy Shroud. And Pope Pius XII subsequently approved the image in 1958 in connection with devotion to the Holy Face and the Feast of the Holy Face which he instituted to be said on Shrove Tuesday of each year in reparation for the offenses of Mardi Gras. 

Closer to our times, Pope Benedict XVI further expressed his own belief in the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin as the Lord’s own burial cloth by calling it "a truly mysterious image, which no human artistry was capable of producing. In some inexplicable way, it appeared imprinted upon cloth and claimed to show the true face of Christ, the crucified and risen Lord.”  Yet while the Church has officially not decreed that the Shroud of Turin is the actual burial cloth of the Lord, the scientific evidence of the Turin Center of Colorado points to this reality. As Holy Mother Church affirms in her actions, whether or not the cloth is authentic has no bearing on the validity of what our Lord taught or on the saving power of His death and resurrection.

The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 15, 1913 states: "In 1206 one of the (supposed) Winding Sheets used at the burial of Christ was brought to Besançon by Otto de La Roche, and the feast of its arrival (Susceptio) was ordered to be kept on 11 July. At present, it is a double of the first class in the cathedral, and of the second class in the diocese. The Office is very beautiful. Another feast originated about 1495 at Chambéry, in Savoy, to honour the so-called sudario of Christ which came there in 1432 from Lirey in Burgundy, and which since 1578 is venerated in the royal chapel of the cathedral of Turin. This feast is celebrated on 4 May, the day after the Invention of the Cross, and was approved in 1506 by Julius II; it is now kept in Savoy, Piedmont, and Sardinia as the patronal feast of the royal House of Savoy (4 May, double of the first class, with octave). A third feast, the Fourth Sunday in Lent (translation to a new shrine in 1092), was during the Middle Ages kept at Compiègne in France, in honour of a winding sheet brought there from Aachen in 877. The feast which since 1831 is contained in the appendix of the Breviary, on the Friday after the Second Sunday in Lent, is independent of any particular relic, but before 1831 it was rarely found on the diocesan calendars. It has not yet found its way into the Baltimore Ordo. The office is taken from the Proprium of Turin." 

The Most Holy Shroud of Our Lord Jesus Christ Friday after the Second Sunday of Lent Mass in Some Places From the pre-1955 Missal  Introit: Philippians ii: 8-9 Our Lord Jesus Christ humbled Himself unto death, even unto death upon the Cross: Therefore God has also exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above all names. [Ps. lxxxviii: 2] I will sing the mercies of the Lord for all eternity: for generation after generation His truth will be in my mouth. Glory be.... Our Lord Jesus Christ.... Collect O God, who hast left us a relic of Thy passion in the holy shroud in which Thy body, taken down from the Cross, was wrapped by Joseph [of Arimathea]: grant, we beseech Thee; that through Thy death and burial, we may be brought to the glory of resurrection. Thou who livest and reignest..... A Reading From The Prophet Isaias lxii: 11; lxiii: 1-7 Thus says the Lord God: Say to the children of Sion: Behold the Lord hath made it to be heard in the ends of the earth, tell the daughter of Sion: Behold thy Savior cometh: behold his reward is with him, and his work before him. Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bosra, this beautiful one in his robe, walking in the greatness of his strength. I, that speak justice, and am a defender to save. Why then is thy apparel red, and thy garments like theirs that tread in the winepress? I have trodden the winepress alone, and of the Gentiles there is not a man with me: I have trampled on them in my indignation, and have trodden them down in my wrath, and their blood is sprinkled upon my garments, and I have stained all my apparel. For the day of vengeance is in my heart, the year of my redemption is come. I looked about, and there was none to help: I sought, and there was none to give aid: and my own arm hath saved for me, and my indignation itself hath helped me. And I have trodden down the people in my wrath, and have made them drunk in my indignation, and have brought down their strength to the earth. I will remember the tender mercies of the Lord, the praise of the Lord for all the things that the Lord hath bestowed upon us. Gradual: Ps. lxviii: 21-22 Insult has broken my heart, and I am weak, I looked for sympathy, but there was none; for comforters, and I found none. Rather they put gall in my food, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. Tract: Isaias: liii: 4-5 Surely He hath borne our infirmities and carried our sorrows: and we have thought Him, as it were, a leper, and as one struck by God and afflicted. But He was wounded for our iniquities, He was bruised for our sins: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and by His bruises we were healed. In Masses outside of Lent the tract is omitted and replaced by: Alleluia, Alleluia. Hail, our King: Thou alone art merciful in spite of our errors: Obedient to the Father Thou wert led to be crucified, as a humble lamb to the slaughter. Alleluia During Paschaltide: Alleluia, Alleluia. Hail, our King: Thou alone art merciful in spite of our errors: Obedient to the Father Thou wert led to be crucified, as a humble lamb to the slaughter. Alleluia To Thee be glory, hosanna: to Thee be triumph and victory: to Thee be the highest praise and the crown of honor. Alleluia. Mass said in front of the Shroud of Turin Gospel: Mark xv: 42-46  The continuation of the holy Gospel according to Mark: At that time, when evening was now come (because it was the Parasceve, that is, the day before the sabbath), Joseph of Arimathea, a noble counselor, who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God, came and went in boldly to Pilate and begged the body of Jesus. But Pilate wondered that he should be already dead. And sending for the centurion, he asked him if he were already dead. And when he had understood it by the centurion, he gave the body to Joseph. And Joseph, buying fine linen and taking him down, wrapped him up in the fine linen and laid him in a sepulchre which was hewed out of a rock. And he rolled a stone to the door of the sepulchre. Credo Offertory: Leviticus xvi: 2 et 5 Aaron entered into the tabernacle in order to offer a holocaust upon the altar for the sins of the sons of Israel, clothed in a linen tunic.. Secret May these offerings be acceptable to Thee, O lord.: Whose Son didst graciously stand forth in His glorious passion for the salvation of the world. Thou who livest and reignest.... Preface of the Holy Cross It is truly meet and just, right and availing unto salvation, that we should in all times and in all places give thanks unto Thee, O holy Lord, Father almighty and everlasting God. Who didst set the salvation of mankind upon the tree of the Cross, so that whence came death, thence also life might rise again, and that he who overcame by the tree might also be overcome on the tree; through Christ our Lord. Through whom the angels praise Thy majesty, the dominations adore, the powers are in awe, the virtues of highest heaven and the blessed seraphim unite in blissful exultation. With them we praise Thee; grant that our voices too may blend, saying in adoring praise: Communion Hymn: Mark xv: 46 Joseph, buying fine linen and taking him down, wrapped him up in the fine linen shroud. Postcommunion: Be satisfied, O Lord, with the holy offerings of Thy servant: we ask Thee; that the death of Thy Son in time, which mystery we venerate, may give us confident assurance of perpetual life. Thou who livest and reignest with the same God the Father....

Read more >>

The Sacred Lance and Nails (Friday after the 1st Sunday in Lent)

Image Source: Leo Reynold Photo of the Instruments of the Passion taken at Reepham, Norfolk, England, UK on June 10, 2006.

The Facebook Page "Restore the '54" produces an account for this unique feastday:

This Feast is found in the Missae pro Aliquibus Locis of the Roman Missal. "The Supreme Pontiff, Innocent VI, in his decree establishing the Feast and Office of the Lance and Nails, which pierced the body of our crucified Lord Jesus Christ, exhorts all the faithful to have a special veneration for, and devotion to, all the sacred instruments of our Savior's Passion. The following are his words: "We should honor the most holy Passion of our Lord and Redeemer, Jesus Christ, in such manner that, meditating on all the mysteries and merits of the same Passion, we venerate also each sacred instrument thereof. Then this holy and zealous Pontiff, coming more directly to the honor due to the lance and nails, says: "Although the lance and nails, and the other sacred instruments of the Passion, should be everywhere venerated by the faithful of Christ, and though every year the Church celebrates the solemn offices of the same Passion, yet we deem it proper and fitting that a special solemn feast should be instituted and celebrated in honor of those particular instruments of the Passion, more especially in those places wherein these salutary instruments are preserved. Hence we wish to encourage this devotion by special office and privileges. " (Innocent VI in Decret. de Fest. Lane, et Clav. Domini)."

The Lance, also known as the spear of Longinus is kept in the Vatican Basilica, given to Innocent VIII in 1492. The nails were kept with the Crown of Thorns, along with a small piece of the Lance of Longinus at Saint Chapelle, France and were subsequently lost during the French Revolution. The crown of thorns was the only relic saved and is now kept at Notre Dame Cathedral.

The Sacred Lance and Nails of Our Lord Jesus Christ
Friday after the First Sunday of Lent

Mass Said in Some Places

Introit: Ps. xxi: 17-18 et 15

They have pierced my hands and my feet: they have numbered all my bones: and I am poured out as water [Ps. Ibid., 15] My heart has become like wax melting away within my bosom. Glory be.... They have pierced.

Collect

O God, who in assuming flesh was afflicted by the Nails, and didst will to be wounded by the Lance for the salvation of the world: grant, we beseech Thee; that we who solemnly venerate the Nails and Lance on earth, may enjoy the glorious triumph of victory in heaven. Thou who livest and reignest.....

A Reading From The Prophet Zacharia
xii: 10-11; xiii: 6-7

Thus saith the Lord: And I will pour out upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace, and of prayers: and they shall look upon me, whom they have pierced: and they shall mourn for him as one mourneth for an only son, and they shall grieve over him, as the manner is to grieve for the death of the firstborn. In that day there shall be a great lamentation in Jerusalem. And they shall say to him: What are these wounds in the midst of thy hands? And he shall say: With these I was wounded in the house of them that loved me. Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that cleaveth to me, saith the Lord of hosts: strike the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn my hand to the little ones: saith the Lord almighty.

Gradual: Ps. lxviii: 21-22

Insult has broken my heart, and I am weak, I looked for sympathy, but there was none; for comforters, and I found none. Rather they put gall in my food, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

Tract: Isaias: liii: 4-5

Surely He hath borne our infirmities and carried our sorrows: and we have thought Him, as it were, a leper, and as one struck by God and afflicted. But He was wounded for our iniquities, He was bruised for our sins: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and by His bruises we were healed.

In Masses outside of Lent the tract is omitted and replaced by:

Alleluia, Alleluia. Hail, our King: Thou alone art merciful in spite of our errors: Obedient to the Father Thou wert led to be crucified, as a humble lamb to the slaughter. Alleluia

During Paschaltide:

Alleluia, Alleluia. Hail, our King: Thou alone art merciful in spite of our errors: Obedient to the Father Thou wert led to be crucified, as a humble lamb to the slaughter. Alleluia To Thee be glory, hosanna: to Thee be triumph and victory: to Thee be the highest praise and the crown of honor. Alleluia.

Gospel: John xix: 28-35
†
 The continuation of the holy Gospel according to John:

Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, said: «I thirst.» Now there was a vessel set there, full of vinegar. And they, putting a sponge full of vinegar and hyssop, put it to his mouth. Jesus therefore, when He had taken the vinegar, said: «It is consummated.» And bowing His head, He gave up the ghost. Then the Jews (because it was the parasceve), that the bodies might not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day (for that was a great sabbath day), besought Pilate that their legs might be broken: and that they might be taken away. The soldiers therefore came: and they broke the legs of the first, and of the other that was crucified with him. But after they were come to Jesus, when they saw that He was already dead, they did not break his legs. But one of the soldiers with a spear opened His side: and immediately there came out blood and water. And he that saw it hath given testimony: and his testimony is true.
Credo

Offertory

Evil men rose up against Me: without mercy they sought to kill Me: they did not hesitate to spit in My face: with their lances they wounded Me, and they have struck all My bones.

Secret

Sanctify us O Lord, we beseech Thee, with this holy and immaculate evening sacrifice: which Thine only-begotten Son offered on the Cross for the salvation of the world. Thou who livest and reignest....

Preface of the Holy Cross

 It is truly meet and just, right and availing unto salvation, that we should in all times and in all places give thanks unto Thee, O holy Lord, Father almighty and everlasting God. Who didst set the salvation of mankind upon the tree of the Cross, so that whence came death, thence also life might rise again, and that he who overcame by the tree might also be overcome on the tree; through Christ our Lord. Through whom the angels praise Thy majesty, the dominations adore, the powers are in awe, the virtues of highest heaven and the blessed seraphim unite in blissful exultation. With them we praise Thee; grant that our voices too may blend, saying in adoring praise

Communion Hymn

The looked upon Him whom they have pierced, when they shook the foundations of the earth.

Postcommunion:

Lord Jesus Christ, who didst spontaneously offer Thyself on the Cross as an immaculate holocaust to God the Father; we beseech Thee; that from this same sacrifice we may obtain Thine indulgence, and eternal glory. Thou who livest and reignest with the same God the Father....

Read more >>

Feast of the Crown of Thorns (Mass in Some Places)

This reliquary contains the Crown of Thorns of our Lord as recovered by King St. Louis IX.

The Friday after Ash Wednesday in the Traditional Missal before 1955 has a "Mass in Some Places" that may be said.  This special Mass is for the The Feast of the Crown of Thorns.  The Catholic Encyclopedia summarizes:

The first feast in honour of the Crown of Thorns (Festum susceptionis coronae Domini) was instituted at Paris in 1239, when St. Louis brought thither the relic of the Crown of Thorns, which was deposited later in the Royal Chapel, erected in 1241-8 to guard this and other relics of the Passion.  

The feast, observed on 11 August, though at first special to the Royal Chapel, was gradually observed throughout the north of France. In the following century another festival of the Holy Crown on 4 May was instituted and was celebrated along with the feast of the Invention of the Cross in parts of Spain, Germany, and Scandinavia. It is still kept in not a few Spanish dioceses and is observed by the Dominicans on 24 April.  

A special feast on the Monday after Passion Sunday was granted to the Diocese of Freising in Bavaria by Clement X (1676) and Innocent XI (1689) in honour of the Crown of Christ. It was celebrated at Venice in 1766 on the second Friday of March.  

In 1831 it was adopted at Rome as a double major and is observed on the Friday following Ash Wednesday. As it is not kept throughout the universal Church, the Mass and Office are placed in the appendices to the Breviary and the Missal. The hymns of the Office, which is taken from the seventeenth-century Gallican Breviary of Paris, were composed by Habert. The "Analecta hymnica" of Dreves and Blume contains a large number of rhythmical offices, hymns, and sequences for this feast.

I recommend the meditation on today's historic feast at The Guild of Blessed Titus from a 2013 post.  Also, the meditation shared on the Irish Dominican blog from 2010's Feast is also very worth reading this day as a source of meditation.

Prayer: 

Grant, we beg, almighty God: that we, who in memory of the passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ do revere His thorny Crown on earth, by Him may deserve "to be crowned with glory and honour" (cf. Ps 8:6) in heaven: Who with Thee liveth and reigneth...

Read more >>

Flight into Egypt (Mass in Some Places)

Today in the pre-1955 Traditional Catholic Missal is the Mass in Some Places (pro aliquibus locis) of The Flight Into Egypt.  In honor of this day, I share the following prayers and meditations in honor of this event in the life of our Blessed Mother Mary:

Flight Into Egypt by Jacob Jordaens

Manual of Devotions in Honour of the Seven Dolours, 1868

First Point

No sooner was Jesus born than He began to be persecuted by Herod, who then ruled over the Jews. This ambitious prince, hearing that the long-expected Messias was come into the world "to deliver His people, Israel," was seized with envy and alarm. He feared lest this Saviour should supplant him in his authority and usurp his throne; therefore he sought to destroy him whilst he was yet a helpless babe. When the wise men came to Jerusalem from the east, enquiring "Where is He who is born King of the Jews?" Herod, thinking the time had arrived to rid himself of his supposed rival, called them privately, and learned diligently of them at what time the star which guided them from the East had first appeared: then, sending them into Bethlehem, he said: "Go, and diligently enquire after the child; and when you have found Him, bring me word again, that I also may come and adore Him." He hoped, by this deceitful stratagem, to obtain possession of our Lord. But, like all God's enemies, in the long run he deceived himself; for our Lord's "time was not yet come " to be betrayed and put to death.

After the wise men had found Jesus, adored Him and presented before Him their choicest gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, they were warned by a token from God that they should not return to Herod. They therefore went back another way into their own country.

When the envious tyrant found that his impious plans were thus brought to nought, like Pharao, King of Egypt, he hardened his heart yet further, and formed the cowardly and savage design of slaying by the sword every male child in that part of the country from two years old and under. For he concluded from what the Magi had told him, that the Messias would surely be among the victims to his cruelty. But it is the extreme of folly for man to oppose the Creator and fight against his God. Here, again, Herod's wicked purposes are most wonderfully brought to nothing. He hoped by thus murdering all the male infants in and about Bethlehem, that Jesus would also be slain. But after the Magi had departed, an angel of the Lord appeared in sleep to Joseph, saying:

"Arise, and take the child and his mother, and fly into Egypt, and be there until I shall tell thee; for it will come to pass that Herod will seek the child to destroy Him."

And here let me contemplate the cause of Mary's second Dolour.

St. Joseph, obedient to the command of the Heavenly messenger, at once arose and hastened to the Blessed Virgin, telling her what had been made known to him. Then, indeed, it was that the second sword transfixed the heart of Mary. How bitter, exclaims St. John Chrysostom, must have been the pain which was excited in the heart of Mary when she heard of the exile of herself and Son!" And, indeed," says St. Alphonsus, "what greater tribulation could there be, than that a poor young mother should be forced to fly with her new-born babe far away from home, from friends to strangers, from the hallowed sanctuary of the Lord to the polluted temples of devils." It was at the dead of night that the Blessed Virgin heard from the lips of St. Joseph the afflicting news; and, to add to her grief and embarrassment, the journey to Egypt was very long and toilsome, nor had she the provisions to sustain them on it. Mary doubtless reflected upon all these difficulties; great indeed, therefore, must have been her distress. She feared for the safety of her Child--she trembled for her spouse--she trembled for herself; nevertheless, she was perfectly obedient to the voice of Heaven. Nor did she complain of her lot; but, seated upon an ass, with Jesus in her arms and Joseph by her side, she departed at once from Bethlehem.

Mary knew perfectly that the fruit of her womb was God. She knew that although His Divine Majesty had humbly clothed Himself with human nature, He had not therefore lost the attributes of the Deity. Hence she was well aware that He still held in His Omnipotent hand the slender thread of Herod's life, and that, did Jesus but will it, that impious tyrant would be deprived of throne and power and breath. She was not ignorant that, when "the earth was void and empty and darkness was upon the face of the deep," then by His Almighty word light was made, and "all things were created by Him and in Him"--moreover that, as the Apostle goes on to say, "by Him all things consist, and by His frown all would be destroyed." The same Omnipotence, she knew well, could laugh to scorn the kings of the earth, and that, should the sacred Humanity of her Child demand aid from the Eternal Father, He would give Him presently more than twelve legions of angels to sweep His enemies from the earth.

Therefore, when Joseph announced to her that they were to hasten with the Babe into Egypt in order to save His life, we may imagine her speaking such words as these: Why need we fear Herod's wildest attempts? Why fly from a power that cannot touch or harm us? What can man do against my Son? Is He not truly God? Moreover, has not His enemy been already twice defeated in His plans? Why not this time also? Let us then remain here in peace and confidence. But does the Blessed Virgin thus excuse herself from the toils and pains which the Heavenly message enjoined? Far from it! She knew that the Divine will is ever to be obeyed; she knew also that such was the desire of her Divine Child. Hence, on hearing from Joseph the message of the Archangel, she at once complied, and, without the delay of a moment, the Holy Family set out on their long journey of obedience--certain of the command, uncertain of its duration. This only did they know, that they were to remain in Egypt until the Archangel spoke again.


Let me here contemplate the prompt obedience of the Mother of God--how it puts to shame my past obstinacy and self-will.

Ten great commandments has my Creator given me. Do I fulfil them? Do I sincerely worship Him by faith, hope and charity? If not, my obedience is most unlike that of Mary. Do I ever take the name of the Lord, my God, in vain? If so, I am disobedient. Do I observe devoutly the Sabbath day? If not, I am not like Mary. Am I truly obedient to my parents, to my pastors, and other lawful superiors? If not, I am far indeed from being like Mary. Do I from time to time foolishly allow anger on my brow? Do I ill-treat my neighbour or ever seek revenge? Am I given to a life of debauchery, or to the sins of uncleanness? Do I wrong any one in his property by negligence, stealth, or fraud? Have I at any time robbed another person of his good name, or tarnished his character by unnecessary or lying informations? Have I ever desired my neighbour's wife, or envied his acquirements or his riches? Oh, if I have not kept the holy precepts which God has given me, surely I can claim no resemblance to her who, in obedience to the will of Heaven--despite the greatest inconvenience of time, of distance and fatigue--forsook her dearest friends, her much-loved home, to live in exile in an unknown land. Pray, then, my soul--pray fervently to this Holy Virgin, and cease not until she grants thy supplication, and obtains for thee from her Son the virtue of heroic obedience. Thus wilt thou be enabled to overcome all thy enemies; for, as Solomon testifies, "The obedient man shall speak of victory."

Second Point

Let me accompany this afflicted Mother into Egypt, and compassionate her on the long and cheerless journey thither. The distance from Bethlehem to Heliopolis, the city in which the Holy Family took refuge, was very great, and appears still greater when we consider the imperfect modes of conveyance then in use. It is commonly said to have been about four hundred miles, and was rarely accomplished in less than forty days. The way was rough, unfrequented, and wild; the season the very depth of winter. Neither hospitable house nor warm clothing defended from its severity this tender Virgin and her still more tender Child. No doubt she had frequently to contend with violent storms and winds, and vainly endeavoured to shield her infant from the snow or rain. Great indeed must have been her sufferings! I seem to see her from time to time fainting from sheer fatigue. Had she been as robust as other women, the severity of this journey might not have weakened her so greatly; but tradition tells us that she was of a most delicate frame; moreover, she was then very young, being no more than fifteen or sixteen years of age, and had but just become a mother. What added yet more to her sorrow was that no food remained either for St. Joseph or herself. The little provision which in their haste they had brought with them, must have been soon consumed, and perhaps for half the journey none could be procured. During that long and toilsome way, Mary had also to give nourishment to her Son. Alas! poor Mother! how must his piteous cries have pierced her heart! "What greater-pang," says St. Alphonsus, "can a mother suffer than to behold her child weak and hungry, and be unable to minister to its wants?"

Nor were these the only sufferings endured by the Blessed Virgin during the flight into Egypt. Those who travel now, even the poorest, can get some lodging, however humble, where they can rest at night and find a shelter from the wind and rain. But it was not so with the Mother of God. She was for nearly forty days exposed to the severities of the winter, with only the bare ground to sleep upon, and with no roof to shield her from the storm.

Oh! how can I pamper my body when I contemplate the Mother of the Most High vainly endeavouring each night to rest her wearied frame on the damp earth; in vain! for how could she possibly close her eyes in sleep, when she feared each moment lest some wild beast, or, still more terrible, some messenger from Herod might come to rob her of her child! Half of her perilous journey was through thick forests, half through the wilderness of Arabia. Whilst in the former, the falling of withered leaves, the rustling of shrubs, and the crackling of the branches of trees, sounded, most likely, to her attentive ear, like unto the near approach of robbers or the coming of ravenous wolves. When in the latter, she had to traverse over long tracts of sand, with no shelter whatever, and exposed completely to thirst, dust, excessive heat or excessive cold, according to the state of weather on each successive day. No doubt the drifting of the sands, the darkening of the sky, and the thick mists of noon and morning, must have alarmed her greatly lest some fierce hurricane might break out and destroy them in the wilderness.

But, oh! how far more must she have feared lest, on account of all these severities of the journey, she might lose her life's sole happiness, her darling Babe, lest He might die; "for Mary," says St. Bonaventure, "was not so much concerned for her own sufferings as for those of Jesus." She would keep her dear Son from danger of dew and cold, but how could she? She presses Him to her loving breast; but all in vain, for she herself is totally unprovided for the inclemencies of the weather. Had she the means, she would also comfort St. Joseph; but what help could she give him? She could administer nothing to him save encouraging words, and this no doubt she did, in spite of fatigue of body and of mental anguish. Hagar, in the desert of Beersheba, is a striking picture of the Blessed Virgin in her flight into Egypt. The Sacred Scripture tells us, in the 21st chapter of Genesis, that the water being exhausted, Hagar placed her son, Ismael, under a tree, and, withdrawing from him that she might not see him die, she abandoned herself to tears and groans until the angel came to console her. But Thou, O God, alone knowest how greatly Mary was convulsed with grief when she beheld the sufferings of her Child. I ask for grace to understand this great affliction, which even angels cannot comprehend without special light from Thee. Let this sorrow of thy daughter, O Heavenly Father, be deeply imprinted on my heart, that I may lovingly compassionate her who suffered with so much patience! This much, however, is granted me to know, that her affliction for her Divine Son must have almost infinitely surpassed in pain all the tears, groans, despair, and anguish of broken-hearted Hagar: since Mary fully understood that the life of Jesus was far more precious than the lives of all the children of Adam.

From the mournful journey of Mary with her spouse and child, through dark and wild woods, and through the Arabian desert, Christians are to learn, says Cornelius a Lapide, how to deport themselves during their long pilgrimage in this vale of tears. The world is the road to Heaven. But it is a very rough and dangerous path; experience teaches this to all. As I travel onwards, I am blown to and fro by contrary winds of temptation, while the rain of persecution and tribulation beats hard against me, or reproach, like snow, freezes my heart. Since such is indeed the case, I must never forget the afflicted Mother of God. She is patient under all her fatigues and sufferings. I must also be patient. She does not care for the severities of the season, nor should I be cast down by afflictions; I should courageously combat against them, asking the help of God's grace. She delays not on her journey, but makes it with great speed; neither should I, therefore, suffer the foolish toys of this world to stop my progress towards Heaven.

Oh! my soul, when, during thy exile here below, thou seemest rather to be struggling amidst tempests and whirlwinds than living in serenity, forget not Mary on her way to Egypt, if thou wouldst not be destroyed by the storms. If the strong winds of temptation blow, be not afraid, but look at Mary in the desert. If from time to time thou art beaten on all sides by the violent rain of pride, ambition, detraction, or jealousy, consider Mary in the desert. If the terrible thunders or the ravaging lightnings of anger, hatred, or revenge, disturb thy peace; or if despair, like a blight, withers the heart, think of the conduct of thy Mother in the woods and desert; see her patience, her faith, her unbounded hope, her entire reliance on the providence of God. If, my soul, the dust of imperfection or the gloom of the journey trouble or discourage thee, remember Mary on her way to Egypt. If the filth and mire of lust impede thee on thy way, do not forget Mary. In dangers, in anguish, anxiety, and doubt--in all thy troubles during thy pilgrimage towards Heaven, think of Mary in the desert. Let her sorrow there never depart from thy mind, thy heart, thy lips. Following her, thou wilt not go astray; praying to her, thou wilt not despair; led by her hand, thou wilt not fall to the ground; under her protection, thou needest not fear; she being leader, thou wilt not be fatigued; and by her gentle guidance thou wilt happily reach thy destination, where, with the holy angels, thou wilt praise her forever. (See St. Bernard, on the Name of Mary.)

Prayer

Behold, most afflicted Mother, thy humble client praying at thy feet. Here will I kneel, contemplating thy wonderful obedience and heroic patience: thy wonderful obedience in fulfilling so readily the onerous command of Gabriel, the Archangel; thy heroic patience in doing so without murmur or complaint. O Mary, dearest Virgin Mary, obtain for me, I beseech thee, these two beautiful virtues. Teach me also how to journey safely through this vale of tears. Comfort me in my sorrows, help me in my wants, and never suffer me to deviate from the right path, but as a star guides the mariner securely into port, so do thou, my protectress, conduct me safely to Heaven. Most sincerely do I compassionate thee in that indescribable woe which thou didst feel when in the dreary desert, and I devoutly beg of thee to stamp deeply on my heart thy second bitter Dolour, that with thee, dear afflicted Mother, I may suffer and weep here below, and be glad and rejoice with thee in Heaven. Amen.

Ejaculation.

Mary, O Dolorous Virgin, obtain for me holy patience and obedience, and safely conduct me through the perils of this world to Jesus, the haven of salvation.

Say "three Ave Marias in honour of all Mary suffered in Nazareth, for an increase of Hope."

Collect Prayer from this Mass:

O God, the Protector of those who trust in Thee, Who willed that Your Only-begotten Son, Our Redeemer, be rescued from the sword of Herod by the flight into Egypt: grant to us, your servants, through the intercession of the Most Blessed Ever-Virgin Mary, His Mother, that, freed from all dangers of mind and body, we may merit to arrive at our heavenly fatherland.  Through the same Our Lord…

Read more >>