Friday, October 20, 2006
Behold the Heart of Jesus!

"Behold this heart, which has loved men so much, that it has spared nothing, even to exhausting and consuming itself, in order to testify to them its love and in return i receive from the greater number nothing but ingratitude by reason of their irreverence and sacrileges and by the coldness and contempt which they show me in this sacrament of love. But what i feel the most keenly is that it is hearts which are consecrated to me that treat me like this. Therefore, i ask of you that the friday after the octave of corpus christi be set apart for a special feast to honor my heart, by receiving holy communion on that day and making reparation to it by a solemn act in order to make amends for the indignities which it has received during the time it has been exposed on the altars. I promise you that my heart shall expand itself to shed in abundance the influence of its divine love upon those who shall likewise honor it and cause it to be honored"

(Jesus' Words to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque)
Read more >>
Pray the Rosary for the Pope



Please post this graphic on your blog and let your readers know that they can post it on their blogs too! Fellow friends in Christ, between November 28th and December 1st Pope Benedict XVI will be journeying to Turkey. At this time in history, the Holy Father desperately needs our prayers. And the Rosary has been called the most powerful prayer after the Mass. At Fatima, Mary asked all mankind to "say the Rosary every day to obtain peace for the world and the end of [World War I]." And, concerning herself, she said, "I am the Lady of the Rosary."

Start praying the Rosary for the Pope today! I will frequently post reminders about this on my blog for the next month.
Read more >>
NBC will not show Madonna's "Crucifixion"

Deo Gratis! (Thanks be to God!)

I just read on Catholic Fire that NBC will not be showing the part of Madonna's Confessions tour when she is hanging on the Cross. It is a mockery of Jesus Christ's Crucifixion!

Catholic League's Bill Donahue said the following:


“NBC did the right thing, but the fact that it did not say why the offensive part of Madonna’s concert was cut shows cowardice. What NBC should have done is to admit that since it refused to air the Danish cartoons that Muslims objected to earlier in the year, it felt obliged not to treat Christians in a discriminatory manner. On September 20, I wrote to NBC chief Bob Wright making this point.

“Pressure politics were at work, too. On September 29, a letter was sent to Bob Wright by Brent Bozell, president of the Parents Television Council, and me, warning him that we would boycott one of the sponsors of the Madonna concert if the ‘Mock Crucifixion’ part were not excised; we would decide via a conference call the next day which sponsor would receive our Christmas present. In addition to the Catholic League and the Parents Television Council, the following groups said they would join the boycott: American Family Association, Morley Institute, Christian Film and Television Commission, Jews Against Anti-Christian Defamation, Traditional Values Coalition and Women Influencing the Nation.

“Congratulations to all these groups, and most especially to Don Wildmon’s American Family Association for being out in front on this issue.”
Read more >>
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Praying the Rosary for Pope Benedict XVI

Fellow friends in Christ, between November 28th and December 1st the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, will be visiting Turkey. At this time in history, the Holy Father desperately needs our prayers. And the Rosary has been called the most powerful prayer after the Mass. At Fatima, Mary asked all mankind to "say the Rosary every day to obtain peace for the world and the end of [World War I]." And, concerning herself, she said, "I am the Lady of the Rosary."

So, please I will be posting a few days before his trip all the way through December 1st. I will be posting how to pray the Rosary as well as posting the mysteries for that day. Please join me in spreading news around other Catholic blogs! Please participate!

Also, feel free to display the graphic above on your blogs. I created it for that reason. I got this idea from the suggestion of Argent by the Tiber.
Read more >>
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
A Prayer for the Sick


O Lord Jesus Christ, who during your brief life on earth went about doing good to all men and women, be merciful to me in this my hour of special need.

Divine Healer, your tender heart was ever moved at the sight of pain and affliction. I beg of you, if it be your holy will, to help me regain my strength. Send forth healing to all who suffer, whether in mind or body. Grant to each of us that peace of mind which you alone can give.

Father in heaven, I thank you for all the good things that you have bestowed upon me, especially for the precious gift of life. Thank you for having so loved the world that you sent us your Son, Jesus Christ, who died for our salvation.

Jesus, my savior and friend, grant to all people the blessings of good health both in mind and body. Help us to do your will in all things. Give us strength to love and heal one another, ever remembering your words, "Whatever you do to the least of my brothers, that you do unto Me."

Recommended Reading: Saints for the Sick: Heavenly Help for Those Who Suffer

Read more >>
A Beautiful Restoration: Sacred Heart Chuch in Peoria

Fr. Gonzales of Fifty Sophomoric Summers posted a beautiful before/after photos of a restoration of a Catholic Church.  This is from Sacred Heart Church in Peoria, Illinois.  It is really promises to see such wonderful restorations taking place.  They've added onto the church, making room for new confessionals, among other things; new mosaics and stained glass are being installed, as well as a new organ.

BEFORE:



AFTER:



Truly now a dwelling more appropriate in which our Lord and Savior may dwell.
Read more >>
Feastday of St. Luke

Today is the Feastday of St. Luke, patron of physicians and writer of the Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke.

Prayer:

Most charming and saintly Physician, you were animated by the heavenly Spirit of love. In faithfully detailing the humanity of Jesus, you also showed his divinity and his genuine compassion for all human beings. Inspire our physicians with your professionalism and with the divine compassion for their patients. Enable them to cure the ills of both body and spirit that afflict so many in our day. Amen.
Read more >>
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Prayer for the Most Forgotten Soul

O Lord God Almighty, I beseech Thee by the Precious Body and Blood of Thy divine Son Jesus, which He Himself on the night before His Passion gave as meat and drink to His beloved Apostles and bequeathed to His Holy Church to be the perpetual Sacrifice and lifegiving nourishment of His faithful people, deliver the souls in purgatory, but most of all, that soul which was most devoted to this Mystery of infinite love, in order that it may praise Thee therefore, together with thy Divine Son and the Holy Spirit in Thy glory forever. Amen.
Read more >>
Humility by Father Cajetan

In Paradise there are many saints who never gave alms on earth: their poverty justified them. There are many saints who never mortified their bodies by fasting or wearing hair-shirts: their bodily infirmities excused them. There are many saints, too, who were not virgins: their vocation was otherwise.

But in Paradise there is no saint who was not humble. God banished angels from heaven for their pride; therefore how can we pretend to enter therein if we do not keep ourselves in a state of humility? To be humble is to be truthful before God, for what is humility but a recognition of ourselves as totally dependent on Him? Saint Vincent de Paul said: "The reason God is such a great lover of humility is that He is a great lover of truth. Humility is, in fact, truth, while pride is nothing but lying."

From Humility of Heart by Father Cajetan
Read more >>
Monday, October 16, 2006
St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

Optional Memorial (1969 Calendar): October 16
Double (1955 Calendar): October 17

Today the Church celebrates and remembers the life of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, who spread devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Born July 22, 1647, at L'Hautecourt, Burgundy, France, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque was healed from rheumatic fever, a crippling disorder, at a young age by a vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary. During her suffering, she developed an intimate relationship with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, the Holy Eucharist. In the vision, Our Lady prompted St. Margaret to give her life to God. In 1671 after receiving a vision of Christ's Scourging, she entered the Order of the Visitation.

Beginning on December 27, 1673, through 1675, Our Lord appeared to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque asking her to receive Him in Holy Communion on the first Friday of every month and to meditate on His passion from 11:00 PM to 12:00 midnight each Thursday. He also revealed to her twelve promises for all who are devoted to His Sacred Heart; he asked for a Feast of the Sacred Heart to be instituted in the liturgical calendar of the Church.

Yet, St. Margaret Mary would suffer much for the sake of the Sacred Heart. She was immediately rebuffed by Mother de Saumaise, her superior. She finally won over Mother de Saumaise, but theologians and members of her community would not believe the validity of the apparitions.

In 1675, St. Margaret Mary met St. Claude la Colombière, a newly ordained priest who was the Superior of a group of Jesuits in Burgundy. St. Claude would serve as her confessor for many years. He would specifically assist St. Margaret Mary in spreading devotion to the Sacred Heart before he was sent to England to serve as the confessor to the Duchess of York.

Finally in 1683 Mother Melin was elected Superior of the Community, and Margaret Mary was made her assistant. St. Margaret Mary would even become the Novice Mistress. In 1686 the convent began to privately observe the Feast of the Sacred Heart. Two years later a chapel was built at the Paray-le-Monial in honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Following this, several nearby convents would begin to observe the feast. It was not until after her death on October 17, 1690, that the Feast of the Sacred Heart was approved for specific dioceses by Pope Clement XIII in 1765. Pope Pius IX would extend the Feast of the Sacred Heart to the entire Church in 1856, and in 1899 Pope Leo XIII finally dedicated the whole world to the Sacred Heart.

St. Margaret Mary was finally canonized by Pope Benedict XV in 1920. In 1928, Pope Pius XI upheld the Church's position regarding the credibility behind her visions of Jesus Christ. 

Fr. Pierre Duverger in "Devotion to the Sacred Heart" summarizes the lasting importance of St. Margaret Mary:
What was lacking in the devotion to the Sacred Heart before the time of St. Margaret Mary? 
Before St. Margaret Mary, this devotion was practiced not only by a few privileged souls, such as St. Gertrude and St. Catherine of Siena, but also, thanks to St. John Eudes, by a large part of the Christian people. What, then, was lacking? 
First of all, the spirit of the devotion was perfected. Until this time those devoted to the Sacred Heart had chiefly rendered praise and thanksgiving to Him. 
There was no emphasis on reparation.  
It was, however, our Lord’s desire that we realize how unknown is His love and make reparation. Recognition of the infinite tenderness of the Divine Love is important, but it is of equal import to make reparation for the sins of the world. 
Of course fervent souls had already thought of this. But in a time where the Faith was weakening and the Divine Love was increasingly disregarded and insulted, it became important to emphasize reparation. It was Margaret Mary’s mission to draw the attention of loving souls toward this aspect of the devotion and to inspire souls to reparation, inviting them to turn to the forgotten and scorned Love.

Her body is incorruptible

For more information on the 12 promises and devotion to the Sacred Heart, see my post: Devotion to the Sacred Heart.

Prayer:

O Lord Jesus Christ, Who to the blessed virgin Margaret Mary didst in a wondrous manner reveal the unsearchable riches of Thy Heart: by her merits grant, that loving Thee after her example in all things and above all things, we may obtain an abode in Thy Heart forevermore. Who livest and reignest.

Prayer Source: 1962 Roman Catholic Daily Missal
Read more >>


Copyright Notice: Unless otherwise stated, all items are copyrighted under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. If you quote from this blog, cite a link to the post on this blog in your article.

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links on this blog are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. As an Amazon Associate, for instance, I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases made by those who click on the Amazon affiliate links included on this website. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”