St. Philip Benizi

Double (1955 Calendar): August 23

St. Philip Benizi (1233 - 1285 ) was a Servite cardinal and preacher. In 1233, St. Philip was born in Florence, Italy, to a noble family. As a young man, he was educated in Paris and Padua where he earned a doctorate in medicine and philosophy. He practiced medicine for some time, but in 1253 he joined the Servite Order in Florence. He served as a lay brother until 1259, when his superiors directed him to be ordained.

St. Philip soon became known as one of the foremost preachers of his era, becoming master of novices at Siena in 1262 and then superior of several friaries and prior general of the Servites in 1267 against his own wishes.

Reforming the order with zeal and patience, he was named as a possible candidate to become pope by the influential Cardinal Ottobuoni just before the election to choose a successor to Pope Clement IV. This possibility was so distressing to the humble saint that he fled and hid in a cave until the election was finally over.

He attended the Council of Lyons which brought about a brief reunion with the Orthodox, worked to bring peace between the Guelphs and the Ghibellines in 1279, assisted St. Juliana in founding the third order of the Servites, and in 1284, dispatched the first Servite missionaries to the Far East. He retired to a small Servite house in Todi, where he died on August 22, 1285. He was canonized in 1671.

Prayer

O God, You have set before us an outstanding example of humility in the person of Your blessed confessor Philip. Grant us, Your servants, the grace to follow his example and spurn earthly riches in order to strive after the treasures of heaven. Through our Lord…

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Mass Propers: Octave Day of the Assumption (Feast of the Immaculate Heart)

Today according to the 1962 Calendar is the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.  Below are the Mass Propers for this Feast along with commemorations of the Octave Day of the Assumption which was in place up until the 1955 Calendar of Saints.

INTROIT

Hebrews 4: 16

Let us go with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace in seasonable aid. (Ps. 44: 2) My heart hath uttered a good word: I speak my works to the King. v. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost, as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

COLLECT - Let us pray. Almighty, everlasting God, who didst prepare in the Heart of the Virgin Mary a worthy dwelling-place for the Holy Ghost; mercifully grant that we, devoutly contemplating the festivity of the same Immaculate Heart, may be enabled to live according to Thy heart. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, Forever and ever. R.Amen.

COMMEMORATION OF THE OCTAVE DAY OF THE ASSUMPTION - Let us pray. Forgive, we beseech Thhe, O Lord, the sins of Thy servants, that we, who by our own deeds are unable to please Thee, may be saved by the intercession of the Mother of Thy Son, our Lord, Who with Thee liveth and reigneth in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, one God Forever and ever. R.Amen.

EPISTLE

Eccles. 24: 23-31

As the vine I have brought forth a pleasant odor, and my flowers are the fruit of honor and riches. I am the mother of fair love, and of fear, and of knowledge, and of holy hope. In me is all grace of the way and of the truth in me is all hope of life and of virtue. Come over to me, all ye that desire me, and be filled with my fruits; for my spirit is sweet above honey, and my inheritance above honey and the honey-comb. My memory is unto everlasting generations. They that eat me, shall yet hunger; and they that drink me, shall yet thirst. He that hearkeneth to me, shall not be confounded, and they that work by me, shall not sin. They that explain me shall have life everlasting. Thanks be to God.

GRADUAL

My heart shall rejoice in thy salvation: I will sing to the Lord, who giveth me good things: yea I will sing to the name of the Lord the most high. V. (Ps. 44: 18) They shall remember thy name throughout all generations. Therefore shall people praise thee for ever: yea, for ever and ever.

Alleluia, alleluia. V. (Luke 1: 46, 47) My soul doth magnify the Lord. And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. Alleluia.

GOSPEL

John 19: 26-27

At that time, there stood by the cross of Jesus, His mother, and His mother's sister Mary of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalen. When Jesus therefore had seen His mother and the disciple standing, whom He loved, He saith to His mother,"Woman, behold thy son." After that He saith to the disciple, "Behold, thy mother." And from that hour the disciple took her to his own.

OFFERTORY

Luke 1: 46

Let us pray. My spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior; because He that is mighty hath done great things to me: and holy is His name.

SECRET Offering the Immaculate Lamb to Thy Majesty, O Lord, we beg that the divine fire which ineffably inflamed the Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary may be lighted in our hearts. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, one God Forever and ever. R.Amen.

SECRET FOR THE OCTAVE DAY May the prayer of the Mother of God aid Thy people, O Lord: and although we know her to have passed out of this life, fulfilling the lot of the flesh, may we experience her intercession for us with Thee in Heavenly glory. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, one God Forever and ever. R.Amen. 

COMMUNION

John 19: 27

Jesus said to His mother: Woman, behold thy son: Then He said to the disciple: Behold thy mother. And from that hour, the disciple took her to his own. 

POST COMMUNION - Let us pray. Refreshed by divine gifts, we humbly beseech Thee, O Lord, that, by the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the solemnity of whose Immaculate Heart we have just venerated, we may be freed from present dangers and may attain to the joys of eternal life Through the same Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, one God For ever and ever. R. Amen. .

POST COMMUNION FOR THE OCTAVE DAY - Let us pray. Now that we have received, O Lord, the Sacrament of salvation, grant, we beseech Thee, that through the merits and the intercession of the blessed Virgin Mary, who was taken up into heaven, we may be brought to the glory of the resurrection. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, one God Forever and ever. R.Amen.

Sources: Saint Andrew Daily Missal and the Marian Missal , 1945

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Catholic Picture of the Day

Mass in a cathedral while a convalescing, badly burned American officer lies in bandages. Leyte, Philippines, by W. Eugene Smith, 1944, LIFE

H/T Adoremus in Aeternam

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Is the Traditional Latin Mass Right for All Parishes?

We all too often hear the argument that the Novus Ordo Mass is needed in our world to make the Mass accessible to the common man.  The Novus Ordo is seen as a bridge by some in the Traditional Community.  Their argument is namely that a person should experience the Novus Ordo in totality before ever experiencing the Traditional Mass.

Have you heard of these arguments? Have you believed them?  Do you still believe them?

I say that the Traditional Latin Mass is needed everywhere - in all parishes at all times. 

That's bold.  That implies that the Novus Ordo isn't needed as a bridge and that a Jew or Muslim or pagan could outright convert to the Catholic Faith by means of a Mass said in an unfamiliar language with "strange" rituals and ancient practices.  How can this be?  The liberals gasp.

We first need to consider the effect of the Vatican II changes on the Liturgy and on the life of the Church.  When we live in the midst of a problem, the problem does not usually seems as horrid as it is for someone who considers it over a larger content.  By this same principle, it is said that a frog will immediately jump out of a pot that is boiling.  But if you put the frog into a pot of cold water and slowly increase the temperature to boiling then the frog will allow itself to boil alive.  In much the same way, those of us born into the disorder of the past 50 years can no longer understand the full and egregious impact of many of the changes.

 The First Mass said in the New World (St. Augustine, FL)

In the Winter 2011 edition of The Latin Mass Magazine, Mr. Nicholas Postage in "A Moribund Mass and the Catholic Counterculture" does a excellent job of illustrating the problems inherent in the main stream Church - errors that directly affect the assertion that the Novus Ordo is needed as a bridge.

I quote from Mr. Postgate:

The place: your typical American parish, not yet blessed by the application of Summorum Pontificum. The time: Any Sunday of the year (chances are it’s a “Sunday of Ordinary Time,” which befits a form of liturgy so ordinary. The music: smiling ditties of indescribable triteness. The congregation consists of children who have not been catechized, are bored to death, and would rather be texting or playing video games; young adults who are fornicating or masturbating in their spare time, as this is the gospel they receive in their schools, and no one even thinks of impeding their vices or correcting their errors; married couples who, with a few happy exceptions, contracept their marital vocation out of existence; older folks who, under the lifelong influence of the capitalist secularism that animates contemporary America, attend church because it’s a good habit, like brushing one’s teeth or wearing clean clothes. Hardly anyone is morally prepared for prayer, and hardly anyone actually prays. The sign of this is, of course, the unstoppable chitchat that pervades the church before the “gathering hymn” fills the electrified air and resumes right after the “scattering hymn” is over and the altar girls are on their way out. In between was the obligatory reception of a wafer in the hands, for some strange reason that no one can quite explain, except that it’s got something to do with belonging.

The Priest who heads, or shall we say, presides over the congregation is not better than his flock; in fact, he is worse. He does no mental prayer or lection divina; perhaps he does not pray or study in any serious way at all—which is obvious from the shallow and vaguely relevant homilies he gives. His life is busy but superficial. He runs a strong risk of being immoral in some egregious manner, whether through rampant gossip, entertainment-saturated indolence, self-indulgence at the table, or worse forms of intemperance. In short, the people are lost, confused, surrendered to the all-pervasive secularism, and so is their Priest, except that he can hide it better. Nay, he has often gone one step further: invoking Vatican II, he magically makes lack of faith, lack of doctrine, lack of morals sound like a pious accommodation to the contemporary world.

Does this sound like your parish?  Perhaps it does in some respects and it is for that reason that you feel the Traditional Mass might be too "much" for your fellow parishners.  Let's continue reading from Mr. Postgate's article:

The Novus Ordo liturgy is practically empty of spiritual content. No wonder the Church has not been able to stand against the onslaught of a militantly secularist anti-culture. Her highest and most precious resource in the spiritual combat was stripped away. The shift from the Missal of 1962 to the Missal of 1970 was like going from a cannon to a butter knife, from marching trumpets to party favors.   

Bringing the liturgy closer in its externals to modern life meant bringing it closer to the meaninglessness and profanity of modern life. Thinking they were doing people a favor, the woolly shepherds of the Church ironically gave her sheep and goats an excuse to give up going to Mass altogether, because the new Mass, having become an echo of the vulgar world, was truly no longer relevant: it could offer nothing, give nothing to us that we did not already have to satiety. The only thing that can possibly be relevant is that which is totally and intrinsically irrelevant to the grinding routine of modern life. The old liturgy carried on in baffling and mysterious isolation, as though it did not pay attention at all to the world’s going to hell in a customized handbasket. And this was wise, profoundly wise. Many Catholics of the last forty years who stopped attending Mass, or never started going in the first place, would have attended the old liturgy, if only because it breathes a spirit of peace and timelessness so utterly and refreshingly contrary to the spirit of modernity.

That is the sort of thing that attracted many Catholic converts, for instance, Thomas Merton, when you look at their conversion stories. To abandon this “irrelevance” was, in fact, to make the Mass finally truly irrelevant, in the sense that it no longer answered a deep, wordless need to meet the divine, the sacred, the presence of God’s kingdom in mystery. The reformed liturgy in sterilized English with third-rate folk music managed to announce, in spite of itself, that the Catholic Church has nothing to offer that cannot very easily be found elsewhere, in more potent form.

Interested in the latest popular music? Look elsewhere. Interested in feeling the feeling of togetherness? Look elsewhere. This kind of self-indulgent collectivism flourishes more outside church doors than within them—which would make the official clerical attempt to imitate it laughable, if it were not sacrilegious.

Catholic identity is still dying.  We are not proud of our heritage.  Do we forget that it was the Latin Mass that converted millions of the pagans of Germany in the time of St. Boniface or the pagans of North America in the 1500s?  It was the Latin Mass with all of its ritual, beauty, and mystery that spread the reign of Christ and won untold numbers of converts and saints.  It was that Mass that we need - a Rite of Mass capable of saving our modern world from its abass of moral decay.  It is the Traditional Mass that is the antidote to the problem! 

As Mr. Postgate concludes:

Some “conservative” Bishops might think that, confronted with such a dire situation, the last thing they should care about is restoring sacred music, chant, Latin, and such things to the Church’s worship. “Don’t we have more important, more urgent things to worry about?” they mutter with a worried frown. But this is to miss the whole point. The main reason Catholic identity is now so weak is that, forty years ago, we began experimenting and tinkering with God’s sacred mysteries, and now nothing seems holy, nothing permanent, nothing worth reverencing, nothing worth genuflecting before. If each and every local church does not make the solemn, sacred, self-effacing worship of God its absolute pastoral priority, one by one they will go extinct, drowning in an ocean of mediocrity, relativism, irrelevance—in a word, a total lack of Catholic identity, which comes to us from above, through the Sacred Liturgy. The Church will survive and thrive only where her Shepherds have the wisdom to seek first the Kingdom of God, letting all other things be given afterwards.

As well put by Mr. Mark Riddle in his just published article Does the Latin Mass 'Work' Everywhere?:

What does that tell us, then, about the argument for using an inculturated new liturgy to achieve the conversion of modern men who are not in any meaningful way part of the classical Western tradition?

Ultimately, it tells us that the argument is false. But beyond that, it tells us that if we truly wish to convert the world (and we do), and to truly civilize and Christianize modern pagans (whether those who have never received the Gospel or those who comprise a post-Christian pagan West) there is only one solution: to do the same things as were done by our forefathers when they set out to convert the world. A liturgy which is conformed to man, which seeks to adapt itself to the spirit of the age, will simply not work.

To answer my acquaintance, novelty will never convert the world. Only when men once again are presented with the integrity of the Catholic Faith, expressed fully in the Church’s immemorial liturgy, will we be able to civilize modern paganism. Only when modern man once again says, Introibo ad altare Dei, ad Deum qui laetificat juventutem meum, will we be on the road to restoring all things in Christ. There simply is no other way.

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Egyptian Military Chief: Vows to Rebuild Torched Coptic Churches

 The damaged interior of the Saint Moussa Church after it was torched

The Egyptian defense minister has ordered the repair and reconstruction of all churches that suffered damage in the country’s violent demonstrations since the Egyptian military removed President Mohamed Morsi from power last month.

Defense minister Col. Gen. Abdel Fattah El-Sisi intends to fix the damage to Coptic churches at Rabaa Adaweya and Nahda squares, according to a report by the Mid-East Christian News.

Dozens of churches were attacked and burned in riots after thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Cairo and other Egyptian cities to demand the end of what they call military rule, following the removal of Morsi on July 3. Many of Morsi's supporters have voiced criticism at Egypt's Christian minority for largely supporting the military's decision to oust him from office.

“The Egyptian defense minister ordered the engineering department of the armed forces to swiftly repair all the affected churches, in recognition of the historical and national role played by our Coptic brothers,” read a statement that aired on Egyptian television.

Bishop Mousa thanked Sisi for his efforts to repair the damaged churches.

“We thank Col. Gen. Sisi for commissioning the brave Egyptian armed forces to rebuild the places of worship damaged during the recent events,” Bishop Mousa said on Twitter.

17 deaths were reported Friday after several days of violence that caused more than 638 deaths and 4,000 injuries in clashes between Morsi supporters and Egyptian military forces. 

The Maspero Youth Union, a Coptic Christian youth movement, says there’s a "retaliation war" against the religious minority, which makes up around 10 percent of Egypt's population, according to a report by AFP.

The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), an Egyptian NGO, says at least 25 churches were torched this week, and attackers also targeted Christian schools, shops and homes across all 27 provinces.

The Associated Press and AFP contributed to this report. 

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/08/16/egyptian-military-chief-vows-to-rebuild-coptic-churches/#ixzz2cKMyqNAH

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Servants of The Holy Family celebrate the Feast of The Immaculate Conception

The community of Servants of The Holy Family celebrate the Feast of The Immaculate Conception of The Blessed Virgin Mary with a solemn high Mass. 

The Immaculate Conception of The Blessed Virgin Mary was defined solemnly by the Church.  Here are the words of the Dogma:

For the Honour of the Holy and undivided Trinity. For the glory and adornment of the virgin Mother of God. For the exultation of the Catholic Faith. And for the furtherance of the Catholic Religion. By the authority of Jesus Christ our Lord, of the blessed Apostles Peter and Paul and by our own, we declare, pronounce and define that the doctrine which holds that the most blessed Virgin Mary in the first instant of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by almighty God in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, saviour of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin, is a doctrine revealed by God. And therefore to be believed firmly and constantly by all the faithful.

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Institute of Christ the King 2013 Ordination Week Photos

The obligatory formation for all our candidates to the holy priesthood is comprised of a one-year course of Spirituality, a two-year course of Philosophy, and a four-year course of Theology. Upon completing the first year, the seminarians receive the black cassock, a symbol of mourning for Christ and dying to sin and the world. This year, sixteen seminarians received their cassocks in a solemn ceremony at the church of Sts. Michele e Gaetano in Florence, from the Prior General of the Institute, Monsignor Gilles Wach.

Please pray for the seminarians and their perseverance toward the priesthood!

Photo - the five deacons on their way to be ordained to the priesthood, on July 4, 2013. Please ask the intercession of St. John Vianney and pray for these new priests of the Church.

His Excellency, the Most Reverend Matthew Madega, Bishop of Mouila, Gabon, conferred Minor Orders on July 2, 2013. In the first minor order of Tonsure, five locks of hair are removed by the Bishop in the shape of the cross, and a white surplice is given to symbolize a new man in Christ. After the second year, the seminarian is called by the Bishop to the next step: the Minor Order of Porter. The duties of the porter are to ring the bells and to open the church and sacristy. A man learns responsibility for the care of the house of God.

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Why Should Catholics Build Beautiful Churches

Why should Catholics build beautiful churches? First, because beauty is eternal and the Catholic faith is ever ancient and ever new. God’s love is eternal and the Catholic faith will last until the end of time. Something that is beautiful improves with age, and so with the Catholic faith, and therefore a beautiful Catholic church speaks of the antiquity and permanence of the faith it proclaims.

 

Secondly Beauty is attractive. It draws you in. It is an experience. I know a young priest who was raised a Baptist and went into a beautiful Catholic Church when he was fifteen years old. He immediately knelt and knew he was not only going to be a Catholic, but that he was supposed to be a Catholic priest. Beauty in a Catholic Church is something ‘crazy’ for God in a brutal utilitarian age. But that beauty speaks of the attraction of God himself and it helps to draw us into his presence.

 

Thirdly, Beauty is Truth and Truth Beauty. That’s all you need to know. We comprehend verbal expressions of Truth with our mind, but we apprehend beauty with our heart. The heart has reasons that the mind knows nothing of, and it is beauty which unlocks the secret chambers of the heart. Beauty is the language of worship. Beauty is the language of the soul, and how can our religion penetrate to the heart of our soul unless it is beautiful? How can the liturgy be celebrated beautifully in a church that is harsh, utilitarian, nasty and cheap?

 

Source: Why Should Catholics Build Beautiful Churches

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The Catholic Church in Japan: Our Lady of Akita

Holy Mass in Nagasaki, Japan - June 1949

How wonderfully gratifying to see that despite the ruins, no concession is made to the glory of God in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. I dread to think of what irreligious conduct will take place in such a place now.

O Lord, send us priests.  O Lord, send us holy priests.  O Lord, send us many holy priests.

THE MESSAGE OF
OUR LADY OF AKITA

(1973 - 1981)

  Apparitions Approved 
An Urgent Message 
 

In 1984, just before retiring at a venerable age, the diocesan Bishop of Niigata, Bishop John Shojiro Ito, in consultation with the Holy See, wrote a pastoral letter in which he recognized as being authentically of the Mother of God, the extraordinary series of events that had taken place from 1973 to 1981 in a little lay convent within his diocese, at Akita, Japan. Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, in June 1988, approved the Akita events as "reliable and worthy of belief". In fact the Philippine ambassador to the Vatican, in 1998 spoke to Cardinal Ratzinger about Akita and the Cardinal: "personally confirmed to me that these two messages of Fatima and Akita are essentially the same". Hence in Akita we are dealing with a Church approved intervention of the Blessed Virgin Mary as sure in this respect as Lourdes, La Salette, or Fatima. 

Only a few Catholics know of Our Lady of Akita but the message, like that of Fatima, is a specific warning of worldwide chastisement. The chastisement threatened is truly terrible far worse than the possibility of annihilation of several nations prophesied at Fatima. Akita is absolutely consistent with prophecies of Scripture. 

The first message received by Sister Agnes Katsuko Sasagawa on June 6, 1973, was a call for prayer and sacrifice for the glory of the Father and salvation of souls. The second message, August 3, 1973, was for prayer, penance and courageous sacrifices to soften the Father's anger. 

The third message on October 13, 1973, the actual anniversary of the final visions and miracle of Fatima is as follows: "As I told you, if men do not repent and better themselves, the Father will inflict a terrible punishment on all humanity. It will be a punishment greater than the deluge, such as one will never have seen before. Fire will fall from the sky and will wipe out a great part of humanity, the good as well as the bad, sparing neither priests nor faithful. The survivors will find themselves so desolate that they will envy the dead. The only arms which will remain for you will be the Rosary and the Sign left by my Son. Each day, recite the prayers of the Rosary. With the Rosary, pray for the Pope, the bishops and the priests. The work of the devil will infiltrate even into the Church in such a way that one will see cardinals opposing cardinals, and bishops against other bishops. The priests who venerate me will be scorned and opposed by their Confreres. The Church and altars will be vandalized. The Church will be full of those who accept compromises and the demon will press many priests and consecrated souls to leave the service of the Lord. 

"The demon will rage especially against souls consecrated to God. The thought of the loss of so many souls is the cause of my sadness. If sins increase in number and gravity, there will no longer be pardon for them." 

In his pastoral letter approving the events of Akita as supernatural, the Bishop of Niigata said: "After the inquiries conducted up to the present day, one cannot deny the supernatural character of a series of unexplainable events relative to the statue of the Virgin honored at Akita (Diocese of Niigata). Consequently I authorize that all of the diocese entrusted to me venerate the Holy Mother of Akita."

Concerning the messages, His Excellency said: "As for the content of the messages received, it is no way contrary to Catholic doctrine or to good morals. When one thinks of the actual state of the world, the warning seems to correspond to it in many points." His Excellency explained that he had taken eight years to give this judgment because of the importance and the responsibility in question. "The Congregation of the Doctrine for the Faith has given me directives in this sense," the Bishop said, "that only the bishop of the diocese in question has the power to recognize an event of this kind."

The events of Akita have been confirmed by definite miracles, two of which are cited by the Bishop in his pastoral letter. While the warning given by Our Lady at Akita is terrible, the message, as the Bishop points out, is basically a repetition of the Message of Fatima. Our Lady stressed the importance of praying the Rosary, and above all of accepting from God whatever He may send in the course of each day . . . whatever suffering . . . and to offer it up in reparation for so many sins committed throughout the world at this time. Our Lady begged especially for prayers for bishops, priests, and religious, and for reparation before the Blessed Sacrament. Our Lady said: "I have prevented the coming of calamities by offering to the Father, together with all the victim souls who console Him, the sufferings endured by the Son on the Cross, by His blood and by His very loving Soul. Prayer, penance, and courageous sacrifices can appease the anger of the Father."

To the little religious community where Our Lady gave the messages, she asked that it "live in poverty, sanctify itself and pray in reparation for the ingratitude and the outrages of so many men."

The apparitions and events in Akita, Japan, center around a three foot high statue of Our Lady with a Japanese face in the chapel of the Eucharistic Handmaids of the Sacred Heart. These supernatural happenings also involve Sr. Agnes Sasagawa, one of the Sisters in the convent, to whom Our Lady gave Her messages. Sister had been very ill, requiring about 20 operations. When the apparitions began, she was nearly deaf. On June 12, 1973, when she opened the tabernacle for adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, a very strong light came from it and filled the entire chapel. This happened for three days. When Sister asked the other Sisters if they had seen anything out of the ordinary, they said no.

This strong light also came from the tabernacle on the feast of Corpus Christi. When Sr. Sasagawa told the Bishop of Akita (who was visiting the convent on the feast) of this, he advised her to keep it in her heart. On the Vigil of the Feast of the Sacred Heart that same year, Sr. Sasagawa's guardian angel appeared to her and asked her to pray the Fatima decade prayer* after each decade of the Rosary. In 1973 this prayer was not well known in Japan and Sister had trouble understanding it, but the Sisters began to recite the prayer and it has now spread throughout Japan. (* O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to Heaven, especially those who have the most need of Thy mercy. Amen.)

On the same occasion as the apparition of her guardian angel, a wound in the form of a cross appeared in the hollow of Sr. Sasagawa's left hand and began to bleed. The bleeding ended on the feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The following Friday, the wound bled and stopped the next day. This continued for a month. Sister's guardian angel later spoke to her in chapel. Although nearly deaf, she heard the angel saying: "Pray not only for yourself, but for the people of all nations. The world today is wounding the Sacred Heart of Jesus through so much sin and ingratitude." After hearing this, Sister heard a voice come from the statue in the chapel: "My daughter, you obeyed me very well; you have renounced everything. This deafness is a great suffering for you. Have patience; you will be healed. It is a trial. Pray in reparation for all people. Pray much for the Holy Father, for the bishops and the priests."

On July 6, 1973, a bleeding wound appeared on the right hand of the statue of Our Lady in the chapel. On other days, the face of the statue bled. Sister's guardian angel told her: "This flowing of blood is significant. It will be shed for the conversion of men and in reparation for sins. To the devotion to the Sacred Heart add the devotion to the Precious Blood." Other messages followed. About a month after seeing the wound in the right hand of Our Lady's statue, Sr. Sasagawa heard: 

"My daughter, if you love Our Lord, listen to me. Many people in the world grieve Our Lord. I ask for souls who will console Him, and who will make reparation. The Heavenly Father is preparing a great punishment for the world. Many times I have tried with my Son to soften the anger of the Father. I presented to Him many atoning souls who make reparation by prayers and sacrifices. That is what I ask of you. Honor poverty. Live poorly. You must keep your vows, which are like three nails to nail you to the Cross the nails of poverty, chastity, and obedience."

Beginning on September 20, 1973, the statue began to sweat from the face to the feet. Tears began to flow down the face. Also, a very pleasant odor was felt in the chapel. This happened many times in the presence of others, including the Bishop. In all, the statue wept a total of 101 times. On October 13, 1973, Our Lady gave Sister Sasagawa this serious message: "As I said before if mankind does not repent, the Heavenly Father will inflict a very serious punishment on the whole world; a punishment the likes of which has never happened before. Many people will perish. Pray the Rosary often. Only I can prevent the disaster. Whoever entrusts themselves to me will be saved." The statue continued to weep and other messages followed. Pilgrims came and many received answers to their prayers. Then, in 1981, Theresa Chon, who was suffering from terminal brain cancer, was miraculously healed through the intercession of Our Lady of Akita. This healing was well documented by Fr. Joseph Oh of Seoul, S. Korea. 

In his pastoral letter, Bishop Ito said that it would have been difficult to believe in a message from Our Lady that is so terrible, unless there was overwhelming proof that it was indeed from Her. But he points out that the terrible chastisement of which Our Lady speaks is on the condition: "If men do not repent and do not better themselves . . ." The Bishop added it is a serious warning, while at the same time one perceives in it the maternal love of Our Lady. In Her message warning the world of the annihilation of a great part of humanity, She said: "The thought of the loss of numerous souls makes me sad."

This impending chastisement can be averted if enough people pray the Rosary daily and do penance which Our Lady requested at Fatima in 1917. We urge you to order large quantities of this brochure for circulation at Catholic Churches. After you have read this urgent message please pass it on to others.

Source: OLRL.org

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St. Clare of Assisi

Double (1955 Calendar): August 12

She founded the Order of Poor Ladies, a monastic religious order for women in the Franciscan tradition, and wrote their Rule of Life—the first monastic rule known to have been written by a woman. Following her death, the order she founded was renamed in her honor as the Order of Saint Clare, commonly referred to today as the Poor Clares.

The life of a Poor Clare is occupied with work and prayer, penance and contemplation. Sisters fast at all times, except the Feast of the Nativity, with no meat at any time. The great silence is from Compline until after the conventual Mass. During the day there is one hour of recreation, except on Friday. Meals are eaten in silence. The Divine Office is recited, not sung, and they use the Franciscan breviary. The habit is a loose fitting garment of gray frieze; the cord is of linen rope about one-half inch in thickness having four knots representing the four vows; their sandals are cloth.

There are two branches of Poor Clares, the Colettines, so called because their Rule was modified by Saint Colette, and the Urbanists, whose Rule was modified by Pope Urban IV. Colettines follow a rigorous rule; they are enclosed, fast, abstain from meat, are discalced, and possess no property, not even in common. Urbanists sometimes work outside their convents, and are less austere than the Colettines. 

Clare’s father was a count, her mother the countess Blessed Orsolana. Her father died when the girl was very young. After hearing Saint Francis of Assisi preach in the streets, Clare confided to him her desire to live for God, and the two became close friends. On Palm Sunday in 1212, her bishop presented Clare with a palm, which she apparently took as a sign. With her cousin Pacifica, Clare ran away from her mother‘s palace during the night to enter religious life. She eventually took the veil from Saint Francis at the Church of Our Lady of the Angels in Assisi, Italy.   

Clare founded the Order of Poor Ladies (Poor Clares) at San Damiano, and led it for 40 years. Everywhere the Franciscans established themselves throughout Europe, there also went the Poor Clares, depending solely on alms, forced to have complete faith on God to provide through people; this lack of land-based revenues was a new idea at the time. Clare’s mother and sisters later joined the order, and there are still thousands of members living lives of silence and prayer.   

Clare loved music and well-composed sermons. She was humble, merciful, charming, optimistic, chivalrous, and every day she meditated on the Passion of Jesus. She would get up late at night to tuck in her sisters who’d kicked off their blankets. When she learned of the Franciscan martyrs in Morrocco in 1221, she tried to go there to give her own life for God, but was restrained. Once when her convent was about to be attacked, she displayed the Sacrament in a monstrace at the convent gates, and prayed before it; the attackers left, the house was saved, and the image of her holding a monstrance became one of her emblems. Her patronage of eyes and against their problems may have developed from her name which has overtones from clearness, brightness, brilliance – like healthy eyes.   

Toward the end of her life, when she was too ill to attend Mass, an image of the service would display on the wall of her cell; thus her patronage of television. She was ever the close friend and spiritual student of Francis, who apparently led her soul into the light at her death.

On August 9, 1253, the papal bull Solet annuere of Pope Innocent IV confirmed that Clare's rule would serve as the governing rule for Clare's Order of Poor Ladies. Two days later, on August 11, Clare died at the age of 59. Her remains were interred at the chapel of San Giorgio while a church to hold her remains was being constructed.

On August 15, 1255, Pope Alexander IV canonized Clare as Saint Clare of Assisi. Construction of the Basilica of Saint Clare was completed in 1260, and on October 3 of that year Clare's remains were transferred to the newly completed basilica where they were buried beneath the high altar. In further recognition of the saint, Pope Urban IV officially changed the name of the Order of Poor Ladies to the Order of Saint Clare in 1263.

Some 600 years later in 1872, Saint Clare's remains were transferred to a newly constructed shrine in the crypt of the Basilica of Saint Clare where they can still be seen today.  Her body is still incorruptible.

"Praise and glory be to you, O loving Jesus Christ, for the most sacred wound in your side . . . and for your infinite mercy which you made known to us in the opening of your breast to the soldier Longinus, and so to us all. I pray you, O most gentle Jesus, having redeemed me by baptism from original sin, so now, by your Precious Blood, which is offered and received throughout the world, deliver me from all evils, past, present and to come" (St. Clare's own words).

Sources: SQPN & Catholic Encyclopedia

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