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Quotes About the Rosary from Our Lady, Popes, and Saints

2012-01-28T07:32:00.000+01:00

Written by TFP.org
Quotes About the Rosary from Our Lady, Popes, and Saints

“Continue to pray the Rosary every day.”

Our Lady of Fatima to Sister Lucia

“Never will anyone who says his Rosary every day be led astray. This is a statement that I would gladly sign with my blood.”

Saint Louis de Montfort

“You shall obtain all you ask of me by the recitation of the Rosary.”

Our Lady to Blessed Alan de la Roche

“Give me an army saying the Rosary and I will conquer the world.”

Pope Blessed Pius IX

“If you persevere in reciting the Rosary, this will be a most probable sign of your eternal salvation.”

Blessed Alan de la Roche

“The greatest method of praying is to pray the Rosary.”

Saint Francis de Sales

“When the Holy Rosary is said well, it gives Jesus and Mary more glory and is more meritorious than any other prayer.”

Saint Louis de Montfort

“The Holy Rosary is the storehouse of countless blessing.”

Blessed Alan de la Roche

“One day, through the Rosary and the Scapular, Our Lady will save the world.”

Saint Dominic

“If you say the Rosary faithfully unto death, I do assure you that, in spite of the gravity of your sins, ‘you will receive a never-fading crown of glory’ (1 St. Peter 5:4).”

Saint Louis de Montfort

“You must know that when you ‘hail’ Mary, she immediately greets you! Don’t think that she is one of those rude women of whom there are so many—on the contrary, she is utterly courteous and pleasant. If you greet her, she will answer you right away and converse with you!”

Saint Bernardine of Siena

“Recite your Rosary with faith, with humility, with confidence, and with perseverance.”

Saint Louis de Montfort

“The Rosary is the most beautiful and the most rich in graces of all prayers; it is the prayer that touches most the Heart of the Mother of God…and if you wish peace to reign in your homes, recite the family Rosary.”

Pope Saint Pius X

“Never will anyone who says his Rosary every day become a formal heretic or be led astray by the devil.”

Saint Louis de Montfort

“Even if you are on the brink of damnation, even if you have one foot in hell, even if you have sold your soul to the devil as sorcerers do who practice black magic, and even if you are a heretic as obstinate as a devil, sooner or later you will be converted and will amend your life and will save your soul, if—and mark well what I say—if you say the Holy Rosary devoutly every day until death for the purpose of knowing the truth and obtaining contrition and pardon for your sins.”

Saint Louis de Montfort

“The Most Holy Virgin in these last times in which we live has given a new efficacy to the recitation of the Rosary to such an extent that there is no problem, no matter how difficult it is, whether temporal or above all spiritual, in the personal life of each one of us, of our families…that cannot be solved by the Rosary. There is no problem, I tell you, no matter how difficult it is, that we cannot resolve by the prayer of the Holy Rosary.”

Sister Lucia dos Santos, Fatima seer

“When you say your Rosary, the angels rejoice, the Blessed Trinity delights in it, my Son finds joy in it too, and I myself am happier than you can possibly guess. After the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, there is nothing in the Church that I love as much as the Rosary.”

Our Lady to Blessed Alan de la Roche

“‘Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee!’ No creature has ever said anything that was more pleasing to me, nor will anyone ever be able to find or say to me anything that pleases me more.”

Our Lady to Saint Mechtilde

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Our Lady’s Message of Garabandal

2011-12-19T11:30:00.001+01:00

October 18, 1961- We must make many sacrifices, perform much penance, and visit the Blessed Sacrament frequently. But first, we must lead good lives. If we do not, a chastisement will befall us. The cup is already filling up, and if we do not change, a very great chastisement will come upon us.

June 18, 1965- As my message of October 18, has not been complied with and has not been made known to the world, I am advising you that this is the last one. Before, the cup was filling up. Now it is flowing over. Many cardinals, many bishops and many priests are on the road to perdition and are taking many souls with them. Less and less importance is being given to the Eucharist. You should turn the wrath of God away from yourselves by your efforts. If you ask His forgiveness with sincere hearts, He will pardon you. I, your mother, through the intercession of Saint Michael the Archangel, ask you to amend your lives. You are now receiving the last warnings. I love you very much and do not want your condemnation. Pray to us with sincerity and we will grant your requests. You should make more sacrifices. Think about the passion of Jesus.

9 DAYS NOVENA TO A FAITHFUL QUEEN

2011-11-26T16:27:00.001+01:00

Begin with 1 Hail Mary

Say “Virgin most faithful! Pray for us……3times

5 decades of the Rosary and Litany of Loreto.

Prayer: Oh most Holy Spirit, beloved spouse of the Virgin most faithful, I beseech thee that through the prayers of my queen most faithful, I obtain these intentions ………………… which are not sinful. All to the glory of the Most Holy Trinity.

Virgin most faithful! Pray for us…….3times

End with 1 Hail Mary

To the Mother of God.

2011-11-26T14:21:00.001+01:00

A hundred love songs

A collection of love songs based on inspiration from a lover to his beloved, seeking to understand the love for which the beloved have loved the lover even before the lover loved. An expression of love to someone that has loved first.

Authored by Mr FrancisMary Obidike

Publication Date Oct 01 2010
ISBN/EAN13: 1453685588 / 9781453685587
Page Count: 100
Binding Type: US Trade Paper
Trim Size: 8" x 10"
Language: English
Color: Full Color
Related Categories: Religion / Inspirational

Bur your copy today, visit https://www.createspace.com/3467521

MARY! ARK OF THE COVENANT:

2011-11-25T16:52:00.001+01:00

As we say our Rosary daily, we place in pararell the Ark of the Covenant of the Old Testament and the Ark of the Covent of the New Testament that is the Blessed Virgin Mary, as seen and written by St. John in Rev 11:19.

The Ark of the Covenant of the Old Testament contained in it the Word of God written in stone tablet that is the Ten Commandment while in Mary is contained Jesus the Word of God in flesh and blood.

The Ark of the Covenant of the Old Testament contained in it manna which God told Moses to preserve that generations to come will be told of how He used the bread of angels to feed the children of Israel in the wilderness, while in Mary is contained Jesus the bread of life. For He said in the holy gospel according to St. John 6 “I am the bread of life”48 and again in verse 51 Jesus said “I am the living bread which came down from heaven”

Thirdly in the Ark of the Covenant of the Old Testament is contained the staff of Aaron the chief priest while in May is contained Jesus the eternal High Priest.

Just like in the olden times, whenever the children of Israel went to war carrrying the Ark of the Covenant, their God fought for them and they overcame, in like manna when we wage war daily with the forces of darkness with Mary the Ark of the Covenant like we call her in our litany daily while we say our Rosary daily, we must be asured that our God will fight our battles for us and victory is sure.

God bless you.

PURGATORY State or Place?

2011-11-07T09:50:00.001+01:00

A friend once said to me “I met my wife on facebook” and in my own meditiation about Purgatory I began to think of the question “where is Purgatory?” and to liken it to my friend who found his wife on facebook I asked ‘where is facebook?’ Is facebook just a platform? Or is facebook located where the servers are located in America and Europe? Or is facebook located at my friends and his wife’s different locations at the time they met each other on facebook? Like when someone says “I met my wife in Port Harcourt, Beigin, London, Paris or Texas.

Where is Purgatory? 16: For God do loved the world, as to give his only begotten Son: that whosoever believeth in him may not perish, but may have life everlasting. ST. Jn3

Nothing unclean shall enter into the Kingdom of God as it is written in the Holy Scriptures and again it is written that “whosoever says that he is without sin is a liar”.

If then we all know sin, how can it be that nothing impure shall see God? Or did God create us all to spend eternity in hell? Ney for He loved us all and sent us Jesus who died for our sins.

This Jesus who shed His Precious Blood on the cross of Calvary for the sake of mankind and who promised that when He ascended into heaven He will come to take His people home.

A promise that is sure for He saith “For amen I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall not pass of the law, till all be fulfilled” ST. Matt 5:18

For that soul who have lived to love and serve the Lord and have died will have some attachments of sin even at the point of death unless this soul was fortunate to receive the Sacrament of reconciliation before death. This soul is not condemned to the terrible punishment of eternal damnation but needs to be purified before he comes in to the Glory of God. This state of purification is Purgatory.

It could be purification of punishments due to sins for which we had been forgiving but which we must do penance for; we must all be purged of all filth before we can come into the Throne.

Blessed are the clean of heart: for they shall see God Matt 5:8 and what if this soul still has a venial sin attached at the point of death? Will the good Lord condemn him eternally? Ney for he will be purified in the fires of Purgatory and then come into the Glory of God he had worked and dreamed about all his life.

Purgatory is not for souls who lived in mortal sins without adequate confession and penance or to say souls that died in mortal sin. Ney Purgatory is for souls who lived a good life but need purification at the point of death.

A soul in Purgatory is hopeful that one day he shall see God.

One cannot aim at Purgatory in live so as not to eventually enter hell, a Christian aims at heaven but may have to be purified in the fires of Purgatory before he enter into heaven.

Souls in Purgatory need the prayers of the living to lessen their time of stay in that painful state since they cannot pray for themselves anymore. So I ask you reader is Purgatory a place or a state?

Is it in the Bible? As Catholics, needless to ask this question because our Catholic spirituality and doctrine are based not just on the Bible alone but on the Bible, Tradition and the Magisterium which is the Teaching authority of the Church (the Pope and the council of bishops).

25: But there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written every one, the world itself, I think, would not be able to contain the books that should be written. ST. Jn 21

In his second letter to the Thesalonians verse 14, ST. Paul wrote “Therefore, brethren, stand fast: and hold the traditions which you have learned, whether by word or by our epistle”.

It should not always be in the bible, “It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sin” 2^nd Machabees 12:46

Judas Machabees after having some of his soldiers killed in battle as the 2^nd book of Machabees writes in chapter 12:43-44 And making a gathering, he sent twelve thousand drachms of silver to Jerusalem for sacrifice to be offered for the sins of the dead, thinking well and religiously concerning the resurrection.

(For if he had not hoped that they that were slain should rise again, it would have seemed superfluous and vain to pray for the dead.)

Pray for souls in Purgatory that you may also be remembered should you find your soul in Purgatory.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning it is now and ever shall be world without end. Amen.

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HELP, LORD, THE SOULS

2011-11-02T15:14:00.000+01:00

1. Help, Lord, the souls that thou hast made,
the souls to thee so dear,
In prison for the debt unpaid
Of sin committed here.

2. These holy souls, they suffer on,
Resign’d in heart and will,
Until thy high behest is done,
And justice has its fill.

3. For daily falls, for pardon’d crime,
They joy to undergo
The shadow of thy Cross sublime,
The remnant of thy woe.

4. Oh, by their patience of delay.
Their hope amid their pain,
Their sacred Zeal to burn away,
Disfugurement and stain.

5. Oh, by their fire of love, not less
In keenness than the flame;
Oh, by their very helplessness;
Oh, by thy own great Name.

6. Good Jesus, help! Sweet Jesus, aid
The souls to thee most dear,
In prison for the debt unpaid
Of sins committed here.

Miracle Of The Sun

2011-10-13T12:45:00.000+01:00

Apparition of 13 October 1917

During the night of 12-13 October it had rained throughout, soaking the ground and the pilgrims who make their way to Fátima from all directions by the thousands. By foot, by cart and even by car they came, entering the bowl of the Cova from the Fátima-Leiria road, which today still passes in front of the large square of the Basilica. From there they made their way down the gently slope to the place where a trestle had been erected over the little holm oak of the apparitions. Today on the site is the modern glass and steel Capelhina (little chapel), enclosing the first chapel built there and the statue of Our Lady of the Rosary of Fátima where the holm oak had stood.

As for the children, they made their way to the Cova amid the adulation and skepticism which had followed them since May. When they arrived they found critics who questioned their veracity and the punctuality of the Lady, who had promised to arrive at noon. It was well passed noon by the official time of the country. However, when the sun arrived at its zenith the Lady appeared as she had said she would.

"What do you want of me?"

I want a chapel built here in my honor. I want you to continue saying the Rosary every day. The war will end soon, and the soldiers will return to their homes.

"Yes. Yes."

"Will you tell me your name?"

I am the Lady of the Rosary.

"I have many petitions from many people. Will you grant them? "

Some I shall grant, and others I must deny. People must amend their lives and ask pardon for their sins. They must not offend our Lord any more, for He is already too much offended!

"And is that all you have to ask?"

There is nothing more.

As the Lady of the Rosary rises toward the east she turns the palms of her hands toward the dark sky. While the rain had stopped, dark clouds continued to obscure the sun, which suddenly bursts through them and is seen to be a soft spinning disk of silver.

"Look at the sun!"

From this point two distinct apparitions were seen, that of the phenomenon of the sun seen by the 70,000 or so spectators and that beheld by the children alone. Lucia describes the latter in her memoirs.

After our Lady had disappeared into the immense distance of the firmament, we beheld St. Joseph with the Child Jesus and Our Lady robed in white with a blue mantle, beside the sun. St. Joseph and the Child Jesus seemed to bless the world, for they traced the Sign of the Cross with their hands. When, a little later, this apparition disappeared, I saw Our Lord and Our lady; it seemed to me to that it was Our Lady of Sorrows (Dolors). Our Lord appeared to bless the world in the same manner as St. Joseph had done. This apparition also vanished, and I saw Our Lady once more, this time resembling Our Lady of Carmel. [Only Lucia would see the later, presaging her entrance into Carmel some years later.]

This would be the last of the apparitions of Fátima for Jacinta and Francisco. However, for Lucia Our Lady would return a seventh time, in 1920, as she had promised the previous May. At that time Lucia would be praying in the Cova before leaving Fátima for a girls boarding school. The Lady would come to urge her to dedicate herself wholly to God.

As the children viewed the various apparitions of Jesus, Mary and Joseph the crowd witnessed a different prodigy, the now famous miracle of the sun.

Eye witness account:

O Dia (A Lisbon daily, edition of 17 October 1917):

"At one o'clock in the afternoon, midday by the sun, the rain stopped. The sky, pearly grey in colour, illuminated the vast arid landscape with a strange light. The sun had a transparent gauzy veil so that the eyes could easily be fixed upon it. The grey mother-of-pearl tone turned into a sheet of silver which broke up as the clouds were torn apart and the silver sun, enveloped in the same gauzy grey light, was seen to whirl and turn in the circle of broken clouds. A cry went up from every mouth and people fell on their knees on the muddy ground....

The light turned a beautiful blue, as if it had come through the stained-glass windows of a cathedral, and spread itself over the people who knelt with outstretched hands. The blue faded slowly, and then the light seemed to pass through yellow glass. Yellow stains fell against white handkerchiefs, against the dark skirts of the women. They were repeated on the trees, on the stones and on the serra. People wept and prayed with uncovered heads, in the presence of a miracle they had awaited. The seconds seemed like hours, so vivid were they.

Ti Marto (father of Jacinta and Francisco)

We looked easily at the sun, which for some reason did not blind us. It seemed to flicker on and off, first one way, then another. It cast its rays in many directions and painted everything in different colors--- the trees, the people, the air and the ground. But what was most extraordinary, I thought, was that the sun did not hurt our eyes. Everything was still and quiet, and everyone was looking up. Then at a certain moment, the sun appeared to stop spinning. It then began to move and to dance in the sky until it seemed to detach itself from its place and fall upon us. It was a terrible moment.

FRANK DUFF AND THE LEGION ESTABLISHMENT.

2011-09-04T15:40:00.000+01:00

    What a humble begining that on the evening of September 7th 1921 with a group of Catholic women and Fr. Michael Toher of Dublin Archdiocese, Francis Michael Duff founded the first branch of the Legion of Mary called a praesidium.

Servant of God Francis Michael Duff was born in Dublin, Ireland, on June 7, 1889. The eldest child of a wealthy family. He is best known for bringing attention to the role of the laity during the Second Vatican Council of the Roman Catholic Church, and for founding the Legion of Mary. He attended Blackrock College and entered the Civil Service at the age of 18 and had a distinguished career. His free time he at first dedicated to sporting activities, but at the age of 24 he joined the Society of St. Vincent de Paul where he was led to a deeper commitment to his Catholic faith and at the same time he acquired a great sensitivity to the needs of the poor and underprivileged.

He Along with a group of Catholic women and Fr. Michael Toher, a priest of the Dublin Archdiocese, he formed the first branch of what was to become the first praesidium of the Legion of Mary at Myra House, Francis Street, Dublin Ireland, at 8p.m. on September 7, 1921. From that date until his death, November 7, 1980, he guided the world-wide extension of the Legion with heroic dedication. He attended the Second Vatican Council as a lay observer.

In 1916, aged 27, Duff published his first pamphlet entitled "Can we be Saints?" In it he expressed the conviction that all without exception are called to be saints, and that through Christian faith all persons have available the means necessary to attain such sainthood. In 1917 he came to know the Treatise of St. Louis de Montfort on the True Devotion to Mary, a work brought to his attention the importance of Mary in the life of the laity.

On September 7, 1921 Frank Duff founded the Legion of Mary which was initially knwon as "Association of Our Lady of Mercy". This is an Association of Catholics who, with the sanction of the Church and under the powerful leadership of Mary Immaculate, Mediatrix of all Graces (who is fair as the moon, bright as the sun, and - to satan and his legionaries - terrible as an army set in battle array), have formed themselves into a Legion for service in the warfare which is perpetually waged by the Church against the world and its evil powers. Here we will explore some of those early traditions which are the roots of the present day Legion of Mary. What was it like at that first meeting? It was not a thought-out organisation. It sprang up spontaneously.

There was no premeditation in regard to rules and practices. A suggestion was siply thrown out. An evening was fixed, and a little group came together, unaware that they were to be instruments of most loving Providence. The ladies had not been doing the hospital visitation yet. Before the Legion started, Frank Duff had been working away at a lot of personal tasks and one of those was the visitation of that hospital. He was doing that very work up to the time when the Legion took it over and then he dropped from it. Actually his presence at those early meetings constituted a sort of difficulty inasmuch as they were declaring on the first night that they were not going to take in men for the present. The reason was that they were meeting on St. Vincent de Paul premises and if they started recruiting men, they were certainly entering into a competition with them. They were eagerly looking for men. No doubt the man who would join them would be equally willing to join the St. Vincent de Paul Society. Well, competition with them in those circumstances was out of the question. That was going to be the limiting condition. As long as that would be the result of bringing in men, they would not bring them in. But, most definitely laid down was the fact that the Legion of Mary was not to be a women's organization alone.

Since at that time, Frank was the only male member, he was there officially as a Tribune. Has that office passed from the Legion's ranks? Not completely because it remains on in name. The name is retained with a different function. At that time they were seeing the benefit of having an experienced man present at the branch of the Legion. They put it down on paper at a very early stage that such was a desirable thing and that every praesidium should have in it a man experienced in the system of the city, the social and charitable organizations, and that he should be a member with the title of Tribune. Later on when circumstances changed and there would very possibly be men in every praesidium, that name was transferred to different set of duties. Nowadays it means a person, either a man or a woman, who is acting as spiritual director of a praesidium at the direction of the Spiritual Director. In other words, supposing, as it happens in many places of the world, a priest has many praesidia under his care, he would appoint somebody who would act, as far as possible, in his place and that office is now known as the Tribune. What about the expression Spiritual Guide which was used by some Legion groups? This new title (Tribune) supersedes the title “Spiritual Guide” because Spiritual Guide assumes too much. It's an arrogant sort of title if you think it out. The office does not carry the state and standing of a priest. The Tribune is, in a peculiar sort of way, a shadow of the original idea of the Tribune who was to be an odd man out in the praesidium but one who was really justified. It's a shadow of the old idea. Or perhaps the old idea was the shadow of something more important that developed later.

Frank remained on in that first praesidium for a very long time. In the first year four praesidia came into existence and he attended the meetings of all those four for a while. For a very long time he attended the parent meeting. Father Toher and Father Creedon were on the scene and as the praesidia began to come into existence, they more or less divided them up among themselves trying to have at least one of them present at every meeting. When the first praesidium started outside Francis Street, Frank moved onto it in the capacity of Tribune. He continued to repeat this idea as new praesidia came into existence, transferring over to the new one and that meant at one stage, his dropping out of Myra House. They were always more or less all right because they had Father Creedon or Father Toher. But Frank did continue with them for a number of years and then only parted company later.

Frank Duff's insight into the role of the Blessed Virgin in the plan of Redemption, as also into the role of the lay faithful in the mission of the Church, are reflected in the official handbook of the Legion of Mary. He died on the evening of November 7, 1980 aged 91 years. His Cause for Beatification was introduced by His Eminence Desmond Cardinal Connell, the then Archbishop of Dublin, in June 1996. The Legion of Mary operates throughout the world.
Today between active and auxiliary (praying) members there are in excess of 10 million members worldwide.

15 Promises of The Blessed Virgin Mary to Catholics Who Faithfully recite The Holy Rosary Daily.

2011-09-04T12:17:00.001+01:00

Besides the Indulgences attached to the Rosary, Our Lady revealed to St. Dominic and Blessed Alan de la Roche additional benefits for those who devoutly pray the Rosary.

1. Whosoever shall faithfully serve me by the recitation of the Rosary shall receive signal graces.

2. I promise my special protection and the greatest graces to all those who shall recite the Rosary.

3. The Rosary shall be a powerful armor against hell; it will destroy vice, decrease sin and defeat heresies.

4. It will cause good works to flourish; it will obtain for souls the abundant mercy of God; it will withdraw the hearts of men from the love of the world and its vanities, and will lift them to the desire for Eternal Things. Oh, that souls would sanctify themselves by this means.

5. The soul which recommends itself to me by the recitation of the Rosary shall not perish.

6. Whosoever shall recite the Rosary devoutly, applying himself to the consideration of its Sacred Mysteries shall never be conquered by misfortune. God will not chastise him in His justice, he shall not perish by an unprovided death; if he be just he shall remain in the grace of God, and become worthy of Eternal Life.

7. Whoever shall have a true devotion for the Rosary shall not die without the Sacraments of the Church.

8. Those who are faithful to recite the Rosary shall have during their life and at their death the Light of God and the plenitude of His Graces; at the moment of death they shall participate in the Merits of the Saints in Paradise.

9. I shall deliver from purgatory those who have been devoted to the Rosary.

10. The faithful children of the Rosary shall merit a high degree of Glory in Heaven.

11. You shall obtain all you ask of me by recitation of the Rosary.

12. All those who propagate the Holy Rosary shall be aided by me in their necessities.

13. I have obtained from my Divine Son that all the advocates of the Rosary shall have for intercessors the entire Celestial Court during their life and at the hour of death.

14. All who recite the Rosary are my Sons, and brothers of my Only Son Jesus Christ.

15. Devotion to my Rosary is a great sign of predestination.

Saint of the day: St. Giles

2011-09-01T06:34:00.000+01:00

Despite the fact that much about St. Giles is shrouded in mystery, we can say that he was one of the most popular saints in the Middle Ages. Likely, he was born in the first half of the seventh century in southeastern France. That is where he built a monastery that became a popular stopping-off point for pilgrims making their way to Compostela in Spain and the Holy Land.

In England, many ancient churches and hospitals were dedicated to Giles. One of the sections of the city of Brussels is named after him. In Germany, Giles was included among the so-called 14 Holy Helpers, a popular group of saints to whom people prayed, especially for recovery from disease and for strength at the hour of death. Also among the 14 were Sts. Christopher, Barbara and Blaise. Interestingly, Giles was the only non-martyr among them. Devotion to the "Holy Helpers" was especially strong in parts of Germany and in Hungary and Sweden. Such devotion made his popularity spread. Giles was soon invoked as the patron of the poor and the disabled.

The pilgrimage center that once drew so many fell into disrepair some centuries after Giles' death.

Patron Saint of:

Beggars

Disabled

Our Lady of Guadalupe

2010-12-12T12:53:00.000+01:00

According to tradition, on December 9^th, 1531, the virgin Mary appeared to Juan Diego at Tepeyac, a hill northwest of Mexico City. She instructed him to tell the bishop to build a church on the site. Three days later she appeared again and told Juan Diego to take some flowers to the bishop. When he presented them, roses fell out of his cloak, and beneath them was this painted image of the Lady.

Today the cloak is displayed in the Basilica of Guadalupe nearby, one of the most visited Catholic shrines in the world.
The Virgin of Guadalupe is Mexico's most popular religious and cultural image, with the titles "Queen of Mexico", "Empress of the Americas", and "Patroness of the Americas"; both Miguel Hidalgo (in the Mexican War of Independence) and Emiliano Zapata (during the Mexican Revolution) carried flags bearing the Our Lady of Guadalupe, and Guadalupe Victoria, the first Mexican president changed his name in honor of the icon.

Cassandra

2010-11-14T12:35:00.000+01:00

Cassandra beautiful and elegant, favorite of her parents among the two daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Obidiegwu of Owerri North, her mother being a native of Ankpa in Benue state had fallen in love with her father while they were serving as youth coppers 19yrs ago in Otukpo, Benue state while they served in the Local Government headquarters.
Cassandra so beautiful though only 19 was the cynosure of all eyes and full of life,
Just gained admission into Imo State University Owerri to study sociology, the truth of this story is that Cassandra today lies wasting in Imo State prison instead of Imo State University and it hurts my heart as I write this story.
This story is based on a true life story and Cassandra is still in prison as at the time of this writing but the names in this story are not the actual names of the the people in this story.
Cassandra had suitors who were asking for her hand in marriage, some were pledging to take care of her education while they were married. Yes the idea was good to her owing to the fact that her parents could not actually afford to take care of her education, and so she had to make a choice among the many suitors who came to ask for her hand in marriage because to her, faithfulness to her would be spouse means the world to her.
Andrew, dark and good looking had always charmed my lady with simplicity and kindness trying to make sure she got the best in life, he had eventually visited the parents of Cassandra and informed them of his intention of taking Cassandra to the altar to be his bride.
Preparations were put in place for the traditional marriage between Cassandra and Andrew, in the usually way for women asebi ladies were already putting together clothings for their day of dancing and merriment when the sad news came.
Andrew was shot dead last night, Andrew and Cassandra had gone out last night for dinner and on their way home they stopped a chemist shop to buy paracetamol, and when they had entered into their Mercedes Benz to go home, what happened next was like in a movie.
A dark colored SUV drive by, the driver side rear window down while someone from the inside shot three times through the passenger side of the Mercedes Benz shattering the side glasses, the SUV drove off immediately, Cassandra was safe but Andrew was hit.
Help came and Andrew was rushed to a nearby hospital, he was still alive and conscious for a day and he gave up and joined his ancestors at an early age of 38. Before Andrew died he had stated while still dying in hospital with regards to the incident exonerating Cassandra in any way for what had happened to him.
Mrs. Ngozi Andrew Azubuike came pointing accusations on Cassandra that she had killed her husband. It was then Cassandra knew that Andrew had a wife and two boys, Andrew had kept this from her for the six months they had dated during which he proposed to her.
Using the word shocked or confused I would not actually know how to describe what Cassandra felt like hearing that this man whom had been so wonderful had such a big secret he kept away from her.
Cassandra was arrested by the police and she gave statement of the event of the night before, Andrew’s widow is bitter and is bent on making Cassandra pay for the death of her husband and is laying murder accusation against this young would be university student.
Cassandra was the target of the bullet and not Andrew, his wife Ngozi sent the assassins to prevent his husband from getting married to Cassandra, and she confronted Cassandra personally that since the bullet meant for her (Cassandra) hit her husband, she would have to suffer for it.
As at the time of this writing, Cassandra has been in the prison 2years, fasting and praying that God Almighty will send angels like he did to release Paul and Silas while they were in prison.
The faith of a young woman who dreamt of being a university student but ended up in Owerri prison. Will she be able to go to school again? Maybe someone will come to her rescue, maybe justice should be quicker because I believe that the truth will eventually win when the case is over in court.
Write your comments please.

Our Lady of Zeitoun

2010-11-14T12:06:00.000+01:00

Our Lady of Zeitoun, Also known simply as El-Zeitoun, Zeitun or rarely Our Lady of Light, was a mass Marian apparition that occurred in the Zeitoun district of Cairo, Egypt, over a period of 2–3 years beginning on April 2, 1968.

Apparition
The first apparition at Zeitoun was recorded on the evening April 2, 1968 when a Muslim bus mechanic called Farouk Mohammed Atwa, who worked across the street from the church of Saint Demiana in Zeitoun, thought that the apparition was a woman attempting suicide by jumping from the structure. Two other men also noticed a white figure on the top of the church

The sighting was reported to the police. Crowd begun to gather on the event site and the police attempted to disperse it. According to the police, the sighting was just a reflection of the light from the street lamps However, the crowds viewed the sighting as a clear apparition of Saint Mary, and so the attempts by the police to disperse the crowd were unsuccessful. The event itself ended in few minutes.

A week later on April 9 the phenomenon reoccurred for a few minutes and since then apparitions became quite frequent, sometimes repeating two-three times a week . The appearance of the lights continued up to 1971. Many healings and miracles were reported during the time of the apparitions.

The head of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, Pope of Alexandria, Kyrillos VI appointed a committee of high-ranking priests and bishops to investigate the matter, headed by Bishop Gregorios, bishop of postgraduate studies, Coptic culture and scientific research. On May 4 Kyrillos VI issued an official statement confirming the apparitions.

They were also confirmed by the Jesuit Father Dr. Henry Habib Ayrout, and by Rev. Dr. Ibrahim Said of the Protestant Evangelical Ministries. Nuns of the Society of the Sacred Heart also witnessed the apparitions and sent a detailed report to the Vatican, resulting in the arrival of an envoy on April 28 who also saw the apparitions and sent a report to Pope Paul VI.

The apparitions were also witnessed by President Gamal Abdel Nasser, and captured by newspaper photographers and television. Investigations performed by the police could find no explanation for the phenomenon. No device was found within a radius of fifteen miles capable of projecting the image, while the sheer number of photographs from independent sources suggests that no photographic manipulation was involved.

Having been unable to produce an alternative explanation for the luminous sightings, the Egyptian government accepted the apparitions as true.

CATHOLIC HYMN BOOK: Hymn 310

2010-11-04T11:43:00.000+01:00

HELP, LORD, THE SOULS

Help, Lord, the souls that thou hast made,
the souls to thee so dear,
In prison for the debt unpaid
Of sin committed here.

These holy souls, they suffer on,
Resign’d in heart and will,
Until thy high behest is done,
And justice has its fill.

For daily falls, for pardon’d crime,
They joy to undergo
The shadow of thy Cross sublime,
The remnant of thy woe.

Oh, by their patience of delay.
Their hope amid their pain,
Their sacred Zeal to burn away,
Disfugurement and stain.

Oh, by their fire of love, not less
In keenness than the flame;
Oh, by their very helplessness;
Oh, by thy own great Name.

Good Jesus, help! Sweet Jesus, aid
The souls to thee most dear,
In prison for the debt unpaid
Of sins committed here.

ST. JOSEPH

2010-10-30T22:08:00.000+01:00

Coming from the root of king David,
through the line of Abraham who begot Isaac.

King David being a decendant of Isaac begot Solomon
who begot Robom. And Roboam begat Abia. St.Matt.1:12.

And Jacob begot St. Joseph, the husband of Mary of whom
was born Jesus, who is called Christ.

St. Joseph! The husband of Mary whom Jesus calls "Father".
The only created human beign whom with God the Father,

the second person of the Most Holy Trinity
our LORD Jesus Christ calls "Father".

A unique role he played in the generation he lived
and a unique role he still plays in our lives today
as a great mediator and intercessor.

St. Joseph who was espouded to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

A man of Love.
A capenter.
A skillful workman.

With devotion he loved her purity.
He kept her purity.

St. Joseph my holy model.
St. Joseph pray for me.

INDULGENCE

2010-10-24T22:00:00.000+01:00

It was a Sunday mornig and as usuall Angel, my elder brother’s wife would come to the house with her two lovely children Queen 3years n David 17months and we would all spend the day together.
It has always been the so and we loved to spend the Sunday together so on this particular Sunday Angel was telling my sister and I how she started to read the bible to her little ones before they go to bed and how the little ones loved it that they would be the ones to call their mother to read them the bible before they went to bed.
I encouraged her to continue with that wonderful act believing that some day those children will be the ones to read to their mother especially as they were bright and doing well in school.
Again I told them that Pope Leo XIII granted to the faithful who shall read for at least a quarter of an hour the books of the Sacred Scriptures with the veneration due to the Divine Word and as spiritual reading, an indulgence of 300 days.
Then came the question from my sister “What is an indungence” I explained to her the little I have read and have been taught about indulgence, its meaning and the conditions one can be in other to gain an indulgence, only the much I know I told them.
Again I realized how the average Catholic youth does not know or is ignorant of the treasury possessed by the Church which Jesus has granted to St. Peter so I went further to read about indulgence and what better place could I seek such information than the Catholic Encyclopedia http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07783a.htm.
According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, An indulgence is the extra-sacramental remission of the temporal punishment due, in God's justice, to sin that has been forgiven, which remission is granted by the Church in the exercise of the power of the keys, through the application of the superabundant merits of Christ and of the saints, and for some just and reasonable motive.
In granting an indulgence, the grantor (pope or bishop) does not offer his personal merits in lieu of what God demands from the sinner. He acts in his official capacity as having jurisdiction in the Church, from whose spiritual treasury he draws the means wherewith payment is to be made. The Church herself is not the absolute owner, but simply the administratrix, of the superabundant merits which that treasury contains. In applying them, she keeps in view both the design of God's mercy and the demands of God's justice. She therefore determines the amount of each concession, as well as the conditions which the penitent must fulfill if he would gain the indulgence.

Various kinds of indulgences
By a plenary indulgence is meant the remission of the entire temporal punishment due to sin so that no further expiation is required in Purgatory. A partial indulgence commutes only a certain portion of the penalty; and this portion is determined in accordance with the penitential discipline of the early Church.

Dispositions necessary to gain an indulgence
The mere fact that the Church proclaims an indulgence does not imply that it can be gained without effort on the part of the faithful. From what has been said above, it is clear that the recipient must be free from the guilt of mortal sin. Furthermore, for plenary indulgences, confession and Communion are usually required, while for partial indulgences, though confession is not obligatory, the formula corde saltem contrito, i.e. "at least with a contrite heart", is the customary prescription.

Authoritative teaching of the Church
The Council of Trent (Sess, XXV, 3-4, Dec., 1563) declared: "Since the power of granting indulgences has been given to the Church by Christ, and since the Church from the earliest times has made use of this Divinely given power, the holy synod teaches and ordains that the use of indulgences, as most salutary to Christians and as approved by the authority of the councils, shall be retained in the Church; and it further pronounces anathema against those who either declare that indulgences are useless or deny that the Church has the power to grant them (Enchridion, 989). It is therefore of faith (de fide)
• that the Church has received from Christ the power to grant indulgences, and
• that the use of indulgences is salutary for the faithful.

To read more on this topic Indulgence please visit http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07783a.htm

Forgive me Lord

2010-10-24T08:42:00.000+01:00

St. Mary of the Cross

2010-10-17T20:53:00.000+01:00

Australia got its first Catholic saint Sunday, a feisty 19th-century nun who was briefly excommunicated when her colleagues exposed an abusive priest.

Mary MacKillop co-founded the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart in 1867, and gained a reputation as the first Australian nun to leave the cities and minister to the rural poor.

Nuns in her order got evidence that a priest was engaged in "scandalous behavior," according to the Rev. Paul Gardiner, who has spent decades researching MacKillop's life.

The nuns reported it to the Rev. Julian Woods, MacKillop's first spiritual mentor who co-founded the Sisters of St. Joseph.

Woods in turn reported the abuse to church authorities, resulting in the Rev. Ambrose Patrick Keating being sent back to Ireland from Kapunda, Australia.

But Keating's friends "were really upset with Father Woods and thought they could best get at him by getting at Mary," said Claire Larkin, the chair of the Mary MacKillop Centre in Penola, Australia.

"They told a lot of lies to the bishop," who excommunicated MacKillop and the entire order in 1871, she said.

Bishop James Quinn revoked the excommunication five months later, on his deathbed, the order says in its biography of Mary MacKillop.

But she still had to spend decades fighting local Catholic leaders for control of the order she founded.

"She was a charismatic entrepreneur," the Rev. Thomas Reese, author of "Inside the Vatican," told CNN. "She was a feminist before her time. She struggled in a male-dominated institution and got things done."

Her familiarity with church politics may have played a role in the instructions she issued to her nuns when women got the vote in Australia.

"It is the duty on us all to vote ... Get advice from some leading man in whom you have confidence or from the priest, but keep your voting secret," she wrote in 1903.

The order grew to include 300 nuns in Australia and New Zealand by 1891, its website says, and now has about 1,200 members.

She died in 1909 and was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1995.

The Catholic Church credits her with miraculously helping to cure a woman named Kathleen Evans of cancer.

She took to wearing a piece of MacKillop's clothing pinned to her nightgown and asked her family and friends to pray for MacKillop to intervene with God on her behalf.

Her cancer disappeared, Evans said in a statement.

Pope Benedict XVI recognized the cure as a miracle in December 2009, and announced two months later that MacKillop would be canonized.

He praised her "courageous and saintly example of zeal, perseverance and prayer" on Sunday in canonizing her as St. Mary of the Cross MacKillop.

Some 4,000 people attended an outdoor mass Sunday to celebrate the canonization in Penola, where she started her ministry in a disused stable.

"It's so exciting, we've had a marvellous day," Larkin said from Penola.

"It's been a long journey" to sainthood, she said. "Her dream started in a little country outback town, to think that she's gotten that recognition.

If Only Mary Were But Known

2010-10-15T10:08:00.000+01:00

It is written everywhere from Genesis through Revelation. “The Morning Star”. The author of the Canticle of Canticles called titled her “My Dove” Sgs 6:8.
The book of revelation gave her the title “Ark of the Covenant” Rev 11:19.
At Pentecost, the powers in the merits of her prayers brought upon mankind the gifts of her beloved Spouse. Like thongs of fire, it stood upon their heads Acts 2:2. At the foot of the cross the sorrows of mankind she carried, there she was proclaimed the Mother of mankind.
“He came down to His own but His own did not Him”.

‘If only Mary were but known’.

Every day, the Holy Spirit tries to set the world to see the beacon of hope for mankind. The Gospel according to St. Luke gave an account of it all. The Virgin after being visited by the angel of the Lord set forth to visit her cousin in a distant land. This part of the story is quite interesting. Luke 2:41 ‘and it came to pass that when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the infant leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost.......43. And whence is this to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

At this time Mary had not told Elizabeth about her encounter with the angel but because Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit so it was revealed to her that the babe in the womb is the Lord.......

46. And Mary said: my soul doth magnify the Lord. And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. Because he hath regarded the humility of his handmaid: for behold from henceforth all generations shall call ne blessed.......
Does my generation call her blessed? That is the big question. I read the Bible daily but do I see and understand these things clearly? Or do I interpret the bible the way I want? Lots of questions to ask but sorry it's not the time for questions.

‘If only Mary were but known’.

There would be peace world over, souls would frequent heaven more freely, poverty would cease in the land of the rising sun and like in the wilderness the chosen people of the Most High would once again eat manna from heaven. If only Mary were but known sinners would frequent the Sacrament of confession, souls would be saved, life anagaga.

MARY IMMACULATE: MEDIATRIX OF ALL GRACES.

2010-10-14T20:28:00.000+01:00

By his death on the cross, our Lord and savior Jesus Christ obtained for mankind all that he could ever have done for us. All the merits of the sufferings and death of our Lord Jesus Christ he laid at the feet of Mary. At the foot of the cross St. Jn19:25-27 “Now there stood by the cross of Jesus, his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalen. 26 When Jesus therefore had seen his mother and the disciple standing whom he loved he saith to his mother: Woman, behold thy son. 27 After that he saith to the disciple: Behold thy mother. And from that hour, the disciple took her for his own”.

These merits of Jesus purchased for mankind by his death upon the cross, he placed at the feet of Mary and to distribute to man she gives to men as it pleases her, when it pleases her and in what quantity it pleases her says St. Louis Mariae de Montfort as she gives to man even unto those who do not acknowledge her as mother but are followers of Jesus for Jesus saith “if they are not against us they are for us”

Reading the story of St. Catherine Laboure and the Miraculous medal, we find the need to ask for grace at all times from Mary Immaculate, Mediatrix of All graces. Mary as wrote by another author was born Immaculate, she lived immaculate, died immaculate and was assumed body and soul to heaven immaculate. Jesus said that we should ask and we shall receive and so for us to receive grace we shall ask for it. Nothing good comes from man naturally as a result of the fall of satan and so every good we do in life is as a result of the grace of God which we receive through the maternal hands of Mary Immaculate Mediatrix of All graces.

During Our Lady’s visit to the young novitiate St. Catherine, as the story goes, rays of light emanated from the rings on the fingers of the Blessed Virgin Mary though some of the rings brought forth no light. St. Catherine inspired by the Holy Ghost who is ever present with, in and around the Blessed Virgin his beloveth spouse(that is what we mean when we say Mary is full of grace) asked the Blessed Virgin the meaning of the rays of light that emanated from the rings on her finger and Our Lady replied that it signifies graces of God which she gives to men. Again the young lady asked about the rings that emanated no light and Our Lady replied that they meant graces for which we have failed to ask for.

We need the grace of God to firmly have faith in the God whom we believe in. It takes the grace of God to live a life of prayer as a Christian. It takes the grace of God for a sick man to have faith that the God whom he serves, whom he has called upon in prayer for healing from bondage of illness has healed him. It takes the grace of God to do virtually everything just like it takes the grace of God for the writer to write.

In all these, this woman, a mere creature of God but whom it pleased God to abode in her womb for 9months, this woman who nursed the son of God and whom the Son of God was subject to for the first 30 years of his earthly life only to complete his earthly sojourn at 33. Jesus gave to Mary 30 years and 3 years to the world.

In all, this woman who walked along the way to Golgotha with her son and finally at the foot of the cross, all the graces of God obtained by Jesus on the cross of death he gave to her when he said “Mother behold thy son”(Mother of the Church) even as we see in Rev 12:17 And the dragon was angry against the woman: and went to make war with the rest of her seed who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Mary is the Mediatrix of All graces and we must go to Mary for all our spiritual and temporal needs because to Mary it has been given the grace of intercession and protection. Mary is the sweetest, dearest, nearest, most convinced way to Jesus Christ our Lord and Master.
FrancisMary Obidike