The Catholic Faithful

The Artist

noreply@blogger.com (Ancilla Indigna) — Thu, 10 Nov 2022 01:10:00 +0000

He writes poems without words

Music without sound

Paints without a brush

Yet He says more than can be captured in words, or music or visuals,

The medium is His Love which is not received by many who see only fragments of incidentals,

Had I not eyes to see nor ears to hear, His same Love would capture me for it is in this medium that I have true sight and true hearing. He animates my soul by the instrument of the Tree, and the media of his Heart.

Catholic Buzzwords ~ Fr. Ripperger

noreply@blogger.com (Ancilla Indigna) — Sat, 15 Oct 2022 16:25:00 +0000

Cardinal Ottaviani: The Virgin Mary Crushes All Heresies

noreply@blogger.com (Ancilla Indigna) — Sat, 15 Oct 2022 16:24:00 +0000

Why Only the Traditional Latin Mass

noreply@blogger.com (Ancilla Indigna) — Mon, 10 Oct 2022 14:26:00 +0000

Note to a friend who has never attended the traditional, Latin Roman Rite Mass:

You should go to a Latin Mass. Actually, first you should 'google' a comparison between the Novus Ordo Missae and the traditional Roman Rite. The traditional Roman Rite is called, informally, "traditional" because it came from tradition in the Church. St. Francis of Assisi loved this rite from Rome so much that he had to go to Rome to ask for permission to be able to use it. He obtained permission for his order, and priests that would celebrate it with them. It then became codified. Then in 1969, thanks to a Freemason named, Bugnini, they made a Mass partly from the tradition, but removed those signs of solemnity that offended our "absent brethren" (Protestants), and replaced it with an emphasis on the people rather than God and his transcendence, replacing the focus from the very, essential nature of the mass: Christ's sacrifice. I am not putting the Novus Ordo down: It it is what the men of the council openly admitted to doing as this was their aim.

I'm not sure how successful their endeavor was, though, in terms of attracting Protestants,. I think Protestants just rather attend their own communities, rather than a Catholic Mass that had adopted their early practices during the Reformation.

The reason for the Latin, by the way, which is only a liturgical Latin (which was never spoken as a common Latin) was because the Church recognized early on that it was for the entire world. Since languages are different and reflect customs, ideals,. nuances, etc., and could change the meanings from country to country, or even region to region or whomever was writing down the words of scripture or the formulas for sacred rites, etc., they needed a language for the Church to be used worldwide. This was used for official documents, as well, as the prayers of different liturgical rites under the (religious) Roman Rite. This way, the original intent of the words as first interpreted from their initial state as given to us by divine origin, would be preserved, celebrated and spread throughout the entire world. Priests could easily teach to the laity what was being said regularly. and what was new for that day could also be read in their vernacular, without any risk of distorting the sacred form of the liturgy.

Today, when people attend the new liturgy, they have, along with the Novus Ordo Missae itself, lost the sense of the sacred. They look to "get something out of it", showing they they have no idea of the actual intent of the Mass itself and why it exists in the first place. They look to be entertained, amused, understood, etc., a miss the nature of the Catholic Mass. Yes, the Holy Eucharist is the crucified and resurrected body of Christ, but this comes at the cost of sacrifice --- a holy sacrifice, which is done once, but re-created in a spiritual and physical reality at every (valid) Catholic Mass. In an effort to find worldly relevancy to 'get with the times', as they say, the most profound holiness and significance of the sacrifice for all ages has been obscured, and some may say, utterly lost. Rather than "welcome our absent brethren", the new rite has succeeded in confusing those that celebrate it into strange doctrines more in line with a type of neo-Ariansm, seeking to remove the divine Son of God from the Crucifix, and even the tabernacles from the altars.

Evidence of the Novus Ordo Missae promoting an neo Arianism is in how few Bishops will stand up to the gravest public scandals of the Church's history. In nations where the people are not in danger of losing their lives, Bishops and priests refuse to stand up to political leaders who promote the most abominable sins, And in the land of the Protestant apostates, who ironically (falsely) claim to be "bible-based"* (*then why did they redact it to form a new religion?) hurl public insults at those who promote what teachings that came directly from Christ's mouth: "[6] But he that shall scandalize one of these little ones that believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone should be hanged about his neck, and that he should be drowned in the depth of the sea." Matthew 18:6 Also ," [4] He who saith that he knoweth him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. " --- 1 John 2:6

But even in defense of the most defenseless lives, the majority are silent. Yet, when we have a high-ranking prelate, even a Cardinal, speak out of the rights of God in His Church, he is imprisoned and worse, and yet, has the Pope spoken out on his behalf? Has the Pope spoken out on God's behalf? Has the Pope put God's rights as a priority in the duties of his office? If the answer is, "no", then he, too, is guilty of grave scandal.

Humanism is at the core of the New Order, including the New Order Mass. It basically says that the highest good is what man can do for man, rather than God, himself. It obscures the transcendence of God and replaces it with a man-centered worship and theology. It hides and demeans the need for the sacred and replaces it with the ever-changing inclinations of a wounded society with its fickleness and creates a false 'god' in its own image. It says that God's grace no longer transforms but at best "covers", lowering the bar of what Christ has commanded (and he would not command the impossible). It is religion of sentimentality and lies, to accommodate worldliness, more or less, with out putting the Christ at the center of the heart of man, or at the heart of society, or even at the heart of his church.

Mother of Holy Hope

noreply@blogger.com (Ancilla Indigna) — Tue, 04 Oct 2022 16:51:00 +0000

+JMJ+

On the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi

Our Lady is the Mother Holy Hope. All it takes is for a poor sinner to call upon her and ask for her prayers on his (or her) behalf, and she will petition her son. She is the Mother of Holy Hope, because she petitions for the good of the souls entrusted to her care. This is the will of God, that people should come to his son, but know that they must do so with humility and a desire to grow in obedience to Him, and he created the perfect person for this act of redemption of Man-kind. In other words, God the Father did not create Jesus, his only son, but Jesus was the first 'thought' of God, as Jesus Christ is begotten and not made. From the love God the Father has for his son, comes the Holy Spirit, who is also the spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary. God chose* Mary as also an example to truly love Him as a creature made in His own image. (*Note: He created her "full of grace", but she also fulfilled His perfect Will by remaining under complete obedience to the fullness of grace given to her, therefore, it is right to also say that God chose Mary.) The Blessed Virgin Mother was not only the first Christian, but remains the greatest Christian, and more powerful by her intercession than all other saints combined. A true follower of Christ is obedient to God and His Commandments, as Christ says so himself, "He who says he loves me, yet fails to keep the Commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him." He also commands that the Christian keep to the traditions he gave them through the Apostles. Therefore, the Apostles knew Christ witnessed to his intention and work towards their being only one (1) church, and referred to her as Christ's "bride."

Likewise, the Blessed Mother's role also points to the relationship of Christ to the Church, as the Holy Spirit is espoused to the Blessed Mother. Just as anyone who detests the Church will detest Our Lady, conversely, anyone who says they love our Lady and yet fails to love the Church or who says they love the Church and not our Lady, is a liar. He who says he loves Christ, and does not love his holy Mother is not worthy in the least bit to be called Christian, that is meaning, "a follower of Christ." Nothing is separated from the Person's the Holy Trinity, and the dignity the 3 Persons of God have bestowed upon the Blessed Mother requires one to pay her honor for this simple fact that God honors her.

There is also a connection to obedience to the Commandments and hyperdulia** paid to the Mother of God the Son (**hyperdulia is the honor due to the Blessed Mother, which is separate from the worship due to God alone, which is latria. Incidentally, dulia is the worship due to the saints, therefore, as 'hyper' denotes 'above' the worship of (other) saints, the Church says that honor above all the other saints is due to the Blessed Mother). Those who refuse to obey God by the traditions he has ordained to give grace that does not "cover" but actually transforms the heart and mind of the recipient (see about the 'new wine' in "The Wedding Feast of Cana" in the Bible), also not only resist but tend to despise adoration due to the God by honoring Mary, since she is the perfect example of the greatest obedience to Him (see, also, devotion to "Our Lady of Sorrows").

Since the Blessed Mother seeks to intercede for those who wish to sincerely serve Christ in this short life, she is our hope -- our holy hope.

Conversely, the devil who knows he could never outshine the honor due to Our Lady, in his jealousy, he looks to steal hope away from people's hearts. That loss of holy hope is the first to go, which allows the sinner to be further misdirected away from things that will bring it to the right course. The loss of holy hope can be imperceptible to most, as it is not in what is seen but what is not seen. There is an avoidance of worship of God for HIS sake to the point that people will have ambivalence as to how they worship at all. The loss of the sense of the sacred grows like a fast growing disease. People will look for satiation in created goods and feelings and their expressions rather than God Himself for Himself. The sense of transcendence of God is lost, and they place their false faith in their fickle emotions and vanities. These are all signs of loss of holy hope. Then there is a type of loss of holy hope in despair, where it is basically the result of the former, along with even greater wounds of sin, whether actuated by the sinner and/or the sins of others of which they were effected. The devil doesn't like to work hard at all, and when he can have someone else do much of his work for him, he just sits, waits, watches, and then takes advantage of someone in their particularly weakened state. Then, he introduces thoughts that are in error much more easily. The way of the world today is not only to justify these lies, but to defend these disordered ideas as ideals, which truly proves from whom they come. Disorder and chaos replaces order and true peace by supplanting reason with emotions that come specifically from wounded souls lacking in the infused virtue of hope.

Sometimes the attack on the virtue of hope can come to even pious souls. This is because the devil looking for a weak area in charity, which is firstly the love of God for HIS sake, because He is all good and all deserving of all one's love. Avoidance of God, much less the Cross, the avoidance of suffering or even looking to gain something out of suffering other than glory to and for God, are all areas open for attack. The counter to this is the pursuit of virtue for God's glory, through the means of deliberate requests to grow in the virtue, particularly that of holy hope, through Our Lady.

Christ's mother knew from the very beginning of her "Fiat" to God the Father, that she would also suffer, as her son would suffer, since she was raised to know the prophecies of the prophets, especially that of Isaiah. The gave her, "Thy Will be done" to God for His glory, not her own, knowing that she would be glorified by Him for this, but completely detached from what suffering or good would come to her. Everything was for God, and today, nothing has changed:

Our Mother of Holy Hope does everything for the glory of God.

+AMDG+

September 8, Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin

noreply@blogger.com (Ancilla Indigna) — Fri, 09 Sep 2022 03:15:00 +0000

The Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary

by Giotto, in the Scrovegni Chapel Padua, Italy (c. 1305)

What Should be My Priority?

noreply@blogger.com (Ancilla Indigna) — Wed, 07 Sep 2022 01:45:00 +0000

“Throughout that nine-year period, from my nineteenth year to my twenty-eighth, I was astray myself and led others astray, was deceived and deceived others in various forms of self-assertion, publicly by the teaching of what are called the liberal arts, privately under the false name of religion; in the one proud, in the other superstitious, in both vain. On the one side of my life I pursued the emptiness of popular glory and the applause of spectators, with competition for prize poems and strife for garlands of straw and the vanity of stage shows and untempered lusts; on the other side I was striving to be made clean of all this same filth, by bearing food to those who were called elect and holy, that in the factory of their own stomachs they should turn it into angels and deities by whom I was to be set free. And I followed out this line of conduct; and so did my friends who were deceived by me and with me. Let the proud of heart deride me now and all who have never been brought low and broken by Thee unto salvation, O my God; it is only for Thy glory that I confess to Thee all my ingloriousness. Grant me, I beseech Thee, to retraverse now in memory the past ways of my error and to offer Thee a sacrifice of rejoicing. For without Thee, what am I but a guide to my own destruction? Or at my best what am I but an infant suckled on Thy milk and feeding upon Thee, O Food incorruptible? What indeed is any man, seeing that he is but a man? Let the strong in their own power mock on, I in my weakness and neediness will confess unto Thee.”

- Saint Augustine

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The 7 Sorrows of Our Lady / Novena to Our Lady of Sorrows

noreply@blogger.com (Ancilla Indigna) — Tue, 06 Sep 2022 04:35:00 +0000

This consists of beginning with a Hail Mary, then meditation on each one of the 7 sorrows (a Hail Mary for each), then ending with The Memorarae:

The Seven Sorrows of Our Lady

The Prophecy of Simeon
The Flight into Egypt
The Loss of the child Jesus in the Temple
The Meeting of Mary and Jesus on the Way to Calvary
The Crucifixion and Death of Jesus
The Piercing of the Side of Jesus and His Descent from the Cross
The Burial of Jesus

Hail Mary
Hail Mary full of Grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed are thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen
The Memorare
Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection, implored your help or sought your intercession, was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto you, O Virgin of Virgins, my Mother. To you do I come, before you I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in your clemency, hear and answer me. Amen

Prepare for Eternity & Divine Providence ~ Fr Armand de Malleray, FSSP

noreply@blogger.com (Ancilla Indigna) — Tue, 06 Sep 2022 03:34:00 +0000

Uniformity With God's Will, Saint Alphonsus Maria De' Liguori, Full Cath...

noreply@blogger.com (Ancilla Indigna) — Tue, 06 Sep 2022 03:33:00 +0000

The Three Ways Of The Spiritual Life By Father Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange

noreply@blogger.com (Ancilla Indigna) — Tue, 06 Sep 2022 03:09:00 +0000

The Importance of Forgiving Our Enemies

noreply@blogger.com (Ancilla Indigna) — Tue, 06 Sep 2022 03:02:00 +0000

The Secret Ingredient that Enables Us to Forgive

noreply@blogger.com (Ancilla Indigna) — Tue, 06 Sep 2022 02:17:00 +0000

Athanasius Schneider on French TV Schism already exists in the Church

noreply@blogger.com (Ancilla Indigna) — Mon, 05 Sep 2022 18:32:00 +0000

Gregorian Requiem chant: In Paradisum (Lyric Video)

noreply@blogger.com (Ancilla Indigna) — Wed, 31 Aug 2022 00:29:00 +0000

The 3 Conversions of St. Mary Magdalene: Learning from Her "Holy Audacity"

noreply@blogger.com (Ancilla Indigna) — Sun, 28 Aug 2022 22:44:00 +0000

+JMJ+

Ad Majorem Deum Gloriam

Ad Jesum per Mariam

The almost humorous phrase "holy audacity" might describe a certain characteristic of St. Mary Magdalene. This characteristic, which I first heard from a famous, pious nun, growing in holiness, was used to describe the saint in connection to how she let love override her fear. Three main examples are given to us regarding St. Mary Magdalene by the Holy Spirit that might help one to acquire this tenacious spirit to love our Lord more greatly and to make him loved by others.

The First Conversion of St. Mary Magdalene was when she was in a fearful moment of being brought to our Lord Jesus by the scribes and Pharisees. Remember, that a penalty for adultery back then would have been stoning to death. We do not know what caused the spiral of bad choices that led this poor sinner down such a path, but God wishes us to learn first of the depth of Christ's compassion.

[1] And Jesus went unto mount Olivet. [2] And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came to him, and sitting down he taught them. [3] And the scribes and the Pharisees bring unto him a woman taken in adultery: and they set her in the midst, [4] And said to him: Master, this woman was even now taken in adultery. [5] Now Moses in the law commanded us to stone such a one. But what sayest thou?

[6] And this they said tempting him, that they might accuse him. But Jesus bowing himself down, wrote with his finger on the ground. [7] When therefore they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said to them: He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. [8] And again stooping down, he wrote on the ground. [9] But they hearing this, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest. And Jesus alone remained, and the woman standing in the midst. [10] Then Jesus lifting up himself, said to her: Woman, where are they that accused thee? Hath no man condemned thee?

[11] Who said: No man, Lord. And Jesus said: Neither will I condemn thee. Go, and now sin no more. [12] Again therefore, Jesus spoke to them, saying: I am the light of the world: he that followeth me, walketh not in darkness, but shall have the light of life. -- John 8:1-12

Jesus could read hearts, and knew that this was a teaching moment for this notorious sinner, who would later, in her tremendous contrition, bathe the Lord's feet with her copious tears and anoint his feet in oil, even in front of others, for she knew the terrific number and gravity of sins which he had wiped from her once unclean heart.

What we might learn: St. Mary Magdalene, was forgiven much and, therefore, she learned by Christ, to love much. For this, by the operation of Christ, Our Lord used the saint as an example, even providentially while he had been teaching in the temple. By this example, countless souls from that point on have been converted to Christ.

And there were there many women afar off, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering unto him:

[56] Among whom was Mary Magdalen, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee. [57] And when it was evening, there came a certain rich man of Arimathea, named Joseph, who also himself was a disciple of Jesus. [58] He went to Pilate, and asked the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded that the body should be delivered. [59] And Joseph taking the body, wrapped it up in a clean linen cloth. [60] And laid it in his own new monument, which he had hewed out in a rock. And he rolled a great stone to the door of the monument, and went his way. -- Matthew 27:56-59

The Second Conversion of St. Mary Magdalene was when the saint remained with the Blessed Virgin Mother, along with other holy women, after having followed Christ through his Passion and to the Cross on Calvary. Her strength of spirit came from tending to the Blessed Mother and to the other women.

And there followed him a great multitude of people, and of women, who bewailed and lamented him. [28] But Jesus turning to them, said: Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not over me; but weep for yourselves, and for your children. [29] For behold, the days shall come, wherein they will say: Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that have not borne, and the paps that have not given suck. [30] Then shall they begin to say to the mountains: Fall upon us; and to the hills: Cover us. -- Luke 23:17-30

Here our Lord seeks to give encouragement to the women --- both the mothers and those who had not had the blessing of children, to emphasize that there also exists a spiritual motherhood, also sacrificial in nature. How are either ministry fulfilled when following the Passion of Our Lord? Their strength is found in staying close the Blessed Virgin Mother and in support of one another in this mystical walk of Calvary.

Men, incidentally, can learn from St. Mary Magdalene here, for she whose life was saved by Christ, now risks her life to be associated with through the greatest spiritual suffering. Both the St. Mary Magdalene and St. John the Apostle were given graces of strength of heart and fortitude even protection of their bodies to fulfil their lives' ministries by remaining close to Christ through maintaining close proximity to his Blessed Virgin Mother.

The Third Conversion.
[11] But Mary stood at the sepulchre without, weeping. Now as she was weeping, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre, [12] And she saw two angels in white, sitting, one at the head, and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been laid. [13] They say to her: Woman, why weepest thou? She saith to them: Because they have taken away my Lord; and I know not where they have laid him. [14] When she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing; and she knew not that it was Jesus. [15] Jesus saith to her: Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, thinking it was the gardener, saith to him: Sir, if thou hast taken him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away. -- John 20:11-15

Ahhhh!!! Holy Audacity! This dear saint, with reason clouded by grief, thinks she can carry the dead body of her Lord, Jesus. After a long week of witnessing the Greatest Suffering known to mankind, she finds that the body of Christ is now missing from the sepulchre. Yet, she sees two angels, and rather than be comforted in the slightest even by the spiritual blessing of seeing them, she responds to their inquiry of the reason for her weeping at the site of the empty tomb, "Because they havve taken nawayy my Lord; and I know not where they have laid him." St. Mary Magdalene then looks at Jesus standing near by, watching her weeping, who then asks, 'Woman, why are you crying? For whom do you seek?" And really, what an ironic question, since St. Mary Magdalene was seen peering into the empty tomb! To which the confused saint responds, "Sir, if thou hast taken him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away."

John 20 continues:
[16] Jesus saith to her: Mary. She turning, saith to him: Rabboni (which is to say, Master). [17] Jesus saith to her: Do not touch me, for I am not yet ascended to my Father. But go to my brethren, and say to them: I ascend to my Father and to your Father, to my God and your God. [18] Mary Magdalen cometh, and telleth the disciples: I have seen the Lord, and these things he said to me.

At the moment Jesus says the name of St. Mary Magdalene, a first name which, in itself, when said with devotion, is a sacramental, St. Mary Magdalene recognizes Christ, whom she thought initially was the gardener. He calls her by her name and then tells her to not touch him, then commissions her to witness to the others to see that he has, in fact, resurrected form the dead. Christ tells Mary Magdalene not to touch him because this is the spiritual commission, to witness to Christ's death and resurrection. Jesus tells Mary Magdalene not to act by her emotions to desire to touch him to find consolation. It was not for her faith that she desired to touch our Lord, as it was with St. Thomas, but for her own consolation in the fact that our Lord has resurrected. However, had she touched our Lord, she would have been led by her emotions and not her reason, and missed the point of Jesus's resurrection from the dead, which was to have others witness to his Ascension, which, in turn, would open the gates to Heaven, and bring forth the ability for the supernatural graces to come from the Sacraments of His Bride.

Therefore, St Mary Magdalene's third conversion was the culmination of the first two: firstly, receiving God's mercy through God the Son. Secondly, following the Passion and Death of Christ by remaining close to his Mother. Lastly, she is reminded by Jesus to not allow her devotion to be moved by emotions, but rather, by her spiritual duties, first alluded to in the first two conversions. These conversions might have been revisited in the daily mental prayer of the saint, reminded of the forgiveness of our Lord, the suffering and death of our Lord, and now the commission to rely on hearing his 'voice'* (*if even only in prayer and meditation on scripture), and trusting in Christ's promise of Heaven.

In Conclusion:
We , too, may find "holy audacity" from the example of St. Mary Magdalene. This is useful in our day to day journey with Christ, and also in leading others to Christ, both in prayer and action. Let us not depend on seeing the outcome, or find ourselves attached to temporal joys and passing emotions, but remain trusting in our Lord and his continuing ministry.

And never forget the protection and strength given to we who strive to be the spiritual children of the Blessed Virgin Mother of Jesus Christ. "Behold, thy mother!"

An Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Mary

noreply@blogger.com (Ancilla Indigna) — Tue, 23 Aug 2022 04:21:00 +0000

An Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Mary

Composed by Saint Alphonsus Liguori

"Holy and spotless Virgin, Daughter of the Heavenly Father, Mother of the Word Incarnate, Spouse of the Holy Ghost, Queen of Angels and of Saints, I acknowledge thee and choose thee for my Sovereign, my Mother, my Advocate with Jesus Christ, thy beloved Son: be thou honoured in Heaven, revered on earth, and feared in Hell. Most holy heart of Mary, inseparably united to that of Jesus, I offer thee my heart, and I consecrate it to thee, wishing that thy place in it may be next to that of Jesus, my God; thou shalt ever be the object of my veneration, love, and trust; I will daily offer thee my sincere homage, and will joyfully celebrate thy festivals; I will publish thy greatness and thy blessings, and will spare no pains to obtain for thee the homage which is so justly due to thee; I will endeavour to conform my sentiments to thine, and I will constantly study how I may imitate thy virtues, especially thy humility and purity.

Deign, O most holy Virgin, to open thy heart to me, and receive me into it, among thy children and faithful servants: obtain for me grace to imitate thee, as thou didst imitate Jesus; help me in all my necessities; assist me in every danger; console me in affliction, and teach me to make a good use of the pleasures and sorrows of this life, but above all help me, most blessed Lady, in the hour of my death. Amen."

Mary Help of Christians

noreply@blogger.com (Ancilla Indigna) — Thu, 18 Aug 2022 01:13:00 +0000

+JMJ+

Our Lady is the Help of Christians as she continues to bring Christ into the world through obedience to grace.

As true Christians, that is to say, as those who truly follow the teachings of Christ through the what he passed down through his apostles without shadow or alternation that changes its initial meaning, we understand that grace transforms the soul, sometimes building on nature, and other times, transforming it altogether. For this means, the Christian is able to truly obey that which God has commanded. Even the most hardened of heart can be changed if he goes through the Blessed Mother, as she will most certainly pray for those who request her assistance, and our Lord then sees her prayers, which because they come from his Mother, are always worthy of his merciful and generous response.

Mary is the Help of Christians because she looks to save souls, for the purpose of building up the Kingdom of Christ, both in this temporal world, but especially in eternal life.

Since the Apostolic Age, Christians have turned with great confidence to the Blessed Virgin Mary for spiritual and temporal help. Knowing that theMother of God is also our spiritual Mother, Christians have sought her maternal aid and intercession with the Divine Majesty. And Mary Immaculate, being the marvelous Mother that she is, often comes to help her children before they even come to implore her avail, sometimes before they are even aware of their particular need. Our Lady’s solicitude at the Wedding Feast at Cana manifests this maternal trait of anticipating the needs of her children. Remember: Mary notices that the young couple had run out of wine at their marriage feast. No one had said a word about it to her, yet she mentions the plight of the married couple with tact and delicacy to her Son. And Our Lord hears and answers her prayer!

The Battle of Lepanto

The tradition of this advocation goes back to 1571, when the whole of Christendom was saved by Mary Help of Christians when Catholics throughout Europe prayed the Rosary. The great battle of Lepanto occurred on October 7th 1571. For this reason this date has been chosen as the feast of the Holy Rosary. In 1573 Pope Pius V instituted the feast in thanksgiving for the decisive victory of Christianity over Islamism. Pope St. Pius V inserted the title of Help of Christians in the litany of Loreto in 1571 in thanksgiving to Our Lady for the victory of the inferior Christian fleet over the Muslim Turks at the Battle of Lepanto.

The Pope and Napoleon

Near the end of the 17th century, Emperor Leopold I of Austria took refuge in the Shrine of Mary Help of Christians at Pasau, when 200,000 Ottoman Turks besieged the capital city of Vienna, but a great victory occurred thanks to Mary Help of Christians: on September 8th, Feast of Our Lady's Birthday, plans were drawn for the battle. On September 12, Feast of the Holy Name of Mary, Vienna was finally freed through the intercession of Mary Help of Christians. All Europe had joined with the Emperor crying out "Mary, Help!" and praying the Holy rosary.

Centuries later Pope Pius VII, held captive by Napoleon’s forces at Savona, organized a Rosary Novena among the faithful to Our Lady Help of Christians for his liberation. In 1815, Pius VII established the feast of Our Lady Help of Christians in gratitude for his release from captivity.

In 1809, Napoleon's men entered the Vatican, arrested Pius VII and brought him in chains to Grenoble, and eventually Fontainbleau. His imprisonment lasted five years. The Holy Father vowed to God that , if he were restored to the Roman See, he would institute a special feast in honor of Mary. Military reverses forced Napoleon to release the Pope, and on May 24th 1814, Pius VII returned in triumph to Rome. Twelve months later, the Pope decreed that the feast of Mary Help of Christians, be kept on the 24th of May.

St. John Bosco and Our Lady Help of Christians

St. John Bosco (1815 - 1888) was a dynamic priest who founded the Salesian Order in the XIX century in Italy. His many prophetic dreams, beginning atage nine, guided his ministry and gave insights on future events.

On May 14, 1862, Don Bosco dreamed about the battles the Church would face in the latter days. In his dream, the Pope of those days anchors the 'ship' of the Church between two pillars, one with a statue of Mary (Auxilium Christianorum or 'Help of Christians') and the other with a large Eucharistic Host

St. John Bosco wrote about his congregation, the Salesians: "The principal objective is to promote veneration of the Blessed Sacrament and devotion to Mary Help of Christians. This title seems to please the august Queen of Heaven very much."

Prayer to Our Lady Help of Christians

Most Holy Virgin Mary, Help of Christian,
how sweet it is to come to your feet
imploring your perpetual help.
If earthly mothers cease not to remember their children,
how can you, the most loving of all mothers forget me?
Grant then to me, I implore you,
your perpetual help in all my necessities,
in every sorrow, and especially in all my temptations.
I ask for your unceasing help for all who are now suffering.
Help the weak, cure the sick, convert sinners.
Grant through your intercessions many vocations to the religious life.
Obtain for us, O Mary, Help of Christians,
that having invoked you on earth we may love and eternally thank you in heaven.

Odd News

noreply@blogger.com (Ancilla Indigna) — Wed, 17 Aug 2022 03:16:00 +0000

The Feast of the Assumption

noreply@blogger.com (Ancilla Indigna) — Tue, 16 Aug 2022 03:12:00 +0000

“It was fitting that she,
who had kept her virginity in childbirth,
should keep her own body
free from all corruption even after death.
It was fitting that she,
who had carried the Creator as a child at her breast,
should dwell in the divine tabernacles…
it was fitting that God’s Mother
should possess what belongs to her Son
and that she should be honoured by every creature
as the Mother and the Handmaid of God.”
St John Damascene (675-749)
Father and Doctor of the Church

“As the most glorious Mother of Christ,
our Saviour and our God
and the giver of life and immortality,
has been endowed with life by Him,
she has received an eternal incorruptibility of the body
together with Him who has raised her up from the tomb
and has taken her up to Himself
in a way known only to Him.”

St Modestus of Jerusalem (Died 630)

“And with regard to ourselves,
how deservedly do we keep
the Feast of the Assumption with all solemnity.
What reasons for rejoicing,
what motives for exultation
have we on this most beautiful day!
The presence of Mary illumines the entire world
so that even the holy city above
has now a more dazzling splendour
from the light of this virginal Lamp.
With good reason,
thanksgiving and the voice of praise,
resound today throughout the courts of Heaven…
let us not complain,
for here we do not have a lasting city
but we seek one that is to come,
the same which the blessed Mary entered today.”

St Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153)
Mellifluous Doctor

Taken from St Alphonsus’ “The Glories of Mary”:

MARY dies; but how does she die? She dies entirely detached from any affection for created things, and dies consumed with that divine love with which her most holy heart was always and entirely inflamed. Oh holy mother, thou hast already left the earth; do not forget us, miserable pilgrims, who remain in this valley of tears struggling against so many enemies, who desire to see us lost in hell. Ah, by the merits of thy precious death, obtain for us detachment from earthly things, pardon of our sins, love to God, and holy perseverance; and, when the hour of our death shall arrive, assist us from heaven with thy prayers, and obtain for us to come and kiss thy feet in paradise.

Day 33: Comforter of the Afflicted

noreply@blogger.com (Ancilla Indigna) — Sat, 13 Aug 2022 09:11:00 +0000

Our Lady of Consolation or Mary, Consoler of the Afflicted (Latin Consolatrix Afflictorum) is a Roman Catholic title of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It dates back to the second century and is one of her earliest Marian titles of honor. The title Comforter of the afflicted is also used as an invocation in the Litany of Loreto.

The origin of this invocation is derived from the Augustinian friars who propagated this particular devotion. In 1436 the Confraternity of the Holy Cincture of Our Lady of Consolation was founded in Bologna. It was based on an Augustinian tradition which holds that Saint Monica in the fourth century, was distraught with anxiety for her wayward son, Augustine, and that Mary gave her a sash which the Virgin wore, with the assurance that whoever wore this belt would receive her special consolation and protection. Along with Saints Augustine, and Monica, Our Lady of Consolation is one of the three patrons of the Augustinian orders. The "Augustinian Rosary" is sometimes called the "crown of our mother of consolation".

c It was based on an Augustinian tradition which holds that Saint Monica in the fourth century, was distraught with anxiety for her wayward son, Augustine, and that Mary gave her a sash which the Virgin wore, with the assurance that whoever wore this belt would receive her special consolation and protection.^[2] Along with Saints Augustine, and Monica, Our Lady of Consolation is one of the three patrons of the Augustinian orders. The "Augustinian Rosary" is sometimes called the "crown of our mother of consolation". The traditional depiction of Our Mother of Consolation in Augustinian houses show Mary holding the Christ child on her lap. Both of them hold the Augustinian cincture in their hands, --- from Wikipedia

St. Clare, August 12

noreply@blogger.com (Ancilla Indigna) — Fri, 12 Aug 2022 23:17:00 +0000

St. Philomena, August 11

noreply@blogger.com (Ancilla Indigna) — Fri, 12 Aug 2022 23:16:00 +0000

Day 32: Refuge of Sinners

noreply@blogger.com (Ancilla Indigna) — Fri, 12 Aug 2022 04:30:00 +0000

+JMJ+

Our Lady is the Refuge of Sinners as it is truly her joy to show forth the glory of her Son's redemption won by his great Sacrifice leading up to the Cross and on the Cross. Christ suffer and died for the sinner, and the sinner that flees to the patronage of his Blessed Mother, has the benefit of her prayers on his behalf.

Day 31: Health of the Sick

noreply@blogger.com (Ancilla Indigna) — Thu, 11 Aug 2022 01:54:00 +0000

+JMJ+

One of the titles of the Blessed Virgin Mary is Health of the Sick. Fr. Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, O. P. (b. 1877- d. 1964) writes about this Marian title in his book, The Mother of the Savior. Traditionally, the Catholic faithful have called upon Our Lady to remember them in their needs (a.k.a., their sicknesses) through the prayer of the Memorare; but more on that prayer in a bit. First, here is an excerpt from Fr. Garrigou- Lagrange’s The Mother of the Savior, which explains the assistance Our Lady obtains for us when we ask for her help:

“Mary is Health of the Sick by the many providential or miraculous cures which have been obtained through her intercession in Christian sanctuaries up to our own days. So many have these cures been that it may be said that Mary is a fathomless ocean of miraculous healing. But it is to help the infirmity of the soul that she cures the body. Her most important cures are those of the four spiritual wounds which we have suffered as a result of original sin and our personal sins —- the wounds of concupiscence, of weakness, of ignorance, and of malice.

She heals concupiscence —- a wound of our sensibility—- by diminishing the ardor of our passions and by breaking our sinful habits

. She helps the sinner to begin to will what is right with sufficient firmness to enable him to reject evil desires as well as the appeal of honors and riches. In this way she cures the concupiscence of the flesh and that of the eyes.

She heals the wound of weakness too, our feeble pursuit of the good, our spiritual sloth. She makes the will constant and firm in its practice of virtue and helps it to despise the attractions of this world by throwing itself into the arms of God. she strengthens those who falter and lifts up those who have fallen.

She heals the wound of ignorance by lighting up the darkness of our minds and providing us with the means to escape from error. She calls to our minds the simple and profound truths of the Our Father, thereby lifting our minds up to God. St. Albert the Great, to whom she gave the light to persevere in his vocation and to see through the wiles of Satan, said frequently that she preserves us from losing rightness and firmness of judgment, that she helps us not to grow weary in the pursuit of truth, and that she leads us eventually to a relish of the things of God. He himself speaks of her in his Mariale with a spontaneity , an admiration, a freshness, and a fluency which are rarely found in the works of great students.

She heals us finally of the wounds of malice, by urging our wills Godwards, sometimes by gentle advice, sometimes by stern reproaches. Her sweetness checks anger, her humility lowers pride and restrains the temptations of the evil one. In a word, she heals us of the wounds which we bear as a result of original sin and which our personal sin has made all the more dangerous.

Sometimes this healing power of hers works in a miraculous manner by producing its effects instantaneously. An example is the conversion of the young Alphonse Ratisbonne, at the time a Jew and far removed from the faith, who visited the Church of Sant’ Andrea delle Fratte in Rome through curiosity. Mary appeared to him there, as she is represented on the miraculous medal, with rays of light issuing from her hands. She indicated gently to him to kneel. He obeyed, and while on his knees lost the use of his senses. when he returned to himself he expressed an intense desire for Baptism. He was baptized and later, with his brother who had been converted before him, founded the congregation of the Fathers of Sion and that of the Religious of Sion, to pray, suffer, and work for the conversion of the Jews, saying daily at Holy Mass: ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.'”

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Day 33: Comforter of the Afflicted

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Day 32: Refuge of Sinners

Day 31: Health of the Sick

St Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153)
Mellifluous Doctor