Keep
your eyes open!...
April 30, 2020
(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.
CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE: Bishops of U.S., Canada will consecrate their nations to Mary May 1
Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of Los
Angeles, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, has
announced the U.S. bishops will join the Canadian Conference of
Catholic Bishops May 1 in consecrating the two nations to the care of
the Blessed Mother under the title "Mary, Mother of the Church."
"This will give the church the
occasion to pray for Our Lady's continued protection of the vulnerable,
healing of the unwell and wisdom for those who work to cure this
terrible virus," said Archbishop Gomez in a letter to the U.S. bishops.
Each year, the church seeks the special intercession of the Mother of
God during the month of May.
"This year, we seek the assistance
of Our Lady all the more earnestly as we face together the effects of
the global pandemic," he said.
This consecration reaffirms the
bishops' previous consecrations of the United States to Mary. In 1792,
the first bishop of the United States, Bishop John Carroll, consecrated
the nation to Mary under the title Immaculate Conception, and in 1846,
the bishops unanimously chose Mary under that title as the patroness of
the nation.
In 1959, Cardinal Patrick O'Boyle
of Washington again consecrated the United States to the Immaculate
Heart of Mary. This was the year when construction of the National
Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington was completed. The
national shrine was elevated to minor basilica status by St. John Paul
ll Oct. 12, 1990. This was renewed by the U.S. bishops Nov. 11, 2006.
Archbishop Gomez will lead the
prayer of reconsecration May 1 at 3 p.m. (EDT) and has invited the
bishops to join in from their respective dioceses and asked them to
extend the invitation to the faithful in their dioceses for their
participation.
This reconsecration follows the
Latin American bishops' council who consecrated Latin America and the
Caribbean to Our Lady of Guadalupe on Easter.
EWTN PROGRAMMING GUIDE: 3:00 PM NEW! CATHEDRALS ACROSS AMERICA CONSECRATION OF THE UNITED STATES TO MARY, MOTHER OF THE CHURCH
Live from The Cathedral of Our Lady
of the Angels in Los Angeles, CA. The reconsecration is celebrated by
the Most Reverend Jose Gomez and timed to coincide with the bishops of
Canada consecrating their own country to Mary in response to the
pandemic. (30 minutes) ENCORE FRIDAY, MAY 1 AT 10:30
PM TV-G
LIFESITENEWS PETITION: Thank U.S. and Canadian Bishops for reconsecrating our countries to the Blessed Virgin Mary during COVID-19!
CATHOLIC TELEGRAPH: Everything You Need to Know About the Reconsecration of the US to "Mary, Mother of the Church"
Ladder
of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 28- "On holy and blessed prayer"
16. Until we have acquired genuine prayer, we are
like people teaching children to begin to walk.
April 29, 2020
(2Ch 7:14) If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble
themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked
ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and
will heal their land.
HUMAN LIFE INTERNATIONAL: Abortion during Coronavirus
VICTIMS OF ABORTION NEWSLETTER: Broken Branches Issue 136
THE SHIELD OF FAITH BLOG: God will turn the chastisement, if we turn from our sins.
St. Alphonsus de Liguori: Nine
Discourses for Times of Calamities. Following are excerpts from the
Eighth Discourse: “Prayers appease God, and avert from us the
chastisement we deserve, provided we purpose to amend.”
Would that our prominent pro-abortion “Catholic” politicians, such as
Cuomo, Pelosi and Biden, heed these words of St. Alphonsus! The
darkness is upon us, and we see no real end to it, because there is no
purpose of amendment, no turning from our nation's sins. One of the
prayers taught by the Angel of Fatima is: O my Jesus, it is for love of
Thee, for the conversion of sinners, and reparation for the sins
committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Every abortion, every
act of fornication, every act of sodomy is a sin against the Immaculate
Heart of Mary.
St. Alphonsus: “In order to be
delivered from the present scourge, and still more from the eternal
scourge, we must pray and hope. But it is not sufficient to pray and to
hope: we must pray and hope as we ought. No one hath hoped in the Lord,
and hath been confounded. [Ecclus. 2:11.] There never has been and
never will be found any one to hope in the Lord and be lost, as the
prophet assures us: He is the protector of all that trust in Him. But
how comes it, then, that some persons ask graces and do not obtain
them? St. James answers that it is because they ask ill. You ask, and
receive not, because you ask amiss. [James 4:3.] You must not only ask
and hope, but ask and hope as you ought.
God is appeased by prayers, and led
to withdraw the chastisement which we deserve, provided we purpose to
amend. How can God think of hearing that sinner who prays to him that
he may be freed from his afflictions, whilst he is unwilling to abandon
sin, which is the cause of his afflictions? Thus do many act; they beg
of God to deliver them from their afflictions; they beg of the servants
of God to avert by their prayers the threatened chastisements, but they
do not seek to obtain the grace of abandoning their sins and changing
their lives. And how can such persons hope to be freed from the
chastisement when they will not remove its cause? It is not God, then,
who makes us miserable; it is sin. Sin it is which obliges God to
create chastisements: Famine, and affliction, and scourges, all things
are created for the wicked. [Ecclus. 40: 9.]
But some will say, we make novenas, we fast, we give alms, we pray to
God: why are we not heard? How, exclaims the Lord! how can I hear the
prayers of those who beg to be freed from their afflictions, and not
from their sins, because they do not wish to reform. What care I for
their fasts, and their sacrifices, and their alms, when they will not
change their lives.
Some say we have our patron or some
other saint who will defend us; we have our Mother Mary to procure our
deliverance. How can the saints think of assisting us if we persist in
exasperating the Lord? St. John Chrysostom says, of what use was
Jeremias to the Jews? The Jews had Jeremias to pray for them, but,
notwithstanding all the prayers of that holy prophet, they received the
chastisement, because they did not wish to give up their sins. Beyond
doubt, says the holy Doctor, the prayers of the saints contribute much
to obtain the divine mercy for us, but when?—when we do penance. They
are useful, but only when we do ourselves violence to abandon sin, to
fly occasions, and return to God’s favor.
The emperor Phocas, in order to defend himself from his enemies, raised
walls and multiplied fortifications, but he heard a voice saying to him
from heaven: “You build walls, but when the enemy is within, the city
is easily taken.” We must then expel this enemy, which is sin, from our
souls, otherwise God cannot exempt us from chastisement, because he is
just, and cannot leave sin unpunished. Another time the citizens of
Antioch prayed to Mary to avert from them a scourge which overhung
them; and whilst they were praying, St. Bertoldus heard the divine
Mother replying from heaven, “Abandon your sins, and I shall be
propitious to you.”
St. Augustine says: “He who created you without your help, will not
save you without your help.” What do you expect, sinful brother? That
God will bring you to Paradise with all your sins upon you? Do you
continue to draw down upon you the divine scourges, and yet hope to be
delivered from them? Must God save you while you persist in damning
yourself? If we purpose truly to turn to God, then let us pray to him
and rejoice; even though the sins of the entire world were ours, we
should be heard, as I said to you in the beginning. Every one who prays
with a purpose of amendment, obtains mercy.”
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Ladder
of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 28- "On holy and blessed prayer"
15. If you are clothed in all meekness and freedom
from anger, you will not have much trouble in loosing your mind from captivity.
April 26, 2020
(Luk 2:50-51) And they understood not the saying which he spake unto
them. And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject
unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart.
VATICAN NEWS: The Popes and the Rosary
ANGELUS: Learning from St. John Paul II's love for the Rosary
POPE FRANCIS: Letter to the Faithful for the Month of May 2020
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
The month of May is approaching, a time when the People of God express
with particular intensity their love and devotion for the Blessed
Virgin Mary. It is traditional in this month to pray the Rosary at home
within the family. The restrictions of the pandemic have made us come
to appreciate all the more this “family” aspect, also from a spiritual
point of view.
For this reason, I want to encourage everyone to rediscover the beauty
of praying the Rosary at home in the month of May. This can be done
either as a group or individually; you can decide according to your own
situations, making the most of both opportunities. The key to doing
this is always simplicity, and it is easy also on the internet to find
good models of prayers to follow.
I am also providing two prayers to Our Lady that you can recite at the
end of the Rosary, and that I myself will pray in the month of May, in
spiritual union with all of you. I include them with this letter so
that they are available to everyone.
Dear brothers and sisters, contemplating the face of Christ with the
heart of Mary our Mother will make us even more united as a spiritual
family and will help us overcome this time of trial. I keep all of you
in my prayers, especially those suffering most greatly, and I ask you,
please, to pray for me. I thank you, and with great affection I send
you my blessing.
Rome, Saint John Lateran, 25 April 2020 Feast of Saint Mark the Evangelist
FIRST PRAYER
O Mary, You shine continuously on our journey as a sign of salvation and hope.
We entrust ourselves to you, Health of the Sick, who, at the foot of
the cross, were united with Jesus’ suffering, and persevered in your
faith.
“Protectress of the Roman people”, you know our needs, and we know that
you will provide, so that, as at Cana in Galilee, joy and celebration
may return after this time of trial.
Help us, Mother of Divine Love, to conform ourselves to the will of the Father and to do what Jesus tells us.
For he took upon himself our suffering, and burdened himself with our
sorrows to bring us, through the cross, to the joy of the Resurrection.
Amen.
We fly to your protection, O Holy Mother of God; Do not despise our
petitions in our necessities, but deliver us always from every danger,
O Glorious and Blessed Virgin.
SECOND PRAYER
“We fly to your protection, O Holy Mother of God”.
In the present tragic situation, when the whole world is prey to
suffering and anxiety, we fly to you, Mother of God and our Mother, and
seek refuge under your protection.
Virgin Mary, turn your merciful eyes towards us amid this coronavirus
pandemic. Comfort those who are distraught and mourn their loved ones
who have died, and at times are buried in a way that grieves them
deeply. Be close to those who are concerned for their loved ones who
are sick and who, in order to prevent the spread of the disease, cannot
be close to them. Fill with hope those who are troubled by the
uncertainty of the future and the consequences for the economy and
employment.
Mother of God and our Mother, pray for us to God, the Father of
mercies, that this great suffering may end and that hope and peace may
dawn anew. Plead with your divine Son, as you did at Cana, so that the
families of the sick and the victims be comforted, and their hearts be
opened to confidence and trust.
Protect those doctors, nurses, health workers and volunteers who are on
the frontline of this emergency, and are risking their lives to save
others. Support their heroic effort and grant them strength, generosity
and continued health.
Be close to those who assist the sick night and day, and to priests
who, in their pastoral concern and fidelity to the Gospel, are trying
to help and support everyone.
Blessed Virgin, illumine the minds of men and women engaged in
scientific research, that they may find effective solutions to overcome
this virus.
Support national leaders, that with wisdom, solicitude and generosity
they may come to the aid of those lacking the basic necessities of life
and may devise social and economic solutions inspired by farsightedness
and solidarity.
Mary Most Holy, stir our consciences, so that the enormous funds
invested in developing and stockpiling arms will instead be spent on
promoting effective research on how to prevent similar tragedies from
occurring in the future.
Beloved Mother, help us realize that we are all members of one great
family and to recognize the bond that unites us, so that, in a spirit
of fraternity and solidarity, we can help to alleviate countless
situations of poverty and need. Make us strong in faith, persevering in
service, constant in prayer.
Mary, Consolation of the afflicted, embrace all your children in
distress and pray that God will stretch out his all-powerful hand and
free us from this terrible pandemic, so that life can serenely resume
its normal course.
To you, who shine on our journey as a sign of salvation and hope, do we
entrust ourselves, O Clement, O Loving, O Sweet Virgin Mary. Amen.
COUNTDOWNTOTHEKINGDOM.COM: Pedro Regis – Rosary and Sacred Scripture
Ladder
of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 28- "On holy and blessed prayer"
14. Oil and salt are seasonings for food; and tears
and chastity give wings to prayer.
April 22, 2020
(Rom 8:26-28)
Likewise, the Spirit also helpeth our infirmity. For, we know not what
we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit himself asketh for us
with unspeakable groanings, And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth
what the Spirit desireth: because he asketh for the saints according to
God. And we know that to them that love God all things work together
unto good: to such as, according to his purpose, are called to be
saints.
CATHOLIC WORLD REPORT: An Open Letter to the Priests of the Catholic Church
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THE CATHOLIC THING: The Start of a Reckoning
CLEARCREEKMONKS.ORG: Meditation for a Time of Pestilence
It would be the
understatement of the millennium to suggest that, perhaps, something is
awry in the world at present and that a global health crisis has sadly
impacted the way we live as Catholic Christians. Not only are we
witnesses to the spectacle of so many people growing ill and even
dying, but the very Bread of Life entrusted to us from Heaven has been
locked up in such a manner that the great number of the faithful is
unable to receive this vital spiritual nourishment. I blame no one in
particular.
Pandemic need not become
Pandæmonium. After all, the Holy Trinity is still supreme in Heaven;
the choirs of Angels still hold together in perfect order; the stars
continue to follow their perpetual track; the birds are already busy
building nests; and, as has been famously said, the “snail’s on the
thorn”. We still have (quite intact) the faith along with all the
virtues and gifts of the Holy Spirit. The grace of God is operating now
as ever. While some may not be able to assist in person at the Holy
Sacrifice of Mass and receive Our Lord in Communion, we are free to
visit in spirit all the tabernacles of the world, where the real
presence reigns in humble and silent majesty. All may still receive
Holy Communion in a spiritual manner. What did the Lord tell us? “But
thou when thou shalt pray, enter into thy chamber, and having shut the
door, pray to thy Father in secret: and thy Father who seeth in secret
will repay thee” (Mt. 6:6). Who cannot do this even now? We must all
become contemplatives for a time.
While I well appreciate that the
phenomenon of live streaming enables many faithful to participate in
some manner in the celebration of Mass, I worry that some will be under
the impression that their television or computer screen has become
their only hope, the only contact with God that is left to them. What
folly! In various times and places throughout the centuries Christians
have found themselves unable for a time to receive the sacraments. Some
of the first holy hermits lived so far away in the desert as never to
be able to receive the Holy Eucharist. As Our Blessed Father Saint
Benedict teaches us, “Let [the monk] consider that he is always beheld
from heaven by God, and that his actions are everywhere seen by the eye
of the Divine Majesty, and are every hour reported to Him by His
angels” (Rule, Chapter 7). Each one can be creative in living the faith
in this dramatic circumstance.
Who is responsible for the novel
corona virus outbreak? You and I. In a time when thousands upon
thousands of the unborn are legally deprived of life across the globe
and when the sacred institution of marriage has been flouted and
ridiculed in so many places, there should be no surprise that God would
allow a microbe to bring mankind to its knees. So, what must be done?
The entire world is wondering.
The Governor of Texas, it seems,
has signed an executive order prohibiting counties and cities in his
State from banning religious services during the coronavirus crisis.
Such services will be considered essential in Texas. Now there is an
Abbott after my heart: he may not be a Benedictine, but he is one
courageous Abbott! Would that his wise and very practical advice be
widely appreciated and taken into consideration.
We monks, the sons of Our Lady,
will celebrate this year, possibly as never before, the great
liturgical ceremonies of the Sacred Triduum. We will do this with you
and for you (although attendance at public masses remains suspended),
wherever you may be. “But the hour cometh,” said Christ to the
Samaritan woman, “and now is, when the true adorers shall adore the
Father in spirit and in truth. For the Father also seeketh such to
adore him” (Jn. 4:23). Above all, with you and for you, we will live in
the joy of belonging to God of Whom no virus can deprive us. Soon the
Son of God will triumph over the darkness of death. Soon the global
health crisis will subside and disappear, even if more patience be
needed. May our hearts be found faithful and full of that hope and love
that give the supernatural measure of the great endeavor we are engaged
in as Christians. “And now there remain faith, hope, and charity, these
three: but the greatest of these is charity” (I Cor. 13:13).
ALETEIA: It’s the virus versus God: God will win
Ladder
of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 28- "On holy and blessed prayer"
13. Though you may have climbed the whole ladder
of the virtues, pray for forgiveness of sins. Listen to the cry of
Paul regarding sinners: Of whom I am chief (1 Tim 1: 15).
April 19, 2020
(Joh
20:26-29)
And after eight days, again his disciples were within, and Thomas with
them. Jesus cometh, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst and
said: Peace be to you. Then he said to Thomas: Put in thy finger hither
and see my hands. And bring hither the hand and put it into my side.
And be not faithless, but believing. Thomas answered and said to him:
My Lord and my God. Jesus saith to him: Because thou hast seen me,
Thomas, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen and
have believed.
CATHOLIC PHILLY: Mercy we have received is our gift for others
NCR: You Can Still Get the Divine Mercy Indulgence, If You Do This…
GRAPHIC: How to obtain Plenary Indulgence on Divine Mercy Sunday
EWTN VIDEO: Promise of Mercy - Sister Faustina and the Chaplet of Devine Mercy with the Stations of the Cross
POPE FRANCIS HOMILY DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY 2020:
"Last Sunday we celebrated the Lord’s resurrection; today we witness
the resurrection of his disciple. It has already been a week, a week
since the disciples had seen the Risen Lord, but in spite of this, they
remained fearful, cringing behind “closed doors” (Jn 20:26), unable
even to convince Thomas, the only one absent, of the resurrection. What
does Jesus do in the face of this timorous lack of belief? He returns
and, standing in the same place, “in the midst” of the disciples, he
repeats his greeting: “Peace be with you!” (Jn 20:19, 26). He starts
all over. The resurrection of his disciple begins here, from this
faithful and patient mercy, from the discovery that God never tires of
reaching out to lift us up when we fall. He wants us to see him, not as
a taskmaster with whom we have to settle accounts, but as our Father
who always raises us up. In life we go forward tentatively,
uncertainly, like a toddler who takes a few steps and falls; a few
steps more and falls again, yet each time his father puts him back on
his feet. The hand that always puts us back on our feet is mercy: God
knows that without mercy we will remain on the ground, that in order to
keep walking, we need to be put back on our feet.
You may object: “But I keep falling!”. The Lord knows this and he is
always ready to raise you up. He does not want us to keep thinking
about our failings; rather, he wants us to look to him. For when we
fall, he sees children needing to be put back on their feet; in our
failings he sees children in need of his merciful love. Today, in this
church that has become a shrine of mercy in Rome, and on this Sunday
that Saint John Paul II dedicated to Divine Mercy twenty years ago, we
confidently welcome this message. Jesus said to Saint Faustina: “I am
love and mercy itself; there is no human misery that could measure up
to my mercy” (Diary, 14 September 1937). At one time, the Saint, with
satisfaction, told Jesus that she had offered him all of her life and
all that she had. But Jesus’ answer stunned her: “You have not offered
me the thing is truly yours”. What had that holy nun kept for herself?
Jesus said to her with kindness: “My daughter, give me your failings”
(10 October 1937). We too can ask ourselves: “Have I given my failings
to the Lord? Have I let him see me fall so that he can raise me up?” Or
is there something I still keep inside me? A sin, a regret from the
past, a wound that I have inside, a grudge against someone, an idea
about a particular person… The Lord waits for us to offer him our
failings so that he can help us experience his mercy.
Let us go back to the disciples. They had abandoned the Lord at his
Passion and felt guilty. But meeting them, Jesus did not give a long
sermon. To them, who were wounded within, he shows his own wounds.
Thomas can now touch them and know of Jesus’ love and how much Jesus
had suffered for him, even though he had abandoned him. In those
wounds, he touches with his hands God’s tender closeness. Thomas
arrived late, but once he received mercy, he overtook the other
disciples: he believed not only in the resurrection, but in the
boundless love of God. And he makes the most simple and beautiful
profession of faith: “My Lord and my God!” (v. 28). Here is the
resurrection of the disciple: it is accomplished when his frail and
wounded humanity enters into that of Jesus. There, every doubt is
resolved; there, God becomes my God; there, we begin to accept
ourselves and to love life as it is.
Dear brothers and sisters, in the time of trial that we are presently
undergoing, we too, like Thomas, with our fears and our doubts, have
experienced our frailty. We need the Lord, who sees beyond that frailty
an irrepressible beauty. With him we rediscover how precious we are
even in our vulnerability. We discover that we are like beautiful
crystals, fragile and at the same time precious. And if, like crystal,
we are transparent before him, his light – the light of mercy – will
shine in us and through us in the world. As the Letter of Peter said,
this is a reason for being “filled with joy, though now for a little
while you may have to suffer various trials” (1 Pt 1:6).
On this feast of Divine Mercy, the most beautiful message comes from
Thomas, the disciple who arrived late; he was the only one missing. But
the Lord waited for Thomas. Mercy does not abandon those who stay
behind. Now, while we are looking forward to a slow and arduous
recovery from the pandemic, there is a danger that we will forget those
who are left behind. The risk is that we may then be struck by an even
worse virus, that of selfish indifference. A virus spread by the
thought that life is better if it is better for me, and that everything
will be fine if it is fine for me. It begins there and ends up
selecting one person over another, discarding the poor, and sacrificing
those left behind on the altar of progress. The present pandemic,
however, reminds us that there are no differences or borders between
those who suffer. We are all frail, all equal, all precious. May we be
profoundly shaken by what is happening all around us: the time has come
to eliminate inequalities, to heal the injustice that is undermining
the health of the entire human family! Let us learn from the early
Christian community described in the Acts of the Apostles. It received
mercy and lived with mercy: “All who believed were together and had all
things in common; and they sold their possessions and goods and
distributed them to all, as any had need” (Acts 2:44-45). This is not
some ideology: it is Christianity.
In that community, after the resurrection of Jesus, only one was left
behind and the others waited for him. Today the opposite seems to be
the case: a small part of the human family has moved ahead, while the
majority has remained behind. Each of us could say: “These are complex
problems, it is not my job to take care of the needy, others have to be
concerned with it!”. Saint Faustina, after meeting Jesus, wrote: “In a
soul that is suffering we should see Jesus on the cross, not a parasite
and a burden… [Lord] you give us the chance to practise deeds of mercy,
and we practise making judgements” (Diary, 6 September 1937). Yet she
herself complained one day to Jesus that, in being merciful, one is
thought to be naive. She said, “Lord, they often abuse my goodness”.
And Jesus replied: “Never mind, don’t let it bother you, just be
merciful to everyone always” (24 December 1937). To everyone: let us
not think only of our interests, our vested interests. Let us welcome
this time of trial as an opportunity to prepare for our collective
future. Because without an all-embracing vision, there will be no
future for anyone.
Today the simple and disarming love of Jesus revives the heart of his
disciple. Like the apostle Thomas, let us accept mercy, the salvation
of the world. And let us show mercy to those who are most vulnerable;
for only in this way will we build a new world".
Ladder
of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 28- "On holy and blessed prayer"
12. Do not be bold, even though you may have attained
purity; but rather approach with great humility, an you will receive still
more boldness.
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