NOVENA FOR THE SEVEN SORROW OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY - DAY ONE

NOVENA IN HONOR OF THE SEVEN SORROWS OF MARY

PREPARATORY PRAYER

Bid me bear, O Mother blessed,

    On my heart the wounds impressed

    Suffered by the Crucified!

Indulgence. 300 days, once a day. A plenary indulgence, on any one day, in each month, to those who shall have practised this devotion for a month, saying besides seven Hail Marys, followed each time by the above invocation. Conditions: Confession, communion, and prayer for the intentions of the Pope. (Pius IX, June 18, 1876.)

MEDITATION

From the dolorous way of Our Lord's passion Holy Church selected fourteen incidents to place before us for consideration, which are called the Stations of the Cross. In the same manner the pious devotion of the faithful selected seven events in the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and gives itself to their religious contemplation. They are: (1) Simeon's prophecy in the Temple; (2) the flight into Egypt with the divine Child; (3) the loss of the divine Child at Jerusalem; (4) Mary's meeting with her Son bearing the cross; (5) Mary beneath the cross; (6) Mary receives the body of her Son from the cross; (7) the placing of Jesus' body in the tomb.

PRACTICE

"Forget not the sorrows of thy mother" (Ecclus. vii. 29). According to this exhortation of Holy Scripture it is our duty to remember and meditate often on the sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary. We ought never to forget that our sins were the cause of the sufferings and death of Jesus, and therefore also of the sorrows of Mary.

PRAYER OF THE CHURCH

Grant, we beseech Thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, that the most blessed Virgin Mary, Thy Mother, may intercede for us before the throne of Thy mercy, now and at the hour of our death, through whose most holy soul, in the hour of Thine own passion, the sword of sorrow passed. Through Thee, Jesus Christ, Saviour of the world, who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, for ever and ever. Amen.

Litany of Loreto

Lord, have mercy on us.

Christ, have mercy on us.

Lord, have mercy on us,

Christ, hear us.

Christ, graciously hear us.

God the Father of heaven, have mercy on us.

God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.

God the Holy Ghost, have mercy on us.

Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us.

Holy Mary, pray for us.

Holy Mother of God, pray for us.

Holy Virgin of virgins, pray for us.

Mother of Christ, pray for us.

Mother of divine grace, pray for us.

Mother most pure, pray for us.

Mother most chaste, pray for us.

Mother inviolate, pray for us.

Mother undefiled, pray for us.

Mother most amiable, pray for us.

Mother most admirable, pray for us.

Mother of good counsel, pray for us.

Mother of our Creator, pray for us.

Mother of our Redeemer, pray for us.

Virgin most prudent, pray for us.

Virgin most venerable, pray for us.

Virgin most renowned, pray for us.

Virgin most powerful, pray for us.

Virgin most merciful, pray for us.

Virgin most faithful, pray for us.

Mirror of justice, pray for us.

Seat of wisdom, pray for us.

Cause of our joy, pray for us.

Spiritual vessel, pray for us.

Vessel of honor, pray for us.

Singular vessel of devotion, pray for us.

Mystical rose, pray for us.

Tower of David, pray for us.

Tower of ivory, pray for us.

House of gold, pray for us.

Ark of the covenant, pray for us.

Gate of heaven, pray for us.

Morning star, pray for us.

Health of the sick, pray for us.

Refuge of sinners, pray for us.

Comforter of the afflicted, pray for us.

Help of Christians, pray for us.

Queen of angels, pray for us.

Queen of patriarchs, pray for us.

Queen of prophets, pray for us.

Queen of apostles, pray for us.

Queen of martyrs, pray for us.

Queen of confessors, pray for us.

Queen of virgins, pray for us.

Queen of all saints, pray for us.

Queen conceived without original sin, pray for us.

Queen of the most holy rosary, pray for us.

Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world: Spare us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world: Graciously hear us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world: Have mercy on us, O Lord.

V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God:

R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray

Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts, that we, to whom the incarnation of Christ Thy Son was made known by the message of an angel, may by His passion and cross be brought to the glory of His resurrection. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

  V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.

  R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Prayer

Ever glorious Blessed Virgin Mary, queen of martyrs, mother of mercy, hope, and comfort of dejected and desolate souls, through the sorrows that pierced thy tender heart I beseech thee take pity on my poverty and necessities, have compassion on my anxieties and miseries. I ask it through the mercy of thy divine Son; I ask it through His immaculate life, bitter passion, and ignominious death on the cross. As I am persuaded that He honors thee as His beloved Mother, to whom He refuses nothing, let me experience the efficacy of thy powerful intercession, according to the tenderness of thy maternal affection, now and at the hour of my death. Amen.

Hail Mary

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, Blessed art 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.

Mother of Sorrows, queen of martyrs, pray for us!

SATURDAY IN THE SECOND WEEK OF LENT

                        Isaac blesses Jacob                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

                The Church's Year

      By Rev. Fr. Leonard Goffine

          SECOND WEEK OF LENT 

                      SATURDAY 

                        LESSON

               Genesis 27: 6-40

In those days: Rebecca said to her son Jacob: I heard thy father talking with Esau, thy brother, and saying to him: Bring me of thy hunting, and make me meats that I may eat, and bless thee in the sight of the Lord, before I die. Now therefore, my son, follow my counsel: And go thy way to the flock, bring me two kids of the best, that I may make of them meat for thy father, such as he gladly eateth. Which when thou hast brought in, and he hath eaten, he may bless thee before he die. And he answered her: Thou knowest that Esau, my brother, is a hairy man, and I am smooth: If my father should feel me, and perceive it, I fear lest he will think I would have mocked him, and I shall bring upon me a curse instead of a blessing. And his mother said to him: Upon me be this curse, my son: only hear thou my voice, and go, fetch me the things which I have said. He went, and brought, and gave them to his mother. She dressed meats, such as she knew his father liked. And she put on him very good garments of Esau, which she had at home with her: And the little skins of the kids she put about his hands, and covered the bare of his neck. And she gave him the savoury meat, and delivered him bread that she had baked. Which when he had carried in, he said: My father? But he answered: I hear. Who art thou, my son? And Jacob said: I am Esau, thy firstborn: I have done as thou didst command me: arise, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me. And Isaac said to his son: How couldst thou find it so quickly, my son? He answered: It was the will of God, that what I sought came quickly in my way: And Isaac said: Come hither, that I may feel thee, my son, and may prove whether thou be my son Esau, or no. He came near to his father, and when he had felt him, Isaac said: The voice indeed is the voice of Jacob; but the hands, are the hands of Esau. And he knew him not, because his hairy hands made him like to the elder. Then blessing him, He said: Art thou my son Esau? He answered: I am. Then he said: Bring me the meats of thy hunting, my son, that my soul may bless thee. And when they were brought, and he had eaten, he offered him wine also, which after he had drunk, He said to him: Come near me, and give me a kiss, my son. He came near, and kissed him. And immediately as he smelled the fragrant smell of his garments, blessing him, he said: Behold, the smell of my son is as the smell of a plentiful field, which the Lord hath blessed. God give thee of the dew of heaven, and of the fatness of the earth, abundance of corn and wine. And let peoples serve thee, and tribes worship thee: be thou lord of thy brethren, and let thy mother's children bow down before thee. Cursed be he that curseth thee: and let him that blesseth thee be filled with blessings. Isaac had scarce ended his words, when, Jacob being now gone out abroad, Esau came, and brought in to his father meats, made of what he had taken in hunting, saying: Arise, my father, and eat of thy son's venison; that thy soul may bless me. And Isaac said to him: Why! who art thou? He answered: I am thy firstborn son, Esau. Isaac was struck with fear, and astonished exceedingly; and wondering beyond what can be believed, said: Who is he then that even now brought me venison that he had taken, and I ate of all before thou camest? and I have blessed him, and he shall be blessed. Esau having heard his father's words, roared out with a great cry; and, being in a consternation, said: Bless me also, my father. And he said: Thy brother came deceitfully and got thy blessing. But he said again: Rightly is his name called Jacob; for he hath supplanted me lo this second time: My birthright he took away before, and now this second time he hath stolen away my blessing. And again he said to his father: Hast thou not reserved me also a blessing? Isaac answered: I have appointed him thy lord, and have made all his brethren his servants: I have established him with corn and wine, and after this, what shall I do more for thee, my son? And Esau said to him: Hast thou only one blessing, father? I beseech thee bless me also. And when he wept with a loud cry, Isaac being moved, said to him: In the fat of the earth, and in the dew of heaven from above, shall thy blessing be.

                  INSTRUCTION

The two sons of Isaac so esteemed their father's blessing, that one of them even strove to gain it by a fraud, and the other wept and lamented in grief at losing it. Let us not disregard the blessing of our parents, because, as the Bible says, it builds houses for the children, while their curse uproots their foundations. (Eccl. iii. 11.) If the holy Patriarch Jacob sinned by a lie, we must bear in mind, that we are not to imagine ourselves secure, and that we should never let ourselves be led into even the smallest sin to gain any good however great.

          The Return of the Prodigal Son                                                                            

                       GOSPEL

                Luke 15:11-32

At that time: Jesus spoke to the Scribes and Pharisees this parable: A certain man had two sons: And he said: A certain man had two sons: and the younger of them said to his father: Father, give me the portion of substance that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his substance. And not many days after, the younger son, gathering all together, went abroad into a far country: and there wasted his substance, living riotously. And after he had spent all, there came a mighty famine in that country: and he began to be in want. And he went and cleaved to one of the citizens of that country. And he sent him into his farm to feed swine. And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. And returning to himself, he said: How many hired servants in my father's house abound with bread, and I here perish with hunger! I will arise and will go to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee. I am not worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. And rising up, he came to his father. And when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him and was moved with compassion and running to him fell upon his neck and kissed him. And the son said to him: Father: I have sinned against heaven and before thee I am not now worthy to be called thy son. And the father said to his servants: Bring forth quickly the first robe and put it on him: and put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet. And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it: and let us eat and make merry: Because this my son was dead and is come to life again, was lost and is found. And they began to be merry. Now his elder son was in the field and when he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant. And he said to him: Thy brother is come and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe. And he was angry and would not go in. His father therefore coming out began to entreat him. And he answering, said to his father: Behold, for so many years do I serve thee and I have never transgressed thy commandment: and yet thou hast never given me a kid to make merry with my friends. But as soon as this thy son is come, who hath devoured his substance with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf. But he said to him: Son, thou art always with me; and all I have is thine. But it was fit that we should make merry and be glad: for this thy brother was dead and is come to life again; he was lost, and is found.

                 EXPLANATION

This parable was spoken principally for the Pharisees, who reproached our Saviour's loving behavior towards publicans and sinners, at the same time it is a trustworthy testimony, for all sinners, to the willingness of God, the best Father, to receive at all times, and with most compassionate love, every one, even the greatest sinner, who truly repents, forgiving and forgetting all his misdeeds. " The food of the Heavenly Father is our salvation," says St. Ambrose, and “His joy is our redemption from our sins." Should not this unspeakable love and goodness of God move you to conversion, when, like the prodigal son, you have seen it?

The Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Novena - First Day

  NOVENA IN PREPARATION FOR THE 
            THE ANNUNCIATION OF

         THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

                    FIRST DAY

             The Annunciation

       PREPARATORY PRAYER

My Queen, my Mother, remember I am thine own. Keep me, guard me, as thy property and possession!

               MEDITATION

At Nazareth, a mountain village in Judea, lived poor and in obscurity Mary, the virgin selected by God to become the Mother of His Son. On March 25th she was in prayer in her chamber, and perhaps sent up to heaven the yearning petition, "Drop down dew, ye heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain the just; let the earth be opened and bud a Saviour" (Is. xlv. 8). Behold, suddenly the chamber is suffused by a heavenly light. The archangel Gabriel stands reverently before her and says, "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women. And when Mary heard the angel's words, she was troubled at his saying, and thought with herself what manner of salutation this should be" (Luke i. 28, 29).

               PRACTICE 

The angel's salutation comprises two titles of ineffable greatness. Mary is called "full of grace," because of her innocence and purity; she is called "blessed among women," because she is the elect Mother of God. Never before was a human being thus greeted. It was God Himself who sent the message to Mary. A good angel now repaired the harm once done by a bad angel. For Lucifer, the fallen angel, seduced Eve to sin and thereby caused the ruin of the whole human race; now another angel, Gabriel, was sent to announce the glad tidings to Mary, that she was to conceive the Redeemer from sin, who was to accomplish the salvation of mankind.

Mary was troubled at the angel's words, and reflected on the meaning of the message. St. Ambrose writes: "Mary was troubled, not because the angel was a heavenly spirit, but because he appeared to her in the form of a youth. Still more was she troubled at the praises spoken to her. She was innocent and humble, and therefore reflected on the meaning of the message. She had always considered herself as a poor and unknown virgin; she deemed herself unworthy of God's grace; therefore she was troubled at the salutation. In that decisive moment she was and remained our model."

             PRAYER

Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts, that we unto whom the Incarnation of Christ Thy Son was made known by the message of an angel, may, by His passion and cross, be brought to the glory of the resurrection. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Lord, have mercy on us.

Christ, have mercy on us. 

Lord, have mercy on us,

Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us.

God the Father of heaven, have mercy on us.

God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.

God the Holy Ghost, have mercy on us.

Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us.

Holy Mary, pray for us.

Holy Mother of God, pray for us.

Holy Virgin of virgins, pray for us.

Mother of Christ, pray for us.

Mother of divine grace, pray for us.

Mother most pure, pray for us.

Mother most chaste, pray for us.

Mother inviolate, pray for us.

Mother undefiled, pray for us.

Mother most amiable, pray for us.

Mother most admirable, pray for us.

Mother of good counsel, pray for us.

Mother of our Creator, pray for us.

Mother of our Redeemer, pray for us.

Virgin most prudent, pray for us.

Virgin most venerable, pray for us.

Virgin most renowned, pray for us.

Virgin most powerful, pray for us.

Virgin most merciful, pray for us.

Virgin most faithful, pray for us.

Mirror of justice, pray for us.

Seat of wisdom, pray for us.

Cause of our joy, pray for us.

Spiritual vessel, pray for us.

Vessel of honor, pray for us.

Singular vessel of devotion, pray for us.

Mystical rose, pray for us.

Tower of David, pray for us.

Tower of ivory, pray for us.

House of gold, pray for us.

Ark of the covenant, pray for us.

Gate of heaven, pray for us.

Morning star, pray for us.

Health of the sick, pray for us.

Refuge of sinners, pray for us.

Comforter of the afflicted, pray for us.

Help of Christians, pray for us.

Queen of angels, pray for us.

Queen of patriarchs, pray for us.

Queen of prophets, pray for us.

Queen of apostles, pray for us.

Queen of martyrs, pray for us.

Queen of confessors, pray for us.

Queen of virgins, pray for us.

Queen of all saints, pray for us.

Queen conceived without original sin, pray for us.

Queen of the most holy rosary, pray for us.

Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world: Spare us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world: Graciously hear us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world: Have mercy on us, O Lord.

V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God:

R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

                Let us pray

Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts, that we, to whom the incarnation of Christ Thy Son was made known by the message of an angel, may by His passion and cross be brought to the glory of His resurrection. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

  

WEDNESDAY IN THE SECOND WEEK OF LENT

   WEDNESDAY OF THE SECOND WEEK 

                        OF LENT

          STATION AT ST. CECILIA’S

(Indulgence of 10 years and 10 quarantines)

               Violet vestments

The Station is in the basilica of Saint Cecily. This church, one of the most venerable in Rome, was the house of the illustrious virgin and martyr whose name it bears. The body of Saint Cecily is under the high altar, together with those of Saints Valerian, Tiburtius, and Maximus, and of the holy Popes Urban and Lucius, all martyrs.

                Commentary

        By Fr. Leonard Goffine

INTROIT - Psalm 37:22-23, 2

Ne derelínquas me, Dómine, Deus meus, ne discédas a me: inténde in adjutórium meum, Dómine, virtus salútis meæ. Ps 37:2. Dómine, ne in furóre tuo árguas me: neque in ira tua corrípias me. Glória Patri.

Forsake me not, O Lord; my God, be not far from me! Hasten to help me, O Lord, my salvation! Ps. O Lord, in Your anger punish me not, in Your wrath chastise me not. Glory be to the Father.

COLLECT

Look mercifully upon Your people, we beseech You, O Lord, and grant that they whom You command to abstain from food, may also refrain from harmful vices. Through our Lord.

EPISTLE - Esther 13: 8-11,15-17

In those days, Mardochai prayed to the Lord, saying: O Lord, Lord, almighty King, for all things are in Your power, and there is none that can resist Your will, if You determine to save Israel. You have made heaven and earth, and all things that are under the cope of heaven. You are Lord of all, and there is none that can resist Your Majesty. And now, O Lord, O King, O God of Abraham, have mercy on Your people, because our enemies resolve to destroy us, and extinguish Your inheritance. Despise not Your portion, which You have redeemed for Yourself out of Egypt. Hear my supplication, and be merciful to Your lot and inheritance, and turn our mourning into joy, that we may live and praise Your Name, O Lord, and shut not the mouths of those who sing to You, O Lord our God.

Aman, one of the favorites of the Persian King Assuerus, aspired in his pride and conceit to divine honors. Mardochai, a Jew and foster-father of Queen Esther, refused them to him, because they are due only to God. In revenge Aman sought to destroy all the Jews, and bring Mardochai to the gallows, which he had already erected for him. In this strait Mardochai prayed to God, and his prayer was heard. Aman himself, when his evil intentions became known, was hung on the very gallows he had prepared for Mardochai. Consider the effect of Mardochai's prayer, and on the truth that God ruins the proud (Luke i. 52.), and that he who diggeth a pit for his neighbor, generally falls in it himself.

GRADUAL - Psalm 27:9, 1

Save Thy people, O Lord, and bless Thine inheritance. Unto Thee have I cried, O Lord my God; be not Thou silent to me, lest I become like to them that go down into the pit.

TRACT - Psalm 102: 10; 78: 8, 9

O Lord, deal with us not according to our sins, nor requite us according to our crimes.  Ps. O Lord, remember not against us the iniquities of the past; may Your compassion quickly come to us, for we are brought very low. [Kneel.] V. Help us, O God, our Saviour, because of the glory of Your Name, O Lord; deliver us and pardon our sins for Your Name’s sake.

Dante's first example of humility is taken from the Annunciation - Canto 10 

GOSPEL - Matthew 20:17-28

At that time, as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, He took the twelve disciples aside by themselves, and said to them: Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the Scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, and will deliver Him to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified; and on the third day He will rise again. Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to Him with her sons; and worshipping, she made a request of Him. He said to her: What do you want? She said to Him: Command that these my two sons may sit, one at Your right hand and one at Your left hand, in Your kingdom. But Jesus answered and said: You do not know what you are asking for. Can you drink of the cup of which I am about to drink? They said to Him: We can. He said to them: Of My cup you shall indeed drink; but as for sitting at My right hand and at My left, that is not Mine to give you, but it belongs to those for whom it has been prepared by My Father. And when the ten heard this, they were indignant at the two brothers. But Jesus called them to Him, and said: You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. Not so is it among you. On the contrary, whoever wishes to become great among shall be your servant; and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; even as the Son the Man has not come to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.

For the last time the Saviour goes to Jerusalem, and, on His way, announces His death on the cross to the twelve apostles. Of this St. Chrysostom says: "The salvation of men is all in the death of Christ, and there is nothing for which we should thank God more than for the death of His Son. Therefore, Christ took the twelve apostles aside, and told them of the mystery of His death, that this precious treasure might be enclosed in the best hearts, that is, in the hearts of the apostles," that they might give it to all men.

     To the ambitious request of the mother of James and John, Jesus replied, that they must indeed suffer, but to sit on His right hand He could not give. Of this St. Remigius and St. Bede write: "It is not suitable for me to give them the place on my right hand, because you are ambitious. This place is prepared for the humble. If you are humble, it is also ready for you." See how necessary is humility, for even martyrdom is not rewarded without it.

ST. GABRIEL THE ARCHANGEL NOVENA - FIRST DAY

                       NOVENA TO

       ST. GABRIEL THE ARCHANGEL

            MARCH 15 – MARCH 23

St. Gabriel the Archangel, I venerate you as the ‘Angel of the Incarnation,’ because God has specially appointed you to bear the messages concerning the Savior of the world to Daniel, Zechariah, and the Blessed Virgin Mary. I venerate you also as the 'strength from God, because you are the giver of God’s strength, consoler and comforter chosen to strengthen God’s faithful and to teach them important truths. I ask for the grace of a special power of the will to strive for holiness of life. Steady my resolutions, renew my courage, comfort and console me in my problems, trials, and sufferings of daily living, as you consoled our Savior in His agony and Mary in her sorrows and Joseph in his trials. I put my confidence in you.

St. Gabriel, I ask you especially for this favor…

               (Mention your request)

Through your earnest love for the Son of God-Made-Man and for his blessed Mother, I beg, intercede for me that my request may be granted, if it be God’s holy Will.

V. Pray for us, Saint Gabriel the Archangel.

R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

                      Let us pray

Almighty and ever-living God, since You chose the Archangel Gabriel from among all the Angels to announce the mystery of Your Son’s Incarnation, mercifully grant that we who honor him on earth may feel the benefit of his patronage in heaven. You live and reign forever. Amen.

ST. JOSEPH NOVENA - FIFTH DAY

     NOVENA TO ST. JOSEPH

       March 10 - March 18

                 Fifth Day

 DEDICATION TO ST. JOSEPH

O Glorious descendant of the King of Juda! inheritor of the virtues of all the patriarchs! just and happy St. Joseph! listen to my prayer. Thou art my glorious protector, and shalt ever be, after Jesus and Mary, the object of my most profound veneration and tender confidence. Thou art the most hidden, though the greatest saint, and art peculiarly the patron of those who serve God with the greatest purity and fervor. In union with all those who have ever been most devoted to thee, I now dedicate myself to thy service, beseeching thee, for the sake of Jesus Christ, Who vouchsafed to love and obey thee as a son, to become a father to me, and to obtain for me the filial respect, confidence, and love of a child toward thee. O powerful advocate of all Christians! whose intercession, as St. Teresa assures us, has never been found to fail, deign to intercede for me now, and to obtain for me the particular object of this novena.

(Mention intentions here)

Present me, O great saint, to the Adorable Trinity, with Whom thou hadst so glorious and so intimate a correspondence. Obtain that I may never efface by sin the sacred image according to the likeness of which I was created. Beg for me that my divine Redeemer may enkindle in my heart, and in all hearts, the fire of His love, and infuse

therein the virtues of His adorable infancy, His purity, simplicity, obedience, and humility. Obtain for me likewise a lively devotion to thy virgin spouse, and protect me so powerfully in life and death that I may have the happiness of dying as thou didst, in the friendship of my Creator, and under the immediate protection of the Mother of God.

For making a novena in honor of St. Joseph, an indulgence of 300 days, on each day. And a plenary indulgence during the novena or on any one of the eight days following it.

      Pius IX.,

Nov. 28, 1876.

St. Joseph ora pro nobis!

ST. BENEDICT NOVENA - THIRD DAY

             Saint Benedict Abbot 

                  Novena Prayer

O glorious St. Benedict, sublime model of all virtues, pure vessel of God's grace! Behold me, humbly kneeling at thy feet. I implore thy loving heart to pray for me before the throne of God. To thee I have recourse in all the dangers which daily surround me. Shield me against my enemies, inspire me to imitate thee in all things. May thy blessing be with me always, so that I may shun whatever God forbids and avoid the occasions of sin.  

Graciously obtain for me from God those favors and graces of which I stand so much in need, in the trials, miseries and afflictions of life. Thy heart was always so full of love, compassion, and mercy toward those who were afflicted or troubled in any way. Thou didst never dismiss without consolation and assistance anyone who had recourse to thee. I therefore invoke thy powerful intercession, in the confident hope that thou wilt hear my prayers and obtain for me the special grace and favor I so earnestly implore…  

      (Mention your intentions here)

If it be for the greater glory of God and the welfare of my soul.  

Help me, O great St. Benedict, to live and die as a faithful child of God, to be ever submissive to His holy will, and to attain the eternal happiness of heaven. Amen.

    St. Benedict, ora pro nobis!

LENT MEDITATIONS - MONDAY OF THE SECOND WEEK OF LENT

             LENT MEDITATIONS

          By St. Thomas Aquinas

               Second Monday

  IT WAS FITTING THAT OUR LORD

  SHOULD SUFFER AT THE HANDS

               OF THE GENTILES

They shall deliver him to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified. Matt. xx. 19.

In the very manner of the Passion of Our Lord its effects are foreshadowed. In the first place, the Passion of Our Lord had for its effect the salvation of Jews, many of whom were baptized in his death.

     Secondly, by the preaching of these Jews, the effects of the Passion passed to the Gentiles also. There was thus a certain fitness in Our Lord’s Passion beginning with the Jews and then, the Jews handing him on, that it should be completed at the hands of the Gentiles.

     To show the abundance of the love which moved him to suffer, Christ, on the very cross, asked mercy for his tormentors. And since He wished that Jew and Gentile alike should realise this truth about His love, so he wished that both should have a share in making him suffer.

     It was the Jews and not the Gentiles who offered the figurative sacrifices of the Old Law. The Passion of Christ was an offering through sacrifice, inasmuch as Christ underwent death by his own will moved by charity. But in so far as those who put him to death were concerned, they were not offering a sacrifice but committing a sin.

     When the Jews declared, “It is not lawful for us to put any man to death” (John xix. 31), they may have had many things in mind. It was not lawful for them to put anyone to death on account of the holiness of the feast they had begun to keep. Perhaps they wished Christ to be killed not as a transgressor of their own law but as an enemy of the state, because he had made himself a king, a charge concerning which they had no jurisdiction. Or again, they may have meant that they had no power to crucify which was what they longed for but only to stone, as they later stoned St. Stephen. Or, the most likely thing of all, that their Roman conquerors had taken away their power of life and death.

ST. JOSEPH NOVENA - FIRST DAY

        NOVENA TO ST. JOSEPH

           Prayer to St. Joseph 

Oh St. Joseph whose protection is so great, so strong, so prompt before the throne of God, I place in you all my interests and desires. Oh St. Joseph do assist me by your powerful intercession and obtain for me from your divine son all spiritual blessings through Jesus Christ, our Lord; so that having engaged here below your heavenly power I may offer my thanksgiving and homage to the most loving of fathers. Oh St. Joseph, I never weary contemplating you and Jesus asleep in your arms. I dare not approach while he reposes near your heart. Press him in my name and kiss his fine head for me, and ask him to return the kiss when I draw my dying breath. St. Joseph, patron of departing souls, pray for us. Amen.

       Memorare to Saint Joseph 

Remember, O most pure Spouse of the Virgin Mary, Saint Joseph, my beloved patron, that never has it been heard that anyone invoked thy patronage and sought thine aid without being comforted. Inspired by this confidence, I come to thee and fervently commend myself too thee. Despise not my petition, dear foster-father of our Redeemer, but accept it graciously. Amen.

ST. PATRICK NOVENA - THIRD DAY

         NOVENA TO ST. PATRICK  

                       Third Day        

O Blessed Apostle of Ireland! glorious St. Patrick! who didst become my father and benefactor long before my birth, receive my prayers, and accept the sentiments of gratitude and veneration with which my heart is filled towards thee. Thou wert the channel of the greatest graces to me; deign then to become also the channel of my grateful thanksgivings to God for having granted me, through thee, that precious gift of faith, which is dearer than life. O most blessed father, and patron of my country! do not, I beseech thee, despise my weakness. Remember, that the cries of little children were the mysterious invitation thou didst receive to come among us. Listen then to my most humble supplications; I unite them to the praises and blessings which will ever follow thy name and thy memory throughout the Irish Church; I unite them to the prayers of the multitude of my ancestors, who now enjoy eternal bliss, and owe their salvation, under God, to thy zeal and charity. They will eternally share thy glory, because they listened to thy word, and followed thy example. Ah! since I am descended from saints, may I blush to differ from them; may I begin from this moment to love God with all my heart, and serve him with all my strength. For this end I most humbly beg thy blessing, O great St. Patrick! and thy particular intercession, for obtaining whatever grace thou seest to be most necessary for me, and also the particular intentions of this Novena.

         (Mention intentions here)

      O charitable Shepherd of the Irish Flock! who wouldst have laid down a thousand lives to save one soul, take my soul, and the souls of all Christians, under thy special care, and preserve us from the dreadful misfortune of sin. Thy zealous preaching provided us the blessings of religious instructions which we now enjoy; obtain that none of us may receive them in vain. Thou didst teach our ancestors how to connect the pursuit of virtue with that of science; deign also to take my studies under thy protection, and to obtain for me the grace to sanctify them by a pure motive of pleasing God and my superiors. I most humbly recommend to thee this country, which was so dear to thee while on earth. Protect it still; and above all, obtain for its pastors, particularly those who instruct us, the grace to walk in thy footsteps, that they may share in thy eternal bliss. 

LITANY OF ST. PATRICK

V. Lord have mercy on us

R. Lord have mercy on us.

V. Lord, have mercy on us.

R. Christ, have mercy on us.

V. Christ, hear us.

R. Christ, graciously hear us.

God, the Father of heaven, Have mercy on us.

God, the Son, Redeemer of the world, Have mercy on us.

God, the Holy Spirit Have mercy on us.

Holy Trinity, one God, Have mercy on us.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, Pray for us.

St. Patrick, Pray for us.

St. Patrick, Apostle of Ireland, Pray for us.

St. Patrick, most worthy in God’s eyes, Pray for us.

St. Patrick, model of Bishops, Pray for us.

St. Patrick, enemy of infidelity, Pray for us.

St. Patrick, truly humble, Pray for us.

St. Patrick, always trying to do good, Pray for us.

St. Patrick, example of charity, Pray for us.

St. Patrick, patron of our Congregation, Pray for us.

St. Patrick, teacher of the true faith, Pray for us.

St. Patrick, our powerful protector, Pray for us.

St. Patrick, our compassionate helper, Pray for us.

V. Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world,

R. Spare us, O Lord.

V. Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world,

R. Graciously hear us, O Lord.

V. Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world,

R. Have mercy on us.

V. Pray for us, O glorious St. Patrick

R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

           Let us pray

O God, you sent your blessed servant St. Patrick, to teach and save the people of his time and place. You gave our Patron a loving heart like your own. You filled him with great faith and a burning desire to work hard for your kingdom. Please listen when he prays for us, his sons. Grant to us, though his intercession, a lively faith, a firm hope and a strong will to build your Kingdom. Amen.

      St. Patrick, ora pro nobis!