1st page: Doug “walks” you through:
step-by-step, bead-by-bead and prayer-by-prayer.
2nd page: Complete, traditional diagram:
includes all the prayers and mysteries,
as well as which days to pray them.
3rd page: How to pray a “Stripped Down, Emergency Rosary”
that almost anyone can do, in virtually any situation;
In case JESUS suddenly returns,
NUKES fly, the proverbial ASTEROID hits,
or … whatever!
Sent in by Sister Calixte
Editor’s note to Sister Calixte: God Bless you and keep you, always!
By Doug Lawrence
Probably the only thing more destructive than the recent Notre Dame Cathedral conflagration will be the proposed effort at rebuilding it and likely, re-purposing it, as a modern, multi-faith worship/welcome center, pretty much destroying any true sense of the original and authentic, Roman Catholic faith Tradition.
This is not to say that there has been much of that original Tradition in evidence there, for the last fifty years, or so. The fact that only a handful of broadcasters, politicians, Catholic Church officials, and Catholics, in general, have even mentioned Jesus Christ or the Blessed Virgin Mary, when speaking about it, provides ample evidence that what was once a revered “House of God” is now viewed as little more than another “cultural asset” of the state.
It turns out that the Notre Dame Cathedral isn’t even owned by the Catholic Church anymore and hasn’t been, for quite some time.
Perhaps now is the time for all of that to change. That’s where the SSPX (The Society of Saint Pius X) comes in – the group of conservative bishops and priests that rejected the Vatican II reformation, were excommunicated – then re-communicated – and now – are negotiating with the Vatican to be fully repatriated.
The SSPX people are originally from France, so they ought to have at least a few influential, political backers, still holding out, somewhere, in France’s “deep state” liberal government. Maybe they could even forge an alliance with the “Yellow Vest” people? Stranger things have happened, in service of God.
The plan is so simple that even a child could understand it: Purchase the ruined Cathedral from the French government, for say, one € (Euro) or whatever it takes; direct and supervise the entire rebuilding effort, according to the authentic Catholic Tradition i.e. classically beautiful architecture, artwork and statuary, faithfully reproduced in all the doctrine, worship and other activities taking place there – including the Mass of the Ages; raise all the necessary restoration funds; operate the Cathedral, going forward, without the need for any state funding, and most importantly – PROVIDE THE INITIAL “SPARK” THAT WILL REVITALIZE not only the old Notre Dame Cathedral, but also PARIS, FRANCE, EUROPE, THE CATHOLIC CHURCH and eventually, the WHOLE WORLD!
There’s more than a billion (alleged) Catholics throughout the world. Three “bucks” a piece ought to cover the entire “tab” – plus an ongoing, regular offering, to cover necessary future expenses and maintenance. Even if, as many suspect, only about ten percent of those professing to be Catholic actually are, thirty “bucks” a piece would not be too much to ask. Every Catholic in the world could contribute, according to his/her means and capacity.
What role (official and/or unofficial) should the (thoroughly corrupt) Vatican play in all this? ABSOLUTELY NONE! “Grass roots” Catholics should pay for it all and the SSPX should rise to the occasion – by the grace and power of God – and “get ‘er done”!
This, ladies and gentlemen, was the sum total of my Good Friday meditations on the Passion of Jesus Christ, our Risen Lord and Savior. What better day than Easter Sunday, for a “New Beginning”?
Please pass this around, if you think it has merit.
This year is the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Legion of Mary, a lay apostolate whose members – “legionaries” – actively commit themselves to the spiritual welfare of their neighbours. It was begun in Dublin in 1921 by a group of like-minded friends but it was a civil servant, Frank Duff, who formed it into its distinctive apostolic endeavour, reports the Catholic Herald.
To commemorate the anniversary Dr Finola Kennedy, a lecturer at University College Dublin, has written a new biography of Duff.
Four decades after that auspicious Dublin meeting, Duff’s prophetic understanding of the role of the laity received rightful recognition when he was given a standing ovation from the assembled bishops at the fourth and final session of the Second Vatican Council in 1965.
Duff was attending as an auditor and Dr Kennedy writes that it was an unforgettable moment: “The thanks of the Universal Church to the pioneer of the lay apostolate.”
She was asked twice by Fr Bede McGregor OP, postulator of Duff’s Cause, before she agreed to embark on the biography. “My husband warned me not to touch it,” she laughs. “He said it would wear me out.”
By Maureen Ward
In the area of Catholic Pastoral Care, the Legion of Mary is second to none. How can it not be since Frank Duff “invented” Pastoral Care so to speak. When Frank Duff, who was a Civil Servant by trade and a St. Vincent de Paul member in his free time, initially started the Legion of Mary which began as a little association to do spiritual works of mercy, the first assignment was to visit the sick in the wards of a large Dublin Hospital .
In pro life issues, I am afraid the Legion of Mary is lagging behind what I believe Frank Duff would have expected of this association that he founded.
When it comes to unborn children who unquestionably are the weakest of the weak, the most downtrodden of the downtrodden, the Legion of Mary, in many places, seems to me to be sadly lacking in mercy if we do not include them in the Legion’s ministry. We are abandoning pre-born children and their mothers in our outreach. Some in the organization consider these pro-life works of mercy, such as instructing, counseling and praying as being political. I disagree. It is not political to counsel and it is not political to instruct. It is certainly not political to pray.
Unfortunately I have even had some members tell me that praying cannot count as a suitable legion work. Prayer is probably the most important legion of Mary work there is. Here is a quotation from Pope John Paul II “Pray for the many spiritual and material needs of your families, your communities, the whole Church, and all of humanity. Indeed, prayer is the first and greatest work of charity that we must do for our brothers and sisters.” I couldn’t agree more,
There are so many ways that the legion of Mary can answer the Church’s Call to defend and promote Life. Praying silently or counseling women at abortion sites seems like a good way to me. We could and probably should be promoting Holy Hours with prayers for unborn children and their mothers and all others who are affected by abortion. Also, there is the Spiritual Adoption Program for the unborn which I think would be an ideal project for a Praesidium to take on. If the Legion of Mary really presents the “True Face of the Catholic Church” (Pope John XXIII) then we must visibly and with conviction, defend all of her Teachings.
Shawn Carney the National representative from 40 days for Life says:
“When you pray at the abortion facility you represent the last hope for the baby scheduled to be aborted …
… but you are also represent the first sign of mercy as the woman leaves the facility after the abortion.”
Sent in by Sister Calixte
Editor’s note to Sister Calixte: God Bless you and keep you, always!
This terrific video explains why the Blessed Virgin Mary is (and according to the Bible) can only be the very special, holy woman that Jesus and his authentic Catholic Church have known, loved, and suitably venerated, from the earliest days.
Servant of God, Frank Duff
Homily given by Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin on Nov. 20, at the 30th anniversary Mass in commemoration of the servant of God Frank Duff, founder of the Legion of Mary:
Frank Duff died thirty years ago. This quiet, personally unassuming man, in quiet simple external circumstances in Dublin, on 7th September 1921 established a movement of prayer, Christian care and Marian spirituality. The Legion of Mary is a movement which has spread worldwide and has enriched the Church in many parts of the world, especially at moments in which the Church was experiencing difficulty and persecution.
We have come to thank God for the charism of Frank Duff: a charism recognized in a special way by the Second Vatican Council which he attended. We thank God for the spiritual enrichment that that charism has brought the Members of the Legion of Mary. We thank God for the Christian care and spiritual formation that millions have encountered through their contact with the Legion of Mary.
We remember especially the tenacity of this outwardly retiring man: tenacity in reaching out unashamedly to bring the message of Jesus to people in the varied circumstances of their livers, a tenacity driven not by human ambition but through a devotion to Mary who in every aspect of her life opened her heart to understand and to do the will of God.
The Church in Ireland is on a path of renewal. Renewal is an essential dimension of the Church’s life at any moment in history. The need for renewal of the Church in Ireland is however particularly urgent at this moment.
The scandals that have been revealed about aspects of the Church’s life have opened our eyes not just to the particular horrors of the abuse of children and of an inadequate response to them. They have opened our eyes to a much deeper crisis within the Church in Ireland.
Society in Ireland has changed. Religious culture in Ireland has changed. Religious practice has dropped at times in staggering proportions. There is disillusionment among many believers. Many have opted for or drifted into a more secularised vision of their life. Many have become indifferent and live as if God did not exist.
The significant role of the Church in serving Irish society, a role assumed in good faith and in a spirit of service which was undertaken with great dedication, is now being re-examined. What emerge are not just examples of evident failure and inadequacy alongside vision and commitment, but of a certain sense arrogance and power seeking, which has alienated many from the very message that such a presence in society was supposed to represent.
We face real crisis of vocations to the priesthood. Last Saturday here in Dublin’s Pro-Cathedral I remembered at Mass 20 priests who had ministered in the Archdiocese and who had died in the previous twelve months. A further dozen or so priests retired from active ministry in the same period. And yet in the past year I ordained just one new priest for the diocese.
But the crisis of the Church is still a deeper one. It is not about the role of the Church in society. It is not about numbers. It is about the very nature of faith in Jesus Christ. It is about our understanding of the message of Jesus Christ. It is about faith in the God revealed in Jesus Christ and about the fundamental question: who is Jesus Christ?
We do not create our own identity for Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ came to bring a message of love. But it was not a message just of being nice to each other. We have to ask: what is it that makes a Christian different in his or her interaction with others? What is it that should mark the Church of Jesus Christ as a people driven by the message of salvation revealed through the death and resurrection of Jesus?
The Church will never be reformed from outside. Historically it must be recognized that the recent shattering revelations about abuse would probably never have come to full light without outside intervention. Renewal and reform of the Church, however, will only come from within the Church, that is from within a community of man and women who listen to the word of God, who come together to pray, who celebrate the Eucharist and are called to share in the very life of Christ himself. The Church is communion. That is not the same as saying the Church is a community, or an association or an institution. The Church is formed by the Word of God and is lived by men and women who allow that word of God to transform them.
The Church is communion. The theme of the forthcoming International Eucharistic Congress to be held in Dublin in 2012 is: Communion with Christ and with one another. It is however the communion of Christ which determines the shape of communion we form with each other. It is not a network of social interaction which determines what our communion with Jesus Christ is or ultimately who Jesus Christ is. The Church is formed through our communion with Christ.
The Gospel we have heard is a complex one. It is an interesting insight into the friendship of Jesus with this family and their practical service to help him in his mission. Jesus on his mission was not just surrounded by the twelve Apostles. There were many who accompanied him on his missionary journeys, there were men and women who served him in different ways yet who together imbibed his teaching and his witness.
Lazarus and his Sisters were close to Jesus in friendship. Friendship with Jesus for us means friendship in his service through understanding his word. Each of us can join with him in his mission and living out in his mission in the great and small tasks of life. Frank Duff could never have been described in terms of what today would be called “a celebrity”. He shunned publicity. He shunned superficiality. Yet his work has spread to so many parts of the world and has affected so many lives through the fruits of constant bonds of friendship with the Lord.
Renewal of the Church is not about media strategies or structural reform. In the Gospel we have just heard, Jesus clearly indicates in the figure of Mary that what is vital – and what can never be substituted by any other merits – is the willingness to know Jesus and to enter into true friendship with him. That means allowing his word to capture our hearts; it means having the same mind that was within Christ Jesus himself. It is about knowing the Father through encountering Jesus.
Renewal in the Church in Ireland will be painful renewal. Jesus message was not that anything goes. There is something radical about the commitment which Jesus requires of us. “Let the dead bury their dead”, is not a message of compromise
There are many indications that the Church in Ireland has lost its way. Let me be very clear: sadly many people, of various ages, no longer really know Jesus Christ. That is not to say that they are not good people, caring people. It is not to say that the Church is only for a holy elite: the Church is a Church of sinners; each of us has to repent day after day; each of us compromises and each of us lets Jesus down and betrays Jesus.
The Church is the Church of Jesus Christ. It is not a vague moralizing agency in society. It is not there to provide some sort of spiritual comfort zone for all comers. The Eucharist and the sacraments are celebrations of faith in Jesus Christ within a Christian community. Allowing the sacramental life of the Church become some just sort of vague social celebrations is allowing the true identity of the Church to become distorted.
I am not saying the active members of the Church community have been authentic followers of Jesus Christ. The Church has indeed been betrayed by its own active members. In the face of such failure the Church has at times given the impression of wishing to be all-embracing and all-forgiving in a simplistic manner.
Where do we go on the path of renewal? Can we be happy to celebrate first communion services which put people into debt for thousands of Euro for empty external expenses, while neither the children nor their parents have been led to a true understanding of the Eucharist and the Eucharistic community which is the Church? Can we be satisfied when confirmation is looked on by many as a graduation out of Church life? In not addressing such issues we are not just deceiving ourselves but we are damaging the integrity of the message of Jesus.
The Church is not a holy elite. It is made up today as always by the humble of heart. Many people with little education have a deeper insight into the message of Jesus Christ than learned theologians or bishops. But in today’s society where the message of Jesus is less and less accessible, the Church must become a place where formation in the Word of God resounds in a way that it has not done so in the Irish Church for generations.
I would like to thank the Legion of Mary in the Archdiocese of Dublin for their generous participation in our diocesan project this year of making the word of God in the Gospel of Saint Luke available to families. I would like to thank the Legion of Mary nationwide for their renewed reflection on the Word of God and its application to daily life. I would like to thank you for your commitment to prayer and to the Eucharist where Jesus is present in our hearts.
I am very happy today to see such a large representation of priests present at our ceremony today. I would like to thank the priests who act as spiritual directors to the Legion of Mary and who provide formation for the spiritual life of the members, helping them day by day to rediscover and to recommit themselves top the charism of the movement. The Legion of Mary is fundamentally a lay movement but the place of the priestly ministry is aloe essential to it. I particularly wish to thank those priests who have so many demands on their time and yet who are so dedicate to the work with the Legion of Mary.
Frank Duff founded the Legion of Mary in 1921 at a critical moment in Irish history. It was a time of political uncertainty which eventually would explode into civil war. It was a time in which this city was marked by very harsh poverty and also of widespread moral impoverishment. Frank Duff was a man who in the face of a major social challenge did something. He did not write a Letter to the Editor. He gathered like-minded men and women around him into a movement of spiritual renewal, prayer and Christian service. He was not discouraged either by the size of the challenge or by the paucity of his means. He was a man of the Church – misunderstood by many in the Church, including Archbishops of Dublin. Like Mary, his model, he never flinched. Frank Duff pondered the Word of God day by day and through him then the Lord worked great things.
Over the past six years, people — particularly other moms — have asked me how I’ve handled being a military mom. Most of the time, I just chuckle. I don’t feel like I’ve handled it at all. Basically, I’ve let our Blessed Mother handle it for me, and I merely go along for the ride.
…I learned from a wise priest that one could consecrate another person to the Blessed Mother in the same way (by replacing the personal pronouns with their own name). It became an incredible tool of consolation for me in any case where I was worried or distressed about someone. It goes like this:
(Click on picture to enlarge)
The Old Testament Book of Numbers, Chapter 30, makes specific provisions for consecrated, perpetual virgins, under the Law of Moses.
According to those biblical provisions, a girl could be consecrated solely to God (as a perpetual virgin) at a young age (typically around three years old) … and even in that consecrated state, the virginal person could later choose to marry … while continuing to remain a virgin … for life.
All that was necessary was the informed consent of the potential husband. Once the husband agreed, the woman’s permanent virginal status was absolutely and undeniably confirmed … the vow now binding on both parties … typically, under pain of death.
Submitted by Doria2
There’s a worldwide Fatima Rosary on May 13, since it was on May 13, 1917 that Our Lady appeared at Fatima and said: “Pray the Rosary for peace in the world.”
Also, the Rosary destroyed the Turkish invasion of Europe and saved Austria and Brazil from Communism. And Sister Lucy said: “…the Virgin Mary, in these last times in which we live has given a new efficacy to the recitation of the Rosary to such an extent that there is no problem, no matter how difficult it is … that cannot be solved by the Rosary.”
The Rosary can save the world now. On May 13, together with millions worldwide, pray the Rosary of the Blessed Mother for the conversion of sinners, for a return to Catholic morality and true peace in the world.
If you know devout souls who would be interested, please pass this on. Help pray the Rosary around the world on May 13.
Sincerely in Jesu et Maria,
Robert E. Ritchie
America Needs Fatima
In this month of May, our thoughts must concentrate on the woman who gave birth to Our Savior, Jesus. There is one extraordinary fact about Mary. No matter how far back we delve into antiquity and into Roman Catholic writers we find in them one consistent note, one implicit belief, mainly: the ubiquitous and all-purpose role of Mary in men’s salvation. These writers presume that all graces necessary for salvation come to all men and women through the hands of Mary as Mother of God. They further presume as a deep belief that the redemption of Christ is achieved in individual souls through the role of Mary as the Co-Redemptrix. The Jesuit poet, Gerard Manly Hopkins, wrote a marvelous and long poem about Our Lady compared to the air we breathe. His point was simple and profound. Just as we presume on the air around us in order to live and move and act, so in the life of the spirit, we must all presume that Our Lady as Co-Redemptrix and as the Mediator of all graces is essential for our salvation.
This can be asserted to be the deepest belief of Roman Catholic writers, philosophers, theologians, martyrs and saints. They all take it for granted. Mary, they hold, is the channel through which our Lord Jesus communicates all His graces. Furthermore, when He died on the Cross for all men and achieved the salvation of all men, she exercised a very important function in that saving act of His. Thus, there can be no doubt that in mainstream Roman Catholicism, Our Lady has been and is considered to be the Mediatrix of all His graces, and furthermore, that she functioned as a part of His divine salvation of all men and women.
Lord, Jesus, through the hands of Your Blessed Mother, I offer You all my thoughts, words, and actions this day for all the intentions of Your Most Sacred Heart. Especially, I offer You all the acts of faith in You and Your Love that I perform, in order to obtain from Your Sacred Heart the grace of Baptism for all the innocent babies who will be murdered by abortion today. Because their own fathers and mothers will violently refuse them life, and thus refuse to stand before You as guarantors of their baby’s faith in You, accept me as the spiritual father/mother of those babies. And, within the Divine economy of Your Mystical Body except me as guarantor of those babies’ desire to be with You forever, so that having been killed most cruelly, they may be admitted to Your Presence as sinless, martyrs to the truth of Your Love and Your Salvation. I ask this for Your Holy Name Sake. Amen.
Ave Maria Gratia Plena
– Malachi B. Martin (August 15, 1998)
On our home page, scroll down about one screen. Immediately to the right of our featured items, you’ll find an extensive collection of good, Catholic links. (It’s called a “Blogroll”.)
Actual link content is always subject to change (and beyond our direct control) so remain vigilant in your Internet explorations, especially when following related links. But all in all, there’s a wealth of good, Catholic information available here.
Please notify us immediately if you discover offensive content of any kind, or if you come across an inactive link.
Enjoy!
The official decision to make the Feast of the Annunciation a national holiday was announced during a February 20th meeting between Pope Benedict XVI and Lebanon’s prime minister, Saad Hariri. Shiek Nokkari remarked, “The first feeling I had was to offer this victory to Our Lady ‘Sitna Mariam’ (as she is known by Muslims), and I asked the organizers and all who participated in this not to take any credit, but to offer it to Our Lady. … Our Lady gave us this day. It is not us who is giving it to her.”
The Maronite Catholic Council of Bishops praised the government’s decision, saying it “helps in bringing hearts together.” Sheik Nokkari expressed his hope that the celebration of the Feast of the Annunciation as a national holiday would spread to other nations…
…In America, the “land of the free,” Catholic iconography is outlawed in the public sphere. In the parliamentary democracy of Lebanon, wherein the top three governmental positions must be held by (1) a Maronite Christian (President), (2) a Sunni Muslim (Prime Minister), and (3) a Shi’a Muslim (Speaker of the Parliament), the Feast of the Annunciation has become a national holiday – via the dedication of a Muslim sheik to that end.
Read the rest of the story at The Remnant
Editor’s note: There’s lots of Catholics in Lebanon – about thirty-five percent of the population – some 1,300,000 souls in all. The majority of Lebanese are Muslim – numbering about 2,000,000 – or fifty-five percent.
Devotion to Our Lady had been deeply eroded by Jansenism, which, although in great decline at the time, was replaced with more radical forms of Revolution, so that devotion to Our Lady left much to be desired. We can say that the Miraculous Medal was the first major step toward the ‘re-Marianization’ of the nineteenth century, preparing the great movement of souls that would culminate with the proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception.
With the use of the Miraculous Medal, extraordinary graces spread throughout the Church. It became a common custom to wear a Miraculous Medal around one’s neck or to place it on the chest of an impenitent patient while making the novenas and prayers prescribed by Our Lady. It seemed almost certain that the person would convert as a result. Through this devotion, Our Lady began to dispense many other graces to the world.
O Jesus! meek and humble of heart, Hear me.
From the desire of being esteemed,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being loved…
From the desire of being extolled …
From the desire of being honored …
From the desire of being praised …
From the desire of being preferred to others…
From the desire of being consulted …
From the desire of being approved …
From the fear of being humiliated …
From the fear of being despised…
From the fear of suffering rebukes …
From the fear of being calumniated …
From the fear of being forgotten …
From the fear of being ridiculed …
From the fear of being wronged …
From the fear of being suspected …
That others may be loved more than I,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be esteemed more than I …
That, in the opinion of the world,
others may increase and I may decrease …
That others may be chosen and I set aside …
That others may be praised and I unnoticed …
That others may be preferred to me in everything…
That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should…
Amen.
Prayer attributed to Rafael Cardinal Merry del Val (1865-1930),
Secretary of State for Pope Saint Pius X
Thanks to Msgr. Charles Pope
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