Practical instruction on the Holy Rosary: How to pray it, what it means, what you can expect to obtain, more.

First, the history.

The Rosary was given by the Blessed Virgin herself to St. Dominic in ARSH 1214.

St. Dominic was having a terrible time combating heretics that were deeply embedded in the Church.  (D’oh!  Sound familiar??)

Long story short, she appeared to St. Dominic and told him what the Holy Trinity wanted done.

Her words were, “I want you to know that, in this kind of warfare, the battering ram has always been the Angelic Psalter which is the foundation stone of the New Testament. Therefore, if you want to reach these hardened souls and win them over to God, preach my Psalter.”

The Angelic Salutation is/are the words of the angel Gabriel to Mary from Luke 1:28:  ”Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.”

The rest of the prayer then quotes the words of Mary’s cousin Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, upon Mary’s arrival at her home to be with her through her miraculous post-menopausal pregnancy, in Luke 1:42:  ”Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.”

The rest of the prayer asks Our Blessed Lord’s mother to pray for us to her Son now, and especially at the hour of our death.

Read more from Ann Barnhardt 

Worth Remembering: Fathers Are The Priests Of The Home!

The Ten Commandments For A Husband And Father

I. Develop an intimate, personal relationship with Jesus, allowing Him to forgive you of your past, to talk to you, to heal you and to guide you. Then, trust the Holy Spirit in all things. Trust Him to provide everything you need, including financial help.

II. Get your priorities in order: Jesus first, your wife second, your children third, your work fourth, etc. Develop a weekly schedule, blocking out quality time for the Lord, your wife, each child and the family as a whole. A husband’s most important time during any given day is the first five minutes when he gets home from work and the love and attention he shows his wife and children at that time. Remember that your human fatherhood is rooted in the Divine Fatherhood of Almighty God (cf. Ephesians 3:14-15; cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2214).

III. Realize that you are the “priest” of the home. It is your primary responsibility to oversee the TV and its influence, the internet and its influence, as well as the books and magazines that enter into your home. You must stand firmly against all evil influences, asking constantly for God’s strength and guidance to lead your family in living a pure, holy and non-violent lifestyle. Esto vir! (Be a man!). A father fosters moral virtue within his home first and foremost by example. Get into the habit of blessing your children – both alone and with your wife – before they go to sleep at night or before they leave the house in the morning.

PRAYER FOR OUR FAMILY Heavenly Father, most good and gracious God, sustain our family in Your love. Make our family home a place where holiness and love abound. In our daily actions, help each one of us to learn to be more like Jesus. Aid our family to imitate the Holy Family of Nazareth: Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Help our family to learn from the good example of those families that especially please You in their way of life. May our family members learn to give good example always by living lives in true Christian faith, hope and love. Assist our family in learning to bear pain and suffering as Jesus did. Aid our family members, too, in overcoming difficulties and carrying their crosses. Help our family life to lead to Jesus Christ, the Source of all Truth and happiness. We ask this through Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, Who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. AMEN.

FAMILY PRAYER TO OUR BLESSED MOTHER, MARY Holy Mary, Virgin Mother of God, we seek your patronage and we invoke you under your title “Queen of Families.” O Blessed Mother, you were conceived without sin. May every family choose you this day as the model for their household, along with St. Joseph, your most loving, chaste and caring spouse. Through your Immaculate Conception, preserve all families from every disaster, from all violence and from every misfortune. O Holy Virgin, bless and protect all families, strengthen them in trial and keep them from every evil. AMEN.

Submitted by Robert K.

6 Traditional steps to a proper Catholic home

1. The King of the Catholic Home

It has been said that the Catholic home should be seen as “The Domestic Church”. With this being said, the Father is the head, the Mother is the beloved spouse, and the children are brought up learning to love and serve the Blessed Trinity. The true head of the Catholic home is Christ, just as the Head of the Church is the Supreme Pontiff, His Holiness. Christ should be known and recognized in each Catholic home as King; the family’s week should be centered around the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and prayer is a must.

2. Proper Prayers

Parents should encourage their children to pray to the Lord Our God, The Blessed Virgin, and the Saints in their own words as well as the traditional prayers of the Church.

Prayers of the Rosary: Sign of the Cross, Apostles’ Creed, Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be, and Fatima Prayer

The Nicene Creed

Blessing before and after meals

Prayer to Guardian Angel

Act of Contrition

Act of Faith

Act of Hope

Act of Charity

Hail, Holy Queen

St. Michael prayer

The Eternal Rest Prayer

3. Holy Water

Prayer can be encouraged through the most minor of things, such as placing Holy Water fonts in bedrooms and ones main door. All Catholics should know the use and purpose of Holy Water, St. Teresa of Avila says:

“…There is nothing like holy water to put devils to flight and prevent them from coming back again. They also flee from the cross, but return; so holy water must have great value.”

Parents too should bless their own children with Holy Water, by signing them on their foreheads. Lastly, each child should have a Blessed (by a priest) Crucifix in their bedrooms above their beds. The child should be taught to kneel when rising and going to bed and say their prayers with their parents.

Read more

6 Traditional steps to a proper Catholic home

1. The King of the Catholic Home

It has been said that the Catholic home should be seen as “The Domestic Church”. With this being said, the Father is the head, the Mother is the beloved spouse, and the children are brought up learning to love and serve the Blessed Trinity. The true head of the Catholic home is Christ, just as the Head of the Church is the Supreme Pontiff, His Holiness. Christ should be known and recognized in each Catholic home as King; the family’s week should be centered around the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and prayer is a must.

2. Proper Prayers

Parents should encourage their children to pray to the Lord Our God, The Blessed Virgin, and the Saints in their own words as well as the traditional prayers of the Church.

Prayers of the Rosary: Sign of the Cross, Apostles’ Creed, Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be, and Fatima Prayer

The Nicene Creed

Blessing before and after meals

Prayer to Guardian Angel

Act of Contrition

Act of Faith

Act of Hope

Act of Charity

Hail, Holy Queen

St. Michael prayer

The Eternal Rest Prayer

3. Holy Water

Prayer can be encouraged through the most minor of things, such as placing Holy Water fonts in bedrooms and ones main door. All Catholics should know the use and purpose of Holy Water, St. Teresa of Avila says:

“…There is nothing like holy water to put devils to flight and prevent them from coming back again. They also flee from the cross, but return; so holy water must have great value.”

Parents too should bless their own children with Holy Water, by signing them on their foreheads. Lastly, each child should have a Blessed (by a priest) Crucifix in their bedrooms above their beds. The child should be taught to kneel when rising and going to bed and say their prayers with their parents.

Read more

Bob Stanley’s “The Catholic Treasure Chest” website is fully operational in English and Spanish; including the new, custom search feature. Try it!

Click Here For Bob Stanley’s
“The Catholic Treasure Chest” Website
E N G L I S H – I N G L E S

Bob Stanley’s
“The Catholic Treasure Chest”
provides practical, well written and clearly explained
Catholic answers to a host of faith questions.

The site is fully up and running here at AskMeAboutGod.org
in English and Spanish, in both HTML
and downloadable, PDF formats.

Your advice, suggestions and prayers are greatly appreciated.

May God richly bless you and yours.

Click Here For Bob Stanley’s
“The Catholic Treasure Chest” Website
S P A N I S H – E S P A N O L

A moment of grace: A universal affirmation of faith.

Responding to a rather complicated, multi-point,
on-line question about my Catholic faith,
a rather simple, all encompassing answer came to mind.
I share it with you, here:

God answers my prayers. God provides for all my needs.
God speaks to me when I need to hear from him.
God blesses me beyond measure.
God gives me hope.
For my part, I do my best to know, love and serve God,
every way I can, and to give him the thanks,
praise and worship that he is due.

Praying for rain: What Catholic bishops ought to be praying for is an end to California’s sinful apostasy

SACRAMENTO, CALIF. –  Catholic bishops called for divine intervention Tuesday as California endures what appears to be its third straight dry winter.

The California Conference of Catholic Bishops asked people of all faiths to join in prayers for rain as reservoirs in the state dipped to historic lows after one of the driest calendar years on record.

Some cities already are restricting water use, while prospects for another dry summer have raised alarm about agriculture and wildfires.

Link

Editor’s note: Drought and famine are time-tested means for turning hearts and minds to God. In this, the State of California appears to be way overdue!  (No offense to faithful, Christian Californians.)

Practical instruction on the Holy Rosary: How to pray it, what it means, what you can expect to obtain, more.

First, the history.  The Rosary was given by the Blessed Virgin herself to St. Dominic in ARSH 1214.  St. Dominic was having a terrible time combating heretics that were deeply embedded in the Church.  (D’oh!  Sound familiar??)  Long story short, she appeared to St. Dominic and told him what the Holy Trinity wanted done.  Her words were, “I want you to know that, in this kind of warfare, the battering ram has always been the Angelic Psalter which is the foundation stone of the New Testament. Therefore if you want to reach these hardened souls and win them over to God, preach my Psalter.”

The Angelic Salutation are the words of the angel Gabriel to Mary from Luke 1:28:  ”Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.”

The rest of the prayer then quotes the words of Mary’s cousin Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, upon Mary’s arrival at her home to be with her through her miraculous post-menopausal pregnancy in Luke 1:42:  ”Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.”

The rest of the prayer asks Our Blessed Lord’s mother to pray for us to her Son now, and especially at the hour of our death.

Read more from Ann Barnhardt 

Worth Remembering: Fathers Are The Priests Of The Home!

The Ten Commandments For A Husband And Father

I. Develop an intimate, personal relationship with Jesus, allowing Him to forgive you of your past, to talk to you, to heal you and to guide you. Then, trust the Holy Spirit in all things. Trust Him to provide everything you need, including financial help.

II. Get your priorities in order: Jesus first, your wife second, your children third, your work fourth, etc. Develop a weekly schedule, blocking out quality time for the Lord, your wife, each child and the family as a whole. A husband’s most important time during any given day is the first five minutes when he gets home from work and the love and attention he shows his wife and children at that time. Remember that your human fatherhood is rooted in the Divine Fatherhood of Almighty God (cf. Ephesians 3:14-15; cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2214).

III. Realize that you are the “priest” of the home. It is your primary responsibility to oversee the TV and its influence, the internet and its influence, as well as the books and magazines that enter into your home. You must stand firmly against all evil influences, asking constantly for God’s strength and guidance to lead your family in living a pure, holy and non-violent lifestyle. Esto vir! (Be a man!). A father fosters moral virtue within his home first and foremost by example. Get into the habit of blessing your children – both alone and with your wife – before they go to sleep at night or before they leave the house in the morning.

Seven more – from Father Wade Menezes

PRAYER FOR OUR FAMILY Heavenly Father, most good and gracious God, sustain our family in Your love. Make our family home a place where holiness and love abound. In our daily actions, help each one of us to learn to be more like Jesus. Aid our family to imitate the Holy Family of Nazareth: Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Help our family to learn from the good example of those families that especially please You in their way of life. May our family members learn to give good example always by living lives in true Christian faith, hope and love. Assist our family in learning to bear pain and suffering as Jesus did. Aid our family members, too, in overcoming difficulties and carrying their crosses. Help our family life to lead to Jesus Christ, the Source of all Truth and happiness. We ask this through Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, Who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. AMEN.

FAMILY PRAYER TO OUR BLESSED MOTHER, MARY Holy Mary, Virgin Mother of God, we seek your patronage and we invoke you under your title “Queen of Families.” O Blessed Mother, you were conceived without sin. May every family choose you this day as the model for their household, along with St. Joseph, your most loving, chaste and caring spouse. Through your Immaculate Conception, preserve all families from every disaster, from all violence and from every misfortune. O Holy Virgin, bless and protect all families, strengthen them in trial and keep them from every evil. AMEN.

Submitted by Robert K.

Don’t forget to pray for the holy souls in Purgatory

Visit the site

6 Traditional Steps to a Proper Catholic Home

1. The King of the Catholic Home

It has been said that the Catholic home should be seen as “The Domestic Church”. With this being said, the Father is the head, the Mother is the beloved spouse, and the children are brought up learning to love and serve the Blessed Trinity. The true head of the Catholic home is Christ, just as the Head of the Church is the Supreme Pontiff, His Holiness. Christ should be known and recognized in each Catholic home as King; the family’s week should be centered around the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and prayer is a must.

2. Proper Prayers

Parents should encourage their children to pray to the Lord Our God, The Blessed Virgin, and the Saints in their own words as well as the traditional prayers of the Church.

Prayers of the Rosary: Sign of the Cross, Apostles’ Creed, Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be, and Fatima Prayer

The Nicene Creed

Blessing before and after meals

Prayer to Guardian Angel

Act of Contrition

Act of Faith

Act of Hope

Act of Charity

Hail, Holy Queen

St. Michael prayer

The Eternal Rest Prayer

The parents are encouraged to also teach these prayers to their children in Latin as well.

“The day the Church abandons her universal tongue [Latin] is the day before she returns to the catacombs” — Pope Pius XII

3. Holy Water

Prayer can be encouraged through the most minor of things, such as placing Holy Water fonts in bedrooms and ones main door. All Catholics should know the use and purpose of Holy Water, St. Teresa of Avila says:

“…There is nothing like holy water to put devils to flight and prevent them from coming back again. They also flee from the cross, but return; so holy water must have great value.”

Parents too should bless their own children with Holy Water, by signing them on their foreheads. Lastly, each child should have a Blessed (by a priest) Crucifix in their bedrooms above their beds. The child should be taught to kneel when rising and going to bed and say their prayers with their parents.

Read more

Practical lessons (and prayers) received from Our Lady of Fatima

Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title of Our Lady of Fatima is quite popular due to the various prophecies that Our Lady graced the shepherd children with but also what she commands the children to do. Many traditionalists around the globe continue to heed the commands of the Virgin Mary till this very day. Devotion to the Virgin by way of praying the Rosary daily and wearing the Brown Scapular increased due to the council and warnings of Our Lady in Fatima although the revelations of these devotions were around long before this latest apparition.

Read more

85-year old Pope Benedict is slowing down, needs prayers

“Benedict turns 85 in the new year, so a slowdown is only natural. Expected. And given his age and continued rigorous work schedule, it’s remarkable he does as much as he does and is in such good health overall: Just this past week he confirmed he would travel to Mexico and Cuba next spring.

But a decline has been noted as Benedict prepares for next weekend’s grueling Christmas celebrations, which kick off two weeks of intense public appearances. […] Back at home, however, it seems the daily grind of being pope — the audiences with visiting heads of state, the weekly public catechism lessons, the sessions with visiting bishops — has taken its toll. A spark is gone. He doesn’t elaborate off-the-cuff much anymore, and some days he just seems wiped out.

Link

Editor’s note: Pope Benedict is probably tired from writing all those personal theological books, in his spare time … books that he says no one, especially Catholics, need consider as anything other than his own personal opinion … not to be confused with the authentic teachings of the Catholic Church … or the papacy. Working two jobs is tough … especially at eighty-five!

Much like today’s “garbled” Catholic faith, recently discovered 104 year-old letters to God prove to be nearly undecipherable.

They bent over their school desks, 104 years ago, putting pencils to paper.

Writing letters to God.

Onto paper the students poured thoughts and prayers they hoped would ascend, like so many curling wisps of smoke, into the skies above turn-of-the-century Buffalo.

Their writings would remain hidden from view for more than a century.

Now — long after the schoolchildren who wrote them grew old and went to their graves — the letters written by students at Corpus Christi School on Clark Street have been rediscovered.

Read more

Today is Father Corapi’s Birthday

Say a Hail Mary for Father Corapi today!

This Week’s Ask Alice: “Ask and you will receive.”

Send A Question To Alice

She’ll answer as many questions as possible,
right here, every Thursday.

Email responses will also be provided, as time permits.

Cathi H writes: What does Jesus mean when he says,
“Ask and you shall receive” when clearly there are a million cases when it doesn’t work out that way? And I’m not referring to selfish prayers, but for things like wisdom, peace, provision for my children’s needs, etc. Thanks!

Alice answers: Jesus wasn’t joking when he said, “Ask and you shall receive.” Our Lord does not make empty promises. He is true to His word. God answers every prayer in His own way, in His own time. When we don’t get what we want quickly, we think God has refused to give us what we ask for in faith. However, God’s prayer clock does not tick according to our time.

“There is an appointed time for everything, and a time for every affair under the heavens….He has made everything appropriate to its time, and has put the timeless into their hearts, without men ever discovering, from beginning to end, the work which God has done.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1, 11)

Clearly, God’s ways are not our ways. After praying for wisdom, we might become tongue-tied when attempting to counsel a troubled friend. Perhaps, we were called to be a listener, not an adviser, to our friend, and God answered our prayer after all. If we pray for peace in our family, God might ask us to be a peacemaker, who must endure the stress of settling family feuds.

One of my relatives has been angry with God since the death of her husband. she felt that God ignored her prayers for successful surgery. Recently, she was crying that God let him die. Recalling his alcoholism, smoking, emphysema, COPD, acid reflux and type-A personality, I suggested that instead of shortening her husband’s life, maybe God lengthened it, in answer to a prayer whispered long ago.

After they adopted a child, the husband had asked God to let him live to see his daughter celebrate her 21st birthday. That prayer was indeed answered, since their daughter had just turned 21, at the time of his death. My friend had never considered the date of her husband’s death as God’s gift of a longer life.

God’s unique way of answering prayers also involves my precious daughter, who is battling her third relapse of Hodgkins’ Disease. On April 1, she was scheduled to enter the hospital for her 2nd Stem Cell Transplant. Scores of people have been praying that she would need only a mini transplant, instead of a major one, that requires intense amounts of chemotherapy. Her suitcase was packed, and just last Saturday, she received the Sacrament of Anointing.

Last night, the oncologist informed her that a PET scan had revealed a small spot, necessitating the major procedure. Instead of feeling devastated, she was unusually peaceful, calmly asking if there was another way to eradicate the spot. Her oncologist mentioned a new drug that has been extremely successful, so she decided to try it, in the hope that the mini transplant will indeed be possible.

“Leave it to the Lord and wait for him.” (Psalm 37:7)

Our family is very happy with her decision, as we have been praying that she wouldn’t need the 2nd stem cell transplant, or that she would receive the mini transplant, instead. We believe God is answering our prayers for healing … in His way … and in His time.

“That is why I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it and it will be yours.” (Mark 11:24)

In Christ’s Love,

Alice

 

Doug Lawrence suggests this short, daily affirmation:

God hears my prayers. God will answer my prayers. God is answering my prayers. God has answered my prayers. God will continue to answer my prayers. God will never leave me or forsake me. Amen.

Click here to see all of Alice’s other columns

Reader comments totally support Father John Corapi. Many prayers offered up.

Comment by Susan on March 19, 2011 7:02 pm

Father Corapi is a dedicated priest & though have only listened to him via EWTN, know he is innocent. I will pray for this man of God as well as his accuser(s). Father Corapi, I know you have more than my prayers as you go through this trial. Seems the “evil one” is trying to cause you to cease from spreading the TRUTH that our Lord would have you speak! Keep remembering “NO CROSS, NO CROWN!”

Comment by Theresa H on March 19, 2011 7:48 pm

Despite his suffering he asks that we “pray for all concerned.” That means for the accuser, too. He has said in the past “No-one is beyond God’s help! No-one!”

I believe him.

Comment by David D on March 19, 2011 10:45 pm

Praying for you, Fr. Corapi. May our Lord give you strength and may St. Michael the Archangel fortify your Masses said for us. Please God, we can make small sacrifices and offer up our loss in reparation for the false accusations against you.

Thank you for including your accuser in your prayer intentions. You and Archbishop Dolan came out with some inspiring words for us lay Catholics.

Looking at the world as the world truly is, these days, can be an exercise on humility for gift of our faith, but, in thanksgiving, you priestly ministry is characterized by the insightful direction you provide.

God is good, we pray for the grace of God to redeem you and for your accuser to come to her senses

Comment by Maria D on March 20, 2011 4:55 am

Dear Fr Corapi

Our hearts go out to you. You are being crucified by the devil to break down the Catholic Church. You are much loved and supported by Catholics in the UK and will pray for you.

I ask every God fearing person to support this priest. He has touched the hearts of thousand through EWTN and he is a threat to the sects and the devil, so this evil follows.

I am emailing everyone to support you .

It is truly Lent for you dear Father. But God will send His Angels to support you.

We in the UK will watch and pray with you.

Maria

Comment by Virginia M on March 20, 2011 7:53 am

Fr Corapi, I have noticed the attack on Priests as guilty, whether they are guilty or not. It is a terrible “cross” that has been put upon so many good Priests. You are in my prayers. Cardinal Bernadine was put through this some ordeal and was proven innocent. I pray that the same will be proven with you soon. You are known and loved by so many that I’m am sure that the heavens will be flooded.

Love,

Ginnie

Comment by Barbara on March 20, 2011 8:13 am

Fr. Corapi, about a month ago I started to include you in my prayers. When I saw the strong leaders in the Catholic Church being attacked and silenced, I knew your day was coming. I have to be honest, though, I didn’t think it would be this soon. I know a very Holy Priest who has gone through a similar situation and he has been vindicated. Although you are carrying your cross, just like Jesus, the Resurrection is coming. St. Michael, the Archangel, defend us in battle…………..

Comment by Marg on March 20, 2011 8:28 am

Father you are everything a priest should be. Loyal to the Church, full of love for Our Lord and His Mother, a beacon of light in this dark world.

I know you are innocent and I pray that you’ll soon be vindicated.

Comment by Jeannie P on March 20, 2011 10:40 am

Every one of our beloved Priests is on the Via Dolorosa and upon arrival on cavalry, his crucifixion will be complete. I, personally, have not, will not bite the poisoned bait of any accuser of the fine, ordained men who serve the Lord. Father Corapi is loved by God and by us; he knows, as we do, everyone born of a woman is capable of great sin and guilt is for God to forgive and not for me to conjecture about. Mine it is to pray for our repentance, to plead for mercy for all souls, including mine.

Comment by Elizabeth on March 20, 2011 4:36 pm

Fr. Corapi, I’m so sorry this is another cross to bear. You have my support. I will pray for you. God will give you the strength to get through this and you will. You are strong and your faith will see you through. God Bless You.

Comment by Jim on March 20, 2011 5:54 pm

Father, I pray for you and stand behind you 100%. You’ve always been open and hid nothing of your past from anyone and I know you have nothing to hide now. I pray to Our Lady to stop these evil ones trying to silence your teaching. Remember, “Our Mama wears combat boots!”…..

Little Folded Hands: Simple Prayers Appropriate for Young Children

Click here (PDF File)

Prayers

A Treasury of Over 2000 Catholic Prayers

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Top 10 Prayers Every Catholic Child Should Know

Teaching your children how to pray can be a daunting task. The best place to start is with common prayers for children that can be easily memorized. Children who are making their First Communion should have memorized most of the following prayers, while the Grace Before and After Meals and the Guardian Angel Prayer are prayers that even very young children can learn by repeating them daily.

See all 10