ASH WEDNESDAY, February 13th., 2013

Though death is certain for everyone of us, the hour of death is not. St. Gregory said that this uncertainty of hour is “in order that we may always be apprehensive of death,” and “may without intermission prepare for it,” He concludes: “To fear death before it comes is to conquer it when it comes.”

Every thought, choice and act should be aimed at conquering death, so that we can exclaim with St. Paul: “Death is swallowed up in victory! O death, where is your victory?! O death, where is your sting?!” This aim is taken by choosing our values and their priorities in the light of the greatest moment of life- our death! Then we see things- and ourselves- as they are, realistically! Then every moment we shall etch into our souls the values that will forever fulfill our being. That etching of values is called CHARACTER which, like all other beauty, is purchased by renouncements. What we say “NO” to, deepens our eternal “YES!”

The etching of this “YES” is our identification with the Divine Love that prompts God’s plan of mercy from which justice overflows.

We remember that death is not a cessation of existence. The soul takes up existence without the body until the day of General Judgement. All the real yearnings and aspirations of the soul are fulfilled when the created effect achieves the Uncreated and Ineffable Cause!

The Rev. Vincent C. Donovan, O.P.

LENT: Losing Every Negative Thought. In lent we prepare for that greatest day, the day we are called Home to Our Creator, Who can neither deceive nor be deceived.

O God, to you all hearts are open. All desires known, and from You no secrets are hid! Cleanse our thoughts and purify our minds, so that we may ever rejoice in your consolation. In Whom we remember the sacrifice of Jesus, Saviour of the world and Lover of Souls. Amen.

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THE FIFTEEN PROMISES OF MARY TO CHRISTIANS WHO RECITE THE ROSARY

!. Whoever shall faithfully serve me by the recitation of the rosary shall receive signal graces.
2. I promise my special protection and greatest graces to all those who shall recite the rosary.
3. The rosary shall be a powerful armour against hell; It shall destroy vice, decrease sin, and defeat heresies.
4. It will cause good works and virtue to flourish; It will obtain for souls the abundant mercy of God; It will withdraw the hearts of men from the love of the world and its vanities, and will lift them to the desire of eternal things. Oh, that souls would sanctify themselves by this means.
5. The soul which recommends itself to me by the recitation of the rosary shall not perish.
6. Whoever shall recite the rosary devoutly, applying themselves to the consideration of its sacred mysteries shall never be conquered by misfortune. God will not chastise him in His justice; He shall not perish by an unprovided death; If he shall be just he shall remain in the grace of God, and become worthy of eternal life.
7. Whoever shall have a true devotion for the rosary shall not die without the sacraments of the Church.
8. Those who are faithful to recite the rosary shall have during their life and at their death the Light of God and the plentitude of His graces; at the moment of death they shall participate in the merits of the saints in paradise.
9. I shall deliver from purgatory those who have been devoted to the rosary.
10. The faithful children of the rosary shall merit a high degree of glory in heaven.
11. You shall obtain all you ask of me by the recitation of the rosary.
12. All those who propagate the holy rosary shall be aided by me in their necessities.
13. I have obtained from my Divine Son that all the advocates of the rosary shall have for intercessors the entire celestial court during their life and at the hour of death.
14. All who recite the rosary are my sons, and brothers of my only son Jesus Christ.
15. Devotion of my rosary is a great sign of predestination.

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FIRST SATURDAY DEVOTED TO THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY

On February 15,1926 the Child Jesus alone came to visit Sr. Lucia and asked if the devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary was being propagated. Sr. Lucia spoke of a difficulty some people have in confessing on the first Saturday, and asked if they might be allowed eight days in order to fulfill Our Lady’s request. Our Lord answered: “Yes, even more time still, as long as they receive me in the State of Grace and have the intention of making reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.”

So, to keep the First Saturday Devotion we must-

1. Confess, attend the Mass, (the real Mass) and receive Holy Communion.
2. Recite five decades of the rosary, and
3. Spend fifteen minutes with the Blessed Mother, meditating on the mysteries of the rosary.

So much does Our Lord and Our Lady give us! Can we not spend a little time with them on the First Friday’s and First Saturday’s? Consider what they give us in return! How wonderful and true are the graces freely given. Today, Candlemas, I pray for all of you and send my priestly blessing+

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us!
Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us!

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FIRST FRIDAY OF THE MONTH DEDICATED TO THE SACRED HEART

O Most Holy Heart of Jesus, fountain of every blessing, I adore Thee, I love Thee, and with lively sorrow for my sins I offer Thee this poor heart of mine. Make me humble, patient, pure and wholly obedient to Thy will.
Grant, Good Jesus, that I may live in Thee and for Thee. Protect me in the midst of danger. Comfort me in all my afflictions and sorrows. Give me health of body, if it be Thy will and assistance in my temporal needs, for Thou knowest what I need before I need it. Give, out of Thy wondrous mercy, Thy blessing on all that I undertake, and especially bless with all good things those that I love, also all those in my sphere of influence and all my enemies.
Above all, O Sweet Jesus, grant me the grace of a happy death, filled with joy at being called Home to Thee! With Mary, Most Holy, Thy Mother and my mother, whom Thou didst give me from the Cross of Calvary, and with St. Joseph and all the saints and angels, I pray and thank Thee. Amen and Amen.

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Prayer For We Who Are Disabled

O LORD, through the passion of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, we beseech Thee to watch over and guide all those who suffer from chronic illness. Grant to us the courage to face our situations so that others may see Thy loving light, sinners though we are. Be Thou the beacon of our strength. Help us to overcome all setbacks and help us reaffirm Thy Precious Love for all the sheep among Thy flock.
We areThy children, no matter our physical, mental, emotional or societal situations, and Thy Loving Son shepherds all those of us who believe. Grant us the spiritual and mental strength to endure so that we may live and show forth Thy Divine Life to all we encounter.
With Our Blessed Mother Mary and all the angels and saints, we give Thee thanks and praise in the Holy Name of Jesus, Our Lord and Divine Physician. Amen.

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Angel of God

Angel of God,
my guardian dear;
To whom God’s love
commits me here,
Ever this day
be at my side,
to light and guard,
to rule and guide. Amen.

Do not neglect devotion to your guardian angel, for they are devoted to you and neglect you not! Each one of us has a guardian angel given to us at the moment of birth. (St. Thomas Aquinas posits that while in the womb, we are protected by our mother’s angel.)

Our Blessed Lord taught that the angels of children behold the very Face of God! The Beatific Vision is a constant for them until the moment their charge commits mortal sin. O, how important a truth is contained in this teaching of Holy Writ! God loves us so much that He gives us each our very own angel. Name yours. I have named mine. It brings an intimacy that helps in prayer. I learned this from my sister and believe it is a good thing to do.

Blessed be God in his magnificent angels and in His marvelous saints!

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Miraculous Novena to St. Therese, the Little Flower

O glorious St. Therese, whom Almighty God has raised up to aid and counsel mankind, I implore your miraculous intercession. So powerful are you in obtaining every need of body and soul our Holy Mother Church proclaims you “A prodigy of miracles… The greatest saint of modern times.” Now I fervently beseech you to answer my petition, (here mention your intentions) and to carry out your promises of “spending heaven doing good upon earth… of letting fall from heaven a shower of roses,” henceforth dear Little Flower, I will fulfill your plea to be made known everywhere, and I will never cease to lead others to Jesus through you. Amen.

St. Therese, Little Flower, please pick for me a rose from the heavenly gardens and send it to me with a message of love; Ask God today to grant me the favors I now place with confidence in your hands, and teach me your “Little Way,” each day.

O Great St. Therese, of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, pray for me a sinner. Amen.

Then say an Our Father, a Hail Mary, and a Glory Be…

I have prayed this novena and can attest to dear St. Therese’s great and powerful intercession. Tell no one you are praying this novena. Often those who pray this novena receive a rose or roses or the scent of roses.

Pray this day for America and all those affected by the terrible sin of abortion. God have mercy on us and on our nation.

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Starlight, Star Bright…

To this famous little children’s rhyme I have added a few lines, thus making it a prayer. Pass it on, especially to children, whose angels behold the face of God and whose prayers are so powerful before His throne.

Starlight, star bright,
First star I see tonight;
I wish I may, I wish I might
have the wish I wish tonight-

Holy Mary, Mother Mild,
speak for me to thy sweet Child;
Ask Him for the grace I seek,
and in my name, please kiss His cheek!

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The Terrible Truth of Torture, (and the Golden Globes…)

Many, many years ago I was an entertainer. From grand opera to Hollywood movies, I did it all. I was a judge for the Emmy’s and went to many a “fancy-shmancy” event.

Tonight, while channel surfing I saw the beginning of the Golden Globe Awards from the Beverly Hilton Grand Ballroom, (a venue I often performed in when I was a member of The Young Americans.) In the opening bit of the two female hostesses, they made a joke about the three year marriage of the director James Cameron: “When it comes to knowing about torture, I’ll go with the wife of James Cameron,” or something thereabouts. It got a big laugh.

What is tragic about this is that torture is no joke and never can be. People right now are being tortured horribly throughout the world. The vast majority of the persecuted are Christians. Even the Jewish organization B’nai B’rith has come out saying that the most persecuted people in the world are Christians, particularly Catholics. In the West we rarely acknowledge this fact, even in traditional congregations. The tortured are forgotten. The tortured are not prayed for. The tortured have so few to speak for them. Most of the tortured are known only to God and to their families.

Many will be making novenas for healing and finances, for building campaigns and their cars or any other “important” intentions while priests, nuns, children and others are being beaten to death, starved, imprisoned, blinded, thrown from buildings, raped and shot.

The very least we can do is remember them in prayer and mention the fact to others and ask them to pray for these souls. These small acts can raise consciousness and lead to positive action. Prayer is itself a positive action. Every night say an Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be for the tortured and be thankful for the gift of not being tortured. Simple. Important. Pray for the Suffering Church Militant. Pray for them right now.

“Most Loving Father of us all, we bring in faith to Thee those that are being tortured throughout the world. Please give them miracles of grace and escape, perseverance and hope, forgiveness and joy in the midst of their terror. Change the hearts of their tormentors to stop their horrid acts and send Thy holy angels to comfort the suffering and sorrowing. Give to Thy people renewed awareness of the suffering of their brothers and sisters and especially courage to speak the truth in season and out of season.

We ask all of this in the Holy Name of Jesus, in His Most Sacred Heart, through the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, united to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass being offered this day and every day until the end of time; in union with all the angels and saints in heaven and the souls in purgatory. Amen.”

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King, Priest and Sacrifice

The Feast of the Epiphany is always special in my family as it is the anniversary of the death of my dear Aunt Patty, a very holy, kind and loving lady. She died a holy death because she lived a holy life. One of her many examples to us is that one dies as one lives. Her last words were Jesus, Mary, I love you! I miss my Aunt Patty and try always to be the priest she wanted me to be.

When the Wise Men came to the stable to give homage to Our Blessed Lord, (and we do not know exactly how many came, though popular thought gives us three because of the gifts they brought,) they were showing us that the Lord Jesus is King, Priest and Sacrifice, all at the same time. Gold you give to a king, frankincense you give to a priest and myrrh is given in honor of a sacrifice of life.

The greek word used for child in the description of Our Lord at the visit of the Wise Men is that of “toddler” and not baby, so we know it was a couple years after the nativity. Scripture also mentions that “…they found Him with Mary, his mother…” Even though St. Joseph was there and the head of the Holy Family, only Our Lady is mentioned. Another sign of her great importance. “…and falling down they worshipped Him.” She is worthy of veneration but only Our Blessed Lord is worthy of adoration.

Those who were summoned to the stable were the lowliest and the highest of society. Shepherds were considered little more than beggars and thieves and were shunned by “polite society” at the time. People do not realize how low shepherds were, and yet, Our Lord is called the Good Shepherd. This analogy is often used in scripture of Him and the oldest images we have of Our Lord in the catacombs are of Him as the Good Shepherd, long before the cross was used. The cross took many decades before it was commonly used as the horror of its connotation was shunned. Still, it was destined to be the ubiquitous symbol of the faith, but it took some time.

Also summoned to the stable were the Wise Men, who represented the humble, educated classes. Many say they were “righteous pagans.” We know they were astrologers, (for astronomy came out of the practice of astrology; they were intermingled for centuries.) They saw the signs that others could not see. Herod and his court astrologers could not see it, for he asked them to tell him where to go! So, the lowest and the highest were at the manger, while all those in the middle were nowhere to be found! Interesting. Very interesting. The lowest, who know they know nothing- and the humble highest, who know they are responsible for what they know! How fascinating this lesson is for us, and like much of scripture, bears diligent study to find the real truth.

He came to live the life we can not live. To die the death we can not die. To love as we can not love, but here is the great fact of His life- He gives to any who truly asks, ALL THE MERIT of His sacrifice. It is imputed to us by grace and becomes, if we allow it, our new way of life so that, at the end of this life, we can be like the shepherds who were visited by the singing angels of heaven and the Wise Men who saw His sign where others saw nothing. For me, it means I can become like my Aunt Patty and die a happy, holy death, so that I can live in eternal bliss. King, Priest and Sacrifice- and lover of souls!

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