Vigil of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, December 7th., 2012

AVE REGINA CAELORUM

Hail, O Queen of heaven enthroned!
Hail, by angels Mistress owned
Root of Jesse, Gate of Morn,
Whence the world’s true Light was born.
Glorious Virgin, joy to thee,
Loveliest whom in heaven they see:
Fairest thou where all are fair,
Plead with Christ our sins to spare.

Recently I was watching the Lord of the Rings, which is an exposition in fable of the Catholic faith, so rich in symbolism and magnificently filmed, and I remembered a quote from J.R.R. Tolkien which I share with you now…
“All my own perception of beauty, both in majesty and simplicity is founded upon Our Lady.” How true! Let us pray and prepare our hearts for the great graces that come with this holy season.

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First Sunday of Advent and Feast of St. Vibiana, Sunday, December 2nd., 2012

The Church year begins with Advent, not in January. Holy Mother Church shows us by this action that God’s time is not ours! The Way of Life begins when it begins and ends when it ends. It is up to us, corresponding with the grace of God in our lives, to attune our souls to His rhythms; to the illumination of the Holy Ghost and to the acceptance of what IS, not what we want to be.

St. Vibiana, (Bibiana) is a first century virgin and martyr. She was made, long ago, the patron saint of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, California. Since the building of the ugliest “cathedral” in the history of the United States, (better known as the Taj Mahoney, or the Rog-Mahol,) and the destruction of the Cathedral of St. Vibiana, our dear patroness has been cast from the consciousness of Los Angeles. I mention her today in love and affection and ask her to pray for this most populous diocese in America.
St. Vibiana, pray for us!

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The Memorare on Our Lady’s Saturday, December 1st., 2012

This beautiful and efficacious prayer was composed by St. Bernard. It is my favorite Marian prayer. Say it often and the mystery of the meaning of Christ and His most holy Mother will be inculcated in your soul.

REMEMBER, O Most Gracious Virgin Mary,
that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection,
implored thy help or sought thine intercession was left unaided!
Inspired by this confidence, we fly unto thee, O Virgin of Virgins, our Mother!
To thee do we come; before thee we kneel, sinful and sorrowful.
O Thou Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not our petitions,
but in thy clemency, hear and answer our prayer! Amen.

This is the final day of the church year, as tomorrow we begin again with Advent. Let us always remember that in this life we are in the waiting room of eternity. We should be ready at any moment to be called Home and should live our earthly years as our personal advent, for we do not know at what moment or in what circumstance we shall be called before the Judgement Seat of Christ. May we meet, by our lives, the gentle Baby Jesus, at rest in His Mother’s arms, holding out His hands to us for the eternal and beatific embrace of transcendent LOVE.

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Prayer To Great Saint Joseph

O Glorious Saint Joseph, faithful Guardian of Jesus Christ,
to thee do we raise our hearts and hands to implore thy powerful intercession
in obtaining from the Heart of Jesus all the graces necessary
for our spiritual and temporal welfare;
particularly the grace of a happy death,
and the special favors we now implore…

(Make your requests known.)

O Guardian of the Word Incarnate, and chaste spouse of the Virgin Mary,
we are animated with confidence that thy prayers in our behalf
will be graciously heard before the Throne of God.

Great Saint Joseph, pray for us and those we love!
Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us!
Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us who have recourse to thee!

Amen.

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The Feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, November 21, 2012

Our Most Blessed Mother is the Theotokos- the God Bearer and as such, all aspects of her holiness, the gift of God poured out in abundance upon His Handmaiden, are important in the life of the church.

This feast, at the beginning more prominent in the eastern churches, celebrates the giving of the child Mary by her mother and father, St. Ann and St. Joachim, to the temple at the age of three, where she studied until puberty, when she was then given into the care of St. Joseph.

The basis for this feast is in the apocryphal literature, but one must remember that just because something is not mentioned in scripture does not mean that it is not true. The faith is based on Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition. The tradition magnifies and explains scripture, and with the gift of the Holy Ghost, Holy Mother Church proffers these magnificent events for our edification and contemplation.

Let us pray…

O Most Holy Mother, pure and gracious fruit of the promise of God; You who are Daughter of the Father, Mother of the Son, and Spouse of the Holy Ghost, Three in One, pray for us, that we may come closer to the Word made flesh, Jesus our Lord. Amen

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A Thought on the Eve of the Presentation of the BVM

The things which we do wrong and the sins which we commit- although they may seem little at the time, and though from the hardness of our hearts we justify and pass them lightly by- come back to us with bitterness, when danger makes us think how little we have done to deserve help, and how much to deserve punishment.

Into these clarifying locutions, if we stop the frenetic pace of our meandering lives for just a moment- the still, small voice of an angel can be heard… “This is true, O Soul! But do not despair, for Jesus is here with you- wanting to heal and restore, forgive, cleanse and more! O Soul- do not despair! He does not want golden vessels; He does not want silver vessels; He wants YIELDED vessels! Yield and live, O Soul! The King of Love has paid the toll!”

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A Prayer For Animals

Hear our humble prayer, O God,
for our friends the animals,
especially for animals who are suffering;
for animals that are overworked,
underfed and cruelly treated;
for all wistful creatures in captivity
that beat their wings against bars;
for any that are hunted or lost or deserted
or frightened or hungry;
for all that must be put to death.
We entreat for them all Thy mercy and pity,
and for those who deal with them
we ask a heart of compassion
and gentle hands and kindly words.
Make us, ourselves, to be true friends to animals,
and so to share the blessings of the merciful.

Author – Albert Schweitzer

Good St. Francis of Assisi and Blessed Anna Maria Taigi, pray for us and for our animals. Amen.

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The Feast of All Souls, November 2nd., 2012

This day Holy Mother Church celebrates and prays for all the souls of the faithful departed; those souls that are saved but in purgatory where they are being purified before entering heaven.

It is an interesting fact that the Holy Bible contains seventy three books, not the sixty six that the protestants use. Martin Luther and the various deformers threw out seven books! So much for the protestant belief in Holy Scripture! Luther also hated James, which he called the “epistle of straw” because it emphasized works. Purgatory is mentioned in Maccabees- “For it is a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from their sins.” Also, Judas Maccabeus sent offerings to the priests in Jerusalem to offer sacrifices for the souls of the dead.

Our Blessed Lord also taught the doctrine of purgatory when He said that- “You must pay to the last penny.” Scripture also mentions our works being tried “as in the fire.” Do not forget that the Holy Bible comes from the Church and it was the Church that chose the books that are in the Holy Bible. The Faith existed before the scriptures and it is Holy Tradition, through the magesterium that defines, interprets, explains and manifests the Word of God.

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and may light perpetual shine upon them. May their souls and all the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God rest in peace. Amen

You and your loved one, living and dead are remembered at the altar. Bless you+

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The Feast of the Kingship of Jesus Christ, October 28th., 2012

Maybe it’s our misdirected free will, our shameful pride or our fallen human nature, but we live our lives, all of us, with the conviction that we stand at the very center of the drama. We are the star of everyone’s movie. Moments rarely come that take us out of ourselves, that remove us from our fragile egos and force us to see the larger picture; to recognize that the drama we all live is in fact just part of a large tapestry and that each of us is just a tiny thread in the vivid weave of eternity and yet, even our tiny thread of life is essential to the integrity of the cloth.

Holy Mother Church gives us this magnificent and sobering feast day to help us realize that the Weaver is not just the Good Shepard; the Suffering Christ or the great Teacher of mankind. No, He is also King and center of all hearts, for their salvation or damnation, depending on the choice WE make. He is no less than King of the Universe, which He created with but a thought through His Word.

“That at the very Name of Jesus every knee shall bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, (under the earth? Now that is a discussion for another day!) and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.”

One last thought… We are always, especially in this country, screaming about our rights. What about my rights? I demand my rights! Well, what about the rights of God? What about the rights of Christ the King over His creatures and His creation? God has rights, too my friend and it is this time of mercy and grace that keeps Him from claiming them, but the day will come! Prepare for that day. Prepare for your own fulfillment of prophesy- the day you and I will be called home in death and must make an account to the King.

Let us pray: Have mercy on me Lord and forgive me all my sins. Be King of my heart and my life and take the throne of my existence. I now stand aside and give it to You freely and gratefully, knowing that You love me more than I can ever imagine! Jesus, King of All Hearts, make our hearts like unto Thine! O Queen of Mercy and Love, Mary most holy, speak to thy Son for me and grant me the grace of final repentance and a holy death. Amen

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The Feast of St. Rafael Archangel, October 24th., 2012

Beautiful and glorious are the angels of the Lord! They are many and magnificent and are given to man to help on our way by protecting, prompting, testing, healing, fighting and comforting.

They protect us from all manner of harm, insofar as Almighty God allows them and according to our need and merit; By prompting us to good works, even to the extent of appearing to us in various guises, “For many have entertained angels unawares!”; By testing us in our resolve so that we may earn merit for ourselves and others; By all manner of healing- physical, mental and spiritual; By fighting against the Evil One and his minions on our behalf and this, almost always when we least know it!; and by comforting us in our afflictions as ministers of light and love. How great is their apostolate among us and how unthinking we are in thankfulness for this ministry.

Rafael the Archangel is “One of the Seven who stand before God.” Along with great St. Michael and St. Gabriel, they are the only angels called by name in the canonical books of Holy Writ. Holy Mother Church urges us, by their feast days, to lift our eyes and hearts to God through these holy friends.

Thank you, dear God for the wonderful mysteries you reveal to us through Thy Holy Angels. May the Glorious Archangel Saint Rafael, great prince of the heavenly court, guide, heal, protect and defend us, for the sake of Thy Holy Name. Amen.

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