O most pure Virgin Mary conceived without sin, from the very first
instant, you were entirely immaculate. O glorious Mary full of grace,
you are the mother of my God – the Queen of Angels and of men. I humbly
venerate you as the chosen mother of my Savior, Jesus Christ.
The Prince of Peace and the Lord of Lords chose you for the singular
grace and honor of being His beloved mother. By the power of His Cross,
He preserved you from all sin. Therefore, by His power and love, I have
hope and bold confidence in your prayers for my holiness and salvation.
I pray that your prayers will bring me to imitate your holiness and submission to Jesus and the Divine Will.
Hail Mary, full of Grace, the Lord is with you.
Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb,
Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour
of our death.
Now, Queen of Heaven, I beg you to beg my Savior to grant me these requests…
(Mention your intentions)
My holy Mother, I know that you were obedient to the will of God. In
making this petition, I know that God’s will is more perfect than mine.
So, grant that I may receive God’s grace with humility like you.
As my final request, I ask that you pray for me to increase in faith
in our risen Lord; I ask that you pray for me to increase in hope in our
risen Lord; I ask that you pray for me to increase in love for the
risen Jesus!
Hail Mary, full of Grace, the Lord is with you.
Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb,
Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour
of our death. Amen.
I awoke this morning realizing that this could be the first real good family day we have had since this day a year ago. As a civilization we are in the process of purification. We have obviously gone so far from our created purpose we are in grave danger. I am 65 years old and in those 65 years I have seen and experienced a lot of suffering. This year tipped the scales. Many serious and painful situations uncovered in order to be healed by the Holy Spirit of God. "Everything done in secret will be revealed at the proper time." ~Mark 4:22. As I listen to the painful stories from other families (as well as my own experience), I realize that we are not accustom to the truth. As Jesus spoke to me a few years back: "My people no longer know the difference between the truth and a lie." We can be assured that God is healing His creation.
I am so happy to be a member of the Catholic Church. As 2016 has been the most difficult year myself and my family have ever experienced. Lots of healing is necessary on my part and that of my husband. We need to be healers to our children and that takes everything our hearts can endure. We have been introduced to the Cursillo movement by our new friends from way up in the North Country (Colebrook, NH). We both experienced the Cursillo at different times. The most loving, healing, life changing organized experience we have had in our lives as a married couple. My advice is to find a Cursillo and go.
You may have noticed that I have not been writing for a while. I apologized to Jesus for this and He told me that I am living out my vocation which is how I please Him and serve Him this world. Praise be to the King of Kings!
For most of my life I kept waiting for the: "And they all lived happily ever after." scenario. I am a very slow learner. Finally I realized that happily ever after is in the after life and hopefully in heaven. 2017 is looming in front of us. My advice is to be very prayerful in order to know God's Will for you and to surrender, surrender, surrender. Go to confession often and start all over again.
I have and will continue to rely on the prayer formation of this apostolate to fill me with healing and peace in order to continue with love, courage and perseverance. "When you are weak I am strong, says the Lord." ~2 Corinthians 12 9-11. Yes I am weak and broken, yet very strong in faith, hope, and love. "My grace is sufficient for you."
This Thanksgiving we have the privilege of becoming grandparents for the first time. Killian Daniel arrived shortly before midnight. it was a 2 day labor and delivery, grateful thanks to all who prayed for us.
Dan Lynch has expressed what Jesus has asked me and others to suffer for, "The Crux of Mankind's problem, the way we treat our sexuality." It is a relief to me to have a man of his character understand the severity of this issue and the importance of making it known. God is with us and He will never forsake His own. Sincerely, ~Margaret of souls for Jesus
It
seems that the issues of the election of 2016 had much to do about sex.
However, it was not about the sex of the candidates, male and female,
and the potential first woman President, but about support for immoral
sexual acts. “If all the fury directed at religious believers could be pressed into a single word, as it can, that word would … be sex.” (Mary Eberstadt, “The New Intolerance”, First Things).
Hillary Clinton supports the immoral sexual acts of same-sex
relationships; public accommodations for those who claim to have changed
their sex; abortion from conception to partial birth for the unwanted
human beings conceived by sexual acts; and, against consciences and
religious liberties, mandatory provision of services for celebrations of
same-sex relationships; mandatory payment for contraceptive insurance
coverage; mandatory payment for abortions from our taxes and mandatory
requirements for doctors to perform or refer attempted sex-change
operations. Mrs. Clinton said that “deep-seated cultural codes, religious beliefs and structural biases have to be changed.”
Mrs. Clinton’s response to those who opposed her support of immoral acts was not reasoned argument but simple name-calling.
She said, "To just be grossly generalistic, you can put half of Trump
supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables. Right? Racist,
sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamaphobic, you name it."
Donald Trump wrote to the Catholic Leaders Conference, at which I spoke. He said:
I have a message for Catholics: I will be there for you. I will stand with you. I will fight for you.
I am, and will remain, pro-life. I will defend your religious liberties
and the right to fully and freely practice your religion, as
individuals, business owners and academic institutions.
As First Lady, US Senator, Secretary of State, and two-time
presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton has been hostile to the core
issues and policies of greatest concern to Catholics: life, religious
liberty, Supreme Court nominations, affordable and quality healthcare,
educational choice and home schooling.
Catholics, who comprise 25% of the voters, accepted Mr. Trump’s message
and their votes, together with those of other people of goodwill,
resulted in his election.
It seems that our society is divided by moral issues and not by political issues.
Reasonable minds may differ on political issues and come to different,
but moral, prudential judgments. Not so with moral issues which are
absolute and can easily be known through the natural law that God
implants in our hearts and by the exercise of right reason.
Our division is between light and darkness and between those who follow
the light of God and those who stumble in the darkness of moral evil. It
is a division between God and Caesar. Those who cried out for Jesus’
crucifixion said, “We have no King but Caesar!” They did not recognize
God as their true King. Neither do many today who call themselves
liberals and progressives. Their king is the state and not God.
However, St. John tells us, “Anyone who is so “progressive” as not to remain in the teaching of the Christ does not have God; whoever remains in the teaching has the Father and the Son.” (2 John 9).
In fact, many “progressives” are secular humanists who believe only in
this world in which humanity without God will try to make its own heaven
on earth.
"Progressivism" is ideological, coercive, and ultimately opposed to the truth about human sexuality, marriage and the family.
“Progressives” replace these truths with their ideology and attempt to
use the state to further it with its mandatory sanctions. They act as if
God does not exist. “They exchanged the truth of God for a lie and
revered and worshiped the creature rather than the creator, who is
blessed forever.” (Romans 1:25).
They are rebels against God who revealed himself in Jesus Christ and
they will not serve him or his and his Church’ s teachings on the
natural moral law about what we must do or not do in order to have
eternal life and happiness with him. It seems that they are not
progressing but regressing to the moral rebellion in the Garden of Eden.
The truth against the rebellious and morally evil practices of
contraception, abortion, same-sex sexual relationships and
transsexuality is simply revealed to us by God. In the Garden
of Eden God created them male and female, two separate sexes. He did not
create any so-called “transgender” sexes. He told the man and the
woman, Adam and Eve, to unite and join together to become one flesh and
to multiply. Union of husband and wife with an openness to new life is
how he established true marriage and the family with its purpose for the
procreation and education of children.
Some
of the rebellious practices against these truths cause abuse against
the dignity of women, many of whom think that they are sexually
liberated. However, many are in fact used and abused by men who
treat them as objects and not as persons. Just one small example of
this comes from the words of JayZ. He is a rapper who sang at a rally
for Hillary Clinton without any later correction or comment from her
about his lyrics.
His lyrics motivated my daughter, Maggie Eisenbarth, who gave birth to
Fletcher, her ninth child, two days after the election, to post the
following on Facebook on election eve:
Seriously!
Last night I was curious enough to watch JayZ, some other rapper and
Beyonce at some free Hillary concert/rally and I couldn't believe what I
was hearing. A lot of “eff this and N%$#@ that", and to really make it
sweet and to get thanks from Hillary was, "...bringin' back 5 or 6 hoe,
@#$% them, then we kick em... she deserved that..." It was grotesque,
dark and evil. Raise the bar country! Raise your children on the Truth.
In response to Hillary’s supporters who didn’t acknowledge his abusive lyrics, Maggie wrote:
No
woman will ever be free as long as we allow and condone men referring
to us as hoes and reference abusing us. It's not complicated, it's
wrong. It is not music. If you're not going to wonder what Hillary is
all about when this is what she chooses to represent, then don't play
the same game with others. It is hypocrisy. I think our country
and our children deserve the Truth, deserve light, deserve goodness,
deserve to grow and be nurtured absent vulgarity, profanity and evil. I
believe in a better day, a better America. Would Allison Krauss
please come forward and sing for us all now, that would make me happy,
that and honoring God in our country.
Maggie’s post exemplifies the division in our society between light and darkness. Let us pray a novena to Our Lady of America
for her to mediate a river of the light of God to our society. May this
light penetrate and melt the hearts of the secular humanists who
support moral evils. May they turn to God who lovingly waits for them to
receive his mercy. His merciful arms are wide enough to embrace all
repentant people of good will and to forgive them so that they may have
eternal life and happiness with him.
However, it seems that their minds and hearts have been made dull and
hardened and that God has placed a veil over them so that they cannot
understand and accept the natural moral truths of life, marriage and the
family. It seems that this veil will not be removed unless and until
they turn from the idols that they have created of their own
enlightenment and sexual revolution and accept these moral truths.
Let us pray that secular humanists come to know the truth, the love and
the mercy of the one true God. He tells us that, “if then my people,
upon whom my name has been pronounced, humble themselves and pray, and
seek my face and turn from their evil ways, I will hear them from heaven
and pardon their sins and heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14).
The birth of any child, like Fletcher, my new 25th grandchild,
is a sign of hope for the future. As President John Kennedy once said,
“Children are our most important natural resource and our best hope for
the future!”
Let us be hopeful! What St. John Paul II wrote to
Europe, also applies to the United States. "Be certain! The Gospel of
hope does not disappoint! Throughout the vicissitudes of your history,
yesterday and today, it is the light which illumines and directs your
way; it is the strength which sustains you in trials; it is the prophecy
of a new world; it is the sign of a new beginning; it is the invitation
to everyone to blaze new trails in order to make the continent a true
common home filled with the joy of life." (John Paul II, Ecclesia in Europa, 121).
In the aftermath of the recent election, our country and our parishes are divided. Some people are hurt and angry while others are jubilant and hopeful. But although we often square off in opposing corners and stare fearfully at each other, we should remember our common enemy, the Devil. There’s a saying that warring brothers reconcile when there’s a maniac at the door; and the Devil is surely a maniacal and cunning opponent. One of the key elements in any battle is understanding the strategy and tactics of your opponent. In the spiritual battle of life, we need to develop some sophistication in recognizing, naming, and understanding the strategies and common tactics of the Devil.
A 2011 book by Fr. Louis J. Cameli, The Devil You Don’t Know, can be of great assistance in this matter. In the book, Fr. Cameli breaks the Devil’s tactics down into four broad categories. I highly recommend reading the book, where Fr. Cameli expounds on the topic much more fully than I can do here.
While the categorization comes from Fr. Cameli, the reflections that follow are largely my own, although surely rooted in his excellent work.
I. Deception – Jesus says, The Devil was a murderer from the beginning he does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies he speaks according to his own nature, he is a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44).
The Devil attempts to deceive us with many false and empty promises. Most of these center around the lie that we will be happier and more fulfilled if we sin or deny aspects of the truth. Whatever passing pleasures come with sin, they are just that—passing. Great, accumulated suffering eventually comes with almost all sinful activity. Yet, despite this experience, we human beings remain very gullible; we seem to love empty promises and put all sorts of false hopes in them.
The Devil also tries to deceives us by suggesting that we introduce all sorts of complexities into our thinking. He seeks to confuse us and to conceal the fundamental truth about our action from us. Our minds are very wily; we love to indulge complexity as a way of avoiding the truth and/or making excuses. Conniving with the Devil, we entertain endless complications in our minds by asking “But what if this?” or “What about that?” Along with the Devil, we project all sorts of possible difficulties, exceptions, or potential sob stories, in order to avoid insisting that we (and/or others) behave well and live according to the truth.
The Devil also seeks to deceive us with “wordsmithing.” The dismemberment and murder of a child through abortion becomes “reproductive freedom” or “choice.” Engaging in sodomy is called being “gay” (a word which used to mean happy). Our luminous Faith and ancient wisdom is called “darkness” and “ignorance.” Fornication is called “cohabitation.” The redefinition of marriage as it has been known for some 5000 years, is labeled “marriage equality.” And thus through exaggerations and outright false labeling, the Devil deceives us. We too easily connive by calling “good,” or “no big deal,” what God calls sinful.
Finally, the Devil deceives us through the sheer volume of information and with selective use of it. Information is not the same is truth, and data can be assembled very craftily in order to make deceptive points. Further, certain facts and figures can be emphasized while other balancing truths are omitted. And thus even information that is true in itself can become a means of deception. The news media and other sources sometimes exercise their greatest influence in what they choose not to report.
We do well to assess very carefully the many ways Satan seeks to deceive us. Do not believe everything you think or hear. While we ought not to be cynical, we should be sober, seeking to verify what we see and hear and square it with God’s revealed truth.
II. Division – One of Jesus’ final prayers for us was that we would be one (cf John 17:22). He prayed this at the Last Supper, just before He went out to suffer and die for us. This highlights that a chief aspect of His work on the cross was to overcome the divisions intensified by Satan. Some argue that the Greek root of the word “diabolical” (diabolein) means to cut, tear, or divide. Jesus prays and works to reunify what the Devil divides.
The Devil’s work of division starts within each one of us, as we experience many contrary drives: some noble, creative, and edifying; others base, sinful, and destructive. So often, we struggle within and feel torn apart, much as St. Paul describes in Romans chapter 7: The good that I want to do, I do not do …, and when I try to do good, evil is at hand. This is the work of the Devil, to divide us within. And as St. Paul lays out in Romans chapter 8, the chief work of the Lord is to establish within us the unity of soul and body, in accordance with the unity of His truth.
The Devil’s attack against our inner unity of course spills out into many divisions among us externally. So many things help to drive this division and the Devil surely taps into them all: anger, resentment, fear, misunderstanding, greed, pride, and arrogance. There is also the impatience that we so easily develop with those we love, as well as the flawed notion that we should seek out other more perfect and desirable people instead. This leads many to abandon their marriages, family, churches, and communities; always in search of the elusive goal of finding better, more perfect people and situations.
Yes, the Devil has a real field day tapping in to a plethora of sinful drives within us. His goal is always to divide us within and to divide us among ourselves. We do well to recognize that regardless of our struggles with others, we all share a common enemy who seeks to divide and destroy us. St. Paul writes, For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms (Eph 6:12). Yes, feuding brothers reconcile when there’s a maniac at the door. Step one is to notice the maniac and step two is to set aside our lesser divisions.
III. Diversion – For all of us, our most critical focus is God and the good things awaiting us in Heaven. Faith, obedience to the truth, love of God, and love of neighbor lead us on the path toward Heaven. The Devil does all that he can to divert us away from our one true goal.
Perhaps he will do this by making us overly absorbed in the passing things of this world. So many people claim that they are too busy to pray, attend Mass, or seek other forms of spiritual nourishment. They become absorbed in worldly things, which pass, ignoring the lasting reality that looms.
Anxieties and fears also cause us to be distracted. The Devil causes us to fixate on fears about passing things while neglecting to have a proper fear of the judgment that awaits us. Jesus says, Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell (Matt 10:28). In other words, we should have a holy reverence and fear directed towards the Lord. If we do this, many of our other fears will be put into better perspective or will go away altogether. In this matter of fear, the Devil says just the opposite: we should fear the myriad things that might afflict us in this passing world and not think at all about the most significant thing that awaits us—our judgment.
At the heart of all diversion is the fact that the Devil wants us to focus on lesser things so that we avoid focusing on greater things, such as making moral decisions and attending to the proper overall direction of our life.
We must learn to focus on what matters most and decisively refuse to be diverted by lesser things.
IV. Discouragement – As human beings, and certainly as Christians, we ought to have high aspirations; this is good. But as with all good things, Satan often seeks to poison them. With our high aspirations, sometimes we lack the humility to recognize that we must make a journey in order to achieve that which is good or best. Too easily, Satan tempts us to impatience with our own self or with others. Expecting to achieve our aspirations unreasonably quickly, we can be uncharitable toward our own self or others. Some grow discouraged with themselves or with others and just give up on the pursuit of holiness. Others give up on the Church because of the imperfections found there, as are found in any institution with humans.
The Devil discourages us with open-ended aspirations. There is always room for improvement; we can always do more. When we can always do more, it is easy to think that we’ve never done enough. And thus the Devil discourages us, sowing thoughts of unreasonable demands within us about we can or should be able to achieve each day.
The Devil also discourages us through simple things like fatigue, minor personal failings, setbacks, and other obstacles that are common to our human condition living in a fallen world with limited resources.
In all these ways the Devil seeks to discourage us, to make us want to give up. Only a properly developed sense of humility can save us from this discouragement by Satan. Humility—which is reverence for the truth about ourselves—teaches us that we grow slowly and in stages and helps us to recognize that we will always have setbacks and that we live in a world that is hard and far from perfect. With humility we can learn to lean more on the Lord and trust in His providential help, which grows in us incrementally.
Here, then, are four common tactics of the Devil. Learn to recognize and name them. In this way, we can start to gain authority over them. Consider reading Fr. Cameli’s book to learn more.
The Feast of Christ the King is a moveable feast that occurs on the last Sunday of the Liturgical year. It is an important feast for all of us! Let’s join in preparing for this feast with a Novena for Christ the King!
Background on this Feast
This feast day was instituted by Pope Pius XI on December 11th in 1925 within the encyclical letter Quas Primas. The Holy Father was responding to the fact that the world was becoming increasingly nationalistic and secular. Governments were claiming more and more allegiance from their citizens and attempting to replace God.
“While nations insult the beloved name of our Redeemer by suppressing all mention of it in their conferences and parliaments, we must all the more loudly proclaim his kingly dignity and power, all the more universally affirm his rights.” – Quas Primas, 25
Pope Pius XI, therefore, created this feast to help the faithful to remember that allegiance to Christ is above any allegiance to government of a nation.
“The faithful, moreover, by meditating upon these truths, will gain much strength and courage, enabling them to form their lives after the true Christian ideal. If to Christ our Lord is given all power in heaven and on earth; if all men, purchased by his precious blood, are by a new right subjected to his dominion; if this power embraces all men, it must be clear that not one of our faculties is exempt from his empire. He must reign in our minds, which should assent with perfect submission and firm belief to revealed truths and to the doctrines of Christ. He must reign in our wills, which should obey the laws and precepts of God. He must reign in our hearts, which should spurn natural desires and love God above all things, and cleave to him alone. He must reign in our bodies and in our members, which should serve as instruments for the interior sanctification of our souls, or to use the words of the Apostle Paul, as instruments of justice unto God.” – Quas Primas, 33
It is particularly important to recognize the words of the encyclical in today’s climate of government intrusion on the Church.
“When we pay honor to the princely dignity of Christ, men will doubtless be reminded that the Church, founded by Christ as a perfect society, has a natural and inalienable right to perfect freedom and immunity from the power of the state; and that in fulfilling the task committed to her by God of teaching, ruling, and guiding to eternal bliss those who belong to the kingdom of Christ, she cannot be subject to any external power.” – Quas Primas, 31
Christ the King Novena Prayers
Christ, our Savior and our King, renew in me allegiance to Your Kingship.
Day 1 – I pray for the grace to place You above the powers of this world in all things. Day 2 – I pray for the grace to obey You before any civic authority. Day 3 – I pray for the grace to fervently bring about Your Kingdom in my family and community. Day 4 – I pray that You will reign in my mind. Day 5 – I pray that You will reign in my heart. Day 6 – I pray that You will reign in my will. Day 7 – I pray that You will reign in my body. Day 8 – I pray that You will reign throughout all the world. Day 9 – I pray that You will reign in every area of my life.
O Prince of Peace, may Your reign be complete in my life and in the life of the world. Christ, my King, please answer these petitions if they be in accordance with Your Holy Will…
[Mention your intentions here]
As I reflect on Your second, glorious coming and the judgement of all mankind, I beg You to show me mercy and give me the grace to become a great saint. I pray that not only will I spend eternity with You but that You may use me – a sinner – to bring others into Your Kingdom for Your glory.
Regardless of the outcome of today's election we are called to prepare our souls for Jesus. As individuals and as community we are called to union with the Holy Trinity. The world around us is as changing as the storm tides. Our only stable relief is to be focused on God alone. The essay below reminds us of that truth so profoundly. ~Margaret of Souls for Jesus
Saint Elisabeth of the Trinity [canonized last month] is a witness to the primacy of contemplation in the life of the Church, and the mystical wisdom contemplation releases into human history. This is the wisdom that understands how God is present in both the public square as well as in the intimacy of our hearts. Today, when the whole world needs this wisdom renewed, the Church celebrates her feast day and invites us to consider her powerful spiritual doctrine. She wrote a famous prayer to the Holy Trinity which has helped many contemplatives recover devotion to the Divine Persons in their life of prayer. This work is cited to support the Catechism of the Catholic Church’s (CCC) teaching on the Divine Works and the Trinitarian Missions. The teaching itself is that God calls every individual to a great and beautiful purpose, to become a dwelling place for His presence in the world:
The ultimate end of the divine economy is the entry of God’s creatures into the perfect unity of the Blessed Trinity. But even now we are called to be a dwelling for the Most Holy Trinity, ‘If a man loves Me,’ says the Lord, ‘he will keep My Word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and make Our home with him’ (CCC, paragraph 260).
This is a rich teaching because it says that our ultimate fulfillment is not simply something waiting for us in a remote future, in a distant afterlife. Instead, the Catechism proposes that heaven can begin now in faith. This means that our faith offers us a fullness of life. We do not have to be content with managing through life’s ambiguities and uncertainties with the hope that someday it might get better. Instead, our faith gives us a real foretaste of the fullness that awaits us — so that the excessiveness of God’s love can pour into our lives here and now, if we will believe in Him.
To encourage this decision to believe in the love that God has for us in the here and now of our lives, the Catechism cites the beginning of Saint Elisabeth’s prayer to the Trinity,“O my God, Trinity Whom I adore, help me to forget myself entirely so to establish myself in You, unmovable and peaceful as if my soul were already in eternity.”
Saint Elisabeth’s prayer helps us consider what it means to have faith, to believe in God and what He calls us to become. This kind of faith is a matter of a love that takes us out of ourselves. It is, in this sense, an ecstatic movement of heart, a decision to lay aside everything so that there is space for God to dwell in us. Faith helps us see that our own bloated egos need to make way for God. To love Christ to the point of welcoming His Word in our hearts means He can begin to help us forget our very self. He is the One who frees us so that the fullness of life that awaits us in heaven begins here on earth.
Her words suggest that the biggest obstacle to prayer is not anything outside ourselves, but proclivities within. The ego has its own specific gravity. Its force, if left unchecked, its deadly. Anxieties over our own plans and for security, our lust for control and to put others in their place, our need to be right and esteemed, our obsession with being liked or affirmed, our gluttony for comfort and entertainment; all of this fails to provide any firm ground for rectifying our existence. Unchecked, these tendencies suffocate the heart, and as long as one’s heart is pulled by these forces, it can find no peace.
Only when we can get out of ourselves are we able to breathe the fresh air of friendship with God and true solidarity with one another. At the same time, even after we see how imprisoned we are, left to our own resources, we cannot entirely free ourselves. The answer is not to be found in our own cleverness or in some titanic effort to surmount oneself through techniques. Only Christ can help us leave our old way of life behind. This is why Saint Elisabeth’s prayer begins with a cry for help.
Clinging to what Christ has revealed about the Father and about humanity, this is the essential movement of faith. This is His word to us – for He is the saving Word that reveals this inexhaustible mystery. Those whose hearts are vulnerable to this radiant beauty find true inner freedom.
Souls whom Christ helps to be free of themselves stand firm in love even as everything in life falls apart around them. This is only because through Christ they have found the ground of their very being in the excessive love flowing from the Holy Trinity into their nights, their voids, their inadequacies and even their failures. In short, come what come may they know they are loved and that love awaits them.
It by standing on this ground that a soul opens itself to God’s presence in ever new and surprising ways. On this ground, He dwells in them. With the inflow of His truth and love, it is easy to let go and to trust, and anyone who has discovered this freedom wants to be established there in an unmovable way.
Today is the feast of Saint Elisabeth of the Trinity. She lived out this truth to her last anguished heartbeat, bedridden with an incurable disease even as the political powers of her day threatened those she loved the most, and the Church was rocked by all kinds of scandal. This Carmelite Mystic, the Mystic of Dijon, believed her mission was to help souls enter to a transforming encounter with Christ, one that requires a journey out of ourselves where we are vulnerable enough to be touched by Him. Her words encourage us to call out to the Word, and to let His great Canticle of love resound in our hearts with all its fulness — for to know this saving truth is to live as if already in eternity. by Anthony Lilles
Day Nine.
Our Lady of America, you asked that a statue be made in your image and
placed, after being solemnly carried in procession, in the Basilica of
the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. You
said that you wished to be honored there in a special way as Our Lady
of America, the Immaculate Virgin. You promised that the placement of
your statue in the Shrine would be a special safeguard for our country.
Please intercede for us that we
may be granted this grace and morally good leaders who will act
according to the revealed will of God and the foundational principles of
the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United
States of America.
After praying the daily petition for each day, pray the following:
Sister Mildred’s Prayer to Our Lady of America
O Immaculate Mother, Queen of our
Country, open our hearts, our homes, and our Land to the coming of
Jesus, your Divine Son. With Him, reign over us, O heavenly Lady, so
pure and so bright with the radiance of God’s light shining in and about
you. Be our Leader against the powers of evil set upon wresting the
world of souls, redeemed at such a great cost by the sufferings of your
Son and of yourself, in union with Him, from that same Savior, Who loves
us with infinite charity.
We gather about you, O chaste and
holy Mother, Virgin Immaculate, Patroness of our beloved Land,
determined to fight under your banner of holy purity against the
wickedness that would make all the world an abyss of evil, without God
and without your loving maternal care.
We consecrate our hearts, our
homes, our Land to your Most Pure Heart, O great Queen, that the kingdom
of your Son, our Redeemer and our God, may be firmly established in us.
We ask no special sign of you,
sweet Mother, for we believe in your great love for us, and we place in
you our entire confidence. We promise to honor you by faith, love, and
the purity of our lives according to your desire.
Reign over us, then, O Virgin
Immaculate, with your Son Jesus Christ. May His Divine Heart and your
most chaste Heart be ever enthroned and glorified among us. Use us, your
children of America, as your instruments in bringing peace among men
and nations. Work your miracles of grace in us, so that we may be a
glory to the Blessed Trinity, Who created, redeemed, and sanctifies us.
May your valiant Spouse, St.
Joseph, with the holy Angels and Saints, assist you and us in “renewing
the face of the earth.” Then when our work is over, come, Holy
Immaculate Mother, and as our Victorious Queen, lead us to the eternal
kingdom, where your Son reigns forever as King. Amen.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be . . .
By thy holy and Immaculate Conception, O Mary, deliver us from evil!
Everyone needs to appreciate that sexuality is a gift that
possesses both dignity and spiritual beauty.
In an age of porn and sleaze, the need for a deepened respect for the positive aspects of human sexuality is real. In marriage, the desire to give one's self to the delight of the beloved is a sign of Christian holiness.
Human sexuality is perhaps the most talked about but least understood subject in the world. Our culture reduces sex to a form of entertainment. The sound tracks on many sitcoms are full of laughter over promiscuous behavior.
There is never any thought given to the dangers of "free love," like unwanted pregnancies that lead to abortion and broken hearts when a lover suddenly walks away. Without a mutual commitment, sex can be dangerous on many levels.
Promiscuity in one's youth can lead to an attitude about sex that scorns the idea of fidelity in marriage, and infidelity is the leading cause of divorce. In view of the fact that true love requires service and sacrifice, promiscuity is not a good way to prepare for a permanent marriage.
Our Lord taught that the noblest form of love is to lay down one's life for the beloved. In marriage, this kind of surrender begins when there is a true marital commitment. The willingness to endure suffering to bring peace and happiness to the beloved is essential.
Everyone needs to appreciate that sexuality is a gift that possesses both dignity and spiritual beauty.
A great deal can be said about the humdrum reality of marriage life. People need to accept themselves as human, as they try to deal with their shortcomings and weaknesses. But there is no reason to think of marital pleasure as sinful; it is a God-given instinct.
There are many forms of sensual delight, like the enjoyment of a beautiful sunset or the thrill of listening to a great symphony. Such noble emotions contribute to our sense of well-being and happiness. Sexual pleasure is a particular form of sensual delight that is designed to be used in the service of married love. It brings new life into the world and increases the mutual support and comfort of married life.
Then, where does the sin factor come in?
Sexual sins are not sinful because of the pleasure factor. How could they be? Marriage is a sacrament that God created so that man and woman would find a "helpmate" in one another and grow in love and union and beget new life.
The precise nature of the sinfulness of illicit sex is not found in the sensual feelings it produces, but in the degree of selfishness a person projects. One who would risk taking advantage of another, despite the fact that it might lead to severe emotional pain, turns an act of love into an act of self-indulgence.
That's why it is always wise for a young person to practice chastity. The alternative is to risk dangers that could lead to a life of sadness and regret. Part of chastity entails refraining from premarital sex, and the Catechism of the Catholic Church states that "the virtue of chastity blossoms in friendship," but it also exists in married life.
In the Second Vatican Council's Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, the first chapter discusses fostering the nobility of marriage and the family. Speaking of marriage, the document says:
"This love God has judged worthy of special gifts, healing, perfecting and exalting gifts of grace and of charity. Such love, merging the human with the divine, leads the spouses to a free and mutual gift of themselves, a gift providing itself by gentle affection and by deed, such love pervades the whole of their lives: Indeed, by its busy generosity it grows better and grows greater."
Day Eight.
Our Lady of America, you said that those who wear your medal “with
great faith and fervent devotion to you will receive the grace of
intense purity of heart and the particular love of the Holy Virgin and
her Divine Son.” You also said, ‘Sinners will receive the grace of
repentance and the spiritual strength to live as true children of Mary.
As in life, so in death, this blessed medal will be as a shield to
protect them against the evil spirits, and St. Michael himself will be
at their side to allay their fears at the final hour.”
Please intercede for us that we
may be granted this grace and morally good leaders who will act
according to the revealed will of God and the foundational principles of
the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United
States of America.
After praying the daily petition for each day, pray the following:
Sister Mildred’s Prayer to Our Lady of America
O Immaculate Mother, Queen of our
Country, open our hearts, our homes, and our Land to the coming of
Jesus, your Divine Son. With Him, reign over us, O heavenly Lady, so
pure and so bright with the radiance of God’s light shining in and about
you. Be our Leader against the powers of evil set upon wresting the
world of souls, redeemed at such a great cost by the sufferings of your
Son and of yourself, in union with Him, from that same Savior, Who loves
us with infinite charity.
We gather about you, O chaste and
holy Mother, Virgin Immaculate, Patroness of our beloved Land,
determined to fight under your banner of holy purity against the
wickedness that would make all the world an abyss of evil, without God
and without your loving maternal care.
We consecrate our hearts, our
homes, our Land to your Most Pure Heart, O great Queen, that the kingdom
of your Son, our Redeemer and our God, may be firmly established in us.
We ask no special sign of you,
sweet Mother, for we believe in your great love for us, and we place in
you our entire confidence. We promise to honor you by faith, love, and
the purity of our lives according to your desire.
Reign over us, then, O Virgin
Immaculate, with your Son Jesus Christ. May His Divine Heart and your
most chaste Heart be ever enthroned and glorified among us. Use us, your
children of America, as your instruments in bringing peace among men
and nations. Work your miracles of grace in us, so that we may be a
glory to the Blessed Trinity, Who created, redeemed, and sanctifies us.
May your valiant Spouse, St.
Joseph, with the holy Angels and Saints, assist you and us in “renewing
the face of the earth.” Then when our work is over, come, Holy
Immaculate Mother, and as our Victorious Queen, lead us to the eternal
kingdom, where your Son reigns forever as King. Amen.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be . . .
By thy holy and Immaculate Conception, O Mary, deliver us from evil!
Day Seven.
Our Lady of America, you asked that the youth of our nation be the
leaders of a movement of renewal on the face of the earth. You asked
that they be prepared by instilling into them, not only the knowledge of
the Divine Indwelling, but a serious study of it, living it in such a
way that the Divine Presence becomes, as it were an intimate and
necessary part of their life and daily living. From this will flow a
great love, a conflagration that will envelop the world in the flames of
Divine Charity.”
Please intercede for us that we
may be granted this grace and morally good leaders who will act
according to the revealed will of God and the foundational principles of
the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United
States of America.
After praying the daily petition for each day, pray the following:
Sister Mildred’s Prayer to Our Lady of America
O Immaculate Mother, Queen of our
Country, open our hearts, our homes, and our Land to the coming of
Jesus, your Divine Son. With Him, reign over us, O heavenly Lady, so
pure and so bright with the radiance of God’s light shining in and about
you. Be our Leader against the powers of evil set upon wresting the
world of souls, redeemed at such a great cost by the sufferings of your
Son and of yourself, in union with Him, from that same Savior, Who loves
us with infinite charity.
We gather about you, O chaste and
holy Mother, Virgin Immaculate, Patroness of our beloved Land,
determined to fight under your banner of holy purity against the
wickedness that would make all the world an abyss of evil, without God
and without your loving maternal care.
We consecrate our hearts, our
homes, our Land to your Most Pure Heart, O great Queen, that the kingdom
of your Son, our Redeemer and our God, may be firmly established in us.
We ask no special sign of you,
sweet Mother, for we believe in your great love for us, and we place in
you our entire confidence. We promise to honor you by faith, love, and
the purity of our lives according to your desire.
Reign over us, then, O Virgin
Immaculate, with your Son Jesus Christ. May His Divine Heart and your
most chaste Heart be ever enthroned and glorified among us. Use us, your
children of America, as your instruments in bringing peace among men
and nations. Work your miracles of grace in us, so that we may be a
glory to the Blessed Trinity, Who created, redeemed, and sanctifies us.
May your valiant Spouse, St.
Joseph, with the holy Angels and Saints, assist you and us in “renewing
the face of the earth.” Then when our work is over, come, Holy
Immaculate Mother, and as our Victorious Queen, lead us to the eternal
kingdom, where your Son reigns forever as King. Amen.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be . . .
By thy holy and Immaculate Conception, O Mary, deliver us from evil!
Day Six.
Our Lady of America, you asked your beloved sons, the priests, “to
practice self-denial and penance in a special manner, because it is you
who must lead my children in the way of peace. . . . Thus, by
sanctification from within you, you will become a bright and burning
light to the faithful, who look to you for help and guidance.”
Please intercede for us that we
may be granted this grace and morally good leaders who will act
according to the revealed will of God and the foundational principles of
the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United
States of America.
After praying the daily petition for each day, pray the following:
Sister Mildred’s Prayer to Our Lady of America
O Immaculate Mother, Queen of our
Country, open our hearts, our homes, and our Land to the coming of
Jesus, your Divine Son. With Him, reign over us, O heavenly Lady, so
pure and so bright with the radiance of God’s light shining in and about
you. Be our Leader against the powers of evil set upon wresting the
world of souls, redeemed at such a great cost by the sufferings of your
Son and of yourself, in union with Him, from that same Savior, Who loves
us with infinite charity.
We gather about you, O chaste and
holy Mother, Virgin Immaculate, Patroness of our beloved Land,
determined to fight under your banner of holy purity against the
wickedness that would make all the world an abyss of evil, without God
and without your loving maternal care.
We consecrate our hearts, our
homes, our Land to your Most Pure Heart, O great Queen, that the kingdom
of your Son, our Redeemer and our God, may be firmly established in us.
We ask no special sign of you,
sweet Mother, for we believe in your great love for us, and we place in
you our entire confidence. We promise to honor you by faith, love, and
the purity of our lives according to your desire.
Reign over us, then, O Virgin
Immaculate, with your Son Jesus Christ. May His Divine Heart and your
most chaste Heart be ever enthroned and glorified among us. Use us, your
children of America, as your instruments in bringing peace among men
and nations. Work your miracles of grace in us, so that we may be a
glory to the Blessed Trinity, Who created, redeemed, and sanctifies us.
May your valiant Spouse, St.
Joseph, with the holy Angels and Saints, assist you and us in “renewing
the face of the earth.” Then when our work is over, come, Holy
Immaculate Mother, and as our Victorious Queen, lead us to the eternal
kingdom, where your Son reigns forever as King. Amen.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be . . .
By thy holy and Immaculate Conception, O Mary, deliver us from evil!
Day Five.
Our Lady of America, you said, “It is the wish of my Son that fathers
and mothers strive to imitate me and my chaste spouse in our holy life
at Nazareth. We practiced the simple virtues of family life, Jesus our
Son being the center of all our love and activity. The Holy Trinity
dwelt with us in a manner far surpassing anything that can ever be
imagined. For ours was the earthly paradise where once again God walked
among men.”. . . “The Divine Trinity will dwell in your midst only if
you are faithful in practicing the virtues of our life at Nazareth.
Then, you also, my children, you also will become another paradise. God
will then walk among you and you will have peace.”
Please intercede for us that we
may be granted this grace and morally good leaders who will act
according to the revealed will of God and the foundational principles of
the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United
States of America.
After praying the daily petition for each day, pray the following:
Sister Mildred’s Prayer to Our Lady of America
O Immaculate Mother, Queen of our
Country, open our hearts, our homes, and our Land to the coming of
Jesus, your Divine Son. With Him, reign over us, O heavenly Lady, so
pure and so bright with the radiance of God’s light shining in and about
you. Be our Leader against the powers of evil set upon wresting the
world of souls, redeemed at such a great cost by the sufferings of your
Son and of yourself, in union with Him, from that same Savior, Who loves
us with infinite charity.
We gather about you, O chaste and
holy Mother, Virgin Immaculate, Patroness of our beloved Land,
determined to fight under your banner of holy purity against the
wickedness that would make all the world an abyss of evil, without God
and without your loving maternal care.
We consecrate our hearts, our
homes, our Land to your Most Pure Heart, O great Queen, that the kingdom
of your Son, our Redeemer and our God, may be firmly established in us.
We ask no special sign of you,
sweet Mother, for we believe in your great love for us, and we place in
you our entire confidence. We promise to honor you by faith, love, and
the purity of our lives according to your desire.
Reign over us, then, O Virgin
Immaculate, with your Son Jesus Christ. May His Divine Heart and your
most chaste Heart be ever enthroned and glorified among us. Use us, your
children of America, as your instruments in bringing peace among men
and nations. Work your miracles of grace in us, so that we may be a
glory to the Blessed Trinity, Who created, redeemed, and sanctifies us.
May your valiant Spouse, St.
Joseph, with the holy Angels and Saints, assist you and us in “renewing
the face of the earth.” Then when our work is over, come, Holy
Immaculate Mother, and as our Victorious Queen, lead us to the eternal
kingdom, where your Son reigns forever as King. Amen.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be . . .
By thy holy and Immaculate Conception, O Mary, deliver us from evil!
Day Four.
Our Lady of America, you said, “My dear children, either you will do as
I desire and reform your lives, or God Himself will need to cleanse you
in the fires of untold punishment. You must be prepared to receive His
great gift of peace.”
Please intercede for us that we
may be granted this grace and morally good leaders who will act
according to the revealed will of God and the foundational principles of
the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United
States of America.
After praying the daily petition for each day, pray the following:
Sister Mildred’s Prayer to Our Lady of America
O Immaculate Mother, Queen of our
Country, open our hearts, our homes, and our Land to the coming of
Jesus, your Divine Son. With Him, reign over us, O heavenly Lady, so
pure and so bright with the radiance of God’s light shining in and about
you. Be our Leader against the powers of evil set upon wresting the
world of souls, redeemed at such a great cost by the sufferings of your
Son and of yourself, in union with Him, from that same Savior, Who loves
us with infinite charity.
We gather about you, O chaste and
holy Mother, Virgin Immaculate, Patroness of our beloved Land,
determined to fight under your banner of holy purity against the
wickedness that would make all the world an abyss of evil, without God
and without your loving maternal care.
We consecrate our hearts, our
homes, our Land to your Most Pure Heart, O great Queen, that the kingdom
of your Son, our Redeemer and our God, may be firmly established in us.
We ask no special sign of you,
sweet Mother, for we believe in your great love for us, and we place in
you our entire confidence. We promise to honor you by faith, love, and
the purity of our lives according to your desire.
Reign over us, then, O Virgin
Immaculate, with your Son Jesus Christ. May His Divine Heart and your
most chaste Heart be ever enthroned and glorified among us. Use us, your
children of America, as your instruments in bringing peace among men
and nations. Work your miracles of grace in us, so that we may be a
glory to the Blessed Trinity, Who created, redeemed, and sanctifies us.
May your valiant Spouse, St.
Joseph, with the holy Angels and Saints, assist you and us in “renewing
the face of the earth.” Then when our work is over, come, Holy
Immaculate Mother, and as our Victorious Queen, lead us to the eternal
kingdom, where your Son reigns forever as King. Amen.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be . . .
By thy holy and Immaculate Conception, O Mary, deliver us from evil!
Day Three.
Our Lady of America, you said, “What I ask, have asked, and will
continue to ask is reformation of life. There must be sanctification
from within. I will work my miracles of grace only in those who ask for
them and empty their souls of the love and attachment to sin and all
that is displeasing to my Son.”
Please intercede for us that we
may be granted this grace and morally good leaders who will act
according to the revealed will of God and the foundational principles of
the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United
States of America.
After praying the daily petition for each day, pray the following:
Sister Mildred’s Prayer to Our Lady of America
O Immaculate Mother, Queen of our
Country, open our hearts, our homes, and our Land to the coming of
Jesus, your Divine Son. With Him, reign over us, O heavenly Lady, so
pure and so bright with the radiance of God’s light shining in and about
you. Be our Leader against the powers of evil set upon wresting the
world of souls, redeemed at such a great cost by the sufferings of your
Son and of yourself, in union with Him, from that same Savior, Who loves
us with infinite charity.
We gather about you, O chaste and
holy Mother, Virgin Immaculate, Patroness of our beloved Land,
determined to fight under your banner of holy purity against the
wickedness that would make all the world an abyss of evil, without God
and without your loving maternal care.
We consecrate our hearts, our
homes, our Land to your Most Pure Heart, O great Queen, that the kingdom
of your Son, our Redeemer and our God, may be firmly established in us.
We ask no special sign of you,
sweet Mother, for we believe in your great love for us, and we place in
you our entire confidence. We promise to honor you by faith, love, and
the purity of our lives according to your desire.
Reign over us, then, O Virgin
Immaculate, with your Son Jesus Christ. May His Divine Heart and your
most chaste Heart be ever enthroned and glorified among us. Use us, your
children of America, as your instruments in bringing peace among men
and nations. Work your miracles of grace in us, so that we may be a
glory to the Blessed Trinity, Who created, redeemed, and sanctifies us.
May your valiant Spouse, St.
Joseph, with the holy Angels and Saints, assist you and us in “renewing
the face of the earth.” Then when our work is over, come, Holy
Immaculate Mother, and as our Victorious Queen, lead us to the eternal
kingdom, where your Son reigns forever as King. Amen.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be . . .
By thy holy and Immaculate Conception, O Mary, deliver us from evil!
