"The humble and hidden presence of the Lord in Mary, in the Church and in each soul, radiates light and hope to the world."

Hope does not disappoint.  It has been an amazing week, with ups and downs, but through it all, the Holy Spirit so evident and working in mysterious ways in each of our lives and in the life of the Church at large.  I want to share with you one of the most beautiful teachings of our new Pope Francis, given in 2008, as His Eminence Jorge Mario Cardinal Bergoglio, SJ, at the 49th International Eucharistic Congress in Quebec (source The Sacred Page, translation from Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam).  My heart is filled with gratitude for our new Papa, a humble, holy, and wise man.  Let us pray for him together.  You will want to read the entire catechesis, but here are a few of my favorite exerpts, showing both the Eucharistic and Marian heart of our new Pope Francis (emphasis from Michael Barber at The Sacred Page).

First, Mary as a Model of the Covenant, and how she helps us live the Eucharistic Mystery:

Desire and self-offering are the two anticipatory attitudes that convert the Church and also each faithful soul into “new wineskins.” By desire and self-offering we become, like Mary, vessels suitable for the Word to take on flesh within us. The humble and hidden presence of the Lord in Mary, in the Church and in each soul, radiates light and hope to the world. John Paul expresses this beautifully, speaking of the Visitation:

“‘And blessed art thou that hast believed’ (Lk 1:45): Mary has anticipated, in the mystery of the Incarnation, the Eucharistic faith of the Church. When, in the Visitation, she carries within her the Word made flesh, she becomes, in a way, a ‘tabernacle’ – the first ‘tabernacle’ in history – where the Son of God, still invisible to the eyes of men, is offered for the adoration by Elizabeth, as ‘radiating’ light through the eyes and the voice of Mary.”

Mary, therefore, is a model of the Covenant, between the Lord and His bride the Church, between God and each man. Model of a Covenant that is company of Love, confident and fruitful abandonment and fullness of hope that irradiates joy. All of these virtues become music in the Magnificat of which John Paul II gives us a beautiful Eucharistic vision:

“In the Magnificat, after all, is present the eschatological tension of the Eucharist. Each time the Son of God is presented under the ‘poverty’ of the sacramental species, bread and wine, the world has within it the germ of the new history, in which ‘He hath put down the mighty from their seat’ and ‘hath exalted the humble.’ (cf. Lk 1:52). Mary sings of the ‘new heaven’ and the ‘new earth’ that are anticipated in the Eucharist and, in a certain sense, allows a glimpse into its programmed ‘design.’ Given that the Magnificat expresses the spirituality of Mary, nothing helps us live better the Eucharistic Mystery than this spirituality. The Eucharist has been given to us for our life, as that of Mary’s, all one Magnificat!” 

And, the great personal joy of receiving the Eucharist as Mary receives:

Throughout this catechesis, as we contemplate in Mary the mystery of the Covenant, it has been gradually revealed to us the riches of the Eucharist and of the Church. In our Mother all becomes concrete and “possible.” In her school the ineffable mysteries of God are given a maternal face and tone and they become comprehensible to the faith filled with Love which, as God’s faithful people, we profess to Mary. The conclusions to be drawn for the personal spiritual life, I believe, each of us must select from among those in which one finds the greatest joy, as Saint Ignatius asserted in the Spiritual Exercises. Uniting the Eucharist and the sacramental communion with Mary is something that we do intuitively, and deepening our understanding of this is something which does us all good.

For this we might ask the Grace of receiving Communion as Mary received the Word and allow it to take on flesh anew in me; the grace to receive the Eucharist from the hands of the Church using ours as a paten (meaning “manger”), aware it is our Lady who places it there and entrusts us with same; the grace of singing with Mary the Magnificat in that moment of silence that follows Communion; the grace of anticipating in the Eucharist all that will be our day or week, with all the good and positive offered jointly with the bread, and all that suffering and passion offered jointly with the wine; the grace of believing and placing with Love all our hope in that premise and token of salvation we already have in each Eucharist, to later conform our life in the image of that which we receive. Thus, each of may derive benefit from that upon which we have meditated.

And, finally, on going forth to be light of the world and salt of the earth:

It is the incommensurable, unreturnable nature of the gift that has been transmitted to us which compels the Lord to sanctify the Church in an indefectible manner, as He did with His Mother, in such a way that it is assured this gift can be both received and transmitted “for the life of the world.” the mystery of the Covenant that makes the Church all-holy is a mystery of [both] service and of Life.  It should never cease to amaze us this definite aperture to the Trinitarian life itself is given and is poured forth not just for some but for the life of the world. This is the case even if not all know it or take advantage of the fruit of the incomprehensible Liberty of the Uno and Triune God whose self-giving is total and for all.

In uniting to Christ, instead of sealing itself off, the People of the new Covenant are converted into a “sacrament” for all humanity, sign and instrument of salvation, in a work of Christ, into a light of the world and salt of the earth (cf. Mt 5:13-16), for the redemption of all. The mission of the Church continues that of Christ: “As the Father hath sent me, I also send you.” (Jn 20:21). Therefore, the Church receives the spiritual strength necessary to accomplish its mission of perpetuating in the Eucharist the sacrifice of the Cross and being in communion with the body and the blood of Christ. So, the Eucharist is the source and, at the same time, the summit of all evangelization, given that its objective is the communion of men with Christ and, in Him, with the Father and with the Holy Spirit.

 

H/T Father Andrew for posting the article on twitter.

Cross posted at Community of Catholic Bloggers

To grow joy in your heart, nurture hope

+JMJ+

 



Several weeks ago during prayer ministry, I asked for the people praying for me to pray for an increase in the virtues of faith, hope, and charity in my heart, especially the virtue of hope.  It was something a bit more specific than other times where I did not know what to ask for, except to ask for healing.  I trusted that God answered those prayers for healing even if it did not seem evident right away.  Looking back over the months, it is true that much healing has occurred.

When  asking specifically for the virtue of hope, He started answering me amost right away.  It's hard to put into words all that He is teaching me, but I want to share just a little of how He is working in my heart.  I am thankful for the grace of asking for hope because it is during Advent specifically that this virtue is nurtured.  We wait in expectant hope for the celebration of His birth and to receive Christ in His Glory when He comes at the end of time.  The gift the Holy Spirit gave during that prayer ministry over me was to open in a new way my ears, eyes, and heart to Him, so He could teach me about hope.  He is shepherding me ever closer to His Heart.  Even in the darkness I know His light is here, and He is teaching me to listen to His voice.  His voice speaks to me through prayer, reading His Word, Holy Mass (both in prayer and in the priest's words), through spiritual reading, and in people and circumstances I encounter.

Over the past weeks, much violence has occurred in our own community, in our nation, and the world.  Along with that, there have been deep disappointments in my own life this past week.  It is tempting to despair in the face of such evil and in the face of our own suffering and trials.  But with Christ in us, we do not despair; we hope in Him; we know His presence; we trust His great love for us and intimate knowledge of our suffering.  We know His presence in the hearts of those who gave their lives in order to save others.  He is God with us, Emmanuel.  

Father Andrew has a beautiful homily at Catholic Vision on our need for joy in the midst of suffering and how Mary, coming as Our Lady of Guadalupe, teaches us.  I have prayed for an increase of joy before, but it seems as though abiding joy is fleeting in my heart, even absent such suffering.  Now I somewhat understand why.  Perhaps my desire for hope is a fruit of praying for joy?  Being an engineer, I understand that in order to do calculus, you must first know easier forms of math.  Not to say that the virtue of hope is easier than joy, but I am learning that hope is necessary for joy.  In nurturing hope, I trust God will give me joy.

How do I nurture hope?  In Spe Salvi, Pope Benedict XVI tells us, "A first essential setting for learning hope is prayer."  He goes on to say the following:

Saint Augustine, in a homily on the First Letter of John, describes very beautifully the intimate relationship between prayer and hope. He defines prayer as an exercise of desire. Man was created for greatness—for God himself; he was created to be filled by God. But his heart is too small for the greatness to which it is destined. It must be stretched. “By delaying [his gift], God strengthens our desire; through desire he enlarges our soul and by expanding it he increases its capacity [for receiving him]”. Augustine refers to Saint Paul, who speaks of himself as straining forward to the things that are to come (cf. Phil 3:13). He then uses a very beautiful image to describe this process of enlargement and preparation of the human heart. “Suppose that God wishes to fill you with honey [a symbol of God's tenderness and goodness]; but if you are full of vinegar, where will you put the honey?” The vessel, that is your heart, must first be enlarged and then cleansed, freed from the vinegar and its taste. This requires hard work and is painful, but in this way alone do we become suited to that for which we are destined.

A great resource on prayer is The Catechism of the Catholic Church, Part 4, Christian Prayer, particularly Section 1, Chapter 3: The Life of Prayer (CCC 2697-2758).  "We cannot pray at all times if we do not pray at specific times, consciously willing it" (CCC 2697). 

As we pray, we realize that this hope is not meant for us alone.  Pope Benedict XVI also tells us,

When we pray properly we undergo a process of inner purification which opens us up to God and thus to our fellow human beings as well.

Like Mary, our hope is to be shared, to bring the light we have been given to others.  And so, it is through prayer that God is nurturing hope in my heart.  By His grace, the hope He gives me, I share with others through action.  And it is with expectant hope, I await His abiding joy.

Mary, Mother of Hope, Bearer of Hope, pray for us!


  

Hope

+JMJ+

The world desperately needs hope.  Hope that only Christ can give.  He is the way, the truth and the life, and the only way to the Father is through Him.  My first major conversion of heart occurred in college when a dear friend Andrea brought the light of Christ to me straight from the boldness, and humility, of her own heart.  The light of Christ living in her and in her family showed me Truth, Goodness, and Beauty.  The love they had for eachother and for others, and particularly me, was life-changing.  We met while working together as freshmen, and I am so thankful to God for that particular grace.  She invited me to Church with her, and when I was 19, I was baptized.  I am so glad she loved me enough to invite me and to continue to invite me.  Although my heart is constantly being converted as I realize my identity in Christ as a daughter of God, it was that first conversion where God found me, His prodigal daughter, His lost sheep.  His love came to me through another person, through that friendship with Andrea. 

Thank You Jesus for Andrea, for her family and especially for You, living in our hearts.  Thank you for finding me and bringing me home to Our Father.  Let Your love shine through me and my family; may we bring Your light into the darkness.  Mary, Mother of Hope, teach us to live as you, with boldness and humility, always pointing to Jesus, proceeding in haste, and always magnifying His Glory.  My spirit rejoices in You God, my Savior. In the Most Holy Name of Jesus, Amen.

Advent Jesse Tree Day 3: Mother of All Living

For she is an aura of the might of God

and a pure effusion of the glory of the Almighty;

therefore nought that is sullied enters into her.

 

For she is the refulgence of eternal light,

the spotless mirror of the power of God,

the image of His goodness.

 

And she, who is one, can do all things,

and renews everything while herself perduring;

And passing into holy souls from age to age,

she produces friends of God and prophets.

 

For there is nought God loves, be it not

one who dwells with Wisdom.

 

For she is fairer than the sun,

and surpasses every constellation of the stars.

 

Compared to light she takes precedence;

for that; indeed, night supplants,

but wickedness prevails not over Wisdom.

 

~Wisdom 7: 25-30

 

Mary, I give you my will. Conform it to the will of your Son. In the Most Holy Name of Jesus, Amen.

+JMJ+

 

Jesse Tree Advent Day 3:  Mother of All Living (Mary)

From Genesis: The Lord God said to the serpent, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” The man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. Genesis 3:14a, 15, 20

From Luke:  In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth… And he came to her and said, “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you! … And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.”… And Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.  Luke 1: 25, 28, 31, 38

From John: When Jesus saw his mother, and the disciple whom he loved standing near, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.  John 19: 26-27

From Revelation: And a great portent appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; she was with child and she cried out in her pangs of birth, in anguish for delivery. Then the dragon was angry with the woman, and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and bear testimony to Jesus.  Revelation 12: 1-2, 17a

My Mother Mary

+JMJ+

My Mother Mary

Conceived by Grace,

All Grace in Grace.
Purity whole and Love to welcome
All Love in Love, your heart awaits.

To you, all innocence and beauty,

God’s messenger beckons, and
Your yes heaven awaits.
His Love He gives and you receive.

All Beauty while Incarnation rests,

You give yourself complete to Love.
Proceeding in haste to where He calls,
His Glory magnified by your willing heart.

Oh, the gift of His life,

As you await His sweet embrace
To hold His hand Divine while
Pondering His sweet face.

He depends on you,

His mother He trusts.
You give Him all of your mother’s heart
As you await the Cross Divine.

By your consent

His Heart opens to mine.
And you give your sorrowful heart
To him who knows his Love’s heartbeat.

By your yes again, you invite His bride

To rest in your Motherly Love
And in His grace Divine,
Make our hearts like unto thine.

His Fire in you, He gives us too.

All Love in Love,
All Grace in Grace
That we may ponder His sweet face.

And when your earthly walk dims

You surrender yourself wholly
And He brings you home
To dwell with Him.

~KS

Ora di Maria

It is here on Holy Saturday, where I find my Mother Mary.  I find her love for me and for all the Church in her quiet hope, though grief-stricken.  Here I cling to my Mother Mary, and while I desire to console her, it is Mary who consoles me.  It is Mary's heart directing me into the beauty of Christ's passion, into trusting Christ's mercy, into the hope of Christ's salvation.

The Greek Orthodox have a great devotion to this Great and Holy Saturday.  Here is a most moving part of the beautiful Ode 9 in the Canon of the Great and Holy Saturday (find a variation here, pdf file).

Ave Maris Stella

A Handmaid Who Eagerly Watches

Lord, grant me the gift of pure attention to You, to become the handmaid who eagerly watches.

My head and heart are a big cloud full of doubt and discouragement. Why? The week started out well enough, normal craziness, but here I am again, back in the pit. Why? After trying to take a nap today, I decided to go back in my journal and this is what I found from a Silent Retreat a few years ago:

If you find yourself losing recollection, stop what you are doing and go back into recollection, ask Him to return you there. Are we interiorly aware of His Love for us at every moment?

What is it like to live life with a recollected heart? How can I have a receptive heart in the midst of the craziness?

• Well, first, do not be surprised if there is opposition to the silence required to enter recollection.
• Ask God for a recollected heart; ask Him to calm our hearts.
• Let God Love us first. If we start out trying to love Him first, we will not enter recollection. Love is the fact that He first loved us.

I know your heart, it is good, and I Love you.

He Loves me. We know we have found recollection when we it is all about Him, His beauty, His Love, His goodness. We encounter everything through the vision of the cross of Jesus Christ.

For in her is a spirit intelligent, holy, unique,
Manifold, subtle, agile, clear, unstained, certain.
Not baneful, loving the good, keen, unhampered, beneficent, kindly,
Firm, secure, tranquil, all-powerful, all-seeing,
And pervading all spirits, though they be intelligent, pure and very subtle.
For Wisdom is mobile beyond all motion,
and she penetrates and pervades all things by reason of her purity.

~Wisdom 7: 22-24

I highly recommend an Ignatian Silent Retreat at Broom Tree Retreat and Conference Center, nestled in the beautiful rolling hills of the Missouri River Valley in Eastern South Dakota.

+JMJ+

For Our Lady of Sorrows

Litany for Our Lady of Seven Sorrows:

Lord, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us.
God, the Father of heaven, have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
God the Holy Ghost, have mercy on us.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us.
Holy Virgin of virgins, pray for us.
Mother of the Crucified, pray for us.
Sorrowful Mother, pray for us.
Mournful Mother, pray for us.
Sighing Mother, pray for us.
Afflicted Mother, pray for us.
Foresaken Mother, pray for us.
Desolate Mother, pray for us.
Mother most sad, pray for us.
Mother set around with anguish, pray for us.
Mother overwhelmed by grief, pray for us.
Mother transfixed by a sword, pray for us.
Mother crucified in thy heart, pray for us.
Mother bereaved of thy Son, pray for us.
Sighing Dove, pray for us.
Mother of Dolors, pray for us.
Fount of tears, pray for us.
Sea of bitterness, pray for us.
Field of tribulation, pray for us.
Mass of suffering, pray for us.
Mirror of patience, pray for us.
Rock of constancy, pray for us.
Remedy in perplexity, pray for us.
Joy of the afflicted, pray for us.
Ark of the desolate, pray for us.
Refuge of the abandoned, pray for us.
Shiled of the oppressed, pray for us.
Conqueror of the incredulous, pray for us.
Solace of the wretched, pray for us.
Medicine of the sick, pray for us.
Help of the faint, pray for us.
Strength of the weak, pray for us.
Protectress of those who fight, pray for us.
Haven of the shipwrecked, pray for us.
Calmer of tempests, pray for us.
Companion of the sorrowful, pray for us.
Retreat of those who groan, pray for us.
Terror of the treacherous, pray for us.
Standard-bearer of the Martyrs, pray for us.
Treasure of the Faithful, pray for us.
Light of Confessors, pray for us.
Pearl of Virgins, pray for us.
Comfort of Widows, pray for us.
Joy of all Saints, pray for us.
Queen of thy Servants, pray for us.
Holy Mary, who alone art unexampled, pray for us.

Pray for us, most Sorrowful Virgin, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray, --- O God, in whose Passion, according to the prophecy of Simeon, a sword of grief pierced through the most sweet soul of Thy glorious Blessed Virgin Mother Mary: grant that we, who celebrate the memory of her Seven Sorrows, may obtain the happy effect of Thy Passion, Who lives and reigns world without end,
Amen.


The Seven Sorrows of Our Lady

1. The Prophecy of Simeon
2. The Flight into Egypt
3. The Loss of Jesus in the Temple
4. Mary meets Jesus Carrying the Cross
5. The Crucifixion
6. Mary Receives the Dead Body of Her Son
7. The Burial of Her Son and Closing of the Tomb.

Consecration to Our Lady of Sorrows

Most holy Virgin and Queen of Martyrs, Mary, would that I could be in Heaven, there to contemplate the honors rendered to thee by the Most Holy Trinity and by the whole Heavenly Court! But since I am still a pilgrim in this vale of tears, receive from me, thy unworthy servant and a poor sinner, the most sincere homage and the most perfect act of vassalage a human creature can offer thee.

In thy Immaculate Heart, pierced with so many swords of sorrow, I place today my poor soul forever; receive me as a partaker in thy dolors, and never suffer that I should depart from that Cross on which thy only begotten Son expired for me.

With thee, O Mary, I will endure all the sufferings, contradictions, infirmities, with which it will please thy Divine Son to visit me in this life. All of them I offer to thee, in memory of the Dolors which thou didst suffer during thy life, that every thought of my mind, every beating of my heart may henceforward be an act of compassion to thy Sorrows, and of complacency for the glory thou now enjoyest in Heaven.

Since then, O Dear Mother, I now compassionate thy Dolors, and rejoice in seeing thee glorified, do thou also have compassion on me, and reconcile me to thy Son Jesus, that I may become thy true and loyal son (daughter); come on my last day and assist me in my last agony, even as thou wert present at the Agony of thy Divine Son Jesus, that from this painful exile I may go to Heaven, there to be made partaker of thy glory.
Amen.

Make Me Believe Thee Ever More and More

My simple prayer was Lord, help my unbelief. His answer to me came as I prayed quietly in the sanctuary and saw a student pass through and bow in reverence to the tabernacle on her way somewhere, stopping to show her love for her Lord. Then one day, burdened by sadness and deep doubts about myself and the world around, I went to the sanctuary to pray, drawn by Him and His Love. I found Him there, hidden from view but drawing me to His presence in the monstrance. I collapsed in sadness and fatigue for carrying the burden for so long.

His Holy Presence was there also in the priest who listened that day in the sanctuary and loved me in the place where I was. I was a mess, the little girl inside crying out for belonging, for safety, for love. From that day forward, I knew Christ was there, Present, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the sanctuary, whether in the tabernacle, in the monstrance, or in the Holy Mass. He had drawn me to Him in a particular way that day. My faith is still a journey, but through the simple prayer of my heart and in that powerful encounter, He placed a longing in my heart to be with Him in the Eucharist and many blessings have poured forth from that longing.




Adoro te devote

O Godhead hid, devoutly I adore Thee,
Who truly art within the forms before me;
To Thee my heart I bow with bended knee,
As failing quite in contemplating Thee.

Sight, touch, and taste in Thee are each deceived;
The ear alone most safely is believed:
I believe all the Son of God has spoken,
Than Truth's own word there is no truer token.

God only on the Cross lay hid from view;
But here lies hid at once the Manhood too:
And I, in both professing my belief,
Make the same prayer as the repentant thief.

Thy wounds, as Thomas saw, I do not see;
Yet Thee confess my Lord and God to be:
Make me believe Thee ever more and more;
In Thee my hope, in Thee my love to store.

O thou Memorial of our Lord's own dying!
O Bread that living art and vivifying!
Make ever Thou my soul on Thee to live;
Ever a taste of Heavenly sweetness give.

O loving Pelican! O Jesu, Lord!
Unclean I am, but cleanse me in Thy Blood;
Of which a single drop, for sinners spilt,
Is ransom for a world's entire guilt.

Jesu! Whom for the present veil'd I see,
What I so thirst for, O vouchsafe to me:
That I may see Thy countenance unfolding,
And may be blest Thy glory in beholding. Amen.

(St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. E. Caswall.)


Adoro te devote, latens Deitas,
Quae sub his figuris vere latitas;
Tibi se cor meum totum subiicit,
Quia te contemplans, totum deficit.

Visus, tactus, gustus in te fallitur,
Sed auditu solo tuto creditur;
Credo quidquid dixit Dei Filius,
Nil hoc verbo veritatis verius.

In Cruce latebat sola Deitas.
At hic latet simul et humanitas:
Ambo tamen credens, atgue confitens,
Peto quod petivit latro paenitens.

Plagas, sicut Thomas, non intueor,
Deum tamen meum te confiteor:
Fac me tibi semper magis credere,
In te spem habere, te diligere.

O memoriale mortis Domini,
Panis vivus vitam praestans homini:
Praesta meae menti de te vivere,
Et te illi semper dulce sapere.

Pie pellicane Iesu Domine,
Me immundum munda tuo Sanguine:
Cuius una stilla salvum facere
Totum mundum quit ab omni scelere.

Iesu, quem velatum nunc aspicio,
Oro, fiat illud, quod tam sitio,
Ut te revelata cernens facie,
Visu sim beatus tuae gloriae. Amen.

Fra Angelico's Annunciation

At the Marian Eucharistic Congress in Fargo last fall, Sr. M. Timothea Elliott spoke eloquently about the way St. Luke "paints a vivid word picture of the Annunciation with with the Angel Gabriel and Mary in the foreground and a theological exposition of the Old Testament in the background", similar to the this beautiful painting by Fra Angelico "expressing the significance of the Annunciation in light of the Old Testament."

May you have a blessed Solemnity of the Annunciation.

Fatima for Today by Fr. Andrew Apostoli

Just started reading a great book, Fatima for Today by Fr. Andrew Apostoli. The message from Fatima is so relevant to what is happening today. I am only just beginning this book but have already recieved many graces just in the first several chapters. Fr. Apostoli does an excellent job of describing historical events leading up to the apparitions of Our Lady to Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta and putting it all into perspective for a message of hope for what we are facing in our world today. I am thankful that God led me to reading this book because it is helping me to trust in Him and in Our Lady's guidance during these troubled times. One of the ways that God prepared Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta was to send an angel ahead of time to teach them how to pray. The first time the Angel of Peace appeared, they were taught The Pardon Prayer:

My God, I believe, I adore, I hope
and I love You! I ask pardon of You
for those who do not believe, do not
adore, do not hope and do not love You.

The children were taught to trust in the Hearts of Jesus and Mary and to pray for a renewal of faith, hope and charity in the world, which is needed just as urgently now as it was in 1917. The second time the angel appeared, the children were asked to pray the Pardon Prayer even more frequently and to offer sacrifices. The Angel of Peace told the children:

Make of everything you can a
sacrifice, and offer it to God as an
act of reparation for the sins by
which He is offended, and in
supplication for the conversion of
sinners. You will thus draw down
peace upon your country. I am its
Angel Guardian, the Angel of
Portugal. Above all, accept and bear
with submission, the suffering
which the Lord will send you.

The third time the Angel of Peace appeared, He taught them a prayer to pray before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament:

Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and
Holy Spirit, I adore You profoundly,
and I offer You the most precious
Body,Blood, Soul and Divinity of
Jesus Christ, present in all the
tabernacles of the world, in
reparation for the outrages,
sacrileges and indifference with
which He Himself is offended. And
through the infinite merits of His
most Sacred Heart, and the
Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of
You the conversion of poor sinners.

Fr. Apostoli reveals in great detail the meaning ofeach visit and has helped me to learn how to apply the angel's instructions to the children at Fatima in my own daily life. Fr. Apostoli says:

"Through the angel's three visits, the children were instructed in the ways of prayer; the importance of reparation, intercession and suffering; and the beauty and power of the Eucharist. Over the course of the next six months, the children put into practice all the angel had taught them. They were then ready to receive the first visit of their Blessed Mother."

I am so thankful that God has provided Fr. Apostoli's wise words in this book to help us as Catholics today find hope and solace in Our Lady and her messages to the children at Fatima. Read this book, you will be so thankful!! Another benefit of this book is to learn more about the fascinating history of Portugal and the Catholic Church's role in their history. Thank you Fr. Apostoli.

A Mother's Love

One of my favorite books is the original Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. I also like each of the Little Women films as well. One of the most moving scenes in the 1994 film version of Little Women is when Marmee March returns home from tending to her husband wounded in the Civil War to care for her dying daughter, Beth. Every time I watch this scene it brings tears to my eyes. After doing all that they thought was possible, the doctor says that there is nothing left to be done but call for the mother. When Marmee returns home, she runs to her daughter and says "Marmee's here" and begins immediately to care for her daughter as only a mother can. Miraculously, Beth survives because of her mother's loving touch and care for her. Although Beth is weakened by this illness and years later eventually dies, her mother's love carries her through the suffering she endures.

While watching this movie again recently, a realization came that this is just what our Mother Mary does for us when we are on the brink of death, whether physically, emotionally, or spiritually. When we call on her, she comes in immediately and knows exactly what is necessary to bring us to life in Christ again, even if we are on the brink of death. Let Mary care for you only as a Mother can and show you the way to the Father's Love.

Scroll to about 2:45 to get to the scene where Marmee returns to care for Beth:

Our Lady and the Chilean Miners

Our Lady and the Chilean Miners posted by Suzanne at Lear, Kent, Fool:

Today on Facebook, the group Stories for the Homeschool Heart posted the following about the significant dates concerning the trapped miners in Chile:

The miners were trapped on August 5 — Feast day of Our Lady of the Snows. They were found alive on August 22 — Feast of the Queenship of Mary. The rescue began right after midnight on October 13 — Feast of Our Lady of Fatima. There were 33 miners –the number of years that Jesus lived.

I also happened to notice a news story earlier today that said that a couple of the chief miners credit their safety to an unusual sighting of a white butterfly down in the mine. Because they stopped to look at it they didn’t drive into rockfalls triggered by the first cave-in. The butterfly is a traditional Christian symbol of the resurrection. In Spanish, butterfly is “mariposa,” derived from “la Santa Maria posa” meaning “the Virgin Mary alights/rests.”

I don’t know about you, but that all gives me chills!

It gives me chills too!!

Hail Holy Queen