Prayer to Padre Pio to Become a Spiritual Child

Even though Padre Pio is a saint in Heaven, we can still ask him to be our spiritual father. It was after my father died that I asked to become his spiritual child.

Dear Padre Pio, I recall your promise to the Lord, "Lord, I will stand at the gates of heaven until I see all my spiritual children have entered."

Encouraged by your gracious promise, I ask you to accept me as a spiritual child and to intercede for my prayer requests...(Here state your petitions)

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and forever.

Amen.

The following quotes from Padre Pio tell how he looked after and loved his spiritual family:

"I love my Spiritual Children as much as my own soul, and even more."

"Once I take a soul on, I also take on their entire family as my spiritual children."

"To my Spiritual Children, my prayers for you will never be lacking."

"If one of my spiritual children ever goes astray, I shall leave my flock and seek him out."

"I shall stand at the gates of Paradise until all my spiritual children have entered."

The Padre Pio Foundation of America

I often ask him to help me prior to examining my conscience and before going to Confession. I find that Padre Pio does help me in giving me spiritual direction.

Fr.Richard McBrien on HIS Opinion of Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration

...Notwithstanding Pope Benedict XVI's personal endorsement of eucharistic adoration and the sporadic restoration of the practice in the archdiocese of Boston and elsewhere, it is difficult to speak favorably about the devotion today.

Now that most Catholics are literate and even well-educated, the Mass is in the language of the people (i.e, the vernacular), and its rituals are relatively easy to understand and follow, there is little or no need for extraneous eucharistic devotions. The Mass itself provides all that a Catholic needs sacramentally and spiritually.

Eucharistic adoration, perpetual or not, is a doctrinal, theological, and spiritual step backward, not forward...

Article here

Now I think it is a real shame that Father Richard McBrien wrote this article. He apparently wrote it in response to a recent report of Perpetual Adoration returning to the Archdiocese of Boston. Is it also a coincidence that he wrote it during the Year of the Priest?

The following are quotes by St. John Marie Vianny, the patron saint of priests and the patron saint of this jubilee year of the priest. As you can see that Curé d'Ars had a lot to say about Eucharistic Adoration.

"I throw myself at the foot of the Tabernacle like a dog at the foot of his Master."

"Every Consecrated Host is made to burn Itself up with love in a human heart,"

"When we speak to Jesus with simplicity and with all our heart, He does like a mother who holds her child's head with her hands and covers it with kisses and caresses." (on adoring Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament)

"What happiness do we not feel in the Presence of God, when we are alone at His feet... Redouble your fervor; you are alone to adore your God; His eyes rest upon you alone,"

"When Our Lord sees pure souls coming to visit Him in the Blessed Sacrament He smiles on them. They come with the simplicity that pleases Him so much."

"The interior life is like a sea of love in which the soul is plunged and is, as it were, drowned in love."

"When you awake in the night, transport yourself quickly in spirit before the Tabernacle, saying: 'Behold, my God, I come to adore You, to praise, thank, and love you, and to keep you company with all the Angels.' "

"The many wonders of creation can only fill us with astonishment and admiration. But when we speak of the most holy Eucharist we can say that here is to be found the miracle of divine love for us.... Has there been, or will there ever be, a nobler or more magnanimous love than that which He has shown us in the sacrament of love?"

"Without the Holy Eucharist there would be no happiness in this world; life would be insupportable. When we receive Holy Communion, we receive our joy and our happiness. The good God, wishing to give Himself to us in the Sacrament of His Love, gave us a vast and great desire, which He alone can satisfy. In the presence of this beautiful Sacrament, we are like a person dying of thirst by the side of a river — he would only need to bend his head; like a person still remaining poor, close to a great treasure — he need only stretch out his hand. He who communicates loses himself in God like a drop of water in the ocean. They can no more be separated."

"What does Jesus Christ do in the Eucharist? It is God who, as our Savior, offers himself each day for us to his Father's justice. If you are in difficulties and sorrows, he will comfort and relieve you. If you are sick, he will either cure you or give you strength to suffer so as to merit Heaven. If the devil, the world, and the flesh are making war upon you, he will give you the weapons with which to fight, to resist, and to win victory. If you are poor, he will enrich you with all sorts of riches for time and eternity. Let us open the door of his sacred and adorable Heart, and be wrapped about for an instant by the flames of his love, and we shall see what a God who loves us can do. O my God, who shall be able to comprehend?"

"If we really loved the good God, we should make it our joy and happiness to come and spend a few moments to adore Him, and ask Him for the grace of forgiveness; and we should regard those moments as the happiest of our lives." on Adoration of Jesus in the Most the Blessed Sacrament)

"If we could comprehend all the good things contained in Holy Communion, nothing more would be wanting to content the heart of man. The miser would run no more after his treasures, or the ambitious after glory; each would shake off the dust of the earth, leave the world, and fly away towards heaven."

"When we are before the Blessed Sacrament, instead of looking about us, let us shut our eyes and open our hearts; and the good God will open his. We will go to him, and he will come to us, the one to give, and the other to receive. It will be like a breath passing from one to the other. What delight we find in forgetting ourselves that we may seek God!"

"Jesus Christ, after having given us all he could give, that is to say, the merit of his toils, his sufferings, and bitter death; after having given us his adorable body and blood to be the food of our souls, willed also to give us the most precious thing he had let, which was his holy Mother."

"What happiness do we not feel in the presence of God, when we find ourselves alone at his feet, before the holy tabernacle! … 'Come, my soul, redouble your ardor! You are here alone to adore your God! His look rests on you alone!' Ah! if we only had the angels' eyes! Seeing our Lord Jesus Christ here, on that altar, and looking at us, how we should love him! We should want to stay always at his feet; it would be a foretaste of heaven; everything else would become insipid to us."

Quote source

It would be so easy to criticize Fr. McBrien for leading away the flock from a devotion that would heal so many wounds in the human heart, but instead I am adding him to the list of priests I pray for daily and I pray that through the intercession of St. John Vianney Father McBrien's heart and eyes will be open to keeping Jesus company in Eucharistic Adoration.

Are You Truly a Christian Mother?

Painting by Mary Cassatt
I have belonged to the Archconfraternity of Christian Mothers for a few years now.

The following is taken from their Summer 2009 Newsletter. You can read it in its entirety here

"Give me truly Christian Mothers and I will renew the face of the earth."...Pope Pius IX.

What is a Truly Christian Mother?

- She is a mother who lives always in God's grace with no unrepentant grave sins on her soul.

- She would never have an abortion!

- She would not practice contraception.

- She would be dressed modestly, always suitable for the occasion and she would teach her children to do the same.

- In her home pornography would not avoided like the plague, as the ruination of the nation.

The truly Christian Mother will honor, love and respect her husband as the way to teach their children to relate to their parents and to one another.

Good manners and courtesy would be the words best to describe the Christian family in their home.

Genuine kindness is the goal of their life.

This is what the Lord means by charity; and charity begins at home.

A truly Christian Mother will teach her children to pray, and to pray with them...

Both Mother and Dad must go to Holy Mass every Sunday and Holy Day of Obligation.

Our Holy Father the Pope recommends confession once a month to keep that sensitivity to God and His expectations.

No one should dare to receive Holy Communion with mortal sins on their souls.

...conduct of the children that Jesus Christ would not approve of must be nipped in the bud: selfishness, anger, hatred, envy, gossip, liziness with diligent, reasonable and timely correction.

The family of a Truly Christian Mother must learn to take their meals together whenever possible....

Christian Mothers must take an interest in their children's education in religion as in secular studies...

Motherhood is indeed a full-time job.

- Copyrighted by Father Angelus Shaughnessy, Order of Friars Minor Capuchin.

For information on joining the Archconfraternity of Christian Mothers, please email christianmothers@consolidated.net or call them at 412-683-2400.

EWTN: His father died while saving the life of his brother who has Down Syndrome

With the death of Robert Schindler, Sr., father of Terri Schiavo, the issue of human life – and whose life is worth living -- is once again in the national spotlight. For a Catholic perspective on life, don’t miss Fr. Tom Vander Woude – whose father died while saving the life of his Down Syndrome brother -- at 8 p.m. ET, Thursday, Sept. 10 on EWTN’s “Life on the Rock.”

Also, learn about the lives and cause for canonization of Rose Hawthorne, who founded the Servants for Relief for Incurable Cancer, and Fr. Michael McGivney, who founded the Knights of Columbus, at 8 p.m. ET, Wednesday, Sept. 9 on “EWTN Live” with Fr. Mitch Pacwa.

Turn your ipod or MP3 player into a learning lab by going to the “Libraries” tab at the top of EWTN’s home page (www.ewtn.com) and clicking on “Audio Library” in the drop down menu to download EWTN Radio Network’s “Open Line,” daily homilies, Bookmark, Vatican Insider and any number of other great programs and special monthly podcasts.

Michelle Laque Johnson
Director of Communications
EWTN Global Catholic Network
5817 Old Leeds Road
Irondale, Alabama 35210
(205) 795-5769 (office)
(205) 441-6248 (cell)
(205) 271-2920 (fax)
mjohnson@ewtn.com (email)

Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Maria Bambina c 1700, Cathedral of St. Lucia del MelaPicture Source

Family Prayer to Maria Bambina

Maria, given us by God, in the sweetness of the face of a child, look upon this family that is your very own and in your motherliness, grant perennial youth to our hearts.

May there arise in us a renewed commitment in our vocation to follow Jesus and may our charity be more joyful from this day.

Teach us that love can stand with steadfastness at the foot of the cross.

Prayer Source

New Movie With Eduardo Verástegui - The Butterfly Circus

You can see it here

At the height of the Great Depression, the showman of a renowned circus leads his troupe through the devastated American landscape, lifting the spirits of audiences along the way. During their travels they discover a man without limbs at a carnival sideshow, but after an intriguing encounter with the showman he becomes driven to hope against everything he has ever believed. Starring Eduardo Verástegui (Bella), Doug Jones (Pan's Labyrinth, Fantastic Four) and featuring the debut performance of Nick Vujicic.

Labor Day

Lord Jesus Christ,
it is the Christian religion based on your teachings
that freed work from its degrading character
and made it into something noble-
so much so that it has become associated
with the so-called "work-ethic,"
symbolized by St. Paul's practical principle:
"If anyone will not work, let him not eat!"
Let me realize that Christians work
in imitation of you and the Father
in accord with your words:
"My Father has been working till now
and I work."

By work we build up the world,
as mentioned by the lines of a classic poem:
"God bless the noble working men
who rear the cities of the plain,
who dig the mines and build the ships,
and drive the commerce of the the main.
God bless them! for their swarthy hands
have wrought the glory of our lands."

Le me also understand that work is good
because it builds up your Body in the world
until your second coming in glory.
Thus all human beings are called to work
no matter what type it may be-
from the homemaker to the secretary,
the teacher to the ditch-digger.
And, in reality, there is no difference to the worker-
all work is hard and yet fulfilling,
a burden but a the same time a psychological necessity.
Most of all let me realize that no matter what work I do,
if I fail to do it,
no one else will-
and there will be a setback in building up your Body.

New Saint Joseph People's Prayer Book, Catholic Book Publishing Co.

Cell Phones in Church

H/T Deacon's Bench

YEAR FOR PRIESTS - What is a Priest?

The following is from Prayer for Priests Yahoo Group:

"What is a priest!

A man who holds the place of God - a man who is invested with all the powers of God. 'Go,' said Our Lord to the priest; 'as My Father sent Me, I send you. All power has been given Me in Heaven and on earth. Go then, teach all nations. He who listens to you, listens to Me; he who despises you despises Me.'

When the priest remits sins, he does not say, 'God pardons you'; he says, 'I absolve you.'

At the Consecration, he does not say, 'This is the Body of Our Lord;' he says, 'This is My Body.'

If we had not the Sacrament of Orders, we should not have Our Lord. Who placed Him there, in that tabernacle? It was the priest.

Who was it that received your soul, on its entrance into life? The priest.

Who nourishes it, to give it strength to make its pilgrimage? The priest.

Who will prepare it to appear before God, by washing that soul, for the last time, in the blood of Jesus Christ? The priest - always the priest.

And if that soul comes to the point of death, who will raise it up, who will restore it to calmness and peace? Again the priest. You cannot recall one single blessing from God without finding, side by side with this recollection, the image of the priest."

Saint Bernard tells us that everything has come to us through Mary; and we may also say that everything has come to us through the priest; yes, all happiness, all graces, all heavenly gifts.

Go to confession to the Blessed Virgin, or to an angel; will they absolve you? No.

Will they give you the Body and Blood of Our Lord? No.

The Holy Virgin cannot make her Divine Son descend into the Host.

You might have two hundred angels there, but they could not absolve you.

A priest, however simple he may be, can do it; he can say to you, "Go in peace; I pardon you. " Oh, how great is a priest!

The priest will not understand the greatness of his office till he is in Heaven.

If he understood it on earth, he would die, not of fear, but of love. The other benefits of God would be of no avail to us without the priest.

What would be the use of a house full of gold, if you had nobody to open you the door!

The priest has the key of the heavenly treasures; it is he who opens the door; he is the steward of the good God, the distributor of His wealth.

Without the priest, the Death and Passion of Our Lord would be of no avail. Look at the heathens: what has it availed them that Our Lord has died?

Alas! they can have no share in the blessings of Redemption, while they have no priests to apply His Blood to their souls!

The priest is not a priest for himself; he does not give himself absolution; he does not administer the Sacraments to himself. He is not for himself, he is for you. After God, the priest is everything. Leave a parish twenty years without priests; they will worship beasts. If the missionary Father and I were to go away, you would say, "What can we do in this church? there is no Mass; Our Lord is no longer there: we may as well pray at home. " When people wish to destroy religion, they begin by attacking the priest, because where there is no longer any priest there is no sacrifice, and where there is no longer any sacrifice there is no religion.

When the bell calls you to church, if you were asked, "Where are you going?" you might answer, "I am going to feed my soul. " If someone were to ask you, pointing to the tabernacle, "What is that golden door?" "That is our storehouse, where the true Food of our souls is kept. " "Who has the key? Who lays in the provisions? Who makes ready the feast, and who serves the table?" "The priest. " "And what is the Food?" "The precious Body and Blood of Our Lord. "O God! O God! how Thou hast loved us! See the power of the priest; out of a piece of bread the word of a priest makes a God.

It is more than creating the world.... Someone said, "Does St. Philomena, then, obey the Cure of Ars?" Indeed, she may well obey him, since God obeys him.

If I were to meet a priest and an angel, I should salute the priest before I saluted the angel. The latter is the friend of God; but the priest holds His place.

St. Teresa kissed the ground where a priest had passed.

When you see a priest, you should say, "There is he who made me a child of God, and opened Heaven to me by holy Baptism; he who purified me after I had sinned; who gives nourishment to my soul. " At the sight of a church tower, you may say, "What is there in that place?" "The Body of Our Lord. " "Why is He there?" "Because a priest has been there, and has said holy Mass. "

What joy did the Apostles feel after the Resurrection of Our Lord, at seeing the Master whom they had loved so much! The priest must feel the same joy, at seeing Our Lord whom he holds in his hands. Great value is attached to objects which have been laid in the drinking cup of the Blessed Virgin and of the Child Jesus, at Loretto. But the fingers of the priest, that have touched the adorable Flesh of Jesus Christ, that have been plunged into the chalice which contained His Blood, into the pyx where His Body has lain, are they not still more precious?

The priesthood is the love of the Heart of Jesus. When you see the priest, think of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

When You Miss One Holy Communion

It is well for you to consider what you lose every time that you pass up Holy Communion.

1. You miss a personal visit with Jesus, Author of all spiritual energy and of all holiness;

2. You lose a special increase of sanctifying grace, which makes your soul more pleasing to God;

3. You lose a quota of sacramental grace which entitles you to special help in times of temptation and in the discharge of your daily duties;

4. You lose a precious opportunity of having all of your venial sins wiped away;

5. You miss the special preserving influence which each Holy Communion confers against the fires of passion;

6. You miss the opportunity of having remitted a part, or all, of the temporal punishments due to your sins;

7. You lose the spiritual joy, the sweetness and particular comfort that comes from a fervent Holy Communion;

8. You lose a part of the glory that your body might enjoy at its resurrection on the Last Day;

9. You lose the greater degree of glory you would possess in Heaven for all eternity;

10. You may lose:
a) complete victory over some fault or passion;
b) some particular grace long prayed for;
c) the conversion or salvation of some soul;
d) deliverance of a relative or friend from Purgatory;
e) many graces for others, both the living and the dead.

Will a few extra minutes of sleep repay you for all these losses?

At the hour of death our greatest consolation will be the Masses we have heard and the Holy Communions received. What riches hundreds of thousands of Catholics deprive themselves daily by neglecting Mass.

With Ecclesiastical Approval
Chicago, December 6, 1940

"Put all the good works in the world against one Holy Mass;
They will be as a grain of sand beside a mountain"
— Saint John Vianney

Thanks to Barb for sharing.