Happy Feast of Saint Padre Pio

Padre Pio and his brother Michael

Please visit this beautiful site for a magnificent collection of photos regarding our favorite saint...Saint Padre Pio!

Our Lady

Our Lady, pray for us! Picture source

Jesus' Holy Name taken in Vain

THE SECOND COMMANDMENT 

  Thou shalt not take the name of thy LORD thou God in vain.

It seems that society simply disregards the second commandment the way God's name is profanely or carelessly dropped whenever someone opens their mouth.   Even a bank's advertisement in today's paper had "OMG" in big letters.  And I do not believe that acronym stands for "Oh my goodness".  

When I hear God's name used in vain by young people, I have no qualms about correcting them.  However, my problem is when adults....my friends or even family members thoughtlessly use God's or Jesus' name for any reason.  It is worse when they use it out of anger.  I cannot seem to be able to correct them. I do with family but with friends or acquaintances it is harder.   I feel that I should not have to be put in a position to correct an adult who should know better.

At my last confession I even confessed that I listened to God's name taken in vain but failed to correct those individuals.  Not a day went by afterwards when again I had to listen to God's name used to express surprise, excitement, happiness, etc.  I actually ended up doing penance for that instance just to make reparation for that person's blasphemy and for my failure to correct.  

I do not know if I have enough moral courage or the stamina to continuously bring it to someone's attention how offensive it must be to God to hear His Holy Name use in that way.  I can try avoiding those friends but that is the cowardly way out. 

I found a prayer card and I would like to share it here with you but especially for me to remind me that it is my duty to speak out.

RESPECT HIS HOLY NAME

"Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord Thy God in vain, for the Lord shall not leave unpunished him who takes His name in vain" (Ex. 20:7)

From the Holy Bible:  "A man that sweareth much shall be filled with iniquity (sin) and a scourge shall not depart from his house." (Eccl. 23:12)

St. John Vianney, the holy priest of Ars: "God gave men only ten commandments and one of the ten has for its sole object the reverence due to His Name."  He used to say that it was an astounding miracle that people who used His Name in vain were not struck dead on the spot.  But he warned them, "If the sin of blasphemy is rampant in your home, it will surely perish."

 Often His Holy Name is used as an expression of speech, for instance:  "My God!" with no real thought of God or calling upon Him.  Let us always strive to love and honor the Holy Name of God, using His Name only in prayer and adoration and thanksgiving.

Our Lord revealed to Sr. Marie de Saint-Pierre, a French Carmelite Nun, the need for mankind to make reparation for the terrible sin of blasphemy.  He told her:  "Oh if you only knew what great merit you acquire by saying even once, " Admirable is the name of God" in the spirit of reparation of blasphemy!" 

Please repeat this holy phrase often...

There is the answer to my dilemma.  I will say that aspiration every time God's name is taken in vain.  I may also email a copy of this blog post link to those who need to read it.

Source Our Lady of the Rosary Library

RENEWAL OF THE ENTHRONEMENT OF THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS

For those of you who have already enthroned your homes to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, I have found a very helpful site to help us renew our enthronement.  All the prayers that you need can be found at 

Building a Kingdom of Love.

 The daily renewal prayer is one I have shared on this blog previously. It is the prayer my family has been praying together every night since the day we enthroned our home on February 17th, 2002.

St. Padre Pio feast Sept. 23 - novena & litany

Picture source

Mahalo Mary Jane for sharing!

Sept. 23 - feast of St. Padre Pio

start novena either on Sept. 14 or 15

 

Dear God, Thou hast generously blessed Thy servant, St. Pio of Pietrelcina, with the gifts of the Spirit. Thou hast marked his body with the five wounds of Christ Crucified, as a powerful witness to the saving Passion and Death of Thy Son. Endowed with the gift of discernment, St. Pio labored endlessly in the confessional for the salvation of souls. With reverence and intense devotion in the celebration of Mass, he invited countless men and women to a greater union with Jesus Christ in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.

Through the intercession of St. Pio of Pietrelcina, I confidently beseech Thee to grant me the grace of (mention your intentions here).Amen.

Recite three Glorias.

 

Litany of St. Padre Pio

 

Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
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 Spirit,
have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, One God,
have mercy on us.
Holy Mary, Virgin Immaculate, pray for us.
St. Pio of Pietrelcina, pray for us.
Beloved of God, pray for us.
Imitator of Jesus Christ, pray for us.
Good shepherd of the people, pray for us.
Model for priests, pray for us.
Light of the Church, pray for us.
Adorer of the Blessed Sacrament, pray for us.
Faithful son of St. Francis, pray for us.
Marked with the stigmata of Jesus, pray for us.
Patient in suffering, pray for us.
Helper of the dying, pray for us.
Director of souls, pray for us.
Heart of gold, pray for us.
Apostle of mercy, pray for us.
Worker of miracles, pray for us.
Consoler of the afflicted, pray for us.
Lover of the Most Holy Rosary, pray for us.
Helper of souls in doubt and darkness, pray for us.
Comforter of the sick, pray for us.
Example of humility, pray for us.
Source of wisdom, pray for us.
Mirror of the divine life, pray for us.
Lover of Jesus Crucified,
Resigned to the will of God, pray for us.
Doing good upon earth, pray for us.
Filled with the spirit of self-sacrifice, pray for us.
Our help and hope in all our needs, pray for us.
Vessel of the Holy Spirit, pray for us.
Leading us to Christ, pray for us.
Our spiritual father and advocate, pray for us.
Crowned with glory in Heaven, pray for us.


God our Father,  You helped St. Pio to reflect the
image of Christ through a life of charity and self-sacrifice.
May we follow your Son by walking in the footsteps of
St. Pio of Pietrelcina and by imitating his selfless love.
Amen

Our Lady of Sorrows

Artist:  Lazzaro Pisani

Picture source

All the sorrows of Mary (the prophecy of Simeon, the three days' loss, etc.) are merged in the supreme suffering at the Passion.  In the Passion, Mary suffered a martyrdom of the heart because of Our Lord's torments and the greatness of her love for Him.  "She it was," says Pope Pius XII, "who immune from all sin, personal or inherited, and ever more closely united with her Son, offered Him on Golgotha to the Eternal Father together with the holocaust of her maternal rights and motherly love.  As a new Eve, sh e made this offering for all the children of Adam contaminated through his unhappy fall.  Thus she, who was the mother of our Head according to the flesh, became by a new title of sorrow and glory the spiritual mother of all His members."

TO THE QUEEN OF MARTYRS

Mary, most holy Virgin and Queen of Martyrs,

accept the sincere homage of my filial affection.

Into thy heart,

pierced by so many swords, 

do thou welcome my poor soul.

Receive it as the companion of thy sorrows 

at the foot of the Cross,

on which Jesus died for the redemption of the world.

With thee,

O sorrowful Virgin, 

I will gladly suffer all the trials,

contradictions, and infirmities which it shall please our Lord

to send me.

I offer them all to thee in memory of thy sorrows,

so that every thought of my mind,

and every beat of my heart may be an act of 

compassion and love for thee.  

And do thou, sweet Mother, 

have pity on me, reconcile me to thy divine Son Jesus,

keep me in His grace, and assist me in my last agony,

so that I may be able to meet thee in

heaven and sing thy glories.

Amen.

*NOTE:  The faithful who, during the month of September, pray or perform other devotions in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary Sorrowing, may gain:  an indulgence of 5 years once, on any day of the month; a plenary indulgence on the usual conditions, if they persevere daily in this devout practice throughout the entire month.

Source:  The Prayer Book, The Catholic Press, Inc.

Exaltation of the Cross

Picture source

PRAYER FOR THE GRACE OF THE PASSION

O Lord,

for the redemption of the world,

You willed to be born among human beings,

subjected to the rite of circumcision,

rejected by the people,

betrayed by Judas with a kiss,

bound with cords,

led like an innocent lamb to the slaughter,

shamelessly exposed to the gaze of Annas

as well as Caiaphas, Pilate, and Herod,

accused by false witnesses,

tormented by scourges and insults,

spat upon and crowned with thorns,

struck with blows of hand and reed,

blindfolded and stripped of your garments,

affixed to the wood and lifted  high on the Cross,

numbered among thieves,

given gall and vinegar to drink,

and pierced by a lance.

Lord,

by these most holy sufferings,

which we, Your unworthy servants,

devoutly call to mind,

and by Your holy Cross and death

deliver us from the pains of hell,

and be pleased to take us

where You took the penitent thief

who was crucified with You.

You live and reign 

with the Father and the Holy Spirit, 

one God, forever.

Source:  New Saint Joseph People's Prayer Book

To Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament

Picture source

Virgin Immaculate,

Mother of Jesus and Our Mother,

We invoke you under the title of

Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament,

because you are the mother of the savior who lives 

in the Eucharist.

It was from you He took the Flesh and Blood

which He feeds us in the sacred Host.

We also invoke you under that title

because the grace of the Eucharist

comes to us through you, 

since you are the mediatrix, the channel through which God's Graces reach us.

Our Lady of the Most blessed Sacrament,

Pray for us!

EUCHARISTIC PRAYER

O Jesus, our Lord and our God,

creator and ruler of the vast universe,

we lovingly adore You  hidden so humbly

in the fragile little Host we rejoice

that the Blessed Sacrament is not

merely a holy thing, but a 

Living Person - the same Christ who died for us

on Calvary but who loved us so much that He wanted to remain with us forever.

May the Most Blessed Sacrament be praised and adored forever.

We offer this prayer in reparation for all the irreverences, profanations, and sacrileges which You receive in the Most August Sacrament of the Altar.

- from a holy card.

The Holy Name of Mary

Our Lady of Fatima, Adoration Chapel, Blue Army, Washington, NJ

"The holy name of Mary has always been so highly honored in the Church, that, according to Surius, St. Gerard  Bishop of Pannonia, ordered the people of his diocese to prostrate themselves on the ground at the mention of her holy name.  Blosious reports that in his time it was the universal custom in the Church that, whenever the holy name of Mary was pronounced, everyone knelt, and all the faithful prayed, sighed and wept with most extraordinary devotion and fervor.  This devotion is not dead, because the feast of the Holy Name of Mary is celebrated in number of churches, especially in the Order of the Redemption of Captives, where the office of her holy name is recited on all Saturdays not assigned to an office of nine lessons.  If the venerable name of Mary be worthy of such great veneration, what honor should we not render to her Admirable Heart?"

St. John Eudes' The Admirable Heart of Mary

We Remember

PRAYER TO JESUS AND MARY FOR ALL THE FAITHFUL DEPARTED OF SEPTEMBER 11TH

Most loving Jesus,
I humbly beg You to offer to Your eternal Father,
in behalf of the holy souls in purgatory of those who died on September 11th, 2001,
the most Precious Blood which poured forth
from the sacred wounds of Your adorable Body,
together with Your agony and death.

O sorrowful Virgin Mary,
do you also present to the Father,
together with the dolorous Passion of your Son,
your own sighs and tears
and all the sorrows you suffered in His suffering,
in order that through the merits of the same,
the souls of those who died on September 11th now suffering in purgatory
may receive refreshment and peace.
Delivered from that painful state,
may they be clothed with glory in heaven
there to sing th glories of God for ever and ever.

Amen.

Modified prayer from New Saint Joseph People's Prayer Book

Mass was offered for the repose of the soul of Father Mychel Judge and all those who died on September 11th, this morning at Sts. Peter and Paul Church Honolulu.