Friday, May 22, 2009

St. Rita of Cascia

St. Rita of Cascia

Picture source

Hymn to Saint Rita of Cascia
I.
Come, virgins chaste; pure brides, draw near:
Let Earth exult and Heaven hear
The Hymn that grateful accents raise,
Our song of joy in Rita's praise.

II.
By fast her sinless frame is weak;
Her livid flesh the scourges streak.
In pity for her Savior's woes,
Her days and even nights are closed.

III.
The thorn-wound on her brow is shown,
The crimson rose in winter blown,
And full-ripe figs on frozen tree
At Rita's wish the wonders see.

IV.
The widowed spouse and wedded wife
The way to heaven see in her life;
The way secure our Rita trod,
In life's dim day, through paint o God.

V.
Praise to the Father and the Son,
Praise to the Spirit, Three in One;
O grant us grace in heaven to reign
Through Rita's prayer and life-long pain.

V. Thou hast signed thy servant Rita
A. With the sign of thy Love and Passion.

Let us Pray.

O God! who didst deign to confer on St. Rita for imitating Thee in love of her enemies, the favor of bearing her heart and brow the marks of Thy Love and Passion, grant we beseech Thee, that through her intercession and merit, we may, pierced by the thorns of compunction, ever contemplate the sufferings of Thy Passion, who livest and reignest forever and ever. Amen.

This hymn is the translation of the hymn of Lauds, office of St. Rita, approved by Decree of S.C.R. Nov. 24, 1900.

Prayer and hymn source

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Photos from the Marian Shrine - Don Bosco


Becchi House
Becchi House

Don Bosco Bedroom
Don Bosco's bedroom

Don Bosco's Desk
Don Bosco's desk

Sign in Don Bosco bedrrom
Sign in Don Bosco's Bedroom

Parent's Bedroom
Bedroom Belonging to Don Bosco's Parents

Sign in Parents Bedroom
Sign in Don Bosco's Bedroom

Don Bosco's Mother
Picture of Don Bosco's Mother

Little Johnny first teaching catechism in hayloft
Click picture to read what the little sign says about little Johnny

Dominic Savio
Dominic Savio

Don Bosco Painting
Painting of Don Bosco

Replica of Don Bosco's Baby Cap
Replica of John Bosco's baby cap knitted by his mother

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Photos from the Marian Shrine - Our Lady

Close Up
Close up of the outdoor altar

Ourdoor Altar
Outdoor Altar

Madonna Rosary Sign
Madonna Rosary 2
Madonna of the Rosary 1
My sisters by the statue of the Madonna of the Rosary to give you the perspective of the enormity of the statue

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Salesian Marian Shrine

My sisters and I went on another pilgrimage yesterday on the Feast of the Ascension. We went to a Marian Shrine and Don Bosco Retreat Center in Stony Point, New York, in beautiful Rockland County. The Shrine is approximately 30 miles from the George Washington Bridge.

We arrived close to noon and many people were filing into the Chapel for Mass. Since we had already been to Mass we used that time to walk around the grounds.

We saw the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes first and then the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima.

A little further down the road we came to Becchi House. Becchi House is the replica of the house where St. Don John Bosco was born and grew up. We also climbed the steps into the hayloft. We were able to see the replicas of little "Johnny" Bosco bedroom and also of his parents.

We then continue on our little walk until one my sisters indicated that we would be seeing something incredible. All of a sudden we came about a gigantic statue of Our Lady of the Rosary.

It was high noon at that time so there was virtually no shade. We wanted to pray the Rosary near this particular statue. Wouldn't you know it, our dear lady provided us with a little area of shade and we comfortably prayed the Luminous Mysteries with our Lady of the Rosary towering over us.

It was around 1pm so we backtracked in order to find a map of the shrine's grounds. Mass had just ended. We asked a gentlemen about Confession. He mentioned Confession was before Mass. Not to be one to give up so easily, one of my sisters suggested going to the front of the the Chapel. Well, there was a priest who still had his vestments on. We introduced ourselves to Fr. "Bill". He welcomed us so very warmly and told us a little about the shrine. He was also more than happy to hear our confessions.

Later on, we went on to find the book shop. I thought it was going to be a little one with just a few items. We were in for a very pleasant surprise. Their book and gift shop was lovely and large. It contained many items such as cards, holy cards, statues, t-shirts, books, Mystic Monk coffee and many other sacred items. We spend quite a while there.

Everyone was very friendly and we enjoyed our day immensely.

Of course, we also had to thank our Lady for making sure we had lovely weather. The sky was clear blue and the day was comfortably warm.

The only downside was that our mother came down with a cold.







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Thursday, May 21, 2009

Feast of the Ascension

AscensionPhoto source

Grant, we beseech Thee, almighty God,
that we will believe Thine only-begotten Son our Redeemer
to have ascended this day into heaven,
may ourselves dwell in spirit amid heavenly things.

Roman Missal, collect for Ascension, 6th-8th Century

Prayer source

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Wednesday, May 20, 2009

New Jersey Saint? From the Diocese of Metuchen

Mother Angeline Teresa

...In a 20-minute ceremony at the St. John Neumann Pastoral Center on Metlars Lane, Bishop Paul G. Bootkoski formally opened the Diocese of Metuchen's investigation into an alleged miracle being attributed to McCrory, the late founder of the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm.

The diocesan investigation is the first phase — a fact-finding phase — of a church process designed to determine whether McCrory's intercession in Heaven resulted in a miracle on Earth. Two verified miracles must be attributed to a deceased candidate for sainthood before he or she can be canonized.

As founder of the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm, McCrory spent her life caring for the elderly and ailing in long-term care facilities operated by the sisters. She died in 1984 at age 91. The Germantown, N.Y.-based Carmelite Sisters now operate 17 elder-care facilities around the country, plus one in Ireland. About 20 nuns from many of those facilities were on hand yesterday for the proceeding...
Read the rest here: Diocese of Metuchen investigating possible miracle

For those of you not familiar with New Jersey, the The World Apostolate of Fatima's Blue Army Shrine is also located in the diocese of Metuchen.


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Reminder - Novena to the Holy Spirit Will Start Soon

Holy Spirit

The Novena to the Holy Spirit begins this Friday May 22nd.

You can find the novena for the Gifts of the Holy Spirit which is the oldest novena that Catholic Church has, at EWTN's Novena to the Holy Spirit for the Seven Gifts
The novena in honor of the Holy Spirit is the oldest of all novenas since it was first made at the direction of Our Lord Himself when He sent His apostles back to Jerusalem to await the coming of the Holy Spirit on the first Pentecost. It is still the only novena officially prescribed by the Church. Addressed to the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity, it is a powerful plea for the light and strength and love so sorely needed by every Christian.


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Monday, May 18, 2009

The 13th Day

The 13th Day

New movie about the apparitions in Fatima.

You can watch the trailer here

The 13th Day

Latest News about The 13th Day
13th Day Ready For Distribution
marche du film at Cannes

The 13th Day is now complete, and fully mastered in High Definition, Dolby surround sound ready for distribution.

We will be making our industry premiere on May 13th 2009, the opening day at the Marche Du Film in Cannes Palais F at 11.30am.

We aim to make it available to view as soon as possible, so our current focus is to find a distributor with the right commercial and spiritual sensibilities to exploit the full market and message delivery potential of the film.

We are currently negotiating for the license rights in North America, and so hope to be able to make the film available to view and buy within 6 months.

The 13th Day will Premiere for cast, crew and the press in select ‘invitation only’ screenings at the end of May. These will be in Birmingham, UK, and of course in Fatima, Portugal. Dates t.b.c.

Synopsis

October 13th 1917, Fatima, Portugal.

FACT: Over 70,000 witnesses watched the sun spinning in the sky before plummeting towards the earth, in an extraordinary prophesised event, which became known as ‘The Miracle of the Sun’.

In a world torn apart by persecution, war and oppression, 3 children were chosen to offer a message of hope to the world.

Based on the memoirs of the oldest Seer, Lucia Santos, and many thousands of independent eye-witness accounts, The 13th Day dramatizes the TRUE story of three young shepherds who experienced six interactive apparitions with a “Lady from Heaven” between May and October 1917, which culminated into the final prophesized Miracle.

Abducted from their homes, thrown into prison and interrogated under the threat of death in the government’s attempt to silence them, the children remained true to their story.

The lady, who later revealed herself to be the Blessed Mary, gave a SECRET to the children told in three parts, from a harrowing vision of hell, to prophetic warnings of future events including the advent and timing of the Second World War, the spread of communism, and the assassination of the Pope.

All three Seers have since die. Two of them have been beatified.

Stylistically beautiful and technically innovative, writer-directors Ian & Dominic Higgins use state-of-the-art digital effects to create stunning images of the visions and the final miracle that have never before been fully realized on screen.

Shot on location in Portugal and in the UK, 13th Day Films worked with a cast of over 250 to re-create the scenes of the 70,000 strong crowds, and 3 Portuguese children play the iconic roles of the Seers.

Witness the greatest miracle of the 20th Century, and experience the incredible, emotionally-charged and often harrowing world of three young children whose choice to remain loyal to their beliefs, even in the face of death, would inspire thousands.
Thanks to Janina for sharing this.

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Growing Up - Learning Modesty in Dress

Modesty-Bouguereau
Modesty by W.A. Bouguereau


"In like manner women also in decent apparel: adorning themselves with modesty and sobriety, not with plaited hair or gold, or pearls or costly attire, but as it becometh women professing godliness, with good words." 1 Timothy 2:9-10 Douey Rheims Version

Because God made us in His image, we are fundamentally attractive to him and to each other...

Immodest attire is attractive, and the more immodest the attire, the more powerful the attraction. They way you dress sends powerful signals. It is important to be aware of the message you are sending and who you are attracting.

As a check, ask yourself, "How would my choice of clothing be perceived by my Heavenly Parents..by my earthly parents...by someone with unchecked lustful thoughts."
From as far back as I can remember, my mother would teach us about modesty in dress. She would often mention that when she was growing up in Peru, any woman who went up to Holy Communion wearing a sleeveless dress would be denied Holy Communion by the priest.

My mother only started wearing pants after a few years of living in the United States. Prior to that time, she only wear skirts and dresses. The length of the dress and skirt were always at a comfortable and decent level below the knee. To this day she only wears skirts and dresses to Mass; never pants.

Gradually, she became accustomed to the comfortable feel of jeans. They were never tight-fitting though. They were the above the waist, relaxed fit jeans.

One item of clothing never worn by my mother was a bathing suit, no matter how modest we tried to tell her it was she told us it was out of the question to even think about wearing one. She simply thought it scandalous to show that much of her skin. Yet she did understand our youthful need to wear two piece bathing suits.

She taught us by example though.

Now that we are all married women with children of our own, we still dress modestly. As far as I can remember, cleavage was never shown, tight-fitting dresses and pants just didn't appeal to us.

We wear what would look like something out of a LL Bean catalog. Classic look in clothing fashionable yet modest in appearance.. This is what my mom favored in apparel and this is what her daughters favor as well.

My mother wasn't the only parent who taught us modesty in dress and the girls in the family weren't the only ones who were taught modesty. My father would not hesitate to direct us to change a certain piece of clothing he found unsuitable to him. My brothers could not and would not be permitted to come to the dinner table without a shirt. T-shirts were permitted but just barely and they had to be clean. Bare feet was also taboo in the family. We listened to my dad but it wasn't without a lot of verbal protest first. But after all, we knew who was the boss.
As Christians, we have a responsibility for the souls of others, and we are obligated not to place others in the near occasion of sin. Charity requires that we pay particular attention to this grave responsibility in a matter as serious as sexual attraction. Sexual sin often begins with an unchecked lustful thought. Lustful thoughts often lead to more serious sin...

...In this world which is increasingly filled with immodesty leading to serious sin and the loss of salvation for many poor souls, we are all called upon to exercise prudence and charity, beginning with ourselves, whether we refrain from being a means of temptation or whether we take steps to control our eyes and imagination. As we have shown, what the world considers proper clothing is many times far short of what a modest Christian should want to wear. It is up to each of us to consider prayerfully our standard of dress.

Where souls are concerned, it is always better to err or n the side of charity and modesty.
Quoted excerpts from World Apostolate of Fatima Spiritual Guide for the Salvation of Souls and World Peace.





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A Priest's Homily on Notre Dame

Living Gracefully's "Notre Dame Has Chosen to Abandon its Catholic Identity for its New Identity "Secularism".

Thanks Chris!


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Father Damien's Personal Items

Fr. Damien Chasuble


If you would like to see some of Father Damien's personal items, which includes the above chasuble worn by Fr. Damien, check out Cy's blog.

If I am not mistaken, these were the items that were on display at the Damien Museum in Waikiki. The museum has since closed.


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Pope John Paul II

John Paul II

With his deep devotion and love of the Blessed Virgin Mary who we honor in the month of May, it is no wonder that Karol Joseph Wojtyla was born in month dedicated to our Lady.

Today would have been the 89th birthday of our late Holy Father, Pope John Paul II. He was born in Wadowice, Poland on May 18, 1920, to an administrative officer in the Polish army and a former schoolteacher.

JPII Rosary1
Prayers for the Intercession of Pope John Paul II

O Holy Trinity,
we thank you for having given to the Church
Pope John Paul II,
and for having made him shine with your fatherly tenderness,
the glory of the Cross of Christ and the splendor of the Spirit of love

He, trusting completely in your infinite mercy
and in the maternal intercession of Mary, has shown himself
in the likeness of Jesus the Good Shepherd
and has pointed out to us holiness
as the path to reach eternal communion with You.

Grant us, through his intercession,
according to your will, the grace that we implore,
in the hope that he will soon be numbered among your saints.
Amen.

Prayer Source EWTN

JPII Rosary 2

It may well be by this time next year, Pope John Paul II will already be beatified. Catholic Online Article

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