Protect the Seal

From Richard's blog

"The world is turning in on the Faith, first Ireland and now Australia, where will it end?"

Saint Mary Magdalene

by Georges de la Tour

Shared by Mary Jane D.

A Prayer to Saint Mary Magdalene

Saint Mary Magdalene, woman of many sins, who by conversion became the beloved of Jesus, thank you for your witness that Jesus forgives through the miracle of love.

You, who already possess eternal happiness in His glorious presence, please intercede for me, so that some day I may share in the same everlasting joy. Amen. (mention your intentions)

The Litany of St. Mary Magdalen
Lord, have mercy on us,
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, hear us,
Christ, graciously hear us.

Holy Mary, Mother of God,
Pray for us.
St. Mary Magdalen,
Pray for us.
Sister of Martha and Lazarus, etc.
Thou who didst enter the Pharisee's house to anoint the feet of Jesus,
Who didst wash His feet with thy tears,
Who didst dry them with thy hair,
Who didst cover them with kisses,
Who wast vindicated by Jesus before the proud Pharisee,
Who from Jesus received the pardon of thy sins,
Who before darkness wast restored to light,
Mirror of penance,
Disciple of Our Lord,
Wounded with the love of Christ,
Most dear to the Heart of Jesus,
Constant woman,
Last at the Cross of Jesus, first at His tomb,
Thou who wast the first to see Jesus risen,
Whose forehead was sanctified by
the touch of thy risen Master,
Apostle of apostles,
Who didst choose the "better part,"
Who lived for many years in solitude being miraculously fed,
Who wast visited by Angels seven times a day,
Sweet advocate of sinners,
Spouse of the King of Glory,

V. Saint Mary Magdalen, earnestly
intercede for us with thy Divine Master,
R. That we may share thy happiness in Heaven.

Let Us Pray.

May the glorious merits of blessed Mary Magdalen, we beseech Thee, O Lord,
make our offerings acceptable to Thee, for Thine only-begotten Son vouchsafed
graciously to accept the humble service she rendered. We ask this through Him
Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, God forever and ever. R. Amen.

May the prayers of blessed Mary Magdalen help us, O Lord, for it was in answer to them
that Thou didst call her brother Lazarus, four days after death, back from the grave to life,
Who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, Unity in Trinity,
world without end. R. Amen.

Why it is not a Good Idea for Kids to See Horror Movies

When my son was little we watched The Picture of Dorian Grey as a family. It was the old black and white movie. My husband and I thought he would like it. We completely forgot about the colorized scene in the movie. That one scene terrorized our poor son so badly that he had nightmares for a long time. He is now twenty and he still cannot bring himself to watch that movie.

That movie was tame compared to some recent horror movies.

As kids, my husband and I had been big fans of old black and white movies, especially film noir and horror movies. We stupidly forgot how impressionable a young child is.

I do remember a traumatic experience of my own. When I was 12 years old, my aunt took my cousin and me to watch Mark of the Devil.  It was the most violent, scary movie I had ever experience in my sheltered life!  I do not think my aunt knew what it was going to be about.  We left after maybe 1/2 hour but that movie images stayed with me for a long time too.  

The reason I am bringing this topic up now is because of my nephew. Without giving too much personal information away, my mother noticed that he is very tired and something seemed to be bothering him. Well, it appears he saw a very scary movie about the devil. Apparently, almost all of my family like horror movies. I don't know what movie he saw but the poor kid is very frightened! He is not a little kid either. He is a teenager.

The good thing about this traumatic experience is that being a good Catholic boy, he is turning to God for protection. He recently was confirmed and was given a Brown Scapular to wear. He wears his Brown Scapular continuously. He is also praying more, especially the Divine Mercy chaplet. I know he is in good hands with his mom and our mom to help him during this difficult time.

But just imagine all the poor children out there whose parents aren't aware the damage being done to their child by letting them be exposed to evil in movies; who don't teach that the child can go to God for help.  When I was a kid, it was fun to be get scared watching movies. But back then those movies only implied evil and violence. Movies today explicitly show evil. Some movies can very well be classified as pornographic because of the graphic violence they contain.

Right now there seems to be a debate on whether Catholic kids should be allowed to watch the latest  Harry Potter movie. Ultimately, that is the parents' decision. But why expose children to the dark side in any shape or form?  I know it is all in good fun and entertainment but I think the Devil just waits for any opportunity to try and snatch our children away.