The Death of Jesus, Crucifixion by St. Alphonsus Ligouri

The Passion and the Death of Jesus Christ
St Alphonsus Maria de Ligouri

Pg 217
The Death of Jesus

V.

O God, had the vilest of all men suffered for me what Jesus Christ has suffered; had I beheld a man torn with scourges, fastened to a cross, and made the laughing stock of the people in order to save my life, could I remember his sufferings without feeling for him the tenderest affection? And were the likeness of my expiring lover brought before me, could I behold it with indifference, and say, Oh! the miserable man has died thus in torture for the love of me? Had he not loved me he would not have died for me. Alas, how many Christians keep a beautiful crucifix in their room, but only as a fine piece of furniture! They praise the workmanship an the expression of grief, but it makes as little impression on their hearts as if it were not the image of the incarnate Word, but of a man who was a stranger and unknown to them.

Ah, my Jesus, do not permit me to be one of them. Remember that Thou didst promise that when Thou wouldst be elevated on the cross, Thou wouldst draw all hearts to Thee. Behold, my heart, softened into tenderness by Thy death, will no longer resist Thy calls. Ah, draw all its affections to Thy love. Thou hast died for me, and I wish to live only for Thee. O sorrows of Jesus, O ignominies of Jesus, O death of Jesus, O love of Jesus! May you be fixed in my heart, and may the sweet remembrance of you remain there forever, to wound me continually, and to inflame me with love. O Eternal Father, behold Jesus dead for my sake, and, through the merits of this Son, show me mercy. My soul, be not diffident on account of the sins thou hast committed against God. It is the Father himself that has given the Son to the world for our salvation, and it is the Son that has voluntarily offered Himself to atone for our sins. Ah, my Jesus, since to pardon me Thou hast not spared Thyself, behold me with the same affection with which Thou didst one day behold me, agonizing for me on the cross. Behold me and enlighten me; and pardon particularly my past ingratitude to Thee, in thinking so little of Thy Passion, and on the love Thou hast shown me in Thy sufferings. I thank Thee for the light which Thou givest me, in making me see in these wounds and lacerated members, as through so many lattices, Thy great and tender affection for me. Unhappy me, if, after this light, I should neglect to love Thee, or if I loved anything out of Thee. May I die (I will say with the enamoured St. Francis of Assisi) for the love of Thee, O my Jesus, who hast condescended to die for the love of me. O pierced heart of my Redeemer, O blessed dwelling of loving souls! Do not disdain to receive also my miserable soul. O Mary, O mother of sorrows! Recommend me to thy Son, whom thou dost hold lifeless in thy arms. Behold his lacerated flesh, behold his divine blood shed for me, and see in them how pleasing it is to him that thou shouldst recommend my salvation to him. My salvation consists in loving himl this love thou hast to obtain for me, but let it be a great and eternal love.

Commenting on the words of St. Paul, The Charity of Christ presseth us, (Charitas Christi urget nos) – 2 Cor. V.14. St Francis de Sales says: “Since we know that Jesus, the true God, has loved us so as to suffer death, and the death of the cross, for our salvation, must not our hearts be under a press which squeezes and forces love from them by a violence which is strong in proportion as it is amiable?” (Love of God by St Francis de Sales) The saint afterwards says that “the hill of Calvary is the mountain of lovers.” He then adds: “Ah, why, then, do we not cast ourselves on Jesus crucified, in order to die on the cross with him who has voluntarily died upon it for the love of us? I will hold him, we ought to say, and will never forsake him; I will die with him, and will burn in the flames of his love. One and the same fire shall consume this divine Creator and his miserable creature. My Jesus gives himself to me, and I give myself entirely to Him. I will live and die on His bosom; neither life nor death shall separate me from him. O eternal love! My soul seeks Thee, and chooses Thee for eternity. Ah! Come, O Holy Ghost, and inflame our hearts with the love of Thee. Either to love or to die. To die to every other love, in order to live to that of Jesus. O Saviour of our souls! Grant that we may sing for eternity: “Live Jesus; I love Jesus. Live Jesus, whom I love; I love Jesus, who lives forever and ever.”

Let us, in conclusion, say: O Lamb of God, who hast sacrificed Thyself for our salvation! O victim of love, who hast been consumed by sorrows on the cross! Oh that I knew how to love Thee as Thou dost deserve to be loved! Oh that I could die for Thee, who hast died for me! By my sins I have been a cause of pain to Thee during Thy entire life; grant that I may please Thee during the remainder of my life, living only in Thee, my love, my all. O Mary, my mother, thou art my hope after Jesus; obtain for me the grace to love Jesus.

O Dearest Angels and Saints, please help me!

Jesu mitis et humilis corde, Fac cor nostrum secundum cor tumm!

Mon Dieu, comment je T'aime!

St Matthias, Apostle + New Soldiers!

more soldiers for Christ - Deo gratias et Mariae!

congrats confirmands :)

Confirmation by Bishop Fellay

24th February 2007

Feast of St Matthias Apostle

more photos on a later date !

and a little note/remark: I must say we don't look like the regular bunch of soldiers,

but this is a kind of warfare, that is intrinsically different from the regular kind,

this warfare, Christian Warfare, engages the soul in the combat for Eternal Salvation,

one which, since time immemorial, has been the only thing worth fighting for.

"The spiritual life is a spiritual combat against sin, the devil and the world. We need God's grace in this struggle which will result in heaven or hell for everyone."

"The life of man upon earth is a warfare" - Job 7:1

St. Ignatius of Loyola in his Spiritual Exercises reveals this battle for the Christian Soul, in which our weapons are the Doctrine of Jesus Christ, all forms of prayer, examination of conscience, mortification and works of charity.

Cantata on the Passion (on the feast of the Chair of St Peter, comm of St Paul)

I was flipping through one of my favourite books on the Passion and Death of Jesus Christ by St Alphonsus Ligouri and I found this beautiful beautiful beautiful cantata(how often do you hear of a cantata on the Passion?) on the Passion by the Saint himself! It's just a little sad that I don't have the music for it ... but, here are the verses, and if such a word exists, what "beautiful-ness"!! :) Deo gratias.

Cantata on the Passion:

The Soul and the Redeemer

The original text of this cantata was discovered in London in the year 1859, the words and music being by St. Alphonsus, who, we are assured, composed them in 1760, with corrections made with his own hand. We here give the entire text, such as has been published in London by M.J. Philip. -Ed. (The original if I am not wrong, is in Italian)

The Soul

Tell me, thou judge iniquitous, ah! tell me why

Thou didst so oft my Saviour's innocence proclaim,

And yet, at length, condemn him to a death of shame,

Like vilest criminal upon a cross to die?

Of what avail the barb'rous scourges, cruel blows,

If, in thy heart, thou didst his future death decree?

Why not at once have doom'd him to the bitter tree

When the first cry of hate from surging crowds arose?

Since well thou knewest thou wouldst sentence him to die,

Why not at once make known his cruel destiny?

But what do I behold? an angry crowd draws near,

Confused cries are heard, and threat'ning groans resound;

Nearer still and nearer there comes a thrilling sound.

What is this clam'rous mysic breaking on mine ear?

Ah! it is the trumpet, whose shrill discordant breath

Proclaims aloud the sentence of my Saviour's death.

Now, alas! I see him: along the rugged road

Painfully he's toiling with tott'ring step and slow,

Wounded, sore, and bleeding, he bears the heavy load

Laid upon his shoulder by his relentless foe.

At ev'ry painful step he makes

Fresh blood-drops mark the way he takes.

A cross of wood

Upon his wounded shoulder rests;

His bruised flesh is staining it with blood:

His venerable head a mocking crown adorns;

His aching brows are pierc'd with long and cruel thorns.

'Tis Thy unfathom'd love, my dearest Lord,

That makes Thee wear this crown of mockery.

Where goest Thou, my God ador'd?

The Redeemer

I go to die for thee.

The Soul

Dear Lord, it is for me

Thou goest forth to die?

How gladly, then, would I

Lay down my life for Thee!

The Redeemer

Peace! till thy dying breath

Think on My love for thee;

After My bitter death

Forever love thou Me.

Remain, my turtle dove!

For My Heart give me thine;

My faithful one! be Mine,

And pledge Me all thy love.

The Soul

My Lord! I Thee adore,

To Thee my heart I bring.

I'm Thine, my treasur'd King,

I'm Thine for evermore!

p/s:

Please pray for a recently departed SSPX priest.

More can be found out at:

1) The Sleepless Eye

2) Un roi, une loi, une foi

and

Here are some interesting reading for those interested in the SSPX and on the current crisis in the Church, the awaited motu propiu etc. at:

The Catholic Upstart

1) Interview With The Abbot of Pecos

2) Interview With Secretary of Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Roman Curia

3) They (SSPX) are within the Church

4) The Secrets of La Salette

Jesu mitis et humilis corde, Fac cor nostrum secundum cor tuum!

Ash Wednesday + New Link

Yay! It's now Lent. :)

Here's a new link, I just put up on one of the side links, on Bioethics (St Raphael Notebooks).

Very interesting and good articles! must read!

-------

Memento homo ...

Remember, O man, that thou art dust, and unto dust thou shalt return.

Ferial, Quinquagesima Week, 2 days before Ash Wednesday

Quinquagesima Sunday
St. Simeon - Bishop, Martyr
J.M.J.
Rev. Fr. Leonard Goffine's
The Church's Year

QUINQUAGESIMA SUNDAY

The Introit of this day's Mass is the sigh of an afflicted soul confiding in God:

INTROIT - Be thou unto me a God, a protector, and a place of refuge, to saveme: for thou art my strength and my refuge: and for thy name's sake thouwilt be my leader, and wilt nourish me. (Fs. XXX. 3. 4.) In thee , O Lord, Ihave hoped, let me never be confounded: deliver me in thy justice, and setme free. (Ps. XXX. 2.)

COLLECT - O Lord, we beseech Thee, graciously hear our prayers, andunloosing the bonds of our sins, guard us from all adversity. Through our Lord, etc.

EPISTLE (I. Cor. XIII. 1-13.) - Brethren, if I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass or atinkling cymbal. And if I should have prophecy, and know all mysteries andall knowledge, and if I should have all faith, so that I could removemountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And if I should distributeall my goods to feed the poor, and if I should deliver my body to be burned,and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. Charity is patient, is kind: charity envieth not; dealeth not perversely; is not puffed up; is not ambitious; seeketh not her own; is not provoked to anger; thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never falleth away: whether prophecies shall be made void, or tongues shall cease,or knowledge shall be destroyed. For we know in part, and we prophesy inpart: but when that which is perfect is come, that which is in part shall bedone away. When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child,I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away the things of achild. We see now through a glass in a dark manner; but then face to face.Now I know in part; but then I shall know even as I am known. And now thereremain faith, hope, charity, these three: but the greatest of these is charity.

EXPLANATION - In this epistle St. Paul speaks of the necessity, theexcellence and the nature of true charity. He says that all natural and supernatural gifts, all good works, even martyrdom, cannot save us if we have not charity; because love alone can render our works pleasing to God. Without charity, therefore, though ever so many prayers be recited, fasts observed , and good deeds performed, nothing will be acceptable to God, ormerit eternal life. Strive then, O Christian soul, to lead a pious life inlove, and to remain always in the state of grace.

Can faith alone, as the so-called Reformers assert, render man just and save him?

Faith alone, however strong, though it could move mountains, without love,that is, without good works performed for love of God and our neighbor, can never justify or save us. For, when St. Paul says, that man is justified by faith without works, (Rom. III. 28.; XI: 6.; Eph. II. 8. 9.) he means to refer to those works which were performed by command of the law of Moses, and which, as they were external and without true charity, were of no avail; he did not refer to those works which are performed in a state of grace with a lively, love-inspired faith. Therefore the same Apostle writes to the

Galatians: (Gal. V. 6.) Faith only availeth which worketh by charity; to

Titus: (Tit. III. 8.) It is a faithful saying: and these things I will have thee affirm constantly: that they who believe in God, may be careful toexcel in good works. These things are good and profitable unto men; and he exhorts the

Colossians (Colos. I. 10.) to be fruitful in every good work.

St. James confirms the same by saying: (James II. 17-24.) So faith if it have not works, is dead in itself; by works man is justified and not by faith only.

That this is the true doctrine of Christ is evident from His own words, when He says: "Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit, shall be cut down and shall be cast into the fire." (Matt. VII. 19.)

At the day of judgment Christ will demand good works from all men, (Matt. XXV. 35.) and will not judge them only according to their faith, but by their good works, which true faith must always produce. (Apoc. XX. 12.) Would Christ and His apostles demand good works, if faith alone be sufficient?

"The devil's also believe and tremble," (James II. 19.) they believe, but they are not saved,and their faith but increases their torments. Therefore, the assertion that faith without good works is sufficient for justification and salvation, is plainly against the doctrine of Christ and His Church, and must of necessity lead man to vice and misery, as shown by the history of the unhappy separation of the sixteenth century

Are good works available which are performed in the state of mortal sin? Good works performed while in a state of mortal sin avail nothing in regard to eternal life, writes St. Lawrence Justinian, but aid in moderating the punishment imposed for disobedience and the transgression of God's commandments. They bring temporal goods, such as honor, long life, health, earthly happiness, etc.; they prevent us from falling deeper into sin, and prepare the heart for the reception of grace; so the pious Person writes:"Do as much good as you can, even though in the state of mortal sin, that God may give light to your heart."

ASPIRATION - O God of love, pour the spirit of true charity into my heart that, according to the spirit of St. Paul, I may endeavor to be always in astate of grace; that all my works may be pleasing to Thee, and meritoriousfor me.

GOSPEL (Luke XVIII. 31-43.) - At that time, Jesus took unto him the twelve,and said to them Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things shall be accomplished which were written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man. For he shall be delivered to the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and scourged, and spit upon; and after they have scourged him, they will put him to death; and the third day he shall rise again. And they understood none ofthese things, and this word was hid from them, and they understood not the things that were said. Now it came to pass, when he drew nigh to Jericho,that a certain blind man sat by the way-side, begging. And when he heard the multitude passing by, he asked what this meant. And they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. And he cried out, saying: Jesus, Son of David,have mercy on me. And they that went before rebuked him, that he should hold his peace. But he cried out much more: Son of David, have mercy on me. And Jesus standing, commanded him to be brought unto him. And when he was come near, he asked him, saying: What wilt thou that I do to thee? But he said: Lord, that I may see. And Jesus said to him: Receive thy sight; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he saw, and followed him, glorifying God: and all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.

Why did Christ so often foretell His passion to His disciples?

Because He wanted to show how great was His desire to suffer for us, for we speak often of that which we crave; and because He wished His disciples whenthey should see Him treated as a criminal and martyred, not to think evil of Him, or imagine themselves deceived, but remember that He had foretold all minutely that all happened of His own will.

Did not the disciples understand anything of what He predicted in regard to His future sufferings? They may, certainly, have well understood He was to suffer, for which reason Peter tried to dissuade Him from it; (Matt. XVI. 22.) but they did not comprehend why or for what He would suffer, or how He would rise again. All this the Holy Ghost gave them to understand, after it had come to pass.(John XIV. 26.) The light of the Holy Ghost is of so much value, that without it even the clearest doctrines of faith are not understood. Why does Christ so often call Himself the Son of Man? He wished to show, in the Jewish way of speaking, He was also man, adescendant of Adam, and that we should be humble, and not seek or desire high titles. Why did the blind man call Christ the Son of David? Because, like all the Jews, he believed that the Messiah, according tohumanity, would be of the house of David, as was promised. (Ps. CXXXI. 11.)

Why did Christ ask the blind man: What wilt thou that I do to thee?

This He asked, not because He was unaware of the blind man's wish, but to enable him the better to prove his faith and hope that through Christ hewould receive his sight; and to teach us how willing He is to help us, and how it pleases Him if we confidingly place our wants before Him. We should learn from this blind man, who would not be restrained by the passing crowd in his ardent and reiterated request, not to pay attention, in the work we have commenced, to human respect, or human judgment, but to persevere, and not allow ourselves to be led astray by the world's mockery or contempt. We should also learn to be grateful to God, and faithfully cling to Him, if He has once opened the eyes of our mind, and healed our spiritual blindness, which is far more deplorable than physical blindness, for nothing can bemore miserable than not to see and understand God, not to know what is necessary for our salvation, and what is pernicious.

Why is this gospel read on this Sunday?

The Church wishes to remind us of the painful passion and death of Jesus,and to move us by the contemplation of those mysteries to avoid and despise the wicked, heathenish amusements of carnival, sinful pleasures which shehas always condemned, because they come from dark paganism, and, to avert the people from them, commands that during the three days of carnival the Blessed Sacrament shall be exposed for public adoration, sermons given, and the faithful exhorted to have recourse at this time to the Sacraments of Penance and the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar, with the reception of which Pope Clement XIII. (Breve, 23. June 1765) connected a plenary indulgence.

A true Catholic will conform to the desire of his holy Church, considering thewords which St. Augustine spoke, at this time, to the faithful, "The heathens (as also the wordly people of our days) shout songs of love andmerriment, but you should delight in the preaching of the word of God; they rush to the dramatic plays, but you should hasten to Church; they are intoxicated, but you should fast and be sober."

PRAYER - O most benign Jesus! who didst so desire to suffer for us, grant,that we may willingly suffer for love of Thee; that we may hate and flee from the detestable pleasures of the world and the flesh, and practice penance and mortification, that by so doing we may merit to be released spiritual blindness to love Thee more and more ardently, and finally possess Thee forever.

INSTRUCTION ON LENT

Who instituted Lent?

According to the fathers of the Church, Justin and Irenaeus, the fast before Easter was instituted and sanctified by Christ Himself; according to the saints Leo and Jerome, the holy apostles ordained it given by Jesus.

Why has the Church instituted this fast forty days before Easter?

To imitate Christ who fasted forty days; to participate in His merits and sufferings; to subject our flesh by voluntary mortification to the spirit,and to mortify our evil desires as did St. Paul; (Col. I. 24.) to enable usto lead a pure life, and thus prepare for the holy festival of Easter, and the reception of the divine Lamb, Jesus: and, finally, to render God satisfaction for our sins, and do penance, as Pope Gregory says, for the sins of one whole year by one short fast, lasting only the tenth part of ayear.

Was the fast of Lent observed in early times as in the present?

Yes, but more strictly; for the people of the early ages not only abstained from meat, but also from all that which is connected with it, such as eggs,butter, cheese, etc., even from wine and fish, although this was not the general command of the Church; they fasted all day, and only ate in theevening after vespers, in remembrance of which, vespers are now said before dinner-time, because the Church, as a kind mother, now permits the supper to be changed into a dinner, and also allows something to be taken in the evening, that the body may not be too much weakened, and become unfit for labor.

How much does this ancient custom put to shame the Christians of to-day who think the fast in our times too severe! "But," asks St. Ambrose, "what sort of Christians are they? Christ, who never sinned fasted for our sins, and we will not fast for our own great and numerous offences?"

How should the holy season of Lent be spent?

As according to the teaching of St. Leo, the main thing in fasting is not that the body be deprived of food, but that the mind at the same time be withdrawn from wickedness, we should endeavor during Lent, not only to be temperate in eating and drinking, but especially to lead a modest life, sanctifying the days by persevering prayer and devoutly attending church.

PRAYER AT THE BEGINNING OF LENT

Almighty God! I unite myself at the beginning of this holy season of penance with the Church militant, endeavoring to make these days of real sorrow formy sins and crucifixion of the sensual man. O Lord Jesus! in union with Thyfasting and passion, I offer Thee my fasting in obedience to the Church, for Thy honor, and in thanksgiving for the many favors I have received, in satisfaction for my sins and the sins of others, and that I may receive thegrace to avoid such and such a sin, N. N. and to practice such and such avirtue, N. N.

From "The Church's Year" online(www.sspxasia.com/Documents/The_Church_Year/index.htm).

p/s:

CA's in a week's time (boo!), and I'm really glad that CNY is before Lent (my favourite time of the year because to me, that's the most meaningful time in religion (the science of God and man - St. Augustine) for reparation is something hard to understand but oh so beautiful, so exceedingly beautiful) .. but for just these few days before ash wednesday, my teeth have been chewing non-stop in an effort to be polite. :) lol. but the goodies, the food, the peranakan dishes have been exceedingly mouth watering, delightful, tempting, what nots .. and it's the only time of the year when I get to eat my grandma's food :) yay its before lent. lol!

Deo gratias et Mariae!

Ferial, comm of St Valentine, MARTYR

St. Francis of Assisi, the Seraphic Lover

A prayer for Students

St. Valentine:

This holy Roman priest assisted with other pious Christians a great number of martyrs. He was beheaded under Aurelian in 270 A.D.

(from the 1962 Roman Catholic Daily Missal)

Introit of Holy Mass today:

In virtute tua, Domine,

laetabitur justus:

et super salutare tuum exsultabit vehementer:

desiderium animae

ejus tribuisti ei.

Quoniam praevenisti eum in benedictionibus dulcedinis:

posuisti in capite ejus coronam de lapide pretioso.

Gloria Patri.

Psalm 20: 2-4

In Thy strength, O Lord, the just man shall joy:

and in Thy salvation he shall rejoice exceedingly:

Thou hast given him his heart's desire.

For Thou hast prevented him with blessings of sweetness:

Thou hast set on his head a crown of precious stones.

Gloria Patri.

From the Old Testament, a very beautiful verse:

Et ecce tempus tuum, tempus amantium ...

Et decora facta es vehementer nimis.

Ezechiel xvi 8.13

And behold Thy time was the time of lovers ...

And Thou wast made exceeding beautiful.

O Dearest Jesus, I love Thee, I love Thee, I love Thee!

O Blessed Lady, ora pro nobis!

O Dearest Angels and Saints in heaven, ora pro nobis!

From St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus and Holy Face, my patron:

My God, how I love Thee!

Mon Dieu, comment je T'aime !

Sexagesima Sunday, comm Apparition at Lourdes

Sexagesima Sunday, also the Apparition at Lourdes:
"60th day before Easter". (Septuagesima, Sexagesima, Quinqugesima are just
mere names to correspond with the name of Lent - Quadragesima in Latin, meaning fortieth.)

From St. Paul to the Corinthians II, part of the epistle today:

And He said to me: My grace is sufficient for thee:

for power is made perfect in infirmity.

Gladly therefore will I glory in my infirmities,

that the power of Christ may dwell in me.

Au sang qu'un Dieu:

Today at mass, one of my most favourite hymns, click on the picture link for the midi file. :)

Cor Jesu sacratissimum, Miserere nobis.

St. Scholastica, Sister of St. Benedict, Founder of the Benedictines

Salve radix, salve porta; Ex qua mundo lux est orta.
Root of Jesse, Gate of Morn, Whence the World's True Light was Born.

May the eyes of our soul be ever intent on the Light, which Mary brought us. May the Light so shine in us and through us that we may be able to lead unto Christ those that grope in darkness.

By John Cardinal Henry Newman:

Mary, thou art the star, shining with the light of Jesus, fair as the moon, and bright as the sun, the star of the heavens which it is good to look upon; the star of the sea which is welcome to the tempest-tossed; at whose smile evil spirit flies, the passions are hushed, and peace is poured upon the soul.

By thee, O Mary, have all the heresies of the world been overcome!

Please help us, Pray for us, Protect us!

A little bit on St Thomas Aquinas ...

Sancte Thomas Aquinas, Ora pro nobis:

Saint Thomas Aquinas, most famous for his Summa theologica of which was one of his most greatest and treasured works of the church. A wonderful philosopher :), here's a prayer I came across in a series of meditation materiel from the book, Alone with God by Fr Heyrman S.J..

"O Merciful God, grant me what is pleasing to Thee; may I ardently desire it,

prudently consider it,

clearly see it,

perfectly execute it,
to the praise and glory of Thy name."

Another beautiful verse from the Lauda Sion:

Also by Saint Thomas Aquinas, very beautifully again, I must say of the Most Holy Sacrifice:

“Sub diversis speciebus Signis tantum et non rebus Latent res
eximiae

- Here beneath these signs are hidden, Priceless things to sense
forbidden, Signs, not things, are all we see.”

Veritas liberavit vos - Jn 8:32

What Jesus owes to His Mother

p/s:

Oh dear me, I've been very busy (Deo gratias!) lately and the Molecular Bio Lab module CA1 has just been over, I'm terribly relieved (Deo gratias!) :) that it's over (haha, lol) and unworthy though I am, Saint Albert the Great, patron Saint of Scientists, please pray for me, intercede for me. (Saint Albert the Great was teacher of Saint Thomas Aquinas) :) I barely can open my eyes well enough these days :) but I'm actually enjoying the mental exercise I've been getting since term started. Please do pray for me as I will for all my blog readers, if you have the time to read this blog post till thus far. :) God Bless you all!

"To the Praise and Glory of Thy Name" - From Alone with God (Friday of Septuagesima) meaning "70th day before Easter":

The Church on Septuagesima Sunday (4/2/07) officially "closed" the Christmas Cycle, and now we are onto the Easter Cycle, starting with part I: the SEASON of LENT. Thus now, we prepare for (to me) the most beautiful thing of our Catholic Faith, Lent: Reparation, Penance, ... Love.

Thus far, our only final goal in life, our aim, our everything: Heaven.

This is the final goal. Our happiness and our peace on earth and in heaven consist in fulfilling God's will. But first and above all, our happiness and our peace are a hymn to the praise and glory of God, as Dante sang in his Paradiso (27:1-9):

To the Father, to the Son, to the Holy Ghost

Honour and Glory: thus sang the voice of the Blessed,

And their sweet melodies threw me into a trance.

What I beheld appeared to me a smile

Of the universe, so that the ecstasy

Gripped me through eyes and ears.

O joy, O delight ineffable

O life, perfect in love and peace,

O riches securely possessed, and all desire satiated.

1600 years ago ...

St. Augustine of Hippo - Doctor of the Church, Author of "Confessions":

I love this phrase written by St. Augustine, Father of the Church. Written over 1600 years ago, its words still ring true in now, this crisis ridden, masonic world in which we live in:

"Our Hearts were made for Thee, O Lord, and it finds no rest
till it rests in Thee."

-St. Augustine, d.430 A.D.

New Side Link (please view side link for picture):

St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary website - Apologetics.

(I like their flash intro. :))

Some interesting reading:

Septuagesima Sunday

St. Andrew Corsini - Bishop, Confessor

J.M.J.

The Rector's Letter

"QUO VADIS, DOMINE?"

CHASTISEMENT AND PERSECUTION, CONFIDENCE AND GRACE

Dear Friends and Benefactors,

The state of the Church, of the world and men's minds cannot be described.Public and private sins cry to Heaven for justice and the arm of the divine Son of Our Lady of La Salette (please see the post before this post) becomes heavier. Ignominy has become the rule, vulgarity reigns as master, perversion is taught officially. Intelligence has become sterile, the will weak, leaders renegades, families disrupted and man is nothing more than an avid consumer of pleasures.

But God is not to be mocked. His justice scorns the tricks of its enemies and He uses their own intrigues to bring them down. The Cross of our Savior is the majestic proof: the instrument of torment was the means of victory and Satan lost his dominion just when his foolish pride seemed to assure him of the final victory.

The history of the Church is that of the faithful Bride who follows her royal Spouse on the way to Calvary. Darkness covers the earth and the lamentations of Jeremias resound again in the slow and painful agony of Holy Mother Church.

On the day of the Passion, another chorus rose to pity the Man of sorrows, who had "neither form, nor beauty to attract our eyes," stripped of His clothes, as today the Church is whipped by an odious modernist doctrine and stripped of Her liturgy. Then, the women of Jerusalem were that chorus.

Today another such chorus exists: it consists of those who react too naturally before the imposing mystery of the redemptive Passion, being renewed in the Church, which requires the death of the Just and His descent to the tomb. The Church follows the steps of Her Master and Her way is identical. Our hearts, crushed by pain, keep the Hope of faith. In our hearts, charity tells us - against all probability - that victory is near, because the pains of the Agony are already come upon the Church and Her members.

We must avoid any natural reaction because it is contrary to our Christian life. Our vocation is not to be women crying by the roadside: we are called to nobly engage our lives in the mystery of the Cross. Any reaction that is not supernatural is sterile and must be firmly rejected as opposed to Faith.

Today's excessive concern with chastisement and punishment is just such a natural reaction, providing an excellent ground for the action of the Devil, who manages to ape God. There are some who - forgetting that Our Lord Himself knew neither the day nor the hour - even dare to give the precise year, month and duration of such chastisement. Fine precision! Too fine, in fact, as the years run by, the months and the days pass, and nothing happens. Doesn't matter! Unrepentant, they postpone the expiration date, hustle the years and manhandle the months, giving again other dates, once ... and a thousand times! Such a spirit is not from God. It takes root in the understandable fear aroused by the spectacle of our world, but it is not supernatural at all. The supernatural does not destroy nature, and common sense still must guide our actions. We should compare the attitude of such modern prophets with that of St. Aloysius Gonzaga, telling to someone announcing to him the imminent end of the world that, if that was the case, he had to remain faithful to his duty of state, which in that moment was to take his recreation.

Even more, some propose infallible means to get through the times of persecution without suffering any evil. How can those who utter such words still claim to be Catholic and embrace the Cross of Christ? The essence of Christianity is the Cross. Christ Himself desired only to drink His bitter chalice, and following Him all the martyrs have repeated the cry of joy of Saint Andrew at the sight of the cross raised for his torment. "I greet you, worthy cross, for a long time desired and ardently loved, that I sought without respite."

The whole of Christianity is found in the hope of Saint Ignatius of Antioch demanding from Heaven that he be ground by the teeth of wild beasts to become "the wheat of Christ." Christianity is not found in a sterile search for strange practices whose only goal is to spare us sufferings. Where would we be if the martyrs had not shed their blood?

Saint Peter, in Rome, also experienced this temptation and decided to flee persecution. Shouldn't he be careful, as he was the visible head of the young Church? What would happen if he were suddenly to die? Down the Appian way he went, silent in his thoughts, leaving behind the Eternal City set ablaze by the fires of Nero and empurpled by the blood of Christians, to seek shelter. Suddenly, he met Christ.

Amazed, he stopped and asked Him: "Domine, quo vadis? Where are you going, Lord?"

The answer of our Savior resounds still today as a beautiful lesson of supernatural life: "I go to Rome to be there crucified again."

Saint Peter, without a word, turned back to Rome and, by offering his life, testified to his love for his Master: his blood still makes the Church fruitful.

In our age of apostasy, let us not give Our Lord the opportunity to repeat these grave words. Let us remain in our place, where the will of Christ has put us, trusting in His grace.Of course our human hearts tremble and we cannot avoid the fear that rises in us at the thought of the sufferings which could strike us; but we must offer to Our Lord the homage of our trust, and rest on His grace. We must not count upon our own forces - what is nothing must not be taken into account - but upon His word: "Do not fear, my little flock."

May Heaven grant you the understanding of our words! We do not belong to that impious generation that mocked Noah: we also, even more than any others, believe in the chastisement. But we refuse to approach it with a naturalistic spirit that throws souls into distress and paves the way for Satan.We believe in it so much that we claim that the punishments are not to come, but are already present. What is this, if not a punishment - and one of the most terrible - this massive apostasy of men of the Church, this blindness of the faithful, this unrestrained race towards pleasures, a race whose end is the abyss of hell? How wouldn't our priestly heart be upset when faithful Christians compromise with the world and slowly inhale the mortal poisons of its perfidious spirit? And some want us to believe that the punishments are to come! They are present and they are all the worse as they are unnoticeable.

Could we be against the ways of God because we protest against predictions born of a natural fear and that vainly throw souls into distress? No, because we also affirm, together with Our Lady of La Salette and of Fatima, that serious events will happen. But we do not know either the day or the hour, and far from fearing them, we hope for them to happen soon, with all our faith, because grave as they will be, they are the trumpets that announce the triumph of God. Of our God, who does not change and reigns by the Cross, and invites His children to participate in His sufferings in peace: "When these things begin to happen, raise your heads, because your liberation is at hand."The "old man" in us trembles; but His will be done, and not ours! On our part, we listen to Fatima and we prepare ourselves, in imitation of Our Lady, in prayer and penance, to live those hours of crucifixion and redemption.

In Christo Sacerdote et Maria,

Fr. Yves le Roux

FROM A LETTER FROM SISTER LUCY TO FR. A.M. MARTINS, FEBRUARY 28, 1943.

"This is the penance that our good God asks today: that everyone imposes upon himself the sacrifice of living a life of justice in the observance of His law. And He wishes that this way should be made known clearly to the souls, because many give to the word "penance" the sense of great austerities, and as they feel they have neither the forces nor the generosity for that, they are discouraged and fall into a life of lukewarmness and of sin.During the night from Thursday to Friday, being at the chapel with permission of my superiors, Our Lord told me: 'The penance that I ask and that now I demand is the sacrifice that generates fidelity to the duty of state and to the observance of My law.'"

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From "The Rector's Letter" - Oct. 2006 (www.stas.org/)

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Sincerely in Christ,Our Lady of the Rosary Library

"Pray and work for souls"

olrl.org

p/s:

Many tests, assignments, CAs and tutorials to complete/study blah! :)

Please pray for me! Thank you very much.

Deo gratias et Mariae!

In manus tuas Domini, commendo spiritum meum.

The Purification of The Blessed Virgin Mary - Candlemas Day!

Special Appeal for SSPX Asian Missions:

From Fr Couture, District Superior:

http://www.sspxasia.com/Countries/Singapore/index.htm#current

The Purification of The Blessed Virgin Mary, CANDLEMAS:

The Feast of Candlemas, which derives its origin from the loval observance of Jerusalem, marks the end of the feasts included in the Christmas cycle of the Liturgy. It is perhaps the most ancient festival of our Lady. It commemorates not only the obedience of the Blessed Virgin of the Mosaic Law in going to Jerusalem forty days after the birth of her Child nad making the accustomed offerings, but also the Presentation of our Lord in the Temple, and the meeting of the Infant Jesus with the old man Simeon - the Occursus Domini, as the feast was anciently termed. This is the principal theme of the liturgy on this day: Jesus is taken to the Temple "to present Him to the Lord." So the Lord comes to His Temple, and is met by the aged Simeon with joy and recognition.

The procession on this day is one of the most picturesque features of the Western Liturgy. The blessing and distrubution of candles, to be carried lighted in procession, precedes the Mass today - a symbolic presentation of the truth proclaimed in the Canticle of Simeon: our Lord is the "Light for the revelation of the Gentiles." The anthems sung during this procession, eastern in origin, will express the joy and gladness of this happy festival, and the honor and praise we give to our Blessed Lady and her Divine Son by its devout observance.

-From the 1962 Roman Catholic Daily Missal

Candlemas Day

The Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Feast of Our Lady of Good Success (Ecuador & Spain)

J.M.J.

OUR LADY OF GOOD SUCCESS (Prophecies for Our Times)

Prophetic revelations made to Venerable Mother Mariana de Jesus Torres

(taken from www.olrl.org/prophecy/goodsuccess.shtml - a two page brochure available for 5 cents each.)

This article is based on excerpts taken from the 18th Century manuscript entitled The Admirable Life of Mother Mariana of Jesus Torres, written by Prior Manuel de Souza Pereira, Franciscan Provincial in Quito, Ecuador and director of the Convent Mother Mariana founded.

This manuscript was written a century after her death. Mother Mariana is linked mysteriously to our times by the visions Our Lady showed her of the 20th Century over 350 years ago.

This apparition has been approved by the Church and Mother Mariana has been declared Venerable in the first step towards her canonization.On January 16, 1635, surrounded by her community and her Franciscan confessors, Mother Mariana made a solemn profession of Faith, and then asked, as a last favor, to die on the ground, in imitation of her Seraphic Father, St. Francis. After receiving Holy Communion and the Sacrament of Extreme Unction, she foretold the exact hour of her death: 3 p.m. Just before she died, she read her last will and testament, a moving testimony that gave her daughters inestimable advice about the religious life along with many prophecies concerning the order.

At its end, she turned to the priests: "My fathers and sisters, the time has come for me to depart; recommend my soul to God with the appropriate prayers. I thank you for everything. Always, I beseech you, have this convent and your sisters in your care. I die, as I was born, joyously and peacefully in the arms of my mother, the Seraphic Order." Two tears rolled down her cheek, she sighed, and with an angelic smile, that blessed soul left her body.After death, her body remained flexible, her complexion rosy, and the charming smile on her face gave her every appearance of being alive.

During the wake, the sight of a blind girl was restored when a flower from the crown that encircled Mother Mariana's head was touched to the her eyes.

In 1906, during the remodeling of the Convent, her three-century old tomb was opened. They discovered the body of Mother Mariana de Jesus whole and incorrupt, complete with her habit and the articles of penance that had been placed in the tomb with her. An exquisite aroma of lilies emanated from her whole body. Thus God preserves some of his saints who practice heroic virtue and maintain holy chastity in their earthly lives.

Mother Mariana possessed the gift of discernment of spirits, which Our Dear Lord so often gives to founders of religious orders. Since she could read the hearts of her daughters, she would comfort them, telling them how to progress in the spiritual life and explain how it was necessary to die to oneself in order to practice real virtue. She repeatedly warned them to guard the common life of the Convent and obey the Rule. When prayer and community life are wanting, she said, everything falls short, for the religious without prayer is like a soldier without arms in combat.

She told them to be patient in their sicknesses, since illnesses are the best and most meritorious penances, which free souls from illusions, vanity and pride.

She especially warned her daughters to guard against that "cursed human respect, which makes one ask: 'What will others say about this?'" Instead, she counseled that they should guide their lives in the cloisters according to the norms of the Gospel and ground themselves firmly on the strong foundation of humility.

Let us consider some of the revelations that Mother Mariana was blessed to receive from Our Lord and Our Lady.

Instructions and Advice

Our Lady: "Oh, if only human beings and religious knew what Heaven is and what it is to possess God, how differently they would live, sparing no sacrifice in order to enter more fully into possession of it! But some let themselves be dazzled by the false glamour of honors and human greatness while others are blinded by self-love, not realizing that they are falling into lukewarmness, that immense evil which in religious houses destroys their fervor, humility, self-renunciation and the ceaseless practice of religious virtues and fraternal charity and that child-like simplicity which makes souls so dear to my Divine Son and to me, their Mother.

"Remember the words of the Royal Prophet: 'How marvelous are the works of the Lord!' Be convinced of this truth; teach and impress your daughters both living and those to come that they should love their divine vocations. Reveal to them the glorious place that God and I are saving for those who belong to Us, our heirs.

"Woe to the world should it lack monasteries and convents! Men do not comprehend their importance, for, if they understood, they would do all in their power to multiply them, because in them can be found the remedy for all physical and moral evils...

No one on the face of the earth is aware whence comes the salvation of souls, the conversion of great sinners, the end of great scourges, the fertility of the land, the end of pestilence and wars, and the harmony between nations. All this is due to the prayers that rise up from monasteries and convents.

"O, if mortals only understood how to appreciate the time given to them, and would take advantage of each moment of their lives, how different the world would be! And a considerable number of souls would not fall to their eternal perdition! But this contempt is the fundamental cause for their downfall!"

Our Lady emphasized the importance of the Sacrament of Penance and the important role of priests: "See and contemplate the grandeur of this restoring and life-giving Sacrament of Penance, so forgotten and even scorned by ungrateful men, who in their foolish madness, do not realize that it is the only sure means of salvation after one has lost his baptismal innocence.

What is most grievous is that even the ministers of My Most Holy Son do not give to it the value that they should, viewing with cold indifference this valuable and precious treasure, which has been placed in their hands for the restoration of souls redeemed by the Blood of the Redeemer.

There are those who consider hearing confession as a loss of time and a futile thing. O, alas! If priests were given to see directly that which you are now contemplating and were enlightened with the Light that now illuminates you, they would then recognize this gift!..."

Our Lord: "For in all times I have need of valiant souls to save My Church and the prevaricating world." Our Lord also made Mother Mariana understand more clearly than ever before that devotion to the Passion, to the Blessed Sacrament and to Our Lady constitutes the support and mainstay of religious communities.

"Know, moreover, that Divine Justice releases terrible chastisements on entire nations, not only for the sins of the people, but for those of priests and religious persons. For the latter are called, by the perfection of their state, to be the salt of the earth, the masters of truth, and the deflectors of Divine Wrath. Straying from their divine mission, they degrade themselves in such a way that, before the eyes of God they quicken the rigor of the punishments..." (During the 41 years of St. John Vianney's ministry at Ars, France, no damage was ever done by storms.)

He also assured Mother Mariana that He was greatly pleased by those souls who take upon themselves the sublime task of suffering for the sanctification of the Clergy by means of their prayers, sacrifices and penances, and promised such souls a special glory in Heaven.

The ingratitude and betrayal of religious souls, so dear to His Heart, would compel Him "to let My Justice fall upon My beloved cloisters - and even over cities - when those so near to Me who belong to Me reject My spirit, abandoning Me alone in Tabernacles, rarely remembering that I live there especially for love of them, even more than for the rest of the faithful."

Imprudent admissions and internal abuses permitted by superiors are the ruin of communities. "Such communities can only be preserved - while they exist - at the cost of much penance, humiliations and daily and solid practice of the religious who are good. Woe to these corrupt members during those times of calamity! Weep for them, beloved spouse, and implore that the time of so much suffering will be shortened."

He warned her that the Chastisement would be severe for those religious who squandered the many graces with their pride and vainglory to secure positions of power and rank and He especially condemned the lukewarm religious.

Mother Mariana saw that the greatest interior torments of the Sacred Heart were the ingratitude and indifference of those souls who, chosen among millions to be His spouses and ministers, left Him in the most absolute solitude. And this despite the fact that in the Holy Sacrament, He would live under the same roof with His spouses and come into the hand of His priests at the simple call of their voices at the most solemn moment of the Consecration.

PROPHECIES

Our Lady prophesied that at the end of the 19th Century and especially in the 20th Century that Satan would reign almost completely by the means of the Masonic sect. The Queen of Heaven told Mother Mariana that this battle would reach its most acute stage because of various unfaithful religious, who, "under the appearance of virtue and bad-spirited zeal, would turn upon Religion, who nourished them at her breast." "During this time," she continued, "insomuch as this poor country will lack the Christian spirit, the Sacrament of Extreme Unction will be little esteemed. Many people will die without receiving it - either because of the negligence of their families or their false sentimentality that tries to protect the sick from seeing the gravity of their situations, or because they will rebel against the spirit of the Catholic Church, impelled by the malice of the devil. Thus many souls will be deprived of innumerable graces, consolations and the strength they need to make that great leap from time to eternity..."

"As for the Sacrament of Matrimony, which symbolizes the union of Christ with His Church, it will be attacked and profaned in the fullest sense of the word. Masonry, which will then be in power, will enact iniquitous laws with the objective of doing away with this Sacrament, making it easy for everyone to live in sin, encouraging the procreation of illegitimate children born without the blessing of the Church.

The Christian spirit will rapidly decay, extinguishing the precious light of Faith until if reaches the point that there will be an almost total and general corruption of customs. The effects of secular education will increase, which will be one reason for the lack of priestly and religious vocations..."

"The Sacred Sacrament of Holy Orders will be ridiculed, oppressed and despised. ...The demon will try to persecute the Ministers of the Lord in every possible way and he will labor with cruel and subtle astuteness to deviate them from the spirit of their vocation, corrupting many of them. These corrupted priests, who will scandalize the Christian people, will incite the hatred of the bad Christians and the enemies of the Roman, Catholic and Apostolic Church to fall upon all priests. This apparent triumph of Satan will bring enormous sufferings to the good Pastors of the Church...."

"Moreover, in these unhappy times, there will be unbridled luxury which, acting thus to snare the rest into sin, will conquer innumerable frivolous souls who will be lost. Innocence will almost no longer be found in children, nor modesty in women, and in this supreme moment of need of the Church, those who should speak will fall silent."

"But know, beloved daughter, that when your name is made known in the 20th century, there will be many who will not believe, claiming that this devotion is not pleasing to God...A simple humble faith in the truth of My apparitions to you, My predilect child, will be reserved for humble and fervent souls docile to the inspirations of grace, for Our Heavenly Father communicates His secrets to the simple of heart, and not to those whose hearts are inflated with pride, pretending to know what they do not, or self-satisfied with empty knowledge."

During this time, Our Lady foretold, "the secular Clergy will leave much to be desired because priests will become careless in their sacred duties. Lacking the divine compass, they will stray from the road traced by God for the priestly ministry, and they will become attached to wealth and riches, which they will unduly strive to obtain. How the Church will suffer during this dark night! Lacking a Prelate and Father to guide them with paternal love, gentleness, strength, wisdom and prudence, many priests will lose their spirit, placing their souls in great danger. This will mark the arrival of My hour."

"Therefore, clamor insistently without tiring and weep with bitter tears in the privacy of your heart, imploring our Celestial Father that, for love of the Eucharistic Heart of my Most Holy Son and His Precious Blood shed with such generosity and the profound bitterness and sufferings of His cruel Passion and Death, He might take pity on His ministers and bring to an end those Ominous times, sending to this Church the Prelate who will restore the spirit of its priests."

On December 8, 1634, the feast of the Immaculate Conception, three archangels and their Queen appeared to Mother Mariana. St. Gabriel was carrying a Ciborium filled with Hosts which Our Lady explained: "This signifies the Most August Sacrament of the Eucharist, which will be distributed by my Catholic priests to faithful Christians belonging to the Holy Roman, Catholic and Apostolic Church, whose visible head is the Pope, the King of Christianity. His pontifical infallibility will be declared a dogma of the Faith by the same Pope chosen to proclaim the dogma of the Mystery of My Immaculate Conception. He will be persecuted and imprisoned in the Vatican by the unjust usurpation of the Pontifical States through the iniquity, envy and avarice of an earthly monarch." This holy Pope was Blessed Pius IX, who fulfilled every prediction made by Our Lady. His body, being exhumed for beatification in 2000, was found miraculously preserved in the tomb where it had lain for more than a century. His face still showed a striking serenity in death.

Another most interesting prophecy of Our Lady: "In the 19th Century there will be a truly Catholic president, a man of character whom God Our Lord will give the palm of martyrdom on the square adjoining this Convent. He will consecrate the Republic to the Sacred Heart of My Most Holy Son, and this consecration will sustain the Catholic Religion in the years that will follow, which will be ill-fated ones for the Church. These years, during which the evil sect of Masonry will take control of the civil government - will see a cruel persecution of all religious communities, and they will also strike out violently against this one of mine."

The "truly Catholic" president of Ecuador, Gabriel Garcia Moreno (1821-1875), consecrated the republic to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in 1873. Pope Pius IX paid him tribute as a man who had died "the death of a martyr...a victim to his Faith and Christian charity." Gabriel Moreno's incorrupt heart and the famous painting of Our Lady of Quito can be seen in the Cathedral of Quito.

Conclusion

We are living in a time of the great crisis of Faith and morals as prophesied by Our Lady. The confusion is of such magnitude that it is not only subverting the temporal sphere, but also penetrates the walls of the Church itself. Indeed, as Our Lady prophesied, the corruption of customs has become general and the precious light of Faith almost extinct.

Yet the message of Our Lady of Good Success ends with a note of great hope: When everything will seem lost and paralyzed, that will be "the happy beginning of the complete restoration. This will mark the arrival of my hour, when I, in a marvelous way, will dethrone the proud and cursed Satan, trampling him under my feet and fettering him in the infernal abyss." It is the promise echoed by Our Lady again at Fatima in 1917: "In the end, My Immaculate Heart will triumph."

Thus it seems opportune to turn to Our Lady of Good Success and invoke Her, begging for every good success - both temporal and spiritual. It is the moment to ask for her orientation and certainty amid this storm, and the courage and strength to keep aloft the standard of the Faith.

Finally, let us pray that Our Lady will intervene quickly to restore the Church and society, so that she may reassume her throne and reign again in glory as Queen of all the earth.
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See our catalog/order form (olrl.org/library/oform.shtml) to order the above article. They are priced low to encourage widespread distribution.
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More information on Our Lady of Good Success and Venerable Mother Mariana de Jesus Torres is available at www.traditioninaction.org/OLGS/olgshome.htm.
--Sincerely in Christ,Our Lady of the Rosary Library"Pray and work for souls"olrl.org

The First Prayer of the Blessing of the Candles: (There are 5 prayers in Total)

Oremus. O holy Lord, Father almighty, everlasting God, Who hast created all things out of nothing, and by Thy command hast caused this liquid to become perfect wax by the labor of bees: and this day didst fulfill the petition of the righteous man Simeon: we humbly entreat Thee, that by the invocation of Thy most Holy name and through the intercession of Blessed Mary ever Virgin, whose feast is today devoutly observed, and by the prayers of all Thy Saints, Thou wouldst vouchsafe to bless + and sanctify + these candles for the service of men and for the health of their bodies and souls, whether on land or on sea: and that Thou wouldst hear from Thy holy heaven and from the throne of Thy Majesty the voice of this Thy people, who desire to carry them in their hands in Thy honor, and to praise Thee with hymns; and that Thou wouldst be propitious to all that call upon Thee, whom Thou hast redeemed with the precious Blood of Thy Son: Who with Thee liveth and reigneth. Amen.

Lumen ad revelationem gentium: et gloriam plebis tuae Israel. Lk. 2:32

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p/s:

Today's the feast of the Presentation! Candlemas Day + it's also First Friday. :) Very good way to end the week. To be with Jesus, to talk to Him. Also, today's Candlemas, all our candles were blessed with 5 most beautiful prayers, one of them, the first of these, has been pasted above for your perusal. Tomorrow's First Saturday, together with the Feast of St. Blase, there will be blessing of the throats. It may sound funny, but oh, how beautiful tradition is, how beautiful the Church is, how beautiful the Most Holy Trinity, Jesus and Mary, all the Angels and Saints are. :)

p/p/s:

My friend was joking on Wednesday, when our lab bench was waiting for the gel run to complete that we spend more time in the lab than sleeping at home. :) It sounded so funny oh but how true! lol. :) 12-7 non stop, 1 hour break for lunch. Labora! Ah! :)

Please do pray for me. Deo gratias et Mariae!

Jesus, Mary, I love Thee, Save Souls!