St Alphonsus Ligouri, Ora pro nobis!

Today is the Feast Day of St Alphonsus Ligouri and also First Friday. Some thoughts on what I have been thinking and meditating about this last week:

St Joseph - no rash judgments (I will elaborate on this)

When inner struggles weigh you down, my dearest Jesus, stay with me. Help me always to remember:

Deus propitius esto mihi peccatori!

and this:

St Thomas speaks in IIa IIae qu. 60 a.3: “this [interpreting doubts in the evil side] is due to a man being ill-disposed towards another: for when a man hates or despises another, or is angry with or envious of him, he is led by slight indications to think evil of him, because everyone easily believes what he desires. 

Deus propitius esto mihi peccatori

Jesu mitis et humilis corde, Fac cor nostrum secundum Cor tuum. (ter)

Jesus, Mary, Joseph, Anne, Therese, Alphonsus, I love You; Save Souls!

First Friday & First Saturday of May

Bring flowers of the rarest, bring blossoms the fairest ...

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First Friday & First Saturday of

May

Collect of 4th Sunday of Easter:

O God, Who makest the faithful to be of one mind and will: grant to Thy people the grace to love what Thou dost command to to desire what Thou dost promise, that amid the changes of the world, our hearts may there be fixed where true joys are to be found. 

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I know that I have had posted this before, but after spending some time alone with Him (dearest Jesus) on First Friday - First Saturday, I felt peace, I felt calm.

What have I, Lord Jesus, that Thou hast not given me?

What do I know,  that Thou hast not taught me?

What can I do, if Thou dost not help me?

And what am I, if not united to Thee?

Pardon. O! pardon my faults that have so wounded Thee!

Thou hast created me without any merit of mine.

Thou hast redeemed me without my cooperation.

Thou hast done much in creating me,

Ans still more in redeeming me,

Wilt Thou be less powerful or less generous in forgiving me?

For all the Blood Thou hast shed

And the cruel death Thou hast suffered, 

were not for the profit of the Angels who praise Thee,

But to my benefit and that of the sinners who implore Thee.

If I have then denied Thee, let me praise Thee.

If I have outraged Thee, let me love Thee.

If I have offended Thee, let me serve Thee.

For to live without loving Thee,

And to love without suffering for Thee,

O Jesus, that would be death without Thee.

Deus propitius esto mihi peccatori

Jesu mitis et humilis corde, Fac cor nostrum secundum Cor Tuum. (ter)

Jesus, Mary, Joseph, Anne, Therese, I love You; Save Souls!

Regina Caeli, Laetare, Alleluia!

It's the month of May, the month we crown our dearest Mother, Queen of the May! A beautiful hymn to share:

First Friday of the Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (August)

But, as it is written: That eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, what things God hath prepared for them that love him.

I Cor. 2:9

Sacred Heart of Jesus, Have Mercy on us!

Immaculate Heart of Mary, Pray for us!

Jesus, Mary, I love Thee; Save Souls!

Jesu mitis et humilis corde, Fac cor nostrum secundum Cor tuum. (ter)

First Friday

Continued from this previous post, here's the second part of this beautiful meditation by St. Alphonsus Ligouri:

Affections and Prayers

My dearest Redeemer, I will say to Thee, with St. Augustine, Thou dost command me to love Thee, and dost threaten me with hell if I do not love Thee; but what more dreadful hell, what greater misfortune, can happen to me than to be deprived of Thy love! If, therefore, Thou desirest to frighten me, Thou shouldst threaten me only that I should live without loving Thee; for this threat alone will frighten me more than a thousand hells. If, in the midst of the flames of hell, the damned could burn with Thy love, O my God, hell itself would become a paradise; and if, on the contrary, the blessed in heaven could not love Thee, paradise would become hell. Thus St. Augustine expresses himself.

I see, indeed, my dearest Lord, that I, on account of my sins, did deserve to be forsaken by Thy grace, and at the same time condemned to be incapable of loving Thee; but still I understand that Thou dost continue to command me to love Thee, and I also feel within me a great desire to love Thee. Oh, give me also the strength necessary to put it in execution, and make me, from this day forth, say to Thee earnestly, and from the bottom of my heart, and to repeat to Thee always, My God, I love Thee, I love Thee, I love Thee. Thou desirest my love; I also desire Thine. Blot out, therefore, from thy remembrance, O my Jesus, the offences that in past times I have committed against Thee; let us love each other henceforth forever. I will not leave Thee, and Thou wilt not leave me. Thou wilt always love me, and I will always love Thee. My dearest Saviour, in Thy merits do I place my hope; oh, do Thou make Thyself to be loved forever, and loved greatly, by a sinner who has offended Thee greatly.

O Mary, Immaculate Virgin, do thou help me, do thou beseech Jesus for me.

Ejaculatory prayer: My Jesus, when shall I really love Thee? :)

p/s:

Today's the end of my 3rd week in the lab. I'm getting more acquainted with the procedures and experiments, and also getting the hang of it all. Deo gratias et Mariae! :) Please do pray for me.

And yes, and yay, tomorrow's First Saturday, and also the said date that the Motu proprio will be published. Oremus pro Pontifice nostro BENEDICTO! Mother dearest, we pray for the triumph of thy Immaculate Heart! as thou hast promised. I love Thee!

Jesus, Mary, I love Thee; Save Souls!

Jesu mitis et humilis corde, Fac cor nostrum secundum Cor tuum. (ter)

First Friday, Ember Week in Lent

Amor meus crucifixus est.

By St. Alphonsus Ligouri in his book, The Passion and Death of Jesus Christ

“Oh, if thou didst know the mystery of the cross,” (O! si scires mysterium crucis!) said St. Andrew to the tyrant. O tyrant (it was his wish to say), wert thou to understand the love which Jesus Christ has borne thee, in willing to die upon a cross to save thee, thou wouldst abandon all thy possessions and earthly hopes, in order to give thyself wholly to the love of this thy Saviour. The same ought to be said to those Catholics who, believing as they do, the Passion of Jesus, yet do not think of it. Ah, were all men to think upon the love which Jesus Christ has shown forth for us in his death, who would ever be able not to love him? It was for this end, says the Apostle, that He, our beloved Redeemer, died for us, that, by the love He displayed towards us in His death, He might become the possessor of our hearts: To this end Christ died, and rose again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living; therefore, whether we live, or whether we die, we are the Lord’s Rom. Xiv.9 Whether, then, we die or live, it is but just that we belong wholly to Jesus, who has saved us at so great a cost. Oh, who is there that could say, as did the loving martyr St. Ignatius, whose lot it was to give his life for Jesus Christ, “Let fire, cross, beasts, and torments of every kind come upon me; let me only have fruition of Thee, O Christ.” (Ignis, crux, bestiae. Et tota tormenta in me veniant; tantum te, Christe, fruar.) Let flames, crosses, wild beasts, and every kind of torture come upon me, provided only that I obtain and enjoy my Jesus Christ.

O my dear Lord! Thou didst die in order to gain my soul; but what have I done in order to gain Thee, O infinite good? Ah, my Jesus, how often have I lost Thee for nothing! Miserable that I was, I knew at the time that I was losing Thy grace by my sin; I knew that I was giving Thee great displeasure; and yet I committed it. My consolation is, that I have to deal with an infinite goodness, who remembers his offences no more when a sinner repents and loves him. Yes, my God, I do repent and love Thee. Oh, pardon me; and do Thou from this day forth bear rule in this rebellious heart of mine. To Thee do I consign it; to Thee do I wholly give myself. Tell me what Thou dost desire; wishing, as I do, to perform it all. Yes, my Lord, I wish to love Thee; I wish to please Thee in everything. Do Thou give me strength, and I hope to do so.

O Dearest Mother, all Angels and Saints, please pray for me, intercede for me.

Parce Domini

First Friday!

and here's a very interesting article I chanced upon, regarding Fast Food ... :)

http://www.traditioninaction.org/Cultural/C007cp.htm#manners

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