Friday, July 26, 2024

Good St Anne

 

Text from: https://taylormarshall.com/2013/07/the-mysterious-relics-of-saint-anne.html

On Easter AD 792, Charlemagne discovered the relics of Saint Anne with the help of a deaf handicapped boy. It’s a wonderful tale for this feast day of Saint Anne.

Below is the account, preserved in the correspondence of Pope Saint Leo III, concerning the mysterious discovery of the relics of Saint Anne in the presence of Emperor Charlemagne.

Fourteen years after Our Lord’s death, Saint Mary Magdalen, Saint Martha, Saint Lazarus, and the others of the little band of Christians who were piled into a boat without sails or oars and pushed out to sea to perish — in the persecution of the Christians by the Jews of Jerusalem — were careful to carry with them the tenderly loved body of Our Lady’s mother. They feared lest it be profaned in the destruction, which Jesus had told them was to come upon Jerusalem. When, by the power of God, their boat survived and finally drifted to the shores of France, the little company of saints buried Saint Anne’s body in a cave, in a place called Apt, in the south of France. The church, which was later built over the spot, fell into decay because of wars and religious persecutions, and as the centuries passed, the place of Saint Anne’s tomb was forgotten.

The long years of peace, which Charlemagne’s wise rule gave to southern France, enabled the people to build a magnificent new church on the site of the old chapel at Apt. Extraordinary and painstaking labor went into the building of the great structure, and when the day of its consecration arrived [Easter Sunday, 792 A.D.], the beloved Charlemagne, little suspecting what was in store for him, declared himself happy indeed to have journeyed so many miles to be present for the holy occasion. At the most solemn part of the ceremonies, a boy of fourteen, blind, deaf and dumb from birth — and usually quiet and impassive — to the amazement of those who knew him, completely distracted the attention of the entire congregation by becoming suddenly tremendously excited. He rose from his seat, walked up the aisle to the altar steps, and to the consternation of the whole church, struck his stick resoundingly again and again upon a single step.

His embarrassed family tried to lead him out, but he would not budge. He continued frantically to pound the step, straining with his poor muted senses to impart a knowledge sealed hopelessly within him. The eyes of the people turned upon the emperor, and he, apparently inspired by God, took the matter into his own hands. He called for workmen to remove the steps.

A subterranean passage was revealed directly below the spot, which the boy’s stick had indicated. Into this passage the blind lad jumped, to be followed by the emperor, the priests, and the workmen.

They made their way in the dim light of candles, and when, farther along the passage, they came upon a wall that blocked further advance, the boy signed that this also should be removed. When the wall fell, there was brought to view still another long, dark corridor. At the end of this, the searchers found a crypt, upon which, to their profound wonderment, a vigil lamp, alight and burning in a little walled recess, cast a heavenly radiance.

As Charlemagne and his afflicted small guide, with their companions, stood be fore the lamp, its light went out. And at the same moment, the boy, blind and deaf and dumb from birth, felt sight and hearing and speech flood into his young eyes, his ears, and his tongue.

“It is she! It is she!” he cried out. The great emperor, not knowing what he meant, nevertheless repeated the words after him. The call was taken up by the crowds in the church above, as the people sank to their knees, bowed in the realization of the presence of something celestial and holy.

The crypt at last was opened, and a casket was found within it. In the casket was a winding sheet, and in the sheet were relics, and upon the relics was an inscription that read, “Here lies the body of Saint Anne, mother of the glorious Virgin Mary.” The winding sheet, it was noted, was of eastern design and texture.

Charlemagne, overwhelmed, venerated with profound gratitude the relics of the mother of Heaven’s Queen. He remained a long time in prayer. The priests and the people, awed by the graces given them in such abundance and by the choice of their countryside for such a heavenly manifestation, for three days spoke but rarely, and then in whispers.

The emperor had an exact and detailed account of the miraculous finding drawn up by a notary and sent to Pope Saint Leo III, with an accompanying letter from himself. These documents and the pope’s reply are preserved to this day. Many papal bulls have attested, over and over again, to the genuineness of Saint Anne’s relics at Apt.

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

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

Deus propitius esto mihi peccatori. (Luke 18:13)

Sancte Filumena (Philomena), ora pro nobis

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Wednesday, May 01, 2024

Pure Aim - Reineszeal

 PRAYER TO SAINT JOSEPH BEFORE WORK

Composed by St. Pius X (1906)






Glorious St. Joseph, model of all who devote their lives to labour, obtain for me the grace

- to work in the spirit of penance in order thereby to atone for my many sins;

- to work conscientiously, setting devotion to duty in preference to my own whims;

- to work with thankfulness and joy, deeming it an honour to employ and to develop by my labour the gifts I have received from God;

- to work with order, peace, moderation, and patience, without ever shrinking from weariness and difficulties;

- to work above all with a pure intention and with detachment from self, having always before my eyes the hour of death and the accounting which I must then render of time ill spent, of talents wasted, of good omitted, and of vain complacency in success, which is so fatal to the work of God.


All for Jesus, all through Mary, all in imitation of you, O Patriarch Joseph! This shall be my motto in life and in death. Amen!

Friday, September 08, 2023

Happy Birthday Mama Mary 🌹

 










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Saturday, August 19, 2023

My Mother, My Heart

 


https://www.drbo.org/cgi-bin/d?b=drl&bk=49&ch=1&l=46#x


 46 
And Mary said: My soul doth magnify the Lord
Et ait Maria : Magnificat anima mea Dominum :  [Luke 1:46]

 47 And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
et exsultavit spiritus meus in Deo salutari meo.

 48 Because he hath regarded the humility of his handmaid; for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
Quia respexit humilitatem ancillae suae : ecce enim ex hoc beatam me dicent omnes generationes,

 49 Because he that is mighty, hath done great things to me; and holy is his name.
quia fecit mihi magna qui potens est : et sanctum nomen ejus,

 50 And his mercy is from generation unto generations, to them that fear him.
et misericordia ejus a progenie in progenies timentibus eum.

 51 He hath shewed might in his arm: he hath scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart.
Fecit potentiam in brachio suo : dispersit superbos mente cordis sui.

 52 He hath put down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted the humble.
Deposuit potentes de sede, et exaltavit humiles.

 53 He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.
Esurientes implevit bonis : et divites dimisit inanes.

 54 He hath received Israel his servant, being mindful of his mercy:
Suscepit Israel puerum suum, recordatus misericordiae suae :

 55 As he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed for ever.
sicut locutus est ad patres nostros, Abraham et semini ejus in saecula.






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Wednesday, January 25, 2023

Eternal Beauty


“ It was for love only, and not because He had to, that He drew us out of Himself.  We never asked Him to create us but moved by the fire of His charity He did, so that we might experience and enjoy His supreme eternal beauty.”

-Saint Catherine of Siena 

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Monday, August 02, 2021

St Alphonsus Ligouri

 http://rachelanne25.blogspot.com/2007/08/sancta-alphonsum-mariam-ligouri.html

Reposting a post I made a long time ago: 


The Signature of St. Alphonsus Maria de Ligouri:




Today's the Feast of Saint Alphonsus Maria de Ligouri, Doctor of the Church!! One of my favourite saints, and I do really think he is one of the best spiritual writers I've ever read! As a quick search on my blog will show. His Uniformity with the Will of God, Glories of MaryThe Passion and Death of Jesus ChristThe Holy EucharistVictories of Martyrs etc. etc. a whole long list of his ascetical works - so lovingly written with a depth so infinitely beautiful ... has helped me a lot, a lot! And I cannot but Thank God and Mother Mary for one of the greatest Saints of the Church. :) Deo gratias et Mariae!


From the Collect at Mass today:

O God, Who didst kindle in blessed Alphonsus Mary, Thy Confessor and Bishop, burning zeal for the salvation of souls, and through him didst enrich Thy Church with a new offspring: grant, we beseech Thee, that imbued with his saving doctrine and strengthened by his example, we may be able happily to come to Thee. Through our Lord.

An example of one of his beautiful writings:



Affections of Love towards the Heart of Jesus

This was written by St. Alphonsus, but remained unpublished till 1875.


O amiable Heart of my Saviour! Thou art the seat of all virtues, the source of all graces, the burning furnace in which are inflamed all holy souls. Thou art the object of all God’s love; thou art the refuge of the afflicted, and the abode of the souls that love thee, O Heart worthy of reigning over all hearts, and of possessing the affection of all hearts! O Heart that was wounded for me on the Cross by the lance of my sins, and that remained afterwards continually wounded for me on the altar in the Blessed Sacrament, but not by any other lance than that of the love that thou entertainest for me! O loving Heart, that loves men with so much tenderness, and that is so little loved by men! Do thou apply a remedy to so great an ingratitude, inflame thou our hearts with a true love for thee. Ah! Why can I not go all over the world to make known the graces, the sweetness, the treasures that thou dispensest to those who truly love Thee? Accept the desire that I have of seeing all hearts burning with love for thee. O Divine Heart! Be Thou my consolation in trials, my repose in labours, my solace in anxieties, my haven in tempests. I consecrate Thee my body and my soul, my heart and my life, together with all that I am. I unite to Thine all my thoughts, all my affections, all my desires. O Eternal Father! I offer Thee the pure affections of the Heart of Jesus. If Thou dost reject mine, Thou canst not reject those of Thy Son, who is sanctity itself; may they supply what is wanting in me, and may they render me pleasing in Thy eyes!








And his love for the Blessed Virgin Mary, so - ever true, fervent and beautiful!


Here's a prayer from his book, The Holy Eucharist:


A Visit to the Blessed Virgin


(Read the visit of the day, and finish by the following prayer, thereby to obtain the most powerful patronage of Mary:)


Most holy Immaculate Virgin and my Mother Mary, to thee who art the Mother of my Lord, the Queen of the world, the advocate, the hope, the refuge of sinners, I have recourse to-day,-I, who am the most miserable of all. I render thee my most humble homages, O Great Queen, and I thank thee for all the graces thou hast conferred on me until now, particularly for having delivered me from hell, which I have so often deserved. I love thee, O most amiable Lady; and for the love which I bear thee, I promise to serve thee always, and to do all in my power to make others love thee also. I place in thee all my hopes; I confide my salvation to thy care. Accept me for thy servant, and receive me under thy mantle, O Mother of mercy. And since thou art so powerful with God, deliver me from all temptations, or rather obtain me the strength to triumph over them until death. Of thee I ask a perfect love for Jesus Christ. From thee I hope to die a good death. O my Mother, by the love which thou bearest to God, I beseech thee to help me at all times, but especially at the last moment of my life. Leave me not, I beseech thee, until thou seest me safe in heaven, blessing thee, and singing thy mercies for all eternity. Amen. So I hope. So may it be.


Mary, my mother, my hope, my refuge, to thee I recommend myself; to thee I consign my soul: pray to Jesus for me.


Read here, a very beautiful spiritual reading by St. Alphonsus Ligouri on Death. Whence death alone is our only certainty. Memento Mori!

Jesus, Mary, I love Thee; Save Souls!

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


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Tuesday, March 23, 2021

Holy Week Meditation, The Holy Shroud

Part 1: The Last Supper and the Shroud


What can I offer to Jesus? From one Mass to the next? What else can I offer my Lord?

Part 2: The Last Supper and the Shroud


Cor Jesu sacratissimum, miserere nobis.
Cor Jesu sacratissimum, miserere nobis. 
Cor Jesu sacratissimum, miserere nobis.

Be like St. John:
Be a soul of reparation.
Be a consoler of the Sacred Heart. 

St Vincent de Paul on Humility:

The poor are your masters. You are the servant. 
Humility is nothing but TRUTH and pride is nothing but lying.
Be careful to give no credit to yourself for anything;
if you do, you are stealing from God, to whom alone every good thing is due.

The most powerful weapon to conquer the devil is HUMILITY.
For, as he does not know at all how to employ it, 
neither does he know how to defend himself from it. 

Go to the poor: you will find God.

We should spend as much time in thanking God for His benefits as we do in asking Him for them. 
Make it a practice to judge persons and things in the most favourable light at all times and under all circumstances. 

Fear not; calm will follow the storm, and perhaps soon. 

Virtues is not found in extremes, but in prudence, 
which I recommend as strongly as I can. 

There is nothing good that does not meet with opposition, 
and it should not be valued any less because it encounters objections. 

Part 3: The Last Supper and the Shroud


The Holy Shroud, a Powerful Tool of Apologetics

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Monday, December 07, 2020

The Crucifixion of Jesus



https://www.amazon.com/Crucifixion-Jesus-Completely-Revised-Expanded/dp/1590770706

The Crowning of Thorns of Jesus: 


Dr Zugibe said that the crowning of thorns was perhaps the most painful pain since it seriously wounded the trigeminal nerve which is like an electric wire…





The thorns, affecting the Trigeminal nerve, the 5th cranial nerve and it is the main nerve of the face responsible for sensation (e.g. heat and pain). The last picture shows clearly where the trigeminal nerve innervates the face (with the different colours). Note that every region of the face is innervated by the trigeminal nerve, top of head, nose, mouth, sides of face, cheeks etc (!) 

This means that every time Jesus spoke, it must have been very very painful - like many electric shocks(!) 




It is really really wonderful that Jesus managed to speak at all throughout His passion (after scourging, talking to P.Pilate, way of the cross a few times, on the cross (7 times!!) amidst all the other pains caused by all the other tortures Jesus had to go through: scourging, carrying the cross, removal of thorns and putting it back on, the actual crucifixion. This makes all of Jesus's words during his Passion really really really precious!

Here, the SEVEN, the words that sparkled faith throughout the whole world! 



Jesus, Mary, Joseph, I love You; Save Souls! Amen.


I have been also watching and reading and hearing about why people need to wear masks or not and the arguments surrounding it. 

I am writing some considerations, for readers to think about:

Wearing of (normal disposable) masks can be considered a sacrifice on the part of the wearer of the mask, why? 

(1) because the wearer of the mask is not protected from the Covid-19 virus or any much other virus
 
- the mask also needs to allow you to breathe and viruses are so so so so so tiny anyway, they can get through the pore sizes and the air spaces all around the mask

(2) if you wear a mask, you are protecting others from whatever you may spit / sneeze / cough / produce 

- anyway, all of us have a microbiome on our surfaces and we have thousands beyond thousands of microorganisms on our skin and inside our GI tract etc everywhere on and in our body 
- and if you wear a mask, you drastically help to decrease the spread of all the icky things that come out of our bodies ... thereby protecting others from what you yourself have in as much as the mask can prevent / decrease the spread of aerosols that we generate 

HENCE, wearing a mask is by far a very sacrificial thing that we can do FOR others, but NOT for ourselves

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Thursday, October 15, 2020

Our Lady :))

 



A primer for us, not to be afraid of mRNA vaccines (quite a bold statement for me to make, for many in my feed... but I feel a need to write about this because I hear a lot of fear moving around and my take is that quite a lot of people fear because they may not know or are not clear about the amazing possibilities wrapped in an mRNA molecule - and they managed to find ways to bring very unstable mRNA to our cells - wow - drug delivery!

AND This brings me back to this video: AMAZING -
Could we use our own immune system to attack cancer?
It brings me back to this again! The same feeling!
I feel a great urge to kneel! A laboratory could be the same as the cell of a monk. - Takashi Nagai, examining the brilliant formation of urine crystals while studying a kidney case.
- A Song for Nagasaki by Fr Paul Glynn

I feel absolutely the same.
and yet I do not write clearly as I should, yet.

Cor Immaculatum meum,
refugium tuum!


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Friday, October 09, 2020

"Now it is my turn!" - St Therese!


 





"It pains God to make us drink at the fountain of tears, but He knows it is the only way to prepare us to know Him as He knows Himself ... Our suffering never does make Him happy, but it is necessary for us. So, He permits it, while looking the other way, as it were."
- St Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face  

 

 

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Sunday, July 19, 2020

St Vincent de Paul

When He smiles, He smiles deep into your soul. 

Deo gratias et Mariae and thank you St Vincent de Paul. 

I will never forget, at least, I task my Angel to remind me always. 

St Vincent de Paul, ora pro nobis.



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Friday, June 26, 2020

Time with Father | The Blessing of No

[7] For God hath not given us the spirit of fear: but of power, and of love, and of sobriety.
Non enim dedit nobis Deus spiritum timoris : sed virtutis, et dilectionis, et sobrietatis.

2nd Epistle of St Paul to Timothy Chapter 1


The blessing of the word, "No". The blessing in the word NO.

I asked God to take away my pride. God said, "No. It is not for me to take away, but for you to give it up." 

I asked God to make my handicap child whole. God said, "No. Her spirit is whole but her body is only temporary." 

I asked God to grant me patience. God said, "No. Patience is a by-product of tribulations. It isn't granted, it is earned."

I asked God to give me happiness. God said, "No. I give you blessings. Happiness is up to you."

I asked God to spare me pain. God said, "No. Suffering draws you apart from worldly cares and brings you closer to me." 

I asked God to make my spirit grow. God said, "No. You must grow on your own. But I will prune you to make you fruitful."

I asked for all things that I might enjoy life. God said, "No. I will give you life, so that you may enjoy all things."

I asked God to help me to love others as much as He loves me. God said, "Ah. Now you got the idea." 




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Sunday, May 17, 2020

The Most Holy Face of Jesus


I love you my beautiful Jesus J

The full version of the Litany of the Holy Face. This Litany was composed by Sister Mary of St. Peter, and approved by Mgr. Morlot, Archbishop of Tours, in 1847. By a Rescript dated 27th of January 1853, His Holiness Pope Pius IX grants to all who recite, with a contrite heart, these prayers in honor of the Holy Face of Jesus Christ an indulgence of 100 days for each time; applicable to the souls in Purgatory.

Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
Holy Virgin Mary, pray for us.
(After each of the following phrases, say "have mercy on us")
O adorable Face, which was adored with profound respect by Mary and Joseph when they saw Thee for the first time, have mercy on us.
O adorable Face, which in the Stable of Bethlehem didst ravish with joy the angels, the shepherds and the Magi,
O adorable Face, which in the Temple didst transpierce with a dart of love the saintly old man Simeon and the prophetess Anna,
O adorable Face, which was bathed in tears in Thy holy infancy,
O adorable Face, which, when Thou didst appear in the Temple at twelve years of age, didst fill with admiration the Doctors of the law,
O adorable Face, white with purity and ruddy with charity,
O adorable Face, more beautiful than the sun, more lovely than the moon, more brilliant than the stars,
O adorable Face, fresher than the roses of spring,
O adorable Face, more precious than gold, silver, and diamonds
O adorable Face, whose charms are so ravishing, and whose grace is so attractive,
O adorable Face, whose every feature is characterized by nobility,
O adorable Face, contemplated by angels,
O adorable Face, sweet delectation of the Saints,
O adorable Face, masterpiece of the Holy Ghost, in which the Eternal Father is well pleased.
O adorable Face, delight of Mary and Joseph,
O adorable Face, ineffable mirror of the Divine perfections,
O adorable Face, whose beauty is always ancient and always new,
O adorable Face, which appeasest the wrath of God,
O adorable Face, which makest the devils tremble,
O adorable Face, treasure of graces and of blessings,
O adorable Face, exposed in the desert to the inclemencies of the weather,
O adorable Face, scorched with the heat of the sun and bathed with sweat in Thy journeys,
O adorable Face, whose expression is all divine,
O adorable Face, whose modesty and sweetness attracted both the just and sinners,
O adorable Face, which gavest a holy kiss to the little children, after having blessed them,
O adorable Face, troubled and weeping at the tomb of Lazarus,
O adorable Face, brilliant as the sun, and radiant with glory on the Mountain of Tabor,
O adorable Face, sorrowful at the sight of Jerusalem, and shedding tears on that ungrateful city,
O adorable Face, bowed down to the earth, in the Garden of Olives, and covered with confusion for our sins,
O adorable Face, bathed in a bloody sweat,
O adorable Face, kissed by the traitor Judas,
O adorable Face, whose sanctity and majesty smote the soldiers with fear and cast them to the ground,
O adorable Face, struck by a vile servant, shamefully blindfolded, and profaned by the sacrilegious hands of Thine enemies,
O adorable Face, defiled with spittle, and bruised by innumerable buffets and blows,
O adorable Face, whose Divine look wounded the heart of Peter, with a dart of sorrow and love,
O adorable Face, humbled for us at the tribunals of Jerusalem,
O adorable Face, which didst preserve Thy serenity when Pilate pronounced the fatal sentence,
O adorable Face, covered with sweat and blood, and falling in the mire under the heavy weight of the Cross,
O adorable Face, worthy of all our respect, veneration and worship,
O adorable Face, wiped with a veil by a pious woman on the road to Calvary,
O adorable Face, raised on the instrument of most shameful punishment,
O adorable Face, whose brow was covered with Thorns,
O adorable Face, whose eyes were filled with tears of blood,
O adorable Face, into whose mouth was poured gall and vinegar,
O adorable Face, whose hair and beard were plucked out by the executioners,
O adorable Face, which was made like to that of a leper,
O adorable Face, whose incomparable beauty was obscured under the dreadful cloud of the sins of the world,
O adorable Face, covered with the sad shades of death,
O adorable Face, washed and anointed by Mary and the holy women and wrapped in a shroud,
O adorable Face, inclosed in the sepulchre,
O adorable Face, all resplendent with glory and beauty on the day of the Resurrection,
O adorable Face, all dazzling with light at the moment of Thy Ascension,
O adorable Face, hidden in the Eucharist,
O adorable Face, which will appear at the end of time, in the clouds, with great power and great majesty,
O adorable Face, which wilt cause sinners to tremble,
O adorable Face, which wilt fill the just with joy for all eternity,

Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.


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