Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Father, all-powerful and ever-living God,
we do well always and everywhere to give you thanks
as we do honour the Blessed Virgin Mary,
Mother of Carmel.

Your word filled her heart
and inspired her actions,
making her constant in prayer with the Apostles,
and, through her share in our salvation,
constituting her the spiritual mother of all mankind.
She watches unceasingly with a mother’s loving care
over the brethren of her Son,
and lights us along our pilgrim way
to the Mount of your Glory,
our beacon of comfort,
and the embodiment or all our hopes
as members of the Church.
Now, with all the saints and angels,
we praise you forever:

Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.

(Preface of Our Lady of Mount Carmel I, Carmelite Missal)

Litany of the Most Precious Blood

As the month of July is traditionally dedicated to the Precious Blood it seemed fitting to continue the theme throughout the month.

Blessed Pope John XXIII had a particular devotion to the Precious Blood:

“From infancy this devotion was instilled in us within our own household. Fondly we still recall how our parents used to recite the Litany of the Most Precious Blood every day during July.”

Pope John XXIII, Apostolic Letter Inde a Primis (On Promoting Devotion to the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ)

And here is the Litany they recited:

Litany of the Most Precious Blood

Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, have mercy on us.

Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us.

God the Father of Heaven, Have mercy on us.

God the Son, Redeemer of the world, Have mercy on us.

God the Holy Spirit, Have mercy on us.

Holy Trinity, One God, Have mercy on us.

Blood of Christ, only-begotten Son of the Eternal Father, save us.

Blood of Christ, Incarnate Word of God, save us.

Blood of Christ, of the new and Eternal Testament, save us.

Blood of Christ, falling upon the earth in the Agony, save us.

Blood of Christ, shed profusely in the Scourging, save us.

Blood of Christ, flowing forth in the Crowning with Thorns, save us.

Blood of Christ, poured out on the Cross, save us.

Blood of Christ, Price of our salvation, save us.

Blood of Christ, without which there is no forgiveness, save us.

Blood of Christ, Eucharistic drink and refreshment of souls, save us.

Blood of Christ, river of mercy, save us.

Blood of Christ, Victor over demons, save us.

Blood of Christ, Courage of martyrs, save us.

Blood of Christ, Strength of confessors, save us.

Blood of Christ, bringing forth virgins, save us.

Blood of Christ, Help of those in peril, save us.

Blood of Christ, Relief of the burdened, save us.

Blood of Christ, Solace in sorrow, save us.

Blood of Christ, Hope of the penitent, save us.

Blood of Christ, consolation of the dying, save us.

Blood of Christ, Peace and Tenderness of hearts, save us.

Blood of Christ, Pledge of Eternal Life, save us.

Blood of Christ, freeing souls from Purgatory, save us.

Blood of Christ, most worthy of all glory and honor, save us.

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 takest away the sins of the world, Have mercy on us.

V. Thou hast redeemed us, O Lord, in Thy blood, R. And made of us a kingdom for our God.

Let Us Pray

Almighty and Eternal God, Thou hast appointed Thine only-begotten Son the Redeemer of the world, and willed to be appeased by His Blood, Grant, we beseech Thee, that we may worthily adore this Price of our salvation, and through its power be safeguarded from the evils of this present life, so that we may rejoice in its fruits forever in Heaven. Through the same Christ Our Lord.

R. Amen.

Forgotten Fruits

The fruits of the Spirit are perfections that the Holy Spirit forms in us as the first fruits of eternal glory. The tradition of the Church lists twelve of them: “charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, chastity.” (CCC 1832)

A couple of weeks ago in confession I happened to mention something that had been on my mind quite a bit lately. It wasn’t specifically a sin. But it was something that I couldn’t seem to stop dwelling on. Father suggested that I specifically pray to the Holy Spirit about it and reminded me that Peace was one of the 12 Fruits of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).

I began to pray about it. And what do you know? I did experience a feeling of peace. The more I prayed about it and took my uneasiness to God the Holy Spirit, the more peace I felt. Who would have thought that prayer actually works.

I am going to continue praying for Peace - about the original situation and a few other things that have been on my mind lately. But, now I am thinking about the other Fruits of the Holy Spirit as well. I am thinking that Patience might be next on my list. And I can’t wait to begin praying for it.

Quote

“Your prayers should be liturgical. How I would like to see you using the psalms and prayers from the missal, rather than private prayers of your own choice.”

(St. Josemaría Escrivá, The Way, 86)

World’s Largest Monstrance to Be Unveiled

UPDATE: It looks like this will be carried live on EWTN at 5:00pm Eastern - less than 1 hour from now.

This is too cool. I would love to be in Chicago for this. But, since there is little chance of that happening I hope to at least see it some day.

CHICAGO, May 23 IL-largest-monstrance

CHICAGO, May 23 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Saint Stanislaus Kostka Catholic Church here will unveil what is believed to be the world’s largest monstrance at 6 p.m. eastern time Saturday, May 31. A monstrance is a container that displays a consecrated Host (which Catholics believe is the body of Christ under the appearance of bread) for veneration. The monstrance will serve as focal point of the new Sanctuary of The Divine Mercy, to be built on the grounds of this inner city parish.

The gilded receptacle has taken sculptor Stefan Niedorezo two years to carve from linden wood using Renaissance methods. The iconic monstrance is nine feet tall and weighs 700 pounds. Malgorzata Sawczuk applied the gilding and serves as project conservator.

The monstrance depicts the Blessed Mother as the link between the old and new covenants. She stands over the Ark of the Covenant, a sacred container that held the stone tablets inscribed with the 10 Commandments. Mary is “clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars,” as depicted in the Book of Revelation (Rev 11:19 and 12:1-2).

The unveiling takes place on the feast of the Visitation, where Mary visited her cousin Elizabeth and found the supposedly barren woman pregnant with a son who would become John the Baptist, forerunner of Jesus (Lk 1:39-57). The public is invited to the ceremony, which will be televised live on EWTN, the worldwide Catholic television network; Catholic TV; and the Latin American TV station El Sembrador. Relevant Radio will provide U.S. coverage. Mass will be celebrated by Cardinal Francis George, Archbishop of Chicago.

The vision for the sanctuary and monstrance began nine years ago when St. Stanislaus Kostka pastor Fr. Anthony Bus, CR, heard a call from Mary asking that he build the sanctuary. He wrote a book about his experience titled A Mother’s Plea: Lifting the Veil in Sanctuary (Marian Press). The book, originally published in 2005, has been a popular title in Catholic book circles partly because of its apocalyptic theme. It has been updated this year with information on the painstaking effort to build the sanctuary.

Donations and proceeds from Fr. Bus’s book financed sculpting the monstrance.

Following the unveiling, planners will begin raising funds to build the sanctuary. Estimated cost is between $15 million and $20 million.

SOURCE Saint Stanislaus Kostka Catholic Church

Lauda Sion Salvatorem

Lauda Sion Salvatorem, the Sequence for the Feast of Corpus Christi, written by St. Thomas Aquinas.

Corpus Christi Procession

Corpus Christi Procession at Assumption Grotto in Detroit.

Subjects For Daily Meditation

Remember, Christian soul, that thou hast this day, and every day of thy life:

God to glorify,
Jesus to imitate,
The Blessed Virgin and the Saints to venerate,
The Angels to invoke,
A soul to save,
A body to mortify,
Sins to expiate,
Virtues to acquire,
Hell to avoid,
Heaven to gain,
Eternity to prepare for,
Time to profit by,
Neighbors to edify,
The world to despise,
Devils to combat,
Passions to subdue,
Death perhaps to suffer,
And Judgment to undergo.

Manual of Prayers, 3rd Plenary Council of Baltimore, 1888

Pentecost Novena

Regardless of whether you will be celebrating the Ascension of the Lord today or on Sunday, today is the beginning of the Pentecost Novena to the Holy Spirit for the Seven Gifts.

Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 | Day 8 | Day 9

Something You Don’t See Every Day

I noticed something interesting this week in the bulletin of Holy Family Catholic Church in Columbus, Ohio. It seems that the Solemn United Baptist Church had a Mass said on April 13th for a man named Paul Turner. I have never known a Protestant church to have a Mass said for anyone. I don’t have any details on this but I will attempt to find out more about it.

The bulletin is available online as of this moment but it changes from week to week. So, I took a screenshot of it. Click on it for a larger image.

Has anyone ever seen anything like this before?