Saturday, March 21, 2009
Our Blessed Lady's Saturday
O MOST holy and afflicted Virgin, Queen of Martyrs! Thou who didst stand motionless at the foot of the Cross, beneath thy dying Son, through the sword of sorrow which pierced thee then, through the unceasing suffering of thy life of sorrow, and the bliss which now amply repays thee for thy past trials and afflictions, look down with a mother's tenderness and pity on one who kneels before thee, who venerates thy sacred Dolors, and places his request, with filial confidence, in the Sanctuary of thy Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart. Present, I beseech thee, to Jesus Christ, in union with the infinite merits of His Passion and Death, thy sufferings at the foot of the Cross; and through the efficacy of both, obtain the grant of my petition. Amen.
Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us who have recourse to thee. Amen.
Labels: Our Blessed Lady
Saturday Of the Third Week In Lent
Station Church:
S. Susanna alle Terme di Diocleziano
Devotions for a Lenten Saturday holy hour:
Divine Mercy Chaplet
Seven Penitential Psalms
Prayer of St. Thomas More
Threnus Prayer of Saint Augustine
Stabat Mater Dolorosa
Litany of Our Lady of Sorrows
Sorrowful Mysteries
S. Susanna alle Terme di Diocleziano
Devotions for a Lenten Saturday holy hour:
Divine Mercy Chaplet
Seven Penitential Psalms
Prayer of St. Thomas More
Threnus Prayer of Saint Augustine
Stabat Mater Dolorosa
Litany of Our Lady of Sorrows
Sorrowful Mysteries
Labels: Lent
Friday, March 20, 2009
Vernal Equinox
It is the first day of Spring. But here in Boston, that is just a date on the calendar, since it is 32 degrees, and the real feel is in the 20s. It is windy and cold. March came in with a snowstorm early in the month, and cold temps mostly since then. Let us hope it goes out like a lamb.
Labels: Annual Cycles
Friday Of the Third Week In Lent
Station Church:
S. Lorenzo in Lucina
Devotions for a Lenten Friday holy hour:
Dies Irae
Divine Mercy Chaplet
Seven Penitential Psalms
Prayer of St. Thomas More
Threnus Prayer of Saint Augustine
Devotions To the Holy Cross
Stations of the Cross
S. Lorenzo in Lucina
Devotions for a Lenten Friday holy hour:
Dies Irae
Divine Mercy Chaplet
Seven Penitential Psalms
Prayer of St. Thomas More
Threnus Prayer of Saint Augustine
Devotions To the Holy Cross
Stations of the Cross
Labels: Lent
Friday At the Foot Of the Cross
Antiphon:
Remember not, O Lord, my offenses, nor the offenses of my fathers, nor takest Thou vengeance upon them.
Miserere. The repentance and confession of David after his sin. The fourth penitential psalm.
1 Unto the end, a psalm of David, 2 When Nathan the prophet came to him after he had sinned with Bethsabee.
3 Have mercy on me, O God, according to thy great mercy. And according to the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my iniquity. 4 Wash me yet more from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. 5 For I know my iniquity, and my sin is always before me.
6 To thee only have I sinned, and have done evil before thee: that thou mayst be justified in thy words and mayst overcome when thou art judged. 7 For behold I was conceived in iniquities; and in sins did my mother conceive me. 8 For behold thou hast loved truth: the uncertain and hidden things of thy wisdom thou hast made manifest to me. 9 Thou shalt sprinkle me with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed: thou shalt wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow. 10 To my hearing thou shalt give joy and gladness: and the bones that have been humbled shall rejoice.
11 Turn away thy face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. 12 Create a clean heart in me, O God: and renew a right spirit within my bowels. 13 Cast me not away from thy face; and take not thy holy spirit from me. 14 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation, and strengthen me with a perfect spirit. 15 I will teach the unjust thy ways: and the wicked shall be converted to thee.
16 Deliver me from blood, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall extol thy justice. 17 O Lord, thou wilt open my lips: and my mouth shall declare thy praise. 18 For if thou hadst desired sacrifice, I would indeed have given it: with burnt offerings thou wilt not be delighted. 19 A sacrifice to God is an afflicted spirit: a contrite and humbled heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. 20 Deal favourably, O Lord, in thy good will with Sion; that the walls of Jerusalem may be built up.
21 Then shalt thou accept the sacrifice of justice, oblations and whole burnt offerings: then shall they lay calves upon thy altar.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be in the World of Worlds.
Amen.
Antiphon:
Remember not, O Lord, my offenses, nor the offenses of my fathers, nor takest Thou vengeance upon them.
Prayer Against Lust
Father, I have sinned against heaven and before Thee, and now I am not worthy to be called Thy son. What shall I, wretched that I am, do? For Thy Spirit shall not remain in man, for he is flesh. Oh have mercy on me, have mercy! I attribute to Thy infinite goodness that I am not taken along with the many thousands of the damned, who the cursed abomination of lust casts headlong into Gehenna even today. Shall I therefore sin again? O Jesus, in the love of base pleasures shall I again trample under foot Thy most precious Blood poured forth in the washing away of my sins? Far from it, O Jesus, far from it! I beseech Thee, O Son of the most chaste Virgin Mary to free me from the spirit of fornication. Wash me from my iniquities and cleanse me from my sin. Do not cast me from Thy face nor take Thy Holy Spirit from me!
Labels: Friday At the Foot Of the Cross
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Thursday Of the Third Week In Lent
Station Church:
Ss. Cosma e Damiano in Via Sacra (Fori Imperiali)
Devotions for a Lenten Thursday holy hour:
Dies Irae
Divine Mercy Chaplet
Seven Penitential Psalms
Prayer of St. Thomas More
Threnus Prayer of Saint Augustine
Devotion To the Holy Face
Ss. Cosma e Damiano in Via Sacra (Fori Imperiali)
Devotions for a Lenten Thursday holy hour:
Dies Irae
Divine Mercy Chaplet
Seven Penitential Psalms
Prayer of St. Thomas More
Threnus Prayer of Saint Augustine
Devotion To the Holy Face
Labels: Lent
Feast Of Saint Joseph, 2009
Litany of Saint Joseph
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 Ghost,
Have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God,
Have mercy on us.
Holy Mary,
Pray for us.
Holy Joseph,
Pray for us.
Noble Son of the House of David,
Pray for us.
Light of the Patriarchs,
Pray for us.
Husband of the Mother of God,
Pray for us.
Chaste Guardian of the Virgin,
Pray for us.
Foster-father of the Son of God,
Pray for us.
Sedulous Defender of Christ,
Pray for us.
Head of the Holy Family,
Pray for us.
Joseph most just,
Pray for us.
Joseph most chaste,
Pray for us.
Joseph most prudent,
Pray for us.
Joseph most valiant,
Pray for us.
Joseph most obedient,
Pray for us.
Joseph most faithful,
Pray for us.
Mirror of patience,
Pray for us.
Lover of poverty,
Pray for us.
Model of all who labor,
Pray for us.
Glory of family life,
Pray for us.
Protector of Virgins,
Pray for us.
Pillar of families,
Pray for us.
Consolation of the afflicted,
Pray for us.
Hope of the sick,
Pray for us.
Patron of the dying,
Pray for us.
Terror of the demons,
Pray for us.
Protector of the holy Church,
Pray for us.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
have mercy on us.
V. He made him master of his house,
R. And ruler of all his possesions.
Let us pray:
O God, Thou wert pleased to choose Saint Joseph as the husband of Mary and the guardian of Thy Son. Grant that, as we venerate him as our protector on earth, we may deserve to have him as our intercessor in heaven. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
The Extensive Patronage of Saint Joseph
Zeppole di San Guiseppe
Or you can stop in at Maria's Pastry Shop, on Cross Street in Boston's North End for some, if you don't feel like making the pastry yourself.
Or you could just have some Sloppy Joes, I suppose.
The Sicilian Custom of St. Joseph's Day Altars
And do not forget St. Joseph's vital role as patron of a happy death. Many saints are associated with the deathbed. St. Peter with his binding and loosing powers is popularly said to be the gatekeeper of Heaven. St. Michael has been said to be the escort of the newly departed soul, and the one who protects it from the demons waiting by the deathbed to snatch the soul and drag it to Hell. Our Blessed Lady is, of course, vital here, too (don't forget your daily Three Aves for a Happy and Holy Death). But St. Joseph is a principal patron of the deathbed. Why? Just think: he died in the arms of Jesus and Mary. Who has ever had a happier death than he?
Labels: Our Saintly Brethern
Halfway Through Lent
Lent is always a struggle. How Our Lord made it through the desert for 40 days I don't know. Even our little sacrifices become increasingly irksome to us as time goes on. Sometimes, it seems as if our Lent is always Good Friday, and never Easter. And that is how it is intended to be.
The halfway point of Lent is an excellent time to assess how you are doing in your Lenten preparation. This is a time to make adjustments in your Lenten reading, your prayer life, and your almsgiving and sacrifices. If you were unrealistic in setting your Lenten reading agenda, or if new responsibilities have crept into your life, this is the time to trim back, to concentrate on basics, to set more realistic goals that will still make a good preparation for Easter.
Most important is making a very thorough Examination of Conscience, and bringing the results prayerfully to a full sacramental confession. This Examination of Conscience is excellent.
Remember, the true purpose of Lent is to prepare us to make a worthy Communion at Easter, to fulfill our Easter obligation. If you are so good about making your confessions that you can worthily communicate every week, or even every day, fine. Wish I was one of you. But many have severe trouble confessing, and just being in a state of grace once a year for a day or two is a true obstacle for some, and for whatever reason they, we, are hard-pressed to make even the one worthy Communion required by the Church at Easter.
Thoroughly go through this Examination of Conscience now, and go over it again say on Maundy Thursday, and make your confession then or on Good Friday. Remember, keep the confession short. No self-justification. Just accuse yourself, explain as the priest requires, and be sure to include everything you can remember. Then stay out of trouble (avoid the near occasions of sin) and make a worthy Easter Communion.
I know I go into Lent every year with very ambitious agendas. I want to read this book and that one, to go through this one in weekly segments, and to try to read as much as I can of that. I want to watch this and that. I want to give up this and that.
Then reality sinks in. I just don't have enough time to read all I want. Two hours to watch The Passion of the Christ? Where will those 2 hours come from? Or the Six-plus for Jesus of Nazareth? Giving up caffeine makes me physically sick. I get irritable with all my other sacrifices. I try to offer them up, but I don't always remember to do so (except that I already have in the form of my Morning Offering). Getting up at 3:30 every Friday morning for Stations and an extended, almost 2-hour, Holy Hour is very tough. Many people I have known in my formative years would blow their brains out if they had to lead the austere life I lead daily. So how much more can I do?
Simplify. Simplify.
It all comes down to making a thorough Examination of Conscience, then using that Examination of Conscience in a sacramental confession, then making a truly worthy Communion at Easter. That is what all the preparation and sacrifice of Lent is for, to be ready for your Easter Communion.
I know the concept of one good Communion a year sounds odd to people who flock up to the Communion line every Sunday, even if they haven't been to confession in years. But, in fact, we are supposed to only make worthy Communions. And making unworthy Communions is a grievous sin (that needs to be confessed!).
So keep the priests busy in the confessional this Holy Week, just like our ancestors did. But make it short, brutally honest, without self-justification or explanation, and be truly contrite. Remember Christ's sufferings for your sins! that will help with contrition.
We do fail sometimes in our efforts to purge and atone for our sinfulness in Lent. Sometimes, we just make mistakes and forget. For instance, two weeks ago, I went to South Station early before I had to travel, and went to the McDonald's there for breakfast. Without thinking, I ordered and ate the breakfast burritos, not realizing, until over an hour later while I was re-reading St. Francis de Sales on fasting, that I had eaten sausages in those burritos, and that I had therefore unthinkingly violated my Lenten abstinence from meat. God forgives our unthinking idiocies.
If giving up caffeine is making you sick, then put it back in your routine, but limit yourself. Just one fully caffeinated cup of coffee in the morning is probably enough to stave off caffeine withdrawal. If you don't have time to read or watch everything, scale back. You can fail in some small sacrifices, if those sacrifices were above and beyond what the Church requires, and still have a successful preparation for Easter. Do not be discouraged by failure. Recognize it for what it is, mention it in confession, resolve to do better, and move on. If you can't give it up successfully, then scale back your sacrifices. Be realistic. Heavy lifetime smokers will only disappoint themselves if they try to give up smoking for Lent cold turkey.
Obey the laws of the Church, and be realistic in what you are trying to accomplish this Lent. Just following the laws of the Church gives plenty of room for accomodating your lifestyle. The actual requirements for Lenten abstinence are quite liberal, and were liberalized greatly from the mid-19th Century through Pope Pius XII and through Vatican II.
In your prayer life, resolve to do better. I know my big problem with my prayer life is my thoughts drifting away to profane, sometimes even impure topics. And if that sometimes happens right there, in a chapel, kneeling directly in front of the Blessed Sacrament, with a rigid schedule of prayers to be said every day, how often will the thoughts drift away if I pray when I am more comfortable.
Try to keep the mind focused on your prayers. Keep on topic. Don't let what was said by this person or that the night before, or what pithy rejoinder you might have made, intrude on your prayers. Try to keep distractions to a minimum. Try to shut from your mind the person loudly snoring in the back pews while you are trying to pray, or the old biddies who think the church is a substitute location for coffee house conversation (these are often the churchiest people, who feel entitled to chatter away in church).
Try even harder to set time aside for prayer, whether as a family or individually. There is great value in family prayer, as it inculcates the children in the habit of prayer. But, when it comes down to it, you must get yourself to a quiet place, shut yourself away, at church or at home, and just say your own prayers. And this must be done every day. Getting into the habit of prayer is one of the best things you can do, and the best teacher of the the habit and ways of prayer is regular recitation (either out loud or mentally) of the Psalms.
Almsgiving. It is just as much a requirement of Lent as abstinence. Be judicious in your charity. In my experience, the worst thing you can do is to give money directly to beggars. You might as well just make a direct cash donation to the local drug dealer, liquor store, or state lottery. Cut out the middleman and keep the means of self-destruction out of the hands of our unfortunate brothers or sisters. Seriously, there are many worthy charities out there, and you can give to them with confidence that the money will be well spent, and will go to feeding, clothing, housing, and treating those who need it.
Lent is a time of sacrifice, atonement, and renewal. The goal for all of us is that worthy Easter Communion. We can become better Catholics through Lenten sacrifice. We need to be better Catholics. If even a Saint Alphonsus Liguori had all sorts of sins to accuse himself of, we all certainly have as much or more. The key is to simplify, to achieve a heightened awareness of our sinfulness, recognize our individual crimes, and make a good Confession of them. Then, our Easter will not be in vain.
The halfway point of Lent is an excellent time to assess how you are doing in your Lenten preparation. This is a time to make adjustments in your Lenten reading, your prayer life, and your almsgiving and sacrifices. If you were unrealistic in setting your Lenten reading agenda, or if new responsibilities have crept into your life, this is the time to trim back, to concentrate on basics, to set more realistic goals that will still make a good preparation for Easter.
Most important is making a very thorough Examination of Conscience, and bringing the results prayerfully to a full sacramental confession. This Examination of Conscience is excellent.
Remember, the true purpose of Lent is to prepare us to make a worthy Communion at Easter, to fulfill our Easter obligation. If you are so good about making your confessions that you can worthily communicate every week, or even every day, fine. Wish I was one of you. But many have severe trouble confessing, and just being in a state of grace once a year for a day or two is a true obstacle for some, and for whatever reason they, we, are hard-pressed to make even the one worthy Communion required by the Church at Easter.
Thoroughly go through this Examination of Conscience now, and go over it again say on Maundy Thursday, and make your confession then or on Good Friday. Remember, keep the confession short. No self-justification. Just accuse yourself, explain as the priest requires, and be sure to include everything you can remember. Then stay out of trouble (avoid the near occasions of sin) and make a worthy Easter Communion.
I know I go into Lent every year with very ambitious agendas. I want to read this book and that one, to go through this one in weekly segments, and to try to read as much as I can of that. I want to watch this and that. I want to give up this and that.
Then reality sinks in. I just don't have enough time to read all I want. Two hours to watch The Passion of the Christ? Where will those 2 hours come from? Or the Six-plus for Jesus of Nazareth? Giving up caffeine makes me physically sick. I get irritable with all my other sacrifices. I try to offer them up, but I don't always remember to do so (except that I already have in the form of my Morning Offering). Getting up at 3:30 every Friday morning for Stations and an extended, almost 2-hour, Holy Hour is very tough. Many people I have known in my formative years would blow their brains out if they had to lead the austere life I lead daily. So how much more can I do?
Simplify. Simplify.
It all comes down to making a thorough Examination of Conscience, then using that Examination of Conscience in a sacramental confession, then making a truly worthy Communion at Easter. That is what all the preparation and sacrifice of Lent is for, to be ready for your Easter Communion.
I know the concept of one good Communion a year sounds odd to people who flock up to the Communion line every Sunday, even if they haven't been to confession in years. But, in fact, we are supposed to only make worthy Communions. And making unworthy Communions is a grievous sin (that needs to be confessed!).
So keep the priests busy in the confessional this Holy Week, just like our ancestors did. But make it short, brutally honest, without self-justification or explanation, and be truly contrite. Remember Christ's sufferings for your sins! that will help with contrition.
We do fail sometimes in our efforts to purge and atone for our sinfulness in Lent. Sometimes, we just make mistakes and forget. For instance, two weeks ago, I went to South Station early before I had to travel, and went to the McDonald's there for breakfast. Without thinking, I ordered and ate the breakfast burritos, not realizing, until over an hour later while I was re-reading St. Francis de Sales on fasting, that I had eaten sausages in those burritos, and that I had therefore unthinkingly violated my Lenten abstinence from meat. God forgives our unthinking idiocies.
If giving up caffeine is making you sick, then put it back in your routine, but limit yourself. Just one fully caffeinated cup of coffee in the morning is probably enough to stave off caffeine withdrawal. If you don't have time to read or watch everything, scale back. You can fail in some small sacrifices, if those sacrifices were above and beyond what the Church requires, and still have a successful preparation for Easter. Do not be discouraged by failure. Recognize it for what it is, mention it in confession, resolve to do better, and move on. If you can't give it up successfully, then scale back your sacrifices. Be realistic. Heavy lifetime smokers will only disappoint themselves if they try to give up smoking for Lent cold turkey.
Obey the laws of the Church, and be realistic in what you are trying to accomplish this Lent. Just following the laws of the Church gives plenty of room for accomodating your lifestyle. The actual requirements for Lenten abstinence are quite liberal, and were liberalized greatly from the mid-19th Century through Pope Pius XII and through Vatican II.
In your prayer life, resolve to do better. I know my big problem with my prayer life is my thoughts drifting away to profane, sometimes even impure topics. And if that sometimes happens right there, in a chapel, kneeling directly in front of the Blessed Sacrament, with a rigid schedule of prayers to be said every day, how often will the thoughts drift away if I pray when I am more comfortable.
Try to keep the mind focused on your prayers. Keep on topic. Don't let what was said by this person or that the night before, or what pithy rejoinder you might have made, intrude on your prayers. Try to keep distractions to a minimum. Try to shut from your mind the person loudly snoring in the back pews while you are trying to pray, or the old biddies who think the church is a substitute location for coffee house conversation (these are often the churchiest people, who feel entitled to chatter away in church).
Try even harder to set time aside for prayer, whether as a family or individually. There is great value in family prayer, as it inculcates the children in the habit of prayer. But, when it comes down to it, you must get yourself to a quiet place, shut yourself away, at church or at home, and just say your own prayers. And this must be done every day. Getting into the habit of prayer is one of the best things you can do, and the best teacher of the the habit and ways of prayer is regular recitation (either out loud or mentally) of the Psalms.
Almsgiving. It is just as much a requirement of Lent as abstinence. Be judicious in your charity. In my experience, the worst thing you can do is to give money directly to beggars. You might as well just make a direct cash donation to the local drug dealer, liquor store, or state lottery. Cut out the middleman and keep the means of self-destruction out of the hands of our unfortunate brothers or sisters. Seriously, there are many worthy charities out there, and you can give to them with confidence that the money will be well spent, and will go to feeding, clothing, housing, and treating those who need it.
Lent is a time of sacrifice, atonement, and renewal. The goal for all of us is that worthy Easter Communion. We can become better Catholics through Lenten sacrifice. We need to be better Catholics. If even a Saint Alphonsus Liguori had all sorts of sins to accuse himself of, we all certainly have as much or more. The key is to simplify, to achieve a heightened awareness of our sinfulness, recognize our individual crimes, and make a good Confession of them. Then, our Easter will not be in vain.
Labels: Lent
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Wednesday Of the Third Week In Lent
Station Church:
S. Sisto (SS. Nereo e Achilleo)
Devotions for a Lenten Wednesday holy hour:
Dies Irae
Divine Mercy Chaplet
Seven Penitential Psalms & the prayers against the Seven Deadly Sins
Prayer of St. Thomas More
Threnus Prayer
Seven Prayers of St. Gregory
S. Sisto (SS. Nereo e Achilleo)
Devotions for a Lenten Wednesday holy hour:
Dies Irae
Divine Mercy Chaplet
Seven Penitential Psalms & the prayers against the Seven Deadly Sins
Prayer of St. Thomas More
Threnus Prayer
Seven Prayers of St. Gregory
Labels: Lent
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Saint Patrick's Day Mega-Post
Let's Kick It Up A Notch With the Dropkick Murphys
Yet More Irish Music From the Cheiftains
The Mason's Apron
Lilliburlero and The White Cockade
Women Of Ireland
The Barley Mow
Lilliburlero and The White Cockade
Women Of Ireland
The Barley Mow
Labels: Being Irish
More Irish Music With The Dubliners
Dublin In the Rare Auld Times
The Fields Of Athenry
The Dublin Fusiliers
The Parting Glass
The Fields Of Athenry
The Dublin Fusiliers
The Parting Glass
Tuesday Of the Third Week In Lent
Station Church: S. Pudenziana al Viminale
Devotions for a Lenten Tuesday holy hour:
Dies Irae
Divine Mercy Chaplet
Seven Penitential Psalms
Prayer of St. Thomas More
Threnus Prayer of Saint Augustine
Devotion of the Seven Last Words
Devotions for a Lenten Tuesday holy hour:
Dies Irae
Divine Mercy Chaplet
Seven Penitential Psalms
Prayer of St. Thomas More
Threnus Prayer of Saint Augustine
Devotion of the Seven Last Words
Labels: Lent
Monday, March 16, 2009
Saint Patrick's Day Break With The Clancy Brothers And Tommy Makem
Today is the eve of Saint Patrick's Day. Thursday is Saint Joseph's Day, and next Sunday is Laetare Sunday, with Lady Day following in the middle of next week. And since Thursday is also mid-Lent Day, the 23rd day of the 46 days of Lenten austerity, this is a natural break for some mild enjoyment.
I see smoked shoulder and Irish soda bread in the offing, and offer some Irish music to enjoy it with.
Whiskey, You're The Devil
The Juice Of the Barley
Portlairge
The Rambles Of Spring
Four Green Fields
I see smoked shoulder and Irish soda bread in the offing, and offer some Irish music to enjoy it with.
Whiskey, You're The Devil
The Juice Of the Barley
Portlairge
The Rambles Of Spring
Four Green Fields
Labels: Being Irish
Monday Of the Third Week In Lent
Station Church: S. Marco al Campidoglio
Devotions for a Lenten Monday holy hour:
Dies Irae
Divine Mercy Chaplet
Seven Penitential Psalms
Prayer of St. Thomas More
Threnus Prayer of Saint Augustine
Devotion of the Five Sacred Wounds
Devotions for a Lenten Monday holy hour:
Dies Irae
Divine Mercy Chaplet
Seven Penitential Psalms
Prayer of St. Thomas More
Threnus Prayer of Saint Augustine
Devotion of the Five Sacred Wounds
Labels: Lent
Sunday, March 15, 2009
The Third Sunday Of Lent
Station Church: S. Lorenzo fuori le Mura
Devotions for a Lenten Sunday holy hour:
Divine Mercy Chaplet
Seven Penitential Psalms
Prayer of St. Thomas More
Psalter of St. Jerome
Threnus Prayer of St. Augustine
From The Liturgical Year, by Abbot Prosper Gueranger, OSB:
Ever since the promulgation of the Gospel, the power of Satan over the human body has been restricted by the virtue of the cross, at least in Christian countries; but this power resumes its sway as often as faith and the practice of Christian piety lose their influence. And here we have the origin of all those diabolical practices, which, under certain scientific names, are attempted first in secret, and then are countenanced by being assisted at by well-meaning Christians. Were it not that God and His Church intervene, such practices as these would subvert society. Christians! remember your baptismal vow; you have renounced satan: take care, then, that by a culpable ignorance you are not dragged into apostasy. It is not a phantom that you renounced at the font; he is a real and formidable being, who, as our Lord tells us, was a murderer from the beginning (Jn. 8:44).
But if we ought to dread the power he may be permitted to have over our bodies; if we ought to shun all intercourse with him, and take no share in practices over which he presides, and which are the worship he would have men give him: we ought, also, to fear the influence he is ever striving to exercise over our souls. See what God's grace has had to do in order to drive him from our soul! During this holy season, the Church is putting within your reach those grand means of victory-fasting, prayer, and almsdeeds. The sweets of peace will soon be yours, and once more you will become God's temple, for both soul and body will have regained their purity. But be not deceived; your enemy is not slain. He is irritated; penance has driven him from you; but he has sworn to return. Therefore, fear a relapse into mortal sin; and in order to nourish within you this wholesome fear, meditate upon the concluding part of our Gospel.
Our Saviour tells us that when the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through places without water. There he writhes under his humiliation; it was added to the tortures of the hell he carries everywhere with him, and to which he fain would give some alleviation by destroying souls that have been redeemed by Christ. We read in the old Testament that sometimes, when the devils have been conquered, they have been forced to flee into some far-off wilderness: for example, the holy Archangel Raphael took the devil, that had killed Sara's husbands, and bound him in the desert of upper Egypt (Tob. 8:3). But the enemy of mankind never despairs of regaining his prey. His hatred is as active now as it was at the very beginning of the world, and he says: "I will return into my house, whence I came out." Nor will he come alone. He is determined to conquer; and therefore, he will, if he think it needed, take with him seven other spirits, even more wicked than himself. What a terrible assault is being prepared for the poor soul, unless she be on the watch, and unless the peace, which God has granted her, be one that is well armed for war! Alas! with many souls the very contrary is the case; and our Saviour describes the situation in which the devil finds them on his return: they are swept and garnished, and that is all! No precautions, no defence, no arms. One would suppose that they were waiting to give the enemy admission. Then satan, to make his repossession sure, comes with a sevenfold force. The attack is made; but there is no resistance, and straightways the wicked spirits entering in, dwell there; so that the last state becometh worse than the first; for before there was but one enemy, and now there are many.
Devotions for a Lenten Sunday holy hour:
Divine Mercy Chaplet
Seven Penitential Psalms
Prayer of St. Thomas More
Psalter of St. Jerome
Threnus Prayer of St. Augustine
From The Liturgical Year, by Abbot Prosper Gueranger, OSB:
Ever since the promulgation of the Gospel, the power of Satan over the human body has been restricted by the virtue of the cross, at least in Christian countries; but this power resumes its sway as often as faith and the practice of Christian piety lose their influence. And here we have the origin of all those diabolical practices, which, under certain scientific names, are attempted first in secret, and then are countenanced by being assisted at by well-meaning Christians. Were it not that God and His Church intervene, such practices as these would subvert society. Christians! remember your baptismal vow; you have renounced satan: take care, then, that by a culpable ignorance you are not dragged into apostasy. It is not a phantom that you renounced at the font; he is a real and formidable being, who, as our Lord tells us, was a murderer from the beginning (Jn. 8:44).
But if we ought to dread the power he may be permitted to have over our bodies; if we ought to shun all intercourse with him, and take no share in practices over which he presides, and which are the worship he would have men give him: we ought, also, to fear the influence he is ever striving to exercise over our souls. See what God's grace has had to do in order to drive him from our soul! During this holy season, the Church is putting within your reach those grand means of victory-fasting, prayer, and almsdeeds. The sweets of peace will soon be yours, and once more you will become God's temple, for both soul and body will have regained their purity. But be not deceived; your enemy is not slain. He is irritated; penance has driven him from you; but he has sworn to return. Therefore, fear a relapse into mortal sin; and in order to nourish within you this wholesome fear, meditate upon the concluding part of our Gospel.
Our Saviour tells us that when the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through places without water. There he writhes under his humiliation; it was added to the tortures of the hell he carries everywhere with him, and to which he fain would give some alleviation by destroying souls that have been redeemed by Christ. We read in the old Testament that sometimes, when the devils have been conquered, they have been forced to flee into some far-off wilderness: for example, the holy Archangel Raphael took the devil, that had killed Sara's husbands, and bound him in the desert of upper Egypt (Tob. 8:3). But the enemy of mankind never despairs of regaining his prey. His hatred is as active now as it was at the very beginning of the world, and he says: "I will return into my house, whence I came out." Nor will he come alone. He is determined to conquer; and therefore, he will, if he think it needed, take with him seven other spirits, even more wicked than himself. What a terrible assault is being prepared for the poor soul, unless she be on the watch, and unless the peace, which God has granted her, be one that is well armed for war! Alas! with many souls the very contrary is the case; and our Saviour describes the situation in which the devil finds them on his return: they are swept and garnished, and that is all! No precautions, no defence, no arms. One would suppose that they were waiting to give the enemy admission. Then satan, to make his repossession sure, comes with a sevenfold force. The attack is made; but there is no resistance, and straightways the wicked spirits entering in, dwell there; so that the last state becometh worse than the first; for before there was but one enemy, and now there are many.
Labels: Lent
