PRAYER FOR THOSE MOURNING THE LOSS OF A CHILD

Today, we pray for families grieving the loss of a child...

“God, bring comfort and peace. Peace is your essence. Peace is your name. Bring peace to this family who has lost their precious child in death.

We come to you, God because we know that you sorrow, and are acquainted with grief. You too have endured the loss of a child. You empathize.We can’t help but ask, “Why?” Forgive our insistence, our confusion, even our anger. We believe that you are just, and we ache to understand how this tragic death is an expression of that justice, how it expresses your love. We also know – in our minds at least – that you seldom answer the “why?” question. We press you, but on these matters you are mostly silent.

What we ask instead is “how?” How can we move forward? How can this bring us together and not tear us apart? How can we now live under the shadow of this untimely death? Answer this prayer with your comfort and guidance.

There is no way to remove the pain. The grief is real. The only sanity is to know, to believe, in a life beyond with you, when all the scales are righted and the sufferings are made good. We trust you and your promise that while this child’s life on earth is done, his life beyond has just begun. With that release we lose him and let him go into your arms, then by faith receive in return the boundless comfort of your presence. That is all, that is enough. In Jesus Name and through the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Amen.”

ADVENT CANDLES AND THEIR MEANING

Candle  for Advents and their meaning

What is an Advent?

Advent, which begins the Church’s liturgical year, began on Sunday, December 3. Advent encompasses the four Sundays and weekdays leading up to the celebration of Christmas.

The Advent season is a time of preparation for our hearts and minds for the anniversary of the Lord’s birth on Christmas.

The use of the wreath and candles during Advent are a longstanding Catholic tradition that was originally adopted by Christians in the Middle Ages as part of their spiritual preparation for Christmas

Types of Candles for Advent:

The four candles represent the four weeks of Advent. One candle is lit each Sunday. Three of the candles are purple because the color violet is a liturgical color that signifies a time of prayer, penance, and sacrifice.

The first candle, which is purple, symbolizes hope. It is sometimes called the “Prophecy Candle” in remembrance of the prophets, especially Isaiah, who foretold the birth of Christ. It represents the expectation felt in anticipation of the coming Messiah.

The second candle, also purple, represents faith. It is called the “Bethlehem Candle” as a reminder of Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem.

The third candle is pink and symbolizes joy. It is called the “Shepard’s Candle,” and is pink because rose is a liturgical color for joy. The third Sunday of Advent is Gaudete Sunday and is meant to remind us of the joy that the world experienced at the birth of Jesus, as well as the joy that the faithful have reached the midpoint of Advent.

On the fourth week of Advent, we light the final purple candle to mark the final week of prayer and penance as we wait for the birth of our Savior. This final candle, the “Angel’s Candle,” symbolizes peace. It reminds us of the message of the angels: “Peace on Earth, Good Will Toward Men.”

THE 5 PRAYERS REVEALED AT FATIMA THAT EVERY CATHOLIC SHOULD PRAY

Would you like to know what are the prayers revealed at Fatima?

On May 13, 1917, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to three shepherd children in Fatima, Portugal with an urgent message for the whole world. Between May and October she would appear five more times, each on the 13th of the month.

She identified herself as Our Lady of the Rosary and urged the children to pray the rosary daily for peace in the world (as World War I raged on) and to make sacrifices for the conversion of sinners. Over the course of these visits, and several preceding visits by an angel, there were five prayers that were taught to Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta.

THE PARDON PRAYER

The angel who appeared to the children called himself the Angel of Peace and the Angel of Portugal. He taught them the following prayer:

My God, I believe, I adore, I hope and I love Thee! I ask pardon for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope and do not love Thee.

THE ANGEL’S PRAYER

On one occasion, the three children saw the angel prostrate before a host and chalice that hung in the air. Worshiping the Eucharist, the angel prayed,

Most Holy Trinity – Father, Son and Holy Spirit- I adore Thee profoundly. I offer Thee the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges, and indifferences whereby He is offended. And through the infinite merits of His Most Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of Thee the conversion of poor sinners.

Angel of Fatima

THE EUCHARISTIC PRAYER

During the first apparition of Our Lady of Fatima, the children found themselves “moved by an interior impulse,” as Lucia later explained, to say the following prayer together:

Most Holy Trinity, I adore Thee! My God, my God, I love Thee in the Most Blessed Sacrament.

THE SACRIFICE PRAYER

The Blessed Mother taught the children to offer all their personal sacrifices to God by praying,

Oh my Jesus, I offer this for love of Thee, for the conversion of sinners, and in reparation for the sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

THE ROSARY DECADE PRAYER

The Blessed Mother stressed the critical importance of praying the rosary daily for the conversion of sinners and for peace in the world. She asked that the following prayer be recited at the end of each rosary decade:

Oh My Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of Hell, lead all souls to Heaven, especially those in most need of Thy mercy.

SHARE TO OTHERS AND BE BLESSED

NOTHING CAN SEPARATE US FROM THE LOVE OF GOD

Only God can change your life in a perfect way, if you have a good relationship to our Lord Jesus. Faith without action is dead,
you have to move and act with the guidance of our Lord God Jesus. And the Holy Spirit will teach you.

10 MORTAL SINS TO CONFESS BEFORE GOING TO EUCHARIST

You can’t receive the Eucharist if you’ve:

1) Missed a weekend or Holy Day Mass without a valid reason
2) Having sex outside of marriage, with yourself (masturbation) or someone else
3) desecrated the Eucharist
4) haven’t been to confession in a year
5) Use artificial birth control – condoms, pills, patches, IUD’s, etc

6) sponsor or help in any way with an abortion or any destruction of an embryo
7) Murder
8) Hate/Anger
9) Lust after someone
10) Pride, Greed, Sloth, Envy

etc. etc. The list is not exhaustive, and any sin that we have meditated on before hand, understood its gravity and still chosen to do it can be a deadly sin.

C.C.C. 1857 FOR A SIN TO BE MORTAL, THREE CONDITIONS MUST TOGETHER BE MET: “MORTAL SIN IS SIN WHOSE OBJECT IS GRAVE MATTER AND WHICH IS ALSO COMMITTED WITH FULL KNOWLEDGE AND DELIBERATE CONSENT.”131
1 CORINTHIANS 11:27 27 THEREFORE WHOSOEVER SHALL EAT THIS BREAD, OR DRINK THE CHALICE OF THE LORD UNWORTHILY, SHALL BE GUILTY OF THE BODY AND OF THE BLOOD OF THE LORD.

Don’t step out of bounds…and by all means…if you do…get back in bounds through confession! Don’t desecrate the Eucharist and receive it as some sort of prize you’ve earned simply by showing up for Mass!

By Fr. John Hollowell
Source: On This Rock

WHEN THINGS SEEM HOPELESS, SAY THIS PRAYER

Miraculous Novena Prayer to Saint Jude Thaddeus:

O Holy St. Jude! Apostle and Martyr, great in virtue and rich in miracles, near kinsman of Jesus Christ, faithful intercessor for all who invoke your special patronage in time of need, to you I have recourse from the depth of my heart and humbly beg you, to whom God has given such great power,to come to my assistance.
Help me in my present urgent petition (mention your urgent need).
In return I promise to make your name known and cause you to be invoked.
(Say 3 Our Fathers, 3 Hail Marys, & 3 Glory Be)
St. Jude, pray for us and all who honour thee and invoke thy aid.
Amen.
(This novena prayer to be said for 9 consecutive days. St Jude Thaddeus is the patron saint of lost causes. When things seem hopeless and helpless, then this prayer has worked miracles for all who have turned to St. Jude Thaddeus in times of need.)

#CatholicPrayers #Saints #SaintJudeThaddeus #Saintofthehopeless

UNFAILING PRAYER TO SAINT ANTHONY

UNFAILING PRAYER TO ST. ANTHONY

"Blessed be God in His Angels and in His Saints"

O HOLY ST. ANTHONY, gentlest of Saints, your love for God and Charity for His creatures, made you worthy, when on earth, to possess miraculous powers. Encouraged by this thought, I implore you to obtain for me (request). O gentle and loving St. Anthony, whose heart was ever full of human sympathy, whisper my petition into the ears of the sweet Infant Jesus, who loved to be folded in your arms; and the gratitude of my heart will ever be yours. Amen.

DEAREST JESUS, tenderly loving us, Your greatest joy is to dwell among us and to bestow Your blessing upon us. Though I am not worthy that You should behold me with love, I feel myself drawn to You, O dear Infant Jesus, because You gladly pardon me and exercise Your almighty power over me. So many who turned with confidence to You have received graces and had their petitions granted. Behold me, in spirit I kneel before Your miraculous image on Your altar in Prague, and lay open my heart to You, with its prayers, petitions and hopes. Especially... I enclose in Your loving Heart. Govern me and do with me and mine according to Your holy Will, for I know that in Your Divine wisdom and love You will ordain everything for the best. Almighty gracious Infant Jesus, do not withdraw Your hand from us, but protect and bless us forever. I pray You, sweetest Infant, in the name of Your Blessed Mother Mary who cared for You with such tenderness, and by the great reverence with which St. Joseph carried You in his arms, comfort me and make me happy that I may bless and thank You forever from all my heart. Amen

HAVE A BLESSED DAY WITH INFANT JESUS AND ST. ANTHONY!

PLEASE SHARE TO OTHERS AND BE BLESSED 

WAYS TO AVOID CONVERSION TO CATHOLISM

Conversion story by Albert Little –

As a Protestant convert to Catholicism whose journey culminated at the Easter Vigil earlier this year, I have some
experience, oddly enough, in how to become a Catholic. For me, it was a particular, miraculous journey that I’ve
been writing about for a few months now. For me, I can trace certain lines—a certain narrative—through nearly a decade’s long journey. In my own journey, I can check off certain boxes and say, definitively, yes, that made me become a Catholic.

So, naturally, I wanted to help others to avoid a similar fate.

For me, it’s too late, but there’s hope for you. If you can, with the help of our Lord and your closest friends and family, avoid these certain pitfalls, while I can’t promise, I can assure you that you’ll have a much easier time avoiding the trap that I fell into.

Friends, I offer some unsolicited advice: here’s how to not become a Catholic.

1) Don’t Read Scott Hahn

One of the first mistakes I made as a Protestant was to read Scott Hahn.

Do not read Rome Sweet Home.

2) Don’t Read Church History

A second, major mistake that I made was to read Church history—the history of Christianity

Do not read The Reformation by Diarmaid MacCulloch.

3) Don’t Read the Early Church Fathers

A third mistake that I made was nearly fatal: I began to read the Early Church Fathers.

4) Don’t Meet Any Great Catholics

The next mistake you might make is to meet some great Catholics. Don’t do it

5) Don’t Start Living Like a Catholic

But, if you’ve already met devout Catholics there’s still hope, even at this late point in the journey I can offer this solid piece of advice.

Don’t start living like a Catholic.

6) Don’t Give God an Inch

But maybe there’s still hope, maybe the slope is not yet too slippery.

7) Don’t Pray

Also, whatever you do, don’t pray.

8) Don’t Let Your Faith Be Challenged

Finally, friends, if you’ve come this far I’m not sure what else we can muster up but I’ll surely try.

Conclusion

We must dig in, friends, and dig in deep. We must read all the authors we’ve always read. Visit all the websites we’ve always visited. Spend time in conversation with friends who only agree with our points of view and refuse, at all costs, to challenge the faith we’ve always known.

We haven’t grown complacent—no way!—we’ve grown confident in our faith. We know what we believe! We’re not scared to think about the Bible, the Sacraments, or the Christian Church in a new way. Nothing scares us, we’re simply too busy or too happy with the way things are right now. We won’t be challenged because we don’t need to be.

After all, Jesus taught that change is bad, complacency is good, and we can get to Heaven by doing what we’ve always done.

Right, Pharisees?

Although, if you’ve come this far, and all else fails, maybe you should just become a Catholic. I know I am.

SAINT AUGUSTINE

Saint Augustine of Hippo

Augustine of Hippo (354-430) envisioned a form of religious community life in which the members would “live in harmony, being united in mind and heart on the way God.” He wrote, or inspired the writing of, a Rule outlining the basic principles of this sort of life. Today Augustinians and many other religious orders and congregations still use this Rule as their guide.A Bishop in Hippo (near modern-day Annaba, Algeria), Augustine was an influential leader in the African Church. As Christians were growing in their knowledge of God and Christ, Augustine helped to shape Christian theological teachings, particularly those about the role of Divine Grace and the nature of the Holy Trinity. In the process, he combatted many theological errors.The son of Monica, a holy Christian, and Patricius, a pagan, Augustine was born in 354 in Tagaste (now known as Souk Ahras, Algeria). He was educated in the best secular schools of his day. As a young man, he led a distinctly non-Christian and immoral life. He lived with a young woman without the benefit of marriage. Together they had a son, Adeodatus.Augustine became a teacher. He first taught Grammar in Tagaste. He then taught Rhetoric in Carthage, and later in Rome and Milan.The young Augustine was continually searching with a restless heart for meaning in life. Each time that he would be attracted to a particular philosophy or group, he would become disillusioned the more familiar he became with its thought.Finally, he found Jesus Christ, and at last was satisfied. “You have made us for yourself, Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you,” Augustine would later reflect on his earlier searching.Shortly after his baptism as a Christian in 387, Augustine returned to Tagaste. There he gathered several of his friends together to share a common life of mutual support on their spiritual journey.At the insistence of the Christians of Hippo, Augustine was ordained a Priest in 391, and Bishop of Hippo in 395. Unwilling to give up his community life, he called the clergy of Hippo to form a community with him.As Bishop, Augustine ministered to the spiritual and material needs of his people. He wrote extensively. We have today a vast collection of his writing--113 books, 207 letters and more than 500 sermons. His most famous works are The Confessions, City of God and The Trinity. He contributed magnificently to the development of sound theology and was influential in combatting theological errors.Although he is rightly famous for his roles in settling the theological controversies of his time, Augustine’s priorities were the pastoral care of the people of his Church and spiritual growth. He developed a deep spirituality in which love is central. He was particularly concerned with the needs of the poor, and saw to it that the Church welcomed and helped them.

Augustine died August 28, 430, just as the Roman Empire in Africa was dying, too, during the Vandal invasions. His memorial is celebrated on 28 August, the day of his death. Augustine is the patron saint of brewers, printers, theologians, the alleviation of sore eyes, and a number of cities and dioceses..

HOW LONG DOES THE SOUL REMAIN IN PURGATORY

The length of time souls are detained in purgatory depend on:

1- The number of their faults

2- On the malice and deliveration with which these have been committed

3- On the penance done or not done, the satisfaction made for sins during life

4- Much too depend on the suffrages offered for them after death

What can be safely said is that the time souls spend in Purgatory, as a rule, is very much longer than the people commonly know. We will quote a few o the many instances which are recounted in the lives and revelations of the Saints.

St. Louis Bertrand's father of so great a saint

 He had even wished to become a Carthusian monk until he learned that it was not God’s will for him.When he died, after long years spent in the practice of every Christian virtue, his saintly son, fully aware of the rigours of God’s justice, offered many Masses and poured forth the most fervent supplications for the soul he so dearly loved.A vision of his father still in Purgatory forced him to intensify a hundredfold his suffrages. He added most severe penances and long fasts to his Masses and prayers. Yet eight whole years passed before he obtained the release of his father.

St Malachy’s sister

St Malchy’s sister was detained in Purgatory for a very long time despite the Masses, prayers and heroic mortifications the Saint offered for her!

Other pious people 

 It was related to a holy nun in Famphluna, who succeeded in releasing many Carmelite nuns from Purgatory that most of these had spent there terms from thirty to sixty years!
Carmelite nuns in Purgatory for forty, fifty and sixty years! What will it be for those living midst the temptations of the World and with all their hundreds of weaknesses?
St Vincent Ferrer, after the death of his sister, prayed with incredible fervour for her soul and offered many Masses for her release. She appeared to him at length and told him that, had it not been for his powerful intercession with God, she should have remained an indeterminable time in Purgatory.

Necessary and prudent
In the Dominican Order it is the rule to pray for the Master Generals by name on their anniversaries. Many of these have been dead several hundred years! They were men especially eminent for piety and learning. This rule would not been approved by the Church were it not necessary and prudent.

The time varies
We do not mean to imply that all souls are detained equally long periods in the expiatory fires. Many have committed lesser faults and have done more penance. Therefore their punishment will be much less severe.
Still the instances we have quoted are very much to the point, for if these souls who enjoyed the intimacy, who saw the example and shared in the intercession of great Saints during their lives and who, after death, were aided by their most efficacious suffrages, yet were detained for such a length of time in Purgatory, what may not happen to us who enjoy none of these wonderful privileges?

Why such a lengthy expiation in Purgatory?
The malice of sin is very great. What appears to us small faults are in reality serious offences against the infinite goodness of God. It is enough to see how the Saints wept over their faults. – We are weak, it may be urged. That is true, but then God offers us abundant graces to strengthen our weakness, gives us light to see the gravity of our faults and the necessity force to conquer temptation. If we are still weak the fault is all our own. We do not use the light and strength He so generously offers us, we do not pray, we do not receive the sacraments, as we should.
An eminent Theologian wisely remarks that if souls are condemned to Hell because of one mortal sin for all eternity, it is not to be wondered at that other souls should be detained for long years in Purgatory who have committed countless deliberate venial sins, some of which are so grave that at the time of their commission the sinner scarcely knows if they are mortal or venial. They may have committed, too, many mortal sins for which they have had little sorrow and done little or no penance. The guilt has been remitted by absolution [in sacramental confession; i.e. the sacrament of penance/reconciliation], but the pain due to the sins will have to be paid in Purgatory.

Venial sins
There are an infinite number of faults of self love, selfishness; thoughts, words, and acts of sensuality, too, in a hundred forms; faults of charity in thought, word and deed; laziness, vanity, jealousy, tepidity and innumerable other faults.
There are sins of omission which we pay so little heed to. We love God so little yet He has a thousand claims on our love. We treat Him with coldness, indifference, and base ingratitude. He died for each one of us. Do we ever thank Him as we ought? He remains day and night on the Altar waiting for our visits, anxious to help us. How seldom do we go to Him! He longs to come into our hearts in Holy Communion and we refuse Him entrance. He dies for us on the Altar every Morning at Mass and gives oceans of graces to those who assist at the Great Sacrifice. Yet many are too lazy to go to this Calvary! What an abuse of grace!
Our thoughts are mean and hard, full of self love. We have happy homes, splendid food, warm clothing, an abundance of all good things. Many around us live in hunger and misery and we give them so little while we spend lavishly and needlessly on ourselves.Our Lord tells us that we shall have to render an account for each and every idle word we say and that we may not leave our prison until we shall have paid the last farthing.The Saints committed few and slight sins and still they sorrowed much and did severe penances. We commit many and grave sins and we sorrow little and do little or no penance.It would be difficult to calculate the immense number of venial sins that any Christian commits.Life is given us to serve God, to save our souls. Most Christians, however, are satisfied to give God a very small proportion of their time! The rest of the 24 hours is given to work, rest and pleasure. A small proportion to God, to our immortal souls, to the great work we have to do, viz, our salvation. The by far greatest proportion to this transitory life! Is it fair to God? It may be alleged that our work, our rest, our sufferings are done for God! They should be and then our merits would be, indeed, great. The truth is that many scarcely ever think of God during the day. The one engrossing object of their thoughts is self. They think and labour and rest and sleep to satisfy self. God gets a very little place in their day and in their minds. This is an outrage to His loving heart which is ever thinking of us.

– From: Read Me or Rue It, by E.D.M., approved of His Eminence the Cardinal Patriarch of Lisbon 4/6/1936, printed by Kerryman, Co Kerry, Ireland