Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart Author: St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart

Author: St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

O Sacred Heart of Jesus, to Thee I consecrate and offer up my person and my life, my actions, trials, and sufferings, that my entire being may henceforth only be employed in loving, honoring and glorifying Thee. This is my irrevocable will, to belong entirely to Thee, and to do all for Thy love, renouncing with my whole heart all that can displease Thee.

I take Thee, O Sacred Heart, for the sole object of my love, the protection of my life, the pledge of my salvation, the remedy of my frailty and inconstancy, the reparation for all the defects of my life, and my secure refuge at the hour of my death. Be Thou, O Most Merciful Heart, my justification before God Thy Father, and screen me from His anger which I have so justly merited. I fear all from my own weakness and malice, but placing my entire confidence in Thee, O Heart of Love, I hope all from Thine infinite Goodness. Annihilate in me all that can displease or resist Thee. Imprint Thy pure love so deeply in my heart that I may never forget Thee or be separated from Thee.

I beseech Thee, through Thine infinite Goodness, grant that my name be engraved upon Thy Heart, for in this I place all my happiness and all my glory, to live and to die as one of Thy devoted servants.

Amen.

SAINT AUGUSTINE OF CANTERBURY

St. Augustine of Canterbury

Augustine was the abbot of St. Andrew’s mona–stery in Rome. Pope Gregory the Great chose him and forty other monks for an important mission. They were to go and preach the Gospel to the people of England. Abbot Augustine and the monks started on their journey. When they reached southern France, people warned them that the English were fierce. The monks felt discouraged. They asked Augustine to go back and obtain the pope’s permission to give up the whole idea. He did, but the pope wanted the monks to go to England just the same. Pope Gregory knew that the people were ready to accept the Christian faith. And so the monks continued their journey. They arrived in England in 597.

The monks were kindly received by King Ethelbert, whose wife was a Christian princess from France. The monks formed a procession when they arrived. They walked along singing psalms. They carried a cross and a picture of our Lord. Many people welcomed the monks’ message. King Ethelbert himself was baptized on Pentecost, 597. That year Abbot Augustine became a bishop.

Augustine often wrote to the pope. And Pope St. Gregory gave him much holy advice. Speaking about the many miracles Augustine worked, the pope said: “You must rejoice with fear and fear with joy for that gift.” He meant that Augustine should be happy that through the miracles the English people were putting faith in the Gospel. But he should be careful not to take credit for the miracles, because they were from God.

At Canterbury, Augustine built a church and a monastery, which became the most important in England. St. Augustine died on May 26, 604, seven years after his arrival in England.

----------

If our parents or eachers ask us to do something that seems difficult or uninteresting, we should do it as best as we can. St. Augustine will help us because he knows how it feels to be given a difficult assignment.

SAINT FAUSTINA PRAYER TO THE MOTHER OF GOD

O Mary, my Mother and my Lady, I offer you my soul, my body, my life and my death, and all that will follow it. I place everything in your hands. O my Mother, cover my soul with your virginal mantle and grant me the grace of purity of heart, soul and body. Defend me with your power against all enemies, and especially against those who hide their malice behind the mask of virtue (79). Fortify my soul that pain will not break it. Mother of grace, teach me to live by God's power (315).




O Mary, a terrible sword has pierced your holy soul. Except for God, no one knows of your suffering. Your soul does not break; it is brave, because it is with Jesus. Sweet Mother, unite my soul to Jesus, because it is only then that I will be able to endure all trials and tribulations, and only in union with Jesus will my little sacrifices be pleasing to God. Sweetest Mother, continue to teach me about the interior life. May the sword of suffering never break me. O pure Virgin, pour courage into my heart and guard it (915).

The Five Fatima Prayers

The Five Fatima Prayers

The Rosary Decade Prayer

"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. Amen."

The Pardon 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. Amen.”

The Angel’s Prayer

“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. Amen.”

The Eucharistic Prayer

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

The Sacrifice Prayer

"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. Amen."

Saint Isidore, The Farmer

SAINT OF THE DAY

ST. ISIDORE THE "FARMER "

(SAN ISIDRO LABRADOR)

(Feast Day: May 15,)

Saint Isidore the Farmer’s Story

Saint Isidore was born in Madrid, in about the year 1070, of poor but very devout parents, and was christened Isidore from the name of their patron, St. Isidore of Seville.When he was barely old enough to wield a hoe, Isidore entered the service of John de Vargas, a wealthy landowner from Madrid, and spent his life as a hired hand and worked faithfully on his estate outside the city for the rest of his life. He shared what he had, even his meals, with the poor. Juan de Vargas would later make him bailiff of his entire estate of Lower Caramanca.

He married a young woman as simple and upright as himself. Isidore married Maria Torribia, known as Santa María de la Cabeza in Spain; she has never been canonized, pending confirmation by Pope Francis. Isidore and Maria had one son. On one occasion, their son fell into a deep well and, at the prayers of his parents, the water of the well is said to have risen miraculously to the level of the ground, bringing the child with it. In thanksgiving Isidore and Maria then vowed sexual abstinence and lived in separate houses. Their son later died in his youth.

Isidore had deep religious instincts. He rose early in the morning to go to church and spent many holidays devoutly visiting the churches of Madrid and surrounding areas. All day long, as he walked behind the plow, he communed with God. His devotion, one might say, became a problem, for his fellow workers sometimes complained that he often showed up late because of lingering in church too long.

While he walked the fields, plowing, planting, and harvesting, he also prayed. As a hardworking man, Isidore had three great loves: God, his family, and the soil. He and his wife Maria, proved to all their neighbors that poverty, hard work, and sorrow cannot destroy human happiness if we accept them with faith and in union with Christ. Isidore understood clearly that, without soil, the human race cannot exist too long. The insight may explain why he always had such a reverent attitude toward his work as a farmer.

Isidore and Maria were known for their love of the poor. Often they brought food to poor, hungry persons and prayed with them. During his lifetime, Isidore had the gift of miracles. If he was late for work because he went to Mass, an angel was seen plowing for him. He was known for his love of the poor, and there are accounts of Isidore’s supplying them miraculously with food. More than once he fed hungry people with food that seemed to multiply miraculously.

He had a great concern for the proper treatment of animals.

Isidore died on May 15, 1130, at his birthplace close to Madrid, although the only official source places his death in the year 1172.

He died after a peaceful life of hard labor and charity.

He was declared a saint in 1622, with Saints Ignatius of Loyola, Francis Xavier, Teresa of Avila, and Philip Neri. Together, the group is known in Spain as “the five saints.”

In the Philippines , Saint Isidore, just like Saint Vincent Ferrer and the devotion to the Holy Cross, is celebrated in many towns, villages and barrios in the month of May. He is the Patron of many towns, foremost of which are the towns of Tubigon, Bilar, Trinidad and San Isidro. (Wikipedia)

Isidore has become the patron of farmers and rural communities. In particular, he is the patron of Madrid, Spain, and of the United States National Rural Life Conference.

Reflection

Many implications can be found in a simple laborer achieving sainthood: Physical labor has dignity; sainthood does not stem from status; contemplation does not depend on learning; the simple life is conducive to holiness and happiness. Legends about angel helpers and mysterious oxen indicate that his work was not neglected and his duties did not go unfulfilled. Perhaps the truth which emerges is this: If you have your spiritual self in order, your earthly commitments will fall into order also. “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness,” said the carpenter from Nazareth, “and all these things will be given you (Matthew 6:33).

Let us pray

Lord God, to whom belongs all creation,

and who call us to serve you

by caring for the gifts that surround us,

inspire us by the example of Saint Isidore

to share our food with the hungry

and to work for the salvation of all people.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. AMEN.

Happy Feast Day, Saint Isidore the Farmer! 🌾

We thank you, Saint Isidore, Catholic Patron Saint of Farmers, for all your blessings. May you bless all of us, especially the farmers, and may they have an abundant harvest in every season with your help.

San Isidro Labrador, pray for us!