Prayers for the World

 My heart is saddened for the Ukrainian people right now and for the entire world.  I beg all of you to increase your prayers and penance for the people of the world and especially for the conversion of so many world leaders, and for peace throughout the entire world.  All things are possible with God!  We must pray and do penance; begin praying and fasting now for these intentions.  

Throughout history we have multiple examples of the faithful imploring heaven's help in times of war and tragedy --Mary's intercession, especially by praying the rosary and our Lord's help through devotion to the Blessed Sacrament:  the battle of Lepanto, the Muslims planned attack on the convent of the Poor Clares, and the near attack of the pirates upon Lima during the time of St. Rose to name just a few.  We must trust in God and his Mother, offering all of our prayers and penances for their help and in reparation of sin.  Remember to pray your daily rosary, imploring Mary for her intercession.

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Prayer to Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, Help of Christians 

+Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, help of Christians, refuge of the human race, victorious in all the battles of God, we prostrate ourselves in supplication before thy throne, in the sure hope of obtaining mercy and of receiving grace and timely aid in our present calamities, not through any merits of our own, on which we do not rely, but only through the immense goodness of thy mother’s heart. In thee and in thy Immaculate Heart, at this grave hour of human history, do we put our trust; to thee we consecrate ourselves, not only with all of Holy Church, which is the mystical body of thy Son Jesus, and which is suffering in so many of her members, being subjected to manifold tribulations and persecutions, but also with the whole world, torn by discords, agitated with hatred, the victim of its own iniquities. Be thou moved by the sight of such material and moral degradation, such sorrows, such anguish, so many tormented souls in danger of eternal loss!

+ Do thou, O Mother of mercy, obtain for us from God a Christ-like reconciliation of the nations, as well as those graces which can convert the souls of men in an instant, those graces which prepare the way and make certain the long desired coming of peace on earth. O Queen of peace, pray for us, and grant peace unto the world in the truth, the justice, and the charity of Christ. Above all, give us peace in our hearts, so that the kingdom of God may spread its borders in the tranquility of order. Accord thy protection to unbelievers and to all those who lie within the shadow of death; cause the Sun of Truth to rise upon them; may they be enabled to join with us in repeating before the Savior of the world: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good will.”

+ Give peace to the nations that are separated from us by error or discord, and in a special manner to those peoples who profess a singular devotion toward thee; bring them back to Christ’s one fold, under the one true Shepherd. Obtain full freedom for the holy Church of God; defend her from her enemies; check the ever-increasing torrent of immorality, arouse in the faithful a love of purity, a practical Christian life, and an apostolic zeal, so that the multitude of those who serve God may increase in merit and in number. + Finally, even as the Church and all mankind were once consecrated to the Heart of thy Son Jesus, because He was for all those who put their hope in Him an inexhaustible source of victory and salvation, so in like manner do we consecrate ourselves forever to thee also and to thy Immaculate Heart, O Mother of us and Queen of the world; may thy love and patronage hasten the day when the kingdom of God shall be victorious and all the nations, at peace with God and with one another, shall call thee blessed and intone with thee, from the rising of the sun to its going down, the everlasting “Magnificat” of glory, of love, of gratitude to the Heart of Jesus, in which alone we can find truth, life, and peace. Amen. 

--written by Pope Piux XII

“The Rosary is a powerful weapon to put the demons to flight and to keep oneself from sin…If you desire peace in your hearts, in your homes, and in your country, assemble each evening to recite the Rosary. Let not even one day pass without saying it, no matter how burdened you may be with many cares and labors.” -- Pope Pius XI 

“The Rosary is the most excellent form of prayer and the most efficacious means of attaining eternal life. It is the remedy for all our evils, the root of all our blessings. There is no more excellent way of praying.” --Pope Leo XIII

God bless!

+JMJ+

An Fun Prayer Encouragement

 I pray everyone is doing well and that you have a blessed Candlemas! I  hope to begin blogging again soon (on a regular basis) since my littlest one is now a bit more independent.  I have many birthday posts to write and prayers to give you.  For today, however, I only have a picture that I thought was fun.  I hope you enjoy it!

God bless!

+JMJ+

Prayer to St. Joseph for the Month of October

                                   

Pope Leo XIII's encyclical Quamquam Pluries was the first encyclical dedicated to St. Joseph.  In it he states, it is "...of high importance that the devotion to St. Joseph should engraft itself upon the daily pious practices of Catholics..."  He urges the use of prayer, joining to the intercession of Mary that of St. Joseph, to implore God's help.  Quamquam Pluries states, "We judge it of deep utility for the Christian people, continually to invoke with great piety and trust, together with the Virgin-Mother of God, her chaste Spouse, the Blessed Joseph; and We regard it as most certain that this will be most pleasing to the Virgin herself."

To encourage this devotion to St. Joseph in union with devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Pope Leo XIII therefore attached to his encyclical the prayer "Ad te Beate Ioseph," ordering that it be added to the end of the recitation of the rosary throughout the month of October. To this prayer he attached an indulgence.

Ad te Beate Ioseph

AD te beate Ioseph, in tribulatione nostra confugimus, atque, implorato Sponsae tuae sanctissimae auxilio, patrocinium quoque tuum fidenter exposcimus. Per eam, quaesumus quae te cum immaculata Virgine Dei Genetrice coniunxit, caritatem, perque paternum, quo Puerum Iesum amplexus es, amorem, supplices deprecamur, ut ad hereditatem, quam Iesus Christus acquisivit Sanguine suo, benignus respicias, ac necessitatibus nostris tua virtute et ope succurras.

Tuere, o Custos providentissime divinae Familiae, Iesu Christi subolem electam; prohibe a nobis, amantissime Pater, omnem errorum ac corruptelarum luem; propitius nobis, sospitator noster fortissime, in hoc cum potestate tenebrarum certamine e caelo adesto; et sicut olim Puerum Iesum e summo eripuisti vitae discrimine, ita nunc Ecclesiam sanctam Dei ab hostilibus insidiis atque ab omni adversitate defende: nosque singulos perpetuo tege patrocinio, ut ad tui exemplar et ope tua suffulti, sancte vivere, pie emori, sempiternamque in caelis beatitudinem assequi possimus. Amen.

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Prayer to St. Joseph

TO thee, O blessed Joseph, do we come in our tribulation, and having implored the help of thy most holy Spouse, we confidently invoke thy patronage also. Through that charity which bound thee to the immaculate Virgin Mother of God and through the paternal love with which thou embraced the Child Jesus, we humbly beg thee to graciously regard the inheritance which Jesus Christ has purchased by his Blood, and with thy power and strength to aid us in our necessities.

O most watchful Guardian of the Holy Family, defend the chosen children of Jesus Christ; O most loving father, ward off from us every contagion of error and corrupting influence; O our most mighty protector, be propitious to us and from heaven assist us in our struggle with the power of darkness; and, as once thou rescued the Child Jesus from deadly peril, so now protect God's Holy Church from the snares of the enemy and from all adversity; shield, too, each one of us by thy constant protection, so that, supported by thy example and thy aid, we may be able to live piously, to die holy, and to obtain eternal happiness in heaven. Amen.

God bless!

+JMJ+

Prayer to St. Dominic Guzman

 Although the feast of St. Dominic Guzman is celebrated on August 4 (August 8 on the new calendar), October, the month of the Holy Rosary, is a fitting month to ask this saint for his intercession. St. Dominic, born in Spain and well-know for his love of learning, charity, and our Lady, was ordained a priest at age twenty-five and lived according to the rule of St. Augustine. However, during a journey through France, Dominic saw the lack of Faith among the common people, with the Albigensian heresy gaining popularity, and the great need to convert them to the Truth. From that moment St. Dominic understood God's will for him was preaching in the world, thus he founded the Order of Preachers, or Dominicans.

St. Dominic worked tirelessly to combat the spread of heresy, imploring heaven in this task. Tradition holds that Mary appeared to St. Dominic, telling him that he would only conquer the enemies of the Church with her Rosary. She encouraged him to pray the Rosary and spread its use throughout the world. It was by following our Lady's command that St. Dominic was able to overcome the Albigensians, and the use of the Holy Rosary continued to increase among the faithful.

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As the month of the Holy Rosary comes to a close, may we remember to pray our Lady's psalter, her Rosary, imploring heaven, as did St. Dominic, for grace and virtue for ourselves and the entire world. Through Mary's Rosary as our “weapon” we may also transform souls and bring them to the Truth, following the holy St. Dominic Guzman. Through the following prayer to St. Dominic, we seek his intercession in obtaining an increase of virtues, to aid us in living a holy life, filled with love of God, prayer, and kindness toward all.

A Prayer to Saint Dominic

O glorious Saint Dominic, thou who wast a model of mortification and purity, by punishing thy innocent body with scourges, with fastings, and with watchings, and by keeping inviolate the lily of thy virginity, obtain for us the grace to practice penance with a generous heart and to keep unspotted the purity of our bodies and our hearts. *** Recite 1 Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory be.

O great Saint, who, inflamed with divine love, didst find thy delight in prayer and intimate union with God, obtain for us to be faithful in our daily prayers, to love Our Lord ardently, and to observe His commandments with ever-increasing fidelity. ***Recite 1 Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory be.

O glorious Saint Dominic, who, being filled with zeal for the salvation of souls, didst preach the Gospel in season and out of season and didst establish the Order of Friars Preachers to labor for the conversion of heretics and poor sinners, pray thou to God for us, that He may grant us to love all our brethren sincerely and to cooperate always, by our prayers and good works, in their sanctification and eternal salvation. *** Recite 1 Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory be.

V. Pray for us, Saint Dominic; R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray. Grant, we beseech Thee, Almighty God, that we who are weighed down by the burden of our sins may be raised up by the patronage of blessed Dominic Thy Confessor. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

God bless!

+JMJ+

Prayer to the Queen of the Holy Rosary

 Holy Mother Church devotes the month of October to the Holy Rosary. In 1206 Mary appeared to St.

Dominic after he had been praying and doing severe penances because of his lack of success in fighting the Albigensian heresy. Mary praised him for his valiant battle against the heretics and then gave him the rosary as a mighty weapon, instructing him to spread its use.

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While the rosary received its beginning hundreds of years ago, in modern times it remains a popular devotion. It is a prayer loved by countless saints and encouraged by the Church. The rosary is a powerful prayer to our Lady and is a devotion all of the faithful should try to incorporate into their daily lives. A simple practice to honor our Lady and her rosary is to recite a rosary, or even just one decade of the rosary, daily. During this month of the Holy Rosary let us strive to recite daily the holy Rosary, the prayer of our Lady, imploring her protection over Holy Mother Church.

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Another prayer honoring this devotion of the rosary is the following prayer to the Queen of the Holy Rosary, whose feast day is October 7.

Prayer to the Queen of the Holy Rosary

O Queen of the most holy Rosary, in these times of brazen impiety, show again they power, with the signs which accompanied thy victories of old, and from the throne where thou art seated, dispensing pardon and grace, in pity watch over the Church of thy Son, His Vicar, and every order of the clergy and laity, suffering in grievous warfare. Hasten, O most powerful destroyer of heresy, hasten the hour of mercy seeing that the hour of judgment is daily challenged by enumerable offenses. Obtain for me, the lowest of men, kneeling suppliant in thy presence, the grace which may enable me to live a just life on earth, and reign with the just in Heaven, whilst with the faithful throughout the world, O Queen of the most holy Rosary, I salute thee and cry out: Queen of the most holy Rosary, pray for us! Amen.

God bless!

+JMJ+

Marian Feasts during August

                                                      

During the month of August two significant Marian feasts are celebrated by the Church. These feasts are the Assumption of Mary, which is a holy day of obligation (although this year in America it is not recognized as such) and falls on August 15, and the feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary on August 22..

Since both of these Marian feast days are also Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary, praying the Glorious mysteries during August would be a wonderful way to honor Our Lady. As Pope Leo XIII writes, “The Glorious Mysteries reveal the mediation of the great Virgin, still more abundant in fruitfulness. She rejoices in heart over the glory of her Son triumphant over death, and follows Him with a mother's love in His Ascension to His eternal kingdom; but, though worthy of Heaven, she abides a while on earth, so that the infant Church may be directed and comforted by her... .”

The Glorious Mysteries in order are the Resurrection, the Ascension, the Descent of the Holy Spirit, the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the Coronation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. One lesser known prayer of the Rosary, simply named “The Rosary Prayer,” follows below. It is to be prayed after the recitation of the Hail Holy Queen, or Salve Regina.

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The Rosary Prayer

O God, whose only begotten Son, by His life, death, and resurrection, has purchased for us the rewards of eternal life, grant, we beseech Thee, that meditating upon these mysteries of the Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise, through the same Christ Our Lord.  Amen.

God bless!

+JMJ+