| FATHER MATEO ON THE HOLY SACRIFICE OF THE MASS (continued)What do the catechism and Sacred Theology teach us of the Holy Sacrifice? But, before beginning the development of this beautiful subject, let me make this extremely important remark.
LIGHT OF THE MIND AND FIRE OF THE SOUL In this consideration, an effort will be made to enlighten the mind and enkindle the heart. By this, I mean that a bright light will be brought to bear on the subject so that a deep and supernatural conviction will be generated concerning the Mystery of our Altars, for simple faith, without understanding, is not enough in our days. In addition to this light, it is of greater importance that there be a burning love for Jesus Christ in your souls. There are books enough which give light without warmth, and so may the Heart of Jesus enliven my thoughts and my pen, that I may write with the fire of love. Yes, I want to set my readers on fire. It would make me quite happy, were my readers to say, as did a student to a certain priest: “Father, your books set my soul on fire; your style moves me to tears, and my hands burn as they turn your pages. How can you possibly write with such a fiery pen?” Why should it be impossible to combine in perfect harmony, doctrine and unction, sound reasoning and great love? Why do we separate the head from the heart when we discuss the things of God? Why this strange anomaly? Certainly, we must be clear. Clarity is excellent and indispensable. But, at the same time, we should aim at edification and kindling the fire of love. We have an excellent example of this in the Gospel, which is at once a sun that gives light and a sun which gives life with the warmth of charity. “I am the light of the world,” says the Master, “and what will I, but that it be kindled?” (Jn. 8:12). And He adds, “I am come to cast fire on the earth” (Luke 1 2:49), “Come to me, all of you” (Matt. 11:28). Not for all the world would I write a mere skeleton of a book, devoid of a soul of love. And why? Is it not true that the Love of God is the apex and substance of genuine theology? Never forget that the genius who wrote the incomparable Summa, was the same who composed the masterpiece, the Mass of Corpus Christi. It is not the marvellous intellect of St. Thomas Aquinas that I envy, but his burning priestly heart, for I am a priest as he was a priest. This is the practice of the Church in her simple yet beautiful prayer to the Holy Spirit: “enlighten my mind,” “enkindle my heart”. The Church asks for light that cuts the way to grace and love, to complete its action and make it efficacious. One 25th of March, the Holy Spirit, in fitting a body for the Word of God in the virginal womb of Mary, consecrated this humanity High Priest for the Glory of the Trinity and constituted Him a Victim for the Redemption of Adam and his posterity. The Church expresses this Mystery thus, in the collect of the beautiful Mass of the Priesthood of Jesus Christ: “O God, Who for the glory of Thy majesty and the redemption of the human race, has constituted Thine only-begotten Son, Eternal High Priest…” In the Incarnation, the Son of God became Son of Man, and as such was possible, that is, capable of suffering, of being in agony, of dying. He who was immortality and life became subject to death. In taking to Himself human flesh, the Word was fulfilling the Will of His Father, and subjecting Himself to death. He came into the world as Messiah and Saviour: “to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). His coming was primarily directed to the end that He might be a holocaust of infinite worth in the supreme Sacrifice of the New Covenant. How impressive and overwhelming it is to consider that, while He could have saved us on Mt. Tabor, shining with glory and bliss, out of love He chose the folly and ignominy of the Cross. Now, let us begin with joyful hearts. Grant that by this meditation, souls may find themselves captivated by the august Mystery we are treating. Now, more than ever, may the Holy Spirit be with me! |
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ST. PHILOMENA’S YOUTH FOR PURITY Campaign and the Establishment of The CHILDREN OF MARY Movement In an effort to promote purity and innocence among the youth and to enlist them in the cause of Christ, the Universal Living Rosary Association and the Archconfraternity of St. Philomena have joined together to promote the St. Philomena’s Youth for Purity Program. In every fight, an ally is needed and the Church has proclaimed through the Sovereign Pontiffs that St. Philomena, the young Virgin-Martyr, is the ally needed to help the youth in their struggle for integrity of heart. The program aims to introduce St. Philomena, the power of her intercession and the integrity of her example to the youth of the 21st century. Her inspirational example is even more fitting now, in our time, as we see more and more clearly that the temptations and vices of her day have been recast in our own time – power, greed, lust and the destruction of the family unit.
The program has two parts: In the first phase, special Mini-Shrines will be sent to any youth group, school or parish that registers to take part. The Mini-Shrine will contain a statue of St. Philomena as well as literature and information concerning her life and witness. Additional devotional material will also be included that the children can take home and share with the family. A detailed curriculum is included for the group leader so that the group can ‘walk’ through the literature and presentations together. The Mini-Shrine program is designed to introduce St. Philomena as an ally in the struggle against sin and temptation – particularly sins against purity. The role of the Saints as allies and friends is highlighted. That introduction leads to a presentation on the role of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the necessity of true devotion to her as our model of discipleship. The example of Venerable Pauline-Marie Jaricot is presented as a wonderful model of conversion and service. The Mini-Shrine program ends with a presentation on the true presence of Our Lord in the Most Blessed Sacrament. In this way, highlighting St. Philomena’s role as intercessor and ally, the Blessed Mother as our model of discipleship and the living presence of Our Lord in our midst, the program acts as a short retreat for the youth, focusing their attention on the power of the Faith.
The meetings will be designed to foster the role of the congregation. The Children of Mary is a Catholic Lay Association that has, for its main purpose, the spiritual formation of its members. It takes for its model the spirituality of St. Louis de Montfort and his ideal of Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary. The work of the congregation is to foster holiness in the youth by giving them solid formation and peer support under the mantle of the Blessed Mother. The sign of membership is the Miraculous Medal worn on a broad blue ribbon – the motto of the congregation is “Monstra Te Esse Matrem” ‘Show thyself a Mother’. Regular updates, meeting guides, prayers, and registration forms, click here to visitthe Children of Mary website. Please pray for this endeavor that we may form in our time: “An Army of Youth Flying the Banner of Truth,
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Marian Congress unites apostolate members at Maryhill
Fr. Chad Partain, Vicar of the Diocese and pastor of St. Frances Cabrini Church, spoke on the work of the Congregation of the Children of Mary, an organization founded shortly after the apparition of the Virgin Mary to St. Catherine Laboure in France in 1830. Fr. Partain is currently director of the movement, which now includes persons of all ages.
Fr. Partain explained that persons enrolled in either the Children of Mary or the Living Rosary are automatically enrolled in the other, as well as in the Universal Archconfraternity of St. Philomena, head-quartered at the Saint’s shrine in Mugnano del Cardinale, Italy. The third presenter at the Marian Congress, Deacon Cody Miller, of the Diocese of Lafayette, spoke on the work of the Legion of Mary. Founded by Frank Duff in 1921 in Ireland, the Legion of Mary now counts approximately 3 million members worldwide. All speakers related how their respective apostolates have provided a means of serving God and their brothers and sisters through lives modeled on that of the Virgin Mary. Sunday’s program included a beautiful Votive Mass in honor of the Virgin Mary, celebrated in the Latin form by Fr. Partain. All 15 decades of the Rosary were recited throughout the day: the Joyful Mysteries in the morning, the Sorrowful Mysteries at midday, and the Glorious Mysteries in the afternoon. Attendees at the Marian Congress included lay leaders in education and the media. Participants from the Diocese of Baton Rouge included Mary and Brian Costello of New Roads. Brian Costello
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HEART OF VEN. PAULINE-MARIE JARICOT “A House Founded on the Cross Will Fear Neither Wind, Nor Rain nor Storm.” St. Jean-Marie Vianney The Love of Christ was the great motivation force of Pauline’s life. After she renounced the pleasures of the world, she loudly proclaimed to those around her … “from now on, Christ will be everything for me …” and she was good to her word! Pauline would give everything to Christ: her health, her life, her good name, her affections, her fortune... Christ would gather up her gifts … THEN, so that she would more perfectly resemble HIM: HE PUT HER ON THE CROSS! “I have loved JESUS CHRIST more than all the earth; THE PIOUS EXERCISE OF THE LIVING ROSARY The individual devotion of isolated souls is often a SPARK in the middle of darkness without the influence of a flame. Through our union of charity in praying the Living Rosary, we INJECT this spiritual remedy into the souls of others as SPIRITUAL MEDICINE. In this way, those who are strong uphold the weak, those who are fervent inspire the lukewarm and the spiritually rich enrich the poor: BRING THEM ALL TOGETHER AND YOU HAVE A FURNACE! One who prays the Rosary alone receives the graces and merits of one Rosary. Yet, if he is united with FIFTEEN million others, he gains the graces and merits of the whole! Write and send us your name. We will build a list of 15 and send you the Mystery you are assigned to pray daily. Your DECADE may be offered at any time of the day or night, and in any place. Our common intention remains: The TRIUMPH of The Immaculate Heart of Mary!
Join Our Lady’s Worldwide Rosary Army! Please print CLEARLY your correct name and address: |
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| Dear Sister Patti,I must thank you and our dear benefactors for the gift of Sacramentals. Both the boxes via UPS and postal department reached me safely. The materials are distributed among the promoters in the local areas. I attach some photos of the Promoters’ Meeting in Negombo and Tewatte. We are reaching out to many as possible. By the Grace of God, we are succeeding in this venture. At Tewatte, I also vested the members with the Brown Scapular during the Holy Mass. I will send the names soon. Thank God for making use of these unworthy servants for this great work. With prayers and blessings to all +
Fr. Andrew Uthayadas,
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| Dear Mrs. Melvin,I visited Chak no.424 on May 10, and enrolled new members. Yesterday, I was in Sialkot on the invitation of Fr. Tariq. He took me to two schools where we enrolled the students and staff in the Living Rosary Family. I gave Father the relics of St. Philomena, Ven. Pauline Jaricot, St. Padre Pio and St. Anthony.
On Saturday, I will go to Sheikhupura which is about two hours travel from Faisalabad. I will come back and then visit Shorkot which is about three hours travel from Faisalabad in the opposite direction of Sheikhupura. So, it will be a long travel for which I will need your prayers. Miss Nadia from Karachi is planning my visit to Karachi from 22nd of this month. She will finalize it tomorrow. God bless you all!
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Share Your Gift of FaithFor centuries, our cherished Catholic faith has been passed from person to person, parent to child, etc. Each of us carries in our heart a special memory of how God first graced us with the knowledge of the faith and how Our Blessed Mother, Saint Philomena, Venerable Pauline Jaricot and other saints changed our lives and brought us closer to Christ. In our work in the Universal Living Rosary Association, we see first hand how millions of souls are currently living without that knowledge of God and are living outside of His grace. We have been given a beautiful opportunity to carry out Christ’s work and pass on our faith and blessings to others who would otherwise never be introduced to Our Lord, the Savior of all mankind. Just as we pray for the souls in Purgatory who have no one to pray for them, we should also make it a part of our life’s mission to pass on our faith to as many souls as possible who have no one else to pass it on to them, who don’t know Our Lord and His promise of salvation.
This is the box we send out to the foreign Missions $77.95. It contains Rosaries, Scapulars, Miraculous Medals, Cord & Oil, Newsletters, Calendars, Catechism books, 2 TAN books, large color prints, lists and encouragement for our Promoters. |
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The program aims to foster devotion to St. Philomena but also encourages the youth to form Children of Mary circles in their schools and parishes. Pope Pius IX declared St. Philomena to be the patroness of the Children of Mary and the Living Rosary Association, and the Archconfraternity of St. Philomena. All three have agreed to be co-sponsors of a revived ‘Sodality’ movement. Fr. Chad Partain, the chancellor of the Diocese of Alexandria in Louisiana, has been named to spearhead the program and act as the Director of the Congregation of the Children of Mary. Literature is included in each Mini-Shrine detailing the process of how to form a Children of Mary circle and what is entailed so that the work of spiritual formation may continue. Each circle, composed of at least five members, will be registered with both the Living Rosary Association and with the Archconfraternity of St. Philomena. In this way, the children enrolled will share in the spiritual blessings and indulgences attached to those organizations. Each child registered will assume responsibility for praying one decade of the Rosary each day and for invoking the aid of St. Philomena. The Children of Mary circles will meet on the first Saturday of the month to foster devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and to fulfill Our Lady’s requests for prayer and penance.
Fr. Chad Partain, Director
The Louisiana Marian Congress, sponsored by the Diocese of Alexandria, was held Friday and Saturday, May 9-10, at the Maryhill Renewal Center in Pineville. The event attracted members of several apostolate groups from Louisiana and Texas for two days of renewal and re-consecration to lives of active service.
Mrs. Patti Melvin, of Dickinson, Texas, addressed the assembly of the work of the Universal Living Rosary Association of St. Philomena, of which she is director. Founded by Ven. Pauline-Marie Jaricot in 1826 in France, the membership of the Living Rosary flourished in its early days but had declined to nearly the point of disbanding when Mrs. Melvin and husband, Richard, revived it in 1986. At present, the Living Rosary counts nearly 13 million members around the globe, with a strong presence in Third World countries.
RESTORE THE FAMILY TO CHRIST THROUGH THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY!
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