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Dear Apostles and Benefactors of the Living Rosary, We express our heartfelt gratitude for your generosity in helping us to complete the roof of our church before the snows fall. Your names are engraved on the dome crosses and rest upon the Altar. Each and every day, you are remembered at the Sacred Liturgy. Our hearts must beat with hope and joy at hearing the sweet prophecy of Isaiah: “A Virgin shall conceive and bear a Son.” These words contain the salvation of the world. By her, Eve’s disobedience is repaired, the world is raised from its fall, and the head of the serpent is crushed. God Himself is more glorified by the fidelity of Mary, than He had been outraged at the disobedience of Eve. The resounding FIAT of Mary exercises an immense influence on the saving of the world. The Word Himself came, but Mary is the way He came; it is from her virginal womb He issues as the Bridegroom from the nuptial chamber. Let us go to Jesus through Mary, for Jesus came down to us from her. Through Mary’s intercession He makes us partakers of His glory and bliss. Sin has caused enmity and division everywhere. Sanctifying Grace will bring unity. Let us beg the Holy Ghost to form Jesus within our hearts as He formed Jesus in Mary’s womb. A little Child will be the pledge of an alliance between all nations. The flock will no longer fear the lions; the serpent shall be no more. The humble Mary is the valley blessed by the Lord, a valley beautiful and fertile in which God sowed His Wheat, Our Savior Jesus Christ. It was the humility of Mary that drew God down from Heaven. O Blessed Mother, obtain for us the grace of humility. Let us echo thy FIAT at every step in our lives: “Be it done unto me according to Thy Word.” May Jesus come to us in swathing bands; in humility not in greatness; in the crib not in the clouds of Heaven; in the arms of Mary, His Mother, not on the throne of His Majesty; to save us not to condemn us! In order to show our gratitude to God, we fast and abstain, and detach ourselves from created things making wise resolutions, giving alms, and doing plentiful works of mercy. Although interior preparation is necessary, it is not complete without works of mercy, penance and almsgiving. We must walk in justice and speak the truth, and wear the pearls of simplicity and the flowers of chaste sobriety. Christians, we have no time to lose: we must quickly prepare ourselves for the great visit of Our Divine Infant King! We never fail to remember you, your families and all your special needs, both spiritual and physical, in our prayers each day at the Sacred Altar. I impart to all of you, my priestly blessing: In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen.
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 Advent 2014Dear Apostle of the Immaculate Heart of Mary,
Thank you for your very kind donation, request for prayers and faithfulness to your DECADE. We are so grateful that God has brought us together in this beautiful chorus of prayer, and we are humbled to think that our gift of the Daily DECADE benefits the entire Mystical Body of Christ in time and throughout all Eternity! Our prayers are with you. What a marvelous holiday is Thanksgiving! How many days do we petition God for all the graces, blessings and benefits of which we stand in need? How often do we think of thanking Him for what He has already given? God is so generous to us. He has given us His labors of Creation and Redemption, and His plan for our Eternal Providence. The greatest gift He has bestowed upon mankind is the gift of Himself! Surely, having been blessed by such abundance, we should be willing to share with others what He has loaned to us. We are embarrassed at our selfishness in our dealings with others. We are greedy and tend to hoard our possessions, jealously watch over our time, and employ ourselves in the things that interest us. Almighty God comes in Communion to us each day at the Altar rails of the world to give Himself completely to all who will receive Him. Our Savior, Your Body and Blood are given to saints and sinners alike and no one is refused; To those who come bearing gifts and to those who come empty handed. To all who will receive Thee, You give the fullness of Your gifts. What a magnificent lesson our Eucharistic God gives to us in His divine generosity! Teach me to be generous, sweet Jesus. Make me generous with my time, in giving it to those who need it; make me generous with the gifts You have given me, make me generous in my prayers that I may constantly ask for others and trust you to care for me. Send to me in the course of this day, those who need my gifts and my time, and who will profit by them. O my sweet, Jesus, make me generous! I remain, one with you, in the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Let us pray for one another.
Hail and Blessed be the Hour and the Moment in which the Son of God was born of the most pure Virgin Mary at midnight, in Bethlehem, in piercing cold. In that Hour, vouchsafe O my God, to hear my Prayer and grant my Petitions, through the merits of
Our Savior Jesus Christ, and of His Most Holy Mother. Amen.
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THE DIVINE MOTHERHOOD OF MARY! No human tongue can worthily sing the praises of Mary. While God is sovereignly independent from His creatures, He chose to have recourse to the Immaculate Virgin Mary in order to accomplish the greatest designs of His Infinite Mercy. God sent the Archangel Gabriel to solicit her permission. The Holy Ghost miraculously fructified her virginity becoming her Spouse and the Eternal Word drew from her flesh His most Holy Body and infinitely Precious Blood and was nourished for many months while in the cradle of her arms. St. Augustine said, “The Flesh of Christ is the flesh of Mary.” By her divine Motherhood, the Blessed Virgin Mary possesses indisputable rights over Our Savior. On earth as in Heaven, Jesus pays His Mother the entire respect and tenderness of a Son. Mary’s divine Motherhood should inspire us with unlimited confidence in her all-powerful prayers for us. At the foot of the Cross, God entrusted Mary to us as our Mother. She holds the key which opens the Heart of Jesus that the flood of His richest Graces may pour out upon the world. It is Our Lady’s role to distribute the Graces merited by the Precious Blood of her Divine Son. She refuses them to no one! Christ died for all men. Mary saw Jesus born in a wretched stable. She was forced to flee into Egypt to guard her Precious Treasure from the murderous rage of Herod. She lost her Child in Jerusalem, finding Him only after three longs days of tears and agony. It was by suffering that Mary united herself to her dying Son for our deliverance at the Foot of the Cross. Her faith was unfailing, her confidence unshakable, and her love knew no bounds! Mary longs to open the door of our hearts so that Jesus might enter into them. In the Holy Eucharist, He communicates His infinite Life to increase the action of Sanctifying Grace within us. He causes His breath of Life to animate our hearts. He brings us His Precious Blood to quench the fires of concupiscence. Here in the Eucharist is the Miracle of His Love: the very Bread of Angels! May the Humility of the Shepherds, the Faith of the Wise Men, the Joy of the Angels and the Peace of the Christ Child be God’s Gift to us and to all Men, this Christmas and Always! ***** UNIQUE AND BEAUTIFUL CHRISTMAS GIFTS!
The Holy Mass Crucifix: A sturdy pewter Crucifix dedicated to St. Philomena with St. Benedict Medal on the reverse. Cost of each = $ 60 includes shipping
St. Philomena Tote: Beautiful Tote bag with tapestry of Saint Philomena woven on both sides, full color, sturdy, height 17” and width 17” Cost of each Tote: $ 25 plus $ 5 shipping and handling = $ 30 ****** Receive the Infant King into your heart and give Him to the hearts of your family and friends! Enroll them in the Christmas Mass Bouquet: Thirty one days of Sacred Liturgies will be offered for all those who enroll in the Christmas Bouquet of Masses offered by Fr. Ivan Kolodiy and the good priests in Ukraine. Your spiritual and temporal needs, your family living and dead will be remembered at the Holy Altar every day during December. The Christmas Mass Bouquet will be crowned with a solemn High Mass on the Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ and during the Christmas Octave. There could be no more precious gift you can give at Christmas time. We will mail the beautiful Mass cards directly to you. These may be sent along with your Christmas greeting cards or placed inside your gift packages. This is a wonderful way to keep Christ in Christmas!!! SUGGESTED STIPEND DONATION: $5.00 each for Enrollment in the Christmas Bouquet of thirty one days of Masses: PRINT VERY CLEARLY EACH NAME! 1. 7. Make your payment online through PAYPAL / CREDIT CARD at: WWW.PHILOMENA.ORG If payment by Check / Money Order / Cash, please click here(Endlish) or here (Spanish) to download a form you can print, fill out and mail it directly to the address below: THE LIVING ROSARY, P.O. BOX 1303, DICKINSON, TX 77539, USA |
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SAINT PHILOMENA, WONDER-WORKER (continued) CHAPTER II Philomena comes to Mugnano. Philomena now takes charge of her own story. It becomes a mere account of her own deeds. She seems to come downstairs, after her sleep in Heaven, to enter the world in the nineteenth century, brimming with vigor and character. I am not being poetic, nor am I being sentimental. I know, as you do, that martyrs do not return to earth nor do they wake up from sleep. When I say Philomena came to Mugnano, I know perfectly well that what came to Mugnano were a few bones, a little dust and dried blood. Yet, I am not being playful. I want to speak with the deep reverence of a sinner for a saint, of a mere writer for a virgin martyr. But I am an artist and cannot do honest work unless I say what I see, and say it as I see it. Blame me, then, for any expressions you do not like, but do not blame me for lack of reverence to Philomena if she forces me to recount actions which take you aback. I assure you that I stand staring at her with all the respect of a rough servant before the laughing, confident, unceremonious, youngest Princess. But, I am not her Royal Highness’s governess. She left the schoolroom seventeen and a half centuries before she began her miracles at Mugnano. Besides, to be truthful, I revere Philomena’s manners. I believe her to have set to work to carry out an apostolic mission to teach Catholics how mistaken they are to pay any attention, at all, to Time which has no existence outside this world and how utterly wrong to pray to the Saints and Our Lady, even to God Himself, with the kind of beseeching which is slavish rather than childish. God is, on the authority of His Own Word: Our Father. I believe He sent Philomena to us, not only as a Saint and a virgin martyr, but also as a personality, as a quick, impatient person only thirteen years old, an essential antidote to Jansenism which taught that an immense amount of soul-searching in fear and trembling was necessary, out of respect to God, before one approached Him. Philomena, I call her, with the excuse that she was not actually canonized at the time of which I am writing. When I have to speak of her, after the date of her canonization, I shall claim that, considering the little sisterly way she behaves to all of us, it would be ridiculous not to call her any affectionate name one likes, as the Curé d’Ars did. He certainly did not take that liberty because he thought himself a saint, too. Christian names were permitted between saints; he saw so clearly that she was working in the world beside us all and she stands on ceremony with nobody. The Bishop and Don Francesco returned together in the Bishop’s carriage. They now possessed the precious relics. They had grown to love Philomena so much, they felt as though they were bringing the Saint herself back. Of course, if they had been traveling with a very holy lady of thirteen, she would have sat beside the Bishop, facing the horses and Don Francesco would have faced them. As it was, the Bishop and Don Francesco would sit together with the casket carefully arranged on the opposite seat, so that they could honor the relics with their prayers all the way home. Well, the journey from Rome to Naples by coach was a considerable one in those days. The Bishop had many of his friends to see him off, as had Don Francesco. You can see them, standing there on the Roman cobbles, laughing and talking, the Bishop often giving his ring to a newcomer to be kissed. Meanwhile, the servants were loading his luggage into the coach. No doubt, his own servants felt it necessary to alter everything the other servants had done. Someone begged the Bishop not to stand any longer but to sit in the opened coach. He did so. Suddenly, he got out, shouting to his servant to do something about the luggage under the seat. It had slipped forward and struck him on the leg. After looking, the servant said it must have been the coach that moved as the luggage appeared to be firmly wedged under the seat. Again, the Bishop sat down, but not for long. Once more the same thing happened. The servant was firmly told to do his business properly. This time, the coachman had put stones behind the wheels and the coach could not move. The man could not argue but, for the life of him, he could not see what had happened. There was only one package under the seat, wedged as tightly as if it were part of the coach itself. He reported that his Lordship would find everything quite all right now. Therefore, even a Bishop might be permitted a little impatience when the same thing happened again, only much harder. “Bless my soul!” said the Bishop. “What in the world have you got under there, anyhow? If it is my heaviest valise, I would rather carry it on my knees all the way than be knocked black and blue by it! Get it out! Take those cloaks off the front seat and stow them in its place! |
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| Holy Mother the Church, in Her great wisdom, is ever crying out to us to learn from Our Blessed Mother. In order to teach each one of us, She says, “LEARN OF MARY, IMITATE MARY! UNDER GOD, MARY IS THE SURE PATH TO HEAVEN!” It is fitting that we should seek Mary’s aid in that warfare which we are all called upon to wage against the spirit of sin.
LEARN OF MARY! Mary lifted humanity by the inspiration of Her shining example. Standing peerless, without a rival among creatures, Mary flashes before humanity’s wondering gaze, the vision of a perfect life. Mary’s spiritual radiance surpasses any loveliness a painter or poet could ever express on canvas or in words. It would be easier, with thumb and finger, to pluck the stars from the heavens than it is to fully grasp Her spiritual grandeur. The closer our imitation of Mary, the greater then will be our holiness. LEARN OF MARY! If we study Our Lady’s beautiful life in every detail and ask Her for Grace and strength, then we shall see what pleases Her. We shall grow like Her, and our hearts will resemble Her Heart. Little by little, the spiritual life will absorb us, and nothing else will have any attraction. We shall clearly see the folly of expending our energy on rainbow-hued nothings. LEARN OF MARY! Mary must have been cheerful and approachable. She must have radiated joy; for holy joy, visible on the face, is a characteristic of the Saints of God. Cheerfulness does not imply sudden bursts of laughter or high spirits all the time. Those who shout with laughter are often on the verge of tears. Satisfying happiness is found only in Heaven when we view God, face to face. Yet, even as we dwell upon the earth, a certain degree of happiness is attained by the joy of a good conscience. A deep and abiding joy, radiated by the spiritual health of our immortal soul, arises from our union with God through Sanctifying Grace. LEARN OF MARY! When disappointments fall thick and fast upon us, Mary will teach us to be gentle; when the mantle of sorrow is cast about our shoulders, when we are stung to the quick by the insincerity of those whom we trusted and we are pained at the ingratitude of those upon whom we have poured the wealth of our affections, we must learn to imitate Mary’s kindness. LEARN OF MARY! Mary will teach us to be silent under reproof. She will teach us to keep our lips sealed when they are burning with impatience and ill will. When we are cut by the sword of calumny and misjudged, humiliated and persecuted by the very ones to whom we are naturally looking for support, Mary will teach us the great art of bringing peace to all with whom we live. LEARN OF MARY! Mary will teach us the evil of all compromise. From Her, we will be given the knowledge of truth and error. Through Her, we will be given the Grace to know God’s Holy Will, and the strength and courage to do it, no matter what sacrifice is asked of us. LEARN OF MARY! There was gentleness in Mary’s speech, in Her carriage, in Her eyes, and in Her countenance. Mary’s entire being was permeated with gentleness. LEARN OF MARY! We should strive hard to follow in Her footsteps. We have all noticed that, where material advancement is concerned, it is so easy to have initiative; it is so easy to be resourceful. Yet, when supernatural opportunities are at hand, we are weak and sluggish. LEARN OF MARY! St. Luke (Ch.19:41) tells us of the tears Jesus wept over the City of Jerusalem: “And when He drew nigh, seeing the City, He wept over it.” As Mary looks into our souls, are we a comfort to Her? Does She find Her Son’s image resplendent in our souls? Or, is it that we have become a disappointment to Her? Surely, She is looking for heroism from us! LEARN OF MARY! Mary teaches us where true peace is to be found, that peace of which Our Lord spoke when He said: “Peace I leave with you; My Peace I give unto you!” (St. John Ch.14:27) Peace which comes from the imitation of Mary is not that which comes from power or wealth. Power is sought because it gives authority to rule. Wealth is sought because it is the gateway to influence. The peace Mary brings can be ours even if we are surrounded by those who fret and fume. Should the very earth shake beneath our feet, we truly will be safe, for we dwell within the Immaculate Heart of Mary, where neither the passions of men nor the convulsions of empires can touch us. LEARN OF MARY! Mary’s Divine Son said: “A New Commandment I give unto you, that you love one another as I have loved you.” Our Lord’s Love is universal: Love of His neighbor, Love of strangers, Love of His enemies. We may liken Mary’s love for mankind to the action of the sun, for the sun has been looked upon as the beautiful symbol of charity. The sun gives its light to all, regardless of creed or nationality. Because it is no respecter |
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| From Kevin Rowles, UK:
On Saturday 22nd November, the Universal Living Rosary Association of St Philomena took part in the annual ‘Towards Advent’ Festival at Westminster Cathedral Hall in London. This festival of Catholic culture, where Catholic organizations come together to have stalls and displays to advertise their apostolates and sell a wide variety of religious items, celebrated its 15th anniversary this year, but this was the first time that the Living Rosary was represented, and it was a most welcome addition. The UK representative of the Living Rosary, Mrs. Anne Curran and her husband Robert, put a great looking stall together, and the large posters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, St Philomena, and Ven. Pauline Jaricot behind the stall looked very striking and certainly caught the eyes of many. The day started with some hymns from the excellent choir of St. John Fisher School, and it was formally opened by Msgr. Keith Newton of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham. One of the organizers stated that many of the stalls had reported good sales of books, Christmas cards, Rosaries, and much more, throughout the day. For those who wanted to attend, there were talks on the Faith and workshops in a nearby hall, including a workshop on how to sing Latin chant. The Living Rosary enrolled new members and gave out a lot of information, booklets and prayer cards free of charge. I am a member of the Living Rosary in England and it was a real privilege for me to be there and help Anne and Robert. I hope the Living Rosary will make this a regular event in the future! For those living in the UK who wish to get further information about the work of the Living Rosary, please contact Anne Curran at The Universal Living Rosary, P.O. Box 9964, Colchester, Essex, CO1 9FN, England. E-Mail: ulraengland@hotmail.com ——- Dear Patti, We had a great day at the ‘Towards Advent’ Festival yesterday. The last time I saw Kevin was when we took part in The Faith of Our Fathers Conference in 2000! Heaven’s Road Radio Apostolate was there. They said they would be interested in interviewing me about the Living Rosary, so that would definitely be a good thing to pursue – free advertising for ULRA!!! Their website is http://www.heavensroadfm.com God bless you! ANNE CURRAN
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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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GLORY BE TO JESUS CHRIST!
CHRISTMAS NOVENA PRAYER:
Tags: Association, Catholic, Filomena, Living, Philomena, Philomene, Rosary, Saint, Santa, Universal