| Glory be to Jesus Christ!
Dear Apostles and Benefactors of the Living Rosary, The most Holy Eucharist contains in Itself the entire plan of God. The immense Glory rendered to the Father by the Word Incarnate, has brought God and His creation nearer to each other. It fills up the depths of its misery with the Grace of God, Grace abundant and rich. The Sacrifice of the Son of Man becomes the basis and cause of the supernatural order, both in Heaven and on earth. By our incorporation with the Incarnation of the Word in the act of His Sacrifice, we put on the dignity of Christ Himself. We must approach Jesus in Holy Communion in a spirit of sacrifice. Matter is not lacking, for each day brings us crosses, great and small, that we may be united with His sufferings on Calvary. Holy Communion not only unites us to Christ but also to His followers who, wherever they may be, share in His Banquet. When Christ lives in us, all will be of the same mind and will prove it by their mutual love. The charity here, more than anywhere else in the world, is the bond of perfection. Union is the fruit of love. We must remember with profound gratitude that God has called us from the highways and hedge-rows of heathendom to the shelter of Holy Mother the Church. The lowliest task offered for the salvation of souls can help priests and missionaries in their labor and obtain the Grace of a true conversion for those entrusted to them. If we ourselves receive Holy Communion with true piety, living from day to day on the strength It brings us, it will not escape the notice of those with whom and for whom we work and live. Tenderly, yet insistently, Christ extends to us this invitation, “Come to Me, all you that labor and are burdened; I will give you rest.” We are often weary on our journey. Cares, struggles, temptations and failures leave their mark upon us. We are crushed under the weight of our faults and sins, burdened with passions and evil desires. We long for Christ’s refreshing Grace, but feel ourselves unworthy. We think rarely of Him, are so distracted in our prayers, so proud and selfish! Our thoughts are set on the things of this earth; yet He continues to call us. It is not those who are in health that have need of a physician; it is those who are sick. Jesus alone can cure, cleanse and bind up our wounds. “Come to us, O Jesus, and transform us into Thyself! Live in us and make us apostles of Thy Love. Teach us to be submissive to Thy adorable Will. We are ready to sacrifice all we are and have for Thy Love and Glory.” United with all the members of the Living Rosary, and bound in love and duty to serve your spiritual needs, you may rest assured that each and every day you are remembered in my Sacred Masses and daily duties that all souls may be sanctified, God be glorified and we may be the instruments of His mission in the world to redeem mankind. I impart to all of you, my priestly blessing: In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen. Fr. IVAN KOLODIY Click here to download a full color .pdf version of this article |
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| ST. PHILOMENA, GOD’S GIFT TO THE MODERN WORLD! (Continued)
The third lesson that St. Philomena teaches us is the crown of the other two. I like to see our Saint surrounded by the imposing apparel of a sacrifice truly heroic. Behind her, beyond the seas, is the island where her father reigns supreme. Heiress of his power, sole mistress of his crown, she will be the joy of her subjects who, in turn, will try hard by their devotion and their fidelity to make her happy. At her side, is a father of whom she is the unique offspring. He bases his sweetest hope on this beloved daughter. Her qualities, virtues and nobility render her infinitely dear to him and her mother! This mother who, until that day, was her inseparable companion: these two hearts made but one. Between them flowed a common will of kind attentions and tenderness. What sorrow when a sword as pitiless as the blows are frightful, will come to separate the girl from the mother! Before her is a throne most majestic and lovely. She humbles herself. She could mount the steps of the throne. Oh, God, how the step is slippery! How the dazzle is to be feared! Her father and mother fall at her side. To raise her up high, the illustrious Emperor descends and humbles himself. The master of the world and, with him, the entire world is at her feet. Philomena, choose! Speak! See the imperial purple, the crown and the palace of the Caesar’s; this court, brilliant and inexhaustible in its treasures, where each day the riches of the universe will be yours. Speak! If you refuse, you need only cast a glance at the scaffold. The most notorious and cruel sufferings are prepared for you! Heaven! What an alternative! Philomena is above her age and her sex; her heroism comes from on high. One glance from her Divine Spouse Who put Lucifer to flight, fortifies her heart and renders her invulnerable to the false enticements. She refuses. In falling under the tyrant’s sword, she is victorious. She receives an immortal crown and is placed upon a throne in eternity. Received into God’s own palace, her reign will have no end! Such is the hundred-fold promise of Christian generosity. In His infinite liberality, God, after the immense interval of fifteen centuries, adds to the treasures of His generous spouse. Rome, the capital of the pagan world saw her buried without glory, and it is in Rome that she is resurrected full of the most admirable life. Today, Rome becomes the Holy City and exhumes her with respect from the holy under-ground where her remains repose. After placing her on the altars of the King of kings in triumph, it revives her memory, extols her virtues, propagates her cult, and salutes her with ecstasy and with the name of: WONDER-WORKER OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY! Click here to download a full color .pdf version of this article |
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| ACT OF CONSECRATION TO OUR LADY OF MT. CARMEL
Mary, Queen and Mother of Carmel, I come today to consecrate myself entirely to Thee. To Thee as the Mother of Grace, I owe all that I am and all that I have, and my whole life is a small return for the many graces and blessings that have come from God to me through thy hands. Since thou regardest with an eye of special kindness those who wear thy Scapular, I implore thee to strengthen my weakness with thy power, to enlighten my mind with thy wisdom, to increase in me Faith, Hope and Charity that I may render, day by day, my debt of humble homage to thee. May thy Scapular keep thine eyes of mercy turned towards me and bring me thy special protection in the daily struggle to be faithful to thy Divine Son and to thee. May it separate me from all that is sinful in life and remind me constantly of my duty to behold thee and to clothe me with thy virtues. From henceforth, I shall strive to live in the sweet companionship of thy spirit, to offer all to Jesus through thee and to make my life the mirror of thy humility, charity, patience, meekness and prayerfulness. O dearest Mother, support me by thy never failing love that I, an unworthy sinner, may come one day to exchange thy Scapular for the wedding garment of Heaven and dwell with thee and the Saints of Carmel in the Kingdom of thy Son. Amen. O, Beautiful Flower of Mount Carmel, Pray for Us! Click here to download a full color .pdf version of this article |
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| THE GREATEST PRIVILEGE IS REAL AND IT IS OURS!
Heaven and Hell are locked in mortal combat and earth shakes from the shock of the encounter; but no one feels it, no one sees it, no one hears it, no one cares! The salvation of my soul is the most imperative and urgent objective of my life on earth. It is the greatest and grandest occupation in which I can engage. In fact, I am here for no other purpose. The Brown Scapular is a Sacramental of the Church; it is a Gift from Heaven and a symbol of salvation. A True Child of Mary is NEVER LOST! Those who are clothed in the Scapular are under the protection and sanctifying mantle of the Mother of God. It is a safeguard in danger, whether physical or moral; it invites its wearer to penance and purity, and shields him from Satan and sin!!! The Brown Scapular marks the militia of the Immaculate One. Mary’s livery is the Brown Scapular. To serve Mary is the highest privilege and pledge of eternal salvation. The Brown Scapular, the Garment of Mary Immaculate, is a constant call to modesty in dress and conduct, a silent protest against present-day permissiveness and a hidden appeal to reparation for the insolent nakedness of proud Neo-Paganism! The Brown Scapular is like a hair-shirt, a mild reminder of the need of constant mortification. We are all but infants in virtue and helpless as babes in the woods of this bleak world. We stand in dire need of Our Mother’s unconditional love and care. Our utter helplessness and misery is our claim to her undying protection. The Brown Scapular is a mirror of humility and chastity: the epitome of modesty and simplicity, an eloquent symbol of unceasing prayer, a Total Consecration to the Mother of God. We cannot unite with others in this battle for the Triumph of Christ the King at the cost of TRUTH! What is needed is a unity of prayer! To a faithless world, Our Blessed Mother comes offering us a choice: Death in Life or Life after Death! “The ultimate Goal of the Requests of Our Lady of Fatima is the Triumph of her Immaculate Heart! It is thought by experts who were convoked by the Bishop of Fatima that the Conversion of Russia would not only be a Sign of that Triumph, but that much of the leadership and drive of the spiritual renewal which will characterize this Triumph will come from Russia!” There is a great deal of urgency as well as finality to the Fatima Message: Men must cease offending God, Who is already too much offended! Thus, the formula for the Triumph is centered around the offering up of the sacrifices demanded by our state in life and deepening our devotion to Mary by Consecration, the Rosary and the Scapular. Each of these parts is closely related; like the four legs of a chair, all four are needed. It is useless to ask which one is more important than the other. All four make up the solid basis for the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary for the individual and for all the world. The sign of Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, the Scapular, is silent! And, yet, the Scapular has been the vehicle of more numerous miracles and favors than any other sign the world has ever known. We must strive for the virtues which this Holy Habit signifies: simplicity, humility, faith, trust, love of God and union with Him. We should kiss the Scapular often. Pope Benedict XV granted 500 days indulgence each time we kiss our Scapular. The Sabbatine Privilege was first promulgated by Pope John XXII and was subsequently promulgated by nine other Popes. What is the remedy needed today? How beautiful that we do know this with absolute clarity, for this remedy has been given to us by God Himself: BEHOLD THY MOTHER! It is His last will and testament to us. IT IS FOR TODAY! We must have an immense increase of devotion to God’s Holy Mother. Mary Immaculate is the Mediatrix and Co-Redemptrix of the human race and God’s Peace resides within her Immaculate Heart! We seek in vain for it elsewhere. “Devotion to Mary must be the prominent characteristic of our religion. Jesus is obscured because Mary is kept in the background. Thousands of souls perish because Mary is withheld from them. It is the miserable, unworthy shadow which we call our devotion to the Blessed Virgin that is the cause of all our wants and blights. It is at the root of our decline! If Mary were but known how much happier, how much holier, how much less worldly we would be and how much more we would be living images of Our Lord and Savior, her dearest and most Blessed Son!” (Father F.W. Faber – November 21, 1862) Each of us must be aglow within, shining without, ardent for love of God and our fellow man; ardent in prayer, brilliant in action; ardent for the Glory of God and luminous with charity for our neighbor. But, where are we to light our torch and obtain the fire which must enkindle the hearts of men? It must be in the furnace of the Holy Heart of the Mother of Fair Love! Her Heart will inflame the hearts of the just and, at the same time, set fire to the hearts of sinners! Don’t hold back! The Church is the Family of God. It is a Universal Church. There is no such thing as a spiritual step- With all our hearts, we praise thee, O Mother of God! HAIL HOLY QUEEN, MOTHER OF MERCY, OUR LIFE, OUR SWEETNESS AND OUR HOPE! Write to us TODAY and include a donation to help cover the cost of the Scapular materials, your Membership and the monthly Masses. We offer this Sacred Bouquet of Holy Masses during the month of July, in honor of and in thanksgiving for the great privilege of the Protection of the Mother of God, given to us by God, through her most Holy Scapular: In reparation for our sins and the sins of the whole world, in petition for all the graces necessary for salvation for ourselves and our families, and in thanksgiving for God’s Holy Mother and all the abundant blessings and gifts we have received through her Pure and Immaculate Heart and Hands! In honor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, let us recommend our loved ones, living and departed, to the maternal Heart of Mary, through the Holy Scapular and enroll them in the special thirty one days of Holy Masses being offered in July through Father Ivan Kolodiy in Ukraine, for our families. May they be surrounded by the protection of the Mother of God through the Holy Scapular! SUGGESTED STIPEND DONATION: $5.00 each for Enrollment in the July Bouquet of thirty one days of Masses: PRINT VERY CLEARLY EACH NAME! 1. Make your payment online through PAYPAL / CREDIT CARD at: WWW.PHILOMENA.ORG If payment by Check / Money Order / Cash, please mail it directly to the address below: Name: ________________________________________ Street: _________________________________________ City/State/Zip/Country: _________________________ ________________________________________ Click here to download a full color .pdf version of this article |
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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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